Start of a transcript of Old Jim's Convenience Store An Interactive Fiction by Anssi Räisänen Release 1 / Serial number 190928 / Inform 7 build 6M62 (I6/v6.33 lib 6/12N) Identification number: //575296B8-289E-4EFF-BEC2-BEC61E73F875// Standard interpreter 1.2 (0) / Library serial number 080126 Standard Rules version 3/120430 by Graham Nelson >about This is a short game written for IFComp 2019. I like writing puzzle-oriented parser games (both in ALAN 3 and Inform 7), and this one should be a typical example. If you get stuck, consult the walkthrough file distributed together with this game. Thank you very much to my beta testers Andrew Schultz and Niko Räisänen. All remaining errors and incongruities are entirely my own fault. (c) 2019 Anssi Räisänen. All rights reserved. I hope you enjoy! >l On The Porch You are standing on an empty porch outside the boarded and locked front door of the store, to the north. The big, dusty store window beside the door allows a peep inside. You can walk around the store to the northeast and to the northwest, and your car is to the south where a straight road with no traffic passes the store in an east-west direction. A gentle evening wind moves an old worn wooden sign hanging above your head very slightly back and forth, but even this slight movement makes it creak. >i You are carrying: an aluminum key >x me After a brief introspection, you decide you are somewhat disillusioned but not actually depressed - no, you won't let yourself go there. >x porch You can't see any such thing. >x window The big front window is dusty and dirty but allows a view into the store. Inside, you make out some almost empty shelves and an even emptier counter, and that's about it. You wonder why the door is heavily boarded, but the window isn't. Maybe it didn't cross Uncle Jim's mind that someone might have the heart to even think of entering that way. >x sign The sign, hanging above your head some five feet long and one foot wide, reads "Old Jim's Convenience Store" in a typical Wild West font. >x door The once white door is not only locked but boarded shut tightly. Too bad you lack any tools to force it open. >nw You walk to the back of the building. Behind The Store You are standing behind the store. A monotonous prairie extends to the north, east, and west, and the store itself is to your south. You can walk back to the front by going southeast or southwest. A ladder leans against the wall here. >take ladder Taken. >x it It is a wooden ladder some 10 feet in length. >se You walk back to the front. On The Porch You are standing on an empty porch outside the boarded and locked front door of the store, to the north. The big, dusty store window beside the door allows a peep inside. You can walk around the store to the northeast and to the northwest, and your car is to the south where a straight road with no traffic passes the store in an east-west direction. A gentle evening wind moves an old worn wooden sign hanging above your head very slightly back and forth, but even this slight movement makes it creak. >open window There doesn't seem to be any way of opening the big front window. >open door It is boarded shut. >unlock door What do you want to unlock the front door with? >key Out of your pocket, you pull out the key to the front door. You try to insert it into a lock in the door, but the lock is apparently too rusty: the key goes in only part of the way. Anyway, the door is boarded shut so tightly that unlocking it would help matters little. Grumpily, you pocket the key again. >s By Your Car You are standing by your car by a silent road passing the store in an east-west direction. The store, to the north, is the only visible building in the dull prairie expanding in all directions. >open car It isn't something you can open. >enter car Since you have come this far, you want to explore whether there really is something in this for you - even if your hopes are dimming by the minute. It's not the time to drive off yet. >x car Your trusty car, fifteen years old but a faithful friend still. You're proud that on the way here, the motor didn't overheat and that the trunk lid didn't spring open even once. A bumper sticker on the lid of the trunk says "Thou shalt not pass", which might be the reason that people tend to like to overtake you whenever they can. >open trunk You open the trunk, revealing a bottle of oil. >take oil (the bottle of oil) Taken. >search car The car is empty. >e That would be pointless. >w That would be pointless. >x prairie The prairie just seems to go on endlessly in all directions. >n On The Porch You are standing on an empty porch outside the boarded and locked front door of the store, to the north. The big, dusty store window beside the door allows a peep inside. You can walk around the store to the northeast and to the northwest, and your car is to the south where a straight road with no traffic passes the store in an east-west direction. A gentle evening wind moves an old worn wooden sign hanging above your head very slightly back and forth, but even this slight movement makes it creak. >nw You walk to the back of the building. Behind The Store You are standing behind the store. A monotonous prairie extends to the north, east, and west, and the store itself is to your south. You can walk back to the front by going southeast or southwest. >w This is no time and place to start wandering mindlessly on the vast prairie. Well, come to think of it, you do have the time, and this is exactly the place, but it anyway is a bad idea. >n This is no time and place to start wandering mindlessly on the vast prairie. Well, come to think of it, you do have the time, and this is exactly the place, but it anyway is a bad idea. >e This is no time and place to start wandering mindlessly on the vast prairie. Well, come to think of it, you do have the time, and this is exactly the place, but it anyway is a bad idea. >x store The store building has seen its best days a long time ago. It's built of wood (the paint peeling off at a good pace) and carrying about it an aura of accepted doom. >se You walk back to the front. On The Porch You are standing on an empty porch outside the boarded and locked front door of the store, to the north. The big, dusty store window beside the door allows a peep inside. You can walk around the store to the northeast and to the northwest, and your car is to the south where a straight road with no traffic passes the store in an east-west direction. A gentle evening wind moves an old worn wooden sign hanging above your head very slightly back and forth, but even this slight movement makes it creak. >smash window You can't do that with your bare hands. >i You are carrying: a bottle of oil a small quantity of oil a ladder an aluminum key >smash window with ladder You shove one end of the ladder forcefully against the window, managing to smash the big glass into bits. A shame actually, but there really was no other way. Carefully, you clean any remaining shards from the window frame to allow safe access inside. >in You climb in through the broken window, bringing the ladder with you. Inside The Store The inside of the store is almost empty of any inventory. Some wooden shelves with random leftover items line the walls. Close to the back wall of