Name:Princess Juniper

Aprox. Age: ten-eleven 

Pronouns/gender: Female, she/her

AE or Cber?: CBer

Appearance: Brown hair, freckles, brown/hazel eyes, jean shorts and a purple knit top

Personality: Kind of crazy and mysterious, self doubting, leader, brave-ish and book nerd

Skills/Abilities: Writing, acting, sewing

Weaknesses: Not picking my battles, not good with lots of change and bossiness

Fears:  Suffocating. In any way.

What are you bringing? One set of toiletries, my kindle, five thousand books, a flare gun, a old timey typewriter, ten changes of clothes, my lawyer's contact info, and a pocket knife

Do you believe in ghosts? Yes. Who knows? Maybe I am one

Other: Ski lodge!!!!!!!!!!! 

No more participants will be allowed. The first part will be posted shortly!

DAY ONE, Part One 

Whispering Mountain has always been owned by strange people, but none of its owners have been as odd as Cliff Norwood. It is rumored that he vanishes for days on end, doing who knows what…

—

“Breakfast is ready, guests of honor!” Norwood’s voice drifted into the ears of all of the still-sleeping residents. Kitten thought “guests of honor” was a little formal, as did most of the other guests. Orson didn’t think it was formal enough. Dallas and Glimmer thought that “of honor” was a perfect title for them. 

Breakfast consisted of pancakes and waffles, with a vegan version for those who wanted that instead. There was a special table reserved for staff, but Aspen was the only one there. The other three seats were entirely empty. Once Aspen finished their meal, they stood up at the front of the dining hall and clapped their hands together, getting everyone’s attention.

“Okay, when you’re done eating, you can have some free time in the Lodge while we wait for Norwood to finish…whatever he’s doing,” Aspen said. “After that, we’re going to go kayaking on that… big pond? Small lake? Well, we’re going kayaking on a body of water. That’s good enough.”

“Kayaking? That sounds fun,” Dallas commented. “I bet I’ll be the best at it.” Several of the other guests rolled their eyes.

Kitten, Lynx, and Princess Juniper all decided to head down to the library. There wasn’t anyone else in there, and the silence was almost frightening. The three decided to stick together while they browsed the shelves.

“Huh, that’s kind of weird,” Kitten murmured, looking down at the floor. Juniper and Lynx walked over to her, curious about what Kitten had discovered.

“What’s wrong?” Lynx asked.

“Nothing’s wrong. But look–there are big scrapes on the floor here, like this bookshelf was recently moved,” Kitten replied, pointing down at the floor. They were right–there were two large scuff-marks on the concrete floor.

“That’s because this bookshelf is brand-new!” Lynx, Juniper, and Kitten all jumped in surprise. They turned around to see Norwood.

“Mr. Wolfe–the maintenance guy–built it just before y’all got here. Aspen moved it down here just yesterday! All the books on it used to be in a big pile on the floor,” Norwood continued.

“Aspen had to move it all by themself? Wow, that must have sucked,” Juniper said. Norwood ignored her. Clearly, he didn’t care all too much about the well-being of his staff.

“Well, let’s get back up to the dining hall! I’m ready to go kayaking–aren’t you?” Before he got an answer, Norwood quickly spun on his heels and started walking out of the library. Kitten, Juniper, and Lynx had no choice but to follow.

Everyone else was already waiting in the dining hall, having been gathered by Aspen. There was also someone new–she was wearing a white dress with a red cross on it, and had dark brown skin. Her black hair was in braids, which reached her waist. 

“Um, hello!” The newcomer said. “I’m Fauna Flowers, the nurse.”

“Is there something you need, Ms. Flowers?” Norwood asked.

“Uh, yes–I’m missing one of my syringes. There used to be exactly eight, but now I seem to have only seven…” Fauna explained nervously. “I’m sure I just misplaced it, but I really can’t find it…”

