,,,,,,,,,,<pre style="line-height: 1em;"> |letter>[ ` ,--------------. (_\ Allow me | | the pleasure| | of hosting | | you this | | weekend. | | | | -Your | _| friend| (_/____________/` ] </pre> (enchant: ?letter's chars, via (t8n-delay:pos * 60) +(t8n-skip:100s) + (t8n:'instant')) (set: $transCounter to 0)\ |sample1)[(transition: "dissolve")[*"Your Friend"* How long has it been since someone had called themselves that? Everyone took turns moving until suddenly you found yourself alone. Is that what you find so comforting? Or the idea of [[an escape?|Outside]]]] { (live: 7s)[ (set: $transCounter to it + 1) (if: $transCounter is 1)[ (show: ?sample1) ](else:)[ (stop:) ] ] }<div id ="center"><h1>//An Account of Your Visit to the Enchanted House & What You Found There//</h1> <img alt="The House" src="images/cover.jpg" width="400" height="500"> [[Begin|Intro]] I bid you welcome. Your host is anxious to meet you; everything has been prepared for your arrival. Please, join us.</div> <div id ="credits">[[Credits]]</div> The front door clicks closed behind you, and silence swallows it. As you step into the room, the only sound is the creak of the wood beneath your feet. The air is still as your eyes adjust to the low light. You call to your host but only your echo replies, crawling up the high walls before getting lost somewhere in the cobwebs. The floorboards are scored and greying with age. A large rug covers most of the entryway. Its intricate rose pattern has been sunbleached to a dusty pink. Odd, as the only windows in this room are some 15 feet above. With no one in sight, you suppose you're free to explore the house. Your unseen host, after all, urged you to [[make yourself at home on arrival.|Foyer Start Cont]]<div id="first-passage"> --Your Person--</div>(set: $offering to "inv") (if: $inv's length is 0)[You slip your hand into your pocket, and grasp nothing but air.](else:)[Your fingers twitch gently as they curl around...] {(unless: $inv's length is 0)[ (for: each _item, ...$inv)[ <br> (link-repeat: _item)[ (replace: ?title)[ (display: _item) ] ] ] ] } |title>[] --- (link-goto: "Return to the wider world", (history:)'s last) <!-- Your Memory * Reminders of current tasks? HINT MODE: highlights important text?? -->(set: $metMisha to true) "Stranger... in the house? But-- wait." He sniffs the air in your direction and his eyes go wide. "Can't be, can't be! Smells like... smells like [[her."|The Cat Cont]] "Ask away, not like I'm going anywhere." (link-repeat: "The Letter")[(set: $SkullTopic to 'Skull000',)(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Skull Topics')]] (if: $metMisha is true)[(link-repeat: "Mistress")[(set: $SkullTopic to 'Skull001',)(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Skull Topics')]]](else:)[(link-repeat: "Your Host")[(set: $SkullTopic to 'Skull009',)(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Skull Topics')]]] (link-repeat: "Himself")[(set: $SkullTopic to 'Skull003',)(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Skull Topics')]] (link-repeat: "Life vs Death")[(set: $SkullTopic to 'Skull004',)(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Skull Topics')]](if: $metMisha is true)[ (link-repeat: "Misha")[(set: $SkullTopic to 'Skull008',)(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Skull Topics')]]](if: $metMess is true)[ (link-repeat: "The Mess")[(set: $SkullTopic to 'Skull005',)(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Skull Topics')]]](if: $metOctopus is true)[ (link-repeat: "The Octopus")[(set: $SkullTopic to 'Skull006',)(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Skull Topics')]]](if: $messAppeased is true)[ (link-repeat: "Emerald")[(set: $SkullTopic to 'Skull007',)(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Skull Topics')]]](if: $metGhost is true)[ (link-repeat: "Basil")[(set: $SkullTopic to 'Skull010',)(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Skull Topics')]]](if: $metRaven is true)[ (link-repeat: "Oisín")[(set: $SkullTopic to 'Skull011',)(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Skull Topics')]]](if: $metFurniture is true)[ (link-repeat: "The Furniture")[(set: $SkullTopic to 'Skull012',)(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Skull Topics')]]] |title>[(display: 'Skull Topics')] --- You may (link: "return to the study")[ (set: $SkullTopic to "SkullClear") (go-to: "Study Repeat")] whenever you wish. <!--{(if: $ladyKnown is true)[ (link: "The Lady")[(set: $SkullTopic to 'Skull002',)(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Skull Topics')]The Lady]] (else:)[ (if: $mishaKnown is true)[ (link: "Mistress")[(set: $ladyKnown to true)(set: $SkullTopic to 'Skull001',)(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Skull Topics')(set: $ladyKnown to "SkullClear")]Mistress]] (else:)[ (link: "The Host")[(set: $ladyKnown to true)(set: $SkullTopic to 'Skull009',)(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Skull Topics')]The Host]]]}-->(set: $mishaMoved to true) Upon stepping up to the landing of the upper level, you hear a squeak. Too high-pitched for the floorboards, and no doorhinge you've ever met has had such personality. No sooner do you hear it, however, than a white blur catapults past you, sending you (link-reveal: "stumbling sideways.")+(append: "stumbling sideways.")[ <div id="first-passage">`***`</div> After regaining your balance, you look to see Misha in a funny sort of crouch. Then your eyes fall to the small shape between its paws. Sadly, it appears the Squeaker is [[no more.|The Landing Intro Cont]]] "Something on your mind?" inquires the wardrobe. "Speak up so we can hear in the back!" shouts the far-corner desk. The hatstand tilts to one side. "What's good?" she asks. (link-repeat: "The Letter")[(set: $furnitureTopic to 'furniture000',)(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Furniture Topics')]] (link-repeat: "The Lady")[(set: $furnitureTopic to 'furniture001')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Furniture Topics')]] (link-repeat: "Furniture")[(set: $furnitureTopic to 'furniture002')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Furniture Topics',)]] (link-repeat: "Favorite Wood Polish")[(set: $furnitureTopic to 'furniture003')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Furniture Topics',)]] (link-repeat: "Hobbies")[(set: $furnitureTopic to 'furniture004')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Furniture Topics')]] (link-repeat: "Misha")[(set: $furnitureTopic to 'furniture005',)(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Furniture Topics')]] (link-repeat: "Skull")[(set: $furnitureTopic to 'furniture006',)(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Furniture Topics')]] (link-repeat: "Octopus")[(set: $furnitureTopic to 'furniture007')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Furniture Topics')]] (link-repeat: "Basil")[(set: $furnitureTopic to 'furniture008')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Furniture Topics')]](if: $metRaven is true)[ (link-repeat: "Oisín")[(set: $furnitureTopic to 'furniture009')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Furniture Topics')]]] |title>[(display: 'Furniture Topics')] --- If the sound of all these voices are crowding your thoughts, perhaps you'd better (link: "give yourself some space.")[ (set: $furnitureTopic to "furnitureClear") (go-to: "Bedroom Repeat")] Basil snaps the book closed. "Fancy a chat, eh?" (link-repeat: "The Letter")[(set: $ghostTopic to 'ghost000')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Ghost Topics')]] (link-repeat: "Basil")[(set: $ghostTopic to 'ghost013')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Ghost Topics')]] (link-repeat: "The Lady")[(set: $ghostTopic to 'ghost002')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Ghost Topics',)]] (link-repeat: "Favorite Book")[(set: $ghostTopic to 'ghost003')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Ghost Topics',)]] (link-repeat: "How he died")[(set: $ghostTopic to 'ghost008')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Ghost Topics')]] (link-repeat: "When he died")[(set: $ghostTopic to 'ghost004')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Ghost Topics')]] (link-repeat: "Reason for haunting here")[(set: $ghostTopic to 'ghost005')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Ghost Topics')]] (link-repeat: "Misha")[(set: $ghostTopic to 'ghost001')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Ghost Topics')]] (link-repeat: "Octopus")[(set: $ghostTopic to 'ghost010')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Ghost Topics')]] (link-repeat: "Skull")[(set: $ghostTopic to 'ghost011')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Ghost Topics')]](if: $fakeBooks is true)[ (link-repeat: "Fake books")[(set: $ghostTopic to 'ghost006')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Ghost Topics')]]](if: $metRaven is true)[ (link-repeat: "Oisín")[(set: $ghostTopic to 'ghost012')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Ghost Topics')]]](if: $metFurniture is true)[ (link-repeat: "The Furniture")[(set: $ghostTopic to 'ghost007')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Ghost Topics')]]](if: $needLight is true and $ectoplasmFound is true and $ectoplasm3 is not true)[ (link-repeat: "Ectoplasm")[(set: $ghostTopic to 'ghost009')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Ghost Topics')]]] |title>[(display: 'Ghost Topics')] --- If you've gabbed your gob off, you may (link: "return to the library.")[ (set: $ghostTopic to "ghostClear") (go-to: "Library Repeat")] At your approach, Oisín dives down to the center step. He fixes you with an eye as hard and black as jet and waits. (link-repeat: "The Letter")[(set: $ravenTopic to 'raven000')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Raven Topics')]] (link-repeat: "Oisín")[(set: $ravenTopic to 'raven001')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Raven Topics')]] (link-repeat: "The Lady")[(set: $ravenTopic to 'raven002')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Raven Topics')]] (link-repeat: "Tastiest Bugs")[(set: $ravenTopic to 'raven004')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Raven Topics')]] (link-repeat: "The Others")[(set: $ravenTopic to 'raven005')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Raven Topics')]](if: $ravenBargainOffered is not true)[ (link-repeat: "His Necklace")[(set: $ravenTopic to 'raven003')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Raven Topics')]]] |title>[(display: 'Raven Topics')] --- Do you find this creature's caws too piercing? Perhaps you ought to (link: "return to the landing.")[ (set: $ravenTopic to "ravenClear") (go-to: "Landing Repeat")]''All Words & Design by Mandy Benanav!'' Cover art by Trivia Fox ''DEDICATION'' //For Ethan Benanav// If by some miracle I'd been able to make this game without you around, it would not be half as good. Your tireless support, enthusiasm, critique, and occasional scripting help are what made this possible. Thank you for keeping me fed and motivated. I could not ask for a better husband, creative partner, and cat-and-chinchilla dad. There's nobody I'd rather order a pizza and play Mario 3 with. ''TESTERS'' * Ethan Benanav, Madeleine Burleson, Rowan Noel Williams... <pre style="line-height: 1em;">>(.)__ (___/</pre> ...and Scott Stokes, the best duck. ''ASCII ART'' * Book by boba@wwa.com from ASCII.co.uk * Books for bookcase, modified versions of bookcase art by Brian Green from the ASCII Art Archive * Scroll and Duck by hjw from ASCII.co.uk And also, I am indebted to all the people that made the games I loved about exploring spooky and/or enchanted houses in my youth. None of you will ever play this, but it would not exist without you. So thank you to the creators of: * Maniac Mansion & Day of the Tentacle * Pavilion, by Louise Hope * Hugo's House of Horrors & sequels * The Colonel's Bequest * Jan Pienkowski's Haunted House [[Back to title|Start]]{ (if: $book is 'b001')[(set: $fakeBooks to true) 44 Conjurings to Delight Your Guests ](else-if: $book is 'b002')[(set: $fakeBooks to true) 44 Conjurings to Irritate Your Enemies ](else-if: $book is 'b003')[ Dilvish the Damned by Roger Zelazny ](else-if: $book is 'b004')[ Arsenic & Old Lace by Joseph Kesselring ](else-if: $book is 'b005')[(set: $fakeBooks to true) Beyond the Pale Yonder? Speculations on the Afterdeath by Chester Jacobs ](else-if: $book is 'b006')[(set: $fakeBooks to true) I Stared Into the Abyss and All I Got Was This Lousy Book Deal by Terrence Crowley ](else-if: $book is 'b007')[ Gormenghast by Mervyn Peake ](else-if: $book is 'b008')[(set: $fakeBooks to true) The Silver Medal Diet: Meals for Fattening Your Sows by Clarence Threepwood, 9th Earl Emsworth ](else-if: $book is 'b009')[(set: $fakeBooks to true) Chicken Run: Mobile Real Estate by Baba Yaga ](else-if: $book is 'b010')[(set: $fakeBooks to true) Hell's Bells & Other Chthonic Christmas Carols ](else-if: $book is 'b011')[(set: $fakeBooks to true) A Soup for Every Solstice by Gustav Gazpacho ](else-if: $book is 'b012')[(set: $fakeBooks to true) Croquet for Dummies by Alice Lidell ](else-if: $book is 'b013')[ Oneiric Orology: Mountaineering in the Realm of Dreams by Shaz Guillard ](else-if: $book is 'b014')[(set: $fakeBooks to true) Knitting with Mycelium by Marge Morel ](else-if: $book is 'b015')[(set: $fakeBooks to true) A Gentleman's Gentleman: My Life of Serving Sirs by Reginald Jeeves ](else-if: $book is 'b016')[ The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter ](else-if: $book is 'b017')[(set: $fakeBooks to true) Designer Shrouds for the Budget Conscious by Taylor Tailor ](else-if: $book is 'b018')[ We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson ](else-if: $book is 'b019')[ The Joy of Cooking (if: $skullBargainActive is true)[ <br /><br /> Perhaps this might [[have the recipe you seek.|Joy Get!]]] ](else-if: $book is 'b020')[ Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice ](else-if: $book is 'b021')[ Kingdoms of Elfin by Sylvia Townsend Warner ](else-if: $book is 'b022')[ Ghosts by Edith Wharton ](else-if: $book is 'b023')[(set: $fakeBooks to true) Howling on the Moors and Other Ways to Relieve Your Ghostly Frustrations by SuuUuuUuUuuuUuusaaaaaaAaaaan CooOoOooOoOopeEEeeeeEr ](else-if: $book is 'b024')[ Cooking Price-Wise: A Culinary Legacy by Vincent Price ](else-if: $book is 'b025')[ The Coloured Lands by G.K. Chesterson ](else-if: $book is 'b026')[(set: $fakeBooks to true) The Art of Portraiture by Basil Hallward ](else-if: $book is 'b027')[(set: $fakeBooks to true) Crazy for Cairns by Necronimous Ned ](else-if: $book is 'b028')[ LUD-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirrlees ](else-if: $book is 'b029')[ The Weird: A Compendium of Strange and Dark Stories by Jeff & Ann VanderMeer ](else-if: $book is 'b030')[(set: $fakeBooks to true) Phantasams are Fabulous! Why a Spectral Being Belongs in Every Home by IM Goner ](else-if: $book is 'b031')[ Little, Big by John Crowley ](else-if: $book is 'b032')[(set: $fakeBooks to true) Polish, Polish, Polish! A Guide to Keeping Your Bones Shiny by Shelley Skelly ](else-if: $book is 'b033')[(set: $fakeBooks to true) Healing Herbs by Erana ](else-if: $book is 'b034')[ The Last Unicorn by Peter S Beagle ](else-if: $book is 'b035')[(set: $fakeBooks to true) The First Unicorn by Peter S Beagle ](else-if: $book is 'b036')[(set: $fakeBooks to true) The Famous Adventurer's Correspondence School for Heroes Study Guide ](else-if: $book is 'b037')[ The 13 Clocks by James Thurber ](else-if: $book is 'b038')[(set: $fakeBooks to true) Look Out Behind You! A Three-Headed Monkey! and Other Useful Lies by Guybrush Threepwood ](else-if: $book is 'b039')[ To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis ](else-if: $book is 'b040')[ Bone by Jeff Smith ](else-if: $book is 'b041')[(set: $fakeBooks to true) Gloriana: An Adventurer's Atlas by Fredward Fredwardson ](else-if: $book is 'b042')[ Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett ](else-if: $book is 'b043')[ Bogs, Creeks, and Swamps of America by Soggy Green ](else-if: $book is 'b044')[ A Guest in the House by Emily Carroll ](else-if: $book is 'b045')[ The Complete Supernatural Stories of Algernon Blackwood ](else-if: $book is 'b046')[(set: $fakeBooks to true) 6 Simple Remedies for Vexing Hexes ](else-if: $book is 'b047')[(set: $fakeBooks to true) Waking the Dead & Other Fun Ideas for a Friday Night ](else-if: $book is 'b048')[ The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald ](else-if: $book is 'b049')[ Creaking Corridors by Immanuel Emanations ](else-if: $book is 'b050')[ The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath by H.P. Lovecraft ](else-if: $book is 'b051')[ The Big Book of Bats ](else-if: $book is 'b052')[(set: $fakeBooks to true) The God-Queen Tzyzer OR The Hippogriff's Claw OR The Treasures of Arcadia OR The Necropolis of Kabeesh OR The January War OR The Weeping Sphynx OR The Red Thief's Lover OR At the Far Side of the Shore OR... <br /><br /> ...this book is just titles. ](else-if: $book is 'b053')[ Beyond Familiar Familiars: Befriending the Animal Kingdom by Kristie Bitterstein ](else-if: $book is 'b054')[ The King of Elfland's Daughter by Lord Dunsany ](else-if: $book is 'b055')[(set: $fakeBooks to true) My Favorite Bones by Shelley Skelly ](else-if: $book is 'b056')[ The Tom Lehrer Song Book ](else-if: $book is 'b057')[(set: $fakeBooks to true) Mycology for Birds by Jay Peckingsworth ](else-if: $book is 'b058')[ The Blackwater Saga by Michael McDowell ](else-if: $book is 'b059')[ Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay ](else-if: $book is 'b060')[(set: $fakeBooks to true) More Pork! A Gustatory Guide to Morpork’s Porkish Delights by HW Piggins ](else-if: $book is 'b061')[(set: $fakeBooks to true) Cooking Oil and Other Surprising Uses for Bone Polish by Shelley Skelly ](else-if: $book is 'b062')[ A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny ](else-if: $book is 'b063')[ Holye's Encyclopedia of Card Games ](else-if: $book is 'b064')[(set: $fakeBooks to true) Red Book of Westmarch by Bilbo & Frodo Baggins ](else-if: $book is 'b065')[ Cold Hand in Mine by Robert Aickman ](else-if: $book is 'b066')[(set: $fakeBooks to true) Beginner's Bargaining Tips by Heinrich Faust ](else-if: $book is 'b067')[(set: $fakeBooks to true) A True and Accurate Account of the Invention of Penguins By Lord Pendleton Stickwidth, Royal Explorer ](else-if: $book is 'b068')[(set: $fakeBooks to true) On Cravats by Rupert Psmith ](else-if: $book is 'b069')[ Eight Arms for Hugging: How to Train Your Octopus <br /><br /> Hmm. Perhaps you could [[learn something from this.|Octopus Get!]] ](else-if: $book is 'b070')[ The Great God Pan by Arthur Machen ](else-if: $book is 'ectoplasm')[ {(if: $ectoplasmFound is true)[ (if: $needLight is true)[ (if: $inv does not contain "Ectoplasm")[ A jiggly mound of [[glowing ectoplasm.|Ectoplasm 2 collected]]] (else:)[ Another [[pile of ectoplasm.|Ectoplasm 2 collected]]]] (else:)[ Ectoplasm, according to Basil.]] (else:) [A pile of greenish-blue glowing gloop.]} ](else-if: $book is 'BookClear')[ ](else:)[ ]}<div id ="center"><pre style="line-height: 1em;"> |____________________________________| | _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _| || || ||-||-||-||-|| | _ _ |%|%|%|%| ||(link-repeat: "=")[(set: $book to 'b001')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "=")[(set: $book to 'b002')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b003')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b004')(replace: ?title)[(display: 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$book to 'b037')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]| ||-||-||-||-||-||-||=||-||-||~|~| |==| |____________________________________| | __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ | | \(link-repeat: "=")[(set: $book to 'b038')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]\ |-||-||-||-||-||-||-||(link-repeat: "=")[(set: $book to 'b046')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "=")[(set: $book to 'b047')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|__ | | \ \ |(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b039')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b040')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b041')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b042')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "-")[(set: $book to 'b043')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b044')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b045')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|| | |(link-repeat: "==")[(set: $book to 'b048')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]| | | \_\|-||-||-||-||-||-||-|| | | | | |____________________________________| | _ _ __ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ __| ||-||-||--||--||-||-||-||-||~| | /~/| ||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b049')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b050')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "++")[(set: $book to 'b051')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "XX")[(set: $book to 'b052')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b053')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "-")[(set: $book to 'b054')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b055')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b056')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "l")[(set: $book to 'b057')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "z")[(set: $book to 'b058')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]| /(link-repeat: "~")[(set: $book to 'b059')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]/ | ||-||-||--||--||-||-||-||-||~| |/~/ | |____________________________________| |____________________________________| | _ _ _ _ _ _ ______ | | _ _ _ |-||-||-||-||-||-|| __ | | ||(link-repeat: "8")[(set: $book to 'b060')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "8")[(set: $book to 'b061')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "8")[(set: $book to 'b062')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b063')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b064')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "-")[(set: $book to 'b065')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "8")[(set: $book to 'b066')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "-")[(set: $book to 'b067')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b068')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|| ((link-repeat: "..")[(set: $book to 'b069')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]) | | ||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||((()))| | |____________________________________|</pre><pre style="text-align:center; padding-left:20em;">(if: $ectoplasm2 is not true)[(link-repeat: "__<br />(__)")[(set: $book to 'ectoplasm')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]] </pre>|title>[(display: 'Books')]</div> --- Should you find yourself dizzied by the amassment of so many Words all in one place, it may be wise to (link: "step away.")[ (set: $book to "BookClear") (go-to: "Library Repeat")]{ (if: $catTopic is 'cat000')[ <!-- Letter --> "Don't know why Mistress would write you a letter. No, no I don't! Mistress doesn't write many letters these days. Why *you?* Misha sees nothing special about *you.*" ](else-if: $catTopic is 'cat001')[ <!-- House --> "House belongs to Mistress." ](else-if: $catTopic is 'cat002')[ <!-- Mistress --> "Mistress love Misha! Mistress bring Misha cream on Tuesdays (I call them 'Cream Tuesdays'!). No lady finer, more generous! You will see, your heart will shine with love for Mistress too. Mistress is most beautiful! Fair of fur and dark of eye. Yes, yes." ](else-if: $catTopic is 'cat003')[ <!-- Raison --> "Fish! No! Cream! No! Mistress! No! Pushing things off tables! No-- raaaa! Misha no like this question!!" ](else-if: $catTopic is 'cat004')[ <!-- Upstairs --> (if: $mishaHungry is not true)["No no NO go upstairs!! Misha not know you from slinking scurrying stoat!! No telling what kind of mischief you intend, surely not! <br /><br /> Misha protects house, protects Mistress! [[...unless...."|Misha's Bargain]]](else:)[(if: $inv contains "Soapy Canned Fish")["Fishy yum yums! You give!! Oh please, please! [[Give NOW!"|Misha's Bargain, Satsified]]](else:)["Fish first."]] ](else-if: $catTopic is 'cat005')[ <!-- Misha --> "Misha is Mistress' most trusted companion," Misha's wiry fur puffs with pride. ](else-if: $catTopic is 'cat006')[ <!-- Octopus --> "Hmph! Foul, ugly thing. Must be some worker of water magic, to have cast such a spell on Mistress, surely must. Now Mistress gives it some of Misha's fishy yums! <br /><br /> Like to see it cast those wicked enchantments outside its waters." ](else-if: $catTopic is 'cat007')[ <!-- Skull --> "Serves Mistress most loyally. Always up there, collecting dust, keeping it off her floors. Yes, most valuable job." ](else-if: $catTopic is 'cat008')[ <!-- The Mess --> "Oh!!! Misha's favorite, after Mistress of course!! Play while Mistress is out. Most wise and cunning of Mistress to have created such fine friend for Misha." ](else-if: $catTopic is 'cat009')[ <!-- Floor Candy --> "Mustn't touch!! MUSTN'T TOUCH!" Misha's fur puffs out as his back arches. <br /><br /> "For the house spirit. Mistress say he has sweet tooth - most important he have sugary treats, yes. Helps Mistress keep The House in good condition." ](else-if: $catTopic is 'catClear')[ ](else:)[ ]} {(if: $metOctopus is true)[ (if:$octopusMoved is true)[ The dulcet notes of *La traviata* float from the record player on invisible currents. (if: $stoveFree is true and $cooked is not true)[ In his stockpot, the Octopus snoozes clutching his (if: $eyelessBear is true)[one-eyed ]teddy bear(if: $smellyOctopus is true)[, the scent of ENT-sential Oil wafting thickly from him]. With his tentacles occupied, the [[stove|Cooking]] is now free.] (elseif: $cooked is true)[ The lingering scent of your *Mouse Mousse* dances with them(if: $smellyOctopus is true)[, pirouetting around the ENT-sential Oil's notes of petrichor and moss.](else:)[.]<br /><br />Apart from this dizzing artistic display, you're not sure there's anything left for you to do in here. Napping with his (if: $eyelessBear is true)[one-eyed ]bear, the Octopus is now thoroughly, deeply asleep.] (elseif: $cooked is not true and $stoveFree is not true)[ In his stockpot, the Octopus snoozes(if: $smellyOctopus is true)[, the scent of ENT-sential Oil wafting thickly from him]. He continues to clutch the stove's knobs tightly. You could probably wake him, if you have anything you'd like to [[offer|Octopus Offers]] him.] (if: $JoyofCookingFound is true and $cooked is not true)[ <br /><br />There is a basket of eggs next to the stove, though you see no reason to risk breaking them by jamming them into your pockets. Best to leave them there until you get cooking.]] (else:)[ <!--Octopus has NOT moved--> In the corner, the Octopus scrubs away at his dishes in a mass of bubbles. You can still swear you hear *La traviata* in the rhythm of the brushing as it shakes its can of tinned tuna and the occasional soap bubble *pops* with operatic verve. <br/><br/>He's not much for talking, but perhaps you'd care to [[offer|Octopus Offers]] him something.]] (if: $kitchenSearch1 is true and $kitchenSearch2 is true and $kitchenSearch3 is true and $kitchenSearch4 is true and $kitchenSearch5 is true)[ (if: $metOctopus is not true)[ The kitchen smells of spice and vinegar. All is quiet.<br /><br />] <br /><br />You have ''scoured'' the nooks and crannies of this room to your satisfaction. (if: $metOctopus is not true)[ <br /><br />However, you *shiver* at the thought of that ''slithering thing'' within the waters of the sink. Perhaps that merits a [[closer look.|The Octopus Appears]]]] (elseif: $kitchenSearch1 is true or $kitchenSearch2 is true or $kitchenSearch3 is true or $kitchenSearch4 is true or $kitchenSearch5 is true)[ (if: $metOctopus is not true)[ The kitchen smells of spice and vinegar. All is quiet.] <br /><br />You have given the room a once-over, but there are still more places you may care to [[look closer|Search Kitchen]] at.] (else:)[ (if: $metOctopus is not true)[ The kitchen smells of spice and vinegar. All is quiet.] <br /><br />You may wish to [[scour|Search Kitchen]] the nooks and crannies of the room for anything of interest.] } --- But perhaps you've lost your appetite, in which case you might [[return to the foyer.|Foyer Repeat]] Or you could stand around and [[rifle through your pockets.|Inventory]] The air is still in here, but not stale. Afternoon clouds pour in through the high window, painting the room with grey light. (if: $foyerSearch1 is not true and $foyerSearch2 is not true and $foyerSearch3 is not true and $foyerSearch4 is not true and $foyerSearch5 is not true)[Looking around, there are still several spots you may wish to [[poke about.|Search Foyer]]](elseif: $foyerSearch1 is true and $foyerSearch2 is true and $foyerSearch3 is true and $foyerSearch4 is true and $foyerSearch5 is true)[You have ''poked about'' this room to your satisfaction.](elseif: $foyerSearch1 is true or $foyerSearch2 is true or $foyerSearch3 is true or $foyerSearch4 is true or $foyerSearch5 is true)[You have done a fair bit of ''poking about'' but there are still several spots you may wish to [[poke further.|Search Foyer]]] {(if: $foundCat is true)[ <br /><br /> (if: $mishaMoved is not true)[ (if: $metMisha is true)[ (if: $mishaFed is true)[ Misha crouches near the foot of the stairs, face shoved into a corner as he attempts to scarf whatever remains of the canned fish. He is in no position to speak.] (else:)[ From the steps above, Misha's eyes follow you as you move around the room. You could [[speak to him.|The Cat Repeat]](if: $mishaHungry is true)[ Or, if you have fish, he said he was [[hungry.|Misha Offers]]]]] (else:)[ From the steps above, you are being watched by [[The Cat.->The Cat]]]] (else:)[ With Misha's absence, nothing stirs in here.]]