Loading... Processing ALR...done. Indexing tasks... Press Enter to Begin "Willingsdale was to bring new hope to my family who moved here just weeks ago from a tiny village seven days travel south of here. My parents, Emilita and Wilhelm, spent their life savings on ‘Ye Old Pub in Willingsdale, in hopes they could earn enough money to send my brother and I to fine schools and learn a respectable trade. At the ripe old age of twelve, I have a couple of years until my turn comes. Hanson, being eight years, has a few more years to enjoy his youth." "My home is quite small, and located above the pub, with the only entry being a narrow ladder tucked back in a dark corner, near one of the dusty old tables. The upper floor is just a single room over the pub, divided with a sheet of linen strung over a length of rope." "Shadrick, who are you talking to?" "My mother dips her rag into a bucket full of dirty water and continues scrubbing the floor to prepare for the grand opening a couple days from now." "Speaking of Hanson, I think he may have wondered down to the cellar again. Run upstairs and fetch me the lantern and I‘ll fill it with oil for you. Don‘t know why he keeps going down there in the dark. That is the third time today." Ø look In 'Ye Old Pub Near the front door, and only door to the pub, sits and old wooden table that is nearly identical to the four other tables that surround the bar along the east, south, and west walls. The bar, which hasn't been stocked yet, is along the north wall near a door that leads to the storeroom. Tucked into the dark corner, furthest away from the pub door and partially hidden behind a few keg barrels, is the ladder that leads to the tiny place we call home. My Mum is scrubbing the floor, right over there. Ø up I slowly climb up the narrow ladder and emerge in our humble home. Sleeping Quarters This is it. Home sweet home. A small bed for me Mum and Dad, and an even smaller bunk for my brother and I. Mum put a sheet up over a length of rope in the middle to divide where our bed and their bed is. She says it is so’s maybe the sound of father’s snoring is a little muffled so we can get enough sleep. I don’t think that is the real reason though. Also here is an old lantern. Ø take lantern I take the old lantern. Ø d I slowly climb down the narrow ladder and emerge in dark corner of 'Ye Old Pub. In 'Ye Old Pub Near the front door, and only door to the pub, sits and old wooden table that is nearly identical to the four other tables that surround the bar along the east, south, and west walls. The bar, which hasn't been stocked yet, is along the north wall near a door that leads to the storeroom. Tucked into the dark corner, furthest away from the pub door and partially hidden behind a few keg barrels, is the ladder that leads to the tiny place we call home. My Mum is scrubbing the floor, right over there. Ø give lantern to mum (Your score has increased by 2) I give the lantern to my Mum. She stops scrubbing the floor long enough to pull a flask of oil from her apron, and fills the lantern. "Now go fetch your brother, please." A moment later, she replaces the flask back into her apron and strikes a match to light the lantern. She is looking at me strangely and coming towards me, forcing me into the storeroom. "Get yer brother, now, or you'll not be gettin' any supper." She returns to scrubbing the floor, while I move from her sight. When she threatens no supper, she means it. That isn't a good thing. Indeed, it is very, very bad. Ø look The Storeroom The storeroom is small, or maybe it just seems that way because it is packed full of supplies for the grand opening. Father is supposed to be moving more stuff down to the cellar and put in a stove so ‘Ye Old Pub can serve food. Mum is a right good cook, and father thinks it will draw in a lot of money. A trapdoor in the floor leads down to the cellar. Ø open trapdoor I open the trap door. Ø d (Your score has increased by 2) “Ahhh!” Right, that was a smart move. I was steadying myself with an old crate when my foot slipped through the hole. The trapdoor slammed shut, and from the noise right after, I’d have to say that the crate fell on top of it. With any hope, Mum will have heard it and come open it up. “Shadrick? Is that you?” “I hear you, Hanson, but I don’t see you. Where are you?” “I’m in here!” “I’m in here too, but I don’t see you.” “Not in there, in here. In here!” A bustle of movement and a slight flicker of light turns my attentions to a large hole in the wall where the bricks have been removed. A loud crash through the hole tells me Hanson has just broken another one of Mum’s lanterns. “Ooops. Mom is going to get me with the switch, isn’t