Outline for the first act "done."
In total, I hope the final product from these four chapters to be around 18,000 words. Hopefully it'll be enough to make a decent hook and lead in for the rest of the story. Too dark? Not strong enough? What do you guys think?
Spoiler:
1:1- Pan down from the sky to a small neighborhood inside of Rolle. Smoldering buildings blacken the sky as we see the ruins of the civil war. Enter Basil Thime resting under the shade of a live oak. He's busily scratching in his notepad until a disturbance catches his attention. He puts his book down and moves closer to hear the argument.
1:2- We see the White Cloaks for the first time. There are three of them. They march in wearing full war gear and raise hell at the food line, where people had been waiting to get their rations for the week. The White Cloaks push their way to the front of the line and get stopped halfway there but a ballsy settler. They square up as a shot rangs out. Basil runs for cover, the cloaked men flee.
1:3-Gunshots create chaos and disorder. The law shows up to try to muscle the city back into calm and orderly. It does not work. Two cops shove their way through the crowd and start taking the rations. Military shows up and declares martial law. Those that stay and fight die. The rest fall into subservience. Order is restored. Basil checks his watch and gets in the back of the line.
2:1- A soldier walks up to the line and notices Basil, pulling him out of the line. He walks Basil back towards the command tent, telling him how great a man Basil's father was. The soldier gives him extra rations from the command center and sends Basil on his way. A hungry peasant follows. Basil makes it halfway home when the man attacks, beating Basil and stealing all the food. Basil limps home empty handed.
2:2- Back at home, Basil's father expects the rations. When none come, he yells at Basil, who tries feebly to explain what happened. His father shrugs it off, dismissing him as weak and useless. There is an argument, Basil runs away, tears streaming from his eyes. He ends up back at the table, where the poor and war widows now scramble for table scraps. Basil talks with a veteran who knew his father.
2:3 - Set piece. The man served with Basil's father and tells him terrible things that happened. The walk takes them past some more ruins and Gallows Square, where a thief is still twitching. Basil notices the man has the mark of the traitor tattooed on his skin. An officer walks past and accuses the cripple of theft. Without a bribe, he is hauled off to prison. Basil is challenged again.
3:1 - Back home, he does not speak to his father, instead going right into his workshop. He plays with his clockwork machines and gets one to actually work. Satisified that he finally has had some success, he takes the miniature man on a test run through the town. His first stop is back to the square, where the robot steals some food from a bread shop. He bings it back to the war widows.
3:2 - A shadow approaches as the crowd gathers. A voice booms out and they all run to hiding. It's the White Cloaks again. They taunt Jake and steal his robot, breaking the machine on the cobblestone streets. They're not happy. Jake gets a beating. He throws two weak punches that are deflected and result in himi getting hit even harder. They threaten to kill him if he is caught helping these people again.
3:3 - The military shows up to clean up the mess. Jake is bruised, but not too badly hurt. They question him. We learn a bit of the history and the reason for the martial law. Jake agrees to help the military by testifying against the insurgents. He points the way and the military takes off chasing after the White Cloaks. Basil picks up the pieces. He turns his back and someone grabs him from behind.
4:1- He is dragged away into a derelict building on the other end of town. The man that took him is a mercenary for the White Cloaks. He is tied to a chair. There is some talk before the leader shows up. The man wears a full face mask and his identity is hidden, but Basil feels that he met him somewhere before. They threaten to kill Basil if he testifies. They beat him unconscious and leave him there.
4:2 - Basil awakens to the sound of the fire bells. No one is around. He can faintly smell smoke. He cuts the ropes with a broken gear from his back pocket He is able to put the clockwork man back together in a sort of Frankenstein's Monster from parts he finds. The machine kills a few guards before being blown up by another. In the chaos and darkness, Basil breaks free and runs towards home.
4:3 - He arrives just as the White Cloaks show up, burning the town and slaughtering everyone in their path. Basil gets home too late. His house is already burning. His father is bleeding out in the street, still holding his gun. They share a moment. Basil promises to get the men that did this just as the militia shows up, arresting him for murder and insurrection. His dad says "I love you" as he dies.
Act 2 should focus largely on Basil being conscripted into the military and forced aboard their airship, under the command of a grizzled old Sergeant, who just so happens to be an old friend of his father's. This man will end up being the main antagonist and the leader of the White Cloaks. We'll have one or two missions that go really bad, before they finally have the one successful one, where Rosemary is met.
At this point, we'll learn the truth of this group's mission. They're all sleeper cell White Cloaks aiming to get this artifact in the mountains. This weapon will have the power to take down the President and finally take control away from the struggling government. Then it's up to Basil and Rosemary to stop them before all hell breaks loose.
I'm not too keen on the whole Act 3, but I figured it would be a decent enough way to get my uncle's smarts and my aunt's books into the main action. I'm up to suggestions if you have a better way of incorporating it.