C:\GAMES\IMPRO\SOH> soh (N)ew game, or (C)ontinue? C Trimble Way You are standing just within the gates of what, apparently, is named Waypoint City. Despite the fact that it's the middle of the night, the street is filled with hundreds of... well, call them people, for lack of a better word. Gas lights provide extra illumination, though the moon is still shining down from directly above, and a light blazes in almost every window you can see. A nearby signpost advertises this as Trimble Way, which extends to the north and southwest; the city gate is to the east. >VERSION = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = SPIRITS OF HOPE An Improtext Adventure Lead Programmer: Brian Stricklin Module Programmer: Scott Johnson Version 1.8 - Passages = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = >DIAGNOSE You are in good health, and feel totally awake. You aren't at all hungry. You aren't at all thirsty. Your skin is a patchy green. >INVENTORY You are carrying: a silver pendant (worn) a gold amulet (wrapped around the wrist) arrows pocky 2 shillings 4 small bronze-colored coins a brown leather purse a tattered map >SW Trimble and Maltain >S Trimble and Oakleaf >W Oakleaf Road >W Oakleaf and Ferngrove >W Oakleaf Fiveways >W Oakleaf West The north side of the street is dominated by what was once a massive stone structure, comparable to a cathedral. Now, however, it stands in ruins. Massive holes have been battered in the walls, and the roof has partially collapsed. Smoke rises from several places within, though the fires look to be long since extinguished. Two bored-looking city guards flank the entrance, and others are occasionally visible inside as they pass by the holes in the walls. >LOOK IN HOLE You can't see much without getting too close to the building for comfort, but the guards appear to be dismantling the place from the inside. You see one carrying what looks like the head from one of the statues you passed by earlier. >N The guards barely bother to look at you, but they block your way regardless. "No entry -- Lord Despise's orders. Got an investigation going on." >ASK GUARD ABOUT SANCTUARY "Some band of religious zealots or something. They were harboring a fugitive from Lord Despise's justice." He looks at you curiously. "You haven't seen any strange-looking characters around tonight, have you?" >NO "Hmm." The guard looks at you more closely. >E The guard watches you go for a moment, then shrugs and goes back to looking off into space. Oakleaf Fiveways >E Oakleaf and Ferngrove You draw back into the shadows for a moment as a small patrol of guards walk by. Even though the search seems to be dying down a bit, it might still be a good idea to find someplace to hide for a while. >E Oakleaf Road >E Trimble and Oakleaf >N Trimble and Maltain >NW Market Square >E You climb the steps and enter the tavern. The Haunted Keg The tavern is less crowded than it was earlier. Obviously some of the troublemakers have gone home, though there are still enough disreputable-looking folks about to make you feel uncomfortable. The bartender, cleaning the bar with an old rag, gives you a friendly nod as you enter. "Oi! Guv'nor!" Now that's a familiar voice. You turn to peer through the dimness, and see Hash waving at you from a table near the bar. >LOOK AT HASH The short green-skinned woman looks much the same as when you last saw her -- ragged white clothes, tightly curled white hair, small, curled green horns, and a somewhat shifty look. But she seems more relaxed now, though that might be a function of being out of the sewers and into her fifth drink. "C'mon over and have a seat!" >SIT AT TABLE You take a seat across from Hash. "Bloody 'ell, guv, I thought you were dead for sure! You got locked in that room, and then before I could find a way around it, everything in there goes 'boom...' I don't mind sayin' I ran for it right there. That place was hard on a body, and that's the truth. So what happened to you?" >TELL HASH ABOUT SPIDER You relate, as quickly as possible, the tale of the spider-scientist and his traps, along with how you escaped from them. "Cor." Hash lets out a low, impressed whistle. "Sure don't envy you, guv. One wrong step and you'd probably have ended up with those poor bastards we saw before." She shudders and takes a long pull on her drink. "Cryin' shame, though that you got so close to that bastard Despise's place and had to go back. Wish I'd been there... probably could'a done something about that lock." >ASK HASH ABOUT LOCK "Well, it's