Awards Killing Game 2x2: Moon of Hope (Game Thread) - Day 2 - Interghoulactic Space Program

Vigil puffs his cigar and nods.

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"This is a crime scene, and this man fought with me in battle!
Have some respect!"
 
Can we compare the items not from the exhibits found near the body to the stab wounds and see if any of them match up?

I also noticed that a knife was missing in the Smokehouse- is there one of similar size we could compare the stab wounds to as well?
 
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Hey everyone... bit of a rough night, huh?

So upon waking up I decide to pass through the Aviation and Space Exhibits, confident that neither will have any further relevance, on my way to survey the Kitchen. Turns out, it's all completely ruined, except the knives for some reason.

I remember my experience yesterday where I was not afforded an NPC favour despite provably - at one point - having voted for the correct culprit, before Turb used his powers of misdirection to make me suspect him instead. Therefore I decide to read up in the Library on some legal clauses that will help me out, during which Victor passes through. Having prepared my case, I find King Blocky Boo and request that he grant me one favour: completely fix the Kitchen so I can enjoy a bowl of tea or a cup of cereal or whatever it is I usually eat. He agrees but - in a very nasty move - completely removes any trace of tea or cereal. My heart breaks on the spot. I head downstairs, passing Lyra, who's carrying presumably coffee in a large thermos.

In the Garage, I meet my good friend Vigil and ask him for a chat in dead Thanos's car, but the car is gone, and motor oil is everywhere... oh no! It's on fire, I yell, as I run out with a fire extinguisher and try to salvage what I can, passing Jackson. But it's too late - someone has murdered this priceless automobile which belonged to one of Marvel's famousest actors. I look upon the burnt-out remains and ask Vigil if he'd like to have our boys chat in the car anyway, and he says sure. I asked him why his favourite food is a "biohazard" and the answer was kind of boring honestly so I started to work on a little side project. I think he enjoyed spending time with me though. I think this was good for both of our mental healves and we could maybe do it again on Night 6?

I then return to the Garage and see Jackson again, except this time he has a new face and was holding some kind of painting. Heading upstairs, I meet up with the Wii Fit Trainer in the Clock Tower Heights and invite her to guest on my podcast, to which she enthusiastically agrees

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It's a decent start to the record, despite my guest's unwillingness to sit down due to being a bit undead. I ask Wii Fit Trainer for health tips but realise that as she's dead I should probably ask elsewhere. I ask how it feels to be a ghost and she just glares at me. I ask if she'll help lead a live fitness demonstration that my listeners can enjoy through audio.

Before the session, I check the Dining Room to see if anyone is around and wants to join. Sir Ratigan enters and partakes in a few jumping jacks, but seems to get tired quickly and leans over the fireplace, then leaves shortly after. Portricia and Tanner show up and get well into the swing of things. Tanner was more into it than Portricia, she seemed to have other business in the Parlor. Some of the instructions were weird and then for some reason Wii Fit Trainer started getting fiery and speeding up, I could tell everyone was struggling to keep up. Former guest Lee Chaolan enters and gets into the swing of things but... steals my glasses? I didn't know I was wearing any.

As I depart, Wii Fit Trainer is still dancing, when out of NOWHERE she launches a fireball at me and knocks me into the hallway. What the hell guys! I flee down to the Tree Roots and find that someone's dug a massive hole.

While in the Basement, I take the opportunity to investigate the area a bit more. I check out the Quarry and Dark Lab and investigate a bit, grabbing documents that seem relevant. I later spot Lulu, Reigen and Winter emerging from the Maintenance Hub, wet and covered in frozen paper. I head towards the Smuggler's Hideout and spot some red paint on the ground, remembering the paint incident yesterday and deciding against a repeat of that. Before heading to bed, I take a final look at the Archives based on the info I found last night, and then head to bed.

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I guess today, could've gone better, but-

...

...Huh. That was weird. Lost my train of thought. I know what'll help - let's listen to my podcast recording to see if I picked up anything incriminating.
 