she, Shadrick?” More “I’ll say. Just wait until she sees what you’ve done to the cellar wall. Think you might lose your supper too. What are you doing there? I’ll try to help you out. Maybe if we put the bricks back in, Mum won’t notice.” “I’m goin’ to find treasure! I heard a couple of out of town folk talking about secret tunnels under ‘Ye Old Pub. They say there is treasure hidden somewhere down here. They’re waiting for the grand opening so’s they can sneak down here and find it themselves, unless they can find another way in. I figured if I found it first, then mom and dad wouldn’t have to worry about money and we could move to the big city. I hear they have lots of stuff for kids to do there. Figured it beats the heck out of climbing trees and playing in the mud.” “Don’t be ridiculous, Hanson. Come out of there now.” “Ahhh, SHADRICK HELP! THERE IS SOMETHING IN HERE! AAAAAHHHHhhhhhhhhhhh!” “HANSON! HANSON? MUM, SOMETHING’S HAPPENED TO HANSON!” Drats. She can’t hear me. It looks like it is up to me to find out what is going on. By the sounds of his scream, he has been hauled off by something. You could tell by the way his ‘AAAAAHHHHhhhhhhhhhhh’ faded. Right, then. I better do something. If anything happens to Hanson, Mum will blame me. Cellar It’s pretty dark down here, even with a lantern. There are a few crates stacked up in the corners near several more keg barrels. The western wall is completely lined with shelves and holds several bags of herbs and spices, along with some jars. The other wall has a large hole in it, leading in, with a pile of bricks slightly off to the side. Mum isn’t going to be happy about this at all. The trapdoor leads up to the storeroom. Ø x shelf The entire wall is filled with shelves that are loaded up with bags of herbs and spices. A few of the shelves house jars of pickled eggs some black jars. I'm not sure what is in all of them. Ø x jars They're about yeah high, and this big around. If you want better than that, you'll have to be more specific. There are jars of pickled eggs and some black ones. I can't tell what is in them. Ø open pickled eggs I open the pickled egg jar. A pickled egg is inside the pickled egg jar. Ø take egg I pull and egg from the jar, and boy, does it smell ripe. Ø open black jar I open the black jar. A pickled pig's foot is inside the black jar. Ø take foot I pull a pickled pig's foot from the jar. It drips a little, but doesn't make too big of a mess. Ø x pile It's kind of dark down here, but I am guessing there must be at least twenty bricks or so. A brick is on the pile of bricks. Ø take brick One is all I need. Ø in (Your score has increased by 2) I stick the lantern through the hole first, checking for spiders and rats. I'm not very fond of 'nightly creatures', as mum calls them. I look around for Hanson, but don't see him anywhere. "Hanson? Hanson? Where are you? You're going to end up going to bed without supper, just like you did on the way from Thorton. I think Mum said she was going to fetch a switch. You better come out now!" Curse him for making me come into this place. A Dark Tunnel It looks an underground tunnel. The walls are narrow and puddles saturate the floor. It looks like it continues to the north and a hole in the wall leads back into the cellar, which I can go through. How odd, though. There is no sign of the lantern that I am sure I heard Hanson break. Ø n I move north. A Dark Tunnel Oh no. I don’t want to be here. I don’t like spiders. The walls, the floors, everything is crawling with spiders. I can see the tunnel turns east from here, but there is a very large, hairy spider blocking my way. The tunnel also leads south. Ø smash spider (Your score has increased by 4) Realizing I have a heavy brick, I begin to smash as many of the little spiders as I can. That very large spider, blocking my way, doesn't seem to be too happy about that and comes at me very quickly. "AHHHHH!" I close my eyes and smash it as hard as I can, leaving the brick over the smashed body and crumpled legs of the irritating spider. I want to get out of here, NOW! Ø e I carefully enter the tunnel to the east. A Dark Tunnel The damp tunnel is blocked with a large iron grate, with a single door. I can make out a lever near the grate. It is too dark to see what lies to the east on the other side of the grate, and I dread to think of returning to the west, where all of those spiders are. Ø open grate The grate seems to be locked. Ø pull lever I pull as hard as I can and the lever moves half way down, but nothing happens. Ø again (pull lever) (Your score has increased by 2) I again pull as hard as I can and the lever moves into the down position and the grate slowly swings open. Ø e