First Deduction

[modernholmes]

 [Shinichi cautiously follows the signs of disturbance in the castle's corridors.    He still didn't have enough evidence to figure out this situation with any certainty.  Obviously this was a kidnapping.  But so far he had found nothing that hinted as to the identity of the culprits or the motive.  Beyond the box he had found himself in upon waking there had been no sign of any attempts to control his movements.

He needed more information.

Eventually he enters the living area and nods to himself at the signs of inhabitance.  As expected from what he had observed in the corridors.  Someone had been using them recently to navigate this castle.  This looked to be the source.  Casting his eyes across the people in the room, he purposefully approaches a likely candidate.]

Excuse me, may I have a moment of your time?

Comments

I wasn't sure what likely candidates were for him. I can delete if you like, I don't mind!

[eldritch_princess]

Oh? Of course, how can I help you...?

[The woman wearing a rather fancy (if medival-looking) dress looks up from what she was doing - fiddling with the phone. Of course, there was the question why she was a likely candidate to approach. Maybe it were the hurried glances she would, sometimes, give towards the other people, or maybe it just that she was closer to the exit. Maybe her fancy clothing seemed unusually out of place for such a run-down castle. Who knew...]

No, don't! This is perfect.

[modernholmes]

[Shinichi gives her a polite nod. His eyes scan over her clothing and appearance, picking out details and making some deductions. After all, it was the smallest details that the infinitely most important.]

I am wondering if you could tell me anything of what has happened here.

Goody! ^^

[eldritch_princess]

[Cordelia paused for a moment, collecting her thoughts. The way the young man looked at her reminded her of inspectors, inquisitors, and the like, but he probably wasn't something like that, right?]

I am not too sure, I must admit. I, as well as several others, appear to have woken up inside these sarcophagi you most likely came from as well, but nobody I have talked to knew why, or who did it.
What is more, it seems that this place is far away from our homes, if it even is on the same world. I have yet to speak to a single person that has heard of the country I am from, for example, and the same goes for me, for I am unfamiliar with the names others mention.

[She blinked, then glanced at him cautiously.]

I don't think much more has happened yet. There are...shadowy creatures in some areas a bit more distant from this place, and you would have to be able to fight them if you wanted to get past them...

...but they don't seem to be much more than shadowy servants...

[With her wording, she tried to imply that she was in the camp that lacked the ability to fight her way past them, although, strictly speaking, that wasn't true. She had explored a bit, after all.]

[modernholmes]

[Shinichi frowns lightly as he listens, already beginning to sort through the information.]

I see. How many people have you spoken to here so far? Has anyone checked the remaining sarcophagi?

Far away from our homes I would agree with. There are no castles of this size or style located anywhere near my home.

Shadowy creatures? Have you encountered them yourself?

[eldritch_princess]

I've spoken to a few people, who in turn mentioned others having similar arrivals, as far as I remember. But I haven't heard of someone actually checking the other sarcophagi.

[She blinks, realizing how selfish that sounded.]

There didn't seem much of a point, and after being like buried alive, I never thought to return...

[Cordelia pauses for a moment after that attempted apology, then continues.]

As for the shadows, I've seen them twice, always away from other people. There...isn't much else I know about them, but they really seem dangerous, not just illustions.

[modernholmes]

That's normal. [He offers her a small reassuring smile.] When escaping from trauma such as that most people would prefer to put it behind them. But it is something to think about, isn't it?

Where? And what was the situation?

Don't expect me to draw it in paint!

[eldritch_princess]

Thank you. Still...maybe I should check later, just in case...

[She tried returning the smile, although him asking for more on the shadows troubled her a bit.]

Uhm, the first time was several rooms in that direction...

[She pointed at one of the doorways, then blinked, sighed, and hesistantly took something out of a pocket in her dress that, on closer inspection, turned out to be a handkerchief that had been turned into a rather crude map using some sort of green liquid as ink. While it must be hard to draw on a handkerchief, the lines were nevertheless pretty exact, despite them being quite close together.

Since just pointing in one vague direction seemed odd to her, she showed a path on the improvised map to a room that was a bit bigger than some of the others.]

