text: [Themes: Slice of life, male protagonist, teenage protagonist, modem]
  
  ***You have connected to THE GUILD BBS*** Type LOGIN to enter the Adventurers' Lounge
  
  > Skipthru
  There are six people around the large table, the guys from yesterday plus a couple more. The guy with the strange bangs and suit jacket is at the head of the table beside a goth girl who's too beautiful to look at directly. The table is laid out beautifully, a candelabra melting onto the white tablecloth, chipped plates trimmed with gold.
  
  Paula sits down at an empty chair and seats you beside her. There's no plate, but she reaches across the table and wrenches a drumstick from the bird.
  
  > Wait
  Time passes.
  
  "Um... hi," says the fellow in the suit jacket. Everyone's staring at Paula as she gnaws the drumstick, and you will yourself invisible.
  
  She points the drumstick at him and you see a drop of grease fall onto the tablecloth. "You stole my idea, Erik. And then you didn't even invite me."
  
  > wait awhile
  Time passes.
  
  "Well, I would say it was our idea," says Erik.
  
  Paula reaches over and takes the closest goblet. Its bespectacled owner pretends he doesn't notice. She takes a sip and then spits it out, luckily away from you. "A white? With duck, Erik?"
  
  Erik grimaces. "They were out of--"
  
  He stops suddenly, seeing Max in the doorway with a bottle of wine in each hand.
  
  > wait for a while
  Time passes.
  
  "Ah, sommelier," Paula waves him over, proving herself an improvisational genius. Max comes, his eyes stunned, and only squeaks a bit as she pulls the dusty bottles from his grasp.
  
  She sets one on the table and reads the label on the other. Max backs away towards the door, and then makes a break for it, his backpack clinking with other bottles.
  
  > Wait
  Time passes.
  
  "Ah -- a pinot noir," she says, uncorking it with surprising ease. "That's suitable for duck."
  
  She goes around the table, picking up a goblet still full of wine. "What's the point in doing something --" throws the white wine onto the floor, "-- if you're not going to go all the way with it?" She fills the goblet and bangs it down onto the table, sloshing red, and the candelabra sways a bit. The light in the room sways too.
  
  > take the wine
  (the bottle of white wine)
  
  Taken.
  
  "The rules are the least interesting part of this," Erik snaps back. "You always take things too far."
  
  The dreadlocked man gulps down his white and holds it up for Paula, who overfills it. "Whoops, I guess I do. I guess it's why you kicked me out of the freak clique, huh?"
  
  > give the wine to Ryan
  (the bottle of white wine to Ryan the Bard)
  For some reason, this feels like a significant choice. Any of your friends would like the wine. Are you sure? (Y/N)
  
  > Y.
  "Wicked!!!! Let's get wasted!" Ryan whispers. You arrange to meet tonight in the usual place.
  
  ***Ryan the Bard has joined your party.***
  
  Type LOGOUT to continue.
  
  > Logout
  ***DISCONNECTED***
  
  You start smelling the burned Manor from the forest. Guilt and excitement compete in your belly as you emerge...
  
  The ring of brush is blackened. The Manor's roof is caved in, beaten to its knees by the firehose water. They must have gotten here quickly as there's good chunks of the eastern wing that are mostly intact.
  
  The portico is wrapped in that yellow police tape that you've only seen in cop shows.
  
  To the northeast is the coachhouse, tonight's rendezvous spot.
  
  > go north
  Wisely, your instincts refuse to let you return to the scene of the crime.
  
  > Go northeast
  The double doors are large enough to drive a horse and carriage into, but one of them is missing, leaving an entryway to the north.
  
  The small structure seems to have far enough away to have been spared the fire.
  
  > go north
  There's a significant hole in the roof that lets in enough light to look around. The moonlight gives everything an unearthly hue.
  
  You can see Ryan the Bard here.
  
  Ryan jumps a bit as he sees you. You lift the bottle of wine. "Nice! I got some jungle juice to put us over the top," he says, pulling a soda bottle out. "And some pretzels!"
  
  You hunker down on the floor and start to work on the cork.
  
  That night you develop a lifetime hatred of gin and a renewed faith in your friendship with Ryan. At school he'd become a bit evasive lately, but you find out how hard he's trying to fit in. It's something you don't care about, but it explains why he acts so weird in class sometimes.
  
  Ten years later you're on tour together and in a convenience store in Detroit. Ryan finds a bottle of the same stuff. You lift it & some pretzels and drink it in a squat later that night, laughing about your....
  
  Click here to play again.
  debugcheapnitfol quit with exit status: 0
  
  > take bottle
  (the bottle of white wine)
  
  Taken.
  
  "Ah -- a pinot noir," she says, uncorking it with surprising ease. "That's suitable for duck."
  
  She goes around the table, picking up a goblet still full of wine. "What's the point in doing something --" throws the white wine onto the floor, "-- if you're not going to go all the way with it?" She fills the goblet and bangs it down onto the table, sloshing red, and the candelabra sways a bit. The light in the room sways too.
  
  > wait awhile
  Time passes.
  
  "The rules are the least interesting part of this," Erik snaps back. "You always take things too far."
  
  The dreadlocked man gulps down his white and holds it up for Paula, who overfills it. "Whoops, I guess I do. I guess it's why you kicked me out of the freak clique, huh?"
  
  > give the wine to Harry
  (the bottle of white wine to Harry the Barbarian)
  You're about to when Harry opens his big mouth again.
  
  "Here: COPS DON'T SUSPECT ARSON" says Harry.
  
  Maximus lifts his staff and Harry vanishes.
  
  Paula rolls her eyes.
  
  "Long time no see" says Chris.
  
  > give the wine to Maximus
  (the bottle of white wine to Maximus the Cleric)
  For some reason, this feels like a significant choice. Any of your friends would like the wine. Are you sure? (Y/N)
  
  > Y.
  "Splendid! I presumed that lost in the... accident," whispers Maximus. You arrange to meet tonight.
  
  ***Maximus the Cleric has joined your party.***
  
  Type LOGOUT to continue.
  
  > Go north
  There's a significant hole in the roof that lets in enough light to look around. The moonlight gives everything an unearthly hue.
  
  You can see Maximus the Cleric here.
  
  Maximus is reading a book that he puts away when you arrive. You recognize it from the cover art. "Looking forward to the second edition?"
  
  Maximus' nostrils flare. "Actually, I'm not." He raps the book inside his backpack. "The Dungeon Masters Guide is pretty much the definitive edition. It's held me well for a decade, and I have no intention of changing."
  
  You nod soberly and show him the wine. "Ah," he says, taking out a satchel and removing some money from it. He gives you eight dollars. "10% of the anticipated retail value," he says. He puts it in his backpack, nods to you, and leaves the coachhouse.
  
  You can't decide if you're disappointed or relieved not to be drinking with Maximus.
  
  Five years later, you're on campus going between classes. You see Maximus walking towards you, earnestly talking to a guy your age about something called a hedge fund. He sees you seeing him, but he averts his eyes, and soon the two of them disappear into the School of Business. You check the wallet you snagged on the way by and confirm that it's him. It's funny, because of all of you, he seemed most likely to be a lifer... but it seems that Maximus the Cleric now disavows your...
  
  Click here to play again.