I'm torn between Redherring and Amy. They were the most prominent friends of the deceased, so teaming up with them to solve the case seems like a good narrative.
I think it would be better if we went to them with new information? We just finished interrogating both of them, and we didn't make a particularly good impression on Redherring.
I believe we might want to allow our suspects some space before we start squeezing them for more.
Normally we'd be closing the vote now, but it appears we'll have to extend the voting for a day due to a three-way split. I'm honestly very excited about that, it means more of you are reading, or at the very least more of you are engaged enough to vote, and I can't thank you enough for that.
Voting will close in 24 hours. We are currently only accepting votes on where on the train to explore next.
while we made headway to our next stop, I am afraid Some Coldnigbt gift-reindeer have covered the tracks in pine trees, large boxes and family dinners. While we are preparing the plow, new years gremlins are awakening, its that time of year I am afraid.
Yours truely,
Lizard knight,
One of your honorary co-conductor
Good evening, passengers, this is your conductor speaking.
It appears we are not quite equipped to manage the holiday rush but rest assured that progress is being made, however slowly. The three spirits that visited me and have spent the last few days lazing around like ungrateful parasites and forcing me to do their dark bidding have finally moved on. I have had to teach the True Meaning of Christmas to no less than 38 people and am exhausted from the effort. Please, bear with us as we recover from this holiday hokum and return to our irregularly scheduled updates.
You examine the envelope you left in your room, turning it over in your hands. Fine vellum, sealed with a crisp yellow seal depicting an oncoming steam locomotive, with the round smokebox door stylised to resemble a magnifying glass. The train seems to be approaching you, despite never moving from the wax. You shake your head and try to dispel the minor impossibility. You have more pressing things to worry about. Whoever wrote this note, for instance. They did seem to be expecting you.
"As the Wonderful Detective Madame Rodier, Your Most Esteemed Attention is Drawn to a Letter
Beneficent most is my significant pleasure you are to travel these early hours on this fine item of transport.
By here, you a cordially invited to ride the most splendid and magnificent train of railways, the Midnight Transarcadian.
The train is greatest ride the mighty night rails of cyclopean black, most assured.
You are here. Provide most insouciant entertainment and a consulting detective.
This very dark and stygian eve as travel below the wan light of cold moon, there is might be a most flagitious individual of misconduct most foul on the very train!
Reveal the wicked in front of all associates in dramatic firelight and the evil is behind.
If needs must further insight, the perspicacious Conductor! He is of the tower of steam and iron but horizontal.
Gratitudinous to the humble and true faculty. Pay them! Waiters and lamps!
Yours in Most Humble.
Your kindly Benefactor
P.S. You read the letter, and at a very good time for pacing, but the rude of leaving the letter waiting. Scream is troublous, but manners most necessary"
[Item Added - Letter from the Benefactor]
You stare at the letter, before setting it down with your lips set in a line.
You look up at one of the blue flares of a lamp "You don't talk as well, do you?" You ask. You take the lamp's silence as a 'no.' Not for the first time tonight, you try to figure out what you've gotten yourself into. You lie on your cot for some indeterminable amount of time, only avoiding panic by way of exhaustion. Still, you have more to do, and sleep seems unappetising at the moment.
There is more of the train to explore, and it would be good to go for a walk. You feel awfully cooped up, trapped even, quite literally.
You take a step outside and take a moment to look at the other two rooms. Ace's coupe seemed to have quite a bit of room in it, considering how many passengers it could fit. Larger than it should be, in fact. You soldier on.
Ignore it and keep going, you think to yourself.
You run your hand across the 3-2 nameplate on the course of your walk. Ace didn't mention it, but you assume that this is Redherring's place of residence based on how close it is to the crime scene..
You turn around and pass your room on your way to the next car. You did say you would visit the Reporter, and you may as well, and you would if you knew which room was hers. You suddenly come to realise Ace only told you the cars, not the rooms.
"Should have asked…" You mutter to yourself as the events of the day and the lack of sleep suddenly catch up to you.
"What am I doing?" You say, muffled into your hands and curled up against the dark wood panelling. You're not a detective, you're not a sorcerer, you're not even a very good writer. You're in way over your head and you can't make sense of anything in this place. The lamps are selfish jerks, there is a mobile tree cop, a mound of talking cats, and the ever-present grim reminder of what happens to detectives who aren't entertaining enough!
You hear a door in front of you open while you are still invested in your attempt to curl up into nothingness.
"Someone making whoopee out here or what? Come on, a bird needs her beauty sleep!" Comes a familiar American voice. You look up to see the diminutive form of Amy making her way out of her room.
