Chapter Forty-Two: Rewards To Die For

I opened my eyes.

It was daylight outside. Late evening perhaps. I could see the sun poking down through the hole at the top of the cavern.

I raised my head. I was alone. Arthur and Valerie were gone. The giant Grotesque leader wasn’t there either, though I suspect that I saw pieces of him lying here and there.

I looked down at my body. No bandages, no wounds. I was wearing my hoodie again. My sunglasses were in my pocket.

I tried to stand up but my body shook. I could still feel the fire on my skin. I wondered if I’d ever forget.

It took me a few minutes to bring myself to a standing position. I tried to remember how it was we had gotten here and where I needed to be at that very moment.

It was then that I realized that the plot cycle was stuck at The End. We had succeeded.

They had succeeded, Valerie and Arthur. Had I even made it to the end?

I suspected not.

All I remembered was intense pain. Then a gunshot and it was over. I shuddered to even think about it.

Once I had gathered my nerve and the shakes had stopped, I remembered how we had entered this room and made my way to leave it. The tunnel seemed further now. When I had entered it before I was in really bad shape. Now I was better. I’ve tried not to think about what happened between those two points in time.

The path took me to the room where Donald had created so many of the Grotesques. Then, I found the stairs up to the doorway to the church.

As I opened it I heard voices.

Roxie, Valerie, Arthur, and even Reggie had all made it out and were waiting for me in the pews. Roxie stood closest to me so I looked to her for some explanation.

“We made it?” I asked. My voice cracked like I hadn’t spoken in days.

Roxie smiled. “How else would I be here?” she asked.

I know that she was making a joke but at that moment I couldn’t really focus on it to laugh or respond.

“You did a good job,” Valerie said.

“Thanks…”

When she said that Arthur nodded which I think is the same as him saying it too.

I couldn’t think of anything to say or ask. I was pretty sure that I had just died. I felt like I needed to throw up. Luckily the church was pretty much wrecked at that point so I found a secluded bench and dry-heaved behind it.

In the distance, I heard someone talking. It was a familiar voice by that point.

“Congratulations, you won a ticket!” Silas the Showman said. His carnival music played in that slightly off-key way and filled the church with its crooked echoes.

The others were a bit less shaken up than me. I imagine they had each died plenty of times, save Valerie perhaps who might not have even died once.

Valerie was the first to press Silas’ red button. This storyline had actually been a little over her level so she got rewarded pretty well.

I don’t know what tropes she got. The veterans didn’t share the same little ritual of showing each other what tickets Silas had given us. I saw that she got some tropes and one stat ticket which is probably pretty impressive at her level.

She also received something else something she was very excited about.

“Arthur, look,” she said, holding out the ticket.

Arthur looked at it and a smile grew on his face. “Looks like we’re in business,” he said.

I got close enough to look at what they were talking about.

Her ticket read: One Free Voucher for any Group of Six or Fewer aboard Carousel’s Own Excursion Train! Any Included Destination, Any Time. Ticket is valid for a round trip, assuming you make it out alive.

An excursion train? To get to destinations presumably outside of Carousel? That sounded huge. What kind of places could you go?

“What destinations are there?” I asked. I felt numb inside and out, but this sounded important.

“All around,” Valerie said. “They’re for storylines that can’t take place in Carousel. We’ve been trying to get another ticket for a while.”

I thought about what she was telling me.

“Any destinations to the west?” I asked.

Arthur smiled. “In fact, there are.”

For years they had tried to go directly west. Now they were going to try and take a train west instead. Maybe they would have an easier time getting to the mountain with the lights that way. I wondered if that could work. Would Carousel see that as cheating?

“It’s worth a shot,” Valerie said. “I guess they told you…”

“He knows,” Roxie said.

I smiled faintly. I was now one of the few who knew about the Rulekeeper and their attempts to make it west. I still didn’t completely understand why it was a big secret, but it was nice to know.

Arthur got tropes. No level up.

Reggie got two stat tickets and five or so tropes.

Roxie got the same.

They all got a handful of coins.

Then it was my turn. I pressed the red button and… It was like I had won the jackpot.

Coins and tickets started to pour out of Silas’ receptacle. In the end, I got around 200 dollars, five stat tickets, and thirteen tropes. I even got a monster ticket, though only for one of the smaller Grotesques that I had killed with a hammer. I guess I didn’t get the kill for the big one.

I decided not to use the stat tickets until I had time to clear my head.

The tropes I received fell out of the machine in two batches.

With the first batch, Silas said, “It’s a shame to waste a good plan. Luckily, in Carousel, we recycle.”

I wasn’t sure what he meant at first.

Awarded tropes:

Raised by Television

Type: Buff

Archetype: Film Buff

Stat Used: Moxie

The Film Buff has spent their entire life on the sidelines watching heroes of the silver screen. Though in most of the story, they are a minor character, they can achieve great things by referencing their fictional heroes and trying to emulate them.

When this ticket is equipped, the Film Buff will receive a buff in whichever stat allows them to take a heroic or otherwise larger-than-life action. However, after this action is taken, the player’s status as a minor character will catch up to them, often leading to disastrous results.

I must have gotten that for my self-immolation stunt.

My Grandmother Had The Gift…

Type: Background

Archetype: Any

Stat Used: N/A

In movies, characters that have strong intuitions, but not explicit psychic powers often explain their abilities by referencing a relative who had “the gift.” A player who equips this background ticket will be able to work this explanation into their backstory to explain their otherworldly instincts.

