Dragonator

Since I'm one of the first people in the world to celebrate Christmas, I thought I'd better start the Christmas day topic. So people, here's me wishing you all: A very Merry Christmas! Please feel free to post here all of your Christmas joys; what you are doing on this fine day, what presents (if any) you got, and anything else Christmas-y you want to share, such as Christmas MOCs. Let us come together in the spirit of Christmas and sing merely, drink heavily, and share some Christmas joy!

Miss Sandy takes another look at the records, but no major four letter words stand out. Of course, there are a few in there, but you can't determine whether any are important or not. A quick glance at the furniture from where you are standing does not reveal any engravings or written words (if you want to look closer at something you will need to specify please ).

Yes, I'll be signing up too, of course. I have fond memories of the original Baritones. Ah Darlene... what lovely hair you have... I'm looking forward to your next one as well TinyP, that teaser picture is great! Sure looks like it'll be fun. I'm guessing a more modern setting for your next one is in order? Hey, so when do I get to do MCII? Later your Lordship. Don't be so selfish, you're already running a game right now. I am? Oh right. It's just not the same without Majiko though... I'm still here!! Oh M%g@bl&$s! Quick, back to the manor! Barricade the doors! You'll never get me you old coot! Ah it's so nice to be wanted.

Peter, after his rather unfortunate confrontation with the door, decides to look through the records for any sign of a slip of paper, or for that matter any other foreign objects. His search proves fruitless however; all that is there is the records and their cases. Probably worth a fair bit now too. Well, if you would like to continue looking at things then please do so, otherwise perhaps we should consider moving on, if you are finished here? We can either go back through the south doors to the hallway and move on from there, or else try the doors on either the west or east walls.

Peter climbs up the stairs to the door at the top sand pushes. It is unfortunately locked. Your chunky black key does not fit... Meanwhile, Miss Sandy suggests that they look around for a four letter word somewhere in the room. Hmmm, so where do you want to look then? asks Dragonator.

Thanks mate, very much appreciated. I'll get that address to you soon.

Hey everyone, it's good to be back again. Looks like things have been a little quiet without me! Please feel free to continue your investigations, just remember that the chapter will end in precisely two days whether you are ready or not! In case you are a little confused about the new challenge, I'll just try and explain a little more now. I want you to try and discover as much detail as you possibly can of the events of the previous night. There is no time limit to this; the winner will be the person who can tell me the most about what happened on the previous night, so don't leave out anything! I'm expecting a shortish essay stating exactly what you think happened. Remember that this is optional and not vital to the game; it is just a bit of fun for those of you who want something hard to do. Feel free to PM me at any time with what you think happened based on what you know so far; I have already received one PM, which is great so early in the game. Also remember that this has nothing to do with the other challenge and will not count for your three guesses. I will read what you tell me, but I will not tell you if you are right or wrong etc until after the game has ended. hen the game ends you will have the chance to send me a PM with everything you think that happened; this is the one which will count for this challenge, although if you send me information by PM earlier then this will also count, as long as it is right. If you send me some information but later change your mind, that is fine, just send me another PM with your your new idea. If you have any further questions about this, please ask away, but otherwise, have fun solving this mystery!

Just as John is about to try and knock Peter over the head, Dragonator comes back through the door, and everyone turns to look. Thanks for waiting, that call was longer than I expected. Luckily there were no problems, although I understand one of the design crew had to take a three day break to go on a 71km tramp or something of the like... Anyway, let us resume the investigation, shall we? I'm glad to see you have all gotten on so well without me and... ah. Yes. The EB detectives get back to the investigation after their very emotional and in-depth bonding period.

Ice... Cube... Tray? Ice Cube Tray!? Awesome!! How very neat, I don't have one of those, and they're not available here, so I'm quite pleased. Yay, Lego ice cubes! I really don't understand how anyone could not like this, it is such a cool concept (Get it, "cool"? As in ice cubes? Yeah I know, I'm hilarious. ). Sorry what? Oh yes, I'll take a picture for you, Hinck. Thanks Sinner for hosting this, and also many thanks to my very kind and generous ice cube tray donor, to whom I am ever so grateful. I'm looking forward to seeing just how wonderful this item is, I've heard so much about it. Oh yes, and it's nice to be back! Although I do notice that the calendar has my old witch hunt avatar, I don't suppose there is any way to get my normal one up there? I need to maintain my image you see.

Nice avatar Sandy! I've just got a little update of your objectives here, as well as the instructions for while I'm away. I have also posted this in the chapter two thread. If you have any questions, don't ask, because I'm leaving! Well, very soon anyway. ********** New Objective: Find out what happened last night in the manor. I have decided that there are now going to be two objectives; the first main one, and a harder optional second one, for those of you feeling adventurous. From the clues you gather, you are to try and attempt to piece together the events of last night inside the manor. This will require some logical thinking and perceptive analysis of the clues, so I hope you've all been paying attention. When you feel you have pieced together all (or most) of the events of the previous night, simply send them to me in a PM just like the other objective. Good luck, and have fun! I will be away from now until Tuesday night. Therefore no investigation questions will be answered in this time period. You may spend this time talking with each other, interrogating each other, analysing clues, and generally doing what you do best. Don't have to much fun without me!