"Sharda! It's a bit early to be having this sort of breakdown. Specially in front of my place." Says the owl woman, turning her head sideways.
You clean your eyes with your sleeve and salvage what dignity you have before trying to push yourself into your other persona.
"Ah, Miss F'Owler, just the bird I was looking for!" You attempt through a clenched jaw.
Amy's head seems to tilt even more.
"Now what are you doing with your ogles all flooded? Can't just be this ol' muckraker, can it?"
You feel your smile become slightly more genuine
"Oh, it's just been a rather eventful day for me, and the lack of a good night's rest certainly can't be helping. Nothing to worry about."
The owl clicks her tongue "Rushing out then, very reckless of you." She hops on ahead. "Now move your gams, I got something I wanna show ya."
You nod and follow the little bird into the coupe to find her struggling to pull up the mattress of the cot hanging from the wall.
Underneath the mattress are a collection of crumpled and torn papers and photographs. As she flutters passed you to knock over the nearby bin and let a similar collection spill out. Curious, you take a photo to examine. It depicts a metal door, painted a red-beige, with a letterbox peephole at eye-height. In the white bar underneath the frame, the words "what next?" are written in hurried hand. The back is a list of names next to notes. Raymond - struggled, brief scream, vent. Agatha - no struggle, tried to comfort Barkley, no vent. Eddie - held doorframe, lost finger (see trash), no vent. MacDonald - Jammed door with knife (Teeth?), pulled back in, vent.
There are 23 names listed.
What do you do?
[] Talk to Amy
[] Leave
-[] Where?
If you talk to Amy… (Pick 3)
[] Ask about the notes and photos
[] Ask about the notes on the door photo
[] Show her an item from your inventory
-[] Ace's letter
-[] The napkin
-[] Write-In
[] Ask about another character
-[] Who?
[] Ask what she's doing
[] Write-in
Afterwards
[] Stay with Amy
[] Explore the train more
[] Sleep
[] Write-In
Adhoc vote count started by Mr BreaksIt on Jan 8, 2019 at 4:33 AM, finished with 4 posts and 3 votes.
[x] Talk to Amy
[x] Ask about the notes on the door photo
[x] Ask about another character
-[x] Ariadne.
[x] Ask what she's doing
P.S. You read the letter, and at a very good time for pacing, but the rude of leaving the letter waiting. Scream is troublous, but manners most necessary
Ah, good, self-printing letters. Does it mean if we check it at different times we might see something different written on it? Can we use it as an indicator of our overall performance?
"Hey, if you're a real detective, you think you might be able to gimme a hand later? Come to my compartment, there's something I need you to have a vader at."
So, we're going to want to sleep after this. Definitely want to talk with Amy now that we're here. Now sure what the third question should be, was thinking of a write in for advice on how to survive.
[X] Talk to Amy
[X] Ask what she's doing
[X] Ask about the notes on the door photo
You hold the photo in your hand. You stare at it. The picture makes you deeply uncomfortable.
"Amy," You say, "What's this a picture of? And what are these names? Just what exactly are you doing in here?".
The owl toddles over and flaps up to a perh closer to eye level.
"Ace is dead, right?" She asks.
You blink, then answer. "Yes, I suppose. I mean, clearly."
"And you're gonna solve the mystery?"
"That is what I've been told."
The owl's massive eyes bore into yours. "Tell me, whaddaya think happens next? To the poor bozo who gets fingered? The corpse too, for that matter. You think the big cheese just sticks with the same stiff forever?" There's something unnerving about her eyes. "Tell me what you think happens to them. Go on, you know your onions."
Your eyes are drawn back to the picture of the door.
"Yeah, you got my number. They mince on in there, and they don't come out again. That's how he torpedoes folks he doesn't need any more, 'least that's what I think he's up to. I haven't been able to get a good look inside that door there, so I still don't know where they end up or what winds up happening to them, and I've been at this for nearly as long as I've been here." The owl ruffles her feathers, then starts pecking them back down. "Figured if you were a real sharpy, you'd be my best bet at cracking this thing" She looks up at you "But after what you said, you mighta blown that."
You feel a knot form in your stomach. You've learned a little more about your fate, at least, as well as the fate of whoever you end up fingering for the murder, and now the feathery little jerk in front of you wants you seems like she'd starting to doubt that brilliant bit of deception you span earlier.
Just as it forms, though, the knot seems to unwind just a bit. You feel calmer, but also utterly exhausted. You realise that it must be around four in the morning now on what must be one of the last days of your life and you can hardly bring yourself to care.
You swallow, push your hair back, and prepare to once again start pulling things out of your ass.
