A warning: This is one of the more grisly deaths so far, though direct description has been excluded.

Day 15

Aspen looked incredibly guilty.

She knew it. How could she not? She had been found in the baths with a stabbed and bleeding Spyro, a sword at her side, and throw in a crash of thunder in the background for dramatic effect. It was still stormy, after all. Everyone was treating her the way they had Rose Bud, only more so. But if Spyro wasn't the murderer, then who was? 

I lurked in the game room and watched the guests talk.

"So it was Aspen," Fireburst said grimly.

"What do you want to do?" Viola? asked.

A pause fell over the room.

"I don't know," Shy Peacock admitted.

"Do we... kill her?" Cockleburr said incredulously.

"We could just tie her up," Allie suggested.

Fireburst rose from her seat. "She killed Darkfeather and Byann. She's dangerous. I'm not sure how to go about this, but I can't sit back and let her kill the rest of us, too."

The room burst into fervent debate. Below it, Pooki remarked to Celeste, "The weird thing is the sword was clean."

"But Aspen stabbed..." Celeste trailed off, stopped for a second. "Huh." 

I left the room then. Fireburst exited a few minutes after me. I made my way to Aspen's room and dropped a book. A loud thump echoed through the unnatural gloom. I heard a shifting from inside and walked away. 

Fireburst led a group of guests up the dim stairs, Rose Bud, Cockleburr, MJ, Allie, Shy Peacock and Kate-the-Great among them. They did not find Aspen in her room. 

"Split up!" Fireburst called out. The guests scattered.

Aspen ran into the kitchens, panting, pursued. I watched the awful game of hide-and-seek go on for a shockingly long time, long enough for a few guests to cease looking. Sukāretto complained that they were using up all of the power turning on the lights. Afternoon was waning when Rose Bud made a stumbling dash out of the kitchens and into the darness of the hallway, one hand clamped over her mouth.

She crashed into Pooki P as each came around the corner, both of them falling to the ground. Following the scramble to disentangle themselves and regain their feet, Rose Bud gasped out, "She's in the oven."

"What?!" Pooki shouted, attracting the attention of Fireburst, who came running.

"What's going on?" she demanded.

"I found her, Aspen--"

"Where?" Fireburst interrupted.

"Oven," was all Rose Bud managed. It was enough. Viola? and Kate came in next, having heard Pooki at a greater distance. Fireburst's cry spared Rose Bud having to explain again. I looked on as they rushed in to find her on the floor, staring horrified at an open oven door. They looked in. 

"Oh my Kyngdom," Viola? choked before fleeing. Kate shakily closed the oven door.

Thunder rolled ominously above. 

"What's that smell?" MJ asked, wrinkling her nose as she walked down the stairs. Allie faked a gag, evoking a snicker from her friend. Viola? smacked her hand into the banister as she hurtled in.

"Ow!"

"Whoa, what's going on?" MJ asked, barring her progress.

"Aspen-n's in the ov--oven," Viola? stammered. "D-don't look."

"Are you okay?" Allie asked.

"The oven?" MJ gaped, almost at the same time. Viola? nodded, then tried again to push past. MJ let her, already heading in the direction from where she had come, Allie following in her wake.

Sukāretto prevented them from disregarding Viola's advice. Still, Kate, Rose Bud and Fireburst's accounts solidified the claim, and by dinnertime, everyone knew.

~End of Day 15. Death toll: 23. 

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

Jwyn of a broken neck. 

Agent Winter of drowning.

Dream of strangling.

Poison of poisoning.

Blue Moon of a Zeamaizock.

Ann of burning.

Byann of being crushed. 

Secret of a hit on the head.

Hotairballoon of falling.

Darkfeather and Noon of dart venom.

Claaws of smothering. 

Tuxedo Kitten of an arrow.

Sam of bleeding.

Spyro of stabbing.

Aspen of baking.  

Ok, new theory. 

So, my new idea is that the murderer is trying point to a few specific persons, then eventually kill them. The basic idea is to keep suspicion bouncing around, so that it makes it hard to pinpoint who's doing it. Using this method, the cunning murderer is putting significant evidence on Rose bud, directing some to others, like Spyro, Viola?, and Aspen, then killing a few (Spyro, Aspen), thus doubling the the suspicion on the others (Rose bud, Viola?), all the while adding mild suspicion to themselves and all others, ironically making them less suspicious. The (AMAZING) writers are making it very, very tricky to eliminate suspects, and (in my opinion) are making everyone suspicious to keep you guessing.

