[ti]dungeon[/ti]Round 2: Drink Till We're Offline

PRAY OR SACRIFICE?

Finn swats at the pop-up as if its a fly buzzing around his UI. "Sacrifice," he states aloud, "I was trying to read some shit."

That's when Yggy Br00ks approaches him, and Finn acknowledges her with a tilt of his chin. Apparently she and Alice! have been worried, which surprises him, but he takes it in stride. "Oh, some of the Bros were telling me to drink..."

He doesn't really remember coming outside to the Keg, yet here he was.

"I don't really know how I got here. Have you seen Caiman?"

Yggy starts yelling at the Poke-Pong table, which feels like Finn's cue to sneak back inside. Everyone and everything at this party was insane. He's hailed by Furrlicity Purrfection, next, and spends a few nostalgic minutes banging out increasingly wild theories.

When Chadwick's answered the others' questions, Finn starts in with the air of a detective in a film noir.

"What move mod was missing?" He leans in. "Can any of the Bros vouch for your whereabouts? What's your partner Pokemon, Chadwick?"

Where Yggy had been apologetic in her questioning, Finn is rather ruthless. He compares notes with Furrlicity again, squinting.

"I guess I'll go check out the attic," Finn shrugs. "We'll catch up in a bit."

Making his way up to the dusty ATTIC full of memories, Finn fixates on the WET SACK. What was it? Was there anything inside? What had made it wet?

Round 2: Drink Till We're Offline
Final Round

GARDEN

Yggy Br00ks's shout fills the garden. Like a mic test at an amateur comedy night, her words interrupt the friendly mingling and occasional cheers from the partying bros.

She call out to the unknown.

To the unseen.

To the voice on the wind and the black hand that writes the words.

She makes contact.

Yggy's hands burst with ink. It streams across her arms, forming twisted symbols that run in lines up and down her forearms and across her bare stomach.

Whatever is trapped in the darkness has heard her, and like a drowning man in the sea has latched on.

Dark lines appear in her vision. Writing across every available surface. Squiggled instructions written with desperate, sloppy fervor.

The trapped person is sending messages directly to Yggy, though they are visible to anyone with +5 Winning. Decoding the new writing that is all over the garden reveals three things.
1. The voice is trapped nearby.
2. They are getting more desperate, worried that their time is running short.
3. That their prison can only be broken using the Murder Weapon.

As the symbols are decoded, a new quest appears in everyone's UI.

Save the trapped voice! Hit the prison with the Murder Weapon to free him before he drowns!

ATTIC

Some deals don't require a long, legalese contract and a confirmation checkbox. A careless swat at the UI and the Finnegan Fjord's contract is sealed. He picked his poison, and now Shinx must lie in it.

The pair race back into the house. Both Croconaw and Mudkip have disappeared, corrupted and now hunting his friend Tuesday, but Finn will always have Shinx by his side.

Well, he would have if he hadn't just sacrificed it to the keg.

The transformation starts slow.

On their way into the manor Shinx's fur drinks in the lengthening shadows. Fresh patches of dark fur blot out all the pale blue and cheery yellow in favor of pitch darkness. In the doll room Shinx's fur becomes sharp and brittle, clumping in hard spikes like the thorns of a bramble bush, and as they climb the stairs up into the attic Shinx's body convulses.

The tiny Pokemon screams as it bends in on itself, rolling up tight into a thorny ball. Ichor seeps from the body of Finn's sacrifice, hardening into crooked twigs of darkness that engulf Shinx in a groaning thicket. The thorny branches grow and split, weaving a dense cocoon around the beating core of Finn's ex-Pokemon.

Tangled legs form from blackened branches, and the creature rises, taking shape. The Shinx at its heart IGNITES, and the corrupted creature is lit from within by festering flames from the Pokemon that now fuels it.

The monster has no eyes, but Finn can sense its attention fall on him.

For a tense second it seems like it may crush him with its bramble bulk, but no. There is no retribution for bowing to a greater power.

Finn has awakened something dark and primal. A blackened tree with a burning, wicker heart.

With a strike that shakes the house the bramble beast tears a hole in the attic floor. It drops down into the manor, destroying the ladder as it heads back into the house and straight towards Tuesday.

