>>3206404
It's time

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>Recap

In the last episode, Derrick entered the 3rd phase of the Hunter Exam which unlike the the 2 previous exams involved him solving him a murder rather than becoming the victim of one.

The test was set out by Jesper Mysercough, 2nd-star Terror hunter and his two assistants and exam favorites, Sheldon and Ami.

After a quick series of less than friendly introductions and goodbyes, Jesper leads Derrick, Arztz and Reynauld into the city hall building of Dardan City, the site of the recent murder of Inell Ucedes, now former mayor of the city.

Making much leeway using their collective skills, intellect and conversational skills, the 3 are on the cusp of solving the complex mystery, with their sights set on Zarques Marrion, professional piano player of Starry Night and son of the late Mayor Tenpan.

After hearing a decisive testimony from his guardian, Revali Keys, that confirmed that during the time of Inell's stunning speech, he had snuck away in the confusion and met up with someone.

Afterwards, he returned covered in blood and bruises at a time that almost perfectly lines up with the murder, leading to Reynauld demanding that the group confront Zarques and bring an end to this 3rd phrase.

And so the adventure continues...!

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>>3206418
He's Back in Black!

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"...." you stand still, contemplating whether this is truly the right time to proceed.

"This is our answer Sundance!" Reynauld declares, breaking you from your thoughts.

"I called it before and I'm calling it for sure now! That Bull-head is our man! We just need to get him to confess and it's over and done with!" Reynauld exclaims.

"Will it really be that simple though?" Arztz asks with a concerned look.

"Whaddya mean Casper? Ya can't be telling me that after hearing that, that ya still have doubts that Zarques ain't the one who offed the Mayor?" Reynauld asks.

He shakes his head, "I don't dispute that the evidence stacked against Mr. Zarques is overwhelming. What, I have a problem with is that I'd say it's too overwhelming." He counters.

"'Scuse me?" he asks.

"Well, it just seems so...obvious, it was obvious almost from the very beginning that Zarques would be the murderer." He starts.

"He was there at exactly the right time, made numerous suspicious movements, left numerous things behind that we could trace back to him, has the perfect motive to commit the crime, it's all just so...blatant? Is that a good word for it?" Arztz finishes.

Reynauld puts his hands up, "So? And? What if Bull-head out there just can't murder someone to save his damned life? That's all the better for us, makes this test a breeze through." he counters.

You narrow your eyes, "But hold on, Arztz's got a point, we have quite a few things we haven't figured out yet. Like how Zarques could break into the secret room, or hell, how he even knew the secret room existed in the first place." you agree.

"Sundance, didn't we just go through Shades informing us that we don't need to know every little thang? We can end this with what we have, so let's skip the minor stuff and just move on." Reynauld counters.

"But that's just the issue. We could end our investigation with what little we have, we solved a murder in just 3 hours. Doesn't that seem strangely convenient to you? Almost like someone wants us to accuse Zarques?" Arztz counters.

"Casper, if ya can't remember, while the people ain't fake, the test is. This mystery's already been solved by shades there." He points to Jesper.

"...." Smoke wafts from his cigarette as he silently watches their argument, not a single change in expression throughout.

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"The whole thing was meant to be solved in 6 hours or less! Hell, I bet he set-up this whole crime scene just so we could solve it as quick as lightn' and move on. I'm sure he's just as tired of us as we are of him." Reynauld states.

"Good deduction cowboy. What's next? Gonna discover the cure for Tuberculosis?" Jesper taunts.

"See Casper? Shady prick can't wait to get us out of his hair, so let's do ourselves a favor, solve this mystery and drift on." Reynauld claims.

"Well...We are beginning to run low on time...and maybe I'm just overthinking things...." Arztz agrees.

"So then you agree it's time we pin the tail on that squealing donkey outside?" he asks.

"...I'm fine with at least questioning him to see what we can find out." Arztz reluctantly concedes.

"Hear that Sundance? Even ol'Casper knows what's best now. What 'bout you?" He asks.

What will you do?

>Confront and Question Zarques

>Explore another area. (Beige's Office, Mayor's office.)

>>3206431
>Mayor's office
I'd like to check all the areas before confronting anyone

>>3206431
>Confront and Question Zarques
I want to see what Zarques has to say about Beige before we interrogate him. They obviously have a past and it could help us catch him in a lie

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>>3206482
>>3206446

Sorry to keep you waiting anons, but I'm just waiting on more anons to roll in.

>>3206431

>Confront and Question Zarques

>>3206446
>>3206482
>>3206525

Well this will work for now.

>Confront and question.

>Writing.

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After spending a few seconds racking your brains, you sigh and speak, "Alright, let's talk to him." you agree.

"Ya mean interrogate and hopefully detain him Sundance." Reynauld smiles.

You walk past him and head off the stage, "That's if it turns out that he really is our man, don't go around throwing accusations the second you see him, we need to talk to him first." you state.

"Sure thing friend, I'll save the harsh words and thrown fists for when he starts running." Reynauld states as he follows suit.

"Why must everything end in violence with you? Surely we can settle this matter without having to hurt anyone. Unnecessary pain and suffering is what makes this world so unhealthy at times." Arztz counters.

Reynauld laughs, "That's funny coming from you Casper, last I checked, back during that fight with the Bone-devil, you were the smiling when the thang choking on it's own spit thanks to them venoms of yours."

"Well that was necessary suffering, beasts and men that kill without reason or meaning deserve to taste pain unreasonable and meaningless." Arztz corrects.

"Is that right? Well I'd say Mr.Inell got his fair share of meaningless pain and damn if you say that death wasn't unreasonable." Reynauld starts.

"So by your thinking, doesn't the killer deserve the same thing? A death all slow and meaningless?" Reynauld asks as you all exit backstage.

"Well..." Arztz thinks for a moment.

https://youtu.be/CvFH_6DNRCY

You walk down the stage stairs and re-enter the vast orchestral room, where Zarques once again plays Clair De Lune, creating a beautiful and serene tone throughout the area.

Arztz looks over at Zarques, who looks calm and collected, in spite of his earlier attitude, he smiles and speaks, "We'll cross that bridge when it comes time to burn it." Arztz answers as you all approach.

Ignoring the two behind you, you think for a moment, (Good tune, I can see why everyone says likes his music so much despite hating the man that makes it, listening to it almost makes me want to just stop and relax a minute.) you think as you step up unto the podium and get closer to him.

(Too bad I don't have that kind of free time.) you think as you speak, "Sweet notes for such a sour guy. Where'd you learn to play like that?" you ask.

Your question bring his movements to a stop as he hits one final note in G major, one that sounds strangely off-pitch.

Zarques puts his hands to his lap, sighs and looks up at you, his eyes half-scowl, half-glare, "Oh great, it's the swine squad again. Didn't I tell you all to fuck off backstage? Can't you follow basic directions?" He insults.

"Do you have to get defensive over just being greeted man? All we want is to talk." you counter.

"I ain't getting defensive and I don't care to talk, I ain't got nothing important to say, so you'll be wasting my time and yours." He states.

"Yeah well I'm in the mood to listen some unimportant things. Can't hurt to just shoot the shit with us a bit right?" you ask.

"Oh I want to shoot something alright. But fine, I guess shit can work as good target practice." He answers.

Reynauld laughs, "As I thought, you're my kind of man. Don't take shit from no one." He starts.

"But trust me, we ain't flinging any shit till you do, so I know we might be overstaying our welcome, but mind if we asked ya few questions while we're here?" Reynauld asks.

He looks ready to reject you for a few moments, but he throws his arms up and turns away, "If you're that intent on wasting time, fine then. Not like I can leave till you bastards fuck off anyways, what do you wanna know?" he asks.

You smile, "Well, why don't we start with my first question? Who taught you?" you ask as a starter.

"...My Dad."He looks a little bothered by the question, but answers anyway.

That catches you off-guard a little, "Your Dad? Not Revali?" you ask.

"Revali's good with the a ton of instruments, but the Sax is his real strength, he doesn't really know percussion instruments like the piano." He answers.

"My Dad on the other hand, he could out-play Beethoven's deaf-ass anyday and probably give Debussy a run for his money." He shows a smile for a moment.

But it fades as quickly as it appears, "Well, that was till some motherfucker strangled the life out of him." He say with unrestrained hate in his voice.

"But before that, he taught me how to play. Though back then I thought it was just a hobby I was kinda into, never thought it would end up becoming my profession." he states

"Well anyway, I don't think it needs to be said that I'm one of the few people in this godforsaken city that thinks that lying snake got what was coming to him, sweet fucking justice." he laughs.

Arztz frowns, "There is no such thing as a just murder, needless death is the very definition of injustice." Arztz counters.

"Well excuse me you creepy-ass albino, but I gotta disagree. Murder is only murder when it's done to a innocent person, you know what Me and society call murdering a guilty one? Justice." he counters.

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That's when you step in, "Alright that's enough, we didn't come here to talk politics." you state.

"Funny ya say that in City hall." Reynauld laughs.

You ignore him, "Let's just get on with case, that way we can be out of each other's way as quickly as possible right?" you propose.

"...Yeah, let's get on with this before I can't stand seeing your faces anymore. Oh wait, too late for that." He states.

You feel a surge of rage but quickly push it down, "Get on with it already, I don't got all day." he eggs on.

>Time remaining: 3 Hours 10 Minutes

What will you ask?

>What were you doing the night of the Murder?

>What's your foot size?

>What are your thoughts on this suspect? (Beige/ Nicholas)

>Do you mind if you move your feet a bit? I want to check something.

>Can you play a few notes on your piano for me?

>I heard that Beige may have handed you something after you arrived, what was it?

>We have reason to believe you're the killer (Accuse)

>>3206631
>>What were you doing the night of the Murder?
>What's your foot size?
>Can you play a few notes on your piano for me?
>I heard that Beige may have handed you something after you arrived, what was it?

>Do you mind if you move your feet a bit? I want to check something.
I know it may seem tedious but being through is a necessity at this point (sorry if this annoying rock)

>>3206631
>What were you doing the night of the Murder?
Might as well ask this first in case of any contradictions that may pop up

>>3206640

It's not annoying, it's just that I can't possibly write all that at once, a lot of those questions have branching choices, so they can only be done one at a time.

You know me, I wouldn't make this a choice if I could just info-dump it all.

>>3206631
>What were you doing the night of the Murder?

>>3206640
Aren't we only supposed to ask 1 or 2 at a time? Kinda redundant if we can ask all of them at once

>>3206640
>>3206641
>>3206651

>What were you doing the night of the murder?

>Writing.

"Mind giving us a recap of what happened the night of the murder?" you ask.

"I do actually, but since I'm such a nice guy, I'll do it anyway." He patronizes.

"...." you resist the urge to gripe as he laughs and starts his testimony.

"Alright, so the night was a real clusterfuck, so let me start from the top." He says as he begins.

https://youtu.be/l_7jnddBLDs

>Me and the gang were called in to play at City hall for this charity party going on.

>We were called in for 7:00 PM, but Revali in his typical less-than-straight fashion, decided that we needed to be fashionably late, so we ended up coming 8:00. If you ask me, he just wanted another hour to make-out with one of his many boyfriends.

>We got harassed by those annoying-ass guards for like 20 minutes cause they kept thinking I had a knife or something. Of course I didn't, but listening to those two damn well made me want one!

>So thanks to them, we didn't arrive till like 8: 30.

>One sliver lining though, I wasn't supposed to start performing till about 9 PM, so while everyone else was pushed on stage without even being able to tune their instruments, I just enjoyed a few drinks and did a whole lot of nothing for 30 minutes.

>But after that, shit got crazy, right when I was supposed to get on, Inell climbs up and on-stage and starts confessing to all these crimes and saying all this crazy shit.

>I mean, I already knew the bastard was a lying, black-hearted son of a bitch, but that confession must have gone on for well over an hour, cause the stage wasn't free till it was nearly 11:00.

>Which is fucking bullshit, cause just when I was really about to get playing, evacuation order got called because the mayor went missing, so the whole damn thing was just a waste of time.

>Went through the security assholes a second time, good thing everyone was kinda in a rush, so they left me alone that time, good thing too, considering I still didn't have shit on me after I left, go figure.

"...And that's everything?" you ask after a moment of silence.

"What? Do you also want to hear what I jacked it to when I got home?" he asks.

"We don't need to hear that much, it's okay." Arztz states.

"Damn right you don't. Everything after that was me dancing the jig when I woke up the next morning hearing that we're gonna need to hold early elections for the new mayor." He smiles derisively.

"..." you can see that Arztz is struggling to keep his thoughts to himself, so you move to questioning, "So then, I think we should start with..." you trail off.

What will you do?

>I'd like to ask you about this statement. (Cite which one.)

>Yeah, I believe that. (Accept the testimony)

>You're lying about this statement. (Point out line and present proof.)

>Reynauld, what do you think about this? (Use his skill)

>>3206692
>>Reynauld, what do you think about this? (Use his skill)
Go Go Cowboy Watson!

>>3206692
>Reynauld, what do you think about this? (Use his skill)

>>3206707
>>3206713

>Reynauld! Analysis!

>Writing.

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You tap Reynauld and whisper, "What are your thoughts here? I can't imagine he's being honest."

"You're damn right, kid's lying through his teeth 'bout most everything. Not very good at hiding it either." Reynauld agrees.

"he starts scratching the back of his head whenever he's thinking bout how he's gonna lie. This is what I've found..." he trails off as he points his lies.

>We got harassed by those annoying-ass guards for like 20 minutes cause they kept thinking I had a knife or something. Of course I didn't, but listening to those two damn well made me want one! (False)

>One sliver lining though, I wasn't supposed to start performing till about 9 PM, so while everyone else was pushed on stage without even being able to tune their instruments so they could play the opening act. I just enjoyed a few drinks and did a whole lot of nothing for 30 minutes. (False)

>I mean, I already knew the bastard was a lying, black-hearted son of a bitch, but confession must have gone on for well over an hour, cause the stage wasn't free till it was nearly 11:00.(False)

>Went through the security assholes a second time, good thing everyone was kinda in a rush, so they left me alone that time, good thing too, considering I still didn't have shit on me after I left, go figure. (False)

"...Get what I mean?" he finishes.

"Damn you're right, almost everything he said's a lie." you realize.

"Well, I wasn't expectin' nuthin less, he's the one that offed Inell after-all, course he'd be lying bout it." Reynauld states.

"Let me be the judge of that." you whisper as you look back at Zarques.

"Someone has to." Reynauld laughs quietly.

"You got something to say now that you two are done gossiping? I don't got all day." Zarques complains.

"Well..." you trail off.

What will you do?

>I'd like to ask you about this statement. (Cite which one.)

>Yeah, I believe that. (Accept the testimony)

>You're lying about this statement. (Point out line and present proof.)

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>>3206729
>>I mean, I already knew the bastard was a lying, black-hearted son of a bitch, but confession must have gone on for well over an hour, cause the stage wasn't free till it was nearly 11:00.(False)
>Zarques was meant to get on stage at 10:10 PM, but went missing for 40 minutes and returned 10: 50 PM.
Here's one, I'm still searching through so please bear with me

>>3206729
>You're lying about this statement. (Point out line and present proof.)
Let's go with>>3206753

Don't want him thinking he can get away with lying that easily

>>3206729

>One sliver lining though, I wasn't supposed to start performing till about 9 PM, so while everyone else was pushed on stage without even being able to tune their instruments so they could play the opening act. I just enjoyed a few drinks and did a whole lot of nothing for 30 minutes. (False)

>
25.Beige's Backstage meeting: The night of the murder, Beige met-up with someone and handed them a card-like object at around 8:40 PM. Exactly what the card-like object is and who it was handed to is unknown, but according to Nicholas, it was probably Zarques.

[New!] According to an eye-witness report by Susie, the party planner, she confirms that the person Beige was trading with was Zarques, however, she doesn't think the item he gave away was his card, but rather a photo...
He's also lying about this, so feel free to push him on this

>>3206753
>>3206779
>>3206788

>Liar! Liar! Pants on fire!

>Writing.

https://youtu.be/4cVsq4HDs0o

"You're not a very good liar Zarques, you should really work on that." you declare.

"Huh? The hell do you mean?" He asks.

"You just lied to me twice, why aren't you telling me the truth?" you question.

He glares at you, "Be careful where you point that finger blondie, you might just get it bitten off." He snaps his teeth.

"Just what the hell did I lie about huh? Aren't you just talking out of your ass?" He asks.

"Well first you lied where you were, you just said, 'His confession must have gone on for well over an hour, cause the stage wasn't free till 11:00'" you paraphrase.

"Yeah? And? Am I wrong?" He asks.

"No you are not. But how did you know that?" you ask.

"Huh?" he blurts out.

"During Inell's speech, you made yourself scarce and didn't come back till it was 10:50. Long after Inell had gotten off stage." You counter.

"You were right when you said that Inell speech went on for well over an hour. But just when and where did you learn that? Couldn't have been at the party, cause you weren't there." you declare.

Zarques eyes go wide, "W-What? T-That's not true, I was there the whole time! Who the hell told you that!?" He counters.

"Don't even try and deny it, we heard it all from that psycho back-stage and your boss." Reynauld states.

Zarques looks astonished, "Huh? Revali told you that...But I thought he was on my..." He trails off, getting lost in thought.

"Not only that but you also lied about what you were doing before the speech began." you state.

Zarques grits his teeth as you snap him from his trance, "The hell? What bullshit is this?" He asks.

"We have multiple eye-witness reports telling us that you had a meeting with Beige Dainelson back-stage." Arztz explains.

"...Damn it! Yeah, you're right! So what!? Who cares about me randomly chatting with someone!" He shouts.

"We care because it means you're lying to us Zarques. You told us you weren't doing anything when you went backstage and met with another suspect." you counter.

"Don't you think that was worth mentioning? Or are you afraid of us finding something out and that's why you lied to us?" you lay on the pressure as you meet his glare match for match.

"Oh fuck off! None of that shit was important, so I just decided to skip it is all! You fuckers sure are anal about this shit huh!?" He rages.

"No need to get so riled up Bull-head. We just want you to fix up your alibi a bit. It got so many holes is all." Reynauld laughs.

"Oh go screw yourself you barnyard backwash! Fine, I'll include all the pointless shit since you all care so much!" He states.

>Yeah, yeah, I had a talk with someone back-stage, didn't even last a minute, so who gives a shit?

