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<>> * && Just one small step to enter the wide wild world...

  Comment recorded.

<>> s

  As you lead your young charge through the magnificent straw-built portal and
onto the bridge, mists of water cool your face from the magical fountains
arching over it.  Then you are across, and off down the lane towards all the
noise and activity...


  We will do our best to relate the next passages of Prince Quisborne's story
in a briefer fashion.
  Into the Great Festival you enter indeed: a once-in-four-years event that
draws together people from every realm in the northeastern parts of the earth.
For two or three weeks almost any conceivable form of fun and merriment will be
availed of, before the tearful partings and long return journeys must commence.
  Soon after your arrival, the prince chances to meet someone whom, four years
ago, he had spent the last Festival as a playmate with, and whom he introduces
to you as Princess Persimmon.  Suddenly the two see much more than playmates in
each other, and spend the whole of the Festival in each other's company.
Romance, that blossom that blossoms in desert or in snow, blossoms.
  As the end of the Festival draws near, you have still failed to come up with
any pretext for presenting the young prince to Lord Zendarc, or with any other
means of gaining some immediate favor in his eyes.  While you are still
feverishly trying to drum up something you can do in order to be able to give
some report that might placate the paranoid king, things suddenly take a
dramatic turn.  Prince Quisborne bustles up to you with his young lady friend
in hand and says they are going just then to Persimmon's father to ask for his
blessing to marry once the girl comes of age.  They hasten off and you follow.
What then is your dumbfounded astonishment to learn that Persimmon's father is
Lord Zendarc himself?!  Before you can think or act, the prince is already
speaking.

  "My lord, I greeve you gritting...  Ack!, I *give* you *greeting*!  I'm
Quisborne... the Prince, that is.  Of Dwindeldorn.  I seek your hand in
marriage for the blessing of the princess – No!...  I mean – I seek your
blessing for my marriage to the princess's hands.  Hand.  I like her so much
that I love her, and I want to always be with her, until forever never ends!"
  Lord Zendarc is so flummoxed that he can't decide whether to explode in wrath
or laughter.  He has many words to answer, but in short, he berates the lad for
his audacity, denouncing the monarchial family of Dwindeldorn as unworthy, and
the feckless prince in particular.  As the heat of his tirade subsides, the
lord stops, as if taken with a sudden thought.  His words then:
  "Look here, Quisborne: there are legends about your family from the distant
past.  It was my own nursemaid who used to tell me the stories...  I don't say
I believe them.  Something about an ancient crown of Dwindeldorn that was lost
or hidden... and it is said that it will never be found again but by the
descendant who finally breaks the line of ill repute, and earns a new name for
the House of Dubious Renown.  Secrets, supposedly, hidden deep in the north, in
the haunted Fastness of the Dracken Fells."  Then to himself: "I wonder if she
still lives?  She went back to Dwindeldorn after I came of age..."
  "Quisborne, you find and bring me back that crown, and your request for my
daughter's hand will be duly considered.  If there is no such crown, that's not
my problem!"
  Well, the naïve prince accepts the challenge with confidence, and turns to
his teary-eyed amour.  She speaks first.
  "Adieu, Quizzy..."
  "I do too, Persimmon...  Uh, what is it we're doing, now?"
  "Adieu... it's a way of saying goodbye."
  "Oh.  I do you too, Princess."

  And with that, you and the prince make your way off, leaving Lord Zendarc and
Persimmon behind.  You make your report to King Phisbeer, who concedes that a
marriage alliance with Crindarwald would be highly desirable, and gives his
support to the quest for the crown.  The prince says goodbye to his mother, and
the two of you are off into the world together as knight and squire on a grand
adventure, with no reckoning of how far you will travel, what sights you will
see, what deeds you will do, or how much time will pass before you both return
either in defeat or in triumph.

  Or maybe you're not quite off into the world yet, for the first place you
have to go is back to the festival grounds, where the prince had asked to
borrow your ember box in order to build a fire for Persimmon on one of their
little excursions.  He managed not only to not get a fire lit – "I put a
glowing ember right on top of a log, but it just wouldn't catch fire!" he had
said – but also to lose your box in the process, necessitating this return trip
to hunt for and retrieve it.  You do have the fortune to find it, but it had
not been properly closed, and all of the coals inside are dead.

  Well then... if the legend about the lost crown is true, it stands to reason
that the legends about the haunted fastness in the north should be true too.
Zendarc said that the Fastness of the Dracken Fells was supposed to harbor
secrets pertaining to the crown's whereabouts.  That's all you've got to go on
for now, and you're the leader here.  Prince Quisborne has a title to shake –
and a better one to earn – let's get going!

  Dear judges: go on, congratulate yourselves on a game completed!  The good
news is, a much larger and more exciting adventure lies in wait, only a few
keystrokes away!  We understand that you will likely not have the time left to
progress very much farther than here in the two-hour scoring window.  But we
certainly hope to see you back at some point afterwards, for Quisborne hasn't
the smallest inkling of all that is yet to befall him!  The real adventure is
only just beginning!



 <> The Great Festival grounds <>

  You are in the yard fronting the many-gabled manor house, Forthlong Hall.
For acres and acres all around the Hall, the grounds and fields are still
covered with evidences of all the recent merrymaking.  Everywhere are tables,
stages, benches, bales, boxes, pens, playing fields, and other remnants of the
myriad of events which took place during the course of the Festival.  Most of
the tents and pavilions which still stand are to the southwest.
  Occasionally a body is to be seen pulling something down or packing something
up, or a small knot of folk are seen still loitering or lingering about, but
for the most part all of the life has departed the scene.  Forthlong Hall still
stands open to the west, and a dirt lane leads from the front yard northward.

  As will almost invariably be the case for many many months to come, Prince
Quisborne the Feckless is accompanying you and near at hand.  He seems to be
looking now east, now southwest, now some other direction, reliving memories
that happened in a particular quarter during the Great Festival.

  Well, first things first.  You're going to need a functioning ember box
sooner rather than later, so it's time to get those coals relit.  But you're
not just going to walk to the nearest village and ask for a light.  Oh no.  The
prince has many life lessons to learn ahead of him, and one of them is
resourcefulness.  In fact, you expect this lesson is one that he will learn
very well, for you are setting out on this journey carrying no coin, with no
intentions of acquiring it or making use of it.  You'd better keep your eyes
open for a live flame somewhere.

<>> l

 <> The Great Festival grounds <>

  You are in the yard fronting the many-gabled manor house, Forthlong Hall.
For acres and acres all around the Hall, the grounds and fields are still
covered with evidences of all the recent merrymaking.  Everywhere are tables,
stages, benches, bales, boxes, pens, playing fields, and other remnants of the
myriad of events which took place during the course of the Festival.  Most of
the tents and pavilions which still stand are to the southwest.
  Occasionally a body is to be seen pulling something down or packing something
up, or a small knot of folk are seen still loitering or lingering about, but
for the most part all of the life has departed the scene.  Forthlong Hall still
stands open to the west, and a dirt lane leads from the front yard northward.

  The heir to the throne of Dwindeldorn is present as ever.

  The heir to the throne of Dwindeldorn twirls his hair.

<>> exits off

  Exits off.

<>> x tables

  In every direction your view is filled with tables, tents, pavilions, stages,
benches, bales, boxes, pens, playing fields, and other remnants of the bygone
Festival.

<>> n

   Don't forget: you really don't want to journey far without a functioning
ember box, so you'll want to find some live flame to rekindle the dead coals
you have in there.

  As you walk down the lane leading away from the festival grounds, you chance
to notice something left astray in one of the nearby pavilions.  It's one of
those new-fangled balloons, floating up against the canopy.  You grab it by the
string and take it along with you.
  In addition to this, you see a large old burlap sack on the ground by a
pavilion, that doesn't look as if it's going to be claimed by anyone.  Perfect!
What better way to get the prince started with some responsibility than by
having him tote everything you'll need to carry with you?  You congratulate the
prince on his new role as your pack horse by slapping the burlap sack into his
hands, and continue on down the lane.

 <> Entrance to the grounds of Forthlong Hall <>

  The road northeast to Darchingcrast converges here with another road running
northwest to southeast.  The lane leading to Forthlong Hall branches off from
this road to the south, crossing a stream by means of a small bridge.

  The elaborate festival entrance is still here, although the treadmill is not
in operation; thus, no jets of water shoot over the bridge and the colored
lanterns are still.

  Nearby, PQ is ambling around.

  "My dad was never big on me being outdoors," the prince explains.  "You
know... meteors, and such."

  [It is us again: we just wish to remind you that you have a map at your
disposal if you should desire an aid to traveling around.  If your game program
supports graphics, simply enter the command 'map'.  Otherwise the map is
available as a standalone file.]

<>> s

   You cross the small bridge and enter the grounds of Forthlong Hall...

 <> The Great Festival grounds <>

  You are in the yard fronting Forthlong Hall.  In all directions the remnants
of the Festival are still to be seen.  The hall still stands open to the west,
and a dirt lane leads from the front yard northward.

  Dwindeldorn's future king tags along.

<>> x tents

  In every direction your view is filled with tables, tents, pavilions, stages,
benches, bales, boxes, pens, playing fields, and other remnants of the bygone
Festival.

<>> sw

  You both wander a bit aimlessly amongst some pavilions where innumerable
forms of games were held and general mingling took place.  It's sad to see
everything deserted, when so little time ago it was brimful of life.  Someone
will be along eventually to take all of this stuff down, but while it stands it
has a forlorn look, as of happy things passed away.

<>> * && The full description explicitly mentioned tents still standing to the southwest. I took this as implying I should investigate in that direction.

  Comment recorded.

<>> l

 <> The Great Festival grounds <>

  You are in the yard fronting Forthlong Hall.  In all directions the remnants
of the Festival are still to be seen.  The hall still stands open to the west,
and a dirt lane leads from the front yard northward.

  Near by your side sticks your ostensible squire.

<>> se

  The prince and his little lady friend were always disappearing in that
direction... you never did figure out where they were trysting, and you don't
need to now, either.

<>> s

  That way lies the football field where you scored a couple of beautiful goals
in the open tournament semifinal.  But there's nothing pertinent that direction
any more.

  Prince Quisborne seems to be recalling Festival memories as he gazes in a
certain direction over the grounds.

<>> e

  At the far eastern edge of the open ground, they had created a veritable
mountain of de-branched limbs and forking timbers for the small folk to climb
about on and wiggle through.  But you're not small folk and the Festival's
over.

<>> x hall

  Forthlong Hall is a quaint and queer old structure, built a few centuries ago
for some Lord Forthlong.  It's no longer the residence of any powerful figure
though... it's more of a little community now.  The wings filled with suites of
private chambers are now occupied by families, many of whom jointly work and
live off of the manor's lands.  The great rooms, drawing rooms, and kitchens
are used for communal events and purposes, the Great Festival being one notable
example.
  Forthlong Hall is a timber-frame building, with many large, steep gables
poking out at asymmetrical angles.  The upper stories project farther out than
the lower ones, and odd rooflines connect everything together.  The Hall
possesses all of the land the Festival was situated on, and the building itself
is located at the hub of where all the activity happened.  It stands open to
the west.

<>> * && A hippy commune! Where's the grass plantation?

  Comment recorded.

<>> x gables

  The roof overhangs grow wider as they go towards the peak, ending in a
slightly upturned point.  Many of the gables have a diamond-paned box window
bumping out under the peak.

<>> x windows

  The roof overhangs grow wider as they go towards the peak, ending in a
slightly upturned point.  Many of the gables have a diamond-paned box window
bumping out under the peak.

  The prince keeps the animal trivia coming.  "Swamp cattle actually sleep
underwater, and automatically surface to keep breathing.  They really only come
out of water at all in order to eat grass."

<>> ask prince about princess

  "Well, sir, I don't just know how to properly say what I think of *her*!  She
gives me the most pleasing combination of gooseflesh and collywobbles, and I
feel like a whole horde of militant butterflies are waging war in my stomach.
It's really strange!  But it's amazing!  I really, really want to make her
happy."

<>> ask prince about crown

  "Well...  I hope that crown is out there, somewhere!  It doesn't sound like
Lord Zendarc is likely to make allowances if I don't bring it back."

<>> ask prince about embers

  You ask your companion some questions, and he gives you some answers.

<>> * && I still like this casual dismission of my question.

  Comment recorded.

<>> x people

  Some people are getting a headstart on takedown, though it seems to be the
general consensus that there's no big rush: most people probably need a
vacation after all the strenuous merrymaking.  A few others might be putting
off making a long journey home.

  Your young pal is reminiscing about some of the activities you did together
at the Festival.

<>> talk to people

  Just let them go about their business... you've got business of your own.

<>> w

 <> Forthlong Hall <>

  This is the Great Room of that aged and venerable establishment, Forthlong
Hall.  It served as a dance hall (though plenty of dancing was also done
outdoors) and lounge during the Festival, and shows signs of the aftermath of
having been the scene of a great hubbub.  The ceiling of this great room soars
all the way up to the heavy beams of the roof; the floor is of thick, dark
timbers laid and then shaved smooth.  It is quite muddy and scattered with grit
and snippets of grass in spite of the fact that several worn straw mats were
scattered around the room which were meant for shoes and boots to be wiped on.
Most of them have pretty well disintegrated, but there's one still lying
around.
  At the eastern end of the room, large and ornamented doorways lead north and
southeast, to separate wings of the building.  The south wall is set with a row
of deep windows two stories in height, and an incredibly monstrous fireplace
occupies the west side of the room.  Eastward goes through a vestibule and out
the main doors.

  A long couch sits along the south wall with its back to the windows.

  Hanging from the heavy timbers of the roof is a spectacular chandelier.

  The prince has joined you inside.

  The hall is inordinately still, as most of the residents are lying low to
recuperate.

<>> x ceiling

  The ceiling is some thirty feet overhead at the roof peak, blackened with age
and smoke.  The heavy beams are formed into a roof support system called
"hammer-beam trusses."  With this design, no beams need run horizontally from
wall to wall to tie things together.  The timbers are carved in strategic
places, with curving crossmembers and lathe-turned drop finials.  It makes for
an extremely handsome open ceiling.  Suspended centrally from the ceiling is a
large chandelier.

  The boy talks more about the stormy response of Lord Zendarc when he asked to
marry Persimmon.

<>> x beams

  The ceiling is some thirty feet overhead at the roof peak, blackened with age
and smoke.  The heavy beams are formed into a roof support system called
"hammer-beam trusses."  With this design, no beams need run horizontally from
wall to wall to tie things together.  The timbers are carved in strategic
places, with curving crossmembers and lathe-turned drop finials.  It makes for
an extremely handsome open ceiling.  Suspended centrally from the ceiling is a
large chandelier.

<>> x chandelier

  Well above your head hangs a large and marvelous chandelier.  It appears to
be of bronze, and has a look of ancient, rugged artistry.  It is formed of
numerous tiers of arms and is studded with more candles than you wish to count
at the moment, all alight.  Most of them are pretty burned down and will soon
be replaced by the steward.

  Prince Quisborne sees you surveying the chandelier and comments: "My dad
provided those candles and enough more to last about a half a year, as one of
his contributions to the Festival."

  The broad daylight streams into the room through the tall windows.

<>> * && I want to tie the straw mat to the balloon and let it float to the candles. The balloon would pop from the heat and the burning mat would fall at my feet, providing flame to light my embers.

  Comment recorded.

<>> x mat

  These straw mats were probably made to be disposable, just to try to keep the
mud a little in check.  This one is dry, lightweight, and only about two feet
square.  It's quite worn and appears to have met many a foot.

<>> get it

  You pick up the only intact straw mat off the floor.

  The future monarch of Dwindeldorn looks out through the window-wall.

<>> wipe boots

  Well... you've got a tunic, breeches and boots.  But you won't really have to
talk about your basic apparel, unless you're putting something in your secret
pocket.

<>> x secret pocket

  Sewn cleverly into the inside of your waistband is a very small secret
pocket.  One simply never knows when a mission might require covertly
possessing a small object.

  Quiz gives his hair a twirl.

<>> put mat in pocket

  The secret pocket is only going to be able to hold some of your smallest
items.

  The many-candled chandelier twinkles away.

<>> x box

  Your ember box is a small metal container encased in thick leather, for
carrying around live coals with which to start fires.  It currently contains
some unlit pieces of charcoal.

<>> x balloon

  This little curiosity was only just introduced at this year's Festival... you
had never seen anything like it before.  A party from Emdenfall told the story
of how some men, in the process of digging a deep well, came upon a pocket of
vapour in the ground, which tended to billow upward even though it was not
heated.  Eventually someone had the idea to fill bags of extra-light waxed
paper with this peculiar vapour and tie them off, sometimes attaching a piece
of twine to them.  With the use of brightly-colored and decorated paper bags, a
hugely popular new toy and party decoration was born.  Granted, you might never
see one again till the next time an entourage comes from Emdenfall and decides
to bring along some of their "magic air."
  This balloon is a deep purple, inexplicably doing its magic of "standing up"
straight on its string, instead of falling to the ground.

  The prince sighs, recalling the dances he shared here with Persimmon.

<>> x hearth

  "Hearth" could either be something as yet unknown to you or else a phrasing
unknown to us.

<>> x fireplace

  It looks like the lords of old could have burned small trees at a time in
this fireplace.  You have firsthand knowledge that it was in full roar on a
Festival evening, but there's nothing in it at the moment aside from some ash
dust.

<>> enter it

  You duck into the fireplace.

<>> look up

  The construction 'look [direction]' will not be necessary in this game.

<>> x chimney

  It looks like the lords of old could have burned small trees at a time in
this fireplace.  You have firsthand knowledge that it was in full roar on a
Festival evening, but there's nothing in it at the moment aside from some ash
dust.

<>> u

  Conceivable.  But risky, claustrophobic, and almost certainly unprofitable.

  The heir to the throne of Dwindeldorn ducks into the fireplace.

<>> l

 <> Forthlong Hall (standing in the monstrous fireplace) <>

  This is the Great Room of Forthlong Hall.  The ceiling soars all the way up
to the heavy beams of the roof, and the floor is of thick, dark timbers.
  Large and ornamented doorways lead north and southeast, but those areas are
mostly private quarters.  There are deep windows two stories in height in the
south wall, and an incredibly monstrous fireplace on the west side of the room.
The way out is east.

  A long couch sits along the south wall with its back to the windows.

  Hanging from the heavy timbers of the roof is a spectacular chandelier.

  Your companion is with you in the Hall.

<>> out

  You come back out of the fireplace.

  "You know what really puzzles me?" says the prince.  "Why do people say
'happy as a clam'?  Are clams really that happy?  How would anybody know?
Clams can't even smile!"

<>> jump to chandelier

  The chandelier is hanging high up in the lofty vaulted ceiling of the great
room.

<>> swing on chandelier

  "On chandelier" is either:
 - Something you haven't come across yet
 - Something not necessary to your adventure
 - A phrasing we aren't equipped to handle

<>> swing chandelier

  The chandelier is hanging high up in the lofty vaulted ceiling of the great
room.

  Prince Quisborne is building a tower out of inventory items.

<>> climb quisborne

  You tell your young pal to brace himself and that you're going to try to
climb up on his shoulders.  "Okay, Valkyrian, sure thing!  Come on up!"  You
don't so much as begin to bear your weight on his shoulders with your hands
when he buckles to the ground and dumps you off.
  "Umph... you weigh a lot!  No offense, I hope!  Or maybe I'm wrong... and I
just can't hold a lot.  I'm sure you weigh just right."

<>> x candles

  According to Quisborne, this batch of candles and many batches that will be
subsequent were supplied to the Hall by King Phisbeer.  The candles are
flaming, though most of them are quite short by now and nearly ready to be
replaced.  They bathe the wide spaces of the great room in a profusion of warm
light.

  Prince Quisborne seats himself on the couch for a spell.

<>> quisborne, climb me

  The prince is already heavy on following orders and doing things that are
hard for him to do.  Let's not be too bossy.

<>> ask quisborne about candles

  You decide you can ask Prince Quiz about that subject some other time.

  Far down some hall, you can hear the snore of someone recovering from an
excess of merrymaking.

<>> tie mat to balloon

  As you experiment with tying the balloon string to the deteriorating straw
mat, you find that the mat drapes nicely over the balloon and stays put.  Even
draped with the straw mat, the balloon pulls toward the ceiling as far as its
string will let it.

<>> release balloon

  The balloon is certainly an interesting article, and you wouldn't ordinarily
be disposed to destroy it for no good reason.  However, you think you've got an
idea for its worthwhile use, and after all, you can't tote it around forever,
especially if you and the prince are going to be adventuring in search of an
old fortress, the Fastness of the Dracken Fells.
  While standing below the chandelier, you release the balloon, laden with the
straw mat.  It floats steadily upward and enters the forest of burning candles.
The straw mat, being highly combustible, is almost instantly set ablaze.  The
sudden heat bursts the balloon, and a flaming mass falls back to the ground and
continues to burn.
  Good thing there weren't any expensive rugs rolled out on the floor!  Well,
it was a rather roundabout way of procuring a means to relight your ember box,
but part of your goal for the prince involves teaching him how to solve
problems and to be resourceful with whatever is at his disposal.  For that, you
consider the balloon well-spent, and Prince Quisborne is already manifesting
his admiration for the ingenuity of your last experiment.

<>> light embers

  What do you want to light it with?

< object >> mat

  The dead coals start to glow as you put them in the fire for a minute or two.
Then scooping them back in with a boot and closing up the ember box, you find
yourself now armed with a fire-starter ready at hand.

  Great!  With those practical matters addressed, there's no reason to delay.
Now for the lost crown and the ancient secret-bearing fastness in the north...


*** Your score has just gone up by four points ***

<>> * && Tadaa!

  Comment recorded.

<>> se

  The doorways lead off to wings of chambers which are used for private
residences.  Most of the chambers are probably filled with folk trying to
recover from a surplus of good times... just let them be.

  The future king of Dwindeldorn strolls about the large room.

<>> n

  The doorways lead off to wings of chambers which are used for private
residences.  Most of the chambers are probably filled with folk trying to
recover from a surplus of good times... just let them be.

<>> l

 <> Forthlong Hall <>

  This is the Great Room of Forthlong Hall.  The ceiling soars all the way up
to the heavy beams of the roof, and the floor is of thick, dark timbers.
  Large and ornamented doorways lead north and southeast, but those areas are
mostly private quarters.  There are deep windows two stories in height in the
south wall, and an incredibly monstrous fireplace on the west side of the room.
The way out is east.

  A long couch sits along the south wall with its back to the windows.

  Hanging from the heavy timbers of the roof is a spectacular chandelier.

  In the middle of the floor is a flaming mass (formerly a balloon and a straw
mat) that has fallen from above.

  The incumbent to the throne is with you in the Hall.

  The hall is inordinately still.

<>> x windows

  There is a series of eight windows dominating the south wall.  They rise two
stories high into pointed tops, the wooden mullions being made in curving
tracery shapes instead of a criss-cross grid.

<>> look through windows

  You just see into a little gardened court created by various angles of the
building, and beyond that the festival grounds.

<>> x sofa

  "Sofa" could either be something as yet unknown to you or else a phrasing
unknown to us.

<>> x couch

  The couch is a bit outlandish as a decorative statement.  A very heavy and
dark wood frame makes a series of scalloped tops along the back, the surfaces
being filled in with purple velvet cushions.  It appears very old, and probably
took its share of abuse during the Festival as well.  There are some holes here
and there in the velvet, and one seam of a cushion has split open, showing a
whitish, fluffy stuffing.

  The prince cheerfully greets a haggard-looking resident that stumbles out of
a room and makes for the exit.

  The flaming mass finally burns itself out.  You kick the remaining charred
bits into the fireplace.

<>> x stuffing

  There's fluffy white stuffing coming out of the busted cushion seam.

<>> get it

  You really don't need to deprive the cushion of any more stuffing than it's
already lost.

<>> * && If I hadn't used the mat, would this be alternate tinder to tie to the balloon?

  Comment recorded.

<>> search couch

  You see nothing on the couch.

  The future monarch of Dwindeldorn adjusts the sack.

<>> look under couch

  Under the couch is simply more of the detritus that was brought in by
hundreds of dancing feet.

<>> move couch

  The couch is quite heavy, and there's nothing to gain by moving it around.

<>> l

 <> Forthlong Hall <>

  This is the Great Room of Forthlong Hall.  The ceiling soars all the way up
to the heavy beams of the roof, and the floor is of thick, dark timbers.
  Large and ornamented doorways lead north and southeast, but those areas are
mostly private quarters.  There are deep windows two stories in height in the
south wall, and an incredibly monstrous fireplace on the west side of the room.
The way out is east.

  A long couch sits along the south wall with its back to the windows.

  Hanging from the heavy timbers of the roof is a spectacular chandelier.

  The youth is with you in the Hall.

<>> e

 <> The Great Festival grounds <>

  You are in the yard fronting Forthlong Hall.  In all directions the remnants
of the Festival are still to be seen.  The hall still stands open to the west,
and a dirt lane leads from the front yard northward.

  Your companion, PQ, is here with you.

<>> w

 <> Forthlong Hall <>

  This is the Great Room of Forthlong Hall.  The ceiling soars all the way up
to the heavy beams of the roof, and the floor is of thick, dark timbers.
  Large and ornamented doorways lead north and southeast, but those areas are
mostly private quarters.  There are deep windows two stories in height in the
south wall, and an incredibly monstrous fireplace on the west side of the room.
The way out is east.

  A long couch sits along the south wall with its back to the windows.

  Hanging from the heavy timbers of the roof is a spectacular chandelier.

  The king-to-be has joined you inside.

<>> light cattail with candles

  It would just burn right up.

  The prince turns the conversation to culinary matters.  "The key to enjoying
kale," he says, "is to not eat it.  But Mama makes me eat it all the time."  He
sighs.

<>> * && Would this have been an alternate solution?

  Comment recorded.

<>> x cattail

  This is a cattail, or bulrush, that you picked from the edge of Oogerstane's
pond.  It's a little shorter than one of your legs, with that unusual, sausage-
shaped cluster of dense flowers at the end.

  The broad daylight streams into the room through the tall windows.

<>> e

 <> The Great Festival grounds <>

  You are in the yard fronting Forthlong Hall.  In all directions the remnants
of the Festival are still to be seen.  The hall still stands open to the west,
and a dirt lane leads from the front yard northward.

  The heir to the throne of Dwindeldorn is following you as ever.

  PQ is "using" a tree.

<>> * && Um... PQ is doing what now?

  Comment recorded.

<>> * && To be honest, I don't like the use of the abbreviation PQ in-game. Informal nicknames like "Quizzy" or "Feckles" would be fine, but PQ has an anachronistic feel to it.

  Comment recorded.

<>> n

   You depart from Forthlong Manor, eventually crossing the small bridge over
the stream which bounds the manor on the north...

 <> Entrance to the grounds of Forthlong Hall <>

  The road northeast to Darchingcrast converges here with another road running
northwest to southeast.  The lane leading to Forthlong Hall branches off from
this road to the south, crossing a stream by means of a small bridge.

  The elaborate festival entrance is still here, although the treadmill is not
in operation; thus, no jets of water shoot over the bridge and the colored
lanterns are still.

  The princeling is following you wherever you go.

<>> x treadmill

  The treadmill is basically a hamster-wheel for people, typically used to
power things like hoists or small mills.  It stands idle, ready to be
dismantled and transported back to its origin, now all of the festival activity
is come and gone.

  The lively stream gurgles and rushes.

<>> enter treadmill

  The treadmill is some distance away, and doesn't seem like an important
destination for you to visit.

<>> * && No treadmill puzzle?

  Comment recorded.

<>> nw

   You take the road northwest.  This is the most prominent travel route in
Dwindeldorn, and you meet plenty of other wayfarers as you go.  However, when
the road bends down towards the port city of Chelderfaulk (where you first
arrived here), you pass on by and take a lesser road which continues northwest.
The city is still a fair journey south of here, and the big cities aren't part
of your designs for the prince's real-life education.  You take the northwest
road to its end...

 <> Ferry landing <>

  The road arrives here from two different directions at a landing for a ferry:
west of you, the lovely Ribbleskinder River, Dwindeldorn's longest, flows
roughly south-southwest.  The western bank is a continuous line of bluffs
covered with grass and trees, while the land on this side makes a more gradual
descent to the water.  The small town of Wratchbunting lies mostly hidden by
trees a few furlongs north of here, at the confluence of the Ribbleskinder and
Gloskinfroke rivers, which last takes an overall westward course from
Darchingcrast to arrive here (you could see it from higher ground as you were
approaching).  The road travels off to the southeast and to the northeast, in
addition to a small lane that follows the riverbank north towards the town.
  A small, tree-flanked hut standing just up the bank from the ferry landing
appears to be a shelter for waiting folk when the ferry crossing is extra busy,
and on its side is painted in large decorative lettering: "WRATCHBUNTING
FERRIE."  The ferry dock extends a short way into the river's waters where the
road comes down to it.

  The ferry floats idly, docked on the other side of the river.

  Near by your side sticks Prince Quisborne the Feckless.

<>> x western bank

  Bluffs on the western bank of the river plunge steeply into the river, except
for a cleft where the far ferry landing is situated.  Slopes of solid green
foliage are broken in places by naked rock faces jutting straight up for a
space, as if portions of the hillside had broken off in some past age.

  "Hey, Valkyrian, look!  This turtle is trying to ride the other one
piggyback!  He can't get up though, and just stands there with his front legs
on the other one's shell, trying to hop every now and then.  Here, little guy,
let me help you."  The prince proceeds to set the one turtle on top of the
other.
  A striking realization dawns on you: the lad has virtually no peers, and King
Phisbeer has never taken the trouble to inform his son about the facts of life.
Well!  There's certainly no good in leaving the prince in the dark any longer
than he has been already.  Your education of the prince was meant to encompass
the whole man, so you take it upon yourself to fill in this most glaring blank
in the young man's knowledge.

  The prince listens with wide eyes as you disjointedly try to present the
subject in the least awkward manner that occurs to you.  You weren't prepared
for this, though, and end up bludgeoning the sheltered boy with some pretty
blunt new mental images.  The prince remains with drooping jaw for several
moments after you've wrapped up, finally muttering, "Incredible!  Wondrous!
Shocking!  I knew there was something mysterious there, that no one had ever
told me about!  You're not pulling my leg, are you, sir?!"  Then you see gears
turning in his head, and lose him for several minutes to a reverie.  "So I,
um... the princess – I mean, uh... that's what we... would...?  Oh my lands..."
He pauses a few moments more.
  "I don't know, Valkyrian!  You're sure she wouldn't think that was being...
*rude* to her?!  Or ungentlemanly?  This is intense.  Hot diggity fizz..."
  He shuts up for good, and you can tell that the more the lad thinks about it,
the less it seems rude to him, and the more it seems like the only natural
outcome of his wanting to squeeze her so tightly.

<>> * && Oh poor bedazzled Quisborne! Such wonders the world still has in store for him...

  Comment recorded.

<>> l

 <> Wratchbunting ferry landing, east side <>

  West of you is a ferry landing across the lovely Ribbleskinder River, which
flows roughly south-southwest.  The small town of Wratchbunting lies mostly
hidden by trees a few furlongs north of here.  A small tree-flanked hut
standing just up the bank from the dock proclaims itself to be: "WRATCHBUNTING
FERRIE."  The roads leave the ferry landing to the northeast and the southeast.

  The ferry floats idly, docked on the other side of the river.

  Your companion, Prince Quisborne, is here with you.

<>> w

  West of you is Ribbleskinder River, and the ferry to cross it is docked on
the other side, in less than a perfect state of functionality.

  The king's son goes in the ferry hut, then comes back out again.

<>> x ferry

  Even from across the river, you can tell the ferry is little more than a
floating wooden platform; it would probably be a tight squeeze to get two
horse-drawn wagons on it at a time.  This particular ferry ordinarily works by
being attached to a dock at each bank by a rope.  There is a crankable winch on
each dock, and two cranks on the ferry itself, one on either side of it.  The
result is that while on the ferry, you turn the crank nearest the bank you're
heading for, and it will reel in the rope on that side, drawing you towards the
bank, while letting out the rope from the side you departed from.  Furthermore,
if one were to arrive at either bank and find that the ferry was not left last
on their side of the river, turning the winch on the dock would reel the ferry
back to them.

  Something is amiss though... the rope has either been cut, has snapped, or
has come untied from the dock here on the east side.  The loose end of the rope
appears to have been drawn out of the river and coiled up on the ferry deck.

  A colorful butterfly floats around demurely, and alights on a leaf.

<>> x rope

(the coiled rope)
  The rope appears to be attached normally to the crank on the ferry, but the
end that would be stretched all the way across the river to this dock is
instead piled up in a coil on the ferry deck.
  You would imagine that this must have happened recently, since it surely
couldn't be too hard for some boatman to tote the rope back over here; but
then, it may be a sleepy neighborhood, and you can't count on the ferry
situation getting rectified by someone else within any definite time frame.

<>> wind crank

  We must apologize for our lack of omniscience, but we are not able to process
the verb or verb phrase you're trying to use.

<>> turn crank

(first getting on the dock)

  You are free to turn the winch as long as you like, but there is no rope
attached to it.

  Varied shadows accent the landscape.

<>> swim

  Swimming in the river doesn't seem very purposeful, unless you mean to swim
across it.  You're a good swimmer, and the truth is, you *might* make it across
fine.  However, rivers of this size can often conceal dangerous undercurrents,
and it's really not worth the risk.  Also a factor is that there is no chance
Prince Quisborne could follow you.

<>> l

 <> Wratchbunting ferry landing, east side (standing on the dock) <>

  West of you is a ferry landing across the lovely Ribbleskinder River, which
flows roughly south-southwest.  The small town of Wratchbunting lies mostly
hidden by trees a few furlongs north of here.  A small tree-flanked hut
standing just up the bank from the dock proclaims itself to be: "WRATCHBUNTING
FERRIE."  The roads leave the ferry landing to the northeast and the southeast.

  The ferry floats idly, docked on the other side of the river.

  PQ is sticking nearby.

<>> x town

  You can only see a little of the town when you stand far enough back from the
river to have a little elevation.

  The Prince of Dwindeldorn surveys the scenic river.

<>> jump

  You exercise your enviable physical prowess by making a grand leap into the
air.

  Two big boys riding astride a log are cruising down the river.  Soon they are
lost to sight.

<>> x hut

  The ferry house is a simple plank-sided shelter provided as a waiting area
for days of heavy traffic.  A window and door face the river, while the side
facing the roads is blazoned with the words "WRATCHBUNTING FERRIE."  Underneath
the title is the addendum: "The onlie free ferrie across the Ribbleskinder."
  Free is good, since you're carrying no coin: you consider doing without it to
be an important part of Quisborne's initiation and real-life education.  "Free"
might also explain why the ferry has not been maintained in operating
condition.

<>> go in hut

  The ferry house probably doesn't hold your destiny in its hands.  A quick
look inside satisfies you that all it's good for is waiting in.

<>> * && Ah. It's more like a bus stop shelter. I thought it was the ferryman's hut.

  Comment recorded.

<>> climb hut

  You're pretty sure the ferry house holds no secrets of importance.

<>> l

 <> Wratchbunting ferry landing, east side (standing on the dock) <>

  West of you is a ferry landing across the lovely Ribbleskinder River, which
flows roughly south-southwest.  The small town of Wratchbunting lies mostly
hidden by trees a few furlongs north of here.  A small tree-flanked hut
standing just up the bank from the dock proclaims itself to be: "WRATCHBUNTING
FERRIE."  The roads leave the ferry landing to the northeast and the southeast.

  The ferry floats idly, docked on the other side of the river.

  Nearby, Prince Quiz is ambling around.

  The youth studies an interesting burl on a tree.

<>> I looked at the map and I *really* want to go to Brinekettle. Just the name of that place!

  The story doesn’t know how to use the character ‘*’ in a command.

<>> off

  This is one of those times where we may not have covered the verb you're
trying to use...

<>> get off

  You step off of the dock.

<>> * && Let's see if the ferryman's in Wratchbunting. Or a lasso. A lasso would work too...

  Comment recorded.

<>> n

   You lead Quisborne down the riverside trail to the small town of
Wratchbunting.  It's a quaint little place bounded north and west by rivers,
with quite a large sorghum mill in operation for producing sweet syrup.  The
prince is interested in watching the men at work for awhile, remarking that he
reads about a lot of stuff but hasn't really seen much.  After a fairly
uneventful visit, you make your way back to the ferry landing.

 <> Wratchbunting ferry landing, east side <>

  West of you is a ferry landing across the lovely Ribbleskinder River, which
flows roughly south-southwest.  The small town of Wratchbunting lies mostly
hidden by trees a few furlongs north of here.  A small tree-flanked hut
standing just up the bank from the dock proclaims itself to be: "WRATCHBUNTING
FERRIE."  The roads leave the ferry landing to the northeast and the southeast.

  The ferry floats idly, docked on the other side of the river.

  Your companion is sticking about in your general vicinity.

  A fish jumps from the water.

<>>  * && Hmmm... I'll have to jot this ferry rope down in my notes under "Unsolved" and come back here once I have a rope. Or befriended a mermaid willing to push the ferry across to me.

  Comment recorded.

<>> * && Alright, Thymeleigh Manor then.

  Comment recorded.

<>> se

   Passing the junction of the Chelderfaulk Road, you continue on until you
come to the entrance of Forthlong Hall...

 <> Entrance to the grounds of Forthlong Hall <>

  The road northeast to Darchingcrast converges here with the road you're on,
which runs northwest to southeast.  The lane leading to Forthlong Hall branches
off from this road to the south, crossing a stream by means of a small bridge.

  The elaborate festival entrance is still here, although the treadmill is not
in operation; thus, no jets of water shoot over the bridge and the colored
lanterns are still.

  PQ is lollygagging behind.

<>> se

  You pause as the prince speaks.  "Sir, if I may?  Sorry!  I know I'm not in
charge here, I'm just thinking, um, weren't we supposed to be going northwards?
To find the Fastenings of the Darkened Fells, or whatever that place was
called?  Because I'm pretty anxious to find it!"

<>> * && Good point, dear Quizzy. I just got curious about this Manor and the Enchanted Forest near it.

  Comment recorded.

<>> nw

   Traveling northwest, you pass by the Chelderfaulk Road and come to the ferry
landing...

 <> Wratchbunting ferry landing, east side <>

  West of you is a ferry landing across the lovely Ribbleskinder River, which
flows roughly south-southwest.  The small town of Wratchbunting lies mostly
hidden by trees a few furlongs north of here.  A small tree-flanked hut
standing just up the bank from the dock proclaims itself to be: "WRATCHBUNTING
FERRIE."  The roads leave the ferry landing to the northeast and the southeast.

  The ferry floats idly, docked on the other side of the river.

  The youth is present and accounted for.

<>> ne

  The course of this journey leg involves making camp for the night.  It's the
prince's first experience sleeping out under the stars, or sleeping on anything
that doesn't resemble a bed.
  "This is just a kind of educational ordeal, right, Valkyrian?  I mean, we'll
be sleeping... somewhere with beds, most of the time?"  He reads your face, and
divines the truth: this is going to be his new mode of living for the
foreseeable future.
  "This is kind of jolly, isn't it, sir?  We'll get to... umm?... at least we
won't have to... uh.  Well, we'll be able to hear the birds clearly, anyway."
The prince, as of yet, can't think of much positive to say about the new
arrangements: he can't even say "At least we won't have to make our beds,"
because someone does that for him at home.

  Quisborne looks pretty haggard in the morning.  "Wow, this is wretched!" he
blurts.  "I mean, it's not so bad.  I mean, it's good!  Great!  It's great, I
just didn't sleep all of last night.  I think new rocks were growing out of the
ground under me as I lay.  And the darkness is really *dark* when you're not
safe inside a room.  And I'm pretty sure there were wolves prowling around,
just waiting to see if I'd fall asleep.  I didn't, though!"  At this, the
prince falls dead asleep sitting upright.  He slowly starts to lean to one
side, and then begins to pick up momentum, until, like a felled tree, he
crashes to the ground and wakes up, flailing and gasping.
  After breaking camp, you get back on your way, and reach your next
destination...

 <> Blatterfarthing village green <>

  The village of Blatterfarthing is described as a central communal green
featuring a running brook and several large shade trees, encircled a few rings
deep by the buildings which make up the community.  The Snorting Sow harbors
the village's wayfarers on the east side of the green, while a low structure,
open on two sides and with a sign mounted on its roof, sits along the west.  To
the northeast of that appears to be a sausage-maker's shop, and a variety of
other buildings and houses complete the innermost ring around the village
green.
  Roads sneak between buildings going southwest, southeast, and northeast.  A
narrow walk path also squeezes between the low structure and the sausage-
maker's, to the northwest.

  Your squire is sticking nearby.

  Some patrons exit the Snorting Sow.

<>> x green

  The village green is pleasant place that serves a myriad of purposes for the
local folk.  It is, well, very green, with healthy cropped grass, some shade
trees, and a small brook cutting through it.

  You inform the king's son that building the body is a part of building the
soul.  Sure, plenty of foot travel is a good start, but there are other
physical faculties that need to be involved in the process of strengthening and
development.  For starters, you have him drop and give you as many pushups as
he can.  He replies that he's never actually tried a pushup before.  Upon his
trying, you discover that he can barely grunt and growl his way through two
repetitions.
  Well.  A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.

<>> * && typo: "The village green is A pleasant place..."

  Comment recorded.

<>> x grass

  You don't see any grass in view.

<>> * && Pity, on a green this, well, very green...

  Comment recorded.

<>> x trees

  Perhaps a half-dozen large hickory trees are spaced about the green.

  "Our castle is very nice, to be sure," begins the prince.  "But fizz!  It's
fun to be away from it, roaming about wherever we please.  One feels like one
can never tell what may come next.  It's exciting!"

<>> climb trees

  You climb up into a tree.

<>> l

 <> Blatterfarthing village green (sitting in the treetop) <>

  The village of Blatterfarthing has a central communal green featuring a
running brook, encircled a few rings deep by the buildings which make up the
community.  The Snorting Sow sits on the east side of the green, while a low
structure, open on two sides and with a sign mounted on its roof, sits along
the west.  To the northeast of that appears to be a sausage-maker's shop, and a
variety of other buildings and houses complete the innermost ring around the
village green.
  Roads sneak between buildings going southwest, southeast, and northeast.  A
narrow walk path also squeezes between the low structure and the sausage-
maker's, to the northwest.

  The prince tags along.

<>> d

  Right then, you’re no longer in the treetop.

  The prince tries again to get a piece of grass to squeak, but fails.

<>> x brook

  The brook is only a couple of feet wide, but runs quite vigorously and adds
much to the scenic value of the place.  It cuts through the village mostly
north-south.

  On the whole, Blatterfarthing is a little town... it's a quiet village.

<>> drink water

  The brook's water is sweet and fresh.

<>> enter brook

  You couldn't even get submerged in the small brook.

  "Monkeys will travel a mile away to find the right rocks to bring back and
crack nuts with," the youth says.

<>> l

 <> Blatterfarthing village green <>

  The village of Blatterfarthing has a central communal green featuring a
running brook, encircled a few rings deep by the buildings which make up the
community.  The Snorting Sow sits on the east side of the green, while a low
structure, open on two sides and with a sign mounted on its roof, sits along
the west.  To the northeast of that appears to be a sausage-maker's shop, and a
variety of other buildings and houses complete the innermost ring around the
village green.
  Roads sneak between buildings going southwest, southeast, and northeast.  A
narrow walk path also squeezes between the low structure and the sausage-
maker's, to the northwest.

  Dwindeldorn's future king is here.

<>> x structure

  Which structure do you mean, the sausage-maker's shop, The Snorting Sow, or
the low structure?

< distinguish >> low

  The building has a low roofline with a generous overhang, covered in slates.
The walls facing north and east are open to the air, with supporting posts
spaced every eight or ten feet.  It looks like there's a forge inside.

<>> read sign

  The sign reads: "Ye Villeyge of Blatterfarthing Communall Fourge and
Smithye."

  The youth amuses himself by the brook.

<>> w

   You step right into the open smithy...

 <> Blatterfarthing smithy <>

  The inside of the smithy is full of interesting sights, but the first thing
to catch a person's eye is a large signboard suspended from the rafters near
the back wall.  It says :

Wellcome to our Smithye!  The ironne bar Stock and
blaunk Horseshoose are ment for generall publick Use.
Please it ye when ye have finishd your Worke, to leeve all
Tooles and Charrecoal behynde!  It is furthermore
advizd that ye refraigne from setting thy person or
this Fourge afyre by meanes of hot Coales or red-hot
Ironne, or in any other Fashonne.  The People of
Blatterfarthing thanke you for your Co-operation.

  As it could be no smithy without them, the smithy features a large forge, a
bellows, and an anvil.  A workbench runs along a back wall, on which wall are
hung a variety of tools related to working metal.  The floor is of dirt
sprinkled with sawdust, and the north and east walls of the building are
nothing but rows of posts, otherwise open to the outside.

  The great stone forge and its chimney loom large against the west wall, with
the bellows attached.  The ponderous anvil stands a few steps away, and a
pedal-driven grindstone is in the northwest corner.

  The smithy contains a few bins of metal bar stock and horseshoe blanks,
apparently for public use.

  On the anvil is a smithing hammer.

  Your "squire" is in tow.

<>> x workbench

  What more natural feature for any craftsman's workshop than a workbench?  A
vise is mounted to it at one end.

<>> xvise

  You may be trying to use a verb that we weren't instructed how to handle...

<>> x vise

  A vise would be handy for holding pieces while trying to file them, or doing
other forms of close work.

<>> clamp quisborne in vise

  You place Prince Quisborne in the vise and clamp it down.

<>> get file

  "File" is either:
 - Something you haven't come across yet
 - Something not necessary to your adventure
 - A phrasing we aren't equipped to handle

<>> l

 <> Blatterfarthing smithy <>

  The inside of the smithy is quite full of things to see.  A signboard hangs
from the rafters, and a forge, bellows, and anvil are present and accounted
for.  Along the south wall sits a workbench, and many tools are hung on the
wall above it.  You can leave by the open sides of the building east or north.

  The great stone forge and its chimney loom large against the west wall, with
the bellows attached.  The ponderous anvil stands a few steps away, and a
pedal-driven grindstone is in the northwest corner.

  The smithy contains a few bins of metal bar stock and horseshoe blanks,
apparently for public use.

  On the anvil is a smithing hammer.

  Your companion is with you like a second shadow.

<>> get hammer

  You take the smithing hammer.

  The heir to the throne of Dwindeldorn sifts through the bins of stock.

<>> * && Oi! Quis! I thought I clamped you down in that vise. How'd you get out? Did you smear your head with lard like that Who-did-now fellow?

  Comment recorded.

<>> hit quisborne with hammer

  For an experiment, you see if you can smack the prince so hard that his
ignominious title flies right off of him.  It doesn't, but his head doesn't
point forward any more.
  We jest, of course.  About all of it, not just his head.

<>> x anvil

  The anvil is an enormous chunk of iron, with a flat surface on top, where all
of the hammering takes place once a piece of metal is red-hot.  The top of the
anvil also extends out in a "horn", which is vaguely conical, so that a person
can hammer a bar or shoe into curves of different radii by shifting it up or
down the horn.

<>> put hammer on anvil

  You put the smithing hammer on the anvil.

<>> put quisborne on anvil

  Prince Quisborne probably wouldn’t like that.

<>> x forge

  The forge is a stone structure with a good-sized base, which rises to about
waist height.  About half of this is an open surface, a kind of basin filled
with charcoal.  For the remainder of the area the stone continues rising,
tapering up into a chimney which goes through the roof, and which has an arched
opening leading into it at the level of the coals.  The bellows are mounted at
the forge's side, entering into its base.
  Presently, the forge is unlit.

<>> x charcoal

  There's an ample supply of charcoal filling the forge, into which iron is
meant to be thrust and heated.  The coals are unlit and cold to the touch.

  The youth is acting goofy.

<>> x stones

  You don't see any stones in view.

<>> * && You never know one is loose and serves as a secret stowing place.

  Comment recorded.

<>> x chimney

  The forge is a stone structure with a good-sized base, which rises to about
waist height.  About half of this is an open surface, a kind of basin filled
with charcoal.  For the remainder of the area the stone continues rising,
tapering up into a chimney which goes through the roof, and which has an arched
opening leading into it at the level of the coals.  The bellows are mounted at
the forge's side, entering into its base.
  Presently, the forge is unlit.

<>> x bellows

  A forge would never work efficiently, if at all, without plenty of forced
air.  The bellows provide this, being a large pair of hinged wooden clappers
whose sides are closed in by an accordion-like flap of leather.  When the
bellows are pumped, air is drawn in through a one-way inlet, and then forced
out the end, which leads through a passage in the forge base and comes up
through the hot coals.

<>> pump bellows

  Pumping on the bellows while no fire is lit results in nothing but a
whooshing sound, and a little rising of dust from the surface of the dark
coals.

<>> get in forge

  The forge is best used for smithing work.

<>> put cattail in forge

  You put the cattail in the coals.

<>> pump bellows

  Pumping on the bellows while no fire is lit results in nothing but a
whooshing sound, and a little rising of dust from the surface of the dark
coals.

<>> * && The cattail whooshes upwards and floats gently to the ground.

  Comment recorded.

<>> get cattail

  You take the cattail.

  The lad clinks some pieces of iron together.

<>> l

 <> Blatterfarthing smithy <>

  The inside of the smithy is quite full of things to see.  A signboard hangs
from the rafters, and a forge, bellows, and anvil are present and accounted
for.  Along the south wall sits a workbench, and many tools are hung on the
wall above it.  You can leave by the open sides of the building east or north.

  The great stone forge and its chimney loom large against the west wall, with
the bellows attached.  The ponderous anvil stands a few steps away, and a
pedal-driven grindstone is in the northwest corner.

  The smithy contains a few bins of metal bar stock and horseshoe blanks,
apparently for public use.

  On the anvil is the smithing hammer.

  Your sidekick is hanging around.

  You oversee as the prince trembles and slops his way through five pushups.

<>> x tools

  Hanging on the wall are a number of "heading" tools, a pair of tongs, and a
collection of gauges, calipers, and other miscellanea.

<>> x tongs

  Tongs are frequently necessary for retrieving smaller items from the forge
coals.  Longer items like bars can usually be handled straight out of the fire
provided one wears a glove or grabs far enough away from the red-hot portion.
They're just like long, over-sized tweezers.

<>> get tongs

  You take the tongs.

<>> pinch quisborne with tongs

  "Quisborne with tongs" could either be something as yet unknown to you or
else a phrasing unknown to us.

<>> squeeze quisborne with tongs

  "Quisborne with tongs" is either:
 - Something you haven't come across yet
 - Something not necessary to your adventure
 - A phrasing we aren't equipped to handle

<>> squeeze quisborne

  You tussle a bit with the prince.

<>> hang tongs on wall

  The tongs isn't readily hangable.

<>> put tongs on wall

  You put the tongs down on the back wall.

<>> * && "The tong's AREN'T hangable." plural.

  Comment recorded.

<>> l

 <> Blatterfarthing smithy <>

  The inside of the smithy is quite full of things to see.  A signboard hangs
from the rafters, and a forge, bellows, and anvil are present and accounted
for.  Along the south wall sits a workbench, and many tools are hung on the
wall above it.  You can leave by the open sides of the building east or north.

  The great stone forge and its chimney loom large against the west wall, with
the bellows attached.  The ponderous anvil stands a few steps away, and a
pedal-driven grindstone is in the northwest corner.

  The smithy contains a few bins of metal bar stock and horseshoe blanks,
apparently for public use.

  On the anvil is the smithing hammer.  On the back wall are the tongs.

  Your sidekick is present and accounted for.

  The feckless prince looks over the many tools hanging above the workbench.

<>> x tools

  Hanging on the back wall are a punch, a grooving stamp, the tongs, and a
chisel, in addition to a collection of gauges, calipers, and other miscellanea.

<>> x punch

  The punch is one of the heading tools, just a long-nosed point used for
making holes through a flat piece of stock, with a floating birch handle.  It
is meant to be placed on a piece of work and then hit with the hammer

  The Feckless grabs things with the tongs randomly.

<>> x brich hammer

  "Brich" could either be something as yet unknown to you or else a phrasing
unknown to us.

<>> x birch hammer

  "Birch hammer" is either:
 - Something you haven't come across yet
 - Something not necessary to your adventure
 - A phrasing we aren't equipped to handle

<>> x stamp

  The grooving stamp is one of the heading tools whose bottom part widens out
into the shape of a narrow rectangle.  The bottom surface is shaped into
parallel sharp-ridged v-grooves, so that one could impart a sharp-grooved
surface into the heated work, perhaps to make a rough file or for any other
useful purpose.  It is meant to be placed on a piece of work and then hit with
the hammer.

<>> x chisel

  The chisel is one of the heading tools, used for cutting through bars, making
indentations, or whatever else.  It has a floating birch handle like the other
heading tools, and is meant to be placed on a piece of work and then hit with
the hammer.

  The king's son pounds the anvil with the hammer just for fun, then puts the
hammer back.

<>>  x caliper

  The gauges, calipers and the like would probably only be needed for some
really detailed work.  It's not likely your mission with the prince will
involve performing fine craftsmanship of that caliper.  Whoops, caliber.

<>> l

 <> Blatterfarthing smithy <>

  The inside of the smithy is quite full of things to see.  A signboard hangs
from the rafters, and a forge, bellows, and anvil are present and accounted
for.  Along the south wall sits a workbench, and many tools are hung on the
wall above it.  You can leave by the open sides of the building east or north.

  The great stone forge and its chimney loom large against the west wall, with
the bellows attached.  The ponderous anvil stands a few steps away, and a
pedal-driven grindstone is in the northwest corner.

  The smithy contains a few bins of metal bar stock and horseshoe blanks,
apparently for public use.

  On the anvil is the smithing hammer.  On the back wall are the tongs.

  The ubiquitous prince is here.

  Dwindeldorn's future king watches the hubbub in the town.

<>> get all

  You take the smithing hammer, the punch, the chisel, the grooving stamp, and
the tongs.

<>> put hammer on anvil

  You put the smithing hammer on the anvil.

<>> pat tools on workbench

  You see no tools on the workbench.

<>> put tools on workbench

  Other than for a description, don't refer to the tools collectively.

<>> put tongs, punch, stamp and chisel on workbench

tongs:  You put the tongs down on the workbench.

punch:  You put the punch on the workbench.
grooving stamp:  You put the grooving stamp on the workbench.
chisel:  You put the chisel on the workbench.

<>> * && Why is there a blank line beneath the tongs? Are they more important?

  Comment recorded.

<>> l

 <> Blatterfarthing smithy <>

  The inside of the smithy is quite full of things to see.  A signboard hangs
from the rafters, and a forge, bellows, and anvil are present and accounted
for.  Along the south wall sits a workbench, and many tools are hung on the
wall above it.  You can leave by the open sides of the building east or north.

  The great stone forge and its chimney loom large against the west wall, with
the bellows attached.  The ponderous anvil stands a few steps away, and a
pedal-driven grindstone is in the northwest corner.

  The smithy contains a few bins of metal bar stock and horseshoe blanks,
apparently for public use.

  On the workbench are the tongs, the punch, the grooving stamp, and the
chisel.  On the anvil is the smithing hammer.

  The young figurehead is here with you as always.

  PQ is recollecting how absurd it was that he wouldn't even use his fingers to
wash the mud off the glasshouse key.

<>> x wall

(the back wall)
  The south wall is used for hanging up tools related to smithy work.  There is
a collection of gauges, calipers, and other such instruments.

<>> x posts

  Don't bother with the support posts...

  Quiz grabs things with the tongs just for kicks.

<>> x grindstone

  The smithy is equipped with a grindstone, whether for finishing smithy work
or simply for sharpening up farm tools.  It's simply a large disc of a
particular kind of stone held upright by a stout wooden stand, driven by foot
pedal.

<>> press pedal

  You pedal the grindstone, and the stone starts to pick up inertia and spin
robustly.

  The grindstone is whirring loudly.

<>> grind quisborne

  That is an action that you will probably never find a use for in conjunction
with a person.

<>> grind cattail

  That doesn't seem a likely candidate for sharpening.

  The grindstone slows down to a leisurely spin.

<>> l

 <> Blatterfarthing smithy <>

  The inside of the smithy is quite full of things to see.  A signboard hangs
from the rafters, and a forge, bellows, and anvil are present and accounted
for.  Along the south wall sits a workbench, and many tools are hung on the
wall above it.  You can leave by the open sides of the building east or north.

  The great stone forge and its chimney loom large against the west wall, with
the bellows attached.  The ponderous anvil stands a few steps away, and a
pedal-driven grindstone is in the northwest corner.

  The smithy contains a few bins of metal bar stock and horseshoe blanks,
apparently for public use.

  On the workbench are the tongs, the punch, the grooving stamp, and the
chisel.  On the anvil is the smithing hammer.

  Your sidekick is with you like your shadow.

  The grindstone wheel comes to a halt.

<>> x metal bars

  This is the basic building block of blacksmithing; from bars of different
thicknesses, one can make tools, brackets, gratings, hardware, bolts...

  Your sidekick pounds the anvil with the hammer for no apparent reason, then
puts the hammer back.

<>> get bar

  You select a piece of iron bar from the bin of stock.

<>> put bar on anvil

  You put the iron bar on the anvil.

<>> hit bar with hammer

(first taking the smithing hammer)

  You give the bar a mighty smash with the hammer.  The prince covers his ears.

<>> * && Should I be forging the Sword of Thunder?

  Comment recorded.

<>> light coals

  What do you want to light them with?

< object >> embers

  With some doing, you are able to get the forge coals lit with the glowing
embers from your box.  The fire is slow to get going.

<>> put bar in coals

(first taking the iron bar)

  You place the iron bar into the coals.  However, only a few small coals are
lit, and they aren't doing more than warming up the iron bar.

<>> pump bellows

  As you give a few pumps on the bellows, the lit coals finally spring to life.
The forge is now well-lit and burning.

<>> g

  Having gotten the forge going, you delegate the pumping honors to your little
protegé.  He seems to find it good sport, moving the handle up and down.  The
coals of the forge start to glow almost white-hot.

<>> g

  The coals are already white-hot, but the prince's pumping of the bellows
keeps the high heat going.

  The iron bar has grown red-hot in the coals.

<>> g

  The coals are already white-hot, but the prince's pumping of the bellows
keeps the high heat going.

<>> g

  The coals are already white-hot, but the prince's pumping of the bellows
keeps the high heat going.

<>> x bar

  It's a short iron bar, about two and a half feet long, and over half an inch
thick.
  It's glowing red-hot.

  Dwindeldorn's future king watches the hubbub in the town.

<>> get bar

  You can't just take a hot metal object out of the midst of flaming coals,
unless your objective is to get rid of the flesh on your hand.

<>> get bar with tngs

  "Tngs" could either be something as yet unknown to you or else a phrasing
unknown to us.

<>> get bar with tongs

(first taking the tongs)

  With the tongs, you grab hold of the iron bar.

<>> put bar on anvil

  You put the iron bar on the anvil.

<>> hit bar with hammer

  You pound the red-hot end of the bar flat with the hammer and anvil.

  The coals in the forge cool from white-hot down to red-hot.

  The iron bar is beginning to lose its heat.

<>> put bar in coals

(first taking the iron bar)

  With the tongs, you grab hold of the iron bar.

  You place the iron bar into the coals.

<>> pump bellows

  Prince Quisborne the Feckless operates the bellows, and the coals of the
forge start to glow almost white-hot.

<>> pump bellows

  The coals are already white-hot, but the prince's pumping of the bellows
keeps the high heat going.

<>> pump bellows

  The coals are already white-hot, but the prince's pumping of the bellows
keeps the high heat going.

<>> x bar

  It's a short iron bar, about two and a half feet long, and over half an inch
thick.  The bar has been flattened at one end to a sort of chisel point.
  It's glowing red-hot.

  The heir to the throne of Dwindeldorn slings the sack over his opposite
shoulder.

<>> x bar

  It's a short iron bar, about two and a half feet long, and over half an inch
thick.  The bar has been flattened at one end to a sort of chisel point.
  It's glowing red-hot.

<>> pump bellows

  The coals are already white-hot, but the prince's pumping of the bellows
keeps the high heat going.

<>> pump bellows

  The coals are already white-hot, but the prince's pumping of the bellows
keeps the high heat going.

<>> x bar

  It's a short iron bar, about two and a half feet long, and over half an inch
thick.  The bar has been flattened at one end to a sort of chisel point.
  It's glowing red-hot.

<>> pump bellows

  The coals are already white-hot, but the prince's pumping of the bellows
keeps the high heat going.

<>> pump bellows

  The coals are already white-hot, but the prince's pumping of the bellows
keeps the high heat going.

<>> x bar

  It's a short iron bar, about two and a half feet long, and over half an inch
thick.  The bar has been flattened at one end to a sort of chisel point.
  It's glowing red-hot.

  The feckless prince looks over the many tools hanging above the workbench.

<>> get bar with tongs

  With the tongs, you grab hold of the iron bar.

<>> put bar on anvil

  You put the iron bar on the anvil.

<>> hit bar with hammer

  You decide the bar doesn't need any more pounding.

  The iron bar is beginning to lose its heat.

<>> put hammer on workbench

  You put the smithing hammer on the workbench.

  "I didn't have a lot of reason to like vultures before," says the prince.
"But it doesn't make me think any better of them to learn that they pee on
their own legs because they can't sweat!  How crude!"

  The coals in the forge cool from white-hot down to red-hot.

<>> x tools

  Hanging on the back wall is a collection of gauges, calipers, and other
miscellanea.

<>> x workbench

  What more natural feature for any craftsman's workshop than a workbench?  A
vise is mounted to it at one end.  On the workbench are the punch, the grooving
stamp, the chisel, and the smithing hammer.

  The iron bar has lost its red glow, and is no longer hot enough to forge.

<>> put bar in coals

(first taking the iron bar)

  You place the iron bar into the coals.  It begins to heat up.

<>> x stamp

  The grooving stamp is one of the heading tools whose bottom part widens out
into the shape of a narrow rectangle.  The bottom surface is shaped into
parallel sharp-ridged v-grooves, so that one could impart a sharp-grooved
surface into the heated work, perhaps to make a rough file or for any other
useful purpose.  It is meant to be placed on a piece of work and then hit with
the hammer.

<>> get it

  You take the grooving stamp.

  The future ruler of the land sings a little melody.

<>> pump bellows

  Prince Quisborne the Feckless operates the bellows, and the coals of the
forge start to glow almost white-hot.

<>> g

  The coals are already white-hot, but the prince's pumping of the bellows
keeps the high heat going.

  The iron bar has grown red-hot in the coals.

<>> g

  The coals are already white-hot, but the prince's pumping of the bellows
keeps the high heat going.

<>> get bar with tongs

  With the tongs, you grab hold of the iron bar.

<>> put bar on anvil

  You put the iron bar on the anvil.

<>> stamp bar

  If you wish to use the grooving stamp, first 'put' it on a piece of heated
metal on the anvil, and then 'hit' it.

  The lad clinks some pieces of iron together.

  The iron bar is beginning to lose its heat.

<>> undo

   Taking back one turn: “stamp bar”.

 <> Blatterfarthing smithy <>

  The inside of the smithy is full of interesting sights, but the first thing
to catch a person's eye is a large signboard suspended from the rafters near
the back wall, telling visitors not to walk away with the tools or charcoal.
  As it could be no smithy without them, the smithy features a large forge, a
bellows, and an anvil.  A workbench runs along a back wall, on which wall are
hung a variety of tools related to working metal.  The floor is of dirt
sprinkled with sawdust, and the north and east walls of the building are
nothing but rows of posts, otherwise open to the outside.

  The great stone forge and its chimney loom large against the west wall, with
the bellows attached.  The ponderous anvil stands a few steps away, and a
pedal-driven grindstone is in the northwest corner.

  The smithy contains a few bins of metal bar stock and horseshoe blanks,
apparently for public use.

  On the workbench are the punch, the chisel, and the smithing hammer.  On the
anvil is an iron bar.

  Prince Q is present as ever.

<>> put stamp on bar

  You position the grooving stamp on the iron bar.

  The iron bar is beginning to lose its heat.

<>> hit stamp

  You give a smack to the grooving stamp for no apparent reason.

  The lad clinks some pieces of iron together.

<>> hit stamp

  You give a smack to the grooving stamp for no apparent reason.

  The coals in the forge cool from white-hot down to red-hot.

<>> x bar

  It's a short iron bar, about two and a half feet long, and over half an inch
thick.  The bar has been flattened at one end to a sort of chisel point.

  The iron bar has lost its red glow, and is no longer hot enough to forge.

<>> * && I was making a file.

  Comment recorded.

<>> put bar in coals

(first taking the iron bar)

  You lift the grooving stamp off of the iron bar.

  You place the iron bar into the coals.  It begins to heat up.

<>> pump bellows

  Your protegé operates the bellows, and the coals of the forge start to glow
almost white-hot.

<>> g

  The coals are already white-hot, but the prince's pumping of the bellows
keeps the high heat going.

  The iron bar has grown red-hot in the coals.

<>> put bar on anvil

(first taking the iron bar)

  With the tongs, you grab hold of the iron bar.

  You put the iron bar on the anvil.

<>> put stamp on bar

  You position the grooving stamp on the iron bar.

<>> hit stamp

  You give a smack to the grooving stamp for no apparent reason.

  Your sidekick fans himself.

  The iron bar is beginning to lose its heat.

<>> put bar in coals

(first taking the iron bar)

  You lift the grooving stamp off of the iron bar.

  With the tongs, you grab hold of the iron bar.

  You place the iron bar into the coals.

<>> put stamp on workbench

  You put the grooving stamp on the workbench.

  The coals in the forge cool from white-hot down to red-hot.

<>> x punch

  The punch is one of the heading tools, just a long-nosed point used for
making holes through a flat piece of stock, with a floating birch handle.  It
is meant to be placed on a piece of work and then hit with the hammer

<>> x workbench

  What more natural feature for any craftsman's workshop than a workbench?  A
vise is mounted to it at one end.  On the workbench are the punch, the chisel,
the smithing hammer, and the grooving stamp.

  The iron bar is beginning to lose its heat.

<>> get punch

  You take the punch.

  The heir to the throne of Dwindeldorn sifts through the bins of stock.

<>> pump bellows

  Your companion operates the bellows, and the coals of the forge start to glow
almost white-hot.

<>> pump bellows

  The coals are already white-hot, but the prince's pumping of the bellows
keeps the high heat going.

<>> pump bellows

  The coals are already white-hot, but the prince's pumping of the bellows
keeps the high heat going.

<>> put bar in coals

  With the tongs, you grab hold of the iron bar.

  You place the iron bar into the coals.

<>> put bar in coals

  With the tongs, you grab hold of the iron bar.

  You place the iron bar into the coals.

  Quiz remembers the instance where he was expelled from the horseshoes contest
at the Great Festival for erratically pitching a shoe into the pie booth.

<>> pump bellows

  The coals are already white-hot, but the prince's pumping of the bellows
keeps the high heat going.

<>> pump bellows

  The coals are already white-hot, but the prince's pumping of the bellows
keeps the high heat going.

<>> pump bellows

  The coals are already white-hot, but the prince's pumping of the bellows
keeps the high heat going.

<>> x bar

  It's a short iron bar, about two and a half feet long, and over half an inch
thick.  The bar has been flattened at one end to a sort of chisel point.
  It's glowing red-hot.

<>> put bar on anvil

(first taking the iron bar)

  With the tongs, you grab hold of the iron bar.

  You put the iron bar on the anvil.

<>> put punch on bar

  You position the punch on the iron bar.

<>> hit punch

  You give a smack to the punch for no apparent reason.

  The feckless heir pounds the anvil with the hammer for no apparent reason,
then puts the hammer back.

  The iron bar is beginning to lose its heat.

<>> put punch on workbench

  You lift the punch off of the iron bar.

  You put the punch on the workbench.

  The coals in the forge cool from white-hot down to red-hot.

<>> x bar

  It's a short iron bar, about two and a half feet long, and over half an inch
thick.  The bar has been flattened at one end to a sort of chisel point.
  It's glowing red-hot.

<>> clamp bar in vise

  You may wish to reconsider doing that to red-hot metal.

  The iron bar has lost its red glow, and is no longer hot enough to forge.

<>> clamp bar in vise

  You place the iron bar in the vise and clamp it down.

<>> x vise

  A vise would be handy for holding pieces while trying to file them, or doing
other forms of close work.  Clamped in the vise is an iron bar.

<>> file bar

  We must apologize for our lack of omniscience, but we are not able to process
the verb or verb phrase you're trying to use.

<>> get bar

  You remove the iron bar from the vise and take it.

  The prince expounds upon the collywobbles and the militant butterflies that
he has previously mentioned in connection with his feelings about Princess
Persimmon.

<>> sharpen bar

  What do you want to sharpen it with?

< object >> grindstone

  You might consider pedaling the grindstone into motion first.

<>> press pedal

  You pedal the grindstone, and the stone starts to pick up inertia and spin
robustly.

  The iron bar has cooled to the touch.

  The grindstone is whirring loudly.

<>> sharpen bar

  What do you want to sharpen it with?

< object >> grindstone

  You sharpen the end of the bar.

<>> x bar

  It's a short iron bar, about two and a half feet long, and over half an inch
thick.  The bar has been flattened at one end to a sort of chisel point, which
has been sharpened.
  It's cold to the touch.

  The grindstone slows down to a leisurely spin.

<>> * && I'm going to make a hook. When I find a rope I can make a grappling hook to pull the raft to my side of the river.

  Comment recorded.

<>> x anvil

  The anvil is an enormous chunk of iron, with a flat surface on top, where all
of the hammering takes place once a piece of metal is red-hot.  The top of the
anvil also extends out in a "horn", which is vaguely conical, so that a person
can hammer a bar or shoe into curves of different radii by shifting it up or
down the horn.

  Quisborne suddenly starts sputtering, dancing and gasping.  It turns out he's
inhaled a fly.

  The grindstone wheel comes to a halt.

<>> put bar in coals

  You place the iron bar into the coals.  It begins to heat up.

<>> pump bellows

  The king-to-be operates the bellows, and the coals of the forge start to glow
almost white-hot.

<>> pump bellows

  The coals are already white-hot, but the prince's pumping of the bellows
keeps the high heat going.

  The iron bar has grown red-hot in the coals.

<>> put bar on horn

(first taking the iron bar)

  With the tongs, you grab hold of the iron bar.

  You put the iron bar on the anvil.

<>> hammer bar

(first taking the smithing hammer)

  You decide the bar doesn't need any more pounding.

<>> undo

   Taking back one turn: “hammer bar”.

 <> Blatterfarthing smithy <>

  The inside of the smithy is quite full of things to see.  A signboard hangs
from the rafters, and a forge, bellows, and anvil are present and accounted
for.  Along the south wall sits a workbench, and many tools are hung on the
wall above it.  You can leave by the open sides of the building east or north.

  The great stone forge and its chimney loom large against the west wall, with
the bellows attached.  The ponderous anvil stands a few steps away, and a
pedal-driven grindstone is in the northwest corner.

  The smithy contains a few bins of metal bar stock and horseshoe blanks,
apparently for public use.

  On the workbench are the chisel, the smithing hammer, the grooving stamp, and
the punch.  On the anvil is an iron bar.

  The boy tags along.

<>> hammer bar into curve

  "Curve" is either:
 - Something you haven't come across yet
 - Something not necessary to your adventure
 - A phrasing we aren't equipped to handle
  (We can't tell you which, you know, because then you could enter in words
just to find out what kind of things you'll encounter in the future.)

<>> hammer bar on horn

  The only likely target for nailing might be some horseshoes.

<>> get bar

  With the tongs, you grab hold of the iron bar.

  The iron bar is beginning to lose its heat.

<>> drop bar

  You drop the iron bar.

  The future king of Dwindeldorn deposits the sack on the ground temporarily.

<>> x it

  It's a short iron bar, about two and a half feet long, and over half an inch
thick.  The bar has been flattened at one end to a sort of chisel point, which
has been sharpened.
  It's glowing red-hot.

  The coals in the forge cool from white-hot down to red-hot.

<>> get horseshoe

  You grab a set of four horseshoes from the bin.

  The iron bar has lost its red glow, and is no longer hot enough to forge.

<>> * && Four horseshoes would make four hooks...

  Comment recorded.

<>> put horseshoes in coals

  You place the horseshoes into the coals.  They begin to heat up.

<>> pump bellows

  The king-to-be operates the bellows, and the coals of the forge start to glow
almost white-hot.

<>> pump bellows

  The coals are already white-hot, but the prince's pumping of the bellows
keeps the high heat going.

  The horseshoes have grown red-hot in the coals.

<>> get horseshoes

  With the tongs, you grab hold of the horseshoes.

<>> put horseshoes on anvil

  You put the horseshoes on the anvil.

  The heir to the throne of Dwindeldorn sifts through the bins of stock.

  The iron bar has cooled to the touch.

<>> hammer horseshoes

(first taking the smithing hammer)

  You give the horseshoes a little more shaping on the anvil.

  The horseshoes are beginning to lose their heat.

<>> press pedal

  You pedal the grindstone, and the stone starts to pick up inertia and spin
robustly.

  The grindstone is whirring loudly.

<>> grind horseshoes

  There's really no reason to sharpen the horseshoes.

  Dwindeldorn's future king watches the hubbub in the town.

  The coals in the forge cool from white-hot down to red-hot.

<>> put horseshoes in bin

  You don't need to put your stuff in the bins.

  The horseshoes have lost their red glow, and are no longer hot enough to
forge.

  The grindstone slows down to a leisurely spin.

<>> get bar

  You take the iron bar.

  The grindstone wheel comes to a halt.

<>> x it

  It's a short iron bar, about two and a half feet long, and over half an inch
thick.  The bar has been flattened at one end to a sort of chisel point, which
has been sharpened.
  It's cold to the touch.

<>> stab quisboren with bar

  "Quisboren" could either be something as yet unknown to you or else a
phrasing unknown to us.

<>> stab quisborne with bar

  Prince Quisborne is not suffering from a deficit of perforations.

  The lad clinks some pieces of iron together.

<>> put horseshoes on workbench

(first taking the horseshoes)

  You put the horseshoes on the workbench.

<>> * && I don't see a use for them now.

  Comment recorded.

<>> l

 <> Blatterfarthing smithy <>

  The inside of the smithy is quite full of things to see.  A signboard hangs
from the rafters, and a forge, bellows, and anvil are present and accounted
for.  Along the south wall sits a workbench, and many tools are hung on the
wall above it.  You can leave by the open sides of the building east or north.

  The great stone forge and its chimney loom large against the west wall, with
the bellows attached.  The ponderous anvil stands a few steps away, and a
pedal-driven grindstone is in the northwest corner.

  The smithy contains a few bins of metal bar stock and horseshoe blanks,
apparently for public use.

  On the workbench are the chisel, the grooving stamp, the punch, and the
horseshoes.

  The ubiquitous prince is here.

  The horseshoes have cooled to the touch.

<>> put tongs on workbench

  You put the tongs down on the workbench.

<>> put hammer on anvil

  You put the smithing hammer on the anvil.

<>> read sign

  It says :

Wellcome to our Smithye!  The ironne bar Stock and
blaunk Horseshoose are ment for generall publick Use.
Please it ye when ye have finishd your Worke, to leeve all
Tooles and Charrecoal behynde!  It is furthermore
advizd that ye refraigne from setting thy person or
this Fourge afyre by meanes of hot Coales or red-hot
Ironne, or in any other Fashonne.  The People of
Blatterfarthing thanke you for your Co-operation.

<>> x forge

  The forge is a stone structure with a good-sized base, which rises to about
waist height.  About half of this is an open surface, a kind of basin filled
with charcoal.  For the remainder of the area the stone continues rising,
tapering up into a chimney which goes through the roof, and which has an arched
opening leading into it at the level of the coals.  The bellows are mounted at
the forge's side, entering into its base.
  Presently, the coals of the forge are burning steadily.

  The royal youth grabs things with the tongs just for kicks.

<>> extinguish coals

  You put out the fire in the forge.

<>> * && "You spit on the blazing coals and they go out." Or how else would I have extinguished them?

  Comment recorded.

<>> e

   Prince Quisborne can&rsquo;t do that from here.

 <> Blatterfarthing village green <>

  The village of Blatterfarthing has a central communal green featuring a
running brook, encircled a few rings deep by the buildings which make up the
community.  The Snorting Sow sits on the east side of the green, while a
smithy, open on two sides and with a sign mounted on its roof, sits along the
west.  To the northeast of that appears to be a sausage-maker's shop, and a
variety of other buildings and houses complete the innermost ring around the
village green.
  Roads sneak between buildings going southwest, southeast, and northeast.  A
narrow walk path also squeezes between the smithy and the sausage-maker's, to
the northwest.

  Some travelers pass through the village, heading from northeast to southeast.

<>> * && The prince is having trouble exiting from the smithy.

  Comment recorded.

<>> l

 <> Blatterfarthing village green <>

  The village of Blatterfarthing has a central communal green featuring a
running brook, encircled a few rings deep by the buildings which make up the
community.  The Snorting Sow sits on the east side of the green, while a
smithy, open on two sides and with a sign mounted on its roof, sits along the
west.  To the northeast of that appears to be a sausage-maker's shop, and a
variety of other buildings and houses complete the innermost ring around the
village green.
  Roads sneak between buildings going southwest, southeast, and northeast.  A
narrow walk path also squeezes between the smithy and the sausage-maker's, to
the northwest.

<>> w

 <> Blatterfarthing smithy <>

  The inside of the smithy is quite full of things to see.  A signboard hangs
from the rafters, and a forge, bellows, and anvil are present and accounted
for.  Along the south wall sits a workbench, and many tools are hung on the
wall above it.  You can leave by the open sides of the building east or north.

  The great stone forge and its chimney loom large against the west wall, with
the bellows attached.  The ponderous anvil stands a few steps away, and a
pedal-driven grindstone is in the northwest corner.

  The smithy contains a few bins of metal bar stock and horseshoe blanks,
apparently for public use.

  On the workbench are the chisel, the grooving stamp, the punch, the
horseshoes, and the tongs.  On the anvil is the smithing hammer.

  Your ostensible squire is hanging around, bearing the sack.

  "Now this is amazing," Quisborne says.  "A whale mother can go *eight months*
without eating, while she's nursing her calf!"

<>> e

 <> Blatterfarthing village green <>

  The village of Blatterfarthing has a central communal green featuring a
running brook, encircled a few rings deep by the buildings which make up the
community.  The Snorting Sow sits on the east side of the green, while a
smithy, open on two sides and with a sign mounted on its roof, sits along the
west.  To the northeast of that appears to be a sausage-maker's shop, and a
variety of other buildings and houses complete the innermost ring around the
village green.
  Roads sneak between buildings going southwest, southeast, and northeast.  A
narrow walk path also squeezes between the smithy and the sausage-maker's, to
the northwest.

  Your protegé is present as ever.

<>> * && He's okay now. Must've gotten distracted...

  Comment recorded.

<>> i

  Between you and your human pack mule, you're in possession of your ember box,
the burlap sack, a cattail, and an iron bar.

<>> * && This sharpened iron bar only feels half-done to me. Maybe I'll get a better idea of what to do with it once I encounter an obstacle where it would be needed.

  Comment recorded.

<>> nw

   You meander down the dirt walk between the smithy and the sausage shop...

 <> A privy behind the smithy <>

  In a small thicket right behind the smithy and the sausage-maker's shop
stands a semi-public privy.  Neither the outside nor the inside of this privy
were given any special attention for purposes of ambiance.  It's just a rough,
unpainted wooden cubicle where the calls of nature are answered.  The door to
the cubicle seems to be in disrepair, and is stuck in the half-open position.
This condition may have discouraged recent use of the facility, or maybe it has
just meant a lot of hoping that someone else didn't come down the path at an
unfortunate time.
  Inside, a benchtop seating surface spans the back wall of it, which is boxed
in down to the ground, and is equipped with a plate-sized hole cut out in the
center.  The back of the next "ring" of Blatterfarthing village would be beyond
the thicket, but there's no sense in pushing through any of that... the only
sensible way out is southeast.

  Quiz is here, sack in hand.

  It smells pretty nasty around here.

<>> enter privy

  You step in the privy.  The princeling joins you.

<>> l

 <> A privy behind the smithy (standing in the privy) <>

  In a small thicket right behind the smithy and the sausage-maker's shop
stands a semi-public privy.  It's just a rough, unpainted wooden cubicle with a
door stuck in the half-open position.  Inside, a benchtop seating surface spans
the back wall of it, which is boxed in down to the ground, and is equipped with
a plate-sized hole cut out in the center.  The back of the next "ring" of
Blatterfarthing village would be beyond the thicket, but there's no sense in
pushing through any of that... the only sensible way back is southeast.

  Nearby, your companion is ambling around.

  You won't be sorry to get your nose away from this place.

<>> use privy

  Well, even heroes have to do business.  So, you do yours.  The Quiz stands
watch for any path-comers.

<>> x door

  It looks like the door may have sustained damage from a falling tree limb in
the recent past: the top hinge is warped and jammed, and the bottom edge of the
door is sunk a few inches into the dirt.

  Prince Quiz evinces displeasure at the ambient smell.

  Your nostrils are assaulted by the odor of the privy.

<>> fix door

  That's a verb that might only be used in a few situations.

<>> repair door

  That's a verb that might only be used in a few situations.

  Your nasal passages take great offense at the ambient aroma.

<>> lift door

  We don't quite understand your intent here.

<>> move door

  It looks like the door may have sustained damage from a falling tree limb in
the recent past: the top hinge is warped and jammed, and the bottom edge of the
door is sunk a few inches into the dirt.

<>> close door

  It looks like the door may have sustained damage from a falling tree limb in
the recent past: the top hinge is warped and jammed, and the bottom edge of the
door is sunk a few inches into the dirt.

  You won't be sorry to get your nose away from this place.

<>> smell

  Your nasal passages take great offense at the ambient aroma.

  Quisborne comes up with some juvenile remarks regarding privy usage.

<>> l

 <> A privy behind the smithy (standing in the privy) <>

  In a small thicket right behind the smithy and the sausage-maker's shop
stands a semi-public privy.  It's just a rough, unpainted wooden cubicle with a
door stuck in the half-open position.  Inside, a benchtop seating surface spans
the back wall of it, which is boxed in down to the ground, and is equipped with
a plate-sized hole cut out in the center.  The back of the next "ring" of
Blatterfarthing village would be beyond the thicket, but there's no sense in
pushing through any of that... the only sensible way back is southeast.

  Your young pal is present and accounted for.

  It smells pretty nasty around here.

<>> x seating

  "Seating" is either:
 - Something you haven't come across yet
 - Something not necessary to your adventure
 - A phrasing we aren't equipped to handle

<>> x benchtop

  The seating surface has been worn quite smooth by many years of... friction.
It's none too clean, and its prominent feature is a gaping hole leading down
into a trench underneath the privy.

<>> look in hole

  You try to peer down through the hole of the privy seat, but the wafting
stench of raw, exposed sewage hits you like a blow.  Before you dive away for
dear life, you can just descry a blotch of something light-colored that has
fallen down in there.

<>> * && Aha!

  Comment recorded.

<>> x light-colored

  You can't see it without looking in the privy hole.

  Your nostrils are assaulted by the odor of the privy.

<>> loo in hole

  We must apologize for our lack of omniscience, but we are not able to process
the verb or verb phrase you're trying to use.

<>> * && What a fortunate misspelling...

  Comment recorded.

<>> look in hole

  You try again to look down the privy hole, but on account of the
concentration of uncovered noxious matter, you are forced to step away and
breathe unputrefied air before your eyes can adjust to see.  Again you think
you saw a light-colored object down there in the trench.

<>> hold breath

  "Breath" could either be something as yet unknown to you or else a phrasing
unknown to us.

<>> x trench

  The hole is a circular cutout in the bench seat.  It's not just for
decoration.

  Prince Quisborne the Feckless evinces displeasure at the ambient smell.

<>> out

  You step back out through the half-open door.

  You decide the prince is overdue for some aerobic development of a more
intentional nature.  You point out a mark some one hundred yards away, and have
him make a dash for it.  He comes back, duly flushed and winded, saying,
"Fiends!  That's a long way to run fast.  I'm glad that's done."  Then you let
him know he's doing it again.  And again.  And again.
  You feel a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment when the gangly youth
spews his lunch all over the ground and crumples in a heap, refusing to budge.
Once he resuscitates, normalcy resumes.

<>> save

  Saved.

<>> script off

&
&
&
&

  The transcript will be saved to the file.  Type SCRIPT OFF to discontinue
scripting.

<>> l

 <> A privy behind the smithy <>

  In a small thicket right behind the smithy and the sausage-maker's shop
stands a semi-public privy.  It's just a rough, unpainted wooden cubicle with a
door stuck in the half-open position.  Inside, a benchtop seating surface spans
the back wall of it, which is boxed in down to the ground, and is equipped with
a plate-sized hole cut out in the center.  The back of the next "ring" of
Blatterfarthing village would be beyond the thicket, but there's no sense in
pushing through any of that... the only sensible way back is southeast.

  The heir to the throne of Dwindeldorn is sticking nearby.

  Your nasal passages take great offense at the ambient aroma.

<>> climb downhole

  "Downhole" is either:
 - Something you haven't come across yet
 - Something not necessary to your adventure
 - A phrasing we aren't equipped to handle

<>> climb down hole

  That doesn't sound overly applicable here.

<>> d

  The only thing downward in this area is the pit under the privy... and that's
not an option for a few reasons.

  Your ostensible squire makes a joke with a privy as subject matter.

<>> * && There's a visual joke about the Lord Privy Seal to demonstrate overzealous use of pictures to illustrate words in documentaries. It shows a nobleman, a outdoor toilet and a seal (the animal) in quick succession.

  Comment recorded.

<>> push privy

  You push the privy.  We await more useful commands.

<>> se

   The dirt walk takes you back to the village green...

 <> Blatterfarthing village green <>

  The village of Blatterfarthing has a central communal green featuring a
running brook, encircled a few rings deep by the buildings which make up the
community.  The Snorting Sow sits on the east side of the green, while a
smithy, open on two sides and with a sign mounted on its roof, sits along the
west.  To the northeast of that appears to be a sausage-maker's shop, and a
variety of other buildings and houses complete the innermost ring around the
village green.
  Roads sneak between buildings going southwest, southeast, and northeast.  A
narrow walk path also squeezes between the smithy and the sausage-maker's, to
the northwest.

  Quisborne the Feckless is here with you as always.

  The feckless heir watches the village folk.

<>> x sausage

  You're speaking of something that makes up part of your surroundings, but
does not otherwise need focusing on.

<>> x sausage maker

  The sausage shop is the high-gabled, heavy-framed kind of structure common to
towns in many parts of Dwindeldorn.  It makes part of a rough circle of
buildings around the village green, and is separated from the smithy on its
southwest only by a narrow dirt footpath.

  Customers come out of the sausage shop bearing sausages of diverse sizes and
descriptions.

<>> n

   You lead your young charge into the sausage-maker's shop.  This is merely
from curiosity, since you have no coin for purchasing anything.
  Prince Quisborne stands aghast as he watches.  "*This* is how sausage is
made??  Ulggh...  I don't know how soon I'll ever put one of those in my mouth
again.  And I came in here with such a high opinion of sausage, too!"
  Soon enough, you both exit.

 <> Blatterfarthing village green <>

  The village of Blatterfarthing is described as a central communal green
featuring a running brook and several large shade trees, encircled a few rings
deep by the buildings which make up the community.  The Snorting Sow harbors
the village's wayfarers on the east side of the green, while a smithy, open on
two sides and with a sign mounted on its roof, sits along the west.  To the
northeast of that appears to be a sausage-maker's shop, and a variety of other
buildings and houses complete the innermost ring around the village green.
  Roads sneak between buildings going southwest, southeast, and northeast.  A
narrow walk path also squeezes between the smithy and the sausage-maker's, to
the northwest.

  Near by your side sticks your sidekick, carrying the sack.

<>> e

  The inns of Dwindeldorn aren't likely to hold much attraction for you, given
that you're carrying no coin for food or lodging, nor do you intend to start.
The comforts of an inn aren't part of your designs for the prince... a man can
sleep in a handmade shelter, or under the stars if need be; and food can be
gotten by other means than paying coin.  There's a lot for the prince to learn
about and benefit from in doing without luxury, and in being forced to use
resourcefulness to obtain what is necessary.  After all, he's got you... what
could go wrong?  But anyway...

  Inside The Snorting Sow, some patrons are laughing raucously over the many
shocking and embarrassing things chronicled as being uttered by King Thigbern
the Somniloquent, when he would fall asleep in front of his whole court, and
then speak most spiritedly whilst in that state.
  After a short while, you exit the inn.

 <> Blatterfarthing village green <>

  The village of Blatterfarthing has a central communal green featuring a
running brook, encircled a few rings deep by the buildings which make up the
community.  The Snorting Sow sits on the east side of the green, while a
smithy, open on two sides and with a sign mounted on its roof, sits along the
west.  To the northeast of that appears to be a sausage-maker's shop, and a
variety of other buildings and houses complete the innermost ring around the
village green.
  Roads sneak between buildings going southwest, southeast, and northeast.  A
narrow walk path also squeezes between the smithy and the sausage-maker's, to
the northwest.

  Your ostensible squire is sticking about in your general vicinity.

<>> se

   It turns out that the southeast road from Blatterfarthing takes you, in
fact, across the Gloskinfroke River and back to the outskirts of the city of
Darchingcrast...

 <> Outskirts of Darchingcrast <>

  You are on the outskirts of Darchingcrast, royal city of Dwindeldorn, one of
the two great cities within the realm.  The stone and timber buildings, with
their ruddy or greenish tiled roofs, lie north and northeast of you at some
little distance, stopping short of where the castle grounds begin.
Darchingcrast Castle is to the southeast, on a bluff looking down over the
city; a path leads up to it through park-like grounds.  A road leads northwest,
crossing over the Gloskinfroke a short distance from here, and another road
also leads up the side of the ridge, but in a southwesterly direction.

  Your ostensible squire is hanging around.

<>> undo

   Taking back one turn: “se”.

 <> Blatterfarthing village green <>

  The village of Blatterfarthing has a central communal green featuring a
running brook, encircled a few rings deep by the buildings which make up the
community.  The Snorting Sow sits on the east side of the green, while a
smithy, open on two sides and with a sign mounted on its roof, sits along the
west.  To the northeast of that appears to be a sausage-maker's shop, and a
variety of other buildings and houses complete the innermost ring around the
village green.
  Roads sneak between buildings going southwest, southeast, and northeast.  A
narrow walk path also squeezes between the smithy and the sausage-maker's, to
the northwest.

  Your companion, the boy, is here with you.

<>> ne

   Leaving Blatterfarthing to the northeast, you travel across the pleasant
country.  The next town along the road is Squarchminster...

 <> Playing field, west end of Squarchminster town <>

  Here is a scene of lively activity.  Northwards lies an expansive playing
field, upon which squads of men wearing tunics dyed in either of two bright
colors are scurrying about in some sport, bearing various paraphernalia and
making in all a terrific commotion.  Along the eastern border of the field
large permanent grandstands have been erected, and immediately north and west
of the field boundaries the ground rises in short hillsides, making for other
convenient means of spectating.  All three of these sides are quite packed with
enthusiastic locals, who are filling the air with intermingled boos and cheers.
  Squads of other-colored players stand in waiting by the south fence, so it
appears that many games take place in the course of a day.  The south fence is
also adorned with a large sign advertising the identity of the venue.
  Just east of the playing field is the west end of Squarchminster town,
represented by a brickmaker's yard, and there is a convergence of roads
happening here.  One road comes in from the country to the southwest, bending
around the back side of the grandstands, and leading off into the country north
of here.  Two more roads branch off of this, going into Squarchminster either
southeast or northeast.

  Currently on the field, the Long-legged Chicken Vampires are playing the
Mighty Udders.

  The grandstands shake with the energy of their human cargo.

  The heir to the throne of Dwindeldorn is sticking nearby.

  After some minutes of watching the action on the field, Prince Quisborne
speaks.  "I can't make heads or tails of what they're doing out there!  Pop
never took me to any games.  And I've never had anyone to play games with
either.  So I'm as lost as you probably are."

<>> l

 <> Playing field, west end of Squarchminster town <>

  Northwards lies an expansive playing field, upon which is being played a
curious sport.  Along the eastern border of the field large permanent
grandstands have been erected, and the crowds also people the hillsides
directly north and west of the field.  The south boundary fence is also adorned
with a large sign advertising the identity of the venue.
  Just east of the playing field is a brick yard on the west end of
Squarchminster town.  You can go north or southwest from the playing field;
also, you can pass through Squarchminster going either southeast or northeast.

  Currently on the field, the Long-legged Chicken Vampires are playing the
Mighty Udders.

  The grandstands quiver with the liveliness of the spectators.

  The boy is here.

  "Oo!" the prince shouts at the field.  "That guy just got terrifically
squished!  Yikes, I'm surprised he didn't pop like a bubble!"

  The Long-legged Chicken Vampires just completed a successful goalie tackle.

  You soon notice that the team names are rather peculiar.  It comes out
eventually that a long time ago, one particular team got just plain weary of
everybody being called the Knights or the Lions or the Falcons.  So they took
the field in their inaugural game as the Packing Crates, and within a year
every newly-formed team was following their lead and coming up with some name
more nonsensical than the last.  So now for the last few generations, choosing
especially unlikely team names when joining a league has become the prevailing
tradition.  One bystander tells you that last season a team tried to enter the
league under the insipid name of the Flaming Dragons, and they were scorned off
the field until they consented to change their name to the Slobbering Puppets.

<>> read sign

  In carefully chiseled lettering you read:

TOWNE OF SQUARCHMINSTER MUNICIPALL GRIMMAGE FIELD

  Then in smaller lettering below:

UNAUTHORIZD FOLKE ENTERYNGE FIELD WHILE GAME UNDERWAY ARE SUBJECT TO PENALTIE
OF LAWE

<>> enter field

  Did you read the sign?  How badly do you want this adventure to end in a jail
sentence?

  A Long-legged Chicken Vampire collides with two Mighty Udders at an alarming
velocity.

<>> g

  Disregarding the prominently-posted sign, you hop the bounding fence and
enter the field of skirmish.  This ends up interfering with a critical play of
the team trying to catch up, and players and spectators are alike enraged.  You
are held by the game officials until a constable arrives, after which you are
shown little clemency for violating such a clearly-delineated ordinance of the
town.
  It gets back to the king that you've been taken for a disturber of the peace,
and your position as the prince's guide, guardian and mentor is terminated.

*** We're all done because you blew off the sign ***

  Ye may choose: UNDO the last move, RESTART to welcome screen, RESTORE a saved
position, or QUIT...

<>> undo

  Taking back one turn: “enter field”.

 <> Grimmage field, west end of Squarchminster town <>

  Northwards lies the expansive grimmage field of Squarchminster.  Along the
eastern border of the field large permanent grandstands have been erected, and
the crowds also people the hillsides directly north and west of the field.  The
south boundary fence is also adorned with the large sign advertising the
identity of the venue.
  Just east of the playing field is a brick yard on the west end of
Squarchminster town.  You can go north or southwest from the playing field;
also, you can pass through Squarchminster going either southeast or northeast.

  Currently on the field, the Long-legged Chicken Vampires are playing the
Mighty Udders.

  The grandstands groan with the energy of the seated crowd.

  Prince Q is hanging around.

<>> x grandstands

  The game of grimmage seems to be well supported in this area of the country,
as the folk have seen fit to build these large wooden grandstands in order to
supplement the hillsides which had already naturally supplied a good deal of
seating.  They are just a series of very long benches which start at ground
level, and with each succeeding row step up a little higher than the last as
they get farther back from the field, till reaching about eight feet tall in
all.  Wild shrubs have been allowed to grow up around the sides and the back of
the stands, making them to appear more like they belong there, and hiding the
unsightly voids between all the supporting trestles.
  The grandstands are quite filled up with the many who find it worthwhile to
come and watch the games.  These watchers, together with the players on the
field, make an incessant din which can be heard for quite some distance.

  The ref issues the Long-legged Chicken Vampires an orange card for head-
butting in an unsportsmanlike manner.

<>> shout

  Why not?  Everyone else is...  You go ahead and cheer for the team you feel
most partial to.

<>> * && !! Go Lubbering Seagulls!

  Comment recorded.

<>> enter grandstands

  You figure that it can't hurt the prince's education to while away a short
spell in leisure.  And frankly you're getting a good rise out of the buffoonery
taking place out on the field.  So, you and the feckless heir climb a few rows
up the grandstands and have a seat for awhile.  The view is indeed better with
a little elevation, though being the recipient of flailing crowd arms and
elbows seems to be something one takes in stride.  Eventually you think it's
time to be getting on with things, and descend from the grandstands.

<>> x players

  Outside of the southern bounding fence is an area with a few more benches
where waiting teams prepare their gear, rib at each other, and warm up for
their own turn at a game.

  The prince cheers, not necessarily knowing what for.

<>> talk to players

  It's safe to say that you and the prince will do just fine without accosting
the waiting players for any reason.

  The crowd erupts in a mingled roar of boos and 'Huzzah!'s as one of the Long-
legged Chicken Vampires makes a free throw through the five-point wicket.

<>> x benches

  The game of grimmage seems to be well supported in this area of the country,
as the folk have seen fit to build these large wooden grandstands in order to
supplement the hillsides which had already naturally supplied a good deal of
seating.  They are just a series of very long benches which start at ground
level, and with each succeeding row step up a little higher than the last as
they get farther back from the field, till reaching about eight feet tall in
all.  Wild shrubs have been allowed to grow up around the sides and the back of
the stands, making them to appear more like they belong there, and hiding the
unsightly voids between all the supporting trestles.
  The grandstands are quite filled up with the many who find it worthwhile to
come and watch the games.  These watchers, together with the players on the
field, make an incessant din which can be heard for quite some distance.

<>> x shrubs

  The shrubs are a variety of tall bushes and small spindly trees, such as grow
naturally without any intentional planting or cultivation.  They help the
aesthetics of the grandstands immensely by blocking the unsightly underside
from view of the town.

  The boy winces at a play on the field.

  The right-wing fullback for the Mighty Udders has been assessed a seven-
minute penalty for illegal use of the quarterstaff.

<>> go under grandstands

   Without much difficulty you push aside some shrubby branches and wriggle
into the space underneath the grandstands.

 <> Under the grandstands <>

  You've crawled underneath the bleachers, where the ground is smattered with
some nondescript flotsam that has percolated down from the seats over time.
There's not a great deal of room to move anywhere, with all of the bracing
that's here, crissing and crossing to hold up the wooden grandstands.  You can
see a wide variety of fidgeting boots, buskins, and moccasins through the gaps,
and the seating planks above you flex and groan under the excited activity of
the avid spectators.  There's nowhere to go but back out through the shrubs.

  The Dwindeldornian prince crouches underneath the grandstands.

  There is a general stamping from above that makes you fear that lively
spectators will soon be crashing down upon your head.

<>> x flotsam

  You sift about through the accumulated miscellanea under the bleachers.  A
lot of dead leaves, fruit pits, decomposing bits of shoelace or leather
strap... nothing exciting.  Oh, unless you get excited about spat-out chewing
tobacco.

  Amidst the ruckus from above, some little item clatters through the
bleachers, and lands on the ground.  It looks like a whittled stag's head.

<>> x tobacco

  You sift about through the accumulated miscellanea under the bleachers.  A
lot of dead leaves, fruit pits, decomposing bits of shoelace or leather
strap... nothing exciting.

<>> get tobacco

  There's nothing in there worth taking, unless you need some dead leaves.

  The king's son studies the assortment of shuffling footwear presently in
view.

  You hear a great collective "OOOOHHHH!!" from outside.  You can only imagine
what just happened to some player to elicit such a response from grimmage
spectators.

<>> l

 <> Under the grandstands <>

  You've crawled underneath the bleachers.  The ground is smattered with some
nondescript flotsam, and there's not a great deal of room to move anywhere,
with all of the grandstands bracing that's here.  You can see a wide variety of
fidgeting footwear through the gaps, and the seating planks above you flex and
groan under the excited spectators.  There's nowhere to go but back out through
the shrubs.

  You see a whittled stag's head here.

  Quiz squats under the grandstands with you.

  A voice from above bellows out at the players: "Horngrommet, you weevil!  We
never should have traded Scratbower for your worthless hide!"
  A few feet away there is another little clatter and a piece of horehound
candy drops to the ground.

<>> x stag's head

  Perhaps someone in the grimmage crowd wasn't getting a great deal of
entertainment out of spectating, and spent their time whittling instead.  It's
really small, and kind of cute... you suppose it to be a stag's head.  The
antlers look a little bit like the horns of a minotaur, though.

  You dodge just in time as a toppled tankard of ale showers down through the
cracks between the seat planks.

<>> get it

  You take the whittled stag's head.

  Through the seating boards you hear someone imprecating unusually violent
oaths upon the referees and their judgment.

<>> l

 <> Under the grandstands <>

  You've crawled underneath the bleachers.  The ground is smattered with some
nondescript flotsam, and there's not a great deal of room to move anywhere,
with all of the grandstands bracing that's here.  You can see a wide variety of
fidgeting footwear through the gaps, and the seating planks above you flex and
groan under the excited spectators.  There's nowhere to go but back out through
the shrubs.

  You see a piece of horehound candy here.

  The Dwindeldornian heir squats under the grandstands with you.

  A voice booms: "Bunslinger, you crass pig!  How do you miss a shot like
that?!  Go back to the kiddies' league you came from!"

<>> x candy

  The candy is small, dark and hard.  It has a somewhat minty smell.

  High-pitched shrieks are heard from the maidens present as a particularly
dashing young player makes his first entrance onto the field.

<>> get it

  You take the piece of horehound candy.

  Prince Q almost knocks his head on a cross-brace.

<>> eat it

  You pop the candy in your mouth, and suck on it till it eventually dissolves
to nothing.

  From snatches of garbled conversation above, you judge that some player has
merited a shower of purple vegetables from the occupants of the grandstands.
Your hunch is confirmed as a stray beet comes caroming down beside you.

<>> undo

   Taking back one turn: “eat it”.

 <> Under the grandstands <>

  You've crawled underneath the bleachers.  The ground is smattered with some
nondescript flotsam, and there's not a great deal of room to move anywhere,
with all of the grandstands bracing that's here.  You can see a wide variety of
fidgeting footwear through the gaps, and the seating planks above you flex and
groan under the excited spectators.  There's nowhere to go but back out through
the shrubs.

  The princeling squats under the grandstands with you.

<>> l

 <> Under the grandstands <>

  You've crawled underneath the bleachers.  The ground is smattered with some
nondescript flotsam, and there's not a great deal of room to move anywhere,
with all of the grandstands bracing that's here.  You can see a wide variety of
fidgeting footwear through the gaps, and the seating planks above you flex and
groan under the excited spectators.  There's nowhere to go but back out through
the shrubs.

  The youth squats under the grandstands with you.

  From snatches of garbled conversation above, you judge that some player has
merited a shower of purple vegetables from the occupants of the grandstands.
Your hunch is confirmed as a stray beet comes caroming down beside you.

<>> l

 <> Under the grandstands <>

  You've crawled underneath the bleachers.  The ground is smattered with some
nondescript flotsam, and there's not a great deal of room to move anywhere,
with all of the grandstands bracing that's here.  You can see a wide variety of
fidgeting footwear through the gaps, and the seating planks above you flex and
groan under the excited spectators.  There's nowhere to go but back out through
the shrubs.

  A beet has fallen through the bleachers.

  The feckless heir squats under the grandstands with you.

  "Mallet him!  Mallet him!" is heard from above, ostensibly in response to the
play happening on the field.

<>> x beet

  Your mother always told you that you should eat your beets... all that purple
is just chock-full of beneficial nutrients.  It's just a reddish-purple root
vegetable, hard and a little bigger than your fist.

  The pandemonium continues.  Down from above floats a discarded flyer, and
lands within your reach.

<>> get it

  You take the beet.

  You can picture the shaking of the head as you hear a crotchety old-timer's
voice saying: "They jest don't knock the wind out of fellers like they used
to..."

<>> l

 <> Under the grandstands <>

  You've crawled underneath the bleachers.  The ground is smattered with some
nondescript flotsam, and there's not a great deal of room to move anywhere,
with all of the grandstands bracing that's here.  You can see a wide variety of
fidgeting footwear through the gaps, and the seating planks above you flex and
groan under the excited spectators.  There's nowhere to go but back out through
the shrubs.

  You see a flyer here.

  The Prince of Dwindeldorn squats under the grandstands with you.

  There's a little bit of a lull in the excitement outside.

<>> read flyer

  The flyer is an advertisement for an establishment in Squarchminster.  It
says:

  "Flemmgribbs' Affourdable Massauges, Rub-downes and Muscell Poundynges!

  Payinge too much for your Massauge?  We feele you!  Come get your Knotts beat
out of ye by our Experteese!  We will surelie give your Backe a break.
Mentioun this Flyerr and get One for less than half the Pryce of Two!"
  Flemmgribbs fails to mention the actual discount offered upon producing the
flyer.

  The heir to the throne of Dwindeldorn listens to the conversations above.

  At the moment most of the crowd is politely applauding a routine play.

<>> l

 <> Under the grandstands <>

  You've crawled underneath the bleachers, where the ground is smattered with
some nondescript flotsam that has percolated down from the seats over time.
There's not a great deal of room to move anywhere, with all of the bracing
that's here, crissing and crossing to hold up the wooden grandstands.  You can
see a wide variety of fidgeting boots, buskins, and moccasins through the gaps,
and the seating planks above you flex and groan under the excited activity of
the avid spectators.  There's nowhere to go but back out through the shrubs.

  You see the flyer here.

  Your squire squats under the grandstands with you.

  Again the grandstands creak and groan from the frenzy of the spectators.

<>> get flyer

  You take the flyer.

  Prince Quiz tries to peer through all the feet to the playing field.

<>> l

 <> Under the grandstands <>

  You've crawled underneath the bleachers.  The ground is smattered with some
nondescript flotsam, and there's not a great deal of room to move anywhere,
with all of the grandstands bracing that's here.  You can see a wide variety of
fidgeting footwear through the gaps, and the seating planks above you flex and
groan under the excited spectators.  There's nowhere to go but back out through
the shrubs.

  The incumbent to the throne squats under the grandstands with you.

<>> l

 <> Under the grandstands <>

  You've crawled underneath the bleachers.  The ground is smattered with some
nondescript flotsam, and there's not a great deal of room to move anywhere,
with all of the grandstands bracing that's here.  You can see a wide variety of
fidgeting footwear through the gaps, and the seating planks above you flex and
groan under the excited spectators.  There's nowhere to go but back out through
the shrubs.

  The prince squats under the grandstands with you.

  The youth paws around in the detritus.

  At the moment most of the crowd is politely applauding a routine play.

<>> l

 <> Under the grandstands <>

  You've crawled underneath the bleachers.  The ground is smattered with some
nondescript flotsam, and there's not a great deal of room to move anywhere,
with all of the grandstands bracing that's here.  You can see a wide variety of
fidgeting footwear through the gaps, and the seating planks above you flex and
groan under the excited spectators.  There's nowhere to go but back out through
the shrubs.

  Prince Quisborne squats under the grandstands with you.

  There's a little bit of a lull in the excitement outside.

<>> * && that's about it under here?

  Comment recorded.

<>> l

 <> Under the grandstands <>

  You've crawled underneath the bleachers.  The ground is smattered with some
nondescript flotsam, and there's not a great deal of room to move anywhere,
with all of the grandstands bracing that's here.  You can see a wide variety of
fidgeting footwear through the gaps, and the seating planks above you flex and
groan under the excited spectators.  There's nowhere to go but back out through
the shrubs.

  The Dwindeldornian heir squats under the grandstands with you.

  Again the grandstands creak and groan from the frenzy of the spectators.

<>> out

   You wriggle back out through the shrubs.

 <> Grimmage field, west end of Squarchminster town <>

  Northwards lies the expansive grimmage field of Squarchminster.  Along the
eastern border of the field large permanent grandstands have been erected, and
the crowds also people the hillsides directly north and west of the field.  The
south boundary fence is also adorned with the large sign advertising the
identity of the venue.
  Just east of the playing field is a brick yard on the west end of
Squarchminster town.  You can go north or southwest from the playing field;
also, you can pass through Squarchminster going either southeast or northeast.

  Currently on the field, the Long-legged Chicken Vampires are playing the
Mighty Udders.

  The grandstands shake with the liveliness of the spectators.

  The Prince of Dwindeldorn is here with you as always.

  The crowd boos as the well-beloved Ranskarl the Wrecker is rudely sent
sailing over the boundary fence.

<>> e

  Squarchminster lies east, but the main roads meeting here run northeast or
southeast.

  The prince speaks thus:
  "My vision is filled with the image
  Of men in a barbarous scrimmage.
  I just can't understand
  This game of my land –
  This preposterous game that's called grimmage."

<>> x bricks

  You don't see any bricks in view.

<>> l

 <> Grimmage field, west end of Squarchminster town <>

  Northwards lies the expansive grimmage field of Squarchminster.  Along the
eastern border of the field large permanent grandstands have been erected, and
the crowds also people the hillsides directly north and west of the field.  The
south boundary fence is also adorned with the large sign advertising the
identity of the venue.
  Just east of the playing field is a brick yard on the west end of
Squarchminster town.  You can go north or southwest from the playing field;
also, you can pass through Squarchminster going either southeast or northeast.

  Currently on the field, the Long-legged Chicken Vampires are playing the
Mighty Udders.

  The grandstands quiver with the energy of the seated crowd.

  Your companion is sticking about in your general vicinity.

<>> x brick yard

  Squarchminster is a modestly large town in north-central Dwindeldorn,
constructed mainly of half-timbered buildings filled with stone and plaster,
whose higher stories protrude out farther than their lower ones.  The infilled
walls of Squarchminster seem to belong to a specific palette of colors, those
being dark yellow, burnt orange, peach, and a dusty orchid.  The west end of
town is comprised of shops, houses, and what looks like a brickmaker's yard,
and roads travel deeper into the town going southeast and northeast.

  Shortly told, the brickmaker's yard is a large area devoted to shaping lumps
of clay, and then sun-drying or kiln-baking them.

  The prince is noting the number of toothless old men to be seen in the
grandstands, and wondering if they were grimmage players in their day.

<>> enter brick yard

  You suspect that the brickmaker's yard of Squarchminster is not part of your
destiny.

<>> l

 <> Grimmage field, west end of Squarchminster town <>

  Northwards lies the expansive grimmage field of Squarchminster.  Along the
eastern border of the field large permanent grandstands have been erected, and
the crowds also people the hillsides directly north and west of the field.  The
south boundary fence is also adorned with the large sign advertising the
identity of the venue.
  Just east of the playing field is a brick yard on the west end of
Squarchminster town.  You can go north or southwest from the playing field;
also, you can pass through Squarchminster going either southeast or northeast.

  Currently on the field, the Long-legged Chicken Vampires are playing the
Mighty Udders.

  The grandstands groan with the liveliness of the spectators.

  The Dwindeldornian heir is here with you as always.

  PQ makes a comment.  "Apparently we make up some pretty crazy sports here,
hey Valkyrian?  Don't look at me...  I don't have the foggiest idea of what's
going on out there."

  The losing team appears to have gained considerable ground by executing a
play involving men riding piggyback.

<>> x fence

  The bounding fences follow the irregular shape of the field.  In some places
they are particularly high and solidly filled in, as if projectiles or bodies
were expected to collide against it; in other sections they are merely a few
horizontal rails separating the field from the spectators.
  The sign for the venue is on the southern bounding fence.

  You see the referee discouraging the use of a lasso for restraining an
opponent.

<>> x lasso

  Barring further developments, it doesn't appear as if what is happening out
on the game field is immediately applicable to you.

  A Mighty Udder tries to rifle a pancake-shaped object to his mate, but the
play fails.  No one seems to blame the receiver for not taking it, because it
was a hard pass.

<>> * && I want that lasso! It's perfect for pulling the raft.

  Comment recorded.

<>> z

  Time passes...

  The heir to the throne of Dwindeldorn tries to mimic the crowd's reaction.

<>> watch game

  Hemgrike of Spittlecrock seems to have just set a new league record for most
quarterback assists on a penalty kick.

<>> watch game

  The crowd is casting eggplants and beets onto the field in honor of a player
who has just accomplished a "pound-to-purple-pulp play", which seems to involve
administering five unanswered black eyes within a certain time period.  You
find that this is also termed simply a "beet trick."

<>> x referee

  Barring further developments, it doesn't appear as if what is happening out
on the game field is immediately applicable to you.

<>> l

 <> Grimmage field, west end of Squarchminster town <>

  Northwards lies the expansive grimmage field of Squarchminster.  Along the
eastern border of the field large permanent grandstands have been erected, and
the crowds also people the hillsides directly north and west of the field.  The
south boundary fence is also adorned with the large sign advertising the
identity of the venue.
  Just east of the playing field is a brick yard on the west end of
Squarchminster town.  You can go north or southwest from the playing field;
also, you can pass through Squarchminster going either southeast or northeast.

  Currently on the field, the Long-legged Chicken Vampires are playing the
Mighty Udders.

  The grandstands shake with the energy of the seated crowd.

  The future king of Dwindeldorn is here.

<>> x hillsides

  The hill is just a low swell or perhaps a high bank in the ground, but rims
completely around the western, northwestern and northern sides of the grimmage
field, making an ideal natural spectating venue.  The hillside is well peopled
with watchers on blankets, rolls, or hay sheaves.

  The ref has just issued a Mighty Udder an orange card for trampling fallen
opponents in an unsportsmanlike manner.

<>> enter hillside

  If you want to watch the game, you can see well enough from here.

  Prince Quisborne is thoroughly confused by the last play of the game.

<>> se

  The prince ventures a second time, and you pause while he speaks: "I *really*
hate to sound like I'm finding fault, because I'm not!  It's just that – I
wondered – did you notice that we're not going north?  I just wanted to make
sure you remembered that we have to go to the North.  Okay, I'm done... just
wanted to say that, about north and northness.  I've got to show Persimmon's
father that I can do it!"

  It's some kind of intermission.  The players have donned colorful outfits and
are performing a vigorous folk dance for the spectators.

<>> se

  The night comes again in the course of the travel.  You find an out-of-the-
way place to make camp, and this time you show the prince how you can make a
rudimentary shelter from branches and leafy boughs.  You give the boy a hand,
as well, with preparing the ground where he is to lie for the night, and he
happily enjoys some sleep this time around.
  "I never knew sleep was something you could be grateful for," he says in the
morning.  "I am now, though!  Fizz!...  I'm going to be excited to get back
home just so I can go to sleep.  I guess I don't even know when that will be.
Ugh..."

 <> A large dead tree in a meadow <>

  You're in a rolling meadow, quite in the heart of the realm of Dwindeldorn.
Patches of woods rise at varying distances from you in different directions,
while the meadow basks under a deep blue sky.  There aren't any proper roads
here, but the area appears by no means to be unacquainted with the occasional
traveler or shepherd.  Natural byways lead to the south, the east, and the
northwest.

  Standing like a ghostly finger from the ground in the middle of the meadow is
the sun-bleached remains of an old tree trunk.  Myriads of buzzing bees are
swarming around its top.

  Your ostensible squire is lollygagging behind.

<>> nw

   You make quite a little trek northwestward from the meadow, crossing the
scenic Gloskinfroke River at no great distance after your departure.  A series
of quiet back roads exchange themselves one for another, passing the occasional
hamlet or castle, and overall bearing northwest.  After some time you come to
Squarchminster town, and passing through it, emerge by the grimmage field...

 <> Grimmage field, west end of Squarchminster town <>

  You're present at a scene of lively activity.  Northwards lies the expansive
grimmage field of Squarchminster, with its curious sport going at full tilt.
Along the eastern border of the field large permanent grandstands have been
erected, and immediately north and west of the field boundaries the ground
rises in short hillsides, making for other convenient means of spectating.  All
three of these sides are quite packed with enthusiastic locals, who are filling
the air with intermingled boos and cheers.
  Squads of other-colored players stand in waiting by the south fence, as many
games take place in the course of a day.  The south fence is also adorned with
the large sign advertising the identity of the venue.
  Just east of the playing field is the west end of Squarchminster town,
represented by a brickmaker's yard, and there is a convergence of roads
happening here.  One road comes in from the country to the southwest, bending
around the back side of the grandstands, and leading off into the country north
of here.  Two more roads branch off of this, going into Squarchminster either
southeast or northeast.

  Currently on the field, the Terrifying Geraniums are playing the Polished
Llama Teeth.

  The grandstands quiver with the liveliness of their human cargo.

  Your protegé is following you wherever you go.

<>> se

   Departing the grimmage field to the southeast, you first make your way
through Squarchminster town, and then into the country beyond.  Quiet back
roads lead through the central part of the realm, eventually crossing the
Gloskinfroke River, and into a roadless grazing country...

  The travel involved stopping for the night, and starting again in the
morning.

 <> A large dead tree in a meadow <>

  You're in a rolling meadow, quite in the heart of the realm of Dwindeldorn.
Patches of woods rise at varying distances from you in different directions,
while the meadow basks under a deep blue sky.  There aren't any proper roads
here, but the area appears by no means to be unacquainted with the occasional
traveler or shepherd.  Natural byways lead to the south, the east, and the
northwest.

  Standing like a ghostly finger from the ground in the middle of the meadow is
the sun-bleached remains of an old tree trunk.  Myriads of buzzing bees are
swarming around its top.

  Your "squire" is in tow.

  "Toad knickers and frog bonnets, Valkyrian!" blurts the prince.  "We've done
so much walking!  Sooo muuuch waaalkiiiinggg..."

<>> * && Oh... I thought I was actually going to see some of the town.

  Comment recorded.

<>> x tree

  The remains of the old tree consist of nothing but a sixteen-foot-tall
section of trunk: barkless, branchless, and broken off at the top.  Where the
trunk enters the ground, a large rotting void opens into the center of the
tree.
  Myriads of buzzing bees are swarming around the tree's top.

  You show Prince Quisborne how he can use the gear sack to weight his
shoulders and do squat exercises with it.

<>> put all in sack

your ember box:  You don't need to be explicit about putting your stuff in the
sack... you know where and when to store things and when to access them.

cattail:  You don't need to be explicit about putting your stuff in the sack...
you know where and when to store things and when to access them.

iron bar:  You don't need to be explicit about putting your stuff in the
sack... you know where and when to store things and when to access them.

whittled stag's head:  You don't need to be explicit about putting your stuff
in the sack... you know where and when to store things and when to access them.

piece of horehound candy:  You don't need to be explicit about putting your
stuff in the sack... you know where and when to store things and when to access
them.

beet:  You don't need to be explicit about putting your stuff in the sack...
you know where and when to store things and when to access them.

flyer:  You don't need to be explicit about putting your stuff in the sack...
you know where and when to store things and when to access them.

<>> get all from sack

  You see nothing suitable here.

<>> * && Just saying it once would have sufficed.

  Comment recorded.

<>> l

 <> A large dead tree in a meadow <>

  You're in a rolling meadow, quite in the heart of the realm of Dwindeldorn.
Patches of woods rise at varying distances from you in different directions,
while the meadow basks under a deep blue sky.  There aren't any proper roads
here, but the area appears by no means to be unacquainted with the occasional
traveler or shepherd.  Natural byways lead to the south, the east, and the
northwest.

  Standing like a ghostly finger from the ground in the middle of the meadow is
the sun-bleached remains of an old tree trunk.  Myriads of buzzing bees are
swarming around its top.

  Prince Quiz is with you like your shadow.

  (The prince:) "There are actually birds, in places, that have poisonous
feathers.  You usually just think of poison parts as being spines or stingers,
right?  But feathers!"

<>> x bees

  The swarming bees are making a veritable cloud of buzzing movement around the
top of the dead tree trunk.  It's safe to assume there's a sizeable hive
somewhere up in there.

  You keep Prince Quisborne at his pushups.  He knocks out eight this time.

<>> * && Do I need smoke to numb the bees and get some honey?

  Comment recorded.

<>> x hole

  The cavity in the base of the tree is quite large... the tree probably
doesn't have an overlong time left standing in an upright position.  The
cavity's become a catch-all for sticks, bark, and other dried-up forest litter.

  "Ooh, look at all those bees, sir!" exclaims the prince.  "There must be a
mountain of honeycomb up in the top of that tree!  Do you think?  I mean, I was
just guessing.  Maybe the bees are just really excited about the bark, and the
wood, and such."

<>> * && "dried up forest litter"... BURN IT!

  Comment recorded.

<>> enter hole

  You might be able to crouch into the cavity at the base of the tree, but then
what?

<>> climb tree

  The tree is barkless, smoothed by prolonged exposure to the elements, and too
large in diameter to reach around for a hug-style climb.

  The prince is making progress with his grass-squeaking, but still hasn't
caught the knack.

<>> x bees

  The swarming bees are making a veritable cloud of buzzing movement around the
top of the dead tree trunk.  It's safe to assume there's a sizeable hive
somewhere up in there.

<>> throw beet at bees

  Throwing the beet at the swarm of bees is useless, as the swarm merely makes
a path for the projectile to pass through, and immediately closes up again.

  The Prince of Dwindeldorn scampers about the meadow.

<>> get beet

  You take the beet.

  Prince Q obliquely hints that you should be farther north by now.

<>> push tree

  The tree isn't *that* dead yet.

  A whole flock of sparrows takes flight at the same moment with a loud
fluttering of wings.

<>> x debris

  You don't see any debris in view.

<>> x hole

  The cavity in the base of the tree is quite large... the tree probably
doesn't have an overlong time left standing in an upright position.  The
cavity's become a catch-all for sticks, bark, and other dried-up forest litter.

  The king's son studies the bees swarming overhead.

<>> x litter

  There's a bunch of forest litter that has accumulated in the base of the
tree.  Sticks, bark, chunks of rotting wood that have fallen off the inside of
the trunk as it deteriorates...

  A few ants go marching their way along the ground.

<>> search it

  When you paw through the litter, you see a few little pillbugs scuttle away,
but nothing else.

  Birds are providing background music for the world at large.

<>> g

  When you paw through the litter, you see a few little pillbugs scuttle away,
but nothing else.

<>> g

  When you paw through the litter, you see a few little pillbugs scuttle away,
but nothing else.

  PQ retreats from the dead tree, imagining a bee is headed for him.

<>> * && the tree would make for a natural chimney, sucking the smoke up to the hive. The fire might weaken the tree enough that it is easily pushed over, allowing access to the honey...

  Comment recorded.

<>> light litter

  The dry woodland litter springs easily ablaze as you apply some hot embers to
it.  The fire burns bright and clean, without threatening to ignite the tree
itself any time soon on account of the damp and rotten interior.  Warm air
chimneys up through the tree, causing a commotion amongst the bees; but other
than buzzing around with a little more animation, they carry on as before.
  Prince Quisborne wears a rueful look on his face when he realizes the bees
have still not been convinced to abandon their (honey-laden, he imagines) hive.

<>> x litter

  The dry forest litter has become a blazing fire, albeit a too-cleanly burning
one to convince the bees to leave.

  The young figurehead watches the fire.

<>> throw flyer on fire

  Paper objects don't justify the effort of throwing them.

<>> put flyer on fire

  The flyer is consumed to nothing by the flames.

  The wind plays gentle noises in the trees.

<>> undo

   Taking back one turn: “put flyer on fire”.

 <> A large dead tree in a meadow <>

  You're in a rolling meadow, quite in the heart of the realm of Dwindeldorn.
Patches of woods rise at varying distances from you in different directions,
while the meadow basks under a deep blue sky.  There aren't any proper roads
here, but the area appears by no means to be unacquainted with the occasional
traveler or shepherd.  Natural byways lead to the south, the east, and the
northwest.

  Standing like a ghostly finger from the ground in the middle of the meadow is
the sun-bleached remains of an old tree trunk.  Myriads of buzzing bees are
swarming around its top.

  The loose rotten wood in the base of the hollow tree is brightly ablaze.  The
swarm of bees seems to disapprove of this fire, but they continue to hum and
buzz about the top of the tree.

  Your ostensible squire is sticking nearby, carrying the sack.

<>> undo

   Taking back one turn: “throw flyer on fire”.

 <> A large dead tree in a meadow <>

  You're in a rolling meadow, quite in the heart of the realm of Dwindeldorn.
Patches of woods rise at varying distances from you in different directions,
while the meadow basks under a deep blue sky.  There aren't any proper roads
here, but the area appears by no means to be unacquainted with the occasional
traveler or shepherd.  Natural byways lead to the south, the east, and the
northwest.

  Standing like a ghostly finger from the ground in the middle of the meadow is
the sun-bleached remains of an old tree trunk.  Myriads of buzzing bees are
swarming around its top.

  The loose rotten wood in the base of the hollow tree is brightly ablaze.  The
swarm of bees seems to disapprove of this fire, but they continue to hum and
buzz about the top of the tree.

  The ever-present prince is here.

<>> undo

   Taking back one turn: “x litter”.

 <> A large dead tree in a meadow <>

  You're in a rolling meadow, quite in the heart of the realm of Dwindeldorn.
Patches of woods rise at varying distances from you in different directions,
while the meadow basks under a deep blue sky.  There aren't any proper roads
here, but the area appears by no means to be unacquainted with the occasional
traveler or shepherd.  Natural byways lead to the south, the east, and the
northwest.

  Standing like a ghostly finger from the ground in the middle of the meadow is
the sun-bleached remains of an old tree trunk.  Myriads of buzzing bees are
swarming around its top.

  The loose rotten wood in the base of the hollow tree is brightly ablaze.  The
swarm of bees seems to disapprove of this fire, but they continue to hum and
buzz about the top of the tree.

  Your squire is sticking nearby.

<>> undo

   Taking back one turn: “light litter”.

 <> A large dead tree in a meadow <>

  You're in a rolling meadow, quite in the heart of the realm of Dwindeldorn.
Patches of woods rise at varying distances from you in different directions,
while the meadow basks under a deep blue sky.  There aren't any proper roads
here, but the area appears by no means to be unacquainted with the occasional
traveler or shepherd.  Natural byways lead to the south, the east, and the
northwest.

  Standing like a ghostly finger from the ground in the middle of the meadow is
the sun-bleached remains of an old tree trunk.  Myriads of buzzing bees are
swarming around its top.

  The ever-present prince is here.

<>> undo

   Taking back one turn: “search it”.

 <> A large dead tree in a meadow <>

  You're in a rolling meadow, quite in the heart of the realm of Dwindeldorn.
Patches of woods rise at varying distances from you in different directions,
while the meadow basks under a deep blue sky.  There aren't any proper roads
here, but the area appears by no means to be unacquainted with the occasional
traveler or shepherd.  Natural byways lead to the south, the east, and the
northwest.

  Standing like a ghostly finger from the ground in the middle of the meadow is
the sun-bleached remains of an old tree trunk.  Myriads of buzzing bees are
swarming around its top.

  Quisborne is hanging around.

<>> l

 <> A large dead tree in a meadow <>

  You're in a rolling meadow, quite in the heart of the realm of Dwindeldorn.
Patches of woods rise at varying distances from you in different directions,
while the meadow basks under a deep blue sky.  There aren't any proper roads
here, but the area appears by no means to be unacquainted with the occasional
traveler or shepherd.  Natural byways lead to the south, the east, and the
northwest.

  Standing like a ghostly finger from the ground in the middle of the meadow is
the sun-bleached remains of an old tree trunk.  Myriads of buzzing bees are
swarming around its top.

  Nearby, the Dwindeldornian prince is ambling around.

<>> * && I need damp cloth or grass to make more smoke...

  Comment recorded.

<>> x candy

  The candy is small, dark and hard.  It has a somewhat minty smell.

  The Prince of Dwindeldorn scampers about the meadow.

<>> x beet

  Your mother always told you that you should eat your beets... all that purple
is just chock-full of beneficial nutrients.  It's just a reddish-purple root
vegetable, hard and a little bigger than your fist.

<>> empty sack

  We're not sure what you're trying to empty out of the burlap sack.

  The prince seems to be collecting bark.

<>> x bark

  There's a bunch of forest litter that has accumulated in the base of the
tree.  Sticks, bark, chunks of rotting wood that have fallen off the inside of
the trunk as it deteriorates...

  A stray leaf flutters down from a tree.

<>> l

 <> A large dead tree in a meadow <>

  You're in a rolling meadow, quite in the heart of the realm of Dwindeldorn.
Patches of woods rise at varying distances from you in different directions,
while the meadow basks under a deep blue sky.  There aren't any proper roads
here, but the area appears by no means to be unacquainted with the occasional
traveler or shepherd.  Natural byways lead to the south, the east, and the
northwest.

  Standing like a ghostly finger from the ground in the middle of the meadow is
the sun-bleached remains of an old tree trunk.  Myriads of buzzing bees are
swarming around its top.

  Your companion, the heir to the throne of Dwindeldorn, is here with you.

<>> s

   The semi-open countryside eventually picks up a horse track which continues
to wind south.  You come to a road just outside of Kinterole hamlet...

 <> A construction site near Kinterole hamlet <>

  The road branches in a number of directions here in a pleasant little dell,
just on the eastern edge of a tiny hamlet called Kinterole.  Lying northeast of
you, a large and stately house is being reared up.  One might say, being reared
up very slowly and in quite an inexplicable fashion.  A cursory glance at the
site shows a building in wildly varying stages of incompletion.  Here on one
end, much of the frame is yet to be raised, while there on another end the
walls are filled in and there's a section of roof already built with slate
shingles going on.  There's a half-built chimney here, and over there there's a
wall with some windows in, and some window openings empty.
  The ground around the house looks as the ground at a construction site will
usually do... it's covered with mounds of dug-up earth near the footprint of
the building, lumber stacks are all about, as are large patches of dried and
rutted mud where innumerable carts have come and gone with their loads.  The
builders of Dwindeldorn have this to their credit, that they don't hack down
every towering old tree within a stone's throw of the house, just because they
might have to work around it... thus, the site is shady, and the tall trees
give the future house a nice sense of snugness.
  You can hear clamor and hollering coming from inside.  One could walk up to
the house and step right into it through a wide section that hasn't been walled
in yet.
  From here a horse track leads north, following the natural topography of the
land and dodging around trees and large rock outcroppings.  The way east leads
to terrain growing more rugged and thickly forested.  Just west is the hamlet,
past which the road also leads to the northwest.  A little leaning sign peeps
out from the weeds by the hamlet lane.

  Your companion is following you as ever.

<>> read sign

  It's just a sign letting you know you're leaving the hamlet.  It says:

YOU ARE NOW GOYNGE OUT OF KINTEROLE

  The royal youth wonders audibly "why we haven't gotten to the North yet."

<>> l

 <> A construction site near Kinterole hamlet <>

  The road branches in a number of directions here in a pleasant little dell,
just on the eastern edge of a tiny hamlet called Kinterole.  Lying northeast of
you, a large and stately house is being reared up.  A horse track leads north,
and the way east leads to terrain growing more rugged and thickly forested.
Just west is the hamlet, past which the road also leads to the northwest.

  The princeling is sticking nearby.

<>> ne

  You and Prince Quisborne stroll into the construction site whence issues the
clamor and hollering.  Here, you see a crusty old carpenter at his work, with a
rather hapless and inept-looking apprentice scurrying about, trying to keep his
master happy.  It is difficult to discern the actual name of this apprentice,
because it seems that every time he is addressed by the master carpenter he is
given a different title.  Not all of these titles are repeatable in polite
society.
  Naturally, as you stride directly into the middle of his jobsite, the
carpenter notices you.

  "Ho there, stranger!  I s'pose ye be currious 'bout wut we're at here; lots
a' folks aire.  I don't mind a body peepin' in to see what's goin' on.  As ye
can see we've got us a heap on our plates here.  Retirin' merchant from
Crumblegate town wants hisself a fine big place to get old in.  Reckon when yer
that rich, yer's independent as a hog on ice.  I'm Yondilroy of Snetchmowe.
Fine meetin' ye: jest mind ye don't be gettin' in our way or I might lose me
cool and boot ye outta here."

 <> In the construction site <>

  You're "inside" the house under construction, although in only a few sections
is the word 'inside' actually accurate... a lot of the site is just a skeleton,
without roof, windows, or walls.  The room you're in looks like it will be a
rather grand hall, and the northwestern half (for the hall runs northwest-
southeast) is one of the places where there's at least a rough roof built.
  A large scaffolding structure occupies most of that portion of the hall which
lies under the roof: this provides access to the ceilings, which look like they
are going to be of fan-vaulting done in wood.  Otherwise, the building spreads
farther to the northeast, and all around you are loose tools, sawdust, masonry
fragments and the other usual trappings of a job site.  You can go out to the
southwest.

  The scaffolding is equipped with a windlass-operated crane for hoisting
materials to the upper level.

  A treadle lathe is here on-site; some sawhorses are set up nearby, and a
trash barrel sits over against a wall.

  Yondilroy is busy working and/or making the apprentice do the work.

  The apprentice scurries here and there, fetching things or trying to execute
simple tasks that he's given.

  Your protegé is present and accounted for.

  Yondilroy of Snetchmowe is trying to figure out some angles and arcs by using
his chalk-stick and string to mark out some lines on the floor.

<>> scaffolding

  This is one of those times where we may not have covered the verb you're
trying to use...

<>> x scaffolding

  The scaffold is quite a large structure in itself, occupying nearly all of
the floor space in the northwestern half of this hall, and rising in tiers to
the ceiling vaults.  The first tier only has walkways running along the
building walls and the open side, but the top tier is completely decked with
planks for working all over the ceiling.  The whole is built of strong poles
lashed together, with many lashed into the shape of an 'X' for rigidity, and
some lashed crosswise to clamber up from level to level.

  The Prince of Dwindeldorn climbs around.

  Yondilroy castigates the apprentice for giving up on something too soon, and
concludes: "Now gitcher adze over hyar and hew the hump off a' that tenon
cheek.  Whar there's a will, there's relatives."

<>> x ceiling

  The ceiling has only been begun at the northwestern extremity of the room,
where the roof has already been decked.  A few really handsome fan vaults are
already taking shape, all done in curved timbers.  In brief, there is a
pedestal of sorts found every so often along the walls, each of which supports
the base of several arcing ceiling ribs, radiating off the pedestal at
different angles, and meeting each other in convoluted patterns high aloft.

  As Yondilroy the carpenter is using his chalk-stick, it suddenly snaps in
two.  "Dag-blabbit!!" he belts, hurling the broken chalk carelessly towards the
trash barrel.  The chalk hits the edge of the barrel and caroms somewhere you
can't see.  Yondilroy the carpenter procures a new chalk stick from somewhere
and continues with his work.

<>> x barrel

  It's just a medium-sized barrel pushed up against a wall for collecting
pieces of waste, which can so easily build up under foot and make life more
complicated than it needs to be.  It looks like discarded objects are regularly
launched towards it from some distance without regard to whether they make it
into the target or merely clatter somewhere around it, as evidenced by the
debris lying at the foot of the barrel and along the wall by which it sits.  In
it are some scrap wood strips.

  Yondilroy surveys the house with evident satisfaction.

<>> x wood strips

  Gobs of thin wood strips are generated whenever a job requires many boards to
be rip-sawn into narrower widths.  They're not good for much outside of
burning, so they've been broken up into three- or four-foot chunks and stuck in
the trash barrel.

<>> get them

  You pull one of the broken-off wooden sticks out of the trash barrel, and add
it to your stuff.

  Your sidekick stacks wood scraps.

  The old carpenter is grumbling under his breath about the apprentice: "Dern-
blasted cub don't even know which end of th' hammer is the business end!"

<>> * && If I could soak this strip in some water, it might give off enough smoke to numb the bees.

  Comment recorded.

<>> * && Speaking of water, between the dead tree and Kinterole, and between Wratchbunting and Blatterfarthing we must've passed through the Glostinfroke. Small little rivulet perhaps? Cause there wasn't no trouble crossing that, as opposed to the Ribbleskind

  Comment recorded.

<>> look in barrel

  Mostly what you see in the trash barrel is just debris and thin sticks of
wood.

  Yondilroy is castigating the apprentice for what he considers to be shoddy
workmanship.
  "Yer tellin' me that's how ye were goin' to walk away and leave that joint
fitted?!  Bosh!  Ye could drive a horse n' carriage through them cracks with
the doors flung open.  I bin a master o' this craft since afore ye were a-
swimmin' in yer amniotic fluids, and I ain't never seen work what come so
straight outta the devil's fart outlet.  The name of Yondilroy of Snetchmowe is
goin' to be attached to every piece of this here edifice for all time to come,
and here y'are makin' it look like th' work of a sleep-deprived eight-year-old
alcoholic.  By rights, I oughtta pound yer haunches with such an appl'cation of
boot force what'll send ye arrborne.  'Stead, ye can spend yer next break
purriod takin' it apart n' doin' it all over agin till ye get it right."

<>> l

 <> In the construction site <>

  You're "inside" the house under construction, although in only a few sections
is the word 'inside' actually accurate... a lot of the site is just a skeleton,
without roof, windows, or walls.  A large scaffolding occupies the northwestern
half of the floor space in the great hall.  You can leave the building to the
southwest.

  The scaffolding is equipped with a windlass-operated crane.

  A treadle lathe is here on-site; some sawhorses are set up nearby, and a
trash barrel sits over against a wall.

  Yondilroy and his apprentice bustle about the site.

  The ever-present prince is here.

<>> x trash

  There is no shortage of debris around the construction site, with a
particular accumulation of it around the perimeter of the bottom of the trash
barrel.

  The future king of Dwindeldorn gets lost in his thoughts.

<>> search trash

  Glancing behind the trash barrel, you can see a broken piece of chalk that
Yondilroy the carpenter flung in this general direction.

  From another part of the building you hear: "Make sure ye cover that lumber
pile after yeh; lookin' like there might come up a toad-chokin' rain."

<>> get chalk

  You pick up the discarded chalk from behind the trash barrel.

  "Dad-blast it, Twinkie, I told ye never to set the plane on its ahrrn!  Next
time I catch ye doin' that, I'll boot yer rump so smart y'ull be dancin' like a
grussheeper on a griddle.  Set the dadgum tool on its side, like any other
person with a figment of a brain.  What're ye gonna do, shave rocks with it
next?"  (The carpenter.)

<>> * && What is "(The carpenter.)" doing there?

  Comment recorded.

<>> search trash

  None of the debris that you see interests you very much.

  The young sprig of royalty is very anxious to keep exploring to the north.

<>> l

 <> In the construction site <>

  You're "inside" the house under construction, although in only a few sections
is the word 'inside' actually accurate... a lot of the site is just a skeleton,
without roof, windows, or walls.  A large scaffolding occupies the northwestern
half of the floor space in the great hall.  You can leave the building to the
southwest.

  The scaffolding is equipped with a windlass-operated crane.

  A treadle lathe is here on-site; some sawhorses are set up nearby, and a
trash barrel sits over against a wall.

  Yondilroy and his apprentice go here, there and everywhere.

  Your sidekick tags along.

<>> x crane

  The crane consists of a heavy windlass on the ground, a swinging boom mounted
on the top tier of the scaffold, and a rope which goes all the way up to the
boom and back to the ground, ending in a hook.  The hook is currently at ground
level.

  "The thing with wood," Yondilroy says to no one in particular, "it's got a
beauty what is more 'n skin deep.  Yer take a handsome girl now, and peel all
her skin off, and well, she don't look so good.  Not so with wood: ye can jest
go on a-peelin' layer after layer off a' that piece, and each 'un 'll look as
beauterful as the last."

  The future monarch of Dwindeldorn pokes around.

<>> * && Oi! A hook on a rope!

  Comment recorded.

<>> wind windlass

  You may be trying to use a verb that we weren't instructed how to handle...

<>> turn windlass

  Turning the crank, you raise the crane hook to the top level of the
scaffolding.

  Suddenly you hear a shriek as of all the Furies in their mystical habitations
rising as one to administer judgment upon the world.  It would appear that the
apprentice has just unfleshed his knuckle with a poorly-aimed hammer blow.
  "Hang-blast it, Deezy!"  Yondilroy booms.  "Don't shriek like a dadgum
harpy...  I dog-near soiled m' linens."

<>> g

  Cranking in the opposite direction lowers the hook down to the ground again.

<>> stand on hook

  There are probably more important things to attempt.

  The young figurehead surveys the construction process with interest.

  The carpenter can be seen rubbing his back and saying, "Aiyee...  Ah ain't as
young as I once were."

<>> turn windlass

  Turning the crank, you raise the crane hook to the top level of the
scaffolding.

  "Blab-daggit, yeh ding-dern chowderhead!  Ye done nawled that whole
assemblage in bazz-ackwards!  Rip it out, n' recknify it afore I plant a mighty
foot in yer flapjack!"

<>> * && I have a feeling there might be something on that top tier I'm going to have to lower with the crane...

  Comment recorded.

<>> l

 <> In the construction site <>

  You're "inside" the house under construction, although in only a few sections
is the word 'inside' actually accurate... a lot of the site is just a skeleton,
without roof, windows, or walls.  A large scaffolding occupies the northwestern
half of the floor space in the great hall.  You can leave the building to the
southwest.

  The scaffolding is equipped with a windlass-operated crane.

  A treadle lathe is here on-site; some sawhorses are set up nearby, and a
trash barrel sits over against a wall.

  The crane hook hangs level with the top of the scaffolding.

  Yondilroy and his apprentice are working now on one thing, now on another.

  The future king of Dwindeldorn is present and accounted for.

  Yondilroy finishes fitting a tricky board into a spot with lots of converging
angles.  "Ah'm livin' with it," he says.  "Almost looks as if we knew wut we
were doin'!"

<>> x lathe

  In a house of this caliber, there is certain to be a great deal of custom
turned-wood, and having a lathe on-site greatly simplifies the process.  The
lathe holds a piece of wood horizontally and rotates it at high speeds, so that
a sharp tool on a rest can be pressed into it and form any contour the workman
imagines.  A foot pedal, or treadle, operates the lathe by turning a heavy
flywheel, which by means of a belt turns the shaft which the wood is attached
to.
  On a surface of the lathe frame is a turning gouge.

<>> x gouge

  The gouge is a heavy-duty shaft of metal about a foot long, with a wooden
handle on one end.  The shaft has a trough in it running its length, with a
sharpened tip in a semicircular shape.  The gouge is used for roughing a square
billet of wood into a cylinder, and giving it an approximate shape.  Other
tools are used for decorative detail work and sharp grooves.

<>> show stag to apprantice

  "Apprantice" could either be something as yet unknown to you or else a
phrasing unknown to us.

<>> show stag to apprentice

  As the lumbering youth starts to respond, you hear Yondilroy bellowing: "I
don't pay ye to staund there flappin' yer gums 'n blowin' hot arr!  Now if'n ye
don't fancy a bootprint atween yer bun-cracks, I sijest ye better git back to
work!

<>> show stag to yondilroy

  "Well ain't that the beatin'est thing I ever saw?"  Yondilroy's facial
expression does not in any way match the level of interest indicated by his
words.

  The young figurehead surveys the construction process with interest.

<>> * && I thought he might be interested in the fine woodwork.

  Comment recorded.

<>> put stag on lathe

  You put the whittled stag's head on the lathe.

  "Bless yer little heart, yer just havin' an awful time," says the crusty old
carpenter, as the apprentice clings in terror to a peak of the roof while
trying to reach out and drive a nail.

<>> rotate lathe

  You pump the treadle of the lathe, imparting motion to the flywheel which
starts the lathe spinning.  This isn't overly productive with nothing clamped
in the lathe.

  You get a very subtle reminder from your sidekick that you both are supposed
to be finding the fastness in the northern fells.

<>> clamp stag in lathe

(first taking the whittled stag's head)

  Now that's a curious choice for clamping in a lathe.

  (Yondilroy to the apprentice:) "Lay off there, Bocephus!  Yer whippin' a dead
horse!"

<>> clamp strip in lathe

(putting the wood strip in the lathe)
  The strip of wood is too flimsy to clamp and work.

  The flywheel slows down to a leisurely spin.

<>> clamp beet in lathe

  First waiting for the flywheel to come to rest, you clamp the beet in the
lathe.

  The apprentice raises up a small partition wall, but then loses control of
it, and it tips off the floor into the foundation ditch.  Yondilroy chimes:
"Ain't life great?  Every day's a holiday, and every meal's a banquet."

<>> pump treadle

  You pump the treadle of the lathe, imparting motion to the flywheel which
starts the lathe spinning.
  The clamped beet is being whirred around at high speed.  Note that nothing
else will happen unless you have the gouge.

  The future king of Dwindeldorn gets lost in his thoughts.

<>> get gouge

  You take the turning gouge.

<>> gouge beet

  This is one of those times where we may not have covered the verb you're
trying to use...

<>> press gouge to beet

  You may be trying to use a verb that we weren't instructed how to handle...

<>> cut beet with gouge

  Using your tool, you carve the spinning beet into a whimsical shape with
flutes and ogees.  Congratulations: you may be the only person in all of
Dwindeldorn who has an architecturally shaped beet.

<>> get beet

  You take the beet.

<>> x it

  Your mother always told you that you should eat your beets... all that purple
is just chock-full of beneficial nutrients.  It's just a reddish-purple root
vegetable, hard and a little bigger than your fist.

<>> * && No detailed description of my woodcraftsmanship?

  Comment recorded.

<>> * && *beet*craftmanship...

  Comment recorded.

<>> l

 <> In the construction site <>

  You're "inside" the house under construction, although in only a few sections
is the word 'inside' actually accurate... a lot of the site is just a skeleton,
without roof, windows, or walls.  A large scaffolding occupies the northwestern
half of the floor space in the great hall.  You can leave the building to the
southwest.

  The scaffolding is equipped with a windlass-operated crane.

  A treadle lathe is here on-site; some sawhorses are set up nearby, and a
trash barrel sits over against a wall.

  The crane hook hangs level with the top of the scaffolding.

  Yondilroy and his apprentice go here, there and everywhere.

  PQ is present as ever.

  The Prince of Dwindeldorn climbs around.

<>> x sawhorses

  Sawhorses are always a major focal point of a job site... just about every
piece of wood needs to go to the sawhorses to get cut and shaped before it goes
anywhere else in the building.  These were made from four-foot sections of log
with stout round legs bored in.  Wood blocks, debris and a smattering of
sawdust litter the ground around them.

  The crusty old carpenter swings his hammer and a nail goes flying.  "Golly
socks!  Dern knot is harder 'n woodpecker lips!"

<>> x blocks

  Cut-off wooden blocks of various sizes and wood varieties are found all
around the jobsite, but there is a particular conglomeration of them underneath
and around the sawhorses.

<>> search blocks

  You search the scrap wood blocks.  Your findings are disappointingly
ordinary.

  Your young pal builds a crude little structure from scrap strips.

<>> get block

  You take a wood block from the pile around the sawhorses.

<>> clamp block in lathe

(putting the wood block in the lathe)
  You clamp the wood block in the lathe.

  Yondilroy appears to be amused watching the apprentice struggle and flounder
with an awkward situation on a ladder, and comments: "I say, Deezy, yer havin'
so many differnt kinds a' fun ye don't know whar to begin!"

<>> pump treadle

  You pump the treadle of the lathe, imparting motion to the flywheel which
starts the lathe spinning.
  The clamped wood block is being whirred around at high speed.

<>> gouge block

  This is one of those times where we may not have covered the verb you're
trying to use...

<>> * && "to gouge" is a verb too, no? as in "I'll gouge yer eyes out if you come near my daughter again!"

  Comment recorded.

<>> cut block with gouge

  As you put your gouge on the rest and push it into the spinning wood,
shavings start to fly like ribbons and confetti.  You can boast at least a
modest amount of craftsy know-how, even though, clearly, your main business is
more in the line of knighthood, foe-fighting and other heroic vocations.
Quisborne watches as you spend a quarter of an hour or more converting the
block of wood into a cylinder, finishing by reducing the two ends into handles.
It could well pass for a baker's rolling pin.  It's not clear how useful this
will be to you in your present mode of living, but you didn't have anything
else in mind to make.
  The lad is quite impressed.  "Jolly good, sir!  You just changed that wood
thing with real skill, wow!  What is it, sir?"  You are apparently the first to
let him know that this remarkable tool is what his cooks have used every time
he has sat down to a pheasant pie or a venison pasty.

<>> hit quisborne with baking pin

  "Baking" is either:
 - Something you haven't come across yet
 - Something not necessary to your adventure
 - A phrasing we aren't equipped to handle

<>> hit quisborne with rolling pin

  Do you really want to cock the poor prince's head for real?

<>> y

  You may be trying to use a verb that we weren't instructed how to handle...

<>> hit quisborne with rolling pin

  Do you really want to cock the poor prince's head for real?

<>> yes

  There's no context currently for a yes or no answer.  (And sometimes
rhetorical questions are employed...)

  The future monarch of Dwindeldorn pokes around.

<>> get rolling pin

  You take the rolling pin.

  The apprentice complains that a mortise is taking forever to chisel out.
"Quit yer yappin', Catfish: if it were easy childern could do it."

  Prince Quisborne looks very antsy to get to the Fastness, allegedly the place
to find a clue as to what became of the lost crown.

<>> show rolling pin to carpenter

  "Well now, that just ain't too bad.  Reckon ye could roll yerself out some
dump'lins there.  'Scuse me, though...  I got bus'ness to handle."

  The Prince of Dwindeldorn climbs around.

<>> get block

  You take a wood block from the pile around the sawhorses.

<>> put block in clamp

  You don't see any clamp in view.

<>> put block in lathe

(putting the wood block in the lathe)
  You clamp the wood block in the lathe.

  Yondilroy the carpenter is bantering away at the cub while they work.
"Anything can happen, and it usually does."

<>> press treadle

  You pump the treadle of the lathe, imparting motion to the flywheel which
starts the lathe spinning.
  The clamped wood block is being whirred around at high speed.

<>> cut block with gouge

  As you put your gouge on the rest and push it into the spinning wood,
shavings start to fly like ribbons and confetti.  You can boast at least a
modest amount of craftsy know-how, even though, clearly, your main business is
more in the line of knighthood, foe-fighting and other heroic vocations.
Quisborne watches as you spend a quarter of an hour or more converting the
block of wood into a cylinder, finishing by reducing the two ends into handles.
It could well pass for a baker's rolling pin.  It's not clear how useful this
will be to you in your present mode of living, but you didn't have anything
else in mind to make.
  The prince has seen you turn some wood before, but is still gratified in
watching the article take shape.  He has to inquire what the article actually
is, and you are apparently the first to let him know that this remarkable tool
is what his cooks have used every time he has sat down to a pheasant pie or a
venison pasty.

  "Now yer cookin', Smokey Joe," says the master carpenter, as the apprentice
stuggles with figuring out how to adjust a section of scaffolding, and then
finally gets it right.

<>> get pin

  You take the rolling pin.

<>> get block

  You take a wood block from the pile around the sawhorses.

  The future king of Dwindeldorn gets lost in his thoughts.

<>> * && Once I start gouging a new block, the old rolling pin disappears. Darn! I was hoping to make a cartload full of them...

  Comment recorded.

<>> l

 <> In the construction site <>

  You're "inside" the house under construction, although in only a few sections
is the word 'inside' actually accurate... a lot of the site is just a skeleton,
without roof, windows, or walls.  A large scaffolding occupies the northwestern
half of the floor space in the great hall.  You can leave the building to the
southwest.

  The scaffolding is equipped with a windlass-operated crane.

  A treadle lathe is here on-site; some sawhorses are set up nearby, and a
trash barrel sits over against a wall.

  The crane hook hangs level with the top of the scaffolding.

  Yondilroy and his apprentice bustle about the site.

  Near by your side sticks the incumbent to the throne.

  The carpenter and apprentice are each holding up the end of a long board in
place.  "Is that you?  Put a thorn in 'eem, before we come to grief."

<>> n

  It isn't very purposeful to be dodging about amongst all the supporting legs
of the scaffolding.

<>> s

   Before leaving, you put the turning gouge back where it belongs.

 <> A construction site near Kinterole hamlet <>

  The road branches in a number of directions here in a pleasant little dell,
just on the eastern edge of a tiny hamlet called Kinterole.  Lying northeast of
you, a large and stately house is being reared up.  A horse track leads north,
and the way east leads to terrain growing more rugged and thickly forested.
Just west is the hamlet, past which the road also leads to the northwest.

  Nearby, the king's son is ambling around.

  Quisborne scratches his back with the iron bar.

<>> undo

   Taking back one turn: “s”.

 <> In the construction site <>

  You're "inside" the house under construction, although in only a few sections
is the word 'inside' actually accurate... a lot of the site is just a skeleton,
without roof, windows, or walls.  A large scaffolding occupies the northwestern
half of the floor space in the great hall.  You can leave the building to the
southwest.

  The scaffolding is equipped with a windlass-operated crane.

  A treadle lathe is here on-site; some sawhorses are set up nearby, and a
trash barrel sits over against a wall.

  The crane hook hangs level with the top of the scaffolding.

  Yondilroy and his apprentice are working now on one thing, now on another.

  Nearby, Quisborne is ambling around.

<>> * && Description says SW to leave.

  Comment recorded.

<>> se

  The wall has already been built there.

<>> ne

   Before leaving, you put the turning gouge back where it belongs.

  You wander a little bit deeper into the building, where other chambers and
passages are likewise in erratic stages of incompletion.  However, the center
of activity seems to be the great hall into which you first entered, so you
return there.

 <> In the construction site <>

  You're "inside" the house under construction, although in only a few sections
is the word 'inside' actually accurate... a lot of the site is just a skeleton,
without roof, windows, or walls.  The room you're in looks like it will be a
rather grand hall, and the northwestern half is one of the places where there's
at least a rough roof built.
  A large scaffolding structure occupies most of that portion of the hall which
lies under the roof: this provides access to the ceilings, which look like they
are going to be of fan-vaulting done in wood.  Otherwise, the building spreads
farther to the northeast, and all around you are loose tools, sawdust, masonry
fragments and the other usual trappings of a job site.  You can go out to the
southwest.

  The scaffolding is equipped with a windlass-operated crane.

  A treadle lathe is here on-site; some sawhorses are set up nearby, and a
trash barrel sits over against a wall.

  The crane hook hangs level with the top of the scaffolding.

  Yondilroy and his apprentice bustle about the site.

  The youth is present and accounted for.

<>> undo

   Taking back one turn: “ne”.

 <> In the construction site <>

  You're "inside" the house under construction, although in only a few sections
is the word 'inside' actually accurate... a lot of the site is just a skeleton,
without roof, windows, or walls.  The room you're in looks like it will be a
rather grand hall, and the northwestern half is one of the places where there's
at least a rough roof built.
  A large scaffolding structure occupies most of that portion of the hall which
lies under the roof: this provides access to the ceilings, which look like they
are going to be of fan-vaulting done in wood.  Otherwise, the building spreads
farther to the northeast, and all around you are loose tools, sawdust, masonry
fragments and the other usual trappings of a job site.  You can go out to the
southwest.

  The scaffolding is equipped with a windlass-operated crane.

  A treadle lathe is here on-site; some sawhorses are set up nearby, and a
trash barrel sits over against a wall.

  The crane hook hangs level with the top of the scaffolding.

  Yondilroy and his apprentice go here, there and everywhere.

  The future monarch of Dwindeldorn is here with you as always.

<>> * && And this was NE, the opposite of what the description says. Of course, in a house as unfinished as this, there must be "exits" all around.

  Comment recorded.

<>> climb scaffold

   You clamber up the scaffolding to the first tier, and then up to the top...

 <> On the scaffolding (top level) <>

  This is the highest deck of the scaffolding, and looking off the (unrailed)
southeastern edge to the floor below is a mite unsettling.  To approach the
northeastern or southwestern sides of this deck you would have to stoop, as the
ceiling vaults pass by on their way up to the peak.  The scaffold floor is
fully planked here, so that additional ladders or staging can be set up to
reach whatever spot is going to be worked on next.
  A swiveling boom, a little above head-level, is built onto the scaffold.
Ropes run over a couple of pulleys on it from the windlass below.

  A heavy beam lies on the scaffold deck.  It doesn't appear as though it is
supposed to be there, and an unlucky mattock is trapped beneath it.

  The crane hook hangs within arm's reach of this level.

  Your companion, the Dwindeldornian heir, is here with you.

  The master carpenter is saying: "Put a couple three snails in yer board there
and come on down, Brown."

<>> x beam

  How unfortunate... one of the rib members of the vaulting has fallen out of
the ceiling.  It's a really heavy timber... it's a good thing the scaffolding
was well built.

  The apprentice complains that a girder beam he's given is too short to span
between two bearing points.  "Crock o' shad livers!"  Yondilroy retorts.  "Yer
puttin' it in th' wrong place; I arr'dy told ye that ain't whar that go!"

<>> tell carpenter about beam

  It would be awkward to try hollering at people from up here on the scaffold.

  The apprentice is perched aloft in an awkward position trying to insert a
post into a beam mortise.  The master is saying, "Ye look like yer on the wrong
side of the world, there, Tex.  How 'bout ye face the other way?"

  Quisborne parades around the scaffold deck.

<>> d

   Down the scaffold rungs you go, to the ground floor...

 <> In the construction site <>

  You're "inside" the house under construction, although in only a few sections
is the word 'inside' actually accurate... a lot of the site is just a skeleton,
without roof, windows, or walls.  A large scaffolding occupies the northwestern
half of the floor space in the great hall.  You can leave the building to the
southwest.

  The scaffolding is equipped with a windlass-operated crane.

  A treadle lathe is here on-site; some sawhorses are set up nearby, and a
trash barrel sits over against a wall.

  The crane hook hangs level with the top of the scaffolding.

  Yondilroy and his apprentice bustle about the site.

  Nearby, the Dwindeldornian prince is ambling around.

  "There's a cave fish called an olm," says the princeling.  "They live a
hundred years underwater, and never stop being just a larva.  A larva is kind
of like a tadpole, if you didn't know.  Something not fully grown.  That's
weird!"

<>> tell carpenter about beam

  "That daggum rib... had a couple three Crumblegate boys here that day settin'
some of them vaults.  We had 'er up over our heads when one o' 'em like to blew
a kidney out with his a-sneezin', and we lost control.  More 'n one o' them
fellers missed gettin' made a pancake of by jest a freckle, but only thing that
end up comin' to grief were that old mattock.  It were late then 'n we called
it a day.  Not sure when I'll round the boys up again for another go at it, so
there it lies."

<>> u

   You clamber up the scaffolding to the first tier, and then up to the top...

 <> On the scaffolding (top level) <>

  This is the highest deck of the scaffolding, and looking off the (unrailed)
southeastern edge to the floor below is a mite unsettling.  To approach the
northeastern or southwestern sides of this deck you would have to stoop, as the
ceiling vaults pass by on their way up to the peak.  The scaffold floor is
fully planked here, so that additional ladders or staging can be set up to
reach whatever spot is going to be worked on next.
  A swiveling boom, a little above head-level, is built onto the scaffold.
Ropes run over a couple of pulleys on it from the windlass below.

  A heavy beam lies on the scaffold deck.  It doesn't appear as though it is
supposed to be there, and an unlucky mattock is trapped beneath it.

  The crane hook hangs within arm's reach of this level.

  Your young pal tags along.

  You overhear Yondilroy and his helper cogitating aloud over how to deal with
a troublesome situation.  When the apprentice makes plausible suggestion,
Yondilroy says, "There you go thinkin' again, Catfish... that's the second time
this week!"

<>> x mattock

  The mattock, a rudimentary digging tool, is mostly trapped under a timber...
you can't get the best assessment of it.  You can't imagine that the presence
of the beam on top of it has been salutary to the mattock's wellbeing.

  The prince timidly steps up to the edge of the scaffolding and peers straight
down.  Then he backs away unsteadily.  "Guhh... that makes me a little giddy!"

<>> x hook

  This is the hook that lifts loads to the various levels of the scaffold.  One
might set a bunk of lumber in some straps which hook onto the hook, for
instance.

<>> put hook under beam

(first trying to take the crane hook)

  If you want to do something with the hook you might just try putting it on
something.

  Your sidekick is very anxious to keep exploring to the north.

<>> put hook on beam

  You hook the crane hook on to the heavy beam.

<>> d

   Down the scaffold rungs you go, to the ground floor...

 <> In the construction site <>

  You're "inside" the house under construction, although in only a few sections
is the word 'inside' actually accurate... a lot of the site is just a skeleton,
without roof, windows, or walls.  A large scaffolding occupies the northwestern
half of the floor space in the great hall.  You can leave the building to the
southwest.

  The scaffolding is equipped with a windlass-operated crane.

  A treadle lathe is here on-site; some sawhorses are set up nearby, and a
trash barrel sits over against a wall.

  Yondilroy and his apprentice are working now on one thing, now on another.

  The Prince of Dwindeldorn is hanging around.

<>> rotate windlass

  As you crank on the windlass the rope goes taut, and you feel strong
resistance.  However, the windlass provides great leverage, and you can feel
the rope wind in some, before coming to an abrupt stop.

<>> u

  You clamber up the scaffolding to the first tier, and then up to the top...

  As you had hoped, the crane has succeeded in pulling the heavy beam a short
distance and off of the mattock.  You unhook the crane from the beam out of
courtesy to the next prospective user.

 <> On the scaffolding (top level) <>

  This is the highest deck of the scaffolding, and looking off the (unrailed)
southeastern edge to the floor below is a mite unsettling.  To approach the
northeastern or southwestern sides of this deck you would have to stoop, as the
ceiling vaults pass by on their way up to the peak.  The scaffold floor is
fully planked here, so that additional ladders or staging can be set up to
reach whatever spot is going to be worked on next.
  A swiveling boom, a little above head-level, is built onto the scaffold.
Ropes run over a couple of pulleys on it from the windlass below.

  A heavy beam lies on the scaffold deck.

  The crane hook hangs within arm's reach of this level.

  You see the broken mattock here.

  Near by your side is Prince Q.

  (Yondilroy to the apprentice:) "Why dontchee take a flyin' leap up that lad-
dar, Sonny."

  Quisborne parades around the scaffold deck.


*** Your score has just gone up by two points ***

<>> x mattock

  The mattock has (or had) a wooden handle of about three feet long, and an
iron head.  One side of the head is a pick, such as for breaking rock or very
hard ground; the other side is a wider chisel-like blade for tilling earth or
cutting roots.
  The handle has been snapped off about a foot-length below the head: you could
probably dig with it as it is, but it's rather doubtful that it'll be doing
much rock breaking in this state.

<>> * && So a mattock is a sort of pickaxe. I was wondering.

  Comment recorded.

<>> get mattock

  You take the broken mattock.

  (Yondilroy to the apprentice:) "Man-cub why dontchee throw yer levelie-poo on
that post over yander, looks like it's got a bit of lean-itis to it."

<>> x handle

  The windlass is what operates the crane: essentially a large spool of rope
with a crank handle.  It looks like it was designed with some optional gearing
for especially heavy loads and a ratchet wheel to prevent losing control and
having a load accidentally free-fall.

  Yondilroy is to be heard saying: "Whoa there, Buzz, let's get these toeboards
nailed before we go too hogwild here."

<>> repair mattock

  It would take a certain set of tools and wedges (not to mention an
appropriately shaped and sized billet of good hickory wood) to properly fix the
mattock.  But it's still usable for some digging, even as is.

<>> * && Oh. So just gouging a rough handle out of a leftover block and popping it into the mattock head won't do it. Only for digging then...

  Comment recorded.

<>> l

 <> On the scaffolding (top level) <>

  This is the highest deck of the scaffolding, and looking off the (unrailed)
southeastern edge to the floor below is a mite unsettling.  To approach the
northeastern or southwestern sides of this deck you would have to stoop, as the
ceiling vaults pass by on their way up to the peak.  The scaffold floor is
fully planked here, so that additional ladders or staging can be set up to
reach whatever spot is going to be worked on next.
  A swiveling boom, a little above head-level, is built onto the scaffold.
Ropes run over a couple of pulleys on it from the windlass below.

  A heavy beam lies on the scaffold deck.

  The crane hook hangs within arm's reach of this level.

  Your young pal is here.

<>> x pulleys

  There isn't much to learn: the ropes and pulleys are just how the crane
works.

  Your companion pretends to have a conversation with the whittled stag.

<>> ne

  There's no need to travel directionally to reach whatever is reachable from
the scaffold deck.

  (Yondilroy to the apprentice:) "Go look fer a trunnel puller in the tool
chest: we got one o' everthang and two o' some things."

<>> * && I don't see the need to mention who's speaking between parentheses. The carpenter's voice is readily recognisable.

  Comment recorded.

<>> get all

  You see nothing suitable here.

<>> d

   Down the scaffold rungs you go, to the ground floor...

 <> In the construction site <>

  You're "inside" the house under construction, although in only a few sections
is the word 'inside' actually accurate... a lot of the site is just a skeleton,
without roof, windows, or walls.  A large scaffolding occupies the northwestern
half of the floor space in the great hall.  You can leave the building to the
southwest.

  The scaffolding is equipped with a windlass-operated crane.

  A treadle lathe is here on-site; some sawhorses are set up nearby, and a
trash barrel sits over against a wall.

  The crane hook hangs level with the top of the scaffolding.

  Yondilroy and his apprentice go here, there and everywhere.

  Prince Quisborne is present as ever, carrying the sack.

  Yondilroy sees you with the broken mattock from the scaffold.  "Yer untrapped
that mattock now, did ye?  Wal, I cain't say as I give a flyin' fig f'r it.  I
got better thangs to do 'n reparr a old sparr mattock. You got any use fer it,
jest go on 'n take it.  Bring it back some day when yer done 'n at least I can
repurpose the ahrrn head."

<>> * && Will this be that last lousy point at the end of the game? Returning the mattock?

  Comment recorded.

<>> sw

   Before leaving, you put the turning gouge back where it belongs.

 <> A construction site near Kinterole hamlet <>

  The road branches in a number of directions here in a pleasant little dell,
just on the eastern edge of a tiny hamlet called Kinterole.  Lying northeast of
you, a large and stately house is being reared up.  A horse track leads north,
and the way east leads to terrain growing more rugged and thickly forested.
Just west is the hamlet, past which the road also leads to the northwest.

  The future monarch of Dwindeldorn is here.

<>> save

  Saved.

<>> w

   You and the prince amble into the hamlet.  The prince, incognito, gets the
opportunity to meet some of his future subjects.  After a bit of cordial
chatter with a few strangers, you leave the hamlet and return to the main road.

 <> A construction site near Kinterole hamlet <>

  The road branches in a number of directions here in a pleasant little dell,
just on the eastern edge of a tiny hamlet called Kinterole.  Lying northeast of
you, a large and stately house is being reared up.  A horse track leads north,
and the way east leads to terrain growing more rugged and thickly forested.
Just west is the hamlet, past which the road also leads to the northwest.

  The prince is hanging around.

<>> nw

   It isn't such a short trip from Kinterole back to the junction of the
Darchingcrast Road.  The large town of Crumblegate lies on the way, as well as
the lands of Uxpelcraith Hall and Orterleigh Manor.  In the course of time, you
find yourself back at the entrance to Forthlong Hall...

 <> Entrance to the grounds of Forthlong Hall <>

  You are at the entrance to the grounds belonging to Forthlong Hall.  The road
to Darchingcrast converges here with the road you've just traveled.  To the
northwest the road is wider and well-traveled, and tall hedges of wild
shrubbery stretch along its south side.  To the southeast the road looks less
frequented, winding away among shading trees alongside a gushing stream.  The
lane leading to Forthlong Hall branches off from this road to the south,
crossing the stream by means of a small bridge.  Northeast, the road starts
gradually uphill towards the city and the castle.

  The Dwindeldornian heir is present as ever.

  "So, I think got a little mixed up when we made a fire on our last trip," PQ
says.  "I'm pretty sure I burned up the rolling pin and the wood block with
some other kindling.  Oops!  Not too great of a loss, though, I hope..."

  It looks like somebody has gotten around to taking down the straw entrance
portal and all of the other festival finery.  The scene now just looks like any
other old peaceful spot in the country.

<>> undo

   Taking back one turn: “nw”.

 <> A construction site near Kinterole hamlet <>

  The road branches in a number of directions here in a pleasant little dell,
just on the eastern edge of a tiny hamlet called Kinterole.  Lying northeast of
you, a large and stately house is being reared up.  A horse track leads north,
and the way east leads to terrain growing more rugged and thickly forested.
Just west is the hamlet, past which the road also leads to the northwest.

  Near by your side sticks the lad.

<>> * && Note that he didn't burn the wood strip...

  Comment recorded.

<>> s

  All you can see in that direction is a patchwork of sheep pastures belonging
to the folk of Kinterole.

  The incumbent to the throne is peering into a burrow.

<>> x burrow

  Let the lad enjoy nature without trying to read too much into it.

<>> l

 <> A construction site near Kinterole hamlet <>

  The road branches in a number of directions here in a pleasant little dell,
just on the eastern edge of a tiny hamlet called Kinterole.  Lying northeast of
you, a large and stately house is being reared up.  A horse track leads north,
and the way east leads to terrain growing more rugged and thickly forested.
Just west is the hamlet, past which the road also leads to the northwest.

  Prince Q tags along, carrying the sack.

  A light breeze blows.

<>> e

   You trek eastward into the rugged forested hills.  After a fair piece of
journeying, you come up a large, broad-topped hill...

 <> An upland in rugged country <>

  There is an abundance of wild lavender fields covering this open upland, from
which lower hills roll away below you in every direction until yet higher hills
swallow up the horizon.  Anywhere to the north, the trees and hedgerows are as
plentiful as anywhere in Dwindeldorn, punctuated at two or three points by some
high-reaching turret, while to the south and southeast, the trees distinctly
begin to grow sparser, and the landscape culminates in some barren rock jutting
from the horizon.
  There is no road here, but frequented travel routes can be discerned to go
off to the north and northeast; traveling westward would lead you by and by to
the crossroad near Kinterole hamlet.  The ground is also traversable to the
southeast, although the prospect in that direction is more forbidding.

  Three knights of debatable quality are mounted on their horses in the
vicinity.

  Your companion, the feckless heir, is here with you.

  The three knights seem to be very disgruntled by a competing order of knights
of their acquaintance.

<>> * && I tell you, we're going to Thymeleigh Manor. If only I'd known sooner I could override the prince's nagging about going north. 

  Comment recorded.

<>> save

  Saved.

<>> script off

&
&
&
&

  The transcript will be saved to the file.  Type SCRIPT OFF to discontinue
scripting.

<>> l

 <> An upland in rugged country <>

  There is an abundance of wild lavender fields covering this open upland.  To
the south and southeast, the trees distinctly begin to grow sparser, and the
landscape culminates in some barren rock jutting from the horizon.
  There is no road here, but frequented travel routes can be discerned to go
off to the north and northeast; traveling westward would lead you by and by to
the crossroad near Kinterole hamlet.  The ground is also traversable to the
southeast, although the prospect in that direction is more forbidding.

  Three knights of debatable quality are mounted on their horses in the
vicinity.

  Your young pal is sticking nearby.

<>> * && I'm going to retrace my steps to the smithy. There are a few other things I want to try along the way.

  Comment recorded.

<>> * && Oh, and I have to say this again (have I said this already?) The decorative borders and silhouetted forest-and-castle skyline below the text are beautiful.

  Comment recorded.

<>> w

  Descending from the upland, you go over and down many more rugged forested
hills, eventually issuing forth near Kinterole hamlet...

  The course of the travel included making camp for the night.  You added to
Quisborne's many new roles that of Fetcher of Firewood, and showed him how to
arrange fuel and tinder to most successfully get a good fire going.  These
tasks are much more purposeful than they may at first seem, for to be a king,
you told him, is foremostly to be a servant.
  The fires, once lit from the embers in your box, provide in return a means to
keep your ember box alight and ready.

 <> A construction site near Kinterole hamlet <>

  The road branches in a number of directions here in a pleasant little dell,
just on the eastern edge of a tiny hamlet called Kinterole.  Lying northeast of
you, a large and stately house is being reared up.  A horse track leads north,
and the way east leads to terrain growing more rugged and thickly forested.
Just west is the hamlet, past which the road also leads to the northwest.

  The future king of Dwindeldorn is following you wherever you go.

  It isn't any surprise to you when you ask the prince if he's ever done a
pull-up before, and he answers no.  For his first attempt, you select a tree
limb of suitable height and direct him to jump and grab it.  If his first two
pushups were performed underwhelmingly, at least they were performed.  This
time, the prince kicks, writhes, and gasps, but he can't pull himself up.
  Well.  Baby steps eventually turn into race-winning strides.  You lock your
fingers to create a stirrup, and boost the prince upwards only just enough that
he's still forced to use all his strength to get his chin over the limb.  You
do this a few times, and call his first pull-up workout a wrap.

<>> ne

 <> In the construction site <>

  You're "inside" the house under construction, although in only a few sections
is the word 'inside' actually accurate... a lot of the site is just a skeleton,
without roof, windows, or walls.  A large scaffolding occupies the northwestern
half of the floor space in the great hall.  You can leave the building to the
southwest.

  The scaffolding is equipped with a windlass-operated crane.

  A treadle lathe is here on-site; some sawhorses are set up nearby, and a
trash barrel sits over against a wall.

  The crane hook hangs level with the top of the scaffolding.

  Yondilroy and his apprentice bustle about the site.

  The lad is present and accounted for.

  By this point you've gotten Quisborne into a semi-regular routine of
practicing his pushups.  He can do twelve in a row now.

<>> ask yondilroy about crane

  "Ye think I got nothin' better to do here 'n answer a bunch a' arr-headed
questions?"

<>> ask yondilroy about stag

  You already know how Yondilroy feels about a 'bunch of airheaded questions',
and you judge that he might consider this one to qualify.

<>> x crane

  The crane consists of a heavy windlass on the ground, a swinging boom mounted
on the top tier of the scaffold, and a rope which goes all the way up to the
boom and back down, ending in a hook.  The hook is currently raised to the top
of the scaffold.

  Yondilroy of Snetchmowe is saying: "Don't hand me a dull saw when Ah'm
cuttin' crown molding: Ah cain't cope w'th it!"  You can't really tell if
Yondilroy's carpentry pun was purely accidental or not.

<>> x rope

  The crane could do nothing useful if the hook weren't attached to the
windlass by a rope.

  "Hey, see that cloud?!" says the prince.  "It looks like a piece of pie, in
the sky."

<>> detach rope from windlass

  The ropes are just the workhorses: the hook and the windlass are the useful
parts of the crane.

  Yikes!  The apprentice just lost his footing and came sailing down a roof
slope, describing a graceful trajectory through the air amidst airborne tools
into a pool of half-dried mud.  Yondilroy just shakes his head and says, "Well
don't my heart just pump purple peanut butter for ye.  Get back up there!"

<>> turn windlass

  Cranking in the opposite direction lowers the hook down to the ground again.

<>> get hook

  If you want to do something with the hook you might just try putting it on
something.

  You see Yondilroy mop his brow and say to his boy, "Muh skin's leakin',
Bucky; let's take a break."

<>> untie hook

  The hook isn't hooked to anything right now.

<>> get rope and hook

crane rope:  You think the old carpenter's grumpy now, try taking away his
crane ropes.

crane hook:  If you want to do something with the hook you might just try
putting it on something.

<>> * && You keep showing me stuff that I really, *desperately* want to use for getting the ferry raft, like the lasso in the game and this ready-made rope-and-hook here. And then I can't have them. I'm curious what the intended solution is going to be. 

  Comment recorded.

<>> * && Mermaids!

  Comment recorded.

<>> w

  The wall has already been built there.

  The crusty old carpenter sighs at the apprentice's incompetence.  "Ye can't
fix stupid..."

  The lad plays around with the plentiful scrap wood.

<>> s

 <> A construction site near Kinterole hamlet <>

  The road branches in a number of directions here in a pleasant little dell,
just on the eastern edge of a tiny hamlet called Kinterole.  Lying northeast of
you, a large and stately house is being reared up in a rather unorthodox
fashion: it doesn't look like any one phase of the building process gets
completed before something else is started.
  The ground around the house looks as the ground at a construction site will
usually do... it's covered with mounds of dug-up earth near the footprint of
the building, lumber stacks are all about, as are large patches of dried and
rutted mud where innumerable carts have come and gone with their loads.  The
site is snug and shady, thanks to all the nearby tall trees that were left
standing, and you can hear the clamor of construction work (and testy old
carpenter bellowings) coming from inside.
  From here a horse track leads north, following the natural topography of the
land and dodging around trees and large rock outcroppings.  The way east leads
to terrain growing more rugged and thickly forested.  Just west is the hamlet,
past which the road also leads to the northwest.  A little leaning sign peeps
out from the weeds by the hamlet lane.

  Your "squire" is in tow.

  Pointing out a mark at some distance, you order the prince to make a sprint
to it and back.

<>> n

   The horse track leads a few miles northward, and then peters out.  The
countryside is easy to continue traveling through...

 <> A large dead tree in a meadow <>

  You're in a rolling meadow, quite in the heart of the realm of Dwindeldorn.
Patches of woods rise at varying distances from you in different directions,
while the meadow basks under a deep blue sky.  There aren't any proper roads
here, but the area appears by no means to be unacquainted with the occasional
traveler or shepherd.  Natural byways lead to the south, the east, and the
northwest.

  Standing like a ghostly finger from the ground in the middle of the meadow is
the sun-bleached remains of an old tree trunk.  Myriads of buzzing bees are
swarming around its top.

  The future monarch of Dwindeldorn is here with you as always.

  Prince Q gazes longingly at the top of the tree.  "I surely didn't properly
appreciate delicacies like honey when I lived in the castle."

<>> * && According to the map of the area between Kinterole and this dead tree, we swam across a river without even getting wet.

  Comment recorded.

<>> i

  Between you and your human pack mule, you're in possession of your ember box,
the burlap sack, a cattail, an iron bar, the piece of horehound candy, the
flyer, a wood strip, the piece of chalk, the whittled stag's head, a beet, the
rolling pin, a wood block, and the broken mattock.

<>> x stag

  Perhaps someone in the grimmage crowd wasn't getting a great deal of
entertainment out of spectating, and spent their time whittling instead.  It's
really small, and kind of cute... you suppose it to be a stag's head.  The
antlers look a little bit like the horns of a minotaur, though.

<>> x pin

  You've fashioned a respectable rolling pin from some scrap wood using
Yondilroy's lathe.  Maybe it's not a mathematically perfect cylinder, but with
the two ends carved down thinner for handles, somebody could probably get some
dough flattened out with this little piece of handiwork.

<>> dig

  What do you want to dig in the ground with?

< object >> mattock

  You find the softest spot of earth in the area and dig a small hole with the
broken mattock there.  The spot you chose doesn't yield anything more
significant than dirt.  Afterward, you fill the hole back up and tamp it down.

<>> look east

  The construction 'look [direction]' will not be necessary in this game.

<>> l

 <> A large dead tree in a meadow <>

  You're in a rolling meadow, quite in the heart of the realm of Dwindeldorn.
Patches of woods rise at varying distances from you in different directions,
while the meadow basks under a deep blue sky.  There aren't any proper roads
here, but the area appears by no means to be unacquainted with the occasional
traveler or shepherd.  Natural byways lead to the south, the east, and the
northwest.

  Standing like a ghostly finger from the ground in the middle of the meadow is
the sun-bleached remains of an old tree trunk.  Myriads of buzzing bees are
swarming around its top.

  The future king of Dwindeldorn is present and accounted for.

<>> Nope. Not going to the enchanted golden wood just yet.

  This is one of those times where we may not have covered the verb you're
trying to use...

<>> nw

  Nighttime overtakes you before your wanderings are concluded.  As you find a
spot to settle for the night, Prince Quisborne says: "I've never been so hungry
in my life!  I haven't eaten this *whole* day... not since I ate the last of
the treats last night that Mama sent me off with.  Boy, I'm ready for supper!
What are we having?"
  You let the boy know that you're not supping tonight.
  "What?  What?!!  But... twenty-four hours?!  Won't we starve?!?!"
  Quisborne's question provides occasion for you to enlighten him on several
salient points concerning fasting.  For one, that an able-bodied adult can go
upwards of four weeks without food, before actual starvation commences, wherein
the vital tissues of the body begin to be consumed.  Then, that it is a process
singularly conducive to self-mastery, and the kind of mental toughening that
you are aiming to bring about in him.  And again, that fasting itself has many
healthful effects on the body, inasmuch as it ushers it into special modes of
cleansing and healing that are not accessible during the normal course of
digestion.  All of this you know from your own experience.
  You've heard the phrase "a long face" all of your life, but you have never
seen one until now.  The prince's face is very, very, touchingly long.  "But...
it's... just for tonight, right?  We'll always have lots to eat, other times?"
Your conspicuous silence makes the prince suspect that you aren't at all
worried about going a few days in a row without food here and there.
  He's right.

 <> Grimmage field, west end of Squarchminster town <>

  Northwards lies the expansive grimmage field of Squarchminster.  Along the
eastern border of the field large permanent grandstands have been erected, and
the crowds also people the hillsides directly north and west of the field.  The
south boundary fence is also adorned with the large sign advertising the
identity of the venue.
  Just east of the playing field is a brick yard on the west end of
Squarchminster town.  You can go north or southwest from the playing field;
also, you can pass through Squarchminster going either southeast or northeast.

  Currently on the field, the Boiled Earlobe Tarts are playing the Walrus
Tonsils.

  The grandstands groan with the energy of the seated crowd.

  Quisborne lollygags behind, and then catches up.

  Ouch!  The relief goalie of the Walrus Tonsils just got on a breakaway, but
missed fourth base on account of being blindsided by a well-aimed boomerang
throw.

<>> go under grandstands

   Without much difficulty you push aside some shrubby branches and wriggle
into the space underneath the grandstands.

 <> Under the grandstands <>

  You've crawled underneath the bleachers.  The ground is smattered with some
nondescript flotsam, and there's not a great deal of room to move anywhere,
with all of the grandstands bracing that's here.  You can see a wide variety of
fidgeting footwear through the gaps, and the seating planks above you flex and
groan under the excited spectators.  There's nowhere to go but back out through
the shrubs.

  The heir to the throne of Dwindeldorn squats under the grandstands with you.

  You instruct PQ to do some more squats with the sack on his shoulders.

<>> z

  Time passes...

  At the moment most of the crowd is politely applauding a routine play.

<>> l

 <> Under the grandstands <>

  You've crawled underneath the bleachers.  The ground is smattered with some
nondescript flotsam, and there's not a great deal of room to move anywhere,
with all of the grandstands bracing that's here.  You can see a wide variety of
fidgeting footwear through the gaps, and the seating planks above you flex and
groan under the excited spectators.  There's nowhere to go but back out through
the shrubs.

  Prince Quiz squats under the grandstands with you.

  Again the grandstands creak and groan from the frenzy of the spectators.

<>> search flotsam

  There's nothing in there worth taking, unless you need some dead leaves.

  There's a little bit of a lull in the excitement outside.

<>> l

 <> Under the grandstands <>

  You've crawled underneath the bleachers, where the ground is smattered with
some nondescript flotsam that has percolated down from the seats over time.
There's not a great deal of room to move anywhere, with all of the bracing
that's here, crissing and crossing to hold up the wooden grandstands.  You can
see a wide variety of fidgeting boots, buskins, and moccasins through the gaps,
and the seating planks above you flex and groan under the excited activity of
the avid spectators.  There's nowhere to go but back out through the shrubs.

  Quiz squats under the grandstands with you.

<>> out

   You wriggle back out through the shrubs.

 <> Grimmage field, west end of Squarchminster town <>

  Northwards lies the expansive grimmage field of Squarchminster.  Along the
eastern border of the field large permanent grandstands have been erected, and
the crowds also people the hillsides directly north and west of the field.  The
south boundary fence is also adorned with the large sign advertising the
identity of the venue.
  Just east of the playing field is a brick yard on the west end of
Squarchminster town.  You can go north or southwest from the playing field;
also, you can pass through Squarchminster going either southeast or northeast.

  Currently on the field, the Boiled Earlobe Tarts are playing the Walrus
Tonsils.

  The grandstands shake with the liveliness of the spectators.

  Nearby, the prince is ambling around.

<>> sw

   You traverse the pleasant countryside outside of Squarchminster, and come to
Blatterfarthing village...

 <> Blatterfarthing village green <>

  The village of Blatterfarthing has a central communal green featuring a
running brook, encircled a few rings deep by the buildings which make up the
community.  The Snorting Sow sits on the east side of the green, while a
smithy, open on two sides and with a sign mounted on its roof, sits along the
west.  To the northeast of that appears to be a sausage-maker's shop, and a
variety of other buildings and houses complete the innermost ring around the
village green.
  Roads sneak between buildings going southwest, southeast, and northeast.  A
narrow walk path also squeezes between the smithy and the sausage-maker's, to
the northwest.

  Prince Quisborne the Feckless tags along.

  "So, I think got a little mixed up when we made a fire on our last trip," PQ
says.  "I'm pretty sure I burned up the rolling pin and the wood block with
some other kindling.  Oops!  Not too great of a loss, though, I hope..."

<>> w

 <> Blatterfarthing smithy <>

  The inside of the smithy is quite full of things to see.  A signboard hangs
from the rafters, and a forge, bellows, and anvil are present and accounted
for.  Along the south wall sits a workbench, and many tools are hung on the
wall above it.  You can leave by the open sides of the building east or north.

  The great stone forge and its chimney loom large against the west wall, with
the bellows attached.  The ponderous anvil stands a few steps away, and a
pedal-driven grindstone is in the northwest corner.

  The smithy contains a few bins of metal bar stock and horseshoe blanks,
apparently for public use.

  On the workbench are the chisel, the grooving stamp, the punch, the
horseshoes, and the tongs.  On the anvil is the smithing hammer.

  The young figurehead is hanging around.

<>> save

  Saved.

<>>  x stamp

  The grooving stamp is one of the heading tools whose bottom part widens out
into the shape of a narrow rectangle.  The bottom surface is shaped into
parallel sharp-ridged v-grooves, so that one could impart a sharp-grooved
surface into the heated work, perhaps to make a rough file or for any other
useful purpose.  It is meant to be placed on a piece of work and then hit with
the hammer.

<>> script

  The transcript will be saved to the file.  Type SCRIPT OFF to discontinue
scripting.

<>> l

 <> Blatterfarthing smithy <>

  The inside of the smithy is quite full of things to see.  A signboard hangs
from the rafters, and a forge, bellows, and anvil are present and accounted
for.  Along the south wall sits a workbench, and many tools are hung on the
wall above it.  You can leave by the open sides of the building east or north.

  The great stone forge and its chimney loom large against the west wall, with
the bellows attached.  The ponderous anvil stands a few steps away, and a
pedal-driven grindstone is in the northwest corner.

  The smithy contains a few bins of metal bar stock and horseshoe blanks,
apparently for public use.

  On the workbench are the chisel, the grooving stamp, the punch, the
horseshoes, and the tongs.  On the anvil is the smithing hammer.

  The future king of Dwindeldorn is present as ever.

<>> x stamp

  The grooving stamp is one of the heading tools whose bottom part widens out
into the shape of a narrow rectangle.  The bottom surface is shaped into
parallel sharp-ridged v-grooves, so that one could impart a sharp-grooved
surface into the heated work, perhaps to make a rough file or for any other
useful purpose.  It is meant to be placed on a piece of work and then hit with
the hammer.

  The feckless prince looks over the many tools hanging above the workbench.

<>> put bar in coals

  You place the iron bar into the coals.

<>> light coals

  You get the forge lit with the embers from your box.  The fire is slow to get
going.

<>> get stamp

  You take the grooving stamp.

  The Dwindeldornian heir marks time with some pushups.

<>> * && If I can use the punch to make a hole or two in the unsharpened end of the bar, I could attach a wooden handle.

  Comment recorded.

<>> pump bellows

  As you give a few pumps on the bellows, the lit coals finally spring to life.
The forge is now well-lit and burning.

<>> g

  The prince operates the bellows, and the coals of the forge start to glow
almost white-hot.

<>> g

  The coals are already white-hot, but the prince's pumping of the bellows
keeps the high heat going.

  The iron bar has grown red-hot in the coals.

<>> get tongs

  You take the tongs.

<>> g

  You've already got the tongs among your things.

<>> pump bellows

  The coals are already white-hot, but the prince's pumping of the bellows
keeps the high heat going.

<>> pump bellows

  The coals are already white-hot, but the prince's pumping of the bellows
keeps the high heat going.

<>> put bar on anvil

(first taking the iron bar)

  With the tongs, you grab hold of the iron bar.

  You put the iron bar on the anvil.

<>> put stamp on bar

  You position the grooving stamp on the iron bar.

<>> hit stamp with hammer

(first taking the smithing hammer)

  Using the groover and the hammer, you apply a ridge-and-groove surface to the
iron bar.

  The iron bar is beginning to lose its heat.

<>> x bar

  It's a short iron bar, about two and a half feet long, and over half an inch
thick.  The bar has been flattened at one end to a sort of chisel point, which
has been sharpened.  Its surface has been made ridged and grooved.
  It's glowing red-hot.

  The feckless prince looks over the many tools hanging above the workbench.

<>> x stamp

  The grooving stamp is one of the heading tools whose bottom part widens out
into the shape of a narrow rectangle.  The bottom surface is shaped into
parallel sharp-ridged v-grooves, so that one could impart a sharp-grooved
surface into the heated work, perhaps to make a rough file or for any other
useful purpose.  It is meant to be placed on a piece of work and then hit with
the hammer.

  The coals in the forge cool from white-hot down to red-hot.

<>> put stamp on bench

  You put the grooving stamp on the workbench.

  The iron bar has lost its red glow, and is no longer hot enough to forge.

<>> put bar in coals

(first taking the iron bar)

  You place the iron bar into the coals.  It begins to heat up.

<>> get punch

  You take the punch.

<>> x it

  The punch is one of the heading tools, just a long-nosed point used for
making holes through a flat piece of stock, with a floating birch handle.  It
is meant to be placed on a piece of work and then hit with the hammer

<>> * && Oh!! I've been misreading this the whole time! I thought it said "birch HAMMER", like there was a small wooden hammer attached to the tool.

  Comment recorded.

<>> pump bellows

  Your squire operates the bellows, and the coals of the forge start to glow
almost white-hot.

<>> g

  The coals are already white-hot, but the prince's pumping of the bellows
keeps the high heat going.

  The iron bar has grown red-hot in the coals.

<>> put bar on anvil

(first taking the iron bar)

  With the tongs, you grab hold of the iron bar.

  You put the iron bar on the anvil.

<>> put punch on bar

  You position the punch on the iron bar.

<>> hit punch with hammer

  Using the punch and the hammer, you drive a hole through the iron bar.

  The iron bar is beginning to lose its heat.

<>> put bar in coals

(first taking the iron bar)

  With the tongs, you grab hold of the iron bar.

  You place the iron bar into the coals.

<>> pump bellows

  The coals are already white-hot, but the prince's pumping of the bellows
keeps the high heat going.

<>> g

  The coals are already white-hot, but the prince's pumping of the bellows
keeps the high heat going.

<>> g

  The coals are already white-hot, but the prince's pumping of the bellows
keeps the high heat going.

<>> put bar on anvil, then put punch on bar

(first taking the iron bar)

  With the tongs, you grab hold of the iron bar.

  You put the iron bar on the anvil.

  You position the punch on the iron bar.

<>> hit punch with hammer

  Using the punch and the hammer, you drive another hole through the iron bar.

  The iron bar is beginning to lose its heat.

<>> hit punch with hammer

  You randomly clink the punch with the hammer.

  Prince Quisborne enlightens you about the fauna of the Southeastern Isles.
"Did you know the koalas there feed their own feces to their babies, so the
babies' stomachs have what they need to digest eucalyptus leaves?  Gross!  Ha
ha!"

<>> put punch on bar

  You position the punch on the iron bar.

  The coals in the forge cool from white-hot down to red-hot.

<>> hit punch with hammer

  Using the punch and the hammer, you drive another hole through the iron bar.

  The iron bar has lost its red glow, and is no longer hot enough to forge.

<>> x bar

  It's a short iron bar, about two and a half feet long, and over half an inch
thick.  The bar has been flattened at one end to a sort of chisel point, which
has been sharpened.  It has three holes punched through it.  Its surface has
also been made ridged and grooved.
  It's hot to the touch.

<>> put bar in coals

(first taking the iron bar)

  You place the iron bar into the coals.  It begins to heat up.

<>> pump bellows

  Your companion operates the bellows, and the coals of the forge start to glow
almost white-hot.

<>> g

  The coals are already white-hot, but the prince's pumping of the bellows
keeps the high heat going.

  The iron bar has grown red-hot in the coals.

<>> put bar on anvil, then put punch on bar

(first taking the iron bar)

  With the tongs, you grab hold of the iron bar.

  You put the iron bar on the anvil.

  You position the punch on the iron bar.

<>> hit punch with hammer

  Using the punch and the hammer, you drive another hole through the iron bar.

  The iron bar is beginning to lose its heat.

<>> g

  You randomly clink the punch with the hammer.

  Your sidekick stifles a yawn.

<>> undo

   Taking back one turn: “hit punch with hammer”.

 <> Blatterfarthing smithy <>

  The inside of the smithy is quite full of things to see.  A signboard hangs
from the rafters, and a forge, bellows, and anvil are present and accounted
for.  Along the south wall sits a workbench, and many tools are hung on the
wall above it.  You can leave by the open sides of the building east or north.

  The great stone forge and its chimney loom large against the west wall, with
the bellows attached.  The ponderous anvil stands a few steps away, and a
pedal-driven grindstone is in the northwest corner.

  The smithy contains a few bins of metal bar stock and horseshoe blanks,
apparently for public use.

  On the workbench are the chisel, the horseshoes, and the grooving stamp.  On
the anvil is an iron bar.

  Your companion, Quiz, is here with you, sack in hand.

<>> put punch on bar

  You position the punch on the iron bar.

<>> hit punch with hammer

  Using the punch and the hammer, you drive another hole through the iron bar.

  The coals in the forge cool from white-hot down to red-hot.

<>> put punch on bar

  You position the punch on the iron bar.

  The iron bar has lost its red glow, and is no longer hot enough to forge.

<>> put bar in coals

(first taking the iron bar)

  You lift the punch off of the iron bar.

  You place the iron bar into the coals.  It begins to heat up.

<>> pump bellows

  The lad operates the bellows, and the coals of the forge start to glow almost
white-hot.

<>> pump bellows

  The coals are already white-hot, but the prince's pumping of the bellows
keeps the high heat going.

  The iron bar has grown red-hot in the coals.

<>> put bar on anvil, then put punch on bar

(first taking the iron bar)

  With the tongs, you grab hold of the iron bar.

  You put the iron bar on the anvil.

  You position the punch on the iron bar.

<>> hit punch with hammer

  Using the punch and the hammer, you drive another hole through the iron bar.

  The iron bar is beginning to lose its heat.

<>> put punch on bar

  You position the punch on the iron bar.

<>> hit punch with hammer

  Using the punch and the hammer, you drive another hole through the iron bar.

  The coals in the forge cool from white-hot down to red-hot.

<>> x bar

  It's a short iron bar, about two and a half feet long, and over half an inch
thick.  The bar has been flattened at one end to a sort of chisel point, which
has been sharpened.  It has seven holes punched through it.  Its surface has
also been made ridged and grooved.

  Prince Quisborne sings a made-up melody.

  The iron bar has lost its red glow, and is no longer hot enough to forge.

<>> * && how many holes can I punch before it's more hole than bar?

  Comment recorded.

<>> x bench

  What more natural feature for any craftsman's workshop than a workbench?  A
vise is mounted to it at one end.  On the workbench are the chisel, the
horseshoes, and the grooving stamp.

<>> put bar in vise

(first taking the iron bar)

  You place the iron bar in the vise and clamp it down.

<>> turn vise

  You can just "clamp" something in the vise, if you think you need to.

<>> hit bar with hammer

(first taking the iron bar)

  You remove the iron bar from the vise and take it.

  You give the bar a mighty smash with the hammer.

<>> throw bar at quis

  "Quis" is either:
 - Something you haven't come across yet
 - Something not necessary to your adventure
 - A phrasing we aren't equipped to handle

<>> throw bar at quiz

(first taking the iron bar)

  You don't need to throw things at Prince Quiz.

  The iron bar has cooled to the touch.

<>> put tongs on bench

  You put the tongs down on the workbench.

<>> put hammer on anvil

  You put the smithing hammer on the anvil.

  Prince Q pounds the anvil with the hammer just for kicks, then puts the
hammer back.

<>> i

  Between you and your human pack mule, you're in possession of your ember box,
the burlap sack, a cattail, the piece of horehound candy, the flyer, a wood
strip, the piece of chalk, the whittled stag's head, a beet, the broken
mattock, the punch, and an iron bar.

<>> put punch on bench

  You put the punch on the workbench.

<>> x bar

  It's a short iron bar, about two and a half feet long, and over half an inch
thick.  The bar has been flattened at one end to a sort of chisel point, which
has been sharpened.  It has seven holes punched through it.  Its surface has
also been made ridged and grooved.
  It's cold to the touch.

<>> attach wood strip to bar

  There doesn't seem to be a straightforward way to attach the wood strip to
that.

<>> e

 <> Blatterfarthing village green <>

  The village of Blatterfarthing has a central communal green featuring a
running brook, encircled a few rings deep by the buildings which make up the
community.  The Snorting Sow sits on the east side of the green, while a
smithy, open on two sides and with a sign mounted on its roof, sits along the
west.  To the northeast of that appears to be a sausage-maker's shop, and a
variety of other buildings and houses complete the innermost ring around the
village green.
  Roads sneak between buildings going southwest, southeast, and northeast.  A
narrow walk path also squeezes between the smithy and the sausage-maker's, to
the northwest.

  Prince Quisborne is following you as ever.

  The prince has been doing some additional work on his pull-ups, and can now
wriggle his chin up to the limb, unassisted, in the most spasmodic and ungainly
fashion.

<>> se

   It turns out that the southeast road from Blatterfarthing takes you, in
fact, across the Gloskinfroke River and back to the outskirts of the city of
Darchingcrast...

 <> Outskirts of Darchingcrast <>

  You are on the outskirts of Darchingcrast, royal city of Dwindeldorn, one of
the two great cities within the realm.  The stone and timber buildings, with
their ruddy or greenish tiled roofs, lie north and northeast of you at some
little distance, stopping short of where the castle grounds begin.
Darchingcrast Castle is to the southeast, on a bluff looking down over the
city; a path leads up to it through park-like grounds.  A road leads northwest,
crossing over the Gloskinfroke a short distance from here, and another road
also leads up the side of the ridge, but in a southwesterly direction.

  Near by your side is the Dwindeldornian heir.

  Tiny blotches of leaf-cast shadow move about on the ground.

<>> e

  The bluffs get steep rising to the castle there.  You can get to the castle
going southeast, but you probably don't want to do that until you can report a
mission completed.

  The future monarch of Dwindeldorn glances back towards the castle with mixed
feelings.

<>> ssw

  You may be trying to use a verb that we weren't instructed how to handle...

<>> sw

   You travel the road up to the top of the ridge, which there bends to the
southwest, the road following it...

 <> Entrance to the grounds of Forthlong Hall <>

  You are at the entrance to the grounds belonging to Forthlong Hall.  The road
to Darchingcrast converges here with the road you've just traveled.  To the
northwest the road is wider and well-traveled, and tall hedges of wild
shrubbery stretch along its south side.  To the southeast the road looks less
frequented, winding away among shading trees alongside a gushing stream.  The
lane leading to Forthlong Hall branches off from this road to the south,
crossing the stream by means of a small bridge.  Northeast, the road starts
gradually uphill towards the city and the castle.

  Your young pal is here.

  A few travelers pass by on foot.

  It looks like somebody has gotten around to taking down the straw entrance
portal and all of the other festival finery.  The scene now just looks like any
other old peaceful spot in the country.

<>> se

  You set out down the southeast road.  For a good space you journey through
the country, passing through the lands belonging to Uxpelcraith Hall, and later
through Orterleigh Manor.  The road eventually enters Crumblegate town, but as
you encounter nothing there to significantly further your purposes, you press
on to the southeast.  Not much further, you come to a small junction near
Kinterole hamlet...

  Somewhere between leaving there and arriving here, you and the prince stopped
for the night.  Before bedding down, you put the prince through a more
strenuous exercise regimen than he had been through thus far.

 <> A construction site near Kinterole hamlet <>

  The road branches in a number of directions here in a pleasant little dell,
just on the eastern edge of a tiny hamlet called Kinterole.  Lying northeast of
you, a large and stately house is being reared up.  A horse track leads north,
and the way east leads to terrain growing more rugged and thickly forested.
Just west is the hamlet, past which the road also leads to the northwest.

  The future king of Dwindeldorn is present as ever.

  You see some squirrels at play.

<>> x squirrels

  The squirrels were only around for a little while.

  To the south, sheep slowly drift across their pastures, like lazy clouds in a
green sky.

<>> * && Heh.

  Comment recorded.

<>> x sheep

  That's just part of the scenery around here.

  Quiz blows apart a tuft of dandelion seeds.

<>> e

   You trek eastward into the rugged forested hills.  After a fair piece of
journeying, you come up a large, broad-topped hill...

 <> An upland in rugged country <>

  There is an abundance of wild lavender fields covering this open upland.  To
the south and southeast, the trees distinctly begin to grow sparser, and the
landscape culminates in some barren rock jutting from the horizon.
  There is no road here, but frequented travel routes can be discerned to go
off to the north and northeast; traveling westward would lead you by and by to
the crossroad near Kinterole hamlet.  The ground is also traversable to the
southeast, although the prospect in that direction is more forbidding.

  Three knights of debatable quality are mounted on their horses in the
vicinity.

  Quisborne is sticking nearby.

  The knights are recollecting specific traits of one of their former fellow-
knights.

<>> * && Still not sure about my iron bar, but I'll figure it out when I need to...

  Comment recorded.

<>> smell

  You smell nothing out of the ordinary.

  The three knights are reminiscing amongst themselves of days when their
numbers were greater.

<>> * && "Oh the sweet smell of lavender blooms."

  Comment recorded.

<>> x lavender

  There is a veritable sea of purple and green around you; lavender
predominates the other wild herbs and flowers in this high open space.

  The knights have dismounted and are practicing their swordplay upon the
sward.

<>> pick lavender

  You pick some of the lavender, and take a big breath of its fresh wild scent
before tossing it down.

  One knight starts to speak, but then falls silent again.

<>> l

 <> An upland in rugged country <>

  There is an abundance of wild lavender fields covering this open upland.  To
the south and southeast, the trees distinctly begin to grow sparser, and the
landscape culminates in some barren rock jutting from the horizon.
  There is no road here, but frequented travel routes can be discerned to go
off to the north and northeast; traveling westward would lead you by and by to
the crossroad near Kinterole hamlet.  The ground is also traversable to the
southeast, although the prospect in that direction is more forbidding.

  Three knights of debatable quality are mounted on their horses in the
vicinity.

  Your companion is with you like a second shadow.

<>> x trees

  The country is lush and inviting where you are and to the north; south and
southeast, you can see the beginning of a change to a sparser country, with
hints of rocky wasteland on the horizon.

  The knights feign a joust between themselves.

<>> x barren rock

  Jagged masses of barren rock mark the skyline to the far southeast,
betokening a harsher country beyond.

<>> * && *MORDOR*

  Comment recorded.

<>> x knights

  The knights three are a little bit of a slapdash lot.  One has a potbelly,
one has an excessively abundant moustache, and one wears a spiritless and
dejected mien.  Their gear looks rusty if it's metal and frazzled if it's
cloth, and even their three horses manage to look like less-than-noble animals.
Blazoned on their shields are a bunch of unidentified blobs that are probably
supposed to be heraldry.
  It's unclear what their business is, if any.

  The knights discuss the virtues of the daughters who dwell at their lord's
manor.

<>> talk to knights

  You approach the knights for the purpose of conversation, first introducing
yourself, but leaving the prince anonymous.  (Naturally, he isn't meant to be
known for who he is, or he wouldn't be able to learn what the world is like for
an ordinary person.  It suffices that he is assumed to be your squire.)
  The knight of the copious moustache takes the word:

  "Valkyrian of Vatterdelm – well met, sirrah.  Your name and fame has reached
even unto these parts, so that I know it well.  No horse and armor, I see?
Well.  Sir Glancelot, at your service.  And these be my comrades, Sir
Loyneberger and Sir Enders.  We are the Knights of the Eight Spittoons,
allegiant to the lord Myrgweth, of the Manor at Thymeleigh."

<>> ask knights about crown

  "Wethinks perhaps such a thing hath been rumored about.  But we know nothing
of the verity of it: whether there be a crown, or where it is if so."

  [If you have already begun a conversation with someone, you can simplify 'ask
character about something' to 'a something'.  Likewise, 'tell char about
something' can be entered as 't something'.
  Example:
  >guide, hello
  >a himself
  >a forest
  >t me ]

<>> x potbelly

  "Potbelly" could either be something as yet unknown to you or else a phrasing
unknown to us.

<>> x loyneberger

  The Knights of the Eight Spittoons are a little bit of a slapdash lot.  Sir
Loyneberger has a potbelly, Sir Glancelot has an excessively abundant
moustache, and Sir Enders wears a spiritless and dejected mien.  Their gear
looks rusty if it's metal and frazzled if it's cloth, and even their three
horses manage to look like less-than-noble animals.  Blazoned on their shields
is the heraldry of the Eight Spittoons.
  They're acknowledging your presence.

<>> a feckless

  Generally speaking, you're not trying to draw attention to the prince's
princehood.

<>> a me

  You hail the Knights of the Eight Spittoons and they draw up to hearken to
your address.

  "In seeking to answer that question, sirrah, we misdoubt the probability of
our rendering you any material aid."

<>> a themselves

  The knights take turns in delivering their answer, Sir Glancelot commencing:

  "Shortly told, good sir.  We have been charged with a quest at the behest of
Lord Myrgweth.  Of whom, we have not been in his service overlong: knights
errant were we.  Then in our wanderings we chanced to meet the fair damsels who
dwell with him in the Manor at Thymeleigh – his daughters and nieces.
Captivated by love were we all three – and not loath either to think upon those
daughters and nieces not already found in our especial favor – for the lot of
them are maidens goodly to behold.  We offered our service to the lord of that
place, that we might dwell as residents at that fine abode, and woo and win our
lady loves."

  He of the ample girth continues:

  "Sir Glancelot may think upon all of the maidens seven, but *some* of us have
eyes for only one.  Natheless, our service being accepted, and we being
assigned duties and occupations, yet the Lord of the Manor did not see fit to
let us consort with his daughters.  This came as a sore displeasure to us, and
as great confusion also, for wethinks he doth misprize our great worth.  Our
disgruntlement was further galled by this: other knights does our lord keep in
service – the Knights Arrogant, may warring ant colonies inhabit their
breeches! – and these doth he let freely commingle in the company of his
daughters and nieces, and the other courtly folk.  There was harboring of
unpleasant sentiment amongst us, and we did think some while to quit his
service so newly begun, but then at a chance he did propound to us this quest,
saying that if we succeeded, our reward would be his relenting in his
overprotective guardianship of those tender blossoms in his care."

  "Thus we seek with all haste the resolution of our quest, sirrah."  (This
last from Sir Enders.)

<>> a maidens

  Sir Glancelot jumps eagerly to answer this query:

  "Ah, my good sir, let me tell you," he says, "a comelier bunch of maidens you
are not soon like to see.  Seven of them there be in all: four the lord's
daughters, and three his nieces.  Blithe and merry lasses each, whose beauty
doth range from far above fair-to-middling to all-surpassing fair.  Miladies
Larawyn and Riveldra now, gentle sirs, can sustain no slightest reproach.  Mine
own heart," saith Glancelot, "hath been taken captive by the lovely niece,
Vannella Wayfair.  Her sisters, Erileitha and Sylverleigh, likewise be
ensconced in glorious beauty."

  "It befitteth not that Sir Glancelot should be the one to speak of love," Sir
Loyneberger breaks in.  "In a given day might he have eyes for any one of those
rich blossoms which dwell at Thymeleigh Manor; and moreover 'twas not six
months agone he did pledge his everlasting love to another, the Maiden Tywonne
of Bouldershot Castle.  Love pure and true is that which I harbor in my heart
for the Lady Firiuna.  I do assure you gentlemen, that there is no punishment
in the beholding of her visage."

  "Blackguard!  Thou wouldst not know love unless it appeared before thee in
the form of a leg of mutton!"  Sir Glancelot decries.  Then to you: "Pay him no
heed, sirrah; I assure you my feelings and devotion are unalloyed."  Sir
Loyneberger protests that he *does* know love from a leg of mutton, and would
sirrah care to dispute the verity of that point in a more tangible fashion.
You wait politely as the fusillade of mutual invectives escalates, until there
seems no other outcome possible but that the question must be decided by combat
mortal.  Happily, before it is too late, the knights find a common ground of
understanding, and brotherhood is quickly restored.
  Sir Enders' part in all this is merely to sigh in dejection, bemoaning to
himself that he should remain ever parted from his own love, the Lady Lylova.

<>> a enders

  The knights' history was summed up as follows:

  "Shortly told, good sir.  We have been charged with a quest at the behest of
Lord Myrgweth.  Of whom, we have not been in his service overlong: knights
errant were we.  Then in our wanderings we chanced to meet the fair damsels who
dwell with him in the Manor at Thymeleigh – his daughters and nieces.
Captivated by love were we all three – and not loath either to think upon those
daughters and nieces not already found in our especial favor – for the lot of
them are maidens goodly to behold.  We offered our service to the lord of that
place, that we might dwell as residents at that fine abode, and woo and win our
lady loves."

  He of the ample girth continues:

  "Sir Glancelot may think upon all of the maidens seven, but *some* of us have
eyes for only one.  Natheless, our service being accepted, and we being
assigned duties and occupations, yet the Lord of the Manor did not see fit to
let us consort with his daughters.  This came as a sore displeasure to us, and
as great confusion also, for wethinks he doth misprize our great worth.  Our
disgruntlement was further galled by this: other knights does our lord keep in
service – the Knights Arrogant, may the lice of six-and-thirty diseased water
buffaloes infest their nosehairs! – and these doth he let freely commingle in
the company of his daughters and nieces, and the other courtly folk.  There was
harboring of unpleasant sentiment amongst us, and we did think some while to
quit his service so newly begun, but then at a chance he did propound to us
this quest, saying that if we succeeded, our reward would be his relenting in
his overprotective guardianship of those tender blossoms in his care."

  "Thus we seek with all haste the resolution of our quest, sirrah."  (This
last from Sir Enders.)

<>> a quest

  "We are in quest of that mysterious relic, the Artifact of Enj Trahen; for by
the hearing and heeding of old legends, our lord hath fixed his purpose upon
finding it.  In truth he hath an uncommon interest in all objects of antiquity
or mystery, and doth possess already no mean collection of such.
  Wide have we traveled in search of it, and seen the new moon rise a fifth
time, yet without a trace to follow.  Some marvels have we seen, and in yon
badlands," (here he beckons away to the south), "did verily discover the
lurking-place of that pestilent old crone, the Sand Witch of Skelgarn... but
our true object remains unfound."
  "The Knights Arrogant, upon whom we do imprecate most fearful befallings, do
also ride forth at our lord's bidding upon the same quest – may their soup be
ever oversalted! – thus it presseth upon us to beat them to it, lest we should
never receive that reward which we so eagerly desire.  We are but now returned
for a short reprieve, and do mean to ride again not much time hence."

  Sir Enders, ordinarily reserved and taciturn, tries to take a turn at
excoriating the Knights Arrogant.
  "May a whirlwind suck up twelve and sixty droves of porcupines and then rain
them upon their bloated heads, and may they mistake quicklime for the powder
that they apply to the tender parts of their anatomy, and may their victual
turn to powder of talc in their mouths as they chew!"
  Sir Glancelot turns to Sir Enders with a look of mild reproof.  "That rolled
not blithely off the tongue, comrade," he says.  "Furthermore hast thou
overtaxed the use of the word 'powder.'  But thy heart is in the right place."

<>> * && "May your soup be ever oversalted!" I'm stealing this one.

  Comment recorded.

<>> a artifact

  "Fairly asked, sirrah.  We ourselves know not with certainty wherein lies the
value of the Artifact.  The surviving legends have it that it was a figurine of
some serpent-like creature, and was part of an ancient temple called Enj
Trahen.  Some say that – stay, till it doth come – the Artifact filleth man
with supreme desire, yea more, and at once also the sense of having this desire
utterly fulfilled!  Others would have that this is but an attribution of wild
fancy, and that it bears no power within itself, but is merely a remnant of a
long-vanished sect who sought contact with the Supreme Power.  For ourselves,
we care little for the properties of this Artifact, save that we find it and
may deliver it to our lord for his reward."

  "We do comprehense that the ancient temple is thought to lie undiscovered
somewhere in one of the wild regions outlying Dwindeldorn or Azhgaloth.  As yet
we have only probed into the Skelgarn Badlands and the coastal wastes, but in
sooth, so much land there is to cover, the task is immense.  Shouldst thou ever
learn concretely, sirrah, of temple or artifact, and tell us thereof, our debt
to you would be great."

<>> give beet to knights

  "Your generosity betokens the magnimosity of your noble heart, sirrah.
Natheless, we decline."

<>> show stag to knights

  "Marvelous, sirrah, indeed excellent.  Truly that is a whittled stag's head
of an exemplary nature."

<>> show candy

(to the Knights of the Eight Spittoons)
The knights give a reaction along the lines of: "Marvelous, sirrah, indeed
excellent.  Truly that is a piece of horehound candy of an exemplary nature."

<>> a spittoons

  "Just so, sirrah.  The Eight Spittoons is the order of our knighthood.  Our
numbers were once greater, but some have given up their course, and yet others
have fought their last battle.  We three remain the last representatives of our
resplendent and illustrious order."

<>> a master

  "It is to be feared, sirrah, that what we might have to say upon that matter
will be of no use to you."

<>> a lord

  "Lord Myrgweth keeps a stock of knights in array to defend his lands and
carry out missions of his devising, even though there has been no unrest in
this quarter for a generation past.  Thus our present occupation.  We would
gladly mention to you again what a fine crop of daughters and nieces he has
that live with him at the Manor," Sir Glancelot explains, "but sorely vexing is
it to recall how he doth not esteem us worthy companions for them, except we
fulfill his mission."

<>> topics

  That command isn’t needed in this story.

<>> topic

  This is one of those times where we may not have covered the verb you're
trying to use...

<>> a witch

  "Ah, hast not heard tell of that infamous crow?  Deep in the Skelgarn
Badlands dwelleth she.  Belike when she was in her youth, she was mistreated by
the world, for now all her will is but to wreak mischief wherever she may.  It
is thought that she is yet but a dabbler in the Darkness, and doth not have the
power nor the knowledge to do any great harm.  Yet does she always have some
scheme in mind, thinking that she shall succeed at last.  Of late it has been
rumored that she doth seek out animals, and thinks by some ill brew to create
of them a fell beast to unleash upon the world.  The same rumor hath that she
has already met with some success in transverting animals from their natural
form."

<>> a darchingcrast

  More or less, they say: "In seeking to answer that question, sirrah, we
misdoubt the probability of our rendering you any material aid."

<>> a forest

  The knights' answer is roughly: "It is to be feared, sirrah, that what we
might have to say upon that matter will be of no use to you."

<>> a family

What you're trying to ask about is either something you don't know about yet,
or else it's not a part of your adventure.

<>> a weather

What you're trying to ask about is either something you don't know about yet,
or else it's not a part of your adventure.

<>> a pets

What you're trying to ask about is either something you don't know about yet,
or else it's not a part of your adventure.

<>> a horses

  "Noble beasts, is it not so, sirrah?  By name they are Twingoyle, Lolyokin
and Immroyr.  Faithful servants have they proven in the heat of battle."
  You wonder at least a little bit how much heat these knights have really
seen.

<>> fight knights

  You may be trying to use a verb that we weren't instructed how to handle...

<>> challenge knights

  This is one of those times where we may not have covered the verb you're
trying to use...

<>> attack knights

  The knights have no appearance of hostility whatever.  In fact, they look
like they could use a friend more than anything.

<>> bow to knights

  That's the kind of thing you know to do at appropriate times, and don't need
to be specific about.

  A vigil appears to be underway, as the Knights of the Eight Spittoons
remember a fallen comrade, Sir Tiffiket of Dipozzet.
  "He was never showy," eulogizes Sir Glancelot, "but ever steadfast."

<>> a tiffiket

  You hail the Knights of the Eight Spittoons and they draw up to hearken to
your address.

  The knights fill your ears with tales of their former comrades.

<>> goodbye

  "To be sure, sirrah.  Perhaps we'll be meeting again."

<>> e

  It's just not worth it here to strike out into unmarked country without some
kind of known goal or potential destination.
  Try going west, north, or northeast.

  "A pox upon the Knights Arrogant!" you hear burst forth from one of the
knights.  "May they grow boils on the backs of their eyelids!"

<>> greet knights

  The knights salute you.  "Well met, sirrah," they say.

  Sir Glancelot shares his memories of a brother from the past, Sir Hal of
Uggleigh.  "A mighty fine-looking chap he was," Glancelot says, "at least on
dark and moonless nights."
  "At least his heart was beautiful," the others remark.

<>> a arrogant

  "Praythee to speak not that besotted name, sirrah!  Such pompous and cocky
knaves were never worthy the name of knight – may their eyelids twitch for
eight-and-forty days!  The superfluity of their ignorance and conceit cannot be
reckoned.  These do estimate themselves to be the answer to every maiden's
prayer, and heed Lord Myrgweth's commands but lightly, trowing that their
winsome charms and fair show will stand in place for their lazy habits and
half-hearted service.  But such is not *our* operandus modi, sirrah."

<>> show bar

(to the Knights of the Eight Spittoons)
The knights give a reaction along the lines of: "Marvelous, sirrah, indeed
excellent.  Truly that is an iron bar of an exemplary nature."

<>> e

  Besides that there are better travel routes available, you just never know
when you might end up encroaching on someone else's property.
  Try going west, north, or northeast.

  The knights assume you're done conversing for the time being.

<>> a thymeleigh

  You hail the Knights of the Eight Spittoons and they draw up to hearken to
your address.

  "The Manor is a fair place to dwell and serve, good sir.  Gladly might we
spend our days there, if but we may win our lord's favor and be granted
admittance into the intimacy of his family circle."

<>> ne

   You let the knights know you've got to be on your way.

  You continue through this region of rugged, forested hills, at length
entering extensive grounds belonging to a manor house...

  Along the way, evening came and you both camped for the night.

 <> Thymeleigh Manor <>

  You're on a lane wending through the grounds of the pleasant Thymeleigh Manor
(a sign told you as much a little ways back).  The lane is sunken below the
bordering land, and sweeps from the southwest gently around to the northwest,
where it ducks behind the foot of a tall hill to the north, and disappears.
The manor hall stands well away from the lane – say two hundred yards or more –
on a rise northeast of you, and the lane is bordered on that side by a rustic,
sod-topped stone wall, so low as to impede the progress of none but the laziest
of sheep.
  All about are pleasant sights: open greens, flowering thickets, hills and
larger woods rimming the horizon.  One particularly massive spreading tree
shades the sunken roadway where you stand.  A faint foot-track seems to also
pass the tree and cross the field off to the west.

  Up in the leafy branches of the large tree growing by the roadside, some
colored object appears to be caught.

  Over near the manor, the Knights Arrogant can be seen parading around,
dallying with the elegant daughters and nieces of Lord Myrgweth.

  A young lady – quite a comely one, to your thinking – is picking flowers out
in the field west of the lane.

  The incumbent to the throne is here.

<>> * && Is it a balloon?

  Comment recorded.

<>> x colored object

  Taking a closer look at the colored object, you arrive at the conclusion that
it is a sky lantern, caught in the branches.  This would be no surprise, given
how many of them are customarily set off during the course of any Great
Festival.

  Prince Quisborne manifests immediate interest in the sky lantern, both for
the object's own sake as well as for the memories it is associated with of
special moments with Persimmon at the Festival.
  You make a decision on the spot: if Quisborne wants the lantern so much, then
figuring out how to get it is his project.  It's a good low-stakes field for
the boy to exercise his mental powers in.

<>> x tree

  One particularly large and ancient tree grows hard by the western side of the
lane, its roots creeping out of the "bank" of the sunken lane and posing a
slight tripping hazard.  The lowest limbs of the tree are rather higher than
most of the other trees visible, as if past generations kept the tree
particularly well-pruned to stay out of the way of traffic.

  Up in the leafy branches of the large tree growing by the roadside, a sky
lantern appears to be caught.

  The cocky knights and the ladies of the manor are strolling about in each
other's company.

  By your direction, the prince continues to do exercises that build up his leg
power.  He comes to understand that you expect him to carry on this discipline
without needing to be expressly told to.

<>> Who's a good prince? Yes you are, yess..

  You may be trying to use a verb that we weren't instructed how to handle...

<>> climb tree

  Unfortunately this is one of those trees whose trunks are too large and
smooth to shimmy up, and previous generations of pruning have rendered the
lowest limbs to be above the reach of your best jump.

  You think you can hear the girl with the flower basket softly singing a
melody to herself.

<>> throw bar at lantern

  Quisborne asks you if he should launch something at the sky lantern to
dislodge it.
  It is possible that a qualified projectile could knock the sky lantern out of
the tree, but almost certainly not without ripping it apart.  He agrees, and
refrains.

<>> get lantern with cattail

  Even with the cattail, you can't reach the sky lantern from the ground.

  The Knights of the Eight Spittoons enter from the southwest.

  The girl seems to have stopped singing.

<>> get flyer

  You've already got the flyer among your things.

  Amongst themselves the Knights of the Eight Spittoons are casting aspersions
on the Knights Arrogant.
  "Belike they shall soon be falling off their horses for very enlargement of
their puffed-up heads.  If it be not first that their heads float away
altogether with the abundant freight of hot air contained therein.  May their
mattresses be stuffed with pufferfishes and hedgehogs!"

<>> fly to lantern

  This is one of those times where we may not have covered the verb you're
trying to use...

<>> fly

  You may be trying to use a verb that we weren't instructed how to handle...

<>> * && I've got a flyer, haven't I...

  Comment recorded.

<>> * && I'll get me coat.

  Comment recorded.

<>> x girl

  The young lady's dress is light, and rather simple, yet still of a fashion
that suggests she belongs to the manor house, and not to a nearby village.  She
wears a crown of golden-brown hair, and her overall prettiness is much
compounded by the sweetness of her countenance.  You would guess her age at
about twenty-three or twenty-four years.  She is picking flowers in the field,
and putting them in a basket under her arm.

<>> sing

  You're too self-conscious about the pretty maiden within earshot to be
crooning like a minstrel.

  One of the Knights Arrogant playfully tries to steal a kiss from his feminine
consort, but is dodged.

  The Knights Arrogant have ridden over to taunt the Knights of the Eight
Spittoons.  Surveying the motley group, the most insolent-looking knight turns
to a companion.  "How now, Broxvoy?  I cannot think which of these laughable
caricatures it would give me more pleasure to skewer with a blunt harpoon: the
idiot with the prodigious bush growing forth from under his nose, or yon knight
there, whose size befitteth that of a mammoth ready to birth twins.  The
pusillanimous polliwog slinking in their shadows might be better employed
strapped under the rump of my horse to collect the discharge that cometh forth
when his bowels are loose, thus saving my stable-boys much toil."
  The arrogant knights congratulate themselves on their disparagements, and
ride some little ways off.

<>> attack arrogant

  The world would be a much sparser place if you started knocking off everyone
that thought a little too highly of themselves.

  At the utterance of the name of the Knights Arrogant, a chorus of execrations
is elicited from the other two knights.

<>> greet girl

  As you cast another glance at the pretty picture picking flowers in the
field, you find that her glance is cast towards you as well.  Suddenly you feel
that it would be very awkward either to pretend you weren't looking, or to turn
away and ignore her, so you batten down your galloping stomach and take a few
strides over into the field to give her the top of the morning.  Prince
Quisborne is off finding patches of wild onions and eating them.
  "Well met, sir!" the girl says in greeting.  "How do you find your travels
through our manor?"  Her smile indicates that she's well-conscious of being
addressed by a rather distinguished and desirable specimen of manhood.  Before
this moment you would have never guessed you could find so much to comment on
in regards to the quality of the fields and grounds surrounding you, nor that
you could wax so eloquent in remarking upon the many varieties and virtues of
the flowers she is gathering.  Indeed, you really seem to have outdone yourself
about the flowers, for by time the prince returns (chomping one last mouthful
of onions) and you feel that you're bound to be on your way, the young lady
presses her flower-filled basket into your hands, saying, "You take them, good
sir... it would give me much pleasure, seeing how fond you are of them.  Let
them be a little memento of our having made acquaintance, and... perhaps your
path will lead you back this way another time?  I'm...  Sylverleigh, by the
way."
  You realize then that you managed to babble your head off for all of those
minutes on end about estate management and botany, without ever having asked
her for her name.  Then you occasion no decrease of your awkwardness by the
apology you try to make for having been obtuse and awkward, offering your own
name to her as a form of compensation.

  As you are both walking back through the field to the lane, you detect a
sudden catch of the girl's breath together with a sharp forward motion.  Your
knightly reflexes and agility are instantly on the alert and plied to the full
as you spring into action.  Dropping the basket and wrapping the young woman
bodily in your arms in one leaping motion, you arrest her precipitation, ending
up on your knees in the grass, with her across your lap.  Now, once reached,
such a posture requires of you – short of unchivalrously dumping the girl onto
the ground – several protracted moments of a close embrace, while you shift
your weight around, get your feet under you, and rise to lift the girl back to
her own feet.  Thus it provides ample time for you both to be thoroughly
embarrassed by the incongruity and unnecessariness of the intimacy, considering
that, in fact, Sylverleigh was merely making a small hop-step to avoid a gopher
hole in her path, and was never in any danger of stumbling at all.  You
realized this to be the actual cause of her sudden movement the moment you
"safely" landed her on the ground in a most vulnerable and undignified
position.

  Her cheeks are burning when you set her down, but your own features are so
awash with mortification for your overeager protectiveness, that she relaxes
somewhat and gives you a shy, shaky laugh.  You've made about all the faux pas
you care to make in an hour's time, so you retrieve the basket she gifted you,
and try to regain your dignity with some gracious parting words.  Sylverleigh
directs her steps back to the manor house, turning halfway to give you a little
wave and a last smile, and disappears.

  You can see a slight smirk playing on the prince's face, but he doesn't say
anything.

  The knights lament the sad case of their friend Sir Pluss, who always felt
overshadowed and unneeded, and one day finally disappeared without a trace.

<>> x flowers

  There is quite an array of flower types in the bunch that Sylverleigh picked
from the field.  Fairy-bonnet, cornufolia, ninepetal...

  Sir Glancelot is comparing the relative beauty of two of his past loves, the
Lady Tacabelle and Floris of Brockley.  "But the Maiden Tywonne," he drones to
his friend, "she was the most famous gal I had, sir."

<>> x basket

  The basket is a finely made affair of wooden splint, about two feet long and
a foot wide.  Its handle is a braided leather cord.  The basket is holding
Sylverleigh's flowers.

  Sir Loyneberger is relating an amusing anecdote about a tattoo and a tutu.

<>> l

 <> Thymeleigh Manor <>

  You're on a lane wending through the grounds of the pleasant Thymeleigh
Manor.  The manor hall stands well away from the lane on a rise northeast of
you, and the lane is bordered on that side by a low sod-topped stone wall.  One
particularly massive spreading tree shades the sunken roadway where you stand.
The lane goes northwest or southwest, and a faint foot-track passes the tree
and crosses the field to the west.

  Up in the leafy branches of the large tree growing by the roadside, a sky
lantern appears to be caught.

  Over near the manor, the Knights Arrogant can be seen parading around,
dallying with the elegant daughters and nieces of Lord Myrgweth.

  The Knights of the Eight Spittoons are in the area, patrolling around on
their horses and trying to seem important.

  The ever-present prince is here.

<>> save

  Saved.

<>> * && What a lovely young lady. 

  Comment recorded.

<>> script off

&
&
&
&

  The transcript will be saved to the file.  Type SCRIPT OFF to discontinue
scripting.

<>> l

 <> Thymeleigh Manor <>

  You're on a lane wending through the grounds of the pleasant Thymeleigh
Manor.  The manor hall stands well away from the lane on a rise northeast of
you, and the lane is bordered on that side by a low sod-topped stone wall.  One
particularly massive spreading tree shades the sunken roadway where you stand.
The lane goes northwest or southwest, and a faint foot-track passes the tree
and crosses the field to the west.

  Up in the leafy branches of the large tree growing by the roadside, a sky
lantern appears to be caught.

  Over near the manor, the Knights Arrogant can be seen parading around,
dallying with the elegant daughters and nieces of Lord Myrgweth.

  The Knights of the Eight Spittoons are in the area, patrolling around on
their horses and trying to seem important.

  Quisborne is hanging around.

  "Look here, boys!" says Dalstroy, de facto leader of the Knights Arrogant.
They've paraded their way around to the lane, escorting the ladies of
Thymeleigh Manor.  He's looking at Sir Glancelot as he speaks.  "We might bind
this fellow bodily with his own profusion of moustaches – and set them alight
for good measure.  'Twould be most droll to listen to the asinine nincompoop
shriek like the maiden child that hath espied a mouse."
  Sir Glancelot retorts that it wouldn't be the quarter part so droll as
inserting, one by one, a basketful of pine cones up particular orifices
belonging to Dalstroy, providing thereby some ballast to offset the void of
emptiness in his head.
  After additional similar pleasantries, the Knights Arrogant proceed on their
parade around Thymeleigh Manor.

<>> x flowers

  There is quite an array of flower types in the bunch that Sylverleigh picked
from the field.  Fairy-bonnet, cornufolia, ninepetal...

<>> smell flowers

  The flowers don't fail to live up to flowers' general reputation for smelling
good.

<>> eat flowers

  Not all flowers are safe to consume, and few of them are enjoyable to eat.

  The knights have dismounted and are practicing their swordplay upon the
sward.

<>> talk to dalstroy

  "Dalstroy" is either:
 - Something you haven't come across yet
 - Something not necessary to your adventure
 - A phrasing we aren't equipped to handle

<>> * && The leader of the arrogants.

  Comment recorded.

<>> talk to arrogant

  The Knights Arrogant are way across the green near the manor hall.

  The knights verbalize their wistful longing for the days when they still had
their friend, Sir Vyvel of Dephyttis.

<>> x ladies

  The ladies are too distant for close inspection, but they have the appearance
of nobility and the sprightliness of youth.  There are six of them outside
passing the time of day with the knights who seem to be vying for their
attention.

  Sir Loyneberger regales his fellows with an anecdote about a fish and
midwife.

<>> x tree

  One particularly large and ancient tree grows hard by the western side of the
lane, its roots creeping out of the "bank" of the sunken lane and posing a
slight tripping hazard.  The lowest limbs of the tree are rather higher than
most of the other trees visible, as if past generations kept the tree
particularly well-pruned to stay out of the way of traffic.

  Up in the leafy branches of the large tree growing by the roadside, a sky
lantern appears to be caught.

  One of the Knights Arrogant does an acrobatic feat on the lawn for the
ladies.

  Within the earshot of the Knights of the Eight Spittoons, Dalstroy turns to
Lady Riveldra, his favorite.
  "My condolences to thy father, milady.  'Tis great pity he should find
himself in such straitened estate that he must needs for his help enlist the
services of a perambulating haystack, a groveling guppy and a bloated
hippopotamus.  Fear not: I and my comrades will more than make up for this
deficit of valor and manhood occasioned in thy father's ranks by these
maladjusted monstrosities."

<>> a lantern

  The flashy-looking knights are too far away to communicate with.

  Sir Enders starts to speak, but then falls silent again.

<>> greet knights

  The knights salute you.  "Well met, sirrah," they say.

<>> a lantern

  The sky lantern is the prince's project: if he wants it, he's going to have
to figure out how to get it down without asking someone to do it for him.

<>> talk toprince

  This is one of those times where we may not have covered the verb you're
trying to use...

<>> talk to prince

  We're way past the greeting stage.

  The knights go back to minding their own business.

<>> ask prince about lantern

  The prince is trying to think of ideas for retrieving the sky lantern, but
hasn't come up with one yet.

  You can hear muted shrieks of mirth drifting over from the distant group of
ladies, as it appears one of the ostentatious knights just scored big in
delivering some amusing witticism.

  Sir Loyneberger treats his friends to an anecdote about a jouster's widow and
an out-of-tune balalaika.

<>> l

 <> Thymeleigh Manor <>

  You're on a lane wending through the grounds of the pleasant Thymeleigh
Manor.  The manor hall stands well away from the lane on a rise northeast of
you, and the lane is bordered on that side by a low sod-topped stone wall.  One
particularly massive spreading tree shades the sunken roadway where you stand.
The lane goes northwest or southwest, and a faint foot-track passes the tree
and crosses the field to the west.

  Up in the leafy branches of the large tree growing by the roadside, a sky
lantern appears to be caught.

  Over near the manor, the Knights Arrogant can be seen parading around,
dallying with the elegant daughters and nieces of Lord Myrgweth.

  The Knights of the Eight Spittoons are in the area, patrolling around on
their horses and trying to seem important.

  The ever-present prince is here.

  The Knights of the Eight Spittoons and the Knights Arrogant are exchanging
remarks upon the pedigrees of each other's mothers.

<>> w

   The foot-track crosses the field and continues across a bit of the
countryside, coming to a lovely little watery hollow...

 <> A secluded spring pool <>

  You've found quite a magical and romantic spot here, sequestered by a ring of
close-growing trees.  To the immediate southeast, a large and dazzlingly blue
spring pool burbles up from the foot of a small concave cliff face which
nestles around the spring pool and then quickly drops in elevation past either
side.
  The aforementioned ring of trees is grown over nearly to the ground with a
thick curtain of hanging vines, and completes a natural enclosure with the two
corners of the cliff, surrounding a sanctuary of luxuriant, flower-speckled
turf.  Through this inviting scene the young fresh stream issuing from the
spring flows out to the northwest, and constitutes the source of the
Gloskinfroke River.  This place has all the makings of highly-favored picnic
spot, and is undoubtedly used as such by the locals for a good distance around.
  A woody rise makes part of the southern "wall", and up and over this a trail
leads away.  Another obvious trail leads up and east, if one first crosses the
stream by means of some protruding rocks in the streambed.

  The youth is hanging around.

<>> e

   The trail leaves the spring hollow, and crosses the countryside for some
little distance into the grounds of Thymeleigh Manor...

 <> Thymeleigh Manor <>

  You're on a lane wending through the grounds of the pleasant Thymeleigh
Manor.  The manor hall stands well away from the lane on a rise northeast of
you, and the lane is bordered on that side by a low sod-topped stone wall.  One
particularly massive spreading tree shades the sunken roadway where you stand.
The lane goes northwest or southwest, and a faint foot-track passes the tree
and crosses the field to the west.

  Up in the leafy branches of the large tree growing by the roadside, a sky
lantern appears to be caught.

  Over near the manor, the Knights Arrogant can be seen parading around,
dallying with the elegant daughters and nieces of Lord Myrgweth.

  The Knights of the Eight Spittoons are in the area, patrolling around on
their horses and trying to seem important.

  The young figurehead is lollygagging behind.

<>> ne

  As much as you may want to see Sylverleigh again, you'll have to wait and do
that on your own time.  The prince is your business now.

<>> x stone wall

  Following the course of the lane on the eastern/northern side is an
unmortared stone wall.  The wall is very old, and has acquired that pleasing
impression of simply having grown out of the earth and belonging there.  It is
wide enough that a person could walk along it without needing to give much
attention to their balance, but low enough to be easily hopped over.  Its top
is completely spilling over with sod and moss.

  The three knights are discussing the meditations and insight of a former
comrade, Sir Trancelot.

<>> climb it

  You hop up on the sod-covered wall.

  "Sir Ennity, now," one of the knights says.  "Gladsome fellow he!  He knew
how to keep us all calm and collected in the midst of direst chaos."
  "Aye, did he that," says another.  "But then he found matrimony, and rode no
more with us."

<>> get lantern

  You can't reach the sky lantern from the sod-topped stone wall.

  "I've heard the Lady Lylova is not well," says Dalstroy to the other Knights
Arrogant.  "Sir Lily-livered Frogheart there might we bundle up and give as a
gift to her ladyship, so that she may laugh herself to tears at him all the day
long, and thus heal her ailments."  (He points at Sir Enders while saying
this.)

<>> get lantern with cattail

  Even with the cattail, you can't reach the sky lantern from the sod-topped
stone wall.

<>> x sods

  "Sods" could either be something as yet unknown to you or else a phrasing
unknown to us.

<>> x sod

  Following the course of the lane on the eastern/northern side is an
unmortared stone wall.  The wall is very old, and has acquired that pleasing
impression of simply having grown out of the earth and belonging there.  It is
wide enough that a person could walk along it without needing to give much
attention to their balance, but low enough to be easily hopped over.  Its top
is completely spilling over with sod and moss.

<>> e

  As much as you may want to see Sylverleigh again, you'll have to wait and do
that on your own time.  The prince is your business now.

  Every once in awhile it looks like one of the ostentatious knights is doing
something to show off for the ladies.

  The Knights of the Eight Spittoons chuckle fondly in remembrance of their
irascible comrade, Sir Rantselot.

<>> d

  You get back down into the lane.

  Sir Loyneberger gladdens his mates with an anecdote about a dumbwaiter and a
sleepwalker.

<>> * && I have to say, "Thymeleigh" is among the best placenames among them.

  Comment recorded.

<>> l

 <> Thymeleigh Manor <>

  You're on a lane wending through the grounds of the pleasant Thymeleigh
Manor.  The manor hall stands well away from the lane on a rise northeast of
you, and the lane is bordered on that side by a low sod-topped stone wall.  One
particularly massive spreading tree shades the sunken roadway where you stand.
The lane goes northwest or southwest, and a faint foot-track passes the tree
and crosses the field to the west.

  Up in the leafy branches of the large tree growing by the roadside, a sky
lantern appears to be caught.

  Over near the manor, the Knights Arrogant can be seen parading around,
dallying with the elegant daughters and nieces of Lord Myrgweth.

  The Knights of the Eight Spittoons are in the area, patrolling around on
their horses and trying to seem important.

  The future monarch of Dwindeldorn is present and accounted for.

  The knights talk about old times with Sir Grantselot, remarking his
uncommonly generous spirit.

<>> climb horse

  You and the prince will probably do just fine if you let the knights deal
with their own horses.

  One of the Knights Arrogant does an acrobatic feat on the lawn for the
ladies.

  The Knights Arrogant saunter to within jeering distance of the Knights of the
Eight Spittoons.
  "What say, fellows?  Have we contracted any new goiters today?  Ha ha!  Go
back to the kennels where you belong, you oafish mongrels!"
  The Knights Arrogant cackle and move on back toward the manor house.

<>> jump

  The limbs, predictably, are out of the range of your best jump.

  "Remember Sir Gruvith?"  Glancelot asks his fellows.  "And how jet-black his
eyes were?  'Twas as if the wight had naught but pupils in his eyes, and those
right large."
  "Aye, I remember," Loyneberger responds.  "Him we called 'The Jet-eye
Knight.'"

<>> lift quis

  "Quis" is either:
 - Something you haven't come across yet
 - Something not necessary to your adventure
 - A phrasing we aren't equipped to handle

<>> lift quiz

  You can't boost the prince high enough to reach the object in the tree.

  The Knights of the Eight Spittoons are reminiscing about old times with Sir
Chantselot, and how good his singing voice was.

<>> throw quiz at tree

  It isn't very practical for you to throw the prince.

  Sir Loyneberger recounts the humorous tale of Queen Zilmugda and the crawdad.

<>> x manor

  Thymeleigh Hall stands atop a low crest across an open green, with a large
quadrangle of trees surrounding it and its immediate lawns like sentinels.  The
hall is decently-enough sized but not massive, with the lower story of stone
architecture, and the upper stories (which vary from none to two, over
different parts of the house) built of timbers.  Most of the rooftops are
steeply-pitched and slate-covered, but one lone battlemented turret stands as a
reminder that peace hasn't always been the rule.

<>> x turret

  One turret, instead of having a conical roof, is flat-topped and ringed with
parapets.

  Sir Loyneberger is regaling his comrades with an anecdote about a corset and
hot pepper.

<>> climb turret

  You're nowhere near the turret.

  One of the Knights Arrogant playfully tries to steal a kiss from his feminine
consort, but is rebuffed.

  One of the Knights Arrogant comes near enough to make a joke about Sir
Loyneberger interfering with the earth's gravitational pull.

<>> ne

  As much as you may want to see Sylverleigh again, you'll have to wait and do
that on your own time.  The prince is your business now.

  The cocky knights and the ladies of the manor are strolling about in each
other's company.

  Fond remembrances are being shared among the Knights of the Eight Spittoons
of their former comrade, Sir Chancelot.  "A droll and merry companion was he,"
says Sir Enders, "but we always knew his reckless daring would be the death of
him."

<>> e

  As much as you may want to see Sylverleigh again, you'll have to wait and do
that on your own time.  The prince is your business now.

  The knights feign a joust between themselves.

<>> se

  You can’t go that way.

<>> n

   Journeying along the lane to the northwest, you come to a quaint village
called Inchpuddle.  From there only a few wagon tracks radiate into the
country, so you continue to the northwest.  The track fades out, and you enter
into quite a marvelous kind of wood...

 <> The Golden Wood of Eshquoke <>

  You have entered a region of Dwindeldorn known as The Golden Wood of
Eshquoke.  For many square miles around, the gentle hills are covered with
curious trees whose kind is scarcely to be found anywhere else.  The natural
colors of these trees' leaves are blazing yellowy-oranges and golds,
occasionally verging into orangey-pink and orange-red: very like the colors
which other broadleaf trees only assume in the days before the long chill
begins to descend on the earth.
  This wood surrounds you, which is nowhere so dense but that some patches of
grass and dandelions are able to grow on the forest floor.  No road has been
made through the wood, but you appear to be upon the track most often followed
by those who would cross it.  From here the track seems to lead west,
northeast, and southeast.

  A horse, with no apparent owner, frolics gaily about in a nearby glade.

  Your companion, the king's son, is here with you.

<>> s

  Although you are no unseasoned outdoorsman, the Wood is large, and it could
be easy to get turned around in it.  Best to follow the tracks that seem to
lead somewhere (west, northeast, or southeast).

  The wild horse shakes its mane.

  You send the prince over to a convenient tree to knock out some pull-ups.  He
squirms out two in a row.

<>> se

  The day reaches its end as you journey from the one place to the other, and,
as is your custom, you find a secluded spot out of the way, and pass the night
with what makeshift comforts you can supply.  Just as the sun comes up, before
the travels and adventures of the new day, you find the nearest body of
chilling water fit to submerge you, and introduce young Quisborne to the
healthful practice of stripping down and plunging vigorously into it.  His
misgivings notwithstanding, he sees you dive swiftly and eagerly in, with no
repercussions other than a look of bracing satisfaction, and concludes that
there must be nothing to fear.  Without even so much as a toe test, he throws
himself into the water, and straightway goes into paroxysms of agony not unlike
those of a mother walrus caught in the throes of an abortive birth.
  We could dwell on his paroxysms, and their collective description and
duration, but eventually the paroxysms cease, and a new sensation washes over
his flesh and through his veins.  "Great bowls of fizz, Valkyrian!  I feel
amazing right now!!  My blood is flowing like mad, and I feel like I could race
a horse!"  You smile, because you know the feeling.  Soon enough, you both are
out, dried, on the way, and at your next destination...

 <> Thymeleigh Manor <>

  You're on a lane wending through the grounds of the pleasant Thymeleigh
Manor.  The lane is sunken below the bordering land, and sweeps from the
southwest gently around to the northwest, where it ducks behind the foot of a
tall hill to the north, and disappears.  The manor hall stands well away from
the lane on a rise northeast of you, and the lane is bordered on that side by a
rustic, sod-topped stone wall.
  All about are pleasant sights: open greens, flowering thickets, hills and
larger woods rimming the horizon.  One particularly massive spreading tree
shades the sunken roadway where you stand.  A faint foot-track passes the tree
and cross the field off to the west.

  Up in the leafy branches of the large tree growing by the roadside, a sky
lantern appears to be caught.

  Over near the manor, the Knights Arrogant can be seen parading around,
dallying with the elegant daughters and nieces of Lord Myrgweth.

  The Knights of the Eight Spittoons are in the area, patrolling around on
their horses and trying to seem important.

  Your sidekick is following you as always.

  Every once in awhile it looks like one of the ostentatious knights is doing
something to show off for the ladies.

  The Knights Arrogant and the Knights of the Eight Spittoons exchange impolite
remarks.

<>> * && I'll add the sky lantern to the growing list of "Unsolved" and explore elsewhere for a bit.

  Comment recorded.

<>> w

   The foot-track crosses the field and continues across a bit of the
countryside, coming to the spring at the source of the Gloskinfroke...

 <> A secluded spring pool <>

  You're at the Fountains of Gloskinfroke, a lovely spot sequestered by a ring
of close-growing trees.  To the immediate southeast, a large and dazzlingly
blue spring pool burbles up from the foot of a small concave cliff face.  The
surrounding trees are grown over nearly to the ground with a thick curtain of
hanging vines, and surround a sanctuary of luxuriant, flower-speckled turf.
The young fresh stream issuing from the spring flows out to the northwest, and
trails lead away south or east over the woody rise.

  Prince Quisborne the Feckless is present as ever.

  You get your subordinate established in the habit of practicing his
sprinting.  For a stretch you had to indicate "It's that time" to him with a
look, but now he has learned to put in some hard running every day or two of
his own accord.

<>> x trees

  The trees creating the glade around the spring pool are mostly of a slender
and upright variety, growing quite close together.  A wealth of vines hang from
them nearly to the ground, appearing very like a continuous curtain of
tendrils.

  Your companion is trying to bust a move.  "I never really got to go
anywhere," he explains.  "So I don't know much about dancing, and just try to
make my own stuff up."

<>> x vines

  The vines are thin and cord-like, and seem to be quite strong; they hang
profusely from high in the trees and make an organic curtain around the spring
pool glade.

  Quisborne continues to improve his pushup abilities.

<>> * && Rope at last?

  Comment recorded.

<>> pull vines

  Bunching up a number of the hanging vines and seizing hold of them, you bear
all your weight downward.  However, the boughs in which they are intertwined
are very flexible, and they simply bounce instead of breaking or pulling free
from the boughs.

  The Knights of the Eight Spittoons enter from the east.

<>> climb vines

  If you could and did, then what?

  The royal youth continues undaunted to try to master the squeaking of grass.

<>> * && Then I'd be at the top where I could disentwine them from the bouncy boughs.

  Comment recorded.

<>> knights, cut vines

  You hail the Knights of the Eight Spittoons and they draw up to hearken to
your address.

  "Munificent apologies, sir knight.  We have other things that we need to be
about."

  "The camels of Ezgobatar will drink twenty-five gallons of water in one
sitting.  Wow, that makes me need to go to the privy just thinking about it!"
(The prince.)

<>> ask knights about vines

  More or less, they say: "In seeking to answer that question, sirrah, we
misdoubt the probability of our rendering you any material aid."

<>> climb trees

  It doesn't look as though being up in the treetop would make it any easier to
pull the vines down by hand.

<>> file vines

  You may be trying to use a verb that we weren't instructed how to handle...

<>> cut vines with bar

  The iron bar doesn't seem ideally suited for cutting things.

<>> shake vines

  We don't think you're on to anything there.

  Sir Glancelot tells an amusing tale about a wine-sodden goose and a
partially-deaf cheesemonger.

  The water burbles deliciously.

<>> x vines

  The vines are thin and cord-like, and seem to be quite strong; they hang
profusely from high in the trees and make an organic curtain around the spring
pool glade.

  A comely country damsel comes to the spring stream from the northwest, and
begins to draw water.  Sir Glancelot's eyes grow wide, and he gazes after her
until he feels the eyes of his two companions on him.  "Admiration, my fellows,
purely disinterested admiration," he expounds.  "Of course my heart doth dwell
evermore at the feet of my lady Vannella Wayfair."  The damsel finishes filling
her cask and passes on her way.

  The prince barks at a squirrel.

<>> dig

(with the broken mattock)
  You find the softest spot of earth in the area and dig a small hole with the
broken mattock there.  You don't find anything in the hole that creeps or
crawls.  Afterward, you fill the hole back up and tamp it down.

<>> shake trees

  We don't think you're on to anything there.

<>> x pool

  The spring pool is clear and deep and large; under the blue water you can see
jagged rock edges falling sharply downward from the pool's sides.  There must
be thousands of gallons of water flowing out of the spring every minute.

  "Would that we still had Sir Pantselot with us!" cries Sir Loyneberger.
"Even though he did get winded if he so much as mounted his horse."

  Quisborne takes a short break from carrying the sack.

<>> swim

  Your clothes will dry soon enough.  You plunge into the water of the spring
pool, which gets deep very quickly.

  Prince Quisborne remains behind with the gear sack.

<>> dive

  You dive down deep to the pool's bottom.  As you begin to resurface for air,
you happen to notice that there is some small man-made object lying down there.

<>> x object

  Examining the man-made object would be much more productive if the man-made
object were not underwater.  One thing that you note about it is that it’s very
wet.

  Prince Quisborne tromps along the pool bank, making a slew of tiny
grasshoppers jump out into the water.  Then he watches as they turn around and
immediately swim back.

<>> get object

  You dive to the bottom of the pool to retrieve the object you see down there.
Snatching it and resurfacing, you find it to be a simple butter knife.  No
doubt a mishap of one of the picnickers that frequent this spot.

  Prince Quisborne sees the treasure that you've brought back from the deep.
"Oh," he says.  "I thought it was going to be something a little more
interesting."

  Sir Enders is expounding upon the perfections of Lady Lylova.


*** Your score has just gone up by one point ***

<>> * && I could sharpen it on the grindstone. Then I'd finally have, if not a sword befitting a knight, then at least some kind of cutting implement.

  Comment recorded.

<>> x knife

  It is a simple buttering knife, all metal, with an offset blade that ends in
a blunt curve.

  The knights have dismounted and are practicing their swordplay upon the
sward.

  The youth ducks in and out of the hanging vines.

<>> cut vines

(with the butter knife)
(first getting out of the spring pool)

  The butter knife, being meant to spread butter, isn't much for cutting things
in its present form.

  You're sopping wet.

<>> l

 <> A secluded spring pool <>

  You're at the Fountains of Gloskinfroke, a lovely spot sequestered by a ring
of close-growing trees.  To the immediate southeast, a large and dazzlingly
blue spring pool burbles up from the foot of a small concave cliff face.  The
surrounding trees are grown over nearly to the ground with a thick curtain of
hanging vines, and surround a sanctuary of luxuriant, flower-speckled turf.
The young fresh stream issuing from the spring flows out to the northwest, and
trails lead away south or east over the woody rise.

  The Knights of the Eight Spittoons are in the area, patrolling around on
their horses and trying to seem important.

  The lad is here.

  Sir Glancelot digs up another anecdote to share with his friends.

  Tiny bugs skitter across the ground.

<>> x cliff

  The spring pool backs directly up to a face of rock, from under which it
issues.  The bare cliff may only be twenty-five feet high, but the land
continues to slope uphill from there towards the south and east.  As the cliff
curves around either side of the pool, it quickly decreases in elevation till
it becomes merely a low bank where it meets the ring of trees.

  A flock of honking fowl flies overhead.

<>> climb cliff

  That's a somewhat risky stunt to be reserved for another time.

  Prince Quisborne "Yipe!"s at getting pinched by a crawdad.

<>> dig turf

(with the broken mattock)
  You find the softest spot of earth in the area and dig a small hole with the
broken mattock there.  There are no coins, or arrowheads, or even creepy-
crawlies to be seen... if creepy-crawlies are what you're after, maybe you
could find a dungheap somewhere.  Afterward, you fill the hole back up and tamp
it down.

  You've dried off to the point of just being thoroughly damp.

<>> l

 <> A secluded spring pool <>

  You're at the Fountains of Gloskinfroke, a lovely spot sequestered by a ring
of close-growing trees.  To the immediate southeast, a large and dazzlingly
blue spring pool burbles up from the foot of a small concave cliff face.  The
surrounding trees are grown over nearly to the ground with a thick curtain of
hanging vines, and surround a sanctuary of luxuriant, flower-speckled turf.
The young fresh stream issuing from the spring flows out to the northwest, and
trails lead away south or east over the woody rise.

  The Knights of the Eight Spittoons are in the area, patrolling around on
their horses and trying to seem important.

  Prince Quisborne is present as ever, sack in hand.

  Your ostensible squire casts pebbles into the water.

<>> plant flowers in turf

  That's not going to grow if you bury it.

<>> water flowers

  You can only "water" something if you have a contained quantity of water in
your possession.

  You're almost dry now.

<>> fill basket with water

  Which water do you mean, the fresh flowing stream, or the spring pool?

< distinguish >> pool

  The basket isn't suitable for putting liquids into.

  A stray cloud races alone across the blue.

<>> get pebbles

  The pebbles at the bottom of the spring will not require your attention.

  The future ruler of the land knocks out some pull-ups hanging from a tree
limb.

  You have finally dried off from your last plunge.

<>> * && "Prince Quisborne is present as ever, sack in hand." !! Hah!

  Comment recorded.

<>> l

 <> A secluded spring pool <>

  You're at the Fountains of Gloskinfroke, a lovely spot sequestered by a ring
of close-growing trees.  To the immediate southeast, a large and dazzlingly
blue spring pool burbles up from the foot of a small concave cliff face.  The
surrounding trees are grown over nearly to the ground with a thick curtain of
hanging vines, and surround a sanctuary of luxuriant, flower-speckled turf.
The young fresh stream issuing from the spring flows out to the northwest, and
trails lead away south or east over the woody rise.

  The Knights of the Eight Spittoons are in the area, patrolling around on
their horses and trying to seem important.

  Nearby, the future king of Dwindeldorn is ambling around.

  "We must show the Knights Arrogant their place, the misbegotten malefactors!"
shout the knights.  "May their tongues be permanently impregnated with the
taste of an unripe mayapple!"

<>> x stream

  The stream starts out at quite an impressive size, based on the volume of
water issuing out of the spring.  Some exposed rocks make the stream easily
bridged.

  The ground is dappled with light and shade.

<>> x rocks

  A few naturally-occurring rocks in the streambed protrude well above the
water level and serve as convenient stepping-stones.

<>> follow stream

  Beyond the ring of trees, there are croplands in that direction which are
clearly the property of some nearby village, castle, or manor.

<>> l

 <> A secluded spring pool <>

  You're at the Fountains of Gloskinfroke, a lovely spot sequestered by a ring
of close-growing trees.  To the immediate southeast, a large and dazzlingly
blue spring pool burbles up from the foot of a small concave cliff face.  The
surrounding trees are grown over nearly to the ground with a thick curtain of
hanging vines, and surround a sanctuary of luxuriant, flower-speckled turf.
The young fresh stream issuing from the spring flows out to the northwest, and
trails lead away south or east over the woody rise.

  The Knights of the Eight Spittoons are in the area, patrolling around on
their horses and trying to seem important.

  Prince Quiz tags along.

  The youth stretches out on the turf for a few moments.

<>> nw

  Beyond the ring of trees, there are croplands in that direction which are
clearly the property of some nearby village, castle, or manor.

  The knights recollect specific traits of one of their former fellow-knights.

<>> e

   The trail leaves the spring hollow, and crosses the countryside for some
little distance into the grounds of Thymeleigh Manor...

 <> Thymeleigh Manor <>

  You're on a lane wending through the grounds of the pleasant Thymeleigh
Manor.  The manor hall stands well away from the lane on a rise northeast of
you, and the lane is bordered on that side by a low sod-topped stone wall.  One
particularly massive spreading tree shades the sunken roadway where you stand.
The lane goes northwest or southwest, and a faint foot-track passes the tree
and crosses the field to the west.

  Up in the leafy branches of the large tree growing by the roadside, a sky
lantern appears to be caught.

  Over near the manor, the Knights Arrogant can be seen parading around,
dallying with the elegant daughters and nieces of Lord Myrgweth.

  Your "squire" is in tow.

<>> n

   Journeying along the lane to the northwest, you eventually reach Inchpuddle.
From there you continue northwest through the country and enter the Golden
Wood...

 <> The Golden Wood of Eshquoke <>

  You have entered a region of Dwindeldorn known as The Golden Wood of
Eshquoke, where the natural colors of the trees' leaves are blazing yellowy-
oranges and golds, occasionally verging into orangey-pink and orange-red.  The
forest is not so dense but that patches of grass and dandelions are able to
grow on the forest floor.  The most passable tracks seems to lead west,
northeast, and southeast.

  A horse, with no apparent owner, frolics gaily about in a nearby glade.

  Near by your side sticks Prince Quiz, carrying the sack.

<>> x horse

  It is a funny-looking animal; not quite right in the proportions.  Otherwise
it has all the equine features that one would expect.  However, it looks quite
happy in its free-roaming life.

  The boy watches to see what you'll do next.

<>> talk to horse

  The horse doesn't understand your speech.

<>> pet horse

  The horse doesn't appear to be insulted by your intentions; nevertheless, if
you try to pet it, it trots just out of reach before continuing to graze.

<>> catch horse

  It doesn't seem kind to be hooking the horse with hooks.

  The Dwindeldornian heir makes an unsuccessful attempt to befriend the
quadruped.

<>> * && "hooking with hooks"? What hooks? If I had hooks I'd be trying to throw them over the Ribbleskinder on a rope to pull that blasted ferry across!

  Comment recorded.

<>> mount horse

  Considering that the merest attempts of trying to touch the horse result in
its shying away from you, it follows that the horse is not any more
accommodating to the idea of you riding it.

<>> smell horse

  While the horse doesn't seem to be frightened by you, it also seems willing
to keep you at hoofs' length, so to speak.  If only you were more interesting.

  The wild horse surveys you with mild curiosity, but soon loses interest in
you.

<>> give flowers to horse

(Sylverleigh's flowers)
  With strong suspicions that the horse will not be interested in your
offering, you desist from giving him Sylverleigh's flowers.

<>> give candy to horse

  The sight of the piece of horehound candy doesn't appear to be strong enough
motivation for the horse to let you get near to it.

  The Prince of Dwindeldorn walks amongst the trees.

<>> give beet to horse

  The horse's mother clearly never instructed him on the importance of good
nutrition, for the exasperating animal turns his nose up at the beet, and seems
to say that he prefers other vegetables instead.

<>> * && Carrots and apples! My kingdom (well, Quis's kingdom) for a bag of carrots and apples!

  Comment recorded.

<>> draw archery target on horse with chalk

  What do you want to draw that on?

< object >> horse

  The horse isn't going to prove serviceable for drawing on.

  "Heeere, Horsey!"  The prince tries to beckon the horse over to him, but the
horse merely sniffs at the invitation.

<>> write insult on quis

  If you're trying to write, try 'write [text] on x'.

  The quirky horse finds a suitable clump of grass amidst the forest floor
litter, and rips off a mouthful of it.

<>> write insult on quisborne

  That wouldn't be a great surface for writing on with chalk.

<>> l

 <> The Golden Wood of Eshquoke <>

  This is a region of Dwindeldorn known as The Golden Wood of Eshquoke, where
the natural colors of the trees' leaves are blazing yellowy-oranges and golds,
occasionally verging into orangey-pink and orange-red.  The forest is not so
dense but that patches of grass and dandelions are able to grow on the forest
floor.  The most passable tracks seems to lead west, northeast, and southeast.

  A horse, with no apparent owner, frolics gaily about in a nearby glade.

  Your companion, the incumbent to the throne, is here with you.

<>> x trees

  As mentioned, the natural colors of these peculiar trees' leaves are blazing
yellowy-oranges and golds, occasionally verging into orangey-pink and orange-
red.  You have a thought that if you ever find the lady love of your life,
you'll want to bring her here some day.

  The roaming horse snuffles around the ground as if looking for something
tastier than the same old grass.

<>> * && Oh lady Silverleigh, come lay with me 'neath the golden boughs. We'll sing songs of elegance and fine manes to the trotty horsey together

  Comment recorded.

<>> x dandelions

  The grass grows here and there in patches, thick and speckled with
dandelions.

<>> get dandelions

  You rip up a few generous handfuls of grass to offer to the horse.  It would
probably gladly receive them, only, that would require more work than eating
the grass that's already under its nose.

  The Prince of Dwindeldorn walks amongst the trees.

<>> l

 <> The Golden Wood of Eshquoke <>

  This is a region of Dwindeldorn known as The Golden Wood of Eshquoke, where
the natural colors of the trees' leaves are blazing yellowy-oranges and golds,
occasionally verging into orangey-pink and orange-red.  The forest is not so
dense but that patches of grass and dandelions are able to grow on the forest
floor.  The most passable tracks seems to lead west, northeast, and southeast.

  A horse, with no apparent owner, frolics gaily about in a nearby glade.

  Your sidekick is here with you as always, with sack slung over his shoulder.

<>> eat horse

  You don't need to have the horse for dinner.

<>> * && Straight for the smithy. I'll pick up the quest from here in a minute.

  Comment recorded.

<>> sw

  Although you are no unseasoned outdoorsman, the Wood is large, and it could
be easy to get turned around in it.  Best to follow the tracks that seem to
lead somewhere (west, northeast, or southeast).

<>> ww

  This is one of those times where we may not have covered the verb you're
trying to use...

<>> w

  You travel through the Golden Wood to its western end, and continue on
through a mostly roadless grazing country...

  Somewhere between leaving there and arriving here, you and the prince stopped
for the night.  Having found the nearest watercourse, you showed the prince how
one can make a weir of stones in the streambed and catch small fish without
hooks, spears, or nets.

 <> A large dead tree in a meadow <>

  You're in a rolling meadow, quite in the heart of the realm of Dwindeldorn.
Patches of woods rise at varying distances from you in different directions,
while the meadow basks under a deep blue sky.  There aren't any proper roads
here, but the area appears by no means to be unacquainted with the occasional
traveler or shepherd.  Natural byways lead to the south, the east, and the
northwest.

  Standing like a ghostly finger from the ground in the middle of the meadow is
the sun-bleached remains of an old tree trunk.  Myriads of buzzing bees are
swarming around its top.

  Prince Quisborne tags along, carrying the sack.

  The young sprig of royalty does a set of squats with the gear sack on his
shoulders.

<>> s

   The semi-open countryside eventually picks up a horse track which continues
to wind south.  You come to the junction by Kinterole hamlet...

 <> A construction site near Kinterole hamlet <>

  The road branches in a number of directions here in a pleasant little dell,
just on the eastern edge of a tiny hamlet called Kinterole.  Lying northeast of
you, a large and stately house is being reared up.  A horse track leads north,
and the way east leads to terrain growing more rugged and thickly forested.
Just west is the hamlet, past which the road also leads to the northwest.

  The future monarch of Dwindeldorn is following you wherever you go.

  Quisborne sees a solitary old woman shuffling labriously along.  Without
consultation, he gathers up the flowers that were from Sylverleigh's basket,
and makes a present of them to the old lady.  She is too cheered by his gesture
for you to think of remonstrating, so off she goes with the flowers.

<>> nw

  It isn't such a short trip from Kinterole back to the junction of the
Darchingcrast Road.  The large town of Crumblegate lies on the way, as well as
the lands of Uxpelcraith Hall and Orterleigh Manor.  In the course of time, you
find yourself back at the entrance to Forthlong Hall...

  You found a suitable place to make camp for the night during the travel.
"Ouch!" the prince had said.  "I have blisters forming *inside* other blisters,
so that you might even say my blisters have blisters."

 <> Entrance to the grounds of Forthlong Hall <>

  The road northeast to Darchingcrast converges here with the road you're on,
which runs northwest to southeast.  The lane leading to Forthlong Hall branches
off from this road to the south, crossing a stream by means of a small bridge.

  The Feckless is here with you as always, bearing the sack.

  Prince Quiz seems to be on his way to figuring out how to make the blade of
grass squeak.

<>> nw

   Traveling northwest, you pass by the Chelderfaulk Road and come to the ferry
landing...

 <> Wratchbunting ferry landing, east side <>

  West of you is a ferry landing across the lovely Ribbleskinder River, which
flows roughly south-southwest.  The small town of Wratchbunting lies mostly
hidden by trees a few furlongs north of here.  A small tree-flanked hut
standing just up the bank from the dock proclaims itself to be: "WRATCHBUNTING
FERRIE."  The roads leave the ferry landing to the northeast and the southeast.

  The ferry floats idly, docked on the other side of the river.

  Nearby, the Prince of Dwindeldorn is ambling around.

<>> ne

   Passing over the Gloskinfroke on a small bridge, you make your way northeast
until coming to Blatterfarthing...

 <> Blatterfarthing village green <>

  The village of Blatterfarthing has a central communal green featuring a
running brook, encircled a few rings deep by the buildings which make up the
community.  The Snorting Sow sits on the east side of the green, while a
smithy, open on two sides and with a sign mounted on its roof, sits along the
west.  To the northeast of that appears to be a sausage-maker's shop, and a
variety of other buildings and houses complete the innermost ring around the
village green.
  Roads sneak between buildings going southwest, southeast, and northeast.  A
narrow walk path also squeezes between the smithy and the sausage-maker's, to
the northwest.

  The Dwindeldornian prince is sticking nearby.

<>> w

 <> Blatterfarthing smithy <>

  The inside of the smithy is full of interesting sights, but the first thing
to catch a person's eye is a large signboard suspended from the rafters near
the back wall, telling visitors not to walk away with the tools or charcoal.
  As it could be no smithy without them, the smithy features a large forge, a
bellows, and an anvil.  A workbench runs along a back wall, on which wall are
hung a variety of tools related to working metal.  The floor is of dirt
sprinkled with sawdust, and the north and east walls of the building are
nothing but rows of posts, otherwise open to the outside.

  The great stone forge and its chimney loom large against the west wall, with
the bellows attached.  The ponderous anvil stands a few steps away, and a
pedal-driven grindstone is in the northwest corner.

  The smithy contains a few bins of metal bar stock and horseshoe blanks,
apparently for public use.

  On the workbench are the chisel, the horseshoes, the grooving stamp, the
tongs, and the punch.  On the anvil is the smithing hammer.

  Your young pal is present and accounted for.

<>> press treadle

  You don't see any treadle in view.

<>> press pedal

  You pedal the grindstone, and the stone starts to pick up inertia and spin
robustly.

  The grindstone is whirring loudly.

<>> sharpen butter knife

  What do you want to sharpen it with?

< object >> grindstone

  You hold the humble butter knife up to the spinning grindstone and really go
to work on the rounded end.  Showers of sparks later, the knife's end is
pointed and sharp.

  "That looks handy, sir," chimes the prince.  "I guess we'll find a use for a
sharp blade at some point, eh?"

<>> stab prince

  Prince Quisborne is not suffering from a deficit of perforations.

  Prince Quisborne is muttering to himself.

  The grindstone slows down to a leisurely spin.

<>> * && No points for obtaining a knife?

  Comment recorded.

<>> e

 <> Blatterfarthing village green <>

  The village of Blatterfarthing has a central communal green featuring a
running brook, encircled a few rings deep by the buildings which make up the
community.  The Snorting Sow sits on the east side of the green, while a
smithy, open on two sides and with a sign mounted on its roof, sits along the
west.  To the northeast of that appears to be a sausage-maker's shop, and a
variety of other buildings and houses complete the innermost ring around the
village green.
  Roads sneak between buildings going southwest, southeast, and northeast.  A
narrow walk path also squeezes between the smithy and the sausage-maker's, to
the northwest.

  The incumbent to the throne is present as ever.

<>> ne

  Leaving Blatterfarthing to the northeast, you travel across the pleasant
country.  The next town along the road is Squarchminster...

  The travel involved stopping for the night, and starting again in the
morning.  Prince Quisborne still gets traumatized when first plunging into the
cold water by the dim light of dawn, but he always feels better for it once he
has acclimated.

 <> Grimmage field, west end of Squarchminster town <>

  Northwards lies the expansive grimmage field of Squarchminster.  Along the
eastern border of the field large permanent grandstands have been erected, and
the crowds also people the hillsides directly north and west of the field.  The
south boundary fence is also adorned with the large sign advertising the
identity of the venue.
  Just east of the playing field is a brick yard on the west end of
Squarchminster town.  You can go north or southwest from the playing field;
also, you can pass through Squarchminster going either southeast or northeast.

  Currently on the field, the Sanctified Bagpipes are playing the Mop Buckets.

  The grandstands quiver with the energy of their human cargo.

  Near by your side sticks PQ.

  A player from the Mop Buckets just kicked a mid-range home run.

<>> se

   You make the fairly sizeable trip through Squarchminster, along the back
roads, over the Gloskinfroke, and on into a country of open meadows...

 <> A large dead tree in a meadow <>

  You're in a rolling meadow, quite in the heart of the realm of Dwindeldorn.
Patches of woods rise at varying distances from you in different directions,
while the meadow basks under a deep blue sky.  There aren't any proper roads
here, but the area appears by no means to be unacquainted with the occasional
traveler or shepherd.  Natural byways lead to the south, the east, and the
northwest.

  Standing like a ghostly finger from the ground in the middle of the meadow is
the sun-bleached remains of an old tree trunk.  Myriads of buzzing bees are
swarming around its top.

  Your "squire" is in tow.

  Prince Quisborne can't walk by the bee tree without coveting the honey that
must be up there.

<>> e

   You leave the meadow to the east, picking your way through the most
naturally traversable terrain.  After some miles you come into the Golden Wood
of Eshquoke...

 <> The Golden Wood of Eshquoke <>

  This is a region of Dwindeldorn known as The Golden Wood of Eshquoke, where
the natural colors of the trees' leaves are blazing yellowy-oranges and golds,
occasionally verging into orangey-pink and orange-red.  The forest is not so
dense but that patches of grass and dandelions are able to grow on the forest
floor.  The most passable tracks seems to lead west, northeast, and southeast.

  A horse, with no apparent owner, frolics gaily about in a nearby glade.

  Prince Q tags along.

  Dwindeldorn's future king gets a practice sprint in.

<>> cut vines

  You don't see any vines in view.

<>> se

  It's another evening on the road, and you stop to wait for the morning.
Prince Quisborne has been scratching himself periodically for some time, when
finally he looks down under his waistband to investigate.
  "GAHHH!  VALKYRIAANN!!  There's a bloodsucking creature embedded in my flesh!
It's already bloating into a balloon!!  Is it going to drink all of my blood?!
Am I going to die?!?!"
  So.  The prince has gotten his first tick bite.  Assuring him that neither is
it permanently embedded nor is it going to drink all of his blood, you help him
extract the little pest.  Presently, the boy regains his equanimity; he does,
however, have some itching to deal with for the next day or two.

 <> Thymeleigh Manor <>

  You're on a lane wending through the grounds of the pleasant Thymeleigh
Manor.  The manor hall stands well away from the lane on a rise northeast of
you, and the lane is bordered on that side by a low sod-topped stone wall.  One
particularly massive spreading tree shades the sunken roadway where you stand.
The lane goes northwest or southwest, and a faint foot-track passes the tree
and crosses the field to the west.

  Up in the leafy branches of the large tree growing by the roadside, a sky
lantern appears to be caught.

  Over near the manor, the Knights Arrogant can be seen parading around,
dallying with the elegant daughters and nieces of Lord Myrgweth.

  The Knights of the Eight Spittoons are in the area, patrolling around on
their horses and trying to seem important.

  The future king of Dwindeldorn is hanging around.

  The Knights Arrogant and the Knights of the Eight Spittoons taunt each other.

<>>  * && I *hate* ticks. Something about their salive irritates my skin and my immune system so that they heal very slowly and itch for weeks or months. I've got two or three that are only just healed from the hiking we did in august.

  Comment recorded.

<>> w

   The foot-track crosses the field and continues across a bit of the
countryside, coming to the spring at the source of the Gloskinfroke...

 <> A secluded spring pool <>

  You're at the Fountains of Gloskinfroke, a lovely spot sequestered by a ring
of close-growing trees.  To the immediate southeast, a large and dazzlingly
blue spring pool burbles up from the foot of a small concave cliff face.  The
surrounding trees are grown over nearly to the ground with a thick curtain of
hanging vines, and surround a sanctuary of luxuriant, flower-speckled turf.
The young fresh stream issuing from the spring flows out to the northwest, and
trails lead away south or east over the woody rise.

  Nearby, the lad is ambling around.

  Dwindeldorn's future king wades in the stream.

<>> cu vines

  You may be trying to use a verb that we weren't instructed how to handle...

<>> cut vines

(with the knife)
  With the object of obtaining some good lengths of vine, you make the effort
to climb one of the trees which harbor them.  That done, you use your knife to
cut them down to the ground, where they land in a clump.  You descend, Quiz
coils them up, and adds them to your things.

<>> x vines

(the vines)
  The vines are strong, but thin and pliable.  The surfaces of the stalks are
hard and glossy, and here and there along their length is a tendril or a
leaflet.  Fortunately you can make a relatively compact coil of them in order
to carry them around.

<>> tie vines to bar

  The vines are not well suited for tying to small objects: they are springy
and glossy and do not cinch down tight unless an object has sufficient
diameter.

  The lad splashes the stream.

<>> make lasso

  You don't see any lasso in view.

<>> tie vines to vines

(the vines)
  The vines aren't easily (if at all) formed into the kind of small knots that
would join cord to cord: they're better suited to hitching around something
with a little diameter.

<>> loop vines

  This is one of those times where we may not have covered the verb you're
trying to use...

<>> * && I could tie them around a rock to rappel off a cliff, or a big tree...

  Comment recorded.

<>> x pool

  The spring pool is clear and deep and large; under the blue water you can see
jagged rock edges falling sharply downward from the pool's sides.  There must
be thousands of gallons of water flowing out of the spring every minute.

  Your young pal tries to catch crawdads.

<>> soak wood strip in pool

  You may be trying to use a verb that we weren't instructed how to handle...

<>> put strip in pool

  You place the wood strip into the spring pool.  It floats on the surface.

  The Knights of the Eight Spittoons enter from the east.

<>> z

  Time passes...

  The Dwindeldornian heir gets a drink from the spring pool with a dandelion
straw.

<>> z

  Time passes...

  The wind plays gentle noises in the trees.

<>> get strip

  You fish the wood strip out of the spring pool.

  The Knights of the Eight Spittoons converse with each other of the many
virtues of the daughters and nieces of Lord Myrgweth.

  Birds fill the air with tweets and chirps.

<>> x it

  It's a simple stick of wood, sawn from the edge of a board.  It looks like
maple wood, and is broken off to about the length of your outstretched arm.

  The wood strip is still damp from the wetting it received.

  The Dwindeldornian prince is trying to make something out of clay mud.

<>> * && "damp" !

  Comment recorded.

<>> * && Three turns to the dead tree. How long before this strip dries up? Maybe I should get the fire started before throwing the strip on it.

  Comment recorded.

<>> x strip

  It's a simple stick of wood, sawn from the edge of a board.  It looks like
maple wood, and is broken off to about the length of your outstretched arm.

  The wood strip is still damp from the wetting it received.

  The knights reminisce amongst themselves of the days when their numbers were
greater.

  Shadows create pleasing contrasts across the landscape.

<>> g

  It's a simple stick of wood, sawn from the edge of a board.  It looks like
maple wood, and is broken off to about the length of your outstretched arm.

  The wood strip is still damp from the wetting it received.

  Your sidekick gets more amusement out of scaring grasshoppers into the water
and watching them swim right back.

<>> g

  It's a simple stick of wood, sawn from the edge of a board.  It looks like
maple wood, and is broken off to about the length of your outstretched arm.

  The wood strip is still damp from the wetting it received.

  A grasshopper makes a leap, and then disappears into the grass.

<>> g

  It's a simple stick of wood, sawn from the edge of a board.  It looks like
maple wood, and is broken off to about the length of your outstretched arm.

  The wood strip is still damp from the wetting it received.

  Dwindeldorn's future king makes shadow shapes with his hands.

<>> g

  It's a simple stick of wood, sawn from the edge of a board.  It looks like
maple wood, and is broken off to about the length of your outstretched arm.

  The wood strip is still damp from the wetting it received.

  "Reindeer hoofs are swell," the prince begins.  "When the weather is milder,
they turn soft to provide traction in the mud, but in cold weather they grow
hard, to bite into snow and ice, and to dig for food with."

<>> g

  It's a simple stick of wood, sawn from the edge of a board.  It looks like
maple wood, and is broken off to about the length of your outstretched arm.

  The wood strip is still damp from the wetting it received.

  The knights feign a joust between themselves.

<>> * && Quite a long time. Enough, I think.

  Comment recorded.

<>> submerge strip in pool

  This is one of those times where we may not have covered the verb you're
trying to use...

<>> soak strip

  You may be trying to use a verb that we weren't instructed how to handle...

<>> wet strip

  This is one of those times where we may not have covered the verb you're
trying to use...

<>> splash strip with water

  You may be trying to use a verb that we weren't instructed how to handle...

<>> spit on strip

  You're not an uncouth knight.

<>> put strip in pool

  You place the wood strip into the spring pool.  It floats on the surface.

  PQ performs a routine check of the ember box.

<>> dive

  If you see some water you want to get in, go ahead and try it.

  Sir Enders starts to speak, but then falls silent again.

  Prince Quisborne finally forces a squawk out of the blade of grass between
his thumbs.  "Hoo-rah, sir!  I figured it out!  Wahoo!"  He then goes on to
squawk the daylights out of the grass blade, exulting like one just named
champion of a tournament.

<>> dive in pool

  This is one of those times where we may not have covered the verb you're
trying to use...

<>> swim

  You plunge into the water of the spring pool, which gets deep very quickly.

  Prince Quisborne remains behind with the gear sack.

  The knights reminisce amongst themselves of the days when their numbers were
greater.

<>> get strip

  You take the wood strip.

  Sir Enders starts to speak, but then falls silent again.

  The youth stretches out on the turf for a few moments.

<>> dive

  You make a dive down to the pebbly bottom of the pool.  You feel your ears
popping and the water is even colder.

  Sir Loyneberger is expounding upon the perfections of Lady Firiuna.

<>> get pebbles

  The pebbles at the bottom of the spring will not require your attention.

  The knights feign a joust between themselves.

  The youth waits for your next move.

<>> u

  It turns out the sky is not the limit: roughly three feet is, then gravity
kicks back in.

<>> out

  You swim back to the shore and climb out of the water.

  "Let us never stoop to the swinish level of the Knights Arrogant," cry the
knights.  "May their milk cows ever graze in onion patches!"

  You are soaked through.

<>> x strip

  It's a simple stick of wood, sawn from the edge of a board.  It looks like
maple wood, and is broken off to about the length of your outstretched arm.

  Sir Loyneberger digs up another anecdote to share with his friends.

<>> x strip

  It's a simple stick of wood, sawn from the edge of a board.  It looks like
maple wood, and is broken off to about the length of your outstretched arm.

<>> put strip in pool

  You place the wood strip into the spring pool.  It floats on the surface.

  The knights recollect specific traits of one of their former fellow-knights.

  Dwindeldorn's future king wades in the stream.

<>> get strip

  You fish the wood strip out of the spring pool.

  You've dried off to the point of just being thoroughly damp.

<>> x it

  It's a simple stick of wood, sawn from the edge of a board.  It looks like
maple wood, and is broken off to about the length of your outstretched arm.

  The wood strip is still damp from the wetting it received.

<>> undo

   Taking back one turn: “x it”.

 <> A secluded spring pool <>

  You're standing in quite a magical and romantic spot here, sequestered by a
ring of close-growing trees.  To the immediate southeast, a large and
dazzlingly blue spring pool burbles up from the foot of a small concave cliff
face which nestles around the spring pool and then quickly drops in elevation
past either side.
  The aforementioned ring of trees is grown over nearly to the ground with a
thick curtain of hanging vines, and completes a natural enclosure with the two
corners of the cliff, surrounding a sanctuary of luxuriant, flower-speckled
turf.  Through this inviting scene the young fresh stream issuing from the
spring flows out to the northwest, and constitutes the source of the
Gloskinfroke River.
  A woody rise makes part of the southern "wall", and up and over this a trail
leads away.  Another obvious trail leads up and east, if one first crosses the
stream by means of some protruding rocks in the streambed.

  The Knights of the Eight Spittoons are in the area, patrolling around on
their horses and trying to seem important.

  The feckless heir is sticking nearby.

<>> * && After I went swimming and diving with the strip in hand, there was no more mention of it being damp when I X STRIP.

  Comment recorded.

<>> e

   The trail leaves the spring hollow, and crosses the countryside for some
little distance into the grounds of Thymeleigh Manor...

 <> Thymeleigh Manor <>

  You're on a lane wending through the grounds of the pleasant Thymeleigh
Manor.  The manor hall stands well away from the lane on a rise northeast of
you, and the lane is bordered on that side by a low sod-topped stone wall.  One
particularly massive spreading tree shades the sunken roadway where you stand.
The lane goes northwest or southwest, and a faint foot-track passes the tree
and crosses the field to the west.

  Up in the leafy branches of the large tree growing by the roadside, a sky
lantern appears to be caught.

  Over near the manor, the Knights Arrogant can be seen parading around,
dallying with the elegant daughters and nieces of Lord Myrgweth.

  The Dwindeldornian heir is following you as always.

<>> nw

  Journeying along the lane to the northwest, you eventually reach Inchpuddle.
From there you continue northwest through the country and enter the Golden
Wood...

  You found a suitable place to make camp for the night during the travel.
Prince Quisborne wasn't elated to learn that catching eels was going to be one
of his primary modes of sustenance while living on the road.

 <> The Golden Wood of Eshquoke <>

  This is a region of Dwindeldorn known as The Golden Wood of Eshquoke, where
the natural colors of the trees' leaves are blazing yellowy-oranges and golds,
occasionally verging into orangey-pink and orange-red.  The forest is not so
dense but that patches of grass and dandelions are able to grow on the forest
floor.  The most passable tracks seems to lead west, northeast, and southeast.

  A horse, with no apparent owner, frolics gaily about in a nearby glade.

  Your companion lollygags behind, and then catches up.

  The quirky horse lets out a whinny of unknown significance.

  You have finally dried off from your last plunge.

<>> x stri^p

  The story doesn’t know how to use the character ‘^’ in a command.

<>> x strip

  It's a simple stick of wood, sawn from the edge of a board.  It looks like
maple wood, and is broken off to about the length of your outstretched arm.

<>> * && Damn! It dried overnight.

  Comment recorded.

<>> * && But there's a brook in Blatterfarthing!

  Comment recorded.

<>> w

   You travel through the Golden Wood to its western end, and continue on
through a mostly roadless grazing country...

 <> A large dead tree in a meadow <>

  You're in a rolling meadow, quite in the heart of the realm of Dwindeldorn.
Patches of woods rise at varying distances from you in different directions,
while the meadow basks under a deep blue sky.  There aren't any proper roads
here, but the area appears by no means to be unacquainted with the occasional
traveler or shepherd.  Natural byways lead to the south, the east, and the
northwest.

  Standing like a ghostly finger from the ground in the middle of the meadow is
the sun-bleached remains of an old tree trunk.  Myriads of buzzing bees are
swarming around its top.

  The Prince of Dwindeldorn is sticking nearby, bearing the sack.

  The incumbent to the throne scratches marks on the dead tree with the knife.

<>> nw

   You make the fair-sized journey northwest, crossing the Gloskinfroke,
following the back roads and coming out through Squarchminster...

 <> Grimmage field, west end of Squarchminster town <>

  Northwards lies the expansive grimmage field of Squarchminster.  Along the
eastern border of the field large permanent grandstands have been erected, and
the crowds also people the hillsides directly north and west of the field.  The
south boundary fence is also adorned with the large sign advertising the
identity of the venue.
  Just east of the playing field is a brick yard on the west end of
Squarchminster town.  You can go north or southwest from the playing field;
also, you can pass through Squarchminster going either southeast or northeast.

  Currently on the field, the Desirable Eyebrows are playing the Soiled Bibs.

  The grandstands groan with the liveliness of the spectators.

  The Dwindeldornian heir is present and accounted for.

  An official-looking fellow with a large speaking-horn steps up on a box along
the sidelines and announces that the score is now even, minus the surprise
reserve quotient.

<>> sw

  You traverse the pleasant countryside outside of Squarchminster, and come to
Blatterfarthing village...

  Somewhere between leaving there and arriving here, you and the prince stopped
for the night.  You and the prince spent some time foraging for berries, nuts,
roots and herbs, an event which is soon to become a regular practice.

 <> Blatterfarthing village green <>

  The village of Blatterfarthing is described as a central communal green
featuring a running brook and several large shade trees, encircled a few rings
deep by the buildings which make up the community.  The Snorting Sow harbors
the village's wayfarers on the east side of the green, while a smithy, open on
two sides and with a sign mounted on its roof, sits along the west.  To the
northeast of that appears to be a sausage-maker's shop, and a variety of other
buildings and houses complete the innermost ring around the village green.
  Roads sneak between buildings going southwest, southeast, and northeast.  A
narrow walk path also squeezes between the smithy and the sausage-maker's, to
the northwest.

  The king-to-be is here with you as always.

  The feckless heir watches the village folk.

<>> put strip in brook

  You place the wood strip into the running brook.  It floats on the surface.

<>> z

  Time passes...

<>> get strip

  You fish the wood strip out of the running brook.

  People are going in and out of the sausage-maker's shop.

<>> ne

   Leaving Blatterfarthing to the northeast, you travel across the pleasant
country.  The next town along the road is Squarchminster...

 <> Grimmage field, west end of Squarchminster town <>

  Northwards lies the expansive grimmage field of Squarchminster.  Along the
eastern border of the field large permanent grandstands have been erected, and
the crowds also people the hillsides directly north and west of the field.  The
south boundary fence is also adorned with the large sign advertising the
identity of the venue.
  Just east of the playing field is a brick yard on the west end of
Squarchminster town.  You can go north or southwest from the playing field;
also, you can pass through Squarchminster going either southeast or northeast.

  Currently on the field, the Lewd Mollusks are playing the Retching Polliwogs.

  The grandstands shake with the energy of their human cargo.

  Prince Quiz is following you wherever you go.

<>> se

   You make the fairly sizeable trip through Squarchminster, along the back
roads, over the Gloskinfroke, and on into a country of open meadows...

 <> A large dead tree in a meadow <>

  You're in a rolling meadow, quite in the heart of the realm of Dwindeldorn.
Patches of woods rise at varying distances from you in different directions,
while the meadow basks under a deep blue sky.  There aren't any proper roads
here, but the area appears by no means to be unacquainted with the occasional
traveler or shepherd.  Natural byways lead to the south, the east, and the
northwest.

  Standing like a ghostly finger from the ground in the middle of the meadow is
the sun-bleached remains of an old tree trunk.  Myriads of buzzing bees are
swarming around its top.

  Your squire is here.

  Prince Quisborne can't walk by the bee tree without coveting the honey that
must be up there.

<>> light leaves

  You don't see any leaves in view.

<>> undo

   Taking back one turn: “se”.

 <> Grimmage field, west end of Squarchminster town <>

  Northwards lies the expansive grimmage field of Squarchminster.  Along the
eastern border of the field large permanent grandstands have been erected, and
the crowds also people the hillsides directly north and west of the field.  The
south boundary fence is also adorned with the large sign advertising the
identity of the venue.
  Just east of the playing field is a brick yard on the west end of
Squarchminster town.  You can go north or southwest from the playing field;
also, you can pass through Squarchminster going either southeast or northeast.

  Currently on the field, the Lewd Mollusks are playing the Retching Polliwogs.

  The grandstands quiver with the liveliness of the seated crowd.

  The king's son is with you like your shadow.

<>> x hole

  The field is neither circle nor rectangle, but is some irregular shape made
further irregular by the addition of a few protruding special zones.  There are
even a couple of small water holes which seem to be involved in the game play.
Parts of the field have been zoned with different colored chalks and seem to
entail the enforcement of additional requirements or limitations on the
players.  There are also some large netted goals on the field, but the position
of these seems to constantly be in flux, insofar that running away with one's
own goal seems to be a standard tactic of defense.

  At the moment the coaches and entire benches of both teams are out brawling
on the field.  It is not clear whether this isn't just an integral part of the
gameplay.

<>> se

   You make the fairly sizeable trip through Squarchminster, along the back
roads, over the Gloskinfroke, and on into a country of open meadows...

 <> A large dead tree in a meadow <>

  You're in a rolling meadow, quite in the heart of the realm of Dwindeldorn.
Patches of woods rise at varying distances from you in different directions,
while the meadow basks under a deep blue sky.  There aren't any proper roads
here, but the area appears by no means to be unacquainted with the occasional
traveler or shepherd.  Natural byways lead to the south, the east, and the
northwest.

  Standing like a ghostly finger from the ground in the middle of the meadow is
the sun-bleached remains of an old tree trunk.  Myriads of buzzing bees are
swarming around its top.

  Your companion, Prince Quisborne the Feckless, is here with you.

  Prince Quisborne can't walk by the bee tree without coveting the honey that
must be up there.

<>> light leaves

  You don't see any leaves in view.

<>> x hole

  The cavity in the base of the tree is quite large... the tree probably
doesn't have an overlong time left standing in an upright position.  The
cavity's become a catch-all for sticks, bark, and other dried-up forest litter.

<>> light litter

  The dry woodland litter springs easily ablaze as you apply some hot embers to
it.  The fire burns bright and clean, without threatening to ignite the tree
itself any time soon on account of the damp and rotten interior.  Warm air
chimneys up through the tree, causing a commotion amongst the bees; but other
than buzzing around with a little more animation, they carry on as before.
  Prince Quisborne wears a rueful look on his face when he realizes the bees
have still not been convinced to abandon their (honey-laden, he imagines) hive.

  Buzzings issue from the top of the dead tree.

<>> put strip on fire

  The wood strip is consumed to nothing by the flames.

<>> undo

   Taking back one turn: “put strip on fire”.

 <> A large dead tree in a meadow <>

  You're in a rolling meadow, quite in the heart of the realm of Dwindeldorn.
Patches of woods rise at varying distances from you in different directions,
while the meadow basks under a deep blue sky.  There aren't any proper roads
here, but the area appears by no means to be unacquainted with the occasional
traveler or shepherd.  Natural byways lead to the south, the east, and the
northwest.

  Standing like a ghostly finger from the ground in the middle of the meadow is
the sun-bleached remains of an old tree trunk.  Myriads of buzzing bees are
swarming around its top.

  The loose rotten wood in the base of the hollow tree is brightly ablaze.  The
swarm of bees seems to disapprove of this fire, but they continue to hum and
buzz about the top of the tree.

  Near by your side sticks the young figurehead.

<>> undo

   Taking back one turn: “light litter”.

 <> A large dead tree in a meadow <>

  You're in a rolling meadow, quite in the heart of the realm of Dwindeldorn.
Patches of woods rise at varying distances from you in different directions,
while the meadow basks under a deep blue sky.  There aren't any proper roads
here, but the area appears by no means to be unacquainted with the occasional
traveler or shepherd.  Natural byways lead to the south, the east, and the
northwest.

  Standing like a ghostly finger from the ground in the middle of the meadow is
the sun-bleached remains of an old tree trunk.  Myriads of buzzing bees are
swarming around its top.

  Near by your side sticks the Dwindeldornian prince.

<>> get litter

  Really, you don't need to take any of this stuff with you...

  The Dwindeldornian prince retreats from the dead tree, imagining a bee is
headed for him.

<>> nw

   You make the fair-sized journey northwest, crossing the Gloskinfroke,
following the back roads and coming out through Squarchminster...

  The travel involved stopping for the night, and starting again in the
morning.

 <> Grimmage field, west end of Squarchminster town <>

  You're present at a scene of lively activity.  Northwards lies the expansive
grimmage field of Squarchminster, with its curious sport going at full tilt.
Along the eastern border of the field large permanent grandstands have been
erected, and immediately north and west of the field boundaries the ground
rises in short hillsides, making for other convenient means of spectating.  All
three of these sides are quite packed with enthusiastic locals, who are filling
the air with intermingled boos and cheers.
  Squads of other-colored players stand in waiting by the south fence, as many
games take place in the course of a day.  The south fence is also adorned with
the large sign advertising the identity of the venue.
  Just east of the playing field is the west end of Squarchminster town,
represented by a brickmaker's yard, and there is a convergence of roads
happening here.  One road comes in from the country to the southwest, bending
around the back side of the grandstands, and leading off into the country north
of here.  Two more roads branch off of this, going into Squarchminster either
southeast or northeast.

  Currently on the field, the Toe Thimbles are playing the Pacifist Apes.

  The grandstands groan with the energy of their human cargo.

  The future ruler of the land is here.

<>> sw

   You traverse the pleasant countryside outside of Squarchminster, and come to
Blatterfarthing village...

 <> Blatterfarthing village green <>

  The village of Blatterfarthing has a central communal green featuring a
running brook, encircled a few rings deep by the buildings which make up the
community.  The Snorting Sow sits on the east side of the green, while a
smithy, open on two sides and with a sign mounted on its roof, sits along the
west.  To the northeast of that appears to be a sausage-maker's shop, and a
variety of other buildings and houses complete the innermost ring around the
village green.
  Roads sneak between buildings going southwest, southeast, and northeast.  A
narrow walk path also squeezes between the smithy and the sausage-maker's, to
the northwest.

  The feckless heir comes along.

  Quisborne is randomly greeting and waving at people in the town.

<>> put strip in brook

  You place the wood strip into the running brook.  It floats on the surface.

  A traveler passes through the village, heading from southeast to northeast.

<>> z

  Time passes...

<>> get strip

  You fish the wood strip out of the running brook.

  The heir to the throne of Dwindeldorn waits for your lead.

<>> ne

   Leaving Blatterfarthing to the northeast, you travel across the pleasant
country.  The next town along the road is Squarchminster...

  The course of the travel included making camp for the night.

 <> Grimmage field, west end of Squarchminster town <>

  Northwards lies the expansive grimmage field of Squarchminster.  Along the
eastern border of the field large permanent grandstands have been erected, and
the crowds also people the hillsides directly north and west of the field.  The
south boundary fence is also adorned with the large sign advertising the
identity of the venue.
  Just east of the playing field is a brick yard on the west end of
Squarchminster town.  You can go north or southwest from the playing field;
also, you can pass through Squarchminster going either southeast or northeast.

  Currently on the field, the Insubordinate Candle Wicks are playing the
Bloodthirsty Vermin.

  The grandstands shake with the liveliness of the spectators.

  The princeling is here with you as always.

<>> se

 <> A large dead tree in a meadow <>

  You're in a rolling meadow, quite in the heart of the realm of Dwindeldorn.
Patches of woods rise at varying distances from you in different directions,
while the meadow basks under a deep blue sky.  There aren't any proper roads
here, but the area appears by no means to be unacquainted with the occasional
traveler or shepherd.  Natural byways lead to the south, the east, and the
northwest.

  Standing like a ghostly finger from the ground in the middle of the meadow is
the sun-bleached remains of an old tree trunk.  Myriads of buzzing bees are
swarming around its top.

  Your ostensible squire is following you wherever you go.

  Your protegé is making shrill sounds by blowing on a piece of grass clamped
between his thumbs.

<>> light litter

  The dry woodland litter springs easily ablaze as you apply some hot embers to
it.  The fire burns bright and clean, without threatening to ignite the tree
itself any time soon on account of the damp and rotten interior.  Warm air
chimneys up through the tree, causing a commotion amongst the bees; but other
than buzzing around with a little more animation, they carry on as before.
  Prince Quisborne wears a rueful look on his face when he realizes the bees
have still not been convinced to abandon their (honey-laden, he imagines) hive.

<>> put strip on litter

  The wood strip is consumed to nothing by the flames.

  Your companion keeps up his pushup regimen.

<>> undo

   Taking back one turn: “put strip on litter”.

 <> A large dead tree in a meadow <>

  You're in a rolling meadow, quite in the heart of the realm of Dwindeldorn.
Patches of woods rise at varying distances from you in different directions,
while the meadow basks under a deep blue sky.  There aren't any proper roads
here, but the area appears by no means to be unacquainted with the occasional
traveler or shepherd.  Natural byways lead to the south, the east, and the
northwest.

  Standing like a ghostly finger from the ground in the middle of the meadow is
the sun-bleached remains of an old tree trunk.  Myriads of buzzing bees are
swarming around its top.

  The loose rotten wood in the base of the hollow tree is brightly ablaze.  The
swarm of bees seems to disapprove of this fire, but they continue to hum and
buzz about the top of the tree.

  Quiz is present and accounted for.

<>> undo

   Taking back one turn: “light litter”.

 <> A large dead tree in a meadow <>

  You're in a rolling meadow, quite in the heart of the realm of Dwindeldorn.
Patches of woods rise at varying distances from you in different directions,
while the meadow basks under a deep blue sky.  There aren't any proper roads
here, but the area appears by no means to be unacquainted with the occasional
traveler or shepherd.  Natural byways lead to the south, the east, and the
northwest.

  Standing like a ghostly finger from the ground in the middle of the meadow is
the sun-bleached remains of an old tree trunk.  Myriads of buzzing bees are
swarming around its top.

  The young sprig of royalty is with you like your shadow.

<>> * && Damn! The strip either dried up during the walk here, or the flames are too hot. I'm thinking the couch stuffing in Forthlong Hall would remain damp for longer, or even the straw mat.

  Comment recorded.

<>> * && I burned the mat to light my embers though, and I think I couldn't pull the stuffing out of the couch after that...

  Comment recorded.

<>> s

   The semi-open countryside eventually picks up a horse track which continues
to wind south.  You come to the junction by Kinterole hamlet...

 <> A construction site near Kinterole hamlet <>

  The road branches in a number of directions here in a pleasant little dell,
just on the eastern edge of a tiny hamlet called Kinterole.  Lying northeast of
you, a large and stately house is being reared up.  A horse track leads north,
and the way east leads to terrain growing more rugged and thickly forested.
Just west is the hamlet, past which the road also leads to the northwest.

  Your companion is present as ever.

<>> nw

   You make the trip back to the junction of the Darchingcrast Road, passing
through Crumblegate, Orterleigh Manor, and the grounds of Uxpelcraith Hall, as
well as a good deal of country in between...

  Along the way, evening came and you both camped for the night.

 <> Entrance to the grounds of Forthlong Hall <>

  The road northeast to Darchingcrast converges here with the road you're on,
which runs northwest to southeast.  The lane leading to Forthlong Hall branches
off from this road to the south, crossing a stream by means of a small bridge.

  The incumbent to the throne tags along.

  Your protegé keeps up his pushup regimen.

<>> s

   You cross the small bridge and enter the grounds of Forthlong Hall...

 <> At Forthlong Hall <>

  You are in the yard fronting Forthlong Hall.  Around you spread the pastures,
hedgerows and dells of Forthlong Manor, lately the sites of much great
festivity.  The main entrance to the old hall is to the west, and a dirt lane
leads from the front yard northward.

  Prince Quisborne is hanging around.

<>> w

 <> Forthlong Hall <>

  This is the Great Room of Forthlong Hall.  The ceiling soars all the way up
to the heavy beams of the roof, and the floor is of thick, dark timbers.
  Large and ornamented doorways lead north and southeast, but those areas are
mostly private quarters.  There are deep windows two stories in height in the
south wall, and an incredibly monstrous fireplace on the west side of the room.
The way out is east.

  A long couch sits along the south wall with its back to the windows.

  Hanging from the heavy timbers of the roof is a spectacular chandelier.

  The boy has joined you inside.

<>> x couch

  The couch is a bit outlandish as a decorative statement.  A very heavy and
dark wood frame makes a series of scalloped tops along the back, the surfaces
being filled in with purple velvet cushions.  It appears very old, and probably
took its share of abuse during the Festival as well.  There are some holes here
and there in the velvet.

<>> x holes

  None of the holes are very large, but they reveal the age and wear that the
couch has seen.

<>> get cushions

  The cushions don't seem to be removable, without getting into removing
myriads of upholstery tacks.

<>> get stuffing

  You don't see any stuffing in view.

<>> tear cucions

  "Cucions" could either be something as yet unknown to you or else a phrasing
unknown to us.

<>> tear cushions

  Now really, that doesn't sound very respectful to Forthlong Hall.  At any
time, much less so soon after they've hosted the Great Festival.

  The future monarch of Dwindeldorn looks out through the window-wall.

<>> cut cushions

(with the knife)
  Now really, that doesn't sound very respectful to Forthlong Hall.  At any
time, much less so soon after they've hosted the Great Festival.

<>> x mats

  You don't see any mats in view.

<>> x floor

  It's a wooden floor so solid you might think it was stone, except for the
mellower sound of your tread.  The timbers laid together must be at least eight
inches in thickness, adzed and planed smooth once in place.  The floor has been
well cleaned since the Festival happened.

  Prince Quisborne seats himself on the couch for a spell.

<>> * && Yes, of course. It's been cleaned and tidied since I left.

  Comment recorded.

<>> e

 <> At Forthlong Hall <>

  You are in the yard fronting Forthlong Hall.  Around you spread the pastures,
hedgerows and dells of Forthlong Manor, lately the sites of much great
festivity.  The main entrance to the old hall is to the west, and a dirt lane
leads from the front yard northward.

  The heir to the throne of Dwindeldorn is here.

<>> ne

  The festival is over, and there is no longer any compelling reason to wander
the pastures and grounds belonging to Forthlong Hall.  You decide to not risk
disturbing the peace of the many grazing denizens.

<>> n

   You depart from Forthlong Manor, eventually crossing the small bridge over
the stream which bounds the manor on the north...

 <> Entrance to the grounds of Forthlong Hall <>

  The road northeast to Darchingcrast converges here with another road running
northwest to southeast.  The lane leading to Forthlong Hall branches off from
this road to the south, crossing a stream by means of a small bridge.

  Your "squire" is in tow.

<>> ne

   The road passes through the pleasant countryside, then climbs a low ridge
and travels along its top...

 <> Outskirts of Darchingcrast <>

  You are on the outskirts of Darchingcrast, royal city of Dwindeldorn, one of
the two great cities within the realm.  The stone and timber buildings, with
their ruddy or greenish tiled roofs, lie north and northeast of you at some
little distance, stopping short of where the castle grounds begin.
Darchingcrast Castle is to the southeast, on a bluff looking down over the
city; a path leads up to it through park-like grounds.  A road leads northwest,
crossing over the Gloskinfroke a short distance from here, and another road
also leads up the side of the ridge, but in a southwesterly direction.

  Nearby, the king's son is ambling around, bearing the sack.

  Prince Quisborne seems to react a little to being back in the vicinity of the
castle.  "I know I've got a lot left to learn... but I've already learned
something.  I know I don't want to go back to the way I used to live.  Looking
up at the castle is giving me unpleasant feelings right now, thinking of how
little time ago I was content to drift so idly and aimlessly along.  I never
did *anything*!  I think I'm not sorry that we still have a long adventure
ahead of us."

<>> * && Wow! Quisborne is advancing in wisdom and maturity.

  Comment recorded.

<>> nw

   You cross the bridge over the river and walk a few miles...

 <> Blatterfarthing village green <>

  The village of Blatterfarthing has a central communal green featuring a
running brook, encircled a few rings deep by the buildings which make up the
community.  The Snorting Sow sits on the east side of the green, while a
smithy, open on two sides and with a sign mounted on its roof, sits along the
west.  To the northeast of that appears to be a sausage-maker's shop, and a
variety of other buildings and houses complete the innermost ring around the
village green.
  Roads sneak between buildings going southwest, southeast, and northeast.  A
narrow walk path also squeezes between the smithy and the sausage-maker's, to
the northwest.

  The heir to the throne of Dwindeldorn is present and accounted for.

<>> * && I'll explore further and look for a bottle to bring the water to the honey tree.

  Comment recorded.

<>> * && I don't think I have anything in my inventory to help me fish that item out of the privy yet.

  Comment recorded.

<>> n

   You've got nothing more to gain from the sausage shop under the
circumstances.

 <> Blatterfarthing village green <>

  The village of Blatterfarthing has a central communal green featuring a
running brook, encircled a few rings deep by the buildings which make up the
community.  The Snorting Sow sits on the east side of the green, while a
smithy, open on two sides and with a sign mounted on its roof, sits along the
west.  To the northeast of that appears to be a sausage-maker's shop, and a
variety of other buildings and houses complete the innermost ring around the
village green.
  Roads sneak between buildings going southwest, southeast, and northeast.  A
narrow walk path also squeezes between the smithy and the sausage-maker's, to
the northwest.

  Near by your side is the heir to the throne of Dwindeldorn.

<>> ne

 <> Grimmage field, west end of Squarchminster town <>

  Northwards lies the expansive grimmage field of Squarchminster.  Along the
eastern border of the field large permanent grandstands have been erected, and
the crowds also people the hillsides directly north and west of the field.  The
south boundary fence is also adorned with the large sign advertising the
identity of the venue.
  Just east of the playing field is a brick yard on the west end of
Squarchminster town.  You can go north or southwest from the playing field;
also, you can pass through Squarchminster going either southeast or northeast.

  Currently on the field, the Fossilized Bagels are playing the Team Spear It.

  The grandstands quiver with the energy of the seated crowd.

  The Prince of Dwindeldorn is following you as always.

  Incidental minor penalties are handed out to a player of each team for
swashbuckling with goalie sticks.

<>> * && I'll do the grand tour to the east first before heading up straight north.

  Comment recorded.

<>> ne

   The northeast street leads into the heart of Squarchminster.  You and your
young companion poke about there awhile, but in all there is not much to report
as concerns your adventure together.  Continuing on the road and leaving the
town, you make a tidy little trip through well-settled areas, arriving after
awhile at a junction in the middle of a fine farming country...

 <> Country roads <>

  Through this country the little roads tuck themselves into out-of-the-way
folds and furrows and follow every small in, out, up and down of the land.
Thriving farms and croplands abound in this region, a number of which you can
see spreading out below to the west or the north from the slight rise that
you're on.  South and southeast of you a patch of woods blocks the view, but a
pair of overgrown stone pillars flank an overgrown lane which leads into it.
  Besides the obscured lane going southeast, the country roads wind east along
the edge of the woods, northwest, and southwest towards Squarchminster.

  There's a fork in the road.

  Your young pal is sticking nearby.

<>> * && ♪Country roads, take me home...to the place, where I belong. West Virginia, mounty momma... Take me home, country roads♪

  Comment recorded.

<>> script

  Canceled.

<>> get fork

  As the wise man once said: "If there's a fork in the road, take it."

  The king-to-be tries whittling a twig with the sharpened butter knife.

<>> * && Exactly! And with the knife I sharpened, I could eat according to etiquette.

  Comment recorded.

<>> x fork

  It's a pewter dinner fork.  Likely it dropped from some carriage, or a
workman's lunch sack.  The tines are all bent apart.

<>> bend fork

  The best you can, you bend the tines of the fork back into their proper
shape.

<>> x pillars

  The pillars seem to have formerly marked the entrance to a small estate.
They are quite covered with ivy and tall weeds.

  The Prince of Dwindeldorn is having a fit of the sun sneezes.

<>> search ivy

  Sifting through the weeds and ivy doesn't reveal anything tucked amongst
them, except for maybe some kind of etchings now overgrown.

<>> x etchings

  You can't make out much, with all of the ivy covering them.

  PQ attempts to dance.

<>> cut ivy

(with the knife)
  You take the trouble to yank the overgrown herbage off the entrance pillars.
You're rewarded with the discovery of some possibly generations-old scratchings
that look like youthful depictions of a king with a grotesquely oversized nose,
titled "King Arnilf the Unqualified."

  Away to the west you can see people raking recently-mown hay, and north and
northeast some yeomen are busy shocking wheat into sheaves dotting the field.

<>> tell quisborne about etchings

  The prince replies to your talk with very Quisborne-like remarks.

  You can see some yeomen moving piles of rocks.

<>> l

 <> Country roads <>

  Thriving farms and croplands abound in this region, a number of which you can
see spreading out below to the west or the north from the slight rise that
you're on.  South and southeast of you a patch of woods blocks the view, but a
pair of stone pillars flank an overgrown lane which leads into it.
  Besides the weedy lane going southeast, the country roads wind east along the
edge of the woods, northwest, and southwest towards Squarchminster.

  Quiz is hanging around, with sack slung over his shoulder.

  (Prince Quisborne:) "So, um, been tackling any more ladies that are trying to
jump over gopher holes lately, sir?"  He shrieks with laughter at the
recollection of your meeting with Sylverleigh, and then suddenly checks
himself.  "Sorry, sir, I didn't mean any disrespect.  You were valorous indeed,
saving the lady from... from... um?... did you actually save her though,
Valkyrian?  I can't really tell now.  But you were valorous, I'm sure."

<>> slap quiz

  You may be trying to use a verb that we weren't instructed how to handle...

<>> s

  The prince timidly remarks once more that you're not going north.

  Farm lads and lasses are busy with various chores in the fields.

<>> s

 <> An uninhabited farmstead <>

  You have followed the overgrown track to its end, where there stands an
(apparently) uninhabited farmstead.  A tall frame with a carven sign suspended
from it is nearly swallowed up by some bushes that were planted at its base.
Though there is no paint left, you can still read "Gramblefork Place" in the
carving.
  Everything around you is overgrown and ramshackle... a collapsed pigshed
there, and rotting rail fences everywhere.  A rather lush-looking plot of knee-
high weeds extends southward for awhile until thickets and trees enclose a
small windy creek, and the main building of Gramblefork Place stands to the
southwest.  Some unkempt trees vaguely form a couple of rows along the north
side of the clearing.  The track you arrived from runs through the rows of
trees northwest away from the farm.

  Lying towards the east in an overgrown pasture is the misshapen form of an
old hayrick.

  Near by your side is Prince Quisborne, sack in hand.

<>> * && Was this a carrot farm?

  Comment recorded.

<>> x hayrick

  Oftentimes the yeomen put their hay up in very carefully constructed
hayricks, leaving ventilation space inside, and binding sheaves into a roof
that overhung the rest of the stack.  This one is mostly an amorphous blob now,
but the fact that there's still any hay here at all after so long means that it
must have been especially well built to start with.

<>> * && Am I going to prick my hand on a needle?

  Comment recorded.

<>> search hayrick

  There's an awful lot of hay there...

<>> g

  And what do we expect to find in a haystack: a needle?  You continue to poke
around in the hay, but there's so much here...

<>> g

  The prince grows just a little restless as you persist in sifting through the
hay while there is (allegedly) a lost crown to be found and a maiden to be won.
But then – wait!  Your fingers feel something harder than hay...

  It's – no, it can't be! – you've just found a needle in a haystack.

  "Well, dunk me in a lake and hang me out to dry, sir!"  Prince Quisborne
says.  "You found something in that mess of hay after all!"


*** Your score has just gone up by three points ***

<>> g

  You've found a needle in a haystack... there's no telling what fortune you
might have now!  You go digging with renewed fervor through the haystack.

<>> g

  It may be time to realize that finding a needle in a haystack was a pretty
good day's work.

<>> g

  Your tenacity is commendable, but also futile.

<>> g

  Your tenacity is commendable, but also futile.

<>> g

  Your tenacity is commendable, but also futile.

<>> * && Great not-twist to the haystack-needle thing!

  Comment recorded.

<>> x needle

  It's just an ordinary sewing needle: sharp, made of metal, and with a tiny
eye at one end.

  Your protegé hums softly to himself.

<>> x eye

  Your eyes happen to be a rather dazzling shade of blue.

<>> thread vines through needle

  This is one of those times where we may not have covered the verb you're
trying to use...

<>> thread needle with vines

  You may be trying to use a verb that we weren't instructed how to handle...

<>> thread needle

  That would be fun if you had some thread.

<>> l

 <> Gramblefork Place <>

  You're in the somewhat open space in front of a farmstead.  A tall frame with
a carven sign reads: "Gramblefork Place."  Everything around you is overgrown
and ramshackle... a collapsed pigshed there, and rotting rail fences
everywhere.  A rather lush-looking plot of knee-high weeds extends southward
for awhile until thickets and trees enclose a small windy creek, and the main
building of Gramblefork Place stands to the southwest.  Some unkempt trees
vaguely form a couple of rows along the north side of the clearing.  The track
you arrived from runs northwest.

  Lying towards the east in an overgrown pasture is the misshapen form of an
old hayrick.

  The ever-present prince is here.

  Prince Quiz plays around on the hayrick.

<>> x frame

  You don't see any frame in view.

<>> x sign

  This establishment once proudly boasted its name to visitors.  The sign hangs
from the arm of a tall squared post, which is nearly shrouded in bushes and
creepers.  The paintless carving reads "Gramblefork Place."

<>> hit sign

  The sign's one and only contribution is the little bit of historical info
contained in the name of this vacant establishment.

<>> x pigshed

  It was maybe presumptuous to confidently declare this heap of wreckage to be
a pigshed; nonetheless, it's as good a guess as any, since it looks like the
fallen wreckage of a long, low outbuilding.

  (Prince Q:) "They think that some of the great lizards had – or have? – two
brains... one in their head and one in their tail!"

<>> search it

  A peek and a poke under the half-collapsed shed convinces you that you don't
need to look any further.

<>> search it

  A peek and a poke under the half-collapsed shed convinces you that you don't
need to look any further.

<>> l

 <> Gramblefork Place <>

  You're in the somewhat open space in front of a farmstead.  A tall frame with
a carven sign reads: "Gramblefork Place."  Everything around you is overgrown
and ramshackle... a collapsed pigshed there, and rotting rail fences
everywhere.  A rather lush-looking plot of knee-high weeds extends southward
for awhile until thickets and trees enclose a small windy creek, and the main
building of Gramblefork Place stands to the southwest.  Some unkempt trees
vaguely form a couple of rows along the north side of the clearing.  The track
you arrived from runs northwest.

  Lying towards the east in an overgrown pasture is the misshapen form of an
old hayrick.

  The youth is present and accounted for.

  Dwindeldorn's future king scrambles up a tree, and then comes back down.

<>> x fences

  Ramshackle rail fences bespeak of olden corrals or pens or pastures.  They're
not dividing anything any more.

<>> x weeds

  You're no horticulturist, but amongst the weeds south of the byre, many seem
darker green and more feathery than most of the wild grass.  They're thick,
spreading over several dozen square yards, averaging in height about up to your
knees.

<>> dig plot

  The soil is dry and hard... you won't be able to dig in it with your fingers.

<>> * && I've dug before and the game seemed to automatically select the mattock.

  Comment recorded.

<>> dig plot with mattock

  You hand the broken mattock to the prince and have him lay it to the soil
inside the rectangle of rocks.
  It looks like you've found what was once the vegetable garden of the old
place, because he's just turned up a bunch of carrots.  Some unharvested
individuals must have gone to seed and created a self-perpetuating little
colony.

  The prince exclaims: "Capital, sir... carrots!  I'll bet anything our little
horsey friend will be interested in these!"


*** Your score has just gone up by two points ***

<>> * && Yes! Hahaa!

  Comment recorded.

<>> get carrots

(the bunch of carrots)
  You take the bunch of carrots.

<>> l

 <> Gramblefork Place <>

  You're in the somewhat open space in front of a farmstead.  A tall frame with
a carven sign reads: "Gramblefork Place."  Everything around you is overgrown
and ramshackle... a collapsed pigshed there, and rotting rail fences
everywhere.  A rather lush-looking plot of knee-high weeds extends southward
for awhile until thickets and trees enclose a small windy creek, and the main
building of Gramblefork Place stands to the southwest.  Some unkempt trees
vaguely form a couple of rows along the north side of the clearing.  The track
you arrived from runs northwest.

  Lying towards the east in an overgrown pasture is the misshapen form of an
old hayrick.

  Nearby, the young figurehead is ambling around.

  Prince Quisborne ventures down to the creek, then comes back up.

<>> x creek

  The creek winds lazily through the bottom land, lined with thickets on either
side.  The water is mostly still and shallow, and in some places large deposits
of pebbles take up most of the width of the creek bed.  Further down you can
spy a little colony of bank hamsters dragging twigs into the water and building
their dwellings.  It looks like a hamster dam.

  "Aww, cute little things!" coos Quisborne.  "Maybe they're related to
Hamsterella!  No, wait... pssh!  She's a guinea pig.  Even now, I still get
confused."

<>> * && "a hamster dam" ? really? Hah!

  Comment recorded.

<>> discuss spinozawith hamsters

  This is one of those times where we may not have covered the verb you're
trying to use...

<>> buy weed from hamsters

  You see no weed in the hamster colony.

<>> * && No weed in hamster dam?

  Comment recorded.

<>> drink water

  The creek's water is tepid and still, but not quite stagnant.

<>> x pebbles

  You probably won't need the creek pebbles to achieve your aims.

<>> search pebbles

  You probably won't need the creek pebbles to achieve your aims.

<>> x dam

  You enjoy the little critters... you don't wish to get too close and frighten
them.

  The future king of Dwindeldorn searches the orchard.

<>> x hamsters

  You're determined to leave the hamsters undisturbed.

<>> x orchard

  This was undoubtedly an orchard: hence the vague semblance of rows among the
trees.  Most of the trees, whatever they were, from lack of pruning and from
being crowded out by other trees and vines, either no longer bear fruit or have
only small hard fruitlets on them.

<>> x trees

(the old orchard)
  This was undoubtedly an orchard: hence the vague semblance of rows among the
trees.  Most of the trees, whatever they were, from lack of pruning and from
being crowded out by other trees and vines, either no longer bear fruit or have
only small hard fruitlets on them.

<>> x fruit

  They are peaches in fact, but sour green little rocks in effect.

  The king-to-be keeps up his sprinting practice.

<>> get peaches

  The peaches are inedible even for wildlife.  They're just a sad reminder of
what this place used to be.

  The lad is doing some pull-ups.  He's up to two now.

<>> l

 <> Gramblefork Place <>

  You're in the somewhat open space in front of a farmstead.  A tall frame with
a carven sign reads: "Gramblefork Place."  Everything around you is overgrown
and ramshackle... a collapsed pigshed there, and rotting rail fences
everywhere.  A rather lush-looking plot of knee-high weeds extends southward
for awhile until thickets and trees enclose a small windy creek, and the main
building of Gramblefork Place stands to the southwest.  Some unkempt trees
vaguely form a couple of rows along the north side of the clearing.  The track
you arrived from runs northwest.

  Lying towards the east in an overgrown pasture is the misshapen form of an
old hayrick.

  Your companion, the Dwindeldornian prince, is here with you.

<>> sw

(first opening the byre doors)

 <> In the byre at Gramblefork <>

  It isn't quite as bright in here as you'd have guessed, with one end of the
building missing... but there are various partition walls between this room and
the burned-down end.  However, it's clear that this remaining portion of the
building was the byre half, where animals were kept.  You're in a wide walkway
with two stalls on either side: given that the walkway runs northeast-
southwest, the stalls could be considered north, south, east, and west stalls.
Planks overhead suggest that the upstairs was a hayloft.  The double doors
leading out are to the northeast.

  The youth accompanies you into the byre.

<>> u

  You don't see any way to readily get up to the hayloft, but it's probably not
important.

<>> n

(first opening the north stall)

  You enter the north stall.  Prince Quiz comes in too.

<>> l

 <> In the byre at Gramblefork (standing in the north stall) <>

  The remaining portion of the building was clearly the byre half, where
animals were kept.  There is a wide walkway with two stalls on either side:
given that the walkway runs northeast-southwest, the stalls could be considered
north, south, east, and west stalls.  Planks overhead suggest that the upstairs
was a hayloft.  The double doors leading out are to the northeast.

  The feckless heir is in the north stall with you.

  The future monarch of Dwindeldorn looks around the byre.

<>> s

(first getting out of the north stall, then opening the south stall)

  Prince Quisborne, in his usual inquisitive fashion, pushes open the south
stall before you can get to it yourself.  "Well, there's something in this
one," he says.  Looking yourself, all you can see is a big lump of moldering
horse blankets.

  You enter the south stall.  The king-to-be comes in too.

<>> x blankets

  Heaped up on the floor of this stall are some musty old horse blankets.  They
look like they'd fall apart if you tried to pick them up.

  The future monarch of Dwindeldorn looks around the byre.

<>> search blankets

  Lifting up the moldering blankets, you see that they are mounded up over an
old saddle: also ugly and tattered, but at least not turning into pieces at the
slightest touch.

<>> get blankets

  You shove the pile of old horse blankets off the saddle.

<>> * && I want the moldering blankets to build a nice smoky fire under the bee's asses!

  Comment recorded.

<>> pick up blankets

  You move the blankets some more, and they continue to disintegrate.

<>> pick up blankets

  You move the blankets some more, and they continue to disintegrate.

<>> pick up blankets

  You move the blankets some more, and they continue to disintegrate.

<>> x saddle

  The saddle is just a lumpy concoction of leather pieces stitched together for
the purpose of creating a horse-human connection.  It's pretty dilapidated-
looking, but seems to still hold together.

  The incumbent to the throne slips and catches himself.

<>> clean it

  The saddle is beyond the help of cleaning.

<>> n

(first getting out of the south stall)

  You enter the north stall.  Your squire comes in too.

<>> out

  You step back into the walkway.

<>> e

(first opening the east stall)

  You enter the east stall.  The king's son comes in too.

<>> l

 <> In the byre at Gramblefork (standing in the east stall) <>

  The remaining portion of the building was clearly the byre half, where
animals were kept.  There is a wide walkway with two stalls on either side:
given that the walkway runs northeast-southwest, the stalls could be considered
north, south, east, and west stalls.  Planks overhead suggest that the upstairs
was a hayloft.  The double doors leading out are to the northeast.

  The musty horse blanket fragments and a saddle are lying in the south stall.

  Your protegé is in the east stall with you.

<>> w

(first getting out of the east stall, then opening the west stall)

  You enter the west stall.  Your protegé comes in too.

<>> l

 <> In the byre at Gramblefork (standing in the west stall) <>

  The remaining portion of the building was clearly the byre half, where
animals were kept.  There is a wide walkway with two stalls on either side:
given that the walkway runs northeast-southwest, the stalls could be considered
north, south, east, and west stalls.  Planks overhead suggest that the upstairs
was a hayloft.  The double doors leading out are to the northeast.

  The musty horse blanket fragments and a saddle are lying in the south stall.

  PQ is in the west stall with you.

  The future monarch of Dwindeldorn looks around the byre.

<>> get saddle

  You can't reach the saddle from the west stall.

<>> out

  You step back into the walkway.

<>> s

  You enter the south stall.  The boy comes in too.

<>> get saddle

  The saddle is surprisingly heavy as you lift it up.

<>> * && There. That'll do for a while. Next time I'll go befriend the horse. Could I get the sky lantern out of the tree if I stood up in the saddle?

  Comment recorded.

<>> save

  Saved.

<>> script off

&
&
&
&

  The transcript will be saved to the file.  Type SCRIPT OFF to discontinue
scripting.

<>> l

 <> In the byre at Gramblefork (standing in the south stall) <>

  The remaining portion of the building was clearly the byre half, where
animals were kept.  There is a wide walkway with two stalls on either side:
given that the walkway runs northeast-southwest, the stalls could be considered
north, south, east, and west stalls.  Planks overhead suggest that the upstairs
was a hayloft.  The double doors leading out are to the northeast.

  The musty horse blanket fragments are lying in this stall.

  The prince is in the south stall with you.

<>> out

  You step back into the walkway.

<>> l

 <> In the byre at Gramblefork <>

  The remaining portion of the building was clearly the byre half, where
animals were kept.  You're in a wide walkway with two stalls on either side:
given that the walkway runs northeast-southwest, the stalls could be considered
north, south, east, and west stalls.  Planks overhead suggest that the upstairs
was a hayloft.  The double doors leading out are to the northeast.

  The musty horse blanket fragments are lying in the south stall.

  The incumbent to the throne is sticking nearby.

  Though still feeling its effects, the prince seems to be getting inured to
carrying around the sack.

<>> x planks

  The ceiling is doubtless the floor of a loft upstairs.  Perhaps the entrance
to it was through a portion now burned down.

<>> jump

  You exercise your enviable physical prowess by making a grand leap into the
air.

<>> * && The horse is waiting for its carrots.

  Comment recorded.

<>> * && I'll keep this hayloft in mind in case I find a ladder...

  Comment recorded.

<>> ne

 <> Gramblefork Place <>

  You're in the somewhat open space in front of a farmstead.  A tall frame with
a carven sign reads: "Gramblefork Place."  Everything around you is overgrown
and ramshackle... a collapsed pigshed there, and rotting rail fences
everywhere.  A rather lush-looking plot of knee-high weeds extends southward
for awhile until thickets and trees enclose a small windy creek, and the main
building of Gramblefork Place stands to the southwest.  Some unkempt trees
vaguely form a couple of rows along the north side of the clearing.  The track
you arrived from runs northwest.

  Lying towards the east in an overgrown pasture is the misshapen form of an
old hayrick.

  Your companion, the prince, is here with you.

<>> x trees

(the old orchard)
  This was undoubtedly an orchard: hence the vague semblance of rows among the
trees.  Most of the trees, whatever they were, from lack of pruning and from
being crowded out by other trees and vines, either no longer bear fruit or have
only small hard fruitlets on them.

<>> shake trees

(the old orchard)
  We don't think you're on to anything there.

  The king-to-be looks into the old pig shed.

<>> climb tree

  You climb up into a tree.

<>> jump

  You leap out of the tree to the ground, breaking your fall with a tumble.

  The incumbent to the throne lets out a little cough.

<>> * && Nice!

  Comment recorded.

<>> nw

   The lane takes you back uphill and through some woods, till you regain the
main road...

 <> Country roads <>

  Thriving farms and croplands abound in this region, a number of which you can
see spreading out below to the west or the north from the slight rise that
you're on.  South and southeast of you a patch of woods blocks the view, but a
pair of stone pillars flank an overgrown lane which leads into it.
  Besides the weedy lane going southeast, the country roads wind east along the
edge of the woods, northwest, and southwest towards Squarchminster.

  Your sidekick is following you wherever you go.

<>> e

  The saddle is surprisingly bulky.  You decide you're not going to trudge
around the land trying to cumbersomely carry it.  While it might be gratifying
to give the prince this duty (you're always looking out for his true welfare),
that would also mean your journey's progress would be reduced to a snail's
pace.  You send Prince Quisborne back to the barn with the saddle, and then
proceed to leave Gramblefork Place.

   The road takes you quite a distance through north-central Dwindeldorn.  You
continue on through the town of Brittlebarrow, as well as a few other hamlets
and villages, and come eventually to a town not far from the eastern coast...

 <> Chelkwibble town <>

  This is Chelkwibble: a backwater town not far in from the eastern coast of
Dwindeldorn.  The town is no overlarge one, yet it has garnered some fame
abroad on account of its fine cheeses and other products of milkcraft.  An old
mead-hall sits in the middle of town, and an inn is to the east.
  To the eye, the town is distinctive for its roofs of various shapes, one and
all of which are made from deep live sod.  In fact, it is a commonplace sight
here to see a sheep or goat contentedly munching grass on the top of a house,
for many of the houses' roofs have at least one side which slopes all the way
down and blends in to the ground.
  Quaint as it may be, under your present obligations Chelkwibble plays little
more than the role of a crossroads.  Dirt streets become roads which emanate
from various points of the town in different directions: southwest, west,
northwest, northeast, and a lesser one southeastward toward the coast.

  Your sidekick is here with you as always.

<>> * && I'll need to convince the horse to follow me then...

  Comment recorded.

<>> smell

  You smell nothing out of the ordinary.

  The Prince of Dwindeldorn watches the bustle of the town.

<>> * && "There is a pungent smell of moldy cheese in the air. The good kind of mold, greenish-blue in a gooey milky-white fromage."

  Comment recorded.

<>> u

  It turns out the sky is not the limit: roughly three feet is, then gravity
kicks back in.

  Prince Quisborne watches longingly as two youths of about fifteen years of
age ride down one of the sod-made ramp roofs on a miniature wagon.  They've
each taken several turns going down when they notice that PQ has been standing
there looking on.  "Hey pal!  Well, don't just stand there oglin' like a gowk!
You gonna try it?"
  And thus, Quisborne gets his wish, and ascends the tall, grassy roof-slope
for a ride.  He rumbles down in the wheeled box, letting out an undignified
"AAAAAH!!" the whole way, and doesn't wreck until he has reached the level
runway of the ground.  With high thanks to the local boys, he comes back over
to you, bubbling and laughing.  "Hailing humpbacked hedgehogs, Valkyrian!  I
enjoyed that enormously!  I think I will be a little sad when I have to go back
and live at the castle again..."

<>> x roofs

  The roofs of Chelkwibble, as mentioned, come in almost as many shapes as
there are roofs, all made of thick vibrant sod.  As a large portion of the
roofs slope all the way down to blend into the ground on at least one side,
they are easily accessible and thus utilized for a variety of purposes.  Some
are turned into lavish flower gardens, while others seem to be growing
vegetables.  Already mentioned are the roofs featuring small perched livestock
demurely chewing the cud, and on at least one a swath of sod has been stripped
and packed into a rather thrilling-looking wagon ramp for children.

<>> climb roof

  The roofs are other people's property and are not the key to your adventure.

<>> l

 <> Chelkwibble town <>

  This is Chelkwibble: a backwater town not far in from the eastern coast of
Dwindeldorn.  The town is noted for its fine cheeses and other products of
milkcraft.  To the eye, the town is distinctive for its variously-shaped roofs
of deep live sod, on which a goat might be seen.  There's a mead-hall and an
inn, and dirt streets can lead you out of the town in different directions:
southwest, west, northwest, northeast, and a lesser one southeastward toward
the coast.

  The prince is sticking about in your general vicinity.

  The prince is struggling with finding an ending for his latest limerick.  You
can hear him talking to himself:

  "My lady went out with a cracker,
  Not knowing that birds would attack her.
  But attack her they did...
  So she fled and she hid, and we've never been able to track her?"

<>> x hall

  The town of Chelkwibble looks very much like it grew out of the ground and
has always belonged here.  Scarce any buildings stand directly adjacent to each
other, being instead encircled by ample yards and trees.  One ancient mead-hall
still stands in the midst, around which the town eventually grew up, and nearby
The Oyster Cloister does business as the local lodging-house.
  While there are houses with all upright walls, a great many of the houses
look a lot like hillocks of turf: their front and back walls are shaped like a
round-topped triangle (or perhaps more like the profile of a large bell), and
the sod rolls right up and over forming the other two sides and the roof at the
same time.  Many of the buildings in town which aren't houses are devoted to
dairy operations or are at least somehow related to something that came from an
udder.

  The mead-hall is a relic from a far-off age when most of the land was wild
and unsettled.  It's the largest structure to be seen in town, and seems to
have been well kept up over time.  The building is covered with a large mass of
sod, and was made with a cruck frame, meaning that large bent trees were split
in two, the matching halves being separated and mirrored to lean against each
other at their peaks, forming one rib or section of the building.  By
appearances, the old hall still serves the age-old fermented honey drink in
addition to serving as a town hall/dance hall/feasting hall.

  "...But attack her they did, and the cracker it slid in the mud and turned a
little bit blacker?"

<>> enter mead hall

  You and the prince step inside the ancient building, which is filled with
yokels, some bustling and some loafing.  It's spacious, but coarse and dim.
  "I've actually never had mead before!" the prince remarks.  "It looks good!
If you're going to ferment anything, it might as well be honey, right?!"
  The prince's comments, however, are in vain, for you have no money with which
to buy any refreshments, and nobody appears to be giving any handouts.  When
you're done in the mead-hall, you go back outside.

  "My lady went out with a cracker,
  Not knowing that birds would attack her.
  But attack her they did,
  So she lifted the lid
  And whipped out the Jumbo Bird-whacker."
  "I guess you have to assume the lady is carrying a lidded basket for that to
make sense," the prince comments.

<>> * && I'll bring them some honey once I'm done with those bees.

  Comment recorded.

<>> x inn

  The town of Chelkwibble looks very much like it grew out of the ground and
has always belonged here.  Scarce any buildings stand directly adjacent to each
other, being instead encircled by ample yards and trees.  One ancient mead-hall
still stands in the midst, around which the town eventually grew up, and nearby
The Oyster Cloister does business as the local lodging-house.
  While there are houses with all upright walls, a great many of the houses
look a lot like hillocks of turf: their front and back walls are shaped like a
round-topped triangle (or perhaps more like the profile of a large bell), and
the sod rolls right up and over forming the other two sides and the roof at the
same time.  Many of the buildings in town which aren't houses are devoted to
dairy operations or are at least somehow related to something that came from an
udder.

  The Oyster Cloister is Chelkwibble's main inn.  It's two stories, with a
mounded sod roof well-studded with out-looking circular windows.  The oyster
reference has no doubt to do with Chelkwibble's proximity to the eastern coast.

  A barrel-laden wagon plods down the street and turns a corner.

<>> enter inn

  As you and your ostensible squire enter The Oyster Cloister for a brief rest,
the locals are recounting a very strange tale of one King Pudwen the
Addlepated.
  In many ways having the appearance of normalcy, he was yet known to possess
grossly unsound powers of reason.  Already exemplified in many inexplicable
prior acts, this trait reached its climax when the king contracted gangrene on
his ear.  Arguing with his physicians that the spread of the gangrene must be
stopped, he ordered them to cut off his head before it should reach the vital
organs in his body.  No pleas or appeals from his officers would avail; he
would have the thing done, and the gangrene was effectively arrested in its
tracks.
  Rested, you both head out.

 <> Chelkwibble town <>

  This is Chelkwibble: a backwater town not far in from the eastern coast of
Dwindeldorn.  The town is noted for its fine cheeses and other products of
milkcraft.  To the eye, the town is distinctive for its variously-shaped roofs
of deep live sod, on which a goat might be seen.  There's a mead-hall and an
inn, and dirt streets can lead you out of the town in different directions:
southwest, west, northwest, northeast, and a lesser one southeastward toward
the coast.

  Dwindeldorn's future king is here with you as always.

<>> enter inn

  You've already been to an inn today, and there's not much to gain from going
in one besides a bit of idle gossip.

  The Prince of Dwindeldorn watches the bustle of the town.

<>> x goats

  The sheep and goats see nothing unusual about their being perched on the roof
of the house.  The grass there is as good as any.

  One establishment advertises its wares with the words: "Milkye cheesye
goodnesse from our Udders to your Mouthe."

<>> ne

  The road emanating northeast from Chelkwibble connects to a few outlying
homesteads, and then quickly turns into little more than a trail.  This trail
continues well into the wilderness, which soon becomes mountainous.  You judge
that the sea cannot lie too many miles to the east, since Chelkwibble itself
lay not far from the coast.  On the path goes, into the mountains: low ones at
first, and then growing steeper...

   The travel involved stopping for the night, and starting again in the
morning.

 <> A prospect over impassable terrain <>

  You've come to a high overlook deep in the mountains.  Before you,
northwards, peaks continue to rip through the sky from near to far, shrinking
to the edge of sight.  The terrain has been arduous to traverse thus far: any
further, it becomes fully impassable.  Deadly gorges ring every upthrust cusp
of rock, denying entrance to that country to all bipeds of your likeness.
  Far away, seen framed between the slopes of two nearer peaks, a tower and
some walls sit high up in the mountains.  How anyone could've gotten there to
build something is altogether a mystery; you can't imagine they came from this
direction.  Going southwest, back the way you came, is probably the only way
away from here that doesn't involve perishing.

  Nearby, the young figurehead is ambling around.

  "Valkyrian, is that it, sir?  The Fastness of the Dracken Fells, that we're
looking for??"  The prince's question isn't entirely irrational: you're pretty
far north, and you're looking at a very isolated stone edifice.  But you tell
him that the structure in view looks much more like a conclave for the devout
than a fastness of old, and you don't think that this region is part of that
known as the Dracken Fells.

<>> x tower

  As you gaze at the manmade structures on the distant and unreachable
mountain, you feel convinced that you're looking at a monastery.  The stone
from which it is made is a strikingly blue color.  It's too difficult to tell
from this distance whether it is still inhabited or not.

  The king's son hops around on some rocks.

<>> pray

  You pause quietly for a few moments of devotion.

<>> shout

  You let out a lusty holler.

  Massive billows of white cloud tower in the sky.

<>> x rocks

  The peaks here seem stark and fierce, being offset by deep and jagged gorges
all around.

<>> l

 <> A prospect over impassable terrain <>

  You've come to a high overlook deep in the mountains.  Before you,
northwards, peaks continue to rip through the sky from near to far, shrinking
to the edge of sight.  The terrain has been arduous to traverse thus far: any
further, it becomes fully impassable.  Deadly gorges ring every upthrust cusp
of rock, denying entrance to that country to all bipeds of your likeness.
  Far away, seen framed between the slopes of two nearer peaks, a tower and
some walls sit high up in the mountains.  How anyone could've gotten there to
build something is altogether a mystery; you can't imagine they came from this
direction.  Going southwest, back the way you came, is probably the only way
away from here that doesn't involve perishing.

  Your squire tags along.

  Prince Quiz watches an inchworm crawl up his arm.

<>> x gorges

  In a manner of speaking, they are drop-dead gorges.  Their most salient
feature is that of preventing you from proceeding any farther north.

<>> fly

  You may be trying to use a verb that we weren't instructed how to handle...

<>> fly north

  This is one of those times where we may not have covered the verb you're
trying to use...

<>> sw

   It is quite a long trek back to Chelkwibble...

  The course of the travel included making camp for the night.

 <> Chelkwibble town <>

  This is Chelkwibble: a backwater town not far in from the eastern coast of
Dwindeldorn.  The town is noted for its fine cheeses and other products of
milkcraft.  To the eye, the town is distinctive for its variously-shaped roofs
of deep live sod, on which a goat might be seen.  There's a mead-hall and an
inn, and dirt streets can lead you out of the town in different directions:
southwest, west, northwest, northeast, and a lesser one southeastward toward
the coast.

  The young sprig of royalty is hanging around, bearing the sack.

  "Qorazlan.  Shar-harazeth.  Tul-lohesh.  Tejen Jehelgat..."  Suddenly the
prince realizes that he's talking out loud.  "Sorry, sir...  I was just
quizzing myself on my geography facts.  The ten largest cities in Ezgobatar, to
be precise."

<>> nw

   You pass many snug country homesteads to the northwest of Chelkwibble.  Not
so far along, the road proper has its end, and the way continues as a track
through partly wooded country.  It comes to a dead end at the foot of some
steep bluffs...

 <> At an inundated quarry <>

  Cut deep into the face of a steep wooded bluff dead ahead is the cavernous
hollow of an old quarry.  Around you are rugged foothills which continue to
grow higher and lead toward a mountainous country to the north.  You can rather
assume the quarry is old given that its depths have been entirely filled up
with rain and groundwater to the level of the ground you're standing on.
You're right at the water's edge where the foot of the bluff would have been
before it was all quarried out.  The quarry-lake is just north of you, and the
path that brought you here leaves to the southeast.

  Your "squire" is in tow.

  "Wow!" the prince exclaims.  "What a pretty lake!"

<>> x foothills

  The bluff or hillside into which the quarry is cut is one of many tall
foothills covering this region near to the mountainous north.  It rises steeply
from the hollow you're standing in, and is quite thickly covered in woods and
underbrush right to the rims of the quarry walls.

<>> x woods

  The region is thickly forested with broadleaf trees, and the occasional
evergreen.

<>> x underbrush

  It's just vegetable growth that fills in between the larger tree trunks,
making passage an inconvenience even if not an impossibility.

  The wind is from the southwest.

<>> x mountains

  You don't see any mountains in view.

<>> x quarry

  The quarry appears to the eye as a large section that has been cleanly sliced
and then removed from the tall hillside, with a glassy floor of still water.
Tall walls, nearly but not quite vertical, are created on three sides of the
quarry, with the west and east side walls diminishing in height as they stretch
from the back of the quarry down to the level of the water at the front.  The
side walls might reach over one hundred feet at their highest, and splay at
somewhat more than a right angle from the back wall, making the quarry wider at
its front than its back, like a trapezoid.
  It appears that the quarry was cut at the convergence of two different kinds
of rock substrata, which was probably a boon for the masons of that day, being
able procure both stone types from the same site.  Granite and slate, if you
had to guess.

  Dwindeldorn's future king makes shrill noises by blowing on a piece of grass.

<>> x granite

  The quarry appears to the eye as a large section that has been cleanly sliced
and then removed from the tall hillside, with a glassy floor of still water.
Tall walls, nearly but not quite vertical, are created on three sides of the
quarry, with the west and east side walls diminishing in height as they stretch
from the back of the quarry down to the level of the water at the front.  The
side walls might reach over one hundred feet at their highest, and splay at
somewhat more than a right angle from the back wall, making the quarry wider at
its front than its back, like a trapezoid.
  It appears that the quarry was cut at the convergence of two different kinds
of rock substrata, which was probably a boon for the masons of that day, being
able procure both stone types from the same site.  Granite and slate, if you
had to guess.

  "Zebras mark the boundaries of their territories with poo," Prince Quisborne
suddenly informs you.

<>> * && Thank you for this information, Quis.

  Comment recorded.

<>> l

 <> At an inundated quarry <>

  Cut deep into the face of a steep wooded bluff dead ahead is the cavernous
hollow of an old quarry, now filled with water.  Around you are rugged
foothills which continue to grow higher and lead toward a mountainous country
to the north.  You're right at the water's edge where the foot of the bluff
would have been before it was all quarried out.  The quarry-lake is just north
of you, and the path that brought you here leaves to the southeast.

  The young figurehead is here.

  A mosquito touches down on you momentarily, then flies off.

<>> x lake

  The quarry appears to the eye as a large section that has been cleanly sliced
and then removed from the tall hillside, with a glassy floor of still water.
Tall walls, nearly but not quite vertical, are created on three sides of the
quarry, with the west and east side walls diminishing in height as they stretch
from the back of the quarry down to the level of the water at the front.  The
side walls might reach over one hundred feet at their highest, and splay at
somewhat more than a right angle from the back wall, making the quarry wider at
its front than its back, like a trapezoid.
  It appears that the quarry was cut at the convergence of two different kinds
of rock substrata, which was probably a boon for the masons of that day, being
able procure both stone types from the same site.  Granite and slate, if you
had to guess.

<>> * && No separate description for the lake?

  Comment recorded.

<>> swim

   You decide to look around in the water a bit, and see if anything is to be
gained from the old quarry.  You take a plunge into the jarringly cold water...

  Prince Quisborne remains behind with the gear sack.

 <> Swimming on the quarry-lake surface, southeast corner <>

  You are treading water on the surface of the filled-up quarry, near the
southeast corner.  The water is ultra-pure, and despite its clarity you can
only see blue below you.  The quarry walls taper down to almost nothing on the
east, and to the south the quarry lake surface ends abruptly at level ground.

<>> dive

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  You are swimming underwater in the quarry.  The water is clear and bright
here just under the surface.  The hand-cut walls of the quarry loom murkily to
the south, and also to the east.

<>> w

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  Clear blue-green water is all around you, as you swim through the quarry.
The water is clear and bright here just under the surface.  The hand-cut walls
of the quarry loom murkily to the south.

<>> u

 <> Swimming on the quarry-lake surface, southern side <>

  You are treading water on the surface of the filled-up quarry, near the open
southern side.  The water is ultra-pure, and despite its clarity you can only
see blue below you.  South of you the lake ends abruptly at level ground.

<>> d

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  You are underwater in the clean, cold water of the quarry.  The water is
clear and bright here just under the surface.  The hand-cut walls of the quarry
loom murkily to the south.

<>> d

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  Clear blue-green water is all around you, as you swim through the quarry.
You are several yards underwater here, with nothing visible below but more
water.  The hand-cut walls of the quarry loom murkily to the south.

<>> d

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  You are underwater in the clean, cold water of the quarry.  It is beginning
to get quite dim this far down, and the pressure of the water is hurting your
ears.  The hand-cut walls of the quarry loom murkily to the south, and the
muck-covered bottom of the quarry is just below you.

<>> d

  You are already at the floor of the inundated quarry.

  Your lungs are starting to burn a bit.

<>> u

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  You are swimming underwater in the quarry.  You are several yards underwater
here, with nothing visible below but more water.  The hand-cut walls of the
quarry loom murkily to the south.

<>> u

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  You are underwater in the clean, cold water of the quarry.  The water is
clear and bright here just under the surface.  The hand-cut walls of the quarry
loom murkily to the south.

<>> u

 <> Swimming on the quarry-lake surface, southern side <>

  You are treading water on the surface of the filled-up quarry, near the open
southern side.  The water is ultra-pure, and despite its clarity you can only
see blue below you.  South of you the lake ends abruptly at level ground.

<>> e

 <> Swimming on the quarry-lake surface, southeast corner <>

  You are treading water on the surface of the filled-up quarry, near the
southeast corner.  The water is ultra-pure, and despite its clarity you can
only see blue below you.  The quarry walls taper down to almost nothing on the
east, and to the south the quarry lake surface ends abruptly at level ground.

<>> d

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  Clear blue-green water is all around you, as you swim through the quarry.
The water is clear and bright here just under the surface.  The hand-cut walls
of the quarry loom murkily to the south, and also to the east.

<>> d

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  You are swimming underwater in the quarry.  You are several yards underwater
here, with nothing visible below but more water.  The hand-cut walls of the
quarry loom murkily to the south, and also to the east.

<>> d

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  You are underwater in the clean, cold water of the quarry.  It is quite dim
this far down.  The hand-cut walls of the quarry loom murkily to the south, and
also to the east, and the muck-covered bottom of the quarry is just below you.

<>> u

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  Clear blue-green water is all around you, as you swim through the quarry.
You are several yards underwater here, with nothing visible below but more
water.  The hand-cut walls of the quarry loom murkily to the south, and also to
the east.

  Your lungs are starting to burn a bit.

<>> u

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  You are swimming underwater in the quarry.  The water is clear and bright
here just under the surface.  The hand-cut walls of the quarry loom murkily to
the south, and also to the east.

<>> u

 <> Swimming on the quarry-lake surface, southeast corner <>

  You are treading water on the surface of the filled-up quarry, near the
southeast corner.  The water is ultra-pure, and despite its clarity you can
only see blue below you.  The quarry walls taper down to almost nothing on the
east, and to the south the quarry lake surface ends abruptly at level ground.

<>> n

 <> Swimming on the quarry-lake surface, eastern side <>

  You are treading water on the surface of the filled-up quarry, near the
eastern wall.  The water is ultra-pure, and despite its clarity you can only
see blue below you.  The damp, cut walls of the quarry rise out of the water to
the east.

<>> x walls

  The solid walls of the quarry were cut very smooth in the process of removing
blocks and slabs.

<>> d

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  You are underwater in the clean, cold water of the quarry.  The water is
clear and bright here just under the surface.  The hand-cut walls of the quarry
loom murkily to the east.

<>> d

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  You are swimming underwater in the quarry.  You are several yards underwater
here, with nothing visible below but more water.  The hand-cut walls of the
quarry loom murkily to the east.

<>> d

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  Clear blue-green water is all around you, as you swim through the quarry.  It
is quite dim this far down.  The hand-cut walls of the quarry loom murkily to
the east, and the muck-covered bottom of the quarry is just below you.

<>> n

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  You are swimming underwater in the quarry.  It is quite dim this far down.
The hand-cut walls of the quarry loom murkily to the north, and also to the
east, and the muck-covered bottom of the quarry is just below you.

  Your lungs are starting to burn a bit.

<>> u

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  You are underwater in the clean, cold water of the quarry.  You are several
yards underwater here, with nothing visible below but more water.  The hand-cut
walls of the quarry loom murkily to the north, and also to the east.

<>> u

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  Clear blue-green water is all around you, as you swim through the quarry.
The water is clear and bright here just under the surface.  The hand-cut walls
of the quarry loom murkily to the north, and also to the east.

<>> u

 <> Swimming on the quarry-lake surface, northeast corner <>

  You are treading water on the surface of the filled-up quarry, near the
northeast corner.  The water is ultra-pure, and despite its clarity you can
only see blue below you.  The damp, cut walls of the quarry rise out of the
water to the north, and also to the east.

<>> w

 <> Swimming on the quarry-lake surface, back (northern) side <>

  You are treading water on the surface of the filled-up quarry, near the back
(northern) wall.  The water is ultra-pure, and despite its clarity you can only
see blue below you.  The damp, cut walls of the quarry rise out of the water to
the north.

<>> save

  Saved.

<>> * && Let's see if I can drown and go to heaven...

  Comment recorded.

<>> d

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  You are swimming underwater in the quarry.  The water is clear and bright
here just under the surface.  The hand-cut walls of the quarry loom murkily to
the north.

<>> d

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  You are underwater in the clean, cold water of the quarry.  You are several
yards underwater here, with nothing visible below but more water.  The hand-cut
walls of the quarry loom murkily to the north.

<>> d

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  Clear blue-green water is all around you, as you swim through the quarry.  It
is quite dim this far down.  The hand-cut walls of the quarry loom murkily to
the north, and the muck-covered bottom of the quarry is just below you.

<>> d

  You are already at the floor of the inundated quarry.

  Your lungs are starting to burn a bit.

<>> w

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  You are swimming underwater in the quarry.  It is quite dim this far down.
The hand-cut walls of the quarry loom murkily to the north, and also to the
west, and the muck-covered bottom of the quarry is just below you.

<>> s

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  You are underwater in the clean, cold water of the quarry.  It is quite dim
this far down.  The muck-covered bottom of the quarry is just below you.

  A large block of some kind of stone is sitting on a stone sled, submerged
here at the bottom of the quarry.

<>> e

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  Clear blue-green water is all around you, as you swim through the quarry.  It
is quite dim this far down, and the pressure of the water is hurting your ears.
The muck-covered bottom of the quarry is just below you.

  Your lungs are starting to scream... you'd better make your way back to the
surface without delay!

<>> e

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  You are swimming underwater in the quarry.  It is quite dim this far down.
The hand-cut walls of the quarry loom murkily to the east, and the muck-covered
bottom of the quarry is just below you.

<>> s

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  You are underwater in the clean, cold water of the quarry.  It is quite dim
this far down.  The hand-cut walls of the quarry loom murkily to the south, and
also to the east, and the muck-covered bottom of the quarry is just below you.

<>> w

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  Clear blue-green water is all around you, as you swim through the quarry.  It
is quite dim this far down, and the pressure of the water is hurting your ears.
The hand-cut walls of the quarry loom murkily to the south, and the muck-
covered bottom of the quarry is just below you.

  Maybe your knightly prowess gave you too much confidence... you've misjudged
your lung capacity.  Before you can reach air again, your lungs give in to the
urge of nature and inhale.  Unfortunately, you don't have gills.

*** Drowning in a quarry has significantly reduced your chances
of succeeding in your task ***

  Ye may choose: UNDO the last move, RESTART to welcome screen, RESTORE a saved
position, or QUIT...

<>> restore

  Restored.
 <> Swimming on the quarry-lake surface, back (northern) side <>

  You are treading water on the surface of the filled-up quarry, near the back
(northern) wall.  The water is ultra-pure, and despite its clarity you can only
see blue below you.  The damp, cut walls of the quarry rise out of the water to
the north.

<>> * && It's unfortunate that the inclusion of both "back" and "(northern)" in the location title messes up the layout.

  Comment recorded.

<>> w

 <> Swimming on the quarry-lake surface, northwest corner <>

  You are treading water on the surface of the filled-up quarry, near the
northwest corner.  The water is ultra-pure, and despite its clarity you can
only see blue below you.  The damp, cut walls of the quarry rise out of the
water to the north, and also to the west.

<>> d

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  You are swimming underwater in the quarry.  The water is clear and bright
here just under the surface.  The hand-cut walls of the quarry loom murkily to
the north, and also to the west.

<>> d

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  You are underwater in the clean, cold water of the quarry.  You are several
yards underwater here, with nothing visible below but more water.  The hand-cut
walls of the quarry loom murkily to the north, and also to the west.

<>> d

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  Clear blue-green water is all around you, as you swim through the quarry.  It
is quite dim this far down.  The hand-cut walls of the quarry loom murkily to
the north, and also to the west, and the muck-covered bottom of the quarry is
just below you.

<>> u

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  You are underwater in the clean, cold water of the quarry.  You are several
yards underwater here, with nothing visible below but more water.  The hand-cut
walls of the quarry loom murkily to the north, and also to the west.

  Your lungs are starting to burn a bit.

<>> u

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  You are swimming underwater in the quarry.  The water is clear and bright
here just under the surface.  The hand-cut walls of the quarry loom murkily to
the north, and also to the west.

<>> u

 <> Swimming on the quarry-lake surface, northwest corner <>

  You are treading water on the surface of the filled-up quarry, near the
northwest corner.  The water is ultra-pure, and despite its clarity you can
only see blue below you.  The damp, cut walls of the quarry rise out of the
water to the north, and also to the west.

<>> e

 <> Swimming on the quarry-lake surface, back (northern) side <>

  You are treading water on the surface of the filled-up quarry, near the back
(northern) wall.  The water is ultra-pure, and despite its clarity you can only
see blue below you.  The damp, cut walls of the quarry rise out of the water to
the north.

<>> s

 <> Swimming on the quarry-lake surface, center <>

  You are treading water on the surface of the filled-up quarry, near the very
center.  The water is ultra-pure, and despite its clarity you can only see blue
below you.

<>> d

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  Clear blue-green water is all around you, as you swim through the quarry.
The water is clear and bright here just under the surface.

<>> d

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  You are swimming underwater in the quarry.  You are several yards underwater
here, with nothing visible below but more water.

<>> d

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  Clear blue-green water is all around you, as you swim through the quarry.  It
is quite dim this far down.  The muck-covered bottom of the quarry is just
below you.

<>> u

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  You are underwater in the clean, cold water of the quarry.  You are several
yards underwater here, with nothing visible below but more water.

  Your lungs are starting to burn a bit.

<>> u

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  Clear blue-green water is all around you, as you swim through the quarry.
The water is clear and bright here just under the surface.

<>> u

 <> Swimming on the quarry-lake surface, center <>

  You are treading water on the surface of the filled-up quarry, near the very
center.  The water is ultra-pure, and despite its clarity you can only see blue
below you.

<>> s

 <> Swimming on the quarry-lake surface, southern side <>

  You are treading water on the surface of the filled-up quarry, near the open
southern side.  The water is ultra-pure, and despite its clarity you can only
see blue below you.  South of you the lake ends abruptly at level ground.

<>> d

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  You are swimming underwater in the quarry.  The water is clear and bright
here just under the surface.  The hand-cut walls of the quarry loom murkily to
the south.

<>> d

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  You are underwater in the clean, cold water of the quarry.  You are several
yards underwater here, with nothing visible below but more water.  The hand-cut
walls of the quarry loom murkily to the south.

<>> d

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  You are swimming underwater in the quarry.  It is quite dim this far down,
and the pressure of the water is hurting your ears.  The hand-cut walls of the
quarry loom murkily to the south, and the muck-covered bottom of the quarry is
just below you.

<>> u

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  Clear blue-green water is all around you, as you swim through the quarry.
You are several yards underwater here, with nothing visible below but more
water.  The hand-cut walls of the quarry loom murkily to the south.

  Your lungs are starting to burn a bit.

<>> u

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  You are underwater in the clean, cold water of the quarry.  The water is
clear and bright here just under the surface.  The hand-cut walls of the quarry
loom murkily to the south.

<>> u

 <> Swimming on the quarry-lake surface, southern side <>

  You are treading water on the surface of the filled-up quarry, near the open
southern side.  The water is ultra-pure, and despite its clarity you can only
see blue below you.  South of you the lake ends abruptly at level ground.

<>> w

 <> Swimming on the quarry-lake surface, southwest corner <>

  You are treading water on the surface of the filled-up quarry, near the
southwest corner.  The water is ultra-pure, and despite its clarity you can
only see blue below you.  The quarry walls taper down to almost nothing on the
west, and to the south the quarry lake surface ends abruptly at level ground.

<>> d

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  Clear blue-green water is all around you, as you swim through the quarry.
The water is clear and bright here just under the surface.  The hand-cut walls
of the quarry loom murkily to the south, and also to the west.

<>> d

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  You are underwater in the clean, cold water of the quarry.  You are several
yards underwater here, with nothing visible below but more water.  The hand-cut
walls of the quarry loom murkily to the south, and also to the west.

<>> d

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  You are swimming underwater in the quarry.  It is quite dim this far down.
The hand-cut walls of the quarry loom murkily to the south, and also to the
west, and the muck-covered bottom of the quarry is just below you.

<>> n

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  You are underwater in the clean, cold water of the quarry.  It is quite dim
this far down, and the pressure of the water is hurting your ears.  The muck-
covered bottom of the quarry is just below you.

  A large block of some kind of stone is sitting on a stone sled, submerged
here at the bottom of the quarry.

  Your lungs are starting to burn a bit.

<>> u

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  You are swimming underwater in the quarry.  You are several yards underwater
here, with nothing visible below but more water.  The hand-cut walls of the
quarry loom murkily to the west.

<>> u

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  Clear blue-green water is all around you, as you swim through the quarry.
The water is clear and bright here just under the surface.  The hand-cut walls
of the quarry loom murkily to the west.

<>> u

 <> Swimming on the quarry-lake surface, western side <>

  You are treading water on the surface of the filled-up quarry, near the
western wall.  The water is ultra-pure, and despite its clarity you can only
see blue below you.  The damp, cut walls of the quarry rise out of the water to
the west.

<>> breathe

  You may be trying to use a verb that we weren't instructed how to handle...

<>> hyperventilate

  This is one of those times where we may not have covered the verb you're
trying to use...

<>> d

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  You are swimming underwater in the quarry.  The water is clear and bright
here just under the surface.  The hand-cut walls of the quarry loom murkily to
the west.

<>> d

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  Clear blue-green water is all around you, as you swim through the quarry.
You are several yards underwater here, with nothing visible below but more
water.  The hand-cut walls of the quarry loom murkily to the west.

<>> d

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  You are underwater in the clean, cold water of the quarry.  It is quite dim
this far down.  The muck-covered bottom of the quarry is just below you.

  A large block of some kind of stone is sitting on a stone sled, submerged
here at the bottom of the quarry.

<>> x block

  It's a very large, roughly cubical block of stone, sitting on a stone sled.
For one reason or another it was never dragged out before the quarry fell out
of use.  It's probably granite.

<>> push block

  The multi-ton block of stone just barely withstands your efforts to push it
around.

  Your lungs are starting to burn a bit.

<>> look under block

  There's no way you could tell if anything is under the sled.  You're doing
good to see that there's a sled there at all.

<>> u

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  You are swimming underwater in the quarry.  You are several yards underwater
here, with nothing visible below but more water.  The hand-cut walls of the
quarry loom murkily to the west.

<>> u

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  Clear blue-green water is all around you, as you swim through the quarry.
The water is clear and bright here just under the surface.  The hand-cut walls
of the quarry loom murkily to the west.

  Your lungs are starting to scream... you'd better make your way back to the
surface really soon.

<>> u

   It feels glorious to break through the surface and take a deep pull of air
again...

 <> Swimming on the quarry-lake surface, western side <>

  You are treading water on the surface of the filled-up quarry, near the
western wall.  The water is ultra-pure, and despite its clarity you can only
see blue below you.  The damp, cut walls of the quarry rise out of the water to
the west.

<>> * && The vines and the horse! Right?

  Comment recorded.

<>> d

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  You are underwater in the clean, cold water of the quarry.  The water is
clear and bright here just under the surface.  The hand-cut walls of the quarry
loom murkily to the west.

<>> d

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  You are swimming underwater in the quarry.  You are several yards underwater
here, with nothing visible below but more water.  The hand-cut walls of the
quarry loom murkily to the west.

<>> d

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  Clear blue-green water is all around you, as you swim through the quarry.  It
is quite dim this far down.  The muck-covered bottom of the quarry is just
below you.

  A large block of some kind of stone is sitting on a stone sled, submerged
here at the bottom of the quarry.

<>> x sled

  The sled is just a flat wooden drag with runners and an upturned front edge.
It's deteriorated, but less so than you might have thought, it being completely
submerged in the cold ground water.  It's pointed east.

  A large block of some kind of stone is sitting on a stone sled, submerged
here at the bottom of the quarry.

<>> push sled

  The sled bearing the multi-ton block of stone just barely withstands your
efforts to push it around.

  Your lungs are starting to burn a bit.

<>> look under sled

  There's no way you could tell if anything is under the sled.  You're doing
good to see that there's a sled there at all.

<>> u

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  You are underwater in the clean, cold water of the quarry.  You are several
yards underwater here, with nothing visible below but more water.  The hand-cut
walls of the quarry loom murkily to the west.

<>> u

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  You are swimming underwater in the quarry.  The water is clear and bright
here just under the surface.  The hand-cut walls of the quarry loom murkily to
the west.

  Your lungs are starting to scream... you'd better make your way back to the
surface really soon.

<>> u

   It feels glorious to break through the surface and take a deep pull of air
again...

 <> Swimming on the quarry-lake surface, western side <>

  You are treading water on the surface of the filled-up quarry, near the
western wall.  The water is ultra-pure, and despite its clarity you can only
see blue below you.  The damp, cut walls of the quarry rise out of the water to
the west.

<>> s

 <> Swimming on the quarry-lake surface, southwest corner <>

  You are treading water on the surface of the filled-up quarry, near the
southwest corner.  The water is ultra-pure, and despite its clarity you can
only see blue below you.  The quarry walls taper down to almost nothing on the
west, and to the south the quarry lake surface ends abruptly at level ground.

<>> s

   As the quarry forms a stark pit in the ground, there is no shallow end, so
you give a kick in the water and swing yourself back up to land.

 <> At an inundated quarry <>

  Cut deep into the face of a steep wooded bluff is the cavernous hollow of an
old quarry, now filled with water.  Around you are rugged foothills which
continue to grow higher and lead toward a mountainous country to the north.
You're right at the water's edge where the foot of the bluff would have been
before it was all quarried out.  The quarry-lake is just north of you, and the
path that brought you here leaves to the southeast.

  The king-to-be is present as ever.

  The deep, clear water broods in stillness.

  You are soaking, dripping wet.

<>> throw vines in water

  You throw the vines at the inundated quarry, which land in the water with a
splash, and sink.

  The Dwindeldornian prince drops and knocks out some pushups.

<>> swim

   You take another plunge into the jarringly cold water...

  Prince Quisborne remains behind with the gear sack.

 <> Swimming on the quarry-lake surface, southeast corner <>

  You are treading water on the surface of the filled-up quarry, near the
southeast corner.  The water is ultra-pure, and despite its clarity you can
only see blue below you.  The quarry walls taper down to almost nothing on the
east, and to the south the quarry lake surface ends abruptly at level ground.

<>> d

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  You are underwater in the clean, cold water of the quarry.  The water is
clear and bright here just under the surface.  The hand-cut walls of the quarry
loom murkily to the south, and also to the east.

<>> d

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  Clear blue-green water is all around you, as you swim through the quarry.
You are several yards underwater here, with nothing visible below but more
water.  The hand-cut walls of the quarry loom murkily to the south, and also to
the east.

<>> d

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  You are underwater in the clean, cold water of the quarry.  It is quite dim
this far down, and the pressure of the water is hurting your ears.  The hand-
cut walls of the quarry loom murkily to the south, and also to the east, and
the muck-covered bottom of the quarry is just below you.

<>> w

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  You are swimming underwater in the quarry.  It is quite dim this far down,
and the pressure of the water is hurting your ears.  The hand-cut walls of the
quarry loom murkily to the south, and the muck-covered bottom of the quarry is
just below you.

  Your lungs are starting to burn a bit.

<>> w

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  Clear blue-green water is all around you, as you swim through the quarry.  It
is quite dim this far down, and the pressure of the water is hurting your ears.
The hand-cut walls of the quarry loom murkily to the south, and also to the
west, and the muck-covered bottom of the quarry is just below you.

<>> u

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  You are underwater in the clean, cold water of the quarry.  You are several
yards underwater here, with nothing visible below but more water.  The hand-cut
walls of the quarry loom murkily to the south, and also to the west.

<>> u

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  You are swimming underwater in the quarry.  The water is clear and bright
here just under the surface.  The hand-cut walls of the quarry loom murkily to
the south, and also to the west.

  Your lungs are starting to scream... you'd better make your way back to the
surface really soon.

<>> u

   It feels glorious to break through the surface and take a deep pull of air
again...

 <> Swimming on the quarry-lake surface, southwest corner <>

  You are treading water on the surface of the filled-up quarry, near the
southwest corner.  The water is ultra-pure, and despite its clarity you can
only see blue below you.  The quarry walls taper down to almost nothing on the
west, and to the south the quarry lake surface ends abruptly at level ground.

<>> * && Of course, I have to find my vines now.

  Comment recorded.

<>> n

 <> Swimming on the quarry-lake surface, western side <>

  You are treading water on the surface of the filled-up quarry, near the
western wall.  The water is ultra-pure, and despite its clarity you can only
see blue below you.  The damp, cut walls of the quarry rise out of the water to
the west.

<>> d

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  Clear blue-green water is all around you, as you swim through the quarry.
The water is clear and bright here just under the surface.  The hand-cut walls
of the quarry loom murkily to the west.

<>> d

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  You are swimming underwater in the quarry.  You are several yards underwater
here, with nothing visible below but more water.  The hand-cut walls of the
quarry loom murkily to the west.

<>> d

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  You are underwater in the clean, cold water of the quarry.  It is quite dim
this far down.  The muck-covered bottom of the quarry is just below you.

  A large block of some kind of stone is sitting on a stone sled, submerged
here at the bottom of the quarry.

  Some vines are lying on the mucky bottom.

<>> tie vines to sled

  You'd have trouble trying to tie the vines to that in any satisfactory way.

  Your lungs are starting to burn a bit.

<>> tie vines to block

  You'd have trouble trying to tie the vines to that in any satisfactory way.

<>> u

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  Clear blue-green water is all around you, as you swim through the quarry.
You are several yards underwater here, with nothing visible below but more
water.  The hand-cut walls of the quarry loom murkily to the west.

<>> u

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  You are swimming underwater in the quarry.  The water is clear and bright
here just under the surface.  The hand-cut walls of the quarry loom murkily to
the west.

  Your lungs are starting to scream... you'd better make your way back to the
surface really soon.

<>> u

   It feels glorious to break through the surface and take a deep pull of air
again...

 <> Swimming on the quarry-lake surface, western side <>

  You are treading water on the surface of the filled-up quarry, near the
western wall.  The water is ultra-pure, and despite its clarity you can only
see blue below you.  The damp, cut walls of the quarry rise out of the water to
the west.

<>> d

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  You are underwater in the clean, cold water of the quarry.  The water is
clear and bright here just under the surface.  The hand-cut walls of the quarry
loom murkily to the west.

<>> d

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  Clear blue-green water is all around you, as you swim through the quarry.
You are several yards underwater here, with nothing visible below but more
water.  The hand-cut walls of the quarry loom murkily to the west.

<>> d

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  You are underwater in the clean, cold water of the quarry.  It is quite dim
this far down.  The muck-covered bottom of the quarry is just below you.

  A large block of some kind of stone is sitting on a stone sled, submerged
here at the bottom of the quarry.

  Some vines are lying on the mucky bottom.

<>> get vines

  You take the vines.

  Your lungs are starting to burn a bit.

<>> s

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  You are swimming underwater in the quarry.  It is quite dim this far down,
and the pressure of the water is hurting your ears.  The hand-cut walls of the
quarry loom murkily to the south, and also to the west, and the muck-covered
bottom of the quarry is just below you.

<>> u

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  Clear blue-green water is all around you, as you swim through the quarry.
You are several yards underwater here, with nothing visible below but more
water.  The hand-cut walls of the quarry loom murkily to the south, and also to
the west.

<>> u

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  You are swimming underwater in the quarry.  The water is clear and bright
here just under the surface.  The hand-cut walls of the quarry loom murkily to
the south, and also to the west.

  Your lungs are starting to scream... you'd better make your way back to the
surface really soon.

<>> u

   It feels glorious to break through the surface and take a deep pull of air
again...

 <> Swimming on the quarry-lake surface, southwest corner <>

  You are treading water on the surface of the filled-up quarry, near the
southwest corner.  The water is ultra-pure, and despite its clarity you can
only see blue below you.  The quarry walls taper down to almost nothing on the
west, and to the south the quarry lake surface ends abruptly at level ground.

<>> s

   With a kick, you swing yourself up out of the quarry and onto solid ground.

 <> At an inundated quarry <>

  Cut deep into the face of a steep wooded bluff is the cavernous hollow of an
old quarry, now filled with water.  Around you are rugged foothills which
continue to grow higher and lead toward a mountainous country to the north.
You're right at the water's edge where the foot of the bluff would have been
before it was all quarried out.  The quarry-lake is just north of you, and the
path that brought you here leaves to the southeast.

  Your protegé is with you like a second shadow.

  You are soaked through.

<>> throw bar in lake

  You throw the iron bar at the inundated quarry, which lands in the water with
a splash, and sinks.

  The Prince of Dwindeldorn marks time with a really hard run to a distant
point and back.

<>> n

   You take another plunge into the jarringly cold water...

  Prince Quisborne remains behind with the gear sack.

 <> Swimming on the quarry-lake surface, southeast corner <>

  You are treading water on the surface of the filled-up quarry, near the
southeast corner.  The water is ultra-pure, and despite its clarity you can
only see blue below you.  The quarry walls taper down to almost nothing on the
east, and to the south the quarry lake surface ends abruptly at level ground.

<>> n

 <> Swimming on the quarry-lake surface, eastern side <>

  You are treading water on the surface of the filled-up quarry, near the
eastern wall.  The water is ultra-pure, and despite its clarity you can only
see blue below you.  The damp, cut walls of the quarry rise out of the water to
the east.

<>> w

 <> Swimming on the quarry-lake surface, center <>

  You are treading water on the surface of the filled-up quarry, near the very
center.  The water is ultra-pure, and despite its clarity you can only see blue
below you.

<>> d

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  Clear blue-green water is all around you, as you swim through the quarry.
The water is clear and bright here just under the surface.

<>> d

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  You are underwater in the clean, cold water of the quarry.  You are several
yards underwater here, with nothing visible below but more water.

<>> d

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  Clear blue-green water is all around you, as you swim through the quarry.  It
is quite dim this far down.  The muck-covered bottom of the quarry is just
below you.

<>> w

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  You are swimming underwater in the quarry.  It is quite dim this far down,
and the pressure of the water is hurting your ears.  The muck-covered bottom of
the quarry is just below you.

  A large block of some kind of stone is sitting on a stone sled, submerged
here at the bottom of the quarry.

  Your lungs are starting to burn a bit.

<>> s

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  You are underwater in the clean, cold water of the quarry.  It is quite dim
this far down.  The hand-cut walls of the quarry loom murkily to the south, and
also to the west, and the muck-covered bottom of the quarry is just below you.

<>> e

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  You are swimming underwater in the quarry.  It is quite dim this far down.
The hand-cut walls of the quarry loom murkily to the south, and the muck-
covered bottom of the quarry is just below you.

  An iron bar is lying on the mucky bottom.

<>> get bar

  You take the iron bar.

  Your lungs are starting to scream... you'd better make your way back to the
surface without delay!

<>> u

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  Clear blue-green water is all around you, as you swim through the quarry.
You are several yards underwater here, with nothing visible below but more
water.  The hand-cut walls of the quarry loom murkily to the south.

<>> u

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  You are underwater in the clean, cold water of the quarry.  The water is
clear and bright here just under the surface.  The hand-cut walls of the quarry
loom murkily to the south.

<>> u

   It feels glorious to break through the surface and take a deep pull of air
again...

 <> Swimming on the quarry-lake surface, southern side <>

  You are treading water on the surface of the filled-up quarry, near the open
southern side.  The water is ultra-pure, and despite its clarity you can only
see blue below you.  South of you the lake ends abruptly at level ground.

<>> n

 <> Swimming on the quarry-lake surface, center <>

  You are treading water on the surface of the filled-up quarry, near the very
center.  The water is ultra-pure, and despite its clarity you can only see blue
below you.

<>> w

 <> Swimming on the quarry-lake surface, western side <>

  You are treading water on the surface of the filled-up quarry, near the
western wall.  The water is ultra-pure, and despite its clarity you can only
see blue below you.  The damp, cut walls of the quarry rise out of the water to
the west.

<>> d

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  Clear blue-green water is all around you, as you swim through the quarry.
The water is clear and bright here just under the surface.  The hand-cut walls
of the quarry loom murkily to the west.

<>> d

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  You are underwater in the clean, cold water of the quarry.  You are several
yards underwater here, with nothing visible below but more water.  The hand-cut
walls of the quarry loom murkily to the west.

<>> d

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  You are swimming underwater in the quarry.  It is quite dim this far down.
The muck-covered bottom of the quarry is just below you.

  A large block of some kind of stone is sitting on a stone sled, submerged
here at the bottom of the quarry.

<>> pry block with bar

  You may be trying to use a verb that we weren't instructed how to handle...

<>> file block with bar

  This is one of those times where we may not have covered the verb you're
trying to use...

<>> u

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  Clear blue-green water is all around you, as you swim through the quarry.
You are several yards underwater here, with nothing visible below but more
water.  The hand-cut walls of the quarry loom murkily to the west.

  Your lungs are starting to burn a bit.

<>> u

 <> Underwater in the quarry <>

  You are underwater in the clean, cold water of the quarry.  The water is
clear and bright here just under the surface.  The hand-cut walls of the quarry
loom murkily to the west.

<>> u

 <> Swimming on the quarry-lake surface, western side <>

  You are treading water on the surface of the filled-up quarry, near the
western wall.  The water is ultra-pure, and despite its clarity you can only
see blue below you.  The damp, cut walls of the quarry rise out of the water to
the west.

<>> s

 <> Swimming on the quarry-lake surface, southwest corner <>

  You are treading water on the surface of the filled-up quarry, near the
southwest corner.  The water is ultra-pure, and despite its clarity you can
only see blue below you.  The quarry walls taper down to almost nothing on the
west, and to the south the quarry lake surface ends abruptly at level ground.

<>> s

   With a kick, you swing yourself up out of the quarry and onto solid ground.

 <> At an inundated quarry <>

  Cut deep into the face of a steep wooded bluff is the cavernous hollow of an
old quarry, now filled with water.  Around you are rugged foothills which
continue to grow higher and lead toward a mountainous country to the north.
You're right at the water's edge where the foot of the bluff would have been
before it was all quarried out.  The quarry-lake is just north of you, and the
path that brought you here leaves to the southeast.

  The lad is here.

  The deep, clear water broods in stillness.

  You're sopping wet.

<>> save

  Saved.

&
&
&
&

  The transcript will be saved to the file.  Type SCRIPT OFF to discontinue
scripting.

<>> l

 <> At an inundated quarry <>

  Cut deep into the face of a steep wooded bluff is the cavernous hollow of an
old quarry, now filled with water.  Around you are rugged foothills which
continue to grow higher and lead toward a mountainous country to the north.
You're right at the water's edge where the foot of the bluff would have been
before it was all quarried out.  The quarry-lake is just north of you, and the
path that brought you here leaves to the southeast.

  Your companion, the feckless prince, is here with you.

  Some ants troop along the ground.

<>> * && Is the underwater block a plug for a drainage tunnel?

  Comment recorded.

<>> * && With the description of the vines as too sturdy to tie to small objects, I immediately thought of rocks and trees. This block fits right into the category of objects I expected to be able to tie the vines to. I'd then pull with Quis and/or the horse 

  Comment recorded.

<>> n

   You take another plunge into the jarringly cold water...

  Prince Quisborne remains behind with the gear sack.

 <> Swimming on the quarry-lake surface, southeast corner <>

  You are treading water on the surface of the filled-up quarry, near the
southeast corner.  The water is ultra-pure, and despite its clarity you can
only see blue below you.  The quarry walls taper down to almost nothing on the
east, and to the south the quarry lake surface ends abruptly at level ground.

<>> n

 <> Swimming on the quarry-lake surface, eastern side <>

  You are treading water on the surface of the filled-up quarry, near the
eastern wall.  The water is ultra-pure, and despite its clarity you can only
see blue below you.  The damp, cut walls of the quarry rise out of the water to
the east.

<>> n

 <> Swimming on the quarry-lake surface, northeast corner <>

  You are treading water on the surface of the filled-up quarry, near the
northeast corner.  The water is ultra-pure, and despite its clarity you can
only see blue below you.  The damp, cut walls of the quarry rise out of the
water to the north, and also to the east.

<>> n

  You are stopped by the solid rock of the quarry in that direction.

<>> u

  The cut quarry walls are damp, slimy, and too sheer to climb.

<>> e

  You are stopped by the solid rock of the quarry in that direction.

<>> s

 <> Swimming on the quarry-lake surface, eastern side <>

  You are treading water on the surface of the filled-up quarry, near the
eastern wall.  The water is ultra-pure, and despite its clarity you can only
see blue below you.  The damp, cut walls of the quarry rise out of the water to
the east.

<>> s

 <> Swimming on the quarry-lake surface, southeast corner <>

  You are treading water on the surface of the filled-up quarry, near the
southeast corner.  The water is ultra-pure, and despite its clarity you can
only see blue below you.  The quarry walls taper down to almost nothing on the
east, and to the south the quarry lake surface ends abruptly at level ground.

<>> w

 <> Swimming on the quarry-lake surface, southern side <>

  You are treading water on the surface of the filled-up quarry, near the open
southern side.  The water is ultra-pure, and despite its clarity you can only
see blue below you.  South of you the lake ends abruptly at level ground.

<>> w

 <> Swimming on the quarry-lake surface, southwest corner <>

  You are treading water on the surface of the filled-up quarry, near the
southwest corner.  The water is ultra-pure, and despite its clarity you can
only see blue below you.  The quarry walls taper down to almost nothing on the
west, and to the south the quarry lake surface ends abruptly at level ground.

<>> w

  You are stopped by the solid rock of the quarry in that direction.

<>> n

 <> Swimming on the quarry-lake surface, western side <>

  You are treading water on the surface of the filled-up quarry, near the
western wall.  The water is ultra-pure, and despite its clarity you can only
see blue below you.  The damp, cut walls of the quarry rise out of the water to
the west.

<>> n

 <> Swimming on the quarry-lake surface, northwest corner <>

  You are treading water on the surface of the filled-up quarry, near the
northwest corner.  The water is ultra-pure, and despite its clarity you can
only see blue below you.  The damp, cut walls of the quarry rise out of the
water to the north, and also to the west.

<>> n

  You are stopped by the solid rock of the quarry in that direction.

<>> u

  The cut quarry walls are damp, slimy, and too sheer to climb.

<>> s

 <> Swimming on the quarry-lake surface, western side <>

  You are treading water on the surface of the filled-up quarry, near the
western wall.  The water is ultra-pure, and despite its clarity you can only
see blue below you.  The damp, cut walls of the quarry rise out of the water to
the west.

<>> s

 <> Swimming on the quarry-lake surface, southwest corner <>

  You are treading water on the surface of the filled-up quarry, near the
southwest corner.  The water is ultra-pure, and despite its clarity you can
only see blue below you.  The quarry walls taper down to almost nothing on the
west, and to the south the quarry lake surface ends abruptly at level ground.

<>> s

   With a kick, you swing yourself up out of the quarry and onto solid ground.

 <> At an inundated quarry <>

  Cut deep into the face of a steep wooded bluff is the cavernous hollow of an
old quarry.  Around you are rugged foothills which continue to grow higher and
lead toward a mountainous country to the north.  You can rather assume the
quarry is old given that its depths have been entirely filled up with rain and
groundwater to the level of the ground you're standing on.  You're right at the
water's edge where the foot of the bluff would have been before it was all
quarried out.  The quarry-lake is just north of you, and the path that brought
you here leaves to the southeast.

  The youth is hanging around.

  You are soaking, dripping wet.

<>> * && You were right in your PM that I'm leaning heavily to the testing side of play. This urge to do the opposite of what the game tells me to (go north) is not just testing though, it's an endearing character flaw... So I'm going to the beach now.

  Comment recorded.

<>> se

   The road leads you before long back to Chelkwibble...

 <> Chelkwibble town <>

  This is Chelkwibble: a backwater town not far in from the eastern coast of
Dwindeldorn.  The town is noted for its fine cheeses and other products of
milkcraft.  To the eye, the town is distinctive for its variously-shaped roofs
of deep live sod, on which a goat might be seen.  There's a mead-hall and an
inn, and dirt streets can lead you out of the town in different directions:
southwest, west, northwest, northeast, and a lesser one southeastward toward
the coast.

  Your squire is present as ever.

  Quiz does a few pull-ups on a nearby tree.

  A little bit of poking around reveals that some of the Chelkwibblian dairy
artisans make concoctions from a mixture of horse, donkey, sheep, cow, and goat
milk.

<>> se

   The southeastward-leading trail brings you before long within view of the
sea.  The trail then continues down steep rocky slopes toward the sea's edge...

 <> On the shore of the Sea of Sorrows <>

  You are standing on the shore of the Sea of Sorrows.  The sea comes into a
middle-sized cove here, so that you cannot see extremely far down the shore on
either side, but to the east the open sea stretches to the distant horizon.
  The coastline of Dwindeldorn is a rugged one, an uplifted land mass which
drops sharply to the sea.  Where you are, a tract of vegetated land separates
the cliff's base from the water's edge, but to the north and the south of this
cove, the ground turns quickly into jagged cliffs which plunge into the waters,
and any travel along the coast is rendered unfeasible.  In fact, the steep
trail northwest up the escarpment is the only way to go from here.
  The turf under your feet is lush, and the crescent of land which lies between
the sea and the bottom of the cliff is thickly covered over with straight young
trees, which grow right up to the pebbly rim of the water.  Dwindeldorn has
never been known for its seafaring, and after visiting its beautiful but
inhospitable coast, you can understand why.

  Prince Q is following you as always.

  The prince surveys the sea with fascination.  "I don't believe I've ever set
eyes on the sea before!  Not the sea proper, that is.  I've been to the Great
Skalfyrth Water, where the water reaches the horizon; but there you know
there's land just beyond.  Here, it's like the water stretches away to the end
of the world!  It's a little scary, if I'm being frank."

  You've dried off to the point of just being thoroughly damp.

<>> * && She sells seashells on the shore of the Sea of Sorrows.

  Comment recorded.

<>> l

 <> On the shore of the Sea of Sorrows <>

  You are standing on the shore of a cove of the Sea of Sorrows.  The coastline
of Dwindeldorn is a rugged one, an uplifted land mass which drops sharply to
the sea.  Where you are, the cliff's base is separated from the water's edge by
a narrow crescent of flat ground, grown over by a tract of straight young
trees.  To the north and the south of this cove, the jagged cliffs meet
directly with the waters, and any travel along the coast is rendered
unfeasible.  In fact, the steep trail northwest up the escarpment is the only
way to go from here.

  The king's son is present and accounted for.

  "This one isn't working out for me," Quisborne says.  "I've got this much:"

  "A queen was once robbed of a treasure
  That always had given her pleasure.
  But let me be brief:
  They captured the thief..."

  "But what after that?  I could say 'And she pulled off his toes at her
leisure,' but that's a little macabre."

<>> * && I'm having some trouble visualising: Am I on top of the cliff with a fertile crescent of land straight but deep below me, or am I on the fertile crescent down at the edge of the cliff, with the NW path leading all the way down?

  Comment recorded.

<>> * && When in doubt, X everything.

  Comment recorded.

<>> x shore

  The shoreline separating water from turf and trees is quite narrow.  It's
mostly pebbles with a little sand mixed in.

  Prince Quisborne informs you that the orangutans in Uhong Kmu make themselves
umbrellas out of branches; and oh, also they nurse their young ones for six or
seven years after birth.

<>> * && That is really interesting. Thank you Quis.

  Comment recorded.

<>> dig

(with the broken mattock)
  You find the softest spot of earth in the area and dig a small hole with the
broken mattock there.  Again, you find nothing interesting...  Afterward, you
fill the hole back up and tamp it down.

  With the sack on his shoulders, the king-to-be pumps out a few squats.

  You're almost dry now.

<>> l

 <> On the shore of the Sea of Sorrows <>

  You are standing on the shore of a cove of the Sea of Sorrows.  The coastline
of Dwindeldorn is a rugged one, an uplifted land mass which drops sharply to
the sea.  Where you are, the cliff's base is separated from the water's edge by
a narrow crescent of flat ground, grown over by a tract of straight young
trees.  To the north and the south of this cove, the jagged cliffs meet
directly with the waters, and any travel along the coast is rendered
unfeasible.  In fact, the steep trail northwest up the escarpment is the only
way to go from here.

  Near by your side sticks the Prince of Dwindeldorn.

<>> x cove

  The great water that lies before you is the Sea of Sorrows, so named for the
many and multifarious sorrows that betide those who venture out into it.  Those
venturers are relatively few, leaving the sea much a place of mystery for those
who remain on land.  The droning wind makes a melancholy melody over the
ceaseless waves.

  The prince looks a tad homesick.  "I miss Mama," he says.  "I'm not used to
going for extended periods of time without seeing her.

  You have finally dried off from your last plunge.

<>> x sea

  The great water that lies before you is the Sea of Sorrows, so named for the
many and multifarious sorrows that betide those who venture out into it.  Those
venturers are relatively few, leaving the sea much a place of mystery for those
who remain on land.  The droning wind makes a melancholy melody over the
ceaseless waves.

<>> l

 <> On the shore of the Sea of Sorrows <>

  You are standing on the shore of a cove of the Sea of Sorrows.  The coastline
of Dwindeldorn is a rugged one, an uplifted land mass which drops sharply to
the sea.  Where you are, the cliff's base is separated from the water's edge by
a narrow crescent of flat ground, grown over by a tract of straight young
trees.  To the north and the south of this cove, the jagged cliffs meet
directly with the waters, and any travel along the coast is rendered
unfeasible.  In fact, the steep trail northwest up the escarpment is the only
way to go from here.

  Prince Quisborne the Feckless is here with you as always.

  Thick, puffy clouds dot the sky.

<>> x cliff

  As mentioned, the cliffs are jagged, and run unbroken along the coastline.
Here they curve inward and back out around a cove of the sea and a little bit
of land at sea level.

  Quisborne the Feckless looks for shells on the beach.

<>> x water's edge

  You don't see any edge in view.

<>> x crescent

  The shoreline separating water from turf and trees is quite narrow.  It's
mostly pebbles with a little sand mixed in.

<>> x trees

  Growing just above the waterline and all over the ground up to the cliffs is
a good stand of straight young trees, quite tall, and averaging about as thick
as a man's leg.  They might be some kind of sea birches.  We said "young", but
that's mainly in comparison to most of the other trees in Dwindeldorn, which
are routinely larger than what two or even three men could lock hands and ring
around.

<>> e

  You can do a lot of things, but you can't swim to the horizon.

  The straight young trees near the shore bend with the sea breeze.

<>> * && Well, that clears it up. I'm down by the sea. Had I been up on the cliff, I would have found a big rock, tied the vines to it and rapelled down.

  Comment recorded.

<>> l

 <> On the shore of the Sea of Sorrows <>

  You are standing on the shore of a cove of the Sea of Sorrows.  The coastline
of Dwindeldorn is a rugged one, an uplifted land mass which drops sharply to
the sea.  Where you are, the cliff's base is separated from the water's edge by
a narrow crescent of flat ground, grown over by a tract of straight young
trees.  To the north and the south of this cove, the jagged cliffs meet
directly with the waters, and any travel along the coast is rendered
unfeasible.  In fact, the steep trail northwest up the escarpment is the only
way to go from here.

  The ever-present prince is here.

  A tiny crab scuttles across the pebbly shore and out of sight.

<>> push tree

  You push the young trees, and observe nothing remarkable.

<>> climb trees

  The trees have few limbs, and you can make a pretty good assessment that
there's not much to be gained by being up there.

  The young sprig of royalty watches a scuttling crab.

<>> tie vines to tree

  You cinch some vines to one of the sea birches.

<>> * && Ah... This works, for some reason...pull vines

  Comment recorded.

<>> pull vines

  The young trees just end up where they started.

  The prince is talking.
  "It's weird, you know?  Living away from the castle, I mean.  Having to do
everything for ourselves, and lots of times wishing for something but not being
able to ring for it and have it right then and there.  I think I'm finding that
it makes life more interesting...  Or, things just seem to *matter* more, now.
Actually, except as concerns the princess, I'm not in any hurry to go back to
my castle life."

<>> untie vines

  Done.

<>> get vines

  You take the vines.

<>> tie vines to trees

  You cinch some vines to one of the sea birches.

  Your ostensible squire gazes out over the wide ocean.

<>> l

 <> On the shore of the Sea of Sorrows <>

  You are standing on the shore of a cove of the Sea of Sorrows.  The coastline
of Dwindeldorn is a rugged one, an uplifted land mass which drops sharply to
the sea.  Where you are, the cliff's base is separated from the water's edge by
a narrow crescent of flat ground, grown over by a tract of straight young
trees.  To the north and the south of this cove, the jagged cliffs meet
directly with the waters, and any travel along the coast is rendered
unfeasible.  In fact, the steep trail northwest up the escarpment is the only
way to go from here.

  Some vines are cinched around one of the sea birches.

  Nearby, the boy is ambling around.

<>> get vines

(first detaching the vines from the young trees)

  You take the vines.

<>> undo

   Taking back one turn: “get vines”.

 <> On the shore of the Sea of Sorrows <>

  You are standing on the shore of a cove of the Sea of Sorrows.  The coastline
of Dwindeldorn is a rugged one, an uplifted land mass which drops sharply to
the sea.  Where you are, the cliff's base is separated from the water's edge by
a narrow crescent of flat ground, grown over by a tract of straight young
trees.  To the north and the south of this cove, the jagged cliffs meet
directly with the waters, and any travel along the coast is rendered
unfeasible.  In fact, the steep trail northwest up the escarpment is the only
way to go from here.

  Some vines are cinched around one of the sea birches.

  Your companion is present as ever.

<>> tie vines to quis

  "Quis" is either:
 - Something you haven't come across yet
 - Something not necessary to your adventure
 - A phrasing we aren't equipped to handle

<>> tie vines to quiz

  Possibly you could wrangle some kind of character building for the prince out
of tying him up, but there are plenty of more humane ways to build his
character.

<>> get vines

(first detaching the vines from the young trees)

  You take the vines.

  The waves gently lap the shore.

<>> swim

  You can do a lot of things, but you can't swim to the horizon.  And short of
that, you can't think of any good reason to get in the water here.

<>> u

   A steep trail up the cliffs leads you back to Chelkwibble, not many leagues
from the sea...

 <> Chelkwibble town <>

  This is Chelkwibble: a backwater town not far in from the eastern coast of
Dwindeldorn.  The town is noted for its fine cheeses and other products of
milkcraft.  To the eye, the town is distinctive for its variously-shaped roofs
of deep live sod, on which a goat might be seen.  There's a mead-hall and an
inn, and dirt streets can lead you out of the town in different directions:
southwest, west, northwest, northeast, and a lesser one southeastward toward
the coast.

  The youth is sticking nearby, carrying the sack.

<>> w

   You travel quite a stretch westward from Chelkwibble.  The town of
Brittlebarrow, along with a few other hamlets and villages, lies along the way,
and then you come into a region of fine farmland...

  Along the way, evening came and you both camped for the night.

 <> Country roads <>

  Thriving farms and croplands abound in this region, a number of which you can
see spreading out below to the west or the north from the slight rise that
you're on.  South and southeast of you a patch of woods blocks the view, but a
pair of stone pillars flank an overgrown lane which leads into it.
  Besides the weedy lane going southeast, the country roads wind east along the
edge of the woods, northwest, and southwest towards Squarchminster.

  Your companion, Prince Quiz, is here with you, with sack slung over his
shoulder.

  Your sidekick draws a chalk picture of the flyer on the overgrown stone
pillars.

<>> sleep

  You can wait till nightfall for that.

<>> * && Northwards, dear Quizzy!

  Comment recorded.

<>> nw

   The road wends amongst farm-flecked lands for a good way, eventually
entering a country of peculiarly short and knobby hills...

 <> Knoll over the Ribbleskinder valley <>

  This is a region known colloquially as "The Haystacks", so named for its many
hills, not large but spaced out and decidedly mound-shaped, as if the land had
a bad case of the goosebumps.  From the top of one of the more gently-sloping
knolls where you are, the large Ribbleskinder River can be seen not far to the
west, bending its course in a valley from southward to southwestward.  Beyond
it lies the great and ancient Spurnwharking Forest.  On the far northern
horizon there is a large escarpment and a highland beyond; east and south you
can catch glimpses here and there of a castle, farm, or village in the folds
between the knobby hills.
  There is a junction of roads on this particular knoll; they lead northeast
toward the high country, southeast, and south.  There is also a wagon track
leading downhill to the northwest, towards the river.

  The young sprig of royalty is lollygagging behind.

  "I'm really fascinated by maps in general," drones PQ.  "But for whatever
reason, I was never intrigued by maps of places near me.  So I know the names
of at least the fifteen largest islands of Uhong Kmu, but right now I have no
idea where on earth we're going."

<>> * && I'm doing the same with your game as I did when I first read LOTR as a kid. Every ten minutes I switch to the map window. It's really cool to read that Quis likes maps too.

  Comment recorded.

<>> x river

  The Ribbleskinder River is somewhat narrower up this far north than it is
down where the ferry crosses

  Dwindeldorn's future king makes squawking sounds with a grass blade.

<>> x forest

  Beyond the river, you can see the outskirts of the ancient and renowned
Spurnwharking Forest.  No one is sure if its full extent has ever been probed,
nor how many creatures dwell yet unencountered in its reaches.  Only in a few
small scattered places has the axe been laid to the tree there, and the trees
grow monstrously thick, twisted and warty.  You wonder if before this is all
over, your adventures will lead you there.

  There is a gentle rustling of trees.

<>> x mountains

  You don't see any mountains in view.

<>> x highland

  Far to the north, the land suddenly steps up a steep and rugged escarpment
running east and west, to a highland beyond.

  Clouds of all shapes and sizes float across the sky.

<>> nw

  "We *could* go that way, sir..." the prince remonstrates, "it just looks like
that track dead-ends somewhere down there by the river.  Right?  Whereas the
northeast road heads off towards those distant highlands..."

<>> nw

   You descend into the woods towards the river bottom...

 <> Outside an abandoned mill <>

  This is the site of an old mill, no longer in operation.  The large timber
structure stands to the north, and the ground immediately in front of the
building – which once would have been grass, or dirt packed hard by wagon
wheels – is now covered by low vegetation which suggests that the place has
been deserted for some years, but not for decades.  Otherwise, tall trees block
your view in all directions, and thorny thickets which also bear beautiful
blossoms crowd up against the sides of the building.
  The side of the building facing you is dominated by a wide rolling door, most
likely thrown open all day long when milling was in progress, and closed up at
night.  The door is shy of being shut all the way by a gap about big enough for
you to squeeze through. Somewhere off to the west you can hear the plunging of
the Ribbleskinder River as it drops several yards of altitude over a short
distance.  A track leads back up the knoll to the southeast.

  The Prince of Dwindeldorn is here.

  A grasshopper jumps, and then vanishes.

<>> * && Oi! Where are the flowers Miss Sylverleigh gave me? Reading about these blossoms reminded me, and they're no longer in the basket.

  Comment recorded.

<>> w

   Pushing a short distance through some brushy woods, you come to the very
banks of the Ribbleskinder River.  It is scenic, but too wide to think of
crossing, and there isn't much room to move on shore with all of the brush.
You return to the mill.

 <> Outside an abandoned mill <>

  This is the site of an old mill, no longer in operation.  The building stands
among tall trees and thick thorn thickets to the north.  The side of the
building facing you is dominated by a wide rolling door, which is shy of being
shut all the way by a gap about big enough for you to squeeze through.  You can
hear the river to the west, and a track leads upwards southeast.

  The boy is sticking about in your general vicinity.

  Prince Quisborne finishes crafting another limerick in his brain, and
summarily presents it to you.

  "A fellow was a bit of a blockwit,
  And lost track of time when his clock quit.
  He was supposed to be wed,
  But they found him instead
  Out on his lawn playing croquet."

  The prince is going to be crushed when he learns that croquet does not rhyme
with "clock quit"... but you don't need to tell him now.

<>> * && Funny, Valkyrian's response the the faux-rhyme.

  Comment recorded.

<>> dig

(with the broken mattock)
  You find the softest spot of earth in the area and dig a small hole with the
broken mattock there.  Again, you find nothing interesting...  Afterward, you
fill the hole back up and tamp it down.

<>> x mill

  It's fairly large, but not much to look at.  The deserted building stands to
the north amongst wildflowers and clover, a gap left open in the sliding
doorway.

  Prince Quisborne is petting a toad.

<>> * && Wind or water? The mill I mean.

  Comment recorded.

<>> l

 <> Outside an abandoned mill <>

  This is the site of an old mill, no longer in operation.  The building stands
among tall trees and thick thorn thickets to the north.  The side of the
building facing you is dominated by a wide rolling door, which is shy of being
shut all the way by a gap about big enough for you to squeeze through.  You can
hear the river to the west, and a track leads upwards southeast.

  Quisborne tags along.

<>> x building

  It's fairly large, but not much to look at.  The deserted building stands to
the north amongst wildflowers and clover, a gap left open in the sliding
doorway.

  The king-to-be twitches.

<>> x trees

  Except for some clear space at the front of the mill, the trees grow quite
thickly.

<>> x thickets

  The thickets hug the building and extend far into the woods, and are composed
of large networks of hard woody branches bearing thorns and lovely blossoms.
They're not the kind to be cleared away by a few strokes of a blade.

<>> pick blossoms

  The thickets aren't important other than that they make it effectively
impossible to travel in any northward direction, unless you're entering the
mill.

  Quisborne the Feckless twitches.

<>> * && I wanted to replace the flowers in my basket! I daren't face Miss Sylverleigh without blossoms in my basket.

  Comment recorded.

<>> l

 <> Outside an abandoned mill <>

  This is the site of an old mill, no longer in operation.  The building stands
among tall trees and thick thorn thickets to the north.  The side of the
building facing you is dominated by a wide rolling door, which is shy of being
shut all the way by a gap about big enough for you to squeeze through.  You can
hear the river to the west, and a track leads upwards southeast.

  Your young pal is here.

  A large moth traces a crazy path through the air.

<>> x door

  It's a wide frame-and-board door, mounted on some kind of rollers.  It was
left partially open; you could get right through.

  Quiz points out the likeness of a bearded goblin in the clouds.

<>> xyzzy

  Looking at the prince, you divine that he's hatching out a new limerick.  You
hear:

  "A wizard once tried to say 'Xyzzy!',
  But the spell only knocked him down dizzy.
  Now a wizard who can't
  Even manage a chant
  Is not a very *good* wizard, is he?"

  You see some rabbits scamper around.

<>> xyzzy

  This was the prince's limerick:

  "A wizard once tried to say 'Xyzzy!',
  But the spell only knocked him down dizzy.
  Now a wizard who can't
  Even manage a chant
  Is not a very *good* wizard, is he?"

  Somewhere a bird sings a rustic melody.

<>> in

   You slip on in through the gap left by the door...

 <> An abandoned sawmill <>

  Upon entering, it becomes clear that sawing timber was the business of this
old place.

  You are inside the main room of the sawmill; it's not well-lighted, with most
of the light coming through the gap made by the not-quite-shut door.  Still,
you can make out the large sawing apparatus, situated centrally in line with a
bed of great wooden rollers, on which the logs traveled through the saw.

  Along the western side of the building, standing idle, is the giant
waterwheel, which is connected by a fascinating train of shafts, gears, and
belts to the main sawing apparatus.

  A thick log has been left lying on the roller bed.

  Near by your side sticks the future ruler of the land.

  The prince seems very interested by the equipment and the atmosphere of the
old mill.

<>> * && Water it is.

  Comment recorded.

<>> * && Like Quis, I'm admiring this old but intricately atmospheric mill.

  Comment recorded.

<>> x saw

  The rustic saw apparatus consists of a long, toothed blade fixed in a frame,
which moves in an up-and-down reciprocating motion imparted by a crankshaft
attached to the drive train of the waterwheel.  Inked on the frame are the
words "PROPERTIE OF CRELKINGSTRASH MILL".

<>> x blade

  The saw blade is tarnished from its years without any fresh log-sawing
friction action, but the teeth still have some bite.

  The old mill groans slightly.

<>> file blade with bar

  You may be trying to use a verb that we weren't instructed how to handle...

<>> rub blade with bar

  It's hard to imagine that the saw blade is important in that capacity.

  "I like words, just generally," prattles the prince.  "Poetry and rhyming of
course, but even aside from that.  I think the big reason I like maps so much
is just seeing all of the curious and exotic place names they're covered over
with.  I get such pleasant feelings evoked from seeing a city called
Ujiobunkmehet, or a mountain called Itakrishmenagir.  Typically, I don't give a
fuzz about what's there...  I just like all the names."

<>> * && Prince Quis mostly seems to like syllables and lots of'em. I don't hear him about the Hill of Hum, or Pratt Pond.

  Comment recorded.

<>> x frame

  The rustic saw apparatus consists of a long, toothed blade fixed in a frame,
which moves in an up-and-down reciprocating motion imparted by a crankshaft
attached to the drive train of the waterwheel.  Inked on the frame are the
words "PROPERTIE OF CRELKINGSTRASH MILL".

  The old timbers of the building shift noisily with a gust of wind.

<>> x crankshaft

  The array of links, pulleys, shafts, gears, and belts runs both at ground
level and overhead, from the axle of the waterwheel to the main sawing
apparatus.  It also branches in places, suggesting that smaller pieces of
machinery were also once set up here.

  Your companion tries to move the saw frame up and down by hand.

<>> x drive

  The array of links, pulleys, shafts, gears, and belts runs both at ground
level and overhead, from the axle of the waterwheel to the main sawing
apparatus.  It also branches in places, suggesting that smaller pieces of
machinery were also once set up here.

<>> x waterwheel

  Even as commonplace as it is in the world, the massive oaken wheel affords
you great satisfaction in surveying its construction and overall presence.  A
wonder of myriad smaller pieces tightly fitting together at various angles and
spacings, a specimen of this nature could take a skilled joiner the better part
of a year to complete.
  You can't really see in the poor light where the water would have come from
or where it would have gone, but it's plain that the wheel is as dry as a bone
and as still as a statue.

  Dwindeldorn's future king gives one of the rollers a spin.

<>> * && That's right, a mill wheel like this is a wonder to behold. Any large scale carpentry without nails and screws is a marvel of human ingenuity. I've read a book by Lars Mytting recently, The Bell in the Lake. It's a magic-realist historical novel.

  Comment recorded.

<>> * && It features heavily the old Norse Stave church, wooden, high and turretted churches with decorations inspired by Norse Mythology as well as the Bible. A Prussian architect wants to demolish the church and rebuild it in his homeland.

  Comment recorded.

<>> * && He nor the craftsman can make head or tails at first of the wooden joint connections of the church's construction.

  Comment recorded.

<>>  l

 <> An abandoned sawmill <>

  You are inside the main room of the sawmill; it's not well-lighted, with most
of the light coming through the gap made by the not-quite-shut door.  Still,
you can make out the large sawing apparatus, situated centrally in line with a
bed of great wooden rollers, on which the logs traveled through the saw.

  Along the western side of the building, standing idle, is the giant
waterwheel, which is connected by a fascinating train of shafts, gears, and
belts to the main sawing apparatus.

  A thick log has been left lying on the roller bed.

  The Dwindeldornian prince is here with you as always.

<>> x rollers

  The rollers made for a convenient way to feed logs through the saw.  They
extend both from the front and back of the saw for the length of a decently
long log.

  A thick log has been left lying on the roller bed.

  The building makes a slight creak.

<>> rollrollers

  This is one of those times where we may not have covered the verb you're
trying to use...

<>> roll rollers

  The rollers still spin freely, as they're supposed to.

<>> * && No grease needed then. I was reminded of According To Cain's grease-obtaining puzzle, the hardest of the game.

  Comment recorded.

<>> x log

  It's a hefty log of some sturdy local hardwood tree, clean-sawed off on both
ends to about eight feet long.  One side has been squared off, but otherwise it
looks like this log was still waiting its turn to become something useful when
the mill operation shut down.

<>> * && Wait a minute... Log, saw -> planks + vines -> raft?

  Comment recorded.

<>> x log

  It's a hefty log of some sturdy local hardwood tree, clean-sawed off on both
ends to about eight feet long.  One side has been squared off, but otherwise it
looks like this log was still waiting its turn to become something useful when
the mill operation shut down.

  The young figurehead tries to spin the waterwheel by hand.

<>> push log

  The saw is not in motion... what are you hoping for here?

<>> * && Just checking the material.

  Comment recorded.

<>> * && Where's the water supply?

  Comment recorded.

<>> x wheel

  Even as commonplace as it is in the world, the massive oaken wheel affords
you great satisfaction in surveying its construction and overall presence.  A
wonder of myriad smaller pieces tightly fitting together at various angles and
spacings, a specimen of this nature could take a skilled joiner the better part
of a year to complete.
  You can't really see in the poor light where the water would have come from
or where it would have gone, but it's plain that the wheel is as dry as a bone
and as still as a statue.

  "If there's anything I miss about living at the castle, it's my books.  I
love reading!  But that's all I had for so long, I'm not sorry for this change
of pace.  There's a lot of stuff that's hard for me so far, and I don't know
about my relationship with *this* (he indicates the burlap sack which is his
ever-present companion), but it's worth it!"

<>> open door

   You roll the door open, letting a flood of light into the building.

 <> An abandoned sawmill <>

  You are inside the main room of the sawmill; it's well-lit with the wide door
thrown open.  You can see the large sawing apparatus, situated centrally in
line with a bed of great wooden rollers, on which the logs traveled through the
saw.

   With the door slid open, you can also see, along the back wall, a massive
heap of sawdust, a towering stack of flitches, and a gangway running across the
room up high.

  Along the western side of the building, standing idle, is the giant
waterwheel, which is connected by a fascinating train of shafts, gears, and
belts to the main sawing apparatus.

  A thick log has been left lying on the roller bed.

  Your squire is hanging around.

<>> * && Aha!

  Comment recorded.

<>> x back wall

  You don't see any back wall in view.

<>> x heap

  A sawdust heap of this proportion is a ubiquitous feature of any sawmill.
The pile covers quite a lot of floor area near the back wall, and is mounded
about six feet high.  The mill owners could sell cartloads of it as insulation
for icehouses or as absorptive litter for livestock stalls, so it didn't go to
waste.

<>> sniff sawdust

  They were definitely sawing some fir logs... one of your favorite smells.

<>> light sawdust

  The mill doesn't deserve to be burned down at your hands.

  Attracted by the fir-wood aroma of the sawdust heap, the prince leans over to
have a good long smell.  He predictably inhales a cloud of dust, and dances
around for a minute, choking and hacking.

<>> search heap

  It's a mountain of a heap... pawing around for awhile doesn't reveal anything
but sawdust, so you give up.

<>> take sawdust

  You have the lad grab an armload of fragrant sawdust from the heap.

<>> put it in basket

  You put the sawdust in the basket.

<>> * && For the honey-tree fire?

  Comment recorded.

<>> l

 <> An abandoned sawmill <>

  You are inside the main room of the sawmill; it's well-lit with the wide door
thrown open.  You can see the large sawing apparatus, situated centrally in
line with a bed of great wooden rollers, on which the logs traveled through the
saw.

  With the door slid open, you can also see, along the back wall, a massive
heap of sawdust, a towering stack of flitches, and a gangway running across the
room up high.

  Along the western side of the building, standing idle, is the giant
waterwheel, which is connected by a fascinating train of shafts, gears, and
belts to the main sawing apparatus.

  A thick log has been left lying on the roller bed.

  The ever-present prince is here.

  The future ruler of the land is trying to catch flies.

<>> x flitches

  The flitches are thin slabs cut off of the outside of a whole tree trunk,
when it is first being squared up through the sawmill.  They're mostly bark on
one side, and raw wood on the other.  There's always going to be a multitude of
flitches anywhere logs are being sawed up, and these are stacked in criss-
crossing layers making a tower roughly twelve feet high in the northeast corner
of the building.

  The old timbers of the building shift noisily with a gust of wind.

<>> * && As good as a ladder...

  Comment recorded.

<>> x gangway

  The gangway is an elevated walking platform, and runs along the north wall of
the building at a height of some sixteen feet.  It would appear that the ladder
was taken down since the mill was closed, but you can't see it anywhere.

  The Dwindeldornian prince is trying to see how hard he can poke himself with
the needle before he can't handle the sting.

<>> climb flitches

   You precariously pick your way up the stack of flitches, nearly pitching
headlong a time or two as a flitch pulls loose from the stack.  The stack
wobbles and rocks as you climb, growing wilder the higher you get...

 <> Clinging to a wobbling tower of flitches <>

  You're clinging on perilously at the top of a stack of piled timber waste.
The elevated view of the mill would be nice and all, except that by the
pitching and wobbling of the stack, you judge that your remaining moments to
live and enjoy it may be alarmingly limited...

<>> u

  Whatever the result of your action was, its importance is quite lost in the
fact that you have just hurtled to the ground amidst an avalanche of wildly
bouncing timber slabs.  You are battered about and buried to boot, and you're
going to be in bad shape for a long time to come if you pull through this one.
Uh-oh, wait... looks like that was a misplaced "if."

*** Your adventures have ended, due to the termination of your mortal life ***

  Ye may choose: UNDO the last move, RESTART to welcome screen, RESTORE a saved
position, or QUIT...

<>> undo

  Taking back one turn: “u”.

 <> Clinging to a wobbling tower of flitches <>

  You're clinging on perilously at the top of a stack of piled timber waste.
The elevated view of the mill would be nice and all, except that by the
pitching and wobbling of the stack, you judge that your remaining moments to
live and enjoy it may be alarmingly limited...

<>> d

  You get safely to the ground just in time to be buried by an avalanche of
falling timber.  The length of your remaining life hangs in doubt, until
suddenly, all doubt is removed.

*** You have died till you're dead ***

  Ye may choose: UNDO the last move, RESTART to welcome screen, RESTORE a saved
position, or QUIT...

<>> undo

  Taking back one turn: “d”.

 <> Clinging to a wobbling tower of flitches <>

  You're clinging on perilously at the top of a stack of piled timber waste.
The elevated view of the mill would be nice and all, except that by the
pitching and wobbling of the stack, you judge that your remaining moments to
live and enjoy it may be alarmingly limited...

<>> undo

   Taking back one turn: “climb flitches”.

 <> An abandoned sawmill <>

  You are inside the main room of the sawmill; it's well-lit with the wide door
thrown open.  You can see the large sawing apparatus, situated centrally in
line with a bed of great wooden rollers, on which the logs traveled through the
saw.

  With the door slid open, you can also see, along the back wall, a massive
heap of sawdust, a towering stack of flitches, and a gangway running across the
room up high.

  Along the western side of the building, standing idle, is the giant
waterwheel, which is connected by a fascinating train of shafts, gears, and
belts to the main sawing apparatus.

  A thick log has been left lying on the roller bed.

  Your companion, the incumbent to the throne, is here with you, bearing the
sack.

<>> * && I take it back. A ladder is better. Good scene though!

  Comment recorded.

<>> tie vines to flitches

  You'd have trouble trying to tie the vines to that in any satisfactory way.

<>> rearrange flitches

  You may be trying to use a verb that we weren't instructed how to handle...

<>> fasten flitches

  There doesn't seem to be a straightforward way to fasten the tall stack of
flitches.

<>> take flitches

  The top of the stack is well out of your reach, and even if you could wrest a
flitch free from down low, you don't fancy crushing yourself under a toppling
tower.

<>> x stack

  The flitches are thin slabs cut off of the outside of a whole tree trunk,
when it is first being squared up through the sawmill.  They're mostly bark on
one side, and raw wood on the other.  There's always going to be a multitude of
flitches anywhere logs are being sawed up, and these are stacked in criss-
crossing layers making a tower roughly twelve feet high in the northeast corner
of the building.

  The princeling plays in the sawdust heap.

<>> save

  Saved.

<>> climb stack

   You precariously pick your way up the stack of flitches, nearly pitching
headlong a time or two as a flitch pulls loose from the stack.  The stack
wobbles and rocks as you climb, growing wilder the higher you get...

 <> Clinging to a wobbling tower of flitches <>

  You're clinging on perilously at the top of a stack of piled timber waste.
The elevated view of the mill would be nice and all, except that by the
pitching and wobbling of the stack, you judge that your remaining moments to
live and enjoy it may be alarmingly limited...

<>> jump to gangway

   Making a desperate kick off the disintegrating pile, you are able to grab
hold of the edge of the gangway.  From somewhere you can hear the prince
bellowing "SAAAVE YOURSEEEEELFFF!!"  Momentarily captivated by the spectacle of
the mighty collapse of the lumber tower beneath your feet, you then quickly
realize you are still dangling in mid-air, and with some vigorous squirming
motions, you hoist yourself onto the firm floor of the gangway.

  After all the crashing and rattling has subsided, and the myriad of slabs
have come to rest all over the floor, you notice more light coming into the
room from somewhere beneath your feet.

 <> Gangway in the mill <>

  You are on the gangway overlooking the mill floor.  The platform is just a
few feet wide, with a simple guard rail running the length.  At one time they
probably worked trolleys and hoists from up here, to get logs off of wagons or
sleighs, and load them onto piles or the saw bed.  At the western end of the
walk the conduit that should feed the waterwheel appears to have been taken
down; there is a sluice gate fixed in the wall which currently has nowhere to
run to.  A long, bulky wooden lever arm is mounted near the gate, connected to
it.

  Down on the mill floor you can see the great waterwheel, standing idle, as
well as the saw and roller bed, the sawdust heap, flitches, and all the rest.

  Light is filtering into the room from somewhere underneath your feet.

  Quiz is down on the mill floor.

  "Fizz-flopping flugelhorns, sir!  I thought you were a goner there!  Whew!
How are you getting down, though?  Hey, there's another doorway down here, by
the way!"

<>> l

 <> Gangway in the mill <>

  You are on the narrow railed gangway overlooking the mill floor.  At the
western end of the walk the conduit that should feed the waterwheel appears to
have been taken down; there is a sluice gate fixed in the wall which currently
has nowhere to run to.  A wooden lever arm operates it.

  Down on the mill floor you can see the great waterwheel, standing idle, as
well as the saw and roller bed, the sawdust heap, flitches, and all the rest.

  Light is filtering into the room from somewhere underneath your feet.

  The king-to-be is down on the mill floor.

<>> x doorway

  Examining the previously hidden doorway would be more informative if you were
nearer to it.

<>> * && Heh! Thanks.

  Comment recorded.

<>> x conduit

  You don't see any conduit in view.

<>> * && Perhaps a description of what it *should* be? "Normally, there would be a hollow half-trunk here, guiding the water onto the waterwheel." (I don't know if that's in any way correct, but you get my meaning...)

  Comment recorded.

<>> x sluice gate

  The sluice gate is built into the back wall of the mill, and is raised or
lowered to supply or cut off the flow of water to the mill wheel.  It's tightly
lowered shut.

  The old mill groans slightly.

<>> ask quisborne about doorway

  These aren't the best circumstances for chatter with the prince.

<>> open sluice

  Mmmph... you can't seem to open it.  Some muddy residue around the edges
makes you wonder if dried mud and grime on the outside have caked the gate
shut.

<>> * && outside... I was wondering that myself when thinking about where tha water came from...

  Comment recorded.

<>> l

 <> Gangway in the mill <>

  You are on the narrow railed gangway overlooking the mill floor.  At the
western end of the walk the conduit that should feed the waterwheel appears to
have been taken down; there is a sluice gate fixed in the wall which currently
has nowhere to run to.  A wooden lever arm operates it.

  Down on the mill floor you can see the great waterwheel, standing idle, as
well as the saw and roller bed, the sawdust heap, flitches, and all the rest.

  Light is filtering into the room from somewhere underneath your feet.

  The Prince of Dwindeldorn is down on the mill floor.

  The building makes a slight creak.

<>> x lever

  You probably don't need to do anything with the lever other than maybe push
or pull it.

<>> push it

  You need to pull the lever to lift the gate.

  The old timbers of the building shift noisily with a gust of wind.

<>> pull lever

  If indeed it's caked shut with mud, it might not open again unless the
conduit on the outside leading to the gate is filled with water again.

<>> g

  If indeed it's caked shut with mud, it might not open again unless the
conduit on the outside leading to the gate is filled with water again.

<>> open sluice

  If indeed it's caked shut with mud, it might not open again unless the
conduit on the outside leading to the gate is filled with water again.

  The old timbers of the building shift noisily with a gust of wind.

<>> * && If OPEN SLUICE works, then why is the lever even mentioned. "OPEN SLUICE ; And how would you propose to do that?" perhaps?

  Comment recorded.

<>> l

 <> Gangway in the mill <>

  You are on the narrow railed gangway overlooking the mill floor.  At the
western end of the walk the conduit that should feed the waterwheel appears to
have been taken down; there is a sluice gate fixed in the wall which currently
has nowhere to run to.  A wooden lever arm operates it.

  Down on the mill floor you can see the great waterwheel, standing idle, as
well as the saw and roller bed, the sawdust heap, flitches, and all the rest.

  Light is filtering into the room from somewhere underneath your feet.

  The princeling is down on the mill floor.

<>> x light

  "Light" could either be something as yet unknown to you or else a phrasing
unknown to us.

<>> e

  You don't need to travel directionally while on the gangway: you can access
any part of it from here.

  The building makes a slight creak.

<>> save

  Saved.

<>> jump in sawdust

  In the absence of any better plan, you decide your only way off of the
gangway is by a nerve-wracking leap over the guardrail...


  You land on the heap with a terrific explosion of sawdust – and all manner of
other dust – nearly choking with coughing, and blinded by the cloud you've
created, but still sound of life and limb.
  "Blubbering bow-legged bullfrogs, sir!  You made it down!  Are you all
right?!" the prince inquires.  It turns out that you are.

  In the course of your landing you felt something inside the pile that
inhibited your downward progress: something that apparently you didn't find in
your previous search of the sawdust.  Clearing it off, you see what appears to
be a portion of a canvas.  Perhaps it was thrown as a cover over the sawdust
heap when the heap was much smaller, and then it just ended up getting buried
in more dust.


 <> An abandoned sawmill <>

  You are inside the main room of the sawmill; it's well-lit with the wide door
thrown open.  You can see the large sawing apparatus, situated centrally in
line with a bed of great wooden rollers, on which the logs traveled through the
saw.

  With the door slid open, you can also see, along the back wall, a massive
heap of sawdust, and a gangway running across the room up high.  The floor is
strewn with flitches.

  Along the western side of the building, standing idle, is the giant
waterwheel, which is connected by a fascinating train of shafts, gears, and
belts to the main sawing apparatus.

  A thick log has been left lying on the roller bed.

  A doorway, previously concealed by the temporary stack of flitches, leads
east out of the back corner of the building.

  A canvas tarp is visible in the sawdust.

  Prince Quisborne is present and accounted for.


*** Your score has just gone up by two points ***

<>> * && I love this place!

  Comment recorded.

<>> get tarp

  Being desirous of the canvas, you dispatch young Quisborne to the task of
digging it out of the sawdust heap.  He does, and after shaking it off, you
fold up the canvas and carry it along with you.

<>> jump in heap

  Unable to resist the childish urge, you run and take a flying leap into the
soft sawdust.  After a few violent sneezes and several minutes of brushing
yourself off, you resume your adult dignity.  Prince Quisborne says, "Hey, me
too!" and flings himself into the pile.

  Prince Quisborne makes conversation.  "Did you know, sir?  Starfish have two
stomachs!  And their stomachs can be sort of barfed out to engulf small prey.
Animals are so neat!"

<>> * && Wheeeee!!!

  Comment recorded.

<>> l

 <> An abandoned sawmill <>

  You are inside the main room of the sawmill; it's well-lit with the wide door
thrown open.  You can see the large sawing apparatus, situated centrally in
line with a bed of great wooden rollers, on which the logs traveled through the
saw.

  With the door slid open, you can also see, along the back wall, a massive
heap of sawdust, and a gangway running across the room up high.  The floor is
strewn with flitches.

  Along the western side of the building, standing idle, is the giant
waterwheel, which is connected by a fascinating train of shafts, gears, and
belts to the main sawing apparatus.

  A thick log has been left lying on the roller bed.

  A doorway, previously concealed by the temporary stack of flitches, leads
east out of the back corner of the building.

  The young sprig of royalty is present as ever.

<>> x tarp

  It's a piece of canvas tarp, about ten feet square.  It's a dirty flaxen
color.

  The young figurehead takes a flying leap into the sawdust heap.

<>> x doorway

  The doorway is in the back corner of the room, leading out east.

<>> * && Is the tarp watertight? To improvise a conduit under the sluice gate?

  Comment recorded.

<>> e

   Turning northwards just outside the doorway, a vague trail leads up the side
of a steep bank directly behind the mill, and you follow it...

 <> By a millpond <>

  You're at the edge of the millpond, behind the mill itself.  Tall trees close
you in, a light breeze occasionally rustling them around.  From the edge of the
pond the ground drops quickly towards the mill, and the bank is covered in
thick, deep ground cover.  A conduit connecting to the sluice gate in the mill
wall travels on elevated trestles until it reaches the bank of the pond, where
it can tap the water stored there.
  For some reason, the pond is empty, save for a scummy mess of algae, muck and
puddles down in the bed.
  The woods and the underbrush have grown up particularly densely all around
the pond, but on the side of the pond farthest from the mill, you espy a sort
of break in the growth that you judge to be the channel that would have
connected the millpond to the river.  A path leads back southward down the
steep bank towards the back door of the mill.

  The young sprig of royalty is present and accounted for.

<>> x trees

  Of all the trees you've ever seen, these are some of them.  Even for how
densely they grow here, they are still very large in diameter.

  Dwindeldorn's future king tries to look for frogs.

<>> smell breeze

  You aren't aware of any breeze here.

<>> x pond

  The pond must have been dug generations ago; the steeply falling ground near
to the river makes for an ideal site to build a mill.  But now the pond is more
or less just a big crater in the dirt with a thin layer of swamp for a bottom.

<>> x mud

  The ground does not possess any outstanding features.

<>> x swamp

  Whether groundwater or rainwater, the bottom of the pond is still mucky even
though appearing to have been otherwise dry for many years.

  The Dwindeldornian prince accidentally fumbles something into the deep ground
cover on the pond bank, rummages around for awhile, and finds it again.

<>> enter pond

  You climb down into the scummy pond bed, but making no great discoveries
besides how unpleasant it feels to get stinking muck down your boots, you climb
back out.

  The air is quite still.

<>> smell

  You smell nothing out of the ordinary.

  Varied shadows accent the landscape.

<>> * && Muck.

  Comment recorded.

<>> l

 <> By a millpond <>

  You're at the edge of the millpond, behind the mill itself.  The bank is
covered in thick, deep ground cover, and tall trees close you in.  A gutter-
shaped conduit connecting to the sluice gate in the mill wall travels on
elevated trestles until it reaches the bank of the pond.
  For some reason, the pond is empty, save for a scummy mess of muck at the
bottom.  The underbrush have grown up particularly densely all around the pond,
but on the side of the pond farthest from the mill, you espy a sort of break in
the growth that you judge to be the channel that would have connected the
millpond to the river.  A path leads back southward down the steep bank towards
the back door of the mill.

  Quiz is sticking nearby, sack in tow.

<>> x channel

  The millrace leads further into the dense underbrush, and is completely dry,
apparently not presently connected to the river.

  The royal youth prowls around the edge of the pond.

<>> follow channel

   PQ and you both seem to have the same idea at the same time.  By following
the dry channel of the millrace into the woods, you're able to make headway
through the dense foliage and thickets without losing your bearings.  Soon the
foliage begins to thin...

 <> Ribbleskinder River <>

  You've made your way to the bank of the Ribbleskinder River, which flows in
from the north, and bends off to the southwest at this particular spot.  On
both sides densely growing trees of substantial diameter line the green banks
of the river.
  In a moment, it becomes suddenly clear why you found the millpond empty...
you can see that the millrace is blocked off from the river by a mountainous
deposit of flood debris, which are effectively creating a dam.
  The only apparent way to go is back along the millpond channel to the
southeast.

  Quisborne the Feckless tags along.

  The air near the dam smells quite unpleasant.

  The river water sparkles and swirls.

<>> * && A hamster dam?

  Comment recorded.

<>> * && Thanks for implementing FOLLOW. Ideal in circumstances such as this.

  Comment recorded.

<>> x millrace

  It is essentially a miniature canal that was dug to divert some of the river
water off into the millpond for use.  It looks like it's been dry (or at least
just mucky) a long time, due to the flooding blockage.

  An eagle flies high above you.

<>> x eagle

  The fowl aren't too concerned about you or Prince Quisborne, and you needn't
be too concerned about them.

  The movements of the trees create dapplings of light on the ground.

<>> x dam

  It's a miniature mountain of tangled, interlocked flood debris.  A great tree
with an enormous, gnarled root ball must have lodged in the channel opening
during some past flood, and then other logs, branches, flotsam and mats of
debris caught and built up around it over time, until the blockage finally
became impenetrable to water flow.  The dam smells quite foul, as it is a big
trap for all kinds of gunk, scum, rotting matter, and dead things.

  The young figurehead wrinkles his nose.

<>> x debris

  It's a miniature mountain of tangled, interlocked flood debris.  A great tree
with an enormous, gnarled root ball must have lodged in the channel opening
during some past flood, and then other logs, branches, flotsam and mats of
debris caught and built up around it over time, until the blockage finally
became impenetrable to water flow.  The dam smells quite foul, as it is a big
trap for all kinds of gunk, scum, rotting matter, and dead things.

<>> clear debris

  There would need to be something erasable written on the dam of debris.

  The incumbent to the throne gets in some pull-ups.

<>> * && Hahaa! What a wonderful misunderstanding!

  Comment recorded.

<>> write "dam" on dam

  That wouldn't be a great surface for writing on with chalk.

<>> move debris

  The dam is far too large – and is composed of logs too large – to think of
moving.

  The air near the dam smells quite unpleasant.

<>> x river

  The river flows strong and clear here, gaining speed for a short plunge which
you can see in the distance downriver.

<>> jump in river

  Prince Quisborne would not be able to follow you across the river, and you'd
be at some risk yourself in such a current.

<>> d

  There are no openings below you here.

  Your sidekick climbs on part of the dam.

<>> climb dam

  The prince gets a little ways up on the driftwood and probes around.  Under a
mat of branches he discovers the putrid remains of a dead fish.
  "Ye gags!" he says.  "Now we know why it smells so bad around here."

<>> climb dam

  You climb around for awhile on the large pile of dammed junk.

  The youth squats down by the river.

  The air near the dam smells quite unpleasant.

<>> climb dam

  You climb around for awhile on the large pile of dammed junk.

<>> smell

  The air near the dam smells quite unpleasant.

<>> light dam

  An interesting idea.  But unfortunately the dam is too dampened to be damaged
by fire.  It's perpetually semi-soggy with muck and slime.

  Prince Quisborne the Feckless skips rocks.

<>> i

  Between you and your human pack mule, you're in possession of an iron bar,
the knife, your ember box, a cattail, the piece of horehound candy, the flyer,
the piece of chalk, the whittled stag's head, a beet, the broken mattock, the
basket, a wood strip, the fork, the needle, a bunch of carrots, some vines, the
burlap sack, and the canvas tarp.  The basket contains some sawdust.

<>> pry dam with iron bar

  "Dam with iron bar" is either:
 - Something you haven't come across yet
 - Something not necessary to your adventure
 - A phrasing we aren't equipped to handle

<>> pry dam

  The dam of debris does not seem to be of a peelable nature.

<>> lever dam

  This is one of those times where we may not have covered the verb you're
trying to use...

<>> break dam

  If you want to break the dam, we need some ideas beyond your bare hands.

<>> break dam with iron bar

  The iron bar doesn't really qualify as a dam-breaking tool.

<>> tie vines to dam

  You'd have trouble trying to tie the vines to that in any satisfactory way.

  You see a raccoon moseying along the ground.

<>> cut dam

(with the knife)
  That's probably not necessary.

  Your ostensible squire is studying the curled-up proboscis of a resting
butterfly.

  The air near the dam smells quite unpleasant.

<>> * && I could pour huge amounts of salt in the cracks between the debris... It would swell up and press the branches and trunks apart. Works better with brittle rocks though, I think.

  Comment recorded.

<>> break dam with mattock

  The broken mattock doesn't really qualify as a dam-breaking tool.

<>> save

  Saved.

<>> * && A hugely entertaining session. This dam has not seen the last of me and Quis.

  Comment recorded.

<>> script off

&
&
&
&

  The transcript will be saved to the file.  Type SCRIPT OFF to discontinue
scripting.

<>> l

 <> Ribbleskinder River <>

  You've made your way to the bank of the Ribbleskinder River, which flows in
from the north, and bends off to the southwest at this particular spot.  On
both sides densely growing trees of substantial diameter line the green banks
of the river.
  You can see that the millrace is blocked off from the river by a mountainous
deposit of flood debris, which are effectively creating a dam.
  The only apparent way to go is back along the millpond channel to the
southeast.

  The putrid remains of a dead fish are suspended in the dam where Quisborne
has cleared some branches away.

  The young sprig of royalty is with you like a second shadow.

  The air near the dam smells quite unpleasant.

<>> * && I think I've done a thorough reconnaissance of Dwindeldorn. A bit of sightseeing, one might say. Off to the north now.

  Comment recorded.

<>> se

   You follow the edge of the millrace through the thick brush and back to the
millpond...

 <> By a millpond <>

  You're at the edge of the millpond, behind the mill itself.  The bank is
covered in thick, deep ground cover, and tall trees close you in.  A gutter-
shaped conduit connecting to the sluice gate in the mill wall travels on
elevated trestles until it reaches the bank of the pond.
  The pond is empty, save for a scummy mess of muck at the bottom.  Amidst the
thick underbrush you can see the millrace going northwest.  A path leads back
southward down the steep bank towards the back door of the mill.

  Your ostensible squire is here, with sack slung over his shoulder.

<>> s

   You go back down the steep bank and in through the back door of the mill...

 <> An abandoned sawmill <>

  You are inside the main room of the sawmill; it's well-lit with the wide door
thrown open.  You can see the large sawing apparatus, situated centrally in
line with a bed of great wooden rollers, on which the logs traveled through the
saw.

  With the door slid open, you can also see, along the back wall, a massive
heap of sawdust, and a gangway running across the room up high.  The floor is
strewn with flitches.

  Along the western side of the building, standing idle, is the giant
waterwheel, which is connected by a fascinating train of shafts, gears, and
belts to the main sawing apparatus.

  A thick log has been left lying on the roller bed.

  A doorway, previously concealed by the temporary stack of flitches, leads
east out of the back corner of the building.

  The future king of Dwindeldorn is following you wherever you go.

  The old mill groans slightly.

<>> s

 <> Outside an abandoned sawmill <>

  This is the site of an old mill, no longer in operation.  The building stands
among tall trees and thick thorn thickets to the north.  The side of the
building facing you is dominated by a wide rolling door, which is slid wide
open.  You can hear the river to the west, and a track leads upwards southeast.

  The Dwindeldornian prince is present and accounted for.

<>> se

   The track takes you up out of the woods back to the top of a knoll...

 <> Knoll over the Ribbleskinder valley <>

  This is a region known colloquially as "The Haystacks", so named for its many
hills, not large but spaced out and decidedly mound-shaped.  At some distance
to the west and the north are the Ribbleskinder River and a highland,
respectively... east and south you can spot a few castles and farms.
  There is a junction of roads on this particular knoll; they lead northeast
toward the high country, southeast, and south.  There is also a wagon track
leading downhill to the northwest.

  The young figurehead is present as ever.

<>> nw

   You descend into the woods towards the river bottom...

 <> Outside an abandoned sawmill <>

  This is the site of an old mill, no longer in operation.  The building stands
among tall trees and thick thorn thickets to the north.  The side of the
building facing you is dominated by a wide rolling door, which is slid wide
open.  You can hear the river to the west, and a track leads upwards southeast.

  Your "squire" is in tow.

  A bird poops on the future ruler of Dwindeldorn.

<>> undo

   Taking back one turn: “nw”.

 <> Knoll over the Ribbleskinder valley <>

  This is a region known colloquially as "The Haystacks", so named for its many
hills, not large but spaced out and decidedly mound-shaped.  At some distance
to the west and the north are the Ribbleskinder River and a highland,
respectively... east and south you can spot a few castles and farms.
  There is a junction of roads on this particular knoll; they lead northeast
toward the high country, southeast, and south.  There is also a wagon track
leading downhill to the northwest.

  The youth tags along.

<>> ne

   The road to the northeast traverses the knobby hill country to its northern
edge, passing through the village of Wickerhorn along the way.  There, the road
climbs a large escarpment in the earth to the highland beyond it.  The country
quickly grows cooler and sparser on this highland, as you travel what is called
simply the North Road...

  Somewhere between leaving there and arriving here, you and the prince stopped
for the night.

 <> The Northern Marches <>

  It is a chilly and sparsely-populated country here in the Northern Marches,
where the inhabited lands of Dwindeldorn border upon the great wilds.  There
are still to be seen here and there farmers working a field of hardy rye with
teams of small woolly oxen, and most of the houses and barns to be seen are at
least partially dug into a bank of earth.  Gentle cliffs from higher plateaus
frequently wall off the view, and many a small ribbon-like waterfall rushes
over the edge of these.  Most of the trees in sight grow in scattered clusters,
and long-haired sheep with their shepherds are plentiful upon the opens.
  The North Road, upon which you travel, makes its way northwest toward the
wilds, and southwest towards the heart of Dwindeldorn.

  Your "squire" is in tow.

  [Your adventures are destined to be quite expansive, so we'd like to apprise
you of an option that may simplify traveling.  For certain destinations, you
may enter 'travel to {destination name}' (or 'tr {destname}'), whereupon our
heroes will move one journey leg closer to that destination.  Thereafter, you
may simply enter 'g' (which is short for 'again'), and they will continue to
move towards the desired location until it is reached.
  To see a list of participating destinations, use the command 'destinations'
(or 'dests').]

<>> destinations

  You may try to travel to one of the following locations:

  -Forthlong Hall
  -Blatterfarthing (smithy)
  -Squarchminster (playing field)
  -the ferry
  -Kinterole (construction site)
  -the sawmill
  -Gramblefork
  -the North Road
  -the quarry
  -Thymeleigh Manor
  -the seashore

  The young sprig of royalty makes a dash for some landmark a ways off, reaches
it, and dashes back.

<>> * && This travel system is very considerate. Thank you.

  Comment recorded.

<>> l

 <> The Northern Marches <>

  It is a chilly and sparsely-populated country here in the Northern Marches.
You catch an occasional sighting of farmers with teams of woolly oxen, partly
dug-in houses, or flocks of long-haired sheep with their shepherds.  Many a
small ribbon-like waterfall rushes down from the cliff edge of higher plateau,
and most of the trees in sight grow in scattered clusters.
  The North Road leads northwest, and southwest towards the heart of
Dwindeldorn.

  Near by your side sticks the prince.

  Prince Quisborne the Feckless keeps up his pushup regimen.

<>> x oxen

  The oxen seen around here are of a small and shaggy breed.  You can see a
team of them out doing some work in a field.

  A multitude of baaing sheep migrate onto the road just ahead of you and
decide to loiter there.  The shepherd apologizes, and gets the flock out of
your way.

<>> x farmers

  It's a tough and resilient folk that people these outlying lands.  You have
occasionally seen them out working their land while traveling this road, and
here you can see at least one bloke out in the distance with a team of oxen.

  A shepherd seems to be steering some sheep away from a patch of undesirable
forage.

<>> * && I love that the plural of "ox" is "oxen".

  Comment recorded.

<>> * && Languages are weird that way.

  Comment recorded.

<>> x shepherds

  It's surely a peaceful and meditative life, that of a shepherd in these
remote hills.  For all you can tell, they seem happy amongst their flocks,
dressed in their homespun wool.

<>> x sheep

  The sheep that you see in these northern parts have long straight wool, which
hangs nearly to their feet.

  Stiff winds roar across the opens.

<>> l

 <> The Northern Marches <>

  It is a chilly and sparsely-populated country here in the Northern Marches.
You catch an occasional sighting of farmers with teams of woolly oxen, partly
dug-in houses, or flocks of long-haired sheep with their shepherds.  Many a
small ribbon-like waterfall rushes down from the cliff edge of higher plateau,
and most of the trees in sight grow in scattered clusters.
  The North Road leads northwest, and southwest towards the heart of
Dwindeldorn.

  Nearby, PQ is ambling around.

<>> x waterfalls

  Many of the waterfalls appearing over the clifftops are blown completely into
vanishing mist before ever reaching the ground.

  The Feckless bleats towards the sheep.

<>> * && Waw... This is a beautiful view. Such an imposing, wide landscape. Your description reminds me of Mongolia.

  Comment recorded.

<>> se

  You're supposed to be looking for clues as to the fate of the lost crown of
Dwindeldorn in some legendary castle of the far north.  Best let the road take
you as far as it will go.

<>> nw

  Northward the North Road goes, true to its name.  At length, the high road
comes to an end, and the already sparse settlements all but cease.  The air is
getting frosty, but you forge ahead.  Somewhere out here an abandoned fastness
is said to lie, and the two of you are bent on finding it.  The open hills and
pastures give way to a land thickly grown up with pines, and you begin to find
a dusting of snow underfoot...

 <> Frozen lake shore <>

  You are truly out in the wilds of Dwindeldorn now... you feel that you have
seen the last of the little cottages and huts that straggle out on the borders
of any wilderness frontier.  To your knowledge, no other peoples or inhabited
realms lie beyond here in the grim North.
  From where you stand, a frozen lake stretches away north into the hazy
distance, majestic and mournful.  The lake is very narrow in proportion to its
length, and steep, dark-treed slopes carpeted with snow rise to considerable
heights directly from the water's edge, making the lake into a deep and snaking
valley.  The lake runs upwards of two miles to the north, appearing there to
make a bend to the northeast and disappear behind the rising slopes of the
valley.
  All together, the scene is one of a haunting and lonely beauty.
Southeastwards the ground rises much more gradually through a snowy evergreen
wood.

  Prince Quisborne tags along, carrying the sack.

<>> 

  Silence can also be a virtue.

 <> Frozen lake shore <>

  You are out in the northern wilds of Dwindeldorn, where the wastes spread far
away to the unpeopled lands beyond.
  From where you stand, a frozen lake stretches away north into the hazy
distance, majestic and mournful.  The lake is very narrow in proportion to its
length, and steep, dark-treed slopes carpeted with snow rise to considerable
heights directly from the water's edge, making the lake into a deep and snaking
valley.  The lake runs upwards of two miles to the north, appearing there to
make a bend to the northeast and disappear behind the rising slopes of the
valley.
  All together, the scene is one of a haunting and lonely beauty.
Southeastwards the ground rises much more gradually through a snowy evergreen
wood.

  The incumbent to the throne is present.

<>> x lake

  The surface of the lake is extremely smooth and glassy.  There's no telling
how thick the ice is, other than very.

<>> x ice

  The surface of the lake is extremely smooth and glassy.  There's no telling
how thick the ice is.

<>> dig ice with mattock

  The lake ice is extremely thick.  Splintering away at it would not be a
rewarding effort.

  A bird poops on the future ruler of Dwindeldorn.

<>> * && "There's no telling how thick the ice is." BANG SMASH... "The lake ice is extremely thick."

  Comment recorded.

<>> look under ice

  You can't see anything through the milky ice.

<>> take ice

  It doesn't really work to take the ice here... it just turns to splinters
when you hack at it.

<>> lick ice

  Well, there are worse things to lick than ice.

<>> lick quiz

  Situations in which that would make sense: None?  Maybe if you were a lioness
and he was your cub.

<>> * && Hah!

  Comment recorded.

<>> l

 <> Frozen lake shore <>

  A narrow frozen lake stretches away north into the hazy distance, majestic
and mournful.  Steep, dark-treed slopes carpeted with snow rise to considerable
heights directly on either side of the lake.  The lake runs upwards of two
miles to the north, appearing there to make a bend to the northeast; where you
are the southern end of the lake meets its shore.  Southeastwards the ground
rises much more gradually through a snowy evergreen wood.

  Your ostensible squire is present.

<>> x snow

  The snow is a peculiar material, being composed of frozen crystals of water.
It has descended from the clouds, and possesses a distinctive whitish color.

  The king-to-be snugs his garments tighter around him.

<>> taste snow

  No harm in that... you chomp down a mouthful of snow.

<>> search snow

  The snow isn't very deep here as a carpet, but further up the lake the drifts
grow to considerable depths.

<>> x slopes

  The valley walls waver in and out, varying the lake's width, but they don't
waver from being too snowy, steep and tree-covered to rationally travel over or
along.

<>> * && That was indeed what I was contemplating, avoiding the lake altogether and making our way over the forseted snowy slopes.

  Comment recorded.

<>> x trees

  Dark green, full-bodied needle trees cover the steep slopes of the lake
valley.  They are very picturesquely frosted with snow.

<>> l

 <> Frozen lake shore <>

  A narrow frozen lake stretches away north into the hazy distance, majestic
and mournful.  Steep, dark-treed slopes carpeted with snow rise to considerable
heights directly on either side of the lake.  The lake runs upwards of two
miles to the north, appearing there to make a bend to the northeast; where you
are the southern end of the lake meets its shore.  Southeastwards the ground
rises much more gradually through a snowy evergreen wood.

  Your companion is present.

<>> * && Am I going to need a sled made from the flinches in the mill. Or snowshoes from the Thymesleigh Ladies' badminton rackets?

  Comment recorded.

<>> * && Every nerve in my body is pulling the alarm bell now...

  Comment recorded.

<>> n

   Tentatively you pick your steps out onto the surface of the ice...

 <> On the ice of a frozen lake <>

  You are on the ice surface of the long, frozen lake in a deep valley, right
at the lake's southern end.  Snowy evergreen slopes enclose the narrow breadth
of the lake, and large drifted banks of snow line its eastern and western
shores.  The lake and its ice extend much farther to the north, and going south
would bring you back to the snow-covered shore.

  You find walking on the ice extremely difficult... there is almost no powdery
coating to help provide a little traction, and the few sun rays that make it
through the clouds and haze have just moistened the surface to a maximum of
slickness.

  The future ruler of the land totters perilously onto the ice.

<>> spread sawdust on ice

  You may be trying to use a verb that we weren't instructed how to handle...

<>> sprinkle ice with sawdust

  This is one of those times where we may not have covered the verb you're
trying to use...

<>> powder ice with sawdust

  You may be trying to use a verb that we weren't instructed how to handle...

<>> lightly dust the slippery surface with some sawdust

  This is one of those times where we may not have covered the verb you're
trying to use...

<>> throw sawdust on ice

  You should just put it down instead.

  The boy rubs his fingers to keep them warm.

<>> get sawdust

  You take the sawdust.

<>> drop it

  You drop the sawdust.

  The prince wipes out on the ice.

<>> get sawdust

  You take the sawdust.

  A clump of snow falls loudly off of a pine bough.

<>> put sawdust in basket

  You put the sawdust in the basket.

  "Hey, Valkyrian... think fast!"  Prince Quisborne cackles mischievously and
launches a snowball at you.  He misses every part of your body by three full
feet.

<>> throw snowball at quiz

  There isn't any snowball here, but no one's saying you couldn't make one.

<>> make snowball

  You grab some snow and make it into a snowball.

  Blowing snow causes the drifts to accumulate even more, covering up pine
cones and small animal tracks entirely.

<>> throw snowball at quiz

  You rocket a snowball at Quisborne, and smack him square in the face.  He
sputters and stumbles for a moment, then laughs.  "Ha ha!  You got me good,
Valkyrian!"  Then he tries to launch a snowball back at you and misses you by
two feet.

  An owl glides by.

<>> make snowball

  You grab some snow and make it into a snowball.

<>> throw snowball at quiz

  You playfully spatter Prince Q with another snowball.

<>> make snowball

  You grab some snow and make it into a snowball.

  You spend a few minutes rubbing your fingertips to keep them from going numb.

<>> put snowball in basket

  You put the snowball in the basket.

  The boy plays in the snow.

<>> put all in basket

iron bar:  You put the iron bar in the basket.
knife:  You put the knife in the basket.
your ember box:  You put your ember box in the basket.
cattail:  You put the cattail in the basket.
piece of horehound candy:  You put the piece of horehound candy in the basket.
flyer:  You put the flyer in the basket.
piece of chalk:  You put the piece of chalk in the basket.
whittled stag's head:  You put the whittled stag's head in the basket.
beet:  You put the beet in the basket.
broken mattock:  You put the broken mattock in the basket.
wood strip:  You put the wood strip in the basket.
fork:  You put the fork in the basket.
needle:  You put the needle in the basket.
bunch of carrots:  You put the bunch of carrots in the basket.
vines:  You put the vines in the basket.

burlap sack:  Two things: you don't need to be explicit about whether you or
the prince set the sack down to do something else; also, if you're planning on
leaving the sack behind, we're just not going to do that, because it would be
quite inconvenient to continue your adventure without being able to carry more
than a couple of items at a time.

canvas tarp:  There's only so much room in the basket to put things.

  "Guess what, Valkyrian!  There's this little critter called a pebble toad,
that can fold up his limbs and roll down a slope or off a cliff to get away!"

<>> * && Big basket, that is.

  Comment recorded.

<>> put all in sack

basket:  You don't need to be explicit about putting your stuff in the sack...
you know where and when to store things and when to access them.

canvas tarp:  You don't need to be explicit about putting your stuff in the
sack... you know where and when to store things and when to access them.

<>> get all from basket

  You take the sawdust, a snowball, the iron bar, the knife, your ember box,
the cattail, the piece of horehound candy, the flyer, the piece of chalk, the
whittled stag's head, the beet, the broken mattock, a wood strip, the fork, the
needle, and the bunch of carrots from the basket.

vines:  The vines aren’t attached to that.

  The royal youth pulls apart a pine cone.

<>> gret vines

  You may be trying to use a verb that we weren't instructed how to handle...

<>> get vines

  You take the vines.

  Little pikas play on the steep sides of the lake valley.

<>> put sawdust in basket

  You put the sawdust in the basket.

<>> scatter sawdust on ice

  This is one of those times where we may not have covered the verb you're
trying to use...

<>> strew sawdust on ice

  You may be trying to use a verb that we weren't instructed how to handle...

<>> pepper ice with sawdust

  This is one of those times where we may not have covered the verb you're
trying to use...

<>> bespeckle ice with sawdust

  You may be trying to use a verb that we weren't instructed how to handle...

<>> * && The mention of the lack of snow making the ice slippery because there's no soft and powdery layer underfoot made me think that I should spread some sawdust around.

  Comment recorded.

<>> l

 <> On the ice of a frozen lake <>

  You are on the ice surface of the long, frozen lake in a deep valley, right
at the lake's southern end.  Snowy evergreen slopes enclose the narrow breadth
of the lake, and large drifted banks of snow line its eastern and western
shores.  The lake and its ice extend much farther to the north, and going south
would bring you back to the snow-covered shore.

  The youth is struggling to keep himself upright on the ice, and doesn't have
a winning record at it.

  A prolonged gust alters the shape of the drifts lining either edge of the
lake.

<>> n

  Having come this far out onto the ice, you realize that trying to proceed
farther down the lake on foot is entirely implausible.  You, with your training
and your physical prowess, can scarcely keep yourself upright, while Prince
Quisborne... well.  He's down on the ice doing a pretty good rendition of a
fish out of water.  Oh, there... now he's up again.  Nope... down.  Now up.
It's going to be a long day if you keep him on the ice.

  "A pox upon my blundering feet!" he bellows.  "Valkyrian, I'm sorry...  I
don't think I can manage the ice!  Figs!  The lake surely looks like the best
way to keep going north... if not the *only* way.  What are we going to do
now?"  The prince indulges in a moment of dejection.

  Well, you know what it's time to do, and you tell the prince as much.  It's
time for you both to use your wits, find resources, be creative, or be daring
as the need calls for.  Explore thoroughly!  Gather whatever seems like it
could be useful!  Try, search, ask... and accomplish the goal one little step
at a time.
  These are exactly the sorts of things that you had always intended to put the
inexperienced prince through, even before all of the unexpected developments
with Persimmon and Lord Zendarc.  Only then, you would have had to contrive
arbitrary objectives for him to meet, for which he would have had far less
incentive to persevere and endure hardship.  To be frank, you aren't at all
sorry to find an obstacle in your path.

  Time, for once, is not of the essence, for after all, learning the crown's
whereabouts is not the only requirement for retrieving it to present to Lord
Zendarc.  According to the legend, Prince Quisborne must also be worthy to
reclaim it; he must be made of the stuff that can earn a new name for his long-
defamed house; and that involves a process of making and of growing, of
development and change.  Haste can only be counterproductive.
  The prince is probably right about one thing: the steep wintry terrain
stretching east and west looks all but impassable, and the lake looks like your
key to get as far north as the Fells.  It's just a key you'll have to figure
out how to make use of...

<>> l

 <> On the ice of a frozen lake <>

  You are on the ice surface of the long, frozen lake in a deep valley, right
at the lake's southern end.  Snowy evergreen slopes enclose the narrow breadth
of the lake, and large drifted banks of snow line its eastern and western
shores.  The lake and its ice extend much farther to the north, and going south
would bring you back to the snow-covered shore.

  The prince is struggling to keep himself upright on the ice, and not having
very much success.

<>> script off

&
&
&
&

  The transcript will be saved to the file.  Type SCRIPT OFF to discontinue
scripting.

<>> * && This situation asks for a pulling together of everything I've seen and discovered until now. My first objective is the horse.

  Comment recorded.

<>> ask quiz about horse

  "I don't know why, I just never got around to learning to ride them.  I feel
quite silly about that now... especially around you, with all your
knightliness."

<>> ask quiz about ice

  You and the lad converse for a few minutes on a topic that's on your mind.

<>> ask quiz about lake

  You get the prince's take on the ice.

<>> s

  Southeast is a better direction for getting back to settled lands and
established travel routes.

<>> se

   You find your way back through the wastes to the origin of the North Road,
and head southeast...  (You both camped for the night.)

 <> The Northern Marches <>

  It is a chilly and sparsely-populated country here in the Northern Marches.
You catch an occasional sighting of farmers with teams of woolly oxen, partly
dug-in houses, or flocks of long-haired sheep with their shepherds.  Many a
small ribbon-like waterfall rushes down from the cliff edge of higher plateau,
and most of the trees in sight grow in scattered clusters.
  The North Road leads northwest, and southwest towards the heart of
Dwindeldorn.

  The incumbent to the throne is sticking nearby.

  Quisborne is yipping at a horsefly bite.

  At least seven waterfalls are in view from this spot, and send small,
continuous ribbons of water down to the earth below.

  Any snowballs you had with you have now melted away.

<>> sw

   The southwest journey takes you across the gradually descending highland,
where the North Road finally drops down a high escarpment and enters the
Haystacks.  You continue on past Wickerhorn and come to a knoll near
Eathbrutham Castle...

 <> Knoll over the Ribbleskinder valley <>

  This is a region known colloquially as "The Haystacks", so named for its many
hills, not large but spaced out and decidedly mound-shaped.  At some distance
to the west and the north are the Ribbleskinder River and a highland,
respectively... east and south you can spot a few castles and farms.
  There is a junction of roads on this particular knoll; they lead northeast
toward the high country, southeast, and south.  There is also a wagon track
leading downhill to the northwest.

  The heir to the throne of Dwindeldorn is following you as always.

<>> se

   The southeast road makes a very scenic course through the knobby hills and a
few small villages, coming after some distance to a region of fine farmland...
(You passed the night en route...)

 <> Country roads <>

  Thriving farms and croplands abound in this region, a number of which you can
see spreading out below to the west or the north from the slight rise that
you're on.  South and southeast of you a patch of woods blocks the view, but a
pair of stone pillars flank an overgrown lane which leads into it.
  Besides the weedy lane going southeast, the country roads wind east along the
edge of the woods, northwest, and southwest towards Squarchminster.

  Dwindeldorn's future king is here with you as always.

<>> e

   The road takes you quite a distance through north-central Dwindeldorn.  You
continue on through the town of Brittlebarrow, as well as a few other hamlets
and villages, and come eventually to a town not far from the eastern coast...

 <> Chelkwibble town <>

  This is Chelkwibble: a backwater town not far in from the eastern coast of
Dwindeldorn.  The town is noted for its fine cheeses and other products of
milkcraft.  To the eye, the town is distinctive for its variously-shaped roofs
of deep live sod, on which a goat might be seen.  There's a mead-hall and an
inn, and dirt streets can lead you out of the town in different directions:
southwest, west, northwest, northeast, and a lesser one southeastward toward
the coast.

  Near by your side is your protegé.

  The future king of Dwindeldorn sniffs.

  A boy pulls a dairy cart down the street.

<>> s

  There are plenty of roads to choose from, so don't be obstinate.

  Your ostensible squire makes a blade of grass screech between his thumbs.

<>> e

  Inside The Oyster Cloister, someone is swearing to his mates that he once had
a run-in with a two-headed dragon.  Other than overhearing similarly edifying
conversations, you just head back out into the street.

  The town is not a raucous place, but there is almost always some sound of
activity going on.

<>> w

   You travel quite a stretch westward from Chelkwibble.  The town of
Brittlebarrow, along with a few other hamlets and villages, lies along the way,
and then you come into a region of fine farmland...

  The travel involved stopping for the night, and starting again in the
morning.

 <> Country roads <>

  Thriving farms and croplands abound in this region, a number of which you can
see spreading out below to the west or the north from the slight rise that
you're on.  South and southeast of you a patch of woods blocks the view, but a
pair of stone pillars flank an overgrown lane which leads into it.
  Besides the weedy lane going southeast, the country roads wind east along the
edge of the woods, northwest, and southwest towards Squarchminster.

  Nearby, the youth is ambling around.

  "I bet we've walked several hundred miles since the day we left the
Festival... what do you think, sir?"  The prince's guess is pretty accurate.

<>> e

   The road takes you quite a distance through north-central Dwindeldorn.  You
continue on through the town of Brittlebarrow, as well as a few other hamlets
and villages, and come eventually to a town not far from the eastern coast...

 <> Chelkwibble town <>

  This is Chelkwibble: a backwater town not far in from the eastern coast of
Dwindeldorn.  The town is no overlarge one, yet it has garnered some fame
abroad on account of its fine cheeses and other products of milkcraft.  An old
mead-hall sits in the middle of town, and an inn is to the east.
  To the eye, the town is distinctive for its roofs of various shapes, one and
all of which are made from deep live sod.  In fact, it is a commonplace sight
here to see a sheep or goat contentedly munching grass on the top of a house,
for many of the houses' roofs have at least one side which slopes all the way
down and blends in to the ground.
  Quaint as it may be, under your present obligations Chelkwibble plays little
more than the role of a crossroads.  Dirt streets become roads which emanate
from various points of the town in different directions: southwest, west,
northwest, northeast, and a lesser one southeastward toward the coast.

  PQ is hanging around.

<>> sw

   Leaving southwest from Chelkwibble, you travel through the rugged but green
country of eastern Dwindeldorn.  At length the road makes its way into the
Golden Wood of Eshquoke...

 <> The Golden Wood of Eshquoke <>

  This is a region of Dwindeldorn known as The Golden Wood of Eshquoke, where
the natural colors of the trees' leaves are blazing yellowy-oranges and golds,
occasionally verging into orangey-pink and orange-red.  The forest is not so
dense but that patches of grass and dandelions are able to grow on the forest
floor.  The most passable tracks seems to lead west, northeast, and southeast.

  A horse, with no apparent owner, frolics gaily about in a nearby glade.

  Quisborne lollygags behind, and then catches up.

<>> x carrots

  They're dirty, and quite shriveled, but they're still carrots.

  Your squire creeps closer to the horse, and the horse creeps farther away.

<>> show carrots to horse

  The horse sees the carrots and starts to approach you.  He has this look like
he's going wherever the carrots go.

  Quisborne starts to jubilate over this development, but you wave him down so
he doesn't spook the horse.

<>> * && I don't even need to give them to her.

  Comment recorded.

<>> x horse

  It is a funny-looking animal; not quite right in the proportions.  Otherwise
it has all the equine features that one would expect.  Any time it gets close
enough to you, it sticks its neck out and tries to reach for the carrots you're
holding out.

<>> name horse

  This is one of those times where we may not have covered the verb you're
trying to use...

<>> give carrots to horse

  The horse gobbles at the carrots as you let him get within reach of them
without pulling them away.  He seems to immensely enjoy the treat, and you feel
as if he now views you as a friend.

  The Prince of Dwindeldorn walks amongst the trees.

<>> ne

   The northeastern route continues on through the peaceful and beautiful wood,
eventually emerging and traversing the rugged green country to Chelkwibble...
(Another night passed...)

 <> Chelkwibble town <>

  This is Chelkwibble: a backwater town not far in from the eastern coast of
Dwindeldorn.  The town is noted for its fine cheeses and other products of
milkcraft.  To the eye, the town is distinctive for its variously-shaped roofs
of deep live sod, on which a goat might be seen.  There's a mead-hall and an
inn, and dirt streets can lead you out of the town in different directions:
southwest, west, northwest, northeast, and a lesser one southeastward toward
the coast.

  Your squire is present as ever.

  A dairyman sees you and the prince and gratuitously offers you a taste of his
fresh-brewed batch of kefir.  The creamy, fizzy, just-rightly-pungent milk
tastes amazing, and you give the man your compliments.  The lad comments that
once he has any say in the matter, Castle Darchingcrast is going to be
regularly supplied by the dairy artisans of Chelkwibble.  The dairyman passes
on his way.

<>> sw

   Leaving southwest from Chelkwibble, you travel through the rugged but green
country of eastern Dwindeldorn.  At length the road makes its way into the
Golden Wood of Eshquoke...

 <> The Golden Wood of Eshquoke <>

  This is a region of Dwindeldorn known as The Golden Wood of Eshquoke.  For
many square miles around, the gentle hills are covered with curious trees whose
kind is scarcely to be found anywhere else.  The natural colors of these trees'
leaves are blazing yellowy-oranges and golds, occasionally verging into
orangey-pink and orange-red.
  This wood surrounds you, which is nowhere so dense but that some patches of
grass and dandelions are able to grow on the forest floor.  No road has been
made through the wood, but you appear to be upon the track most often followed
by those who would cross it.  From here the track seems to lead west,
northeast, and southeast.

  The horse is here, eating grass.

  Near by your side sticks your ostensible squire.

<>> mount horse

  The horse looks benignly at you as you try to climb on his back.  But, in
spite of his favorable opinion of you as a whole, he does not seem to be
reconciled to the idea of having you on his bare back.  He struggles just
energetically enough to convince you that bareback riding is probably not an
option, at least at the current level of trust between you.

<>> undo

   Taking back one turn: “mount horse”.

 <> The Golden Wood of Eshquoke <>

  This is a region of Dwindeldorn known as The Golden Wood of Eshquoke, where
the natural colors of the trees' leaves are blazing yellowy-oranges and golds,
occasionally verging into orangey-pink and orange-red.  The forest is not so
dense but that patches of grass and dandelions are able to grow on the forest
floor.  The most passable tracks seems to lead west, northeast, and southeast.

  The horse is here, grazing.

  The king-to-be is hanging around.

<>> undo

   Taking back one turn: “sw”.

 <> Chelkwibble town <>

  This is Chelkwibble: a backwater town not far in from the eastern coast of
Dwindeldorn.  The town is noted for its fine cheeses and other products of
milkcraft.  To the eye, the town is distinctive for its variously-shaped roofs
of deep live sod, on which a goat might be seen.  There's a mead-hall and an
inn, and dirt streets can lead you out of the town in different directions:
southwest, west, northwest, northeast, and a lesser one southeastward toward
the coast.

  Your sidekick is here with you as always.

<>> undo

   Taking back one turn: “ne”.

 <> The Golden Wood of Eshquoke <>

  This is a region of Dwindeldorn known as The Golden Wood of Eshquoke.  For
many square miles around, the gentle hills are covered with curious trees whose
kind is scarcely to be found anywhere else.  The natural colors of these trees'
leaves are blazing yellowy-oranges and golds, occasionally verging into
orangey-pink and orange-red.
  This wood surrounds you, which is nowhere so dense but that some patches of
grass and dandelions are able to grow on the forest floor.  No road has been
made through the wood, but you appear to be upon the track most often followed
by those who would cross it.  From here the track seems to lead west,
northeast, and southeast.

  The horse is here, grazing.

  Prince Quiz is with you like a second shadow.

<>> undo

   Taking back one turn: “give carrots to horse”.

 <> The Golden Wood of Eshquoke <>

  This is a region of Dwindeldorn known as The Golden Wood of Eshquoke.  For
many square miles around, the gentle hills are covered with curious trees whose
kind is scarcely to be found anywhere else.  The natural colors of these trees'
leaves are blazing yellowy-oranges and golds, occasionally verging into
orangey-pink and orange-red.
  This wood surrounds you, which is nowhere so dense but that some patches of
grass and dandelions are able to grow on the forest floor.  No road has been
made through the wood, but you appear to be upon the track most often followed
by those who would cross it.  From here the track seems to lead west,
northeast, and southeast.

  The horse is still near you, looking longingly at the carrots, and trying to
move closer.

  The ever-present prince is here.

<>> ne

   The horse trails along behind you, attracted by the carrots.

  The northeastern route continues on through the peaceful and beautiful wood,
eventually emerging and traversing the rugged green country to Chelkwibble...
(Another night passed...)

  The peculiar horse actually stayed near by you all night – you keeping the
carrots out of reach – and continued following when you got on your way in the
morning.

 <> Chelkwibble town <>

  This is Chelkwibble: a backwater town not far in from the eastern coast of
Dwindeldorn.  The town is noted for its fine cheeses and other products of
milkcraft.  To the eye, the town is distinctive for its variously-shaped roofs
of deep live sod, on which a goat might be seen.  There's a mead-hall and an
inn, and dirt streets can lead you out of the town in different directions:
southwest, west, northwest, northeast, and a lesser one southeastward toward
the coast.

  The horse has followed you here, its eyes fixed on the carrots you showed it.

  The Dwindeldornian prince is here.

  A dairyman sees you and the prince and gratuitously offers you a taste of his
fresh-brewed batch of kefir.  The creamy, fizzy, just-rightly-pungent milk
tastes amazing, and you give the man your compliments.  Prince Quiz comments
that once he has any say in the matter, Castle Darchingcrast is going to be
regularly supplied by the dairy artisans of Chelkwibble.  The dairyman passes
on his way.

<>> * && Saddle first, then of to the smithy to fit some shoes. Are there special winter-horseshoes?

  Comment recorded.

<>> * && Kefir is great! So is buttermilk, all kinds of yoghurt, sour cream,... everything that has anything to do with fermented milk is yummy.

  Comment recorded.

<>> A favourite Flemish autumn dish is "Kadul": a potato mash with a generous amount of buttermilk and nutmeg. To be served with fried eggs (sunny side up) or fried fish, melted butter, and coarse brown bread on the side.

  The story doesn’t know how to use the character ‘(’ in a command.

<>> w

   The attraction of the carrots keeps the horse on your trail.

  You travel quite a stretch westward from Chelkwibble.  The town of
Brittlebarrow, along with a few other hamlets and villages, lies along the way,
and then you come into a region of fine farmland...

 <> Country roads <>

  Thriving farms and croplands abound in this region, a number of which you can
see spreading out below to the west or the north from the slight rise that
you're on.  South and southeast of you a patch of woods blocks the view, but a
pair of stone pillars flank an overgrown lane which leads into it.
  Besides the weedy lane going southeast, the country roads wind east along the
edge of the woods, northwest, and southwest towards Squarchminster.

  The wild horse is present, still in hopeful pursuit of the carrots.

  Near by your side is your sidekick.

  The young sprig of royalty stretches himself out on the grass, and presently
rises again.

<>> se

   The wild horse undauntedly continues following you and the carrots.

 <> Gramblefork Place <>

  You're in the somewhat open space in front of a farmstead.  A tall frame with
a carven sign reads: "Gramblefork Place."  Everything around you is overgrown
and ramshackle... a collapsed pigshed there, and rotting rail fences
everywhere.  A rather lush-looking plot of knee-high weeds extends southward
for awhile until thickets and trees enclose a small windy creek, and the main
building of Gramblefork Place stands to the southwest.  Some unkempt trees
vaguely form a couple of rows along the north side of the clearing.  The track
you arrived from runs northwest.

  Lying towards the east in an overgrown pasture is the misshapen form of an
old hayrick.

  The horse is here, hoping for a carroty reward at the end of his journey.

  The Prince of Dwindeldorn is here with you as always, sack in hand.

<>> prince, get saddle

  You don't see any saddle in view.

<>> sw

   The horse looks a bit skeptical about entering the building, but the carrots
win, and he follows.

 <> In the byre at Gramblefork <>

  It isn't quite as bright in here as you'd have guessed, with one end of the
building missing... but there are various partition walls between this room and
the burned-down end.  However, it's clear that this remaining portion of the
building was the byre half, where animals were kept.  You're in a wide walkway
with two stalls on either side: given that the walkway runs northeast-
southwest, the stalls could be considered north, south, east, and west stalls.
Planks overhead suggest that the upstairs was a hayloft.  The double doors
leading out are to the northeast.

  You see the saddle here.  The musty horse blanket fragments are lying in the
south stall.

  The wild horse is present, still in hopeful pursuit of the carrots.

  Dwindeldorn's future king accompanies you into the byre.

<>> saddle horse

  The horse seems to feel slighted that you have strung him along all this way
with a bunch of carrots.  He stubbornly refuses to let you saddle him while he
can still see the tantalizing bunch of carrots held out of his reach.

<>> give carrots to horse

  The horse gobbles at the carrots as you finally let him get within reach of
them without pulling them away.  He seems to immensely enjoy the treat, and you
feel as if he now views you as a friend.

<>> saddle horse

  The horse seems now to be in a state of placidly enjoying whatever life
decides to hand him.  He casts a mild backward glance, but doesn't seem in the
least perturbed, as you throw a saddle on his back and show the prince how to
get a horse ready to ride.  This is all news for Prince Quisborne, who was
never obliged to learn horsemanship if his own whims didn't lead him to it.
  You have made a permanent friend in the awkward-looking beast.  Why don't you
go ahead and name him?
  [Enter it as you want to see it printed out, then hit 'Enter'.]

<>> x horse

  You defer the horse's naming to the young Highness.  According to his word,
the horse is now dubbed "x horse."  He gives x horse a scratch behind the ears
and a slap on the saddle.

  [You can simply type 'ride' to get on the horse, and when on him, type
directions as usual, or 'd' or 'down' to get off.  ]


*** Your score has just gone up by four points ***

<>> undo

   Taking back one turn: “saddle horse”.

 <> In the byre at Gramblefork <>

  The remaining portion of the building was clearly the byre half, where
animals were kept.  You're in a wide walkway with two stalls on either side:
given that the walkway runs northeast-southwest, the stalls could be considered
north, south, east, and west stalls.  Planks overhead suggest that the upstairs
was a hayloft.  The double doors leading out are to the northeast.

  You see the saddle here.  The musty horse blanket fragments are lying in the
south stall.

  The horse is here, looking at you with friendly recognition.

  Nearby, your ostensible squire is pacing around, with sack slung over his
shoulder.

<>> x horse

  It is a funny-looking animal; not quite right in the proportions.  Otherwise
it has all the equine features that one would expect.  He looks glad that
you're here.

<>> saddle horse

  The horse seems now to be in a state of placidly enjoying whatever life
decides to hand him.  He casts a mild backward glance, but doesn't seem in the
least perturbed, as you throw a saddle on his back and show the prince how to
get a horse ready to ride.  This is all news for Prince Quisborne, who was
never obliged to learn horsemanship if his own whims didn't lead him to it.
  You have made a permanent friend in the awkward-looking beast.  Why don't you
go ahead and name him?
  [Enter it as you want to see it printed out, then hit 'Enter'.]

<>> Lady Equanimity

  You defer the horse's naming to the young Highness.  According to his word,
the horse is now dubbed "Lady Equanimity."  He gives Lady Equanimity a scratch
behind the ears and a slap on the saddle.

  [You can simply type 'ride' to get on the horse, and when on him, type
directions as usual, or 'd' or 'down' to get off.  ]


*** Your score has just gone up by four points ***

<>> mount lady

  You climb up onto the saddled horse.

  Prince Quisborne climbs up behind you.

<>> ne

 <> Gramblefork Place (riding on Lady Equanimity) <>

  You're in the somewhat open space in front of a farmstead.  A tall frame with
a carven sign suspended from it is nearly swallowed up by some bushes that were
planted at its base.  Though there is no paint left, you can still read
"Gramblefork Place" in the carving.
  Everything around you is overgrown and ramshackle... a collapsed pigshed
there, and rotting rail fences everywhere.  A rather lush-looking plot of knee-
high weeds extends southward for awhile until thickets and trees enclose a
small windy creek, and the main building of Gramblefork Place stands to the
southwest.  Some unkempt trees vaguely form a couple of rows along the north
side of the clearing.  The track you arrived from runs through the rows of
trees northwest away from the farm.

  Lying towards the east in an overgrown pasture is the misshapen form of an
old hayrick.

  Your ostensible squire goes down to see the bank hamsters again.

<>> * && How oh so very cool! We have a horse! And Quis got the honour of naming her.

  Comment recorded.

<>> save

  Saved.

<>> sw

 <> In the byre at Gramblefork (riding on Lady Equanimity) <>

  The remaining portion of the building was clearly the byre half, where
animals were kept.  You're in a wide walkway with two stalls on either side:
given that the walkway runs northeast-southwest, the stalls could be considered
north, south, east, and west stalls.  Planks overhead suggest that the upstairs
was a hayloft.  The double doors leading out are to the northeast.

  The musty horse blanket fragments are lying in the south stall.

<>> ne

 <> Gramblefork Place (riding on Lady Equanimity) <>

  You're in the somewhat open space in front of a farmstead.  A tall frame with
a carven sign reads: "Gramblefork Place."  Everything around you is overgrown
and ramshackle... a collapsed pigshed there, and rotting rail fences
everywhere.  A rather lush-looking plot of knee-high weeds extends southward
for awhile until thickets and trees enclose a small windy creek, and the main
building of Gramblefork Place stands to the southwest.  Some unkempt trees
vaguely form a couple of rows along the north side of the clearing.  The track
you arrived from runs northwest.

  Lying towards the east in an overgrown pasture is the misshapen form of an
old hayrick.

  Quiz is riding along with you.

<>> nw

   The lane takes you back uphill and through some woods, till you regain the
main road...

 <> Country roads (riding on Lady Equanimity) <>

  Through this country the little roads tuck themselves into out-of-the-way
folds and furrows and follow every small in, out, up and down of the land.
Thriving farms and croplands abound in this region, a number of which you can
see spreading out below to the west or the north from the slight rise that
you're on.  South and southeast of you a patch of woods blocks the view, but a
pair of stone pillars flank an overgrown lane which leads into it.
  Besides the obscured lane going southeast, the country roads wind east along
the edge of the woods, northwest, and southwest towards Squarchminster.

  Dwindeldorn's future king pats Lady Equanimity on the flank.

<>> sw

   You make a modest little journey through farms and settled lands, and come
to Squarchminster town...  (Nighttime came and went.)

 <> Grimmage field, Squarchminster (riding on Lady Equanimity) <>

  Northwards lies the expansive grimmage field of Squarchminster.  Along the
eastern border of the field large permanent grandstands have been erected, and
the crowds also people the hillsides directly north and west of the field.  The
south boundary fence is also adorned with the large sign advertising the
identity of the venue.
  Just east of the playing field is a brick yard on the west end of
Squarchminster town.  You can go north or southwest from the playing field;
also, you can pass through Squarchminster going either southeast or northeast.

  Currently on the field, the Fearsome Teacups are playing the Phantom Weevils.

  The grandstands groan with the liveliness of their human cargo.

  A Phantom Weevil is getting suspended for not fighting.

<>> sw

   You traverse the pleasant countryside outside of Squarchminster, and come to
Blatterfarthing village...

 <> Blatterfarthing village green (riding on Lady Equanimity) <>

  The village of Blatterfarthing has a central communal green featuring a
running brook, encircled a few rings deep by the buildings which make up the
community.  The Snorting Sow sits on the east side of the green, while a
smithy, open on two sides and with a sign mounted on its roof, sits along the
west.  To the northeast of that appears to be a sausage-maker's shop, and a
variety of other buildings and houses complete the innermost ring around the
village green.
  Roads sneak between buildings going southwest, southeast, and northeast.  A
narrow walk path also squeezes between the smithy and the sausage-maker's, to
the northwest.

  The Dwindeldornian heir is sitting behind you on the horse.

  The prince dances to evade a horsefly.

<>> w

  The horse won't go under the low roofline.

<>> dismount

  You swing down from the horse, as does Prince Quisborne.

  Your protegé does some squats with the sack on his shoulders.

<>> w

 <> Blatterfarthing smithy <>

  The inside of the smithy is quite full of things to see.  A signboard hangs
from the rafters, and a forge, bellows, and anvil are present and accounted
for.  Along the south wall sits a workbench, and many tools are hung on the
wall above it.  You can leave by the open sides of the building east or north.

  The great stone forge and its chimney loom large against the west wall, with
the bellows attached.  The ponderous anvil stands a few steps away, and a
pedal-driven grindstone is in the northwest corner.

  The smithy contains a few bins of metal bar stock and horseshoe blanks,
apparently for public use.

  On the workbench are the chisel, the horseshoes, the grooving stamp, the
tongs, and the punch.  On the anvil is the smithing hammer.

  Lady Equanimity is standing just outside the smithy walls.

  The young sprig of royalty tags along.

<>> take horseshoes

  You take the horseshoes.

<>> fit lady with horseshoes

  You may be trying to use a verb that we weren't instructed how to handle...

<>> put horseshoes on hooves

  The horseshoes are just 'c'-shaped blanks of iron: you can't nail through
them.

  The lad clinks some pieces of iron together.

<>> * && Is the punch for making holes in the horseshoes?

  Comment recorded.

<>> get punch

  You take the punch.

<>> put horseshoes in coals

  You place the horseshoes into the coals.

<>> light coals

  You get the forge lit with the embers from your box.  The fire is slow to get
going.

<>> blow on coals

  The flames grow in intensity where you blow on the fuel.

<>> pump bellows

  As you give a few pumps on the bellows, the lit coals finally spring to life.
The forge is now well-lit and burning.

<>> g

  PQ operates the bellows, and the coals of the forge start to glow almost
white-hot.

<>> g

  The coals are already white-hot, but the prince's pumping of the bellows
keeps the high heat going.

  The horseshoes have grown red-hot in the coals.

<>> g

  The coals are already white-hot, but the prince's pumping of the bellows
keeps the high heat going.

<>> get tongs

  You take the tongs.

  The heir to the throne of Dwindeldorn sifts through the bins of stock.

<>> pump bellows

  The coals are already white-hot, but the prince's pumping of the bellows
keeps the high heat going.

<>> put horseshoes on anvil

(first taking the horseshoes)

  With the tongs, you grab hold of the horseshoes.

  You put the horseshoes on the anvil.

<>> put punch on horseshoes then hit punch with hammer

  You position the punch on the horseshoes.

(first taking the smithing hammer)

  With the punch in place over a horseshoe, you deliver a series of firm
strokes with the hammer, succeeding in creating holes through the horseshoe.
Prince Quisborne watches, wondering why you're putting holes in otherwise good
horseshoes, until he learns that horseshoes are in fact nailed straight into a
horse's hoofs.  "Fizz!" he says.  "I guess I never even thought about how they
stayed on."
  You continue the punching process with all four horseshoes, and end up with a
set that could be ready to be nailed onto a horse.  ['PUT SHOES ON HORSE' would
suffice, provided the horse was next to the smithy.]

  The horseshoes are beginning to lose their heat.

<>> blow on horseshoes

  You may wish to reconsider doing that to red-hot metal.

  "Dreams are something else, right?" says the prince.  "I really hope they
don't mean anything... because otherwise I have some weird stuff in store for
my life.  I mean weird!  As in, I was giving birth to a 'baby', but it was
actually a slice of tenderized chicken..."

<>> spit on horseshoes

  You're not an uncouth knight.

  The coals in the forge cool from white-hot down to red-hot.

<>> z

  Time passes...

  The horseshoes have lost their red glow, and are no longer hot enough to
forge.

<>> z

  Time passes...

<>> z

  Time passes...

<>> z

  Time passes...

<>> z

  Time passes...

  The princeling plays around with his hair.

<>> put horsehoes on hooves

  "Horsehoes" could either be something as yet unknown to you or else a
phrasing unknown to us.

<>> put horseshoes on hooves

(first taking the horseshoes)

  It's not your first time shoeing a horse... you're not a person to have
everyone else do everything for you just because your station in life would
allow it.  You explain what you're doing to the prince as you go, but it seems
like it's going to be a little while before you can picture the boy holding a
horse's leg and swinging a hammer by himself.  After shaping up the curvature
of the shoes a bit, and rustling up what you need from the general use bins,
you get your trusty Lady Equanimity shod with some new horseshoes before too
much time has passed.

<>> get bar

  You don't need to exploit the system... you've taken a bar already.  It's not
like you need to fashion a wrought-iron gate!

<>> x bart

  "Bart" is either:
 - Something you haven't come across yet
 - Something not necessary to your adventure
 - A phrasing we aren't equipped to handle

<>> x bar

  It's a short iron bar, about two and a half feet long, and over half an inch
thick.  The bar has been flattened at one end to a sort of chisel point, which
has been sharpened.  It has seven holes punched through it.  Its surface has
also been made ridged and grooved.
  It's cold to the touch.

  The iron bar is still damp from the wetting it received.

<>> x wood strip

  It's a simple stick of wood, sawn from the edge of a board.  It looks like
maple wood, and is broken off to about the length of your outstretched arm.

<>> x needle

  It's just an ordinary sewing needle: sharp, made of metal, and with a tiny
eye at one end.

<>> x bar

  It's a short iron bar, about two and a half feet long, and over half an inch
thick.  The bar has been flattened at one end to a sort of chisel point, which
has been sharpened.  It has seven holes punched through it.  Its surface has
also been made ridged and grooved.
  It's cold to the touch.

  The iron bar is still damp from the wetting it received.

  The royal youth is getting himself tangled in the coil of vines.

<>> * && Last time the bar got wet was in the Quarry Lake when I tried to file the underwater block. Is it now wet forever?

  Comment recorded.

<>> x bar

  It's a short iron bar, about two and a half feet long, and over half an inch
thick.  The bar has been flattened at one end to a sort of chisel point, which
has been sharpened.  It has seven holes punched through it.  Its surface has
also been made ridged and grooved.
  It's cold to the touch.

  The iron bar is still damp from the wetting it received.

<>> e

   Before leaving the smithy, you return all the smithy tools to their places
in accordance with the good-faith policy that the place is run by.

 <> Blatterfarthing village green <>

  The village of Blatterfarthing has a central communal green featuring a
running brook, encircled a few rings deep by the buildings which make up the
community.  The Snorting Sow sits on the east side of the green, while a
smithy, open on two sides and with a sign mounted on its roof, sits along the
west.  To the northeast of that appears to be a sausage-maker's shop, and a
variety of other buildings and houses complete the innermost ring around the
village green.
  Roads sneak between buildings going southwest, southeast, and northeast.  A
narrow walk path also squeezes between the smithy and the sausage-maker's, to
the northwest.

  Lady Equanimity is here, eating grass.

  The youth is present as ever.

<>> mount equanimity

  You hop up into the saddle.

  Prince Quisborne climbs up behind you.

  On the whole, Blatterfarthing is a little town... it's a quiet village.

<>> save

  Saved.

<>> script off

&
&
&
&

  The transcript will be saved to the file.  Type SCRIPT OFF to discontinue
scripting.

<>> l

 <> Blatterfarthing village green <>

  The village of Blatterfarthing has a central communal green featuring a
running brook, encircled a few rings deep by the buildings which make up the
community.  The Snorting Sow sits on the east side of the green, while a
smithy, open on two sides and with a sign mounted on its roof, sits along the
west.  To the northeast of that appears to be a sausage-maker's shop, and a
variety of other buildings and houses complete the innermost ring around the
village green.
  Roads sneak between buildings going southwest, southeast, and northeast.  A
narrow walk path also squeezes between the smithy and the sausage-maker's, to
the northwest.

  Lady Equanimity is here, chomping away.

  The prince is sticking nearby.

  Customers come out of the sausage shop bearing sausages of diverse sizes and
descriptions.

<>> take shoes

  Amongst the various tools at the workbench, you find what you need to
unclinch the horseshoes and remove them from Lady Equanimity's hoofs.

<>> * && Okay! I *can* get her shoes off.w

  Comment recorded.

<>> w

 <> Blatterfarthing smithy <>

  The inside of the smithy is quite full of things to see.  A signboard hangs
from the rafters, and a forge, bellows, and anvil are present and accounted
for.  Along the south wall sits a workbench, and many tools are hung on the
wall above it.  You can leave by the open sides of the building east or north.

  The great stone forge and its chimney loom large against the west wall, with
the bellows attached.  The ponderous anvil stands a few steps away, and a
pedal-driven grindstone is in the northwest corner.

  The smithy contains a few bins of metal bar stock and horseshoe blanks,
apparently for public use.

  On the workbench are the chisel and the grooving stamp.  On the anvil is the
smithing hammer.  On the back wall are the punch and the tongs.

  Lady Equanimity is standing just outside the smithy walls.

  PQ is following you as ever.

<>> put shoes in coals

  You place the horseshoes into the coals.  They begin to heat up.

<>> * && I've been wondering about this in connection to these coals and to the beetree fire: what happens if I just let it burn?

  Comment recorded.

<>> get tongs and stamp

tongs:  You take the tongs.
grooving stamp:  You take the grooving stamp.

  Your squire disburdens himself of the burlap sack for awhile.

<>> pump bellows

  Prince Quisborne the Feckless operates the bellows, and the coals of the
forge start to glow almost white-hot.

<>> g

  The coals are already white-hot, but the prince's pumping of the bellows
keeps the high heat going.

  The horseshoes have grown red-hot in the coals.

<>> g

  The coals are already white-hot, but the prince's pumping of the bellows
keeps the high heat going.

<>> put shoes on anvil then put stamp on shoes

(first taking the horseshoes)

  With the tongs, you grab hold of the horseshoes.

  You put the horseshoes on the anvil.

  You position the grooving stamp on the horseshoes.

<>> hit stamp with hammer

(first taking the smithing hammer)

  With the groover positioned over a horseshoe, you deliver a series of firm
strokes with the hammer, moving the groover along the shoe's surface as you go.
You continue this process with all four horseshoes, which now have sharp-ridged
bottom surfaces.  The prince watches with interest.

  The horseshoes are beginning to lose their heat.

<>> * && That should give some traction.

  Comment recorded.

<>> shoe horse

(first taking the horseshoes)

  With the tongs, you grab hold of the horseshoes.

  You go through the shoeing process again, and Lady Equanimity ends up with
shoes on his feet.

<>> * && Ahem! *Her* feet, thank you very much. 

  Comment recorded.

<>> put wood strip on anvil

  You put the wood strip on the anvil.

  You hear your young pal reciting to himself in a low voice.  "Cremnadlos
Ruwil.  Crindarban Lamolair.  Chairontis Rofain.  Ethrovail..."

  The coals in the forge cool from white-hot down to red-hot.

<>> put stamp on bench

  You put the grooving stamp on the workbench.

<>> get punch

  You take the punch.

<>> put punch on strip

  You position the punch on the wood strip.

<>> hit punch with hammer

  Using the punch on that will just damage it more likely than not.

<>> get strip

  You lift the punch off of the wood strip.

  You take the wood strip.

<>> put sawdust in basket

  You put the sawdust in the basket.

  The lad tosses the cattail around.

<>> * && Carrying loose powder around is like carrying water without a bottle. 

  Comment recorded.

<>> * && But presumably it's all in the burlap sack. Even then...

  Comment recorded.

<>> l

 <> Blatterfarthing smithy <>

  The inside of the smithy is quite full of things to see.  A signboard hangs
from the rafters, and a forge, bellows, and anvil are present and accounted
for.  Along the south wall sits a workbench, and many tools are hung on the
wall above it.  You can leave by the open sides of the building east or north.

  The great stone forge and its chimney loom large against the west wall, with
the bellows attached.  The ponderous anvil stands a few steps away, and a
pedal-driven grindstone is in the northwest corner.

  The smithy contains a few bins of metal bar stock and horseshoe blanks,
apparently for public use.

  On the workbench are the chisel and the grooving stamp.

  Lady Equanimity is standing just outside the smithy walls.

  Prince Quiz is present as ever, sack in tow.

<>> * && I'll try to demonstrate the vise gag:

  Comment recorded.

<>> clamp quiz in vise

  You place Prince Quisborne in the vise and clamp it down.

<>> e

   Before leaving the smithy, you return all the smithy tools to their places
in accordance with the good-faith policy that the place is run by.

  Prince Quisborne can’t do that from here.

 <> Blatterfarthing village green <>

  The village of Blatterfarthing has a central communal green featuring a
running brook, encircled a few rings deep by the buildings which make up the
community.  The Snorting Sow sits on the east side of the green, while a
smithy, open on two sides and with a sign mounted on its roof, sits along the
west.  To the northeast of that appears to be a sausage-maker's shop, and a
variety of other buildings and houses complete the innermost ring around the
village green.
  Roads sneak between buildings going southwest, southeast, and northeast.  A
narrow walk path also squeezes between the smithy and the sausage-maker's, to
the northwest.

  Lady Equanimity is here, grazing.

<>> * && My hypothesis is that Quis is now going OUT of the clamp.

  Comment recorded.

<>> z

  Time passes...

<>> z

  Time passes...

<>> z

  Time passes...

<>> e

  For a few minutes, you take the youth inside The Snorting Sow to rest your
feet.  A few ancient and retired knights are sitting around swapping stories
from their glory days.  One artifact avows he once got swallowed whole by a
dragon with galloping diarrhea, which then excreted him before he got digested.
Dragon stories, like fish stories, only get bigger with time.
  Soon enough, you tell your sidekick it's time to be on your way...

<>> w

 <> Blatterfarthing smithy <>

  The inside of the smithy is quite full of things to see.  A signboard hangs
from the rafters, and a forge, bellows, and anvil are present and accounted
for.  Along the south wall sits a workbench, and many tools are hung on the
wall above it.  You can leave by the open sides of the building east or north.

  The great stone forge and its chimney loom large against the west wall, with
the bellows attached.  The ponderous anvil stands a few steps away, and a
pedal-driven grindstone is in the northwest corner.

  The smithy contains a few bins of metal bar stock and horseshoe blanks,
apparently for public use.

  On the workbench are the chisel and the grooving stamp.  On the anvil is the
smithing hammer.  On the back wall are the tongs and the punch.

  Lady Equanimity is standing just outside the smithy walls.

  Your companion, Dwindeldorn's future king, is here with you.

  Dwindeldorn's future king watches the hubbub in the town.

<>> undo

   Taking back one turn: “w”.

 <> Blatterfarthing village green <>

  The village of Blatterfarthing has a central communal green featuring a
running brook, encircled a few rings deep by the buildings which make up the
community.  The Snorting Sow sits on the east side of the green, while a
smithy, open on two sides and with a sign mounted on its roof, sits along the
west.  To the northeast of that appears to be a sausage-maker's shop, and a
variety of other buildings and houses complete the innermost ring around the
village green.
  Roads sneak between buildings going southwest, southeast, and northeast.  A
narrow walk path also squeezes between the smithy and the sausage-maker's, to
the northwest.

  Lady Equanimity is here, chomping away.

<>> undo

   Taking back one turn: “e”.

 <> Blatterfarthing village green <>

  The village of Blatterfarthing has a central communal green featuring a
running brook, encircled a few rings deep by the buildings which make up the
community.  The Snorting Sow sits on the east side of the green, while a
smithy, open on two sides and with a sign mounted on its roof, sits along the
west.  To the northeast of that appears to be a sausage-maker's shop, and a
variety of other buildings and houses complete the innermost ring around the
village green.
  Roads sneak between buildings going southwest, southeast, and northeast.  A
narrow walk path also squeezes between the smithy and the sausage-maker's, to
the northwest.

  Lady Equanimity is here, chomping away.

<>> undo

   Taking back one turn: “z”.

 <> Blatterfarthing village green <>

  The village of Blatterfarthing has a central communal green featuring a
running brook, encircled a few rings deep by the buildings which make up the
community.  The Snorting Sow sits on the east side of the green, while a
smithy, open on two sides and with a sign mounted on its roof, sits along the
west.  To the northeast of that appears to be a sausage-maker's shop, and a
variety of other buildings and houses complete the innermost ring around the
village green.
  Roads sneak between buildings going southwest, southeast, and northeast.  A
narrow walk path also squeezes between the smithy and the sausage-maker's, to
the northwest.

  Lady Equanimity is here, eating grass.

<>> undo

   Taking back one turn: “z”.

 <> Blatterfarthing village green <>

  The village of Blatterfarthing has a central communal green featuring a
running brook, encircled a few rings deep by the buildings which make up the
community.  The Snorting Sow sits on the east side of the green, while a
smithy, open on two sides and with a sign mounted on its roof, sits along the
west.  To the northeast of that appears to be a sausage-maker's shop, and a
variety of other buildings and houses complete the innermost ring around the
village green.
  Roads sneak between buildings going southwest, southeast, and northeast.  A
narrow walk path also squeezes between the smithy and the sausage-maker's, to
the northwest.

  Lady Equanimity is here, chomping away.

<>> undo

   Taking back one turn: “z”.

 <> Blatterfarthing village green <>

  The village of Blatterfarthing has a central communal green featuring a
running brook, encircled a few rings deep by the buildings which make up the
community.  The Snorting Sow sits on the east side of the green, while a
smithy, open on two sides and with a sign mounted on its roof, sits along the
west.  To the northeast of that appears to be a sausage-maker's shop, and a
variety of other buildings and houses complete the innermost ring around the
village green.
  Roads sneak between buildings going southwest, southeast, and northeast.  A
narrow walk path also squeezes between the smithy and the sausage-maker's, to
the northwest.

  Lady Equanimity is here, eating grass.

<>> w

 <> Blatterfarthing smithy <>

  The inside of the smithy is quite full of things to see.  A signboard hangs
from the rafters, and a forge, bellows, and anvil are present and accounted
for.  Along the south wall sits a workbench, and many tools are hung on the
wall above it.  You can leave by the open sides of the building east or north.

  The great stone forge and its chimney loom large against the west wall, with
the bellows attached.  The ponderous anvil stands a few steps away, and a
pedal-driven grindstone is in the northwest corner.

  The smithy contains a few bins of metal bar stock and horseshoe blanks,
apparently for public use.

  On the workbench are the chisel and the grooving stamp.  On the anvil is the
smithing hammer.  On the back wall are the tongs and the punch.

  Lady Equanimity is standing just outside the smithy walls.

  Your companion is hanging around, sack in hand.

<>> clamp quiz in vise

  You place Prince Quisborne in the vise and clamp it down.

<>> e

   Prince Quisborne can&rsquo;t do that from here.

 <> Blatterfarthing village green <>

  The village of Blatterfarthing has a central communal green featuring a
running brook, encircled a few rings deep by the buildings which make up the
community.  The Snorting Sow sits on the east side of the green, while a
smithy, open on two sides and with a sign mounted on its roof, sits along the
west.  To the northeast of that appears to be a sausage-maker's shop, and a
variety of other buildings and houses complete the innermost ring around the
village green.
  Roads sneak between buildings going southwest, southeast, and northeast.  A
narrow walk path also squeezes between the smithy and the sausage-maker's, to
the northwest.

  Lady Equanimity is here, chomping away.

<>> ne

 <> Grimmage field, west end of Squarchminster town <>

  Northwards lies the expansive grimmage field of Squarchminster.  Along the
eastern border of the field large permanent grandstands have been erected, and
the crowds also people the hillsides directly north and west of the field.  The
south boundary fence is also adorned with the large sign advertising the
identity of the venue.
  Just east of the playing field is a brick yard on the west end of
Squarchminster town.  You can go north or southwest from the playing field;
also, you can pass through Squarchminster going either southeast or northeast.

  Currently on the field, the Soggy Haybales are playing the Linen Girdles.

  The grandstands shake with the energy of the spectators.

  Your companion is following you wherever you go.

  An altercation breaks out in the semi-neutral zone over an incident of
expectorating.

<>> se

 <> A large dead tree in a meadow <>

  You're in a rolling meadow, quite in the heart of the realm of Dwindeldorn.
Patches of woods rise at varying distances from you in different directions,
while the meadow basks under a deep blue sky.  There aren't any proper roads
here, but the area appears by no means to be unacquainted with the occasional
traveler or shepherd.  Natural byways lead to the south, the east, and the
northwest.

  Standing like a ghostly finger from the ground in the middle of the meadow is
the sun-bleached remains of an old tree trunk.  Myriads of buzzing bees are
swarming around its top.

  Your young pal is sticking nearby.

  Prince Quisborne can't walk by the bee tree without coveting the honey that
must be up there.

<>> * && Quis just shows up again, no real problem.

  Comment recorded.

<>> * && Does Lady Equanimity not follow of her own accord?

  Comment recorded.

<>> nw

 <> Grimmage field, west end of Squarchminster town <>

  Northwards lies the expansive grimmage field of Squarchminster.  Along the
eastern border of the field large permanent grandstands have been erected, and
the crowds also people the hillsides directly north and west of the field.  The
south boundary fence is also adorned with the large sign advertising the
identity of the venue.
  Just east of the playing field is a brick yard on the west end of
Squarchminster town.  You can go north or southwest from the playing field;
also, you can pass through Squarchminster going either southeast or northeast.

  Currently on the field, the Roguish Oatcakes are playing the Overbaked Pie
Crusts.

  The grandstands quiver with the liveliness of the seated crowd.

  The prince comes along.

  The players rest momentarily as there are now just three quarters left in the
second period.

<>> sw

   ( Another night passed...)

 <> Blatterfarthing village green <>

  The village of Blatterfarthing has a central communal green featuring a
running brook, encircled a few rings deep by the buildings which make up the
community.  The Snorting Sow sits on the east side of the green, while a
smithy, open on two sides and with a sign mounted on its roof, sits along the
west.  To the northeast of that appears to be a sausage-maker's shop, and a
variety of other buildings and houses complete the innermost ring around the
village green.
  Roads sneak between buildings going southwest, southeast, and northeast.  A
narrow walk path also squeezes between the smithy and the sausage-maker's, to
the northwest.

  Lady Equanimity is here, grazing.

  The heir to the throne of Dwindeldorn is present and accounted for.

  The Feckless knocks out some pull-ups hanging from a tree limb.  He can do
four in a row.

<>> w

 <> Blatterfarthing smithy <>

  The inside of the smithy is quite full of things to see.  A signboard hangs
from the rafters, and a forge, bellows, and anvil are present and accounted
for.  Along the south wall sits a workbench, and many tools are hung on the
wall above it.  You can leave by the open sides of the building east or north.

  The great stone forge and its chimney loom large against the west wall, with
the bellows attached.  The ponderous anvil stands a few steps away, and a
pedal-driven grindstone is in the northwest corner.

  The smithy contains a few bins of metal bar stock and horseshoe blanks,
apparently for public use.

  On the workbench are the chisel and the grooving stamp.  On the anvil is the
smithing hammer.  On the back wall are the tongs and the punch.

  Lady Equanimity is standing just outside the smithy walls.

  Your companion, the princeling, is here with you.

<>> put fork in coals

  You put the fork in the coals.

<>> pump bellows

  Pumping on the bellows while no fire is lit results in nothing but a
whooshing sound, and a little rising of dust from the surface of the dark
coals.

<>> light coals

  You get the forge lit with the embers from your box.  The fire is slow to get
going.

<>> pump bellows

  As you give a few pumps on the bellows, the lit coals finally spring to life.
The forge is now well-lit and burning.

<>> pump bellows

  The lad operates the bellows, and the coals of the forge start to glow almost
white-hot.

<>> pump bellows

  The coals are already white-hot, but the prince's pumping of the bellows
keeps the high heat going.

<>> pump bellows

  The coals are already white-hot, but the prince's pumping of the bellows
keeps the high heat going.

<>> get tongs

  You take the tongs.

  Quiz drops and knocks out some pushups.

<>> put tongs on bench

  You put the tongs down on the workbench.

<>> get fork

  You really don't want to get too close to the hot coals.  Because, you know,
fire.

  "It's so weird," says your young pal.  "Jellyfish don't have any brains or
blood!"

<>> get fork with tongs

(first taking the tongs)

  With the tongs, you grab hold of the fork.

<>> x fork

  It's a pewter dinner fork.  Likely it dropped from some carriage, or a
workman's lunch sack.  You've mostly straightened the tines back into shape.

  The coals in the forge cool from white-hot down to red-hot.

<>> get fork

  You take the fork.

<>> * && Not hot?

  Comment recorded.

<>> put fork on anvil

  You put the fork on the anvil.

  Dwindeldorn's future king watches the hubbub in the town.

<>> hit fork with hammer

(first taking the smithing hammer)

  It doesn't sound like you're trying to help your cause.

<>> put hammer on anvil

  You put the smithing hammer on the anvil.

<>> x bench

  What more natural feature for any craftsman's workshop than a workbench?  A
vise is mounted to it at one end.  On the workbench are the chisel and the
grooving stamp.

  The heir to the throne of Dwindeldorn sifts through the bins of stock.

<>> x tools

  Hanging on the back wall is the punch, in addition to a collection of gauges,
calipers, and other miscellanea.

<>> put punch on bench

(first taking the punch)

  You put the punch on the workbench.

  The boy sings a Dwindeldornian folk song.

<>> e

   Before leaving the smithy, you return the tongs to the back wall in
accordance with the good-faith policy that the place is run by.

 <> Blatterfarthing village green <>

  The village of Blatterfarthing has a central communal green featuring a
running brook, encircled a few rings deep by the buildings which make up the
community.  The Snorting Sow sits on the east side of the green, while a
smithy, open on two sides and with a sign mounted on its roof, sits along the
west.  To the northeast of that appears to be a sausage-maker's shop, and a
variety of other buildings and houses complete the innermost ring around the
village green.
  Roads sneak between buildings going southwest, southeast, and northeast.  A
narrow walk path also squeezes between the smithy and the sausage-maker's, to
the northwest.

  Lady Equanimity is here, chomping away.

  Nearby, the Dwindeldornian heir is ambling around.

<>> mount lady

  You mount up onto Lady Equanimity.

  Prince Quisborne climbs up behind you.

  People are going in and out of the sausage-maker's shop.

<>> ne

   Leaving Blatterfarthing to the northeast, you travel across the pleasant
country.  The next town along the road is Squarchminster...

 <> Grimmage field, Squarchminster (riding on Lady Equanimity) <>

  Northwards lies the expansive grimmage field of Squarchminster.  Along the
eastern border of the field large permanent grandstands have been erected, and
the crowds also people the hillsides directly north and west of the field.  The
south boundary fence is also adorned with the large sign advertising the
identity of the venue.
  Just east of the playing field is a brick yard on the west end of
Squarchminster town.  You can go north or southwest from the playing field;
also, you can pass through Squarchminster going either southeast or northeast.

  Currently on the field, the Mistranslated Sonnets are playing the Plaster
Trowels.

  The grandstands groan with the energy of the spectators.

  Prince Quisborne the Feckless is mounted behind you on Lady Equanimity.

<>> n

   The road north from Squarchminster travels through a well-peopled area,
coming by and by into the region of the Haystacks...

 <> Knoll over the Ribbleskinder valley (riding on Lady Equanimity) <>

  This is a region known colloquially as "The Haystacks", so named for its many
hills, not large but spaced out and decidedly mound-shaped.  At some distance
to the west and the north are the Ribbleskinder River and a highland,
respectively... east and south you can spot a few castles and farms.
  There is a junction of roads on this particular knoll; they lead northeast
toward the high country, southeast, and south towards Squarchminster.  There is
also a wagon track leading downhill to the northwest.

<>> ne

  You take the road to the northern limit of the knobs and knolls, and ascend
the escarpment to the highland, following the North Road...

 <> The Northern Marches (riding on Lady Equanimity) <>

  It is a chilly and sparsely-populated country here in the Northern Marches.
You catch an occasional sighting of farmers with teams of woolly oxen, partly
dug-in houses, or flocks of long-haired sheep with their shepherds.  Many a
small ribbon-like waterfall rushes down from the cliff edge of higher plateau,
and most of the trees in sight grow in scattered clusters.
  The North Road leads northwest, and southwest towards the heart of
Dwindeldorn.

  Prince Quiz baas at the nearest sheep.

  Lady Equanimity shakes his mane and cavorts about.  He seems to feel really
happy in this open grassy land.

<>> * && *Her* mane, if you don't mind.

  Comment recorded.

<>> * && There was no mention of the horse's sex, so I'm acting as if naming it also magically defined its sex. It would be weird to encounter a wild horse on an adventure and get to choose its sex.

  Comment recorded.

<>> nw

   You take the North Road as far as it will carry you, and then continue on
into the chilly northern wastes...

 <> Frozen lake shore (riding on Lady Equanimity) <>

  A narrow frozen lake stretches away north into the hazy distance, majestic
and mournful.  Steep, dark-treed slopes carpeted with snow rise to considerable
heights directly on either side of the lake.  The lake runs upwards of two
miles to the north, appearing there to make a bend to the northeast; where you
are the southern end of the lake meets its shore.  Southeastwards the ground
rises much more gradually through a snowy evergreen wood.

  The prince is riding along with you.

<>> * && Let's see if these winter-shoes are enough.

  Comment recorded.

<>> n

   The horse seems highly recalcitrant to your ideas of riding him onto the
ice.  However, you continue to urge him, and after a few steps he finds that,
armed with his sharp-grooved horseshoes, he can bear you confidently across the
ice.

 <> On the ice of a frozen lake (riding on Lady Equanimity) <>

  You are traveling over the ice surface of the long, frozen lake in a deep
valley, not far from the lake's southern end.  Snowy evergreen slopes enclose
the narrow breadth of the lake, and large drifted banks of snow line its
eastern and western shores.  The lake and its ice extend much farther to the
north, and going south would bring you back to the snow-covered shore.

  An unwelcomely cold wind makes you shiver.


*** Your score has just gone up by seven points ***

<>> e

  The drifts along the banks of the lake are quite considerable, and the slopes
beyond are steep and slick... it's not a good direction to try traveling in.

<>> x drifts

(the eastern drifts)
  The drifts make a virtually continuous barrier between the ice of the lake
and the steep ground bounding it.  It looks as though frequent gales rise up
here, the wind running through the lake valley like a tunnel, and scouring the
surface of the ice clean while driving loose snow to the sides.  In places it
looks like the drifts would be over your head.

  The lad snugs his garments tighter around him.

<>> dismount

  You swing down from the horse, and the boy does too.

<>> jump

  The ice feels about as solid as a stone floor.

<>> slide

  What do you want to slide?

< object >> quisborne

  What do you want to slide him over to?

< object >> drifts

(the eastern drifts)
  Prince Quisborne can probably move without your help.

<>> slide bar to drifts

  "Bar to drifts" could either be something as yet unknown to you or else a
phrasing unknown to us.

<>> slide bar

  What do you want to slide it over to?

< object >> drifts

(the eastern drifts)
  You put the iron bar on the eastern drifts.

<>> l

 <> On the ice of a frozen lake <>

  You are on the ice surface of the long, frozen lake in a deep valley, right
at the lake's southern end.  Snowy evergreen slopes enclose the narrow breadth
of the lake, and large drifted banks of snow line its eastern and western
shores.  The lake and its ice extend much farther to the north, and going south
would bring you back to the snow-covered shore.

  On the eastern drifts is an iron bar.

  Lady Equanimity is here, looking at you with friendly recognition.

  Quisborne is struggling to keep himself upright on the ice.

  You can easily see your breath.

<>> put all on drifts

basket:  You put the basket on the eastern drifts.

burlap sack:  Let's just keep it simple: you want the sack.  You, or the
prince, will set it down when and where you need to.  And carrying things is
really its one claim to fame.

canvas tarp:  You put the canvas tarp on the eastern drifts.
knife:  You put the knife on the eastern drifts.
your ember box:  You put your ember box on the eastern drifts.
cattail:  You put the cattail on the eastern drifts.
piece of horehound candy:  You put the piece of horehound candy on the eastern
drifts.
flyer:  You put the flyer on the eastern drifts.
piece of chalk:  You put the piece of chalk on the eastern drifts.
whittled stag's head:  You put the whittled stag's head on the eastern drifts.
beet:  You put the beet on the eastern drifts.
broken mattock:  You put the broken mattock on the eastern drifts.
needle:  You put the needle on the eastern drifts.
vines:  You put the vines on the eastern drifts.
wood strip:  You put the wood strip on the eastern drifts.

  The boy drags the burlap sack across the ice.

<>> get all

  You take the iron bar, the basket, the canvas tarp, the knife, your ember
box, the cattail, the piece of horehound candy, the flyer, the piece of chalk,
the whittled stag's head, the beet, the broken mattock, the needle, the vines,
and a wood strip.

<>> x western drifts

  The drifts make a virtually continuous barrier between the ice of the lake
and the steep ground bounding it.  It looks as though frequent gales rise up
here, the wind running through the lake valley like a tunnel, and scouring the
surface of the ice clean while driving loose snow to the sides.  In places it
looks like the drifts would be over your head.

  The future king of Dwindeldorn shivers.

<>> w

  The drifts along the banks of the lake are quite considerable, and the slopes
beyond are steep and slick... it's not a good direction to try traveling in.

<>> skate across ice

  This is one of those times where we may not have covered the verb you're
trying to use...

<>> lie down

  You hop up into the saddle.

  Prince Quisborne climbs up behind you.

<>> * && Is this because LIE and SIT are treated as IN, and the state of being mounted is actually a container?

  Comment recorded.

<>> out

  There's no plausible way to go "out" here.

<>> d

  You dismount from Lady Equanimity, and the royal youth follows.

<>> u

  It turns out the sky is not the limit: roughly three feet is, then gravity
kicks back in.

<>> in

  It's unclear what you're trying to go in, if anything.

  The boy watches his breath make clouds in the frosty air.

<>> sit

  You mount up onto Lady Equanimity.

  Prince Quisborne climbs up behind you.

<>> jump

(first standing up)

  With some peril, you stand up on the horse.

  You take a flying leap off the horse's back, and land on the ice.

<>> * && I *can* stand on Lady's back! That was one of my ideas for getting the sky-lantern!

  Comment recorded.

<>> mount

  You climb up onto the saddled horse.

  Prince Quisborne climbs up behind you.

<>> stand

  With some peril, you stand up on the horse.

  An owl glides by.

<>> sit

  You sit down astride the horse.

<>> lady, jump

  Your horse friend doesn't rank among the most intelligent specimens of the
animal kingdom.  Speaking human language to him is not going to get you
anywhere.

  The royal youth pulls apart a pine cone.

<>> pet lady

  Lady Equanimity squints his eyes shut and looks as though he wants to be
smiling.  He loves you better than ever.

<>> kiss equanimity

  Getting a bit sentimental, you give Lady Equanimity a kiss on the neck.  He
just looks at you as if you're pecking a fly off of him.

  The future king of Dwindeldorn shivers.

<>> smack lady's behind

  You may be trying to use a verb that we weren't instructed how to handle...

<>> hit lady

  First let Lady Equanimity take a slug at you, and evaluate how much you like
it.

  Little pikas play on the steep sides of the lake valley.

<>> d

  You swing down from the horse, as does the boy.

  A prolonged gust alters the shape of the drifts lining either edge of the
lake.

<>> push quis

  "Quis" is either:
 - Something you haven't come across yet
 - Something not necessary to your adventure
 - A phrasing we aren't equipped to handle

<>> push prince

  Figuratively, you are pushing the prince all the time in all kinds of ways.

<>> make snowball

  You grab some snow and make it into a snowball.

<>> throw snowball at lady

  You aren't one to wantonly mistreat dumb beasts.

<>> * && Hey! Lady is smart!

  Comment recorded.

<>> throw snowball at drifts

(the eastern drifts)
  The snowball hits the eastern drifts and splatters to powder.

  Prince Quiz stomps his feet against the cold.

<>> climb western drifts

  You wallow your way up on to the drift.  It's a considerable struggle to not
get yourself buried too deep.

<>> search western drifts

  Prince Quisborne and yourself spend some time pawing into the snow drifts.
At different layers of the drift you find pine cones, broken boughs, and other
miscellanea that have been concealed by the windblown snow, suggesting that
anything inanimate along the lake is likely to get entombed at some point or
other.

<>> dig drifts

(the western drifts)
  You've already searched those drifts to your satisfaction... it's just a
whole lot of snow.

<>> dig eastern drifts

(first getting off of the western drifts)

  Wondering if the snow drifts blew and built up over anything interesting, you
and your comrade spend some time digging through the snow in a new location.
It turns out that these drifts aren't concealing anything more significant than
the last ones.

<>> * && Impressive detail. RememberingI searched the drifts on the other side, redirecting DIG to SEARCH. Smooth.

  Comment recorded.

<>> climb eastern drifts

  You wallow your way up on to the drift.  It's a considerable struggle to not
get yourself buried too deep.

  An unwelcomely cold wind makes you shiver.

<>> e

  The drifts along the banks of the lake are quite considerable, and the slopes
beyond are steep and slick... it's not a good direction to try traveling in.

  Your protegé takes a spill for the umpteenth time.

<>> hide in drifts

  "In drifts" could either be something as yet unknown to you or else a
phrasing unknown to us.

<>> hide under drifts

  "Under drifts" is either:
 - Something you haven't come across yet
 - Something not necessary to your adventure
 - A phrasing we aren't equipped to handle

<>> w

  The drifts along the banks of the lake are quite considerable, and the slopes
beyond are steep and slick... it's not a good direction to try traveling in.

  Your breath puffs and billows out of your mouth.

<>> mount

(first getting off of the eastern drifts)

  You mount up onto Lady Equanimity.

  Prince Quisborne climbs up behind you.

<>> dance

  You do love dancing, but you feel self-conscious about simply breaking into
dance when there's no other dancing going on.

  The lad snugs his garments tighter around him.

<>> n

   You traverse a long stretch of frozen lake on the back of your sharp-shod
animal, and come to what was the horizon when on the southern shore.  Here the
lake bends northeastward, and you continue to ride a long distance over the icy
highway.  By and by the lake bends again to the north.

 <> Traveling on a long, frozen lake (riding on Lady Equanimity) <>

  You are traveling over the ice surface of the long, frozen lake in a deep
valley, several miles in.  Snowy evergreen slopes enclose the narrow breadth of
the lake, and large drifted banks of snow line its eastern and western shores.
Here the lake makes a half-bend, running away from you to the north and to the
southwest.  In either direction all you can see is the still, narrow roadway of
ice for a long distance.

  You spend a few minutes rubbing your fingertips to keep them from going numb.

<>> dismount

  You dismount from Lady Equanimity, and Prince Quisborne follows.

<>> search left drifts

  "Left drifts" could either be something as yet unknown to you or else a
phrasing unknown to us.

<>> search eastern drifts

  You select a new stretch of snowdrifts as yet unsearched, wondering if they
might have anything to reveal.  You never know... but alas, your search only
uncovers more snow.

  A prolonged gust alters the shape of the drifts lining either edge of the
lake.

<>> search western drifts

  The two of you start pawing through yet another deep drift of snow.  This
time, surprisingly, you find something here besides piled up snow.  A tiny roof
appears, betokening a small structure buried in the drifts.  Curiosity piqued,
you both set to work as best you can moving snow away from it.  After fifteen
or twenty minutes, you have uncovered the front side of the structure: "It
looks like a tiny ice-fishing hut!" as the prince is saying.

  Quisborne decides to explore the snow drifts on his own.  Summarily, he falls
headlong into a hollow and gets all of himself engulfed except for his feet,
which remain lifted up towards the heavens.  You have to hustle over and
perform quite an extraction operation to unearth him before he turns into an
ice cube.  As it is, he's quite chilled and a little shaken.
  "Fizz..z.z.z!" he chatters.  "I used to th-think snow was all fun and games.
But it's s..."  He pauses.  Is he going to say it?  Is he?  No... he desists.
Whew.

  Agghh!  Blast!  He goes on and says it anyway.
  "I was going to say, 'But it's snow joke.'  But it's kind of dumb to say a
pun that everyone else says all the time, isn't it?"


*** Your score has just gone up by four points ***

<>> * && Wow. This ice-fishing hut is well-hidden. The old-school adventure mindset is needed to find it. Glad I'm searching every nook and cranny here.

  Comment recorded.

<>> l

 <> Traveling on a long, frozen lake <>

  You are on the ice surface of the long, frozen lake in a deep valley, several
miles in.  Snowy evergreen slopes enclose the narrow breadth of the lake, and
large drifted banks of snow line its eastern and western shores.  Here the lake
makes a half-bend, running away from you to the north and to the southwest.  In
either direction all you can see is the still, narrow roadway of ice for a long
distance.

  A tiny ice-fishing hut, still half-buried in snow, stands on the ice at the
edge of the western drifts.

  Lady Equanimity is here, looking at you with friendly recognition.

  The youth tags along, bearing the sack.

<>> x hut

  You're looking at a wooden box with a shed roof that would barely make elbow
room for two standing people.  Snow drifts are piled up all around and over it,
except where you've dug away the front door.

<>> enter hut

(first opening the fishing-hut door)

 <> Ice-fishing hut <>

  There isn't much to this little wooden cubicle.  It's basically just a
shelter built to keep the elements off of one's self while one fishes through
the ice.  Any hole that was here for fishing purposes has long been frozen
over.  It scarcely needs mentioning that the only way to go is out.

  Left behind in this snowbound little hut are an axe and a fishing pole.

  The heir to the throne of Dwindeldorn is huddling with you in the cramped
cubicle.

  "Oh boy... tools!" cheers the prince.  "I mean... as long as this place has
been buried here, nobody's coming back for this stuff, right?"
  Then the prince gets an idea, and taking the chalk, scrawls 'IF SEEKYNGE AXE
AND FISHYNGE POLE APPLIE TO PRINCE QUISBORNE AT CASTLE DARCHINGCRAST' on the
walls.
  "There!" he says.  "Just in case."

<>> x fishing pole

  This fishing pole is long and stout, and was cleverly made to be collapsible:
playing with it for a moment reveals that the rod is composed of three sections
that can be disassembled for easy storage and portability.  The pole has a
simple spool reel, connected by fishing line to a rather large hook.

<>> * && Can I reel the ferry raft to the east side of the river? (That ferry was the first puzzle I encountered. Every object must pass through the "Can I use it for the raft?"-test.)

  Comment recorded.

<>> get pole

  You take the fishing pole.

<>> x axe

  The axe is bigger than a hatchet, but that's about it.  You wouldn't want to
do any more lumberjacking with it than necessary.  It's sharp enough to do some
work.

<>> * && Probably not heavy enough to cleave the dam trunks blocking the mill channel.

  Comment recorded.

<>> get axe

  You pick up the small cold axe, which is clearly fated to otherwise rust here
to atoms.

  After your initial inspection, you pass the object to your chief burden-
bearer, jokingly reminding him to lick the axe head for good luck.  Expecting
an obligatory chuckle in return, you are mildly horrified to watch as the
prince obeys you instantly and quite literally.
  Poor Quisborne!  His elective reading had never taught him about the effects
of ice-cold metal on damp flesh.  He really licked with gusto, too... he looks
like a lamprey that's in it to the death.
  At first, the only solutions you can offer him are a painful parting with the
majority of his taste buds, or an oral dousing with the only kind of warm
liquid that a person usually has available on demand.  He can't exactly
vocalize his preference, since his lips are involved with the axe as well, but
in the end, through a very painstaking process, you're able to slowly heat the
axe iron with your ember box until it releases its malicious hold on Prince
Quisborne's soft tissues.

  "Thankth, Valkyrian," he says weakly.  "For thparing me from losing lotth of
my tongue.  And... from that other opthion too."

<>> * && I really like how you mention the painful and humiliating options, and then discard them in favour of a more reasoned solution.

  Comment recorded.

<>> l

 <> Ice-fishing hut <>

  There isn't much to this little wooden cubicle.  It's basically just a
shelter built to keep the elements off of one's self while one fishes through
the ice.  Any hole that was here for fishing purposes has long been frozen
over.  It scarcely needs mentioning that the only way to go is out.

  Prince Quisborne the Feckless is huddling with you in the cramped cubicle.

<>> dig ice

(with the broken mattock)
  The lake ice is extremely thick.  Splintering away at it would not be a
rewarding effort.

<>> cut ice with axe

  It doesn't really work to take the ice here... it just turns to splinters
when you hack at it.

<>> out

 <> Traveling on a long, frozen lake <>

  You are on the ice surface of the long, frozen lake in a deep valley, several
miles in.  Snowy evergreen slopes enclose the narrow breadth of the lake, and
large drifted banks of snow line its eastern and western shores.  Here the lake
makes a half-bend, running away from you to the north and to the southwest.  In
either direction all you can see is the still, narrow roadway of ice for a long
distance.

  A tiny ice-fishing hut, still half-buried in snow, stands on the ice at the
edge of the western drifts.

  Lady Equanimity is here, looking at you with friendly recognition.

  Your "squire" is in tow.

  The princeling throws another snowball in your direction, and only hits air.

<>> save

  Saved.

<>> script

  Canceled.

<>> scrit off

  This is one of those times where we may not have covered the verb you're
trying to use...

<>> script off

&
&
&
&

  The transcript will be saved to the file.  Type SCRIPT OFF to discontinue
scripting.

<>> l

 <> Traveling on a long, frozen lake <>

  You are on the ice surface of the long, frozen lake in a deep valley, several
miles in.  Snowy evergreen slopes enclose the narrow breadth of the lake, and
large drifted banks of snow line its eastern and western shores.  Here the lake
makes a half-bend, running away from you to the north and to the southwest.  In
either direction all you can see is the still, narrow roadway of ice for a long
distance.

  A tiny ice-fishing hut, still half-buried in snow, stands on the ice at the
edge of the western drifts.

  Lady Equanimity is here, looking at you with friendly recognition.

  The king-to-be is present and accounted for.

<>> I wanted to suggest a sudden gust of wind exposing the roof ridge when Valkyrian passes by here a second time, but you said in your PM that you already took care of that.

  This is one of those times where we may not have covered the verb you're
trying to use...

<>> n

(first riding Lady Equanimity)

   You hop up into the saddle.  Prince Quisborne climbs up behind you.

  You and the prince are obliged to spend the night out in the frozen
wilderness.  You make a cave in a suitable snowdrift, flooring it with springy
evergreen boughs, and you even convince the horse to lie down at the entrance
so you and Quisborne can cuddle up to him for additional heat.  The morning
happily finds you both without frostbite or hypothermia, so on your way you
go...

 <> Northern end of the long, frozen lake (riding on Lady Equanimity) <>

  The lake reaches its northernmost extent here, widening into a somewhat more
bulbous shape from its otherwise snaky course.  The steep walls of the valley
bend from their general north-south course, tending to leave the northwest
direction as the only one readily travelable away from the lake.  In all
directions (except for the lake itself) a pine wood, aged but not overly thick,
grows up to the lake's shore.  Southwards, the icy valley stretches far away.

  Towards the eastern shore, a patch of ice is completely melted through,
revealing a pool of dark water beneath.

  The Dwindeldornian prince is riding along with you.

<>> *  && Oh, just thought of this, the sawdust I tried on the Southern Shore would probably be blown away onto the risges of powder snow, speckling them bronand red. Nice colour effect?

  Comment recorded.

<>> x pine wood

  Dark green, full-bodied needle trees cover the steep slopes of the lake
valley.  They are very picturesquely frosted with snow.

  The boy watches his breath make clouds in the frosty air.

<>> * && You have a very keen eye for the thickness of the trees in your imagined land. Sometimes practical, to explain why they can't be climbed, but often also just as an observation. I like it.

  Comment recorded.

<>> x pool

  The pool might be twenty feet in diameter.  Your only guess as to the
explanation for this one spot of melted ice is that there is some hot spring
coming out of a vent in the lake floor.  The ice around the edges looks like it
is eight inches thick, which is a great deal thinner than most of the lake.
The hole has melted in an irregular shape, so that in some places the ice shelf
projects out a way into the melted pool.

  Prince Quisborne is still nursing a sore tongue, but seems profoundly
grateful to still possess that organ.

<>> save

  Saved.

<>> throw all in pool

“All” cannot be used with that verb.

<>> throw needle in pool

  Is there a point in dropping things to the bottom of a mostly frozen lake?

<>> * && Thanks for net letting me do that. I would have spent ages dropping and diving.

  Comment recorded.

<>> feel pool

(first getting off of Lady Equanimity, then standing on the ice)

  It'll numb your fingers in no time flat if you let it.

  An unwelcomely cold wind makes you shiver.

<>> * && A hot spring would make it slightly warmer? But maybe not warm enough to safely touch.

  Comment recorded.

<>> dive

  If you see some water you want to get in, go ahead and try it.

<>> swim

  Swimming in ice water is one thing... swimming in ice water without a change
of clothes or a shelter is another thing: a deadly thing.

<>> x pool

  The pool might be twenty feet in diameter.  Your only guess as to the
explanation for this one spot of melted ice is that there is some hot spring
coming out of a vent in the lake floor.  The ice around the edges looks like it
is eight inches thick, which is a great deal thinner than most of the lake.
The hole has melted in an irregular shape, so that in some places the ice shelf
projects out a way into the melted pool.

  The feckless heir walks by the melted pool.

<>> x shelf

  The lake ice has melted in a shape somewhat akin to a traditional artist's
palette.  A sort of rounded peninsula of eight-inch ice projects into the pool.

<>> stand on shelf

  There are probably more important things to attempt.

<>> go to shelf

  This does not appear to be very applicable.

<>> fish in pool

  You're not likely to succeed without any bait on the hook.

  An owl glides by.

<>> put beet on hook

  You might consider putting something on the hook that would actually lure a
fish.

  Your breath makes little clouds in the atmosphere.

<>> put candy on hook

  You might find the fish scorning your choice of bait.

<>> put horse on hook

(first trying to take Lady Equanimity)

  He's not the kind of critter that you tuck under an elbow and carry off.

  Prince Quisborne kneels down and ventures to touch the water.  Then he
immediately jerks his hand out and starts shaking it and blowing on it.

<>> sharpen strip with knife

  That doesn't seem a likely candidate for sharpening.

  You spend a few minutes rubbing your fingertips to keep them from going numb.

<>> cut beet

(with the knife)
  The beet's consistency is rigid and uniform.  You can do anything with it
whole that you would do with it in pieces.  As long as you've got it, you
figure you'd rather keep the beet intact.

<>> cut vines

(with the knife)
  There's a whole assortment of vines here; cutting any of them to length
doesn't seem necessary.

  Little pikas play on the steep sides of the lake valley.

<>> put vines in needle

  You won't easily get those on the needle.

<>> x pool

  The pool might be twenty feet in diameter.  Your only guess as to the
explanation for this one spot of melted ice is that there is some hot spring
coming out of a vent in the lake floor.  The ice around the edges looks like it
is eight inches thick, which is a great deal thinner than most of the lake.
The hole has melted in an irregular shape, so that in some places the ice shelf
projects out a way into the melted pool.

  An unwelcomely cold wind makes you shiver.

<>> x shelf

  The lake ice has melted in a shape somewhat akin to a traditional artist's
palette.  A sort of rounded peninsula of eight-inch ice projects into the pool.

  Quiz makes imprints in the snow.

<>> break off shelf

  "Off shelf" is either:
 - Something you haven't come across yet
 - Something not necessary to your adventure
 - A phrasing we aren't equipped to handle

<>> break oshelf

  "Oshelf" could either be something as yet unknown to you or else a phrasing
unknown to us.

<>> break shelf

  There's no need for destruction in this situation.

<>> hit shelf with axe

  With the use of your axe, a few deft strokes enable you to break a small
block of ice off the edge of the opening into the water.  You grab the block
and take it along with you.

<>> * && For the lemonade I'll get at the castle up ahead...

  Comment recorded.

<>> lick ice

(the block of ice)
  You take a lick of ice.

<>> l

 <> Northern end of the long, frozen lake (standing on the ice) <>

  The lake reaches its northernmost extent here, widening into a somewhat more
bulbous shape from its otherwise snaky course.  The steep walls of the valley
bend from their general north-south course, tending to leave the northwest
direction as the only one readily travelable away from the lake.  In all
directions a pine wood, aged but not overly thick, grows up to the lake's
shore.  Southwards, the icy valley stretches far away.

  Towards the eastern shore, a patch of ice is completely melted through,
revealing a pool of dark water beneath.

  Lady Equanimity is here, looking at you with friendly recognition.

  The young figurehead can manage to keep his feet under him on the ice here.

  The boy rubs his fingers to keep them warm.

<>> stroke lady

  You can't reach Lady Equanimity from the ice.

  Little pikas play on the steep sides of the lake valley.

<>> * && She's right here, no?

  Comment recorded.

<>> mount equanimity

(first getting off of the ice)

  You climb up onto the saddled horse.

  Prince Quisborne climbs up behind you.

<>> stroke lady

  Lady Equanimity squints his eyes shut and looks as though he wants to be
smiling.  He loves you better than ever.

<>> look in pool

(first getting off of Lady Equanimity, then standing on the ice)

  There's nothing in the pool of water that's not supposed to be there.

  You can easily see your breath.

<>> mount

(first getting off of the ice)

  You hop up into the saddle.

  Prince Quisborne climbs up behind you.

<>> e

  The drifts along the banks of the lake are quite considerable, and the slopes
beyond are steep and slick... it's not a good direction to try traveling in.
Northwest, the pine woods leave the lake at a much gentler slope, and of course
you can travel back south over the lake itself.

  The future king of Dwindeldorn shivers.

<>> nw

  A short excursion proves the pine wood to be full of loose stones and other
treacherous footing.  In concern for your four-footed friend's wellbeing, you
determine that you cannot ride him any further north than the end of the lake.
The horse looks at you as if saying: "Go on ahead if you want to...  I'll be
just fine here."

  You spend a few minutes rubbing your fingertips to keep them from going numb.

<>> lady, goodbye

  Your horse friend doesn't rank among the most intelligent specimens of the
animal kingdom.  Speaking human language to him is not going to get you
anywhere.

<>> nw

   You swing down from the horse.  The feckless prince follows suit.

  You forge ahead into the pine wood, journeying some while through it in a
northwesterly direction.  Presently, the trees begin to thin, and the land goes
upward into a long and steady climb...

 <> A high moorland <>

  Wide around you spreads the desolate region known from antiquity as the
Dracken Fells... an undulating moorland high above the level of the sea.  In
the distant north, great peaks obscure the horizon and the wild lands beyond,
while to the east and west rises in the ground cut off the prospect at no great
distance.
  Heather and lichen-covered rock are in contest for the surface of the ground,
and every once in a while a handful of narrow black trees find enough soil to
huddle together and dare against the cruel northern blasts.  The landscape is
pitted with deep, dark tarns, sometimes in open places and sometimes nestled
against low outcroppings, such that traveling by night would be a perilous
enterprise.
  It is chilly up here, although the snow is only found in isolated patches.
The sky seems as though it has never known how to cast anything other than a
gray and wan light over this part of earth.  To the southeast the ground falls
steadily for a long distance, so that well below you and afar off you can see
the tops of the pine-and-snow-covered ridges which enclose the frozen lake that
brought you here.

  Your sidekick is hanging around.

  The lonely fells are swept by a cheerless wind.

<>> peaks

  You may be trying to use a verb that we weren't instructed how to handle...

<>> x peaks

  Far away, the moorlands give way to huge, wild peaks.

<>> x rises

  Far away, the moorlands give way to huge, wild peaks.

  Your ostensible squire rests on the heather.

  Bleakness extends in every direction.

<>> l

 <> A high moorland <>

  Wide around you spreads the desolate region known as the Dracken Fells.  In
the distant north, great peaks obscure the horizon and the wild lands beyond,
while to the east and west rises in the ground cut off the prospect at no great
distance.
  Heather and lichen-covered rock complement the few narrow black trees that
huddle against the chiling blasts.  The landscape is pitted with deep, dark
tarns, and the sky seems to only cast a gray and wan light over the earth.  To
the southeast the ground falls steadily for a long distance towards the pine
wood and the northern end of the frozen lake.

  Your companion, Dwindeldorn's future king, is here with you.

<>> x heather

  Patches of heather and lichen are scattered all over the rocky ground of the
fells.

  The future king of Dwindeldorn pulls his garments a little tighter around
him.

<>> x rocks

  Patches of heather and lichen are scattered all over the rocky ground of the
fells.

<>> look under rocks

  Both the heather and the lichen have a softening influence on the harshness
of the landscape, but that is about the extent of their significance to you.

<>> * && typo: "...huddle against the chilLing blasts..."

  Comment recorded.

<>> x trees

  The few trees on the fells are evergreens which grow very thin and arrow-
like, frequently stunted and gnarled.

  The princeling peels a lichen off a rock, and then tosses it.

<>> climb tree

  The trees are not well adapted for climbing, and are not tall enough to
provide any significant advantage in outlook.

<>> l

 <> A high moorland <>

  Wide around you spreads the desolate region known as the Dracken Fells.  In
the distant north, great peaks obscure the horizon and the wild lands beyond,
while to the east and west rises in the ground cut off the prospect at no great
distance.
  Heather and lichen-covered rock complement the few narrow black trees that
huddle against the chiling blasts.  The landscape is pitted with deep, dark
tarns, and the sky seems to only cast a gray and wan light over the earth.  To
the southeast the ground falls steadily for a long distance towards the pine
wood and the northern end of the frozen lake.

  The heir to the throne of Dwindeldorn is here.

  The prince is noticeably more subdued in this dreary country.

<>> fell tree with axe

  You decide you like these trees better alive and standing.

<>> x tarns

  The moors are frequently punctuated by pools of chilling blackish water
surrounded by slippery rock, varying in size, and sometimes bafflingly deep.

<>> drink water

  It's best to give the tarns wide berth... they can be boggy, numbing, and
deadly, especially with slippery rock funneling towards them.

  The Feckless peeks tentatively into the depths of a tarn.

  The lonely fells are swept by a cheerless wind.

<>> * && Of course The Feckless ignores the author's warning and approaches the tarns...

  Comment recorded.

<>> dig

(with the broken mattock)
  There is scarcely any diggable soil on the fells.

  Bleakness extends in every direction.

<>> l

 <> A high moorland <>

  Wide around you spreads the desolate region known as the Dracken Fells.  In
the distant north, great peaks obscure the horizon and the wild lands beyond,
while to the east and west rises in the ground cut off the prospect at no great
distance.
  Heather and lichen-covered rock complement the few narrow black trees that
huddle against the chiling blasts.  The landscape is pitted with deep, dark
tarns, and the sky seems to only cast a gray and wan light over the earth.  To
the southeast the ground falls steadily for a long distance towards the pine
wood and the northern end of the frozen lake.

  Your young pal is with you like your shadow.

<>> w

  With no maps for guidance and no other direction to draw upon, you set out
west into the Dracken Fells, searching for that subject of legends, a haunted
fastness which may harbor secrets concerning the fate and destiny of Prince
Quisborne.

  Long and toilsome does it seem, traveling across the bleak fells.  Unending
are the forms of rock that rise and fall, and across which you must clamber or
jump, ever pitted by dark and slippery pools.

  At length, you pause.  There is no way of knowing that you've set out in the
right direction to begin with.  You can't simply go on forever without either
losing your way or making the return journey an almost insurmountable task.
You decide it is best to give up on this direction, and you inform your
faithful follower that it is time to head all the way back to the spot where
you first entered the Fells to regroup and reorient.  A long and silent return
march ensues.

 <> A high moorland <>

  Wide around you spreads the desolate region known as the Dracken Fells.  In
the distant north, great peaks obscure the horizon and the wild lands beyond,
while to the east and west rises in the ground cut off the prospect at no great
distance.
  Heather and lichen-covered rock complement the few narrow black trees that
huddle against the chiling blasts.  The landscape is pitted with deep, dark
tarns, and the sky seems to only cast a gray and wan light over the earth.  To
the southeast the ground falls steadily for a long distance towards the pine
wood and the northern end of the frozen lake.

  Prince Quisborne is battling discouragement after so much fruitless and weary
wandering.

  The king's son looks weary.

<>> * && Can I find an orientation point to head out toward?

  Comment recorded.

<>> x mountains

  Far away, the moorlands give way to huge, wild peaks.

  Quiz sighs.

<>> n

  Still in search of the fastness which is supposed to lie somewhere upon the
Dracken Fells, you elect to explore in a northward direction.  With expectancy
and anticipation, you push forward across the difficult terrain.

  Many miles later, you come to the same decision point as before: you have
seen no hint of the ancient fastness, and are forced to consider that you may
be straying further and further from its actual whereabouts.  You and your
young pal reluctantly halt and turn.
  "It's here... somewhere... right, Valkyrian?!" the prince questions.  "This
fastness place?  It can't just be myth!  Aaghh!  What if it *is* just a myth?!
What will I say to Persimmon?  Or *will* I ever say anything to her again?!"
The prince goes on in this melancholy manner, as you both tread back over the
path just trodden.

 <> A high moorland <>

  Wide around you spreads the desolate region known as the Dracken Fells.  In
the distant north, great peaks obscure the horizon and the wild lands beyond,
while to the east and west rises in the ground cut off the prospect at no great
distance.
  Heather and lichen-covered rock complement the few narrow black trees that
huddle against the chiling blasts.  The landscape is pitted with deep, dark
tarns, and the sky seems to only cast a gray and wan light over the earth.  To
the southeast the ground falls steadily for a long distance towards the pine
wood and the northern end of the frozen lake.

  Prince Quisborne is battling discouragement after so much fruitless and weary
wandering.

  Your squire seems very downhearted.

  Bleakness extends in every direction.

<>> ne

  Discouraged from so many miles already aimlessly wandered across the Dracken
Fells, you yet set out again into unknown ground, this time to the northeast;
for you know not how else to continue your quest, if this legendary fastness
remains unfound.  Surely such longstanding tales cannot have been purely the
invention of fancy!

  Alas!  The result of this trek is no different than the previous ones.  Wild
and waste the fells continue, seemingly forever.  You are compelled to take
shelter for the night, and then to turn back.

 <> A high moorland <>

  Wide around you spreads the desolate region known as the Dracken Fells.  In
the distant north, great peaks obscure the horizon and the wild lands beyond,
while to the east and west rises in the ground cut off the prospect at no great
distance.
  Heather and lichen-covered rock complement the few narrow black trees that
huddle against the chiling blasts.  The landscape is pitted with deep, dark
tarns, and the sky seems to only cast a gray and wan light over the earth.  To
the southeast the ground falls steadily for a long distance towards the pine
wood and the northern end of the frozen lake.

  Prince Quisborne is battling discouragement after so much fruitless and weary
wandering.

  The lonely fells are swept by a cheerless wind.

<>> nw

  Taking a brief survey of the inhospitable scene, you choose this time a
northwestward course, and lead your young charge over the rise on the moor.
  The moor rolls on, with its scanty arrow-like trees and many small tarns,
till at length you reach another crest in the ground.

  There – at last!  You feel the tingle of an indefinable sensation as of
mingled excitement and dread, for before you you see it: a grim and crumbling
fortress which can be none other than the mysterious Fastness of the Dracken
Fells!  Aloft upon an upjutting base of rock it sits, skirted round to its
walls with firs, stark against the desolate landscape.
  Prince Quisborne's eyes grow wide – we do not say "as saucers", for that
would certainly leave his eye sockets permanently disfigured – but at least
about as wide as they can reasonably grow.
  "Hopping hamster herds, Valkyrian!  Look!  The Fastness isn't just a wives'
fable after all!  That means, probably – I mean, hopefully – there's also truth
to the other legends?!  That there is a lost crown, and..."  (he gulps) "that
this place is supposed to be haunted by some phantom??"

  You concur with his assessment, and having taken in the initial shock of
discovery, the two of you pick your way over the broken stone of the fells
towards the fastness...

 <> The Fastness of the Dracken Fells <>

  Before you looms a gloomy and ancient edifice, what you can only believe to
be that fabled haunting-place, the Fastness of the Dracken Fells.  You are at
its very gates... closed they stand to the west, yet one has decayed from its
upper hinge and shifted, no longer fitting tightly with the other at the
bottom.
  The ground quickly falls away from the building's walls down to the level of
the surrounding moor, and any path or roadway that may have once climbed the
sloping sides of the mound to the fortress gates is no longer discernible
underneath the growth of heather and bracken, and the gnarled firs which ring
the slopes and hug the castle walls.
  Westward beyond this place, the moor seems to come to its end and give way to
higher and more rugged terrain; the northern horizon, as before, remains
swallowed up by peaks huge and distant.  Travel southeastward would take you
back towards the border of the fells.

  The future ruler of the land is journeying alongside you.

  The prince stands wide-eyed, silently mouthing the words, "the Fastness of
the Dracken Fells..."
  After a minute, he speaks again in a low voice.  "I had really begun to think
we weren't going to find it... that it wasn't even here to find, and everything
was going to be in vain.  I need to learn to hold on to hope, and persevere
even when things seem impossible."

<>> * && I suspect the way to the Fastness is always unsuccesful the first few times?

  Comment recorded.

<>> l

 <> The Fastness of the Dracken Fells <>

  Before you looms that gloomy and ancient edifice, the Fastness of the Dracken
Fells.  You are at its very gates, which stand closed to the west, albeit
sagging and leaving a gap between themselves.  The fir-covered ground quickly
falls away from the building's walls down to the level of the surrounding moor,
and no path or roadway is discernible underneath the growth of heather and
bracken.  The western and northern horizons are swallowed up by peaks huge and
distant.  Travel southeastward would take you back towards the border of the
fells.

  Your companion stands near you before the fastness.

  Prince Q has the willies.

<>> x bracken

  The heather and some bracken climb the sides of the castle mound amongst the
gnarled firs.

<>> x firs

  The few trees on the fells are evergreens which grow very thin and arrow-
like, frequently stunted and gnarled.

<>> x fastness

  Thrills and shivers run through you as you behold the object of your
search... a legend come to life.  What lies in wait inside those grim walls?!
  The fastness was built compact, high, and austere; as a whole the structure
remains intact, though sections of its extremities are clearly in ruin.
Corbeled turrets with battlemented tops rise from several stories high, and
nearly the whole building has been grown over with a thick soft coat of reddish
lichen.

  The Dwindeldornian heir has the willies.

<>> x lichen

  The lichen at once both beautifies the ruin and intensifies its appearance of
ancientness and forsakenness.

<>> touch lichen

  The lichen at once both beautifies the ruin and intensifies its appearance of
ancientness and forsakenness.

<>> x gates

  The tall gates to the fastness are closed, but one of them has pulled away
from a hinge up high, causing just enough of a gap at ground level for you to
press yourself through.  They are nearly sixteen feet tall.  They’re closed.

<>> * && I can press through? I was hoping to have found a use for the iron bar as a pry bar.

  Comment recorded.

<>> x gap

  You don't see any gap in view.

<>> w

   There is enough of a gap between the two gates for you and the incumbent to
the throne to squirm through into the bowels of the old castle...

 <> Hall of the Fastness <>

  You have entered the fastness into a dark and lofty hall, the murk being but
scantily dispelled by a few narrow windows of colored glass high in the front
wall.  In spite of yourself, you can't repress a shudder of dread that
something uncanny lurks here in this gloom, and you feel more convinced than
ever of the truth of the old legends that brought you and Prince Quisborne to
seek this place out at all.
  The walls are dark and stained, covered in crumbling frescoes; on them are
depicted scenes of noble warriors in combat with creatures of hideous
description, like things but seen in horrid dreams of night.  Great and carven
stone ribs soar up towards the vaults above, vanishing in high darkness and
clouds of cobweb.
  At the western end of the hall, the walls angle in and converge, forming
southwestern and northwestern walls there, in each of which is a broad and tall
passageway – lancet-arched and made to appear much larger by the building out
of the surrounding stonework.  The way southwest is an open passage, while the
northwestern passageway is fitted with a wide and solid door, resolutely shut.
  You can dodge out between the castle gates to the east.

  A heavy table, black with age, sits centrally at the convergence of the
southwestern and northwestern walls.  Its lone content is an ornate and stout-
looking chest, placed in the middle.

  Just left of the northwestern doorway, a large bronze escutcheon is fixed in
the wall.  From it protrude three short arms, one above another, and each one
bearing at its end a small and shallow salver.

  Your companion, the future ruler of the land, is here with you.

  "Horrors!" says the prince, looking at the frescoes on the walls.  "Do...
Did... those kinds of creatures used to live around here?"

<>> x frescoes

  The frescoes are high up on the walls, and only towards the front of the hall
are they sufficiently illuminated by the scant light of the windows to be
perceived.  While much plaster has crumbled, there are still discernible
renditions of warriors in contest with foul creatures and grotesque fiends –
creatures of the Old Darkness which can be found nowhere but in bedtime tales.

<>> * && Such as in the children's stories of dear old Lovecraft.

  Comment recorded.

<>> l

 <> Hall of the Fastness <>

  You are in a dark and lofty hall, the murk and the eeriness being but
scantily dispelled by a few narrow windows of colored glass high in the front
wall.  The walls are dark and stained, covered in crumbling frescoes and carven
stone ribs.  At the western end of the hall, the walls angle in and converge,
in each of which is a broad and tall passageway.  The way southwest is an open
passage, while the northwestern passageway is fitted with a wide and solid
door, resolutely shut.  You can dodge out between the castle gates to the east.

  A heavy table, black with age, sits centrally at the convergence of the
southwestern and northwestern walls.  Its lone content is an ornate and stout-
looking chest, placed in the middle.

  Just left of the northwestern doorway, a large bronze escutcheon is fixed in
the wall.  From it protrude three short arms, one above another, and each one
bearing at its end a small and shallow salver.

  Your sidekick keeps near.

  The fastness is pervaded by a mournful solitude.

<>> x ribs

  The ribs supporting the roof follow the walls all the way to the floor,
making alcoves in between them.  What carving work there is in them is frugal
and austere.

  Prince Q gets suddenly spooked and drops the sack.

  Dreary winds howl outside.

<>> x alcoves

  "Alcoves" is either:
 - Something you haven't come across yet
 - Something not necessary to your adventure
 - A phrasing we aren't equipped to handle

<>> x sw wall

  The walls are stained and damp with slow but long decay.

<>> x nw wall

  The walls are stained and damp with slow but long decay.

<>> l

 <> Hall of the Fastness <>

  You are in a dark and lofty hall, the murk and the eeriness being but
scantily dispelled by a few narrow windows of colored glass high in the front
wall.  The walls are dark and stained, covered in crumbling frescoes and carven
stone ribs.  At the western end of the hall, the walls angle in and converge,
in each of which is a broad and tall passageway.  The way southwest is an open
passage, while the northwestern passageway is fitted with a wide and solid
door, resolutely shut.  You can dodge out between the castle gates to the east.

  A heavy table, black with age, sits centrally at the convergence of the
southwestern and northwestern walls.  Its lone content is an ornate and stout-
looking chest, placed in the middle.

  Just left of the northwestern doorway, a large bronze escutcheon is fixed in
the wall.  From it protrude three short arms, one above another, and each one
bearing at its end a small and shallow salver.

  Your squire stays with you.

  Your stomach is ill at ease in this haunted place.

<>> x table

  The hefty table has been built to fit in the angle between the northwestern
and southwestern walls.  Whatever its original purpose, it now carries nothing
on it but the ornate chest.

  The boy wrings his hands.

<>> I love the crumbling grandeur of the full description of the Hall of the Fastness. A breathtaking first impression.

  This is one of those times where we may not have covered the verb you're
trying to use...

<>> look under table

  You see nothing unusual under the heavy old table.

<>> x chest

  The heavy chest sits centered on the table.  It is roughly two feet on a
side, carved in archaic patterns, and intricately inlaid with contrasting tones
of wood.  It is closed.

  PQ shuffles a bit.

<>> open it

  The chest creaks as it opens, and sends eerie echoes through the hall.
Inside of it you see quite a large quantity of small spherical objects, all
alike.

  The king's son is only speaking in whispers, as if fearing to displease the
resident specters.

<>> undo

   Taking back one turn: “open it”.

 <> Hall of the Fastness <>

  You are in a dark and lofty hall, the murk and the eeriness being but
scantily dispelled by a few narrow windows of colored glass high in the front
wall.  The walls are dark and stained, covered in crumbling frescoes and carven
stone ribs.  At the western end of the hall, the walls angle in and converge,
in each of which is a broad and tall passageway.  The way southwest is an open
passage, while the northwestern passageway is fitted with a wide and solid
door, resolutely shut.  You can dodge out between the castle gates to the east.

  A heavy table, black with age, sits centrally at the convergence of the
southwestern and northwestern walls.  Its lone content is an ornate and stout-
looking chest, placed in the middle.

  Just left of the northwestern doorway, a large bronze escutcheon is fixed in
the wall.  From it protrude three short arms, one above another, and each one
bearing at its end a small and shallow salver.

  Your protegé isn't wandering far.

<>> save

  Saved.

<>> I know I can't die permanently, but I'm letting myself be guided by the fear I'm nonetheless feeling. This place is spooky, so I SAVE.

  You may be trying to use a verb that we weren't instructed how to handle...

<>> open chest

  The chest creaks as it opens, and sends eerie echoes through the hall.
Inside of it you see quite a large quantity of small spherical objects, all
alike.

  Your young pal licks his lips apprehensively.

<>> look in chest

  The chest contains a large number of leaden balls.

  The castle gloom seeps through you.

<>> x balls

  The balls are almost perfect replicas of each other: they must have been made
with a mold.  They are of lead, each about the size of a small playing marble.
All together there might be a couple hundred of them.

<>> * && Musket bullets?

  Comment recorded.

<>> search balls

  There doesn't seem to be anything there but lead.

<>> get balls

  You take one hundred fifty balls from the chest.

<>> * && Spread-shot for a small cannon?

  Comment recorded.

<>> l

 <> Hall of the Fastness <>

  You are in a dark and lofty hall, the murk and the eeriness being but
scantily dispelled by a few narrow windows of colored glass high in the front
wall.  The walls are dark and stained, covered in crumbling frescoes and carven
stone ribs.  At the western end of the hall, the walls angle in and converge,
in each of which is a broad and tall passageway.  The way southwest is an open
passage, while the northwestern passageway is fitted with a wide and solid
door, resolutely shut.  You can dodge out between the castle gates to the east.

  A heavy table, black with age, sits centrally at the convergence of the
southwestern and northwestern walls.  Its lone content is an ornate and stout-
looking chest, placed in the middle.

  Just left of the northwestern doorway, a large bronze escutcheon is fixed in
the wall.  From it protrude three short arms, one above another, and each one
bearing at its end a small and shallow salver.

  The young figurehead stays close.

  You try to suppress a shiver.  You tell yourself it's just from the cold.

<>> x escutcheon

  The escutcheon is something like a large plate mounted flush to the wall.
Three slots appear in it, from each one a supporting arm of a salver
protruding.

<>> x shield

  You don't see any shield in view.

<>> x weapon

  "Weapon" could either be something as yet unknown to you or else a phrasing
unknown to us.

<>> x heraldry

  You don't see any heraldry in view.

<>> x salver

(the uppermost salver)
  The salvers are each a round, shallow dish of some tarnished metal, perched
upon a short supporting arm that protrudes from the escutcheon in the wall.
Based on the shape of the slots in the escutcheon, one can see that the salvers
are able to flex downward a few degrees if pressure is applied to them.
  The uppermost one is empty.

<>> * && A weight puzzle?

  Comment recorded.

<>> x middle salver

  The salvers are each a round, shallow dish of some tarnished metal, perched
upon a short supporting arm that protrudes from the escutcheon in the wall.
Based on the shape of the slots in the escutcheon, one can see that the salvers
are able to flex downward a few degrees if pressure is applied to them.
  The middle one is empty.

  The air is cold and dank.

<>> x bottom salver

  The salvers are each a round, shallow dish of some tarnished metal, perched
upon a short supporting arm that protrudes from the escutcheon in the wall.
Based on the shape of the slots in the escutcheon, one can see that the salvers
are able to flex downward a few degrees if pressure is applied to them.
  The lowermost one is empty.

  Your protegé startles over something inconsequential.

  The castle gloom seeps through you.

<>> pull top salver

  The arm and salver give downward under your pull, making small ticking
sounds, and spring back in place when you release.

<>> pull middle salver

  The arm and salver give downward under your pull, making small ticking
sounds, and spring back in place when you release.

<>> pull bottom salver

  The arm and salver give downward under your pull, making small ticking
sounds, and spring back in place when you release.

  The air is cold and dank.

<>> put 20 balls on middle salver

  As you are reaching to put the lead in the salver, Prince Quisborne is
looking the other way, still spooked by some of the creatures depicted on the
walls.  When you drop the twenty balls, they *clack* into the salver.
  "FLAMING BOLTS OF WRATH!" shrieks the prince, whirling one hundred eighty
degrees and going airborne at the same time.  "What, sir?!  Where?!  What was
it?!"
  He looks a little sheepish when you show him that you just put some lead into
the salver, but he goes immediately back to being on edge again.

  The salver has hinged downward proportionately to the weight you added, and
you could hear minute ticking sounds from behind the escutcheon as it did so.

<>> get 10 balls from middle salver

  You take ten balls from the middle salver.  The salver springs back upward
proportionately to the weight you removed.

<>> put 5 balls in bottom salver

  You put five balls in the lowermost salver.  The salver hinges downward
proportionately to the weight you added.

  You feel that something haunting is watching you.

<>> put 1 ball in top salver

  You put one ball in the uppermost salver.  The salver hinges downward
proportionately to the weight you added.

<>> get all balls

  You take the one leaden ball, the 10 leaden balls, and the five leaden balls.

  You try to suppress a shiver.

<>> * && I think this is a weight-based combination lock for the NW door.

  Comment recorded.

<>> x door

(the wide iron-banded door)
  As for size, one could comfortably drive a carriage and team of four through
this door, were it open.  It is made of solid vertical timbers which might well
be six inches thick, covered heavily with iron banding and tracery.  At the
center, the iron has been done in detail work, to form a symbol or heraldic
device.

<>> x timbers

  As for size, one could comfortably drive a carriage and team of four through
this door, were it open.  It is made of solid vertical timbers which might well
be six inches thick, covered heavily with iron banding and tracery.  At the
center, the iron has been done in detail work, to form a symbol or heraldic
device.

<>> x tracery

  As for size, one could comfortably drive a carriage and team of four through
this door, were it open.  It is made of solid vertical timbers which might well
be six inches thick, covered heavily with iron banding and tracery.  At the
center, the iron has been done in detail work, to form a symbol or heraldic
device.

<>> x banding

  As for size, one could comfortably drive a carriage and team of four through
this door, were it open.  It is made of solid vertical timbers which might well
be six inches thick, covered heavily with iron banding and tracery.  At the
center, the iron has been done in detail work, to form a symbol or heraldic
device.

<>> x sigil

  "Sigil" is either:
 - Something you haven't come across yet
 - Something not necessary to your adventure
 - A phrasing we aren't equipped to handle

<>> x symbol

  The imagery is stylized and ancient, but it looks like the center of it might
be a gloved hand holding a torch, with a circular border of foul and evil
creatures in cowering or fleeing postures.

<>> l

 <> Hall of the Fastness <>

  You are in a dark and lofty hall, the murk and the eeriness being but
scantily dispelled by a few narrow windows of colored glass high in the front
wall.  The walls are dark and stained, covered in crumbling frescoes and carven
stone ribs.  At the western end of the hall, the walls angle in and converge,
in each of which is a broad and tall passageway.  The way southwest is an open
passage, while the northwestern passageway is fitted with a wide and solid
door, resolutely shut.  You can dodge out between the castle gates to the east.

  A heavy table, black with age, sits centrally at the convergence of the
southwestern and northwestern walls.  Its lone content is an ornate and stout-
looking chest, placed in the middle.

  Just left of the northwestern doorway, a large bronze escutcheon is fixed in
the wall.  From it protrude three short arms, one above another, and each one
bearing at its end a small and shallow salver.

  The boy keeps near.

  The fastness is pervaded by a mournful solitude.

<>> * && The Torch of Pure Light dispels the Foul Beasts of Darkness...

  Comment recorded.

<>> * && I need light and the combination for the lock.

  Comment recorded.

<>> put 50 balls on middle

  You put fifty balls in the middle salver.  The salver hinges downward
proportionately to the weight you added.

<>> put 50 balls on top

  You put fifty balls in the uppermost salver.  The salver hinges downward
proportionately to the weight you added.

<>> put 50 balls on bottom

  You put fifty balls in the lowermost salver.  The salver hinges downward
proportionately to the weight you added.

<>> open door

(the wide iron-banded door)
  There is no obvious handle to this ponderous door, and it refuses to budge
any which way you try to exert force on it.

<>> sw

 <> Throne room <>

  You are in what must have been the throne room of this castle, in the far-
gone days when folk inhabited this desert place.  Here must have taken place
councils, ceremonies, feasts, and celebrations.  Yet, divested of living things
and the warming touches that they bring to their surroundings, the hall sits
cold and forbidding, whispering of things long dead.
  Little of note remains: the hall itself is lofty, yet not more than modest in
size, and wider than it is deep.  Square columns of once-reddish sandstone
create galleries along the flanking walls, and black obsidian has been worked
into borders and pilasters throughout the room.  Curiously, at the focal wall
(western end) where one might look for a dais, the floor is recessed by a step
instead of raised.
  A large doorway to the northeast leads back to the entrance hall.  Running
north out of the gallery is a tall and prominent passageway which immediately
veers northwest out of sight.

  On the wall behind the sunken dais, three chains are anchored horizontally to
the surface.

  Your squire stays with you.

<>> x columns

  While the grime and stain of age tends to make all the stonework look dark
and similar, you can still tell the columns are made of reddish stone.  They
are square in section and oversized, without much adornment.  Near the roof,
the columns each support the ends of two monoliths, which are shaped to sit at
a slant on the column and lean against an opposing monolith to span the gaps.

<>> x roof

  The ceiling does not possess any outstanding features.

  Dreary winds howl outside.

<>> x pilasters

  The flat plane of the tall walls is broken occasionally by a thicker pilaster
bumping into the room.  Here and there stones of black obsidian punctuate the
masonry to create subtle patterns.

<>> x obsidian

  The flat plane of the tall walls is broken occasionally by a thicker pilaster
bumping into the room.  Here and there stones of black obsidian punctuate the
masonry to create subtle patterns.

<>> * && Obsidian is volcanic glass, right? I hear it can cut dragon scales and wound immaterial ghosts...

  Comment recorded.

<>> l

 <> Throne room <>

  You are in what must have been the throne room of this castle, in the far-
gone days when folk inhabited this desert place.  Little of note remains: the
hall itself is lofty, and wider than it is deep, reddish sandstone columns
creating galleries in the flanking walls.  Curiously, at the focal wall
(western end) where one might look for a dais, the floor is recessed by a step
instead of raised.
  A large doorway to the northeast leads back to the entrance hall.  Running
north out of the gallery is a tall and prominent passageway which immediately
veers northwest out of sight.

  On the wall behind the sunken dais, three chains are anchored horizontally to
the surface.

  The prince stays close.

<>> x recess

  The floor at the west end of the room steps down into a recess in the same
area where a raised dais would ordinarily be found.  It looks as if the kings
and queens of that age had deliberately lowered themselves before their people,
as if to reflect that their one great role was to serve them, instead of to be
exalted over them.  For a moment you can imagine this hall filled with sound
and life, and wish you could have been a part of that scene.

<>> * && That is such a strong symbolic feature. The Queen of the Sunken Throne.

  Comment recorded.

<>> x chains

  At eye level, three chains are stretched out one above another, fixed to the
wall: uppermost, middlemost, and lowermost.  Each one is a different length,
and it is unclear whether they were once part of some more elaborate trappings
adorning the wall, or whether they have some enigmatic purpose.  The links are
rusty from the long damp in the air, and the chains sag just a little in
between the points where they are stapled into the mortar.
  Just below the chains, there seems to have been an engraving in the wall, but
it is difficult to make out through the built-up grime.

  Dwindeldorn's future king looks about nervously.

<>> clean engravings

  You don't see any engravings in view.

<>> x engraving

  Although it is not the only place in the masonry that is pitted through
decay, the spot looks as though it may have been purposefully engraved.  It's
hard to tell for sure, being coated with mildew and grime.

<>> clean it

  Making use of a sleeve and your fingers, you're able to remove enough grime
to see the etchings in the wall.  It appears to be the same emblem that you saw
worked on the northwestern door of the entrance hall: a torch of light
dispersing hideous creatures.

<>> pull middle chain

  With a hunch that the chains may operate some secret latch or door, you pull
firmly on the middle chain.  And a door opening does appear!!  Nah, sorry...
we're just yanking your chain.  Alas, you merely find that the fastening
staples are still solidly anchored into the wall.

  The Dwindeldornian prince gulps.

<>> * && You magnificent bastard! You had me there. 

  Comment recorded.

<>> climb chains

  We don't really know what to do with length other than measure it.

<>> * && A true statement, no doubt. How it fits here I cannot ascertain, however.

  Comment recorded.

<>> x staples

  "Staples" could either be something as yet unknown to you or else a phrasing
unknown to us.

<>> yank top chain

  This is one of those times where we may not have covered the verb you're
trying to use...

<>> file chain

  You may be trying to use a verb that we weren't instructed how to handle...

<>> cut top chain with iron bar

  We are truly sorry... we try our hardest to comply with your every wish, but
sometimes we just find ourselves getting mixed up or confused.  It's highly
unlikely that what's happening is of critical importance to your mission;
nonetheless, we must confess that the last turn may or may not have been fully
carried out as intended.

  [A file called "pqerror" has been created in the game directory... you would
be rendering great service if you would be willing to simply attach that file
to an email and send it to johnnywz00@yahoo.com with a subject of "PQ bug."
This could help other people in the future enjoy this game with less problems.
Many thanks!]

<>> x top chain

  The uppermost chain is made of rusting iron links, fastened horizontally to
the wall along with the other two chains.  Its purpose is unclear.

<>> undo

   Taking back one turn: “x top chain”.

 <> Throne room <>

  You are in what must have been the throne room of this castle, in the far-
gone days when folk inhabited this desert place.  Little of note remains: the
hall itself is lofty, and wider than it is deep, reddish sandstone columns
creating galleries in the flanking walls.  Curiously, at the focal wall
(western end) where one might look for a dais, the floor is recessed by a step
instead of raised.
  A large doorway to the northeast leads back to the entrance hall.  Running
north out of the gallery is a tall and prominent passageway which immediately
veers northwest out of sight.

  On the wall behind the sunken dais, three chains are anchored horizontally to
the surface.

  Your sidekick isn't wandering far.

<>> undo

   Taking back one turn: “climb chains”.

 <> Throne room <>

  You are in what must have been the throne room of this castle, in the far-
gone days when folk inhabited this desert place.  Little of note remains: the
hall itself is lofty, and wider than it is deep, reddish sandstone columns
creating galleries in the flanking walls.  Curiously, at the focal wall
(western end) where one might look for a dais, the floor is recessed by a step
instead of raised.
  A large doorway to the northeast leads back to the entrance hall.  Running
north out of the gallery is a tall and prominent passageway which immediately
veers northwest out of sight.

  On the wall behind the sunken dais, three chains are anchored horizontally to
the surface.

  Prince Quiz isn't wandering far.

<>> l

 <> Throne room <>

  You are in what must have been the throne room of this castle, in the far-
gone days when folk inhabited this desert place.  Little of note remains: the
hall itself is lofty, and wider than it is deep, reddish sandstone columns
creating galleries in the flanking walls.  Curiously, at the focal wall
(western end) where one might look for a dais, the floor is recessed by a step
instead of raised.
  A large doorway to the northeast leads back to the entrance hall.  Running
north out of the gallery is a tall and prominent passageway which immediately
veers northwest out of sight.

  On the wall behind the sunken dais, three chains are anchored horizontally to
the surface.

  Your protegé keeps near.

<>> x chains

  At eye level, three chains are stretched out one above another, fixed to the
wall: uppermost, middlemost, and lowermost.  Each one is a different length,
and it is unclear whether they were once part of some more elaborate trappings
adorning the wall, or whether they have some enigmatic purpose.  The links are
rusty from the long damp in the air, and the chains sag just a little in
between the points where they are stapled into the mortar.
  Below the chains is engraved the symbol of the torch and the fleeing
creatures.

  The royal youth sticks closer than usual.

<>> x bottom chain

  The lowermost chain is made of rusting iron links, fastened horizontally to
the wall along with the other two chains.  Its purpose is unclear.

<>> x middle chain

  The middle chain is made of rusting iron links, fastened horizontally to the
wall along with the other two chains.  Its purpose is unclear.

<>> x upper chain

  The uppermost chain is made of rusting iron links, fastened horizontally to
the wall along with the other two chains.  Its purpose is unclear.

  Your stomach is ill at ease in this haunted place.

<>> l

 <> Throne room <>

  You are in what must have been the throne room of this castle, in the far-
gone days when folk inhabited this desert place.  Little of note remains: the
hall itself is lofty, and wider than it is deep, reddish sandstone columns
creating galleries in the flanking walls.  Curiously, at the focal wall
(western end) where one might look for a dais, the floor is recessed by a step
instead of raised.
  A large doorway to the northeast leads back to the entrance hall.  Running
north out of the gallery is a tall and prominent passageway which immediately
veers northwest out of sight.

  On the wall behind the sunken dais, three chains are anchored horizontally to
the surface.

  Your young pal isn't wandering far.

  The royal youth swallows noisily.

<>> stand in recess

  You’re already standing on the stone floor.

<>> stand on dais

  You’re already standing on the stone floor.

<>> n

   The north passage almost immediately rises into a wide sweeping staircase.
This you begin to ascend into near-darkness.  Coming up and around to where you
might have thought to find a landing, you are halted in your tracks: this
portion of the building is in ruin.  Something has collapsed – fortunately
without bringing the roof down – nearly blocking all passage.  Trying to
penetrate the shifting and uncertain rubble would be treacherous: there's
nothing for it but to trace your steps back to the throne room, and so you do.

 <> Throne room <>

  You are in what must have been the throne room of this castle, in the far-
gone days when folk inhabited this desert place.  Little of note remains: the
hall itself is lofty, and wider than it is deep, reddish sandstone columns
creating galleries in the flanking walls.  Curiously, at the focal wall
(western end) where one might look for a dais, the floor is recessed by a step
instead of raised.
  A large doorway to the northeast leads back to the entrance hall.  Running
north out of the gallery is a tall and prominent passageway which immediately
veers northwest out of sight.

  On the wall behind the sunken dais, three chains are anchored horizontally to
the surface.

  The lad stays close.

<>> ne

 <> Hall of the Fastness <>

  You are in a dark and lofty hall, the murk and the eeriness being but
scantily dispelled by a few narrow windows of colored glass high in the front
wall.  The walls are dark and stained, covered in crumbling frescoes and carven
stone ribs.  At the western end of the hall, the walls angle in and converge,
in each of which is a broad and tall passageway.  The way southwest is an open
passage, while the northwestern passageway is fitted with a wide and solid
door, resolutely shut.  You can dodge out between the castle gates to the east.

  A heavy table, black with age, sits centrally at the convergence of the
southwestern and northwestern walls.  Its lone content is an ornate and stout-
looking chest, placed in the middle.

  Just left of the northwestern doorway, a large bronze escutcheon is fixed in
the wall.  From it protrude three short arms, one above another, and each one
bearing at its end a small and shallow salver.

  The uppermost salver contains 50 leaden balls.  The middle salver contains 50
leaden balls.  The lowermost salver contains 50 leaden balls.

  The future king of Dwindeldorn stays with you.

<>> save

  Saved.

<>> * && Hmmm... 

  Comment recorded.

<>> sw

 <> Throne room <>

  You are in what must have been the throne room of this castle, in the far-
gone days when folk inhabited this desert place.  Little of note remains: the
hall itself is lofty, and wider than it is deep, reddish sandstone columns
creating galleries in the flanking walls.  Curiously, at the focal wall
(western end) where one might look for a dais, the floor is recessed by a step
instead of raised.
  A large doorway to the northeast leads back to the entrance hall.  Running
north out of the gallery is a tall and prominent passageway which immediately
veers northwest out of sight.

  On the wall behind the sunken dais, three chains are anchored horizontally to
the surface.

  The Dwindeldornian prince isn't wandering far.

<>> x chains

  At eye level, three chains are stretched out one above another, fixed to the
wall: uppermost, middlemost, and lowermost.  Each one is a different length,
and it is unclear whether they were once part of some more elaborate trappings
adorning the wall, or whether they have some enigmatic purpose.  The links are
rusty from the long damp in the air, and the chains sag just a little in
between the points where they are stapled into the mortar.
  Below the chains is engraved the symbol of the torch and the fleeing
creatures.

<>> * && Chains of different lengths -> different number of links. Number of links -> number of balls?

  Comment recorded.

<>> x top chain

  The uppermost chain is made of rusting iron links, fastened horizontally to
the wall along with the other two chains.  Its purpose is unclear.

  Dreary winds howl outside.

<>> count links

  You count each chain individually.  The top chain is made of thirty-seven
links, the middle chain is forty-six links long, and the lowest chain has
thirty-two links.

  The castle gloom seeps through you.

<>> * && 37 - 46 - 32

  Comment recorded.

<>> ne

 <> Hall of the Fastness <>

  You are in a dark and lofty hall, the murk being but scantily dispelled by a
few narrow windows of colored glass high in the front wall.  The walls are dark
and stained, covered in crumbling frescoes; on them are depicted scenes of
noble warriors in combat with creatures of hideous description.  Great and
carven stone ribs soar up towards the vaults above, vanishing in high darkness
and clouds of cobweb.
  At the western end of the hall, the walls angle in and converge, forming
southwestern and northwestern walls there, in each of which is a broad and tall
passageway – lancet-arched and made to appear much larger by the building out
of the surrounding stonework.  The way southwest is an open passage, while the
northwestern passageway is fitted with a wide and solid door, resolutely shut.
  You can dodge out between the castle gates to the east.

  A heavy table, black with age, sits centrally at the convergence of the
southwestern and northwestern walls.  Its lone content is an ornate and stout-
looking chest, placed in the middle.

  Just left of the northwestern doorway, a large bronze escutcheon is fixed in
the wall.  From it protrude three short arms, one above another, and each one
bearing at its end a small and shallow salver.

  The uppermost salver contains 50 leaden balls.  The middle salver contains 50
leaden balls.  The lowermost salver contains 50 leaden balls.

  Your squire keeps near.

<>> get all balls

  You take the 50 leaden balls, the 50 leaden balls, and the 50 leaden balls.

<>> put 37 balls in upper salver

  You put thirty-seven balls in the uppermost salver.  The salver hinges
downward proportionately to the weight you added.

<>> put 46 balls in upper salver

  You put forty-six balls in the uppermost salver.  The salver hinges downward
proportionately to the weight you added.

<>> put 32 balls in upper salver

  You put thirty-two balls in the uppermost salver.  The salver hinges downward
proportionately to the weight you added.

<>> * && Oops. 

  Comment recorded.

<>> get all balls

  You take one hundred fifteen balls from the uppermost salver.  The salver
springs back upward proportionately to the weight you removed.

  The youth is only speaking in whispers, as if fearing to displease the
resident specters.

  The air is cold and dank.

<>> put 37 in upper

  You put thirty-seven balls in the uppermost salver.  The salver hinges
downward proportionately to the weight you added.

<>> put 46 in middle

  You put forty-six balls in the middle salver.  The salver hinges downward
proportionately to the weight you added.

<>> put 32 in lower

  You put thirty-two balls in the lowermost salver.  The salver hinges downward
proportionately to the weight you added.

  As you place the final leaden ball into its proper salver, there is a
moment's delay, and then you hear a spring-loaded mechanism release behind the
escutcheon.  The salvers must all be perfectly weighted to their
specifications, for the ponderous door to the northwest rolls away rumbling
into the wall, opening wide passage to another space beyond.
  The prince momentarily shrinks back, as if reluctant to explore new rooms
that might be rife with ghosts.


*** Your score has just gone up by three points ***

<>> save

  Saved.

<>> nw

   Something about the gravity of this place deters you from carrying away
anything you found here.  You decide to put the lead balls back in their chest
before leaving.

 <> Chessboard hall <>

  This hall is at the same time a space in its own right, and also a kind of
central court providing passage to various wings of the castle.  The marks of
ages of decay are everywhere to be seen.  A wide and lofty buttressed corridor
curves southwest, deeper into the castle.  To the north, in the eastern corner
of the room, another lancet archway yawns in the wall, leading into some kind
of antechamber beyond.  Also to the north, but in the western corner, the
crumbling and deterioration appears to have made a gaping breach all the way
through the wall.
  Singular above all other features of this spot, the floor is laid with large
square slabs of alternating dark and light marbles, making nearly the whole
room into a chessboard.  The board, as such, snuggles against the northern and
western walls, leaving ample passageway along the south and east sides of the
room.  Various life-sized chess pieces are situated at certain places on the
board or alongside it.
  Southeast lies the open portal towards the entrance hall.

  The Feckless stays with you.

<>> script off

&
&
&
&

  The transcript will be saved to the file.  Type SCRIPT OFF to discontinue
scripting.

<>> * && I don't have a torch yet, but I'm going to explore the foreboding NW passage anyway.

  Comment recorded.

<>> ,w

  You seem to have left out some words.

<>> nw

   Something about the gravity of this place deters you from carrying away
anything you found here.  You decide to put the lead balls back in their chest
before leaving.

 <> Chessboard hall <>

  This hall is at the same time a space in its own right, and also a kind of
central court providing passage to various wings of the castle.  The marks of
ages of decay are everywhere to be seen.  A wide and lofty buttressed corridor
curves southwest, deeper into the castle.  To the north, in the eastern corner
of the room, another lancet archway yawns in the wall, leading into some kind
of antechamber beyond.  Also to the north, but in the western corner, the
crumbling and deterioration appears to have made a gaping breach all the way
through the wall.
  Singular above all other features of this spot, the floor is laid with large
square slabs of alternating dark and light marbles, making nearly the whole
room into a chessboard.  The board, as such, snuggles against the northern and
western walls, leaving ample passageway along the south and east sides of the
room.  Various life-sized chess pieces are situated at certain places on the
board or alongside it.
  Southeast lies the open portal towards the entrance hall.

  Your companion stays close.

<>> n

 <> Antechamber <>

  The floor level here is lower than that of the chess hall by two wide steps,
which splay out in an arc as they descend.  The room is oblong stretching from
south to north, and the ceiling, while still spacious, is not on the lofty
order of the other halls in this fastness.  Half-columns stud the walls, and a
large bow window makes the room bulge out of the north wall.  A stone bench
lines the curve of the window.
  In the east wall two smallish doorways are apparent, but they have long ago
been bricked in, and appear quite impassable.  The large lancet opening
stepping up to the chess hall is to the south.

  The west wall is dominated by an imposing entrance of at least ten feet high.
Carved on a smooth stone slab set in the wall above the door's peak are the
words:

ÞE HALLE OF ÞE GREAT ORGAUN

  These doors, and indeed this room, produce a unsettling sensation, greater
yet than anywhere else in the castle... the feeling of drawing nigh to the
Uncanny, the Unearthly.  The heavy wood-and-iron doors stand shut, and
unfortunately appear as if they will hardly be persuaded to ever stand
otherwise.

  Prince Quiz keeps near.

  You try to suppress a shiver.

<>> undo

   Taking back one turn: “n”.

 <> Chessboard hall <>

  This decaying hall is at the same time a space in its own right, and also a
kind of central court providing passage to various wings of the castle.  The
floor is laid with large square slabs of alternating dark and light marbles,
making nearly the whole room into a chessboard.  The board, as such, snuggles
against the northern and western walls, leaving ample passageway along the
south and east sides of the room.  Various life-sized chess pieces are situated
at certain places on the board or alongside it.
  A corridor runs southwest, and an archway leads north into an antechamber.
Also in the north wall, but in the northwestern corner, the wall has crumbled
to expose a gaping breach well off the ground.  Southeast lies the open portal
towards the entrance hall.

  The future king of Dwindeldorn stays with you.

<>> nw

  The chess hall has no doors leading northwest.

  Your companion sticks closer than usual.

<>> x floor

  You can't be sure, but the floor may be the very bedrock on which the
fastness sits, cut flat.

<>> dig

(with the broken mattock)
  You can't dig in the solid rock under you.

<>> * && Solid bedrock, or marble tiles?

  Comment recorded.

<>> 

 <> Chessboard hall <>

  This decaying hall is at the same time a space in its own right, and also a
kind of central court providing passage to various wings of the castle.  The
floor is laid with large square slabs of alternating dark and light marbles,
making nearly the whole room into a chessboard.  The board, as such, snuggles
against the northern and western walls, leaving ample passageway along the
south and east sides of the room.  Various life-sized chess pieces are situated
at certain places on the board or alongside it.
  A corridor runs southwest, and an archway leads north into an antechamber.
Also in the north wall, but in the northwestern corner, the wall has crumbled
to expose a gaping breach well off the ground.  Southeast lies the open portal
towards the entrance hall.

  The boy keeps near.

<>> x tiles

  "Tiles" could either be something as yet unknown to you or else a phrasing
unknown to us.

<>> x slabs

  You don't see any slabs in view.

<>> * && The "chessboard" isn't here.

  Comment recorded.

<>> x board

  Each square is a piece of marble set into the floor, which the chess pieces
sit upon.  The rows and columns are marked along the border, so that each
square is assigned a name such as 'd2' or 'h5'.  Column 'a' is southernmost in
the room, with 'h' being the northernmost.  Similarly, row 1 is the easternmost
row of the room, while row 8 is the westernmost.


<>> * && What! Finally! So many games and movies use a chessboard motif as shorthand for "intellectual", "logical", "deep thought", but then they either don't *do* chess, or they give a silly layman's approximation of chess where they keep playing to a 

  Comment recorded.

<>> * && "surprise" mate where a chessplayer would have toppled his king already, or they put the Queens on the wrong colour. So good to see an actual chess diagram pop up! Thank you.

  Comment recorded.

<>> x board

  Each square is a piece of marble set into the floor, which the chess pieces
sit upon.  The rows and columns are marked along the border, so that each
square is assigned a name such as 'd2' or 'h5'.  Column 'a' is southernmost in
the room, with 'h' being the northernmost.  Similarly, row 1 is the easternmost
row of the room, while row 8 is the westernmost.


<>> l

 <> Chessboard hall <>

  This decaying hall is at the same time a space in its own right, and also a
kind of central court providing passage to various wings of the castle.  The
floor is laid with large square slabs of alternating dark and light marbles,
making nearly the whole room into a chessboard.  The board, as such, snuggles
against the northern and western walls, leaving ample passageway along the
south and east sides of the room.  Various life-sized chess pieces are situated
at certain places on the board or alongside it.
  A corridor runs southwest, and an archway leads north into an antechamber.
Also in the north wall, but in the northwestern corner, the wall has crumbled
to expose a gaping breach well off the ground.  Southeast lies the open portal
towards the entrance hall.

  Quisborne stays close.

<>> x pieces

  The chess pieces are remarkable sculptures of ironwood, and large: even the
pawns are taller than your head.  The whole chess set seems to be accounted
for.

  All the rest of the white pieces are out of play along the south side of the
board.

  The king's son is only speaking in whispers.

<>> * && If the player examines the pieces before the board, she wouldn't know only the white Knight and King are in play. Maybe "The white King and one of his Knights are making a stand on the board. All the rest of the white pieces are out of play..."

  Comment recorded.

<>> x breach

  In the north wall, immediately where it corners against the west wall, some
of the stonework has decayed or otherwise been broken, so that a narrow
aperture opens into some dark space beyond.  The gap is quite high above the
floor level: maybe fourteen feet.

  Prince Quiz wrings his hands.

  You try to suppress a shiver.

<>> enter breach

  If you're thinking of going through the hole in the wall, it is too high off
of the ground for you to reach it.

<>> * && Could something or someone come in through it from the outside? A dragon perhaps?

  Comment recorded.

<>> l

 <> Chessboard hall <>

  This decaying hall is at the same time a space in its own right, and also a
kind of central court providing passage to various wings of the castle.  The
floor is laid with large square slabs of alternating dark and light marbles,
making nearly the whole room into a chessboard.  The board, as such, snuggles
against the northern and western walls, leaving ample passageway along the
south and east sides of the room.  Various life-sized chess pieces are situated
at certain places on the board or alongside it.
  A corridor runs southwest, and an archway leads north into an antechamber.
Also in the north wall, but in the northwestern corner, the wall has crumbled
to expose a gaping breach well off the ground.  Southeast lies the open portal
towards the entrance hall.

  The lad isn't wandering far.

<>> x game

  You don't see any game in view.

<>> x chess

  Which chess do you mean, the black rook on c4, the pawn on f5, the black rook
on h2, the black knight on g2, the pawn on a6, the pawn on e5, the pawn on c2,
the pawn on e3, the pawn on g5, the black king on c8, the white king on a7, the
black queen on e4, the chessboard, the black knight on d6, the pawn on h5, the
black bishop on b5, the pawn on a2, the black bishop on d8, or the white knight
on a1?

< distinguish >> black rook on c4

  The piece is a black chess rook, even taller than you, finely fashioned out
of ironwood.  It's standing on the square c4.

<>> x bishop

  Which bishop do you mean, the black bishop on d8, or the black bishop on b5?

< distinguish >> d8

  The piece is a black chess bishop, even taller than you, finely fashioned out
of ironwood.  It's standing on the square d8.

<>> * && I'm not sure if this adds to the understanding, or rather to a confusing overwhelming clutter. Perhaps examining an individual piece might give information on which pieces it is attacking, or being attacked by? Otherwise I don't see any extra 

  Comment recorded.

<>> * && information further than "This is a chess piece."

  Comment recorded.

<>> x game

  You don't see any game in view.

<>> x position

  "Position" is either:
 - Something you haven't come across yet
 - Something not necessary to your adventure
 - A phrasing we aren't equipped to handle

<>> x defense

  "Defense" could either be something as yet unknown to you or else a phrasing
unknown to us.

<>> x pawn structure

  "Pawn structure" is either:
 - Something you haven't come across yet
 - Something not necessary to your adventure
 - A phrasing we aren't equipped to handle

<>> x attack

  "Attack" could either be something as yet unknown to you or else a phrasing
unknown to us.

<>> * && all these could redirect to the chess diagram.

  Comment recorded.

<>> x board

  Each square is a piece of marble set into the floor, which the chess pieces
sit upon.  The rows and columns are marked along the border, so that each
square is assigned a name such as 'd2' or 'h5'.  Column 'a' is southernmost in
the room, with 'h' being the northernmost.  Similarly, row 1 is the easternmost
row of the room, while row 8 is the westernmost.


  The lad licks his lips apprehensively.

<>> * && I don't understand why you would want to rotate the board 90° away from the usual adventure view of N=top, E=right, S=bottom, W=left. It's confusing without any point to it. Except if you have something up your sleeve.

  Comment recorded.

<>> push black rook on h2 north

  If you have thoughts of trying to move the chess pieces, try 'move [piece
name] to [square name].

  Quisborne shuffles a bit.

<>> * && Compass directions don't work in moving the pieces, so the compass orientation of the board doesn't matter, right? Then why clutter the player's mind's view of the situation with unnecessary compass information?

  Comment recorded.

<>> x board

  Each square is a piece of marble set into the floor, which the chess pieces
sit upon.  The rows and columns are marked along the border, so that each
square is assigned a name such as 'd2' or 'h5'.  Column 'a' is southernmost in
the room, with 'h' being the northernmost.  Similarly, row 1 is the easternmost
row of the room, while row 8 is the westernmost.


<>> move black queen to b7

  Strangely, this piece seems to be fixed in place by a means which you can't
ascertain.

<>> * && It's White to move? Black has mate in one. White can move the Knight, but to what end?

  Comment recorded.

<>> move white knight to c2

  You slide the white knight to the c2 square, thinking to capture a black
piece.  Suddenly, the white knight starts moving of its own accord!  It drifts
steadily along the smooth marble back to its original square: whether by
enchantment or some mysterious mechanism beneath the floor, you cannot tell.

  "By the hoary heads of my ancestors!!" shouts the prince in shock and dread.
"The pieces are moving, sir!"  He stands gazing wide-eyed at the chess knight,
as if bracing himself for it to turn around and come after him.


<>> move white king to a8

  You slide the white king to the a8 square.  But once you release it, the
white king starts moving of its own accord, and drifts back to its original
square.

<>> capture black pawn on c2 with white knight

  That pawn can't be captured from here.

<>> move white knight to b3

  You slide the white knight to the b3 square.

  [To move the white knight any further, you can simply enter the name of the
square you want to go to, e.g.: 'b4']


<>> b4

  You slide the white knight to the b4 square.  Suddenly, the white knight
starts moving of its own accord, and drifts steadily along the smooth marble
back to its original square.  Prince Quisborne watches again in a mixture of
horror and amazement.


<>> * && I need to complete a round of the board to all the squares where the knight can't be captured!?

  Comment recorded.

<>> move knight to b3

  You have the prince move the white knight to b3.


<>> a5

  You slide the white knight to the a5 square.  Again, the white knight reacts
to your move, and eerily travels back to the square a1.  The prince is still
well spooked by the moving chess pieces.


  The fastness is pervaded by a mournful solitude.

<>> * && Oops! Didn't account for the Bishop there.

  Comment recorded.

<>> slide knight to b3

  "Knight to b3" is either:
 - Something you haven't come across yet
 - Something not necessary to your adventure
 - A phrasing we aren't equipped to handle

<>> move knight to b3

  Your squire slides the white knight to the b3 square.


  The fastness is pervaded by a mournful solitude.

<>> c1

  You have the prince slide the white knight to c1.


  The princeling looks about nervously.

<>> e2

  Your companion pushes the white knight to the e2 square.


<>> * && Do I have to touch all the unthreatened squares? Can I retreat to a square I already visited? If so, then I need g1 first.

  Comment recorded.

<>> g1

  You slide the white knight to g1.


  You try to suppress a shiver.

<>> e2

  Prince Quisborne moves the white knight to the e2 square.


  You feel that something haunting is watching you.

<>> g3

  You slide the white knight to g3.


<>> * && Is there merit in capturing the Queen? Or should I stay on track with my first hunch?

  Comment recorded.

<>> capture black queen

  What do you want to capture it with?

< object >> white knight

  You slide the white knight to the e4 square, thinking to capture a black
piece.  As soon as you release the knight, it makes straight for its original
square and comes to rest.


<>> move knight to b3

  You have the prince slide the white knight to the b3 square.


  The air is cold and dank.

<>> c1

  The royal youth moves the white knight to c1.


  Dreary winds howl outside.

<>> e2

  You have the prince push the white knight to the e2 square.


  The Feckless gets suddenly spooked and drops the sack.

<>> g1

  You slide the white knight to g1.


<>> e2

  The princeling slides the white knight to the e2 square.


  Dwindeldorn's future king gulps.

<>> g3

  You have the prince move the white knight to g3.


  Your companion swallows noisily.

<>> h5

  You slide the white knight to the h5 square, thinking to capture a black
piece.  Again, the white knight reacts to your move, and eerily travels back to
the square a1.


<>> * && I missed f1 from g3

  Comment recorded.

<>> move knight to b3

  You slide the white knight to the b3 square.


<>> c2

  You slide the white knight to the c2 square, thinking to capture a black
piece.  Suddenly, the white knight starts moving of its own accord, and drifts
steadily along the smooth marble back to its original square.


  The future ruler of the land startles over something inconsequential.

  The castle gloom seeps through you.

<>> move knight to b3

  Your squire slides the white knight to b3.


  Your companion wrings his hands.

<>> c1

  You have the prince push the white knight to the c1 square.


  The youth swallows noisily.

<>> e2

  You slide the white knight to e2.


  Your sidekick shuffles a bit.

<>> g1

  You have the prince move the white knight to the g1 square.


<>> e2

  You slide the white knight to e2.


<>> g3

  The king-to-be moves the white knight to the g3 square.


<>> f1

  You have the prince move the white knight to f1.


<>> h2

  The princeling pushes the white knight to the h2 square, with the intent of
capturing a piece.  The black rook that was standing there drifts mysteriously
over to the sideline and comes to rest.


<>> * && Okay... Work my way up from 1 to 8, visiting all unthreatened squares and capturing only when all other squares have been touched. That about it?

  Comment recorded.

<>> f1

  You slide the white knight to f1.


<>> g3

  Quiz moves the white knight to the g3 square.


  The boy sticks closer than usual.

<>> h5

  You have the prince slide the white knight to h5, with the intent of
capturing a piece.  The black pawn that was standing there drifts mysteriously
over to the sideline and comes to rest.


<>> g7

  You slide the white knight to the g7 square.


  Dwindeldorn's future king gets suddenly spooked and drops the sack.

<>> e6

  The princeling moves the white knight to e6.


<>> g5

  You slide the white knight to the g5 square, thinking to capture a black
piece.  As soon as you release the knight, it makes straight for its original
square and comes to rest.  The pieces on the sideline also resume their
original positions.


<>> undo

  Taking back one turn: “move white knight to g5”.



<>> f8

  You slide the white knight to the f8 square.


<>> h7

  You have the prince move the white knight to h7.


  The fastness is pervaded by a mournful solitude.

<>> f6

  You slide the white knight to the f6 square.  As soon as you release the
knight, it makes straight for its original square and comes to rest.  The
pieces on the sideline also resume their original positions.


  The youth startles over something inconsequential.

<>> undo

  Taking back one turn: “move white knight to f6”.



<>> g5

  You slide the white knight to the g5 square, thinking to capture a black
piece.  As soon as you release the knight, it makes straight for its original
square and comes to rest.  The pieces on the sideline also resume their
original positions.


<>> undo

  Taking back one turn: “move white knight to g5”.



<>> f6

  You slide the white knight to the f6 square.  As soon as you release the
knight, it makes straight for its original square and comes to rest.  The
pieces on the sideline also resume their original positions.


<>> undo

  Taking back one turn: “move white knight to f6”.



<>> f8

  You slide the white knight to the f8 square.


  The castle gloom seeps through you.

<>> e6

  You have the prince slide the white knight to e6.


  Prince Quisborne licks his lips apprehensively.

<>> * && Wait... make sure I've visited f8 and h7, then come back to take g5

  Comment recorded.

<>> * && But what difference would that make from capturing the pawn from h7?

  Comment recorded.

<>> f8

  The Feckless pushes the white knight to the f8 square.


<>> h7

  You have the prince slide the white knight to h7.


<>> f8

  You slide the white knight to the f8 square.


  Your protegé gulps.

<>> e6

  Your companion pushes the white knight to e6.


  The incumbent to the throne looks about nervously.

<>> * && No. g5 is protected. Not my most thorough calculations here...

  Comment recorded.

<>> * && Or am I pushing for stalemate?

  Comment recorded.

<>> * && That's hardly possible when Black has two pawns threatening promotion. Or am I reading the sign wrong and is the bottom of the board Black's starting side?

  Comment recorded.

<>> g7

  You slide the white knight to the g7 square.


<>> h5

  You have the prince slide the white knight to h5.


  The heir to the throne of Dwindeldorn is only speaking in whispers.

<>> g3

  Your young pal pushes the white knight to the g3 square.


<>> e2

  You have the prince move the white knight to e2.


  You try to suppress a shiver.

<>> c1

  You slide the white knight to the c1 square.


  Your squire startles over something inconsequential.

<>> a2

  Quisborne pushes the white knight to a2, with the intent of capturing a
piece.  The black pawn that was standing there drifts mysteriously over to the
sideline and comes to rest.


  Dreary winds howl outside.

<>> * && Or am I overprioritising the "visit unthreatened squares" objective and should I just use the Knight's versatility to gobble up pieces?

  Comment recorded.

<>> c1

  You have the prince move the white knight to the c1 square.


<>> b3

  The king-to-be slides the white knight to b3.


<>> * && No.

  Comment recorded.

<>> save

  Saved.

<>> c3

  You slide the white knight to the c3 square.  As soon as you release the
knight, it makes straight for its original square and comes to rest.  The
pieces on the sideline also resume their original positions.


<>> undo

  Taking back one turn: “move white knight to c3”.



<>> c1

  You slide the white knight to the c1 square.


  Quiz wrings his hands.

<>> e2

  The princeling pushes the white knight to e2.


<>> g3

  You slide the white knight to the g3 square.


<>> h1

  You have the prince move the white knight to h1.


<>> g3

  You slide the white knight to the g3 square.


<>> e4

  You slide the white knight to the e4 square, thinking to capture a black
piece.  As soon as you release the knight, it makes straight for its original
square and comes to rest.  The pieces on the sideline also resume their
original positions.


<>> undo

  Taking back one turn: “move white knight to e4”.



<>> * && Is the objective signposted in another room of the castle?

  Comment recorded.

<>> l

 <> Chessboard hall <>

  This decaying hall is at the same time a space in its own right, and also a
kind of central court providing passage to various wings of the castle.  The
floor is laid with large square slabs of alternating dark and light marbles,
making nearly the whole room into a chessboard.  The board, as such, snuggles
against the northern and western walls, leaving ample passageway along the
south and east sides of the room.  Various life-sized chess pieces are situated
at certain places on the board or alongside it.
  A corridor runs southwest, and an archway leads north into an antechamber.
Also in the north wall, but in the northwestern corner, the wall has crumbled
to expose a gaping breach well off the ground.  Southeast lies the open portal
towards the entrance hall.

  Your sidekick keeps near.

  Quiz looks about nervously.

  The air is cold and dank.

<>> move white king to a8

  You slide the white king to the a8 square.  But once you release it, the
white king starts moving of its own accord, and drifts back to its original
square.  The pieces on the sideline also resume their original positions.

  Quiz gulps.

<>> x board

  Each square is a piece of marble set into the floor, which the chess pieces
sit upon.  The rows and columns are marked along the border, so that each
square is assigned a name such as 'd2' or 'h5'.  Column 'a' is southernmost in
the room, with 'h' being the northernmost.  Similarly, row 1 is the easternmost
row of the room, while row 8 is the westernmost.


<>> *undo

  Comment recorded.

<>> undo

   Taking back one turn: “x board”.

 <> Chessboard hall <>

  This decaying hall is at the same time a space in its own right, and also a
kind of central court providing passage to various wings of the castle.  The
floor is laid with large square slabs of alternating dark and light marbles,
making nearly the whole room into a chessboard.  The board, as such, snuggles
against the northern and western walls, leaving ample passageway along the
south and east sides of the room.  Various life-sized chess pieces are situated
at certain places on the board or alongside it.
  A corridor runs southwest, and an archway leads north into an antechamber.
Also in the north wall, but in the northwestern corner, the wall has crumbled
to expose a gaping breach well off the ground.  Southeast lies the open portal
towards the entrance hall.

  Your ostensible squire isn't wandering far.

<>> undo

   Taking back one turn: “move white king to a8”.

 <> Chessboard hall <>

  This decaying hall is at the same time a space in its own right, and also a
kind of central court providing passage to various wings of the castle.  The
floor is laid with large square slabs of alternating dark and light marbles,
making nearly the whole room into a chessboard.  The board, as such, snuggles
against the northern and western walls, leaving ample passageway along the
south and east sides of the room.  Various life-sized chess pieces are situated
at certain places on the board or alongside it.
  A corridor runs southwest, and an archway leads north into an antechamber.
Also in the north wall, but in the northwestern corner, the wall has crumbled
to expose a gaping breach well off the ground.  Southeast lies the open portal
towards the entrance hall.

  Prince Quisborne isn't wandering far.

<>> undo

   Taking back one turn: “l”.

 <> Chessboard hall <>

  This decaying hall is at the same time a space in its own right, and also a
kind of central court providing passage to various wings of the castle.  The
floor is laid with large square slabs of alternating dark and light marbles,
making nearly the whole room into a chessboard.  The board, as such, snuggles
against the northern and western walls, leaving ample passageway along the
south and east sides of the room.  Various life-sized chess pieces are situated
at certain places on the board or alongside it.
  A corridor runs southwest, and an archway leads north into an antechamber.
Also in the north wall, but in the northwestern corner, the wall has crumbled
to expose a gaping breach well off the ground.  Southeast lies the open portal
towards the entrance hall.

  The future monarch of Dwindeldorn keeps near.

<>> x board

  Each square is a piece of marble set into the floor, which the chess pieces
sit upon.  The rows and columns are marked along the border, so that each
square is assigned a name such as 'd2' or 'h5'.  Column 'a' is southernmost in
the room, with 'h' being the northernmost.  Similarly, row 1 is the easternmost
row of the room, while row 8 is the westernmost.


<>> cheat

  This is one of those times where we may not have covered the verb you're
trying to use...

<>> topple black king

  You may be trying to use a verb that we weren't instructed how to handle...

<>> push black king

  This piece seems to be fixed in place by some strange means.

  Your young pal startles over something inconsequential.

  Your stomach is ill at ease in this haunted place.

<>> burn black king

  While it would probably require an intense blaze to ignite these ironwood
figurines, you feel no compulsion to test it out.  Destruction is far from your
mind as you walk through these chambers of ancient mystery.

<>> colour black king white with chalk

  This is one of those times where we may not have covered the verb you're
trying to use...

<>> write white on black queen

  That wouldn't be a great surface for writing on with chalk.

<>> write white on board

  There isn't much reason to refer to the chessboard as a whole... the pieces
and squares are of more interest.

<>> wrie white on a2

  You may be trying to use a verb that we weren't instructed how to handle...

<>> write white on a2

  That wouldn't be a great surface for writing on with chalk.

<>> write white on a1

  That wouldn't be a great surface for writing on with chalk.

  The air is cold and dank.

<>> * && A black marble tile seems like a perfect surface for writing on with wite chalk.

  Comment recorded.

<>> hit queen with iron bar

  In fact, you feel a strange reverence for these silent and long-enduring
figurines, and desist from abusing them.

<>> * && Just thinking outside the square...

  Comment recorded.

<>> fell black king with axe

  You come to realize that even if you had no qualms about chopping ancient
wooden figurines in half, the eerie gloom of this castle would deter you from
doing it.

  The young figurehead is only speaking in whispers.

<>> * && I'm going to investigate the other rooms for clues on what the objective here is.

  Comment recorded.

<>> sw

   The southwest corridor soon comes to a wide sweeping staircase, which you
begin to ascend into the near-darkness.  Before long, you are halted in your
tracks: this stair leads into the same ruined section which you discovered
before.  There's nothing for it but to trace your steps back to the throne
room, and so you do.

 <> Chessboard hall <>

  This decaying hall is at the same time a space in its own right, and also a
kind of central court providing passage to various wings of the castle.  The
floor is laid with large square slabs of alternating dark and light marbles,
making nearly the whole room into a chessboard.  The board, as such, snuggles
against the northern and western walls, leaving ample passageway along the
south and east sides of the room.  Various life-sized chess pieces are situated
at certain places on the board or alongside it.
  A corridor runs southwest, and an archway leads north into an antechamber.
Also in the north wall, but in the northwestern corner, the wall has crumbled
to expose a gaping breach well off the ground.  Southeast lies the open portal
towards the entrance hall.

  The Dwindeldornian prince stays with you.

  You feel that something haunting is watching you.

<>> n

 <> Antechamber <>

  The floor level here is lower than that of the chess hall by two wide steps,
which splay out in an arc as they descend.  The room is oblong stretching from
south to north, and the ceiling, while still spacious, is not on the lofty
order of the other halls in this fastness.  Half-columns stud the walls, and a
large bow window makes the room bulge out of the north wall.  A stone bench
lines the curve of the window.
  In the east wall two smallish doorways are apparent, but they have long ago
been bricked in, and appear quite impassable.  The large lancet opening
stepping up to the chess hall is to the south.

  The west wall is dominated by an imposing entrance of at least ten feet high.
Carved on a smooth stone slab set in the wall above the door's peak are the
words:

ÞE HALLE OF ÞE GREAT ORGAUN

  These doors, and indeed this room, produce a unsettling sensation, greater
yet than anywhere else in the castle... the feeling of drawing nigh to the
Uncanny, the Unearthly.  The heavy wood-and-iron doors stand shut, and
unfortunately appear as if they will hardly be persuaded to ever stand
otherwise.

  The Dwindeldornian heir isn't wandering far.

<>> x doors

  The doors, like those leading from the entrance hall into the chess hall, are
thick wooden slabs covered with a network of iron banding.  They lie in the
path of some of the more severe water infiltration from above, and most of the
iron is coated with great flaking scales of rust.
  A large lever lifts the latch bar on this side of the doors, but the pieces
have virtually been fused into one by the rust.  What you can see of the hinges
shows them to be in a similar state.

<>> x lever

  The oversized lever and bar are scarcely recognizable any more... they seem
to be more or less serving as solid metal glue holding the two doors together.

<>> push lever

  Calling it a lever and a bar any more is overgenerous... it's just a frozen
formation of metal.

  You try to suppress a shiver.

<>> x hinges

  The doors, like those leading from the entrance hall into the chess hall, are
thick wooden slabs covered with a network of iron banding.  They lie in the
path of some of the more severe water infiltration from above, and most of the
iron is coated with great flaking scales of rust.
  A large lever lifts the latch bar on this side of the doors, but the pieces
have virtually been fused into one by the rust.  What you can see of the hinges
shows them to be in a similar state.

<>> x east wall

  The walls are embellished with half-columns spaced every six feet.

  The king's son looks about nervously.

<>> l

 <> Antechamber <>

  The floor level here is lower than that of the chess hall by two wide steps,
which splay out in an arc as they descend.  The room is oblong stretching from
south to north, and the ceiling, while still spacious, is not on the lofty
order of the other halls in this fastness.  Half-columns stud the walls, and a
large bow window makes the room bulge out of the north wall.  A stone bench
lines the curve of the window.
  In the east wall two smallish doorways are apparent, but they have long ago
been bricked in, and appear quite impassable.  The large lancet opening
stepping up to the chess hall is to the south.

  The west wall is dominated by an imposing entrance of at least ten feet high.
Carved on a smooth stone slab set in the wall above the door's peak are the
words:

ÞE HALLE OF ÞE GREAT ORGAUN

  The heavy wood-and-iron doors stand shut, and unfortunately appear as if they
will hardly be persuaded to ever stand otherwise.

  Prince Quiz stays close.

  Quiz licks his lips apprehensively.

<>> x doorways

  For one reason or another, two doorways that used to lead somewhere have been
blocked off.  Perhaps there was a wing beyond that had suffered irreparable
damage from the attack of some foe?  Perhaps they had led to some cellars which
subsequently experienced flooding, infestation, or noxious vapors issuing from
the earth?

<>> break doorways

  You don't even know for sure that any room still exists on the other side of
the doorways.

<>> hit lever with iron bar

  Any efforts that you make to loosen, break, or otherwise undo the latch are
completely foiled.

<>> * && Acid? Coca Cola? A vigorous scrubbing?

  Comment recorded.

<>> clean lever

  What do you want to clean it with?

< object >> sawdust

  The sawdust doesn't seem expressly suitable for making things cleaner.

<>> clean lever

  What do you want to clean it with?

< object >> canvas

  You give the iron latch a little wipe-down with the canvas tarp for good
measure.

<>> x latch

  The oversized lever and bar are scarcely recognizable any more... they seem
to be more or less serving as solid metal glue holding the two doors together.

<>> l

 <> Antechamber <>

  The floor level here is lower than that of the chess hall by two wide steps,
which splay out in an arc as they descend.  The room is oblong stretching from
south to north, and the ceiling, while still spacious, is not on the lofty
order of the other halls in this fastness.  Half-columns stud the walls, and a
large bow window makes the room bulge out of the north wall.  A stone bench
lines the curve of the window.
  In the east wall two smallish doorways are apparent, but they have long ago
been bricked in, and appear quite impassable.  The large lancet opening
stepping up to the chess hall is to the south.

  The west wall is dominated by an imposing entrance of at least ten feet high.
Carved on a smooth stone slab set in the wall above the door's peak are the
words:

ÞE HALLE OF ÞE GREAT ORGAUN

  The heavy wood-and-iron doors stand shut, and unfortunately appear as if they
will hardly be persuaded to ever stand otherwise.

  Your companion stays with you.

<>> x columns

  While this room is smaller than other rooms of the castle, it bears somewhat
more ornamentation than they do.  The half-columns spaced along the walls of
the room look as if they may be more for adornment than for functional
strength.

<>> x bench

  There is a window seat built along the bow window, in the form of a frugally
carved stone bench.

<>> sit

(on the stone bench)
  You’re now sitting on the stone bench.

  The future ruler of the land shuffles a bit.

<>> look under bench

  On your hands and knees, you inspect the back sides of the bulky stone legs
of the bench.  There, you find a small niche carved, which appears to be the
just the size of a large key.  Alas!  There is no key in it.

  The castle gloom seeps through you.

<>> save

  Saved.

<>> script off

&
&
&
&

  The transcript will be saved to the file.  Type SCRIPT OFF to discontinue
scripting.

<>> l

 <> Antechamber (sitting on the stone bench) <>

  The floor level here is lower than that of the chess hall by two wide steps,
which splay out in an arc as they descend.  The room is oblong stretching from
south to north, and the ceiling, while still spacious, is not on the lofty
order of the other halls in this fastness.  Half-columns stud the walls, and a
large bow window makes the room bulge out of the north wall.  A stone bench
lines the curve of the window.
  In the east wall two smallish doorways are apparent, but they have long ago
been bricked in, and appear quite impassable.  The large lancet opening
stepping up to the chess hall is to the south.

  The west wall is dominated by an imposing entrance of at least ten feet high.
Carved on a smooth stone slab set in the wall above the door's peak are the
words:

ÞE HALLE OF ÞE GREAT ORGAUN

  The heavy wood-and-iron doors stand shut, and unfortunately appear as if they
will hardly be persuaded to ever stand otherwise.

  The boy stays close.

<>> x floor

  You can't be sure, but the floor may be the very bedrock on which the
fastness sits, cut flat.

  The princeling gets suddenly spooked and drops the sack.

<>> x window

  The Fastness of the Dracken Fells is a strange contradiction of preservation
and decay: here is another specimen of fragile glass that has escaped
destruction over so many ages.  The glass, like that in the entrance hall, is
amber-colored and lets some light in while not really providing a view.  Both
inside and out, the window is coated with so much dirt as to scarcely break the
darkness inside.

<>> clean glass

(first standing up)

  What do you want to clean it with?

< object >> tarp

  You begin to clean the window, thinking perhaps to let a little more light
in, but you soon give it up when it becomes apparent that the outside is too
dirty for it to matter.

<>> * && Hmmm... clues so far: the gloved hand with the torch. Do the monsters represent the black chess pieces somehow? 

  Comment recorded.

<>> break glass

  If you could do anything with this old castle, you would restore it, not
demolish it.

<>> * && I wanted to climb outside and see if I could reach the Organ room from the outside. But wait, there's that breach in the Chess Hall...

  Comment recorded.

<>> s

 <> Chessboard hall <>

  This hall is at the same time a space in its own right, and also a kind of
central court providing passage to various wings of the castle.  The marks of
ages of decay are everywhere to be seen.  A wide and lofty buttressed corridor
curves southwest, deeper into the castle.  To the north, in the eastern corner
of the room, another lancet archway yawns in the wall, leading into some kind
of antechamber beyond.  Also to the north, but in the western corner, the
crumbling and deterioration appears to have made a gaping breach all the way
through the wall.
  The floor is laid with large square slabs of alternating dark and light
marbles, making nearly the whole room into a chessboard.  The board, as such,
snuggles against the northern and western walls, leaving ample passageway along
the south and east sides of the room.  Various life-sized chess pieces are
situated at certain places on the board or alongside it.
  Southeast lies the open portal towards the entrance hall.

  Quiz isn't wandering far.

  The air is cold and dank.

<>> se

 <> Hall of the Fastness <>

  You are in a dark and lofty hall, the murk and the eeriness being but
scantily dispelled by a few narrow windows of colored glass high in the front
wall.  The walls are dark and stained, covered in crumbling frescoes and carven
stone ribs.  At the western end of the hall, the walls angle in and converge,
in each of which is a broad and tall passageway.  The way southwest is an open
passage, while the northwestern passageway is fitted with a wide and solid
door, which you have succeeded in opening.  You can dodge out between the
castle gates to the east.

  The ornate chest of leaden balls sits on a heavy table at the hall's west
end.

  Just left of the northwestern doorway the tarnished salvers protrude from a
bronze escutcheon.

  Prince Q keeps near.

  Dreary winds howl outside.

<>> * && "Hall" in "Chessboard hall" is not capitalised.

  Comment recorded.

<>> x symbol

  You don't see any symbol in view.

<>> x ecutcheon

  "Ecutcheon" could either be something as yet unknown to you or else a
phrasing unknown to us.

<>> x escutcheon

  The escutcheon is something like a large plate mounted flush to the wall.
Three slots appear in it, from each one a supporting arm of a salver
protruding.

<>> x chest

  The heavy chest sits centered on the table.  It is roughly two feet on a
side, carved in archaic patterns, and intricately inlaid with contrasting tones
of wood.  It is open, and contains a good quantity of leaden balls.

<>> x doors

castle gates:  The tall gates to the fastness were left barred, but one of them
has pulled away from a hinge up high, causing just enough of a gap at ground
level for you to press yourself through.  They are nearly sixteen feet tall.

Wide iron-banded door:  The doorway is now wide open; the door itself has slid
into a pocket in the wall, and only its edge can be seen.

<>> sw

 <> Throne room <>

  You are in what must have been the throne room of this castle, in the far-
gone days when folk inhabited this desert place.  Here must have taken place
councils, ceremonies, feasts, and celebrations.  Yet, divested of living things
and the warming touches that they bring to their surroundings, the hall sits
cold and forbidding, whispering of things long dead.
  Little of note remains: the hall itself is lofty, yet not more than modest in
size, and wider than it is deep.  Square columns of once-reddish sandstone
create galleries along the flanking walls, and black obsidian has been worked
into borders and pilasters throughout the room.  Curiously, at the focal wall
(western end) where one might look for a dais, the floor is recessed by a step
instead of raised.
  A large doorway to the northeast leads back to the entrance hall.  Running
north out of the gallery is a tall and prominent passageway which immediately
veers northwest out of sight.

  On the wall behind the sunken dais, three chains are anchored horizontally to
the surface.

  The young figurehead isn't wandering far.

  Your squire gulps.

  The fastness is pervaded by a mournful solitude.

<>> x engraving

  Still perceptible below the chains is engraved a symbol of a light-bearing
torch and fleeing evil.

<>> wrap tarp around iron bar

  That verb is going to be applicable to only a very few select situations.

<>> * && Trying to fashion a torch of sorts. The tarp is much too big, I know, just seeing if I can tease some more information from the response.

  Comment recorded.

<>> ne

 <> Hall of the Fastness <>

  You are in a dark and lofty hall, the murk and the eeriness being but
scantily dispelled by a few narrow windows of colored glass high in the front
wall.  The walls are dark and stained, covered in crumbling frescoes and carven
stone ribs.  At the western end of the hall, the walls angle in and converge,
in each of which is a broad and tall passageway.  The way southwest is an open
passage, while the northwestern passageway is fitted with a wide and solid
door, which you have succeeded in opening.  You can dodge out between the
castle gates to the east.

  The ornate chest of leaden balls sits on a heavy table at the hall's west
end.

  Just left of the northwestern doorway the tarnished salvers protrude from a
bronze escutcheon.

  The Prince of Dwindeldorn stays with you.

  The castle gloom seeps through you.

<>> nw

 <> Chessboard hall <>

  This decaying hall is at the same time a space in its own right, and also a
kind of central court providing passage to various wings of the castle.  The
floor is laid with large square slabs of alternating dark and light marbles,
making nearly the whole room into a chessboard.  The board, as such, snuggles
against the northern and western walls, leaving ample passageway along the
south and east sides of the room.  Various life-sized chess pieces are situated
at certain places on the board or alongside it.
  A corridor runs southwest, and an archway leads north into an antechamber.
Also in the north wall, but in the northwestern corner, the wall has crumbled
to expose a gaping breach well off the ground.  Southeast lies the open portal
towards the entrance hall.

  The king-to-be stays close.

<>> x board

  Each square is a piece of marble set into the floor, which the chess pieces
sit upon.  The rows and columns are marked along the border, so that each
square is assigned a name such as 'd2' or 'h5'.  Column 'a' is southernmost in
the room, with 'h' being the northernmost.  Similarly, row 1 is the easternmost
row of the room, while row 8 is the westernmost.


<>> f5

  You slide the white knight to the f5 square, thinking to capture a black
piece.  As soon as you release the knight, it makes straight for its original
square and comes to rest.  The pieces on the sideline also resume their
original positions.


  You try to suppress a shiver.

<>> undo

  Taking back one turn: “move white knight to f5”.



<>> move king to b7

  You slide the white king to the b7 square.  But once you release it, the
white king starts moving of its own accord, and drifts back to its original
square.  The pieces on the sideline also resume their original positions.

  Your stomach is ill at ease in this haunted place.

<>> x board

  Each square is a piece of marble set into the floor, which the chess pieces
sit upon.  The rows and columns are marked along the border, so that each
square is assigned a name such as 'd2' or 'h5'.  Column 'a' is southernmost in
the room, with 'h' being the northernmost.  Similarly, row 1 is the easternmost
row of the room, while row 8 is the westernmost.


<>> * && Moving the king resets the board but leaves the knight in place. Intentional? Can I use this to my advantage?

  Comment recorded.

<>> undo

   Taking back one turn: “x board”.

 <> Chessboard hall <>

  This decaying hall is at the same time a space in its own right, and also a
kind of central court providing passage to various wings of the castle.  The
floor is laid with large square slabs of alternating dark and light marbles,
making nearly the whole room into a chessboard.  The board, as such, snuggles
against the northern and western walls, leaving ample passageway along the
south and east sides of the room.  Various life-sized chess pieces are situated
at certain places on the board or alongside it.
  A corridor runs southwest, and an archway leads north into an antechamber.
Also in the north wall, but in the northwestern corner, the wall has crumbled
to expose a gaping breach well off the ground.  Southeast lies the open portal
towards the entrance hall.

  Quisborne isn't wandering far.

<>> undo

   Taking back one turn: “move king to b7”.

 <> Chessboard hall <>

  This decaying hall is at the same time a space in its own right, and also a
kind of central court providing passage to various wings of the castle.  The
floor is laid with large square slabs of alternating dark and light marbles,
making nearly the whole room into a chessboard.  The board, as such, snuggles
against the northern and western walls, leaving ample passageway along the
south and east sides of the room.  Various life-sized chess pieces are situated
at certain places on the board or alongside it.
  A corridor runs southwest, and an archway leads north into an antechamber.
Also in the north wall, but in the northwestern corner, the wall has crumbled
to expose a gaping breach well off the ground.  Southeast lies the open portal
towards the entrance hall.

  The incumbent to the throne isn't wandering far.

<>> undo

   Taking back one turn: “x board”.

 <> Chessboard hall <>

  This decaying hall is at the same time a space in its own right, and also a
kind of central court providing passage to various wings of the castle.  The
floor is laid with large square slabs of alternating dark and light marbles,
making nearly the whole room into a chessboard.  The board, as such, snuggles
against the northern and western walls, leaving ample passageway along the
south and east sides of the room.  Various life-sized chess pieces are situated
at certain places on the board or alongside it.
  A corridor runs southwest, and an archway leads north into an antechamber.
Also in the north wall, but in the northwestern corner, the wall has crumbled
to expose a gaping breach well off the ground.  Southeast lies the open portal
towards the entrance hall.

  The royal youth keeps near.

<>> x board

  Each square is a piece of marble set into the floor, which the chess pieces
sit upon.  The rows and columns are marked along the border, so that each
square is assigned a name such as 'd2' or 'h5'.  Column 'a' is southernmost in
the room, with 'h' being the northernmost.  Similarly, row 1 is the easternmost
row of the room, while row 8 is the westernmost.


<>> * && Wait! Wait! If I can get the Knight to the northwest corner of the board, I use it to climb out of the breach!

  Comment recorded.

<>> l

 <> Chessboard hall <>

  This decaying hall is at the same time a space in its own right, and also a
kind of central court providing passage to various wings of the castle.  The
floor is laid with large square slabs of alternating dark and light marbles,
making nearly the whole room into a chessboard.  The board, as such, snuggles
against the northern and western walls, leaving ample passageway along the
south and east sides of the room.  Various life-sized chess pieces are situated
at certain places on the board or alongside it.
  A corridor runs southwest, and an archway leads north into an antechamber.
Also in the north wall, but in the northwestern corner, the wall has crumbled
to expose a gaping breach well off the ground.  Southeast lies the open portal
towards the entrance hall.

  Your protegé stays with you.

<>> x breach

  In the north wall, immediately where it corners against the west wall, some
of the stonework has decayed or otherwise been broken, so that a narrow
aperture opens into some dark space beyond.  The gap is quite high above the
floor level: maybe fourteen feet.

  The young figurehead sticks closer than usual.

<>> x board

  Each square is a piece of marble set into the floor, which the chess pieces
sit upon.  The rows and columns are marked along the border, so that each
square is assigned a name such as 'd2' or 'h5'.  Column 'a' is southernmost in
the room, with 'h' being the northernmost.  Similarly, row 1 is the easternmost
row of the room, while row 8 is the westernmost.


  You try to suppress a shiver.

<>> h5

  PQ moves the white knight to h5.


  The young sprig of royalty swallows noisily.

  Dreary winds howl outside.

<>> f6

  You slide the white knight to the f6 square.  As soon as you release the
knight, it makes straight for its original square and comes to rest.  The
pieces on the sideline also resume their original positions.


  The air is cold and dank.

<>> undo

  Taking back one turn: “move white knight to f6”.



<>> g7

  You have the prince slide the white knight to the g7 square.


  Your squire looks about nervously.

<>> e6

  You slide the white knight to e6.


<>> f8

  You have the prince push the white knight to the f8 square.


  The lad startles over something inconsequential.

<>> h7

  Your companion slides the white knight to h7.


<>> * && The Knight is as close as possible to the northwest corner of the Hall now.

  Comment recorded.

<>> x knight

  The piece is a white chess knight, even taller than you, finely fashioned out
of ironwood.  It's standing on the square h7.

  The heir to the throne of Dwindeldorn is only speaking in whispers.

  The fastness is pervaded by a mournful solitude.

<>> x breach

  In the north wall, immediately where it corners against the west wall, some
of the stonework has decayed or otherwise been broken, so that a narrow
aperture opens into some dark space beyond.  The gap is quite high above the
floor level: maybe fourteen feet.

  Prince Q gets suddenly spooked and drops the sack.

<>> climb knight

  As the chess pieces are heavy and life-sized, you are able to climb up and
perch on top of the white knight.

  The lad swallows noisily.

  Your stomach is ill at ease in this haunted place.

<>> jump to breach

  It seems more like something one would crawl through.

  The air is cold and dank.

<>> x breach

  In the north wall, immediately where it corners against the west wall, some
of the stonework has decayed or otherwise been broken, so that a narrow
aperture opens into some dark space beyond.  The gap is quite high above the
floor level: maybe fourteen feet.

<>> crawl through breach

  If you're thinking of going through the hole in the wall, you're not near
enough to it to get to it.

<>> climb to breach

  "To breach" is either:
 - Something you haven't come across yet
 - Something not necessary to your adventure
 - A phrasing we aren't equipped to handle

<>> d

  You clamber down from the white knight.

<>> x board

  Each square is a piece of marble set into the floor, which the chess pieces
sit upon.  The rows and columns are marked along the border, so that each
square is assigned a name such as 'd2' or 'h5'.  Column 'a' is southernmost in
the room, with 'h' being the northernmost.  Similarly, row 1 is the easternmost
row of the room, while row 8 is the westernmost.


  You try to suppress a shiver.

<>> * && Oh wait! I overlooked a move.

  Comment recorded.

<>> f8

  You slide the white knight to the f8 square.


<>> g6

  You have the prince slide the white knight to g6.


<>> h8

  The youth pushes the white knight to the h8 square.  It now stands in the
northwestern corner of the room.


  Quiz wrings his hands.

<>> climb knight

  You scramble up the white knight and perch on top.

<>> crawl through breach

  From your perch upon the chess piece, you are able to reach the lowermost rim
of the breach, and pull yourself up.  Quisborne then follows in your footsteps,
and you pull him up to the breach with you.  Finally, you scuttle through the
narrow toothy gap of stone into the space beyond...

  Before you can properly take in your new surroundings, you have to attend to
the fact that you're precariously situated on a broken stone wall about
fourteen feet above the floor below.  As the stone wall is really more like two
or three walls all laid sandwiched together, you find that fortuitously, the
stone layer on this farther side has collapsed to a greater extent than the
side you entered from, creating a cavity in the wall surface which jaggedly
steps downward, providing a means of bringing you closer to the floor surface
before having to drop down.  Furthermore, the rubble from the wall has formed a
heap below you, appearing to also make it possible to return this way by a leap
and a grab, if necessary.
  Prince Quisborne and you both make it to the ground, albeit not without the
prince sustaining a mild twist of the ankle after dropping to the rubble heap.
  "Ouch, that smarts!" he yells, but his attention is quickly shifted away from
his ankle as you both take in your new surroundings...

 <> Hall of the great organ <>

  The feeling here is unmistakable: your explorations have led you to the heart
of the mystery of this ancient fortress.  You sense instinctively that you've
reached the sanctum, the lair of an indeterminate presence – a presence only
waiting to be summoned.  It requires a concerted effort for you to keep your
nerves steeled against the anticipation of an encounter with an incorporeal
being... or beings, for all you know.  Who or what is this invisible occupant?
Is it a malevolent force of darkness?  Or might it be a spirit of an altogether
different sort, yet for some cause confined for ages to these domains?

  You've found your way into "Þe halle of Þe great orgaun", and a magnificent
hall it must once have been.  Now, incredible draperies of dusty cobwebs and
fresh spiderwebs hang down to the floor from on high, the walls are blackened
with slime, and much of the floor is pooled with a half inch of stale standing
water.  The room appears to have once contained a good number of pew-like
benches for auditors of the organ music or perhaps of other performances, but,
sitting in the devouring damp, the seats have sunk by slow degrees into the
floor, until nothing but sodden and misshapen fragments remain strewn about.
  To the east are the imposing doors which would open into the antechamber, if
they weren't so permanently shut.  Rubble is piled against the south wall in
the eastern half of the room where part of the wall has fallen in, and quite
high above it is the breach in the wall through which you entered.

  Majestically occupying an immense area of the western wall is the great organ
itself.  Over it, high above, a sickly light filters down from a windowed
cupola in the roof, scantily illuminating it, and leaving the rest of the room
in shadow.

  The Dwindeldornian prince stays close.


*** Your score has just gone up by four points ***

<>> * && I'll put it in chess notation:

  Comment recorded.

<>> * && !!

  Comment recorded.

<>> l

 <> Hall of the great organ <>

  You're in the great organ hall, and a magnificent hall it must once have
been.  Now, incredible draperies of dusty cobwebs hang down to the floor from
on high, the walls are blackened with slime, and much of the floor is pooled
with a half inch of stale standing water.  To the east are the doors to the
antechamber.  Rubble is piled against the south wall in the eastern half of the
room, and quite high above it is the breach in the wall through which you
entered.

  Majestically occupying an immense area of the western wall is the great organ
itself.  Over it, high above, a sickly light filters down from a windowed
cupola in the roof, scantily illuminating it, and leaving the rest of the room
in shadow.

  The young figurehead isn't wandering far.

  The Dwindeldornian prince licks his lips apprehensively.

  You feel on the very threshold of a supernatural presence.

<>> * && I still don't have a torch...

  Comment recorded.

<>> x cobwebs

  The immense draperies of cobweb only increase the ghostliness of the hall,
hiding farther portions in a shroud of veiled uncertainty.

  The feeling of the uncanny is strong.

<>> pull cobwebs

  You pull on some of the cobwebs, not without some feeling of trepidation that
you might provoke something otherworldly by doing so.

<>> cut cobwebs

(with the axe)
  The chances of anything important being caught or hidden in the cobwebs are
very small.

  Your squire sticks closer than usual.

<>> cut cobwebs with knife

  The chances of anything important being caught or hidden in the cobwebs are
very small.

<>> * && Did it default to CUT WITH AXE because I last used the axe to cut something? (the ice, if I remember correctly) (which is not melting so far)

  Comment recorded.

<>> x ice

  It's a block of clear, smooth ice, approximately eight inches thick, eight
inches wide, and twelve inches long.  It's perfectly flat on top and bottom,
and somewhat jagged on the sides where you chopped it off the ice sheet.

<>> l

 <> Hall of the great organ <>

  You're in the great organ hall, and a magnificent hall it must once have
been.  Now, incredible draperies of dusty cobwebs hang down to the floor from
on high, the walls are blackened with slime, and much of the floor is pooled
with a half inch of stale standing water.  To the east are the doors to the
antechamber.  Rubble is piled against the south wall in the eastern half of the
room, and quite high above it is the breach in the wall through which you
entered.

  Majestically occupying an immense area of the western wall is the great organ
itself.  Over it, high above, a sickly light filters down from a windowed
cupola in the roof, scantily illuminating it, and leaving the rest of the room
in shadow.

  PQ stays close.

<>> x slime

  You don't see any slime in view.

<>> * && Missed opportunity for more gloominess... Just a small oversight, I'm sure.

  Comment recorded.

<>> x water

  The water on the floor increases the castle's impression of forsakenness and
decay.

<>> splash water

  This is one of those times where we may not have covered the verb you're
trying to use...

<>> swim

  There's no water that you can swim in right now.

  Quisborne the Feckless gulps.

<>> drink

  What do you want to drink?

< object >> water

  The water on the floor isn't the focus here...

  Quisborne gives a little yip as he steps wrong with his bum ankle.

<>> get cobwebs

  You pull on some of the cobwebs, not without some feeling of trepidation that
you might provoke something otherworldly by doing so.

  You have no doubt that you are at the nexus of whatever unseen forces are
about in this castle.

<>> bandage quiz with cobwebs

  You may be trying to use a verb that we weren't instructed how to handle...

<>> put ice on akle

  "Akle" could either be something as yet unknown to you or else a phrasing
unknown to us.

<>> put ice on ankle

  Most parts of your body will not be necessary to explicitly reference in
order to pursue your quest.

  Whatever haunts this castle seems to originate from this room.

<>> give ice to quiz

  These aren't the best circumstances for chatter with the prince.

<>> * && He's got a sprained ankle. Not only is he in pain, he could get us both in danger if we need to run. Best to bring the pain and swelling down while we can.

  Comment recorded.

<>> care for quiz

  This is one of those times where we may not have covered the verb you're
trying to use...

<>> heal quiz

  You may be trying to use a verb that we weren't instructed how to handle...

<>> put ice on quisborne

  We anticipate that you can complete this whole adventure without putting
things in Prince Quisborne.

  Prince Quisborne the Feckless shuffles a bit.

<>> tell quis about ice

  "Quis" is either:
 - Something you haven't come across yet
 - Something not necessary to your adventure
 - A phrasing we aren't equipped to handle

<>> tell quisborne about ice

  These aren't the best circumstances for chatter with the prince.

<>> * && "Gratefully, your ward sits down on the rubble and holds the block of ice to his sprained ankle. It may not heal for a considerable time, but at least the pain and swelling will subside." "or something.

  Comment recorded.

<>> l

 <> Hall of the great organ <>

  You're in the great organ hall, and a magnificent hall it must once have
been.  Now, incredible draperies of dusty cobwebs hang down to the floor from
on high, the walls are blackened with slime, and much of the floor is pooled
with a half inch of stale standing water.  To the east are the doors to the
antechamber.  Rubble is piled against the south wall in the eastern half of the
room, and quite high above it is the breach in the wall through which you
entered.

  Majestically occupying an immense area of the western wall is the great organ
itself.  Over it, high above, a sickly light filters down from a windowed
cupola in the roof, scantily illuminating it, and leaving the rest of the room
in shadow.

  Prince Quiz stays with you.

<>> x doors

  The doors, like those leading from the entrance hall into the chess hall, are
thick wooden slabs covered with a network of iron banding.  They lie in the
path of some of the more severe water infiltration from above, and most of the
iron is coated with great flaking scales of rust.  What you can see of the
hinges shows them to be in a similar state.

  Whatever haunts this castle seems to originate from this room.

<>> smell

  You smell nothing out of the ordinary.

<>> * && I like to use all the senses when in the presence of a, ... well, Presence...

  Comment recorded.

<>> feel air

  You don't see any air in view.

<>> feel walls

  Feeling the stone walls doesn't bring you any revelations.

  You feel on the very threshold of a supernatural presence.

<>> l

 <> Hall of the great organ <>

  You're in the great organ hall, and a magnificent hall it must once have
been.  Now, incredible draperies of dusty cobwebs hang down to the floor from
on high, the walls are blackened with slime, and much of the floor is pooled
with a half inch of stale standing water.  To the east are the doors to the
antechamber.  Rubble is piled against the south wall in the eastern half of the
room, and quite high above it is the breach in the wall through which you
entered.

  Majestically occupying an immense area of the western wall is the great organ
itself.  Over it, high above, a sickly light filters down from a windowed
cupola in the roof, scantily illuminating it, and leaving the rest of the room
in shadow.

  Your ostensible squire keeps near.

<>> x rubble

  The rubble is no more than the stones which have fallen from the wall above,
and piled up below.

  You have no doubt that you are at the nexus of whatever unseen forces are
about in this castle.

<>> search it

  You see nothing on the pile of rubble.

  The feeling of the uncanny is strong.

<>> dig in rubble

  That doesn't sound like an ideal target for the pursuit of digging.

  Whatever haunts this castle seems to originate from this room.

<>> x cupola

  You can't ascertain a lot about the cupola, but it is the only thing casting
a sick light onto the organ.

  Quisborne is still hobbling from his twisted ankle.

<>> x organ

  Raised on a high dais above the vitiating seepwater, the organ appears
remarkably preserved against the many forms of decay working upon the castle,
short of having its fair share of cobwebs and dust.  Could it be under the
protecting influence of some haunting or enchantment?  Nested against the
shallow concave of the western wall, it looks as though a small forest must
have been chopped down to construct its elaborate carcase, which dwarfs the
player seated at it.  Dozens of huge pipes of differing lengths soar up the
wall behind it.
  Naturally, the organ has a keyboard, along with a set of stops to adjust the
tone and timbre.  A bench which looks as though it may have once had (but no
longer has) an integrated cushion sits at the organ, and double foot pedals for
the wind bellows are located underneath the keyboard.
  The organ captivates your attention, as if it somehow houses or connects an
unseen world with this room.

<>> save

  Saved.

<>> * && Lets take a good close look at this majestic instrument.

  Comment recorded.

<>> x dais

  The floor is raised to a dais of about knee height along most of the western
wall.  There is more space here than playing the organ would require,
suggesting that perhaps other forms of performance or oration took place here.

  Majestically occupying an immense area of the western wall is the great organ
itself.  Over it, high above, a sickly light filters down from a windowed
cupola in the roof, scantily illuminating it, and leaving the rest of the room
in shadow.

<>> x organ

  Raised on a high dais above the vitiating seepwater, the organ appears
remarkably preserved against the many forms of decay working upon the castle,
short of having its fair share of cobwebs and dust.  Could it be under the
protecting influence of some haunting or enchantment?  Nested against the
shallow concave of the western wall, it looks as though a small forest must
have been chopped down to construct its elaborate carcase, which dwarfs the
player seated at it.  Dozens of huge pipes of differing lengths soar up the
wall behind it.
  Naturally, the organ has a keyboard, along with a set of stops to adjust the
tone and timbre.  A bench which looks as though it may have once had an
integrated cushion sits at the organ, and double foot pedals for the wind
bellows are located underneath the keyboard.
  The organ captivates your attention, as if it somehow houses or connects an
unseen world with this room.

<>> clean organ

  What do you want to clean it with?

< object >> tarp

  Properly cleaning the organ would be a massive job, and one which would yield
little profit.  It's enough to swipe some dust off of the keys.

<>> x pipes

  A large set of pipes soar high up the west wall of the hall, only partially
visible amongst the draperies of cobweb hanging down everywhere.  The pipes,
naturally are responsible for producing the rich and enveloping sounds of the
organ when it is played.

<>> * && typo: missing comma after "The pipes, naturally "

  Comment recorded.

<>> x bench

  The design of the bench makes it look like it once had a cushion, but the
cushion has disappeared... possibly turned into nest material for mice.  The
bench is fixed to the rest of the organ along the ground.

  The lad gets suddenly spooked and drops the sack.

<>> sit on bench

(first standing on the dais)

  You seat yourself on the bench of the great organ.

<>> x organ

  Raised on a high dais above the vitiating seepwater, the organ appears
remarkably preserved against the many forms of decay working upon the castle,
short of having its fair share of cobwebs and dust.  Could it be under the
protecting influence of some haunting or enchantment?  Nested against the
shallow concave of the western wall, it looks as though a small forest must
have been chopped down to construct its elaborate carcase, which dwarfs the
player seated at it.  Dozens of huge pipes of differing lengths soar up the
wall behind it.
  Naturally, the organ has a keyboard, along with a set of stops to adjust the
tone and timbre.  A bench which looks as though it may have once had an
integrated cushion sits at the organ, and double foot pedals for the wind
bellows are located underneath the keyboard.
  The organ captivates your attention, as if it somehow houses or connects an
unseen world with this room.

<>> x keyboard

  The keyboard is a repeating pattern of seven different pitches: A, B, C, D,
E, F, and G, with black keys in between some of them.

<>> play Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries"

  That's either not a song, or else you don't know how to play it.

  The prince has pretty well shook off the effects of his twisted ankle.

<>> * && Seemed appropriate for this Hall and this Organ.

  Comment recorded.

<>> play organ

  You press the organ keys but no sound is produced.

<>> x stops

  A variety of knobs and small levers above the organ keys are there for
controlling the sound of the organ.

<>> push knob

  You tinker with the knobs for a moment, but really, they don't seem important
if you're not trying to tailor your playing to a specific ceremony or
performance.

<>> x pedals

  A couple of large wooden paddles with grooved surfaces are mounted at floor
level under the organ keyboard, right in front of the bench.  They each appear
to be part of a bellows feeding into the organ.

  You have no doubt that you are at the nexus of whatever unseen forces are
about in this castle.

<>> press pedals

  As you pump on the foot pedals, the interior of the organ becomes charged
with air.

  The incumbent to the throne shuffles a bit.

  The feeling of the uncanny is strong.

<>> play organ

  You have a little background yourself on keyboard instruments.  You play
around on the musty organ.
  In spite of his edgy state, the prince manages some enthusiasm.  "Wow, sir!"
he says in a hushed tone.  "You can do just about everything, it seems!  I
never learned how to play any music.  But now, I think I'd like to.  It seems
like something worth doing, and you can probably make a lot of people happy
with it.  Come to think of it, I don't think I ever did *anything* that
required practice or study, when I lived at the castle.  Doing nothing but
amusing yourself all the time actually gets pretty wearying."

<>> x keyboard

  The keyboard is a repeating pattern of seven different pitches: A, B, C, D,
E, F, and G, with black keys in between some of them.

<>> * && Now, which piece to play to summon the Presence? Or dispel it?

  Comment recorded.

<>> * && Is the symbol of the torch a hint?

  Comment recorded.

<>> play torch of freedom

  That's either not a song, or else you don't know how to play it.

<>> * && The live stream has just ended. 8th place overall and second for Miss Congeniality! Congratulations!

  Comment recorded.

<>> script off

&
&
&
&

  The transcript will be saved to the file.  Type SCRIPT OFF to discontinue
scripting.

<>> * && I just sent you a bag-of-nag via PM. I'll not mention the chess game in my transcript anymore. Except if there's a clue to which song to play in the chess position. (A,B,C,D,E,F,G are all chords on the organ and columns on the chess board...)

  Comment recorded.

<>> x keyboard

  The keyboard is a repeating pattern of seven different pitches: A, B, C, D,
E, F, and G, with black keys in between some of them.

  You feel on the very threshold of a supernatural presence.

<>> press pedals

  By pedaling you continue to feed the organ with air.

<>> play organ

  You bring forth music from the ancient instrument.

  Whatever haunts this castle seems to originate from this room.

<>> x a

  The organ keys are a deeply yellowed ivory, insofar as you can tell given the
heavy dust and poor light.

<>> play a

  You play an A on the keyboard.

<>> se

  The hall seems to have only been accessible through the large doors, now
rusted shut.  Fortunately you can leave the room through the same breach which
you entered it by.

<>> climb through breach

(first standing up)


(first getting off of the dais)

   Fortunately, the rubble is heaped at the wall's base just high enough that
you can jump to grab a hold of the cavity in the wall.  To be precise, it is
high enough after you and Quiz lug two more loose blocks to the top of the heap
for a boost.  From there you cautiously scuttle upward to the gap where the
wall is breached all the way through, and get down on the other side by
climbing down the chess piece...

 <> Chessboard hall <>

  This decaying hall is at the same time a space in its own right, and also a
kind of central court providing passage to various wings of the castle.  The
floor is laid with large square slabs of alternating dark and light marbles,
making nearly the whole room into a chessboard.  The board, as such, snuggles
against the northern and western walls, leaving ample passageway along the
south and east sides of the room.  Various life-sized chess pieces are situated
at certain places on the board or alongside it.
  A corridor runs southwest, and an archway leads north into an antechamber.
Also in the north wall, but in the northwestern corner, the wall has crumbled
to expose a gaping breach well off the ground.  Southeast lies the open portal
towards the entrance hall.

  Your companion keeps near.

  PQ sticks closer than usual.

<>> x board

  Each square is a piece of marble set into the floor, which the chess pieces
sit upon.  The rows and columns are marked along the border, so that each
square is assigned a name such as 'd2' or 'h5'.  Column 'a' is southernmost in
the room, with 'h' being the northernmost.  Similarly, row 1 is the easternmost
row of the room, while row 8 is the westernmost.


<>> * && I'm counting the black pieces on each column. Note there are none on the h-column. That gives me 1A, 1B, 3C, 2D, 3E, 1F, 2G. I'm going to try these as a sequence of chords on the organ.

  Comment recorded.

<>> ne

 <> Antechamber <>

  The floor level here is lower than that of the chess hall by two wide steps,
which splay out in an arc as they descend.  The room is oblong stretching from
south to north, and the ceiling, while still spacious, is not on the lofty
order of the other halls in this fastness.  Half-columns stud the walls, and a
large bow window makes the room bulge out of the north wall.  A stone bench
lines the curve of the window.
  In the east wall two smallish doorways are apparent, but they have long ago
been bricked in, and appear quite impassable.  The large lancet opening
stepping up to the chess hall is to the south.

  The west wall is dominated by an imposing entrance of at least ten feet high.
Carved on a smooth stone slab set in the wall above the door's peak are the
words:

ÞE HALLE OF ÞE GREAT ORGAUN

  The heavy wood-and-iron doors stand shut, and appear as if they will hardly
be persuaded to ever stand otherwise.

  Your squire stays with you.

<>> undo

   Taking back one turn: “ne”.

 <> Chessboard hall <>

  This decaying hall is at the same time a space in its own right, and also a
kind of central court providing passage to various wings of the castle.  The
floor is laid with large square slabs of alternating dark and light marbles,
making nearly the whole room into a chessboard.  The board, as such, snuggles
against the northern and western walls, leaving ample passageway along the
south and east sides of the room.  Various life-sized chess pieces are situated
at certain places on the board or alongside it.
  A corridor runs southwest, and an archway leads north into an antechamber.
Also in the north wall, but in the northwestern corner, the wall has crumbled
to expose a gaping breach well off the ground.  Southeast lies the open portal
towards the entrance hall.

  The king-to-be stays with you.

<>> nw

   Once again you and your sidekick climb from the oversized chess piece to the
gap in the wall, squeeze through, and drop down to the rubble heap on the other
side...

 <> Hall of the great organ <>

  You're in the great organ hall, and a magnificent hall it must once have
been.  Now, incredible draperies of dusty cobwebs hang down to the floor from
on high, the walls are blackened with slime, and much of the floor is pooled
with a half inch of stale standing water.  To the east are the doors to the
antechamber.  Rubble is piled against the south wall in the eastern half of the
room, and quite high above it is the breach in the wall through which you
entered.

  Majestically occupying an immense area of the western wall is the great organ
itself.  Over it, high above, a sickly light filters down from a windowed
cupola in the roof, scantily illuminating it, and leaving the rest of the room
in shadow.

  Prince Q stays close.

  The feeling of the uncanny is strong.

<>> sit

(on the organ bench)
(first standing on the dais)

  You seat yourself on the bench of the great organ.

<>> press pedals

  As you pump on the foot pedals, the interior of the organ becomes charged
with air.

<>> g

  By pedaling you continue to feed the organ with air.

<>> play a

  You play an A on the keyboard.

  You have no doubt that you are at the nexus of whatever unseen forces are
about in this castle.

<>> play b

  You play a B on the keyboard.

<>> play c

  You play a C on the keyboard.

<>> g

  You play a C on the keyboard.

<>> g

  You play a C on the keyboard.

  You feel on the very threshold of a supernatural presence.

<>> play d

  You play a D on the keyboard.

<>> g

  You play a D on the keyboard.

  The Prince of Dwindeldorn is only speaking in whispers.

  Whatever haunts this castle seems to originate from this room.

<>> play e

  You play an E on the keyboard.

  You have no doubt that you are at the nexus of whatever unseen forces are
about in this castle.

<>> g

  You play an E on the keyboard.

<>> g

  You play an E on the keyboard.

<>> play f

  You play an F on the keyboard.

  You feel on the very threshold of a supernatural presence.

<>> play g

  You play a G on the keyboard.

  The feeling of the uncanny is strong.

<>> g

  You play a G on the keyboard.

  Your companion wrings his hands.

<>> * && Apparently not.

  Comment recorded.

<>> x black keys

  Black keys appear across the keyboard in alternating groups of two or three.

  The royal youth startles over something inconsequential.

<>> press balck keys

  "Balck" could either be something as yet unknown to you or else a phrasing
unknown to us.

<>> press black keys

  You push some of the black keys.

<>> save

  Saved.

<>> script off

&
&
&
&

  The transcript will be saved to the file.  Type SCRIPT OFF to discontinue
scripting.

<>> l

 <> Hall of the great organ (sitting on the organ bench) <>

  You're in the great organ hall, and a magnificent hall it must once have
been.  Now, incredible draperies of dusty cobwebs hang down to the floor from
on high, the walls are blackened with slime, and much of the floor is pooled
with a half inch of stale standing water.  To the east are the doors to the
antechamber.  Rubble is piled against the south wall in the eastern half of the
room, and quite high above it is the breach in the wall through which you
entered.

  Majestically occupying an immense area of the western wall is the great organ
itself.  Over it, high above, a sickly light filters down from a windowed
cupola in the roof, scantily illuminating it, and leaving the rest of the room
in shadow.

  The incumbent to the throne keeps near.

<>> * && Are you pulling my finger again? Making me look one way while I should be watching the other direction?

  Comment recorded.

<>> burn organ

  You're supposed to be trying to discover the secrets of the haunted Fastness,
not burn them to ashes.

<>> * && Ok. No you're not. 

  Comment recorded.

<>> * && Oops. That was abit of a contamination of sayings, wasn't it. Pulling legs is for fooling, pulling fingers if for farting.

  Comment recorded.

<>> * && Recap: I think I need to play a certain melody on the organ to summon/dispel the Presence. Possible clues: the light from the torch. The pieces on the chessboard.

  Comment recorded.

<>> * && Should I bring more light into this room to discover further clues in the dark corners? Do the number of pieces on the columns of the board indicate a sequence of chords?

  Comment recorded.

<>> play c

  You play a C on the keyboard.

  Prince Q gulps.

  You feel on the very threshold of a supernatural presence.

<>> play e

  You play an E on the keyboard.

  The feeling of the uncanny is strong.

<>> play d

  You play a D on the keyboard.

<>> play g

  You play a G on the keyboard.

  You have no doubt that you are at the nexus of whatever unseen forces are
about in this castle.

<>> play a

  You play an A on the keyboard.

  Quisborne the Feckless swallows noisily.

<>> play b

  You play a B on the keyboard.

  The heir to the throne of Dwindeldorn looks about nervously.

<>> play f

  You play an F on the keyboard.

<>> * && That was the order of columns with most to fewest pieces on them. The ones that had the same number I put in alphabetical order.

  Comment recorded.

<>> play abcccddeeefgg

  You play A, B, C, C, C, D, D, E, E, E, F, G, G, on the keyboard.

<>> * && I'm only counting the black pieces because there's a white knight on h.

  Comment recorded.

<>> l

 <> Hall of the great organ (sitting on the organ bench) <>

  You're in the great organ hall, and a magnificent hall it must once have
been.  Now, incredible draperies of dusty cobwebs hang down to the floor from
on high, the walls are blackened with slime, and much of the floor is pooled
with a half inch of stale standing water.  To the east are the doors to the
antechamber.  Rubble is piled against the south wall in the eastern half of the
room, and quite high above it is the breach in the wall through which you
entered.

  Majestically occupying an immense area of the western wall is the great organ
itself.  Over it, high above, a sickly light filters down from a windowed
cupola in the roof, scantily illuminating it, and leaving the rest of the room
in shadow.

  Quiz stays close.

<>> burn cobwebs

  The chances of anything important being caught or hidden in the cobwebs are
very small.

<>> light flyer

  The flyer burns up in a jiffy, leaving nothing behind.

<>> undo

   Taking back one turn: “light flyer”.

 <> Hall of the great organ (sitting on the organ bench) <>

  You're in the great organ hall, and a magnificent hall it must once have
been.  Now, incredible draperies of dusty cobwebs hang down to the floor from
on high, the walls are blackened with slime, and much of the floor is pooled
with a half inch of stale standing water.  To the east are the doors to the
antechamber.  Rubble is piled against the south wall in the eastern half of the
room, and quite high above it is the breach in the wall through which you
entered.

  Majestically occupying an immense area of the western wall is the great organ
itself.  Over it, high above, a sickly light filters down from a windowed
cupola in the roof, scantily illuminating it, and leaving the rest of the room
in shadow.

  The incumbent to the throne stays with you.

<>> dig

(first standing up)


(first getting off of the dais)

(with the broken mattock)
  You can't dig in the solid rock under you.

  Whatever haunts this castle seems to originate from this room.

<>> l

 <> Hall of the great organ (sitting on the organ bench) <>

  You're in the great organ hall, and a magnificent hall it must once have
been.  Now, incredible draperies of dusty cobwebs hang down to the floor from
on high, the walls are blackened with slime, and much of the floor is pooled
with a half inch of stale standing water.  To the east are the doors to the
antechamber.  Rubble is piled against the south wall in the eastern half of the
room, and quite high above it is the breach in the wall through which you
entered.

  Majestically occupying an immense area of the western wall is the great organ
itself.  Over it, high above, a sickly light filters down from a windowed
cupola in the roof, scantily illuminating it, and leaving the rest of the room
in shadow.

  Your young pal stays close.

<>> * && I've just read the ABOUT text, and an important phrase jumped out at me: "*non-linear* puzzle gameplay". I've been banging my head against this organ too long while I should be solving the puzzles in the South. Surely some clue about the organ music 

  Comment recorded.

<>> * && will show up there. I had a wrong impression about the structure of the game. The intended path is for the player to go north first. From that, I (probably falsely) deduced that the Fastness would be a self-contained puzzle area which gives more

  Comment recorded.

<>> * && direction to Valkyrian's priorities in Dwindeldorne. As opposed to the blind exploration that was most of my playtime until now. Then after collecting weapons and information in that middle part I would descend further South to face the Great Threat 

  Comment recorded.

<>> * && of Mordor, again a self-contained area. There is no basis for this interpretation. I think I should go solve as many puzzles in the South as I can and see where that gets me. I also vaguely recall something about a scullery maid from Quis' childhood.

  Comment recorded.

<>> * && I should probably look her up. Maybe you could bring her up a few times more in the course of the game? Or maybe you did and I missed it, being so focused on my aimless roaming.

  Comment recorded.

<>> se

  The hall seems to have only been accessible through the large doors, now
rusted shut.  Fortunately you can leave the room through the same breach which
you entered it by.

<>> s

(first standing up)


   Utilizing the rubble heap, the breach in the wall, and the oversized chess
piece, you and the prince make it back into the chessboard hall...

 <> Chessboard hall <>

  This decaying hall is at the same time a space in its own right, and also a
kind of central court providing passage to various wings of the castle.  The
floor is laid with large square slabs of alternating dark and light marbles,
making nearly the whole room into a chessboard.  The board, as such, snuggles
against the northern and western walls, leaving ample passageway along the
south and east sides of the room.  Various life-sized chess pieces are situated
at certain places on the board or alongside it.
  A corridor runs southwest, and an archway leads north into an antechamber.
Also in the north wall, but in the northwestern corner, the wall has crumbled
to expose a gaping breach well off the ground.  Southeast lies the open portal
towards the entrance hall.

  Dwindeldorn's future king stays with you.

  The princeling gulps.

  The fastness is pervaded by a mournful solitude.

<>> sw

   You won't have any better chance of navigating the ruined area than last
time you went up there.

 <> Chessboard hall <>

  This hall is at the same time a space in its own right, and also a kind of
central court providing passage to various wings of the castle.  The marks of
ages of decay are everywhere to be seen.  A wide and lofty buttressed corridor
curves southwest, deeper into the castle.  To the north, in the eastern corner
of the room, another lancet archway yawns in the wall, leading into some kind
of antechamber beyond.  Also to the north, but in the western corner, the
crumbling and deterioration appears to have made a gaping breach all the way
through the wall.
  The floor is laid with large square slabs of alternating dark and light
marbles, making nearly the whole room into a chessboard.  The board, as such,
snuggles against the northern and western walls, leaving ample passageway along
the south and east sides of the room.  Various life-sized chess pieces are
situated at certain places on the board or alongside it.
  Southeast lies the open portal towards the entrance hall.

  The lad isn't wandering far.

<>> se

 <> Hall of the Fastness <>

  You are in a dark and lofty hall, the murk and the eeriness being but
scantily dispelled by a few narrow windows of colored glass high in the front
wall.  The walls are dark and stained, covered in crumbling frescoes and carven
stone ribs.  At the western end of the hall, the walls angle in and converge,
in each of which is a broad and tall passageway.  The way southwest is an open
passage, while the northwestern passageway is fitted with a wide and solid
door, which you have succeeded in opening.  You can dodge out between the
castle gates to the east.

  The ornate chest of leaden balls sits on a heavy table at the hall's west
end.

  Just left of the northwestern doorway the tarnished salvers protrude from a
bronze escutcheon.

  The youth keeps near.

<>> e

   You squeeze through the gap between the gates...

 <> The Fastness of the Dracken Fells <>

  Before you looms that gloomy and ancient edifice, the Fastness of the Dracken
Fells.  You are at its very gates, which stand closed to the west, albeit
sagging and leaving a gap between themselves.  The fir-covered ground quickly
falls away from the building's walls down to the level of the surrounding moor,
and no path or roadway is discernible underneath the growth of heather and
bracken.  The western and northern horizons are swallowed up by peaks huge and
distant.  Travel southeastward would take you back towards the border of the
fells.

  PQ isn't wandering far.

<>> s

  You've really had all of the tramping over the Dracken Fells that you could
ever ask or hope for.  The fastness is the one single purpose that brought you
out into this forsaken wasteland, so either enter it or head back for the
milder climes of Dwindeldorn.

  The Dwindeldornian heir has the willies.

<>> * && "the willies" ! Hah. Funny juxtaposition of social standing and street-speak.

  Comment recorded.

<>> se

   Descending the slopes of the castle rock, you traverse the fells back
towards the point where you first entered them...

 <> A high moorland <>

  Wide around you spreads the desolate region known as the Dracken Fells.  In
the distant north, great peaks obscure the horizon and the wild lands beyond,
while to the east and west rises in the ground cut off the prospect at no great
distance.
  Heather and lichen-covered rock are in contest for the surface of the ground,
and every once in a while a handful of narrow black trees find enough soil to
huddle together and dare against the cruel northern blasts.  The landscape is
pitted with deep, dark tarns, sometimes in open places and sometimes nestled
against low outcroppings.  To the southeast the ground falls steadily for a
long distance, so that well below you and afar off you can see the tops of the
pine-and-snow-covered ridges which enclose the frozen lake that brought you
here.  The Fastness lies northwest.

  Near by your side is the Dwindeldornian prince, sack in tow.

  The prince still seems a bit on edge.

<>> * && I hope Lady Equanimity is okay.

  Comment recorded.

<>> se

   The high ground of the Dracken Fells drops at a healthy grade for over two
miles as you traverse it, till you enter again into the pine wood where the
snow lies heavier.  After a journey's leg through this wood, you and Prince
Quisborne regain the shore of the long frozen lake.

 <> Northern end of the long, frozen lake <>

  The lake reaches its northernmost extent here, widening into a somewhat more
bulbous shape from its otherwise snaky course.  The steep walls of the valley
bend from their general north-south course, tending to leave the northwest
direction as the only one readily travelable away from the lake.  In all
directions a pine wood, aged but not overly thick, grows up to the lake's
shore.  Southwards, the icy valley stretches far away.

  Towards the eastern shore, a patch of ice is completely melted through,
revealing a pool of dark water beneath.

  Lady Equanimity is here, looking at you with friendly recognition.

  Your protegé is present as ever, with sack slung over his shoulder.

  The prince's spirits brighten upon returning from the Fells.

<>> * && I still need to find a worm for bait.

  Comment recorded.

<>> stroke lady

  Lady Equanimity squints his eyes shut and looks as though he wants to be
smiling.  He loves you better than ever.

  Your ostensible squire offers you more facts from the animal kingdom.  "This
just astonishes me: they say there's a sea slug that can absorb some minuscule
substance from algae, and can then live off the sun without eating, just like a
plant!"

<>> mount lady

  You mount up onto Lady Equanimity.

  Prince Quisborne climbs up behind you.

<>> cross lake

(first getting off of Lady Equanimity)

  You step carefully out on the ice.

<>> undo

   Taking back one turn: “cross lake”.

 <> Northern end of the long, frozen lake (riding on Lady Equanimity) <>

  The lake reaches its northernmost extent here, widening into a somewhat more
bulbous shape from its otherwise snaky course.  The steep walls of the valley
bend from their general north-south course, tending to leave the northwest
direction as the only one readily travelable away from the lake.  In all
directions a pine wood, aged but not overly thick, grows up to the lake's
shore.  Southwards, the icy valley stretches far away.

  Towards the eastern shore, a patch of ice is completely melted through,
revealing a pool of dark water beneath.

  The incumbent to the throne rides behind you in the saddle.

<>> travel to thymeleigh

 <> Traveling on a long, frozen lake (riding on Lady Equanimity) <>

  You are traveling over the ice surface of the long, frozen lake in a deep
valley, somewhere near the middle of the lake's length.  Snowy evergreen slopes
enclose the narrow breadth of the lake, and large drifted banks of snow line
its eastern and western shores.  Here the lake makes a half-bend, running away
from you to the north and to the southwest.  In either direction all you can
see is the still, narrow roadway of ice for a long distance.

  A tiny ice-fishing hut, still half-buried in snow, stands on the ice at the
edge of the western drifts.

  [To continue the journey use the command 'continue' or 'ct'.]

<>> Continue

   The lake runs mostly southwest for a solid stretch of travel, then rounds to
the south, and you continue to ride...

 <> On the ice of a frozen lake (riding on Lady Equanimity) <>

  You are traveling over the ice surface of the long, frozen lake in a deep
valley, not far from the lake's southern end.  Snowy evergreen slopes enclose
the narrow breadth of the lake, and large drifted banks of snow line its
eastern and western shores.  The lake and its ice extend much farther to the
north, and going south would bring you back to the snow-covered shore.

  An owl glides by.

<>> g

 <> Frozen lake shore (riding on Lady Equanimity) <>

  A narrow frozen lake stretches away north into the hazy distance, majestic
and mournful.  Steep, dark-treed slopes carpeted with snow rise to considerable
heights directly on either side of the lake.  The lake runs upwards of two
miles to the north, appearing there to make a bend to the northeast; where you
are the southern end of the lake meets its shore.  Southeastwards the ground
rises much more gradually through a snowy evergreen wood.

  Your protegé is sitting behind you on the horse.

  After riding back onto (year-round) solid ground, you dismount from Lady
Equanimity and take his saddle off to give him a rest and a rub-down.  Before
replacing the saddle on his back, you perform a little experiment.  Sure
enough, Lady Equanimity has grown accustomed enough to being ridden that he no
longer balks when you mount him bareback.  With this revelation, you abandon
the saddle, which is already in the latter stages of leather decay, freeing
your horse friend from carrying extraneous accoutrements.
  You and the prince remount.

<>> * && Dropped saddle... Hmm... I was thinking I'd have to tie the vines or some other rope to the saddle to help pull the submerged block in the quarry lake.

  Comment recorded.

<>> g

   You find your way back through the wastes to the origin of the North Road,
and head southeast...

 <> The Northern Marches (riding on Lady Equanimity) <>

  It is a chilly and sparsely-populated country here in the Northern Marches.
You catch an occasional sighting of farmers with teams of woolly oxen, partly
dug-in houses, or flocks of long-haired sheep with their shepherds.  Many a
small ribbon-like waterfall rushes down from the cliff edge of higher plateau,
and most of the trees in sight grow in scattered clusters.
  The North Road leads northwest, and southwest towards the heart of
Dwindeldorn.

<>> g

   The southwest journey takes you across the gradually descending highland,
where the North Road finally drops down a high escarpment and enters the
Haystacks.  You continue on past Wickerhorn and come to a knoll near
Eathbrutham Castle...

 <> Knoll over the Ribbleskinder valley (riding on Lady Equanimity) <>

  This is a region known colloquially as "The Haystacks", so named for its many
hills, not large but spaced out and decidedly mound-shaped.  At some distance
to the west and the north are the Ribbleskinder River and a highland,
respectively... east and south you can spot a few castles and farms.
  There is a junction of roads on this particular knoll; they lead northeast
toward the high country, southeast, and south towards Squarchminster.  There is
also a wagon track leading downhill to the northwest.

<>> g

   The southeast road makes a very scenic course through the knobby hills and a
few small villages, coming after some distance to a region of fine farmland...

  The course of the travel included dismounting and making camp for the night.

 <> Country roads (riding on Lady Equanimity) <>

  Thriving farms and croplands abound in this region, a number of which you can
see spreading out below to the west or the north from the slight rise that
you're on.  South and southeast of you a patch of woods blocks the view, but a
pair of stone pillars flank an overgrown lane which leads into it.
  Besides the weedy lane going southeast, the country roads wind east along the
edge of the woods, northwest, and southwest towards Squarchminster.

  The boy is riding along with you.

The block of ice you had has melted to almost nothing... you toss the remaining
scrap aside, where it soon disappears.

<>> * && Ice melted. It will only hold in the chilly North, I assume.

  Comment recorded.

<>> g

   The road takes you quite a distance through north-central Dwindeldorn.  You
continue on through the town of Brittlebarrow, as well as a few other hamlets
and villages, and come eventually to a town not far from the eastern coast...

 <> Chelkwibble town (riding on Lady Equanimity) <>

  This is Chelkwibble: a backwater town not far in from the eastern coast of
Dwindeldorn.  The town is noted for its fine cheeses and other products of
milkcraft.  To the eye, the town is distinctive for its variously-shaped roofs
of deep live sod, on which a goat might be seen.  There's a mead-hall and an
inn, and dirt streets can lead you out of the town in different directions:
southwest, west, northwest, northeast, and a lesser one southeastward toward
the coast.

<>> g

   Leaving southwest from Chelkwibble, you travel through the rugged but green
country of eastern Dwindeldorn.  At length the road makes its way into the
Golden Wood of Eshquoke...

 <> The Golden Wood of Eshquoke (riding on Lady Equanimity) <>

  This is a region of Dwindeldorn known as The Golden Wood of Eshquoke, where
the natural colors of the trees' leaves are blazing yellowy-oranges and golds,
occasionally verging into orangey-pink and orange-red.  The forest is not so
dense but that patches of grass and dandelions are able to grow on the forest
floor.  The most passable tracks seems to lead west, northeast, and southeast.

<>> * && "This is where I found you, Lady! Remember? How fortunate a meeting that was!"

  Comment recorded.

<>> g

   Coming out of the Eshquoke woods, and passing through Inchpuddle village,
you come by and by to the grounds of Thymeleigh Manor...

 <> Thymeleigh Manor (riding on Lady Equanimity) <>

  You're on a lane wending through the grounds of the pleasant Thymeleigh
Manor.  The manor hall stands well away from the lane on a rise northeast of
you, and the lane is bordered on that side by a low sod-topped stone wall.  One
particularly massive spreading tree shades the sunken roadway where you sit.
The lane goes northwest or southwest, and a faint foot-track passes the tree
and crosses the field to the west.

  Up in the leafy branches of the large tree growing by the roadside, a sky
lantern appears to be caught.

  Over near the manor, the Knights Arrogant can be seen parading around,
dallying with the elegant daughters and nieces of Lord Myrgweth.

  The Knights of the Eight Spittoons are in the area, patrolling around on
their horses and trying to seem important.

  The young figurehead is mounted behind you on Lady Equanimity.

  The Knights Arrogant and the Knights of the Eight Spittoons exchange impolite
remarks.

<>> stand on horseback

  "Horseback" is either:
 - Something you haven't come across yet
 - Something not necessary to your adventure
 - A phrasing we aren't equipped to handle

<>> stand on horse

  Prince Quisborne finally has an idea.
  "Of course, Valkyrian!  We could just stand on the horse's back to get the
sky lantern!  Or you could, maybe...  I don't know if I have that kind of
balance."  You had thought of this long ago, but as we've said, you wanted this
to be the boy's project.  You're glad that he finally thought through something
with enough effort to arrive at a successful solution.
  With some peril, you stand up on the horse.

<>> * && I found this by coincidence while trying some horseback gymnastics on the Frozen Lake. Very cool!

  Comment recorded.

<>> l

 <> Thymeleigh Manor (standing on Lady Equanimity) <>

  You're on a lane wending through the grounds of the pleasant Thymeleigh
Manor.  The manor hall stands well away from the lane on a rise northeast of
you, and the lane is bordered on that side by a low sod-topped stone wall.  One
particularly massive spreading tree shades the sunken roadway where you stand.
The lane goes northwest or southwest, and a faint foot-track passes the tree
and crosses the field to the west.

  Up in the leafy branches of the large tree growing by the roadside, a sky
lantern appears to be caught.

  Over near the manor, the Knights Arrogant can be seen parading around,
dallying with the elegant daughters and nieces of Lord Myrgweth.

  The Knights of the Eight Spittoons are in the area, patrolling around on
their horses and trying to seem important.

  The heir to the throne of Dwindeldorn is sitting behind you on the horse.

<>> x lantern

  There are a lot of leafy branches obscuring it, but you're pretty sure you're
looking a bluish-colored sky lantern.

  The knights have dismounted and are practicing their swordplay upon the
sward.

<>> get lantern

  By virtue of standing at some hazard upon Lady Equanimity's back, you are
able to reach up high enough to grab the lowest branch of the tree.  Pulling
down on it bends the rest of the limb sufficiently that you can reach to lift
the sky lantern gently out of the entrapping branches without damaging it.  It
appears remarkably unscathed for having undergone a crash landing in the trees.

  Prince Quisborne remembers the many sky lanterns that were set off at the
Festival, and falls into a reverie about his days there with Princess
Persimmon.


*** Your score has just gone up by two points ***

<>> x lantern

  These sky lanterns are a favorite staple at the Great Festivals.  Almost
every household will make a few of their own to participate in illuminating the
sky at the opening night lantern release.  It's just a simple frame of green
twigs to which an inverted "bag" of oiled paper is attached.  This one is a
bluish color.  One cross-piece at the bottom connects two sides of the frame,
with a hole bored in its middle to serve as a candleholder.  At the moment
there's no candle in the holder.

  The Knights of the Eight Spittoons converse with each other of the many
virtues of the daughters and nieces of Lord Myrgweth.

<>> * && I have vivid memories of reading Roald Dahl's "Danny, the Champion of the World". Among the stories about Danny's childhood, there's one where he makes a miniature hot air balloon with his father. It used a bit of cotton wool soaked in petroleum 

  Comment recorded.

<>> * && instead of a candle, but it's pretty much the same as this sky lantern. I was very disappointed when I wanted to make one myself and my parents forbade it. Even though we lived in the countryside...

  Comment recorded.

<>> * && My first idea for this goes back to the Organ Hall. Could I use the flying lantern to illuminate the upper reaches of the Organ Hall and find some clue there?

  Comment recorded.

<>> * && I love how this lantern echoes the first puzzle in Forthlong Hall, with the flaming mat on the balloon.

  Comment recorded.

<>> l

 <> Thymeleigh Manor (standing on Lady Equanimity) <>

  You're on a lane wending through the grounds of the pleasant Thymeleigh
Manor.  The manor hall stands well away from the lane on a rise northeast of
you, and the lane is bordered on that side by a low sod-topped stone wall.  One
particularly massive spreading tree shades the sunken roadway where you stand.
The lane goes northwest or southwest, and a faint foot-track passes the tree
and crosses the field to the west.

  Over near the manor, the Knights Arrogant can be seen parading around,
dallying with the elegant daughters and nieces of Lord Myrgweth.

  The Knights of the Eight Spittoons are in the area, patrolling around on
their horses and trying to seem important.

  Quiz rides behind you on Lady Equanimity.

  The Knights Arrogant and the Knights of the Eight Spittoons taunt each other.

<>> travel to blatterfarthing

   You sit down astride the horse.

  Journeying along the lane to the northwest, you eventually reach Inchpuddle.
From there you continue northwest through the country and enter the Golden
Wood...

 <> The Golden Wood of Eshquoke (riding on Lady Equanimity) <>

  This is a region of Dwindeldorn known as The Golden Wood of Eshquoke, where
the natural colors of the trees' leaves are blazing yellowy-oranges and golds,
occasionally verging into orangey-pink and orange-red.  The forest is not so
dense but that patches of grass and dandelions are able to grow on the forest
floor.  The most passable tracks seems to lead west, northeast, and southeast.

<>> continue

   You travel through the Golden Wood to its western end, and continue on
through a mostly roadless grazing country...

 <> A large dead tree in a meadow (riding on Lady Equanimity) <>

  You're in a rolling meadow, quite in the heart of the realm of Dwindeldorn.
Patches of woods rise at varying distances from you in different directions,
while the meadow basks under a deep blue sky.  There aren't any proper roads
here, but the area appears by no means to be unacquainted with the occasional
traveler or shepherd.  Natural byways lead to the south, the east, and the
northwest.

  Standing like a ghostly finger from the ground in the middle of the meadow is
the sun-bleached remains of an old tree trunk.  Myriads of buzzing bees are
swarming around its top.

<>> g

 <> Grimmage field, Squarchminster (riding on Lady Equanimity) <>

  You're present at a scene of lively activity.  Northwards lies the expansive
grimmage field of Squarchminster, with its curious sport going at full tilt.
Along the eastern border of the field large permanent grandstands have been
erected, and immediately north and west of the field boundaries the ground
rises in short hillsides, making for other convenient means of spectating.  All
three of these sides are quite packed with enthusiastic locals, who are filling
the air with intermingled boos and cheers.
  Squads of other-colored players stand in waiting by the south fence, as many
games take place in the course of a day.  The south fence is also adorned with
the large sign advertising the identity of the venue.
  Just east of the playing field is the west end of Squarchminster town,
represented by a brickmaker's yard, and there is a convergence of roads
happening here.  One road comes in from the country to the southwest, bending
around the back side of the grandstands, and leading off into the country north
of here.  Two more roads branch off of this, going into Squarchminster either
southeast or northeast.

  Currently on the field, the Chamber Pots are playing the Psychotic Bicuspids.

  The grandstands shake with the liveliness of the seated crowd.

  Your sidekick is mounted behind you on Lady Equanimity's back.

  The ref has just issued a Psychotic Bicuspid an orange card for knocking
teeth out in an unsportsmanlike manner.

<>> g

 <> Blatterfarthing village green (riding on Lady Equanimity) <>

  The village of Blatterfarthing is described as a central communal green
featuring a running brook and several large shade trees, encircled a few rings
deep by the buildings which make up the community.  The Snorting Sow harbors
the village's wayfarers on the east side of the green, while a smithy, open on
two sides and with a sign mounted on its roof, sits along the west.  To the
northeast of that appears to be a sausage-maker's shop, and a variety of other
buildings and houses complete the innermost ring around the village green.
  Roads sneak between buildings going southwest, southeast, and northeast.  A
narrow walk path also squeezes between the smithy and the sausage-maker's, to
the northwest.

<>> nw

  The path is too narrow for bringing a horse down.

  Your sidekick speaks up.  "Boy, it's frustrating that we don't know what to
play on the organ!  I mean, not that I'm not scared to think about what would
happen next!  Gahh!  It surely seems like *someone* is there, waiting to be
summoned by that organ, doesn't it?  If only Lord Zendarc's nursemaid were
still around!  Or maybe she is... who knows?  If she knew so much about the old
legends, maybe she knew something about the organ, too."

<>> * && Oh. Here she is! It's a nursemaid, not a scullery maid. I've explored all of the land East of the river, so I assume she lives in the West. Which means getting across the Ribbleskinder...

  Comment recorded.

<>> ask quis about nursemaid

  "Quis" could either be something as yet unknown to you or else a phrasing
unknown to us.

<>> ask quisborne about nursemaid

  "Really, sir, I don't know anything more about her than you do... what Lord
Zendarc said is all I have to go on."

<>> dismount

  You dismount from Lady Equanimity, and Quisborne does too.

  The princeling continues to improve his pushup abilities.

<>> nw

   You head behind the smithy towards the privy...

 <> A privy behind the smithy <>

  In a small thicket right behind the smithy and the sausage-maker's shop
stands a semi-public privy.  It's just a rough, unpainted wooden cubicle with a
door stuck in the half-open position.  Inside, a benchtop seating surface spans
the back wall of it, which is boxed in down to the ground, and is equipped with
a plate-sized hole cut out in the center.  The back of the next "ring" of
Blatterfarthing village would be beyond the thicket, but there's no sense in
pushing through any of that... the only sensible way back is southeast.

  Quiz is present and accounted for.

  Your nostrils are assaulted by the odor of the privy.

  The young figurehead does some sprinting.

<>> look in hole

  You simply can't look down there without being overcome by the stench from
the moist mound of waste.

<>> throw sawdust in hole

  Mindful of the odor-neutralizing properties of sawdust, you bid the youth to
dump a load of it down into the privy.
  "Grand idea, sir!" he says after doing so.  "I can already tell the air is
becoming less threatening!"  He proceeds to peek down the hole without having
to recoil immediately, noting that something is down there.

<>> * && Yes! I had an inkling this might work. On a camping trip when I was a kid, the camp site had an oldfashioned outhouse (heart-shaped peekhole in the door and all). There were buckets of dry leaves and sawdust to throw down and cover your ... business.

  Comment recorded.

<>> look in hole

  With the absorptive and odor-masking properties of the sawdust taking effect,
you can will yourself to look down the hole for a few moments.

  Fallen down in the trench, off to the side of the sawdust-covered mound of
excreta, is a roll of privy paper.

<>> * && Toilet paper? Really?

  Comment recorded.

<>> get roll

  The trench is dug surprisingly deep; its contents, foul or otherwise, are
well out of reach.

  The future monarch of Dwindeldorn does some squats, with the burlap sack for
weight.

<>> fish roll

  What do you want to hook it with?

< object >> fishing pole

  The fishing pole proves to be useful for fishing for things other than fish.
With the hook let out a suitable amount, it's not a difficult exercise to lower
it in and snag the roll.  Pulling it out, you are pleased to find that the roll
is quite unsoiled after discarding a winding or two.

  "The fairies be blessed!" exclaims the prince.  "Dropping a deuce in the
woods just became a much brighter prospect than before."


*** Your score has just gone up by four points ***

<>> x toiletpaper

  "Toiletpaper" is either:
 - Something you haven't come across yet
 - Something not necessary to your adventure
 - A phrasing we aren't equipped to handle

<>> x toilet paper

  For quite awhile now some enterprising papermakers have been producing a
reasonably pliable and absorbent material that you, for one, are pretty
enthusiastic about – it sure beats the old corncobs and moss.  It's rather
yellowish.  They're calling it "Paper in the Forme of a Roll, to Be Emploied
for the Pourposes of Thatt Which Doth Take Place in the Privye", but most just
call it "privy paper."

<>> * && Corncobs? Ouch. Still, beats using a communal sponge-on-a-stick like in Roman public toilets. (Or is that a modern misconception?)

  Comment recorded.

<>> * && Aside from the obvious, I'm thinking that a soaked toilet roll will produce a copious amount of smoke. On the other hand, the game emphasises that it's reasonably clean, so I might need it for something else. Or is that just to avoid having to carry 

  Comment recorded.

<>> * && a soiled wad of privy paper in your inventory?

  Comment recorded.

<>> * && Btw: the Progress of Society through Technological Advences in the form of toilet paper has a very Pratchettian ring in my associative mind.

  Comment recorded.

<>> l

 <> A privy behind the smithy <>

  In a small thicket right behind the smithy and the sausage-maker's shop
stands a semi-public privy.  It's just a rough, unpainted wooden cubicle with a
door stuck in the half-open position.  Inside, a benchtop seating surface spans
the back wall of it, which is boxed in down to the ground, and is equipped with
a plate-sized hole cut out in the center.  The back of the next "ring" of
Blatterfarthing village would be beyond the thicket, but there's no sense in
pushing through any of that... the only sensible way back is southeast.

  The youth is sticking about in your general vicinity.

<>>  se

   The dirt walk takes you back to the village green...

 <> Blatterfarthing village green <>

  The village of Blatterfarthing has a central communal green featuring a
running brook, encircled a few rings deep by the buildings which make up the
community.  The Snorting Sow sits on the east side of the green, while a
smithy, open on two sides and with a sign mounted on its roof, sits along the
west.  To the northeast of that appears to be a sausage-maker's shop, and a
variety of other buildings and houses complete the innermost ring around the
village green.
  Roads sneak between buildings going southwest, southeast, and northeast.  A
narrow walk path also squeezes between the smithy and the sausage-maker's, to
the northwest.

  Lady Equanimity is here, eating grass.

  The youth is here, with sack slung over his shoulder.

  The prince does a few pull-ups on a nearby tree.

<>> mount lady

  You climb up onto the horse.

  Prince Quisborne climbs up behind you.

<>> * && I regret the name I chose each time I need to mount the horse... Still, I think it's a good name.

  Comment recorded.

<>> * && Now I'm looking at the map trying to decide where the nearest water source to the bee-tree is.

  Comment recorded.

<>> * && Was there water in Kinterole?

  Comment recorded.

<>> travel to kinterole

 <> Grimmage field, Squarchminster (riding on Lady Equanimity) <>

  Northwards lies the expansive grimmage field of Squarchminster.  Along the
eastern border of the field large permanent grandstands have been erected, and
the crowds also people the hillsides directly north and west of the field.  The
south boundary fence is also adorned with the large sign advertising the
identity of the venue.
  Just east of the playing field is a brick yard on the west end of
Squarchminster town.  You can go north or southwest from the playing field;
also, you can pass through Squarchminster going either southeast or northeast.

  Currently on the field, the Impeccable Soap Suds are playing the Slavering
Ringworms.

  The grandstands quiver with the energy of the spectators.

  The referee and the umpire end up engaged in a bodily skirmish.  The players
intervene and put them in the penalty box.  There are now no fouls whatsoever
for the next ten minutes of play.

<>> ct

   You make the fairly sizeable trip through Squarchminster, along the back
roads, over the Gloskinfroke, and on into a country of open meadows...

 <> A large dead tree in a meadow (riding on Lady Equanimity) <>

  You're in a rolling meadow, quite in the heart of the realm of Dwindeldorn.
Patches of woods rise at varying distances from you in different directions,
while the meadow basks under a deep blue sky.  There aren't any proper roads
here, but the area appears by no means to be unacquainted with the occasional
traveler or shepherd.  Natural byways lead to the south, the east, and the
northwest.

  Standing like a ghostly finger from the ground in the middle of the meadow is
the sun-bleached remains of an old tree trunk.  Myriads of buzzing bees are
swarming around its top.

  Your young pal is riding along with you.

  The trees rustle gently.

<>> g

   The semi-open countryside eventually picks up a horse track which continues
to wind south.  You come to the junction by Kinterole hamlet...

 <> A construction site (riding on Lady Equanimity) <>

  The road branches in a number of directions here in a pleasant little dell,
just on the eastern edge of a tiny hamlet called Kinterole.  Lying northeast of
you, a large and stately house is being reared up.  A horse track leads north,
and the way east leads to terrain growing more rugged and thickly forested.
Just west is the hamlet, past which the road also leads to the northwest.

<>> g

  You're at your intended destination.

<>> ne

  The horse shies away from the ruts and trenches surrounding the building
site.

  Your sidekick lets out a sneeze.

<>> dismount

  You swing down from the horse, and your squire follows.

<>> ne

 <> In the construction site <>

  You're "inside" the house under construction, although in only a few sections
is the word 'inside' actually accurate... a lot of the site is just a skeleton,
without roof, windows, or walls.  A large scaffolding occupies the northwestern
half of the floor space in the great hall.  You can leave the building to the
southwest.

  The scaffolding is equipped with a windlass-operated crane.

  A treadle lathe is here on-site; some sawhorses are set up nearby, and a
trash barrel sits over against a wall.

  Yondilroy and his apprentice are working now on one thing, now on another.

  Your "squire" is in tow.

<>> put quiz in lathe

  The prince doesn't need that kind of putting.

<>> get block

  You take a wood block from the pile around the sawhorses.

  The workers finish fixing a large window in an opening, and prepare to do
another.  You hear: "Alrighty Roody... same song, seckint verse."

  The future monarch of Dwindeldorn pokes around.

<>> put block in lathe

(putting the wood block in the lathe)
  You clamp the wood block in the lathe.

<>> press treadle

  You pump the treadle of the lathe, imparting motion to the flywheel which
starts the lathe spinning.
  The clamped wood block is being whirred around at high speed.

<>> x lathe

  In a house of this caliber, there is certain to be a great deal of custom
turned-wood, and having a lathe on-site greatly simplifies the process.  The
lathe holds a piece of wood horizontally and rotates it at high speeds, so that
a sharp tool on a rest can be pressed into it and form any contour the workman
imagines.  A foot pedal, or treadle, operates the lathe by turning a heavy
flywheel, which by means of a belt turns the shaft which the wood is attached
to.
  The lathe is presently still in motion by the inertia of the flywheel.
  Clamped in the lathe is a wood block.
  On a surface of the lathe frame is the turning gouge.

  The young figurehead surveys the construction process with interest.

<>> press gouge

  The gouge holds no particular interest for you other than perhaps being used
to turn something on the lathe.

  Yondilroy is saying: "If'n ye butter up that screw with some lard afore ye
drive it, ye'll find it goes in slicker 'n snot on a doorknob."

  The flywheel slows down to a leisurely spin.

<>> press treadle

  You pump the treadle of the lathe, keeping its momentum going.
  The clamped wood block is being whirred around at high speed.

<>> turn gouge

  The gouge holds no particular interest for you other than perhaps being used
to turn something on the lathe.

<>> turn block

(the wood block)
  As you put your gouge on the rest and push it into the spinning wood,
shavings start to fly like ribbons and confetti.  You can boast at least a
modest amount of craftsy know-how, even though, clearly, your main business is
more in the line of knighthood, foe-fighting and other heroic vocations.
Quisborne watches as you spend a quarter of an hour or more converting the
block of wood into a cylinder, finishing by reducing the two ends into handles.
It could well pass for a baker's rolling pin.  It's not clear how useful this
will be to you in your present mode of living, but you didn't have anything
else in mind to make.
  The prince has seen you turn some wood before, but is still gratified in
watching the article take shape.  He has to inquire what the article actually
is, and you are apparently the first to let him know that this remarkable tool
is what his cooks have used every time he has sat down to a pheasant pie or a
venison pasty.

<>> get pin

  You take the rolling pin.

<>> drop gouge

  You put the turning gouge on the lathe.

  (Yondilroy to the apprentice:) "Hand me the dumb end of yer tape, Bucky J.
Roonicles!"

  The future king of Dwindeldorn gets lost in his thoughts.

<>> w

  The wall has already been built there.

<>> sw

 <> A construction site near Kinterole hamlet <>

  The road branches in a number of directions here in a pleasant little dell,
just on the eastern edge of a tiny hamlet called Kinterole.  Lying northeast of
you, a large and stately house is being reared up.  A horse track leads north,
and the way east leads to terrain growing more rugged and thickly forested.
Just west is the hamlet, past which the road also leads to the northwest.

  Lady Equanimity is here, grazing.

  The king-to-be tags along.

  The incumbent to the throne is making shrill sounds by blowing on a piece of
grass clamped between his thumbs.

<>> travel to spring pool

  You may try to travel to one of the following locations:

  -Forthlong Hall
  -Blatterfarthing (smithy)
  -Squarchminster (playing field)
  -the ferry
  -Kinterole (construction site)
  -the sawmill
  -Gramblefork
  -the North Road
  -the quarry
  -Thymeleigh Manor
  -the seashore
  -the Fastness

<>> travel to blattefarthing

  "Blattefarthing" could either be something as yet unknown to you or else a
phrasing unknown to us.

<>> travel to blatterfarthing

   You make the trip back to the junction of the Darchingcrast Road, passing
through Crumblegate, Orterleigh Manor, and the grounds of Uxpelcraith Hall, as
well as a good deal of country in between...  (Nighttime came and went.)

 <> Entrance to the grounds of Forthlong Hall <>

  The road northeast to Darchingcrast converges here with the road you're on,
which runs northwest to southeast.  The lane leading to Forthlong Hall branches
off from this road to the south, crossing a stream by means of a small bridge.

  The boy is following you as always.

  A hawk swoops through the air.

<>> ct

   The road passes through the pleasant countryside, then climbs a low ridge
and travels along its top...

 <> Outskirts of Darchingcrast <>

  You are on the outskirts of Darchingcrast, royal city of Dwindeldorn, one of
the two great cities within the realm.  The stone and timber buildings, with
their ruddy or greenish tiled roofs, lie north and northeast of you at some
little distance, stopping short of where the castle grounds begin.
Darchingcrast Castle is to the southeast, on a bluff looking down over the
city; a path leads up to it through park-like grounds.  A road leads northwest,
crossing over the Gloskinfroke a short distance from here, and another road
also leads up the side of the ridge, but in a southwesterly direction.

  Your squire is following you wherever you go.

<>> g

   You head over the Gloskinfroke and make the relatively short trip to
Blatterfarthing village...

 <> Blatterfarthing village green <>

  The village of Blatterfarthing has a central communal green featuring a
running brook, encircled a few rings deep by the buildings which make up the
community.  The Snorting Sow sits on the east side of the green, while a
smithy, open on two sides and with a sign mounted on its roof, sits along the
west.  To the northeast of that appears to be a sausage-maker's shop, and a
variety of other buildings and houses complete the innermost ring around the
village green.
  Roads sneak between buildings going southwest, southeast, and northeast.  A
narrow walk path also squeezes between the smithy and the sausage-maker's, to
the northwest.

  The prince is here with you as always.

  Some patrons enter the Snorting Sow.

<>> soak roll in brook

  This is one of those times where we may not have covered the verb you're
trying to use...

<>> put roll in brook

  The roll of privy paper would probably be spoiled if it gets wet.

<>> * && Ah... No wet paper for the bee-fire.

  Comment recorded.

<>> * && Sawdust?

  Comment recorded.

<>> go to mill

  You don't see any mill in view.

<>> dests

  You may try to travel to one of the following locations:

  -Forthlong Hall
  -Blatterfarthing (smithy)
  -Squarchminster (playing field)
  -the ferry
  -Kinterole (construction site)
  -the sawmill
  -Gramblefork
  -the North Road
  -the quarry
  -Thymeleigh Manor
  -the seashore
  -the Fastness

  The young figurehead climbs a tree for a little spell.

<>> travel to mill

 <> Grimmage field, west end of Squarchminster town <>

  Northwards lies the expansive grimmage field of Squarchminster.  Along the
eastern border of the field large permanent grandstands have been erected, and
the crowds also people the hillsides directly north and west of the field.  The
south boundary fence is also adorned with the large sign advertising the
identity of the venue.
  Just east of the playing field is a brick yard on the west end of
Squarchminster town.  You can go north or southwest from the playing field;
also, you can pass through Squarchminster going either southeast or northeast.

  Currently on the field, the Greasy Tenderloins are playing the Snide
Pilgrims.

  The grandstands groan with the liveliness of their human cargo.

  The Feckless is sticking nearby.

<>> ct

   The road north from Squarchminster travels through a well-peopled area,
coming by and by into the region of the Haystacks...

 <> Knoll over the Ribbleskinder valley <>

  This is a region known colloquially as "The Haystacks", so named for its many
hills, not large but spaced out and decidedly mound-shaped.  At some distance
to the west and the north are the Ribbleskinder River and a highland,
respectively... east and south you can spot a few castles and farms.
  There is a junction of roads on this particular knoll; they lead northeast
toward the high country, southeast, and south towards Squarchminster.  There is
also a wagon track leading downhill to the northwest.

  Nearby, the future king of Dwindeldorn is ambling around.

<>> g

   You descend into the woods towards the river bottom...

 <> Outside an abandoned sawmill <>

  This is the site of an old mill, no longer in operation.  The building stands
among tall trees and thick thorn thickets to the north.  The side of the
building facing you is dominated by a wide rolling door, which is slid wide
open.  You can hear the river to the west, and a track leads upwards southeast.

  Your companion is lollygagging behind.

<>> g

  You're at your intended destination.

<>> enter mill

   You stroll on into the mill...

 <> An abandoned sawmill <>

  You are inside the main room of the sawmill; it's well-lit with the wide door
thrown open.  You can see the large sawing apparatus, situated centrally in
line with a bed of great wooden rollers, on which the logs traveled through the
saw.

  With the door slid open, you can also see, along the back wall, a massive
heap of sawdust, and a gangway running across the room up high.  The floor is
strewn with flitches.

  Along the western side of the building, standing idle, is the giant
waterwheel, which is connected by a fascinating train of shafts, gears, and
belts to the main sawing apparatus.

  A thick log has been left lying on the roller bed.

  A doorway, previously concealed by the temporary stack of flitches, leads
east out of the back corner of the building.

  Your companion, PQ, is here with you.

<>> * && Damn! I left Lady at the construction site.

  Comment recorded.

<>> get sawdust

  You have the lad grab another armload of sawdust from the heap.

  Your protegé feels the flat face of the saw log.

<>> put it in basket

  You put the sawdust in the basket.

<>> find lady

  Which lady do you mean, the object, Myrgweth's daughters, or Sylverleigh?

< distinguish >> 

 <> An abandoned sawmill <>

  You are inside the main room of the sawmill; it's well-lit with the wide door
thrown open.  You can see the large sawing apparatus, situated centrally in
line with a bed of great wooden rollers, on which the logs traveled through the
saw.

  With the door slid open, you can also see, along the back wall, a massive
heap of sawdust, and a gangway running across the room up high.  The floor is
strewn with flitches.

  Along the western side of the building, standing idle, is the giant
waterwheel, which is connected by a fascinating train of shafts, gears, and
belts to the main sawing apparatus.

  A thick log has been left lying on the roller bed.

  A doorway, previously concealed by the temporary stack of flitches, leads
east out of the back corner of the building.

  Near by your side is the lad.

<>> find horse

  You think you last saw the horse outside of the construction site.

  Your ostensible squire shifts the sack around.

<>> travel to construction site

 <> Outside an abandoned sawmill <>

  This is the site of an old mill, no longer in operation.  The building stands
among tall trees and thick thorn thickets to the north.  The side of the
building facing you is dominated by a wide rolling door, which is slid wide
open.  You can hear the river to the west, and a track leads upwards southeast.

  Nearby, the princeling is ambling around.

<>> ct

   The track takes you up out of the woods back to the top of a knoll...

 <> Knoll over the Ribbleskinder valley <>

  This is a region known colloquially as "The Haystacks", so named for its many
hills, not large but spaced out and decidedly mound-shaped.  From the top of
one of the more gently-sloping knolls where you are, the large Ribbleskinder
River can be seen not far to the west, bending its course in a valley from
southward to southwestward.  Beyond it lies the great and ancient Spurnwharking
Forest.  On the far northern horizon there is a large escarpment and a highland
beyond; east and south you can catch glimpses here and there of a castle, farm,
or village in the folds between the knobby hills.
  There is a junction of roads on this particular knoll; they lead northeast
toward the high country, southeast, and south towards Squarchminster.  There is
also a wagon track leading downhill to the northwest, towards the river.

  The youth is here.

  A few clouds hang overhead.

<>> g

   Leaving the Haystacks in a southward direction, the road eventually bears
southeast towards Squarchminster...

 <> Grimmage field, west end of Squarchminster town <>

  Northwards lies the expansive grimmage field of Squarchminster.  Along the
eastern border of the field large permanent grandstands have been erected, and
the crowds also people the hillsides directly north and west of the field.  The
south boundary fence is also adorned with the large sign advertising the
identity of the venue.
  Just east of the playing field is a brick yard on the west end of
Squarchminster town.  You can go north or southwest from the playing field;
also, you can pass through Squarchminster going either southeast or northeast.

  Currently on the field, the Sweaty Mammoths are playing the Hellraising
Barnacles.

  The grandstands shake with the energy of the spectators.

  Near by your side sticks your sidekick.

  You watch with interest as the racketman completes a drop pass to a horse-
mounted stickman.

<>> g

   ( You both camped for the night.)

 <> A large dead tree in a meadow <>

  You're in a rolling meadow, quite in the heart of the realm of Dwindeldorn.
Patches of woods rise at varying distances from you in different directions,
while the meadow basks under a deep blue sky.  There aren't any proper roads
here, but the area appears by no means to be unacquainted with the occasional
traveler or shepherd.  Natural byways lead to the south, the east, and the
northwest.

  Standing like a ghostly finger from the ground in the middle of the meadow is
the sun-bleached remains of an old tree trunk.  Myriads of buzzing bees are
swarming around its top.

  The future monarch of Dwindeldorn is following you wherever you go.

<>> g

 <> A construction site near Kinterole hamlet <>

  The road branches in a number of directions here in a pleasant little dell,
just on the eastern edge of a tiny hamlet called Kinterole.  Lying northeast of
you, a large and stately house is being reared up.  A horse track leads north,
and the way east leads to terrain growing more rugged and thickly forested.
Just west is the hamlet, past which the road also leads to the northwest.

  Lady Equanimity is here, eating grass.

  Your "squire" is in tow.

<>> mount lady

  You mount up onto Lady Equanimity.

  Prince Quisborne climbs up behind you.

  You can hear the song of birds in the distance.

<>> * && Glad to see she can take perfectly good care of herself. Of course, when I found her she was alone in the woods, so she's used to it.

  Comment recorded.

<>> travel to dead tree

  You may try to travel to one of the following locations:

  -Forthlong Hall
  -Blatterfarthing (smithy)
  -Squarchminster (playing field)
  -the ferry
  -Kinterole (construction site)
  -the sawmill
  -Gramblefork
  -the North Road
  -the quarry
  -Thymeleigh Manor
  -the seashore
  -the Fastness

  The incumbent to the throne makes an unsuccessful attempt at shadow animals.

<>> n

   The horse track leads a few miles northward, and then peters out.  The
countryside is easy to continue traveling through...

 <> A large dead tree in a meadow (riding on Lady Equanimity) <>

  You're in a rolling meadow, quite in the heart of the realm of Dwindeldorn.
Patches of woods rise at varying distances from you in different directions,
while the meadow basks under a deep blue sky.  There aren't any proper roads
here, but the area appears by no means to be unacquainted with the occasional
traveler or shepherd.  Natural byways lead to the south, the east, and the
northwest.

  Standing like a ghostly finger from the ground in the middle of the meadow is
the sun-bleached remains of an old tree trunk.  Myriads of buzzing bees are
swarming around its top.

  Prince Quisborne can't pass by the bee tree without coveting the honey that
must be up there.

<>> x hole

  The cavity in the base of the tree is quite large... the tree probably
doesn't have an overlong time left standing in an upright position.  The
cavity's become a catch-all for sticks, bark, and other dried-up forest litter.

  Tiny blotches of leaf-cast shadow move about on the ground.

<>> light litter

(first getting off of Lady Equanimity)

  The dry woodland litter springs easily ablaze as you apply some hot embers to
it.  The fire burns bright and clean, without threatening to ignite the tree
itself any time soon on account of the damp and rotten interior.  Warm air
chimneys up through the tree, causing a commotion amongst the bees; but other
than buzzing around with a little more animation, they carry on as before.
  Prince Quisborne wears a rueful look on his face when he realizes the bees
have still not been convinced to abandon their (honey-laden, he imagines) hive.

<>> throw sawdust on litter

  The sawdust doesn't have much of a range for being thrown.

  The young sprig of royalty watches the fire.

<>> put sawdust on litter

  The sawdust is consumed to nothing by the flames.

<>> undo

   Taking back one turn: “put sawdust on litter”.

 <> A large dead tree in a meadow <>

  You're in a rolling meadow, quite in the heart of the realm of Dwindeldorn.
Patches of woods rise at varying distances from you in different directions,
while the meadow basks under a deep blue sky.  There aren't any proper roads
here, but the area appears by no means to be unacquainted with the occasional
traveler or shepherd.  Natural byways lead to the south, the east, and the
northwest.

  Standing like a ghostly finger from the ground in the middle of the meadow is
the sun-bleached remains of an old tree trunk.  Myriads of buzzing bees are
swarming around its top.

  The loose rotten wood in the base of the hollow tree is brightly ablaze.  The
swarm of bees seems to disapprove of this fire, but they continue to hum and
buzz about the top of the tree.

  Lady Equanimity is here, chomping away.

  Prince Q is here with you as always.

<>> extinguish fire

  You stamp out the fire.

<>> x hole

  The cavity in the base of the tree is quite large... the tree probably
doesn't have an overlong time left standing in an upright position.  The
cavity's become a catch-all for sticks, bark, and other dried-up forest litter.

<>> * && Can I carry water in the basket? It's possible, if it's woven tight enough.

  Comment recorded.

<>> take sawdust from basket

  You take the sawdust.

<>> travel to spring pool

  You may try to travel to one of the following locations:

  -Forthlong Hall
  -Blatterfarthing (smithy)
  -Squarchminster (playing field)
  -the ferry
  -Kinterole (construction site)
  -the sawmill
  -Gramblefork
  -the North Road
  -the quarry
  -Thymeleigh Manor
  -the seashore
  -the Fastness

  The feckless heir wishes the bees would be gone.

<>> travel to thymeleigh

   You leave the meadow to the east, picking your way through the most
naturally traversable terrain.  After some miles you come into the Golden Wood
of Eshquoke...

  You found a suitable place to make camp for the night during the travel.

 <> The Golden Wood of Eshquoke <>

  This is a region of Dwindeldorn known as The Golden Wood of Eshquoke, where
the natural colors of the trees' leaves are blazing yellowy-oranges and golds,
occasionally verging into orangey-pink and orange-red.  The forest is not so
dense but that patches of grass and dandelions are able to grow on the forest
floor.  The most passable tracks seems to lead west, northeast, and southeast.

  The incumbent to the throne is sticking nearby.

<>> ct

   Coming out of the Eshquoke woods, and passing through Inchpuddle village,
you come by and by to the grounds of Thymeleigh Manor...

 <> Thymeleigh Manor <>

  You're on a lane wending through the grounds of the pleasant Thymeleigh
Manor.  The lane is sunken below the bordering land, and sweeps from the
southwest gently around to the northwest, where it ducks behind the foot of a
tall hill to the north, and disappears.  The manor hall stands well away from
the lane on a rise northeast of you, and the lane is bordered on that side by a
rustic, sod-topped stone wall.
  All about are pleasant sights: open greens, flowering thickets, hills and
larger woods rimming the horizon.  One particularly massive spreading tree
shades the sunken roadway where you stand.  A faint foot-track passes the tree
and cross the field off to the west.

  Over near the manor, the Knights Arrogant can be seen parading around,
dallying with the elegant daughters and nieces of Lord Myrgweth.

  The Knights of the Eight Spittoons are in the area, patrolling around on
their horses and trying to seem important.

  The feckless prince comes along.

<>> w

   The foot-track crosses the field and continues across a bit of the
countryside, coming to the spring at the source of the Gloskinfroke...

 <> A secluded spring pool <>

  You're at the Fountains of Gloskinfroke, a lovely spot sequestered by a ring
of close-growing trees.  To the immediate southeast, a large and dazzlingly
blue spring pool burbles up from the foot of a small concave cliff face.  The
surrounding trees are grown over nearly to the ground with a thick curtain of
hanging vines, and surround a sanctuary of luxuriant, flower-speckled turf.
The young fresh stream issuing from the spring flows out to the northwest, and
trails lead away south or east over the woody rise.

  The feckless heir is present and accounted for.

  "Ha!  Well, I know I burned up some stuff absent-mindedly before, but, uh...
I did it again.  The rolling pin this time.  I was working on a limerick, and
was just trying to keep the fire going, you know?  Anyway...  that's gone."

<>> x pool

  The spring pool is clear and deep and large; under the blue water you can see
jagged rock edges falling sharply downward from the pool's sides.  There must
be thousands of gallons of water flowing out of the spring every minute.

<>> fill basket with water

  Which water do you mean, the fresh flowing stream, or the spring pool?

< distinguish >> pool

  The basket isn't suitable for putting liquids into.

<>> * && Darn!

  Comment recorded.

<>> find horse

  You think you last saw the horse near the dead tree in the meadow.

  The youth ducks in and out of the hanging vines.

<>> e

   The trail leaves the spring hollow, and crosses the countryside for some
little distance into the grounds of Thymeleigh Manor...  (Nighttime came and
went.)

 <> Thymeleigh Manor <>

  You're on a lane wending through the grounds of the pleasant Thymeleigh
Manor.  The manor hall stands well away from the lane on a rise northeast of
you, and the lane is bordered on that side by a low sod-topped stone wall.  One
particularly massive spreading tree shades the sunken roadway where you stand.
The lane goes northwest or southwest, and a faint foot-track passes the tree
and crosses the field to the west.

  Over near the manor, the Knights Arrogant can be seen parading around,
dallying with the elegant daughters and nieces of Lord Myrgweth.

  The Knights of the Eight Spittoons are in the area, patrolling around on
their horses and trying to seem important.

  Prince Quisborne is hanging around.

  Sir Enders starts to speak, but then falls silent again.

<>> nw

 <> The Golden Wood of Eshquoke <>

  This is a region of Dwindeldorn known as The Golden Wood of Eshquoke, where
the natural colors of the trees' leaves are blazing yellowy-oranges and golds,
occasionally verging into orangey-pink and orange-red.  The forest is not so
dense but that patches of grass and dandelions are able to grow on the forest
floor.  The most passable tracks seems to lead west, northeast, and southeast.

  Your ostensible squire is following you as always.

  The boy is picking bark off of a tree.

<>> w

   You travel through the Golden Wood to its western end, and continue on
through a mostly roadless grazing country...

 <> A large dead tree in a meadow <>

  You're in a rolling meadow, quite in the heart of the realm of Dwindeldorn.
Patches of woods rise at varying distances from you in different directions,
while the meadow basks under a deep blue sky.  There aren't any proper roads
here, but the area appears by no means to be unacquainted with the occasional
traveler or shepherd.  Natural byways lead to the south, the east, and the
northwest.

  Standing like a ghostly finger from the ground in the middle of the meadow is
the sun-bleached remains of an old tree trunk.  Myriads of buzzing bees are
swarming around its top.

  Lady Equanimity is here, grazing.

  Prince Quisborne the Feckless is present as ever.

  Tiny bugs skitter across the ground.

<>> mount lady.

  You climb up onto the horse.

  Prince Quisborne climbs up behind you.

<>> * && Some real progress! There's still a bunch of puzzles on my "Unsolved"-list, but I'm confident I'll figure those out too.

  Comment recorded.

<>> script off