>>16296
No response. You hear movement originating from above again though. Sounds like someone is on the third floor.

I dash from the bathroom to Krauss's study, taking the same position that I did before.

"I said, 'Who's there?'!"

Last edited at 14/09/04(Thu)16:53:04

>>16298
No response. Doesn't seem to be any more sounds of movement.

I quickly head back downstairs and outside to investigate the guest house. No reason to take any more unnecessary chances.

>>16300
You rush out of the mansion and head to the guesthouse.

You see nothing on the way there. Upon entering the building you find that it too is rather silent.

I search the entire guesthouse. If I don't find anything, I head back to the mansion and back into the obvious trap.

>>16302
You search the guesthouse and fail to find anything worth noting.

On your way back to the mansion you can see movement from up on the third floor in Kinzo's study. You head back up the stairs and then to the third floor.

Now in front of the door to the study you can hear voices inside too muffled to make out who or what they are saying.

I knock on the door.

>>16304
Any voices you hear stop and there is a pause. After a moment you hear, "Who is there!?" being yelled out by Rudolf from within the study.

"This is Guinevere English! I just woke up tied in your basement and when I got out I couldn't find anyone. I demand to know the meaning of this right this instant!"

Last edited at 14/09/04(Thu)17:16:19

>>16306
You hear some arguing inside of the room and they tell you to back away from the door. After doing so the door slowly opens with gun sticking out almost immediately.

Slowly you can see inside and Rudolf stands there holding the gun which is pointed at yourself. Behind him you can see many of the other missing people, although I suppose at this point you were the one actually missing.

"Alright, we've decided to let you in. However we need to tie you up, for precaution sake. If you didn't notice there have been murders." he says quickly, gesturing with his raised gun.

"You're going to tie me up again?" I show him my wrists and give him a glare. "Very well. Do what you feel is necessary."

I let them tie me up.

Last edited at 14/09/04(Thu)17:27:33

>>16308
You enter the room and Rudolf and Hideyoshi quickly tie you up so that you cannot move your arms. They then sit you down and tie you to a chair.

While they are doing this you can see the people in the room. Over on the left side Rosa, Kyrie, and Eva are standing close to wall. Battler, George, Ange, and Jessica are over by the liquor cabinet. Asune, Reinon, Sanon, and Gohda are beside them.

Finally, in front of the desk in the room sits Genji who has also been tied up just like you.

"What happened?" I ask. "The last thing I remember is coming to the mansion. Then..."

>>16310
“… I suppose I should just explain from the beginning.” Rudolf admits as he moves to a better position to tell his tale.

"I woke up in the morning and headed to the dining hall with my wife. There we met everyone who had also gathered. We were going to eat, however it became obvious that Krauss had yet to come down. During this time I decided to go upstairs and find him, Hideyoshi and George came with me."

>>16311
"When we reached the second floor we took a look inside his study and his room but to no luck. Eventually George noticed through the window of Jessica’s room that Krauss was inside. We had to break the window in order to enter. Inside we found Krauss dead… murdered. After searching the room for a while I came across the key on top of Jessica’s desk. "

>>16312
After this we decided that it was best to lock the door, and we did thusly. Immediately after this we heard a scream from downstairs and a gunshot. We rushed down and saw Genji standing in front of the parlor’s doors with a gun. The others who we left in the dining room came out to see what was going on.

>>16313
I took the gun away from him and asked what had happened. He merely said "I killed her" We then tried to open the door but found it locked, so we decided to break it down.

>>16314
Inside we found Natsuhi's body. The key to the parlor was found inside the room, just like Krauss's. I don’t know what I was doing, but I decided to search everything. Perhaps I was in shock. I didn't see anything odd with the couches, nor any of the locks. I kept looking out of the window trying to see if someone was running away, but of course I found nothing. The windows had all been shut and locked as well.

>>16315
Finally, we tied up Genji and decided that it was best to head to the study. We took his key and made this room our base. There were four other guns in this room so as you can see we are armed. We tried to make Genji talk, but he won’t make a sound. We then decided to sit around and wait the rest of the day out, for that is all we can do with this damn storm.

>>16316
"Eventually we heard some sounds coming from downstairs, we were almost going to investigate, but they went away. I’m guessing this was you." he says as he takes a look at you. "Now you are caught up."

"I see. So that's how it is. I had a difficult experience as well. Last night, I went upstairs to find Krauss so that I could discuss Kinzo's will with him. As I approached his door, I was attacked."

I tell them everything that happened to me afterwards in detail.

"The only thing I know about my assailant is that he wore servant shoes. That could be Genji, but...did you check the ammunition of the gun he held?"

>>16318
"Yes, a single bullet appeared to have been shot. Judging from Natsuhi's body I'd say it matches up."

"Was Krauss shot as well?"

>>16320
"No, he had been cut up. Stabbed a few times I think." he explains to you.

I look at Gohda and Genji's shoes to see if I recognize them.

>>16322
Both of their shoes seem like the pair you saw, however they are rather similar. Doesn't seem like you can make any clear distinction.

"Has anyone noticed anything else unusual over the last couple of days?"

>>16324
It doesn't seem like anyone has much to comment in those regards.

"When Rudolf and the others went upstairs, Natsuhi and Genji were in the dining hall with everyone else, right? Why did they leave? Also, did anyone else leave during that time?"

>>16326
Kyrie responds, "I believe they left because Rudolf and the others were taking so long. She asked Genji to go with her."

Everyone agrees that nobody else had left the dining room during that time.

"And Rudolf and the others stayed together the entire time? Also, where are the guns normally stored?"

>>16328
"Well pretty much, we each individually searched the second floor."

