AllThingsJacq.com - Interactive Fiction | ClubFloyd - November 3, 2024 - Like a Sky Full of Locusts by Ryan Veeder


ToyShop & Floyditorium		#ClubFloyd Discussion


DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "load sleepmask likeaskyfull"
CF ]
CF \|
CF \|
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Good evening. My name is Harlan Ellison. My vocation, or as the IRS
CF \| would have it, identity, is that of a writer; in other words, a
CF \| professional liar. I have written short stories, novels, novellas,
CF \| screenplays—I have even written for that great opiate of the masses,
CF \| the television. If past is prologue, then it seems I will go on
CF \| writing until the world stops or my heart does (and given the current
CF \| state of things, I wouldn't give even odds as to which will happen
CF \| first).
CF \|
CF \| In recognition of my masterwork of terror, "I Have No Mouth, and I
CF \| Must Scream," I have been invited these past few years to the
CF \| notorious Convocation at Castle Balderstone, which fancies itself the
CF \| greatest assembly of horror writers in the world. This year, I have
CF \| been permitted to bring along a guest of my choice, an outsider. For
CF \| better or for worse, I appear to have chosen you.
CF \|
CF \| Castle Balderstone is an exercise in Gothic extravagance that would
CF \| make Terence Fisher wet the bed. Its blasphemous pinnacles scrape
CF \| against an eternally black and stormy sky. Here, as they do every
CF \| year, the world's most devious horrormongers have assembled to test
CF \| their latest material on each other. Here you will be treated to a
CF \| selection of nightmarish visions deemed too dangerous for public
CF \| consumption.
CF \|
CF \| As we ascend each drafty staircase, the wind outside howls in warning,
CF \| and your teeth begin to chatter. We trudge through antique galleries,
CF \| past dusty windows, with views on parapets, towers, and perilously
CF \| pitched roofs. Is there any escape from this cobweb-encrusted
CF \| labyrinth? But we continue, through another creaking door...		DavidW says, "let me know when y'all read all that"
		Roger says, "forsooth, dear reader, I have"
		Jacqueline says, "Good."
		DavidW says, "I Have No Mouth Yet I Must Textdump"
DavidW pushes the green 'space' button.
CF \| labyrinth? But we continue, through another creaking door......And
CF \| into a warm sitting-room, where velvet couches sit in a circle near a
CF \| roaring fire. The occupants of the couches are the infamous authors of
CF \| Castle Balderstone, a slavering pack of voracious geniuses, each with
CF \| an appetite for terror.
CF \|
CF \| Apparently we are the last ones to arrive, so we take our seats as
CF \| quickly as possible. Soon the mumbled chit-chat between authors slows
CF \| to a stop, as we anticipate the appearance of the first presenter,
CF \| with the first tale of the evening.		Jacqueline says (to DW), "heh"
DavidW pushes the green 'space' button.
CF \| with the first tale of the evening.It is Rattlesnake Yates, pioneer in
CF \| the inexplicably ascendant hybrid genre of Old West Horror. Maybe I
CF \| said "voracious geniuses" a bit hastily.
CF \|
CF \| Yates is a picturesque fellow, with rosy cheeks and a boyish smirk.
CF \| Faint-of-heart young ladies buy his books by the crateload—not to
CF \| read
CF \| them, of course, but to have them signed by the author...
CF \|
CF \| His wardrobe hails from the same chimerical epoch as his stories:
CF \| boots, vest, hand-rolled cigarette, and kerchief. One fancies one
CF \| hears spurs jangling as he ascends the dais.
CF \|
CF \| "Got another story for you from out West," he says, placing a
CF \| leatherbound journal on the lectern. "It starts with a little poem."		Jacqueline asks, "Is this the same intro every time we visit?"
		Jacqueline asks, "Or is it just déjà ?"
		Jacqueline says, "I typed vu... weird."
		DavidW says, "It's not identical, but it's similar."
		DavidW says, "Usually we're the plus one of Ryan Veeder. We've never been Harlan's guest before, that I know of,."
DavidW pushes the green 'space' button.
CF \| leatherbound journal on the lectern. "It starts with a little
CF \| poem."Bedlam breaks out as everyone in attendance groans or whines or
CF \| throws something at the stage. "Enough with the cowboy poetry!" I
CF \| demand, eliciting general support from my fellow artists.
CF \|
CF \| The moderator tries to shush us, without success. Yates goes on: "It
CF \| starts with a little poem," he insists, "and there's a bit of
CF \| exposition in that poem, so you'd better pay some attention."
CF \|
CF \| He opens his notebook. The audience's onslaught fades into a sussurus
CF \| of grumbling and pointed coughing.
CF \|
CF \| "Story of an Army man," Yates mutters, as if he thinks this will
CF \| convert a library full of free-thinkers and iconoclasts. "You could
CF \| show a little respect." He turns a page, lights another cigarette, and
CF \| begins to read.		Jacqueline says (to DW), "Oh, ah."
DavidW pushes the green 'space' button.
CF ] Gate
CF \| begins to read.Stray fire took the life of my sister
CF \| In Dodge City, out to the West.
CF \| A bullet that ought to have missed her
CF \| Found purchase instead in her breast.
CF \|
CF \| The word came to me in November
CF \| That Pleasance had gone to her doom,
CF \| And it wasn't until dark December
CF \| I got leave to visit her tomb.
CF \|
CF \| Some told me her soul had been taken
CF \| To Heaven above; others say
CF \| That she sleeps 'neath the ground, not to waken
CF \| But to Gabriel's horn on that Day.
CF \|
CF \| Perhaps it is best to leave furled
CF \| The scrolls of Above and Below—
CF \| —What waits for us in the next World
CF \| Is not for the living to know.
CF \|
CF \| But these are the questions I pondered;
CF \| They clung like the claws of a ghost
CF \| As I left Dodge City and wandered
CF \| The lonely trail back to my post.
CF \|
CF \| At the end of my wandering, it hit me:
CF \| After all of that pondering, I knew
CF \| No more than I'd known in Dodge City
CF \| When I came to the gates of Fort Hugh.
CF \|
CF \| Harlan Ellison Presents
CF \| Like a Sky Full of Locusts
CF \| A single tale from the 1969 Convocation at Castle Balderstone, by
CF \| Rattlesnake Yates
CF \| Release 1 / Serial number 691031 / Inform 7 v10.1.2 / D
CF \|
CF \| Gate
CF \| There was snow on the ground, and puddles had frozen over in the muddy
CF \| trail that led north into Fort Hugh. The place was uncommonly quiet. I
CF \| didn't like it.
CF \|
CF \| >
Roger says (to f), "HOWDY"
CF ] Gate
CF \| >
CF \| > HOWDY
CF \|
CF \| That's not a verb I recognize.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "x me"
CF ] Gate
CF \| >
CF \| > X ME
CF \|
CF \| I looked about like any other Army man, except for the hair. The boys
CF \| always gave me a hard time about the coincidence of my name being Noah
CF \| White and my hair going white at such a tender young age. I didn't
CF \| tell them exactly how that happened to my hair, because it wasn't what
CF \| you'd call a funny story; and I won't tell you right now, because this
CF \| here episode is entirely unrelated.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "i"
CF ] Gate
CF \| >
CF \| > I
CF \|
CF \| I was carrying:
CF \| a pistol (6 bullets)
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "x pistol"
CF ] Gate
CF \| >
CF \| > X PISTOL
CF \|
CF \| Colonel Levin wouldn't let me take my Army rifle with me on leave, so
CF \| I had to get to Dodge City and back while relying on a civilian-grade
CF \| weapon. Right at that moment I had six bullets handy.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "x snow"
CF ] Gate
CF \| >
CF \| > X SNOW
CF \|
CF \| The snow had been there for weeks. It had thawed a bit, and frozen
CF \| again, and thawed and frozen a couple more times, until the ice on top
CF \| was as hard as a knife. And anywhere there'd been traffic by boots,
CF \| wheels, or hooves, now there were uneven furrows of frozen mud.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "x mud"
CF ] Gate
CF \| >
CF \| > X MUD
CF \|
CF \| The snow had been there for weeks. It had thawed a bit, and frozen
CF \| again, and thawed and frozen a couple more times, until the ice on top
CF \| was as hard as a knife. And anywhere there'd been traffic by boots,
CF \| wheels, or hooves, now there were uneven furrows of frozen mud.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "x gate"
CF ] Gate
CF \| >
CF \| > X GATE
CF \|
CF \| The timbers of Fort Hugh stood up like a row of cougar's fangs against
CF \| a sky of icy blue. I'd been stationed there just over a year, and I
CF \| knew the place well—but maybe not as well as I thought I did.
CF \|
CF \| >		DavidW asks, "in?"
		Jade says, "it is written in past perfect tense"
		DavidW says, "I didn't see any compass directions mentioned."
		Jacqueline says, "Try 'in', sure."
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "in"
CF ] Road
CF \| >
CF \| > IN
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Road
CF \| A harsh wind hissed through the middle of Fort Hugh, along the main
CF \| drag running north and south. The building to the east I recognized as
CF \| the barracks; to the west was the carpenter's shop.
CF \|
CF \| But something was standing in between me and all that. It carried
CF \| itself like a man, but its jaw hung open full of teeth like a hundred
CF \| daggers, and it had the empty eyes of a corpse.
CF \|
CF \| >		Jacqueline says, "Ah"
		Jacqueline says, "Also: eep"
		Roger says, "mah sister was mule-ugly"
		DavidW asks, "So, zombie in room 2?"
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "x man"
CF ] Road
CF \| >
CF \| > X MAN
CF \|
CF \| There was no hair or fur on the thing, just rough gray skin all over.
CF \| It stood stock-still in the road, not minding the cold at all—but its
CF \| tongue kind of squirmed in and out of those teeth, like it had some
CF \| little plan of its own.
CF \|
CF \| >		DavidW asks, "Ignore it? Shoot it? Talk to it?"
		Roger says, "I'm up for shooting it down"
		Jacqueline says, "Talk to it."
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "talk to man"
CF ] Road
CF \| >
CF \| > TALK TO MAN
CF \|
CF \| That might sound like a reasonable suggestion from where you're
CF \| sitting, but at the time, no such idea crossed my mind.
CF \|
CF \| >		Jacqueline says, "Hug it."
		Jacqueline says, "Kiss it."
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "kiss man"
CF ] Road
CF \| >
CF \| > KISS MAN
CF \|
CF \| Pshaw.
CF \|
CF \| >		Jacqueline says, "Ah well."
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "shoot man"
CF ] Road
CF \| >
CF \| > SHOOT MAN
CF \|
CF \| I aimed my pistol at the dead-eyed thing and fired. It took one
CF \| hundred seven damage. But it didn't react much at all. Just sort of
CF \| flinched.
CF \|
CF \| >		Jacqueline says, "Fine, y'all resort to violence."
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "undo"
CF ] Road
CF \|
CF \| > UNDO
CF \|
CF \| Road
CF \| [Previous turn undone.]
CF \|
CF \| >		DavidW says, "I don't think shooting will help much and we'll waste all our bullets. I'll do that it we can't proceed otherwise, of course."
		Roger says, "let's proceed anyway"
		Jacqueline says, "I'm a lover, not a fighter, and we've tried my ideas."
		DavidW says, "I want to go west; maybe there's a nice shovel to whack its head off with."
		Jacqueline says, "(Kidding. But yeah, let's just walk past it.)"
		Jacqueline says, "Oh, or sure."
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "w"
CF ] Road
CF \| >
CF \| > W
CF \|
CF \| Before I could get too far, that thing leapt into the way. I got the
CF \| feeling it didn't want me poking around Fort Hugh.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "e"
CF ] Road
CF \| >
CF \| > E
CF \|
CF \| Before I could get too far, that thing leapt into the way. I got the
CF \| feeling it didn't want me poking around Fort Hugh.
CF \|
CF \| >		DavidW says, "okay. Shooty shooty plan."
		Roger says, "It's even called Fort Hugs"
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "hug man"
CF ] Road
CF \| >
CF \| > HUG MAN
CF \|
CF \| (That's not necessary.)
CF \|
CF \| >		Jacqueline asks, "So... no matter what direction we go?"
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "n"
CF ] Road
CF \| >
CF \| > N
CF \|
CF \| Before I could get too far, that thing leapt into the way. I got the
CF \| feeling it didn't want me poking around Fort Hugh.
