Ch.12b. Caught somewhere in time

[Philulhu]

Jim glanced at the tent but Barry and Anu had gone back inside. He said quietly, ”You’re not the only one. I’ve been on the big screen before but most of the others...” He shrugged and gave a wry smile. ”I think Georges and Barry fancy themselves as the new Rusoff and Corman but they just ain’t got the money behind them.”

”So, whereabouts in the States are you fellows from? And is that what they’re wearing there, nowadays?”

[Bullfrog]

"Arkham, Massachusetts; it's not a very large town, but it's my home just the same. You know how small towns are, when it comes to clothes: always behind the times." Lawrence explains, just now realizing that his group's choice of clothing probably stuck out like a sore thumb; that would have to be dealt with later, as there were more pressing matters to deal with now. He thumbs through the script, trying to get an idea of what this film is about.

[Mr. Handy]

"Maybe we should get more with the times and not be so old-fashioned," says William. "It is 1973, after all."

[Silver Priest]

Alex's eyes grow wide, and he appears shocked. He opens and closes his mouth a few times before giving a brief nod.

"Sometimes I feel I was born in a different time," He offers.

keeper, Can I have Alex make a san roll? I feel like he'd have trouble processing all of this.

[Philulhu]

OOC, If Alex is feeling the strain of the discovery that they have indeed travelled in time, then a SAN roll would be appropriate.

The script could only be described as a work in progress. Like the frontispiece, it was full of crossings-out and changes, but the story seemed to revolve around a character called Steve Parrish, a handsome young racing driver, and his girlfriend, reporter Jamie Stevens, who had been staying at a country house, left to them by Jamie’s father. He was a sorcerer - unknown to them - and when they find his spell book and Jamie wants to bring her beloved father back, things start to unravel quickly...

[Bullfrog]

Spoiler:

OOC, I think I'll throw a SAN roll at Lawrence, too; being hurled 43 years into the future is a bit much, even for a semi-experienced investigator like him.

SAN roll,https://orokos.com/roll/881755

Lawrence takes the news of just how far into the future he has travelled surprisingly well, in that he does not immediately begin to panic; experience has got a way of instilling (possibly false) confidence into a man.

"I'm not much of an expert on the making of movies, but this thing looks unfinished, and that's a bit worrying." Lawrence notes, still flipping through the script's pages; it seemed that three of the actors being from almost half a century ago would not be this film's greatest issue.

[Silver Priest]

san roll failed, [url=https://orokos.com/roll/881792]San 73[/url]: [u]1d100[/u] [b]86[/b]

[Philulhu]

”Are you ok?” Jim asked Alex. ”You’ve gone as white as a sheet. I know the script isn’t great, but surely it isn’t as bad as all that!” He laughed but there was an uneasy look in his eyes.

He glanced at Barry’s tent and nodded away to indicate that they should move out of earshot. Once clear of the tent, he dropped his usual bombast and said quietly. ”Between you and me, things haven’t been going well. One of the backers dropped out but things were too far gone to pull out. Filming has started but...” He shrugged. ”Georges is apparently on his way out here to try to rescue the situation. Frankly, I’m just hanging around until I get paid!”

At that point, Barry and Anu emerged from their tent. Barry eyed Jim suspiciously, wondering what they were talking about, but Jim gave him a winning smile and the bonhomie returned. ”Baz! Anu! Just bringing the new chaps up to speed! Looking forward to another day’s filming? Should be a good one!”

OOC, SAN loss is 1d4 if you failed your roll.

[Silver Priest]

San loss, [url=https://orokos.com/roll/881946]San loss[/url]: [u]1d4[/u] [b]1[/b]

"No, I'm fine. Just... my allergies are bad today." Alex asserts, recovering quickly. "I think the script has potential." He says, being nice. But his stare grows serious as Jim confides in them. "What sort of problems?" He asks. When the others emerge from the tent he also puts on a show of being in good spirits.

[Mr. Handy]

"Are we the only new people who have shown up, or are there others?" asks William.

[Philulhu]

”Later,” said Jim, through the side of his mouth, his grin fixed on Barry.

