Winter Wonderland II [Miss Emerald Wins!]

[persephone325]

Madame Aqua was saddened by the news of Mister Orange. Biting her lip, she made her way to cabin 18 to see what she could find out about the situation. Before anyone else succumbed to a similar fate.

[DudelRok]

Shaking a small sandwich bag in front of his face that early morning, Captain Turquoise looked through the plastic at the strange red fibers he had found the night before, the word scarf slowly mumbling out from his lips as he looked around at the cabins. Mister Orange had met his fate, and, again, according to the Captain's logic, the best place to start for the evening was where the last person had been found, Cabin 14 -so Captain Turquoise headed there to look for more clues.

[Valerian]

Miss Jade's shiver has nothing to do with the cold, and she sighs mournfully as the full horror of Mr. Orange's death spreads through the compound.  Again everyone begins to move off to do their own investigating, and after a moment Miss Jade, a little uncertainly, follows suit.

Sticking with her earlier intentions, she heads for Cabin 13[/b] -- and discovers Lady Violet already there, apparently having already knocked.  She now seemed to be waiting for someone to open the door, listening for any sounds, and Miss Jade stopped awkwardly a few feet away.  "Oh, I'm sorry.  I -- I've just been going down the row."  Then she bit her lip, afraid she sounded silly.  "All this investigating is a little strange to me," she admitted, with a brief, wry smile.  "To all of us, I suppose."

[Josietta]

Lady Violet glanced over to Miss Jade as she approached. With a glance over the woman she gave a small smile and then looked to the door next to them, instead of her would be lovers, opening it up herself instead of waiting. She thought for a long moment before she tilted her head at the woman and spoke in a calm tone, her voice wavering slightly with her suspicions. "It has certainly been a long investigation. I wonder if Miss Amethyst or should I say Jack Frost or is that Jackie, knows that Miss Scarlet was strangulated with a scarf by you,Krampus? in cabin 14?  Or maybe you didn't realize she had already confided in me in hopes of pinning it all on you?" It wasn't too long of a shot but she figured she should at least see if the woman squeaked at all. Staring at her she tilted her head and gave a knowing smile. If she was wrong, at least one person would know who half the villain group was and just how poor Miss Scarlet met her demise. Then again, if she was wrong, the killer would likely come after her next. She bit at her lower lip slightly, almost nervously, and considered what she may do if she had spoken up too soon, too quickly.

[Autumn Sativus]

Unfortunately Josietta your suspicion is not correct. You have been removed from the game. Well played, though.

[Martee]

Mistress Ruby tugged the fine cashmere cowl out of her wool coat and pulled it up over her lips and nose.  Standing there outside the cabin where the unfortunate Mister Orange was found was cold work - and worse, no one seemed to know where the concierge was to bring them cocoa. This really isn't turning out to be much of a vacation, she thought, and promised to treat herself to a nice, relaxing cruise somewhere in the Caribbean just as soon as she made it off Lady Black's campgrounds.

Of course, that was all contingent upon whether or not she made it out of there alive at all. She was skeptical, of course - what would motivate a pair of killers to seek out the victims they chose to begin with?  Surely, if they were looking to really cause a panic, they would target the guests of some import - that Princess, for instance, or one of those military fellows.  And then there was Mistress Ruby herself, whose untimely demise would no doubt be covered in the Society pages from one side of the country to the other.

I wonder what I should wear to my funeral..., she pondered, wandering away from the grisly scene. It would depend on the way she died, obviously - but there were certainly colors she couldn't possibly consider.  Cerulean, for one.  It washed out her complexion completely - as if corpses didn't have a hard enough time with that.  It was becoming increasingly apparent to Mistress Ruby that she needed to do some serious event planning now - just in case.  It would be unforgivable to shuffle off the mortal coil without leaving any advance directives on her wardrobe, the flowers, which string quartet to hire...

