Trial 3- The Faceless

[Vaellin the Bard]

"Currently, there's two possible theories for Veil and The Fool's deaths. Either Medic or the sisters, Kara and Krista."

Medic as Murderer:

"Assuming the worst of the late Medic would mean that he was similarly very active during the first and second actions. He was witnessed in the shop and in the library during this time frame, and this would mean he likely poisoned the pond before The Mask, Butler, and I entered on the third action. I suspect a delayed poison. Perhaps that was why it was in a vial? Maybe there was more and they were intended to release after he'd made his way away. Then with Glaucous nearby, he'd command the tiger to attack the next person or person to enter the room, which would likely mean Veil and The Fool died at the fourth action since commands of the tiger only last a single action and he perished at the end of the third. This leaves a tight time frame but I do believe it's doable. With eight possible actions he would have to: go to the shop, go to the medical bay, command Glaucous, go to the library, and go to the garden twice at minimum--once to grab ingredients and once to drop off the chemical. I believe it's doable but if people could remind me of when they spotted Medic this could confirm if it actually is. There isn't much flexibility in his schedule if he were the culprit."

Kara and Krista as murderers:
"If one of the sisters are the culprit, I suspect they both are. One with the knowledge and setup and one with the execution."

"Krista would gather the materials needed to turn the pond poisonous for the first and second action of the night. Then she would set up the runes when she poisons the pond, either before The Mask, Butler, and I arrive on the third action or after we leave. Perhaps while Medic was there and he was a witness to her actions. She has knowledge of the cult and of these poisonous plants so she would set it all up while her sister makes an alibi. It should be noted that I did see them both together at the end of the first action on the ship, by the way, but Krista left around the same time Butler and I did, stopping by the shop."

"Then after the setup, Kara would use her contract with Glaucous. She wouldn't need to be anywhere near the garden for this and just send the tiger off to knock the next person--or persons in this case--into the pond. Then Krista would check on the trap towards the end of the night or possibly clean it up. I saw her swimming ahead of me at the final action though, unlike her sister, she did not join us at the hot springs."

[peterparker]

Aug 22, 2024 17:26:20 GMT -6 Vaellin the Bard said:

"If one of the sisters are the culprit, I suspect they both are. One with the knowledge and setup and one with the execution."

"Krista would gather the materials needed to turn the pond poisonous for the first and second action of the night. Then she would set up the runes when she poisons the pond, either before The Mask, Butler, and I arrive on the third action or after we leave. Perhaps while Medic was there and he was a witness to her actions. She has knowledge of the cult and of these poisonous plants so she would set it all up while her sister makes an alibi. It should be noted that I did see them both together at the end of the first action on the ship, by the way, but Krista left around the same time Butler and I did, stopping by the shop."

"Then after the setup, Kara would use her contract with Glaucous. She wouldn't need to be anywhere near the garden for this and just send the tiger off to knock the next person--or persons in this case--into the pond. Then Krista would check on the trap towards the end of the night or possibly clean it up. I saw her swimming ahead of me at the final action though, unlike her sister, she did not join us at the hot springs."

"Is there no end to the false accusations our family must endure ...?"

Krista grumbles a little bit but soon gathers her thoughts and responds calmly to the accusation. 

"I could not possibly have been involved in this murder. I spent most of the night in the ship, trying to stay safe from the killers that are apparently running around. Let me explain."

"Indeed, I spent the first action in the Dining Room, where I knew I would find Kara. She tends to eat her feelings, you see, and I knew she was devastated over Kelly's fate. I did see Veil and Butler then, as well." [A1]

