Questionably Soteriological: A Puzzle/Mystery Quest with Kids, Science, and Fun!

[causticAccolade]

[X] Attempt to reason with her. Your MOXIE is higher than your FISTICUFFS and you don't want to hurt her by accident.

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[X] Reason with Mari.
-[X] "I need you to help me carry the flashlight. It's too heavy, and we won't find our way out without it. Now hold on to it and let's go!"

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[X] Use Nevill's plan.

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Exasperated, you give in. Taking the deepest breath you can manage, you pull your hand back and do your best to speak in an even and level voice. Even so, you can't stop your voice from shaking a little. You quietly explain to Mari, in hushed tones that feel muffled somehow by the darkness all around you, that you need her help to carry this flashlight, at least. She's quiet for a few seconds before she responds.

"Fine. I guess that makes sense."

[MOXIE CHECK: SUCCEEDED]

[X] Mari, please, I just want to keep you safe. That's what a detective does!

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"We have to make it out of here alive, okay? We're going to have to work together if we're going to do that? I'm a detective. I keep people safe-" Your speech is rudely cut short by another impact to the corridor.

"I don't care. Just don't touch me." Mari seems tense. "Now, come on, are we going to move or not?"

You look forward, into the darkness. In all honesty, you don't think you have it in you to keep going. You hate the dark, when it's like this, oppressive and smothering and heavy like a shroud thrown over your shoulders. You know, in your heart, that you don't have the courage to keep going. Maybe you should just curl up and lie here on the ground... [-20 ÉLAN]

You're snapped out of this train of thought when Mari roughly shoves you forward with one hand. "Come on, dummy, are we running or what?" [+10 ÉLAN]

And with that, you're off, the pair of you running as fast as your legs can carry you while having only a string to navigate by. The sound of the impacts fades behind you, the CORRIDOR shaking less and less until eventually the thumps and tremors are no more.

The two of you stand there for a few seconds, catching your respective breaths. Eventually, without even having to say a word, you both decide that you'd better keep moving forward, keeping a careful hand on the string as it takes you down twists and turns of all kinds. Eventually, however, you're stopped in your tracks when you almost walk into something.

"Why'd you stop, Calloway?" Mari's voice is filled with impatience.

"There's something here."

It's FAR TOO DARK for you to make out the EXACT NATURE OF THE OBSTRUCTION other than the fact that it seems to be SMOOTH AND METALLIC, either a WALL or DOOR OF SOME SORT. Further FUMBLING AROUND IN THE DARK reveals a LEVER coming up from the ground. PULLING ON IT results in absolutely nothing happening, or at least, nothing you're aware of, especially not in this DARKNESS. Well. Isn't this great.

[] Write-in

Spoiler

Out of interest, how are you guys finding this little segment? There will be another area more like the first two 'puzzle rooms' quite soon, but I thought that I might shake up the pace of this quest to keep it from becoming too formulaic.

 

[causticAccolade]

-[ ] Aim the flashlight at the MIRROR-LIKE PORTHOLE to attract the fish-squid-Cthulhu-thing to the SUBMARINE and make it SHATTER, freeing the MECHANISM
--[ ] Hope the MECHANISM does not SHATTER along with it.

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[X] Nevill's flashlight at the mirror plan

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"I have a plan." Mari does not seem especially reassured, but she nods. Of course you have a plan, you tell yourself. Having a plan is what being a JUNIOR SLEUTH is all about. That and SOLVING MYSTERIES, of course. And COOL OUTFITS. Okay, so being a JUNIOR SLEUTH is about a lot of things but the main point is that all of those things are COOL and GREAT.

You work out the movements in your head before you actually do anything, just in case. Then, in one, quick movement, you hold up the FLASHLIGHT, switching it back on again before Mari can say anything, and aim it at the PORTHOLE. The BEAM OF LIGHT cuts through the MURKY BLACKNESS and reflects the PORTHOLE, shining deep into the DARK. You wait for one second. Two seconds. Five seconds. Ten seconds, and on twenty, just as you're starting to wonder whether this plan is going to work, a huge, long, indistinct dark figure races past the CORRIDOR, casting that terrible shadow as it slams its long, coiling body against the SUBMARINE.