>And yes, I left the party in the middle of his fucking speech cause someone for something important and I couldn't be late.

>Zarques's Alibi has been revised!

>Reynauld's ability activates!

Reynauld stares Zarques down for a few seconds before nodding his head, "Alright then, finally telling the truth, was that so damn hard?" He states.

"Being around the three of you pricks is always hard! Shit barely even matters so all you did was waste your time!" He complains.

"Oh trust, that was far from a waste of time. Now we can start getting somewhere." you state.

"Now then, let's talk about..." you trail off.

What will you do?

>I'd like to ask you about this statement. (Cite which one.)

>Yeah, I believe that. (Accept the testimony)

>You're lying about this statement. (Point out line and present proof.)

>Let's talk about this a bit later, I want to ask you something else first...(Switch to another question)

>>3206925
>Let's talk about this a bit later, I want to ask you something else first...(Switch to another question)
I'll let someone else decide on what, I don't think there any evidence left that directly contradicts his remaining testimony unless you count his change of clothes, but if we can push him on that then do it
Last post of the night, I fucking hate being a Brit bong

>>3206925
>I'd like to ask you about this statement. (Cite which one.)
>We got harassed by those annoying-ass guards for like 20 minutes cause they kept thinking I had a knife or something. Of course I didn't, but listening to those two damn well made me want one! (False)
Why would the guards think he has a knife even though there's a metal detector and strict weapon check

>>3206946
Yeah it's hard to think of anything. Mainly because it's been a bit since the last chapter and I'm still trying to get refreshed on everything

>>3206972
You know what nevermind this. We're on limited time and it's more important to get as much info out of him as we can

Changing to
>Let's talk about this a bit later, I want to ask you something else first...(Switch to another question)

>>3206946
>>3206972
>>3206997

Just so we're clear, switch to another question means something from the original list, so I ask you which of those questions you want to ask.

Also, while I hate handing out info, in the interest of time, the guards already told you the reason they kept searching him for a knife was because he kept threatening to stab them, forcing them to continuously check him until he stopped.

That however, isn't what he's lying about in his statement, he's lying about the fact that he didn't have something that could be used as a weapon.

>>3207016
>the piano wire?

I don't remember the guards bringing it up, although I could be wrong

>>3207016
>What's your foot size?
>Do you mind if you move your feet a bit? I want to check something.
I assume it isn't to far of a stretch to ask these 2 together

>>3207034
It was the piano wire. That's what killed the mayor and most likely the reason why his piano sounds so off

>>3207085
>>3207034

>What's your foot size and could you move them?

>Writing.

"What's your foot size?" you ask.

"The fuck? the hell do you need know that for?" he asks back.

"Don't answer a question with a question, just answer." Reynauld commands.

"What? Do I have to? What do you want that for? Gonna buy me a pair of glass shoes and take me to the fucking midnight Ball? Buy any glass for me and I'm going to give it back to you over your head." He threatens.

"Just answer." Reynauld commands again.

"...Size 9." He looks annoyed and confused, but answers anyway.

(There's a match. Nothing definitive, but that's another piece of the mountain of evidence stacked against him ) you think as you speak, "I see, thanks." you state.

"The fuck was that waste of time? You taking this seriously man? Or you just screwing with me?" He asks.

"Trust me man, everything you say is helping the investigation." you answer.

"Well ask something important this time will you? What do you want to know next? My shirt size? My schlong size? That's about the same size as my shoe size by the way." he jokes.

"Instead of talking about that, how about moving your feet a bit, I want to see something." you order.

"The hell? Want a better look at the dusty-ass floor? Don't really need to move my feet for that." He argues.

"Please just move it." you order again.

"...whatever." he reluctantly moves his left foot to the side, that's when you see the small, almost unnoticeable drops of dark red on the floor.

(That's dried blood, must be well over a week old with how crude it looks.) you note.

(After what Revali said, it would sense that some of the blood that was staining his pants would drip onto the podium, this pretty much confirms that the reason he had his piano was switched was to hide the blood on his pants.)

>Clue Updated! [Marrion's odd behavior]

>Old dried up blood on the podium indicates that Marrion was trying to hide the blood on his left pant-leg from the crowd.

"You done eyeing up the floor? What are you going to do next, start checking the roof for dust spots? I can help you with that. Just lend me your chin for a sec." he insults.

"Nah, I saw what I wanted to, it's alright." you ignore his provocations.

"Well what are you going to ask now? If your in the mood for checking things out, why don't you see the door? it's right over there." He states.

"Nah, I'd rather we talk about..." you trail off

What will you ask?

>let's talk about your alibi again.

>What are your thoughts on this suspect? (Beige/ Nicholas)

>Can you play a few notes on your piano for me?

>I heard that Beige may have handed you something after you arrived, what was it?

>We have reason to believe you're the killer (Accuse)

>>3207154
>Can you play a few notes on your piano for me?

>>3207186

>Play me a tune.

>Writing.

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"You mind running your fingers over your piano for a sec? I want to hear something." you ask.

"Sorry buddy, but I usually charge when someone asks me to play for them and save yourself the trouble of asking for the price, you can't afford it." he counters.

"What's worth more to ya? Your freedom or your dollars? Cause you're definitely losing at least one of them if don't listen to my friend here." Reynauld threatens.

"Boy you sure flap your tongue a lot for someone who can't even speak straight English, that help much when you're cleaning your sister's snatch?" He insults.

Reynauld looks ready to rip his head off, "You must have a goddamn deathwish bo-" you cut in, "Listen, can we knock off the pissing contest and you just play so we don't have to be at each other's throats?" you ask.

He shakes his head and laughs, "Sure, I was getting tired of sniffing the horseshit on that guy's breath already." he says as he turns to his piano.

Reynauld glares silently at him as he puts his finger to one end of the piano and speaks,"I think I'll call this next piece, pigs on a spit." he jokes as he runs his fingers over each note in a row.

As soon as the lower notes start ringing, you hear the weird pitch again, "That sounded like..." you trail off as you approach the piano.

"like it was lazy, stupid and terrible? Yeah, kinda like you three huh?" he insults as you open the grand piano up.

"What the hell?" you ask as you peer inside the piano strings and notice a one of the bass strings is thicker than the other ones.

>New clue found! [Oddly wired Piano]

>One of bass wires in Zarques piano has been replaced by an incorrectly sized wire, it seems to have been wired quite hastily as well.

Zarques quickly slams the piano cover shut, "Whoa! Who the hell said you could touch the equipment! Get you damn hands off my machine!" he shouts.

"Sorry about that, but what's with that weird wire? Looks about a size too large for this piano doesn't it?" you ask.

"What's that you? The hell do you know about pianos?" he asks.

"Not much, just so happens I also play the piano for a living, though I'm trying to quit that job." you answer.

"Well you better quit touching people's stuff without there permission! That's the problem with you pigs, always acting like the whole damn world is yours to play with!" He complains.

"Don't change the subject, all I want to know is why your piano is wired wrong, that sort of thing can ruin a performance you know? Why is that there in the first place?" you ask.

He takes a moment to answer, "My piano string broke...because the string was defective." He states.

"Defective?" you ask.

"Yeah ended up snapping the other day, Revali didn't really have the right size on hand, so I used the general stock we carry with us to every show, I know it sounds a little out of tune, but most people don't notice." He answers.

"Was this before or after the show?" you ask

"Before obviously! I would never come to a show with a broken piano!" He declares, getting extra-aggressive all of a sudden.

Your eyes narrow, "That so...", (Don't need Reynauld's help to see that's a lie, I got the evidence to prove he's lying, but I should hold off until it comes time to accuse him). you think.

"Yes, that is so you pushy prick, can you just drop this already? This is going nowhere." he asks

"Sure, then let's talk about..." you trail off.

What will you ask?

>let's talk about your alibi again.

>What are your thoughts on this suspect? (Beige/ Nicholas)

>I heard that Beige may have handed you something after you arrived, what was it?

>We have reason to believe you're the killer (Accuse)

>>3207230
>I heard that Beige may have handed you something after you arrived, what was it?

>>3207273

>What did he give you?

>Writing.

"So, a few people have been telling me that you and Beige had a backstage meeting, mind talking about that a bit?" you ask.

His glare goes stronger,"Didn't I tell you to drop this already? Nothing important was said and nothing was exchanged. Leave it at that." he rejects.

"You know damn well we can't do that boah. If it was so unimportant, than why don't you let us know what happened?" Reynauld counters.

"Drop. It. We had a talk, but nothing was exchanged and nothing noteworthy was said. It's a waste of time." he states.

"Sounds to me like you're dodging the question friend. You calling everyone who told us this a liar?" Reynauld counters.

"Probably, I mean, what if they're all just trying to get me to look suspicious? Maybe you should go back to interrogating them instead of me." He states.

"We're just questioning you, not-"

"It's an interrogation, don't even try and act like you all don't think I'm the killer you under-handed bags of filth." He accuses, cutting off Arztz.

"You're changing the subject again." you state.

"Yeah, cause there's nothing to this meeting! You got anything to prove there was?" He asks.

"We have multiple testimonies saying that you and Beige had met back-stage at 8:40 and he handed you something." Arztz explains.

"And I'm telling you that doesn't prove that they aren't lying? Do you actually know what was said, or what was exchanged? If you don't, they're lying to you to frame me!" He counters.

"And why should we just believe you?" you ask.

"Do you have any proof to say I got something? Something that isn't just a couple of random's testimonies? Anything concrete?" He asks.

What will you say?

>Yes, we do. (Present Proof)

>No actually, we don't. (Give up this line of questioning for now)

>>3207330
>Yes, we do. (Present Proof)

>>3207408

Sorry anon if I didn't communicate this right anon, but you actually have to say which proof it is, I don't know what you want me to do with this.

>>3207436
No you're fine. It's been a few weeks since the last thread so I don't remember if we found any evidence. If we didn't then I'll go with
>No actually, we don't. (Give up this line of questioning for now)

>>3207506

Sorry to be late, got called for something random.

>>3207506

>No actually we don't.

>Writing.

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You try and think up something, but find your mind turning up a blank, "...You're right there. We don't have anything to prove that at the moment." you admit.

Zarques smirks, "Damn right you don't. Now quit talking shit and move on already! You're fucking yourself over, not me." he states.

"Grrrr..." you hate that you can't deny that.

"Well even if we can't prove it, why do you think people would be so insistent that you exchanged something with Beige? Why frame you?" Arztz questions.

"I don't fucking know, probably because they think it'd be easy to pin it all on me. No here can stand my guts. Which is good, cause I want to rip all of theirs out!" he laughs.

"Hell, even if I did get something from that boy scout Beige, I'd tear it and throw it in the trash the second I got home." he states.

"Oh...then would you mind it if we checked?" Arztz questions.

"Huh?" He blurts out.

Arztz smiles, "You just said that we'd need proof that something was exchanged and if that be anywhere, it would be your home. Would you mind if we checked?" he asks.

Zarques is stumped for a moment, "...Uh, you do know I just said that as a joke right? There's no way you can raid my house, you don't even have a warrant." He states.

"Yeah they do." Suddenly, Jesper cuts into the situation.

"Oh, well if ain't Mr.Shady in the background, what did you just say?" Zarques asks.

Jesper puffs out a wave of smoke, "I said, they can search your home if they want." He repeats.

"What!? That can't be allowed!" Zarques counters.

Sheldon steps up, "As crazy as it sounds, no it's not! As a Terror hunter, my good sir basically has a warrant on anyone that he justifiably has reason to search." He explains.

Ami steps-up, "And since these bunch are under his jurisdiction as applicants, that same right extends to them. They can search your house if they want too." She explains.

"But wait, wait!" Reynauld jumps in, "I thought we were only allowed to investigate inside City hall? Since when could we leave?" He asks.

"That's where you thought wrong Mr.Reynauld. Neither the case file nor the examiners ever said anything about the test area being anywhere within this building." Arztz points out.

"In-fact, they pretty much told us we're allowed to investigate anywhere in the city that we please didn't they?" Arztz counters.

"What? No they did-Wait." That's when you catch on.

"Have you realized now Mr.Derrick? The final line of the case file was You're free to investigate any area that you believe has a connection to the murder." Arztz explains.

"That line is basically begging us to search anywhere we so see as important. And I believe the house of a suspect is fair game, don't you?" He smiles.

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Zarques jumps up, "Wait, wait, wait. Hold the hell up! You can't just barge into my damn house, that has to be illegal! I have a right to privacy!" He counters.

Jesper steps up to meet him, "I know it may be hard to accept, but your rights mean nothing to me. My rights as a Hunter overrule yours." He declares.

"That's fucking bullshit!" He calls.

"That's reality kid." Jesper shuts him down.

Jesper turns back to you, "I know where this kid lives, I got a car parked outside and I can drive you right to his apartment." He begins.

"However, I have to warn you, even by car, that's a 30 minute trip, and you've lost about 20 minutes talking to this brat. If you're going to take this ride, it means no turning back if you end up being wrong." Jesper warns.

"50 minutes off the clock...good lord..." Reynauld shows a moment of worry.

Arztz pats him and shows him a smile, "I know it may seem worrisome Mr.Reynauld, but weren't you the one saying you were quite certain that Mr.Marrion was the man we wanted?" Arztz questions.

"I'm not quite certain Casper. I'm damn certain it's him." Reynauld corrects.

"Then you should damn certain that this is the right course of action. I have a feeling this will be the lead we need to find the truth." Arztz encourages.

Reynauld grins, "Shit, hearing you curse is funny as hell Casper! Since when you'd become such a good talker?" he compliments.

Arztz laughs, "I'm not quite sure. But I believe it's because, I happen to have two good friends to influence me is all."

"I'll take it then that means you two are okay with it. Then that just leaves...." he turns in your direction.

You suddenly feel everyone's eyes on you, "You, blondie." He states.

"...." you go slient in contemplation.

"Once you argee, there's no going back." Jesper warns again.

"I know it's risky Mr.Derrick, but please trust in my instincts as I've trusted in yours! I know this will get us somewhere!" Arztz encourages.

"I know we haven't known each for long Sundance, but I know you're a man that doesn't let indecision and doubt cloud ya, and I respect that about you." Reynauld compliments.

"You take what you pick and run with it, even if that means running right off a damn cliff. I know it may sound stupid, but wanna take a leap of faith with me?" He asks.

"The fuck are all you people on about!? You're all fucked in the head! Don't you listen to them you blonde shithead! Don't waste your time! Just stay out of my place, there's nothing there!" Zarques states.

"I...I think I'm going to..." you reach a decision.

What will you do?

>I'll go to Zarques house.

>I'll stay here, there's more to do.

File: [Good to see you].png (224 KB, 269x625)

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And with that, I'm leaving the vote open till tomorrow, I wanna let everyone anon have a choice after-all, considering this is a big choice.

Rest well anons, I'll see you in the morning.

>>3207687
>I'll stay here, there's more to do.
Question the other guy Zarques met.

>>3207695
Right on time for FQ. I see what you're doing

>>3207687
>I'll go to Zarques house.
Oh Arztz, I can't say no too you... well except for those times we totally did but that doesn't count

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>>3207687
>I'll go to Zarques house
We should at least have an hour left to question beige and interrogate Nicholas about his lies, if we're lucky we could find the metal password thing for the computer, or find something else entirely
It's also nice to see you using my music recommendations

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>>3207722
>>3207930
>>3209049

>I'll go with you.

>Writing.

>>3207725

You have me there anon, oh that thread was glorious, I'm glad to be on OP's wild ride once more.

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You stand and contemplate for what feels like eternity before coming to a decision, "I'll go too. I'll trust in your decision Arztz." you state.

The beaming smile he gives you can barely be described as anything other than pure elation, "I know you won't regret this Mr.Derrick! I'm certain this will give us what we seek!" he declares.

"It damn well better, if we go there and find jack shit, we won't just be up shit's creek, we'll be falling off a shit-waterfall." Reynauld states.

"You mean like those brains of yours you dumbasses!? You can't seriously be doing this!?" Zarques complains.

Jesper walks past him, "Too late to deter them now you raging brat. Their choice has been made." He states.

He walks up to the exit to the hall, "Come on now, my car's out in the streets, you all don't have time to be sitting around talking do you?" He asks as he exits.

You all follow suit, Zarques complaining the whole way as you head back through the building and to the guard checkpoint, which after some quick bickering on Bill and Will's part, you regain your equipment as you head out.

>Recurve bow obtained!

>Thunderstruck glove obtained!

>Stab-proof vest obtained!

"Ahhhh, it's good to have my girls back with me, just can't relax without 'em." Reynauld spins his revolver on his finger before holstering it.

"There is something pleasant about having your weapons at your side isn't their? After keeping them with you for so long, it really does feel like something is missing when they aren't around." Arztz agrees.

"Yeah, like the ability to put down shit-talking brats like him." Reynauld points to Zarques.

"You threatening me Barnyard boy?" He asks.

"It's a threat for now. It'll be a promise if you keep talking though." He answers.

"Don't go shooting the suspects before they actually commit a crime cowboy. That's something we let the regular police do for us." Jesper cuts-in.

"My car is over there, let's get going." Jesper points over to an unremarkable black sedan parked on the side of the road.

"I see you don't put much effort into picking a good car." you comment.

"Shut your mouth, it's a rental. My actual car is another country right now, so this will have to do." He counters as you all file into the vehicle, with you taking the front seat and Reynauld, Arztz and Zarques taking the back.

Before you drive off, you look to Sheldon and Ami outside, standing around by the curb, waving goodbye at you, "Wait a sec, what about those two? This car can't fit more than 5 people." you ask.

Jesper looks over with disinterest, "Oh them? Don't worry, they'll find their own way there." He says as he presses on the gas, leaving the twins behind in the dust.

File: Dardan 02.jpg (73 KB, 748x421)

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"Jeez, you really do treat those two like dirt..." you realize.

"Oh come on, don't say that. You're giving dirt a bad name. At least dirt is useful something other than pissing you off." He counters.

"..." you're left speechless by his cruel words, (You know, if he wasn't right, I'd actually feel bad for them. At least now I know where they learned to be such terrible people.) you think.

"Don't worry about them. Just buckle up and relax. You all have a long drive and a long night ahead of you." Jesper explains as you drive out.