CF \|
CF \| >		Roger says, "time for a big musical number, clearly"
		DavidW says, "yes, it's blocking all progress."
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "dance"
CF ] Road
CF \| >
CF \| > DANCE
CF \|
CF \| That's not a verb I recognize.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "sing"
CF ] Road
CF \| >
CF \| > SING
CF \|
CF \| Whistling calms my nerves sometimes, but I thought it was smarter to
CF \| keep quiet.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "shoot man"
CF ] Road
CF \| >
CF \| > SHOOT MAN
CF \|
CF \| I aimed my pistol at the dead-eyed thing and fired. It took one
CF \| hundred seventeen damage. But it didn't react much at all. Just sort
CF \| of flinched.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "g"
CF ] Road
CF \| >
CF \| > G
CF \|
CF \| I fired my pistol at the dead-eyed thing. It took one hundred six
CF \| damage, and this time it noticed. It howled and screamed and collapsed
CF \| into pieces in the road. Limbs and claws and teeth fell to the mud and
CF \| sizzled away, until just its tongue was left, wriggling across the
CF \| snow, trying to run off.
CF \|
CF \| I stomped on that a couple times, and then it melted away too.
CF \|
CF \| >		DavidW says, "Two bullets gone"
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "w"
CF ] Carpenter's Shop
CF \| >
CF \| > W
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Carpenter's Shop
CF \| The inside of the shop was a splintered ruin. Debris was so thick on
CF \| the floor I could barely get around, but I knew the cooper's shop was
CF \| south and the blacksmith was over to the west. Charlie's workbench had
CF \| been smashed to pieces. Charlie himself was not in evidence.
CF \|
CF \| In his place was a demon, smirking at me with coal-black eyes. In its
CF \| claws it held Charlie's trusty axe.
CF \|
CF \| >		Jacqueline says, "Well, that was interesting."
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "x demon"
CF ] Carpenter's Shop
CF \| >
CF \| > X DEMON
CF \|
CF \| It was tall and angular—it was hunched like a spider, and still its
CF \| horns almost scraped against the ceiling. There was nothing human or
CF \| earthly about it, but I still got the feeling it was itching for a
CF \| chance to use that axe.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "talk to demon"
CF ] Carpenter's Shop
CF \| >
CF \| > TALK TO DEMON
CF \|
CF \| That might sound like a reasonable suggestion from where you're
CF \| sitting, but at the time, no such idea crossed my mind.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "kiss demon"
CF ] Carpenter's Shop
CF \| >
CF \| > KISS DEMON
CF \|
CF \| Pshaw.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "shoot demon"
CF ] Carpenter's Shop
CF \| >
CF \| > SHOOT DEMON
CF \|
CF \| I raised my pistol and fired at the horned demon. It raised its axe, a
CF \| little too late. It took one hundred thirteen damage. It started
CF \| shaking and moaning—and then it lit up like a pile of gunpowder. With
CF \| a flash and a bang it was gone.
CF \|
CF \| Fortunately none of the surrounding wreckage caught fire, but I never
CF \| did find Charlie's axe.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "x debris"
CF ] Carpenter's Shop
CF \| >
CF \| > X DEBRIS
CF \|
CF \| There was no telling what all that wreckage was the remains of.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "search it"
CF ] Carpenter's Shop
CF \| >
CF \| > SEARCH IT
CF \|
CF \| I kicked around a couple pieces of flotsam until turned up something I
CF \| recognized. It was a tintype of Charlie's wife, Carmelita.
CF \|
CF \| Don't ask me why, but I grabbed it. To keep her safe, I guess.
CF \|
CF \| >		Jade exclaims, "good shot!"
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "x tintype"
CF ] Carpenter's Shop
CF \| >
CF \| > X TINTYPE
CF \|
CF \| It was a very pretty picture. Carmelita was a lovely woman.
CF \|
CF \| I say "was," but I don't know if she's still among us, or where she
CF \| is, or what she's doing, or whether she's still lovely or not. Heck, I
CF \| don't know for sure that she was Charlie's wife.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "search debris"
CF ] Carpenter's Shop
CF \| >
CF \| > SEARCH DEBRIS
CF \|
CF \| I went on looking, but I didn't find anything else worth reporting.
CF \|
CF \| >
Jade has left.
Jade has arrived.		Jade says, "I am back"
		DavidW asks, "I don't know what a cooper is, but I want to go to blacksmith next regardless. Okay?"
		Jade says, "ok"
		Roger says, "Coopers make barrels"
		DavidW says (to Jade), "we shot two bullets at a zombie, and a third at a demon."
		Jacqueline asks, "I think a cooper makes wood stuff, maybe?"
		DavidW says (to Roger), "ah"
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "w"
CF ] Blacksmith's Shop
CF \| >
CF \| > W
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Blacksmith's Shop
CF \| Finch's shop was more of a mess than I'd ever seen. It looked like
CF \| it'd been burnt down, flipped over, and burnt down again. Scraps of
CF \| leather and busted tools were flung everywhere—and I had a bad
CF \| feeling
CF \| that the bones scattered around the room had belonged to Finch.
CF \|
CF \| I noticed a box of bullets sitting within reach.
CF \|
CF \| >		Roger says, "and maybe wagonwheels; I think the process is very similar"
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "take box"
CF ] Blacksmith's Shop
CF \| >
CF \| > TAKE BOX
CF \|
CF \| I grabbed the box of bullets.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "look in box"
CF ] Blacksmith's Shop
CF \| >
CF \| > LOOK IN BOX
CF \|
CF \| (That's not here, or it's not implemented.)
CF \|
CF \| >		Jade says (to DW), "Thanks"
		Jacqueline says (to Roger), "Yeah, and buckets and such."
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "i"
CF ] Blacksmith's Shop
CF \| >
CF \| > I
CF \|
CF \| I was carrying:
CF \| a tintype
CF \| a pistol (9 bullets)
CF \|
CF \| >		DavidW says, "oh, I guess we don't need to fuss with loading the gun."
		Jacqueline says, "More bullets is nice."
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "l"
CF ] Blacksmith's Shop
CF \| >
CF \| > L
CF \|
CF \| Blacksmith's Shop
CF \| Finch's shop was more of a mess than I'd ever seen. It looked like
CF \| it'd been burnt down, flipped over, and burnt down again. Scraps of
CF \| leather and busted tools were flung everywhere—and I had a bad
CF \| feeling
CF \| that the bones scattered around the room had belonged to Finch.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "x tools"
CF ] Blacksmith's Shop
CF \| >
CF \| > X TOOLS
CF \|
CF \| I'm no blacksmith, and anyway all the equipment was twisted and
CF \| partway melted beyond recognition.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "x leather"
CF ] Blacksmith's Shop
CF \| >
CF \| > X LEATHER
CF \|
CF \| It looked like broken straps, or maybe pieces of a torn-up saddle.
CF \| None of it was any use to anyone now.
CF \|
CF \| >		Jacqueline says, "I reckon this here's a game of extreme violence."
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "search tools"
CF ] Blacksmith's Shop
CF \| >
CF \| > SEARCH TOOLS
CF \|
CF \| I found nothing of interest.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "e"
CF ] Carpenter's Shop
CF \| >
CF \| > E
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Carpenter's Shop
CF \| The inside of the shop was a splintered ruin. Debris was so thick on
CF \| the floor I could barely get around, but I knew the cooper's shop was
CF \| south and the blacksmith was over to the west. Charlie's workbench had
CF \| been smashed to pieces. Charlie himself was not in evidence.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "s"
CF ] Cooper's Shop
CF \| >
CF \| > S
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Cooper's Shop
CF \| The scene was as bad as the carpenter's, but here at least you could
CF \| reasonably guess that most of the wreckage had originally been staves
CF \| and hoops. Near the back was a feather tick that old Dan usually kept
CF \| hidden behind some barrels.
CF \|
CF \| The carpenter's was back north. To the west was the tradesmen's
CF \| communal storeroom.
CF \|
CF \| >		Jade says, "yes, This gives me some safety sensation"
		Roger says, "'feather tick' is a mattress (most likely)"
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "x tick"
CF ] Cooper's Shop
CF \| >
CF \| > X TICK
CF \|
CF \| Old Dan the Cooper ran what you might call a side business in the back
CF \| of his shop, which involved renting out the use of this feather
CF \| mattress at an hourly rate. Someone had inscribed a nasty-looking
CF \| symbol on the ticking in red paint or something similar.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "x symbol"
CF ] Cooper's Shop
CF \| >
CF \| > X SYMBOL
CF \|
CF \| I thought it was red paint, but it might have been lipstick or what
CF \| have you. I had never seen the glyph before, though. I couldn't even
CF \| draw it for you now—though I wouldn't if I could.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "look under tick"
CF ] Cooper's Shop
CF \| >
CF \| > LOOK UNDER TICK
CF \|
CF \| I found nothing of interest.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "x staves"
CF ] Cooper's Shop
CF \| >
CF \| > X STAVES
CF \|
CF \| I don't know what you'd properly call the straps that go around a
CF \| barrel. I call them "hoops." At the moment, though, they were all
CF \| mangled up such that they weren't hoop-shaped at all.
CF \|
CF \| >		Jacqueline says, "gosh"
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "sit on tick"
CF ] Cooper's Shop
CF \| >
CF \| > SIT ON TICK
CF \|
CF \| That was not something I could sit down on.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "take tick"
CF ] Cooper's Shop
CF \| >
CF \| > TAKE TICK
CF \|
CF \| I didn't need to carry that around.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "w"
CF ] Storeroom
CF \| >
CF \| > W
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Storeroom
CF \| This dusty little hole was a collective storage space for all the
CF \| craftsmen of the fort, so it had already been an unholy mess before
CF \| any demons showed up.
CF \|
CF \| Something shrieked like a banshee as I walked in—but to my great
CF \| relief, it was a human woman, as alive as you or me. When she got done
CF \| screaming I recognized her as Minette, and when she recognized me as
CF \| Noah she lowered her shotgun.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "x minette"
CF ] Storeroom
CF \| >
CF \| > X MINETTE
CF \|
CF \| I was used to seeing Minette all dolled up, but I didn't wonder why
CF \| she looked as bedraggled as she did now. I was considerably impressed
CF \| that she'd kept herself alive like this for as long as she did. I
CF \| hadn't known she could handle a shotgun—I suppose a girl in her line
CF \| of work tends to learn how to defend herself.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "talk to her"
CF ] Storeroom
CF \| >
CF \| > TALK TO HER
CF \|
CF \| I made sure Minette was all right, of course, and then I asked her how
CF \| long she'd been holed up in here. She said she thought it was about a
CF \| week. I asked how come old Dan hadn't taken her with him when he got
CF \| out, and she shook her head.
CF \|
CF \| "Dan didn't make it out," she told me.
CF \|
CF \| She was in a big hurry to get going, and indicated I should lead the
CF \| way to the exit. I said I probably ought to stick around and see if
CF \| anyone else needed rescuing. She rolled her eyes.
CF \|
CF \| "Noah White," she said, "you're gonna learn someday that being a hero
CF \| just doesn't pay."
CF \|
CF \| I told her I'd learned that already a couple times. She tossed me her
CF \| shotgun, figuring I needed it a lot more than she did, and then she
CF \| got the heck out of there.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "i"
CF ] Storeroom
CF \| >
CF \| > I
CF \|
CF \| I was carrying:
CF \| a shotgun (2 shells)
CF \| a tintype
CF \| a pistol (9 bullets)
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "x shotgun"
CF ] Storeroom
CF \| >
CF \| > X SHOTGUN
CF \|
CF \| It wasn't my own shotgun, but I knew how to handle it just fine. I had
CF \| two shells for it. I didn't have the shotgun equipped right at that
CF \| moment.
CF \|
CF \| >		Jade says, "this game seems Counterstike to me"
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), ";"
CF ] Storeroom
CF \| >
CF \| > ;
CF \|
CF \| That's not a verb I recognize.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "l"
CF ] Storeroom
CF \| >
CF \| > L
CF \|
CF \| Storeroom
CF \| This dusty little hole was a collective storage space for all the
CF \| craftsmen of the fort, so it had already been an unholy mess before
CF \| any demons showed up.