So many important things to do!  She went to hurry back to her cabin to start making notes when she realized that directly before her was the unlocked, slightly ajar door to Mister Orange's cabin.  Peering quickly around her - to make sure there were no suspicious-looking individuals watching her, naturally - Mistress Ruby pulled her cowl down and stepped in to Cabin 3 for a little look-see.

[James Moriarty]

Leaving cabin 13 in a hurry, the Professor ran into Miss Jade and Lady Violet.  Before he could utter one word, Lady Violet disappeared in a puff of accusatory smoke.  Caught between concern for the metaphysics of such an occurrence, and dismay at the way their numbers were thinning without too much of a hint as to the killer, he gave Miss Jade a calculating look, turning briefly back towards cabin thirteen and then towards the lady again, as if to say... well, as if to say something meaningful, certainly.  He was, after all, a professor.

Hurrying to cabin 14, that of Miss Jade, he ran into Captain Turquoise, finding him muttering about red fabric fibers.  Though the captain was surely mad, Earl Gray, Ph.D. could hardly blame him -- they were all under a lot of stress, and that could make people behave a little... strangely.

[Valerian]

Miss Jade stared back at the Professor for a moment, though any calculation in his look was completely lost on her at the moment, since she was far too stunned to process any such details.  She had still been trying to decide why it was that Lady Violet suspected her in the first place, and then, even more shockingly, she had suddenly found herself looking at the empty space where Lady Violet had once stood.

By the time she gathered her wits enough to speak -- though it would only have been something trite like, "What just happened?" -- the professor was gone, going over to her own cabin.  Blinking in lingering astonishment, she gazed at him and Captain Turquoise for a moment, wondering if she should go over there to make sure that they didn't rearrange her things so much that she couldn't find anything.  Then she sighed, realized that there were far more important things to worry about, and went on with her own search.  If her cabin had been the scene of a murder -- horrible thought! -- she'd rather remain ignorant, at least a little while longer.

[Remiel]

With the grace and finesse of the world's best catburglar, the Crimson Crusader stumbled in through Lady Violet's window (Cabin 15), getting tangled up in the drapes and knocking over a card table.   Pulling himself to his feet, he banged his knee on a rocking chair and flailed wildly, grabbing a nearby bookcase for support.  Unfortunately,  this only succeeded in pulling the bookcase off its center of gravity, causing it to fall over on him, but only after expectorating the entire contents of its shelves onto the beleaguered  superhero.

The Dapper Detective found himself buried in a pile of books.  Why, oh why, did Lady Violet have to put all of her heavy encyclopedias and almanacs on the top shelf? he mused, under the sting of a mild concussion.  Still, one thing caught his attention--a violet slip of paper had been tucked neatly between the cover and first page of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.  The irony was completely lost on the Crusader as he unfolded the paper and took a gander:

Lady Violet was clearly onto something.
Darn you, Mr. Waddles!!!!!

How had Lady Violet been so close, and yet so far?  The Dapper Detective clearly had some lost time to make up. 

[Autumn Sativus]

Waiting for Cabin Movement
Caeli

REMINDER that this round is scheduled to end tomorrow at midnight. You have a little over 24 hours to make your movements and submit your suspicions!

[Silver]

It shouldn't have surprised Miss Silver that it was morning once more and yet another murder. It was becoming very hard to not attempt to hide out in her cabin until the killer or killers were found or she met her own untimely demise. Finding Mister Orange buried had more than rattled the poor woman's nerves, it had set her upon the path of trying to figure things out. The only question left now was how could things actually be figured out, for it couldn't be done completely alone. There was far too much to be considered, two minds could be better than one when lives depended upon it.

Towards Cabin 16 the woman began to head before pausing for the briefest of seconds outside of the cabin next door before shaking her head at the oddest vibe suddenly felt. The door to the sixteenth cabin was open before slipping inside out of the cold. The question now was, what could she ever be looking for. The bed was looked under, books quickly flipped through before giving up and placing things back to where they had been in the first place.

