Hi! I'm back :) Here's the next part.

Day 4 Part 2

“There have been three murders,” said Azrael after Darkvine’s funeral. She had asked the guests to gather in the library. “This is going to keep happening. We need to figure out who the murderer is.”

She noticed something odd. Some of the guests averted their eyes, looking at the library. It was a beautiful library, with light hardwood floors, vaulted ceilings, even stairs to a balcony, and enormous windows that light poured through, highlighting the spines of certain books. But they needed to focus on stopping the murders.

Azrael, not sure what to do, fidgeted with her silver cross necklace. Any of those people avoiding talking about the deaths could be the next one under a tree outside. Something had to be done. She didn’t want to seem rude, though.

Sam got up from their chair and looked at Azrael with kind eyes. They were the color of bright summer leaves. “I understand,” Sam told Azrael a bit shyly, sitting beside her on one of the couches. “I can help you figure this out.”

“Thanks. Where should we start?” Azrael wondered. “Didn’t the murders all happen early in the morning or late at night?”

“Are you near the rooms of any of the people who were murdered?” Sam asked. “Did you hear anything?”

“I’m pretty far from Hawkstar and Darkvine’s rooms. And I was one of the closest ones to Moon Wolf’s, but I still heard nothing.” Azrael saw Indigo hop up from her chair, too. 

“Can I help?” Indigo asked.

Azrael nodded. As Indigo took a seat, Miyetka quietly joined them, her arms full of books.

“Sempreverde, Zealatom,” Azrael called. “Do you want to help?”

Zealatom hesitated. “I feel like I’ll be next if I do.”

“Not if everyone else is helping, too,” Sam said with a shrug.

Sempreverde looked at them and started laughing. “I can’t argue with that logic.”

“Neither can I,” Zealatom agreed.

“We were just talking about Moon Wolf. My room was close to hers, but I didn’t hear anything,” said Azrael.

Sempreverde stared at her suspiciously. “Are you–”

“No! It’s not me, I promise.”

Zealatom frowned. “Of course, it was probably really early when she was murdered. And do we even know where it happened?”

“I guess we all thought it was at her room,” Indigo told him. “Jasmine didn’t say where, though.”

“Then let’s ask the hosts.” Sam whipped out their green bell.

A minute later, the library’s large mahogany door swung open with such force it slammed into the wall. The guests turned towards the sound just in time to see Jasmine and Briar push and shove to be the first one through the opening. Jasmine managed to get through first, charging breathlessly into the library, and Briar followed.

“Is someone dead?” Jasmine whispered. Several of her curls were sticking up.

“No, we’re all here,” Zealatom said quickly.

“Thank goodness.” Briar tilted their head. “What is it, then?” 

“We just wanted to know where Moon Wolf died.” Sempreverde realized it was a weird thing to ask as the words were coming out of her mouth.

Jasmine’s eyes traveled over each guest. “Far away from her room,” she said finally. “I wondered what she was doing there. Just exploring, I guess.”

“But where exactly?” asked Sempreverde. “I mean, whose room was the closest to where she was?”

Jasmine narrowed her eyes, thinking. “The closest guest was probably you, Zealatom. I’m not completely sure, though, what with all the changes to the room’s locations.”

The guests’ eyes focused on Zealatom. The question came from several mouths.

“Did you kill her?”

Dead: 3(Moon Wolf, Hawkstar, Darkvine)

Alive: 6(Zealatom, Sempreverde, Indigo, Miyetka, Azrael, Sam)

Day 4 Part 3

“What? No,” Zealatom exclaimed. 

“But–”

“Look, how close the rooms are has nothing to do with it,” Briar interrupted. “Let’s not accuse people until we have actual evidence.”

“How else can we figure it out?” Indigo wondered. “What else would be clues?”

“Does anyone have a lie detector?” Zealatom asked jokingly.

Jasmine laughed, but it turned into a sigh. “Right now I’m really wishing we did.”

“You said there was a knife when Moon Wolf died,” said Azrael. “Maybe there were fingerprints.”

“I think you use some sort of powder to check for fingerprints,” Sam told everyone.

“But which powder?” asked Briar.

No one had an answer.

“Let’s go look it up in the computer lab,” Briar decided. “It’s not far from here.”

