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Thursday, Apr. 18, 2024

5:40pm EDT

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The Book of Masks (Abridged)

by Seuzz

Rated: GC · Book · Supernatural · #2183353

A high school student finds a grimoire that shows how to make magical disguises.

Author's Preface

The Book of Masks began as an interactive, and it still is one: "The Book of Masks"

. But at 3000+ chapters it sometimes scares newbies.

For this abridged edition I've collected certain key storylines and played them out in a straight line while dropping the chapter choices—which means no one has to worry about taking a wrong turn or getting lost. I've done my best to pick chapters that features key characters, conflicts, magical devices and plot types, to give you a feel for what's in the interactive, and what's important.

None of the storylines are complete, and they break off suddenly, leaping forward and backward in time to pick up places where different choices were made in other parts of the interactive. If you want to continue any storyline, there's an appendix at the end with links to places that continue the stories.

The Book of Masks
Prologue

THERE WAS A PENTAGRAM stamped onto its spine, but that's not why you stopped to stare at it. It wasn't the leather binding, either. You're barely interested in the stuff inside of books, let alone the stuff they're made out of.

No, it was the book's lustrous colors—the blood-scarlet of the cover and the gleaming gold of the pentagram—that caught your eye. Even then, it was only because red and gold are your high school colors. Mr. Walberg had his students out collecting a lot of junk for the school time capsule, and you were shopping for something to throw onto the pile.

And if the book had nothing to do with your high school, your home town, or the current year? So what? Time capsules are stupid.

It was sitting in the special collections cabinet of Arnholm's Used Books with a bunch of other rare and expensive items. The glass door was ajar, so you quietly pulled the book out for a closer look.

Intricate designs of golden thread were woven throughout the cover; the same anarchic, subtly shifting designs covered the title page and facing papers. Just looking at them made you dizzy. Whoever created them had masterfully conveyed the illusion of movement and alteration with his pen strokes. This was especially true of the stylized faces that gazed out serenely along the bottom of the title page: an old man, a young woman, a hale warrior, and a child. As you studied them, they seemed to shift ages and attitudes, so that the old man from a different angle became a double of the young woman, and the child aged into a crone.

So without even looking through the rest of the book you took it up to the front to ask about the price ...

Chapter One: "The Fake Book"

Other links

* "The Book of Masks Homepage"

: An update blog + quick links to recently added chapters.
* "The Book of Masks: Archives"

: A range of BoM storylines in interactive format, maintained for those without WdC accounts.

#98. The Fake Book
ID #952611 entered on February 21, 2019 at 9:31am

#97. Making a Mask
ID #952612 entered on February 21, 2019 at 9:34am

#96. A Conspiracy of Two
ID #952613 entered on February 21, 2019 at 9:36am

#95. You, Yourself, and Him
ID #952614 entered on February 21, 2019 at 9:35am

#94. The Two of You
ID #952615 entered on February 21, 2019 at 9:37am

#93. Where There's a Will
ID #952616 entered on February 21, 2019 at 9:38am

#92. A Life of Entrances and Exits
ID #952617 entered on February 21, 2019 at 9:39am

#91. A Day in Another's Shoes
ID #952618 entered on February 21, 2019 at 9:40am

#90. The Promise of Coffee, the Perils of Lunch
ID #952619 entered on February 21, 2019 at 9:40am

#89. Brief Encounters
ID #952620 entered on February 21, 2019 at 9:41am

#88. Double Dates
ID #952621 entered on February 21, 2019 at 9:41am

#87. People Have Inhibitions for a Reason, You Know
ID #952622 entered on February 21, 2019 at 9:57am

#86. The Solo Magician
ID #952623 entered on February 21, 2019 at 9:57am

#85. Myself, the Guinea Pig
ID #952624 entered on February 21, 2019 at 9:58am

#84. The High Cost of Scientific Advance
ID #952625 entered on February 21, 2019 at 9:58am