sort of something I've picked up, you know? I ain't no safecracker, and I ain't the best at it, but a girl's got to do what she can to get by." >HASH, FOLLOW ME "What, back there?" Hash blanches, turning her green face a rather fetching pale lime. "With all the... no way, guv. Not even if you paid me." >GIVE SHILLING TO HASH "I said no!" >HASH, PLEASE Hash takes a deep breath to refuse again, but then something in your face catches her eye. Maybe she sees the deep need and sincerity on your face. Maybe she remembers the way you helped her at the gate. Maybe you just look pathetic. But she finally deflates a bit. "Damn. I... Okay. I'll go halfway on you. You still got the keys to get into the sewers?" >NO "Okay, good. They'll probably have locked it by now. I'll go as far as that, show you how to work the locks best I can. Then we're even, okay?" She drains her drink and sets the mug back down on the table. Well, it's not what you'd hoped for, but you get the strong feeling trying to push Hash farther wouldn't be very productive. You nod in agreement, and she smiles weakly. [You have gained 1 point!] >STAND You rise from the table. Hash stands along with you. Hash baps her forehead as the three-eyed barmaid approaches. "Oh, guv, could you cover my tab? I'm... a little short on cash right now." >SIGH You let out a weary sigh. Hash grins sheepishly. >GIVE SHILLING TO BARMAID The barmaid looks at the coin suspiciously, sniffs it, then bites it. She seems almost to be sucking on it for a moment, but in the end, she shrugs and walks off, seemingly satisfied. "Thanks, guv'nor! Come on, let's get moving." Hash exits the bar to the west. >W You walk out of the tavern, letting the door close behind you. Market Square Hash is here, walking generally northwest, towards Maltain. You fall in step beside her. A chill wind sweeps across the square. Hash wraps her arms around herself. "Brr. What a night, eh? This Despise bastard sure must like 'em cold." >ASK HASH ABOUT DESPISE "Picked up a little about him on the streets after we split up. Not much, but enough to know he's a right bastard. Evil tyrant, rules the city with an iron fist, that sort of thing. Plus he's one o' you, so that's a trouble on top of everything else. All he really cares about is getting rich an' powerful, or so they say." She stretches a bit, looking around at the shops restocking. "Still, sun's gotta come up some time. Not even he can stop that, right?" Hash walks off to the northwest. >NW Northeast Residences Hash is here, walking generally west along Maltain. >ASK HASH ABOUT ME "You? Well, you're a decent sort, right, g... Okayama? Helped me out in a jam and all that." A small smile quirks her face. "Gotta admit, I never thought one of your sort could be so... I dunno, down to earth. Friendly, even. If I didn't know better, I'd swear you're just ordinary folk. Not like Despise or most of the rest at all." She grins, brushing back a lock of her hair. "And by the way, I love the skin. You've got great taste, you know." Hash leaves to the west. >W North Residences Hash is here, contemplating the door to the Public Works Building. "Huh. What d'you know. Looks like they ain't locked it yet. Honestly, some people have no pride in their work, don't you think?" She casts a disdainful look at the large guard sleeping in his chair nearby, then gently pulls the door closed and snaps the lock back in place with a quick flick of her wrist. "Right." Hash lowers her voice and crouches closer to the door. "Now, watch closely. I ain't gonna do this twice." >LOOK AT LOCK The stone door is held shut by a large iron padlock. The keyhole is rather large, obviously of a more medieval style than the deadbolts and Yale keys of your homeland. Still, it seems slightly more sophisticated than you'd expect from a land of sorcerers and horse-drawn carriages. Hash slips a thin bar of metal into the lock. "This is what we call a tension bar, see? You put it in the lock and turn it like a key. The pressure keeps the tumblers in place once you've got 'em, and open the lock when they're all right." She then slides a thin piece of bent wire into the lock under the tension bar. "This is the pick. You gotta stroke it through the lock, gently, so you tap the tumblers down. When one of them gets to the right level, it'll click into place." *Click* "Like that. Some locks just got two tumblers, some got more. Keep the tension right, and they'll stick when you get them at the right level. And..." *Click* "Once you know that, a good hand's