ROOM 5

[dramatispersonae]

[You enter a pleasant sitting room: there are nine plush comfy chairs in a semi-circle in front of a crackling fireplace, and a table set with various finger-foods and two carafes, one of water and one of wine. It'd be a very nice room ... if not for the dummy lying facedown on the floor with a giant butcher knife sticking out of its back and a little bottle by one of its hands, marked with a tiny skull and crossbones. There's a hangman's noose around its neck, though the other end looks rather frayed.

The pleasant voice of a woman -- not the persona -- begins to speak:]

Hello and welcome. I wish it could have been under better circumstances, but today has some interesting circumstances. As you can see, my good associate, Mister X, has met an unfortunate end. I've reason to believe it might be one of you! Shall we see if I'm right?

Comments

NUMBERS

[dramatispersonae]

[on the table, by the food, are seven envelopes, accordingly numbered]

((please comment here with a number 1 - 9. this is for assigning your randomized acting roles and isn't meant to take long))

Re: NUMBERS

[goneastray]

[EATING ALL THE FOODS!]

Re: NUMBERS

[bondingspirits]

[um]

Re: NUMBERS

[unionoftheheart]

[picking up #3 I guess?]

Re: NUMBERS

[secretagentbird]

[picking up number 7 in his beak :>]

Re: NUMBERS

[oneknightstands]

[grabs number 5]

Re: NUMBERS

[bondingspirits]

[maybe 6 . . . ]

Re: NUMBERS

[goneastray]

[Will eventually kick 4 off the table. Was it deliberate? Was it an accident? Who knows?]

ROLES AND CLUES

[dramatispersonae]

1 - the weak hero from a big family, who has worked hard to better the community
2 - the ambitious singer with more than meets the eye, determined to overcome all odds
3 - the frustrated bodyguard, irritated with the system and failed dreams
4 - the agile hunter on the run from the law, also fast-talking and free-wheeling
5 - the arrogant rascal, belligerent and ready to fight at a moment's notice
6 - the cooperative inventor that is a complete fraud, fronts well but with some anxiety
7 - the graceful, peaceful traveler, whose still waters may run very deep
8 - the enduring, calm teacher, who has seen many terrible things and stands strong
9 - the open-minded adventurer haunted by flashbacks, anxious but eager to listen and please


CLUES
* Mister X appears to have died by poisoning
* Mister X had a letter on him, addressed to an unnamed person, threatening to expose a personal secret
* Mister X traveled a great deal in his youth, and came into contact with all sorts of people

START

[dramatispersonae]

[when you open your envelopes, there is a short description provided. also printed under the that are three clues. but one of you has something extra ...]

((This is the murder game! Everyone is playing the detective, but one of you has been randomly assigned as the "culprit." It will be up to everyone to play detective, and for the "culprit" to do their best to remain undetected.))

Re: START

[secretagentbird]

[graceful and peaceful, eh...]

How tragic... poor Mister X, to come to such an untimely end.

Re: START

[bondingspirits]

[that's a talking bird!!!!]

Re: START

[bondingspirits]

Ehhhhhhhhhh?!

Re: START

[goneastray]

Oh, you're a knight!

Re: START

[oneknightstands]

Holding a letter like that? He probably deserved it.

Re: START

[bondingspirits]

[ . . . what is this description ]

Re: START

[goneastray]

Hee, that's easy! I'm really agile!

Re: START

[unionoftheheart]

...huh...um...okay.

Re: START

[oneknightstands]

[this description . . .]

[takes a deep breath]

Is that all that there is? I don't have time for things like this.

CONCLUSION

[dramatispersonae]

[a book appears where the envelopes were before, along with a pen. it opens itself and flips to a blank page. (attempts to read earlier will show that the pages are filled, but with a great deal of illegible scribbles.)]

I'd like to hear what you have to say, in order to defend yourselves.

[please give your conclusion of who the culprit is, no matter how outlandish. those who cannot read or write will be able to just narrate, and the pen will fill out your answer for you.]

Re: CONCLUSION

[secretagentbird]

A murder is terrible for everyone, not just the victim. It stands to reason that everyone would be quite disturbed by what had happened. But one person not only seems to be unaffected, but in fact glad of Mr. X's untimely demise--! Yes, unfortunately, I do believe that my fellow knight, as honorable as he may be normally, is unfortunately behind this murder.

Not only does he seem to think it's justified, but he insists on piling suspicion on the poor, confused wolf, simply for admitting he knows the deceased! He alternates between saying the victim deserved it and trying to blame others, but dodges any questions directed at him.

I never would be one to point fingers, but I believe that Mr. X must have come upon Flynn in his travels and discovered a great secret of his. Eventually, they drew apart, but when Mr. X threatened to reveal his secret that was too much! Murder was the only answer.

I hope he can be brought to justice as quickly as possible.

[FLYNN DID IT FLYNN DID IT]

Re: CONCLUSION

[unionoftheheart]

So I'm just a cranky old bodyguard, but I know somebody who's dodging questions and trying to shove the blame onto others when I see it. Flynn refused to answer a question directly relating to his potential guilt or innocence, working under the theory that this was a revenge for attempted blackmail. As far as I'm concerned, he's the most suspicious guy in this room, and that's not even counting the whole part where he thinks that going above the law to take personal revenge is totally okay.

Re: CONCLUSION

[oneknightstands]

Everyone here really gets caught up on the small things. It was clearly the wolf who murdered Mr. X to stop the news of his affair from getting out. He met Mr. X on his travels a while back and began an affair with the deceased's wife. When he realized that he couldn't escape with the truth he murdered him instead. That's why he can't attract attention to himself now.

Re: CONCLUSION

[goneastray]

I've been thinking this over a lot. Since I don't like being wrong about things. And I'm really, really sure it's Person 5. Not only did he try to blame me—And Mr. X was someone I owed a big favor too! But he also talked about his body as a mess and said he could do a cleaner job and that he deserved to die. Those really aren't things a nice person would say about someone else. It's him for sure! I just hope you catch him so I can know I did a good thing for Mr. X.

Re: CONCLUSION

[bondingspirits]

Um, to be honest, it's really hard to concentrate on another crime when I have my own hanging above my head so I'd like to confess to that while we're here. Yes, I was the one who committed fraud with those inventions. Those ideas weren't even mine, and to be honest, it doesn't matter since none of them work. Sorry about that.

Oh, and since I'm at least cooperative, I'll go with the others and agree that it is the knight.

The one that isn't a bird.

Can birds really be knights? Really?