Game 16 Thread: Yarn
Sept 8, 2017 6:46:54 GMT 12
Post by Yarn Witch on Sept 8, 2017 6:46:54 GMT 12
The great library fades back into view, and a familiar scene is taking place. An ink tipped knitting needle is embedded in the center of a table, and two figures stand opposite each other.
“And if I win?” The cloaked sorcerer asks, “What is it that I win from this little competition of yours?”
“For starters, I’ll back off and let you keep Elise,” the Witch says. “I’ll also guarantee whoever solves this the red key of detective in my next full game.”
“Ahh, now that is truly worth going all-out for! I accept these terms!”
“Fine then, it’s my challenge, so I’ll host.” The witch wrenches her needle from the table, and wraps some yarn around the end. It turns an inky black and waving it around like an oversized pencil, a setting begins to come into view. “I’ll win her back with this mystery!”
There are no master keys. There are also no locks, so there are no need for master keys.
There are also no servants in this game.
When the barrier is up, no one can enter or leave the mansion; therefore, no one can enter or exit via outward facing windows or doors.. Imagine this like one of those Sims houses where you trap everyone inside by removing the door.
Though the narrative is given through a journal, I guarantee the narrative is truthful.
"Actually, it's been a while, so let me go over the rest of the rules, especially for our new guests."
"Finally, I've left a couple of reds in the narrative for you, just to help you get situated as this isn't our typical setting."
Personal Journal of Leo, Second Prince of Nohr, Entry 1
Today we traveled to the Dukedom of Izumo, with the hope of ending the tensions between our kingdom and that of our neighbor, the Kingdom of Hoshido. A little over ten years ago, my father, King Garon, met with King Sumeragi of Hoshido in Cheve, one of our border towns, in order to negotiate a trade of resources and hopefully quell the number of bandits attacking Hoshidan villages for food, and our own villages for metal and ores.
No one really knows what happened that day. Father returned home, claiming the Hoshidans had attempted to assassinate him. But King Sumeragi had died, and Hoshido claimed it had all been a trap orchestrated by my father.
Of course, My Father denies such things, and so our nations have always been just one more incident away from a full out war. Myself (17) and my older siblings, Xander(27), Camilla (25) and Azura (19) have finally convinced him to consent to a summit with the current ruler of Hoshido, Sumeragi’s widow, Mikoto. My little sister, Elise (14), also accompanied us on this trip.
When we arrived, Queen Mikoto was attended by her children, Ryoma (27), Hinoka (23), Corrin (18), Takumi(17), and Sakura (15).
I’ll admit to feeling some apprehension to surrendering my magic tome, Brynhildr to the Archduke Izana, but as a show of good faith, I had no choice. Everyone else also left their weapons in his care as well.
The Archduke led us to a mansion that he assured us was, in his own words “Just a blast for slumber parties” and was fully equipped bedrooms to kitchen cupboards to handle our needs. He also told us "I had all the sharp stabby things removed though. It might be a pain to cook without knives, but safety first, you know?" While Elise got along well with him, it baffles me that such a man runs this country.
What he meant by this was that this place was offset from the rest of the city. So even if our arguments became heated, we wouldn’t have to worry of word getting out to the public. The Archduke sealed us inside with a magical barrier for good measure; until it dispelled tomorrow morning, no one would be able to enter or leave and any magic would be disrupted, be it from staff, tome, or innate natural ability, giving us plenty of time to talk without outside interference. While he’d offered to mediate, we had decided this had to be settled personally, so he’d cast his barrier from outside, leaving only us twelve inside.
~ ~ ~
Leo’s Journal Entry 2:
While I’d brought my journal to make a record of the summit, it seems I must instead make use of it for a more serious purpose.. I shall start from the beginning.
Our initial talks between the rulers did not go well. After a few hours of little progress, the families agreed to a break to restructure their arguments.
During the break, Elise had asked me to go to the garden that the mansion’s wings enclosed with her, but I was more interested in the library, having little opportunity to browse through Hoshidan Literature. She gave up at that point to find someone else to go with her.
