The snow no longer crunched under their boots as they walked. In the last few days the air had warmed toward spring bringing heat, longer days and piles of slush across the old roads.
[[Johnson groaned loudly as the unit came to a halt. Again.->StopNeg]]
[[Johnson shifted uncomfortably as the unit came to a halt.->StopPos]]
(set: $morale to 10)
The journey to the village had been slow. From unexplained daily delays in starting from camp to the endless bureaucracy of the supply train. It was all he could do to stop another sigh leaving his lips as two men set off the road to find shelter for the night.
(set: $morale to it - 1)
[[The snow covered trees has been beautiful at first.->LandNeg]]
[[The land was still beautiful. If cold and unforgiving.->LandPos]]
The march to the village has been delayed more than usual. Changing orders making the trip difficult but the Sergeant always worked to keep the men comfortable. Never pushing through the night if they could help it. Johnson relaxed as he saw two men leave the road. The nightly search for shelter beginning. The Sergeant was paranoid of traps in the country supposedly set by locals set on revenge. A month into the trek and they had yet to find even a whisper to back his theories.
(set: $morale to it + 1)
[[The snow covered trees had been beautiful at first. ->LandNeg]]
[[The land was still beautiful. If cold and unforgiving.->LandPos]]But as the weather warmed the water falling from the branches became a constant nuisance. Water had found its way into everything Johnson owned. His letters from home were ruined. His notebook was a sodden mess. The fragments of songs he meticulously wrote down barely distinguishable from the margins.
(set: $morale to it - 1)
(link:"They were gone forever, like so many he knew.")[(set: $morale to it - 1)(goto:"Arrive")]
(link:"He didn’t envy starting his works again.")[(set: $morale to it + 1)(goto:"Arrive")]
The sun still hung low in the sky throwing peaches and purples into the clouds every night. Even after hours of marching the unit often stayed up to watch the colours bleed across the skies. While Johnson missed the comforts of home the journey was almost worth it for the nightly displays. He often considered coming back. One day. In nicer times. To see the skies again. His notebook of songs had long succumbed to a sodden death in his backpack
(set: $morale to it + 1)
(link:"so he would have to wait to recall the land with music.")[(set: $morale to it + 1)(goto:"Arrive")]
(link:"so he may never know what inspiration it held.")[(set: $morale to it - 1)(goto:"Arrive")]The scouts returned and orders filtered back through the group. There was an abandoned school building a short walk into the forest down a dirt track.
The soldiers turned with practiced efficiency and marched to their shelter for the night.
[[Arriving at the schoolhouse they split into smaller groups and prepared for the long freezing night ahead.->Dialogue222]]
(set: $convo to 10)
(set: $setupScore to 0)
(if: $morale is 8 or $morale < 8)[(set:$setupScore to 1)]
(elseif: $morale is 10 or $morale is 9)[(set:$setupScore to 2)]
(else:)[(set:$setupScore to 3)]
(set: $selected to 0)
(set: $optionDisplay to "")
(set: $pryor to 0)
Johnson shrugged off his bag and dropped it to the floor
=><=
**Johnson**
|body>[ ]
|options1>[]
(display:"dialogue_ritz")
(append:?body)[
We're getting nowhere.
=><=
Pryor
(moving alongside Johnson)
<==>
(if: $setupScore is 1)[
We're about a day out. Maybe two.]
(else-if: $setupScore is 2)[
Shouldn't be far left.
](else:)[
Don't you enjoy our long morning walks?
]
]
(replace:?options1)[
]
(set: $convo to it - 1)(append:?body)[
Only a few more days.
=><=
Pryor
(moving alongside Johnson)
<==>
(if: $setupScore is 1)[
Yeah.]
(else-if: $setupScore is 2)[
Shouldn't be far left.](else:)[
Don't you enjoy our long morning walks?]
]
(replace:?options1)[
]
(set: $convo to it + 1)(append:?body)[
I always wanted to stay at the Ritz.
=><=
**Pryor**
(moving alongside Johnson)
(if: $setupScore is 1)[Really.(set: $optionDisplay to "dialogue_ritz_Neg")]
(else-if: $setupScore is 2)[We really are blessed.(set: $optionDisplay to "dialogue_ritz_Neu")
](else:)[I hear sleeping on the floor is all the rage in Paris.
(set: $optionDisplay to "dialogue_ritz_Pos")]
]
(replace:?options1)[
(display: $optionDisplay)
]
(set: $notebook to 0)=><=
**Johnson**
Good for the back.
**Pryor**
Promotes weight loss.
**Johnson**
Healthier skin.
**Pryor**
Longer life.
**Johnson**
(sliding to the ground)
That's it then. I'm never getting up.
**Pryor**
I stayed at a Hilton once.
**Johnson**
Did it live up to this place?
**Pryor**
Not a chance.
[[(beat)->dialogue_ritz_cont_1]]
(set:$notepad to 1)=><=
**Johnson**
Better than the last place.