Miss Silver was trying to figure it out, trying to figure out the puzzle which could save everyone's life. Gray eyes fell to Cabin 15 once more, wondering why not try to get a bit further rather than throwing in the towel. The door was opened and her sight was gifted to a man dressed in red. Normally one might question such a thing, but this place was anything but normal and perhaps they were all not within their right minds given all that was going on.

[Mr Bigglesworth]

Mr. Green awoke, glad to be alive - and hoped that everybody else was too.  Sadly it wasn't long until he discovered the fate of poor Mr. Orange.  With nothing really to go on, he headed towards cabin 18 where he just walked through the door, not even thinking to knock.  "Madam Aqua!" he said with a bit of a start, and after taking a second to relax he asked "What happened to  Mr. Orange ... Terrible, terrible goings on.  Have you found anything here of interest?

[Beguile's Mistress]

Lady Amethyst stood at the window of Cabin 2 soft and slender hands rubbing up and down her arms.  Voices called with cries of anger and puzzlement.  The word that Mister Orange has been dispatched caused a violent tremor to shift along her spine and the fact that she is alone in a cabin right beside the dead gentleman's has her drawing a shaky breath.

"I need to get out of here and among others even if the murderer might be among them," she said to herself and exited the cabin onto the snow-covered path.  Movement in Mister Orange's cabin caught her eye as she passed and caused her to turn back a bit and head for Cabin 12.  But then something made her look at Cabin 6.  She moved in that direction compelled almost against her will by some inner force to visit the abode of Doctor Ivory.

There was something strange and mysterious about the doctor and she felt a need to learn his secrets.  Satisfying that need was but a step away as Lady Amethyst's small, white hand dressed with a sparkling namesake stone closed around the knob of his door.

[persephone325]

"Oh, hello Mr. Green." Madame Aqua replied upon hearing his voice. She turned to face him.

"I haven't found anything yet. Well, nothing concrete. Just some suspicions." She added quietly.

[Sasha]

Lady Auburn was a little beside herself afterhearing about the demise of Mister Orange ....so she went back to her own cabin for some time . Pacing the floors , talking to herself ....then it hit her , what if the killer was a neighbor . She could be in jeapardy just staying in one place . It was clear that , one needed to search for clues .

So out the door she went ...checking out her map she moved next door to the cabin belonging to Chef Basil , knocking politely . She waited and no answer seemed to be forthcoming . So the woman let herself in ...calling out his name .. " Chef Basil ...you about ?" 

Searching the place she found no one ....decided , to go through the man's belongings . Seemingly he had several pairs of long johns ...even a pink pair . Which ...well , they looked about her size . What would he be doing wearing pink undergarments of all things . As she continued to search , pounding on the back wall of the closet now . Maybe there was a tunnel ...or hidden passage , somewhere in Cabin  17 . 

[Sarena]

A loud crash caught her attention as she walked by the row of cabins.  Stopping to listen for just a moment, Mistress Emerald watched as Miss Silver went into Cabin 15 and then followed her inside.  She would have laughed at the scene that greeted her if not for the tragic seriousness of the circumstances that surrounded them all. 

Mister Maroon was surrounded by books that had fallen from the jostled, empty shelf.  She set the shelf right once again.  Shaking her head, Emerald stooped to fill one arm with a stack of books, "Find anything interesting?

[Starlequin]

Senor Oro raced into Cabin 9, no longer sure who or what he expected to find. First Scarlett, then that Orange fellow, and now the lovely Senorita Violet taken from them as if by some sort of strange dark magic! The Spaniard was completely at a loss, and he cursed the fates that drew him into this nightmare and toyed with his life and his heart like some sort of literary ragdoll. He could only hope the others would fare better than he as he ransacked the cabin, finding...

[Tharic]

Jumping quickly out of a startled sleep, Brigadier Blue dashed awake. "Harumph! Who... Ah Shay Whosh thayre?" Quickly composing himself after falling asleep in the cabin, Brigadier Blue steps outdoors into the night air. Adjusting his uniform smartly, he scans the empty area before quickly marching directly to Cabin 14.

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

[Caeli]

Lady Aubergine moved to Cabin 2, wondering if she would find more clues in Madame Aqua's cabin.

