Top! To the top! Tip-top! TOP!

Wow, vowels in the CAPTCHA–I've been having trouble typing these five-letter ones in. Let's see…e! o! f! u! c! 

Literally just caught up on this. Great job Luna!

*Smiles* Thank you, SSW, for those ominous teaser posts. However, dear readers, those past two parts are more attention-grabbers- and I see they worked well.

Now, for the next part.

Day three, part seven

The murderer instantly regretted not joining the team working against them. They could easily set up traps and safety precautions that they would fall victim to if they didn’t know what the group had decided to do.

This problem, however, was easily solved. As Dewy stood up to go to the meeting, they pushed their plate away from them and left the table too, following her out casually. Once the door to the dining room was closed and they were a good distance away from all of the other guests, they put the device behind their ear, looked around quickly, then pounced on Dewy, one hand around her eyes and one on her mouth. They dragged her behind a tapestry. They could feel her terror under their hands.

“You will go to the meeting and listen carefully,” the murderer growled in a voice much lower than usual, “You will remember everything that was said. Then, when I come for you, you will tell me everything. Understand?”

Dewy nodded fearfully. The murderer felt tears under their right hand. They released her.

Dewy spun around, trying to see who the murderer was. But they had already vanished.

~~~~~

Marigold watched as Artimerrx sat down next to Mor and waved at her cheerily. She turned to her right, looking at Leafy, who had evidently seen that the table had been filled. Marigold folded her hands in her lap as Leafy stood up and cleared her throat. What chatter was still hanging in the air vanished as everyone directed their attention to Leafy.

“Okay, everyone. I have a list of things we need to do in this meeting. First, we need a President, a Vice President, and a Secretary.”

“I vote for you as president!” shouted Leeli. 

“Me too!” added Artimerrx. There was a general murmur of agreement. Leafy blushed ever so slightly, smiled, and continued, “Okay, thanks. Who wants to be Vice President?” Leeli raised her hand beside her. She looked around, paused for a few seconds, then asked, “Does anybody else want to?” Leafy was answered with silence. “Okay then, Leeli is Vice President. Who wants to be Secretary?”

Seconds passed. Leafy opened her mouth to ask again when Wren inched an uncertain hand into the air, fingers curled halfway down to her palm. “Okay then, Wren’s Secretary.” Wren’s eyes widened with shock. Leafy sat back down.

“First, I think we need a name, something that says what we want to do.”

“Um… The We Don’t Want to Die Association?” Artimerrx suggested. Mor laughed lightly.

“Or maybe The League of Murder Preventers,” chimed in Marigold.

“Or, I, um, I was thinking the- The Anti-Murder Protection Squad?” Dewy suggested nervously.

“Why don’t we have a vote. Anyone for The We Don’t Want to Die Association?” Leafy asked authoritatively. No-one raised their hand. Leafy did the same for the next two, and The Anti-Murder Protection Squad (soon to be known as TAMPS) won. 

“We should write every suspect down and see if anyone has any clues pointing towards them,” Leeli said. Wren hastily extracted a crumpled piece of paper from her pocket and started writing down the names of everybody in Magicae Palace. 

“Twenty-seven guests, one host, five magic instructors,” confirmed Marigold. 

“Think back to the murders,” Leafy urged. “There’s got to be someone we can eliminate.” 

“How about when Hazel was killed? She wasn’t there before the funeral, but then when we came back, she was there,” Leeli reminded them.

“Does that mean Aqua isn’t a suspect?” inquired Wren. “I- I mean, he was drying us all off, wasn’t he? So- so it doesn’t make sense that he would have the time.” She gripped her pencil tightly.

“Yeah, that wold make snse,” Mor agreed. Wren looked surprised at the murmur of agreement around the table. She almost forgot to cross him off the list.

“And the instructors are never at meals,” Marigold chimed in.

“Hmm, true…”

“Wait, guys. Autumn Artist and Quill died from poisoning, right? And Simul makes the food. She could have easily poisoned one of the dishes!” Leeli cried.

“True, but someone else could also have poisoned something when no-one was looking,” Leafy pointed out. Leeli looked disappointed.

“Wait, Leafy and Leeli, you guys weren’t there during lunch when Quill and Autumn Artist got poisoned, right?” Artimerrx asked.

“Oohh yeah!” cried Mor.

“So… um, safe to say that you guys aren’t- you know, the- the murderer?” Dewy piped up hesitantly, her statement coming up as a question.

“I- I think so,” agreed Wren, crossing the two off the list. Leafy and Leeli exchanged looks of relief. 

The meeting continued in a similar fashion. By the time Leafy announced that it was over, they group had decided on several things- one, that they should interrogate Simul to see what she knew and how suspicious she was, two, that they should patroll their element corridor at night and keep this a secret from the rest of the guests so they could catch the murderer at night, and that they should search the dormitories for all of the weapons that the murderer gathered (and keep this a secret too). At the end, Dewy had a sick feeling in her stomach, hating herself for what she was about to do and wondering where to find the murderer- but she didn’t need to find them. She was the last one out, as the murderer had suspected she would be, and they leapt out of the darkness and covered her eyes once more. Dewy let out a stifled cry, so scared she could hardly breathe.

“You’re allowed a breather,” the murderer growled, “But I’ll have you know that my patience only stretches so far.” Dewy whimpered. She gasped and took several deep breaths.

