[If only Dion was more fleet-footed like Rosamund... Anyway, he goes to investigate the shapes! The smell of blood is strongest over here, and it becomes clear why soon. Several bodies are piled against the wall, including a familiar face that might jog some old memories. These people are all definitely mega dead, as every corpse is missing their heart. This one's wound is messy, as though a beast clawed it from its cage. Others are neater, almost like someone has cut it out.
They're just out here in front of god and satan discussing the ins and outs of a wholeass coup, huh. Bold. The book contains information he may already know; mostly just about the cursed nature of the lycoris noirges and how snapping the flowers will hasten a person's grisly TB death.
Scien yanks up the carpet! It's floorboards. But if he looks closely, he'll see that there seems to be a line cutting around the edge of it, almost like a door. Funky! It doesn't seem to have any visible handles, though.]
[ The chase thus far had been a novelty, something new in the monotony if one day after the other. He thought he'd find something to entertain him, maybe gain a bit of notoriety for a moment if he got his claws into some underhanded individual.
But the sight of the bodies gets him to stop, a cold shock to a system previously running hot.
The sight of Joshua elicits almost something close to pain. Perhaps a shadow of it. ]
Joshua...
[ It's been many years since their time together in the fraternity, but it was no less precious for its age.
Unfreezing his limbs slowly, he walks closer to the bodies, trying to see if he can see the missing hearts or any other clue regarding what might've happened here. ]
[so the solution is.... coup and make someone else do it. but scien makes a face and will just tap on the floorboards? what the hell. can they try to pry it open even without a handle....]
[Well! On the plus side, what better way to break up the monotony of a long, long life than a little murder mystery? And what a murder mystery it is! Should he check, he'll find Joshua's body is still warm, his eyes left open and unseeing. The blood soaking this corner of the alley also seems to be relatively fresh, still wet and warm to the touch, though rapidly cooling. There are three other bodies with his, though none look familiar to him.
Examining the area for clues will reveal that some of the hearts are gone - specifically, those from the bodies with cleaner removal wounds. For the ones with messy and beast-like injuries, he'll find the pulpy remains of those same hearts clutched within the corpse's hand. As he's examining things, he'll hear a distant shout from down the alley: There! I see someone!, followed by the sound of running footsteps. Uh-oh... He can stay here to talk to whoever is on the way, if he wants. There's also the second narrow alley the figure escaped down. Finally, he may notice something wet dripping down on him from overhead. What next?
The library nerds, in the meantime, continue their less unfun floorboards examination! They can try to press this funky door-looking thing open, but it seems pretty solidly stuck in place and not like a pressure mechanism is keeping it shut. The gaps on the sides hardly look like they could fit more than 2 sheets of paper, too, so it doesn't seem like prying it up will be an option. They could try to brute strength it, or they could look for another way. Or they could just abandon this spooky door in the floor entirely! The choice is theirs.]
[ Imagine if they think he did all these murders. If he was a sentimental idiot, he might close Joshua's eyes, but instead he doesn't tamper with an obvious crime scene.
Frowning, he'll glance up to see what is wet on him, but only a moment before he's going down that second alleyway in the hopes that he might catch up with the suspicious.
[ but hmmm... diluc will go back to the row of books and see if there are any hidden switches to be found behind or around the books, or there's any part of the shelf itself that can be budged... spooky door, what is the key to your secrets...!!! ]
[thinking about how scien's strength is even more average if he's just a lil baby normie. loser. idiot. fool. so he's not going to succeed in brute forcing the floorboard...
is there anything else in this library besides... all these books. so many shelves of books. if he once again becomes one with the earth (floor) will he notice any other disrupted pieces of carpet or ground]
[i for one think it'd be hilarious for Dion to get arrested for some crazy murderer's crimes. Tragically it is not meant to be... Now he's the one being pursued down an alley, wow! He'll have just enough time to discern that the wetness appears to be coming from the blood dripping off of a hand hanging over a balcony, but not enough time to further investigate. Now he's a man on a mission with justice in his heart...
Following the figure down the second alley won't reveal the figure themselves, considering it's been a little bit of time. Strangely, this alley ultimately leads to a dead end. There are some boxes to the side that look stackable and climbable, though he'll also notice a reddish smear on one of the bricks. From behind him, he'll hear a distant: I think they went down this way!!