[Autumn Sativus]

Thank you everyone! The round has now ended and I will be responding to suspicions within the next day.

[Autumn Sativus]

The investigations throughout the evening were quiet and many hoped that the breakfast table would show the same number of people this morning that it did prior. But unfortunately that was not the case. It was the dearly regarded Professor Gray who did not show up for breakfast. Nerves were beginning to run high through the group as the question started to become who could not be trusted and who would ultimately meet their maker next.

Professor Gray however cannot be found. It is almost as if he simply vanished off the face of the earth. A number of people saw him heading in to cabin 14 but there wasn't a single trace of him left when the group arrived to find out what had happened. There was nothing in the snow either. Perhaps he had been pushed off a cliff? Maybe they would find his body later? Maybe he'd just gotten frightened and run away? There were many possibilities, but a few drops of blood in the snow near the door to the cabin suggested he would not be seen again, whatever had happened.

Round ends April 2 to allow for holiday business or as soon as everyone has posted and submitted their suspicions.

Please move to a cabin now!

[persephone325]

Madame Aqua pursed her lips in thought as she heard the news of Professor Gray. Hmm... Cabin 14? I should go there to see what I can find out. She thought, making her way to the Professor's last known place.

[Sasha]

Breakfast was becoming more of a confirmation one had been lucky through the night it seemed ....as the corn beef hash and eggs tasted heavenly . Though before even one cup of coffee had been completed ....news of Professor Gray sent a chill down her spine . Another one missing ...suddenly the meal wasn't so appealing .  Maybe the good professor had managed to ride off on a snowmobile and is safely back in civilization . Rolling her fork through her food ...

The color drained from her face ...and the Lady Auburn tried to be cordial and pleasent ....but the idea people were dropping off like flies around here was unnerving to say the least . Even the lovely glow of the fireplace with it's crackling flames that were slowly devouring the logs inside held no peace in her mind .  A fewmore forced bites of food ...she might need a bit of strength anyways . Taking her fresh cup of coffee with her ...the woman decided to get some fresh air .

A deep breath of the cold air outside ...was a nice wake up call . Where to go looking for clues ....maybe in Professor Gray's cabin . He must of known something . So with a determination ...Lady Auburn set off to cabin 11 to rummage through books .  Knocking on the cabin door ....she stepped inside . Making her way to the book shelf ...she began her search . "My my ....what a collection ...and all in order ...except this one . "  pulling the mis-shelved book down . Rummaging through the pages ...finding a few scribbles here and there , bent corners ...."How dare someone  defile this poor book in such a manner ...bending the corners , did the man not own a book mark ?"  she muttered ...reading the poem on the page .

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear,
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I marked the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Robert Frost

[SunshineSparkle]

It's getting dangerously terrifying..

The next day saw another mysterious death, Professor Grey was gone and with him came more questions about who was behind all this, the Professor might have been close to the truth to be chosen as their future victim. Her breakfast forgotten, Doctor Ivory took one last sip of her coffee before heading out, their vacation was taking the shape of a horror movie where the protagonists get slain one after the other.

On her way out she ran to Madam Aqua, who appeared to be going to Cabin 14. She prayed that her choice of Cabin 3 would bring her to discover new evidence leading to the criminals, the area wasn't secure anymore and the paradise she thought she was going to transformed to a nightmare impossible to escape from.

[DudelRok]

Death everywhere! Things were getting worse and worse, and that also means they were not getting better! Quick, something had to be done... someone had to be fingered, something was oh so very wrong. Quickly to cabin... wait, someone was already inside Cabin 14. Though something told Captain Turquoise that the Lady Aqua was safe to be around.

"Lady Aqua," The Captain nodded briefly to the woman then went digging about the cabin for clues. And then the good Captain Realized he was already inside Cabin 14, and the Gray fellow had perished right under his nose... so instead Cabin 20 sounded much better. "Never mind, that, I'll be heading somewhere that isn't a death chamber, today."