“Well, we’ll just have to all keep an eye out for it!” Norwood said. “Come along, dear guests! There’s no reason to delay our kayaking.”

~~~~~

DEAD: None

SUSPECTS: None

SECRETS DISCOVERED: None

Name: Sterling

Approx. Age: 15

Pronouns/Gender: she/they

AE or CBer?: CBer

Appearance: Long black hair, olive skin with freckles, blue eyes, short-ish, wearing summery clothing and a beaded choker necklace.

Personality: Shy and reserved around people I don't know but more extroverted and bubbly around friends, creative, passionate, ambitious, protective.

Skills/Abilities: Decent at a lot of different hobbies, observant, creative

Weaknesses: Hot-headed at times, sarcasic and cold at others

Fears: Hights, darkness

What are you bringing?: Clothes, toiletries, art and writing supplies, climbing and hiking supplies, pocketknife

Do you believe in ghosts? Yes

Name: Kei

Approx. Age: 16

Pronouns/Gender: Male, he/him

AE or CBer?: AE

Appearance: Pale skin, black hair highlighted with deep purple that's just past shoulder length, sharp violet eyes.  Usually wears more formal clothes along with a golden locket necklace.

Personality: Reserved and thoughtful, always seems to be analyzing something or someone.  Can be quite cold or arrogant but when he cares for someone he cares for them deeply.

Skills/Abilities: Perceptive, cautious, stealthy

Weaknesses: Aloof and arrogant, somewhat of a narcicisst

Fears: Fire, small spaces (he's claustrophobic)

What are you bringing?: The usual essentials, lots of books

Do you believe in ghosts? Spirits, yes, ghosts not so much

DAY ONE, Part Two

It is said that all ski lodges are tied together by some mystical force, something called the ‘Mystery’. This ‘Mystery’ keeps the ski lodge intact, choosing the murderer and making sure things stay in the realm of the ski lodge. But this ‘Mystery’ is still recovering…

—

The Lodge’s guests stood outside by the small lake/big pond, waiting for Norwood and Aspen to get the boats ready. Kitten had brought her own kayak and paddle, so hers was already ready. A good number of the guests had never kayaked before, and Aspen was doing their best to explain how to do it. It seemed to Kitten that Aspen had also never been kayaking before–she wondered if Norwood wanted the residents to drown.

“Here, I’ll show everyone how it’s done,” Norwood eventually said. Aspen breathed a sigh of relief. They said something about needing to cook lunch and quickly hurried back into the Lodge. 

The guests slowly began to go out onto the water. At one point, Neverseen’s kayak tipped over and Norwood had to rescue her. In the ensuing chaos, nobody noticed when some of the guests went missing.

“Aw, my watch is broken!” Neverseen cried out when she got back into her kayak. 

“It’s okay. Why don’t we all head back inside, and we can get you a new one?” Norwood suggested. The guests all began to slowly head back to shore. The guests all gathered together on the rocky beach. Sterling gave Neverseen a towel to dry off with. Norwood began to lead them back inside, but he was quickly interrupted.

“Wait! Where’s Lynx?” Bakerloo called out.

“I feel like I haven’t seen them in a while…” Quill muttered.

“Maybe she just went inside before everyone?” Silver Crystal said. “I’m sure they’ll turn up soon.”

“I’ll go check inside,” Luna offered. They ran inside the Lodge, and the rest of the guests impatiently waited. Norwood tried to keep them occupied by talking about the surrounding woods a little. Apparently, there was a good number of bears in the area.

“Bears?!” Glimmer shouted. “I bet she got eaten!”

“Glimmer!” Neverseen scolded her AE.

“Look, Luna’s coming back,” Onyx said.

Luna had indeed returned–but Lynx was nowhere to be found. “She’s not inside the Lodge anywhere.”

“Okay, everyone–let’s split up and look for Lynx!” Norwood instructed. Kitten, Bakerloo, Luna, and Majestic Mary went to search by Orion’s cabin. Nerd, Dallas, Orson, Neverseen, and Glimmer decided to check inside the Lodge one more time. Silver Crystal, Princess Juniper, Ace, and Gillian searched the gardens outside of the Lodge. Sterling, Kei, Quill, and Onyx went to look around the woods near the pond/lake.

It was Quill who found the body first. They let out a cry of terror, and Kei, Sterling, and Onyx rushed to her side. 

“Oh my…oh my gosh–I’ll go get Fauna!” Sterling sprinted back towards the Lodge. 

“I’ll go find everyone else!” Onyx said, also running away.

Lynx’s still body was hidden under a bush. Quill gingerly grabbed her foot and pulled them out from under the leaves. There was a piece of tape covering their mouth, and their hands had been tied together. Something was in her pocket–Quill reached forwards and pulled it out. It was the missing syringe. A tiny amount of blood covered the tip, but there was no visible trace of liquid in the vial.

Everyone else soon reached the body, and Quill showed them all the syringe. When Fauna arrived, she instantly checked for a pulse. Everyone nervously held their breath. 

“She’s…dead.”

There were cries of shock and outrage. Everyone wanted to know who’d done it, and quickly began accusing each other.

“I bet it was Kitten or Juniper, cause they were with her earlier!”

“No, it must have been Glimmer! I’m sure she thought she could just lie about it!”

“I think it was Dallas!”

“Everyone, stop!” Fauna cried out. Everyone fell silent. “I don’t… I’m not even sure if she was really murdered. I mean, it just looks like they went into cardiac arrest!”

“Do you think Lynx just had heart problems?” Luna asked. “I mean, I guess that’s possible, but…”

“It doesn’t explain the syringe,” Kei pointed out. “Or the fact that Lynx was clearly kidnapped.”

“Fauna, when did you first notice the missing syringe?” Bakerloo asked. “That will help us figure out who stole it…”

“Well, it was there before breakfast. But after free-time, it was gone,” Fauna explained. “Someone must have stolen it then.”

“Okay, but what killed Lynx?! None of that answers that!” Dallas shouted. “People don’t just… drop dead!”

