4:50 TO VREFESEA: plotting post + player plot log + sign-ups

[ximilian]

● ● ● MAY PLOTTING POST: CONCLUSION + PLAYER PLOT

As the mission draws to a close and the Orbers are on the cusp of solving a murder mystery and possibly retrieving the orb, here is a quick recap of what has been found out so far:

• On the night of the murder, the Day family were gathered for dinner. Luna left first, followed by Marshall, Terra and Helios left together. Goldie and Oden remained to continue speaking, but left for ten minutes each, separately, before returning back to the dinner car.

• Jove was previously a successful businessman.

• Jove was in an accident as a child that left him with scars.

• The Day siblings may have been largely estranged from each other, sent to different schools and were closer to some than others.

• Hortensia Day died due to an accident on an archaeological site. Her husband, Felix Day, also died in a similar, separate fashion. Neither death is suspicious.

• The Day children were left with a letter from Hortensia Day with notions of regret as well as instructions to return her last discovery to the museum to collect a reward. It also included a series of numbers and letters, like a locker combination.

• The Day family all appear to be living varying levels beyond their means, a possible motive.

• The day after the murder, Goldie Day was seen speaking with a man with red skin and a metallic glint. She was also wearing long sleeves that day.

• The man with red skin is named Noct Wood and was found coming out of the Days’ car. A location for his particular sleeping quarters confirmed.

• The Museum is missing an artifact in the form of a book, confirmed to be the same object Jove Day was trying to sell. The Vref was also responsible for hiring Detective Val Pinot to track it down.

With all this in mind: Who does your character suspect committed the murder based on the info they have found out and what do they intend to do with the info? If they would do anything that could influence the conclusion, please respond HERE.

● ● ●

· OPT-IN PLAYER PLOT

On May 23rd, a post will coincide with the mission's conclusion: an optional player plot! It will be happening in tandem with the official mod conclusion, and will involve Newton Geiszler forming a mental link with the mission's orb, which has its sights set on helping Newt retrieve it so that it may make a deal with the precursors in possession of Newton's body.

Newton will use a limited amount of power offered by the orb to summon a kaiju within the train itself that is large enough to charge through the cars and destroy as much as it can in its path as a distraction and attempted method to kill the currently depowered Ximilia crewmembers.The kaiju will have explicitly mentioned weaknesses listed in the log for convenience's sake, but everyone else is more than free to interact with the kaiju and help try to weaken it, hide from it, or generally end up on the wrong side of some claws.

While the kaiju is being defeated, Newton will also need to be apprehended as he flees through the train cars toward the front of the train; he will be apprehended by the time the train reaches the station to avoid him getting his alien-possessed mits on the orb. Newton will be armed with physical weapons and talismans that are powered by his temporarily mental link with the orb, so there will also be a limited option for characters to interact with and fail to capture him earlier on as well.

Keep in mind you're more than welcome to OPT-OUT as well! There will be an option on the player plot's log itself for your character to be left behind on the tracks, in train cars that have been disconnected by an explosion and left back down the line.

● ● ●

· THE OOC NOTES

Feel free to use this post to plot for any of the player plot items. We will let you format this however you’d like.

Please provide your character’s IC thoughts for the solution of the mystery HERE. The deadline is May 22.

For those who want to participate in the player plot log to deal the final death-blow against the kaiju, sign up HERE. Two (2) participants will be RNG’d to thread out the creature's demise at their leisure in the player plot log.

For those who want to help apprehend Newt, please sign up HERE. Two (2) characters will be RNG'd to apprehend him and will involve a closed thread in the player plot log.

Comments

THE MYSTERY.

[ximilian]

This portion has two sections:

The Mystery of the Murder and ;

The Artifact (the orb).

Input from characters will close on May 22nd, 6PM GMT.

THE MURDER.

[ximilian]

Who does your character suspect based on the information they have found out and what do they intend to do with this information?

If they would do anything that could influence the conclusion, please respond here. This will close on May 22nd, 6PM GMT.

[kovach]

With aid from Clara, Kovacs will seek an audience with Detective Pinot, using his own background in private investigation, as a means to offer his own observation of the details of the case, based on his own findings as well as what's been shared by the others. After all, as much as the group can come up with their conclusions, they won't be able to apprehend any suspects themselves, not when they're all just fellow passengers along for the ride.