} --- Though perhaps another room beckons you. (if:$exploredKitchen is true)[[[Enter the kitchen,|Kitchen Repeat]]](else:)[[[Enter the kitchen,|Kitchen Intro]]] with its sweet scents. (if: $exploredStudy is true)[[[Enter the study,|Study Repeat]]](else:)[[[Enter the study,|Study Intro]]] with its aura of ink. (if: $foundCat is true)[(if:$mishaFed is true)[(if: $mishaMoved is true)[[[Climb the staircase|Landing Repeat]]](else:)[[[Climb the staircase|The Landing Intro]]] and explore the upper floors.](else:)[The staircase is currently blocked by (if: $metMisha is true)[[[Misha.|The Cat Repeat]]](else:)[[[The Cat.|The Cat]]]]](else:)[(link: "Climb the stairs")[(set: $foundCatFrom to "staircase")(goto: "The Cat Appears")] toward the upper level.] Or feel free to [[peruse your inventory.|Inventory]](set: $foundCat to true) { (if: $foundCatFrom is 'staircase')[You raise your arm to shield your eyes from the brilliance of the gleaming wood and take a step toward the edge of the staircase... <br /><br /> ...suddenly, you're falling! You look down to see a white ball zooming across the floor, away from your shin. It bounces up several steps, zig-zagging wildly ](else-if: $foundCatFrom is 'kitchen')[ Your hand hovers over the kitchen's doorknob when suddenly there's a *CRASH* behind you. <br /><br /> You turn around to see a vase shattered on floor by the stairs. As you approach to investigate, a white ball springs up from the porcelain viscera and speeds over to the staircase. It bounces up several steps ](else-if: $foundCatFrom is 'study')[ You're halfway to the study when the door swings shut, as if propelled by a large gust of wind. <br /><br /> You scarcely have time to reflect on the fact that you'd felt no stir in the air when you spot a white ball bounding away from the door. Without losing speed it *sproings* up the staircase, bouncing up several steps ](else-if: $foundCatFrom is 'coat_rack')[Between the rack and the wall, where the shadows lay thickest, something glints. A white ball rolls back and forth along the floor. As you lean in closer, it LEAPS into the air from the shadows behind the rack, sending you sprawling backwards to the floor. <br /><br /> Your heart races as it zooms across the rug, up several steps of the staircase,]} before finally coming to rest (link-reveal: "on the edge of a step.")+(append: "on the edge of a step.")[ <div id="first-passage">`***`</div> The white ball begins to [[vibrate furiously.|The Cat Appears, Cont]]] *Ping!* A small furry pyramid, (link-reveal: "shoots straight up from the ball.")+(append: "shoots straight up from the ball.")[ <div id="first-passage">`***`</div> *Ping!* Then (link-reveal: "another.")+(append: "another.")[ <div id="first-passage">`***`</div> A yellow eye opens from somewhere within its folds. Folds? Did the ball always have folds? Before you can search your memory, several spikes pop out from the sides beneath the eye, like the bristles of a stiff wire brush. Reflexively, you [[steel yourself against its gaze.|The Cat Appears, Cont 2]]]]<pre style="line-height: 1em;"> |------------------------------------| ||(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b001')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b002')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b003')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b004')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b005')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b006')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b007')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b008')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b009')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]| ||(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b001')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b002')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b003')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b004')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b005')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b006')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b007')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b008')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b009')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]| ||(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b001')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b002')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b003')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b004')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b005')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b006')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b007')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b008')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b009')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]| |------------------------------------| |------------------------------------| |(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b010')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]| |------------------------------------| |------------------------------------| ||X||X||X||X||X||X||X||X||X| | ||X||X||X||X||X||X||X||X||X| | ||X||X||X||X||X||X||X||X||X| | |------------------------------------| |------------------------------------| ||X||X||X||X||X||X||X||X||X| | ||X||X||X||X||X||X||X||X||X| | ||X||X||X||X||X||X||X||X||X| | |------------------------------------| |------------------------------------| ||X||X||X||X||X||X||X||X||X| | ||X||X||X||X||X||X||X||X||X| | ||X||X||X||X||X||X||X||X||X| | |------------------------------------| |------------------------------------| ||X||X||X||X||X||X||X||X||X| | ||X||X||X||X||X||X||X||X||X| | ||X||X||X||X||X||X||X||X||X| | |------------------------------------| |------------------------------------| ||X||X||X||X||X||X||X||X||X| | ||X||X||X||X||X||X||X||X||X| | ||X||X||X||X||X||X||X||X||X| | |------------------------------------| </pre> |title>[(display: 'Books')](set: $exploredLibrary to true) You enter the library. It's a room of modest size, but the space has been maximized. Every wall is lined with books, shelves stretching to the ceiling. Light squeezes between the cracks of one on the far wall - a window must have been covered to make room for another bookcase. As with all things, sacrifices must be made. You think of your bedroom, with its (link-reveal: "meager stack of books piled on your desk.")+(append: "meager stack of books piled on your desk.")[ <div id="first-passage">`***`</div> Research materials - you can spare the space for no more. Pleasure reads are checked out one at a time from the county library. The only book that survived moving out from your parents' house is the old dog-eared copy of The Hobbit you keep under your bed. [[C'est la vie.|Library Repeat]]] The air of library is warm and still. And everywhere, the spines of books glow with the lambency of candlelight, though you cannot discern its source. It gives the effect of a place where Time has no claim - a perpetual lazy afternoon. The defining natural features of a library are of course their bookcases, and of these there are no shortage. They stand tall, glittering, { (if: $metGhost is true)[ (if: $JoyofCookingFound is true and $OctopusBookFound is true)[ [[ripe for perusing.|The Bookcase Depleted]]] (elseif: $JoyofCookingFound is true and $OctopusBookFound is not true)[ [[ripe for perusing.|The Bookcase Sans Joy]]] (elseif: $JoyofCookingFound is not true and $OctopusBookFound is true)[ [[ripe for perusing.|The Bookcase Sans Octopus]]] (else:)[ [[ripe for perusing.|The Bookcase]]]] (else:) [[[ripe for perusing.|The Bookcase Haunted]]]} { (if: $searchedLibrary is not true)[ <!--Have not gone to search page at all, regardless of anything else!--> Other furnishings are sparse, but you could still have a little [[rummage around.|Search Library]]] (else:)[ <!--Have searched in some capacity--> (if: $librarySearch1 is true and $librarySearch2 is true and $librarySearch3 is true and $librarySearch4 is true and $librarySearch5 is true)[ (if: $metGhost is not true)[ <!--Searched all 4 available POIs--> You've ''rummaged'' through what you can in this room, but the hairs on the back of your neck stand up as if you're not alone in here....] (else:)[ You have ''rummaged'' with the thoroughness of a retiree at an estate sale. If there were anything else of value in here, you'd have spotted it. ]] (else-if: $librarySearch1 is not true and $librarySearch2 is not true and $librarySearch3 is not true and $librarySearch4 is not true and $librarySearch5 is not true)[ <!--Have gone to search page but not actually clicked on any POIs--> Other furnishings are sparse, but you could still have a little [[rummage around.|Search Library]]] (else-if: $librarySearch1 is true or $librarySearch2 is true or $librarySearch3 is true or $librarySearch4 is true or $librarySearch5 is true)[ <!--Incomplete search--> You've done a fair bit of rummaging around in here, but there may be more [[worth a look.|Search Library]]]]} (if:$metGhost is true)[ Seated in midair, as if enjoying the comforts of a plush armchir, Basil flips through his book - the dead silence of the room breaking at regular intervals with each *flit* of turning pages. I'm sure he'd pardon the interruption if you wish to [[speak to him.|The Ghost]] (if: $dealStatus is "needPen")[Hmm, hadn't he also sent you to [[fetch something for him?|Ghost Offers]]](if: $ectoplasm1 is not true)[ <br />Each *flit* of the pages is punctuated by a small *splat*(if: $ectoplasmFound is not true)[ as something drips from Basil's fingers. In the corner beneath Basil there is a small gloopy mound of a [[glowing green-blue substance.|Ectoplasm Discovered]]](else:)[ as ectoplasm continues to drip from his fingers.(if: $needLight is true)[(if: $inv contains "Ectoplasm")[ Ah! more [[ectoplasm!|Ectoplasm 1 collected]]](else:)[ The small mound [[glows faintly.|Ectoplasm 1 collected]]]]]]] --- But perhaps you've had your fill of literature and are ready to [[depart.|Landing Repeat]] Or feel free to [[sift through your stuff.|Inventory]] You think of your bedroom, with its meager stack of books piled on your desk - research materials, you can spare the space for no more. Pleasure reads are checked out one at a time from the library. The only book that survived moving out from your mother's house is the old dog-eared copy of The Hobbit you keep under your bed. Somewhere deep inside, Covetousness stirs, wakes, and drags one clawed finger across your heart. By degrees, a figure comes into focus, eventually settling into the form of a man - translucent, but human by every other observable measure. He's thin as a rake, with a perfectly groomed moustache and pointed goatee penning in an angular nose. Grey streaks run through auburn hair like striations. A flannel suit, dark vest, and half-moon spectacles round out a look you would describe as "avuncular" even though you've never used that word before. The miasmic influence of all this literature must be seeping into your skull. Perhaps it's enlarging your vocabulary - <i>vocabularizing</i> your brain. Okay, that word was made up. Sorry. Sometimes narrators get carried away. The figure [[flicks another page.|The Ghost Appears Cont 2]] You notice he's not merely transluscent (as if anyone could be *merely* transluscent!) - there's a hazy blue tint to him that gives off a faint glow. The kind of thing you've seen on ghosts in movies. So, it appears you've met (link-reveal: "a ghost.")+(append: "a ghost.")[ <div id="first-passage">`***`</div> The ghost looks up from his book and seems to see you for the first time. He breaks into a wide, beaming grin. "What ho! A new face? By jove, it's been ages!" He gives a slight bow of the head. "Basil Fink-Nottle. Pleasure indeed. Indeed a pleasure, I say!" [["Pleased to meet you."]] [["Are you really a ghost?"]] [[Wave your hand through him]] ] You assure him the pleasure is all yours. "Quite, I say, quite!" he chirps, smile broadening, the gleam of his spectral teeth shining so bright you're forced to [[avert your eyes.|The Library Cont 5]] You inquire as to Basil's corporeal status. "Hmm? I haven't gone all fleshy again, have I?" he replies, craning his neck to inspect himself. He peers down at you. "You might want to get your peepers checked, old chum." [[Question answered.|The Library Cont 5]] "Oh I say!" he huffs. "Oh! Well! I say indeed!" He throws his arms in the air. "Can't a fellow enjoy his eternal hereafter without being poked, prodded, pawed? Suppose all notions of class have just gone out the window this century, eh?" [[Right-o.|The Library Cont 5]]{(if: $ghostTopic is 'ghost000')[ <!-- Letter --> "Hm? Don't know what you're on about, old bean. I don't know of any letter... but then again, The Lady does keep her secrets." ](else-if: $ghostTopic is 'ghost001')[ <!-- Misha --> "Bah! Puck glamoured into some ghastlier form, if I've any money on it. I never see him enter the room until suddenly he's scrambling up shelves, sending their precious inhabitants tumbling to the ground. <br /><br /> He never comes to the upper level unless he's looking for something to chase. Then The Lady enters and suddenly he's curled up in her lap, blinking those big eyes at her and emitting such cherubic miaows you'd think he'd swallowed an angel from God's own choir. <br /><br /> I don't trust him further than I could throw him, and if I could throw him anywhere it'd be out the bally window." ](else-if: $ghostTopic is 'ghost002')[ <!-- The Lady --> "Ah, Athena and Aphrodite in one! Shows the proper respect for literature, eh what? Couldn't ask for a finer landlord." ](else-if: $ghostTopic is 'ghost003')[ <!-- Favorite Book --> "Oh, I've always been partial to Wilde's *The Canterville Ghost*. In life, certainly, but doubly so now. Someone's got to show the world that we aren't all rattling chains and phantasmagorical emanations, eh what?" ](else-if: $ghostTopic is 'ghost004')[ <!-- Death Time --> He waves an hand. "Oh, some time ago I should think. Seem to remember something in the papers about old George shuffling off." ](else-if: $ghostTopic is 'ghost005')[ <!-- Haunting --> "Oh, I'm not *haunting*, I'm *tending*. I never set foot in this house in life. Don't even know where it is, if I'm honest. No, The Lady summoned me from the Pale Yonder to manage her library." ](else-if: $ghostTopic is 'ghost008')[ <!-- Death Manner --> "Hm. Now that you mention it, I must have kicked off in some manner or another, but I'll be damned if I remember how. I suppose these things aren't very important in the end." ](else-if: $ghostTopic is 'ghost006')[ <!-- Fake Books --> "An odd thing to say given that they’re, ah, *here*. <br /><br /> Perhaps they’re not originally from *your* here, if you take my meaning." ](else-if: $ghostTopic is 'ghost007')[ <!-- Furniture --> (if: $dealSigned is true)[ "Oh let's not spoil the afternoon by dwelling on the whole sordid business and just be glad to have put it well behind us, shall we?"] (else:)[ (if: $dealOffered is true)[ (if: $dealStatus is "counter-countered")[ "Yes! Well!" he offers by way of explanation. <br /><br /> "Well!" he huffs again, crossing his arms. <br /><br /> "...AND they never return their books on time! Ahahaha! Bet they left that skeleton to gather dust in the furthest reaches of their cobwebbed closet, eh? Ohhhhh no, they wouldn't be that forthright. Not those layabouts - illiterate goons to the last! <br /><br /> Tell them I shall agree to their terms *only* if they agree to start bloody returning their books on time!" (set: $dealStatus to "counter-countered-countered")] (else-if: $dealStatus is "counter-countered-countered")[ "Looking forward to seeing what those ninny-headed woodscraps say to *that!*"] (else-if: $dealStatus is "counter-countered-counter-countered")[ "Oh they PROMISE do they? Oh well that changes everything. <br /><br /> I'd sooner trust a promise from Mephistopheles himself!" <br /><br /> He pinches his mustache in irritation, then suddenly bursts out: <br /><br /> "I want it in writing! <br /><br /> Fetch a pen and some paper. We'll draw up a contract, do things properly. That ought to provide adequate protection against those conniving weasels." (set: $dealStatus to "needPen")] (else-if: $dealStatus is "needPen")[ "We shall see what those those demons have to say when it's all drawn up in ink, eh?"] (else-if: $dealStatus is "countered")[ "Lucifer and all his hosts with their hot pokers could not oblige me to speak to those cretins, so you'll jolly well have to do it for me!"] (else:)[ "Ha! Fell in with that rummy old lot, have you? Well, the societal pool here is rather shallow. Let it never be said that old Basil blamed the parched for taking a sip wherever they can, eh? <br /><br /> Beg pardon? They said *what?!* Of all the nerve! The brass! The cheek of those... those oakbrained oafs! <br /><br /> Can a fellow help it that he sometimes requires a little stroll and a chat outside his usual environs? And I'm just supposed to spend eternity confined to these four walls, eh? <br /><br /> I don't see what the bally problem is! It's just a bit of psychic effluence. Part of a perfectly natural process. I can't control it - not entirely. *They're* being prejudiced. <br /><br /> Well you tell them I say I shall never yield to their demands. The Fink-Nottles don't deal with terrorists." (set: $dealStatus to "countered")]] (else:)[ "Ha! Fell in with that rummy old lot, have you? Well, the societal pool here is rather shallow. Let it never be said that old Basil blamed the parched for taking a sip wherever they can, eh?"]]] (else-if: $ghostTopic is 'ghost009')[ <!-- Ectoplasm --> "Eh what? You want my...? Good heavens! [[Whatever for?"|Ectoplasm 3 Negotations]] ](else-if: $ghostTopic is 'ghost010')[ <!-- Octopus --> "Used to give me the heebie jeebies, I don't mind telling you! Altogether too much wriggling for my taste. <br /><br /> But do you know, once you look past all that tenticular flailing, he really is a fine chap! Plays a mean hand of Whist, don't you know." ](else-if: $ghostTopic is 'ghost011')[ <!-- Skull --> "Oh he's a bit unnatural I grant you. Anyone could tell you that living on as a ghost, the insubstance of your being becoming a spirit, rather than animating a pile of bones is the *natural* order of things - but dash it all if he isn't really the most delightful cove! <br /><br /> Yes... I like to think that if we'd have known each other when the vitals were still in the pink we'd have made quite a time of it! Two rakes out on the town, enjoying all that the material has to offer, eh what?" ](else-if: $ghostTopic is 'ghost012')[ <!-- Oisín --> "Ah, the Lady's righthand man. One never really knows what's going on behind those beady little eyes, but he serves our Lady with endless devotion - a standup gentlemen, in my estimation." ](else-if: $ghostTopic is 'ghost013')[ <!-- Himself --> "Fine, thank you." ](else-if: $ghostTopic is 'ghostClear')[ ](else:)[ ]}<pre style="line-height: 1em;"> ___________________ ___________________ .-/| 78 ~~**~~ \ / ~~**~~ 79 |\-. |||| : |||| |||| Dorothy asked : The Scarecrow |||| |||| the Scarecrow : answered "Some |||| |||| "How can you : people without |||| |||| talk if you : brains do an |||| |||| haven't got : awful lot |||| |||| a brain?" : of talking." |||| |||| She looked at : She replied, |||| |||| him puzzled. : "That's true." |||| |||| : |||| |||| The Wizard Of Oz : boba@wwa.com |||| ||||___________________ : ___________________|||| ||/====================\:/====================\|| `---------------------~___~--------------------'' </pre><pre style="line-height: 1em;"> ` |____________________________________________________| | __ __ _ _ ___ || ____ ____ _ __ | || |__ |--|_| || |_| |||_|**|=|__|+|+||___| || | | ||==|^^||--| |=||=| |=*=||| |~~|w| |=|=|| | |~||==| | || |##|| | | || | |JOY|||-| | |==|+|+||-|-|~||__| | ||__|__||__|_|_||_|_|___|||_|__|_|__|_|_||_|_|_||__|_| ||_______________________||__________________________| | _____________________ || __ __ _ __ _ | ||=|=|=|=|=|=|=|=|=|=|=| || | |_| ||#||==||#| / /| || | | | | | | | | | | | || |++|=| || ||==|| | / / | ||_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_| ||__|__|_|__||_||__||_|/_/__| |________________________||__________________________| | __ __ _ _ || ___ _ ___ _____| ||~~|_|..|__| || |_ _ || | ||=|__|~|~|___| | | | ||--|+|^^|==|1||2| |@| || |~~~|| |==|x|x|+|+|=|=|=| ||__|_|__|__|_||_|_|_| || |___||_|__|_|_|_|_|_|_|_| |________________________||__________________________| | ______ _ __ || __ __ ___| || __ ||_|_|_|##|_|| || _|==|_|++|_|-||| || (..) ||=|#|--| || || | | |~| | | ||| ||((()))||_|_|__|_|_ || _|_|__|_|__|_|_||| |________________________||__________________________| |__ __ ____ ___ || ____ ____ _ _ _ _| |\ \ |--|_| || |_| |||_|**|*|__|+|+||_ _| |%|%|%| | \/\ |--| |=||=| |=*=||| |~~|~| |=|=|| | |~|=|=|=| | \/\ | | | || | |JOY|||-| | |==|+|+||-|-|~|~|~|~| |___\_\_|__|_|_||_|_|___|||_|__|_|__|_|_||_|_|_|_|_|_| |____________________________________________________|` </pre><pre style="line-height: 1em;"> |------------------------------------| ||(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b001')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b002')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b003')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b004')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b005')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b006')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b007')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b008')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b009')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]| ||(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b001')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b002')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b003')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b004')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b005')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b006')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b007')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b008')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b009')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]| ||(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b001')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b002')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b003')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b004')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b005')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b006')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b007')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b008')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b009')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]| |------------------------------------| |------------------------------------| ||(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b010')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b011')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b012')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b013')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b014')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b015')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b016')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b017')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b018')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]| ||(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b010')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b011')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b012')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b013')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b014')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b015')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b016')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b017')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b018')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]| ||(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b010')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b011')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b012')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b013')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b014')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b015')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b016')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b017')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b018')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]| |------------------------------------| |------------------------------------| ||(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b019')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b020')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b021')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'book022')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b023')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b024')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b025')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b026')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b027')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]| ||(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b019')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b020')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b021')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'book022')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b023')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b024')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b025')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b026')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b027')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]| ||(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b019')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b020')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b021')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'book022')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b023')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b024')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b025')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b026')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "|X|")[(set: $book to 'b027')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]| |____________________________________| | _ _ _ _ _ _ ___ _ _ _ _ | ||-||-||-||-||-||-||===| _ |-||%|%|%|| ||X||X||X||X||X||*||JOY||X||X||=|=|=|| ||-||-||-||-||-||-||===||-||-||~|~|~|| |____________________________________| | _ _ _ _ _ _ ___ _ _ _ _ _ | ||-||-||-||-||-||-||===||-||-||%|%|%|| ||X||X||X||X||X||X||JOY||X||X||=|=|=|| ||-||-||-||-||-||-||===||-||-||~|~|~|| |____________________________________| | _ _ _ _ _ _ ___ _ _ _ _ _ | ||-||-||-||-||-||-||===||-||-||%|%|%|| ||X||X||X||X||X||X||JOY||X||X||=|=|=|| ||-||-||-||-||-||-||===||-||-||~|~|~|| |____________________________________| | _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ | ||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||%|%|%| | ||X||X||X||X||X||X||-||X||X||=|=|=| | ||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||~|~|~| | |____________________________________| | _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ | ||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||%|%|%| | ||X||X||X||X||X||X||-||X||X||=|=|=| | ||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||~|~|~| | |____________________________________| |____________________________________| | _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ | ||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||%|%|%| | ||X||X||X||X||X||X||-||X||X||=|=|=| | ||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||~|~|~| | |____________________________________| (link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b001')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]] </pre> |title>[(display: 'Books')] With a theatrical wave of his arm Basil invites you to take in the room. "Please, please make yourself at home! Any guest of The Lady is welcome in the library. Take a gander or three - as many ganders as you'd like! We've got more books than you can shake the complete Dickens at. And if you have any questions, you know where to find me, eh what?" [[Pip pip!|The Library Cont 6]] With that, Basil returns the book to its spot on the shelf. As he does so, something falls from his hand and lands on the floor beneath him with a *plop*. He floats to another shelf in the corner, takes up another book, and begins quietly reading, leaving you to [[explore the library.|Library Repeat]] While books are the predominant feature of the room, there are a few other items of note. (set: $searchedLibrary to true) (link-repeat: "An elegant reading chair")[(set: $librarySearch1 to true)(replace: ?title)[In the dead center of the room sits one of only two non-bookcase pieces of furniture: a large reading chair, upholstered in soft blue satin with a damask pattern. A long silver blanket rests neatly folded on an arm. Upon close inspection there are several spots along the fabric that have been expertly repaired - cushioning replaced, perhaps.]] (link-repeat: "Scratch marks on the floor")[(set: $librarySearch2 to true)(replace: ?title)[Outward from the reading chair, a tangled web of deep scratch marks runs along the surface of the floor. It appears that, lacking a stepstool, the chair has been simply dragged around from shelf to shelf as needed. Economic, if rough on the wood.]] (link-repeat: "A side table")[(set: $librarySearch3 to true)(replace: ?title)[Beside the chair is a small side table - polished walnut with clawed feet. It's home to nothing but a Tiffany reading lamp, whose stained glass surface depicts a daisy chain of ivy set into a cool blue background.]] (link-repeat: "A mound of grey goop")[(set: $librarySearch4 to true)(replace: ?title)[Near the chair there is a mound of odorless grey goo. If this is pudding, it's the least-appetizing pudding you've ever seen. (if: $ectoplasmFound is true)[ "Ah," comes Simon's voice "*Expired* ectoplasm, I call it. After a day or two the life just seems to go out of the stuff. Energy returning from whence it came, I should think."](else:)[ You give it a poke. There's a slight give to it. Unfortunately this does not compel the stuff to reveal its mysteries to you. Your hand comes away feeling unclean.]]] (link-repeat: "A worn pack of cards")[(set: $librarySearch5 to true)(replace: ?title)[A worn Bicycle deck, seemingly assembled from the surviving cards from a multitude of different packs, rests on a low footstool. Beside the pack there is a pad of paper marked by neat handwriting: ROUND 1: L - 15 | B - 12 | Crib L - 4 | Crib B - 6 ROUND 2: L - 18 | B - 22 | Crib L - 5 | Crib B - 4 ROUND 3: L - 20 | B - 15 | Crib L - 6 | Crib B - 7 ROUND 4: L - 14 | B - 18 | Crib L - 4 | Crib B - 5]] |title>[] --- If you have other things to do, you're free to [[leave.