City of IF

[Key]

Try to get Sanxo to help you. Tell him that there's an overdue library book in Mr. Powers' office.

:-)

[The Meaning Of Fear]

:lol:

I like this.

I think I'll F5 Leggy as well.

[D-Lotus]

The poll is up, happy voting! :)

I was actually surprised by the suggestions, they sure caught me off guard. I think this is a good poll; it has variety and creativity.

By the way, in the interim between the end of this poll and the next chapter I might post another poll so that you guys can decide what the random encounter will be (oh, yes, there will be one).

In the meanwhile, I hope you're enjoying the storygame.

[The Meaning Of Fear]

When I read the words, "Random encounter", my mind conjured up an image of Final Fantasy...

This can't possibly be good for my mental health. :lol:

[The White Blacksmith]

We agreed that this guy has great charm and willpower, correct? So wouldn't it make much more sense to use that? I voted for the second option, by the way.

[D-Lotus]

A note of warning- The current poll on chapter 2 will close around 8-9 P.M Pacific Time this Friday, Jan. 23.

I probably should have stated this when I first posted the poll, but alack! My reasons for closing the poll relatively early is that I am trying to follow a schedule in which I write a chapter every weekend.

So get your votes in! I can't do anything about it if you forget to vote.

[D-Lotus]

Ok the poll is closed!

The Quif begins and complications ensue- what to do?
Impersonate Schoolmarm/legendary ape-dog crusher and scare everyone away
33% [ 3 ]
Use forceful character/enticing promises to distract Sanxo and gain entry to the Director's office
44% [ 4 ]
Convince Sanxo to help you gain entry to the Director's office
22% [ 2 ]

Total Votes : 9
Who Voted: Alegria, Crunchyfrog, DeadManWalking, ethereal_fauna, Key, Phantomfan, The Meaning Of Fear, The White Blacksmith, vgmaster

Thank-you vgmaster for resolving the tie. Otherwise I would have used the flip of a coin, but I'm glad it didn't come to that. The new chapter is in the process of being written.

Look for the random encounter poll soon!

[D-Lotus]

The Quif Storygame

3.

Under most circumstances I cannot boast of a superior intelligence or a great capacity to analyze problems, but what I can do is act. I readily admit that in many circumstances my instincts have betrayed me, but when the pressure is great and the reaction time small, I have to act on impulse or else be lost in a self-imposed maze of thought.

That is why as soon as I saw Sanxo’s appalling goatee quivering on his chin, I hid behind one of the veranda's pillars and waited for the receptionist to walk by in his silly gait. In truth the pillar's proportions were not the ideal kind for a hiding place, and my torso was visible, even under the cover of the night, to anyone who could be bothered to pay attention to detail.

Fortunately, Sanxo’s obsessive qualities were only inherent in his work-oriented tasks, and not in his techniques for nosing about. He’d walk on his tiptoes for a few paces and then burst into a short sprint before flattening against the wall in the most conspicuous places possible. He had a propensity for stopping within the sphere of objects which stood out in stark contrast to his own clothing, and he would linger there until he’d dash through the stretches of the veranda which obstructed visibility and offered cover. In short, Sanxo’s well intentioned efforts evinced the tenuous influence of a far-fetched spy movie. He might have easily caught the attention of the guards on the other side of the garden, but they never looked up from their cards.

In this manner Sanxo drew nearly parallel to me, and to my surprise, he made to hide behind the exact same pillar I myself occupied! Deciding that the situation had become unbearably absurd, I grabbed Sanxo by the collar and thrust him onto the floor, falling over him and covering his mouth with the palm of my hand.

“What are you doing here?” I hissed, and his eyes widened in fright. He mumbled something incoherent, I realized I should probably remove my hand from his mouth, and then, gasping for breath, he almost spat at me.

“I knew you were up to something connected with the battle-song sheet, so I followed you!” He snarled to add ferocity to his words.

“The battle-song sheet? How do you know about it?” I slit my eyes and regarded him coldly.

“I perused through every single page of that book you tried to take with you until I found the page where you left the majority of your finger prints.” He replied smugly, and subsequently stormed into a barrage of accusations, “I knew you were going to try and steal the battle-sheet! You scoundrel, you dirty thief, you rotten-”

“Oh, for the love of the Ape dog! Will you be quiet?” I cried, exasperated. At that moment, I was yet crouched over his gelatinous belly, and it was then, as I struggled to keep my balance on the jelly-like stomach, that inspiration struck. At least during that instant it seemed like a good idea.

“Listen, Sanxo, I’ve misjudged you.” I began, springing from his body and offering him my arm to help him up. “You’re a committed citizen who is understandably concerned about the safety of this ancient battle-song, of great monetary and historical value, but let me assure you that my presence here tonight is due only to my love of opera.”

