TerrorFest 2018 - Zero Escape

Cyrus Winter

Cyrus stood up from his wall and walked over to Remy, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I've seen people stare death in the face before. I've done it myself quite a few times." He said to her gently, before taking one of her hands. He traced the shape of a logo onto her palm. "I'll stay. If I don't make it out, that'll help you track this psycho down. Or at least make sure this doesn't happen again."

- Remy -

Remy was still tense, watching for their reaction.

When Cyrus offered to stay behind instead of her, she looked at him for a second. Then her eyes narrowed.

She placed the hand, where he'd drawn the invisible logo, back into his hand. "No, you can keep that. And when you make it out, you can use that yourself and track this bastard down."

"I'm not backing down, just because you take pity on me for whatever reason," she said, "Responsibility, remember?"

It was true, she was a rebel at heart. She wouldn't sway, now that her decision was made.

Cyrus Winter

"Responsibility, yes." He replied. "I was a soldier, and now I'm a hired guard. I should have taken responsibility before and let Jacke through. This isn't about pity. I'm staying. That's final."

She may have been a rebel, but he was Cyrus. He'd outright pick her up a chuck her through a door if he had to. "Let me stay, Ms. Remy. To make up for my cowardice the last time, if nothing else." He looked her in the eye with a sincere, pleading gaze. Nothing like his otherwise common deadpan stare.

Yù zǐ shuǐjīng - Foyer - Yù zǐ - Madness

The fresh pink was now showing at all the places the nervous man had ripped away at the dry skin from his lips.

Yù zǐ was slightly slouched forward when a nervous chuckle escaped his lips.

"Kehkeh." His eyes were darting around wildly, lingering for only a second upon all the people present in the room, one by one.


As Yù zǐ's eyes went back and forth between the people who were volunteering as what seemed to be sacrificial lambs, something cracked in his mind.

"Kehkeh!!" This time the sound was a bit louder than before.

"Wh-what are you talking about?" His eyes seemed to appear wide open, and the twitching in the right was not at all subtle.

"Of course I am the only one who can handle the Goat." the deranged man's head twitched every time he moved it about, first towards the monitors and then to the ceiling and spinning around to scan the corners of the room. "Kehkeh, you hear that Goat!! "You are not taking anyone else; I am right here." His nervousness was getting overshadowed by crazy. "Come-at-me-Bro!!!"

The sound of his chest being banged upon by his clenched fist loudly echoed away from him. "I am right here!!, I will prove to everyone that this-is-just-a-game!!

Yù zǐ dropped down onto his knees, raised his arms while facing the montiors and then calmly said, "Bring it."

There was a smile stretched all around that was way creepier than even the goatman could top; the rampant look of crazy in his eyes added to the overall flare.

- Luna -

He's trying to teach us a lesson. We need to figure that out.

Those words bounced around in Luna's mind as the conversation swirled around her. Was Alecia right about that? What kind of lesson could this sick bastard be trying to teach them? It seemed much more likely that he was just getting enjoyment out of the whole scenario, but Luna forced herself to change her perspective.

What if the whole thing was a puzzle? Not just the individual rooms, but the entire game? What if each individual in this room was a "clue" to the final solution? She glanced at the faces around her. What did any of them actually have in common? It didn't make any sense.

A crazed laugh dragged her from her thoughts, and Luna looked over to see Yu zi kneeling, arms raised towards the monitors. She rolled her eyes at the display, but at the same time, she was only now coming up to speed on the conversation that had been going on around her.

And then, it clicked.

"Would the lot of you get your acts together?!" She practically snarled to the group.

Her eyes darted around the room. Who else had read the entire contract?

Alecia! There's no way she would have missed it.

"You said we have to play by the rules, right?" Luna asked, giving the other woman a long look. "If that's true, then we better damn well start following all of them." As she said the words, Luna jerked her head towards the group of would-be martyrs.

- Remy -

Remy averted her eyes, her will almost faltering.

"I'm not going to argue with you, Cyrus," she said. "That would defeat the whole point of me volunteering. We can't cause any more divide in this group."

It almost felt like he was using her actions as an excuse to offer up himself as volunteer. Or maybe it had just been the last push for what already was on his mind.

It didn't matter now.

