This is really amazing!

Day 3, Part 2

“A scavenger hunt…?” Celine said, their voice trailing off as she processed what Flora had just said.

“Are you sure it’s safe?” Pangolin asked worriedly. “I mean, there’s a literal murderer out there!”

“But don’t you think we need to relieve the tension here a little? I can feel all of your gloom, and I think you could do with a little fun activity!” Flora replied cheerfully.

“Okay, I see what you mean,” Reuby said. “I think it would be a good idea to at least have a little fun. We shouldn’t let the murders get to us.”

One by one, the others agreed. Eventually, it seemed like the scavenger hunt would indeed happen. Flora split them into two groups, Sam, Luna, Pangolin, and Reuby Moonnight in one team and Seadragon, Avara, Silver Crystal, and Celine in the other team. 

“Alright, so now that I’ve split you into teams, let me explain. There are 17 golden roses hidden throughout the island. Whichever team finds the most golden roses wins. Got it?” Flora waited until everyone nodded. “Okay. 3, 2, 1, go!”

Immediately, the teams were off. Celine scurried over to the place where they had hiked to see the sunset, and spotted a glimmering golden rose laying on the grass. Smiling, she picked it up before going off to find another one.

Meanwhile, Luna and Reuby were working together, searching in one clearing and instantly finding a golden rose. 

Silver was looking around the Lake of Eternity, keeping well away from the edge, of course, when she spotted a golden rose laid on top of a bush across from her. But beside her, Sam had spotted it as well. Silver tried to rush towards it, but Sam got to it first, holding it up triumphantly. Suddenly, Sam stumbled on a nearby rock, almost falling into the lake, but luckily, Silver helped them up just before they fell in.

“Be careful next time!” Silver said.

“Thanks, Silver,” Sam said breathlessly. “But don’t think I will give you the golden rose because of this.” Grinning, they sprinted away, looking for more golden roses.

The scavenger hunt was chaotic but fun, and certainly lifted up everyone’s spirits. Flora watched contentedly as Avara and Pangolin hurried to a bush as they both spotted a golden rose, trying to reach it first before the other person.

Eventually, the teams were tied, both having 8 golden roses each, meaning that there was one more left. A few tried to ask where it was, through bribery and such, but Flora wouldn’t give it away. So everyone continued looking for the last rose, hoping for their team to win.

Celine walked through one of the trails that led from a meadow and winded into a rather large forest. They wandered, looking for the last golden rose.

“Are you looking for the golden rose?” a voice asked. 

Celine whipped around to look at them, but couldn’t get a good look of their face, since the shadowy forest covered it. “Yes,” she said, still feeling a little startled.

“Mind if I look with you?” the person asked, their voice sweet.

“Oh, of course!” Celine said.

“Thanks,” the person said, as they both continued looking around in silence. Suddenly, the person said, “Hey, do you see that?”

Celine looked at where the person was pointing. “I can’t quite see what it is.”

“It’s a butterfly,” they explained. “It’s rather pretty, I think. Here, let me show you.”

In what was a sort of odd gesture, the person placed their hands on Celine’s neck and tilted it up, towards where the person was pointing before. But unexpectedly, they began to squeeze, as hard as they could. Celine tried to scream for help, but they couldn’t, and knew that it was the end. Finally, Celine dropped down, lifeless.

The murderer smiled. “This was a rather nice scavenger hunt,” they said, their voice perfectly calm as if they were talking about the weather.

Alive: 7

Dead: 3 (Lyric, Hawkstar, Celine)

Sorry this part is a bit short!

@everyone, thank you for all the comments so far! They really make my day :)

Day 3, Part 3

Pangolin was walking through the forest, looking for the golden rose, when suddenly, up ahead, she spotted something that made them stop dead in her tracks. 

It was the lifeless body of Celine. Visible bruises were on their neck, and at once, Pangolin knew that it was the murderer. 

Tearing out of the forest, they raced back to Flora, breathlessly announcing what they had just seen. Soon, everyone but Silver heard the news. 

As everyone was in a gloomy state, discussing who the murderer could be, Silver walked over, a golden rose in her hand. "I found the last one!" she exclaimed. She looked confused when no one responded. Luna quickly filled her in about what had happened to Celine.

Eventually, Flora finally announced that the scavenger hunt was over, and that the second team had won. However, no one was really paying attention. A funeral was then held for Celine, an assortment of flowers planted on top of her grave. There was much more subdued silence now instead of crying, since everyone was becoming worried that they would be next. Everyone, except for the murderer, who was rather content, and thinking about their next victim.

