Author's Note: Before you mention the picture, I know. If you've kept up with this, they said last chapter they're gonna work as a team and this seemed fitting. Anyway, thought I should clear that up. Now, let's get on with the chapter!

Your Author, Marbella. <3 

Another thing: Slight trigger warning for brutal ways of dying for the puzzle in this chapter. Just a warning.

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"We're going to move forward."

"We're going to move forward, as a team."

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Valentina's POV:

Now we've agreed to start working as a team, we really need to put that idea into motion before someone gets mad again and ruins the team dynamic.

We were sat in the lounge, trying to regroup our thoughts and emotions, ready to take on our third hour of the night.

"We should try to find this next artifact, you know." Lizzie urged, wanting us to move forward.

We search the lounge, since the artifact was in here last time.

Whilst we were searching, we heard a loud crash outside, as if something was thrown from the balcony.

"AH!" Lizzie squeaked, terrified by the noise.

"Maybe we should go outside and see what that was," I suggest, hoping it could lead us somewhere.

"It could contain our next big lead."

"Yeah, I gotta agree with Val for once," Zach said.

We open the lounge door and see what the hell just happened.

Lizzie: 'Every time we've gone outside, something... not very nice has happened. So, I'm just over here, thinking 'Please can we not go outside?'. But guess what? *Cue exaggerated silence* We're going outside, anyhow.'

We head outside and see a body bag outside on a cotton candy machine.

"Do you guys believe we should open it? It's going to have something inside, I'm guessing." Gear suggested.

I helped Veronica open the body bag and, low and behold, a body was inside it.

"WHAT THE!?" Vanessa shouted, jumping back.

"Wait, there's a book in here," I say, grabbing it and holding it to my chest.

"I think we should go back inside, don't you think? Before something pounces on us?" Lia hinted, hoping we don't get ourselves killed.

"Yeah, let's go. I don't enjoy being out here in the dark." Lizzie stated.

Lia: 'So, now that we've solved the body incident, we go back to the lounge and read this book we found.'

We re-enter the lounge and I read the book I found to the group.

It read:

'I will soon find the Bandit's Hat. Many have died seeking to get it. After gathering their obituaries, I realised their deaths link to those in the works of Maureena Waterlily. If you place these volumes in their proper order, the hat will be shown. The obituaries hold the key.'

Gear: 'I can tell right away that this Bandit's Hat is our next artifact. So, our goal now is finding that hat.'

"Wait, guys, I found a book by this Maureena woman. It's called 'The Opera to Die For.'" Lana called out, showing it to us.

"Wait, it says there's six books! Guys, we need six books by Maureena!" Oli shouted.

"I got one!" Vanessa declared, waving it in the air. It was called 'A Feast Fit for a Vampire.'

While we are trying to find the books, I look through the book for the obituaries.

And I find them in a hidden pocket.

"Guys, I got the obituaries!" I shared, waving them in the air.

Veronica: 'So, Val now has the obituaries and we have all the books. Now we need to line up the obituaries with the book and put them in order based on the date of death. This is going to take a while.'

"OK, so Daniella died of blood coming out of her ears at an opera show. That's 'The Opera to Die For'." Lia confirmed, helping us order the books.

After what seemed like 10 minutes, but was quick, we got all the books in the correct order and put them in the book-holder.

And then, a box on top of where we keep the artifacts opened up.

Lana: 'So, we sort out these books and put them in the right order and then this box opens up at the top of the shelf where we keep the cleansed artifacts. I grab it and there's a key inside.'

"Guys, I found a key!" Lana announced, waving it around.

"OK, be careful; don't drop it." Gear replied, looking around for a keyhole.

I moved a painting at the end of the arrow along the back wall and found a keyhole in the wall.

"Wait, Lana, there's a keyhole in the wall over here." I alerted the group. Lana put the key in and opened up the section in the wall, which turned out to be a hidden safe.

Inside was the Bandit's Hat and a box.

Vanessa: 'So, Lana cracks the safe open with the key and inside is the Bandit's Hat. We've found our next artifact and now we just need to cleanse it.'

We look inside the safe, and there is the hat and a box. I grab the smaller box and open it, and inside is a note. Veronica grabs the note and reads it.

It read:

'The Bandit's Hat infects all who touch it. To purify the cursed hat, five ancient rings must be placed around its band. To find the rings, you must form a hunting party and work as a team to find the missing rings. However, the Un-named Bandit guards his rings, and his touch or being shot by one of his blanks removes you from the hunt for five minutes. Your only sanctuary is under blue light.'

"So, we're going on a hunt for some rings, but the only way we can be safe is under a blue light?" Oli asked, wanting to make certain of the situation.

"It looks that way. We should get moving, though, we don't have a lot of time." Lana suggested, all of us agreeing and heading towards the door.

"Wait! Before we go, we didn't check the map yet." Zach pointed out. 

Heidi rushed over, pulled the map down, and laid it out on the table. We all looked at it. There was a motel that didn't look that important, but there was something that caught all of our eyes.

"The Un-named Bandit's Lair?" Vanessa asked. 

Underneath was a note, too. It read:

'The Un-named Bandit was hunted because the town thought he was a monster for the taking. He sure showed them who the actual monster was.'

Now that we've checked the map, Victor put it back up on the wall, and we went outside now.

There was a mist covering the town and we couldn't see. What we could see, though, was a jester's hat that was missing three bells.

Along with the hat, there was a note.

Gear picked it up and read it:

'Each clue will lead you to a bell missing from the jester's hat. After each bell has been found, you must return to the hat and put the bell in its respective place to receive your next clue. There is an additional puzzle at the pump station that will give you an advantage for later in the night. It does not need to be completed to find the rings, but if you solve it, it will give you an advantage to get you through the later stages of the night.'

"So, we're looking for bells?" Lia asked.

"Yeah, we'll get a clue at a time for each bell to lead us to it," I confirmed to her.

"But there's also an additional puzzle at the pump station that will lead us to an advantage for the later stages of the night," Oli inquired. "So, what do we do about that?"

Lizzie: 'So, we discuss and come up with a plan; me, Gear, Lana, Oli, and Valentina will try to find the bells. Then, Zach, the twins, and Lia will go to the pump station to find the advantage. If any of us needs help, they'll let us know and somebody from our side or their side will help them. Once we get the advantage, we'll all work together to find the rings.'

"OK, I'll go with the people at the pump station," Heidi said, looking at Victor. "You help the clue finders."

Soon, we all set off. Lizzie gets the clue and reads it to us:

'Find the harp that can fit under your wing. But be careful not to break it when you touch it by the sling.'

As we try to think of where you can keep a harp in this town, we hear footsteps.

We turn around and see...

TO BE CONTINUED. <3