CF \|
CF \| >		Roger says, "I'd say DOOM but yeah that sort of thing"
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "search mess"
CF ] Storeroom
CF \| >
CF \| > SEARCH MESS
CF \|
CF \| There wasn't anything useful to me in there.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "e"
CF ] Cooper's Shop
CF \| >
CF \| > E
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Cooper's Shop
CF \| The scene was as bad as the carpenter's, but here at least you could
CF \| reasonably guess that most of the wreckage had originally been staves
CF \| and hoops. Near the back was a feather tick that old Dan usually kept
CF \| hidden behind some barrels.
CF \|
CF \| The carpenter's was back north. To the west was the tradesmen's
CF \| communal storeroom.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "n"
CF ] Carpenter's Shop
CF \| >
CF \| > N
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Carpenter's Shop
CF \| The inside of the shop was a splintered ruin. Debris was so thick on
CF \| the floor I could barely get around, but I knew the cooper's shop was
CF \| south and the blacksmith was over to the west. Charlie's workbench had
CF \| been smashed to pieces. Charlie himself was not in evidence.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "e"
CF ] Road
CF \| >
CF \| > E
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Road
CF \| A harsh wind hissed through the middle of Fort Hugh, along the main
CF \| drag running north and south. The building to the east was the
CF \| barracks; to the west was the carpenter's shop.
CF \|
CF \| >		Roger says, "I hope Harlan and the rest are enjoying it"
		DavidW asks, "East into the barracks?"
		Jacqueline says, "Sure. brb (shouldn't be but a sec)"
		Jacqueline says, "Back"
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "e"
CF ] Barracks
CF \| >
CF \| > E
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Barracks
CF \| The cots were all empty. It looked like people had cleared out in a
CF \| hurry. Fortunately nobody had cleared out my personal footlocker.
CF \|
CF \| The way outside was west, and I believed that to the south of here I
CF \| would find what we referred to as the billiard room.
CF \|
CF \| A huge worm was shambling up and down the rows of cots, wheezing
CF \| through its toothless slit of a mouth.
CF \|
CF \| >		Jacqueline says, "That man Veeder sure do have an imagination."
		DavidW says, "For worms, I prefer to use salt. I vote retreat, find salt, then return."
		Roger says, "sure, or maybe shotgun it, but if there's more place to look around, let's"
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "w"
CF ] Road
CF \| >
CF \| > W
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Road
CF \| A harsh wind hissed through the middle of Fort Hugh, along the main
CF \| drag running north and south. The building to the east was the
CF \| barracks; to the west was the carpenter's shop.
CF \|
CF \| >		Jacqueline says, "I mean, I'd at least try to shoot the varmint."
		Jade says, "Salt is a dood idea"
		Jade says, "*good"
		DavidW says, "I want to save the bullets for other nasties."
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "n"
CF ] Gallows
CF \| >
CF \| > N
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Gallows
CF \| Colonel Levin had the gibbet set up right at the center of the fort,
CF \| to remind us that justice and discipline should be foremost in our
CF \| minds. He wouldn't authorize it being taken down, no matter how long
CF \| it went unused.
CF \|
CF \| Seeing as this was the middle of the fort, there were trails running
CF \| off to the north and the east and the south and the west.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "x gibbet"
CF ] Gallows
CF \| >
CF \| > X GIBBET
CF \|
CF \| I didn't exactly enjoy looking at it, but there wasn't anything
CF \| objectionable about the scaffold at the moment. There was a noose
CF \| hanging there, as there always was; that was Colonel Levin's little
CF \| touch.
CF \|
CF \| >		Jacqueline says, "I feel like we're going to find more bullets, but whaddoiknow"
		Roger says, "cmon, let's hang ourselves"
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "SAVE"
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "cf25"
CF \| >
CF \| > SAVE
CF \| %% Enter a save filename to write:
CF ] Gallows
CF \| > SAVEOk.
CF \|
CF \| >		Jacqueline says, "For fun? Sure. There's always undo."
		Jacqueline says, "Or yeah, save."
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "hang me"
CF ] Gallows
CF \| >
CF \| > HANG ME
CF \|
CF \| That's not a verb I recognize.
CF \|
CF \| >		Jacqueline says, "AW"
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "wear noose"
CF ] Gallows
CF \| >
CF \| > WEAR NOOSE
CF \|
CF \| (first taking the gallows)
CF \| I didn't need to carry that around.
CF \|
CF \| >		Jacqueline says, "AW"
		DavidW says, ""One star. Not psychotic enough.""
		Jacqueline says, "heh"
		DavidW asks, "North, west, or east?"
		Jacqueline says, "I care not."
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "w"
CF ] Road
CF \| >
CF \| > W
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Road
CF \| The road went east and west past the chapel on the north side. I
CF \| always thought of this as one of the more peaceful parts of Fort Hugh.
CF \|
CF \| At the moment, though, there was a dead bear sort of pacing the ground
CF \| outside the chapel.
CF \|
CF \| >		Jade says, "I don't know"
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "x bear"
CF ] Road
CF \| >
CF \| > X BEAR
CF \|
CF \| From how bloated it was, I'd say it'd been dead a month or two, but
CF \| that didn't stop it crawling back and forth along the path—perking up
CF \| its ears when I made a move.
CF \|
CF \| >		Roger says, "I got the dead bear blues so bad I can't even hang myself"
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "shoot bear"
CF ] Road
CF \| >
CF \| > SHOOT BEAR
CF \|
CF \| I fired my pistol at the rotting bear. It took one hundred fourteen
CF \| damage and just blew up. Gobs of black ichor sprayed all over,
CF \| covering the snow like a sky full of locusts.
CF \|
CF \| I squeezed my eyes shut for just a second before I did anything else.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "x church"
CF ] Road
CF \| >
CF \| > X CHURCH
CF \|
CF \| (That's not here, or it's not implemented.)
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "x chapel"
CF ] Road
CF \| >
CF \| > X CHAPEL
CF \|
CF \| I'm led to understand most Army forts don't have an entire chapel on
CF \| the premises. Well, Colonel Levin was more pious than most.
CF \|
CF \| >		DavidW says, "Let's pick up the obligatory crucifix."
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "n"
CF ] Chapel
CF \| >
CF \| > N
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Chapel
CF \| Colonel Levin insisted on constructing a chapel in Fort Hugh, but he
CF \| couldn't get the money to make it an especially fancy one. A bunch of
CF \| old mess hall benches served for pews, and there was no altar or
CF \| pulpit to speak of.
CF \|
CF \| Still, it was a nice place.
CF \|
CF \| The front entrance was south, and the way out to the chaplain's office
CF \| was on the north side.
CF \|
CF \| I noticed a box of bullets sitting within reach.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "take box"
CF ] Chapel
CF \| >
CF \| > TAKE BOX
CF \|
CF \| I grabbed the box of bullets.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "x benches"
CF ] Chapel
CF \| >
CF \| > X BENCHES
CF \|
CF \| When our chaplain had a sermon going, you just couldn't help but sit
CF \| up and pay attention. There were no backs on the pews.
CF \|
CF \| >		Jade says, "even more bullets"
		Roger says, "heh"
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "search benches"
CF ] Chapel
CF \| >
CF \| > SEARCH BENCHES
CF \|
CF \| I found nothing of interest.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "n"
CF ] Behind the Chapel
CF \| >
CF \| > N
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Behind the Chapel
CF \| This was an obscure corner of the fort, not much use to anybody but
CF \| the chaplain. The chapel was south and his office was west.
CF \|
CF \| Some sort of giant lobster had set itself up here, and it wasn't happy
CF \| to see me.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "x lobster"
CF ] Behind the Chapel
CF \| >
CF \| > X LOBSTER
CF \|
CF \| I don't know if you'd call it more of a crab or a lobster. It had
CF \| pinchers, that's for sure. And it was taller than I was, and I could
CF \| see right up into that mess of claws it had for a mouth. It was
CF \| gunning to gobble me up, soon as I got close enough to pinch.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "shoot lobster"
CF ] Behind the Chapel
CF \| >
CF \| > SHOOT LOBSTER
CF \|
CF \| I aimed my pistol at the thing with the pinchers and fired. It took
CF \| one hundred twelve damage, and that didn't seem to bother it at all.
CF \| Its shell was awful tough.
CF \|
CF \| But there wasn't much else I could do about it.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "g"
CF ] Behind the Chapel
CF \| >
CF \| > G
CF \|
CF \| I fired my pistol at the thing with the pinchers. It took one hundred
CF \| ten damage, and I guess something must have got through, because it
CF \| screamed a little and fell over dead.
CF \|
CF \| At least I hoped it was dead.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "x lobster"
CF ] Behind the Chapel
CF \| >
CF \| > X LOBSTER
CF \|
CF \| It wasn't moving.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "kick it"
CF ] Behind the Chapel
CF \| >
CF \| > KICK IT
CF \|
CF \| The demon shell wasn't my enemy.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "take shell"
CF ] Behind the Chapel
CF \| >
CF \| > TAKE SHELL
CF \|
CF \| (the demon shell)
CF \| It was too big for me to carry.
CF \|
CF \| >		Jade says, "try the shotgun"
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "look in shell"
CF ] Behind the Chapel
CF \| >
CF \| > LOOK IN SHELL
CF \|
CF \| (the shotgun)
CF \| It wasn't my own shotgun, but I knew how to handle it just fine. I had
CF \| two shells for it. I didn't have the shotgun equipped right at that
CF \| moment.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "w"
CF ] Rectory
CF \| >
CF \| > W
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Rectory
CF \| "Thank Heaven you're back," said the chaplain.
CF \| "This fort's missed you badly, my son."
CF \| I begged him to tell me what happened,
CF \| And whether it could be undone.
CF \|
CF \| The Colonel, he said, had got tired
CF \| Of Fort Hugh's irreverence and sin,
CF \| And finally he was inspired
CF \| To punish the wretches within.
CF \|
CF \| "The Justice of Earth and of Heaven
CF \| Move too slowly," is what he observed.
CF \| The Law wouldn't let Colonel Levin
CF \| Mete out what his charges deserved.
CF \|
CF \| So he prayed to an unholy master
CF \| Who heeded no Justice, nor Law,
CF \| And he called forth a fiendish disaster
CF \| To open the Underworld's maw.
CF \|
CF \| With a Pentagram's mark he devoted
CF \| To Darkness his fallen Fort Hugh:
CF \| Then a pestilent hellmouth exploded,
CF \| And the legions of Hades marched through.
CF \|
CF \| "How many young soldiers were slaughtered?
CF \| How many got out? I can't say.
CF \| Of rescue or aid I had not heard
CF \| A whisper, 'til you came today."
CF \|
CF \| I told him I'd find each survivor
CF \| And carry him out, if I must.
CF \| And then, if I wasn't a skiver ["lazy person" -
CF \| ed.],
CF \| I'd turn every last demon to dust.
CF \|
CF \| He offered one more supplication:
CF \| "To put right the Colonel's misdeeds,
CF \| And undo the fell conjuration
CF \| Whence all of this evil proceeds,
CF \|
CF \| "Take this," said the minister, pressing
CF \| A pouch in my hand, "and anoint
CF \| That Pentagram foul with a blessing
CF \| By rubbing this salt on each point."
CF \|
CF \| Accepting the satchel, I uttered
CF \| The solemnest promise I dared.
CF \| The clergyman thanked me, and muttered,
CF \| "I'd do it myself—but I'm scared."
CF \|
CF \| >		Jade says, "wow"
		Roger says, "oh /now/ it's the big musical number"
		Jacqueline says, "...and there's some salt, but we're 'sposed to use it for something else..."
		Jacqueline says, "Also, the poem is great."
		DavidW asks, "How many points of poetry damage did we all take?"
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "x satchel"
CF ] Rectory
CF \| >
CF \| > X SATCHEL
CF \|
CF \| The chaplain said it was holy salt, intended for exorcisms and
CF \| suchlike rites. I'd been charged with performing one heck of a big
CF \| exorcism, was one way of looking at it.
CF \|
CF \| >		Jacqueline says (to DW), "ZERO"
		DavidW says, "I guess using it all up on the worm would be a mistake."
