- Ratatozsk
- Mar 6, 2007
-
Had we turned left instead, we may have encountered something like this...
|
>Ask brother about owl/abbot/clock/job/task
|
#
?
Aug 13, 2017 05:16
|
|
- Adbot
-
ADBOT LOVES YOU
|
|
|
#
?
May 5, 2024 01:07
|
|
- King of Bleh
- Mar 3, 2007
-
A kingdom of rats.
|
>southwest
|
|
#
?
Aug 13, 2017 06:29
|
|
- CaptainCaveman
- Apr 16, 2005
-
Always searching for North.
|
quote:> ASK BROTHER ABOUT OWL
I open my mouth to speak.
“Look here, Whotsit,” he interrupts. “I’ve been at these books all day. Grappling with the Mysteries of the Whotsit. A cup of whotsit, that’s all I want.”
He’s so enthusiastic as he talks that he knocks his keys onto the floor, though he doesn’t seem to notice.
> ASK BROTHER ABOUT ABBOTT
I open my mouth to speak.
“Don’t stand there babbling,” Horloge interrupts. “I mean, really, very simple. Just a cup of... a cup of... you know. Yes.”
Horloge chucks his pet owl under its beak. There is no reaction.
> ASK BROTHER ABOUT CLOCK
I open my mouth to speak.
“What kind of scullery maid are you?” he interrupts. Blinder than I thought, clearly. Any monk should know a 2nd Assistant Polisher when they see one.
> ASK BROTHER ABOUT JOB
I open my mouth to speak.
“A cup of whotsit, whotsit,” he insists. “And don’t spare the horses.”
> ASK BROTHER ABOUT TASK
I open my mouth to speak.
“A cup of whotsit, whotsit,” he insists. “And don’t spare the horses.”
> SW
Scriptorium
The Scriptorium is where the Copying takes place, though it’s hard to believe that Copying once meant a team of monks working with carved rubber stamps. It’s all done by mechanisms now, of course, like everything else except my chores. There’s the massive Gutenberg press on the west wall, and everywhere else is Brother Reloh’s Duplicator. Twenty-three Typewriters, all clattering away as though operated by ghosts, all connected by a single Carriage Arm that curves the length of the wall. To leave the room east or northeast I’ll have to duck under it.
Reloh works on one of the keyboards of the Duplicator, typing furiously. The hammering and punching is almost overwhelming.
The Gutenberg seems to be in the midst of a repair. The Cabinet of Relics next to it is open.
Drake, approaching from the east!
|
|
#
?
Aug 13, 2017 10:37
|
|
- AJ_Impy
- Jun 17, 2007
-
SWORD OF SMATTAS. CAN YOU NOT HEAR A WORLD CRY OUT FOR JUSTICE? WHEN WILL YOU DELIVER IT?
-
Yam Slacker
|
>NE
>GET KEYS
|
|
#
?
Aug 13, 2017 10:56
|
|
- CaptainCaveman
- Apr 16, 2005
-
Always searching for North.
|
quote:> NE
Library
The Abbey’s library is small compared to the one in the Cathedral. There’s nothing on the shelves but the key texts: the Principia, the Mechanistica and the Determininium. Only Brother Horloge, the Abbey’s Primary Reader ever seems to use them - he’s here at the moment, studying at his desk by the poor light coming through the stained glass windows. On the floor by his feet is a fat bunch of keys. On his shoulder is his mechanical owl, wings folded.
An archway leads east back into the hall. From the southwest comes the clatter of Writing hammers and the sharp smell of burnt ink.
I can see Horloge’s keys here.
Brother Horloge mumbles as he traces over the sheet of manuscript.
Drake’s clattering boots are audible to the southwest.
> TAKE KEYS
I wait for old Horloge to lose himself in his manuscript and then snaffle the keys from the ground. But he notices me, of course. “Thank-you, young Whotsit,” he says. “Just put them down on the table, there’s a whotsit.” I do as I’m told.
Drake’s coming! I can escape east.
|
|
#
?
Aug 13, 2017 15:24
|
|
- CaptainCaveman
- Apr 16, 2005
-
Always searching for North.
|
This part's kind of annoying with Drake constantly on patrol like... I don't know, something that's got a regular routine that runs constantly. Clockwork, maybe?
Let's try keeping ahead of him and also getting a little bit better idea of the layout.
quote:> EAST
Central Hall
I’m standing in the very centre of the Abbey’s Great Hall. The vast empty space is filled by the muttering and echo of Holy Mechanisms, and the hiss of the candles as they sweep around their Tracks, providing a little light everywhere but rarely ever enough. I can just make out archways both east and west.
> LOOK WEST
The Library lies to the west.
Looking west, I can see Drake. He’s coming this way! Time to leave: I can go northeast, southwest or east.
> EAST
West Refectory
I spend some of my time here, eating at one of the two long tables. I spend even more serving the monks. Each of them has their own seat, marked by a little brass hourglass, and if the twenty or so I can see here weren’t enough (which they aren’t), there’s more to the east, where the Refectory continues. Back west is the archway to the Great Hall.
On the table is a single empty teacup, left over from breakfast.
Drake’s coming! I can escape east.
> EAST
East Refectory
The eastern end of the long Refectory is given over in part to the tables lined with brass hourglasses, but in the other half there’s nothing but the enormous Refectory Clock. It’s an impressive thing, so big because it only needs winding once a year, despite all the gongs, cymbals, tubes and bells that strike when dinner time comes around. Right now, the clock is showing the time at just after ten past three.
Pungent smells drift in from the kitchen to the north. On the east wall is the small green door to the Abbey’s herb garden.
> EAST
It’s locked - and they don’t give initiates the keys to the Abbey, normally.
> LOOK WEST
The West Refectory lies to the west.
Drake’s just off to the west, and he’s coming this way! Escape lies north.
Skip a tooth! Didn’t Brother Horloge have some keys? In the Library?