Heeding his advice, you lean back and try to sort out your thoughts as best you can, (This mystery should be coming to a close soon. I'm taking a huge risk trusting this small lead, but if this turns up fruit, then I'll be able to pass this exam and move unto the final phase.) you realize.

You look into the rear view mirror to see Zarques grumbling under his breath and looking ready to hit someone if they start talking, (There are still a few holes in how he did it, but I'm almost certain he's the one who killed Inell. or at least, he's the one who carried it out. There's still this ever-looming feeling that we're moving exactly to someone else's plan.) you think.

You then look down, (But does that really matter? Technically, the mystery's already been solved and the real killer caught. All we're doing is following in Jesper footsteps to prove we can actually problem solve.) you remember.

(Maybe that feeling is due to this being all his plan and nothing more....yes, nothing more...) you think.

You look over to the shining buildings and cars passing you by as you head down the road, deeper into the city, (I haven't driven in the city like this since I began this adventure and soon, I'll have accomplished the goal I set out.) you think.

(I'll go back to Maxwell and tell I passed to his face and I'll even bring along some new friends to celebrate with me. I may be counting my eggs before they hatch, but the thought of that sounds great. Being able to tell him that me and a group of friends set out to do something and won this time.) you think, cracking a small grin.

You lean back into your chair and settle yourself, (Oh man...seeing the city lights at night like this really gets me nostalgic...) you think as you drive into the night.

>30 minutes later.

After a long drive, you end up on a decrepit street, run-down buildings, shady businesses and dirty-looking apartment complexes surround you on all sides as you park along a single road with nothing but alleys separating the way.

(This doesn't get me as nostalgic though.) you think as you exit the car.

>>3209925
>oh that thread was glorious
Damn right. Most fun I've had in a long time. That ending is still fucking with me though

File: Sheldon and Ami04.png (1.07 MB, 1200x900)

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"Here we are, 21st street, central downtown." Jesper explains.

"You mean central shit-town. Good lord above, just 30 minutes we were looking at mansions on every street, now I can't look left or right without seeing a hobo piss on a street." Reynauld complains.

"Yeah, perfect place for scum like you all, right?" Zarques laughs.

"That's funny coming from the man that lives here." He counters.

"I already know I'm scum, at least I can accept what I am. You people are just in denial of what you really are." He states.

Reynauld reaches for his gun, "Didn't I warn you brat. I'm ready and willing anytime to make my threats into promises. And I always deliver on a promise." Reynauld states.

"Now now, My dear cattle wrangler. You know it's against the rules to bring serious harm to any suspect." Reynauld's eyes goes wide as he looks over to an apartment on the right.

Everyone else follows suit, and you see something unreal, "You've come this far already, surely you wouldn't want to fail due to a bad temper." You see the Carlton twins standing side-by-side in-front of a door.

"What in Sam Hill-How'd ya'll reach here before us!?" Reynauld asks.

"Trade secret Mr. Horse rider, you'll learn when you become a proper hunter." Ami answers.

"For now, you may think of us as quantum anomaly, a hole in space time, that could be either space or time if we so desire. Not unlike a schrodingeresque existence, but not quite the same either." Sheldon explains.

"...What?" Reynauld struggles to understand a word of that.

"Let's just say we're magic for now." They answer in unison.

Reynauld tips his hat, "Goddamn you upstate people are freaky..." he states.

"Nevermind them, they're just ticks that refuse to get scarped off is all. What really matters is what's behind them." Jesper points out.

"That's Zarques apartment, you're going up to room 421." Jesper explains.

"Mind giving us an escort?" you ask of Zarques.

"To the nearest cliff? Yes. To my apartment? Go fuck yourself." He answers.

"Worry yourself not my Blonde cassnova, we will act as your guides once more! You're looking to reach the 27th floor, on the left side." Sheldon states.

Ami then opens the door, "Go right ahead, you need only climb about 20-ish flights of stairs to reach your destination!" She explains.

You grimace, "They don't have a elevator in this place?" you ask.

"Oh please, Hunter's need no elevators! Climbing something like 20 flights is child's play, not even a warm up!" Sheldon counters.

"Surely you've trained you've all trained your endurance correct? Especially you my blonde playboy, can't snag any ladies unless you have extra-energy in the sheets." Ami taunts.

"I swear one day I'll end the both of you..." You complain as you head inside.

"Save one for me Sundance, I've got some spare rope I was hoping to get sum use from." Reynauld rejoins.

"Violence is never the answer you two...but it is a solution." Arztz concedes as you all begin your long journey up the stairs.

File: Zarques Apartment.jpg (82 KB, 900x506)

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>5 minutes later.

With aching legs and a series of annoyed grumbles from everyone in your group, you arrive at room 421, "C-Chirst almightly, I thought my legs were gonna give out by the 22nd floor..." Reynauld complains.

"The staircases just seem to get longer and longer with each floor, I can't imagine this is good architecture..." Arztz realizes in a weak voice.

"How the hell does this place have so many floors and yet no fucking elevator..." You complain.

"That's what you get when you have a landlord that adds another floor to the building whenever he wants a new car and but doesn't give a shit about the tenants living in them." Zarques answers.

"Why the hell ain't you out of breath?" Reynauld asks.

"Cause I ain't a pansy like you all. This place has some of the cheapest rent around, climbing a few stairs ain't nothing to me." He answers as he takes out a key and opens the door.

You all proceed to head inside the room and what a room it is.

Dusty, Deary and dull, that would be a nice way of referring to it.

The room houses the bare minimum needed for a human to survive, with the bedroom one room over and the living room and kitchen being a shared space.

You see dishes piling up alongside pizza boxes and a single, unopened window by which you can peer at yet another building or maybe the back-alley, if your feeling adventurous.

Aside from that, all you see is a single table, a bookshelf housing an, admittedly, impressive amount of books and a couch.

Reynauld blanches "Heavens above, this place looks like it hasn't seen a mop and broom for what must be 3 years."

"Well that's how long I haven't had visitors, a record I planned to keep until you intrusive scumbags barged in." Zarques counters.

Arztz looks disturbed, "I can almost taste the dust in the air, as a medical professional, this space almost looks like a biohazard zone." He states.

"You're damn right, I'm surpised mold hasn't started growing on the walls yet..." You say as you examine the place.

>Roll1d100+10

>DC: 60

Rolled 62 (1d100)

>>3210200
Come on guys, we can do it!

Rolled 43 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>3210200

Rolled 84 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>3210200
Sorry for being late

>>3210204
>>3210273
>>3210361

>Rolled 94

>Every nook and cranny.

>Writing.

>Atop the table sits a lone photograph...

>Across the room, you see a small trash bin where a small piece of whiter paper peeps out...

>In the center of the room, you see an unmarked, thick looking door with a heavy lock placed on it...

(There isn't all that much to look at first...but at the same time, it feel as if there's way more here than what meets the eye...) you think.

"Well anyway, we ain't here to clean this damn mess ya call a living space, we're here to investigate it." Reynauld states.

"Yes, we should be thorough in checking this place, leave no stone unturned, no cranny unchecked." Arztz states.

"Well if you need me, I'll be in my bedroom, far away from you absolute invalids-"

"Don't even think about it." Jepser steps infront of Zarques as he tries to move away.

"What the hell?" Zarques sounds ready to burst a gasket.

"Do you really think the suspect is allowed to move around and touch whatever he wants while people are investigating? Think again. You're standing right here." Jesper explains.

He grits his teeth hard, "Boy, everyone today must be trying to get the worst out of me." he spits.

"If we're right, we already know about the worst of you boah. We're just about to prove it is all." Reynauld taunts.

"Me and the twins will keep an eye on you, just wait until they're done checking the area." Jesper states.

"If you're really as innocent as you say you are-" Sheldon appears from Behind Jesper.

"Then surely you have no problems with this, right?" Ami finishes as opens the door and enters the room.

"grrr....You break even one goddamn thing in here and I'm having the lot of you pay for it. You hear me!?" He shouts.

"No problem, if they end up being wrong, you can sue me for everything you could ever want and it wouldn't even put a dent in my bank account." Jesper taunts.

"Fucking scum..." Zarques grumbles as he puts his back against the wall and looks over at the three of you.

You can feel his burning glare cutting into your spine as if to rip it out, but that only emboldens you in your search.

"So Sundance, notice anything interesting we should see?" Reynauld asks.

"This investigation is a group effort, tell us where to go if you like." Arztz offers.

"Alright, then..." you trail off.

Who will go where?

>The lone Photo

>The trash bin

>The locked door.

>>3210091
"That's Zarques apartment, you're going up to room 421." Jesper explains.
Stop

>>3210424
>The lone Photo
Arztz
>The trash bin
Reynauld
>The locked door.
Derrick

>>3210446

>Stop

Just trying to get all the references out of my system early so they don't clog up the thread later.

>Arztz with photo, Reynauld with trash and Derrick with Door.

>Writing.

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https://youtu.be/gCfpmW6s37U

"Arztz, I saw a photo on that table, I need you to check it out and tell me if it's important or not." you state.

"That photo over there yes? It did catch my eye..." He says as he wanders over to it.

"Reynauld, I'm gonna need you to go dumpster diving." you say as you point over at the trash bin.

"Really? You got real fucking guts to push trash duty on me Sundance. I respect that." he says as he walks away.

"Meanwhile, I'm gonna deal with..." You look over to the large, imposing door in the center of the room.

(This thing has double locked with a hatch and a padlock, if this isn't out of place, I don't know what is.) you think.

"Hey Zarques, mind telling what's behind this door?" you ask.

"I don't fucking know. Pandora box? The dead sea scrolls? Maybe your long lost braincells?" He taunts.

"A serious answer please." You ask.

"I don't know. Whoever owned this apartment beforehand used that room, locked it and I never found the key." He answers.

"And who owned this room before you?" you ask.

"I don't know." He answers.

"You're not a very good liar."

"I don't care if you believe me or not. Even if I was lying, do you see anyway to open that door?" He asks.

"...." you go silent.

"That's what I thought, if you can't get in, then what's inside probably don't concern your ass." He states.

What will you do?

>Try and break open the door.

>Relent for now and check on your partner's progress.

>>3210596
>>Relent for now and check on your partner's progress.

Get reynauld to shoot off the lock.

>>3210622

>Check on partner's progress.

>Writing.

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You turn away from the door for now and walk over to Reynauld's side, "Found anything good?" you ask.

"Damn right I did, two thangs in-fact." He presents a scarp of paper and a torn photo.

You take both and examine them closely, "One's a receipt for piano wire from January 6th and other...well, I don't quite know what the other is." He explains.

He's exactly right, the receipt from music store that sold him a single length of piano wire and the other is a rather old-looking photograph, depicting what looks like two young men.

One with a thick, black beard and the other with straight hair trying to push him off playfully, they both have smiles on their faces.

However, you notice that almost the entire left side of the photo has been torn off, obscuring whatever, or perhaps, whoever was there.

>New clue found! [Piano Wire Receipt]

>A receipt found in Zarques apartment that serves as proof of purchase of him buying a single length of piano string.

>New clue found! [Strange Photograph]

>A torn photograph depicting two young men smiling happily, the entire left side has been torn off however, making it impossible to tell the whole picture.

"I think these will be extremely useful and they better be, I had to wade through garbage like starving homeless man to get those. My hands were meant for shooting, not dumpster diving." He states.

"Oh, speaking of which, I think I'm going to need your shooting skills right now." you state as you point over to the door.

He looks excited, "Ohhh, it feels like forever since I last got to put a bullet in sumthin'." He pulls out his revolver and cocks the action, "I'm going to have fun with this." He states.

"Sorry Mr.Reynauld, but I believe there's no need for that." Arztz cuts-in.

"Huh?" Reynauld blurts out.

"I think I've found the key to your problems." He says as he brandishes a brass key.

Reynauld uncocks his gun, "Any ever tell you have a way killing people's fun Casper?" He says in disappointment.

"Sorry, but I'm not too big a fan of random destruction." He apologizes.

"Where'd you find that key Arztz?" you ask.

He shows you the framed photo you saw earlier, "You're eyes did not deceive you Mr. Derrick. This photo did have something important about it." he states.

Arztz twists the frame around to the back and pushes on it, the back of the frame then slips off and reveals a slot for a key, "A good hiding spot Mr.Zarques, but not quite good enough to miss our eyes." He calls.

"...." Zarques remains silent, simply glaring daggers at you all.

Arztz then twists the frame back and you notice something odd about the photo.

The photo within is of a older man, what looks to be his wife and a young child that could only be Zarques.

"Can you hand that over for a sec, Arztz?" you ask.

"Sure, here you go." He hands it off to you.

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(This must be Zarques father, Tenpan...) you realize, but that's not what catches your interest.

Instead, you bring up the torn photo and compare them to each other and notice something, "These two look the same..." you state.

Arztz and Reynauld look over, "Oh, you're right, these two are clearly the same person." Arztz confirms.

"He looks about 20 years younger in the other photo though." Reynauld adds.

>Clue Updated! [Strange photograph]

>The young man pushing off the bearded man has been identified as Tenpan Marrion, Zarques father.

"What's the meaning of this, Zarques?" you ask.

He looks away from you, "I don't got a damn thing more to say to any of you bastards..." he looks off in the distance, a mix of belligerence and sadness in his eyes.

"Well look at that, the only time you don't got anything to say." Reynauld taunts.

"...." He goes silent again, looking less angry more extremely displeased.

"It's pointless to provoke him Reynauld. Instead of that, let's find out what's behind this door shall we?" you state as you walk over to the door and place the key in the lock.

"...." Zarques looks over at you with minuscule interest.

(Why isn't this causing him to freak out? I thought for sure that he would have some major reaction to us finding all of this....) you think as you turn the key and the lock pops open and falls to the floor.

You then pull the hatch back and see something that makes your eyes go wide, "What the hell?" you blurt out as what looks like a small garage worth of tools and machine parts lay themselves out before you.

"When the hell did you have time to build up all this Zarques?" Reynauld asks in astonishment.

"This is no meager add on, this has to have been built in secret from months prior." Arztz states.

You see working electronics and an overhead light within the room and turn to Zarques, "Now what the hell is this Zarques? Do you really expect me to believe this all the work of some previous owner?" you ask.

"....." He continues to lean against the wall, mostly uninterested in what happening, as if it isn't even happening at all.

"You think you can just play dumb boah? You better tell us what the hell this is!" Reynauld demands.

"The hell do you think it is? You're investigators. Investigate will you?" He answers.

"We'll do just that..." you trail off.

>Roll1d100+10

>DC: 40

Rolled 95 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>3211017

>>3211030

This is the one place you didn't need a crit to save you and you still get it. The dice gods have a cruel of punishing continuous success, be wary...

>Rolled 105

>World's most unneeded crit!

>Writing.

>>3211080
W-what if Zarques is so impressed by our investigation skills that he admits he's the killer

You enter into the compact space and push through the piles of tools and notice a multitude of strange things.

First and foremost, you find a schematic for a machine that uses two wind-up devices and a piano string and how to set it up.

(Well if this isn't the most damning thing I've found I don't what is, this is literally a plan for the creation of the murder weapon. It details it's use and needed parts and everything...) you note.

>New clue found! [Murder Weapon Schematic] [Decisive]

>A schematic found in Zarques apartment depicting the making, use and location of the murder weapon.

"Hey, would ya look at that." Reynauld picks something up from the table.

He then turns back and present it to you and it turns out to be the other piece of the wind-up device, "Oh my, this is the missing piece of the murder weapon..." Arztz realizes.

"Well if this doesn't prove that Zarques is the killer, I don't know what will. Looks like your instincts were dead-on Casper." Reynauld praises.

Arztz blushes, "I-I'm happy to be a help, but really, we solved this with a group effort, I would never have made it this far without the two of you." He states.

"Ah damn ya Casper! Boast a little will ya! You're allowed to be proud when ya done a good thing!" Reynauld pats him on the back.

"...." As the two of them celebrate, you look around some more and notice something odd underneath the table.

(Huh? What is this....) you reach underneath and pull up what looks to be the torn off piece of a photo.

This piece also depicts another young, smiling man and even younger boy in glasses and with a bowl cut, both of them look strangely familiar, behind them stands what looks like a large crowd.

(Who Is this...?)you wonder as you look closely at the photograph.

But that's when you realize it, "This must be for..." You pull out the strange photo and place the two together.

And just like that it makes sense to you, the photo fits perfectly together, a depiction of 3 young men standing happily in front of city hall spans out before you.

(This picture...is this Inell?) you think.

(I can't really tell since I there wasn't much of his face to look at, but this build and height and the fact they're in front of city hall tells me this must be Inell...) you reason.

(But then...who's this big bearded guy? What's with the crowd in the corner and this young boy...) you stare at the young, dark-eyed boy.

He's the only person in the photo not smiling, he stands beside Inell, gripping unto his pants tightly, but his eyes seem somewhere else entirely.

(I feel like I...know who this is...) you think, but then Reynauld touches your shoulder.

"What are you playing with those photos for Sundance? See something strange?" He asks.

"Yeah actually, there's this thing-"

"Hold on with that, first things first, time to claim our victory!" Reynauld says as he pulls you outside.

File: Zarques Marrion02.jpg (111 KB, 669x800)

111 KB JPG

You get pulled outside to see Zarques standing face to face with the three of you.

He's come from off the wall and now crosses his arms with a scowl painted on his face, "Are you three done now? There ain't much of my house left to raid." he asks.

"Damn right we are boah, and I think we've come to a decision, haven't we friends?" Reynauld answers.

"Indeed, I believe we have, the evidence we've discovered has made the truth quite clear." Arztz smiles.

"Oh? And what is that?" Zarques asks.

"We think you're the killer." Reynauld answers.

Sheldon and Ami clap their hands, "Ah, he went and said it!" They say in unison as Jesper watches on in silence.

Zarques seems mostly unfazed, "And what makes you say that? What proof do you have to back up that statement?" he asks.

"We have quite a bit of it, but I believe these will suffice for now." Arztz presents the murder weapon schematic and the wind-up machine part.

"We found these inside that secret workshop a yours', plans to make the exact device used in killing the Mayor." Reynauld starts.

"...." Zarques goes silent again.

"I should probably ask you what exactly you're doing with these. But I honestly don't feel interested in hearing whatever excuse you could muster up anymore." Arztz has a dark look.

"That's a scary face you're making there pale-face." Zarques laughs.

"Sorry, I tend to lose control whenever I'm near murderous monsters." Arztz states.

