Start transcriptie van THE BARON An interactive story, written by Victor Gijsbers en published under the GNU General Public License. New readers: PLEASE TYPE 'MENU', even if you are an experienced reader of interactive fiction. Release 1 / Serial number 060112 / Inform v6.21 Library 6/11 SD Standard interpreter 1.0 (1F) / Library serial number 040227 Nederlandse vertaling 020812 door Yuri Robbers De bronzen deuren vallen achter je dicht, en je hoort hoe de grendel ervoor wordt geschoven. Er is geen weg terug; het is jou, of de draak. Met je bijl in je bepantserde hand stap je naar voren, de hitte tegemoet. THE BARON An interactive story, written by Victor Gijsbers en published under the GNU General Public License. New readers: PLEASE TYPE 'MENU', even if you are an experienced reader of interactive fiction. Release 1 / Serial number 060112 / Inform v6.21 Library 6/11 SD Het voorportaal van de grot De kleine hal is door mensen uitgehouwen en met zwart marmer bekleed. Twee bronzen deuren in het zuiden sluiten de uitgang hermetisch af; in het noorden leidt een smalle grot naar de vurige woonstee van de draak. De grond hier is bezaaid met geblakerde botten en schedels, die flikkerende schaduwen zuidwaarts werpen. >x me Je ziet er heldhaftig uit in je zware harnas; bovendien ben je sterk, snel en voor de duivel niet bang. Als iemand de draak kan verslaan, ben jij het. >s Sorry, dat kan niet worden gecorrigeerd. >z Er is geen tijd te verliezen. >n Je probeert om de menselijke beenderen heen te stappen, maar kan niet voorkomen dat er bij elke stap verschillende breken onder het gewicht van jou en je wapenrusting. Een lage doorgang De grot is laag, en je moet bukken om er doorheen te lopen. Op de vloer ligt een dikke laag as. De vlammen die overal in de grote zaal in het noorden uit spleten in de grond komen zijn haast verblindend fel, en de hitte is enorm. Het zweet breekt je aan alle kanten uit. In het zuiden ligt de betrekkelijke koelte van het halletje. >e Dat is geen werkwoord dat ik ken. >o Die kant kun je niet op. >quit Weet je zeker dat je wilt stoppen? j Start of a transcript of THE BARON An interactive story, written by Victor Gijsbers en published under the GNU General Public License. New readers: PLEASE TYPE 'MENU', even if you are an experienced reader of interactive fiction. Release 1 / Serial number 060112 / Inform v6.21 Library 6/11 SD Standard interpreter 1.0 (1F) / Library serial number 040227 De bronzen deuren vallen achter je dicht, en je hoort hoe de grendel ervoor wordt geschoven. Er is geen weg terug; het is jou, of de draak. Met je bijl in je bepantserde hand stap je naar voren, de hitte tegemoet. THE BARON An interactive story, written by Victor Gijsbers en published under the GNU General Public License. New readers: PLEASE TYPE 'MENU', even if you are an experienced reader of interactive fiction. Release 1 / Serial number 060112 / Inform v6.21 Library 6/11 SD Het voorportaal van de grot De kleine hal is door mensen uitgehouwen en met zwart marmer bekleed. Twee bronzen deuren in het zuiden sluiten de uitgang hermetisch af; in het noorden leidt een smalle grot naar de vurige woonstee van de draak. De grond hier is bezaaid met geblakerde botten en schedels, die flikkerende schaduwen zuidwaarts werpen. >x me Je ziet er heldhaftig uit in je zware harnas; bovendien ben je sterk, snel en voor de duivel niet bang. Als iemand de draak kan verslaan, ben jij het. >s You can't go that way. >z Er is geen tijd te verliezen. >n Je probeert om de menselijke beenderen heen te stappen, maar kan niet voorkomen dat er bij elke stap verschillende breken onder het gewicht van jou en je wapenrusting. Een lage doorgang De grot is laag, en je moet bukken om er doorheen te lopen. Op de vloer ligt een dikke laag as. De vlammen die overal in de grote zaal in het noorden uit spleten in de grond komen zijn haast verblindend fel, en de hitte is enorm. Het zweet breekt je aan alle kanten uit. In het zuiden ligt de betrekkelijke koelte van het halletje. >n Met de bijl stevig in je handen geklemd, het vizier van je helm opengeklapt zoals een man van eer betaamt, treed je de draak tegemoet. Een ondergrondse zaal De zaal is tientallen meters hoog, en honderden meters breed en diep. De grond is bedekt met een dikke laag as, behalve waar brede spleten de rots doorklieven. Metershoge vlammen schieten uit deze spleten omhoog. De hitte is bijna ondraaglijk. In het midden van de zaal staat de draak, een enorm roodgeschubd monster. Hij draait zijn kop naar je toe, en staart je met twee grote gele ogen aan. >w De enige uitgang ligt in het zuiden. De draak draait zich naar je toe, en stapt met logge passen op je af. Hij opent zijn bek en stoot een kreet uit die de hele grot op zijn grondvesten doet schudden. Even wankel je, maar je weet je evenwicht te hervinden. >hit draak Met de bijl geheven stap je af op de draak, vastbesloten hem een kopje kleiner te maken. Het ondier kijkt je aan met een priemende blik, en opent zijn bek. Decimeters lange tanden staan in twee rijen achter elkaar, en diep in het duister van zijn keelgat lijkt een vuur te branden. Maar je laat je niet intimideren, en blijft met ferme passen op hem aflopen. Dan - zo snel en plotseling dat je niet eens meer kan proberen om weg te duiken - barst het vuur naar buiten, uit de bek van de draak, een straal van tientallen meters die je van top tot teen omhult. De pijn doet je naar adem happen. >quit Are you sure you want to quit? y Start of a transcript of THE BARON An interactive story, written by Victor Gijsbers en published under the GNU General Public License. New readers: PLEASE TYPE 'MENU', even if you are an experienced reader of interactive fiction. Release 1 / Serial number 060112 / Inform v6.21 Library 6/11 SD Standard interpreter 1.0 (1F) / Library serial number 040227 De bronzen deuren vallen achter je dicht, en je hoort hoe de grendel ervoor wordt geschoven. Er is geen weg terug; het is jou, of de draak. Met je bijl in je bepantserde hand stap je naar voren, de hitte tegemoet. THE BARON An interactive story, written by Victor Gijsbers en published under the GNU General Public License. New readers: PLEASE TYPE 'MENU', even if you are an experienced reader of interactive fiction. Release 1 / Serial number 060112 / Inform v6.21 Library 6/11 SD Het voorportaal van de grot De kleine hal is door mensen uitgehouwen en met zwart marmer bekleed. Twee bronzen deuren in het zuiden sluiten de uitgang hermetisch af; in het noorden leidt een smalle grot naar de vurige woonstee van de draak. De grond hier is bezaaid met geblakerde botten en schedels, die flikkerende schaduwen zuidwaarts werpen. >quit Are you sure you want to quit? y Start of a transcript of THE BARON An interactive story, written by Victor Gijsbers en published under the GNU General Public License. New readers: PLEASE TYPE 'MENU', even if you are an experienced reader of interactive fiction. Release 1 / Serial number 060112 / Inform v6.21 Library 6/11 SD Standard interpreter 1.0 (1F) / Library serial number 040227 The bronze doors fall closed behind you, en you hear how the bolts are drawn on the door. There is no way back; it is you, or the dragon. With the axe in your armoured hand you take a step forward, towards the heat. THE BARON An interactive story, written by Victor Gijsbers en published under the GNU General Public License. New readers: PLEASE TYPE 'MENU', even if you are an experienced reader of interactive fiction. Release 1 / Serial number 060112 / Inform v6.21 Library 6/11 SD Het voorportaal van de grot De kleine hal is door mensen uitgehouwen en met zwart marmer bekleed. Twee bronzen deuren in het zuiden sluiten de uitgang hermetisch af; in het noorden leidt een smalle grot naar de vurige woonstee van de draak. De grond hier is bezaaid met geblakerde botten en schedels, die flikkerende schaduwen zuidwaarts werpen. >quit Are you sure you want to quit? y Start of a transcript of THE BARON An interactive story, written by Victor Gijsbers en published under the GNU General Public License. New readers: PLEASE TYPE 'MENU', even if you are an experienced reader of interactive fiction. Release 1 / Serial number 060113 / Inform v6.21 Library 6/11 SD Standard interpreter 1.0 (1F) / Library serial number 040227 The bronze doors fall closed behind you, en you hear how the bolts are drawn on the door. There is no way back; it is you, or the dragon. With the axe in your armoured hand you take a step forward, towards the heat. THE BARON An interactive story, written by Victor Gijsbers en published under the GNU General Public License. New readers: PLEASE TYPE 'MENU', even if you are an experienced reader of interactive fiction. Release 1 / Serial number 060113 / Inform v6.21 Library 6/11 SD Het voorportaal van de grot De kleine hal is door mensen uitgehouwen en met zwart marmer bekleed. Twee bronzen deuren in het zuiden sluiten de uitgang hermetisch af; in het noorden leidt een smalle grot naar de vurige woonstee van de draak. De grond hier is bezaaid met geblakerde botten en schedels, die flikkerende schaduwen zuidwaarts werpen. >sing You sing a violent battle song, about a knight who cuts an evil dragon to pieces. >n Je probeert om de menselijke beenderen heen te stappen, maar kan niet voorkomen dat er bij elke stap verschillende breken onder het gewicht van jou en je wapenrusting. Een lage doorgang De grot is laag, en je moet bukken om er doorheen te lopen. Op de vloer ligt een dikke laag as. De vlammen die overal in de grote zaal in het noorden uit spleten in de grond komen zijn haast verblindend fel, en de hitte is enorm. Het zweet breekt je aan alle kanten uit. In het zuiden ligt de betrekkelijke koelte van het halletje. >n Met de bijl stevig in je handen geklemd, het vizier van je helm opengeklapt zoals een man van eer betaamt, treed je de draak tegemoet. Een ondergrondse zaal De zaal is tientallen meters hoog, en honderden meters breed en diep. De grond is bedekt met een dikke laag as, behalve waar brede spleten de rots doorklieven. Metershoge vlammen schieten uit deze spleten omhoog. De hitte is bijna ondraaglijk. In het midden van de zaal staat de draak, een enorm roodgeschubd monster. Hij draait zijn kop naar je toe, en staart je met twee grote gele ogen aan. >n De enige uitgang ligt in het zuiden. De draak draait zich naar je toe, en stapt met logge passen op je af. Hij opent zijn bek en stoot een kreet uit die de hele grot op zijn grondvesten doet schudden. Even wankel je, maar je weet je evenwicht te hervinden. >n De enige uitgang ligt in het zuiden. Een immense straal vuur spuit uit de bek van de draak, langs zijn scherpe tanden, en omringt je volledig. De pijn doet je naar adem happen. >n Je rent in het wilde weg rond, overmand door paniek. Je ziet nauwelijks waar je heen gaat, alles is vuur, vlammen, rook, flikkerend licht. Je struikelt, valt, springt overeind - de angst geeft je zoveel kracht dat je het harnas nauwelijks voelt. Je rent verder in een willekeurige richting, dan, plotseling, stap je in het niets en val je voorover een kloof in. Wanhopig probeer je iets te grijpen, houvast te krijgen, maar de wanden zijn glad en zonder uitsteeksels, en je valt, dieper en dieper. Rook en zwaveldampen vullen de spleet en benemen je de adem. Je hoest en proest, hapt naar lucht, maar krijgt alleen de giftige dampen binnen. Nog voor je de bodem bereikt hebt verlies je het bewustzijn. [Druk op een toets.] DE BARON Een interactief verhaal geschreven door Victor Gijsbers. Chi l'anima mi lacera? Chi m'agita le viscere? Che strazio, ohimè, che smania! Che inferno, che terror! "Wie verscheurt mijn ziel? Wie windt mijn hart zo op? Wat een kwelling, wat een waanzin! Wat een hel! Welk een verschrikking!" Uit de opera "Don Giovanni" Tekst: Lorenzo da Ponte Muziek: Wolfgang A. Mozart Twee doordringende dissonanten, kort na elkaar, wekken je uit je onrustige slaap. Na de tweede toon zwijgt de kerkklok en de stilte van de winternacht nestelt zich weer in het dorp. Je wrijft de slaap uit je ogen. Uiterst voorzichtig stap je uit bed, opdat je je vrouw Hilde niet wakker maakt. Zij zou je zeker proberen te stoppen. In je slaapkamer Het zwakke schijnsel van de maan dat door het raam naar binnen valt hult de meubels in de slaapkamer in een mantel van onwereldse schoonheid. Alleen het zachte ademen van je echtgenote in het grote ledikant doorbreekt de stilte. Naast de zware eiken kledingkast bevindt zich de deur naar de overloop in het noorden. In de onverwarmde kamer is het ijzig koud. You can see a stoel (on which is je werkkleding) and a vuren nachtkastje here. >sing "Don Giovanni!", you hear yourself sing in a deep, ominous bass. Indeed, it seems as if any moment now divine retribution can descend to earth to drag the lecherous villain of this piece down into the abyss of Hell. >quit Are you sure you want to quit? y Start of a transcript of THE BARON An interactive story, written by Victor Gijsbers en published under the GNU General Public License. New readers: PLEASE TYPE 'MENU', even if you are an experienced reader of interactive fiction. Release 1 / Serial number 060113 / Inform v6.21 Library 6/11 SD Standard interpreter 1.0 (1F) / Library serial number 040227 The bronze doors fall closed behind you, en you hear how the bolts are drawn on the door. There is no way back; it is you, or the dragon. With the axe in your armoured hand you take a step forward, towards the heat. THE BARON An interactive story, written by Victor Gijsbers en published under the GNU General Public License. New readers: PLEASE TYPE 'MENU', even if you are an experienced reader of interactive fiction. Release 1 / Serial number 060113 / Inform v6.21 Library 6/11 SD Het voorportaal van de grot De kleine hal is door mensen uitgehouwen en met zwart marmer bekleed. Twee bronzen deuren in het zuiden sluiten de uitgang hermetisch af; in het noorden leidt een smalle grot naar de vurige woonstee van de draak. De grond hier is bezaaid met geblakerde botten en schedels, die flikkerende schaduwen zuidwaarts werpen. >i You are carrying: a helm (being worn) a full suit of armour (being worn) a battle axe >x full Een volledige wapenrusting van het hardste staal, uitstekend geolied, biedt optimale bescherming tegen bedreigingen van buitenaf. Het geheel is van achteren met leren gespen vastgesnoerd en kan alleen door anderen worden losgemaakt. >x of Een volledige wapenrusting van het hardste staal, uitstekend geolied, biedt optimale bescherming tegen bedreigingen van buitenaf. Het geheel is van achteren met leren gespen vastgesnoerd en kan alleen door anderen worden losgemaakt. >x suit of armour Een volledige wapenrusting van het hardste staal, uitstekend geolied, biedt optimale bescherming tegen bedreigingen van buitenaf. Het geheel is van achteren met leren gespen vastgesnoerd en kan alleen door anderen worden losgemaakt. >take it off What do you want to take the full suit of armour off? >undress You can't see such a thing, or it is not important to interact with it. >take off suit Het harnas zit op je rug vastgegespt; het is onmogelijk het zelf los te maken. Nadat je de draak hebt verslagen en bent teruggekeerd kan je schildknaap dat doen. >quit Are you sure you want to quit? y Start of a transcript of THE BARON An interactive story, written by Victor Gijsbers en published under the GNU General Public License. New readers: PLEASE TYPE 'MENU', even if you are an experienced reader of interactive fiction. Release 1 / Serial number 060119 / Inform v6.21 Library 6/11 SD Standard interpreter 1.0 (1F) / Library serial number 040227 The bronze doors fall closed behind you, en you hear how the bolts are drawn on the door. There is no way back; it is you, or the dragon. With the axe in your armoured hand you take a step forward, towards the heat. THE BARON An interactive story, written by Victor Gijsbers en published under the GNU General Public License. New readers: PLEASE TYPE 'MENU', even if you are an experienced reader of interactive fiction. Release 1 / Serial number 060119 / Inform v6.21 Library 6/11 SD The cave's vestibule This small hall has been hacked out by humans and covered with black marble. Two bronze doors to the south hermetically close off the exit; in the north a narrow cave leads to the fiery lair of the dragon. The ground here is littered with blackened bones and skulls, throwing flickering shadows southwards. >i You are carrying: a helm (being worn) a full suit of armour (being worn) a battle axe >x axe The battle axe is razor-sharp and so heavy that few can lift it; but you can handle it with lethal speed and precision. >x helmet The helmet is functional, not gaudy, and fits neatly with the rest of the armour. The visor is open, which gives better vision but worse protection. >x cave You can't see such a thing, or it is not important to interact with it. >x me You look heroic in your heavy suit of armour; furthermore, you are strong, quick and fearless. If anyone can defeat the dragon, it is you. >x grot You see nothing unexpected in that direction. >knock on doors That's not a verb I recognise. >klop op doors Before you have even tried to kill the dragon? Only a coward would do that. >quit Are you sure you want to quit? y Start of a transcript of THE BARON An interactive story, written by Victor Gijsbers en published under the GNU General Public License. New readers: PLEASE TYPE 'MENU', even if you are an experienced reader of interactive fiction. Release 1 / Serial number 060122 / Inform v6.21 Library 6/11 SD Standard interpreter 1.0 (1F) / Library serial number 040227 The bronze doors fall closed behind you, en you hear how the bolts are drawn on the door. There is no way back; it is you, or the dragon. With the axe in your armoured hand you take a step forward, towards the heat. THE BARON An interactive story, written by Victor Gijsbers en published under the GNU General Public License. New readers: PLEASE TYPE 'MENU', even if you are an experienced reader of interactive fiction. Release 1 / Serial number 060122 / Inform v6.21 Library 6/11 SD The cave's vestibule This small hall has been hacked out by humans and covered with black marble. Two bronze doors to the south hermetically