> NORTH
Kitchen
If there was ever a proof of the perfection of Clockwork over Nature, it’s that the dirtiest and most hectic room in the whole Abbey is its Kitchen. Shelves, walls and floor are covered by machines belching, slicing, steaming, chopping, stirring, boiling, broiling, frying, pureeing ... the list goes on. The noise, smell and heat are almost overpowering, and the Cook, who controls this madhouse, can only stand it because he’s stone deaf.
In one corner is the only machine I’m allowed to use: the Tea Maker.
The cool of the Hall is west. South, through a broad arch, is the Refectory. North is the dark recess of the Pantry.
Drake’s just off to the south, and he’s coming this way! I can escape north or west.
quote:> NORTH
Abbey Pantry
The Pantry is as tiny as a clock-case and filled with shelves that smell of herb and oil - but it’s dark enough to hide someone like me...
We can wait here a turn or two for Drake to pass by. Anything you guys want us to go check out once it's safe?
|
|
#
?
Aug 15, 2017 21:39
|
|
- AJ_Impy
- Jun 17, 2007
-
SWORD OF SMATTAS. CAN YOU NOT HEAR A WORLD CRY OUT FOR JUSTICE? WHEN WILL YOU DELIVER IT?
-
Yam Slacker
|
Fi-nally, I see a solution!
West Refectory:
>Get Teacup.
Kitchen:
>Use Tea maker (with teacup)
Puzzle solved.
>DRINK TEA.
|
|
#
?
Aug 16, 2017 00:48
|
|
- CaptainCaveman
- Apr 16, 2005
-
Always searching for North.
|
quote:> LOOK SOUTH
The Kitchen lies to the south.
The stones echo departing footsteps.
> S
I’m distracted for a moment by a strong smell from one of the jars. It’s only tea but it makes my stomach turn circles. How long till five o’clock and dinner time?
> EXAMINE JAR
A glass apothecary jar of tea leaves, that come shipped in by Zepplin from the Asynchronous Continent.
> TAKE TEA
I scoop up a handful of tea leaves.
> EXAMINE IT
A handful of tea leaves.
> S
Kitchen
If there was ever a proof of the perfection of Clockwork over Nature, it’s that the dirtiest and most hectic room in the whole Abbey is its Kitchen. Shelves, walls and floor are covered by machines belching, slicing, steaming, chopping, stirring, boiling, broiling, frying, pureeing ... the list goes on. The noise, smell and heat are almost overpowering, and the Cook, who controls this madhouse, can only stand it because he’s stone deaf.
In one corner is the only machine I’m allowed to use: the Tea Maker.
The cool of the Hall is west. South, through a broad arch, is the Refectory. North is the dark recess of the Pantry.
> S
East Refectory
The eastern end of the long Refectory is given over in part to the tables lined with brass hourglasses, but in the other half there’s nothing but the enormous Refectory Clock. It’s an impressive thing, so big because it only needs winding once a year, despite all the gongs, cymbals, tubes and bells that strike when dinner time comes around. Right now, the clock is showing the time at just after ten past three.
Pungent smells drift in from the kitchen to the north. On the east wall is the small green door to the Abbey’s herb garden.
> W
West Refectory
I spend some of my time here, eating at one of the two long tables. I spend even more serving the monks. Each of them has their own seat, marked by a little brass hourglass, and if the twenty or so I can see here weren’t enough (which they aren’t), there’s more to the east, where the Refectory continues. Back west is the archway to the Great Hall.
On the table is a single empty teacup, left over from breakfast.
Drake’s footsteps echo in from the west.
> TAKE CUP
I pick up the empty cup from its place beside by Brother Horloge’s hourglass.
> EXAMINE IT
A porcelain teacup. The edges are a little chipped from overuse.
Drake’s coming! Escape lies east.
> E
East Refectory
The eastern end of the long Refectory is given over in part to the tables lined with brass hourglasses, but in the other half there’s nothing but the enormous Refectory Clock. It’s an impressive thing, so big because it only needs winding once a year, despite all the gongs, cymbals, tubes and bells that strike when dinner time comes around. Right now, the clock is showing the time at just after ten past three.
Pungent smells drift in from the kitchen to the north. On the east wall is the small green door to the Abbey’s herb garden.
Drake’s coming! I can escape north.
> N
Kitchen
If there was ever a proof of the perfection of Clockwork over Nature, it’s that the dirtiest and most hectic room in the whole Abbey is its Kitchen. Shelves, walls and floor are covered by machines belching, slicing, steaming, chopping, stirring, boiling, broiling, frying, pureeing ... the list goes on. The noise, smell and heat are almost overpowering, and the Cook, who controls this madhouse, can only stand it because he’s stone deaf.
In one corner is the only machine I’m allowed to use: the Tea Maker.
The cool of the Hall is west. South, through a broad arch, is the Refectory. North is the dark recess of the Pantry.
> N
Abbey Pantry
The Pantry is as tiny as a clock-case and filled with shelves that smell of herb and oil - but it’s dark enough to hide someone like me...
The strongest smell in the room comes from a jar of tea leaf on the shelves.
> Z
The Universal Clock moves onwards: time happens.
> Z
A few heartbeats measure a few seconds.
Footsteps - moving away.
> S
Kitchen
If there was ever a proof of the perfection of Clockwork over Nature, it’s that the dirtiest and most hectic room in the whole Abbey is its Kitchen. Shelves, walls and floor are covered by machines belching, slicing, steaming, chopping, stirring, boiling, broiling, frying, pureeing ... the list goes on. The noise, smell and heat are almost overpowering, and the Cook, who controls this madhouse, can only stand it because he’s stone deaf.
In one corner is the only machine I’m allowed to use: the Tea Maker.
The cool of the Hall is west. South, through a broad arch, is the Refectory. North is the dark recess of the Pantry.
> EXAMINE TEA MAKER
Very complex, but robustly built and able to perform its functions a few thousand times without needing oil. It consists of a framework of arms and struts, most of which move, though there’s a plate at the front to hold the primary gear-train that’s between the lever and the winding key.
Inside the machine I can make out a kettle, a spigot, and a basket suspended over a semi-circular bracket. There’s a burner somewhere, too.
Footsteps - moving away.
