C:\GAMES\IMPRO\SOH> soh (N)ew game, or (C)ontinue? C Alchemy Lab This was once a tidy and well kept laboratory. Now it is a twisted wreck. Shards of glass and wood splinters cover the floor, making you place your feet with care. Larger debris is strewn about with abandon, and there is a nasty smell in the air, suggesting a volatile mixture of chemicals. A shiny black rock is lying against the west wall. The doorway to the south is blocked off by steel shutters. The only other apparent way out is through a partially closed portal in the ceiling above you. There is some twisted metal here. There is a hissing noise. >VERSION = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = SPIRITS OF HOPE An Improtext Adventure Lead Programmer: Brian Stricklin Programmer: Steven Scougall Version 1.3 - Mysteries = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = >UP Your arms, fully extended, are still four metres too short too reach the portal in the ceiling. There is a hissing noise. The smell in the room seems to become stronger. >SAVE Game saved. >JUMP TO PORTAL You jump, and come one metre closer to the portal. This is hardly enough to cover the five metre gap. There is a hissing noise. The smell in the room seems to become stronger. >S The steel shutters are in the way. There is a hissing noise. The smell in the room seems to become stronger. >INVENTORY You are carrying: a silver pendant (worn) pocky Public Works keys >LOOK AT DEBRIS The lab is covered with pieces of wood from the tables, benches, and bookshelves that once existed in this lab. A few of the tables and benches are still mostly intact. There are badly burnt books and blackened pages, mainly concentrated in the north area of the laboratory. One of the books, however, is inexplicably still sticking out of the wall, even there is no bookshelf for it to rest on. Feathers from cushions are scattered everywhere. There is a hissing noise. The smell in the room is now quite strong, and it is getting hard to breathe. >LOOK AT BOOK The title on the spine is "Economical Considerations of the Waypoint Region." Looking at it closely, however, it turns out to just be a block of wood painted to look like a book, and it is sticking out of a hole in the wall. There is a hissing noise. The smell in the room is now quite strong, and it is getting hard to breathe. >PULL BOOK The book slides out of the wall and a section of the north wall slides aside. There is a hissing noise. The smell in the room is now quite strong, and it is getting hard to breathe. >N Secret Storeroom You are in a small room whose only exit is through an opening in the south wall. Its main purpose seems to be as a storeroom - shelves cover the north, east, and west walls. Upon the shelves are boxes upon boxes, all closed. There is a muted hissing noise. There is a strong chemical smell in the room. >LOOK AT BOXES Most of them are unmarked and you don't have time to look at what's in them. One, however, is set slightly apart, and is marked "For further study." There is a muted hissing noise. The smell in the room is now very strong, and it is hard to breathe. >OPEN THE BOX In the box there is a gas mask and a sheaf of paper. There is a muted hissing noise. The smell in the room is overwhelming, and it is almost impossible to take a breath. >PUT ON THE GAS MASK [Taking it first] [You have gained 1 point!] You gratefully slip the gas mask on over your head, and take a deep breath. The air tastes dry and second-hand in a way, but at least it's breathable. You aren't quite sure how it works, but are glad that it does. There is a muted hissing noise. >LOOK AT THE PAPER [Taking it first] It seems to be a detailed analysis of the gas mask and how it works. On the last couple of pages is a detailed picture of human lungs, and the notes suggest they are perfectly normal and that the gas mask must have been what protected "that human boy." There is a picture of the human that the notes must refer to. There is a muted hissing noise. >LOOK AT PICTURE The boy's face doesn't spark any recognition or memory in you. >S Alchemy Lab The laboratory is filled with a dense cloud of sewer gas mixed with chemicals. Thankfully, the gas mask protects you from the worst of it. There is a hissing noise. >S The steel shutters are still closed. There is a hissing noise. >IGNORE HISSING NOISE You are now ignoring the hissing noise. And a good thing too, it was becoming quite annoying. >LOOK AT PORTAL It's about five metres above you, and half-closed. >LOOK AT TABLES Most of them are in pieces. There is, however, a fully-intact table resting on its side against the north wall. >LOOK AT TABLE It is a fully intact table, at least three meters long and one wide, and it is resting on its side against the north wall. >MOVE TABLE