Murder Mystery in a Timely Manor - Session 16-17

<sophos> Silence lingers in the Dining room, listing through the air and wriggling into ears.
* Mistress_D lays on the ground finally letting her body rest after her maze adventures.
* Stellar_Ascent sits down, licking his wounds a little.
<Mistress_D> "Alright, it seems."
* Mistress_D coughs rolling over on her back   "We got the wrong combination some where."
<Stellar_Ascent> "I hate puzzles... especially those that punish you physically." He comments, frowning a little at the prospect of more of these.
<sophos> Ace_Moonlight's breaths begin to slow down. After a moment he says, "Come to think of it, I think the marks on the bottom of the lanterns were what the gargoyles eat."
* Mistress_D grunts as she lifts herself up and rest on the wall "Yea, well too late now, we have a loose statue in the maze."
<Bandolier> "So that's what a wrong combination does?"
<sophos> "Well, here's hoping we don't have to go back." Ace takes out a sparkle-cola and a can of apples. He slowly brings them to his mouth in turn.
<Bandolier> "If you're tired you don't have to but I definitely have treasure to find here. A couple of guard-goyles just means there's more to protect!"
* Bandolier beams back at Ace then looks around the room while asking, "So did you find any clues in here?"
<Mistress_D> "Just the riddle and the marks on the Lanterns."
<Stellar_Ascent> "Some notes, though I have long since forgotten what they were about." He mumbles.
<Bandolier> "And you found those in this room?"
<Mistress_D> "O right, also the notes we've collected on our "adventure""
<Mistress_D> "I have the folder with them."
<sophos> "Some of them," says Ace. He looks at the Gryphon and takes a breath. "Let's read them again. Then I have to get to the bell tower."
* Bandolier looks to Ace a bit surprised. "Where's the entrance to the bell tower?"
<Stellar_Ascent> "Everywhere in this area, alongside the mistress and the... others." He responds to the griffon, feeling a bit bad about all the losses already.
<sophos> "It's at the top of the spiral staircase, I think," says Ace. "Through the... gallery."
<Mistress_D> "Lovely," she states, oozing with sarcasm.
* Bandolier thinks back and doesn't recall having seen that and makes a note to figure out where later.
<Bandolier> "So what do those notes entail? And, maybe we should just break the statues? I mean, if they attack us anyways maybe just breaking them works."
<Mistress_D> "I was thinking that as well, though my notes do not contain information of the gargoyles"
<Bandolier> "Mind if I take a look at what we got?"
* Bandolier holds out his claw to receive the folder.
* Stellar_Ascent crawls behind Bandolier to read up as well. "Does not hurt to refresh some memories."
* Mistress_D reaches into her bag and pulls out a folder "Here's mind, ....I......."  exhales holding out a hoof with the documents  "Um give me ..a moments rest though I'm just going to lay down for a bit."
<Stellar_Ascent> "Mistress? Are you alright?"
* Bandolier accepts the folder before saying, "Thanks, I'll take a look at what we have while you two rest."
<Bandolier> "Stellar here looks like he'll be all right so we can hold down the fort for now.
<Mistress_D> "Yes." lays on her side ".. I ....am just hungry ...is all."
<Bandolier> "Do you eat meat," He asks as he opens the notes and begins to go over them.
<Stellar_Ascent> "Most ponies don't." He responds, letting the mistress rest as he reads.
<Mistress_D> "I'd prefer to avoid it." winces as she gingerly lays down* " last thing I need is parasites."
<Bandolier> "Meat is all I got though I guess I can give up one of my colas," Bandolier says as he idly pulls one from his pack and sets it down in front of her.
<sophos> Ace fishes a can of peaches from his bags offers it to Mistress_D. "Here, I have water too."
* Bandolier notices a passage about the attic and makes a mental note to visit that place.
* Mistress_D sighs "...Thank you dear......just" relaxes her body "...Just lay them by my head will you."
<Bandolier> "So I really don't know how to apply these notes, though they do give us pretty decent insight into a couple directions."