The wreck goes flying free, drifting off into the distance, and as the huge creature begins to turn this way and that, coiling into knots and ribbons at an increasingly frantic pace, you TURN THE FLASHLIGHT OFF. Feeling rather proud of yourself, you give yourself a PAT ON THE BACK while it's STILL DARK and you can do it without having Mari make fun of you. Not that you'd mind if she did, of course, because a JUNIOR SLEUTH is unscathed by the criticism of their peers. People used to ridicule you all the time, until you first proved your worth in the Adventure Of The Eaten Crayon.

Mari herself is occupied with the LEVER, it seems, because a few seconds afterwards you hear a loud grinding sound and the telltale creak of doors opening. The SILVER THREAD, you thankfully find, continues beyond the door, and as you follow it, you notice that the darkness is getting steadily less and less dark until finally you find the WINDING UNDERWATER CORRIDORS are lit once more with DIM BUT SERVICEABLE EMERGENCY LIGHTING. Mari doesn't seem to be in an especially talkative mood as you trudge through the corridors, following the THREAD even in this lit area, and you don't think she would react especially well to any attempt to STRIKE UP A CONVERSATION. The two of you continue to walk before you come across a DOOR with some GRAFFITI ON IT in a FAMILIAR STYLE.

big eye is scary. i don't like it. go away, big eye. bad eye. not friendly eye. it's my light, you can't have it. if you are reading this, then congratulations! you're not dead yet. very good. you are probably not reading this though because they die, all the time. i don't know what they did with the other moons. number one and two and three and four and five and so many other numbers i lost count. i succeeded. i am good. good moon good dog get a pat on the head and a biscuit. yum yum. i am too good. it scares them. i scare them. you might scare them too. big trees now. then maze. good luck with maze. i've written tips. you're welcome. try not to die.

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After taking a second to take this in, you gently push open the DOOR, seeing it OPEN into...

A room that looks an awful lot like a GARDEN. Crisp grass grows underneath your feet, a light breeze blows on your face, and the sound of distant running water combined with the smell of flowers almost instantly puts you at ease. The center of the room is dominated by a TALL OAK TREE, at the summit of which is a lovely-looking TREEHOUSE. Unfortunately, you can't see any way to actually reach the TREEHOUSE. In the HIGHER BRANCHES of the OAK TREE, a few ACORNS are growing, and from a MUCH LOWER-HANGING BRANCH hangs an EMPTY BIRD FEEDER. A SMALL BIRD is, in fact, PERCHED UPON ONE OF THE HIGHEST BRANCHES, staying remarkably still.

On the OPPOSITE SIDE of the GARDEN you can see a LARGE DOOR near a PARK BENCH. In one FAR CORNER is a FUSE BOX, and in the other, a TAP. Above the PARK BENCH is a PORTRAIT OF A RED-HAIRED MAN AND WOMAN. To the LEFT AND RIGHT sides of the GARDEN are LARGE, ORNATE, GOLDEN GATES and FENCES sectioning off TWO AREAS. The walls are PAINTED to look like a NATURAL LANDSCAPE, and the ARTIFICIAL LIGHT on the CEILING PAINTED TO LOOK LIKE THE SKY comes VERY CLOSE to being a BELIEVABLE SUN.

You grin at Mari. "Okay, Mari, watch. This is how a real detective solves a puzzle." And that's exactly what you plan to do.

[] Write-in (Yep, back to your regularly scheduled collaborative puzzle-solving! Woo! Except now you have Mari with you, I guess. Feel free to tell her to do things, whether she listens or not is another matter.)

 

[causticAccolade]

[X] Examine the PORTRAIT OF A RED-HAIRED MAN AND WOMAN. Your DETECTIVE SENSE is tingling. So far DR. BRIGHTON'S portraits were involved in all solutions somehow.

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You walk across the SOFT GRASS, a certain SPRING back in your step. Although you know that you're really indoors, and in some sort of mysterious and dangerous situation, the feeling of being outdoors calms you down somewhat. [+25 ÉLAN]

The PORTRAIT near the back of the garden catches your interest. That's DR. BRIGHTON, you've seen him in plenty of portraits before (who the HECK, you grumble under your breath, gets so many portraits of themselves painted), but you don't recognize the WOMAN next to him. There are SMALL PINPRICK HOLES in the eyes of DR. BRIGHTON, as usual, but unlike most of these portraits, there's something written UNDERNEATH IT.

