Chapter IX

**Chapter IX** is the ninth chapter of *The Case of the Golden Idol*. The date of the occurrence for this chapter is May 12, 1792, sometime after noon. The preceding chapter is Chapter VIII and the succeeding chapter is Chapter X.

## Main Plot

• Now that the prime ministerial candidate elections are over, Dr. James Turner invited Prime Ministerial candidate and Loyalist leader, Lord Leopold Blanchard, who’s the leader of the Loyalists party, General Alistair Koch, Gideon Bell, Lemurian Prince, Ergin Ptoo, and Prime Ministerial candidate and Moderate Leader, Augustus Vallantine, to his place for a weekend of drinks.

• Early in the morning, James and Leopold were talking in the library over a glass of sherry. James left his glass untouched because he spiked the sherry with black poppy, which causes sleepiness, and leaves people with noticeably pink eyes. As Leopold was falling asleep, he saw Ergin was observing him and James through the window. James grabbed a button from Leopold’s jacket. James then went to the chess-house to meet Alistair.

• Meanwhile, Butler Podrick Hill was being lectured for his lack of military training by Alistair at the chess-house.

• Meanwhile, Ergin and Gideon got bored playing crochet, and moved to the tea-house. Ergin Ptoo spiked Gideon Bell’s tea with lemurian lichen. Symptoms are hyperconcentration on one thing, loss of hearing and rapid blinking. While Gideon remained at the tea-house, Ergin briefly left to reclaim the 11th seal of the Lemurian clan at the salon; the real reason why he attended the gathering in the first place. Ergin hoped that James didn’t notice him, because he saw James leaning over Leopold.

• Sometime in the afternoon, but before the murder, James arrived at the chess-house and ordered Podrick to help out gardener Billian Spade, and clean up the library, including getting rid of the sherry. At the library, he found Leopold sleeping, and it’s heavily implied that Podrick drank some of the spiked sherry, and also fell asleep (he has pink eyes when he wakes up).

• Augustus left the fountain at around noon and went to the salon.

• Alistair briefly left the chess-house and went to the salon.

• In the salon at around noon, Alistair Koch grabbed a Lemurian boomerang from James’s Lemurian history display, and murdered Augustus Vallantine, leaving a huge vertical wound on his forehead. Alistair planted the button on him to frame Leopold Blanchard. In a note left on Augustus's person, it’s unknown if Leopold and Augustus were actually supposed to meet at noon, or if it’s a forged note as another means to frame Leopold. Alistair returned to the chess-house and James gave him an alibi.

• Now awake, Leopold woke up Podrick, went to the salon, and found Augustus’s corpse. Podrick raised the alarm, and everyone gathered at the salon.

• Based on the fact that the murder weapon is the Lemurian boomerang, Leopold accuses Ergin of the murder of Augustus.

• James accuses Leopold considering that Augustus has Leopold’s jacket button in his hand.

• Leopold was taken in by Constable Arthur Falkner for the suspicion of murdering Augustus.

• It becomes apparent to the player that neither Ergin nor Leopold murdered Augustus. In fact, this gathering was a set-up to begin with. New Order Party leader Lazarus Herst is the other Prime Ministerial candidate. Even though the New Order Party has the most MPs, the Moderates and the Loyalists will form a coalition, making either Augustus or Leopold the PM. So, with the help of James and Alistair, Lazarus hatched a plan to kill two birds with one stone. By framing Leopold for Augustus’s murder, it’s heavily implied that the Moderates and the Loyalists won’t form a coalition, leaving Lazarus’s Brotherhood of Masks, now transformed into the Order Party as the government.

## Extras

• The New Order Party has 36 MPs in parliament, the Moderates have 32 MPs, and the Loyalists have 29 MPs.