<Bandolier> "I'm still thinking the courtyard might be the best since we already started. Tackling a new set of danger seems like a poor decision."
<Bandolier> "What do you think?
<Stellar_Ascent> "If... we need an idea on how to tackle those stone-thingies."
<sophos> Ace holds out the half-key and says, "I think we got what we needed from the courtyard. At least for now."
<Stellar_Ascent> "We would still need the other part though."
* Bandolier examines the half key closely.
* Bandolier looks around the room and takes note of the various rooms. He came in through the one side and then there was the courtyard.
<Stellar_Ascent> "Tell me... how did you even get here?" He asks the Griffon, not feeling like they have introduced themselves properly in the turmoil.
<Bandolier> "Hmm?" Bandolier was summoned from his thoughts by Stellar. "I'm not sure who found me, but I was invited while I was looking for a new lead to chase."
<Bandolier> "When I got here, I just walked in."
<Stellar_Ascent> "Huh... a detective then?" He asks the griffon, jumping to conclusions a bit too much.
<Bandolier> "No, Ya silly pony! I'm a Treasure Hunter!"
<Stellar_Ascent> "Oh... makes more sense." He responds with a chuckle.
* Bandolier rears back and puffs his chest proudly.
<Bandolier> "Speaking of, what about yourself? Let's talk and walk. I want to check out the library since the notes mentioned it being safe. Might be able to find salvage some stuff from the kitchen if you guys haven't already picked it clean.
<Mistress_D> "Check..." inhales "The Boiler and the kegs."
* Bandolier hesitates a moment at D's voice.
<Bandolier> "The Boiler and the Kegs? Where is that?
<Mistress_D> "....." exhales "Kitchen, can't miss."
<Bandolier> "Noted," Bandolier smiled. "Get some rest now."
* Bandolier turned towards the kitchen to look for this, "The Boiler"
<Stellar_Ascent> "Well... we all found invitations and met up in front of the door." He sums up briefly as a response to Bandolier.
* Mistress_D will fade to a quick nap is all she needs
<sophos> The kitchen is dark and flooded. The floor slopes with the weight of the water pooling at the far corner. Giant barrels, a shelf of seasonings, and a sink stay moderately dry at the edges of the room; a massive chain of oven/stove combinations protrude like islands along the far wall.
<Bandolier> "Hey Stellar? Mind bringing in a lantern when you come in?"
* Bandolier meanwhile starts further in to look for the boiler.
* Stellar_Ascent puts on his helm light. "Already covered."
<sophos> There's a large notice on the side of the gas tank. It reads: 1= 30% (fills in increments of 50%, can be emptied) 2= 30% (0nly holds 30%, can be emptied once every ten minutes) 3= 50% (can be emptied) 4= 50% (can only pass on half pressure) 5= 80% (can be emptied) DO NOT OPERATE AT ANY OTHER GAS PRESSURES
* Bandolier looks around the tank for a meter or something.
<Stellar_Ascent> "Yeah, we did not quite figure that puzzle either."
<sophos> The five stove tops have large, circular gauges that go from 0% to 100%
* Bandolier looks for knobs or dials to control the tanks.
<sophos> Bandolier finds two buttons under each of the dials, a green one that diverts pressure to the next stove and a red one that expels it. The stove's each have a valve that fills it with gas, but only the right-most stove's isn't completely rusted.
* Bandolier turns the rightmost valve open.
<sophos> There's a loud hiss as the gauge steadily rises to 100%
* Bandolier pushes the green button to divert the gas.
<sophos> The second gauge goes up to 30% as the first one drops to 70%
* Bandolier pushes the green button to divert the gas for 2nd gauge.
<sophos> The second gauge drops to zero and the third gauge goes up to thirty.
* Bandolier pushes the green button to divert the gas for 1st gauge.
<sophos> The second gauge rises to 30% again, with 40% left in the first.
<Bandolier> fill first valve once, pass through for 2nd gauge, pass through for third gauge, pass through for 4th gauge.
