Storygames Home City of IF
Free online storygaming
 

Chapter Two
Click here to go to the original topic

 
       Storygames Home -> Tempora Crepusculi
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
Shillelagh



Joined: 11 Mar 2010
Posts: 398
Location: Kansas

Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 9:31 pm    Post subject:  

Tempora Crepusculi - Chapter Two

“I’ll stay here with Alex,” Isaac replied, with a shrug. “I’m not ready to leave yet, and I don’t care if that means I won’t be sleeping in my own bed tonight. I’ll take Alex up on his offer.” Tony looked a bit disappointed for some reason, but he said nothing.

“Alright! Up top!” said Alex, waiting for Isaac to return his fist bump. Once Isaac obliged, he continued. “Trust me, bro, nothing ends the night quite like a round of drunken strip poker with the fine ladies of Beta Epsilon.”

“Well, you two have fun with that,” said Will, shaking his head. “I have no problem being a stick in the mud if it means I don’t have to spend time with the plasti-women.” Will walked out the door, leaving Tony behind to catch up.

“I guess I’ll… well, I… umm, see you tomorrow, Isaac,” said Tony, fidgeting with his pockets. He looked like he wanted to say something, but whatever it was, he seemed too afraid to spit it out. Tony wasn’t normally this awkward, but he had consumed his fair share tonight. And, anyway, it was his comment that had split the group. If he’d wanted to say something to the three of them, it was his loss. “Text me when you get the chance, would you? I… uhh, I keep forgetting to tell you… ahh, something. Anyway- bye.”

“I worry about him sometimes,” said Alex, shaking his head at Tony’s retreating back. “Dude just ain’t right. I know Will’s got holiness up his butt, but Tony ought to be more easy goin’. Honestly, Isaac, who snubs boobs and beer pong?”

“Not everyone shares your worldview, Alex,” he said with a smile.

“Oh, so I have a worldview, now, huh?” said Alex, cocking an eyebrow.

“I know this will come as a complete shock to you,” said Isaac, dryly, “but there is more to college than just red cups and ribbed condoms.”

“Why, of course not!” he replied, clutching his chest in mock offense. “Sometimes the beer comes in a bottle, instead.”

---------------------------------------------------------------

“Aww, man, we missed it,” said Alex, looking around the common room. A makeshift table had been formed in the center of the room by shoving together several of the study desks; several decks of cards and a large amount of poker chips still scattered the surface. There were also numerous red cups scattered all over the place, though of course they were mostly located over by the ping pong table in the corner.

“I expected to see more loose clothing strewn all over the place,” said Isaac, staring at a shirtless man passed out on a sofa, drooling.

“Nah, we confiscate all of it, and hold it ransom for beer,” said a stranger from the doorway. He was wearing a pink polo shirt with a popped collar, plaid shorts, and a cap tilted at a ridiculous angle, yet he still managed to look like someone you shouldn’t cross. His smile was friendly enough, but there was something oddly cold about his eyes.

“Hey, Matt, what up?” said Alex. “Isaac, this is Matt, our chapter president. On top of being a lowly Junior, he’s also council pres of the whole Greek community.”

“He’s accomplished that much? Makes your five years seem pretty worthless, huh, Alex?” said Isaac, laughing.

“It sounds more impressive than it really is,” said Matt, with a shrug. “And, really, Alex is one of the best recruitment chairs we’ve had. Even if he did manage to fail Intro to Financing.”

“Yeah, yeah. Rub it in. How went the party, dude?”

“It was awesome, natch,” he said. “Oh, by the way, nice to meet you, Isaac.” Matt stepped forward, hand outstretched, to greet him. Isaac was briefly reminded of politicians; all smiles and manners until they had what they wanted. But Matt seemed like a genuinely nice guy. Besides, Isaac had to admit his nerves were getting in the way of his judgment. If it hadn’t been for the scene at the bar, he wouldn’t have been so untrusting.

But then, if it hadn’t been for his memories of the Occurrence, he wouldn’t have followed Alex back to Fraternity Row. Metos had targeted the three of them as a means of striking back at Itori. Had they been chosen at random? Isaac couldn’t remember ever meeting Itori before… but as tonight had proved, his memory didn’t mean much. Who knew what other events magic had locked away, deep in his mind?

Well, if Itori hadn’t known Isaac before tonight, that was going to change. Like it or not, Isaac had been thrown directly into the battle. Whatever business was between Itori and Matos, it was now his business, too. Something had happened up on Fraternity Row, and he was going to find out what.