The detectives have almost finished celebrating their brilliance when a phone rings. Opps, sorry that's mine. I need to take this, it'll be from the people building my Snow Box. I think they need me for a photo shoot or something. Back soon. Dragonator walks out of the room, leaving the detectives alone together. It is agreed that they will take a short break from investigations while he is gone, and instead use the time to talk with each other and maybe learn a bit more about the people in the rest of the group. For nobody can forget that one among them is the killer... This would also be an excellent time to analyse the clues you have found so far, and perhaps start piecing something together. Or perhaps it is to soon? Or perhaps, the detectives do not even trust each other enough to confide everything they know... The detectives remember that they have four questions to answer, but it is also thought that it would be good if they could attempt to piece together exactly what happened the previous night. ********** New Objective: Find out what happened last night in the manor. I have decided that there are now going to be two objectives; the first main one, and a harder optional second one, for those of you feeling adventurous. From the clues you gather, you are to try and attempt to piece together the events of last night inside the manor. This will require some logical thinking and perceptive analysis of the clues, so I hope you've all been paying attention. When you feel you have pieced together all (or most) of the events of the previous night, simply send them to me in a PM just like the other objective. Good luck, and have fun! I will be away from now until Tuesday night. Therefore no investigation questions will be answered in this time period. You may spend this time talking with each other, interrogating each other, analysing clues, and generally doing what you do best. Don't have to much fun without me!

(Sorry for my lateness with this response. I've written it in cronological order however, so that Max looks very silly at the end. ) Peter pulls out the top draw of the cabinet and searches all the surfaces thoroughly. While searching you find that a panel of wood on the back gives of a hollow sound. Sliding it back you find a small hollowed out space taken up by a chunky black key. Miss Sandy sniffs at the wine glass. As the chef saw earlier, the glass contained red wine mostly due to the faint traces of it in the bottom. You can smell wine as well, confirming the visual evidence. The clock on the wall shows the current time of 25 minutes past 11 at night. She then walks over to the safe. It is very solid, the only way to open it would be to type the password on the keyboard. Perhaps the cryptogram will be able to help? Meanwhile, Max tries entering the note into the keyboard. He hits enter, and a loud beep is heard. A single red light pops up above the display panel. Not long after this, Miss Sandy says she has cracked the code! Well done! Looks like Max should have waited...

The chef looks at the records. They are a selection of old classical dance music, jazz and and more modern works including Elvis and the Beatles. You cannot see anything odd about them. John places his key in the keyhole of the small cabinet and... success, it fits! Unlocking the draw, you open it and find... nothing? "Well that was a bit of an anti-climax" somebody grumbled. Meanwhile, things are heating up on the dance floor, with Max and the Chef now performing a wild tango. Peter, being a cunning, devious lawyer type, attempts to trip Max, who goes the wrong way and ends up landing all three of them in a big heap. Unconcerned with the goings on, Dr. Phil continues his inspection, now looking at the armour. It is in the same style as that seen in the Hallway and Entrance Foyer. The shield looks like it was once painted, but has long since faded or flaked off. Unlike the armour elsewhere in the house, this is in slightly worse shape with some dents in it. It looks like it was probably used in combat. The sword is very plain, more likely to have belonged to a normal soldier than an officer. Ah, nice to see you back Anthony. We are still missing Bernard though. He's probably pilfering the antiques in one of the other rooms.

The ribbon is just a plain loop of thread probably used to hang the key somewhere. There are no engravings. It would probably fit something small like a box or a cabinet draw etc. You have already tried this key in the cabinet in the dining room, do you really want to go back and try it again?

The rope is coiled into a long length, while one end has been fashioned into a noose. When uncoiled it is around 5 or 6 metres long. What do you want to know about the key? It is small, a dull grey, and on a small piece of red ribbon. Anything else?

Michael examines the staircase. There is a small space beneath the stairs, taken up by the large safe which Max revealed when he pulled on the old sconce. You cannot see any other apparent compartments. John takes a look at the couch. It certainly looks comfy, and is piled with cushions woven in silver and gold thread. Searching among the cushions does not reveal anything, however you do find a coil of rope stashed underneath the couch...

Dr. Phil walks over to the two chairs by the west wall and, after examining the legs and seat to make sure it is stable, picks up the left one and carries it to the centre of the dance floor, where Max is pretending to do a solo waltz. By standing on the chair, he can just reach the chandelier. It appears to be made of painted corrugated iron worked into fanciful shapes. There are five main bulbs which cast a dim light over the whole room. You cannot see anything else interesting about the chandelier. Moving the chair to the side wall, Dr. Phil also decides to check the two wall lamps. They are both modern, and have small grills on the fronts of them which can be remove. Removing these simply reveals a single bulb inside. You cannot see anything else of any note.

