When the seventh day comes and it is time for you to return to the castle in the forest, your sisters cling to your sleeves. "Don't go back," they say, and "When will we ever see you again?" But you imagine they will find consolation somewhere. Your father hangs back, silent and moody. He has spent the week as far from you as possible, working until late at night. Now he speaks only to ask whether the Beast treated you "properly." Since he obviously has his own ideas about what must have taken place over the past few years, you do not reply beyond a shrug. You breathe more easily once you're back in the forest, alone. Bronze A fractured fairy tale by Emily Short Release 12 / Serial number 080217 / Inform 7 build 5M28 (I6/v6.31 lib 6/12N) SD > Have you played interactive fiction before? > Drawbridge 1 If you have not played Bronze before, you may still want to type HELP to learn about special commands unique to this game. Drawbridge Even in your short absence, the castle has come to look strange to you again. When you came here first, you stood a long while on the drawbridge, unready to cross the moat, for fear of the spells that might bind you if you did. This time it is too late to worry about such things. An iron-barred gate leads north. > > Drawbridge 2 You are nontrivially the worse for your journey -- hungry, dirty, and tired. But all that can be seen to later. > > Drawbridge 3 You are carrying nothing. > > Entrance Hall 4 (first opening the iron-barred gate) You shouldn't be able to open it, heavy as it is, but it swings aside lightly at your touch. The Beast said that it knows friend from enemy; and the castle, at least, still regards you as friend. Entrance Hall There is no fire in the big fireplace, and no one is waiting for you here; the air is very cold. Over the gate, the old familiar warning sign is painted. Various passages lead deeper into the castle: north towards the central courtyard, southwest to the guard tower, east and west into the libraries, the offices, the galleries. Somewhere in this maze, he waits; and he should be told as soon as possible that you did return. An iron-barred gate leads south to the drawbridge. > > Entrance Hall 5 You know the words by heart, having heard them first from your father, and then studied them yourself on many more recent occasions. You read: Those who seek to leave the castle depart at peril of their lives and souls, unless another servant be provided in exchange, or a fixed term of absence be granted by their master. > > Guard Tower 6 Guard Tower A round tower offering protection to the drawbridge. > > Entrance Hall 7 Entrance Hall There is no fire in the big fireplace; the air is very cold. Over the gate, the old familiar warning sign is painted. Various passages lead deeper into the castle: north towards the central courtyard, southwest to the guard tower, east and west into the libraries, the offices, the galleries. Somewhere in this maze, he waits; and he should be told as soon as possible that you did return. An iron-barred gate leads south to the drawbridge. > > Great Dining Hall 8 Great Dining Hall Such a long hall that the soup might get cold between one end and the other. You and he used only the far west end, nearest the kitchen. Once you took to dining together at all, that is; the first few months he brought trays to your room, while you hid. But then you took to eating here; and at the end of every meal he would stand up formally and ask his question. "You can leave at any time," he said, when he first spoke to you. You stared at him, surprised that someone with his face and teeth was capable of human communication. "Would you like to go?" There are other memories, more recent, of course. Every glance around the room reminds you of a different one. > > Enormous Kitchen 9 Enormous Kitchen Haunted with the spirits of chefs past, generations and generations of culinary geniuses; one can never predict its whimsies. Unless he has moved everything, the bell to summon them into action should be in one of the rooms upstairs. > > Servant Quarters 10 Servant Quarters You've never come here before, and now you see why. Not a room friendly to visitors, it has the air of resentful, martyred suffering. Even His most unpleasant ancestors would not have grudged this place more paint, surely, and more straw for the beds. A decaying ladder leads down. > > Enormous Kitchen 11 Enormous Kitchen Haunted with the spirits of chefs past, generations and generations of culinary geniuses; one can never predict its whimsies. Unless he has moved everything, the bell to summon them into action should be in one of the rooms upstairs. > > Great Dining Hall 12 Great Dining Hall You allow yourself to remember another night, another request. "I'm surprised you haven't gone home yet," he said very early in your stay. "I've heard stories," you replied. "As if there weren't enough to see around the castle. I know what happens to your servants who try to leave you." "Nothing bad would happen to you," he said. But you could not believe him, not with all the captured spirits, not with the stories, not with the evidence around the castle. > > Great Dining Hall 13 You find your way blocked by a phantom guard. Somewhere nearby you hear chimes. As soon as you back up, he disperses into smoke again. > > Entrance Hall 14 Entrance Hall There is no fire in the big fireplace; the air is very cold. Over the gate, the old familiar warning sign is painted. Various passages lead deeper into the castle: north towards the central courtyard, southwest to the guard tower, east and west into the libraries, the offices, the galleries. Somewhere in this maze, he waits; and he should be told as soon as possible that you did return. An iron-barred gate leads south to the drawbridge. > > Scarlet Gallery 15 Scarlet Gallery You do not often come this way, into the older part of the castle, which is narrow and has a low roof. The walls, and the ceiling too, are deep scarlet, the color of the old king and queen that ruled here two hundred fifty years ago, when there was still a kingdom. > > Treasure Room 16 Treasure Room Locked in an iron cage are the house treasures not in use: the collection consists of a sceptre, a puzzle piece, and a pair of cloven shoes, at present -- he showed them to you one rainy day, telling you their many histories. Nearby a small door leads east. > > Treasure Room 17 Made of broad strap-like bars of metal, as thick as a man's belt, and heavily reinforced. Here and there are marks where someone would seem to have made an attempt to break in. In the cage are the sceptre, the puzzle piece, and the pair of cloven shoes. > > Treasure Room 18 Formerly belonging to Queen Ingratitudina the First (so he said), only slightly bent where she used it to strike King Cophetua. You reacquaint yourself with its appearance: Studded with measly turquoises and semi-precious stones. > > Treasure Room 19 Made for something with cloven hoofs. They bear evidence of having been adjusted to their current size by a shoemaker, and perhaps (therefore) could be again. > > Treasure Room 20 (first unlocking the iron cage) You lack a key that fits the iron cage. > > Treasure Room 21 (first unlocking the small door) You lack a key that fits the small door. > > Scarlet Gallery 22 Scarlet Gallery You do not often come this way, into the older part of the castle, which is narrow and has a low roof. The walls, and the ceiling too, are deep scarlet, the color of the old king and queen that ruled here two hundred fifty years ago, when there was still a kingdom. > > Scarlet Tower 23 Scarlet Tower A little hexagonal room, from whose narrow window you can see the moat, the lawn, and the beginning of the forest outside. On the windowsill, a helmet waits, for the use of the sentry. > > Scarlet Tower 24 Beyond a short stretch of clear ground, the forest grows thick and uninhabited for many miles. > > Scarlet Tower 25 Beyond a short stretch of clear ground, the forest grows thick and uninhabited for many miles. > > Scarlet Tower 26 You acquire the helmet, and assess it curiously. A very old helmet that you have seen the Beast wear (and quite foolish it looked, perched on a head it no longer fits: it would suit your head better). He told you once that the helmet was for night watchmen, scouts, and guards, to increase their vigilance and strengthen their hearing. Lines of writing arc over each ear, but you do not know the language in question. > > Scarlet Tower 27 Lines of writing arc over each ear, but you do not know the language in question. > > Scarlet Tower 28 You settle the helmet over your head, and there is a roaring in your ears at first. But then the sharpened hearing begins to feel natural again. > > Scarlet Tower 29 You hear your own steady breathing. > > Scarlet Gallery 30 Scarlet Gallery You do not often come this way, into the older part of the castle, which is narrow and has a low roof. The walls, and the ceiling too, are deep scarlet, the color of the old king and queen that ruled here two hundred fifty years ago, when there was still a kingdom. > > Gallery of Historical Paintings 31 Gallery of Historical Paintings Here on the north wall and the south are paintings of historical events from times past: the assassination of King Elzibad in 1248; the arrival of Princess Lucrezia from the Italian State of Medici-Credenza in 1545. The gallery goes on, echoing, both east and west. > > Gallery of Historical Paintings 32 You see his pointy-slippered attendants wringing their hands, his wife wiping her eyes on an ermine muff, peasants grieving. Of Elzibad himself, there is only a pair of blackened feet, sticking out from under the elephant. > > Gallery of Historical Paintings 33 Lucrezia wears silk the pale blue of the morning sky, and her eyes are little currants of malice. > > Room with the Labyrinth Floor 34 Room with the Labyrinth Floor A mosaic floor of black and white, like that of cathedrals, as protection against the spite of the undead: which protection might often have been needed, by those that dwelt here in former times. The way down is at the center of the maze. He's not down here, then, in the east wing. Perhaps he's in one of the side rooms you've not visited yet...? > > Room with the Labyrinth Floor 35 The maze doesn't look uncrossable by you. You step forward and look down into the room below, but it is too dark to see much. > > Darkness 36 Darkness Though a dim light filters down from the room with the labyrinth floor, you can see almost nothing of the contents of your current location. > > Room with the Labyrinth Floor 37 Room with the Labyrinth Floor A mosaic floor of black and white, like that of cathedrals, as protection against the spite of the undead: which protection might often have been needed, by those that dwelt here in former times. The way down is at the center of the maze. > > Gallery of Historical Paintings 38 Gallery of Historical Paintings Here on the north wall and the south are paintings of historical events from times past: the assassination of King Elzibad in 1248; the arrival of Princess Lucrezia from the Italian State of Medici-Credenza in 1545. The gallery goes on, echoing, both east and west. > > Scarlet Gallery 39 Scarlet Gallery You do not often come this way, into the older part of the castle, which is narrow and has a low roof. The walls, and the ceiling too, are deep scarlet, the color of the old king and queen that ruled here two hundred fifty years ago, when there was still a kingdom. > > Entrance Hall 40 Entrance Hall There is no fire in the big fireplace; the air is very cold. Over the gate, the old familiar warning sign is painted. Various passages lead deeper into the castle: north towards the central courtyard, southwest to the guard tower, east and west into the libraries, the offices, the galleries. Somewhere in this maze, he waits; and he should be told as soon as possible that you did return. An iron-barred gate leads south to the drawbridge. > > Central Courtyard 41 Central Courtyard Open to a grey sky, from which a light rain falls. You have never seen the courtyard otherwise: it rains in every season, winter or summer, no matter what lies beyond the moat. It was here that you first laid eyes on the Beast: emerging from the State Rooms, snarling. He seemed angry at you for coming, even though you had had no choice. Or perhaps (you thought) he was simply violent. You did not run. The castle proper opens both north and south, and to the east a helical staircase ascends to the roof. > > Central Courtyard 42 Again the sound of chimes, and the phantom guard that blocks your path. Somewhere there must be a ringer summoning him, protecting the State Rooms. You have never known the Beast to put up guards before. It has always been enough for him to guard the rooms himself. > > Central Courtyard 43 Even your own breathing is magnified when you wear the helmet, so you must concentrate past it... The chimes sound randomly, but not unpleasantly. It is only if you listen for a long time that they begin to remind you of a warning or a threat. > > Ground Floor Helical Staircase 44 Ground Floor Helical Staircase The steps rise from here towards the upper rooms, and open out onto the bare courtyard. An obscene gargoyle sits where the finial of the banister should be. Upstairs. That must be the solution. You'll find him up there, and everything will go back to normal; as it always does after a fight or disagreement or odd patch. Sooner or later things just right themselves and resume as they have always gone. > > Ground Floor Helical Staircase 45 He came up while you were bent over the gargoyle, trying to lift it. "Taking that back to your room?" he asked slyly. "It won't work, but if you're lacking companionship I could find an appropriate servant to see to your needs." You felt yourself blush. "It's ugly," you said. "I wanted to move it." "Oh. You can't." He frowned at it. "It is a remnant, left here by an angry soul who managed to take some revenge despite his enslavement. There are a few others around, mostly in the crypt. They're immovable, but harmless." You reacquaint yourself with its appearance: Not too large, but stunningly ugly: a stone about the size of an apple, carved into a monster with outsized ears and eyes -- not to mention outsized attributes elsewhere. > > Ground Floor Helical Staircase 46 It still doesn't budge, and -- you rather think -- it never will. > > Upstairs Helical Staircase 47 Upstairs Helical Staircase In this spot, you fell and almost broke your leg -- or some other more valuable part of you -- except that He caught you. But you are alone now, and therefore cautious. > > Private Parlor 48 Private Parlor A sitting room of the family, in old times, and familiar territory to you now as well. Your bedroom is just south; other bedrooms, mostly smaller, in other directions. Nearby a heavy door leads north. You can also see a bentwood table (on which is a jigsaw puzzle) here. > > Private Parlor 49 His latest offering: he brings you all the most innocent toys he can find, to occupy your time and make you less miserable. This one is nearly finished, missing only one piece that neither of you could ever find. > > Private Parlor 50 You have looked, many times. The trouble is, the floorboards aren't very well-fitted, and the piece could easily have fallen through to the room below. > > Green Bedroom 51 Green Bedroom Having more personality than most of the bedrooms, it was decorated for someone specific and has been left that way: green and white, with a simple rustic cast unusual for the palace. The chief exception is the royal portrait on the wall. > > Private Parlor 52 Private Parlor A sitting room of the family, in old times, and familiar territory to you now as well. Your bedroom is just south; other bedrooms, mostly smaller, in other directions. Nearby a heavy door leads north. You can also see a bentwood table (on which is a jigsaw puzzle) here. > > Green Bedroom 53 Green Bedroom Having more personality than most of the bedrooms, it was decorated for someone specific and has been left that way: green and white, with a simple rustic cast unusual for the palace. The chief exception is the royal portrait on the wall. > > Green Bedroom 54 "That was me," he told you. "Before I was changed. Do you think I was handsome?" You shrugged. Handsome, yes, but proud, selfish, resentful, perhaps cruel. "The painter did not do justice to your personality," you replied. "You're wrong," he said. "And I put the painting here to punish the woman who slept here. She treated me with justice, and I could not forgive her." He refused to tell you the rest. "You like me more than you should, and trust me less," he said. "If I told you the rest of this particular story, you would neither trust nor like. There, that's a warning for you." You reacquaint yourself with its appearance: A portrait of a young, arrogant king: not a prince, but one who inherited early and used his power from the beginning. He stares out with bitterness, perhaps even resentment. > > Private Parlor 55 Private Parlor A sitting room of the family, in old times, and familiar territory to you now as well. Your bedroom is just south; other bedrooms, mostly smaller, in other directions. Nearby