all you need." She pulls the pick from the lock and turns the tension bar the rest of the way. The lock opens as easily as it did with a key. Hash straightens. "That's the basics. There's a lot of locks that need trickier stuff, or extra picks, and I don't know how to handle those, but this ain't my angle anyway." She hands you the tension bar and lock pick. [You have gained 2 points!] >THANK HASH "It was nothing." Hash looks away, mildly abashed. "But we're even now, right? You helped me get in the city, and I helped you get in here." She looks at you again. "Mind you, if you got something specific you need help with, I might help you out... but I don't want to get in over me head, okay?" >NOD "Thanks, guv'ner. I'll be at the Keg if you need me again, probably. Hope to see you again." She turns to leave, but pauses at the edge of the porch. "And Okayama... good luck." Then she's gone. >N Public Works Building >EXAMINE LOCK PICK A remarkably simple tool, this is simply a thin but sturdy piece of wire with a single bend near the end. According to Hash, the bent end pushes the tumblers in the lock around, though you wonder if it can be that simple. >EXAMINE TENSION BAR If anything, this is simpler than the lock pick. It's simply a flat piece of metal, slightly narrower than a tongue depresser, and thin enough to fit into a keyhole. >D Sewer Entrance >WASH SKIN In this water? You'd rather kiss a hellhound. >S Sewer Tunnels >S Sewer Tunnels >E Sewer Tunnels >S Sewer Tunnels >W Sewer Tunnels >S Sewer Tunnels >E Main Sewer Tunnels (West) >E Main Sewer Tunnels (Centre) >E Main Sewer Tunnels (East) The doorway to the north has been blocked by the steel shutters again. >OPEN SHUTTER You can't see a way to do that from this side. >EXAMINE SHUTTER The wooden door to the north is open, but a sheet of solid steel has been lowered on the far side of the doorway, flush with the frame. It stands resolute and sturdy in your way. >LIFT SHUTTER You try to take hold of the lower edge of the shutter and lift it out of the way. However, there's no good grip on the thing, and it strikes you as being rather heavier than you can lift in any case. >HIT SHUTTER Violence won't solve this one. (Besides, your knuckles never were very good at shattering steel.) >WRITE SYMBOL ON SHUTTER With what? >I You are carrying: a silver pendant (worn) a gold amulet (wrapped around the wrist) arrows pocky 1 shilling 4 small bronze-colored coins a brown leather purse a tattered map a tension bar a wire pick >PUT SHILLING, BRONZE COINS IN PURSE Done. >WRITE SYMBOL ON SHUTTER WITH ARROWS The arrowheads fail to scratch the steel. >SEARCH DOOR You find nothing of interest. >W Main Sewer Tunnels (Centre) >N On the threshold, you hesitate as you remember just what you saw in that room last time. Are you sure you want to go that way? >YES Don't say I didn't warn you... Nightmare Lab You swallow heavily to keep down the bile as the reality of your surroundings hits you again. The mutilated corpses still hang across the lab, each an individually grisly sight. To make matters worse, the smell of death is heavy in the air now, rising from a new body, half-dissected on the table in the middle of the room. >LOOK AT BODY You know her. With a sickening twist in your gut, you recognize the blank face of the four-armed woman you met in the sanctuary. She has been lain out on her back, and stripped bare. No eroticism here, though, not when the sword wound in her torso has been carefully and surgically expanded and explored, as have the muscles and joints of all four of her arms. Her blank eyes, staring at the ceiling, have been marked with some manner of ink, indicating what cuts may be performed on them next. The work on her is obviously very recent, for the last trickles of her blood are still draining from the body and trickling off the table, eventually spilling through a small drain at the north end of the room. You feel like you want to be sick. >EXAMINE DRAIN A small channel funnels the blood from the area around the table to this small grating set in the north wall and floor. You think you can see a decent-sized sewer channel beyond. You are reluctant to look closer, however, due to the close proximity of several of the more disgusting corpses. You really are going to be sick any minute now. >S You gratefully flee this chamber of horrors. Main Sewer Tunnels (Centre) >BREATHE You take a few deep breaths. While the odor of the sewers isn't anything to savor, it's far better than what you were just in the midst