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "l"
CF ] Rectory
CF \| >
CF \| > L
CF \|
CF \| Rectory
CF \| The chaplain kept his apartments fairly Spartan—which figured, what
CF \| with combining the asceticism of an Army man with that of a man of the
CF \| cloth. About all there was to see was the chaplain himself.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "x chaplain"
CF ] Rectory
CF \| >
CF \| > X CHAPLAIN
CF \|
CF \| He looked awful rattled. His faith had kept him going all this time,
CF \| but it hadn't managed to keep him in high spirits.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "i"
CF ] Rectory
CF \| >
CF \| > I
CF \|
CF \| I was carrying:
CF \| a satchel of blessed salt
CF \| a shotgun (2 shells)
CF \| a tintype
CF \| a pistol (12 bullets)
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "e"
CF ] Behind the Chapel
CF \| >
CF \| > E
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Behind the Chapel
CF \| This was an obscure corner of the fort, not much use to anybody but
CF \| the chaplain. The chapel was south and his office was west.
CF \|
CF \| That demon's carapace was still here, all curled up like a pill bug.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "s"
CF ] Chapel
CF \| >
CF \| > S
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Chapel
CF \| Colonel Levin insisted on constructing a chapel in Fort Hugh, but he
CF \| couldn't get the money to make it an especially fancy one. A bunch of
CF \| old mess hall benches served for pews, and there was no altar or
CF \| pulpit to speak of.
CF \|
CF \| Still, it was a nice place.
CF \|
CF \| The front entrance was south, and the way out to the chaplain's office
CF \| was on the north side.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "s"
CF ] Road
CF \| >
CF \| > S
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Road
CF \| The road went east and west past the chapel on the north side. I
CF \| always thought of this as one of the more peaceful parts of Fort Hugh.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "w"
CF ] West Battery
CF \| >
CF \| > W
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| West Battery
CF \| A bunch of Fort Hugh's cannons were here, pointed west into the
CF \| Unknown. The trail past the battery swung north and east.
CF \|
CF \| A monster like a giant bat was perched on the cannons. No, it wasn't a
CF \| bat, exactly. I don't have the words.
CF \|
CF \| >		Jacqueline says, "fweep fweep fweep"
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "x monster"
CF ] West Battery
CF \| >
CF \| > X MONSTER
CF \|
CF \| There was no fur or feathers on it—just pinkish skin, stretched out
CF \| tight over its bones. It had talons, and it had sort of a beak, long
CF \| and pointed, and it had beady black eyes.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "shoot monster"
CF ] West Battery
CF \| >
CF \| > SHOOT MONSTER
CF \|
CF \| I raised my pistol and fired at the bat-winged demon. It screeched and
CF \| took one hundred eleven damage, and then it leapt up off of the
CF \| cannons and swooped at me. I fell back in the snow—lucky my head
CF \| didn't hit a rock—and scrambled out of the way while the thing kept
CF \| pecking and cawing at me.
CF \|
CF \| When I was far enough from the guns, it flapped back to its perch.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "x cannons"
CF ] West Battery
CF \| >
CF \| > X CANNONS
CF \|
CF \| Fort Hugh had more cannons than you could shake a sabre at. We never
CF \| had much cause to fire them at anybody, but maybe that means they were
CF \| doing their job.
CF \|
CF \| Problem was, they only worked as any kind of a deterrent when the
CF \| enemy was on the outside.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "shoot monster"
CF ] West Battery
CF \| >
CF \| > SHOOT MONSTER
CF \|
CF \| I aimed my pistol at the bat-winged demon and fired. It took one
CF \| hundred nine damage and it screamed like nothing you've ever heard. It
CF \| jumped up again, and I thought it was going to swoop me. But instead
CF \| it turned the other way. It went over the wall. Got out of sight
CF \| before I could think to shoot at it again.
CF \|
CF \| I guess maybe it's still out there, somewhere. Well, at the time, I
CF \| had plenty else to concern myself with.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "n"
CF ] Flagpole
CF \| >
CF \| > N
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Flagpole
CF \| Around the flagpole there was a sort of assembly area where Colonel
CF \| Levin had us do our saluting and pledging and all that. The mud here
CF \| wasn't as churned up as it was elsewhere, since in the course of a
CF \| typical day we men of Fort Hugh had several more important things to
CF \| be doing. A little path led south.
CF \|
CF \| Also, an arcane rune was inscribed in the snow around the flagpole,
CF \| burning with a dim and warmthless flame.
CF \|
CF \| >		Jacqueline asks, "Another one??"
		Jacqueline says, "Or, I guess the other was a glyph, maybe."
		Jacqueline says, "I am unclear on the difference."
		DavidW asks, "So, are there five of these making a giant pentagram?"
		Roger says, "there's gotta be 5, yeah"
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "x rune"
CF ] Flagpole
CF \| >
CF \| > X RUNE
CF \|
CF \| I'm not much for flipping through occult texts or peering into
CF \| forbidden grimoires, but I'm led to understand that this symbol on the
CF \| ground was the sort of thing you'd find in one of those books. Which I
CF \| suppose explains how the fire could shed light without heat, and go on
CF \| burning without consuming.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "put salt on rune"
CF ] Flagpole
CF \| >
CF \| > PUT SALT ON RUNE
CF \|
CF \| I sprinkled some of that salt over the ground, and right away the
CF \| symbol exploded in a silent flash of light. All that was left behind
CF \| was the pure, unblemished snow. And the flagpole, of course.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "x flagpole"
CF ] Flagpole
CF \| >
CF \| > X FLAGPOLE
CF \|
CF \| The flag was still there, but as I turned my eyes up to behold its
CF \| majesty I noticed it looked a little crispy around the edges—which
CF \| was
CF \| a state of affairs that Colonel Levin would never tolerate.
CF \|
CF \| >		DavidW says, "Let's take out the feather tick one next."
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "s"
CF ] West Battery
CF \| >
CF \| > S
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| West Battery
CF \| A bunch of Fort Hugh's cannons were here, pointed west into the
CF \| Unknown. The trail past the battery swung north and east.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "e"
CF ] Road
CF \| >
CF \| > E
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Road
CF \| The road went east and west past the chapel on the north side. I
CF \| always thought of this as one of the more peaceful parts of Fort Hugh.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "e"
CF ] Gallows
CF \| >
CF \| > E
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Gallows
CF \| Colonel Levin had the gibbet set up right at the center of the fort,
CF \| to remind us that justice and discipline should be foremost in our
CF \| minds. He wouldn't authorize it being taken down, no matter how long
CF \| it went unused.
CF \|
CF \| Seeing as this was the middle of the fort, there were trails running
CF \| off to the north and the east and the south and the west.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "s"
CF ] Road
CF \| >
CF \| > S
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Road
CF \| A harsh wind hissed through the middle of Fort Hugh, along the main
CF \| drag running north and south. The building to the east was the
CF \| barracks; to the west was the carpenter's shop.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "w"
CF ] Carpenter's Shop
CF \| >
CF \| > W
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Carpenter's Shop
CF \| The inside of the shop was a splintered ruin. Debris was so thick on
CF \| the floor I could barely get around, but I knew the cooper's shop was
CF \| south and the blacksmith was over to the west. Charlie's workbench had
CF \| been smashed to pieces. Charlie himself was not in evidence.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "s"
CF ] Cooper's Shop
CF \| >
CF \| > S
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Cooper's Shop
CF \| The scene was as bad as the carpenter's, but here at least you could
CF \| reasonably guess that most of the wreckage had originally been staves
CF \| and hoops. Near the back was a feather tick that old Dan usually kept
CF \| hidden behind some barrels.
CF \|
CF \| The carpenter's was back north. To the west was the tradesmen's
CF \| communal storeroom.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "put salt on rune"
CF ] Cooper's Shop
CF \| >
CF \| > PUT SALT ON RUNE
CF \|
CF \| (That's not here, or it's not implemented.)
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "x tick"
CF ] Cooper's Shop
CF \| >
CF \| > X TICK
CF \|
CF \| Old Dan the Cooper ran what you might call a side business in the back
CF \| of his shop, which involved renting out the use of this feather
CF \| mattress at an hourly rate. Someone had inscribed a nasty-looking
CF \| symbol on the ticking in red paint or something similar.
CF \|
CF \| >		Jacqueline says, "Ah. Okay. So they were really serious about opening up this here Hell dimension."
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "put salt on symbol"
CF ] Cooper's Shop
CF \| >
CF \| > PUT SALT ON SYMBOL
CF \|
CF \| I scattered some salt over the bed, covering the lipstick or paint or
CF \| whatever it was. Right away there was a burst of white light, like a
CF \| flash of lightning.
CF \|
CF \| When I looked down at the bed again, there was no symbol on it.
CF \|
CF \| >		DavidW says, "so we did the west one at the flagpole, this is the southwestern one."
		Roger says, "This gets by on the strength of the writing, but it still seems a bit perfunctory to me"
		DavidW says, "There'll be one past the worm, one far north, and one east and a bit north."
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "n"
CF ] Carpenter's Shop
CF \| >
CF \| > N
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Carpenter's Shop
CF \| The inside of the shop was a splintered ruin. Debris was so thick on
CF \| the floor I could barely get around, but I knew the cooper's shop was
CF \| south and the blacksmith was over to the west. Charlie's workbench had
CF \| been smashed to pieces. Charlie himself was not in evidence.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "e"
CF ] Road
CF \| >
CF \| > E
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Road
CF \| A harsh wind hissed through the middle of Fort Hugh, along the main
CF \| drag running north and south. The building to the east was the
CF \| barracks; to the west was the carpenter's shop.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "n"
CF ] Gallows
CF \| >
CF \| > N
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Gallows
CF \| Colonel Levin had the gibbet set up right at the center of the fort,
CF \| to remind us that justice and discipline should be foremost in our
CF \| minds. He wouldn't authorize it being taken down, no matter how long
CF \| it went unused.
CF \|
CF \| Seeing as this was the middle of the fort, there were trails running
CF \| off to the north and the east and the south and the west.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "e"
CF ] Road
CF \| >
CF \| > E
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Road
CF \| Here there was a stretch of muddy track running east and west.
CF \|
CF \| Between me and the east end of the track, there was a pile of greenish
CF \| muck about the size of a hogshead. It had a mouth, and teeth. And it
CF \| stank.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "x muck"
CF ] Road
CF \| >
CF \| > X MUCK
CF \|
CF \| It looked kind of like the bottom of a latrine had climbed out into
CF \| the sunlight. It kept smacking its teeth, like it wasn't at all
CF \| satisfied with what it saw.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "shoot muck"
CF ] Road
CF \| >
CF \| > SHOOT MUCK
CF \|
CF \| I fired my pistol at the slimy maw. It took one hundred nine damage,
CF \| and that was enough to make it give up on terrorizing the world of
CF \| men. It sort of melted into the road until it was gone—but the smell
CF \| didn't go away for a while.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "e"
CF ] East Battery
CF \| >
CF \| > E
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| East Battery
CF \| The path from the west led to this spot where half of the fort's
CF \| cannons were set up. The armory building was just south of here.
CF \|
CF \| I noticed a box of bullets sitting within reach.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "take box"
CF ] East Battery
CF \| >
CF \| > TAKE BOX
CF \|
CF \| I grabbed the box of bullets.
CF \|
CF \| >		Jacqueline says, "yoink"
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "s"
CF ] East Battery
CF \| >
CF \| > S
CF \|
CF \| (first opening the armory door)
CF \| (first unlocking the armory door)
CF \| I lacked a key that fits the armory door.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "x armory door"
CF ] East Battery
CF \| >
CF \| > X ARMORY DOOR
CF \|
CF \| The door to the armory was closed.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "look under mat"
CF ] East Battery
CF \| >
CF \| > LOOK UNDER MAT
CF \|
CF \| (That's not here, or it's not implemented.)
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "w"
CF ] Road
CF \| >
CF \| > W
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Road
CF \| Here there was a stretch of muddy track running east and west.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "w"
CF ] Gallows
CF \| >
CF \| > W
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Gallows
CF \| Colonel Levin had the gibbet set up right at the center of the fort,
CF \| to remind us that justice and discipline should be foremost in our
CF \| minds. He wouldn't authorize it being taken down, no matter how long
CF \| it went unused.
CF \|
CF \| Seeing as this was the middle of the fort, there were trails running
CF \| off to the north and the east and the south and the west.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "n"
CF ] Vegetable Garden
CF \| >
CF \| > N
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Vegetable Garden
CF \| It was the dead of winter, and nothing was growing, but I knew I'd
CF \| found the vegetable garden from the row of crooked, singed beanpoles.
