  
 
The idea behind ClubFloyd is that each week at a pre-arranged time, a group of people meet online to cooperatively play a game of interactive fiction. Below is a transcript of Marika the Offering, written by James Webb (aka revgiblet). Marika the Offering was originally released as part of the 2007 One Room Game Competition, where it took third place. It went on to take third in the InsideADRIFT Game of the Year Comp 2007. You can learn more about the game, including how to download it, by visiting the ifWiki.WARNING! Below you will find a transcript of people playing this game, and it goes without saying that the transcript is full of spoilers. So, if you've never played this game, and think you might like to at some point, I do not recommend reading any further. Instead, you might want to return to the interactive fiction page. |
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| DavidW says (to Floyd), "load marika" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Loading game... Floyd | Welcome to the Cheap Glk Implementation, library version 0.9.0. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Marika the Offering Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Marika the Offering Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | An ADRIFT text adventure by revgiblet (revgiblet@gmail.com). This is Floyd | v1.0 (2007) Floyd | Floyd | Type story at any time for the backstory. Floyd | Floyd | Type thanks for a list of credits. Floyd | Floyd | | maga says, "also, do we need a driver? I dimly recall this being a bit time-sensitive" | |||
| inky says, "well, we can poke around for a bit, maybe" | ||||
| Nitku says, "I suggest you just restart every time the time runs out." | ||||
| DavidW says, "I think we need to stumble around at first." | ||||
| inky pushes the green 'space' button. | ||||
Floyd | (Press a key to begin) Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | The Room in the Tower Floyd | Floyd | I am standing in a room that has been meticulously constructed from Floyd | cold, grey stones in a very simple manner. My eyes are hypnotically Floyd | drawn to the main feature in the west wall, a large double window that Floyd | swings open in the evening breeze. A wide single bed sits in the Floyd | centre of the room. I know from experience that the bed is incredibly Floyd | comfortable and it is currently taking all of my willpower to resist Floyd | the temptation to lie down and drift into oblivion. The bed is made Floyd | up with a soft looking pillow and has a blanket wrapped round it. Floyd | Floyd | It appears to me that this room once served a less sinister purpose, Floyd | for there is a fireplace built into the north wall. The fireplace is Floyd | as empty as my heart. A thick wooden shelf is fixed to the wall Floyd | above, on which rests a burning candle that gives the room an eerie Floyd | glow. The low stone ceiling separates me from the heavens and God Floyd | above. In the south wall is a thick metal door; the only way out of Floyd | the tower alive. Floyd | Floyd | A full-length portrait mirror is afixed to the east wall, opposite the Floyd | window. It reflects the horizon scene, creating the illusion that the Floyd | room is larger than it is. A rickety wooden chair has been placed Floyd | beside the mirror. The air is musty and offends my nostrils. My Floyd | remaining life can be measured in heartbeats. I must act! Floyd | Floyd | [ The Room in the Tower | Score: 0 ] Floyd | > | DavidW says, "It is just one room, after all." | |||
| inky says, "dang" | ||||
| inky says (to Floyd), "story" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | My mother told me the story of the curse when I was seven. Every Floyd | child knew it off by heart, for it was the reason that the village was Floyd | shunned by even the poorest beggar and cripple. It was the reason why Floyd | we were alone and downcast. Floyd | Floyd | My mother wept as she told it. I didn't know why then, but I do now. Floyd | She feared that I would be The Offering, the one who must die to buy Floyd | peace from The Count. It turned out that she was right. My mother Floyd | could often see these things coming. Floyd | Floyd | The Count is what we, in the old tongue, call a vampyre; the undead. Floyd | He used to be a nobleman but fell into darkness in some way. The Floyd | legends are not clear, though my mother told me that she believed it Floyd | was because of a woman. As a child this was something else that I did Floyd | not understand, but I am beginning to know what she might have meant. Floyd | Floyd | The cause of his curse is irrelevant, as is the reason why he chose Floyd | our village to be the one he torments. All that matters is that he Floyd | did choose us. He made a bargain with the elders of our village many Floyd | generations ago. He promised that he would leave us in peace on one Floyd | condition. Every fifteen years the purest and most beautiful maiden Floyd | in the village must be delivered over to him. I was born the night of Floyd | his last visit to the village. Many considered it an omen; a Floyd | prophetic gesture that I was to be his next victim. Floyd | Floyd | As I grew my parents prayed that I would fall ill and become weak, or Floyd | that I would be ugly. The prayers of the villagers have remained Floyd | unanswered for years and years now, and the prayers of my parents were Floyd | no different. I grew strong and, as I am often told, blossomed into Floyd | beauty. Floyd | Floyd | As the years passed and the dread night approached my parents begged Floyd | me to flee the village. They offered to marry me off to a farmer in Floyd | the next village, but the elders opposed them. It seemed that, to Floyd | protect their own daughters, they had already decided that the timing Floyd | of my birth meant I was to be the one. My parents were powerless, for Floyd | was it not true that of all the young girls in the village I was Floyd | amongst the finest and prettiest? Floyd | | Roger says, "oh noes a dracula" | |||
| Gerynar says, "I was thinking "oh noes, an ogre"" | ||||
| inky says (to Floyd), "help" | ||||
Floyd | (Press a key) Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | It was decided by lot yesterday afternoon. I was to be The Offering, Floyd | the one that The Count was to feast upon to ensure the safety of my Floyd | people for the next fifteen years. I was dressed in a simple linen Floyd | frock, given my last meal of boar and stewed vegetables and cruelly Floyd | deprived of sleep by the phantom of fear. The next day, my birthday Floyd | and my final day, passed in a haze of anxiety and exhaustion and Floyd | solitary confinement to prevent escape or - the worst of sins - Floyd | suicide. I paced back and forth, too tired to think and yet too Floyd | terrified to sleep. When my mother entered the room and embraced me Floyd | she may as well have been an angel as far as my fevoured imagination Floyd | was concerned. She spoke in hushed tones, not wishing the guards Floyd | outside the room to overhear. Floyd | Floyd | "My dearest Marika," she began, "I have long suspected the truth. The Floyd | Count takes one of our best and then leaves us for fifteen years. Floyd | Many have speculated that our bargain is what keeps us safe for that Floyd | period of time. They are the loudest voices amongst us, the ones that Floyd | say that our sacrifice saves us from extended torment; that The Count Floyd | drinks the blood of travellers and the children of other villages for Floyd | that time. I think that they are wrong." Floyd | Floyd | I blinked, confused and uncertain of what my mother was telling me. Floyd | She continued regardless. Floyd | Floyd | "I believe that The Count is a creature who only visits us once every Floyd | fifteen years because for most of that time he sleeps. I believe that Floyd | he awakes every fifteen years to feed, and he threatens us and uses Floyd | our children to slake his terrible thirst. After he has satisfied his Floyd | cruel desire he surrenders to sleep again. Fifteen years pass and the Floyd | cycle begins again. He must be at his weakest following the end of Floyd | his hibernation - the night that he takes one of our daughters, his Floyd | first kill." Floyd | Floyd | "But what does this mean mother? Do you expect me to fight him? To Floyd | kill him? If this is true why do the men not hunt him and kill him as Floyd | he sleeps for fifteen years?" Floyd | Floyd | "The men of this village are slaves to the legend; to the fear. They Floyd | do not believe me. But we Bojin women are strong! You can fight him, Floyd | my daughter. You can keep him at bay!" Floyd | Floyd | "What do you mean, mother? " I whimpered , "I do not understand." Floyd | Floyd | "I know that in his initial weakness he could be beaten and we could Floyd | be rid of him forever!" Floyd | Floyd | "Mother, I am so tired. I am not sure I can do this..." Floyd | Floyd | "You do not need to fight him, my child. Just keep him at bay. They Floyd | will take you to the tower. The door will be locked so you will not Floyd | be able to escape. Sleep will overtake you and then The Count will Floyd | arrive. In the time that you have before the darkness you must make Floyd | the room secure! I am sure that he will be too weak to force entry if Floyd | you can just keep him out!" Floyd | Floyd | "I...mother. I don't know. I can't think...." Floyd | Floyd | At this my mother grabbed my arm tightly. It hurt, and the pain Floyd | brought me to my senses. Floyd | Floyd | "Daughter! Do not give up! You can do this!" Floyd | | inky says, "ok, so I guess that is the goal of the game" | |||
| Roger says, "oh noes vampiric ogre" | ||||
| DavidW says, "yup. Keep the vampire out." | ||||
| Roger says, "I'm imagining the narrator as a typical teenage girl at this point" | ||||
| Roger says, "And I was all like, jeez mom, take a chill pill and try laying off the exclaimation points for a while" | ||||
| DB says, "Ha ha." | ||||
| inky says (to Floyd), "l" | ||||
Floyd | (Press a key) Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | At that moment the guards entered the room. My mother stepped back, Floyd | looking anxious. Floyd | Floyd | "I'm sorry. It is time," Bogdan, the eldest guard, spoke Floyd | apologetically. Floyd | Floyd | "I understand," my mother said, biting her bottom lip. She looked at Floyd | me again, willing me to understand and to fight my fate. The world Floyd | seemed to pass in slow motion as I gazed at the men who had come to Floyd | escort me to the place of my death. Bogdan was a friend of my father, Floyd | and I could see in his eyes the anguish that only a man with the Floyd | imagination to picture his own daughter could feel. Enric was a few Floyd | years older than me, and the regret in his eyes was the loss of what Floyd | could have been. Floyd | Floyd | "Goodbye Marika, and may God go with you." My mother kissed me on the Floyd | cheek, gently ran her hand through my hair and fled from the room. Floyd | Bogdan nodded at me and took me by the hand. The men led me from the Floyd | room and out into the twilight of the empty village. It was Floyd | considered bad luck to see the Offering on the night of her departure. Floyd | It was safer to stay at home behind closed doors and pretend that Floyd | nothing terrible was about to happen. Overcome, I stumbled and fell Floyd | to my knees. I felt the gentle hands of Enric under my arms. Floyd | Floyd | "I do not...I do not know if I can do it," I whispered, every word an Floyd | effort. Floyd | Floyd | "I will carry you." Enric lifted me gently as Bogdan patted his Floyd | shoulder. I looked into Enric's face as he began to walk towards the Floyd | Tower that lay just outside the village and felt the darkness of sleep Floyd | cover me for the first time in about thirty six hours. In my dreams Floyd | Enric's face changed into that of my mother as she mouthed the same Floyd | words at me over and over again - Keep him out! Floyd | | ||||
| inky says (to Floyd), "l" | ||||