As Diluc's looking around behind the books, he'll find what appears to be a lil glass square... A thumbprint scanner! As Scien looks around the library for something other than books, he'll find several ladders, a couple of thick upholstered chairs and couches, and a row of paintings of the Royal Family. Strangely, one seems to be missing. Becoming one with the floor again won't net him any particularly interesting bits of information, but he will kick up some dust that makes him sneeze and might trigger a coughing fit.]
[ ANOTHER BODY? This killer is seriously gunning to win the Reaper's Game.
Keeping the hand in mind, he'll take a second to glance at the smear to discern what exactly it is before starting to climb the boxes so that he can continue his pursuit. He will take a glance around to determine if there's anything else that might've been dropped, but overall he's got hope in his heart of still catching this white whale.
He is also not worried about looking suspicious at all. He is clearly the good guy in this scenario. ]
[ whoa... diluc is not so reckless to just try his own fingie, however he does bring it to scien's attention. ]
...There's something over here. A thumbprint scanner.
[ whose hand do they need... he'll look around some more in the area and see if he's missed anything else. ]
Someone must've been here fairly recently, then. Did you see anyone else leave the party before you?
[ he's assuming someone important would have access to a secret room in the castle, meaning they probably would've been at the banquet full of important people... ]
scien makes problems constantly and thinks that being kicked out of the castle would be a favor, so he's just going to pull off his glove and attempt the fingerprint scanner. he's a royal, unfortunately, is it just royal family access....]
I don't pay attention to anything like that...
[would he be able to remember from his mind palace, vindictive god]
[The smear on the wall appears to be blood, and the brick the smear is on seems a little loose compared to the rest, but Dion is deciding to go become a parkour master now. No bricks for him.
Climbing up the boxes will lead him to a thin ledge that he'll be able to balance on if he's careful. It's only wide enough to put one foot exactly in front of the other, and there doesn't seem to be any dropped items or hints as to where the mysterious figure he's tailing has gone. From here, he can go in one of four directions: back down into the alley, up above where there's another patio (this one without an arm dangling over the edge), to the right in the direction of the Institute and Castle, or toward the left in the direction of Chedis, where he'd come from.
The thumbprint scanner does indeed work for Scien! Good work, Royal Family man with a Royal Family plan. The pad beeps twice after he places his thumb on it, a beam of purple light running across. It beeps twice more, and then the panel in the floor slides open soundlessly. There's a single wooden staircase that disappears into what essentially looks like a black hole, since the dim library lighting is nowhere near enough to illuminate beyond the first few steps.
If either of them reach into their mind palace, they'll recall that a Royal by the name of Mariette had left fairly early. Unusual for her, considering she's always one of the last people to leave.]
[ Look. But uhhh, okay. He'll continue up first onto the patio and take a look around. If there is a way he can make it to the patio where the arm was, he'll try to check that out too. ]
[ WHOA SUCCESS!! diluc's curiosity overtakes his caution, because immediately he wants to go see what this staircase is about. he puts his foot carefully on the first step to test it, though he doesn't descend just yet. looking around, is there anything in the library they can use to light the way...? ]
...Mariette hasn't been around much today.
[ but what is mariette's deal... what do their mind palaces tell them about her other than she likes to stay late at parties... ]
[scien is actively trying to remember who mariette is and is not succeeding because scien cares for so few people. this is on you diluc. he's just sliding his glove back on as i realize he doesn't have his stupid lab coat for this whole adventure... who is he...]
Apparently not.
My guess is that this is a room that only those of royal blood might have access to. Like we need more of those.
[The patio he's currently on is just some guy's patio. There is nothing particularly unusual about it. An ashtray has some half-finished cigarettes and there's a little dying plant on the railing. But! While he's up here, he can indeed see that other patio. He'll have to do some parkouring if he wants to get there, and with a 15 roll, he can manage it decently! Good work, he doesn't go tumbling into the people who are now running into the alley he was just in, trying to find him.
When he gets to the corpse porch, he'll find a corpse that doesn't seem familiar to him at first. Every so often, though, its face and form will glitch into something a little different. Weird!
Diluc searches his mild palace to see what he can find about Mariette. He'll recall that she's the King's closest confidante and supporter, always by his side, and that there are rumors aplenty that she's just as vicious, ruthless, and thirsty for true immortality as he is. Testing the first step makes the wood creak, but it seems solid enough to hold their weight. A glance around the library reveals a few oil lamps that they can take along with them, if they so choose. The wicks are short on most of them, though.]