close off the exit; in the north a narrow cave leads to the fiery lair of the dragon. The ground here is littered with blackened bones and skulls, throwing flickering shadows southwards. >menu De informatie in dit deel van het menu kunt u beter niet lezen voordat u minimaal éénmaal "De Baron" geheel gelezen en verwekt hebt. De 'walkthroughs' geven aan hoe u op verschillende manieren door het hele verhaal kunt komen, en vernietigen zo de kracht van het zelf ontdekken. De ontwerpfilosofie behandelt het doel dat ik poogde te bereiken met het schrijven van "De baron", en ook dat kan men beter pas naderhand te weten komen om het verhaal zelf zonder preconcepties tegemoet te kunnen treden. [Please press SPACE.] The cave's vestibule This small hall has been hacked out by humans and covered with black marble. Two bronze doors to the south hermetically close off the exit; in the north a narrow cave leads to the fiery lair of the dragon. The ground here is littered with blackened bones and skulls, throwing flickering shadows southwards. >i You are carrying: a helmet (being worn) a full suit of armour (being worn) a battle axe >x me You look heroic in your heavy suit of armour; furthermore, you are strong, quick and fearless. If anyone can defeat the dragon, it is you. >n You try to step around the human bones, but with each step several are crushed under the weight of you and your armour. A low passage The cave is low, and you have to stoop to walk through. The floor is covered by a thick layer of ash. The flames that erupt from the many cracks in the ground of the large hall to the north have an almost blinding intensity, and the heat if nigh unendurable. You are sweating heavily. In the south lies the relative coolness of the vestibule. >x ashes A layer of tamped down ash covers the ground; your feet leave hardly an impression. >n Holding the axe tightly, the visor of your helmet opened, as behooves a man of honour, you approach the dragon. An underground hall The hall is dozens of meters high and hundreds of meters wide and deep. The floor is covered with a thick layer of ash, except where cracks and fissures cleave the rock. Huge flames shoot upwards out of these cracks. The heat is almost unbearable. In het midden van de zaal staat de draak, een enorm roodgeschubd monster. Hij draait zijn kop naar je toe, en staart je met twee grote gele ogen aan. >x dragon You can't see such a thing, or it is not important to interact with it. >x draak Dertig meter lang van kop tot staart, felrood gekleurd, met schubben die blinken alsof ze van het hardste metaal zijn; maar het is het vuur in de ogen en de keel van de draak, het vlammenspel achter zijn rijen bleke tanden, dat echt huiveringwekkend is. Het is meer dan een monster dat vuur spuwt; het is het vuur zelf waar je tegenover staat. Strijd leveren met de draak schijnt je toe als het bevechten van het allesverzengende vuur, als het voeren van oorlog tegen een natuurkracht die met onverzettelijk geweld de mensen één voor één op de knieën zal dwingen en nooit overwonnen kan worden. De draak draait zich naar je toe, en stapt met logge passen op je af. Hij opent zijn bek en stoot een kreet uit die de hele grot op zijn grondvesten doet schudden. Even wankel je, maar je weet je evenwicht te hervinden. >quit Are you sure you want to quit? y Start of a transcript of THE BARON An interactive story, written by Victor Gijsbers en published under the GNU General Public License. New readers: PLEASE TYPE 'MENU', even if you are an experienced reader of interactive fiction. Release 1 / Serial number 060122 / Inform v6.21 Library 6/11 SD Standard interpreter 1.0 (1F) / Library serial number 040227 The bronze doors fall closed behind you, en you hear how the bolts are drawn on the door. There is no way back; it is you, or the dragon. With the axe in your armoured hand you take a step forward, towards the heat. THE BARON An interactive story, written by Victor Gijsbers en published under the GNU General Public License. New readers: PLEASE TYPE 'MENU', even if you are an experienced reader of interactive fiction. Release 1 / Serial number 060122 / Inform v6.21 Library 6/11 SD The cave's vestibule This small hall has been hacked out by humans and covered with black marble. Two bronze doors to the south hermetically close off the exit; in the north a narrow cave leads to the fiery lair of the dragon. The ground here is littered with blackened bones and skulls, throwing flickering shadows southwards. >n You try to step around the human bones, but with each step several are crushed under the weight of you and your armour. A low passage The cave is low, and you have to stoop to walk through. The floor is covered by a thick layer of ashes. The flames that erupt from the many cracks in the ground of the large hall to the north have an almost blinding intensity, and the heat if nigh unendurable. You are sweating heavily. In the south lies the relative coolness of the vestibule. >n Holding the axe tightly, the visor of your helmet opened, as behooves a man of honour, you approach the dragon. An underground hall The hall is dozens of meters high and hundreds of meters wide and deep. The floor is covered with a thick layer of ash, except where cracks and fissures cleave the rock. Huge flames shoot upwards out of these cracks. The heat is almost unbearable. In the middle of the hall is the dragon, an enormous, red, scaly monster. It turns its head towards you, and stares at you with two big yellow eyes. >n The only exit lies to the south. The dragon turns towards you, and approaches you with heavy steps. It opens its mouth and emits a cry that makes the entire cave shake. For a moment you stagger, but then regain your balance. >n The only exit lies to the south. An immense jet of fire spews forth from the mouth of the dragon, past its sharp teeth, and surrounds you completely. The pain makes you gasp. >n You run around aimlessly, overwhelmed by fear. You hardly see where you are going, everything is fire, flames, smoke, flickering light. You trip, fall, jump up again - the fear gives you such power that you hardly feel your armour. You run on in a random direction, then, suddenly, you step into nothingness en fall forwards into a cleft. Desperately you try to grab onto something, but the walls are flat and featureless, and you fall, deeper and deeper. Smoke and sulfid vapours fill the cleft and you can hardly breath. You cough, try to get a breath of fresh air, but it is the poisonous vapours that fill your lungs. Even before you hit the ground, you loose consciousness. [Druk op een toets.] DE BARON Een interactief verhaal geschreven door Victor Gijsbers. Chi l'anima mi lacera? Chi m'agita le viscere? Che strazio, ohimè, che smania! Che inferno, che terror! "Wie verscheurt mijn ziel? Wie windt mijn hart zo op? Wat een kwelling, wat een waanzin! Wat een hel! Welk een verschrikking!" Uit de opera "Don Giovanni" Tekst: Lorenzo da Ponte Muziek: Wolfgang A. Mozart Twee doordringende dissonanten, kort na elkaar, wekken je uit je onrustige slaap. Na de tweede toon zwijgt de kerkklok en de stilte van de winternacht nestelt zich weer in het dorp. Je wrijft de slaap uit je ogen. Uiterst voorzichtig stap je uit bed, opdat je je vrouw Hilde niet wakker maakt. Zij zou je zeker proberen te stoppen. In je slaapkamer Het zwakke schijnsel van de maan dat door het raam naar binnen valt hult de meubels in de slaapkamer in een mantel van onwereldse schoonheid. Alleen het zachte ademen van je echtgenote in het grote ledikant doorbreekt de stilte. Naast de zware eiken kledingkast bevindt zich de deur naar de overloop in het noorden. In de onverwarmde kamer is het ijzig koud. You can see a stoel (on which is je werkkleding) and a vuren nachtkastje here. >quit Are you sure you want to quit? j Please answer yes or no.> Please answer yes or no.> y Start of a transcript of THE BARON An interactive story, written by Victor Gijsbers and published under the GNU General Public License. New readers: PLEASE TYPE 'MENU', even if you are an experienced reader of interactive fiction. Release 1 / Serial number 060125 / Inform v6.21 Library 6/11 SD Standard interpreter 1.0 (1F) / Library serial number 040227 The bronze doors fall closed behind you, and you hear how the bolts are drawn on the door. There is no way back; it is you, or the dragon. With the axe in your armoured hand you take a step forward, towards the heat. THE BARON An interactive story, written by Victor Gijsbers and published under the GNU General Public License. New readers: PLEASE TYPE 'MENU', even if you are an experienced reader of interactive fiction. Release 1 / Serial number 060125 / Inform v6.21 Library 6/11 SD The cave's vestibule This small hall has been hacked out by humans and covered with black marble. Two bronze doors to the south hermetically close off the exit; in the north a narrow cave leads to the fiery lair of the dragon. The ground here is littered with blackened bones and skulls, throwing flickering shadows southwards. >n You try to step around the human bones, but with each step several are crushed under the weight of you and your armour. A low passage The cave is low, and you have to stoop to walk through. The floor is covered by a thick layer of ashes. The flames that erupt from the many cracks in the ground of the large hall to the north have an almost blinding intensity, and the heat if nigh unendurable. You are sweating heavily. In the south lies the relative coolness of the vestibule. >n Holding the axe tightly, the visor of your helmet opened, as behoves a man of honour, you approach the dragon. An underground hall The hall is dozens of meters high and hundreds of meters wide and deep. The floor is covered with a thick layer of ash, except where cracks and fissures cleave the rock. Huge flames shoot upwards out of these cracks. The heat is almost unbearable. In the middle of the hall is the dragon, an enormous, red, scaly monster. It turns its head towards you, and stares at you with two big yellow eyes. >n The only exit lies to the south. The dragon turns towards you, and approaches you with heavy steps. It opens its mouth and emits a cry that makes the entire cave shake. For a moment you stagger, but then regain your balance. >attack dragon With the axe raised you step towards the dragon, determined to kill the creature. The monster looks at you with a penetrating gaze, and opens its mouth. Teeth as long as your upper arm form two rows behind each other, and in the depths of the dragon's throat a fire seems to be burning. But you don't let that intimidate you, and keep walking towards him at a brisk pace. Then - so fast and suddenly that you do not even have the time to try and duck away - the fire bursts out, from the mouth of the dragon, a jet dozens of meters long that envelops you from head to toe. The pain makes you gasp. >attack dragon You fight off the pain and charge again - even if you have to pay for it with your own life, the monster must die. Through the flames you see the two big yellow eyes; you raise your axe to plant it right between them. But suddenly the dragon's tail hits you from your left, with such forces that you fly many meters through the hall before your head hits a wall. The helmet softens the blow and you do not loose consciousness. When you open your eyes, you see the head of the dragon approaching you, its mouth wide open - once again it breaths its deadly fire at you, and after a short scream you can no longer hear yourself the darkness falls over you like a cool blanket. [Druk op een toets.] DE BARON Een interactief verhaal geschreven door Victor Gijsbers. Chi l'anima mi lacera? Chi m'agita le viscere? Che strazio, ohimè, che smania! Che inferno, che terror! "Wie verscheurt mijn ziel? Wie windt mijn hart zo op? Wat een kwelling, wat een waanzin! Wat een hel! Welk een verschrikking!" Uit de opera "Don Giovanni" Tekst: Lorenzo da Ponte Muziek: Wolfgang A. Mozart Twee doordringende dissonanten, kort na elkaar, wekken je uit je onrustige slaap. Na de tweede toon zwijgt de kerkklok en de stilte van de winternacht nestelt zich weer in het dorp. Je wrijft de slaap uit je ogen. Uiterst voorzichtig stap je uit bed, opdat je je vrouw Hilde niet wakker maakt. Zij zou je zeker proberen te stoppen. In your bedroom The weak light of the moon which enters the room through the window envelops the furniture in the bedroom in a cloak of unwordly beauty. Only the soft breathing of your wife in the large bed breaches the silence. The door next to the heavy oaken wardrobe leads to the landing to the north. It is ice cold in the unheated room. You can see a chair (on which is workclothes) and a pine night table here. >x night A simple night table made of pinewood, the very first piece of furniture you ever made yourself. On the night table is a family photo. >take photo Taken. >i You are carrying: a family photo >x photo This photograph, made for the tenth anniversary of you and Hilde's marriage, is a few years old. Solemnly, you stand next to each other as two balck-and-white statues, once again clad in your wedding clothes. On the foreground, close against you, stands your daughter Maartje. Little Maartje, in her beautiful white dress, a radiant smile on her face. In the picture you have laid a protective arm across her shoulder. But now she has been kidnapped by the evil baron... once again you vow to do everything possible to free her. >n (opening the door to the landing) On the landing The landing is eneveloped by a shadowy darkness. Moonlight enters the landing through the open door to your bedroom in the south. A red door to the north leads to the room of your daughter Maartje. Next to the stairs down stands an elegant cupboard, above which hangs a large ornate mirror in a gilded frame. >n (opening the door to Maartje's room) In Maartje's room Zonder Maartjes stralende aanwezigheid lijkt haar kamer doods en leeg. Het geeft een droeve aanblik: een bed waar niet in geslapen wordt, een poppenhuis waar niet mee gespeeld wordt, een bureau waaraan niet gestudeerd wordt. De bonte kleuren waarin jij haar plafond en meubilair geverfd hebt verschijnen in het bleke licht van de sterren als een waaier aan grijstinten. De deur in het zuiden leidt terug naar de overloop. On the bureau is a dagboek. You can see a knuffelbeer here. >s On the landing The landing is eneveloped by a shadowy darkness. Moonlight enters the landing through the open door to your bedroom in the south. To the north, the red door to Maartje's room is slightly ajar. Next to the stairs down stands an elegant cupboard, above which hangs a large ornate mirror in a gilded frame. >smash mirror That time has not yet come. >d Cautiously you seek your way downwards through the darkness. In the hall you grab your winter coat and put it on, then you open the front door and step outside into the garden. In de tuin Ook je voortuin is bedolven onder een dikke laag sneeuw, die alle planten aan het zicht onttrekt. Alleen een paar kale struiken die zich tegen het tuinhek aan schurken steken door de witte deken heen. Achter je leidt de voordeur terug het huis in, terwijl de weg naar het oosten zich door het dorp en het woud heen naar het kasteel van de baron slingert. Vanuit zijn onbereikbare hoogte kijkt de maan verwijtend op je neer. Het uiterste puntje van de kerktoren steekt boven de huizen aan de overkant uit. You can see a brievenbus (which is closed) and an axe here. >take axe Taken. >u Through the open front door you step inside. You hang your coat back on the hallstand, and climb the dark stairs back to the landing. On the landing The landing is eneveloped by a shadowy darkness. Moonlight enters the landing through the open door to your bedroom in the south. To the north, the red door to Maartje's room is slightly ajar. Next to the stairs down stands an elegant cupboard, above which hangs a large ornate mirror in a gilded frame. >x mirror You gaze at yourself from the mirror. In your nightshift, you look more desperate than heroic, but appearances are deceiving. A grim smile plays around the corners of your mouth when you think of the fear the baron will feel when you enter his castle to decapitate him with your heavy axe. >x axe Dit is je belangrijkste gereedschap. Je moet er vele duizenden bomen mee geveld hebben. De bijl is vlijmscherp geslepen, ligt lekker in de hand, en met jouw spieren is het gewicht geen enkel probleem. Waarschijnlijk kan je het hoofd van de baron er in één slag mee splijten. >quit Are you sure you want to quit? y Start of a transcript of THE BARON An interactive story, written by Victor Gijsbers and published under the GNU General Public License. New readers: PLEASE TYPE 'MENU', even if you are an experienced reader of interactive fiction. Release 1 / Serial number 060127 / Inform v6.21 Library 6/11 SD Standard interpreter 1.0 (1F) / Library serial number 040227 The bronze doors fall closed behind you, and you hear how the bolts are drawn on the door. There is no way back; it is you, or the dragon. With the axe in your armoured hand you take a step forward, towards the heat. THE BARON An interactive story, written by Victor Gijsbers and published under the GNU General Public License. New readers: PLEASE TYPE 'MENU', even if you are an experienced reader of interactive fiction. Release 1 / Serial number 060127 / Inform v6.21 Library 6/11 SD The cave's vestibule This small hall has been hacked out by humans and covered with black marble. Two bronze doors to the south hermetically close off the exit; in the north a narrow cave leads to the fiery lair of the dragon. The ground here is littered with blackened bones and skulls, throwing flickering shadows southwards. >klop op door Before you have even tried to kill the dragon? Only a coward would do that. >quit Are you sure you want to quit? y Start of a transcript of THE BARON An interactive story, written by Victor Gijsbers and published under the GNU General Public License. New readers: PLEASE TYPE 'MENU', even if you are an experienced reader of interactive fiction. Release 1 / Serial number 060212 / Inform v6.21 Library 6/11 SD Standard interpreter 1.0 (1F) / Library serial number 040227 The bronze doors fall closed behind you, and you hear bolts being drawn across the door. There is no way back; it is you, or the dragon. Gripping the axe in a gauntletted hand, you step forward, into the heat. THE BARON An interactive story, written by Victor Gijsbers and published under the GNU General Public License. New readers: PLEASE TYPE 'MENU', even if you are an experienced reader of interactive fiction. Release 1 / Serial number 060212 / Inform v6.21 Library 6/11 SD The cave's vestibule This small rectangular hall has been chiselled from the rock by humans and covered with black marble. Two bronze doors to the south hermetically close off the exit; in the north a narrow cave leads to the fiery lair of the dragon. The floor is littered with blackened bones and skulls, throwing flickering shadows southwards. >n You try to step around the human bones, but with each step several are crushed under the weight of you and your armour. A low passage The cave is low, and you have to stoop to walk through. The floor is covered by a thick layer of ashes. The flames that erupt from the many cracks in the ground of the large hall to the north have an almost blinding intensity, and the heat if nigh unendurable. You are sweating heavily. In the south lies the relative coolness of the vestibule. >n Holding the axe tightly, the visor of your helmet opened, as behoves a man of honour, you approach the dragon. An underground hall The hall is dozens of meters high and hundreds of meters wide and deep. The floor is covered with a thick layer of ash, except where cracks and fissures cleave the rock. Huge flames shoot upwards out of these cracks. The heat is almost unbearable. In the middle of the hall is the dragon, an enormous, red, scaly monster. It turns its head towards you, and stares at you with two big yellow eyes. >n The only exit lies to the south. The dragon turns towards you, and approaches you with heavy steps. It opens its mouth and emits a cry that makes the entire cave shake. For a moment you stagger, but then regain your balance. >n The only exit lies to the south. An immense jet of fire spews forth from the mouth of the dragon, past its sharp teeth, and surrounds you completely. The pain makes you gasp. >n You run around aimlessly, overwhelmed by fear. You hardly see where you are going, everything is fire, flames, smoke, flickering light. You trip, fall, jump up again - the fear gives you such power that you hardly feel your armour. You run on in a random direction, then, suddenly, you step into nothingness en fall forwards into a cleft. Desperately you try to grab onto something, but the walls are flat and featureless, and you fall, deeper and deeper. Smoke and sulfid vapours fill the cleft and you can hardly breath. You cough, try to get a breath of fresh air, but it is the poisonous vapours that fill your lungs. Even before you hit the ground, you loose consciousness. [Druk op een toets.] DE BARON Een interactief verhaal geschreven door Victor Gijsbers. Chi l'anima mi lacera? Chi m'agita le viscere? Che strazio, ohimè, che smania! Che inferno, che terror! "Wie verscheurt mijn ziel? Wie windt mijn hart zo op? Wat een kwelling, wat een waanzin! Wat een hel! Welk een verschrikking!" Uit de opera "Don Giovanni" Tekst: Lorenzo da Ponte Muziek: Wolfgang A. Mozart Twee doordringende dissonanten, kort na elkaar, wekken je uit je onrustige slaap. Na de tweede toon zwijgt de kerkklok en de stilte van de winternacht nestelt zich weer in het dorp. Je wrijft de slaap uit je ogen. Uiterst voorzichtig stap je uit bed, opdat je je vrouw Hilde niet wakker maakt. Zij zou je zeker proberen te stoppen. In your bedroom The weak light of the moon which enters the room through the window envelops the furniture in the bedroom in a cloak of unworldly beauty. Only the soft breathing of your wife in the large bed breaches the silence. The door next to the heavy oaken wardrobe leads to the landing to the north. It is ice cold in the unheated room. You can see a chair (on which are your working clothes) and a pine night table here. >n (opening the door to the landing) On the landing The landing is enveloped by a shadowy darkness. Moonlight enters the landing through the open door to your bedroom in the south. A red door to the north leads to the room of your daughter Maartje. Next to the stairs down stands an elegant cupboard, above which hangs a large ornate mirror in a gilded frame. >n (opening the door to Maartje's room) In Maartje's room Without Maartje's radiant presence, her room seems dead and empty. It is a dreary sight: a bed in which nobody sleeps, a dollhouse with which nobody plays, a desk behind which nobody studies. The gay colours in which you painted her ceiling and furniture appear in the pale light of the stars as a pallet of greys. The door to the south leads back to the landing. On the desk is a diary. You can see a teddy here. >s On the landing The landing is enveloped by a shadowy darkness. Moonlight enters the landing through the open door to your bedroom in the south. To the north, the red door to Maartje's room is slightly ajar. Next to the stairs down stands an elegant cupboard, above which hangs a large ornate mirror in a gilded frame. >d Cautiously you seek your way downwards through the darkness. In the hall you grab your winter coat and put it on, then you open the front door and step outside into the garden. In the garden Your front garden too has been buried by a thick layer of snow, which hides all plants from view. Only a few bare bushes that crouch against the garden fence penetrate the white blanket. Behind you, the front door leads back into the house, while the road to the east winds through the village and the forest to the baron's castle. From his unreachable heights the moon looks reproachfully down on you. The tip of the church tower can be seen above the houses on the other side of the road. You can see a letterbox (which is closed) and an axe here. >e Heel even aarzel je, maar dan stap je vastbesloten de weg naar het donkere woud op. In het dorp is geen teken van leven te bekennen. Langzaam wordt je boos op al je buren en mededorpelingen. Waar zijn ze wanneer je ze nodig hebt? Waarom is er niet één bij die het lef heeft Maartje te bevrijden? Een gebrek aan liefde - dat is wat mensen in staat stelt de problemen van anderen te negeren. Iedereen weet wat er aan de hand is, maar niemand doet iets, omdat niemand zich verantwoordelijk voelt. Na enkel minuten bereik je de rand van het bos. Alsof je de donkere muil van een enorm en kwaadaardig beest in loopt, zo is het om het pad onder het overhangende bladerdek van de naaldbomen te volgen. Het licht van de maan bereikt de grond nauwelijks, en meermaals struikel je over grote takken die als valstrikken onder de sneeuw liggen te wachten. Met ferme tred stap je verder, terwijl je probeert te bedenken hoe je het gemakkelijkst het kasteel van de baron in kan komen. Dan wordt je uit je overpeinzingen opgeschrikt door het gehuil van wolven. Het is moeilijk schatten, maar je zou verbaasd zijn als ze meer dan een kilometer van je verwijderd zijn. En het is nog zeker tien kilometer oostwaarts naar het kasteel van de baron. Walking on a path through the forest Even on the most sunny days this coniferous forest is dim and gloomy, and in the dead of this winter night it is pitch-dark. A path, hardly recognisable as such, leads from the village in the west to the castle in the east. Too near, from the left, you hear the howls of a pack of wolves. In this season game is scarce, and the wolves are hungry, bold and dangerous even to humans. >e On a path in the forest Here the path is narrow and winding, and hardly recognisable under the snow. Moonlight penetrates the dense foliage only sporadically. Eastwards lies the baron's castle; to the west, your own footprints lead back to the village. From the trees to the left, a dark shape suddenly jumps forward. It is a she- wolf; she stops several meters away from you, in the middle of the path, fixating you with two eyes that mirror the moon. From her throat comes a fierce growl. >e Are you sure you want to try to walk past the ferocious she-wolf? y Step by step you inch forward, keeping as close to the trees as possible. The she-wolf growls dangerously, and keeps her eyes fixed on your face. "Show no fear!", you counsel yourself. Dogs can smell fear, and wolves are really just wilder and smarter dogs. Or so you tell yourself. You keep your face straight, and slowly, making no fearful movement, you walk on, past the point where you are closest to the wolf and then a few meters further. Your heart is beating so wildly that you are surprised not to hear your ribs cracking. Backwards, still facing the she-wolf, you keep walking along the path. Calmly. Without running. As is you haven't been afraid for a single moment. She holds her ground, and watches you until you've vanished from sight. But she does not pursue you. On a path in the forest From this part of the winding path, you can see the baron's castle rising in the east. The silhouette with the three leaning towers is outlined against the starry sky. A trail of footprints - yours - indicate the path to the west. Here, so close to the baron's domain, even the wolves are silent. >e Bij de poort van het kasteel De ophaalbrug van het kasteel is neergelaten, twintig meter houten planken waarmee je de diepe slotgracht in het noorden kunt oversteken. Aan het andere einde bewaakt de massieve toegangspoort de ingang tot het slot, maar de deuren staan wagenwijd open. De drie torens lijken vanaf hier tot aan de hemel te reiken, en de vele waterspuwers en gargouilles die de muren bevolken staren onvriendelijk op je neer. Het geluid van vleugelslagen doet je omhoog kijken, waar de kantelen, torens en monsterlijk grote waterspuwers van het kasteel zich aftekenen tegen de sterrenhemel. Eén van de gargouilles heeft zijn vleugels gespreid, en zeilt met trage slagen naar de ophaalbrug beneden. Enkele meters voor je landt hij, een stenen demon zo groot als een man. Twee inktzwarte ogen staren je aandachtig aan. Dan zegt de gargouille met een stem als scheurende rots: "Het vereist moed om je niet van je pad te laten afbrengen. Maar als je de confrontatie nooit aangaat, blijf je dan niet altijd in cirkels lopen?" (1) "Als je leven genoegzaam en prettig is, waarom zou je dan confrontaties willen aangaan? Wat is er mis met een cirkel, zolang de cirkel niet te moeilijk te bewandelen is?" (2) "Mijn doel is helder, en mijn pad is recht. Ik ben hier om mijn dochter te halen, en ik zal een confrontatie met de baron niet schuwen." (3) "Het belangrijkste is trouw te blijven aan jezelf, en je niet door krachten van buiten van het pad te laten brengen waar je eigen innerlijk je op gestuurd heeft. Authenticiteit gaat boven alles, ook als zij in cirkels leidt." Select an option >> 1 De gargouille kijkt bedachtzaam, alsof hij je antwoord in overweging neemt. Dan knikt hij kort. "Opnieuw kom je hier, om opnieuw hetzelfde te bereiken. Geloof je nog dat het ooit anders zal aflopen?" (1) "Je vergist je. Dit is de eerste maal dat ik hier kom." (2) "'Opnieuw'? Bedoel je dat ik al vaker hier geweest ben, al vaker het kasteel van de baron ben binnen gedrongen?" (3) "Opnieuw en opnieuw en opnieuw, en zo door de eeuwigheid, totdat het me lukt er een einde aan te maken. Er is altijd nog een kans." (4) "Nee, ik kan niet veranderen. Ik heb het geprobeerd, dat weet je. Maar de cirkel van het noodlot is te sterk: ik ben gedoemd voor eeuwig rond te lopen, en met elke rondgang verf ik mijn ziel een tint zwarter." Select an option >> 1 "Dus je bent het weer vergeten." In de onaardse bas van de gargouille klinkt vermoeidheid en medelijden mee. "Elke nacht kom je hier, elke nacht spreek ik met je, elke nacht verlies je het gevecht, en elke volgende nacht sta je weer vol naïeve moed voor mijn neus. Als je je ogen voor je eigen daden blijft sluiten zal je nooit jezelf overwinnen!" (1) [Stellig] "Zwijg, duivel! Ik ben hier voor de eerste maal, en jouw leugens kunnen mij de moed niet doen verliezen." (2) [Met een ondertoon van paniek] "Nee, nee, je vergist je of probeert mij te bedriegen! Ik ben hier nog nooit eerder geweest, en het zal ook niet nodig zijn dat ik hier vaker kom!" (3) Probeer je te herinneren of je hier inderdaad al eerder geweest bent. Select an option >> 1 "Zoals je wilt." Met een krakend geluid buigt het stenen monster respectvol zijn hoofd. "Ik denk niet dat je zal slagen, maar wie weet - het leven kent vele verrassingen. Laat mij je niet langer ophouden... tenzij... tenzij ik je een vraag over mijn eigen probleem mag stellen?" (1) "Ik heb geen tijd voor jou en je on-leven, gedrocht. Mijn dochter wacht op mij." (2) "Een paar momenten kan ik wel verliezen. Vertel me wat je op je hart hebt." Select an option >> 1 "Natuurlijk. Zoals gezegd, ik zal je niet langer storen" Hij draait zich om, en met enkele slagen van zijn zwarte vleugels stijgt hij op, cirkelt rond het kasteel en verdwijnt in het duister van de nacht. >quit Are you sure you want to quit? y Start of a transcript of THE BARON An interactive story, written by Victor Gijsbers and published under the GNU General Public License. New readers: PLEASE TYPE 'MENU', even if you are an experienced reader of interactive fiction. Release 1 / Serial number 060216 / Inform v6.21 Library 6/11 SD Standard interpreter 1.0 (1F) / Library serial number 040227 The bronze doors fall closed behind you, and you hear bolts being drawn across the door. There is no way back; it is you, or the dragon. Gripping the axe in a gauntletted hand, you step forward, into the heat. THE BARON An interactive story, written by Victor Gijsbers and published under the GNU General Public License. New readers: PLEASE TYPE 'MENU', even if you are an experienced reader of interactive fiction. Release 1 / Serial number 060216 / Inform v6.21 Library 6/11 SD The cave's vestibule This small rectangular hall has been chiselled from the rock by humans and covered with black marble. Two bronze doors to the south hermetically close off the exit; in the north a narrow cave leads to the fiery lair of the dragon. The floor is littered with blackened bones and skulls, throwing flickering shadows southwards. >n You try to step around the human bones, but with each step several are crushed under the weight of you and your armour. A low passage The cave is low, and you have to stoop to walk through. The floor is covered by a thick layer of ashes. The flames that erupt from the many cracks in the ground of the large hall to the north have an almost blinding intensity, and the heat if nigh unendurable. You are sweating heavily. In the south lies the relative coolness of the vestibule. >n Holding the axe tightly, the visor of your helmet opened, as behoves a man of honour, you approach the dragon. An underground hall The hall is dozens of meters high and hundreds of meters wide and deep. The floor is covered with a thick layer of ash, except where cracks and fissures cleave the rock. Huge flames shoot upwards out of these cracks. The heat is almost unbearable. In the middle of the hall is the dragon, an enormous, red, scaly monster. It turns its head towards you, and stares at you with two big yellow eyes. >n The only exit lies to the south. The dragon turns towards you, and approaches you with heavy steps. It opens its mouth and emits a cry that makes the entire cave shake. For a moment you stagger, but then regain your balance. >n The only exit lies to the south. An immense jet of fire spews forth from the mouth of the dragon, past its sharp teeth, and surrounds you completely. The pain makes you gasp. >n You run around aimlessly, overwhelmed by fear. You hardly see where you are going, everything is fire, flames, smoke, flickering light. You trip, fall, jump up again - the fear gives you such power that you hardly feel your armour. You run on in a random direction, then, suddenly, you step into nothingness en fall forwards into a cleft. Desperately you try to grab onto something, but the walls are flat and featureless, and you fall, deeper and deeper. Smoke and sulfid vapours fill the cleft and you can hardly breath. You cough, try to get a breath of fresh air, but it is the poisonous vapours that fill your lungs. Even before you hit the ground, you loose consciousness. [Druk op een toets.] THE BARON An interactive story by Victor Gijsbers. Chi l'anima mi lacera? Chi m'agita le viscere? Che strazio, ohimè, che smania! Che inferno, che terror! "Who lacerates my soul? Who tortures my body? What torment, oh me, what agony! What a Hell! What a terror!" From the opera "Don Giovanni" Text: Lorenzo da Ponte Music: Wolfgang A. Mozart A penentrating, dissonant sound twice breaks the silence of the night, waking you from restless sleep. After the second note the church bell falls silent, and the stillness of the winter night again settles over the village. You rub the sleep from your eyes. Very carefully, because you do not wish to wake your wife Hilde, you step out of the bed. She would certainly try to stop you. In your bedroom The weak light of the moon which enters the room through the window envelops the furniture in the bedroom in a cloak of unworldly beauty. Only the soft breathing of your wife in the large bed breaches the silence. The door next to the heavy oaken wardrobe leads to the landing to the north. It is ice cold in the unheated room. You can see a chair (on which are your working clothes) and a pine night table here. >restart Are you sure you want to restart? y Transcripting is already on. The bronze doors fall closed behind you, and you hear bolts being drawn across the door. There is no way back; it is you, or the dragon. Gripping the axe in a gauntletted hand, you step forward, into the heat. THE BARON An interactive story, written by Victor Gijsbers and published under the GNU General Public License. New readers: PLEASE TYPE 'MENU', even if you are an experienced reader of interactive fiction. Release 1 / Serial number 060216 / Inform v6.21 Library 6/11 SD The cave's vestibule This small rectangular