Day 2, Part 1

Cypress woke up to the bright sun shining in her face. She groaned and got up, made her bed, and did her typical morning routine, same as if she were at Verde’s house. She glanced around her forest-themed room, with mossy green walls that were covered with actual moss.

She looked for the clock, and found one that looked like a wood slice, etched with numbers. The time showed 8:20, which was later than she would’ve liked, but still good enough. The hosts had told the guests to go to the dining hall and eat breakfast at 8:30, so there was 10 minutes. Enough time to read maybe a chapter of one of the books Cypress brought with her. 

Cypress happily dug into her luggage and pulled out her book, but suddenly what felt like a large gust of wind flew past her. She jumped, startled, but quickly calmed down when she saw that it was Evergreen, Verde’s CAPTCHA.

“+Ugeyz+!” Evergreen chirped cheerfully, as if greeting her good morning. They began pushing Cypress out towards the door, which was ajar. Evergreen probably wanted Cypress to go down to breakfast.

“I still have a few minutes though,” Cypress protested. Evergreen didn’t give up, so Cypress quickly flipped through the chapter, closed the book, and headed out the door. “Happy now?” She glanced at Evergreen.

Evergreen didn’t have a chance to reply as Darkvine came over, looking rather worried. “Hey Cypress,” she said. “Did you happen to see Mizuki at all this morning?”

“Oh, no I didn’t,” Cypress replied, shaking her head. “I woke up at around 8:20 and just stayed in my room and read for a few moments before getting pushed out by a certain insistent CAPTCHA.” She glanced at Evergreen with mild but playful irritation.

“I see,” Darkvine said, nodding. “I’m worried because I’ve seen every other guest so far but her. I might just be paranoid, though.”

“I’m sure we’ll see her later, at breakfast,” Cypress said reassuringly. “Speaking of which…we should probably go now.”

“Definitely,” Darkvine said, smiling. 

She, Cypress, and Evergreen started down the hall towards the dining room, settling in their seats. Gloomy was the only other guest already seated, but soon, everyone else began to arrive, including each of Scuttles’s pets. 

However, it seemed that there was one empty spot—Mizuki’s. Immediately the guests felt slightly worried, some feeling as if an old memory from another place was woken up. Was she just late, or…?

Secret was the first of the hosts to arrive, and when they saw the empty spot that would be Mizuki’s, and overheard the guests’ worries, they said, “Does anyone want to check on Mizuki? Maybe wake her up if she’s still asleep?”

A few guests volunteered—GloomyBear, Silver Crystal, and Writing. The three headed over to Mizuki’s room, each feeling a sense of foreboding as Gloomy hesitantly opened the door.

The room was empty—except for a Mystery Book. Silver briskly went over and lifted up the book, examining it. The cover was dark, like the color of the night sky, with a gradual gradient into pale yellow, then white, like a sunrise. Written on there was: I am the ruler of all—kingdoms, forests, mountains all fall to me. I have existed since the beginning. People count me with hands. What am I?

The three puzzled over what to do with it for a while, before deciding to solve the riddle. Writing eventually figured out that the answer was time, and wrote it on the cover like they saw Darkvine did back in the library. The book opened immediately, and written there was a poem:

Time is ticking down…

Tick-tock

Tick-tock

TICK

It has struck

The tallest mountains

Crumbling them to dust

It never stops

For anyone, and all will

Come to an end with

Time

Tick-tock

Tick-tock

TOCK

Remember to always

Check the clock

Remember that time

Never waits for anyone

“What…so what happened to Mizu?” Gloomy asked, almost at a whisper.

“I don’t know for sure…but I have a theory,” Writing replied. “I think Mizu was…murdered.”

There was an audible gasp from both Gloomy and Silver, even though both of them knew that it was coming.

“Why…? I mean, how do you know?” Silver asked.

“I don’t,” Writing said. “It’s a theory, like I said earlier. Maybe we can bring the book to the hosts and see what they think about it.”

“Are you sure?” Gloomy asked. “That we can trust…nevermind.”

The three of them, taking the book with them, went down the hall and back to the dining room. Immediately, the other guests came over, asking questions over one another. Writing glanced over and saw Secret first, so he brought the book over to them.

“We found this in Mizu’s room,” Writing explained. 

“Oh,” Secret said, sounding slightly surprised, then sighed, like they were expecting this. “It looks like…well, Mizuki was murdered.”

“Murdered!?” Wildsong exclaimed.

“Yes,” Rune said solemnly, standing next to Secret. “I wonder if perhaps she wandered into a room we didn’t show yet.”