Charles and Melody Brighton, 2008.

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Mari walks up behind you, looking at the portrait with an ODD EXPRESSION that's rather hard to decipher. You can't tell if she's sad or not. What you can tell, however, just from looking at their faces, is that the WOMAN IN THE PORTRAIT is most definitely MARINETTE'S MOTHER. You start to feel a LITTLE AWKWARD, so you leave Mari to look at the portrait while you go investigate other parts of the garden for now.

[X] Give the TALL OAK TREE a whack with a GOLD CROWBAR. See if any ACORNS fall down. Or BIRDS. Or TREEHOUSES, though you would not want that to happen.

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You brandish your GOLD CROWBAR as fearsomely as you can, which is NOT VERY, and deliver the tree A BEATING AS VICIOUS AS YOU CAN MUSTER, which is also NOT VERY. "Take that, you... you tree!"

Unfortunately, you tire out quickly to see that you haven't really achieved anything with it. The ACORNS stay exactly where they are, as does the oddly stationary BIRD. The OAK TREE is just too sturdy!

[X] Examine the LARGE DOOR. What would you possibly need to get past that?

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The LARGE DOOR bears a LARGE GOLDEN KEYHOLE embedded with TINY EMERALDS. It would look a LOT MORE ELEGANT if someone hadn't SCRIBBLED ON IT.

wow. through here is the maze. maze for rats. lab rats. fun fun! (that was a lie. not fun.) maze is scary if you get lost. advice: no getting lost. my advice is good. also advice, if you see minotaur, run run run, do not pass go. do not collect $200.

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[X] Examine the FUSE BOX.

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The FUSE BOX also bears a KEYHOLE, albeit a MUCH LESS ORNATE ONE. It's almost as if LOCKS were invented for the purpose of LOCKING THINGS. WIRES extend from it into the walls, as well as a PIPE. Is that really safe?

[X] Check the TAP

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Experimentally, you attempt to get some WATER out of the tap, only to find that it DOESN'T SEEM TO WORK AT ALL. You can definitely hear running water, though... maybe the PIPES are stuck?

[X] Examine the PARK BENCH

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It seems to be a FAIRLY STANDARD PARK BENCH, except for the BRASS PLAQUE on it.

THIS BENCH WAS ERECTED BY THE GLOBAL SOTERIOLOGY CONSORTIUM IN MEMORY OF MELODY BRIGHTON, WHO LEAVES BEHIND A LOVING HUSBAND AND DAUGHTER.

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[X] Check the GOLDEN GATES

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They're VERY PRETTY, with COMPLEX DESIGNS inlaid in SILVER. They are both UNLOCKED.

[X] Assuming tree-whacking strategy fails, attempt to climb the tree.

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You do a few STRETCHES in preparation for your attempt before giving CLIMBING THIS TREE your BEST EFFORT. Your BEST EFFORT, unfortunately, is NOT VERY GOOD. There just aren't any handholds for you to use!

 

[causticAccolade]

[X] Ask Mari if she recognizes the GLOBAL SOTERIOLOGY CONSORTIUM.

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It takes a few seconds to get her attention, as she continues to stare at the portrait with that odd expression on her face. Eventually, she seems to shake herself out of it, glowering at you. "Of course I do, stupid. It's where Father works. They do lots of very important things that I'm quite sure you wouldn't understand."

[X] If Mari doesn't mind, REMOVE the PORTRAIT from the wall.

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You ask her quietly if it's okay for you to take the PORTRAIT off the wall. She takes a deep breath and NODS.

[MOXIE CHECK: SUCCEEDED!]

Behind the PORTRAIT is an ALCOVE, containing a SECURITY CAMERA. Hello there, again. Underneath the SECURITY CAMERA is a SHOVEL HEAD - who would put this here without a handle?

[X] Ask Mari to use the LONG-HANDLED NET to poke down the BIRD.

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"Do it yourself, Calloway."

You decide it's not worth arguing over and take the NET from her, giving her your TINNED PEACHES to hold instead. Unfortunately, the BIRD is too high up to reach with the LONG-HANDLED NET, even if you JUMP AS HIGH AS YOU CAN. Although to be fair, you can't jump very high.

