GRAVEYARD aka the locked basement LOL

[protoshepherd]

[ You're dead. Either you were ousted and seemed as an ally of the Bad Badger, or the actual allies of the Bad Badger actually got to you.

You remember dying. If you were already dead prior to this whole game... well, you're alive again.

Your death may have been terrible. Poison, being stabbed multiple times, blunt trauma to the head, hanged... whatever. You can still feel the pain.

But... Where are you? You see white walls around you. You're in a hospital...? You're in a room, but there's no one else but you and a man in a blue costume. He doesn't want to reveal his real head, so he hides behind a mask. A badger wearing a blue jester's hat.

And... another person? Has that other person been there all along?

Then you remember being in a mansion. Was that all a dream? You try to figure it out on your own, but you can't seem to come up with an answer. If by any chance you look into the badger's empty black eyes, you might feel like you're being taken to a completely different place. It's as if you can see the mansion again. You can see the people talking, but if you try to call out, nothing happens. They can't hear you.

You avert your gaze from the badger, and those images disappear.

There's so much happening. Pain, and this crazy badger.

You, on the other hand, aren't wearing a blue costume. You have a white dress on, with an opening at the back. That was definitely not what you were wearing... or was it?

You have so many questions. But at least you're not alone. Someone can answer those questions for you. ]

--

[ NOTE Your characters will be able to see the events happening in the game while in the graveyard as long as they're looking at the Proto Badger. They cannot participate in any of the polls, or try to converse with anybody that isn't in this room. ]

Comments

[devilsworkday]

[Well, if it's any consolation, if it truly is a nightmare at least you're not being left to deal with it completely alone.

Granted, the people who are keeping you company are probably neither consoling or helpful, but it. It could be worse...]

Mr. Palaeno.

[Kristoph's voice is perhaps surprisingly calm, particularly given the fact that he'd freaked out a bit upon arrival; he hasn't exactly been able to settle so much as he's had enough time to be able to give the appearance that he has, but it's better than nothing.]

You'll be feeling the effects of what they did for a while, but it'll start to pass in time.

[At the very least, the 'migraine' he'd awakened with had! If you're a bit more messed up due to death method...well, sucks to be you, he supposes.]

[turnaboutcoupons]

[Truthfully, this isn't much of a consolation. If he's going to be lying on the ground squirming with pain and a bit of panic, he'd rather do so in private. It could be worse, yes, but it could also be infinitely better.

Needless to say, Kristoph's approach isn't entirely welcome right now. It's good to see him up and about, considering he suffered a 'death' in Palaeno's near proximity, but that's the sort of thing that really just makes it worse in the end. What a horrible mental picture to get stuck with. It's experiences like this that make the softness of the walls and floor ironically fitting. Perhaps it won't be long before one of them crosses that line to complete insanity.

A quiet huff, almost a grumble escapes him and he closes his eyes again.]

... Death is supposed to be permanent.

[devilsworkday]

That's true.

[And completely untroubling, from the sound of it; oh, he's fully aware that he's not particularly welcome here, he can actually read a damn room, unlike a few people he knows. Just the same, he'd rather like to keep his own grasp on sanity, tenuous though it may be, and like hell if that's going to happen if he can't at the very least pretend that everything is going to be fine in some capacity.]

However, we're not the only ones who have suffered 'death' in that place, and as such, we're not the only ones here. So either this is the worst afterlife anyone's ever conceived of, or there's something else going on.

[turnaboutcoupons]

[To die or not to die, that's the question. With so many attorneys who've faced corpses before, it's rather hard to doubt that the bodies of Engarde, Keyes and Ms. Scuttlebutt were real. Yet, how can there be real bodies if their real bodies are, well, here? That doesn't make sense.]

... Even if this is some sort of afterlife, we may very well be wandering the house again within a day. That's what they did. [They being Matt and Simon, but he's too busy pretending to be a curled-up cat to figure out where they are so he can point at them.]

[devilsworkday]

Given the reason they were wandering the house, somehow I doubt you would be put to that sort of purpose; I imagine that sort of behavior will be limited to the Bad Badger's allies.

You're not suited to it, besides.

[turnaboutcoupons]

[He just groans and turns his head slightly, his cheek pressing up against the pillowy floor. He knows he's not a killer and he's still thankful for that fact.]

That wasn't my point. ...Purpose or no purpose, it proves wandering is possible.

