Dragonator

Peter follows the prints. They lead straight through the room to the door at the far end, without turning aside. Miss Sandy meanwhile decides to take a look at the boxes. While bending over one, a sword propped against the wall falls over, narrowly missing your foot. You do not find anything you think relevant amongst the boxes, although there are plenty of interesting antiques, all covered in dust. Careful Miss Sandy, that was very close!

Miss Sandy does a thorough check of the area, but does not find anything of interest. The "room" appears to simply be a small place where the corridor splits. The detectives, led by Miss Sandy and Peter, continue up the stairs. They go up quite a way, and soon the floor starts to get dustier. You note that there is a distinct set of prints in the dust. Eventually you get to the top of the stairs and enter a long room filled with boxes, crates, pieces of furniture etc, all stacked up in storage. At the end of the room is a wooden door. The room somehow seems familiar. It seems we have reached the other side of the attic door, meaning we have come full circle. Feel free to look around, and then you may go back and look anywhere you like. If you think you can answer my questions, then by all means have a go, some of you have already. Good luck...

Miss Sandy tries all the keys the group currently has in their possession in the door. None of them unlock it.

Miss Sandy grabs a cape, and the detectives troop up the stairs, torches in hand. The stairs finish once you are around the ground floor area. Ahead is a small flat space, with another set of stairs on the right spiralling up again, and a short corridor to the left with a wooden door at the end. The wooden door also has a grill in it and has large metal braces across it. Looking through the grill you can see a natural cavern which extends for a short way before bending around a corner. You can see natural light in that direction. The wooden door is locked.

Max decides to take a look at the two dragon heads above the doorway in the boiler room. They look exactly the same as those in the other room. Max then walks through to the other room to take a look at the cake and the broken plate. The cake looks delicious, apart from the white shards of china scattered all over it. Peter decides to have a taste anyway. You cannot see anything of interest in the cake. Shall we head on up the stairs? We may as well now, since we've come this far.

All the buses we use here in Wellington, NZ, are coloured mostly yellow and black. Just because you don't have yellow buses for normal transport where you are, don't assume that people don't have them elsewhere. I think yellow is a nice colour...

BrickForge has certainly out done itself with these new items. I'll definitely be getting some of these, although not any time soon, I have enough other things to pay for first. Still, maybe just a small order... It's hard to pick a favourite, although the Mic is a pretty neat idea. I must say too though that the crowbar is pretty sweet!

John takes another look at the cape and helmet, but cannot see any signs of recent usage. After this he walks over to the south wall and picks up the sword. It is clean although the blade does seem to have some smear marks when reflected in the light, as if it has been carelessly polished. Miss Sandy and Max run up the stairs to go look for the source of the thud. Going through the kitchen, they enter the main hallway to see a strange sight... One of the wooden panels in the hallway has swung open revealing a hidden room! The pair walk closer. Could this be the treasure vault they had heard rumour of earlier? Walking through the door, you enter a large room probably as big as the library directly above. There is one problem however; the room is completely empty. The stone walls are bare, and there is nothing anywhere apart from a couple of torn, dangling cobwebs. You do note that there is not really any dust on the floor either. Puzzled, you both return to the cellar to tell the others what you found... John takes a look at the kepi hat and recognises it as his own. He then checks around the table, but finds nothing interesting. Picking up a torch, he heads through to the boiler room. The boiler room is smaller and only contains the large metal boiler, which appears to operate automatically, probably powered by gas. A few pipes from it lead up into the ceiling to other parts of the house. In the east wall is another doorway similar to the one you entered through, with two stone dragon heads above it and a spiralling staircase leading up into darkness...

Yes, do it, do it! And while you're at it I think a dragon-pod would also be fitting.

Peter walks over to the large wooden chest, with John not far behind. Opening it, you find inside three piles of black robes, all folded away neatly, although the left pile is shorter than the other two. A coincidence I am sure. Miss Sandy wanders over to the hatch to take a look, but is violently shoved out of the way by a petulant Max. Opening the hatch, he quickly steps backwards as a silver sword falls out, narrowly missing his foot, followed by the battered remains of the dumb-waiter, which doesn't. While Max is hopping around vehemently shouting vulgarities, Miss Sandy peers at the items that fell out. The lift itself is made of wood and smashed quite badly by its fall. A piece of cable hangs limply from what must have been the top of it, cut off rather cleanly. Inside it is what appears to have once been a chocolate mud cake, but which is now just a large splatter of brown everywhere, speckled with the pieces of a broken plate. The sword which fell out as well is serrated on both sides for about half it's length, with two holes in the middle of the blade and a basket hilt. You are certain you have seen its like somewhere before. John meanwhile walks over to the statue t take a look a the helmet and cape. The helmet is of an ancient dragon design, while the cape is a deep, rich black, matching the robes in the chest. Max finishes nursing his foot and decide to take a look at the statues by pushing or turning them. The two stone human statues do not move or do anything exciting, so yo walk over to the two dragons. Pushing down on the left one does nothing, so you move on to the right one. Leaning on this, the head clicks down, and you here a thud followed by a grating sound somewhere close by up above. Looking up you see nothing however. Oh dear, I wonder what it is you have done now?

