The Book of Masks Homepage

Portal to the Past

Today's chapter—

* Interactive: "Some Will Act Where Others Dare Not" 
* Public: "Some Will Act Where Others Dare Not" 

—rounds off the latest branch. I hope you all liked it. I did, because (among other reasons) it finally gave me a chance to write for Adam Dortch, who has been rattling around inside my head for a long time without ever getting onto paper. Not that he emerged fully formed, even my imagination. But he did surprise me at a few points. (I had no idea, for instance, that he was one of the assholes who makes social media such a sewer.) But having got him introduced, he at least feels more real to me.

As for the mystery of Clover Mystery, feel free to speculate in the commentary thread: "Commentary: Clover Mystery"  

The last few branches have been written for commissions, but tomorrow brings something I chose for myself.

I will be returning to an ancient part of the interactive, an area so old that I don't dare look to see when it was written. It is also an area I made no contributions to until now.

My point of divergence comes here: "Casting for a New Part" . (And if you don't recognize that chapter title, it's because I changed it. Way back then, chapters were usually named after the choices.) But the roots of it begin nine chapters before: "Third Thoughts" , and you can go a little further back than that, if you want.

(And if you read the public version, the line of chapters after "Third Thoughts"  will likely be new to you.)

But basically, here is what is going on:

Will, being freaked out by this book he bought, tried to return it to the bookstore, where he met Professor Aubrey Blackwell, the academic who accidentally lost the book and wants it back. He offered Will a great deal of money for it, but Will (not liking the man's looks) declined. He instead kept it and kept investigating it. That led to the creation of masks and mind bands.

But Blackwell has not been quiet. He tried again to buy the book, and was again rejected. There followed a burglary attempt at Will's house.

Now Will is worried—scared even—of what else Blackwell might get up to.

And he becomes terrified when he sneaks into one of Blackwell's lectures, and discovers that Blackwell has turned Lucy Vredenburg—sister of Cindy Vredenburg—into a golem. He also knows that Blackwell has a spare mask or two of his own, which he can use to impersonate one of Will's friends.