“Hey. Hey. Hey,” said Alex, waving his hand in front of Isaac’s face.

“Oh, sorry. What’d you say?” he asked, snapping out of his reverie.

Alex sighed. “I said, ‘Have you ever met Matt before?’ He didn’t say anything, but it looked like he recognized you from somewhere.”

“Not that I can remember.”

“Well, whatever,” said Alex. “Let’s go up to my room.”

---------------------------------------------------------------

Isaac fumbled with his phone, trying to turn off his alarm through squinted eyes. He stared at it blankly, wondering what had possessed him to set an alarm at ten in the morning. Still, the sun was far too bright; there was no avoiding it. He would be unable to fall back asleep. Placing his phone back underneath his pillow, Isaac stepped out of bed. Or, rather, he took one awkward step on the ground before sprawling out of Alex’s sofa.

“Alex’s room, right,” muttered Isaac, slowly remembering more of the previous night’s events. Alex usually slept in until four in the afternoon, so in the past, Isaac would let himself out. It was late enough in the morning for Isaac to wander around the Greek houses without seeming too suspicious. And since most of the residents would be nursing hangovers, the chances of him meeting other people would be slim. The morning was a perfect opportunity to spy on Metos’s Fraternity Row operation.

“That is, if I knew what I was looking for,” Isaac muttered to himself. He had never noticed any unusual when he’d been here during the Occurrence, stuck in crystal. What, exactly, had he hoped to find here? Surely Matos wouldn’t be able to keep his prisoners hidden during the day? Did his lair even exist outside of the Occurrence?

Isaac shrugged. The least he could do would be to walk around the area, and get a good feel for it. The more familiar with the area he could get during the day, the better he’d be able to navigate it during the next Occurrence. Most of the buildings had elaborate fronts facing the main street, but a few of them had to be built on side roads due to spacing issues. On top of that, the various backyards mixed together into a sort of park, with fences and hedges placed to divide the lots without forming a complete barrier.

“It’s almost like a labyrinth…” said Isaac, aloud.

“You will get used to it eventually,” replied a voice behind him. Isaac turned around to see someone sitting on a bench, partially hidden by the shade of a tree. It was a man’s voice, but Isaac wouldn’t have believed him a college student if it weren’t for the letters on his T-shirt: Mu Chi Delta. His clothes looked a little large for his frame, and his short stature wasn’t helping out his baby face.

“My name is Jacob,” he said, smiling. “It is a pleasure to meet you.”

“Oh, ahh, I didn’t see you there. I’m Isaac,” he said, out-stretching his hand.

Jacob ignored it. “I was unaware that you were living in one of these Fraternities,” he stated, looking directly at Isaac.

“I… don’t,” replied Isaac. “I spent the night here at my friend’s place, and I thought I’d try to take a shortcut home. I didn’t realize how much of a garden it was back here.”

“I understand,” Jacob said, turning his interest back to the textbook at his side. “I will let you continue to your home. Do not let me bother you further.”

“Umm, yeah. Nice to meet you, Jake.” Isaac nodded goodbye, but Jacob did not respond. He was clearly an awkward kid, but thanks to the white lie, Isaac had no choice but to leave the area. Once Isaac was out of sight, he decided to swing past campus and pick up some food at the Student Union. It was a central location, and Isaac could figure out his next course of action once he had some lunch in his stomach.

“I guess I’ll…”
Back to top  
ChoKiba



Joined: 21 Oct 2009
Posts: 40
Location: Somewhere between life and death, post Nano

Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 9:47 pm    Post subject:  

Yay! Glad to see the next chapter! I'm excited to see where it's going. I have some theories, but as they are vague I'll keep reading for the adventure.

I say the man go eat and go home. Sometimes white lies become the best plans after all!
Back to top  
D-Lotus



Joined: 21 Oct 2004
Posts: 4123
Location: Hollywood, USA

Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 11:02 pm    Post subject:  

Quote: Whatever business was between Itori and Matos, it was now his business, too.

Quote: He had never noticed any unusual when he’d been here during the Occurrence, stuck in crystal.

Quote: The more familiar with the area he could get during the day, the better he’d be able to navigate it during the next Occurrence.

I though he was stuck in the crystal during the Ocurrence? Why would he expect to be able to navigate through Fraternity Row? It is true that Isaac's crystal was cracked, but the reader never found out whether it was repaired. Perhaps Isaac knows something the reader doesn't know.