He took my arm somewhat suspiciously and raised his left eyebrow into a deep slope.

“Rest assured,” I continued quite affably as I pulled him up, “that my purpose here is of the noblest persuasion, and that anything which would conspire to cast the shadow of suspicion upon me is purely coincidental.”

My florid speech seemed to have a soothing effect on him, and although he stammered something, I quickly overstepped him by increasing the pace of my talk. Encouraged by these effects, I decided to tempt him with an enticing promise which crossed my mind rather suddenly.

“Your determination deserves a reward, my dear friend. A very lovely friend of mine- she is a beautiful girl, you see- is now sitting in solitude in the middle of that immense theater. Wouldn’t you like to be the nice fellow who makes her company? I have some business to attend to, but I was disturbed by the notion of leaving her alone. And now, in the midst of my quandary, in the ocean of my despair, here is a responsible, trustworthy fellow like yourself to whom I can entrust my gorgeous lady-friend!” I added emphasis to the word “gorgeous”, even rolling my tongue in pronouncing the ‘r’.

“Well,” he grumbled contentedly, “I guess it is fitting that I service this young lady who I have already... uh... remarked upon as she was... as I was... prudently keeping an eye on you.”

“Excellent.” I exclaimed, although I then lowered my voice, conscious of the disturbance I could cause. I pulled out a pen from my tuxedo and a scrap of paper from my wallet and wrote a brief note to Miranda beseeching her to entertain the bufoon for half-an-hour. “Take this,” I said, offering him the message, “and give it to Miranda. Her seat is 14 G. Have fun.”

For the first time, his goofy smile unfolded before me, and his curling lips spread apart to reveal a set of prominent, curiously animal-like canines. He took the paper from my fingers and plodded away. As I thought about Miranda a nauseating feeling of guilt overtook me.

*

The guards, whose white and orange uniforms appeared fairly tattered and sullied, and whose scruffy, unkempt faces suggested their fatigue, seemed like two characters out of that famous painting which depicts the weary, impoverished men of yore, trampled under the oppressive boots of a filthy capitalist pig. On the other hand, I could have mistaken that painting with a photograph I once saw of the Chinaren corps. employee of the month; the distinction between the two is so imperceptible that it is possible I may have mixed them up.

In any case, I approached them with a great deal of bravado, although initially they did not even notice my presence. Only when I was almost upon them did their card-tossing end, and they tiredly stood erect, making an effort to maintain their poise. Without much grace or energy they reached for their gun holsters, but I held my hand out commandingly.

“Now wait a minute, fellars. I’m the chief responsible here for Mr. Powers’ safety. I’m here to ascertain that the office is secure.” I spoke, assuming a semblance of authority. I pulled my wallet out and flashed an ID card which, even though it only detailed my condition as a member of the non-profit organization Idearium for the Brainless, had a convincing, official effect. They shuffled uneasily on their feet and turned as if to confer with each other.

“Now, fellars, I can’t be waiting all day. I’m going to have to go in.” I clenched my teeth and gulped nervously, but I grasped the door handle and pulled. The guards stood by unresponsively and allowed me to close the door behind me as I walked in. Well, that was easy! Then I turned and realized the room was already occupied.

The light was set to a mellow hue, softening the room's contours so that the bizarre objects scattered throughout its periphery could be discerned only faintly as they rested against the walls, half submerged in shadow. Under the silhouette of a great samurai Katana long-sword that was propped against an enormous Ming vase abided an ominous character, whose startling appearance inspired a tingle of dread to creep through my spine. He was pale, but not sickly, and even though he wore a white suit, his soul, shining forth from his disturbingly pink eyes, seemed dark and wicked.

He was turned towards the other occupant of the room, who I identified from pictures as Mr. Powers, a disheveled little man with glasses and curly tufts of hair poking out from underneath a quirky top-hat which he evidently did not take off even within the boundaries of his own office. His face was flushed red and he stood by his desk as if it were his bunker. My entrance had disrupted a heated conversation, as evidenced by the disarray of papers around Mr. Powers' desk and the ink stains that had spattered on the floor and chairs, which gave the impression of having been created as a result of a violent agitation. My presence was greeted with an awkward silence, until the stranger deliberately picked up his straw hat from the floor and placed it on his head.

"I will be seeing you soon, Mr. Powers." He declared sarcastically. As he passed by me towards the door, his pink eyes gleamed maliciously, and then he was gone. Mr. Powers sat down in his chair, clearly relieved to be rid of the stranger's presence. He clutched one of his tufts of hair and tried to tear it off in despair, then he looked at me.