|Library Repeat]](set: $offering to "ghost") Basil's face lights up. "Chuffed, positively chuffed!" { (unless: $inv's length is 0)[ (for: each _item, ...$inv)[ <br> (link-repeat: _item)[ (replace: ?title)[ (display: _item) ] ] ] ] } |title>[] --- Do you have nothing with which to amuse Basil? Perhaps you'd better [[return to the Library.|Library Repeat]] *Escape* is perhaps putting it too harshly, but spending another weekend cooped up in your tiny studio apartment is the last thing you want to do. You think about that freedom of movement and the anticipation works its way into your bones. Your legs begin to itch at the thought of having the space to get up and walk around, not confined to 400 square feet. As if on cue, with one final lurch uphill, the car (link-reveal: "rolls to a stop.")+(append: "rolls to a stop.")[ <div id="first-passage">`***`</div> Exiting the car, you barely have time to shut the door before it takes off down the hill, and in a blink you hear the engine echoing somewhere out of sight. You look down and are surprised to find your luggage stacked neatly at your side. Gathering your belongings, you breathe deep and take in your surroundings. Up here in the mountains, the rain has settled into a fine mist. Through its shroud, you can just make out [[the house.|Outside Cont]]]The house is a small two story Victorian, remarkably well kept, with dark siding and darker trim. It stretches toward the sky unevenly, like a cat arching its shoulders - cordial, but cautious. Forest surrounds the house on three sides, the low croaking of frogs floating from somewhere beyond the trees. To the south, pines have been cleared away to make way for what looks like a vegetable garden. A lone goat munches grass in his pen, eyes glossy with pleasure. The echoing of the car dies away, and [[you enter the house.|Foyer Start]](set: $searchedFoyer to true) Despite the sparse furnishings in this room, there are several objects that pique your curiosity. (link-repeat: "A porcelain vase")[(set: $foyerSearch1 to true)(replace: ?title)[Tucked into a corner, atop a pedestal, is a white porcelain vase - one of several stationed throughout the room. Delicate painted figures dance across its surface. Wait. You squint as you look closer. Oh. No. They're definitely *not* dancing. They're... well... whoever lives here must be VERY uninhibited. Or perhaps this counts as fine art, you're not sure.]] (link-repeat: "The cobwebs")[(set: $foyerSearch2 to true)(replace: ?title)[The webs occupy only a tasteful amount of ceiling space; not so much as to give the impression of homely neglect, but just enough to give the spiders their due. You think you see your echo wiggle slightly in one of the webs. You wonder how many others are trapped up there.]] (link-repeat: "A coat rack")[(set: $foyerSearch3 to true)(replace: ?title)[(if: $inv does not contain "The Midnight Cloak")[(set: $inv to $inv + (a: "The Midnight Cloak"))A long midnight cloak hangs from the rack. It's feather-light in your hands. It beckons you to try it on, which is a first for you and apparel. Complying, (who are you to deny the beseechments of a strange garment?) you experimentally drape it around your shoulders. The velvet clings to your skin like shadow; its folds whisper as they billow in the air. Now *that* is some serious witchery. When you attempt to unbuckle the clasp it stubbornly refuses to come undone. Oh well, it looks like you're borrowing it. You have ''become enshrouded'' by the Midnight Cloak.(if: $foundCat is true)[](else:)[ From the shadows behind the rack comes a noise - a susurration that (link: "draws your attention to their inky depths.")[(set: $foundCatFrom to "coat_rack")(goto: "The Cat Appears")](replace: ?exit)[Uh-oh. You can no longer return to the wider room - unfortunately it appears that susurration behind the coat rack has bored its way into your being. You cannot rest until you investigate its source. Tricky devils, susurruses.]]](else:)[(if: $foundCat is true)[The rack is bare(if: $foundCatFrom is "coat_rack")[; the shadows behind it free of eldritch susurrations.](else:)[.]](else:)[The rack is bare, but the noise is still present. A rustling in the (link: "the shadows behind the coat rack.")[(set: $foundCatFrom to "coat_rack")(goto: "The Cat Appears")]]]]] (link-repeat: "A marble bust")[(set: $foyerSearch4 to true)(replace: ?title)[Nestled in a small alcove to the right of the stairs is a marble bust of a woman in the classic Greco-Roman style. A small bronze plaque below the bust names her "Hestia" - the goddess of hearth and home. Her expression is piercing, and her eyes seem to follow you about the room as if sizing you up, waiting for you to commit some guestly faux pas worthy of her wrath.]] (link-repeat: "A pile of candy?")[(set: $foyerSearch5 to true)(replace: ?title)[In the corner by the kitchen is a miniature table, no more than ankle height. A small crystal dish rests on the tabletop, piled with an assortment of sweets.]] |title>[] --- |exit>[If you've poked about to your satisifaction, you may [[return to the rest of the room.|Foyer Repeat]]] The foyer stands ready, awaiting your eye. Let's not pretend we're above snooping - after all, who doesn't love a good snoop? You're among friends - I won't tell if you care to [[poke about|Search Foyer]] the room. A narrator's job is not to judge; merely recount. --- Alternatively, you could start your expedition elsewhere: (link: "To the North,")[(set: $foundCatFrom to "kitchen")(goto: "The Cat Appears")] the air carries the scent of spice, citrus, and vinegar. Lots and lots of vinegar. A ''kitchen'', then. (link: "To the South,")[(set: $foundCatFrom to "study")(goto: "The Cat Appears")] a small room squats as if in hiding. A shadow spills out beyond the doorframe, the peaks and dips at its crown suggestive of a large grandfather clock. Perhaps a ''study''? (link: "To the East,")[(set: $foundCatFrom to "staircase")(goto: "The Cat Appears")] the gleam of polished walnut blinds you - the wood of an intricately-carved handrail. Beckoning upwards, a ''grand staircase''. Or feel free to [[peruse your inventory.|Inventory]](set: $transCounter to 0)\ |sample1)[(transition: "dissolve")[First sample text.]] |sample2)[(transition: "dissolve")[Second sample text.]] |sample3)[(transition: "dissolve")[Third sample text.]] { (live: 1s)[ (set: $transCounter to it + 1) (if: $transCounter is 1)[ (show: ?sample1) ] (else-if: $transCounter is 2)[ (show: ?sample2) ] (else-if: $transCounter is 3)[ (show: ?sample3) ] (else:)[ (stop:) ] ] } "Ah, her Emerald," a note of secondhand pride in the Skull's voice. "Thing's important, though I can't say why." You reach toward the case. It's protected by a large, intricately-patterened iron padlock. From above, you hear a clicking sound. The Skull pushes a key out through his teeth for a moment, then slides it back in. It rattles back and forth behind his jaw. "Listen... Do you recall the first day of your visit to The House? I'm sure you remember everything, down to the last detail, with perfect clarity. But sometimes it is beneficial to stroll down the [paths of the past.|Memory 2] So come, let us step back together, wind our way through Memory's bright brick lanes and shaded alleys, knocking on familiar doors and smiling at familiar faces, sweeping away debris and cementing down loose bricks as we go. Where did it all begin? Ah yes, [the drive.|Intro] Finally a long white tail unfolds itself, revealing a second alert, yellow eye. [[The Cat stares at you, unblinking.|Foyer Repeat]](set: $mishaHungry to true)(set: $catTopic to "catClear") Misha shrinks back, the darting of his pupils increases with percussive angst. "Mistress has not been seen in some time... and Misha grows ever so hungry," his voice takes on a piteous waver, his small frame contorting this way and that as though stretched and compressed by the seesaw of its pitch. "Perhaps if you... fetched fish for Misha. Yes... that would prove trustworthiness, loyalty in defending Mistress' most faithful servant!" Satisfied with his own moral gymnastics, [[Misha sits back on his haunches and smiles.|The Cat Repeat]] You assure Misha of your good intentions, pointing out that the letter's author - presumably this "Mistress" - calls you their *friend.* "Hmph. Mistress not have many friends outside. The others went first." Misha's gaze [[returns to the letter.|The Cat Cont 3]] Without a word, you reach for the cat. There is a cat, it will be pet. But it will *not* be pet, as it turns out. Misha expertly dodges your hand. "No NO! Until you meet Mistress you are a stranger!" From a safe distance, Misha's eyes [[return to the letter.|The Cat Cont 3]] You note that he seems a trifle rude. Misha does not take this in good humor. "Must keep rats out! No matter their size!" Misha's gaze [[returns to the letter.|The Cat Cont 3]] Misha emits a sharp, irritated groan. As he does, some of the tension goes out of him - apart from his whiskers, which retain needlelike rigidity. "Would not be wise of Misha to go against Mistress' wishes." His whiskers flash silver as he lowers his head and glares. "But you'd best be careful." With that, Misha stretches, and against all laws of physics somehow takes up the entirety of the bottom step, blocking the path upward. He looks at you and [[nods.|The Cat Repeat]] (if:visits is 1)[It appears Misha will tolerate your questions now.](else:)[You approach Misha slowly. Misha looks up at you from where he blocks the staircase.] Pupils dart back and forth in his bulging yellow eyes. "Yes, yes? What do you ask of Misha?" (link-repeat: "Misha")[(set: $catTopic to 'cat005')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Cat Topics')]] (link-repeat: "The Letter")[(set: $catTopic to 'cat000')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Cat Topics')]] (link-repeat: "The House")[(set: $catTopic to 'cat001')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Cat Topics')]] (link-repeat: "Raison d'être")[(set: $catTopic to 'cat003')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Cat Topics')]] (link-repeat: "Mistress")[(set: $catTopic to 'cat002')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Cat Topics')]] (link-repeat: "Upstairs")[(set: $catTopic to 'cat004')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Cat Topics')]](if: $foyerSearch5 is true)[ (link-repeat: "Floor Candy")[(set: $catTopic to 'cat009')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Cat Topics')]]](if:$metOctopus is true)[ (link-repeat: "Octopus")[(set: $catTopic to 'cat006')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Cat Topics')]]](if:$exploredStudy is true)[ (link-repeat: "The Skull")[(set: $catTopic to 'cat007')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Cat Topics')]]](if:$metMess is true)[ (link-repeat: "The Mess")[(set: $catTopic to 'cat008')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Cat Topics')]]] |title>[(display: 'Cat Topics')] --- When you tire of interrogating this creature, you may (link: "return to the foyer.")[ (set: $catTopic to "catClear") (go-to: "Foyer Repeat")](set: $searchedKitchen to true) (if: $exploredStudy is 'true')[In sharp contrast to the study, everything](else:)[Everything] in this room is as tidy as can be, each and every item from the largest pot to the smallest toothpick has been lovingly organized. You shudder as you think of the grease layer in your own kitchen, left over from previous tenants that, despite your best efforts, remains stubbornly affixed to every surface. You heave a relaxed sigh as you run your eye over the gleaming countertops and polished appliances. Now, where to begin...? (if:$mishaHungry is true)[Perhaps there is somewhere to find Misha's fish.] (link-repeat: "The walk-in pantry")[(set: $kitchenSearch1 to true)(replace: ?title)[The pantry is full from top to bottom, with rows of jars labeled in neat handwriting. You see everything from pickled carrots to pickled radishes. *Hm.* Mostly pickles. The corner baseboard is home to a small cartoon-perfect mousehole. Beside it sits an itty-bitty plate resting on a wee doily. The feast? A fingernail-sized wedge of cheese. You suspect (if: $metMisha is true)[Misha](else:)[the cat] is not allowed in here.(if: $mishaHungry is true)[ The only bare patch of shelf is precisely where a stack of tinned fish might go. Rats.]]] (link-repeat: "A spotless stove")[(set: $kitchenSearch2 to true)(replace: ?title)[A stainless steel stove is set in an alcove, dark cabinetry hedging in its brick backsplash - perhaps the remains of an old fireplace. Great bundles of dried herbs hang from the upper cabinets, their attendant fragrances imbuing the space with musty sweetness. A large stockpot (you resist the urge to think of it as a cauldron) rests on the range. On the adjacent counter sit a basket of eggs, an empty cookbook stand (the question comes unbidden - for cookbooks or grimoires?), and a record player with an empty platter.]] (link-repeat: "A breakfast nook")[(set: $kitchenSearch3 to true)(replace: ?title)[The east wall is home to a small breakfast nook with benches on all sides. Beside the table is a tea trolley with a large, empty beverage tub on top.]] (link-repeat: "A small fridge")[(set: $kitchenSearch4 to true)(replace: ?title)[The small fridge's shelves are laden with jars of homemade condiments, sauces, and soups, neatly organized by size. The freezer - full to bursting - is more of the same.(if:$mishaHungry is true)[ But among its many treasures, there is no fish to be found. Well, a fridge is where *you* would keep fish but perhaps your host is of a more eccentric disposition.]]](if: $metOctopus is not true)[ (link-repeat: "A enormous sink")[(set: $kitchenSearch5 to true)(replace: ?title)[The sink is wider and deeper than any you've seen, and it's full of sudsy water. Stacks of dirty dishes rise and fall out of it like the towers of a great sunken castle. But - and I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news - you can see something *slithering* [[beneath the porcelain parapets.|The Octopus Appears]]]]] |title>[] --- Is the herb-perfumed air too cloying? Perhaps you'd better [[take a step back|Kitchen Return]] for the present.(set: $offering to "octopus") (if:$octopusMoved is true)[The Octopus stirs, inclines his head toward, and lifts a tentacle to rub the sleep out of his eye.](else:)[The Octopus stretches a tentacle toward you, curled in receipient gesture.] { (unless: $inv's length is 0)[ (for: each _item, ...$inv)[ <br> (link-repeat: _item)[ (replace: ?title)[ (display: _item) ] ] ] ] } |title>[] --- Could it be that you can bear to part with nothing in your possession? Then you might [[return to the kitchen.|Kitchen Return]](set: $offering to "misha") "Hm?" Misha straightens his back. "Something for Misha? Come come, let's have it!" { (unless: $inv's length is 0)[ (for: each _item, ...$inv)[ <br> (link-repeat: _item)[ (replace: ?title)[ (display: _item) ] ] ] ] } |title>[] --- Or perhaps you question the wisdom of giving this creature your posessions? By all means, [[return to the foyer.|Foyer Repeat]]<div id="first-passage">(if: (passage:)'s tags contains "foyer")[-The Foyer, Ground Floor-](elseif: (passage:)'s tags contains "kitchen")[-The Kitchen, Ground Floor-](elseif: (passage:)'s tags contains "study")[-The Study, Ground Floor-](elseif: (passage:)'s tags contains "staircase")[-The Staircase, Ground Floor-](elseif: (passage:)'s tags contains "library")[-The Library, Upper Level-](elseif: (passage:)'s tags contains "landing")[-The Landing, Upper Level-](elseif: (passage:)'s tags contains "bedroom")[-The Bedroom, Upper Level-](elseif: (passage:)'s tags contains "attic")[-The Attic-](elseif: (passage:)'s tags contains "darkness")[-Darkness-](else:)[]</div>{(if:$offering is "inv")[The cloak shivers slightly at your touch.](elseif:$offering is "misha")["Mistress' Going Out cloak! Misha suppose you can borrow, but you take good care or your ankles will know the sting of Misha's deadly teeth!!"] (elseif: $offering is "octopus")[The Octopus gently strokes the cloak, with a familarity as if he's done this many times before. He splashes appreciatively(if:$octopusMoved is true)[.](else:)[, sending scads of soap bubbles into the air.]] (elseif: $offering is "skull")["By the looks of it, it's taken a liking to you."] (elseif: $offering is "ghost")["Ah, one of The Lady's favourites. They go simply everywhere together. Though why it's gotten so chummy with you, I should wonder."] (elseif: $offering is "clock")[Too flowy, and in any case it remains comfortably affixed to your skin.] (elseif: $offering is "misha2")[You dangle the hem of the cloak at Misha, enticely out of reach, bouncing it up and down. He chuckles. "Mouse more fun than that!"] (elseif: $offering is "furniture")["Ooooh don't often see the likes of the Going Out cloak around here." <br /><br /> "Yeah, we're more 'staying in' types."] (elseif: $offering is "familiar")["Yes... good... you... keep."(set: $missingCloak to false)]}(set: $inv to (a:))(set: $inv to $inv + (a: "The Midnight Cloak"))(set: $inv to $inv + (a: "The Letter")) <h3>SHOPPING~~ Everything here is free!</h3> (link: "Give Teddy Bear")[(set: $inv to $inv + (a: "Teddy Bear"))Got Teddy Bear!] (link: "Give Opera Record")[(set: $inv to $inv + (a: "Opera Record"))Got classier!] (link: "Give Mouse Mousse")[(set: $inv to $inv + (a: "Mouse Mousse"))Got Mouse Mousse!] (link: "Give Emerald")[(set: $inv to $inv + (a: "Emerald"))Got bling, baby!] (link: "Give Pen and Paper")[(set: $inv to $inv + (a: "Pen and Paper"))Scribble Scribble!] (link: "Give Key")[(set: $inv to $inv + (a: "Key"))Got Keyed!] (link: "Give Clock Weight")[(set: $inv to $inv + (a: "Clock Weight"))Weighted down!] (link: "Give Joy of Cooking")[(set: $inv to $inv + (a: "The Joy of Cooking"))Just add butter!] (link: "Give Soapy Canned Fish")[(set: $inv to $inv + (a: "Soapy Canned Fish"))Tasty fishies] (link: "Give Tangle of Ouroboral Silks")[(set: $inv to $inv + (a: "Tangle of Ouroboral Silks"))Wriggly] (link: "Give Ectoplasm")[(set: $inv to $inv + (a: "Ectoplasm"))Let there be light!] (link: "Give Octo Book")[(set: $inv to $inv + (a: "Eight Arms for Hugging"))Knowledge is power!] (link: "ENT-sential Oil")[(set: $inv to $inv + (a: "ENT-sential Oil"))Gross!] <h3>TRAVEL! SEE THE WORLD</h3> [[Misha Offers]] [[Octopus Offers]] [[Kitchen Return]] [[Kitchen Repeat]] [[The Cat Repeat]] [[Study Repeat]] [[Search Foyer]] [[DEBUGGING ZONE]] [[The Skull]] [[Landing Repeat]] [[Ghost Offers]] [[Improvise a toy]] <h3>VARIABLES? DON'T MIND IF I DO</h3> ''LANDING VARIABLES'' (link-reveal: "Meet Raven")[(set: $metRaven to true)] (link-reveal: "Ensoggify the Silks")[(set: $wetSilks to true)] ''BEDROOM VARIABLES'' (link-reveal: "Add light")[(set: $ectoplasm to 3)] (link-reveal: "Deal offered")[(set: $dealOffered to true)] (link-reveal: "Meet Furniture")[(set: $metFurniture to true)] ''LIBRARY VARIABLES'' (link-reveal: "Meet the Ghost!")[(set: $metGhost to true)] (link-reveal: "Need Light!")[(set: $needLight to true)(set: $ectoplasmFound to true)] ''FOYER VARIABLES'' (link-reveal: "Find the Cat!")[(set: $foundCat to true)] (link-reveal: "Meet Misha!")[(set: $metMisha to true)] (link-reveal: "Make Misha Hungry!")[(set: $mishaHungry to true)] (link-reveal: "Find the Cat in the KITCHEN")[(set: $foundCatFrom to "kitchen")] (link-reveal: "Find the Cat in the STUDY")[(set: $foundCatFrom to "study")] (link-reveal: "Find the Cat in the STAIRCASE")[(set: $foundCatFrom to "staircase")] (link-reveal: "Find the Cat in the FOYER")[(set: $foundCatFrom to "coat_rack")] ''STUDY VARIABLES'' (link-reveal: "Test Deal Signed")[(set: $dealSigned to true)] (link-reveal: "Test Met Octopus")[(set: $metOctopus to true)] (link-reveal: "Test Need Emerald")[(set: $needEmerald to true)] (link-reveal: "Test Study Explored")[(set: $exploredStudy to true)] (link-reveal: "Test Mess Appeased")[(set: $messAppeased to true)] (link-reveal: "Skull Bargain Active")[(set: $skullBargainActive to true)] (link-reveal: "Set State 1")[(set: $studySearch1 to true)(set: $studySearch2 to true)(set: $studySearch3 to true)(set: $studySearch4 to true)(set: $messAppeased to true)(set: $metMess to true)] (link-reveal: "Set State 2")[(set: $studySearch1 to true)(set: $studySearch2 to true)(set: $studySearch3 to true)(set: $studySearch4 to true)(set: $metMess to true)] (link-reveal: "Set State 3")[(set: $studySearch1 to true)(set: $studySearch2 to true)(set: $studySearch3 to true)(set: $studySearch4 to true)] (link-reveal: "Test Met Mess")[(set: $metMess to true)] (link-reveal: "Test Crumpled Letter")[(set: $crumpledLetter to true)] ''KITCHEN VARIABLES'' (link-reveal: "Test Eyeless Bear")[(set: $eyelessBear to true)] (link-reveal: "Test Stove")[(set: $stoveFree to true)] (link-reveal: "Test ingredients")[(set: $ingredientsCollected to true)] (link-reveal: "Test Joy")[(set: $JoyofCookingFound to true)] (link-reveal: "Test Cooked")[(set: $cooked to true)] (link-reveal: "Test Octopus Moved")[(set: $octopusMoved to true)] (link-reveal: "Test Searched Kitchen")[(set: $kitchenSearch1 to true)(set: $kitchenSearch2 to true)(set: $kitchenSearch3 to true)(set: $kitchenSearch4 to true)(set: $kitchenSearch5 to true)(set: $metOctopus to true)] (link-reveal: "Test Met Octopus")[(set: $metOctopus to true)] (link-reveal: "Test Smelly Octopus")[(set: $smellyOctopus to true)] (link-reveal: "Test Hungry Cat")[(set: $mishaHungry to true)] (link-reveal: "Give ingredients")[(set: $ingredients to 2)](set: $metOctopus to true) You watch the slithering thing for a moment. And then there is a clatter, as the great walls of the castle [[come tumbling down.|The Octopus Appears Cont]]{(if: $offering is "inv")[The faded red cover reads "La traviata". On it, a pair of lovers gaze at each other, tragedy in their eyes. The effect is only slightly spoiled by the sucker marks imprinted all over it.] (elseif: $offering is "misha")[Misha sniffs the record, then goes for a test bite. Luckily, your hand is faster.] (elseif: $offering is "octopus")[The Octopus leans a little closer and [[examines the record's cover.|Octopus Moves]]] (elseif: $offering is "skull")["Got any Grateful Dead?"] (elseif: $offering is "clock")[Too rectangular (in its sleeve) or round (out of it).]} Set within the eye, a large rectangular pupil tracks your movements as the waters around it begin to roil and writhe like a stormy sea. Then eight wiggling shapes, like great coils of slippery rope, (link-reveal: "burst from the water.")+(append: "burst from the water.")[ <div id="first-passage">`***`</div> The Octopus is still for a moment. Its rectangular pupil is still as it regards you with an expectant look. [["Nice to meet you."]] [[Back away slowly]] [[Offer a handshake]]] You give the Octopus a cheerful greeting. Its pupil narrows, then dialates. It shifts in the water slightly, and something it does generates a mass of soap bubbles. You suppose this signifies a reply. With that, the Octopus [[plunges all eight wriggling tentacles back into the sink.|The Octopus Appears Cont 3]] You slowly - oh *so* slowly - place one foot behind you, then the other behind that. You repeat the process several times until you are safely on the other side of the room. The Octopus raises its tentacles in a shruglike gesture before [[plunging all eight of them back into the sink.|The Octopus Appears Cont 3]] You extend your hand. The Octopus wraps a firm tentacle around. You give it a good shake. When you release your hand, the Octopus dutifully releases also. Social procedure concluded, the Octopus [[plunges all eight wriggling tentacles back into the sink.|The Octopus Appears Cont 3]] In a shower of soapy water, the Octopus again raises all eight appendages, this time holding an assortment of dirty dishes, brushes, rags, and sponges. For each dish, a cleaning implement. It begins industriously scrubbing, three dishes at a time, with one arm on drying duty. With its final arm, it holds a can of tuna, which it periodically slaps with its dish towel at rhythmic intervals. As it scrubs, (link-reveal: "you discern a certain pattern in the noise...")+(append: "you discern a certain pattern in the noise...")[ <div id="first-passage">`***`</div> You strain your ears. It could be your imagination but you could swear that the rhythm of the brushing is set to the drinking song from *La traviata*, with the occasional soap bubble popping to emphasize the high notes. [[Well fancy that.|Kitchen Return]]] The Octopus drops everything he's holding - pots, pans, scrubbers, and the can of tuna into the sink. Then with evident delight, he grabs the record with two tentacles and hoists it high in the air. His prize secured, he (link-reveal: "raises himself out of the water.")+(append: "raises himself out of the water.")[ <div id="first-passage">`***`</div> Holding the record aloft, he crawls over to the record player where he inserts the record and sets it spinning with practiced ease. Once the sweet notes of *La traviata* are playing, [[he opens the lid of the stockpot and climbs in.|Octopus Moves Cont]]](set: $octopusMoved to true)(set: $inv to $inv + (a: "Soapy Canned Fish"))(set: $inv to $inv - (a: "Opera Record")) The Octopus sways with the melody, arms aflail in cephalopodic mimicry of a conductor's waving baton. A tentacle sets the heat to low as he leans back to enjoy some octopodal hot tubbing. Soon his movements slow as he (link-reveal: "drifts to sleep.")+(append: "drifts to sleep.")[ <div id="first-passage">`***`</div> He falls into light napping, tentacles draping out of the pot like spilled spaghetti. Four of them snake around the range's knobs and begin to squeeze slowly. Squeeze, relax, squeeze relax.... You reach into the soapy dishwater and root around until you find the tuna can. You pull the can, dripping, from the sink and pocket it. You have ''fished out'' the Soapy Canned Fish. It squelches softly in your pocket as you [[return your focus to the kitchen.|Kitchen Return]]] {(if: $metOctopus is true)[ (if:$octopusMoved is true)[ (if:$stoveFree is true)[ Nestled in its self-made spa, the Octopus dozes, all eight tentacles wrapped firmly around his (if: $eyelessBear is true)[one-eyed ]teddy bear.(if: $smellyOctopus is true)[The scent of ENT-sential Oil wafts up from him in thick coils.]<br /><br /> The rest of the kitchen remains in order, the only notable change is the [[stove|Cooking]] is now free.] (else:)[ <!-- Stove is NOT free, either by cooking or you haven't freed it yet --> (if:$cooked is true)[ You stuff the *Mouse Mousse* into your pocket, taking care not to crush the airy bubbles you labored so hard to create. Its scent lingers in the air. <br /><br />The Octopus(if: $smellyOctopus is true)[, the scent of his ENT-sential Oil filling the air,] continues snoozing in his hot tub as *La traviata* plays on. All else is still in the kitchen.] (else:)[ <!-- Cooked is NOT true --> The kitchen remains still, apart from the Octopus dozing in his stockpot, half his tentacles coiled tightly around the range's knobs. They squeeze and relax with his breathing, hypnotically.(if: $smellyOctopus is true)[ The mossy scent of his ENT-sential Oil fills the air.]<br /><br />If you've reason to wake him, you could [[offer|Octopus Offers]] him something.]] (if: $JoyofCookingFound is true and $cooked is not true)[ <br /><br />There is a basket of eggs next to the stove, though you see no reason to risk breaking them by jamming them into your pockets. Best to leave them there until you get cooking.]] (else:)[ <!-- Octopus HAS NOT moved, checking to see if you have searched *every* POI --> (if: $kitchenSearch1 is true and $kitchenSearch2 is true and $kitchenSearch3 is true and $kitchenSearch4 is true and $kitchenSearch5 is true)[ You feel content that you've thoroughly ''scoured'' the kitchen. And] (elseif: $kitchenSearch1 is true or $kitchenSearch2 is true or $kitchenSearch3 is true or $kitchenSearch4 is true or $kitchenSearch5 is true)[ You have looked through the room a bit, though you may wish to give the room a more [[thorough scouring.|Search Kitchen]] But at least] now you've met an Octopus, so there is that.<br /><br />He's still scrubbing away merrily in the sink, a one cephalopod band-*cum*-dishwasher playing the melody of an opera classic with brushes, scrubbers, pots and pans. Every once in a while, he shakes the can of tuna for vibrato. And they say innovation is dead.<br /><br />He appears both content and occupied, but I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you interrupted to [[offer|Octopus Offers]] him something. As the narrator, I know these things.]] (else:)[ <!-- MetOctopus is NOT true --> (if: $kitchenSearch1 is true and $kitchenSearch2 is true and $kitchenSearch3 is true and $kitchenSearch4 is true and $kitchenSearch5 is true)[ The kitchen smells of spice and vinegar. All is quiet. <br /><br /> However, you *shiver* at the thought of that ''slithering thing'' within the waters of the sink. Perhaps that merits a [[closer look.|The Octopus Appears]]] (else:)[ The kitchen smells of spice and vinegar. All is quiet. <br /><br /> You have looked through the room a bit, though you may wish to give the room a more [[thorough scouring.|Search Kitchen]]] ] } --- But perhaps you've lost your appetite, in which case you might [[return to the foyer.|Foyer Repeat]] Or you could stand around and [[rifle through your pockets.|Inventory]](if: $JoyofCookingFound is true)[ (if: $ingredients is 2)[You prop *The Joy of Cooking* onto the cookbook stand, pull the basket of eggs toward you, and flip to the *Mouse Mousse* recipe. There's no need to putter around the kitchen - you find every vessel and utensil exactly where you'd expect to find them. You plop your ingredients onto the counter, flick on a burner, and [[begin the dark alchemy that is cookery.