Okay, picture the scene that you see when you think of the inside of a castle. Now, whatever you are thinking of right now is probably very similar to what each person saw when they stepped in for the first time. There are many details, but I won’t bore you with them, as I have already done a fair amount of describing and you are probably wanting to get the introduction part over with so the murders can start. 

Anyways, they all craned their necks to see the ceiling that seemed to soar above them, looking around and trying to soak in every little detail. Rune immediately wanted to explore all of the staircases and hallways branching off from the room.

The three hosts all lined up together, letting the guests take it in. Rowan and Indigo shared a meaningful glance before Rowan stepped forward and said, “Who would like to see their rooms?”

That got a cheer from the crowd, who was then led by Rowan (Indigo and Kat stayed behind) up one of the marble staircases and through a carpeted hallway that opened up into a large circular room, which had fifteen doors that presumably led to their rooms. There didn’t seem to be any label on them, though, so Artemis asked, “How do we know which one’s ours?” 

Rowan ginned. “Look closer.”

Poinsettia walked up to the closest door and gasped. “Oh, they have animals painted on them!”

“Yes! Find the door with your spirit animal on it, and relax until dinner. Your luggage is already inside.”

Each person located their rooms, which seemed to mimic the habitat of the animal that they had listed on their form.

The guests relaxed and hung out as afternoon turned to evening. Wildsong jotted some things down in her journal in her white-walled room with a giant bed whose pillows mimicked snow, and across the hall, Rose practiced their flute in his green and brown room with giant windows to let the sunlight in. 

Eventually, Kat showed up and ushered them all back down the hallways and stairs to a massive room with a large circular table and seats positioned all around it. They sat and almost immediately plates floated from the adjoined kitchen as Rowan emerged, seemingly carrying them all with her mind. She and the other hosts sat as the plates settled in front of everyone and they began to eat. 

“How do you do that?” Reuby asked. “You know, the-” she wiggled her fingers “-magic.”

“The stones,” Kat responded helpfully, shoving some spaghetti into her mouth. 

“What she means,” Indigo said. “Is that these stones we always have with us-” xe tapped the aforementioned object hanging from xyr neck “- are the source of our powers. They are tied to us and no one else is able to use them except for us while we’re alive. Without them, we aren’t able to shapeshift or do any of the other cool magic-y stuff.”

“Can all three of you shapeshift?” Opal asked. “We haven’t seen Rowan do that yet.”

“Yep!” Rowan said. “Into a red panda. I can show you later.”

“Cool!” Opal said, who then turned to chat with Shining Star and Aether. 

For dessert there was an ice cream sundae bar (causing quite the debate about the valid-ness of mint chocolate chip ice cream) and after that it was off to bed. 

As a certain guest lay in their room, contemplating all the wondrous and strange things they had witnessed that day, an unsettling feeling washed over them. They felt the temperature drop suddenly, and in just one blink of the eye all of the light vanished from the room, leaving a solid black nothingness. 

And from that nothingness came something. A something that was somehow more dark than the utter darkness, something solid and shifting and spiky and small and huge. It came to a stop right before them, hovering silently.

They reached out and touched it and it disappeared and the room went back to normal and everyone’s fates were sealed. 

Day 2, Part 1:

The guests woke up the next day, refreshed and ready for a fun day of exploring and adventure. Well, except for one, but they were able to put on a smiling mask pretty easily. They were going to need to get used to pretending. 

Empty plates were positioned at each seat at the big table in the dining room, with a breakfast food buffet lining the far wall. As the guests trickled in throughout the early morning, they filled their plates and began chatting with each other about everything and nothing at all. 

Eventually, the three hosts breezed into the room, each wearing an excited smile (or what qualified as an excited smile in Kat’s case). Rowan spoke first: 

“Good morning, my friends!”

A chorus of ‘good morning!’s echoed back. Rowan continued, saying, “How are you liking the Castle so far?”

“It’s great!” Aether said, amber eyes shining. People nodded in agreement.

“Wonderful!” The red-haired host moved aside, and Indigo stepped forward. 

“Who would like to go and check out the lakeside?” Xe asked, which got a very enthusiastic cheer. “Wonderful!” Xe exclaimed, beaming. “Kat and I will be your chaperones, and Rowan will stay behind and watch over the Castle; you’ll see that he doesn’t leave much and prefers to stay in.”

“And anyone who doesn’t feel like going can stay and hang out with me!” Rowan chimed in.

“I think I will,” Rose suggested. They noticed a library yesterday and wanted to go check it out. Plus, he wanted to talk one on one with Rowan; maybe he could get some more info about magic and whatnot while the others were away.

“Perfect!” Indigo chirped. “The rest of you, come with me! We have a beach to get to! You’ll just love it.”

They did, in fact, love the beach. Poinsettia, Artemis, Jaybells, and Reuby went straight into the lake, laughing and splashing around. The temperature was perfect, and the water itself was only a few tints away from being as clear as glass. More and more people joined them, collecting into a massive game of Marco Polo (Luna was announced the winner after being the last person un-Marco-ified after a good hour of playing). They then all emerged onto the beach, collapsing onto towels in the sand and soaking in the sun.

After a little bit, Darkling stood up and shook grains of sand out of their hair. “Who wants to play a game of hide-and-seek in the woods?” they asked. The treeline was close by, and they loved a good game of hide-and-go-seek.