I move east. A Dark Tunnel The damp tunnel is blocked with a large iron grate, with a single door. It is too dark to see what lies to the west, on the other side of the grate. This side has large puddles of water that fill the center of the tunnel, and it appears to lead to the north from here. Ø n I move north. A Dark Tunnel Great! I hate rats! Water runs down the center of the tunnel and is filled with hundreds of rats that scurry about. The tunnel runs south from here and west. Man, there are a lot of rats! Ø feed rats (Your score has increased by 3) I throw the egg down the tunnel a little ways, and the rats scurry on over, climbing over each other to get a piece. There are still too many rats to pass. They look very hungry. Ø again (feed rats) (Your score has increased by 6) (Your score has increased by 3) I throw the pickled pigs foot down the tunnel a little ways, and the rats race over to it as quickly as they can. The rats are huddled together further on down the tunnel. They are screeching and climbing all over each other, trying to get at the food. There is now a little a clear path to the west. Ø w I move west. A Dark Tunnel A single streak of light beams down from a boarded up hole from above. There is enough light to see that a ladder leads up to the hole. I wonder if Hanson went that way? Hanson! HANSON!? It looks like the tunnel goes west from here, and back east to where the rats are. There dust is unsettled here, which leads me to believe that someone was recently here. The old ladder doesn't quite reach all the way down to the floor, but it doesn't exactly reach all the way to the hole either. If it were not attached to the wall, it would be far below the hole. Also here is an old ladder. Ø climb ladder (Your score has increased by 3) I'm steadying myself at the bottom and begin to climb upward, towards the direction of the light. I'm almost there. "Ahhhh! Steady! Steady! Ahhhhhh!" 'THUMP' Nice going. I fell. And it seems I took the ladder with me. There is no way it will reach the hole now. I guess Hanson couldn't have gone that way. Ø take ladder I've got it. Whoah. Almost dropped it. But I have it now. Nothing to worry about. Ø w I move west. A Dark Tunnel Hmmm. There is a rickety bridge that spans across a very dark pit It looks like the pit is around six foot wide. I can’t really tell which way the tunnel goes on the other side, but it does lead back to the east from here. Ø cross bridge I steady myself carefully on the rope bridge, trying not to fall. A couple steps in, the rope begins to untwine and I am barely able to jump back to safety before it snaps, disappearing somewhere into the pit. Ø put ladder over pit (Your score has increased by 3) Steadying the ladder at the edge of the pit, I slowly lower it, making contact with the other side. It seems to have worked. I might be able to get to the other side now. Ø n I slowly make my way across the ladder! "WHOAH!" 'Crack!' Dangit! I knocked the ladder into the pit. Now I guess I'll have to find another way out of here. I had better find Hanson first. I go through the tunnel to the north. A Dark Tunnel The tunnel divides into four different directions here. It goes south, while three other tunnels lead north, northeast, and northwest. A strong odor of ammonia fills the air. It is likely coming from the bat guano that covers the ground. Ø nw I move northwest. A Dark Tunnel The tunnel is dark and smells heavily of ammonia, likely from the guano that covers the floor. There are no signs of water that I came across in some of the tunnels early on. It almost seems like this tunnel is a little more narrow than the others I’ve been in. It looks like the tunnel goes southeast and north. Ø n I move north. A Dark tunnel This narrow tunnel leads west and south, and is intoxicating to be in. The floor is piled high with bat droppings, and the stench is quite nauseating. Also here is a small boulder. Ø take boulder I take the small boulder. Ø w I move west. A Dark tunnel It appears that the tunnel ends here and the room opens up into a large cave, of sorts. Three stone plinths rise up from the guano covered floor, each one differing in height. I can see a tall plinth, a medium plinth, and a short plinth. Wow, it really smells bad in here. Ø put boulder on tall plinth (Your score has increased by 8) "Mmmmgggphh." Ok, that wasn't so bad. It weighs about as much as a sack of grain. It's on the tall plinth. "Hey! What was that noise? HANSON? IS THAT YOU?" I swear I heard something. It was like grinding stone or something like that. It was somewhere off in one of the other tunnels. Ø e I move east. A Dark tunnel This narrow tunnel leads west and south, and is intoxicating