|Cooking Cont]]](else:)[You pull out *The Joy of Cooking* and consult the recipe. The eggs are right here... but... hmm. It appears you [[lack some of the other ingredients.|Kitchen Return]]]](else:)[(if: $skullBargainActive is true)[ You bend over the cooktop and rifle through your pockets. Hmm. Wait, you're not even sure how to make *Mouse Mousse*. A recipe would probably be a good place to start. Perhaps you can [[find one somewhere.|Kitchen Return]]](else:)[ There is [[nothing you wish to cook right now.|Kitchen Return]]]]{(if:$offering is "inv")[(if: $eyelessBear is true)[Your stuffed friend now looks up at you with a permanent wink.](else:)[His fur may be matted, his eyes may have dulled, and he may have a distinctly brackish scent, but he's still smiling.]] (if:$offering is "misha2")[You draw the little bear from your pocket, but Misha immediately backs up against the wall, his every hair standing on end. <br /><br /> "Poison!! Mistress, kind Mistress, told Misha there is poison in that stuffly, so to be sure not to chew it!" <br /><br /> "Not sure why Mistress keeps dangerstuff like that around. Best you be careful!"] (elseif: $offering is "octopus")[The Octopus grabs for the bear [[with terrifying speed.|Stove Opens]]] (elseif: $offering is "ghost")["Aww, cute little thing. And who's the lucky tyke?"] (elseif: $offering is "furniture")["She's always repairing that thing... You'd think she'd just get a new one."] (elseif: $offering is "skull")["Do I look like a toddler skull to you?"] (elseif: $offering is "familiar")[(if: $eyelessBear is not true)[Without a word, Oisín pecks at the Teddy Bear's eye. <br /><br /> You pull the bear back as swiftly as your reflexes allow, but Oisín comes away with the small little bead. He swallows it, grinning. <br /><br /> Oisín has ''partially blinded'' your Teddy Bear.(set: $eyelessBear to true)](else:)[You'd be foolish to try that again.]]}(set: $stoveFree to true)(set: $inv to $inv - (a: "Teddy Bear"))(set: $inv to $inv - (a: "Eight Arms for Hugging")) Reunited at last, he takes a moment to look over his friend. (if: $eyelessBear is true)[Raising another tentacle, he taps the vacant space where so recently the bear's second eye had been. A stream of bubbles jets up from beneath the waters and you detect a mournful note to their popping. He strokes the bear's head protectively.] Then he pulls the stuffed animal toward its body, and one by one, each arm slips back into the pot and folds over the bear in a tight embrace. The four coiled around the burner knobs release with a POP, leaving suction cup rings behind on the stainless steel surface. You place *Eight Arms for Hugging* down near the cookbook stand. You've [[learned what you needed.|Kitchen Return]](set: $cooked to true)(set: $stoveFree to false)(set: $inv to $inv + (a: "Mouse Mousse"))(set: $inv to $inv - (a: "The Joy of Cooking", "ENT-sential Oil", "Dead Mouse")) After some twenties of minutes spent combining, whisking, folding, and melting you at last take a step back and wipe the perspiration from where it's gathered on your brow. You deposit your culinary talismans - spatulas, whisks, bowls, and spoons, to the sudsy dishwater, taking a moment to give silent thanks to the Octopus, knowing it will be the one to purify them later. The ritual is complete. You have [[''concocted'' *Mouse Mousse.*|Kitchen Return]]{(if:$offering is "inv")[Bubbly, bright, and chock-full of mouseflesh.] (elseif:$offering is "familiar")[He squawks irritably. "Waste of a good mouse."] (elseif:$offering is "ghost")["Yeucgh! Do you always travel about with such foul concoctions squirreled away on your person?"] (elseif: $offering is "skull")["Oooh oooh! Now that's what I'm talkin' about! [[Gimme gimme!"|Obtaining the Key]]]}{(if:$offering is "inv")[<pre id ="book">` ___________________ ___________________ .-/| 78 ==%%== \ / ==%%== 79 |\-. |||| : |||| |||| ~Mouse Mousse~ : ~Mouse Mousse~ |||| |||| ---------------- : ---------------- |||| |||| Take (1) MOUSE : Fold in |||| |||| beat (2) EGGS : mouse. |||| |||| until frothy : |||| |||| : |||| |||| Heat mouse on : Add 1 drop |||| |||| STOVETOP until : ENT-SENTIAL |||| |||| soft. : OIL. |||| |||| : |||| ||||___________________ : ___________________|||| ||/====================\:/====================\|| .---------------------~___~--------------------'' `</pre>] (elseif: $offering is "skull")["Not so sure hands-free cooking is a thing. Is it a thing? You know what I just remembered: I don't care."] (elseif: $offering is "octopus")[He taps the cover, then points to the cookbook stand.] (elseif: $offering is "clock")[FAR too bulky.] (elseif: $offering is "ghost")["Why the dickens she prefers to futz around in the kitchen when she could hire a man for that sort of thing I shall never understand. But it seems to make her happy."] (elseif: $offering is "furniture")["Err... we don't really eat."] (elseif: $offering is "familiar")[He turns his head and begins preening his tailfeathers. Perhaps he is illiterate.] (elseif: $offering is "misha2")[You pull the book open and flip through the pages, making a pleasing rustling noise. Misha makes no response.]}(set: $exploredKitchen to true) Entering the kitchen, you're welcomed by a heady mix of sweet and savory scents. Cardamom, thyme, lemongrass, basil... Despite grey skies, a pleasant amount of light filters in through the garden window above the sink, where pots of fresh herbs stand as miniature counterparts to the forest trees outside. You may wish to [[scour|Search Kitchen]] the nooks and crannies of the room for anything of interest. --- But perhaps you've lost your appetite, in which case you might [[return to the foyer.|Foyer Repeat]] Or you could stand around and [[rifle through your pockets.|Inventory]]{(if:$offering is "inv")[You wipe away a layer of suds to reveal the logo - 'Tina's Tiny Tunas' <br /><br /> From her fishing boat, harpoon upheld, Tina grins at you. She winks. Wait - did you really just see that? <br /><br /> You shake your head. Has Tina's grin grown more mischevious? You can't be sure.] (elseif:$offering is "misha")["Fishy yum yums! You give!! Oh please, please! [[Give NOW!"|Misha's Bargain, Satsified]]] (elseif: $offering is "octopus")[He waves an uninterested tentacle. Evidently its services are no longer required.] (elseif: $offering is "skull")["Blech, seafood."] (elseif: $offering is "clock")[Too slippery.]}(if: (passage:)'s tags contains "search")[<!--Do nothing-->](elseif: (passage:)'s name is "WELCOME TO DA TEST ZONE")[ (link-goto: "BACK", (history:)'s last)](else:)[ [[TO TEST ZONE|WELCOME TO DA TEST ZONE]]](set: $exploredStudy to true) You're not even halfway through the door before you're the subject of a rather cheerful greeting. "Hey hey!" chirps a chipper voice. Greeted, yes. [[But by whom?|Study Intro Cont]](set: $studySearched to true) (if:$exploredKitchen is true)[In sharp contrast to the kitchen, this](else:)[This] room looks as though it were literally thrown together. The chicken scrawl handwriting of the notes and sketches that surround you offer no clues as to their meaning. But between teetering towers of the written word, you spy several areas worth a closer look. (link-repeat: "A tidy desk")[(set: $studySearch1 to true)(replace: ?title)[The desk is neither too large, nor too small. While free of clutter, its surface is pockmarked and stained with use, the varicolored ink of years past kaleidoscopically mingling with scuffs, nicks, and gouges. Curiously, there is no sign of a pen. Along the windowsills fresh herbs - sumac, parsley, sage - stretch their leaves toward what little sunshine the grey afternoon offers. A plush blue cat bed is squeezed between them, a pile of gnawed leaves in one corner. Beyond the window lies the vegetable garden in all its verdant glory. Despite the bedlam of the room, this spot feels green and quiet. You can imagine working here, day in and day out, with only the breathing of the herbs and the ticking of the clock to mark the passage of time.]] (link-repeat: "A magisterial grandfather clock")[(set: $studySearch2 to true)(replace: ?title)[The clock's shadow cuts across the length of the room, cleaving papers in two. The *tick, tick* continues steadily. In its pendulum housing are four weights - two large and two very small. Wait... no... it has three weights *and a fountain pen.* One of the small weights seems to have been replaced at some point. You open the case and reach for it - you never know when a pen might come in handy. //"Nuh-uh!"// comes an admonishment from on high. The Skull hops up and down. "You take that pen and the clock stops. It's my job to make sure it keeps ticking! Without the clock the Mess would... well, it took her ages to golemize that thing and she does *not* want to do it again if she doesn't have to. Sorry, if you want the pen you're gonna have to find a replacement." Message received, you gingerly close the case.]] (link-repeat: "A small record shelf")[(set: $studySearch3 to true)(replace: ?title)[Beside the desk, nearly covered by a stack of papers, is a low shelf home to a collection of vinyl records. Mostly classical, opera, and... ABBA Gold. Everyone's got to have fun, after all. (if: ($metOctopus is true) and ($inv does not contain "Opera Record") and ($octopusMoved is not true))[Your eye is drawn to a recording of *La traviata*. Hmm. You know a certain cephalopod who seems to enjoy this particular opera. You reach down and pull it from its spot on the shelf. You have ''collected'' the Opera Record.(set: $inv to $inv + (a: "Opera Record"))]]](if: $metMess is not true)[ (link-repeat: "A sea of paper")[(set: $studySearch4 to true)(replace: ?title)[The sea of paper stretches across the room, waves cresting over furniture, the sea spray giving rise to a breeze as redolent of ink and pulp as the ocean is of salt, seaweed, and sand. There's nothing for it but to dive in - swim through pages with edges curled, frayed, and razor sharp, perhaps plumb the depths of some undersea cave and resurface with treasure.... But no sooner do you enter than you are met with resistance as the tide forces you back out. Perhaps it would be better to [[wade in slowly.|Mess Intro]]]]] |title>[] --- If you require a respite from the untidiness, you may [[return to the wider room.|Study Repeat]] Your gaze sweeps across a study in serious disarray (we'll come back to this momentarily) searching for the voice. It comes again, insistent. A sharp whistle. "Hellooooooo! Hey! Talkin' to you down there!" [["Down" there?|Study Intro Cont 2]] Your eyes follow the voice upwards, moving quickly before the trail goes cold. You fancy you can see its impression lingering in the air for just a second when something moves on a shelf toward the ceiling. There, nestled between pots of ink and other unlabeled liquids, is a grinning skull. "Hiya!" it chirps, hopping a couple of inches in the air. With considerable generosity, he leaves an unfilled space for you to compose your thoughts. (link-reveal: "How kind.")+(append: "How kind.")[ <div id="first-passage">`***`</div> When he senses you've digested the existence of a talking skull, he begins again. His words float down gently now, insistent rains turned to light showers. "Pleased to meetcha. Name's... well, can't really remember." He grins, (link-reveal: "as if possible for a skull to do elsewise.")+(append: "as if possible for a skull to do elsewise.")[ <div id="first-passage">`***`</div> "So a guest, huh?" he raises his brow, bone stretching with the elasticity of skin and muscle. "Always nice to see a new face. Especially when they've still got skin on." [["Gosh, thanks."]] [["Nice to meet a new face *without* skin on."]] [["How are you moving?"]]]] "Suppose you'll be wanting to take a look around, eh? Well, don't let me stop ya!" You sense that could he sweep an arm - skeletal or otherwise - in a gesture of invitation, he would. And for the first time you allow yourself to take in the little room. You blink against (link-reveal: "the sheer chaos of it.")+(append: "the sheer chaos of it.")[ <div id="first-passage">`***`</div> Every surface is crowded with papers - piles and piles of them: notes in hurried shorthand, longhand, script, print, and ciphers, coffee stained and ink-bloodied. Inkpots, books, and wadded-up balls of paper fill any gaps in the avalanche of notes - fingers plugged in a dam. And here and there, stray bits of wood and fabric poke out from beneath the heaps - telltale signs of buried furniture. The walls are lined with shelves; an ordinary arrangement in any other room, but the mass of handwritten notes and open books give the impression that the shelves have been forced back, as if their presence were unwelcome. (See? I told you we'd come back to the room.) You think of your own little desk, squished into the corner of your apartment, edge touching the bed, paint peeling where it's been kicked in your sleep, piled high with papers of its own. You turn your thoughts from your apartment and [[examine the room in detail.|Study Cont 5]]] You try to conceal your blush and he pretends not to notice; an agreeable arrangement. Somehow he finds the invisible musculature to nod, or at least convey what you interpret as one. "Right-o." He [[scoots back into his niche on the shelf.|Study Intro Cont 4]] You express your enthusiasm for meeting a real live talking skull. Well, a dead skull. Semantics have their place and it is not when talking to a real live dead talking skull. He rolls his eye sockets. "Please. There's more of us than there are of you fleshy types. You're the celeb here!" He [[scoots back into his niche on the shelf.|Study Intro Cont 4]] He lets the question linger in the air in the moment, waiting, watching until it dissipates in an unceremonious poof. "I don't know," he replies simply. He [[scoots back into his niche on the shelf.|Study Intro Cont 4]](if:visits is 1)[ Re-centered, you step back and survey the room. ] The study smells of ink and paper - old pages intermingling with fresh sheets of gleaming white. { <!--If you have not searched the room at all--> (if: $studySearched is not true)[Could there be treasures hidden in the peaks and valleys of caged ink? Steel yourself, as there is only [[one way to find out.|Search Study]]] <!--If you have searched every POI, met The Mess, but have not appeased it--> (elseif: $studySearch1 is true and $studySearch2 is true and $studySearch3 is true and $studySearch4 is true and $metMess is true and $messAppeased is not true)[You have ''combed through'' the chaos to the best of your ability for now. <br />The Mess shifts to and fro, agitated by your presence. It moves with every step you take, in great shambling motions, barring you from exploring the room fully. You sense that it is hiding something. Perhaps there's something you could do [[to reach some accord?|Appeasing the Mess]]] <!--If you have searched every POI and have appeased The Mess--> (elseif: $studySearch1 is true and $studySearch2 is true and $studySearch3 is true and $studySearch4 is true and $metMess is true and $messAppeased is true)[Short of reading every page in the heaps and heaps of notes, you've thoroughly ''combed through'' this room. The Mess, purring contentedly, swirls around your feet as you move about the room.] <!--If you have searched every POI but not met The Mess--> (elseif: $studySearch1 is true and $studySearch2 is true and $studySearch3 is true and $studySearch4 is true and $metMess is not true)[You have made a valiant effort to ''comb through'' the chaos of this room, but you're left with a nagging sense that you [[missed something.|Search Study]]] <!--If you have conducted an incomplete room search--> (elseif: $studySearch1 is true or $studySearch2 is true or $studySearch3 is true or $studySearch4 is true)[You have attempted to dig in to the chaos of the room to some degree, but there is still more to [[sort through.|Search Study]] (if: $metMess is true)[(if: $messAppeased is true)[The Mess, purring contentedly, swirls around your feet as you move about the room.](else:)[<br />The Mess shifts to and fro, agitated by your presence. It moves with every step you take, barring you from exploring the room fully. You sense that it is hiding something. Perhaps there's something you could do [[to reach some accord?|Appeasing the Mess]]]]] (if: ($messAppeased is true) and ($inv does not contain "Emerald"))[ <br /><br />Housed between glass walls, the emerald gleams, its coruscating brilliance casting its glow around the room like a disco ball, lighting dark corners and tinting white pages green. (if: $skullBargainActive is true)[ The Skull said he would be willing to part with the key [[for a price.|Skull Offers]]] (elseif: $inv contains "Key")[ The case stands waiting to be [[unlocked.|Obtaining the Emerald]]]] (if: ($metOctopus is true) and ($inv does not contain "Opera Record") and ($octopusMoved is not true) and ($studySearch3 is true))[ <br /><br />You remember seeing a [[record shelf]] in the far corner that may be worth a second look.] (if: ($inv does not contain "Pen and Paper") and ($dealSigned is not true) and ($studySearch2 is true))[ <br /><br />The grandfather clock ticks away. Per the Skull's terms, could there be something you care to [[swap|Pen Swap]] for the fountain pen within its casing? (if: $dealOffered is true)[ <br/>There's loads of free, fresh paper... but no point in bogging your pockets down with a sheet until you've procured the pen.]]} From his perch among the inkpots, the Skull grins at you. His expression suggests he wouldn't [[mind a chat.|The Skull]] --- Has the scent of pulp overpowered your senses? The ticking of the clock quickening your pulse? Then perhaps you should [[return to the foyer.|Foyer Repeat]] Or perhaps you wish to [[take stock of your possessions.|Inventory]](set: $offering to "skull") "Aw, and here I didn't get you anything." { (unless: $inv's length is 0)[ (for: each _item, ...$inv)[ <br> (link-repeat: _item)[ (replace: ?title)[ (display: _item) ] ] ] ] } |title>[] --- If your business is concluded for now, you may [[return to the study.|Study Repeat]] To the south, a large grandfather clock surveys the pandemonium with indifference, its steady tick giving the room a pulse, and in what once appeared a storm you now sense sentience - a living, breathing *Mess*. The hypnotic mass of it threatens to overwhelm your senses; you look away. Ah! There! In the southwest corner, your eyes are given a respite - (link-reveal: "a small oasis on the far side of the room.")+(append: "a small oasis on the far side of the room.")[ <div id="first-passage">`***`</div> Where the walls meet, a corner window sheds light on a desk. A semblance of order has been enacted here, as if an invisible wall from some protective hex prevents the Mess from enroaching. Its surface is clear, home only to a neat stack of fresh paper, and a single inkpot. [[Phew!|Study Repeat]]] What once appeared as disparate stacks of papers and books now appears to your eye as one great shifting mass - soft about the edges despite the protrusions of paper. The Mess takes a shambolic lurch in your direction, then gibbers at you. [["Hi...?"]] [["What."]] [[Remain perfectly still]] You venture a greeting. The Mess bristles in return. [[Well alrighty then.|Study Repeat]] You're aware that the vision of certain predators is based on movement. If you just stay totally still-- "It can still see you, ya know," the Skull warns. The Mess rustles, as if nodding. [[Well alrighty then.|Study Repeat]] You reach for words but can find none adequate to the sight before you. Simply put, you are baffled. "Yeah... most people react that way at first. Takes a bit of getting used to," the Skull admits. The Mess seems to take no offense. [[Well alrighty then.|Study Repeat]] The Mess' movements increase in speed at your approach. It alternately slides and bounces from side to side in irritation. You stop in front of it and the thing rears back, increasing its bulk through some eldritch means. The Mess leans forward, and huffs and puffs at you. [["Nice Mess, Nice Mess..."]] (if: $knowLady is true)[[["I'm a guest of your mistress."|Invoke Lady]]](else:)[[["I'm a guest of The Lady."|Invoke Lady]]] [[Huff and puff right back]] Rifling through the records a second time, your eye is drawn to a recording of *La traviata*. Hmm. You know a certain cephalopod who seems to enjoy this particular opera. You reach down and pull it from its spot on the shelf. You have ''collected'' the Opera Record.(set: $inv to $inv + (a: "Opera Record")) [[How classy.|Study Repeat]]{(if:$offering is "inv")[You wince to look directly at it.] (elseif: $offering is "ghost")["Blimey!"] (elseif: $offering is "furniture")[The wardrobe creaks its hinges in what you can only describe as the wooden equivalent of a low whistle. The runner flaps its fringe; the chandelier tinkles its crystal.] (elseif: $offering is "familiar")[(if: $inv does not contain "The Midnight Cloak")["Must also... have... cloak."](else:)[(if: $missingCloak is true)["Cloak... and... gem... yes...." ]Oisín emits an eardrum-shattering [[squawk.|The End Pt 1]]]]}{(if:$offering is "inv")[The unspoiled white of the page sings of possibility, making the fountain pen feel like a magic wand in your hand. The freedom to write anything... now that is true power.] (elseif: $offering is "skull")["If I had hands I think I'd be more of a digital guy."] (elseif: $offering is "octopus")[He grabs the pen and waves it around like a conductor's baton for a few notes of *La traviata* before handing it back. He seems to prefer kitchen implements.] (elseif: $offering is "ghost")["Right ho! Now then, whenever [[you're ready."|Drawing up the Contract]]] (elseif: $offering is "furniture")["Erm... I'm not a lawyer, but that doesn't look like a contract to me." <br /><br /> "Yeah! Where's all those little... what do you call 'em?" <br /><br /> "Clauses?" <br /><br /> "Clauses! Where's all those clauses and stuff at, then?"] (elseif: $offering is "familiar")["...trade... done."]} (set: $offering to "clock") You open the pendulum's housing, careful not to let any swishing *Ticks* nick your fingers. You rummage through your belongings, in search of a suitable replacement for the fountain pen... { (unless: $inv's length is 0)[ (for: each _item, ...$inv)[ <br> (link-repeat: _item)[ (replace: ?title)[ (display: _item) ] ] ] ] } |title>[] --- Perhaps you have nothing that can bear this weight. In which case you might [[return later.|Study Repeat]] You pat the air with your hands. There there, it's alright. Good Mess, Nice Mess.... The Mess shifts back ever so slightly. [[Tell it about yourself]] [[Approach slowly]] [[Hold your hand out and wait]](if: $inv contains "The Letter")[(set: $inv to $inv - (a: "The Letter")) You pull the letter from your pocket and wave it in front of the Mess. See? You are a *guest*. You were *invited* here. The Mess is still for a moment. It then approaches, slowly. When it reaches your outstretched hand, it shifts slightly from side to side in front of the folded invitation. A gap opens within the mass, like a great maw. With one quick *CHOMP* the gap surrounds your hand, closes on it. When it pulls away, you are no longer holding the invitation. You have ''lost'' The Letter. [["Hey! Give that back!"]] [["Why don't you just read it?"]] [["Fine, whatever, see if I care."]]](else:)[ You remind The Mess that you were expressly invited here. It *must* know that, seeing as took the letter from you. You're sure, down to your guts, that it knows the contents of everything it consumes. The Mess remains unfazed. [["Give my letter back!"|"Hey! Give that back!"]] [["Why don't you just read the letter?"|"Why don't you just read it?"]] [["Keep the stupid thing. I don't care."|"Fine, whatever, see if I care."]]] You make yourself look big and give The Mess a taste of its own medicine. At first it appears you've stunned the thing - but slowly, quietly, things begin to move. Page after page spills out from their hiding places behind cabinets, books, and potted plants. It grows in intensity until the room is a maelstrom of rustling, swirling pages. [[Wave your arms around menacingly!]] [[Plant your feet firmly to the ground]] [[Back off]]{(if:$offering is "inv")[(if: $crumpledLetter is true)[The page is slightly crumpled from its encounter with The Mess, but the words remain unchanged.](else:)[The page is a pristine, almost glowing white. It bids you to spend the weekend at The House as the host's honored guest.]] (elseif:$offering is "misha")[(if: $crumpledLetter is true)[Misha takes one look at the crumpled mass and scowls. <br /> <br /> "*This* is how you treat fine words from Mistress? Not deserving, no."](else:)["Mistress' scent alright. Though what she want with *you*, not sure."]] (elseif: $offering is "octopus")[The creature pokes at the signature on the page, taps twice. The meaning is unclear.] (elseif: $offering is "skull")["Looks legit alright. Lucky you."] (elseif: $offering is "clock")[(if: $crumpledLetter is true)[Too light, and also too crumpled.](else:)[Too light.]] (elseif: $offering is "ghost")[(if: $crumpledLetter is true)["I rather think you should keep it, even though by the looks of it you could have treated it with greater care."](else:)["I rather think you should keep it."]] (elseif: $offering is "furniture")["Err... not sure what we would do with that," says the hatstand. <br /><br /> "Yeah, what good's that gonna do us?" ask the nightstands together. <br /><br /> "We already *live here*," a chair adds, helpfully.] (elseif: $offering is "familiar")[He gives it a quick peck, then loses interest.] (elseif: $offering is "misha2")[(if: $crumpledLetter is true)[You toss the crumpled ball into the air and watch it land.](else:)[You toss the letter in the air and watch it slowly float down.] <br /><br /> "That was gift from Mistress!" Misha shrieks, "You treat with care!" <br /><br /> You *carefully* fold the letter back into your pocket.]}{(if: $SkullTopic is 'Skull000')[ <!-- Letter --> "Y'know, it's hard to see what she writes from way up here. But if she invited you, you must be important. She doesn't take many guests these days." ](else-if: $SkullTopic is 'Skull001')[ <!-- Mistress --> "*Mistress?* Oh geez, you've been talking to that cat, haven't you? <br /><br /> Everyone else, we call her The Lady." ](else-if: $SkullTopic is 'Skull003')[ <!-- Himself --> "You want to know about little old me? Shucks. Not much to say really. Been here ever since The Lady dug me up. She took me in, gave me a home and a second life, if you pardon the wordplay. <br /><br /> Don't know how many decades ago that was. Don't remember much before then." ](else-if: $SkullTopic is 'Skull004')[ <!-- Life vs Death --> "Mmmm don't really remember much about my pre-mortem days. From where I'm sitting, a body mostly seems like a big inconvenience. <br /><br /> Would it be nice to walk around on my own? Sure. But The Lady reads to me, takes me down to have a chinwag with the rest of the gang now and then. Can't complain." ](else-if: $SkullTopic is 'Skull005')[ <!-- The Mess --> "Oh, it's not so bad once you get to know it. You get used to it. Keeps me company when The Lady is out." ](else-if: $SkullTopic is 'Skull006')[ <!-- Octopus --> "Nice fella! The Lady brings me into the kitchen to read out her recipes while they cook, sometimes she carts him in here in his tub. Music lover, which I can appreciate even though opera's not really my style. I'm more of a rock 'n roll guy." ](else-if: $SkullTopic is 'Skull007')[ <!-- Emerald --> (if: $skullBargainActive is true)[(if: $inv contains "Mouse Mousse")["Ooooh! Do I smell mouse mousse?? [[Gimme gimme!"|Obtaining the Key]]](else:)["Nuh-uh-uh! Not 'til my mouth is full of those sweet mouseguts!"]](else:)[(if: ($needEmerald is true) and $inv does not contain "Emerald")["Hmmmmm," the Skull's empty sockets peer down at you, boring into you as keenly as the most expressive eyes. <br /><br /> "Oisín is asking for the gem? Well now that is [[interesting."|Skull's Bargain]]](else:)["A real beauty, huh? Never been totally sure what she does with it. She doesn't take it out so much these days. She used to take it out when her friends were here but... that was all a long time ago now."]] <!--(if: $skullBargainActive is true)["Didn't we have a deal?"](else:)[ (if: ($needEmerald is true) and $inv does not contain "Emerald")["Hmmmmm," his empty sockets peer down at you, boring into you as keenly as the most expressive eyes. <br /><br /> "Oisín is asking for it? Well now that is [[interesting."|Skull's Bargain]]](else:)["It's a beauty, huh? Not totally sure what she does with it. She doesn't take it out so much these days. She used to take it out when her friends were here but... that was all a long time ago now."]]--> ](else-if: $SkullTopic is 'Skull008')[ <!-- Misha --> "Heh. He can be a handful, that's for sure. But you should see the way he and The Mess play together. Warms even the stoniest heart. Or no heart at all, in my case. <br /><br /> The Lady set up that little cat bed for him by the window, but he tends to prefer her lap." ](else-if: $SkullTopic is 'Skull009')[ <!-- The Host --> "The Lady? She's something else, let me tell ya. She's good to all of us. You don't know how lucky you are to be her guest. It's been a long time since she's hosted anyone, but in her heyday we had all sorts in. I'm sure she'll be down any minute." ](else-if: $SkullTopic is 'Skull002')[ <!-- The Lady --> "She's something else, let me tell ya. She's good to all of us. You don't know how lucky you are to be her guest. It's been a long time since she's hosted anyone, but in her heyday we had all sorts in. I'm sure she'll be down any minute." ](else-if: $SkullTopic is 'Skull010')[ <!-- Basil --> "He's a bit of a, heh, acquired taste, but I have to admit I have a soft spot for the old so-and-so. Visits fairly often. Some weeks he spends almost as much time down here as he does in the library! <br /><br /> ...doesn't get along with The Mess though. Finds the sight offensive and I'm sure The Mess would take a bite out of Basil if he could." ](else-if: $SkullTopic is 'Skull011')[ <!