Day22

Previously, in the forest...

Thunder rumbled in the distance.

"Oh, no," Cockleburr said. "We'd better find somewhere to spend the nightthat's safer than a lean-to next to a pit trap."

Viola? nodded and the two looked desprately for any sign of a trail. Nothing.Cockleburr and Viola? ran for shelter under a tree as the downpour hit.

"Now what?" Viola? said over the sound of rain on leaves.

"I don't know," said Cockleburr. "We're not going to be able to dodge lightning all night."

"What's that?" Viola? said, squinting. An enourmous crash lit up the sky- and a small building not too far away. The two gasped and ran for shelter in the small abandoned shed.

~~~

The sun arose to cloudy skies, but the thunder had calmed temporarily. Viola? and Cockleburr walked stiffly out of their shelter to find a well kept path.

"No way," Cockleburr said. "Do you think this leads back to the ryokan?"

"Quite possible- but why's this shed here?" Viola? turned back to look at the shed. A sign was tacked to the door.

"This tool shed is haunted by a ghost of a deer with glowing eyes. Enter if you dare," Viola? read.

"What?"Cockleburr said. "We spent the night in that?"

"Boo!" Viola? said, jumping out from behind the shed. Cockleburr chased Viola? down the path, laughing.

~~~

Viola? and Cockleburr returned in the middle of breakfast. Allie and Rose bud looked up in suprise.

"Ithought you were still lost!" Allie said.

"I thought you were dead!" Rose bud said. Allie raised her eyebrows at Rosebud.

"Nope, we're still alive," Cockleburr said.

"Where's Celeste?" asked Viola?.

Allie looked at the floor. "She got struck by lightning last night. Did that happen to Pooki too?" 

"No, she fell into a pit," Viola? said glumly.

"Snakepit?" 

"No."

"Wasppit?"

"No."

"Spikepit?" 

"No." 

"Quicksandpit?" 

"How many pits are there?!"

No one knew except for yours truly. (There are about 16.) 

~~~ 

The rest of the day consisted of Viola? and Cockleburr recovering and Rose bud and Allie trying to play ping-pong by blowing the balls with hair dryers. Nothing happened untill late at night, when the storms returned.

Rosebud woke up to hail on the window. She couldn't sleep and decided to go downstairs to get a drink of water, so she found a flashlight and walked down to the front room.

One of two things usually happens when one witnesses a murder, and both of them are unpleasent. The first is that you are told to go to court, whether you want to or not, and tell several people the details of what you saw. The second is that the murderer, also not wanting to go to court, will kill you as soon as possible. Dead men tell no tales.

Rose bud gasped. Viola? lay on the floor with an arrow in her chest next to a person. The person looked up in alarm.

"What are you doing?" Rose bud said, in a voice barely above a whisper.

"Guess*," the person said, and shot an arrow at Rose bud. Rose fell to the floor as the murderer walked over to fire the final shot.

~End of day 22. Death Toll: 31.

Inkling, Eliana, Hibiki Starlight, Rose Bud's Sam, Wildflower, Leeli and Viri- eaten by dragons

Jwyn- broken neck

Agent Winter and MJ- drowned

Dream- strangled

Poison- poisoned 

Blue Moon- eaten

Ann- burned

Byann- crushed

Secret- whacked on the head with a stick

Hotairballoon- fell off a cliff

Darkfeather and Noon- shot with venemous flying darts

Claaws- smothered

Sam- loss of blood

Spryo- stabbed

Aspen- shoved into an oven

Shy Peacock- poked full of holes

Fireburst- smashed

Kate-the-Great- severed

Pooki P- fell into a hole with unknown contents 

Celeste- struck by lightning 

Tuxedo Kitten, Viola?, and Rose bud- shot with arrows

~~~

*This line could easily be replaced with "Blowing the theorists's minds", but I chose to leave it accurate.

Note: I did more pasting from word today, so please ignore any weird spacing. 

Ah! I'm the last survivor. Or Cockleburr is and I'm the murderer? But it would be stupid of me to show the remote control to someone... I think it's Cockleburr, though she doesn't really have a motive?

Day 23

Allie woke up later than usual. She pulled on some clothes and went down to breakfast, only to discover that Viola? and Rose Bud were absent from the table.

"Morning," she greeted Cockleburr. "Where are the others?"

"Sleeping in, I guess," Cockleburr replied.