> USE TEA MAKER
It does no good to talk to a machine so casually, as Gubbler would say. Each sacred part must be treated as an individual operating within a larger purpose. Keys must be wound, levers pulled, spigots opened... that sort of thing.
|
|
#
?
Aug 16, 2017 01:48
|
|
- AJ_Impy
- Jun 17, 2007
-
SWORD OF SMATTAS. CAN YOU NOT HEAR A WORLD CRY OUT FOR JUSTICE? WHEN WILL YOU DELIVER IT?
-
Yam Slacker
|
Hm.
>Put tea leaves in kettle
>Put kettle under spigot
>turn spigot (on/off)
>put kettle on burner
Depends at what point we're straining the leaves, really.
|
|
#
?
Aug 16, 2017 02:11
|
|
- Ratatozsk
- Mar 6, 2007
-
Had we turned left instead, we may have encountered something like this...
|
Hm.
>Put tea leaves in kettle
>Put kettle under spigot
>turn spigot (on/off)
>put kettle on burner
Depends at what point we're straining the leaves, really.
Leaves go in the basket, agree on kettle, wind key, pull lever, lower basket into kettle, turn spigot. Or something like that.
|
|
#
?
Aug 16, 2017 02:28
|
|
- CaptainCaveman
- Apr 16, 2005
-
Always searching for North.
|
quote:> PUT TEA IN KETTLE
Come off it, Wren! There’s this whole mechanism built with Holy Precision just to stop bits of tea-leaf ending up in the tea, and you want to just dunk the whole lot in?
The cook scurries past me, to tighten the broiler.
I hear footsteps, receding.
> PUT TEA IN BASKET
The basket’s now filled with tea leaves.
> PUT KETTLE UNDER SPIGOT
I need to be holding the kettle before I can put it into something else.
> TAKE KETTLE
The kettle is a fixed part of the machine, built into place underneath the spigot.
> TURN SPIGOT ON
The spigot releases a steady dribble of water into the kettle, filling it nicely. Across the room, the clouds coming from the steamer suddenly thin out.
The Cook stops and gives me the most evil of evil stares. I turn the spigot closed again.
> TURN SPIGOT OFF
That’s already off.
The cook pushes past me, to wind the grater.
Drake’s clattering boots are audible to the south.
quote:
> WIND KEY
(the tea maker key)
A few turns and the spring is fully wound.
The cook pushes past me, to respring the grater.
> PULL LEVER
Everything’s set, certainly, except there’s nowhere for the tea to go - except out of the basket, through the semi-circular bracket where the tea-cup’s supposed to go, and then all over my feet.
> WASH CUP
The teacup seems clean enough as it is.
The cook bustles past me, to thump the masher.
Footsteps - moving away.
> PUT CUP IN MACHINE
I put the teacup into the bracket.
The cook scurries past me, to wind the steamer.
> PULL LEVER
The lever locks down and sets the first few gears in motion. But it doesn’t seem to be carrying over correctly. I can’t help but notice a worn down gear in the middle of the train, no longer catching teeth with its fellows. I make the sign of Sad Depreciation.
I release the lever and it springs back up.
The cook knocks past me, to thump the oven.
> EXAMINE GEAR
(the small gear)
Half the teeth have rounded, like those of an old man, the kind that eats nothing but cabbage. I’m going to need to find a new one from somewhere.
The cook bustles past me, to tighten the masher.
|
|
#
?
Aug 16, 2017 02:37
|
|
- dscruffy1
- Nov 22, 2007
-
Look out!
-
Nap Ghost
|
We never checked that cabinet of relics next to the Gutenberg in the Scriptorium, methinks. Might have a replacement gear.
|
|
#
?
Aug 16, 2017 14:40
|
|
- CaptainCaveman
- Apr 16, 2005
-
Always searching for North.
|
quote:> W
Upper Hall
If I crane my neck I can see the dark square of the floorboards of my room - the ladder snakes down from one side, west of here. Lights move in and out overhead, from the candles moving on their Holy Tracks. Strong smells float through an archway to the east.
From their niches, the Three Major Saints are watching sternly, keen that I should head southwest out of the Cathedral and see the Archbishop as quickly as possible.
> SW
Drake! I’ll keep out of his sight here. I’ll let him pass.
> Z
A few heartbeats measure a few seconds.
> SW
Just in time, I see Drake’s there. I hang back. He’ll move on in a moment.
I hear footsteps, receding.
> SW
Central Hall
I’m standing in the very centre of the Abbey’s Great Hall. The vast empty space is filled by the muttering and echo of Holy Mechanisms, and the hiss of the candles as they sweep around their Tracks, providing a little light everywhere but rarely ever enough. I can just make out archways both east and west.
I hear footsteps, receding.
> SW
Lower Hall
Looking northeast, the Great Hall of the Abbey stretches away like the belly of some big beast, laid out ready to have its mouth stuffed with an apple. The walls are lit in Holy Patterns by candles on Sacred Tracks suspended in the air. There’s just enough light to make out the Corridor of Contemplation to the east and the wider archway to the Scriptorium to the west.
But more importantly, the great Entry - and exit - of the Abbey is to the southwest. And if I’m going to get out of here and talk to the Archbishop that’s the only way to go.
But maybe you’re starting to see what kind of luck I have. Right there, in the Entry, is Calvin, working on a clock.
quote:> W
Scriptorium
The Scriptorium is where the Copying takes place, though it’s hard to believe that Copying once meant a team of monks working with carved rubber stamps. It’s all done by mechanisms now, of course, like everything else except my chores. There’s the massive Gutenberg press on the west wall, and everywhere else is Brother Reloh’s Duplicator. Twenty-three Typewriters, all clattering away as though operated by ghosts, all connected by a single Carriage Arm that curves the length of the wall. To leave the room east or northeast I’ll have to duck under it.
Reloh works on one of the keyboards of the Duplicator, typing furiously. The hammering and punching is almost overwhelming.
The Gutenberg seems to be in the midst of a repair. The Cabinet of Relics next to it is open.
> LOOK IN CABINET
Typesets and other items, including a full set of new brass gears. One stands out; the same cut and bearing as the worn-down cog on the Tea Maker in the Kitchen.
