C:\GAMES\IMPRO\SOH> soh (N)ew game, or (C)ontinue? C 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. >VERSION = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = SPIRITS OF HOPE An Improtext Adventure Lead Programmer: Brian Stricklin Module Programmer: Lirazel Version 1.9 -- The Little Things = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = >DIAGNOSE You are in good health, but feel a bit tired. You are a bit hungry. You are a bit thirsty. Your skin is a patchy green. >INVENTORY You are carrying: a silver pendant (worn) a slightly tarnished gold amulet (wrapped around the wrist) arrows pocky a brown leather purse (jingles when shaken) a tattered map a tension bar >LOOK AT CLOTHES There's a room full of clothing here. >LOOK AT DIRTY CLOTHES You walk over to the bin of dirty clothes, and begin to look them over. There's a complete hodge-podge here-- rich silks in a rainbow of colors, coarse linens and woolens in various shades of creams and browns, and underclothing of all types. There is nothing like any of the guard uniforms you have seen thus far-- those must be washed in the barracks. This laundry is clearly for the garments of the gentry and their servants. ** MORE ** After a little poking around, you discover that quite a bit of the black clothing seems to be of the same large size. Most of these garments are of what you might call a "Victorian" cut. There are also some black robes, and these appear to be stiff with some dried material that comes off reddish on your hands. You sniff one of the robes and nearly gag. It's dried blood. >LOOK AT BIN This is a large wicker basket mounted on small wooden wheels.. The voices from the North get louder. >SAVE [Game saved.] >GET INTO BIN Forgetting your distaste for the dirty clothes, you rapidly climb into the bin and push your way to the bottom. It certainly stinks in here! You move your head to the side of the bin, hoping that the gaps in the basket will give you some air, and find that you can see a small portion of the room's floor and north wall, including the edge of the door. The voices from the north get louder. You hear footsteps as well-- loud, heavy footsteps. The door to the North is thrust open with a loud creak. Two guards armed with spears look in, talking as they search. They are the usual hulking brutes you now think of as the "guard" type. "...just because Himself hears a thump in the night, I ask you!" "Yeah, if He's going to be so concerned about noises in the dark, why doesn't He let the sun rise? Nothing out 'o' the way here, at any rate." "What about checking that door?" "That door? All that's behind that door, my lad, are-- By the Darkness, it's open!" The guards rush in, calling loudly for help. They discover the picklock immediately. As they are joined by a group of their fellows, they begin to search the room by the simple expedient of thrusting their spears into every pile of cloth, including the bins. [You have died.] Quit, Restore, or Undo? > Restore 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 voices to the north. The voices to the north are getting louder. >LOOK AT SW DOOR This door is made of strong oak. It is about half open. From where you are standing, you can see that a piece of wire is sticking out of the lock on the other side of the door. >CLOSE DOOR You push the door closed as far as you can. The jammed lock prevents it from closing completely, but to the casual eye, it appears to be shut. The voices from the north are closer. You think you can hear booted feet. >SAVE [Game saved.] >GET INTO BIN The bin of clean clothes, or the bin of dirty clothes? >DIRTY Forgetting your distaste for the dirty clothes, you rapidly climb into the bin and push your way to the bottom. It certainly stinks in here! You move your head to the side of the bin, hoping that the gaps in the basket will give you some air, and find that you can see a small portion of the room's floor and north wall, including the edge of the door. The voices from the north get louder. You hear footsteps as well-- loud, heavy footsteps. The door to the North is thrust open with a loud creak. Two guards armed with spears look in, talking as they search. "...just because Himself hears a thump in the night, I ask you!" "Yeah, if He's going to be so concerned about noises in the dark, why doesn't He let the sun rise? Nothing out 'o' the way here, at any rate." "What about checking that door?" "That door? All that's behind that door, my lad, are laundry supplies! Think there's an enemy in the fuller's earth and bluing?" "Now, Gordo, the Captain, he said, 'Check every door,' that's