the room is a seller's counter, empty save an antique cash register. Big, protective sheets of brown cardboard cover parts of the floor, and the walls are plastered with old, yellowing newspapers. It's a perfect scene... of something in need of a complete makeover. The (useless) door and the large open window are on the south wall. >x shelves The shelves lining the walls are mostly empty. They support only a few random leftover items: empty bottles, old oil lamps, empty cardboard boxes, old magazines, fishing hooks and even something that you recognize to be a peel for taking bread or pizza out of an oven. >take all There are none at all available! >search shelves There is nothing on the shelves. >x items The shelves lining the walls are mostly empty. They support only a few random leftover items: empty bottles, old oil lamps, empty cardboard boxes, old magazines, fishing hooks and even something that you recognize to be a peel for taking bread or pizza out of an oven. >take items That's hardly portable. >search items There is nothing on the shelves. >x counter The only thing on the counter is an antique cash register. There is a small drawer under the counter. >x register The cash register seems to be from around the 1930s. You wonder why. >open it You manage to press some buttons on the cash register to make it slide open. It is completely empty, though. You close the register. >search it You can't see inside, since the cash register is closed. >x drawer You see nothing special about the drawer. >open it You open the drawer, revealing a matchbox. >take matchbox Taken. >search drawer The drawer is empty. >look under counter You find nothing of interest. >search counter There is nothing on the counter. >x cardboard (the cardboard sheets) The sheets of cardboard are there probably to protect the floor from getting dirty, or to cover any holes or other irregularities one might accidentally step in. >move cardboard (the cardboard sheets) It is fixed in place. >take cardboard (the cardboard sheets) You remove some of the cardboard sheets to look under them, finding a closed hatch on the floor behind the counter. >open hatch You open the hatch, revealing a dark opening in the floor. >i You are carrying: a matchbox (closed) a bottle of oil a small quantity of oil a ladder an aluminum key >d The opening in the floor is pitch black and you don't know how deep it might be. Stepping down without anything to aid you to reach the bottom would be unwise. >put ladder in opening You lower the ladder into the dark opening in the floor. The ladder goes there all the way before hitting the bottom, its top just jutting out of the opening. It is now possible to go down. >d You descend the ladder into the dark opening, Low Passage The air is cold and damp down here. The light from above allows you to see that a passage with a low ceiling leads to the northwest, but it wouldn't be prudent to venture any further without a light source. You can climb the ladder back up into the store. >light match You can't see any such thing. >i You are carrying: a matchbox (closed) a bottle of oil a small quantity of oil an aluminum key >open matchbox You open the matchbox, revealing some matches. >light match (To light something using the matches, you don't have to refer to the individual matches; it is enough you are holding the matchbox.) >light bottle This dangerous act would achieve little. >light What do you want to light? >key This dangerous act would achieve little. >u You climb up the ladder. Inside The Store The inside of the store is almost empty of any inventory. Some wooden shelves with random leftover items line the walls. Close to the back wall of the room is a seller's counter, empty save an antique cash register. Big, protective sheets of brown cardboard cover parts of the floor, and the walls are plastered with old, yellowing newspapers. It's a perfect scene... of something in need of a complete makeover. The (useless) door and the large open window are on the south wall. There is a dark opening in the floor. A ladder leads down into it. >take newspaper That's hardly portable. >take newspapers That's hardly portable. >x newspapers They're just full of yesterday's news. >read newspapers They're just full of yesterday's news. >out You exit the store through the broken window. On The Porch You are standing on an empty porch outside the boarded and locked front door of the store, to the north. You have smashed the big window to pieces, allowing access inside the store. You can walk around the store to the northeast and to the northwest, and your car is to the south where a straight road with no traffic passes the store in an east-west direction. A gentle evening wind moves an old worn wooden sign hanging above your head very slightly back and forth, but even this slight movement makes it creak. >take sign Yes, it is your store now and not Uncle Jim's any longer. You lift the sign carefully off the hooks it has been hanging from. It is not too heavy to carry. >break sign Violence isn't the answer to this one. >in You climb in through the broken window. Inside The Store The inside of the store is almost empty of any inventory. Some wooden shelves with random leftover items line the walls. Close to the back wall of the room is a seller's counter, empty save an antique cash register. Big, protective sheets of brown cardboard cover parts of the floor, and the walls are plastered with old, yellowing newspapers. It's a perfect scene... of something in need of a complete makeover. The (useless) door and the large open window are on the south wall. There is a dark opening in the floor. A ladder leads down into it. >light sign This dangerous act would achieve little. >pour oil on sign That's not a verb I recognise. >put oil on sign (the bottle of oil on the sign) Putting things on the sign would achieve nothing. >x wall The walls are plastered with old, yellowing newspapers. >x door The door would basically open inward, but as you know that it is nailed shut with large boards on the outside, it is no use trying to open it. >search it You find nothing of interest. >light oil (the bottle of oil) This dangerous act would achieve little. >s You exit the store through the broken window. On The Porch You are standing on an empty porch outside the boarded and locked front door of the store, to the north. You have smashed the big window to pieces, allowing access inside the store. You can walk around the store to the northeast and to the northwest, and your car is to the south where a straight road with no traffic passes the store in an east-west direction. >take all There are none at all available! >s By Your Car You are standing by your car by a silent road passing the store in an east-west direction. The store, to the north, is the only visible building in the dull prairie expanding in all directions. >take all There are none at all available! >n On The Porch You are standing on an empty porch outside the boarded and locked front door of the store, to the north. You have smashed the big window to pieces, allowing access inside the store. You can walk around the store to the northeast and to the northwest, and your car is to the south where a straight road with no traffic passes the store in an east-west direction. >nw