"He'll be back. Lord of the Night will be back as soon as you leave. I have to find a way..." he said in his tinny voice. He regarded me. "You, you could possibly... yes, anybody will do, as long as it's not in his hands. He'll try to get it from me, but I won't have it! Hah! You'll have it, and you can take it to safe place... yes, if only..."

"What are you talking about, Mr. Powers?" I inquired. He stared at me feverishly. Obviously his encounter with this Lord of the Night character had taxed his nerves and somehow traumatized him. Now there was an insane glint in his eyes.

"Take this, the battle-song sheet..." He pulled out a key from his vest and unlocked a chest behind a stack of books. He deposited in my hands a old parchment within a plastic box. His wrists were shaking. "You must go... make your way by the old IF-Roman highway, where your traveling will be solitary and will go undetected, through the sunny plains until you reach the Banana lands... but no, you must take the barge down the IFOF river, it is safest... yes that's it. You can pretend to be a bargeman. But wait! Go instead to the airfield and find a beast or plane to fly you over to..."

He began pulling on his tufts of hair again. Then he muttered something to himself, pacing towards his desk again. For a few moments he deliberated, then turned and glared at me, as if in anger and surprise at my still being there. "Go! Go already!"

I shrugged, walked to the door and heard him cry out suddenly, "Wait! What is your name!?"

Then I gently shut the door and walked away as swiftly as I could.

*

As I descended to the main entrance, I was caught in the masses of people exiting the Auditorium. Apparently the diva, Ethereal Fauna, had ruptured her dress and stormed off in a flurry, thus ending the show prematurely. I was halted in my escape from the crowd by Sanxo and Miranda, who, strangely enough, seemed to be enjoying each other's company.

"Ernest, you never told me you had such a funny friend." she laughed joyfully.

"I hardly knew it myself." I replied somewhat dryly.

"Miranda's been telling me all about your Quifs." interrupted Sanxo, "I've always been damn curious about them myself. I'm willing to take a leave of absence to help you out. Now, don't feel overwhelmed by my offer, although it's obvious that you need my qualified help." he concluded pompously. I groaned. I was ready to tell him off, but then the most unfortunate thing happened: somebody bumped against me, I dropped the battle-song sheet on the floor, and I saw that it caught his attention. He watched me steadily without uttering a word.

Was it worth it? He was a real pest. Would he rat on me to the authorities? Mr. Powers himself gave me the item, but wouldn't it be simpler to avoid any confusions and allow him to accompany me until I found the opportunity to separate myself from him? And then of course there were other matters to attend to. This Lordy character was bound to figure things out soon, so I had better begin traveling before he came after me. If Mr. Powers' reason hadn't completely abandoned him, then I should probably follow his advice and take one of those three travel routes...

Once again, more than one thing to decide on. Btw, I have decided to postpone the random encounter poll until further notice. I think it can be worked into one of the upcoming chapters.

[The Meaning Of Fear]

Ahaha! A most diastrous situation!

In this case, all you need to do is hastily whisper into his ear about the battle-song sheet and act as if you need him along. He'll be useful as cannon fodder or as a means of distracting Lordy later on.

Or you could always have him along as emergency rations.

[Alegria]

I say you let him AND Miranda join for a little while. They may become so besotted with each other that they'll just leave to start a new life. If not, you can always "split up" with them, tell them to meet you somewhere, and then go somewhere else. Simply ditch them.

[D-Lotus]

Ok, I've decided to change the schedule around a bit, since people seem to have a hard time catching up. From now, it'll be one chapter every two weeks. I reserve the right to change this whenever I feel like it, of course. One more day for suggestions- the poll goes up tomorrow!

[Key]

I agree that they might be helpful to have around. But it might be a bit conspicuous to take them with you. I say split up, each take one of the three routes, and meet later at your destination.

[D-Lotus]

Ok, the poll is up! Happy voting. :)

[Crunchyfrog]

Just caught up, and missed the suggestion phase. Still, managed to squeeze a vote in.

Quote: For the love of the Ape dog hehehe!

Good stuff! :)

[D-Lotus]

Thank you for your votes- here are the results:

3 paths and two side-kicks?
Accept their help, have each person take a different path to confuse any pursuers
33% [ 2 ]
Trick them by ditching them in the middle of the Quif
66% [ 4 ]
Accept their help, but don't split up with them
0% [ 0 ]

Total Votes : 6
Who Voted: Alegria, Crunchyfrog, ethereal_fauna, Key, The Meaning Of Fear, The White Blacksmith

New chapter coming soon! It will probably contain trends that are implied by your decision- such as Ernest being a bit of a trickster. :)