Chatterbox: Inkwell

Choose your own path through the adventure! Pick wisely…this adventure is not for the faint of heart, and one decision could change the course of your life.

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So, this is (as you can see) a choose your own adventure! I told myself that if I ever finished writing it, I'd post it on the CB for you all to enjoy.

At every 'crossroads', I'll take a vote of what you all would like to do, and then every few days I'll post the corresponding part. At the end, you're welcome to restart and do it over again--the entire thing is already completed, and there are tons of different storylines you can go down.

There are a total of five endings. Enjoy!

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A1

It was a dark and stormy night. The lights in the mansion flickered with every bolt of lightning that sparked down from the treacherous sky, causing thunder to echo over the mountain, shaking the mansion to its core. Expensive antique paintings rattled on the walls. The salads were mixing themselves in the kitchen, and the bottles of dressing were about to vibrate off the counter. It was violent weather indeed, the worst kind to befall a night like this.

“Nothing out of the ordinary, of course,” Zerin was saying to his guests, you included. “We get this weather all the time, living up here on this mountain. I’m just sad it had to happen tonight while you’re all here.”

“Indeed,” Ethan agreed as another rumble of thunder exploded through the house. He was one of the three guests that had come to visit Zerin in his mountaintop mansion for the night.

“I’m glad we made it here before the weather began,” commented Theresa, the other guest, graciously. “And thank you so much for having us over.”

“Yes,” you agree. “It’s been fun so far, and dinner smells delicious.”

Zerin smiles as his two cats come running in, frightened by the thunder. They jump in his lap and cower under his arms, watching the company with wide eyes. This sitting room is vast and elaborately decorated--not cozy at all. You’re a little unnerved by the atmosphere yourself, and you understand why the cats would feel more comfortable under their master’s protection. “Well, it’s no trouble,” Zerin says. “It gets lonely up here and Erin and I love having guests. Plus, you three are old friends, and ever since I moved I haven’t gotten to see much of you.”

“Speaking of which,” Ethan says, “didn’t you say you were expecting some more guests?”

Zerin coughs. “Oh, yes. They’re due to arrive later in the night, but with this weather…” He looks at us, abashed. “They may not be able to make it until tomorrow. They’re just some other friends of mine who were going to stop by for dinner.”

“I hope they manage to find something to eat if they can’t make it,” Theresa says.

“Me too. But I have a feeling they’ll get here eventually,” Zerin says, stroking his cats thoughtfully.

Thunder rumbles again, sounding not farther off but louder and closer. Your mouth is watering from the smell of dinner, and you cast a longing glance in the direction of the kitchen.

“So tell us,” Ethan says, “what made you decide to move up here to the middle of nowhere? I hadn’t even heard of this place until you invited us.”

“Oh,” Zerin replies. “It’s a long story, actually. I inherited it--it’s a family lot, uh, and I couldn’t sell it…”

“Huh. Funny you never mentioned it to us before.”

“Frankly, I never thought I’d be living here,” Zerin says. “Which is why I never talked about it.”

Suddenly, Zerin’s wife Erin pokes her head into the room. “Dinner’s ready, finally. The dressing only fell of the counter three times.”

“Oh good, I’m famished,” you say, rising. “Now where did I put my map?” you joke. “I’d hate to get lost on the way to dinner.”

Zerin laughs. “Don’t worry, I’ll--”

Suddenly, something that’s not thunder rings through the house. It’s the doorbell, loud and raucous, echoing through the halls and into the sitting room.

“Is that them?” Ethan asks. “The other guests, I mean.”

Zerin looks quizzical. “If it is, they got here earlier than expected. Unfortunately, all our butlers are off duty, so we’ll have to run to the door.”

“You have butlers?” Theresa queries.

“No,” Zerin laughs. “We clean it all ourselves. Who wants to get the door with me?”

“I will,” Ethan offers.

“I might go to the dining room,” Theresa says. “What about you?”

“Oh,” you reply. “I think I’ll…”

Do you go with Erin and Theresa to the dining room?

Or will you go with Ethan and Zerin to the door?