Before she could say anything else, Yu Zi sort of lost it, still believing this was just a game. He knelt down and volunteered as well.

Remy sighed. This had gotten out of hand.

When Luna also joined the conversation, Remy stared at her curiously, feeling apprehensive. She was smart enough to notice that Luna was referencing that she wasn't aware of.

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

Morgan

Morgan turned around his wet eyes now looking at the rest of the group with a look of pure confusion.  What the hell were these nut cases doing?  Yu Zi is acting like a madman, while Luna is talking about a contract.  He would of been angry at just Remy for messing up his plans, but this... this was just too much.

"Be. Quiet!" Morgan shouted at Yu Zi, as he quickly walked up to the insane singer and smacked him across the the face with a loud slap resonating throughout the room, as he forcefully pulled the singer back up onto his feet by his shirt.

"This-is-just-a-game?  Grow UP!  This is a real twisted, messed up, utterly STUPID situation and all you're doing is throwing your life away and disappointing YOUR fans."  Morgan gave a twisted scowl, as he shoved the singer back onto the ground.

"I am so very fed up with ALL OF YOU.  I pour my heart and give a suggestion to avoid THIS VERY SITUATION and you all just go 'NO LET'S GO RIGHT BACK INTO THE OVEN'"  Morgan began clapping and tears began flowing down his face as he stated in defeat, "Well la de da, **** all of you, I'm leaving and whoever has any sense left can come with me since the rest of you all seem so eager to die or spout nonsense."

Morgan yanked his cloak out of Kenny's hands and began walking towards one of the doors in a fit of rage while accidentally putting back on the cloak backwards. He slammed his hand into the wall next to the door to vent out his frustrations.  Then, readjusted his cloak to the proper position with his face turning an even brighter red.

Upon being manhandled by Morgan, Yù zǐ could only scowl back at him. He half felt like telling him off about it and saying that he was perfectly crazy and knew what he was doing, but then Morgan stormed off towards one of the exits, so Yù zǐ simply turned his back towards him and started looking for a chair that he could throw at the monitors, but eventually resigned from that task.

In his current state of craziness, his senses were focused on getting out of here an meet up with their game host. Maybe there was a hidden panel in the walls that he could break through, anything to get to the other side with haste. No one knows what Pierce and Jacke might be going through. If they were together or the Goatman had kept them apart, so that neither knew the fate of each other.

Yù zǐ started sliding his palm across the walls of the room, hoping to press or any switch or some other form of key piece that would let him go through an alternate path out of the foyer.

He was basically avoiding the others, but his ears were still listening to their conversations and statements, such as Remmy asking Luna about what she meant.

The situation devolved into total chaos. Alecia had been expecting another antagonistic vote at worst, with dirty laundry being aired and accusations hurled, but she wasn’t prepared for the sudden bouts of shouting matches and desperate declarations of martyrdom.

"Would the lot of you get your acts together?!" Luna snarled to the group, but no one seemed to be paying her much attention. Kenny had shrunk back into one of the corners, hugging his arms and looking for all the world like he’d enjoy nothing more than hiding under a blanket in the safety of his bed.

Only Alecia remained in the center of the room with Luna, trying not to lose her composure over the insanity going on around them.

"You said we have to play by the rules, right?" Luna asked, giving her a long look. "If that's true, then we better damn well start following all of them." As she said the words, Luna jerked her head towards the group of would-be martyrs.

What did she mean by that? Rules... Alecia reviewed all the rules he’d given them in her mind, but she couldn’t see what Luna was getting at. That was the whole point. They were trying to follow them by moving on in pairs so they didn’t activate the death traps.

Could she mean some other rules? What other rules?

There was the contract. But... Her eyes widened. Never volunteer. It had said that. She thought it pertained only to the drowning room, but could it mean the whole experience? But why?

The lesson. He was trying to teach them a lesson. GUILTY. That’s what he wanted them to know. This whole thing was about making them accept that they were guilty. About judging each other for their guilt.

But volunteering, playing the martyr... That didn’t fit into that plan. He wouldn’t like that. What difference didi it make though what reason they were left behind? The Goatman would surely kill them either way.

Or would he?

