DAWN WATCH.

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DAWN WATCH

Today, when Kaeya is in his bedroom, he will receive a message on his typewriter.

Have you ever had one of those dreams where you awaken suddenly because you feel like you're falling?

Not a dream. Wake up call!

Immediately after he finishes reading the message, a trap door opens underneath Kaeya, plunging him into the darkness. When he wakes up at the bottom (?), bones miraculously not broken, he will find himself in a room.

It's a room he's never seen before, arching ceilings and starry-skied windows dotting each wall. A collection of bookcases, alchemy shelves and astronomy tools can be found here for perusal, though nothing can leave this room. A crescent moon-shaped window takes up a majority of the wall directly across from the entrance. Perched on the window seat is Gemini, a worn-out map in their hands.

"You certainly took your time, didn't you."

At a large mahogany desk in the center of the room, papers spread out in front of them, Aquila sits in a comfortable looking chair, elbows resting on the desk, chin perched in their gloved hand. You get the sense they might be smiling.

"Rise and shine. We've got work to do. Or, well... "

With a flick of their hand, Aquila opens a sheaf of papers labeled PARTICIPATION CONTRACT: ADDENDUM and turns it towards Kaeya.

"You've got a little extra work to do. Congrats on being qualified! I wouldn't recommend refusing. Now then - blue or black ink?"


RULES

1. Dawn Watch is required to report to the tower the moment they awaken on Friday morning.
2. Dawn Watch must select three locations to investigate after a murder has taken place. These selections must be made by sundown Thursday.
2A: Participant sleeping quarters are off-limits.
3. Dawn Watch may explore these three locations in any order they wish.
4. All evidence and sleepers will be preserved for observation.
5. Dawn Watch will not be able to meddle, remove or disturb any evidence they find during their rounds.
6. Dawn Watch must make their selection before leaving the tower and cannot change their mind upon beginning their rounds.
7. Dawn Watch is not to disclose that they are performing these duties. Discussing them with anyone other than authorized Hotel Staff will be considered breach of contract and will result in the death of Klee.

N̸A̵V̴I̶G̶A̶T̴I̴O̸N̷.̷

█ LOCATIONS █ STATUSES █ PROFILES █ AUDIENCES
█ REPORTING █ PRIVATE CONVOS █ MURDER

Comments

WEEK 1

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CHOICE

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[Kaeya is expected to select three areas to explore Friday at dawn. The exploration itself will take place at this time, oocly threaded/delivered Friday morning with your mods.

Please submit your three locations by Thursday, 5pm PST/8pm EST!]

AQUILA & GEMINI

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[Aquila remains at the desk while Gemini sits in the window seat, should Kaeya wish to speak to them.]

[callalilies]

[ lol well fuck

he takes the papers: ]

Oh? This time I'm allowed to read them? Incredible.

[ he gives them a peep and for a moment his fingers curl just a bit more tightly around the bottom of the page. blue or black ink. ]

Doesn't matter.

[ all he sees is red. he holds out a hand for a pen. ]

One's not enough?

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[ aquila rolls a pen across the desk, question answered - it's black! and then cocks their head. ]

Did you ask after it, before? Here.

[guestservices]

Consider it a bit of incentive for the completion of your task, Mister Alberich.

[callalilies]

[ WHY EVEN ASK. he looks at it a moment and steels himself. his posture eases and he just. takes the pen, twirling it between his fingers. ]

I tried to read it at the time it was given to me but it was all too difficult to understand except the last part.

About providing entertainment to the host in exchange for the first hostage they took from me. I take it that was my one and only chance to read that particular paperwork? If not... I want to see it in full.

[ he taps the pen gently at the very end of this contract, frowning at the name there. ]

[callalilies]

Hello, Gemini. I'm diligent without hostages on a good day, you know. For future reference.

[ but he's not going to fight right now. he needs information. ]

May I ask a few clarifying questions?

[guestservices]

Your contracts were not amended by us, Mister Alberich. [but okay.]

You may. What would you like to know?

[callalilies]

It's a message for upper management, then.