GREENHOUSE

Tuesday flees through the mansion, laying traps and forming barricades with her Alchemist powers. She hears roars and heavy thumps as Groudon and Thwackey slip on the icy floor and slam into a wall. But the ice will only slow the monsters for so long.

Bulbasaur and a pair of Mudkips sink straight into the poison trench, only to emerge, dripping and sizzling, from the other side. What is a little poison to a creature so deeply tainted by wrongness?

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The once silent monsters crackle and roar with inner fire, and Croconaw and Grookey pound on the golden walls of the greenhouse, demanding entry. They are drawn to Tuesday. Commanded by a greater power to destroy the threat that she poses.

Inside, Tuesday and Furrlicity Purrfection have time to reinforce the walls more, even to lock the door with the key that Chadwick gave them. The 24-karat defenses hold up, even as the other changed Pokemon join the assault, slamming their bodies against the walls of the safehouse. With each blow the gold warps a little more. Hinges creak. Frames crack.

Until the noise from outside stops.

There is a tiny, helpful, click, as Bergamot Gristleborg's Klefki unlocks the door to the greenhouse, and the monsters flood in, desperate to attack Tuesday and any others who shelter within. A second later Finnegan Fjord's Briar Beast steps clear over the poison trench and slams into the front wall of the greenhouse, crumpling the golden barrier like aluminum foil.

Tuesday and Furrlicity Purrfection are being Hunted by 9 Changed Pokemon

While being hunted, roll a d20 with each post.

If you roll less than the DC set, you will be caught and attacked. The total DC is split between those being hunted based on their previous actions, and which creatures are hunting them.

Tuesday: DC 13 (including the Briar Beast)
Furrlicity Purrfection: DC 5

Setting a trap or taking evasive actions will give you a +2 to your roll.

Through cunning choices and #Badass actions it may be possible to split the attention of the Pokemon hunting you.

If you fail to roll before the end of the round you will automatically roll a 1.

SECRET ROOM

The glowing arch dissolves in a flash of light, revealing the room beyond. As you enter the location indicator in your UI changes from 'Bronstanton Manor - Hallway' to 'Bronstanton Manor - Secret Room'.

The room is brightly lit. All the better for planning. The center is dominated by a huge table covered in plans and maps, complete with carved tactical figurines of the Asper Shrines, the (now familiar) form of Reginald Bronstanton, and an unknown blonde man with a powerful moustache.

But while the table lends the study the air of a war room, the walls tip decidedly towards madness. Printouts of energy readings, spectrographic corruption samples, and snippets of fairytales and poetry are pinned to the felt wall, all connected with bright red string. Above it all is a broad banner with the words 'Knights of the First Round' written in pristine letters. The initials R.B. and a lone C are clear in the corner.

You notice two other things immediately. Firstly, the room is a mess. Not just the 'mad scientist' vibes of the walls, but that there are pages scattered across the floor. The desk in the corner has had its drawers pulled out, and the insides dumped on the floor. Someone has been searching this room.

The second thing you notice is that they found what they were after. A framed portrait of Ophelia Bronstanton hangs, slashed, on the wall. Behind it is a wall safe, which has been smashed open by a powerful attack and emptied of valuables. Liquid drips from the walls of the safe. Upon inspection it is clear, pure water.

---

DOSSIERS

SUSPECT 6: CHADWICK BRONSTANTON
Statement and answers: "It was just a totally normal night. I had dinner with Mom and left the house to go see my bros in town. I didn't stay out too late, and didn't notice anything weird when I went to bed. When I woke up in the afternoon...everyone was..."

"A motive, hmmm." Chadwick gives Yggy Br00ks a pensive fist bump. "Well, they were super rich, so they probably had enemies. People who like, wanted all the sick stuff they had, I guess. But that doesn't make much sense to me. Dad didn't even have a jetski!" He thought harder. "I remember Mom was arguing with Emmerich the day she was murdered, but that was because she wanted ice cream for dessert instead of some weird kale cake he'd made. Mum loved ice cream. Especially weird flavors. I swear that's half of why she hired Miss Putters in the first place!"

"As for Crumb? I don't really see him much. He's always outside trimming the trees and stuff, or working in the greenhouse. Sometimes he even works at night, trimming the grass to make it perfect. The dude's a real perfectionist."