Alecia locked eyes with Luna, then turned away. Of course, if they took it to a vote, that was riskier. If people were volunteering to stay behind, maybe she should just let them. Pretend she didnt’ know. I mean, she couldn’t be sure she was right anyway.

Luna would judge her though. That could come back to haunt her. And hiding informationt that could mean the difference between life and death... that would definitely haunt her.

“I don’t know if volunteering to stay behind is a good idea,” she said, her voice strained. “Maybe a vote is the best way to go.”

- Remy -

Morgan was the next to break down and even started to cry while Yu Zi started to search for something along the walls.

Remy shook her head lightly. She didn't even know what to say. Of course she was scared too, but this? Well apparently stress pushed people to do the strangest things.

She returned her attention to Alecia and Luna, where some sort of communication was going on.

Alecia proposed that they should vote instead of anyone volunteering to stay behind.

"Fine," Remy replied. "Why don't you cast your vote first then?"

She still hadn't given up on her determination to volunteer. If this ended in a discussion again... well hopefully there would be enough time. Last time there had only been a few seconds from the deciding vote to the moment gas began streaming into the room.

- Luna -

Luna let out a sigh of relief when Alecia and Remy spoke up. Neither of them seemed thrilled with taking things back to a vote, but at least they were still acting as if they possessed all their mental facilities.

"I'll be honest," Luna spoke up, pointing her thumb in Yù zǐ's direction, "my vote is for the one that just lost his shit."

"Anger or fear, I can deal with." She continued, gesturing towards Morgan and Kenny, respectively. "But crazy is crazy."

To be honest, she was beginning to wonder if they all were crazy, but their current environment wasn't really conducive to mental health.

Morgan

A feeling of dread and emptiness replaced the anger that filled Morgan when Yu Zi failed to come to his senses, it felt like his heart was being ripped out and it wasn't a feeling he wasn't familiar with all.

"Is this what 'normal' people have to deal with?" Morgan thought to himself, as he clutched his chest for a moment.

In all honesty he hated it, he would prefer not to feel this way, but he'd be lying if he said wanted to leave Yu Zi behind.  However, at the rate things were going, it would be more beneficial to the group if they could agree to leave a single person behind.... Even if it might be on the bad end of the vote later, but maybe being more reasonable will stop Cyrus and Luna from making snide comments and ... constantly and think twice about just throwing him under the bus.... worked out well with Alecia.

"I can't believe we're doing this, but for once I agree with Luna"  Morgan stated in what sounded like rage as a very pained expression covered his face.  He shot a glance over at Yu Zi for a moment before turning his gaze back to the group now more firm and emotionless.

"I'd rather not vote, but from the logical standpoint Yu Zi wants to fight the goatman, while Remy and Cyrus are just trying to be the better person." Morgan stated with a flip of his hand, as he continued to say, "Remy and Cyrus would still be functional if they came with us anyways, while Yu Zi would just continue to try and find ways to fight the goat."

With that Morgan walked over to Yu Zi one last time, as he stared down the singer with a concerned gaze with him holding out his hand to help him back up.  He didn't want his last sight of Yu Zi to be one where he was like this, he wanted him to be back to his normal weird self... not this kind of weird.

"Are you sure you don't want to come?  You did say you were a performer... well.. Never mind" Morgan stated, as he continued it say now in a rather pained expression, "Even though we've known each other for a short time, I do consider you a friend, so if you're determined to do this at the very least do me the honor of a proper goodbye before the gas rolls in."

Yù zǐ shuǐjīng - Foyer - Yù zǐ - Madness Intensifies

"Gas? hahaha." The crazy laughed loudly. "Yes, yes, Laughing gas, laughter is the best medicine. My friend, you should never forget to laugh every day in your life Kehkeh."


Yu zi turned around to see that most of the people were huddled together. He tilted his head all the way to touching his right shoulder; the motion giving out a loud cracking sound which rang in his ears.


He began mumbling mostly incoherently, "Volunteer... volunteer... got to volunteer to meet goatman... volunteering to stay behind is a good idea... volunteering... volunteer... don't volunteer... should be shared... with... no... one..." As his memory synapses started shooting wildly and making the connections in his mind and unlocking his memories, Yu zi's eyes had become so wide that one might think he was cartoon character. "Volunteer... bad... goatman... bad... got to find a way..."


