Recursion of Fate[TEXT] (Let's make a deal)

**hypersheep** · 07-25-2012, 10:35 PM

>Enter the city

**mysticCharlatan** · 07-27-2012, 12:16 AM

>Enter the city.

You and Chester proceed forward down the tunnel, the only available route. It turns sharply right a few paces away from where you were dropped off, and for a moment you worry about losing the light of the Sea to navigate by, but as soon as you reach the turn you find that the multicoloured light from behind you is quickly replaced by a gentle, yellowish light in front of you. Looking further you see that the light seems to be entering the tunnel from the other end where it empties out into what you assume is a larger cavern.

Dialog:

You enter the chamber and are almost blinded by the dramatic increase in light. Given that you are underground, you expected only dim illumination, but you might as well be under the sun on a cloudless day given with all the light in this cavern.

The City itself stretches out before you, a multileveled metropolis taking up the entire cavern. Tunnels like the one you entered through can be seen dotting the walls, so you have a feeling that the city could be much larger than what you are simply seeing here. The buildings look akin to some sort of mud huts, in everything except size. Some, mostly the ones closest to the edges are indeed small, one story things, but many are large and grand, especially towards the center of the cavern. Bridges of earth criss cross throughout the space, and more buildings populate those. From this distance you can seem people milling about the city, and there is the general hubbub in the distance that comes with any large community.

Everything you see is bathed in the same yellowish light. At first you think that it is some sort of electric lighting system, but upon closer inspection you find that the light is being emitted by flowing tendrils extending out of the walls, penetrating the buildings and even burrowing into the floor. You squint at the closest one, five feet to your left, and realize that they are in fact roots, thus explaining the other half of the city's name. These roots seem evenly dispersed along most surfaces. Alone there glow is faint, but in several places there are large bundles of these roots that shine brighter, almost like street lamps in appearance except that they are embedded into the walls, ground, ceiling, and bridges. In the centre of the caverns roof shines an enormous bundle, shining brightly like a small sun.

>Kaylyn + Chester: Grift your way to victory.

After getting over your amazement of the underground city's glowing tubers, or whatever these things are, you turn to Kaylyn and begin to speak.

Dialog:

**trulyElse** · 07-27-2012, 12:42 AM

> [s] Scamming Fundraising Montage

**Malrone** · 07-27-2012, 01:42 AM

>Trouble: Find yourself narrowly avoided.

**Huntress** · 07-27-2012, 07:34 PM

Originally Posted by Malrone

>Trouble: Find yourself narrowly unavoided.

FTFY

**mysticCharlatan** · 07-28-2012, 03:45 PM

==>

You are now Chester some time in the future, and despite your best efforts you still do not have a single additional pip to your name. You are beginning to grow somewhat desperate, considering things such as pickpocketing. Three things keep you from doing this, however. The first being that you hold no illusions of your abilities as a pickpocket, the second being that pips appear to be a game construct and not physically held on anyone's person, and the third being that it just doesn't seem right to you.

Not that you are aversed to taking people's money, that's not it. It just that pickpocketing seems so... inelegant. If you are going to claim someone else's possessions as your own, you'd rather do it in a way that proves you are smarter than they are, not just stealthy. You'd rather be using cunning and trickery.

Huh. That was a weird feeling you got there.

Moving along, you are currently sitting on what appears to be a main road of the City, behind a large stack of crates. While you've seen many odd things and people in the city (including a small band of satyrs and an insect attempting to sell you what you think was perfume), you haven't seen anyone else open up a menu screen, and you'd rather not draw attention to yourself. You have just finished catching up with Henrick, and while you are glad that he is okay, you are a little frustrated that he is now in the game, since he was one of the most adamant about staying out of it. You wonder if it all is predestined, like this ID says.

Another chat window pops up.

Chatlog:

You stand up and close the menu, coming out of your hiding place. You look around the street and figure that you should be able to make it to the centre of town in about fifteen minutes if you start walking now. However, you feeling a little mad at Kaylyn, and think you might keep her waiting for a while before you head back, just to show her.

Your examination of the street leads you to believe that you are currently surrounded by a collection of shops. Your only clues as to what they sell are the signs that are above the doorways. A book with cards coming out of it. A blade and a trident crossed beside a large, stylized P. An anvil similar to the one found on the cover of SMyth.

Interesting.

--------

Sorry, I'm hit a wall trying to write that [S] update that was suggested. It didn't help that I couldn't find a song I liked for it.

**trulyElse** · 07-28-2012, 04:00 PM

> Chester: P is the best letter.

**Xindaris** · 07-28-2012, 07:01 PM

I believe I have the most perfect song for a scamming [S] montage. Doesn't matter whether the schemes work or not, it's still perfect. It's this.

