Fifth Trial

[bathymetric]

[ There's a long while of examination before the Mayor speaks up. There's plenty of evidence to pick up yet again this week, after all. ]

Annnd that's going to do it. Wrap it up and head to the bathyspheres, kids, you've got some business to attend to.

[ The bathyspheres take you all down, down, into the now-familiar dome below the city. The similarly familiar red glow persists until the lights properly turn on - the projection of Fontaine's silhouette is gone, of course, replaced by that same flickering "please stand by" message. But your mayor's voice is still the one that speaks over the increasingly empty circle of podiums. ]

If you somehow need a reminder of why you're here, three of you are dead. Get away with it, killer or killers, and the execution room gets to really work overtime today. But I guess if you wanna live, you should find who murdered three people. Could be important for you guys.

[ Welcome to your fifth trial. ]

Comments

[onemillion]

I see.

[Not... exactly, but he can at least follow that train of logic.]

Will you tell us what happened to Jonathan and Hild?

[everythingeverywhere]

[In the same bland tone as someone describing the weather:]

I invited Jonathan out. He drank the drink I made him. Hild walked in and Jonathan tried appealing to her, but she was out on the prowl too, you know? So we decided to duke it out instead. I won. Did you have any more specific questions?

[onemillion]

[Well, better the bland tone than a mocking one, he supposes... It's a succinct summary, but one that gets the point across well enough.]

Were you trying to frame Nandor?

[everythingeverywhere]

Oh, no. If I had actually wanted to frame him, I would have put the marks on his actual jugular. You guys are just funniest when you go down these little rabbitholes that don't matter for hours.

[onemillion]

...I see. Thank you for answering my questions.

[Though honestly what was he expecting with that last one........]

[everythingeverywhere]

You're welcome. Now you can all have your little party and be sad.