Though there was no storm brewing, the dukedom of Izumo was extraordinarily windy, and the bamboo and lumber architecture of this place was constantly creaking. It wasn’t until I’d left the library and entered the hallway of the west wing that I heard the cries for help.
Quickly traveling to the source, a small garden with a koi pond, we discovered Corrin and Azura, desperately trying to resuscitate Elise. Elise’s top half was soaked through, as it seemed she’d been drowned in the koi pond.
Their attempts and all attempts to help them were unsuccessful. An examination gave us bruises and evidence of a struggle, though no one could pin down how long she’d been under before Azura and Corrin had found her.
Damnit! If I’d just gone with her, maybe she’d still be alive! Why didn’t I ju-
No. I need to continue to think this through rationally. We can all agree that she was murdered. She didn’t just slip in by accident. I blame myself for not being there, but I can’t let my emotions get the best of me, or else the person who did this might get away when the barrier dispels tomorrow morning.
I’ve decided to record all of our alibis here, in hope that having them to look over may uncover some clues. After all, the culprit must be one of us.
Alibis
Leo: Elise had asked me to go to the garden with her, but I went to the library instead. I didn’t hear Azura calling for help until I left the library.
Mikoto: My heart weeps for their loss. I was in a side room speaking with Ryoma when we heard someone scream.
Ryoma: What has happened is simply unthinkable. I was speaking with mother to put our thoughts in order when we heard the cries.
Hinoka: Everything so far had gotten to Sakura, so I went with her to try and find a quiet place to rest and calm down.
I had stepped outside for a moment while she was resting when I heard someone calling for help.
Sakura: I-I’m really no good at these sort of talks, or talking in general… But there’s no way I could kill anyone!
Takumi: For some reason, Princess Camilla kept hanging around me. It was really annoying, but I can say for sure that she was with me the entire time.
Garon: The lengths these people will go to is intolerable. Xander and I were discussing the summit in a room near the front of the mansion.
Xander: I… I don’t know if I yet fully comprehend what has happened. Why would anyone kill Elise? I.. I was discussing our next moves with Father when we heard someone in the hallway.. When we opened the door to investigate, we heard the commotion.
Camilla: Prince Takumi just looked so cute I couldn’t help but try and mess with him a bit. So I know for certain he didn’t do this. But when I find out who did, I will make them pay dearly.
Corrin: Mother had told me that Azura’s mother was her sister, so I was excited to meet my cousin. Azura had said she’d never seen a Koi pond before, so we went there.
Azura: I recalled my mother saying she had a sister in Hoshido. It was wonderful to finally meet my cousin. I don’t know who could have done this to Elise, my heart stopped when I saw her in the water.
Leo’s Journal, Entry 3
We moved Elise’s body to another room and covered her with a sheet. Though accusations flew between us at first, we all eventually managed to agree that not one of us here had a motive.
And besides, Elise had been quite soaked, and everyone was dry, save for Corrin and Azura. Still, the two of them weren’t entirely soaked, it was clear they had gotten wet as they pulled Elise from the water. Perhaps this doesn’t clear them of the crime, but as Prince Takumi pointed out, the mansion was well stocked with towels and sheets; it wouldn’t be hard for someone to dry off. It had been at least a half an hour between when I saw Elise and when her body was found by Corrin and Azura. I couldn’t help but find it interesting he made that point.
But, even if the Hoshidan’s wanted to kill us all, it wouldn’t make sense for them to start with and only target Elise. She didn’t change the power structure of Nohr, and all this did was put us more on the edge, make us more attentive for the next strike.
We had to entertain the idea that, despite what the Archduke had assured us, some sort of assassin slipped in before his barrier sealed us in.
If the idea that the culprit could somehow get around unseen and escape when the barrier dispelled in the morning set my blood to boiling, it outright enraged Camilla.
She insisted on searching the mansion top to bottom, and left without waiting for argument or back up. I chased after her, it too dangerous for her to go alone.