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Well, would you look at that? You managed to find your way to the bottom of the lake all on your own. Not bad for a lizard whichever empty-headed losers decided to tag along. Kyahahah! Well, celebrate your victory while you can, because I found plenty of information on my own - and I didn't even need to both with some dumb lake-turned-spitball. Of course, I'll throw you a bone and share.

I just need a... Hm. Does this Gadd Zooks guy have a whiteboard anywhere? Let's see uh... Aha!


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I'm not going to apologize for my middling artistic abilities. The arts and humanities are for lesser beings, plain and simple. Besides, I'm a scientist. We all have bad handwriting. It's practically part of the job description. I'll just need a place to jot a couple of diagrams down, don't expect me to draw my night like some kind of sicko.

Unlike the rest of you, I had some higher ideas in mind for my incentive from the trial. I get to force a favor from one of the residents of this place? Well I'm going straight to the top - to the big dog himself! Kyahaha! But first, when I woke up I went to go get a couple of paint packets, just in case. Historically, those always come in handy. Lee Chaolan was in the Studio too. Guess he had the same idea - a momentary flash of brilliance. After that, I just went upstairs. There was some knight fixing a hole in the floor, but I'm employed - so I didn't care about that.

This big square ghost is obviously high on his own supply, so I correctly assumed he would like some coffee. I went to brew him some in the Kitchen, obliterated though it may have been, when...

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The place flashed with some unknown Esoteric signature, then... it was all fixed! It was like no one'd ever touched it! Of course, it wasn't flooded yet either. I just made the coffee and filled up a thermos. I took it over to see the "King" himself in Horology, but all I can really say about that whole trip is that I saw MCD in the hall looking paranoid, and some creep was sitting around in the Greenhouse behind the plants. Don't know what they were doing, I don't care.

I met up with our host and then...


[CONTROL OVERRIDE ENGAGED]
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//:It was quite the enlightening conversation. Yes, yes. Our host knows a great many things that will be extremely valuable to our research. I would like to thank him for his compliance in our survey of this place and the energies that pulse below the surface of this world.://

[CONTROL OVERRIDE DISENGAGED]



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I... don't really remember what we talked about, only that... he gave me a couple books. I think they have... some kind of information. I'll present them later.


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Anyway, I had places to be. Things to research. The Dark Moon, the Sun Stone, in my infinite originality I had a few leads on places I could go investigate - but first, I thought I should get my hands on one of those Dark Lights. They may just be this complex's take on a basic Esotera detector, but it's better to have the tools you need to get the job done. I took the elevator downstairs to the basement levels and ran into that lizard again, along with his friend - the turtle I've already taken the liberty of classifying. I didn't pay them much mind, I just went to the Dark Lab to arm myself.

Of course, I'm more than familiar with the proclivity of Killing Games to feature some level of interaction with mysterious and potentially Occultic-aligned crystals, so I thought I'd look around the Crystal Mines with my Dark Light. They reacted about how you would expect, but in the process, I managed to find another book. Kyeheheh, you jealous?


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Next, I went to the Clockworks. Through careful observation, I was able to locate this strange symbol around the gears. A pentagram in shape, or maybe a star. In any case, it was surrounded by what appears to be roman numerals of some sort, indicating an order of operations, or some kind of password. Don't say I don't do anything for this research team, hm?

After that, I went to the Hydro Generators to gather up some Water Sprites. The idea was that I would use this to flood the bottom of the canyon outside, providing a comfortable cushion to a fall and preventing an prospective explorer like myself from dashing my brains out on the stalagmites on the bottom. Porticia seemed like she was gathering some sprites as well, but she left fairly soon after I started my own containment work. With the apparitions firmly secured in my coffee thermos, I went back upstairs to investigate my next venue: the fountain.


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I suspected this area contained a Dark Moon Shard, but when I showed up, it was frozen solid, with a bunch of smoldering ashes around it and water splashed everywhere. This was an unexpected roadblock in the progress of my night, so I ended up just trying to smash through it by hand, hammering on the ice with my thermos and fists, tearing out sheets of ice as I went. I'm not built for this, you know. I messed up my hands and wrists pretty bad, but in the name of discovery... what else was I supposed to do?

