[Jesse's POV]
The air inside the building was much warmer compared to the cold night outside. We weren't sure what to expect from this mansion, but at least it was much more cozy inside, and there weren't any annoying zombies here. Still, we need to be cautious, plus, we have that creepy figure I saw in the window we still haven't met yet. Being as silent as possible, we climbed through the window.
The room we entered looked like a kitchen. There were furnaces on one side of the wall and a big table in the middle, which I assume is a dining table. On another side of the room, we saw a few double chests, along with item frames that contained various food items on them. On top of that, there was also a painting beside it of a creeper in an apron and a chef hat? Well, it's definitely a kitchen, alright.
Jesse: "Wow. Some kitchen..."
Lukas: "At least it's decorated nicely?"
Ivor: "Okay, but can we at least close or barricade the window? The cold breeze blowing inside is making me shiver!"
Petra: "Fine..." Using her wood blocks, she seals our entryway. As we started looking around, a distant voice alerted our senses before we could do anything else.
??? 1: "TorqueDawg, you know I don't care if you took it... just give it back!" Then, another voice responded. Judging from where it came from, it sounded like two people were arguing, presumably in the next room over. Our eyes were immediately glued to the only door leading out of this room.
??? 2: "And I'm telling you for the last time, I didn't take the stupid thing!" Then, to make matters worse... it sounded like footsteps coming closer?! We braced ourselves when the door suddenly flung open, and two guys entered the room.
??? 1: "I think we could avoid a lot of unpleasantness if--"
??? 2: "WHAT THE--?" The second guy, who noticed us first, pushed the other one out of the way to face us, clearly looking annoyed. He wore a sleeveless cyan shirt with black pants, red-gold shoes, and black sunglasses. He also had long, brown hair, a beard, and more of a muscular build, which made him look intimidating.
Jesse: "Uh... hi?"
??? 2: "Oh ha ha ha, very very funny. Show up super late; make us all sit and wonder what the heck is going on! This is your house, right? Cuz if it is, we've all been waiting for, like, hours! It's rude!"
Petra: "Woah, woah, woah! What's with the aggressive attitude!? We just got here!"
??? 1: "Now easy, TorqueDawg." The first guy tried to calm him down before he did anything else, but it didn't make the scene less awkward. "Uh... sorry." After shutting the door, the first guy stepped forward. He wore a white shirt with a black jacket and black pants with stripes on both sides. He also had a beard, red sunglasses, and black hair. "You're the host, right?"
Jesse: "Uh, no? What made you think this was my house?"
??? 1: "Wait, you're not the ones who send us these invitations?" The guy pulled out a book similar to the one we found in the graveyard.
Petra: "No, we also received one of these books." Petra showed them our invitation. "Now can you tell us what the heck is going on here!?"
??? 1: "Oh, darn!" The other guy crosses his arms. "Sorry for the language. That wasn't about you getting an invitation -- Just that I was hoping YOU could explain things."
Lukas: "Oh... great... So we're now stuck in this mansion in the middle of a sea of zombies, and no one knows who it belongs to or who even invited us here!?"
??? 2: "Yeah, no shit, Sherlock." Lukas glared at the guy who made that comment while he just stared back, unfazed.
??? 1: "Okay, before anything escalates, let's just calm down and maybe introduce ourselves first?" I sigh.
Jesse: "Fine..."
??? 2: "Hmph..."
Petra: "Shesh... and I thought Ivor had a short temper."
Ivor: "Hey!" Ignoring Petra's comment, the first guy introduces himself and the other one to us.
??? 1: "This is TorqueDawg..."
TorqueDawg: "Sup..." TorqueDawg muttered with his arms still crossed.
??? 1: "And I'm Captain Sparklez! Though maybe you know that already! 'Captain Sparklez?' I've got, like, 9 million fans?"
Petra: "'Captain Sparklez?' Are you saying that with a 'z'?"
Ivor: "Petra! Show some respect -- The man's a CAPTAIN! Sorry captain... civilians, amiright?"
Jesse: "Yeeeeahhh, sorry, but I actually have no idea who you are..."
Sparklez: "Oh. Really? Like... No idea? Like, none?" Sparklez seemed to be taken aback by this. I'm guessing he must be famous or something from where he came from?
