"Just look at this." Dad said, holding the pop quiz in his hand with the red letter 'A+' in the corner of it. He had a big, broad smile on his face.

"Would you just look at this!" He said, waving the paper in the air to no one in particular.

"This is great. Just great Shawn. I really think this is wonderful." He said, placing his glass of whiskey on the end table and looking at Shawn with what appeared to be genuine, deep and profound respect.

It had been two days since Shawn had taken the quiz and since the confrontation with Eric.

"This is what I'm happy about son. I know your Mom has big plans for you. But in my mind, school comes first." He said, adding conflicting advice to Shawn's already full plate.

"Just, would you look at this!" He said once again, beaming with pride.

Shawn and his Dad started to talk about how well Shawn did and the subject turned to how Dad was going to reward Shawn

"You know what? I'm going to reward you Shawn. How about that? Because you did so well, I'm going to..."

OOC: Shawn gains 10 experience (unrelated to current thread)

Shawn Rolls Manipulation + Socialize with the following results

1-2 Successes: Shawn may ask Dad for a material object

3 Successes: Shawn may ask Dad for a material object and a special favor or privilege

4+ Successes: Shawn may ask Dad for two material objects  and twp special favors or privledges

The special favors or privledges can be anything within the reason of how Shaw imagines his relationship with his father based o his own personal wealth and limitations.

Shawn listened, it not even occurring to him to volunteer any suggestions.

OOC: 23:03, Today: Shawn Cramer failed (no successes) using 7d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s with rolls of 1,3,7,3,5,4,6.  Manipulation + Socialize + Striking Looks.

"Uh Oh!" Shawn's Dad said as the phone started to ring. "I have to get that. Why don't you go play with Bobby and we'll talk later."

"Sure thing Dad!" Shawn wandered off to look for Bobby.

Shawn meandered into the room, having received nothing for his grades, but also not having earned anything. One thing was for certain, getting an A+ would surely provide him some space from Dad's oversight.

Shawn headed upstairs, feet padding softly on the steps. As he approached the door to his room, he heard a muffled sound like someone was speaking through a blanket. He opened the door and found Bobby and Ralph.

Bobby had the soft, felt belt of one of Dad's bath robes. He had it wrapped around Ralph's head, a sock stuffed into Ralph's mouth. Bobby was in the middle of tying a knot behind Ralph's head to secure the sock in its place in Ralphs' mouth.

As Shawn entered the room, Bobby gave him a shrug of the shoulders which seemed to say: what was I supposed to do?

"He won't stop talking. He's talking about the Book." Bobby exclaimed, justifying the action. "If he keeps blabbing about the Book, someone is going to find out. I had to do something."

Shawn paused in the doorway, completely nonplussed. "Oh. I see." He wasn't sure how to react to this - it was important to keep Ralph quiet, but seeing him literally bound and gagged was a little much. Still, there was an obvious question he had to ask.

"He can still breathe, right?"

"Mmmmphmmpmmhm!" Ralph said, teary-eyed, nostrils flaring. Bobby had kept the room dark, and shadows from the room cast themselves over the left side of Ralph's face.

Bobby shrugged.

"Yeah." He said, not seeming all that concerned, especially now that Shawn hadn't sounded any alarm over the subject. "I left his nose uncovered, so he can breathe through there." He reasoned, inspecting Ralph's face to make sure it was so.

"I think Mom and Dad will have questions if we keep him like this. Why don't we ungag him for a bit?" Shawn was choosing his words carefully for at least a couple reasons.

"Alright" Bobby resigned.

"But I'm telling you, he's a blabber mouth. A loud dummy. He'd never make a good sniper or an undercover agent. Ralph is louder than the worst loud mouth. And he won't shut up about the Book. That's the worst part."

He untied the bath robe belt, letting it fall so there was just a sock in Ralph's mouth.

Shawn knelt down so he could look Ralph right in the eye. "Ralph, I'm going to take the sock out. Do you think you can be quiet and just talk with us for a bit? Please?"

Ralph nodded his head, eyes bleary-eyed.

Shawn Rolls a contested (Composure or Subterfuge) + Empathy Roll

OOC: 10:15, Today: Shawn Cramer rolled 1 success using 4d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s with rolls of 4,5,1,10(+1).  Subterfuge + Empathy .

13:17, Today: Evil Circus - Ralph rolled 1 success using 3d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s ((1,7,10(+5))).

As some proficient in lying, Shawn would normally be able to tell or at least have a good gut feeling about what Ralph might do. But the stress of they day, and the ever present feeling that the Circus could call at any moment, served as a distraction and he was unable to focus with his usual intent.

"Mrhh...Hrmmmm....hrrrus.." Ralph said which sounded like 'I promise.'

Shawn carefully takes out the sock...