Hey mate, nice to see you around again, and with an excellent creation to boot! A very unique idea, and you've pulled it off nicely, with the whole skeleton them. You've got to love those black skellie's on the front, a very nice touch! I've missed you too, hope you become less busy soon!

The detectives walk down the stairs, beginning their decent into darkness... although not quite. As you near the bottom of the spiral you see the flicker of torches, and you abruptly enter a large, cavernous room through a stone doorway lodged into the surrounding rock. The doorway has two stone dragon heads above it, setting the scene for the rest of the room. The room is carved out of the rock of the hillside, and is lit by a number of torches spaced around the walls, which flicker slightly in a mysterious manner. The room is mostly empty, with only the occasional empty barrel or piece of timber left lying around. It appears that it was cleared out recently, as there is an absence of dust and no feeling of abandonment. The only area which still contains anything of interest is the immediate area near the doorway which you entered through. If your calculations are correct, the doorway is in the northern corner of the west wall. In the immediate area are a few things of interest including a table with a lamp and a khaki hat on it, two dragon statues on stone plinths, a large wooden chest, and a pair of statues, one of which has a black cape and helmet on it. There are also a number of pillars spaced throughout the room, which hold up the manor house above. The south wall holds nothing interesting other than a hatch in the wall which is slightly crooked. Beside it are three buttons labelled "call", "kitchen" and "dining room". The east wall contains a large open doorway lined up with the one you entered through in the west wall. Beyond you can see the large metal shape of a boiler, but not the far side of the next room. Hmmm, what an interesting place, I would never have guessed it was down here. ********** Remember that to win the game you must answer the following four questions: WHO committed the crime? WHERE was the crime committed (which room)? WHAT was the murder weapon? WHY was he killed (motive)? There is also the optional challenge of piecing together the events of the previous night. Try to find out as much detail as possible. For the full list of rules, please click on the picture at the top of the page or follow this link. Participants: 1. ImperialShadows - Peter Crawford; Lawyer 2. Sandy - Susan Greenwood; Receptionist 3. WhiteFang - Dr. Phillip Marshall; General Practitioner 4. Hinckley - Max Sinclair; Actor 5. Sir Dillon - Michael Dunne; CEO of Brick Plates 6. jipay - Bernard Knightly; President of the DHPT 7. ImperialScouts - Lieutenant John Spencer; Soldier 8. Sir Nadroj - Dermot Stephens; University Student 9. Mr. Mandalorian - Dr. Gregory Grimsworth; University Professor 10. TheBrickster - Anthony Blackwater; Private Detective - Deceased; Death by Chandelier 11. Erdbeereis1 - Chef Frederick Valentine; Chef

Since when do houses have windows? Don't be silly... Does anyone know when Hinckel-doodle gets back? We don't want him to miss to much, do we?

Hey, put that back! Well, if we are all finished in here then I guess we can head down the stairs. Although you go down at your own risk; I would suggest against it. Ah well... The group of detectives walk through the door into the short hallway and then begin their decent into darkness... End of Chapter Next chapter should be up tomorrow.

I think EB is really the source of what started me off MOCing. Before I joined I never really built anything. So I'd say EB has had a major impact on my hobby, in the sense of me not only building more, for contests, games, and pure enjoyment, but also spending more, to get more parts for MOCs and to get those rare sets I would otherwise have been unaware of. Thanks EB!

Today I finally bought a new set, 7682 Shanghai Chase, for an excellent price too. I also picked up two boxes of 2nd hand Lego which I am sorting through right now. There is a lot of early bionicle/slizers, and some knights kingdom large figures, however there is also a fair bit of system which is neat, mostly bricks etc. There is also quite a lot of junk too, but I'm sifting it all out. The highlights so far are a C3PO (earliest version), Count Dooku (early version) and a couple of pirates minifigs including a conquistador. I also found a transparent treasure-chest lid, which I haven't seen before. I wonder if I can get a transparent bottom part to complete it? I've also found a black dragon and a Rock Raiders rock monster, which are both very cool. So all in all, I am quite pleased with my haul today.

