Chapter 117: The Amenities

No one said anything for a while other than Antoine saying he needed to go for a walk to clear his mind, but then he never actually did.

I knew that we were being manipulated, but when I saw the plan written out in black and white, it still surprised me. My mind tried to go in so many directions, dissecting the journal entries and Project Rewind in a dozen different ways, but in the end, I didn’t really get much thinking done.

Eventually, it was Dina, I think, who tried to press the red button and get her rewards, only for Silas to do his disappearing act again, moving twenty feet away.

“Wait your turn,” he said in his usual jokey cadence, “There’s plenty of disappointment to go around. Hehehe.”

“We have to wait,” I said. “We can’t all get our rewards until…”

I didn’t finish my sentence, but she understood. Everyone understood.

We had to wait here in the infinite graveyard until everyone had failed their storylines back in Carousel. If we left too early, Project Rewind wouldn’t work.

And Project Rewind had to work.

Whether it was the right decision or the wrong decision, so many people had sacrificed themselves for that plan.. or been sacrificed by others. It was our only hope. It had to work.

“Can someone explain to me how you knew to come here?” Bobby said eventually.

This was hard to talk about, but he deserved to know, especially if he was going to be on our team.

We took turns. Dina explained her letters. I showed him my tickets with the encoded messages. We had even brought our cell phones in the hope that we might find a cell signal over here so we showed him the picture Camden had sent of the sign for the bed and breakfast.

Bobby was quiet for a while. I expected him to get angry, but mostly, he just looked sad.

After a while, he said, “You know, I remember making that.”

“Making what?” Kimberly asked.

“The ‘closed fur renovations’ sign,” he explained, “I have the NPC’s memory, or at least some of it. I remember that. I had just moved us out into the middle of nowhere. My daughter, well, the NPC’s daughter, Samantha, and I moved out here to start over after her mother died. We were going to start the little B&B and raise a whole pack of dogs. Train them to do tricks to impress the guests. When I wrote close fur renovations as a dad joke, Samantha rolled her eyes, but she smiled too. It was a happy memory.”

He didn’t speak for a few moments.

“Janette and I decided not to have kids. She had some genetic things she didn’t want to pass on. I always wondered what it might be like though. To have a child. Now, suddenly, I have another hole in my heart for this kid that wasn’t even really mine. What are you supposed to do when there is nothing left of your heart but holes?”

He was asking me. Or maybe he wasn’t. I’ve never been the best at these conversations.

“I haven’t figured that one out yet,” I answered honestly.

“They’re reminders of the people you love,” Dina said, shedding a rare tear. “If you can’t live without them. You either stop living or you do what it takes to get them back.”

“You rescue them,” Antoine said. He held his new rescue ticket in his hand. He had been reading it over and over again ever since we arrived. Kimberly tried to comfort him. I could tell he was not taking things well.

That was what we would do. Rescue the people we couldn’t live without. I had spent my whole life just trying not to think about my parents dying, then my grandparents. I didn't know if there was another way to cope.

But maybe there was this time.

~-~

It took a long time for Silas to finally let us get our rewards. We tested it every once in a while. When he finally stopped teleporting away, we knew it was done. Everyone in Carousel but us was dead.

We took our turns getting rewards. All of us got varying amounts of money. We also got some new and interesting tickets.

Antoine got one stat ticket, two tropes (including his A Race Against Time rescue ticket), and three tickets we had never heard of before.

The first was called a Luggage Tag, which I immediately understood to be one thing.

“It’s an item inventory,” I said. I was so taken aback by the realization that we had been playing without our inventories this whole time.

Small Luggage Tag

Weight Limit: Ten Pounds

Transferable: No

Sign this ticket and place it inside the carrying implement of your choice, be it a backpack, purse, or similar item. This Luggage will become your inventory on the red wallpaper. Any objects that could feasibly be placed in the Luggage will be able to fit, in any amount up to the combined Weight Limit of all applied Luggage tags. The contents will appear on the red wallpaper. The luggage will never get heavier. Items placed in the Luggage will only be retrievable in storylines if they make sense in the narrative.