You walk to the back of the building. Behind The Store You are standing behind the store. A monotonous prairie extends to the north, east, and west, and the store itself is to your south. You can walk back to the front by going southeast or southwest. >take all There are none at all available! >w This is no time and place to start wandering mindlessly on the vast prairie. Well, come to think of it, you do have the time, and this is exactly the place, but it anyway is a bad idea. >se You walk back to the front. On The Porch You are standing on an empty porch outside the boarded and locked front door of the store, to the north. You have smashed the big window to pieces, allowing access inside the store. You can walk around the store to the northeast and to the northwest, and your car is to the south where a straight road with no traffic passes the store in an east-west direction. >x pieces You can't see any such thing. >x window You have smashed the window into a thousand small pieces lying about. Inside, you make out some almost empty shelves and an even emptier counter, and that's about it. You wonder why the door is heavily boarded, but the window isn't. Maybe it didn't cross Uncle Jim's mind that someone might have the heart to even think of entering that way. You can enter the store through the window, to the north. >s By Your Car You are standing by your car by a silent road passing the store in an east-west direction. The store, to the north, is the only visible building in the dull prairie expanding in all directions. >move car It is fixed in place. >x seat You can't see any such thing. >s This is no time and place to start wandering mindlessly on the vast prairie. Well, come to think of it, you do have the time, and this is exactly the place, but it anyway is a bad idea. >n On The Porch You are standing on an empty porch outside the boarded and locked front door of the store, to the north. You have smashed the big window to pieces, allowing access inside the store. You can walk around the store to the northeast and to the northwest, and your car is to the south where a straight road with no traffic passes the store in an east-west direction. >n You climb in through the broken window. Inside The Store The inside of the store is almost empty of any inventory. Some wooden shelves with random leftover items line the walls. Close to the back wall of the room is a seller's counter, empty save an antique cash register. Big, protective sheets of brown cardboard cover parts of the floor, and the walls are plastered with old, yellowing newspapers. It's a perfect scene... of something in need of a complete makeover. The (useless) door and the large open window are on the south wall. There is a dark opening in the floor. A ladder leads down into it. >sw You bump into a wall and return to the middle of the room. Next time you promise yourself to read the room description more carefully. >w You bump into a wall and return to the middle of the room. Next time you promise yourself to read the room description more carefully. >nw You bump into a wall and return to the middle of the room. Next time you promise yourself to read the room description more carefully. >n You bump into a wall and return to the middle of the room. Next time you promise yourself to read the room description more carefully. >ne You bump into a wall and return to the middle of the room. Next time you promise yourself to read the room description more carefully. >e You bump into a wall and return to the middle of the room. Next time you promise yourself to read the room description more carefully. >se You bump into a wall and return to the middle of the room. Next time you promise yourself to read the room description more carefully. >d You descend the ladder into the dark opening, Low Passage The air is cold and damp down here. The light from above allows you to see that a passage with a low ceiling leads to the northwest, but it wouldn't be prudent to venture any further without a light source. You can climb the ladder back up into the store. >nw It is not wise to proceed further without a light source. >light sign This dangerous act would achieve little. >light ladder This dangerous act would achieve little. >x ceiling You can't see any such thing. >u You climb up the ladder. Inside The Store The inside of the store is almost empty of any inventory. Some wooden shelves with random leftover items line the walls. Close to the back wall of the room is a seller's counter, empty save an antique cash register. Big, protective sheets of brown cardboard cover parts of the floor, and the walls are plastered with old, yellowing newspapers. It's a perfect scene... of something in need of a complete makeover. The (useless) door and the large open window are on the south wall. There is a dark opening in the floor. A ladder leads down into it. >u You bump into a wall and return to the middle of the room. Next time you promise yourself to read the room description more carefully. >break shelves Violence isn't the answer to this one. >move register It is fixed in place. >take it That's hardly portable. >search it You can't see inside, since the cash register is closed. >open it You manage to press some buttons on the cash register to make it slide open. It is completely empty, though. You close the register. >take cardboard (the cardboard sheets) You lift some other sheets of cardboard and look under them but find nothing of interest, letting the sheets drop back onto the floor. >take newspapers That's hardly portable. >take newspaper That's hardly portable. >x wall The walls are plastered with old, yellowing newspapers. >x ceiling You can't see any such thing. >x floor Large sheets of brown cardboard cover the floor. You have discovered a hatch on the floor. >x hatch The hole in the floor is pitch black. A ladder leads down into the hole. >i You are carrying: a sign a matchbox (open) some matches a bottle of oil a small quantity of oil an aluminum key >x sign The sign, some five feet long and one foot wide, reads "Old Jim's Convenience Store" in a typical Wild West font. >x hatch The hole in the floor is pitch black. A ladder leads down into the hole. >take hatch You can't have the hatch. And why would you need to? >d You descend the ladder into the dark opening, Low Passage The air is cold and damp down here. The light from above allows you to see that a passage with a low ceiling leads to the northwest, but it wouldn't be prudent to venture any further without a light source. You can climb the ladder back up into the store. >x hatch You can't see any such thing. >x light You can't see any such thing. >x passage You can't see any such thing. >u You climb up the ladder. Inside The Store The inside of the store is almost empty of any inventory. Some wooden shelves with random leftover items line the walls. Close to the back wall of the room is a seller's counter, empty save an antique cash register. Big, protective sheets of brown cardboard cover parts of the floor, and the walls are plastered with old, yellowing newspapers. It's a perfect scene... of something in need of a complete makeover. The (useless) door and the large open window are on the south wall. There is a dark opening in the floor. A ladder leads down into it. >push door It is fixed in place. >bash door That's not a verb I recognise. >attack door Violence isn't the answer to this one. >take ladder You decide it's the best thing to leave the ladder where it is. >x items The shelves lining the walls are mostly empty. They support only a few random leftover items: empty bottles, old oil lamps, empty cardboard boxes, old magazines, fishing hooks and even something that you recognize to be a peel for taking bread or pizza out of an oven. >take items That's hardly portable. >take shelves That's hardly portable. >break shelves Violence isn't the answer to this one. >x lamp It´s an old blue oil lamp that still looks intact. >take it You take one of the oil lamps from the shelf. >put oil in lamp (the small quantity of oil in the oil lamp) You pour the last drops of oil from the bottle into the lamp. Now, you'll just have to try lighting the lamp to see if there is any effect. >d You descend the ladder into the dark opening, Low Passage The air is cold and damp down here. The light from above allows you to see that a passage with a low ceiling leads to the northwest, but it wouldn't be prudent to venture any further without a light source. You can climb the ladder back up into the store. >light lamp You light a match and lit the lamp. It works! The motor oil is not quite ideal to be used as lamp oil and gives out some smoke as it burns, but it's good enough for your purposes. >nw You need to stoop your head quite a bit when going in the low passage. It slants downward, deeper into the ground. Soon enough, though, the cave becomes more spacious. Brink Of An Underground River You are on a narrow brink south of a small underground river which passes from the northeast to the west. In the pale light of the oil lamp, the water is black and still. The cave is rather high here. You can go southeast into the low passage leading back to the bottom of the ladder. A small dinghy is here, pulled half out of the water. >x water You can't see any such thing. >ne You need to be in the dinghy to be able to proceed northeast along the river. >w You need to be in the dinghy to be able to proceed west along the river. >x dinghy The small, white dinghy is made of fiber glass and looks rather modern, in stark contrast to anything that you have seen up in the store so far. Seems like Uncle had something more going on in all secrecy than what he cared to reveal to other people. This is getting intriguing presently. (You can ENTER DINGHY or LAUNCH DINGHY to start using it.) >enter it You push the dinghy fully onto the water and get into it. Underground River (in the dinghy) You are in a small dinghy on an underground river, continuing to the west and to the northeast. The water of the river is black and cold-looking in the pale light of the oil lamp. The cave is rather high here. You can land to the south where a small passage leads to the ladder. >w The water in the river is very still, and you cannot go anywhere in the dinghy unless you have some means of paddling it. You need to make it moving by PADDLING WITH something. >i You are carrying: an oil lamp a sign a matchbox (open) some matches a bottle of oil an aluminum key >paddle with sign You try paddling with the sign you took down on the porch. Even if it is somewhat clumsy to hold - and even if you must look rather ridiculous - it does its job! You paddle for a while back and forth, getting a hang of it. Now, you're ready to go places. From now on, you can just say the direction where you want to go; you won't have to use PADDLE any longer. >w You paddle west along the river for a longish while until it widens into a small underground lake. Underground Lake (in the dinghy) You are in the middle of a small underground lake. Overground, it might just pass for a pond, but here it indeed feels like a lake. The ceiling is very high up here, minerals glistening in the pale light of the lamp like stars in the sky. You can land to the north, northwest, west and south, and the underground river is to the east. >s You bring the boat to the shore. Southern Shore Of Underground Lake You are standing on a tiny, uneven stretch of land on the brink of the underground lake, to the north. A wide tunnel with plenty of headspace leads south from here. A small dinghy is here, pulled half out of the water. >s Wide Tunnel Seems like Unde Jim has been doing some extensive excavations in this area. There are clear signs of the tunnel walls having been dug on, and because of that, it is probably much wider than what it has been to begin with. The tunnel ends in a small nook boarded with wide planks, making the nook impossible for you to access. An old pickaxe lies on the ground behind the planks. It is just out of your reach. >take axe You poke your hand under the planks into the nook but can't quite reach the pickaxe. You need something to take it with. >i You are carrying: an oil lamp a sign a matchbox (open) some matches a bottle of oil an aluminum key >take axe with shield You can't see any such thing. >x axe It is an old pickaxe with a wooden handle and a still sharp-looking blade. >x planks The planks have been nailed together and form a heavy barricade that has been fastened onto the cave walls. You lack the tools to remove it. >take planks The planks have been nailed together and form a heavy structure that has been fastened onto the cave walls. You lack the tools to remove it. You wonder why Uncle deemed it a good idea to build this obstacle in the first place; maybe that part of the tunnel has become unstable due to his excavation work, and he wanted to seal it off. You can see the area of the nook through and under the planks, but it is not possible to go there. The gap between the planks and the ground is too narrow for you to enter. >n Southern Shore Of Underground Lake You are standing on a tiny, uneven stretch of land on the brink of the underground lake, to the north. A wide tunnel with plenty of headspace leads south from here. A small dinghy is here, pulled half out of the water. >sw You can't go that way. >w You can't go that way. >enter dinghy (Just state the direction where you want to go, you will automatically enter and exit the dinghy when you need to.) >w You can't go that way. >n You enter the boat and launch it. Underground Lake (in the dinghy) You are in the middle of a small underground lake. Overground, it might just pass for a pond, but here it indeed feels like a lake. The ceiling is very high up here, minerals glistening in the pale light of the lamp like stars in the sky. You can land to the north, northwest, west and south, and the underground river is to the east. >w You bring the boat to the shore. Western Shore Of Underground Lake You are standing on a small level area west of the underground lake. A small dinghy is here, pulled half out of the water. A sturdy door in the cave wall blocks further passage west. There is no handle or knob in the door, but there is a small lever jutting out of a slit in the ground just beside it that is probably there to operate the door. >pull lever It seems that a small pebble, stuck in the slit, obstructs the lever from being pulled. You try to remove the pebble by hand, unsuccessfully. >i You are carrying: an oil lamp a sign a matchbox (open) some matches a bottle of oil an aluminum key >push pebble Nothing obvious happens. >pull it Nothing obvious happens. >take it The pebble is stuck so tightly that you can't remove it by hand. >hit it Violence isn't the answer to this one. >pry pebble That's not a verb I recognise. >e You enter the boat and launch it. Underground Lake (in the dinghy) You are in the middle of a small underground lake. Overground, it might just pass for a pond, but here it indeed feels like a lake. The ceiling is very high up here, minerals glistening in the pale light of the lamp like stars in the sky. You can land to the north, northwest, west and south, and the underground river is to the east. >nw You bring the boat to the shore. Small Landing Place You are standing on a small landing place near the northwestern corner of the lake. The lake is to the southeast. A small dinghy is here, pulled half out of the water. There is a crude small bench here. >x bench It is very simple, basically just a plank placed resting on two adjacent rocks. >take plank You take the plank and, alas, the bench is no more. But you have a plank that might prove to be useful somewhere. >x rocks They are two big pieces of rock adjacent to each other. >take rocks They are much too heavy to carry or move around. >pull rocks It is fixed in place. >push rock You can't see any such thing. >i You are carrying: a plank an oil lamp a sign a matchbox (open) some matches a bottle of oil an aluminum key >x plank You see nothing special about the plank. >se You enter the boat and launch it. Underground Lake (in the dinghy) You are in the middle of a small underground lake. Overground, it might just pass for a pond, but here it indeed feels like a lake. The ceiling is very high up here, minerals glistening in the pale light of the lamp like stars in the sky. You can land to the north, northwest, west and south, and the underground river is to the east. >n You bring the boat to the shore. Mouth Of Very Low Tunnel You are standing on the northern shore of a small underground lake. "Shore" might be stretching it, as the brink here is very narrow. A very low tunnel leads north. A small dinghy is here, pulled half out of the water. >n You get on all fours and enter the low tunnel. South Of Chasm You are in a very low passage, forcing you to proceed by crawling. There is a wide chasm in the cave floor, obstructing further passage the north. The lake shore is to the south. >put plank on chasm Putting things on the chasm would achieve nothing. >n The chasm is too wide for you to cross. You need something to help you here. Putting something across the chasm would probably bring matters forward. >put plank across chams You can't see any such thing. >put plank across chasm You carefully put the plank across the chasm. It is long enough to span it. You try it cautiously. It should carry your weight well enough for you to be able to cross the chasm. >n You cross the chasm crawling cautiously along the plank. It holds your weight. Having managed to cross, you take the plank again. North Of Chasm You are in a very low passage, forcing you to proceed by crawling. There is a wide chasm to the south, and the passage widens to the north. >n You emerge into a bigger cave, allowing you to stand up. Secret Hideout You are in a small chamber which must have been Uncle JIm's secret base underground. There is a small bed and a table here. You can see even some clothes hanging from iron nails in the cliff walls. You can exit to the south. On the table is a diary. There is a very small, narrow crack in the ground. In it you see a silver key. >take all silver key: The crack is too narrow for you to fit your hand into. Trying to fish the key out with some extra means might be a very good idea. small pit: Taken. diary: Taken. >read diary You leaf through the diary in a quick manner. In it, Uncle Jim seems to have recorded his activities underground. Mainly it has to do with digging around in the caves. Most of it is matter-of-fact description of his progress and doesn't rouse special interest in you. There are a couple of passages, however, where Uncle seems to be especially excited: "Found some really big nuggets today! It's the biggest find so far, and rather extraordinary. I never would have thought...." and in another passage: "My luck seems to continue today. Found another big one in the southern cave. Took it to the safe place. It is quite a collection already!" ... You leaf to the end of the diary. The entries there seem to indicate that Uncle has exhausted what there is to find here, and hasn't been successful in finding any more. However, you are intrigued as to the "collection" and the "safe place" he mentioned. Seems he has managed to dig some valuable mineral, maybe even gold, here, and has hidden it somewhere hopefully nearby. Well, you conclude, it's your pleasure to find out. >x bed It sure looks very comfy. >search it There is nothing on the bed. >look under it You find nothing of interest. >lie in it I didn't understand that sentence. >enter it You decide to try the bed. Lying down on it, however, you spring back up quickly, because something stung you. You take a closer look and notice a short piece of loose iron wire on the bed. It must have dropped from Uncle Jim's pocket at some time. You take the iron wire. >fish That's not a verb I recognise. >use That's not a verb I recognise. >x table You see nothing special about the table. >search it There is nothing on the table. >look under it You find nothing of interest. >move it It is fixed in place. >move bed It is fixed in place. >take key (the silver key) The crack is too narrow for you to fit your hand into. Trying to fish the key out with some extra means might be a very good idea. >fish That's not a verb I recognise. >take key with wire (the aluminum key with the iron wire) That doesn't work. >x crack In the small pit is a silver key. >put wire in crack That would not accomplish anything useful. >x wire It is a short piece of iron wire. Untangled, it is about two feet long. >bend it That's not a verb I recognise. >twist wire Nothing obvious happens. >tangle wire That's not a verb I recognise. >straighten wire That's not a verb I recognise. >hook That's not a verb I recognise. >pull key with wire You can't see any such thing. >pull key (the aluminum key) Nothing obvious happens. >push it Nothing obvious happens. >take key (the silver key) The crack is too narrow for you to fit your hand into. Trying to fish the key out with some extra means might be a very good idea. >take key with wire (the aluminum key with the iron wire) That doesn't work. >s North Of Chasm You are in a very low passage, forcing you to proceed by crawling. There is a wide chasm to the south, and the passage widens to the north. >s You proceed south crossing the chasm with the help of the plank just like a while ago. South Of Chasm You are in a very low passage, forcing you to proceed by crawling. There is a wide chasm in the cave floor. The lake shore is to the south. >s Mouth Of Very Low Tunnel You are standing on the northern shore of a small underground lake. "Shore" might be stretching it, as the brink here is very narrow. A very low tunnel leads north. A small dinghy is here, pulled half out of the water. >s You enter the boat and launch it. Underground Lake (in the dinghy) You are in the middle of a small underground lake. Overground, it might just pass for a pond, but here it indeed feels like a lake. The ceiling is very high up here, minerals glistening in the pale light of the lamp like stars in the sky. You can land to the north, northwest, west and south, and the underground river is to the east. >s You bring the boat to the shore. Southern Shore Of Underground Lake You are standing on a tiny, uneven stretch of land on the brink of the underground lake, to the north. A wide tunnel with plenty of headspace leads south from here. A small dinghy is here, pulled half out of the water. >s Wide Tunnel Seems like Unde Jim has been doing some extensive excavations in this area. There are clear signs of the tunnel walls having been dug on, and because of that, it is probably much wider than what it has been to begin with. The tunnel ends in a small nook boarded with wide planks, making the nook impossible for you to access. An old pickaxe lies on the ground behind the planks. It is just out of your reach. >take pickaxe with wire That doesn't work. >pull axe Nothing obvious happens. >pull axe with wire I only understood you as far as wanting to pull the pickaxe. >n Southern Shore Of Underground Lake You are standing on a tiny, uneven stretch of land on the brink of the underground lake, to the north. A wide tunnel with plenty of headspace leads south from here. A small dinghy is here, pulled half out of the water. >e You can't go that way. >n You enter the boat and launch it. Underground Lake (in the dinghy) You are in the middle of a small underground lake. Overground, it might just pass for a pond, but here it indeed feels like a lake. The ceiling is very high up here, minerals glistening in the pale light of the lamp like stars in the sky. You can land to the north, northwest, west and south, and the underground river is to the east. >e You paddle the boat east along the underground river. Underground River (in the dinghy) You are in a small dinghy on an underground river, continuing to the west and to the northeast. The water of the river is black and cold-looking in the pale light of the oil lamp. The cave is rather high here. You can land to the south where a small passage leads to the ladder. >ne You paddle to the northeast for a while. The cave becomes gradually lower, and after a while it is impossible to progress any further; the cave ceiling gets just too low, making the river impassable further northeast. You return back to where you started. >ne You paddle to the northeast for a while. The cave becomes gradually lower, and after a while it is impossible to progress any further; the cave ceiling gets just too low, making the river impassable further northeast. You return back to where you started. >w You paddle west along the river for a longish while until it widens into a small underground lake. Underground Lake (in the dinghy) You are in the middle of a small underground lake. Overground, it might just pass for a pond, but here it indeed feels like a lake. The ceiling is very high up here, minerals glistening in the pale light of the lamp like stars in the sky. You can land to the north, northwest, west and south, and the underground river is to the east. >w You bring the boat to the shore. Western Shore Of Underground Lake You are standing on a small level area west of the underground lake. A small dinghy is here, pulled half out of the water. A sturdy door in the cave wall blocks further passage west. There is no handle or knob in the door, but there is a small lever jutting out of a slit in the ground just beside it that is probably there to operate the door. >x slit In the slit is a pebble. >take pebble with wire That doesn't work. >put wire in slit That would not accomplish anything useful. >poke That's not a verb I recognise. >pull pebble with wire I only understood you as far as wanting to pull the pebble. >x wire It is a short piece of iron wire. Untangled, it is about two feet long. >i You are carrying: an iron wire a diary a small pit a silver key a plank an oil lamp a sign a matchbox (open) some matches a bottle of oil an aluminum key >open small pit It isn't something you can open. >i You are carrying: an iron wire a diary a small pit a silver key a plank an oil lamp a sign a matchbox (open) some matches a bottle of oil an aluminum key >e You enter the boat and launch it. Underground Lake (in the dinghy) You are in the middle of a small underground lake. Overground, it might just pass for a pond, but here it indeed feels like a lake. The ceiling is very high up here, minerals glistening in the pale light of the lamp like stars in the sky. You can land to the north, northwest, west and south, and the underground river is to the east. >i You are carrying: an iron wire a diary a small pit a silver key a plank an oil lamp a sign a matchbox (open) some matches a bottle of oil an aluminum key >open pit It isn't something you can open. >take key (the silver key) The crack is too narrow for you to fit your hand into. Trying to fish the key out with some extra means might be a very good idea. >turn pit Nothing obvious happens. >shake pit That's not a verb I recognise. >eat pit That's plainly inedible. >n You bring the boat to the shore. Mouth Of Very Low Tunnel You are standing on the northern shore of a small underground lake. "Shore" might be stretching it, as the brink here is very narrow. A very low tunnel leads north. A small dinghy is here, pulled half out of the water. >n You get on all fours and enter the low tunnel. South Of Chasm You are in a very low passage, forcing you to proceed by crawling. There is a wide chasm in the cave floor. The lake shore is to the south. >n You cross the chasm crawling cautiously along the plank. It holds your weight. Having managed to cross, you take the plank again. North Of Chasm You are in a very low passage, forcing you to proceed by crawling. There is a wide chasm to the south, and the passage widens to the north. >n You emerge into a bigger cave, allowing you to stand up. Secret Hideout You are in a small chamber which must have been Uncle JIm's secret base underground. There is a small bed and a table here. You can see even some clothes hanging from iron nails in the cliff walls. You can exit to the south. >n You can't go that way. >drop pit Dropped. >i You are carrying: a plank an iron wire a diary an oil lamp a sign a matchbox (open) some matches a bottle of oil an aluminum key >l Secret Hideout You are in a small chamber which must have been Uncle JIm's secret base underground. There is a small bed and a table here. You can see even some clothes hanging from iron nails in the cliff walls. You can exit to the south. You can see a small pit (in which is a silver key) here. >take pit Taken. >take key (the silver key) The crack is too narrow for you to fit your hand into. Trying to fish the key out with some extra means might be a very good idea. >make That's not a verb I recognise. >use That's not a verb I recognise. >put wire on key (the aluminum key) Putting things on the aluminum key would achieve nothing. >put wire on silver key Putting things on the silver key would achieve nothing. >s North Of Chasm You are in a very low passage, forcing you to proceed by crawling. There is a wide chasm to the south, and the passage widens to the north. >s You proceed south crossing the chasm with the help of the plank just like a while ago. South Of Chasm You are in a very low passage, forcing you to proceed by crawling. There is a wide chasm in the cave floor. The lake shore is to the south. >s Mouth Of Very Low Tunnel You are standing on the northern shore of a small underground lake. "Shore" might be stretching it, as the brink here is very narrow. A very low tunnel leads north. A small dinghy is here, pulled half out of the water. >s You enter the boat and launch it. Underground Lake (in the dinghy) You are in the middle of a small underground lake. Overground, it might just pass for a pond, but here it indeed feels like a lake. The ceiling is very high up here, minerals glistening in the pale light of the lamp like stars in the sky. You can land to the north, northwest, west and south, and the underground river is to the east. >e You paddle the boat east along the underground river. Underground River (in the dinghy) You are in a small dinghy on an underground river, continuing to the west and to the northeast. The water of the river is black and cold-looking in the pale light of the oil lamp. The cave is rather high here. You can land to the south where a small passage leads to the ladder. >s You bring the dinghy to the shore. Brink Of An Underground River You are on a narrow brink south of a small underground river which passes from the northeast to the west. In the pale light of the oil lamp, the water is black and still. The cave is rather high here. You can go southeast into the low passage leading back to the bottom of the ladder. A small dinghy is here, pulled half out of the water. >se Low Passage The air is cold and damp down here. A low passage leads northwest, and a ladder leads back up to the store. You can see a ladder here. >u You climb up the ladder. Inside The Store The inside of the store is almost empty of any inventory. Some wooden shelves with random leftover items line the walls. Close to the back wall of the room is a seller's counter, empty save an antique cash register. Big, protective sheets of brown cardboard cover parts of the floor, and the walls are plastered with old, yellowing newspapers. It's a perfect scene... of something in need of a complete makeover. The (useless) door and the large open window are on the south wall. There is a dark opening in the floor. A ladder leads down into it. >take all ladder: You decide it's the best thing to leave the ladder where it is. >x items The shelves lining the walls are mostly empty. They support only a few random leftover items: empty bottles, old oil lamps, empty cardboard boxes, old magazines, fishing hooks and even something that you recognize to be a peel for taking bread or pizza out of an oven. >take hook Taken. >take peel Taken. >take magazines They're just the kind of magazines you thought they might be. Whatever the case, now is not the time for reading them. >d You descend the ladder into the dark opening, Low Passage The air is cold and damp down here. A low passage leads northwest, and a ladder leads back up to the store. >nw You need to stoop your head quite a bit when going in the low passage. It slants downward, deeper into the ground. Soon enough, though, the cave becomes more spacious. Brink Of An Underground River You are on a narrow brink south of a small underground river which passes from the northeast to the west. In the pale light of the oil lamp, the water is black and still. The cave is rather high here. You can go southeast into the low passage leading back to the bottom of the ladder. A small dinghy is here, pulled half out of the water. >enter dinghy (Just state the direction where you want to go, you will automatically enter and exit the dinghy when you need to.) >w You need to be in the dinghy to be able to proceed west along the river. >ne You need to be in the dinghy to be able to proceed northeast along the river. >n You launch the dinghy. Underground River (in the dinghy) You are in a small dinghy on an underground river, continuing to the west and to the northeast. The water of the river is black and cold-looking in the pale light of the oil lamp. The cave is rather high here. You can land to the south where a small passage leads to the ladder. >w You paddle west along the river for a longish while until it widens into a small underground lake. Underground Lake (in the dinghy) You are in the middle of a small underground lake. Overground, it might just pass for a pond, but here it indeed feels like a lake. The ceiling is very high up here, minerals glistening in the pale light of the lamp like stars in the sky. You can land to the north, northwest, west and south, and the underground river is to the east. >n You bring the boat to the shore. Mouth Of Very Low Tunnel You are standing on the northern shore of a small underground lake. "Shore" might be stretching it, as the brink here is very narrow. A very low tunnel leads north. A small dinghy is here, pulled half out of the water. >n You get on all fours and enter the low tunnel. South Of Chasm You are in a very low passage, forcing you to proceed by crawling. There is a wide chasm in the cave floor. The lake shore is to the south. >n You cross the chasm crawling cautiously along the plank. It holds your weight. Having managed to cross, you take the plank again. North Of Chasm You are in a very low passage, forcing you to proceed by crawling. There is a wide chasm to the south, and the passage widens to the north. >n You emerge into a bigger cave, allowing you to stand up. Secret Hideout You are in a small chamber which must have been Uncle JIm's secret base underground. There is a small bed and a table here. You can see even some clothes hanging from iron nails in the cliff walls. You can exit to the south. >n You can't go that way. >i You are carrying: a plank a pizza peel a fishing hook a small pit a silver key an iron wire a diary an oil lamp a sign a matchbox (open) some matches a bottle of oil an aluminum key >put hook on wire Putting things on the iron wire would achieve nothing. >x peel It is a wooden peel with a long shaft and a wide head. It is for taking bread or pizza out of an oven. >tie What do you want to tie? >hook What do you want to tie the fishing hook to? >wire You tie the iron wire to the fishing hook. Now it looks as if the hook is attached to a short line. >fish That's not a verb I recognise. >take silver key with hook You lower the hook into the crack by the wire you tied to it. You manage to grab the keyring with the hook and lift the whole key slowly out of the crack. You take the key. >l Secret Hideout You are in a small chamber which must have been Uncle JIm's secret base underground. There is a small bed and a table here. You can see even some clothes hanging from iron nails in the cliff walls. You can exit to the south. >take clothes Uncle Jim's clothes - jackets, pants, shirts - and other belongings are hanging from the nails. You are not especially interested in them right now. >search slothes You can't see any such thing. >x nail The iron nail is not important. >x nails Uncle Jim's clothes - jackets, pants, shirts - and other belongings are hanging from the nails. You are not especially interested in them right now. >s North Of Chasm You are in a very low passage, forcing you to proceed by crawling. There is a wide chasm to the south, and the passage widens to the north. >i You are carrying: a hook tied to a wire a silver key a plank a pizza peel a small pit a diary an oil lamp a sign a matchbox (open) some matches a bottle of oil an aluminum key >s You proceed south crossing the chasm with the help of the plank just like a while ago. South Of Chasm You are in a very low passage, forcing you to proceed by crawling. There is a wide chasm in the cave floor. The lake shore is to the south. >s Mouth Of Very Low Tunnel You are standing on the northern shore of a small underground lake. "Shore" might be stretching it, as the brink here is very narrow. A very low tunnel leads north. A small dinghy is here, pulled half out of the water. >s You enter the boat and launch it. Underground Lake (in the dinghy) You are in the middle of a small underground lake. Overground, it might just pass for a pond, but here it indeed feels like a lake. The ceiling is very high up here, minerals glistening in the pale light of the lamp like stars in the sky. You can land to the north, northwest, west and south, and the underground river is to the east. >w You bring the boat to the shore. Western Shore Of Underground Lake You are standing on a small level area west of the underground lake. A small dinghy is here, pulled half out of the water. A sturdy door in the cave wall blocks further passage west. There is no handle or knob in the door, but there is a small lever jutting out of a slit in the ground just beside it that is probably there to operate the door. >take pebble with hook That doesn't work. >take pebble with wire That doesn't work. >x pebble A small pebble is stuck in the slit, obstructing the lever from being pulled. >i You are carrying: a hook tied to a wire a silver key a plank a pizza peel a small pit a diary an oil lamp a sign a matchbox (open) some matches a bottle of oil an aluminum key >put peel in slit That would not accomplish anything useful. >put hook in slit That would not accomplish anything useful. >put key in slit Which do you mean, the silver key or the aluminum key? >silver That would not accomplish anything useful. >e You enter the boat and launch it. Underground Lake (in the dinghy) You are in the middle of a small underground lake. Overground, it might just pass for a pond, but here it indeed feels like a lake. The ceiling is very high up here, minerals glistening in the pale light of the lamp like stars in the sky. You can land to the north, northwest, west and south, and the underground river is to the east. >s You bring the boat to the shore. Southern Shore Of Underground Lake You are standing on a tiny, uneven stretch of land on the brink of the underground lake, to the north. A wide tunnel with plenty of headspace leads south from here. A small dinghy is here, pulled half out of the water. >s Wide Tunnel Seems like Unde Jim has been doing some extensive excavations in this area. There are clear signs of the tunnel walls having been dug on, and because of that, it is probably much wider than what it has been to begin with. The tunnel ends in a small nook boarded with wide planks, making the nook impossible for you to access. An old pickaxe lies on the ground behind the planks. It is just out of your reach. >take axe with peel You push the pizza peel under the planks into the nook and manage to glide it under the pickaxe until the pickaxe rests on the peel. Carefully, you pull the peel out from the nook together with the pickaxe. Voilà! You take the pickaxe. >n Southern Shore Of Underground Lake You are standing on a tiny, uneven stretch of land on the brink of the underground lake, to the north. A wide tunnel with plenty of headspace leads south from here. A small dinghy is here, pulled half out of the water. >n You enter the boat and launch it. Underground Lake (in the dinghy) You are in the middle of a small underground lake. Overground, it might just pass for a pond, but here it indeed feels like a lake. The ceiling is very high up here, minerals glistening in the pale light of the lamp like stars in the sky. You can land to the north, northwest, west and south, and the underground river is to the east. >w You bring the boat to the shore. Western Shore Of Underground Lake You are standing on a small level area west of the underground lake. A small dinghy is here, pulled half out of the water. A sturdy door in the cave wall blocks further passage west. There is no handle or knob in the door, but there is a small lever jutting out of a slit in the ground just beside it that is probably there to operate the door. >hit pebble with axe You hit the pebble with the pickaxe. After a couple of strikes, the pebble grumbles into small pieces. You can pull the lever freely now. >pull lever You pull the lever, causing the sturdy door to slide open. For such a sturdy door, it opens remarkably quietly. >l Western Shore Of Underground Lake You are standing on a small level area west of the underground lake. A small dinghy is here, pulled half out of the water. You have opened the sturdy door, and an open passage leads west. >w Round Cave You are in a round cave with a high ceiling. There is an antique, heavy-looking wooden chest in the middle of the cave floor. You can exit east. >open chest It seems to be locked. >unlock it (with the silver key) You unlock the chest. Its lid is rather heavy to lift, but when you manage doing it, your eyes grow big in awe. The chest is full of gold nuggets! So, this is the real inheritance your uncle left to you. There is a small note on top of the nuggets, saying: "Hi there (your name), I hope it is really you who is reading this. Yes, I might have neglected the store in favor of doing my excavations down here, but I think you agree it was a good decision. I came upon this underground area completely by chance. With my findings, I have been able to live well off and travel around in places. The rest, the wealth that I haven't needed and won't need, I leave to your possession. Do whatever you want with it. You know, we went on some fishing trips together years ago. It was a difficult time of my life, because I had just lost my wife. Those shared fishing trips helped me, in their way, to recover and carry on - as you know, we didn't have kids of our own. That's why I wanted to leave this to you. Take care, and farewell." Two months later. You have reopened the store, newly painted, clean and inviting-looking. You sell gas, snacks and various other useful items that people in the middle of nowhere need to buy. There's actually a good amount of traffic passing the store in the course of the day. You have an assistant helping you (and by hiring him from West Middleton, the employment rate of the said settlement went up by a two-digit percentage), so you can take time off from tending the shop and do whatever else you like when you feel like it - it's not like you can't afford it. And still on top of this, you earn something extra by offering guided tours to an underground lake - it's a hit among your customers. *** The End *** Would you like to RESTART, RESTORE a saved game, QUIT or UNDO the last command? >