All Aboard | Trial Start
Whether you elected to try and search for clues or not, the hours since the discovery of Banbi’s body elapse until, all too soon, you find yourselves being gathered once again. The devils seek you out and guide or herd you up to the top deck, crowding you together, where the Smiling Devil herself stands waiting at the ramp.
“Well, I hope y’all used your time wisely. Follow me, we’ll soon get you sorted.” She turns, leading the way off of the ship… and down the quay, across the dock and up the ramp of the large, iron and brass steamship that belongs to the devils. You have little choice but to follow her. Even as you step on board you feel like the temperature has risen to tropic levels. Everything on board is surprisingly elegant, all red and brass, hard metal and colors like fire. But you aren’t given time to process or explore, you’re simply herded through a door and down a hall, then down steps, into the bowels of the ship. Everything smells like metal, coal, or- curiously- like roses and sugar.
At last you’re led through a door and shown into a large conference room. Like the rest of the ship, the decor is heavy on brass and features quite a bit of red in the lush carpeting and wallpaper, but the centerpiece is a long circular table. An odd horizontal tube runs the length of it, looking quite a bit like the pneumatic tubes you may have seen at a bank’s drive-thru. The room is uncomfortably warm, though not to the point you’re roasting or in danger of heat exhaustion.
“Do hurry and find your seats, they’ve all been labeled. Yours with braille, of course, Ms. Soprano… hm, we’ll have to come up with a new title for you though, won’t we?”
Way to add insult to literal injury.
“Someone will have to help our former Photographer though, point him in the right direction, won’t you? Wonderful.”
Once you’re all settled, the Devil takes her own seat in a large chair by the door leading into the room… which is soon covered by sliding panels, making it inaccessible. You’re effectively trapped.
“I’ll give you the same speech I gave the last class. To keep it simple… Discuss what you’ve found and your theories amongst yourselves. When you feel you’ve reached a decision, write the name of the person among you that you believe is the killer on the paper in front of you, and place it in the tube. Now to be certain you understand, you have only one chance to vote. If you write the name of anyone other than one of your classmates- me, for example- then your vote will be counted as a vote for yourself, so don’t get cute. And if the majority of the votes are incorrect…”
“Well, here’s a friendly suggestion: Don’t be wrong. And don’t throw your vote away. This is no time to debate morality, little darlin’s. Your lives are on the line. Go ahead and get started then… oh, and y’all have fun.”
Trial Start!