to be in. The floor is piled high with bat droppings, and the stench is quite nauseating. Ø s I move south. A Dark Tunnel The tunnel is dark and smells heavily of ammonia, likely from the guano that covers the floor. There are no signs of water that I came across in some of the tunnels early on. It almost seems like this tunnel is a little more narrow than the others I’ve been in. It looks like the tunnel goes southeast and north. Ø se I move southeast. A Dark Tunnel The tunnel divides into four different directions here. It goes south, while three other tunnels lead north, northeast, and northwest. A strong odor of ammonia fills the air. It is likely coming from the bat guano that covers the ground. Ø ne I move northeast. A Dark Tunnel This tunnel is overrun with bat droppings so thick that the stench is enough to make me want to pass out. The stinky tunnel leads to the north and to the southwest. Ø n I move north. A Dark Tunnel There is an opening in the east wall that wasn't there before. The guano filled tunnel stretches east and south. Ø e I move east. A Dark Tunnel It looks like another dead end. The walls are real crumbly and the floor of the tunnel is littered with dirt from above. The door that once existed to the west is gone. It doesn't appear the bats have taken over this part of the tunnel just yet, thought the smell of guano lingers heavily in the air. Also here is a medium boulder. Ø take boulder I take the medium boulder. Ø w I move west. A Dark Tunnel There is an opening in the east wall that wasn't there before. The guano filled tunnel stretches east and south. Ø s I move south. A Dark Tunnel This tunnel is overrun with bat droppings so thick that the stench is enough to make me want to pass out. The stinky tunnel leads to the north and to the southwest. Ø sw I move southwest. A Dark Tunnel The tunnel divides into four different directions here. It goes south, while three other tunnels lead north, northeast, and northwest. A strong odor of ammonia fills the air. It is likely coming from the bat guano that covers the ground. Ø nw I move northwest. A Dark Tunnel The tunnel is dark and smells heavily of ammonia, likely from the guano that covers the floor. There are no signs of water that I came across in some of the tunnels early on. It almost seems like this tunnel is a little more narrow than the others I’ve been in. It looks like the tunnel goes southeast and north. Ø n I move north. A Dark tunnel This narrow tunnel leads west and south, and is intoxicating to be in. The floor is piled high with bat droppings, and the stench is quite nauseating. Ø w I move west. A Dark tunnel It appears that the tunnel ends here and the room opens up into a large cave, of sorts. Three stone plinths rise up from the guano covered floor, each one differing in height. I can see a tall plinth, a medium plinth, and a short plinth. Wow, it really smells bad in here. Ø put boulder on medium plinth (Your score has increased by 11) "Mmmmgggphh. Oooh. Oh. Whoa! Almost dropped it. A little more. Come on. There!" "Hanson? Is that you?" I heard something that sounded like grinding stone. I don't think it was my imagination, though my father always says I have rocks in my head. Ø e I move east. A Dark tunnel This narrow tunnel leads west and south, and is intoxicating to be in. The floor is piled high with bat droppings, and the stench is quite nauseating. Ø s I move south. A Dark Tunnel The tunnel is dark and smells heavily of ammonia, likely from the guano that covers the floor. There are no signs of water that I came across in some of the tunnels early on. It almost seems like this tunnel is a little more narrow than the others I’ve been in. It looks like the tunnel goes southeast and north. Ø se I move southeast. A Dark Tunnel The tunnel divides into four different directions here. It goes south, while three other tunnels lead north, northeast, and northwest. A strong odor of ammonia fills the air. It is likely coming from the bat guano that covers the ground. Ø n I move north. A Dark Tunnel The tunnel narrows a little here, but I can see that it runs north and south from here. The stench from the bat droppings that cover the tunnel floor is quite overwhelming. A flock of bats swoop in from the north. Ø n I move north. A Dark Tunnel The lantern flickers slightly with an invisible breeze that moves through the tunnel, only making the stench of the bat droppings that much more nauseating. I can see that the tunnel branches off to the northeast and northwest, as well as to the south. Ø ne I move northeast. A Dark Tunnel The tunnel is scattered with chunks of dirt and smells heavily of nasty bat droppings that cover the ground. There