When I made a big enough hole in the ice, I jumped in to investigate the basin proper, except... It was boiling hot! I jumped out as soon as I could, now soaking wet, injured, and with nothing to show for it! What a joke! Whatever, the Canyon awaited, and there were two morons wandering the garden anyway, I didn't want to deal with them, so I just left.


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I took my rope from the previous day to the Canyon, and tried to rappel down. I couldn't make it all the way, and the water sprites were less than useless, they just hit the bottom and exploded into water. It wasn't enough - or even close. I suppose I overestimated the Anomalies that spawn within this complex. It doesn't matter though, because I found something quite interesting.

There was a camera halfway down the canyon, looking like something utilizing Dark Light technology. There was a wooden sign too, with what appeared to be the astrological sign for Pluto drawn on it. You're lucky I'm in a... good mood, because this kind of Stellaric crap really drives me crazy. Dr. Zooks must be a total hack if he buys into this, kyahahaha!


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Well, after the damage my hands and wrists had suffered because of the ice, continuing my descent wouldn't have been particularly pleasant, so I climbed back up - only to run into that lizard and his band of suck-ups! He had the sheer brass balls to come up to me and bandage my hands too, like I needed his damn help!

Whatever. I went back to bed after that. Next time, I'll make sure he thinks twice before lying a hand on me. I couldn't sleep for shit though, someone was smashing up the gallery all night like a total troglodyte. Just my luck!

 
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Well then, since it's been quiet for a while, let me recall to you the events of tonight.

I first entered the Library, where the posh Cyndaquil was poring over several thick law books, assessing their weight with one book in each hand. I then passed through the West Gallery and Passage en route to the Shaft. Mona was hovering over the hole, now wearing a suit of armor. Next, I entered the Garage and rummaged through one of the drawers just as Winter entered to leave for the Forest, and Lash popped his head in. Who do they think they are, trying to intrude on my genius?

From there, I headed into the Studio, where I worked upon a painting of one of the girls I had targeted in the past. I even vandalized one of the portraits to make it look sad--by which I mean, even better! Wahaha!

Next, I went into the Metal Laboratory and sighted Albina. On my way to the Shaft, Jackson entered from the Garage, now bald, and headed for the Studio.

In the Crystal Quarry, my next destination, I spoke with Tanner for a bit. Portricia then showed up after a while, and the two of them headed elsewhere. I took this opportunity to search for some hidden treasures that could help me skedaddle out of this dump... but instead, I found Lulu. As I followed her around, the two of us looked around the "Solaire of the Sun" coffin. There were also other coffins, but they were all open and nothing of value was inside, except one with a camera with a letter Z on it that seemed to be turned off... What could it mean?

Exiting into the Basin, I tried to trip Lulu on the ice, but she saw through my evil scheme! We then rushed into the Tomb, which was eerily quiet and had strange inscriptions on the wall in a language beyond my comprehension. That was a waste of time, so I split from Lulu as she headed for the Maintenance Hub, and I continued upstairs to the Metal Lab. Jackson passed me on the way to his bedroom, except this time he had a paint can over his head. Good-the pressure seems to be getting to him!

I then returned to my bedroom, pausing in the hallway to watch Albina for a bit before I fell asleep.
 



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Well, after the damage my hands and wrists had suffered because of the ice, continuing my descent wouldn't have been particularly pleasant, so I climbed back up - only to run into that lizard and his band of suck-ups! He had the sheer brass balls to come up to me and bandage my hands too, like I needed his damn help!

Whatever. I went back to bed after that. Next time, I'll make sure he thinks twice before lying a hand on me. I couldn't sleep for shit though, someone was smashing up the gallery all night like a total troglodyte. Just my luck!


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WINTER:
Well, that seems to be healing properly, at least.

I still have no idea how you managed to do that to yourself.
But I don't blame you. This entire location is like a security vacuum, held together by malice and incompetence.

 
Can I take a look at the faucet in the kitchen? Has it been tampered with? Tear the damn thing off with my bare hands if I have to to look inside.

If nothing's in there, can I follow the pipe to check where the magic water came from, and what caused it to flood out like that?
 