You can't move it while it's resting on its side. >TURN THE TABLE UPRIGHT The table is now standing upright. >MOVE TABLE Where to? >UNDERNEATH THE PORTAL You manage to shove the heavy table so that it is immediately underneath the portal. >STAND ON TABLE You are now standing on the table. >UP You reach for the portal, but it is still too high for you to reach. >JUMP TO PORTAL You jump up for the portal, but it is still about a meter too high for you to reach. As you land on the table, it creaks dangerously. >LOOK AT DEBRIS The lab is covered with pieces of wood from the tables, benches, and bookshelves that once existed in this lab. A few of the tables and benches are still mostly intact. There are badly burnt books and blackened pages, mainly concentrated in the north area of the laboratory. Feathers from cushions are scattered everywhere. >CREATE LADDER FROM WOODEN DEBRIS You're no carpenter, and besides, you have no nails or anything to connect the pieces of wood to each other. >TURN THE TABLE ON END [Getting off it first] The table is now resting shakily on one end, the other end pointing at the portal two meters above it. >STAND ON TABLE It's a shaky and precarious foothold, but you are standing on the end of the table. The portal is now within reach. >U You grab hold of the bottom edge of the portal and pull yourself up and through it. [You have gained 1 point!] Secret Control Room This is a small room barely two metres square. In the floor is a half-open trapdoor, and there are a few switches set in a row in the wall. Apart from the trapdoor, there are no obvious exits. >LOOK AT SWITCHES Silver switch: Beside it is a metal plate marked "Shutters". At the top is the word "Open" and at the bottom is "Closed". The switch is currently set to "Closed". Red switch: Beside it is a metal plate marked "Emergency Gas Valve". At the top is the word "Open" and at the bottom is "Closed". The switch is currently set to "Open". Dull grey switch: Beside it is a metal plate marked "Entrance". At the top is the word "Open" and at the bottom is "Closed". The switch is currently set to "Closed". Black switch: Beside it is a metal plate marked "Trapdoor". At the top is the word "Open" and at the bottom is "Closed". The switch is currently set to "Closed". >SET SILVER SWITCH TO OPEN, SET RED SWITCH TO CLOSED, SET GRAY SWITCH TO OPEN, AND SET BLACK SWITCH TO OPEN The silver switch is now set to open. You hear the swish of metal beneath you. The red switch is now set to closed. You realise that the muted hissing you were ignoring is now completely gone. The grey switch is now set to open. The west wall slides noiselessly open. The black switch is now set to open. The trapdoor shudders and squeaks in protest, opens a bit further, and then there is a muffled explosion. The trapdoor stops moving. [You have gained 2 points!] >SET BLACK SWITCH TO CLOSED Nothing happens. >SET BLACK SWITCH TO OPEN Nothing happens. The mechanism that opens and closes the trapdoor is clearly not working anymore. >SET BLACK SWITCH TO CLOSED Nothing happens. It's not working. Stop playing with the poor trapdoor and concentrate on other things, why don't you? >W Dingy Basement This is a small, dark, and smelly basement. In the east corner there is an open secret door, leading to a small room. There are stairs leading up to a closed door in the northeastern corner. There are shelves on the walls, and lots of boxes and crates on the shelves. >CLOSE SECRET DOOR You're not closing it until you know how to open it from this side - you don't want to get trapped here in this dingy basement, after all. >LOOK AT THE SHELVES Investigating the contents of this basement would easily take half the night, and with the scientist presumably telling Lord Despise all about you, you don't have that time. >NE The door is locked and won't open. >LOOK AT DOOR Which one, the main one or the secret one? >BOTH Main door: It's quite firmly closed and locked. It is made of strong oak, and gives the impression that it opens for no man except the one who possesses its key. Secret door: It's open, leading to the secret control room and entrance to the Alchemy lab. You can see no way for it to be opened from this side. >LISTEN AT THE MAIN DOOR You hear muted footsteps, and faint female voices, and something that could be the swishing of water, but with all the wood in the way, it's hard to tell. "Did you hear about the new boy in town?" asks one of the voices. "Yes. He's a strange one, he's pink. Like Lord Despise..." "Give me a blue guy any day." "I wonder if he wears the same sort of things that Despise does?" The voices break off into giggling, and you flush crimson as you realise they are talking about you and your... more personal clothes. Um. "But still..." "Yeah. A pity