The performer straightened his neck and with a cheery smile, walked over to the group.


He clasped his hands together and rolled them around mimicking the action of cleaning them under a running stream of water or simply lathering them up with soap a few times.

"So, I hear that you guys are back to voting. Kekekeke." he chuckled with beaming eyes.

"I believe I get to vote too." He crept closer and spoke softly, "I also know who you should vote for too." He nodded his head at everyone as in singling an agreement and then shifted his eyes left and right to see if there weren't any spies around. "It is a male person and I heard that he is the best candidate for the job." Yu zi brought his finger to his lips, "Shhh... don't tell him this, but I think he can bring on the change and make everything great again."


The allegedly deranged person wagged his finger nodded his head again. "Remember, you all should Vote for this person I cast my vote for. It should be the best course of action. Got to make this a landslide victory."


The man in the expensive jacket stepped back and raised his arm, pointing his finger to the ceiling and then loudly declared his vote.

"I avail this opportunity to not break any rules and in doing so, cast my vote, for Yu zi to meet with our patron Goat while the rest of us continue on the course!!"


The man stood there with his arms still raised, a slight smile on his lips and his eyes blinking as naturally as possible.

Cyrus Winter

Cyrus silently observed the vote, churning his head on what Alecia said. Her being a lawyer, he figured she must've hit on something in the contract. He'd read it from top to bottom himself, and searched his memory for anything that stood out, perhaps relating to volunteering...?

Then it hit him. The clause he'd put off as only being relevant for the first room. "Don't volunteer, huh?" He whispered under his breath. At this point, he turned his attention to the proceedings and Yu Zi's obviously completely nutty outburst. "...Looks like this is already decided, voting anyone else at this point would just be foolish. I'll put mine on the crazy guy as well."

- Remy -

After Luna and Morgan cast their votes, it seemed Yu Zi lost his mind even more, even turning to voting for himself.

Remy sighed.

There was something she was still uneasy about. Why had they insisted on voting? Shouldn't they have been glad that someone volunteered? It was nagging at her that there seemed to be something she was missing.

Cryus also cast his vote in for Yu Zi.

Remy looked at Alecia, her eyes narrowing. Once again Alecia had waited until most of the group had cast their vote and there was a clear picture who was voted out. She didn't like that and it didn't seem fair.

"I'll go with the majority," Remy said quietly, sounding almost defeated. "My vote goes to Yu Zi."

This was an unexpected turn of events.

Luna voting against Yu zi wasn't anything surprising, but Morgan? Maybe he did think Yu zi was a liability now that he was becoming slowly unhinged-

No, rapidly unhinged. Yu zi seemed to snap after Morgan's vote, gesticulating wildly and making unintelligible, grandiose declarations about meeting the Goatman. With this final snap, Cyrus and Remy quickly threw their weight behind the vote against Yu zi.

"Agreed," Alecia said quietly. She'd been expecting to have to vote for Cyrus, being willing to stay behind and less likely to alienate Morgan, but the situation had quickly shifted. It was a bit of a relief, since Cyrus would be far more reliable, but even thinking that way made her stomach twist with guilt.

Even so, it couldn't be helped. She turned to Kenny, a mere formality at this point, and asked. "Kenny?"

Kenny looked away and nodded. Considering they'd just worked together, it must be hard for him to turn around and vote him out, but it was the only reasonable option.

On queue, a hissing noise began to emanate throughout the room. The others quickly backed away from Yu zi and made for the doors. Kenny, closest to Luna, grabbed her hand and pulled her through one door. Alecia bumped into someone in the confusion and dragged them through with her. As the heavy metal door slammed behind her, the last thing she heard was Yu zi's delirious yells.

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Spoiler:

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Spoiler:

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Spoiler:

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Rules:

1) You only have three chances to enter the 8-digit passcode. Failure will automatically set off the death trap in the room.
2) Answers and clues can only be communicated IC. Keep it realistic.

Discovered Information:

Room 1:

Spoiler:

Room 2:

Spoiler:

Room 3:

Spoiler:

Examine the statue

Room 2 - Remy & Alecia -

As soon as the final vote was cast, gas began to seep into the room.

