Choose Your Own Adventure: Urban Fantasy Edition

[Xefas]

Choice 1
>(The prompts will continue to be written with 'you', and the responses will continue to use 'I')
>(Everything should be third person. She does this. Then she does that.)
>(Everything should be first person past tense. I did this. Then I did that.)

Uterus safely tucked away in your torso, you remove the SIM card, pocket it, and return the phone to Siggy. You thank him, and he gives a wary nod in reply.

You make your way back out of the building, some of the knots in your stomach relenting for the moment. You have a few hours before you plan to crash the vampire's meeting. Violence is imminent, but not immediate. The ebb in urgency is swiftly replaced by biological necessities, and you find yourself, instead of getting back in your truck, walking two blocks down to your favorite breakfast joint (walking, in this case, being faster than driving and then finding a parking spot). It's a little place, sandwiched between two enormous office buildings, with no parking lot of its own, no sign, and standing room only on the inside. A continuous stream of very well dressed people are quickly entering and, just as quickly, leaving with an over-stuffed bagel wrapped in butcher paper. The smell of freshly made circular bread product is palpable even from the street. You shoulder your way into the impromptu line and rapidly scoot, inch by inch, inside.

Behind the small counter, a heavy-set woman in an apron, with her dark hair pulled into a severe bun and no makeup to speak of, is taking orders, while mechanically yanking bagels out of a wall-mounted set of unlabeled bins with her right hand, slicing and stuffing ingredients into it with her left hand, and shoving them towards the cashier. Most orders seem to be done before the customer is finished speaking. The young man at the register bears a family resemblance to the woman, his own voluminous hair tucked into a hair-net. His own frenzied pace is a lot shakier and less methodical than his mother's, but he's churning through the sea of cash and credit cards as fast as he needs to be. As you near the front of the line, a short, perhaps high-school-aged, girl comes power-walking out of the kitchen, their features mostly obscured by the much larger tray of fresh bagels they're carrying over their head. She dumps the contents into the bins on the wall, and sprints back into the kitchen.

It's your turn to shout your order. The woman smiles. You come here often enough that she remembers you, even though your interactions typically span a few moments.

Choice 2
>"Cream cheese and lox...
>"Turkey, bacon, avocado...
>"Chicken salad...
>"Veggies and hummus...

Choice 3
>...on a plain bagel."
>...on an onion bagel."
>...on a pumpernickel."
>...on an everything bagel."

Before you finish speaking, the cashier is holding your finished bagel and presenting his hand out expectantly. You hand him your credit card, politely thank both of them, and your receipt joins the long unbroken chain swiftly spewing from the ticket machine directly into the trash.

You happily munch on your breakfast while driving to the rendezvous point.

You find the specified intersection to be two small side-streets, barely wide enough to be two-way in addition to its metered parking spaces, a few blocks away from any of the main downtown arteries. There are a few private businesses, a restaurant or two, some knick-knack shops - no skyscrapers or anything. The buildings appear to all have been mass-produced in big blocky concrete strips; there are no alcoves or alleys or any obviously shady place to conduct nefarious dealings. There are very few pedestrians. You still have almost three hours until the meeting time.

Choice 4
>I'll park my truck and have a good ol' fashion stake-out. No need to get out. I'll tail the vampire back home after his business is done. Then we can have some private time.
>There's a little bookstore on the corner, with big windows that look out at the intersection. I'll try to loiter in there until I see suspicious activity, then check it out. Vampires need to cover up head-to-toe to keep the sunlight off of them, so I don't expect it'll be too hard to spot.
>I'll park my car elsewhere, then try to prepare an ambush. Maybe hide on the roof of one of the shops so it doesn't see me coming. There might be witnesses, but fighting it here, in the open, with the sun up, is a much safer prospect than just about anywhere else. One good rip in its clothes, and the sunlight will do the rest.

Would you mind if I stole this format? It actually looks a lot of fun as a writing exercise.

Spoiler

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Sure, go ahead. It's a lot of fun.

[A_Man]

Choice 1
>(The prompts will continue to be written with 'you', and the responses will continue to use 'I')

Choice 2
>"Cream cheese and lox...

Choice 3
>...on an everything bagel."

Choice 4
>There's a little bookstore on the corner, with big windows that look out at the intersection. I'll try to loiter in there until I see suspicious activity, then check it out. Vampires need to cover up head-to-toe to keep the sunlight off of them, so I don't expect it'll be too hard to spot.

[Drakefall]

Wow, get busy for two days and suddenly the story skyrockets and you turn out to be a woman all along!

Choice 1
>(The prompts will continue to be written with 'you', and the responses will continue to use 'I')

Spoiler

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If for no other reasons than I've gotten used to it and it works for the whole choose your own adventure thing rather well.

