Murder Mystery (Job, Solo)

Another town, another job. This time Aliarey actually had one already planned rather than just mindlessly searching for one when she needed it. Someone at another inn had mentioned a Murder Mystery game going on in the Oak Town Inn. Interesting activity but nothing she would of wasted her time on. It turned out the people overseeing the game was hiring for security to keep the peace during the lock in. Now that she could handle. Easy money. What could go wrong?

She waltzed up to the entrance of the inn around nine o’clock at night. The lock down wasn’t for another hour and a half and she saw no reason to show up too early. Granted she did not actually check to see if she had the job first. Minor overlooked detail.

There was a crowd of people walking through the doors of the inn and seeing as she was heading inside as well she followed them inside where even more people were waiting. The inn itself had a nice cozy and welcoming feel to its environment that made everyone within want to gather and enjoy themselves. Aliarey ignored them and instead went to the front desk to talk to the woman behind it who was busy checking over the guest list. “So are you guys still paying to babysit some roleplaying nerds?”

The woman blinked her eyes as she heard a voice and looked up from her clipboard. She seemed slightly offended by the question but said nothing of it. Murder Mystery games were not something for everyone after all. “Well we already have some that have come to fill security positions, but we can use all the help we can get. This place is pretty big. Although….” The woman trailed off as she looked at Aliarey quizzically. Perhaps she thought the young woman coming for the security job did not look the part. Well that would make sense. Aliarey saw no reason to wear her job armor and had instead come in her usual skirt outfit. The job was nothing more than waiting for daybreak while making sure no one caused a ruckus so why bother changing?

“Although you don’t look like you can handle yourself. Isn’t that right, Kate?” A well groomed man cut his way into the conversation, sending an amused smile at the woman behind the desk. “I thought I told you before looks can be deceiving. Lets not offend someone that has come to help us.” The woman behind the desk seemed to be slightly embarrassed at being scolded. Her cheeks turned a light shade of red and she instantly bowed her head in apology. “Yes, Mr. John. It won’t happen again.“

Aliarey raised a questioning brow. The man that had invited himself into the conversation seemed like nothing more than a bell hop man by the way he was dressed. Still, the way he phrased his words seemed to imply she had the job. She turned to face him completely and folded her arms across her chest. “So I have the job then? Do I just stand in a corner or something until this is over?”

The man smiled once more, although it seemed creepy for a slight second but she was certain she had imagined it. The man seemed to have a kind natured personality about him. “Well you can at the start but I do want you to make some rounds throughout the inn. Everyone will be spread out soon after the game starts and I want security to cover all areas to insure nothing happens.”

Soon after getting her instructions Aliarey took a seat on a soft green colored chair that was out of the way of the group of people and waited until it was time for the game to start. The hotel staff, Kate and John included, made their introductions, announced the rules of the game, explained other important details, and then set the people off. Soon after the doors were locked. The game had started, but it was only a matter of time before everyone realized that the true game had yet to begin.

(Word Count so far: 688)

The member 'Lumindis' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

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'Monster Dice' :

One hour had gone by since the start of the lock in. Nothing of interest had happened, at least nothing that interested Aliarey. A fake murder was staged and all the guests were scrambling to find clues located around the inn. It was, without a doubt, boring to just sit there and watch. Easy money was easy money though. Still, out of everyone located inside the inn she seemed to be the only person acting as the watchdog. Didn’t the front desk clerk mention there were others? Strange.

By the time the second hour came close to approaching Aliarey was in the middle of making a round throughout the inn. She had made it upstairs which was for some reason the quietest place of the inn. No one else seemed to be up there. Being up there all alone was starting to send a creepy vibe within her nerves. It reminded her of some scenes in horror movies where a security guard got too curious about some noise they heard and before long some supernatural force attacked and made an example out of them. “If these lights so much as flicker I am so out of here.” No way was she going to be a part of some clichéd death.

It would not be a flicker that would cause the young woman to stop in her tracks, but a scream along with some sounds of a struggle. She had thought everyone else was elsewhere and that she had been alone on the second floor. Apparently not.  The scream had better been part of the show. Picking up her pace into a run, Aliarey made her way down the hall and slammed the door of the room she thought the scream came from open. With a shocked expression on her face, she reached for the door and slowly closed it back. What she had saw inside was the body of Kate, the front desk clerk she had spoken to a couple of hours prior, sprawled across the bed and covered in massive amounts of blood. An amount that she was sure would mean death.