a heavy door leads north. You can also see a bentwood table (on which is a jigsaw puzzle) here. > > Crystal Bedroom 56 Crystal Bedroom A fantasia of gleaming and glittering, chandeliers and mirrors: all that shines or reflects has been moved here, into this room that you inhabit, which he never enters. The south end of the room is most dazzling, because of the daylight from the balcony. > > Crystal Bedroom 57 You learned, long ago, that the mirrors would keep him away; and then, when you had less need to keep him at bay, you kept them anyway, so as not to disturb him by returning them to the rest of the palace. > > Crystal Bedroom 58 You look and see yourself, scratched and dirty from the long journey; and remember... He stood in the doorway, amused. "You look displeased." You, holding wide brocaded skirts. "They're very rich and very beautiful and much too fancy for me." "And?" "And--" You glanced down at them. "And they would have been out of fashion on my grandmother!" "Which is the last time the servants had a chance to practice making gowns," he said. "Do you mind? There is no one to see you but me, and I assure you that my knowledge of current Parisian fashion is nonexistent..." > > Gilded Balcony 59 You step out into the rain; the fat droplets sound like hail on the surface of your helmet. Gilded Balcony A ridiculous filigreed balcony that is like nothing so much as a birdcage: and from here you can see all the way across the moat, across the forest, the plain, to the edge of the sea, only by staring long enough in any direction. When you first came here, the balcony was full of plants in pots: poison oak, nettles, nightshade, datura. "They grow best here," he explained. "Don't touch them." And he took them away, and you have never seen them again since. > > Gilded Balcony 60 A considerable expanse of evergreen forest -- the view sharpens under your gaze if you wish, showing you individual trees, branches, leaves; or widening out again to show you rolling miles and then the pastureland beyond. If you look exactly the right direction and squint, you can see your family home, and that is what triggered the attack of homesickness in the first place. > > Gilded Balcony 61 A considerable expanse of evergreen forest -- the view sharpens under your gaze if you wish, showing you individual trees, branches, leaves; or widening out again to show you rolling miles and then the pastureland beyond. If you look exactly the right direction and squint, you can see your family home, and that is what triggered the attack of homesickness in the first place. > > Gilded Balcony 62 You can't see anything promising that way. > > Gilded Balcony 63 A considerable expanse of evergreen forest -- the view sharpens under your gaze if you wish, showing you individual trees, branches, leaves; or widening out again to show you rolling miles and then the pastureland beyond. If you look exactly the right direction and squint, you can see your family home, and that is what triggered the attack of homesickness in the first place. > > Crystal Bedroom 64 Crystal Bedroom A fantasia of gleaming and glittering, chandeliers and mirrors: all that shines or reflects has been moved here, into this room that you inhabit, which he never enters. The south end of the room is most dazzling, because of the daylight from the balcony. > > Private Parlor 65 Private Parlor A sitting room of the family, in old times, and familiar territory to you now as well. Your bedroom is just south; other bedrooms, mostly smaller, in other directions. Nearby a heavy door leads north. You can also see a bentwood table (on which is a jigsaw puzzle) here. > > Empty Bedroom 66 Empty Bedroom Like a monk's chamber compared to every other part of the palace, just bare walls now. Here your father stayed, when he made his ill-fated journey to the castle. The Beast told you this, on your first visit. On the wall, as a curio, hangs an open shackle -- sign of the only person ever to have escaped the power of this place. > > Empty Bedroom 67 Your father claims to have been chained up, but the Beast never made the least effort to restrain you with chains or bars. On the contrary-- but that remains a puzzle. You reacquaint yourself with its appearance: A curious object, a broken shackle. Nowhere else in the castle are there any chains or ropes or devices of torture; there has never been a need for such physical coercion... > > Empty Bedroom 68 You acquire the shackle. > > Private Parlor 69 Private Parlor A sitting room of the family, in old times, and familiar territory to you now as well. Your bedroom is just south; other bedrooms, mostly smaller, in other directions. Nearby a heavy door leads north. You can also see a bentwood table (on which is a jigsaw puzzle) here. > > Guest Bedroom 70 Guest Bedroom Made up for the reception of a guest who will never arrive again. A tapestry recalls the story. Still here at the center of the room is the stool you and the Beast used, the time he tried to teach you to dance -- not a great success, but more effective than the experiment with stilts. He's not upstairs, then: there's nowhere in these rooms he could have been hiding, no space large enough to conceal him. He must have gone into one of the more... difficult portions of the castle. The state rooms, or the crypt. One of the places he knows you hate to visit alone. This does not bode well for his state of mind. (Will he be angry? It has been a long time since he was truly angry at you... But you cannot deal with that until you find him.) > > Guest Bedroom 71 An ordinary three-legged stool, like the one your cat at home liked to sleep on. > > Guest Bedroom 72 You acquire the stool. > > Private Parlor 73 Private Parlor A sitting room of the family, in old times, and familiar territory to you now as well. Your bedroom is just south; other bedrooms, mostly smaller, in other directions. Nearby a heavy door leads north. You can also see a bentwood table (on which is a jigsaw puzzle) here. > > Upstairs Helical Staircase 74 Upstairs Helical Staircase A dizzying prospect, the spiral of steps down to the ground. > > Private Parlor 75 Private Parlor A sitting room of the family, in old times, and familiar territory to you now as well. Your bedroom is just south; other bedrooms, mostly smaller, in other directions. Nearby a heavy door leads north. You can also see a bentwood table (on which is a jigsaw puzzle) here. > > Private Parlor 76 (first opening the heavy door) You get far enough to glimpse a bell collection before being overcome: you reel back from a smell of roses and death, so powerful that you can't go forward. Until there's a breeze through here, you won't be able to stand being in the place. Private Parlor A sitting room of the family, in old times, and familiar territory to you now as well. Your bedroom is just south; other bedrooms, mostly smaller, in other directions. Nearby an open heavy door leads north. You can also see a bentwood table (on which is a jigsaw puzzle) here. > > Private Parlor 77 It looks thick enough to block sound. > > Private Parlor 78 You get far enough to glimpse a north window before being overcome: you reel back from a smell of roses and death, so powerful that you can't go forward. Until there's a breeze through here, you won't be able to stand being in the place. Private Parlor A sitting room of the family, in old times, and familiar territory to you now as well. Your bedroom is just south; other bedrooms, mostly smaller, in other directions. Nearby an open heavy door leads north. You can also see a bentwood table (on which is a jigsaw puzzle) here. > > Private Parlor 79 You get far enough to glimpse a silver bell before being overcome: you reel back from a smell of roses and death, so powerful that you can't go forward. Until there's a breeze through here, you won't be able to stand being in the place. Private Parlor A sitting room of the family, in old times, and familiar territory to you now as well. Your bedroom is just south; other bedrooms, mostly smaller, in other directions. Nearby an open heavy door leads north. You can also see a bentwood table (on which is a jigsaw puzzle) here. > > Upstairs Helical Staircase 80 Upstairs Helical Staircase A dizzying prospect, the spiral of steps down to the ground. > > Ground Floor Helical Staircase 81 Ground Floor Helical Staircase The steps rise from here towards the upper rooms, and open out onto the bare courtyard. An obscene gargoyle sits where the finial of the banister should be. > > Central Courtyard 82 Central Courtyard Open to a grey sky, from which a light rain falls. You have never seen the courtyard otherwise: it rains in every season, winter or summer, no matter what lies beyond the moat. The castle proper opens both north and south, and to the east a helical staircase ascends to the roof. > > Entrance Hall 83 Entrance Hall There is no fire in the big fireplace; the air is very cold. Over the gate, the old familiar warning sign is painted. Various passages lead deeper into the castle: north towards the central courtyard, southwest to the guard tower, east and west into the libraries, the offices, the galleries. Somewhere in this maze, he waits; and he should be told as soon as possible that you did return. An iron-barred gate leads south to the drawbridge. > > Great Dining Hall 84 Great Dining Hall You allow yourself to remember another night, another request. "And now -- would you like to go home?" You bit your lip. It had been a pleasant conversation, up until now, when you are reminded: however nicely he may behave, he is still the king of a cursed line, and not to be trusted. > > Enormous Kitchen 85 Enormous Kitchen Haunted with the spirits of chefs past, generations and generations of culinary geniuses; one can never predict its whimsies. Unless he has moved everything, the bell to summon them into action should be in one of the rooms upstairs. > > Servant Quarters 86 Servant Quarters Not a room friendly to visitors, it has the air of resentful, martyred suffering. Even His most unpleasant ancestors would not have grudged this place more paint, surely, and more straw for the beds. A decaying ladder leads down. > > Darkness 87 Darkness Though a dim light filters down from the servant quarters, you can see almost nothing of the contents of your current location. You find yourself concentrating all the more alertly on your hearing, as though the slightest echo might offer a clue. Windchimes ring, almost inaudible, from the east, competing with some dry sifting from the northeast. You can also make out your own steady breathing. > > Darkness 88 Darkness Though a dim light filters down from the law library, you can see almost nothing of the contents of your current location. You find yourself concentrating all the more alertly on your hearing, as though the slightest echo might offer a clue. Windchimes ring, muted, from the east, competing with some dry sifting from the north. You can also make out your own steady breathing. > > Darkness 89 Windchimes ring, muted, from the east, competing with some dry sifting from the north. You can also make out your own steady breathing. > > Darkness 90 Darkness It's so dark in here that you have to feel your way along, and are nervous of tripping at any moment. You find yourself concentrating all the more alertly on your hearing, as though the slightest echo might offer a clue. Windchimes ring, melodious, from the northeast, competing with some dry sifting from the northwest and an irregular dripping from the southeast. You can also make out your own steady breathing. > > Darkness 91 Darkness It's so dark in here that you have to feel your way along, and are nervous of tripping at any moment. You find yourself concentrating all the more alertly on your hearing, as though the slightest echo might offer a clue. Windchimes ring, loud, from the northeast. You can also make out your own steady breathing. > > Darkness 92 Darkness Though a dim light filters down from rose garden, you can see almost nothing of the contents of your current location. > > Rose Garden 93 You climb into the pale light... Rose Garden Only one kind of rose grows here, a pink only just distinct from white. This strain creeps over the ground and climbs the walls of the cloister. In the middle of the garden a way slopes into the ground, reminding you of the entrance to a burial mound. Strung up by a chain is a set of iron windchimes. > > Rose Garden 94 Each chime is engraved with the staring eyes and exaggerated nostrils of a spirit warrior. > > Rose Garden 95 You cannot reach the iron windchimes from your present position; you'd need something to stand on. > > Rose Garden 96 You hop, but don't attain much height. > > Rose Garden 97 You set the stool down next to one wall. > > Rose Garden 98 You stand, a little precariously, on the stool, and are now more or less the same height as an ordinary person. > > Rose Garden 99 The chimes have been locked to the chain that supports them. > > Rose Garden 100 You get off the stool. Rose Garden Only one kind of rose grows here, a pink only just distinct from white. This strain creeps over the ground and climbs the walls of the cloister. In the middle of the garden a way slopes into the ground, reminding you of the entrance to a burial mound. Strung up by a chain is a set of iron windchimes. You can also see a stool here. > > Cloister Walk 101 Cloister Walk A pleasant cloister overlooking the rose garden to the north. You have walked it many times, seeking to waste the excesses of time at your disposal. > > Walk's End 102 Walk's End Lucrezia, they say, died here. It is only a turning point in the corridor, with a bench. On the stone bench are some discarded embroidery materials. > > Walk's End 103 A few weeks ago now, he came to you with a quick step. "Look, it took me all morning, but I found this." Holding out the basket of threads, the folded linen. Not in bad condition, either. "What is that for?" You were never much for sewing things at home, even before your mother died. "I thought -- since you're so bored here --" He lowered his arm. "When I saw more of the world, I knew a number of young ladies who were very fond of it. My sister liked to make stories with hers." You opened your mouth, looking for something to say. "I see," he answered. "The world has changed. What do young ladies do now?" "I don't know," you reply. "My father fell on hard times. We live in the country. I'm more or less a milkmaid, these days." At the word milkmaid, his mouth twisted a little and he shrugged. "I cannot provide any cows," he said, after a long time. You reacquaint yourself with its appearance: The little that is already done is old-fashioned blackwork, like your grandmother's mother might have stitched. > > Walk's End 104 That's hardly portable. > > Walk's End 105 You acquire the discarded embroidery materials. > > Walk's End 106 A deep seat with a curious relief carved onto the back: if you look from the right angle, it appears as though Lucrezia is lying on the bench, just like a lady on a tomb, her hands piously folded around the handle of a mirror. Scrying her own death, perhaps, or maybe communicating with someone who had already died. > > Walk's End 107 A deep seat with a curious relief carved onto the back: if you look from the right angle, it appears as though Lucrezia is lying on the bench, just like a lady on a tomb, her hands piously folded around the handle of a mirror. Scrying her own death, perhaps, or maybe communicating with someone who had already died. > > Scrying Room 108 Scrying Room A place for consulting with the servants, summoning them by their instruments and allowing their spirits to manifest in the mirrors. But you know this only from explanation, because the mirrors and glasses have been broken or carried away to the Crystal Bedroom, when they ceased to reflect anything that gave pleasure to their master. Nearby a small door leads west to the treasure room. A small key hangs beside the door. > > Scrying Room 109 The key is of the sort of delicate design intended to unlock more than one thing, and hangs from a peg. The small key unlocks the small door. > > Scrying Room 110 You acquire the small key. > > Scrying Room 111 You are carrying: a small key (which opens the small door) some discarded embroidery materials a shackle a helmet (being worn) > > Scrying Room 112 The key is of the sort of delicate design intended to unlock more than one thing. The small key unlocks the small door. > > Treasure Room 113 (first opening the small door) (first unlocking the small door) (with the small key) Treasure Room Locked in an iron cage are the house treasures not in use: the collection consists of a sceptre, a puzzle piece, and a pair of cloven shoes, at present -- he showed them to you one rainy day, telling you their many histories. Nearby an open small door leads east to the scrying room. > > Treasure Room 114 You lack a key that fits the iron cage. > > Scrying Room 115 Scrying Room A place for consulting with the servants, summoning them by their instruments and allowing their spirits to manifest in the mirrors. But you know this only from explanation, because the mirrors and glasses have been broken or carried away to the Crystal