After a quiet dinner, everyone went straight to bed, none in the mood for free time. Pangolin laid awake in bed, wondering who could've killed Celine. But after laying awake for hours, sleep eventually caught up to them, and Pangolin drifted off to sleep, not knowing whether or not she would be still alive the next few days, or even tomorrow. 

Alive: 7

Dead: 3 (Lyric, Hawkstar, Celine) 

Day 4, Part 1

It was a lovely morning, with a clear blue sky, flowery meadows, and butterflies fluttering about. No one would suspect that any tragedy at all could happen.

After breakfast, Flora took everyone on a walk outside, as she knew it would cheer them up. Everyone was in low spirits, but as the sun rose up in the sky, it seemed that they were more comfortable and content.

Flora introduced them to the many different flowers they would see on the trail. There were daisies, roses, mountain laurels, pansies, lycorises, thistles, peonies, hydrangeas, and hyacinths. There were also many unrecognizable names of flowers that could only be found on the island, which Flora explained was because they were magical. But there was also one flower, which Flora called the Dawning Nightshade, and warned that whatever they do, do not try to eat it. 

Of course, this gave the murderer an idea. After they were done with the walk, the murderer went out on the pretense of going on a short walk outside. They then put on gloves and carefully took a Dawning Nightshade berry, hiding it in their room. They let it dry and crushed it into powder, pouring the contents into a small vial. Then, the murderer watched as Flora prepared lunch, conjuring sandwiches and pouring out orange juice and tea for everyone. When Flora left to go to the kitchen briefly, the murderer quickly poured the powder into one of the cups before going back upstairs, making sure no one saw.

~~~

“I’m kind of scared about this island now, knowing that there’s a murderer somewhere in here,” Pangolin said. 

“Me too,” Reuby agreed. “I wonder who the murderer could be?” 

“Well, we could make a list,” Silver suggested. “And slowly eliminate those who it couldn’t be.”

“That’s a great idea!” Pangolin exclaimed, as Reuby nodded in agreement.

Silver tore off a sheet of paper from her notebook and laid it on her desk. She slowly wrote down the names of every guest here, and crossed off the ones that were killed by the murderer.

“So,” Silver said when she had finished. “Any ideas?”

“We could start with Lyric,” Pangolin said. “Were any of you awake at the time?”

Both Reuby and Silver shook their heads. “I’m pretty sure everyone was fast asleep,” Reuby said. 

“Then let’s talk about the next murder,” Pangolin said. 

“But that one was at night as well,” Silver said. “And unless someone was out in the middle of the night, we don’t have any clues about who it was.”

“Then the third one,” Reuby said. “It was the scavenger hunt, in which Celine was killed. Anything you saw that might be useful?”

“Well, I didn’t know anything, since I was the one who found the last rose,” Silver said. “It couldn’t have been me.”

“Then we can finally cross someone out,” Pangolin said, sounding relieved as she took a pen and crossed out Silver’s name.

“But that’s all we have so far, isn’t it?” Reuby said. “Do you think there’s any other clues-” Her voice cut off as they heard Flora calling them down for lunch.

The three guests went downstairs and took a seat, waiting as the others came down to take their seats as well. The dining room looked even emptier than before, with three empty chairs. And no one, except the murderer, knew what was going to happen during this particular lunch.

Alive: 7

Dead: 3 (Lyric, Hawkstar, Celine)

Short part today! ty for everyone who commented so far, it really helps :) Also, tell me if you want anything changed

Day 4, Part 2

Luna chatted casually with Sam, swapping details about certain experiences and trips they had before, when suddenly, Sam started having convulsions. Everyone looked over at them as they began choking out what looked like bits of a black berry. Immediately, Flora led Sam back to their room, where everyone else stared in silence, exchanging small whispers now and then. 

Meanwhile, Luna stayed as still as a stone and didn't make a sound. They were still processing what had just happened. After what seemed like hours, Flora came back, and a small shake of her head was all that everyone needed to know that Sam was gone.

One by one, people were talking to each other in what sounded like accusing tones. Eventually, it was Avara who called out, "Luna was sitting right next to Sam when it happened. Could it be Luna?"

Everyone began turning their heads to stare at Luna, who shrank back, scared. Already Luna knew what was to come. They could hear loud voices, each one angrier and more accusing than the last as they found logic in Avara's words. 

Finally, Flora shouted, "Enough, everyone!", abruptly stopping the voices.

"But what are we to do with Luna?" Silver asked. 

