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]

...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.]

[turnaboutcoupons]

[Usually, Palaeno doesn't mind being lectured, but he's being lectured by a convicted murderer. Just like how he used to be lectured by his secretary who turned out to be member of a smuggling ring. How low he's fallen.]

Reckless, hm? I don't think anyone's ever called me that before. I can't say it's a particularly refreshing change...

[devilsworkday]

...You're welcome to express your thoughts to me here, you know.

It's not as though I can do anything, and it's not as though I would have besides, even when we were out there. What I did wasn't done because I took pleasure from it.

[...okay maybe smashing gramarye's head in came with a tiny bit of pleasure but that's it really he promises]

[turnaboutcoupons]

Ah, no, there's not really anything to express. ...And I don't need you to justify your actions to me. It's still none of my business.

[Besides, murderer or no murderer, his politician reflexes stop him from expressing negative thoughts about people in public.]

[devilsworkday]

Oh, I'm not trying to justify anything; some things shouldn't be, after all.

[The smile is back; as usual, it's just...something to do with his face. A familiar reaction, nothing more.]

If there's anything you need to know, feel free to ask; I'm going to be working out whether or not escape from this place is viable or not, in the meantime.

Let me know if you have any ideas, hm?

[turnaboutcoupons]

[Ah. Hm. Well, it's good to know that Kristoph doesn't think lightly about his past crimes. Even so, there's a kind of lightheartedness about it that strikes Palaeno as worrying. How can a person admit their actions weren't justified and smile about it?

He ends up bowing his head, wringing his hands together in his lap.]

The only remotely plausible idea I have would be for us to lure the badger into this room, overpower him and escape through the door. [But considering how well all his other ideas have gone, it's probably no good.]

[devilsworkday]

...Well, there is a group of us and only one of it, so I'm not going to say it's a bad idea.

[...Although...]

I do have to wonder what happens if one of us dies down here, however, in an escape attempt or otherwise...whether we would just end up back down here, or if it would be similar to what happened with Miss Hawthorne.

[turnaboutcoupons]

[...Kristoph you'd better not be expecting anyone to volunteer for this experiment. Palaeno's had quite enough of dying and he's sure most people here would agree.

That said, it's an interesting concept.]

Hm... It'd certainly be a great help if we could simply exit through the mirrors in the library. Only one of us would have to suffer that fate. What's most important is that we alert the people upstairs of our survival.

[devilsworkday]

[...That was surprisingly mercenary of you, Palaeno. Either you're more interesting than he first thought, you are just out of damns to give, or he's a terrible influence.]

My thoughts exactly, but I'm not willing to attempt it unless we know the results will be in our favor. Otherwise, it's going to be senseless at best, and it may give us hideous results at worst.

[turnaboutcoupons]

[He was being hypothetical Kristoph. ...And if they're really desperate they can always send Matt Engarde or Simon Keyes through, but without any guarantees it would work, he'd much rather stick to hypothetical. It's a good thing Kristoph agrees. Or, well, claims to agree.]

Indeed. Life and death isn't the sort of thing we should subject to idle experimentation. Certainly not when there are still other options to look into. At the moment, I think our best chance would be to have the badger open that door for us.