[ inb4 "i am upper management."

he's going to just have a look out the crescent moon shaped window before glancing down at the worn out map in gemini's hands. ]

So Dawn Watch... this isn't unlike what Power had to do, except, if I take the name literally, you want me here first thing in the morning? Four? Five?

[ earlier? ]

1/2

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Hmm. Maybe you just forgot.

[ terrible. they watch him twirl the pen for a moment, listening, and then tilt their head, waving their gloved hand with a flourish again. a binder appears in a swirl of shadows - they leaf through the papers once more, pulling out a particular set of papers. ]

We had some... iunno, red tape? Is that what it's called? Last weekend, but that's all cleared up now, so, sure, you can see it.

[ with that, they pass the paper over to kaeya. when kaeya reads it, he will recognize the words as familiar, like he has read the contract in its entirety before, and the signature on it is unmistakeably his. ]

[guestservices]

STARLIGHT HOTEL: GUEST PARTICIPATION CONTRACT
This is a contract between Kaeya Alberich, hereafter referred to as "the Player," and the Nightman, hereafter referred to as "the Host". By signing this contract, both parties agree to and are bound by its terms.

GENERAL INFORMATION.
The term of this Agreement shall begin upon signature. The Player shall check in as a guest of the Starlight Hotel, and the agreement shall continue through its termination date of approximately eight weeks later when the Player checks out, should they survive their stay. During this time, the Player shall provide entertainment to the Host by participating in murder trials, casting votes for a culprit, attending executions, and engaging in a variety of weekly activities. The Player consents to any scenario which will make observing their stay more entertaining for the Host.

Someone of importance to the Player, hereafter referred to as "the Hostage," has been obtained by the Host to be held in captivity and will remain so even if this contract is not signed. By signing this contract, the Player agrees to register as a guest of the Starlight Hotel in exchange for the chance to gain custody of their Hostage. Should sufficient entertainment be provided, the Hostage will be set free and returned in a satisfactory manner regardless of the state of their mortality and vitality.

During the course of the Player's stay, the Host will be largely unavailable but will be aware of all ongoings within the hotel to accurately gauge the level of entertainment provided. The Host has authorized eight individuals, hereafter referred to as "Hotel Staff," to act on his behalf. Questions, concerns, and complaints must be directed to Hotel Staff. Directives from Hotel Staff should be honored in the same manner as the Host’s directives.

HOTEL STAFF.
Hotel Staff can be identified by the Starlight Hotel uniforms and answer to the names "Aquarius," "Aquila," "Cetus," "Gemini," "Lepus," "Orion," "Virgo," and "Vulpecula". Hotel Staff will be authorized to make deals with the Player for additional incentives or introduce new rules for the purposes of entertainment; however, they may not void the terms of this contract.

ENTERTAINMENT.
Any Player who is alive* and in the Lobby of the Starlight Hotel to check out at the termination date of this contract will be considered to have sufficiently fulfilled the terms outlined. The Player and their Hostage will be freed as per the above terms.

Any Player who is not alive and/or is unable to return to the Lobby of the Starlight Hotel to check out at the termination date of this contract will be considered to have failed to sufficiently fulfill the terms outlined, and their life and the life of their Hostage will be forfeit.

To sufficiently fulfill this agreement, the Player must provide entertainment for the entire duration of their stay.

An exception to the above clause is as follows: if a Player commits a murder of another Player, their Hostage will be released in a satisfactory manner at the termination date regardless of the Player’s survival. As the Host's preference for entertainment is murder, those who provide this form of entertainment will find that the Host will honor these terms even if a Player is found guilty by trial or removed from the game by another Player later.

Additionally, the Host will be unable to harm, kidnap, imprison or otherwise interact with any Player or Hostage who has been released at any point in the future, except to send them to whichever world they wish to go to once their stay at the Starlight Hotel has concluded.

*For the purposes of this contract, alive is taken to mean in the same general physical condition as their arrival (with an allowance made for injuries sustained over the course of their stay); undead Players will be considered "alive" provided that the nature of their undeath is identical to how it was when they arrived.