The computer lab was a relatively large space with three different rows, each one a long table with five green or purple swivel chairs and five of the exact same computers. Of course, no one was using any of them, but if the rows had been full, the room would have looked like a kind of assembly line, or people at work trying to finish the same project.

“Okay.” Jasmine sank into the nearest purple chair. “If you want to help, the passwords are all ‘Briar’s chocolate cake.’ There are no spaces, and the first letter of every word is capitalized.”

Indigo looked at Briar. “Why are the passwords that?”

“Because a few years ago, I was making a chocolate cake,” started Briar. “Jasmine was being very distracting–”

“You can say it was my fault,” Jasmine interrupted, “but we all know it was your own.”

“‘We all?’ They’ve never even heard the story before. You’re being ridiculous. Actually, you’re always ridiculous. Anyway,” Briar said, turning back to the guests and ignoring Jasmine’s outraged expression, “I was distracted and mixed the batter too much.”

“So when they put the cake in the oven,” Jasmine continued, “it rose too fast, then collapsed in the middle.”

“So she changed all the passwords to that to irritate me,” Briar told the guests.

“You could have just changed them back,” Sempreverde pointed out.

“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve tried, but she always changes them back. We’ve had a password war for a long time.”

Sempreverde smiled at that, searching up classical music on her computer. Soon she found a video she liked, and the room filled with the beautiful sounds of string instruments.

Jasmine typed quickly, googling “how to check for fingerprints.” She scrolled through the results, occasionally clicking on one. “Hmm, a lot of different powders are mentioned. I guess you can use baby powder or cocoa powder? Briar, do we have those?”

“Cocoa powder, I think,” they answered. “I’ll go get some. Figure out how to do it while I’m gone.” They jogged out of the computer lab.

“I think we need other ingredients,” said Jasmine. “Okay–clear tape, a brush…”

“We also need the knife,” Indigo reminded her. 

Jasmine slapped her forehead with her palm. “Oh, right. I’ll get it once Briar comes back.”

Once all the preparations had been completed, the guests waited in breathless anticipation as Briar lightly sprinkled cocoa powder on the knife’s smooth surface. Jasmine’s eyes remained glued to her computer as she called out more instructions. “Now take a little of the powder off with the brush–but be super gentle. Do you see anything?”

The guests and Briar stared down at the dark brown powder. Nothing that looked like a fingerprint was visible.

Briar’s eyes narrowed. “No, but maybe we just did it wrong, or put the powder on the wrong part of the knife. Let’s try again.”

Briar and Jasmine switched places. Jasmine was careful to cover the knife’s surface with powder while Briar snapped at her to do it slowly and gently. 

The second attempt had the same result as the first. So did the third.

By the fourth, everyone agreed that they weren’t making mistakes.

The knife didn’t have any fingerprints.

Dead: 3(Moon Wolf, Hawkstar, Darkvine)

Alive: 6(Indigo, Azrael, Zealatom, Miyetka, Sempreverde, Sam)

Thanks, Zealatom :D 

Day 4 Part 4

“Gloves,” Miyetka explained with a sigh. “Of course.” 

“Smart murderer,” Jasmine said bitterly.

“Well, they have to be smart to get away with all of this.” Azrael stared at her feet. 

“Let’s have lunch,” Briar suggested. “I was going to make brownies, but they won’t be as good as usual.” They turned a grim face to the guests and Jasmine.

“We used all the cocoa powder.”

                      ***

No one ate much lunch. The bites the guests forced themselves to take stuck in their throats, hard to swallow. Just like the facts that three of them had been killed and any of them could be.

“What should we do now?” Indigo asked.

“Do you want to watch a movie or something?” Briar looked at the guests.

They enthusiastically agreed, eager to forget about the murders for at least a little while.

“One of the living rooms would be a good place to watch it,” said Jasmine. “Briar, get one of the computers, will you? And I have no idea where the projector went, but it’s around here somewhere.”

Jasmine wasn’t kidding about one of the living rooms; the mansion had several. She had a particular one in mind for their movie-watching. “The only problem,” she informed the guests, “is that we haven’t used it in at least a week, so it might be a bit difficult to track down.”