Aliarey was not all too certain what she was supposed to do by this point. She was only hired to babysit some people during a harmless game, not deal with an actual murder! It then dawned on her that she had never actually seen a dead human body before right then. Was that moment a good time to panic though? After a few deep breaths to get her nerves in order Aliarey slowly opened the door again and walked inside. “You are dead, right?” She asked the corpse of the desk clerk with uncertainty as she took one step at a time towards the bed. “Because if you try to jump scare me I may just end up shooting you.” A closer look at the corpse was now possible as she stood at the side of the bed. It appeared little Kate had been stabbed repeatedly in her abdomen and just for good measure had her throat slit across. The blood was still gushing out everywhere. The eyes were dull, however, indicating there was no hope of saving her from her injuries. She had already passed on. There was no sign of a weapon though nor of anyone else’s presence. The attack had just happened so how did they manage to get away when she had been in front of the only door and no windows were within the room?

Just as she was about to investigate the issue further one of the guests had stumbled upon and scene and screamed. “Murderer!” The point of her finger made it evident she had been accusing Aliarey of the crime. The woman then fainted but not before some of the other guests arrived to gasp at the scene. “Now before you go getting the wrong idea…,” she started to say but was cut off by more accusations of being a murderer. Well so much for that. The regular guests seemed to have little brain capacity.

Aliarey sighed as some of the inn staff ushered everyone out of the room and back downstairs to the main lobby. The original game was over. She sat in the chair she had used hours before but she felt the glares of everyone. Some wanted to attack in retaliation or out of fear but they remained where they were, at least for a while. Before long one man would stand up and point her way. “I will not be in the same room as this murderer! The least you can do is tie her up and lock her up somewhere until authorities arrive!” Most of the other guests agreed. Oh joy.

The people’s lack of common sense were starting to get on her nerves. “Look, you dumbass, you are way off if you think I had anything to do with that murder. There isn’t even a drop of blood on me! For the damage that was done I should have been covered in it!” Her blue eyes glared right back at the man but he remained unconvinced. “You’re a mage, aren’t you? I know you lot can do that type of damage without dirtying yourselves. You can probably make some kind of knife out of thin air to slice through someone or summon some creature that can.” To that statement Aliarey almost burst into a fit of laughter. Summon creatures to fight for her or make a knife? Please. She wouldn’t of even been caught dead using a puny to do her work. It lacked so much of what she enjoyed when using her firearms and explosives. She reached for a wine glass sitting on a small round table near her chair and lifted it within her hands. “Once again, way off.” The glass then shattered into pieces but not from ordinary force. A small explosion was released from her hands and was the cause for the wine glass’s demise. “If I wanted to kill someone, they’d hardly be recognizable afterwards.” It was true after all. Most of her opponents were usually a mixture of burnt flesh and bullet holes. Going overboard was the status quo for the requip gun mage. “Not to mention it’d be loud so unless you can find traces of anything other than a stupid knife being used and actually heard anything more than a scream I suggest you sit down.”

The man started to say something more but stopped himself and took a seat. He was still sure Aliarey was the culprit but there was still a small amount of doubt. The evidence was not really there other than the mage being present at the scene of the crime. The other guests seemed restless but said nothing more. All was silent until one of the inn staff angrily snorted and came out from the crowd, cleaver in hand. It was what appeared to be the chef and he looked none too happy. “I don’t care what kind of tall tale you try to spit out of that mouth of yours! I don’t trust you and I know you’re just holding out until you can off us all one at a time! Well I won’t have it!”

He then threw the cleaver in Aliarey’s direction but the man had poor aim. The cleaver stuck to the arm of the cushioned chair. Not that it mattered since the young wizard was already on her feet with her pistols drawn. Four shots, two from each pistol was all it took to incapacitate him. One magical bullet for each of his limbs. The chef screamed in agony and fell to the floor, whimpering. A couple of the other guests rushed over to help him but Aliarey showed no signs of sympathy. He had attacked first and got what he deserved. “Anyone else?" She asked, twirling one of her pistols around her trigger finger. She was met with silence and was honestly a tad bit disappointed. The fact they had accused her of a murder was unforgivable and it made sense to smack some sense into each and every one of them. Oh well. If they were no longer going to cause her trouble then it was best to move on for the moment. "Good. I am tired of being around all of you. I’m going to look around for the real killer. I doubt any of you senseless morons could have done it.”

With that said, Aliarey headed back up to the second floor. No one made a move to stop her as she walked past nor did they follow. It was in their best interest to stay together downstairs.

(Word Count: 1447
Word Count Total so far: 2135)

Clue Theme Music Because:

New WC Figures:
812 Words for the 1500 C rank solo WC and original turn in
New WC: 635

Aliarey found herself in a familiar scene; alone on the second floor with no sound to be heard minus those made from her own steps. She entered the room where the murder had occurred. Aside from the body being covered up with a white sheet the scene remained the same. The Oak Inn staff had left it as it was to preserve as much evidence as possible. A few moments were taken to look around for the murder weapon. She glanced on the bed, under the bed, checked a few drawers in the dresser, and even looked inside the closet. Nothing could be found. It also did not help things that it was a locked room mystery. Just how did the murderer escape? Surely the front desk clerk did not do the deed to herself and then still have enough strength to hide the weapon before dying.

