TRIAL | WEEK FOUR

[divus]

FOURTH TRIAL

The participants' sleep the night before is blessedly free of god-sent dreams, and when they wake and the morning dawns bright and early, they find themselves drawn to the courtyard.

The courtyard looks mostly the same as it did the day before - filled with statues of each of the participants, with frosted glass-topped coffin at the center. However, now that the trial has begun, the coffins of our victims are open, their bodies is available for examination.

Cunning, for obvious reasons, is standing alone among the statues, waiting for everyone to arrive. His arms are folded over his chest and he's leaning against whatever statue is conveniently behind him, eyeing the participants as they fill the courtyard. When the last participant arrives, he speaks.

"So hey, thanks to someone today's trial will be a little different. You know these things still need two of us, right?"

A voice interrupts him, coming from the courtyard's entrance. "Don't worry, I'm not going to make you do this alone. I'm here now, so we can get this started!"

Ambition, clad in her usual mask and flowing robes, strides forward. In stark contrast to last week's appearance, she seems much more composed than before - in fact, she seems perfectly at ease, and she heads up to join Cunning, crossing her arms and surveying the group imperiously.

"Cunning's in charge of field trips today, and I'll be handling your questions. Try not to ask anything too ridiculous, got it?"

Behind them, above the doorway to the altar room, marble busts appear depicting the masked faces of the five suspected gods, names etched upon their stands: Merriment, Ambition, Justice, Cunning, and Disorder. The culprit is among their ranks, but which team will bear the burden?

Good luck, everyone. You have nine hours to cast your vote... and your time starts now.

VICTIMS;



SUSPECTS;

OOC NOTES

Hello, everyone, and welcome to our fourth trial!

Each trial is surrounded by different circumstances, so don't expect this one to play out the same way as the last, but for now we're going to cut back a bit on the overview and trust you all to go forward on your own. Still, read on for a general reminder on what to keep in mind while playing with the game's specific trial mechanics:

Participants will have the chance to investigate a preserved version of the temple as it was on murder night by providing the name of the location they wish to investigate to the appropriate host. Only one location may be investigated at a time, and no more than three characters should take part in the investigation. Clues from the death announcement dream and the characters' bodies themselves will provide hints for which places you may want to investigate, so these will serve as good ic talking points. The accompanying host is able to manipulate the environment upon request to allow you to test theories. We suggest that you visit locations to confirm or deny theories that have come up in discussion at the trial, or to search for clues if you get stuck. The others can and should continue to brainstorm while the investigation crew is away. Characters may revisit previously searched locations.

The purpose of these trials is determining which god is considered responsible for the actions of their follower, and in turn, which god will therefore lose a follower. Ultimately, your task here is to sway the group at large into voting the way best plays to your strategy and not just for solving a crime. Remember that no matter what conclusion you come to, there's never any guarantee that any actual culprit will be up for execution. We highly encourage that you start early thinking about which god may have had the most to gain from the crime, so you aren't finding yourself voting blind at the last moment. When you're ready, please place your character's vote over on the voting page. Voting will close at 6PM PST/9PM EST, and will serve as our activity check for the week, so please be sure you get your vote in before it ends unless you have contacted us previously.

If you have any questions at any time, please let do us know by pinging us on Discord or on plurk! Britt (bloodthirstiest) is taking point on the trial today, and Danielle (entrappings) is her backup.

Thank you, and have fun!

full navigation.

locations ♦ taken ♦ profiles ♦ weekly curfew ♦ murder proposals
ic rulebook ♦ temple offerings ♦ private convos

Comments

[odasaku]

Fortune's wasn't too kind either.

[ he frowns ]

We're not sure if it was done by the same killer [ considering murderer luna theory ] but if they are, then they must really hate the gods.

[sedulitas]

Yeah.

[ most of her came from falling but you know. still bad. all bad. ]

Given the brutality of the murders, I think we possibly could think that they were by the same person.

[usogi]

.... I'm still having trouble deciding if the person who hurt Fortune last week worked alone.

I talked to Bambi after everything, and she gave me the hint that whoever hurt Fortune didn't need an accomplice, they were strong enough to do it on their own. That's not to say that there definitely was or wasn't one but....

I think Ray-kun might be onto something with Luna-san possibly being the one who did it, too. But if all three killers are alive, then she couldn't have been the one to hurt Ruin this time.

So maybe someone else was working with her?

[selfimmolates]

Newt and I discussed this earlier, but it's likely someone with Ambition—besides Rachel—was involved with a murder last week. In particular, I suspect they planted the bloody handprint.

[usogi]

Yeah, I guess Bambi couldn't have told us that... I don't know if they would've stayed with Ambition or swapped some more while everyone else was.

[arockstar]

Yeah, I agree. I think Luna has likely been working with someone from Ambition since last week, especially based on the Equivalent Exchange evidence.

[digestif]

I think it goes without saying that there's more than one person trying to kill the gods. The question is whether they were actively working together or not.

[ Mizuki sighs. ]

If you want my opinion - Luna-kun was a mysterious character, and didn't seem inclined to share a secret that heavy with someone. My guess is that there are two or more killers acting independently.

[covenantal]

I agree with Mizuki-san. Luna-san... I don't think she's the type of person who would have sought or even accepted this kind of help. It's just a feeling, but I'd guess she worked alone.

Which would mean someone else had the same idea to try and go after the gods directly.

[bakaomi]

... maybe Luna tried again but someone else got there first? They could have also taken her down too, maybe.

[covenantal]

[ ... ]

Meaning one person could have killed both Luna and Ruin?

[bakaomi]

[ shrugs ]

That or Luna might have run into someone else who got her instead, and someone else got Ruin. Like when we were talking about the dreams... it looked like Ruin danced out of the way of something, but then she got killed, right?

[sedulitas]

I think that might be likely given what we know about the other bodies.

[selfimmolates]

Yeah, I agree.

[usogi]

[senri will always listen to ray honestly,]

Eh...?

Hmm... I guess if Ray-kun thinks so.

[digestif]

It's not far-fetched. They might not have considered it a possibility until last week happened. And there are plenty of people here who don't like the gods.

[ themself included. ]

It's a matter of finding out who would go this far... and take this much pleasure in it.

[usogi]

[WELL NOW THAT THEY KNOW ABOUT THE MESSAGES - ]

I think they were.... because it sounds like someone felt like sending really ominous messages twice. Luna-san could've been the Ruin follower that swapped their injuries to Aimi, since her coin was tarnished, but whoever did this to Ruin still felt like leaving another message this time.

[selfimmolates]

It's possible they were hoping to frame it on the ex-Ruin follower—whether or not they realized that she was going to die that night anyway.

[he's standing by his LUNA WAS WITH RUIN theory. :/ ]

[usogi]

Ugh, gross. Two crazies.

[covenantal]

A copycat move to throw us off, maybe?

[usogi]

Maybe... Has anyone asked Bambi what powers were used? I know we all have to use them this week, but - the ones specific to the trial...

[whirlingmace]

Lunlun seemed to really like stirring up thoughts and questions.

[digestif]

Mm, she did. She was hard to read.

[whirlingmace]

[ This is from before she scoots off to find balls okay. ]

Would it count if a critter killed Ruin?

[usogi]

I don't think so - the dragons and stuff were hers, right? So wouldn't she be up for voting? It's probably whoever cornered her out there...

[odasaku]

Luna doesn't really remind me of someone that would go and murder someone...maybe she'd...I don't know, plan it. Work behind the scenes.

[ oda shrugs ]

Or maybe it was the opposite and she just knew something that we didn't and didn't want to tell us about it. That seems like her.