[ A dying plant... Yet another victim of this carnage.
No, seeing Shoma there will get him to stop in his tracks, tightness rising in his chest again as he tries to process the sight in front of him. Why would Shoma be here? What's the point in this death?
Unsettled, he'll move closer to the corpse, trying to determine if the heart is missing here too, like the others. ]
[Good question, Dion! What is the point in this death? The heart does appear to be missing, this time accompanied by the neater and tidier set of wounds. When he touches Shoma's body, he'll also suffer from the phantom emotions that Shoma felt shortly before his death: anger, despair, fear. The feeling only lasts as long as he's in contact with the body, at least.
With solidly decent rolls of 13 and 15, you fucks make it down the creaky stairs without any mishaps! Yay! With Diluc's one lit lamp, you can see about eight feet in front of you fairly well - which ultimately doesn't do a whole lot of good here, considering the stairs lead down into what appears to be a large, open space.
On first glance, there are several things they could do. They're in a rather large space, but if they wander a bit, they'll find a path branching to the left and one branching to the right. There's also another set of stairs leading to a different door directly across from where they first entered. If they get close enough, they'll be able to hear what sounds like faint screaming from the other side. What next?]
And again, he can feel that pain linger in his own chest, a confusing sensation as he lingers with the reality that this is all that's left of Shoma. There are no more endless days for him or Joshua. They'll disappear in his past as time continues marching on.
Strange.
Getting up, he'll go back the way he came, this time heading in the direction of the Castle and the Institute. ]
[ imagine if our first injury of the cyoa was falling down a fucking flight of stairs in the dark. how pathetic would that be.
anyway, diluc would personally take the stairs to the different door. there's no knowing how much more light they have in this place, so an exit is probably the best course of action for now. he murmurs to scien, if he hasn't split off elsewhere, ]
...Sounds like trouble.
[ he's cautious, but he can't really ignore this, either. someone could be in trouble. (personally, he wants to avoid trouble... but... his innate sense of Justice is leaping out.) ]
[scien isn't a bleeding heart, really. but there is something unacceptable to him about preventable loss of life. when diluc says that, scien will just incline his head toward the door before opening it wide for diluc to step forward]
[Off Dion goes! He can parkour back the same way he got here, leaving Shoma's sad little corpse to slowly chill in the night air.
Following along the narrow ledge will take him deeper into Cerneveaul and lead him to the heart of it, where the Institute and the Castle both reside. Unlike the usual bright blue lights that the Institute is normally lit by, he'll find the entire building bathed in an eerie red glow, instead. The front gate appears to be absent of guards for once; in fact, not a single soul seems to be in sight. On the other hand, he'll catch sight of two Royal Guards carrying a stretcher with what appears to be another corpse off around the side of the Institute, over toward the Castle.
Diluc and Scien both choose to go up the staircase. The door at the top is heavy and metal, but strangely enough, it's been left completely unlocked. They can push it open with relative ease, the only difficulty being in that it's a bigass, heavyass metal door. The noises behind it grow much louder at that point. It's a veritable cacophony of miserable wailing, angry shouting, and some panic and confusion because a certain something is happening in the Institute at this exact moment that's whipped the people here into a bit of a frenzy.
That is to say: welcome to the dungeons! Maybe they've been here before, maybe they haven't, but they almost certainly haven't come through this back entrance before. They're currently in a side room that leads out into the main chamber, where cell after cell of the place is packed full of-- criminals? Surely, right? Well. They're free to look around and find out for themselves! As for the room they're currently in, its walls are adorned in instruments of torture, most bloody and unkempt.]
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They're just out here in front of god and satan discussing the ins and outs of a wholeass coup, huh. Bold. The book contains information he may already know; mostly just about the cursed nature of the lycoris noirges and how snapping the flowers will hasten a person's grisly TB death.
Scien yanks up the carpet! It's floorboards. But if he looks closely, he'll see that there seems to be a line cutting around the edge of it, almost like a door. Funky! It doesn't seem to have any visible handles, though.]
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But the sight of the bodies gets him to stop, a cold shock to a system previously running hot.
The sight of Joshua elicits almost something close to pain. Perhaps a shadow of it. ]
Joshua...
[ It's been many years since their time together in the fraternity, but it was no less precious for its age.