hall has been chiselled from the rock by humans and covered with black marble. Two bronze doors to the south hermetically close off the exit; in the north a narrow cave leads to the fiery lair of the dragon. The floor is littered with blackened bones and skulls, throwing flickering shadows southwards. >n You try to step around the human bones, but with each step several are crushed under the weight of you and your armour. A low passage The cave is low, and you have to stoop to walk through. The floor is covered by a thick layer of ashes. The flames that erupt from the many cracks in the ground of the large hall to the north have an almost blinding intensity, and the heat if nigh unendurable. You are sweating heavily. In the south lies the relative coolness of the vestibule. >n Holding the axe tightly, the visor of your helmet opened, as behoves a man of honour, you approach the dragon. An underground hall The hall is dozens of meters high and hundreds of meters wide and deep. The floor is covered with a thick layer of ash, except where cracks and fissures cleave the rock. Huge flames shoot upwards out of these cracks. The heat is almost unbearable. In the middle of the hall is the dragon, an enormous, red, scaly monster. It turns its head towards you, and stares at you with two big yellow eyes. >n The only exit lies to the south. The dragon turns towards you, and approaches you with heavy steps. It opens its mouth and emits a cry that makes the entire cave shake. For a moment you stagger, but then regain your balance. >n The only exit lies to the south. An immense jet of fire spews forth from the mouth of the dragon, past its sharp teeth, and surrounds you completely. The pain makes you gasp. >n You run around aimlessly, overwhelmed by fear. You hardly see where you are going, everything is fire, flames, smoke, flickering light. You trip, fall, jump up again - the fear gives you such power that you hardly feel your armour. You run on in a random direction, then, suddenly, you step into nothingness en fall forwards into a cleft. Desperately you try to grab onto something, but the walls are flat and featureless, and you fall, deeper and deeper. Smoke and sulfid vapours fill the cleft and you can hardly breath. You cough, try to get a breath of fresh air, but it is the poisonous vapours that fill your lungs. Even before you hit the ground, you loose consciousness. [Druk op een toets.] THE BARON An interactive story by Victor Gijsbers. Chi l'anima mi lacera? Chi m'agita le viscere? Che strazio, ohimè, che smania! Che inferno, che terror! "Who lacerates my soul? Who tortures my body? What torment, oh me, what agony! What a Hell! What a terror!" From the opera "Don Giovanni" Text: Lorenzo da Ponte Music: Wolfgang A. Mozart A penentrating, dissonant sound twice breaks the silence of the night, waking you from restless sleep. After the second note the church bell falls silent, and the stillness of the winter night again settles over the village. You rub the sleep from your eyes. Very carefully, because you do not wish to wake your wife Hilde, you step out of the bed. She would certainly try to stop you. In your bedroom The weak light of the moon which enters the room through the window envelops the furniture in the bedroom in a cloak of unworldly beauty. Only the soft breathing of your wife in the large bed breaches the silence. The door next to the heavy oaken wardrobe leads to the landing to the north. It is ice cold in the unheated room. You can see a chair (on which are your working clothes) and a pine night table here. >quit Are you sure you want to quit? y Start of a transcript of THE BARON An interactive story, written by Victor Gijsbers and published under the GNU General Public License. New readers: PLEASE TYPE 'MENU', even if you are an experienced reader of interactive fiction. Release 1 / Serial number 060216 / Inform v6.21 Library 6/11 SD Standard interpreter 1.0 (1F) / Library serial number 040227 The bronze doors fall closed behind you, and you hear bolts being drawn across the door. There is no way back; it is you, or the dragon. Gripping the axe in a gauntletted hand, you step forward, into the heat. THE BARON An interactive story, written by Victor Gijsbers and published under the GNU General Public License. New readers: PLEASE TYPE 'MENU', even if you are an experienced reader of interactive fiction. Release 1 / Serial number 060216 / Inform v6.21 Library 6/11 SD The cave's vestibule This small rectangular hall has been chiselled from the rock by humans and covered with black marble. Two bronze doors to the south hermetically close off the exit; in the north a narrow cave leads to the fiery lair of the dragon. The floor is littered with blackened bones and skulls, throwing flickering shadows southwards. >suicide You don't want to commit suicide. >n You try to step around the human bones, but with each step several are crushed under the weight of you and your armour. A low passage The cave is low, and you have to stoop to walk through. The floor is covered by a thick layer of ashes. The flames that erupt from the many cracks in the ground of the large hall to the north have an almost blinding intensity, and the heat if nigh unendurable. You are sweating heavily. In the south lies the relative coolness of the vestibule. >n Holding the axe tightly, the visor of your helmet opened, as behoves a man of honour, you approach the dragon. An underground hall The hall is dozens of meters high and hundreds of meters wide and deep. The floor is covered with a thick layer of ash, except where cracks and fissures cleave the rock. Huge flames shoot upwards out of these cracks. The heat is almost unbearable. In the middle of the hall is the dragon, an enormous, red, scaly monster. It turns its head towards you, and stares at you with two big yellow eyes. >attack dragon With the axe raised you step towards the dragon, determined to kill the creature. The monster looks at you with a penetrating gaze, and opens its mouth. Teeth as long as your upper arm form two rows behind each other, and in the depths of the dragon's throat a fire seems to be burning. But you don't let that intimidate you, and keep walking towards him at a brisk pace. Then - so fast and suddenly that you do not even have the time to try and duck away - the fire bursts out, from the mouth of the dragon, a jet dozens of meters long that envelops you from head to toe. The pain makes you gasp. >s A low passage You see hardly anything through the fire. The dragon is in the north, the vestibule lies to the south. You are enveloped by flames, and can hardly see anything. The heat in the armour is unbearable. >suicide De pijn, het licht, de draak - alles verdwijnt naar de achtergrond wanneer je je terugtrekt in de innerlijke kalmte van je ziel. Je hebt verloren, je queeste is mislukt; je kan alleen nog de eer aan jezelf houden. Rustig, bedaard, met snelheid en precisie maak je je klaar. De helm zet je af. Je houdt de bijl stevig vast, draait het blad naar je toe, en slaat met een enkele klap je eigen hoofd doormidden. [Press a key.] THE BARON An interactive story by Victor Gijsbers. Chi l'anima mi lacera? Chi m'agita le viscere? Che strazio, ohimè, che smania! Che inferno, che terror! "Who lacerates my soul? Who tortures my body? What torment, oh me, what agony! What a Hell! What a terror!" From the opera "Don Giovanni" Text: Lorenzo da Ponte Music: Wolfgang A. Mozart A penetrating, dissonant sound twice breaks the silence of the night, waking you from restless sleep. After the second note the church bell falls silent, and the stillness of the winter night again settles over the village. You rub the sleep from your eyes. Very carefully, because you do not wish to wake your wife Hilde, you step out of the bed. She would certainly try to stop you. In your bedroom The weak light of the moon which enters the room through the window envelops the furniture in the bedroom in a cloak of unworldly beauty. Only the soft breathing of your wife in the large bed breaches the silence. The door next to the heavy oaken wardrobe leads to the landing to the north. It is ice cold in the unheated room. You can see a chair (on which are your working clothes) and a pine night table here. >sit on chair In this story, the chair has no role to play. >quit Are you sure you want to quit? y Start of a transcript of THE BARON An interactive story, written by Victor Gijsbers and published under the GNU General Public License. New readers: PLEASE TYPE 'MENU', even if you are an experienced reader of interactive fiction. Release 1 / Serial number 060216 / Inform v6.21 Library 6/11 SD Standard interpreter 1.0 (1F) / Library serial number 040227 The bronze doors fall closed behind you, and you hear bolts being drawn across the door. There is no way back; it is you, or the dragon. Gripping the axe in a gauntletted hand, you step forward, into the heat. THE BARON An interactive story, written by Victor Gijsbers and published under the GNU General Public License. New readers: PLEASE TYPE 'MENU', even if you are an experienced reader of interactive fiction. Release 1 / Serial number 060216 / Inform v6.21 Library 6/11 SD The cave's vestibule This small rectangular hall has been chiselled from the rock by humans and covered with black marble. Two bronze doors to the south hermetically close off the exit; in the north a narrow cave leads to the fiery lair of the dragon. The floor is littered with blackened bones and skulls, throwing flickering shadows southwards. >n You try to step around the human bones, but with each step several are crushed under the weight of you and your armour. A low passage The cave is low, and you have to stoop to walk through. The floor is covered by a thick layer of ashes. The flames that erupt from the many cracks in the ground of the large hall to the north have an almost blinding intensity, and the heat if nigh unendurable. You are sweating heavily. In the south lies the relative coolness of the vestibule. >n Holding the axe tightly, the visor of your helmet opened, as behoves a man of honour, you approach the dragon. An underground hall The hall is dozens of meters high and hundreds of meters wide and deep. The floor is covered with a thick layer of ash, except where cracks and fissures cleave the rock. Huge flames shoot upwards out of these cracks. The heat is almost unbearable. In the middle of the hall is the dragon, an enormous, red, scaly monster. It turns its head towards you, and stares at you with two big yellow eyes. >n The only exit lies to the south. The dragon turns towards you, and approaches you with heavy steps. It opens its mouth and emits a cry that makes the entire cave shake. For a moment you stagger, but then regain your balance. >n The only exit lies to the south. An immense jet of fire spews forth from the mouth of the dragon, past its sharp teeth, and surrounds you completely. The pain makes you gasp. >n You run around aimlessly, overwhelmed by fear. You hardly see where you are going, everything is fire, flames, smoke, flickering light. You trip, fall, jump up again - the fear gives you such power that you hardly feel your armour. You run on in a random direction, then, suddenly, you step into nothingness en fall forwards into a cleft. Desperately you try to grab onto something, but the walls are flat and featureless, and you fall, deeper and deeper. Smoke and sulfid vapours fill the cleft and you can hardly breath. You cough, try to get a breath of fresh air, but it is the poisonous vapours that fill your lungs. Even before you hit the ground, you loose consciousness. [Press a key.] THE BARON An interactive story by Victor Gijsbers. Chi l'anima mi lacera? Chi m'agita le viscere? Che strazio, ohimè, che smania! Che inferno, che terror! "Who lacerates my soul? Who tortures my body? What torment, oh me, what agony! What a Hell! What a terror!" From the opera "Don Giovanni" Text: Lorenzo da Ponte Music: Wolfgang A. Mozart A penetrating, dissonant sound twice breaks the silence of the night, waking you from restless sleep. After the second note the church bell falls silent, and the stillness of the winter night again settles over the village. You rub the sleep from your eyes. Very carefully, because you do not wish to wake your wife Hilde, you step out of the bed. She would certainly try to stop you. In your bedroom The weak light of the moon, which enters the room through the window, envelops the furniture of the bedroom in a cloak of unworldly beauty. Only the soft breathing of your wife in the large bed breaches the silence. The door next to the heavy oaken wardrobe leads to the landing to the north. It is ice cold in the unheated room. You can see a chair (on which are your work clothes) and a pine night table here. >take table In this story, the pine night table has no role to play. >open it In the drawer of the night table lies nothing that could help you to free your daughter. >kill me You don't want to commit suicide. >burn hilde Setting things on fire won't help you. >Start of a transcript of THE BARON An interactive story, written by Victor Gijsbers and published under the GNU General Public License. New readers: PLEASE TYPE 'MENU', even if you are an experienced reader of interactive fiction. Release 1 / Serial number 060219 / Inform v6.21 Library 6/11 SD Standard interpreter 1.0 (1F) / Library serial number 040227 The bronze doors fall closed behind you, and you hear bolts being drawn across the door. There is no way back; it is you, or the dragon. Gripping the axe in a gauntletted hand, you step forward, into the heat. THE BARON An interactive story, written by Victor Gijsbers and published under the GNU General Public License. New readers: PLEASE TYPE 'MENU', even if you are an experienced reader of interactive fiction. Release 1 / Serial number 060219 / Inform v6.21 Library 6/11 SD The cave's vestibule This small rectangular hall has been chiselled from the rock by humans and covered with black marble. Two bronze doors to the south hermetically close off the exit; in the north a narrow cave leads to the fiery lair of the dragon. The floor is littered with blackened bones and skulls, throwing flickering shadows southwards. >n You try to step around the human bones, but with each step several are crushed under the weight of you and your armour. A low passage The cave is low, and you have to stoop to walk through. The floor is covered by a thick layer of ashes. The flames that erupt from the many cracks in the ground of the large hall to the north have an almost blinding intensity, and the heat if nigh unendurable. You are sweating heavily. In the south lies the relative coolness of the vestibule. >n Holding the axe tightly, the visor of your helmet opened, as behoves a man of honour, you approach the dragon. An underground hall The hall is dozens of meters high and hundreds of meters wide and deep. The floor is covered with a thick layer of ash, except where cracks and fissures cleave the rock. Huge flames shoot upwards out of these cracks. The heat is almost unbearable. In the middle of the hall is the dragon, an enormous, red, scaly monster. It turns its head towards you, and stares at you with two big yellow eyes. >n The only exit lies to the south. The dragon turns towards you, and approaches you with heavy steps. It opens its mouth and emits a cry that makes the entire cave shake. For a moment you stagger, but then regain your balance. >n The only exit lies to the south. An immense jet of fire spews forth from the mouth of the dragon, past its sharp teeth, and surrounds you completely. The pain makes you gasp. >n You run around aimlessly, overwhelmed by fear. You hardly see where you are going, everything is fire, flames, smoke, flickering light. You trip, fall, jump up again - the fear gives you such power that you hardly feel your armour. You run on in a random direction, then, suddenly, you step into nothingness en fall forwards into a cleft. Desperately you try to grab onto something, but the walls are flat and featureless, and you fall, deeper and deeper. Smoke and sulfid vapours fill the cleft and you can hardly breath. You cough, try to get a breath of fresh air, but it is the poisonous vapours that fill your lungs. Even before you hit the ground, you loose consciousness. [Press a key.] THE BARON An interactive story by Victor Gijsbers. Chi l'anima mi lacera? Chi m'agita le viscere? Che strazio, ohimè, che smania! Che inferno, che terror! "Who lacerates my soul? Who tortures my body? What torment, oh me, what agony! What a Hell! What a terror!" From the opera "Don Giovanni" Text: Lorenzo da Ponte Music: Wolfgang A. Mozart A penetrating, dissonant sound twice breaks the silence of the night, waking you from restless sleep. After the second note the church bell falls silent, and the stillness of the winter night again settles over the village. You rub the sleep from your eyes. Very carefully, because you do not wish to wake your wife Hilde, you step out of the bed. She would certainly try to stop you. In your bedroom The weak light of the moon, which enters the room through the window, envelops the furniture of the bedroom in a cloak of unworldly beauty. Only the soft breathing of your wife in the large bed breaches the silence. The door next to the heavy oaken wardrobe leads to the landing to the north. It is ice cold in the unheated room. You can see a chair (on which are your work clothes) and a pine night table here. >n (opening the door to the landing) On the landing The landing is enveloped by uneven darkness. Moonlight enters through the open door to your bedroom in the south. A red door to the north leads to the room of your daughter Maartje. Next to the stairs down stands an elegant cupboard, above which hangs a large ornate mirror in a gilded frame. >d Cautiously you seek your way downwards through the darkness. In the hall you grab your winter coat and put it on, then you open the front door and step outside into the garden. In the garden Your front garden too has been buried by a thick layer of snow, which hides all plants from view. Only a few bare bushes that