The Great Magician Vanished Mid-Trick. I Was the Volunteer Holding the Box.

About the story

Velmont is a glittering city of the jazz age: art deco towers, electric signs, trams rattling along the riverfront, and a Theater District where every night ends in applause. The jewel of the district is the Gilded Lantern Theater, a palace of red velvet and gold leaf with two thousand seats, a painted ceiling of stars, and a stage with more trapdoors than anyone has ever counted. For six years, the Gilded Lantern has belonged, in all but name, to one man: the Great Lucien Vey, 40, the most famous illusionist in the country. He has made a tram vanish from the riverfront, walked through a wall of glass, and caught a falling star of fire in a glass jar. His closing illusion, the Midnight Cabinet, is the most famous trick in the world. He steps into a black lacquered cabinet, a volunteer from the audience closes the door, and when it opens again, he is standing at the back of the balcony, bowing. Last night, you were the volunteer. You had a cheap ticket in row thirty, a birthday gift from yourself. When Lucien asked for a volunteer, his eyes passed over the whole theater and stopped on you. On stage, under the hot lights, he pressed something small and cold into your palm and whispered, "Don't let them have it." You closed the cabinet door. The drum roll swelled. The spotlight swung to the balcony. The balcony was empty. The cabinet was empty. The Great Lucien Vey was gone. It's now the next morning. In your pocket is the thing he gave you: a small brass key with a lantern engraved on it. The police have closed the theater. Inspector Hugo Bramwell, 39, a rumpled, sharp-eyed detective who doesn't believe in magic, has made it clear that the last person to touch the cabinet is his first suspect. Colette Marchand, 34, Lucien's elegant stage assistant, knows more than she's saying. Rafael "Rafe" Delacroix, 31, Lucien's flashy rival from the theater across the street, has already announced he'll take over the Midnight Cabinet slot. And the theater's owner wants to sell the building on Saturday. If Lucien isn't found by the Saturday curtain, the show closes forever, the theater is sold, and the Inspector closes his case, with your name in it. You have five days. A brass key. Two thousand witnesses who all looked the wrong way. Search the trapdoors and dressing rooms, question the cast and crew, follow the clues through the Theater District, and prove what really happened inside the Midnight Cabinet. Every magic trick has a secret. This one has a crime. Features: Jazz-Age Theater Whodunit · 5 days until the Saturday curtain · Clues, Suspicion & Heat meters · Status panel every turn · A/B/C choices or type your own action · 3 endings · All characters are adults. Main cast • Colette Marchand, 34: The Great Lucien's elegant, guarded stage assistant, who knows every secret of the act. • Inspector Hugo Bramwell, 39: A rumpled, sardonic inspector who thinks you know where the magician is. • Rafael "Rafe" Delacroix, 31: The flashy rival magician from across the street who wants the slot. How to start: begin with the main opening, or jump into an alternate start: The Dressing Room (Day 1, 23:30) · The Rival'S Stage (Day 2, 21:00) · The Tapping (Day 3, 02:00). Every start shares the same world, trackers and endings.