is an opening, where the stone wall used to be, leading to the northwest, while the tunnel leads back to the southwest. Ø nw I move northwest. A Dark Tunnel It looks like the dark tunnel goes southeast and southwest from here. A tall stone door rises up to the south, but it doesn't look like there is a way to open it. The smell of guano fills the air, though there doesn't seem to be any droppings here. Also here is a large boulder. Ø push boulder sw "Grrrr. Hhhrrrmmmmmmmmmppphhhh." I pushed the boulder to the southwest. A Dark Tunnel The light from the lantern seems more calm now, but the stench from the guano covering the floor, hangs heavy in the air. The stone wall that blocked the tunnel to the northeast is completely gone, without a trace. The tunnel also goes off to the southeast. Ø push boulder se "Grrrr. Hhhrrrmmmmmmmmmppphhhh." I pushed the boulder to the southeast. A Dark Tunnel The lantern flickers slightly with an invisible breeze that moves through the tunnel, only making the stench of the bat droppings that much more nauseating. I can see that the tunnel branches off to the northeast and northwest, as well as to the south. Ø push boulder s "Grrrr. Hhhrrrmmmmmmmmmppphhhh." I pushed the boulder to the south. A Dark Tunnel The tunnel narrows a little here, but I can see that it runs north and south from here. The stench from the bat droppings that cover the tunnel floor is quite overwhelming. Bat's are are flying about everywhere. A flock of bats flutter away to the south. Ø push boulder s "Grrrr. Hhhrrrmmmmmmmmmppphhhh." I pushed the boulder to the south. A Dark Tunnel The tunnel divides into four different directions here. It goes south, while three other tunnels lead north, northeast, and northwest. A strong odor of ammonia fills the air. It is likely coming from the bat guano that covers the ground. Bat's are are flying about everywhere. Ø push boulder nw "Grrrr. Hhhrrrmmmmmmmmmppphhhh." I pushed the boulder to the northwest. A Dark Tunnel The tunnel is dark and smells heavily of ammonia, likely from the guano that covers the floor. There are no signs of water that I came across in some of the tunnels early on. It almost seems like this tunnel is a little more narrow than the others I’ve been in. It looks like the tunnel goes southeast and north. Ø push boulder n "Grrrr. Hhhrrrmmmmmmmmmppphhhh." I pushed the boulder to the north. A Dark tunnel This narrow tunnel leads west and south, and is intoxicating to be in. The floor is piled high with bat droppings, and the stench is quite nauseating. Ø push boulder w (Your score has increased by 10) "Grrrr. Hhhrrrmmmmmmmmmppphhhh." I pushed the boulder to the west. A Dark tunnel It appears that the tunnel ends here and the room opens up into a large cave, of sorts. Three stone plinths rise up from the guano covered floor, each one differing in height. I can see a tall plinth, a medium plinth, and a short plinth. Wow, it really smells bad in here. Ø put large boulder on short plinth (Taking the large boulder first) (Your score has increased by 13) "Mmmmgggphh. Uuuuugghhh. Whoy boy. Easy does it. Oh! Ahh! Grrruuummmph. Ok." It's on there. But I think mum is going to need to call the doctor because I think I tore my....my....one of those important muscle things. "I'm getting pretty good at this." I heard another grinding of stone somewhere. That must mean another door is opened somewhere. I guess I had better go check it out. Ø e I move east. A Dark tunnel This narrow tunnel leads west and south, and is intoxicating to be in. The floor is piled high with bat droppings, and the stench is quite nauseating. Ø s I move south. A Dark Tunnel The tunnel is dark and smells heavily of ammonia, likely from the guano that covers the floor. There are no signs of water that I came across in some of the tunnels early on. It almost seems like this tunnel is a little more narrow than the others I’ve been in. It looks like the tunnel goes southeast and north. Ø se I move southeast. A Dark Tunnel The tunnel divides into four different directions here. It goes south, while three other tunnels lead north, northeast, and northwest. A strong odor of ammonia fills the air. It is likely coming from the bat guano that covers the ground. Bat's are are flying about everywhere. A flock of bats flutter away to the north-west. Ø n I move north. A Dark Tunnel The tunnel narrows a little here, but I can see that it runs north and south from here. The stench from the bat droppings that cover the tunnel floor is quite overwhelming. Ø ne I can't go in that direction, but I can move north and south. Ø n I move north. A Dark Tunnel The lantern flickers slightly with an invisible breeze that moves through