Sixth Trial

[bathymetric]

[ After a time, as always, your investigation is interrupted by the Mayor's now-familiar voice, calling out to you over the loudspeakers. ]

And that's gonna be time. Pack it in, everyone, bring what you're gonna bring because it's trial time.

[ There are so many bathyspheres missing, you cannot help but notice, as you all pile into the station for your standard trip down to the trial room. Your number has dipped to about a third of its original size - a fact that becomes even more evident when you reach the circle of podiums at the bottom of New Rapture's ocean trench. ]

You all know why you're here. Someone killed Pillage Idiot, and it's your job to figure out who. This is your sixth one, I sure hope you have the procedure down by now.

[ Welcome to your sixth trial. ]

Comments

[inaclearing]

Uh...we found the mace, yeah. It was in the bathroom in the department store - like someone just set it down by the door.

[He sort of tilts his head in Zinda's direction since she's, uh. Got that now. Brett still looks kinda pale and shaky, but he'll be damned if he freaks out any more today. At least not now.]

There was blood in one of the sinks too. It was like someone had washed off there, but...more than once? Like there were multiple layers of bloodstain left on the surface, and some were more faded. I don't...know what that means, exactly. They didn't get any anywhere else in there, so...they must've been careful.

[specialyellthing]

Of course. Couldn’t keep blood on their hands. Fuckin coward.

[inaclearing]

If that was all it was, though, wouldn't they just wash until it was all off? It's like they...I don't know. Went and got more on them afterwards.

[specialyellthing]

… Like maybe they got some on their hands to write somethin?

[inaclearing]

...I...yeah, I guess so.

[Let him squint at that mass of squiggles again!]

They could've screwed up whatever Nandor wrote. Or he never wrote anything, and this was meant to...send us down a rabbit hole.

[Not that he's remembering you-know-who from last week or anything.]

[sastruga]

Well, that's possible, but... Maybe we should just assume he wrote it for now. We can always disregard it later.

[capreelcious]

Huh... that's weird. But also there was a lotta blood... guess it took multiple rinses to get the blood out?

[inaclearing]

...weird way to wash off.

[Like, when Brett was in there doing his thing, he went until he felt clean! Not in multiple weird little sessions!]

[sastruga]

...It's weird enough that I can't really assume it just took multiple sessions. You'd just keep cleaning.

Something must have happened. We only found one body, so it wasn't two separate incidents...

[inaclearing]

...how were his clothes damaged? Was that also a burn?

[sastruga]

I didn't take a close look at his clothes, so...

[She'll look over at Mielle.]

[honeyedtea]

Someone struck him with the taser, as far as I could tell. That seemed to be what caused the damage.

[capreelcious]

Yeah... like. Maybe they took a couple back and forth trips? There sure was a bunch of evidence just layin' around, but if there was stuff covered in blood they didn't want out there, or if they were hurt in the scuffle, it's possible.

[ He shrugs. ]

[inaclearing]

I'm not sure we have any evidence they were hurt, but I'd...be surprised if they got out of that with nothing. Nandor was tough, and it sounds like there was a pretty big struggle.

[specialyellthing]

He’da fought. As long as he had the chance to.

[sastruga]

...Maybe he even lasted longer than the culprit thought.

[visiblepattern]

What do you mean, in what way?

[It sounds like that was going somewhere?]

[sastruga]

I mean, I know powers don't work, but I imagine a vampire still has to be pretty durable. Maybe they thought they had him with the first blow and Nandor, well, um...

...got back up?

[She feels a little silly positing the idea, though.]

...I don't know. I thought, maybe it could explain the overkill and why the culprit seems to have washed up twice.

[visiblepattern]

[Oh, god...]

I don't... I don't really know anything about vampires. Can they do that?

[sastruga]

Well, they tend to survive things humans can't. Technically speaking, he was already dead.

I don't know if he could, just... At this point I don't even know what we can or cannot rule out anymore.

[visiblepattern]

Well, it sounds like something to keep in mind, perhaps? We can't rule it out right now, I agree with you...

[inaclearing]

The...stories about how to kill them differ. I never actually asked him about that part.

[Like, it'd be a wild thing to ask in a murdergame?]

But traditionally, I'd say...you can only kill a vampire with sunlight, a stake through the heart, or...decapitation, usually...

[visiblepattern]

...Oh. I...suppose the thorough level of destruction may have been enough to count, but... That's horrid.

[inaclearing]

Mmmm.

[yeah it's! bad!]

[honeyedtea]

What other weaknesses do these... "vampires" traditionally have? Those here who have powers are lacking them, so could it be possible that he was lacking in whatever unique strengths and weaknesses he usually relied on?