Furrlicity Purrfection
"Mum and I had dinner together at, like seven thirty? I was in a hurry so I smashed dessert and headed straight out the door a bit before eight."

"The Snubbul is called Jaws. He's her guard dog. He never leaves her side. He's trained to attack any threats." Chadwick pulls out the Golden Tooth brought to him by Ruby. "One of your friend found this in the carpet. Maybe Jaws attacked the ice cream?" He frowns. "But that doesn't make any sense. I ate it too and I'm fine!"

"The weird thing is that he was saving up to buy a King's Rock to get a Politoed. He never wanted a Poliwrath. I've got no idea how it evolved but he wasn't happy about it."

Finnegan Fjord
Chadwick looks over the details of the weapons cabinet. "Third from the left. Bottom row. That's gotta be Wood Hammer! I never used it myself. Bruiser is a lover, not a fighter." Chadwick calls over his partner Pokemon, the Audino that Furrlicity Purrfection helped him catch. "Yeah man I was at a party with like thirty other bros, we've got pics and everything. But that doesn't really cover me for Dad's death though. I got home a bit after midnight. I couldn't find him when I got home actually, but he certainly wasn't just lying in the hallway."

Tuesday
"Bruiser's most powerful move? Uh..." Chadwick looks at Audino, who looks back with wide, innocent eyes. "It's okay, show them." Audino rears back and slams into one of the snack tables with a brutal Last Resort, cracking the folding table in half the wrong way and sending snacks across the lawn. Hungry Pokemon swarm in to snap up the chocolatey and cheesy treats.

VICTIM 1: REGINALD BRONSTANTON

• Former owner of the mansion, and head of the Bronstanton household
• His portrait shows dark hair and a kind smile, just like his son
• Killed by a powerful blow from a blunt object to the back of the head.
• Time of death: Thursday morning, between 2am and 3 am.
• The Bronstanton family owe their wealth to buying and trading evolutionary stones. Recently, with the influx of new players into the Asper region, and the introduction of Trainer Stars, Water Stones have skyrocketed in value, making the already rich family into multi-millionaires.
• A portion of the family fortune was kept in Reginald's study NEW
• The safe in the study has been broken open, and the water stones were stolen NEW
• The bag containing the stones was found in the attic. It is unknown if any are missing NEW

VICTIM 2: OPHELIA BRONSTANTON

• Loves music and dancing, and has a terrible sweet tooth.
• Favorite food is Para-Lychee Ice Cream, much to the annoyance of Elmerich.
• The terrible stain on the floor of the dining room is from a bowl of spilled ice cream, long since spoiled.
• The Bronstanton manor is in great condition. The patch of mildew in the corner of the dining room is very out of place.
• Killed by ingesting a lethal dose of Poison Powder.
• Time of death: Wednesday evening. Approximately 8pm.
• Ophelia's partner Pokemon Snubbul is a trained guard dog, who also has a terrible sweet tooth
• Snubbul tried to attack the ice cream on the night Ophelia was killed NEW

SUSPECT 3: THICC ELMERICH

• Personal trainer of the Bronstanton family, responsible for physical fitness and nutrition.
• Often clashed with Miss Putters, fighting over which foods were suitable.
• His partner Pokemon is a Poliwrath, which recently evolved, which he was very unhappy about NEW
• The damage in the gym floor looks like it was made by a heavy, blunt object.
• The Wood Hammer Move Mod is missing from his training gear NEW
• The drawer holding the Move Mods is usually locked, but it has been
  busted open NEW
• Elmerich's Poliwhirl is known for its powerful Move Modded Flamethrower.