what he said." "I can see it from here, can't I? Looks closed, don't it?" "Well, I guess so. I just don' wanna get in trouble with the Captain, is all." "I'm not gonna tell him. If you don't tell him, how'll he know? C'mon, let's go check out the kitchen-- lot more interesting than a pile of Himself's undies, if you ask me!" The guards pull the north door shut as they leave, and you can hear their footsteps receding to the north. [You have gained 1 point!] >SAVE [Game saved.] >GET OUT OF BIN You clamber out of the bin, breathing deeply in relief, both at having been missed by the guards, and at having fresh air again. >LOOK AT CLEAN CLOTHES The clothes in the clean bin are neatly folded into separate piles. (A good thing you didn't try to hide in here!) Looking at them, you quickly pick out Despise's trademark black, and some light gray silks you think may be Suzume's. Some brightly-colored, semi-transparent garments you class in your mind as harem wear. The servants appear to dress in mostly dark gray and brown cotton or wool, with linen aprons. **MORE** None of the clothing appears to be ironed. That must be done somewhere else. It doesn't make much difference in the servant's clothing, but the wrinkles really show up on the finer garb of the gentry. >GET SERVANT'S CLOTHING From the bin, and from a few dry things on the lines, you select what would seem to be a representative set of male servant's clothing-- brown wool trousers and a tunic-like gray cotton top, with wide sleeves. You stow your belongings in your new pockets. There are no belts here, so you use your own leather belt to close the tunic around your waist. When you are done, you are holding your old clothes and wearing what you hope will pass as the clothing of one of Despise's servants. >DROP OLD CLOTHES You want to leave them here, in the middle of the floor? >SW There is a large oak door here, not quite closed. >OPEN DOOR With one finger (your hands being full of your old clothes), you pull the door towards you. As it opens, a wire stuck in the lock becomes visible. >SW 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. >DROP OLD CLOTHES You drop the clothes on the floor of the dingy basement room. >LOOK AT SHELVES The shelves are filled with boxes and crates. There seem to be three types: big wooden crates, small paper boxes, and even smaller paper packages. >LOOK AT CRATES These are large wooden crates, made with tongue-and-groove boarding. Some of them have gaps. A gray-white powder, like fine soil, has formed little piles at the base of some of the crates. >GET POWDER You pick up a pinch of gray-white powder. >RUB ON ARM You rub the powder on your arm. It feels gritty. You are alarmed to find it is effectively cleaning off the green grass-stains from your arm. Do you have time for this? >DROP POWDER You drop the pinch of powder to the floor. >GET PACKAGE You pick up a small paper package. The paper is dark blue, and it is wrapped over a bar of some kind. >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. >CLOSE DOOR There are three doors here. >CLOSE SW DOOR You push the door closed as far as you can. The jammed lock prevents it from closing completely, but to the casual eye, it appears to be shut. >SAVE [Game saved.] >LOOK AT PACKAGE This is a small paper package. The paper is dark blue, and it is wrapped over a bar of some kind. >OPEN PACKAGE You open one corner of the package. A bar of some dark-blue, powdery material is inside. The bar is broken, and is being held together by the paper. >TAKE PIECE You take out a piece of dark-blue, crumbling material. It leaves a blue stain on your hands. >RUB PIECE ON SKIN You crumble the piece in your hands and rub it well into your arms, hands, and neck. Gingerly, you rub it into your face and around your eyes. It has a harsh smell, and makes your eyes water. Also, it is slightly itchy. However, from being a patchy green, you are now a mottled blue-green. Just in case that guard at the city gate spotted you, changing color seems a good idea. [You have gained 3 points!] >SAVE [Game saved.] >CLOSE PACKAGE Carefully, you wrap the open paper back over the edge of the bar of blue material and put it in your pocket. You have no idea what it's used for, but you are grateful to have found it. >LOOK AT EAST DOOR This is a well-made, oaken, double door. When both sides are open, it must be wide enough to push one of the bins through. It is held shut by metal latches that slide into holes in the door-frame at top and bottom. This allows one side to be opened while the other is shut. You hear voices coming from the North