*comment ñáéç *gotoref "occult"&occult_ctrl *label occult0 *choice #Peruse the bookshelves. *goto book_list *if met_arthur = false #There's a pair of young patrons here, clearly regulars, a young man and woman. Perhaps an introduction is in order? The girl, Megan, snubs you, but the young man seems willing to hold a conversation. *page_break After a few minutes, you are quickly tiring of Arthur's enthusiasm for werewolves. You scoff in their general direction. That doesn't prevent him from clearly being pleased that you're willing to let you bend his ear. Of course, there's this collection of books he's been wanting Marty the manager to order for him, but he can't quite justify the $125 when the Visa bill comes to his parents. *choice *if Wealth > 125 #I offer to have Marty order the book for him. The next time you drop by, Arthur falls all over himself with gratitude. He'll be reading about the loup-garou for months. *set occult_ctrl +1 *goto_scene boston #"Tough luck, kid." *set met_arthur true *goto_scene boston *if met_arthur *if wealth > 125 #Maybe it's time to order that book for Arthur. The next time you drop by, Arthur falls all over himself with gratitude. He'll be reading about the loup-garou for months. *set wealth -125 *set occult_ctrl +1 *goto_scene boston *label occult1 *choice #Peruse the bookshelves. *goto book_list *if perception = 2 *if wealth > 1000 #Meerlinda the Seer is offering classes on how to 'develop your third eye', by which she means supernatural perception. I wonder if there is something that she can teach me... of course, she could just be a fake. *set wealth -1000 *set perception +1 *goto_scene boston *if occult_li_present *if independence > 20 *if met_occult_li = false *if lover_claimed = false #Ask Arthur to introduce you to Megan. Maybe she'll be a little more polite this time. *set met_occult_li true *goto meet_occult_li *if occult_li_present *if independence > 20 *if met_occult_li *if library_li = 0 #Try to start up a conversation with Megan again. *goto meet_occult_li_again *if occult_li_present *if independence > 20 *if occult_li = 1 *if occult_li_date_accepted = false #TODO *goto occult_li_date_invite *if occult_li_present *if independence > 20 *if occult_li = 2 *if occult_li_bribe_accepted = false #TODO *goto occult_li_bribe_request *label meet_occult_li *goto_scene boston *label meet_occult_li_again *goto_scene boston *label occult_li_date_invite *goto_scene boston *label occult_li_bribe_request *goto_scene boston *label occult2 *choice #Peruse the bookshelves. *goto book_list *if perception = 2 *if wealth > 1000 #Meerlinda the Seer is offering classes on how to 'develop your third eye', by which she means supernatural perception. I wonder if there is something that she can teach me... of course, she could just be a fake. *set wealth -1000 *set perception +1 *goto_scene boston *label occult3 *choice #Peruse the bookshelves. *goto book_list *if perception = 2 *if wealth > 1000 #Meerlinda the Seer is offering classes on how to 'develop your third eye', by which she means supernatural perception. I wonder if there is something that she can teach me... of course, she could just be a fake. *set wealth -1000 *set perception +1 *goto_scene boston *label book_list There are several books that catch your eye. *choice *if wealth > 25 *if book_lilith = false #The Children of Lilith. This ethnography of vampires relates the story of their descent from the apocryphal Lilith. According to the author, Lilith gave birth to vampires and (separately) the Nephilim. The lot of them are here (on Earth) to bedevil man and lead him astray. *set wealth -25 *set book_lilith true *goto_scene boston *if wealth > 25 *if book_bathory = false #The Countess of Blood. The text is a meticulously researched history of the story of Elizabeth Bathory, Countess of what is now Cashtice, Slovakia. She is reputed to be the most prolific female serial killer in history. However, her primary interest seems to have been the preservation of her own youth... and end to which she put the blood of the virgins she slaughtered. *set book_bathory true *goto_scene boston *if wealth > 25 *if book_dracula = false #Dracula. *set book_dracula true *set wealth -1 *goto_scene boston *if wealth > 25 *if Lore = 1 *if book_kill_vampire = false #How to Kill a Vampire. This short how-to guide describes all the variety of known methods by which vampires can be wounded, stalled, banished or killed. You can't be sure which ones are true, but it doesn't hurt to keep an eye out for it all, does it? *set lore +1 *set book_kill_vampire true *set rationalism %+5 *goto_scene boston *if wealth > 25 *if book_legend = false #I am Legend. This book of short stories, written by Richard Matheson and first published in 1954, describes a near-future world in which an infection has produced a species of ravening blooddrinkers. While you acknowledge the proposed mundane origin of the species, the short story does little to further your understanding of your condition. Luckily, you were able to find a used copy. *set wealth -5 *set rationalism %-1 *set book_legend true *goto_scene boston *if wealth > 25 *if book_tobin = false #The Spirit Guide. Written by Portram Campbell Tobin, and first published in 1937, it is an encyclopedic reference guide to spirits and demons. The section on vampires is substantial, but not very informative. It mostly lists places where vampires were explicitly referenced as well as identifying older descriptions of things that might have been vampires. Tobin, as is his style, leans away from the cursed-by-God origin (whether Lilith, Cain, Lot's daughters, the Nephilim or Vlad the Impaler), but does not dismiss the possibility that these stories grew from the germ of a real vampire. *set wealth -100 *set rationalism %+5 *set book_tobin true *goto_scene boston #There's nothing here that interests me or that I can afford. *goto_scene boston