- CaptainCaveman
- Apr 16, 2005
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Always searching for North.
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quote:> MOVE LADDER TO CRATE
No, I can’t set that to anything.
> TAKE LADDER
I take hold of the ladder again.
> PUT LADDER ON CRATE
That doesn’t seem to achieve anything.
> PUT LADDER AGAINST CRATE
That doesn’t seem to achieve anything.
> CLIMB CRATE
The packing crate’s too high to climb easily and too low to get me near anything useful. I’m staying put.
> LEAN LADDER ON CRATE
I didn’t understand that sentence.
Unless you've got a specific way you want me to try phrasing it, looks like that's not an option.
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Dec 9, 2017 04:24
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- Adbot
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ADBOT LOVES YOU
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#
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May 5, 2024 09:02
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- Odysseus S. Grant
- Oct 12, 2011
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Cats is the oldest and strongest emotion
of mankind
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Climb crate with ladder?
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Dec 14, 2017 14:17
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- CaptainCaveman
- Apr 16, 2005
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Always searching for North.
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quote:> CLIMB CRATE WITH LADDER
I only understood you as far as wanting to climb the crate.
> CLIMB CRATE
The packing crate’s too high to climb easily and too low to get me near anything useful. I’m staying put.
I'm pretty sure you guys have the right idea and are on the right track, but the wrong execution. What are you trying to do?
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Dec 15, 2017 01:33
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- Ratatozsk
- Mar 6, 2007
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Had we turned left instead, we may have encountered something like this...
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Is it possible to put the rope over the second pipe too? Not that this gives us any mechanical advantage, but it is a thing to do. Then try pulling, or looping it through the chain, or hanging ourselves or something.
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#
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Dec 15, 2017 04:02
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- CaptainCaveman
- Apr 16, 2005
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Always searching for North.
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quote:> PUT LADDER ON PIPE
I get the ladder into place under the pipe.
> CLIMB LADDER
I scramble back up the ladder.
> THROW ROPE OVER PIPE
(first taking the rope)
I climb back down the ladder.
I take hold of the rope.
I’d gain nothing from winding the rope any further around the pipe: it’d only make it harder to pull, and it wouldn’t really make it any shorter.
> CLIMB DOWN LADDER
I scramble back up the ladder.
> TAKE LADDER
I climb back down the ladder.
I take hold of the ladder again.
> S
I let go of this part of the rope.
Storage
The south end of the enormous room. There’s another door to the east: less formidable than the others except for a sign that says KEEP OUT. Sounds promising - perhaps this is the cupboard where the Figure sleeps.
There’s a length of rope here. It’s tied to the warehouse door and disappears to the north at a sharp angle up towards the roof. It is too heavy for me to lift the whole thing.
> PUT LADDER ON PIPE
I get the ladder into place under the pipe.
> CLIMB PIPE
I could probably scramble around on the pipes if I had a death-wish, except they don’t go anywhere, just straight from one side of the warehouse to the other.
> THROW ROPE OVER PIPE
(first taking the rope)
I take hold of the rope.
I’ve only got the middle of the rope, not a free end.
> UNTIE ROPE
(the part I’m holding)
You must supply a second noun.
> DROP ROPE
(the part I’m holding)
I let go of the rope.
> UNTIE ROPE
It takes a bit of jiggling, but I work the knot free from the warehouse door.
> THROW ROPE OVER PIPE
(first taking the rope)
I take hold of the rope.
I scramble a few rungs up the ladder with the end of the rope looped around my neck - not very safe, I know, but I’m working as fast as I can. Once I’m up high enough I toss the rope over the piping.
> TIE ROPE TO RING
(the rope to the iron ring)
I climb back down the ladder.
I tie this end of my pulley system off to the warehouse door.
> TAKE LADDER
I take hold of the ladder again.
> N
Loading
This warehouse may be massive but it seems completely empty, just one huge crate wrapped all round with thick iron chains, and some piles of debris like those outside. There’s enough floor space continuing off to the south for a game of clockball.
About halfway down is the large metal door I saw from the dock. Above it a fat pipe crosses from wall to wall. The drain I came up from is by the north wall.
There’s a length of rope here. It is looped over a pipe near the ceiling and passes over the second pipe to the south. It is too heavy for me to lift the whole thing.
> PULL ROPE
(first taking the rope)
I take hold of the rope.
I’m simply not heavy enough to get that door to shift. I need something heavier than it is. A battleship maybe, or a small moon.
> TAKE ROPE
(the end hanging down from the pipe)
I’m already holding the rope (I could give it a yank to coil it up, if that’s what you meant.)
> PUT LADDER ON PIPE
I get the ladder into place under the pipe.
> CLIMB LADDER
I scramble back up the ladder.
> JUMP
The pipe is too high to reach like that, if that’s what you’re thinking.
> JUMP DOWN
I climb back down the ladder.
> DOWN
I let go of the rope.
I suppose the water-rats didn’t get a chance to eat my toes last time. I drop back into the water of the drain.
Drain
The drain’s heading upwards and I’ve found air above me, a little pocket of it, like I was an ant trapped inside a spirit level. Above me is a grate. quote:> UP
I push my way up through the grate and out of the water.
Loading
This warehouse may be massive but it seems completely empty, just one huge crate wrapped all round with thick iron chains, and some piles of debris like those outside. There’s enough floor space continuing off to the south for a game of clockball.
About halfway down is the large metal door I saw from the dock. Above it a fat pipe crosses from wall to wall. The drain I came up from is by the north wall.
A long ladder leans against the wall below the pipe.
There’s a length of rope here. It is looped over a pipe near the ceiling and passes over the second pipe to the south. It is too heavy for me to lift the whole thing.
> TIE ROPE TO CHAIN
(first taking the rope)
I take hold of the rope.
I haul down on this end of the rope, feeling the fibres stretch. When the whole system is as taut as I can get it, I loop it through the crate and tie it tighter than one of Drake’s Viennese burns. As the system relaxes the door seems to move maybe a second’s hand from the floor...
quote:
> PUSH CRATE
Putting my shoulderblades to the side of the crate and digging my heels into the floorboards, I manage to move the crate a tiny inch towards the drain. Every inch after that is easier as more and more of the crate is out of contact with the floor, until suddenly it’s moving and I nearly fall backwards with it.
The crate tumbles away into the drain. The rope goes taut. And across the hall there’s the sound of moving metal...
> SOUTH
Storage
The south end of the enormous room. There’s another door to the east: less formidable than the others except for a sign that says KEEP OUT. Sounds promising - perhaps this is the cupboard where the Figure sleeps.
The enormous iron door has lifted just a couple of handspans from the floor..
There’s a length of rope here. It’s tied to the warehouse door and is looped over a pipe near the ceiling and passes over the second pipe to the north. It is tied tightly at both ends.
> UNTIE ROPE
The rope system is held so tight I can’t begin to get the knots to move.
> TAKE ROPE
I take hold of the rope.
> E
I let go of the rope.
Lying on my belly I pull myself through the gap into darkness. Halfway through I have a sudden horrible mental image: the Figure, standing by the crate in the drain with a candle to the rope that’s holding the enormous door above me. As quick as I can I pull myself through.
Darkness
I’m on some kind of metal platform in the dark. The crack of light below the door is enough to make out a few controls beside me and a set of stairs leading down to the north. Down seems an odd way to be going since we’re above the river. There’s probably serpents down there, or octopuses, or water-camels.
> EXAMINE CONTROLS
The platform has a control box fitted to it. There may be more controls out there in the dark but what’s visible is a button, a large lever, and a red-painted bolt.
> EXAMINE STAIRS
I can’t see much beyond the first few steps.
> N
I feel my way down the first few steps: then the metal underfoot starts to rock and sway. Perhaps all this is built on the water and is floating - or perhaps the supports have rotted and the staircase is about to fall. Terrified, I race back up to the safety of the platform.