CF \| The road ran north to the Colonel's office and south to the rest of
CF \| the fort, and on the east side of the garden was the mess hall.
CF \|
CF \| Then I saw it. There was a shadow there with me, watching me.
CF \|
CF \| It knew I'd seen it, and it stood up and chuckled at me.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "x shadow"
CF ] Vegetable Garden
CF \| >
CF \| > X SHADOW
CF \|
CF \| I don't know how to put it. A shadow can't walk around, can't lean
CF \| toward you, can't lick its toothy lips. There was nothing there to
CF \| cast a shadow, but it was standing there regardless.
CF \|
CF \| >		Jacqueline says, "Shooting a shadow sounds hard."
		DavidW says, "yeah. I'm doubtful bullets will help."
		DavidW says, "I don't see that we have much choice though."
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "SAVE"
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "cf26"
CF \| >
CF \| > SAVE
CF \| %% Enter a save filename to write:
CF ] Vegetable Garden
CF \| > SAVEOk.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "shoot shadow"
CF ] Vegetable Garden
CF \| >
CF \| > SHOOT SHADOW
CF \|
CF \| I aimed my pistol at the wraith and fired. I dealt it one hundred
CF \| fifteen damage, and it gave up the ghost, so to speak. In an instant
CF \| there was nothing left of it but a steaming hole in the snow.
CF \|
CF \| >		DavidW says, "oh"
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "e"
CF ] Mess Hall
CF \| >
CF \| > E
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Mess Hall
CF \| The place was busted up but good. Benches and tables were smashed,
CF \| burned, ripped in half, and tossed across the room. At the east end of
CF \| the hall was the kitchen, and of course the way out was west.
CF \|
CF \| I estimated that the cause of all this wreckage was the eight-foot
CF \| demon that was stomping back and forth across the hall.
CF \|
CF \| >		Jacqueline says, "huh. Or not complicated."
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "x demon"
CF ] Mess Hall
CF \| >
CF \| > X DEMON
CF \|
CF \| There were patches of scales here and there on its shiny skin, and
CF \| underneath its muscles were throbbing fit to burst. The expression on
CF \| its face bespoke the most unseemly sort of self-satisfaction.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "shoot demon"
CF ] Mess Hall
CF \| >
CF \| > SHOOT DEMON
CF \|
CF \| I raised my pistol and fired at the muscular demon. It took one
CF \| hundred eleven damage, which I guess convinced it to take me
CF \| seriously, because it started galloping across the hall on all fours,
CF \| aiming to trample me—or else to rip me up like it'd ripped up all
CF \| those tables. I got out of the way in the nick of time, and the thing
CF \| stalked back to where it'd been pacing the floor earlier.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "g"
CF ] Mess Hall
CF \| >
CF \| > G
CF \|
CF \| I aimed my pistol at the muscular demon and fired. I dealt one hundred
CF \| eighteen damage to it, and that was enough. It fell to the floor and
CF \| melted away, groaning and cursing until it didn't have any lips to
CF \| curse with.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "i"
CF ] Mess Hall
CF \| >
CF \| > I
CF \|
CF \| I was carrying:
CF \| a satchel of blessed salt
CF \| a shotgun (2 shells)
CF \| a tintype
CF \| a pistol (12 bullets)
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "e"
CF ] Kitchen
CF \| >
CF \| > E
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Kitchen
CF \| Strange thing is, Bug's kitchen hadn't been worked over at all. You
CF \| could almost believe he had just cleaned up before turning in for the
CF \| night, except there was a nasty-looking symbol carved into his
CF \| countertop.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "put salt on symbol"
CF ] Kitchen
CF \| >
CF \| > PUT SALT ON SYMBOL
CF \|
CF \| I poured some salt over the glyph, and rubbed it around, and suddenly
CF \| it flashed so bright, I thought I was blinded for a second.
CF \|
CF \| Then I looked down and saw the countertop was good as new, like
CF \| nothing had ever been carved into it. I guess that makes sense, sort
CF \| of.
CF \|
CF \| >		DavidW says, "No mention of ovens, cupboards, bags of normal salt."
		DavidW says, "I assume the armory key will be in the main office."
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "w"
CF ] Mess Hall
CF \| >
CF \| > W
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Mess Hall
CF \| The place was busted up but good. Benches and tables were smashed,
CF \| burned, ripped in half, and tossed across the room. At the east end of
CF \| the hall was the kitchen, and of course the way out was west.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "w"
CF ] Vegetable Garden
CF \| >
CF \| > W
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Vegetable Garden
CF \| It was the dead of winter, and nothing was growing, but I knew I'd
CF \| found the vegetable garden from the row of crooked, singed beanpoles.
CF \| The road ran north to the Colonel's office and south to the rest of
CF \| the fort, and on the east side of the garden was the mess hall.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "n"
CF ] Office
CF \| >
CF \| > N
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Office
CF \| A few of the boys called this the Colonel's "throne room"—but maybe
CF \| "interrogation chamber" is more like it. When there was trouble at the
CF \| fort, Levin would call us in here one by one and have us stand in
CF \| front of his desk to be questioned about it. At the moment, that spot
CF \| in front of his desk had a creepy-looking symbol of some sort scribed
CF \| in melted wax over the floorboards.
CF \|
CF \| The stables were over to the east, and the way out to the rest of the
CF \| fort was south.
CF \|
CF \| On the Colonel's desk were a box of bullets and a letter.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "take box"
CF ] Office
CF \| >
CF \| > TAKE BOX
CF \|
CF \| I grabbed the box of bullets.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "put salt on symbol"
CF ] Office
CF \| >
CF \| > PUT SALT ON SYMBOL
CF \|
CF \| I sprinkled a goodly amount of salt over the wax, and I rubbed it
CF \| around carefully, to get the whole Satanic inscription covered—then
CF \| there was a flash of light, and all of it was gone.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "take letter"
CF ] Office
CF \| >
CF \| > TAKE LETTER
CF \|
CF \| I took the letter.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "read it"
CF ] Office
CF \| >
CF \| > READ IT
CF \|
CF \| The letter read like this:
CF \|
CF \| To Whom It May Concern;
CF \|
CF \| Whereas the soldiers under my COMMAND have proven themselves
CF \| insensate to the dictums of CONSCIENCE & MORALITY——& whereas the
CF \| punitive measures afforded to the rank of COLONEL by the UNITED STATES
CF \| GOVERNMENT have proven useless in influencing any measure of CORRECT
CF \| BEHAVIOR by my sullen & feckless charges——I hereby take upon myself
CF \| the most SUBLIME DUTY of persecuting the soldiers of Fort Hugh for
CF \| their MULTIFARIOUS SINS———these being in foremost part
CF \|
CF \| DISHONESTY
CF \| GAMBLING
CF \| LACK OF RESPECT FOR THE FLAG
CF \| SPICY FOOD
CF \| & LASCIVIOUSNESS
CF \|
CF \| Therefore I will forthrightly undertake to visit on the accused the
CF \| UTMOST PUNISHMENT, which my Earthly superiors will find to which they
CF \| can make no appeal.
CF \|
CF \| Signed
CF \| Col. ASHWORTH LEVIN.
CF \|
CF \| >		DavidW says, "SPICY FOOD."
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "l"
CF ] Office
CF \| >
CF \| > L
CF \|
CF \| Office
CF \| A few of the boys called this the Colonel's "throne room"—but maybe
CF \| "interrogation chamber" is more like it. When there was trouble at the
CF \| fort, Levin would call us in here one by one and have us stand in
CF \| front of his desk to be questioned about it.
CF \|
CF \| The stables were over to the east, and the way out to the rest of the
CF \| fort was south.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "x desk"
CF ] Office
CF \| >
CF \| > X DESK
CF \|
CF \| The Colonel always tried his hardest to intimidate us, but it was
CF \| awful hard to do from behind such a ramshackle old Army desk.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "search it"
CF ] Office
CF \| >
CF \| > SEARCH IT
CF \|
CF \| There was nothing on the Colonel's desk.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "open it"
CF ] Office
CF \| >
CF \| > OPEN IT
CF \|
CF \| It wasn't something I could open.
CF \|
CF \| >		DavidW says, "hm. No key here."
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "e"
CF ] Stable
CF \| >
CF \| > E
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Stable
CF \| I noticed all the stalls were empty, and I worried a bit as to whether
CF \| the horses had gotten to safety. There were all the signs and smells
CF \| of a stable that hadn't been attended to in a while.
CF \|
CF \| The corral was outside to the east, and the way back to the Colonel's
CF \| office was west.
CF \|
CF \| A little imp or something was scampering around, poking its beak in
CF \| the stalls. When it saw me, it squawked like a stuck pig and called me
CF \| a name I don't care to repeat.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "x imp"
CF ] Stable
CF \| >
CF \| > X IMP
CF \|
CF \| It was a nasty little gremlin, with a beak full of nasty little teeth.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "shoot imp"
CF ] Stable
CF \| >
CF \| > SHOOT IMP
CF \|
CF \| I fired my pistol at the goblin. But it just jumped out of the way.
CF \| I've never seen anything before or since that could outrun a piece of
CF \| hot lead, but this was no creature of Earth that I was dealing with.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "g"
CF ] Stable
CF \| >
CF \| > G
CF \|
CF \| I aimed my pistol at the goblin and fired. I fired too slow, though,
CF \| because I didn't leave a scratch on it.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "undo"
CF ] Stable
CF \|
CF \| > UNDO
CF \|
CF \| Stable
CF \| [Previous turn undone.]
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "undo"
CF ] Stable
CF \|
CF \| > UNDO
CF \|
CF \| Stable
CF \| [Previous turn undone.]
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "wield shotgun"
CF ] Stable
CF \| >
CF \| > WIELD SHOTGUN
CF \|
CF \| I readied the shotgun.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "shoot imp"
CF ] Stable
CF \| >
CF \| > SHOOT IMP
CF \|
CF \| I leveled the shotgun at the goblin and pulled the trigger. But it
CF \| just jumped out of the way. I've never seen anything before or since
CF \| that could outrun a piece of hot lead, but this was no creature of
CF \| Earth that I was dealing with.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "undo"
CF ] Stable
CF \|
CF \| > UNDO
CF \|
CF \| Stable
CF \| [Previous turn undone.]
CF \|
CF \| >		Jacqueline says, "huh"
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "wield pistol"
CF ] Stable
CF \| >
CF \| > WIELD PISTOL
CF \|
CF \| I readied the pistol.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "talk to imp"
CF ] Stable
CF \| >
CF \| > TALK TO IMP
CF \|
CF \| That might sound like a reasonable suggestion from where you're
CF \| sitting, but at the time, no such idea crossed my mind.
CF \|
CF \| >		DavidW says, "I guess we need something from the armory for this one, and we need to rescue whoever's holed up past the imp."
		DavidW says, "That means facing the worm next, unless anyone has a better idea."
		Jacqueline says, "Sounds good."
		DavidW says, "The pentagram is 4/5ths gone. Maybe something good will happen when it's all gone."
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "w"
CF ] Office
CF \| >
CF \| > W
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Office
CF \| A few of the boys called this the Colonel's "throne room"—but maybe
CF \| "interrogation chamber" is more like it. When there was trouble at the
CF \| fort, Levin would call us in here one by one and have us stand in
CF \| front of his desk to be questioned about it.
CF \|
CF \| The stables were over to the east, and the way out to the rest of the
CF \| fort was south.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "s"
CF ] Vegetable Garden
CF \| >
CF \| > S
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Vegetable Garden
CF \| It was the dead of winter, and nothing was growing, but I knew I'd
CF \| found the vegetable garden from the row of crooked, singed beanpoles.
CF \| The road ran north to the Colonel's office and south to the rest of
CF \| the fort, and on the east side of the garden was the mess hall.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "s"
CF ] Gallows
CF \| >
CF \| > S
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Gallows
CF \| Colonel Levin had the gibbet set up right at the center of the fort,
CF \| to remind us that justice and discipline should be foremost in our
CF \| minds. He wouldn't authorize it being taken down, no matter how long
CF \| it went unused.