ENTERTAINMENT, CONTINUED.
Should a Player murder to ensure the safety of a Hostage, only the Hostage corresponding with that Player will be protected by these terms. Players may not commit murders to ensure the safety of another Player's Hostage.

The Player who strikes the killing blow will be considered to have committed a murder, and thus only their Hostage will be spared. Acting as an accomplice to someone else's murder will not free your Hostage. Appropriate compensation will be rewarded for your assistance which may prove to your benefit.

The following acts of murder do not fall under entertainment:

✦ Excessive murder by a singular party.
✧ Murder of all other guests by a singular party or a coordinated group.
✦ Suicide with the explicit intent to save the Hostage.
✧ Murder of a member of Hotel Staff.

A Player is not barred from taking part in a murder more than once should they have a legitimate reason to do so. However, any and all attempts to eliminate a mass amount of Players at once will be considered an attempt of early termination and thus will be considered a breach of contract.

Failure at limitation will result in permanent erasure.

BREACH OF CONTRACT.
Should the Player fail to fulfill the terms of this contract, the lives of both the Player and the Hostage will be forfeit to the Host. This includes but is not limited to failing to cast a vote, refusing to participate in murder trials, refusing to watch the executions, deliberately abstaining from weekly activities, divulging information that they have been instructed to keep secret, attempting to end their stay at the Starlight Hotel early, or encouraging other Players to breach their contract. For more information about what may constitute a breach of contract, speak with Hotel Staff.

SUMMARY.
By this contract, the Player agrees to provide entertainment to the Host, by following schedule in exchange for the life and safety of the Player's hostage.

This agreement is binding, and failure to meet its terms will allow the Host to take the life of both the Player and the Hostage.

PARTICIPANT SIGNATURE: Kaeya Alberich
HOST SIGNATURE: ̷͍̯͒̄͝ ̸̦͆͜͝ ̶̞̄̓͝ ̷̦̿͊̍ ̶̥̭̗̄̒̕ ̵̼̫̯͋͛̆ ̵̟̤̐ ̷͎͎̎̆̿ ̶̖̣̈́ ̸̻͈͛ ̷̬̿͝ ̸̠͉̹̀

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[it appears to be a map of the hotel, at least, but several areas are faded.]

I suppose it's like that, yes. You will be here before all others awaken in the hotel to make your rounds. You may observe, but you may not take anything.

Unfortunately we cannot allot you more time than the three areas of choice.

[callalilies]

[ ah. excellent. he's honestly glad to hear that some of the "red tape" has fallen away, and he spends time reading it over, and then reading it again. sorry aquila, but he needs to make sure he gets it all. ]

This information is accessible to anyone staying at the Starlight?

[callalilies]

[ faded? interesting... he looks it over a moment longer before giving a nod. ]

In terms of areas, am I limited to just the hotel each week? Or will the premises outside the lobby doors potentially be involved in future cases?

[guestservices]

We would suggest to make the most of your time, stick within the confines of the hotel itself.

[guestservices]

[ they don't seem to mind, sitting calmly and letting him read as much as he likes. ]

It's available on request.

[callalilies]

To make the most of my time? Wise. I'll remember that.

Done this sort of thing before?

[guestservices]

I suppose that would depend on what "this sort of thing" qualifies as.

[callalilies]

Noted.

[ he pushes the old contract back towards aquila gently and takes up the addendum, still staring at the name there. ]

I take it there are others who have these... particular contract addendums as well?

[callalilies]

Investigations?

Or trials for murder. You came rather prepared with your folio of papers.

[guestservices]

As head of customer complaints, Mister Alberich, don't you suppose it's best to be prepared with as much information as possible?

[callalilies]

I absolutely agree. You want to be the one with all of the answers, Gemini.

[guestservices]

Precisely. [they do not disagree.] And are you one to usually have answers?

[guestservices]

Don't know.

[ they take the contract back and tuck it into the binder, then wave their gloved hand. it disappears into a swirl of those shadows, and they resume, propping their chin on their laced together hands once more.

the addendum stays, though. ] You should focus on you. Kind of a big duty you've had placed on your shoulders, Captain. Do you have any other questions for us about it?