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#
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Dec 16, 2017 01:19
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- Ratatozsk
- Mar 6, 2007
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Had we turned left instead, we may have encountered something like this...
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Turn the bolt 7 times with the wrench.
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#
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Dec 16, 2017 06:41
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- CaptainCaveman
- Apr 16, 2005
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Always searching for North.
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quote: > TURN BOLT WITH WRENCH
The bolt doesn’t seem to turn: partly because the lever’s in the way of the wrench handle.
> PULL LEVER
Pulling the lever takes all the strength I’ve got left (which isn’t too much). In reply from the darkness comes the sound of a thousand tiny clicks.
> TURN BOLT WITH WRENCH
I heave the bolt around. The room is suddenly filled by a hissing sound, like a thousand baby cobras coiling and getting ready to strike! A strange smell comes with them.
> AGAIN
I turn the bolt further. The baby cobras grow up into hot-headed angry adult cobras the size of oak trees. I’m almost deafened by the noise.
> AGAIN
I heave the bolt further still. Abruptly, the room falls quiet.
> AGAIN
I heave the bolt around. The room is suddenly filled by a hissing sound, like a thousand baby cobras coiling and getting ready to strike! A strange smell comes with them.
> AGAIN
I turn the bolt further. The baby cobras grow up into hot-headed angry adult cobras the size of oak trees. I’m almost deafened by the noise.
> AGAIN
I heave the bolt further still. Abruptly, the room falls quiet.
> AGAIN
I heave the bolt around. The room is suddenly filled by a hissing sound, like a thousand baby cobras coiling and getting ready to strike! A strange smell comes with them.
> SMELL
There’s a strong smell, almost metallic, filling the air.
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#
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Dec 16, 2017 10:26
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- Ratatozsk
- Mar 6, 2007
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Had we turned left instead, we may have encountered something like this...
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Turn the wrench one more time and then press the button.
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#
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Dec 17, 2017 07:47
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- CaptainCaveman
- Apr 16, 2005
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Always searching for North.
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quote:> W
I crawl under the door.
Storage
The south end of the enormous room. There’s another door to the east: less formidable than the others except for a sign that says KEEP OUT. Sounds promising.
The enormous iron door has lifted just a couple of handspans from the floor..
The enormous warehouse continues back to the north towards the drain I came up by. There’s a second fat pipe crossing the room here.
There’s a length of rope here. It’s tied to the warehouse door and is looped over a pipe near the ceiling and passes over the second pipe to the north. It is tied tightly at both ends.
> THROW WRENCH UNDER GAP
I only understood you as far as wanting to throw the wrench.
> THROW WRENCH EAST
I only understood you as far as wanting to throw the wrench.
> THROW WRENCH
Dropped.
> TAKE WRENCH
It’s a wrench, but I take it.
> E
I crawl under the door.
Darkness
I’m on some kind of metal platform in the dark. The crack of light below the door is enough to make out a few controls beside me and a set of stairs leading down to the north. Down seems an odd way to be going since we’re above the river. There’s probably serpents down there, or octopuses, or water-camels.
> THROW WRENCH
Dropped.
> TAKE IT
Taken.
> TURN BOLT
I can’t turn it with just my hands. Which might even be lucky.
> TURN BOLT WITH WRENCH
I turn the bolt further. The baby cobras grow up into hot-headed angry adult cobras the size of oak trees. I’m almost deafened by the noise.
> PUSH BUTTON
I push down on the button but it refuses to press. One of the cobras must have gotten stuck underneath it or something.
> HIT BUTTON
Violence isn’t the answer to this one.
> PUSH BUTTON WITH WRENCH
That doesn’t seem to be something I can unlock.
> PUSH BUTTON
I push down on the button but it refuses to press. One of the cobras must have gotten stuck underneath it or something.
> STAND ON BUTTON
That’s not something I can stand on.
> EXAMINE BUTTON
Just underneath the lever is a large brass button. I can just make out three letters, side-by-side: I, G and N.
> TURN BUTTON
Buttons are for pressing.
> PRESS BUTTON
I push down on the button but it refuses to press. One of the cobras must have gotten stuck underneath it or something.
> PULL BUTTON
Buttons are for pressing.
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Dec 18, 2017 05:07
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- Ratatozsk
- Mar 6, 2007
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Had we turned left instead, we may have encountered something like this...
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Try various combinations of levels of cobras and button pushing. Polish the button.
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Dec 18, 2017 07:23
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- CaptainCaveman
- Apr 16, 2005
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Always searching for North.
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Yeah, I was going to go ahead and show this if you guys struggled for another move or two. It's not a bad puzzle, finding a control panel and messing with it until you get something happening, but it can be a bit frustrating/tedious for a Let's Play.
quote:> PULL LEVER
The lever’s already pulled up as far as possible.
> TURN BOLT WITH WRENCH
I heave the bolt further still. Abruptly, the room falls quiet.
> PUSH BUTTON
I push the button. The lever drops back suddenly almost taking my arm off! There’s that clicking noise all around again.
> PULL LEVER
The lever moves more easily this time. From the darkness comes the sound of a thousand tiny clicks.
> TURN BOLT WITH WRENCH
I heave the bolt around. The room is suddenly filled by a hissing sound, like a thousand baby cobras coiling and getting ready to strike! A strange smell comes with them.
> PUSH BUTTON
I push the button. The lever drops back suddenly almost taking my arm off! At the same time, the room is filled by a snapping noise and suddenly the darkness is full of stars! A whole sky of blue points. Where am I now? Outside? It’s a huge space, wherever it is. The hissing noise has stopped, too.
> EXAMINE STARS
Tiny points of gentle blue light, all around me, the size of pinheads. They’re close enough to touch except for some reason I can’t touch them (or they’re infinitely far away, there’s no way I can be sure.)
> LOOK
Darkness
I’m on some kind of metal platform in the dark. The crack of light below the door is enough to make out a few controls beside me and a set of stairs leading down to the north. Down seems an odd way to be going since we’re above the river. There’s probably serpents down there, or octopuses, or water-camels.
I can see a ring of tiny stars here.
> POLISH BUTTON
The ignition button seems clean enough as it is.
> POLISH STARS
The stars seem to be just a fraction beyond wherever I think they are, like they were slowly growing and moving away at the same time.
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Dec 18, 2017 22:44
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- CaptainCaveman
- Apr 16, 2005
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Always searching for North.
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quote:> FIND CONSTELLATIONS
I didn’t understand that sentence.
> EXAMINE CONSTELLATIONS
I can’t see any such thing.
> I
I’m carrying:
a wrench
a ruby key
a diagram of the Perpetuum Mobile
a knife
my lucky clock key (being worn)
> THROW WRENCH AT STARS
Futile.
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Dec 24, 2017 04:05
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- Ratatozsk
- Mar 6, 2007
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Had we turned left instead, we may have encountered something like this...
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The one true direction, I guess?
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Dec 24, 2017 04:44
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- CaptainCaveman
- Apr 16, 2005
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Always searching for North.
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quote:> NORTH
I’m not going down that staircase in the dark. There’s something wrong about it.
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Dec 24, 2017 06:40
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- Ratatozsk
- Mar 6, 2007
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Had we turned left instead, we may have encountered something like this...
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Turn the bolt again, now that the pilot’s lit?
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Dec 24, 2017 12:40
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- CaptainCaveman
- Apr 16, 2005
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Always searching for North.
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quote:> TURN BOLT WITH WRENCH
The bolt doesn’t seem to turn: partly because the lever’s in the way of the wrench handle.
> PUSH LEVER
Levers are for pulling (well, levers like this one are, anyway.)
> PULL LEVER
The lever moves more easily this time. From the darkness comes the sound of a thousand tiny clicks.