> TAKE GEAR
“Put that back,” Reloh snaps, without looking up. But I don’t put it back.
|
|
#
?
Aug 16, 2017 22:14
|
|
- Ratatozsk
- Mar 6, 2007
-
Had we turned left instead, we may have encountered something like this...
|
>examine Gutenberg
|
|
#
?
Aug 16, 2017 22:24
|
|
- AJ_Impy
- Jun 17, 2007
-
SWORD OF SMATTAS. CAN YOU NOT HEAR A WORLD CRY OUT FOR JUSTICE? WHEN WILL YOU DELIVER IT?
-
Yam Slacker
|
>mock reloh
>deride reloh
>shame reloh
>insult reloh
>discomfort reloh
|
|
#
?
Aug 16, 2017 22:26
|
|
- CaptainCaveman
- Apr 16, 2005
-
Always searching for North.
|
quote:> EXAMINE GUTENBERG
A massive Gutenberg press, the source of all the city of St Philip’s holy texts and condemnations. The recent spate of pamphlets advising against “heretical new ideas” - whatever they might be - has run the press down rather severely. I make the sign of Sad Depreciation. Reloh sees, and nods his approval.
> MOCK RELOH
That’s not a verb I recognize.
> DERIDE RELOH
That’s not a verb I recognize.
> SHAME RELOH
That’s not a verb I recognize.
> INSULT RELOH
That’s not a verb I recognize.
> DISCOMFORT RELOH
That’s not a verb I recognize.
> RELOH, HI
“Say nothing,” Reloh instructs. So I say nothing.
Drake’s footsteps echo in from the east.
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2017 01:29
|
|
- CaptainCaveman
- Apr 16, 2005
-
Always searching for North.
|
quote:> READ TYPEWRITER
I can’t see any such thing.
> EXAMINE TYPEWRITER
I can’t see any such thing.
> READ TYPEWRITERS
The sheets coming out of the Writers of the Great Duplicator are titled “A Defense of the Faith Against the Strange Motions of the Unsettled Masses”. I read a bit.
“But for the Irony, that it is Consequentialism which causes Wronged People to accept such Heresy and Bad Thought, I would declare these Bad Thinkers to be Agents of Rust itself. However, it is their Debauchery, their lacks of Precision, both in Morality and Productivity. These things have Led them into Terrible Indecision. ‘When the teeth of the flock cannot chew, they shall Slip and Spin in most Lonely Individualism.’ So sayeth...”
It doesn’t half go on.
Drake’s just off to the east, and he’s coming this way! I’d better disappear northeast.
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2017 03:02
|
|
- Ratatozsk
- Mar 6, 2007
-
Had we turned left instead, we may have encountered something like this...
|
Are we able to hide?
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2017 21:26
|
|
- CaptainCaveman
- Apr 16, 2005
-
Always searching for North.
|
We are.quote:> HIDE
Good thinking!
I duck behind the Cabinet of Relics, just in time! Drake marches through the room. Once he’s gone, I slip back out.
quote:> LOOK NORTHEAST
The Library lies to the northeast.
> NE
Just in time, I see Drake’s there. I hang back. He’ll move on in a moment.
Footsteps - moving away.
> NE
Library
The Abbey’s library is small compared to the one in the Cathedral. There’s nothing on the shelves but the key texts: the Principia, the Mechanistica and the Determininium. Only Brother Horloge, the Abbey’s Primary Reader ever seems to use them - he’s here at the moment, studying at his desk by the poor light coming through the stained glass windows. By his elbow is a fat bunch of keys. On his shoulder is his mechanical owl, wings folded.
An archway leads east back into the hall. From the southwest comes the clatter of Writing hammers and the sharp smell of burnt ink.
> E
Just in time, I see Drake’s there. I hang back. He’ll move on in a moment.
The stones echo departing footsteps.
> E
Central Hall
I’m standing in the very centre of the Abbey’s Great Hall. The vast empty space is filled by the muttering and echo of Holy Mechanisms, and the hiss of the candles as they sweep around their Tracks, providing a little light everywhere but rarely ever enough. I can just make out archways both east and west.
The stones echo departing footsteps.
> E
West Refectory
I spend some of my time here, eating at one of the two long tables. I spend even more serving the monks. Each of them has their own seat, marked by a little brass hourglass, and if the twenty or so I can see here weren’t enough (which they aren’t), there’s more to the east, where the Refectory continues. Back west is the archway to the Great Hall.
Footsteps - moving away.
> E
East Refectory
The eastern end of the long Refectory is given over in part to the tables lined with brass hourglasses, but in the other half there’s nothing but the enormous Refectory Clock. It’s an impressive thing, so big because it only needs winding once a year, despite all the gongs, cymbals, tubes and bells that strike when dinner time comes around. Right now, the clock is showing the time at just after quarter past three.
Pungent smells drift in from the kitchen to the north. On the east wall is the small green door to the Abbey’s herb garden.
Footsteps - moving away.
> N
Kitchen
If there was ever a proof of the perfection of Clockwork over Nature, it’s that the dirtiest and most hectic room in the whole Abbey is its Kitchen. Shelves, walls and floor are covered by machines belching, slicing, steaming, chopping, stirring, boiling, broiling, frying, pureeing ... the list goes on. The noise, smell and heat are almost overpowering, and the Cook, who controls this madhouse, can only stand it because he’s stone deaf.
In one corner is the only machine I’m allowed to use: the Tea Maker. In the bracket of the machine is a teacup.
The cool of the Hall is west. South, through a broad arch, is the Refectory. North is the dark recess of the Pantry.
The cook knocks past me, to thump the oven.
> PUT GEAR IN MACHINE
(the new gear in the Tea Maker)
While the Cook is distracted - the Cook is always distracted - I pluck out the worn down gear. Not the sort of repair a clock polisher should be doing!
I slip the new gear into place. The gear train forms a perfect snake from the lever, over the semi-circular bracket and into the innards of the machine.
The cook pushes past me, to tighten the grater.
Footsteps - moving away.
> PULL LEVER
The cook knocks past me, to thump the whisker.