Jesse: "Nope. Sorry... But, uh, my name's Jesse. That over there is Lukas and Petra and Ivor." Petra waved at them while Ivor bowed.
Ivor: "Charmed."
TorqueDawg: "'Jesse?'" TorqueDawg scoffs. "That's a girl's name."
Jesse: "Um... excuse me?" Seeing my reaction, he started approaching me with an intimidating smile.
TorqueDawg: "What are you guys anyway? Some sort of Loser Patrol?"
Sparklez: "TorqueDawg!"
TorqueDawg: "Aw, come on. That was hilarious!" I continued glaring at TorqueDawg, annoyed. Eventually, he noticed my stare and started glaring back. "Yeah, that's what I thought." TorqueDawg proceeded to push us away as he walked towards the furnaces.
Sparklez: "TorqueDawg, cool it! That sea of zombies has us ALL trapped, so we just need to try our best to get along!" TorqueDawg glared back at Sparklez, clearly not in the mood.
TorqueDawg: "Tsk." Then he started pacing around, almost stomping the ground every time he took a step. "First those other idiots, and now you people too? Worst. Day. Ever!"
Sparklez: "Just try and look on the bright side!"
Jesse: "Wait, 'those other idiots?' Just how many more people are here anyway?" Sparklez pondered for a bit before answering.
Sparklez: "Counting us, seven?"
TorqueDawg: "Mm-hm... most of them useless. I tell you what, the minute all them weird zombies are gone, TorqueDawg is outta here!" TorqueDawg violently shoved us out of the way again as he paced to the other side of the room. Ugh... this dude is really starting to get on my nerves.
Jesse: "Okay, so the sea of zombies isn't normal. Good to hear..."
Petra: "Two moons is normal though, right?"
Sparklez: "Um... the moons...? Yeah..."
TorqueDawg: "Why don't you know about this stuff? You from, like, out of town or something?" TorqueDawg turned around and approached me again.
Jesse: "Uh, yeah? Why do you think we've never heard of you? I probably should've said this sooner, but we're actually not from this world. We landed here after we went through a--"
*clank*
The lights suddenly shut off, turning the room pitch black, much to mine and everyone else's surprise.
Jesse: "Gah!" Lukas: "What now?!"
Then, while I'm still trying to process what happened, sounds of a lever getting activated rang through the room.
Ivor: "Did you hear that?!"
I panicked and took a step back. A split second later, a new sound rang through the room -- this time... the sound of arrows being fired -- followed by a sudden shriek coming from TorqueDawgs mouth!
Petra: "What the?!" Ivor: "Something touched my foot! Who touched my foot?!" Sparklez: "TorqueDawg? TORQUEDAWG?!" Lukas: "But what's up with the lights!?"
The entire room was filled with yells and screams, and no one could see what was going on. Suddenly, my back bumped into something, and I fell over.
Jesse: "Oof!" Ivor: "Ah!"
In the midst of the chaos, I accidentally bumped into Ivor, causing the two of us to crash onto the floor. Then, before I even got the chance to finally take in the situation, the lights suddenly turned back on.
I opened my eyes, wondering what the heck was going on. Then, after adjusting to the bright light that just came on, I found the aftermath of the scene that just transpired. I froze on the spot.
Dozens of arrows that were tainted with some sort of green liquid at the tip were wedged into the floor where I and TorqueDawg had just stood prior. And TorqueDawg... was laying in the middle of it... with several of those arrows pierced into his body. His body was covered in his own blood... along with that other green liquid...
Everyone gasped almost simultaneously. The sudden shift in tone threw everyone off guard. I couldn't believe it either, and not just that, but... wasn't I just standing there a moment ago? Then... if I hadn't panicked and moved... would I also have been laying there dead? The silence broke when TorqueDawg suddenly convulsed, barely muttering something out.
TorqueDawg: "*cough* J-Jesse... hey-- *cough* Jesse... c'mere..."
Jesse: "...eh?" TorqueDawg coughed up... almost vomiting blood out. Not knowing how else to react, I hesitantly got up and approached him. I kneeled beside him as he looked at me, coughing up his final words.
TorqueDawg: "Y-You've... got a... *cough* girl's... name..."
