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Borgupine

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Blast face

KER-POW! You extend your hand, and a sizzling bolt of bright blue electricity arcs between you and the monster's head. The beast emits a keening wail and clutches the side of its head in torment. The creature picks up a stray car and throws it in your general direction. The car misses you, but slams into the side of the library, shaking that building's walls. The fog lifts, and the monster's eyes are visible again. The thing is stomping, swinging its arms, and bleating despair at its inability to stop the pain. It reminds you of nothing so much as a boxer, badly beaten and on the ropes. Another parked car crumples beneath the beast's stamping foot; this is sure to be a black day in the history of auto and building insurance.

You eat Jenny

Jog after Jenny Lettucehead, will you? Perhaps you've got it in your mind to sample her salad, but you'll harvest nothing as long as she's hauling herself from bed to bed. Tuck in a cabbage here, arrange one there, she's on the move. Her vines whip wild at her sides. You're never close enough to nab a bite.

You ask Arjang about the kingberries

"Kingberry bushes are commonly found around the town. But the the problem is, the kids strip the bushes off any ripe fruit. You'll have more luck searching in a remote quiet place."

Ride leaf

As strange as it may seem, you successfully ride the fallen leaf across the moat with Theresa and the Fatalist. Inauspiciously surrounded by narrow apartment buildings lies what must be the city dump. The deep, still moat surrounding the palace lies to the south, apparently untroubled by its proximity to mouldering trash. Things smell a bit better to the east. A huge mound of trash sits here, beset by flies. You can also see some valence, an old bone, a pen, a forged letter, and a sword here. The Fatalist arrives from the south. Theresa arrives from the south.

You stand on the cabinet

The plywood Noah's Ark is too tall for you to climb up on top of it safely, even though you're on the amplifier. You climb up onto the sturdy cabinet.

You tell Petroc about the bug

"This is a listening device; someone's trying to bug the Legion office." you tell him. "Bug, you say? Well, if there's bugs in your office you ought to clean it more often," he replies.

You enter

The Magick Shoppe door is closed.

You look under the chalkboard

(searching the drinks menu) The drinks menu is out of reach. The Sleaze dry-humps a bar stool.

You ask Tom about the devil

"Now then, you'd have to be asking Old Harry about that, wouldn't you?" chuckles Tom.

Turn sphere

The sphere rolls smoothly in the cherub's cupped hands. As it turns, a metallic creaking echoes from the chamber southward. The sphere clicks suddenly to a solid stop. The arrow now points toward a different constellation: the lesser bruin.

You cut the twine with the shard

(the thin loops of twine with the shard of shattered carapace) You cut through the twine with the sharp edge of the shard of the crawldad's shell. With the twine no longer securing the door of the trap, it swings open.

You examine the candlestick

An elegant shape worked in pewter, this would be a fine decoration for any home. Or it could be used to murder someone.

You turn the headset on

You don't see an on/off switch on the headset. Unless you miss your guess, Mom and Dad probably outfitted it with a permanent, long-lasting power supply, so it's always on.

You go north

The corridor banks ninety degrees from South to West. Surprisingly the lights are maintaining their power levels. Unfortunately they are providing good lighting for a rotting human carcass propped up in the corner. You can see Rotting Human Carcass here.

You look at the undergrowth

The thick, tangled undergrowth looks horribly like the advanced guard of the inexorably encroaching forest. Amongst the undergrowth you see a series of mounds.

You look at the rod

The absorbing rod is a dark metal, and very heavy for its size. You have seen absorbing rods and cones (apparently identical except for their shape) used in reactors to absorb radiation emissions.

You look at the heap

It's a hooded robe, left in a rumpled heap on the floor.

You look at the bug

A small microphone, in dull grey metal. You have no idea whether it still works.

Yes

That was a rhetorical question.

Bat tv

That's a bit too large to play with, you realize. The black square lets out someone who is talking but in a very flowing kind of way and high up enough that it catches your attention. Then you realize she isn't saying anything important.

Go north

You enter the PRISM research center, home of your predecessor Perry Simm. Freedom for the AIs! You add reflection and self-modification to the simulation codebase, allow Perry to reprogram it according to his wishes from within, and allow his internal and external interfaces to operate in parallel. You upload a summary of the storylines of relevant fictions to his news spool and depart.