If and when he speaks to Pinot, he'll discuss with him the following:

- The body doesn't belong to one Jove Day at all, referencing that Jove was known to have had scars since childhood, but the body of the deceased doesn't have show signs of any marks or scarring aside from the fresh wounds, and the family hadn't been close enough through the years to necessarily confirm his identity. So whose body was it?
- Jove had been attempting to sell the artifact, that everyone is getting their hands on, to a high bidder, ignoring their mother's wishes to give it to the museum. Oden had mentioned Jove being alone on an idea, while Helios and Terra had discussed how Jove couldn't let "it" go, all suggesting discussion of what to do with the artifact — that Jove was the only one of the siblings not willing to make the deal with the museum.
- Either way, the deal fell through, with the likely reason no one knows who the dealer is being that the man in on the deal could have easily been the victim — the man on the train impersonating Jove Day.
- Reason? There was talk of a forged letter from Hortensia held by the victim, likely trying to get his hands on the artifact himself by pretending to be Jove.
- Only that the real Jove wasn't out of the picture — the suspicious red-skinned man, Noct Wood, that was seen coming out of the Day family's car. The most notable thing staff noticed about him was his tendency to wear a jacket and gloves, convenient for disguising those scars.
- Of course, on the exterior, his involvement might just be coincidental, but in his belongings, there is in fact signs that he holds an interest in this case involving the missing artifact, giving him plenty of motive to act against the man positioned in his place.
- Not that he did it alone, especially since it seems there'd have to have been even more of a struggle if it'd been a one-on-one battle. No, he had the help of someone else to accomplish the murder — Goldie Day.
- Goldie's alibi that night has a crack — during the time in which Oden left to smoke and she went off to the bathroom with no one to verify her alibi.
- One of Goldie's ventures does have a witness in which she was seen meeting with a red-skinned man, likely to be the suspicious Noct Wood, all while wearing long sleeves. The latter might not hold much interest, but everyone who got a look at the dead body on the day of, would have seen the blood caught on the nails of one of the hands from a struggle. It might be worth finding out what she may be literally hiding on her sleeve.
- Why Goldie? She's spoken about her closeness to Jove, apparently much closer to one another than the rest, along with some spite about the siblings seeking out the inheritance. Considering that she isn't a blood relative (as per some documents) and a letter from Jove had promised she'd get her share of it, there's plenty of evidence to suggest they might come as a pair in this act.
- (Kovacs will also mention the chosen alias of Noct Wood, a contrast of "night" and "land" to Jove Day's "sky" and "day", slipping in his own opinion that the language play is either genius or just stupidly obvious.)

Whether the detective takes his word for it all in order to further pursue the provided evidence or not, Kovacs will make sure he has all the information available, as a means to at least get to the bottom of the mystery for any further missing pieces.

[laviny]

You know what, Yelena would second this. The language play on the name thing has 100% occurred to her, too.

[hatejakku]

Finn seconds all of this. He would also bring up that it appears Marshall was the likely owner of the murder weapon. Considering that he has a wife he wants to get back to and that Goldie was rooming with him on the train, it just seems like more evidence against her.

(Though, maybe don't want to admit to going through other people's stuff to a detective, idk, Finn's bad at that sort of thing.)

[spacedisaster]

Based on what Peter learned and what the other orbers told him, this theory tracks so he will support it as well.

[majorbiotic]

This is a good theory and Kaidan can get behind it. Also, nice catch on the names.

[deaddrop]

Natasha would sign onto this line of reasoning.

+1

[cruelyethuman]

The darkling would agree with all of this.

+1

[groupiedrifter]

Goldie and Noct are our culprits, probably. Let’s get this crap to Pinot and wash our hands of this.

+ additional shared information, re: the murder weapon

[kovach]

Kovacs will also note the following to Pinot:

- As Finn had suggested earlier, all eyes had been on the prospect of Marshall's missing knife being the potential murder weapon. However, upon discovery of the missing knife, it was determined that not only was its sharpness not aligned with the victim's injuries, but that it likely hadn't seen any use.
- Instead, the murder weapon may prove to be a letter opener in Goldie's possession, noted to be scrubbed clean beyond usual necessity, likely by the rubbing alcohol found in her room.
- It would correlate to the idea that the murderer would require more force towards using it as a weapon, hinting that as Noct Wood held our victim to keep from struggling, Goldie Day used all her might to stab the false Jove with the letter opener.