Anyway, I enjoyed the frat scene and the characterization of the bro, even though I felt you could have done more description-wise (architecture and the such). I especially liked the part about waking up on your friend's couch and realizing you're not in your own bed-- I know that feeling well.

As for the DP: One, I could text Tony. That seems pretty urgent.

Two, I could creep back into the Frat garden and snoop around some more. If that Jason dude is still there, I can follow him to wherever he is going.

Three, I could just go home and see what's up. I'm having a hard time wheighing the pros and cons for this option, though, because I don't know very much about where I live or with whom I live. Maybe I should also text Will to see if he had any problems when he was taking his shortcut through the city park.

Four, I could go to the library and research time-travel, supernatural creatures, crystals... who knows, maybe another human who remembers the the Occurrence wrote a book about it but got written off as a loony.
Back to top  
Smee



Joined: 16 Oct 2004
Posts: 5215
Location: UK

Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 11:49 pm    Post subject:  

Great to see Chapter 2 up...

Tony was definitely rather twitchy... I wanted to go with him last chapter, and I'm not persuaded otherwise now. So I say text him, see if he fancies joining us for a spot of food at the SU.

One thing I'm a little confused by, perhaps I missed it from the first chapter. Was there not an Occurrence last night, while we were asleep on the sofa? I thought I remembered it saying the Occurrences were every night?

... aah I think I get it, did we wake up from the last one after midnight, already on the night out with the guys?

I'm intrigued what Tony might tell us, as well as having information he's also clearly nervous about something too.

Happy Writing :)
Back to top  
Crunchyfrog



Joined: 12 Dec 2006
Posts: 3998

Posted: Fri Mar 26, 2010 1:16 am    Post subject:  

Yeah, the Occurrences only happen at midnight, as far as we know, but I guess we'll have to wait and see whether Isaac's memory breakthrough due to his cracked crystal has an effect on what normally happens to him during the next Occurrence. He may need to make sure he's near Fraternity Row just before midnight just in case he cannot move around freely. If he gets encased in crystal again he needs to make sure he has a front row seat to observe what's happening.

Tony knows something. I have a feeling he wants to tell Isaac something. And Jacob's speech-pattern in his last sentence seemed just a little too 'otherworldly' to be comfortable. Isaac has dismissed Jacob as being a bit weird, and hasn't picked up on Alex's comment that Matt seemed to recognise him from somewhere.

So right now, I think Isaac would think it's not worth snooping around here until midnight tonight. In his shoes I'd be more inclined to text Tony.

Good chapter there, Shille, and you handled that first DP very well. :tu:
Back to top  
Smee



Joined: 16 Oct 2004
Posts: 5215
Location: UK

Posted: Fri Mar 26, 2010 1:48 am    Post subject:  

Sticky status granted. This storygame is now eligible for the next Spotlight competition.

Congratulations and,

Happy Writing :)
Back to top  
Muaddib



Joined: 31 Dec 2004
Posts: 1765

Posted: Fri Mar 26, 2010 4:14 am    Post subject:  

I agree, we should definitely meet Tony. If we don't meet Tony it would become one of those stories where we get a momentous revelation from an important character only when bad things have gotten worse. I'd like to see us take the initiative.
Back to top  
Shillelagh



Joined: 11 Mar 2010
Posts: 398
Location: Kansas

Posted: Fri Mar 26, 2010 6:19 am    Post subject:  

Great observations, everyone. I'm thrilled to see that my foreshadowing is enough to keep everyone guessing; hopefully, no one found it immediately obvious, or too vague to actually mean anything. I've still got a few more tricks up my sleeve, so we'll see how this rolls.

This point I will clarify, since it seems I should have provided a clearer timeline. The story so far has only lasted about twelve in-narrative hours. The Occurence happened at midnight. Alex and Isaac left the bar, probably around 12:30- 1:00 AM. They probably stayed up for a few hours later, but when Isaac fell asleep and woke up at 10:00 AM, he did not sleep through another Occurrence.

I'll let this sit a bit longer, and then we'll take it to the polls.
Back to top  
Shillelagh



Joined: 11 Mar 2010
Posts: 398
Location: Kansas

Posted: Fri Mar 26, 2010 8:49 pm    Post subject:  

...And the poll's up!
Back to top  
 
       Storygames Home -> Tempora Crepusculi
Page 1 of 1


Powered by phpBB Search Engine Indexer
Powered by phpBB 2.0.16 © 2001, 2002 phpBB Group