I never caught up to her. The twisting architecture of this place was too strange for me, and I lost my bearings quickly. Eventually I did meet up with Father, Azura, and Xander. They told me they had agreed to do a sweep of the east wing, while Queen Mikoto, Ryoma and Corrin took the west. Hinoka, Takumi and Sakura were checking the much smaller second floor.
We discovered something had gone wrong when we encountered Princess Hinoka desperately seeking out her other two siblings. She told us that Sakura had become spooked and fled during their search, the murder had seriously unnerved her and when a nearby tree had scratched against the house in the wind, she’d bolted.
Takumi had a much faster reaction, and she was certain he had caught up to her and they were together.
That was when we heard the noise of the other group.
I’m left to wonder now if I’d caught up to Camilla, would I have saved her? Or would I just be another victim? Now I’ve lost two sisters, where my presence might have been enough to spare them.
We found Camilla in the library I had chosen to go to before Elise had been killed.
For Clarity’s sake, the Library is in the back of this mansion. If one were to draw a line from the front doors to this place, the line would cut the enclosed garden in two. There are two sliding doors, granting access to the east and west wings on each end of the room. Just outside is the staircase headed upwards, and it is only accessible from the west wing.
Whoever was behind this had managed to get the drop on her, and had strangled her with a piece of wire. She’d left us no clues to the culprit. As our investigation of the scene dragged on, Hinoka began to worry when she noticed that Takumi and Sakura still hadn’t arrived to the scene. We had found all we could here, so we went to look for them.
And it may have been a mercy if we hadn’t found them.
There was a knife lodged in Takumi’s throat. A test of this showed that it had gone all the way to hit his spinal cord at the back of his throat and had become stuck there. Because of that. The culprit had taken an ornamental helmet hanging nearby, and had used that to violently bash in Sakura’s head. We found their bodies in the west wing, in one of the bedrooms that wasn’t too far from the library.
We moved all three to the same room as Elise, and then I took down the alibis.
Alibis:
Leo: Though I left before the others by chasing after Camilla, I never caught up to her. I met up with Father, Xander, and Azura in the east wing, each checking separate rooms. I remember Azura exiting a room behind me.
Mikoto: This is terrible, and yet my premonitive powers give me nothing as to who is behind this, or who the next victims may be. I wonder where the culprit received a weapon, as we surrendered all of ours before entering the mansion.
Ryoma: I left in a search group with Mikoto and Corrin. We didn’t find anything until we discovered Camilla’s corpse in the Library, and then we kept an eye out for the Nohrians to arrive before we investigated the entire room.
Hinoka: I went upstairs with Takumi and Sakura, but Sakura got frightened and Takumi ran after her. I thought she might go to find mother, but when I got to the first floor, I heard sounds from the east wing. That’s when I ran into Garon, Xander, Corrin, and Leo.
Garon: I concede there may be an outside force at work here. I have always warned my children to be wary. When I find who did this, I shall see and example made so no one dares such shameful tactics again. Once more, Xander can speak of my Alibi.
Xander: We found Leo in the halls of the east wing, far from where we would discover the victims.
Corrin: I went with Mother and Ryoma to search the west wing. We were looking around for a while before we discovered Camilla’s body. And then.. We’d already searched those rooms in the west wing.. The Killer must have attacked Takumi and Sakura while we were investigating the library.
Azura: After Camilla and Leo left, I accompanied Father and Xander to do a search of the east wing.
Leo’s Journal, Entry 4:
With the discovery of the knife, and a sinking feeling, we went to the kitchen. It was located in the western wing Mikoto, Ryoma, and Corrin had been searching.
The larders were full, and we had pots and pans in every size and more dinnerware than even the twelve of us who had started would ever need, in both Hoshidan and Nohrian style. But rather than a set of knives missing one, we couldn’t find even a single knife. Every block meant to house them was empty. In theory, it should have been like this from the start, but I think we all hoped that perhaps, despite Archduke Izana's words, there'd be proof he had missed one.
It was impossible in any case to tell if the knife belonged here or not. It was plain thing with a few spots of rust on it. We’d pried it from Takumi’s throat, cleaned it, and brought it with us so at the very least the culprit wouldn’t have it.