Jesse: "... ...hah?" Confusion took over my brain while I stared at TorqueDawg as he ultimately passed away, the rest of what was in his inventory spewing out onto the floor beside him. He was about to die, and the last thing he decided to do was mock me??? I... I don't even know if I should feel sad... or mad... or even any other emotion. All I could do was stare dumbfoundedly.
Sparklez: "TorqueDawg...? TorqueDawg?!" The others finally regained enough composure to properly react. Everyone quietly walked over to TorqueDawg's body.
Sparklez: "All those arrows! How did that...?! Who...?!" Upon seeing the sight more closely, Sparklez began to freak out, pacing around the room like a scared animal. Unironically, Sparklez freaking out was what made me snap out of my confusion. That creepy guy in the window... the lights suddenly shutting off... TorqueDawg dying right in front of our eyes... This mansion was a red flag from the start. I regained my composure and stood up.
Jesse: "Sparklez!" Sparklez was still pacing around. It didn't look like he'd stop on his own, so I chased after him to stop him myself. "Sparklez! Pull yourself together!" I cut in front of him and grabbed his shoulders. "Sparklez, I know you're freaking out right now, but the last thing we need is panic! You need to pull yourself together!"
Sparklez stared at me with widened eyes. Whether he wanted to or not, I eventually managed to make him calm down enough to stop hyperventilating.
Sparklez: "Okay... okay... you're right... you're right..." Sparklez sighed, while I turned back to the others.
Jesse: "Is... is... everyone else still alright?" Everyone muttered quietly. It seemed most of us were still in shock, but at least there weren't any more victims. Moreover, it looked like everyone was still fixated on TorqueDawg's body... no... they weren't looking at him... they were glancing at the ceiling? It was then that I spotted what killed TorqueDawg. Right over TorqueDawg's body... I spotted a dispenser... hidden in plain sight.
Petra: "Was that... always there?"
Sparklez: "...what was there?" Sparklez and I approached the crime scene once more.
Ivor: "Obviously. How'd you think TorqueDawg was killed?"
Jesse: "Shit... and to think we went from a swamp filled with zombies to a murder mansion..."
Lukas: "Yeah... no kidding..."
Sparklez: "This is... why is this happening?" I sighed. This really did feel like a scene from one of those mystery novels. And to think I've actually gotten myself involved in such a scenario. How did we even get this far? Weren't we supposed to find the portal back home? I sighed once more.
Calm down, Jesse. There's no arguing that this has happened. I didn't see anyone magically building that trap in the span of us entering and TorqueDawg's death. That means the trap was already there beforehand.
And if I recall correctly, that trap was activated by a lever. I'm not sure where that lever could be, but it must be close enough for us to have heard it. This means earlier... someone must have manually activated it with the intention of killing TorqueDawg... and almost me too. There's no denying it. Someone... caused that to happen. But the question is... who?
My mind trailed back to what Sparklez said. Counting Sparklez and TorqueDawg, there were seven people here other than my group. This means... there are still 5 other people in this mansion we haven't met yet. So unless there's someone here that not even Sparklez knows about, then that means one of those 5 is probably the culprit. We were too careless about watching our backs when we came here. I can't let that happen again.
The only door leading out of this room is closed, and I didn't hear anyone opening it after Sparklez and TorqueDawg entered, and Petra sealed the broken window as well, so there was no way for the culprit to enter the room while the crime happened. So then, if the culprit wasn't in the room, how did they know when to activate the trap?
The trap only works when someone is standing directly under it, which means the culprit must have seen inside the room when I and TorqueDawg were under it. But how did they see inside without being in the room themselves? My first thought was the window. There's a small enough ledge for you to stand directly outside the window. So does that mean the culprit was peeking inside when we weren't looking?
It could be true... but is it really possible that no one noticed someone peeking in? There were 6 people in the room, would it really be possible that not a single one of us noticed a person standing outside the window? Moreover, if the culprit really was standing there, then that would mean the lever that activated the trap must be beside the window as well, but... I don't recall seeing any levers when we first entered. It doesn't make sense...
Moreover, were TorqueDawg and I targeted because we just happened to stand under the trap, or was the culprit specifically waiting for us to stand under it? We don't know their motives yet, so both options could be right, but usually, a murderer doesn't just target random people for no reason.