that Lord Despise has set himself against him." A male voice, stern and cold, cuts their chatter off. "Stop yakking and finish washing Despise's clothes." The other voices fall quiet. You dare to stay at the door for a few more moments, but hear nothing more. *** MORE *** So... this seems to be a way into Despise's pagoda. Possibly. It's hard to tell; the trip through the sewer tunnels has disoriented you somewhat, and you aren't sure exactly what part of Waypoint City you are underneath. But the two workers were definitely washing Despise's clothes. Even if this is a separate building, the washing has to get into his pagoda somehow. Smuggling yourself in with the clean sheets sounds ridiculous and unoriginal, but you're sure you can think of a much better scheme if you could just get through this door. >OPEN MAIN DOOR The door is locked and won't open. >USE KEYS TO OPEN DOOR None of the Public Works Keys even fit in the lock. You're going to have to find the specific key for this door. >BREAK THROUGH THE MAIN DOOR You run at top speed at the door, turning your shoulder and ramming into wood at the last second. You bounce off, your shoulder throbbing, and fall down the stairs, and come to a painful landing on the hard rock floor of the basement. The door, for its part, resolutely stays closed. >E Secret Control Room >SET GRAY SWITCH TO CLOSED The secret door rumbles to a close. >D You clamber out of the hole and carefully down the upended table. Alchemy Lab The cloud of noxious gas and fumes is slowly dissipating, but it'd probably be a good idea to keep the mask on. >S Main Sewer Tunnels (East) This large chamber is apparently a pooling point for several other minor tunnels. There is a wooden door set in the northern wall here, and the tunnel continues to the west. To the east, the tunnel narrows and resumes its normal winding and turning. There is no sign of Hash. She must have left the area after waiting for you for a while. >REMOVE MASK You are no longer wearing the gas mask, and the odour of the sewers hits you with enough force to prompt tears from your eyes. But at least the air is breathable. >W Main Sewer Tunnels (Centre) This large chamber is apparently a pooling point for several other minor tunnels. There is a wooden door set in the northern wall here, and the tunnel continues to both the west and east. >W Main Sewer Tunnels (West) This large chamber is apparently a pooling point for several other minor tunnels. The stream of filth is a veritable river here, and the ceiling is high enough overhead to disappear into the gloom. A wooden door rests against the northern wall here, and the tunnel continues eastwards. To the west, the tunnel narrows and resumes its normal winding and turning. >W Sewer Tunnels You are travelling through the sewers underneath Waypoint City. This tunnel curves, from the north to the east. >N Sewer Tunnels You are travelling through the sewers underneath Waypoint City. This tunnel curves, from the south to the east. >E Sewer Tunnels You are travelling through the sewers underneath Waypoint City. The tunnel splits into a T-junction, with tunnels leading north, west, and east. >N Sewer Tunnels You are travelling through the sewers underneath Waypoint City. The tunnel splits into a T-junction, with tunnels leading north, west, and south. >W Sewer Tunnels You are travelling through the sewers underneath Waypoint City. The tunnel curves here, from the north to the east. >N Sewer Tunnels You are travelling through the sewers underneath Waypoint City. The tunnel splits into a T-junction, with tunnels leading west, south, and north. >N Sewer Entrance You are standing at one of the ends of the maze of tunnels criss- crossing the underground of Waypoint City. Lamps line the circular walls at regular intervals, glowing with a strange flameless light that faintly illuminates the paths. It stinks terribly in here of methane and other gases, and a river of filthy liquid runs through the tunnel's middle. Fortunately, raised walkways on the tunnel sides prevent you from having to wade through the junk as you travel. A set of stairs leads out of the sewer to the Public Works building. A tunnel leads south. >U Public Works Building It is humid and almost pitch black in this tiny building, and noxious fumes billow upwards from the room's lone feature, a stone staircase leading downwards into darkness. You can exit to the south and down. >S North Residences You are wandering among the darkened streets and houses of the residential district. The residences seem to be circling the hill on which the upper class mansions reside. Lord Despise's pagoda looms over all to the south. On the northern side of the street stands a building made out of grey stone, unlike the wooden constructs surrounding