[ WEEK TWO – TRIAL ]

[sheriffexe]

TRIAL

In the morning, the town comes back to life. Birds crow overhead, a snake nearby hisses, a lingering coyote dips behind a shop before disappearing into the wild. It's a frightening contrast to the stillness of yesterday but it doesn't mean it's over yet. After all, today is the trial. The Sheriff stands on the porch of the Town Hall and brings his hand up to his mouth to let out a whistle. He'll thumb back to the Hall behind him and very clearly state -- "Trial time, folks. Get in here and figure out who did it." And then he'll turn to leave before pausing and adding on, "Bring a snack or somethin' too. The Town Hall is set up more like a court house, a Judge's bench at the front but instead of at center, it's off to the side as if more for observation than participation. There's a table at the front of the room already holding a small box and a pad of papers and pen, for voting apparently. A side room containing only a metal gurney is next and today it's obvious why there's a gurney there at all with the corpse, resting right on top of it. Aside from that, there are rows for everyone to take a seat and it's only after everyone is inside and settled, that the doors close and the Sheriff speaks. "Well, have at it. You've got till nine." And then, he points to a clock on the wall that reads 12:00. Good luck. Welcome to the trial post! Characters are free to discuss everything related to the trial here. They won't be let out of the room until 9PM when voting ends. Every character must vote and the voting post can be found here. If there are any questions, please shoot a message to this journal or to robowest.

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Comments

[impulsiveness]

If it's a sword and you come at him with enough force... I don't think it'd be hard to run the sword through him.

[He frowns. He didn't get to check the body himself, so...]

This would be easier if we had the corpse to look at. But can't have things being too easy, huh?

[feminitis]

Oh, that's definitely possible. It's easier to run someone through than you might expect, with the right blade.

[why does she know this]

...but I do wish I'd taken a look myself. It didn't sound like he had an injury on the back, though - I thought it was admirable that he hadn't tried to flee, actually...

[impulsiveness]

So assuming whoever checked the corpse didn't forget to take a look at the back, von Karma wasn't attacked from behind.

[Rest in tentative pieces, theory.]

Which means either the guy needed some serious corrective lenses, or... There's some other reason he didn't see the attack coming. It's not like a sword is hard to miss, after all. Even during nighttime.

[feminitis]

...I'm not convinced the wound was actually made with a sword. The scabbard being on the scene seems to indicate that, but...

[A sword is hella noticeable. Higekiri's sword, specifically, is extremely noticeable.]

For him to have been caught by surprise, it would have needed to be a more subtle weapon, don't you think? Something easily concealed.

[impulsiveness]

Like a knife, then. Or something else that's small, sharp and pointy.

[He crosses his arms, thinking.]

Xion said she saw Higekiri leave without his sword. Higekiri said he got attacked by his own sword, too. So... does that mean they were both attacked by different weapons? [And if so, why? Not to mention:] Has Higekiri said if he was with von Karma when they both got shanked?

[hydrokinetics]

Dunno about if Higekiri was with von Karma when they were both attacked, but if they were together wouldn't there also be a trail of blood from the tailor to the clinic? Like last week between the saloon and the train tracks and the graveyard.

[sheriffexe]

[ OKAY ACTUALLY.

There probably was but I never got a chance to bring it up. But it would've been messed up by the dirt and hard to see in the first place since the clinic was so messed up. Just a few drips, nothing like Ao's spurt of blood. ]

[hydrokinetics]

[Oh, thank you ominous overlord voice, we will make that work!]

[feminitis]

Pr-.. oh, wait. Mister Higekiri could have taken clothing from the tailor to wrap the wound and keep from tracking blood...

I mean, if he was there and was trying to hide that, anyway.

[hydrokinetics]

Maybe. That's a good point, too. If there wasn't a lot of blood like last week we all could have missed it so that kind of rules that out. But that doesn't explain why he'd waste time burying Manfred in clothes or how he was then attacked with his own sword if the story Higekiri's telling is right. Unless he attacked himself?

[Seems weird but this whole place is weird.]

[feminitis]

...if he was in the tailor's shop, you'd think he'd have looked for the scabbard there. That's where it was found - so either that means he didn't look, or it was placed there after he left.

[...]

With his injuries, it makes sense he would have sought out treatment, but... swords are part of a swordsman's very soul. If it were me, I'd have at least looked!

[then again she's an idiot who would probably have bled out]

[hydrokinetics]

...I'm going to come back to the whole "swords being a swordsman's soul" thing in a minute because that's a little too intense, but I think it's weird he didn't look for the scabbard either. What's weirder is that Noctis told me the scabbard was found under Manfred. How does something like that just accidentally get tucked under a dead man?

[feminitis]

...that depends on how violent the struggle is.

[Sei wipes some of the jam off of her scabbard with her sleeve and brings it back to secure it at her waist to demonstrate.]

If it's being used properly, it shouldn't have even come off the waist of the person who had it. I suppose it's possible it was knocked off in the struggle and that by some coincidence Mister von Karma fell on it, but for the most part, it... shouldn't. We take these into battle, after all. They're made to stay at our waists even when we're moving around and fighting for our lives.

So it's either an amazing series of coincidences, or... it was deliberately placed under him.

[hydrokinetics]

That's sort of what I'm thinking, too. Scabbards shouldn't come off at all, so it sounds more like someone else had it. But why? Why frame Higekiri in that case?

[leadastray]

That he hadn't tried to flee...Is there a chance Von Karma was originally intended to be the one to kill, but had the tables turned on him?

[feminitis]

I don't know the man, so I can't rule the possibility out. There are definitely some people here who seem as though they might be willing to kill...

[Hmm.]

From the sound of things there was definitely a struggle of some kind in the tailor's shop - Mister Noctis said that it was a mess there. That being the case, how did this theoretical victim-turned-killer manage to turn the tables on him?

[bittybat]

It's easy if you have the skills.

The same thing happened to the girls. I asked Tiara if she had been attacked, and she lied initially. She killed the other girl in self defense.

[leadastray]

Or a third party getting involved, someone could have tipped them off.

[feminitis]

A third party... do you think that's likely?

[God, Sei hopes not. But that would be just their luck, wouldn't it.]

[bittybat]

If they were attacked together, it will make it harder to find the culprit unless the swordsman can remember something specific.

[leadastray]

And the note itself seems awfully suspicious.

[feminitis]

I don't suppose anyone recognizes the handwriting?

[impulsiveness]

I'm sure someone would have spoken up if they did.

[Hmm...]

We could ask everyone to provide a sample, but anyone with two brain cells to rub together would think to switch up their own handwriting.

[Jason Todd: Resident Debbie Downer.]

[feminitis]

...maybe if we can think of some way to get people to write things down that doesn't seem like we're fishing for a sample?

[But she sighs, because she knows even as she says it that it's unlikely. With the note having been found, period, someone cunning enough to go for a kill would know not to write anything down carelessly.]

[dubiousalignment]

The Hero Club must have a few samples of handwriting. That could be of help, whether it's to eliminate suspects or, if we're lucky, catch them.

[In that case, we have to rely on Yuna to help us with this. Wait until the second half of the trial, please!]