"This is the second-worst party I've ever been to," Kimberly said. She had a large scrub brush in her hand and was cleaning a table so dusty that mud formed when she sprayed it with cleaner.

"I think 'party' is just a metaphor," I said. I focused on the plot cycle in my mind and studied the entries for each point on the cycle.

Omen

Choice

Party

First Blood

Rebirth

Second Blood

Finale

The End

Ominous foreshadowing signals the oncoming danger.

The players choose not to heed the warning.

The players explore the setting and story scenario, unaware of the peril to come.

The monster attacks either literally or figuratively.

The players undergo an epiphany that allows them to move from reacting to acting. Reveals the true nature of the story.

The monster attacks again.

The final sequence. No new information can be obtained. The players mount a final attack.

Story Over.

"What party have you been to that was worse than this one?" Anna asked.

"At the homecoming after-party freshman year, I found my boyfriend in the upstairs bathroom making out with Cindy Martens," Kimberly answered.

I thought to myself, she may change her mind when she sees how this party ends.

We were currently cleaning the gift shop, a small room with shelves filled with books, knickknacks, and other souvenirs that the museumgoers might want to take home with them.

Judy, the NPC playing the role of our boss in this story, entered the room and asked, "Can one of you load those books up onto the shelf somewhere? The author actually used a real picture of this castle on the cover. Obviously, we needed to have some copies available."

"Sure," I said. Truthfully, I had been hopelessly dusting the top of the shelves, and I was more than happy to switch tasks. I stepped down and grabbed the box that Antoine had brought in from outside. It was definitely heavy. I opened it up and retrieved a handful of the books from within.

"The Codebreakers' Compendium: A Comprehensive Guide to Morse Code and Other Cryptographic Techniques Used in Wartime," the book read.

"You know, this very castle was a site used by cryptographers during World War II," Judy said.

I looked at the cover of the book. Sure enough, the castle was featured in an old-timey black and white photo. I recognized the white exterior and the strange layout of the courtyard.

When Judy wasn't looking, I handed the book to Camden and asked, "Which side used this castle in World War II? Allies or Axis."

Camden picked up the book and flipped right to a section near the beginning and said, "Axis."

His Eureka! trope allowed him to search through books nearly instantly. I had been testing it periodically whenever I got a chance. He hadn't failed yet.

As soon as Judy left the room, I decided to try to do my best to fill my role as the Film Buff.

"I can only see two tropes right now," I said. My Trope Master ability required proximity most of the time, but right now, two of the enemy’s tropes were clear as day, probably because they were related to the castle itself.

He had one called "Home Lair Advantage", which meant he knew the castle inside and out, including secret passageways and trapdoors.

The other ability was called "Always Watching," and it said that he would be secretly watching the players for the entirety of the storyline.

I explained this to my friends.

"I think the Always Watching trope means that the monster is either spying on us from a secret passageway or else it has some sort of clairvoyance and can keep an eye on us from wherever it is," I said.

"So, what do you think the monster is?" Anna asked.

Well, I said, "It's a German castle, so my first instinct would be Nosferatu."

I was met with a couple of blank stares.

"Vampires," I said, and they understood.

"Of course, the lightning and the castle reminds me of Frankenstein, the movie, not the book. The general draftiness of the castle makes me think it might be a ghost of some kind because the wind howling is typical in haunted houses. On top of that, this is also a museum, which means it could be a cursed item or even a mummy, although I don't think that matches the decor."

"What about werewolves?" Kimberly asked.

"Maybe," I said, "but the cloud cover means no full moon, and I think it's still daytime outside unless that changed when we got here, which it could have because this is Carousel. If you see the clouds break and there's a full moon behind it, you'll know for sure. But then again, werewolves don’t have clairvoyance.

"Of course, it could always be serial killers. 'Always watching' could mean that they're looking at us from a hidden place or even that they have cameras set up, so keep your eye out for those."

I wish I had more actionable information to tell them. 'Might be clairvoyant' is not the most useful thing to prepare them.

"All right, thanks," Anna said. "I think since it's the Party phase, we're supposed to spread out and explore the area. Valorie said that if you don't explore the setting of the story and find all the important things you're supposed to find, then they just won't be there when you need them to be in the Finale."

She was right, but none of us really wanted to explore a castle when we knew we could very easily die there.

"We need to stay in groups," she said. "Kimberly and Antoine, try seeing if you can look around the main hall. Camden, see what Judy is doing every time she leaves. I'm going to go check out the cantina and the main showroom. I bet one of these displays for the museum has information that we need."

Shoot, she was right. I wish I had said that. Then it could have been a prediction for my Cinema Seer-Survive ability, and everyone would have gotten a buff.

"I'll go with you," I said, partially because I hadn't gotten to hang out with Anna all that much and also because I didn't want to stay here by myself. Sticking with the main character might increase my odds of survival.

We had spent some time getting acquainted with each other's stats and abilities.

