You carefully select foods which only Sean has eaten. Looks like you're going to have to open a conversation because the others are silent.

There is no sign of Sandra. You wonder if something might have happened to her.

Focus: 5/8 (passage of time too short to get an extra point)

Ask your new colleagues about their studies.

I must say this is the best forum game on SEN/Maplantis for ages.

You strike up some small talk with George and Jess. You discover that George studied geology at university, and Jess was a biology student. Apparently you are the only archaeology student on the trip - the other two volunteers are a med student and an ecologist. Sean remains surprisingly quiet throughout the conversation, but he keeps glancing in your direction. With his hat off you are struck by how much he looks like the photograph on the driving licence. In fact, he and the dead man look so alike they could be twins. It's all very puzzling.

The conversation dries up again, so you try a different tack.
"So, I heard at the airport that there's some sort of archaeological dig going on in the country. My professor was really into this sort of thing - ancient tombs and stuff like that."
"Yeah, that's cool I guess", says George.
Sean interrupts. "Who told you about the dig?"

Focus: 6/8

Shit - blame Steve! The dude at the airport!

"It was some guy called Steve - he gave me some change for the phone."
"I see. I don't understand how someone other than MOA could have known about the dig, but seeing as you've heard about it, it won't do any harm to tell you a little about how we fit in."

Sean leans back in his chair a little and continues.
"Basically, while we were working on our social programmes with the tribes living in the rainforest about seven months ago, we were digging a well and came across some ruins buried in the mud. These aren't just any old ruins - these are perfectly preserved and we've spent the best part of the intervening months excavating the site. We've come to the conclusion that the ruins were buried deliberately some time in the past."

George looks interested.
"So what are you planning to do with the ruins now? I didn't think archaeology was part of MOA's usual business."
"Yes, that's right, but we're hoping to get a licence from the Ebianovan government to turn the place into a museum. Money from tourism would go towards funding our other activities and the site would get protected status, preventing corporations from developing the nearby land. Everyone benefits."

Thinking this might be a good time to speak up, you ask whether your being an archaeologist had anything to do with being accepted onto the programme.

"Yes Tom, we were actually hoping that you could work with us excavating the rest of the ruins and working out what its purpose was. You come very highly recommended by your professor and I understand that you share his particular interest in Central-South American monuments and their attendant... dangers."

The conversation is interrupted as Jess knocks over her wine glass, soaking the tablecloth with claret.
"Oh! Sorry! I'm so clumsy today."
"Yes, it's funny. So many people complain of that on their first night in San Fernando", says Sean, smiling over the rim of his glass of water. "I expect you're just tired, that's all."
"I am a bit, yes..."

You lose track of the conversation. You stare at the red stain on the tablecloth and have a vision in your head of a bloody, maggot-ridden wound and a cloud of flies buzzing from the mouth of a dead man. The voices of the others fade to be replaced by ringing. You jump as Sean shakes you by the shoulder.

"Tom, are you okay?" You realise that you have been sitting up straight against the back your chair with your arms outstretched, clutching the tablecloth. Your knuckles have gone white.
You mumble that you're fine and that you're tired too. Sean suggests that everyone go to bed because there's an early start tomorrow.

Focus: 6/8 (stopped during conversation)

Hmm so the wine is drugged eh ;D

Is it too late** to ask casually if anyone else will be joining you in the morning other than those at the table? Maybe find out where the hell Sandra is?

Post has been edited 1 time(s), last time on Feb 28 2011, 2:33 am by Fire_Kame.

Ok, probably last story post until sometime tomorrow.
----------------

Apparently everyone is quite tired so you agree to go to bed. Before you go, you ask where the other two volunteers mentioned at the dinner table are, because you thought you'd be meeting all of them.

"I'm afraid Ryan wasn't feeling well after lunch so he decided to stay in bed. Sandra is the other girl - she wasn't feeling well either when I went to call her to dinner, so she's in her room."
George asks a question:
"Er, is there any reason why the bedroom doors lock automatically? What if I need to go to the bathroom?"

"You know, that's a fascinating question", replies Sean. "Before we bought this property it was used by the previous Ebianovan dictatorship to house political prisoners, which is why the rooms seem a bit like cells. I can only recommend you wedge a shoe or something in the door. The bathroom is on the second floor - it's the only door on the other side of the hallway."

You return to your room and, after Sean opens it for you, you wedge one of the shoes you arrived in in the door. It looks like you're now free to explore the building.

Focus: 7/8

Let's explore the building, and see specifically if you can find where the others' rooms are!

Let Wing go.

Post has been edited 1 time(s), last time on Feb 28 2011, 4:25 am by Fire_Kame.

Lets find out what happened to Sandra first

tbh I'm not so sure anymore if they really want to use us as worker slaves or something like the (it looked like it before).
I mean there IS evidence for that, like rotting corpses and they lying about Sandra, and not telling you about the doors earlier, but then again why would they give you such an excellent food when they already had you imprisoned and why do they let you go when you're asking about it.

Therefore I'd go a more straightforward route from now on. No more sneaking, no more avoiding obvious topics until either theory seems confirmed.

You're aware that moving furniture around might attract more attention now that the door is no longer closed, so you instead decide to go down the corridor and knock on Sandra's door.

There is no answer. Curious, you go down the stairs and check out the other doors. One of them has a shoe wedged in it - you knock and find that it is George's room. One of the rooms is closed, while the other is held ajar with a sweater. George tells you that he hasn't seen Ryan or Sandra, but he heard Jess going into the bathroom a little while ago.

You peer down the flight of stairs leading to the reception. They curve around, following the wall, and face the front of the house, offset from the entryway. You figure that you probably can't be seen by anyone at the reception desk unless you actually step off the stairs into the reception proper. Through the gaps in the balustrade you can look down on the shaven-headed man you saw earlier. He is sitting in his chair, reading a book of some kind. The hooks with hanging keycards are directly below you but you can't reach them. You notice they are labelled 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D, 3A, 3B, 3C, and DM.

Focus: Available (though I recommend you read back and think of items that might be useful in solving this situation - there are at least two possible ways to gain access to the keys).

Ask George if he'd like to help you get the keys. Ask him to go ask the man at reception pointless questions while you reach down and grab the keys with a wrench.

I personally think they want to sacrifice us to their ancient gods, they would want too keep us healthy so the gods are pleased with their sacrifice.

Also, if the wrench doesn't work, try with the handcuffs

What are all the things in the inventory?

You ask George if he wants to help you get the keys. He doesn't seem too keen to assist in breaking the rules, so it looks like you'll have to go it alone.

You take out the wrench and stick your hand through the balustrade as far as it will go. You still can't reach any of the keys, and besides you will need some kind of hook to lift them by their keyrings. Nothing in your inventory currently fits this description.

Focus: Available

Are there bandages at the reception desk?

You look down at the desk. You can't see any bandages. You are not bleeding, although there is a reddish stain on your shirt from earlier where you were lying on the dirty floor in the room next to yours.

Focus: Available

Are any of the hooks damaged or poorly attached to the wall?

You look at the hooks - they all appear to be sturdy and unlikely to fall off the wall any time soon. If any of them did then it would probably attract the attention of the receptionist. At this point the receptionist yawns and stretches, then switches on the TV.

Focus: Available

(NB: Kame figured out one of the ways to do it, but had to go to class)