crouch against the garden fence penetrate the white blanket. Behind you, the front door leads back into the house, while the road to the east winds through the village and the forest to the baron's castle. From his unreachable heights the moon looks reproachfully down on you. The tip of the church tower can be seen above the houses on the other side of the road. You can see a letterbox (which is closed) and an axe here. >w That road would take you out of the valley, each step taking you farther away from Maartje and the baron. >e For a moment you hesitate, but then you step onto the road to the dark forest with determination. No sign of life is apparent in the village. Slowly you become angry at all your neighbours and fellow villagers. Where are they when you need them? Why is there not a single one among them with the guts to free Maartje? A lack of love - that is what enables people to ignore the problems of others. Everyone knows about the situation, but nobody does a thing, because nobody feels responsible. After several minutes you reach the edge of the woods. Like walking into the dark jaws of an gigantic and evil beast, so is it to follow the path under the overhanging foliage of the coniferous trees. The light of the moon hardly reaches the ground, and several times you stumble over large branches that lie in wait under the snow like traps. Firmly, you step onwards, while you try to devise a plan for entering the baron's castle. Then you are started out of your reflections by the howling of wolves. It is hard to judge, but you would be surprised if they are more than a kilometer away from you. And it is at least another ten kilometers eastward to the baron's castle. Walking on a path through the forest Even on the most sunny days this coniferous forest is dim and gloomy, and in the dead of this winter night it is pitch-dark. A path, hardly recognisable as such, leads from the village in the west to the castle in the east. Too near, from the left, you hear the howls of a pack of wolves. In this season game is scarce, and the wolves are hungry, bold and dangerous even to humans. >e On a path in the forest Here the path is narrow and winding, and hardly recognisable under the snow. Moonlight penetrates the dense foliage only sporadically. Eastwards lies the baron's castle; to the west, your own footprints lead back to the village. From the trees to the left, a dark shape suddenly jumps forward. It is a she- wolf; she stops several meters away from you, in the middle of the path, fixating you with two eyes that mirror the moon. From her throat comes a fierce growl. >kill wolf With clenched fists, you carefully take a step towards the she-wolf. The wolf growls in warning, but with an undertone of panic. You take a step forwards. She takes half a step backwards; every hair in her neck stands upwards. You take another step forwards, and another one, and she leaps at you - but before her teeth can sink into your throat your fist connects with the side of her head, temporarily averting her attack. You fall over backwards, her weight on top of you, but with a nimble roll you succeed in freeing yourself. Again she tries to reach your throat, but your hands have already found hers and with your greater weight you pin her to the ground. You squeeze, and squeeze, and hit her head against the ground, while she desperately attempts to get loose. Her saliva streams across your hands; her blood starts colouring the snow; her movements become weaker by the moment. The struggle lasts for minutes, but finally she lies still, dead. Fatigued and with your heart pounding, you arise. Between the trees, very near, a heart-rending cry penetrates the night. A small, young wolf stares from a safe distance at his mother's corpse. >e On a path in the forest From this part of the winding path, you can see the baron's castle rising in the east. The silhouette with the three leaning towers is outlined against the starry sky. A trail of footprints - yours - indicate the path to the west. Here, so close to the baron's domain, even the wolves are silent. >e Before the castle's gate The castle's drawbridge has been lowered, twenty meters of wooden boards that allow you to cross the deep moat to the north. On the other side a massive gate guards the entrance to the keep, but the doors are wide open. From where you are standing, the three towers appear to reach to the heavens, and the hordes of gargoyles that people the walls stare down at you disapprovingly. The sound of flapping wings makes you look up, where the battlements, towers and monstrous gagrgoyles of the castle are outlined against the star-filled sky. One of the gargoyles has spread his wings, and with slow flaps sails down to the drawbridge. A few steps in front of you, he lands, a stone demon as big as a man. Two ink black eyes stare at you intently. Then the gargoyle says with a voice like tearing rock: "Violence is often the quickest road to your goal, but others must pay the price for it. Is it just to demand that of them?" (1) "My goal is my goal, and whoever stands in my way will be destroyed." (2) "It wasn't just, and I weep for what I had to do. But my goal is too important--I can't accept any delays." (3) "You do not always have a choice between paying the price yourself, and making someone else pay it for you." (4) "I am not a murderer! It was self-defence, I had no choice." Select an option >> 1 The gargoyle regards you deliberately, as if he considers your answer. The he nods, once. "Again you come here, to achieve the same thing once more. Do you still believe that it will once end differently?" (1) "You are mistaken. This is the first time I've come here." (2) "'Again'? You mean that I have already been here, that I have penetrated the baron's castle before?" (3) "Again and again and again, and so on throughout eternity, until I manage to bring it to an end. There is always another chance." (4) "No, I cannot change. I have tried, as you well know. But the circle of fate is too strong: I am doomed to walk for eternity, and with each circuit I paint my soul a blacker shade." Select an option >> 3 "So you tell me, every night." The gargoyle leans towards you, bringing his face to a height with and very close to yours. "But is it true that there is always another chanse? How do you know that you haven't been condemned to the eternal recurrence of suffering, like me?" (1) "I know nothing, but I keep on hoping. Only when I have lost all hope will I have become a true prisoner of my deeds." (2) "Because, deep inside, I have remained human. I have always kept on fighting my fate. Every night anew I have undertaken this journey, never have I lost courage. There will be a time that I overcome myself. Perhaps not this night, perhaps not this year, but one day I will succeed." (3) "Silence! Don't try to infect me with your pessimism. There is always the chance that something happens that will free me!" Select an option >> 2 "Human, yes. All too human, perhaps--but who am I to judge? As long as you keep on fighting, there is hope; but I just hope that you know whom you have to fight against." (1) "I have to fight against the baron." (2) "I have to fight against myself." (3) "I have to fight against the world's indifference." Select an option >> 1 "Really?" Irony drips from his question. "Well, go on, confront him with your strength and your anger. I will not detain you any longer--unless you wish to learn from the tale of my sorrow." (1) "I would. I think I could learn much from it." (2) "I don't have time for that kind of thing. The fight awaits me." Select an option >> 2 "Of course. Forgive me, I didn't want to detain you." His voice is listless. Then the gargoyle turns around and takes off with a few beats of his black wings. Before you can utter a single word, he has disappeared into the darkness of the night. >n De hal van het kasteel Achter een façade van gaafheid gaat een heuse ruïne schuil. De helft van de muren van de geheel lege hal is ingestort, en de maan schijnt ongehinderd naar binnen langs het skelet van een dak. De rest van het kasteel is er niet beter aan toe: grote, ondergesneeuwde hopen steen geven aan waar vroeger gebouwen hebben gestaan. Alleen in het oosten leidt een doorgang naar een zaal die nog redelijk intact is. Van het gebouw in het westen staan nog een aantal muren overeind, en in het noordwesten kronkelt een smal pad tussen een rotsblok en een massief beeld door naar de binnenplaats. >quit Are you sure you want to quit? y Start of a transcript of THE BARON An interactive story, written by Victor Gijsbers and published under the GNU General Public License. New readers: PLEASE TYPE 'MENU', even if you are an experienced reader of interactive fiction. Release 1 / Serial number 060325 / Inform v6.30 Library 6/11 SD Standard interpreter 1.0 (1F) / Library serial number 040227 The bronze doors fall closed behind you, and you hear bolts being drawn across the door. There is no way back; it is you, or the dragon. Gripping the axe in a gauntletted hand, you step forward, into the heat. THE BARON An interactive story, written by Victor Gijsbers and published under the GNU General Public License. New readers: PLEASE TYPE 'MENU', even if you are an experienced reader of interactive fiction. Release 1 / Serial number 060325 / Inform v6.30 Library 6/11 SD The cave's vestibule This small rectangular hall has been chiselled from the rock by humans and covered with black marble. Two bronze doors to the south hermetically close off the exit; in the north a narrow cave leads to the fiery lair of the dragon. The floor is littered with blackened bones and skulls, throwing flickering shadows southwards. >n You try to step around the human bones, but with each step several are crushed under the weight of you and your armour. A low passage The cave is low, and you have to stoop to walk through. The floor is covered by a thick layer of ashes. The flames that erupt from the many cracks in the ground of the large hall to the north have an almost blinding intensity, and the heat if nigh unendurable. You are sweating heavily. In the south lies the relative coolness of the vestibule. >n Holding the axe tightly, the visor of your helmet opened, as behoves a man of honour, you approach the dragon. An underground hall The hall is dozens of meters high and hundreds of meters wide and deep. The floor is covered with a thick layer of ash, except where cracks and fissures cleave the rock. Huge flames shoot upwards out of these cracks. The heat is almost unbearable. In the middle of the hall is the dragon, an enormous, red, scaly monster. It turns its head towards you, and stares at you with two big yellow eyes. >n The only exit lies to the south. The dragon turns towards you, and approaches you with heavy steps. It opens its mouth and emits a cry that makes the entire cave shake. For a moment you stagger, but then regain your balance. >n The only exit lies to the south. An immense jet of fire spews forth from the mouth of the dragon, past its sharp teeth, and surrounds you completely. The pain makes you gasp. >n You run around aimlessly, overwhelmed by fear. You hardly see where you are going, everything is fire, flames, smoke, flickering light. You trip, fall, jump up again - the fear gives you such power that you hardly feel your armour. You run on in a random direction, then, suddenly, you step into nothingness en fall forwards into a cleft. Desperately you try to grab onto something, but the walls are flat and featureless, and you fall, deeper and deeper. Smoke and sulfid vapours fill the cleft and you can hardly breath. You cough, try to get a breath of fresh air, but it is the poisonous vapours that fill your lungs. Even before you hit the ground, you loose consciousness. [Press a key.] THE BARON An interactive story by Victor Gijsbers. Chi l'anima mi lacera? Chi m'agita le viscere? Che strazio, ohimè, che smania! Che inferno, che terror! "Who lacerates my soul? Who tortures my body? What torment, oh me, what agony! What a Hell! What a terror!" From the opera "Don Giovanni" Text: Lorenzo da Ponte Music: Wolfgang A. Mozart A penetrating, dissonant sound twice breaks the silence of the night, waking you from restless sleep. After the second note the church bell falls silent, and the stillness of the winter night again settles over the village. You rub the sleep from your eyes. Very carefully, because you do not wish to wake your wife Hilde, you step out of the bed. She would certainly try to stop you. In your bedroom The weak light of the moon, which enters the room through the window, envelops the furniture of the bedroom in a cloak of unworldly beauty. Only the soft breathing of your wife in the large bed breaches the silence. The door next to the heavy oaken wardrobe leads to the landing to the north. It is ice cold in the unheated room. You can see a chair (on which are your work clothes) and a pine night table here. >n (opening the door to the landing) On the landing The landing is enveloped by uneven darkness. Moonlight enters through the open door to your bedroom in the south. A red door to the north leads to the room of your daughter Maartje. Next to the stairs down stands an elegant cupboard, above which hangs a large ornate mirror in a gilded frame. >d Cautiously you seek your way downwards through the darkness. In the hall you grab your winter coat and put it on, then you open the front door and step outside into the garden. In the garden Your front garden too has been buried by a thick layer of snow, which hides all plants from view. Only a few bare bushes that crouch against the garden fence penetrate the white blanket. Behind you, the front door leads back into the house, while the road to the east winds through the village and the forest to the baron's castle. From his unreachable heights the moon looks reproachfully down on you. The tip of the church tower can be seen above the houses on the other side of the road. You can see a letterbox (which is closed) and an axe here. >e For a moment you hesitate, but then you step onto the road to the dark forest with determination. No sign of life is apparent in the village. Slowly you become angry at all your neighbours and fellow villagers. Where are they when you need them? Why is there not a single one among them with the guts to free Maartje? A lack of love - that is what enables people to ignore the problems of others. Everyone knows about the situation, but nobody does a thing, because nobody feels responsible. After several minutes you reach the edge of the woods. Like walking into the dark jaws of an gigantic and evil beast, so is it to follow the path under the overhanging foliage of the coniferous trees. The light of the moon hardly reaches the ground, and several times you stumble over large branches that lie in wait under the snow like traps. Firmly, you step onwards, while you try to devise a plan for entering the baron's castle. Then you are started out of your reflections by the howling of wolves. It is hard to judge, but you would be surprised if they are more than a kilometer away from you. And it is at least another ten kilometers eastward to the baron's castle. Walking on a path through the forest Even on the most sunny days this coniferous forest is dim and gloomy, and in the dead of this winter night it is pitch-dark. A path, hardly recognisable as such, leads from the village in the west to the castle in the east. Too near, from the left, you hear the howls of a pack of wolves. In this season game is scarce, and the wolves are hungry, bold and dangerous even to humans. >n Just setting off across the woods is not going to get you anywhere. >e On a path in the forest Here the path is narrow and winding, and hardly recognisable under the snow. Moonlight penetrates the dense foliage only sporadically. Eastwards lies the baron's castle; to the west, your own footprints lead back to the village. From the trees to the left, a dark shape suddenly jumps forward. It is a she- wolf; she stops several meters away from you, in the middle of the path, fixating you with two eyes that mirror the moon. From her throat comes a fierce growl. >e Are you sure you want to try to walk past the ferocious she-wolf? y Step by step you inch forward, keeping as close to the trees as possible. The she-wolf growls dangerously, and keeps her eyes fixed on your face. "Show no fear!", you counsel yourself. Dogs can smell fear, and wolves are really just wilder and smarter dogs. Or so you tell yourself. You keep your face straight, and slowly, making no fearful movement, you walk on, past the point where you are closest to the wolf and then a few meters further. Your heart is beating so wildly that you are surprised not to hear your ribs cracking. Backwards, still facing the she-wolf, you keep walking along the path. Calmly. Without running. As is you haven't been afraid for a single moment. She holds her ground, and watches you until you've vanished from sight. But she does not pursue you. On a path in the forest From this part of the winding path, you can see the baron's castle rising in the east. The silhouette with the three leaning towers is outlined against the starry sky. A trail of footprints - yours - indicate the path to the west. Here, so close to the baron's domain, even the wolves are silent. >e Before the castle's gate The castle's drawbridge has been lowered, twenty meters of wooden boards that allow you to cross the deep moat to the north. On the other side a massive gate guards the entrance to the keep, but the doors are wide open. From where you are standing, the three towers appear to reach to the heavens, and the hordes of gargoyles that people the walls stare down at you disapprovingly. The sound of flapping wings makes you look up, where the battlements, towers and monstrous gargoyles of the castle are outlined against the star-filled sky. One of the gargoyles has spread his wings, and with slow flaps sails down to the drawbridge. A few steps in front of you, he lands, a stone demon as big as a man. Two ink black eyes stare at you intently. Then the gargoyle