[X] Ask Mari to use HIW on a FUSE BOX. What is it supposed to do? Is that safe indeed?
[X] Ask Mari to use HIW on a PIPE. Why is there no water? Is there something wrong with it?

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You ask Mari to come take a look at the FUSE BOX, making sure to mix in a little FLATTERY.

"You're right," Mari agrees, looking thoughtful. "I am much better with that sort of thing than you are. Really, I think I'm probably better at most things. But fine, since you asked nicely, Calloway." You walk with her over to the FUSE BOX, which she spends a few minutes examining.

The CLASS MACHINATION [HOW IT WORKS] has been activated!

After she's done, she rolls her eyes. "Duh. It's obvious. This is for the lights. That's not a normal light bulb up there, it's something specialized. Whatever it is, I don't think it's safe for electricians to work on when the power is on, so you can switch the power off from this box. For some reason, cooling, probably, they've got the water pipes flowing through there too, but one of the valves is busted. Listen. No water." She makes a show of tapping on the pipe and pressing her ear to it. "We'd need to open this to fix it, though. So get on with your dumb puzzle stuff, Calloway."

[X] Ask Mari to help boost us up the tree.

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You briefly entertain the thought before deciding that Mari would probably NEVER SAY YES IN A MILLION YEARS. You're pretty sure that even with both your heights, it's still too high up, anyway.

Spoiler

Should we use IFI when conversing with Mari, or would it influence our tone? Would it require a moxie check?

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It won't influence the way you talk, but you will seem particularly attentive and scrutinizing. It doesn't require a check per sé, but the chance of failure is based on your relative LVL and MOXIE to whomever you're talking to. By 'fail' I mean 'fail to detect a lie', it will never return a false positive.

 

[causticAccolade]

Hmm... idea!
[X] Once again DON the CROWN OF POSEIDON, which makes you look TOTALLY AWESOME.

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You decide to put the CROWN OF POSEIDON back on your head, because it makes you look TOTALLY AWESOME. Not that you don't ALWAYS look TOTALLY AWESOME, because you do. A JUNIOR SLEUTH, you have learned in your time, must be a MASTER OF DISGUISE, which also necessitates being able to look DAPPER, SOPHISTICATED, and HARDBOILED in a variety of different outfits.

-[X] Pick up and DFD the SHOVEL HEAD.

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The CLASS MACHINATION [DEDUCTION FOR DUMMIES] has been activated!

The SHOVEL HEAD seems VERY STURDY, with a base that makes it look like it's supposed to SCREW ONTO SOMETHING. It doesn't seem to be BRAND NEW, but it doesn't seem to be PARTICULARLY OLD either.

[X] Attempt to combine the SHOVEL HEAD with the CROWBAR.

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There's just no way to affix them to each other!

[X] EXAMINE the BIRD FEEDER

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The BIRD FEEDER is the ONLY THING ON THE OAK TREE that is close enough to the ground for you to reach. It is FIRMLY ATTACHED to the branch it hangs from, and is CONSPICUOUSLY EMPTY, although hanging low enough that it would be easy to FILL if only you had SOMETHING TO PUT IN IT.

-[X] Unscrew the handle of the Long Handled Net
--[X] Screw on the Shovel Head

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You UNSCREW the HANDLE of the LONG-HANDLED NET, separating the two into a NET and a PENDULUM. As chance would have it, the SHOVEL HEAD screws perfectly into the HOLE THAT IS LEFT, producing a SHOVEL.

[X] Observe the bird. If it looks like a magpie, show it your shiny gold crown.

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The BIRD is ODDLY STILL, only making JERKY, SUDDEN MOVEMENTS as it turns its head side to side, as if SURVEYING VARIOUS PARTS OF THE GARDEN. It lacks the DISTINCTIVE PLUMAGE of a MAGPIE, and seems uninterested in your COOL CROWN either way. You guess that BIRDS just suck at having GOOD FASHION TASTE.

[X] Go take a look at both of these AREAS and take note what's of interest in there.

