EP 500 – Story #4 – You are Bartly Jarvis.

Posted under Episode 500, Story On By Chief 

You are Bartly Jarvis. You're just a little baby

, but your mother and father are busy with important work in the laboratory. They left you alone for a few minutes, so they could check on the experiments. The two of you wander over to the window, and you see two figures heading towards the house: Drs. Van Horst and B


irotte. Your parents stop in front of the door. "Oh, my dear son, how adorable!" exclaims Dr. Van Horst. Dr. Birotte then picks you up and holds you in her arms as she speaks to your mother.


Dr Birotte hands you a comically heavy and comically large golden opus tier key.


 Your mother gasps at the sheer weight of this heavy key. "This is a golden opus tier key," she says in awe. "It weighs several thousand pounds."
You reach out to touch it and suddenly your hands pass right through its surface without actually touching it.


You are sucked into the key


hole, but before you go through it you see a tiny speck of light flashing on the other side.
The specks of light in the keyhole disappear behind you. You see two figures in the distance: Dr. Van Horst and Dr. Birotte.


Dr Van Horst explains that you are the chosen one and that


 he has brought you here to save the world. "Your parents have entrusted me with the task of giving you this golden opus tier key," he says. "It's been many years since they first met Dr. Birotte.


 They couldn't resist falling in love with her, and soon decided to start a family. Your father and I are so pleased to finally be able to meet you and welcome you into our family."
Dr.


 Birotte, now looking like an ordinary human being, smiles and extends her hand. "I am Dr. Birotte," she says, "the only daughter of the late Professor Birotte."


You explain to the doctors that you are a baby.


 "Can you put me down?" you ask. They do, and you toddle away, clutching the golden opus tier key.
"We have much to discuss," says Dr. Birotte.


You learn the key holds the following abilities:


Tier 1: The Opus Tier Key allows its bearer to transform into a monster or animal by speaking a secret incantation.
Tier 2: The Opus Tier Key lets its bearer change into any other person at will (an ability that can be used on itself).


You immediately grab the key and transform into a


 giant, four-legged dog with huge, powerful jaws. You chase after the two doctors as they flee out the front door.
As soon as you leave the laboratory you transform back into Bartly Jarvis, a cute little baby again.


The doctors warn you others will come after you to steal the key


 because it contains some kind of dangerous magic. But you have already decided that you must keep the key.
After you finish your bottle, you're ready for another nap.
You are in the cellar, with a door leading east and stairs leading to the second floor.


Francis Scott Key finds you and tries to steal the key.


 After a fierce struggle he throws the key at a wall, breaking it open. It falls on the ground, releasing a tiny, glowing sphere. Francis runs out of the room, leaving you to clean up the mess.


The sphere speaks to you. It says


 that it was trapped in the Opus Tier Key, but is free now.
It's an elemental sphere: a small floating globe of light with some sort of magical power within it.
The orb tells you that it would like to accompany you.


You name the orb


 "Tiny".
Dr. Van Horst is not pleased at the state of his laboratory, but Dr. Birotte claims it is "perfectly fine." She insists that the two of them start their experiments again, and she asks if Bartly could help them with the preparations.


You order Tiny to help the doctors


 pick up the glass shards and pieces of broken equipment lying around.
You are in the laboratory. You hear someone coming down the stairs.
"Hello there," says Francis Scott Key. He explains that he has been sent by his father to retrieve the golden opus tier key from you.


Your parents are unaware that Francis just tried to take the key from you by force.  You used the key to transform into famous Hollywood actor


 and director Humphrey Bogart, then chased him through the hallway and up the stairs, catching him in a fierce grapple hold.
You tell Francis that you will be more than happy to give him the key as long as he does not try to hurt you or steal the key away.


Francis refuses so you are forced to


 fight him.
After a long struggle you eventually manage to pin down Francis, and grab the key from his hand.
"I don't need the key," says Francis. "It was all just a stupid plot my father cooked up."


You realize you must meet with Francis' father and end this once and for all.


You head upstairs, still clutching the golden opus tier key. You find a door leading west.
You step through the door and find yourself in the living room of a normal middle-class house, where you hear someone come home.


You explain the situation to Francis' father and he says he will take care of punishing Francis by


 himself. "I am tired of watching my son get away with his foolish pranks," he says, and leaves.
You go into the kitchen to check on Tiny.
The orb appears to you.


Tiny says, "Don't trust the father." You chase after Francis' father and find him


 sitting at his desk working.
Dr. Birotte arrives.
Francis is delighted that the key has been returned, and is grateful to Dr. Birotte. The doctor warns him that it will take time for her and the other doctors to recover from their injuries, but


 she assures him they will soon be fine.
Dr. Birotte promises to do everything she can to help Francis develop into a well-rounded individual, while Dr. Van Horst insists that it would have been much easier if Bartly had not meddled.