Frobozz Magic Support
Nate Cull
fan fiction TADS TADS 2 walkthrough Xyzzy Awards 1996 XYZZY Best Individual NPC Zork
You play as a novice glyph support clerk but no one's around but an animated burin. It seems the more experienced support clerks are either lost, got themselves un-implemented, or got stuck in a timeloop. And, of course, everyone else in Zork wants assistance too. No one said your first day on the job would be easy!
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GlkTADS - A text-only TADS 2.5.3 Interpreter.

Maintained by Stephen Granade <sgranade@phy.duke.edu>

"Hello. You have reached the Frobozz Magic Support Company hotglyph. All our adepts are busy at present, but if you keep chanting the invocation you used to summon this image, a support clerk will be with you shortly. In the meantime, please relax while the Accardia Barbershop Musicians Guild presents Movements VIII-XVI of 'Ode to Belboz'. Thank you for summoning Frobozz Magic Support."



The six interior walls of this perfectly cubical room are perfectly white and featureless. A single silver compass rose, balancing a delicate crystal sphere on its bloom, floats like a pedestal above the floor.
You look at the bar
It's a bar of everyone's favourite snack food, granola. Stamped into its side are the words "Product of the Frobozz Magic Granola Mining Company Antharia."
You look at Book
The book is leather-bound and bears the title "My Log Book" in flowing gilt lettering. It is currently closed.
Xyzzy
Unfortunately, you never quite finished Elementary Enchanting 101, so you have no idea how to cast, or even learn, that spell. If indeed it is a spell.
You open Book
As you open the log book, an animated burin flutters out.

"Hi there," says the burin cheerfully. "You must be the new support clerk everyone's been talking about. No, don't say it, I know what you're going to ask. What's such a smart and attractive burin like me doing in a low paid job like Magic Support? Well, I've asked myself that same question many times, believe me, and the best answer I've come up with is that I love my work. Yes sir, I just love task logging. Give me a task to log, any task, and I'll have it written down before you can say Zebulon's your uncle!"
Yes
"Great! I can see we're going to get along famously, Zog the mighty." The burin buzzes around excitedly, then settles into a casual hovering pattern over your head.
You look at burin
This burin looks much every other burin you've seen, except for the small wings protruding from its pen-like body, and the tiny glowing eyes on its nib.
Log task
The burin blinks at you. "I don't see any task worth logging here."

"This reminds me of Old Quendor," muses the burin to itself. "Or was it Kroz? Anyways, thems were the days, they had real adventurers back then, yessiree."
You look at the pedestal
The compass rose is so beautiful it would bring tears to the eyes of a grue. Oddly enough, it seems to float perfectly centred in the middle of the room.
You read Log
The opened log book contains a list of previous magic support problems and solutions, signed and dated by the clerk on duty at the time.

24/4   Malyon spell backfired; burin accidentally animated. Oops. Zuzvuz.
27/4   Adventurer eaten by stray grues. Resurrected with gaspar. Zuzvuz.
32/4   Trolls ravaging village. Applied two-handed axe; resolved. Felenar.
6/5    Some trouble communicating with cyclops. See legend 2001. Zuzvuz.
13/5   Adventurer llepsed gaspar. Summoned Implementors. Zuzvuz.
17/5   Implementors de-implemented Zuzvuz. Attempted blorple to Old Quendor. Felenar.
20/5   Felenar and Zuzvuz missing. Sent replacement job application to GUE Tech. Sorkin.
23/5   GUE Tech gated to Old Quendor. Llepsed golmac might work. Sorkin.
29/5   Two words: why me? New support clerk arrives tomorrow. Must train
before (after) breaking Sorkin's time loop. Assuming
counterspell
exists, if not... Helistar.
You ask burin about Sorkin
The burin launches into a lengthy exposition on the meaning of life, with special consideration to the role of sentient burins as its prime representatives. After discussing and refuting all imaginable challenges to this thesis, the burin abruptly stops and says, "I'm sorry, what was the question again?"

The burin practises its penthingship.
You ask burin about Log
"It's a log book," explains the burin patiently. "Used for logging Magic Support tasks. When you finish a task, just tell me to log it and I'll write all the details up for you. I'm really very good at it. It's almost as if I were born to log tasks, and nothing else."
You ask burin about the job
The burin thinks for a moment and replies, "Tuesday."
You ask burin about the rose
The burin flaps thoughtfully and replies, "According to the traditional Thardon the Deep interpretation of Blorbaz the Seer, which was of course completely rejected by Antrodon, advisor to Duncanthrax himself, there are such an infinite number of potential frames of reference that it is quite impossible for two individuals to discourse intelligently about a compass rose without losing all touch with reality. But I don't believe a word of that myself."
You take burin
The burin flits out of reach.
You ask burin about the helistar
The burin thinks for a moment and replies, "The butler, in the Double Fanucci room, with the wand of polymorphism."
You ask burin about Zuzvuz
The burin thinks for a moment and replies, "No."

The burin nibbles softly at your ear.
Turn rose
You feel a strong desire to go somewhere, anywhere.
You ask burin about yourself
The burin stretches its wings and preens. "Of course, I'm sure I could tell you everything ever written about yourself, but that would spoil all the fun, wouldn't it?"

The burin flies a slow loop around your shoulder.
You take the sphere
A warning nymph appears before you, writes "You do know you're not allowed to take company property, don't you?" in the air with her finger, then vanishes with a broad wink.
Go north
Oddly enough, you find your way blocked by an invisible barrier.

"Isn't this fun?" giggles the burin. "By the Quill, 'twill make a tall tale to tell thy tykes."
You look at the rose
The compass rose is so beautiful it would bring tears to the eyes of a grue. Oddly enough, it seems to float perfectly centred in the middle of the room.
You touch the sphere
The sphere vibrates in your hands, and an image takes form in your mind:

You are standing on a barren, windswept plain. A knight in black armour clatters past toward a foreboding stone tower, and from the distance, a beautiful maiden's voice calls out. "Help me! My rezrov scroll is gone and I must flee before the Dark Lord comes!"

Slowly, the vision fades. You feel vaguely disoriented for a moment.
Go north
As you move in that direction, the universe abruptly turns itself inside out.

The road bends here, running northwest to a distant tower and south to the mountains. Across a barren plain to the east, a wide rutted cart track bears the scars of recent heavy troop movements.

You see a white cube here.

An animated burin flies in small circles around your head.

"You aren't lost, are you?" quips the burin worriedly.
Log task
The burin blinks at you. "I don't see any task worth logging here."
Go east
You have stumbled into the camp of some invading army. Tents, battering rams and hand weapons are stacked neatly all around, awaiting the coming attack. Nobody appears to have noticed you yet, but you have the distinct feeling that novice magic support clerks are not highly regarded around here. The plain opens to the west.

You see a black cube here.

An animated burin hovers over your head.

The burin gives a screech of agony and dives back into the log book, which snaps closed after it.
You examine cube
The cube is about an inch on a side, and is featureless black, apart from a tiny legend embossed on one face.
You look at the legend
"Frobozz Magic Defence Research Company Weapons Grade Antimagic."
You get the cube
Taken.
Go west
The road bends here, running northwest to a distant tower and south to the mountains. Across a barren plain to the east, a wide rutted cart track bears the scars of recent heavy troop movements.

You see a white cube here.
You touch the white cube
As you touch the cube, the universe abruptly turns itself inside out.

