You have come to New Bedford MA, via a frozen fish train, and have no been here long, why did you come? Because eveyone like you comes here. Why else? Something drew you here.

While hanging out at the SRTA (Southeartern Regional Transit Authority) Bus Terminal, you picked up the latest copy of The Standard Times, ( http://www.s-t.com/ )affectionately known as the Sub-Standard Times by the locals. There is a story about a local billionare giving away his fortune in a contest. You decide to enter. You recieve a letter about 3 weeks later a the local shelter you are staying at, Market Ministies.

Mr. Doe,

It is the distinct pleasure of Dr. Phineus World to invite you to a formal party on (weekend date for the coming weekend), at his estate, Ry'leth Manor. RSVPs are required (Information about RSVP'ing follows you are to call). The purpose of the praty is for Mr. World to choose his heir. It is invitation only. We expect you there.

Best Regards
Ceril E. O'Leary, esq.

Well this was unexpected . . .

Pete folds the letter as small as he can and tucks it deep into his boxers so that nobody steals it from him. He then sets out to find the mansion. A glowing smile crosses his face as he ponders the prospect of actually having money.

The address is fairly easy to find, though it is in a very ritzy suburb. There is no busline directly there, and would be a 10 mile walk from the nearest bustop.

Pete checks his pockets, he finds a dime, a bubblegum wrapper with a partially chewed piece of gum in it(save that for later), some string, and a rather impressive collection of lint. He decides to make the trek on foot, having no other real option, but tries his hand at hitchiking to shorten the distance. He pays careful attention not to do so if he sees any police, thinking that spending the night in jail would put a serious damper on any future plans of fame and fortune.

You begin to walk in the direction of the house, wagging you thumb at traffic. It takes about a hour and a half (you have quickly found out that few in the Northeast really care), but finally a woman in a mini van pulls over.

"Do you need any help?" she asks.

Pete smiles and tries to turn on the charm, removing his hat and holding it over his heart like he'd seen in the old black and white movies at the shelters,"You're an angel, my dear. I'm trying to make it to [Insert address here]. These tired old bones would very much appreciate any help you could offer. I won't burden you for the entire length of the trip, but if you could let an old soul ride with you as far in that direction as you're going then I would be most grateful."

"Of course" You get in and she takes the 15 minute drive to said address, and drops you off at the gated driveway entrance. She hands you a twenty and a business card as she drives off. "Don't spend it all in one place".

Pete tips his hat kindly towards the lady,"You, my dear, are an angel." After she drives away he tucks the money into the front of his boxers next to the letter, for safe keeping, and reads the business card before placing it in the same place. He then approaches the gates and surveys the scene.

It is a large wooded lot, surrounde by a 8 foot brick wall. There is a gate at the entrance of the driveway, and a call box.

In an effort to speed this up (you are the only one who is behind the others), we will fast forward a bit.

You speak with a man on the box and RSVP. He informs you that the party is on Saturday at 7PM, it is formal, and bring your invitation. You leave and spend the remainder of the week, being Pete. You do remember to go to the local Salavation Army and get a suit.

It is now Saturday just before you leave for the party. What are you bringing? I will also assume you are taking a taxi there. Also is there any research you wanted to do during the week?

(Futher speeding up of the thread. PM what you are bringing).

The taxi drives off from the shelter and takes you into a very rich part of the area. You get within a mile of the mansion and unlike Monday the streets are crowded with onlookers, police, and media.

The taxi turns down the long driveway and both sides are lined with media tricks. Flashbulbs immediatley go off, and you almost drift off into war flashbacks, but you manage to hold it together. The taxi stop by a well dressed man, who opens you door. You get out and the man begins leading you to the front door, when you are beset upon by hordes of microphone carrying reporters, you hold it together and push your way to the front door. Your usher leads you into a huge foyer and takes you through a left door into a large library where a dozen other contestants are, and several Butlers. The large grandfather clock strikes 7PM and you enter:

(you will now be posting in thread until futher notice: http://invisionfree.com/forums/Cartoon_Orb...opic=7420&st=0)

You wake up in a dark 10 x 10' room, on a bed. You are dressed in a Black T-Shirt, camouflaged cargo pants, and military style boots. There is a back pack at the base of the bed. There is a door, directly across form the bed, with a large manilla envelope tacked to it.

(Oh by the way, you can raise you level)

Pete rises slowly, scanning the room as he does so. He immediately notices the change in his attire. He immediately rummages through his boxers to see if his 'treasures' have been taken as well.

You have no boxers, just a set of compression shorts.

Having a minor momment of sadness over the loss of his 'treasures' Pete rises from the bed and looks over the room. He apprehensively approaches the backpack and rummages through it's contents, making a careful mental inventory. He then approaches the envelope on the door, retrieves it, and returns to his bed. He gets comfortable and then opens the envelope to discover it's contents.