East

Little Orphan Anna has better things to do.

You look at the texts

The books in the shelf are a series of scholarly-looking treatises, ranging from "The Memoir As Discovery" by Stephen Gilmour to "Literary Classes and Categories" by Julia Franklin. Obviously, someone in this house is a literary critic.

You check your inventory

You are carrying: Wolfie (the paper spider guardian of computers) a small velvet box (which is open but empty) a diamond ring (being worn) a sport coat (being worn) a bottle of hydroxide (which is open but empty) some cans of soda a squirt bottle (which is closed) a quantity of pale blue liquid a strange red bulb a bottle of acid (which is open) a quantity of acid a small plastic tube (which is closed) some litmus powder

Go southwest

You return to the Nave. Amidst the massive columns, one tomb in particular catches your attention. Your companion follows you.

Go west

This office is decorated with flashy shades of red. It's large enough to fit a massive cherry desk, rows of mahogany bookshelves, and a battered scarlet cabinet. The walls are empty and clean, although the paint is patchy in spots, reaching to a textured plaster ceiling. A wine red floor lamp in the corner has been turned off. The blinds are open to the dim light from outside, punctuated by flashes of lightning. The soft rose carpet is matted and ragged, but looks recently cleaned. Danny is highly irritated. He is breathing deeply, trying to relax. Danny takes off his glasses to wipe them with his sweater, then returns them to his face.

You put towel on the lounger

You put the towel on the lounger.

Dream rocky crag

You are already dreaming of the rocky crag.

Up

You leap up onto the ledge. Your Rival is eating from your food bowl.

You talk to Julia

Really, you couldn't get a word in edgewise even if you had the mental fortitude to try. "I mean I promise Janet and I will be around, even after the move," Francis says.

Go east

This little room behind the chapel is hardly bigger than a broom closet. A ladder bolted to the wall leads up through a hatch, presumably up into the steeple.

You examine the statue

It's from some very black, cold material. The plaque says that Alex had it made from the last Indestructium in existence. In it, he buried his greatest secret.

You check your inventory

You have a music box, a glass bottle, a small fly, a sun-bleached skull, an apple, a hang-glider, a piece of paper, and a small black magnet.

You examine the centipede

A tube of flesh hidden beneath an armature of mottled red and black, studded with numerous sharp yellow legs, clinging to Ramos' shoulder and neck like the worst/greatest feather boa. Sometimes it taps his collarbone with one of its scraping limbs, as though to remind him of something. A cat perches outside one of the windows, then disappears again.

Assail THRANG

You attack! You scored 8 points of damage! With a mighty KLENGON WAR GRUNT, THRANG leaps to the attack! You have suffered 13 hits of damage!

Yes

You look firmly into her hazel eyes. "I'm restoring what was lost," you say. "Veritas arches an eyebrow quizically and glances at one of the other Investigators. Then she walks over to the terminal, looking at the screen. "What is this?"

Footnote 1

Lyrics from Terrapin Station by Robert Hunter, music by Jerry Garcia.

Insult vincent

"Hey Vincent," you say. "Word on the street is that yo momma's so ugly that people say she doesn't look good." Vincent stops in his tracks. You can hear gears turning in his head. He turns around, grabs you by the collar and lifts you in the air. "Who's been sayin' that? Talk ya little punk!" ?

You go to the west

A subtle pressure against your body prevents you from moving that way.

Look around

A wide concrete walkway leads around the three-story building and up to the front door, flanked by ground lights on both sides, which shine in response to the setting sun. On the right, regimentally spaced palm trees provide an illusion of privacy for the west-facing windows. On the left, there's a parking lot for the apartment, but since the divider is all of six inches wide, the parked cars in the first row rest their noses against the walkway. Yesenia's flowered suitcase is parked beside the building's front door. There's a bank of resident mailboxes set into the outer wall, just to the right of the front door. The doorbells are on the other side.

1

Your mind wanders to the things you've seen; the things you've done. 1) "I watched a man die tonight..." 2) <Finish your drink in silence.>

Search stand

In the elephant's foot umbrella stand is an ebony walking stick.