-- Oisín --> "Ol' beaky? Not exactly the finest conversationalist but he's a real standup guy - does more'n his fair share around the house and the gardens. Even takes me for a little flight outside every now and again." ](else-if: $SkullTopic is 'Skull012')[ <!-- The Furniture --> "Heyyyyy now we're talkin'! Those kids really know how to show a fella a good time. I oughta get up there again soon - it's been too long!" ](else-if: $SkullTopic is 'SkullClear')[ ](else:)[]}(set: $inv to (a:))(set: $inv to $inv + (a: "The Letter"))(set: $ectoplasm to 0)(set: $ingredients to 0) The driver had arrived early this afternoon. The tall reed of a man, whose drawn down features bear the characteristics of wilting lettuce, has not uttered so much as a word on the drive. And whether it is due to the protracted silence, or the unfamiliar roads, it feels as though you've been traveling for days. All you know is the quiet has given you ample time to (link-reveal: "reflect.")+(append: "reflect.")[ <div id="first-passage">`***`</div> You lean against the cool glass of your window, watching the rain fall in thin, slow drips into the mud of the road, and think. Perhaps it's strange to have accepted an invitation from an unknown person for a weekend getaway, but something about the letter from your host [[put you at ease.|Reading The Letter]]] Refusing to be intimidated, you wave your arms around to show that you mean business. The flood of papers speeds up, spilling onto the floor, gathering with the papers, books, and empty ink pots that carpet the room. Together they rise, and all at once (link-reveal: "they hit.")+(append: "they hit.")[ <div id="first-passage">`***`</div> You throw up your hands to cover your face as you are [[forced back into the foyer.|Foyer Repeat]] ] You brace yourself. The storm comes. The rustle becomes a roar, a howling wind that cuts to the very core of you. It's grows and grows, becoming defeaning, a noise so loud it turns into a gnawing silence. All the while, papers whirl around you - never quite touching, but their passing creates a fierce wind. Your stance holds, shifting only a few inches backwards. The storm subsides as quickly as it began. The Mess harrumphs, as the last of the pages fall. [[All is as it was.|Study Repeat]] You inch your way backwards, waving your hands low and slow. The flood [[abates.|Study Repeat]] You reach toward The Mess, demanding your invitation back. It smoothly glides away. From its new spot, it slides back and forth in a taunting dance. You consider your approach. [[Ask politely]] [[Ask demandingly!]] [[Concede]] You point out that the Mess could simply *read* the invitation, seeing as it now possesses the object in question. A quiet ripple runs through The Mess - consideration? Rejection? It is impossible for you to tell. Another ripple - from somewhere within its depths, the letter comes to the forefront of The Mess. It opens as if by an unseen hand. A few moments pass, and a ripple sends the the letter back into the depths from whence it came. The Mess makes no further movement. You suppose it is [[unimpressed.|Study Repeat]] You throw up your hands. Whatever, keep it. The Mess gibbers, chortle-like. You sense gloating as it [[returns to its spot.|Study Repeat]] You begin by asking nicely, the way we are so often told we *ought* to behave: you would like the letter back, please and thank you. When The Mess makes no reply, you begin adding honey to your beseechings. Pretty please, with sugar on top. And cherries. And whipped cream, and so on. Your supplications fall on deaf ears. Soon you are drowning in syrup. Choking, you [[turn away.|Study Repeat]] Keeping your tone firm, you *demand* your letter back. When it does not comply, you add more stone to your voice. You continue in this manner for some time. Eventually the stone turns to gravel, the gravel to dust. The Mess is unmoved. All you have gained is a [[sore throat.|Study Repeat]] Fair play. You withdraw your opposition. The Mess swirls around in victorious dance. You [[leave it be.|Study Repeat]] In a gentle voice, you tell the Mess a bit about yourself - where you're from, what you're doing here... You continue on in this fashion for a while, but eventually you run out of things to say. Given how literate the thing must surely be, being a creature of raw Words, you are surprised that Words seem to have little effect on the thing. [[Shucks.|Study Repeat]] You inch toward the entity. For a moment it stays absolutely still, but as you step within arm's length, it shakes all over. The shaking builds and builds, as it draws more and more of lowercase-mess that surrounds it into itself. It grows in size until it is towering over you. It goes still, then gives one furious shake. Time for [[a strategic retreat.|Study Repeat]] With infinite patience, you offer your hand and remain otherwise motionless. The thing shifts from side to side, but ever so slowly makes its way toward you, sometimes backing away a few inches before gliding forward again. When it reaches your hand, The Mess circles it. It bumps up against your fingertips once, [[twice.|Mess Appeased Conclusion]](set: $messAppeased to true) It leans backward, before finally diving fully under your hand. It undulates under your palm, pages rippling in a purr. You give it a little tickle. It swirls around your finger, then butts up against the side of your hand. You give it a skritch. It twirls again, then bumps up against your palm. [[You stroke it, gently.|Emerald Revealed]] The Mess curls itself around your legs in rapturous affection. As it does so, you think you begin to see glimpses of an order in the chaos. Where once was nigh-illegible scrawl you can begin to discern recognizable letters. The glimpse lasts but a moment, though, as The Mess draws back. (if: $inv does not contain "The Letter")[ A ripple courses through the great mass. It stops before your hand and a single folded page slides forward from within its deep recesses. You recognize it at once. You reach forward and ''reclaim'' The Letter. It is now ''somewhat crumpled.'' (set: $crumpledLetter to true)(set: $inv to $inv + (a: "The Letter"))] The Mess shifts to and fro, (link-reveal: "as if considering something.")+(append: "as if considering something.")[ <div id="first-passage">`***`</div> It darts forward, swirls around your legs once more, then pulls back again before sliding away from the wall - a movement that reveals a small display case. Behind its glass shines a brilliant emerald - perfectly cut, nearly palm-sized. The Mess settles down, allowing you to [[approach the gem.|Emerald Revealed Cont]]] "Ah, her emerald," a note of secondhand pride in the Skull's voice. "Thing's important, though I can't say why." Up close, the gem, resting on a purple velvet pillow, sparkles with almost eye-watering brilliance - you can't be sure, but it seems to glow from within. The case itself is metal, and its glass door is protected by a large, intricately-patterened iron padlock. From above, you hear a *click*. The Skull pushes a key out through his teeth for a moment, then slides it back in. It rattles back and forth behind his jaw. "I might not look like much, but she trusts me with a lot," he explains. "...though really, there's a ward on The House. That thing can't go in or out of it without her say. This is just to keep the cat out." He clicks the key against his jaw again [[and grins.|Study Repeat]](set: $SkullTopic to "SkullClear")(set: $skullBargainActive to true)(set: $needsMouse to true) "Listen, kid. I just might be willing to lend you the key... but I'd be remiss if I didn't take the opportunity to ask for a favor in the process. What can I tell you? I'm a clever guy," he winks. "I'm not much of an eater, but... every once in a while I get a craving for a little sweet treat. Leftover impulse from my days in a fleshsuit, I guess." "What I'm sayin' is... I could really go for a *Mouse Mousse.*" [[Mouse... *Mousse?*]] "Mmmmm... oh, it's the best. The little bones give it this crunch and then they just melt in your mouth..." You allow the Skull to enjoy a moment of gluttonous reverie. Snapping out of it, he continues: "...anyhoo, not sure what all goes into it but I'm sure the Lady has a recipe somewhere. Then you'd just need to scrounge up the ingredients. Easy work for a clever thing like you." He sits back on his shelf, a self-satsified grin playing across his exposed jaw. So it's [[a bargain, then.|Study Repeat]]{(if:$offering is "inv")[You see yourself in its polished brass surface. Hello, self.] (elseif: $offering is "skull")["What do I want with that?"] (elseif: $offering is "clock")[Carefully, and as fast as you can, you [[make the swap.|Pen Swap Complete]]] (elseif: $offering is "ghost")["What the deuce are you carrying around a pendulum weight for?"] (elseif: $offering is "octopus")[The creature simply lifts two tentacles in a cephalopodal shrug.] (elseif: $offering is "furniture")["Is that a--?! Oh my god. Oh god oh god oh *god...*" <br /><br /> "It's a piece of... of Grandfather!!!" <br /><br /> From all around come shouts and screams, and someone says: <br /><br /> "I think I'm going to be sick..."]}(set: $skullBargainActive to false) Using a nearby chair as a stepstool you manage to just barely get your hand high enough to deliver the Skull his tasty dessert. You feel a little pinch as he catches the tip of a finger between his teeth. "Sorry," he manages to spit out, voice muffled by the noise of his chewing. His jaw clacks in satsifaction. "Oh, hold on--" The key drops onto your hand, sticky with mousse. You have ''bargained for'' the Key. (set: $inv to $inv + (a: "Key"))(set: $inv to $inv - (a: "Mouse Mousse")) The Skull continues to chew on in silence. Brushing a few flecks of *Mouse Mousse* out of your hair, [[step back down.|Study Repeat]]{(if:$offering is "inv")[Pure iron. The bow bears the same intricate pattern of its mate.] (elseif: $offering is "familiar")["Not shiny enough."] (elseif: $offering is "ghost")["Haven't the foggiest what that might open, I'm afraid. Sorry old bean."] (elseif: $offering is "furniture")["Nothing locked in here, friend." "Yeah, our lives are an open drawer!"] }(set: $inv to $inv + (a: "Emerald"))(set: $inv to $inv - (a: "Key")) Shielding your eyes against the dazzle of the gem, you insert the heavy iron key into the lock and twist. It comes away with a soft click. The emerald is cool to the touch - cold, even. You secure the gem in your pocket where its spectacle remains safely subdued, only shining slightly through the fabric. You have ''bejeweled'' yourself with the Emerald. Leaving the key in the lock, you quietly [[close the case.|Study Repeat]](set: $inv to $inv - (a: "Soapy Canned Fish"))(set: $mishaHungry to false) Before it's even left your hand, Misha's face is in the tin. He wraps his claws around it and pulls it toward himself. Untroubled by the sheen of soap, he begins [[vigorously devouring.|Misha's Bargain, Satsified Cont]](set: $mishaFed to true) Flecks of soap clinging to his whiskers, Misha chomps, slurps, and occasionally wheezes as he attempts to corral every last fishy morsel into his slavering mouth. Gradually the can begins sliding across the stair as he shoves his face further and further into the can. When it falls off the step, he follows, pushing the tin into a corner where he remains, licking. The staircase is now [[unblocked.|Foyer Repeat]]<pre id ="book">` ___________________ ___________________ .-/| 78 ==%%== \ / ==%%== 79 |\-. |||| : |||| |||| ~Mouse Mousse~ : ~Mouse Mousse~ |||| |||| ---------------- : ---------------- |||| |||| Take (1) MOUSE : Fold in |||| |||| beat (2) EGGS : mouse. |||| |||| until frothy : |||| |||| : |||| |||| Heat mouse on : Add 1 drop |||| |||| STOVETOP until : ENT-SENTIAL |||| |||| soft. : OIL. |||| |||| : |||| ||||___________________ : ___________________|||| ||/====================\:/====================\|| .---------------------~___~--------------------'' `</pre>(set: $inv to $inv + (a: "Pen and Paper"))(set: $inv to $inv - (a: "Clock Weight")) There's a breathless moment where you pause to see if the weight holds. It does. The clock's ticking continues unabated; the study's pulse has not stopped. You have ''rescued'' the Fountain Pen. You drop it into your pocket with a heavy *thunk* before grabbing a fresh white sheet of paper from a nearby stack. Thus stationairied, you return your attentions to [[the study.|Study Repeat]] The pots, pans, plates, and bowls that had formed the castle's walls, roofs, and walkways quake as if in fear. Beneath them, the slithering thing (link-reveal: "begins to rise.")+(append: "begins to rise.")[ <div id="first-passage">`***`</div> An eye stares at you. [[You stare back.|The Octopus Appears Cont 2]]](set: $metMess to true) You attempt to wade in, carefully this time, but once again you find no ingress. Suddenly there's a shuffle of movement in the corner, followed by another. The waters shiver, and the sound of rustling pages increases, as the sea begins to roil. And then you sense it again - that awareness in the chaos. The Mess has awakened, and its eye is on you. [[Jeepers!|The Mess Appears]]<pre style="line-height: 1em;"> |____________________________________| | _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _| || || ||-||-||-||-|| | _ _ |%|%|%|%| ||=||=||X||X||X||u||==||x||x||=|=|=|=| || || ||-||-||-||-|| ||-||-||~|~|~|~| |____________________________________| | _ _ _ _ _ ___ _ _ _ _ _ | ||-||-| _ |-||-||-||=*=||-||-||-|-|-|| ||X||X||w||U||X||X||JOY||X||X||~|X|W|| ||-||-||-||-||-||-||===||-||-||-|-|-|| |____________________________________| | _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ | ||-| _ _ |-||-||-||=||-||-||~|~|_ __| ||X||@||@||X||X||X||=||X||X||1|2|x|==| ||-||-||-||-||-||-||=||-||-||~|~| |==| |____________________________________| | __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ | | \=\ |-||-||-||-||-||-||-||=|=|__ | | \ \ |X||X||X||X||-||X||X|| | |==| | | \_\|-||-||-||-||-||-||-|| | | | | |____________________________________| | _ _ __ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ __| ||-||-||--||--||-||-||-||-||~| | /~/| ||X||X||++||XX||X||-||X||X||l|2| /\/ | ||-||-||--||--||-||-||-||-||~| |/_/ | |____________________________________| 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to 'b007')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "x")[(set: $book to 'b008')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "x")[(set: $book to 'b009')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "=")[(set: $book to 'b010')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "=")[(set: $book to 'b011')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "=")[(set: $book to 'b012')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "=")[(set: $book to 'b013')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]| || || ||-||-||-||-|| ||-||-||~|~|~|~| |____________________________________| | _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ | ||-||-| _ |-||-||-| |-||-||-|-|-|| ||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b014')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b015')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "w")[(set: $book to 'b070')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "U")[(set: $book to 'b016')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b017')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b018')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]| |(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b020')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b028')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "~")[(set: $book to 'b022')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b023')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "W")[(set: $book to 'b024')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|| ||-||-||-||-||-||-| |-||-||-|-|-|| |____________________________________| | _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ | ||-| _ _ |-||-||-||=||-||-||~|~|_ __| ||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b025')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "@")[(set: $book to 'b026')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "@")[(set: $book to 'b027')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b029')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b021')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b030')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "=")[(set: $book to 'b031')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b032')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b033')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "2")[(set: $book to 'b034')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "1")[(set: $book to 'b035')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "x")[(set: $book to 'b036')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "==")[(set: $book to 'b037')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]| ||-||-||-||-||-||-||=||-||-||~|~| |==| |____________________________________| | __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ | | \(link-repeat: "=")[(set: $book to 'b038')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]\ |-||-||-||-||-||-||-||(link-repeat: "=")[(set: $book to 'b046')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "=")[(set: $book to 'b047')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|__ | | \ \ |(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b039')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b040')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b041')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b042')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "-")[(set: $book to 'b043')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b044')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b045')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|| | |(link-repeat: "==")[(set: $book to 'b048')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]| | | \_\|-||-||-||-||-||-||-|| | | | | |____________________________________| | _ _ __ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ __| ||-||-||--||--||-||-||-||-||~| | /~/| ||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b049')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b050')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "++")[(set: $book to 'b051')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "XX")[(set: $book to 'b052')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b053')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "-")[(set: $book to 'b054')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b055')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b056')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "l")[(set: $book to 'b057')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "z")[(set: $book to 'b058')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]| /(link-repeat: "~")[(set: $book to 'b059')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]/ | ||-||-||--||--||-||-||-||-||~| |/~/ | |____________________________________| |____________________________________| | _ _ _ _ _ _ | | _ _ _ |-||-||-||-||-||-| | ||(link-repeat: "8")[(set: $book to 'b060')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "8")[(set: $book to 'b061')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "8")[(set: $book to 'b062')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b063')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b064')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "-")[(set: $book to 'b065')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "8")[(set: $book to 'b066')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "-")[(set: $book to 'b067')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b068')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]| | ||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||-| | |____________________________________|</pre><pre style="text-align:center; padding-left:20em;">(if: $ectoplasm2 is not true)[(link-repeat: "__<br />(__)")[(set: $book to 'ectoplasm')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]] </pre>|title>[(display: 'Books')]</div> --- Should you find yourself dizzied by the amassment of so many Words all in one place, it may be wise to (link: "step away.")[ (set: $book to "BookClear") (go-to: "Library Repeat")]<div id ="center"><pre style="line-height: 1em;"> |____________________________________| | _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _| || || ||-||-||-||-|| | _ _ |%|%|%|%| ||(link-repeat: "=")[(set: $book to 'b001')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "=")[(set: $book to 'b002')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b003')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b004')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b005')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "u")[(set: $book to 'b006')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "==")[(set: $book to 'b007')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "x")[(set: $book to 'b008')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "x")[(set: $book to 'b009')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "=")[(set: $book to 'b010')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "=")[(set: $book to 'b011')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "=")[(set: $book to 'b012')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "=")[(set: $book to 'b013')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]| || || ||-||-||-||-|| ||-||-||~|~|~|~| |____________________________________| | _ _ _ _ _ ___ _ _ _ _ _ | ||-||-| _ |-||-||-||=*=||-||-||-|-|-|| ||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b014')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b015')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "w")[(set: $book to 'b070')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "U")[(set: $book to 'b016')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b017')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b018')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "JOY")[(set: $book to 'b019')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b020')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b028')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "~")[(set: $book to 'b022')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b023')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "W")[(set: $book to 'b024')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|| ||-||-||-||-||-||-||===||-||-||-|-|-|| |____________________________________| | _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ | ||-| _ _ |-||-||-||=||-||-||~|~|_ __| ||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b025')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "@")[(set: $book to 'b026')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "@")[(set: $book to 'b027')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b029')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b021')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b030')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "=")[(set: $book to 'b031')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b032')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b033')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "2")[(set: $book to 'b034')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "1")[(set: $book to 'b035')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "x")[(set: $book to 'b036')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "==")[(set: $book to 'b037')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]| ||-||-||-||-||-||-||=||-||-||~|~| |==| |____________________________________| | __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ | | \(link-repeat: "=")[(set: $book to 'b038')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]\ |-||-||-||-||-||-||-||(link-repeat: "=")[(set: $book to 'b046')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "=")[(set: $book to 'b047')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|__ | | \ \ |(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b039')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b040')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b041')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b042')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "-")[(set: $book to 'b043')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b044')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b045')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|| | |(link-repeat: "==")[(set: $book to 'b048')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]| | | \_\|-||-||-||-||-||-||-|| | | | | |____________________________________| | _ _ __ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ __| ||-||-||--||--||-||-||-||-||~| | /~/| ||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b049')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b050')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "++")[(set: $book to 'b051')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "XX")[(set: $book to 'b052')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b053')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "-")[(set: $book to 'b054')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b055')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b056')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "l")[(set: $book to 'b057')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "z")[(set: $book to 'b058')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]| /(link-repeat: "~")[(set: $book to 'b059')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]/ | ||-||-||--||--||-||-||-||-||~| |/~/ | |____________________________________| |____________________________________| | _ _ _ _ _ _ | | _ _ _ |-||-||-||-||-||-| | ||(link-repeat: "8")[(set: $book to 'b060')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "8")[(set: $book to 'b061')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "8")[(set: $book to 'b062')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b063')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b064')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "-")[(set: $book to 'b065')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "8")[(set: $book to 'b066')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "-")[(set: $book to 'b067')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b068')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]| | ||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||-| | |____________________________________|</pre><pre style="text-align:center; padding-left:20em;">(if: $ectoplasm2 is not true)[(link-repeat: "__<br />(__)")[(set: $book to 'ectoplasm')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]] </pre>|title>[(display: 'Books')]</div> --- Should you find yourself dizzied by the amassment of so many Words all in one place, it may be wise to (link: "step away.")[ (set: $book to "BookClear") (go-to: "Library Repeat")]<div id ="center"><pre style="line-height: 1em;"> |____________________________________| | _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _| || || ||-||-||-||-|| | _ _ |%|%|%|%| ||(link-repeat: "=")[(set: $book to 'b001')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "=")[(set: $book to 'b002')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b003')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b004')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b005')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "u")[(set: $book to 'b006')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "==")[(set: $book to 'b007')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "x")[(set: $book to 'b008')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "x")[(set: $book to 'b009')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "=")[(set: $book to 'b010')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "=")[(set: $book to 'b011')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "=")[(set: $book to 'b012')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "=")[(set: $book to 'b013')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]| || || ||-||-||-||-|| ||-||-||~|~|~|~| |____________________________________| | _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ | ||-||-| _ |-||-||-| |-||-||-|-|-|| ||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b014')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b015')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "w")[(set: $book to 'b070')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "U")[(set: $book to 'b016')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b017')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b018')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]| |(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b020')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b028')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "~")[(set: $book to 'b022')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b023')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "W")[(set: $book to 'b024')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|| ||-||-||-||-||-||-| |-||-||-|-|-|| |____________________________________| | _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ | ||-| _ _ |-||-||-||=||-||-||~|~|_ __| ||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b025')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "@")[(set: $book to 'b026')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "@")[(set: $book to 'b027')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b029')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b021')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b030')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "=")[(set: $book to 'b031')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b032')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b033')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "2")[(set: $book to 'b034')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "1")[(set: $book to 'b035')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "x")[(set: $book to 'b036')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "==")[(set: $book to 'b037')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]| ||-||-||-||-||-||-||=||-||-||~|~| |==| |____________________________________| | __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ | | \(link-repeat: "=")[(set: $book to 'b038')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]\ |-||-||-||-||-||-||-||(link-repeat: "=")[(set: $book to 'b046')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "=")[(set: $book to 'b047')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|__ | | \ \ |(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b039')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b040')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b041')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b042')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "-")[(set: $book to 'b043')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b044')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b045')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|| | |(link-repeat: "==")[(set: $book to 'b048')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]| | | \_\|-||-||-||-||-||-||-|| | | | | |____________________________________| | _ _ __ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ __| ||-||-||--||--||-||-||-||-||~| | /~/| ||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b049')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b050')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "++")[(set: $book to 'b051')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "XX")[(set: $book to 'b052')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b053')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "-")[(set: $book to 'b054')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b055')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b056')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "l")[(set: $book to 'b057')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|(link-repeat: "z")[(set: $book to 'b058')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]| /(link-repeat: "~")[(set: $book to 'b059')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]/ | ||-||-||--||--||-||-||-||-||~| |/~/ | |____________________________________| |____________________________________| | _ _ _ _ _ _ ______ | | _ _ _ |-||-||-||-||-||-|| __ | | ||(link-repeat: "8")[(set: $book to 'b060')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "8")[(set: $book to 'b061')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "8")[(set: $book to 'b062')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b063')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b064')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "-")[(set: $book to 'b065')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "8")[(set: $book to 'b066')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "-")[(set: $book to 'b067')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]||(link-repeat: "X")[(set: $book to 'b068')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]|| ((link-repeat: "..")