The six interior walls of this perfectly cubical room are perfectly white and featureless. A single silver compass rose, balancing a delicate crystal sphere on its bloom, floats like a pedestal above the floor.

The black cube vaporises instantly!
The crystal sphere tumbles to the floor!
The compass rose bursts into a flower of flame!
You go south
This north-south highway seems to lead forever through a barren wilderness. Distant mountains to the south remain constantly on the horizon. A billboard to the side of the road reads "Why."
You go south
This north-south highway seems to lead forever through a barren wilderness. Distant mountains to the south remain constantly on the horizon. A billboard to the side of the road reads "walk."
Go south
This north-south highway seems to lead forever through a barren wilderness. Distant mountains to the south remain constantly on the horizon. A billboard to the side of the road reads "when."
You go south
This north-south highway seems to lead forever through a barren wilderness. Distant mountains to the south remain constantly on the horizon. A billboard to the side of the road reads "you."
Go south
This north-south highway seems to lead forever through a barren wilderness. Distant mountains to the south remain constantly on the horizon. A billboard to the side of the road reads "can."
You go south
This north-south highway seems to lead forever through a barren wilderness. Distant mountains to the south remain constantly on the horizon. A billboard to the side of the road reads "take."
You go to the south
This north-south highway seems to lead forever through a barren wilderness. Distant mountains to the south remain constantly on the horizon. A billboard to the side of the road reads "a."
Go south
This north-south highway seems to lead forever through a barren wilderness. Distant mountains to the south remain constantly on the horizon. A billboard to the side of the road reads "cube?."
You go south
This north-south highway seems to lead forever through a barren wilderness. Distant mountains to the south remain constantly on the horizon. A billboard to the side of the road reads "Frobozz."
Go south
This north-south highway seems to lead forever through a barren wilderness. Distant mountains to the south remain constantly on the horizon. A billboard to the side of the road reads "Magic."
You go south
This north-south highway seems to lead forever through a barren wilderness. Distant mountains to the south remain constantly on the horizon. A billboard to the side of the road reads "Billboard."
Go south
This north-south highway seems to lead forever through a barren wilderness. Distant mountains to the south remain constantly on the horizon. A billboard to the side of the road reads "Company."
Go south
This north-south highway seems to lead forever through a barren wilderness. Distant mountains to the south remain constantly on the horizon. A billboard to the side of the road reads "...."
You go north
You see a white cube here.

You wander across the plain for a while, but find nothing of interest, so you return to the road.

You wander across the plain for a while, but find nothing of interest, so you return to the road.

You wander across the plain for a while, but find nothing of interest, so you return to the road.
Go northwest
You are standing beneath a menacing black stone tower. The only entrance at ground level seems to be a sturdy oak door which is shut and bolted fast. However, rough stone steps wind up around the outside and vanish somewhere near the top. The road leads back across a barren plain to the southeast.
You look at the door
It's firmly shut, and plans to stay that way.
You examine Tower
It looks like a Frobozz Magic Castle Company Princess Peril (TM) Tower For Her, as advertised in last month's catalog edition of "Better Keeps and Dungeons".
You look at the steps
The steps lead upward.
Go upwards
(climbing the steps)
Atop the Tower
You are crouched on a minnaret at the top of a menacing stone tower. Rough stone steps lead down around the outside and vanish somewhere near the ground. A dark chimney opening to the northwest seems the only way in - but once inside, you could not climb back out.
Go downwards
(climbing down the steps)
Outside the Tower
You are standing beneath a menacing black stone tower. The only entrance at ground level seems to be a sturdy oak door which is shut and bolted fast. However, rough stone steps wind up around the outside and vanish somewhere near the top. The road leads back across a barren plain to the southeast.
You drop the black cube
Dropped.
Go southeast
The road bends here, running northwest to a distant tower and south to the mountains. Across a barren plain to the east, a wide rutted cart track bears the scars of recent heavy troop movements.

You see a white cube here.
You touch the cube
As you touch the cube, the universe abruptly turns itself inside out.

The six interior walls of this perfectly cubical room are perfectly white and featureless. A single silver compass rose, balancing a delicate crystal sphere on its bloom, floats like a pedestal above the floor.
You touch the sphere
The sphere vibrates in your hands, and an image takes form in your mind:

You are swimming in the depths of an unfathomable ocean. A dark shape with sleek fins and hundreds of shiny white teeth looms toward you and thinks, "Eat eat hungry eat, er, this is most embarrassing, but my snavig spell appears to have jammed on. Could you possibly help?"

Slowly, the vision fades. You feel vaguely disoriented for a moment.
You open Log
Opened. The burin flutters out again.
You ask burin about the snavig
The burin thinks for a moment and replies, "Tuesday."
Look around
The six interior walls of this perfectly cubical room are perfectly white and featureless. A single silver compass rose, balancing a delicate crystal sphere on its bloom, floats like a pedestal above the floor.

An animated burin is perched on your head.

The burin makes a lunge at its shadow, and misses.
Go east
As you move in that direction, the universe abruptly turns itself inside out.

You are standing on a tiny rock islet, barely more than a few feet across, in the middle of a vast ocean. No land is visible in any direction, and the water swirls threateningly about your feet.

You see a white cube here.

An animated burin hovers over your head.
You examine the ocean
You see a circling fin far below.
You examine the fin
It has a fishy kind of look to it.
No
You wisely decide to stay high and dry.
You touch the cube
As you touch the cube, the universe abruptly turns itself inside out.

The six interior walls of this perfectly cubical room are perfectly white and featureless. A single silver compass rose, balancing a delicate crystal sphere on its bloom, floats like a pedestal above the floor.

An animated burin flies in small circles around your head.

"If you can pick it up, it's yours," the burin sniggers sagely.
You touch the sphere
The sphere vibrates in your hands, and an image takes form in your mind:

You are in pitch darkness. From all around you can hear horrible lurking droolings, and a single sudden metallic clatter. A nervous voice says, "Hello? Can you bring a new battery? I don't know for sure, but I think these might be gr - "

Slowly, the vision fades. You feel vaguely disoriented for a moment.
You touch the sphere
The sphere vibrates in your hands, and an image takes form in your mind:

You are standing on the peak of a mountain reaching high above the rim of the world. Dazzling light fills your eyes, and a hollow voice booms down:
"Don't try to match wits with us, Zuzvuz. We'll consider your request for reimplementation in the next beta release, not a single compile before."

Slowly, the vision fades. You feel vaguely disoriented for a moment.

The burin preens itself, licking traces of ink from its nib.
You go upwards
As you move in that direction, the universe abruptly turns itself inside out.

You are standing on the apex of a towering rock pinnacle high in the southern mountains. Before you, to the northeast, stands the unfinished shell of a building, presumably a temple of some kind.

You see a white cube here.

An animated burin is perched on your head.
You look at the temple
The temple, or what parts of have been built, appears to have been carved out of perfectly white rock, but its age or purpose is unguessable. An elaborate ornamental frieze runs around the temple's outside walls, covered with cryptic runes.
You look at the frieze
oqg974 qhe 5y3 d9j0o353e g99i 9r 548qow 0oqd3 5y3j
9h 5y3 d7g3 8h 5yq5 94e34 5y3h dqw5 123456 r974
58j3w e9h5 t35 85 249ht w8th3e 5y3 8j0o3j3h594w
%
GlkTADS - A text-only TADS 2.5.3 Interpreter.

Maintained by Stephen Granade <sgranade@phy.duke.edu>

"Hello. You have reached the Frobozz Magic Support Company hotglyph. All our adepts are busy at present, but if you keep chanting the invocation you used to summon this image, a support clerk will be with you shortly. In the meantime, please relax while the Accardia Barbershop Musicians Guild presents Movements VIII-XVI of 'Ode to Belboz'. Thank you for summoning Frobozz Magic Support."



The six interior walls of this perfectly cubical room are perfectly white and featureless. A single silver compass rose, balancing a delicate crystal sphere on its bloom, floats like a pedestal above the floor.
You open Book
As you open the log book, an animated burin flutters out.

"Hi there," says the burin cheerfully. "You must be the new support clerk everyone's been talking about. No, don't say it, I know what you're going to ask. What's such a smart and attractive burin like me doing in a low paid job like Magic Support? Well, I've asked myself that same question many times, believe me, and the best answer I've come up with is that I love my work. Yes sir, I just love task logging. Give me a task to log, any task, and I'll have it written down before you can say Zebulon's your uncle!"
Yes
"Great! I can see we're going to get along famously, Krosk lord of blood." The burin buzzes around excitedly, then settles into a casual hovering pattern over your head.
You touch the sphere
The sphere vibrates in your hands, and an image takes form in your mind:

You are standing on a barren, windswept plain. A knight in black armour clatters past toward a foreboding stone tower, and from the distance, a beautiful maiden's voice calls out. "Help me! My rezrov scroll is gone and I must flee before the Dark Lord comes!"

Slowly, the vision fades. You feel vaguely disoriented for a moment.
You touch the sphere
The sphere vibrates in your hands, and an image takes form in your mind:

You are swimming in the depths of an unfathomable ocean. A dark shape with sleek fins and hundreds of shiny white teeth looms toward you and thinks, "Eat eat hungry eat, er, this is most embarrassing, but my snavig spell appears to have jammed on. Could you possibly help?"

Slowly, the vision fades. You feel vaguely disoriented for a moment.

"This reminds me of Old Quendor," muses the burin to itself. "Or was it Kroz? Anyways, thems were the days, they had real adventurers back then, yessiree."
You touch the sphere
The sphere vibrates in your hands, and an image takes form in your mind:

You are in pitch darkness. From all around you can hear horrible lurking droolings, and a single sudden metallic clatter. A nervous voice says, "Hello? Can you bring a new battery? I don't know for sure, but I think these might be gr - "

Slowly, the vision fades. You feel vaguely disoriented for a moment.
You touch the sphere
The sphere vibrates in your hands, and an image takes form in your mind:

You are standing on the peak of a mountain reaching high above the rim of the world. Dazzling light fills your eyes, and a hollow voice booms down:
"Don't try to match wits with us, Zuzvuz. We'll consider your request for reimplementation in the next beta release, not a single compile before."

Slowly, the vision fades. You feel vaguely disoriented for a moment.
You enter the temple
You are inside the temple, which seems to be built roughly in a square; the roof, still unfinished, is open to the sky. In the centre of the room stands a transparent crystalline cube, about a metre a side. A doorless archway leads out to the southwest.

An animated burin flies in small circles around your head.

The burin flies a slow loop around your shoulder.
You examine cube
The crystal cube is perfectly transparent.
You enter the cube
I don't know how to enter the crystal cube.

The burin makes a lunge at its shadow, and misses.
You examine the archway
The archway leads out to the southwest.
Qwerty
Unfortunately, you never quite finished Elementary Enchanting 101, so you have no idea how to cast, or even learn, that spell. If indeed it is a spell.
Exit
You are standing on the apex of a towering rock pinnacle high in the southern mountains. Before you, to the northeast, stands the unfinished shell of a building, presumably a temple of some kind.

You see a white cube here.

An animated burin is perched on your head.
You examine the mountains
The rock pinnacle that you're on stands tall and alone among the mountains.
Go down
There is no apparent way down the pinnacle.

The burin flutters around your head.
You touch the cube
As you touch the cube, the universe abruptly turns itself inside out.

The six interior walls of this perfectly cubical room are perfectly white and featureless. A single silver compass rose, balancing a delicate crystal sphere on its bloom, floats like a pedestal above the floor.

An animated burin flies in small circles around your head.
You touch the sphere
The sphere vibrates in your hands, and an image takes form in your mind:

You are clinging to the edge of a bridge above a vast chasm. A thundering waterfall cascades through a rainbow below, while from behind a bored voice yawns, "So tell me then, how do I get that pot of gold?"

Slowly, the vision fades. You feel vaguely disoriented for a moment.
You go south
As you move in that direction, the universe abruptly turns itself inside out.

You are standing at the end of a path running north into dense forest. A small sign casts a shadow beside the path, while just to the south, a wooden bridge leads across a massive chasm.

You see a white cube here.

An animated burin is perched on your head.
You examine the bridge
The bridge is off to the south.

"You aren't lost, are you?" quips the burin worriedly.
You examine the sign
"Notice: The Forest of Eternal Chaos is temporarily under enchantment while we alter local reality to comply with new Quendor Tourism Guild guidelines. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
Frobozz Magic Conservation Company."

The sign seems to have a small arrow carved into one edge, and casts a deep shadow beside the footprint-covered path.
You examine the shadow
The shadow points due north, into the forest. A small clump of moss is growing in the shadow, at the base of the sign.
You look at sun
The sun is visible to the south of here.
You look at the moss
The moss is on the north side of the sign.

"Make sure you get a good look at everything," cheeps the burin helpfully.
You go south
Chasm, on the bridge
You are standing on a wooden bridge, which stretches halfway across a vast chasm to the south. Beyond the bridge, a rainbow arcs across the chasm through clouds of mist from a spectacular waterfall.

An animated burin flies in small circles around your head.
You go north
You are standing at the end of a path running north into dense forest. A small sign casts a shadow beside the path, while just to the south, a wooden bridge leads across a massive chasm.

You see a white cube here.

An animated burin hovers over your head.
You go north
The forest seems to change subtly as you enter it.

You are deep in the forest, surrounded by towering trees and sticky clinging vines. A trail winds through the trees at this point, but then seems to fade into the undergrowth without a trace. Your sense of direction feels strangely altered.

An animated burin flies in small circles around your head.

The burin practises its penthingship.
You examine the tree
These towering forest giants block most of the sky. There's a small patch of moss on the nearest tree.
You go northwest
The forest seems to change subtly as you move to the northwest.

You are deep in the forest, surrounded by towering trees and sticky clinging vines. A trail winds through the trees at this point, but then seems to fade into the undergrowth without a trace. Your sense of direction feels strangely altered.

An animated burin flies in small circles around your head.

A bored tourist wanders around looking lost.

The tourist looks up at you with a faint flicker of interest. "Frobozz Magic Support? At least something works around here. Look, I'll do anything you ask, just get me out of this stupid forest!"

The burin preens itself, licking traces of ink from its nib.
You follow you
"Huh?" says the tourist.
You look at the tourist
The tourist wears a gaudy flower print T-shirt and a pair of shorts, and is carrying nothing. He scratches his head and yawns every few minutes.
You examine the sun
The sun is obscured by the trees here.
You look at the trees
These towering forest giants block most of the sky.

"If you can pick it up, it's yours," the burin sniggers sagely.
You look at vines
The undergrowth rustles disturbingly, as if it's alive.
You look around
You are deep in the forest, surrounded by towering trees and sticky clinging vines. A trail winds through the trees at this point, but then seems to fade into the undergrowth without a trace. Your sense of direction feels strangely altered.

An animated burin flies in small circles around your head.

A bored tourist leans against a tree.
You look at tree
These towering forest giants block most of the sky.
You look at the trail
The trail seems to lead in all directions at once, but you can almost make out a faint set of footprints.

The burin makes a lunge at its shadow, and misses.
You examine the footprints
The footprints are very faint, and seem to have been made by many people some time in the past. They lead northwest.
Go northwest
The forest seems to change subtly as you move to the northwest.

You are deep in the forest, surrounded by towering trees and sticky clinging vines. A trail winds through the trees at this point, but then seems to fade into the undergrowth without a trace. Your sense of direction feels strangely altered.

An animated burin is perched on your head.
You look at the sun
The sun is obscured by the trees here.

"You aren't lost, are you?" quips the burin worriedly.
You examine the moss
The moss appears to be growing on the west side of the tree.
Go east
The forest seems to change subtly as you move to the east.

You are deep in the forest, surrounded by towering trees and sticky clinging vines. A trail winds through the trees at this point, but then seems to fade into the undergrowth without a trace. Your sense of direction feels strangely altered.

An animated burin flies in small circles around your head.
You go to the west
The forest seems to change subtly as you move to the west.

You are deep in the forest, surrounded by towering trees and sticky clinging vines. A trail winds through the trees at this point, but then seems to fade into the undergrowth without a trace. Your sense of direction feels strangely altered.

An animated burin flies in small circles around your head.

A bored tourist wanders around looking lost.
You examine the vines
The undergrowth rustles disturbingly, as if it's alive.

The burin flies a slow loop around your shoulder.
You examine the trees
These towering forest giants block most of the sky. Someone seems to have carved an arrow into the nearest tree.
You examine the arrow
The arrow appears to point to the east.
You ask Tourist,  to go east
The forest seems to change subtly as the tourist heads off to the east.
You look at vines
The undergrowth rustles disturbingly, as if it's alive.
You look at the sun
The sun is obscured by the trees here.

The burin flies a slow loop around your shoulder.
You examine the trees
These towering forest giants block most of the sky.
You examine the trail
The trail seems to lead in all directions at once, but you can almost make out a faint set of footprints.
You examine the footprints
The footprints are very faint, and seem to have been made by many people some time in the past. They lead west.
You go west
The forest seems to change subtly as you move to the west.

You are deep in the forest, surrounded by towering trees and sticky clinging vines. A trail winds through the trees at this point, but then seems to fade into the undergrowth without a trace. Your sense of direction feels strangely altered.

An animated burin is perched on your head.
Look around
You are deep in the forest, surrounded by towering trees and sticky clinging vines. A trail winds through the trees at this point, but then seems to fade into the undergrowth without a trace. Your sense of direction feels strangely altered.

An animated burin is perched on your head.

A bored tourist wanders around looking lost.

"Make sure you get a good look at everything," cheeps the burin helpfully.
East
The forest seems to change subtly as the tourist heads off to the east.
You look at tree
These towering forest giants block most of the sky.
You examine the sun
The sun is obscured by the trees here.
You examine the footprints
The footprints are very faint, and seem to have been made by many people some time in the past. They lead southeast.
You go to the south-east
The forest seems to change subtly as you move to the southeast.

You are deep in the forest, surrounded by towering trees and sticky clinging vines. A trail winds through the trees at this point, but then seems to fade into the undergrowth without a trace. Your sense of direction feels strangely altered.

An animated burin is perched on your head.
Go northwest
The forest seems to change subtly as you move to the northwest.

You are deep in the forest, surrounded by towering trees and sticky clinging vines. A trail winds through the trees at this point, but then seems to fade into the undergrowth without a trace. Your sense of direction feels strangely altered.

An animated burin hovers over your head.

A bored tourist leans against a tree.

The burin preens itself, licking traces of ink from its nib.
You examine the tree
These towering forest giants block most of the sky. There's a small patch of moss on the nearest tree.
You look at the moss
The moss appears to be growing on the east side of the tree.
West
The forest seems to change subtly as the tourist heads off to the west.

"This reminds me of Old Quendor," muses the burin to itself. "Or was it Kroz? Anyways, thems were the days, they had real adventurers back then, yessiree."
You examine the sun
The sun is obscured by the trees here.
You examine the moss
The moss appears to be growing on the southwest side of the tree.
Go northeast
The forest seems to change subtly as you move to the northeast.

You are deep in the forest, surrounded by towering trees and sticky clinging vines. A trail winds through the trees at this point, but then seems to fade into the undergrowth without a trace. Your sense of direction feels strangely altered.

An animated burin flies in small circles around your head.

A bored tourist leans against a tree.
You examine the tree
These towering forest giants block most of the sky. Someone seems to have carved an arrow into the nearest tree.

"You aren't lost, are you?" quips the burin worriedly.
You examine the arrow
The arrow appears to point to the southwest.
You ask Tourist,  to go southwest
The forest seems to change subtly as the tourist heads off to the southwest. You hear something crash through the undergrowth in the distance.
You examine the footprints
The footprints are very faint, and seem to have been made by many people some time in the past. They lead northeast.

"Make sure you get a good look at everything," cheeps the burin helpfully.
Go southwest
You stumble out into the open air.

You are standing at the end of a path running north into dense forest. A small sign casts a shadow beside the path, while just to the south, a wooden bridge leads across a massive chasm.

You see a white cube here.

An animated burin hovers over your head.
Go south
Chasm, on the bridge
You are standing on a wooden bridge, which stretches halfway across a vast chasm to the south. Beyond the bridge, a rainbow arcs across the chasm through clouds of mist from a spectacular waterfall.

A bored tourist leans against the bridge.

The tourist leans on the bridge railing and stares greedily across the chasm. A gleam of gold sparkles through the mist as he mutters, "Now there's a souvenir I could be proud of. I'd do anything to get my hands on it!"

An animated burin flies in small circles around your head.
You examine the rainbow
The rainbow passes through the mist thrown up by the waterfall. It seems to span the entire width of the chasm, arcing southeast from the bridge to the far sidewhere you see a gleam of gold.

The tourist wanders off to the north.
Log task
The burin shakes its wings. "I can't log this task until we've completed it."
You touch the rainbow
It's too far away.

The burin whistles a few bars of the national anthem.
You climb waterfall
It's too far away.

The tourist approaches from the north.
You touch the waterfall
It's too far away.
You close eyes
The burin flits out of reach.

The burin recites a few choice passages from the Rites of the Implementors, then laughs at them.
You look around
Chasm, on the bridge
You are standing on a wooden bridge, which stretches halfway across a vast chasm to the south. Beyond the bridge, a rainbow arcs across the chasm through clouds of mist from a spectacular waterfall.

An animated burin is perched on your head.

A bored tourist leans against the bridge.

The tourist wanders off to the north.
You examine the rainbow
The rainbow passes through the mist thrown up by the waterfall. It seems to span the entire width of the chasm, arcing southeast from the bridge to the far sidewhere you see a gleam of gold.
You examine the mist
The waterfall cascades down from a higher level of the chasm to the southwest, filling the air below with mist. A rainbow arch gleams through the mist, spanning the chasm.

