It was late in the evening, nearing midnight, when the class were finally able to sneak out. On the horizon blocking out the moon's light, were dark clouds already rumbling, announcing the oncoming storm.

They couldn’t help but feel self-conscious about the clothes they were all wearing. They were all extremely flashy and the kind of clothes that Jack would gush endlessly over. Despite their reservations, they pressed on at a decent pace hoping to make it to the manor before the storm actually arrived.

Turning the corner, they could see their destination. A garish, brightly lit up manor house with far too much ornamentation. Outside the front was a masterpiece of artwork that had been roughly converted into a water feature. Putting on the masks of their costumes, they pressed forwards toward the gate with their invitations at the ready.

“Invitations?” the gate guard asked. Like the other people arriving in carriages, the guards were all dressed up for the event. However, they were wearing plain black three-piece suits with a plain white masks covering their faces. The whole appearance left a slightly unnerving feeling about them.

“Here,” Maxwell said as he handed them over.

“Ok, welcome to the party; you arrived just in time. The real event starts at midnight,” the guard said as he waved them through.

“Real event?” Tasha asked aloud as they made their way to the main doors.

“Common with big nobles in cities. They have a big game for all the partygoers.”

“Oh… wonder what kind of parties Lady Lust holds, do you know Maxy?”

“Best not dwell on it, Tash,” Maxwell said, ever thankful for the mask that covered his cheeks.

Entering the building, they were greeted by servants dressed all in white, with masks of pitch black—the inverse of the guards on the manor grounds.

“We welcome you, the ballroom is through those doors, and there is food and drink available,” one of the servants said as they all bowed in unison.

“T-thanks,” Gunter muttered, stumbling over his words. Gunter was very much like Bea in the sense he grew up without servants, so he was often unsure how to respond to them.

Arriving in the ballroom, the class was greeted by the sight of a mass of people moving around. Some were clumped together in clear and very animated conversations. Others were dancing on the dancefloor. At the same time, others were simply taking in the scene before them. Making their way to a corner of the room, slightly out of sight, the class now went over what to do next.

“So, where is the host?” Daisy began her anger seeping out of her and upsetting Sir Sparky, who was hanging limply around her neck disguised as a costume feature.

“Dunno but with these things, they usually show up late, and if there's a party game, she will initiate it.”

“Dunno bout you kids, but Gorm looks forward to this party game.”

The class slowly turned to face the towering figure dressed as a rook from a chessboard. Despite his face being hidden behind his ridiculous outfit, it was clear who was under.

“SIR GORM!” Gunter cried out as he went to kneel down, only to feel Gorm's hand on his shoulder.

“You know Gorm doesn’t like that stuff. Besides, we are at a masquerade party. No one will know it is Gorm you speak to!” The class decided not to point out his tendency to use his name to refer to himself might give away that little secret.

“What are you doing here? I heard you were on a nature walk with my brother and the other kids?” Daisy asked pointedly.

“Oh, they are still on the walk. They are camping out at the moment. Gorm is here because Gorm is the Frozen North's representative. Gorm has to show Gorm’s face at these events occasionally.”

“Where are they then?”

“Dragon Nest Mountain Range.” The class paled at the name of what was widely considered the most dangerous place on the planet. If the dragons didn’t get you, the various wildlife would. It was often joked it was where the gods put their failed projects.

“You…you left my brother alone in such a dangerous place?”

“What? No, Gorm may be foolish, but Gorm is not an idiot. The kids are in the valley of the sleeping horse with Elissa and Sithy.” Maxwell immediately perked up hearing Insithrilax’s nickname.

“Sithy is there?”

“Yes!”

“As is Gorm’s great love. Gorm had to come to this party and flew here.”

“You flew here? How did you… no, wait, dragons… so they are safe?”

“Daisy, they have Insithrilax with them.”

“That nervous-looking bookworm?”

“I’ve already told you he is the most powerful dragon of all time. If he really wanted to, he could conquer the continent. Though you’d need to find a rare book to get him to do it.”