[(set: $book to 'b069')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]) | | ||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||((()))| | |____________________________________|</pre><pre style="text-align:center; padding-left:20em;">(if: $ectoplasm2 is not true)[(link-repeat: "__<br />(__)")[(set: $book to 'ectoplasm')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]] </pre>|title>[(display: 'Books')]</div> --- Should you find yourself dizzied by the amassment of so many Words all in one place, it may be wise to (link: "step away.")[ (set: $book to "BookClear") (go-to: "Library Repeat")](set: $metGhost to true)(set: $book to "BookClear") Before your hand reaches the book, the volume slides off the shelf and glides across the room through the air. It comes to a stop about head height. There it floats, as if suspended by invisible strings. The cover is pulled back and pages begin to turn. You're pretty sure books [[aren't supposed to do that.|The Ghost Appears Cont]]<div id ="center"><pre style="line-height: 1em;"> |____________________________________| | _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _| || || ||-||-||-||-|| | _ _ |%|%|%|%| ||[[=|The Ghost Appears]]||[[=|The Ghost Appears]]||[[X|The Ghost Appears]]||[[X|The Ghost Appears]]||[[X|The Ghost Appears]]||[[u|The Ghost Appears]]||[[==|The Ghost Appears]]||[[x|The Ghost Appears]]||[[x|The Ghost Appears]]||[[=|The Ghost Appears]]|[[=|The Ghost Appears]]|[[=|The Ghost Appears]]|[[=|The Ghost Appears]]| || || ||-||-||-||-|| ||-||-||~|~|~|~| |____________________________________| | _ _ _ _ _ ___ _ _ _ _ _ | ||-||-| _ |-||-||-||=*=||-||-||-|-|-|| ||[[X|The Ghost Appears]]||[[X|The Ghost Appears]]||[[w|The Ghost Appears]]||[[U|The Ghost Appears]]||[[X|The Ghost Appears]]||[[X|The Ghost Appears]]||[[JOY|The Ghost Appears]]||[[X|The Ghost Appears]]||[[X|The Ghost Appears]]||[[~|The Ghost Appears]]|[[X|The Ghost Appears]]|[[W|The Ghost Appears]]|| ||-||-||-||-||-||-||===||-||-||-|-|-|| |____________________________________| | _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ | ||-| _ _ |-||-||-||=||-||-||~|~|_ __| ||[[X|The Ghost Appears]]||[[@|The Ghost Appears]]||[[@|The Ghost Appears]]||[[X|The Ghost Appears]]||[[X|The Ghost Appears]]||[[X|The Ghost Appears]]||[[=|The Ghost Appears]]||[[X|The Ghost Appears]]||[[X|The Ghost Appears]]||[[2|The Ghost Appears]]|[[1|The Ghost Appears]]|[[x|The Ghost Appears]]|[[==|The Ghost Appears]]| ||-||-||-||-||-||-||=||-||-||~|~| |==| |____________________________________| | __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ | | \[[=|The Ghost Appears]]\ |-||-||-||-||-||-||-||[[=|The Ghost Appears]]|[[=|The Ghost Appears]]|__ | | \ \ |[[X|The Ghost Appears]]||[[X|The Ghost Appears]]||[[X|The Ghost Appears]]||[[X|The Ghost Appears]]||[[-|The Ghost Appears]]||[[X|The Ghost Appears]]||[[X|The Ghost Appears]]|| | |[[==|The Ghost Appears]]| | | \_\|-||-||-||-||-||-||-|| | | | | |____________________________________| | _ _ __ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ __| ||-||-||--||--||-||-||-||-||~| | /~/| ||[[X|The Ghost Appears]]||[[X|The Ghost Appears]]||[[++|The Ghost Appears]]||[[XX|The Ghost Appears]]||[[X|The Ghost Appears]]||[[-|The Ghost Appears]]||[[X|The Ghost Appears]]||[[X|The Ghost Appears]]||[[l|The Ghost Appears]]|[[z|The Ghost Appears]]| /[[~|The Ghost Appears]]/ | ||-||-||--||--||-||-||-||-||~| |/~/ | |____________________________________| |____________________________________| | _ _ _ _ _ _ ______ | | _ _ _ |-||-||-||-||-||-|| __ | | ||[[8|The Ghost Appears]]||[[8|The Ghost Appears]]||[[8|The Ghost Appears]]||[[X|The Ghost Appears]]||[[X|The Ghost Appears]]||[[-|The Ghost Appears]]||[[8|The Ghost Appears]]||[[-|The Ghost Appears]]||[[X|The Ghost Appears]]|| ([[..|The Ghost Appears]]) | | ||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||((()))| | |____________________________________|</pre><pre style="text-align:center; padding-left:20em;">(if: $ectoplasm2 is not true)[(link-repeat: "__<br />(__)")[(set: $book to 'ectoplasm')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Books')]]] </pre>|title>[(display: 'Books')]</div> --- Should you find yourself dizzied by the amassment of so many Words all in one place, it may be wise to (link: "step away.")[ (set: $book to "BookClear") (go-to: "Library Repeat")](set: $searchedBedroom to true) The room has been subdivided into several discrete spaces: the vanity and dressing area, the sewing corner, and the bed all feel like mini-rooms unto themselves. (link-repeat: "A small wardrobe")[(set: $bedroomSearch1 to true)(replace: ?title)[Carvings of peacocks, in various states of repose, adorn the front of the wardrobe. Flanking the knobs are birds in a mirrored image, silently regarding each other. There is no need to pull the knobs, however, as the wardrobe graciously opens itself at your approach. It contains mostly plain blacks, greys, blues, and a single pair of practical boots. There are also a handful of cocktail and evening gowns in deep green and sparkling silver.]] (link-repeat: "Under the bed")[(replace: ?title)[(if: $bedroomSearch3 is not true)[It is too dark to see under here.](else:)[(set: $bedroomSearch5 to true)At your approach, the shadows beneath the bed hoist themselves upward into the frame's slats, their whispering increasing in speed and volume.]]] (link-repeat: "An antique sewing table")[(set: $bedroomSearch2 to true)(replace: ?title)[The far corner of the room is home to an antique treadle sewing machine. Beside it is a rocking chair, footstool, and side table. The table sports a sewing basket and (if: $inv does not contain "Teddy Bear")[a teddy bear. The bear looks to have been recently repaired by hand - not for the first time, nor indeed even the 100th. Its fur has dulled with age and is peculiarly matted. A narrow depression all around the middle of it suggests it's been squeezed tightly, repeatedly, though the marks are only about the width of two fingers. On the floor next to the chair is a solid brass basket filled with stuffing. (if: $inv contains "Eight Arms for Hugging")[ If what you read in *Eight Arms to Love* is accurate, then you think you know who this bear belongs to. You pick up the little thing and squeeze it into your pocket. You have ''adopted'' the Teddy Bear. (set: $inv to $inv + (a: "Teddy Bear"))]](else:)[ the stuffy extra fluff that had been used to repair the teddy bear.]]] (link-repeat: "Some heavy drapes")[(set: $bedroomSearch3 to true)(replace: ?title)[You pull back the drapes and light floods into the room, coating every surface in a warm, waxy glow. It sticks to the furnishings like honey, and comes away slowly at your touch in fat, sweet-smelling drops. Upon closer examination, the drapes themselves are a deep red, with a black floral damask pattern.]] (link-repeat: "An imposing vanity")[(set: $bedroomSearch4 to true)(replace: ?title)[A large vanity with an ornate triptych mirror occupies the wall opposite the bed. Its surface is crowded with carefully arranged bottles and tins - oils, creams, scrubs, and unguents of all descriptions. If you can slather, spritz, or smear it onto your skin, it's here. (if: ($JoyofCookingFound is true) and ($cooked is not true) and ($inv does not contain "ENT-sential Oil"))[ One bottle in particular catches your eye - *ENT-sential Oil*. You take it, pull out the stopper, and give it a sniff. It smells of moss and petrichor - pungent, but not overpowering. You turn it around and read the label. Apparently it's derived from live Ents by expressing their... well, you don't want to know. You drop the bottle in your pocket. You have ''become perfumed'' by the ENT-sential Oil.(set: $ingredients to it + 1)(set: $inv to $inv + (a: "ENT-sential Oil"))]]] |title>[] --- Have you taken in the sights to your satisfaction? Then you may [[return to the bedroom.|Bedroom Repeat]](set: $needLight to true) You step over the threshold and are swallowed by darkness - that kind of total absence of light generally reserved for underground caves, or as from some harrowing survivor's tales - the insides of a whale. Sorry, I shouldn't scare you. You're not inside a whale. Probably, anyway. Maybe we shouldn't be too hasty in making definitive pronouncements in a place like this. There is an Octopus downstairs, and it *is* very dark. But you don't remember seeing an ocean. Much less getting into one. Surely you'd remember sand or seashells or something... right? But then again-- wait! You just (link-reveal: "bumped into something, HARD.")+(append: "bumped into something, HARD.")[ <div id="first-passage">`***`</div> Sorry, I shouldn't be distracting you while you're fumbling around in the dark. Let's get back to it, shall we? It is very dark. And you just [[bumped into something that is (probably) not part of a whale.|The Darkness 2]]](set: $litBedroom to true)(set: $needLight to false) Shapes - fuzzy at first - become objects, features snapping into defintion in the ectoplasmic gloaming. Here, a vanity. There, a wardrobe. And most tellingly, in the center, a large four-poster bed. Some unaccountable dimensional lack allows the enormous thing to take up less space than it ought; the inverse of your own small bed, which somehow takes up the entire apartment. Beside the bed is a nightstand with a reading lamp. You make your way over and [[switch it on.|Bedroom Cont]]{(if:$offering is "inv")[Still as glorpy as the day you glooped it into your pocket, it sits wiggling in futile defiance. (if: $ectoplasm is 1)[Its blue-green light is the barest of glows, hardly more than a shimmer.](elseif: $ectoplasm is 2)[It glows fairly faintly with a blue-green light.](elseif: $ectoplasm is 3)[Its blue-green glow is strong enough to act as a small light source.]] (elseif: $offering is "octopus")[The octopus gives it an experimental poke. The ectoplasm, in turn, jiggles disconcertingly. <br /><br /> The creature recoils from it, shuddering.] (elseif: $offering is "skull")["I ... err ... uhh ... no thanks."] (elseif: $offering is "clock")[Too wiggly and insubstantial.] (elseif: $offering is "ghost")["I have plenty of my own, thank you."] (elseif: $offering is "familiar")[Perhaps sensing danger, the little mass sticks to your skin. Try though you might, you cannot unstick it until it is safely back in your pocket. <br /><br /> Oisín blinks a lazy eye in its direction, then lets out a screeching caw. <br /><br /> "Nasty... tastes like... oil...."]}(set: $ghostTopic to "GhostClear") Basil recoils into a paraoxysm of sputtering. "You -- I mean to say! I mean! Really! It's all a bit... I mean... isn't it just?" He exhales (unnecessarily, you can't help but note) and collects himself. "Really I'm sorry, but the answer is no. It's been a decade or two since I've looked in the mirror but am I right in remembering that I haven't the appearance of a spaniel? Or a wolfhound? A pekingese? No? Then -- dash it! I'm not just going to... to *plasmate* on command like a trained pooch." [["Pleaaaaaaase?"]] [["I bet you just can't."]] [["Don't you want to help someone in need?"]] You sugar your beseechments with your best doe-eyed look and take lethal aim at Basil's heart. "Ha! If you think you're the first to go all doe-eyed on me, you couldn't be wronger. Helplesnsess was one of Aunt Marjorie's favourite tactics. A man builds immunity to these sorts of things, you know. I tell you the walls of this fortress are solid ice!" [[Dial it back]] [[Melt the ice]] [[Lay down a guilt trip]](set: $book to "BookClear")(set: $ectoplasm2 to true)(set: $ectoplasm to it + 1) The goop comes away from the floor with a sickly suctioning sound. As you hold it, some of it makes its way under your fingernails. { (if: $ectoplasm is 1)[ You squish it into your pocket, where it continues to wiggle every once in a while, as if to remind you of its presence. You have ''scooped'' some Ectoplasm.] (elseif: $ectoplasm is 2)[ You drop it into your pocket with the rest of the ectoplasm. With an unctuous *flort*, the mass congeals. It is a noise you will not forget. <br /><br /> The luminosity increases. You have ''beglooped'' your Ectoplasm.] (elseif: $ectoplasm is 3)[ It squishes between your fingers as you drop it, wiggling its tiny protestations, into your pocket, where it congeals with its bretheren. <br /><br />You have ''englorped'' your Ectoplasm. Its light may be bright enough to banish the darkness now.] (if: $inv does not contain "Ectoplasm")[ (set: $inv to $inv + (a: "Ectoplasm"))]} As you pull your hand from your pocket, it (link-goto: "sticks slightly.", (history:)'s last) You - weasely little thing that you are (I said narrators do not judge, and this is not a judgment, but a statement of fact) - poke him right in the pride. You bet he's just saying that he *won't* because he's hiding the fact that he *can't*. Pride, thus prodded, huffs in return. "Oh I can't, can't I? That's all very easy for you to say, Fleshy McFlesherston! You wouldn't know the first thing about it." Pride haunches its shoulders, swells, and emits a low growl. [["Oh wow, you REALLY can't, huh?"]] [["So teach me."]] [["Oh well, thanks anyway."]] You point out that you're offering him the chance to help a stranger (or, dare you hope, friend?) in need. Basil chuckles. "I'll have you know I did my fair share of charity while I was in the flesh. Gave a few dollars to the orphanage at Christmas so the little kiddies could have their pudding and so on. Dropped pennies into more than a few beggars' cups. Even spared an hour at a soup kitchen once." [["Is that it?"]] [[Resort to flattery]] [["Ah, but what about in your *afterlife*?"]] You add a layer of dew to your doe eyes; a tremble to your lower lip. "No, no, no! Try all you like," he crosses his arms and thrusts his chin in the air, "This heart is impenetrable! Your deathly arrows shall find no purchase on my fortress walls." You begin lobbing ever more piteous "pleases", increasing the trembling of your lip. He tilts his chin further in the air and it, too, begins to tremble slightly. You lob another "please" and - aha! There, you see it! Your supplication hits the fortress wall and there is a sizzle as it burrows in and melts a hole in the ice. Resolve steadied, you (link-reveal: "string your bows.")+(append: "string your bows.")[ <div id="first-passage">`***`</div> Your volleys come fast and thick now, the seismic trembling of your lip rendering them almost incomprehensible - but it's too late for that to matter. You've calibrated the warble to your voice *just so*, and its canonfire is deafening. Each plaintive projectile finds its mark, ice sloughing off as they make contact. Basil's arms grow tighter around himself. Abruptly (link-reveal: "the ice wall shatters.")+(append: "the ice wall shatters.")[ <div id="first-passage">`***`</div> "Oh, dash it all! Alright, alright! You'd think you were a sick fawn or a duckling or somesuch woodland creature. Suppose I couldn't call myself an upstanding citizen if I were to leave such a defenceless creature mewling in the dirt. Alright then, ready?" You [[hold out your hand.|Ectoplasm 3 collected]]]] Heartless, he is! Cruel! Have the many years of post-mortem existence so removed him from his humanity? Does he not remember what it is to *feel?* "Rather a lot of whinging on about *feelings* without taking consideration for mine." His smile is like a shark's, all teeth without so much as a scintilla of warmth. [[Touché.|Ectoplasm 3 Negotiations Return]](set: $ectoplasm to it + 1)(set: $ectoplasm3 to true) Basil waves a hand and with a *glorp* a thick fresh dollop of ectoplasm drops into your waiting palms. You slip it into your pocket, shaking your fingers to coax off the sticky residue. (if: $ectoplasm is 1)[ Thus imprisoned, it continues to wiggle every once in a while, as if to remind you of its presence. You have ''scooped'' some Ectoplasm.](elseif: $ectoplasm is 2)[ You drop it into your pocket with the rest of the ectoplasm. With an unctuous *flort*, the mass congeals. It is a noise you will not forget. The luminosity increases. You have ''beglooped'' your Ectoplasm.](elseif: $ectoplasm is 3)[ Thus secured, it congeals with its bretheren, where you feel it wiggling its tiny protestations. You have ''englorped'' your Ectoplasm. Its light may be bright enough to banish the darkness now.] Basil waves (link-reveal: "an irritated hand.")+(append: "an irritated hand.")[ <div id="first-passage">`***`</div> "And bally well don't go begging for any more! I may be a being of insubstance but I'm subject to some laws of energy, after all! And I'm fresh out." Basil gives a small nod. You have been [[politely dismissed.|Library Repeat]]]{ (if: $inv does not contain "Ectoplasm")[(set: $inv to $inv + (a: "Ectoplasm"))]} You toss your shoulders back in a shrug. If you can't get it from him, no sweat off your back. You'll find it somewhere else. For a moment relief washes over Basil's face... but Pride (link-reveal: "stirs.")+(append: "stirs.")[ <div id="first-passage">`***`</div> As you turn away, you hear a choked "Wait!" from behind and Pride's hiss. You turn back to see Basil, redfaced as a ghost can be. "I mean... you don't mean to say you *really* don't want to see? It's awfully impressive. I mean..." Pride swells again, "It's not something just *anyone* can do, is it? And the stuff is rather useful, as you rightly noted," Pride puffs its fur, and continues to embiggen as Basil babbles on. It's not long before you find yourself squeezed against the wall, as (link-reveal: "Pride overtakes the room.")+(append: "Pride overtakes the room.")[ <div id="first-passage">`***`</div> You're pushed further and futher against the wall - sucking up as much oxygen as you're able with each gasping breath. Soon you're unable to speak, and you can feel the last of your air being squeezed out of you as Basil's rambling finally comes to an end. "...and so, old bean, after giving it a bit of a think I really must insist that you let me work my magic for you. After all, it's not every day you're lucky enough to be in the presence of a fellow capable of such miraculous feats, eh?" Pride files its claws, triumphant. It graciously shrinks a little to give you the space to reply. There's just enough breath in your lungs to choke out a polite affirmative. You [[hold your hands out, palms up.|Ectoplasm 3 collected]]]] Oh, curse your limited physical form! If only you understood the ectoplasmic process better. Perhaps a demonstration is in order? "You've overplayed your hand, old bean. I'm wise to your games - that's old Basil, sharp as a cat's claw!" He trills one sharp "Ha!" of triumph as Pride cackles, and you are [[left to regroup.|Ectoplasm 3 Negotiations Return]] You back off a tad and hit him with a simple polite request. Basil thinks for a moment, tapping his chin with an index finger. "No," he replies. [[Drat.|Ectoplasm 3 Negotiations Return]] You stay the course - your gut was right. Basil really *can't* create ectoplasm on command! Incredible! Is that true for all ghosts, or just him? For a moment Pride huffs again. It opens its mouth as if to roar defiance... then laughs. "I can so and have so and *would* so but choose not so," Basil says, thumbing his nose at you. Pride blows a raspberry. Your own Pride [[winces.|Ectoplasm 3 Negotiations Return]] Basil floats before you, arms crossed in a downright artful gesture of rebuffal. "If it's my ectoplasm you've come for... well, sorry my young chum. I'm afraid I'm going to have to refuse." [["Pleaaaaaaase?"]] [["I bet you just can't."]] [["Don't you want to help someone in need?"]] You pause for maximum dramatic effect before striking at his vanity with a long, sharp pin. A few pennies for the orphans, an hour of your time? Are you supposed to be impressed? Basil looks stunned for a moment, but Vanity rears its beautiful head, wipes the drop of blood from where your needle pricked it. The wound heals before your eyes, leaving its skin flawless. Vanity narrows its eyes in your direction and snarls. "Now look here!" Basil's tone is firm, "I'm not about to drop my soul on Charity's scales all for the benefit for someone who's come round begging for my otherworldly byproduct all so they can go snooping about. So you can bally well forget it!" Vanity takes a retaliatory swipe in your direction. There is nothing to do but [[retreat, licking your wounds.|Ectoplasm 3 Negotiations Return]] Your praise? Effusive. Your tone? Gushing. You marvel at the good works he's done, and speculate on the rewards he's entitled to in the afterlife. Generosity, after all, is in his nature. At some point during one of your monologues, Vanity makes its triumphant entrance to the trumpet of angels. You roll out the red carpet before its feet, toss confetti, bow so low your nose touches the ground. Vanity fixes you with an expectant look, and you (link-reveal: "sing its praises.")+(append: "sing its praises.")[ <div id="first-passage">`***`</div> Every so often, Basil mumbles a purely decorative protestation - the sort that only serve to further to rouge Vanity's cheeks, who by this point has primped and primed every lash, lock, and pore. Once again, Vanity fixes you with an expectant look. And you (link-reveal: "do what must be done.")+(append: "do what must be done.")[ <div id="first-passage">`***`</div> You extoll Basil's virtues as he lapses into sweet reverie. His eyes take on a faraway look as Vanity strokes his hair with a manicured nail. As your voice begins to falter, Basil returns to the waking world. And with a final shake of its glossy, golden tresses (grown to twice their length since its appearance) Vanity retreats, sated - for now. "Yes... well... I suppose I am rather a selfless sort of chappie when you get down to it. Far be it from me to break character at a crucial moment like this," he nods in your direction. Tears of relief in your eyes, you [[hold out your hands.|Ectoplasm 3 collected]]]] Good deeds in life are fine and dandy - nay, even a moral imperative! But now that he's passed on, how has he paid it forward for those of us still trapped in the land of the living? "Oh, I do my fair share around the house. After all, isn't that what a man who finished the whole "mortal toil" business entitled to? This is meant to be my eternal *rest*, after all," he sniffs. Well, rats. [[He has a point.|Ectoplasm 3 Negotiations Return]](set: $ectoplasmFound to true) The substance glows with a faint bioluminescence. It wiggles slightly of its own accord, like poked gelatin. You give it an experimental prod. In bold defiance of nature and good taste, it is somehow both oily and sticky at the same time. "Ectoplasm," Basil explains "Dashed inconvenience, but I suppose it can't be helped. Natural byproduct of my being a being of the immaterial now in the material, or somesuch or other(if: $librarySearch4 is true)[," he gestures to the grey goo beside the reading chair, "after a day or two though, the life just seems to go out of the stuff. Energy returning from whence it came, I should think." He shrugs.](else:)[."] (if: $needLight is true)[Hmm. That glow [[gives you an idea.|Ectoplasm 1 collected]]](else:)[You [[wipe your hands on your pants.|Library Repeat]]](set: $ectoplasm1 to true)(set: $ectoplasm to it + 1) You reach down and scoop up the goop. There's a slight give as it comes away from the floor, leaving a greasy streak behind. { (if: $ectoplasm is 1)[ You squish it into your pocket, where it continues to wiggle every once in a while, as if to remind you of its presence. You have ''scooped'' some Ectoplasm.] (elseif: $ectoplasm is 2)[ You drop it into your pocket with the rest of the ectoplasm. With an unctuous *flort*, the mass congeals. It is a noise you will not forget. <br /><br /> The luminosity increases. You have ''beglooped'' your Ectoplasm.] (elseif: $ectoplasm is 3)[ It squishes between your fingers as you drop it, wiggling its tiny protestations, into your pocket, where it congeals with its bretheren. <br /><br />You have ''englorped'' your Ectoplasm. Its light may be bright enough to banish the darkness now.] (if: $inv does not contain "Ectoplasm")[ (set: $inv to $inv + (a: "Ectoplasm"))]} [[Delightful.|Library Repeat]]{(if: $furnitureTopic is 'furniture000')[ <!-- The Letter --> "Correspondence is generally handled in the study. We're more familiar with her journals, diaries, that sort of thing." ](else-if: $furnitureTopic is 'furniture001')[ <!-- The Lady --> "She hasn't been down for..." <br /><br /> "3?" <br /><br /> "12?" <br /><br /> "18!" <br /><br /> "7!" <br /><br /> "Days!" <br /><br /> "Weeks?" ](else-if: $furnitureTopic is 'furniture002')[ <!-- Furniture --> "Well, I think we were brought about to assist The Lady - opening our drawers, flipping our switches, that sort of thing. But she's always made sure we're cared for and entertained." <br /><br /> "S'right," the hatstand says, "And we found we quite like sentience! When you've got a mind there's infinite possibility!" <br /><br /> "Well... at least... infinite possibility insofar as the bounds of this room," amends a chair, "But that's quite enough for us!" <br /><br /> The ensuing "Hear, hear!"s and "Too right"s quickly pile ontop of each other. ](else-if: $furnitureTopic is 'furniture003')[ <!-- Favorite Wood Polish --> "Varnish!" <br /><br /> "Varnish?! You must be off your rocking chair! A nice, gentle wax is all you need." <br /><br /> "Ha! And I suppose you like getting chipped, knicked, and scuffed do you? That's all your wax is good for! No - classic varnish, that'll keep you in tip-top shape. Old Footrest is pushing 100, but you'd never know it. Tell you what his secret is: *varnish.*" <br /><br /> "Old Footrest may look good for his years, but what about his woodhealth, eh? Mark my words, he's heading for rot!" <br /><br /> "Yeah! She's right!" <br /><br /> "*She's* right? Of all the loads wash...!" <br /><br /> The debate becomes an uproar, voices shouting on either side. Just as it reaches a fever pitch, a small voice squeaks: <br /><br /> "I like a good oil-based polish." <br /><br /> The room goes quiet. There is a polite cough or two, and the shuffling of fabric across the floor. ](else-if: $furnitureTopic is 'furniture004')[ <!-- Hobbies --> "Well, we read to The Lady and The Lady reads to us." <br /><br /> "We're quite good at impressions!" <br /><br /> "That's right! We often read out the characters in her books in different voices, oh it really is fun! You should stop in next time. We're in the middle of *Don Quixote.*" <br /><br /> "I play Sancho!" the vanity says, flashing its lights with pride. ](else-if: $furnitureTopic is 'furniture005')[ <!-- Misha --> There is an irritated flapping of doors and drawers. Hinges creak and wood groans as if expanding. <br /><br /> "He dropped a dead lizard on me once," says the runner. <br /><br /> "A mouse in my drawers," interjects the wardrobe, "*Twice*." <br /><br /> "Look at these loose threads," the drapes flap, "The Lady's already patched me *here* and *here*. You'd think I were a quilt!" <br /><br /> "Hairballs," a pillow grumbles. ](else-if: $furnitureTopic is 'furniture006')[ <!