NOVEL NEXT Chapter 101 - Dungeons and Deductions
I watch them eagerly wrack their brains about the info they received. They asked good questions I think and received some reasonably important hints, but the presence of a misleading answer muddies the process somewhat.
That is - of course - intentional. Creative thinking is required for this challenge, but a good intuition definitely helps. And a good deal rides on this for delving adventurers I found, as my instincts apparently allow me to block the path for delvers that fail a challenge, so solving this mystery is the only way to advance into the boss room of my first floor.
Based on the talk I'm hearing from delvers within my perception, the boss fight is the most rewarding aspect of any floor, which makes sense to me… after all it is the grand finale of a given floor, a big spectacle of violence and bravery.
While I think to myself, the group of delvers have hashed out their deductions from this group of revelations. The mage, Kallion, is organizing their thoughts for everyone out loud.
“So, we have three possible interpretations for these answers. The first option is that the murder weapon doesn’t come from the kitchen, but the murderer must have spent at least two hours in the gardens, and the general doesn't know anything about the circlet, only that it disappeared.
The second option is that the murder weapon does come from the kitchen, but the murderer could have arrived in the gardens at any moment, and the circlet remains a vanishing mystery.
Finally, the most intriguing and potentially worrying option in my opinion, is that the murder weapon came from the kitchen, the murderer spent at least two hours outside and there is more to the circlet and the general is aware of it.
I feel like we can narrow down whether it is option two reasonably well by asking the guard, though of course the wrong answers could be tricky there as well, so we should be carefull with the wording there. But in general I'd like to avoid questioning the guard until a clearer picture has formed, it feels like they might be able to prove or disprove many answers we received.
Let's instead continue with the cook maybe and try to narrow down about the murder weapon and the kitchen.”
Under a chorus of murmured assent, he then proceeds to take to the stage himself and steps before the mirror. The spectacle of swirling mists begins again, and shortly after, Kallion's mirror image stands behind the frame, sporting a chef's hat and a neutral expression.
“Has there been any kitchen tool that could be used as a weapon to inflict fatal stabbing wounds upon a person that could have been absent around the time of the murder and up to two hours before it?”
He comes out of the gate swinging with that one. The doppelganger appears to give it some thought before nodding in the affirmative.
“Aye, there could be. I've been unable to find one of the skewers that were used in the meat preparation that night when I wanted to clean it around the time of the incident. I found it again the next evening in the kitchen, clean and properly stored.”
“Next, who among the guests was in the kitchen that evening and would have reasonably had a chance to steal the skewer before the incident?”
“Well, there was the cousin of the countess, the general, the magister and that bard. But it is quite the unwieldy thing, I wouldn't know where they would have hid it on their bodies.”
Kallion nods to himself - and inadvertently the person that also looks like himself - before launching into the final question.
“Finally, did you go into the gardens around the time of the incident?”
The doppelganger nods slowly. “Yes, I went out for some fresh air around that time.”
Then the mists swirl and he retreats behind the stage. Ellie loudly announces the number of misleading answers.
“Two of these answers were corrupted.”