“Bahahahah! You know Sithy well, boy!” Gorms guffaw drew the attention of the people around them, who promptly decided to ignore the foreign savage.

“It still doesn’t feel like enough, though.”

“Flower girl Gorm has heard what happened, and he understands. But you cannot smother him to keep him safe. Regardless anyone who could hurt him now would be too strong even for Gorm to face bahahahaha!!!!” Daisy still seemed hesitant to accept her brother was safe where he was. But she couldn’t deny having Yuu, Elissa and an ancient dragon defending him was a significant force.

“So you come here with bestest buddy?”

“Sir?” Daisy asked to which Gorm nodded as he pointed to a corner near the grand staircase where a group of people with outlandish outfits, even by this party’s standards, were having an animated conversation. Their teacher's very distinctive lanky figure was obvious, as was the small frame of a girl with red hair next to him.

“That lying bastard!” Bea grumbled. When they had asked him about his plans for the evening so they could avoid him, he said he was spending the night in reading.

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“Ah, you done sneaked out… Don’t worry; Gorm is the personification of SNEAKY!!!! He will be occupied in the geek corner all night. They like to talk about engineering and magic research. Stuff Gorm’s heart and soul likes.”

“So you know the people here, sir Gorm?”

“Yes, flower girl Gorm does.”

“I have a few names and was wondering if you could point them out for me,” Gorm thought momentarily before nodding to Daisy’s request.

“Ok, the first is a man Septus.”

“Guard boss… he’s the guy in the grand general dress suit,” Gorm said, pointing to a man surrounded by scared men with medals. His was the most distinctive as it was coated top to bottom in medals.

“Gorm has heard the fake medal makers love him.”

“Next is a Lux Lightbringer,” Bea added, to which Gorm pointed to the most eye-catching figure in the ballroom. It was a man in gold thread clothing with countless gems sewn into it. Every so often, a rainbow of light would refract off of him.

“Certainly lives up to his name,” Kline quipped.

“Then there is a Stephano,” Gorm paused in thought before he pointed to a man in rather plain clothing having what appeared to be a serious discussion.

“And Gabriella?”

“She is upstairs preparing for the game… though Gorm doesn’t know what it is, so don’t ask… GORM IS AN INNOCENT MAN!!!”

“How very interesting… especially those names,” a voice that felt smooth as silk said as it approached the group. Looking to the source, the class saw a man wearing priestly robes with a crusader's helm with large wings attached to the side.

“Apologies for eavesdropping. These parties can be so dull before the game starts, so I kind of make it a habit to listen for intrigue.”

“And you are?” Daisy near snarled in a way that caused Sir Sparky to twitch.

“My deepest apologies… I am High Priest Bernard of the city's temple.”

“High Priest?” Gorm repeated.

“Yes, the high priest. I handle all the holy rituals for the northern pantheon. Speaking of Northern Pantheon, I have a message I wish for you to convey to your father, Lord Gorm.”

“Gorm is not Gorm!” Gorm protested in a manner that almost felt pathetic.

“Well, ok… I’m sure a strapping lad like you knows the most excellent and magnificent master of combat that is Lord Gorm. Would you pass on this letter to him to pass on to his father?”

“Not Gorm will accept letter for Gorm to pass onto father.”

“Thank you… please enjoy your evening… I imagine it will be an interesting one.

The class watched the high priest walk away, and they only felt a sense of unease. While it was true the high priest in the city worked for Crozonia, their recent experiences with the theocracy had left a foul taste in their mouths regarding the clergy.

“Gorm thinks he successfully fooled him.”

“Ladies and Gentlemen, can I have your attention please!” a servant on the stairs announced.

“Her most magnificent being and your host this evening, Lady Gabriella!!!” A smattering of applause rang out as Gabriella descended the stairs in a ball gown and a veil covering her face.

“Good people of Hades Seat… I thank you for coming; we have prepared a most fun game tonight.” As the class focused on their last known suspect, they heard a grumble near them.