As for my ideas about who the murderer is, Allie and MJ are still pretty suspicous looking. I'm betting it's not Pooki P., Shy Peacock, or Rose bud, for various reasons, but Viola? IS a possibility, especially if there are (technically) more than one murderer. Radical idea, I know, but there's a lot of evidence between the lines.....

Back to the book about perennials, an ALLIum is a perennial. Just saying.

Also, back to my other question that I don't think was answered, if Viola? was (for instance) Summer, why don't they recognise her? 

Day16

The time keep ticking.

The wind keeps roaring.

The guests keep dying.

The killer keeps hiding. 

With each passing second more danger is born- 

Every rose has a thorn. 

~~~ 

The guests woke up to silence.

"What happened to the storms?" Shy peacock said, meeting everyone in thehallway.

"Maybe they're over." 

"Maybe they're regaining composure." 

The table downstairs was set with breakfast- and a note.

Viola? picked it up and read it aloud. "Due to pressing business, Summer and Iwill be absent for the day. We will return in early morning tomorrow. There isplenty of already prepared food in the kitchen. Help yourselves but do not useall the baking powder- and come to think of it, stay away from the oven."Viola? shuddered but continued. "The thunderstorms will return thisafternoon, but there will likely be enough power to last until 11:00 pm.

Thank you,

Sukāretto."

Allie shrugged and picked up a piece of bread.

~~~

Aftera silent morning, the first crackles of thunder were heard from a distance. Theguests retreated to the game room. Allie, Fireburst, Pooki, and MJ found Quirkle andstarted playing a round. Cockleburr and Celeste started a game of trouble, and Shy Peacock and Kate decided to investigate the photos again.

"What is in that book," Kate murmured to herself.

"I have no clue. Maybe the blueprints?" Shy Peacock said.

"Nah,"Kate said. “Those are in the folder, unless someone moved them. It might be poison or something…”

“What’s up?” Viola? said, walking over with Rose bud.

"We're theorizing about the photos again," Shy said.

"You know," said Rose bud, "Summer and Sukāretto are gone, and that might not happen again. Today would probably be our best opportunity to find the 'secret secret room' that apparenly exists."

Kate looked at Rose bud dubiously. "I don't know..."

Rose bud sighed. "If I was the murderer I probably wouldn't be able to kill all of you without one of you escaping and telling everyone."

"Probably," said Kate. 

Rose bud shrugged frustratedly and walked over to the Quirkle match.

"Now," Shy Peacock said, "Aspen said that someone came through the wall of the baths. We should check there first."

Shy, Kate, and Viola? headed for the baths and started pressing on the paneled walls. Nothing.

"Let's check the room under the desk again," said Viola?.

They walked down into the original secret room again, but this time the desk was gone. Because they remembered it being too wide to fit up the narrow stairs, they concluded that there must be an exit somewhere else in the room. 

There was.

Shy Peacock gasped as the wall swiveled open to reveal a passage similar in appearence to the one with spy holes behind the rooms. The three walked in and automatic lights once again flickered on. After turning a few corners the group found three doors and a staircase. One door was thickly beaded curtain, one was a door which looked like a door to a kitchen in resturants, and one was a dark wooden artifact that looked like it hadn't been opened in years.

The group decided against splitting up and walked through the curtain first. Two twin beds sat on opposite sides of the room with a desk near each one. A painting hung above each bed. One was a painting of a bird flying off towards a mountain, and the other was a painting of a bouquet with a human skull next to it. The flowers in the bouquet were morning glories, mountain laurels, and lilies of the valley. Nothing particularly interesting was on or in the desks, so the group moved on to the next room. 

The swivel door led to what appeared to be a pantry, but the most significant of the three was the wooden door, which hid...

An innocent looking office, contaning a desk, a swivel chair, a large bookshelf, and a parisian rug.

"Hmm," said Viola?.

"Hmm," agreed Shy Peacock. The desk was tidy and there was no dust anywhere. Evidently the door had been opened recently. They searched the desk drawers, but there was nothing but office supplies and unpopped popcorn.

Disapointed, the three headed up the stairs, where a small landing and a blank wall awaited them. The most interesting part of their exploration, however, lay on the floor.