“Ah hell, I am no detective. Why can’t the sicko just jump out and say ‘hello, please shoot me!’?” The woman sighed and leaned against the wall. As she did so her shoulder bumped into a painting. It caused the work of art to move slightly to the side for a second before going back into its normal position. Completely normal save for the fact that a low pop could be heard. Curious, Aliarey walked over to where she thought she had heard the sound. Her eyes squinted hard at the wall. Was that a break within the wall? She reached out and touched the wall, feeling that one portion of the wall was farther than the other. Pressing against it caused it to go further in, revealing a passageway that went downwards. That explained some things. Without much thought to the idea of being cautious, Aliarey began to head into the dark passageway.

The deeper down the passageway she went, the darker it became. The air grew colder as well. Just how far did the tunnel go? Along the way she requipped her magic eye visor in order to see in the dark. Perhaps it was leading her into some sort of basement. The answer came shortly after that thought process for before long the tunnel came to an end upon entering a rather large and dark room. It was empty save for one single chair with what appeared to be a man sitting within it. “I was wondering if you would show up.” It was a voice very recognizable and upon hearing it Aliarey realized she had not seen him since the start of the game. It was the man that had been called John, a man that had been working for the Oak Inn and had known the front desk clerk.

“I had been so careful with my plans. It was to be a mass murder not seen in these parts for quite some time. I had even dealt with the other security guard applicants ahead of time,” the man then sighed as he twirled a bloodied knife within his hands. “But then you had to go and show up at the last minute. I thought about waiting for another day rather than dealing with a wizard, but then Kate found out about my hobby. Some people just don’t understand.” The man then stood up from his chair and turned to face Aliarey, who had by that point drawn her normal pistols and emptied them out on him, a total of six shots from each. Enough of the story had been heard and she really didn’t want him to make a move now that he had stood up.

The man just laughed as he was hit by the shots of the guns. “Well, I guess I will have to deal with you now rather than with the rest. I can’t have my entertainment constantly spoiled.” He rushed forward with knife in hand, aiming to stab Aliarey if he could get close enough. John must have had some protective magic barrier that lowered the damage caused from her shots. No normal person should have been able to move as fast as he did. Not to mention the fact he could see very well in the dark. She quickly jumped to the side, barely avoiding the attack. Putting away her normal pistols, she requipped into her Ember Revolvers. Single fireball shots were fired from the firearms, hoping their extra elemental boost would do more damage than her normal weapons.

It had some effect for when the man known as John came in for another attack he dropped his knife, his hand having been burnt from one of the shots. Aliarey then shot at his legs before kicking him to the ground. Unfortunately, the young wizard was known for having bad luck. Her eye visor went poof, having reached the limit it could be summoned. Now she was left in total darkness with a killer. She shot at the ground where she knew John had fallen, but the split second light from the shot revealed that he had already moved to another location. Dammit. She couldn’t fight in such darkness. It was time to get out of there.

Aliarey turned towards where the tunnel was but as she started to make a get away she was stabbed in her side and pushed to the ground. Pain shot through her body, more so from her new wound rather than the fall itself. Warm blood was seeping from the wound and through her clothes but she was not going to allow herself to die in a secret room. She switched out her Ember Revolvers for her Mini Disc, which formed into a small projectile spitting turret. Three more would join it as the original had been copied for weaker counterparts. She stayed low to the ground as they fired around the room. Some of the shots were bound to hit unless John had flat out left the secret area. Judging by the sounds of impact and those of an injured man though he was still there. With the continuous firing of her weapons he could not find an opening and with each attempt made he found himself more injured. The assault was quickly over and Aliarey could hear something fall to the ground. No way in hell was she waiting around to see though. As far as she was concerned that was her chance to get out of there. She held her hand over her wound as she made a slow run out of the room and through the tunnel.

The night would eventually come to an end. With the killer supposedly dealt with the doors were opened and the proper authorities were let inside. An investigation occurred and as Aliarey was being taken care of by a medic she explained the situation and told them where to go. They had found John in that room critically injured but still in the realm of life. He would go on trial as soon as the local law enforcement put together the pieces of all of his crimes. Several murders throughout the years had gone unsolved and they had reason to suspect the former Oak Inn employee was the culprit. Aliarey would soon be given an award for her original job completion of acting as security to which a rather sarcastic reply would leave her lips. “Well nice, now I can pay for my medical expenses!”

(Word Count: 1229
Word Count Total: 3364)

New WC: 1864