"Yeah, I'm a bit scared, to be honest, having a…murderer in our midst," Reuby added.

"Anyone have any ideas on what to do with them, then?" Flora asked.

"Get rid of them, somehow," Avara said.

"Somehow," Pangolin repeated in an amused tone.

"How about we seclude them?" Seadragon suggested. 

"Not in their room, because she could escape," Reuby said.

"Then a cell, maybe?" Silver said.

"We'll do that for now, then," Flora concluded. "But first, we should hold a funeral for Sam."

She led everyone out, where a hydrangea was placed on top of their grave. All the guests were silent, not only out of respect, but also because they were thinking about Luna. Would it still be safe with Luna around them, even in a cell? Meanwhile, Luna felt miserable, knowing that even if she tried to prove that they were innocent, no one would believe her.

Eventually, Flora conjured up a makeshift cell, where Luna was led in. For the afternoon, the guests either tried to guard Luna or read some book to keep their minds off the murderer. 

When it was time for dinner, Flora took extra care to make sure the guests' meals weren't poisoned, while each guest cautiously checked the food themselves. 

Then, it was time for bed. A few people suggested holding a guard, but most people were too tired to really care, and so the cell was left unguarded. But Flora put on an enchanted lock on it, so everyone was reassured that they were safe.

Alive: 6

Dead: 4 (Lyric, Hawkstar, Celine, Sam)

geez... The murderer is brutal! this is great, you're doing such a wonderful job :)

Day 5, Part 1

"Don't you think someone should check on Luna?" Seadragon said.

"Of course," Reuby agreed. "I'll do it, if no one else wants to."

"Thanks," Silver said. "I'm certainly not brave enough."

Reuby went downstairs to see the cell that Luna was in, and immediately, everyone could hear her gasp.

"What?" Seadragon asked, rushing down.

"Luna...they're dead!" Reuby explained breathlessly. "She wasn't the murderer!"

Several guests leaned in to check, and as it turned out, Luna was actually dead, with a broken neck. But the door to the cell was still mysteriously locked.

"But I was so sure that it was them," Silver murmured. "Yet if it wasn't her, who could it be?"

"Maybe," Seadragon said in a serious tone. "Maybe it could be some sort of sinister magic. Maybe Flora’s involved in it."

"Flora? But…she couldn't, not to her guests!" Pangolin protested.

"Are you sure about that?" Reuby asked. "I mean, she was the one who brought us here."

"But if she was the one-" Pangolin started to say, but cut herself off as they saw Flora coming over.

"What are you guys discussing?" Flora asked curiously.

"N-nothing!" Silver said quickly, exchanging nervous glances with Pangolin and Seadragon.

"Are you sure? Because it sounded like something…" Flora said, suspicion narrowing her gaze.

"Oh, well we had just discovered that Luna's dead, and that means they're not the murderer," Reuby said smoothly.

"Ah," Flora said as Pangolin, Seadragon, and Silver let out identical relieved breaths at Reuby's quick thinking. "We better hold a funeral regardless."

So another funeral was held for Luna. By now, everyone was tired of funerals, with all the guests staring blankly at the grave while Flora planted a flower on top. It was not only tiring and sorrowful, but also frightening, knowing that at each moment, they could be close to their deaths. 

So Silver, Pangolin, and Reuby kept themselves busy by working on the suspect list. Silver crossed out Luna and Sam's name. 

"So, does anyone have any idea who could've poisoned Sam?" she asked.

"I was so sure it was Luna, but since she's dead…" Reuby trailed off, sounding subdued.

"No one else was sitting next to Sam since they were sitting on the edge," Pangolin said. "So it probably happened sometime before."

"Wait, Flora’s the one who always prepares the meals, though, right?" Reuby said slowly. "So isn't it possible that it's her, like we said earlier?"

"Yeah, possibly," Silver agreed.

Just then, they heard someone knock on the door. "Come in!" Silver called out. It was Seadragon at the door.

"Okay, I'm sorry, but I did eavesdrop on your conversation a little," Seadragon said, sounding apologetic. "But I just couldn't help overhearing it."

"So what's your opinion on it?" Pangolin asked.

"I agree with you on that," Seadragon said. "Because who else could it be? There's no other evidence. And I've also been wondering," she continued. "About what exactly is in that room on the third floor."

"Didn't Flora say that it was just a storage room?" Reuby said, sounding confused.

"But are you sure that she can be trusted?" Seadragon asked. No one answered her.

After a long moment, Silver said slowly, "Even if there was something else, isn't it…locked?"

"Oh, right," Seadragon replied, sounding disappointed. 

"So how do we get to it?" Pangolin prompted, in which silence followed.

Alive: 5

Dead: 5 (Lyric, Hawkstar, Celine, Sam, Luna Silvermoon)