**Pryor**
Yeah.
**Johnson**
How long until-
**Pryor**
Soon.
[[(beat)->ritz_Neg2]]
=><=
**Johnson**
Better than the last place.
**Pryor**
Not by much.
**Johnson**
By a wall at least.
**Pryor**
Yeah.
**Johnson**
Think there's far left?
**Pryor**
Serg was saying a day max.
**Johnson**
It'll be good to get home. Move on to bigger and better things.
**Pryor**
Or back to the same as always.
**Johnson**
(shrugging)
Maybe.
[[(beat)->ritz_PSleep]]
=><=
**Johnson**
Did you really?
**Pryor**
With Jane. For our anniversary.
**Johnson**
(silent)
**Pryor**
<=====>
Her parents paid for it. It was a surprise when I went home the first time. Only got to stay one night by the time the new orders came in. But it was worth it. The entrance hall was bigger than our house, marble everywhere, and a giant piano to the side. Some poor bastard playing Christmas songs for hours while everyone ignored him.
=><=
**Johnson**
(laughing)
<=====>
I played the piano in a hotel once. Not a Hilton. I didn’t look the part for them. But for a smaller one downtown. The pay isn’t bad and good tips. Even for terrible Christmas songs.
=><=
**Pryor**
<=====>
Will you go back to it when this is done?
=><=
**Johnson**
<=====>
I’m hoping for bigger and better after all this. Think we deserve that at least.
=><=
**Pryor**
<=====>
I don’t know about deserve but bigger and better sounds good.
=><=
**Johnson**
<=====>
You never know, when we get back you might get to spend two nights in a Hilton on Jane’s parents.
<======
(display: "end_dialogue")
(set: $pryor to 1)(set: $ritz to 1)Behind the school stood a small shed. Cracked paint showing the remnants of attempts to make it child friendly. A bright sun once smiled down from the wall but the peeling paint and weather worn wood left it grimacing at passersby.
An upright piano slouched against the wall. The lacquer shrivelled and peeling against the harsh weather. The fallboard open but lying askew against the front.
The (if: $pryor is 1)[three](else:)[two] soldiers stood in silence. The last moments of light casting long shadows across the school. Drawing the dark instrument back into the crumbling wall behind it.
=><=
**O'Neill**
It looks pretty good for what it's been through
<==
[[Johnson moved towards the piano. ->Piano_J]]
(link:"Johnson stepped back from the piano.")[(if:$pryor is 1)[(goto: "Piano_P")](else:)[(goto:"Piano_O")])]<======
One of the scouts, O'Neill, walked into the room. His face flushing as some heat returned to his body. Quickly checking over his shoulder he strode across the open space and hunched down beside them. Grabbing his flask from his pack he opened and drank before turning to Johnson.
=><=
**O'Neill**
[[Serg is on a warpath about it but you'll never guess what we found out back.->Part3]]
=><=
|optionsRitz>[
|ritz_really>[Did you really?]
|ritz_sleep>[Time to hit the hay]
]
(Click: ?ritz_really)[(display:"ritz_really")]
(Click: ?ritz_sleep)[(display:"ritz_sleep")]
=><=
**Johnson**
Another day of slush tomorrow.
<=====
Pryor grunted his agreement and, using his backpack as a pillow, settled to sleep. One hand lying on the handle of knife on his leg, the other shielding his eyes from the last tendrils of light.
Johnson, still sitting, pulled his pack to him and rooted through the contents. (set: $notebook to 0)
(display: "end_dialogue")
Pryor eased himself to the floor, slipping his backpack off and placing it by the wall. Taking a flask from his pack he settled to a cold dinner.
Johnson sat opposite him and pulled his pack to his lap. After a moment he pulled out his battered notebook.
The leather cover held the mess of pages together but the ink had run leaving smears of blue where once there had been notes.
Gingerly he tried to open the first page, the paper nearly tearing in his hands. Each page was like the last. Damp and useless.
Sighing, Johnson carefully closed the notebook and returned it to his pack. He opened it each night. More from ritual than use, it had been ruined weeks back, but every night he tried to salvage something.
[[Reaching into his pack Johnson pulled his flask out.->end_dialogue]]
(set: $pryor to 1)==>
Johnson shrugged off his bag and dropped it to the floor
=><=
Johnson
<==>
|body>[ ]
|options1>[|nowhere>[We're getting nowhere.]
|few>[Only a few more days.]
|ritz>[I always wanted to stay at the Ritz.]
]
(Click: ?nowhere)[(display:"dialogue_nowhere")]
(Click: ?few)[(display:"dialogue_few")]
(Click: ?ritz)[(display:"dialogue_ritz")]
<==
Pryor dropped his pack to the floor and hunched beside it carefully angling his body from Johnson.