"They're going to miss breakfast," Allie remarked.

"Yeah."

They did miss breakfast. Cockleburr returned to her room to draw, and Allie headed outside with her camera for some photography. It was a beautiful day, still wet from the storms but bright and sunny. Black pansies were blooming in one bed, jasmine in another, lilies of the valley in a third. None went undocumented.

The morning passed quietly, but Rose Bud and Viola? were missing from lunch, too.

"They can't be sleeping in this late," Allie fretted.

"Yeah, it's weird," Cockleburr agreed.

"Maybe we should go look for them."

"Okay. After lunch?"

"Sure, after lunch. Let's check their rooms first..."

Viola? and Rose Bud were not in their rooms. Neither were they in the game room, the empty bedrooms, the baths, the kitchens, or the front room. When asked, Sukāretto confirmed that neither had gone out to the hiking trails. Cockleburr did find Shy Peacock's notebook, but didn't tell Allie.

"Secret rooms?" Allie asked.

Cockleburr shrugged. "They're all that's left."

"Secret rooms it is," Allie concluded, and made for the front desk. Sukāretto wasn't sitting at it, so she pulled the lever unobstructed. The room underneath was still empty. Cockleburr pressed the button on the stairs. The hallway was clear. Allie shuddered.

"Is it just me, or is this place creepier than usual?"

"Was that rhetorical?"

"No."

"It's not you."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

Allie led the way, and they looked into each room as they passed it. Neither Rose Bud or Viola? was to be found. At the last one, Allie turned around to face Cockleburr, trying not to stare at the double-headed axe she was suddenly holding.

"They're dead, aren't they."

"Normally I would offer an alternative, but yes. Yes, they are."

"You're the murderer."

"That's right," Cockleburr nodded, raising her labrys. "And you're cornered." 

She swung. Allie ducked and fell forward. The axe thunked into the wall, lodging slightly. The time that Cockleburr took to pull it free was just enough for Allie to scramble past her and start running. Cockleburr took off after her. The axe slowed her down, though, and so she only heard the sound of a door closing as she turned the corner. She quickly slowed to a stalking pace, listening carefully and turning her head slightly from side to side.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are," she called. "You can't hide forever, little alley cat."

She paused. Allie stayed hidden and silent in her chosen room. Cockleburr shrugged, annoyed, made it back to the beginning of the hall, and started opening doors.

First one, on the left. A slow turn of the handle, then a sudden, violent fling. The door shook with the impact, but there was nothing there.

Second door, on the right. A quick turn of the handle, a slow, creaking swing. Empty.

"I'll find you," Cockleburr promised aloud. "And when I do, you'll be the last one to die. Don't worry, I'll make it quick."

Third door. A normal opening. Nothing found. Allie stayed quiet.

Cockleburr opened the fourth door, the fifth, the sixth. On the last one, she smiled.

"I know you're in there," she said, axe at the ready. "Do you want to do this the easy way or the hard way?"

Allie didn't respond. Cockleburr opened the door with a slam. Allie wasn't there. Cockleburr entered. Looked around.

"What..." she muttered. A shifting sound came from behind her, and she spun around just in time to block the chair that Allie thrust down at her. Recovering, she took a blind swipe, but Allie was already out the door. 

"Fine," Cockleburr grumbled, running after her. 

Cockleburr followed Allie out of the ryokan, down the path, into the woods. Allie had a lead, but Cockleburr was closing it, in spite of her labrys. Allie clutched at her side, cramping, but kept going. Unfortunately, when she looked back, Cockleburr was right there behind her, and Allie didn't see the tree root that tripped her. Cockleburr caught up easily, and this time she didn't miss.

Cockleburr stood panting for a moment. The sky was very blue between the verdant growth of leaves overhead, and she took a moment to admire it. 

"Excellent work," Sukāretto said, walking up behind her. I stepped forward as well.

"Thanks," Cockleburr replied.

"Shall we?" I asked, and Cockleburr nodded. I made my way back to the dragon stables as they dealt with what was left of Allie.

Ten minutes later, we met at the entrance, where it had all begun. Allie's body lay at Cockleburr's feet, and I led six dragons with the remains of four guests on each of their backs.

"So, what happens now?" Cockleburr asked.

"Now," Sukāretto answered, "It ends."