SUSPECT 5: MISS PUTTERS

• A chef by trade, Miss Putters has been feeding the Bronstanton family for many years. She practically lives in the kitchen, preparing delicious, gourmet meals with the help of her Pokemon.
• Her partner Pokemon Vanillish is a master of crafting frozen treats, and together they have won many awards for their ice creams
• The freezer is full of her delicious frozen treats, including several tubs of her famous Para-Lychee Ice Cream. It's so good it'll make your tongue numb for hours!
• The spice rack contained jars of ethically sourced status powders

SUSPECT 4: GROUNDSKEEPER CRUMB

• Solitary. Remains in the Greenhouse or in the manor gardens at all times, making sure that the greenery around the estate is immaculate.
• Partner Pokemon is a Butterfree
• There are numerous bags of collected status powders stacked and labelled in the shed. They looks ready for sale NEW
• Tools are all put away nicely in the shed. Nothing it out of place, and there is no sign of blood on any of the tools NEW
• There is a wooden spoon shoved up into the lawnmower NEW

IMPORTANT

Players are now able to accuse one of the suspects by listing the murderer, murder weapon, and the motive and laying out how the crime was committed.

Players will receive extra rewards for identifying at least one of the three correctly.

Remember, NPCs can only be killed by an attack from a Super Effective type move.

Please review the details carefully, and feel free to work together with other players to reach a conclusion.

Items of Interest

SPOILER: Click to show

{Greenhouse - NEW}Out the kitchen door and down a brick path lies the Greenhouse. Lush and humid all year round, the greenhouse is filled with perfectly kept vegetation, most of which ends up on the Bronstanton dinner table, or in the vases of flowers scattered throughout the mansion.

The plants are tended to by Groundskeeper Crumb and his partner Pokemon Butterfree. Crumb keeps all his tools and various gardening supplies in a small shed in the far corner of the greenhouse.

There are no tasks for this area. Instead, additional information in the dossiers will be unlocked by entering, exploring, and interacting.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Attic - NEW}Through the Creepy Doll Room and up the ladder is the attic. Chill drafts coil through the air like ghostly snakes, weaving between sharpie-labelled boxes of seasonal ornaments and antiques wrapped in newspaper. The dusty carboard boxes have been stacked to make rough rows, and players can wander down the literal memory lanes that stretch above all the other rooms of the house.

Everything here is dry, dusty, or cold, aside from a wet sack stuffed hastily behind one of the beams.

There are no tasks for this area. Instead, additional information in the dossiers will be unlocked by entering, exploring, and interacting.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Hall of Hammers}Stretching elegantly from the Foyer to the spacious Dining Room is a hallway full of family portraits. The names are long and hyphenated, but all the men and women captured in the gorgeous oil paintings bear the same iconic square jaw and cheerful eyes.

Since taking over the mansion, Round 2 have set up what can best be described as a 'gauntlet' of rubber hammer traps, each designed to be surprising, hilarious, and teambuilding, ideally going off in a Rube Goldberg-esque way, with each hammer triggering the next.

Doors lead off the hallway into the Kitchen and the Training Room, and there is a set of blocked stairs leading to the second floor.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Training Room} On another day, this matted room would be full of some sick rock tunes and bros helping each other with deadlifts. At the moment it has been cleared out for the murder investigation, and somber, respectful rock plays from the boombox in the corner.

Weights and punching bags litter the floor, but this room is for Pokemon training too, and there is plenty of specialized equipment. Insulated pads for electric types, fireproof pads for fire types, as well as plenty of stacks of clay tiles and wooden boards. Those last two aren't for any particular Pokemon, everyone just loves breaking them and looking cool.

The door leading from the Training Room into the adjacent bedroom is now OPEN.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Kitchen} Plenty of counter space, a double-doored fridge, a spice rack filled with every possible flavor enhancement, and plenty of natural light. This place is a DREAM. There's even room for a whole bookshelf of recipe books, and an indoor herb garden! You can be sure that the Round 2 bros have been putting this place to good use, whipping up plenty of hearty meals and brotein shakes, as well as mixing alcohol with everything left in the fridge to see what tastes good.

The door leading from the Kitchen into the Backyard is now OPEN.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Dining Room}Wall shelves filled with knickknacks give this room a homey feel. There isn't an inch of space left on the walls, and visitors to this room can spend hours looking at the former owner's collections of ornate plates, steins (some recently used), and miniature clocks. The hundred or so clocks are all ornate and handmade, and tick perfectly in time, casting a slightly hurrying aura over the imposing dining table.

The table itself is long enough to fit a party of fourteen on a single side, and each place set at the table has a frankly untenable number of tiny forks and spoons set beside their plate.