the tunnel, only making the stench of the bat droppings that much more nauseating. I can see that the tunnel branches off to the northeast and northwest, as well as to the south. Ø nw I move northwest. A Dark Tunnel The light from the lantern seems more calm now, but the stench from the guano covering the floor, hangs heavy in the air. The stone wall that blocked the tunnel to the northeast is completely gone, without a trace. The tunnel also goes off to the southeast. Ø ne I move northeast. A Dark Tunnel The tunnel curves around to the southeast and southwest from here. Directly south is an open doorway, leading into darkness. Thankfully there isn't any guano present, though the smell still lingers. Ø s I cautiously move south. "HANSON!” “SHHHH! You have to be quite, you dolt. “ “What? Mum is going to give you a lickin’ for sure.” “Not this time, Shadrick. When I went through the hole in the cellar one of those guys grabbed me. You know, the ones I was telling you about. He drags me through spiders and rats and we get to this pit. I thought he was going to make me cross that old rope dangling over it, but he pushed me in! I thought I was dead!” “How are you here if he pushed you in that bottomless pit?” “It wasn’t a bottomless pit, Shadrick. It dropped me in here. He came tumbling in right after. Not too long after that, a ladder comes barreling through the hole in the wall and caves it in. The guy takes the ladder and goes up into that hole. You know what’s up there, Shadrick?” More “A bakery with lots of chocolate and candies?” “No.” “A flower shop with pretty flowers and girly perfumes and stuff?” “EEEWW! NO!” “How about lots of treasures like money and gold and jewelry and junk?” “Well, sort of. It’s the bank vault! These guys are robbing the bank! If we can get back and tell mum, they will be caught. You know what that means?” “She'll give us double helpings at supper” "Oooh, maybe." "She'll let us skip chores for the rest of the week." "I wish." "But those guys are going to be right sore at us. They aren't going to take kindly to use getting them thrown in jail." More “Sure they will sore, but who cares. We could get a reward! Probably one big enough to pay for our schooling and some new clothes. Maybe even we could get some new toys. If it’s really big, we could get a nice house for mum and maybe even get our own rooms!” “Nice! Except I kind of broke the rope bridge and we can’t get across the pit.” “How did you get across the first time, Shadrick?” “I used a ladder.” “What ladder?” “That one.” “Shadrick, you're about as bright as a ray of sunshine on a rainy day. We can use it to get back across. We had better hurry. I think that guy is going to be back real soon. He said another was coming to help soon and then he was going to throw me in that pit; now that the hole to here is caved in, and I’d never get out. I don’t think he’d mind throwing you in too.” Ø take ladder "I got it! Let's go." Ø n "Northward!" "Shhh!" "I quickly leave this desolate hole and move north." "Shuddup, Shadrick. If they catch us cause you're talking to yourself I'm going to ask they throw you in the pit first." A Dark Tunnel The tunnel curves around to the southeast and southwest from here. Directly south is an open doorway, leading into darkness. Thankfully there isn't any guano present, though the smell still lingers. Ø sw I move southwest. A Dark Tunnel The light from the lantern seems more calm now, but the stench from the guano covering the floor, hangs heavy in the air. The stone wall that blocked the tunnel to the northeast is completely gone, without a trace. The tunnel also goes off to the southeast. Hanson follows me in from the north-east. Ø se I move southeast. A Dark Tunnel The lantern flickers slightly with an invisible breeze that moves through the tunnel, only making the stench of the bat droppings that much more nauseating. I can see that the tunnel branches off to the northeast and northwest, as well as to the south. Hanson follows me in from the north-west. Ø s I move south. A Dark Tunnel The tunnel narrows a little here, but I can see that it runs north and south from here. The stench from the bat droppings that cover the tunnel floor is quite overwhelming. Hanson follows me in from the north. Ø s I move south. A Dark Tunnel The tunnel divides into four different directions here. It goes south, while three other tunnels lead north, northeast, and northwest. A strong odor of ammonia fills the air. It is likely coming from the bat guano that covers the ground. Hanson follows me in from the north. Ø s South, back to the pit. A Dark Tunnel A large pit, nearly six foot wide lies before me. The bridge that was here has disappeared somewhere into the pit. The tunnel leads east. Ø put ladder over pit (Your score has increased by 3) Steadying the ladder at the edge of the pit, I slowly lower it, making contact with the other side. It seems to have worked. I might be able to get to the other side now. Ø cross ladder (Your score has increased by 10) "I easily make it across, looking like an expert in the eyes of my younger brother." "Oh, geeze. You almost fell twice!" "Just hurry up!" 