Second trial

[letsplayamod]

The time has come once again. Gather in the arena, it is time for judgement.

[The murky weather outside reflects the mood of the walk out to the cliffs. Once again, several soldiers have stepped free of Typhon's veins to stand guard over the arena. Maybe it's a mistake, but they seem to offer their silent condolence, if not their indifference.

With everyone gathered, a great rift opens once more outside the barrier. Typhon reveals himself, this time only from the waist up. Peering down from his glowing portal, blanketed in the last light drizzles outside your shimmering dome.]

Bah... So safe and secure within your bubble. Or, perhaps not anymore. [He moves to rest a palm on the barrier, and recoils as it once again stings his palm.] See what your Athena has 'gifted' you - nothing but strife. A broken world that needs rebuilding... But no matter. I will complete that task once we are through.

You have your evidence. Now, begin.

[TRIAL START]

Comments

[fillets]

It really does seem impossible for all of it to be happenstance... if the victim hadn't been Alex, it could have been any of the ones who stepped in after him, I think. But what did you find specifically, Misane?

[cannotunravel]

The shelf that held all the chisels that ended Alex's life was not originally on that spot. It was moved there. I found marks that proved it.

This means the shelf and the contents was set in a way it'd fall on somebody placed on that anvil. I checked the anvil and could confirm it wasn't moved.

[Leaving up to Velvet to point out the way the legs of the shelf got sawed, since she found those!]

[raisethemoon]

That seems so...unnecessarily complex. For all they knew, perhaps no one would slip and fall in the perfect manner at all.

[fillets]

That's what I was going to say! Even if they slipped, what if the shelf missed them? Unless they fell in the perfect way, their injuries likely wouldn't have been fatal.

[cannotunravel]

This also wasn't something they could have practiced. There are limited resources.

[Hmmmmm...]

Perhaps we should consider if there was a way to guarantee it'd all go precisely like the culprit intended.

[fillets]

A trial run, so to speak?

[cannotunravel]

Perhaps...

[Misane tilts her head a little]

We should also consider our powers and figure out if any could have been useful for this.

[fillets]

—Oh, of course! How silly of me to have forgotten.

[threeapplestall]

Hm... did anyone have some kind of power that'd let them know if something bad was about to happen? If they set up this big death trap, then that might tip that person off...

[raisethemoon]

And then we would have all known someone tried something, too...it was not a subtle attempt.

[fillets]

Not at all. From there, it would just be a matter of figuring out who'd be capable of constructing the trap... even if we couldn't find the culprit, we could certainly narrow things down.

[raisethemoon]

I am not sure what we might have done then. But certainly, it would put paid to any future attempts of theirs. Besides, if they did this due to Typhon's threats, they waited quite a long time - they only left themselves this one chance.

[stringup]

I kind of wonder if that might have actually been intended, a sort of "well, if it fails, then it'd just be an accident". Though this would still be a lot of effort to go through for some half-hearted attempt.

[fillets]

That could be! But I think you're right—it's too much work. Bringing down the components from so many different places, and unsheathing all those sharp objects... everything else about the setup seems deliberate. Someone had to want Typhon's reward, or the chance of escape, desperately.

[taintedfayth]

Would the shelf alone have required much strength to move?

[He wasn't one of the ones trying to lift it, so he doesn't know.]

[literarybehemoth]

...I wonder if the intent was to take the selection of the victim out of the killer's hands. Perhaps it was difficult for them to actually make the choice.