The Beast of Torrack Moor

An interactive fiction by Linda Wright (2007) - the Inform 7 source text

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Chapter 4 - Moorland

Section 1 - Torrack Moor

[ Rooms ]

Steep Path is a room in Moorland. The printed name is "A Steep Path". "Emerging from beneath the gate to the west, this path winds its way up the hillside towards the moorland, whilst dark rain clouds scurry across the sky and the wind becomes increasingly stronger."

Moor-room is a room in Moorland, above A Steep Path. The printed name is "Torrack Moor". "Shivering, you glance downwards at the path which leads to the pasture and eventually to the village before looking across the moor itself, across which several paths wind their way through the grass and bracken."

Moor-room-2 is a room in Moorland. The printed name is "The Moor". "Desolate and dreary, Torrack Moor is no place to be without a map, as you could wander for ages without any idea where you are, stretching as it does in all visible directions, with few landmarks to guide you.". Moor-room-2 is east of moor-room-2, north of moor-room-2, south of moor-room-2, northeast of moor-room-2, southeast of moor-room-2, northwest of moor-room-2, southwest of moor-room-2. West of moor-room-2 is moor-room.

Moor-room-3 is a room in Moorland, east of moor-room. The printed name is "The Moor". "With exits in most directions, this windswept part of the moor offers no shelter at all, and is definitely not a place to remain for long."

Moor-room-4 is a room in Moorland, north of moor-room-3, northeast of moor-room. The printed name is "The Moor". "A few scraggly birch trees grow here amongst the bracken and rocks, whilst to the east you notice strange shapes that look, through the rain-drenched air, like giants, whilst other exits lead off in most directions."

A Dangerous Path is a room in Moorland, east of Moor-room-3 and southeast of moor-room-4. "This north-south path, at times dangerously close to the sheer drop to the east, leads to some tall stones in one direction and to the base of a cliff in the other, whilst other rough tracks lead off in westerly directions through the bracken."

The Standing Stones is a room in Moorland, north of A Dangerous Path, east of moor-room-4 and northeast of moor-room-3. "Large slabs of rock, all partly buried in the muddy earth, tower above you, reminiscent of giant-like figures standing guard. A narrow path leads south, whilst the ground to the east falls sharply into the valley below[if the oak tree is in the location]. The wind, meanwhile, howls loudly around the stones and a nearby tree, causing it to sway alarmingly, and you to shiver![otherwise].[end if]"

The Cliff-Face is a room in Moorland, south of A Dangerous Path and southeast of Moor-Room-3. "A rocky cliff looming above you prevents progress south, whilst a dangerous path leads north and an extremely steep scree-covered path leads down into the valley below, from where you can hear the distant roar of water crashing over rocks." West of cliff-face is moor-room-3.

A Very Steep Path is a room in Moorland, east of Cliff-Face and below Cliff-Face. "Scree and shale make this path very difficult to negotiate and, should anyone be foolish enough to descend without being suitably equipped, they may find that they end up with, at the very least, a twisted ankle."

[ Backdrops ]

Torrack Moor is in Moorland.
The grass-and-bracken is a backdrop. The grass-and-bracken is in a steep path and moor-room. Understand "grass" and "bracken" as the grass-and-bracken. The printed name is "grass and bracken".
The moor-paths are a backdrop. The moor-paths are in a steep path and moor-room and moor-room-2 and moor-room-3 and standing stones and cliff-face. Understand "paths" and "path" and "tracks" and "track" as the moor-paths. The moor-paths have printed name "paths".
The village is a backdrop. The village is in a steep path and moor-room.
The stones-object is a backdrop. The printed name is "standing stones". Understand "standing" and "stones" as the stones-object. It is in a dangerous path and the standing stones.
The valley is a backdrop. It is in a dangerous path and the standing stones.

[ A STEEP PATH ]

The hillside is scenery in steep path.

[ Oddly, the player automatically climbs the gate when going back over it ]
Before going west in a steep path:
    send the player to rough pasture instead.

[ TORRACK MOOR ]
The pasture-object is scenery in moor-room. Understand "pasture" as the pasture-object. The printed name is "pasture".

[ MOOR ROOM ]

[ If the player doesn't have the map, he's moved to moor-room-2, in which every direction leads to...moor-room-2. Only by holding the map can he get anywhere. ]
Before going east in moor-room:
    if the player is not carrying the map begin;
        send the player to moor-room-2 instead;
    end if.

Before going northeast in moor-room:
    if the player is not carrying the map begin;
        send the player to moor-room-2 instead;
    end if.

Before going southeast in moor-room:
    if the player is not carrying the map begin;
        send the player to moor-room-2 instead;
    end if.

[ MOOR ROOM 2 ]

[ Going east when carrying the map lets the player escape...]
Before going east when in moor-room-2:
    if the player is carrying the map begin;
        send the player to moor-room-3 instead;
    end if.

[ MOOR ROOM 3 ]

[ There are a few non-standard map connections in this area...]
South of moor-room-3 is cliff-face.

[ MOOR ROOM 4 ]
The birch trees are scenery in moor-room-4. The description is "Covered in bark."

Some birch bark is part of the birch trees. It is flammable. The description is "[if the bark is part of the birch trees]Some of the bark is loose, and easy to pull off[otherwise]Dry, it's the type of bark that Scouts and Guides often use to light fires[end if]."

[ "detach" the bark before taking it ]
Before taking the bark when the bark is part of the birch trees:
    now the bark is in the location.

Instead of going west when in moor-room-4:
    send the player to moor-room.