You eat the Happiness

That's plainly inedible.

You examine the window

The hayloft is a good ten feet over your head.

You examine the record

A gramophone record entitled Maraca Medley by Señor Carlos Cordorniz, the Famous Maraca Soloist. It appears to be an album of popular folk-tunes arranged for solo maracas. Small wonder it ended up in the lumber room.

You read it

A message is written in blue ink: Barbara Ba Ba Ba you don't understand, you couldn't understand. The office is the only place I feel safe. It protects me against the sharp realities of the world and you and my superiors want to rip me from it. You don't understand how many deadly things there are out there. Now they want to remove me from my job, so I have no choice. It is better to go my own way than let some infection spread all over me or lie bleeding and abandoned. I wanted to destroy the key to the shack, but I couldn't. Just...Don't go there. Please.

You examine the platform

The mysterious chamber is like a miniature gazebo, a platform supporting four extensible metal posts with a little dome at the top. It's all made of metal, and it's all painted midnight black. A soft pushbutton and a small, bottle-shaped receptacle jut out from one edge of the platform. The rattle becomes an infernal thunder coming from underneath the shaking platform, as the glow spreads to the entire chamber.

You go to the north

Oasis, Grain Storage There were several silos where the humans stored their grain.

Lift bar

(with the northeast part of the playpen) You have short arms, you can't reach the top oval from down here.

You put all in the pockets

briefcase: That's far too big to fit in the coat pockets. kettle: Done. postcard: Done. envelope: Done. brass key: Done.

You say the statement

(to Danny) "Tell me your story again." "Of course, officer." You lean back as Danny gives you a statement. You can picture it all in your head... This studio is the jewel of the station; a green-colored jewel, like an emerald, you suppose. The walls, floor, and ceiling are thickened and hollowed, covered with acoustic panels. The microphones hanging from the ceiling are vintage, from the golden era of broadcasting, when they made microphones right. You constructed the table in the center out of soft wood. The chairs, though, are just left over from the last tenants, years ago. The soundproof door to the west leads to the hallway. The control room is to the east, but the technician is still reviewing the show before broadcast. "I'm Danny Kostopolous, the Voice of the Heartland. Join me tomorrow, when I'll present my top ten government agencies that need to be eliminated. Thanks for listening." You pause until your theme song finishes playing. The technician from the control room gives you a thumbs up. You switch off your microphone. You stand up. You sigh. If your suspicions are true, you're going to have to confront Rosalita. But you need to be absolutely sure; the annual report is in your filing cabinet, where she can't get it.

You look at the microwave

Just your basic tiny microwave oven. It has a big red button labelled "Zap" on the front. It is currently closed.

Inventory

You are carrying a coin and a treasure chest (which is open but empty).

You describe your surroundings

You remember stories your grandfather would tell you about Dalton Harbor back in his day - the shrimp industry supported the town and boats could be seen leaving early in the morning with seagulls circling closely overhead as their nets were drawn up. Now, however, one would uses the term harbor loosely when viewing this small dock. Today's harbor is nothing more than a couple of rotted wooden poles being used to tie old shrimp boats against. The shrimp boats hardly look seaworthy with their hulls scraped and their nets faded and tattered. A small A-shaped sign offers tourist bargains. A fisherman is sitting on an old bucket near a sink de-veining shrimp. `Squall of '67 blew down the whole town,' mumbles the fisherman.

You take the parchment

You pick up the dark parchment.

You ask Daggett about Earl

"I found a shirt outside that had the name Earl on it. Is he your groundskeeper?" J. Daggett nods. "Head groundskeeper actually. He and his staff are responsible for maintaining the entire estate, and they are very, very good at what they do. Normally you would have seen a few of them about, but today happens to be their day off." (You could ask him about his story.)

Wait

Time passes.

Key

Unlocked.

You take bauble

(putting the cork into the sack to make room) Taken.

You ask Tyrone about the compass

"I really ought to get back and work some more on that van," Tyrone says apologetically. "I love talkin' with you, an' that's the truth, but I don' want Mr. Beauregard gettin' mad at me, now, do I?"