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The area of the garden through the LEFT GATE is dominated by a CIRCULAR FLOWER GARDEN containing TWELVE DIFFERENT KINDS OF FLOWERS, which are separated by SMALL CANALS which you feel should be FILLED WITH WATER but AREN'T. In the center of the FLOWER GARDEN is a POND, similarly DEVOID OF ANY WATER. There is a SMALL SIGN at the edge of the FLOWER GARDEN. Other than that, there is some sort of STRANGE, OLD-FASHIONED DEVICE sitting in the corner, and a DOOR with what seems to be a CARD READER next to it on the opposite wall, with a PORTRAIT OF A RED-HAIRED GIRL YOU KNOW AND A BROWN-HAIRED MAN YOU DON'T to the left of it.

The area of the garden through the RIGHT GATE is also dominated by a FLOWER GARDEN, although this one is SQUARE, and MUCH LARGER, containing only ONE KIND OF FLOWER, with each flower being allotted its own TINY SQUARE in a GRID FORMATION. There are two SMALL SIGNS at the edge of the SQUARE FLOWER GARDEN, and on the other side of it a PAINTING OF A STARRY NIGHT is hung up on the wall, at odds with the OUTDOORS-THEMED MURALS that cover the walls. Against one wall, a large BUSH is growing, and against the other sits a VENDING MACHINE that has been decorated with wood paneling.

 

[causticAccolade]

[X] Read the SMALL SIGN in the CIRCULAR GARDEN.

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Fill the pond up from 12:30!

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[X] EXAMINE the STRANGE, OLD-FASHIONED DEVICE

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You attempt to, but you honestly can't make HEAD NOR TAIL OF IT. It looks like it might be a PRESS of some sort, but other than that, you're pretty lost.

[X] EXAMINE this newest RED-HAIRED FAMILY PORTRAIT.
-[X] Comment on the frequency of these paintingsto Mari. Does she know why there are so many of them?

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Mari looks just as arrogant in this PORTRAIT as she does in all the others, with a slightly sullen expression verging on a contemptuous scowl. The BROWN-HAIRED MAN next to her looks SIMILAR ENOUGH to DR. BRIGHTON to make it quite clear that he is closely related, likely a BROTHER. His hand is on Mari's shoulder. Mari's eyes have SMALL PINPRICK HOLES IN THEM. Unlike the OTHER PORTRAIT, this one does not seem to have a TITLE.

Mari doesn't seem to want to look at the painting, glancing up at it briefly before very quickly looking away with a SULLEN SCOWL that is strikingly similar to her expression in the portrait.

"Father said that family was very important. He had a lot of portraits painted. Maybe he put them up here because he wanted to have reminders of family when he was at work. I never really liked posing for them. It's very boring, although I don't think you'd know that. I bet you've never even had to pose for one portrait."

 

[causticAccolade]

[X] Use IFI: "And what do you think?"
-[X] Who is the man on the portrait with her? Is he working here too?

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The CLASS MACHINATION [INTERROGATION FOR IMBECILES] has been activated!

"Mari?"

"Calloway."

"Do you think family is important?"

"Father did. He always told me, if anything bad were to happen, he would protect me. That's why he was arguing with Dr. Paris and Mr. Stockholm, I think. Something went wrong, they wanted to use me for something, but he refused. I think they wanted to use me as a test subject, like..." She gives you an odd look and trails off. All of that seems to be true, but she's almost certainly hiding something.

"The man in that portrait, is he family?"

It takes her a while to respond, and she seems hesitant to even meet your eye. "Yes. Father's brother, Jack. He works at the institute." She's still not lying, but she's very reticent, and that seems to be all she's willing to say about the man.

[X] REMOVE the RED-HAIRED FAMILY PORTRAIT from the wall.

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You feel like you probably don't have to ask Mari's permission to take this one down. Behind it is yet another SECURITY CAMERA, and... whoa, is that a GUN? After careful examination, you realise that it's not a gun at all, the first clue perhaps being the LARGE HOOK that extrudes from the BARREL. Mari, looking at it over your shoulder, helpfully chips in.

"Grappling hook. But it's broken. I could fix it, because unlike you I'm very clever, but I'd need some mechanical parts to do it with."

[X] Mari: Use HOW IT WORKS on the STRANGE, OLD-FASHIONED DEVICE.

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You ask Mari to take a look at the OLD-FASHIONED DEVICE.

The CLASS MACHINATION [HOW IT WORKS] has been activated!