The gear train whirrs into life, swinging the kettle across inside the machine. Its base knocks open the gas-pipe tap. A jet of gas hisses out, blowing up a tiny sail attached by thread to the flint-iron. The burner is quickly alight.
> X MACHINE
The machine is clanking, spinning, whirring and generally doing its thing.
The stones echo departing footsteps.
After a minute or so, steam begins to rise from the kettle. This steam collects on a fine gauze over the kettle, which slowly weighs down on a thin metal strut. Eventually, the pressure is enough to flip a counterweight, and the gauze tilts, pushes the kettle onto its side. Boiling water pours from the spout and into the basket of tea leaves. As the kettle empties, its weight shifts and it swings back. A pin on one side knocks closed the gas pipe.
> AGAIN
The machine is clanking, spinning, whirring and generally doing its thing.
The basket on the tea-maker slowly filters tea into the waiting cup. Meanwhile, the slowing gears move the kettle back to its original position below the spigot, and the water on the gauze sheet evaporates away. All is restored: “Every cog comes full circle,” as they say.
> AGAIN
The machine is clanking, spinning, whirring and generally doing its thing.
The lever springs back. The tea is finished. In a final convulsion, the machine spits the used tea leaves out the back and into a composter duct, ready to be fed to the cows that provided the gas... It’s certainly neat.
> TAKE TEA
I lift the cup carefully from the machine. The Cook turns and for the first time seems to notice me. He looks furious. “And where you thin’ you go wi’ tha’?” he demands. “Wait. Wa’.”
After a bit of tidying, he finds a button to press. A machine coughs and wheezes, and eventually a small half-slice of lemon squeezes from a slot. The Cook snatches it and drops it into my tea cup. “Ri’ you are,” he says, and then waves me away.
> DRINK TEA
After all that? No way. I prefer milk anyway.
|
|
#
?
Aug 19, 2017 03:27
|
|
- Ratatozsk
- Mar 6, 2007
-
Had we turned left instead, we may have encountered something like this...
|
We have our brownian motion generator. Put the dangly bit in the cup and follow our nose.
Or give the cup to that guy who wants a cuppa. Whatever.
|
|
#
?
Aug 19, 2017 04:20
|
|
- CaptainCaveman
- Apr 16, 2005
-
Always searching for North.
|
quote:> W
Upper Hall
If I crane my neck I can see the dark square of the floorboards of my room - the ladder snakes down from one side, west of here. Lights move in and out overhead, from the candles moving on their Holy Tracks. Strong smells float through an archway to the east.
From their niches, the Three Major Saints are watching sternly, keen that I should head southwest out of the Cathedral and see the Archbishop as quickly as possible.
> SW
Central Hall
I’m standing in the very centre of the Abbey’s Great Hall. The vast empty space is filled by the muttering and echo of Holy Mechanisms, and the hiss of the candles as they sweep around their Tracks, providing a little light everywhere but rarely ever enough. I can just make out archways both east and west.
Drake, approaching from the west!
quote:
> SW
Lower Hall
Looking northeast, the Great Hall of the Abbey stretches away like the belly of some big beast, laid out ready to have its mouth stuffed with an apple. The walls are lit in Holy Patterns by candles on Sacred Tracks suspended in the air. There’s just enough light to make out the Corridor of Contemplation to the east and the wider archway to the Scriptorium to the west.
But more importantly, the great Entry - and exit - of the Abbey is to the southwest. And if I’m going to get out of here and talk to the Archbishop that’s the only way to go.
Right there, in the Entry, is Calvin, working on a clock.
The stones echo departing footsteps.
> W
Scriptorium
The Scriptorium is where the Copying takes place, though it’s hard to believe that Copying once meant a team of monks working with carved rubber stamps. It’s all done by mechanisms now, of course, like everything else except my chores. There’s the massive Gutenberg press on the west wall, and everywhere else is Brother Reloh’s Duplicator. Twenty-three Typewriters, all clattering away as though operated by ghosts, all connected by a single Carriage Arm that curves the length of the wall. To leave the room east or northeast I’ll have to duck under it.
Reloh works on one of the keyboards of the Duplicator, typing furiously. The hammering and punching is almost overwhelming.
The Gutenberg seems to be in the midst of a repair. The Cabinet of Relics next to it is open.
> NE
Just in time, I see Drake’s there. I hang back. He’ll move on in a moment.
Footsteps - moving away.
> NE
Library
The Abbey’s library is small compared to the one in the Cathedral. There’s nothing on the shelves but the key texts: the Principia, the Mechanistica and the Determininium. Only Brother Horloge, the Abbey’s Primary Reader ever seems to use them - he’s here at the moment, studying at his desk by the poor light coming through the stained glass windows. By his elbow is a fat bunch of keys. On his shoulder is his mechanical owl, wings folded.
An archway leads east back into the hall. From the southwest comes the clatter of Writing hammers and the sharp smell of burnt ink.
> GIVE CUP TO HORLOGE
I set the cup down beside Brother Horloge’s elbow. “Excellent, there,” he says, beaming, nostrils twitching. “Such a smell! The finest!” He lifts the cup, takes a sip and smacks his lips. “It’s the slight metallic tang that really gives it the whotsit,” he adds. His eyes half-close in calm delight. “Now,” he adds. “Was there anything?”
Horloge is clearly enjoying his cup of tea.
The stones echo departing footsteps.
Hooray, we gave Brother Horloge his tea! Wh... why did we do that, again?
|
|
#
?
Aug 19, 2017 13:10
|
|
- Ratatozsk
- Mar 6, 2007
-
Had we turned left instead, we may have encountered something like this...
|
Grab the keys and the owl.
|
|
#
?
Aug 19, 2017 13:12
|
|
- CaptainCaveman
- Apr 16, 2005
-
Always searching for North.
|
quote:> GIVE TEA TO HORLOGE
I set the cup down beside Brother Horloge’s elbow. “Excellent, there,” he says, beaming, nostrils twitching. “Such a smell! The finest!” He lifts the cup, takes a sip and smacks his lips. “It’s the slight metallic tang that really gives it the whotsit,” he adds. His eyes half-close in calm delight. “Now,” he adds. “Was there anything?”