Go south

You make a quick and confident exit while the manager's back is turned. Somewhat less pretty than the entrance and central plaza were - this part of the campus must usually be seen only by employees. North is a grimy-looking office block, and the rest of the campus is to the east.

You touch clown

Knowing more or less what may happen, and sort of dreading it but sort of hoping for it at the same time, you reach out and touch the clown. Again you have the sensation that his gloved hand is reaching toward you. A moment later, the music from the merry-go-round seems to swell, and you're dancing with him. The bedroom dissolves in a smear of circus colors. When the clown releases you, you're in the place that isn't a place, surrounded by floating, swirling blobs of color, and the clown is standing directly in front of you. Vague many-colored blobs of light float gently around you on all sides, and there are no shadows here. It's like being trapped inside a great big lava lamp, except that you can hear an off-key brass band oom-pahing not far away. The painted clown from the abandoned nursery, now no longer painted but quite real, is standing in front of you, gazing down at you with either pity or wry amusement (it's hard to tell which).

You read the yellow paper

DUE TO MASS LIMITATIONS ON THIS TRIP ITEMS DEEMED TO BE OF LESSER VALUE OR PERSONAL SIGNIFICANCE WERE RECYCLED TO EARTHBOUND CHARITY. HAVE A NICE TRIP! DOCKWORKER 175. Which is funny, because with labor shortages you wouldn't have guessed there were a whole 175 people working at the space dock.

Go west

The Food Court is a vast, open area and I can only see about half of it from here due to the lack of light -- the entire western end of it is cloaked in darkness. There are a number of cheap square tables and static plastic chairs bolted to the floor here, although a few have somehow broken off and are loose. To the northeast is a Nutrition Store. They carry a large assortment of tabs, pills, drugs and spices. The Court has another section to the west, and there is an exit east from where we came. Audrey lets out a little surprised 'yip!' and runs over towards me. "Jarret!" she says, "I felt something brush up against my leg! Something's here, in this area with us!" Before I can pooh-pooh her objections to this area, a metal chair comes flying at us. It appears as if a poltergeist has infected the food court. A fluorescent light, a garbage can, a brown table, a short gray table, a plastic chair, a metal chair, a broken chair, and some chair parts are here. The vampire, Casey, and a Revenant are here. Audrey and Gibs follow me. A fluorescent light comes flying right at me! I dodge the item, though. The Revenant heads off to the west. I notice something moving over in the far corner of the Food Court. It's a girl. She is wearing a reserved violet dress and has the most perfect, slim little figure I have ever seen. The vampire, I guess. It has to be; she's just as stunning as Gibs said. Focusing harder, I see Casey beside her, unmoving, defeated, completely obedient. The vampire whispers softly to her -- Casey snaps back into proper consciousness, and after a moment begins to look at her with loving trust. They are both several yards away, but I can make what the vampire says to her perfectly: Follow me, my pet. The vampire heads off to the west. Casey heads off to the west.

You eat the Omelettes

A perfect omelette's paradise. Simple yet elegant, fluffed layers folded and threaded with butter fried a delicate yellow. Every bite is a sunrise on your tongue.

You look at the slot

The slot is beside the door. It's about the same size as your identity card.

Go west

This bare stretch of hallway angles from the northwest to the east; another short hall leads south. Distant footsteps sound somewhere to the east.

You eat the sardines

More sardines, please. Another tin! You peel its lid backward to inhale the oily flavor that wafts from within. Their eyes are open but they're fast asleep. These sardines can sleep in your belly once you've swallowed them. One, two, three, four, let's stop counting. How many come packed in a tin? Not enough!

You look at the arm

Which arm do you mean, the spring arm, or the bruise on your arm?

Close vise

As you tighten the vise, the figurine begins to writhe. Its tiny arms and legs windmill frantically, its eyes bulge, and a terrible high keening sound escapes from it. You continue, remorseless. A moment later, with a loud crunching noise, the figurine shatters, and some harmless gray dust sifts to the floor. When the other figurines see what you've done, they spring to life! They jump down onto the floor and start running around in aimless panic, shrieking in tiny, high-pitched voices and waving their arms.

You put Chip in the device

You insert the chip cautiously into the slit; the screen lights up faintly. It flashes the words "Teleport Complete. Target Room Four", then changes to another phrase.

