Night 4

[theyregooddogs]

Will and Kaiba set out to explore what they can. The auditorium still has the massive fireplace set up, and the body has not been removed. These are clearly human remains. After that, they check out the prop room, but it's mostly just... props. Though some omf them might be dog or dragon related. And in the basement... well, you know how the raccoons were puting up shitty Xmas decorations earlier? Yeah. There are a LOT of them down there.

Excuse Will, he has a body to explore. He is setting up a flashlight at a good angle and going to go rooting with a pen.

Comments

OOC Questions

[theyregooddogs]

1. What state is the body in? Bones and ash? Partial flesh? Details, details.
2. Are any of the props heavy, metal, and/or sharp? Explosives?
2. Is the cellar in the basement unlocked again?
3. Any new areas open up in the basement?

[pandatreasure]

1. it's gross. frankly i'm a baby and i'm not about to do the research on what happens to a live person you just sort of drop in a crematorium unless you REALLY REALLY NEED THAT INFO (it is unimportant as far as plot/setting/hint ventures go) but the corpse is unpleasant, about what you would expect of this situation happening. these are definitely human remains, that fire was absolutely not fucking around.

2. basically all of what's here is just meant for high school students to put on plays. some of the set pieces get pretty heavy and a few are made of metal for structural support, but by and large the fake weapons and costuming stuff isn't super dangerous unless you reeeaaally want it to be. that said, there are some rope and pulley situations meant for moving and lifting set pieces and such; those could be used for no good if you made an attempt. no explosives!

2, again. the wine cellar gate is locked. :( hope you got what you wanted last time!

3. no new basement areas! at this point everything is enclosed in concrete walls; unless an entry gets smashed through with a sledgehammer or a door magically appears, the rest of the basement/underground area is probably only accessible through other entrances...

[theyregooddogs]

1. Do not research it. I was just trying to see if it was crematorium temperature or roaring fireplace temperature. I'll go with the former to get around squick factors.

[pandatreasure]

1. you are so kind to me and my delicate constitution

[blueeyeswaifudragon]

[Kaiba should've been ready for that but is not, low-key reeling from the strong scent of burnt flesh as Will goes at it. Well...maybe there's some other stuff in the non-stage part of the auditorium they've missed, Kaiba'll just...check that out first. At least he's pretty sure his voice doesn't waver.]

...Anything interesting?

[theyregooddogs]

Depends on your definition of interesting.

[blueeyeswaifudragon]

Given that biology was never my area of interest, perhaps I should rephrase to "helpful."

[theyregooddogs]

No, it's raising more questions than it's answering. But it was a human.

[blueeyeswaifudragon]

Had that part been in doubt? There must be more to be learned here than how whoever's behind this has a penchant for bad puns

[theyregooddogs]

Yes, actually. I have seen people create very elaborate ruses to fake a death.

[specifically, the fbi has faked deaths but shh state secrets]

Found anything?

[blueeyeswaifudragon]

Hmm...

[There's nothing in the hall but gum stuck to chairs, and the only secrets in the orchestra pit are some carvings that JT♥AK]

Nothing useful. Perhaps if we could get under the stage, or above it.

[theyregooddogs]

We can. I was planning on some destruction tonight, and that might be more feasible.

[blueeyeswaifudragon]

Some stages have trap doors; we might not necessarily need an axe. Though if you feel the need...

[theyregooddogs]

There weren't axes here the last time. And the trap door is in the props room.

[gesturing with his head over to the props room, scanning the stage and looking up]

[blueeyeswaifudragon]

...I'll go take a look, if there isn't anything else on the stage. How much longer do you think you'll need for your autopsy?

[theyregooddogs]

Autopsy is done. There isn't much forensic evidence left, and I'm better with the living than the dead.

[hmm . . . anyway, props room! will is assessing materials hunting for sturdy things. have fun finding the trap door kaiba]

[blueeyeswaifudragon]

Being better around the living than the dead at least works in my favor for the present...