[OOC] Does the door have some kind of small portal window or is it solid? [OOC]

The envelope contains a letter, which reads:
Dear Contestant;

The Contest begins now in Earnest. You are on a island. Somwhere on this island is a cell phone. The first contestant to reach the cell phone and dial 9, will be the winner of the contest. Good Luck and Godspeed

The back pack contains the following:
- A Maglite (Large Black Steel Flashlight like police carry)
- A Gerber Multi-tool and case (Pliers, several screwdrivers, a knife, saw, can opener, and bottle open, in one tool)
- 20 Power Bars
- A full 1 gal Canteen
- A bottle of Water Purification Pills
- A Pen
- A Small Pad
- A wind/water resistant fleece lined jacket (Camouflage)
- Water resitant gloves
- Compass
- Watch (it is 3:00AM)

. There is no windows.

Pete repacks the backpack and throws both straps over his right shoulder. He then approaches the door and attempts to open it.

If Successful(In the interst of time and such)
Pete leans his head out the door and takes several momments to scan the outside of the room, while safely remaining in the room.

If Failure
Pete examines the door. He checks it's makeup, doornob style, if it has a winsow, and it's hinge system to try to figure out a way to open it.

[OOC] I know my limited forum time recently has been slowing this down a little, so I thought I would leave the options this time so I could get more accomplished in your storyline and try to make some kind of dent in catching up. BTW, if I am taking the suggested amount of actions and someone is living on this forum and taking an action every single time you reply, won't they find basically win? Or do you have a time system I shouldn't ask about in place? ;) [OOC]

(That is fine, I can just adjust what you will not accomplish)

The door is unlocked. You peek out the door and see dark woods, within you entire sight range. The room it self is very recently made, from sheet rock and tin.

Pete scans the area thoroughly(perception check), paying particular attention for any light sources or other man made constructs in his immediate area(cause it's still dark).

There are no man made lights

Pete checks the phase of the moon and level of lighting for this time of night and time of year.

It is normal for 3:00 AM 11/14/04

Pete decides it's a nice enough night for a stroll so he looks to the heavens and picks the brightest star he can find, remembering from Christmas Specials that the brightest star is the North Star. He then starts heading off in that direction.

You delve off into the woods, which are fairly thick, but you being used to situation like this make some pretty good distance. A hour passes quickly, and you continue walking Northerly following the stair. You come upon a brook. It is shallow and maybe 5' wide. Something catches your eye under the water, slightly glinting off the moonlight.

Pete removes his shoes and socks, ties the laces together, and throws them over his shoulder. He then wades into the water to explore the which has caught his eye.

You wade into the water, it is only about ankle deep, while cool, it is warmer than the air temperature, whcih is about 50 degrees. Your reach under the water and move around the muck. You find handle.

[OOC] Ok, I'll bite. ;) [OOC]

Pete bears down and pulls on the handle.

You pull, very hard, and a small metal box pops out of the river bed. You manage to keep you balance. The box is balck, and has a clasp, and looks waterproof. The handle is in it's center.

Pete returns to the dock with his new treasure, has a seat, and opens the box.

You sit back down on the wooded shore, and turn the lock, open the clasp, and open the box with a pop. There is a old book in there. It is written in an Asian language.

Pete curiously scans the book for pictures and such that may give him some clue as to what it is, exactly, that he has found.

[OOC] Black Friday Shopping is a hoot... :lol: [OOC]

There are pictures toward the back, less pictures more like symbols, nothing your recognize imediatley, but you do think they might have something to do with the occult and magic.

4:30AM 11/14/04

Pete, being a creature of habit, tucks the newfound book into the front of his pants for safe keeping. He then tucks the box into his backpack just in case it comes in handy later. He puts his shoes back on and continues aimlessly treking about the island, all the time keeping an eye out for any signs of light to focus on in his travels.

(same direction? North? or follow the river West to East?)

[OOC]Following the star he thinks is North. ;) [OOC]

You continue Northward for 2 more hours with out incident. The woods is still thick, but you make OK time. The Sun is now fully up, it is sligghtly foggy.

(7:00AM 11/14/04)

Pete attempts to find a patch of higher ground so he can better survey the surrounding area and decide with direction to continue in on his journey.

[OOC] yup, another perception check. :D [OOC]

The only option you see to that is climbing a tree.

Pete sizes up the tree. He weighs out the options carefully...and decides it's not worth the effort. Pete simply faces the direction of the sun and heads left(North still), thinking he'll eventually run out of island...he hopes.

You continue north for another hour, and soon the it has become pretty light out, though still foggy. You stop to rest and eat a power bar, when you notice something strange. You think you can see a roller coaster, of all things through the fog, anout 1/4 of a mile away.

(8:30AM 11/14/04)