---

Scores & Changes

SPOILER: Click to show

{Scoreboard}

Delta Thunder Force: Yggy Br00ks Alice!  Finnegan Fjord - 4.5 points
Hyperspace Unhinged Grenade Serpent: Laguna orioncayge h0lyn3v1l - 2 points
Blades of Righteous Obsidian: Ruby Big Bee Furrlicity Purrfection - 4.7 point
Two Week Boogie: Tuesday Bergamot Gristleborg Moon Bunny Kath Ulu - 5.8 points

The scoreboard updates, and players receive the necessary notifications.

• Winning points were awarded for solving the Poké-Pong Board
• #Badass points were awarded for interacting with the changed Pokemon, or being near Hunted players.
• Changes have been marked in bold.

• Finnegan Fjord   10 BUZ/10 WIN/2 BAD
• Tuesday   7 BUZ/10 WIN/7 BAD
• Furrlicity Purrfection 4 BUZ/10 WIN/3 BAD 
• orioncayge   5 BUZ/6 WIN/2 BAD
• Big Bee   10 BUZ/7 WIN/0 BAD
• h0lyn3v1l   5 BUZ/4 WIN/1 BAD
• Alice!   4 BUZ/9 WIN/3 BAD
• Ruby   4 BUZ/8 WIN/1 BAD
• Yggy Br00ks   7 BUZ/10 WIN/0 BAD
• Bergamot Gristleborg   10 BUZ/10 WIN/0 BAD
• Laguna   6 BUZ/8 WIN/1 BAD
• Moon Bunny   4 BUZ/10 WIN/0 BAD
• Kath Ulu   10 BUZ/6 WIN/0 BAD

Players with +5 Winning now see these stats listed when they look at the scoreboard.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Notifications}Players with +1 Winning can see the black symbols on the Poké-Pong board:

THE SHADOWS SQUIRM, PAINTING WARNINGS ON THE WALLS.

Players with +3 Winning can see the black symbols on the cards
Players with +5 Winning can see the changed Pokemon and the shadows
Players with +8 Winning can hear the sound of whispering on the wind, which eventually becomes the poem heard by Finnegan Fjord
Players with +10 Winning can see the writing above the secret door

Players with +3 Buzzedness see:

THIS BEER SURE IS GOOD! TIME FOR ANOTHER?

Players with +5 Buzzedness see:

CHUG CHUG! PRAISE THE KEG!

Players with +8 Buzzedness see:

SHARE THE PARTY WITH YOUR PARTY!

Players with +10 Buzzedness see:

MAKE AN OFFERING!

and are drawn towards the keg to choose either

> PRAY OR SACRIFICE?

Details

• There is a hidden prompt included in this update. This round, you are free to work on the prompt with other players
• Players can now swap 1 non-changed Pokemon with a different Pokemon in their Storage
• You can post as many times as you want this round.
• You can upgrade skill trees during this challenge, and if you started with less than 3 Pokemon you can catch more and add them to your team.

FINAL ROUND

Your goal this round is to solve the mystery, and to survive.

• Accuse a suspect
• Free the trapped voice by hitting the prison with the Murder Weapon
• Tuesday and Furrlicity Purrfection Escape from the Changed Creatures, or draw their attention elsewhere

Monarch screams.

Finn might feel guilty about watching one of his most-used Pokemon twist and contort in obvious pain... if this weren't a video game. Sure, he had realistic pain settings on and that'd probably hurt if it were him, but Monarch is just pixels.

"You good?"

She is not good.

Brambles twist around the dying kitten, a blaze igniting the Briar Beast's core. It turns its gaze on Finn, and then he feels a little worried.

"We good?" he asks it, holding out his fist for a fist-bump. It doesn't take him up on the offer, but it does abstain from crushing him like a bug before slamming its way into the manor below.

"Shortcut!" he declares, jumping after it.

He wants to see where it's going. It leads him to the Greenhouse where Furrlicity Purrfection and Tuesday are fighting for their lives against...

"There you guys are!" He's not talking to them. "Caiman, Caher, can you quit the rampage for a sec? I really wanted to have a chat with my friends. I think I know what happened."

Of course, they don't stop, so he's forced to yell his theory over Tuesday's flames.

That his two friends were fighting off the party's evil shadow Pokemon was pretty #Badass.