[ A DANGEROUS PATH ]

[ The bracken conceals the stout branch ]
A stout branch is a hidden object. Understand "stick" as the stout branch.

The bracken is a hider in a dangerous path. The bracken is scenery. The hidden of the bracken is the stout branch. The exclamation of the bracken is "Ah!". The takeflag of the bracken is 0. The scorename of the bracken is "discovering a useful branch".

[ STANDING STONES ]

The oak tree is scenery in standing stones. Understand "trunk" as oak tree. The description is "Once a grand oak, it's now dead, although it still offers some shelter from the elements - however, its gnarled trunk bends alarmingly towards the rock covered slope, and it looks rather unsafe."

Instead of climbing the oak tree:
    say "Nope! It doesn't look safe enough!".

The slope is scenery in standing stones.

[ The oak tree must be blown (explosively) over. However, it will be made unsteady first by digging a hole beside it ]
The oak tree can be safe, unsteady or blown. The oak tree is safe.

Instead of pushing the oak tree:
    if the oak tree is safe,
        say "Right! Unfortunately for you, it's safer than you first thought, and doesn't budge... perhaps if you scraped away some of the surrounding earth?";
    otherwise
        say "OK. Heave, shove, push... Nope! Still won't budge! Blasted thing, isn't it?";

A small hole is not portable. It is a container. The printed name is "small hole[if the pouch is in the hole and the wick is part of the pouch] with a fuse leading in to it[end if]".

The large hole is not portable. It is a container.

Instead of inserting something into the small hole:
    if the noun is not the pouch begin;
        say "I don't think that will achieve much...";
    otherwise;
        move the pouch to the small hole;
        say "Ok, that's done.";
    end if.

Instead of inserting something into the large hole:
    say "I don't think that will achieve much...".

Instead of digging when in standing stones:
    try digging into oak tree.

Instead of digging into oak tree when in standing stones and the player is carrying the trowel and the oak tree is safe:
    now the oak tree is unsteady;
    move the small hole to standing stones;
    say "The ground is much harder than you think... however, you finally manage to dig a small hole next to the tree...";
    record "undermining a tree" as achieved.

[ Allow the pouch to be lit only when it has a wick and it's in the hole beside the tree ]
Instead of burning the pouch when the player is carrying the matches:
    if the wick is not part of the pouch begin;
        say "That would be dangerous! Perhaps it would be safer if a fuse was stuck to the pouch?";
    otherwise;
        if the pouch is not in the small hole begin;
            say "Not right now... that would be dangerous!";
        otherwise;
            say "Lighting the fuse, you retreat to safety behind one of the stones - a [bold type]BOOM![roman type] follows, and the tree slowly topples, before crashing down the slope, causing various rocks to tumble with it to the valley below... Vandal! Still, it was unsafe...";
            remove the small hole from play;
            move the large hole to standing stones;
            move the bridge to third river's edge;
            now the oak tree is blown;
            remove the oak tree from play;
            remove the pouch from play;
            remove the wick from play;
            record "felling a tree in the name of progress" as achieved.
        end if;
    end if.

[ Allow "light wick" when the wick is on the pouch ]
Instead of burning the wick when the player is carrying the matches:
    if the wick is part of the pouch begin;
        try burning the pouch;
    otherwise if the wick is part of the candle;
        try burning the candle;
    otherwise;
        say "That would be dangerous!";
    end if.

Instead of burning the wick when the wick is part of the candle:
    try burning the candle.

[ The wick is obtained by breaking the candle ]
Instead of breaking the candle:
    if the candle is lit begin;
        say "That would be dangerous!";
    otherwise;
        say "The wax crumbles away, leaving you with a long wick.";
        remove the candle from play;
        move the wick to the player;
    end if.

[ Code to handle the player lighting the candle - pointless, but for realism... ]
Instead of burning the candle when the player is carrying the matches:
    if the candle is lit begin;
        say "The candle is already lit.";
    otherwise;
        now the candle is lit;
        say "OK, that's done.";
        the candle blows out in three turns from now;
    end if.

At the time when the candle blows out:
    say "The candle has just blown out.";
    now the candle is unlit.
    
[ The wick becomes a fuse when tied to the pouch ]
Instead of tying the wick to the pouch:
    if the wick is part of the candle begin;
        say "The wick is stuck in the candle.";
    otherwise;
        if the wick is part of the pouch begin;
            say "That's already done.";
        otherwise;
            say "You tie the wick to the pouch.";
            now the wick is part of the pouch;
        end if;
    end if.

Instead of inserting the wick into the pouch:
    try tying the wick to the pouch.

Instead of putting the wick on the pouch:
    try tying the wick to the pouch.

[ A VERY STEEP PATH ]
The scree and the shale are scenery in a very steep path.

[ The player must be wearing the shoes and carrying the stick to proceed here ]
Instead of going down when in a very steep path:
    if the player is wearing the sturdy shoes begin;
        if the player is carrying the stout branch begin;
            send the player to river's edge;
        otherwise;
            say "You start to descend, but despite the shoes you begin to slip and are forced to return to the top, wishing that you had something else to help you...";
        end if;
    otherwise;
        say "Wheee! You slide down the steep path and end up at the bottom with a broken ankle, a fractured wrist and a sore backside. Unable to walk, you lie shivering, drenched by the rain, until the Ranger, one one of his forays onto the moor, finds you, lectures you and sends you to hospital, where you remain for some time...[paragraph break]Disgusted by your stupidity, the editor fires your, and you skulk off into the sunset, never to return...";
        end the game saying "You really should have been properly equipped!";
    end if.