Bedroom, when they ceased to reflect anything that gave pleasure to their master. Nearby an open small door leads west to the treasure room. > > Walk's End 116 Walk's End Lucrezia, they say, died here. It is only a turning point in the corridor, with a bench. > > Rose Garden 117 Rose Garden Only one kind of rose grows here, a pink only just distinct from white. This strain creeps over the ground and climbs the walls of the cloister. In the middle of the garden a way slopes into the ground, reminding you of the entrance to a burial mound. Strung up by a chain is a set of iron windchimes. You can also see a stool here. > > Rose Garden 118 You stand, a little precariously, on the stool, and are now more or less the same height as an ordinary person. > > Rose Garden 119 (with the small key) You unlock the iron windchimes. > > Rose Garden 120 You take the chimes down, silencing them and muting their power. When they are entirely still, they fade from your grip and vanish. > > Rose Garden 121 You get off the stool. Rose Garden Only one kind of rose grows here, a pink only just distinct from white. This strain creeps over the ground and climbs the walls of the cloister. In the middle of the garden a way slopes into the ground, reminding you of the entrance to a burial mound. You can see a stool here. > > Rose Garden 122 You acquire the stool. > > Cloister Walk 123 Cloister Walk A pleasant cloister overlooking the rose garden to the north. You have walked it many times, seeking to waste the excesses of time at your disposal. > > Parliamentary Chambers 124 Parliamentary Chambers Despite its grand name, this is one of the smaller chambers of the castle, because the kings were never inclined to brook too much advice. On each side of the room are two neat oak benches, seating for perhaps thirty men -- and, more rarely, women, and a few characters who could not be called by either term. > > Parliamentary Chambers 125 The appearance of the oak benches has not changed significantly since you left. > > State Rotunda 126 State Rotunda Built for the bureaucratic offices of the palace. Inlaid in the floor is the map of all the lands that once this palace commanded; and from the stains and driblets of wax, it is clear to you that someone at some time thought it useful to set a candle at the map's center, and observe the result. > > State Rotunda 127 Since the lands of the Kingdom were once quite dispersed the cartographer has, from indolence, fancy, or an urge to flatter, omitted all the territories that intervened, so that here floating in a cherry-wood sea are the State of Medici-Credenza; the Emirate of Elzibad; the Equine Protectorate of Argos; a goodly portion of Essex; and Malta, the only true island of the lot. There is writing around the map's edge, not legible in this light. > > State Rotunda 128 You walk far enough in to get a view of sand falling in a huge hourglass. Though it is only a thin stream, it sounds louder than it should: the noise, magnified by your helmet, becomes too much to bear, and you retreat. > > Law Library 129 Law Library Many books of precedent line these walls, containing every kind of contract that can be made to bind every kind of soul. A hole in the floor descends to the other, less savory portion of this place. You can see a great contract book here. > > Law Library 130 The runes are unfamiliar to you, but you know what the book is: a record of all the contracts of all the souls enslaved to the king of this castle. You caught him staring at you once. "Your clothing is wearing out. I'll look up a seamstress in the contract book for you." You plucked the erring sleeve back into place. "You needn't," you said. "I don't mind." "Yes, but I do," he snapped. "I was once a -- the polite term would be a connoisseur of ladies -- and it is not a taste that goes away. So for everyone's sanity it would be best if you went about fully clothed." You avoided him for three days, after that incident. But your gowns were all replaced. > > Law Library 131 The words are in a language you don't understand: even the Beast had to take it to the translation room to make any sense of it. > > Law Library 132 The runes are unfamiliar to you, but you know what the book is: a record of all the contracts of all the souls enslaved to the king of this castle. > > Law Library 133 Law Library Many books of precedent line these walls, containing every kind of contract that can be made to bind every kind of soul. A hole in the floor descends to the other, less savory portion of this place. You can see a great contract book here. > > Law Library 134 You lift the helmet from your head, and the sudden quiet feels like going deaf. > > Lower Bulb 135 Lower Bulb In this very tall room, like a silo, is a glass of running sand: not an hourglass, or even a dayglass, but a timer whose duration you do not know. A whole Sahara has poured into its lower chamber, but the trickle from above continues, very fine. Around the outside of this contraption ascends a wooden staircase. > > Lower Bulb 136 No human glassblower could have made this thing, that much is certain. > > Upper Bulb 137 Upper Bulb In the upper chamber, you find, there is almost as much sand as there is below; indeed for all you can tell the flow might be eternal. Nearby an ivory door leads southwest. And here Beast lies, sprawled on the ground as if he'd fallen. "Nothing bad will happen for the first seven days," he said, when you left. And yet here he is, looking very nearly dead. > > Upper Bulb 138 He looks starved, unwell, near death, in fact. He will need to be given food before he will properly revive -- and who knows what else... It baffles you to find him in this condition, when he could easily have gotten whatever he needed in the kitchen. > > Upper Bulb 139 Though you shake him vigorously, he does not stir. > > Upper Bulb 140 You press your mouth to his cold one, and catch the strange scent of night woods, cinnamon, and blood copper. He does not stir. > > Upper Bulb 141 He looks starved, unwell, near death, in fact. He will need to be given food before he will properly revive -- and who knows what else... It baffles you to find him in this condition, when he could easily have gotten whatever he needed in the kitchen. > > Records Room 142 Records Room Where all the papers and histories are kept, not only for the royal family, but for kin in every kind and direction. > > Records Room 143 Neatly filed: he told you he'd spent twenty years or so on them, having no other way to occupy his time. Anything you wanted to look up, you should be able to discover easily. > > Records Room 144 You have never known his true name, and can only guess that he must be the last of the line of kings. > > Records Room 145 You are the merest interloper here. > > Records Room 146 You discover nothing of interest in the papers. > > Records Room 147 An entertaining story tells how Elzibad, worse than all the other kings of this palace that had previously been seen, was defeated by one of his own demons in elephant form, when someone who was not contracted to him gained command of the demon. Command of his slaves then passed to his son. From that day on the castle was so built that no one could even enter into it without becoming contracted to its king, for the protection of the royal family. > > Records Room 148 You quickly skim the unpleasant history of Lucrezia of Medici-Credenza, how she brought odd magical treasures with her, introduced new methods of binding and contracting that were previously unknown even to this castle, and maintained a room for her studies in the basement below the rose garden. From this room everyone including her husband was banned. There are some suggestions that she was the daughter of the Devil himself, sent to the castle to tempt the kings into further folly and destruction. But who knows? > > Records Room 149 Among the records there is a large section on the various failed romantic business of the kings and queens and their brothers and sisters, so that you might almost suspect this to be part of the castle's curse. In this collection, you find the history of Duke Cantherius: married at 59 to a lissome wife of 17, he "urgently desired to enjoy her company", but found himself unable. He consulted a young Parisian doctor, who contracted that through his services the Duchess would be delivered of a child within the year. Alas, medicine brought no relief; not even that most reliable method, an ointment of honey, crow's egg, and the gall of an electric eel. The Duchess began to hint that she meant to have the marriage annulled; the Duke grew abusive. Seeing no solution through medical arts, the doctor was compelled by his contract to seduce the Duchess. When the young woman was delivered of triplets, the Duke kept two of the boys and raised them as his own; the third he strangled, together with the doctor himself, as a punishment to his erring wife. Whereupon the ugly gargoyle appeared on the stair, and could never be budged. > > Upper Bulb 150 Upper Bulb In the upper chamber, you find, there is almost as much sand as there is below; indeed for all you can tell the flow might be eternal. Nearby an ivory door leads southwest. And here Beast lies, sprawled on the ground as if he'd fallen. > > Upper Bulb 151 From here, you can head southwest, east, west, and down. > > Upper Bulb 152 (first opening the ivory door) (first unlocking the ivory door) You lack a key that fits the ivory door. > > Gallery of Still Life 153 Gallery of Still Life Natural light from the south -- coming in from the courtyard, you suppose, though you are too short to see out -- illuminates a series of still life paintings on the north wall: one showing the Wedding Treasure when Lucrezia arrived from Medici-Credenza, the other rather fancifully entitled Supper with M. Nearby a heavy door leads east. > > Gallery of Still Life 154 A table tastefully laid with possessions of power or personal worth, brought by Lucrezia as gifts from her father: an inkpot, a helmet, a green girdle stitched with vines, a curious pair of cloven shoes. > > Gallery of Still Life 155 A table nicely laid out with white linen and napkins, bread and fruit; and a spoon with a very, very long handle. > > Gallery of Still Life 156 (first opening the heavy door) You get far enough to glimpse a mechanical chessplayer before being overcome: you reel back from a smell of roses and death, so powerful that you can't go forward. Until there's a breeze through here, you won't be able to stand being in the place. Gallery of Still Life Natural light from the south -- coming in from the courtyard, you suppose, though you are too short to see out -- illuminates a series of still life paintings on the north wall: one showing the Wedding Treasure when Lucrezia arrived from Medici-Credenza, the other rather fancifully entitled Supper with M. Nearby an open heavy door leads east. With both doors open, a breeze begins to blow through the smelly area. > > Gallery of Still Life 157 Time passes. The worst of rose stink has mostly gone, now. > > White Gallery 158 White Gallery Of more recent construction than many another portion of the castle, and therefore light and airy, and a pleasant place to spend a few hours. Nearby an open heavy door leads west to the gallery of still life. Placed where it will have the most light on the board for the longest time is a mechanical chessplayer. > > White Gallery 159 The chessplayer wears a turban, and in its wooden fingers grasps the head of the black bishop. Whatever move it contemplates has yet to occur. The Beast brought it out for you to play against, when other entertainment palled. You lost consistently until he came and roared at it; and afterwards began to win. The suspicion that it was throwing games made you a bit reluctant to make use of it, in the end. The mechanical chessplayer is currently switched off. > > White Gallery 160 You throw the switch hopefully, but nothing happens -- in fact, the switch flops loosely back into its old position, plainly connected to nothing. > > White Gallery 161 The switch is just for show: it must not really work by gears, but by summoning the spirit of some dead gamesman. > > White Gallery 162 The chessplayer wears a turban, and in its wooden fingers grasps the head of the black bishop. Whatever move it contemplates has yet to occur. The Beast brought it out for you to play against, when other entertainment palled. You lost consistently until he came and roared at it; and afterwards began to win. The suspicion that it was throwing games made you a bit reluctant to make use of it, in the end. The mechanical chessplayer is currently switched off. > > White Gallery 163 You can't think of anything further on the topic. > > Bellroom 164 Bellroom Kept, conveniently, close to where the masters of the house would once have slept. There are bells large and small, clappers, tambourines, and gongs. Most of these you have never seen used at all. Roses from the garden below have crept up to grow around the north window, lending a sickly smell to the place. Nearby an open heavy door leads south to the private parlor. Catching your eye among many other unfamiliar itemsare some iron windchimes, a little gold dinner bell, and a silver bell. > > Bellroom 165 Each chime is engraved with the staring eyes and exaggerated nostrils of a spirit warrior. > > Bellroom 166 It is the dinner summons, and particularly familiar to you. > > Bellroom 167 It bears the stamp of a lamplighter. > > Bellroom 168 iron windchimes: You acquire the iron windchimes. little gold dinner bell: You acquire the little gold dinner bell. silver bell: You acquire the silver bell. > > Apothecary 169 Apothecary Furnished with a long countertop and the equipment of an apothecary; sketches from physicians; anatomical drawings of creatures similar to the Beast, bears and lions being especially prominent; also poison reference books, primarily the work of Italian and (earlier) Persian experts. The room has an unused air, and you do not remember ever coming in before, or seeing the Beast go in. It must have been a hobby that interested him before your arrival. Roses from the garden below have crept up to grow around the north window, lending a sickly smell to the place. > > Apothecary 170 They concentrate on weak points and the functioning of the digestive tract. > > Apothecary 171 Assorted disturbing recipes for ways to make your enemies die quickly, or to dispatch them slowly in great pain. The pages most discolored by use and splashed ingredients are those pertaining to swift and pleasant execution. > > Bellroom 172 Bellroom Kept, conveniently, close to where the masters of the house would once have slept. There are bells large and small, clappers, tambourines, and gongs. Most of these you have never seen used at all. Roses from the garden below have crept up to grow around the north window, lending a sickly smell to the place. Nearby an open heavy door leads south to the private parlor. > > Bellroom 173 You smell the decay from the north window. > > White Gallery 174 White Gallery Of more recent construction than many another portion of the castle, and therefore light and airy, and a pleasant place to spend a few hours. Nearby an open heavy door leads west to the gallery of still life. Placed where it will have the most light on the board for the longest time is a mechanical chessplayer. > > Gallery of Still Life 175 Gallery of Still Life Natural light from the south -- coming in from the courtyard, you suppose, though you are too short to see out -- illuminates a series of still life paintings on the north wall: one showing the Wedding Treasure when Lucrezia arrived from Medici-Credenza, the other rather fancifully entitled Supper with M. Nearby an open heavy door leads east to the white gallery. > > Gallery of Still Life 176 You are carrying: a silver bell a little gold dinner bell some iron windchimes a stool a small key (which opens the iron windchimes and the small door) some discarded embroidery materials a shackle a helmet > > Great Dining Hall 177 You head west to the upper bulb. Then down to the lower bulb. Then south to the law library. And finally south to the great dining hall. Great Dining Hall You allow yourself to remember another night, another request. "I assure you," he added. "No harm will come to you if you do go." "I only have your word for that," you replied, looking stubbornly into your soupbowl. He sat. "I am unable to lie to you," he said. "It is one of the conditions placed upon us. We can only tell the truth." "And why should I believe that?" He raised his glass. "I'll try again tomorrow." > > Great Dining Hall 178 Great Dining Hall You allow yourself to remember another night, another request. "Were you ever married?" you asked, ignoring his question. "No." "Then you have no heirs?" "I have no legitimate sons," he replied. "But I certainly have an heir, somewhere. If I died, somewhere, someone would inherit all this, and the whole system would go on as before, the servants and the contracts. But don't worry: I have tried, and it turns out that I don't die easily." > > Great Dining Hall 179 Great Dining Hall You allow yourself to remember another night, another request. "And you