says with a voice like tearing rock: "It takes courage not to be diverted from the path you have chosen. But won't you just keep going in circles if you never confront the threat?" (1) "If your life is satisfactory and pleasant, why would you want to confront threats? What is wrong with going in circles, as long as the circle is easy going?" (2) "My aim is clear, my path is straight. I am here to get my daughter, and I will not shun a confrontation with the baron." (3) "The most important thing is to remain true to one's self, and to make sure that external forces do not divert you from the path your soul has determined for you. Authenticity trumps everything, even it it leads to circles." Select an option >> Select an option >> 1 The gargoyle regards you thoughtfully, as if considering your answer. The he nods, once. "Again you come here," he goes on to say, "to fail once more. Do you still believe that it will once end differently?" (1) "You are mistaken. This is the first time I've come here." (2) "'Again'? You mean that I have already been here, that I have penetrated the baron's castle before?" (3) "Again and again and again, and so on throughout eternity, until I manage to bring it to an end. There is always another chance." (4) "No, I cannot change. I have tried, as you well know. But the circle of fate is too strong: I am doomed to walk for eternity, and with each circuit I paint my soul a blacker shade." Select an option >> 1 "So you have forgotten again." In the unearthly bass of the gargoyle, you hear tiredness and pity. "You come here every night, I speak to you every night, every night you lose the fight, and the next night you once again stand before me with filled with naive courage. If you keep closing your eyes to your own deeds, you will never overcome yourself!" (1) [Firm] "Be silent, devil! I am here for the first time, and your lies cannot take my courage away from me." (2) [With a panicky voice] "No, no, you are mistaken or trying to deceive me! I have never been here before, and it will not be necessary for me to come here again!" (3) Try to remember whether you have been here before. Select an option >> 1 "Ash you wish." With a cracking sound the stone monster respectfully bows its head. "I don't think you will succeed, but who knows--life has many surprises. Don't let me detain you...unless...unless I am allowed to ask you a question about my own problem?" (1) "I have no time for you and your un-life, vile creature. My daughter is waiting for me." (2) "I can spare a few moments. Get it off your chest." Select an option >> 1 "Of course. As I said, I won't detain you any longer." He turns around, and with several beats of his wings he takes off, circles around the castle and then disappears into the darkness of the night. >e The baron's castle lies to the north. >n The castle's hall Behind a facade of intactness a true ruin hides itself. Half the walls of the completely empty hall have fallen down, and the moonlight enters unhindered past the skeleton of a roof. The rest of the castle is in no better state: large, snow-covered heaps of stone indicate were buildings used to be. Only to the east a doorway leads to a hall that is mainly intact. A few walls of the building to the west still stand erect, and to the northwest a narrow path winds between a boulder and a massive statue to the castle's courtyard. >nw In the courtyard From here the state of the castle can be easily appraised. Both of the smaller towers have collapsed completely on the inside, and can no longer be climbed. In contrast, the large tower, which lies at the north side of the courtyard, seems mostly intact. Most of the buildings have been reduced to no more than rubble; only the ruin to the south and the two halls in the southeast retain some structure. >n At the bottom of the middle tower The circular room is full of stacks of paper that have been put down without any apparent order. Several stacks have toppled over, but they don't quite block the way to the staircase that winds upwards from the middle of the room. Two pairs of muddy footsteps--one of an adult wearing boots, the other of a child on bare feet--lead from the door the south to the stairs. >u Je rent de trap op, die rond en rond draait totdat je bijna bovenin de toren moet zijn. Daar komt hij uit in een grote kamer. In the baron's chamber The room is sparsely furnished and dark, illuminated only by the candles of a single chandelier. In the middle of the room lies a bear skin; on the walls hang the stuffed heads of wolves, reindeer and other large mammals. In the back of the room is a large stone throne, inlaid with fierce rubies that reflect the light of the chandelier thousandfold. Behind it, on the northern side of the chamber, are two large bronze doors. On the throne is the baron. >x baron A muscled man, in his late forties, has pulled an ermine cloak tightly around him. A sardonic smile plays around his lips as he drums with his fingers on the throne. Now and then he reaches up to readjust the heavy crown on his head. >kill him The baron raises his arms when you run towards him. "Why resort to violence so soon, good man?", he asks. "I think it would be more sensible I we talked first." "Welcome to my humble abode," the baron says in an ironic tone. >kill him (1) Kill him with your bare fists. (2) Beat him up. Select an option >> 2 Mad with rage you run at the baron, whom at first doesn't move but looks at you like a rabbit looks at the front lights of a incoming car. Your fist hits him right in his face; you feel his nose breaking. You immediately follow up with your other fist, a punch in his stomach that makes him double up. It appears as if he wants to open his mouth to say something. You spare him for a moment, allowing him to speak. "Please, let me explain," he whispers. (1) Allow him to explain. (2) Keep hitting him. Select an option >> 2 Before he can utter another word, you have grabbed his head with both hands and smash it against the stone throne as hard as you can. Several teeth fall from his mouth, but you hardly notice them--again you smash his head against the throne, and again, and again. "Bastard! Asshole!", you scream, with a cracking voice, and you continue punching and punching and punching until the world turns red. When you return to your senses, you see no trace of the baron--no blood, no teeth, no corpse. But on the throne, right where you smashed his head against it, lies his crown. >take crown Taken. >wear it You grab the metal circle with two hands, and carefully put it on your head. The crown is heavy and presses painfully on your mind. >menu "De baron" is een verhaal. Maar waar bij traditionele verhalen de tekst die de lezer voorgeschoteld zal krijgen al van tevoren vast staat, en hij of zij deze alleen maar tot zich hoeft te nemen, wordt van de lezer bij een interactief verhaal als "De baron" meer eigen inbreng verwacht. Telkens wanneer het programma een stuk tekst heeft getoond verschijnt er een prompt op het scherm, waarachter u verwacht wordt een opdracht in te typen. Door middel van deze opdrachten stuurt u het verhaal een bepaalde richting in. U speelt dus zelf een actieve rol in de fictieve wereld. Centraal in het verhaal staat een hoofdpersoon, die de computer met u identificeert. U bestuurt de hoofdpersoon door hem opdrachten te geven. Wanneer u de opdracht 'BEKIJK BED' intypt, zal de hoofdpersoon naar het bed kijken, wat een meer gedetailleerde beschrijving van dit voorwerp oplevert. Typt u 'PAK DE KNUFFEL', dan wordt de knuffel opgepakt; bij 'OPEN DEUR' zal de hoofdpersoon de deur proberen te openen; et cetera. Experimenteer vooral met deze en andere werkwoorden, een deel van het plezier van interactieve fictie is het uitzoeken wat er allemaal mogelijk is in de fictieve wereld. U dient er wel rekening mee te houden dat het programma maar een beperkte woordenschat en grammaticale kennis heeft, en dus het beste in zo kort mogelijke zinnen aangesproken kan worden. Waar 'PAK DE KNUFFEL' en 'PAK KNUFFEL' allebei werken, zal 'RAAP HET PLUIZIGE BEEST OP' waarschijnlijk geen effect meer sorteren, en is 'ZOU JE ALSJEBLIEFT DE KNUFFEL WILLEN OPPAKKEN?' voor de computer helemaal niet meer te begrijpen. Probeer dus in het algemeen uw doel met korte opdrachten, gebruik makend van zo simpel mogelijke werkwoorden, te bereiken. Men dient het programma echter ook niet te onderschatten. Complexe zinnen als 'LEG DE KLEDING OP DE STOEL', 'OPEN DE DEUR MET DE BRONZEN SLEUTEL' en 'LEG ALLES OP TAFEL BEHALVE DE KRUIK' worden door veel programma's zonder moeite begrepen, als die voorwerpen althans aanwezig zijn in de fictieve wereld. Tot slot is het nuttig u te bedenken dat de complexiteit van het programma beperkt is, en dus niet een hele wereld gemodelleerd kan worden. Zo is het in het algemeen het geval dat het programma wel bijhoudt in welke kamer u bent, maar niet waar u precies in die kamer bent, of welke kant u op gedraaid staat. Opdrachten als 'LOOP NAAR DE KAST' en 'DRAAI JE OM' zullen dus in de meeste verhalen geen effect hebben. Wanneer u meer interactieve fictie leest ontdekt u vanzelf welke aspecten meestal wel, en welke meestal niet worden gemodelleerd in verhalen. [Please press SPACE.] Welke opdrachten een gegeven verhaal begrijpt kan sterk verschillen, maar er is een basis van algemene en zeer handige opdrachten die vrijwel elk verhaal begrijpt. De volgende opdrachten zullen u in bijna elk verhaal van pas komen; er wordt ook een Engelse variant gegeven, omdat het overgrote merendeel van de interactieve fictie nu eenmaal in het Engels is: KIJK: Ook afgekort als K. Deze opdracht laat de hoofdpersoon rondkijken, en toont u zo nogmaals de beschrijving van de kamer waar hij of zij zich in bevindt. (In het Engels: LOOK en L.) BEKIJK : Ook afgekort als B of X. De hoofdpersoon zal nauwkeuriger kijken naar de persoon of het voorwerp dat u hem of haar vraagt te bekijken. Het is meestal verstandig om alles wat u belangrijk lijkt voor het verhaal te bekijken wanneer u het tegenkomt. Bekijk ook eens de dingen die u bij zich draagt, of de hoofdpersoon zelf: BEKIJK ME, X MIJ, of iets dergelijks. (In het Engels: EXAMINE en X.) INVENTARIS: Ook afgekort als I. Dit commando toont alles wat de hoofdpersoon bij zich draagt; dus alles wat u heeft opgepakt, en eventuele dingen die de hoofdpersoon al vanaf het begin van het spel bij zich had. Het is vaak een goed idee I te typen aan het begin van een verhaal. (In het Engels: INVENTORY of I.) GA : Er zijn tien standaard richtingen: NOORD, ZUID, WEST, OOST, ZUIDWEST, ZUIDOOST, NOORDWEST, NOORDOOST, OMHOOG en OMLAAG. Deze kunnen allemaal afgekort worden, tot respectievelijk: N, Z, W, O, ZW, ZO, NW, NO, H en L. Bovendien kan het GA commando weggelaten worden: GA NOORD, NOORD, GA N en N hebben dus allemaal hetzelfde effect. Sommige verhalen laten ook andere manieren van voortbewegen toe: GA IN AUTO, bijvoorbeeld, of GA NAAR SLAAPKAMER. Dat zal u zelf moeten uitzoeken. (In het Engels: N, S, W, E, SW, SE, NW, NE, U, D. Vergeet daar ook de werkwoorden ENTER en EXIT niet.) Een korte lijst met werkwoorden die voor zichzelf spreken: PAK of NEEM LEG , LEG NEER of LAAT VALLEN LEG OP OPEN SLUIT GEEF AAN DRAAG ONTSLUIT MET En in "De baron" kunt u met mensen spreken door PRAAT MET te typen. Enzovoorts. Probeer vooral door experimenteren erachter te komen welke werkwoorden werken in een bepaalde situatie, en welke niet. Wanneer de schrijver van een verhaal zijn werk goed gedaan heeft, dan zal de optie die u het meest logisch lijkt ondersteund worden. [Please press SPACE.] "De baron" is geen traditionele text-adventure. Er zijn geen puzzels om op te lossen, en u kunt niet winnen of verliezen. Het is heel letterlijk interactieve fictie, niet een spel. Het doel is de fictionele wereld en de verontrustende thematiek van het verhaal zo intens mogelijk te beleven. Er zijn een aantal zaken die de speler in zijn achterhoofd dient te houden tijdens het lezen van het verhaal. Er is geen enkele mogelijke manier om het spel in een toestand te krijgen van waaruit het niet meer af te ronden valt. Men kan ook niet onverhoeds een einde bereiken voordat het verhaal bij het werkelijke eindpunt is aangekomen. Bovendien is het verhaal zo ontworpen dat vrijwel elke zinnige actie het verhaal een stap vooruit helpt: er is in feite geen enkel echt obstakel op de weg. De vraag is niet OF de lezer naar het einde van het verhaal weet te komen, maar HOE hij of zij daar komt. Wat de lezer zich dus dient af te vragen tijdens het spelen is niet: gaat deze actie mij helpen het verhaal af te ronden?, maar: vind ik deze actie passend, mooi, verontrustend of anderszins thematisch interessant? Wanneer men ergens een bijl tegenkomt, dan kan men die oppakken of niet; geen van beide is noodzakelijk om het verhaal door te komen. De keuze is thematisch: wil je een verhaal vertellen waarin de hoofdpersoon met een bijl in zijn handen zijn problemen tegemoet treedt, of liever een verhaal waarin hij ongewapend zijn gelijk gaat halen? Het verhaal bevat een aantal belangrijke knooppunten, die allemaal op veel verschillende manieren kunnen worden afgehandeld. De keuzes die de speler hier maakt zullen van grote invloed zijn op de betekenis van het verhaal; en dat is waar het in "De baron" om te doen is: de lezer treedt op als een scheppende thematische kracht, die de symbolen en handelingen naar zijn eigen smaak en inzicht aaneenrijgt. [Please press SPACE.] In dit verhaal is een tragisch en mogelijk schokkend thema aan de orde. "De baron" is dan ook zeker niet geschikt voor kinderen; ik adviseer een leeftijdsgrens van tenminste vijftien jaar. Ook wie er geen behoefte aan heeft geconfronteerd te worden met fictieve narigheid kan dit verhaal beter links laten liggen. [Please press SPACE.] Copyright 2004, Victor Gijsbers De baron wordt gepubliceerd onder de GNU General Public License. Kort gezegd houdt dit in dat zowel dit programma als de broncode gratis te verkrijgen zijn en naar hartelust gekopieerd en verspreid mogen worden. Echter, alle software of andere werken waarin delen van dit programma of de broncode gebruikt worden, moeten op hun beurt ook onder de GNU General Public License uitgebracht worden. This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version. This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details. You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307 USA Kijk op http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.txt voor de tekst van de GNU General Public License. [Please press SPACE.] In the baron's chamber The room is sparsely furnished and dark, illuminated only by the candles of a single chandelier. In the middle of the room lies a bear skin; on the walls hang the stuffed heads of wolves, reindeer and other large mammals. In the back of the room is a large stone throne, inlaid with fierce rubies that reflect the light of the chandelier thousandfold. Behind it, on the northern side of the chamber, are two large bronze doors. >n You can't, since the bronze doors are in the way. >open doors As soon as you walk towards the doors they start swinging open, away from you-- behind lies nothing but darkness. You walk onwards, and when you cross the threshold the left door falls crashes down, emitting the sound of a huge copper gong. Immediately afterwards, the right door falls down too and another tremendous, harrowing dissonance resounds. You take another step, and are standing... On the landing The landing is enveloped by uneven darkness. A red door to the north leads to the room of your daughter Maartje. Next to the stairs down stands a wooden cupboard, above which a large ornate mirror in a gilded frame stares at you accusingly. >smash mirror Furiously, you smash your fist against the baron's face as it is reflected by the mirror's glass. The mirror fractures, and falls down in many small fragments and one large shard. >take shard Taken. >kill me Je staart even naar het vlijmscherpe stuk glas, maar je weet dat er niets anders op zit. Je zet de punt van de scherf in de huid van je pols, precies waar de slagader zich bevindt, en drukt. Een druppel bloed welt op uit het kleine gaatje. Do you have the courage to go on with this? (1) Yes. I am strong enough. (2) No. I cannot do it. Select an option >> 1 Met een felle haal snijd je in de richting van je arm, zodat je slagader over een lengte van centimeters open ligt. Felrood bloed spuit naar buiten, over je handen, over de scherf, over je nachthemd, over de grond. Je zakt op je knieën in elkaar. Nu is het alleen nog een kwestie van tijd. Terwijl je leven langzaam wegvloeit komen er vragen bij je op, vragen waarop je het antwoord nu heel helder kan zien. Was this the easy way out? (1) Ja. Ik was niet in staat te blijven leven met deze schuld. (2) Nee. Het was het moeilijkste offer dat ik ooit bracht. Select an option >> 1 Zal Maartje je ooit vergeven? (1) Nee. Of ik haar leven nu voor altijd verpest heb of niet, ze zal me altijd blijven haten. (2) Ja. Met de tijd helen de wonden en neemt haar haat af; en misschien zal er een dag komen dat ze me een heel klein beetje zal begrijpen, en een heel klein beetje medelijden - of zelfs liefde - zal voelen. Select an option >> 1 *** THE END *** Do you want a RESTART, LOAD an old game, see the MENU (with information about the ideas behind "The baron") or QUIT reading the story? > quit Start of a transcript of THE BARON An interactive story, written by Victor Gijsbers and published under the GNU General Public License. New readers: PLEASE TYPE 'MENU', even if you are an experienced reader of interactive fiction. Release 1 / Serial number 060326 / Inform v6.30 Library 6/11 SD Standard interpreter 1.0 (1F) / Library serial number 040227 The bronze doors fall closed behind you, and you hear bolts being drawn across the door. There is no way back; it is you, or the dragon. Gripping the axe in a gauntletted hand, you step forward, into the heat. THE BARON An interactive story, written by Victor Gijsbers and published under the GNU General Public License. New readers: PLEASE TYPE 'MENU', even if you are an experienced reader of interactive fiction. Release 1 / Serial number 