A Murder Is Announced

[awitchdidit]

[Private to the below names and Maria]

Naoto Shirogane.
Souji Seta.
Ryotaro Dojima.
Near.

The four of you are known to me as detectives, solvers of mysteries, investigators of the strange and mysterious. In honor of the end of the Christmas season, or at least being within a couple of days of it, I invite you to join me in a mystery game.

Somewhere within this Liminal Space is a new room with the appearance of something old and fleeting, a piece of homeyness carved out of this corporate-health labyrinth. Before it you will find me, the conductor of this mystery, and within it you will find the one thing that Ms. Shirogane knows a mystery tale cannot exist without:

A corpse!

I suggest making finding said dead body a priority. While the person it belongs to is quite safe from permanent harm as she is now, I'm not...entirely certain of what the effect would be if you left her as she is while we're suddenly whisked away to a game board. That might be an interesting experiment, though...

If you need any clues as to the location of the mystery, please, don't hesitate to reply. If you have any objections, well, you'll find me when you find her!

[A long pause.]

Ahaha, and of course, anyone with the skill and wherewithal to eavesdrop on this message is invited as well! I haven't met all the nosy detectives in this world between worlds yet, have I?

Consider this an introductory letter from Beatrice, the Golden and Endless Witch! Let's have fun, shall we?

((To be resolved in a Synodiporia post...soon. This one is for yelling.))

Comments

[happyhalloween]

And afterward, we'll all have tea together!

[Maria sounds very excited by this prospect.]

[shiroganeheir]

[Well, she had always had a few fleeting thoughts of having a nemesis, but seriously, what the hell?]

It is rather unsporting to give us a mystery with no clues at all, you realize. Even with all of my heritage and professional pride at stake, I cannot start on a search with nothing.

Also, I must ask, did you create a body, or have you truly killed someone?

[There's a sharp tone to her mental voice at that.]

[awitchdidit]

Ah, there will be more clues at the crime scene, detective, you can trust me on that.

However, I will say you can find it by heading for the outside windows of this "building" and going up. As much as I'd like to make that part of my puzzle, I don't care for the Trumps' maze to interfere with my own design.

As for your question, if those are the only two options you can see, this might be a tricky one for you...

[awitchdidit]

Refreshments will indeed be provided. With any luck, they'll do well enough I can stick to just the tea this time...

[happyhalloween]

Don't do what you did to Mama, Beato. They aren't used to stuff like that yet.

[awitchdidit]

Well, no one here's done anything to offend me personally. I suppose I can be lenient.

[private]

[ofinspiration]

[ Lucifer sounds more amused than anything else. This is all terribly dramatic... but somehow Beatrice makes it work, so she can't even bring herself to mock her for it. ]

Dare I ask what kind of game you're playing?

[permastubble]

[Naoto has asked Ryoutarou's first question, but if this is a game, and not real-- He has one more important one.]

Did "she" agree to be a part of this game before you made her the "corpse?"

[private]

[awitchdidit]

Just a simple dinner-party show, Lucifer. Something to keep peoples' minds sharp when they're away from work.

[awitchdidit]

Hmph. You're all quite professional, aren't you? Taking everything so seriously.

Let me ask you a question: would you take my word for it if I said yes? Would I have a reason to tell the truth if the answer was no?

[permastubble]

Making sure people are safe and not hurt is serious. Fun can come later.

And the answer to the first is yes, and the answer to the second is no. The way I see it though, I have two choices. I can be a paranoid cynic, or I can have a little faith in the fact that you haven't shown yourself as malicious yet. Or at least in your intelligence.

Look, you know and I know that the truth will eventually come out. If you're lying, you just openly lied to an awful lot of people, several of us pretty experienced detectives, and plenty more who have filter intrusion. Besides, your 'corpse' will be able to call you out on it later if you are. Word will spread, and you won't be able to get away with this again. The trouble you've gone to prepare a game for us, I don't think you want that.

So, yeah, I'll trust your answer.

