C:\GAMES\IMPRO\SOH> soh (N)ew game, or (C)ontinue? C Dead End You are traveling through the sewers underneath Waypoint City. This particular branch is a dead end. A cascade of water (surprisingly, not the typical sewer sludge) tumbles down the north wall, flowing away toward the south. >VERSION = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = SPIRITS OF HOPE An Improtext Adventure Lead Programmer: Brian Stricklin Module Programmer: Aaron Nowack Version 1.99 - Beginning of the End = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = >DIAGNOSE You are not at all hungry. You are not at all thirsty. You are not tired. You are sharply aware of the presence of Aoi, nearer than you previously thought. >INVENTORY a silver pendant (worn) servant's clothing, soaked (worn) pocky (surprisingly dry) a brown leather purse, soaked (jingles a little when shaken) a tattered map, soaked a potion recipe, soaked a tension bar a metal cup a black-painted keyring and key Rojanosh's Hope a piece of chalk, damp Despise's tag >S Sewer Tunnels You are traveling through the sewers underneath Waypoint City. The tunnel splits into a T-junction, with tunnels leading north, east, and south. You sense Aoi, very close to the south. >S Sewer Tunnels You are traveling through the sewers underneath Waypoint City. The tunnel splits into a T-junction, with tunnels leading north, west, and south. You notice that the stream flowing from the north seems to be clear water. Not exactly what you'd expect. You see Aoi here. >LOOK AT AOI Aoi seems much as she did the last time you saw her. However, she seems at little... frightened, and hisses at the slightest sounds. Aoi looks up at you, then races to the south. >S 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. Aoi scampers west. >W Sewer Tunnels You are travelling through the sewers underneath Waypoint City. This tunnel curves, from the south to the east. Aoi scampers south. >S Sewer Tunnels You are travelling through the sewers underneath Waypoint City. This tunnel curves, from the north to the east. Aoi scampers east. >E 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. Aoi scampers east. >E 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. Aoi scampers east. >E 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. The northern door has been blocked with the steel shutters again. Aoi is here, looking at the door. >DRAW SYMBOL ON SHUTTERS WITH CHALK You quickly sketch the all too familiar symbol of Destruction on the steel shutters. As you draw, the piece of chalk flares purple, on the water on it evaporates. >PRESS PENDANT TO SYMBOL The symbol glows purple, but nothing else appears to happen. >WAIT The shudders glow white hot. >WAIT As you watch, molten metal begins to flow down the door, though it strangely does not set the wood behind it aflame. Moments later, the shudders are gone, and all that remains is a pool of rapidly cooling steel. [You have gained 3 points.] >WAIT The last of the steel cools and hardens. [You have gained 2 points.] >N You step over the puddled steel. It is still warm enough to send a hot blast of air past your legs. Good thing your clothes are still damp! Aoi follows you. Alchemy Lab This was once a tidy and well-kept laboratory. Then, it became a twisted wreck. Afterwards, it began the route to recovery, but now the dust of non-use has begun to cover the room. 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 the door to the south is open. Aoi scampers over to the ladder. >TAKE AOI Taken. >U Secret Control Room This is a small room barely two meters square. In the floor is a half- open trapdoor, and there are a few switches set in a row in the wall. There is an exit to the west. Aoi jumps off her perch on your shoulder and heads west. >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 nearly closed door in the northeastern corner. There are shelves on the walls, and lots of boxes and crates on the shelves. Aoi races up the stairs. >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, and you can't hear any noise. Aoi races west. >W 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. 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. A strange shimmering lies between you and the southern arch. Aoi halts before the shimmering, hissing at it. >LOOK SOUTH At first you see nothing out of the ordinary beyond the shimmering. however, after a moment, you notice a small bird just behind the shimmering... it's not moving at all, standing motionless in midair. >SAVE Game saved. >S As you enter the shimmering, you too become frozen in time. Maybe, someday, someone will rescue you... or maybe not... ***You have died... essentially.