Citizens of Rastaban have been summoned to Mordere Manor, the seat of an influential family of Connection Weavers within Rom, to discuss a potential money-making endeavour. Murder and supernatural occurrences are likely to ensue.

• Callista
• Euphemia
• Nikolai
• Sowe Nayoung
• Vera Burns

“Presenting Araminta Mordere!”

Upon her announcement by the Steward, our heroes meet Araminta, the debutante daughter of the Mordere family. Araminta is already an immensely competent Connection Weaver, and is utterly obnoxious. They meet her parents, Octavia and Landry, who summoned them all here, together with her great uncle Rafferty (who is clearly rather drunk). They meet Araminta’s betrothed, Archibald Glomp, as well as the good Doctor Prinkley. They also encounter several of the serving staff: Belcher the Butler, Scrapeshanks the Cook, Nanny Scrunch, Doldrum the Gamekeeper, and Essie the Maid. They don’t meet the Housekeeper, Mrs Catterall, because - as Essie frantically announces - she disappeared at some point late this afternoon.

This, however, is not the only problem our investigators¹⁾ have to contend with. There's also a thief on the loose (in possession of Octavia's prized flamestone), a fabled phantom boar that prowls the grounds to fulfil a family curse, a number of ghost stories concerning the Manor, a certain amount of unrequited love, a degree of covert activity and blackmail below stairs, something dreadful in the attic, an infestation of house crabs, and a terrible Conflict storm raging outside.

Oh, and then Araminta collapses - dead - murdered!

She's been poisoned, Doctor Prinkley confirms, through the oral administration of a deadly mycotoxin of the kind used by Doldrum to exterminate the house crabs. The plot has thickened, the game's afoot, and our heroes have less than half an hour to solve the crime! Why all the time pressure? Because (as the Steward reminds them) the mystery must be unravelled before the Tolling of Bells, at which time all Dark Secrets must be exposed - everyone knows that!

Our five sleuths get on the case, questioning suspects, piecing together clues, and pausing only briefly when the lights go out and a ghostly voice urges them to GET OUT. At last, when the bells begin tolling, they are ready to accuse none other than Doctor Prinkley of the murder! After a dramatic pause, Prinkley confesses, bitterly congratulating them on their perspicacity. The tolling ceases and the Steward clears their throat:

“Presenting Araminta Mordere!”

Araminta reappears as though nothing untoward has happened - indeed, from the behaviour of their fellow partygoers, our investigators cannot help but conclude that the events of the soirée so far have reset, somehow. Once more, they are introduced to the family, servants, and guests at Mordere Manor. Once more, they learn of mysterious disappearances, ghostly goings-on, and shady shenanigans. Once more, Araminta succumbs to poison administered by… by someone other than Doctor Prinkley, the Steward suggests - if the scene has reset itself, it seems likely that our heroes are being given a second chance to solve the mystery….

They become more bold in their investigations, this time around - with the help of Nanny Scrunch, Sowe searches the attic, discovering the forest touched Quentin Mordere incarcerated there (by his own wishes, it seems!). Quentin was thought to have died defending a village from forest monstrosities some seven years ago - recovered by his father Landry, he was locked away to prevent his mother from ever finding out what he had become - it would have broken her heart, Quentin assures Sowe. Euphemia and Nikolai, meanwhile, break down the door of Mrs Catterall's room, finding only a threatening note from an anonymous blackmailer - Scrapeshanks the cook, judging by the writer's linguistic quirks.

By the time the Tolling of Bells begins, they are ready with a new theory regarding the murder: Scrapeshanks killed Araminta, presumably because she found out that the cook was blackmailing people. Scrapeshanks admits to the blackmailing… but insists that the killing had nothing to do with it. No, they killed Araminta because she stood between them and their one true love, Archibald Glomp!

As Scrapeshanks gets down on bended knee to propose to their beloved, the bells cease tolling and the steward once again exclaims:

“Presenting Araminta Mordere!”