When an additional tag is required to increase the Weight Limit, you will be alerted on the red wallpaper. Every time the Luggage is damaged in a story, the Luggage tag has a chance of needing to be replaced.

I thought back to the overstuffed bag that Arthur carried into storylines that contained all of his monster hunting equipment. To think, with Luggage Tags, he could have carried everything in a small duffle or even a satchel.

The real benefit of these tags was that they stack, allowing you to carry a large inventory in a single bag.

His next ticket was called a Criminal Bounty.

Criminal Bounty

Name: The Star-Crossed Killers

Plot Armor: 20-40

Wanted for Torture, Mayhem, Murder, Witchcraft

Reward: Dead- 10 Dollars, Alive- 100 Dollars (Per Killer)

Last Know Location: East of Carousel, across the Hanging Bridge.

Details: The killers’ spree has left several dead and many others wounded. Bringing them to justice remains a high priority of the Carousel Police Department.

Antoine explained that he could see a wanted poster for these Star-Crossed Killers on the red wallpaper, though their faces were blank.

His final ticket was something called a Keepsake.

Congratulations, you have earned a Keepsake. Please select an applicable Trophy item from what remains of the killers you defeated to keep in your possession. This Keepsake may not be used for its usual purpose in a storyline, but it can be spent for a one-time use of one of the following rewards:

A boost to a saving throw for [ Mettle ]

Use of the trope: Desperation- As the situation gets more desperate, move stats in Moxie and Savvy into Mettle and Hustle

Or

To assist in the following situation: N/A

I wasn’t sure what an applicable Trophy was, but that ticket sounded great.

His trope reward, other than the rescue ticket, was:

Coyote in a Trap

Type: Action

Archetype: Any

Aspect: --

Stat Used: Grit

In a life-or-death situation, a survivor must choose anything that isn’t death, even horrific injury.

With this trope equipped, the Player will have a greatly increased chance of escaping when Captured or winning a Chase Sequence, if they injure themselves in order to accomplish the feat. They will be able to survive longer than usual with their injury. The success of escape depends on the narrative, enemy tropes, the Player’s Grit, and whether the injury is sufficient to aid in escape.

They say a coyote will gnaw its own leg off to escape a trap. What are you willing to do?

It was easy to tell what feat landed him with this reward. Personally, I liked my Escape Artist more. It was only a Buff, but I was getting real tired of hurting myself.

For killing Merritt, Antoine got a killer collectible card.

Merritt Speirs

Criminal

In the dim shadows lurked Merritt Speirs, a strategist with plans ever so intricate. Yet, the wild whims of his brother Bradley threatened to unravel it all. As the weight of desperation grew heavier, Merritt's once composed demeanor began its chilling transformation. From shrewd mastermind to monstrous malevolence, he stands as a testament to the perils of brotherly love unchecked.

Kimberly didn’t get a stat ticket. She got one trope, and two other tickets. One of the other tickets was a Luggage Tag like the one Antoine got. The other one was something she was thrilled to see.

Carousel Rewards Program

Reward: The Red Mist trope

To gain the reward, the player must: Die for First Blood (five times).

The ticket had a hole punched in it already inside a little square. She needed four more hole punches to get the reward. The Red Mist was a trope that guaranteed an instant death. Roxy had that trope. It was the envy of everyone who saw it. I was relatively certain that Roxy had not gotten it the same way Kimberly was going to, as these types of tickets had stopped being distributed.

Lucky. She dies once and gets The Red Mist. I imagined it was because her death was instant, but still, I was jealous.

Kimberly also got a marigold yellow ticket.

The Woman in Mourning

Type: Rescue

Archetype: Eye Candy

Aspect: Beauty

Stat Used: Moxie

Killers are not just guilty of harming their primary victims. They are also guilty of a cascade of pain that washes over everyone who knew and loved the victim.

Our scene begins with a funeral.

Rescue: When a player enters a compatible storyline with this trope while possessing any missing posters of deceased players who died in that same storyline, the storyline will be changed into a Rescue. Succeeding in the Rescue will revive the dead players. This ticket will indicate on the red wallpaper if a nearby storyline is applicable.