you. Etched above the doors is a sign declaring it to be 'WAYPOINT PUBLIC WORKS'. The residences continue to the southwest and to the east. On the porch of the building, a very large guard sleeps in a rickety chair. >S There is no way to get to the hill or the pagoda from here. >SW West Residences You are wandering among the darkened streets and houses of the residential district. The residences seem to be circling the hill on which the upper class mansions reside. Lord Despise's pagoda looms over all to the east. The residences continue to the southeast and northeast. Against a low brick wall are plastered a series of identical posters, many of which have become worn and torn. >LOOK AT POSTERS You confirm that the corpses you saw in the nightmare lab, or at least those that still had faces, are indeed those of the missing people the posters advertise. >E There is no way to get to the hill or the pagoda from here. >SE South Residences You are wandering among the darkened streets and houses of the residential district. The residences seem to be circling the hill on which the upper class mansions reside. Lord Despise's pagoda looms over all to the north. A nearby streetsign announces itself as Crabtree Lane, which continues to the northeast. The residences have many blocks and streets, but tend to the northwest. >N There is no way to get to the hill or the pagoda from here. >NE Market Square Here, at the intersection of Maltain Avenue and Crabtree Lane, you find a large and busy bazaar of sorts taking place. The various booths and stalls are well out of the way of possible carriage traffic, but otherwise are packed into every available square inch. The merchants seem to vie with each other to see who can shout the loudest, and you are entreated on all sides to come buy their wares. This is a shame since, of course, you don't have any money. There seems to be a tavern to the east, Maltain leads from the southeast to the northwest, and Crabtree runs northeast to southwest. >NW Northeast Residences This area of the city leaves the market behind and gives way to rows upon rows of houses and flats. This area of the city is silent and dark - not too surprising, considering the time of day. The residences seem to be circling the hill on which the upper class mansions reside. Lord Despise's pagoda looms over all to the southwest. To the southeast, you see the glow of lamps welcoming you back to Market Square. The residences have many streets and blocks, but tend in a westerly direction. One empty lot has been changed into a small playground, not currently being used at this time of night. There is a small leather ball resting on the ground, beneath what seems to be a basketball hoop, made out of a pole and fruit basket. >THROW BALL AT HOOP [Taking it first] You miss. But then again, you never were all that good at basketball. You remember how Hash got the hoop on her first shot, and wonder what she's up to now. >SW There is no way to get the hill or the pagoda from here. There is the heavy sound of footsteps as a patrol of guards comes from the west. They are, as is typical of guards in Waypoint, large and muscular - all are at least seven feet tall, and the tallest is easily nine feet tall. Their skin colours represent all the colours of the rainbow, but their expressions are far from the cheer that a rainbow might inspire. "You there!" shouts the largest one. He must be the leader. "Why are you loitering here at this time of night?" "He could just be working late," says one. "*Nobody* works this late," snarls the leader, and glares malevolently at you. "Well? Do you have an explanation?" >SAVE Game saved. >GUARD, BE ON YOUR WAY "I'm not taking my orders from you," growls the guard. >GUARD, TAKE ME TO THE PAGODA "Yeah, right," says the guard, and sniggers nastily. "Do you really think I'd do that?" >INVENTORY You are carrying: a silver pendant (worn) pocky Public Works keys a gas mask a sheaf of papers >SHOW PENDANT TO GUARD You feel nervous about doing that - you might never see the pendant again. "Well?" asks the guard. >GIVE POCKY TO GUARD "What the heck is THIS?" asks the guard, confused, as you hand him some Pocky. He starts picking between his teeth with one stick of Pocky, and you wince at the wastage of perfectly good snack food. >SHOW THE KEYS AND MASK TO THE GUARD Hoping that this will work, you show the keys and the mask to the guard as proof of you working this late at night, and explain there's something in the sewers that needs to be retrieved. He blinks. "Oh, okay then, you are working." He sniggers. "In the sewers, though." He turns back to the other guards, who look disappointed. "Come on guys, let's go." Amidst much protesting, the patrol continues on to the southeast. [You have gained 1 