While we're looking at the kitchen examine the splashes of water on the wall more closely to see if it's just water or if there's something else mixed in
 
Let's inspect the rooms directly adjacent to the Kitchen. Does anything stand out? How wet is each room relative to the Kitchen and the Space Exhibit? For that matter, how far has the water spread in all directions?
 
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Also check the space and aviation exhibits for possible sources of water. Maybe there's a large comet replica in there that can be melted or something idk.
 
Check the damage on the east and west galleries
You examine the East Gallery, and yeah someone's smashed every single vase, pot, or ceramic artwork in here. Some of the shards are laying scattered on the ground as if they were messed with or kicked around afterward as well to examine them. Some of the sturdier statues made of metal or marble are in tact.

The West Gallery is now no more Gallery, but is still West. All of the paintings have been taken off the walls, and are nowhere to be seen. Completely unrelated to this is a burnt pile of wood, canvases, and ash in the corner of the room by a fire extinguisher. Some of the smaller paintings appear to be fully in tact, unharmed by the fire. You notice a bit of wall damage, but most notably is an inlaid steel shutter on one of the walls. It doesn't appear to be openable, there is no keyhole in sight.

Can we compare the items not from the exhibits found near the body to the stab wounds and see if any of them match up?

I also noticed that a knife was missing in the Smokehouse- is there one of similar size we could compare the stab wounds to as well?
You take some of the objects scattered around the exhibits, and try comparing them to the wound. Due to its irregularity, its hard to get an exact match for anything, but you note the stray clock hand or loose kitchen knives are not really close at all. Of the items present, the chisel appears to have the right thickness to cause the lacerations and thick stab marks near the front of his chest, but the wound is much deeper. You take a butchers knife from the smokehouse, which seems to be the right length, but it seems the stab wound is too irregular.

...Huh. That was weird. Lost my train of thought. I know what'll help - let's listen to my podcast recording to see if I picked up anything incriminating.
You play back your podcast, but have to wait for the ads to finish before the content starts. Don't use adblockers, it hurts content creators like yourself. (Result soon)

Can I take a look at the faucet in the kitchen? Has it been tampered with? Tear the damn thing off with my bare hands if I have to to look inside.

If nothing's in there, can I follow the pipe to check where the magic water came from, and what caused it to flood out like that?

While we're looking at the kitchen examine the splashes of water on the wall more closely to see if it's just water or if there's something else mixed in
You examine the kitchen sink. The water is rather impure, it seems to have been left overnight. A few cooking utensils are in here, mostly rolling pins, cutting knives and boards, some small pots. A lone butcher's knife sits on top of all of that. Theres a lot of carved pumpkin skins in one of the trash cans near the sink. You examine the walls of the Kitchen and things splashed on them. You note there is splashed water running down the walls near the door to the Space Exhibit, and a pie has been splattered rather forcefully over the sink.

The flow rate for the sink faucet is standard and unmagical, and hasn't been tampered with, so before you punch the walls, Tanner sighs and describes the plumbing to the facility; all sources of expelled freshwater in the Complex converge in the Sewers, which connects to the Hydro Generators for cleaning, and pumps fresh water inside several large basins to provides electricity in return. There are very few truly magical sources of water inside the facility itself, but he states there is a certain faucet in the Hydro Generators that creates water elementals.

Let's inspect the rooms directly adjacent to the Kitchen. Does anything stand out? How wet is each room relative to the Kitchen and the Space Exhibit? For that matter, how far has the water spread on all directions?
You examine the rooms adjacent to the Kitchen for wetness. The arid Smokehouse appears to have lots of water pooling by the door, but it hasn't flooded very far in. A set of wet footprints is here, but drying fast due to the room's purpose. It's a similar story in the Dining Room, with the flooding going even less into the room, but the carpet preserves a wet set of footprints leading from the kitchen and to the lounge suite and fireplace, before becoming a bit harder to follow due to the heat drying the room thereafter. There is still podcast equipment and orange paint from the previous night, though the drink glasses are gone. You notice a lone pie sitting on the table.