> TURN BOLT WITH WRENCH
I heave the bolt around and the stars on the wall erupt into flame, filling the chamber with light! And what a chamber - deep and wide. This is like standing inside the clock of the Cathedral all over again. The room below must be carved out of the rock below the riverbed, and its walls are crisscrossed with pipes which are now providing light.
And the room is full of people. Men, standing in rows and staring at me. I freeze myself to the spot. They do the same. It’s like the room was filled with mirrors reflecting my image. I wave a hand but nothing happens. Nothing at all. Then I realise that they’re statues - statues in full armour - gleaming metal statues, more than I could count without growing thirty or forty more hands.
Whatever they are they must be connected to the Figure. There’s nothing for it, Wren, but to get a closer look somehow...
> EXAMINE STATUES
Row on row of metal men, all staring straight ahead like unwound hour-hands.
> EXAMINE LIGHTS
Blue flames burn all around the walls of this cavernous space, gleaming off the sides of the men below.
> EXAMINE STARS
I can’t see any such thing.
> NORTH
The staircase ends halfway to the ground, in midair with nothing holding it up.
> EXAMINE STAIRS
The staircase gives up halfway to the floor. It’s like the platform was sticking its tongue out at the army below. It’s probably them who chopped it in half.
> DOWN
The staircase ends halfway to the ground, in midair with nothing holding it up.
> JUMP DOWN
The staircase ends halfway to the ground, in midair with nothing holding it up.
> LOOK
Gas Platform
I’m on a metal platform that sticks out over an impossibly large space, at least twice the size of the warehouse back west. The room below is deep: the original staircase to the north gives up halfway down.
In the light of a hundred gas-lamps I can see the carved earth walls. This whole place has been scooped clean out of the rock and it’s filled with rows upon rows of silent metal men: a whole army of statues. Perhaps somewhere amongst them is the Figure.
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Dec 24, 2017 18:30
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- CaptainCaveman
- Apr 16, 2005
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Always searching for North.
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quote:> PUSH STATUE
The men are below me, filling the floor of this cavernous room.
> CLIMB DOWN
The staircase ends halfway to the ground, in midair with nothing holding it up.
> JUMP INTO MECHANICAL MEN LIKE IT’S A BIG MOSH PIT OR SOMETHING
I can’t see any such thing.
If only we had a ladder or something.
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Dec 27, 2017 02:39
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- Ratatozsk
- Mar 6, 2007
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Had we turned left instead, we may have encountered something like this...
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If only we had a ladder or something.
Go back to the monastery to get our room ladder.
Or get the one from the other room, whatever.
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Dec 27, 2017 07:36
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- CaptainCaveman
- Apr 16, 2005
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Always searching for North.
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quote:> W
I crawl under the door.
Storage
The south end of the enormous room. There’s another door to the east: less formidable than the others except for a sign that says KEEP OUT. Sounds promising.
The enormous iron door has lifted just a couple of handspans from the floor..
The enormous warehouse continues back to the north towards the drain I came up by. There’s a second fat pipe crossing the room here.
There’s a length of rope here. It’s tied to the warehouse door and is looped over a pipe near the ceiling and passes over the second pipe to the north. It is tied tightly at both ends.
> N
Loading
This warehouse may be massive but it seems completely empty, just that crate blocking the drain, and some piles of debris like those outside. There’s enough floor space continuing off to the south for a game of clockball.
About halfway down is the large metal door I saw from the dock. Above it a fat pipe crosses from wall to wall. The drain I came up from is by the north wall.
A long ladder leans against the wall below the pipe.
There’s a length of rope here. It’s tied to the crate and is looped over a pipe near the ceiling and passes over the second pipe to the south. It is tied tightly at both ends.
> TAKE LADDER
I take hold of the ladder again.
> S
Storage
The south end of the enormous room. There’s another door to the east: less formidable than the others except for a sign that says KEEP OUT. Sounds promising.
The enormous iron door has lifted just a couple of handspans from the floor..
The enormous warehouse continues back to the north towards the drain I came up by. There’s a second fat pipe crossing the room here.
There’s a length of rope here. It’s tied to the warehouse door and is looped over a pipe near the ceiling and passes over the second pipe to the north. It is tied tightly at both ends.
> E
I crawl under the door. Then I reach back through the gap and pull the ladder after me.
Gas Platform
I’m on a metal platform that sticks out over an impossibly large space, at least twice the size of the warehouse back west. The room below is deep: the original staircase to the north gives up halfway down.
In the light of a hundred gas-lamps I can see the carved earth walls. This whole place has been scooped clean out of the rock and it’s filled with rows upon rows of silent metal men: a whole army of statues. Perhaps somewhere amongst them is the Figure.
> PUT LADDER DOWN
It takes a lot of awkwardness to get the ladder over the side and pointing down towards the floor. That’s when I fumble it and let go. It lands with a crash - the top disappears into the dark - then swings back, settling against the platform. I exhale a long breath.
None of the metal men react.
> D
There’s no way I’m turning my back on those metal men, so I swing round to the back of the ladder and climb down that, even though there’s a moment when I’m hanging out over an enormous drop.
None of them move as I make my way down.
Warehouse
I’m standing in a forest of eyes, and arms, and hands. There are metal men all around me, on every side, all slightly different. The flickering gas-lights make it look and sound like they’re breathing. Any one might be about to reach out a hand and grab my shoulder… I need to work out the Figure’s plan as quickly as possible and then get out of here. In one piece!
> EXAMINE MEN
Each man is made of fine steel and brass and stands upright, six foot tall. Their faces are bare faceplates with tiny glass eyes, but they all look like they’re crying because of deep channels for rain run-off that run from forehead to chin. Each one has a small hatch in the middle of their chest, a tiny fraction ajar.
> MEN, HI
I can’t talk to the army of metal statues.
> EXAMINE HATCH
Each man is made of fine steel and brass and stands upright, six foot tall. Their faces are bare faceplates with tiny glass eyes, but they all look like they’re crying because of deep channels for rain run-off that run from forehead to chin. Each one has a small hatch in the middle of their chest, a tiny fraction ajar.
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#
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Dec 28, 2017 04:18
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- CaptainCaveman
- Apr 16, 2005
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Always searching for North.
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Oh, right, I'm running a thread that I may have completely forgot about for a little while. Sorry, life got busy.
There's not really a whole lot more we can do at this point, so...
quote:> EXAMINE FACEPLATE
Each man is made of fine steel and brass and stands upright, six foot tall. Their faces are bare faceplates with tiny glass eyes, but they all look like they’re crying because of deep channels for rain run-off that run from forehead to chin. Each one has a small hatch in the middle of their chest, a tiny fraction ajar.
> OPEN HATCH
With shaking fingers I open the hatch on the front of the nearest man. No surprise maybe to find he’s full of clockwork, but it’s clockwork like I’ve never seen before: cogs so small it’s like his whole body is infested with woodlice and scrambling maggots. It’s like someone had taken the whole of the Difference Engine and shrunk it to fit.
Except there’s obviously something missing. All those cogs would need a spring about the size of the metal man’s head and it would need to be placed right in the middle where it could unwind to every part of his body. But in the perfect spot there’s nothing but a gap, like someone built this machine but forgot to give it a heart. What good are these men if all they do is stand in line?
That’s when I notice the seal. Something embossed on the inside of the chest hatch. I take a step back to see it more clearly - a winding key above an ocean wave, familiar from somewhere - and step into something firm and solid. A man out of line?
A hand grips my throat. “Who sent you here?” demands a voice, smooth and icy. A voice I know well, that I should have expected. “Who else knows about this place? Tell me before I crush every pinion in your neck.”
My toes are scrabbling on - off - the ground. I try to scream but nothing comes out beyond a whisper. I can see the outline of the Figure’s cowl and beyond that, for the first time, almost make out an unhappy face underneath.
“You’ll tell me or you’ll die here,” the Figure says ever-so-softly. “You’ll die cold and alone like the rat you are.”