This is my first time here, meaning I'm a stranger to them, so I'm not sure what reason the culprit might have to target me, but TorqueDawg was here before we came, meaning he and the culprit most likely knew each other. Maybe the culprit held a grudge against TorqueDawg or something. I can't prove this theory with no evidence, but the fact that that possibility exists makes me suspicious of why TorqueDawg was one of the people who ended up being targeted.
I glanced at TorqueDawg's body. There's nothing much we can do about his body anymore... but what about his inventory? Most of the time, you can tell what kind of person the victim was by what they were carrying. Maybe I can find out more if I take a closer look.
Jesse: "Okay... everyone stand back. I'm gonna try and examine the body and see what I can figure out."
Petra: "Jesse? What are you trying to do?"
Jesse: "I'm just looking to see if there's any potential clues here. TorqueDawg was clearly murdered, which means someone is responsible for this, right? In other words--"
Lukas: "No matter how you look at it, someone inside this mansion is the culprit of TorqueDawg's death; that's what you're trying to say?"
Jesse: "You... caught on quite early...? How did you know?"
Lukas: "Well..." Lukas scratched his head. "The book you recommended me..."
Jesse: "Ah... I didn't think you'd actually read it..." Lukas smiled back, flustered, which in turn just made me embarrassed.
Sparklez: "Wait... I don't understand... a culprit? You mean... someone here is a murderer?!"
Ivor: "Not trying to repeat things, but that's exactly what Jesse and Lukas said."
Sparklez: "But... that can't be! Someone I know... did this?!" Sparklez began to panic again, but Petra quickly stopped him.
Petra: "Okay, how bout you take a chill pill first, okay? We're still trying to figure out what exactly we're dealing with, so calm the fuck down, okay?"
Sparklez: "Okay, okay! I'm sorry... I break down under pressure..." After making sure Sparklez calmed down enough, everyone glanced back at me.
Lukas: "Well, did you find anything?" I took a deep breath before drawing closer to TorqueDawg's body, sharpening my ears just in case the trap would activate again so I could quickly pull back any second. I looked at the items laying beside TorqueDawg's body.
Jesse: "Gunpowder, redstone dust, leather pants... pretty much what you'd expect, I guess..."
Ivor: "Well, is there anything else you can find?"
Jesse: "Hm..." I reached out my hand to try and pick up one of the items, however, as soon as I got close, the ground beneath TorqueDawg's body suddenly started shaking. "What the?!" I instinctively pulled back, fearing the trap would activate again, however, something worse happened.
Accompanied by piston sounds, a hole suddenly opened up under TorqueDawg's body... which sucked his body in along with all of his items. And before I got a grip on the situation, the hole closed itself again, only leaving a few of the arrows left that landed too far away for the hole to suck them up.
Lukas: "What just happened?!" I glanced between where the hole was and the dispenser. Hmph... perfectly lined up. The person who built this really thought that far ahead, didn't they?
Jesse: "A hole opens up and erases the evidence from the room... that was what happened..." Lukas glanced back at the trap.
Ivor: "Huh... they're smarter than I thought... If the hole were bigger, then it really could've left nothing behind. From an outsider's perspective, it really would've looked like the person just disappeared -- like they just vanished into thin air. What a mysterious way to go..." Since there wasn't anything else left, I grabbed one of the arrows the hole failed to erase.
Jesse: "Huh... I've never seen an arrow like this before... What's this green stuff anyway?"
Petra: "I dunno... is it an enchantment?"
Jesse: "Hmm... Ivor -- you know potions and enchantments and weird stuff like that. What do you make of it?" Upon hearing the request, Ivor snatched the arrow from me and then proceeded to start violently sniffing it while walking away. We looked at each other, concerned. "He's... not gonna shove that thing up his nostrils too, right?"
Petra visibly gags from my comment, while Lukas just has his eyes wide open the entire time. After thinking about it for a moment, Ivor eventually turned around again.
Ivor: "Mm... smells like... yes! Potion of Poison?"
Sparklez: "Oh, is it a t-tipped arrow? Oh, I've heard of these. They're... they're still pretty new."
Jesse: "Tipped arrows...?"
Sparklez: "Yeah? You can, like, put different potion effects on them?"
Ivor: "Using potions to make arrows with different effects... the possibilities are fascinating!" Ivor remarks.
Jesse: "Huh... never heard of something like that before."