"What's that?" Viola? pointed, and Kate bent over to inspect it.

On the floor was a black outfit and mask, a bloody sword, and a small pouch full of something rattly and small.

Shy Peacock gasped. "Aspen said that someone... wait."

Shy Peacock found a small button on the wall and pressed it. A section of the wall silently revolved to reveal the baths. Shy stepped into the baths and screamed. The lights flickered and the door slammed shut.

Viola? and Kate tried to open it again, but it was stuck.

"Run," Kate whispered.

Kate and Viola? ran down the stairs, through the corridor, and out of the hidden room.

"To the baths," Viola? gasped.

They continued to the baths and found a hole in the floor. A small reciever with an antenna connected to the motor under the trap door, which said "Yurei remote control, inc." on it.

They looked down into the hole to find freshly sharpened spikes, and Shy Peacock lay in the bottom. The trapdoor closed with a snap.

~End of day 16. Death Toll: 24

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

Jwyn- broken neck.  

Agent Winter- drowned  

Dream- strangled 

Poison- poisoned 

Blue Moon- eaten by a Zeamaizock 

Ann- burned 

Byann- crushed 

Secret- whacked on the head with a stick 

Hotairballoon- fell off a cliff 

Darkfeather and Noon- shot by venemous flying darts 

Claaws- smothered   

Tuxedo Kitten- shot with a arrow   

Sam- loss of blood 

Spryo- stabbed with a sword  

Aspen- hansel-gretel-witch-ed 

Shy Peacock- dropped into a pit of spikes 

My apologies once nore for the delay.

Day 17 

Sukāretto and I returned in the morning, between bouts of rain. The guests were shaken, but mostly still alive.

I resumed my observances in the game room, where Cockleburr, Fireburst, Celeste, Pooki P, Kate-the-Great and Viola? began to speak.

"Do you think it was..." Viola? began.

"Rose Bud?" Cockleburr offered.

"She did want to come with us," Kate mused. "Maybe as an alibi."

"It could've been Allie or MJ," Fireburst pointed out from across the room.

"You were pretty quick to accuse the other day," Celeste said, leaning on one elbow. Her eyes were red from crying.  

"I know." Fireburst looked down. "I'm trying to be more careful." 

"A good course of action," Viola? approved.

"Maybe we should look for more clues," Pooki suggested.

"Where to look, though?" Viola? asked.

"I guess we could go over the passageway again," Kate replied doubtfully.

"Whatever you do, I'm going to stay here," Celeste declared. "I have a headache."

"Let's go, then," Viola? said, and moved to the door. She was interrupted in her course by Allie, who ran in with MJ. The pair scanned the room before speaking.

"We found something," Allie announced.

"A remote," MJ specified.

"In Rose Bud's room," Allie added.

"What?"

It was difficult to tell who had spoken, but Fireburst, Kate-the-Great and Cockleburr all stood up.

"See for yourself," MJ said, holding out a Yurei brand remote control. Everyone looked now.

"Hey... wasn't there some kind of brand on the trapdoor?" Kate asked. 

"Yeah," Viola? confirmed. "It might be the same one. I'm not sure I want to check, though..." 

"So... Rose Bud is the murderer?" Pooki squeaked. 

"Aspen had a sword at her feet," Fireburst reminded.

"If this is planted, it's not the first time," Allie said. "If it's not, though..." 

"Then we'd better watch out for thorns," MJ finished.

Rose Bud was questioned once more, denying knowledge of the remote. None were convinced by this, of course, and she was largely avoided again. But it would not be a day without a death.

Pooki P and Fireburst were outside during another lull in the rain. When thunder cracked and the sky split open, they ran for the ryokan. Fireburst was directly underneath what had previously been Hotairballoon and Spyro's window when the anvil fell. 

~End of Day 17. Death toll: 25.

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

Jwyn of a broken neck. 

Agent Winter of drowning.

Dream of strangling.

Poison of poisoning.

Blue Moon of a Zeamaizock.

Ann of burning.

Byann of crushing.

Secret of a hit on the head.

Hotairballoon of falling.

Darkfeather and Noon of dart venom.

Claaws of smothering. 

Tuxedo Kitten of an arrow.

Sam of bleeding.

Spyro of stabbing.

Aspen of baking.

Shy Peacock of impaling. 

Fireburst of a different sort of hit on the head.

Uh, oh. This is getting really messy...