"Tower" by Vivienne Dunstan

[This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 UK: Scotland License]

Include Basic Screen Effects by Emily Short.

The maximum score is 15.

When play begins: say "Suddenly the world starts to spin around you and there is a giddying sensation of movement. You close your eyes for a moment, and when you open them you are somewhere else entirely ..."; pause the game.

Part 1 - The Tower

The Corner of the Garden is a room. "This is the corner of a vast garden stretching far to the south. To the north is a small stone tower. All around the garden mist swirls, giving you an unsettling feeling." Instead of going south in The Corner of the Garden, say "You try to go south, but find yourself quickly disoriented in the swirling mist. You give up and manage to find your way back to the safety of the tower." Instead of going southeast in The Corner of the Garden, say "You try to go southeast, but find yourself quickly disoriented in the swirling mist. You give up and manage to find your way back to the safety of the tower." Instead of going southwest in The Corner of the Garden, say "You try to go southwest, but find yourself quickly disoriented in the swirling mist. You give up and manage to find your way back to the safety of the tower." The tower is scenery in the Corner of the Garden. "The stone-built tower seems to be the only area of the garden free from the swirling mist." The mist is scenery in the Corner of the Garden. "The mist is a strange colour: sometimes green, sometimes, blue, but fundamentally unnatural. Everywhere you look in the garden is covered by it, and, try as you might, you cannot see through it." Garden_scenery is scenery in the Corner of the Garden. "You try to peer into the rest of the garden, but the mist covers everything, obscuring your view." Understand "garden" as garden_scenery. The printed name of garden_scenery is "garden".

The wooden door is north of the Corner of the Garden. The wooden door is a door and scenery. The wooden door is lockable and locked. The old iron key unlocks the wooden door. The description of the wooden door is "The door into the tower is small and made of wood. Hang on though! Something catches your eye. Maybe you should examine it a second time?" Instead of examining the wooden door the second time: say "You examine the wooden tower door more carefully, and spot a small key peeking out from underneath the door! You take the key."; move the old iron key to the player. Instead of doing it more than two times, say "You look again, but find nothing new.".

The Tower Entrance is north of the wooden door. "[if unvisited]Stepping inside the tower for the first time your eyes adjust to the gloom. [end if]This is the ground floor of the tower, with no furniture or other home comforts. A small spiral stone staircase curves its way up and into the tower. To the south lies the tower exit." The staircase is scenery in the Tower Entrance. "The stairs are sturdy stone ones, winding upwards into the tower." The tower exit is scenery in the Tower Entrance. "Instead of a door the way out of the tower is a low archway which you duck under on entering and exiting."

The Tower Room is up from the Tower Entrance. "[If unvisited]You make your way slowly up the steps to the first floor, finding the climbing difficult. Eventually you enter what must be the main, indeed only, room of the tower. [end if]Windows in all directions in this circular room look out over the garden to the south and beyond the garden walls out to sea. In the centre of the room is a desk with a small chair behind it. At the northern end of the room stands a small cupboard. The only other item of note is the spiral staircase, descending below." A small chair and a small cupboard and a desk are scenery in the Tower Room. The description of the desk is "Examining the desk more closely you find a small drawer inside it." A closed openable container called the drawer is part of the desk. In the drawer is a magnifying glass. The description of the magnifying glass is "It is a small round glass that you can use to magnify objects - ideal for reading small things." The small chair is an enterable supporter. The small cupboard is a closed openable container. "The cupboard is small and made of wood, reflecting fine craftsmanship." A crystal globe and a small mirror are inside the cupboard. The description of the globe is "The globe is a rich red colour, about five inches in diameter, and sits on a firm wooden base." The description of the mirror is "The mirror is a small round mirror with a fine bone handle." Instead of searching the mirror, say "You see your face reflected: gaunt, and ringed by white hair. Ah to be young again.". [A staircase is scenery in the Tower Room. "The stone-built spiral staircase curves down towards the ground floor."] Some windows are scenery in the Tower Room. "Windows ring the room, looking out over the garden to the south and towards the sea in other directions. Mostly the view is obscured by mist though."