of. After a few deep breaths, your stomach settles down. >W Main Sewer Tunnels (West) >N Unused Workshop >LOOK AT NORTH WALL Totally ordinary north wall. The large block rests against it. >LOOK BEHIND BLOCK You can just make out a hinged grating set into the wall behind the block. >OPEN GRATING The latch is on the left side of the grate, which is out of reach behind the raised end of the large block. >MOVE LEFT LOG You roll the left log to the side; however, you jostle the stone block resting on top of it, causing it to slam down upon the ground with a loud booming noise. >OPEN GRATING You manage to reach the latch behind the block, and the grate swings open into the tunnel beyond. There's about a foot of clearance between the top of the block and the top of the grate. You could probably make your way through it, if you were careful, and weren't too worried about getting back. >N You clamber up onto the stone block, then carefully slide through the opening. There's a few dicey moments, but by holding your breath and turning your head, you manage to slip through. Collapsed Tunnel This was once a small offshoot of the sewers. Now, it's a tumbledown hole barely large enough to crouch in. Trickles of water still flow from the pile of rubble blocking the passage to the west, and form a stream leading east. An open maintainance grate of some sort is set in the south wall, but it is almost completely blocked by a large slab of stone. There are no lamps set into the walls here, but a feeble glow spills through the grate. >PUSH STONE It would take someone stronger than you to move this stone. (A team of elephants, for preference.) >E Collapsed Bend The low ceiling of this tunnel would be sure to give claustrophobics fits, if the narrow walls and suffocating darkness didn't get to them first. The tunnel bends here, guiding the tiny stream of water from the west to disappear into the rubble-choked conduit north. A smaller trickle of reddish liquid drips through a drain set partway up the south wall, and another maintainance grate is set into the wall to the east. Feeble light from behind both does more to define the darkness here than illuminate it. >LOOK AT DRAIN A small grating through which nauseating smells and trickles of blood flow. It's too small to fit through, and you're not exactly disappointed. >LOOK AT GRATING A metal gate set into the wall that's certainly large enough to fit through. However, a wooden box on the other side appears to be blocking it. >OPEN GRATING It swings out easily into the tunnel. >PUSH BOX With a few grunts of effort, you manage to push the box out of the way, or at least far enough to squeeze past. >E Secret Storeroom You are in a small room whose main 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. One of the boxes on the lowest shelf on the west wall has been pushed out of the way, revealing a dark hole. >S Alchemy Lab This was once a tidy and well-kept laboratory. More recently, it was a twisted wreck. Now, it appears to be on the road to becoming tidy and well-kept again, though there's a long way to go. The floor has been swept clean of splinters and small debris, though the larger wreckage remains scattered around the room. A shiny black rock lies against the west wall. In the center of the room, a ladder leads up to a small chamber above. A bookshelf in the north wall has been swung aside to reveal a secret chamber, and steel shutters cover the southern door. >LOOK AT LADDER A retractable metal ladder of some sort, obviously lowered in segments from the chamber above. You're not sure you like the looks of it. >U You take hold of the ladder and begin to climb... *Ow!* You involuntarily grip your wrist as a sharp pain runs through it. For a moment, it feels like an electric current running through it -- then, nothing. You step back off the ladder before you lose your balance. >LOOK AT WRIST There's nothing obviously unusual about your wrist. You are wearing the gold amulet wrapped around it. >LOOK AT AMULET It appears to be a teardrop-shaped bulb of gold hanging from a short chain of the same material. The chain is so short, in fact, that the amulet wouldn't fit around your neck. Small patches of tarnish -- two dots and a smudge -- stand out on the surface of the amulet. You don't recall seeing them before. >CLEAN AMULET You give it a good rubbing, but the tarnish remains. >U You carefully grip the ladder again, and begin to climb. This time, nothing untowards happens. Secret Control Room The ladder appears to have been rather clumsily attached to the trapdoor, which has itself been repaired. The secret door you opened earlier is closed. >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 "Closed". 