"I think it was THICC ELMERICH! That WOODEN SPOON was the vehicle that delivered POISONED ICE CREAM to Ophelia's mouth, yeah? And then later, maybe because he got caught or otherwise was in too deep, he used that same spoon to BASH REGINALD'S SKULL IN or some shit. With the missing WOOD HAMMER mod?" He takes a running leap over growing flames so as not to end up trapped in the burning yard. "Motive? FINANCIAL. His POLIWRATH EVOLVED when it smashed open the safe full of WATER STONES that'd make him RICH."

Finn shrugs. "That's my theory, anyway."

Big Bee stepped carefully down the Hall of Hammers. The manor floor was slick with ice, and his shoes had precious little grip on the gleaming surface.

It had all happened so fast. One moment they'd been fixing dents in the floor in the gym, the next Jam and Rian had turned blackened and monstrous before his eyes. He'd tried to recall them to no avail, and before he could administer any healing the pair had sprinted off in the direction of the Greenhouse. He didn't even know Jam COULD sprint! He was just a baby!

The mystery was now leaning far more towards murder, the squiggly black lines everywhere were making his head hurt, and now something huge was moving through the manor, making the floor shake and knocking plaster from the ceiling with every one of its uneven footsteps.

Big Bee had glimpsed it for a moment out of the corner of his eye and promptly gone the other way. As much as he projected the aura of a cool, bandana wearing #Badass, he would gladly leave the monster fighting to the true badasses, like Finnegan Fjord, Yggy Br00ks, Laguna, and orioncayge. He wasn't here to steal the spotlight, he was here to observe, to enjoy, and to make sure that everyone else had a good time.

The whole house lurched as the beast smashed through a wall, forcibly enlarging a doorway in the pursuit of some poor piece of prey.

"It's probably fine," he lied to TKO, stepping around the smoldering remnants of a family painting. What remained of the burnt and broken frame hung limply from the wall, now more ash than ancestry.

"Perhaps..." the little octopus said, but his trademark curiosity had been replaced with uncertainty.

The pair stepped through what had until recently been a kitchen, but now looked more like a war zone. Bent kitchenware was strewn about like missile shells, cutlery stuck from the walls and ceiling like shrapnel, and the air was filled with mustard gas, or perhaps smoked paprika.

Big Bee tactically covered his mouth with his bandana, and forged onward through the remains of the room, and out onto the garden path. There was a deep trench ahead of him, filled with terrible, unhealing poison. Beyond the trench was the greenhouse, with one golden wall completely caved in and the door wide open. "Tuesday's been here."

Jumping over the trench, Big Bee ran the rest of the way down the path and in through the open door, just in time to see Tuesday collide with the twisted wicker monster in a colossal burst of flames. It was incredibly #Badass, and better described in another post, but he hardly even noticed it, eyes drawn straight to Jam, who was closing in on Furrlicity Purrfection. "Hey!" he shouted, pointing a disciplinary finger at the little legendary. The changed creature turned around, regarding him with uncomprehending eyes.

Like any good parent, when met with the glazed look of a young child Big Bee doubled down. He strode towards Jam, and unleashed his ultimate weapon: his child's full name. "Space Jam 1996! You stay away from Furrlicity Purrfection! You have no idea where he's been!"

SPOILER: Click to show

{Murder Guess}Murderer: Chadwick, because he is killing it with this party! Amirite? What a riot. No but seriously, I think people are about to start rioting. Okay but get out your tinfoil hats because I'm taking on a one-way UFO ride to the TRUTH quadrant of the TOOKULONG-ENUF Galaxy.

We know that Crumb is a perfectionist, and we know he likes plants. Plant-ING evidence!

If you were setting up a murder, and there were only four real suspects, how would you best divert attention away from yourself? Easy. By making yourself invisible, and a BIT guilty.

We know NOTHING about Crumb. And why? Because that's the way he wants it. But this is the guy who SUPPLIED the Poison Powder that killed Ophelia! His Butterfree literally KILLED Ophelia! It doesn't matter whether the poison was in the Kale Cake or in the Para-Lychee Ice Cream, it all came from him! If you sell a gun to a guy on the street and he shoots someone with it, is it the gun's fault? No! It's your fault for selling him the weapon in the first place! Guns don't kill people, people (who sell guns to other people) kill people!