Though I despised to, considering my part in organizing this summit, I suspected the Hoshidans, obviously, they suspected one of us; hiding a weapon upon entry.
A search of each other revealed no knives on either of us, or any blood that would link them to the violent murders we’d seen.
Once more, we were left at an impasse. Neither of us could prove anyone on the other side, and my alibi keeping doesn’t seem to have left us any clues.
Things were getting worse and worse between us; I fully believe it was only because Princess Corrin had begun to sob uncontrollably upon discovering the bodies of Sakura and Takumi that held Princess Hinoka and Prince Ryoma back. She had regained enough composure to give her alibi, but she wasn’t able to keep it.
In the end, Princess Hinoka and Azura took Corrin to a room to try and get her to rest. They firmly barred the door from the inside, and swore to only open it to us when returned. Xander and I implored father to stay in as well, and he and Queen Mikoto stayed within the room, leaving only myself, Xander and Ryoma outside. We also entrusted the knife to Queen Mikoto, she was really the only one any of us could agree to leave it with. With that, the three of us outside the room traveled the mansion to get what we’d need to survive the rest of this, planning on barricading the rest of us together.
We weren’t finding the culprit, and though I couldn’t stand the idea of them getting away, we had to survive above all. I’d thought that admitting my own weakness, my inability to stop this and save my siblings would be the worst part of this, but I was wrong.
When we returned, no one responded to our knocks at the door, and despite Xander and Ryoma’s best attempts, they couldn’t break down the door with even their combined strength.
I admit to losing track of Ryoma and Xander for a little while as I recalled the stone pillar decoration in the garden. I found them quickly enough, but when we returned, the door was already open.
There was blood on the ground and bed, and the room was a mess as if a struggle had taken place within it. The wardrobe was on it’s side, and the chest that had been at the foot of the bed was cracked and upside down. Other than the signs we saw, the room was completely empty. No weapons, no scraps of clothing or anything to identify culprit or victim.
Xander was certain someone must still be alive; thinking there wasn’t enough blood in the room for a full five people to have been killed, and Ryoma was quick to follow him. It may not have been the wisest decision, but I stayed behind to take this all down. There isn’t much for our alibis, but I’ve included those as well.
I wish I could have captured the culprit, but now, my dearest prayer is that the three of us who remain at least make it out of this when the barrier is dispelled tomorrow morning. At the very least, perhaps staying here by myself may draw the culprit out and here to me.
Alibis:
Leo: No one answered us when we got back to the room no matter how much we called. Yet when we returned to break the door down, the door was open and the room was empty.
Xander: Somehow, the culprit got into the room… Still, we might not be too late to save father and Corrin!
Ryoma: The knowledge neither of the Nohrian Princes are the culprits is of little comfort in this situation.
Ending
Shortly after dawn, an alarm was raised in Izumo. A watchman sighted flames overtaking the mansion on the outskirts of town that visiting royalty had been staying at. By the time the Archduke was woken and had arrived on the scene, the mansion had been all but completely engulfed. Though Izana undid the barrier, rescue teams were unable to locate anyone in the areas they could reach.
When the flames finally died down, a number of skeletons were discovered among the ashes.
As the residents questioned the cause of such a disaster, one such skeleton was discovered near the cast iron stove in what had been the kitchen. Once the blackened iron was pried open, a journal was discovered within it, and the murders that had taken place within had been unveiled.
Some guards muttered how the murderer must have perished in the flames along with their victims, but the Archduke shook his head.
“They were clever and quite careful, but Prince Leo did quite well in his records.” Izana said, “We cannot let our guards down; the responsible party is still out there and with this it now bodes ill for all of us.”
With that, let the game begin!
Simply name the culprit(s) and give a short rundown of the murders that doesn't go against the narrative or the truthful testimonies. As long as you pin the right people and there aren't any contradictions with those two things, you'll win!
I'll close this game down on 9/9 before I go to work, around 4PM Arizona time, which should be about 7 PM EST, if I'm calculating right. Have fun!