promise I would not regret it? Truthfully." He coughed. "I don't know your future. And -- since you ask I must answer -- I don't think much of your father, a man who would barter his daughter's service for his own, especially since he had unflattering ideas of what I would do with you." You sputtered. "Well of course you couldn't-- I mean, being an animal..." His teeth gleamed. "I assure you I could," he said. "But I won't." > > Great Dining Hall 180 Great Dining Hall You allow yourself to remember another night, another request. "I have become used to it here," you answered, surprising yourself. "There is plenty to read; there is the chessman, and games; and you are good company." He raised his glass with a half smile. "You'd rather stay here without me?" "No," he said. > > Great Dining Hall 181 Great Dining Hall You allow yourself to remember another night, another request. "I c-care for you," you said. "I am lonely without you, and you make me laugh, and you're nice..." "Stop," he said. "And remind me never to order the port again." He picked you up from your chair and your head rested on his shoulder. "But why can I not be in love... Oh, carry me carefully on the stairs: I feel sick!" "Simply, pet," he said, walking slowly up the steps. "What you offer I couldn't accept. In fact, I'm not sure what you are offering. Do you have some fantasy of marrying me? Being my mistress?" You could not think of the answer; there was no solution that was not absurd. He set you down carefully on the bed and went away. A moment later he came back, bright crimson bell in his left paw. "When you wake in the morning and are very ill, which you will be, ring this and the servants will bring a tonic appropriate to your condition." > > Great Dining Hall 182 Great Dining Hall You allow yourself to remember another night, another request. "For a visit, if you won't go to stay?" he asked. "We could arrange that too, if you liked." "And nothing bad would happen to anyone I cared about?" you demanded. "Nothing bad would happen to you or to your family. There would be no ill health and no spiritual repercussions." "You're leaving something out," you said, having gotten familiar with the precise way he speaks when hedging around a difficult fact. "It could be unpleasant for me," he replied, strained. "But you mustn't stay because of my feelings on the matter. Your family miss you, and I am the villain in this piece." > > Great Dining Hall 183 Great Dining Hall You allow yourself to remember another night, another request. "Don't mention the leaving thing once more," you said. "Or I will throw a glass at your head." He sighed. "You are as stubborn as you are honorable," he said. "No doubt the two are related." > > Great Dining Hall 184 Great Dining Hall You allow yourself to remember another night, another request. After a long time: "You haven't asked me to leave in a while," you said. "Ah." He looked at his plate of food. "Of course you may go. I'm glad you believe my word about the effects, now." "I will go to visit my family," you say, stressing the word visit. "On condition that you tell me how to do it so that I will not harm you. If you won't do that, I don't go." He looked at you, his expression cloudy. "There is a very good reason why..." "Those are my terms." He sighed. "Very well," he said. "If your trip lasts fewer than seven days, it will have no effect on anything here." He looked down at his curled paw. "But if you don't come back -- and I imagine you won't -- I will forgive you." > > Great Dining Hall 185 Great Dining Hall Such a long hall that the soup might get cold between one end and the other. You and he used only the far west end, nearest the kitchen. Once you took to dining together at all, that is; the first few months he brought trays to your room, while you hid. But then you took to eating here; and at the end of every meal he would stand up formally and ask his question. > > Great Dining Hall 186 Great Dining Hall Such a long hall that the soup might get cold between one end and the other. You and he used only the far west end, nearest the kitchen. Once you took to dining together at all, that is; the first few months he brought trays to your room, while you hid. But then you took to eating here; and at the end of every meal he would stand up formally and ask his question. > > Great Dining Hall 187 You ring the bell hopefully, but apparently it only works in the Kitchen itself. > > Enormous Kitchen 188 Enormous Kitchen Haunted with the spirits of chefs past, generations and generations of culinary geniuses; one can never predict its whimsies. > > Enormous Kitchen 189 The little gold dinner bell tinkles gaily: as in automatic response, your stomach rumbles. There will be a feast, now, waiting for you in the dining hall. As for the gold bell, it returns to its place. > > Great Dining Hall 190 Great Dining Hall Such a long hall that the soup might get cold between one end and the other. You and he used only the far west end, nearest the kitchen. Once you took to dining together at all, that is; the first few months he brought trays to your room, while you hid. But then you took to eating here; and at the end of every meal he would stand up formally and ask his question. A considerable feast is set out on a platter as big as a shield. > > Great Dining Hall 191 A platter heaped with -- why, you must this time have woken the chefs of King Yggdram the Piscine: it is pickled whitefish and wilted greens, hot soup made from leviathan's bones, and other dishes you do not recognize, made of things that have not grown in this vicinity for many a year. > > Great Dining Hall 192 You acquire the feast. Perhaps he will feel better when he has eaten, you reflect. He has always had a large appetite -- the result of his change in form, he tells you. He used to mock your dainty eating, and sit at table long after your plate was empty; and make a game of guessing foods that might tempt you to eat even a little more; vanishing into the kitchen to instruct the staff, and returning a little later; saying roguishly, "This, I think you will like..." In your defense, you never had sugared violets at home. > > Upper Bulb 193 You head north to the law library. Then north to the lower bulb. And finally up to the upper bulb. Upper Bulb In the upper chamber, you find, there is almost as much sand as there is below; indeed for all you can tell the flow might be eternal. Nearby an ivory door leads southwest. And here Beast lies, sprawled on the ground as if he'd fallen. > > Upper Bulb 194 (the feast) With great care, you feed the soup to the Beast. So much spills that you doubt whether you are making any progress; then he swallows. "You are ornery," he says. "I guaranteed your return -- you know what that means?" "That if I had not come back, you would have died," you reply. "That is only a small part of what would have happened. The other contracts would have unraveled, the servant souls freed." You frown at him. "I've been trying to use you to this purpose for years," he says, touching your cheek. "But you wouldn't go. I'm touched that you came back for me -- really, I can't tell you how much -- but you've ruined the plan." "Is there a way to set them free that doesn't kill you?" you ask. He looks startled. "Not for me," he says. "There's a room in the basement below the rose garden I can't get into. Lucrezia's room. You'll need to get in, search the crypt, find a way to destroy the contracts book... there are places in the castle I cannot enter, because she sealed them against all her descendants. But you are not one of her descendants, so--" He chuckles weakly at some joke, but he hands you an iron key. "You'll need the shoes." "Would that lift the curse on you, too, do you think?" you ask. "Unlikely. That is another matter. Less happy." After a moment he begins to sleep again. > > Upper Bulb 195 You are carrying: an iron key a silver bell some iron windchimes a stool a small key (which opens the iron windchimes and the small door) some discarded embroidery materials a shackle a helmet > > Treasure Room 196 You head down to the lower bulb. Then east to the state rotunda. Then south to the central courtyard. Then south to the entrance hall. Then east to the scarlet gallery. And finally northeast to the treasure room. Treasure Room Locked in an iron cage are the house treasures not in use: the collection consists of a sceptre, a puzzle piece, and a pair of cloven shoes, at present -- he showed them to you one rainy day, telling you their many histories. Nearby an open small door leads east to the scrying room. > > Treasure Room 197 (with the iron key) You unlock the iron cage. > > Treasure Room 198 You open the iron cage. > > Treasure Room 199 In the iron cage are a sceptre, a puzzle piece, and a pair of cloven shoes. > > Treasure Room 200 sceptre: You acquire the sceptre. puzzle piece: You acquire the puzzle piece, and assess it curiously. Something shiny has been painted on the piece. pair of cloven shoes: You acquire the pair of cloven shoes. > > Treasure Room 201 Treasure Room Kept in an iron cage are the house treasures not in use: the collection consists of nothing, at present. Nearby an open small door leads east to the scrying room. > > Treasure Room 202 You are carrying: a pair of cloven shoes a puzzle piece a sceptre an iron key (which opens the iron cage) a silver bell some iron windchimes a stool a small key (which opens the iron windchimes and the small door) some discarded embroidery materials a shackle a helmet > > Treasure Room 203 They emphatically do not fit. You will have to find someone to adjust them, evidently. > > Treasure Room 204 Something shiny has been painted on the piece. > > Treasure Room 205 It is not necessary to specify movement within the room. > > Private Parlor 206 You head southwest to the scarlet gallery. Then west to the entrance hall. Then north to the central courtyard. Then east to the ground floor helical staircase. Then up to the upstairs helical staircase. And finally east to the private parlor. Private Parlor A sitting room of the family, in old times, and familiar territory to you now as well. Your bedroom is just south; other bedrooms, mostly smaller, in other directions. Nearby an open heavy door leads north to the bellroom. You can also see a bentwood table (on which is a jigsaw puzzle) here. > > Private Parlor 207 You snap the final piece into place. Nothing tremendous happens, but the picture is complete. The table is set for two: a robed king, and the devil. Between the two of them is a quill pen, jet black, and a huge book. The dialogue of these two characters is written on tiny gilt scrolls that spool out of their mouths, and this is what you could not read before the jagged piece was found: the devil is saying, "TIME IS ON MY SIDE," to which the king replies, "BUT NOT FOR LONG." > > Private Parlor 208 The table is set for two: a robed king, and the devil. Between the two of them is a quill pen, jet black, and a huge book. The dialogue of these two characters is written on tiny gilt scrolls that spool out of their mouths, and this is what you could not read before the jagged piece was found: the devil is saying, "TIME IS ON MY SIDE," to which the king replies, "BUT NOT FOR LONG." > > Private Parlor 209 You are carrying: a pair of cloven shoes a sceptre an iron key (which opens the iron cage) a silver bell some iron windchimes a stool a small key (which opens the iron windchimes and the small door) some discarded embroidery materials a shackle a helmet > > Private Parlor 210 Studded with measly turquoises and semi-precious stones. > > Private Parlor 211 It bears the stamp of a lamplighter. > > Private Parlor 212 You can't think how to get there from here. > > Upstairs Helical Staircase 213 Upstairs Helical Staircase A dizzying prospect, the spiral of steps down to the ground. > > Ground Floor Helical Staircase 214 Ground Floor Helical Staircase The steps rise from here towards the upper rooms, and open out onto the bare courtyard. An obscene gargoyle sits where the finial of the banister should be. > > Central Courtyard 215 Central Courtyard Open to a grey sky, from which a light rain falls. You have never seen the courtyard otherwise: it rains in every season, winter or summer, no matter what lies beyond the moat. The castle proper opens both north and south, and to the east a helical staircase ascends to the roof. > > State Rotunda 216 State Rotunda Built for the bureaucratic offices of the palace. Inlaid in the floor is the map of all the lands that once this palace commanded; and from the stains and driblets of wax, it is clear to you that someone at some time thought it useful to set a candle at the map's center, and observe the result. > > Lower Bulb 217 Lower Bulb In the lower chamber, you find, there is almost as much sand as there is above; it must have been flowing a very long time. Around the outside of this contraption ascends a wooden staircase. > > Translation Room 218 Translation Room Endowed with a deep power that dissolves into ready vernacular even the most ancient and secret scripts of the Law Library. Usually blazing with the captured light of many thousands of candles, but it has been let to go out, and everything is dim. You can see an ordinary quill pen here. > > Translation Room 219 Made of a black feather, to be sure, but there is nothing else at all strange about it, or valuable, or in the least bit unusual. Nothing to make you look twice. > > Translation Room 220 You notice -- can't help noticing -- that the feather is blacker and sleeker and longer than should come from any ordinary bird. As if pulled from the wing of a black angel. The stain on the tip is red. > > Translation Room 221 The silver bell rings once in triumph, and the room springs to brilliant light. The bell itself fades back to its usual place. > > Translation Room 222 Translation Room Endowed with a deep power that dissolves into ready vernacular even the most ancient and secret scripts of the Law Library. The single candle blazes with many times more light than one light source ought to produce. You can also see a quill of Mephistopheles here. > > Translation Room 223 Only apparently a single candle, but giving off a great deal of illumination. > > Translation Room 224 You are carrying: a pair of cloven shoes a sceptre an iron key (which opens the iron cage) some iron windchimes a stool a small key (which opens the iron windchimes and the small door) some discarded embroidery materials a shackle a helmet > > Lower Bulb 225 Lower Bulb In the lower chamber, you find, there is almost as much sand as there is above; it must have been flowing a very long time. Around the outside of this contraption ascends a wooden staircase. > > Law Library 226 Law Library Many books of precedent line these walls, containing every kind of contract that can be made to bind every kind of soul. A hole in the floor descends to the other, less savory portion of this place. You can see a great contract book here. > > Law Library 227 You acquire the great contract book. > > Law Library 228 The words are in a language you don't understand: even the Beast had to take it to the translation room to make any sense of it. > > Law Library 229 The runes are unfamiliar to you, but you know what the book is: a record of all the contracts of all the souls enslaved to the king of this castle. > > Lower Bulb 230 Lower Bulb In the lower chamber, you find, there is almost as much sand as there is above; it must have been flowing a very long time. Around the outside of this contraption ascends a wooden staircase. > > Translation Room 231 Translation Room Endowed with a deep power that dissolves into ready vernacular even the most ancient and secret scripts of the Law Library. The single candle blazes with many times more light than one light source ought to produce. You can also see a quill of Mephistopheles here. > > Translation Room 232 You search, search, search -- and here is the page with your name at the top. But the contract below, which stipulates your eternal imprisonment here, has been amended with a permission to leave and return within seven days. Then: "Guarantor of this exchange: the king of the castle and all his rights and servants." Which means that if you had not returned, the Beast would have been forfeit and all the servants as well. > > Translation Room 233 Even if you knew his name, he wouldn't be listed here, of course. The master is not contracted, only the servants. > > Translation Room 234 Your father's contract is just before your own: a lifetime (and deathtime) of service in this castle, as the immediate result of setting foot herein. From comparison to some of the other contracts, you see that it would have been easy service indeed, no manual labor but only companionship to the king, and no command-bell to make him come or go. But the contract has been amended in a small neat hand that says: "Voided in voluntary exchange for his daughter's service." That would be where you come in. And: "Guarantor of this exchange: the king of the castle and all his rights and servants." > > Translation Room 235 The kings you will not find contracted here, though there might be some history in the papers of