It's only a hallucination, it's only a hallucination, it's only a hallucination!

looks like someone needs a hand...

Anyways, this will be a cool thing to tell your friends when you get home.

Speaking of which, we made it across, now lets get down and take the path home before NOra rats you out to Nathan

>You have good night vision and can make out the shape clearly but the detail is lost this far away. It feels familiar.

If it's familiar, and has gray fur, hopefully, it's not Debra's arm

>there are things in the woods at night.
Spooky things? Is that arm gonna become The Thing(tm) from Addams Family hopefully?

>It feels familiar.
HOPEFULLY it isnt :V

>>1085246
>severed arm, small blood puddle, suddenly cold
Ghost alert! Look around, listen carefully.

>>1085246
Am i imagining it or does that hand have a ring mark.
You know, like you get when you wear one a long time.

Wow that... sure is a dead body. Or part of one. Just like you wanted. To see.

...

Regret everything and go home and hide in your room.

Well, you were hurrying to meet your friends, right? Will you be able to stay the night?

>>1085249
I went back and checked; Debra's remaining arm was indeed the right arm. No images clearly showed the spot where a ring would be, so unclear there. I hope it's not hers. :/

Panda 2024/03/09(Sat)21:26 No. 1085972 ID: ab70bc
File 171004836714.png - (388.90KB , 1085x964 , Rileyquest 83.png )

You drop down into the alleyway onto a pile of dirt, the grass helps break the fall. It's easier to see the crime scene up close.

Oh fuck. That's a whole fucking arm. That's awesome?

You have good night vision and it looks like it could be Debra's; it's about the right size, the right fur color. It's also the right arm.
You notice a ring mark. You don't remember seeing a ring on her finger today?

It's gotta be that missing ring. The bird's swindled you into carrying part of the crime scene. Do you want to drop it and act like nothing happened or keep it?
You did pay for it...

Aw man you hope it's not Debra. Pour one out for the homies dude.

This bird's incriminating us!

Unless they're actually helping us...

This is gonna sound crazy, but what would happen if we put the ring on the finger where the mark is?

There IS one question that's not exactly solved though: Debra's or not, how's there a severed arm here?

Was it bitten off, ripped off, or cut off maybe?

Quick, check if there's a Peg where it'd attach to the body, is this a Jumbo Mrs Potato Head??

Is it Alive (in the zombie sense)?

>>1085972
Poke the arm with a stick.

Just turn around and go. You can find out what the police are looking at (an armless body?) later.

>>1085974
do this

>>1085972
Your prints are all over it.

However if you get found with it you can at least tell the truth.
"I bought it off a bird while climbing on roofs looking for ghosts and a shortcut." Doesnt sound like something an escaped mental patient would say, right?

Maybe have a quick look around though.
I mean, how many murder scenes are you going to get a look at in your life?

Then be ready to hide if officer killjoy turns up.

>>1086001
Her prints are on the quarter. It's a verifiable story!

Why would Debra's right arm be here? That's crazy! She wasn't wearing that ring earlier, so maybe it's someone else's just with her dimensions and fur color.

Or... hey! Could this be a prank? Check if the arm and blood if they're actually real! Poke poke!

And there's also too little of it, right? There should be a blood trail around if someone really got their arm lopped off here. Just arm + puddle o' blood is real weird. Like it just dropped to the ground - as if shed! - and whatever blood was in it pooled out.

Look about the crime scene more. Did you miss anything else? If not... well. If only you had a camera. But you also got places to be, people to meet. If nothing else comes up, it may be time to move on.

>>1086025
Ah, wait a minute. There IS a trail isn't there? A thin line of blood streaking off towards you. Not droplets. That's... super weird.

If it's Debra's arm, then there's no crime, right? Debra lost her arm a long time ago! She wasn't bleeding like this from her stump when you saw her on the swing. How could her arm be here? Now? And (uggh) fresh?

well, there's one thing you can relax on if you get accused for murder: you have an alibi. Officer Murphy saw you hanging out at the restaurant before he got the call about something happening and leaving. The only thing you'd be guilty of is tampering with the crime scene, but that's like, whatever.

>>1086025
Sorta weird, yeah

>>1086026
Nah, that's a crease in the arm

>>1086033
That's a good point; you can relax a LITTLE

>>1086001
Oh right also the ring is too narrow to hold identifiable prints.

The main issue is that Mrs Nora saw us heading towards this location. What we SHOULD do is mail the ring to the cops, anonymously, with a typed explanation of how it was found. We also need to ask Mrs. Nora to not tell the cops we were here. And also find out if Debra is still alive.

>>1086127

Of course she's still alive! We saw her just earlier today! Wait—oh. Oh.

>>1086146
Hey.
What if its the GHOST of her arm?

Better find a good poking stick, and poke away just to be sure.

Panda 2024/03/20(Wed)22:41 No. 1086855 ID: ab70bc
File 171099966158.gif - (239.03KB , 560x560 , 3_19_24 Rileyquest arm poke.gif )

>put the ring on the finger
Ew, gross! You're not gonna touch it. It's cool but there's a line.

You poke it with a stick instead.

Yep that's definitely a real arm. No ghosts here. The wound doesn't look very gruesome, there aren't any obvious bite marks, it looks like it was cleanly torn off. And it's fresh but there there isn't much blood, so maybe it was moved here.
That's about all you can figure out.

You stop jabbing it when the sound of a woodpecker wakes you up. It's gotten dark and without your jacket you're already feeling the cold.
Getting home doesn't sound like such a bad idea.

