Take Responsibility.

[wordsmithery]

There's a door at the juncture of the building, to the south of Room 10 and to the west of Room 16; it blends well with the wall, and it's difficult to notice unless you're staring directly at it. Either way, however, it's just appeared to be dead space – after all, were it something vitally important, surely it would have been unlocked before now, wouldn't it? The Wordsmith has promised to provide for you all. That door is open now. It's hard to say when it opened; it simply...seems to have, without anyone visible unlocking it. But the fact of the matter is that it's open, and the room beyond seems to be a holding area – somewhere to wait while the elevator beyond the threshold arrives. Its doors opened without it being called; it seems it was sent from elsewhere, given that there are no call buttons anywhere to be seen. The doors slide open, revealing enough space for all of you; it won't be terribly comfortable, but it'll be safe – the ride itself is fast and smooth, without any alarming shaking or noise that implies you should probably be concerned about the contraption. It's noticeable, though, that the elevator is bringing you upward. The door opens into what seems to have been, appropriately enough for a university, a grand lecture hall – it's all polished wood and no windows, with several rows and aisles of seats to be occupied by students set behind long tables for note-taking and doing assignments. Each individual area is outfitted with vaguely outdated-looking lamps designed to make it a little easier to see exactly what one is writing. The front of the room, though, has been cleared out and remodeled, in a big way, and that's where the aisles lead you, clearly where you're supposed to go - in the center of the room is a circle of podiums, thirty in total, arranged so that everyone standing at them can see each other. So everyone can look each other in the eyes, if they so choose. The podiums are interlocked - there's no cutting across the center of the circle, and for good reason, it looks like there's a lot of nothing down there where the floor should be - and each is bearing the title of the person who's assigned to stand at it. No names, just adjectives, emblazoned across two brass panels on the very top and the front of each podium. (They're all the same height, but the smaller among you will find that there are a couple of steps behind your podium, leading up to a raised platform for you to stand on so you can see over it. It's a little more dignified, at least, than needing someone to fetch a box.) All of the podiums are identical, outside of the abovementioned physical accommodations, except for the one intended for Adelina. The podium that should bear Securing's title has had a black cloth draped over it, and a copy of Adelina's profile photo is sitting on top of it, framed and colorless, an image in greyscale. To the north of the podium circle, behind where everyone is standing, is the lectern – a tall podium raised several feet off the ground, presumably where the professor delivering the lessons for the day would stand such that they could be seen and heard by everyone in the room. For the time being, however, that particular podium is empty. That doesn't mean you won't be addressed, however; once you've all found your places, the Wordsmith's voice can be heard above any ambient noise that may be present. 'In accordance with Rule Seven, the party responsible for the death of Securing must avoid detection in order to end the exercise here at the university. Which means, naturally, that you will all be given a fair chance to foil that attempt. That is why you are all here today. To the innocent: seek justice for your fallen Apprentice. To the guilty: be prepared to take responsibility for your actions, should they succeed.'

Comments

[foundfate]

The uniforms seem to fit us pretty well, we might have to resort to having people try it on or something. That won't clear everyone, but it would narrow down the possibilities.

[firstaid]

Have us try on the uniform? I suppose that could work especially if each uniform was tailored for each of us specifically.

[byday]

That was my suggestion. I'm for it.

[firstaid]

We should do it, then, especially if it gives us a lead.

[foundfate]

[He just. Looks at Bruce for a moment.]

...we could probably discount the very large or broad-shouldered people right off the bat, there's no way they could even fit into a uniform like that.

[plegia]

Oh good, I'll sit this one out as well!

[He's not exactly broad-shouldered, but he is really tall.]

Go on, I want to see you all try this uniform on!

[oh my god]

[firstaid]

...why exactly is that?

[She's not getting good vibes from him right now...]

I mean to find the murderer it may help, but I get the feeling that's not exactly it.

[plegia]

Because it'll be entertaining!

[...he may be dressed as a jester but you guys are totally the court's fools!!!]

[firstaid]

Entertaining? How so? This is a murder we're investigating, not a play! How can one not take this seriously?

[Gods, she tries to like people then there's assholes like Gangrel...]

[plegia]

Oh I'm fully aware of that. Dreadful shame about Adelina, I actually kind of liked her.

[He doesn't sound torn up about this at all, though.]

But if we're going to be stuck here pitting our lives against the murderer's, we might as well make it fun! And you all are doing an excellent job of that, by the way.

[what an asshole]

[firstaid]

No, we should not be finding any entertainment value whatsoever.

[Ugh, he's lucky his build doesn't fit what they're looking for or else she'd point fingers.]

I believe you could add useful commentary to what we are discussing should you wish.

[And she'll still give him another chance...]

[byday]

Someone who styles their hair like that can find entertainment in anything, I'm sure.

[byday]

I thought that was obvious.

[chessturner]

I'm not sure that's going to be of any use.

[Kyrie raises her voice a bit, trying to give her words some weight]

Haven't any of you considered the uniform may be a red herring? Something to misdirect us? I heard something about hairs in the uniform, long. curly, brown hairs. I wasn't Adelina's close friend, but I remember her hair fitting that description. Couldn't it be possible the culprit set a trap with that uniform?

I think we should take any data related to that uniform with caution.

[firstaid]

Even if it's a trap, it's something worth investigating. I don't believe that the one who the uniform fits would be the culprit just based on that. They have to fit all of the evidence, am I correct?

[feistytrader]

...If she was already dead, how hard would it be to yank out some of her hair to make it look like her uniform?

[chessturner]

Not hard at all. At the risk of sounding crass...she wouldn't care about someone yanking from her hair, once she was dead.

[Kyrie at least has the decency to sound bothered by that]

[oyashiromama]

But then...whose uniform would it be? Hers was set out, wasn't it? How could someone obtain an extra?

[chessturner]

Hmmmm...

[Kyrie thinks for a moment]

Are we completely positive the uniform in her room belongs to Adelina?

[firstaid]

The one that Bruce found, they said it was a little too small for Adelina, right?

[oyashiromama]

And we are still left with the problem of an extra uniform then. We needn't over-complicate. It's likely that uniform has a connection with Adelina's killer.

[firstaid]

So we don't know if the one found in Adelina's room is hers, correct? I suppose the matter of who the uniforms belong to could provide to be useful and if one happens to be missing.

[oyashiromama]

We don't...but I assume it must have been. Unless, again, someone could find an extra...

[chessturner]

[Kyrie takes a deep breath]

Both of you have good points, and I accept them. There's something I'm curious about, supposing the culprit wore that uniform...why didn't the culprit keep the stained uniform in their own room? It'd be easier and better not leave any evidence that could point at them at all.

I'm sorry to protest so much regarding this uniform, it's that there are so many holes and inconsistencies regarding it I can't avoid touching every single topic.

[Battle of wits, yay]

[oyashiromama]

No, you make good, aah...points as well, I...could they have run out of time? Or was it in some way to mislead us?