She spends a few minutes EXAMINING IT, before turning back to you. "It's a coin press. You put something made of metal in there, you twist this, and you get coins. I don't think that whatever it makes would be le-gally ten-der-ized, which is a phrase that means 'real money you can buy things with', in case you don't know. Which you don't."

[X] Examine the VENDING MACHINE

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The VENDING MACHINE only seems to sell ONE ITEM! It's completely empty apart from a single RECTANGULAR CARD that looks like some sort of ID CARD. There is a PRICE TAG attached to it, but instead of listing a price in DOLLARS, it reads:

1 GOLD COIN, 1 SILVER COIN, 1 BRONZE COIN

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There is a RATHER LARGE SLOT above the item selection buttons which is presumably FOR PUTTING COINS IN.

[X] Examine the large BUSH

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A shrubbery!
Large red BERRIES grow on it.

[X] See if the Fuse box can be opened with the screwdriver

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There aren't any visible screws to unscrew!

[X] Examine TWELVE DIFFERENT KINDS OF FLOWERS. What are they?
-[X] If they are arranged in a pattern of a clock, which flowers correspond to 6 and 12 hours?

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You don't know enough about FLOWERS to be able to recognize ALL TWELVE of these kinds of FLOWERS. You can definitely see how the GARDEN could be compared to a CLOCK, but with no indication of WHICH WAY UP IT'S MEANT TO BE, it's impossible to identify any one time!

[X] Examine the SMALL SIGNS.

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You trudge over to the SQUARE FLOWER GARDEN and read the TWO SIGNS erected by it.

SGHR FZQCDM QDZKKX BNLDR ZKHUD ZESDQ CZQJ!

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RELAX, TAKE ONE STEP BACK, AND BREATHE. IT'S AS EASY AS ABC.

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How cryptic.

 

[causticAccolade]

[X] GRAB THE BIRDIE!!!

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A bird! A bird! If you were a potato, you'd be terrified right now. Fortunately, you are a JUNIOR SLEUTH, and so spring forward, ready for the BIRD to try and FLY AWAY, and almost feeling a little disappointed when it remains STILL AS A STATUE even when you GRAB IT. You put down the FLASHLIGHT and take a look at the BIRD.

[X] DFD the BIRD.

Click to shrink...

The CLASS MACHINATION [DEDUCTION FOR DUMMIES] has been activated!

The more you look at the BIRD, the less it looks like a BIRD at all. Sure, it's shaped like a bird, but it has the STIFF, UNNATURAL DEMEANOR that reminds you of the MECHANICAL FISH from the CLOCK ROOM. From the DEAD, GLASS EYES, to the fact it remain COMPLETELY STILL - wait, right there, the legs have CLEARLY VISIBLY HINGES. The chest seems to be SCREWED IN PLACE. You're not a bird scientist, but you're pretty sure this is a MECHANICAL BIRD.

 

[causticAccolade]

[X] As a JUNIOR SLEUTH in pursuit of TRUTH AND JUSTICE, you are afraid of nothing and no one... but heights make you a little nervous.
-[X] Ask Mari if she would be willing to test the GRAPPLING HOOK by climbing the OAK TREE. She has faith in her machinery, yes?
--[X] And root for her from down below!!
[X] Ask Mari to collect a few ACORNS and examine the TREEHOUSE.

Click to shrink...

You look up the OAK TREE. It... it sure is kind of high up there. You glance at Mari - she's still swinging the GRAPPLING HOOK around wildly, almost GIDDY WITH GLEE at having been given this NEW TOY.

"Hey, Mari?"

She takes a while to respond, but eventually turns towards you. "Calloway?"

"Do you think that you could grapple up into that treehouse? It might be kind of dangerous."

Mari grins from ear to ear, a slightly manic sparkle in her eye. "Let's find out!"

And with that, she whirls around, firing the GRAPPLING HOOK. The HOOK sails through the air, wrapping tightly around one of the LARGER BRANCHES OF THE TREE. A few seconds later, Mari goes flying, pulled off her feet and DRAGGED THROUGH THE AIR at a pace that frankly makes you a LITTLE DIZZY to even look at. You put a hand over your eyes as she impacts the OAK TREE with a rather worrying THUNK. However, when you inevitably PEEK THROUGH YOUR FINGERS, Mari is STANDING TRIUMPHANTLY on a BRANCH by the TREEHOUSE. Her TIGHTS are RIPPED AND BLOODIED around the knees, but other than that she looks NONE THE WORSE FOR THE WEAR, still grinning with sheer exhiliration.