I handed her the remote, and she pressed the button. All of a sudden, the ryokan was gone. Cockleburr swayed and grabbed her head. "Aah! Ah... What..."

"Oh," Allie said. Cockleburr blinked. Her ears were ringing, and it felt like something had just left her. Her arms itched. Was she hallucinating? Allie was alive, but Cockleburr had killed her, although it wasn't exactly her. She turned around. The dragons were gone, too. There were just the thirty other guests who had all died, lying on the ground.

I watched Rose Bud sit up, and walked over to my own body next to her. I felt a jerk and an exhilarating rush as I merged back into one Viola?, quickly followed by a pang of lightheadedness. Through dizzy eyes, I watched Celeste wake up, then Pooki P, then Kate and all the others.

"Welcome to the end of our ski lodge, the Ryokan Suzuran," Sukāretto announced, now again recognizable as Alizarine.

"We're your hosts, Summer and Sukāretto, also known as Viola? and Alizarine," I added. "Oh my gods, this was so cool. Jwyn, you were right! How did you know?!"

"Cockleburr, if you would please step up," Alizarine gestured. Cockleburr followed her motion, coming to a stop in front of me.

"Right, right," I said. "Everyone, our murderer and Summer Queen, Cockleburr!" I raise her hand in the air and bask in the cheers. Mostly cheers. Alizarine crowns her with my wreath of lilies of the valley, and it's confetti time!

~End of Day 23. Death toll: 31. 

Inkling, Eliana, Hibiki Starlight, Rose Bud's Sam, Wildflower, Leeli and Viri of dragons.

Jwyn of a broken neck. 

Agent Winter and MJ of drowning.

Dream of strangling.

Poison of poisoning.

Blue Moon of a Zeamaizock.

Ann of burning.

Byann of crushing.

Secret of hitting.

Hotairballoon of falling.

Darkfeather and Noon of dart venom.

Claaws of smothering. 

Tuxedo Kitten, Viola? and Rose Bud of arrows.

Sam of bleeding.

Spyro of stabbing.

Aspen of baking.

Shy Peacock of impaling. 

Fireburst of an anvil.

Kate-the-Great of severing.

Pooki P of trapping.

Celeste of electrocuting. 

Allie/Gracia of decapitating. 

Revival count: 31.

Allie/Gracia, Rose Bud, Celeste, Pooki P, Kate-the-Great, MJ, Fireburst, Shy Peacock, Aspen, Spyro, Agent Winter's Sam, Tuxedo Kitten, Claaws, Noon, Darkfeather, Hotairballoon, Secret, Byann, Ann, Blue Moon, Poison, Dream, Agent Winter, Jwyn, Viri, Leeli, Wildflower, Rose Bud's Sam, Hibiki Starlight, Eliana and Inkling of deus ex machina/it-was-all-a-hologram.

IT WAS US ALL ALONG! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! *releases a chicken*

Sorry I couldn't work in your notebook further, Shy! It was really cool. 

Ahhh, it feels so good to be free! *stretches* I don't have to agonize over wordings or only post as Viola? on off days or worry about procrastinating and forgetting, ahhh. So good. This was really fun, though. I've never been in a ski lodge that finished before. I hope you liked it! It was really fun to describe Cockleburr chasing Allie around with a labrys, and all the discoveries of bodies, especially with Aspen and Kate. "She's in the oven" and "her head's on the other side" are phrases I'm very happy with. It was really hard figuring out how people would react to situations and what to do every day and how to put it all in the first-person perspective of someone standing on the sidelines and watching it all go down, and to wrangle her personality. I'm pretty sure I/Summer was wearing a cloak the entire time, or there was something about the lodge that made it totally unremarkable how I looked and sounded exactly like one of the guests. Oh, and also, someone mentioned not wanting to run into a body once? I thought it was sort of assumed that all the dead people got disposed of (dragged out to the dragon stables to be preserved or whatever), so that was kind of weird for me. It was also really hard to post on this thread as both myself and a host, figuring out what I would say if I didn't already know everything there was to know about it. I kinda slacked off on that one. I'm glad we kept everyone guessing about the murderer until the end. It wasn't actually that hard--we were pretty bad at planning. :3

I'll let you and Alizarine take it from here, since I'm not really sure what to say. Let's have an end-of-lodge party! I feel like I'm proposing a lot of parties lately. Eh, whatever. *throws confetti* 

It is two in the morning, yaaay.