Peter takes a look at the turnip, and comes to the conclusion that it was only noted because of its rather unusual and slightly disturbing shape... Miss Sandy meanwhile is still inspecting the dumb waiter shaft. Leaning out she tries to get a better look inside. Suddenly she loses her balance and almost falls in, only just managing to catch herself. Careful Miss Sandy, we wouldn't want you to get hurt.

Peter use the paddle to get the tassel out of the oven and puts it up on the bench. It looks like it was once blue, and the thin end has a very small corner of fabric that is completely burnt, as if it were attached to something larger before, such as a curtain or the corner of a rug perhaps. You also note upon close inspection that there are some dark spots amongst the blue, although that could just be the char; it makes it very hard to tell.

Michael inspects the carving knife. It is a stainless steel and dully polished. It seems to be clean. Michael also takes a look at the wheels of the central table. They are on rotating swivels, so when the table is moved the wheels turn in that direction. Sounds delicious! The Chef takes a look inside the large open oven. Inside is a lot of black char with a few glowing embers underneath. You do note something out of the ordinary though; there is a rather singed and blackened blue tassel on the stone right next to the edge of the fire pit. John takes a look inside the food and firewood baskets. There is nothing hidden in them, other than a rather odd shaped turnip... The sink is made of smooth polished stone and looks very old and worn with much use. One of the two taps is dripping slightly. There is nothing in the sink itself.

Thanks. They are rather quick jobs, but I try and put in a few details to add interest. Glad they are appealing.

Peter takes a look through the far door to see what is on the other side. Beyond is a short hallway with four doors leading off it, two on each side. Presumably these were once servants quarters, however now they are no longer in use, apart from one which is being used an a large pantry. Inside you find various canned foods, packets of dried food, and yes, crackers! At the end of the corridor is a blank stone wall. That is, at the end of the corridor is what should be a blank stone wall, however part of it appears to have swung inwards revealing a staircase leading down... I wonder if that is what the lever activated? I presume you will all want to take a good look around the kitchen before heading down there? I suppose it is to much to hope that you might ignore that staircase and not go down at all? Miss Sandy takes a look around the kitchen and notices a hatch in the south wall next to the modern oven which had previously gone unnoticed. Beside this hatch are two buttons labelled "call" and "Dining Room". Miss Sandy opens the hatch and looks inside, however the dumb waiter is not there. You do note however that the shaft continues down into darkness...

Peter opens up the freezer, which contains various food items such as ice-cream, peas, ice-cubes, frozen meat etc. There is nothing really of any interest inside. Peter then moves on to look in the fridge, where he finds a block of cheese amongst the various bottled drinks, butter, vegetables, meats etc. Their are unfortunately no crackers in the fridge, although there might be some somewhere else. Are you sure you don't want to inspect the knife before using it?

Peter looks in the napkin, but there is nothing inside it. Right, well judging from your responses, we shall now go down to the kitchen. The group of detectives walk downstairs, where they try the kitchen key in the door. It unlocks with a nice click, and the door swings open. Walking into the room, you find yourselves in a large kitchen. The room has plain stone walls with a single door over in the far corner of the north wall (other than the one you entered through, with is in the southern corner of the east wall). In the middle of the room is a large rolling table surfaced with wood to act as a cutting board. On it is a plate with a large cake, a piece of salami, and a carving knife. In the north-western corner, to the left of the other door, are two crates with various fruits and vegetables in them, a barrel with firewood in it and a large paddle presumably for taking things in and out of the large open on the west wall. The large oven is an open-fronted one with a deep interior. Items to be cooked are placed on metal grills above the fire beneath. On top of the oven are two ornamental dragons, the only decorations in the otherwise rather plain kitchen. To the left of the oven is a large sink with two taps. The south-western corner is mainly taken up by assorted barrels and hanging cured meats (not pictured). The eastern side of the kitchen contains some more modern furnishings, such as a large fridge and freezer in the north-eastern corner, a large dishwasher to the left of this, a small bench against the east wall with a microwave, a toaster and a kettle on it and some cupboards above it, and a large stove and modern oven against the south wall. Anyone hungry?

If you have the parts to make mine then that would be sweet! Then I can say that I was there, if only in minifig form.

Possibly, I really wouldn't know. John takes a look at all the keys you have found. Unsurprisingly the key found on the floor in the hallway fits in the space labelled "ballroom drawer". You do not have a key that fits the "front door" spot. Michael and the Chef take a look through the various items in the bottom cupboard. A red smear on a blue vase with two dragons twined around it catches your eye at the back of the right cupboard, and you pull it over to take a look. Inside is a crumpled up napkin with red stains on it... If you are all finished here then I would be happy to move on. Anyone want to look at anything else, or shall we go look in the kitchen? Not that there's likely to be anything of interest down there, but it's up to you.