Bronze — 16 of 46

Section 5 - The Lie Library

[Here the player may end the game when he has the right selection of possessions, so we have a lot of material associated with the book return stand.]

The Lie Library is north of the Black Gallery and east of the Smoke-Damaged Chamber. The description of the Lie Library is "Fables, fictions, and falsehoods, arranged by number by type, and containing such categories as 'In which the hero receives help from three aged figures,' 'In which the villain has a mysterious name,' and so on."

The ivory door is a door. It is closed and lockable and locked. The ivory key unlocks the ivory door. The description of the ivory key is "It is not all ivory, of course, just a metal shaft with ivory in the handle."

The book return stand is a supporter in the Lie Library. The description is "Carvings around the outer edge of the stand indicate how one should use it: a small tonsured figure places a book on the stand, then rings a bell; whereupon a librarian, bearing the traditional shackles and sheets of a ghost, appears to take it away." Understand "bookstand" or "carving" or "carvings" or "figure" or "librarian" or "shackles" as the stand.

Before attacking a ringer when the contract book is in Storage-Box:

say "All the servants of the castle are now released, and none will serve you." instead.

Definition: the glass bell is unsolved if the contract book is not in Storage-Box. Definition: the Lie Library is unsolved if the contract book is not in Storage-Box.

Definition: the glass bell is solved if the contract book is in Storage-Box.

Definition: the Lie Library is solved if the contract book is in Storage-Box.

Instead of attacking the glass bell in the Lie Library:

if the contract book is on the book return stand

begin;

if the inkpot is on the book return stand and the inkpot is full

begin;

move glass bell to bellroom;

move contract book to Storage-Box;

say "You summon the librarian, who comes and looks at the contract book: you see this as a sort of fog. It frowns at the condition of some of the pages, then searches the front and back of the book; then, grimacing, it takes out a red seal like those used in the empire of the Chan.

It inks this carefully from the inkpot, then stamps inside the front of the book:[paragraph break]";

center "PROPERTY OF THE LIE LIBRARY";

center "DO NOT REMOVE";

say "[paragraph break]...whereupon the contracts inside begin to unravel and dissolve into the merest stories.";

if feast is in Storage-Box

begin;

say "[line break]Of course, this means that you are unable to find any food, since the kitchen staff no longer exists to prepare it. The Beast, though still alive, will not survive until you can fetch something. But perhaps that is a small price to pay for all the souls you have liberated.";

end the story saying "You have made an exchange";

end if;

if the Beast is in Storage-Box

begin;

end the story saying "You have punished the Beast for his sins and set free his slaves";

stop the action;

end if;

if girdle is in Storage-Box

begin;

say "[line break]You never do discover any final rest or cure for the Beast. But perhaps that is a small price to pay for all the souls you have liberated.";

end the story saying "You have made an exchange";

end if;

stop the action;

otherwise;

say "You summon the librarian, who comes and looks at the contract book: you see this as a sort of fog. It frowns at the condition of some of the pages, then searches the front and back of the book; then, grimacing, it takes out a red seal like those used in the empire of the Chan. It is about to mark the contract book property of the Lie Library, when it discovers that its seal ink has dried up: so the stamp has no efficacy. Disappointed, it vanishes again.";

stop the action;

end if;

end if;

if the storybook is on the book return stand

begin;

move the storybook to the Lie Library;

say "You summon the librarian, who turns up, sees the storybook, and restores it to its place. But you could easily get it out again." instead;

end if;

if something is on the book return stand, say "You summon the librarian, who comes and looks at [the list of things on the book return stand]. Then it foggily shakes its head and goes away again." instead;

otherwise say "You summon the librarian, who comes and looks at the empty book stand, then goes away disappointed."

The storybook is a thing on the book return stand. The description of the storybook is "A collection of fanciful tales 'which were once true but are no longer'. It is stamped across the front as having been inducted into the Lie Library." The printing of the storybook is "Once upon a time, there was a young Russian girl whose mother died, leaving behind only a painted wooden clapper which made a loud noise. When the girl's father married again, the second wife was very cruel and miserly... (etc. at some length); but whenever the girl was lonely, she took the wooden clapper to the mirror in her mother's bedroom and clapped it loudly; and her mother's spirit would appear to her and advise her... (And so on, for several dozen pages of adventure, ending in marriage to the Tsar.)".