"Oh man, that's terrible of you to say, but at the same time, you're right, I can't explain that away. Nope, not one bit..." he says with a sour laugh.

"So then...you admit it?" you ask.

He throws his hands up, "Fine, fine. Yeah, you got me. I'm the one that did it." He says nonchalantly, as if he's admitting to stealing the last slice of pizza someone was saving.

"Hell yeah! We got him! Yeehaw!" Reynauld shouts as he pulls an equally excited Arztz in for a shoulder hug.

"...." you however, are less excited, (....Is that it? He's just...giving up?) you think in complete confusion.

"Ya hear that Mr.Examiner, they've figured it out. Shouldn't you tell them the verdict?" Zarques asks of Jesper.

"...Right. Of course." he complies.

He gestures to the twins and from their backs they pull out a bottle of champagne and party favors.

Jesper then claps his hand as they pop the favors and the bottle, "Congratulations!" Sheldon and Ami shout.

"Your guess is correct. Mr. Zarques Marrion was in fact the one that carried out the murder!" Sheldon confirms.

"It was thanks to your deductive ability and patience that this victory is yours! Amazing! Amazing!" Ami praises.

"You've passed the 3rd phase of the exam, good work, young applicants." Jesper congratulates.

"Aw hell yeah! That was easy! Great work ya'll!" Reynauld shouts.

"We made quick work of that didn't we? I believe it's because we make such an excellent team! Right Mr.Derrick?" Arztz asks you.

>>3211314
Nope. Don't buy it. That was way to easy. He literally had everything in the universe that could prove he was the murder. He definently had an accomplice at least

"...Uh, yeah." You're a bit slow in answering.

Reynauld pats you hard on the back, "Why you sounding so sour! We've done it Sundance, we're moving unto the next phase!" He says.

"....." you're still silent in contemplation, (Is this it? For all the effort we put out, all the things we found, all it took was a single piece of evidence to decide the whole thing, this feels...) you can't put a word to it.

"Yes, I'm the one that murdered Inell Ucedes. During the night of that party, I snuck away half-way through his speech and stole Beige Dainelson's keycard. With it, I gained access to the mayor's room and of course, by extension. Inell's secret room." he begins explaining.

"Beige did claim that his card was stolen, I guess this confirms that." Arztz notes.

"I waited until Inell entered the room and followed after him after he entered his secret room. I snuck around for a bit until I felt he let his guard down and then ambushed him from behind his bookcase." He continues.

"That lines up with the evidence we found at the murder scene." Reynauld confirms.

Zarques clenches his fists, "He didn't put up much a fight, if anything he let me wail on him and goddamn did I. I stomped and bashed his brains in, letting out every bit of anger I built up against him for the last 3 years in a single beating." He explains.

He shakes his head, "That was a bit of a mis-step though, my gloves ended up being covered in blood and my knuckles bruised. My pants got torn in the struggle and all the blood from the stomping ended reaching my legs. There was no way I could explain that away." He admits.

"But even so I didn't care, by that point I was already all-in. After knocking him out, I set-up the machine inside the room and duct-taped him to a chair so he couldn't escape." He explains.

"Then when he woke up, me and him had a nice long chat about the things he'd done to my father. he didn't fight it, he admitted it right away that he murdered my dad then stole his place in office." He bites his lower lip saying this.

He tightens his fists, "And when I asked him why he told it was for the greater good, I didn't want to do it, But that honesty pissed me off all the more. So after that, it didn't take long for me activate the machine and...well, you know what happened." he finishes.

Reynauld puts his hands to his hips, "So you murdered the man to get revenge for your dear old pops, huh? Even after you heard the kind of monster he is?" Reynauld asks.

Zarques slams his fist against the wall, "My father is not a monster! I'm tired of people calling him that!" He shouts violently.

"He cared for me and my mother! He wanted to do the city right but he didn't have the power, the gangs and the corrupt system made him have to commit those crimes! There was no other way he could continued to support us otherwise!" He explains.

"That's no damn excuse. A monster is a monster, even if he don't look that way to everyone." Reynauld counters.

"Believe whatever the hell you want! My father was a good man! After he died, my mother quickly followed after and hanged herself!" He states.

"Revaili took me in and tried to give me a family, he tried to make me whole again, but I couldn't...I just couldn't! Nothing mattered to me anymore after Dad died! All I could feel was this growing rage! One that never went down no matter what I did!" He explains.

"And what about now? Now that you have that man's blood on your hands, how do you feel?" Arztz asks.

He smiles bitterly, "Now...? Now I'm just pissed and have nothing to point it at..." He admits.

He points to Jesper, "It didn't long for this bastard to find out it was me and now I'm severing life in prison for political assassination charges. He promised me he would lower to 20 years with a chance of parole if I managed to trick you idiots, but, well, that didn't work." He states.

"Not that I even wanted out...at least behind bars, there's no one else I can hurt...at least, no more people who don't deserve it..." He states.

Jesper then comes behind him and snaps some cuffs on him, "Good work applicants. You've passed the test and you're moving unto the final part of the exam," he states.

"Follow me back to my car, I'll drive you to the airport, you'll flying to your next destination and after I see you off..." he pulls on Zarques's arms to cut them into the cuffs.

"I'm putting this scum back behind bars." he states.

He smiles in-spite of the pain, "I'm glad to go back, at least in there, I can know so peace for a little while..." He states.

"Whatever you say brat." Jesper pushes him along.

"Another flight huh? I'm not that big of a fan of them fancy airships. Man wasn't meant to fly with the birds above if you ask me." Reynauld says as he follows along.

"I must disagree. Aside from Jet-lag, I think airships are one of the greatest inventions ever made, being able to soar amongst the cloud's is truly breath-taking." Arztz comments as he moves to.

You on the other hand, stand your ground and think, (It's over? But there's still so many unanswered questions, so many leads we didn't follow up on, we didn't even meet everyone on the suspect list....) you think.

(But at the same time, it's clear that Zarques is, in-fact the killer, Jesper has confirmed as much and if I just...follow along, I can move unto the final phase, just like that.) you realize.

(It's strange and It feels like I'm missing something, but this is my chance to move on, is this really something worth fretting over? Am I just overthinking things?) you wonder.

(What should I do....) you wonder.

What will you do?

>Head to the airport.

>Stop Jesper and ask Zarques a question.

>>3211426
>>Stop Jesper and ask Zarques a question.

>>3211426
>Stop Jesper and ask Zarques a question.
Ask about the picture. Jesper is also acting really suspicious

>>3211463
>>3211465

>Not yet! This isn't over yet!

>Writing.

(Damn it...I guess I just can't help myself.)You smirk derisively at yourself.

"Hold it!" you shout, bringing everyone who was walking away to a stop and bringing their eyes on you.

"What's this now?" The twins asks.

"Zarques, do you mind answering a question?" you ask.

"Well sure, but my hands are kinda tied at the moment, so maybe you could do something about that?" he asks.

"Jesper, let go for a second. Please." you ask.

Jesper looks back at you, his expression indecipherable, "Why? What do you hope to gain from this? The test is over now." He questions.

"Exactly Sundance, what's this all of sudden?" Reynauld asks.

"What's the matter Mr.Derrick?" Arztz asks with a concerned look.

"I just want to confirm something, let him go." You ask again.

Without another word, Jesper let's Zarques go and let's him face you, "What could you want from a murderer like me?" Zarques asks.

"Answers. Real ones." you state.

His eyes go wide, he truly wasn't expecting this, "What do you want to know?" he asks.

You pull out the photo and speak, "This photo, where did you get it from and what does it mean?" you ask.

He looks taken aback when you present the whole photo, "Where did you find that thing, I could sworn I tossed it...no, I guess that doesn't matter now." He admits.

"Well, since you've gone and caught me already, I might as well be completely honest. It's just like you heard, Beige gave that thing to me, in a back-stage meeting at around 8:40 when I just arrived." he began.

"Now, I never met him before that day, but he came up to me, telling me he knew who I was and he wanted me to have that thing because he wanted to show me the kind of person Inell really was." He explains.

"Who he really was?" You question.

"You know what that picture is? It's from 10 years ago, 1990. The day my father was put into office." he explains.

"What?" Both Arztz and Reynauld blurt out.

"I see, and the people inside this photo. They're Inell and Tenpan right?" you question.

"Yep, it's the two duck-faced idiots you see getting wrapped up by that big lug there. Grinning their fucking asses off..." he answers.

"Beige told me that from the beginning of my Dad's race to the top, Inell was with him every step of the way, he helped with his campaign and getting into office. He told me that he and my dad were great friends." Zarques explains.

"...." you go silent as you listen.

"Needless to say, hearing that the kind of thing about a guy you're about to kill was a little...unsettling. It really shook me you know? I couldn't believe my goddamn ears." He confesses.

But then an angry scowl returns to him, "But at the same time, knowing that my father was killed by his best friend, a person he trusted to be by his side. It made me doubt, but it didn't make me waiver." He explains.

"Even though I knew would killing someone my Dad cared for, I still went through with it, I knew from there my rage was so great that it had made a monster out of me..." He regrets.

"That's horrible..." Arztz looks genuinely saddend.

"But the hell does it matter to us? You're still man that killed him right?" He asks of Zarques.

"Damn right." He admits.

"Then who cares, who gave what to who and this thang to them and where? Let's move on Sundance!" He demands.

"Not yet, I have another question." You deny him.

You don't know why, you can feel Jesper gaze honing in on you, he's seriously looking hard at you right now.

"Really? What more could you want to know?" he asks.

You point to the boy and the bearded man in the photo, "Tell me, who are these two?" you ask.

"The big guy is Beige, that's him before he got all the grey hairs and the little one...that's Nicholas." He answers.

"Nicholas? What's he doing here?" you question.

He shrugs as best he can while in cuffs, "Sorry, I couldn't tell you that. Beige said something about Inell taking him in after something happened to his family, but I honestly stopped listening after the best friend part." He admits.

You narrow your eyes at him, "Do you really mean that?" you ask.

"I know it's hard to believe, but yes, I really mean it this time." He answers.

"Reynauld, confirm that." you order.

He's reluctant at first, but eyes him up a few seconds later, "...he ain't lying. But does that matter? Case is closed Sundance, what are you doing this for?" He asks.

"The case isn't closed." you counter.

"What!?" Both Arztz and Reynauld shout.

Jesper steps up, "What makes you say that Derrick?" He asks.

That's the first time he's actually referred to you by name, "I say that because...I'm pretty sure..." you trail off.

What will you say?

>Zarques isn't the actual killer

>Zarques has an accomplice

>I don't actaully know.

>>3211627
>Zarques has an accomplice
After all the evidence stacked against him it would be almost impossible to say he didn't do it but it's also obvious we aren't finished here. We still don't even know how he knew about the secret room in the first place

>>3211627
>Zarques has an accomplice

Someone had to clue Zarques into that secret room.

>>3211644
>>3211669

>The real mystery begins here

>Writing.

File: Jesper Myerscough04.jpg (42 KB, 300x300)

42 KB JPG

https://youtu.be/TeUa3ij9xVI

"Zarques, answer me this last question." you ask again.

"What more could you wanna know?" he asks.

"You have an accomplice, don't you?" you ask.

His face is torn by shock, "...! Ha..Hahaha..!" He begins to laugh.

"Holy shit! He actually figured it out! I can't believe it! Looks like you just lost your bet Mr. Examiner!" Zarques gloats.

"Bet? What bet?" Reynauld questions.

"My bet. My bet that every applicant that came and did this test would take the answer at face value and move on. That's the bet he's talking about." Jesper says with a smile.

"Wait...what?" Arztz asks.

"I realized something was off from the very beginning. It felt like someone else was setting you up to be caught, like we were running around in someone else's idea of a complex mystery." You state.

"I thought it was just cause this was a test set out by Jesper, but that's not it, is it?" You ask of Jesper.

Jesper laughs, the first show of genuine emotion he's ever given you, "Amazing! Actually amazing! 100s of applicants reach this exact same point and just let the mystery go, but you, you actually took that extra step! Here I was thinking I had lost all faith in the future of the organization!" He exclaims.

"Whoa! Boss is actually laughing!" Ami shouts in surprise.

"We've been trying to get him to do that for years!" Sheldon admits.

"I had bet with this scumbag that I would guarantee him one month out of every year, that he would allowed to return to the starry night band and play with them freely." Jesper admits.

"Under extremely surveillance of course!" The Carlton twins add.

"I can't believe I actually lost, but at the same time, I'm really happy! I actually fucking lost! Hahahaha!" He laughs loudly.

"It's kinda creepy hearing ya laugh shades." Reynauld states.

Jesper steps up to you and for the first time, he looking you in the eye, even behind his sunglasses you can tell, "You've realized truth no one else has seen Derrick, you've taken the one more step forward. You're quite the man." He compliments.

"Weren't you the one saying earlier that taking extra steps was a fool's game? That only the bare minimum was necessary?" you ask.

"I said that the bare minimum was necessary to get somewhere in life and that pointless extra effort was what I hated." he corrects.

"What you're about to do is far from pointless. You see, a Hunter only ever takes an extra step when they know it will get them to the truth. That's what it means to be Terror Hunter anyway." He praises.

"In that vein, you're more suited for this line of work than everyone gives you credit for." He states.

"I also thought you hate ass-kissing?" you taunt.

He laughs, "You're right! I guess you don't need to hear all this from me!" he states.

"He made him laugh again!" Ami notes.

"How does he keep doing that!?" Sheldon asks.

"Anyway, you're exactly right Derrick. Zarques here does have an accomplice, that was the last thing I figured out about this case before I was called to arrange a test for the Hunter Exam." He explains.

"The last thing you realized? But doesn't that mean that the case still hasn't been closed by you?" Arztz asks.

"Yep. That I was partly lying at the begin of test." Jesper states.

"What!? But I thought we just passed!" Reynauld blurts out.

"You did. You've finished the official part of the exam. From here on out, the case isn't merely pretend. You're actually going to search for whoever Zarques accomplice is, as of now, they are still on the loose." He answers.

"You can't be serious...This is your fault Sundance! We could have just advanced!" Reynauld complains.

"And let a criminal slip under the radar? Impossible, my sense of justice wouldn't allow it." you counter.

"Your sense of justice!? I can't believe what I'm hearing! You actually expect me to solve a real crime! I'm the one committing the crimes most of the time!" Reynauld complains.

"However, Mr.Reynauld. Mr. Derrick and Jesper are exactly right." Arztz counters.

"Huh...Not you too Casper!" Reynauld looks dumbfounded.

"I'm sorry, but if we, as future hunter let this travesty go unpunished, can we really call ourselves proper, real Hunters?" Arztz questions.

"Yes we can!" Reynauld counters.

"Well sorry, I wouldn't." Arztz denies.

"You can always go ahead to the airport anyway. I'll have these two drive you." Jesper points to the Carlton twins.

Sheldon jumps up, "Ohhh! I've always wanted to be someone's chaperone! Driving across the city streets, basking in the city night! Taking in the sights with a proper passenger!" He exclaims.

"We'll take you everywhere cowboy! From the lowest ghetto to the highest tower!" Ami exclaims.

"And be prepared for hours of laughter as we entertain you with stories and jokes!" Sheldon offers.

"Now come on and ride with us!" They say in unison.

"...." Reynauld looks genuinely horrified.

"Fine, I'll solve the damn mystery..." He agrees.

Arztz smiles, "I'm happy to have you on our side Mr. Reynauld!" He exclaims.

"Haha...Oh lord, I wonder if Moneybags is having an easier time than us..." He wonders.

Jesper adjusts his glasses, "Oh trust me, you're having a way easier time than them, considering they got her as an examiner. They're probably struggling to keep their sanity as we speak." He explains.

"her? Who's her?" you ask.

"Trust me, you're better off not knowing for now." Jesper states.

"Anyway, don't focus on that for now. Instead, it's time for us to use our heads to solve this mystery." Jesper states.

"Huh? Can't we just ask Zarques?" you question.

"No we can't. He won't say anything." Jesper answers.

>>3211898
So if we technically passed do we still have to worry about the time limit?

"Why?" you ask.

"They're threatening Starry night." Zarques answers.

"You're dealing with an extreme psychopath here. One with a lot of money, power and knowledge." He answers.

"He learns I blabbed one word about who he is to you all, then Revali and everyone else I know will end up dying by accident before the day is out." He explains.

"So there's nothing you can tell us? No leads you can give us?" You ask.

"Well, there is one thing I can tell you, one thing that won't get me busted." He says as he points to the photo in your hand.

"The guy you're looking for is in that photo." He hints.

You bring the photo up, "The man we're looking for..." you wonder.

"The accomplice..." Arztz notes.

"And Inell's partner..." Reynauld notes.

"Considering Tenpan and Inell aren't of this world anymore. That narrows our suspect list down to two people." Jesper states.

"Beige and Nicholas." You announce.

"It's between those two..." Arztz notes.

Jesper stands in-front of the group, "The truth of this case is just beyond the horizon. And you three will be my assistants in seeing it." He states.

"Why the hell do I gotta be someone assistant?" Reynuald complains.

"Oh don't gripe Mr.Reynauld! That technically means we're on mission with an actual pro Hunter! We're on mission before we even get our licenses!" Arztz is practically jumping with excitement.

"That just means we're unpaid interns Casper." Reynauld complains.

"Yes. But it also means you have my assistance. You all will be joining me in this hunt." He declares.

>Jesper Myerscough: Investigation skill [Master Detective]

>Jesper automatically knows which piece of evidence to present no matter the argument. As long as the evidence has been found beforehand, he will highlight it whenever necessary.

"Don't forget us!" Carlton twins call out.

>Ami and Sheldon: [Jack of all trades]

>Ami and Sheldon are masters at many crafts and have knowledge in basically every field from forensics, to computing to interrogation or otherwise. While they aren't capable of knowing everything, they do know a little of everything, allowing them to find most hidden clues as they aren't too complex*

*Require a roll

"So then. As leader of this group now. I have to say that I despise dragging things out." he states.

"Since you've passed the test, you no longer have to worry about the time limit. But you do have to worry about my patience limit, I like getting to the heart of any issue right away. Saves energy." He states.

"So I ask you, taking everything you know about the case so far. Who do you think this accomplice is?" Jesper asks.

"Beige?" Sheldon asks.

"Or Nicholas?" Ami asks.

What do you say?