Barry approached the fire to warm himself while Anu passed eggs, bacon, sausages and tinned tomatoes to the two men by the fire so they could start breakfast. More people were starting the emerge from the tents and soon there was lively chatter going back and forth. As the food was served, Barry spoke up. ”Georges will be joining us later for some err... script edits,” he said, looking somewhat embarrassed. ”Obviously, there’s no point in filming at this stage, so the cast can take the morning off. Be back here at one ‘o’ clock.”

[Mr. Handy]

"Where is there to go around here?" asks William.

[Bullfrog]

"Preferably someplace we can eat; the journey here wasn't very pleasant, and we've not had a meal in a while." Lawrence adds, quite relieved to have some time off to do what he actually came here to do; never before had he been glad to be in a potentially delayed and questionably competent production, but he'd never been in a film before in the first place.

[Philulhu]

The two men by the fire looked mildly affronted at Lawrence’s suggestion that they might go somewhere to eat, given that they were about to start cooking breakfast. ”I hasn’t poisoned anyone yet!” grumbled one of them, to which a grinning Jim commented sotto voce, ”“Not for want of trying...!”

~ ~ ~

The cooked breakfast had turned out to be better than expected and there was plenty of it. Even Lawrence had had enough to eat. Once finished, Jim announced that he was going to nip into town and persuaded Barry to loan him the van that they had seen parked next to the house the day before. Barry had reluctantly agreed and soon Alex, Lawrence and William, with Jim at the wheel, found themselves bouncing along the road to the nearest town, which the road sign they passed identified as “Brichester (6 miles)”.

As he drove, Jim said, ”It’s a bit of a mess! I think Baz has bitten off more than he can chew. He wants to step up to the big league but hasn’t made a name for himself yet. One of the backers got jittery and pulled out and now he’s not sure he’s got the money for the special effects - it could look a bit shit without them!”

[Mr. Handy]

William pretends to ignore the profanity, wondering if everyone in the future curses like a sailor. He has to wonder if he'll have to put up with it all the time when he's an old man, but that would presume he gets home. If he doesn't, he won't have to wait until he gets old.

[Silver Priest]

"I see." Alex offers, wondering just how much he should tell the man and if he should reveal he's a police officer. But first he'd have to ask the others. "Is there any reason the backer got spooked?"

[Philulhu]

”You saw Georges’ script, didn’t you? The problem was, so did the backer!” laughed Jim, somewhat ironically. ”So I heard, he took one look at it and walked out, taking a chunk of the budget with him. Apparently Baz tried to talk him around, claiming that the fact that the script wasn’t finished wasn’t a concern, but the backer wasn’t buying it. Called them ‘unprofessional’ apparently!”

Jim shook his head. ”I mean, it’s not uncommon for the script to be changed during filming but everything else was in place so Baz and Georges decided the show must go on. Our leading lady has got another job starting soon - so it was film now or miss the slot and have to re-cast. She’s a bit of a corker and I reckon she’ll go far. She’s got a part in the next ‘Carry on’ film, apparently. If she does well in that, they’re hoping that’ll rub off on ours ... ...”

The van came around a corner to find a herd of cows blocking the road, with a couple of farmers trying to usher them into a field. Jim applied the brakes and the van coasted to a halt. He sat tapping his fingers on the steering wheel, waiting for the road to clear. ”So, is there anything you’re after in town?” he asked.

[Bullfrog]

"I can't blame the backer; I'm no businessman, but an unfinished script isn't what you'd want to see from something you're about to sink a wad of cash into." Lawrence plainly expresses, not very surprised by that turn of events; it was the actual film crew's problem, anyways, and there wasn't a whole lot this temporally displaced farmer could do about it.
"We don't really know what's around here, so we're relying on your judgement; I'd like to go someplace where we could have breakfast, or perhaps a library."

[Mr. Handy]

"Is there somewhere we can exchange our money?" asks William.

[Philulhu]

”A library? You guys certainly know how to party!” laughed Jim, looking over at Lawrence. ”I’m pretty sure I saw one the other day and there’s a bank as well, so you should be able to change some of your Yankee dollars!”

OOC, How much money are you wanting to exchange? I’ve got my index-linked currency converter on standby...