“Does she really think this will get her back in her majesty's good graces?”

“Tonight's game will be a murder mystery. There is a killer amongst us right this very moment!”

“Yeah, and she’s on the stairs,” Daisy grumbled under her breath.

“When the murder happens, you will have two hours to find the culprit before they can get away. Throughout my little home are clues hidden in rooms. There are even servants with clues that, if identified correctly, will share them. The winner of the game gets the coveted ambrosia crown,” a servant walked up next to her and held aloft a bottle containing a golden liquid.

“A liquid said to heal all wounds, even those considered fatal if the rumours are to be believed,” this reveal sent a fresh stir through the crowd. While opinions about the host were mixed, opinions about the prize were not.

“Here’s to a fun night!” Gabriella said as she raised her glass in a toast which was returned by the partygoers, with the class being the sole exception.

Just as everyone took a sip from their drinks, a lightning bolt struck just outside the room's windows. The glass shook, and the lights went out. There was a blood-curdling scream, and then the lights slowly came back on.

At the top of the stairs where Gabriella had stood moments ago was now a body impaled to the wall by a spear. There were a few shocked murmurs around the room before a person began to clap. This applause slowly but surely spread around the room till all in attendance were applauding the impaled Gabriella.

“Bravo, such showmanship. So the game is afoot!” a Noble called out as he and a few began heading out of the ballroom to start their search.

The class, however, didn’t move. They had the sneaking suspicion that she genuinely was dead. What told them this especially was Gorm looked rather pale, having removed his mask to gawk at Gabriella. They already knew he must be the chosen murderer for the game, considering he all but admitted it to them.

Searching the crowd for their teacher, they were surprised not to find him. He seemed to have gone off with the researchers and geeks from his corner to play the game. Deciding to go up and investigate the body, the class now knew for certain it wasn’t a trick.

“Yep, that’s real,” Maxwell said as he examined the body.

“Maybe one of the people here killed her. She was supposedly on her way out?” Bea suggested.

“But it was just a rumour,” Gunter pointed out.

“She might have already been kicked out by Crozonia,” Daisy suggested as she focused her gaze on Gabriella’s veil.

“How can you tell?”

“One of the things my parents always told me to stay away from was vampires wearing veils.”

“Why?” Tasha asked.

“Because they were likely defanged,” Daisy said as she pulled the veil down, revealing a pale but beautiful face. The mouth was hanging agape, and there were clear spaces where the vampiric canines should’ve been.

“See.”

“So they pulled her fangs out?”

“It’s worse than that for a vampire. The fangs are what makes a vampire, well… a vampire. Vampires can live an incredibly long time, and barring injury, nothing will stop that. So exiling a vampire won’t do anything. But you yank out the fangs from a vampire and…”

“They begin to age?” Bea asked, putting the few clues together.

“Yes, and say a vampire has lived centuries… well, those years will start to catch up and quickly. It is one of the greatest punishments for vampires, who always will try to hide it.”

“Why not just execute and be done with it?” Maxwell asked.

“Some do take that way out. After being defanged, a vampire will run something through their heart to symbolise their broken heart and desire to die.”

“That must be where the idea doing that kills a vampire comes from,” Kline pointed out.

“Likely,” Daisy said, nodding in agreement.

“But she is clearly a young blood… that’s the weird thing about this; she could’ve lived a full human lifespan. With the amount of wealth on display, her descendants could’ve lived comfortably for their entire lives.”

“Maybe that’s the problem… her partner wanted to cut off a wasted expense?” Kline suggested.

“Possibly…”

“What now?” Tasha asked.

“Why don’t we split up and follow the group following each suspect? It could be one of them… Regardless I’m not going to go out of my way to solve the murder of the person who might be behind my mum's death!”

Reluctantly the class split into three groups of two and followed the groups slowly leaving the room with their chosen suspects. Unbeknown to them, a heavily shaking figure was hiding in the shadow of a pillar, intently watching them.