"You're not giving me much to work with, Miss F'Owler. Perhaps you could go into a little bit more detail?" You ask. Amy looks flustered and straightens herself up to the best of her ability.
"Alright." She says "So, when someone gets accused of murder by the Detective, or the old corpse needs to be put away for the new one, they get put in the engine room up the front of the train. Barkley's the one who moves them when they get fingered, otherwise they get shuffled away by the staff." She moves in place "Most of the time, anyway. The Conductor might be an exception. People say he used to be a Detective here, but he did something that got him moved to a different role. If it's true, he's gotta be the only person who's ever actually changed role."
You nod along. "And you don't know anything about what happens to someone after they go in there?" You ask.
"Not really. Sometimes the train vents steam, but not all the time, and never if it did that for the last person. I've never been able to get a good look inside, the doors on the locomotive are sealed shut and I think the windows might be smoked glass. Either that or there's something screwy with the lights."
"Either one seems possible," You admit, "You said there was a rumour that the Conductor used to be a Detective. Do you know who the source of that rumour is?"
"Ariadne, probably. Not that she's a gossip or nothin', just that if anyone would know it'd be her."
"Ariadne? I don't believe I've met her yet. I've been meaning to ask about her, in fact. What do you know about her?"
Amy chuckles. "Yeah, you're starting to sound like a real Detective now. Far as we can tell, Ariadne's been here the longest. How long exactly is a bit of a mystery, since it's hard to track time here, but longer than any of the current group, that's for sure. I think her role is something like "The Matriarch" or "The Widow", the Old Lady, basically. She's a sweet old broad, mostly keeps to herself, and is absotively not someone you wanna mess with."
What Now, Hotshot?
[] Go to your room and sleep (if you do not take this option, you risk a sanity attack)
[] Go visit someone
-[] Ariadne
-[] Someone else? (Write in)
[] Stay and talk to Amy (pick up to 2 sub-options)
-[] About the missing people, can she give more detail on them?
-[] About the vents, does Amy have a theory on that?
-[] Show an inventory item (This option can be taken multiple times, with different items)
--[] What item do you show? (Write-In)
-[] Ask about a Passenger (This option can be taken multiple times, but the people have to be different)
--[] Who? (write in)
-[] Who IS the Big Cheese?
-[] Ask if you can take some of the photos with you
-[] Talk about something else (write in)
[] Write in
So she wanted us to find out what's behind that door? Or is there something more, ah, immediate she needs help with? Because I am afraid we won't be able to tell her should we ever go in.
Mostly 'knowledge that the character can't use for some narrative reason', as the story narrative is controlled by the Benefactor, to a degree.
In this case she wouldn't be able to use it because she'd be cut off from the story.
As for the vent thing, it looks like the steam is vented every once in a while, but never twice in a row. The easiest explanation, inasmuch as logic can apply to a story like this, is that it has to accumulate through some process, and it involves a corpse going through the door. All possible interpretations of that mechanics that come to mind are pretty gruesome.
But it could simply be something connected to the passage of time, and not related to the bodies.
I wonder where the other passengers come from. Are they even 'alive', or do they only exist for the role they play? Amy indicates that there was a time before she was here, but doesn't elaborate. I thought all of them were victims of kidnappings similar to ours, but there are no role changes except for the Detective...
[x] Stay and talk to Amy (pick up to 2 sub-options)
-[x] About the missing people, can she give more detail on them?
--[x] Particularly Agatha... what was it about Berkeley? Was there some connection between the two?
-[x] Show an inventory item (This option can be taken multiple times, with different items)
--[x] A coffee-stained napkin
--[x] Any idea who the handwriting belongs to?
That information about Ariadne is certainly something to keep in mind, but for now, the conversation needs to keep going.
No, you're the Detective. You need to pause dramatically first.
There you go.
"The people who've been taken to the engine car, former passengers I presume, do you have any more information about them?" You ask, slipping disturbingly easily back into character.
Amy nods. "I've got some notes. You can't get real paper here, so it's mostly on napkins and polaroids. Usually, it's all after the fact, too, since I don't know who's next to get pinched 'til it happens."
She begins pecking through the various makeshift files, apparently trying to sort through them.
"Anyone you wanna take a vada at in particular?" She asks. You take a moment and nod.
"Can you tell me anything about Agatha? The note regarding her interaction with Barkley stood out to me. Her attitude seems rather at odds with the severity of the situation,"
"Oh, sure. Just gimme a minute to find her." Says the owl, shuffling a few photos aside. "Ah, here she is," She passes you a photo in her beak. It's a sepia tone headshot of a woman apparently made of glass, with a variety of tubes and hollows inside her filled with a variety of liquids of opacity and brightness, presumably also colour but it would be impossible to tell from this particular picture.