“And if I win?” The cloaked sorcerer asks, “What is it that I win from this little competition of yours?”
“For starters, I’ll back off and let you keep Elise,” the Witch says. “I’ll also guarantee whoever solves this the red key of detective in my next full game.”
“Ahh, now that is truly worth going all-out for! I accept these terms!”
“Fine then, it’s my challenge, so I’ll host.” The witch wrenches her needle from the table, and wraps some yarn around the end. It turns an inky black and waving it around like an oversized pencil, a setting begins to come into view. “I’ll win her back with this mystery!”
There are no master keys. There are also no locks, so there are no need for master keys.
There are also no servants in this game.
When the barrier is up, no one can enter or leave the mansion; therefore, no one can enter or exit via outward facing windows or doors.. Imagine this like one of those Sims houses where you trap everyone inside by removing the door.
Though the narrative is given through a journal, I guarantee the narrative is truthful.
"Actually, it's been a while, so let me go over the rest of the rules, especially for our new guests."
- Anyone who is not the culprit may speak only the truth.
- There may be multiple Culprits.
- A "Culprit" is defined as someone who murders with their own hands.
- There are no accomplices in this game, unless they are also culprits.
- A Culprit who has yet to commit murder may still lie in purple.
- A Culprit is not obligated to lie, they only have the option to.
A Culprit cannot die, but they can fake death.
"Finally, I've left a couple of reds in the narrative for you, just to help you get situated as this isn't our typical setting."
Personal Journal of Leo, Second Prince of Nohr, Entry 1
Today we traveled to the Dukedom of Izumo, with the hope of ending the tensions between our kingdom and that of our neighbor, the Kingdom of Hoshido. A little over ten years ago, my father, King Garon, met with King Sumeragi of Hoshido in Cheve, one of our border towns, in order to negotiate a trade of resources and hopefully quell the number of bandits attacking Hoshidan villages for food, and our own villages for metal and ores.
No one really knows what happened that day. Father returned home, claiming the Hoshidans had attempted to assassinate him. But King Sumeragi had died, and Hoshido claimed it had all been a trap orchestrated by my father.
Of course, My Father denies such things, and so our nations have always been just one more incident away from a full out war. Myself (17) and my older siblings, Xander(27), Camilla (25) and Azura (19) have finally convinced him to consent to a summit with the current ruler of Hoshido, Sumeragi’s widow, Mikoto. My little sister, Elise (14), also accompanied us on this trip.
When we arrived, Queen Mikoto was attended by her children, Ryoma (27), Hinoka (23), Corrin (18), Takumi(17), and Sakura (15).
I’ll admit to feeling some apprehension to surrendering my magic tome, Brynhildr to the Archduke Izana, but as a show of good faith, I had no choice. Everyone else also left their weapons in his care as well.
The Archduke led us to a mansion that he assured us was, in his own words “Just a blast for slumber parties” and was fully equipped bedrooms to kitchen cupboards to handle our needs. He also told us "I had all the sharp stabby things removed though. It might be a pain to cook without knives, but safety first, you know?" While Elise got along well with him, it baffles me that such a man runs this country.
What he meant by this was that this place was offset from the rest of the city. So even if our arguments became heated, we wouldn’t have to worry of word getting out to the public. The Archduke sealed us inside with a magical barrier for good measure; until it dispelled tomorrow morning, no one would be able to enter or leave and any magic would be disrupted, be it from staff, tome, or innate natural ability, giving us plenty of time to talk without outside interference. While he’d offered to mediate, we had decided this had to be settled personally, so he’d cast his barrier from outside, leaving only us twelve inside.
~ ~ ~
Leo’s Journal Entry 2:
While I’d brought my journal to make a record of the summit, it seems I must instead make use of it for a more serious purpose.. I shall start from the beginning.
Our initial talks between the rulers did not go well. After a few hours of little progress, the families agreed to a break to restructure their arguments.
During the break, Elise had asked me to go to the garden that the mansion’s wings enclosed with her, but I was more interested in the library, having little opportunity to browse through Hoshidan Literature. She gave up at that point to find someone else to go with her.