the records room. > > Translation Room 236 The mistress is not contracted, only the servants. She had no contract, while she lived, and was allowed, therefore, to die. > > Translation Room 237 To live as a thin spirit, having no volition, and lighting the lamps whenever the silver bell is rung. > > Translation Room 238 You discover nothing of interest in the great contract book. > > Translation Room 239 A book many thousands of pages long, and on each page is a name, a birthdate, a term of service, all the contracts that bind the castle's ghosts and servitors and Powers: ostlers and fighting-men, bishops and whores. > > Translation Room 240 To judge by this, the castle once had many hundreds of horses. No way of guessing what they do now, the horses having passed a plain animal lifespan and died. > > Translation Room 241 You find just one bishop, actually -- men of the church having been, on the whole, more wary than the average person about coming into any contact with this castle and its inhabitants. He appears to have been an Ethiopian, and the terms of his service abstruse and theological. A backhanded attempt to save one or two of the royal souls, perhaps. > > Translation Room 242 Well. This explains the dreams one has in certain bedrooms. > > Translation Room 243 The windchimes bind the usual array of guards and armsmen; from the large number so bound, and the terms of the contracts, you get the sense that even the undead are not entirely proof against destruction in battle, so that new ones had to be taken on with great frequency. > > Translation Room 244 The windchimes bind the usual array of guards and armsmen; from the large number so bound, and the terms of the contracts, you get the sense that even the undead are not entirely proof against destruction in battle, so that new ones had to be taken on with great frequency. > > Lower Bulb 245 Lower Bulb In the lower chamber, you find, there is almost as much sand as there is above; it must have been flowing a very long time. Around the outside of this contraption ascends a wooden staircase. > > Lower Bulb 246 You are carrying: a great contract book a pair of cloven shoes a sceptre an iron key (which opens the iron cage) some iron windchimes a stool a small key (which opens the iron windchimes and the small door) some discarded embroidery materials a shackle a helmet > > Translation Room 247 Translation Room Endowed with a deep power that dissolves into ready vernacular even the most ancient and secret scripts of the Law Library. The single candle blazes with many times more light than one light source ought to produce. You can also see a quill of Mephistopheles here. > > Translation Room 248 You acquire the candle. > > Lower Bulb 249 Lower Bulb In the lower chamber, you find, there is almost as much sand as there is above; it must have been flowing a very long time. Around the outside of this contraption ascends a wooden staircase. > > State Rotunda 250 State Rotunda Built for the bureaucratic offices of the palace. Inlaid in the floor is the map of all the lands that once this palace commanded; and from the stains and driblets of wax, it is clear to you that someone at some time thought it useful to set a candle at the map's center, and observe the result. > > Parliamentary Chambers 251 Parliamentary Chambers Despite its grand name, this is one of the smaller chambers of the castle, because the kings were never inclined to brook too much advice. On each side of the room are two neat oak benches, seating for perhaps thirty men -- and, more rarely, women, and a few characters who could not be called by either term. > > Cloister Walk 252 Cloister Walk A pleasant cloister overlooking the rose garden to the north. You have walked it many times, seeking to waste the excesses of time at your disposal. > > Cloister Walk 253 From here, you can head north, east, and west. > > Walk's End 254 Walk's End Lucrezia, they say, died here. It is only a turning point in the corridor, with a bench. > > Walk's End 255 From here, you can head northwest, south, and west. > > Rose Garden 256 Rose Garden Only one kind of rose grows here, a pink only just distinct from white. This strain creeps over the ground and climbs the walls of the cloister. In the middle of the garden a way slopes into the ground, reminding you of the entrance to a burial mound. > > Rooted Room 257 Rooted Room Cut as an afterthought through earth and the underside of the garden, and therefore muddy and soil-scented. > > Bell Castings 258 Bell Castings A room of scrap and refuse: wooden structures and clay molds from which bells might be made, scrap metal, pieces of bells now broken. > > Bell Castings 259 By the look of it, there's not a useful, sounding instrument in the lot. > > Wax Supply 260 Wax Supply A dank storage area, stacked with bars of wax -- perhaps for some casting process? You couldn't say. > > Wax Supply 261 Far too large a supply for you to move around. > > Zoo 262 Zoo A resting place for an animal: warm but rough. There is little to suggest, from this environment, that he thinks of himself as a man at all, though he is capable of walking upright and eating with utensils, of reading books and even of writing a legible hand. The only distinguishing mark is a miniature hung on the wall, like a devotional object, or perhaps a reminder. Something about the sole image in an otherwise bare room reminds you of the royal portrait in the Green Bedroom. You can see a poison vial here. > > Zoo 263 You brought it with you; he confiscated it the first night. "It was a good thought," he said, plucking it from your fingers with a delicacy that should be impossible in one his size. "But if I could be killed by poison -- or by violence, or starving, or leaping from towers, by drowning or by suffocation or by fire, I assure you, I would have found the way by now. That leaves only yourself as a victim, and I did not bring you here to die." And so you didn't. You reacquaint yourself with its appearance: It has mostly dried up now; the apothecary who sold it to you did not say anything about whether it would keep its efficacy for long. > > Zoo 264 The tiny image of a lady in a green girdle. But it isn't Lucrezia. > > Zoo 265 It fails to move even a little, but clings to its place tenaciously -- in the way you associate with the stone gargoyle, upstairs. > > Zoo 265 Obviously this is the picture of someone who is (or was) significant to the Beast. > Shall I go on? > Zoo 266 > > Zoo 267 You are carrying: a candle (providing light) a great contract book a pair of cloven shoes a sceptre an iron key (which opens the iron cage) some iron windchimes a stool a small key (which opens the iron windchimes and the small door) some discarded embroidery materials a shackle a helmet > > Bear Corridor 268 Bear Corridor Less couth and cultivated than any other part of the castle, and you have been forbidden to visit this place before now. The walls press close to you on either side. The floor slopes down. Bears with sharp claws are carved into the rock, but they remind you of Him, and you are not frightened. > > Zoo 269 Zoo A resting place for an animal: warm but rough. There is little to suggest, from this environment, that he thinks of himself as a man at all, though he is capable of walking upright and eating with utensils, of reading books and even of writing a legible hand. The only distinguishing mark is a miniature hung on the wall, like a devotional object, or perhaps a reminder. Something about the sole image in an otherwise bare room reminds you of the royal portrait in the Green Bedroom. You can see a poison vial here. > > Rocky Chamber 270 Rocky Chamber A tight, rocky corner among foundations of the oldest part of the castle. A slow leak in the south wall admits a little water, but not enough to be very destructive. > > Rocky Chamber 271 The dripping moisture has the oily look of moat water. > > Rocky Chamber 272 You feel nothing unexpected. > > Rocky Chamber 273 You start into the crypt, but an icy unnatural wind blows against you, as though the spirits resent the intrusion of someone with a light. And yet you have seen the Beast come down here, from time to time, bearing lanterns, torches, whatever he found handy. There must be some preliminary, a matter of spiritual etiquette perhaps, to establish yourself as the master of those below. > > Rocky Chamber 274 You are carrying: a candle (providing light) a great contract book a pair of cloven shoes a sceptre an iron key (which opens the iron cage) some iron windchimes a stool a small key (which opens the iron windchimes and the small door) some discarded embroidery materials a shackle a helmet > > Zoo 275 Zoo A resting place for an animal: warm but rough. There is little to suggest, from this environment, that he thinks of himself as a man at all, though he is capable of walking upright and eating with utensils, of reading books and even of writing a legible hand. The only distinguishing mark is a miniature hung on the wall, like a devotional object, or perhaps a reminder. Something about the sole image in an otherwise bare room reminds you of the royal portrait in the Green Bedroom. You can see a poison vial here. > > Zoo 276 From here, you can head northeast, southeast, and southwest. > > Wax Supply 277 Wax Supply A dank storage area, stacked with bars of wax -- perhaps for some casting process? You couldn't say. > > Bell Castings 278 Bell Castings A room of scrap and refuse: wooden structures and clay molds from which bells might be made, scrap metal, pieces of bells now broken. > > Rooted Room 279 Rooted Room Cut as an afterthought through earth and the underside of the garden, and therefore muddy and soil-scented. > > Tight Passage 280 Tight Passage The passage through rock ends here, and begins to tunnel through soil instead where it heads northeast. There is also a sinister door, leading west. You can also see a cord and an inscription here. > > Tight Passage 281 The work of the hinges and handle, the color of the wood, the point of the arch: all malevolent. It does not have a keyhole at all, however, and looks far too sturdy to succumb to battering. In fact, by the looks of it, someone has had a try before. > > Tight Passage 282 (first unlocking the sinister door) You lack a key that fits the sinister door. > > Tight Passage 283 A pullcord emerges from the rock just before the walls of the passage turn to mud. > > Tight Passage 284 There's lettering beneath the pullcord. Unfortunately the words are too worn for you to read. Perhaps if the light were coming in from an extreme angle, you would do better. > > Tight Passage 285 You experiment with holding the candle in a variety of positions, but still you can't quite make the inscription out -- something about the cord, and you think the large L is for Lucrezia. But what you really need is for the light to be coming in at about the height of the inscription itself, flush with the wall, and from some distance away. Your arms aren't long enough to let you hold the candle in the right position while you read. > > Tight Passage 285 That's not a verb I recognize. > > Tight Passage 286 You experiment with ways to hold the candle, and find that the beginnings of letter forms suggest themselves if you put it at about knee height and some way northeast, close to the wall. Unfortunately, from that position it's impossible to look at the inscription at the same time. > > Tight Passage 287 You set the candle down immediately under the inscription -- but that's no good, you see at once, because thanks to the curvature of the wall you still can't get the thing at the right angle. Perhaps if it were lit from further off and from the side, rather than the bottom... > > Tight Passage 288 You try pushing the candle this way and that. The farther it gets from the wall, the less use it is; and putting it right under the inscription does no good either. But you find that the angle gets better as you push the candle northeast along the wall, until the deepest-cut letters jump out at you: P, L, D. There's a lot more to it than that, though. > > Tight Passage 289 Try though you might to discover its meaning by touch, the letters are too small and numerous for you to read that way; only the capitals P, L, and D stand out. L for Lucrezia, maybe? The word does feel long enough. > > Tight Passage 290 You try pushing the candle this way and that. The farther it gets from the wall, the less use it is; and putting it right under the inscription does no good either. But you find that the angle gets better as you push the candle northeast along the wall, until the deepest-cut letters jump out at you: P, L, D. There's a lot more to it than that, though. > > Rooted Room 291 You continue to move the candle along the northeast wall until you reach a point where the angle seems to be improving... Rooted Room Cut as an afterthought through earth and the underside of the garden, and therefore muddy and soil-scented. > > Rooted Room 292 You'd have to head back southwest to be close to the inscription -- you can't reach it or read the small lettering from here, though from what you can see, this is a good direction for the light to come from. > > Darkness 293 Darkness It's very dark and you can barely make out any of the room's contents, or even tell where the walls are. The only illumination is a harsh raking light across the floor, coming in from the northeast. The inscription is unfortunately just too high on the wall to be fully lit this way, though you can pick up part of it. > > Darkness 294 There's lettering beneath the pullcord. The light coming in does illuminate the floor sharply, and is at a good angle, but it is a bit too low to show up the lettering halfway up the wall. All you get is the deepest capital letters -- P, L, and D -- and the last line: or he will depart again without offering aid. > > Darkness 295 You are carrying: a great contract book a pair of cloven shoes a sceptre an iron key (which opens the iron cage) some iron windchimes a stool a small key (which opens the iron windchimes and the small door) some discarded embroidery materials a shackle a helmet > > Rooted Room 296 Rooted Room Cut as an afterthought through earth and the underside of the garden, and therefore muddy and soil-scented. You can see a candle (providing light) here. > > Rooted Room 297 You set the stool down next to one wall. > > Rooted Room 298 You need to be holding the candle before you can put it on top of something else. > > Rooted Room 299 You pick up the candle, restoring the lighting to a more natural angle. Immediately the place seems less unnerving. > > Rooted Room 300 You put the candle on the stool, aligning it neatly against the wall. A harsh raking illumination is now cast along the wall, about at a height with your knees. > > Darkness 301 Darkness The light from northeast comes in a bit above floor-level, sharply illuminating one wall but leaving the rest of your surroundings dark and unfathomable. The inscription stands out beautifully now. > > Darkness 302 There's lettering beneath the pullcord. You read: Pull this cord, then wait in the room directly above to speak with Lucrezia's steward. Do not let more than five minutes pass between the summons and the waiting, or he will depart again without offering aid. > > Rooted Room 303 Rooted Room Cut as an afterthought through earth and the underside of the garden, and therefore muddy and soil-scented. You can see a stool (on which is a candle (providing light)) here. > > Rooted Room 304 stool: You acquire the stool. candle: You pick up the candle, restoring the lighting to a more natural angle. Immediately the place seems less unnerving. > > Tight Passage 305 Tight Passage The passage through rock ends here, and begins to tunnel through soil instead where it heads northeast. There is also a sinister door, leading west. You can also see a cord and an inscription here. > > Tight Passage 306 You give the cord a hard yank. Somewhere above you a very deep bell tolls. > > Rooted Room 307 Rooted Room Cut as an afterthought through earth and the underside of the garden, and therefore muddy and soil-scented. > > Bell Castings 308 Bell Castings A room of scrap and refuse: wooden structures and clay molds from which bells might be made, scrap metal, pieces of bells now broken. > > Bell Castings 309 From here, you can head north and east. > > Bell Castings 310 From here, you can head north and east. > > Rooted Room 311 Rooted Room Cut as an afterthought through earth and the underside of the garden, and therefore muddy and soil-scented. > > Tight Passage 312 Tight Passage The passage through rock ends here, and begins to tunnel through soil instead where it heads northeast. There is also a sinister door, leading west. You can also see a cord and an inscription here. > > Tight Passage 313 Time passes. > > Tight Passage 314 You give the cord a hard yank. Somewhere above you a very deep bell tolls. > > Rooted Room 315 Rooted Room Cut as an afterthought through earth and the underside of the garden, and therefore muddy and soil-scented. > > Rose Garden 316 You climb into the pale light... Rose Garden Only one kind of rose grows here, a pink only just distinct from white. This strain creeps