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When Gregory opened the door to the Quartz Room, the troupe could not believe their eyes. All around them were exquisitely cut crystals, gems and rocks, many of which recursively reflected them ad infinitum. Tim was in narcissistic heaven.
“This is something I could get used to.” They said admiring themselves from many angles.
Socrates crawled up to the judges bench and banged the gavel with one of his little claws.
“I thought you had an announcement to make.” Gregory laughed but it was short lived.
An arpeggioed glockenspiel chord chimed over the intercom followed by a distorted voice.
“Schreck needs to report to holding cell 4A to meet with a client, that’s Schreck to holding room 4A.” The voice was not recognisable to anyone in the group, it’s garbled nature meant that they could barely recognise what was being said, they all noticed a strange ‘ding’ between every couple of words though.
Chapter 21: Anatomy of a Spurred Sir
If you want to know more about something mentioned in the story (e.g. a creature, place or person) go to the Lore of the Land:
If you want information about our hero’s characteristics and inventory at the start of this chapter go here and scroll to the relevant chapter:
“4A? Who in tarnation has been put in 4A.” Schreck said before suddenly getting mad and heading to the door “They better not have moved my clients without a court order!”
Just then it occurred to him that he was leaving the party alone in an unfamiliar location.
“You guys sit tight, there aren’t any cases today so you’re good to be in here as long as you’re bringing some deep south hospitality with ya.” they all nodded and with that he was off.
The party resumed their exploration, from the ceiling above the judge’s bench they could see that the Quartz Room was remarkably similar to other courtrooms they’d seen with the notable exception of being near opalescent in its shimmers and refractions.
“Tim, you know when we get down to the gnomes and your quest is fulfilled” Matilda asked, referencing the prophecy that lead the knight here “What’s going to happen to us?”
“What do you mean?” The Knight asked, pausing from watching their various flexing poses in the reflection. “You quest with me, I mean the new me.”
“Which was the old you?” Matilda asked.
“Yes,” Tim said, now cross-eyed “either way we’ll be friends forever!”
“What if we don’t like the old you?” Eric asked “Because we like you so much.”
“Well, I assume the old me is just like the new me but with more flesh and, you know, some memories.”
“I guess we can hope, it’s just that…” Matilda’s speech was cut off by a loud alarm. An announcement played again, this time there was no glockenspiel chord and the voice was different and rung out as clear as a bell.
“All personnel evacuate. All personnel evacuate to the lobby. This is not a drill. This is not a drill.” The voice kept repeating as the troupe ran out the doors into the lobby.
***
Mightee Marshall’s form lay motionless on the floor, his trunk was upturned and blood pooled in all directions around him. One grisly observation stood out to the crew immediately, Mightee Marshall’s left boot had been removed and had been used as a weapon, the spur now embedded in his head.
Eric gasped and looked away, Matilda hugged him into her side.
Tim immediately looked around suspiciously. All the onlookers looked on, shocked. No one looked particularly guilty. Various papers were strewn around and spattered with blood. Tim’s lunch box lay at the Sheriff’s side on top of the harpoon and Matilda’s pitchfork, the communication crystal was laying to the right of him, his front pocket had been torn off (and presumably the evidence he had in there) and, still clutched tightly in his hand, the key to the ogre kingdom, the giant stinky gem.
Gregory looked exasperated when he came through the door, clearly his meeting hadn’t gone to plan but before he even noticed the body of his friend he once again went through an incredible transformation. He threw his briefcase hard against a wall, as the smell or scent or just presence of the gem, transformed him into a wild animal. He crawled and snarled and hissed at all the onlookers, he leaped around the edges of the room as the witnesses gasped and ran for the doors.
Tim tried to grab the gem to get it away but the little wizard that had earlier scanned the knights lunchbox stopped them in their tracks.
“That’s evidence!” he said with a shake of a head.
“Arrest that beast!” a snooty voice came from over their shoulders. It was Baron von Claspen, the mayor of Capicombital’s Tightee Town. “Clearly he is responsible for this heinous crime.”
Quickly the Baron’s lackeys, T’Flork the Orc and Madame Insediment removed their magnetic boots. Dropped to the floor (which was also the ceiling) and dragged the wild Schreck towards the doors to the holding cells.
The further they got the more lucid Schreck became. When a wizard came in with a coroner’s hood on and cast a spell over the corpse of Mightee Marshall, covering it as well as everything he was holding with a sheet. Suddenly, Gregory came to, and though exhausted called out as he was dragged away.
"Let me go free" Schreck cried out pointedly making eye contact with the party "I won't go, I don't have to" he continued, now darting his eyes towards the briefcase "You've got the wrong man, I'm not the one you're after."
The three tried to follow but the door was slammed and locked in their faces. Behind them, the body of Mightee Marshall was being levitated out with all of the evidence by a group of Wizard guards. The only thing left in the room was Tim’s friends and some traumatised people. A little Tightee came towards them on the ceiling.
“Please indicate if you require some trauma counselling.” She asked in an emotionally detached voice.
“I’ll give you trauma counselling, the knight said throwing Schreck’s briefcase up towards them and deftly bumping the bureaucrat in their little elephant trunk.
The case hit the floor with a thump as the Tightee ran off crying.
Interactive Break
Please follow this button to see what happens next:
Not Marshall! The beloved Sherriff! Oh no, looks like the whole crew is going to have to investigate!
Remember, if you want to be a part of the tale: you can pitch new areas, creatures, characters, and items/spells in the existing threads and see them get added to the Lore of the Land encyclopaedia.
Here we are, it’s been a bit of a stretch getting here but we’re finally ready to start our murder mystery arc. The murder of Mightee Marshall, possible framing of Gregory Schreck and the greater legal battle of Mightees V Tightees will play out with some point and click elements.
The next five chapters will have the crew exploring and investigating clues and sources and you will help them. Furthermore, all five will come out on the same day.
The end of each chapter will play out from behind a password-locked page (or a series of them), the conclusion of the chapter will reveal clues about what happened to the Sherriff. This evidence is all you have to clear Gregory’s name. So you better find it.
Don’t worry, if you’re not super into this, each challenge will have clues attached to help you quickly find the information you need or give you prompts for passwords. Feel free to discuss your findings in the comment section but be warned there may be spoilers.
This section will return after the mystery has been solved.
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