>Nicholas

>Beige

>I can't decide yet.

File: [Impressed].png (74 KB, 292x240)

74 KB PNG

And with that, we will continue tomorrow.

Drawing ever closer to the truth anons, nice work.

>>3211987
>I can't decide yet.
we have not gotten anything definitive, nor have we gotten an interview with beige.

however, Nicolaus has a cold demeanor fitting a psychopath, and the tape was from his office, and he has shredded papers which I am willing to bet could be matched to the stack taken from inell's office. However both knew of the room and we have nothing conclusive yet though. Either one could be framing the other.

>>3211987
>I can't decide yet.
If we had to guess he's the most likely one from what we've seen (him bringing that stuff is pretty damning) but between the gloves being in his drawer and his card getting conveniently "stolen" I'd say it could also easily be Beige.

We really need to interview him first, maybe if he could shed some light on what he did that night and discern if he's lying or not then we can come to a conclusion

>>3212091
>>3212149

Alright, two things, first, before the thread really begins, I got a bit of back-story posting to do, shouldn't take longer than a few minutes and once that's done, the thread resumes as normal.

Second thing, I'm going to starting threads two hours early for the rest of the week and signing off at about 6:00 PM (EST), as I have work to do in the nights, so sessions will be a bit shorter.

Now then...

>Posting.

"Distance 20 meters, target, 20 by 25 centimeters wide. Ready bolt." Zeena instructs.

"Hm..." you grunt as you pull out a long, metal arrow from the large pouch and slowly ready it.

The lingering, acrid scent of gunpowder permeates the area, catching and pushing at your nose, but the scent is quite familiar to you now, so it doesn't really bother you.

You stare your target, a piece of floating plastic in the shape of a human torso and head, after shooting so many real people, you feel nice aiming at something that isn't a living breathing person.

"Grip the string before the arrow, line it with your fingers, not your hands." She corrects your technique.

"I got it." you say with slight annoyance in your voice as you ready the arrow.

"Keep your shoulders relaxed, you're pulling back, not pushing forward." She corrects again.

"I got it..." you repeat, annoyance more prevalent in your voice.

"Fine then, if you've got it, then fire at will." She allows.

"Done." you confirm as you close your focus onto the center of the target and prepare to fire.

>Roll 1d100

>DC: 70

Rolled 30 (1d100)

>>3212838
Rollan fer 1

>>3212853

>Rolled 30

>I got this! I got this!...I don't got this...

>Posting.

File: Shooting Range.jpg (41 KB, 525x300)

41 KB JPG

You take aim and pull back the arrow with as much strength as you can , "Grr..." you grunt, a trudge of pain surges through your hand.

The surge of pain causes your focus to rupture, a rupture that breaks your concentration from your head to your hand as your aim gets messy and your stance breaks as the arrow flies loose.

The bolt fires way off it's mark, shooting downward and piercing the range and burying itself in the floor.

"...shit." you complain as Zeena stifles a laugh.

Time: February 4th, 1993, 1:22 PM, Early Afternoon

Location: Yorknew City, Starship Hotel, Shooting range

You hang your head in disappointment as that marks yet another hole in the floor that you'll have to pay to fix when the staff find that arrow and have to saw it out of the ground.

Ever since you decided that you didn't want to use guns anymore, you've been practicing using a fresh, new compound bow made by the engineering staff base at the Starship's shooting range, a small facility owned by the Starship group that's a short walk away from the hotel itself.

"Well now, seems like you don't got it after-all." She smiles smugly at your failure.

"Shut up, damn it...haahhhhh" you sigh.

"That makes 12th sigh you've let out since we got here. You're face will get wrinkled you know?" she warns.

"You've been counting my sighs?" you ask.

"No. I've been counting your misses. You just happen to sigh every-time you miss, so it's easy to guess." she states

"Easy to guess...I've been hearing that about myself a lot lately, am I really so predictable?" you ask.

She puts a finger to her lips and thinks, "Hmmmm...yeah, you kinda are actually!" she answers.

That makes you smile wryly, "Really? Well I can say you're real honest, or maybe blunt is the right word." you state.

"Thanks! I happen to pride myself on my honesty you know!" She takes your snide comeback as an actual compliment.

"Well I was kinda hoping I could pride myself for having some-kind of natural talent for slinging bows, but turns out I can't fire an arrow to save my life..." you complain.

She gives you an almost motherly smile, "You shouldn't write yourself off so quickly, even geniuses have to practice their moves if they want to put their potential to use." She states.

"Yeah, well what if I don't have any potential? Then all I'm doing is putting holes in people's floors just to learn how much time and money I'm wasting shooting arrows instead of bullets." you argue.

"Oh come now, you always get all pessimistic when things don't go your way! There's no such thing as a person without potential. Even the crippled and genetically deformed have the potential for great things." She scolds.

"Like that one guy! Hawkwing Stevens I think his name was? He can only use three fingers on his entire body yet he's a leading figure in physics research, he's doing with just three fingers what men with whole, working bodies can only dream of." She encourages.


"Are you saying that guy has more potential in three fingers then I do in my entire body?" you self-deprecate.

She gives you a frustrated look, "No and you know that's not what I'm saying." She counters.

You put the bow down and sigh, "Yeah, I know. I just can't help but feel down when I've been going at this for 3 days straight, yet I'm just as shit today as I was yesterday." you complain.

She walks up with a smile and puts a hand to your back, "I know it can be demoralizing to work hard and see no results. But you've barely even begun and you should know by now that results don't start appearing till you've practiced for at least a few months." She explains.

"Yeah and that's kinda the problem, while I keep fucking up with this bow and string, I only got one other option to use in the meantime." you make a gun with your fingers and aim at her.

"Ah...so that's why it's hitting you so hard, you have a point, you can't just switch weapon styles so suddenly and expect to be just as good with one as you are with the other." She states.

"I wish I wasn't as good with one at all. Hell, I wish I didn't have to be good at either." you state.

A concerned look takes her face, "Now what does that mean?" She asks.

You give her a hard look, "Zeena, how do you do it?" you ask.

"Do...what?" she asks.

"Kill people I mean. How do you kill someone and not have that bother you?" you ask.

"Hmmmm...good question." She states.

You lurch slightly, "You don't even know? You've never thought about it?" you ask.

"Don't give me that look like I'm some-kind of psychopath! Of course I think about it, it's just...I probably don't see it the same way you do." She answers.

"You don't see it my way? Are you saying you can't see what we've become?" you question.

"Well that depends, what do you think we've become?" She asks back.

"I think that's pretty obvious! We're murderers Zeena, heartless killers, everywhere we go, we leave a trail of bodies behind us in the hopes that one day that we won't have to kill ever again! We're basically no different than the people we kill!" You state.

"I see...so that's what you mean." She nods her head, a new understanding reaching her mind.

Her calm response doesn't serve to calm you down however, "Doesn't the thought of that bother you? Knowing that we're basically no different than gangsters? The only thing separating us from being just another gang of killers is the fact that we have a good cause! Or at least, we parade one around like we do." you question.

"Well then, why'd you join?" Zeena asks.

"Huh?" you blurt out.

"You should've known from the beginning we'd be killing people left and right to accomplish our goal, Fernand and Dad made as much clear before you joined and yet you still did. Why?" she clarifies.

"Well...obviously because I want to save people! I want to save the people of this city!" you answer.

She claps her hands and smiles, "And there's your answer." she states.

"Wha- That doesn't answer my question at all!" you counter.

"Yes it does. You just found the reason why I can kill people and not let it bother me. Simple, because I'm saving more people than I'm harming." She states.

You smirk, "So you're just like your Dad huh? You count see the bodies we pile up as lives saved rather than ended...you know what? You're right, I don't see things that way, I just can't to look at it from that view." you counter.

"And why is that Derrick? Why do you not see that what we do, we do for the city? For the people we love? For the lives that need saving?" she asks.

"Because I don't see any lives saved, just the bodies we've left telling ourselves we've saved lives." you answer.

She holds her hands up to concede the point, "Well yeah, naturally it's harder to see the greater effects of our actions. You can't see the number of lives we've saved because you can't see how they would have suffered otherwise." She admits.

"You're right on that point, maybe we aren't saving as many lives as we think we are. Maybe we are just a gang of heartless killers, no better than the mafia, expect that we think our cause is better than theirs." She states.

"If you know all of that, then why...why am I the only one haunted by what we've done? Why am I the only struggling like this?" you ask.

"That's simple Derrick. That's because you're too good to look away from your own actions." She states.

"Huh?" you hum.

"You're heart is too good for this conflict, for this war. You can't ignore injustice and look away from pain and suffering, even when it's cast on those who probably deserve it." She begins.

"That's not a bad thing, but it's not a good thing either. It's a sad truth, but not everyone in this world deserves love and compassion, not everyone can be given the chance of a fair and peaceful life." She states.

"...." you go quiet.

"I don't enjoy this war either. I don't enjoy senseless death. But what's the alternative? Go back to doing nothing? Being docile sheep waiting for the mafia to slaughter us? I don't think you want that." She states.

"Of course not. I know what those mafia shitbags will do if we leave them unchecked." Flashbacks to the deaths of your brother's ring through mind.

"Then the only way to stop that is to fight. Fight and kill. Kill and bring peace. That's what we're aiming for Derrick. Peace." She states.

"...." you don't know how to respond to that.

"Or well, at least, that's what I'm aiming for. That's why I'm not haunted by the things I've done, because I know there will be end to it some-day, we fight and kill, but not without a point. That's what keeps me fighting, maybe if you think like that, you can too?" she asks.

"...I'll try." Is all you can say.

"Good and remember, we do not what we can, but what we must." She quotes.

"Fernand's word's right?" you realize.

"Yep, everything he says sounds super smart doesn't it? I wonder how he comes up with stuff like that." She states.

"You tell me, that kid's brain is more complex than any jigsaw puzzle he's probably already solved. I'll never know how he thinks." You counter.

"You know, you keep calling him kid, but you don't know if he's older than you do you?" She asks.

You give her a confused look, "Well, I mean, I don't know his actual age, but the guy looks like a 12 year old, so he has to be younger than me...right?" you ask.

"Well, I don't know his age either, and well, he's looked like a 12 year old for the last 4 years. So no one knows how old he is really." she answers.

That makes you scratch your head, "Yeah, now that you mention it, I always get so caught up his talks whenever he's around, I never even stop to ask him anything personal, I-no- No one actually knows anything about him as a person, do they?" you realize.

She realizes as well, "Yeah...even my Dad doesn't actually know anything about him, other than he kinda just...appeared one day with this big plan to save the city and a seemingly infinite bank account at his disposal to do it." She explains.

"Yeah, do we even know why he wants to save the city so bad? I know he ain't from around here, I asked him that myself, but he never answered." You explain.

"Well...uh...Hmmmmmm..." She goes into deep thought.

"..." you go silent, awaiting an answer.

"...Why are you looking at me like I can't tell you? I don't know either you know." She states.

"Well, I was hoping someone might have those answers, cause I never bothered asking, all I really cared for was getting revenge on the mafia and I didn't care to ask how I was getting help to do that. I just kinda said...fuck it." you realize.

"Me too..." She agrees.

"..." You both go silent, lost in thought over questions you know you can't answer.

"Well damn, without the man himself here, it's kind pointless to think about it isn't it?" she asks.

"Yep...Well, can't just expect him to magically appear an answer our questions right? Now what do we do?" you ask.

"...Wanna get back to practice?" She asks.

"Sure." you agree as you reach for the bow.

"Yeah, you'll both wanna hold off on that." A new voice enters the fray from behind the door into the range.

File: Austin Yardley03.jpg (19 KB, 236x375)

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"Austin?" you recognize.

He opens to the door to show that classic lazy smile of his, "The one and only. You two are gonna need to cancel your weird skeet shooting date. You've got a party to attend tonight." He states.

"What?" you both go.

"Colonel Cun-" He coughs to stop himself, " I mean, Colonel Rickard just got a call from the Big boss himself. He got us all invitations to a big party going on here, at the hotel, two days from now. Everyone's invited." He explains.

"Wait, The hell is this out of nowhere? Party? Fernand got us all invites? How" You ask.

"Do I look like I know the answer to that? I guess he did it the same way he does every other impossible thing, by using that impossibly big bank account." He answers.

"Now instead of asking dumb questions like that. What you should be asking how the hell he snooty shitbags running the party to actually let us in! With the way they look at us, you'd think it take all the Jenny on the planet just to get them in breathing distance of us." He states.

"Yeah, they are a bit full of themselves. They look at me funny and call me butch just because I don't wear dresses everywhere like some little ninny, can you believe that?" Zeena agrees.

"A bit?Big sis, if those cash-burners were any more full of themselves, they'd be sniffing their own farts all day, if they didn't act like they don't blow them." He taunts.

"Well damn Austin, if you hate everyone at the hotel so much, why do you seem so keen on attending the party?" you ask.

"Listen, don't get me wrong man, under any other circumstances, you would never find me bumping shoulders with those overpriced wind-bags in their circle-jerk. But this one is special, you know why?" he asks.

"Cause Fernand is attending?" Zeena asks.

"Nope! It's cause your Dad is in charge of leading the party's events!" he declares in what must be the most excited voice you've ever heard him use.

"What!?" you and Zeena blurt out.

"Yeah, turns out ol'Ricky has been working on getting relations fixed between us and those rich assholes and he's managed to get on their good side and so they let him lead the events." He explains.

(Huh. So Rickard can work diplomacy after-all, with that shoot first, ask never attitude of his, you'd think he wouldn't be the sociable type.) you notice.

"So, what does that matter?" Zeena asks.

Austin shows a dark smile, "We have a golden chance here guys, normally, none of us would go to this kind of party, if we were even invited, but right now, we have signed invitations right to heart of the lions den with our old pal Ricky leading the way." he starts.

"Don't you think it would be kind of fun to...Poke the lion in the eye so to say? You catching my meaning?" He asks.

Zeena gives a concerned look, "Okay, I think I get where you're going with this and I have one thing to say to you. Don't." She advises.

"Oh come on Big Sis, don't tell me you you're afraid of pissing off a few rich guys? The worst they'll do is sue us and I'm sure Fernand has enough to buy not only win the case but buy off their expensive lawyers too." He eggs on.

"No, no we really can't. I'm telling you this for the sake of my Dad's sanity and your safety, just attend the party like normal or skip. It's for your own good." Zeena warns.

"You see, that's where you and me don't agree Big Sis, since when have I ever cared for my own good?" He counters.

Zeena gives an annoyed look, "Well, it's your funeral then, my Dad can be mean and get angry over small things, but you really don't want to see him when he's seriously pissed and for a good reason."

"Well now, who said it was just going to be my funeral?" Austin looks to you.

"You can't be serious man, you want me to help you in this?" you ask.

"Is there anyone else in the room that loves sticking it to rich assholes as much as I do here? Come on man, I know you got my back in this." He states.

What do you say?

>Damn right man, what's the plan?

>Well you better guess again, cause I ain't doing something that suicidal.

>>3212908
>Damn right man, what's the plan?

>>3212974

>Hell yeah man!

>Writing.

You smile deviously, "How are you always so right Austin?" you ask.

"Because I know you best man, don't worry, I got a hell of a plan cooked up." He states as he leads you to the door.

Zeena shakes her head at the two of you, "Jeez...I won't cry if I hear news report about two young boys found dead in nearby river." She explains.

"Oh yeah, Big sis, one more thing." He seems to suddenly remember something before you walk out.

"Huh? What is it?" she questions.

"Fernand said that he's got something to tell you over the phone and he'll be calling you later, privately." he explains.

"What? What for?" She asks.

"Once again, how am I supposed to know? All he said was It's a call of dire importance to the cause, one that Ms. Biterad must hear alone in that fancy accent of his." He does a mock impression of Fernand's voice.

"Oh...well, I'll keep my phone near." She notes.

"Yeah, but don't keep it too near, it might break when me and Derrick raise the roof too hard on this party." Austin jokes as the two of you walk away, leaving Zeena to her own devices.

"So, what's the plan? Just bust in and cause some havoc?" you ask.

"Oh, we'll cause havoc my man. But if we want to cause some real mayhem, we're going to need some real firepower aren't we?" He says as he brandishes his phone and shows you a location on it.

"This is...you're an absolute madman, aren't you?" you smile.

He smiles right back, "I thought that was obvious? Now come on buddy." He steps up eagerly.

"We got some party prep to do." He declares.

File: good job anon.jpg (77 KB, 800x534)

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>missed everything
Fuck, sorry God, I've been busy. This has also been pretty fucking good, keep up it man.

File: Jesper Myerscough09.jpg (18 KB, 210x240)

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You shake your head after thinking for a while, "I can't decide yet." you answer.

"Both are in positions of power where they could threaten Zarques, both have deep connections with Inell and both are quite suspicious." Arztz agrees.

"And the fact is we haven't even met the other one, all we know of him is rumors and this picture." Reynauld states.

Jesper sighs, "That's the last thing I was hoping to hear, but it can't be helped." He states.

"There's only two places left for us to go, that's the Mayor's office and Beige's office. Considering I doubt you all want to see Beige yet, I imagine you'll want to go the mayor's office right?" He asks.

"Hold a second, we already went through the Mayor's office and we didn't find nuthin'. What would we head back there for?" Reynauld asks.

"Come on now my dear goat shuffler! Wasn't there something special there that stuck out to you?" Sheldon asks.

"Sumthin' special?" He asks.

A memory flashes back to you, " The card reader!" you exclaim.

"Exactly right! 10 points to you my blonde playboy!" Ami praises.

"So with that in mind, where do you all think we should be going? We'll be making quick work of both after-all." Jesper states.

"Well..." you trail off.

Where will you go?

>Mayor's office

>Beige's office

>>3213053
>>Mayor's office

>>3213053
>Mayor's office

>>3213069
>>3213071

>Mayor's office

>Writing.

File: Zarques Marrion03.jpg (210 KB, 800x600)

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"I trust your advice, let's go to the Mayor's office." you agree as you head to the door.

"True, this shall be the final venture before we'll have gathered all the evidence we'll need...hopefully." Arztz says as he follows along.

"Trust me, you've covered most of the wetwork by this point, now you're just helping me close this case once and for all." Jesper assures as he heads out the door.

"W-Wait!" Zarques shouts out.

You all turn to face him, "Take me with you." He demands.

"The hell is this?" Reynauld asks.

