Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Chapter 15: Gonna Raise Hell (Cheap Trick, 1979)

Check yourself! You need the lamp, bottle, matches, bell, candles, book and the egg (unless you already gave it to the Thief). Use the inventory command to see what you are carrying and then take accordingly.

>turn on lamp

>down

Cellar

>east

Troll Room

>north

East-West Passage

>east

Round Room

>east

Grail Room

>east

Narrow Crawlway

>south

[Tiny Cave] This is a tiny cave with entrances west and north, and a dark, forbidding staircase leading down.

>down

[Entrance to Hades] You are outside a large gateway, on which is inscribed:

"Abandon every hope, all ye who enter here."


The gate is open. Through it you can see a desolation, with a pile of mangled corpses in one corner. Thousands of voices, lamenting some hideous fate, can be heard. The way through the gate is barred by evil spirits, who jeer at your attempts to pass.

Fun place. Are you sure you want to get in there? Very well. Consider the phrase "bell, book, and candle," which refers to a method of excommunication in the Catholic Church for one who had committed a particularly grievous sin. The bishop would ring a bell to evoke a death toll, close a holy book to symbolize the ex-communicant's separation from the church, and snuff out a candle or candles, knocking them to the floor to represent the target's soul being extinguished and removed from the light of God.

Trying that order (bell, book, candle) and that process (ring, close, extinguish) isn't possible, as the book cannot be closed. Fortunately there aren't too many options...the bell must be rung and the book must be read. Since we are not excommunicating anyone, but rather removing evil spirits, we want to light the candles. Just to make it harder to figure out, the candles must be out when starting the process. To frustrate you further, the order is bell, candle and book. Didn't these Zorkers ever watch "Bell, Book and Candle" with Jimmy Stewart and Kim Novak? Sheesh. Finally, you must have all three in your hands to make it work. Okay, let's get started.

>ring bell

Ding, dong.

The bell suddenly becomes red hot and falls to the ground. The wraiths, as if paralyzed, stop their jeering and slowly turn to face you. On their ashen faces, the expression of a long-forgotten terror takes shape.


Great...a red-hot bell. Good thing we have water.

>open bottle

Opened.

>pour water on bell

The water cools the bell and is evaporated.

>take bell

Taken.

>light match

One of the matches starts to burn.

>light candles with match

The candles are lit. The flames flicker wildly and appear to dance. The earth beneath your feet trembles, and your legs nearly buckle beneath you. The spirits cower at your unearthly power. The match has gone out.

Two down, one to go.

>read book

Each word of the prayer reverberates through the hall in a deafening confusion. As the last word fades, a voice, loud and commanding, speaks: "Begone, fiends!" A heart-stopping scream fills the cavern, and the spirits, sensing a greater power, flee through the walls.

Suh-weet! You 1, evil spirits 0.

>extinguish candles

The flame is extinguished.

>east

[Land of the Living Dead] You have entered the Land of the Living Dead, a large desolate room. Although it is apparently uninhabited, you can hear the sounds of thousands of lost souls weeping and moaning. In the east corner are stacked the remains of dozens of previous adventurers who were less fortunate than yourself. To the east is an ornate passage, apparently recently constructed. A passage exits to the west.

>east

[Tomb of the Unknown Implementer] This is the Tomb of the Unknown Implementer. A hollow voice says, "That's not a bug, it's a feature!" In the north wall of the room is the Crypt of the Implementers. It is made of the finest marble and is apparently large enough for four headless corpses. The crypt is closed. Above the entrance is the cryptic inscription: "Feel Free".

To the south is a small opening, apparently of recent origin. There are four heads here, mounted securely on poles. There is a large pile of empty Coke bottles here, evidently produced by the implementers during their long struggle to win totally. There is a gigantic pile of line-printer output here. Although the paper once contained useful information, almost nothing can be distinguished now.


Interesting. The Coke bottles are useless, as they can’t be filled with liquid. They can be broken, but were apparently made of magic glass and disappear immediately. The output is also useless, as it weighs a lot which makes it impractical to carry around. Trying anything at this point will result in the message "Although the implementers are dead, they foresaw that some cretin would tamper with their remains. Therefore, they took steps to punish such actions. Unfortunately, we've run out of poles. Therefore, in punishment for your most grievous sin, we shall deprive you of all your valuables, and of your life." We'll revisit this place, but for now we have other treasures to find.

>west

Land of the Living Dead

>west

Entrance to Hades

>up

Tiny Cave

>west

Mirror Room

The Reservoir will be drained by now, so let's ride the magic mirror transport and head over there.

>touch mirror

There is a rumble from deep within the earth, and the room shakes.

>east

Cave

>down

Atlantis Room

 
>se

Reservoir North

>south

[Reservoir] You are on what used to be a large reservoir, but which is now a large mud pile. There are "shores" to the north and south. Lying half buried in the mud is an old trunk, bulging with jewels.

>take trunk

Taken.

>north

Reservoir North

>north

Atlantis Room

>up

Cave

>north

Mirror Room

>west

Cold Passage

>west

Slide Room

Whhhhhheeeeeeeeeeeeee!

>down

Cellar

>up

>turn off lamp

The lamp is off now.

>put trunk in case

Done.

>drop all but lamp

>save

Saved. 


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