*** Quit, restore, or undo? >UNDO Servant's Courtyard >INVENTORY a silver pendant (worn) servant's clothing, soaked (worn) pocky (surprisingly dry) a brown leather purse, soaked (jingles a little when shaken) a tattered map, soaked a potion recipe, soaked a tension bar a metal cup a black-painted keyring and key Rojanosh's Hope a piece of chalk, damp You realize that you no longer feel Despise's tag on yourself. >DRAW SYMBOL ON SHIMMERING WITH CHALK How exactly do you propose to draw on a trick of the light? >LOOK AT SHIMMERING It somehow hurts the eye to look at the strange shimmering. As you try to focus on it, you realize that the shimmering is ever so slowly expanding towards you. >PRESS PENDANT ON SHIMMERING Nothing happens. >SAVE Game saved. >DRAW SYMBOL ON SELF With what? >CHALK The chalk flares purple as you quickly sketch the three interlocking circles bisected by a line on yourself. >PRESS PENDANT TO SYMBOL The symbol glows with a purple flame. >S Before you can reach the shimmering, you explode in a messy shower of various organs. ***You have died.*** Quit, restore, or undo? >RESTORE Servant's Courtyard >THINK Think with what? >BRAIN You don't have a brain. >KILL PARSER You don't see a parser here. >COWARD Hey! I resemble that remark! [You have gained 1 bonus point!] >HINT Not after insulting me... >TRACE SYMBOL ON SHIMMERING With what? >FINGER As you trace the symbol, your finger begins to glow purple. As you do so, faint purple lines begin to appear. When you are finished, the entire sigil hangs in the air before you. [You have gained 2 points.] >PRESS PENDANT TO SYMBOL For a moment, the symbol flares brightly. However, it then begins to die down. >LOOK AT SYMBOL Though still glowing, as you watch the purple flames continue to fade away. >PRESS PENDANT TO SYMBOL The decay of the sigil seems to briefly halt, but only for a moment, as it then continues to die even faster than before. >INVENTORY a silver pendant (worn) servant's clothing, soaked (worn) pocky (surprisingly dry) a brown leather purse, soaked (jingles a little when shaken) a tattered map, soaked a potion recipe, soaked a tension bar a metal cup a black-painted keyring and key Rojanosh's Hope a piece of chalk, damp >USE ROJANOSH'S HOPE ON SYMBOL You concentrate, trying to add the power you felt Rojanosh give you to your dying symbol. At first, nothing seems to happen. You begin to despair as the last of the purple flames begin to sputter out. Then, you feel something inside you snap, and the sigil bursts into new light, so bright that you can hardly see. [You have gained 5 points!] >TOUCH SIGIL You reach out and place your hand on the symbol... You feel something twist in your gut, as though you were being pulled rapidly in a direction you never knew existed. The light before you flares even brighter, and you find yourself blinded for a few moments. When the last spots are cleared from your eyes, you find yourself on the other side of the strange shimmering. It is oddly silent... not the silence you experienced earlier in the prison, but a total absence of any sound. You cannot even hear your own breathing. As you look around, you realize that you are giving off a soft purple glow. Servant's Courtyard (in statis field) A bird hangs in the air nearby. You can see Aoi on the other side of the shimmering. She looks confused for a moment, before running back in the direction you came from. [You have gained 3 points.] >LOOK AT BIRD It seems to be a pigeon of some sort. The bird appears to have literally been frozen in time, caught between one beat of its wings and another. >TOUCH BIRD As you touch the bird, it suddenly springs into life, racing forward and out of the shimmering. You realize that the glow you are giving off has dimmed slightly. [You have gained 4 bonus points!] >S South Arch (in statis field) 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. You think you see a flicker of movement to the west. >W Western Tower Staircase (in statis field) This staircase is long and straight, and begins to broaden as you ascend it. While at the bottom is it just wide enough for one person to enter, after about thirty steps or so, it is wide enough for ten to stand side-by-side on. At the top of the stairs is a short landing, with two exits. The west exit is the more prominent one, with vast round iron double doors that rise up out of the gloom, far across as the staircase, and are currently open. Beside this monstrous portal is a more humble door to its left (the south.) You think you see a young boy standing next to the iron doors for a moment, but when you look again you see nothing. Your purple aura dims a little. >W Darkness Shop (in statis field) This room is large, about the size of a small warehouse. On the far side of the room, shutters sort of like garage doors are open and reveal one whole side of the room to the nighttime outside, providing the room's only light