"I want to help too. I'm asking you to take the cuffs off and let me help you investigate."He explains.

Arztz shakes his head, "I'm sorry, but have you forgotten what position you're in? You're a murderer, an apprehended criminal." He reminds him.

"Guh...." He looks down in shame.

"The circumstances have fallen in your favor since you hold useful information, but you're still a monster who murdered someone in cold blood." Arztz states.

Reynauld taps his head, "What was you said earlier, the difference between murder and justice is whether someone's guilty or not right?" he paraphrases.

Reynauld grips at his weapon. "Well considering you're guilty, would putting someone like you down be justice?" Reynauld threatens.

"....You're not wrong. It would be right if you probably put a bullet in my skull right now. I wouldn't even mind..." He answers.

He pulls his head and you see a valiant look in his eyes, "But even so! I wouldn't care, but he would! Revali would! And all the members of Starry night!" he exclaims.

"It's my fault they're at risk! And it's my fault this mess even exists in the first place, and so I...." He trails off.

"You what?" Jesper asks.

"...I want to make up for it, even in the smallest way possible, I want clean up the mess I've made!" He answers.

"And what will you do to help? Why should I uncuff you?" Jesper asks.

"Well I...." He trails off.

"Nothing huh? Figured as much." Jesper dimisses.

"..."Zarques dips his head down once more.

Jesper looks down and shakes his head, "Ah, whatever. Sure, you can come along." He agrees.

"What!?" Everyone, even Zarques shouts.

"But why!? You know what he is!" Reynauld counters.

"Yeah and it's precisely because I know what he is that I want him to come with us." Jesper states.

"Even though it seems he'll offer nothing of value to the investigation?" Arztz asks.

"Oh he'll be of value, that value won't just show itself yet." Jesper explains.

Zarques looks like he's almost ready to cry, "Thank you! You won't regret this! I really just want to help!"

"Don't get too happy. I'm not taking the cuffs off you, I'm just letting you tag along cause I feel like I can use you." Jesper counters.

"That doesn't matter, I don't need my hands to help anyway! I'll do what I can without them!" He exclaims.

Jesper opens the door and heads downstairs, "Hurry up now brats, if this takes too long, those old fogies at the testing committee will come looking for me." He states.

While you're all still shocked, you still follow through and begin heading down the stairs.

"I can't believe I had to drive into this shithole with a murderer in the backseat and I'll have to drive out of this shithole with a murderer in the backseat!" Reynauld complains.

"Well sorry, that ain't for you to decide now is it? Mr.Examiner has made his decision, so you'll have to deal with me a little longer." He smirks.

"You better not be sassing me boah, I ain't in the best mood right now, so you might that more than your hands get tied up by the end of the night!" Reynauld threatens.

"You must think you're real cool cowpoker, but take it from a who killed someone not even a week ago. I don't need both hands to beat your ass." Zarques counters.

"Wanna try someone that will fight back for once?" Reynauld asks.

"If you want to make-out, we have empty rooms all around us, take this to one of those." you complain.

"Tell this boah to stop getting on my nerves then!" Reynauld shouts.

"Mr.Reynauld, I don't enjoying travelling with him as much as you don't. But it was Jesper's decision, we must abide by it." Arztz counters.

"Damn it...", Reynauld turns away.

Zarques laughs, "As I thought pale-face, you and Blondie are the only ones here with any real brains, unlike 'Mr.Reynauld' here. Good work friend."

Arztz gives him a dark stare, "I'm sorry, when exactly did I become friends disgusting monster like you? Please don't say something so repulsive again." He states.

Zarques recoils in fright, "S-Sorry about that Nosferatu..." He apologizes.

"As long as you understand." Arztz smiles again.

Before long, you reach the bottom of the stairwell and head outside and back unto the road.

>30 minutes later

Time: January 19, 2000, Saturday, 10:29 PM.

Location: Zenla Region, City-hall building, Entrance hall.

You head back to the guard check-point and run through the same procedures.

"Please put your weapons and armor away now." Bill requests.

"I'm here on official organization business, I want to take my weapons in this time." Jesper counters.

"Sorry man, even with credentials that high-class, this is still state-owned property and the Zaban government has a real hate-boner for guns. Especially the Yorbian kind." Will explains.

"And that's why the rest of the world hates you, you bastards have the most Anti-fun laws anyone's ever seen." Reynauld complains.

Bill sighs, "We don't make the rules, we only enforce them. Just take them off will you?" He asks.

"What if we get attacked?" Jesper asks.

"If anything happens, we'll be the first people to respond!" Will declares.

"That doesn't make me feel safe at all." you counter.

"Well it's that or you just don't go in, what will it be?" Bill asks.

You all collectively sigh as you drop your weaponry and armor off again.

>Recurve Bow lost!

>Thunderstruck lost!

>Stab-proof armor lost!

"I swear you dumb bastards will be the death of a me..." Reynauld complains.

"Yeah, yeah, like that isn't the 5th time we've heard that all day. Move along now." Bill shoos.

After a long, annoyed walk, you stop just outside the mayor's office and look to the odd scanning device you noticed upon entering,

"Here it is." you announce.

"Thanks for stating the obvious captain. Now what do we do with it?" Zarques asks.

You sneer at him as Jesper speaks, "I want to review the records of who entered and exit this room during the week of the murder." he explains answer.

"Isn't that already included in the case file? What else do you want to see?" Reynauld asks.

"I have a theory I want to confirm and I need to check the records personally to see if it's right." Jesper answers.

"Well let's not waste time talking about it and just check then." Arztz comes and looks at the screen above the card reader, it reads:

Welcome user to BigWall security system! The future of home and office satefy! it prompts.

At the bottom of the screen, you see the words options, [Instructions], [Terms and conditions] and [Settings].

You also see a words Produced and Distributed by Etheical Engineering™ in fine print at the very bottom of the screen, (Man, those guys really do make everything huh?) you realize.

Arztz taps at the screen, hitting the [Settings] button, which brings up a series of options like User access level, security grants, shut down and start up options and various other things to fine-tune the machine.

Arztz scrolls through it a bit to find the [View security records] button and immediately hits it.

BUZZZZ The screen screams and then displays the message,

Admin clearance required to access settings. Repeated attempts to change settings without proper clearance will result in security being called. You have been warned. it warns.

Arztz frowns, "Sorry, but it seems unless we want to get visited by our friends at security again, we'll need some kind of clearance to check the records." He states.

"Oh Lord no, the last thing I want to do is deal with those stooges again. I had my fill of them and then some." Reynauld complains.

"Well we may need to call them anyway, cause none of us have clearance to enter and I don't know how to get it." Arztz counters.

"Don't worry about that. These two will save you the trouble." Jesper states.

>Sheldon and Ami's [Jack of all trades] Activates!

"Yes! Worry not dear applicants, we can unlock that pesky security system for you likity-split!" Sheldon announces.

"Huh? You two know how to break into security systems?" you ask.

"Oh my blonde buddy, we're masters of all crafts!" Ami exclaims, catching the whole groups attention.

"We're hackers and programmers! Doctors and scientist! Warriors and defenders! Comedians and actors!" When you look back to Sheldon, he sits on the ground, laptop in hand, one he pulled from seemingly nowhere and appears to be hacking into the system.

File: Card Reader (Clue 04).jpg (10 KB, 180x412)

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(When and where did he get that?) you wonder.

"We could end world hunger! Cure cancer! Find the meaning of life and bring happiness to the world if we wanted to!" Ami declares.

"You say all that, but all I've ever seen you give the world is depression and pain." Reynauld counters.

"Did we say we ever wanted to solve those problems? If we fed all the starving children and saved cancer patients, who would we laugh at?" Sheldon states.

"Holy shit, that's terrible..." you recoil.

"Exactly! Imagine if we couldn't make cancer jokes anymore! Our joke repertoire would fall by at least 50%!" Ami complains.

"Such talent, handed to such terrible people...the world is a very cruel place." Arztz says sadly.

"And that's why we just love it! I'm done breaking into the system by the way. Go right ahead!" Sheldon states.

"Anything to stop dealing with you two." You state.

"Happy to be of service!" They ignore your blatant disgust at them and bow at you in unison.

Shaking your head, you move to tap the [View security records] button and immediately gain access, (Oh wow, they actually broke in.) you're amazed as you see a list of names with headers that tell the date and time they entered the room.

Many random names like dot the list:

Thomas Duvay, [January 19th, 2:33]

Siscly Vale[January 19th, 3:42]

Fazil Spancer [January 19th, 6:22]

(Who the hell names their kid Fazil? That guy's parents must have hated him.) You think as you scroll upwards until you reach the date of the murder.

"First let's start at January 5th. The date of the murder." Jesper specifies.

You comply and stop when you see the January 5th tag, once there, you see just 3 names:

Incell Ucedes [January 5th, 10:21 PM]

Beige Danielson [January 5th, 10:22]

Beige Danielson [January 5th. 10:54]

"This matches up with the evidence we have so far." Arztz states.

"But this time, we know that 'Beige Danielson' here actually means our friend here." He points to Zarques.

"Yep, broke in using Beige's card after-all, that ain't actually him." Zarques confirms.

"Well it's nice to know Beige ain't lying, but doesn't really teach us nuthin' does it?" Reynauld states.

"Yes, but that's not why we're here. What we want to know is what's going on a day before this." Jesper states.

"The day before?" You question as you scroll up to January 4th, where many more names are, but one catches your interests:

Beige Danielson [January 4th, 1:22 AM]

Beige Danielson [January 4th, 1:42 AM]

"Now what's this?" You ask.

"This wasn't you was it boah?" Reynauld asks of Zarques.

"Of course not dumbass, I wasn't even allowed into the building until party night." Zarques confrims.

"So Beige entered into the Mayor's office, well after hours to do...what?" Arztz asks.

"It might not be Beige you know." Jesper counters.

"What makes you say that?" you ask.

"Beige said that his card had been stolen the night before the party, if that's true, then this could actually be Nicholas, disguised as Beige." Jesper points out.

"Oh yes...that's a possibility, isn't it?" Arztz realizes.

"It's also possible Beige is just lying to cover up the fact that he snuck in here after-hours." Reynauld points out.

"Not possible. We questioned the security about all this already and they said that the night before the party, only one person came through." You counter.

"And that was...Nicholas." Arztz recalls.

"Doesn't exactly prove it was him, but it does seem very strange don't it?" Reynauld questions.

"Yes, but the real question is why? Why would either of them go inside the mayor's office at that time?" Arztz asks.

"Probably to set up the murder weapon." Zarques answers.

"What? Say that again." you ask.

"Well, I was given the schematic on how to set it up, but my accomplice told me we have to do the jobs in half. One guy sets up the wind-up machines and the other puts on the piano wire." He explains.

"That way I wouldn't be stuck for hours on end trying to set-up this and that and I could kill then and there." He explains.

>New clue found! [Accomplice's nightly visit] Decisive

>The night before the party, the man working with Zarques brought the wind-up machine parts of the murder weapon and set it up.

"That so? You know who else came in the night with wind-up machine parts?" Reynauld says with a knowing smile.

"Nicholas." All three of you say at once.

Jesper puffs out some rings of smoke, "Well there we go, finally getting some answers. I knew you would useful kid." he congratulates Zarques.

"...." He says nothing instead cracking a rather innocent smile.

"Well now, the question then is, do we confront him now-" Sheldon begins.

"Or after we talk to Beige?" Ami finishes.

"Good question? What do you all think?" Jesper asks.

"Well..." you trail off.

Where will you go?

>Nicholas Harte's office

>Beige Danielson's office.

>>3213274
>Beige Danielson's office.
Let's get everybody's story straight before we start making any accusations

>>3213274
>Beige Danielson's office.

>>3213303
>>3213312

>Time to meet the prime suspect!

>Writing.

>>3213274
>Nicholas Harte's office
Jesper hates extra unnecessary work and we have Nick lock stock and barrel.

Zarques being here in cuffs will spook the shit out of him. Need to head him off before he rabbits.

"We're coming down to the wire here and yet we've never even seen prime suspect, I say it's time we finally meet him." You suggest.

"It's actually kinda funny when you put it that way. All this time and we're only know going to speak to the prime suspect." Arztz laughs.

"Kinda like we've been doing it backwards the whole damn time." Reynauld counters.

Jesper sighs, "Real thorough types aren't you? Always making sure to check every single path before picking one." He states.

"That a bad thing?" you ask.

"No, you all just have way more patience than I do." He answers.

"Which great, the boss has been in dire need of a foil! He's so quick to jump the gun when he think he's found an answer." Sheldon states.

"And we mean that literally! He's actually shot people that he thought were the killer before even interviewing them!" Ami states.

"Good lord really?" Reynauld asks.

"For the record, they actually were the culprits, I've never been wrong in identifying a killer before in my life." He corrects.

"That doesn't make shooting people at random okay!" The Carlton twins shout.

"As if you two have the right to put any moral arguments forward." Jesper states as moves on.

"Come on, I'll lead you to his office." Jesper states as he leads on.

>5 minutes later.

Time: January 19, 2000, Saturday, 8:49 PM.

Location: Zenla Region, City-hall building, Beige's office.

"This is the one right?" you ask of Jesper as you stand before a thick brown wood door with the initials B.D engraved into the door.

"Yeah, this is the office of the prime suspect, just oozing with murderous intent isn't it?" Jesper says sardonically.

"If only. This has to be the least showy door in the whole damn house, clear the guy ain't one for vanity." Reynauld agrees.

"I quite like it, it's a nice break from the less than humble way everyone seems to structure their offices." Arztz praises.

"You mean how everyone seems to be in a snoot measuring contest for who can turn their nose up the highest without breaking their necks? Yeah, seems like he's not into that kind of thing, thank god." you say as you knock on the door.

"Oh! Is someone at door? Can you hold on a moment?" A powerful yet strangely gentle voice asks of you.

"Rumor has it that this man's the kindest politician you'll ever see, never knew the words kind and politician could be used in the sentence without someone laughing at you, but you learn something new everyday." Reynauld quips.

You back up and wait a moment, "Yeah well I don't believe rumors, we'll see for ourselves whether he's the hero everyone thinks he is." you counter.

You hear some shuffling before Beige's voice returns, "Alright! You can come in now! Come, come right in!" He eagerly invites you in.

File: City hall (Beige's Office).jpg (141 KB, 1000x666)

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You twist the doorknob, "Hold on a moment Derrrick." Jesper stops you.

"What?" you ask.

he points to Zarques, "You, wait in the hall." He orders.

"What is this, fucking grade school?" He asks.

"We don't want Beige in here modifying any testimonies because he sees you in chains. We'll bring you along when we're done." he explains.

"For now, stay here and for the love of God keep quiet." Jesper orders.

"Fine, fine." he says as he walks away from the door and leans sits down, back against the wall.

"Shouldn't you get someone to watch him?" Reynauld asks.

"No need, as useless as they are, the guards at the entrance will stop him if he tries to run off." Jesper counters.

"I ain't gonna run anyway, I haven't finished my business here yet." Zarques states.

"...." Reynauld throws a side-long look at him as you head inside.

And what you're greeted by in this office is a strange sight in this federal building, that is, a welcoming room.

A multitude of comfy seats lay about the room, enough to house well up to 8 people at a time.

At the back of the office, a large window, blinds open facing the street, so anyone can peer into the room, as if to say what you see is what you get, so come on and look if you want.

A the flag of the Kukan'yu kingdom stands side-by-side with the flag of Yorbia, hanging proud and free next to a large man with a beaming smile, "Welcome friends! What brings you to my office?" Beige invites you, arms literally open.

"....." you're left speechless as you think back to the stuffy, secretive room Nicholas boasted, one where he clearly expected no visitors, a calling the contrast between the two stark would be understating it.

Beige's looks a little confused, "Why aren't you saying anything? Everything alright?" he asks you.

"O-Oh no, it's just...I'm little overwhelmed by how...welcoming you are." you admit.

He looks confused, "Is it that strange? As a citizen of this good country, you should know it's Yorbian tradition to invite visitors with open arms!" He exclaims proudly.

Reynauld laughs, "If being this friendly is tradition, this office of yours must be real progressive huh?"

Beige laughs back, "By that, I presume you mean my colleagues have been less than friendly to you all? That's a shame to hear, really."

Arztz taps him on the shoulder, "Hush Mr.Reynauld. This is the first one that's happy to see us. Don't give him any reason to dislike us."

Beige shakes his head and speaks, "No worries young one, I'm well aware that the atmosphere of this place has quite the toxicity to it. I have no problems acknowledging it." He agrees.

"Yeah, now if only yer friends could do the same." Reynauld quips.

"Mr. Reynauld-"

Beige claps repeatedly, silencing everyone, "Come now! There's no need to fight! I'm sure you didn't come here to bicker or get bitter over others! Surely you came here for something more productive!"He states.

File: Beige Dainelson.jpg (172 KB, 848x942)

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He looks behind you and notices Jesper, "Ah! Mr.Mysercough! It's good to see you again!" he welcomes.

"Yeah, same here." Jesper answers.

"How goes progress with the investigation? Have you caught the dastard who framed me!?" Beige asks.

"Not yet, actually, I'm back here because I feel like we might be close to reaching an answer and you'll be able to help." Jesper states.

"Oh? So you need my cooperation once more I see! Fine then, I'm happy to help in anyway that proves my innocence!" He exclaims.

"If that's the case, can you tell these bunch here what you told me?" He says, gesturing to your group.

"Oh my? Who are these young men now?" Beige asks.

"We're investigators-"

"Assistants." Jesper corrects Reynauld mid-sentence.

Reynauld looks deeply annoyed, "We're assistant investigators and we'd like it if you could tell us a few thangs." He states


He looks a little surprised, "Oh! So you're the investigators I've been hearing about! I'm glad to have you! come now, sit down, you can't expect to interview me standing up like that!" he invites.

"Oh, uh, sure..." you and everyone else move to your seats.

(He's prime suspect, yet he isn't even remotely bothered by being questioned? People weren't kidding when they said this guy was something special...) you think as you sit.

"So then, what do you want to know? I'm happy to cooperate if it means clearing my good name." He asks.

"Well aren't you eager friend? You do know you're prime suspect right?" Reynauld asks, as taken aback as you are.

"Which is precisely why I'm so happy to be questioned! I'm certain of my own innocence, so having a team of up and coming investigators like yourselves aid me in proving my innocence is quite reassuring!" He answers.