[Mari: -15 VITALITY]
[Mari: -2 ÉLAN]

She waves smugly down at you. "Hey, Calloway, what does it feel like to be stuck on the ground like a dummy?"

You swallow the WITTY COMEBACKS that start springing to your mind, instead calling out "Are you okay?"

Mari just shrugs. "I've had worse. I'll look through this dirty little shack, you go and keep doing your silly nonsense."

You mutter indignantly under your breath as you go off to do more silly nonsense.

[X] Observe painting of A Starry Night
-[X] Take it off if you can and check beneath

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You examine the REPLICA VAN GOGH PAINTING, which seems PRETTY NORMAL except for ONE DETAIL: instead of a MOON, there's just WHAT SEEMS TO BE a HALO OF LIGHT around a BLACK CIRCLE. As any well-read lass with an ACUMEN STAT as high as yours would know, that's what a SOLAR ECLIPSE looks like. There is a TITLE at the bottom: '1988'. Being VERY ACCUSTOMED to this sort of PUZZLE SILLINESS by now, you're not at all surprised to find that behind the PAINTING OF A STARRY NIGHT is a SAFE DOOR with a SIX-DIGIT COMBINATION.

[X] Examine the Fences

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Apart from separating the areas of the GARDEN, they don't seem to serve any purpose.

[X] If you can, check if there's anything at the bottom of the empty pond

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There's a GRATE at the bottom, and although you try to see if there's anything STUCK IN IT, you JUST CAN'T TELL. You're interrupted from this fruitless search by Mari's impatient, snappy voice calling out.

"Oi! Get over here, you idiot! I've found things!"

You make your way back over to the foot of the OAK TREE, looking up expectantly.

"About time. What took you so long, did you stop to take a bath on the way here? You need one, you know. But anyway, there's just a bunch of books in here and a pair of old watering cans, they're all dirty and horrid. I'll throw them down."

You have no chance to protest before a PAIR OF WATERING CANS are shortly tossed out of the TREEHOUSE to land on the ground in front of you, followed by a JOURNAL, a BOOK ON ASTRONOMY, and a BOOK ON BOTANY. Just for good measure, it seems, Mari steps back out onto the BRANCH she grappled up to and tosses a few ACORNS to (or possibly at) you, which land perilously close to your toe. She stands there, grinning down at you, and generally looking TERRIBLY PROUD OF HERSELF. You can't help but give her an ENCOURAGING THUMBS UP.

 

[causticAccolade]

[X] Read the JOURNAL

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The JOURNAL has had an IMPROMPTU FOREWORD penned on the front inside cover.

you left a nice note for me. miss green writing detective lady. here is a present. try to keep not dying.

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The rest of it is penned in REGULAR BLACK INK, by someone with METICULOUSLY NEAT HANDWRITING. Here and there it has been ANNOTATED by someone using a RED MARKER.

Spoiler: Journal contents

journal

Well, here we go. Now, Dr. Paris told me I wasn't supposed to keep any more diaries when the last one was confiscated, security concerns and all that, well, you know what, she can go fuck herself.

Your eyes widen in shock at the use of such vile language, and you frown disapprovingly as you keep reading. The writer of this JOURNAL, you think, really ought to HAVE THEIR MOUTH WASHED OUT WITH SOAP. Well. Not literally. That would be ridiculous. Silly thoughts aside, you continue to read.

journal

It's not like it's going to be leaving this facility, and who the hell's going to read it? I'm not going to write anything important in here, anyway. I just need something to stop me from going bloody insane. Although, if I'm honest, everyone here seems to have gone off the deep end already. Dr. Paris is more paranoid than ever, and let me tell you if there's one thing that makes this kind of work a nightmare it's having a paranoid boss. It's like she thinks I'm just going to forget that what we're doing is top secret. What does she think I am, five years old?

Jack [smiley man] seems to spend more time with his bloody niece than he does actually working (hey, how come when I write a fucking diary, it's a security risk, but Charles [particles man] can bring his goddamn daughter to the facility with him? Double standards or what!), and I never liked the guy anyway - who the hell takes his brother's wife's job the very day after she goddamn dies? Charles himself, dear friend of mine though he is, is just so fucking miserable to be around these days. I mean, yes, his wife died, and that sucks, but still, it's been years. I don't want to be mean but like, dude, get over it.