Though there was no storm brewing, the dukedom of Izumo was extraordinarily windy, and the bamboo and lumber architecture of this place was constantly creaking. It wasn’t until I’d left the library and entered the hallway of the west wing that I heard the cries for help.
Quickly traveling to the source, a small garden with a koi pond, we discovered Corrin and Azura, desperately trying to resuscitate Elise. Elise’s top half was soaked through, as it seemed she’d been drowned in the koi pond.
Their attempts and all attempts to help them were unsuccessful. An examination gave us bruises and evidence of a struggle, though no one could pin down how long she’d been under before Azura and Corrin had found her.
Damnit! If I’d just gone with her, maybe she’d still be alive! Why didn’t I ju-
No. I need to continue to think this through rationally. We can all agree that she was murdered. She didn’t just slip in by accident. I blame myself for not being there, but I can’t let my emotions get the best of me, or else the person who did this might get away when the barrier dispels tomorrow morning.
I’ve decided to record all of our alibis here, in hope that having them to look over may uncover some clues. After all, the culprit must be one of us.
Alibis
Leo: Elise had asked me to go to the garden with her, but I went to the library instead. I didn’t hear Azura calling for help until I left the library.
Mikoto: My heart weeps for their loss. I was in a side room speaking with Ryoma when we heard someone scream.
Ryoma: What has happened is simply unthinkable. I was speaking with mother to put our thoughts in order when we heard the cries.
Hinoka: Everything so far had gotten to Sakura, so I went with her to try and find a quiet place to rest and calm down.
I had stepped outside for a moment while she was resting when I heard someone calling for help.
Sakura: I-I’m really no good at these sort of talks, or talking in general… But there’s no way I could kill anyone!
Takumi: For some reason, Princess Camilla kept hanging around me. It was really annoying, but I can say for sure that she was with me the entire time.
Garon: The lengths these people will go to is intolerable. Xander and I were discussing the summit in a room near the front of the mansion.
Xander: I… I don’t know if I yet fully comprehend what has happened. Why would anyone kill Elise? I.. I was discussing our next moves with Father when we heard someone in the hallway.. When we opened the door to investigate, we heard the commotion.
Camilla: Prince Takumi just looked so cute I couldn’t help but try and mess with him a bit. So I know for certain he didn’t do this. But when I find out who did, I will make them pay dearly.
Corrin: Mother had told me that Azura’s mother was her sister, so I was excited to meet my cousin. Azura had said she’d never seen a Koi pond before, so we went there.
Azura: I recalled my mother saying she had a sister in Hoshido. It was wonderful to finally meet my cousin. I don’t know who could have done this to Elise, my heart stopped when I saw her in the water.
Leo’s Journal, Entry 3
We moved Elise’s body to another room and covered her with a sheet. Though accusations flew between us at first, we all eventually managed to agree that not one of us here had a motive.
And besides, Elise had been quite soaked, and everyone was dry, save for Corrin and Azura. Still, the two of them weren’t entirely soaked, it was clear they had gotten wet as they pulled Elise from the water. Perhaps this doesn’t clear them of the crime, but as Prince Takumi pointed out, the mansion was well stocked with towels and sheets; it wouldn’t be hard for someone to dry off. It had been at least a half an hour between when I saw Elise and when her body was found by Corrin and Azura. I couldn’t help but find it interesting he made that point.
But, even if the Hoshidan’s wanted to kill us all, it wouldn’t make sense for them to start with and only target Elise. She didn’t change the power structure of Nohr, and all this did was put us more on the edge, make us more attentive for the next strike.
We had to entertain the idea that, despite what the Archduke had assured us, some sort of assassin slipped in before his barrier sealed us in.
If the idea that the culprit could somehow get around unseen and escape when the barrier dispelled in the morning set my blood to boiling, it outright enraged Camilla.
She insisted on searching the mansion top to bottom, and left without waiting for argument or back up. I chased after her, it too dangerous for her to go alone.
