>>165
"...ok," Aurora replied. "Just tell me what you need from me. I'm trusting your read of the situation."

>>166
Kai started burying the bomb, looking to you to help cover it up well enough, assumine you do she continues. "If they are truly intent on using their bomb... then I will retrieve our own. I will find a way to carry the bomb on my person and simply stay as close as possible to them. Using force is out of the question, as Aiko is far too strong to be subdued. However, this will hopefully not come to pass. For now... we will assume the best of them, and pray that they will return the favor. Is this... acceptable?" Kai looked at Aurora with worry and at you with a more serious look.

>>167
Aurora thought for some time, her face unreadable. Then she nodded. "I'm with you. 100%."

>>168
"Alright. Let's at least give them a chance at trust."

>>169
Your group leaves the area, unlocking the gate with the key, and then heading into Area 2. As you are almost to the area 3 gates you clearly the sound of an explosion from the area. You rush along and unlock the gate and see a cloud of dust and debris flow out of the guest house building.

In front is Kizami, and shortly after Gachari comes out of the building damp and covered in debris. After a moment Aiko joins up with the group from around the corner.

Head to the Group Thread.

Total: 50

>>172
I'll need to check my plants. Maybe plant a few more if I can find any more seeds in the shed.

>>173
You head back there and find your plants to have sprouted surprisingly fast but you can't complain. Notably the sprout from the heart shaped seed has a soft glow coming from it still.

You spread some fertilizer and make sure they are all good and taken care of.

>>174
Kai and Aurora enter the garden seemingly looking for you. Kai approaches you and gives a professional salute. "We have come to inform you that they know about what we found in the fountain. Taku input the last combination into the fountain and found it empty. There is a room with a pickaxe on it which seems like it might be useful. Thus concludes the report."

>>176
Aurora says, "Alright, I guess if we're going to have this work, we'll need to set up some kind of shifts for watching our spot. Andy, can you cover some of the night shift?"

>>177
"Shifts to cover the bomb? I still think we should just safely detonate it. Standing outside by ourselves at night is just far too dangerous...."

Last edited at 18/08/07(Tue)21:39:11

>>178
"Shifts.... While I do not relish the thought of putting anyone but myself under the burden of watching over that bomb, I cannot be there constantly. Perhaps a controlled detonation would be best...?"

Kai looked worriedly at Aurora. Probably wondering if she would accept that.

>>179
Aurora looks at both of you, stunned. Then she throws up her hands. "I thought we had a plan! A plan to root out the next treacherous murderer in our midst by dangling a weapon and seeing who tried for it. Now you both just want to blow it up? Fine! Fine. I guess I'm outvoted. Display to them how we lied, that's sure to keep the crosshairs off our backs."

She turns to walk away, frustrated. "When I end up dead, find the rotten bastard who did it, yeah?"

Unless you stop her, she would leave.

Last edited at 18/08/07(Tue)22:28:03

>>180
"I... I won't let that happen," Kai managed to say as Aurora left, her gloved fists tightening. It looks like she is unsure what the best course of action is.

Last edited at 18/08/08(Wed)18:43:40

>>181
"Detonate it. You can blame me when the others ask. I solved it without you and hid it."

>>182
Kai took a deep breath.

"I... I will. Maybe when this bomb is gone... Aurora will return to normal." Her voice shook as she said that, but she kept a firm expression. "However, we will do this together. Let us make sure that no one is around the blast site, as we do not know how much damage it will cause."

The two of you head to the site and find nobody there. You, being the ultimate miner, can tell the dirt in the hole has been disturbed since you left it.

>>183
"Kai, back off from that hole. Something's off. Somebody disturbed the earth.

Tch. Is it a trap? Or did somebody steal the bomb? Either way is bad."

>>184
Kai looks around carefully, checking for anyone watching. "Be careful. If you trust me... you could dig it up and check on it. I will keep watch."

>>185
"No way. They could have buried a second bomb that they intend to detonate when I get close.

But this is troublesome.... I don't know how we should handle this."