With this trope equipped and activated successfully, the storyline will pick up a week after the events of the downed players’ deaths. A funeral will be held. It will be raining outside. Everyone will be asking why this tragedy occurred. Little do they know; the tragedy has just begun. The killer is at the funeral and only the Player suspects them.

The Player will accrue benefits for establishing a strong, emotional connection to the deceased.

The story will play out as a Thriller, as the Woman in Mourning tries to prove the killer is to blame and get them arrested or even kill them if narratively applicable. Situations will arise to bring higher stakes and tension.

Applicable stories will typically be those with high Savvy or Moxie, human or human-passing enemies. Most supernatural plots will be excluded depending on the capabilities of the enemy to adapt to the new role.

Known Killer: The Player will know who the killer is immediately, regardless of their tropes. They do not need a strong explanation for their knowledge in the narrative. If the enemy has a disguise trope, the Player will have a more difficult time proving the killer’s identity to anyone else.

Takeover: This trope will cancel out any story alterations except those inherent to the Archetype or Advanced Archetype associated with this ticket.

Bring Them to Justice is the only Win Condition. No others may be added to the Rescue.

Rescue Variant: A Rescue Trope of the same name exists for the Craven-Hysteric and the Seer-Psychic. The tropes are compatible and offer a bonus when used together.

Odds are, no one will believe you until it is too late.

I was starting to see how Rescues worked. They were very specific as to what storylines they were compatible with.

Dina didn’t get any stat tickets. She got a Rescue Ticket and a Luggage Tag.

You don’t know me, but…

Type: Rescue

Archetype: Outsider

Aspect: Stranger

Stat Used: Moxie

When a tragedy occurs, many wonder what they could have done differently. Others wish they could have sent a warning somehow.

Now, you can.

Rescue: When a player enters a compatible storyline with this trope while possessing any missing posters of deceased players who died in that same storyline, the storyline will be changed into a Rescue. Succeeding in the Rescue will revive the dead players. This ticket will indicate on the red wallpaper if a nearby storyline is applicable.

With this trope equipped and activated successfully, the storyline will play out the way it would originally if there were no players involved. All player roles will be played by NPCs. Those NPCs representing downed players will be shown on the red wallpaper. The story will, of course, end in the worst possible way.

Unless you can stop it. Stay in the shadows, stay out of the limelight. Give the NPCs warnings or advice. Help them out of view of the audience. Players in the Rescue can use buffs and other tropes to aid from the sidelines, but they must be compatible with staying in the background. Players will not be the main characters. All incompatible player tropes will be unequipped at the start of the Rescue. Some tropes will work differently, but still be usable.

Applicable stories will typically be those with a versatile main cast. Be warned: this Rescue will activate in storylines that it does not synergize well with. Further, some enemies with meta-knowledge will be able to interfere with the players.

Takeover: This trope will cancel out any story alterations except those inherent to the Archetype or Advanced Archetype associated with this ticket.

Save the Innocents is the only Win Condition. No others may be added to the Rescue.

Lived to Tell the Tale: Any players who survive a storyline altered by this trope will not die regardless of whether the storyline is failed. Those who died will need to be Rescued.

You can tell them how to survive. Better hope they listen.

That sounded like a nightmare to use. Maybe Dina and Bobby would be able to work together on a Rescue like the one described, but it would be a while before they had the tropes needed to make it work. This Rescue basically turned the whole team into Wallflowers or Outsiders in effect.

Bobby got a stat ticket, a Luggage Tag, and a trope. He didn’t get a Rescue Ticket. We would later read in the Carousel Atlas that it was difficult for Wallflowers to obtain their Rescue Tickets. They had to perform exceptionally well.

My Only Role is Exposition

Type: Insight/Rule

Archetype: Wallflower

Aspect: Recast

Stat Used: Moxie

Nuanced characters and subtle storytelling are for snobs. We need the information right away so that we can get to the slashing.

With this trope equipped, the player will be given more interesting and useful information during the Party and Rebirth. While important plot points may not be revealed, the player will have some insight on where to obtain such information. The nature of the information they obtain will depend on the role they are cast in. They will only have access to the information while On-Screen. When the player is delivering exposition, allies who are not nearby will go Off-Screen.

