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[notquitethere]

CHAPTER 1 - THE HUNT BEGINS

The midnight bell rings at St Giles as you watch a man disappear through the fog into a narrow alley. This is London, your city, and it's a damp summer in the year 1729. You're on the heels of Jack Cyrus, a carpenter's apprentice-turned-burglar. He stands accused of stealing a silver spoon and three rolls of linen from a client of his master. More crucially for your dwindling fortunes, the courts are offering the huge sum of forty pounds for his capture.

1. Chase after him down the alleyway.
2. Cut him off at Drury Lane.
3. Clamber up onto the roof.
4. Calmly stroll onwards.


It's a CYOA based on crime in 18th century London. Expect highwaymen, smugglers and the like. I'll pick whatever the majority choice is.

[baruk]

Cut him off at Drury lane.

[My Name is Immaterial]

Cut him off at Drury lane.

+1

[notquitethere]

You know where Jack's going to come out, so you dash off down a parallel alley, to catch him as he emerges on the other side. This part of the city has been steadily built up over the last sixty years, after being leveled by the Great Fire. The houses here are timbered with exposed brickwork. Through generations of extensions, each floor overhangs the one below, the buildings growing like clusters of misshapen mushrooms.

Did you bring anyone with you tonight?

1. I'm more of a solo agent.
2. One buff cove.
3. Two rum culls.
4. Three eager myrmidons.

[Wolfhunter107]

One buff cove.

[Persus13]

One buff cove.

This sounds best to me. +1

[notquitethere]

 More a hanger-on than a stalwart ally, it's still useful to have another pair of hands. He goes by the name of Tom Cony, and once, when you asked him if he could read, he said of course, and plucked a blade of grass and made it warble.

Although you are exhausted by the effort, you emerge right in front of Jack. He's a young man, with straw-yellow hair. Jack the Lad, the tavern patrons call him.

1."You've had a good run, but it's time to turn yourself in, Jack."
2."Congratulations, Jack. You're going to make me very rich."
3.Punch him in the face.
4.Restrain him with as much decorum as possible.

[Archangel]

I don't see much point giving him a chance to scarper by trying to talk, but he seems to me just a young lad who has made a mistake so straight violence wouldn't be right either (especially since there are two of us). Even though we've tired ourself out, I vote 4.Restrain him with as much decorum as possible.

[notquitethere]

There isn't a polite way to grab a man's arms and hold him down, but you make your best attempt at it. You reach out to grab his forearm, to pull it behind his back and restrain him. But he pulls his arm away and backs off.

"Not today, thief-taker," he shouts as he sprints across the lane, headlong into another alley. You head off after him.

Before we go on: are you a gentleman or lady thief-taker? Both men and women can receive payment for apprehending criminals, though the professional and political spheres are forbidden to women. A married woman forfeits her property to her husband; a married man must seek regular labour to secure a living for his family. You are unmarried, or perhaps widowed, and so can maintain your precarious independence.

1. I'm a fine fellow.
2. I'm a man, but not what you'd call a gentleman….
3. I'm a woman of independent wealth.
4. I'm a woman, but not a lady.
5. I'm a woman who lives disguised as a man.

[My Name is Immaterial]

2. I'm a man, but not what you'd call a gentleman…

[Archangel]

2. I'm a man, but not what you'd call a gentleman…

Hmm... Well, this is option has interesting potential, so I'll give it a +1.

[notquitethere]

Tonight is your first chase as thief-taker. You had a prior profession. It may have gifted you with oratory skills to convince others, or perhaps fleet-footedness to chase after thieves. Or an encyclopedic knowledge of London—or even a pugilistic streak to punch your way through problems.

1. I cried for the court, publicly announcing trial results and arrest warrants. I've always had a good way with words and can handle myself amongst the worst of the public.
2. I was a crimper, press-ganging the witless into the Navy. I could convince some; the rest I had to manhandle.
3. I found work as a foot post, couriering letters and parcels for a fee. My knowledge of the streets is good and my fitness even better.
4. I've lived off a family allowance. I received a formal education with plenty of time outdoors.

[overseer05-15]

3, seem like it'd be interesting.

[Persus13]

3, seem like it'd be interesting.

+1

[notquitethere]

Taking messages to and fro is thankless, but you get to meet a lot of people, and if it weren't for the contents of someone's letter, you wouldn't be on the chase tonight.

What is your first name?

Alexander.
Edward.
Francis.
John.
Hugh.
Obadiah.
Richard.
Stuart.
Tobias.
William.
Something else.


(I can add numbers to the choices if people want but folk seem OK with quoting lines.)