[devilsworkday]

It is, but we don't know under what circumstances. If it was something that could be done at will, I've no doubt we would have seen those two earlier than we did; we also never saw Miss Myriam, who's been in here just as long.

[turnaboutcoupons]

[... He sure misses having one of those optimistic girls to talk to. Kristoph's sense of realism is too harsh for him right now. Let's just change the topic.]

I wonder who's next.

[devilsworkday]

[...AND HOW IS THAT ANY BETTER, GOODNESS LORD -

That said, he's neither optimistic nor a teenage girl, but he does have something that's not...quite as horrendously depressing.]

If it's any consolation to you at all, if they can sort themselves out the game can be over as soon as tomorrow. Given how well they're doing so far, I assume they'll manage, if there are no more wrenches thrown in by some sort of third party.

[Because Feys, man.]

[turnaboutcoupons]

...A third party?

[Guess who also hasn't quite gotten the memo about the result of the ousting, yet? He's assuming the voting went as planned and Team Phantom is either brooding in some corner or will be arriving shortly.]

[devilsworkday]

[Oh.]

It seems there was some sort of complication last night.

[...Why does he have to do this.]

...The Feys are here, Mr. Palaeno.

[turnaboutcoupons]

!

[If the Feys are here, that implies Team Phantom is, well, not. Did they make a mistake after all? Even then, this shouldn't have been the outcome.]

...That's impossible. The votes...

[devilsworkday]

...I know. I haven't the vaguest what happened - however, Maya Fey continues to insist that she's innocent, and I'm inclined to believe her.

[turnaboutcoupons]

As am I. I don't believe Mr. Armando and Mr. Blackquill would put up such a grand facade of guilt if they were innocent themselves. Though... Perhaps both teams were allies of the Bad Badger?

[It was said one of the three teams was guilty, but... C'mon, who even trusts the Proto Badger? Especially after how all their votes were disregarded?]

[devilsworkday]

[That...doesn't seem to sit well with him, though he brushes it off quickly enough in favor of the usual smile.]

...Well, we do have a pair of people here who would know for sure, don't we?

[turnaboutcoupons]

If they were informed of the identities of their allies, I suppose we do.

[But Palaeno's not going to ask them anything, because that 'murder' is a bit too fresh in his mind and a literal pain.]

[devilsworkday]

...I'll ask them later.

[Same.]

[turnaboutcoupons]

Hm.

[No objections here, man. His eyes slip shut again and he wets his lips with his tongue. Apparently being poisoned makes a guy really thirsty, but he's not sure he can bring himself to trust any liquids around here.]

[devilsworkday]

[...speaking...of.]

...I assume what was done to you was more my fault than yours.

[It's...a little blank, but it's acknowledgement, anyway.]

I suppose I owe you an apology for that, if what they gave you is what I'm assuming it was. It's not noted for being pleasant.

[turnaboutcoupons]

[An apology? Really? It's surprising- perhaps even a welcome surprise, but he can't deny that Kristoph has a point. It was his fault. Palaeno was doomed to die either way, whether his partner had any horrible crimes to his name or not, but he would've preferred a dagger to the neck. Swift and virtually painless, just like how Manny went.]

... What was it?

[He rather regrets asking that question the moment it leaves his mouth, but it's too late to take it back now.]

[devilsworkday]

Atroquinine. It paralyzes the nervous system, and it's extremely potent - two micrograms are enough to be lethal, I believe it is. Either way, I meant it when I said you didn't want it anywhere near your mouth.

[turnaboutcoupons]

[By now, he can figure out why Kristoph even knows this. He won't ask for any details, though. Those sort of things are best left unsaid. Instead, he manages a somewhat bitter chuckle.]

The concern was appreciated.

[devilsworkday]

I thought you knew about what I had done.

[And he just smiles, really.]

No one is that cooperative at the start unless they're hiding something. It makes you seem a little suspicious, you know.

[turnaboutcoupons]

[Geez Kristoph, way to make it sound like being nice to people is a bad thing.]

Duly noted. [He doesn't know how much good it'll still do him now, but it's noted.] But I was perfectly content to keep my head down and not learn anything I shouldn't.

[devilsworkday]

[It can be. It depends on why you're being nice in the first place.]

Sometimes justice requires seeking out things you shouldn't know but are obligated to find out anyway; there's something to be said about not being reckless, but sometimes it's just as reckless to remain blissfully unaware.

[...well, it's nice to know that even the disgraced attorneys still adhere to bizarre idealism-based statements like that, I guess.]