"We're happy to have your cooperation, but just because you're certain of your innocence doesn't mean we're on your side." you correct.

"I know that. I was a detective myself once you know? Walking the mean streets, keeping the people safe and putting the bad guys down with my own two hands." He looks reminiscent.

"Yeah, now all ya do with yer hands now is sign papers that put the people down and keep the bad guys safe for a quick piece of paper. Strange how much difference a quick profession change can bring huh?" Reynauld taunts.

Arztz looks highly displeased but Beige speaks first, "Is that what you think my job is? Sure, I'm not out in the field anymore, but it's a politicians job to think of others first and themselves, never." He counters.

"You say that like you've never shook hands with a couple of wealthy evil-doers before." Reynauld accuses.

"Oh they've tried, but they usually end up with their hands behind their backs before they get away with that on my watch. I never have and never will take a bribe my good southern friend." he counters.

"Ha! If I had a penny for every-time I've heard a politician say that, I'd be sitting in your chair right now." He insults.

"Hey man, there any reason you keep trying to provoke the guy when he's already agreed to cooperate?" you ask, getting fed up now.

"Sorry Sundance, I just ain't as quick to trust someone this forward and willing. Snakes come in all kinds of stripes you know? Some smile before they bite ya." He begins.

"I mean, the man's grinning ear to ear when we're going to be asking him about how he mighta murdered his own best friend. Why shouldn't I be suspicious?" He asks.

As Beige hears this, he laughs somberly, "Oh yes, I imagine it must be strange for me to be so happy when I'm being suspected of the murder of someone as close to me as Inell. Trust me, I would be suspicious too." he agrees.

His right hand finds his left as he grips them together, "It was quite the shock you know? Waking up the morning after that party to find that my once greatest friend wasn't there to greet me in the morning and that I was the prime suspect in causing his death..." He trails off, getting lost in thought for a second.

He looks up sadly, "Inell was a good man, he wanted to do good in the world, he just didn't know how. And because he was lost, he made some terrible choices, ones that lead to his own demise." He begins.

"But I can tell, not only was he ready to repent and serve time for his crimes, but he wanted to leave as much good in the world before he was put away, he wouldn't have held that party, or confessed otherwise." he continues.

"Knowing that he's gone and that people think I might be blame for that hurts. But I cannot let it break me." He declares.

"Inell bore the weight of his sins, fought everyday to bring his own brand of justice to the world in spite of that. So as his closet friend, The least I can do is continue to fight myself by telling the truth with a smile." his eyes look ready to break down but his smile remains firm.

Reynauld is silent for a moment before answering, "...Well if that's right, let's hear the truth then." he concedes.

"I'll be happy to tell you, what do you wish to know?" He asks.

"Well..." you trail off.

What will you say?

>What were you doing the night of the murder?

>Why do you think everyone suspects you so much?

>We know you had a meeting with Zarques and handed him a photo, why did you do that?

>What are your impressions of the murder? Anything strange about it?

>What do think about Nicholas?

>We have reason to think you're the killer (Accuse)

>>3213425
>What were you doing the night of the murder?

>>3213425
>What were you doing the night of the murder?
Last post of the night, good luck guys

>>3213425
>>What were you doing the night of the murder?

>>3213456
>>3213476
>>3213503

>Starting from the top..

>Writing.

File: Beige Dainelson 02.png (2.44 MB, 1280x1629)

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"Alright, let's start with you giving us a run-down of what you were doing the night of the murder." you state.

"Of course, the night was a bit of a mess, so I'll try and keep it as concise as possible! Now, where to begin..." he trails off as he thinks for a moment.

https://youtu.be/H2v1kAPrg6s

>So as you already know, the party began at 6:00 PM and was to go on until 12 in the morning. The announcement was a bit abrupt, but even so I put on my best suit and attend the festivities a few minutes after they began.

>I was left chatting to the various guests and enjoying a few good drinks as the band had yet to arrive and Inell was nowhere to be found, so I didn't really have anything to do for 2 hours.

>The band had arrived at 8:30 and played an amazing opening act. But what really caught everyone's attention was what happened 30 minutes later.

>At 9:00, Inell who had been strangely absent the whole night, suddenly made his way on stage and began confessing to a stunning number of crimes.

>The sudden confession had shook everyone to the core, myself included. I could barely process the words I was hearing, if I was more aware, I might have gotten on stage and tried to do something.

>But alas, I was...useless to stop my friend from rushing out to what would later be his death. After a nearly hour long confession, he left the party at 10:00 and never returned.

>Susie, the poor girl, bless her heart, tried to keep the party going like Inell had wished, but then, Zarques who was to be playing the main act had also gone missing and didn't return till somewhere about 10:50.

>And not even 10 minutes later, an evacuation order was issued and we were all ordered to leave the building until the mayor had been found.

>Now, usually I'm quick to comply with the law, but I had noticed something odd. Nicholas, Inell's protegee had been missing from the party!

>So of course I went looking for him, which lead to me being stuck in the building till 11:00, well after everyone else had left the building, where I found the young one in his office.

>Now I was worried that he might have gone missing himself, but then I find him shredding papers in his office!

>I thought to myself, Heavens above! To think, Amidst all the mindless chaos, he stayed back just to work extra hours! I never knew there was such a thing as too much diligence till I had seen that.

>That's when I decided I didn't want to interrupt him and left with the rest of the crowd.

"And that was the whole night for you?" you ask.

"I omitted a lot of the nice conversations I had with the kind guests there. Would you like me to elaborate on those?" He asks.

"No that won't be necessary, instead of that, how about..." you trail off.

What will you do?

>I'd like to ask you about this statement. (Cite which one.)

>Yeah, I believe that. (Accept the testimony)

>You're lying about this statement. (Point out line and present proof.)

>Reynauld, thoughts? (Use his skill)

Hey you know what, in the interest of time (Since I'll have to be signing off in 15 minutes or so)

I'll write up the Reynauld ability post and leave the choice up to you all.

>Writing.

"Sorry, I need to consult my partner here a sec." you excuse yourself.

"Go right ahead, team work makes the dream work after all! Never neglect to make use of your friends in a achieving a common goal!" he encourages.

You nod your head as you whisper to Reynauld, "What do you think? Is he lying?" you ask.

>Reynauld's [Outlaw's Insight] activates.

"Sundance, I don't know how to tell you this, but I don't think I've ever heard a bigger lie in my life than the one I've heard from this man." he answers.

"What? Really? What's he lying about?" you ask.

"Nothing, that's what." He answers.

You get confused, "What? But you just said he lied." you counter.

"That's exactly it Sundance, a politician that don't lie? Have you ever heard a bigger lie? I sure as hell haven't." he laughs.

"Oh so he's telling the truth and you're just fucking with me." you realize.

"Well, either's he's the best liar I've ever met or he's something I've haven't seen in decades now. An honest man." He answers.

"Either way, I can't find anything off about him. So I say he's being truthful." he declares.

>According to Reynauld's deduction, there's no falsehoods in this Testimony!

"Well it's good to know we can trust someone for once." you state.

"I don't know bout that now. To me, an honest man is just someone who ain't told a lie to my face yet." He counters.

"Ever the cynic Cowboy." you state.

"One of us has to be, Sundance." He states as you turn back to Beige.

"Are you ready now? What do you have to say?" he asks.

"Well..." you trail off.

>I'd like to ask you about this statement. (Cite which one.)

>Yeah, I believe that. (Accept the testimony)

>>3213240
>Fazil Spancer
Best

>>3213583
>Yeah, I believe that. (Accept the testimony)

And unfortunately I must stop for now, leaving this vote open for now and if I return anytime before 9:00 o'clock, I'll try to deliver on the votes.

But for now, I must be seeing you all, have a good rest of the day anons.

>>3213583
>Yeah, I believe that. (Accept the testimony)

>>3212881
>Time: February 4th
Btw I happened to notice that on God's Twitter "Shadowofthedawn" it lists his birthday as February 12th. The flashbacks are getting real close to that

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>>3213819
>mfw these are God o'Rock's flashbacks

>>3213583
>>Yeah, I believe that. (Accept the testimony)

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>>3213611

I simply cannot wait till true best boy returns, hopefully Whitney has given him the place at the top Cyber security he rightfully deserves.

>>3213819

Astonishing observation Anon, I was hoping somebody would notice this, proving once again why Hunterchads are among the highest IQ of any other Autistic group.

>>3214817

My flashbacks are beyond human understanding anon, they date back eons at a time...or whatever happened an hour ago, I tend to get lengths of time mixed up quite easily as they all blend together into one gooey mesh for me.

>>3213624
>>3213786
>>3215161

>Accept testimony

Thread resumes in an hour.

You nod your head, "Your story checks out, thanks for being honest." you state.

"Don't thank me for honesty! It's one of the fundamental duties of a good person to be honest in all things, anyone otherwise is an exception, not the rule!" He declares.

"No, I believe your rules are just exceptional is all..." Arztz states.

"Let's not focus on that, instead, let's talk about..." you trail off.

What will you ask?

>Why do you think everyone suspects you so much?

>We know you had a meeting with Zarques and handed him a photo, why did you do that?

>What are your impressions of the murder? Anything strange about it?

>What do think about Nicholas?

>We have reason to think you're the killer (Accuse)

>>3215241
>>Why do you think everyone suspects you so much?

>>3215241
>Why do you think everyone suspects you so much?
>We know you had a meeting with Zarques and handed him a photo, why did you do that?

>>3215253
>>3215256

>And why does everyone suspect you and what's with the photo?

>Writing.

"Everyone seems rather certain that you're the killer, why is that?" you ask.

"Well obviously that's because my card and a pair of gloves just like mine were found in my office, covered in the mayor's blood no less! It's only natural to assume it's me." he answers.

He puts a finger up, "However! As unbelievable as it sounds, I wasn't the one that put that card there and those weren't my gloves!" He counters.

Your eyebrow perks, "Don't worry, I've been listening to unbelievable things all day, there's no way you can blow me away now." you state.

"In that case, let me tell you, I'm quite certain that someone planted both those things in my office, in an obvious attempt to frame me." He explains.

"And how exactly is that? I mean, the card was yer own and yer the only fella round here wearing black gloves bout the place." Reynauld counters.

"Well first, I couldn't have put my card in my office, for I didn't have it on the night of the murder." He answers.

"What? You lost your card the night of the murder?" you question.

"Not lost, I'm quite certain it was stolen." He begins.

"You see, sometime before the party, someone had picked the lock to my office into my office and taken my card from my cabinets, I know this because when I returned to my office the day after the party, the door was slightly ajar, despite me locking it the night before the party." He explains.

"Wait, so your card went missing before the party even started, but you didn't go looking for it? Isn't that highly irresponsible?" Arztz asks.

"You're exactly right. But you see, I trust the security in this place quite fervently, the metal detector, body-checks and scanning devices were sure to keep the person who stole it from me from leaving with it." He begins.

"You see, the card's only function is to give you access to the mayor's room and other high-security rooms in the building. However, because of it's high security power, they're meant to be kept in the building at all times. No one, not even the orginal owner, is allowed to leave with it." He explains.

"And since the guards didn't make mention of that, best to assume that the thief never left the building with the thing." you realize.

>New clue found! [Office Break-in]

>The day after the party, Beige came back to his office and found that his door was lock-picked and broken into. While the exact time is unknown, it had to have been sometime before the party began.

>Clue updated! [Beige's missing card]

>According to Beige, at some point before the party started, someone had broken into his office and stole his card and used it without him knowing.

>While the thief is unknown, what is known is that they could not have left the building with the card due to the high security, meaning they had to hide the card somewhere before returning it to his office.

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"Exactly so, that's why I didn't bother looking or making a big fuss about it. I figured the thief would quicker to catch when they were forced to leave with my card in hand." He explains.

"But looks like your thief has manners, returned your property before the night was out! They even added a little something extra just for you." Reynauld jokes.

"Tell me about! What a kind fellow!" Beige laughs.

"And who exactly would steal your card? Do you have any guesses?" you ask.

He thinks for a second, "Hard to say, the only things I'm certain of is that they would have to have access to the building, so they could get past the security guards and they would need to know layout of the building quite well to find where I keep my card." He states.

"the only people that fit that criteria would office employees." you reason.

"Yes, but well over 200 people work in this building, that barely narrows the list." he counters.

"Do you have any other factors you could use to determine the thief?" Arztz asks.

He thinks for a moment, "Well, it's a bit of a reach, but I'd it has to be someone who has a card as well." he deduces.

"What makes you say that?" you ask.

"Because they knew about the card reader system and the security check system. We don't even tell higher rank politicians about the systems until they get cards to enter with themselves." He explains.

"So only someone else with a card could have used the thing so well and still managed to pin it on me." He explains.

"So if anyone stole it, it would have to be someone who also has access to the mayor's office! That's my guess at least, for as good as my word is now." he laughs.

You take note of all of that as you speak, "And what about the gloves? If they aren't yours, whose are they?" you ask more out of curiosity, since you already know the answer.

He puts his hands out in confusion, "Well, I can't really tell you that. Must be whoever came to the party also wearing black gloves like myself. I wasn't staring at anyone's hands though, so I can't help you there." He explains.

"Speakin' of which, why do you wear them gloves? Ain't it a bit weird for an office worker to be wearing those?" Reynauld questions.

"Oh well, you see...I'm seen as something of a hero around there parts." He boasts.

"Really? Didn't know." Reynauld says sardonically.

"Oh really? Then let me tell you about it!." He believes him in spite of that.

"Oh lord..." Reynauld looks ready to shoot himself.

"So, I don't know if it's due to me getting old, but the smiles of the little children bring an indescribable warmth to my heart. So I love acting the part of the detective hero for them, pulling cats out of trees and catching rotten crooks and all that!" he explains.

"So you keep the gloves on cause they make you look...more detective-like?" you ask.

"Well, the kids don't really respect the image of crusty old politician, they think we're all boring,doddering, old men and that's putting it nicely..." Beige admits.

"Very nicely." Reynauld corrects.

"Yes and so, if I wanted to keep up the detective image, the gloves were kind of...necessary in a way?" He believes.

"You don't sound very certain of that yourself..." Arztz counters.

"Yes, I know it may seem silly and weird, but I can't tell you anything else, that's really the reason I wear them!" He states.

You scratch the back of your head, "Well, I'll just believe that for now then." You say for the sake of prosperity.

"Instead of that, let's talk about something we discovered in the investigation..." you say as you reach into your pocket and pull out the photograph.

Beige's eyes go wide, "Where did you get that?" he asks.

"Zarques happened to give it to me, we've heard that you had a back-stage meeting with him. Mind elaborating on what this is and why you gave it to him?" you ask.

He leans back in his chair and sighs, "Well, if you have the picture, I have to assume you already have an idea of what it is?" He asks.

"Yeah, it's a picture of you, Inell, Tenpan and Nicholas at Tenpan's inauguration day right?" you confirm.

"Exactly so. 10 years ago, soon to be 11 and counting. Me, my good, soon to be best friend Inell and Tenpan who I had known through work." he begins.

"I was still a police chief back then, it was Inell who told me my powers would be best used in the world of politics, I questioned why in the world he think such a thing and you know he told me?" He continues.

"Because the world needs more big, lovable idiots in the office! he told me! I was so offended that he thought I was so soft old fool that I actually went and joined just to prove him wrong!" He laughs loudly.

But halfway through his laugh, it turns bitter, "But then I had no idea what tragedies were to come from that day forward, that I would be left alone. The big, lovable idiot who couldn't see the darkness all around him..." he trails off.

He goes quiet, so you speak again, "Why exactly did you give this to Zarques?" you ask.

He looks up, reminiscent of the not-so-distant past, "There were many things I wasn't aware of when it came to the man I called my best friend, however, I'm not a fool either, I was a former detective and a damn good one if you'll excuse my language." he begins.

"I knew something was off with the supposed suicide of the previous mayor, but as one of his many detractors and personal friend to the one that aided him in his suicide, I never brought it up due to my own feelings stunting me." he continues.

His smile disappears, "However, that was a mistake, I should have stopped him right then and there. I was his best friend, yet I let him walk down the path of darkness, the spiraling void that is dark justice." he declares.

"Dark justice?" you question.

"The idea that you can make the world a better place by simply destroying others. But that is not the case, it's not that simple. Destruction cannot be repaired with more destruction" he answers.

"For that reason, I told him, the true meaning of Justice is the removal of wrong-doing and the placing of good-heartedness in it's place." he explains.

Reynauld shakes his head, "Listen, I enjoy nice words and pretty futures where no man can do any wrong as much as the next idealistic fool, but we don't really have time to be taking a philosophy class right now. You mind taking a short-cut to the point?"

"Of course, sorry, I just can't help but prattle when it comes to the past." he apologizes.

"Basically, I knew that Inell had caused Zarques great harm and I knew that would lead to him hating him. And since I knew Inell didn't have the willpower in him to face someone he hurt personally. I did it on his behalf." He begins.

His smile returns, "I met with him back-stage, exchanged a few words then handed him a photo that I hoped would change his mind on the kind of person Inell really was." He finishes.

"I see..." you state.

(His explanation sounds genuine and it matches exactly what Zarques explained, so it's safe to say that he's being honest.) you think.

(But at the same-time, this doesn't really teach me anything new...) you regret, that is, until Jesper snatches the photo out of your hand.

"Wha-Hey!" you shout.

"One more thing. Do you happen to know why is it that Nicholas Harte is standing here?" Jesper asks, pointing to the young boy.

"Nicholas? Well, you may not know. But Nicholas has been under Inell's care for much longer than he would let on." Beige begins.

"What do you mean?" Jesper asks.

Beige leans back in and speaks in a low voice, "You see, it's a bit of a secret known only among those who were in office at the time. But one of the first rumors that kicked off that hinted at Tenpan corruption was that he had won the election that year by destroying his opponent." He states.

"Destroying them? You mean killing?" you ask.

He shakes his head, "No, destroying their reputation. Tenpan is-sorry-was a good campaigner, but there was someone who was more likely to win then he was, that man was known as Hernandez Harte, Nicholas's father." he explains.

Your eyes go wide, "You can't be serious..."

"City-renown lawyer, soon-to-be district attorney, Hernandez was aiming to get in office to expand his influence and stop gang violence which was quite a plague at the time." He explains.