Floyd | (Press a key) Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | I awoke with a start to find that I was lying on a comfortable bed. Floyd | Enric was leaning over me, a single tear rolling down his cheek. Floyd | Floyd | "I'm sorry. I did not mean to wake you. I wanted...I wanted you to Floyd | stay asleep. I thought it would be...better." Floyd | Floyd | "I am glad that you did," I murmered, recalling my mother's final Floyd | words. Floyd | Floyd | Enric kissed me on the cheek and stood up. He wiped the eye from his Floyd | face and turned away. Floyd | Floyd | "Marika...I must tell you something..." Enric spoke, weighing his Floyd | words carefully. Floyd | Floyd | "Enric!" barked Bogdan, "Remember what the Elders said! You will not Floyd | say anything!" Floyd | Floyd | Enric's shoulders stiffened and, even though I couldn't see his face, Floyd | I could tell that he was wrestling with something heavy. Finally his Floyd | shoulders slumped and he began to walk towards the door. Floyd | Floyd | "Goodbye Marika. I'm sorry," he said with conviction. Floyd | Floyd | Bogdan stood in the doorway, looking at me with grim regret. In a Floyd | moment they were both gone. The door slammed shut and I heard the Floyd | scraping of a key in the lock and the grinding of several bolts being Floyd | shut. I listened for a moment longer to the clatter of their feet on Floyd | the stone stairwell and then I was alone. Floyd | Floyd | The tower had been a feature of the village for generations before my Floyd | birth. It stood, tall and imposing, on the outskirts of our land as a Floyd | permanent reminder of our bargain. It remained locked and bolted for Floyd | years until the single room at its summit was needed. The only ones Floyd | who ever saw the room were the guards and The Offering. Floyd | Floyd | Everything in me wanted to sink back into the comfort of the bed and Floyd | let death overtake me. My body ached for sleep and my heart longed Floyd | for numbness. But just as I thought I would lose the battle I felt my Floyd | mother's spirit arc through my heart. I am a Bojin and I will NOT Floyd | give up! I willed my legs to respond and I lifted myself from the bed Floyd | until I found myself standing in the room that was supposed to be my Floyd | mortuary. I glanced out of the window to see the sun slowly slipping Floyd | behind the hills. My head throbbed and my legs wavered. I did not Floyd | have much time, but I formed a grim resolve to try and change my fate. Floyd | I would not accept this. I would be alone here until the morning, Floyd | when Bogdan and Enric would return expecting to remove my corpse. I Floyd | would prevent The Count from gaining entrance to the Tower, and when Floyd | Bogdan and Enric returned I would leave with them. I would show Floyd | myself to be my mother's daughter. My life depended on it. Floyd | Floyd | I forced myself to focus on the room and gazed around, battling Floyd | against slumber. My fate will be decided in the next half an hour. Floyd | | Roger says, "Mmmm that's some good subtext" | |||
| inky says (to Floyd), "l" | ||||
Floyd | (Press a key) Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | The Room in the Tower Floyd | Floyd | I am standing in a room that has been meticulously constructed from Floyd | cold, grey stones in a very simple manner. My eyes are hypnotically Floyd | drawn to the main feature in the west wall, a large double window that Floyd | swings open in the evening breeze. A wide single bed sits in the Floyd | centre of the room. I know from experience that the bed is incredibly Floyd | comfortable and it is currently taking all of my willpower to resist Floyd | the temptation to lie down and drift into oblivion. The bed is made Floyd | up with a soft looking pillow and has a blanket wrapped round it. Floyd | Floyd | It appears to me that this room once served a less sinister purpose, Floyd | for there is a fireplace built into the north wall. The fireplace is Floyd | as empty as my heart. A thick wooden shelf is fixed to the wall Floyd | above, on which rests a burning candle that gives the room an eerie Floyd | glow. The low stone ceiling separates me from the heavens and God Floyd | above. In the south wall is a thick metal door; the only way out of Floyd | the tower alive. Floyd | Floyd | A full-length portrait mirror is afixed to the east wall, opposite the Floyd | window. It reflects the horizon scene, creating the illusion that the Floyd | room is larger than it is. A rickety wooden chair has been placed Floyd | beside the mirror. The air is musty and offends my nostrils. My Floyd | remaining life can be measured in heartbeats. I must act! Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "look under bed" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | I clamber onto my knees and look under the bed but I see nothing but Floyd | more bare flagstones. I stand, feeling dizzy as I do so. Floyd | Floyd | > | inky says, "ok, I guess we can go" | |||
| inky says (to Floyd), "look in mirror" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | I look at myself in the mirror; standing against the backdrop of the Floyd | countryside that can be seen from the window. I barely recognise Floyd | myself. The linen frock clings to my lithe frame like a sack. My Floyd | complexion has always been pale, but tonight lack of sleep and Floyd | overdose of fear have made my skin almost translucent. The blood has Floyd | drained from my usually scarlet lips and my large brown eyes peer into Floyd | the face of a stranger. My long hair, raven and fine, hugs my face Floyd | and shoulders almost as if it were looking for a companion in this Floyd | dark time. A sensation at the back of my thoughts is nagging me, Floyd | trying to tell me something. Something about my hair... Floyd | Floyd | I run my fingers around the mirror but it seems to be fixed firmly to Floyd | the wall and there appears to be nothing unusual about it. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| inky says (to Floyd), "feel hair" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | Driven by some unknown prompting I begin to run my hand through my Floyd | hair. As my finger touches something sharp I withdraw it hastily. A Floyd | second, more cautious check reveals a hairpin that shouldn't be there. Floyd | Unbidden, the memory comes to me of my final meeting with my mother. Floyd | As we parted she touched my hair. At the time I thought it nothing Floyd | more than a tender gesture but it seems that she had ulterior motives. Floyd | Thanking God for her ingenuity I place the hairpin carefully on the Floyd | shelf above the fireplace and ponder on a use for it. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| inky says (to Floyd), "x chair" | ||||
Floyd | [x -> examine] Floyd | Floyd | The chair is clearly a once-loved heirloom that has fallen into a Floyd | state of disrepair. Intricate patterns swirl over the legs and seat. Floyd | It seems to wobble even as I look at it. I would not trust it to hold Floyd | my weight. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| inky says (to Floyd), "sit on chair" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | Despite the urgency of my situation I am highly aware of my aching Floyd | feet and weary legs. I decide to rest for a second, and not trusting Floyd | myself to get up again if I use the bed I opt to use the chair. Floyd | Floyd | I drag it away from the wall and sit, but the chair is nearly as old Floyd | as the tower itself and is no longer able to stand the strain. There Floyd | is a creaking noise for a moment before the chair self-destructs and Floyd | deposits me on the stone floor. I crack my knee painfully on the Floyd | floor and cry out in discomfort. Floyd | Floyd | After a little while I am able to stand again. The chair has been Floyd | reduced to a pile of wood. I rub my knee and regret my chosen action. Floyd | Floyd | > | inky says, "hmm, that might have been bad, but oh well" | |||
| DB says, "Revgiblet says he was aiming for a florid Gothic style in the prose, but that not being a fifteen-year-old Romanian peasant girl worked against him on that." | ||||
| inky says (to Floyd), "x wood" | ||||
Floyd | [x -> examine] Floyd | Floyd | The wood is formed in a chaotic pile consisting of a variety of shapes Floyd | and sizes. Although some parts appear to have rotted there is a fair Floyd | amount of sound wood here. Floyd | Floyd | > | inky says, "ha ha" | |||
| inky says (to Floyd), "get wood" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | There is no need for me to take anything. If I need to use an object Floyd | then I will do so as appropriate. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| inky says (to Floyd), "x shelf" | ||||
Floyd | [x -> examine] Floyd | Floyd | The shelf is made of thick oak and fixed firmly to the wall. Floyd | Floyd | > | Touchy says, "man I'm 109 lines behind already" | |||
| DavidW says, "I forgot. The game is strangely anti-inventory." | ||||
| Doug says, "heh 'unknown prompting'" | ||||
| Roger says, "I really am getting too fat, I told myself." | ||||
| inky says (to Floyd), "x fireplace" | ||||
Floyd | [x -> examine] Floyd | Floyd | A quick investigation of the empty stone fireplace reveals that it Floyd | hasn't been used in a long time. I peer cautiously up into the Floyd | chimney; a dark tunnel that ends in a square of twilight. Floyd | Floyd | > | inky says, "guess we have to block that too" | |||
| DavidW says, "Perhaps we can make a fire." | ||||
| inky says (to Floyd), "make fire" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | As a thought forms in my mind drowsiness begins to overcome me. I Floyd | shake my head to rouse myself, after which the words seem meaningless Floyd | to me. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| inky says (to Floyd), "put wood in fireplace" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | I pile up an armful of wood and carry it across the room to deposit it Floyd | in the fireplace. I repeat the process two more times to complete the Floyd | task. Floyd | Floyd | The fireplace now contains a pile of wood ready to be burnt. I look Floyd | at the candle and the pile of wood and my experience tells me that, as Floyd | it stands, the flame is not furious enough to catch the wood. If I Floyd | want to start a fire I will need to find something that will burn well Floyd | and provide a more substantial conflagration. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| inky says (to Floyd), "x bed" | ||||
Floyd | [x -> examine] Floyd | Floyd | Wary, for it is almost as if the bed whispers a siren song as I look Floyd | at it, I begin to examine the cot. The blanket is tucked in tightly Floyd | but yields to a sharp tug from me. I find nothing unusual under it. Floyd | The mattress is thick and tightly packed with soft and springy Floyd | innards. It would be easy to sink into it and forget all of my Floyd | troubles. As I lift the pillow a small piece of paper wafts out from Floyd | underneath it and floats gently to the ground. I replace the pillow Floyd | and turn my attention back to the room. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| inky says (to Floyd), "read paper" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | I reach down and take the piece of paper in my hands. I force my gaze Floyd | to focus on the neat handwriting that has been marked on the paper. Floyd | The message reads... Floyd | Floyd | Marika. I am unable to say goodbye to you as I would wish to. I want Floyd | you to gaze into your own beautiful eyes and breathe yourself a Floyd | goodbye from me. Floyd | Floyd | The paper drops from my limp grasp and settles again on the hard Floyd | floor. This message was clearly meant for me to find, but who left Floyd | it? And why? My head aches but I have the feeling that within the Floyd | message is a hidden meaning that I must endeavour to find. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Lucea arrives, full of funk, but no fun. | DavidW says, "The paper might work as tinder." | |||
| inky says (to Floyd), "breathe on mirror" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | Driven by a sudden flash of inspiration I move over to the mirror and, Floyd | as the message on the paper predicted, find myself gazing into my own Floyd | eyes. Floyd | Floyd | Prompted by the rest of the message I breathe in deeply and exhale Floyd | over the mirror. I repeat the gesture. As the mirror mists over I Floyd | notice marks; marks where the mirror is not fogging up. My heart Floyd | skips a beat as I continue to breathe out over the rest of the mirror, Floyd | revealing more and more of what seems to be a hidden message. Floyd | Floyd | By the time that I have finished I am feeling light-headed and Floyd | unsteady on my feet, but I appear to have uncovered a message. Floyd | Floyd | LOOK UNDER MATTRESS Floyd | Floyd | I commit it to memory as the mirror slowly clears. Floyd | Floyd | > | inky says, "ha ha" | |||
| inky says, "it's good they wrote the message in IF-ese" | ||||
| Lucea says, "very convenient" | ||||
| DavidW asks (of inky), "How did you think of 'breathe on mirror'?!?" | ||||
| DB says, "Very." | ||||
| Roger says, "He's full of wily guile, this one." | ||||
| Roger says (to floyd), "xyzzy" | ||||
Floyd | I'm sorry, but XYZZY doesn't do anything special in this game! Floyd | Floyd | > | inky says (to DavidW), "look at the note again" | |||
| inky says (to Floyd), "read note" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | I see nothing that will help me. Floyd | Floyd | > | inky says, "...er" | |||
| inky says, "well, it said" | ||||
inky | Floyd | Marika. I am unable to say goodbye to you as I would wish to. I want inky | Floyd | you to gaze into your own beautiful eyes and breathe yourself a inky | Floyd | goodbye from me. | ||||
| DavidW says, "ADRIFT commands are sometimes nonrepeatable." | ||||