"They weren't mollying or anything if that's what you're chasing. Barkley has his trade, anyway." Says Amy. You turn the photo over to discover some scratchy writing on the back.
Agatha Antimony neé ??? Christiansen. Doctor. Detective: Ace, Victim: Spanny. Accused of poisoning R.E. some kind of will? (volunteered) From Antwerp, real doctor (paediatrics). BMT. Looked like lab equipment. Close to Redherring.
"BMT?" You ask,
"Before my time," she responds.
"I see. Anything else pertinent that isn't on the polaroid?"
"Not really. Nice lady, actually took Ace aside and volunteered for it. Put on a real show, too, full on diva. Lotsa 'Yes! I did it! And I'd do it again!' and 'You'll never know what it's like!', kept the big man satisfied for a dog's age."
"And her relationship with Barkley?"
"Like I said, just a nice lady," she says with a shrug, "Always tried to keep people calm and healthy. We all miss her but what're you gonna do?"
Well, that's upsetting. Very upsetting in your sleep-deprived state, in fact. You manage to blink back your tears and disguise your composing yourself as clever detective pacing.
[Magnitude 2 sanity attack - rolled (6 + 5) 11]
"Very well, Miss F'Owler, I do believe I can be of some assistance here," You say, manoeuvring yourself into position to not let her get a clear look at your face, "This does seem rather pressing, after all, and I would like to know where I would be sending people."
You slip the photo into your pocket and pull out the napkin
[Item Acquired: A Photo of Agatha]
"But first," You say, "What can you tell me about this?" You show her the napkin and her eyes go wide.
"Put that away!" She hisses, "Where did you even find that?"
"So I take it you're familiar with the ow-"
"Put it away right now!
You find yourself stunned for a moment by the intensity of the tiny creature in front of you, and comply.
"So, I take it you're familiar with the owner of this napkin?" You try again.
"Yeah, okay, I know about Teeth, but keep it under your hat, alright? The big man finds out I've been talking to him, I'm next up the river. He's been snooping around for me, showing me some boltholes I can nip away into. You keep waving that napkin around, we're gonna need them sooner rather than later."
Another deluge of new data you entirely lack the context for but revealing that might lower miss F'Owler's estimation of your abilities. Taking your moment of uncertainty entirely the wrong way, Amy continues,
"Look, I can get you a meeting with the creep, but not right now, okay? I was gonna probably have to anyway to keep all this clandestine, but you've forced my hand. Just, ya know, be careful alright? He ain't exactly a charmer."
What do you do now?
[] Continue pressing Amy for information
-[] About the Locomotive
-[] About Teeth
[] Talk to Amy about an unrelated matter
[] Thank Amy and be on your way
-[] To sleep
-[] To further explore the train
--[] To meet Ariadne
[] Write-In
Agatha Antimony neé ??? Christiansen. Doctor. Detective: Ace, Victim: Spanny. Accused of poisoning R.E. some kind of will? (volunteered) From Antwerp, real doctor (paediatrics). BMT. Looked like lab equipment. Close to Redherring.
She volunteered? I wonder what may push one to do so.
R.E., is that a name? First time I hear about them. (I'd be very ashamed if it turned out to be some abbreviation I didn't recognize)
Nice to know Redherring is a long-time regular, I suppose... gives us something to talk about next time we see him.
"Because of you. Turns out none of these knuckleheads thought I ought to know Ace had cashed his chips. Only turned up when I found out old Spanny got sent to wherever they send the old corpses, may she rest in peace. Anyway, if Spanny's out, that means Ace is in, and that means a new guy, or a new gal in this case, and that means you.
Soo... was Spanny the detective before Ace, and the second to last victim? The moment they get rid of the 'corpse', the detective changes.
Other passengers say that Ace had been doing his job for a while, but who were the corpses? Are these roles reusable or something? Or... did he find a way to prove they weren't really murdered? Is that how he avoided hurting people?
He's been snooping around for me, showing me some boltholes I can nip away into. You keep waving that napkin around, we're gonna need them sooner rather than later.
So we got a name, at least. 'Teeth'. Must be a charming fellow, I'm sure.
Well, I think it's time to cut our visit short and see what else the train deems fit to throw at us. We've got two more leads, to Ariadne and to Redherring... if only we knew what to do with the facts we already got.
[x] Thank Amy and be on your way
-[x] To further explore the train
Does our Sanity only go one way, or is there a way to relax and recover?