"He had the support of the people, much more than Tenpan did. But Tenpan wouldn't allow himself to lose." He states.

"So, while these are technically unconfirmed. He started pressuring news organizations to publish fake news articles, spreading lies about his personal beliefs and that the people he were defending were guilty and he knew it, but still defended them because he cared for cash more than the truth." He explains.

That gets on your nerves, "That's disgusting...!" you nearly shout.

"And so, what happened to him afterwards?" Jesper stays on topic.

"Naturally, after having all this slander published, he lost favor with the public, he not only lost the election, but made the once renown name of Harte a national disgrace." He finishes.

"An entire family of innocent lives ruined over some lies...that's absolutely terrible..." Arztz states.

"Hernandez was shunned from the family, money became scarce for him and his wife and naturally, that put the life of Nicholas, who was just 13 at the time, in great danger. So in a final act of caring, he gave him over to the care of Inell, one of the few people close to him left that believed in him." He explains.

"And? What happened to Hernandez and his wife?" Reynauld asks.

"They disappeared from the city for weeks and well...we did find them." He states.

"Really? Where?" you ask.

He looks down sadly, "...Hanging from some trees near the top of a hill..." He explains.

Reynauld almost recoils, "Good lord..." He states.

>Clue updated! [Strange photo]

>The reason behind Nicholas's appearance in the photo is because he was given over to Inell by his parents who had committed suicide due to a slander campaign conducted by Tenpan.

>This gives him ample reason to want Tenpan dead and may explain his extreme hatred for corruption.

"...." you're all stunned to silence by this news.

"I see, that explains a lot. Thanks for sharing." Jesper however, remains unfazed.

"It's not a story I like to re-collect on often, but if it can aid in the investigation in anyway, I'll share it a 1000 times more." He states.

"No need, 1 time is enough." he states.

"Good then, what else do you want to know?" he asks.

He taps at you, "What have you gone all quiet for? We're still in the middle of a job, don't let something like this break you down."

"...Yeah, you're right. Well then..." you trail off.

What will you ask?

>What are your impressions of the murder? Anything strange about it?

>What do think about Nicholas?

>I think it's time we got moving.

>>3215371
>What do think about Nicholas?
Might as well while we're on the topic

>>3215414

>What do think about Nicholas?

>Writing.

"Guess, since we just finished talking about his past, mind telling me what you think of him now?" you ask.

"Yes, well, when he was a child, as terrible as it might be to say, I saw him as...pitiable." he states.

"Well, that's only natural considering his terrible circumstances." Arztz agrees.

"Believe it or not, that's not what I found pitiable." He counters.

"What?" you ask.

"While his family situation was indeed terrible, what I truly found worthy of pity was his reaction to it." He starts.

"Have you seen the look in his eyes? That dark, empty look, as if nothing truly matters?" he asks.

"Yea, looked kinda like he was bored, or just hated everythin' he was lookin' at." Reynauld confirms.

"Well he's been like that ever since I met him that day after Inell took him in. That empty look in his eyes has been the same for him, every single day I've ever known him." He explains.

"He has no friends, no family that will contact him, the only person he seemed share a deeper connection with was Inell and well, that's no longer true." he continues.

"Is he perhaps emotionally stunted? A coping mechanism for the trauma he suffered after his parents death?" Arztz asks.

"Perhaps...but it feels like something more than that..." Beige counters.

"What does that mean?" you ask.

"Ever since I've known that boy, his only passion has ever been retributive justice. The destruction of wrong-doing at any cost. I believe for him, that cost was his soul." Beige explains.

"Soul? You a religious man Beige?" Reynauld asks.

"Not very, just that looking at that boy has made me question my faith a few times. The way he thinks and operates, it doesn't feel quite...human." Beige states.

"That's a large claim to make over someone. Strange coming from someone as kind as you." you counter.

"Well...let me put it this way." He changes gears.

"In all the 10 years I've known that boy, not once, have I ever seen express strong emotion over anything. Nothing...other than happiness when destroying those he calls evil." He finishes.

"I see. Not a very high opinion you have of him there, huh?" Jesper asks.

"I respect his prowess as a legislator, I fear his power as an executioner." He states.

He then waves his hands, "But enough of that, anymore talking like this and I'll feel like I'm gossiping! Let's just talk about things relevant to the mystery." He moves on.

"Yeah, in that case, one final question, let me ask you of your impressions of the murder." you switch topics.

He laughs, "Boy, you sure know how to pull the old detective out of me! Sure! What do you want to hear?" He answers.

"First, I'd like your general idea of what's going on, then if you've found anything strange with the case." you state.

"Alright, for my general impression, I can't help but feel this whole thing is set-up to take me down." He answers.

"Kinda ironic for the guy being set-up to say that." Reynauld quips.

"Yes, I know it may be quite funny for me to be the one that says this, but I am the one vouching for my own innocence you know?" He counters.

"Anyway, I believe this may be the work of a political rival, someone who desired both me and Inell to be removed from office. After-all, the fact that of all the powerful people in this office, that I was the one that ended up being framed can be no coincidence." he explains.

"Oh? What makes you think so?" Arztz asks.

"Well, first of all, it's only a few months before elections start up again in the city. of which,the 3 top runners, were Inell, then me and then his protegee Nicholas." He begins.

"Inell was pretty obviously forecasted to win and I was more than willing to give him another term in office, but it seems someone else wasn't so keen on being a good sportsman." He explains.

"So you think Inell was murdered because someone else wanted to win the elections?" you ask.

"It's a bit more complex than that, but I can't help but notice that not only would the forerunner in the race being taken down be in their benefit, but also that I, the most popular in his place, be the next to be removed." he answers.

"Which would put Mr. Nicholas at the front of the race, yer exactly right Mr.Smiles, ain't that just peculiar?" Reynauld reasons.

>New clue found! [Coming Elections]

>In a few months time, elections are to be held to choose the new Mayor where Inell, Beige and Nicholas were set to be the running as the main choices.

>Inell was set to be re-elected with Beige being a close second, however but thanks to his death, both candidates now have no chance of even competing in the election and Nicholas is has become the forerunner.

"Don't go casting suspicion for something that simple, there are many in this office that would do anything to see themselves sit in the mayor's chair." Beige counters.

"Although, I cannot rule out the possibility, he has received the greatest benefit from this unfortunate set of events. Though, I don't want to believe that Nicholas would cause all of this, just to win an election he could have run fairly in, that doesn't seem like him at all to me." He reasons.

(That doesn't seem strange to me at all, he seems like he's probably killed people for less.) you think.

"But in the end, that's just speculation ain't it? Got anything concrete?" Reynauld counters.

"You're exactly right, I'm really just guessing based on what little I know of the case, I haven't really been allowed to investigate you see." He answers.

"Speaking of which, since you young ones are investigating, have you found Inell's watch yet?" he asks of you.

"Watch?" you question.

"Yes, a beautiful, golden pocketwatch, he always carried it with him, yet no one has found it among his personal effects, have you seen it?" He asks.

You look to Arztz, "You see anything like that?" you ask.

"If I had found something like that, you would be the first person I informed." he answers.

"Right, you on the other hand..." you look to Reynauld.

"What? You think I took it and didn't say nuthin'?" He asks.

"You did try and steal someone gold plate right off their door, so I think I got a right to ask." you state.

"Didn't I tell ya that was a joke? I didn't steal no pocketwatch! And I would have told ya if I found one!...probably." He admits.


Beige laughs, "Well, even if you wanted to steal, the metal detectors would have discovered it as soon as you tried to leave." he explains.

"Since that hasn't happened, I have to presume the watch has yet to leave the building, meaning it just hasn't been found yet." He states.

>New clue found! [Inell's missing pocketwatch]

>Inell carried a golden pocketwatch with him at all times when he was in the office. However, the watch is currently nowhere to be found, meaning someone must've of taken it from his body.

>Adding, it's impossible for anyone to have left the building with it, as the metal detectors would have caught them trying to steal it, meaning it must still be somewhere in the building.

Beige sighs, "it's a shame, he seemed to really value that watch, he went everywhere with it. Brought to meetings, deals and speeches, he called it his lucky charm, always made sure to carry it with him anytime he had something important to do." He explains.

"You think he also brought it to the party?" Reynauld asks.

"I didn't see it on him personally, but knowing him, and I'm absolutely sure I do, I think he would have brought it with him. Especially to a moment as major as that." He answers

Arztz taps you, "Mr.Derrick, do you remember my autopsy? How I found it strange that we didn't find anything of value upon his body?" he asks.

"Yep and something tells me that that watch is what we're looking for." you answer.

"But then why'd someone nick it? Clear as day, it wasn't to sell, they couldn't even leave the damn building with it." Reynauld asks.

"Hm...Well..." you begin to think.

>Roll1d100+10 (+10 from Derrick's innate analysis bonus)

>DC: 50

Rolled 38 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>3215537

Rolled 54 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

Rolled 1 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>3215537

>>3215564
welp

>>3215564
>>3215566
I think the rules were changed so that it doesn't count as a crit if it's modifiers take it out of the crit range

>>3215537
It’s the key to the scanner thing that has the info on Inell’s killer. Obviously.

>>3215543
>>3215547
>>3215564

Holy hell, it's been a long time since I've seen a straight crit-failure, as I live and breathe.

Though thank your lucky stars that Derrick's starting bonus gave him a +10 bonus, that took you right out of the crit fail zone (Any number inclusive of 1-9) and saved you.

>Rolled 64

>Saved by the QM™

>Writing.

>>3215573
Wow, good catch. I feel dumb for not realizing that...

File: Pocketwatch.jpg (125 KB, 800x800)

125 KB JPG

It takes you a moment, but an image of the metal-scanning device flashes in your mind, "I see, so that's the key to that machine then." you realize.

"Which machine?" Arztz asks.

"I found a computer attached to a metal-detecting device that acted as a scanner in the secret room. It was using patterns on metal objects to create a password and username to access the files on the computer." You explain.

Beige chimes in, "Oh! Do you mean that locked computer we've been trying to access?"

"You've been trying to break into that computer?" you ask.

"Everyone has, it was one of the first things that caught everyone's attention when we first found that secret room, we ordered a computer technician to come over and break into the system, but they're a bit late." He explains.

"Yeah, well we found that the key to getting past the security screen is by using a metal object with specific patterns engraved into it. Did Inell's watch have any strange patterns on it?" you ask.

Beige tries to recall, "...Why yes...yes actually it did!" he remembers.

"It had this interesting foral pattern to it, unlike anything I'd seen before! I just thought it was a unorthodox design, but you're saying it could act as a key to that computer...brilliant." he praises.

"Indeed, he hid the key in plain sight, no one would suspect that a simple pocket watch would allow you access to a computer." Arztz agrees.

(And going by that logic, the only person that would steal the watch is someone who would want access to the computer and the only person who'd want that, is who ever the partner in crime Inell made mention of is.) you reason.

(That means if I can find that watch, I also find the one who's behind all of this...) you realize.

>Clue updated! [Inell's missing pocketwatch] Decisive

>According to Derrick's deduction and Beige's confirmation, the watch is the key to the scanner in the Inell's secret room. This means that the only person who would know the watch's other function is Inell's partner, who must have been the one to steal the watch.

"This makes finding that watch all the more important, thank you for your assistance in helping us realize this, Mr. Beige." Arztz states.

"I didn't really do anything, I just confirmed what you young ones already figured out. With deduction skills like yours, you all would make excellent detectives!" Beige praises.

You smile at that, "Thanks, but we should moving on, right now, we need to get moving." You say as you rise from your chair.

Beige waves his hand, "Ah, I only did what any good citizen would do! I don't need such great thanks." He says.

"But we'd like to extend it anyway, I'm sure what you've said here will be key in completing this case." Arztz bows his head.

Beige's smile grows twice as wide and three times as bright, "And those words are the greatest thanks an old dodger like myself could hear!"

"I was worried for this city when I hung up the old detective's coat, but with people like you around, maybe I can sleep easy." He states.

"Hold on to that maybe Mr.smiles, the bastard we're hunting is still on the loose-" Reynauld starts as he gets up from his chair, "And the time for laughing is after he's done hangin'" Reynauld states as he heads towards the door.

Sheldon opens the door as Jesper speaks, "I guess that means you're all ready? Finally confident in your skills catch this worm?" He asks.

"Not confident, just determined as hell to bring this tragedy to an end." You answer as you walk into the hallway.

He smirks, "Good, I would have told you to let me do the talking if you felt confident, now I know you're thinking straight."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Reynauld asks.

"Um please Sir, could you explain how you got in here and why are you in those chains?" Your conversation is interrupted as you step outside to see Zarques talking to a straight-lace office lady with a very concerned expression.

"How many times do I have to tell you? I came in here with a cowboy, a ghost, a blonde guy, a guy in shades and his two annoying-ass assistants to finish some personal business! Will you get the hell off my back!?" Zarques shouts.

The woman jumps back in fear, "W-Well, do you hear yourself? I'm sorry, but that's a little hard to believe." She counters.

He looks over and sees you all, "Well you better believe it now, cause there they are!" He points out.

"What the hell is this now?" Reynauld asks.
The woman looks over at your group and Arztz shoots her a small wave.

"O-Oh, I see...so he really wasn't crazy person...but who are these bunch of weridoes?" She whispers.

"Huh? You say something there?" Zarques asks.

She jumps again, "Oh! Uh, I mean, that answers my first question, but why are you in handcuffs?" She asks.

He scowls at her, "What? You never heard of the new fashion sensation sweeping the nation? Chain gang style?" He asks.

"Chain gan-what?" She asks.

"We're bringing it back to the 1800's by going around in chains and handcuffs, real sexy isn't it? Wanna try it, I could use a break!" He threatens.

She slowly walks back, "Uhhhhh, I'm good, I'm not one for fashion..." She says, cowering.

"Well you better get walking then! Because I'm about to open a Fashion runway show on your ass!" He jumps playfully at her.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" She screams as she runs down the hall.

Zarques bursts out laughing, "Hahahahaha! Did you see that shit guys!? She was basically pissing herself!" He states.

Everyone looks at him with a mixture of disgust and disappointment, "What? That was seriously funny!" he counters.

"At least he didn't run away like we thought he would." Arztz states.

"Yeah, instead he's just caused us a whole heap of trouble. I bet that woman's filing a report on the lot of us right now..." you complain.

"Well then let's get moving." Jesper says as he leads the group down the hall.

"At typical corporate speed, whatever she's filing at HR right now should take at least a couple of hours before actually going anywhere. So we have a bit of time to finish this." He explains.

As you all walk towards the office, Zarques in tow, Reynauld catches up to Jesper and speaks, "What was you sayin' again? Before we was rudely interrupted." he asks.

Jesper puffs out some smoke, "Well cowboy, This won't be such a cut and dry case like our friend here." He says, pointing to Zarques who's awkwardly trying to pick his nose in handcuffs and failing terribly.

"While it's pretty obvious that Nicky boy here is our accomplice, we don't have any real decisive evidence on hand to definitely prove his guilt." He explains.

"And there's no where else we can go to find anymore evidence?" Arztz asks.

"No where that I know or have the time to look, we're already past the deadline where I'm supposed to report in back to the committee. We have to settle with what we have, here and now." Jesper explains as you close in Nicholas room.

You stop just outside, Jesper speaks first, "Alright assistants, I know I dragged out here in the middle of your exam, but your efforts have not gone to waste. You've helped me find the truth, now are you ready to help me prove it?" He asks.

"Assistant or not, I'm standing here because I want to see real justice done, I wouldn't be able to advance in the Exam otherwise." You state.

"In for a penny, in for a pound, I'm no good man and me and the law don't get along all that well." He quips, "But if there's one thing I can't stand, it's a lawman that would preach justice and fairness in one breath and stab a man behind the back to get his way in another. You're damn right I'm in." He states.

Arztz laughs, "I'm sorry Mr.Jesper, but I find it pointless to answer obvious questions. Of course I'm ready as well." He answers.

Jesper smiles, "Good, then let's not waste a second more. Zarques." he calls.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm getting in the corner..." he says as he walks over to the nearest wall.

"No, I mean come in with us." Jesper states.

File: Nicholas Harte02.jpg (29 KB, 225x350)

29 KB JPG

"What?" He looks perplexed.

"This is the moment of truth, we're going to need you in there for mental support, or, if I'm being honest, to help us put pressure on that smug bastard." Jesper explains.

Zarques look of confusion quickly switches to one of determination, "Alright then, I gotcha." He says as he comes back.

"Stay to the back of the group and don't you dare say anything until you feel absolutely necessary." Jesper explains.

"When's that?" He asks as he takes his position behind all of you.

"Trust, you'll know when." He says as he opens the door.

You're once again greeted by the thick air-conditioning of Nicholas's room. The cramped, stuffy room almost feels like a prison with 7 people walking inside of it makes you feel claustrophobic, trapped.

In front of you, Nicholas sits quietly, signing papers and tapping on his computer, "Well aren't you bunch rude? Didn't even bother knocking before coming in." he complains without even looking up at you.

"Sorry, we're in a bit of a hurry you see. We need to talk to you once again." Arztz answers.

"Oh, it's you all again." He says with disappointment laced in his voice as he raises his head to meet you, "Have you lot still not caught-" His apathetic voice is caught in his throat as he looks at your group and sights someone extra.

His look noticeable changes from boredom to caution, "Oh...I see you all are much more efficient than I assumed." He says, staring at Zarques.

"...." Zarques face contorts in fear.

"Well would you look at that, it seems I was wrong about suspecting Beige, though I did have my suspicions of you, so I'm glad to see you're being brought to justice." He states.

"...." Zarques stays silent.

Reynauld answers for him, "I'm as surprised as you are lawman, but it turns out that Beige is completely innocent far as we can tell."

Nicholas scoffs, "Well I don't trust how far you can tell, but at least you've caught one half of the criminal duo. Now you must get hunting for the other one." He states.

"Yeah...you're exactly right." You agree.

Nicholas seems disturbed by your tone, "What exactly did you come in here for? Do you need to talk to me again for more evidence, if so, I'm still willing to comply, just make it quick please." he asks.

Reynauld steps up, "Sorry friend, but we ain't here to talk. Your compliance would be nice though, make things easier." He threatens.

Nicholas eyes darken into a deep scowl, "Okay, what's really going on here? Why have you 7 invaded my office space, can't you see I'm working?" He asks, dropping the formalities.