CF \|
CF \| Seeing as this was the middle of the fort, there were trails running
CF \| off to the north and the east and the south and the west.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "s"
CF ] Road
CF \| >
CF \| > S
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Road
CF \| A harsh wind hissed through the middle of Fort Hugh, along the main
CF \| drag running north and south. The building to the east was the
CF \| barracks; to the west was the carpenter's shop.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "e"
CF ] Barracks
CF \| >
CF \| > E
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Barracks
CF \| The cots were all empty. It looked like people had cleared out in a
CF \| hurry. The only thing that hadn't been cleared out was my old
CF \| footlocker.
CF \|
CF \| The way outside was west, and I believed that to the south of here I
CF \| would find what we referred to as the billiard room.
CF \|
CF \| A huge worm was shambling up and down the rows of cots, wheezing
CF \| through its toothless slit of a mouth.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "shoot worm"
CF ] Barracks
CF \| >
CF \| > SHOOT WORM
CF \|
CF \| I fired my pistol at the shambling worm. It took one hundred sixteen
CF \| damage, and it slumped to the floor. It stopped wheezing.
CF \|
CF \| Then it let out a long rattling gasp as it shriveled away.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "open footlocker"
CF ] Barracks
CF \| >
CF \| > OPEN FOOTLOCKER
CF \|
CF \| I opened the footlocker, revealing a box of bullets and a pile of
CF \| rifle cartridges.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "take box"
CF ] Barracks
CF \| >
CF \| > TAKE BOX
CF \|
CF \| (the box of bullets)
CF \| I grabbed the box of bullets.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "x cartridges"
CF ] Barracks
CF \| >
CF \| > X CARTRIDGES
CF \|
CF \| There were five .40 cartridges in the pile.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "take them"
CF ] Barracks
CF \| >
CF \| > TAKE THEM
CF \|
CF \| I couldn't see 'them' (nothing) at the moment.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "take cartridges"
CF ] Barracks
CF \| >
CF \| > TAKE CARTRIDGES
CF \|
CF \| I grabbed the pile of rifle cartridges and stuffed them in my back
CF \| pocket—not in my regular inventory, you understand—just in case I
CF \| happened to acquire a rifle.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "l"
CF ] Barracks
CF \| >
CF \| > L
CF \|
CF \| Barracks
CF \| The cots were all empty. It looked like people had cleared out in a
CF \| hurry. The only thing that hadn't been cleared out was my old
CF \| footlocker.
CF \|
CF \| The way outside was west, and I believed that to the south of here I
CF \| would find what we referred to as the billiard room.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "x cots"
CF ] Barracks
CF \| >
CF \| > X COTS
CF \|
CF \| Some of the beds had been left unmade; some had been torn all to
CF \| pieces by giant claws.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "s"
CF ] Billiard Room
CF \| >
CF \| > S
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Billiard Room
CF \| It was an odd sort of spare room between the barracks to the north and
CF \| the stockade to the east. The Army didn't tell us what to do with it,
CF \| so we used it for doing whatever the Army didn't tell us to do.
CF \| Somehow someone dragged a pool table in there, and we called it the
CF \| "billiard room" from then on.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "x table"
CF ] Billiard Room
CF \| >
CF \| > X TABLE
CF \|
CF \| It was a pool table in tolerably good condition, considering how long
CF \| it'd been a plaything for a bunch of Army boys. But something was
CF \| painted on the baize: A character, or a diagram—some sort of glyph.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "put salt on glyph"
CF ] Billiard Room
CF \| >
CF \| > PUT SALT ON GLYPH
CF \|
CF \| I dusted the symbol with that holy salt. There was a blast of white
CF \| light.
CF \|
CF \| And then the pool table was restored! There wasn't a scratch on it,
CF \| except for all the scratches that'd been there when I left.
CF \|
CF \| Then I heard a great big bang, somewhere to the northwest.
CF \|
CF \| >		Jacqueline says, "eep"
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "e"
CF ] Stockade
CF \| >
CF \| > E
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Stockade
CF \| What I saw next made my blood run cold. There was a man in the
CF \| cell—Jim Shaw. And standing outside the cell was—
CF \|
CF \| It walked on two hooves. But it had a man's hands. And it was shaking
CF \| the bars of that cell—trying to get at Jim Shaw.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "x it"
CF ] Stockade
CF \| >
CF \| > X IT
CF \|
CF \| The chaplain said it was holy salt, intended for exorcisms and
CF \| suchlike rites. I'd performed one heck of a big exorcism, was one way
CF \| of looking at it.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "x horse"
CF ] Stockade
CF \| >
CF \| > X HORSE
CF \|
CF \| I don't know if I can describe it to you at all usefully. If I say it
CF \| was like a horse in the shape of a man, that doesn't tell you much. If
CF \| I say it looked like an antediluvian mummy that had shambled into this
CF \| world from across a desert of fire, you still won't picture in your
CF \| mind what I saw in front of me.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "shoot horse"
CF ] Stockade
CF \| >
CF \| > SHOOT HORSE
CF \|
CF \| I aimed my pistol at the horse-lich and fired. It took one hundred
CF \| four damage, and it turned to face me. I thought surely it'd come
CF \| after me and leave Jim alone.
CF \|
CF \| But it just stood there, staring at me.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "g"
CF ] Stockade
CF \| >
CF \| > G
CF \|
CF \| I fired my pistol at the horse-lich. It took one hundred sixteen
CF \| damage. It leaned toward me, and it raised a skeletal hand. It was
CF \| beckoning to me.
CF \|
CF \| Well, I stayed right where I was.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "g"
CF ] Stockade
CF \| >
CF \| > G
CF \|
CF \| I aimed my pistol at the horse-lich and fired. The thing took one
CF \| hundred six damage and fell to its knees. It crumbled to ashes on the
CF \| floor. It never made a sound.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "talk to jim"
CF ] Stockade
CF \| >
CF \| > TALK TO JIM
CF \|
CF \| I ran up to the cell and tried the door. It was locked, of course, so
CF \| I started yanking on the bars, trying to get it open—as if I hadn't
CF \| just seen that hellspawned miscreation trying the same thing and
CF \| failing.
CF \|
CF \| "You can let me take it from here," Jim Shaw said. He pulled a key
CF \| from his pocket, reached through the bars, and unlocked the door from
CF \| inside.
CF \|
CF \| Then he thanked me for getting him out of a tight spot. Turns out he'd
CF \| been in the wrong place at the wrong time, and locked himself in the
CF \| stockade only because running straight out of the fort wasn't an
CF \| option.
CF \|
CF \| I told him it was more or less safe for him to run straight out of
CF \| there now, if he didn't make any unnecessary detours. He smiled the
CF \| way a troublemaker does, and he said: "Noah White, are you aiming to
CF \| hang around here and fix this mess?"
CF \|
CF \| I said I was, and he said that figured. He reached in his pocket again
CF \| and produced another key.
CF \|
CF \| "This'll get you into the armory," he said. "Don't ask how I got it."
CF \| I didn't have time to ask, though, because he was off like a shot.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "i"
CF ] Stockade
CF \| >
CF \| > I
CF \|
CF \| I was carrying:
CF \| a heavy iron key
CF \| a letter
CF \| a satchel of blessed salt
CF \| a shotgun (2 shells)
CF \| a tintype
CF \| a pistol (20 bullets)
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "l"
CF ] Stockade
CF \| >
CF \| > L
CF \|
CF \| Stockade
CF \| Jim was long gone, and I got the impression there wasn't much else to
CF \| do right here.
CF \|
CF \| The pile of ashes was still there.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "search ashes"
CF ] Stockade
CF \| >
CF \| > SEARCH ASHES
CF \|
CF \| I didn't like to look at it too close.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "w"
CF ] Billiard Room
CF \| >
CF \| > W
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Billiard Room
CF \| It was an odd sort of spare room between the barracks to the north and
CF \| the stockade to the east. The Army didn't tell us what to do with it,
CF \| so we used it for doing whatever the Army didn't tell us to do.
CF \| Somehow someone dragged a pool table in there, and we called it the
CF \| "billiard room" from then on.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "n"
CF ] Barracks
CF \| >
CF \| > N
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Barracks
CF \| The cots were all empty. It looked like people had cleared out in a
CF \| hurry. The only thing that hadn't been cleared out was my old
CF \| footlocker.
CF \|
CF \| The way outside was west, and the billiard room was further south.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "w"
CF ] Road
CF \| >
CF \| > W
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Road
CF \| A harsh wind hissed through the middle of Fort Hugh, along the main
CF \| drag running north and south. The building to the east was the
CF \| barracks; to the west was the carpenter's shop.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "n"
CF ] Gallows
CF \| >
CF \| > N
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Gallows
CF \| The gallows had been blown to pieces, like a keg of dynamite had gone
CF \| off underneath. But it wasn't no dynamite.
CF \|
CF \| A great big hole had opened up in the ground underneath where the
CF \| scaffold had been. The smoke rising out of that pit stank something
CF \| awful. And I could hear wails and lamentation coming from down below.
CF \|
CF \| There were trails running off to the north and the east and the south
CF \| and the west.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "x hole"
CF ] Gallows
CF \| >
CF \| > X HOLE
CF \|
CF \| It didn't look like the pit left by any conventional explosion. The
CF \| sides were awful steep and regular. And it looked a lot like the cold
CF \| earth had been cut into a sort of staircase along the sides. And it
CF \| was deeper than any other pit you or I have ever seen.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "e"
CF ] Road
CF \| >
CF \| > E
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Road
CF \| Here there was a stretch of muddy track running east and west.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "e"
CF ] East Battery
CF \| >
CF \| > E
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| East Battery
CF \| The path from the west led to this spot where half of the fort's
CF \| cannons were set up. The armory building was just south of here.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "unlock door with key"
CF ] East Battery
CF \| >
CF \| > UNLOCK DOOR WITH KEY
CF \|
CF \| I unlocked the armory door.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "s"
CF ] Armory
CF \| >
CF \| > S
CF \|
CF \| (first opening the armory door)
CF \|
CF \| Armory
CF \| Well, as you might expect, there wasn't much left of Fort Hugh's
CF \| military supplies. I suppose the boys had cleaned it up while they
CF \| were running from the horde of demons. There was one munitions case
CF \| left, but I didn't have high hopes for it.
CF \|
CF \| It won't surprise you either if I tell you there was a man-sized
CF \| hornet standing on that munitions case, staring me down with nine
CF \| glittering eyes.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "x hornet"
CF ] Armory
CF \| >
CF \| > X HORNET
CF \|
CF \| It was the biggest yellowjacket you ever saw, unless you're
CF \| substantially unluckier than I am. In four of its legs it held black,
CF \| rusted swords—not military swords, neither. On its head it wore a
CF \| crown of black iron, with the words "DOMINUS STRAGIUM" carved into it.
CF \| I have been meaning to look up what that means. Naturally the crown
CF \| was on fire.
CF \|
CF \| >		Jacqueline says, "ha"
		Jacqueline says, "Sorry, I know we've been reading this stuff for a bit, but there was a bit that made me laugh."
		DavidW asks, "Anyone know what Dominus Stragium means?"
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "shoot hornet"
CF ] Armory
CF \| >
CF \| > SHOOT HORNET
CF \|
CF \| I raised my pistol and fired at the hornet prince. It took one hundred
CF \| seven damage, and it kinda hopped up and started buzzing around me,
CF \| cussing me out in words that I could only grasp the meaning of through
CF \| context.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "shoot hornet"
CF ] Armory
CF \| >
CF \| > SHOOT HORNET
CF \|
CF \| I aimed my pistol at the hornet prince and fired. It took one hundred
CF \| fourteen damage. That got it mad. It jumped over and took a swipe at
CF \| me with a few of its swords—but I got out of the way, and it had to
CF \| buzz on back to its crate.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "g"
CF ] Armory
CF \| >
CF \| > G
CF \|
CF \| I raised my pistol and fired at the hornet prince. I dealt one hundred
CF \| ten damage to it, and that got it to cussing like Catullus again, but
CF \| it couldn't come over and swipe at me or sting me, because it started
CF \| shaking all over—shaking and gurgling and shaking until it exploded,
CF \| and a bunch of bug guts got all over the armory. Fortunately that all
CF \| sizzled away after a minute.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "l"
CF ] Armory
CF \| >
CF \| > L
CF \|
CF \| Armory
CF \| The place was pretty much empty. There was one munitions case left.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "open case"
CF ] Armory
CF \| >
CF \| > OPEN CASE
CF \|
CF \| I opened the munitions case, revealing a rifle, a box of bullets, and
CF \| some shotgun shells.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "take rifle"
CF ] Armory
CF \| >
CF \| > TAKE RIFLE
CF \|
CF \| I took the rifle.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "take box"
CF ] Armory
CF \| >
CF \| > TAKE BOX
CF \|
CF \| (the box of bullets)
CF \| I grabbed the box of bullets.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "take shells"
CF ] Armory
CF \| >
CF \| > TAKE SHELLS
CF \|
CF \| I grabbed the shotgun shells.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "i"
CF ] Armory
CF \| >
CF \| > I
CF \|
CF \| I was carrying:
CF \| a rifle (7 cartridges)
CF \| a heavy iron key
CF \| a letter
CF \| a satchel of blessed salt
CF \| a shotgun (6 shells)
CF \| a tintype
CF \| a pistol (23 bullets)
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "SAVE"
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "cf27"
CF \| >
CF \| > SAVE
CF \| %% Enter a save filename to write:
CF ] Armory
CF \| > SAVEOk.