060326 / Inform v6.30 Library 6/11 SD The cave's vestibule This small rectangular hall has been chiselled from the rock by humans and covered with black marble. Two bronze doors to the south hermetically close off the exit; in the north a narrow cave leads to the fiery lair of the dragon. The floor is littered with blackened bones and skulls, throwing flickering shadows southwards. >x skulls Everywhere on the ground lie bones and skulls, blackened by the all-devouring fire that proved fatal to their owners. >n You try to step around the human bones, but with each step several are crushed under the weight of you and your armour. A low passage The cave is low, and you have to stoop to walk through. The floor is covered by a thick layer of ashes. The flames that erupt from the many cracks in the ground of the large hall to the north have an almost blinding intensity, and the heat if nigh unendurable. You are sweating heavily. In the south lies the relative coolness of the vestibule. >x me You look heroic in your heavy suit of armour; furthermore, you are strong, quick and fearless. If anyone can defeat the dragon, it is you. >x armour A full suit of armour made of shiny steel, generously oiled, grants excellent protection against external threats. The suit has been fastened with leather straps at the back, which can only be undone by others. >take it off What do you want to take the full suit of armour off? >undress You can't see such a thing, or it is not important to interact with it. >undress That's not a verb I recognise. >take off suit The suit of armour has been fastened with leather straps on your back; it is impossible to take if off by yourself. When you have defeated the dragon and returned to the world beyond the doors, your squire will help you. >s Accompanied by the sound of breaking bones you walk back to the vestibule. The cave's vestibule This small rectangular hall has been chiselled from the rock by humans and covered with black marble. Two bronze doors to the south hermetically close off the exit; in the north a narrow cave leads to the fiery lair of the dragon. The floor is littered with blackened bones and skulls, throwing flickering shadows southwards. >x doors Two bronze doors block the exit to the south. The likeness of a burning man has been engraved on them. >n You try to step around the human bones, but with each step several are crushed under the weight of you and your armour. A low passage The cave is low, and you have to stoop to walk through. The floor is covered by a thick layer of ashes. The flames that erupt from the many cracks in the ground of the large hall to the north have an almost blinding intensity, and the heat if nigh unendurable. You are sweating heavily. In the south lies the relative coolness of the vestibule. >n Holding the axe tightly, the visor of your helmet opened, as behoves a man of honour, you approach the dragon. An underground hall The hall is dozens of meters high and hundreds of meters wide and deep. The floor is covered with a thick layer of ash, except where cracks and fissures cleave the rock. Huge flames shoot upwards out of these cracks. The heat is almost unbearable. In the middle of the hall is the dragon, an enormous, red, scaly monster. It turns its head towards you, and stares at you with two big yellow eyes. >talk to dragon That's not a verb I recognise. >dragon, fuck me To speak with someone, use the command TALK WITH . The dragon turns towards you, and approaches you with heavy steps. It opens its mouth and emits a cry that makes the entire cave shake. For a moment you stagger, but then regain your balance. >x it Flames several meters high spring from the ground everywhere. An immense jet of fire spews forth from the mouth of the dragon, past its sharp teeth, and surrounds you completely. The pain makes you gasp. >x me You are a pillar of fire; on all sides flames bursts out of your flesh, as if the fire erupts from the core of your being. You are enveloped by flames, and can hardly see anything. The heat in the armour is unbearable. >s A low passage You see hardly anything through the fire. The dragon is in the north, the vestibule lies to the south. The pain worsens every moment. You beat around you wildly, hoping to extinguish the flames, but they only seem to grow bigger. To your dread, you feel how your armour slowly starts to melt. >s Panicking, you run back to the small hall, without sparing so much as a glance for the bones that are strewn all over the ground. With each step you take bones break under the combined weight of you and your armour. The cave's vestibule Through the flames you see the black marble walls of the hall, the bones on the floor, and the two bronze doors that form the only exit. The melting metal penetrates your skin, becomes one with your flesh. You see nothing, you hear nothing, you only feel pain as you fall to your knees, scream a last scream before your vocal cords burn away, and give up the ghost. Darkness falls over you like a cool blanket... [Press a key.] THE BARON An interactive story by Victor Gijsbers. Chi l'anima mi lacera? Chi m'agita le viscere? Che strazio, ohimè, che smania! Che inferno, che terror! "Who lacerates my soul? Who tortures my body? What torment, oh me, what agony! What a Hell! What a terror!" From the opera "Don Giovanni" Text: Lorenzo da Ponte Music: Wolfgang A. Mozart A penetrating, dissonant sound twice breaks the silence of the night, waking you from restless sleep. After the second note the church bell falls silent, and the stillness of the winter night again settles over the village. You rub the sleep from your eyes. Very carefully, because you do not wish to wake your wife Hilde, you step out of the bed. She would certainly try to stop you. In your bedroom The weak light of the moon, which enters the room through the window, envelops the furniture of the bedroom in a cloak of unworldly beauty. Only the soft breathing of your wife in the large bed breaches the silence. The door next to the heavy oaken wardrobe leads to the landing to the north. It is ice cold in the unheated room. You can see a chair (on which are your work clothes) and a pine night table here. >x table A simple night table made of pinewood, the very first piece of furniture you ever made. On the night table is a family photo. >x photo This photograph, made for the tenth anniversary of your marriage to Hilde, is a few years old. Solemnly, you stand next to each other like two black-and-white statues, once again clad in your wedding clothes. In the foreground, close against you, stands your daughter Maartje--little Maartje, in her beautiful white dress, a radiant smile on her face. In the picture you have laid a protective arm across her shoulder--but now she has been kidnapped by the evil baron. Once again you vow to do everything possible to free her. >quit Are you sure you want to quit? y Start of a transcript of THE BARON An interactive story, written by Victor Gijsbers and published under the GNU General Public License. New readers: PLEASE TYPE 'MENU', even if you are an experienced reader of interactive fiction. Release 1 / Serial number 060326 / Inform v6.30 Library 6/11 SD Standard interpreter 1.0 (1F) / Library serial number 040227 The bronze doors fall closed behind you, and you hear bolts being drawn across the door. There is no way back; it is you, or the dragon. Gripping the axe in a gauntletted hand, you step forward, into the heat. THE BARON An interactive story, written by Victor Gijsbers and published under the GNU General Public License. New readers: PLEASE TYPE 'MENU', even if you are an experienced reader of interactive fiction. Release 1 / Serial number 060326 / Inform v6.30 Library 6/11 SD The cave's vestibule This small rectangular hall has been chiselled from the rock by humans and covered with black marble. Two bronze doors to the south hermetically close off the exit; in the north a narrow cave leads to the fiery lair of the dragon. The floor is littered with blackened bones and skulls, throwing flickering shadows southwards. >tree compass (6) the north the south the east the west the northeast the northwest the southeast the southwest the up above the ground the inside the outside Darkness (19) (Inform Parser) (21) (Inform Library) (22) (Library Extensions) (23) (LibraryMessages) (24) The cave's vestibule (33) yourself a helmet (being worn) a full suit of armour (being worn) a battle axe some bronze doors a burning man a fire a marble some pattern some bones some shadows A low passage (41) a thick layer of ashes a dragon some footprints a fire a cracks An underground hall (47) a dragon some cracks a fire devouring fire (51) In your bedroom (52) a bed a blanket Hilde a chair your work clothes a lumberjack's shirt a lumberjack's jeans some lumberjack's boots a wardrobe (which is closed) a large amount of dresses, jeans and other pieces of clothing some dresses a bridal gown some jeans some carvings some carved hearts some carved birds some carved flowers a window a pine night table a drawer a family photo Barentopf (71) village (72) snow (73) church (74) stars (75) moon (76) woods (77) door to the bedroom (78) On the landing (82) a cupboard (which is closed) an album some traces of glue some doors some hinges a mirror a frame door to Maartje's room (90) stairs (91) a winter coat In Maartje's room (93) Maartje's bed Maartje's blankets Maartje's pillow an ornate key a window a snow a moon a forest some wolves a wind a dollhouse some doll's doors some doll's furniture some doll's windows some doll's curtains some doll's carpets some doll's clothing some dolls a desk some sheets of paper some drawings a diary a ceiling a furniture a teddy hills (102) Brown's eyes (120) In the garden (121) a garden fence a garden path some bushes an other side a street your house a letterbox (which is closed) a letter from the baron some shreds an axe door (128) (bosdeur) (133) Walking on a path through the forest (134) some wolves trees (135) path (137) On a path in the forest (138) a she-wolf young wolf (140) half-devoured corpse (141) cover of Maartje's diary (142) On a path in the forest (143) a castle a footprints (wolf_touch) (146) (wolf_spraak) (147) (attack_wolfje) (148) (spreek_wolfje) (149) Before the castle's gate (150) a drawbridge some boards a moat a gate some doors of the gate a threatening darkness some gargoyles a baron's castle some leaning towers some walls a forest a path a snow gargoyle's head (164) gargoyle's heart (165) gargoyle (166) (gar_stage2) (167) (gar_stage3) (168) moon (169) walls (170) stars (171) snow (172) heaps of stone (173) courtyard (174) The castle's hall (175) a roof a hall a building to the west a path to the courtyard a boulder a snow a child's drawing a carvings a statue doorway (177) ruined building (186) some crumbling walls a rubble a hall a heap of stones a soaked page hatch (190) The dining-hall (193) a torch (burning lustily) some heaps of snow a dining table a torn page a chair a roof some bats a hall corpse of Cathy (196) A damp dungeon (203) a light a grating a cell (which is closed and locked) some dolls some bones some chains a famished mother doll some instruments of torture a rack a stretched father doll an iron maiden (which is closed) an impaled daughter doll some falling drops (sleutelweg) (207) torn father doll (214) In the courtyard (219) a castle a building to the south some halls smaller towers (223) large tower (224) At the bottom of the middle tower (225) some stacks of paper some footsteps a trap a door found photographs (227) fire (231) In the baron's chamber (232) some bronze doors a burning man a stone throne the baron a crown a cloak some candles a chandelier some rubies a bear skin some stuffed heads some walls (attack_baron) (245) (uitleg_baron) (246) On the landing (247) a cupboard (which is closed) an album some doors a mirror a lijst a stairs broken mirror (252) shard (254) door to Maartje's room (255) In Maartje's room (257) Maartje's bed a Maartje's blanket Maartje s pillow Maartje a window a sneeuw a moon a forest some hills some wolves a wind a dollhouse some doll's doors some doll's furniture some doll's windows some doll's curtains some doll's carpets some doll's clothing some dolls a desk some sheets of paper some drawings a ceiling a furniture a teddy (pray_dialoog) (283) (dood_mij_bij_maartje_dialoog) (284) (scherf_aan_haar_dialoog) (285) (maartje_zelfmoord_dialoog) (286) (maartje_zoen_eerste_dialoog) (287) (maartje_streel_eerste_dialoog) (288) (weg_uit_kamer_maartje) (289) (maartje_spreek_dialoog) (290) (verhaaltracker) (294) (doodmijmetscherf_vragen) (295) (doodmijmetscherf_vragen_2) (296) (twijfel_aan_zelfmoord_dialoog) (297) (maartje_zoen_tweede_dialoog) (298) (verkracht_vragen) (299) (maartje_zoen_derde_dialoog) (300) (na_haar_dood_dialoog) (301) (overwin_lust_vragen) (302) (dood_maartje_dialoog) (303) Informatie over "De baron" (304) an Interactieve fictie lezen (voor nieuwe lezers) an Eerste hulp bij interactieve fictie a Belangrijke opdrachten a Meta-opdrachten: bewaren, laden, stoppen a "De baron" lezen (ook voor ervaren lezers) a Geen puzzels, maar thematische keuzes an Emotionele inhoud en leeftijdsadvies a Walkthroughs en ontwerpfilosofie a WAARSCHUWING a Copyright a Dank, verantwoording, contact a Dankwoord a Verantwoording a Contact Hulp voor slachtoffers en daders van seksueel misbruik (319) a Tekst >quit Are you sure you want to quit? y Start of a transcript of THE BARON An interactive story, written by Victor Gijsbers and published under the GNU General Public License. New readers: PLEASE TYPE 'MENU', even if you are an experienced reader of interactive fiction. Release 1 / Serial number 060326 / Inform v6.30 Library 6/11 SD Standard interpreter 1.0 (1F) / Library serial number 040227 The bronze doors fall closed behind you, and you hear bolts being drawn across the door. There is no way back; it is you, or the dragon. Gripping the axe in a gauntletted hand, you step forward, into the heat. THE BARON An interactive story, written by Victor Gijsbers and published under the GNU General Public License. New readers: PLEASE TYPE 'MENU', even if you are an experienced reader of interactive fiction. Release 1 / Serial number 060326 / Inform v6.30 Library 6/11 SD The cave's vestibule This small rectangular hall has been chiselled from the rock by humans and covered with black marble. Two bronze doors to the south hermetically close off the exit; in the north a narrow cave leads to the fiery lair of the dragon. The floor is littered with blackened bones and skulls, throwing flickering shadows southwards. >i You are carrying: a helmet (being worn) a full suit of armour (being worn) a battle axe >put axe What do you want to put the battle axe in? >put axe down Dropped. >undo The cave's vestibule [Previous turn undone.] >drop axe Dropped. >take axe Taken. >throw axe Dropped. >quit Are you sure you want to quit? y Start of a transcript of THE BARON An interactive story, written by Victor Gijsbers and published under the GNU General Public License. New readers: PLEASE TYPE 'MENU', even if you are an experienced reader of interactive fiction. Release 1 / Serial number 060326 / Inform v6.30 Library 6/11 SD Standard interpreter 1.0 (1F) / Library serial number 040227 The bronze doors fall closed behind you, and you hear bolts being drawn across the door. There is no way back; it is you, or the dragon. Gripping the axe in a gauntletted hand, you step forward, into the heat. THE BARON An interactive story, written by Victor Gijsbers and published under the GNU General Public License. New readers: PLEASE TYPE 'MENU', even if you are an experienced reader of interactive fiction. Release 1 / Serial number 060326 / Inform v6.30 Library 6/11 SD The cave's vestibule This small rectangular hall has been chiselled from the rock by humans and covered with black marble. Two bronze doors to the south hermetically close off the exit; in the north a narrow cave leads to the fiery lair of the dragon. The floor is littered with blackened bones and skulls, throwing flickering shadows southwards. >menu "The Baron" is a story. But where the text you will see during a reading of a traditional story is predetermined, and all you have to do is read it, the text of an interactive story like "The baron" is constituted through the interaction of the reader with the computer program. Every time the program has shown you a piece of text, a prompt will appear on the screen, behind which you are supposed to type a new command. Through these commands you take a limited amount of control over the story. You yourself thus play an active role in the fictional world. Central to the story is a protagonist, which the computer identifies with you. You control the protagonist by giving him commands. When you type the command 'EXAMINE BED', the protagonist will look at the bed, which will cause a more detailed description of this object to appear on the screen. When you type 'GET TOY', the toy will be picked up; 'OPEN DOOR' will cause the protagonist to attempt to open the door; and so forth. Please experiment with these and other verbs; a part of the fun of interactive fiction is finding out what is possible within the fictional world. You should be conscious of the fact that the computer program has but a limited vocabulary and grammatical knowledge, and is best spoken to is short and simple sentences. Where 'GET THE TOY' and 'GET TOY' both work, 'GET THE FLUFFY ANIMAL' probably won't, and 'WOULD YOU PLEASE PICK UP THE TOY?' will baffle the computer. Try to attain your goals with short commands, using simple verbs and nouns. But one shouldn't underestimate the program. Complex sentences like 'PUT THE CLOTHES ON THE CHAIR', 'OPEN THE DOOR WITH THE BRONZE KEY' and 'PUT EVERYTHING ON THE TABLE EXCEPT FOR THE AMPHORA' will be understood by most programs, at least if those objects exist in the fictional world. Finally, it is useful to realise that the complexity of the program is limited, and it is therefore impossible to model an entire world. In general, for instance, it is the case that the program keeps track of