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Post by Deleted on Aug 7, 2013 16:46:21 GMT -5
"How dare you speak that way to a beauty queen!" Snaw exclaimed as he got up.
"You're pompous!" Erika exclaimed. "Are you related to the prince?"
He was rambling on about poisoned cookies, and an explosion, and Miss ("Miss"?) Iceland. But the will - it was a good thing he had found that.
"I don't know who would want Woo's stuff," Erika admitted. "Most of the guests are as rich as he is."
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Post by downrightdude on Aug 7, 2013 16:51:45 GMT -5
"Prince?" asked Snaw. "Is he a prince who's land I've taken during my reign as Miss Neopia?"
Snaw also re-examined his will and pointed out all of the names once more:
Miranda: Cookie Jar
Jeff: Coat Rack
Jacob and Beth-Ann: Mops and Brooms
Stephanio: Inheritance and property
Snaw Van Peacock: Inheritance, property and every pretty thing I own
***
"Say Erika, do you know anybody named Miranda?" Snaw wondered.
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Post by Stal on Aug 7, 2013 20:26:25 GMT -5
"Yes, of course. We can talk about our plan of action out there, where hopefully the mansion cannot hear us as well," Alexa replied.
"Oh, I suppose the shed would be fine," [Hannah] said. "But only if we arm ourselves while we're there, hm?"
"Agreed? Agreed!" And so the intrepid trio, led by the heroic and charming and Princely Stal (and followed by the entirely unimpressed Alexa and Hannah) made their out into the garden and over towards the shed. Prince Stal kindly opened the door for the maidens to walk through first... both in the name of chivalry and the fact he wasn't entirely sure he could trust either of them. Not only could either be the killer, but they also clearly were not right in the head to want nothing to do with him.
Perhaps there was still time to win them over, though... If he could apprehend the killer...
...what if one of them was the killer, though...
A fair maiden, the killer? What horrible thought that could be. Prince Stal suppressed a small shudder.
...Still the one going on about mansions killing people. And now about arming themselves? Could it really be...
Prince Stal decided more evidence was needed. Like finding the murder weapon. "Okay, the shed. Where do you ladies wish to start?"
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Post by Kristykimmy on Aug 7, 2013 21:13:12 GMT -5
Alexa followed Prince Stal to the garden shed, and smiled and nodded her thanks as he opened the door for her. At least he was a gentleman in spite of his arrogance. Alexa frowned in distaste as she looked around at the dirty equipment. She was not going to touch any of it no matter what the crazy girl wanted.
Alexa decided to let Hanna take whatever she wanted. She was sure the girl would go along with her plan, given her earlier comments.
"Okay, the shed. Where do you ladies wish to start?" Prince Stal asked.
"I think the freezer would be a good place. How can we know what to look for if we don't know what happened to Mr. Woo? I mean, the manner of death. I doubt he was placed in the ice sculpture alive. If we find out how he was killed, finding the murder weapon will be easier, since we will know what to look for," Alexa suggested.
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Post by Ted (the zombie Dalek) on Aug 7, 2013 21:37:47 GMT -5
So much had happened in the space of two minutes that Dr. Medlis was beginning to feel quite overwhelmed! First he had been ripped out of his peaceful reading bubble by Snaw van Peacock, of all people, who had for reasons unknown decided to claim each and every one of Mr. Woo's books. He was about to give the young man a piece of his mind, when the shy one burst from his shelter and practically flattened the arrogant peacock in a hasty exit.
"Now look what you've done!" Marvin yelled, but before he had finished taking a breath (in order to berate him further), Snaw promptly turned a pale green and rushed away himself.
And so Marvin was left alone for barely a minute before he was being herded back towards the main hall by an overly enthusiastic housekeeper. He tutted as Miss Macy announced her "contest". He doubted Mr. Woo would have wanted the fate of his fortune to rest in the hands of some hedonistic partygoer as was likely to stumble upon the answer to this mystery by accident.
His thought process was interrupted as a nice looking man he had noticed at the dinner table snuck by. He followed the man's progress through the crowd until he reached an archaeologist-looking type, who seemed pleased to see him. Of course. There was always someone else there first.
Just then, Miss Macy returned, barking orders at him like he was some sort of deviant schoolboy. He filtered out her inane yammering and concentrated instead on happy thoughts, and so it was a moment or two before he noticed the two members of his group. This was not what he had been expecting! Some spoiled little beauty queen and... was that some sort of avocado? Surely Miss Macy had made a mistake, or else the drink and the shock was affecting him more than he had anticipated.
"Erm, good evening," he said to his teammates, looking from one to the other with equal amounts of wariness.
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Post by Mostly Harmless (flufflepuff) on Aug 7, 2013 21:49:22 GMT -5
Vincent was intelligent beyond his many years, content with his meager lot in life, and thrilled to be both a teacher and a student at the same time.
But he was not happy.
One moment, Vincent was being yelled at by people who weren't going to help the maid several pages back, and the next moment, he was plucked from the settings, like scallop meat being shucked from its shell.
