Kings Gambit

Pirc Defence - Part 1

Here I am again in this dark room. The checkerboard pattern beneath me was vibrant compared to the pitch-black walls. The Grand white door in front of me was as sinister as it was welcoming. It's a door that leads to death, the loss of life. One of us is going to die here. One of us isn't returning to the mansion. Let's just hope that the person who isn't coming back is the monster who brutally killed Annie without remorse...

"You have all made your decisions. The trial will now commence shortly. However, before this starts, I have something I wanted to tell you all." Oracle's deep voice sent shivers down my spine. That's strange... Oracle never goes off his usual script. I wonder what he has to say.

"After this trial, the remaining survivors will be gifted with something, and a new floor will open up. The past two new locations have been discovered or unlocked. But this time, I will manually open a door that has been blocked for a long while. That being said, good luck, and may the trial commence!" Oracle elaborated before the door opened once more. My heart pounded as the view of the massive chess board came into view, and the piano and violins played in a more aggressive arrangement. The looming gaze of the chess pieces made me feel small and powerless. I glanced at George's old podium to see that he had disappeared. Never to be seen again. I guess he jumped... The poor bastard.

With a gulp, I looked to my left to see Hank. He was emotionless.

"Hank! Can you speak now?" I called out to him, but there wasn't a response. No way... How is this possible? Willow is... There shouldn't be a blackmailer!

With my mind racing, I stood on the black square just like the other two times and ascended to the skies.

"As always, I will restate the rules for clarification. You all have the power of judge, jury, and executioner. You will all vote on who you think is the murderer; if the majority is right, the killer will die. If not, then the killer may choose someone to die in their place. You may have as much time as needed to discuss. And if you land on a tie with the killer, both will be executed. Any questions?" Oracle gave his usual dialogue.

"Yeah, I got one. What if the killer has an accomplice? Will they both be considered the culprit?" Jasper began.

"Only the person who does the killing blow would be able to leave."

"Then there wouldn't be any reason to help a killer then...." Jasper looked down at the chess board below, biting his thumb as his eyes turned grey.

"Anything else?" Oracle continued.

"I got one, could there be any duplicate roles?" I spoke up. A moment passed before Oracle responded with an answer.

"Sorry, I can't answer that question out of fairness." He responded.

"Why would you ask that?" Matt questioned me.

"Why? Because obviously Hank has been blackmailed. Both during the investigation and this trial. It makes no sense...." I fidgeted with my hair.

"I hate to bring this option up, but he could be faking it." Jasper clicked his tongue with his hands in his pockets.

"W-What?" I glanced over to Hank, but he wasn't responding at all.

"No way! This has to be a role!" I argued.

"But Jasper's right, Willow is dead, and the blackmailer role died along with her. Besides, the fact that he kept shut during the investigation is also quite suspicious. Even the blackmailer role couldn't do that." Tristan reasoned.

"So you're saying Hank is not speaking on purpose? You know how suspicious that makes him look, right?" Leo argued.

"Not only that but he was found at the crime scene. This is too obviously a setup for Hank to look like the culprit." Elizabeth joined in.