And another thing that makes Crumb suspect number one is that spoon! We know he keeps his shed spotless (classic serial killer profile btw), so what's that spoon doing there? Easy. It's a Red Herring. By planting an obvious piece of evidence right in his own private spot he strategically points the investigation spotlight at himself JUST long enough for everyone to discount him. "Oh it couldn't be Crumb! He's too clean!" yeah you would say that you goddamn flock of Wooloo. That's what you sound like right now. A pack of gullible, cud-chewing herd animals. "He could have buried the spoon and it would have broken down naturally over time!" Yeah, or he could have reduced it nothing with poison from his Butterfree of just thrown it out at his house. What's your point?

You're all so focused on pinning the murder on Elmerich, or on Putters, or Chadwick (?) for some reason. Yeah. The kindest person in the world killed both of his parents because [motive missing]. Great work Nancy Sandshrew.

You're all missing the bigger picture! Once all this blows over Chadwick is going to clean house. Putters is out for poisoning his Mum, and the missing Move Mod, scorch marks, dented floor, and argument with Elmerich are more than enough reasons to let him go too. But you know who stays?

The guy in the Greenhouse, just minding his own business.

He might even get a raise out of it too after all is said and done. Especially after all the trouble and trauma caused by the murder investigation.

Crumb's not a young guy, and what's a better retirement present than a big sack of Water Stones. Especially in this economy.

I'm telling you all right now, not only will Elmerich or Putters take the fall for this, but Crumb is going to get out of this better than he came in. Not just that, but his record is going to be spotless. Just like his goddamn shed is.

Laguna was taken aback as the corrupted pokemon all began to attack players. But only certain players. Very interesting.

She took a step back, and then quickly took a quick drink of actual water from the sink to try and clear her head at least a little bit from all the alcohol.

It was at that moment that she decided to actually attempt to text the professor. She didn't need to call them! She could just, send a message, right? That at least she did know how to do.

"hey Professor, Laguna. there's some really spooky stuff happening at the Bronstanton Manor. talking like, whispers on the wind, a trapped voice, corrupted twisting pokemon, and all kinds of secrets. the heads of the house were murdered, and it's realy not looking good. but theres lots of paranormal stuff, i think you might be able to help piece the puzzle together after people arent at risk at dying. okay gotta go, love you. bye"

Laguna stared at the text she already sent, going deep red. She was so used to texting her Mom...

Screw it, she couldn't spend time panicking. There was a murder to solve, some voice to rescue, and people to probably save.

Crumb probably sold the Status Powders to Putters collected from his Butterfree, but the missing Poison Powder absolutely was the cause of death for Ophelia. She was Fairy Type, and Poison is super effective. The Wood Hammer move could have easily slain Reginald, being Ground Type. Someone stole the move from its drawer, and likely killed him in the Training Room. But there had to be a Murder Weapon. The Quest confirmed it. If they were to somehow use Wood Hammer on the prison, maybe that would suffice, but there was only one. And it had to be something symbolic of both murders. Something that could have reasonably been used to poison, and smash.

And the only thing that made sense was the Wooden Spoon in the Lawnmower. Then what was the Prison? Drowning?

The Keg. It all made sense. All of the more paranormal elements started because of the keg, she was sure of it. Not to mention what it had been doing to their heads.

But who was the murderer? There was only one person who seemed to have any grievances with the family. Elmerich's Pokemon had evolved with a Water Stone and was clearly unhappy. But why was it evolved? Was someone trying to frame him for the stolen water stones? Is that why Reginald was presumably killed in the Training Room? Did he go to confront them after his wife's death?

She was just going to have to guess, wasn't she? Miss Putters seemed the most likely culprit. Any ice-type moves could have melted and caused the mildew, her para-lychee ice cream could have made your tongue numb so you didn't notice the poison going down, and it didn't matter that Chadwick was immune, he left right away. And then it was just easy pickings to surprise Reginald with her presence in the Training Room.

But even that wasn't enough, she had to get rid of any evidence. And knowing Crumb would probably start up his lawnmower to mow first thing, he would have destroyed the evidence himself. It seemed entirely logical. The only thing that didn't make sense was... Why? That didn't matter right now, unfortunately. What did matter was taking the wooden spoon to the keg and smashing that thing wide open!