point!] >W North Residences The Public Works building is here. On the porch of the building, a very large guard sleeps in a rickety chair. On the porch of a small house, there is now an old man is sitting on a rocking chair. His eyes open as you approach and he grins at you. "The old sleep light, sonny - I heard you go past before. Guess you've found out you can't get to the hill from the commoners' residences, hm?" He cackles. >LOOK AT OLD MAN He is humanoid, with red skin and wrinkled boar-like features, and has long grey hair. He is dressed in bright gaudy flower-print pyjamas, the sort that only the elderly seem to be able to get away with wearing. His old and bent body is resting in a rocking chair, and he's looking at you with twinkling eyes. >ASK OLD MAN ABOUT PAGODA "Common belief is that it's Despise's," the old man says. "I think that's silly, though, it's too close to the rest of Waypoint. I'd say he lives in a secret location outside of the city. And you've already seen that you can't get into it normally. There are rumours about all the secret tunnels into it, of course. Nobody's ever found any secret tunnels, though." >ASK OLD MAN ABOUT DESPISE "Ah, now that's the thing... he just shows up," explains the old man. "Nobody ever sees how he leaves his mansion, and nobody ever sees how he gets back. Thing is, though, that he always seems to come from a direction, you know? It's funny, if he didn't leave the hill, you'd expect him to appear from thin air somewhere in Waypoint, but he never does. And he can't get that coach, the horses, AND the entourage through a secret tunnel. It's more like magic. Of course, magic's nothing to Despise." He snickers. "I heard about you and that hellhound. Good job, sonny. 'Course, Despise will be annoyed." >ASK OLD MAN ABOUT MAGIC The old man looks suspicious. "Why do you want to know, anyway? It's best left alone." >ASK OLD MAN ABOUT WAYPOINT "What about Waypoint? It's Waypoint, the biggest city for hundreds of miles. What's there to know?" >ASK OLD MAN ABOUT SPIRITS IN WAYPOINT "What the hell are you talking about, sonny?" >ASK OLD MAN ABOUT HUMANS IN WAYPOINT "Humans?" You clarify - you mean people that look like yourself, with pink skin, flat faces, and no odd animal-like features. "Oh, you mean like you and Lord Despise and Lady Suzume, right?" You nod in agreement. "Well," says the old man. "There are never many of you in Waypoint. There have been some over the past few decades, but very few at any one time. Right now, there's just you three. The most recent before you was another boy, from a few years ago. Like Despise did with you, he challenged the boy, and the boy failed and was never seen again." >SHOW PAPERS TO OLD MAN You riffle through the papers that came with the gas mask and come to the picture of the human boy, underneath the picture of what must have been his lungs. You shudder, and present the picture to the old man. The old man's eyes light up in recognition. "Yep, that was him." He points to the lungs. "Were these his?" You wonder whether to tell the old man about what you saw underneath Waypoint, and decide not to tell him just yet. So in the end you give just a quick answer to his question, that the lungs did belong to the boy and that Despise did something to him. "I understand perfectly," says the old man grimly. "A word of advice, sonny. Going up against Despise is a sure way to die - but you've already seen that, haven't you." He sighs. "Whatever you do, be careful." >SE The old man cheerily waves as you leave. "Thanks for indulging an old man." [You have gained 1 point!] Market Square >SE Trimble & Maltain You are at the intersection of Trimble Way and Maltain Avenue. The crowds are even thicker here, and you are hard-pressed to keep your position, rather than be moved along with the crowd. You can barely hear yourself think - it's terribly noisy here, and sounds even louder to the south and west. Most of the buildings here are residential, and not of much interest to you. Trimble Way extends to the south and northeast of here, and Maltain heads off northwest. >S Trimble & Oakleaf You are standing on the south end of Trimble Way, where it intersects with Oakleaf Road. Oakleaf seems to be a main thoroughfare - there is heavy carriage traffic east and west, and the cobblestones here are particularly worn down by wheels and hooves. There are a few sidewalk vendors here and there, but for the most part there has been enough room left for pedestrians. Trimble leads off north, and Oakleaf runs from the east to the west. >W Oakleaf Road The main thoroughfare of Waypoint City, Oakleaf Road, runs east and west. It's wide and its cobblestones are worn, and even at this hour there is the press of traffic. There is generally enough space left at the