The Player may now Equip:

· Animal Whisperer (Adventurer)

· He has a tell (Detective)

· Like a Magnet for Evil (Psychic)

· I don’t like it here… (Hysteric)

· I had a feeling about you two (Eye Candy)

· We’re being hunted… (Monster Hunter)

· Don’t Go In There! (Film Buff)

I don’t like it here…

Type: Insight

Archetype: Hysteric

Stat Used: Savvy

The Hysteric has a keen sense of the ominous and strong self-preservation instincts. Using these abilities, they can ferret out omens and help guide their group out of potentially tricky situations.

That… was Janette’s trope. What kind of sick joke was that? Giving me a fallen player’s trope? I couldn’t even think. I needed to clear my mind.

The other set of tropes came out after I had already grabbed the first three. I couldn’t equip any of them. I didn’t know what to think of that.

When I asked Arthur about it, he said it happens sometimes, though not usually in this amount. He told me to take the ones I don’t want to the pawn shop in the town square. He said the guy there will take them in trade for all kinds of things.

A Glitch in the Matrix

Type: Insight

Archetype: Hysteric

Stat Used: Savvy

In a supernatural story, characters can often become paranoid as events start to unfold in a way that cannot be explained by natural law. During the Party and Rebirth Phases, the player that equips this trope will continue to see events that do not line up with reality, which hint at the true nature of the evil that surrounds them.

Or maybe you’re just paranoid…

A Story Within a Story

Type: Rule

Archetype: Artist

Stat Used: Savvy

Horror writers are common protagonists in horror movies. Often the stories that they write have a way of reflecting or predicting the main storyline. With this ticket equipped, the artist will be able to bring a book or work-in-progress prop into the story. By intelligently relaying the events and themes of that story in the Party Phase, they can manipulate larger events and themes of the storyline. This trope takes much practice to control.

Watching Over You…

Type: Buff

Archetype: Departed

Stat Used: Moxie

In a film that touches on departed loved ones sticking around on earth, their presence is often felt by those around them even if it is only a vague emotional embrace. The player who equips this ticket can buff their still-living teammates’ Grit simply by following them around after death. The stronger the characters’ relationships on screen before the death of the player, the stronger the buff.

Who you truly are…

Type: Rule

Archetype: Outsider

Stat Used: Moxie

A character often begins a story believing that their troubled history will define their future, only for circumstances to arise that allow them to overcome their past.

A player with this ticket equipped will slowly gain PA boosts and their role will increase as the story progresses, moving them from a minor character at the beginning to a major one at the end. The player must perform the role as it is assigned to receive the associated buffs and increased screen time. Must begin the story with a lower PA than other major characters.

Everybody loves a comeback story.

Friends in High Places

Type: Action

Archetype: Soldier

Stat Used: Moxie/Savvy

In movies, cops and soldiers are often able to act like complete mavericks and ignore all rules without consequences. One excuse for why they can get away with this is because they have a friend high up in command who will cover for them.

When this ticket is equipped, the player will be able to invoke favor from some fictional character that has direct authority over the situation. Creativity and conviction are required to make this trope function. This ability can be used to gain access to restricted areas, get out of trouble, or simply to make some quality-of-life adjustments for the players.

“Any minute now your phone is about to ring, someone’s going to yell at you, and then you’re going to apologize to me…”

This is going to sting a bit…

Type: Healing

Archetype: Doctor

Stat Used: Moxie*

Some injuries are so severe that healing them at all would completely destroy the suspension of disbelief. However, there is a cure for that as well. When this trope is equipped, the player can heal their teammates with heightened effectiveness as long as they play up how painful the procedure is.

Making the cure painful can keep the suspension of disbelief intact. However, both the player and the teammate being healed must consistently act as if the procedure is painful. Sometimes, they’ll need to do more than just pretend.

Accidentally Captured on Film

Type: Insight

Archetype: Artist

Stat Used: Moxie

If an important character is taking pictures On-Screen in a horror, thriller, or mystery film, there is an 87% chance that those pictures will not only eventually appear On-Screen, but that they will contain some clue that will allow the character insight into the story. Equipping this trope allows the player to carry a camera into a storyline. Any pictures that they take during the Party Phase have an increased chance of revealing useful information that was not readily apparent at the time.

Stick to the Plan

Type: Rule

Archetype: Final Girl

Stat Used: Moxie

The job of a good leader is to continue to move the team forward even when all hope is lost. Often in a movie, the survivors’ plan will be in shambles and yet they’ll continue forward. When equipped, this trope will allow the player to get even an apparently failed plan back on track simply by convincing the audience that there is still a chance through a late-game rallying speech.

Back to where it all started…

Type: Rule

Archetype: Detective

Stat Used: Savvy

Mysteries often have themes about the past affecting the future. The sins long since forgotten reach forward to strangle us. When this ticket is equipped, the player will be able to change the setting of the final battle to one of the settings either from the beginning of the storyline or from something that occurred in the past, by using a well-spoken and well-reasoned argument for why the plot “will” go in that direction. If successful, the players will get a brief reprieve in order to scout out and explore the setting before the final battle arrives. This will function as a miniature second Party Phase wherein most believable exploration tropes will be temporarily reactivated.

You may not be able to change the past, but sometimes you can reexplore it.

The Intrepid Guide Who Knows The Way

Type: Rule

Archetype: Adventurer

Stat Used: Moxie

What do you need when you need to find a lost ancient tomb? Who will take you deep into shark-infested waters when no one else is brave enough? Who can take you into the most dangerous jungle and then bring you back out again? An Adventure Guide.

When exploring places uncharted or long forgotten, the players will have the option to either hire or invite an NPC guide who has been to their destination before. Beware, the relationship you have with your guide may make the difference between life and death.

This guide will provide you with assistance and insights. But if they die, you may not be able to find your way home.

I didn’t know what to make of these new tropes. I pocketed them and soon left the church with the others. I wasn’t looking forward to what we were going to say about Janette.

What would we tell her husband?

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep