Second Day, Part 1
Okay! New day and this time we’re going to do it right.
First off, I refreshed the page and got this message:
Good morning. My name is Ryan Veeder. Welcome back once again to Ryan Veeder’s Authentic Fly Fishing!
This is going to be the last special introductory message. Thanks again for playing.
I don’t know what else there is to say.
If you have any specific questions or feedback, I hope you’ll contact me, via email (rcveeder@me.com) or Twitter (@rcveeder), so I can find out what you think.
Actually, you know what? If you’ve played for this long, you HAVE to contact me. You are obligated to let me know that you saw this message, so that I can know that a player like you actually exists. Okay? Please?
If you’re reading this and deciding to ignore my request, I will—Well, I’ll never find out, I guess. But if I somehow do find out, I will be very ticked off at you.
Okay. Let’s play the game.
Now of course, this is just because this page has been up on a tab on my computer for at least a year now, refreshing every time I update Chrome. How shameful of me!
Today, I’m going to show every room that I have access to.
The general idea is that east of the cabin is the cemetery, while to the west is the pond, which has rooms stretching around it in a circle. There are also some areas near the top we can wander around in, but let’s see if they’re open today!
Cabin
Here we are again.
Your cabin is equipped with only the most basic amenities: A bed, a desk, a plastic cupboard. The floor is rough concrete; the walls are rough wood. The door is closed against the chilly wind. Near the door is a row of hooks with your red jacket hanging on it.
A calendar is hung on one wall.
Rain rustles faintly on the roof.
On the desk is your fishing rod.
You can also see some waders, a birdwatching guide, and a dirty key here.
Here we are on the 14th. As you can see, there is still rain today, and a chilly wind. Also, all of the items we found yesterday are still there.
>read book
The checklist inside your birdwatching guide looks like this:
_ Bald Eagle
_ Black-Capped Chickadee
_ Blue Heron
_ Bluejay
✓ Crow
✓ Cardinal
_ House Sparrow
_ House Wren
_ Mallard
_ Meadowlark (Eastern or Western)
_ Pileated Woodpecker
_ Red-Tailed Hawk
_ Red-Winged Blackbird
_ Robin
_ Ruby-Throated Hummingbird
_ Rusty Blackbird
✓ Turkey Vulture
This is our checklist so far on our ‘real’ playthrough! Now let’s explore. This should be the only time we look at every room along the way closely, so think of this as our guided tour.
The first area we see is right in front of our cabin:
Outside the Cabin
There’s not much open space between your cabin and the surrounding woods. A little trail leads here from the west, the direction of the pond; it continues east from here, getting less distinct as it goes. The door to your cabin is open.
Rain whispers noisily through the trees.
A cardinal flits in from somewhere and alights on a branch.
The cardinal chirps a tiny chirp. Then it falls silent.
A few exploratory commands:
>x trees
The woods are pretty thick around here.
I wonder what kind of trees these are?
>climb trees
None of these trees are very climbable.
It’s a bit chilly, being out here in the rain with no jacket on.
>n
You can go east or west, or you can go inside the cabin.
>wear jacket
You put on the red jacket.
From here, we can go either east or west. I’m surprised it’s raining two days in a row; maybe it’s based on time of day, or RNG. I’ll try to check in later tonight just in case.
East is the smallest area, so let’s check that first:
>e
Field
All of a sudden there are no more trees, and you’re walking through a field of tall grass.
A long fence divides the pasture roughly in half. The west end of the fence stands at the edge of the woods. The east end is… over there somewhere.
The sky is cloudy in every direction.
This area doesn’t seem to have much, but has some fun interactions:
>search grass
You scan the pasture for any signs of life.
I say “pasture” because I assume livestock graze here sometimes, but I don’t see any livestock to support my assumption.
Hey! There are some deer over there!
>x deer
A few deer are hanging out way at the other side of the pasture. They must not have noticed you yet.
>n
It seems like you should be able to go in any direction you want from here, but for whatever reason you can only go east or west.
Heading east:
e
Cemetery
Gentle, steady rain falls over a village of tombstones, huddled around a weathered sundial.
A steel archway faces back west, toward the field.
This is where we were last night! I won’t examine the graves again, as we did that yesterday.
Let’s check out the other scenery:
>x archway
A steel gate hangs in a half-open position at the cemetery entrance. Letters in the arch above read “EASTHILL CEMETERY.”
If there used to be a fence attached to the gate, it is no longer in evidence.
>x sundial
Atop a limestone pedestal is a green copper disk, decorated with roman numerals and the motto “EIN WANDELNDER SCHATTEN.” Four daggerlike points indicate the cardinal directions. The sundial’s gnomon is wrought in the shape of a pointing hand. The sky is too cloudy for its finger to cast any definite shadow.
‘SCHATTEN’ is german for shadow, so this seems like it’s saying ‘a wandering shadow’. I’ll look up ‘wandelnder’ to make sure it’s not a ‘false friend’ cognate.
Looking it up, it says that ‘wandeln’ has a connotation of hiking or strolling in addition to the ‘aimlessness’ aspect of English wandering. So it could be like the ‘walking shadow’ or ‘wandering shadow’? Both make sense.
Unfortunately for us, it’s too dark to do much. And, sorry Trinity fans:
>turn gnomon
The sundial is fine as it is.
Okay, heading back to ‘Outside the Cabin’, we’ll try going west!
>w
Hilltop
A great greenish boulder sits at the crest of the hill. You can get a good view of the pond from up here.
The slope directly to the west is too steep to navigate, but there are downhill paths to the south and northwest. Your cabin is off in the woods to the east.
You know, this is very similar to the cabin area in my game Never Gives Up Her Dead. I had a cabin with a hill area to the west that was really steep, and from there you can go downhill to the south and north. At lot of NGUHD was copied intentionally from others (and credited) but I think this was a subconscious borrowing. My goal was to create a peaceful and restful area that made you feel like you were communing with nature. Replaying this game, I really think I was subconsciously trying to recreate the neat atmosphere in this game.
Let’s try out some basic interactions:
>x boulder
Smooth green stone, cold and wet. It’s more than a little unnerving how close this glacial erratic is to the steep slope just west of here—but it’s not like the boulder’s going to crawl the last few yards to the edge.
>u
The sides of the boulder are too steep and smooth and wet for you to climb it unassisted.
>x pond
The pond is large for a pond, but too small to be termed a lake. I don’t know what the necessary and sufficient conditions of lakehood are and I’m not inclined to legislate the issue here.
Surveying its shores, you can see the streams that flow into the pond, the gazebo at its southern edge, and the beach on the far side. Beyond the beach is a wooded hillside, and in the middle of the trees you can make out a curved white shape.
You could get a better view from on top of the boulder.
Here we can see some of the overall structure of the game. You’re given hints on a rainy day that can only be followed up on a dry day (for instance).
Yesterday, I got stuck faster going south than north, so let’s go there today.
Before that:
>x shape
The domed shape is barely a sliver over the tops of the trees. It must be something man-made.
Interesting.
>s
Pool
This isn’t the big pond. This is just a little pond. We’ll call it a “pool.”
A pool of water has formed at the bottom of the hill, with a couple dead leaves floating on its rippling surface. As small as the pool is, there’s an even smaller island in the middle of it, a miniature jungle of tall weeds.
There’s no fishing to be had here. The real pond is west. Up the hill to the north is the boulder, and the way back to your cabin.
A fakeout pond! How dastardly.
I’m going to try fishing anyway. Let’s remember how to fish:
>x rod
Your trusty fishing pole. Your trusty rod and reel. Do I have to say “rod and reel” every time?
This is what we’re here for. Authentic fly fishing! To cast your line, use the command CAST.
Hey, sorry to interrupt, but it looks like you’ve been playing for a little over half an hour. That’s great to hear! I’m glad you’re enjoying Ryan Veeder’s Authentic Fly Fishing and I hope you continue to do so.
Ryan Veeder’s Authentic Fly Fishing is designed to be played in short sessions over the course of multiple days, so I feel like I should gently encourage you to find a good place to stop, so you can return to Ryan Veeder’s Authentic Fly Fishing tomorrow, or whenever you have time. But I can’t force you to do anything. Play for as long as you want, and come back whenever you want. All your progress has automatically been saved.
Thanks for playing! Okay, back to the game.
There’s the message that appears every day! It often appears (like today) before I’ve done much of anything, and I think that’s often when I stop playing, since I didn’t do anything useful in a day.
>cast
This puddle is definitely too small for there to be any fish living in it, but okay.
You swing your rod over your head and cast your line into the pool. Now we wait. Or, actually, I’m pretty sure in fly fishing you’re supposed to start reeling it back in right away.
Hmm, perhaps this game isn’t really about fly fishing at all.
>x pool
The pool has no apparent source, but it doesn’t seem to be in danger of drying up. Well, it’s been raining a lot lately.
>search pool
You reel your line in. There’s nothing on the hook, again.
You find nothing of interest.
Oh weird, I didn’t realize I had actually left the hook out and needed to reel it in. What if I try walking away while it’s cast?
>cast
This puddle is definitely too small for there to be any fish living in it, but okay.
You swing your rod over your head and cast your line into the pool. Third time’s the charm.
>n
You reel your line in. There’s nothing on the hook.
Hilltop
A great greenish boulder sits at the crest of the hill. You can get a good view of the pond from up here.
The slope directly to the west is too steep to navigate, but there are downhill paths to the south and northwest. Your cabin is off in the woods to the east.
Okay, enough fooling around!
>x weeds
It’s a tiny little island. You couldn’t have two people standing on it at the same time unless they were very familiar with each each other—and those weeds are so huge, they’d probably be uncomfortable anyway.
>enter island
You can’t just wade into the water. It’s too deep! You’d get all wet!
Plus there might be leeches in there!
Ah, but have assistance with wading!
>wear waders
You put on the waders.
>enter island
You step into the water and cross the short distance to the island.
Island
This dry-ish patch in the middle of the pond is bigger than it looked.
The weeds are up to your knees (or even higher, depending on how tall you are). In the center of the overgrowth, a long, flat stone is set into the earth.
>x stone
On close inspection, it looks like the stone has been clumsily cut into a vaguely rectangular shape, like an ancient altar. The word “TORTUS” has been carved into its surface.
On the altar is a Brown Trout Badge.
Oh, a badge? I forgot about this since I first played so long ago! How many are there? Why does Tortus matter? I don’t know!
>x badge
This shiny enamel pin is cast in the image of a brown trout. It is awarded to anglers who successfully invite a new member into the Holler County Association of Fly Fishing Enthusiasts.
>take badge
Taken.
We head out, and go west from the pool.
Jetty
Paths from the north, east, and south converge here, where an old wooden dock extends into the pond. Near the dock is a wooden launch for vessels entering the water.
This crossroads on the border between land and sea is marked with a standing stone.
We were here yesterday, and saw that the stone names the pond Jewel Pond.
>x dock
The dock is sturdy, but it clearly hasn’t been attacked with a power washer in the past decade.
No boats, unfortunately. I think I remember that you can find a canoe and move from place to place across the pond?
>s
Playground
A little playground has been built on the edge of the pond: A swing set, a slide, and a miniature rock climbing wall.
The path winds the long way around the play area; it heads north to the jetty and southwest to a little footbridge.
There were crows here yesterday.
>swing on swing
You put your hands on one of the swing’s harnesses: You are too big to fit in this. You are not a toddler. This swing set is not for you.
>enter slide
You position yourself at the bottom of the slide’s narrow staircase and try to take a step up. This is when you discover that your waders don’t really afford the mobility necessary to climb up children’s playground slides. Well, this particular slide, at least.
>climb wall
Well, we haven’t established how tall you are, but I’m going to guess that scaling a wall like this one, which was designed for children, is not very difficult for you. Unfortunately, the rain has made the rocks kind of slick, and on your way down you lose your footing—You land on your butt in a pile of wet rubber mulch.
Nothing wrong with a little fun.
>sw
There’s a huge mud pit between the playground and the footbridge, but as long as you’re wearing those ridiculous waders I guess we can make it across.
Footbridge
The bridge extends northeast to southwest over a deep gully. The rain turns the beams of the bridge and the empty space below into a giant musical instrument, and splashes echo all around you.
Yesterday, I didn’t have the waders yet, so didn’t get this far. I swear I remember in past playthroughs meeting a woman here.
>x gully
The walls of the gully are steep, and it’s not a short trip to the bottom. The stream that this bridge spans has cut quite a bit of earth away in its time, and it’s not about to stop, either.
>listen
The stream mutters softly, beneath the echoing raindrops.
Very pretty. This game has definitely influenced my own writing.
sw
Parking Lot
Half crumbling asphalt, half gravel, the parking lot sort of fades into a footpath in its west and northeast corners. Between the lot and the woods to the north there stands a wooden notice board, with a little roof providing minimal protection from the rain.
A strange shape is hovering near eye level—Is it some horrible insect? No, it’s a hummingbird. Phew.
A parking lot? How prosaic. Looks like another bird for our guide though:
>x hummingbird
I feel like there are more hummingbirds in Iowa this year. Does that sound realistic?
They almost seem too exotic for the midwest: Their feathers are so gorgeous, and the way they move is—Well, it’s weird. But they’re cute.
The hummingbird rushes up to inspect you, then moves far away.
You make a note of your new sighting in your little blue birdwatching guide.
Let’s check out these new details:
>x board
Various documents are posted under a beat-up pane of plexiglass: One welcomes you to the Jewel Pond Recreation Area; another provides directions to various services. In the center is a big map of Jewel Pond.
>read welcome
The sign really just says “Jewel Pond Recreation Area.” I guess it’s not really a “document” as the term is typically understood.
>read directions
(the sheet of directions)
The directions are not very detailed. To the left (your west) are Gazebo, Bird Sanctuary, and Beach. To the right (your northeast) are Canoes, Prairie Area, and Scenic Overlook. What about the playground?
>x map
The sun has bleached out all the color and most of the fine details, and you can’t really tell whether a given curve is a hiking path, or a creek, or an elevation line—or a stain, or the border of the recreation area.
It’s still possible to identify the outline of Jewel Pond, however: It’s kind of a bumpy square shape in the middle of the map.
Interesting! Lots of fun areas. (I just noticed I used the word ‘interesting’. In truth, I realized that I had unlocked a lot more than yesterday and may not want to examine every area, so I guess I really was using it passive aggresively lol).
w
Gazebo
The woods open up around a ruined palace of a gazebo. Its four entrances are aligned with paths that head off in the cardinal directions. The eastern face of the gazebo is carved with a bas-relief of a man paddling a canoe.
>x eastern
You can’t see any such thing.
>x face
You can’t see any such thing.
>x man
The man’s brow is furrowed; his beard is bushy. Whatever waterway he’s navigating is lined with tall reeds, or maybe flowers.
Hmm, I wonder what the other faces are like. Also, this seems like a big area.
Sanctuary Gate
Silhouettes of ducks and owls and chickadees adorn the tall wooden fence to the south. Large letters mounted on the gate indicate that the Cynthia Elsworth Memorial Bird Sanctuary is on the other side of that fence. But the gate is shut.
Just outside the gate is an overstuffed trash can.
The gazebo is up the path to the north.
A constant creaking croaking surrounds you: The frogs are out in full force.
>open gate
The sanctuary gate seems to be locked.
>unlock gate with key
You turn the key in the padlock, and it comes undone with a click.
>undo
Sanctuary Gate
[Previous turn undone.]
Okay, this looks like big progress! I think I won’t go there today, or to other areas near gazebo.
Although, this is fun. Maybe I’ll keep going.
>search trash
Are you really going to poke around in the garbage? Without any gloves, even?
Well, near the top there’s a likely-looking envelope. You can pick that up without being too disgusting.
Oh, it’s wet. I hate this.
Inside the envelope are a little pin and a (mercifully dry) piece of certificate paper. You can hold onto those, and I’ll dispose of the envelope.
>read paper
This document certifies that someone named Erica Nailer is a bona fide member of the Holler County Association of Fly Fishing Enthusiasts. It bears the signatures of the association president and a witness.
But Erica threw this document away, for whatever reason, so why don’t we put your name on it instead?
What name do you want to put on the certificate?
>Brian Rushton
We’re gonna put in the name “Brian Rushton.” Is that correct?
>y
All right, there we go!
Let’s check out this pin:
>x pin
Which do you mean, the Walleye Badge or the Brown Trout Badge?
>walleye
This shiny enamel pin is cast in the shape of an eager-looking walleye. It’s presented to each angler who joins the Holler County Association of Fly Fishing Enthusiasts as part of the induction ceremony.
Induction ceremony? Makes me think of secret societies.
>s
(first opening the sanctuary gate)
You slowly pull the gate open.
Walkway
A wooden walkway is raised about ten feet over the marsh. Here it turns from north to west.
>w
Walkway
The walkway turns east to south here. A tall white pole has been built into the corner of the railing. There’s some kind of equipment at the top.
Rain splashes quietly on the wetlands below.
A pleasant little whistling song floats over the marsh, and when you look carefully you see its source: A meadowlark, perched on a twig.
You can also see a ladder here.
The frogs start croaking a little louder, in case you’ve forgotten about them.
Beautiful.
>x meadowlark
The eastern meadowlark and western meadowlark are both found in Iowa, and they are not easy to tell apart—especially from this distance. Both have yellow feathers going down their front, interrupted by a V-shaped black patch that looks a little like a cravat.
The easiest way to distinguish the species is by their songs, if you happen to know what the difference between their songs is.
You make a note of your new sighting in your little blue birdwatching guide.
Another one for the collection!
>x ladder
This fiberglass step ladder looks like it was left out in the rain and wind for a year or two. It seems to be in working condition, though, and it’s more portable than a lot of other ladders.
Let’s get this out of the way: I’m not gonna be able to account for all the goofy commands you might type in about this ladder. It might end up being possible to put a ladder inside a glove compartment in this game. If something like that happens, we’ll just roll with it, right? Right.
That seems wise. I can’t say how many games I’ve seen with a ladder where the author clearly thought ‘this is the right way to use a ladder’ and only programmed one way, but they all pick an entirely different way to do it (OPEN LADDER then PUT LADDER UNDER BALCONY, just DROP LADDER, DROP then OPEN then CLIMB, typing UP when ladder is in inventory or nearby, etc.)
>take ladder
Taken.
The meadowlark’s song settles into a comfortable metric structure: Twee-to-too-twee, twee-to-too-too. Twee-to-too-twee, twee-to-too-too.
After a disambiguation error with my fishing pole, I check stuff out:
>x white pole
From down here, it’s impossible to identify any of the equipment mounted at the tip of the pole. You have a pretty good view of the pole itself, but that’s not especially interesting.
The meadowlark goes quiet. Then, as buskers inevitably do when they’ve exhausted their repertoire, it starts singing the same songs over again: Twee-to-too-twee. Twee-to-too-twee.
>x equipment
From down here, it’s impossible to identify any of the equipment mounted at the tip of the pole. You have a pretty good view of the pole itself, but that’s not especially interesting.
I expect we’ll get binoculars to see this at some point. Climbing the pole is fruitless.
>s
Walkway
The walkway comes to an end here. It looks like it used to go on further, but a bunch of it burned down.
Looks like the walkway ends. We will return at a later date.
Back to the Gazebo! We’ll go north since that should go into the pond and be a small area.
>n
Willow
A weeping willow stoops at the edge of the pond, rain rustling through its tresses. The path from the south stops nearby, where a wooden launch is worked into the shore.
A sparrow is hopping across the path, pecking at nothing, chirping to nobody. He doesn’t seem to notice you.
Nice! A small area and another bird.
>x bird
The house sparrow is the prototypical boring brown bird, but if you get a close look it’s hardly generic. This one is a male, with a brown mask and little bands of white around his neck and along his wings. He’s adorable. Just, not in a flashy way.
Suddenly the sparrow shoots into the air like a tiny flappy rocket! Then he returns to the ground so it can peck some more.
You make a note of your new sighting in your little blue birdwatching guide.
>x willow
The hanging branches form an unbroken wall of leaves, their lowest tips only a few inches from the ground. Whatever lies beyond is completely hidden from those of us standing outside.
>enter it
Within Trembling Curtains of Branches
Rain massages a green ceiling, rain whispers down green walls. Rain traces lazy fingers through the bark of an old willow tree.
Italic poetry? Nice.
>x bark
Stretching bark spreading reaching curling green, breathing green into deep green, rough curving bark twisting into dark space. (There is a knothole in the side of the tree.)
>x knothole
Dark heart of the dark center of green darkness, and within, a Carp Badge.
>take carp badge
Taken.
Very amusing to contrast the beautiful text with the mundane.
>x carp
This shiny enamel pin is cast in the image of a surprised-looking carp. It is awarded to the angler who takes first place in the annual talent show of the Holler County Association of Fly Fishing Enthusiasts.
I leave the sanctuary of the willow tree. The launch seems part of a collection of potential boat landing spaces.
I go back to the gazebo and go west. As I do, I realize that a different bas relief is presented depending on where we came from.
>s
Gazebo
The woods open up around a ruined palace of a gazebo. Its four entrances are aligned with paths that head off in the cardinal directions. The northern face of the gazebo is carved with a bas-relief of dense woods.
>w
Garden
Flowerbeds on either side of the path have gone wild in the absence of human intervention, and the vines and flowers have escaped their allotments to overgrow each other lest they be overgrown themselves. But several of the more colorful varietals have won out, and the area is resplendent in orange, pink, yellow, and violet, trembling gently in the rain.
The trail bends at the entrance to a utility shed, continuing east and northwest from here.
The western face of the gazebo is carved with a bas-relief of a night sky.
The northern face of the gazebo is carved with a bas-relief of dense woods.
The eastern face of the gazebo is carved with a bas-relief of a man paddling a canoe.
The southern face of the gazebo is carved with a bas-relief of an elegant swan.
Interesting.
Back to the garden. The vines, flowers, and flowerbeds have the same responses.
>x vines
I don’t know if I can recognize any of these flowers off the top of my head. I’m a little overwhelmed.
Well, I think the orange ones are tiger lilies. And these purple guys are coneflowers. Other than that, I’m coming up empty. Sorry.
But we don’t have to know the names of all the flowers to enjoy them! They have soft, colorful petals. I’m led to understand that they smell nice.
Searching flowers is fruitless.
>x shed
The garden shed is a monolith of aluminum order rising out of vegetable chaos. Its exterior is a grayish shade of blue; maybe ten years ago it wasn’t so drab. The door is closed.
On the far side of the shed are some boxes.
>open it
The door seems to be locked.
>x boxes
An array of low wooden boxes, painted white—beehives!
But there don’t seem to be any bees around at the moment.
I will return later.
I am compelled to do as much as I can today, because what if I miss something that can only be done on rainy Mondays?
nw
Broken Bridge
A stream flows northeast past this spot, toward the pond. It is wide, and slow, and deep. Raindrops are forming little ripples on its surface. And the bridge joining its northwest and southeast banks has fallen apart.
Three stakes are stuck in the ground on this side of the stream.
Let’s look around.
>x stakes
Three wooden poles are sticking straight up out of the earth. They’re each a few inches wide and maybe seven feet tall. I don’t know what they’re for.
>x stream
The rain hasn’t done anything to speed up the current; the creek creeps by, insistently indolent, ignoring the weather.
Surprisingly, we can get by:
>nw
Safe in your goofy-looking waders, you make your way across the stream.
Wreck
The trail bends north to southeast around a shallow corner of the pond. An old canoe lies snapped in half on the rocks.
Mounted on a post on the other side of the trail is an old birdhouse.
Something is making little peeping noises, up in the branches: A black-capped chickadee.
The chickadee sings a little song, which is usually transcribed “chickadee-dee-dee,” but which to me sounds more like “tshtshshrrrrrkrr.”
Nice, another bird.
>x chickadee
This chickadee has a little black cap, and a little black bib, and little gray wings, and its proportions create an effect of absolute cuteness. But I don’t like their singing very much.
You make a note of your new sighting in your little blue birdwatching guide.
This draft is acting goofy, so I’ll split this into two parts. This is part 1.