They all quickly scrambled, heading for the nearest door. Remy suddenly felt herself being dragged through a door. Instinctively she pulled away once the door slammed behind them.

Her face fell a little when she realized who was in the room with her. Alecia. Internally she sighed. Of course.

"I'm fine," she said and decided to keep things civil. "How about you?"

She began looking around. The faster they solved this room, the better. For two reasons: She didn't want to be in the last group to leave their puzzle room, as they always ended up one person short and she didn't feel like spending a lengthy amount of time with Alecia.

The room was unlike anything they'd encountered so far.

Remy's eyes roamed over the table and the decor, but were inevitably drawn towards the statue at the end of the room.

"Why don't you take a look at the exit door?" she suggested to Alecia. Knowing the letters could be a big help. "I'll take a look at this Chimaera," she added and moved towards the statue.

She recognized the design. "Great, more greek historic stuff," she murmued, remembering one of the previous rooms.

Cyrus Winter

Once inside the room, Cyrus found he'd ended up with Morgan this time. Not paying it any mind, he started walking towards the other end of the room, to examine the statue. "A chimera... Greek again? How quaint."

Morgan (Examine the table)

Running into the room and leaving Yu Zi behind shook Morgan to the core.  Without him, this whole ordeal just seemed a lot more... stressing.  And on top of that he ended up with....

Morgan raised his eyes to see Cyrus walking over to the chimera over the door, that look like it would bite their head off if they got too close.  He didn't like the feeling at all, but there's one thing he did know...  The goatman was picking off the last finishing team so he needed to finish quickly and only talk to Cyrus when needed to not set him off.

"Let's look at this table for now."  Morgan thought to himself, as he gave a brief look over the table to see if he could find anything.  Though he found it particularly hard to focus on the clues at the moment, his mind kept envisioning Yu Zi looking like Join...

D) Examine the statue
E) Examine the exit door

- Luna -

As they made their way down the dark hall, Luna gently freed her hand from Kenny's gasp. "What is it with men pulling me around today?" She sighed. At least Kenny seemed to be more assertive than she'd originally given him credit for. Or maybe that was just how he acted under stress.

When she stepped into the next room, her eyes followed the table to the statue standing guard over the door. Like a moth to flame, she slowly walked towards the grotesque creature. "Manticore..." It wasn't the most famous depiction of the myth she'd seen, but it was certainly the most sinister.

Luna gave herself a couple moments to look over the statue while Kenny spoke. He didn't seem to be in any hurry to solve the puzzle, which surprised her, given the way the goat man seemed to treat the slowest of the bunch.

"Some people just can't handle the pressure." Luna responded as she ducked past the statue to examine the door. Something about knowing what the final drawing looked like ahead of time made it easier for her to create art. She'd experienced a similar sensation in solving the puzzles so far.

"I don't think any of us are immune to the tension at this point." She ran her fingers along the seam of Pierce's coat. Clearly, her last companion hadn't been as immune to the stress as he'd originally projected. Now, she wasn't sure what irritated her more. The fact that he'd proved her wrong, or that she might never get the chance to apologize for being so.

The fog was clearing.

Yu zi blinked, his vision returning as the room came back into focus.

No, something was still wrong. The room... why was the room upside down?

Goatman leered down at him - or was it up? - and the knife in his hand glistening red.

"Good, you're awake," Goatman said, his shoulders rising and falling in a gentle laugh. "It would've been no good if you bled to death while asleep."

Bled? Something warm ran down his wrists and hands, accompanying a steady drip from below him. Or was it above? His head was too thick to comprehend up from down in this state, suspended somewhere between ground and ceiling.

"Oh Ye of little faith," he crooned as Yu zi slowly bled out onto the floor. "Do you finally now believe?"

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Kenny watched Luna study the statue, then reluctantly slid out of his chair to wander over to her. When she called the creature a chimera, he scratched his head and chuckled.

"Uh... a chimera, I think," he interjected. "Not sure if it matters, but... yeah."

As Luna wandered off to the exit door, Kenny paused to stoop down and survey the golden plaque beneath the statue.

"Did you notice?" he asked, pointing to it.