CF \|
CF \| >		Jacqueline says, "I think DOMINUS STRAGIUM means The Lord of Destruction in Latin."
		DavidW asks, "I guess we deal with the imp next? Or the pit?"
		DavidW says, "I don't see how a rifle will help."
		Jacqueline asks, "There's nothing special in the armory?"
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "n"
CF ] East Battery
CF \| >
CF \| > N
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| East Battery
CF \| The path from the west led to this spot where half of the fort's
CF \| cannons were set up. The armory building was just south of here.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "w"
CF ] Road
CF \| >
CF \| > W
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Road
CF \| Here there was a stretch of muddy track running east and west.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "w"
CF ] Gallows
CF \| >
CF \| > W
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Gallows
CF \| The gallows had been blown to pieces, like a keg of dynamite had gone
CF \| off underneath. But it wasn't no dynamite.
CF \|
CF \| A great big hole had opened up in the ground underneath where the
CF \| scaffold had been. The smoke rising out of that pit stank something
CF \| awful. And I could hear wails and lamentation coming from down below.
CF \|
CF \| There were trails running off to the north and the east and the south
CF \| and the west.
CF \|
CF \| >		Jacqueline says, "I mean, I guess rifles are faster than other bullets."
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "n"
CF ] Vegetable Garden
CF \| >
CF \| > N
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Vegetable Garden
CF \| It was the dead of winter, and nothing was growing, but I knew I'd
CF \| found the vegetable garden from the row of crooked, singed beanpoles.
CF \| The road ran north to the Colonel's office and south to the rest of
CF \| the fort, and on the east side of the garden was the mess hall.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "n"
CF ] Office
CF \| >
CF \| > N
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Office
CF \| A few of the boys called this the Colonel's "throne room"—but maybe
CF \| "interrogation chamber" is more like it. When there was trouble at the
CF \| fort, Levin would call us in here one by one and have us stand in
CF \| front of his desk to be questioned about it.
CF \|
CF \| The stables were over to the east, and the way out to the rest of the
CF \| fort was south.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "e"
CF ] Stable
CF \| >
CF \| > E
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Stable
CF \| The stalls were empty. There were all the signs and smells of a stable
CF \| that hadn't been attended to in a while.
CF \|
CF \| The corral was outside to the east, and the way back to the Colonel's
CF \| office was west.
CF \|
CF \| A little imp or something was scampering around, poking its beak in
CF \| the stalls.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "wield rifle"
CF ] Stable
CF \| >
CF \| > WIELD RIFLE
CF \|
CF \| I readied the rifle.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "shoot imp"
CF ] Stable
CF \| >
CF \| > SHOOT IMP
CF \|
CF \| I didn't take time to aim—I just pointed at the goblin and fired. But
CF \| it just jumped out of the way. I've never seen anything before or
CF \| since that could outrun a piece of hot lead, but this was no creature
CF \| of Earth that I was dealing with.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "g"
CF ] Stable
CF \| >
CF \| > G
CF \|
CF \| I raised the rifle and fired at the goblin. It tried to jump out of
CF \| the way again, but this time the sucker had run out of luck. It took
CF \| two hundred fifteen damage and gave up the ghost with a little sucking
CF \| noise.
CF \|
CF \| >		Jacqueline says, "Okay, yeah."
		Jacqueline says, "OH"
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "wield pistol"
CF ] Stable
CF \| >
CF \| > WIELD PISTOL
CF \|
CF \| I readied the pistol.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "SAVE"
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "cf28"
CF \| >
CF \| > SAVE
CF \| %% Enter a save filename to write:
CF ] Stable
CF \| > SAVEOk.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "e"
CF ] Corral
CF \| >
CF \| > E
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Corral
CF \| I always thought this little corner of the fort was too small for the
CF \| horses to really feel comfortable in, but I never had the nerve to
CF \| suggest that anything be done about it.
CF \|
CF \| Now, I don't want to tell you what kind of scene I was expecting to
CF \| find when I got out here. But mercifully I didn't get what I expected.
CF \| The only creature in the corral was a palomino mare named Beryl, and
CF \| she looked to be in better shape than I was.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "x mare"
CF ] Corral
CF \| >
CF \| > X MARE
CF \|
CF \| She was a beautiful animal, and beloved throughout Fort Hugh for being
CF \| the gentlest example of her species west of the Mississippi and north
CF \| of the Rio Grande. She seemed kind of skittish at the moment, which
CF \| was understandable.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "pet mare"
CF ] Corral
CF \| >
CF \| > PET MARE
CF \|
CF \| I went up to her and soothed her as best I could, telling her what a
CF \| brave girl she'd been and how everything would be all right. There's
CF \| folks who'll tell you a horse can't really understand what you're
CF \| telling her—she just sees how you're feeling, or how you're
CF \| pretending
CF \| to feel, and if you're acting antsy she'll get antsy, and if you seem
CF \| calm she'll get calm.
CF \|
CF \| Well, I've got a counterexample for those folks, because when I let
CF \| slip in the course of my soothing that I'd cleared a path to the
CF \| fort's entrance, Beryl took off like a snake bit her. She galloped
CF \| straight through the stables and took that path I cleared until Fort
CF \| Hugh was out of sight.
CF \|
CF \| I did catch up with her eventually, but I don't know if we'll have
CF \| time to get into all that.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "l"
CF ] Corral
CF \| >
CF \| > L
CF \|
CF \| Corral
CF \| I always thought this little corner of the fort was too small for the
CF \| horses to really feel comfortable in, but I never had the nerve to
CF \| suggest that anything be done about it. (The way back to the stables
CF \| was west.)
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "w"
CF ] Stable
CF \| >
CF \| > W
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Stable
CF \| The stalls were empty. There were all the signs and smells of a stable
CF \| that hadn't been attended to in a while.
CF \|
CF \| The corral was outside to the east, and the way back to the Colonel's
CF \| office was west.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "w"
CF ] Office
CF \| >
CF \| > W
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Office
CF \| A few of the boys called this the Colonel's "throne room"—but maybe
CF \| "interrogation chamber" is more like it. When there was trouble at the
CF \| fort, Levin would call us in here one by one and have us stand in
CF \| front of his desk to be questioned about it.
CF \|
CF \| The stables were over to the east, and the way out to the rest of the
CF \| fort was south.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "s"
CF ] Vegetable Garden
CF \| >
CF \| > S
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Vegetable Garden
CF \| It was the dead of winter, and nothing was growing, but I knew I'd
CF \| found the vegetable garden from the row of crooked, singed beanpoles.
CF \| The road ran north to the Colonel's office and south to the rest of
CF \| the fort, and on the east side of the garden was the mess hall.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "s"
CF ] Gallows
CF \| >
CF \| > S
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Gallows
CF \| The gallows had been blown to pieces, like a keg of dynamite had gone
CF \| off underneath. But it wasn't no dynamite.
CF \|
CF \| A great big hole had opened up in the ground underneath where the
CF \| scaffold had been. The smoke rising out of that pit stank something
CF \| awful. And I could hear wails and lamentation coming from down below.
CF \|
CF \| There were trails running off to the north and the east and the south
CF \| and the west.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "w"
CF ] Road
CF \| >
CF \| > W
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Road
CF \| The road went east and west past the chapel on the north side. I
CF \| always thought of this as one of the more peaceful parts of Fort Hugh.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "n"
CF ] Chapel
CF \| >
CF \| > N
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Chapel
CF \| Colonel Levin insisted on constructing a chapel in Fort Hugh, but he
CF \| couldn't get the money to make it an especially fancy one. A bunch of
CF \| old mess hall benches served for pews, and there was no altar or
CF \| pulpit to speak of.
CF \|
CF \| Still, it was a nice place.
CF \|
CF \| The front entrance was south, and the way out to the chaplain's office
CF \| was on the north side.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "n"
CF ] Behind the Chapel
CF \| >
CF \| > N
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Behind the Chapel
CF \| This was an obscure corner of the fort, not much use to anybody but
CF \| the chaplain. The chapel was south and his office was west.
CF \|
CF \| That demon's carapace was still here, all curled up like a pill bug.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "w"
CF ] Rectory
CF \| >
CF \| > W
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Rectory
CF \| The chaplain kept his apartments fairly Spartan—which figured, what
CF \| with combining the asceticism of an Army man with that of a man of the
CF \| cloth. About all there was to see was the chaplain himself.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "talk to chaplain"
CF ] Rectory
CF \| >
CF \| > TALK TO CHAPLAIN
CF \|
CF \| I talked the situation over with the chaplain, and we agreed that with
CF \| the pentagram destroyed, there was only one last thing to do. And it
CF \| involved entering the hellmouth that'd been opened up by the
CF \| destruction of said pentagram.
CF \|
CF \| >		DavidW says, "I was afraid of that."
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "s"
CF ] Rectory
CF \| >
CF \| > S
CF \|
CF \| The only way to go was east.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "e"
CF ] Behind the Chapel
CF \| >
CF \| > E
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Behind the Chapel
CF \| This was an obscure corner of the fort, not much use to anybody but
CF \| the chaplain. The chapel was south and his office was west.
CF \|
CF \| That demon's carapace was still here, all curled up like a pill bug.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "s"
CF ] Chapel
CF \| >
CF \| > S
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Chapel
CF \| Colonel Levin insisted on constructing a chapel in Fort Hugh, but he
CF \| couldn't get the money to make it an especially fancy one. A bunch of
CF \| old mess hall benches served for pews, and there was no altar or
CF \| pulpit to speak of.
CF \|
CF \| Still, it was a nice place.
CF \|
CF \| The front entrance was south, and the way out to the chaplain's office
CF \| was on the north side.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "s"
CF ] Road
CF \| >
CF \| > S
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Road
CF \| The road went east and west past the chapel on the north side. I
CF \| always thought of this as one of the more peaceful parts of Fort Hugh.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "e"
CF ] Gallows
CF \| >
CF \| > E
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Gallows
CF \| The gallows had been blown to pieces, like a keg of dynamite had gone
CF \| off underneath. But it wasn't no dynamite.
CF \|
CF \| A great big hole had opened up in the ground underneath where the
CF \| scaffold had been. The smoke rising out of that pit stank something
CF \| awful. And I could hear wails and lamentation coming from down below.
CF \|
CF \| There were trails running off to the north and the east and the south
CF \| and the west.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "d"
CF ] Pit
CF \| >
CF \| > D
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Pit
CF \| A rough and narrow stairway ran around the sides of the pit, spiraling
CF \| down through the frozen earth right into the rock—and on, and on,
CF \| deeper than I could see. That rancid smoke was all around me now, and
CF \| the weeping and moaning was getting louder.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "d"
CF ] Pallid Field
CF \| >
CF \| > D
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Pallid Field
CF \| The stairs took a turn, and I got myself a bird's-eye view of a huge
CF \| underground plain, where the grass was gray as a corpse, and no
CF \| sunlight shone. There were people, or shadows of people, wandering
CF \| through the field; and off in the distance I saw something like a
CF \| ruined castle—but it was too dark to see anything clearly.
CF \|
CF \| Those stairs of mine kept leading me downward.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "x people"
CF ] Pallid Field
CF \| >
CF \| > X PEOPLE
CF \|
CF \| I couldn't see anyone distinctly from way up there. I sure couldn't
CF \| see their expressions, or recognize their faces.