Instead of sleeping, say "You don't feel that sleeping is a wise thing to do at the moment."

The Wood is a room.

Instead of examining the globe, say "You stare into the globe and seem to see a figure in there - moving! If only you could release them."

Instead of attacking the crystal globe: say "You throw the globe down, shattering it into hundreds of pieces. Suddenly the world starts to shimmer and you fall to the floor."; award 5 points; pause the game; now the player is in the Wood; remove the crystal globe from play.

Part 2 - The Wood

The description of the Wood is "[if unvisited]You wake up on a soft bed of leaves and get unsteadily to your feet. [end if]All around are tall trees. It is daylight, though the light filtering through the trees is faint." Some trees are scenery in the Wood. "The trees tower above you, ringing this part of the wood on all sides." The light is scenery in the Wood. "Shafts of light filter through gaps in the trees, giving the leaves-strewn floor an almost magical hue." Some leaves are scenery in the Wood. "All over the floor is a bed of leaves, orange and red. But this doesn't make any sense. Last time you remembered it was Spring, not Autumn!" Instead of going north in the Wood, say "You try to go that way, but the trees seem to close around you and you stop trying." Instead of going northeast in the Wood, say "You try to go that way, but the trees seem to close around you and you stop trying." Instead of going east in the Wood, say "You try to go that way, but the trees seem to close around you and you stop trying." Instead of going southeast in the Wood, say "You try to go that way, but the trees seem to close around you and you stop trying." Instead of going south in the Wood, say "You try to go that way, but the trees seem to close around you and you stop trying." Instead of going southwest in the Wood, say "You try to go that way, but the trees seem to close around you and you stop trying." Instead of going west in the Wood, say "You try to go that way, but the trees seem to close around you and you stop trying." Instead of going northwest in the Wood, say "You try to go that way, but the trees seem to close around you and you stop trying."

There is a music box. The description of the music box is "Exquisitely crafted, this wooden music box is a thing of beauty. A grille on the top allows the sound to come out, while a handle on the side plays the music.". The handle and grille are part of the music box.

Instead of searching the leaves the first time: say "You search through the deep bed of leaves. To your surprise you find something very unexpected."; move the music box to the Wood.

Instead of doing it more than one time, say "You search again, but find nothing new.".

Understand "wind [something]" as turning.

The book is a thing.

Instead of turning the handle: say "You turn the handle, and beautiful music starts to play. Timeless, and classic, it recalls your youth long ago. You suddenly feel tired, and fall to the ground, before waking up somewhere else entirely."; award 5 points; pause the game; remove the music box from play; move the book to the Tower Room; now the player is in the Tower Room.

Part 3 - Back at the Tower

Instead of examining the book: if the player is carrying the magnifying glass, say "You flick through the book and use the magnifying glass to read the small print. Most of it seems to be in a language that you cannot understand, but the overall impression is of some kind of arcane incantation. Near the end you catch the words 'oidhche mhath' - Scots Gaelic you think, though you do not know what it means."; else say "You flick through the book but the text is too small to read. If only your eyesight was better.".

Instead of answering yourself that "oidhche mhath": say "You say 'oidhche mhath' out loud, unsure if you are pronouncing it correctly, but trying your best. Over and over you say the words, until you hear a voice calling in the distance. Gradually the voice gets louder, and then - suddenly - you wake up, and find yourself sitting in your favourite chair, with your grandchildren nearby."; award 5 points; end the game saying "It was all a dream!".

Instead of answering yourself that "'oidhche mhath'": say "You say 'oidhche mhath' out loud, unsure if you are pronouncing it correctly, but trying your best. Over and over you say the words, until you hear a voice calling in the distance. Gradually the voice gets louder, and then - suddenly - you wake up, and find yourself sitting in your favourite chair, with your grandchildren nearby."; award 5 points; end the game saying "It was all a dream!".

[can't work out how to type the source code so it will also respond to say "oidhche mhath" - even copying and pasting from the "ACTIONS" response doesn't work]

[other idea: play music. end up back outside the tower. move alter-ego into the tower room. have some sort of stand-off there. wake up]