Kicking her feet behind her, she dashed right out of the back door towards the shed as she witnessed the carnage of poison, flames, and corruption taking place. It was absolute chaos, and Tuesday was an absolute #badass because of it.

And it sounded like a hell of a fun time to get to experience.

Her feet hit the ground running, or perhaps more accurately skating along. Snowflakes flew from her feet as she zoomed across the open ground, her pokemon right behind. "Glacia, jump into my arms! I got a plan!" Sure enough, the Bergmite grinned widely, leaping into their arms as they skated towards the Greenhouse. Her eyes narrowed down on Jam, the Groudon and immediately came up with a plan.

"Sir Hail, Haze! Cover our entrance and exit!" The Cryogonal seemed to shudder as if taking a deep breath, before letting out this thick black mist. It spread across the yard, adding to the mess of flames and other traps. Perfect.

Laguna continued her focus on Jam, sliding straight towards the lumbering Groudon. Just before she would slam right into them, she leaped.

"Protect!"

Glacia's forcefield of protection slammed into the Groudon as she landed on top of them, only for her to use him like a trampoline and leap straight off into the fire and flames, and into the shed!

Sliding in and tumbling to the ground, she didn't bother to take note of how many bruises she got from that fall, she quickly got to work. "Spoon!" She shouted suddenly, almost like a madwoman.

"We're getting the spoon to the Keg!" She clarified a few seconds later. "And then we're gonna smash it!" And promptly, went back into madwoman mode. She tried to grab the spoon, hoping that it was still there. And if someone else had grabbed it first? Well, she'd gladly escort them the way there. The Haze from the Cryogonal surely provided a good escape.

The spoon was suddenly tossed in her direction, and it was only by the grace of the fleeting Protect that it didn't smack her in the face. She picked it up from where it landed, and a wild grin spread across her face. "Thanks for all the help, mon ami!" She immediately began to duck and slide out of the greenhouse. With the help of her Freezer's ability to slide and glide across the ground, she tucked and rolled back out.

The corrupted Pokemon were luckily not attacking her, but they were attacking those who remained. Perhaps it was for the best it was given to her to take anyways.

Her pokemon glide just behind her as she dashes as fast as she can, and it's only then that she takes stock to focus on the whispers that have been coming from the keg. Poetry wasn't her strong suit, but she couldn't help but wonder how much it meant. Something about a man stealing an eye from a fish? And why did the poem seem half-finished?

Despite that, she had her suspicions there was more to it than met the eye. She tried her best to remember it all to tell the Professor about it later, but it was lengthy and wordy, and all the corrupted pokemon certainly distracted her.

"Corruption is infectious. Insidious darkness that changes those it touches."

She had heard that before, but she didn't really know what it meant until just now.

She had heard those words from a diary entry of Cygnus, the leader of the Mythstar guild. He was researching the Birchwild Grove... and this screamed Birchwild nonsense to her. People were picking leaves out of their beer, dark soot crumbling off, sticking to everything.

It was just like that burning tree. Soot and ash.

Suspicions confirmed, she slid up to the front of the house by the party. It seemed so empty, with only people remaining that didn't know what was going on. Some of the Bros from Round Two were probably still just drinking, playing games, and being merry. It was unfortunate that she was going to have to attempt to ruin all that fun.

She skidded to a halt by the keg, staring straight at it as she wielded the spoon in hand. It felt so... silly. But hey, video games were often silly. And sometimes, smacking the keg with a spoon solved the murder mystery puzzle.

She raised her hands above her head, spoon wielded like a hammer about to strike when she suddenly paused. Thinking about that diary entry had her suddenly pull it back up in her UI to remind herself its ending.

A codeword.

Unsure if it would work, or if anything would work at this point, she took the spoon in hand and stared at the keg once more. "You know what, this is so dumb. But dumb might work. And I got this far by acting dumb, rash, and stubborn. So it's gonna have to do."

The quest said hit, but it didn't say how hard to hit. Taking a deep breath, Laguna spoke.

"Sidera somnia ferri," and lightly tapped the keg with the spoon.

And if that did nothing she'd smack it as hard as she physically could.