Horloge is clearly enjoying his cup of tea.
> TAKE KEYS
His eyes are only half-closed. They’re half-open as well. He bats my hand away firmly. “Leave them be,” he says. Of course, he knocks them to the floor in the process and he doesn’t notice that.
> TAKE KEYS
Very quietly, I pick the keys up off the ground. With his eyes half-shut, Horloge doesn’t notice.
> TAKE OWL
Most of the monks have an animal of some kind - it’s the height of rudeness to play with them, however. I don’t touch.
> EXAMINE OWL
Horloge’s mechanical owl sits on his shoulder. It seems to be asleep, its spring unwound.
Horloge reaches up to stroke his owl. The bird is motionless.
> ASK HORLOGE ABOUT OWL
“I like your owl,” I tell him. “It’s artificial?”
“Of course it is,” he says. “Her name’s Rachael.”
> EXAMINE KEYS
A thick bunch of keys, to most of the Abbey’s locks and clocks alike.
> WIND SPRING
I don’t want Horloge to see I’ve got his keys.
Drake’s footsteps echo in from the southwest.
(That bit may seem confusing - how would winding the owl make him see we have his keys? If we'd tried to wind the spring before taking the keys, we'd get "The owl seems to have lost its key somewhere. It’s probably on Horloge’s keyring.")
|
|
#
?
Aug 19, 2017 13:31
|
|
- CaptainCaveman
- Apr 16, 2005
-
Always searching for North.
|
quote:> FIND OWL KEY ON RING
I didn’t understand that sentence.
> GIVE OWL KEY TO HORLOGE
I can only do that to something animate.
I'm fairly sure that's a case of the parser drastically misunderstanding us somehow, not a surprise reveal that our poisoned tea just killed poor Brother Horloge.
quote:> EXAMINE HORLOGE
Horloge’s eyes are screwed up behind the most complicated pair of spectacles I’ve ever encountered. They make it hard to even see his eyes - or rather what’s left of them. He’s read in the darkness here in the Library for so long he’s basically blind. On his shoulder sits his pet owl. Same as Brother Horloge it looks more fearsome than it actually is.
He’s sipping his tea, quite content, eyes half-closed.
Horloge is clearly enjoying his cup of tea.
Drake’s coming! Time to leave: I can go east.
> HIDE
I duck behind the wheeled table, just in time! Drake marches through the room. Once he’s gone, I slip back out.
|
|
#
?
Aug 20, 2017 12:14
|
|
- AJ_Impy
- Jun 17, 2007
-
SWORD OF SMATTAS. CAN YOU NOT HEAR A WORLD CRY OUT FOR JUSTICE? WHEN WILL YOU DELIVER IT?
-
Yam Slacker
|
>UNLOCK (everything)
>WIND (everything)
|
|
#
?
Aug 20, 2017 14:57
|
|
- CaptainCaveman
- Apr 16, 2005
-
Always searching for North.
|
quote:> UNLOCK ALL
You can’t use multiple objects with that verb.
> UNLOCK HORLOGE
You must supply a second noun.
Footsteps - moving away.
> UNLOCK BROTHER HORLOGE
You must supply a second noun.
> UNLOCK OWL
You must supply a second noun.
Horloge reaches up to stroke his owl. The bird is motionless.
> UNLOCK HORLOGE WITH KEYS
That doesn’t seem to be something I can unlock.
> UNLOCK OWL WITH KEYS
That doesn’t seem to be something I can unlock.
> UNLOCK BOOKS WITH KEYS
They don’t seem to be something I can unlock.
> WIND OWL
I don’t want Horloge to see I’ve got his keys.
Horloge is clearly enjoying his cup of tea.
> WIND HORLOGE
That would be less than courteous.
> WIND BOOKS
Those are fixed in place.
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2017 00:37
|
|
- CaptainCaveman
- Apr 16, 2005
-
Always searching for North.
|
I believe we did see at least one door we likely want to try opening.
quote:> E
Just in time, I see Drake’s there. I hang back. He’ll move on in a moment.
Drake’s footsteps echo in from the southwest.
> E
Central Hall
I’m standing in the very centre of the Abbey’s Great Hall. The vast empty space is filled by the muttering and echo of Holy Mechanisms, and the hiss of the candles as they sweep around their Tracks, providing a little light everywhere but rarely ever enough. I can just make out archways both east and west.
Drake, approaching from the west!
> E
West Refectory
I spend some of my time here, eating at one of the two long tables. I spend even more serving the monks. Each of them has their own seat, marked by a little brass hourglass, and if the twenty or so I can see here weren’t enough (which they aren’t), there’s more to the east, where the Refectory continues. Back west is the archway to the Great Hall.
> E
East Refectory
The eastern end of the long Refectory is given over in part to the tables lined with brass hourglasses, but in the other half there’s nothing but the enormous Refectory Clock. It’s an impressive thing, so big because it only needs winding once a year, despite all the gongs, cymbals, tubes and bells that strike when dinner time comes around. Right now, the clock is showing the time at just after quarter past three.
Pungent smells drift in from the kitchen to the north. On the east wall is the small green door to the Abbey’s herb garden.
> UNLOCK DOOR WITH KEYS
I unlock the garden door.
Drake’s footsteps echo in from the west.
The Refectory Clock clunks forward one minute.
> E
(first opening the garden door)
Outside the Abbey! If it weren’t for the tall walls around the garden, I’d be in the street and running round to the Cathedral in a second’s-swish!
Abbey Herb Garden
Standing in the garden is a bit like walking on tilting floorboards: every step you take has an unexpected spring to it. That’s because where the ground should be there’s a large metal disc with a large glass lens at its centre, on which all the soil beds are laid out like numbers on a clock. As the day goes on, the disc revolves so that the plants can follow the sunlight until at night, when disappear safely under the metal hood built into the south wall.
Otherwise, there are tall walls on three sides and only one door, back into the Abbey, to the west.
