THE EXIGENT SEASONS — 9 of 20

Chapter 2 - Scenery

The description of the player is "You're a bit tired; a bit bored. It's unfortunate that you spend such a large part of your weekly get-together waiting for everyone to arrive."

Trev is a man with description "[one of]He's focused, if not obsessed. You won't distract him short of simply leaving.[or]Still utterly committed to quizzing you.[stopping]". Trev is in the Present.

Instead of asking Trev about something:

say "[conversational collapse]".

Instead of telling Trev about something:

say "[conversational collapse]".

To say conversational collapse:

say "[one of]Trev's going to brush off any questions or comments that can't be expressed just by participating in his quiz. You can talk to him to get him to repeat the part of the quiz he just read. [or]Instead of saying whatever you just tried to say, you ask Trev to repeat the current crisis. [stopping][chat]".

To say chat:

silently try talking.

Every turn:

if the location of Trev is not the location of the player:

now Trev is in the location of the player.

Trev's gaming table is a backdrop with description "Scratched and grimy, but it serves your purposes.". Trev's gaming table is everywhere.

The magazine is a backdrop with printed name "[italic type]Parapet Monthly[roman type]" and description "A monthly magazine full of roleplaying resources.[first time] Trev shields the article from your view when he notices you looking too closely.[only]". The magazine is everywhere. Instead of taking the magazine, say "Trev won't let you get your hands on his copy."

Trev's mechanical pencil is a backdrop with description "Trev refuses to write on character sheets with anything other than a mechanical pencil. This one is cheap plastic with a black coating that fades under your grip after several hours of use.". Trev's mechanical pencil is everywhere.

Trev's notebook is a backdrop with description "Trev's habits as a game-master are on full display here, because his notebook is somehow always tipped so that you can't see any of the text he's written.". Trev's notebook is everywhere. Instead of taking the notebook, say "Trev is too possessive to let you examine his notes in any detail."

Trev's ten-sided die is a backdrop with description "Trev usually prefers twelve-siders, but this ten-sider is better suited to your current exercise.". Trev's ten-sided die is everywhere. Instead of doing anything to the die, say "[one of]Trev senses your attention turning to his die, and he grips it in his fist before you can move[or]Trev snatches his die before you can even look at it[stopping]."

Trev's sofa is a backdrop with description "Trev's couches are fake leather, and the cushions are cracked. What they lack in sophistication, they make up in affordability." Understand "couch" and "couches" and "sofa" and "sofas" and "trev's sofa" as Trev's sofa. Trev's sofa is everywhere.

The vents are a backdrop with description "A trio of vents near the ceiling. Sometimes air blows from them." The vents are everywhere.

The fly is a backdrop with description "It's just a fly." Understand "the" or "bug" or "fly" or "insect" as the fly. The fly is everywhere. Instead of doing anything to the fly, say "It's just a fly in the other area[one of][or]. Don't worry about it[stopping]."

The stairwell is a backdrop with description "The stairs up to the rest of the house occupy a nook in the opposite wall. Occasionally you catch a glimpse of a fly landing on the bannister." Understand "stairwell" or "staircase" or "stairs" or "wall" or "walls" or "bannister" or "railing" or "steps" as the stairwell.

A vision is a kind of backdrop with description "[one of]The fictional contents and concepts of Valdara are imaginary objects, events, places, and people. There's literally nothing here to examine.[or]That's a fictional piece of the quiz.[stopping]". Before taking a vision, say "You might as well try to take [one of]gravity[or]the sun[or]light itself[or]Trev's name away from him[or]yesterday[or]the number twelve[or]Newton's first law[or]the color green[or]the sound a fly makes[or]back the last hour you've spent here[or]your own blood[or]the first complete sentence you ever uttered[or]one of these paths home with you[or]the aurora borealis[purely at random]." instead.

Valdara is a vision. Valdara is everywhere. Understand "city" as Valdara. Understand "the city" as Valdara. Understand "state" as Valdara. Understand "the state" as Valdara. Understand "city-state" as Valdara. Understand "city state" as Valdara. Understand "the city-state" as Valdara. Understand "difficult" or "era" or "two" or "avenues" or "crisis" or "calamity" or "advisors" or "ministers" or "coastal" or "frontier" as Valdara.