( HUNTERS - WEEK 4 )

[abhoth]

For this week, there will be no sudden loss of control for those who have signed their souls away for the greater good. As long as they're in the Curio Shop by 6:05 PM on Monday, nothing out of the ordinary will happen. All they must do is knock on the shop's door, carefully as if to not draw attention towards themselves, and the door will creak open by itself much like the previous week. As per usual, inside this strange room they'll find Craftly seated at a round table. Shelves of antiques line the walls and the smell of peppermint tea wafts through the air. A thin tendril slips across the table from Craftly's sleeve, hooking around his cup of tea. As smug as ever, he smiles to the group. "Come in, Hunters. It's time for us to begin". ( quick navigation ) ic rulebook | locations | statuses | room assignments private conversations | ic profiles | graveyard | full navigation hunter's handbook

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HUNTERS

[abhoth]

[Craftly will be here to answer any questions they may have, but won't actively participate in the discussion unless directly addressed.]

[ninjay]

[ jay has a question he needs answered immediately tbh ]

If they actually execute you, what happens to the rebellion?

[abhoth]

The rebellion will continue as long as you will it. The basin hardly needs me to be present to work, and one of my men will allow you to enter the room.

[ninjay]

Would someone replace you for everything else then? Or would one of your men just fulfill your role? They don't seem like they can answer the types of questions we ask.

[ you know. cause of the lack of mouths. ]

[abhoth]

No. If I die, no one will replace me for the duration of this game. You will have to find the answers you seek through other means.

[nowyouseeit]

[SLAMS HIS BOX OF CLUE ONTO THE TABLE!! well. as well as he can slam it down, considering he's still unable to use his right arm]

Two things, Craftly.

One: we're playing CLUE today.

Two: what happens to us if you die?

[abhoth]

[COCKING AN EYEBROW, TBH.]

... I see.

To answer your inquiry: nothing. You will be safe even after my death, and the basin will continue to work as it should.

[nowyouseeit]

[. . . ? that isn't the answer he expected]

Then. . .

Why would the Prophets want you dead so badly?

[thawedheart]

Craftly-san...

[Her brows are knit together in concern. Jay and Kaito have already asked the most pressing questions, but...]

Are you all right...? There was that push to vote for you at the trial, after all...

[abhoth]

I'm fine, Yukina. It's not the first nor shall it be the last time such a push is made.

[thawedheart]

I know, but... It must have been frightening.

[Since he's checking the others' wounds, she'll lower her hood and roll up her sleeves so that she can undo some of the bandages for him to check.]

Do you think there might be anything we can do to keep it from happening again..?

CHOICE

[abhoth]

[There is a basin set on top of a table near the center of the room. Three (3) rusty knives have been set out next to the basin, as well as a helpful illustration of a man cutting off his ear and depositing it in the basin. It seems that this is the sacrifice expected of you tonight.

Please use this thread to vote for whoever you want to check or arm. We ask that you write ARM: CHARACTER NAME or CHECK: CHARACTER NAME in the subject header to cast your vote. Votes must be unanimous to receive the desired effect.]

CHECK: GIRGE ALBATROSS

[thawedheart]

[i'll edit in something better for the cutting of the ear later but I'm just plopping this here now in the interest of not holding us up]

CHECK: GIRGE ALBATROSS

[nowyouseeit]

[HOW IS HE SUPPOSED TO DO THIS WITH ONE HAND]

[guh. the pitfalls of having his shoulder seriously wounded by an eldritch horror, seriously. either way. . . by now, he's used to the ritual. used to the sacrifice. and his expression doesn't change as he picks up the rusted knife and stares at it]

. . .

This is unsanitary.

[nevertheless, he uses the blade to push back his hair to reveal his ear. as used to this as he is, he knows it's going to hurt, so. . . he ducks his head to bite into the collar of his shirt again and shuts his eyes tightly]

[the blade bites into his skin, and he lets out a muffled noise. he wishes this blade was sharp enough to do it in one quick slice. but it isn't, and with only one hand the process takes far longer than normal]






[. . . when it's over, there's warm blood running down the side of his face, dripping onto the table in small spatters. he's breathing heavily, and the corners of his eyes sting]

[he deposits the sacrifice into the basin and tries to think about anything other than this]

CHECK: GIRGE ALBATROSS

[ninjay]

[ you would think that having to use plier to pull out a dozen eyeballs from your body was bad enough, honestly. jay's already pretty spent from this ordeal and all he wants to do is not exist for a bit until everything is less painful.