~~~~

DEAD: Aislynn Lynx (cause unknown)

SUSPECTS: None

SECRETS DISCOVERED: None

DAY ONE, Part Three

It is said that Orion Wolfe, a mechanic, can fix anything. It’s also rumored that Fauna Flowers, a medic, can cure any illness. I wonder if they could stop even Death itself…

—

No one was able to come up with a definitive reason for Lynx’s death. Eventually, Fauna simply stated that she would “look into it”, and the group slowly disbanded. It was decided that Lynx’s body would be brought to the infirmary for further examination, and when that was complete, buried in the rose garden outside of the Lodge. Kei, Norwood, and Luna carried the corpse on a stretcher.

The guests had gathered in the lounge, quietly talking amongst themselves. Just about everyone was in a state of shock. Even Onyx, Dallas, Glimmer, and Orson were mostly quiet. It was hard for everyone to fathom that one of their friends could be a killer. But eventually, the shock started to wear off. Suddenly, everyone wanted to figure out the killer.

Aspen and Norwood came back to the lounge and announced that the guests would be allowed to have some free time inside the Lodge, then they’d gather for dinner. After that, they would go to sleep. The guests deciding to do some investigating during their free time, and Neverseen decided to write down exactly where everyone was going in the notebook she brought.

Dallas and Nerd went to the fitness room together, but they didn’t find anything unusual in there. Orson, Bakerloo, Luna, and Quill all went to the theater, but once again, there wasn’t anything odd about it. Kitten and Princess Juniper decided to investigate the library again, and Neverseen, Silver Crystal, and Skip went with them. They wanted to see what was behind the strange bookshelf, but oddly enough, Norwood seemed to be standing guard by it. They didn’t find anything else there. 

Majestic Mary, Sterling, Ace, and Onyx investigated all of the guests’ rooms, hoping to find something incriminating in them. They found several pocket knives, which were deemed too dangerous–they had Aspen keep them in the kitchen, with all the other knives. Nothing else was found in the rooms. Gillian, Glimmer, and Kei decided to sneak into the attic while the other staff members were distracted. It was there that the most interesting thing was found.

The three AEs easily managed to get into the attic, as the door was unlocked. Glimmer and Gillian decided to start investigating the boxes closest to the door. Kei, who disliked company, headed towards the very back, where the discovery was made.

He carefully wove his way through the mounds of stacked objects, making sure not to get any of the plentiful dust on his clothes. There was a large tarp laid across the ground in the back. Kei carefully pulled it away, coughing because of the dust that instantly flew into his lungs. Beneath the tarp was a strange chalk circle of sorts–it seemed to be a summoning circle of sorts. He noticed a journal laying on the floor next to the circle, and began to read it.

First resident has died. Not sure who the killer is, but I’m sure I can find them. Aspen will let me know if they hear anything weird. Thank the Mystery (well, maybe not) our ghost summoning was a success. I can still fix this, if the others are willing to play their part.

There was no name anywhere on the journal, so Kei had no idea who’d written it. But the ink was still wet, and Lynx’s death had happened only a few hours ago, so it must have been written recently. Kei figured it would be safer to pretend none of them had ever gone to the attic, so he put the journal back down. He showed Glimmer and Gillian what he’d found–they helped him put the tarp back, then the three of them quietly snuck into the dining hall. During dinner, each of them made their way to each of the other guests and discreetly let them know of their bizarre discovery. 

Dinner was soon over. The guests wanted to talk about the odd things in the attic, and figure out who the journal belonged to. But Aspen was incredibly adamant that they all went to bed, and they had no choice but to listen to them. Each of the guests double-checked to make sure their door was locked, and every time they heard footsteps, they hid beneath their covers.

But slowly, they each fell asleep.

~~~~~~

DEAD: Aislynn Lynx (cause unknown)

SUSPECTS: (None)

SECRETS DISCOVERED: Summoning circle and journal