"If you can pick it up, it's yours," the burin sniggers sagely.
No
Wisely, you back away from the chasm.
No
Wisely, you back away from the chasm.

The tourist approaches from the north.
You close the eyes
"Huh?" says the tourist.
You ask Tourist,  to go to the southeast
The tourist takes a step off the bridge to the southeast, walking on the rainbow. Two thirds of the way across the chasm, he looks down, realises that he's standing on nothing but coloured light, and plummets into the chasm.
You examine burin
This burin looks much every other burin you've seen, except for the small wings protruding from its pen-like body, and the tiny glowing eyes on its nib.

The burin traces an intricate Double Fanucci figure in midair.
You examine the eyes
This burin looks much every other burin you've seen, except for the small wings protruding from its pen-like body, and the tiny glowing eyes on its nib.

The tourist wanders off to the north.
Go north
You are standing at the end of a path running north into dense forest. A small sign casts a shadow beside the path, while just to the south, a wooden bridge leads across a massive chasm.

You see a white cube here.

A bored tourist wanders around looking lost.

An animated burin is perched on your head.
You touch the cube
As you touch the cube, the universe abruptly turns itself inside out.

The six interior walls of this perfectly cubical room are perfectly white and featureless. A single silver compass rose, balancing a delicate crystal sphere on its bloom, floats like a pedestal above the floor.

An animated burin hovers over your head.

"If you can pick it up, it's yours," the burin sniggers sagely.
You touch the sphere
The sphere vibrates in your hands, and an image takes form in your mind:

You are at the bottom of an immense smouldering crater gashed out of bare rock. Stars flicker slowly in a midnight sky, and through the eerie silence a single voice wails over and over again, "Yek wen eht ton! Yek dlo eht esu!"

Slowly, the vision fades. You feel vaguely disoriented for a moment.
You go west
As you move in that direction, the universe abruptly turns itself inside out.

You are standing at the entrance to a large, familiar college campus. At least, it would be large and familiar if it existed, which it apparently doesn't anymore. The only solid things remaining are a white mailbox and two paths leading west and southwest. Everything else seems to be swallowed by a black, swirling void.

You see a white cube here.

An animated burin is perched on your head.

"Come on! Let's go exploring!" chirps the burin excitedly.
You look at the mailbox
The white mailbox is closed.
You open it
Opening the white mailbox reveals a red envelope and a syllabus.
You take all from it
red envelope: Taken.
syllabus: Taken.

The burin flutters around your head.
You examine the envelope
The envelope is bright red, and appears to be addressed to The School of Remedial Magic, GUE Tech, Quendor. It is closed.
You open it
Opening the red envelope reveals a crisp vellum scroll and a packing slip.
You examine the vellum
The scroll appears to have been freshly written.
You read it
Unfortunately, you never studied Elementary Spellcoding 101, so the contents of the scroll are completely incomprehensible to you.
You examine the packing slip
Contents: One (1) Rezrov Spell Scroll, Educational License Only

For your safety and convenience, this spell has been hand-inscribed on finest enchanting grade vellum and packaged in our special Spel-Gard (tm) Resealable Magic-Proof Envelope, guaranteed to prevent magic leakage for up to 30 days, or double your zorkmids back! Thank you for purchasing your magic supplies from the Frobozz Magic Magic Supply Company.

"Isn't this fun?" giggles the burin. "By the Quill, 'twill make a tall tale to tell thy tykes."
You examine Envelope
The envelope is bright red, and appears to be addressed to The School of Remedial Magic, GUE Tech, Quendor. It is open, and contains a crisp vellum scroll and a packing slip.
You look at Syllabus
The Great Underground Empire (Memorial) Institute of Magickal Techknowledgies, Artes and Psiences, School of Remedial Magic Syllabus

On completing this course, the student shall be capable of defining the following terms and their usage in modern enchanting:

Antharia   island province famed for its granola mines, survive field trip
antimagic  theoretical opposite of magic, inhibits or annihilates spells
blorple    spell, opens a dimension gate
Borphee    industrial capital of modern Quendor, list leading spell merchants
burin      pen-like instrument needed for magical inscriptions, own and use
Flathead   Dimwit, worst ruler of the GUE, describe in excessive detail gaspar     spell, prepares caster for resurrection
golmac     spell, causes time travel
granola    tasty and highly nutritious food source, write poetic praise epic
grue       lurking menace in dark places, avoid getting eaten by
GUE        Great Underground Empire, describe history, fall and excavations
Infocom    aka Implementors, mythical godlike beings, dismiss as fallacy
lleps      spell, reverses effect of memorised spell
malyon     spell, brings inanimate objects to life
nymph      small magical fairy-like creatures often used as secretaries, hire
Quendor    our homeland, analyse socio-political ramifications of granola tax
qwerty     spell (mythical), student must logically refute its existence
raif       minor modern cult of Infocom, of no significance whatsoever rezrov     spell, opens closed or locked objects
rose       compass rose, oh sweet compass rose, etc, national anthem, sing
snavig     spell, causes caster to assume another shape at will timeloop   highly dangerous phenomenon, describe how to avoid creating vellum     leather-based scroll substrate, explain advantages over parchment
work       part-time jobs in magic support, readily available for students
Zork       common name for Quendor and the GUE, also an epic saga zorkmid    national unit of currency, pay all tuition fees promptly
You examine void
Void, n. Absence of matter; nothingness.
Go west
Here, in what was once the centre of campus, what little reality is left has condensed into a grue-black, rock-blasted crater hammered out of existence by some unimaginable power. The stars distort overhead in a strange demented dance; you can barely remember seeing a white mailbox to the east.

An iron vault floats calmly in the void, apparently unscathed.

An animated burin hovers over your head.
You examine the stars
The stars above seem weirdly distorted.
You take stars
It's too far away.

"If you can pick it up, it's yours," the burin sniggers sagely.
Go upwards
Unfortunately, you failed Elementary Levitation 101.
Examine vault
The vault is about twice your height, forged from cast iron and imprinted with an ornate logo that appears to date back to the early Flathead Dynasty. The vault is closed. A shiny iron key sits in the keyhole, with a note attached.
You examine the note
"Gorgax: Here's the replacement master key you requested. We didn't have time to test it, hope it works okay, some of these old vaults can be a mite touchy. I'll get the dwarves in Technical to look at it next week. Sorkin."
You turn the key
The shiny iron key turns stiffly in the lock. As the last tumbler clicks into place, an alarm nymph flies out of the keyhole, writes "You do know there's no way you can fool a genuine Frobozz Magic Vault Company vault with such a patently fraudulent imitation of a master key, don't you?" in the air with her finger, then vanishes with a loud raspberry. The vault explodes.

Nothing happens. It would seem that you are dead.
You look
GUE Tech, Old Quendor
Moments earlier, you find yourself falling backward through a strangely familiar college campus. A vague premonition tugs at your mind about some great deed left undone - or was it a memory? As you watch, buildings dismantle and shed moss, spells implode on their casters, and stars spin down across the oscillating sky.

A woman in a senior Enchanter's robe steps away from you, gathers a cloud of green lightning with a wave of her hands, and runs into the distance saying "Nialpxe ot emit on. Tfel evah I cigam ylno eht si siht. Poolemit siht fo tuo su kearb nac ohw tfel eno ylno eht er'uoy diarfa m'I tub, siht otni uoy gard ot yrros. Krelc troppus wen eht eb tsum uoy, Ratsileh m'I..."