| inky says (to Floyd), "look under mattress" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | I prod the mattress. It is thick and packed tightly with something Floyd | soft but dense. This makes it deceptively heavy. I manage, with some Floyd | difficulty, to get my hands into a position to facilitate the lifting Floyd | of the mattress and begin to strain. Floyd | Floyd | The exertion shortly begins to make me feel light-headed and under Floyd | normal circumstances I would cease this activity. These, however, are Floyd | not normal circumstances. The words on the mirror drive me to this Floyd | action, and I will not let it be in vain. Floyd | Floyd | Driven by a desire to solve the mystery of the message I call on Floyd | reserves of hidden strength and manage to lift the mattress enough to Floyd | see, tucked out of sight between it and the frame, a thin metal rod. Floyd | With reflexes born of desperation I reach down and roll the rod onto Floyd | the floor as the mattress drops back onto the bedframe with a thud. Floyd | Panting heavily I lean against the wall to regain some strength before Floyd | considering the role that the metal rod will play in my survival. Floyd | Floyd | > | DB says, "True; if there was no note object, that message was probably tied to a task instead." | |||
| Doug says (to Floyd), "read paper" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | I see nothing that will help me. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Roger says (to floyd), "open door" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | I try the door. It is locked and does not budge. Floyd | Floyd | > | inky says, "hmm" | |||
| inky says, "perhaps the rod can jam the window" | ||||
| DavidW says, "We want to keep the door locked." | ||||
| inky says, "jam the window, fire in the fireplace" | ||||
| DavidW says (to inky), "maybe" | ||||
| inky says, "not sure what other entrances there are" | ||||
| Roger says, "Thank god; inanimate metal rod will save the day." | ||||
| Roger says (to floyd), "x window" | ||||
Floyd | [x -> examine] Floyd | Floyd | The window opens out of the tower providing a superlative view of the Floyd | sun setting over the surrounding countryside. Under different Floyd | circumstances I would probably consider it one of the most romantic Floyd | scenes I had ever seen. Instead I see it for what it is - an Floyd | opportunity for The Count to enter the room. The window itself is Floyd | constructed of very thick glass and seems quite secure in its wooden Floyd | frame. It swings gently in the breeze. There are handles on the Floyd | window that allow it to be opened from both the inside and - unusually Floyd | - the outside. Below me is a considerable drop to the rough ground. Floyd | Floyd | > | DavidW says, "Window, door, and chimney seem to be the obvious entrances." | |||
| Roger asks, "The window is swinging gently in the breeze?" | ||||
| JJSonick asks, "could the rod bar the window?" | ||||
| inky says (to Floyd), "close window" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | It seems like the most obvious thing to do. I walk over to the Floyd | window, reach out and shut it. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| inky says (to Floyd), "put rod in handles" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | As a thought forms in my mind drowsiness begins to overcome me. I Floyd | shake my head to rouse myself, after which the words seem meaningless Floyd | to me. Floyd | Floyd | > | Roger says, "Oh, it's like a door" | |||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "put rod in window" | ||||
Floyd | | ||||
| inky says (to Floyd), "put rod through handles" | ||||
Floyd | As a thought forms in my mind drowsiness begins to overcome me. I Floyd | shake my head to rouse myself, after which the words seem meaningless Floyd | to me. Floyd | Floyd | > Floyd | Floyd | As a thought forms in my mind drowsiness begins to overcome me. I Floyd | shake my head to rouse myself, after which the words seem meaningless Floyd | to me. Floyd | Floyd | > | Roger asks, "Dare we nap?" | |||
| inky says (to Floyd), "x handles" | ||||
Floyd | [x -> examine] Floyd | Floyd | A thin wooden handle is built into the frame of the window. In the Floyd | handle I can see a small keyhole, presumably to allow the window to be Floyd | locked. There is another handle on the outside of the window. It Floyd | seems that this window was built with deadly intent, for it may also Floyd | be opened from the outside. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Gerynar says (to Floyd), "lock window" | ||||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "use rod" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | I reach out and take the hairpin from the shelf. The hairpin is too Floyd | small to use on the door so I make my way across the room to the Floyd | window and, having pulled the window so it is as shut as I can make Floyd | it, I begin to work on the lock. Floyd | Floyd | My hand is shaking through exhaustion and I do not rightly know what I Floyd | am doing but God is with me. After a few moments of fumbling and Floyd | twisting there is a tiny click. I remove the hairpin from the tiny Floyd | keyhole to see that my labour has bent and warped it. I then Floyd | hesitantly push the window. It remains firm. Again I try, this time Floyd | with as much force as I can muster in my weakened state. The window Floyd | does not move. I have successfully secured it against The Count. Floyd | Hopefully the thick glass will be sufficient to thwart his entry. Floyd | Floyd | I respectfully place the hairpin back on the shelf and ponder my next Floyd | move. Floyd | Floyd | > Floyd | Floyd | As a thought forms in my mind drowsiness begins to overcome me. I Floyd | shake my head to rouse myself, after which the words seem meaningless Floyd | to me. Floyd | Floyd | > | Roger says, "Oh, it's a generic Do Not Want message." | |||
| Lucea says, "nice" | ||||
| inky says, "oh hmm" | ||||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "lock door" | ||||
Floyd | I can't lock that. Floyd | Floyd | > | Roger asks, "Woah how did we get the pin again?" | |||
| inky asks, "so we aren't supposed to use the rod on the window at all then?" | ||||
| Gerynar says, "it was in our hair" | ||||
| DavidW says, "The hairpin was in our hair." | ||||
| inky says, "our mom stuck it in our hair" | ||||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "x door" | ||||
Floyd | [x -> examine] Floyd | Floyd | The door appears to be locked and bolted from the outside. It also Floyd | seems extremely sturdy. There is a large keyhole for, it would Floyd | suggest, a very large key. The door doesn't quite reach the floor, Floyd | leaving a large gap between the stones and the bottom of the metal. Floyd | The most chilling thing that I discover are what appear to be deep Floyd | scratches engraved in the metal - as though someone had tried to claw Floyd | their way out of the room. I shudder as I think about it. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | I yawn. I am finding it difficult to fight off sleep. Floyd | Floyd | > | maga says, "it'd be nice if more games had 'it's not you, it's me'-style parser defaults" | |||
| Roger says, "It says it was on the shelf" | ||||
| inky says, "we put it on the shelf after pulling it out of our hair, because we hate inventory" | ||||
| Roger says, "Oh. I guess I missed that part in the preceding 10K words; thanks." | ||||
| DavidW says, "That gap under the door worries me." | ||||
| inky says, "hmm yeah" | ||||
| inky says, "also we have to light the fire" | ||||
| inky says (to Floyd), "put blanket in gap" | Gerynar asks, "block it with the blanket?" | |||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "x keyhole" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | A flash of inspiration strikes me and with a great sense of urgency I Floyd | yank the thick blanket from the bed and pull it over to the door. The Floyd | gap under the door is nowhere big enought for a human to crawl under Floyd | but until I have a better understanding of what The Count is capable Floyd | of I will err on the side of caution. Floyd | Floyd | The blanket is thick and heavy, and with some effort I manage to force Floyd | it under the door making a barrier of sorts. As it stands nothing Floyd | will be able to come through the breach and I pray that The Count will Floyd | lack the necessary strength to remove it swiftly. Floyd | Floyd | > Floyd | [x -> examine] Floyd | Floyd | I need to decide if I wish to examine the door lock or the window Floyd | lock. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Roger says (to floyd), "open pillow" | ||||
Floyd | Open what? Floyd | Floyd | > | Lucea asks, "how will I ever decide?" | |||
| inky says (to Floyd), "put paper in fireplace" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | As a thought forms in my mind drowsiness begins to overcome me. I Floyd | shake my head to rouse myself, after which the words seem meaningless Floyd | to me. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| inky says (to Floyd), "put note in fireplace" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | As a thought forms in my mind drowsiness begins to overcome me. I Floyd | shake my head to rouse myself, after which the words seem meaningless Floyd | to me. Floyd | Floyd | > | Lucea says, "I do like what's been done with most of the default responses, though." | |||
| Roger says, "So this pretty much draws on all our experience with covertly smoking dope in our bedroom" | ||||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "light paper" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | I wonder about burning some paper to start a fire but I don't seem to Floyd | have enough paper to achieve my goal. The paper that I found under Floyd | the pillow is not large enough to burn for more than a fraction of a Floyd | second. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Lucea says (to floyd), "l" | ||||
Floyd | [l -> look] Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | The Room in the Tower Floyd | Floyd | I am standing in a room that has been meticulously constructed from Floyd | cold, grey stones in a very simple manner. The large window in the Floyd | west wall has been shut and I have managed to lock it. If my mother Floyd | is right then the thick glass should be sufficient to keep The Count Floyd | at bay. A wide single bed sits in the centre of the room. I know Floyd | from experience that the bed is incredibly comfortable and it is Floyd | currently taking all of my willpower to resist the temptation to lie Floyd | down and drift into oblivion. The bed is currently without a blanket, Floyd | but that makes it no less inviting. A flat and sturdy looking length Floyd | of iron rod lies on the floor beside the bed. A small piece of paper Floyd | is situated on the stone floor. Floyd | Floyd | It appears to me that this room once served a less sinister purpose, Floyd | for there is a fireplace built into the north wall. A pile of broken Floyd | and twisted wood lies in the fireplace, imploring me to light it. A Floyd | thick wooden shelf is fixed to the wall above, on which rests a Floyd | burning candle that gives the room an eerie glow. Having been used to Floyd | lock the window, the hairpin on the shelf is bent and twisted beyond Floyd | recognition. The low stone ceiling separates me from the heavens and Floyd | God above. In the south wall is a thick metal door; the only way out Floyd | of the tower alive. The bulky woollen blanket from the bed is crammed Floyd | under the door. Floyd | Floyd | A full-length portrait mirror is afixed to the east wall, opposite the Floyd | window. It reflects the horizon scene, creating the illusion that the Floyd | room is larger than it is. The air is musty and offends my nostrils. Floyd | My remaining life can be measured in heartbeats. I must act! Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Lucea says (to floyd), "undo" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | The Room in the Tower Floyd | [The previous turn has been undone.] Floyd | Floyd | > | inky says, "interesting" | |||
| inky says (to Roger), "ha ha ha" | ||||
| DavidW asks, "The portrait, maybe?" | ||||
| Roger says (to floyd), "push bed" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | I try to move the bed but it is too heavy. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "x portrait" | ||||
Floyd | [x -> examine] Floyd | Floyd | I see nothing that will help me. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "move portrait" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | I am not sure why I would want to waste strength doing that. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Roger says (to floyd), "look behind portrait" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | I see nothing that will help me. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "put rod in door keyhole" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | The picture of me trying to unlock the door using the iron rod is so Floyd | absurd that it almost brings a smile to my face. Almost. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| DB says (to floyd), "x floor" | ||||
Floyd | [x -> examine] Floyd | Floyd | The tightly-packed, perfectly square flagstones are cold and hard Floyd | under my bare feet. I kneel and run my fingers across the stones, Floyd | searching for something unusual. My breath catches in my throat as my Floyd | fingers stumble carelessly across a flagstone that seems to be Floyd | slightly raised in comparison to its neighbours. I check again. This Floyd | flagstone is the twin of the others except for the fact that it is Floyd | definitely loose. However, it's too heavy and my fingers are too Floyd | thick to prise it up. There must be something in here that can help Floyd | me! Floyd | Floyd | > | Touchy says, "phew caught up" | |||