over the ground and climbs the walls of the cloister. In the middle of the garden a way slopes into the ground, reminding you of the entrance to a burial mound. > > Cloister Walk 317 Cloister Walk A pleasant cloister overlooking the rose garden to the north. You have walked it many times, seeking to waste the excesses of time at your disposal. > > Parliamentary Chambers 318 Parliamentary Chambers Despite its grand name, this is one of the smaller chambers of the castle, because the kings were never inclined to brook too much advice. On each side of the room are two neat oak benches, seating for perhaps thirty men -- and, more rarely, women, and a few characters who could not be called by either term. > > Parliamentary Chambers 319 There is a scuffle, and a presence unfolds itself from where it was waiting, unseen, on the benches. It comes towards you and circles you, and you have the idea -- more imagination than eyesight -- that this was once a tall, thin man of considerable power. It says a few words in the bastardized Italian of the state of Medici- Credenza, and you hear the scrape of wood and stone from somewhere below you: a door opening. Then the presence vanishes. > > Parliamentary Chambers 320 You are carrying: a candle (providing light) a stool a great contract book a pair of cloven shoes a sceptre an iron key (which opens the iron cage) some iron windchimes a small key (which opens the iron windchimes and the small door) some discarded embroidery materials a shackle a helmet > > Parliamentary Chambers 321 From here, you can head east and west. > > Cloister Walk 322 Cloister Walk A pleasant cloister overlooking the rose garden to the north. You have walked it many times, seeking to waste the excesses of time at your disposal. > > Rose Garden 323 Rose Garden Only one kind of rose grows here, a pink only just distinct from white. This strain creeps over the ground and climbs the walls of the cloister. In the middle of the garden a way slopes into the ground, reminding you of the entrance to a burial mound. > > Rooted Room 324 Rooted Room Cut as an afterthought through earth and the underside of the garden, and therefore muddy and soil-scented. > > Tight Passage 325 Tight Passage The passage through rock ends here, and begins to tunnel through soil instead where it heads northeast. There is also a sinister door, leading west -- and currently open. You can also see a cord and an inscription here. > > Lucrezia's Study 326 Lucrezia's Study Little survives here, enough to suggest that a number of books were burned and glass tools smashed. You can only guess at why, or by whom. But the dominant item is the vast image of Lucrezia at a wardrobe fitting of some kind. There is also a sinister door, leading east -- and currently open. A single pile of notes remains. > > Lucrezia's Study 327 Lucrezia stands, imperiously, in what is now the empty bedroom, while a gnome-like shoemaker at her feet customizes pair after pair of shoes to her misshapen-- You look away, unnerved, towards a less disturbing element, the leather tambourine in Lucrezia's hand. > > Lucrezia's Study 328 Lucrezia stands, imperiously, in what is now the empty bedroom, while a gnome-like shoemaker at her feet customizes pair after pair of shoes to her misshapen-- You look away, unnerved, towards a less disturbing element, the leather tambourine in Lucrezia's hand. > > Lucrezia's Study 329 Spiky, erratic handwriting on a variety of mystical and magical topics pertaining to the castle and the spiritual status of the inhabitants. > > Lucrezia's Study 330 The shoemaker so busily fitting Lucrezia in the portrait does not seem to have been sufficiently interesting to warrant a record in these notes, though perhaps the terms of his engagement will be found in the contract book. > > Lucrezia's Study 331 There's nothing about you here, which is no surprise, considering that the author of these pages was dead centuries before your arrival. > > Lucrezia's Study 332 Though the notes are of her writing, they are for the most part not about her: she was not a diarist, but an experimenter. > > Lucrezia's Study 333 You can discover no specific references to the Beast; though your hazy impression from his conversation is that he never knew Lucrezia, she having been generations before him. > > Lucrezia's Study 334 About the pen there is a considerable raving: "Many tests of fire, water, pressure, torsion, acid, and poison have failed; even gunpowder and holy water have not sufficed to ruin it; nor do I now believe that it can be destroyed, but suppose that, being plucked from the wing of the old man my father, it partakes of his same eternal nature. Therefore the arrangement must be dissolved in some other way." > > Lucrezia's Study 335 Mostly some speculative notes about the possibility of voiding contracts through some loophole of demonic legalism. You don't entirely follow it. At any rate, to judge by this, she had obtained a kind of mastery over the crypt-spirits by use of her magic shoes. And there is also a reference to a room upstairs, behind the ivory door. > > Lucrezia's Study 336 You are carrying: a candle (providing light) a stool a great contract book a pair of cloven shoes a sceptre an iron key (which opens the iron cage) some iron windchimes a small key (which opens the iron windchimes and the small door) some discarded embroidery materials a shackle a helmet > > Lucrezia's Study 337 Made for something with cloven hoofs. They bear evidence of having been adjusted to their current size by a shoemaker, and perhaps (therefore) could be again. > > Lucrezia's Study 338 The shoes, according to these pages, symbolize their wearer's right to tread in and be master of the territory of the dead. "For which reason I wear them always to funerals and in graveyards", remark the notes conversationally, "the which habit has greatly offended some of the noble ladies through the cause of the shoes not being a suitable color for such occasions." Before you can build up much sympathy, Lucrezia continues: "Therefore in recompense I enslaved two of these ladies to my personal service and gave a third to my son to be his concubine until better manners and humility attend them all." Some additional function for the shoes is suggested by the papers -- something about the preservation of memory or a connection to those who wore them previously -- but it seems that even Lucrezia did not understand this very well. ("And for this reason I am determined never to let them fall into the hands of another, but to have them burnt on my pyre at the moment of my death, lest those that follow after learn my secrets.") That scheme didn't work out for her, evidently. > > Lucrezia's Study 339 Lucrezia stands, imperiously, in what is now the empty bedroom, while a gnome-like shoemaker at her feet customizes pair after pair of shoes to her misshapen-- You look away, unnerved, towards a less disturbing element, the leather tambourine in Lucrezia's hand. > > Lucrezia's Study 340 You are carrying: a candle (providing light) a stool a great contract book a pair of cloven shoes a sceptre an iron key (which opens the iron cage) some iron windchimes a small key (which opens the iron windchimes and the small door) some discarded embroidery materials a shackle a helmet > > Bellroom 341 You head east to tight passage. Then northeast to rooted room. Then up to rose garden. You climb into the pale light... , emerging into rose garden. Then south to cloister walk. , emerging into cloister walk. Then west to the parliamentary chambers. , emerging into the parliamentary chambers. Then west to the state rotunda. , emerging into the state rotunda. Then west to the lower bulb. , emerging into the lower bulb. Then up to the upper bulb. , emerging into the upper bulb. Then east to the gallery of still life. , emerging into the gallery of still life. Then east to the white gallery. , emerging into the white gallery. And then east to the bellroom. Bellroom Kept, conveniently, close to where the masters of the house would once have slept. There are bells large and small, clappers, tambourines, and gongs. Most of these you have never seen used at all. Roses from the garden below have crept up to grow around the north window, lending a sickly smell to the place. Nearby an open heavy door leads south to the private parlor. Catching your eye among many other unfamiliar itemsare a leather tambourine, a silver bell, and a little gold dinner bell. > > Bellroom 342 (the leather tambourine) You acquire the leather tambourine, and assess it curiously. A hoop stretched with good-quality leather. > > Empty Bedroom 343 You head south to the private parlor. And finally southeast to the empty bedroom. Empty Bedroom Like a monk's chamber compared to every other part of the palace, just bare walls now. Here your father stayed, when he made his ill-fated journey to the castle. The Beast told you this, on your first visit. > > Empty Bedroom 344 A brisk wind fusses about your feet, then does something to the shoes, resizing and slightly reshaping so that they might have a hope of staying on you. > > Empty Bedroom 345 You slip your feet into the shoes, and feel less alone. Mere sentiment, you think; but then there is the brush of a thought other than your own. The crypt. Under the Law Library. There are sources of power there which even I have never understood. > > Empty Bedroom 346 Made for something with cloven hoofs, but so large that you could wear them as a kind of awkward sandal. They bear evidence of having been adjusted to their current size by a shoemaker, and perhaps (therefore) could be again. > > Empty Bedroom 347 From here, you can head northwest. > > Private Parlor 348 Private Parlor A sitting room of the family, in old times, and familiar territory to you now as well. Your bedroom is just south; other bedrooms, mostly smaller, in other directions. Nearby an open heavy door leads north to the bellroom. You can also see a bentwood table (on which is a jigsaw puzzle) here. > > Crystal Bedroom 349 Crystal Bedroom A fantasia of gleaming and glittering, chandeliers and mirrors: all that shines or reflects has been moved here, into this room that you inhabit, which he never enters. The south end of the room is most dazzling, because of the daylight from the balcony. The Beast's thoughts intrude on yours, courtesy of the enchanted shoes: affection, longing, guilt; amusement at your innocence and anger at your blindness; frank desire. Such a tangled, terrifying mess of emotion that you barely recognize yourself in the mirrors. Sorry. The thought is sleepy and not entirely comforting. > > Gilded Balcony 350 You step out into the rain. Gilded Balcony A ridiculous filigreed balcony that is like nothing so much as a birdcage: and from here you can see all the way across the moat, across the forest, the plain, to the edge of the sea, only by staring long enough in any direction. The Beast's thoughts intrude on yours, courtesy of the enchanted shoes: Thought the cage metaphor quite unsubtle; but I thought you might like it anyway, being able to see all that distance. This room is built above the watchtower down below, you see, part of a vertical line of power. > > Crystal Bedroom 351 Crystal Bedroom A fantasia of gleaming and glittering, chandeliers and mirrors: all that shines or reflects has been moved here, into this room that you inhabit, which he never enters. The south end of the room is most dazzling, because of the daylight from the balcony. The Beast's thoughts intrude on yours, courtesy of the enchanted shoes: just a suppressed agitation this time, and some emotions you might not be willing to call love. I won't hurt you. > > Private Parlor 352 Private Parlor A sitting room of the family, in old times, and familiar territory to you now as well. Your bedroom is just south; other bedrooms, mostly smaller, in other directions. Nearby an open heavy door leads north to the bellroom. You can also see a bentwood table (on which is a jigsaw puzzle) here. > > Upstairs Helical Staircase 353 Upstairs Helical Staircase A dizzying prospect, the spiral of steps down to the ground. > > Ground Floor Helical Staircase 354 Ground Floor Helical Staircase The steps rise from here towards the upper rooms, and open out onto the bare courtyard. An obscene gargoyle sits where the finial of the banister should be. > > Central Courtyard 355 Central Courtyard Open to a grey sky, from which a light rain falls. You have never seen the courtyard otherwise: it rains in every season, winter or summer, no matter what lies beyond the moat. The castle proper opens both north and south, and to the east a helical staircase ascends to the roof. > > State Rotunda 356 State Rotunda Built for the bureaucratic offices of the palace. Inlaid in the floor is the map of all the lands that once this palace commanded; and from the stains and driblets of wax, it is clear to you that someone at some time thought it useful to set a candle at the map's center, and observe the result. > > Parliamentary Chambers 357 Parliamentary Chambers Despite its grand name, this is one of the smaller chambers of the castle, because the kings were never inclined to brook too much advice. On each side of the room are two neat oak benches, seating for perhaps thirty men -- and, more rarely, women, and a few characters who could not be called by either term. > > Cloister Walk 358 Cloister Walk A pleasant cloister overlooking the rose garden to the north. You have walked it many times, seeking to waste the excesses of time at your disposal. > > Cloister Walk 359 From here, you can head north, east, and west. > > Rose Garden 360 Rose Garden Only one kind of rose grows here, a pink only just distinct from white. This strain creeps over the ground and climbs the walls of the cloister. In the middle of the garden a way slopes into the ground, reminding you of the entrance to a burial mound. > > Rooted Room 361 Rooted Room Cut as an afterthought through earth and the underside of the garden, and therefore muddy and soil-scented. > > Tight Passage 362 Tight Passage The passage through rock ends here, and begins to tunnel through soil instead where it heads northeast. There is also a sinister door, leading west -- and currently open. You can also see a cord and an inscription here. > > Father's Regret 363 Father's Regret The home of fathers who died before their children were born. Tokens of binding are stored here: bones and bits of hair, relics, hearts scientifically dried, and many other things, culled through the centuries by the masters of this place, in drawers. > > Father's Regret 364 The drawers are numerous, but there is only one that opens without sticking. > > Father's Regret 365 You open the drawers, revealing an ivory key and an elephant harness. > > Father's Regret 366 It is not all ivory, of course, just a metal shaft with ivory in the handle. > > Father's Regret 367 You acquire the ivory key. > > Father's Regret 368 The harness refuses to budge, in a way you associate with the stone gargoyle. > > Father's Regret 368 You can't see any such thing. > > Father's Regret 369 You are carrying: an ivory key a candle (providing light) a stool a great contract book a pair of cloven shoes (being worn) a sceptre an iron key (which opens the iron cage) some iron windchimes a small key (which opens the iron windchimes and the small door) some discarded embroidery materials a shackle a helmet > > Lucrezia's Study 370 You head northeast to tight passage. And then west to lucrezia's study. Lucrezia's Study Little survives here, enough to suggest that a number of books were burned and glass tools smashed. You can only guess at why, or by whom. But the dominant item is the vast image of Lucrezia at a wardrobe fitting of some kind. There is also a sinister door, leading east -- and currently open. A single pile of notes remains. The Beast's thoughts intrude on yours, courtesy of the enchanted shoes: Interesting. They never let me in here. But then, Lucrezia wanted to bring the family to ruin, so perhaps that is why. > > Lucrezia's Study 371 You acquire the pile of notes. > > Tight Passage 372 Tight Passage The passage through rock ends here, and begins to tunnel through soil instead where it heads northeast. There is also a sinister door, leading west -- and currently open. You can also see a cord and an inscription here. > > Tight Passage 373 You are carrying: a pile of notes an ivory key a candle (providing light) a stool a great contract book a pair of cloven shoes (being worn) a sceptre an iron key (which opens the iron cage) some iron windchimes a small key (which opens the iron windchimes and the small door) some discarded embroidery materials a shackle a helmet > > Tight Passage 374 You discover nothing of interest in the pile of notes. > > Father's Regret 375 Father's Regret The home of fathers who died before their children were born. Tokens of binding are stored here: bones and bits of hair, relics, hearts scientifically dried, and many other things, culled through the centuries by the masters of this place, in drawers. > > Central Crypt 376 Central Crypt A relic-storage place for all the bits of men and women -- and creatures -- bound to the Kings over many centuries. Only brute