and adding a chilly breeze to the area. In the centre of the room is a large contraption, perhaps ten feet high and made up of a confusing array of cogs, valves, pistons, and chambers. A high whine comes from the machine, which appears to be running overtime... the first sound you've heard since you entered the statis field. Some ordinary tables, with miscellaneous junk on them, are lined against the north wall. A small door in the southeast, the open air to the west and two large double doors in the east are the exits. Your purple aura is dimming very quickly now. >LOOK AT MACHINE This machine stands about eight feet in height, and is roughly cube-shaped, decorated on the outside with all manner of cogs, valves, pistons, and chambers. A large grey button, currently in a depressed state, is on the front. There is also a small door set in the side of the machine. >DRAW SIGIL ON MACHINE WITH CHALK Even as you start the drawing, the chalk shatters in your hand. A blast of blue energy emerges from the machine, throwing you into a nearby wall. Your purple aura is almost nonexistent. >SAVE Game saved. >OPEN MACHINE You open the small door and take a look inside. What's inside would be shocking, if you hadn't seen it before. The inner chamber is lit with a faint blue light. A fleshy golem, similar but different to the one you saw earlier is contained within. A necklace hangs around its neck, glowing a fierce red to contrast with the blue light. Your purple aura dies completely, and you become frozen in time. ***You have died... essentially.*** Quit, restore, or undo? >RESTORE Darkness Shop (in statis field) >E As you retreat from the machine, your aura gains somewhat in strength. Behind you, you hear the machine's whir increase in tempo... it's speeding up. Western Tower Staircase (in statis field) You see Suzume here, frozen in time. Funny... how could she have gotten here? >SAVE Game saved. >TOUCH SUZUME As you touch her, your aura dies down to be nearly invisible. Suzume's eyes flicker, but she quickly begins to freeze once more. [You have gained 1 point.] >TOUCH SUZUME As you start to touch Suzume, your aura vanishes. You become frozen in time... ***You have died... essentially.*** Quit, restore, or undo? >UNDO Western Tower Staircase (in statis field) You see Suzume here, becoming frozen in time. >HINT You're on your own, buddy. >GIVE HOPE TO SUZUME You try to remember how it felt when you received Rojanosh's Hope, and try to reverse that feeling. Your aura briefly flares before dying down. You feel as though something is different, but not like any part of yourself is missing... indeed, you feel slightly stronger for the giving. [You have gained five points!] Suzume stirs, glowing a pale red. >ASK SUZUME WHAT IS HAPPENING "No time for that now," responds Suzume. "Let's go." She grasps your hand and you are surrounded in a swirl of red and purple light... and out of the corner of your eye you think you see a hint of green. When the light clears... Dismal Field You find yourself in the middle of a cold, tree-lined field. The grasses here are clearly wild, rising almost to your waist in some spots, and ripple in a chill breeze. In the light of the sun, the field, although not cheerful by any means, somehow does not seem as forbidding as it had in the moonlight. Colors appear, their brightness accentuated by the long night. Here and there, small flowers peek out from under the grass. A faint path leads off to the southeast. There is a tombstone here. Suzume is here. In the distance, you see a pillar of the strange shimmering you saw earlier towering around Despise's pagoda and reaching up into the heavens. Rising up to join it are smaller pillars of smoke from Waypoint... the people must be rioting. Your purple aura is totally gone now. >DIAGNOSE You are quite hungry. You are quite thirsty. You are extremely tired. You vaguely feel Aoi's presence in Waypoint. >INVENTORY a silver pendant (worn) servant's clothing, soaked (worn) pocky (surprisingly dry) a brown leather purse, soaked (jingles a little when shaken) a tattered map, soaked a potion recipe, soaked a tension bar a metal cup a black-painted keyring and key Rojanosh's Hope (used) a piece of chalk, damp >SCORE You have gained 255 points out of a possible 2000. This earns you the rank of: Hopeful Warrior. >QUIT C:\GAMES\IMPRO\SOH>_ Author's Random Ramblings Ahem. THE END HAS COME TO SPIRITS OF HOPE. Or something. Thanks to Lirazel and StorytellerSJK for prereading. Writing these is hard... for every hour I spent plotting or writing, I spent two trying to track down the current game state of various rooms, and I still made some minor errors (among them using a nighttime room description when it is still daytime). Storyteller, the ball is in your court now. Have fun. ;)