#83. Dead Ends
ID #952626 entered on February 21, 2019 at 9:51am

#82. The New Job
ID #952627 entered on February 21, 2019 at 9:51am

#81. The Boy With Two Brains
ID #952628 entered on February 21, 2019 at 9:52am

#80. A Change of Persona
ID #952629 entered on February 21, 2019 at 9:52am

#79. Inside the Actors' Studio
ID #952630 entered on February 21, 2019 at 9:54am

#78. Another Personality Takes the Stage
ID #952832 entered on February 23, 2019 at 11:03am

#77. In Which You Try to Wash Your Hands of It All
ID #952833 entered on February 22, 2019 at 9:03pm

#76. School Haze
ID #952834 entered on February 22, 2019 at 9:05pm

#75. Crap to the Future
ID #952835 entered on February 22, 2019 at 9:06pm

#74. Attempted Recoveries
ID #952836 entered on February 22, 2019 at 9:06pm

#73. The Replacements
ID #952837 entered on February 22, 2019 at 9:06pm

#72. A Game of Doubles
ID #952838 entered on February 22, 2019 at 9:06pm

#71. People Who Aren't There
ID #952839 entered on February 22, 2019 at 9:06pm

#70. Kooky Kapers
ID #952840 entered on February 22, 2019 at 9:07pm

#69. Paranoia and Paranormality
ID #952841 entered on February 22, 2019 at 9:07pm

#68. A Sense of Cindy
ID #952842 entered on February 22, 2019 at 9:08pm

#67. The Biggest Secret in the School
ID #952843 entered on February 22, 2019 at 9:07pm

#66. My Friend, the Guinea Pig
ID #952862 entered on February 22, 2019 at 11:50pm

#65. Concussing Caleb
ID #952861 entered on February 22, 2019 at 11:50pm

#64. The High Cost of Scientific Advance
ID #952860 entered on February 22, 2019 at 11:50pm

#63. Thefts, Identity and Otherwise
ID #952859 entered on February 22, 2019 at 11:49pm

#62. I'm My Own Best Friend!
ID #952858 entered on February 22, 2019 at 11:49pm

#61. The Phony Party Crasher
ID #952857 entered on February 22, 2019 at 11:49pm

#60. Hangover for an Absent Party Crasher
ID #952856 entered on February 22, 2019 at 11:49pm

#59. The Graveyard Thief
ID #952855 entered on February 22, 2019 at 11:49pm

#58. A Plot Twist for Caleb Johansson
ID #952958 entered on February 23, 2019 at 12:53pm

#57. A Friendship Is Renewed, Sort Of
ID #952870 entered on February 23, 2019 at 1:24am

#56. An Ambush in the Dark
ID #952873 entered on February 23, 2019 at 1:26am

#55. More Mask Fun
ID #952874 entered on February 23, 2019 at 1:26am

#54. A Game and a Garner
ID #952876 entered on February 23, 2019 at 1:26am

#53. Banking on Your New Disguise
ID #952878 entered on February 23, 2019 at 1:26am

#52. The First Day of the Rest of the Project
ID #952879 entered on February 23, 2019 at 1:26am

#51. The Drama Hits the Fan
ID #952880 entered on February 23, 2019 at 1:27am

#50. Clone Show
ID #952881 entered on February 23, 2019 at 1:27am

#49. Send in the Clone
ID #952882 entered on February 23, 2019 at 1:27am

#48. A Company of Three
ID #952883 entered on February 23, 2019 at 1:57am

#47. Bully Sessions
ID #952884 entered on February 23, 2019 at 1:57am

#46. Whose Bully Stinks the Most?
ID #952885 entered on February 23, 2019 at 1:58am

#45. Things Best Left Buried
ID #952886 entered on February 23, 2019 at 1:59am

#44. The Precessionary Times-Picayune
ID #952887 entered on February 23, 2019 at 2:01am