animals are free of binding, since they have no souls; which is why there are no dogs in the castle, no horses, no songbirds. > > Central Crypt 377 Bones are built into the walls, often no more than fragments. > > Debtor's Paradise 378 The floor sounds progressively stranger as you walk toward the middle of the room. Debtor's Paradise The graves of men who died before resolving their debts. > > Apprentice's Workshop 379 As you walk out of the room, you notice that your footsteps sound odd. Apprentice's Workshop A mausoleum for apprentices who perished before their terms of indenture were complete. A decaying ladder leads up. > > Virgin's End 380 Virgin's End The resting place of maidens who died before marrying those to whom they were engaged. The Beast's thoughts intrude on yours, courtesy of the enchanted shoes: They died without marrying those to whom they were betrothed, but not all died maidens. Impossible to tell the tenor of that particular thought. Not all of them are to my account, I hasten to add. > > Virgin's End 381 You are carrying: a pile of notes an ivory key a candle (providing light) a stool a great contract book a pair of cloven shoes (being worn) a sceptre an iron key (which opens the iron cage) some iron windchimes a small key (which opens the iron windchimes and the small door) some discarded embroidery materials a shackle a helmet > > Translation Room 382 You head south to the central crypt. Then up to the law library. , emerging into the law library. Then north to the lower bulb. , emerging into the lower bulb. And then west to the translation room. Translation Room Endowed with a deep power that dissolves into ready vernacular even the most ancient and secret scripts of the Law Library. You can see a quill of Mephistopheles here. > > Translation Room 383 With some effort, you find the contract, which turns to be one of a large number of contracts involving young women. These all occur towards the end of the book, shortly before your own. In fact, this is the very last contract recorded before your father's and yours: a young woman named Yvette, brought to the castle -- though she was betrothed to a lord already -- to "serve" the king. You have the impression that the contract book is leaving out a good deal, such as why Yvette was associated with the girdle, and what she was doing here. Perhaps in the papers there will be something. > > Bellroom 384 You head east to the lower bulb. Then up to the upper bulb. Then east to the gallery of still life. Then east to the white gallery. And finally east to the bellroom. Bellroom Kept, conveniently, close to where the masters of the house would once have slept. There are bells large and small, clappers, tambourines, and gongs. Most of these you have never seen used at all. Roses from the garden below have crept up to grow around the north window, lending a sickly smell to the place. Nearby an open heavy door leads south to the private parlor. Catching your eye among many other unfamiliar itemsare a leather tambourine, a silver bell, and a little gold dinner bell. > > Records Room 385 You head west to the white gallery. Then west to the gallery of still life. Then west to the upper bulb. And finally west to the records room. Records Room Where all the papers and histories are kept, not only for the royal family, but for kin in every kind and direction. The Beast's thoughts intrude on yours, courtesy of the enchanted shoes: We have always retained an extraordinarily good secretary and historian. If there is any good in this damned arrangement... > > Records Room 386 It takes some searching, but you find it eventually. The king in these parts was accustomed to bring young ladies to the castle when his wooing of them was unsuccessful, whereupon they were under contract and unable to resist him. This he did for many years, snatching away men's brides; until one day he stole Yvette. She was only a humble milkmaid, but so beautiful she was betrothed to a lord, etc., etc., and moreover her great-great-grandmother had been Lucrezia the Enchantress (oh dear), so she possessed a magical girdle of surpassing power. When she discovered what was about to happen to her, while she was still on the drawbridge of the castle, she cursed the king to become a mere beast, so that the spell would never be lifted until someone loved him who was not under magical contract. What was more, this person would need the power of that same magical girdle... There is even a small woodcut of the grieving Yvette, carrying a cow bell and looking downtrodden. > > Upper Bulb 387 Upper Bulb In the upper chamber, you find, there is almost as much sand as there is below; indeed for all you can tell the flow might be eternal. Nearby an ivory door leads southwest. And here Beast lies, sprawled on the ground as if he'd fallen. > > Gallery of Still Life 388 Gallery of Still Life Natural light from the south -- coming in from the courtyard, you suppose, though you are too short to see out -- illuminates a series of still life paintings on the north wall: one showing the Wedding Treasure when Lucrezia arrived from Medici-Credenza, the other rather fancifully entitled Supper with M. Nearby an open heavy door leads east to the white gallery. > > White Gallery 389 White Gallery Of more recent construction than many another portion of the castle, and therefore light and airy, and a pleasant place to spend a few hours. Nearby an open heavy door leads west to the gallery of still life. Placed where it will have the most light on the board for the longest time is a mechanical chessplayer. > > Bellroom 390 Bellroom Kept, conveniently, close to where the masters of the house would once have slept. There are bells large and small, clappers, tambourines, and gongs. Most of these you have never seen used at all. Roses from the garden below have crept up to grow around the north window, lending a sickly smell to the place. Nearby an open heavy door leads south to the private parlor. Catching your eye among many other unfamiliar itemsare a cow bell, a leather tambourine, a silver bell, and a little gold dinner bell. > > Bellroom 391 You acquire the cow bell, and assess it curiously. Much like the ones you used on the cows at home. > > Bellroom 392 You ring the bell, but those who might hear and heed it are not close enough. > > White Gallery 393 White Gallery Of more recent construction than many another portion of the castle, and therefore light and airy, and a pleasant place to spend a few hours. Nearby an open heavy door leads west to the gallery of still life. Placed where it will have the most light on the board for the longest time is a mechanical chessplayer. > > Gallery of Still Life 394 Gallery of Still Life Natural light from the south -- coming in from the courtyard, you suppose, though you are too short to see out -- illuminates a series of still life paintings on the north wall: one showing the Wedding Treasure when Lucrezia arrived from Medici-Credenza, the other rather fancifully entitled Supper with M. Nearby an open heavy door leads east to the white gallery. > > Upper Bulb 395 Upper Bulb In the upper chamber, you find, there is almost as much sand as there is below; indeed for all you can tell the flow might be eternal. Nearby an ivory door leads southwest. And here Beast lies, sprawled on the ground as if he'd fallen. > > Records Room 396 Records Room Where all the papers and histories are kept, not only for the royal family, but for kin in every kind and direction. > > Translation Room 397 You head east to the upper bulb. Then down to the lower bulb. And finally west to the translation room. Translation Room Endowed with a deep power that dissolves into ready vernacular even the most ancient and secret scripts of the Law Library. You can see a quill of Mephistopheles here. > > Translation Room 398 A worked bronze gong, according to this, controls a shape-shifting djinn of considerable size and destructive power, which resents the terms of its enslavement and would be overjoyed to take revenge. This djinn has taken many forms in the past, but most frequently disguises itself as an elephant. > > Bellroom 399 You head east to the lower bulb. Then up to the upper bulb. Then east to the gallery of still life. Then east to the white gallery. And finally east to the bellroom. Bellroom Kept, conveniently, close to where the masters of the house would once have slept. There are bells large and small, clappers, tambourines, and gongs. Most of these you have never seen used at all. Roses from the garden below have crept up to grow around the north window, lending a sickly smell to the place. Nearby an open heavy door leads south to the private parlor. Catching your eye among many other unfamiliar itemsare a worked bronze gong, a leather tambourine, a silver bell, and a little gold dinner bell. > > Bellroom 400 You acquire the worked bronze gong, and assess it curiously. A heavy thing that you have never seen rung. The upper surface is hammered with the sign of an elephant. > > Bellroom 401 A heavy thing that you have never seen rung. The upper surface is hammered with the sign of an elephant. > > Bellroom 402 You are carrying: a worked bronze gong a cow bell a pile of notes an ivory key a candle (providing light) a stool a great contract book a pair of cloven shoes (being worn) a sceptre an iron key (which opens the iron cage) some iron windchimes a small key (which opens the iron windchimes and the small door) some discarded embroidery materials a shackle a helmet > > Bellroom 403 You hesitate. He told you not to play idly with the bells whose purposes were unknown to you, you see... > > Bellroom 404 You strike the gong, but to your disappointment, nothing happens. > > Gallery of Historical Paintings 405 You head south to the private parlor. Then west to the upstairs helical staircase. Then down to the ground floor helical staircase. Then west to the central courtyard. Then south to the entrance hall. Then east to the scarlet gallery. And finally east to the gallery of historical paintings. Gallery of Historical Paintings Here on the north wall and the south are paintings of historical events from times past: the assassination of King Elzibad in 1248; the arrival of Princess Lucrezia from the Italian State of Medici-Credenza in 1545. The gallery goes on, echoing, both east and west. The Beast's thoughts intrude on yours, courtesy of the enchanted shoes: amusement. Poor old Elzibad. Though I suppose it wasn't so funny at the time. Remind me to tell you-- but I may not have the chance, I suppose. > > Gallery of Historical Paintings 406 You strike the gong, and there is a faint sound, not the full-throated bong you might expect. In the portrait, the elephant turns its painted head to look at you, and it smiles; lifts its foot a little and stomps harder, as though to say, "here is how tyrants are ended." > > Gallery of Historical Paintings 407 You ring the bell, but those who might hear and heed it are not close enough. > > Gallery of Historical Paintings 408 There are various records of the conferences Lucrezia had with various friends, family members, and servants, by ringing bells in the presence of her magical mirrors. > > Crystal Bedroom 409 You head west to the scarlet gallery. Then west to the entrance hall. Then north to the central courtyard. Then east to the ground floor helical staircase. Then up to the upstairs helical staircase. Then east to the private parlor. And finally south to the crystal bedroom. Crystal Bedroom A fantasia of gleaming and glittering, chandeliers and mirrors: all that shines or reflects has been moved here, into this room that you inhabit, which he never enters. The south end of the room is most dazzling, because of the daylight from the balcony. > > Crystal Bedroom 410 You ring the cow bell, and a heavy fog coalesces around you; then at the mirror there forms the image of an exceptionally beautiful young woman, wearing a green girdle. "It is a long time since I was called," she says, pressing her nose and fingers to her side of the glass and looking at you with interest. You see around her neck the burn of a noose, and guess uneasily at what she did to herself. She looks at you with plain curiosity. "So you're the one?" she asks. "Did you know that he carried me over the drawbridge into the castle, and made me slave to his wishes even though I was betrothed to another? and that for the breach of contract my father died impoverished?" You say nothing. You have not known him to be like that; but many human lifetimes have passed since Yvette was alive. She shrugs one shoulder. "If you can love such a creature, then I will leave the green girdle for you on my grave; you come take it and kiss him," she says. Then she fades from view. > > Central Crypt 411 You head north to the private parlor. Then west to the upstairs helical staircase. Then down to the ground floor helical staircase. Then west to the central courtyard. Then north to the state rotunda. Then southwest to the law library. And finally down to the central crypt. Central Crypt A relic-storage place for all the bits of men and women -- and creatures -- bound to the Kings over many centuries. Only brute animals are free of binding, since they have no souls; which is why there are no dogs in the castle, no horses, no songbirds. > > Virgin's End 412 Virgin's End The resting place of maidens who died before marrying those to whom they were engaged. You can see a magic girdle here. > > Virgin's End 413 From here, you can head south, southeast, and southwest. > > Virgin's End 414 You acquire the magic girdle, and assess it curiously. It is the green girdle familiar to you from paintings here; a possession of Lucrezia's. > > Virgin's End 415 You put on the girdle, securing it around you. It fits unexpectedly well. > > Central Crypt 416 Central Crypt A relic-storage place for all the bits of men and women -- and creatures -- bound to the Kings over many centuries. Only brute animals are free of binding, since they have no souls; which is why there are no dogs in the castle, no horses, no songbirds. > > Debtor's Paradise 417 The floor sounds progressively stranger as you walk toward the middle of the room. Debtor's Paradise The graves of men who died before resolving their debts. > > Debtor's Paradise 418 The windchimes are silent now that they've been taken down. > > Debtor's Paradise 419 The floor thuds hollowly under you. > > Debtor's Paradise 420 You are carrying: a magic girdle (being worn) a worked bronze gong a pile of notes an ivory key a candle (providing light) a stool a great contract book a pair of cloven shoes (being worn) a sceptre an iron key (which opens the iron cage) some iron windchimes a small key (which opens the iron windchimes and the small door) some discarded embroidery materials a shackle a helmet > > Debtor's Paradise 421 You settle the helmet over your head, and there is a roaring in your ears at first. But then the sharpened hearing begins to feel natural again. > > Debtor's Paradise 422 You hop experimentally across the floor, the helmet amplifying your sensitivity to every sound, so that you are able to distinguish the exact flagstone at which the hollow thudding becomes most resonant. On a bit of investigation, this stone turns out to be loose. > > Debtor's Paradise 423 A trapdoor -- well, really, a hinged flagstone, not much different from the rest of the floor to which it belongs. > > Debtor's Paradise 424 You open the trapdoor. > > Dank Room 425 Dank Room The air is clammy and unpleasant, and clogs in your lungs. Nearby an open trapdoor leads up to the debtor's paradise. > > Press Room 426 Press Room Liquid squeezed from the surrounding earth here flows out through a fountain, then soaks back into the ground below. The Beast's thoughts intrude on yours, courtesy of the enchanted shoes: mostly loathing and fear much stronger than your own, but whatever he knows does not come through to you. > > Press Room 427 The liquid is sludge-black where it pours in quantity, but where it runs thin, it appears red. > > Press Room 428 Despite its unappealing appearance and the rankness of the air, it does not smell as vile as you expect: more bitter. > > Press Room 429 Overcoming dislike, you taste a bit of the liquid, and find it more bitter than wormwood. All anguish and regret and the knowledge that it was once in your own power to make things come out better. But perhaps it is not too late after all. > > Press Room 430 Even your own breathing is magnified when you wear the helmet, so you must concentrate past it... The windchimes are silent now that they've been taken down. > > Press Room 431 You are carrying: a magic girdle (being worn) a worked bronze gong a pile of notes an ivory key a candle (providing light) a stool a great contract book a pair of cloven shoes (being worn) a sceptre an iron key (which opens the iron cage) some iron windchimes a small key (which opens the iron windchimes and the small door) some discarded embroidery materials a shackle a helmet (being worn) > > Law Library 432 You head south to the dank room. Then up to the debtor's paradise. Then north to the central crypt. Then up to the law library. , emerging into the law library. Then north to the