Jasmine led the guests up a few flights of stairs. “Okay, I think this is the area. Can you please wait here for a minute?” She strode down a hallway, quickly reappeared, and picked another. Her voice echoed off the walls. “No, no…oh, here it is!”

Several of the guests wondered how two people had ended up living in such a huge place. Two people who argued almost constantly, no less. But they didn’t have much time to think about it, as Jasmine was now waving them over to the living room. 

The guests immediately wished that this room had been included in their tour on the first day. It was easily the most cozy space in the mansion that they had seen. One wall was absolutely stuffed with large couches and chairs in pastel colors. On either side of the group of furniture, blankets and pillows were arranged in two precarious stacks. Right in front of the wall was a wooden coffee table with several scented candles. When the guests stopped to take whiffs of them, the aromas were all soothing, putting the guests at ease after the stressful few days they had had.

Sempreverde and Sam took seats next to each other on one of the couches, while Miyetka perched on a chair at the end of the bunch of furniture. Zealatom sat on Sam’s other side, and Indigo and Azrael claimed the other couch.

On the wall that the guests faced, fireplace flames crackled near the plush rug, leaving a large blank space above them, great for a movie projection.

“Now,” Jasmine started, “all we need is the computer and the pro–” She cut herself off. 

Briar appeared in the doorway, holding a computer close to their chest with one hand and managing to hold on to a projector with the other.

“Where was the projector?” Jasmine asked.

Briar shrugged, setting both of their burdens down next to the fireplace. They connected the projector and the computer, then made a few adjustments and turned on both of them. Suddenly Jasmine and the guests were looking at the computer’s home screen on the wall.

The guests cheered and proceeded to argue about which movie to watch. After the hosts threatened playfully to pick it for them, they finally settled on one that no one had seen before. The special effects turned out to be very badly executed, and the guests and hosts enjoyed making fun of the movie.

That night, as the guests made their way to their rooms, the murderer knew it was time to strike again. This death was important, possibly the most important. 

They contemplated their options. On the one hand, they needed someone far away from the other guests so they weren’t seen. On the other hand…they should take out someone who seemed like a threat. 

So the murderer pretended to head to their room with the others, then slowly and carefully doubled back to a certain door. They didn’t waste time gloating. They briskly shoved the guest brushing their teeth into the sink and went for their neck.

They uncapped the red pen, wrote on the tile in the same handwriting as before, and fled back to their own room. 

At the moment, no one was there to see the bathroom. But the light was still on, illuminating each word of the threat above Azrael with an eerie glow:

Jasmine and Briar–tell us the magic source, or you’re next.

Dead: 4(Moon Wolf, Hawkstar, Darkvine, Azrael)

Alive: 5(Indigo, Sempreverde, Miyetka, Zealatom, Sam)

In this part, you get some answers :) 

Day 5 Part 1

Briar entered the dining room gently carrying Azrael the next morning, and although the guests had expected another death, that didn’t make it any less horrible.

“No, not her.” Sam lowered their head and covered their face with their hands, but a sob still escaped. Sempreverde placed a hand on their shoulder. She couldn’t find the right words to comfort her friend. Indigo stared at Azrael, tears slowly sliding down her cheeks. Miyetka shook her head, her eyes dull. Zealatom turned away. Jasmine closed her eyes.

Briar let everyone grieve for a few moments, then said, their voice quivering, “There was something else. The murderer wrote a threat.”

Six stricken faces stared back at Briar.

“They told Jasmine and I to tell you about the–the magic source, or we would be next.”

There was silence as everyone absorbed this.

“So tell us about the magic source,” said Sempreverde. “What do they even mean, magic source?”

Briar glanced at Jasmine, who shrugged. “Think about the room changes,” Briar began.

The changes had mostly been small, but the guests had still noticed. Every morning, their rooms were farther down the hallways. When Zealatom had reached the dining room just a little while ago, he had noticed that its door and the five doors closest to it had all shifted to the right. But the previous day, some had gone left and some right.

“Have any of you wondered how that happens?” Briar continued. “A magic source supplies the…well, magic, that makes the rooms move. It also makes food appear for us. The murderer wants the magic source for themself.”

“Why?” Sam asked.