**Huntress** · 07-29-2012, 09:12 PM

> Go to the book/card store. Maybe you can find some history books and learn more about this place. Or something.

**mysticCharlatan** · 07-30-2012, 08:20 PM

>Chester: P is the best letter.

You don't really feel like you can back that statement up. After all, how can you quantify the value of any given letter in Latin script, and what would P have that, say, Q doesn't?

Regardless, you head into the building with the "P" sign. You can already hear many voices in conversation as you approach the door, indicating a great number of people present inside. You enter and are not disappointed in this assessment. The building appears to be some sort of dining establishment, with many large tables placed about the room. No one moves to greet you, so you suppose you would have to seat yourself it you want to be served. On the far wall is what you suppose is a bar, with a thin humanoid behind it (you know satyrs exist in this world, so you're not making assumptions until you can see his legs). To the right is a fireplace with another one of those oddly vague creatures like Charon sitting on a stool beside it and strumming a harp. To the left is a large gathering of standing men, women, and assorted others that you aren't quite sure of. They appear to be looking at something, and a few are casually discussing, but you cannot see past them to know what holds their attention.

Throughout the room various servers dart between patrons, carrying food and drink expertly. They include a thin girl even shorter than you are with tangled brown hair, another two or three satyrs, at least five more of the giant insects, and one anthropomorphic rabbit.

Dear Jupiter you hope you aren't stuck in this world of freaks for long.

**trulyElse** · 07-30-2012, 09:23 PM

> Ches: It appears that you have found yourself in a publican. Check with the fellow behind the counter to see if they have heard any rumors that may be of interest. Also check for gambling tables. You may not be old enough back home, but in this world? Who knows. Plus, you can probably cheat good.

**Xindaris** · 07-30-2012, 10:00 PM

^Agreed. Anyone intelligent and scientific ought to be able to figure out how to count cards in any truly fair game. Plus, while they don't like it when you count cards, it's technically not cheating either. It's just strategy.

**hypersheep** · 07-30-2012, 11:48 PM

>Eavesdrop on conversations

**Malrone** · 07-31-2012, 12:27 AM

>Perhaps the cards on the other sign were inventory cards? Like some sort of general store? Or maybe it's something completely and utterly different...

>Cheat well, dear Chester. Cheat well.

**simon.clarkstone** · 08-02-2012, 02:52 PM

> First see if it is actually possible. Wouldn't want to embarrass yourself.
> What are the prices of the food?

**Huntress** · 08-03-2012, 01:12 PM

Originally Posted by simon.clarkstone

> What are the prices of the food?

> Better question, what is the food?

**mysticCharlatan** · 08-04-2012, 02:47 PM

>Chester: Approach fellow behind the counter.

You make your way through the room, shifting past some of the less strategically placed tables and dodging the less attentive servers. You almost have you legs taken out from under you by the rabbit thing but manage to reach the bar without any actual incident. You find a stool and sit before striking up a conversation with the barman. A quick glance at his legs tells you that he is not a satyr, but you don't immediately jump to calling him "human" because you have noticed that his hair is not black as you first thought but in fact a dark shade of purple.

Dialog:

You look to where the barman points, and finally figure out what the group of standing people are all muttering over. Of course, this is a video game, people do dangerous mission for money. You should have been able to figure that out.

>Chester: Inquire about food.

Your stomach growls, and you suddenly realize that you haven't had so much as a cracker to eat since you got here, which has to have been at least a few hours. You ask the bartender about something to eat for cheap, and after a moment of searching in vain, he calls to one of the servers to bring him a menu. After a moment, the girl with the tangled hair walks up and hands you one with a smile. She then walks quickly back to the tables. You have a brief feeling of dizziness, but it passes without much incident.

You take a look at the menu and are dismayed to find that it is in an alphabet that you don't understand. The prices are listed out in readable numbers however, and eventually you decide to risk ordering the cheapest item on the menu for five pips.

You notice that the girl who handed you the menu has come up to a table with several men at it playing some sort of card game. There appears to be a glowing lantern in the center of the table, and when the last cards are thrown on the table, points of light that you now recognise as pips fly out of the lantern towards one of the players, to his delight and the others consternation.

Dialog:

The bartender goes on to explain the basics of the game. It appears to be a basic trick taking game, with a sixty card deck: four suits numbered one to nine (in honor of the Nine, apparently) and three face cards, and twelve Trumps.

So, you could go on some random mission, risking life and limb on the chance of some pocket money, or you could use your vast intellect and scientific mind to win a fortune.

Like this was even a decision.

You tell the bartender to send your food over to the table and then step forward to see if you can play.

--------

**simon.clarkstone** · 08-04-2012, 03:26 PM

> Future!Jon: Assist.
> Chester: Use the "Swap" menu item to send a menu to Hershel for him to decode.