"After that, I went to Aqua's Shop, as Veil saw, but that is where the truth diverges from this theory. I remained in Aqua's Shop for some time, asking her questions and trying to figure out how much she knew about this 'Mother' entity and the strange stone I had found. It was rather a waste of time, as Aqua didn't know much more than I did. She did know how to craft my Wave Stone into something with a more useful ability, so I waited for her to do so. That is also when I purchased that diving suit. I didn't end up leaving the shop until the start of the sixth action, as it took some time for Aqua to finish crafting, and she also .... disappeared. I don't know how to describe this, but it was as though she was replaced by a stranger during the fourth action, though I didn't see anyone enter or exit. In fact, the only person who visited the shop that whole time was Pim, during the fifth action, and I didn't see him purchase anything. Also, I saw Veil and Butler walk by around that time, and the pirates passed by during the fourth action. The tiger was with them, too, so I suppose we can rule out the fourth action as a time of death, hmm?" [A2-A5]

"It wasn't until the sixth action that I left Aqua's Shop, or even the ship at all. So I had no chance to plant any traps, runes, or poisons. In fact, I never even visited the pond. I went straight to the Library in the Domed City. Veil and Butler swam near me for part of the way, although I never did see Kara. I never set foot in the garden once. I was far too busy reading." [A6]

[Vaellin the Bard]

Aug 22, 2024 20:55:48 GMT -6 peterparker said:

Aug 22, 2024 17:26:20 GMT -6 Vaellin the Bard said:

"If one of the sisters are the culprit, I suspect they both are. One with the knowledge and setup and one with the execution."

"Krista would gather the materials needed to turn the pond poisonous for the first and second action of the night. Then she would set up the runes when she poisons the pond, either before The Mask, Butler, and I arrive on the third action or after we leave. Perhaps while Medic was there and he was a witness to her actions. She has knowledge of the cult and of these poisonous plants so she would set it all up while her sister makes an alibi. It should be noted that I did see them both together at the end of the first action on the ship, by the way, but Krista left around the same time Butler and I did, stopping by the shop."

"Then after the setup, Kara would use her contract with Glaucous. She wouldn't need to be anywhere near the garden for this and just send the tiger off to knock the next person--or persons in this case--into the pond. Then Krista would check on the trap towards the end of the night or possibly clean it up. I saw her swimming ahead of me at the final action though, unlike her sister, she did not join us at the hot springs."

"Is there no end to the false accusations our family must endure ...?"

Krista grumbles a little bit but soon gathers her thoughts and responds calmly to the accusation. 

"I could not possibly have been involved in this murder. I spent most of the night in the ship, trying to stay safe from the killers that are apparently running around. Let me explain."

"Indeed, I spent the first action in the Dining Room, where I knew I would find Kara. She tends to eat her feelings, you see, and I knew she was devastated over Kelly's fate. I did see Veil and Butler then, as well." [A1]

"After that, I went to Aqua's Shop, as Veil saw, but that is where the truth diverges from this theory. I remained in Aqua's Shop for some time, asking her questions and trying to figure out how much she knew about this 'Mother' entity and the strange stone I had found. It was rather a waste of time, as Aqua didn't know much more than I did. She did know how to craft my Wave Stone into something with a more useful ability, so I waited for her to do so. That is also when I purchased that diving suit. I didn't end up leaving the shop until the start of the sixth action, as it took some time for Aqua to finish crafting, and she also .... disappeared. I don't know how to describe this, but it was as though she was replaced by a stranger during the fourth action, though I didn't see anyone enter or exit. In fact, the only person who visited the shop that whole time was Pim, during the fifth action, and I didn't see him purchase anything. Also, I saw Veil and Butler walk by around that time, and the pirates passed by during the fourth action. The tiger was with them, too, so I suppose we can rule out the fourth action as a time of death, hmm?" [A2-A5]

"It wasn't until the sixth action that I left Aqua's Shop, or even the ship at all. So I had no chance to plant any traps, runes, or poisons. In fact, I never even visited the pond. I went straight to the Library in the Domed City. Veil and Butler swam near me for part of the way, although I never did see Kara. I never set foot in the garden once. I was far too busy reading." [A6]

"The situation is just an avenue of possibility. But still I must ask if there is any means to validate your claims? Any evidence of your time spent or individuals who witnessed you in the second and fourth action after we separated."

