Wait and Hope ( Chapter One )
The stone floor is cold and damp, musty. The scent of salt is heady and strong. There’s a cascading sound to the left. Loud and growing, tap-tap-tap-stop. Waking is a lonely affair. The cell is empty except for the mice playing in the corner. Four walls and no bed. Food comes in the form of mush every morning, and the guard refuses to speak or answer questions. A day comes and goes. Each monotonous moment the same. A month passes. Then another. During the third, the sound that is a friend now begins. Tap-tap-tap-tap-stop-taptapp. The floor near the wall splinters and cracks, a hand pushes through. The stone gives way to dirt, and the hand becomes an arm, a head and body. A stranger emerges.
They’ve come from the adjacent room and have been digging out a half-finished tunnel. A tunnel that was one of two started in their cell, but they chose the wrong one, didn’t they? If both agree to work together, they can carve out the other tunnel in a few hours. The tunnel breaks open and exposes a cliff overhanging the ocean. There are two choices: jump or go back.
The second chapter only comes after escaping the prison.
Fool That I Am ( Chapter Two )
It’s slowly becoming apparent that the story unfolds in unyielding succession. No matter how many times you check out the book, moving forward only occurs after carving out the tunnel and diving into the salty sea. When you hit the water, consciousness blackens, and you wake on a sandy beach. The sun is bright, and you’re not alone. There’s a rolled map on the ground between you and a short dagger. Fight to the death to protect yourself or band together to get to the final destination.
Choosing the latter will take you through caves, dense foliage, and past a pair of natives that don’t want you there. After diving into a small pool and surfacing in an underground cavern, you’ll find more treasure than you know what to do with. To advance in the story, you must claim some of the treasure for yourself—a crown, a jeweled necklace, a ring.
The third chapter only comes once you’ve taken what is rightfully yours.
I am hungry, feed me. I am bored, amuse me. ( Chapter Three )
The masquerade in Paris has spilled out onto the streets. The Count’s wealth is endless. Jugs of rich wine and trays of delectable sweets cover every surface, staff carrying them through the crowds of masked men and women. Every vice is indulged in, and nothing is off limits. The music is loud, but the people are louder.
You’ve opened your eyes, only to have traveled from the cavern and into the finest French clothing. Dressed in the style of the period, your mask secured, the night is yours. A game of chance and fate begins. You’re pushed towards another masked individual. The first to convince the other to reveal their identity wins. What, may you ask? That’s up to you and your partner and must be decided upon before the game of questions begins. A kiss, possibly? A bag of gold?
The epilogue only comes when you lay down to rest.
A Large Fortune Covers All Defects ( Epilogue )
The night ended on a good note, but like most stories, the road is full of twists and turns. Vengeance for the wrong done you is the only thing you can think of when you wake. All those months sleeping on cold stone. Hungry and alone. Treacherous exploration and harsh waters. Their face is crystal clear, and the need to wash it from your mind is overwhelming.
You'll find them outside the city waiting for you. Their back is turned, and your blade is sharp. They gasp and fall to their knees, taking those thoughts from your mind and restoring the truth: a stranger bleeding in front of you. Neither of you are any longer consumed by implanted hatred, and yet, their fate is in your hands.
The story only stops when the reader decides to end it.
OOC
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. 1815 - 2018. The sting of a blade.
Character arrivals may differ slightly from month to month. We suggest playing out the test drive meme as if your character has already been there a few days/weeks and this is their first time traveling into a book that isn’t for housing or shopping. Players who want to thread out their arrival can find more information on the faq, and those who want to play out the housing situation can find more information there.
To use a book, the character presents their library card and takes the check-out card from the slip inside the cover. On this card the character will see the Title, Date, and means of exit. Players may choose whether their character took stock of this information or not. The card is stamped, and with a rush of wind, the person will find themselves inside.
Please remember that characters may only die once, and any subsequent death would need mod approval as it comes with IC consequences. The librarian will urge all characters to be cautious as everything they experience inside a book is very much real.
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circulationsection2018-06-30 08:07 pm
no subject
[The interruption comes from him pushing his way out of the tunnel, climbing on all fours onto the floor of Eve's cell. He stands up and brushes some debris off his clothes, though by this point they're so soiled with dirt that salvaging them is kind of a lost cause. He gives up on that and stretches, muscles cramped from what felt like hours spent in that little tunnel.]
I was hoping to be outside the slammer...
[He takes a better look at the woman, frowning.]
Guess I took a wrong exit.
no subject
She simply watches him stretch... then follows suit, with a casual crack of her knuckles. ]
And here I thought I was the only one digging.
[ There is a touch of sarcasm behind it, suggesting maybe she doesn't really think that way—
But regardless. ]
Perhaps we're meant to join forces.
no subject
Not everyone is out to get you dude, chill.]...I doubt anything in this book happens by coincidence.
[He nods. That's agreement to her proposition, apparently! He'd rather have someone by his side in an unfamiliar place, even if she is a total stranger. They have a mutual goal: get out of here.]
You were digging, too?
no subject
She holds up both her hands, calloused and bruised. Her shoulders shrug lightly. ]
I didn't get as far as you did. [ CLEARLY......so far... again, slight sarcasm, but it dissolves into a thoughtfulness as she continues: ] But if you came from your cell in that direction, then... we might have more luck with mine.
[ She tips her head, indicating the opposite side of the room from Akira, where another hole hid in the corner—the tunnel she'd started, going the other way. ]
no subject
Might go faster with two.
[He shrugs, reaching one dirty hand upward to start fiddling with his also-dirty hair. They could... switch off digging so each other could rest, or something.]
no subject
She seems to have the same idea that he does, at any rate. ]
There won't be enough room.
[ Not for both of them at the same time, at least. Not comfortably. ]
You look like you've done enough for now. Allow me to go first.
no subject
I'll keep watch.
[To be honest he wasn't sure how long had passed in that tunnel, and when the guards were next going to remember they had prisoners and do a sweep. But getting caught would really suck for both of them.]
Let me know when you wanna switch.
1/2
With that in mind, Eve crouched down to her knees and started to work. ]
no subject
When one appeared out of the tunnel, the other simply knew what to do, and they would switch roles almost seamlessly (aside from a few cat naps here and there, which she had to wake him from). There was no way to tell how much time had passed, but finally... finally, something was different.
When Eve emerged from the tunnel yet again, she spat out the dirt that had found its way into her mouth and spoke breathlessly. ]
...I hear something. Come tell me if I've gone mad.
no subject
[He was just sitting, staring out the bars and listening for guards, when the woman re-emerged. He turned his head to face her, frowning in confusion; she hadn't been in there long enough to have gotten tired...]
Oh. Alright.
[He walked over to the hole, climbing inside. It wasn't big enough to fit both of them shoulder-to-shoulder.]
You could probably come in after me, we'll fit that way.
no subject
Once they get far enough, the faint sound returns, gentle and distant.
...Water. Waves, crashing along... a shore? Cliffs? Something. ]
There. Do you think it's the sea?