Also check the space and aviation exhibits for possible sources of water. Maybe there's a large comet replica in there that can be melted or something idk.
You examine these exhibits. Seems there's a fire helicopter model in the aviation exhibit with water bucket dumping action. The space exhibit notes that some planets have freshwater on them, and that comets are made of ice. There is indeed a replica ice comet behind a pane of glass in the wall, sparkling nicely, but its certainly not large enough to cause this level of flooding.
 
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What sort of trickery is this?! You- you cannot stab a ghost! That's- that's- that's just utterly preposterous, and that amount of blood? Boo Diddlies don't have blood! Neither do Dark Bones! The jury's still out on Red Bones, but we're- we're not dealing with one of those right now. Allegedly. The point being, this entire scenario is absurd, and a prime example of undead treachery, and frankly an insult to my intelligence to try and pull a stunt like this with a premier ghost hunter such as myself around! I- I am completely appalled!

Still, the self-appointed powers that be insist on treating this as a legitimate murder case, so I suppose we had better attempt to "solve" it if only to save our necks.

Night 2 of the Grand Experiment
I am led to understand that restoring the Dark Moon to its original state is the key to ousting the "king". Prince Winter has been able to gather some leads which I intended to follow up on tonight. I left my quarters, hearing Luke Atmey's door open, and made my way to the Archives. Despite my high intelligence, and multiple attempts, I was unable to guess any passwords for the computer's files. Perhaps Gadd left sticky notes somewhere around the place. Ratigan briefly came in as I worked to intensely study a box, but did not notice me.

With my password cracking attempts unsuccessful, I left for the Study to learn about the world exhibits in this facility, as they are allegedly tied to one of the Dark Moon shards. I was able to photocopy a document on their functions which I will review in greater detail when time allows. No one entered during this time, suggesting the youth of today has forgotten the value of reading. This will be important to keep in mind for the future production of autobiographical materials.

Prince Winter's intel also suggested the outside fountain to be tied to another Dark Moon shard, so I began preparing materials for experimentation. In the Garage, I spent some time acquiring appropriate welding tools. Luke Atmey entered and rudely saw it fit to flick me with red paint for no apparent reason. It seemed to be a popular spot as several of us entered and exited, Prince Winter among them, but the rest of their identities being rather foggy. I'm old.

I then acquired a bucket and pickaxe from the Quarry Pit, seeing Prince Winter once more as he emerged from the Dark Lab. We left at the same time and parted ways as I entered the Foyer, seeing Lee Chaolan heading east. I went outside to get water from the Icy Lake, and on the way there I spotted an anvil strapped to the wires of the Terminal. Unfortunately, previous research has concluded that anvils are worthless in ghostly combat so I paid it no mind.

With all supplies gathered, I returned to the fountain, seeing Albina leaving the area. Before beginning my experiments, I discovered that the water had already been frozen. The ice itself reacted under darklight. The hands of the fountain statue depict a symbol of unknown significance, which I have recreated here.
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When observed under darklight, the basin displays the inscription "THAT GILDED ITEM IS NOT MINE, RETURN IT TO THE WATER AT ONCE.", and at its base, "OLD CLOCKWORKS". Suspecting that the fountain may be tied to elements in some way, I began gathering supplies to start a fire and heat up the water, noting that someone had been digging around in the gardens, and seeing Lulu passing through to look at the fountain. After beginning the experiment, subject Vigil approached me to ask about unusual happenings. The distraction left me unable to observe the results, then I heard a thump and the ice shattered. Upon inspection, water and ice had splashed over the edge, and there were wet footprints heading east. I suspect that subject Vigil's distraction may have been intentional. The water within the fountain was notably more reactive to darklight than the ice from earlier. Striking the fountain with a pickaxe yielded no results.

After completion of the experiments, I visited the Clock Tower to observe an exercise event led by previously undocumented subject Wii Fit Trainer, finding only subject Mona present. Naturally, I am in peak physical condition for a Koopa of my age and did not need to participate in any exercises, and spent my time there conversing with Mona, who has opted for a suit of armor in lieu of her physical body. Afterward, I returned to my bedroom and went to sleep for the night.
 
Is there anything cool in the hydro generator room?

Or anything lame for that matter?

Or really anything at all?
 
Go back to my room and look for the fish outside, examine it
 
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