| Lucea says (to floyd), "pick lock" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | I do not have anything that I could use as an effective way of Floyd | unlocking the door. Floyd | Floyd | > | inky says, "oho" | |||
| Lucea says, "oh, come on" | ||||
| inky says (to Floyd), "lift flagstone with rod" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | I decide to try and move the loose flagstone and it occurs to me that Floyd | the iron rod might be perfectly suited to this task. I grip it Floyd | tightly and slowly work the flat end into the thin gap between the Floyd | flagstones. Floyd | Floyd | When I believe that I have inserted the rod as far as I can I take a Floyd | deep breath and begin to apply pressure. Lifting the stone is much Floyd | easier than I thought it would be and within a few seconds I have Floyd | managed to tip it enough to prise it out of the floor. Floyd | Floyd | I cast the rod aside and begin to wonder what, if anything, might be Floyd | contained within the dark cavity that I have uncovered... Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Lucea says (to floyd), "l in cavity" | ||||
Floyd | [l -> look] Floyd | Floyd | I lie beside the hole in the floor and, with due prudence, put my hand Floyd | into the darkness. Floyd | Floyd | I have to rely purely on my sense of touch to discern if there is Floyd | anything of interest in the hole. For a few seconds all I am able to Floyd | feel is the cold, wet density of damp stone and a soft breeze, but Floyd | after a moment of maneouvering I brush against something rough and Floyd | soft. Nervously I grab the object and begin to pull it towards me. Floyd | Floyd | As I do so I hear a tinkling noise. I pause as the sound moves away Floyd | from me, but it is too late. I listen as something metallic slithers Floyd | away, sounding like it's falling through a fissure below me. There is Floyd | a further moment of silence before something clatters to the ground on Floyd | the level below me. My imagination ponders the events that these Floyd | sounds proclaim but I am not quite sure what to make of them. After Floyd | this second of contemplation I continue my action and pull the object Floyd | that I have grasped into the light. Floyd | Floyd | I climb onto my knees with my prize, which appears to be a grubby old Floyd | rag. As I unfold it a roll of parchment falls to the floor in front Floyd | of me; the sole inhabitant of the cloth. I toss the rag to one aside, Floyd | as it appears to have had no other purpose than to serve as a Floyd | container for the parchment. I wipe my hand across my tired eyes and Floyd | consider my next decision. Floyd | Floyd | > | Touchy says, "Did I already mention: One room game where you have to lock yourself in instead of getting out. Awesome." | |||
| inky says, "surprise, the count was hiding in the cavity, sucker" | ||||
| Lucea says, "oho, parchment" | ||||
| Roger says, "Okay I know the narrator is all "WE MUST HURRY" but really we as players can slow the hell down a bit" | ||||
| Lucea says, "also, I bet that rag is actually useful" | ||||
| DB says (to inky), "Ha ha" | ||||
| Roger says (to floyd), "read parchment" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | I pick up the parchment from the floor and begin to read... Floyd | Floyd | My Dearest Marika, Floyd | Floyd | Forgive me for the complicated path that you must have walked to Floyd | obtain this letter. I had no other choice and knew that your Floyd | resourcefulness would be equal to the task. The elders of the village Floyd | know well your mother's views on the subject of The Count and feared Floyd | that she might attempt to intervene in events. As a result they Floyd | declared it a capital offence for anyone to try and aid you in your Floyd | plight. I desired greatly to help you but was afraid that Bogdan Floyd | would hold me to account and that I would be forced to pay the Floyd | ultimate price for aiding you. Bogdan is a good man, but he fears the Floyd | elders and he fears The Count even more. I left a message for you on Floyd | the mirror and a clue under your pillow. I had to phrase the clue as Floyd | though it were a simple farewell message that wouldn't incriminate me Floyd | - just in case it were seen by someone other than you. Again, forgive Floyd | me but I knew that you would be able to solve the puzzle. You are a Floyd | remarkable girl. I will try and speak with you before I must leave Floyd | and hope that Bogdan allows it. Floyd | Floyd | I pray that your mother is right; that The Count can be beaten but I Floyd | do not know how. I have heard many amazing things about him. I have Floyd | heard that he has the ability to turn into a bat as well as the Floyd | capability to scale vertical surfaces. Floyd | Floyd | I am sorry that I did not have the chance to say farewell properly. Floyd | To this end I wrote this letter and wrapped it in a rag with my silver Floyd | crucifix. As you know, I hid the package under the loose flagstone Floyd | and I hope that the crucifix will be of some comfort, if nothing else. Floyd | I will be praying for you. Do not let my fear dampen your remarkable Floyd | spirit. Floyd | Floyd | Enric. Floyd | Floyd | My head swims with the information. Enric! Of course! Only a guard Floyd | would have the freedom to leave items for me in the tower. The Floyd | message on the mirror was his doing, leading me to find the metal rod Floyd | so that I could discover this letter under the flagstone. But Enric Floyd | didn't only intend for me to find a letter. He made reference to his Floyd | silver crucifix. It would be a helpful weapon in a fight against a Floyd | vampyre, but it was not present with the parchment. I recall my Floyd | actions as I discovered the letter and my imagination replays the Floyd | sounds that I heard as I pulled the rag free from its prison. The Floyd | metallic tinkling sound. The sound of something slithering away from Floyd | me. My heart sinks as I piece everything together. Enric's silver Floyd | crucifix must have fallen free of the rag as I moved it and dropped Floyd | down a fissure in the stones to the stairwell below this room. It Floyd | will do me little good down there. My one chance to turn the tables Floyd | and I have lost it before I even knew what it was that I was losing! Floyd | I scream in frustration and throw the letter to the ground. What hope Floyd | do I have now? Floyd | Floyd | > | inky says, "ok, so the current state of play: we need more paper or something for the fire; we need to light the fire; we might need to block the keyhole" | |||
| DB asks, "Should we try to concentrate our brain power on one exit at a time?" | ||||
| Lucea says, "can we read the parchment?>" | ||||
| Roger says, "We just did" | ||||
| DavidW asks, "I guess do the fireplace first?" | ||||
| Touchy asks, "light the rag?" | ||||
| inky says (to Floyd), "light parchment" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | It suddenly occurs to me that the parchment could be very useful, just Floyd | not in the way that was originally intended. I scoop the parchment Floyd | from the floor and hold it over the candle on the shelf for a second. Floyd | It catches and produces a reasonable flame. I then bend down and cast Floyd | the burning parchment amongst the pyre that I have constructed in the Floyd | fireplace. Floyd | Floyd | I pray for it to produce flames amongst the wood and, after what feels Floyd | like an eternity, I am heartened to see that the wood is indeed Floyd | burning. I linger for another anxious minute to ensure that the blaze Floyd | will continue and before long I am coughing on a plume of smoke. Floyd | Floyd | I throw the candle onto the fire for the sake of it and rub my weeping Floyd | eyes. I am feeling warmer already, and my body is driven even closer Floyd | to the dangerous state of slumber. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | My body aches with weariness. I don't think that I can resist sleep Floyd | for much longer! Floyd | Floyd | > | DavidW asks, "Can we stuff the rag in the door keyhole?" | |||
| DB exclaims, "Aha!" | ||||
| inky says (to Floyd), "put rag in keyhole" | Touchy says (to DavidW), "not anymore" | |||
Floyd | Floyd | I remember a rumour that The Count possesses the ability to change his Floyd | shape. The keyhole in the door is sizeable, possibly big enough to Floyd | allow him entry through it. Floyd | Floyd | With this in mind I scoop up the rag that I retrieved from under the Floyd | floor and move purposely over to the door. Using all my strength I Floyd | cram the rag into the keyhole until I am sure that it will no easy Floyd | task to remove it. I can only pray that The Count will not be Floyd | resourceful enough or strong enough to excavate it. Floyd | Floyd | > | Touchy says, "wait ..oh right.. rag vs parchment" | |||
| DavidW asks, "And what about the hole in the floor?" | ||||
| Roger says (to floyd), "put candle in hole" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | The candle is no more. Floyd | Floyd | > | Touchy says, "put the stone back done? Not sure how big that fissure is anyway" | |||
| inky says (to Floyd), "close flagstone" | ||||
Floyd | I can't close that. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Roger says (to floyd), "x candle" | ||||
Floyd | [x -> examine] Floyd | Floyd | The candle has long been consumed by the flames. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "push stone" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | I push, but nothing happens. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "cover hole" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | As a thought forms in my mind drowsiness begins to overcome me. I Floyd | shake my head to rouse myself, after which the words seem meaningless Floyd | to me. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "put flagstone on hole" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | Grabbing the corners of the stone and heaving mightily I manage to Floyd | return it to the hole in the floor. It crashes back to its original Floyd | place with a satisfying crack. For some reason performing this action Floyd | settles an unease that I had in my spirit. Floyd | Floyd | > | inky says, "nice!" | |||
| JJSonick asks, "that should be all the entrances, right?" | ||||
| DavidW says, "I think.. yeah." | ||||
| inky says, "I was thinking the game wasn't going to make us deal with that, but clearly I was incorrect" | ||||
| inky says, "I think so" | ||||
| Roger says, "Okay so we've handled the fireplace, the door, the window, the hole in the floor... that does seem to cover most of our bases." | ||||
| inky asks, "I guess we sleep and find out?" | ||||
| DavidW asks, "What was under the pillow?" | ||||
| inky says, "the original note about the mirror, I think" | ||||
| DavidW says, "oh, I missed that." | ||||
| Touchy asks, "Should we check the walls?" | ||||
| DavidW says, "yeah, in case there's a pipe or vent." | ||||
| inky says (to Floyd), "x walls" | ||||
Floyd | [x -> examine] Floyd | Floyd | I run my hands along the wall, mesmorised by the sensation of the Floyd | rough hewn stone under my fingertips. They are uneven and crude, and Floyd | the mortar between them flakes under my touch. Despite this each Floyd | single stone I examine seems to be fixed firmly in place. Floyd | Floyd | The floor is a different matter, constructed from evenly cut and Floyd | shaped flagstones that bear further examination. Floyd | Floyd | > | Touchy says, "We still have a metal rod. If we find some thread we could go fish for the crucifix..." | |||
| DavidW asks, "I think the rod got crumpled, didn't it?" | ||||
| inky says (to Floyd), "x rod" | ||||
Floyd | [x -> examine] Floyd | Floyd | The metal rod is fairly thin and tapers into a flat end at one tip. Floyd | It is surprisingly light and clatters on the stones as I roll it over. Floyd | I believe it to be made of iron and it seems to be fairly strong. I'm Floyd | sure that it could serve a useful purpose in my quest to secure the Floyd | room. Floyd | Floyd | > | Touchy says, "I was kidding.." | |||
| Roger says (to floyd), "X ceiling" | ||||
Floyd | [x -> examine] Floyd | Floyd | I look to the heavens and see nothing but rock. The symbolic thought Floyd | makes me wonder if even God has abandoned me. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "pray" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | Feeling lost and without hope I throw myself to my knees and begin to Floyd | pour out my heart to God. I have not been praying for more than a Floyd | minute when I suddenly get the sense that I am not alone. Floyd | Floyd | I look around the room and see nothing, but get the feeling that I am Floyd | not facing this challenge by myself. With renewed faith I stand again Floyd | and begin to think about how to survive this night. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | I am feeling dizzy and weak. My body is giving in to the demand for Floyd | rest. I have just enough time and strength to drag myself over to the Floyd | bed and collapse on it before the darkness overcomes me... Floyd | | Touchy says, "jeez" | |||