> EXAMINE WALLS
The walls are nine or ten feet of smoothed-down stone, to stop climbers and creepers, human and vegetable alike. (Shame, since on the other side of the wall is the side of the Abbey, and that means a quick run to the Cathedral.)
> EXAMINE GARDEN
(the garden door)
The interior of the Abbey is shadowy: too dark to see.
> EXAMINE PLANTS
The day-plants are lush and verdant, thanks to the metal plate that keeps them out of the shadows of the walls.
Butterflies flit between the flowers.
> EXAMINE PLATE
The entire garden floor is one revolving metal plate, set on castors, that ticks slowly round to follow the motion of the sun around the garden. There’s even a low cover at one end, to shield the plants from interested birds at four in the morning.
In the centre is the large lens that drives the mechanism.
Birds flit by overhead.
> EXAMINE COVER
The metal hood comes up to my knees, and is snugly built for the plants to slide in underneath without being hurt. It keeps the mushrooms shady (and warm) during the day, and the vegetables protected from snails at night.
|
|
#
?
Aug 27, 2017 18:40
|
|
- Ratatozsk
- Mar 6, 2007
-
Had we turned left instead, we may have encountered something like this...
|
>x lens
>lift cover
>get mushroom
>get butterfly
|
|
#
?
Aug 27, 2017 19:11
|
|
- CaptainCaveman
- Apr 16, 2005
-
Always searching for North.
|
quote:> EXAMINE LENS
The lens drives the mechanism, by collecting sunlight and using it to heat a spring of copper underneath the plate. The spring then winds and unwinds as it extends and shrinks, and the plate turns around - keeping the day-plants, herbs and vegetables, in the best sunshine possible, and at night, letting the mushrooms come out to collect the dew.
The plants are glowing under the beautiful sunshine.
> LIFT COVER
That’s hardly portable.
Butterflies flit between the flowers.
> TAKE MUSHROOM
Those plants are out of the daylight and out of reach, underneath the metal hood.
Smells lift from the plants.
> EXAMINE BUTTERFLY
The garden is alive with small things.
> TAKE BUTTERFLY
They’re busy. So, remember, am I.
The sunlight makes my back prick with sweat.
> EXAMINE BACK
I can’t see any such thing.
> EXAMINE SWEAT
I can’t see any such thing.
|
|
#
?
Aug 27, 2017 22:00
|
|
- Ratatozsk
- Mar 6, 2007
-
Had we turned left instead, we may have encountered something like this...
|
>get vegetables, flowers
>climb wall
Go back to the refectory and get an hourglass
...kinda stumped for our next direction or goal
>smell garden smells
|
|
#
?
Aug 28, 2017 00:42
|
|
- AJ_Impy
- Jun 17, 2007
-
SWORD OF SMATTAS. CAN YOU NOT HEAR A WORLD CRY OUT FOR JUSTICE? WHEN WILL YOU DELIVER IT?
-
Yam Slacker
|
>UNLOCK/WIND (Everything here.)
|
|
#
?
Aug 28, 2017 01:08
|
|
- CaptainCaveman
- Apr 16, 2005
-
Always searching for North.
|
quote:> TAKE ALL
garden door: That’s fixed in place.
Birds flit by overhead.
> EXAMINE WALL
The walls are nine or ten feet of smoothed-down stone, to stop climbers and creepers, human and vegetable alike. (Shame, since on the other side of the wall is the side of the Abbey, and that means a quick run to the Cathedral.)
> UNLOCK GATE
I can’t see any such thing.
> UNLOCK LENS
You must supply a second noun.
> UNLOCK LENS WITH KEYS
That doesn’t seem to be something I can unlock.
A few insects buzz through the leaves.
> CLIMB WALL
Over the walls would get me round the side of the Abbey and straight to the Cathedral... but the walls are too smooth to climb and much too high to jump.
> JUMP
The floor rocks a little when I land.
> SMELL
There’s a whole range of smells, from sweet to spicy.
> SMELL GARDEN
(the garden door)
There’s a whole range of smells, from sweet to spicy.
Butterflies flit between the flowers.
> WIND LENS
It is fixed in place.
> W
East Refectory
The eastern end of the long Refectory is given over in part to the tables lined with brass hourglasses, but in the other half there’s nothing but the enormous Refectory Clock. It’s an impressive thing, so big because it only needs winding once a year, despite all the gongs, cymbals, tubes and bells that strike when dinner time comes around. Right now, the clock is showing the time at just after twenty past three.
Pungent smells drift in from the kitchen to the north. On the east wall is the small green door to the Abbey’s herb garden. It’s wide open.
> TAKE HOURGLASS
I can’t see any such thing.
> EXAMINE CLOCK
Housed in a case made of oak and glass, the inner workings of the Refectory Clock are visible, for the purpose of contemplation over dinner. In one corner is the colossal spring, about the size of an Oliphant, which powers the clock for over a year and reminds us that we need little to do much. Almost all the rest of the clock is given over to bells, hammers, whistles, gongs, organ pipes, cymbals, and other devices designed to bring even the deafest monk to dinner.
The clock is currently set to eighteen minutes past three. Still a while till five o’clock, and dinner.
The Refectory Clock clunks forward one minute.
> EXAMINE CASE
It’s mostly bells. The clock is currently set to nineteen minutes past three. Still a while till five o’clock, and dinner.
> EXAMINE SPRING
It’s mostly bells. The clock is currently set to nineteen minutes past three. Still a while till five o’clock, and dinner.
Drake’s footsteps echo in from the west.
> HIDE
I duck behind the long tables, just in time! Drake marches through the room. Once he’s gone, I slip back out.
Our goal here is to get out of the Abbey and to the Cathedral so we can tell the Archbishop about what we overheard. Unfortunately, one of the bullies is currently hanging out near the front door so we can't just go out that way. (Minor hint, no specific details: There are actually two ways we can get out.)
It's actually kind of unfortunate that the first two chapters are so limited like this - Chapter 1 was very railroaded but only lasts a few turns and is more of a prologue, but Chapter 2 is kind of annoying with constantly needing to dodge Drake. The next chapter is a bit better.
|
|
#
?