[The thing is that there are a lot of things in here, and so many of them are covering the floor. Is that a magic carpet? ...Is that a giant dog??? He starts tugging at some large furry things, trying to see what's beneath]

Actually, I should ask you something... How do you think this all ends?

[theyregooddogs]

How what ends? This "game"?

Door's more to the left.

[blueeyeswaifudragon]

[hesitates, then heads that direction, shoving past set pieces of castles and a few treasure chests...still, sadly nothing for busting through the floor yet]

Yes. Given what we know, how much are we wasting our time looking for any sort of reason or rhyme behind this?

[theyregooddogs]

Do you gamble at all?

[blueeyeswaifudragon]

I'm not afraid of calculated risks, but the key word there is "calculated."

[theyregooddogs]

Then, is there anything else better to invest your time in right now?

[blueeyeswaifudragon]

...Perhaps I'm asking the wrong question. There's no way everyone is going to get out of here alive. Do you see a purpose in trying to affect that order?

[theyregooddogs]

Yes, but I used to be with law enforcement and training. We're not going to have the same view about helping others.

Essentially, I gamble.

[blueeyeswaifudragon]

[curious, mostly]

...What view about helping others do you think I have?

[theyregooddogs]

I don't know. You haven't shown any altruistic behaviors yet.

[will graham is full of shit and sounds only slightly like it]

[blueeyeswaifudragon]

...Ah, I suppose that's true.

[And--hey, there's that trap door, time to uncover it enough to attempt to get in there]

[theyregooddogs]

[will is going to break down a clothing rack to get metal poles and revel in his small victory]

[blueeyeswaifudragon]

[peers into the trap door; it's very dark in a way that the narrow beam of the flashlight seems to only bring into starker focus. then he pauses, since this very much seems like the end of the movie where the protagonist has a chance to not do something really dumb, and he really wishes he had his duel disk even if it would've served literally no functional purpose]

...There is something red on the floor down there.

[theyregooddogs]

I can go first if you want me to.

[blueeyeswaifudragon]

...It's not a problem.

[he adjusts his grip on the flashlight and trudges down those creaky stairs to the bottom. then there's a slow creak like school desk against concrete, nothing too exciting there. then a somewhat less slow creak and a clatter punctuated by a muffled curse, but probably nothing to worry about]

[theyregooddogs]

Yell if anything's broken.

[going down as well, second time is a breeze but still careful]

[blueeyeswaifudragon]

[there is nothing in the way of the stairs! but it's probably a little more crowded than the previous evening, packed with boxes and random dusty plastic and papier mache figures. A red hooded figure leans unnaturally over one of the desks, hooked fingers reaching out, one eye hollow in its sallow, bearded face. The other is a lightbulb, its filament barely reaching red. Kaiba is on the floor beneath it, surrounded by mispainted but mostly smiling bearded heads. the most wonderful time of the year, indeed]

[theyregooddogs]

Are we done exploring together for tonight? Because if you found a better partner, I understand.

[going to check the walls of the basement while kaiba sorts himself out]

[blueeyeswaifudragon]

[look, kaiba never asked for this, he is doing his best

[he eventually gets himself free from the ghosts of christmas past, kicking bulb santa to the ground (since of course he's real) and stiffly pushing through deflated blow-up snowmen and animatronic reindeer and whatever the hell this is to the safety(?) of the booze cage, since nothing covered in tinsel and nightmares can fall on him from in there if they can't open the door]

I hate Christmas.

[or should that be halloween? well, he hates that too. anyway, what were they looking for again??]

...I don't see a way up directly to the stage from here. If there's a secret passage, this isn't it.

[theyregooddogs]

Well, if you want to find it, I'm game. This stone isn't going to give as easy as wood.

[blueeyeswaifudragon]

We need explosives for the stone, or some sort of powerful laser or water saw. The wood could be taken out by some sort of axe--given our luck we'll probably be presented one in time for it to be used on us--or perhaps by dropping something heavy enough from enough of a height.