“Because when harnessed, the magic could do much more than just make rooms move,” Jasmine answered.

“Is the magic…” Miyetka started, then paused. “Is it in a physical object?”

The hosts exchanged looks, then nodded. “Why?”

“Because that means it’s hidden somewhere, and the murderer wants to find it,” Miyetka reasoned.

Jasmine pursed her lips. Her penetrating gaze scrutinized each guest. 

“We need to have a funeral for Azrael,” said Briar. Were they deliberately changing the subject? 

No one voiced that question. Heads nodded.

“I’ll go get something to put the body in,” Jasmine volunteered. 

A few minutes later, the group made their way outside. Briar was in the lead, their hands firmly closed around the front of Azrael’s trunk. They stared at the hills, searching for a place for her to rest.

Suddenly, Briar’s feet stopped moving as if stuck to the ground, which forced everyone behind them to stop as well. “What are you doing?” Jasmine, who was holding the back of the trunk, asked.

“Who are you?” Briar inquired. 

The large trunk blocked Jasmine and the guest’s views of them. They heard an unfamiliar voice reply, “Remember me?" 

“Hmm,” Briar mused.

“Who are you talking to?” Jasmine asked impatiently. “Put the trunk down."

Briar set their side of the trunk on the ground, and Jasmine did the same. 

A person with a light blond wolf cut and gray eyes stood a few feet away from Briar. They wore a black skeleton T-shirt, fishnet arm warmers and fluffy green-and-black-striped leg warmers above their Doc Martens. Over the top of a pinstriped skirt in black and neon was a pink studded belt. A huge amount of kandi bracelets adorned their arms, nearly covering them with rainbow and black.

The person seemed to notice that many pairs of eyes were on them and turned to see the guests and Jasmine. They brought their hand up in a small wave, took a step back, and ran their fingers through their hair. Their nails were covered with a glossy coat of black nail polish.

“Wait,” said Jasmine. “They couldn’t have gotten here, unless…did you fill out a form?”

The person nodded nervously.

“Briar, don’t you remember?” Jasmine glanced at the host, then her eyes returned to the new person. “There were supposed to be ten, not nine.”

Briar’s eyes widened. “Oh! Then this is…”

Jasmine nodded, smiling at the new person. “Riddle_wren.”

Dead: 4(Moon Wolf, Hawkstar, Darkvine, Azrael)

Alive: 6(Riddle_wren, Sempreverde, Indigo, Zealatom, Miyetka, Sam)

I used they/them pronouns for you in this part. Do you want me to use different pronouns? I've never used any pronouns for someone in my writing before, and I'm worried that I'm messing it up. 

Day 5 Part 2

“The thing is, Wren…” Jasmine started. She had no idea how to tell Wren about the deaths. “I don’t think you want to stay here.”

“Why not?” Wren’s brow furrowed.

“Well…” Jasmine nervously drummed her fingers on the dining room table.

Briar gave Jasmine an annoyed look, then turned to Wren. “Wren, four of the other guests have been killed.” It was much easier to just say it and get it over with.

“Good job breaking it to them gently,” Jasmine snarled at Briar, looking at Wren with a concerned expression.

Wren had just been lifting a piece of cornbread to their mouth. It fell, forgotten, back to its plate. “Killed?! Like, murdered?”

“Yes, by one of the guests,” Briar informed them.

“Which one?” 

“We have no idea.”

The hosts knew that they had made the right decision, sending all the other guests to the rec room. They had specifically ordered them to stay together, as the murderer wouldn’t kill if everyone else was watching. If they had all been in the dining room, Wren would know that the killer was sitting at the same table they were sitting at, probably looking at it. Even though the hosts had been there for every death, the thought was still horrifying, so they tried not to dwell on it.

“Can’t–can’t you send us all home, then?” Wren asked.

“We can’t,” Jasmine answered. “I’m sorry.”

Wren sighed. Why had it filled out the form? They took a small bite of the cornbread, barely registering the taste. Would it still be alive a day from now? 

“Do you…want to see your room? Or get to know the other guests more?”

“I don’t want to be friends with a murderer,” Wren said flatly. Or people that are going to die, it thought. And actually, I could be one of them. “Can I see my room?”