Be warned: the player will lose access to the extra information if the audience gets bored during the exposition, so try to be engaging.

Don’t be afraid to take notes.

I wasn’t sure if this was meant to be an ironic reward or not. Seemed useful.

Lastly, I received two tropes, the same Keepsake Antoine did, a killer collectible, and a Luggage Tag. No stat tickets for me.

I got a trope for pointing out where Antoine’s baseball bat was. Sometimes the feats that got you tropes astounded me.

The Insert Shot

Type: Insight/Action/Buff

Archetype: Film Buff

Aspect: Filmmaker

Stat Used: Savvy

An insert shot is when the camera shows a close-up of an object or detail in a scene. The filmmaker chooses it to convey importance.

During the Party, the Player will have increased odds of finding important objects for the story, be it a weapon, MacGuffin, or similar. They will be able to “Mark it” on the red wallpaper, alerting fellow players to its presence and causing the camera to get several key insert shots of the object to help build its importance to the audience.

The object will have an increased usefulness in the Finale, whether that means granting higher Mettle for a weapon, higher Savvy for a book, or similar.

If the object was relevant to the player’s death, this trope can be used after the Party on Deathwatch.

Try this trope in Conjunction with Chekov’s Stagehand.

An object’s power grows with the audience’s anticipation.

Like my friends, I received a Rescue Trope.

The Wrong Reel

Type: Rescue

Archetype: Film Buff

Aspect: Filmmaker

Stat Used: Savvy

Not everyone has an uncle in the industry who can get their dream projects funded. Some people have to work freelance just to make ends meet while trying to make their filmmaking dreams come true.

That’s what you did. You became a freelance editor. Piecing together wedding videos and the occasional indie film. That is until you got a few film reels that no one was ever supposed to see.

Rescue: When a player enters a compatible storyline with this trope while possessing any missing posters of deceased players who died in that same storyline, the storyline will be changed into a Rescue. Succeeding in the Rescue will revive the dead players. This ticket will indicate on the red wallpaper if a nearby storyline is applicable.

With this trope equipped and activated successfully, the player will begin by viewing raw footage of the failed storyline as if it were filmed by the killer or victims themselves. Horrified by what they see, they begin to call the police. The phone line is dead. That’s only the beginning of your problem. You were never supposed to see that footage and now the killer knows you have it. They will besiege you as you and your “roommates” hope to survive until help comes in the morning.

Applicable stories will typically be those with high Savvy enemies who either filmed the carnage of the previous run, or otherwise were capable of learning the player possesses the footage. Some supernatural entities will also be applicable.

Additional Requirements: A Base at which you will be besieged. A room where you will watch the footage. When you have this trope equipped and the missing posters in your inventory, the footage and equipment to edit it will be delivered to your door by post.

Countdown: The Player will be able to see the timer related to this trope.

Takeover: This trope will cancel out any story alterations except those inherent to the Archetype or Advanced Archetype associated with this ticket.

Survive the Night is the only Win Condition. No others may be added to the Rescue.

Better pay attention to the film. You won’t get many chances to watch it again.

So, there it was. My own rescue ticket.

Would this be the one we used to save Camden and Anna? Only time would tell.

I was surprised to find that I had been given the credit for Bradley’s death. Often when a death got too attenuated, the player wouldn’t count as having killed them. There were obviously some rules I had not been told about. I would have to consult the Atlas.

Bradley Speirs

Psychopath   Slasher

In the inky depths of malevolence, Bradley Speirs thrives. A creature of impulsive   cruelties and dark curiosities, and feigned stupidity, he is a storm that   even his brother Merritt struggles to contain. Time and again, he derails   Merritt's meticulous machinations, leaving chaos in his wake. Yet beneath the   surface, a sinister delight bubbles; Bradley revels in the bloody aftermath.   For where his brother sees strategy, Bradley only craves the thrill of the   spatter.

After we had all gotten our tickets and money, we headed back to the Bed and Breakfast. We had walked further into the out-of-bounds graveyard for over an hour. Yet, the walk back only took fifteen minutes. Neither time nor space made sense in Carousel.