Unfreezing his limbs slowly, he walks closer to the bodies, trying to see if he can see the missing hearts or any other clue regarding what might've happened here. ]
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Believe what you wish. You're welcome to take the king's seat yourself.
[ as for diluc, his priority is...
...wait what is that. he moves closer to investigate the mysterious shape in the floorboards. ]
...Perhaps there's a pressure mechanism?
[ if there's no visible handle on it. idk words. ]
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[so the solution is.... coup and make someone else do it. but scien makes a face and will just tap on the floorboards? what the hell. can they try to pry it open even without a handle....]
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Examining the area for clues will reveal that some of the hearts are gone - specifically, those from the bodies with cleaner removal wounds. For the ones with messy and beast-like injuries, he'll find the pulpy remains of those same hearts clutched within the corpse's hand. As he's examining things, he'll hear a distant shout from down the alley: There! I see someone!, followed by the sound of running footsteps. Uh-oh... He can stay here to talk to whoever is on the way, if he wants. There's also the second narrow alley the figure escaped down. Finally, he may notice something wet dripping down on him from overhead. What next?
The library nerds, in the meantime, continue their less unfun floorboards examination! They can try to press this funky door-looking thing open, but it seems pretty solidly stuck in place and not like a pressure mechanism is keeping it shut. The gaps on the sides hardly look like they could fit more than 2 sheets of paper, too, so it doesn't seem like prying it up will be an option. They could try to brute strength it, or they could look for another way. Or they could just abandon this spooky door in the floor entirely! The choice is theirs.]
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Frowning, he'll glance up to see what is wet on him, but only a moment before he's going down that second alleyway in the hopes that he might catch up with the suspicious.
Now it's a matter of JUSTICE! ]
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[ but hmmm... diluc will go back to the row of books and see if there are any hidden switches to be found behind or around the books, or there's any part of the shelf itself that can be budged... spooky door, what is the key to your secrets...!!! ]
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is there anything else in this library besides... all these books. so many shelves of books. if he once again becomes one with the earth (floor) will he notice any other disrupted pieces of carpet or ground]
This better be worth our time...
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Following the figure down the second alley won't reveal the figure themselves, considering it's been a little bit of time. Strangely, this alley ultimately leads to a dead end. There are some boxes to the side that look stackable and climbable, though he'll also notice a reddish smear on one of the bricks. From behind him, he'll hear a distant: I think they went down this way!!
As Diluc's looking around behind the books, he'll find what appears to be a lil glass square... A thumbprint scanner! As Scien looks around the library for something other than books, he'll find several ladders, a couple of thick upholstered chairs and couches, and a row of paintings of the Royal Family. Strangely, one seems to be missing. Becoming one with the floor again won't net him any particularly interesting bits of information, but he will kick up some dust that makes him sneeze and might trigger a coughing fit.]
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Keeping the hand in mind, he'll take a second to glance at the smear to discern what exactly it is before starting to climb the boxes so that he can continue his pursuit. He will take a glance around to determine if there's anything else that might've been dropped, but overall he's got hope in his heart of still catching this white whale.
He is also not worried about looking suspicious at all. He is clearly the good guy in this scenario. ]
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...There's something over here. A thumbprint scanner.
[ whose hand do they need... he'll look around some more in the area and see if he's missed anything else. ]
Someone must've been here fairly recently, then. Did you see anyone else leave the party before you?
[ he's assuming someone important would have access to a secret room in the castle, meaning they probably would've been at the banquet full of important people... ]
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scien makes problems constantly and thinks that being kicked out of the castle would be a favor, so he's just going to pull off his glove and attempt the fingerprint scanner. he's a royal, unfortunately, is it just royal family access....]
I don't pay attention to anything like that...
[would he be able to remember from his mind palace, vindictive god]
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Climbing up the boxes will lead him to a thin ledge that he'll be able to balance on if he's careful. It's only wide enough to put one foot exactly in front of the other, and there doesn't seem to be any dropped items or hints as to where the mysterious figure he's tailing has gone. From here, he can go in one of four directions: back down into the alley, up above where there's another patio (this one without an arm dangling over the edge), to the right in the direction of the Institute and Castle, or toward the left in the direction of Chedis, where he'd come from.
The thumbprint scanner does indeed work for Scien! Good work, Royal Family man with a Royal Family plan. The pad beeps twice after he places his thumb on it, a beam of purple light running across. It beeps twice more, and then the panel in the floor slides open soundlessly. There's a single wooden staircase that disappears into what essentially looks like a black hole, since the dim library lighting is nowhere near enough to illuminate beyond the first few steps.