lower bulb. You walk far enough in to get a view of sand falling in a huge hourglass. Though it is only a thin stream, it sounds louder than it should: the noise, magnified by your helmet, becomes too much to bear, and you retreat. > > Law Library 433 You lift the helmet from your head, and the sudden quiet feels like going deaf. > > Bellroom 434 You head north to the lower bulb. Then up to the upper bulb. Then east to the gallery of still life. Then east to the white gallery. And finally east to the bellroom. Bellroom Kept, conveniently, close to where the masters of the house would once have slept. There are bells large and small, clappers, tambourines, and gongs. Most of these you have never seen used at all. Roses from the garden below have crept up to grow around the north window, lending a sickly smell to the place. Nearby an open heavy door leads south to the private parlor. Catching your eye among many other unfamiliar itemsare a cow bell, a leather tambourine, a silver bell, and a little gold dinner bell. > > White Gallery 435 White Gallery Of more recent construction than many another portion of the castle, and therefore light and airy, and a pleasant place to spend a few hours. Nearby an open heavy door leads west to the gallery of still life. Placed where it will have the most light on the board for the longest time is a mechanical chessplayer. > > White Gallery 436 You are carrying: a magic girdle (being worn) a worked bronze gong a pile of notes an ivory key a candle (providing light) a stool a great contract book a pair of cloven shoes (being worn) a sceptre an iron key (which opens the iron cage) some iron windchimes a small key (which opens the iron windchimes and the small door) some discarded embroidery materials a shackle a helmet > > Gallery of Still Life 437 Gallery of Still Life Natural light from the south -- coming in from the courtyard, you suppose, though you are too short to see out -- illuminates a series of still life paintings on the north wall: one showing the Wedding Treasure when Lucrezia arrived from Medici-Credenza, the other rather fancifully entitled Supper with M. Nearby an open heavy door leads east to the white gallery. > > Upper Bulb 438 Upper Bulb In the upper chamber, you find, there is almost as much sand as there is below; indeed for all you can tell the flow might be eternal. Nearby an ivory door leads southwest. And here Beast lies, sprawled on the ground as if he'd fallen. When you look at the Beast this time -- it must be the influence of the girdle -- you see him as more animal than human, though you long ago learned to discern a man's expressions on his face. I was afraid of him, says the memory of Yvette in your head, as though she's trying to justify herself to you. There are other thoughts as well, murkier; but you are left with the impression that she killed herself, in the end, not because of her family's misfortunes or the lord she was separated from; but because she was carrying a child, and feared that it would be born some kind of monster. > > Smoke-Damaged Chamber 439 (first opening the ivory door) (first unlocking the ivory door) (with the ivory key) Smoke-Damaged Chamber Though not actually burnt, the walls are stained with smoke, especially at the south end. This mess has partly obliterated what was once a detailed mural on the west wall. Nearby an open ivory door leads northeast to the upper bulb. > > Burnt Frame 440 Burnt Frame A corner tower severely damaged by fire, so that there is only framework between you and the sky. The Beast's thoughts intrude on yours, courtesy of the enchanted shoes: A spectacular but unsuccessful attempt. My fur was singed and foul-smelling for weeks. > > Burnt Frame 441 A conical roof, stripped down to the skeleton. > > Black Gallery 442 Black Gallery Lined with neat rows of inscrutable -- one might almost say pointless -- objects. There's a broken beam (charred at each end) and a gold ring (with signet, though you do not recognize the symbol); a preserved goat, a stuffed boar, a parrot perch; an inkpot, a white apple, a cane, a glass leaf, a silver buckle, a copper snake, a homunculus, a green cloth swatch, and a dark- colored pendant. > > Black Gallery 443 A very very curious object. > > Black Gallery 444 A very very very curious object. > > Black Gallery 445 A very very very very curious object. > > Black Gallery 446 neat rows: A discouraging prospect -- moving everything from this room is really work for about a dozen strong spirits from the contract book. > > Armory 447 Armory From the looks of things, immediately above the Guard Tower. An assortment of weapons, most of them hundreds of years old and no longer useful, are collected here, though from the gory appearance at least a few of the daggers have been sharpened and tried in the relatively recent past. > > Black Gallery 448 Black Gallery Lined with neat rows of inscrutable -- one might almost say pointless -- objects. There's a parrot perch (evidently much used) and a gold ring (with signet, though you do not recognize the symbol); a glass leaf, a copper snake, an inkpot; a white apple, a stuffed boar, a preserved goat, a cane, a silver buckle, a homunculus, a green cloth swatch, a dark-colored pendant, and a broken beam. > > Gallery of Still Life 449 You head west to the burnt frame. Then north to the smoke-damaged chamber. Then northeast to the upper bulb. And finally east to the gallery of still life. Gallery of Still Life Natural light from the south -- coming in from the courtyard, you suppose, though you are too short to see out -- illuminates a series of still life paintings on the north wall: one showing the Wedding Treasure when Lucrezia arrived from Medici-Credenza, the other rather fancifully entitled Supper with M. Nearby an open heavy door leads east to the white gallery. > > Gallery of Still Life 450 A table tastefully laid with possessions of power or personal worth, brought by Lucrezia as gifts from her father: an inkpot, a helmet, a green girdle stitched with vines, a curious pair of cloven shoes. > > Gallery of Still Life 451 You are carrying: a magic girdle (being worn) a worked bronze gong a pile of notes an ivory key (which opens the ivory door) a candle (providing light) a stool a great contract book a pair of cloven shoes (being worn) a sceptre an iron key (which opens the iron cage) some iron windchimes a small key (which opens the iron windchimes and the small door) some discarded embroidery materials a shackle a helmet > > Black Gallery 452 You head west to the upper bulb. Then southwest to the smoke-damaged chamber. Then south to the burnt frame. And finally east to the black gallery. Black Gallery Lined with neat rows of inscrutable -- one might almost say pointless -- objects. There's a green cloth swatch (torn from a much bigger piece) and a silver buckle (without a mate); a dark-colored pendant, a parrot perch, an inkpot; a white apple, a stuffed boar, a preserved goat, a cane, a glass leaf, a copper snake, a homunculus, a gold ring, and a broken beam. > > Black Gallery 453 You acquire the inkpot, and assess it curiously. A very very very very curious object. > > Black Gallery 454 You are carrying: an inkpot (empty) a magic girdle (being worn) a worked bronze gong a pile of notes an ivory key (which opens the ivory door) a candle (providing light) a stool a great contract book a pair of cloven shoes (being worn) a sceptre an iron key (which opens the iron cage) some iron windchimes a small key (which opens the iron windchimes and the small door) some discarded embroidery materials a shackle a helmet > > Black Gallery 455 About the inkpot, the notes are their most cryptic, and the quality of the handwriting has also declined so that you suspect the author of having been either elderly or sick. "Of this article, which my father gave me, I believe I have finally uncovered some use. For though it will not hold ink of the ordinary kind, it perfectly contains that which flows beneath the burial ground, consisting of the regret of all inhabitants..." Etc., etc. > > Black Gallery 456 An inkpot of dark material. Inside there remains only a red-black crust of dried ink. > > Lie Library 457 Lie Library Fables, fictions, and falsehoods, arranged by number by type, and containing such categories as "In which the hero receives help from three aged figures," "In which the villain has a mysterious name," and so on. You can see a book return stand (on which is a storybook) here. The Beast's thoughts intrude on yours, courtesy of the enchanted shoes: Ah, now here's an interesting little locale. Lucrezia had it built. She was always her father's daughter, you perceive. It is so powerful that it makes false the things that are brought in -- I used it once to void a lady's marriage contract -- The thread of thought stops. On second thought, that is not a story I am proud of. > > Lie Library 458 A collection of fanciful tales "which were once true but are no longer". It is stamped across the front as having been inducted into the Lie Library. You read: Once upon a time, there was a young Russian girl whose mother died, leaving behind only a painted wooden clapper which made a loud noise. When the girl's father married again, the second wife was very cruel and miserly... (etc. at some length); but whenever the girl was lonely, she took the wooden clapper to the mirror in her mother's bedroom and clapped it loudly; and her mother's spirit would appear to her and advise her... (And so on, for several dozen pages of adventure, ending in marriage to the Tsar.) > > Lie Library 459 You are carrying: an infernal inkpot (empty) a magic girdle (being worn) a worked bronze gong a pile of notes an ivory key (which opens the ivory door) a candle (providing light) a stool a great contract book a pair of cloven shoes (being worn) a sceptre an iron key (which opens the iron cage) some iron windchimes a small key (which opens the iron windchimes and the small door) some discarded embroidery materials a shackle a helmet > > Lie Library 460 Carvings around the outer edge of the stand indicate how one should use it: a small tonsured figure places a book on the stand, then rings a bell; whereupon a librarian, bearing the traditional shackles and sheets of a ghost, appears to take it away. > > Lie Library 461 The runes are unfamiliar to you, but you know what the book is: a record of all the contracts of all the souls enslaved to the king of this castle. > > Translation Room 462 You head west to the smoke-damaged chamber. Then northeast to the upper bulb. Then down to the lower bulb. And finally west to the translation room. Translation Room Endowed with a deep power that dissolves into ready vernacular even the most ancient and secret scripts of the Law Library. You can see a quill of Mephistopheles here. > > Translation Room 463 The contract records that the librarian -- a relatively recent innovation at the castle -- is controlled by a glass bell. > > Lie Library 464 You head east to the lower bulb. Then up to the upper bulb. Then southwest to the smoke-damaged chamber. And finally east to the lie library. Lie Library Fables, fictions, and falsehoods, arranged by number by type, and containing such categories as "In which the hero receives help from three aged figures," "In which the villain has a mysterious name," and so on. You can see a book return stand (on which is a storybook) here. > > Lie Library 465 You put the great contract book on the book return stand. > > Bellroom 466 You head west to the smoke-damaged chamber. Then northeast to the upper bulb. Then east to the gallery of still life. Then east to the white gallery. And finally east to the bellroom. Bellroom Kept, conveniently, close to where the masters of the house would once have slept. There are bells large and small, clappers, tambourines, and gongs. Most of these you have never seen used at all. Roses from the garden below have crept up to grow around the north window, lending a sickly smell to the place. Nearby an open heavy door leads south to the private parlor. Catching your eye among many other unfamiliar itemsare a glass bell, a cow bell, a leather tambourine, a silver bell, and a little gold dinner bell. > > Bellroom 467 You acquire the glass bell, and assess it curiously. Thick glass with a clapper on a chain. > > Lie Library 468 You head west to the white gallery. Then west to the gallery of still life. Then west to the upper bulb. Then southwest to the smoke-damaged chamber. And finally east to the lie library. Lie Library Fables, fictions, and falsehoods, arranged by number by type, and containing such categories as "In which the hero receives help from three aged figures," "In which the villain has a mysterious name," and so on. You can see a book return stand (on which are a great contract book and a storybook) here. > > Lie Library 469 You summon the librarian, who comes and looks at the contract book: you see this as a sort of fog. It frowns at the condition of some of the pages, then searches the front and back of the book; then, grimacing, it takes out a red seal like those used in the empire of the Chan. It is about to mark the contract book property of the Lie Library, when it discovers that its seal ink has dried up: so the stamp has no efficacy. Disappointed, it vanishes again. > > Lie Library 470 You put the infernal inkpot on the book return stand. > > Lie Library 471 You summon the librarian, who comes and looks at the contract book: you see this as a sort of fog. It frowns at the condition of some of the pages, then searches the front and back of the book; then, grimacing, it takes out a red seal like those used in the empire of the Chan. It is about to mark the contract book property of the Lie Library, when it discovers that its seal ink has dried up: so the stamp has no efficacy. Disappointed, it vanishes again. > > Lie Library 472 You acquire the infernal inkpot. > > Press Room 473 You head west to the smoke-damaged chamber. Then northeast to the upper bulb. Then down to the lower bulb. Then south to the law library. Then down to the central crypt. Then south to the debtor's paradise. Then down to the dank room. And finally north to the press room. Press Room Liquid squeezed from the surrounding earth here flows out through a fountain, then soaks back into the ground below. > > Press Room 474 You fill the infernal inkpot from the fountain, trying to get as little as possible on yourself. > > Lie Library 475 You head south to the dank room. Then up to the debtor's paradise. Then north to the central crypt. Then up to the law library. , emerging into the law library. Then north to the lower bulb. , emerging into the lower bulb. Then up to the upper bulb. , emerging into the upper bulb. Then southwest to the smoke-damaged chamber. , emerging into the smoke-damaged chamber. And then east to the lie library. Lie Library Fables, fictions, and falsehoods, arranged by number by type, and containing such categories as "In which the hero receives help from three aged figures," "In which the villain has a mysterious name," and so on. You can see a book return stand (on which are a great contract book and a storybook) here. > > Lie Library 476 You put the infernal inkpot on the book return stand. > > Lie Library 477 You summon the librarian, who comes and looks at the contract book: you see this as a sort of fog. It frowns at the condition of some of the pages, then searches the front and back of the book; then, grimacing, it takes out a red seal like those used in the empire of the Chan. It inks this carefully from the inkpot, then stamps inside the front of the book: PROPERTY OF THE LIE LIBRARY DO NOT REMOVE ...whereupon the contracts inside begin to unravel and dissolve into the merest stories. > > Upper Bulb 478 You head west to the smoke-damaged chamber. And finally northeast to the upper bulb. Upper Bulb In the upper chamber, you find, there is almost as much sand as there is below; indeed for all you can tell the flow might be eternal. Nearby an open ivory door leads southwest to the smoke-damaged chamber. And here Beast lies, sprawled on the ground as if he'd fallen. > > Upper Bulb 479 All the servants of the castle are now released, and none will serve you. > > Upper Bulb 479 As you do, you can't help remembering -- because of the girdle -- how many women before you this king imprisoned against their will. And why should he deserve to be forgiven, merely because he has been less cruel to you than to the others? When you lift your head, he is his proper self: a man, about forty-five. Handsome, perhaps, but in the style of the lord mayor, not someone you would have aspired to wed. His face has perhaps softened a little since his youth, but he is still recognizably the same person. His fingers stretch in experiment. "Dear virgin mother. You did it. The servants are free?" You nod. "Good girl." He touches your cheek affectionately; then freezes. "And you're wearing Yvette's girdle. I suppose you heard her story, in that case." He sticks out his jaw. "You can go now. It won't kill me, this time." You draw a breath and give him your answer. *** You have restored the King and freed his servants *** Would you like to RESTART, RESTORE a saved game, or QUIT? > >