'Crack!' "Dangit, Hanson! You knocked the ladder back into the pit." "Don't worry. The robbers can't get it. The hole caved in the last time it fell in." "Let's get out of here. I'm moving on." A Dark Tunnel A single streak of light beams down from a boarded up hole from above. There is no way to reach it now, the ladder has come free from the wall. It looks like the tunnel goes west from here, and back east to where the rats are. Ø e I move east. A Dark Tunnel Great! I hate rats! Water runs down the center of the tunnel and is filled with hundreds of rats that scurry about. The tunnel runs south from here and west. Man, there are a lot of rats! Hanson follows me in from the west. Ø s I move south. A Dark Tunnel The damp tunnel is blocked with a large iron grate, with a single door. It is too dark to see what lies to the west, on the other side of the grate. This side has large puddles of water that fill the center of the tunnel, and it appears to lead to the north from here. Hanson follows me in from the north. Ø e I can't go in that direction, but I can move north and west. Ø w I move west. A Dark Tunnel The damp tunnel is blocked with a large iron grate, with a single door. I can make out a lever near the grate. It is too dark to see what lies to the east on the other side of the grate, and I dread to think of returning to the west, where all of those spiders are. Hanson follows me in from the east. Ø w I move west. A Dark Tunnel Did I mention how much I hate spiders!? The walls, the dry spots on the floor, everything is crawling with spiders. I can see the tunnel turns east from here, a very large, but quite smashed, spider lies squished on the floor. I can now go east or south. Also here is a brick. Hanson follows me in from the east. Ø s I move south. A Dark Tunnel It looks an underground tunnel. The walls are narrow and puddles saturate the floor. It looks like it continues to the north and a hole in the wall leads back into the cellar, which I can go through. How odd, though. There is no sign of the lantern that I am sure I heard Hanson break. Hanson follows me in from the north. Ø in I stick the lantern through the hole first, making sure something isn't in there. Through the hole I go, into the cellar. Cellar It’s pretty dark down here, even with a lantern. There are a few crates stacked up in the corners near several more keg barrels. The western wall is completely lined with shelves and holds several bags of herbs and spices, along with some jars. The other wall has a large hole in it, leading in, with a pile of bricks slightly off to the side. Mum isn’t going to be happy about this at all. The trapdoor leads up to the storeroom. Hanson follows me in. Ø up (Your score has increased by 15) "The trapdoor is stuck! We still can't get out, Hanson." "Don't be such a crybaby, Shadrick. MOM! MOM! SHADRICK IS BEATING ON ME!" "I AM NOT! I hear mum coming. Nice work, Hanson." Mum's face is beat red as she pulls Hanson from out of the cellar and yanks me by the ear. More Before mum was able to twist my ear completely off, Hanson and I explained what had happened. Father wasn't too keen on believing our story, but mum can tell when we're lying...well except for when Hanson says I'm beating on him. She always believes that for some reason. "Finish your supper, Shadrick?" "I'm almost done, mum." Anyway, the robbers were caught red handed in the vault. We got a small reward from the bank, but it was Mr. Willingsdale's grandson that was most grateful. The town was named after his grandfather, and it was his money that was being robbed from the vault. Needless to say he was very grateful and gave us a huge reward. I guess back in the day the tunnels were used to move large amounts of gold and stuff secretly. Mr. Willingsdale wants to have them filled in. Mum was so happy about the reward that she might be sending me off to boarding school sooner than expected. With all this excitement, I could use a little vacation. "Mom, Shadrick is hitting me again!" "Am not!." The End Shadrick'sUnderground Adventures Written by Mystery April - July 2004 Special thanks to the following beta-testers. Woodfish The Madmonk Tech Timmon Chuck Smith Copyright © Dana Crane 2004 [Press any key to end]