The Game at Carousel: Book Four Stubs July 17th (Arc II Chapters 1- 85)

To say the first few minutes of contact with rescued players didn't go according to plan was an understatement.

We had planned things out. Antoine had a whole "Welcome back to the land of the living" speech prepared. While we had discussed the possibility that there might be some trouble with the rescued players, we had not anticipated it coming from Andrew's team. As far as we knew, they had not been touched by Project Rewind because they arrived too late. We were wrong.

Luckily, after those few moments of confusion, we did manage to get back on track.

Antoine even managed to deliver part of his speech, explaining that rescue tropes were back and that Andrew, Michael, and Lila were the first to be rescued.

Of course, Andrew's team was a failed Party of Promise, so they weren't exactly starting from scratch.

The whole time, I was scanning our surroundings for Omens because we were still standing at the entrance to the KRSL Powerworks Pavilion. Abandoned industrial parks and power plants were creepy enough. Add in the crows and the occasional howl, and my "I don't like it here" trope was driving me crazy. Luckily, I could rely on Antoine and Kimberly to be the welcoming party.

I zoned in and out of their conversation. Cassie was happy now that things were going well.

I kept to the perimeter and kept my eyes open. Lila, whose motives we had not yet ascertained, watched me from the dirt, leaning on one arm with her heels tucked to the side as if she were at a picnic in an old painting. Her eyes were red, her hair black as coal, her skin pale except for the dirt from the ground she sat on—a little porcelain doll who could never hurt anyone, you'd think. But she had blood on her hands.

Everyone was so tense because of her. They were trying to be civil. They were trying to be logical. Her presence made it difficult. Everyone spoke in slow, careful sentences like they were afraid of waking a tiger, all for a woman who could not have done physical harm to any of us, not unless we trusted her.

We were getting to know each other during what felt like an air raid, but we were pushing forward. Panic and confusion had already wasted our first few minutes with the new players.

I half-listened to the conversation. My attention was on safety.

As far as I could tell, Andrew and his team were just like us, but they had arrived a year earlier. I wanted to question what had happened, what had gone wrong that they had never found Permanent Vacancy, but that was just one of a million questions I was going to keep to myself until we were in a safer place.

They were supposed to be the Party of Promise. They were the Highrollers, but they failed.

"I assume that you guys know some anonymous person who said they were your friend or something and that they were going to help you?" Antoine asked.

Andrew nodded. "Yes, in the text messages, Logan's fiancée had communicated with someone who called himself a friend on the inside."

"The Insider," Kimberly said. "That's what the original players called him."

It wasn't the original players. It was the second, third, or fourth generation. I wasn't sure.

"Or her," Cassie added, if only by instinct. It was true. The Insider was a complete mystery to us. He could be a she.

We didn't get past that in the conversation because it soon came time for us to hit the big red rewards button, as indicated by the jingle that appeared out of nowhere and the robotic voice that said, “Congratulations! You won a ticket!”

Somehow, Silas the Mechanical Showman had found a spot where he could show up, and everyone had to turn their heads to look.

We had almost forgotten him. Almost.

I didn’t want to waste time, so I just walked up to him and pressed the button.

I got two stat tickets, two tropes, a handful of coins, and two enemy collector tickets.

But I also got something else.

It was a ticket like the one I had read information about Narrators on during the fake tutorial. It did not have magical properties but was simply there to give me the good news.

Dear Visitor,

We hope you're enjoying your stay in our charming little town of Carousel! To help you make the most of your time here, we’re excited to announce a new feature on our popular Red Wallpaper: the AdvancedArchetype Tracker!

This handy tool fits right into your Throughline Tracker and lets you monitor your progress toward unlocking exciting new roles, like the Adventurer or Ghost Hunter, with ease! As you explore our scenic streets, brimming with exciting stories of their own, you’ll receive friendly updates—keeping you engaged and motivated every step of the way home.

Want to hunt monsters in the darkest forests? Give it a shot. The more you do it, the closer you will get to being a Monster Hunter. Want to experiment with science that defies your previous notions of reality? Try your hand, and we’ll track your progress. One day, you can be a Mad Scientist!

Sometimes, you can be seeking something and not even know it!

Simply check the Red Wallpaper at your leisure to track your journey. We’re sure this will make your visit to Carousel even more delightful!

Sincerely,

The Office of the Mayor of Carousel

The Town of Carousel—Everything is here.

Of course, the first thing I did was present it to my friends. It was new, and new was exciting. Actually, new was mostly horrifying, but it was also exciting.

Eventually, Andrew got ahold of it and it clearly threw him for a loop. The level of familiarity Carousel was showing must have been alarming.

With a glance at the red wallpaper, I could see that there was indeed a new section labeled Advanced Archetype Tracker, and on it was what appeared to be an archetype that I was already halfway through achieving.

That blew my mind—there was something that I had apparently already been working toward without even knowing it.

What advanced archetype could it be? Perhaps something meta, something even more related to filmmaking than Film Buff was. Director, perhaps? Was there such a thing?

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