| Roger says, "I guess we'll find out if we've succeeded or not" | ||||
| DavidW says, "guess we should lie down, yeah." | ||||
| JJSonick says, "dun dun duuuun" | ||||
| Touchy says, "hehe" | ||||
| inky says (to Floyd), "push space" | ||||
Floyd | (Press a key) Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | My dreams are vivid and terrifying. I picture myself slipping into a Floyd | void, surrounded by infinite darkness. A hundred horrific images spin Floyd | at me from the emptiness surrounding me. Floyd | Floyd | I see thin, cruel hands clawing at a window. The hands become more Floyd | and more frantic until they become balled fists slamming themselves Floyd | against the glass in futility...then the image vanishes. Floyd | Floyd | I hear a rustling sound, a squeaking noise and something that sounds Floyd | like a thousand terrible wings flapping mere metres away from me. I Floyd | smell damp fur and then...I smell smoke and see a flash. I hear a Floyd | pained squeal which mutates into a hideous cry...then the image Floyd | vanishes. Floyd | Floyd | I feel something moving under the stones. Something pushing against Floyd | the floor in desperation. I see the darkness pressing against the Floyd | loose flagstone in the floor, but it is repelled. I hear the flapping Floyd | of wings...then the image vanishes. Floyd | Floyd | The door rattles. It shakes on its hinges but does not move. In my Floyd | dream the rag and blanket shake and writhe like they're alive but Floyd | remain in place. The door shakes with increased vigour and a rhythmic Floyd | pounding that chokes the breath in my throat. There is a haunting Floyd | scream...then the image vanishes. Floyd | Floyd | For what seems like many hours the visions of my dream repeat. The Floyd | door and windows rattle over and over. I hear the sound of some Floyd | winged creature exploring every nook of the room around me. I can Floyd | feel the presence of some horrific evil merely a few feet away from Floyd | me. I watch myself toss and turn, shaking, in my sleep but such is my Floyd | exhaustion that I do not wake. Floyd | Floyd | Then, from nowhere, a burst of light seems to creep into the room and Floyd | my mind is nearly driven insane by a sinister, prolonged, tortured Floyd | wail from somewhere. Just as my heart feels like it is about to burst Floyd | there is silence. Floyd | Floyd | Then all is still and peace descends upon me... Floyd | | inky says, "er" | |||
| inky says, "well then" | ||||
| DavidW says, "yay" | ||||
| JJSonick says, "nice" | ||||
| Roger says, "EMO 1 DRACULA 0" | ||||
| inky says, "ha ha" | ||||
| Touchy asks, "so uh..did we or did we not?" | ||||
| inky says, "looks like we did" | ||||
| Gerynar says (to Floyd), "l" | ||||
Floyd | (Press a key) Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | My eyes open and drink in the sunlight but my ears are deafened by the Floyd | sound of hammering fists and yelling voices outside the door. I lie Floyd | paralysed by fear, expecting The Count to burst through the doorway at Floyd | any second...but then I listen to the words. Floyd | Floyd | "Marika! Marika! Are you all right?" screams a voice that I Floyd | recognise. Floyd | Floyd | I sit up and watch the door for a second. Someone has tried to remove Floyd | the rag and the blanket and failed. My sluggish brain slowly pieces Floyd | together the facts. I am alive, it is morning and someone is trying Floyd | to get into the room but unable because I have secured it. As this Floyd | last piece of information sinks in I jump off the bed with a gasp and Floyd | rush over to the door. Floyd | Floyd | With a sense of elation I pull the rag from the keyhole and bang on Floyd | the door. Floyd | Floyd | "It's me! Marika!" Floyd | Floyd | "Marika!" a voice I recognise almost screams, and then I hear the Floyd | scraping of a key being fumbled in the lock. The door swings open. Floyd | Enric stands there, tears streaming down his cheeks, with Bogdan Floyd | behind him looking astonished. Floyd | Floyd | Unable to contain my delight I throw myself into Enric's shocked arms Floyd | and he holds me tightly, neither of us speaking. The silence is Floyd | broken by Bogdan grabbing my shoulder roughly. Floyd | Floyd | "What have you done girl! You've doomed us all!" he yells, his face Floyd | contorted with rage. Enric breaks the embrace to shove Bogdan away. Floyd | Floyd | "She has shown more courage than anyone else in this village!" Enric Floyd | shouts, fists clenched tightly. Floyd | Floyd | "We'll need more than courage to disuade The Count from his terrible Floyd | revenge!" Bogdan shrieks back. Floyd | Floyd | Ignoring the confrontation I rush past them both and down the stairs, Floyd | thrilling at the feel of wood under my feet. Floyd | | inky says, "oh Bogdan" | |||
| Lucea says, "terrible revenge, eh" | ||||
| Roger says (to floyd), "TAKE CRUCIFIX" | ||||
Floyd | (Press a key) Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | I push the door open and burst out into the daylight with Bogdan and Floyd | Enric hot on my heels. I stumble around the base of the tower as Floyd | though intoxicated, searching desperately for something to confirm the Floyd | suspicions of my dream. I find it on the opposite side of the tower, Floyd | on the grassy ground below the room's window. Floyd | Floyd | Enric and Bogdan catch up shortly afterwards and stutter to a halt Floyd | behind me, staring at same sight as me. Floyd | Floyd | "What...what is that?" Bogdan whispers. Floyd | Floyd | We are looking at a corpse, a twisted mess of bones and thick fluid. Floyd | Decaying flesh hangs from the skeleton and two sharp teeth protrude Floyd | obscenely from the skull. In my head I imagine a warped creature of Floyd | the night striving to enter the room, struggling and failing but so Floyd | absorbed in the task that he fails to see the sun rising over the Floyd | horizon until it is too late... Floyd | Floyd | "I think," I begin, a huge smile creeping across my face, "that it is Floyd | over..." Floyd | Floyd | I feel Enric's gentle hand on my shoulder and hear Bogdan begin to Floyd | weep behind me. I look up into the sky. It seems to me the bluest Floyd | and purest horizon that I have seen for a long while. Floyd | Floyd | I plan to enjoy every second of it. Floyd | Congratulations! Floyd | | inky says, "hmm" | |||
| Lucea says, "yay" | ||||
| Touchy says, "well donsies" | ||||
| DavidW pushes the green 'space' button. | inky says, "I wonder if Bogdan was in league with the count somehow" | |||
| two-star took 30,500 buckets -- why? | inky says, "or if he was just bummed because he'd sent all these girls to their deaths unnecessarily" | |||
| Nitku asks, "Wow, did you beat it on the first go?" | ||||
| Roger says, "They were all kind of complicit in it, it seems to me" | ||||
| DavidW says (to Nitku), "Somehow, yeah." | ||||
| Touchy asks (of Nitku..tz), "what did you expect?" | ||||
| DavidW says, "We probably ought to play again just to see how we could've died." | ||||
| DB says, "Sounds like a plan." | ||||
| DB asks, "Death messages ahoy! ...no?" | ||||
| JJSonick says, "From dramatic effect, you could leave the last entrance he tried as the one unblocked." | ||||
| DavidW says, "I am surprised we won on the first try, though." | ||||
| JJSonick says, "For dramatic effect, that is" | ||||
| inky says, "this seems like a good game to play with a group" | ||||
| Roger says, "Yeah it has lots of bits and pieces to it" | ||||
| inky says, "because there are a lot of short puzzle sequences to deal with" | ||||
| DB says (to DavidW), "We had many brains together for it." | ||||
| DavidW says, "I'm sure I died at least twice during the comp." | ||||
| inky says, "and part of the trick is thinking of everything" | ||||
| Roger asks, "Oh, this is a Comp game?" | ||||
| inky says, "not the big comp" | ||||
| DavidW says (to Roger), "One Room Game Comp" | ||||
| JJSonick says, "We were smarter because we all shared the same hair." | ||||
| inky says, "ha ha" | ||||
| Roger says, "Oh, I see" | ||||
| Roger says, "Obviously this needs to be remixed with Violet" | ||||
| DavidW asks, "Heteronormativity off, too, I trust?" | ||||
| inky says, "ha ha" | ||||
| DB asks, "Gothic Australian?" | ||||
| inky says, "count(ess)" | ||||
| DB says, "ha ha" | ||||
| DavidW presses the yellow enter button. | DB asks, "Are we starting it back up for deaths?" | |||
| inky says, "maybe" | ||||
| inky says (to Floyd), "stuff" | inky says, "seems like we migth have to force-quit" | |||
| DavidW says, "I'm not getting a response from Floyd." | ||||
| DavidW asks (of inky), "How is a force-quit done again?" | ||||
| inky says (to Floyd), "test" | Roger says, "I know I want to see her die" | |||
| inky says, "hmm, just sort of stuck in a read loop" | ||||
| inky says (to Floyd), "quit" | ||||
Floyd | Would you like to RESTART, UNDO a turn, or QUIT? Quit | ||||
| Floyd asks, "That game over already? It was just getting good. Wanna play another?" | inky says, "ah there, it just wasn't printing out the final prompt" | |||
| inky says, "I believe %quit will force floyd to quit" | ||||
| DavidW says, "ah. I should write that down." | ||||
| DavidW asks, "so reload the game?" | ||||
| inky says (to Floyd), "load marika" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Loading game... Floyd | Welcome to the Cheap Glk Implementation, library version 0.9.0. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Marika the Offering Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Marika the Offering Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | An ADRIFT text adventure by revgiblet (revgiblet@gmail.com). This is Floyd | v1.0 (2007) Floyd | Floyd | Type story at any time for the backstory. Floyd | Floyd | Type thanks for a list of credits. Floyd | Floyd | | ||||
| inky pushes the green 'space' button. | ||||
Floyd | (Press a key to begin) Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | The Room in the Tower Floyd | Floyd | I am standing in a room that has been meticulously constructed from Floyd | cold, grey stones in a very simple manner. My eyes are hypnotically Floyd | drawn to the main feature in the west wall, a large double window that Floyd | swings open in the evening breeze. A wide single bed sits in the Floyd | centre of the room. I know from experience that the bed is incredibly Floyd | comfortable and it is currently taking all of my willpower to resist Floyd | the temptation to lie down and drift into oblivion. The bed is made Floyd | up with a soft looking pillow and has a blanket wrapped round it. Floyd | Floyd | It appears to me that this room once served a less sinister purpose, Floyd | for there is a fireplace built into the north wall. The fireplace is Floyd | as empty as my heart. A thick wooden shelf is fixed to the wall Floyd | above, on which rests a burning candle that gives the room an eerie Floyd | glow. The low stone ceiling separates me from the heavens and God Floyd | above. In the south wall is a thick metal door; the only way out of Floyd | the tower alive. Floyd | Floyd | A full-length portrait mirror is afixed to the east wall, opposite the Floyd | window. It reflects the horizon scene, creating the illusion that the Floyd | room is larger than it is. A rickety wooden chair has been placed Floyd | beside the mirror. The air is musty and offends my nostrils. My Floyd | remaining life can be measured in heartbeats. I must act! Floyd | Floyd | [ The Room in the Tower | Score: 0 ] Floyd | > | ||||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "thanks" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | I offer my sincerest thanks to the elite cadre of beta-testers who Floyd | worked round the clock (or round 'a' clock, at least) to ensure that Floyd | this game was as playable and interesting as it could be. Floyd | Floyd | Thanks to fellow Drifters - alsnpk, djchallis, Lumin and The Mighty Floyd | Ren for their beta-testing efforts. Floyd | Floyd | Special thanks to alsnpk and The Mighty Ren for very helpful Floyd | suggestions concerning the hint system and the plot (respectively). Floyd | Floyd | Thanks also to those who played and reviewed A Fine Day for Reaping Floyd | during this year's IF Comp. Those who offered kind comments about my Floyd | writing encouraged me, and those who pointed out the multitude of Floyd | errors in implementation challenged me to try something a little less Floyd | ambitious. This game is the result. Floyd | Floyd | And - of course - thanks to you, Dear Reader, for playing. Floyd | | inky says, "heh" | |||
| DavidW asks, "'The Mighty Ren'? Is that just Ren?" | ||||
| inky says, ""thanks to the people who encouraged me to try something less ambitious"" | ||||
| DB says, "I assume so." | ||||
| DavidW says, "I haven't played Reaping yet. We should try that sometime." | ||||
| inky says (to Floyd), "save" | ||||