side of the road for pedestrians to move about. The impression you get from all the glares, though, is that if you don't have a carriage or at least a horse, you shouldn't be in this part of town. On the south side of Oakleaf is a bar, looking more high class than the Haunted Keg further to the northeast of Waypoint. The sign above the door proclaims the bar to be The Grape and Melon. A female green skinned humanoid, with long incisors and sharply-pointed ears, stands next to the door, looking suspiciously at you. The buildings to the north are residential and completely uninteresting. >N There's no reason to go into that particular residential area right now. >S The green skinned figure tilts her head back and looks disdainfully at you. "Does *sir* have an reservation?" she sneers. "If sir does not, he shall have to be escorted away." You mumble in reply, and step away from the entrance to the bar. >W Oakleaf & Ferngrove Oakleaf Road runs to the west and east, and Ferngrove Way is a smaller road (but not by much) leading off to the south. >S Ferngrove Way North You are the northern end of Ferngrove Way, a large road leading to the southern areas of Waypoint City. This appears to mainly be a residential area, though of a higher class than those around the hill Lord Despise's pagoda is located on. You can continue going on Ferngrove to the south, or go east or west onto a smaller street. You frown - you could have sworn that when you looked at Waypoint from the hilltop vista, Despise's pagoda was to the south of the city. Instead, from within Waypoint itself, it appears to be on the northern side of town. >N Oakleaf & Ferngrove >W Oakleaf Fiveways This is a large intersection, with five roads leading away from it. To the east and west is the main thoroughfare, Oakleaf Road. To the north and south is the smaller Kenilsworth Way, and to the southwest is the smaller-still Laurel Avenue. From here, you can see laurel trees lining the street. >N Kenilsworth Way Kenilsworth Way is another large road servicing the large residential areas of Waypoint City. The residential buildings are a mix of the higher and lower class, shading towards lower as the road continues to the northwest, and to the more opulent and gaudy as the road runs to the south. Lord Despise's pagoda seems to be particularly close here, overshadowing everything from the north. >NW Southwest Residences This area of the city gives way to rows upon rows of houses and flats, most small and not very showy. The area is silent and dark - not too surprising, considering the time of night. The trend of the residences is to the north and to the east. The residences seem to be circling the hill on which the upper class mansions reside. Lord Despise's pagoda looms over all to the northeast. There is a large building here, with the words "Waypoint Library" written on a sign above the door. It, like the rest of the residential buildings, is dark. >NE There is no way to get to the hill or the pagoda from here. >LOOK AT LIBRARY It is a large three floor brick building, painted a nice shade of cream and white, and there are trees planted around it. There is a stairway up to the glass doors that is the entrance to the building. A sign on the doors announces that the library is open to the public during standard hours. >TIME Apart from the obvious "It's very late at night", you have no way of telling what the time is. Come to think of it, you haven't seen what the citizens of Waypoint use for telling the time, nor have you seen any public timepieces. >READ THE SIGN ON THE LIBRARY DOOR "The Waypoint City Library is open during standard business hours - 9:00am to 6:00pm on weekdays. Thank you for your continued patronage and come again soon." *** MORE *** That's odd. If Waypoint has exactly the same way of telling the time as you do, then shouldn't there have been some evidence of that as you went through the city earlier today? Shouldn't there have at least been one main public clock somewhere around Market Square? >N The way north is through a confusing tangle of small streets, and half the time you feel completely lost. But you eventually come to... West Residences Against a low brick wall are plastered a series of identical posters, many of which have become worn and torn. >S You aren't sure you can it make back through the tangle of streets and lanes to the southeast residences again. There is the heavy sound of footsteps as a patrol of guards comes from the west - you get a good look at them and they are the same patrol of guards from before. They are, as is typical of guards in Waypoint, large and muscular - all are at least seven feet tall, and the tallest is easily nine feet tall. Their skin colours represent all the colours of the rainbow, but their