I never caught up to her. The twisting architecture of this place was too strange for me, and I lost my bearings quickly. Eventually I did meet up with Father, Azura, and Xander. They told me they had agreed to do a sweep of the east wing, while Queen Mikoto, Ryoma and Corrin took the west. Hinoka, Takumi and Sakura were checking the much smaller second floor.
We discovered something had gone wrong when we encountered Princess Hinoka desperately seeking out her other two siblings. She told us that Sakura had become spooked and fled during their search, the murder had seriously unnerved her and when a nearby tree had scratched against the house in the wind, she’d bolted.
Takumi had a much faster reaction, and she was certain he had caught up to her and they were together.
That was when we heard the noise of the other group.
I’m left to wonder now if I’d caught up to Camilla, would I have saved her? Or would I just be another victim? Now I’ve lost two sisters, where my presence might have been enough to spare them.
We found Camilla in the library I had chosen to go to before Elise had been killed.
For Clarity’s sake, the Library is in the back of this mansion. If one were to draw a line from the front doors to this place, the line would cut the enclosed garden in two. There are two sliding doors, granting access to the east and west wings on each end of the room. Just outside is the staircase headed upwards, and it is only accessible from the west wing.
Whoever was behind this had managed to get the drop on her, and had strangled her with a piece of wire. She’d left us no clues to the culprit. As our investigation of the scene dragged on, Hinoka began to worry when she noticed that Takumi and Sakura still hadn’t arrived to the scene. We had found all we could here, so we went to look for them.
And it may have been a mercy if we hadn’t found them.
There was a knife lodged in Takumi’s throat. A test of this showed that it had gone all the way to hit his spinal cord at the back of his throat and had become stuck there. Because of that. The culprit had taken an ornamental helmet hanging nearby, and had used that to violently bash in Sakura’s head. We found their bodies in the west wing, in one of the bedrooms that wasn’t too far from the library.
We moved all three to the same room as Elise, and then I took down the alibis.
Alibis:
Leo: Though I left before the others by chasing after Camilla, I never caught up to her. I met up with Father, Xander, and Azura in the east wing, each checking separate rooms. I remember Azura exiting a room behind me.
Mikoto: This is terrible, and yet my premonitive powers give me nothing as to who is behind this, or who the next victims may be. I wonder where the culprit received a weapon, as we surrendered all of ours before entering the mansion.
Ryoma: I left in a search group with Mikoto and Corrin. We didn’t find anything until we discovered Camilla’s corpse in the Library, and then we kept an eye out for the Nohrians to arrive before we investigated the entire room.
Hinoka: I went upstairs with Takumi and Sakura, but Sakura got frightened and Takumi ran after her. I thought she might go to find mother, but when I got to the first floor, I heard sounds from the east wing. That’s when I ran into Garon, Xander, Corrin, and Leo.
Garon: I concede there may be an outside force at work here. I have always warned my children to be wary. When I find who did this, I shall see and example made so no one dares such shameful tactics again. Once more, Xander can speak of my Alibi.
Xander: We found Leo in the halls of the east wing, far from where we would discover the victims.
Corrin: I went with Mother and Ryoma to search the west wing. We were looking around for a while before we discovered Camilla’s body. And then.. We’d already searched those rooms in the west wing.. The Killer must have attacked Takumi and Sakura while we were investigating the library.
Azura: After Camilla and Leo left, I accompanied Father and Xander to do a search of the east wing.
Leo’s Journal, Entry 4:
With the discovery of the knife, and a sinking feeling, we went to the kitchen. It was located in the western wing Mikoto, Ryoma, and Corrin had been searching.
The larders were full, and we had pots and pans in every size and more dinnerware than even the twelve of us who had started would ever need, in both Hoshidan and Nohrian style. But rather than a set of knives missing one, we couldn’t find even a single knife. Every block meant to house them was empty. In theory, it should have been like this from the start, but I think we all hoped that perhaps, despite Archduke Izana's words, there'd be proof he had missed one.
It was impossible in any case to tell if the knife belonged here or not. It was plain thing with a few spots of rust on it. We’d pried it from Takumi’s throat, cleaned it, and brought it with us so at the very least the culprit wouldn’t have it.