The room is getting darker. The tank for the gas lamps must be running low. Soon it’ll be me and the Figure and all these men, and no-one will ever find me or know where I’ve gone. Or is that someone? In the background? A shape, a shadow, my imagination or…
“Covalt?” I whisper, in desperation. “Covalt, is that…”
Then the lights disappear completely. The heavy cord of the clock-key round my neck has become tangled while I was asleep. The stars are coming out. I’m underwater again.
Chapter 9: Covalt’s Device
Please press SPACE to continue.
There’s something pinching my nose. And again. Regular, like a second-hand - maybe he’s tied me to a clock, I’m thinking, maybe I’m going round and round the face on the Cathedral…
I open my eyes and two black birds flutter away, startled.
“There you are. Still in there? That’s good enough.” The voice is old and crumbling like the stones of the Abbey walls. Covalt. “I found you on my doorstep. Hour ago, or more than that. Wasn’t sure you were breathing. Don’t know how people tick and you can’t wind them back up when they’re gone.” Behind his thick brows I can see sympathy. “I’m glad you’re all right.”
Bedroom (on the feather bed)
Covalt’s little back room. The skylight’s still got a Wren-shaped hole in it but at least the bits of balloon have been tidied away into a corner with all the rest of a clockmaker’s junk.
Covalt is pacing back and forth. Every time he turns he nearly brings down a wall with his massive shoulders.
> COVALT, HI
I wouldn’t know what to say about that.
“Found this with you,” Covalt adds, holding up a scrap of paper that looks like a postage stamp in his gigantic hand. “Stay away - this is what it says, you see, not what I’m telling you. Stay away or the child will… Well.” The old man pauses, awkwardly. “It says to stay away, whichever-wards.”
> READ PAPER
Covalt’s holding it.
Covalt paces the floor, waiting for me to explain.
> TAKE PAPER
“You found a note with me?” I ask, puzzled.
“Tucked under your arm. Not a nice note, neither,” he replies.
> ASK COVALT FOR NOTE
I’ve already talked to him about that.
> TAKE NOTE
I can’t see any such thing.
> READ NOTE
I can’t see any such thing.
> TAKE PAPER FROM COVALT
Covalt’s holding it.
“Well?” Covalt demands.
> READ PAPER
Covalt’s holding it.
> ASK COVALT FOR PAPER
I’ve already talked to him about that.
> COVALT, GIVE ME PAPER
Covalt has better things to do.
“You’d better tell me what happened to you,” Covalt growls.
> TELL COVALT WHAT HAPPENED TO ME
“I should tell you what happened, I’ve got to,” I begin hurriedly. “The Figure, and I found… and there was this rope and I…”
“Slow down, slow down!” Covalt chides. “Start with something and go on from there. Or you won’t have a story, you’ll have a coughing fit!”
> TELL COVALT ABOUT MONASTERY
That’s nothing something I could talk about.
> TELL COVALT ABOUT FIGURE
“The Figure must have brought me here,” I say. “He tried to strangle me…”
“So?” Covalt’s voice is urgent. “Where were you? What did you find?”
> TELL COVALT ABOUT WAREHOUSE
“The Engine sent me to the docks!” I tell him. “And I found - an army…” I try to describe the soldiers with their metal faces and mechanical chests.
Covalt is nodding before I’ve finished. “So that’s your answer then,” Covalt says, seriously. “The Perpetuum.”
> TELL COVALT ABOUT ENGINE
“Surely the Difference Engine could tell us what’s going on…”
He laughs bitterly. “We don’t need an Engine for that no more. Got a perfectly good rig of springs up here.” He taps his temple.
> ASK COVALT ABOUT PERPETUUM
“The Perpetuum,” I say. “The Figure wants it for the army?”
“He’s going to make a copy,” Covalt says heavily. “Give each one a heart that never needs no winding. Imagine soldiers that can’t never be stopped. More like a plague than an army.”
“But for what?”
Covalt shrugs. “We won’t find out. Copying the Perpetuum? That’s like jamming a second spring into a working balance. Too much power. Or too much of something.” In a moment Covalt is on his feet again. “Here’s how I see it. We need to stop the Figure but we can’t. We stop him today and he’ll be back tomorrow. He’s going to steal that Perpetuum and he won’t never give up, so somehow we’ve got to put the chocks in after that.”
I’m shaking my head. Doesn’t make any sense.
He shakes his head too. “I’ll be widder-wound if I can see how. But that’s how it stands.”
> ASK COVALT ABOUT FIGURE
“The Figure’s too strong for me to fight,” I remind him. “I tried, and...”
“No matter. You won’t be fighting him again. Brave but not brainy. What we need is a trick. A trap. And traps need bait...”
> ASK COVALT ABOUT TRAP
“If we need bait,” I tell Covalt, “we need to offer the Figure something we know he wants, don’t we?”
“Wait now, what’s that? What are you doing with that?” Covalt’s voice is shaking, unless I’m still feeling dizzy. He’s pointing at the diagram of the Perpetuum in my hands like it was a two-foot rat. “Did I tell you could go walking off with that?”
“I...”
Then the grin breaks out across his face; like a sunrise through dirty windows. “Because that’s a bloody brilliant thought from a brain as small as yours. Brilliant. I was saying I couldn’t build a Perpetuum, wasn’t I? But I can always build a box. Doesn’t take nothing to build a box. Because a trap is just a nice box with something nasty inside. Here.”
Digging in a pocket he pulls out three screws, a key, a length of wire coiled into a helix, a plane file, a square of sandpaper and then finally, three shiny silver minutes that make my eyes light up.
“There’s an autopothecary over the street,” he says gleefully. “You get yourself in there and buy the strongest sleeping drug you’re old enough to buy. Then we’ll spring-load it into a decoy Perpetuum and next morning there’ll be a sleeping Figure in the Cathedral vaults ready to be locked up and forgotten.”
Covalt drags me through into the main workshop and starts rummaging across his worktop. “I’ll get some bits together. Get yourself going with that money.”
Clock Shop
Looks like Covalt didn’t tidy up while I was out, then. From the bedroom door to the south round to the door to the southwest there are 11 hours of stuff - cogs, traces, all that clockwork the monks polish up and Covalt just tosses around his room like so much chickenfeed.
Covalt is settling down to work at the workbench.
> INVENTORY
I’m carrying:
three silver minutes
a wrench
a ruby key
a knife
my lucky clock key (being worn)
Covalt has settled at his workbench and is turning the plan of the Perpetuum this way and that.
> EXAMINE WORKBENCH
This stuff isn’t going to help me now.
> LOOK
Clock Shop
Looks like Covalt didn’t tidy up while I was out, then. From the bedroom door to the south round to the door to the southwest there are 11 hours of stuff - cogs, traces, all that clockwork the monks polish up and Covalt just tosses around his room like so much chickenfeed.
Covalt is settling down to work at the workbench.
Covalt rummages across his workbench and comes up trumps with a sheet of metal and a small brass pin.
> SW
(first opening the door)
“Make it a knock-out, don’t go halves!” Covalt shouts after me. I clutch the three silver coins in my hand.
Escapement Street
It’s night. Gaslight webs the shining edges of the cobblestones. All the shops are closed except for Covalt’s back northeast. The streets are empty of people, no boys running around or girls weaving cats-cradle between their hands.
But the Autopothecary to the northwest is still open. It never closes.
> EXAMINE AUTOPOTHECARY
The Autopothecary is a machine set behind some expensive plate glass. OPEN ALL NIGHT, reads the sign. FOR WINDING-UP AND WINDING-DOWN AT ALL HOURS OF THE WATCH.
> NW
I step through the door of the booth.
Autopothecary
This is a small tiled booth, all gleaming white and washed down to make it look healthy and clean. A glass wall to the southeast lets in enough gaslight to see the controls of the machine: a series of little doors, each with its own coin slot beneath.