Choice 2
>"Cream cheese and lox...

Choice 3
>...on an onion bagel."

Choice 4
>There's a little bookstore on the corner, with big windows that look out at the intersection. I'll try to loiter in there until I see suspicious activity, then check it out. Vampires need to cover up head-to-toe to keep the sunlight off of them, so I don't expect it'll be too hard to spot.

Spoiler: Reasons

Show

Sitting in a car's a little suspicious, so perhaps a slightly more "undercover" stake out will work a little better. We don't want to fight this thing around regular folk regardless of possible advantage, as that might put someone in danger. Lastly, while we don't necessarily want to follow the vamp back to its lair where its got the home turf advantage, we do need to take any chance we can to find the person it took no matter how slim... so we're probably going to end up tailing it like some B-grade horror movie idiot, but hey them's the breaks.

[Zelphas]

Choice 1
>(The prompts will continue to be written with 'you', and the responses will continue to use 'I').

Choice 2
>"Turkey, bacon, avocado...

Choice 3
>...on a plain bagel."

Choice 4
>The bookstore.

[Eldan]

[QUOTE=Xefas;18417269]Choice 1
>(Everything should be first person past tense. I did this. Then I did that.)

Choice 2
>"Cream cheese and lox...

Choice 3
>...on an onion bagel."

Choice 4
>There's a little bookstore on the corner, with big windows that look out at the intersection. I'll try to loiter in there until I see suspicious activity, then check it out. Vampires need to cover up head-to-toe to keep the sunlight off of them, so I don't expect it'll be too hard to spot.

[rs2excelsior]

Choice 1
>(The prompts will continue to be written with 'you', and the responses will continue to use 'I')

Choice 2
>"Cream cheese and lox...

Choice 3
>...on a pumpernickel."

Choice 4
>I'll park my truck and have a good ol' fashion stake-out. No need to get out. I'll tail the vampire back home after his business is done. Then we can have some private time.

[blacklight101]

Choice 1
>(The prompts will continue to be written with 'you', and the responses will continue to use 'I')

Choice 2
>"Cream cheese and lox...

Choice 3
>...on an everything bagel."

Choice 4
>There's a little bookstore on the corner, with big windows that look out at the intersection. I'll try to loiter in there until I see suspicious activity, then check it out. Vampires need to cover up head-to-toe to keep the sunlight off of them, so I don't expect it'll be too hard to spot.

Liking this. +1

The bookstore has a little coffee bar too and the guy that works there isnt bad looking. I say flirt while you wait.

[Tarlek Flamehai]

Choice 1
>(The prompts will continue to be written with 'you', and the responses will continue to use 'I')

Choice 2
>"Chicken salad...

Choice 3
>...on an onion bagel."

Choice 4
>I'll park my truck and have a good ol' fashion stake-out. No need to get out. I'll tail the vampire back home after his business is done. Then we can have some private time.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

Choice 1
>(The prompts will continue to be written with 'you', and the responses will continue to use 'I')

Choice 2
>"Cream cheese and lox...

Choice 3
>...on an everything bagel."

Choice 4
>I'll park my car elsewhere, then try to prepare an ambush. Maybe hide on the roof of one of the shops so it doesn't see me coming. There might be witnesses, but fighting it here, in the open, with the sun up, is a much safer prospect than just about anywhere else. One good rip in its clothes, and the sunlight will do the rest.

EDIT: GO TEAM LOX!

[Eldan]

I have no idea what lox is, but it sounds fun.

[The_Werebear]

Choice 1
>(The prompts will continue to be written with 'you', and the responses will continue to use 'I')
Choice 2
>"Veggies and hummus...
Choice 3
>...on an onion bagel."
Choice 4
--NONSTANDARD CHOICE: You spent the night crashed in an allyway anyway. You haven't had a shower. Vampires tend to be overconfident, especially when they think they're on the hunt. Why don't you hunch down and pretend to be a passed out lush? You might be able to lure it very, very close before striking. If not, you'll be in a better position to eavesdrop without having to move in.

[Amaril]

Choice 1
>(The prompts will continue to be written with 'you', and the responses will continue to use 'I')

Choice 2
>"Cream cheese and lox...

Choice 3
>...on a plain bagel."

Choice 4
>I'll park my truck and have a good ol' fashion stake-out. No need to get out. I'll tail the vampire back home after his business is done. Then we can have some private time.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

I have no idea what lox is, but it sounds fun.

It's smoked salmon, and it's delicious

[Eldan]

Spoiler

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Oh. Is that, like, Scandinavian, or just a creative Anglicization of the German word "Lachs"?

[Amaril]

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Oh. Is that, like, Scandinavian, or just a creative Anglicization of the German word "Lachs"?