<sophos> The first gauge rises then drops to 70%, the second gauge's needle wavers in place but remains at 30%. It then empties as the third gauge rises to 60%, which it then passes to the fourth gauge.
<Stellar_Ascent> "Gas...?" He wonders out loud, his nose twitching a lot*
* Mistress_D sleeps peacefully as her body rests not a care in the world
<sophos> The time is 21:17

[14:47:52] <~sophos> The kitchen's stench of mold and rust is hardly detectable after the time spent there by Stellar_Ascent and Bandolier. The dining room is deafly quiet as Mistress_D and Ace_Moonlight rest.
[14:49:22] Bandolier thinks a moment about his next course of action but a few more questions need answering.
[14:49:33] Stellar_Ascent beholds the griffon as he works with the puzzles.
[14:49:36] Bandolier hits pass on the 4th valve.
[14:49:50] Mistress_D sleeps a restless sleep.
[14:52:25] <~sophos> There's a painful whine as the fourth gauge's needle descends to 30% and the fifth's rises to 30%
[14:52:54] <Bandolier> "Just like I thought"
[14:52:57] Bandolier grins.
[14:53:21] <Bandolier> "Just one more what if..."
[14:57:17] Bandolier hits the pass on the first valve then the second valve. He does this again with the first and then the second valve. Then he fills valve 1 to 50% before repeating the process once more to bring valve 3 to 90%. He then passes from valve 3 to 4 which is already at 30%.
[15:01:51] <Stellar_Ascent> "You seem confident? You think you got the solution?" He more or less wonders out loud.
[15:05:03] <~sophos> After the series of valve-turns and button presses; the first reads 20%, the second reads 0%, the third reads 0%, the forth reads 100% The smell of gas crowds the room.
[15:06:28] <Bandolier> "I thought I did but I need to rethink this since valve 3 emptied."
[15:07:04] Bandolier grimaces at the aroma filling the room.
[15:08:01] <Bandolier> "Stellar, can you makes sure the door stays open and no fire. Big party fowl.
[15:08:45] Bandolier starts to buffet the air in front of him while he thinks to push the gas from the room.
[15:11:24] <~sophos> It kinda works.
[15:11:25] Bandolier hit pass on the 4th valve to complete the 4th and 5th pieces of the puzzle.
[15:12:06] <~sophos> A green light above the fourth and fifth stoves turns on with a chime.
[15:13:50] <Stellar_Ascent> "Sure." He responds, standing at the door to keep it open.
[15:14:40] Bandolier hits pass on the first and 2nd valves to get the 20% in the 3rd valve.
[15:15:55] <~sophos> The 20% passes from the first, to the second, and to the third gauge.
[15:18:00] <Bandolier> "Alright. New idea. It'll take about 30 minutes or so."
[15:18:49] <Stellar_Ascent> "oooh... okay? Care to explain?" He asks the Griffon, hoping the idea would be nothing dangerous.
[15:19:10] Bandolier fills the first to 50% then passes 30% to the 2nd valve and empties it. He then fills the 1st valve by another 50% and passes 30% to the second valve again.
[15:19:35] <Bandolier> "now to wait 10 minutes. Have to do this a few times to get the right amount in the first valve."
[15:19:46] <Bandolier> "I'm going to clear out some of this gas while I wait.
[15:20:30] Bandolier begins to move about through the room buffeting the air to push it out the door.
[15:23:12] <~sophos> The stench of gas wafts into the dining room.
[15:25:01] Mistress_D nose winkles in her sleeps as she tries to ignore the stench but to no avail as she wakes up groggy
[15:34:47] Mistress_D "guh." opens the door and buffets the gas out of the room
[15:35:31] Bandolier empties the 2nd valve again and passes from the 1st valve to the 2nd again leaving the 1st at 40% and the 2nd at 30%
[15:35:46] <Bandolier> "Now to wait 10 more minutes..."
[15:37:03] Bandolier pulls a Sparkle Cola Cherry out of his pack and sips on it while he waits.