the room you are in, but of your location within that room or the way you are facing. Commands like 'WALK TO THE CUPBOARD' and 'TURN AROUND' will not work in most interactive stories. When you play more interactive fiction, you will discover by trial and error which aspects of the world generally are, and which generally ar not modelled. [Please press SPACE.] Which commands are accepted by a story depends very much on the particular story, but there is a basis of general and very useful commands that almost every story will understand. The following commands will be useful in nearly every story: LOOK: Abbreviated as L. This commands had the protagonist look around, and reprints the description of the room where he or she is located. EXAMINE : Abbreviated as X. The protagonist will take a more precise look at the person or object you ask him to examine. It is generally a good idea to examine everything you deem important for the story as soon as you come upon it. Don't forget to examine the things you are carrying, and the protagonist himself: EXAMINE ME, X ME, or something similar. INVENTORY: Abbreviated as I. This command shows everything the protagonist is carrying; thus, everything you have picked up, and everything the protagonist already had in his possession when the story started. It is often a good idea to type I at the beginning of the story. GO : There are ten standard directions: NORTH, SOUTH, WEST, EAST, SOUTHWEST, SOUTHEAST, NORTHWEST, NORTHEAST, UP and DOWN. All of these can be abbreviated, to; N, S, W, E, SW, SE, NW, NE, U and D. You can also leave out the GO command: GO NORTH, NORTH, GO N and N all have the same effect. Some stories will allow you to move in other ways as well: GO IN CAR, for examle, or GO TO BEDROOM. You will have to find this out for yourself. A short list of verbs that speak for themselves: TAKE or GET PUT DOWN or DROP PUT ON OPEN CLOSE GIVE TO WEAR UNLOCK WITH And in "The Baron" you can speak to people by typing SPEAK WITH . Enzovoorts. Probeer vooral door experimenteren erachter te komen welke werkwoorden werken in een bepaalde situatie, en welke niet. Wanneer de schrijver van een verhaal zijn werk goed gedaan heeft, dan zal de optie die u het meest logisch lijkt ondersteund worden. [Please press SPACE.] The cave's vestibule This small rectangular hall has been chiselled from the rock by humans and covered with black marble. Two bronze doors to the south hermetically close off the exit; in the north a narrow cave leads to the fiery lair of the dragon. The floor is littered with blackened bones and skulls, throwing flickering shadows southwards. >quit Are you sure you want to quit? y Start of a transcript of THE BARON An interactive story, written by Victor Gijsbers and published under the GNU General Public License. New readers: PLEASE TYPE 'MENU', even if you are an experienced reader of interactive fiction. Release 1 / Serial number 060326 / Inform v6.30 Library 6/11 SD Standard interpreter 1.0 (1F) / Library serial number 040227 The bronze doors fall closed behind you, and you hear bolts being drawn across the door. There is no way back; it is you, or the dragon. Gripping the axe in a gauntletted hand, you step forward, into the heat. THE BARON An interactive story, written by Victor Gijsbers and published under the GNU General Public License. New readers: PLEASE TYPE 'MENU', even if you are an experienced reader of interactive fiction. Release 1 / Serial number 060326 / Inform v6.30 Library 6/11 SD The cave's vestibule This small rectangular hall has been chiselled from the rock by humans and covered with black marble. Two bronze doors to the south hermetically close off the exit; in the north a narrow cave leads to the fiery lair of the dragon. The floor is littered with blackened bones and skulls, throwing flickering shadows southwards. >load That's not a verb I recognise. >restore Enter a file name. Default is "baron_EN.sav": Restore failed. >quit Are you sure you want to quit? y Start of a transcript of THE BARON An interactive story, written by Victor Gijsbers and published under the GNU General Public License. New readers: PLEASE TYPE 'MENU', even if you are an experienced reader of interactive fiction. Release 1 / Serial number 060326 / Inform v6.30 Library 6/11 SD Standard interpreter 1.0 (1F) / Library serial number 040227 The bronze doors fall closed behind you, and you hear bolts being drawn across the door. There is no way back; it is you, or the dragon. Gripping the axe in a gauntletted hand, you step forward, into the heat. THE BARON An interactive story, written by Victor Gijsbers and published under the GNU General Public License. New readers: PLEASE TYPE 'MENU', even if you are an experienced reader of interactive fiction. Release 1 / Serial number 060326 / Inform v6.30 Library 6/11 SD The cave's vestibule This small rectangular hall has been chiselled from the rock by humans and covered with black marble. Two bronze doors to the south hermetically close off the exit; in the north a narrow cave leads to the fiery lair of the dragon. The floor is littered with blackened bones and skulls, throwing flickering shadows southwards. >n You try to step around the human bones, but with each step several are crushed under the weight of you and your armour. A low passage The cave is low, and you have to stoop to walk through. The floor is covered by a thick layer of ashes. The flames that erupt from the many cracks in the ground of the large hall to the north have an almost blinding intensity, and the heat if nigh unendurable. You are sweating heavily. In the south lies the relative coolness of the vestibule. >n Holding the axe tightly, the visor of your helmet opened, as behoves a man of honour, you approach the dragon. An underground hall The hall is dozens of meters high and hundreds of meters wide and deep. The floor is covered with a thick layer of ash, except where cracks and fissures cleave the rock. Huge flames shoot upwards out of these cracks. The heat is almost unbearable. In the middle of the hall is the dragon, an enormous, red, scaly monster. It turns its head towards you, and stares at you with two big yellow eyes. >n The only exit lies to the south. The dragon turns towards you, and approaches you with heavy steps. It opens its mouth and emits a cry that makes the entire cave shake. For a moment you stagger, but then regain your balance. >n The only exit lies to the south. An immense jet of fire spews forth from the mouth of the dragon, past its sharp teeth, and surrounds you completely. The pain makes you gasp. >n You run around aimlessly, overwhelmed by fear. You hardly see where you are going, everything is fire, flames, smoke, flickering light. You trip, fall, jump up again - the fear gives you such power that you hardly feel your armour. You run on in a random direction, then, suddenly, you step into nothingness en fall forwards into a cleft. Desperately you try to grab onto something, but the walls are flat and featureless, and you fall, deeper and deeper. Smoke and sulfid vapours fill the cleft and you can hardly breath. You cough, try to get a breath of fresh air, but it is the poisonous vapours that fill your lungs. Even before you hit the ground, you loose consciousness. [Press a key.] THE BARON An interactive story by Victor Gijsbers. Chi l'anima mi lacera? Chi m'agita le viscere? Che strazio, ohimè, che smania! Che inferno, che terror! "Who lacerates my soul? Who tortures my body? What torment, oh me, what agony! What a Hell! What a terror!" From the opera "Don Giovanni" Text: Lorenzo da Ponte Music: Wolfgang A. Mozart A penetrating, dissonant sound twice breaks the silence of the night, waking you from restless sleep. After the second note the church bell falls silent, and the stillness of the winter night settles over the village once again. You rub the sleep from your eyes. Very carefully, because you do not wish to wake your wife Hilde, you step out of the bed. She would certainly try to stop you. In your bedroom The weak light of the moon, which enters the room through the window, envelops the furniture of the bedroom in a cloak of unworldly beauty. Only the soft breathing of your wife in the large bed breaches the silence. The door next to the heavy oaken wardrobe leads to the landing to the north. It is ice cold in the unheated room. You can see a chair (on which are your work clothes) and a pine night table here. >n (opening the door to the landing) On the landing The landing is enveloped by uneven darkness. Moonlight enters through the open door to your bedroom in the south. A red door to the north leads to the room of your daughter Maartje. Next to the stairs down stands an elegant cupboard, above which hangs a large ornate mirror in a gilded frame. >n (opening the door to Maartje's room) In Maartje's room Without Maartje's radiant presence, her room seems dead and empty. It is a dreary sight: a bed in which nobody sleeps, a dollhouse with which nobody plays, a desk behind which nobody studies. The gay colours in which you painted her ceiling and furniture appear in the pale light of the stars as a pallet of greys. The door to the south leads back to the landing. On the desk is a diary. You can see a teddy here. >take brown Taken. >hug brown You take the bear into your strong arms, and hug him as if your life depends on it. A tear rolls over your cheek when you remind yourself that Maartje doesn't even have the consolation of her teddy. >kiss brown You can only do that to something animate. >talk to brown That's not a verb I recognise. >quit Are you sure you want to quit? y Start of a transcript of THE BARON An interactive story, written by Victor Gijsbers and published under the GNU General Public License. New readers: PLEASE TYPE 'MENU', even if you are an experienced reader of interactive fiction. Release 1 / Serial number 060326 / Inform v6.30 Library 6/11 SD Standard interpreter 1.0 (1F) / Library serial number 040227 The bronze doors fall closed behind you, and you hear bolts being drawn across the door. There is no way back; it is you, or the dragon. Gripping the axe in a gauntletted hand, you step forward, into the heat. THE BARON An interactive story, written by Victor Gijsbers and published under the GNU General Public License. New readers: PLEASE TYPE 'MENU', even if you are an experienced reader of interactive fiction. Release 1 / Serial number 060326 / Inform v6.30 Library 6/11 SD The cave's vestibule This small rectangular hall has been chiselled from the rock by humans and covered with black marble. Two bronze doors to the south hermetically close off the exit; in the north a narrow cave leads to the fiery lair of the dragon. The floor is littered with blackened bones and skulls, throwing flickering shadows southwards. >n You try to step around the human bones, but with each step several are crushed under the weight of you and your armour. A low passage The cave is low, and you have to stoop to walk through. The floor is covered by a thick layer of ashes. The flames that erupt from the many cracks in the ground of the large hall to the north have an almost blinding intensity, and the heat if nigh unendurable. You are sweating heavily. In the south lies the relative coolness of the vestibule. >n Holding the axe tightly, the visor of your helmet opened, as behoves a man of honour, you approach the dragon. An underground hall The hall is dozens of meters high and hundreds of meters wide and deep. The floor is covered with a thick layer of ash, except where cracks and fissures cleave the rock. Huge flames shoot upwards out of these cracks. The heat is almost unbearable. In the middle of the hall is the dragon, an enormous, red, scaly monster. It turns its head towards you, and stares at you with two big yellow eyes. >n The only exit lies to the south. The dragon turns towards you, and approaches you with heavy steps. It opens its mouth and emits a cry that makes the entire cave shake. For a moment you stagger, but then regain your balance. >n The only exit lies to the south. An immense jet of fire spews forth from the mouth of the dragon, past its sharp teeth, and surrounds you completely. The pain makes you gasp. >n You run around aimlessly, overwhelmed by fear. You hardly see where you are going, everything is fire, flames, smoke, flickering light. You trip, fall, jump up again - the fear gives you such power that you hardly feel your armour. You run on in a random direction, then, suddenly, you step into nothingness en fall forwards into a cleft. Desperately you try to grab onto something, but the walls are flat and featureless, and you fall, deeper and deeper. Smoke and sulfid vapours fill the cleft and you can hardly breath. You cough, try to get a breath of fresh air, but it is the poisonous vapours that fill your lungs. Even before you hit the ground, you loose consciousness. [Press a key.] THE BARON An interactive story by Victor Gijsbers. Chi l'anima mi lacera? Chi m'agita le viscere? Che strazio, ohimè, che smania! Che inferno, che terror! "Who lacerates my soul? Who tortures my body? What torment, oh me, what agony! What a Hell! What a terror!" From the opera "Don Giovanni" Text: Lorenzo da Ponte Music: Wolfgang A. Mozart A penetrating, dissonant sound twice breaks the silence of the night, waking you from restless sleep. After the second note the church bell falls silent, and the stillness of the winter night settles over the village once again. You rub the sleep from your eyes. Very carefully, because you do not wish to wake your wife Hilde, you step out of the bed. She would certainly try to stop you. In your bedroom The weak light of the moon, which enters the room through the window, envelops the furniture of the bedroom in a cloak of unworldly beauty. Only the soft breathing of your wife in the large bed breaches the silence. The door next to the heavy oaken wardrobe leads to the landing to the north. It is ice cold in the unheated room. You can see a chair (on which are your work clothes) and a pine night table here. >n (opening the door to the landing) On the landing The landing is enveloped by uneven darkness. Moonlight enters through the open door to your bedroom in the south. A red door to the north leads to the room of your daughter Maartje. Next to the stairs down stands an elegant cupboard, above which hangs a large ornate mirror in a gilded frame. >n (opening the door to Maartje's room) In Maartje's room Without Maartje's radiant presence, her room seems dead and empty. It is a dreary sight: a bed in which nobody sleeps, a dollhouse with which nobody plays, a desk behind which nobody studies. The gay colours in which you painted her ceiling and furniture appear in the pale light of the stars as a pallet of greys. The door to the south leads back to the landing. On the desk is a diary. You can see a teddy here. >take brown Taken. >kiss it You give the teddy a kiss on his brown snout, and whisper in his ear that you will bring back Maartje. >kiss him You can't see "him" (the dragon) at the moment. >quit Are you sure you want to quit? y Start of a transcript of THE BARON An interactive story, written by Victor Gijsbers and published under the GNU General Public License. New readers: PLEASE TYPE 'MENU', even if you are an experienced reader of interactive fiction. Release 1 / Serial number 060326 / Inform v6.30 Library 6/11 SD Standard interpreter 1.0 (1F) / Library serial number 040227 The bronze doors fall closed behind you, and you hear bolts being drawn across the door. There is no way back; it is you, or the dragon. Gripping the axe in a gauntletted hand, you step forward, into the heat. THE BARON An interactive story, written by Victor Gijsbers and published under the GNU General Public License. New readers: PLEASE TYPE 'MENU', even if you are an experienced reader of interactive fiction. Release 1 / Serial number 060326 / Inform v6.30 Library 6/11 SD The cave's vestibule This small rectangular hall has been chiselled from the rock by humans and covered with black marble. Two bronze doors to the south hermetically close off the exit; in the north a narrow cave leads to the fiery lair of the dragon. The floor is littered with blackened bones and skulls, throwing flickering shadows southwards. >put off helmet You can't see such a thing, or it is not important to interact with it. >i You are carrying: a helmet (being worn) a full suit of armour (being worn) a battle axe >x helmet The helmet is functional, not decorative, and fits neatly with the rest of the armour. The visor is open, leaving your sight unobstructed but exposing your face to attack. >take off helmet You take off the helmet and put it on the floor. You feel vulnerable. >put on helmet (first taking the helmet) You take the helmet and put it on your head. >take off helmet You take off the helmet and put it on the floor. You feel vulnerable. >quit Are you sure you want to quit? y Start of a transcript of THE BARON An interactive story, written by Victor Gijsbers and published under the GNU General Public License. New readers: PLEASE TYPE 'MENU', even if you are an experienced reader of interactive fiction. Release 1 / Serial number 060326 / Inform v6.30 Library 6/11 S Standard interpreter 1.0 (1F) / Library serial number 040227 The bronze doors fall closed behind you, and you hear bolts being drawn across the door. There is no way back; it is you, or the dragon. Gripping the axe in a gauntletted hand, you step forward, into the heat. THE BARON An interactive story, written by Victor Gijsbers and published under the GNU General Public License. New readers: PLEASE TYPE 'MENU', even if you are an experienced reader of interactive fiction. Release 1 / Serial number 060326 / Inform v6.30 Library 6/11 S The cave's vestibule This small rectangular hall has been chiselled from the rock by humans and covered with black marble. Two bronze doors to the south hermetically close off the exit; in the north a narrow cave leads to the fiery lair of the dragon. The floor is littered with blackened bones and skulls, throwing flickering shadows southwards. >quit Are you sure you want to quit? y