“I… I… we’re… there’s…. We- there’s- we’re going to patrol the corridors at night,” she wheezed, “And- and search everyone’s stuff- for the weapons- the weapons we brought, that- that you have. And we’re… we’re interrogating Simul.”

The murderer considered this. It seemed informative enough, and they knew Dewy was not one to lie. And even though something crude and evil was compelling them to do that act, a part of their mind was just dying to let her go, not wanting any part of what they were doing.

They started to let her go, then hesitated. “Do you know who I am?” Dewy shook her head wildly.

They let her go, darting away before she could glimpse at them. 

Top!

Spoopy lil bloopy~

Day three, part eight

That night, several people lay awake in the dark, all panicked about the murderer- even the murderer themselves. Jwyn was frantic, knowing who they were and what they were doing and all that was going on- perhaps they were stalking the corridors right now, preying on anyone who happened to be up…

But Dewy, pacing the Life corridor and twisting her hands as she did so, knew that they couldn’t prowl the hallways- she had told them TAMPS’s plan to be on the lookout for that very thing, so the murderer could avoid being caught… all because of her.

The murderer themselves had a sick feeling in their own stomach. They had forwarned Simul of TAMPS’s plan to interrogate her and search the dormitories as they dropped off the stolen weapons at her room, but this whole “Anit-Murder defense” thing could easily kill them all- by trying to save them, which was cruelly ironic. But the murderer was the only one to know it… 

Except, though they didn’t know, Jwyn had all the same thoughts swirling around in her head too…

Sleep was scarce the third night at Magicae Palace.

One of the two women, still flitting through the folds of reality, forever stamped as a ghost in places unseen, pushed through to the place she knew would need her utmost attention. She was less than material, a state of matter unbeknownst to the ordinary human. She glided on air, yet she was the air… she was on a search for the murderer at the dead of night.

But before the could even get to her destination, she noticed The Cliff. Her eyes widened. It was the place the murderer was chosen, and it had since changed for the worse.

Before, the murderer had seen the soil perfectly packed, smooth and sheer, like it was encased in glass. But now it was crumbling, with chunks missing, cracked rocks teetering between falling and resting in the broken cliff. In holes and creavases, the woman could see The Darkness- not normal dark that crawled around when the lights were out, not the dark it becomes at night- no, this Darkness was yet more sinister. It was The Darkness of secrets. The Darkness of truth in a happy utopia version of reality. 

The Darkness drizzled onto every Ski Lodge, The Darkness of everything everyone should never know. 

But this time… someone knew. They knew everything. They knew far too much. Even the murderer should be blind to it all… but here… they were not.

Fearful, the woman approached The Cliff. As she did, she could feel The Darkness around her, like a veil that separated a normal Ski Lodge from what had happened here. She could feel the secrets, she could feel a dark pain building inside of her…

She gasped and pulled away. None of the other guests could ever discover this place. And everything was in danger.   

~Top!

Oooh, scary… conspiracy theories, anyone? 

TOP! 

Day Four, part one

Very early morning

Simul woke early, groggy and sickened with subdued panic. She knew that TAMPS would be seeking her out for questioning, and that the problem with all of the secrets was growing- a small headache had developed deep inside of her skull, and she felt as though her insides were dense with dark clouds. The murderer had expressed similar symptoms of  dark secrets-itis. Simul groaned and huffed, and, slowly, peeled back the covers and stood, stretching and rubbing her eyes. Pawing around at her nightstand, she managed to (after almost knocking it over) turn on her lamp. Warm light blazed through the darkness, falling upon her dresser, the closet she had tucked the murderer’s weapons away in, the stone brick wall and the window enlaid in it- and, Simul saw, a hastily folded note fluttering gently on its sill. 

Dreading what it might say, Simul stepped forward, gently opened the window, and grabbed the note. It read, in handwriting that looked as though the hand that had gripped the pen had been shaking severely:

Warning. The Cliff is crumbling. Dangerous, putting Mystery at risk. Block from Chatterboxers immediately. Be careful. -L and C

Simul laid a hand upon the ice-cold windowsill, feeling sick to her stomach. It was just as she had feared- and even worse. The risk of putting everything in jeopardy just got greater. 

The pain in Simul’s headache increased. She rubbed her knuckles on her forehead, rereading the note, knowing what she had to do- right away. She sighed, folded up the note, closed her eyes, and vanished from her room.

She reappeared near The Cliff, in the woods behind the castle. She was about a yard away, and she could feel The Darkness pulling at her faintly. She backed up several paces until she could no longer feel secrets pulling at her consciousness. Then, weakly, hesitantly, she raised a soft-skinned hand in the air.

A tall, silver barrier materialized on her command, spreading across the area, encasing the woods that were safe for the guests to go in. Simul looked left and right, watching the barrier’s progression. She then summoned a pen and a piece of paper to write out a reply to those who had warned her. She paused after scrawling out her signature, wondering if she need do it. 

It’s for safety. Even if it doesn’t help, it won’t hurt. And… they deserve this.

Simul talked herself into it. She took a deep breath and added a PS. She wanted to have a meeting with L and C… and the murderer.