Beside the machine is a neat little press for pulping the fresh ingredients into a medicine. Above that is a parts-list chalked up like an inn sign.
> EXAMINE BOOTH
The Autopothecary is a machine set behind some expensive plate glass. OPEN ALL NIGHT, reads the sign. FOR WINDING-UP AND WINDING-DOWN AT ALL HOURS OF THE WATCH.
> EXAMINE DOORS
Each door’s about big enough for a mouse, but if I put my coins in and only get a mouse in return I’ll be spitting screws until the thirteenth stroke. The doors are all labeled but not with what they sell, only with codes: B3 or D2, that sort of thing.
> EXAMINE SLOTS
Each door’s about big enough for a mouse, but if I put my coins in and only get a mouse in return I’ll be spitting screws until the thirteenth stroke. The doors are all labeled but not with what they sell, only with codes: B3 or D2, that sort of thing.
> EXAMINE PRESS
The press is a small contraption for mixing drugs together. Since it’s meant to be used in the middle of the night by people with roaring headaches and upset bellies it’s got instructions all over it and it couldn’t be easier. Right now, the little tin disc above the machine is displaying: “Add Herbs and lift lever.”
> EXAMINE SIGN
code:NAME EFFECT DOOR
Feverfew Reduces headaches A1
Peppermint To ease the stomach A2
Willow bark Reduces fever A3
Oil of Vitriol Intensifies effect of other oils A4
Horehound Expectorant B1
Poppy Induces sleep B2
Foxglove For difficulties of the heart B3
Pokeweed Improves complexion B4
Oil of Clotweed Strengthens blood C1
Tincture of Morphos For dreaming C2
Tincture of Hermes Clarifies the mind C3
Poryphic Salts Aids the flow of vital blood D1
vessels in time of peculiar need
Albumic Salts For invigoration D2
Entropic Salts To ease breathing D3
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#
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Jan 19, 2018 03:29
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- CaptainCaveman
- Apr 16, 2005
-
Always searching for North.
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quote:> PUT COIN IN B2
The coin disappears into the slot and watching it go is a bit like losing a finger or waking up in the morning when it’s wet and cold and it’s washing day. Then there’s a loud clatter from inside the autopothecary and the little door drops open - just long enough for me to snatch out a few dark green seed pods.
> PUT COIN IN C2
I drop in the second coin and this time I’m ready for the door, managing to get out a small bottle of some clear, evil-looking liquid without trapping my fingers on the way out.
> PUT COIN IN A4
The last coin... couldn’t I make do with the ingredients we’ve got? quote:> PUT COIN IN A4
You chicken, Wren. The last coin disappears, gone for good into this stupid little machine. In return all I get is a little vial of green oil.
> INVENTORY
I’m carrying:
some oil of vitriol
Tincture of Morphos
some poppy seed-pods
a wrench
a ruby key
a knife
my lucky clock key (being worn)
> EXAMINE OIL OF VITRIOL
A small glass vial filled with an emerald green oil.
> EXAMINE TINCTURE OF MORPHOS
A glass bottle filled with a clear liquid that sparkles like crystal.
> EXAMINE SEED-PODS
A handful of tiny poppy seed-pods.
> EAT PODS
No chance. I’m not experimenting on myself!
> DRINK OIL OF VITRIOL
No chance. I’m not experimenting on myself!
> DRINK TINCTURE OF MORPHOS
No chance. I’m not experimenting on myself!
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#
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Jan 20, 2018 17:14
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- CaptainCaveman
- Apr 16, 2005
-
Always searching for North.
|
quote:> PUT PODS IN PRESS
Following the instructions on the sign, I brush the poppy seeds off my palm and into the press.
> PUT TINCTURE IN PRESS
The little sign says “Add herbs and raise lever,” but the tincture isn’t a herb.
> PUT VITRIOL IN PRESS
The little sign says “Add herbs and raise lever,” but the oil isn’t a herb. quote:> LIFT LEVER
I push the lever up. Two plates inside the machine come together to squeeze the pods, releasing golden oil into a bowl below. The disc on the front of the machine rotates to read “Now add liquids.”
> PUT TINCTURE IN PRESS
The Morphos falls in tiny starlight splashes into the bowl of the press. There’s a faint bitter smell that makes my head spin... The tin sign rotates to read “lift lever if ready.”
> PUT VITRIOL IN PRESS
I drip the contents of the vial into the funnel.
> LIFT LEVER
The lever springs up then down, clamping a lid onto the bowl inside the machine. There’s a brief moment of spinning and then the whole press tips over and out drains a murky liquid to be caught in a bottle below. That’s my sleeping drug! Gingerly, I pick it up.
> EXAMINE BOTTLE
A little bottle of a murky grey coloured liquid. Perfect for the Figure. I only hope it’s strong enough.
> DRINK LIQUID
No chance. I’m not experimenting on myself!
The machine flips back over and rights itself, ready for the next customer.
> SE
Escapement Street
I’m standing on one edge of the street, holding the precious sleeping drug gingerly in my hands. There are no carriages about but if one swoops round the corner, hits me and smashes the bottle, that’s it, all our plans are over! It’s a short dash back to Covalt’s, to the northeast.
> NE
Clock Shop
Looks like Covalt didn’t tidy up while I was out, then. From the bedroom door to the south round to the door to the southwest there are 11 hours of stuff - cogs, traces, all that clockwork the monks polish up and Covalt just tosses around his room like so much chickenfeed.
Covalt is hard at work at the workbench.
> EXAMINE WORKBENCH
This stuff isn’t going to help me now.
“Just the surface stuff,” Covalt murmurs to himself. “None of them workings.”
> GIVE BOTTLE TO COVALT
Covalt barely looks up from his work. “I’m sure it’ll do,” he snaps. “Stick it over there and don’t say anything else at any point until I’ve got all this work done.” On the bench in front of him is half a box and it doesn’t look bad - the little ball rolling down the zigzag track, the casements either side that flip-flop the surface. And on the inside is a tight spring attached to a little hammer from a bell-strike ready to the break the glass, right about a small needle.
Gingerly Covalt picks up the bottle, and fits it into the box. “Don’t press the casements,” he warns. “Or you’ll fire the needle. Don’t forget that.” With slow delicacy he clicks a panel into place.
“I could go to the gallows for making this,” Covalt says. “They won’t thank me. They won’t thank either of us. They’ll be grateful and then they’ll send us up the scaffold. But we’ll face that when the hands come round for it. You ready?”
I nod. What else can I do?
“Sneak into the vaults and swap this over. So good luck and I’m not coming with you. If they ask you where you got this from you say it fell from the stars.” And then he chucks me out and slams the door.
And then I’m off, on my own again, back on my way to the Cathedral of Time.
Chapter 10: Back to the Cathedral
Please press SPACE to continue.
Like the lowliest ratchet in the bottom of a gear-train, I move in darkness. Through the streets of the city, sticking close to the walls. Carrying the Perpetuum - or something that looks so much like it that I can’t afford to be seen. My only hope would be that they mistook me for a scruffy little angel.
Lucky it’s easy to find my way. The Cathedral’s great dome looms over all of St Phillip, blotting out stars. I head deeper into darkness until it fills the entire northeastern sky, and that’s when I’m beside the great Western door.
Public Yard
The public square where the people come to hear the edicts and songs and gather before Mass, Volume and Compline. It’s empty now except for a towering statue of St Newton, gazing thoughtfully up at the stars. The great door of the Cathedral is open to the east.
There’s no time to lose.
> I
I’m carrying:
a decoy Perpetuum Mobile
a wrench
a ruby key
a knife
my lucky clock key (being worn)
> EXAMINE DECOY
Covalt’s done an incredible job. I only caught a glimpse of the Perpetuum before, but this is exactly like it. The board on top, with the track for the ball-bearing, and a few tiny levers sticking from the sides like ant’s legs. And everything else (and in this case, nothing else) hidden away inside.