“Do you really think—” Secret started, but stopped when Rune gave them a look.

“Alright, settle down everyone,” Rune declared. “It turns out that Mizuki, one of our guests, is no longer with us. We will hold a funeral after breakfast.”

This caused quite a commotion among the guests, though eventually, they managed to get down their breakfast. Cocoa couldn’t believe that one day, a fellow guest could be there, talking and hanging out with everyone else, and be gone the next. Lyric felt immense sadness at the loss of Mizuki, and Hawkstar began to speculate about who could’ve possibly murdered Mizuki. Who would do such a cold-blooded thing? She glanced around at everyone, not believing that a single one of them would have murdered another fellow guest.

Rune led the guests down the hall to one of the rooms, carrying Mizuki’s book. It was a new room, completely empty except for a large mahogany bookcase etched with silver and gold designs. Enigma gave a short speech about Mizuki, which no one really heard, as Rune gently put the book into the bookcase. Secret stood by, with an unreadable expression mixed with hints of helplessness and sorrow. All the guests mourned Mizuki, and the funeral ended after a while. 

“All guests may return to their bedrooms for now, and if given permission, may visit one another,” Enigma announced. A flicker of sadness flashed across his face as he continued, “I understand that everyone needs some time to process Mizuki’s death. When everyone’s ready and has had enough time, gather in the lounge room for further instruction.”

The guests slowly left the room, most of them still saddened by the loss of Mizuki, but a handful of them, such as Lyric, Writing, and Wildsong, felt a need to explore the death of Mizuki and figure out who the murderer was. And one of them especially knew that they would do something about it.

Alive: 11

Dead: 1 (Mizuki) 

That...is a very accurate reaction from me.

Day 2, Part 2

Wildsong sat at the edge of her bed, staring at her wall, which looked like a forest underneath a purple-blue night sky. There were stars that even seemed to twinkle, and a moon that let out a faint glow at night, like a night light. 

She sat, thinking about Mizuki. Wildsong had heard from Secret that it was a murder, and was quite shocked, but slowly, she started thinking about it, logically. Who could’ve murdered Mizuki, and why? Was it with ill intentions? By accident? Why did it seem like Secret was about to say something else, but was stopped by Rune?

All these questions swam in Wildsong’s brain, and finally, she decided she had to tell at least someone. Wildsong stood up and went down the hall and knocked on Lyric’s door, knowing she should be trustworthy enough to tell her.

Lyric opened the door, a gloomy expression on her face, but she cracked a slight smile when she saw Wildsong. “Want to come in?”

“Yeah. I hope that’s fine,” Wildsong replied. “I just need someone to talk to for a moment.”

“Oh, of course,” Lyric responded, letting Wildsong come into her room, which had pink wallpapers covered in DNA strands floating around. There was also a microscope on the desk, either for decoration or for actual use, or both. Wildsong sat down on the rug next to the bed.

“Lyric, do you think Mizuki was actually murdered?” Wildsong asked seriously.

Lyric paused for a long moment, thinking. Finally, she said, “Then why else would she be gone…?”

“But why? Why would someone want to murder Mizuki?”

“That’s true,” Lyric mused. “It feels unlikely that any of us guests could’ve done it…right?”

Just then, the door opened, and both Writing and Hawkstar appeared. “Sorry if we are interrupting anything,” Writing apologized.

“Don’t worry about it,” Wildsong said immediately. “Come join us?”

“Sure,” Hawkstar and Writing said in unison. They both sat down next to Wildsong and Lyric.

“We were just discussing Mizuki’s death…or murder,” Lyric explained.

“It is pretty strange, isn’t it?” Writing remarked.

“Definitely,” Hawkstar agreed. “And who would…well, murder someone else? A fellow guest?”

“Or…what if it’s one of the hosts?” Wildsong said suddenly. “Secret was about to say something but Rune stopped them. It seemed like they knew something about the murder…like one of them is guilty.”

“True, but we shouldn’t assume too quickly,” Lyric responded. “There is still a possibility that they’re innocent.”

“Well, I personally think that the only way to solve this is by…asking one of the hosts,” Wildsong declared.

“Are you sure?” Hawkstar asked.

“It could be bad if the host you ask is the murderer,” Writing added.

“I’m sure,” Wildsong nodded. “I plan on asking Secret, since they seem like the most likely to say or reveal something, either on accident or on purpose.”

“If you think it’s the right thing,” Lyric said, gazing at Wildsong for confirmation.