~~~~~~~~~~

Darkking looked around the entrance hall. All of his fellow guests were milling about and talking to each other, and Simul Stoicheio stood in front of the door to the dining hall. Puzzled, he approached Catsclaw.

“Hey, do you know what’s going on?” he asked him.

Catsclaw shrugged. “Simul’s got an announcement of some sort.” Catsclaw turned away, facing forward, staring at the back of Night Vision’s head. Darkking shrugged slightly and followed suit. A few seconds later, Simul cleared her throat loudly. The chatter began to die down and abated swiftly. Simul, as many of her guests noticed, looked nervous and tired. Her eyelids fluttered and rested a little longer than your average blink, but she quickly snapped them back open and cleared her throat once again.

“Hey there, homies,” she sighed, her enthusiasm taking a nosedive. “So, I’ve put a fence around the parameter of the island-thingie the castle and grounds are on. It’s just a safety thing. Also, I’ve been thinking… that I might recruit a second host, just to help me out, with the.. Stuff. Yeah. Sorry bros, I’m real tired.” She yawned to prove it. “Okie dokie then. See ya later, crocodiles.” She vanished on the spot, leaving much confusion in her wake.

“Ooooooh-kay then,” Catsclaw said awkwardly, “Um… anyone else down for breakfast?”

No-one was listening to him- they were all looking at each other with confusion and discussing the strange encounter that had just happened.

“Simul’s acting suspicious, huh?” Leafy said with heavy hints of smugness. “Im betting on it- she’s either the murderer or working with them.”

“Why’s she complaining about being tired? I am too; Reese, Boo and I pulled an all-nighter,” Winter half-boasted.

“Why did you do that? It’s not like we have anything worthy of pulling an all-nighter for!” Far scolded in reply. 

Agent Winter shrugged. “Cause it’s fun? I mean, there’s no Internet access so my Laptop was basically useless, but Boo has like an infinite stash of cake he let us eat from, so.” She patted her stomach contently. Far sighed. 

Bean took a more concerned approach. “Poor Simul. Come on, guys, imagine how stressed she must be. She didn’t plan on her vacation to become a crime scene!” Dewy/Song nodded their agreement. 

“Very true!” Marigold chimed in.

“Yeah yeah yeah, Simul’s weird and there’s a murderer and we’re linking together all the clues, blah blah blah. Can we go eat now?” Devin asked impatiently.

“I mean, sure, no-one’s stopping you,” Leeli snapped back, clearly thinking her AE had his priorities mixed up. Reese jumped up in the form of a cat, transformed gracefully in midair into a human again, and quite literally kicked open the door to the dining hall, only to roar in displeasure. “Simul forgot to make breakfast!”

Leafy jumped in, seeing the perfect opportunity. 

“I’ll go get her!” And then catch her red-handed, she couldn’t help but think.