Floyd | (Press a key) Floyd | Floyd | The Room in the Tower Floyd | Floyd | I am standing in a room that has been meticulously constructed from Floyd | cold, grey stones in a very simple manner. My eyes are hypnotically Floyd | drawn to the main feature in the west wall, a large double window that Floyd | swings open in the evening breeze. A wide single bed sits in the Floyd | centre of the room. I know from experience that the bed is incredibly Floyd | comfortable and it is currently taking all of my willpower to resist Floyd | the temptation to lie down and drift into oblivion. The bed is made Floyd | up with a soft looking pillow and has a blanket wrapped round it. Floyd | Floyd | It appears to me that this room once served a less sinister purpose, Floyd | for there is a fireplace built into the north wall. The fireplace is Floyd | as empty as my heart. A thick wooden shelf is fixed to the wall Floyd | above, on which rests a burning candle that gives the room an eerie Floyd | glow. The low stone ceiling separates me from the heavens and God Floyd | above. In the south wall is a thick metal door; the only way out of Floyd | the tower alive. Floyd | Floyd | A full-length portrait mirror is afixed to the east wall, opposite the Floyd | window. It reflects the horizon scene, creating the illusion that the Floyd | room is larger than it is. A rickety wooden chair has been placed Floyd | beside the mirror. The air is musty and offends my nostrils. My Floyd | remaining life can be measured in heartbeats. I must act! Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| inky says (to Floyd), "save" | ||||
| inky says (to Floyd), "cf1" | ||||
Floyd | Enter saved game to store: Ok. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| inky says (to Floyd), "lie on bed" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | My head is swimming with exhaustion. I have been running on Floyd | adrenaline for the past twelve hours and it has finally caught up with Floyd | me. Floyd | Floyd | No longer able or willing to fight I decide to lie down on the bed and Floyd | give myself the sleep that I so eagerly desire, regardless of whether Floyd | or not I have completed my task. Floyd | Floyd | Within seconds I am asleep... Floyd | | ||||
| inky pushes the green 'space' button. | ||||
Floyd | (Press any key) Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | As I sleep I dream. In my dream I see the room as though I was a Floyd | disembodied spirit floating against the ceiling. In my unconscious Floyd | state I see a hideous apparition appear at the open window. Time Floyd | seems to slow as the beast clambers through into the room and paces Floyd | deliberately across the floor towards my slumbering figure. In my Floyd | dream the horrific creature leans over my sleeping form and, with Floyd | savage intent, sinks its fangs into my neck. Floyd | Floyd | I wake, in futility trying to scream. It is no longer a dream but Floyd | reality. The Count is draining the life from my body. Floyd | Floyd | My dying action is to turn my head towards the west wall and wonder Floyd | why I didn't make more effort to secure the window... Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | GAME OVER Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | GAME OVER Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | As I sleep I dream. In my dream I see the room as though I was a Floyd | disembodied spirit floating against the ceiling. I hear the sound of Floyd | someone shaking the door, trying to open it. I see a small, Floyd | inoffensive shape crawl through the gap under the door and squeak its Floyd | way across the room. In my dream the small, dark mass becomes a Floyd | terrible humanoid apparition standing beside my bed. In my dream the Floyd | horrific creature leans over my sleeping form and, with savage intent, Floyd | sinks its fangs into my neck. Floyd | Floyd | I wake, in futility trying to scream. It is no longer a dream but Floyd | reality. The Count is draining the life from my body. Floyd | Floyd | My dying action is to turn my head towards the south wall and the Floyd | large metal door that kept me trapped while allowing the vampyre Floyd | access... Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | GAME OVER Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | | DB exclaims, "Uh oh!" | |||
Floyd | As I sleep I dream. In my dream I see the room as though I was a Floyd | disembodied spirit floating against the ceiling. I hear the sound of Floyd | someone shaking the door, trying to open it. I see a creature of some Floyd | kind make it's way into the room through the gaping keyhole in the Floyd | door. In my dream the small, dark mass becomes a terrible humanoid Floyd | apparition standing beside my bed. In my dream the horrific creature Floyd | leans over my sleeping form and, with savage intent, sinks its fangs Floyd | into my neck. Floyd | Floyd | I wake, in futility trying to scream. It is no longer a dream but Floyd | reality. The Count is draining the life from my body. Floyd | Floyd | My dying action is to turn my head towards the south wall and the Floyd | large metal door that kept me trapped while allowing the vampyre Floyd | access... Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | GAME OVER Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | | inky says, "buh" | |||
| inky says, "I wonder if that was a weird buffering thing or what" | ||||
| DavidW asks, "We got all the deaths?" | ||||
| inky says, "oh, I see" | ||||
| DB says, "Just one, so far." | ||||
| inky says, "no, it printed out different messages" | ||||
| DB says, "The Count came from under the door." | ||||
| DB asks, "So block the door and see where he comes from next?" | ||||
| DavidW says, "We saw death by window, death by door gap, and death by door keyhole." | ||||
| inky says, "but if you scroll up more we also got the message from him going through the keyhole and up more we got the message from him going through the window" | ||||
| DB says, "Oh, I should scroll back farther." | ||||
| DB says, "Indeed." | ||||
| JJSonick says, "Hm, multiple death syndrome" | ||||
| DB says, "Well, that's curious." | ||||
| Roger says, "The Count just kept coming back for more snacks." | ||||
| JJSonick says, "ha ha" | ||||
| inky says, "ha ha" | ||||
| DavidW says, "Well, we aren't using the Adrift Runner for this, obviously, so I expect some oddness." | ||||
| JJSonick says, "'You can't take just one bite...'" | ||||
| Roger says, "And hence, our poor Marika lost her <strikethrough>virginity</>life" | ||||
| inky says, "heh" | ||||
| DB says, "ha ha" | ||||
| DavidW presses the yellow enter button. | ||||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "undo" | ||||
Floyd | Would you like to RESTART, UNDO a turn, or QUIT? Undo Floyd | The previous turn has been undone. Floyd | Floyd | > | DavidW asks, "So shall we try to die via fireplace or the floor?" | |||
| inky says, "good plan" | ||||
| inky says (to Floyd), "look under mattress" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | Curiosity, for some reason, leads me to consider whether there might Floyd | be something under the mattress. With some difficulty I manage to get Floyd | a grip on the underside of the mattress and heave with all my strength Floyd | - but my strength has abandoned me. The mattress is abominably heavy, Floyd | and with no real motivation other than curiosity to drive me I am Floyd | destined to fail. Breathing heavily, I quickly abandon this course of Floyd | action and elect to choose a less strenuous path. Floyd | Floyd | > | DavidW says, "('cause otherwise this is gonna be one short session)" | |||
| inky says (to Floyd), "undo" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | The Room in the Tower Floyd | [The previous turn has been undone.] Floyd | Floyd | > | Roger says, "Let's see if we can fall out the window, too" | |||
| inky says, "well, we could play another game" | ||||
| inky says (to Floyd), "jump out window" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | A desperate thought fills my head. If my mother is right and The Floyd | Count is weak until he has feasted then maybe depriving him of his Floyd | food will be enough to prevent him recovering. Perhaps my death will Floyd | force his? Floyd | Floyd | I catch myself in shock. Suicide? The worst of sins? But desperate Floyd | times call for desperate measures. My death is imminent regardless, Floyd | perhaps my sacrifice can buy the freedom of my people. If I no longer Floyd | have the strength to fight then maybe I have the strength to choose my Floyd | own fate. Floyd | Floyd | Sick to the pit of my stomach and weary to the point of death I slowly Floyd | push the window open as wide as it will go; an act that seems to take Floyd | all my remaining strength. I find within myself, however, the resolve Floyd | to clamber onto the ledge and stand. Floyd | | ||||
| inky pushes the green 'space' button. | ||||
Floyd | The blazing sunset seems to me the most beautiful thing that I have Floyd | ever seen, and without daring to look down I take the step into Floyd | oblivion and welcome the darkness... Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | The darkness doesn't last. My eyes flicker open and I am staring into Floyd | the sky, the stars twinkling in the night-time panorama. I do not Floyd | have the time to wonder how long I have been unconscious because the Floyd | first thing that I register in my mind is tremendous pain. I fell to Floyd | the ground but in the cruelest twist of fate I was denied death. The Floyd | sharp, agonising stabbing pain in my legs suggests that they have been Floyd | shattered by the fall. My right arm lies twisted and useless by my Floyd | side. Dark red fluid smeared over my face obscures my view. As a Floyd | gulp each breath my chest rattles like dice being rolled in a cup. I Floyd | try to scream to express my mental and physical torment, but the only Floyd | sound that I can expel is the feeble mewing of a cat seeking his Floyd | mother's milk. I do not even have the energy to cry. Floyd | Floyd | Then I catch something on the edge of my hearing. It sounds Floyd | like...footsteps crunching through the undergrowth. My chest Floyd | constricts as a figure appears at the edge of my peripheral vision. I Floyd | cannot even move my head to get a better look, but I do not need to. Floyd | The figure crouches beside me and a hideous face is thrust into my Floyd | vision. A black haired elderly man, rotting skin stretched tightly Floyd | over his skull, leers at me. His breath smells of decaying flesh and Floyd | as he grins he reveals two razor sharp fangs. A guttural laugh begins Floyd | in his throat and I finally find my scream. But my scream quickly Floyd | becomes a bubbling wheeze as The Count begins to savage my jugular... Floyd | Floyd | GAME OVER Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | | inky says, "dag" | |||
| DB says, "Whoa. Didn't know that ending existed." | ||||
| DavidW says, "yow" | ||||
| Roger says, "Yay" | ||||
| JJSonick says, "wow, that'll learn me." | ||||
| DavidW asks, "ok, can we climb up the chimney?" | ||||
| inky says (to Floyd), "undo" | ||||
Floyd | Would you like to RESTART, UNDO a turn, or QUIT? Undo Floyd | The previous turn has been undone. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| inky says (to Floyd), "enter fireplace" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | I carefully bend down and enter the fireplace, standing once I get Floyd | inside. Floyd | Floyd | After a few moments of reflection I decide that this is serving no Floyd | useful purpose. There is nowhere to go from here and it will not Floyd | function as an effective hiding place. I re-enter the room, brushing Floyd | my frock down as I go. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| inky says (to Floyd), "climb up chimney" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | I wonder if it might be possible to climb to freedom through the Floyd | fireplace. Carefully, I clamber into it and push hard against the Floyd | sides of the chimney. With an effort of strength I lift my legs and Floyd | try to find some kind of foothold but there is nothing forthcoming. Floyd | Floyd | After a minute of trying I am forced to admit defeat and remove myself Floyd | from the fireplace. I gather my thoughts and rest my trembling legs Floyd | for a second. I lack the strength and ability to escape this way. Floyd | Floyd | > | DavidW says, "Good that he considered it." | |||
| Roger says (to floyd), "Enter mirror" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | As a thought forms in my mind drowsiness begins to overcome me. I Floyd | shake my head to rouse myself, after which the words seem meaningless Floyd | to me. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Roger says (to floyd), "Open door with rod" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | I try the door. It is locked and does not budge. Floyd | Floyd | > | DavidW says, "We don't have the rod yet." | |||
| Roger says, "Boo" | ||||
| Roger says, "Oh" | ||||