A quick Wikipedia check reveals that it's from Yiddish laks. Not surprising, since it's something of a staple in Jewish cuisine.

[Kane0]

Choice 1
The prompts will continue to be written with 'you', and the responses will continue to use 'I'

Choice 2
Cream cheese and lox

Choice 3
on an everything bagel

Choice 4
There's a little bookstore on the corner

[GorinichSerpant]

Choice 1
>(The prompts will continue to be written with 'you', and the responses will continue to use 'I')
Choice 2
>"Veggies and hummus...
Choice 3
>...on an onion bagel."
Choice 4
--NONSTANDARD CHOICE: You spent the night crashed in an allyway anyway. You haven't had a shower. Vampires tend to be overconfident, especially when they think they're on the hunt. Why don't you hunch down and pretend to be a passed out lush? You might be able to lure it very, very close before striking. If not, you'll be in a better position to eavesdrop without having to move in.

I'm on team Lox, except for choice 4.

[Xefas]

You park your truck and enter the bookstore. The proprietor, a tall man with disheveled blonde hair and an impressive paunch makes to greet you. However, after sizing you up and getting within the radius of your slept-in-an-alley aroma, his face sours a bit and he tries to throw you out on the principle that you're obviously a homeless person.

Choice 1
>I'm persuasive enough to get him to let me stay, but he's not happy and I'll have to buy something reasonably expensive as a peace-offering.
>I've got the gift of gab, as they say. I politely ameliorate his concerns and, to keep him happy, I'll grab a cheap paperback to pretend to read while I sit and wait.
>I've something of a silver tongue. I turn this awkward situation into a kooky misunderstanding, strike up a conversation, listen to his problems, and before I know it, he's run across the street and bought us both one of those 'bubble tea' things with the tapioca balls inside. I'm not a huge fan but, hey, free drink.
>Borderline Sociopathic Social Engineering Protocols Activated. I deftly dismiss his concerns with a few words, and after a few minutes of conversation I've got him spilling his life's story all over me. He even offered to give me a tour of his private collection of rare and valuable books.

With your perch secured, you wait and watch, inconspicuous to the outside world. Time passes. At nearly one-hour-to-meeting-time, a man with the sallow and severely sunken features of someone with decades of drug abuse walks up the sidewalk on the opposite side of the street, wearing a cheap suit and carrying an unmarked black briefcase in his left hand. He stops at the corner, leans against the side of the adjoining bubble-tea-cafe, and whips out his cellphone with his right hand. He places the phone near his face, and his thumb flicks at it occasionally. However, your practiced investigative skills are sharp enough to notice that his focus is on everything around him other than his phone, and his body language says "I'm expecting trouble."

Choice 2
>Bingo, we have our anonymous contact. I should go over there and try to change the situation with my mad social skills.
>Keep on waiting.
>It's not too late to set up that ambush.

[Amaril]

Choice 1
>I've got the gift of gab, as they say. I politely ameliorate his concerns and, to keep him happy, I'll grab a cheap paperback to pretend to read while I sit and wait.

Choice 2
>Keep on waiting.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

This guy's not our vamp, and going out there now risks scaring off the real target. We should stay hidden until we've confirmed them both. We can pick one to follow at our leisure afterwards.

[The_Werebear]

>I'm persuasive enough to get him to let me stay, but he's not happy and I'll have to buy something reasonably expensive as a peace-offering.

>It's not too late to set up that ambush.

[blacklight101]

>I've something of a silver tongue. I turn this awkward situation into a kooky misunderstanding, strike up a conversation, listen to his problems, and before I know it, he's run across the street and bought us both one of those 'bubble tea' things with the tapioca balls inside. I'm not a huge fan but, hey, free drink



>Keep on waiting.

[Kane0]

Choice 1
I've got the gift of gab, as they say. I politely ameliorate his concerns and, to keep him happy, I'll grab a cheap paperback to pretend to read while I sit and wait.

Choice 2
It's not too late to set up that ambush

[rs2excelsior]

Choice 1
>I've got the gift of gab, as they say. I politely ameliorate his concerns and, to keep him happy, I'll grab a cheap paperback to pretend to read while I sit and wait.

Choice 2
>Keep on waiting.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

This guy's not our vamp, and going out there now risks scaring off the real target. We should stay hidden until we've confirmed them both. We can pick one to follow at our leisure afterwards.

Seconded, for both choices. She needs to lay low until the vampire shows, or else she blows her one lead.

[GorinichSerpant]

Choice 1:
>Borderline Sociopathic Social Engineering Protocols Activated. I deftly dismiss his concerns with a few words, and after a few minutes of conversation I've got him spilling his life's story all over me. He even offered to give me a tour of his private collection of rare and valuable books.

Choice 2:
>Keep on waiting.