expressions are far from the cheer that a rainbow might inspire. "You AGAIN?" shouts the leader. "What are you doing, still loitering about? Do you have ANY idea what time it is?" He points to the posters. "There's a bloody curfew in this area! Observe it or we'll enforce it!" "With a blackjack to the head," one of the guards says hopefully. "You IDIOT!" screams the leader. "You don't say that!" >SAVE Game saved. >GUARD, WHAT TIME IS IT? "Being cheeky now?" The guard's skin turns a darker shade of blue in anger. "I've had enough." There is a sudden sharp crack across the back of your head and the world goes dark. Time passes... You awaken with a start, cold and uncomfortable. Cell This is a small and dingy cell. The only concession to comfort is a bench with a pillow on it. On this 'bed' there is a cyan-skinned humanoid figure, apparently male, but with a lengthened nose and mouth, and looks somewhat equine. He looks familiar. He is awake, and looking at you quizzically. Otherwise, the cell is bare. "Sorry about taking up the bed," says the man. "But I didn't hear you getting tossed in." He extends a hand, and you can see that the fingers are shorter than yours and the palm is thick, giving the extremity a somewhat hooflike appearance. "Hi, I'm Rojanosh." >DIAGNOSE You are in reasonable health, and feel awake. There is a subsiding pain in the back of your head. You are uncomfortable and cold. You are hungry. You are thirsty. >SHAKE ROJANOSH'S HAND You take the offered hand and shake, and the man grins widely. "Okayama Keigo, hm? Strange name. Nice to see there's somebody to keep me company behind bars." >ASK ROJANOSH ABOUT BREAKFAST "It's never quite enough, but it comes every morning and it's enough. Tastes shocking, though." >ROJANOSH, WHY ARE YOU HERE? Rojanosh shrugs. "Who knows? I was just walking along one night and ran into a patrol. The guards must have taken an immediate disliking to me, because they wouldn't leave me alone, and eventually, well, I ended up here. Been here a few weeks now." >LOOK AT ROJANOSH Like most of the residents of Waypoint, he is humanoid but not human-looking. His skin is a light cyan shade, his face is elongated, and his ears are pointed and high on his head. His long hair completes the somewhat equine look. His palms are oddly thick and his fingers are shorter, making them look almost hoof-like. You assume his feet are the same. As you look at his face, you realise you have seen his face on the missing persons posters in the west residences. >ROJANOSH, WHERE ARE WE? He looks confused. "I thought it was obvious. The cells in Waypoint City." >ASK ROJANOSH ABOUT CELLS He shrugs. "They're cells. They're uncomfortable and you get thrown in them when the City Guard arrests you. What else is there to know about them?" >ASK ROJANOSH ABOUT SPECIAL CELLS He thinks for a moment. "There aren't any extra special cells that I know of. Besides, I was in here once before, and they're the same cells as ever." Another mystery... if Rojanosh is being held in the normal cells, then why has he been reported as missing? Wouldn't there be at least one guard smart enough to make the connection and inform Rojanosh's family? Either Waypoint works much different to what you are used to, or there is more going on here than you are used to. >SCORE You have gained 19 points out of a possible 2000. This earns you the rank of: Restless Shade. >SAVE Game saved. >QUIT C:\GAMES\IMPRO\SOH> = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Author's Notes I think I succeeded in opening Waypoint up some. ^_^ You might have noticed the usage of actions in square brackets, for example, [Taking it first] in response to PUT ON THE GAS MASK. These actions that the 'game' assumes you meant to type before the current action, and are restricted to simple actions, of the 'pick it up first', 'getting off it first', and 'turning it on first' variety. 'Finding Lord Despise's weakness first', in response to KILL LORD DESPISE, is not included, and would be kind of boring too. ^_- Also, a note about the parser... The parser is the part of the 'game' that takes what the user has typed and tries to understand it. If it can't work it out, then you get the dreaded "I don't understand" message and have to work out another way of saying the same action. The thing is, I didn't think it'd be very fun to have a lot of "I don't understand" responses in Spirits of Hope, and so I let the 'player' get away with a lot of stuff, such as CREATE LADDER FROM WOODEN DEBRIS. Others may have different thoughts on the matter. Thanks must go Platypus, Lauren Page, and Sean Givan for prereading, and catching spelling, grammar, and text adventure mistakes. Thank you for reading. Steven Scougall 22nd August 2000 http://www.crosswinds.net/~sscougall/