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 "Open". >SET GREY SWITCH TO OPEN The dull grey switch is now set to open. The west wall opens soundlessly. >SET BLACK SWITCH TO CLOSED The trapdoor begins to swing closed, but groans under the weight of the ladder. After a moment, the mechanism gives up and the trapdoor falls back to the open position. >W Dingy Basement >LOOK AT 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. >LOOK AT LOCK A simple lock set into the door. The keyhole runs all the way through the door, so as to be accessible from both sides. >LOOK THROUGH KEYHOLE You can't make out much, but the room on the other side is brightly-lit, and you think you can make out some steam. >PUT TENSION BAR IN LOCK You carefully slide the bar into the lock. It fits reasonably well. >TURN BAR Which way do you want to turn the tension bar? >CLOCKWISE You turn the bar clockwise, keeping a gentle pressure on it. >PUT PICK IN LOCK You slide the wire into the lock, under the tension bar. Probing around, you build up what you think is a reasonable mental picture of the lock, which includes three nubs on the bottom of the keyhole. Probably the tumblers, if you're any judge. >PUSH FIRST TUMBLER WITH PICK You gently tap the first tumbler down a short distance. >AGAIN You tap the first tumbler slightly further. >AGAIN *Click.* The first tumbler shifts slightly to the side, and you feel the tension bar give a little. >PUSH SECOND TUMBLER WITH PICK *Click.* The second tumbler shifts slightly to the side, and the tension bar gives a little. >PUSH THIRD TUMBLER WITH PICK Tap. >AGAIN Tap. >AGAIN *Click.* The third tumbler slides into place, and the tension bar turns a full quarter of the way around before stopping. After a moment, you realize the problem: turning the bar clockwise from this side is just pushing the bolt further into the locked position. >TURN BAR COUNTERCLOCKWISE As you remove the pressure on the bar, you hear the tumblers click back to their initial positions. You keep up a gentle pressure as you turn the bar counterclockwise. >PUSH FIRST TUMBLER WITH PICK. G. G. PUSH SECOND TUMBLER WITH PICK. PUSH THIRD TUMBLER WITH PICK. G. G. Tap. Tap. *Click.* *Click.* Tap. Tap. *Click.* With a final click, the tumblers slot into place, and you are able to turn the tension bar a full three hundred and sixty degrees. The bolt slides open. Unfortunately, there appear to be more reflexes involved in this than you have yet mastered. As you turn the tension bar, your pick gets caught in the tumblers, and by the time you realise what you have done, it is firmly jammed in the lock, and hopelessly twisted besides. >GET TENSION BAR You remove the bar from the lock. >GET PICK Sorry, it's stuck fast. >OPEN DOOR You carefully push the door open. >NE Laundry Room Large wooden tubs of steaming, frothy water line the walls of this room, and clotheslines weave an intricate web at eye level. The impressive variety of clothes hanging from them make seeing across the room difficult, but you can make out doors to the east and north, and a smaller door standing open to the southwest. In the center of the room, a large bin heaped with dirty clothes and another filled with clean ones stand side by side. No one is here at the moment, though you can hear distant voices to the north. [You have gained 5 points!] ** MORE ** You've done it. At long last, you've penetrated into Lord Despise's inner sanctum. Well, his laundry room, really, but there should be some sort of route to find him from here. The question, slowly dawning on you, is 'what now?' Confronting Lord Despise is an appealing option, but you're not at all sure you have the power to do so yet. Suzume has been on your mind since the start of this quest... perhaps you could find her, or even rescue her. And there are many unanswered questions preying on you, about the nature of your powers, the true story behind what's happening, and much more. If any place has answers, Despise's lair might. Of course, it also occurs to you that here, at the heart of it all, you may be in more danger than you have been yet... and considering what has happened to you, that's a rather impressive amount of danger. >SCORE You have gained 55 points out of a possible 2000. This earns you the rank of: Unenlightened Neophyte. >SAVE [Game saved.] >QUIT C:\GAMES\IMPRO\SOH>_