“I do,” she replied. “I’ll ask her after lunch.”

~

The guests slowly filled the lounge room, seeing the three hosts looking rather subdued, like everyone else. Rune and Enigma were whispering to one another in hushed tones, while Secret stared off into space, looking worried. When everyone arrived, Enigma clapped his hands together.

“Guests, I am extremely sorry that this inn stay has turned out this way,” he said, in a regretful and apologetic tone. “We could never have foreseen the death of Mizuki. However, we still have planned many activities for you all, so we would be grateful if you could participate even in spite of what has happened.”

The guests murmured amongst each other, though no voice spoke out against what Enigma had said. There were a handful of guests that felt that they should leave before something worse happened, but no one said anything outright in front of the hosts.

“Alright. For now, we’ll have an activity that you can choose to participate in if you’d like,” Rune continued. “Would anyone like to participate?”

Quite a few guests raised their hands, and those that didn’t eventually raised their hands as well, reluctantly, so as not to get left behind.

“That’s great,” Enigma said. “Follow us.”

The three hosts led the guests out of the lounge room and down the hall, over to a new door with a password lock on it. Enigma quickly typed a series of numbers and letters that were so fast that none of the guests could keep up, then opened the door.

The three hosts went inside, calling for all the guests to follow, and soon, everyone was crowded inside a dark room with no decorations whatsoever.

“I will explain the activity,” Rune said. “This is one of my favorites, called: History Mysteries. We will basically lead you through an interactive hallway which will explain the mystery and then display some pieces of evidence. At the end of the hallway, each guest will have to answer a question—solving the mystery. Anyone who gets it right will…well, receive bragging rights and a cool little trinket as a memory of the mystery. Everyone got it?”

The guests all nodded, and Rune led them out of the dark room and into what looked like a large field of grass with an open blue sky. Ahead in the distance were many rock pyramids and other stone structures, with the sounds of what seemed like a bustling town. The guests were led closer and closer, until they were among the people walking about like it was every day.

Cocoa cat looked around in wonder, seeing farms growing corn, beans, and squash, as well as pens of livestock and people fishing at a river. It seemed like a civilization from long ago. 

Sempreverde noticed a young girl trying to make what looked like a pottery vase, looking concentrated but frustrated. A woman who seemed like her mother whispered to the girl and gently guided her hands to make the vase. Verde smiled and waved a little, though they didn’t acknowledge her presence, nor any of the guests, despite their clothing being vastly different. The people were wearing loose-fitting tunics, simple dresses, loincloths and cloaks. It seemed like a page out of a history book of some old civilization, or perhaps a Native American settlement.

Secret snapped their fingers, and suddenly, a large jaguar with golden-yellow fur that shone in the sun, black spots as numerous as stars, and sharp yellow-green eyes padded out towards the guests. The guests closest to the jaguar backed away, slightly scared.

“Don’t worry, he won’t harm us,” Secret said reassuringly. They gestured for the jaguar to come forward.

The jaguar dipped his head and said, “Welcome, guests, to this great Mystery.” His voice was how one would picture the voice of Aslan from Narnia, low and deep. “I am the Jaguar, though you may call me Balam.”

Balam paused, swinging his gaze over each of the guests, who felt immense power coming from him, as well as wisdom. He continued, “This Mystery is about the Mayan civilization. A once bustling, advanced society—reduced to stone and rubble.”

As he said these words, the civilization seemed to age, with the sun coming up and down at a fast rate, and eventually, there were only stone pyramids and rubble, aged with wind and weathering and with plant growth.

“What happened?, you may wonder. It seems like the advanced civilization just…disappeared one day. Now that is up to you to find out what happened to the Mayans,” Balam finished. “Watch.”

The scenery changed back to the bustling civilization. Then, a large army of people who seemed different from the Mayans came over, beginning to destroy the civilians. The city was thrown into chaos, as the army slowly began to decimate the Mayans. The army, looking victorious, chased after the last of the Mayans and disappeared, as the scene changed to the old stone pyramids and rubble once again—present day.

“That shows our first theory: the Mayans were defeated in battle by rival people,” Balam explained in a solemn tone. “Now, our next one.”

The next scene showed the bustling civilization, but then the ground gradually began to dry up, causing the grass to wither. Large stones and mounds of dirt began to tumble and slide down from a mountain in the distance, rolling upon the Mayans and causing them to flee, as slowly, the Mayans all disappeared and present day was shown again.

“Second theory: a severe drought drove out the Mayans,” Balam said, swinging his gaze over to the guests to see if they were paying attention. Satisfied, he continued to the next scene.