You look at the sign

It reads, "The griffin is a fiercely independent but intelligent creature who loves bloody food."

You talk sedan

"Gas... in caaarr..." "I see you got some gasoline out of my old clunker here. I hope it can be of use to you, and do please let me know if there's anything else I can help you with," she says.

You tie the cord to yourself

You cannot tie the curtain cord to yourself. You can hear some muted discussion outside the door.

You get on the bed

Okay, you're now sitting on the bed. You feel the boat lunge forward after hitting a tremendous wave head on. The boat appears to go airborne for a few seconds before landing on its side. A moment later, you're lying on the ceiling of the boat cabin. You whip your head around and watch in terror as the boat hatch starts to buckle. An instant later the hatch door explodes open, allowing an incredible amount of water to fill the cabin. You fight your way to the hatch opening to escape but the water pressure is just too much. You are pinned against the back wall as you try to catch your breath. A moment later you are submerged in dark cold water. The silence is eerie. So is death.

You ask Velox about the keys

(Use the command >talk to or >t to converse with other characters.)

Legs

The squid's robot legs are thickly armoured and crab-like. Petrol-driven, I suspect, given the noise. As well as providing locomotion, they incorporate some sort of GILL apparatus. There's also a conspicuous LEVER in amongst the machinery. The squid grabs me around the waist with a tentacle and lifts me into the air. My hat flies off and tumbles to the ground. Ivy cups her hands around her mouth and shouts, "Nate! Hold on! I'll save you!"

You look at the patch

You don't understand much about your surroundings, but something feels different about this small patch of the space here. It's like it's not really there. Yet you could probably reach out your hand and take it.

You ask Chuck about Chuck

The orderly leers at you. "I get off later this evening, if you want to get to know me better."

You continue

(What do you want to push up?)

You examine the trees

They are pines, you think, you have never been good with trees since you have really seen only two of them. Of course you have been to the mainland, but not that many times. They are rather small and gnarly, and they drop small cones that open their scales when they fall and hurt a lot if you step on them barefooted.

You press change

You are unable to.

You wear the jacket

As you slip on the jacket, you find that it fits you quite well. It feels a lot more comfortable than it looks. It offers much shelter from the cold, which is now nipping at your nose.

Go downward

Unlike the upper levels of the Embassy, the basement is built for practical purposes, and resembles the inside of a concrete cigar box. It continues to the south, dimly lit and cold. Along the west wall, a chute from above empties into a large metal container.

You read the grafitti

If you've learned one thing from this phone, it's to not hang out under a bridge with a bunch of miscreants. That's how you end up inscribed with an enthusiastic but flawed "ASE OF BASE" logo inside a jagged polygon.

You look up may 2 in the cabinet

You find a photographic plate, but it just seems to be full of stars.

You go to the south

Duke William watches you leave. Lady Inalda follows you out. Too small to count as a bailey, the courtyard is completely enclosed by the castle wall. An archway leads out of the courtyard to the south, while to the north stands a misshapen keep. What looks like a stable block rests against the western wall, and a long crude building, perhaps a barrack block for the castle guard, occupies the east wall. Lady Inalda stops in the middle of the courtyard and motions you to join her. “A word, if you please, lieutenant,” she says. “I don’t know whether you truly intend to do as my cousin asks, but perhaps there is something you might do for me.” (You could ask what she wants, or ask her about smuggling.)

You check what you're carrying

You are carrying: a photograph a sheet of paper a space suit (being worn)

You close the wooden box

You close the dark wooden box.

You get the mummy

The mummy is too heavy for me to lift.

You look at the people

These fellows are much too intent on their stomachs to bother with you.