Roger [snatching boogieman] is a vain son of a gun, and I don't even want to think about how he got the job he has, so I try and avoid him as much as possible. Kyoto [guns shooter] is so serious and dull I'm pretty sure that she considers submitting her tax forms to be a breath of excitement, and the new guy we just had transferred over from Japan, Dr. Geneva [scary scary] or something, is the creepiest, weirdest Swiss fuck I've ever had the misfortune of being around. The way he looks at me, God, I don't care how good of a surgeon he is, I want to be as far away from him as possible at all times. The only halfway decent conversation I can get here is with Dr. Ankara [nice woman lady], and we're working on completely different parts of the project.

Bah. I guess it's worth putting up with all of them just for the chance at working here - we're doing a world of good here, after all. At least, I hope we are. Either way, if this project succeeds, it's going to look damn good on my resume. If it goes wrong, well... I'm probably not going to need a resume where I'll end up. Oh, damn, Dr. Paris is meant to be inspecting this department in ten minutes, and if she sees I've been writing about my coworkers in my diary then I'm in for an hour of 'Klaus, do you know how dangerous that is' this and 'Helsinki, you don't deserve that badge' that and I do not want that. I need to look busy, and this new batch of serum isn't going to refine itself. Seeya, Diary.

[X] Read the BOOK ON ASTRONOMY

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The BOOK ON ASTRONOMY is split into TWO HALVES - the FIRST HALF is about SOLAR ECLIPSES, and provides a lengthy list of all the DATES AND POSITIONS of SOLAR ECLIPSES DURING THE LAST CENTURY. Out of CURIOSITY, you check the year 1988 and discover that there was an ECLIPSE that year on MARCH 18TH. The SECOND HALF is about the IMPACT OF SOME METEOR some place in ANTARTICA. There's a lot of COMPLEX GEOLOGICAL and ASTRONOMICAL TERMS that you CAN'T QUITE WRAP YOUR HEAD AROUND.

[X] Read the BOOK ON BOTANY

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The book is about PHOTOTROPISM, and a bunch of other BOTANICAL CONCEPTS that you have neither INTEREST IN nor KNOWLEDGE OF. Of particular interest to you is an ILLUSTRATION on the BACK PAGE.

Spoiler: Illustration

[X] Mari: Examine ARTIFICIAL LIGHT
-[X] Is the top of the tree close enough to it to place something that would block the lights?

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Curiously, you call back up to Mari, asking her to examine the LIGHT.

"It's bright." She delivers the verdict with the air of someone who thinks they have said something very insightful.

"Do you think there's any way you could block it out?"

"No. I suppose we could always smash it."

"That's, uh, let's not do that." You hope that Mari takes your advice to heart as you go to examine other objects.

[X] Shine the FLASHLIGHT inside the GRATE. The mystery genre demands EVIDENCE of hideous CRIMES to be hidden at the bottom of POOLS! Granted, those pools usually aren't dried up...

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[X] Examine the grate. Can you open it with a screwdriver or crowbar?

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Hardboiled thoughts about MURDER and EVIDENCE floating through your head, you shine the FLASHLIGHT down into the DARKNESS of the GRATE. You can just make out something SHINING down there, something that looks a little bit like SILVER. The GRATE is far too far down and has far too little space between bars for you to be able to do anything with it, though.

[X] DFD the PAIR OF WATERING CANS.

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The WATERING CANS are quite HARDY, with not a single dent on them despite having been unceremoniously tossed from the TREEHOUSE to the ground. They both have WORDS painted on the side: one HOUR and the other MINUTE. Looking closely, there are SUBTLE DIFFERENCES in the HEADS.

[X] Try the combination 180388 on the safe

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Thinking about the DATE in the BOOK, you put in the combination 180388. A few CLICKS are audible from the LOCKING MECHANISM, and you suspect that the SAFE is NOW OPEN.

[X] DFD an ACORN

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You PICK UP an ACORN to examine it, and... wait a second! This ACORN is weirdly heavy! In fact, you don't think it's an ACORN AT ALL, but rather a BRONZE DECORATION in the shape of one! Sneaky.