again. >SAVE [Game saved. Learned to be cautious, have we?] >E Servant's Courtyard This is a courtyard paved with cobblestones. The building extends to the north and south on either side, with archways in each of these walls, leading to passageways into the building. To the west, double doors appear to only open from the inside. The eastern wall has a very large, ornate gate, locked tight with a large iron bar. A small postern in the gate is locked with a smaller iron bar; it has a small window, barred with iron. Rough benches are shoved against the wall near the arches, with an array of heavy, poorly-made boots of various sizes placed more-or-less neatly underneath them. Light spills from the two arches, from torches placed to either side of the gate, and from a few windows high in the north and south walls. By this light, you can see that to the north is a large metal contrivance, with a lever-like handle and a spout. It seems to be a pump. >CLOSE WEST DOOR You pull the open half of the west door closed behind you. You can hear the bottom latch fall into place. Unfortunately, the top latch is still open, but you can't do anything about that. You hear female voices behind the door. You listen for a moment, but you can't make out anything. Apparently, they have noticed nothing. >SAVE [Game saved. Glad to see you've learned your lesson.] >LOOK AT PUMP While unlike anything you have seen before, this contrivance bears some resemblance to things you have seen in American "Western" movies. It has a lever-like handle, and a trough-like spout. Under the spout, a drain grate appears to be let into the cobblestones. A small metal cup is attached to the pump by a chain, and hangs beside it. A small cat-like creature-- a kitten, really-- appears from behind the pump. >LOOK AT KITTEN This is a small, thin, blue-and-white striped kitten. While its coloring is not what you're used to, it is enough like what you've seen at home to be familiar. This one is really *very* thin. Its ribs are clearly visible, and its coat looks dull. >PET KITTEN You bend down and hold your hand out to the kitten, murmuring "Kitty-kitty," under your breath. It sniffs your fingers politely, then rubs its head gently against your hand. You scratch it behind the ears. The kitten looks up at you with an anxious expression and mews. >GIVE KITTEN POCKY You don't think the kitten will like it, but you offer it a stick of strawberry pocky. The kitten sniffs at it politely, then looks at you in a mystified manner and mews again. >PICK UP KITTEN You reach for the kitten, but it bares its absurdly small teeth in a tiny growl! Clearly, it does not want to be picked up. >SAVE [Game saved. And what do you think a kitten this small can do to a great big, adventurer like you, hmmm?] >EAT POCKY Even though you are a bit hungry, you can't bring yourself to eat the pocky. You are starting to wonder if it would be any good for you if you did. >DIAGNOSE You are in good health, but feel somewhat tired. You are a bit hungry. You are a bit thirsty. Your arms, neck, and face are slightly itchy. Your skin is a mottled blue-green. >GET CUP You are holding a small metal cup. Its handle is attached to a chain, which is just long enough to allow someone holding the cup to position it under the spout of the pump. >FILL CUP You hold the cup to the spout of the pump with one hand, and work the pump with the other. The pump makes a noise like muffled chains clanking, but after a moment or two, a stream of water flows from the pump into the cup, and over your hand. It then flows down the drain under the pump's spout. Your hand returns to its original color. >DRINK WATER You raise the cup to your lips and drink. Funny... You feel the water in your mouth, moving over your tongue and down your throat, but you still feel thirsty. If anything, you are *more* thirsty than you were before. The kitten has been watching you attentively, and now makes a small, pitiful, mewing sound. >KILL KITTEN Why would you do a dreadful thing like that? >LOOK AT CHAIN This is a simple metal chain, made of a white metal, running from a metal loop near the pump-handle to a small metal cup. It is slightly less than a meter long. The individual links are merely squeezed shut— there is no solder closing them. The last link in the chain passes around the handle of the cup. The kitten rubs against your ankle, and mews again, more loudly. >TWIST CUP FREE OF CHAIN I don't understand that. >TWIST CHAIN You rotate the cup around in your hands, twisting the chain until it begins to buckle in on itself. Finally, it gets to the point where you can't