**Malrone** · 08-06-2012, 04:31 PM

>Chester: Learn quickly.

Another adventure you say? *hops over*

**trulyElse** · 08-06-2012, 06:49 PM

> Ches: Put that one-book-you-thumbed-through-about-game-theory to work. Watch the other patron's methods. Build a counter-strategy. Hustle like a Huss.

**mysticCharlatan** · 08-07-2012, 11:32 PM

>Chester: Learn quickly.

As you approach, a few players stand up and leave, apparently having lost more than they can afford. This leaves four players at the table, five once you join. The game is simple enough once you get started. Six cards are dealt to each player, and there are six rounds to play them. The goal is to reach a certain point total by gathering cards. Each game requires a minimum bet of ten pips, including an ante by the house, and between rounds a player can up their bet. Which means that with the meal you just ordered, you have enough on you to get into seven games.

You lose the first game. As expected.

You lose the second.

You manage to break even in the third.

After that it is a slow but steady rise for you. You win and lose, but you manage to pick your moments well and generally end up coming out ahead. Your food is brought to you by that same serving girl just as you win another game, bringing your personal pip total to two hundred fifty. She smiles, and once again you get that dizzy feeling. Not enough to make you lose your focus, just enough to be odd. You look at the food that has been placed off to the side of you, notice that blue appears to be the primary colour, and make a point of waiting until after the next game to give it a try.

You look around the table. The players have changed a bit since you began, but there are a few constants. The insect who plays in an amazingly defensive style, rarely winning but winning big when he/she/it does. Another man seems oddly normal, wearing a modern suit and a blank expression. But while he seems impassive, he plays a very agressive game, risking much and gaining much for it. And then there's the third constant...

You still don't know what to make of this one. He's only a little older than you, maybe eighteen. He's dressed like an oddly fashion conscious hobo. He plays almost randomly. If you didn't know any better, you'd say he's throwing some hands. The only thing that's evading you is why.

>Future!Jon: Assist.

You are now Jon a few moments in the past, and also seven years in the future.

Seven years. Seven years of wondering what went wrong. Seven years of wondering why you are the only one left.

Seven years of wishing you'd just left that girl in the park well enough alone.

You look down at yourself. You have definitely changed in that time. You've grown older, of course, but there are other things. You used to smile by default, now whenever you catch your reflection you see a depressed scowl. You used to talk even when there was no one around to talk to. Now you spend so much time in silence you sometimes forget what your own voice sounds like.

And of course there's your Outfit. You suppose you look stupid to anyone, but all the same you wouldn't wear anything else.

A long coat, a far cry from something worn in a lab but it will suffice. A gauntlet on your left hand only, making your entire body strangely unbalanced. A sword on your left hip, the letters of its inscription now faded and all but vanished. A notebook poking out of your pocket, filled with silly, sappy stories that you nevertheless treat like prized literature.

You wear it so you won't forget. So that you will always have a reminder of what you've lost, and what you will reclaim. Because finally, after seven long years, you've made the Choice. You've finally left behind the first steps of your Destined Path, and started to realize your true power as Scion of the Scribe.

You have become the Archivist of Time, and you are determined to ensure that the present you find yourself in never comes to pass.

And your first step, you think as you flip a coin in your hand for the hundreth time, is to throw a card game.

**mysticCharlatan** · 08-16-2012, 06:51 AM

==>

You are once again Chester in the past, and you have finally gotten into the groove of this game. Your current pip total is 845, 250 of which is currently on the table.

There are only three of you playing the game, but the table itself is quite crowded. Apparently this guy in the suit is pretty well known, and the fact that you are doing so well against him has garnered some attention.

Unfortunately, the suited man just bet a very large sum of pips. The only possible way you could keep playing is if you go all in. The fashion conscious homeless person bows out, and you look at your hand. A 4 of Shields and The Rogue, the lowest trump card.

Not exactly a winning hand. But you're not going to back out now, are you?

--------

**trulyElse** · 08-16-2012, 07:17 AM

> Chester: You practically started with nothing. Unless you compartmentalise it, there's no real loss to going all in.

**simon.clarkstone** · 08-16-2012, 03:38 PM

> Recall tales of how pool sharks work; first get people confident, then destroy them.
> "Any good shepherd ought to know every one of his sheep by name. So, whom am I about to fleece?"
> Outside player: see if you can rotate the camera to see this guy's hand. If it's bad news, call Chester away with an excuse.

**Malrone** · 08-18-2012, 05:30 AM

Fortune may favor the bold, but luck is built on proper planning. I wouldn't go into that hand blind.
I enjoy the idea of another player viewing the game, however.
Just not lemat.
...
...
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