Spoiler: OCC

Show

I find the idea of our hero being very good at persuasion combined with the way she asked Siggy for the phone to be very amusing.

[Zelphas]

Choice 1:
>Borderline Sociopathic Social Engineering Protocols Activated. I deftly dismiss his concerns with a few words, and after a few minutes of conversation I've got him spilling his life's story all over me. He even offered to give me a tour of his private collection of rare and valuable books.

Choice 2:
>Keep on waiting.

Spoiler: OCC

Show

I find the idea of our hero being very good at persuasion combined with the way she asked Siggy for the phone to be very amusing.

Seconded. Sociopathic hero GO!

[Xefas]

Character Sheet

Spoiler

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High Concept: Part-Time Vampire Hunter
Other Aspects: Justice Be Done; Luddite

Skills
Good At Investigation
Good With Melee Weapons (including throwing them)
Fair Rapport (this is both persuasiveness and keeping your composure as a social defense)

Equipment
Wallet (No Cash)
Keys
Bowie Knife
Ostensibly Worthless Amulet (Slightly Broken)
Vampiric SIM Card

Other Possessions
Big Ol' Pickup Truck

You wait things out. The sketchy man never leaves, though he occasionally stretches and performs several of the standard movements and fidgets of a regular person that is standing in one place for a long time. At five-minutes-until-meeting-time, the man grows noticeably more anxious. At least, 'noticeably' for a highly observant person that has been observing the same person for an hour. At zero-minutes-until-meeting-time, he puts his phone away and glances up and down the street. Then, he takes a few steps to the corner of the sidewalk and looks up and down the intersecting road. He then returns to his little section of wall, pulls his phone out again and continues waiting.

At negative-twelve-minutes-until-meeting-time, his expression of steadily building agitation suddenly disappears into a neutral mask. He turns to his left, looking southerly down the road, puts his phone away and, while actively looking at nothing in particular, begins to walk in that direction. It takes you a moment to realize that he's not holding the briefcase anymore; it's still resting against the wall he just walked away from. Readjusting your position, you notice another figure walking northward up the sidewalk on the same side of the street. Their features are fully obscured by big dark boots, dark pants, a grey coat with a heavy hood, and big, bulky workman's gloves. You can't see perfectly from this angle and distance, but you get the impression that there's something like a turtle-neck, ski-mask, and sun-glasses partially visible beneath the hood. In their right hand, held lazily with a half-grip is a small black satchel.

As the two people pass one another, the satchel changes hands so quickly and so fluidly that casual bystanders, even those standing nearby, would never notice; no hesitation, no step out of place. The vampire continues to the discarded briefcase, picks it up without looking at it, and continues across the crosswalk northbound.

Choice 1
>I'll tail the vampire on foot.
>I'll tail the sketchy dude on foot.
>I'll tail the vampire in my truck.
>I'll tail the sketchy dude in my truck.

I definitely have the skills not to lose somebody while shadowing them. Not being noticed might be a different story.

Choice 2
>I'm about as subtle as a sharknado in a china shop.
>I played a mean game of hide-n'-seek back in my grade school days.
>Joking aside, I could probably become a professional assassin if I wanted to.
>Engage Stealth Level: Batman

Of course, driving is also a potential complication.

Choice 3
>I can manage to get from A to B. With a map. And written directions. If it's sunny. And the traffic isn't bad.
>Driving has always been second nature to me. I've never even been in an accident.
>I drive for a living. It's no problem.
>I was actually planning on becoming a professional stunt(wo?)man. I went through the whole training course, got certified, did a couple low-budget movies. Then, one day on the set, the other stunt guy they hired headbutted me in the chest. While his legs and most of his torso were still 50 yards away shooting a chase scene. I decided that driving around cadavers was a safer way to get paid, but stay behind the wheel.

[Kane0]

Choice 1
I'll tail the vampire in my truck

Choice 3
I was actually planning on becoming a professional stunt(wo?)man. If you look carefully I make an appearance in Fast & Furious XIV.

[Amaril]

Choice 1
>I'll tail the vampire in my truck.

Choice 2
>I played a mean game of hide-n'-seek back in my grade school days.

Choice 3
>I drive for a living. It's no problem.

[Drakefall]

Choice 1
>I'll tail the vampire in my truck.

Choice 2
>I played a mean game of hide-n'-seek back in my grade school days.

Choice 3
>I drive for a living. It's no problem.

This one. This one right here, with these things.

[Zelphas]

Choice 1
>I'll tail the sketchy dude on foot.

Choice 2
>I played a mean game of hide and seek back in my grade school days.

Choice 3
>I drive for a living. It's no problem.

[Eldan]

>I'll tail the Vampire in my truck.
>I'm about as subtle as a Sharknado in a China shop.
>I drive for a living, it's no problem.