With a wrench, the universe turns itself inside out...
You look at your surroundings
"Hello. You have reached the Frobozz Magic Support Company hotglyph. All our adepts are busy at present, but if you keep chanting the invocation you used to summon this image, a support clerk will be with you shortly. In the meantime, please relax while the Accardia Barbershop Musicians Guild presents Movements VIII-XVI of 'Ode to Belboz'. Thank you for summoning Frobozz Magic Support."



The six interior walls of this perfectly cubical room are perfectly white and featureless. A single silver compass rose, balancing a delicate crystal sphere on its bloom, floats like a pedestal above the floor.
You take the key
[taking the note as well]
Taken.

The burin makes a lunge at its shadow, and misses.
Inventory
You have a granola bar, a log book, a red envelope, a syllabus, a note, and a shiny iron key. The red envelope seems to contain a crisp vellum scroll and a packing slip.
You examine the vellum
The scroll appears to have been freshly written.
You go south
Even if you could fly, reaching the cliff would be uncertain.

The burin nibbles softly at your ear.
You go to the east
You are standing at the entrance to a large, familiar college campus. At least, it would be large and familiar if it existed, which it apparently doesn't anymore. The only solid things remaining are a white mailbox and two paths leading west and southwest. Everything else seems to be swallowed by a black, swirling void.

You see a white cube here.

An animated burin is perched on your head.
You go to the southwest
The path ends here at a newly formed cliff face, looking down over a strangely distorted crater to the north. Inky black void shivers around your feet, and trickles in small eddies from the crater's rim, nearly obscuring the single crumbling line of reality that leads northeast.

A yellow signpost balances on the crater's edge.

An animated burin is perched on your head.
You examine signpost
"The Lord Dimwit Flathead (the Excessive) Memorial Wabe.
Positively NO littering."
You drop the key
The shiny iron key distorts weirdly as the void swallows it. You see it slowly fall toward the distant vault, then vanish.
You go northeast
You are standing at the entrance to a large, familiar college campus. At least, it would be large and familiar if it existed, which it apparently doesn't anymore. The only solid things remaining are a white mailbox and two paths leading west and southwest. Everything else seems to be swallowed by a black, swirling void.

You see a white cube here.

An animated burin is perched on your head.

"Make sure you get a good look at everything," cheeps the burin helpfully.
Go west
Here, in what was once the centre of campus, what little reality is left has condensed into a grue-black, rock-blasted crater hammered out of existence by some unimaginable power. The stars distort overhead in a strange demented dance; you can barely remember seeing a white mailbox to the east.

An iron vault floats calmly in the void, apparently unscathed.

An animated burin hovers over your head.

Out of the corner of your eye, you see a rusty iron key fall from above.
You take the key
Taken.
You examine the key
It looks like an ordinary rusty iron key to me.
You open the vault
It's locked.

The burin nibbles softly at your ear.
Unlock vault
(with the rusty iron key)
The rusty iron key turns smoothly in the lock. As the last tumbler clicks into place, an alarm nymph flies out of the keyhole, writes "Your master key has been age-verified. Thank you for using genuine Frobozz Magic Vault Company security products" in the air with her finger, then vanishes with a broad wink.
You open the vault
Opening the vault reveals a silver slide rule.
You examine the rule
It's a slide rule crafted from pure silver, inscribed with the initials "L.D.F.". Must be worth a fortune for antiquity value alone.
You go east
You are standing at the entrance to a large, familiar college campus. At least, it would be large and familiar if it existed, which it apparently doesn't anymore. The only solid things remaining are a white mailbox and two paths leading west and southwest. Everything else seems to be swallowed by a black, swirling void.

You see a white cube here.

An animated burin flies in small circles around your head.

"Isn't this fun?" giggles the burin. "By the Quill, 'twill make a tall tale to tell thy tykes."
You touch the cube
As you touch the cube, the universe abruptly turns itself inside out.

The six interior walls of this perfectly cubical room are perfectly white and featureless. A single silver compass rose, balancing a delicate crystal sphere on its bloom, floats like a pedestal above the floor.

An animated burin hovers over your head.
Log
What do you want the burin to write?
You examine Log Book
The book is leather-bound and bears the title "My Log Book" in flowing gilt lettering. It is currently open.

The burin traces an intricate Double Fanucci figure in midair.
You read it
The opened log book contains a list of previous magic support problems and solutions, signed and dated by the clerk on duty at the time.

24/4   Malyon spell backfired; burin accidentally animated. Oops. Zuzvuz.
27/4   Adventurer eaten by stray grues. Resurrected with gaspar. Zuzvuz.
32/4   Trolls ravaging village. Applied two-handed axe; resolved. Felenar.
6/5    Some trouble communicating with cyclops. See legend 2001. Zuzvuz.
13/5   Adventurer llepsed gaspar. Summoned Implementors. Zuzvuz.
17/5   Implementors de-implemented Zuzvuz. Attempted blorple to Old Quendor. Felenar.
20/5   Felenar and Zuzvuz missing. Sent replacement job application to GUE Tech. Sorkin.
23/5   GUE Tech gated to Old Quendor. Llepsed golmac might work. Sorkin.
29/5   Two words: why me? New support clerk arrives tomorrow. Must train
before (after) breaking Sorkin's time loop. Assuming
counterspell
exists, if not... Helistar.
Log task
The burin scribbles something into the logbook.
You read Book
The opened log book contains a list of previous magic support problems and solutions, signed and dated by the clerk on duty at the time.

24/4   Malyon spell backfired; burin accidentally animated. Oops. Zuzvuz.
27/4   Adventurer eaten by stray grues. Resurrected with gaspar. Zuzvuz.
32/4   Trolls ravaging village. Applied two-handed axe; resolved. Felenar.
6/5    Some trouble communicating with cyclops. See legend 2001. Zuzvuz.
13/5   Adventurer llepsed gaspar. Summoned Implementors. Zuzvuz.
17/5   Implementors de-implemented Zuzvuz. Attempted blorple to Old Quendor. Felenar.
20/5   Felenar and Zuzvuz missing. Sent replacement job application to GUE Tech. Sorkin.
23/5   GUE Tech gated to Old Quendor. Llepsed golmac might work. Sorkin.
29/5   Two words: why me? New support clerk arrives tomorrow. Must train
before (after) breaking Sorkin's time loop. Assuming
counterspell
exists, if not... Helistar.
30/5   GUE Tech Vault jammed. Took time to open it. Krosk lord of blood.
You touch the cube
As you touch the cube, the universe abruptly turns itself inside out.

The six interior walls of this perfectly cubical room are perfectly white and featureless. A single silver compass rose, balancing a delicate crystal sphere on its bloom, floats like a pedestal above the floor.

An animated burin hovers over your head.

The burin traces an intricate Double Fanucci figure in midair.
You touch the sphere
The sphere vibrates in your hands, and an image takes form in your mind:

You are plunging over a cliff, and suddenly halt in midair. Letters written in fire beneath you spell out, "No more messages."

Slowly, the vision fades. You feel vaguely disoriented for a moment.
You go north
As you move in that direction, the universe abruptly turns itself inside out.

The road bends here, running northwest to a distant tower and south to the mountains. Across a barren plain to the east, a wide rutted cart track bears the scars of recent heavy troop movements.

You see a white cube here.

An animated burin flies in small circles around your head.