-- Skull --> "Ha! Haven't seen that old rascal in a while! What's he up to these days?" <br /><br /> "Hey, when the Lady's back we should get her to bring him up for an evening!" <br /><br /> The conversation turns buzzy with excitement over possible plans - ghost stories? Riddles? Parlor games? ](else-if: $furnitureTopic is 'furniture007')[ <!-- Octopus --> *"Who?"* ](else-if: $furnitureTopic is 'furniture008')[ <!-- Basil --> (if: $dealSigned is true)[ "Look, whatever he's done now we don't want to know about it."] (else-if: $dealOffered is not true)[ "That *fathead* is not to be spoken of here." <br /><br /> "Yeah!" <br /><br /> "Hear hear!" <br /><br /> "You said it!"] (else:)[ (if: $dealStatus is "countered")[ "Of course he'd say that. <br /><br /> It's one thing to get bored and lonely and come in for some company, it's another to make a mess of the whole damned room! He *could* come in, find a nice corner to sit in quietly. <br /><br /> But no. He's always excited over something - throwing his arms around, making a mess of things. And the more riled up he gets, the more he starts spewing the stuff everywhere!" the hatstand says. <br /><br /> "You'll notice he keeps the library nice and clean! Probably saves it all up just for us," groans the rocking chair. <br /><br /> "Well *you* can tell *him* to stuff it!" the chandelier tinkles, to general murmurs of agreement. (set: $dealStatus to "counter-countered")] (else-if: $dealStatus is "counter-countered")[ "Thanks pal, you're doing us a solid wood dealing with this guy for us."] (else-if: $dealStatus is "counter-countered-countered")[ "Is he still on about that? It's only been a year!" <br /><br /> "Well," the footstool squeaks, "That's only the last book... there was that decade where we had the A.A. Milne collection..." <br /><br /> "Shh!" the runner curls and flattens its edges repeatedly in irrtiation, "We don't need to go into every little detail here!" <br /><br /> "Right!" the wardrobe is all authority - its voice as solid as its construction, "All that matters is we put the the issue behind us. Tell him we promise to return our books on time from now on." <br /><br /> There is some further grumbling, but nothing of consequence arises from it. (set: $dealStatus to "counter-countered-counter-countered")] (else-if: $dealStatus is "counter-countered-counter-countered")[ "If only he were still corporeal," sighs the wardrobe, "I could lock him up for a few days, that'd teach him a thing or two." <br /><br /> "I could roll over his toes," the stool weighs in, with rather too much excitement. <br /><br /> "I could fall on his head," giggles the chandelier.] (else-if: $dealStatus is "needPen")[ "Oh for the love of-- sure, whatever, we'll sign anything. Just bring us the contract and point us to the dotted line." (set: $talkedTurkey to true)] (else:)[ "Let us know when you talk to him!" <br /><br /> "It'd be a miracle if he lets you get a word in edgewise." <br /><br /> "Godspeed friend," says a trunk very seriously.]] ](else-if: $furnitureTopic is 'furniture009')[ <!-- Oisín --> "Ask the writing desk! They're practically twins!" <br /><br /> "Yeah, hehe! We can barely tell 'em apart! Go on, ask her!" <br /><br /> "God I hate you guys," the writing desk replies. ](else-if: $furnitureTopic is 'furnitureClear')[ ](else:)[]} (if: $bedroomSearch3 is true)[The colors of the bedroom are generous in the afternoon light. Shadows of rustling trees play upon the rich reds and dark wood of the room, giving the impression of a crackling fire. Banished beneath the bed, the dark shadows that had occupied the room now whisper softly in secret conversation.](else:)[Lit by the dim reading lamp, the red walls of the room glow like the dying embers of a fire. Shadows line the walls, stretching to the ceiling where they gather and converse in a soft hush.] { (if: $searchedBedroom is not true)[ <!--Have not gone to search page at all, regardless of anything else!--> While you're here, you may as well have a little (if: $dealSigned is true)[ [[look-see|Search Bedroom]]] (else:)[ (if: $dealOffered is true)[ [[look-see |Deal Reminder]]] (else:)[ [[look-see|Search Bedroom False]]]] around the room.] (else:)[ <!--Have searched in some capacity--> (if: $bedroomSearch1 is true and $bedroomSearch2 is true and $bedroomSearch3 is true and $bedroomSearch4 is true and $bedroomSearch5 is true)[ <!--Have fully searched--> You have taken a ''look-see'' through all the bedroom's bits and bobs. (if: ($JoyofCookingFound is true) and ($cooked is not true) and ($inv does not contain "ENT-sential Oil"))[ <br />You recall seeing various ''oils'' on the vanity that might be worth [[a second look.|Oil Get!]]] (if: ($inv contains "Eight Arms for Hugging") and ($inv does not contain "Teddy Bear"))[ <br />And from its small side table, the teddy bear mopes by its lonesome. Your eye is drawn to the narrow squeeze marks at its center. Might you know [[its owner...?|Teddy Get!]]]] (else-if: $bedroomSearch1 is not true and $bedroomSearch2 is not true and $bedroomSearch3 is not true and $bedroomSearch4 is not true and $bedroomSearch5 is not true)[ <!--Have gone to search page but not actually clicked on any POIs--> You have taken a look-see around the room, but perhaps [[not at everything?|Search Bedroom]]] (else-if: $bedroomSearch1 is true or $bedroomSearch2 is true or $bedroomSearch3 is true or $bedroomSearch4 is true or $bedroomSearch5 is true)[ <!--Incomplete search--> You have taken a look-see at some of the room, but perhaps [[not at everything?|Search Bedroom]]]]}(if: $searchedBed is not true)[ Though straight away, one thing that's impossible to escape your notice is the way the bed is home to a massive heap of clothing that [[rustles slightly|Clothing Heap]] at your approach.] All around, the Furniture murmurs to each other. It's a trifle awkward to direct your questions at no one in particular, but I'm afraid it's the only way to [[speak to them.|The Furniture]] (if: $dealStatus is "needPen")[You may also have something you wish to [[offer them.|Furniture Offers]]] --- Feeling overwhelmed by the company? Perhaps you'd care to (if: $dueTime is true and $needEmerald is not true)[[[go somewhere less crowded.|Due Time]]](else:)[[[go somewhere less crowded.|Landing Repeat]]] Or you could kill some time [[rummaging through your junk.|Inventory]] You endeavor to learn the name of the individual, but the speaker is not interested in pleasantries. "'Who is that??' Hey, that's what I oughta be asking you! I'm the one that lives here!" "Yeah!" comes another voice. A third, strangely muffled, joins the chorus with a "'haz righ!," [[Hmmm.|The Darkness Intro Cont]] You've barely got your apology out when the voice speaks over you. "Yeah, sure, real sorry, well next time maybe instead of being sorry, you could just skip over the whole business entirely and not bump into me? Thanks." "Ha!" comes another voice. And then the laughter of a third - albeit this voice is strangely muffled. [[Hmmm.|The Darkness Intro Cont]] You give your unseen companion a cheery - if rather surprised - greeting. "Oh sure, bumping into someone and it's all 'Hi, how are you? Lovely weather we're having, isn't it?'" "HA!" comes another voice. A third, strangely muffled voice, joins the chorus with "Mmmpfh! Ya!" [[Hmmm.|The Darkness Intro Cont]] "Now if you're done clomping around and bruising everyone in your path..." [["Why are you all hanging out in the dark?"]] [["Could someone turn on the light?"]] [["This is silly. I'm leaving."]] You inquire as to why this group should be happy to hang around in the dark, when they could be out in the light of another room (or perhaps even *this* room.) The question provokes a chorus of laughter. "I could ask you the same thing!" "Yeah! If you don't like it that much, go find a light or somethin'!" ...and variations on the same. Whoever these people are, they're probably [[not going to be any help.|The Darkness]] You inquire as to if anyone would be so good as to turn on the light. "Seems like you're the one bothered by the lack of light, not us." "Yeah!" "Too right!" You sense a general [[unwillingness to cooperate.|The Darkness]] You let... *whomever*... know that you're not going to stand around and play games. You're leaving. "Fine by us." "What'd, you think we were gonna cry about it?" "Toodles!" [[Alright then.|The Darkness]] "Try not to run into anything on the way out!" someone shouts to a chorus of cackles. You return to [[the landing.|Landing Repeat]](set: $inv to $inv - (a: "Ectoplasm"))(set: $metFurniture to true) After the darkness, the small lamp's glow is almost blinding. You shield your eyes, allowing them to adjust slowly as you take in the room. In all respects this is an ordinary empty bedroom; of the voices you heard in the darkness you see no sign. Strange. As you gently lower the ectoplasm into your pocket, it squirms with surprising force. It slips through your fingers, and, before you can make another move, the little thing (link-reveal: "LEAPS out of your hands.")+(append: "LEAPS out of your hands.")[ <div id="first-passage">`***`</div> It lands with a squishy *THUD* on the floor and oozes toward the wall, where it disappears into a mousehole. "Oh, GREAT," comes a voice, "just what we need. More of that *gunk* in our walls." "Yeah!" comes a reply, "what'd you have to go and do that for?" You swing your head this way and that, (link-reveal: "searching for the speakers.")+(append: "searching for the speakers.")[ <div id="first-passage">`***`</div> You peer under the bed, in corners, behind furniture - all to no avail. Finally, seeing nowhere else someone could hide, you approach the wardrobe. Placing its hands on its knobs, you pull. But something [[pulls back.|Bedroom Cont Insert]]]] Did the muffled voice say "get off me?" You look down at the runner beneath your feet. An old thing whose once ruby red has faded to a dusty grey-pink, patterened with rabbits and bears. { |title>[ (link: 'Stamp on it!')[ (replace: ?title)[<div id="first-passage">`***`</div><br/> You give the rug one quick STOMP with your foot.<br/><br/> "Yowuch! Wha' yoo 'oo a' fur?"<br/><br/> Aha. Of course, why wouldn't [[the furniture talk?|Bedroom Cont 3]]]] \<br />(link: 'Step off it.') [ (replace: ?title)[<div id="first-passage">`***`</div><br/> Gingerly as you can, you step off the runner. Immediately there is a sigh of relief, the rug shifts slightly as if stretching.<br/><br/> "Thanks. Had a crick in my weft."<br/><br/> Aha. Of course, why wouldn't [[the furniture talk?|Bedroom Cont 3]]]]] } The wardrobe clacks its drawers with a sigh. "Well, fun's over. Sorry gang, looks like we've been found out." There is a chorus of disappointed murmurs. A stool spins, a hatstand teeters slightly from side to side, drawers open and shut. It looks like you've (link-reveal: "spoiled the party.")+(append: "spoiled the party.")[ <div id="first-passage">`***`</div> The hatstand, berobed in a feathered hat, baseball cap, blue silk robe, and scarfs for every occasion, is the first to address you. "You got two eyes, don'tcha? You can see that you're in the Lady's bedroom. Treat it with respect and we won't have a problem." [[Duly noted.|Bedroom Repeat]]](set: $dealOffered to true) You begin poking about in your usual way when the runner pulls you backward with a harsh tug. From all around come the sounds of doors and drawers clacking shut and locks turning. "Oh no you don't!" someone shouts. "We're not about to sit by while you go rifling through us. We *just* got clean again." There is murmuring agreement on all sides, but then a small voice pipes up: "Wait a minute... they might be able to talk to *him* for us...." For a moment the room goes dead silent. Then an eruption of noise as everyone begins speaking all at once. You can only make out (link-reveal: "snatches of conversation.")+(append: "snatches of conversation.")[ <div id="first-passage">`***`</div> "He can't see reason!" "The man's *intolerable.*" "It's never going to work." "Yes but... it's got to be worth a try." At this last suggestion, the room goes quiet again. Without warning, the runner pulls you across the room to face the hatstand. "Erm..." the stand begins "Perhaps we could... come to some agreement here. You see, lately we've been dealing with [[a little problem...."|Search Bedroom False Cont]]](set: $searchedBed to true)(set: $inv to $inv + (a: "Tangle of Ouroboral Silks")) You approach the bed carefully. The clothing heap appears to be an ordinary pile of discarded garments, the friend of People in a Hurry everywhere. This one is comprised primarily of silks in various colors. But with your final step, the heap (link-reveal: "shudders.")+(append: "shudders.")[ <div id="first-passage">`***`</div> The heap splits open as a tangle of silks bursts forth. It is impossible to tell where the knot begins and ends. The little knot *writhes*, sluglike, and before you know what's happening, it wriggles up your arm and curls down into your pocket, occasionally chittering. You are now ''host to'' a Tangle of Ouroboral Silks. [[At least it didn't bite.|Bedroom Repeat]]](set: $offering to "furniture") "Something for us?" asks the stool, excitedly. "Let us see, let us see!" the nightstands say together, hopping up and down. "Well well, let's have it!" says the hatstand, scooching closer. There is the sound of scraping wood upon wood, and the room suddenly feels a lot more crowded. { (unless: $inv's length is 0)[ (for: each _item, ...$inv)[ <br> (link-repeat: _item)[ (replace: ?title)[ (display: _item) ] ] ] ] } |title>[] --- Perhaps your belongings have wound their way around your heart too tightly; in which case, you may [[return to the Bedroom.|Bedroom Repeat]]{(if:$offering is "inv")[(if: $wetSilks is true)[The soggy silks circle around your pocket, chittering and squelching water with each undulation.](else:)[It unudulates around your wrist, chittering quietly.]] (elseif: $offering is "skull")[The Skull grimaces. <br /><br /> "Yikes! Listen pal, if I was you I'd throw that thing into the first open furnace I find."] (elseif: $offering is "ghost")["Good heavens! From what pit of Hell did that thing crawl forth from? <br /><br /> Get the blighted thing out of here! For all I know it makes its dinner on sturdy hardbacks."] (elseif: $offering is "furniture")["Oh for--! Another one? Hey, uh, you go ahead and keep that." <br /><br /> "Yeah! On the house!"] (elseif: $offering is "clock")[Too wriggly.] (elseif: $offering is "octopus")[(if: $wetSilks is not true)[The silks wriggle up the octopus's waiting arm. <br /><br /> With evident revulsion, the octopus shakes its tentacle. It does not stop until it sends the little thing flying. <br /><br /> It hits you square in the chest, whereupon it drops back into your waiting pocket. The octopus, for his part, dips his tentacle back into the water and swishes it around before lifting it and shaking it dry. <br /><br /> The Octopus has ''ensoggified'' your Tangle of Ouroboral Silks. (set: $wetSilks to true)](else:)[He begins splashing furiously in your direction as you lift the soggy silks. You squish the chittering thing back down into your pocket, wetly.]] (elseif: $offering is "misha2")["Grubby old thing... not half so sweet as mouseflesh, no no."] (elseif: $offering is "familiar")[The raven squawks and begins [[dancing from foot to foot.|Weight Swap]]]} "It's that MAN!" the two nightstands interject, tilting from side to side, their clawed feet clacking in a querulous rocking motion. "SHHH!" rattles the chandelier, with a twinkling of crystal "Let Hattie finish!" The hatstand coughs politely. "We've always had a... shall we say, strained relationship with a certain individual... and since The Lady's been away, things have deteriorated and the situation has become untenable. So we were thinking... perhaps you could talk some sense into him for us?" "Yeah!" the wardrobe rattles, "Do us a favor and then we'll let you [[look around."|Search Bedroom False Cont 2]] "His name... is... ...(link-reveal: 'Basil."')+(append: 'Basil."')[ <div id="first-passage">`***`</div> I can see by your expression that you've already met him," it sighs. A stool spins in agitation: "That *jerk* keeps coming in here, all excited about this or that, flailing his ectoplasm *everywhere!*" "Do you know," the runner says, giving a quick tug beneath your feet for attention, "how long it takes *us* to clean it all off?!" A vase tips over, and a small mop falls out. The runner curls around its handle and pulls you along, sweeping, to illustrate the point. "He doesn't listen to us," the hatstand explains, "But maybe you can talk sense into him." "It's a fair trade," the nightstands say in unison. The room goes quiet again, and the runner [[pulls you back to the door.|Bedroom Repeat]]] The runner pulls you backward. "Whoa whoa whoa whoa! We had a deal, pal. You solve our little ghost problem, we let you look around the room." "Yeah," the vanity stool spins, "We want *assurances*." Their demands have been made [[quite clear.|Bedroom Repeat]]{(if:$offering is "inv")[Its ink shimmers in the light, the paper has become diaphanous and strange. This page is now more than what it was.] (elseif: $offering is "skull")["If I had hands I think I'd be more of a digital guy."] (elseif: $offering is "ghost")["Err... I say, the old gears may be in need of a windup, old fruit. Your errand is with *them* not *me.*"] (elseif: $offering is "octopus")[Evidently baffled, he scratches his head with a tentacle.] (elseif: $offering is "furniture")[(if: $talkedTurkey is true)[There is a chorus of sighs. "Alright, then, let's [[get this over with...."|Signing the Contract]]](else:)["He wants us to sign...? Oh for heaven's sake, sure, whatever, [[let's see it."|Signing the Contract]]]] (elseif: $offering is "familiar")["Nest... warm enough."]} Basil adjusts his spectacles as he prepares to dictate. "Qua," he begins, and already you feel yourself falling under the spell of Legalese. You leave your body as your pen (link-reveal: "moves under his words.")+(append: "moves under his words.")[ <div id="first-passage">`***`</div> After some time - you're not sure how long - of furious scribbling, your pen finally stops moving. You return to yourself with a sudden jolt as Basil finishes, waving his hand. "...the undersigned, etc. etc." He blinks at you. "Are you quite alright, old thing? Only it seemed like you went away for a bit there. Well you've come back just in time, all that remains is to sign. And as a show of good faith, I shall sign my part first. He (link-reveal: "looks to you expectantly.")+(append: "looks to you expectantly.")[ <div id="first-passage">`***`</div> "That is... *you* shall have to sign for me. I've a very limited effect on the material, you know." He floats above your shoulder, murmuring in approval as you [[sign the contract.|Drawing up the Contract 2]]]](set: $inv to $inv - (a: "Pen and Paper"))(set: $inv to $inv + (a: "Contract")) "Chuffed, again I say chuffed! Now be a good sport and swing that over the fences, will you?" Anointed by your ink, under the sacred words of Basil's Legalese, you have ''consecrated'' the pen and paper, transforming them into a Contract. Taking care not to squish the clauses, you return the contract [[to your pocket.|Library Repeat]](set: $dealStatus to "signed")(set: $inv to $inv - (a: "Contract"))(set: $dealSigned to true)(set: $dueTime to true) You pull out the pen and the wardrobe flaps its doors. "You're... er... gonna have to sign for us." "Yeah," tinkles the chandelier, "no hands, haha." (link-reveal: "Of course.")+(append: "Of course.")[ <div id="first-passage">`***`</div> With one quick swipe, the deed is done. You have ''transubstantiated'' the contract into a Signed Contract. You feel the warm, golden glow of Binding Words flow through your hands. It spreads up your arms up to your torso, filling you with both peace and power. A sigh (link-reveal: "shakes free from your chest.")+(append: "shakes free from your chest.")[ <div id="first-passage">`***`</div> The Furniture echo your sigh - but their relief is followed by a collective shudder as a question floats into the room. "Hark! Do I hear the magic rustle of pen on paper?" comes [[a familiar voice.|Signing the Contract Cont]] ]] Basil strolls jauntily into the room, hovering only a couple of spare inches above the floor. "What ho, old chums! Well, shall we get this whole sorry affair over with? Now, let's see that contract" he says, rubbing his hands together. He peers down at it over your shoulder, adjusting his glasses and re-reading it all slowly, mumbling snatches of it out loud under his breath, reacting with overexaggerated "Hmms" and "Huhs" as if he found its contents in some way surprising. "And this is *your* signature, correct?" he asks, (link-reveal: "addressing the room.")+(append: "addressing the room.")[ <div id="first-passage">`***`</div> "Oh for--" the chandelier rattles. Basil waves his index finger in the air. "Now now, can't blame a fellow for doing the utmost to ensure a contract is on the up-and-up. You can never be too careful!" He reaches down and takes the contract. "A pleasure," he says, followed by an overly-affected "hoh hoh hoh hoh!" sort of laugh. He vanishes in a "Toodle pip!" For several beats there is [[no sound at all.|Signing the Contract Cont 2]]] Then suddenly the room erupts into cheers, great whooping cries of victory. The wind whistles in your hair as the runner TUGS you backward at great speed. You land on the bed in a half-sitting position, elbows behind you. The clattering and cheering continues as you sit yourself up. "I can't believe it - you did it!" "Thanks, friend, we owe you big time." "Whatever you need, we're here for you!" From above you, the chandelier tinkles its crystal in celebration. The warm chatter of lifted spirits continues, as you are left to [[survey the room.|Bedroom Repeat]](set: $furnitureTopic to 'furnitureClear')(set: $inv to $inv + (a: "Gossamer Bracelet")) Before you can get close, the jewelry box tips forward and drops a silver bracelet onto the vanity. It tips back, then snaps firmly shut. You pick it up where it fell. It's of simple design, but so delicate as to look as though it could be spun from gossamer. It glints in the light - *shines*, even. You have ''been given'' the Gossamer Bracelet. You carefully [[fold it into your pocket.|Bedroom Repeat]]{(if:$offering is "inv")[INVENTORY_DESCRIPTION] (elseif: $offering is "skull")["Gold is really more my color," he grins, flashing a gold tooth.] (elseif: $offering is "clock")[Too delicate.] (elseif: $offering is "ghost")[] (elseif: $offering is "furniture")[FURNITURE_DESCRIPTION] (elseif: $offering is "familiar")[FURNITURE_DESCRIPTION]}{(if:$offering is "inv")[Sourced from the organic, free range Ents.] (elseif: $offering is "octopus")[He pulls out the stopper and drops a few drops onto his skin before rubbing it in. Freshly scented, he settles back down in his tub. <br /><br /> The Octopus has ''befragranced'' himself.(set: $smellyOctopus to true)] (elseif: $offering is "skull")["Careful, a little of that goes a long way!"] (elseif: $offering is "clock")[Too fragrant.] (elseif: $offering is "ghost")["'Fraid the olfactories went with the sinuses, nose, and the rest of the mortal form, old chum."] (elseif: $offering is "furniture")["Don't mind a drop or two now and again but the wood's feeling pretty well oiled at the moment, thank you."] (elseif: $offering is "familiar")[Oisín merely squawks in irritation.] (elseif: $offering is "misha2")[You drop the bottle to the floor and give it a kick, sending it rolling. <br /><br /> Misha watches with apparent interest, but makes no further movement.]}{(if:$offering is "inv")[*"Your new friend may be an anxious sleeper - and that's A-OK! If you notice your octopus sleep-squeezing, you may gently redirect its arms from any undesired objects (your limbs, furniture, pets) to a toy - think something soft and snuggly! Most octopuses will become attached to their favorite sleep buddy, and readily release Fido in favor of its sleepytime toy."*] (elseif: $offering is "octopus")[He flips a few pages, leaving them sodden and flimsy, then seems to lose interest.] (elseif: $offering is "skull")["You'll have to find a different paperweight."] (elseif: $offering is "clock")[Too bulky.] (elseif: $offering is "ghost")["Mmmmmmyes, The Lady had me source that when she adopted our betentacled friend. She informs me that it's been invaluable."] (elseif: $offering is "furniture")["Why would we need that?"] (elseif: $offering is "familiar")[He looks at the octopus on the cover before squawking. "Friend."] (elseif: $offering is "misha2")[You sit on the floor and open the book, laying it flat in your lap as you pretend to read it. Misha appears to be the only cat in existence who can, in fact, resist the urge to lay on an open book someone is attempting to read.]}(set: $inv to $inv + (a: "ENT-sential Oil"))(set: $ingredients to it + 1) You run your hands over the bottles and tins... They come to rest on a dark green bottle with a fading label. *ENT-sential Oil*. You take it, pull out the stopper, and give it a sniff. It smells of moss and petrichor - pungent, but not overpowering. You turn it around and read the label. Apparently it's derived from live Ents by expressing their... well, you don't want to know. You drop the bottle in your pocket. You have ''become perfumed'' by the ENT-sential Oil. Waving the air to dissipate the smell, you [[step away from the vanity.|Bedroom Repeat]](set: $inv to $inv + (a: "Teddy Bear")) If what you read in *Eight Arms to Love* is accurate, then you think you know who this bear belongs to. You pick up the little thing and squish it into your pocket. You have ''adopted'' the Teddy Bear. You [[return to the bedroom.|Bedroom Repeat]](set: $inv to $inv + (a: "The Joy of Cooking"))(set: $JoyofCookingFound to true)(set: $book to "BookClear") Let's see... *Desserts.* Hmm. *Trollfinger Trifles*... (link-reveal: "no...")+(append: "no...")[ <div id="first-passage">`***`</div> *Slug Strudel*... (link-reveal: "getting closer...")+(append: "getting closer...")[ <div id="first-passage">`***`</div> Aha! [[Mouse Mousse.|Joy Get! cont]]]]<pre id ="book">` ___________________ ___________________ .-/| 78 ==%%== \ / ==%%== 79 |\-. |||| : |||| |||| ~Mouse Mousse~ : ~Mouse Mousse~ |||| |||| ---------------- : ---------------- |||| |||| Take (1) MOUSE : Fold in |||| |||| beat (2) EGGS : mouse. |||| |||| until frothy : |||| |||| : |||| |||| Heat mouse on : Add 1 drop |||| |||| STOVETOP until : ENT-SENTIAL |||| |||| soft. : OIL. |||| |||| : |||| ||||___________________ : ___________________|||| ||/====================\:/====================\|| .---------------------~___~--------------------'' `</pre> Seems straightforward enough. You close the book and squeeze it into your pocket. You have ''become encumbered'' by The Joy of Cooking. You (if: $OctopusBookFound is true)[[[return to your perusing.|The Bookcase Depleted]]](else:)[[[return to your perusing.|The Bookcase Sans Joy]]](set: $book to "BookClear")(set: $inv to $inv + (a: "Eight Arms for Hugging"))(set: $OctopusBookFound to true) You flip through the volume, passing by such enticing chapter heads as *Five Everyday Products To Remove Ink Stains* and *Ten-tickles, and Other Ways to Show Affection*, when your attention is caught by a passage about (link-reveal: "sleeping behavior.")+(append: "sleeping behavior.")[ <div id="first-passage">`***`</div> *"Your new friend may be an anxious sleeper - and that's A-OK! If you notice your octopus sleep-squeezing, you may gently redirect its arms from any undesired objects (your limbs, furniture, pets) to a toy - think something soft and snuggly! Most octopuses will become attached to their favorite sleep buddy, and readily release Fido in favor of its sleepytime toy."* Very interesting. You shove the rest of your belongings aside to make room in your pocket for the tome. You have ''checked out'' *Eight Arms for Hugging*. You (if: $JoyofCookingFound is true)[[[return to your perusing.|The Bookcase Depleted]]](else:)[[[return to your perusing.|The Bookcase Sans Octopus]]]] Misha sends the mouse twirling into the air. It falls slowly, curlicuing its way down as if in no rush to land again. It lands with a dull thud in Misha's waiting maw. He clamps his teeth around it possessively as your shadow overtakes him. "Know that look. Come to take away Misha's tasties," he almost growls, "not sure why I should give up what's mine. I caught, after all." You sense appealing to his empathy is going to get you nowhere. There are times when stronger tactics are called for - namely, those times when one is dealing with a cat. I'm afraid you must choose your path. [[Distract him]] [[Lie through your teeth]] [[Appeal to reason]] You try to supress the mischevious smile you can feel building within yourself. Misha retreats further from you - can he sense your intent? [[Improvise a toy]] [[Pet him]] [[Open a window]] Misha warned you he could smell deceit. But can he really? You try to take the measure of the strange little creature as you consider what to say. For his part, Misha looks on high alert - limbs stiffened, ears perked, even the kinks in his whiskers straightened. [["That mouse looks bad...."]] [["Mistress told me to bring her a mouse."]] [["I saw a fatter, juicier mouse just now...."]] Your features settle into the look of someone who is going to Remain Calm and Work Through Something. Misha glares at you with increased suspicion. You consider what to say. [["You just ate!"]] [["I brought you fish earlier. Wasn't that nice of me?"]] [["Wouldn't it be more fun to go hunt a new mouse?"]] You point out that he *just* had a snack, but Misha is quick to retort. "Fish savory. Mouse sweet meat. Besides," he continues, "Not eating yet. Play first." Sweet mouse meat... [[who knew.|Landing Repeat]] You remind him of the kindness you so recently did him. "Not niceness. We made deal. And no deal could be so good to part with fresh mouse," he says, sitting down with a *THUMP*. It was a *THUMP* of [[finality.|Landing Repeat]] You point out that rather than eating that tattered thing - whole *minutes* old - he could give it to you and instead go hunt a fresh, new mouse. Wouldn't that be fun? "Mousetoss plenty fun. More fun than chase. Already dead." That appears [[to be that.|Landing Repeat]] That mouse is altogether the wrong color. Might it have eaten some blighted grain, some tainted meat? Surely not *poison?