Arien: fernshirehobbit
Lioness_Aslan: Olorin the Wise
.ellie.girl.: fernshirehobbit
fernshirehobbit: Olorin the Wise
Olorin the Wise: fernshirehobbit
For the rest of the day, to amuse themselves, the remaining five decided to use the massive hotel lobby to put on some amateur theatricals. Hopefully, the drama playing out on their makeshift stage would provide a welcome distraction from the tragedy surrounding them. Chairs were moved aside, unearthing layers of decades old dust (and more than a few flies). They tried charades first, but the game soon ended when Lioness_Aslan was unable to guess “macaroni” from Arien’s excellent clues.
Still looking for amusement, they quickly decided to stage a reenactment of Shakespeare’s Richard III. After all, with ghosts haunting the hotel, finding volunteers to portray the vengeful spirits in the play wouldn’t be a problem. Olorin naturally insisted on playing the villainous lead, while fernshirehobbit decided to take all the character parts. Of the remaining three, .ellie.girl. was the most logical choice to play Richard’s doomed queen. The curtains in the lobby were drawn, leaving only the barest sliver of sunlight to pierce the gloom. The stage was indeed set. All proceeded according to plan through the first few acts, but as they prepared for the scene where Richard, tormented by the murders he has committed, confesses to his crimes, they realized that something was amiss. The prop sword they’d found in an old trunk in one of the hotel’s unused rooms pierced through Olorin’s sleeve and left him bleeding and confused. Who would have switched the fake for a real blade, and what was their purpose? Olorin’s wound was clearly not fatal, but the play came to an abrupt halt.
Chaos reigned, and as Olorin was holding the blade, he seemed the most likely suspect; if that was so, then injuring himself was a cheap way to divert suspicion. A note found in his pocket contained the line, “murder will out,” confirming their suspicion of him. Olorin, however, accused fernshirehobbit. Opinions were sharply divided, and it appeared that a double hanging would take place. The sun appeared low in the western sky when, out of nowhere, a voice echoed through the hotel. “STOP!” .elliegirl. shouted, making herself heard above the din of voices. “I side with Olorin.” With that, fernshirehobbit became the only one to face the justice of the mob. Fernshirehobbit would not go quietly, and as the noose was tightened they could hear cries of rage and desperation. Because Olorin was not entirely cleared of suspicion, the others locked him in the cellar of the hotel, where his only food consisted of moldy cheese and hardened crusts of bread. The others, meanwhile, dined on lasagna. They wouldn’t have been so quick to eat, however, had they known that the dish was prepared by the recently departed fernshirehobbit.
Lioness_Aslan nearly broke a tooth on one particularly hard bite. Massaging her sore jaw, she realized that she had inadvertently bitten down on a dried bean, cleverly concealed in a mouthful of ricotta. The bean had split neatly down the middle, to reveal an almost invisible note. The handwriting matched that of the quote that had almost cost Olorin his life, and it was signed by fernshirehobbit. The note was the draft of the advertisement that had lured them to purchase cruise tickets in the first place.
Thus, the civilians discovered that they had indeed chosen wisely and that they were rid of another MAFIA…