[15:37:17] <Bandolier> "So what's your story Stellar? What got you here?"
[15:46:08] Bandolier idly empties the 2nd valve again and passes from valve 1 to 2 at the 10 min mark.
[15:46:34] Bandolier fills valve 1 up to 60%
[15:47:34] Bandolier hits pass on valve 2 to complete valve three and then valve 1 to put 30% in valve 1 and 2.
[15:47:51] <Bandolier> "An~d That should be it!"
[15:57:03] <~sophos> Green lights above each of the first three stoves join the chorus. The large tank at the dryer end of the stoves lets out a buzz. A valve on its side whirls, a panel slides open, and-- as the valve snaps to a stop-- a small drum is released from the tank.
[16:00:16] Bandolier walks closer to examine the drum.
[16:00:39] <~sophos> It's clearly marked as a fuel drum.
[16:02:25] Bandolier calls out loudly enough for anyone to hear, "Hey, anyone know what this fuel drum might be useful for?"
[16:05:10] Mistress_D shakes her head waking her self up some more before replying "THE CAR!, BUT IT'S DESTORYED"
[16:06:52] <Bandolier> "Well... maybe I can use it for something else..."
[16:13:35] Bandolier looks around the kitchen for containers. Bottles of some sort or even glasses.
[16:15:11] <~sophos> The closest thing Bandolier can find is a moldy spice rack.
[16:19:02] Bandolier tests the weight of the drum to see how much it weighs.
[16:22:52] Mistress_D would trot towards the kitchen half way so she would need to yell as much "Seriously what have you two been doing in here or almost an hour.'
[16:23:35] <~sophos> Liquid fuel sloshes around in the drum. It's about sixty pounds.
[16:25:21] Bandolier struggles to hoist the drum up and bring it to the dining room.
[16:25:51] Stellar_Ascent will support the Griffon once he gets out of the water.
[16:25:52] <Bandolier> "Was busy solving this gas thing while you two rested. Wasn't any treasure but this fuel might be useful.
[16:27:25] <Mistress_D> "Ah." rubs head "That was a thing, ...Sorry I'll join you shortly I need to stretch my wings and wash up."
[16:27:59] Mistress_D will enter the bathroom to do such that.
[16:40:31] Mistress_D using the bathroom before stripping out of her armor to wash her mane coat and tail using the sink clearing herself of as much of the char and blood as she can before looking herself over in the wall-sized bathroom mirror located at the opposite side....then blinks and attempt to take the mirror of the wall.
[16:44:59] <~sophos> The mirror is twice the size of Mistress_D and bolted to the wall.
[16:46:32] Mistress_D Figured it was to big for her to move alone she ops for plan B turning around and bucking it, to see if anything lies behind.
[16:51:09] <~sophos> Mistress_D's hooves shatter the thick glass, which comes down in sheets over her hind legs. Behind the mirror is a camera and various wires.
[16:55:21] Mistress_D winces in pain and frustration as she just cleaned her coat but it's replaced with slight rages as she spots a camera "Thought so."
[17:05:55] Mistress_D calls out "GUYS THERE's A CAMERA IN THE BATHROOM!"
[17:08:19] Bandolier puts the fuel down in the dining hall and continues on to where he heard Big D.
[17:08:42] Bandolier makes note of things that he passes as he goes.
[17:10:27] <Bandolier> "Oh? What fun. Figures someone wants to watch."
[17:17:50] <Stellar_Ascent> "So what? The mirror was semi-transparent?"
[17:22:12] Mistress_D dips with water and blood as she stares on.
[17:23:33] Bandolier finishes his Sparkle Cola and pops the bottle back into his pack thinking, "Geez these ponies like to hurt themselves."
[17:26:22] <~sophos> Bensonmum hovers into the bathroom and lets out a pained sigh. The camera's tiny, red light blinks away at the party-- except Ace_Moonlight, who lies asleep in the dining room.
[17:26:32] <~sophos> The time is 21:56