[peterparker]

Aug 22, 2024 22:41:04 GMT -6 Vaellin the Bard said:

"The situation is just an avenue of possibility. But still I must ask if there is any means to validate your claims? Any evidence of your time spent or individuals who witnessed you in the second and fourth action after we separated."

Krista seems to pout. Clearly she is not used to having to prove her innocence. 

"Well ... Aqua saw me, but I'm not sure where she's gone off to."

"How about the person who replaced Aqua during the fourth action? If we could locate that person, they definitely saw me."

"Otherwise ... we'll have to use the contra-positive. Nobody saw me during those actions, but I also saw nobody. I am officially making the claim that no one entered Aqua's Shop between the second and fourth action (barring Aqua's mysterious replacement) except myself, and during the fifth action only Pim, Veil and Butler passed through."

"If anyone's alibi says otherwise, one of us is lying. But they won't, because I know that no one was there except myself."

[Vaellin the Bard]

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Aug 22, 2024 23:19:26 GMT -6 peterparker said:

Veil isn't entirely satisfied with this explanation but nods anyway. "Well for now unless someone dispute it, we will believe you."

"I want to inquire a bit more about the death of Medic himself. First, the gears and birds bomb suggestion--the bird bomb if you will--suggests use of a clockwork pigeon. As I have investigated the shop and spoken to Aqua each night I am positive that only one bird was ever bought from the shop. This would be the one Charlie purchased on the second night, which was found at the bottom of the trenches alongside other mechanical animals. As this was seen by Pail and no one went down during the day, this means the culprit had to go down to the trenches sometime before the end of the third action and set the trap up. I suspect repairs would be needed as well since they were left inoperable was my understanding. I believe this rules out The Fool at least--and likely Veil depending on how long she was following The Fool."

[༺☆Venelop3☆༻]

"I don't know if these will be helpful to be really honest but these were my last three investigation results:

Armory In Depth - The armory does not seem to have been visited in a while.
Fisherman’s Shack In Depth - A trap with brown paint and fireworks have been set up at the shack. It does not seem to have been triggered.
Tailor’s Hut In Depth - A trap with orange paint and fireworks have been set up at the hut. It does not seem to have been triggered.

Either The Fool or the Mask were in the latter two areas, but no one came in after them."

[Vaellin the Bard]

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Aug 23, 2024 11:20:45 GMT -6 ༺☆Venelop3☆༻ said:

"I don't know if these will be helpful to be really honest but these were my last three investigation results:

Armory In Depth - The armory does not seem to have been visited in a while.
Fisherman’s Shack In Depth - A trap with brown paint and fireworks have been set up at the shack. It does not seem to have been triggered.
Tailor’s Hut In Depth - A trap with orange paint and fireworks have been set up at the hut. It does not seem to have been triggered.

Either The Fool or the Mask were in the latter two areas, but no one came in after them."

"Interesting. That does confirm The Masks' statements about The Fool setting up traps on her behalf, but he never made it to the Armory, but did make it to the Greenhouse according to Binny."

[peterparker]

Krista sighs and thumbs through her notebook once again. 

"Ah, that's right. I was about to share my observations when I was distracted by these ... allegations."

"I've already spoken of the Storage Room, but I believe my second-most relevant investigation was of Aqua's Shop. I have a list of everything that has been purchased, though I do not know by whom. I also cannot say what was upgraded or crafted, though I noted down what scraps I found on the crafting bench: metal flakes, wood chips, cloth, black powder, paper, string, and crystal dust."

"As for the items that were purchased or otherwise acquired from the shop, the full list is as follows: an alchemy kit, a calligraphy kit, a health potion, a defense potion, an attack scroll, and cloth armor. Though I didn't note it down during my investigation, I would also like to point out that I purchased a diving suit."

"I see that no bird was purchased tonight, but I cannot rule out the possibility that one was upgraded. I am also curious about this crystal dust - I believe that may be related to what was found in the garden pond."