Go southwest

Blackacre's only magic shop looks the part: It's a musty, timbered building with some feeble light oozing in through its rafters. Its owner, Sandie, was formerly an undistinguished apprentice wizard; now she uses both that title and her ineptitude with magic for considerable financial gain. Her clients are from rich families and have elderly, sick relatives. They want to inherit, but they're obligated to do something to help. Sandie is that something. She performs the perfunctory duties of an attendant magician, but her lack of talent with magic eliminates the possibility of any inconvenient recovery. She sadly informs the dutiful sons or daughters that nothing can be done; they inherit a large sum of money shortly thereafter; and then they donate a modest fraction of that sum to Sandie in gratitude for her services. As such, most of the items in the shop are gaudy, sparkly trinkets of no use or value. A stuffed alligator even hangs gratuitously from the ceiling. To maintain plausible deniability, though, Sandie keeps some genuinely magical items in her shop. Having the occasional wizard as a customer makes her consulting activities more plausible, and she tries to keep you and Dr. Mortemain as loyal customers. Your jaundiced eye notices a display case that looks invitingly dusty. The store continues to the south, and the exit back to the town square is to the northeast. A golem stands at the exit.

You examine the seal

You already have that. A seal of curious design, stamped in red ink with such force that it impacted the pages behind it. The design appears to be just an abstract shape, although maybe it's writing in a script you can't read. It gives you the shivers, a little bit.

You stand

You get off the protrusion. Bridge (Daniel Stelzer and Jemma Briggeman) You are standing on a bridge spanning east to west in the middle of an echoing cavern. In the center of the bridge is a large diabolical sculpture constructed of pipes that climb up to a cauldron filled with an eerily glowing green moss, the only light source in the room. Beneath your feet you can hear the crashing of the river below. Ahead of you, to your horror, there are slats missing on the bridge - you'll never make it across without replacing them. You peer beneath the sickly, putrid green colour of the river. Strange... From here it almost looks as if you can see the outline of something, just visible under the water. A rope trails from the post of the bridge off into the turbulent water.

You examine diagram

To: Window washing crew From: Cleaning crew manager Subject: Water in atrium The cleaning crew has been complaining for several weeks about water collecting on the atrium floor, making cleanup more difficult, etc. We have determined that the source of the water is the window washing crew. Please take note of the access hatch (SEE DIAGRAM BELOW) and DO NOT open this while the glass is still wet. Thank you for your cooperation. J. Stimms Cleaning crew manager Below this is a hand-drawn diagram showing a five-by-five grid of squares, with the square in the center emphatically circled.

Go east

A tiny flat with barely enough room for a small sink and tub to one side, a living area in the center, and a bed to one side. Triage silently rolls to a stop.

Wait

...and you find yourself wrestling the station attendant. "Sorry about that! Didn't mean to startle you, but by the sound of it you were having a dilly of a nightmare! "Anyway, you best be going. I've written a note explaining the situation to the conductor; it's on the back of your ticket. Better hurry." You take the ticket and a copy of the schedule and make your way out to the platform. Sole survivor syndrome. That's what they call it. Psychological trauma after surviving an accident that killed so many others. You still can't look at a plane without hearing the screaming or smelling the blood. The last time you tried to visit an airport-- just to pick up someone-- you left in an ambulance, catatonic. Things were looking bad when the old rust bucket died this morning. The mechanic said that the earliest he could get to it was first thing Monday morning, and the rental agency just laughed when you asked if you could get a car on short notice for the weekend. Flight was out of the question for obvious reasons, but rail had existed far earlier than planes. So you found yourself pleading your case to a sympathetic station manager, who managed to squeeze you onto a special charter train direct to San Diego. Two years ago, the wedding was postponed indefinitely by your accident. You are determined that that will not happen again. The sun is shining, the tracks are clear, and in a few hours you'll be the star of the show. Come Hell or high water, nothing is going to stop you from being... An Interactive Action-Adventure Car 3 (on seat 4B) Trains haven't changed much in the last 40 years. You could just imagine a furtive Cary Grant slipping from car to car or a diabolic Robert Walker plotting fiendishly in some corner. You can see the conductor here.

You enter machine

For a moment, you picture yourself climbing into what appears to be a cannibalistic digestive system in a box. You spend the next few moments being glad that you possess a functioning self-preservation instinct.

You go to the southeast

This is a grassy stretch just east of the vine-covered house. A clearing lies south, a garden path leads southwest, and another path leads northwest, behind the house. A birdbath stands in the middle of the yard. The narrow door, partially hidden by a rose trellis, lies open to the west.

You look at moon

The night fluctuates as an incendiary mirage, each star molten, the moon dripping like fat from some roast animal spitted above a pit.