| inky says (to Floyd), "look under pillow" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | I see nothing that will help me. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| inky says (to Floyd), "move pillow" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | I am not sure why I would want to waste strength doing that. Floyd | Floyd | > | Gerynar says, "hit the mirror with the rod (when we get it)" | |||
| inky says, "hrm" | ||||
| Roger says (to floyd), "look under mattress" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | Curiosity, for some reason, leads me to consider whether there might Floyd | be something under the mattress. With some difficulty I manage to get Floyd | a grip on the underside of the mattress and heave with all my strength Floyd | - but my strength has abandoned me. The mattress is abominably heavy, Floyd | and with no real motivation other than curiosity to drive me I am Floyd | destined to fail. Breathing heavily, I quickly abandon this course of Floyd | action and elect to choose a less strenuous path. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| inky says (to Floyd), "look under bed" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | I clamber onto my knees and look under the bed but I see nothing but Floyd | more bare flagstones. I stand, feeling dizzy as I do so. Floyd | Floyd | > | inky asks, "where was that pesky note?" | |||
| Roger says (to floyd), "breathe on mirror" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | From somewhere comes the suggestion that I should breathe on the Floyd | mirror, though from where I know not. It seems so random and Floyd | unnecessary at this time that I blame it on exhaustion and try to Floyd | formulate a more rational path of action. Floyd | Floyd | > | DavidW says, "We need the mirror message before we can get the rod." | |||
| inky says (to Floyd), "get blanket" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | There is no need for me to take anything. If I need to use an object Floyd | then I will do so as appropriate. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Roger says (to floyd), "read letter" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | A thought that I don't fully understand instructs me to take a closer Floyd | look at something that I don't see in the room. What is going on? Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| inky says (to Floyd), "search bed" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | Wary, for it is almost as if the bed whispers a siren song as I look Floyd | at it, I begin to examine the cot. The blanket is tucked in tightly Floyd | but yields to a sharp tug from me. I find nothing unusual under it. Floyd | The mattress is thick and tightly packed with soft and springy Floyd | innards. It would be easy to sink into it and forget all of my Floyd | troubles. As I lift the pillow a small piece of paper wafts out from Floyd | underneath it and floats gently to the ground. I replace the pillow Floyd | and turn my attention back to the room. Floyd | Floyd | > | DB says, "Well, I have to be going, my fellows. Enjoy the rest of your deaths and the rest of your day." | |||
| inky says, "ok there" | ||||
| inky says, "bye!" | ||||
| DB goes home. | ||||
| inky says (to Floyd), "read note" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | I reach down and take the piece of paper in my hands. I force my gaze Floyd | to focus on the neat handwriting that has been marked on the paper. Floyd | The message reads... Floyd | Floyd | Marika. I am unable to say goodbye to you as I would wish to. I want | Roger says, "Ha, this is the most challenging puzzle of the game" | |||
Floyd | you to gaze into your own beautiful eyes and breathe yourself a Floyd | goodbye from me. Floyd | Floyd | The paper drops from my limp grasp and settles again on the hard Floyd | floor. This message was clearly meant for me to find, but who left Floyd | it? And why? My head aches but I have the feeling that within the Floyd | message is a hidden meaning that I must endeavour to find. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| inky says (to Floyd), "breathe on mirror" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | Driven by a sudden flash of inspiration I move over to the mirror and, Floyd | as the message on the paper predicted, find myself gazing into my own Floyd | eyes. Floyd | Floyd | Prompted by the rest of the message I breathe in deeply and exhale Floyd | over the mirror. I repeat the gesture. As the mirror mists over I Floyd | notice marks; marks where the mirror is not fogging up. My heart Floyd | skips a beat as I continue to breathe out over the rest of the mirror, Floyd | revealing more and more of what seems to be a hidden message. Floyd | Floyd | By the time that I have finished I am feeling light-headed and Floyd | unsteady on my feet, but I appear to have uncovered a message. Floyd | Floyd | LOOK UNDER MATTRESS Floyd | Floyd | I commit it to memory as the mirror slowly clears. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| inky says (to Floyd), "look under mattress" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | I prod the mattress. It is thick and packed tightly with something Floyd | soft but dense. This makes it deceptively heavy. I manage, with some Floyd | difficulty, to get my hands into a position to facilitate the lifting Floyd | of the mattress and begin to strain. Floyd | Floyd | The exertion shortly begins to make me feel light-headed and under Floyd | normal circumstances I would cease this activity. These, however, are Floyd | not normal circumstances. The words on the mirror drive me to this Floyd | action, and I will not let it be in vain. Floyd | Floyd | Driven by a desire to solve the mystery of the message I call on Floyd | reserves of hidden strength and manage to lift the mattress enough to Floyd | see, tucked out of sight between it and the frame, a thin metal rod. Floyd | With reflexes born of desperation I reach down and roll the rod onto Floyd | the floor as the mattress drops back onto the bedframe with a thud. Floyd | Panting heavily I lean against the wall to regain some strength before Floyd | considering the role that the metal rod will play in my survival. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| inky says (to Floyd), "hit mirror with rod" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | I am not the violent type. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Roger says (to floyd), "Open door with rod" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | I grab the iron rod from the floor and charge at the door. Floyd | Floyd | Screaming with rage I bring the rod round in an arc and into contact Floyd | with the door with as much power as I can muster. There is a Floyd | deafening clang and the rod is jarred from my hands and thrown across | ||||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "hit fireplace" | ||||
Floyd | the room, just missing my head. I stumble back, hands shaking and Floyd | ears ringing. Floyd | Floyd | > Floyd | Floyd | I am not the violent type. Floyd | Floyd | > | DavidW says, "Suuuure she's not violent." | |||
| Roger says, "Cutting herself doesn't count" | ||||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "x hair" | ||||
Floyd | [x -> examine] Floyd | Floyd | Driven by some unknown prompting I begin to run my hand through my Floyd | hair. As my finger touches something sharp I withdraw it hastily. A Floyd | second, more cautious check reveals a hairpin that shouldn't be there. Floyd | Unbidden, the memory comes to me of my final meeting with my mother. Floyd | As we parted she touched my hair. At the time I thought it nothing Floyd | more than a tender gesture but it seems that she had ulterior motives. Floyd | Thanking God for her ingenuity I place the hairpin carefully on the Floyd | shelf above the fireplace and ponder on a use for it. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "lock window" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | I reach out and take the hairpin from the shelf. The hairpin is too Floyd | small to use on the door so I make my way across the room to the Floyd | window and, having pulled the window so it is as shut as I can make Floyd | it, I begin to work on the lock. Floyd | Floyd | My hand is shaking through exhaustion and I do not rightly know what I Floyd | am doing but God is with me. After a few moments of fumbling and Floyd | twisting there is a tiny click. I remove the hairpin from the tiny Floyd | keyhole to see that my labour has bent and warped it. I then Floyd | hesitantly push the window. It remains firm. Again I try, this time Floyd | with as much force as I can muster in my weakened state. The window Floyd | does not move. I have successfully secured it against The Count. Floyd | Hopefully the thick glass will be sufficient to thwart his entry. Floyd | Floyd | I respectfully place the hairpin back on the shelf and ponder my next Floyd | move. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "put blanket under gap" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | A flash of inspiration strikes me and with a great sense of urgency I Floyd | yank the thick blanket from the bed and pull it over to the door. The Floyd | gap under the door is nowhere big enought for a human to crawl under Floyd | but until I have a better understanding of what The Count is capable Floyd | of I will err on the side of caution. Floyd | Floyd | The blanket is thick and heavy, and with some effort I manage to force Floyd | it under the door making a barrier of sorts. As it stands nothing Floyd | will be able to come through the breach and I pray that The Count will Floyd | lack the necessary strength to remove it swiftly. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "lift flagstone" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | There are many flagstones in the floor and they all look alike. I Floyd | wouldn't know which one to lift, if any, without prior investigation. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "x floor" | ||||
Floyd | [x -> examine] Floyd | Floyd | The tightly-packed, perfectly square flagstones are cold and hard Floyd | under my bare feet. I kneel and run my fingers across the stones, Floyd | searching for something unusual. My breath catches in my throat as my Floyd | fingers stumble carelessly across a flagstone that seems to be Floyd | slightly raised in comparison to its neighbours. I check again. This Floyd | flagstone is the twin of the others except for the fact that it is Floyd | definitely loose. However, it's too heavy and my fingers are too Floyd | thick to prise it up. There must be something in here that can help Floyd | me! Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "lift flagstone" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | I decide to try and move the loose flagstone and it occurs to me that Floyd | the iron rod might be perfectly suited to this task. I grip it Floyd | tightly and slowly work the flat end into the thin gap between the Floyd | flagstones. Floyd | Floyd | When I believe that I have inserted the rod as far as I can I take a Floyd | deep breath and begin to apply pressure. Lifting the stone is much Floyd | easier than I thought it would be and within a few seconds I have Floyd | managed to tip it enough to prise it out of the floor. Floyd | Floyd | I cast the rod aside and begin to wonder what, if anything, might be Floyd | contained within the dark cavity that I have uncovered... Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "look in cavity" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | I lie beside the hole in the floor and, with due prudence, put my hand Floyd | into the darkness. Floyd | Floyd | I have to rely purely on my sense of touch to discern if there is Floyd | anything of interest in the hole. For a few seconds all I am able to Floyd | feel is the cold, wet density of damp stone and a soft breeze, but Floyd | after a moment of maneouvering I brush against something rough and Floyd | soft. Nervously I grab the object and begin to pull it towards me. Floyd | Floyd | As I do so I hear a tinkling noise. I pause as the sound moves away Floyd | from me, but it is too late. I listen as something metallic slithers Floyd | away, sounding like it's falling through a fissure below me. There is Floyd | a further moment of silence before something clatters to the ground on Floyd | the level below me. My imagination ponders the events that these Floyd | sounds proclaim but I am not quite sure what to make of them. After Floyd | this second of contemplation I continue my action and pull the object Floyd | that I have grasped into the light. Floyd | Floyd | I climb onto my knees with my prize, which appears to be a grubby old Floyd | rag. As I unfold it a roll of parchment falls to the floor in front Floyd | of me; the sole inhabitant of the cloth. I toss the rag to one aside, Floyd | as it appears to have had no other purpose than to serve as a Floyd | container for the parchment. I wipe my hand across my tired eyes and Floyd | consider my next decision. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | I yawn. I am finding it difficult to fight off sleep. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Roger says (to floyd), "undo" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | The Room in the Tower Floyd | [The previous turn has been undone.] Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Roger says (to floyd), "put candle in hole" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | I carefully take the candle across the room and kneel down beside the Floyd | hole. The flickering flame allows me to see something that looks like Floyd | a piece of cloth that I could probably reach. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | I yawn. I am finding it difficult to fight off sleep. Floyd | Floyd | > | inky says, "nice" | |||