You remember the guns are stored here in a cabinet in the corner of the study.

"How much time would you say passed between the time that Genji and Natsuhi left the dining room and everyone in the dining hall heard the sound of gunfire? Was it enough time for him to go to the third floor, grab a gun, and come back?"

>>16330
Kyrie tells you that while she can't give an exact time, but it is possible he could have made it there and back within that time.

"I'm fairly certain we would have seen him though." Rudolf adds

Last edited at 14/09/04(Thu)20:34:45

"Is it possible that Natsuhi triggered some kind of trap in the parlor? If Genji wouldn't have been able to make it past you, that means the gun would have to have been hidden somewhere on the first floor. Perhaps the trap activated when Natsuhi opened the parlor door. Otherwise, we have to assume that Genji killed someone with a weapon he knew would make a great amount of noise and then not even attempt to escape. That's ridiculous to me."

>>16332
"Perhaps that is the case, but we can't take any chances. The both of you will remain tied up until we can get off this god forsaken island."

"One more thing. And this might be nothing, but it's something that has bugged me throughout these iterations: where is Kinzo's will right now?"

>>16334
"Krauss took it with him after dinner. Haven't seen it since." Hideyoshi informs you.

"Something to keep in mind next time.

I don't mind waiting it out until morning, but could I at least be untied from this chair? I haven't given you a reason to suspect me and I'm already covered with bruises and cuts. I'm no threat with my hands behind my back. If we're going to wait hours for Kawabata to get back, can I at least do it comfortably?"

Last edited at 14/09/04(Thu)22:10:50

>>16336
"I don't think that is a good idea." Rudolf says.

"...What harm can she do? When you think about it we have guns." Rosa explains.

Rudolf takes a moment to think.

"Fine, I'll loosen the ropes. However you have to stay right there otherwise we'll just tie you up again."

He then unties your ropes.

"In a way, it's a good thing that your daughter became sick, Rosa. At least someone was able to be spared from this madness."

I wait for something to happen.

>>16338
You stay seated and begin to wait around for something to happen. Rudolf slowly paces back and forth looking around the room and occasionally back at you.

The cousins seem to be rather silent and Ange occasionally bugs Battler to do something, not fully understanding the situation they are all in.

The other adults don't fair much different as they sit around waiting. At some point Kyrie started playing with the chess board but decided whatever it was wasn't worth it.

The servants have sat down as well. Doesn't seem like much is happen.

A few hours pass and finally something happens. You thought it was just your ears playing tricks at first, but you can clearly hear... something. Looking around there doesn't seem to be any clear source of the sound.

Eventually your eyes rest on Genji who seems to be... swallowing something? He wears a pained expression and his mouth and eyes are clenched shut.

"Genji, what's wrong? Hey, someone help!"

Last edited at 14/09/04(Thu)21:15:25

>>16340
The others are quickly galvanized and Rudolf goes over to Genji to grab him by the collar. You can see Genji, for the first time, let out a small, yet spiteful smile.

With a large cough blood spills from his mouth and covers Rudolf's face. It pours onto his clothing and soaks the floor. Rudolf drops him onto the ground where he remains motionless.

"What is going on" "Eva what are you doing?" "He is dead!" "What?" "How could-" "Oi what is wrong Jessica?" "I didn't even hear anything!" "Rudolf are you ok?"

Everyone yells turn into an incoherent mess. Rudolf drops his gun and he tries to wipe away the blood from his face. The adults begin to raise their guns, confused to just what is happening. You try to make sense of it yourself by looking around, however your vision becomes blurry.

No... not now... why? That's impossible... this is...

You feel something give away in your chest, followed by a sharp pain. With a quick motion you fall face first onto the ground. The last thing you see is Genji's dead eyes staring back at you, and his blood stained face plastered with that satisfied smile.

Darkness engulfs you. You have died once more.

~~~~~

>>16341
BGM: Silent Night
Titbits... Tiny morsels, that was what is left.

The man sat with his hand on his chin. Throwing out tiny piece after piece. It had been this way for a while now. He was running out.

Snap -- 7 days, Snap -- 2 days.

After that last handful, he stopped reaching in his bag. He knew it was empty. Sure, he could make more in time however... he just doesn't have that.

The creature cocks its body. Confused, perhaps as it sways back and forth. The man knew after being in this room for so long that this thing didn't get hungry. Despite eating, its actings was a veil. A veil that hid something, the core to what perplexed the man.

With uneasy thoughts, he tried to confey his words. Slowly and methodically he continued to make gestures in this voiceless prison. All he wanted to know is; what do you want?

Staggered, quick movements instantly halted. The message had been clearly conveyed. With one motion it responded.

It pointed directly at the man himself.

~~~~~

Your mind hazes back into your head. As if anticipating it, you find your left leg to be missing.

In the darkness you can hear the bones being gnawed on. Snapping bit by bit. With a disgusting gulp you can hear the rest of your leg met its end.

With a cheshire grin it lets blood seep through its teeth. "...rule...once... more..."

Looks like you've got another attempt at this, only a limb per rule. What a fair price.

"The player can win the game before the first time skip."

Last edited at 14/09/04(Thu)21:42:39

>>16343
It once again unhinges it's mouth and borrows someone else's voice.

"It is impossible to win the game before the first time skip."

With your blue denied you fall backwards once again into the depths of your mind.

>>16344

>>16345
Once more the boat greets your feet with a firm step.

With the wind in your hair you go about yet another change into a different person. This time back to that of man, hair changes color and glasses sprout from your face.

With this newest transformation complete you stand up and look over the sea, ready to start the fourth round.

Fourth Thread: https://archive.seacats.net/gameboard/res/16346.html