> E
I slip inside.
Great Door
The Cathedral to the north is almost pitch dark, with a few false stars - candles, reflecting off the polished brass and the windows. The huge doors east and south are sealed fast: the door west should have been but it’s been left open.
I need to get down to the Crypt, to plant the decoy. And fast - before the Figure beats me to it.
> N
Lower Nave
Oak pews are sleeping either side of the aisle. I can barely see the shrines either side: a little orange light leaks in from the east. Past the second seal to the north, the nave continues.
> N
I creep further in.
Upper Nave
The nave is wider here, wider than to the south and with more tightly-packed pews on either side. But right now only shadows are bowing their heads. To the north is the altar, still gleaming.
There are two figures sitting at its base, with a single candle between them. When I recognize Calvin I duck immediately behind a pew. How am I supposed to get past those two?
They’re playing dice. They must have been here some time.
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#
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Jan 22, 2018 00:41
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- CaptainCaveman
- Apr 16, 2005
-
Always searching for North.
|
The only real thing to do there was wait a moment anyway.
quote:> EXAMINE CALVIN
The two are hunched together, talking in tiny voices.
“How are we meant to tell if someone’s grey in this light?” Calvin complains. He’s whispering. “Why couldn’t the old man have given us a password to ask for or something?”
Drake is more boisterous. By the look on his face he’s just rolled eleven. “If the Abbot says to keep people out, we keep people out. Maybe even people in grey... Unless they’re the right person.”
> WAIT
Time moves on.
“What’s that?” Calvin is up, suddenly, looking around. “I heard something.”
“Better get to our places,” Drake says, sounding a little more nervous now. “I’ll guard the Bishop’s Room. You’re on patrol.”
“Me? Why...”
“Get on with it,” Drake snaps. The candles move out into darkness, one west and one north, then in and out of sight up a set of winding stairs.
> N
Cathedral Altar
The altar is still gleaming even though the candlelight has gone. It’s set between the workings of the great clock in the centre of the Cathedral. Aisles lead off in all four directions, but the Crypt is to the east.
Calvin has left his dice here.
> TAKE DICE
Not now. No time for games.
Calvin is coming closer. Either I run or I hide!
> E
East Apse
The eastern apse is filled with pews. Through the heavy door to the southeast I can hear the Orrery, still moving in its endless cycle. To the northeast is an iron grate: it leads to the crypts.
That way, Wren, and be bold about it.
> NE
The grate is locked. The Bishop hasn’t left it open - he must have given the Figure the key. But the only key?
Not the only key. I saw one earlier. In the Bishop’s desk. Where he kept it.
> LOOK WEST
The Cathedral Altar lies to the west.
> WEST
Cathedral Altar
The altar is still gleaming even though the candlelight has gone. It’s set between the workings of the great clock in the centre of the Cathedral. Aisles lead off in all four directions, but the Crypt is to the east.
Calvin has left his dice here.
I can hear footsteps approaching from somewhere to the south.
> N
Choir
This is like standing in the bottom of the Abbey’s well: a circular pool of dark with the gigantic window just a different shade of dark. To the south is the altar but I can’t see it, and right overhead is the great engine of the clock. I can almost feel it ready to fall.
The choir stalls are like trolls in the dark. Their carvings are tattoos.
> E
I start up the stairs then freeze. Light - a single point. Drake’s candle.
Wait. Something the Abbot said, before, when talking to the Figure, about secret doors...
“Six? The only one I know is the one from the Choir to the Bishop’s Library! Where there’s a drill...”
A secret passage from the Choir? But we're in the Choir now!
quote:> EXAMINE CHOIR
Carvings etch the wood, deeply, painfully.
I lean in close to examine the carvings but can’t make out any of the details. There are hundreds of figures - if there’s a catch here, it could be anywhere!
Without a decent light, I’ll never find it (and with a decent light, Drake will certainly find me.)
Where there’s a drill, Wren. Where there’s a drill - there’s a way...!
> EXAMINE CARVINGS
Carvings etch the wood, deeply, painfully.
I’ll need a light if I’m going to search the carvings closely.
> I
I’m carrying:
a decoy Perpetuum Mobile
a wrench
a ruby key
a knife
my lucky clock key (being worn)
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#
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Jan 27, 2018 03:32
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- gegi
- Aug 3, 2004
-
Butterfly Girl
|
that 'deep' and 'painful' makes me want to jam our hands into cracks and crevices looking for a button in the deepest hole but i'm not sure how to put that.
start by feeling/touching/pressing the carvings?
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#
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Jan 27, 2018 19:50
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- Ratatozsk
- Mar 6, 2007
-
Had we turned left instead, we may have encountered something like this...
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Probe carving with knife
Grab knife with wrench and mess with carvings
Polish model
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#
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Jan 28, 2018 06:57
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- CaptainCaveman
- Apr 16, 2005
-
Always searching for North.
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quote:> TOUCH CARVINGS
I’ll need to find a light from somewhere. I’m sure I saw something the last time I was here...
> PUSH CARVINGS
I’ll need to find a light from somewhere. I’m sure I saw something the last time I was here...
> PUT KNIFE IN CARVING
A knife like this might come in useful. If I run into any Figures... or any Drakes...
> STAB CARVING WITH KNIFE
I can only do that to something animate.
> HIT CARVING WITH WRENCH
Violence breaks clocks, but rarely fixes them.
> EXAMINE WRENCH
A wrench. Not a holy tool but a pretty good one all the same. Why anyone would leave it out here to rust is beyond me. I can’t help checking the top for bloodstains but of course it’s been out in the rain...
> POLISH MODEL
I can’t see any such thing.
> POLISH CARVING
The choir stalls seem clean enough as they are.
> POLISH WRENCH
The wrench seems clean enough as it is.
> POLISH ME
I’m not that dirty, and anyway, wash day isn’t long now.
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#
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Jan 30, 2018 05:11
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- gegi
- Aug 3, 2004
-
Butterfly Girl
|
What were we supposed to have seen 'the last time we were here'? Trying to scan backwards for mention of the choir all I see is a mention that the area would be lit through stained-glass windows.
Are we meant to steal another candle from the shrine? Can we move around that much without being caught?
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#
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Jan 30, 2018 11:32
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- CaptainCaveman
- Apr 16, 2005
-
Always searching for North.
|
Are we meant to steal another candle from the shrine? Can we move around that much without being caught?
Yup! And sort of!
quote:> S
Cathedral Altar
The altar is still gleaming even though the candlelight has gone. It’s set between the workings of the great clock in the centre of the Cathedral. Aisles lead off in all four directions, but the Crypt is to the east.
Calvin has left his dice here.
> S
Upper Nave
The nave is wider here, wider than to the south and with more tightly-packed pews on either side. But right now only shadows are bowing their heads. To the north is the altar, still gleaming.
Calvin is suddenly right in front of me. For a moment he’s silent. I can see the belting coming a mile off: he’s winding up his anger, getting it ready to let loose...
“Wren?” he hisses, under his breath. “What are you doing here? If Drake finds you he’d string you up!” His voice is shaking. I’ve never heard him so angry. Or not angry - afraid. The whites of his eyes have turned yellow. “You’ve got to go. This isn’t a game!”
He grabs my arm as he speaks - here it comes, I’m thinking - then he drags me away through the nave of the church, hissing at me to stay quiet, all the way to the front gate. “Go. All right? Please. Don’t tell anyone.”
Then he - and his feeble candle - have disappeared back inside.
Public Yard
The public square where the people come to hear the edicts and songs and gather before Mass, Volume and Compline. It’s empty now except for a towering statue of St Newton, gazing thoughtfully up at the stars. The great door of the Cathedral is open to the east.
> E
I slip back inside.
Great Door
The Cathedral to the north is almost pitch dark, with a few false stars - candles, reflecting off the polished brass and the windows. The huge doors east and south are sealed fast: the door west should have been but it’s been left open.