Vincent opened his eyes. In front of him was an incredibly large lounge that had a bit of a kitchen, a corner where plants played music, a long hall, among other things. But what caught his attention was the wide variety of people, all in front of a computer, a laptop, a phone...kids these days. Their technology always got the better of them. But, he knew, it wasn't all their fault. Society had driven them to get their fancy pants smartphones and their new-fangled gadgets and whatnot. Among them, there was a woman who resembled someone named Katie Holmes, a man who resembled Prince Stal, a tiger with long hair and glasses, and in front of him, dragging him by his suit...a young woman barely in her twenties.
The philosopher pulled away. "Usually, life does not have to offer an explanation, but perhaps you do?" he sniffed, adjusting his glasses. The woman continued tugging at his suit, so he had no choice but to follow her into her messy little corner of various objects and Animal Crossing memorabilia. "Shush. You're not supposed to be here." The woman glanced warily, hoping the others wouldn't see her confronting her character, which was, of course, against the rules.
Vincent heard a shout and loud, obnoxious voices coming from overhead. "There's a bit of action up there, and I'm not entirely sure what's going on, but my inactivity...it's cost you. Haven't you noticed a lack of energy in your being?"
The philosopher opened his mouth, about to argue that he could subsist off of the energy of the universe for weeks at a time if he had to, but no, she was right. The past few days had been depressing for him. He'd been frozen in place, almost like the ice sculpture, almost like poor Mr. Woo. Vincent nodded, for once, unable to spout his wisdom in reply to her question. He fumed, pouting like a child at this.
The woman with the pink voice typed fervently and hid Vincent behind a giant glowing star with a pair of eyes on it. Vincent raised an arm. Vincent put his arm down. He raised his eyebrows at the woman, marveling at her strange power. She could...manipulate him? "I'm sending you back, back to the basement. It's a good place to start when you get back into things." "Now hold on a minute, young lady!" he snapped. "You seem to know a lot about the whole affair. Fate lies heavy in the hand, nay, in the possibility, that you know about the murder. But if you do not, that too is fine, although less fine than the former. Speaking of fine, that was a fine party right up until the whole murder began...I'm even beginning to second-guess myself. How do I know that you didn't control me without my knowledge to commit the murder?"
The lady shook her head. "No. I don't know who did it. I can tell you who didn't, though--on ONE condition," she asserted sternly, shoving a long finger into Vincent's face. " Tell. NO. ONE. Or she--" The woman pointed to the Katie Holmes person. "Will have my hide. Understand?" Vincent chuckled as she whispered the names of the players, items and rooms she knew. He should have known! It was all so obvious! "If it is destiny, I won't tell a soul, living or dead. But, orders are orders, regardless of destiny. Or, will the path I am to take make itself more clear to me because of these orders? And what if--"
Vincent felt that shell-pulling feeling again, and his world became dark. The basement was creepy, dripping with unknown substances, and an insect or two crawled across the floor. Vincent turned around, hardly able to see the hand in front of his face. "Anyone there?" he called, and muttered to himself. "If someone is there, then that would be grand. Studies show that humans do not do well when they are by themselves, then again, they hadn't studied me carefully enough! For that reason, if someone isn't there, that would be just as well. There could be a host of creatures listening, or there could be no one..."
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Post by Stal on Aug 8, 2013 13:46:38 GMT -5
"I think the freezer would be a good place. How can we know what to look for if we don't know what happened to Mr. Woo? I mean, the manner of death. I doubt he was placed in the ice sculpture alive. If we find out how he was killed, finding the murder weapon will be easier, since we will know what to look for," Alexa suggested.
"We'd need a distraction to get in there and unfreeze him. I'm not sure the house maid is all that willing to let us do that, but it would help out a lot." Prince Stal idly walked around the shed poking and prodding at certain things. He picked up a rope and began to idly play with it, making various knots and untying without paying much attention, but not putting down the rope.
"Still, it would behoove us to look around out here, wouldn't it? Wasn't there another group taking the kitchen?"
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Post by Avery on Aug 8, 2013 15:49:12 GMT -5
Just as soon as they got out to the shed, Alexa suggested they go spelunking through the freezer instead, which was back inside the mansion. One step forward, two steps back, thought Hanna dourly-- and she also felt a little peeved, given that she was fairly sure that she had come up with the idea of melting the statue before Alexa, but now Alexa was acting like trying to find out what happened to Woo prior to him being stuffed into the ice sculpture was a novel idea.
As Prince Stal began fiddling with some rope, Hanna stalked around the shed looking for possible weapons. She ran her fingers over a rusty pick-axe, several hoes, and a collection of screwdrivers, before unearthing a cordless drill in the corner. She picked it up and blew the layer of dust off it, before pressing the trigger. The drill whirred to life, and Hanna smiled. Oh, the mansion would never dare attack her while she was armed with such a thing! For good measure, she also pocketed several of the screwdrivers, for backup (thank God the frilly dress Grunkle had made her wear to this shindig had hidden pockets).
