Hinckley

*That's the warmest you've gotten.* *They seem like statues. You feel sad around them. It's hard to examine the one on the right too closely with that entity there...*

*Maybe somebody should at least try looking around for one!* *No.*

*For a moment, the dark gem glows darker and the bright gem grows brighter.*

*Sheldon lovingly examines Diesel's arms. It is cold to the touch and the skin is pallid and has a slight gray hue to it.* *The sword is in your pocket where it always is.* *Samantha asks Fred Thomas for the dark gem to try her little experiment.* *Sheldon reaches into Diesel's pocket to grab his sword. Diesel decides he'd rather hold his own sword for now...* *Fred Thomas is thwarted by an angry Donna Falcon who was not distracted by the statue fiasco and still guards her husband.* *Find a freakin' dark gray tile...*

*The center statue is stone and, as mentioned earlier, doesn't move at all.* *Diesel attempts to move the "statue" on the right and when he touches it, an odd series of events occurs: the statue's arm seems to move to brush Diesel's hand away. Diesel clutches his right arm and falls back. The "statue" seems to step down from it's alcove although it is possible that it just fell, everything happens so fast. As Diesel lays on the ground shaken and shivering, a presence appears in the room, placing itself between Diesel and the "statue." As everyone looks at the odd apparition, Diesel complains of being very cold. The "statue" on the left side of the room also falls off the wall.*

*The wall of unopened panels does seem to be one large panel.* *Which statue's arm would you like to try and move?*

*The benches do not move.*

*Sandy picks the tranquilizer gun back up.*

*Donna surprisingly knocks the tranquilizer gun out of Sandy's hands. Sandy goes after the older woman, who can surprisingly hold her own. Donna lands a good square punch to Sandy's face and Sandy retaliates by shoving Donna up against the wall. Sheldon pulls Sandy away from the fight while Diesel pulls Donna back towards William where the encroaching mob is getting closer with their chains to subdue William...* *Diana ignores the distraction and tries to find that missing tile from the mosaic to get more answers and hopefully stop the fighting...*

*Three.*

*Fred shows Sheldon the gem. There is nothing moving inside, but there is a power to the gem that makes it seems somewhat...alive.* *Fred pockets the gem.* *Fred removes the chain from the bike and starts to tie up William with it.* *Donna gets in the way, protecting her husband, certain that the gem was planted on him or it was something given to him by his father.*

*Diesel and Sheldon search Penny and William's pockets for any evidence linking them to a cult.* *Diesel doesn't find anything incriminating on Penny, but notices that her necklace seems to be growing a little brighter than before. Looking at the stone, he realizes that it is a rather bright gem.* *Fred pulls a dark gem out of the pocket of William's coat.*

*Sandy tranqs Penny and William.* *Penny and William slump to the ground. Their pissed off loved ones tend to them.*

Well, I've sent some info out to players and I'm waiting for them to bring it to the chapter. Hint hint players.

*Ingrid picks up the letter and reads it to the group: "I saw Monica Maltese kill Siegfried Harcourt! She and her friend Jonathan Falcon have done a good job at convincing everyone that there's an evil curse on the place, but they sacrificed Mr. Harcourt to do it. I saw them taking gems from a compartment in the Ceremony Chamber. I stole one of the green ones. Hopefully, they'll spare my life for it. They saw me witness the murder and I know they'll do the same when they find me. I hope my bargaining chip works. If not, I hope someone finds this and learns the truth. I hope I live to see my wife and son again. Robert Mantino"*

Don't hold your breath. Got the Battle of Alamut and Ostrich Race, both great sets. There are my reviews.

*The voice in the sky had a very long day yesterday Sorry. I will read you the letter that is contained in the empty yet full compartment once I return from work today. Even the voice in the sky has to put food on the table... *

*There is an empty compartment on the wall where the brick was removed. There appears to be something inside...*

Picked up the new PoP sets at LEGOLAND California today.

*It seems to have come out of the wall. It's not as thick as you would've imagined. As a matter of fact, it doesn't seem as thick as the other bricks on the ground.* *Diana's hearing aid must be malfunctioning on that side. Perhaps you should ask her again.*

No apologies necessary guys. I just wanted to encourage you all to stick with it. There will be more puzzles in the future but chapter 6 will bring a lot more action too.

*A few moments pass and Tony re-enters through the break in the wall. He looks slightly shaken. Scaling back down the wall he knocks a brick loose, which falls to the floor...*

Yes sir! More torch puzzles coming right up! Next room will be lined with twenty torches, each needing to be turned to a different angle mwahahahahahahaha

Hello participants! I hope you are still all having fun with the game. I am really enjoying hosting it and its exciting to see so many people still active. I know the game is a bit slower than others and has been going for a while but I hope you can all stay patient and just think of this as fun. I've had a few people drop out and I've had another request and I think I've talked that person into staying. If your commitments are getting overwhelming, let me offer this bit of advice for continuing with and enjoying this game. If you have to take off for a few days, its easy to catch up. Just check my posts for italicized text and that should give you all the info you need to continue with the game. Posting just a few times a chapter is enough and staying up on the mystery is really all that is required. I understand being stretched thin. I have a new job, have been preparing for a promotion, working a sidejob and just had my tonsils removed. I am still finding the time to host the game amongst all of that and that is why its going so slow. Trust me, I'll be patient with you if you have other things to do since you have all been so graciously patient with me. The game is more than halfway over, so just bear with me and I guarantee it'll be fun. I really enjoy doing this. This is a lot of fun and I love creating the mystery. I really appreciate all of you for playing along and having fun too. At the beginning of the next chapter, which will be soon, I'll be a little more clear about your objectives and start setting up the way to win the game. Continue having fun, guys, and thanks so much for playing!

*William helps Tony up the wall.* *Tony prods the "tentacle" to find it is only a vine. Searching for the source of the vine provides no clear results. It appears to be growing up out of a large hole in the rock. Tony looks down the hole and cannot see the bottom. A cool blast of air hits him when he looks down the hole and he is chilled to the bone.* *Tony climbs over the wall and outside of the temple...*