> N
Lower Nave
Oak pews are sleeping either side of the aisle. I can barely see the shrines either side: a little orange light leaks in from the east. Past the second seal to the north, the nave continues.
“Wren, please!” Calvin hisses. He looks awful, almost sick. “Don’t stay here. You stupid novice. And if you do stay here, hide. Whatever you do. Hide!”
And then, just like that, he moves away.
> E
I slip between the pews and into the shrines.
Shrine of the Saints
East of the nave, the shrine is lit by a single shaded lantern. From the walls, the eyes of statuettes glitter like rat faces. The stand of candles is like a blasted blackened tree stump.
> TAKE LANTERN
The lamp is attached securely to the wall (and anyway, it’s much brighter than I’d want to be, sneaking around in here!)
The light from the lantern wavers a little.
> TAKE CANDLE
I pick a candle from the stand.
> EXAMINE CANDLE
It’s too dark to tell what colour the wax is. Not that it matters, now.
> LIGHT CANDLE
I tip the candle into the lantern flames. It sparks and hisses as it lights.
> W
I go back to the nave, careful to shield the candle’s light behind my palm. Mustn’t be seen. Not here. Not by those two.
Lower Nave
Oak pews are sleeping either side of the aisle. I can barely see the shrines either side: a little orange light leaks in from the east. Past the second seal to the north, the nave continues.
> N
I creep further in.
Upper Nave
The nave is wider here, wider than to the south and with more tightly-packed pews on either side. But right now only shadows are bowing their heads. To the north is the altar, still gleaming.
> N
Cathedral Altar
The altar is still gleaming even though the candlelight has gone. It’s set between the workings of the great clock in the centre of the Cathedral. Aisles lead off in all four directions, but the Crypt is to the east.
Calvin has left his dice here.
Calvin doesn’t seem to see me. Just passes straight through.
> N
Choir
This is like standing in the bottom of the Abbey’s well: a circular pool of dark with the gigantic window just a different shade of dark. To the south is the altar but I can’t see it, and right overhead is the great engine of the clock. I can almost feel it ready to fall.
The choir stalls are like trolls in the dark. Their carvings are tattoos.
> EXAMINE CARVINGS
Carvings etch the wood, deeply, painfully.
I run my hand across the embossed figures. Woodworkers, joiners, lathes, bevellers, the men who put the threads on screws. Their tools - hammers and files and drills...
...one panel swings open revealing a dark passage beyond.
> ENTER PASSAGE
The false Perpetuum is too wide to carry into the gap. I’m going to have to leave it here.
> DROP PERPETUUM
I tuck the Perpetuum into the shadows by the stalls. Barely visible to anyone - I hope.
> ENTER PASSAGE
Secret Stair
This is nothing but a tiny gap between the stones, maybe built for insulation or for the rats to build their nests. It winds upwards as it curves around the clerestory. A staircase.
> U
I squeeze my way up the stairs.
Ancient Landing
Dusty wooden floorboards. This is a tiny space between the walls. The stairs emerge onto a landing, with a banister rail along one side. The rail is half buried in the stone. Maybe this was a larger room once: now it is only a piece, that ends to the west in solid stone...
...and to the east, ends in a wooden door carved with a clock.
> E
Maybe it’s a door. Maybe it’s a wall.
> OPEN DOOR
Getting my fingers in at six o’clock and eleven I heave with all my might - and almost fall. The wooden panel moves easily, drawing aside into the wall to reveal a real clock’s workings: weights, and a beating penduluum like a heart… Once again, I’m inside a Grandfather clock. And beyond the workings is the Bishop’s Library.
> E
I move forward slowly, but the swinging Penduluum is stomping in my path like a giant blacksmith bashing a hammer down and aiming for my chest. Two beats a second - faster than I can move.
The weights of the Penduluum ratchet one notch lower.
> PUSH PENDULUUM
I could try and grab the penduluum but I think it’d knock me flat!
> GRAB IT
It’d knock me flat!
The weights of the Penduluum ratchet one notch lower.
> E
The heavy penduluum is blocking my path as sure as it was Drake hitting one fist after the other.
> HIT PENDULUUM
It’d knock me flat!
The weights of the Penduluum ratchet one notch lower. If only I wait another three hours they might reach the base.
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#
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Jan 31, 2018 00:35
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- CaptainCaveman
- Apr 16, 2005
-
Always searching for North.
|
Well, time to break time.
> GRAB WEIGHTS AND PULL
Sacrilege!
quote:> GRAB WEIGHTS
I wrap my whole body round the weight on the left-hand side and heave upwards, trying to slip it from its hook. The giant penduluum comes so close to my head that it bellows in my ear, once, twice, three times. My muscles are straining so hard I can feel my shoulder-ball lifting from its socket.
And then suddenly the weight is free, and it drops the ground. Drake must have heard that, I think. Have to hope the Bishop locks his door.
The penduluum winds to a stop. This is what will happen if the Perpetuum is taken, I try to tell myself. Only not just here. Everywhere.
> E
I slip around the side of the penduluum, through the glass doors and out into the Library.
Bishop’s Library
The small library is the first lit room I’ve seen in the Cathedral, like the Bishop had somehow fixed the moon in place to shine through the stained glass. The room is filled with the shadows of saints and the letters of proverbs - across the desk floats Patience is the Key. But not now, Wren. Now speed is of the essence.
The Grandfather clock is open and eerily silent. The desk drawer is closed.
> OPEN DESK
I try and heave the drawer, but it’s locked. Not very securely, perhaps, but locked all the same.
> PICK LOCK
That seems to be a part of the desk.
> UNLOCK DESK
I don’t have a key. There must be some other way to slip the catch.
> SLIP CATCH
That’s already closed.
> HIT DRAWER
I heave and struggle on the drawer - nothing. There’s a catch closed inside.
> SMASH DRAWER
I heave and struggle on the drawer - nothing. There’s a catch closed inside.
> OPEN CATCH
I heave and struggle on the drawer - nothing. There’s a catch closed inside.
> EXAMINE DRAWER
There’s a thin gap between the top of the drawer and the desk.
> EXAMINE DESK
Moonlight from the window picks out the blotter and the top drawer of the desk.
> LOOK IN GAP
I can’t see inside, since the single drawer is closed.
> EXAMINE BLOTTER
Projected across the blotter are the words Patience is the Key.
> EXAMINE WORDS
Projected across the blotter are the words Patience is the Key.
> BE PATIENT
That’s not a verb I recognize.
> WAIT
This isn’t helping, Wren.
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Feb 7, 2018 19:00
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- gegi
- Aug 3, 2004
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Butterfly Girl
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iirc we have a knife, can we slip it into the drawer and break the lock?
otherwise in real space one could look under and behind the desk in case of stupidly designed security mechanisms that are easily released from another angle
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Feb 7, 2018 19:38
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- Ratatozsk
- Mar 6, 2007
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Had we turned left instead, we may have encountered something like this...
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iirc we have a knife, can we slip it into the drawer and break the lock?
otherwise in real space one could look under and behind the desk in case of stupidly designed security mechanisms that are easily released from another angle
Or flip the latch with the knife blade, ala credit card/door bolt fashion
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Feb 7, 2018 21:23
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- Adbot
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ADBOT LOVES YOU
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May 5, 2024 09:02
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- CaptainCaveman
- Apr 16, 2005
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Always searching for North.
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quote:> OPEN DRAWER WITH KNIFE
I slide the knife across the top of the drawer until it finds the catch. It shouldn’t be this easy - but it seems that the luck the Abbot is always saying doesn’t exist is with me. The lock turns over.
> OPEN DRAWER
I slide open the drawer.
Inside is the key the Bishop showed me: the old iron key that opens the crypt grate.
> TAKE KEY
(the old iron crypt key)
Taken.