"I think Aqua's Shop must be relevant to the murder, and I must confess that I saw something quite ... disturbing when I was there. During the fourth action, as I said, Aqua seemed to disappear and was replaced with a stranger. But at the beginning of the fifth action, the stranger began to yelp and scream, as if they were in pain. It was like watching someone die, but instead, they just suddenly went eerily silent and still. Then Aqua reappeared out of nowhere and went about her business as if nothing had happened. I felt as though I was out of my mind. I'm still not sure if what I saw was real."

[peterparker]

Krista lapses into silence for a while following her proclamation about the mysterious Aqua replacement. Clearly, this is something that has been bothering her. It's not often that Krista can't make sense of what she sees. 

"Right. Well ... I also searched the Domed City. I found the fireworks all set up, and paint speckles too - I recorded violet, black, white, gold, yellow, and pink paint. They all seemed to make trails - I assume that people passed through after being caught in the paint traps. I also found some strange fur that seemed to be shed all over the city; it was fur, but it somehow had jewels on it. There were scratches all over the walls, as if some small creatures had clawed at them. I also searched the homes, and learned a little bit about this city, but we'll save that for later seeing as I doubt it's related to the murder."

"At the Train Station, I found some splashes of water suggesting that people had jumped into the sea from there, but nothing else of note. At the Spiral Stairway, I saw some splashed water near the pool to the ravine, though I don't know why anyone would want to return there. I also saw a trail of water going up the stairs, which headed into the War Room. I also checked the Lumen Coral Reef, but the only thing of note was a coin that was placed in an otter's nest, for some odd reason."

"I believe that is all of the useful information I have. I can attest that no one visited the Armory or the Tavern Ferry. Also, there was nothing of interest at the Shimmering Abyss or the Shelled Ruins; they were just as they were before, though I'm sure we all swam through the Shelled Ruins to get to the Domed City."

[unknown]

"Hmm... I suppose I never gave my alibi, huh? Not that it's likely to matter..."

"I spent most of the night in the magma chamber, you see. Exact times, it escapes me... Perhaps that rouses suspicions, but I suspect there may have been evidence left of my grand plan that would be very out of character for the culprit of this particular crime. My divine mission you see, I was to slay the despicable dragon! To finally become the hero that I was destined to be.  You see, I planned to hide in the magma during the night, and yet there was not much magma to be found! Quite a misleading name, if I do say so myself."

"My eyes finally adjusted to the light so that I could see my prey. Little Veil walked up to the dragon. After finishing my scouting for the time being, I snuck out and swam towards the sunken city, passing Butler and getting chased by Veil. I was able to lose Veil and snuck into the palace- where I was blasted by vengeful violet paint. What a beautiful trap! I cannot even be upset. I continued on to the throne room, passing a Gold, Yellow and Pink Pim alongside a Gold and White lover. Or... Was it a black and blue lover? My old eyes seem to be playing tricks on me these days. Regardless, I saw my... Patron. I requested a cloak of anonymity. A perfect way for me to disguise my scheme, as nobody would suspect Culprit X! ... No bearing on this trial, of course! I went to the storage room where I was told my cloak would be waiting- and got covered in black paint! Gah! These traps were really getting on my nerves. An old man in there was covered in glitter and glue grumbling about dumb kids... Honestly, I can commiserate with him, although I am only middle aged. I searched the crates and indeed found a cloak that I was looking for!"

"I returned to the Magma Chamber. The Pirate and the Tiger seemed to be swimming around the trenches. This time I walked in directly to meet my foe, which immediately put them on guard. I surprised the Dragon with my Special Attack, blinding my foe with a brilliant golden shower! A shower of molten gold of course, get your mind out of the gutter! What could be a more fitting end for a dragon, I thought? Alas, it only dealt one damage to my foe. Then, it swatted me into the wall dealing four damage, and breathed smoke on me which decreased my stats. That's nothing to me of course, whose youthful young adult energy provides me with infinity hit points- but it did make me reconsider my approach. I was promptly flicked out of the chamber and into the ravine, but I'll get that dastardly dragon next time!"