| DavidW asks, "Think maybe the crucifix is obtainable?" | ||||
| Roger says, "I suspect not, but who knows" | ||||
| Roger says (to floyd), "x cloth" | ||||
Floyd | [x -> examine] Floyd | Floyd | I feel the urge to examine a rag. I am do not see anything that fits Floyd | that description. I push the useless urge away. Floyd | Floyd | > | Roger says, "Haha, so awkward" | |||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "take cloth" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | There is no need for me to take anything. If I need to use an object Floyd | then I will do so as appropriate. Floyd | Floyd | > | Roger says, "Forgot to put it in scope, I see" | |||
| DavidW says, "Or it was only briefly lit then in darkness again." | ||||
| Roger says (to floyd), "Put rock in hole" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | As a thought forms in my mind drowsiness begins to overcome me. I Floyd | shake my head to rouse myself, after which the words seem meaningless Floyd | to me. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Roger says (to floyd), "cover hole" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | As a thought forms in my mind drowsiness begins to overcome me. I Floyd | shake my head to rouse myself, after which the words seem meaningless Floyd | to me. Floyd | Floyd | > | DavidW says, "uh, we need the rag" | |||
| Roger says, "Yeah I know; just wanted to see if we could close it back up at this point without it" | ||||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "reach in hole" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | I lie beside the hole in the floor and, with due prudence, put my hand Floyd | into the darkness. Floyd | Floyd | I have to rely purely on my sense of touch to discern if there is Floyd | anything of interest in the hole. For a few seconds all I am able to Floyd | feel is the cold, wet density of damp stone and a soft breeze, but Floyd | after a moment of maneouvering I brush against something rough and Floyd | soft. Nervously I grab the object and begin to pull it towards me. Floyd | Floyd | As I do so I hear a tinkling noise. I pause as the sound moves away Floyd | from me, but it is too late. I listen as something metallic slithers Floyd | away, sounding like it's falling through a fissure below me. There is Floyd | a further moment of silence before something clatters to the ground on Floyd | the level below me. My imagination ponders the events that these Floyd | sounds proclaim but I am not quite sure what to make of them. After Floyd | this second of contemplation I continue my action and pull the object Floyd | that I have grasped into the light. Floyd | Floyd | I climb onto my knees with my prize, which appears to be a grubby old Floyd | rag. As I unfold it a roll of parchment falls to the floor in front Floyd | of me; the sole inhabitant of the cloth. I toss the rag to one aside, Floyd | as it appears to have had no other purpose than to serve as a Floyd | container for the parchment. I wipe my hand across my tired eyes and Floyd | consider my next decision. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "put rag in door keyhole" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | I remember a rumour that The Count possesses the ability to change his Floyd | shape. The keyhole in the door is sizeable, possibly big enough to Floyd | allow him entry through it. Floyd | Floyd | With this in mind I scoop up the rag that I retrieved from under the Floyd | floor and move purposely over to the door. Using all my strength I Floyd | cram the rag into the keyhole until I am sure that it will no easy Floyd | task to remove it. I can only pray that The Count will not be Floyd | resourceful enough or strong enough to excavate it. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "SAVE" | ||||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "cf3" | ||||
Floyd | Enter saved game to store: Ok. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Roger says (to floyd), "look in keyhole" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | I need to decide if I wish to examine the door lock or the window Floyd | lock. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Roger says (to floyd), "x door lock" | ||||
Floyd | [x -> examine] Floyd | Floyd | I examine the keyhole in the metal door that obstructs the exit. It Floyd | is the largest keyhole that I have ever seen, almost big enough for me Floyd | to put my slender hand through. Almost big enough, but not quite. Floyd | The best I can do is put three fingers in it. Bending down and Floyd | peering through it reveals to me the dark stairwell just outside this Floyd | room. So close to freedom and yet so far... Floyd | Floyd | > | DavidW says, "oops" | |||
| DavidW says, "We're like gamma-testers." | ||||
| Roger says, "I wonder if we can get her to collapse on the floor from exhaustion" | ||||
| DavidW asks, "Shall we try sleeping with window and door blocked, but fireplace and floor open?" | ||||
| DavidW says (to Roger), "I think there's a timer that just run out after X turns." | ||||
| Roger says (to floyd), "z" | ||||
Floyd | [z -> wait] Floyd | Floyd | I wait for my death. Floyd | Floyd | > | DavidW says, "So morbid, Marika bunny-bear." | |||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "sleep" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | My head is swimming with exhaustion. I have been running on Floyd | adrenaline for the past twelve hours and it has finally caught up with Floyd | me. Floyd | Floyd | No longer able or willing to fight I decide to lie down on the bed and Floyd | give myself the sleep that I so eagerly desire, regardless of whether Floyd | or not I have completed my task. Floyd | Floyd | Within seconds I am asleep... Floyd | | inky says, "ha ha" | |||
| DavidW presses the yellow enter button. | ||||
Floyd | (Press any key) Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | As I sleep I dream. In my dream I see the room as though I was a Floyd | disembodied spirit floating against the ceiling. I picture the sound Floyd | of a rustling wind that begins near me, up in the roof, but moves Floyd | along and down until it seems as if it comes from the walls. It moves Floyd | closer and closer and closer to my sleeping figure until it seems to Floyd | burst from the fireplace in the form of a small bat. In my dream the Floyd | small, dark mass becomes a terrible humanoid apparition standing Floyd | beside my bed. In my dream the horrific creature leans over my Floyd | sleeping form and, with savage intent, sinks its fangs into my neck. Floyd | Floyd | I wake, in futility trying to scream. It is no longer a dream but Floyd | reality. The Count is draining the life from my body. Floyd | Floyd | My dying action is to turn my head towards the north wall and the Floyd | fireplace from whence my killer came... Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | GAME OVER Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | GAME OVER Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | | ||||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "undo" | ||||
Floyd | Would you like to RESTART, UNDO a turn, or QUIT? Undo Floyd | The previous turn has been undone. Floyd | Floyd | > | inky says, "hmm, interesting" | |||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "sit on chair" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | Despite the urgency of my situation I am highly aware of my aching Floyd | feet and weary legs. I decide to rest for a second, and not trusting Floyd | myself to get up again if I use the bed I opt to use the chair. Floyd | Floyd | I drag it away from the wall and sit, but the chair is nearly as old Floyd | as the tower itself and is no longer able to stand the strain. There Floyd | is a creaking noise for a moment before the chair self-destructs and Floyd | deposits me on the stone floor. I crack my knee painfully on the Floyd | floor and cry out in discomfort. Floyd | Floyd | After a little while I am able to stand again. The chair has been Floyd | reduced to a pile of wood. I rub my knee and regret my chosen action. Floyd | Floyd | > | inky says, "so it doesn't print the failed attempts until you win" | |||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "put wood in fireplace" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | I pile up an armful of wood and carry it across the room to deposit it Floyd | in the fireplace. I repeat the process two more times to complete the Floyd | task. Floyd | Floyd | The fireplace now contains a pile of wood ready to be burnt. I look Floyd | at the candle and the pile of wood and my experience tells me that, as Floyd | it stands, the flame is not furious enough to catch the wood. If I Floyd | want to start a fire I will need to find something that will burn well Floyd | and provide a more substantial conflagration. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "light parchment" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | It suddenly occurs to me that the parchment could be very useful, just Floyd | not in the way that was originally intended. I scoop the parchment Floyd | from the floor and hold it over the candle on the shelf for a second. Floyd | It catches and produces a reasonable flame. I then bend down and cast Floyd | the burning parchment amongst the pyre that I have constructed in the Floyd | fireplace. Floyd | Floyd | I pray for it to produce flames amongst the wood and, after what feels Floyd | like an eternity, I am heartened to see that the wood is indeed Floyd | burning. I linger for another anxious minute to ensure that the blaze Floyd | will continue and before long I am coughing on a plume of smoke. Floyd | Floyd | I throw the candle onto the fire for the sake of it and rub my weeping Floyd | eyes. I am feeling warmer already, and my body is driven even closer Floyd | to the dangerous state of slumber. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "sleep" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | My head is swimming with exhaustion. I have been running on Floyd | adrenaline for the past twelve hours and it has finally caught up with Floyd | me. Floyd | Floyd | No longer able or willing to fight I decide to lie down on the bed and Floyd | give myself the sleep that I so eagerly desire, regardless of whether Floyd | or not I have completed my task. Floyd | Floyd | Within seconds I am asleep... Floyd | | ||||
| DavidW presses the yellow enter button. | ||||
Floyd | (Press any key) Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | As I sleep I dream. In my dream I see the room as though I was a Floyd | disembodied spirit floating against the ceiling. I hear the sound of Floyd | footsteps on the stairwell below me, getting closer and closer. There Floyd | is a pause and sound of rushing wind. Then something slowly flies Floyd | into the room from a hole in the floor. In my dream the small, dark Floyd | mass becomes a terrible humanoid apparition standing beside my bed. Floyd | In my dream the horrific creature leans over my sleeping form and, Floyd | with savage intent, sinks its fangs into my neck. Floyd | Floyd | I wake, in futility trying to scream. It is no longer a dream but Floyd | reality. The Count is draining the life from my body. Floyd | Floyd | My dying action is to turn my head towards the floor, cursing myself Floyd | for overlooking something so obvious... Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | GAME OVER Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | | DavidW says, "And that's all the ways in." | |||
| inky says, "well then" | ||||
| Gerynar says, "interesting game" | ||||
| DavidW says, "I'm always fond of games that reverse the usual way of things. In this case, blocking entrance instead of escaping the one room." | ||||
| DavidW says, "I'm guessing the 'no inventory' business is to reduce the number of turns wasted with cheking inventory, keeping the task urgent." | ||||
| DavidW says, "Unless someone has more things to try, we seem to be done." | ||||
| DavidW says, "We should think up what game(s) to play next week." | ||||
| inky asks, "do we want to play another adrift game?" | ||||
| DavidW says, "I wouldn't mind another adrift game." | ||||
| inky asks, "is there another comp winner that is recommended, maybe?" | ||||
| Touchy asks (of Gerynar,), "DavidW Should we play tomorrow?" | ||||
| DavidW says, "This is out of date, but there's this list: [LINK]" | ||||
| Gerynar says, "I'm up for that" | ||||
| Nitku says, "A Fine Day for Reaping did quite well in the comp" | ||||
| DavidW says, "I'd like to play Reaping next week, sure." | ||||
| JJSonick says, "Sounds good." | ||||
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