* Unless...? Perhaps it's not something it ate, but some communicable disease. From the goat? A passing forest rat? You get closer and suppress a false gag (expertly, in your opinion.) Misha remains firmly planted to his spot; the mouse still clamped between his jaws. "Your eye no match for Misha's nose," he sniffs. Cat noses. [[No fooling 'em.|Landing Repeat]] You inform him that you have no interest in the mouse for yourself... it's his *Mistress* that does. At this, his ears perk up. You pull the letter from your pocket and "read" it aloud - her demand that you bring her a mouse upon your arrival are *quite* explicit. You give the letter a smack. Doesn't he want to help Mistress? Loyal Misha, who serves her so well? At this, Misha (link-reveal: "flicks an ear.")+(append: "flicks an ear.")[ <div id="first-passage">`***`</div> "The letter... it say all that?" Misha asks, his voice a quiet whine. Betting he can't read, you dangle the paper in front of him. His eyes don't move over the words. Can his illiteracy clinch it for you? "Mistress... mistress does not condone mousedeath. You read again." He sits back on his haunches (link-reveal: "and squints.")+(append: "and squints.")[ <div id="first-passage">`***`</div> Err... certainly, let's just read this all out again, shall we? You do your best to remember the exact wording, but you stumble more than you ought. Misha's claws emerge from their hiding space - not in threat, but in triumph. "Misha warned - no tricks!! Cannot fool Misha so easily, oh no!" You [[hang your head in shame.|Landing Repeat]]]] You're not sure why Misha should content himself with so paltry a mouse when he could instead have the *sumptious* mouse you just saw scurrying around downstairs. A *feast* unto itself.... Misha's pupils begin vibrating around in his skull. You can hear the whirr and crank as the gears in his head turn - torn between his greed and his distrust in your words. With a *clunk* of the gears, (link-reveal: "greed wins out.")+(append: "greed wins out.")[ <div id="first-passage">`***`</div> "Where! Where is mouse?? You must tell Misha! We trade, yes? Skinny, stick-and-bones mouse for fat juicies!" Misha begins dancing from side to side. You lean forward and describe the location of the fictitious mouse - was it in the kitc-- no perhaps it was the study? By the stairs? Somewhere downstairs at any rate. He might have to take a good, long look around. With each passing syllable, the speed of Misha's dance increases, paws barely hitting the ground by the time you finish, at which point he gallops in the air before (link-reveal: "disappearing downstairs.")+(append: "disappearing downstairs.")[ <div id="first-passage">`***`</div> You bend over and scoop up the mouse from where he left, shoving it into your pocket. You have ''bodysnatched'' the Dead Mouse. (set: $inv to $inv + (a: "Dead Mouse"))(set: $gotMouse to "lie")(set: $ingredients to it + 1)(set: $mouseGot to true)(set: $needsMouse to false) You return your attention to the [[rest of the room.|Landing Repeat]]]] With a flick of his head, Misha sends the poor ex-mouse shooting straight up vertically, before it falls back down again into his waiting jaws, whereupon he sends it hurtling skyward again.... It seems he intends to repeat this process indefinitely. Until he gets bored or hungry enough, at any rate. Turning your eyes from the unpleasantness that is Misha at play, [[you run your gaze over the landing.|Landing Repeat]] The landing is a small space - not quite cramped, but not designed for lingering. Small windows on the far wall let in waning afternoon light, the small figures of birds occasionally zipping by. In the center of the wall, a large oil portrait of Misha peers down at you, lips drawn in a self-satisfied smirk. Beneath it, a small ivory clock ticks from a claw-footed table - the only furniture in the room. It appears there is not much to ''look at'' here.(if: $metRaven is true)[ Oisín has retreated to the ceiling, though you have no doubt that if you wish to [[speak to him|The Raven]] he would be down in a flurry of feathers. (if: $ravenBargainActive is true or $needEmerald is true)[Likewise, if you have something to [[offer him.|Raven Offers]]]] {(if: $mouseGot is true)[ <br /><br /> (if: $gotMouse is "lie")[ The space Misha so recently vacated is now conspicuously empty.] (else-if: $gotMouse is "window")[ Misha stands at the window, craning his neck this way and that, occasionally chattering. He pays you no mind.] ] (else:)[ <br /><br /> (if: $needsMouse is true)[ At the corner of the upwards staircase, Misha continues flipping his [[mouse.|Misha Intro]]] (else:)[ At the corner of the upwards staircase, Misha continues flipping his mouse. You can see no reason to disturb him.] ]} --- (if:visits is 1)[ With so little to do here, perhaps your explorations are best carried out elsewhere. But where do your feet wish to roam? [[To the East,|Raven Intro]] a slim staircase ascends at at a sharp pitch. Undoubtedly an ''attic.'' [[To the North,|Library Intro]] soft light, carried by the scent of old books. In its glow, the towering shadows of bookcases - a ''library'', you suppose. [[To the South,|The Darkness Intro]] unnatural darkness. The door lies open - a perfect rectangle of blackness. It occurs to you that you have not seen a ''bedroom'' anywhere yet. [[To the West,|Foyer Repeat]] the staircase, leading back down to the ''foyer.''](else:)[ Perhaps your explorations are still best carried out elsewhere...? (if: $metRaven is true)[The attic staircase is currently blocked by [[Oisín.|The Raven]]](else:)[[[Head upstairs,|Raven Intro]] to the mysteries of the attic.] (if: $exploredLibrary is true)[[[Enter the library,|Library Repeat]]](else:)[[[Enter the library,|Library Intro]]] with its heady, hazy ozone of literature. (if: $litBedroom is true)[[[Enter the bedroom,|Bedroom Repeat]] with its rich colors and richer company.](else:)[(if: $needLight is not true)[[[Enter the bedroom?|The Darkness Intro]]](else:)[[[Enter the bedroom?|The Darkness]]] at least, as you think of it, in absence of light that proves otherwise.] [[Return downstairs,|Foyer Repeat]] to the foyer and the lower level.] Or perhaps you'd like to [[pick through your belongings?|Inventory]](set: $metRaven to true) As your foot comes to rest against the bottom step, you hear the flapping of wings from above. There is a rustle, and whoosh of air, as a head-sized, black *something* (link-reveal: "drops down at you.")+(append: "drops down at you.")[ <div id="first-passage">`***`</div> For a confused moment your vision is black, but with a flutter the thing swoops away. There, midway up the steps, stands a large [[raven.|Raven Intro Cont]]] "Yes... very good..." he makes a *click-click-clicking* sound with his throat; corvidular laughter. "And now... you must... [[follow...."|The End Pt 2]](set: $offering to "misha2") You pat yourself down, searching for the right object. { (unless: $inv's length is 0)[ (for: each _item, ...$inv)[ <br> (link-repeat: _item)[ (replace: ?title)[ (display: _item) ] ] ] ] } |title>[] Or perhaps you have [[nothing he cares for?|Landing Repeat]] You reach your hand out, but Misha contorts his body impossibly, twisting, ducking, rising - anticipating your movements so perfectly your hand is never let to come to rest. [[Foiled!|Landing Repeat]] Ignoring the cat - who backs away as you pass - you make your way over to one of the windows, unlatch the latch, and (link-reveal: "pull it open.")+(append: "pull it open.")[ <div id="first-passage">`***`</div> A breeze sweeps into the room, and on it, just as you might hope to hear, comes sweet birdsong. It doesn't take more than a single *tweet* for Misha's (link-reveal: "ears to perk up.")+(append: "ears to perk up.")[ <div id="first-passage">`***`</div> You blink and Misha is on the windowsill, craning his neck out to scan every tree. You look behind to the space he so recently occupied on the floor to see the dead mouse. You tiptoe over and grab it, squishing it into your pocket. You have ''bodysnatched'' the Dead Mouse. (set: $inv to $inv + (a: "Dead Mouse"))(set: $gotMouse to "window")(set: $ingredients to it + 1)(set: $mouseGot to true)(set: $needsMouse to false) You [[leave Misha to his birdwatching.|Landing Repeat]] ]]{(if:$offering is "inv")[It's not every day you have a fresh corpse in your pocket, but, at least it's small.] (elseif: $offering is "clock")[Too dead.] (elseif: $offering is "octopus")[He gives the little corpse a gentle pat on the head.] (elseif: $offering is "skull")["Er... looks like you're missing some ingredients there."] (elseif: $offering is "ghost")[Basil tuts a sharp, mournful little tut. "Poor thing. Hopefully stuffing its gourd with a wheel of stilton the size of its head wherever it's at now. ...and if it was that dratted cat... well, I hope it comes back to haunt him. Would serve the bally demon right!"] (elseif: $offering is "furniture")["What the--?! Get that out of here!" "Yeah, what do we look like, a garbage heap?" "Honestly, you're as bad as that cat!" The runner yanks you back toward the door at speed, as if trying to fling it from your hands. You maintain your grasp, however.] (elseif: $offering is "familiar")["No fun... if already... dead."]} The raven looks you straight in the eye before letting out a bellowing squawk. "Lady rests above. Not to be disturbed. She will summon... in due time." He speaks in a breathless, croaking sort of voice: the creaking of old trees in the wind. He shakes his head, sending a ripple through the glossy black-blue feathers of his neck. "I am... Oisín," he caws, with a slight bow of introduction. [["Hello, Oisín."]] [["I thought only parrots talked."]] [["Funny way to treat a guest."]](set: $offering to "familiar") As if sensing your intent, Oisín glides down from his hiding space and alights on the center step. He waits, his patient eyes never leaving your hands. { (unless: $inv's length is 0)[ (for: each _item, ...$inv)[ <br> (link-repeat: _item)[ (replace: ?title)[ (display: _item) ] ] ] ] } |title>[] --- Perhaps you do not care to trade with the old corvid. Then you may [[return to the landing.|Landing Repeat]] You return his slight nod and introduce yourself. "Your name... I know...." he says, taking an opportunistic peck at the stair. Then he lowers his beak to preen himself, [[drawing your eye to his chest.|Raven Intro Cont 2]] You tell him that you were under the impression that *parrots* were the only talking bird. He lowers his gaze and his black eyes seem to sharpen. "Cat talk... and you question... me," he squawks. Then he lowers his beak to preen himself, [[drawing your eye to his chest.|Raven Intro Cont 2]] You point out that holing up in an attic all afternoon is a rather strange way to treat an invited guest. "Lady... has her reasons," he squawks. He lowers his beak to preen himself, [[drawing your eye to his chest.|Raven Intro Cont 2]] A gold cylinder dangles from a chain about his neck - the pendulum weight of a grandfather clock. With another squawk, he flits up toward the ceiling and is gone, perching on one of the storage ledges toward the top of the walls. [[You step back down.|Landing Repeat]]{ (if: $ravenTopic is 'raven000')[ <!-- Letter --> "Words... for speaking. Not... writing down." ](else-if: $ravenTopic is 'raven001')[ <!-- Oisín --> "Do work... for... The Lady...." ](else-if: $ravenTopic is 'raven002')[ <!-- The Lady --> "Lady... good to us...." ](else-if: $ravenTopic is 'raven003')[ <!-- Necklace --> "Shiny... very shiny... [[you like?"|Clock Weight Bargain]] ](else-if: $ravenTopic is 'raven004')[ <!-- Tastiest Bugs --> "Worms... like the way... they wriggle." ](else-if: $ravenTopic is 'raven005')[ <!-- The Others --> "Like to... give cat... a good peck. <br /><br /> Lady... forbid," he squawks irritably. ](else-if: $ravenTopic is 'ravenClear')[ ](else:)[ ]}(set: $ravenTopic to "ravenClear")(set: $ravenBargainActive to true)(set: $ravenBargainOffered to true) "Shiny... shiny..." he croons. "...only thing... better... is... long and *wriggly*." He emits three sharp squawks, hopping from foot to foot in excitement. It appears [[a bargain has been struck.|Landing Repeat]](set: $inv to $inv + (a: "Clock Weight"))(set: $inv to $inv - (a: "Tangle of Ouroboral Silks"))(set: $ravenBargainActive to false) You pull the (if: $wetSilks is true)[soggy, ]unudulating mass from your pocket and toss it in his direction.(if: $wetSilks is true)[ It drips as it flies through the air, leaving the stairs slick with soapy water.] With one quick beat of his wings, Oisín is in the air. He opens his beak, and (link-reveal: "swallows the mass in one clean gulp.")+(append: "swallows the mass in one clean gulp.")[ <div id="first-passage">`***`</div> With another flap of his wings, Oisín is above you. He circles your head once before dropping the golden weight into your hands. Running your finger over its smooth surface, you place it in your pocket. You have ''become weighed down'' by the Clock Weight. Exchange completed, you [[head back down the steps.|Landing Repeat]] ](set: $needEmerald to true) Stepping out into the landing, you nearly jump out of your skin as you are assailed with a rush of black feathers. Having catapulted mere inches from your face, Oisín now swoops into the air above and beats his wings, hovering in midair. "The Lady... will see you now." He dives, and swoops [[around your shoulders.|Due Time Cont]](if: $inv contains "The Midnight Cloak")[ He takes a beakful of the midnight cloak and gives it a small tug, before dropping it. "Cloak... yes... good... But... missing [[one thing."|Due Time Cont 2]]](else:)[(set: $missingCloak to true) "But you... missing... something. Missing... *two*... somethings..." he squawks. "Return with... the cloak... [[and...|Due Time Cont 2]]] "The gem... must get... the gem...." And with one sharp caw he is back in the air and out of sight. It seems you've been given a [[treasure hunt.|Landing Repeat]] Oisín zips through the air to the top of the steps. Hovering, the door creaks open before him. As you approach, the only sound is the slow beat of his wings. You climb the stairs(if: $wetSilks is true)[, taking care to step around the trail of water from the soggy silks,] and [[step through the door.|The End Pt 3]] It takes a moment for your eyes to adjust to the dim of the attic. High on the far wall, the last of the afternoon's light streams in through a small window. All around, dust motes dance in the air like fireflies, slowly, as if their langorous waltz is pulling down the sun, but, in defiance or desperation, they're endeavoring to make the day last. Storage boxes line the walls to your sides beneath the pitched roof. Holiday decor, seasonal clothes, fine china - the mundane atticly ephemera of a lifetime. The Lady reclines on a daybed beneath the far window. She meets your gaze, and [[waits.|The End Pt 4]] Her eyes, alert, move slowly, tracking even your smallest movements, as if recording them to be stowed away and recalled in perfect detail at some future date. Her skin has the flawless glow of youth, but something in her dark irises tell a different story: a perspicacity, a clarity of sight not yet granted to the young. Oisín flocks to the daybed, landing next to the halo of her pale, shimmering hair. He gives his wings a good stretch before settling in. As you approach, The Lady points to a small chair, wordlessly bidding you [[to sit.|The End Pt 5]]{ (if: $ladyTopic is 'lady000')[ <!-- House --> "It's taken a lot from me, but given so much more." ](else-if: $ladyTopic is 'lady001')[ <!-- Misha --> "Oh, he told you he was going hungry, did he?" She pauses to shoot him a glare before continuing. <br /><br /> "Basil feeds him his dinner every night at nine. I don't know how many years ago I asked him to store Misha's tins of fish in the Pale Yonder, but it was the only way to keep Misha from opening cabinets and knocking them onto the floor. <br /><br /> I can't spend all my time tripping over and cleaning up towers of tinned fish on the floor. Little devil," she grunts, the irritation in her voice softened by affection. <br /><br /> Misha purrs thunderously, nuzzling her arm. ](else-if: $ladyTopic is 'lady002')[ <!-- Octopus --> "Gulliver? An absolute delight. I can't tell you how much he livens up the kitchen. <br /><br /> And if you play him at cards, keep an eye on all 8 arms. He's given to hiding an extra ace or two." ](else-if: $ladyTopic is 'lady003')[ <!-- Skull --> "I found him the woods many years ago... and it seemed like such a sad lonely spot to spend eternity. <br /><br /> Turns out he is quite lively! If you'll forgive the expression." ](else-if: $ladyTopic is 'lady004')[ <!-- The Mess --> "Oh, I get that it's the sort of thing that doesn't work for some people, but we have an understanding, the two of us." ](else-if: $ladyTopic is 'lady005')[ <!-- Basil and the Furniture --> "Feuding again, are they?" she laughs, "that's the secret - they're both prone to boredom, and love to have an enemy. It gives them something to do and keeps them sane. <br /><br /> They'll be friends again before the week is out. ...and at it again a few weeks after that." ](else-if: $ladyTopic is 'lady006')[ <!-- Oisín --> "The first of my companions. He knows more about the house than anybody besides me." <br /><br /> At this, the raven squawks with delight. She gives him a scritch under the chin. ](else-if: $ladyTopic is 'lady007')[ <!-- Emerald --> "It's my... symbol of my office, I suppose you might say. A portion of my power resides in it. We each had one. This is the only one left now." <br /><br /> She takes it from you. <br /><br /> "Thank you for bringing it to me... I wouldn't want to leave without it." ](else-if: $ladyTopic is 'lady008')[ <!-- Witchery --> "I have been called such before." ](else-if: $ladyTopic is 'lady009')[ <!-- Where She's Going --> "Yes... where I'm going... is difficult [[to answer."|Beyond]] ](else-if: $ladyTopic is 'lady010')[ <!-- Preparations --> She points to the journal and pen resting on the side table at her elbow. <br /><br /> "I had to make sure I didn't miss anything." ](else-if: $ladyTopic is 'ladyClear')[ ](else:)[ ]}(set: $ladyTopic to 'ladyClear') "I am returning to the place my kind hails from, as we all must someday, as my sisters have before me. I suppose mortals might call it [[death."|Beyond Pt 2]] "Our kind... do not go to the Pale Yonder. We go..." She looks around, as if the small room represented the whole of the world, of life itself. "Somewhere *more*... and... less." Her eyes flick to Misha. She skritches his ear, and his purr is almost deafening. "My kind have the benefit of foreknowledge about these things. We hear the call and know our time is up. We use the time to get our affairs in order. The others knew the day would come. They will feel it when I am gone." Her dark eyes seem to dim a moment, but she stretches her shoulders and their sharpness returns. "But come, I'm sure you have more [[you wish to know."|The Lady]] She settles with her back to the wall, the picture of patience. (link-repeat: "House")[(set: $ladyTopic to 'lady000')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Lady Topics')]] (link-repeat: "Emerald")[(set: $ladyTopic to 'lady007')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Lady Topics')]] (link-repeat: "Time Running Short")[(set: $ladyTopic to 'lady009')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Lady Topics')]] (link-repeat: "Preparations")[(set: $ladyTopic to 'lady010')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Lady Topics')]] (link-repeat: "Witchery")[(set: $ladyTopic to 'lady008')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Lady Topics')]] (link-repeat: "Misha")[(set: $ladyTopic to 'lady001')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Lady Topics')]] (link-repeat: "Octopus")[(set: $ladyTopic to 'lady002')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Lady Topics')]] (link-repeat: "Skull")[(set: $ladyTopic to 'lady003')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Lady Topics')]] (link-repeat: "The Mess")[(set: $ladyTopic to 'lady004')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Lady Topics')]] (link-repeat: "Basil and the Furniture")[(set: $ladyTopic to 'lady005')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Lady Topics')]] (link-repeat: "Oisín")[(set: $ladyTopic to 'lady006')(replace: ?title)[(display: 'Lady Topics')]] |title>[(display: 'Lady Topics')] --- When you have satisfied your curiosity, there remains [[but one question you must ask.|The End Pt 7]] There's a liquid grace to her movements; the motion of her limbs somehow both swift and deliberate, as if each gesture were planned carefully in advance, designed to convey their meaning with elegant efficiency. The effect is only somewhat spoiled when you are nearly knocked into your chair as Misha bolts into the room, whizzing by to jump and land on the daybed, neatly curling up against the Lady's waist. He nuzzles her side, his every neurotic hair softening to milk. Without looking down, she strokes Misha between the ears and (link-reveal: "smiles at you.")+(append: "smiles at you.")[ <div id="first-passage">`***`</div> "Hello," she says, simply. Her eyes sparkle, though her smile is soft. There's strength to her voice, but there's a faraway quality, as if she weren't really here. "Welcome to my home. I hope the others weren't too troublesome." [["They're a fun bunch."]] [["They were a handful."]] [[Politely change the subject]] ] You assure her they were nothing you couldn't handle - quite the fun group, really. Her smile widens. "Good. I'm glad you enjoyed their company. They don't always behave themselves." Misha's purr grows faster, and he [[headbutts her elbow.|The End Pt 6]] You admit that they made things more difficult than they could have. She laughs. "Yes... they do tend to do that. But you learn to manage them, in time." Misha glares at you, then his purr increases in volume as he [[gives her a furious nuzzle.|The End Pt 6]] You cough and thank her for her invitation. "You are most welcome. I'm so glad you accepted." Misha rolls onto his back and [[bats at her hair.|The End Pt 6]] She strokes Misha along his back, and he settles. "I'm sorry I could not greet you when you arrived," she continues, "but I've had much to prepare. My time grows short, and I'm sure you have [[many questions."|The Lady]] You gather your breath to ask the one question that's been on your mind all afternoon. Her eyes sparkle. "Go ahead... ask." [[The Letter|The End Pt 8]] You ask her about the letter. Why did she invite *you*, a stranger, to her home? She shakes her head. "An invitation? No. [[A bequeathment."|The End Pt 9]] "I looked far and wide for someone who needed a home. Someone who would love this house as I have, and treat it with the same care. Someone to take care of the others - someone who could learn to navigate all their little particular habits, needs, and wants. Someone they, in turn, could come to trust. So I hid myself away, giving you time alone with the others to bond. And when the time came, I asked Oisín to ask for the emerald, knowing what the Skull would want in return... knowing it would take some display of trust with everyone to obtain. And most importantly, I needed someone who can [[make magic."|The End Pt 10]] Before you can protest - you don't know magic - she waves a hand as if sensing your thoughts. "Oh, I don't mean spells, hexes, and charms. Those things are all very well and good. But you don't need to be like me. Mortals have powers of their own. Listen to me: the spaces we create are magic. We draw power - or lose it - from our surroundings. So make this your place of power. Fill it with the things that bring you joy and comfort. Put pieces of yourself into this house - pour yourself into the studs, layer yourself in brick by brick, as I once did. You'll find its paint running through your blood soon enough. Tell *your* story. That's true magic." She reaches for the book at her side and [[hands it to you.|The End Pt 11]] "It's all in here. Everything. Maintenance schedules, tool locations, garden maps, birthdays and similar anniversaries... everything." "The goat, Claudette, gets an hour of grazing at lunchtime. Never let the house spirit go more than a day or two without his sweets. Oh, and don't forget to give Misha his cream on Tuesdays. He gets very fussy without it." Misha's thunderous purr rumbles again. "Oh! And I almost forgot [[one last thing."|The End Pt 12]] Where The Lady had sat there is a glimmer in the air, as a tossed handful of glitter might make. But you blink and this, too, is gone. Misha jumps to the ground and rubs against your legs. He nuzzles your knee and purrs. From the window above, afternoon gives way to evening, and the first stars come out, and all is quiet in the house. No, not *The House*: Home. <div id="center"><h3>//The End//</h3></div> <div id ="credits">[[Credits]]</div> "Your housewarming gift." She twirls a finger in the air, and as she does, the clasp around the midnight cloak comes undone. You remove the cloak and look at it again in the dim light. There, inside the collar, in silver threading, are your initials. "Take care of it," she says, her voice sounding far away now, "take care of all of them." When you lower the cloak, she is [[gone.|The End Pt 13]](set: $inv to (a:))(set: $inv to $inv + (a: "The Letter"))(set: $ectoplasm to 0)(set: $ingredients to 0) You lean against the cool glass of your window, watching the rain fall over the forest on either side of the small, muddy road. (link-reveal: "The car lurches slightly on the uneven mounds of dirt.")+(append: "The car lurches slightly on the uneven mounds of dirt.")[ <div id="first-passage">`***`</div> The driver hasn't spoken a word on the way, which suits you just fine. Perhaps a normal person wouldn't have accepted an invitation for a weekend away as (link-reveal: "a guest of an unknown person...")+(append: "a guest of an unknown person...")[ <div id="first-passage">`***`</div> But you think back to your roommates informing you that they were throwing *yet another* party this weekend. You imagine trying to get a little extra research done after a hard week, as the music //THUM-DUM-DUMs// through the thin wall between the living room and your tiny bedroom. You think of the layer of grease on the stove that's still lingering from their *last* party. Sighing, you [pull the letter from where it rests snugly in your pocket.|Reading The Letter]]] --- <pre style="line-height: 1em;"> |letter>[ ` ,--------------. (_\ Allow me | | the pleasure| | of hosting | | you this | | weekend | | | | -Your | _| friend| (_/____________/` ] </pre> (enchant: ?letter's chars, via (t8n-delay:pos * 60) +(t8n-skip:100s) + (t8n:'instant')) (set: $transCounter to 0)\ |sample1)[(transition: "dissolve")[Your fingers trace the lines on the page. It said something about a house, but no details beyond. There was no way to contact the sender; the driver had simply arrived late [this afternoon.|Outside]]] { (live: 7s)[ (set: $transCounter to it + 1) (if: $transCounter is 1)[ (show: ?sample1) ](else:)[ (stop:) ] ] } --- The car lurches one final time as it crests a hill. It comes to a stop. You exit the car and (link-reveal: "stretch your legs.")+(append: "stretch your legs.")[ <div id="first-passage">`***`</div> In the blink of an eye, the little black car is gone. You hear the engine echoing somewhere out of sight. You gather your belongings and [take in your surroundings.|Outside Cont]] "Mistress' scent! Surely is, surely! Something about you bears it." Another long sniff. "Ink and paper, also." He sits bolt upright, every strand of fur on end. "Come come, let's have it!" he shouts, nosing the pocket where the letter resides. He retreats to his step as you reach inside and [[pull out the letter.|The Cat Cont 2]] He takes a long whiff of the paper as you dangle it before him. "Her scent alright... know that seal, too. Invitation seal." The cat fixes you with a wary eye. "Who are you? What are you doing here?" Each syllable is an accusation, his voice tensing like a coil wound too tight. "Mistress said nothing to Misha about a *visitor*. What business do you claim? What trickery? I warn you, Misha can smell deceit like rat smells tasty little crumblies on kitchen floor!" [["I'm a friend."]] [["Are you always so impolite?"]] [[Pet the cat]] (if: $ectoplasm is 0)[It is too dark to see anything. From around the room you can hear several voices united in surpressed tittering. ](else-if: $ectoplasm is 1)[You pull the ectoplasm from your pocket. The glow illuminates nothing but your hands. ](else-if: $ectoplasm is 2)[You pull the ectoplasm from your pocket. You can see the faint outlines of shapes, but nothing more. ](else-if: $ectoplasm is 3)[You pull the ectoplasm from your pocket and slowly the room [[comes into focus.|Bedroom Intro]]] --- If this is more darkness than you are willing to tolerate at present, it may be wisest to [[return to the light.|Darkness Exit]] It is too dark to pick through your belongings. "Ack! Do you *mind?*" a voice rejoins. The doors pull tighter. "Yeah! How would you like it if someone entered *your* room and started grabbing at you?" someone else says. "Ya!" comes a muffled voice "an' ge' OFF m'eh!" You have a [[sinking suspicion....|Bedroom Cont 2]] (if: $skullBargainActive is true)[(if: $inv contains "Mouse Mousse")["Ooooh! Do I smell mouse mousse?? [[Gimme gimme!"|Obtaining the Key]]](else:)["Nuh-uh-uh! Not 'til my mouth is full of those sweet mouseguts!" [[Yuck.|Study Repeat]]]](else:)[(if: ($needEmerald is true) and $inv does not contain "Emerald")["Hmmmmm," the Skull's empty sockets peer down at you, boring into you as keenly as the most expressive eyes. <br /><br /> "Oisín is asking for the gem? Well now that is [[interesting."|Skull's Bargain]]](else:)["It's a beauty, huh?" comes the Skull's voice. "Not totally sure what she does with it. She doesn't take it out so much these days. She used to take it out when her friends were here but... that was all a long time ago now." Feeling your eyes begin to sear from the gem's glow, you [[turn away.|Study Repeat]]]](set: $ectoplasm to 0)(set: $darkened to true) "Hey! Watch it!" a voice shouts. [["Who's there?"]] [["Oops, sorry."]] [["Oh! Hello!"]]