#43. An Unusual Burglary
ID #952889 entered on February 23, 2019 at 2:22am

#42. Caleb as Conspirator
ID #952908 entered on February 23, 2019 at 11:55am

#41. Daddy Issues
ID #952909 entered on February 23, 2019 at 11:55am

#40. Surprise Package
ID #952917 entered on February 23, 2019 at 11:56am

#39. A Temporary Twin
ID #952910 entered on February 23, 2019 at 11:56am

#38. Disaster for Dad
ID #952911 entered on February 23, 2019 at 11:56am

#37. A Dad's-Eye View
ID #952914 entered on February 23, 2019 at 11:57am

#36. Fathers and Sons
ID #952915 entered on February 23, 2019 at 11:57am

#35. The Life of a Dad
ID #952916 entered on February 23, 2019 at 11:57am

#34. Odd Man Out
ID #952918 entered on February 23, 2019 at 11:58am

#33. New Friends
ID #952919 entered on February 23, 2019 at 11:58am

#32. A New You
ID #952920 entered on February 23, 2019 at 11:59am

#31. A New Life
ID #952921 entered on February 23, 2019 at 11:59am

#30. Gym Rats
ID #952922 entered on February 23, 2019 at 11:59am

#29. The Crises of Cameron Huber
ID #952923 entered on February 23, 2019 at 12:00pm

#28. James Lamont Joins a Team
ID #952924 entered on February 23, 2019 at 12:00pm

#27. Live From the Lamont
ID #952925 entered on February 23, 2019 at 12:00pm

#26. A Tree House Conference
ID #952926 entered on February 23, 2019 at 12:01pm

#25. Caleb vs. Carson
ID #952927 entered on February 23, 2019 at 12:01pm

#24. Reflections on a Plot Thus Far
ID #952928 entered on February 23, 2019 at 12:02pm

#23. A Visit to Professor Blackwell
ID #952929 entered on February 23, 2019 at 12:02pm

#22. A Raid on Blackwell's
ID #952930 entered on February 23, 2019 at 12:02pm

#21. A Cry for Help
ID #952931 entered on February 23, 2019 at 12:03pm

#20. Into the Book
ID #952932 entered on February 23, 2019 at 12:03pm

#19. The Return of Gordon Black
ID #952933 entered on February 23, 2019 at 12:04pm

#18. Lessons on the Sly
ID #952934 entered on February 23, 2019 at 12:04pm

#17. Confusions, Confessions, Temptations
ID #952935 entered on February 23, 2019 at 12:04pm

#16. Chelsea's Special Touch
ID #952936 entered on February 23, 2019 at 12:05pm

#15. Taming a Terror
ID #952937 entered on February 23, 2019 at 12:05pm

#14. The Desperate Collector
ID #952938 entered on February 23, 2019 at 12:06pm

#13. A Slippery Sale
ID #952939 entered on February 23, 2019 at 12:07pm

#12. The Magician's House
ID #952940 entered on February 23, 2019 at 12:07pm

#11. The Bully Boy
ID #952941 entered on February 23, 2019 at 12:07pm

#10. Fear Strikes Out
ID #952942 entered on February 23, 2019 at 12:08pm

#9. The Metaphysics of Magic
ID #952943 entered on February 23, 2019 at 12:09pm

#8. The Ones Who Would Be Magicians
ID #952944 entered on February 23, 2019 at 12:09pm

#7. The Ambition of Will Prescott
ID #952945 entered on February 23, 2019 at 12:09pm

#6. The Making of the First Mask
ID #952946 entered on February 23, 2019 at 12:10pm

#5. The Big Double-You
ID #952947 entered on February 23, 2019 at 12:10pm

#4. Change of Address
ID #952948 entered on February 23, 2019 at 12:10pm

#3. The Vessel
ID #952949 entered on February 23, 2019 at 12:11pm

#2. Your Life as a Dog
ID #952950 entered on February 23, 2019 at 12:11pm

#1. Further Reading
ID #952951 entered on January 4, 2020 at 6:56pm

Printed from https://www.writing.com/main/books/item_id/2183353/action/archive