Miss Sandy walks over to the sideboard and inspects the things sitting on it. The silver platter looks old and has the letters IHS inscribed into the centre of it. As well as the platter there is a pair of matching silver candle sticks, a small silver bowl filled with wrapped peppermints and a small folded card. The card reads as follows: Dear Lord Chester, On behalf of all those here at The Grand-Chancellor I would like to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We appreciate your business during the year and look forward to having you and your employees here with us again for many of your conferences to come. Yours faithfully, Christian Baker Chairman of the Board May I ask how exactly you plan on climbing up there so you can inspect them? The chef walks over to the small cabinet and attempts to open the two draws. The top draw is locked, however the bottom one comes open. It is filled with old records. The chef then inspects the wineglass. There is a faint trace of red wine in the bottom and a few stains around the rim; it must have been used recently. Max walks up the stairs and pulls on the old sconce. Unsurprisingly, a grating sound is heard, and a section of wall below the stairs slides away to reveal a large metal safe. The safe is fitted with a modern display screen and a keyboard. There is also an accompanying note, which reads as follows: Ndd kxm nlx gpb xtd zif rrm xxo ndx mnx epb dze rxn nxe ide o. Bfg xbp frx opn nxa knj ifr rex jzr nfm prd hyd zn. Peter decides he wants to take a look at the paintings. There are a total of thirteen paintings arranged in two rows to the left of the south doors, and all but one are portraits of people. The one that is not of a person is of a large red dragon, similar to the one seen in the seal on Dragon Seal shown on the main doors and on the right shoulder plates of the statues in the hallway, except shown as a portrait (head and neck visible). All the pictures can be removed from the wall. You do not discover any out-of-place knobs or switches, but a sheet of paper does fall to the floor when you lift away the portrait of the dragon. On it is a short message. Surely they are not trying to get rid of me? Must be vigilant. Red Dragon watches, guarding against everyone. He will not stop me! Perhaps I need to be more wary... The record on the record player is labelled Pomp and Circumstance. Dermot starts it, and the sound of classical music fills the room. The grand music is certainly fit for a ball. Michael picks up the trumpet and takes a look at it. It is an ordinary brass trumpet, perhaps somebody in the household is a musician?

Why you lucky $%^#er! How did you manage that? However you did it, nice find! I've been trying to get hold of one for a good price ever since they became available...

The Ballroom The EB detectives agree that they will head north into the ballroom. Opening the large carved doors, they walk through into the huge room. The ballroom is huge, and must surely be the largest room in the house. There is of course a lot to take in. The centre of the room is taken up by a raised area of wooden floor, most likely for dancing on. Above this is a black chandelier which casts a dim illumination over the whole room. The rest of the room is tiled in red and yellow. Other than the now south doors which you entered through, there are two other sets of large doors, one on the east wall and one on the west. A staircase against the north wall leads up to another smaller door in the north-western corner. The north wall also contains a modern clock (note that the correct time is not shown, sorry) and two modern wall lamps, as well as a raised platform with a stool and trumpet on it. A record player stands next to this platform. The east and west walls are both panelled in wood, with a set of doors in the centre of each. The west wall (shown below) has two chairs against it towards the south-western corner, and a suit of armour below the stairs. There is also an old sconce next to the door at the top of the stairs. It is also noted that an empty wineglass is resting on one of the banisters on this side of the room. The east wall has only a few things of interest. There is a small two-and-a-half seater couch pressed against the wall, and there is a sideboard in the south-eastern corner, with a large silver plater on top, as well as a few other small items. The south wall is covered in a variety of old paintings, most of which are portraits of people. The only other thing in the room is a small wooden cabinet with two draws, halfway along the west side of the south wall. Well, let's take a look around, shall we? suggest Dragonator.

Um, you do know we hold these derby's during the day, don't you? Nice entry Batbrick, and a cool story to go with it. I love how these all reflect the sig-figs of the builders, this is such a cool contest. But you will never defeat the Dragon Sled!

No, not yet. If anyone can get each other killed, it will be those two. If Shadows had asked to push Hinck down the dumb waiter shaft I probably would have let him. To late now though. Wait what? Who said that? We'll be moving on to the next room just as soon as I get the write-up done. I think this might also be a good time to tell you that I will be away from Friday until Tuesday, but I will leave something for you to do. In terms of future chapters, this current one will end Christmas Day, and the third chapter will begin around the 2nd of January. This is to give everyone a chance to enjoy the holiday festivities, as well as because I'll be away then too. After that we shall improvise. Besides, there is no reason to rush this game, right?

Having looked at everything they can think of, it is agreed that the group should move on. Ignoring the doors in the north wall, it is agreed that they will head back into the hallway and move on from there. Perhaps they might find Bernard hiding somewhere as well. The detectives walk back out into the hallway. They have two options from here, the large carved north doors, or the tall east doors. The choice is yours, make it wisely...

Max takes a thorough look at the table and food, but cannot see anything that has not already been spotted. He then attempts to look down the dumb waiter shaft. The light only reaches about a metre down, you cannot see the bottom nor any sign of the dumb waiter.

Yes, much better thanks. I was worried for a second there.