Sparklez: "Well, they were invented pretty recently. Could've sworn I saw someone doing a tutorial on how to make those not too long ago... But my nerves are too shot to remember who right now..."
Jesse: "Hm..." Ivor gave Sparklez a side glance while he handed me the tipped arrow. I stashed the arrow in my pocket before turning back to Sparklez. "Well, let me know if it comes back to you." I winked at Sparklez. He nodded hesitantly. It's not like I'm suspicious of him; he was in the room when TorqueDawg died, so he can't be the culprit. But he's the only one we can trust who might know valuable information, particularly since he knows who the other 5 people we haven't met yet are.
"Well, unless we know where that hole took TorqueDawg and his inventory, there's not much else we can find out." I looked back at the trap. We could try and dismantle the trap, but we might accidentally cause it to trigger again. Speaking of which, if that trap was already set there, then wouldn't that mean that the culprit must've been in this room before we came to build it?
In other words, that would mean that they knew about this place and this mansion beforehand. Say, who does this mansion even belong to? Sparklez and TorqueDawg told us earlier that they were invited here like us, which means this would be the first time they set foot in this mansion. But what about the other 5 people? "Sparklez, do you know who this mansion belongs to?"
Sparklez: "Huh? No idea. Everyone's still waiting in the other room for this 'Host' to show up."
Jesse: "Okay... so when you said 'everyone's still waiting', you're saying none of you are, or have yet to encounter the host?" Sparklez nodded. I lowered my head and thought about his words. By how Sparklez phrased it, that would imply that the 'Host' is none of any of us here, but actually a 12th person who's presumably hiding somewhere in this mansion. And although that could very well be the truth... it doesn't sit right with me.
Let's assume the culprit is one of us for a second. If everyone, including the culprit, says they've been invited here and claims they've never set foot in this mansion before, then everyone's suspicion will be on this 'imaginary 12th person'. Just by creating the illusion of this extra person, the culprit would be able to get away with no one being suspicious of them at all. It's a win-win situation for the murderer, with no consequences. If I were the murderer, I would've gone that route too, since there's literally no reason not to. I don't like that possibility...
So although this extra person could very well exist, you can't say I'm wrong for being suspicious that one of those 5 people could potentially be lying. And that brings me back to what I should've asked long ago.
Jesse: "Sparklez, you know these other people here, right? Where are they right now?" Just as Sparklez was about to respond, a distant voice coming from close by sent us back into alert mode.
??? 3: "Hello? Everything okay in here...?" This time, the voice sounded like that of a girl. We heard footsteps before that person suddenly swung open the door to our room. "Whoa! What's with the crowd?" A girl with long pink hair, wearing a school uniform, stood there, surprised. She looked innocent enough, but considering she's a potential suspect, I can't let my guard down around her.
Sparklez: "I, uh... I was just about to get everyone together to tell them at once." Sparklez, who seemed to know this person, walked over to her.
??? 3: "...Okay?" After exchanging glances with the girl, he started to walk out of the room.
Jesse: "Wait, where are you going?"
Sparklez: "I think it would be better to explain everything when everyone is present. Everyone, meet me in the dining hall, okay?" I exchanged glances with Petra, Lukas, and Ivor, but before anyone could respond, Sparklez had already left. Meanwhile, the girl glanced back at us.
??? 3: "Hang on a minute! It's you! I recognize you!"
Lukas: "Excuse me?"
Ivor: "Uh. Yes... what?"
Jesse: "You recognize us? How? We never met before?"
??? 3: "I'll show you! Follow me!" The girl then turned to the door, gesturing for us to follow her. We exchanged glances again.
Petra: "Um... okay?"
Lukas: "Wait... can we really trust these people?"
Jesse: "I don't know... but for now, let's just follow their lead and see what happens." Lukas hesitantly nodded. Together, we walked out of the room, following the pink-haired girl's lead.
-------------------------------------------
Status:
Jesse: Alive.
Lukas: Alive.
Petra: Alive.
Ivor: Alive.
Sparklez: Alive.
TorqueDawg: Dead. Cause of death: Shot to death by dozens of tipped arrows of poison. The arrows originated from a dispenser. The builder of said trap is currently unknown.
Pink-haired Girl: Alive.
??? 4: Alive.
??? 5: Alive.
??? 6: Alive.
??? 7: Alive.
-------------------------------------------
To be continued...