he picks up the knife. of course it's rusty, he's expected as much by now. it's a miracle none of them have died from getting infected from these things, but it's probably the magic of this place keeping that from happening, like how it regrows their body parts.

cutting his ear off is horrendously painful, and the pain from his arm hasn't receded yet, so it takes a lot of effort for him to keep going. he doesn't even cover the hole where his ear once was when he's done, he just lets it bleed as he puts the ear in the basin with the others. ]

RESULTS

[abhoth]

[As with all other times, the blood that has been collected in the basin begins to glow a golden hue. It sluggishly moves towards a corner, facing all three of them as it begins to spell the results out letter by letter. Slowly but surely, the following text will be displayed:]

GIRGE ALBATROSS
THE BOUNTY HUNTER
- PROP

[—And suddenly

their sacrifice bursts into flames.

The smell of burn flesh invades the room, the basin cracking from the heat but not give giving in. In the flames, they can almost see something that resembles an eye. Moments later, the same voice that they've always heard before an execution speaks to them. It's just as unpleasant as usual, or perhaps even more so with their missing ears.]

Ẁ̡E͝͞ ҉̛́K͠͠N̶͏͜O̡͢҉W͘͠
̸̛͟Ỳ͟O͠͏Ù́ ̨̕A̡̛R̕̕͡E
̕͟͠H̵͜͡ȨR̸̨͠È͏
C̕HI̢̛L̴͜͝D̀R̶͘E̷͜҉N̡͘

[A moment later, the fire goes out.]

A THING

[abhoth]

[In addition to the usual tea, there are four freshly baked danishes on the table. A note in Craftly's handwriting reads:]

Courtesy of The Private Eye. - Craftly

DISCUSSION

[nowyouseeit]

[totally reaching for a danish, btw. his box of CLUE sits on the table near his seat. he was serious about board games, guys]

Okay. I think we've got a couple of things to talk about today, but before we get to that I wanna make a suggestion.

Let's check the people whose roles we don't know. I think we should focus our efforts in trying to find the Soldier.

[ninjay]

[ jay... takes a danish. ]

I agree, actually. I still think we should check Girge soon.

[thawedheart]

I'm... A little worried about Tsurugi-san.

[Yukina's brow furrows, but she reaches for a danish anyway. Thanks, Private Eye!]

He said his role lets him talk to someone important, but... He is not the Operator. And after what Mira-san said about the soldier's statue talking... I don't know for sure that she was telling the truth, but...

[nowyouseeit]

He was on our list of people to check, right? After Girge.

[taps his temple with his good hand, expression pensive]

. . . I think we should stick with the plan we have now. Unless you think it's pressing to move Tsurugi to this week instead, Yukina.

CONCLUSION

[abhoth]

[Once the fire has died down and a faceless man takes the basin away to be replaced, the Hunters will find their ear regrowing as the previous body parts. Bone and flesh painfully and slowly regenerating — but this time it's different. Even after the 20 minutes the regeneration lasts are done, they will still feel a sharp pain against their skull. It's almost as if their ear were still missing; a sharp throbbing pain that comes and goes, but refuses to cease for good no matter how many days pass.

It seems like the pain will stay with them for the duration of their stay at the Innsmouth Motel.

In his corner, Craftly dabs sweat from his brow, pale. However, all he says is this:]

... You know what you must do now, children. Slay the soulless beasts, and end this game.

[The Hunters will be left to discuss what to do on their own.]

[nowyouseeit]

[he lets himself bleed. doesn't even bother to try to cover the wound, not even when blood starts to soak into the collar of his shirt. he'll have to change, and hope no one sees him on his way back to his new room]

[his eyes flash for a moment, determination and triumph burning behind them, before that emotion fades]

Got one.

[. . . now what?]

[thawedheart]

[Yukina is careful to keep her blood from dripping onto her jacket, but only because it's borrowed. If it was her own clothing, she wouldn't care.

As it is, her blood drips onto the table. Her expression is a grimace of pain, but there's something almost triumphant about it.

No pain, no gain.]

Can't... let someone innocent die for them. [She takes a breath.] We either... find the other and frame them, or... kill them in between the next trial and execution. Or we... try to get the others to vote for them this week.

[ninjay]

[ jay snorts. ]

Dipper would be pleased. He's convinced that Girge is suspicious.

[ jay does finally reach over to touch the blood on the side of his face. he doesn't try to wipe it off, but it's a solid reminder of what they have done to reach this point. the sad part is, chances are that some of them might not live long enough to actually get to see them bring girge down. ]

Should we try approaching him? I'm... curious about certain things and I don't think we'd get an answer regarding them any other way.