Sighing in exasperation, Johnson swung his pack off and dropped to the ground. Pulling open the zip and digging through his pack from his notepad. His grasping fingers finally touched the leather of its cover. Pulling his arm back quickly the contents of his pack dislodged, some falling to the floor.
=><=
**Johnson**
Fuck.
Can't even get proper bags. This is a fucking joke.
<==
Pryor looked over, taking in the pack and contents lying on the ground. He grunted in digust and moved his own bag to the wall. Lying down with his back to Johnson and one hand on the knife strapped to his leg he settled down to sleep.
(display: "end_dialogue")
The ashes and debris floating peacefully like snow to the ground. Slowly picking his was through the uneven ground until he stood before it. He ran his hand over the top. The wood smooth and cool under his hand.
[[He reached for the keys. ->keys_J]]
(link:"He snapped his hand back.")[(if: $pryor is 1)[(goto:"return_JP")](else:)[(goto:"return_J")]]=><=
**Johnson**
It's a load of junk by the looks of it.
**O'Neill**
Most of the keys are still there. You could get something out of it.
**Johnson**
Serg is right, we shouldn't be messing around.
**O'Neill**
(shrugging)
Thought you'd like it is all.
<==
[[Johnson nodded silently before leading the younger man back towards the school.->back_JO]]
=><=
**Pryor**
Aren't you gonna play us a song?
**Johnson**
(shaking his head)
Never know what's in something that size. Sarg is right. We shouldn't mess with it.
**Pryor**
Serg is paranoid.
**O'Neill**
You can say that again.
**Johnson**
(smiling)
Even paranoids have enemies. Let's go.
<==
Johnson trudged back towards the school house. Leaving the piano tore at him but it wasn't worth the risk. This world without music felt empty and cold but at least it was a world and they lived in it.
[[Johnson glanced back expecting to see the others behind him.->pressed_P]]The cracked ivory holding the potential for greatness. For melodies and symphonies to wake any emotion and pull it to the fore.
=><=
(if:$pryor is 1)[**Pryor**](else:)[**O'Neill**]
(if:$pryor is 1)[Going to play us some carols?](else:)[Can you play?]
<==
Johnson smiled to himself. Relaxing for the first time in weeks at the small reminder of home. He flexed his fingers, found middle-C and
[[pressed.->pressed]]
(link:"stopped.")[(if: $pryor is 1)[(goto:"return_JP")](else:)[(goto:"return_J")]]The explosion rang out. Bursting through the already buckled shed wall and filling the space before being absorbed by the surrounding trees.
As the crashing stopped, sounds of booted feet running and yelled commands floated to the new clearing. The ashes and debris floating peacefully like snow to the ground.
He snapped his hand back, holding it aloft, away from the keys. Turning, he walked back to O'Neill and stopped.
=><=
**Johnson**
Sarg is right, we shouldn't be messing around.
**O'Neill**
(shrugging)
Thought you'd like it is all
<==
[[Johnson nodded silently before leading the younger man back towards the school.->back_JO]]
=><=
**Johnson**
No.
<==
He snapped his hand back, holding it aloft, away from the keys. Turning, he walked back to the others and stopped.
=><=
**Johnson**
Wait til we get home. Then I'll show you what a real piano can do.
<==
Pryor looked at him for a moment before striding towards the piano. Dramatically stretching his hands in front of him flexing his fingers
=><=
**Pryor**
Amateur
<==
**Johnson**
[[(laughs)->pressed]]
[[Quit it, Pryor.->pressed]]
The sun had fully set when they returned. Moving back beside Pryor, Johnson slipped to the ground, pulled his pack to him and retrieved his notebook (if: $notebook is 1)[again.](else:)[.] The mission had taken nearly twice as long as expected to get here and his body ached. Both from the exercise he was unaccustomed to and the loss. The loss of his friends, his family, his job. The loss of his music. What had always been a lifeline in times of stress and doubt.
[[Slowly he peeled the pages of the notebook apart ->positive_J]]
[[He tossed the notebook to the ground. ->leftBehind_J]]page after page tearing and falling as the sun slowly rose again.
A murmur ran through the unit announcing the start of another day. Johnson smiled and relaxed for the first time in weeks. At the centre of the notebook were a handful of surviving pages. Though they were damp the ink hadn't run.
Pulling his exhausted body up he joined the other men. Now it was nothing more than a symbol of a lost life. Something that he could never return to.
Settling down to sleep he pushed thought of home from his mind instead focusing on the task ahead.
It was all he had left. An explosion rang out. The sound forcing Johnson to his knees. The trees took most of the blast, muffling the noise and stopping debris. Jumping back to his feet he ran to the shed.
Where it had stood was now a clearing filled with smouldering wood and collapsing walls. Nothing living except the fire.
The sound of booted feet reached him as he stumbled towards the remains of the shed. The ashes and debris floating peacefully like snow to the ground around him.
=><=
**Johnson**
[[Did you really?->ritz_really]]
[[Looks about time to hit the hay.->ritz_sleep]]