> EXAMINE IT
The key is maybe as old as the Cathedral walls themselves. Heavy and hooked like something broken off a boat’s anchor chain. Perhaps they use it to punish those who try to break into the crypts...
...the Figure had better hope he doesn’t meet me down there.
> W
I slip back through the clock, closing its front doors as I go.
Ancient Landing
Dusty wooden floorboards. This is a tiny space between the walls. The stairs emerge onto a landing, with a banister rail along one side. The rail is half buried in the stone. Maybe this was a larger room once: now it is only a piece, that ends to the west in solid stone...
...and to the east, ends with the stalled workings of the Bishop’s clock.
> CLOSE CLOCK
The panel slides back across the clock. However old it might be, it moves with well-greased ease.
> D
I slip back into the staircase.
Secret Stair
This is nothing but a tiny gap between the stones, maybe built for insulation or for the rats to build their nests. It winds upwards as it curves around the clerestory. A staircase.
> D
I slip out, grateful for the space to breathe.
Choir
This is like standing in the bottom of the Abbey’s well: a circular pool of dark with the gigantic window just a different shade of dark. To the south is the altar but I can’t see it, and right overhead is the great engine of the clock. I can almost feel it ready to fall.
The choir stalls have broken open, to reveal a dark opening inside.
The Perpetuum’s not where I left it! It’s gone!
quote:> LOOK FOR PERPETUUM
Oh, no. There it is. I just didn’t see it in the dark.
I quickly pick it up. Now I’m ready.
quote:> S
Cathedral Altar
The altar is still gleaming even though the candlelight has gone. It’s set between the workings of the great clock in the centre of the Cathedral. Aisles lead off in all four directions, but the Crypt is to the east.
Calvin has left his dice here.
> E
East Apse
The eastern apse is filled with pews. Through the heavy door to the southeast I can hear the Orrery, still moving in its endless cycle. To the northeast is an iron grate: it leads to the crypts.
> NE
(first unlocking the crypt grate with the old iron crypt key)
I turn the key as slowly and quietly as I can. Tumblers move like ravens out of the way of a carriage: slowly, reluctantly, in hopping movements, croaking and clawing as they go. Then the gate is open. Like a pin into a hinge joint, I enter the dark.
Chapter 11: Into the Crypt
Please press SPACE to continue. quote:From the window of my tiny room in the rafters I’ve often watched the shadow of the Cathedral of Time as it races round the streets of St Philip - leaping up with the dawn and not stopping for breath until nightfall.
Today I saw another shadow, grey instead of black, and inside the Cathedral not upon it. I followed that shadow all the way across the day.
And now night has fallen and I am a shadow myself. A shadow in the Cathedral: a darkness moving through the deeper darkness of the crypts. There are stairs leading down: I can smell them, cold air from far underground, with a hint of grease, a touch of the sweetness of lamps and beeswax.
Like a shadow, all the light is behind me.
Like a shadow, I won’t stop moving till the day is done.
Staircase
I turn and lock the grate behind me, snapping closed the padlock so that the Figure won’t suspect a trap - and trapping me down here with him.
> D
Ossuary
A few years ago, before I got to clock polishing, when I was still just coiling wire for my dinner, one of the Brothers died. His name was Brother Wilmslow but Calvin and Drake called him Brother Weak-slow because he was so old he couldn’t move any faster than a shuffle and had trouble lifting his fork. I don’t think I ever spoke to him and he was so near-blind he probably never saw me at all.
I don’t think he can see me now, either, even though that’s him, propped up in a stone niche in the wall of the tunnel to the south.
> EXAMINE WILMSLOW
Brother Wilmslow is sitting up, as if he’d fallen asleep at dinner. On his head is the small round dial of his deathwatch.
> WILMSLOW, HI
I don’t want to wake him.
Cold wind leaks between the stones from somewhere.
> EXAMINE DEATHWATCH
I can’t see any such thing.
> EXAMINE WATCH
The deathwatch is a small round dial tied to the forehead of each Brother by a wire band. At first glance they seem still but really they are moving: the minute hand pushing forward then juddering back, as though the springs were too spent to get the hand around the dial.
But they aren’t - these springs will run until the soul has gone. Instead the watches themselves have been cobbled: for how could the watch move beyond the moment of death when their owners couldn’t?
> TAKE WATCH
It’s not my time for one. Not yet.
> D
The only ways to go from here are south and up.
> S
I don’t want to meet the Figure here. Only one place to hide and I don’t like it. So I keep going.
Main Chamber
Light! The tunnel from the north opens out here into a vaulted chamber and there are four iron torches burning in each corner. East and west are arched doorways like lidded eyes. By the south wall, a missing flagstone creates an opening, further down into more darkness. Why is it I’m so certain that’s the way I need to go?
> EXAMINE TORCHES
The torches are inlaid with carvings of the crescent moon. Their rope wicks burn slightly blue: fuel must be running into them through channels in the stone, but what kind of fuel it is that burns forever I can’t think. Maybe it’s dead men’s breath. That’d certainly explain the smell.
> S
Almost total darkness. I’m taking it one step at a time, like I was climbing a ladder. Then just as I’m getting used to the pace, the next step gets deeper and deeper and I look down to see nothing, not the slightest glimmer of stone beneath my weight... with no time to pull back I sit down, sharply. Below me is empty air - could be a handspan, could be the height of a tower. The air is still, and cold. The darkness around could be the size of the night.
Dark Stair
The stairs down from the landing end in midair. Everything beyond is darkness, so vast the light of my candle is lost, like a dust-mote in the Cathedral itself. If I had a hundred candles, maybe I could see something. As it is, with this candle, I cannot see - I can only be seen...
> N
Main Chamber
The tunnel from the north opens out here into a vaulted chamber and there are four iron torches burning in each corner. East and west are arched doorways like lidded eyes. By the south wall, a missing flagstone creates an opening, further down into more darkness.
> E
Mortuary
The back of my neck starts prickling when I’m only a step inside. Don’t be a fool, Wren. No ghosts in the machines down here. No live ones anyway - this place is purely for the dead.
The stone walls are cold, wet with the last breath of all the bodies that have been prepared on the large stone slab in the centre of the room. That’s where they lie down. Blown-glass tubes lead from it either side, a third at the head end. The insides of the tubes are the colour of burnt bacon.
By the arch to the west is a shelf carved out of the rock. On it are the tools of the trade: spices, cloth, oil, so forth. At least there’s no lathe or whetstone or screws.
> EXAMINE TOOLS
The shelf is hewn from the rock itself, to hold the bandages and the oil. A rack of spices, and behind that, a stack of wooden dowels.
> EXAMINE SLAB
The slab is a bit larger than a man, a bit wider than a man, and has a shallow impression in the shape of a man, with his legs together and wrists by the blown-glass tubes.
> EXAMINE TUBES
A tube runs from the top and bottom of the table. Two more run down on either side. Their colour is like rust.
> W
Main Chamber
The tunnel from the north opens out here into a vaulted chamber and there are four iron torches burning in each corner. East and west are arched doorways like lidded eyes. By the south wall, a missing flagstone creates an opening, further down into more darkness.
> W
Upper Vault
I catch my breath as I enter. This room is a vault of ancient pagan relics: torchlight from the arch back east gleams over water-clocks and candle-clocks and stranger devices I can’t even name, made of wood and bone. There’s no brass here, no cogs, no bearings, no blown glass. All these things: they should have all been destroyed.
As if I needed to add, the Perpetuum is not here. The only metal thing at all is the plate of a large sundial, resting on a shelf.
> EXAMINE SUNDIAL
The plate sundial is made of dark, lusty gold, and would probably be worth a packet if anyone could be demon-happy enough to buy it in the markets of the town. The gnomon is still precise but the underside is worn away, with a series of strange indentations.
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Feb 10, 2018 18:24
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Dec 9, 2017 04:24