>>186
"This is... this is bad. Very bad." That didn't even begin to describe it. "We... I should not have let Aurora give into her fears like this. We should have destroyed it from the start." Kai began pacing anxiously.

"Is there a way to ward this area off? No matter what... we must come clean and tell everyone the exact situation. Panic comes from poor information; another bodyguard's maxim."

>>187
"Let's talk options.

If we hit the detonator and the bomb is still in that hole, it detonated and any trap blows up with it.

If we hit the detonator and somebody picked up the bomb.... if they still have it, they die..... if it was placed somewhere, it's only a danger if somebody is nearby.

Honestly, it feels like detonating is still the best option."

>>188
"But if... if someone took it and is nearby... I will kill them. And there will be a class trial. And then I will die, too." The prospect sounded hollow coming from her mouth and you notice her gloved hand grasping the detonator. "I... I protect people. I don't kill them. I'm not sure if I...." Kai looks unable to make a decision and is getting more worried by the moment.

>>189
"Give me the detonator. I'm willing to take this chance. It's the best option for us all if we rid ourselves of this bomb."

>>190
With a great deal of contemplation she hands you the detonator.

You take it, and with a quick movement of the finger you press the button. You hear an explosion come from the guest house building. Nothing happens to the hole whatsoever.

>>191
Andy follows you to the building and upon entering you notice smoke clearly coming from Nao's room. You head over and can see the door has been blown off its hinges somewhat and is now open with the room itself charred. Investigating inside the room itself reveals that there is no actual body. In fact nobody is in the room. However the damage is clear it does indeed look like a bomb went off here as some of the walls are nearly falling apart and the bed and furniture are completely broken. You see the totems you found a while ago in the room charred black, however there are some unsual large pieces of black fabric burnt to a crisp.

Last edited at 18/08/09(Thu)21:26:23

>>192
"What in the world...?" Kai muttered something under her breath that sounded like a German curse. She reaches down and examines the black fabric a bit.

"I... apologize for earlier," Kai managed to say, as she looked to see if anyone else noticed and was arriving.

Last edited at 18/08/09(Thu)21:27:39

>>193
"Tch. Somebody was planning a murder. Well, we foiled it...."

Assuming it is still just Kai and I, I'll speak to her.

"Well, somebody was planning a murder. Should we try to discover and accuse them? Or is that likely to lead to more group fracturing?"

Nightime! Continue posting here.

>>195
Once again, Kai muttered a curse in German. "If that is the case... perhaps we should proceed with our earlier plan. Is it possible to put the door back on the hinges and make it look normal from outside? I could watch from across the hall. That room appears to be vacant."

On closer inspection however it would prove difficult, the door itself has some noticeable black marks on it and you would have to get new hinges.

>>196
"I do not think this was the work of Aiko. With her help, I have a plan to catch our would-be murderer."

"Remember when Aiko ripped a door off of its hinge? What if we got her to take one of the other doors and replace it with the one to this room? It just needs to be superficial enough to fool our would-be murderer into thinking that the door has not been harmed. I will stake out an empty room across the hall, and if we find someone trying to open Nao's room...."

"Hey, uhhhh..... something's off, Kai. There was an explosion. How come nobody else has shown up yet?"

>>198
As you say this however you notice Aiko, speaking of the devil, walk into the building and notice you guys. She walks up the stairs and comes over to you.

"Is e-everyone okay? What happened here?" she asks the two of you.

>>199
"It would seem that Kai and I have foiled a murder attempt."

>>200
Before Aiko can respond Kai speaks up. "Aiko, I am putting my trust in you. We acquired a bomb and a detonator by solving the riddle of the fountain, but buried it to lure out a possible killer. We failed, and the bomb vanished, and we decided to make sure no one was around and detonated it."

"It was in Sugimoto Nao's room. Whoever stole this bomb will come back for it. What I want you to do, Aiko... is swap this charred door for another one that will not be noticed. Take the door to an empty room, rip it off of its hinges, and put it in this doorway. Disguise it as best as you can. I will stand watch and keep an eye out for who approaches Nao's room to retrieve the bomb, and the door should be enough to catch them in the act. Is this acceptable?"