CF \|
CF \| >		Jacqueline says, "nice"
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "x castle"
CF ] Pallid Field
CF \| >
CF \| > X CASTLE
CF \|
CF \| It's no use asking me about that castle—I barely got any kind of a
CF \| look at it.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "d"
CF ] Lake of Fire
CF \| >
CF \| > D
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Lake of Fire
CF \| The stairs took another turn, and another vista unfolded below me: It
CF \| was that lake of fire and sulfur you've read about, the source of all
CF \| the vile fumes I'd been breathing since I climbed into that pit.
CF \|
CF \| Of course, the stairs kept going down even further than that.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "x lake"
CF ] Lake of Fire
CF \| >
CF \| > X LAKE
CF \|
CF \| The lake went on further than I could see, and all sorts of
CF \| unfortunate folks were swimming in it, or trying to; whenever one of
CF \| them got their head above water (or above fire, I should say), a
CF \| critter with a pitchfork flew over to push them back in.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "d"
CF ] Bottom
CF \| >
CF \| > D
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| Bottom
CF \| (Of course, I don't mean the bottom, but just the bottom of
CF \| the particular hole I'd been delving my way into.)
CF \|
CF \| I dare say the bottom of that pit was almost as cold as North Dakota.
CF \| The slime covering the walls had congealed into all sorts of obscene
CF \| shapes, and the icy floor felt like it wanted to freeze my boots in
CF \| place.
CF \|
CF \| But I knew I'd found the right place, because before me stood an
CF \| enormous demon (whose name, I later learned, was called Furtur, a
CF \| Great Earl of Hell) with a bat's wings and a stag's antler's, and
CF \| trapped in his monstrous jaws was Colonel Ashworth Levin.
CF \|
CF \| >		DavidW says, "'almost' as cold as North Dakota"
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "x demon"
CF ] Bottom
CF \| >
CF \| > X DEMON
CF \|
CF \| The devil was froze up to his waist in the polluted ice, but still his
CF \| toothy snout was a good fifty, sixty feet above my head. His bat-wings
CF \| thrashed at the frigid air, and his antlers scraped at the vaulting
CF \| ceiling. And his hands, though they were each huge enough to hold a
CF \| corn crib, looked just like a human's hands.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "x levin"
CF ] Bottom
CF \| >
CF \| > X LEVIN
CF \|
CF \| He was awful high up, being clenched between the fangs of that titanic
CF \| demon, but I could tell it was Colonel Levin from the uniform and the
CF \| beard.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "talk to levin"
CF ] Bottom
CF \| >
CF \| > TALK TO LEVIN
CF \|
CF \| There wasn't no use calling out to the Colonel from way down where I
CF \| was.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "climb demon"
CF ] Bottom
CF \| >
CF \| > CLIMB DEMON
CF \|
CF \| Little was to be achieved by that.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "shoot demon"
CF ] Bottom
CF \| >
CF \| > SHOOT DEMON
CF \|
CF \| I shot my pistol at the demon, just to let him know I'd arrived. He
CF \| took one hundred sixteen damage, but he didn't even wince.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "g"
CF ] Bottom
CF \| >
CF \| > G
CF \|
CF \| I started aiming my pistol at where I figured Furtur's heart ought to
CF \| be, but he took a swing at me with one of those huge hands of his, so
CF \| I shot that instead. He took two hundred thirty-four damage, pulled
CF \| his hand back, and kinda shook it around, like a fire ant had bit him.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "g"
CF ] Bottom
CF \| >
CF \| > G
CF \|
CF \| I took aim at his chest again, and this time around I got a chance to
CF \| fire. I took him for three hundred sixty damage—that shook him up a
CF \| little. But he didn't let go of the Colonel.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "g"
CF ] Bottom
CF \| >
CF \| > G
CF \|
CF \| So I shot him closer to the neck, where his vaguely human-looking
CF \| chest met up with his vaguely stag-like head. That dealt him four
CF \| hundred thirty-two damage, and he reared back in agony, and looked
CF \| like he was fixing to scream—but he didn't, because he wanted to hold
CF \| on to that Colonel of his.
CF \|
CF \| >
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "g"
CF \| >
CF \| > G
CF \|
CF \| Well, here's how I finally managed
CF \| To make that old devil give in:
CF \| Nine hundred and ninety-nine damage
CF \| In lead hit him square on the chin.
CF \|
CF \| Then the jaws of that demon burst open
CF \| As he squawked out a furious bleat,
CF \| And the Colonel, just like I was hopin',
CF \| Fell down to the ice at my feet.
CF \|
CF \| His body was rigid, and colder
CF \| Than sin, but some life was still there.
CF \| So I slung the man over my shoulder,
CF \| And made my way back up that stair.
CF \|
CF \| "Unhand me!" he feebly petitioned,
CF \| "Toss me back in the Stygian slime!
CF \| I came here of my own volition,
CF \| To suffer the price of my crime."
CF \|
CF \| "We living," I said to the Colonel,
CF \| "Don't get to decide our own case.
CF \| Preceding your torment eternal,
CF \| There's a worldly judge you must face."
CF \|
CF \| After that, I got no more objection
CF \| For hauling him from the Abyss.
CF \| Some moments of silent reflection
CF \| Concluded our katabasis.		DavidW says, "gosh. Rhyming abyss with katabasis."
DavidW pushes the green 'space' button.
CF \| Concluded our katabasis.Until—
CF \| —We had nearly skedaddled,
CF \| I just about smelled the fresh air.
CF \| But something I saw got me rattled—
CF \| —I almost fell back down the stair.
CF \|
CF \| The sight was a shadowy presence,
CF \| A spirit condemned. But her face
CF \| Was that of my dear sister Pleasance.
CF \| God! How had she come to that place?
CF \|
CF \| My sister stepped silently toward me.
CF \| Her eyes said what lips couldn't tell,
CF \| And wordlessly, Pleasance implored me
CF \| To carry her up out of Hell.
CF \|
CF \| To rescue her from her damnation
CF \| I'd do anything, even die—
CF \| —But it isn't an Army man's station
CF \| To flout a decree from on High.
CF \|
CF \| To leave her to tortures infernal
CF \| Was my miserable duty to do.
CF \| So I turned, and I carried the Colonel
CF \| Back up to the gates of Fort Hugh.
CF \|
CF \|
CF \|
CF \| * The End *
DavidW says (to ClubFloyd), "push space"
CF \| * The End *At last, Rattlesnake Yates closes
CF \| his notebook. "And that's about all there is. How'd you like it?"
CF \|
CF \| Ira Levin has an answer locked and loaded (so to speak): "The moral
CF \| universe depicted in your Noah White tales is simplistic in the
CF \| extreme," he says, furrowing his sagacious eyebrows.
CF \|
CF \| Yates sucks through his teeth. "I keep getting told my stories are
CF \| simplistic, just 'cause I happen to have a certain way of dressing and
CF \| a certain way of talking. You wouldn't call that yarn simplistic if
CF \| it'd been Robert Bloch who wrote it."
CF \|
CF \| "If I had written that story," Robert Bloch interjects, raising his
CF \| voice against the fomenting hubbub, "none of it would have rhymed."
CF \| (And Jack the Ripper would somehow have made an appearance, no doubt.)
CF \|
CF \| The moderator raises his hands. (This "moderator," I should add, is
CF \| doubtless the most impotent creature ever to aspire to the term. I
CF \| don't believe I've ever seen him quell anything successfully.)
CF \| "Please," he stammers, "let's—"		Jacqueline says, "Dang"
DavidW pushes the green 'space' button.
CF \| "Please," he stammers, "let's—""I worked long and hard on those
CF \| verses," says Rattlesnake, as he rolls up his sleeves, "and I take
CF \| exception to them getting dismissed out of hand just for rhyming. If
CF \| you've got some more specific criticism, we can discuss it outside."
CF \|
CF \| Bloch is already pulling off his jacket, revealing a pair of arms much
CF \| better suited to jotting down notes about serial killers than to
CF \| fisticuffs. Clearly this won't be a drawn-out brawl, but at least
CF \| we'll get some entertainment out of the evening.
CF \|
CF \| "Gentlemen, please!" cries the moderator. "If you'd just—"
CF \|
CF \| He's cut off by a sudden shriek.
DavidW pushes the green 'space' button.
CF \| He's cut off by a sudden shriek.A black wind rushes through the
CF \| library—the fire is extinguished—and Castle Balderstone is plunged
CF \| into darkness!
DavidW pushes the green 'space' button.
CF \| into darkness!
CF \|
CF \| * THE END. *
CF \| cheapglulxe quit with exit status: 0
CF asks, "That game over already? It was just getting good. Wanna play another?"		DavidW says, "The lights always go out at the end of any visit to Castle Balderstone."
		Jacqueline nods.
		Jacqueline says, "I'm still hung about about Pleasance."
		DavidW says, "yeah. She's dead and stays dead and barely had a chance to say anything."
		Jacqueline says, "But we could have freed her from Hell."
		Jacqueline says, "Also, I say we leave it here."
		Jacqueline says, "That was a lot."
		Jade says, "This has been a great game, I think."
		Jacqueline nods. "I'm fond of the series."
		DavidW says, "me too"
		DavidW says, "I liked that game despite the pistol stuff."
		DavidW says, "Perhaps I never felt I was in true danger. Polite monsters always wait patiently for the hero to attack first."
		DavidW says, "And I like that very much."
		Jade says, "yes, It seemed to me a bit too much armoried inventory"
		Jacqueline says (to DW), "Yeah, they're like movie ninjas."
		DavidW says, "A good variety of monsters, too."
		Jacqueline nods.
		Jade says, "Yes, a good variety"
		DavidW says, "I do wonder how they all get along in the underworld lunch room."
		DavidW says, "I bet that prince hornet always cuts in line."
		Jacqueline says, "The whole thing had a real 1970s Roger Zelazny vibe."
		DavidW says, "I'm not familiar enough with author styles to tell that sort of thing."
		DavidW says, "I wonder if it's a trope that an overly-devout person is the one to unleash hell on earth, over minor offenses."
		DavidW says, "The Karen who, not getting her own way, bombs the place."
		DavidW says, "Karen of Carnage."
		DavidW says, "anyway, good game, everyone. Thanks to all for your suggestions, comments, and other help."
		Roger says, "thanks for the uploads and driving, DW"
		DavidW says, "Seems 'katabasis' means a journey to the underworld."
		Jade says, "yes, there is nothing simpler"
		DavidW says, "katabasis is going down; anabasis is returning back up. Remember we know about ana and kata from Welcome."
		Jacqueline says, "huh"
		Jade says, "I am learning new concepts here"
		Jacqueline says, "Anyway, took me a second, but for example, there is a Zelazny character in Chronicles of Amber called Strygalldwir that the protagonist describes as having glowing red eyes, standing well over 6 feet tall with great branches of antlers growing out of his forehead, nude with ash-gray colored flesh and leathery wings extending far behind it."
		DavidW says, "aha"
		Jacqueline says, "Yeah, so... same vibe, sorta."
		Jacqueline exclaims, "Thanks for driving, DW!"
		DavidW says, "you're all quite welcome. Glad to do it."
		DavidW says, "I just worry that others might want to drive sometimes and never speak up."
		Jade says, "Thanks for driving. This was a game with some dense and tricky languaje for me,"
		Jade says, "I can drive sometimes but when the game is simpler, and of course it is easier that you lead us."
		Jade says, "You can count on me from time to time."
		DavidW says, "okay. thanks."
		Jade says, "So, really thanks for driving"
		DavidW says, "you're welcome"
		Jacqueline says, "David, in case it is not obvious, I have become increasingly dependent on you to experience IF. I am always grateful for your driving, and I only hope it doesn't annoy you that I rarely wish to drive."
		DavidW says (to Jacqueline), "I have noticed that, yes, and that's fine, but regardless, I do miss when you're not here. I feel less pressure."
		Jacqueline says, "Aw."
		DavidW says, "And you give me little ego-boosts sometimes when I solve a puzzle quickly when you weren't expecting a solution."
		Jacqueline smiles. "Yay."
		DavidW says, "And I like suggestions for things that I don't normally try because sometimes that really is what's supposed to happen in the game and I didn't see it."
Roger disappears through an invisible gap in the MUD. You think you may have heard the sounds of chatting before the gap closed again.		DavidW says, "I'm heading back to the lounge now. Thanks again, all!"