consolemods: (Default)
Console W.A.R.S. Mods ([personal profile] consolemods) wrote in [community profile] consolewars2018-02-04 12:51 pm

TRIAL

Well, Niles is dead now, and in a very unpleasant way. The investigation has progressed for some time... but after a certain amount of time, a marker appears on the player's console HUDs directing them to a particular location, much in the same way as it did when directing them to the paddock for Thursday's challenge.

This time, though, it's directing them to the courthouse, which has been locked up until this time... but not now. The doors are wide open, and you might as well go inside. The interior is lacking the audience benches you'd expect, but... there's a large, oppressive emptiness to the space. It almost seems bigger on the inside than the outside... no, it definitely seems much bigger on the inside. And after you walk the long, long walk to the center, you'll find a circle of 23 podiums with your names on them, with... two of them being much, much smaller to account for the, uh, pets.

Those... seem really out of place, by the way. They stand out in stark contrast to the rest of the quaint, old-timey Western town by being more on the technological level of the consoles on your faces, with touch screens and pictures of all of the current players... and the two former players, too, with the icon of Niles' and Makoto's faces having the word DEAD stamped across their faces.

As you stand at your podiums, you do begin to notice some wrongness about the whole thing... like that there might actually be some audience benches behind you, depending on the angle you look at them, but they seem to flicker in and out of your peripheral vision. Ditto with the two holes in the podiums, too-- they're... sometimes there, but not always.

The judge's box looms high over the podiums, towering for the animals but really only a few feet higher. The sheriff stands there as comfortable as he's ever seemed, arms crossed and silent the entire time. There are flickers of something uncanny in him, just like the architecture - the color of an eye, the shape of an arm - but nothing sticks for long enough to confirm.

It isn't until everyone's settled at their podium that he speaks, and any hint of the laconic tone he's taken all week is finally gone to be replaced by one far more formal. He seems in his element as he leans down to address the podiums.

"Welcome to round two! You've all done well to make it this far! The first attack has succeeded, and now Niles lies dead. But for every offense, there must be a defense! Will you find his killer? More of your lives may be at risk of you do not. Share your findings with each other, and come to a conclusion based on the evidence: Who killed Niles?

Now, let's play."
carbide: (B10F. Fire walk of fortitude)

[personal profile] carbide 2018-02-04 05:58 pm (UTC)(link)
This place is spatially inconsistent.

[That has nothing to do with anything, but what did you expect from Miss Didn't Participate In The Challenge And Also Didn't Help Investigate At All?]
Edited 2018-02-04 18:00 (UTC)
exclusiverelease: (Default)

[personal profile] exclusiverelease 2018-02-04 06:03 pm (UTC)(link)
You've come to an arena beyond temporal and spatial limitations. The only thing of any import is the game.
carbide: (B02F. Marshlands of misfortune)

[personal profile] carbide 2018-02-04 06:08 pm (UTC)(link)
Temporal?
Edited 2018-02-04 18:09 (UTC)
exclusiverelease: (Default)

[personal profile] exclusiverelease 2018-02-04 06:17 pm (UTC)(link)
You're here until the trial is complete. Whether you find the killer in ten minutes or three days of argument, a trial lasts as long as a trial. No more, no less. Now, do you have any evidence?
Edited 2018-02-04 18:17 (UTC)
carbide: (B01F. A glorious journey's start)

[personal profile] carbide 2018-02-04 06:22 pm (UTC)(link)
I don't.

[She's very helpful.]
exclusiverelease: (Default)

[personal profile] exclusiverelease 2018-02-04 06:27 pm (UTC)(link)
Then if you want to make certain of your survival, turn that inquisitive spirit to avenging a dead man instead.