"I would suggest you two arm yourselves, as well," Hanna said to Alexa and Prince Stal. "My drill will be formidable against the mansion, but the more weapons we have, the better a chance we stand."
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Post by Stal on Aug 8, 2013 15:57:38 GMT -5
"I would suggest you two arm yourselves, as well," Hanna said to Alexa and Prince Stal. "My drill will be formidable against the mansion, but the more weapons we have, the better a chance we stand."
"I can assure you, Hanna, the mansion definitely will not attack us." Prince Stal said while poking and prodding more things around, looking for his own defensive weapons. The crazy girl with the drill worried him some. Perhaps the hedge clippers... Yes that might be good. Prince Stal braced himself against a rake while he reached forward for the hedge clippers. He kept speaking while reaching for them...
"But before we go back inside, let's investigate the garden a bit more. There's a conservatory up that way. It's separated from the mans--"
Two things happened at once and rather quickly. Prince Stal lurched forward from where he was bracing against the rake... And on the other side of the shed a secret door suddenly opened. "What the deuce?"
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Post by Avery on Aug 8, 2013 16:02:08 GMT -5
"I can assure you, Hanna, the mansion definitely will not attack us."
And then Prince Stal, after grabbing some hedge clippers, suggested they go investigate the conservatory. Hanna opened her lips to rebuff him, but before she could, Stal leaned against a rake and... a hidden door popped open, like the maw of a monster. Hanna screamed at the top of her lungs and turned on the drill. It was happening! It was really happening! THE MANSION WAS ABOUT TO EAT PRINCE STAL WHOLE!
"DO NOT GO IN THERE!" she shrieked. "Do not, do not, do not, oh mansion spare me, oh mansion SPARE ME!"
She waved her drill manically around as tears flooded her eyes. She knew this had been coming but still. She didn't want to die like Woo!
"SPARE ME MANSION!" she continued to scream, stabbing the drill into the shed's flimsy walls, puncturing them (she had to fight back!). "SPARE ME!"
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Post by Celestial on Aug 8, 2013 16:27:49 GMT -5
"Oh but you are. Tovarish Dean Williams," Sergei exclaimed and put one arm around Dean's shoulder and the other around Dr. Maize. Even if they were not pretty girls, he was not going to let that get him down and would instead make the best of a bad situation. He still had plenty of wine and the two men might just make good company. He let them both go and poured himself a drink before pushing the bottle out to them both.
"Want some?" he asked, smiling as the other groups dispersed through the mansion. He watched them leave and took a sip of his drink, noting where they went before he turned to the other two men.
"I not care for mansion but I do want to find killer of Mr. Woo. So, my friends, I say we begin searching. The basement is a good place, it is quiet and hard to find so perhaps evidence is there or even traces of the murder?" he said and before either of the group could object, marched them over to the basement. "Do not be afraid! We shall find whoever did this and bring them justice!"
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Post by Kristykimmy on Aug 8, 2013 17:45:31 GMT -5
Alexa had stood quietly, listening to Stal and Hanna talk as they fiddled with the gardening equipment. She was a little disturbed when Hanna grabbed a drill. She started to move over towards the prince, to try to discreetly ask him if it was wise to let her leave with it. She wasn't sure that everyone would be understanding towards Hanna if they caught them roaming the halls with her carrying it.
But, before she could, Stal suddenly stumbled, the wall opening up. Hanna freaked out and started screaming and stabbing the shack with the drill. Alexa dove forward and grabbed Hanna, wrenching the drill from her hands.
"Hanna, dear," Alexa said, trying to sound soothing. "Just calm down. The Prince is fine. The mansion didn't eat him, see."
She turned Hanna to look at Stal, who was brushing himself off and looking into the dark passage.
"Prince Stal, are you unhurt?" Alexa asked, despite being sure he was. It seemed polite, and his answer should help to calm Hanna.
She looked down into the passage. "I wonder where that leads, and why."
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Post by Stal on Aug 8, 2013 17:51:19 GMT -5
"Yes! I'm quite fine, actually!" Prince Stal peered into the passage. "Smells a bit musty in there... Should I investigate?"
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Post by Kristykimmy on Aug 8, 2013 18:40:59 GMT -5
"Yes! I'm quite fine, actually!" Prince Stal said as he peered into the passage. "Smells a bit musty in there... Should I investigate?"
"I think we all should," Alexa said, not wanting to be left alone with Hanna. The girl could obviously get violent, and she didn't want to be alone with her if she snapped again. "After all, if you go alone, the mansion might kill you, but if you leave us here, it might get us," she added, hoping it would convince Hanna to go along.
"Please let him be intuitive enough not to insist on going alone," Alexa thought.
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Post by Stal on Aug 9, 2013 0:21:35 GMT -5
"Hanna, would you want to go into the secret passage? I bet it's probably just an old wine cellar of Woo's. Probably where he kept the really good stuff." Prince Stal wasn't exactly positive the girl would react well to being shoved into an enclosed passage that was dimly lit and would likely close behind them.
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