Two people in regal-looking clothing who looked like a priest and a king were walking around regally, as if inspecting the town to make sure all was in place. Suddenly, a large group of villagers who were dressed as peasants crowded around the rulers, and it seemed like a revolt. However, soon after the peasants won, it seemed like there was disorder among the civilization, and Mayans slowly left as the modern day scene faded back.

“Third theory: a peasant revolt,” Balam clarified. “Now the last one.”

The bustling city came back, and it was sunny with a clear sky, when suddenly the sky went dark. There were eerie sounds coming from large silver disks flying in the air. They descended down onto the civilization, causing chaos among the civilians as they rushed to get away. Strange shadowy figures descended from the disks, and with a closer look, they seemed to be otherworldly—aliens. The modern day scene quickly came back.

“Fourth and final theory: an invasion by UFOs,” the jaguar finished. “The obvious choice.” He shook his head, looking amused. “Now, you must choose wisely and answer the question: Why did the Mayan civilization fall? Pick one of the four theories—or if you’re feeling creative, none of them.”

Rune smiled as each of the guests wrote their answers on a piece of paper along with their name and cast them in the box she held before leaving the room. “This is one of the easier and more well-known ones,” she said. “Perhaps if all of you’ve enjoyed it we could do a harder one next time.”

“Certainly,” Balam agreed, before fading away with the rest of the hall.

Alive: 11

Dead: 1 (Mizuki)

Again, thank you for all your feedback! You may answer the question: why did the Mayan civilization fall? And did you enjoy this activity? (All dead can participate in answering, and though they will not have as much effect on the story, the answer may still be included.)

I think it was theory 2 or 3 but I haven't studied the Mayans yet so I don't know.theory 1 doesn't seem credible because why would they invade and then leave straight away.although theory 4 seems like a possibility:)

Also YAY narnia reference!

@everyone, thanks again for reading and commenting. Also @darkvine, love the art! :) short part today!

Day 2, Part 3

The three hosts waited as all the guests filed into the lounge room. Finally, Rune spoke, “Thank you all for participating in the activity! We have the official answer for the History Mystery, and the correct theory was theory 2: the drought.”

This caused a bit of noise among the guests as they thought about whether they had chosen the correct theory. Most had not.

“Surprising, for some of you?” Secret asked, hiding their smile. “Though I suppose it could’ve been the aliens, but they simply covered it up as a mere drought.”

A few guests nodded in agreement, smiling, as Rune explained, “It was technically a variety of factors, such as disease and deforestation. But the ultimate cause was a drought. And those who had guessed the correct theory may get this.”

Rune took the silvery cloth off of the object on the table, revealing a mini figurine of a Mayan pyramid. “And just like the actual pyramid, it casts special shadows on solstices and equinoxes,” she added.

Guests oohed and aahed at the prize, as Rune looked through the answers to the question. Finally, she announced, “It seems that not a lot of you have gotten the answer. So I suppose I shall give this prize to those who were at least half or a fourth right. So Cocoa cat, Hawkstar, and Scuttles, please come up and get a pyramid.”

The three came up amidst loud applause, and Enigma handed them each a Mayan pyramid figurine. Carefully, the three took their pyramids back and sat down with the other guests.

“And just in time for lunch,” Secret said, clapping their hands and smiling. “Do go ahead and proceed to the dining room, all of you.”

The guests had a quick but filling lunch of what looked like colorful inedible cubes but when eaten, tasted like whatever meal they were craving.

After they had just finished and were given free time to go to the indoor garden, gym, or rec room, Wildsong went to confront Secret in the lounge room about what happened to Mizuki.

“Secret,” she started, slightly nervous. “Can I talk to you for a moment?”

“Of course,” they replied. “I'm all ears.”

“Well, I just wanted to know the truth about Mizuki's murder.”

Immediately, Secret's face grew pale. Then they took a deep breath, and asked, “What exactly about it would you like to know?”

“Everything,” Wildsong said bravely.

Secret sighed. “Rune would be furious if I told you this. This information is supposed to be top secret and kept between us hosts.”

“But don't you think it’s unfair for the guests to be in danger without them knowing? Lives are at risk,” Wildsong added convincingly.

“Fine. I'll tell you,” they said at last, which surprised Wildsong. She was sure that they were going to refuse. “Take a seat.”

They gestured to a seat in the lounge room, and Wildsong sat down, waiting for Secret to speak. And they did, in a serious tone unlike any previous time Secret spoke.

“So have you ever heard of the Entity?”