So you got the cape, the 25k Spring Cleaning Points and loads of other stuff.

Now lets get back to the story

Melissa was summoned and has her five minutes in the light:

You see: Melissa the Mage

Melissa: Ah...
Melissa: Looking for something?
Melissa: Kronos, perhaps?
Melissa: Oh wait, he's dead!
Melissa: *smiles*

Melissa: Or maybe it's someone of a more... manly demeanor. Avery, was it?
Melissa: Pity. You came all this way just to die.

Now she shows her true face:
You see: Melissa the Servant of Nosfentor

She casts unknown spells:
Melissa: *Mur Kal Ort* (many/number call magic)
Melissa: *Ku Ort* (with magic)

(translation from gargish)

But gets defeated nonetheless. Time for a few select words:
Melissa: Fools!
Melissa: This.
Melissa: Isn't.
Melissa: Over.

Thomas and William appear and ....arrest Avery???

You see: Avery the Captain
You see: William the Guard
You see: Thomas the Guard

Avery: I'm free! You've saved me! They've had me...
William: Avery! We've caught you at last!
Avery: What is this!?
Thomas: You are under arrest for the murder of the Royal Council!
Avery: Help me!
Thomas: At last, we'll bring the criminal to justice

Thomas: Your kingdom thanks you

What do you think? Was Avery set up? Is he really behind the murder?

(Back when Kronos started his machine and Melissa appeared, I poked a mate and said: "She´s much to young for him. Bet she´s not true." )

RP aside, I think Melissa needs more than a +5 fire cloak. She needs like a +25 fire cloak ;P I do like 75 damage FS to her :/.

I guess it's due to her cold heart...

Well, given that melissa changes from Melissa the Mage to Melissa The Servant of Nosfentor, shows that either she's working directly for Nosfentor or being controlled by Nosfentor.

Either way, I feel as if we can tell what side who is on just by what sort of damage hurts them the most in combat:

Shadowlords- Fire damage, Armageddon spell (ironic, huh).

Conversely, the Vanguard Controllers are vulnerable to the exact opposite damage type, perhaps as a way to make up for that weakness?

'Strangers'- Cold Damage; some vulnerable to Dragon slayers. Seem to be souped-up humanoid dragons mostly.

Melissa- Fire Damage

It may be a conspiracy from higher-up, considering how just as Avery went to explain to everyone what had been happening to him in public, he was immediately arrested.

As you may very well have deduced from the clues and notes, the entire castle is likely filled with traitors.

Aileen, Avery and Sherry are most probably going to be a big piece of the puzzle in the coming days ahead.

I wouldn't be surprised if Casca comes into focus again, either.

I'm going to dig deeper and see what I can deduce.

That's all for now.

Aileen is hiding within the castle walls. You can see where she is but I have not been able to talk to her.

yeah, I was able to target her and get her neon yellow health bar to display below her, but it does no good.

Hiding in plain sight.

I´m almost certain Aileen is not supposed to be hiding there.
We had the same with the cast of the Ricardo trial that "hid" in/under Yew prison.

Re Casca: I wonder if we will see him again after he was "rescued" by the Palace Guard.
Did you notice the armor Captain Ulrich wears? Looks awfully familiar, doesn´t it?
Maybe now that the Shadowlords/FoA made their move the other side will get it´s turn.

I hope the other side crushes the shadowlords, but I have a feeling Draconi isn't going to make it that easy on us.


Draconi and his Flamethrower.

Some of my musings on the characters involved in the event:

1) Melissa is now a servant of Nosfentor, the Shadowlord of Cowardice. Maybe she had evil intentions since the beginning, or maybe she was just the weak link and Nosfentor used her cowardice and fear to corrupt her. Remember that during the activation of the blackrock detector she seemed to break down for fear... Either way, she seems to have embraced the Shadowlords fully now.

2) I doubt that Avery is really allied with the FOA. The various evidence collected during the event points out that the FOA members were trying to stop him from discovering them. On the other hand...

3) Casca is much more suspicious. He was the only member of the Royal Council to survive the slaughter, and he is very quick to throw accusations of treason against Avery. Either he is foolishly mistaken, or he is intentionally spreading Falsehood...
Sara's book near the Minoc cave points out that the FOA group was travelling "with our 'guest' and our contact" - meaning that one between Avery or Casca was a traitor.
Remember that Casca made his first appearance in Britannia as prosecutor in the trial against Ricardo. He didn't seem very interested in following Truth in that occasion also...

- According to Brians journal:
"Avery was instructed to escort ....

Erik thinks our contact ....

The Captain was ordered to lead an expedition..."

Brian called Avery as Avery or the Captain, and a traitor as "our contact". This suggest that Avery is not "their contact".

- Every when the hooded man came to Castle Britannia to meet their "contact", Francesco was whisked away from the Castle by Captain Avery. This means that Avery is also absent when the hooded man came to the Castle to meet their "contact". This means that Avery can not be their "contact".

- Four is missing: Casca, Avery, Aileen, Sherry. Aileen and Sherry fled to Trinsic before the murder. Erik and Sara were handling "the prisoner" and escorted him to the Minoc Cave and met their "contact" there. Aileen and Sherry were always together, so they cannot be "the prisoner" nor their "contact". So "the prisoner" and their contact should be inevitably Casca and Avery. Avery cannot be their "contact", so Casca must be their "contact.

I must say that this thread is by far my favorite. When I was an EM, I used to love lurking around invisible, watching players trying to figure out clues and battling their way through the various stages of my events. It's amazing to see how people interpret clues we give them and what theories they come up with, sometimes things I never would have thought of in a million years! (which rocks cuz it's gives me wicked ideas too!)

Sometimes they are real close, sometimes they're way off, but in all cases, it always makes for a great read!

So thanks for that