Though I despised to, considering my part in organizing this summit, I suspected the Hoshidans, obviously, they suspected one of us; hiding a weapon upon entry.
A search of each other revealed no knives on either of us, or any blood that would link them to the violent murders we’d seen.
Once more, we were left at an impasse. Neither of us could prove anyone on the other side, and my alibi keeping doesn’t seem to have left us any clues.
Things were getting worse and worse between us; I fully believe it was only because Princess Corrin had begun to sob uncontrollably upon discovering the bodies of Sakura and Takumi that held Princess Hinoka and Prince Ryoma back. She had regained enough composure to give her alibi, but she wasn’t able to keep it.
In the end, Princess Hinoka and Azura took Corrin to a room to try and get her to rest. They firmly barred the door from the inside, and swore to only open it to us when returned. Xander and I implored father to stay in as well, and he and Queen Mikoto stayed within the room, leaving only myself, Xander and Ryoma outside. We also entrusted the knife to Queen Mikoto, she was really the only one any of us could agree to leave it with. With that, the three of us outside the room traveled the mansion to get what we’d need to survive the rest of this, planning on barricading the rest of us together.
We weren’t finding the culprit, and though I couldn’t stand the idea of them getting away, we had to survive above all. I’d thought that admitting my own weakness, my inability to stop this and save my siblings would be the worst part of this, but I was wrong.
When we returned, no one responded to our knocks at the door, and despite Xander and Ryoma’s best attempts, they couldn’t break down the door with even their combined strength.
I admit to losing track of Ryoma and Xander for a little while as I recalled the stone pillar decoration in the garden. I found them quickly enough, but when we returned, the door was already open.
There was blood on the ground and bed, and the room was a mess as if a struggle had taken place within it. The wardrobe was on it’s side, and the chest that had been at the foot of the bed was cracked and upside down. Other than the signs we saw, the room was completely empty. No weapons, no scraps of clothing or anything to identify culprit or victim.
Xander was certain someone must still be alive; thinking there wasn’t enough blood in the room for a full five people to have been killed, and Ryoma was quick to follow him. It may not have been the wisest decision, but I stayed behind to take this all down. There isn’t much for our alibis, but I’ve included those as well.
I wish I could have captured the culprit, but now, my dearest prayer is that the three of us who remain at least make it out of this when the barrier is dispelled tomorrow morning. At the very least, perhaps staying here by myself may draw the culprit out and here to me.
Alibis:
Leo: No one answered us when we got back to the room no matter how much we called. Yet when we returned to break the door down, the door was open and the room was empty.
Xander: Somehow, the culprit got into the room… Still, we might not be too late to save father and Corrin!
Ryoma: The knowledge neither of the Nohrian Princes are the culprits is of little comfort in this situation.
Ending
Shortly after dawn, an alarm was raised in Izumo. A watchman sighted flames overtaking the mansion on the outskirts of town that visiting royalty had been staying at. By the time the Archduke was woken and had arrived on the scene, the mansion had been all but completely engulfed. Though Izana undid the barrier, rescue teams were unable to locate anyone in the areas they could reach.
When the flames finally died down, a number of skeletons were discovered among the ashes.
As the residents questioned the cause of such a disaster, one such skeleton was discovered near the cast iron stove in what had been the kitchen. Once the blackened iron was pried open, a journal was discovered within it, and the murders that had taken place within had been unveiled.
Some guards muttered how the murderer must have perished in the flames along with their victims, but the Archduke shook his head.
“They were clever and quite careful, but Prince Leo did quite well in his records.” Izana said, “We cannot let our guards down; the responsible party is still out there and with this it now bodes ill for all of us.”
With that, let the game begin!
Simply name the culprit(s) and give a short rundown of the murders that doesn't go against the narrative or the truthful testimonies. As long as you pin the right people and there aren't any contradictions with those two things, you'll win!
I'll close this game down on 9/9 before I go to work, around 4PM Arizona time, which should be about 7 PM EST, if I'm calculating right. Have fun!