Panda 2024/03/20(Wed)22:41 No. 1086856 ID: ab70bc
File 171099969221.gif - (540.65KB , 800x513 , bird big.gif )

Before you can do anything the unnamed bird joins you once again.

"NUMBER FOUR."

The bird drops this spooky shit on you like it's no big deal, the streetlights flicker behind you.

It makes a weird noise like it's clearing its throat then surprisingly, continues. "THAT'S WEIRD, RIGHT?" It hops around on the arm a bit like he's trying to be disrespectful. "I KNOW YOUR MIND, I HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS. IS THIS THE RAT?"

The bird knows.

"KNOWLEDGE COMES AT A PRICE. SOME PRICES ARE TOO DEAR TO PAY."

The little fuck looks you dead in the eyes.

"TEN DOLLARS."

...Yeah okay eldritch enlightenment is probably worth ten bucks.

>>1086856
Shit. You don't have that much on you. Tell it to follow you and you'll get the money.

You do have that much laying around somewhere, right?

>"TEN DOLLARS."
Damn, i thought the person who lost their arm was the one getting eviscerated...

Might as well though, that's like two Big Macs (alas).

Also contemplate the idea that this Crow may actually be some sort of Supernatural Being, and what rad powers he might have potentially

I dont think we have 10 dollars, or anything worth 10 dollars, sooooooo... bye!

>>1086855
Oh, is that some kind of mark in the pavement under the hand?

>>1086856
I think it's time to entertain the idea that you may be tripping balls.

Check your sewer cut hand Riley.
See if it's flaring up, itchy or otherwise odd.

Resist the temptation to poke the crow with your grade A poking stick.

If you havent got anything worth ten dollars try barter.
Maybe the stick will do.
It's a pretty rad stick.

>>1086864
I think it's just a crack on the concrete. You can see other cracks like that on the floor in other panels too

>>1086856
What about i give you a name as payment like "Mordicai"

It pretty obviously is Debra's arm, but it's not like you can reattach it or anything, right? The magpie is selling you what you already know!

You need to leave this place. Get home before it gets dark. The arm is not a ghost, so... time to forget this ever happened?

Oh, but you can give Debra back her ring, at least!

Stare it dead in the eye back and ask if it takes IOUs.

>>1086856
Is this just the crow again in a diffrent guise?

Panda 2024/04/06(Sat)21:12 No. 1088130 ID: ab70bc
File 171246316174.png - (108.29KB , 1080x680 , Rileyquest 86.png )

You check your hand. It looks pretty good actually! There isn't a sign there was ever a cut here, which is weird even for you.

There's an itch in your bones that makes you want to clench your fist, even when you scratch it the feeling won't go away.
It's like when your leg goes dead and you have to shake it a lot or when you hit your elbow on your chair.

"Dude what the fuck. Ten dollars is at least two Big Macs, and soda." You could dine like a king for that kind of money. It's outrageous.

The bird bows its wings. "I CAN WAIT. THERE IS NO DEADLINE ON WEALTH."
What a weird little dude. Maybe you can find him later when you're more loaded.

Panda 2024/04/06(Sat)21:13 No. 1088131 ID: ab70bc
File 171246318967.gif - (154.71KB , 560x359 , Lights out.gif )

There are maybe a few people in town that are this old-lady-tiny whose arm this could be, and Debra's definitely the one most likely to get into wacky hijinks that involve losing an arm. It makes sense it'd be her.

Before you can jab the crow with your stick in hopes of a discount, the flickering lights fade out leaving you in the dark.

Panda 2024/04/06(Sat)21:13 No. 1088132 ID: ab70bc
File 171246322150.png - (91.33KB , 1080x680 , Rileyquest 88.png )

"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuugh that's so laaaaaaaame." Thankfully, you can see pretty well at night, at least when there's moonlight around. People get lost in the woods and things get w e i r d in the dark.

Checking out a crime scene was cool, now you can check 'poke a dead arm' off your bucketlist. You should probably figure out a way to get home though, you're cold and this bird sucks.

+30EXP for sneaking into a crime scene
You leveled up to Problem Sleuth

Hmm, did time really pass that quickly actually?

Before you go (probably to band if you didnt completely miss it :V), be sure to ask if you can pick up like a snow cone/hamburger, is it free?

If yes, do it immediately. He might go Gwah (or Woo)...

Also consider that you're probably totally in something Spooky and/or Supernatural (good thing?)

>>1088132
Alright start walking home. Stick to the streets for now. Quick pace.

Guess it's too late for band practice. Ah well, time to go home.

>>1088133
Definetly hamburger more filling the greasy vein clogging sort we cant waste money on frozen water and milk

>>1088141

Good point. You're going to want to watch your weight. It's starting to affect your climbing prowess. Need some healthy food to counteract that sweet bun.

It's a moot point really, the hamburger place and the soda fountain are both going to be closed this late at night.

...what kind of town turns out their street lights when it gets dark?

oh yeah, as you leave, give the bird the bird and tell it, "smell ya later"

>>1088131
Oh
My
God
Hes got contacts in the local council electrical maintenance team!

>>1088132
Woo!
Youre a problem sleuth instead of just a problem!
Good going riley!

Keep your stick and head home.
You can clack it along the fences you pass and you never know when youll find something in need of a good poking.

Time for band practice. It's not too late for that, right? It would be super lame to ditch your friends when you said you'd be there. Besides, you need someone to tell about the cool severed arm you saw, you must be bursting to get that one out.

>>1088142
Its more of a we literally cant waste money on anything thats not filling cant waste money on whats basically water mostly