Player Stats and Tropes

Riley

Antoine

Anna

Kimberly

Camden

Archetype

Film Buff

Athlete

Final Girl

Eye Candy

Scholar

Plot Armor

/ 2

+ 2

Mettle

+ 1

Moxie

Hustle

+ 1

Savvy

Grit

TROPE MASTER

Type: Insight

Stat: Savvy

Effect: Sees enemy tropes. Lose half of PA

IT’S PART OF THE UNIFORM

Type: Buff

Stat: N/A

Effect: Higher Mettle when attacking with sports equipment

LAST ONE ALIVE

Type: Rule

Stat: N/A

Effect: Cannot die until the party is killed

CONVENIENT BACKSTORY

Type: Buff

Stat: Moxie

Effect: Can change backstory to assist with the current task.

EUREKA!

Type: Insight

Stat: Savvy

Effect: Helps find important information with text.

CINEMA SEER—SURVIVE

Type: Buff

Stat: Savvy

Effect: Buffs Savvy and Grit of Allies by predicting plot elements

GYM Rat

Type: Buff

Stat: Moxie

Effect: Buff Mettle and Hustle by revealing athletic backstory

WHO’S WITH ME?!

Type: Buff

Stat: Moxie

Effect: In Finale, Allies gain a buff to relevant stat when assisting the player.

SOCIAL AWARENESS

Type: Insight

Stat: Moxie

Effect: Can see the Moxie stat of all enemies and NPCs.

RIGHT TOOL FOR THE JOB

Type: Buff

Stat: Savvy

Effect: Buffs Savvy and Mettle when fighting an enemy with their weakness.

THE OBLIVIOUS BYSTANDER

Type: Rule

Stat: Moxie

Effect: Cannot be the target while convincingly acting oblivious to the enemy

LOOKS DON’T LAST

Type: Debuff

Stat: Grit

Effect: Is attacked at First Blood. Debuff enemy 1% PA for every min survived up to 15%

When it came time to put it all to the test, I think we had a good shot of winning.

The cantina served the type of food you might get at a baseball game, but instead of hot dogs, you got bratwurst. Most of the cabinets I checked were empty. There was no food there that could spoil. In fact, the only foodstuffs that still existed were a giant can of pickled jalapenos and another can that had yellow cheese product.

"Look at this," Anna said. She was bent down, staring into the cabinet under the sink.

I peered over and saw four full bottles of absinthe. At first, I didn't think I was seeing it correctly. "The staff here must be drunk 24/7."

"Is absinthe even German?" she asked.

"Good question," I said. "Should be Jägermeister instead."

She laughed.

The cantina didn't really have anything interesting.

I looked around for holes in the walls that might allow whatever monster or killer in the castle to see us, but I didn't see anything. No cameras either.

As we made our way to the main hall to look at the exhibits, Anna asked, "So did you come down here to protect me?"

"Have you seen our stats?" I responded. "I came down here for you to protect me."

Another laugh.

"Well, keep up," she said. "We don’t have all night."

Maybe literally.

The main hall was filled with glass cases containing everything from medieval armor and weapons to shells and firearms used in World War II. There was a replica of a German enigma machine as well as the implements necessary to communicate by Morse code. Nothing stood out to me as being obviously related to the plot, however.

"I'm not seeing anything," I said. "You got anything?"

She didn't answer.

I turned to see that she was transfixed on a large painting in the center of the main hall. I moved in to get a better look at it. It depicted a regal man in a proper suit standing next to a woman in a wedding dress. The woman was beautiful, but there was a frailty to her that was visible even in the painting. She was thin, and her eyes were dark, and her skin was so pale as to almost be translucent. Her smile, though, was very charming.

The way the man in the suit looked at her, you could tell that he loved her. He had a stern face; only his eyes showed emotion.

"Doctor Simon Halle and his bride Anastasia," Anna said. "Wed August 12th, 1964." She read off a brass plate beneath the painting, not so different than the ones that I often saw on the red wallpaper.

"Amor Supra Omnia," I said, reading the next line. "Wonder what that means."

A woman's voice echoed through the hall.

It was Judy.

"Love above all things,'" she said. "A very saccharine sentiment, don't you think?"

She moved closer to us and stared up at the painting. "I see you've met Simon Halle," she said. "He was the last heir of the Halle family. A very sad story."

"How so?" Anna asked.

"He spent his family's fortune trying to cure his wife's illness. Apparently, he went broke, and that's how the castle got turned into a museum by the Historical Society."

"What was wrong with her?" I asked.

"Who's to say?" Judy said. "Cancer, perhaps, or maybe some form of resistant tuberculosis. Whatever the case, he drove himself mad trying to find a cure. Of course, they disappeared after running out of money. I reckon they ran off to die somewhere, just the two of them."

"How long ago did that happen?" I asked.

"Coming on 30 years now, just five years after they were wed," Judy said. "Now, if you could go help Camden inventory the wine in the cellar, it would be much appreciated."

"We'll get on it," Anna said.

As we walked away, I leaned over to Anna and asked, "Did she just say that 1964 was 35 years ago?"

"She did," Anna responded. "I guess that makes it 1999 in this storyline."

Retro.

It sounded like a lot of people had gone missing in this castle: the old cleaning crew, the groundskeeper, and now Simon and Anastasia Halle.

Wonder who's next?