If either of them reach into their mind palace, they'll recall that a Royal by the name of Mariette had left fairly early. Unusual for her, considering she's always one of the last people to leave.]
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...Mariette hasn't been around much today.
[ but what is mariette's deal... what do their mind palaces tell them about her other than she likes to stay late at parties... ]
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Apparently not.
My guess is that this is a room that only those of royal blood might have access to. Like we need more of those.
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When he gets to the corpse porch, he'll find a corpse that doesn't seem familiar to him at first. Every so often, though, its face and form will glitch into something a little different. Weird!
Diluc searches his mild palace to see what he can find about Mariette. He'll recall that she's the King's closest confidante and supporter, always by his side, and that there are rumors aplenty that she's just as vicious, ruthless, and thirsty for true immortality as he is. Testing the first step makes the wood creak, but it seems solid enough to hold their weight. A glance around the library reveals a few oil lamps that they can take along with them, if they so choose. The wicks are short on most of them, though.]
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No, seeing Shoma there will get him to stop in his tracks, tightness rising in his chest again as he tries to process the sight in front of him. Why would Shoma be here? What's the point in this death?
Unsettled, he'll move closer to the corpse, trying to determine if the heart is missing here too, like the others. ]
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[ diluc will grab one of the oil lamps—better than nothing. and since he does pay careful attention to those around him, especially in court: ]
...I wouldn't be surprised if you weren't the only one scheming something. I don't trust her.
[ also, ] I'm heading down.
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[but he is scheming
he will get one more lamp but he wont light it yet. he will move to follow after, gesturing for diluc to lead the way]
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With solidly decent rolls of 13 and 15, you fucks make it down the creaky stairs without any mishaps! Yay! With Diluc's one lit lamp, you can see about eight feet in front of you fairly well - which ultimately doesn't do a whole lot of good here, considering the stairs lead down into what appears to be a large, open space.
On first glance, there are several things they could do. They're in a rather large space, but if they wander a bit, they'll find a path branching to the left and one branching to the right. There's also another set of stairs leading to a different door directly across from where they first entered. If they get close enough, they'll be able to hear what sounds like faint screaming from the other side. What next?]
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And again, he can feel that pain linger in his own chest, a confusing sensation as he lingers with the reality that this is all that's left of Shoma. There are no more endless days for him or Joshua. They'll disappear in his past as time continues marching on.
Strange.
Getting up, he'll go back the way he came, this time heading in the direction of the Castle and the Institute. ]
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anyway, diluc would personally take the stairs to the different door. there's no knowing how much more light they have in this place, so an exit is probably the best course of action for now. he murmurs to scien, if he hasn't split off elsewhere, ]
...Sounds like trouble.
[ he's cautious, but he can't really ignore this, either. someone could be in trouble. (personally, he wants to avoid trouble... but... his innate sense of Justice is leaping out.) ]
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Then move.
[he'll follow behind]
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Following along the narrow ledge will take him deeper into Cerneveaul and lead him to the heart of it, where the Institute and the Castle both reside. Unlike the usual bright blue lights that the Institute is normally lit by, he'll find the entire building bathed in an eerie red glow, instead. The front gate appears to be absent of guards for once; in fact, not a single soul seems to be in sight. On the other hand, he'll catch sight of two Royal Guards carrying a stretcher with what appears to be another corpse off around the side of the Institute, over toward the Castle.
Diluc and Scien both choose to go up the staircase. The door at the top is heavy and metal, but strangely enough, it's been left completely unlocked. They can push it open with relative ease, the only difficulty being in that it's a bigass, heavyass metal door. The noises behind it grow much louder at that point. It's a veritable cacophony of miserable wailing, angry shouting, and some panic and confusion because a certain something is happening in the Institute at this exact moment that's whipped the people here into a bit of a frenzy.
That is to say: welcome to the dungeons! Maybe they've been here before, maybe they haven't, but they almost certainly haven't come through this back entrance before. They're currently in a side room that leads out into the main chamber, where cell after cell of the place is packed full of-- criminals? Surely, right? Well. They're free to look around and find out for themselves! As for the room they're currently in, its walls are adorned in instruments of torture, most bloody and unkempt.]
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now in the right place
also moves
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just kidding hehe?
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