[Vaellin the Bard]

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"Going back to the Medic. If we assume the gears and bird parts are the cause of death or at least the major trigger, this does clear The Mask as the murderer and instead places the blame on whoever managed to obtain a Clockwork Pigeon."

"I have investigated Aqua's shop or spoken with Aqua each night so I can confirm that only one pigeon was ever bought. This one was left in the trenches with other mechanical animals--presumably this is the only location with mechanical animals. At least I've not heard of anyone noticing any others. As such, it means that Medic's murderer had to have gone down to the trenches in the first two actions of the night, then repaired and activated the bird by the end of the third to set off a bomb."

"This means those without a clear first or second action are the most suspicious. This leaves me to think Veil, The Veil, Pim, and The Lover as our primary suspects."

"The Veil's timing is tight, so I find them unlikely. They were spotted on the ship for the first two actions so they would've had to go to the trenches and workshop interwoven between those two."

"Veil could be a culprit but we found nothing on her that makes it likely she set a bomb of any kind--unlike The Fool who has an alibi in the form of his traps."

"This leaves The Lover and Pim. I am accusing you both of setting up the bird and setting off a bomb. Mostly Pim, who could've been grieving the loss of Charlie and perhaps wanted to set off a firework that simply turned deadly. The bird in question was originally Pim's and Charlie's after all."

[Nekomaru]

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"While I was approached before the night started to help set up for an event, I'm afraid I was simply too busy throughout the night to set up fireworks. My mum needed my help, you see. While I do agree that setting up fireworks sounds jovial... I just did not have the time! So I had to decline."
"For action one, I met up with my mom, and then checked out the library. For the second action, I read some more in the library, and then investigated the guest rooms. I needed information to help my mum. On the way to the guest rooms I saw the medic leaving the garden, but that is the only person I saw besides my mum at the start of the night."

[༺☆Venelop3☆༻]

Aug 23, 2024 16:18:40 GMT -6 Vaellin the Bard said:

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"Going back to the Medic. If we assume the gears and bird parts are the cause of death or at least the major trigger, this does clear The Mask as the murderer and instead places the blame on whoever managed to obtain a Clockwork Pigeon."

"I have investigated Aqua's shop or spoken with Aqua each night so I can confirm that only one pigeon was ever bought. This one was left in the trenches with other mechanical animals--presumably this is the only location with mechanical animals. At least I've not heard of anyone noticing any others. As such, it means that Medic's murderer had to have gone down to the trenches in the first two actions of the night, then repaired and activated the bird by the end of the third to set off a bomb."

"This means those without a clear first or second action are the most suspicious. This leaves me to think Veil, The Veil, Pim, and The Lover as our primary suspects."

"The Veil's timing is tight, so I find them unlikely. They were spotted on the ship for the first two actions so they would've had to go to the trenches and workshop interwoven between those two."

"Veil could be a culprit but we found nothing on her that makes it likely she set a bomb of any kind--unlike The Fool who has an alibi in the form of his traps."

"This leaves The Lover and Pim. I am accusing you both of setting up the bird and setting off a bomb. Mostly Pim, who could've been grieving the loss of Charlie and perhaps wanted to set off a firework that simply turned deadly. The bird in question was originally Pim's and Charlie's after all."

"You... you think it's me? Well you are right I wasn't seen, but I was kinda waiting to talk about my A1, mainly due to wanting to hear other peoples alibis. The Calligraphy set in the Workshop is mine. It smells like flowers so I wanted to write some love letters to my future husbands, which is why I then went to try and find people. But the explosions made me re-do my actions and I decided to follow the Mask after that. What I will say is the Workshop didn't have any metal or things being worked upon before that, I started my night there (Claimed calligraphy set during day) and two no one else entered. The Hallways were eerily empty Action 1, it was kinda creepy to be honest. No I don't believe I could have gone to the, what was it, Ravine? First, I did not have a diving suit and second, anyone would of known I was wet, which I wasn't by the way. I was also 100% in the Hot Springs A2, I didn't do anything there during A2 (Totally did not get auto'd) I just was enjoying the area, which is why I had a Bath A5 when I got to return after following the disguised Mask."