Turns out everyone else did, too. Darkling managed to get everyone up and playing after a few minutes, and soon the seeker was counting, eyes closed.

“One, two, three, four…”

Rune was going to be the last found, she just knew it. She had a good hiding spot, shielded by a bushy shrub and with her back to a drop off cliff, so there was no chance of someone sneaking up on her from behind. She heard shuffling coming from nearby, and she stilled, eyes searching for any sign of the seeker. But instead another CBer popped out of the greenery, spotting Rune after a few seconds. 

“Hey,” they said, grinning. “Can I hide here with you? I can’t seem to find anywhere else, and I think the seeker’s almost done counting.”

“Sure!” Rune said, scooting over. The other person came and crouched down next to her. They were still smiling.

“Nice spot you got here,” they said, one hand coming up to rest on Rune’s shoulder. 

“Yeah…” she responded, suddenly wary.

“Right next to a nice, convenient, cliff.” Their grip tightened. “Thanks for that, by the way.”

“What-?” Rune tried to stand up, but the other person slammed both hands down on her shoulders, and they were strong. They brought their smiling face right up to her fear-frozen one, and said, “Well, at least you’ll for sure be the last one found.”

They pushed. And she fell.

“Ready or not, here I come!”

~

Reminder that I still haven't been guessed yet! Whoever correctly guesses me will get a free 'stay alive' pass for the next couple of days :) 

Day 2, Part 2: 

Rose couldn’t believe this library existed. It looked incredibly old while still feeling clean and comfortable, with soaring high ceilings and stained glass windows depicting elaborate scenes with different animals. The shelves themselves reached almost all the way up, two stories high and with balconies and ladders to make the books accessible. 

And the books; there was the most wonderful variety of them! Curious small paperbacks (‘Basic Magic for Beginners’), large leather bound tomes (‘A (Not-So-Brief) History of Enchanted and Cursed Artifacts’), and pamphlets with quick and simple information (‘Six Easy Steps to Rid Your House of Ghosts and Ghouls!’). 

Rowan sat down at one of the many couches peppered around the area on the first floor, setting down his papers and folders on the side table and getting to work. Rose wasn’t exactly sure what he was working on, but they bet it was important. It probably took a lot of paperwork to keep this place in order. 

Rose wandered around the space a bit, peeking into corners and running their fingers along the spines as he walked through the aisles. On the windowsill of one of the open windows on the second floor, they spotted a cat with mottled brown and tan fur and large amber eyes lounging in the sunlight. He approached the cat, hands held up in a peaceful gesture so as to not spook it away. It stared back, unflinching. Rose held one hand out, slowly and lightly stroking its fur.

“Hey, there,” Rose whispered, smiling. “Nice to meet you.”

The cat blinked and tilted its head, which Rose interpreted as a ‘nice to meet you too!’. He waved goodbye to his newfound animal friend and continued on his exploration.

After a fair amount of looking around and browsing, they slid back down the banister of the stairs to the base floor where Rowan was still working. 

The host looked up from his papers and grinned as Rose skipped over and took a seat next to him. 

“This place is amazing!” Rose exclaimed.

“I’m glad that you’re enjoying it,” Rowan said. “This is my favorite room in the castle.”

Rose’s gaze caught on the glowing gem hanging from Rowan’s neck and tilted their head, trying to think of a way to ask about it in a way that wasn’t abrupt or rude. 

Rowan noticed. “You can ask, you know.” 

Rose’s eyes lit up, and they were about to ask their first question (‘Where did the stones come from?’), when Opal burst through the massive oak double doors with tears in her eyes.

Rowan was on his feet in the blink of an eye, rushing over to her. “Opal! What happened?”

“I-it’s Rune,” she choked out. “She’s dead.”

“Dead?!” Rose gasped. Surely this had to be a joke or a prank or some sort- but no, the grief on Opal’s face was as real as he’d ever seen. 

“How?” Rowan asked.

“She f-fell,” Opal stuttered. “While playing hide-and-go-seek.”

Rowan’s eyes darkened, but his expression returned to his usual reassuring one. He told Opal to go back to her room, and Rose sat back down heavily on the couch. 

Eventually, every guest came back in groups of two or three, clinging to one another with tear stained faces. Rowan greeted them one after another, smiling sadly and directing them to their rooms. Once everyone was gone, Rose stood numbly and started their own trudge into the massive main room and back up the stairs to the CBer’s floor. But, just as they reached the top of the stairs, a voice rang out from down below.

“Rowan!” the voice said. Rose recognized it as Indigo’s right away. He paused, just out of sight from the people downstairs, straining his ears.

“What happened?” Rowan asked. 

Indigo sounded the closest to anger that Rose had ever heard when xe snapped, “You know what happened.”

There’s a few moments of silence before a new voice, who Rose identifies as Kat, spoke quietly. “It’s necessary, you know. You knew what you were signing up for. We all did.”

“I know,” Rowan said, sounding suddenly exhausting. “I just… thought we’d have more time, you know.” 

Their voices became faint as the three hosts appeared to be walking in the opposite direction as the staircase that Rose was still standing at the top of. Their words ricoched around his head, confusion flooding through his mind.

What, exactly, had he just overheard?