“Sure.” Jasmine jumped up. “Where was the room, Briar?”

“Don’t ask me! You’re the one who was in charge of the rooms.” Briar waited for a few moments as Jasmine thought, then sighed. “How do you not know?” 

“I do!” There was a pause. “Okay, I remember. Let’s go.”

“This place is huge,” Wren commented as they walked up a flight of stairs. “Do you ever get lost?” 

“We used to.” Briar smiled. “Oh, and that reminds me–the rooms sometimes shift. See that room?” They pointed at a random door. “Maybe tomorrow it’ll be there.” Now they were pointing at the door beside it. “Or where any of the other rooms in this hallway are.”

“Oh…uh, okay.”

“We’ll give you two bells so you can call both of us if you’re lost or something,” said Jasmine.

“Thanks.”

“No problem. Here’s your room.” Jasmine gestured to a door that seemed to have a bit of every color on it, but they were put together so that they complemented each other perfectly. This made the door beautiful, instead of the mess it might have looked like if colors had just been smeared on random parts of the door. Even if it hadn’t been executed so well, Wren would have loved it. At the top of the door was an image of a small bat in flight.

“The bat is your door symbol,” Briar explained. “All of the rooms have one.”

“Go in,” Jasmine instructed. “We’ll wait outside, but take as long as you want.” 

Wren opened the door. COLOR! YES! The rug was very similar to the door. The blankets on the bed were all different and fun: neon blue, pastel green, dark pink, and more that made it all work, like it was a puzzle with pieces that connected with others and linked ones that seemed unrelated. Propped against the pillow were three stuffed animals: a rabbit, a cat, and a bat.

There was also a small desk with two shelves above it. Wren could already picture some of the books they had brought up there. It opened the drawer and found an enormous amount of paper with lots of pencils and other utensils that could add color to Wren’s drawings. Maybe staying here wasn’t going to be so bad after all. 

Well, as long as I don’t get murdered. 

Dead: 4(Moon Wolf, Hawkstar, Darkvine, Azrael)

Alive: 6(Zealatom, Riddle_wren, Sam, Indigo, Sempreverde, Miyetka)

SORRY IM SO LATE I WAS ON HIATUS!

i hope it's not too late, sorry!!! i'm formerly endless_parodies btw

Name: Riddle_Wren (FORMERLY endless_parodies)

Pronouns: they/it.

Appearance: I have short light blonde hair cut into a wolfcut (with star-shaped neon hairclips), a heart-shaped face, long black eyelashes with dark eyeliner, and grey eyes. I'll be wearing a black skeleton t-shirt, fishnet arm warmers, tons of rainbow and black kandi bracelets, a pink studded belt, a black and neon pinstriped skirt, and doc martens with fluffy black and green striped leg warmers. nails painted black. (Copied and pasted from another Ski Lodge!)

Regular wear: The above ^ :D

Personality: calm and quiet until you get to know me, i get anxious in social situations or busy spaces. i don't like talking to people unless they come up to me first. i find it hard to express what i'm trying to say--i'm better expressing myself while writing. 

Do you consider yourself good, bad, or just In-Between?: Good? I hope. Maybe in-between, but I hope I’m good. Oh gosh, maybe i’m bad. Oops. I don’t think I am?

Design a room (be creative!): 80s vintage!! Tons of vinyls on the walls and bright things all around, but with a darker aesthetic too. Or a Victorian-style room, with bookshelves lining the walls and a dark but calming aesthetic.

*burst out laughing for no apparent reason*: Um… gesundheit?

Are you a dreamer? What type?: Yes, I dream. Lucid dreamer, I know when I’m dreaming and can control them.

How easily do you forget something?: Not super easily.

Favorite season/s (and why?): Winter/fall. Pretty. Holidays. Cold. :D

Opinion of physical exercise: Fine, I swim competitively.

How does the word "magic" settle with you?: I love it. :D

What made you decide to accept our invite?: It sounds neat.

What is wrong with this statement?: It’s a question, it’s not a statement.

What qualities do you value in a friend?: Honesty, empathy, loyalty, um, friendly…ness?

Ask a question: Did you know that Honduran white bats sleep upside down in groups on the underside of leaves called “tents?”

Other: :D