Chapter 2 - The Investigation

"Very well then. I am starving." Sky smiles at Mr. Filmore brightly, then adds "I better go and get Hazel before she misses any culinary delights." Where might Hazel be? It is not like her to miss any opportunity to eat, let alone a grand dinner.

"Where might she be, Bay? Will you come look with me or are you preoccupied at the moment?" Bay might know where Hazel's gone off to and Sky really wants to tell her about her find - not to boast, mind you, just to ... share their united...accomplishements. If Bay is playing Filmore though, she does not want to interrupt her friend's move.

"I haven't seen Hazel recently, Sky - but I'm sure she'll be along again soon. I'll join you, Mr Filmon, at dinner - looking forward to hearing some more about the spooky stories of the manor, and meeting more of your guests."

(Bay isn't really worried about Hazel's whereabouts at the moment - and is hungry...)

"Alright. I won't be a jiffy." Sky looks back towards the living room. Hazel surely isn't there or at the library. The mouse's luminous eyes wander in the direction of the stairs. Maybe Hazel wants to check out some of the rooms, while the guests are in the dining area? I bet she does! She might need some help.

Before Sky makes her way up to the second floor, however, she decides to have a look at the fabled courtyard. She had told Mr. Filmon that she finds it interesting, so having a quick look surely won't hurt. Decidedly she turns and makes for the little garden area. Sky will look around there first, then look for Hazel upstairs.

With flying paws Hazel stacks wood ontop of the trapdoor. Next she takes the trowel and her little hammer and wedges the tool into the gap between the door and stone. This should gain her some time.

Running to the door of the shed she pushes ... wait! ... tries to push ... it is closed and locked! "Nononononono...! the brown archer bubbles in disbelieve while shaking it another two times, not willing to accept that the situation.

Through looking around hastily she tries to find another exit or a way to manipulate the lock that is on the outside. A crawling space? A hatch in the roof? A loose plank somewhere?

As she sat down at the table, Bay introduced herself to the other guests - she is genuinely excited to be meeting so many different mice on her adventures!

Bay tucks into her food enthusiastically - while keeping her ears open to the conversations going on around the table.

If an opportunity presents itself, she will join in the conversation between Miss Melody and Mrs Sprocket - curious to hear whether they have any new information or angles on the mousterys surrounding the manor - particularly the disappearance of the former-owner's son.

After crawling through, Hazel springs back up from her knees and paws and starts moving very deliberately in the direction of the dining hall. Running into Sky a few heartbeats later, she stiffens for a moment but relaxes as soon as she recognises her friend. Breathing heavily, the brown furred archer starts to dust herself, flinging mud from her mantle and rearranging her stuff back onto its places. "Mr. Filmon ... he has some skeletons in his closet." she huffs at her old comrade. "Tell to you later." she adds, before continuing to the dining hall. When The Walking Dead would break out of the shed, Hazel plans to be in a completely different room. With as many witnesses around as possible, that she had nothing to do with those creeps.


Catching her breath and smothering her hair before entering the dining hall, Hazel smiles in a friendly manner at the other house guests and aims for a nice spot to sit. "Good evening everyone." Food would be good now. Calming her nerves through shoving tasty things into her mouth always worked since her mom did that to her as a toddler.

Bay definitely wants to follow up on these promising tidbits of information...

1. "Oooh, that sounds intriuging - did you hear anything about what KIND of service he might have provided his benefactor?"

2. "Did you hear the ghostly noises coming from outside the house, from outside your bedrooms, or somewhere else in the house?"

3. "Did you hear anything about WHY the family didn't go out searching for their lost son?"

And also:

"Hello Hazel! Hope you had a good afternoon here in the manor - do tuck in, the food is excellent!"

Sky, completely puzzled by her friend's sudden appearance, needs a moment to clear her head. She flattens her hair and twists her whiskers, then follows after Hazel into the dining area. Something is not right, but things will have to wait for now...

Even before she enters the dining room, the smell makes her stomach growl. Sky decides to take a quick look into the kitchen area to see, how many workers were responsible for the splendid dinner. She sees the cook on one of her quick trips from one room to another. Are there any more mice in the kitchen?

After having satisfied her curiosity, Sky joins her friends, introduces herself briefly and takes a plate of her own. She enjoys the food without joining into the conversations at first, then - after the initial digging in - she states: "I have managed to repair the clock and put it where I thought it might belong. It should be able to count the time once more. I wonder when it stopped to do what it was made to do. "

As the guests are leaving the dining room after their meal, Bay falls in step with her two friends.

"That felt like a busy day! I learned several exciting new things about the manor, about the moustery we are here to learn about, and about Mr Filmon - how did you all get on?"

"I'd like to talk about what we got up to today when we get up to our room - and then probably get an early night after our long day"

Joining Ms. Melody and Mrs. Sprocket in their discussion about eerie atmospheres, Hazel is keen on learning what the two women find especially weird. Maybe the clicking of bones? In the beginning the brown archer steals a sideglance to the entry of their room quiet often, but as no skeletons seem to have gotten out, the river mouse relaxes a bit and asks the strikingly pretty Ms. Melody: "That is a very nice brooch you are wearing, dear. If I may so bold: where did you get it?" If the nicely dressed mouse seems open to such things, Hazel will try to barter for the piece.