[He'll play the game anyway, but whether it's a game, or a rescue will make a hell of a lot of difference in how he plays.]

[solvethepuzzle]

How festive of you.

[The important question -- as to where to find the scene -- has already been asked, so he will not bother. And Beatrice would do a disservice to herself and her rapport with the Travelers if all parties had not consented to this. Having spoken to her more than once, Near is confident that she is smart enough to realize this and ensured that the game is just that. (Though Near would have no objection to calling it a game regardless.)]

[private]

[ofinspiration]

How generous of you.

...I'd ask if there's actually a corpse, but I'm not sure I can guarantee no one's eavesdropping - and I'd hate to spoil the surprise.

[private]

[awitchdidit]

You're free to come spectate as well, of course. I'm used to more powerful beings bringing popcorn to my games, and I feel like I can trust you not to meddle with the show like the last few did.

[awitchdidit]

Ah, so this is what a real policeman is like!

[Lines right out of procedural dramas and everything.]

But you've seen to the heart of the issue already. After all, I'm not in control of the whole of Liminal Space - just my scenario. And I'm outnumbered four to two even there.

Very well then. For the former host of the Blue Illuminant, my first Red Truth: I have harmed no one in Liminal Space who did not agree to be harmed.

[The words resonate oddly. Even though there's no visual communication, they feel like they're colored red.]

[awitchdidit]

Yes, well. Helena throws her kind of party, I throw my kind of party.

[solvethepuzzle]

[Regardless of the fact that he isn't a fan of murder in and of itself, Near will at least privately concede that this type of 'party' is far more interesting to him than a party in a more traditional sense. He'd only popped into the ball because he realized he hadn't eaten in the equivalent of two or three days.]

It was only a matter of time, I suppose.

[private]

[ofinspiration]

I might come by... with or without popcorn. It's not often anything interesting happens here in Liminal Space.

[private]

[awitchdidit]

I'll do my best to keep you amused.

[awitchdidit]

You think so? Have you been building a psychological profile? Or just taking me at my word?

[permastubble]

I take my job seriously.

[A moment of silence later, he adds.]

I trust that truth, but sometime I’m going ask you what exactly makes a Red Truth different from other truths. I am on my way there.

[He is indeed, even as he mulls over how selective that truth was. Inside liminal, but what about outside? Left out, conveniently or no. Now’s not the time to bring it up though.]

[happyhalloween]

And Maria wants to have tea with everyone else too.

[Which she couldn't when Beatrice had Mama over for a meal. For Reasons.]

[fridgeninja]

I'm on my way.

You're starting to remind me of someone.

[It's a bland statement of fact, with no hint of positivity or negativity coloring it.]

[awitchdidit]

I do hope it's someone interesting. It's a bit hard to tell with you.

[fridgeninja]

Izanami-no-okami.

I think she was pretty interesting.

[awitchdidit]

The Shinto goddess of creation and death?

[Possibly-genuine flattered feelings come over the connection.]

I think that's the nicest comparison anyone's ever made for me.

[fridgeninja]

I take it you haven't met her.

[awitchdidit]

Well, I was raised Catholic. I mostly know of her thirdhand.

[fridgeninja]

Firsthand experience isn't a recommendation. I won't deny she was interesting, but it was 'ancient Chinese curse' interesting, in a lot of ways.

She set up tests with people's lives at stake. Everyone's lives. Even if I can see her perspective, the things that she put into motion aren't the kind of thing it's easy to forgive.

[awitchdidit]

Sounds like whatever she wanted was serious. Even a death god doesn't meddle with the normal course of lives unless she thinks it's the only way to get what she wants.

[fridgeninja]

I don't have enough frame of reference for death gods to judge.

[awitchdidit]

Well, most of the ones I've met are decidedly neutral. Even if you ascribe a moral value to murder, death itself doesn't really have one, and most people pass through it one way or another regardless of any extraordinary effort on a deity's part.

[fridgeninja]

Most of my experiences involved extraordinary effort, so I've never had the chance to see it that way.