THIRD INVESTIGATION

[bathymetric]

So the mood, test subjects, has been a little... rough, maybe. The vibes, they're not great for a lot of you. Even some of the normally calm and/or collected among your number seem to have let this week's motive get to them, and when the lights click on on Friday there are some among you who may well just assume there's a body to find. It wouldn't exactly be unreasonable, would it?

But hey, maybe you all held out! Maybe this can be a turning point in your fight against The Professor and his motives, and you can come together to tell him off once and for all! Wouldn't that be nice? One nice week.

Well, only one way to find out if that's an option.

Comments

WATERPARK

[bathymetric]

[ this is just what you all do isnt it you find the coolest room in the new area and you BAPTIZE IT IN BLOOD ]

[snackooed]

[ Tell her about it. ]

Do you guys know the procedure by now? Touch as little as you can. If you need to touch something, let me know first. If any of you see Mira, let her know that I'd like her on photo duty again, if that's possible. We've figured this out before, and we'll do it again, okay?

[ Let's climb up and take a look at poor Seteth, here. It was a wound to the heart? Let's take a closer look... ]

[bathymetric]

[ It's a pretty severe wound! It's not difficult to surmise this as the probable cause of death.

Something's kind of off in the wound itself, though, if you feel like getting your hands a little dirty... ]

[snackooed]

[ Wait, hang on, we don't need to actually dig our hands inside these things, we're not savages in this profession! They may not be quite the same as forceps, but those handy-dandy garnish tongs from the bar area will make a fine substitute...

Is there something stuck in there that we can pull out with those? ]

[bathymetric]

[ Yup! They appear to be shards of black metal!

... you also get a fun look at the literal rock in here about where a heart should be, but. details. ]

[snackooed]

Wait, what the heck..? A stone?

[ The black metal is good to put away for now, but can you tell me more about this, er, rock..? ]

[bogwife]

I feel like we have this down to an art by now. [Your favorite body poking assistant is here to help.]

[snackooed]

For better or for worse, I think you're right. But what do you make of this, uh...rock?

[ She seems like she's a bit at a loss for how to handle it... ]

[bogwife]

[She's already tied Princess to the bar so she won't wander into the crime scene or, Ancestors forbid, jump in the wave pool so she crouches down next to the body and squints.]

Did someone put that into his chest afterwards or-? [What the fuck is Femblem?]

[snackooed]

I actually don't think so. I mean, it's where his heart should be...

[ What the fuck is right. ]

[philoxenia]

[ sup sis she's here. ]

It doesn't ever get any less awful...

[ She hates this actually! And god... Poor Rhea... ]

[snackooed]

[ Oh, Mira... ]

Once we're done taking our pictures, you can have Rhea come back in and make sure she gives him his rites, if that's what she'd like to do. But right now, I...well, it seems like we have another anomaly on our hands here, Mira.

[ Where are her M&Ms? Better yet, where the hell are her Snackoos? ]

He's obviously passed on, from the wounds and his pulse. But if not for those, you wouldn't be able to tell at all, so I can't tell when exactly this happened, unlike the others. His body is...er, it's obviously pretty special. Different from the way yours and mine work, for sure.

[ No one ever wants to make her life easy. ]

Take a look at his chest, and you'll...I think you'll get what I mean.

[philoxenia]

I'll do that. She-- she should be able to, if she wants.

[ ... but she listens and uh. She's sure she won't like what she finds, and sure enough, when she looks at his chest-- ]

W-what-- What is that?

[snackooed]

I can't be one-hundred percent certain. But given its position in his body, and the veins on it, my hypothesis is that it's his heart. Or, rather, that it serves the same function as one. The wound around it is a pretty critical one, so I'm fairly certain that getting stabbed there with a blade was his actual cause of death.

I feel like, given that theory, actually removing it might be a bad idea, though. But call it an investigator's hunch, but I think whatever it is, it's going to be important at the trial later, so if nothing else, that's the shot we need. Both the stone itself and the insignia on it. Of course, all of these other wounds are important, too...the scrapes, the splinters on his right hand, the big wound on his upper left arm...

[emberserker]

[Okay, fine, since she's already on the staircase, is there anything on here that's been disturbed?]

[bathymetric]

[ Maybe not up here, but something's kind of weird down by the edge of the pool! ]

[emberserker]

[Time to get down there, then, moving past everyone gathered without apologies. What's over there?]

[bathymetric]

[ what a rude child

anyway, looks like some traces of blood, visible on the white of the tile! ]

[emberserker]

[Anna's first thought is to try and see if she can sense whose blood it is, because they're still in the Poor Decisions Blood Magic Experiment and really anything goes here. But aside from that, does it look like someone got injured here, trailed blood in from elsewhere, or that it's just a faint trace that washed up for some reason?]

[bolderfell]

[While the more experienced body-touchers touch a body, Therion's going to look around for a weapon, or anything else out of place up here.]

[bathymetric]

[ up here? there's actually not that much out of place other than the body.

... but while you're looking, therion, something might catch your eye in the pool below. ]

[bolderfell]

[Nooooooooo, not the poison water!

Therion peers over, grimaces, and takes off and folds his cloak and scarf. Then he'll carefully scoot himself down to the bottom of the slide without sliding and look harder. Any way to tell what it is before trying to go get it? What general size is it?]

[bathymetric]

[ it looks like it might be... a shield? ]

[bolderfell]

[???

Therion calls back up to Ema, pointing:]

There's something down there. I'll get it. Just wanted you to see where it landed before I bring it up.

[And in he goes, eyes squeezed shut, groping around at the pool bottom until he can find the shield and drag it up. Hopefully it's not too heavy.]

AREA CLEAR

[bathymetric]