Aug 28, 2017 04:22
|
|
- Ratatozsk
- Mar 6, 2007
-
Had we turned left instead, we may have encountered something like this...
|
Our goal here is to get out of the Abbey and to the Cathedral so we can tell the Archbishop about what we overheard. Unfortunately, one of the bullies is currently hanging out near the front door so we can't just go out that way. (Minor hint, no specific details: There are actually two ways we can get out.)
It's actually kind of unfortunate that the first two chapters are so limited like this - Chapter 1 was very railroaded but only lasts a few turns and is more of a prologue, but Chapter 2 is kind of annoying with constantly needing to dodge Drake. The next chapter is a bit better.
Can we wind the clock or unlock it to move time ahead and make dinner happen or something?
|
|
#
?
Aug 28, 2017 05:17
|
|
- Delvio
- Sep 14, 2007
-
|
If we cover the lens (or cool down the metal spring) then we should be able to get the mushrooms.
|
|
#
?
Aug 28, 2017 23:21
|
|
- CaptainCaveman
- Apr 16, 2005
-
Always searching for North.
|
quote:> WIND CLOCK
If I want the clock to ring I’d better set it to dinner-time.
> SET CLOCK TO DINNER-TIME
Resetting a clock is heresy of a pretty high order: but even if the situation is desperate enough to require it, the case is still locked.
Footsteps - moving away.
quote:
> E
I’m back in the garden. Just the walls between me and freedom!
Abbey Herb Garden
Right now, the lens in the centre of the great disc of the garden is bathed in light and the day-plants are out: basil, thyme, potatoes, other vegetables. The mushroom beds are under the metal hood on the south wall.
Otherwise, there are tall walls on three sides and only one door, back into the Abbey, to the west.
> COVER LENS
I put both hands over the lens. There’s a pause, and then the whole garden begins to revolve! The day-plants move under the shade of the metal hood, and the night-plants - mushrooms and fungi - emerge in their place. Stuck in the beds amongst them is a short stake.
Sunlight gleams off the metal floor of the garden, but doesn’t hit the covered lens.
> TAKE MUSHROOMS
I lift my hand away from the lens. The garden revolves back as light hits the lens once more. The herbs and vegetables come out of hiding into the sunshine! . The movement almost knocks me over.
Smells lift from the plants.
> COVER LENS
I put both hands over the lens. The garden revolves once more, bringing the night-plants back into view. Stuck in the beds amongst them is a short stake.
> EXAMINE STAKE
I see nothing special about the short stake.
The plants are glowing under the beautiful sunshine.
> TAKE STAKE
I lift my hand away from the lens. The lens lights up and the day-beds revolve back out from the under the cover. I have to balance to stay upright as the plate turns.
Covering the lens like that works to get the garden to spin, but then we can't get anything.
|
|
#
?
Aug 29, 2017 01:27
|
|
- Ratatozsk
- Mar 6, 2007
-
Had we turned left instead, we may have encountered something like this...
|
Check our inventory for clothing or something we can put over the lens. Failing that, try covering the lens for two turns to see if that gives us any leeway.
Failing that, try unlocking the clock and loving with time.
|
|
#
?
Aug 29, 2017 02:51
|
|
- Adbot
-
ADBOT LOVES YOU
|
|
|
#
?
May 5, 2024 01:07
|
|
- CaptainCaveman
- Apr 16, 2005
-
Always searching for North.
|
quote:> INVENTORY
I’m carrying:
Horloge’s keys
a small gear
my lucky clock key (being worn)
a rag
a glass tumbler (containing:)
a small amount of polish
Birds flit by overhead.
> PUT GEAR ON LENS
The small gear is tiny compared to the size of the lens.
Sunlight gleams off the lens in the centre of the garden.
> TAKE GEAR
I’m carrying the small gear already.
> PUT RAG ON LENS
I cover the lens with the rag. The garden revolves once more, bringing the night-plants back into view. Stuck in the beds amongst them is a short stake.
> EXAMINE PLANTS
The night-plants look dry and withered, like old men, or the oldest of the old monks, the ones who need straws to eat.
> EXAMINE STAKE
I see nothing special about the short stake.
> TAKE PLANTS
Plenty of these mushrooms are grown for the Apothecary. Some might drive you mad, or blind, or worse. I’m not touching any.
The plants are glowing under the beautiful sunshine.
> TAKE STAKE
I pull the stake free of the soil, only to find it’s the handle of a gardener’s knife! Someone must have left it here by accident. Still, could be useful if I meet any Grey Figures...
> EXAMINE KNIFE
A short gardener’s knife, sharp enough for slicing bramble-stems but probably not much good for fending off Calvin.
> TAKE RAG
I remove the rag from the lens. The lens lights up and the day-beds revolve back out from the under the cover.
Sunlight gleams off the lens in the centre of the garden.
quote:
> W
East Refectory
The eastern end of the long Refectory is given over in part to the tables lined with brass hourglasses, but in the other half there’s nothing but the enormous Refectory Clock. It’s an impressive thing, so big because it only needs winding once a year, despite all the gongs, cymbals, tubes and bells that strike when dinner time comes around. Right now, the clock is showing the time at just after twenty past three.
Pungent smells drift in from the kitchen to the north. On the east wall is the small green door to the Abbey’s herb garden. It’s wide open.
The Refectory Clock clunks forward one minute.
> UNLOCK CLOCK WITH KEYS
I unlock the Refectory Clock.
Drake, approaching from the west!
> HIDE
I duck behind the long tables, just in time! Drake marches through the room. Once he’s gone, I slip back out.
> S
The only ways to go from here are north, east and west.
> SET CLOCK TO DINNER-TIME
(first opening the Refectory Clock)
Resetting a clock is a sacred matter, part of a ritual that considers the endless push of Sad Depreciation and the holy act of Maintainance that man must perform. The Abbot has a whole sermon for it. So to do it, just like this, on a whim... I can feel in my stomach that it’s not right, that if Clockwork is Clockwork then there must be a better way.
Footsteps - moving away.
|
|
#
?
Aug 30, 2017 03:37
|
|
#
?
Aug 13, 2017 05:16