"This reminds me of Old Quendor," muses the burin to itself. "Or was it Kroz? Anyways, thems were the days, they had real adventurers back then, yessiree."
Go northwest
You are standing beneath a menacing black stone tower. The only entrance at ground level seems to be a sturdy oak door which is shut and bolted fast. However, rough stone steps wind up around the outside and vanish somewhere near the top. The road leads back across a barren plain to the southeast.

An animated burin is perched on your head.
Up
(climbing the steps)
Atop the Tower
You are crouched on a minnaret at the top of a menacing stone tower. Rough stone steps lead down around the outside and vanish somewhere near the ground. A dark chimney opening to the northwest seems the only way in - but once inside, you could not climb back out.

An animated burin hovers over your head.

"Come on! Let's go exploring!" chirps the burin excitedly.
Yes
Very well. You scramble into the chimney, sliding down and landing heavily...

This circular room at the base of the tower is surprisingly small for its size. An unlit fireplace to the northwest, and a sturdy oak door to the southeast, (which is shut and bolted), are its only points of interest.

A captive princess paces around the room impatiently.

A white cotton blindfold, apparently flung off by the princess after she arrived here, lies crumpled in a corner.

An animated burin flies in small circles around your head.

The princess jumps as you stumble clumsily out of the fireplace. "With an entrance like that, you've got to be Frobozz Magic Support," she laughs. "Hope you brought that rezrov scroll. We don't have any time to waste."
You get the blindfold
Taken.

"Hurry up!" says the princess. "The Dark Lord will be coming soon."
You examine princess
The princess has the kind of fragile, ethereal beauty normally associated with diamonds, scimitars, and hellhound puppies.

You hear the distant sound of marching boots.
You get the scroll
Taken.

"Solved it yet?" chirps the burin cheerfully.

The sounds outside grow louder and closer. The princess shudders, and looks for a weapon.
You give it to the princess
The princess takes the scroll, reads it, and flashes you a beaming smile. "That's just what I wanted," she says, and begins reading it aloud.

The door explodes outwards in a blast of luminous energy. Waving a hasty goodbye, the princess runs outside and vanishes down the road to the southeast.
You leave
You are standing beneath a menacing black stone tower. The only entrance at ground level seems to be a sturdy oak door which is standing wide open. However, rough stone steps wind up around the outside and vanish somewhere near the top. The road leads back across a barren plain to the southeast.

An animated burin is perched on your head.
You go southeast
The road bends here, running northwest to a distant tower and south to the mountains. Across a barren plain to the east, a wide rutted cart track bears the scars of recent heavy troop movements.

You see a white cube here.

An animated burin flies in small circles around your head.

The burin preens itself, licking traces of ink from its nib.
Go east
You have stumbled into the middle of a pitched battle, with enchanters, trolls, elves and the occasional cyclops swapping sword blows and warrior's incantations. The battle appears to be going badly for a princess, whose forces are having difficulty getting their spells to work against an onslaught of highly trained, black-armoured knights.

Deciding that discretion is the better part of valour, you beat a tactical withdrawal to the west.

The road bends here, running northwest to a distant tower and south to the mountains. Across a barren plain to the east, a wide rutted cart track bears the scars of recent heavy troop movements.

You see a white cube here.

An animated burin hovers over your head.
You touch the sphere
The sphere vibrates in your hands, and an image takes form in your mind:

You are plunging over a cliff, and suddenly halt in midair. Letters written in fire beneath you spell out, "No more messages."

Slowly, the vision fades. You feel vaguely disoriented for a moment.
You touch the sphere
The sphere vibrates in your hands, and an image takes form in your mind:

You are standing on a barren, windswept plain. A knight in black armour clatters past toward a foreboding stone tower, and from the distance, a beautiful maiden's voice calls out. "Help me! My rezrov scroll is gone and I must flee before the Dark Lord comes!"

Slowly, the vision fades. You feel vaguely disoriented for a moment.
You read Log
As you move in that direction, the universe abruptly turns itself inside out.

The road bends here, running northwest to a distant tower and south to the mountains. Across a barren plain to the east, a wide rutted cart track bears the scars of recent heavy troop movements.

You see a white cube here.

An animated burin hovers over your head.

"Come on! Let's go exploring!" chirps the burin excitedly.

The opened log book contains a list of previous magic support problems and solutions, signed and dated by the clerk on duty at the time.

24/4   Malyon spell backfired; burin accidentally animated. Oops. Zuzvuz.
27/4   Adventurer eaten by stray grues. Resurrected with gaspar. Zuzvuz.
32/4   Trolls ravaging village. Applied two-handed axe; resolved. Felenar.
6/5    Some trouble communicating with cyclops. See legend 2001. Zuzvuz.
13/5   Adventurer llepsed gaspar. Summoned Implementors. Zuzvuz.
17/5   Implementors de-implemented Zuzvuz. Attempted blorple to Old Quendor. Felenar.
20/5   Felenar and Zuzvuz missing. Sent replacement job application to GUE Tech. Sorkin.
23/5   GUE Tech gated to Old Quendor. Llepsed golmac might work. Sorkin.
29/5   Two words: why me? New support clerk arrives tomorrow. Must train
before (after) breaking Sorkin's time loop. Assuming
counterspell
exists, if not... Helistar.
30/5   GUE Tech Vault jammed. Took time to open it. Krosk lord of blood.
You go east
You have stumbled into the camp of some invading army. Tents, battering rams and hand weapons are stacked neatly all around, awaiting the coming attack. Nobody appears to have noticed you yet, but you have the distinct feeling that novice magic support clerks are not highly regarded around here. The plain opens to the west.

You see a black cube here.

An animated burin is perched on your head.

The burin gives a screech of agony and dives back into the log book, which snaps closed after it.
You get rezrov
The finer points of spellcasting are, at present, beyond your grasp.
You put the cube in Envelope
Done.
You close Envelope
Closed.
You open Book
Opened. The burin flutters out again.
Go west
The road bends here, running northwest to a distant tower and south to the mountains. Across a barren plain to the east, a wide rutted cart track bears the scars of recent heavy troop movements.

You see a white cube here.

An animated burin is perched on your head.
You go to the northwest
You are standing beneath a menacing black stone tower. The only entrance at ground level seems to be a sturdy oak door which is shut and bolted fast. However, rough stone steps wind up around the outside and vanish somewhere near the top. The road leads back across a barren plain to the southeast.

An animated burin hovers over your head.
You go up
(climbing the steps)
Atop the Tower
You are crouched on a minnaret at the top of a menacing stone tower. Rough stone steps lead down around the outside and vanish somewhere near the ground. A dark chimney opening to the northwest seems the only way in - but once inside, you could not climb back out.

An animated burin flies in small circles around your head.

"You aren't lost, are you?" quips the burin worriedly.
Yes
Very well. You scramble into the chimney, sliding down and landing heavily...

This circular room at the base of the tower is surprisingly small for its size. An unlit fireplace to the northwest, and a sturdy oak door to the southeast, (which is shut and bolted), are its only points of interest.

A captive princess paces around the room impatiently.

A white cotton blindfold, apparently flung off by the princess after she arrived here, lies crumpled in a corner.

An animated burin is perched on your head.

The princess jumps as you stumble clumsily out of the fireplace. "With an entrance like that, you've got to be Frobozz Magic Support," she laughs. "Hope you brought that rezrov scroll. We don't have any time to waste."
You give the scroll to the princess
The princess takes the scroll, reads it, and flashes you a beaming smile. "That's just what I wanted," she says, and begins reading it aloud.