twist it any farther without exerting some force. >TWIST CHAIN You've twisted the chain as far as you can without exerting some force. >FORCE CHAIN As you push the cup against the twisted chain, the link that passes around the cup handle opens and separates. You rapidly untwist the chain and remove the cup from it. [You have gained 1 point!] The kitten is now pawing softly at your leg and mewing frequently. >SAVE [Game saved.] >FILL CUP You hold the cup to the spout of the pump with one hand, and work the pump with the other. The pump makes a noise like muffled chains clanking, but after a moment or two, a stream of water flows from the pump into the cup, and over your hand. >GIVE WATER TO KITTEN You place the cup on the cobblestones next to the grate. The kitten nearly butts your hand aside in its eagerness, making a contented little mew as it begins to lap the water. Its hindquarters slowly lower to the cobbles, and its tail curls around its legs. A low purr fills the air. You can nearly see its thin sides expand. As the kitten drinks, you are surprised to find that your own thirst begins to fade. By the time the kitten raises its head from the water, you are no longer at all thirsty. [You have gained 2 points!] >DIAGNOSE You are in good health, but feel a bit tired. You are a bit hungry. You are not at all thirsty. Your arms, neck, and face are slightly itchy. Your skin is a mottled blue-green. However, one of your hands is "human"-colored. >SAVE [Game saved.] >GET CUP You pick up the small metal cup, pour the water left in it down the drain (there isn't much) and, after some thought, stick it down the front of your tunic, where it is held by your belt. >LOOK Servant's Courtyard This is a courtyard paved with cobblestones. The building extends to the north and south on either side, with archways in each of these walls, leading to passageways into the building. To the west, double doors appear to only open from the inside. The eastern wall has a very large, ornate gate, locked tight with a large iron bar. A small postern in the gate is locked with a smaller iron bar; it has a small window, barred with iron. Rough benches are shoved against the wall near the arches, with an array of heavy, poorly-made boots of various sizes placed more-or-less neatly underneath them. Light spills from the two arches, from torches placed to either side of the gate, and from a few windows high in the north and south walls. By this light, you can see that to the north is a large metal contrivance, with a lever-like handle and a spout. It seems to be a pump. There is a small, blue-and-white striped kitten here. **MORE** As you watch it, the kitten walks over to the south arch. It turns, mews, and runs half-way back to where you are standing by the pump near the west door. >FOLLOW KITTEN The kitten runs back to the south arch, where it turns again to look at you, and mews in an encouraging way. >S South Arch You are standing in a small room whose north side is an open archway. To the east and west, stairways mount into gloom, which is intensified by the torches. There is one in a sconce at the foot of each stairway. Directly in front of you, to the south, a wooden door stands partly open. There is a small blue-and-white striped kitten here. >LOOK AT KITTEN The kitten leaps up the first few steps of the east stairway, and once more turns to mew at you. Strange though it seems, you have acquired a guide! But where is it leading you? [You have gained 5 points!] >SCORE You have gained 67 points out of a possible 2000. This earns you the rank of: Unenlightened Neophyte. >SAVE [Game saved.] >QUIT C:\GAMES\IMPRO\SOH>_ = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Author's Note: It's the little things that'll get ya, every time. Forgetting to close a door... Being kind to a kitten... Taking time to open small packages... Seriously, I'm not a big text-game maven, and my mapping skills are poor, at best--but I had this idea for a puzzle with a kitty. And I kinda like the notion that feeding beings, as well as killing beings, can nourish Our Hero. Many thanks to Scott S and Scott J, and Sharya (She Who Eats Chicken) for a rapid and friendly pre-read, and to the kind person who decided to bring Keigo to Despise's laundry! ^_^. Oh yes, bluing is a water- soluble blue dye that is added to white laundry to make it look whiter. Older ladies sometimes use a similar dye on their hair. It is easy to overdo! The black-and-white tuxedo cat who supervised the writing of this advises all and sundry to be gentle with her young friend. The rest of y'all can explore the mansion.