Chapter 2 - The Investigation

Looking back at the blazing tree - feeling the flames singing her hairs - Bay turns to Hazel and Sky.

"That was very close - I'm glad we didn't get a chance to find out whether, or how, poisonous that centipede's jaws were!"

"I worry so much about what happened to Blossom. I still hold out some slither of hope that she might have survived. But that slither is very very thin."

She bows her head in sadness.

"Following you now, my friends - let's see if we can get our hands on The Count's medallion fragment."

Sky takes a few steps towards the fire. She squints and tries to see anything in the flames. If the fire leaves anything, they will have to come back and take a look later. It is too hot at the moment. Sky nods once more and follows her friends back towards the manor, where she goes to find Ms Melody.

Sky goes up the steps to find Miss Melody, when suddenly she feels her legs tremble. She quickly leans her back against the wall and focuses on her breathing. What have they done? Why has she not pulled the little one out of the blasted circle? Why are the people here so indifferent?

This isn't fun and games anymore. This is serious business. People are getting hurt and she...Sky lets them get hurt. She hasn't helped the little mousepup, all she has done is repair an old clock and gather a few pieces of a puzzle. How can she just go on? She still smells the burning wood as she forces herself to proceed up the steps.

A split second before she knocks on Melody's door she forces her lips into a inconspicuous smile. She isn't sure it reaches her eyes, though. As the door opens she extends the palm of her right hand and shows Melody the dice she holds.
"I think I owe you an apology, young Miss Melody. Would you care to join me for a game of dice?"

Feeling happy that they have escaped uninjured, Hazel wanders around to find Mr. Filmon.

As soon as the brown archer find their host, she takes the hotelier into her confidence. "As you apparently haven't missed, Ms. Melody is an excellent singer! And imagine Mr. Filmon - she is currently unengaged." the frizzy furred mouse reveals to the short-sighted mouse.

Keeping on enticing him with her words, Hazel takes another step closer and continues to paint in bright colors: "This is in fact a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for you! Don't miss it and grab this talented voice! Arrange an opera evening with her."


She has promptly put one arm around her "new best friend" and is employing her other hand to emphasize her words with convincing gestures:
"The fame of this house will reach far beyond its borders. Can you indeed squander an opportunity like that?" she implores him urgently in a whisper, catching his gaze and then directing it to the bright future ahead. And close contact with the extremely good-looking young artist.

Bay is feeling shaken and a bit lost by the awful experiences they've just been through. Loosing Blossom. The centipede?! The fire?!?!

They are at a loss about what to do next. She wishes she had the gumption of her two friends, but to be honest, at the moment, more than anything she wants to take a break, have a rest, and try to recover her nerves. Before her friends saperate (to talk with Miss Melody and Mr Filimon), Bay tells them both that she is really sorry, but she needs to take a bit of time for herself. That she will go to their room, lie down a bit - but if there's anything she can do to help them out, they should just let her know.

Bay stoops to pick up both the medallion fragment, and the letter.

A chill. Veins of ice. Settle into her bones. Her stomach drops.

Until today, she'd been so excited about the chance to go adventuring with Sky and Hazel. It had felt exciting, a bit dangerous, but also she had looked forward to it. Expected to be maybe a bit scared at times, but to feel like she was having fun.

And then they got to the Manor. And it felt like their adventure was a fun children's game - run around the house, collect the medallion fragments, and then, er, something nice happens?

But what the hell?! Skeletons trying to kill Sky yesterday night? And that awful scene with Blossom - and then the even more awful scene without her. And all the time, the people in this house behaving like actors in a play. Maybe it's all just a big ruse? Maybe every one of them is pretending, maybe they all have some shared awful sinister purpose - and Bay, Hazel, and Sky have fallen right in the middle of that...?!?

Maybe the Captain has deliberately left this fragment here for Bay to find? So that they may bring all the fragments together and something AWFUL happens - not something nice....??

It is the letter. This letter. That the captain dropped. That's the last straw. Bay is overwhelmed and furious and terrified and feels like they are about to explode!

No time for her to rest now.

Bay bustles her way back towards her friends. She'll leave them to finish whatever they're doing - but after that they have GOT to talk together about what the HELL is going on here. And make a plan on how to deal with this awful surreal dreadful situation.

Sky recognises the flicker in Melody's eyes, because she has seen it before - in a mirror. ... a mirror! She feels the tip of her tail twitch in solidarity, but holds back on showing her own enthusiasm. The singing mouse annoys her to no end, she finds. What a shallow, self-centered person.

"I cannot in good conscience play for such an amount - seeing as I haven't got a fraction of that sum to hold to my name. The sword I need to fight imaginary enemies and to impress the ladies, so it will not do either." Sky touches her chin as if in contemplation, then offers: "How about a game for valuables? My grandmother, you see, was handmaid of the world-renowned Mousita Callas for six vital years in her incredible career." Sky let's this colourful image sink in for a bit. She does not really have a clue about classical music, but come on - who hasn't heard of Mousita Callas?

"Anyhow, as I am quite certain you know, one of the biggest problems of the true master is all the damage to the glass - at least the valuable sort. Only the true master, such as yourself, will know the anguish of having the most beautiful artefacts shatter from being exposed to one perfect note." Sky is very attentive to Melody's facial expressions. She tries to read the singer to find out, how to continue spinning her yarn.

"This here mirror, however, ..." she presents a small pocketmirror with simple, but pretty silver adornment "has never so much as shown the beginning of a scratch, even though my grandmother often held it for the beautiful Ms Callas during her divine practice sessions." Sky deftly moves the mirror so as to catch the light and make it sparkle in her hand. "This quality is, as you are aware, invaluable for an artist such as yourself and by all right should be a present from me to you."

Sky pauses effectively, as if in thought, then smiles at Melody brightly: "To have a wager for our game, I will refrain from gifting it to you - as I had intended - and instead stake it against...shall we say, your old brooch? For the game's sake, you understand."

Sky holds the mirror in one hand and the dice in the other.

"Hazel! Care to join us?" Hazel knows fully well that Sky and dice isn't the safest combination, but in this case, the vice might bring them another piece of the puzzle. The smaller mouse knows the game, as they have played some tricks on people in the past - arrogant, rich people, of course, who could afford to part with a few pips.

Hazel knows what to do.

Seeing her opening Hazel doesn't hesitate. "Melody! After listening to your singing... but I let our generous friend, Mr. Filmon, speak for himself." she says and taking a small step back.

Sky is a bit sceptical at first, but trusts her friend's tactics. Filmore does seem excited to see Melody and Sky uses the opportunity to help fortune along a bit...

She sees Bay enter the room and winks at her, before working her dice magic.

Hazel rubs her paws together and glances excitedly at her friends' expressions. How successful they have been so far! They found all six puzzle fragments in no time.

The conqueror of the river waves finds a good place in the middle of the room, spreads out a dark blanket, lays down both parts and looks expectantly at her comrades. "Let's put them together without them touching? Maybe we can learn something of it.

Then have a hearty dinner." the fuzzy furred archer voices her opinion on how to proceed. For her there is no way around the shed. And skeletons are best encountered with a full belly. Like all obstacles and other situations in life.