In there. There's a large fallen column seperating the room in two, and behind it was a kind of shadow circle out of which these things poured if one got too close.

The other was in some other corridor but it was gone when I later looked into the corridor again.

Uhm, I hope that helps you you a bit, at least. I'm sorry I don't know that much yet.

XD, no worries!

[modernholmes]

I'd be glad to accompany you, in that case.

[He frowns over the map on the handkerchief as he commits it to memory.]

Thank you for the information. I expect the best method will be to investigate the area for myself.

[stillshinigami]

[Happy Birthday. Duo leaned forward against the table, a hand to his forehead. He hadn't really been able to sleep since he and his double had been attacked. Couple hours at a time, but the combination of his difficult conversation with his younger self and being pulled into what seemed like a cold dark void? The portal? He hasn't been able to get sufficient sleep.

At the voice, he looked up. A moment?]

Sure.

[He pulls a hand up to yawn, looking up at the kid.]

What's up?

[modernholmes]

[Shinichi nods politely at him and introduces himself.]

Shinichi Kudo, detective. I am wondering if you could fill me in on the situation here.

[stillshinigami]

[And they needed a detective too. He raised a brow and offered his hand.]

Duo Maxwell.

The situation? We've been kidnapped, everyone's from a different time and place and apparently magic is responsible for it.

[He let his eyes fall on the detective's face, curious to know how he'd react to that.]

[modernholmes]

[Shinichi shakes his hand firmly. Interesting calluses this person had.]

The kidnapping was a simple deduction. After all, there are very few reasons for a person to wake up in such a situation with no memory of any kind of transport. What I am most curious about right now is the means and the motive.

[His expression falls into annoyance on the last part.]

Magic is never a valid explanation for anything.

[stillshinigami]

Finally. Someone reasonable. I've been saying that this whole time.

Until I started seeing it.

Anyway, I don't know the motive. I don't even know if this isn't just some freak act of nature some how.

[modernholmes]

Holmes said it, right? There should be no occurrence that the mind of man cannot conceive of an explanation for. I have seen many cases where entire communities were convinced that a ghost or monster had been responsible for a crime. And proven it to be nothing but a hoax every time.

Has anyone here heard or seen anything to do with the culprits?

[stillshinigami]

[He looks confused with that quote for a moment, being unfamiliar with the text though he did know who Holmes was. Figures a detective would like those books. Haha. Uuuh--]

A few days ago? Me and a buddy of mine were attacked by these monsters. Looked shadows, didn't feel exactly solid. It's all I've seen so far. Haven't talked to anyone else.

/loves all over shinichi

[oversmiling]

[Seishirou might count as a likely candidate. He certainly seems to be one of the few people who isn't disturbed by the change: he's calm and relatively unphased, sitting currently in a chair to idly program his phone. He glances at Shinichi as soon as the boy walks in, and offers him a smile almost immediately.

How polite!]

Of course you may.

/cheers!

[modernholmes]

[Shinichi calmly makes his way over to Seishirou and gives him a polite nod.]

Thank you very much. I was wondering if you could tell me what has been happening here.

[oversmiling]

It's quite a mystery. Whoever rules over this place has the ability to draw in people from different worlds and times, as well as send us a proportionate amount of food and shelter.

[modernholmes]

Interesting. That would imply the culprits have an interest in keeping us alive.

What do you mean by different worlds and times?

[oversmiling]

It does seem that way. [he smiles instead of elaborating further, his voice light.]

What else could I mean?

[modernholmes]

That is what I would like to figure out.

[oversmiling]

Then I'm afraid I'm not certain what you're asking.

[last_lombax]

[The small creature with the big ears turns around. He raises and eyebrow at the human's speech patterns. Clank would have liked this guy. The polite type, at least he seemed like it.]

Sure.

[modernholmes]

[And as Shinichi looks at the strange creature some new possibilities occur to him. Drugging would explain his lingering headache and lack of mamory.]

Ah, so I am hallucinating after all.

[last_lombax]

...You're not hallucinating. This is real.

And yes, I'm an alien.