Ralph coughed a few times and then said

"Circus! I wanted from to get my rubba sucky at the Master Maker's house! You both have guys to believe me! I wanted from...from...from...from....when I had lost the rubba sucky! I can't do no sleep no more! I got to get back soon, or the Cherrywinks Monster! He goin' kill everyone on Pine Street!

"Oh brother...."

Shawn mustered up what patience he could "Ralph, can you use your inside voice?"

OOC: Shawn Rolls contested Manipulation + Empathy

Ralph was very animated, and Shawn could tell that he wanted to get out every inch of the story and what was important to him. He found himself struggling to try to get Ralph to calm down.

OOC: 21:00, Today: Shawn Cramer rolled 1 success using 5d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s with rolls of 2,2,9,5,6.  Manipulation + Empathy.

21:15, Today: Evil Circus - Ralph failed (no successes) using 3d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s ((3,5,7)).

Ralph slowed himself down taking several breaths and then said.

"It's the rubba sucky! I gotta get it back!" But he didn't use his inside voice, at least not for that last part. Then, realizing he was being loud, he calmed down.

"Cherrywinks man. He gonna kill everyone on....on...on...on...on...on...on...my block. Also I made a deal. A deal that...that..that...that...that...that...that I serve the Master Maker in tent and then I don't have to be in the pet shop no more. He keeps the pet shop for souls of kids."

"I ain't gonna no more go here. I got to get back."

"Oh no." Bobby said with a stern voice that Shawn  had never heard him use before.

"He isn't going anywhere. We can't let him go back there. First, it isn't right to send him back to those Clown things. They'd kill him. And then, second on top of it, he'd probably say something about how we took him. Then we'd be in real trouble."

Shawn could tell that Bobby, though concerned with the first possibility, was clearly more concerned about the second.

"Gotta change my name in the...the..the..the..the..the..the..the..the..the..the.. ledger than." Ralph stammered, letting the words out somewhere between an inside voice, and an a not so inside voice. He covered his mouth with his hands when he realized it.

"You mean that weird book in the theatre?" Shawn tried to keep his tone quiet in hopes Ralph would take his queue from that.

"Yes" Ralph nodded.

"no, but yes."

"Cherrywinks keeps his list divided in different parts. One part is in the Master Maker House. One part is in the Pet Store and One part is on him all times."

"For...for...for...for...for to get me free. Gotta get the name and erase it. Or Change it. Or something."

"Oh Brother." Bobby said again. "We have to go back there? Let's hope his name is in the place we found him at. That would sound like a good job for the undercover Joe's team."

"Sheesh. And at this time too. Right before they ask you to do a job for them."

"Hang on, we both saw it there, right? Do you remember if you saw Ralph's name on it?" Shawn racked his brain trying to think if he saw a 'Ralph' on the list he'd read.

OOC: Shawn Rolls Intelligence + Composure

"Ummmm...ummmm.." Bobby said, struggling to come up with the answer himself.

OOC:16:10, Today: Shawn Cramer failed (no successes) using 3d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s with rolls of 5,6,2. Intelligence + Composure.

17:21, Today: Bobby rolled 1 success using 5d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s ((4,3,4,1,9)).

"Yes!" Bobby said, the light bulb going off on his head. "It was! It surely was! I remember because it was written in the margins."

Shawn scratched his head as he thought about it. "So can you just...change the book? Wouldn't they notice?"

Ralph thought about that. All three boys thought about that. In the night, somewhere down the street in the distance, two cars could be heard drag racing.

"Dunno." Ralph finally said. "Just maybe erase it. Or scribble...scribble..scribble...scribble...scribble...scribble...it out."

"The Master Maker keeps the Master Maker tent. And the Book. He ain't in yet. So I was left to clean it until Cherrywinks monster can have to get a kid's nose that will be the Master Maker."

"I...guess. If it's empty, it should be safe, right?" Shawn looked at Bobby, as if hoping he'd have a good reason to talk him out of it.

"I mean it seems so. It seems exactly like that. Only that also means that if we don't do it soon, it might not be empty."

His gaze wandered over to the closet, where the Book was.

Shawn walked over to the closet quickly, as if wanting to do it before he changed his mind. He shuffled the pile of clothes with the Book aside.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:17, Sat 31 Dec 2016.

Shawn rummaged through the clothes with Bobby over his shoulder in the darkness, Ralph's heavy breathing.



And there it was. Waiting. Tongue wafting in the air.

It started to say something in a Looney Tunes voice. Bobby reached over and pushed the heavy, leather-bound front cover over, stifling the voice. The pages flipped naturally and then stopped.

A window into the Master Maker's Tent could be seen.

OOC: Shawn Joins Thread

Shawn: Editing The Master Maker's List