onceuponacomm | TRIAL I

Trial V

The sounds of Hamelin's flute reach you, wherever you are. No matter the melody (light and whimsical today) it always seem to signal the start of something unwelcome. Whether you resist or not, eventually you'll find yourself drawn to the origin of the song.

The lush greenery of the palace courtyard greets you at the end of your journey, atmosphere heavy like the party from last night was simply an illusion. And at the center of it all, Hamelin smiles, his mouth curved, as he gathers everyone to one side of the palace grounds. With a short note from his flute, the quiet is broken with a small tremor that only grows and grows until the ground itself seems to erupt with chaos.

There's practically no time to react as roots and branches pierce through from the dirt in a wide circle around the group, limbs entwining around each other densely to create a thick wall of branches that obscure any sight of the outside world. And in that pitch black cage, the rumbling continues underfoot, bringing with it the strange sensation of moving up. When the shaking finally seems to die down, what awaits when the branches loosen and unwind is--

The hollowed inside of a grand tree, its size large enough to be comparable to the palace's ballroom. As you look around, you'll see several oversized toadstools (thirty-one for those inclined to count) growing about the place, and a small wooden table where ballots and quills are laid out, in addition to a hard-covered book with the profiles of each and every one of you. Directly behind the table is a particularly large knot, wide enough to stick your hand into.

A glance to the 'windows' in the tree trunk only show thick branches with their foliage and the wide blue sky; those who approach these windows and look down will also see that anyone who tries to escape this way is going to be leading themselves to a very, very long drop. No other exits are visible anywhere in the tree, either.

As absurd as this entire place was, as absurd as this entire situation was, the only way to get out was to play the game.

It was time. The trial for Samidare Asahina's death had begun.

navigation

rules

shop

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

That must have been what the sharpening stone was used for. But...what purpose would it serve, in this case?

Maybe... maybe the culprit stashed it away when they realized they didn't need to use it...? After she...

[ Ugh. He can't even say it. ]

Considerin' there was other stuff from the workshop up on the roof, I'm wonderin' if it was used in the little contraption the culprit set up.

Oh, so there was something else in the attic after all... I used it as a way to get up onto the roof, as neither the trellis nor the rope would have held me, but I do wonder what the purpose of the holes in the roof must have been. The larger was still too small for me as is, so I did have to widen it slightly at the time.

If, as William posited, the chimney was used as a counterweight -- and if, as Miss Edelgard noted, the killer could have left from the outside of the house -- then what need to damage the roof? Curious.

...An accident, maybe?

Edited 2021-06-05 17:15 (UTC)

Quite an accident, particularly if it happened twice in the span of a single scene... I really can't picture what would have gone on for that to happen. A fight on the rooftop?

But our investigators seem to be claiming that the rooftop was merely set up by our culprit...

I don't know...maybe there was a pulley system, but now thinking about it, it did sound like there was a struggle of some kind on the rooftop, given the state of the tiles...

[ said investigator is here, hi, yes ]

If there was a fight on the rooftop, I would expect more debris and damage which could probably help me figure out movement patterns.

If there was a prolonged fight, we'd also likely see more injuries on Samidare herself. It seems to me that she was knocked out by the hit to her abdomen fairly quickly.

I would even go as far as to consider that she was probably taken by surprise, if there were no other attempts needed to down her and she did not have a chance to defend herself for a prolonged period of time.

The hit incapacitated her, even if it did not make her lose consciousness, and she was hung after.

And all of it could have occurred on the roof. But why the rope?

I mentioned this earlier-- [ lost in all the arguing, probably ] but my hypothesis was that the killer climbed onto the rooftop first, likely to scout the likelihood of a secluded area to dispose of the body, and then used the rope to lift Samidare's body up to the rooftop, where they wrapped the rope around her body so as to dispose of both things at the same time.

[ shrugs ]

It is a hypothesis for now, but one that cannot be disproved completely just yet.

Then... perhaps on the trellis? Would a struggle have created the type of damage you and miss Yor saw?

No. The only damage to the trellis were the kind which would have been caused by people climbing it.

As far as I could see there was no damage that would have happened from a physical tussle.

Then... what about the barricades? I confess, I am not as experienced in investigating such crime scenes as many seem to be -- much of this seems confusing and conflicting when put together. Was the culprit someone Samidare trusted, or not? Was she running away, or not...?

[ FROWNS ]

I was not aware of the fact that there were barricades until we arrived at this meeting and people were discussing it - I was under the impression that the only place of interest was the mansion where the body was found.

... Perhaps this is a question better placed for someone who managed to examine those barricades.

(no subject)

edamamepon - 2021-06-05 18:05 (UTC) - Expand

They used the oven If they jumped down they could have just gone in through the door to use it

I'm afraid I don't follow... was the use of the oven somehow connected to the roof damage? Or do you mean that the oven was used before they went up?

If the oven smelled of clay because of the tiles, wouldn't that mean it was used after the roof damage?

You thinking the killer tried to make replacement tiles to hide the damage?

That seems a lot of effort to go to with the body nearby...

I was wonderin' if the trellis wasn't the only way up ta the roof. What'd you end up doin' ta get up there?

Why, I stacked the boxes that were in the attic, and then removed a few more tiles with a broom. It was a little rough on the crime scene, I'm afraid, but as there were already people looking it over I thought it couldn't hurt...?

My aim was to retrieve Samidare's body, after all. We couldn't simply throw her off the roof.

[Oh my god, Jack. This must have been after he left, though.]

Did ya...tell Will an' Koto ya did that?

Edited (it was my turn to double small) 2021-06-05 17:37 (UTC)

They were... still on the roof at the time?