[Misaki]

"Since we are running out of time here. I may as well go ahead and give my own crackpot theory on Lil Veil and The Fool's deaths which has little to no basis in fact! After all as some random witch once said. Every great theory begins with a crack theory!"



"Anyway. Who do I think murdered Lil Veil and The Fool you ask? Well our killer or rather killers are non other than our Veils! Yes I know that sounds outlandish but hear me out here!"

"You see. Veil, The Veil and yes Lil Veil herself are all part of a dark cult which I will dub The Cult of Veil or The Bedsheet Cult for all intents and purposes! They are lead by the enigmatic Mistress Ture and they had been tasked to seek out Mother, defeat her and gain control of her power and take over the seas and probably destroy the whole world in the process! And in order to defeat Mother, they orchestrate a ritual sacrifice to summon their god Veilmon, the Veil of all Veils!"

"The Veil was the ringleader behind the ritual who could possibly be Mistress Ture herself. The first phase of the plan was to secure the release of the Drexas from Floe. This was so that The Veil can gain influence over her and most importantly Glaucus which will be critical to their plot. They also somehow managed to drag the gemstone cats along because why not!" 

"Veil along with Butler meanwhile was given the task to poison the pond in the Garden in preparation for the ritual. They had bought an alchemist kit from the shop then concocted the poison which they then dumped into the pond start A4 shortly after I left the Garden."

"Lil Veil, our supposed victim was in on the whole plot and was given the most important task, to secure a sacrifice. She had been trailing The Fool from the Greenhouse waiting for the moment to strike. And once The Fool arrived at the Crater Courtyard, he was ambushed from behind by Lil Veil as he was setting up the fireworks. Once The Fool had been taken out, right on cue, Glaucus under Drexas's orders arrive at the scene to pick up Lil Veil and The Fool and transport them to the Garden. Once they arrived at the Garden start of A5, The Veil, Drexas and all the gemstone cats have already gathered. They set up the runes around the pond and perform the ritual, dumping The Fool's body into the pond. Lil Veil willingly offers herself as sacrifice because cults are crazy like that and jumps into the pond as well. Once the ritual was complete, The Veil, Drexas and Glaucus head to the Hot Springs at the end of A5 right before me and The Lover arrive."

"Alternatively, Lil Veil doesn't willingly sacrifice herself but instead she was backstabbed by The Veil either having Glaucus push her into the pond or The Veil herself dropkicks Lil Veil into the pond. Honestly I prefer the latter just because it's the funniest! And in another version, After Lil Veil takes out The Fool in the Crater Courtyard, Glaucus flies in and attacks Lil Veil then transports both their bodies to the Garden and the ritual takes place."


"So there you have it! A totally plausible and very convoluted and fun murder worthy of being despair difficulty! BUT HEY! That's just a theory! A CRACK THEORY! Elementary my dear!" 

[Vaellin the Bard]

Veil looks just as annoyed as the sisters at first before sighing. Like his own accusations these are just possibilities. "There are a couple of issues with this theory. The first being my supposed part in this. As established, there was a compound that turned the pond to acid. An alchemy kit by itself would not be able to transform anything. You need ingredients. Hence why the med bay has become so important. Ive (or Butler) has been open about our travels and the only chance Id have to go to the med bay would be the middle of the third action, but then when would I have had the time specifically to wash off the paint and why would Butler arrive after me in the garden? Besides Ive no components to have taken. I was in the garden twice--end of the third action with you and middle of the fifth--so I could not have retrieved the flowers prior to that either."

"Which also leads me to my next point. Thanks to your providing of The Fools Itinerary, we know Little Veil and The Fool were alive through the end of the fourth action. Due to mine and Butlers passing through, the murder had to be completed the end of the fifth action or in the sixth. I know we were merely passing through but one would assume a whole ritual and sacrifice would take more than a few seconds, especially since it was even noted that the area looked tidied up."