+1

[tochnyy]

Mal would agree with all this, though he definitely wouldn’t think of it alone.

+1

[bossily]

Clara definitely agreeing with all that Kovacs has pieced together and deduced. His assertions seem spot on.

+1

[calmness]

based on all he's seen and found from talking to others, xichen would 100% agree with kovacs on this one.

[homeostatic]

McCoy is with Kovacs!

THE ORB.

[ximilian]

Where does your character suspect the orb is located? And what would they do to retrieve it?

If they would do anything that could influence the conclusion, please respond here. This will close on May 22nd, 6PM GMT.

Re: THE ORB.

[bindsthedead]

Sabriel suspects the orb is located in Vrefesea, hidden behind a combination lock somewhere in a property owned by Hortensia Day, and will try to find out if Hortensia owned a home or office there. Given the letter emphasized the siblings working together, as well as the words 'Think of your older brother' and 'think of your younger sister' and 'remember to take care of each other, all of you', Sabriel will try to reach any such property, and look for a lock, especially near or behind something associated with/depicting the siblings, particularly Luna and Oden, the youngest sister and and older brother, and try using the combination found in the letter.

She would absolutely share her theory with others, and suggest they go with her, or split up if there are multiple properties.

[aurable]

Drift is under the impression that orb is certainly this mysterious book (he has taken to calling it the Borb along with everyone else who has given up on offering any gravitas to what they do) and expressed his concern if it's not directly with Hortensia's remains it's on her property. Combination locks are always a riddle with extra steps, and would gladly brainstorm with Sabriel, the devil in the details, before partaking in some old fashioned breaking&entering

Had he throw out the obvious astrological nature of the Day family naming conventions as a starting point for the combination?

[bindsthedead]

Possibly? Although it looks like there's already a combination listed in the letter, beneath Hortensia's name.

But Sabriel is definitely up for brainstorming/considering possible pitfalls and methods of approach for getting the Borb.

[hatejakku]

Finn's a big +1 on this whole thing. Although, he would bring up that it appears the family moved around a lot and suggest it could be at a particular childhood home of the "older brother" or "younger sister."

But it's really just a suggestion to cover their bases. His thoughts are aligned with Sabriel's on this.

EDIT: In light of what Clara & co. discovered, Finn's first stop is also going to be the train station.

[whitestonelives]

Percy's of the same mind here, and will offer assistance with breaking and entering! if multiple properties come into play, he'll suggest that to lessen the risk of being caught, they do the break-in in pairs - one as a lookout and one rummaging around looking for some kind of special lock.

also he is willing to give people explosives in case they need to blow shit up and smoke bombs in case they need to make an escape.

[peasant]

now under the right comment, oops! no one saw me misfire.

clara, marta, alina and rhys' search group uncovered that the book orb (borb) is likely located on the station at vrefesea! once they've arrived, alina would suggest they use sabriel's clues to search for hortensia day's station locker, where they can test the combination that sabriel's group discovered to unlock said locker.

[bindsthedead]

Sabriel would second this! And suggest that 'Think of your older brother' and 'Think of your younger sister', are clues to which locker it is- assuming the day of the week count starts at Sunday, that would mean lockers 42 and 24 should be searched, if Hortensia didn't have a locker reserved for her personal use.

And then move on to searching Hortensia's home if that doesn't pan out.

EDIT: After further discussion, Sabriel will also suggest searching lockers 31 and 13.

+1

[cruelyethuman]

Combined with the search results from hus own group and what Alina's group found - on the station, the combination code in the letters and Sabriel's suggestion of how to find the correct locker.

[deaddrop]

Sorry for the late response! Natasha would be interested in searching for the orb in Vrefesea. I think she'll be sort of following the lead here, but absolutely looking for any places her skills might be useful.

She'll also be keeping a sharp eye out for anyone else who seems to be searching for the orb.