Spoiler:

Meanwhile, Luna stood by the exit door, examining it. The entry pad on the door was different this time - not a numerical entry but closer to a keyboard with all 26 letters of the alphabet. The passcode seemed to be longer than usual as well, requiring an eight digit entry. Next to the door was posted a golden plaque.

Spoiler:

A) Examine the table
B) Examine the plates
C) Examine the walls

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Alecia blinked. Remy's response was... oddly distant. Was it just the continued shock of going though another sudden elimination of one of their teammates or something else? If it was, she couldn't imagine what.

Remy drifted over to the statue, suggesting Alecia handle the door. Alecia nodded, deciding to let the matter of Remy's attitude slide for now. They obviously had more pressing matters.

The entry pad on the door was different this time - not a numerical entry but closer to a keyboard with all 26 letters of the alphabet. The passcode seemed to be longer than usual as well, requiring an eight digit entry. Next to the door was posted a golden plaque.

Spoiler:

Meanwhile, Remy studied the creature before her, its many eyes glaring soullessly down on her. Below it, she noticed a golden plaque.

Spoiler:

A) Examine the table
B) Examine the plates
C) Examine the walls

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As Cyrus examined the chimera statue before him, its many eyes glaring soullessly down on him, he noticed a golden plaque with something etched on it.

Spoiler:

Meanwhile, as Morgan examined the table, he found what appeared to be scraps of paper, rather like fortunes from fortune cookies, scattered through the table. Once he collected all the ones he could find, he looked over them.

Spoiler:

B) Examine the plates
C) Examine the walls
E) Examine the exit door

================================================


Rules:

1) You only have three chances to enter the 8-digit passcode. Failure will automatically set off the death trap in the room.
2) Answers and clues can only be communicated IC. Keep it realistic.

Discovered Information:

Room 1:

Spoiler:

Room 2:

Spoiler:

Room 3:

Spoiler:

Room 2 – Examine the walls

- Remy -

“Jealousy…” Remy muttered as she read the words. “And two blank spaces.” Nothing else caught her attention at the moment, so she walked back towards Alecia to relay the information to her.

When Alecia described the keypad to her she tilted her head.

“Any idea what it could mean?” she asked. “Maybe it has something to do with the table.”

While walking over to the table, something on the wall caught her eye.

“Man, that goat-man is getting on my nerves. But jealousy isn’t the sin I’m about to commit if he keeps this up.”

Morgan (examine the plates)

"Looks like sins written on paper? Lust, wrath, hubris, greed... Hmm." Morgan stated out loud so that Cyrus could hear, as he continued investigating the area around the table now shifting his attention to the golden plates.

Morgan sighed as he realized he should probably be getting the information form Cyrus as well if they wanted to effectively make use of their time. It felt like something was caught on his throat for a bit, as he had to clear out his throat before speaking with a few coughs.

"See anything on your end? What about the code?" Morgan stated sheepishly to Cyrus sounding like some salary man who was talking to a crazy boss, afraid they'll lash out at the slightest prod.

Morgan eyed the wrath note again for a bit his eyes seemingly focused on it, as he pondered for a second if these sins were connected to the rest of the group.

"You think the sins are related to us? Wrath is certainly my department and lust... Yu Zi...." Morgan stated with a humorous tone at first until it dipped into a barely audible mumble at the mention of Yu Zi.

Cyrus Winter

"The seven deadly sins." Cyrus replied before making his way to the exit door. "From the looks of things, we'll likely have to figure out how to number them." He showed no hints of hostility for Morgan, who was very obviously being over-cautious. he had no intention of starting any fights here. He didn't have a death-wish, he'd only been hostile to Morgan before because the other man had actively been trying to throw him under a bus. Now was obviously the time to cooperate.

C) Examine the walls

- Luna -

"I did, but it doesn't mean anything to me." Luna responded as Kenny pointed out the plaque.

"The code on this door is different too. There's a full alphabet instead of a number pad." She traced her fingers over the engravings for a few seconds before walking back to the statue.

"There are five animals carved into the plaque by the door. Two of them were a snake and a lion." She gestured to the chimera. "I'm assuming that they're somehow related to this, but there were also a toad, a snail, and some kind of bird."

"Do you mind checking out the stuff on the table?" She stepped around the statue and made her way back across the room. "I want to take a closer look at these curtains."