>>201
At first Aiko seems surprised and unsure but it seems Kai's honesty has convinced her.

"O-Okay! If I can be of help," she says clenching her fist to pump herself up. You tell them you agree to the plan and all three of you get to work.

Aiko then proceeds to rip one of the other unlocked doors off with ease and you aid her to make Nao's new door as inconspicuous as possible. Overall it looks like a decent job although once someone tries to open the door they likely will notice. All three of you decide to hide and peak out of a door of one of the other rooms and begin to wait.

>>202
As you wait, a few minutes after midnight an announcement comes on.

"A body has been discovered! Everyone gather in the guest room building in area 3!"

Investigation Time

"Aurora. You said some harsh things. Truly, I was hurt. But that doesn't mean you deserved to die. Kai and I failed you. For that, I am sorry."

I will begin by investigating the body.

>>205
Their clothing and skin have been burned and blood poured out of any un-burnt portions and other orifices. The bed is covered in the sticky excess seeping from the cracks in the skin. All in all this is the most horrific site you have seen so far when trapped here. Her face is almost no longer what you would consider human.

You notice the hand vaguely around what reminds of the pillow. Under the shambles of a pillow you find a broken taser. Seemingly one Aurora was ready to use for self defense. You also notice her key where her pocket would ahve been.

Bullet Truth Get: Body Description

>>206
Next let's identify information about the murder weapon.

A bomb, yes, but where? Can I discern where the bomb was when it was detonated from the blast markings and position of things in the room? Can I identify anything else about the explosion?

>>207
Judging from the damage you can see the origin was likely right beside the bed where the bedside table normally would be. It is nearly completely destroyed besides the splintered and burnt stump of a table that remains there.

You can't tell much else about the explosion, besides that the amount of damage more or less matches what you saw in Nao's room.

Last edited at 18/08/14(Tue)18:24:49

>>208
Damn. What about the layout of the room? Normally you'd be able to discern if anything had been moved since the explosion because of the blast marks.

I'm not sure what else to search at the moment.....

>>209
Things have been moved by the explosion but it seems that is it. You look at the marks some more and notice the chunks of material laying around. At first you thought it was just some pieces of the bedside table or some other parts of furniture but some pieces have some intricate designs on them. You recall back to Nao's room and feel like some of the pieces here are from a totem.

Bullet Truth Get: Chunks of Charred Wood

>>210
Destroyed totems, huh? What about the door? I'd like to investigate its current state. How are the hinges and locking mechanisms? What about body and the frame?

>>211
The door is charred and damaged mostly on one side and a bit on the edges but still intact. It currently is laying beside the doorway to the room. The lock on the door is still set and you can see the hole in the frame was torn out forcibly by the bolt.

Bullet Truth Get: Door Description

Ka whipped around and took a a gun out of the holster on her pocket. She waved it around at each of the other survivors, shouting something in German before realizing what she was doing.

"Alibis! All of you! I was with Aurora until she ran off, then Andy and I found the bomb was missing! You, one of you stole it! One of you!"

Kai's voice cracked and her face went deathly pale. "Sh-she...! We were going to trap the next killer... and found Aiko after we heard the explosion...!"

"A-Aurora...!!!"

Last edited at 18/08/14(Tue)18:46:29

>>212
"Alibis, huh? As Ms. Bodyguard said, I had been with her almost the entire time. Aurora was with us too, but we had a bit of an argument and she stormed off alone.

At this point it seems a bit silly to try to hide the bombs, huh? We found one and buried it. It had later been dug up while we were not watching..... Well, we will have to discuss this in detail during the trial.

But yeah.... the one time that I was alone was when I was practicing botany. Kai and Aurora soon came along having been looking for me. The rest was as I said earlier."

Last edited at 18/08/14(Tue)18:53:03

I'd like to investigate the hallway. Anything out of the ordinary? I'm rather curious.

>>214
The hallway looks normal minus all the debris from the fountain explosion and the door from Aurora's room in the hallway.

End of Round 3