The door explodes outwards in a blast of luminous energy. Waving a hasty goodbye, the princess runs outside and vanishes down the road to the southeast.
You go south
It appears the southeast door is the only way out.
You leave
You are standing beneath a menacing black stone tower. The only entrance at ground level seems to be a sturdy oak door which is standing wide open. However, rough stone steps wind up around the outside and vanish somewhere near the top. The road leads back across a barren plain to the southeast.

An animated burin flies in small circles around your head.
You go to the southeast
The road bends here, running northwest to a distant tower and south to the mountains. Across a barren plain to the east, a wide rutted cart track bears the scars of recent heavy troop movements.

You see a white cube here.

An animated burin hovers over your head.

"Isn't this fun?" giggles the burin. "By the Quill, 'twill make a tall tale to tell thy tykes."
You go east
You have stumbled into the middle of a pitched battle, with enchanters, trolls, elves and the occasional cyclops swapping sword blows and warrior's incantations. The battle appears to be going well for a princess, whose forces are using the latest Frobozz Magic Defence Research Company spells to turn an onslaught of black-armoured knights into small amphibians.

Deciding that discretion is the better part of valour, you beat a tactical withdrawal to the west.

The road bends here, running northwest to a distant tower and south to the mountains. Across a barren plain to the east, a wide rutted cart track bears the scars of recent heavy troop movements.

You see a white cube here.

An animated burin is perched on your head.
Go northwest
You are standing beneath a menacing black stone tower. The only entrance at ground level seems to be a sturdy oak door which is standing wide open. However, rough stone steps wind up around the outside and vanish somewhere near the top. The road leads back across a barren plain to the southeast.

An animated burin hovers over your head.
Log task
The burin scribbles something into the logbook.

The burin practises its penthingship.
You read logbook
The opened log book contains a list of previous magic support problems and solutions, signed and dated by the clerk on duty at the time.

24/4   Malyon spell backfired; burin accidentally animated. Oops. Zuzvuz.
27/4   Adventurer eaten by stray grues. Resurrected with gaspar. Zuzvuz.
32/4   Trolls ravaging village. Applied two-handed axe; resolved. Felenar.
6/5    Some trouble communicating with cyclops. See legend 2001. Zuzvuz.
13/5   Adventurer llepsed gaspar. Summoned Implementors. Zuzvuz.
17/5   Implementors de-implemented Zuzvuz. Attempted blorple to Old Quendor. Felenar.
20/5   Felenar and Zuzvuz missing. Sent replacement job application to GUE Tech. Sorkin.
23/5   GUE Tech gated to Old Quendor. Llepsed golmac might work. Sorkin.
29/5   Two words: why me? New support clerk arrives tomorrow. Must train
before (after) breaking Sorkin's time loop. Assuming
counterspell
exists, if not... Helistar.
30/5   GUE Tech Vault jammed. Took time to open it. Krosk lord of blood.
30/5   Princess imprisoned without rezrov scroll. Delivered.
Krosk lord of blood.
Go southeast
The road bends here, running northwest to a distant tower and south to the mountains. Across a barren plain to the east, a wide rutted cart track bears the scars of recent heavy troop movements.

You see a white cube here.

An animated burin hovers over your head.
You touch the sphere
The sphere vibrates in your hands, and an image takes form in your mind:

You are standing on the peak of a mountain reaching high above the rim of the world. Dazzling light fills your eyes, and a hollow voice booms down:
"Don't try to match wits with us, Zuzvuz. We'll consider your request for reimplementation in the next beta release, not a single compile before."

Slowly, the vision fades. You feel vaguely disoriented for a moment.

"Isn't this fun?" giggles the burin. "By the Quill, 'twill make a tall tale to tell thy tykes."
You touch the sphere
The sphere vibrates in your hands, and an image takes form in your mind:

You are clinging to the edge of a bridge above a vast chasm. A thundering waterfall cascades through a rainbow below, while from behind a bored voice yawns, "So tell me then, how do I get that pot of gold?"

Slowly, the vision fades. You feel vaguely disoriented for a moment.
Go north
The forest seems to change subtly as you enter it.

You are deep in the forest, surrounded by towering trees and sticky clinging vines. A trail winds through the trees at this point, but then seems to fade into the undergrowth without a trace. Your sense of direction feels strangely altered.

An animated burin is perched on your head.
You go south
The forest seems to change subtly as you move to the south.

You are deep in the forest, surrounded by towering trees and sticky clinging vines. A trail winds through the trees at this point, but then seems to fade into the undergrowth without a trace. Your sense of direction feels strangely altered.

An animated burin hovers over your head.

The burin flies a slow loop around your shoulder.
You go to the south
Chasm, on the bridge
You are standing on a wooden bridge, which stretches halfway across a vast chasm to the south. Beyond the bridge, a rainbow arcs across the chasm through clouds of mist from a spectacular waterfall.

A bored tourist stares greedily across the chasm.

The tourist wanders off to the north.

An animated burin is perched on your head.
Go north
You are standing at the end of a path running north into dense forest. A small sign casts a shadow beside the path, while just to the south, a wooden bridge leads across a massive chasm.

You see a white cube here.

A bored tourist wanders around looking lost.

An animated burin hovers over your head.

"This reminds me of Old Quendor," muses the burin to itself. "Or was it Kroz? Anyways, thems were the days, they had real adventurers back then, yessiree."
You give the blindfold to the tourist
The tourist takes the blindfold.
You wear the blindfold
The tourist gives you a strange look, but puts the blindfold on.
You go south
Chasm, on the bridge
You are standing on a wooden bridge, which stretches halfway across a vast chasm to the south. Beyond the bridge, a rainbow arcs across the chasm through clouds of mist from a spectacular waterfall.

An animated burin is perched on your head.
You go to the north
You are standing at the end of a path running north into dense forest. A small sign casts a shadow beside the path, while just to the south, a wooden bridge leads across a massive chasm.

You see a white cube here.

A blindfolded tourist wanders around looking lost.

An animated burin hovers over your head.

"If you can pick it up, it's yours," the burin sniggers sagely.
You remove the blindfold
The tourist takes the blindfold off.
You ask Tourist,  to go south
The tourist heads off to the south.
Go south
Chasm, on the bridge
You are standing on a wooden bridge, which stretches halfway across a vast chasm to the south. Beyond the bridge, a rainbow arcs across the chasm through clouds of mist from a spectacular waterfall.

A bored tourist stares greedily across the chasm.

An animated burin hovers over your head.
You ask Tourist,  to go southeast
The tourist takes a step off the bridge to the southeast, guided across the rainbow by your voice. Reaching the other side, he tears the blindfold off and grabs the pot of gold. You see him stop dancing around for a few moments to throw something in your direction, then he runs off into the mist. Half a minute later you hear a distant squeal followed by a splash, then silence.

"Make sure you get a good look at everything," cheeps the burin helpfully.
You look
Chasm, on the bridge
You are standing on a wooden bridge, which stretches halfway across a vast chasm to the south. Beyond the bridge, a rainbow arcs across the chasm through clouds of mist from a spectacular waterfall.

An animated burin hovers over your head.

A gold zorkmid coin lands at your feet, head side up.
You get coin
Taken.

The burin preens itself, licking traces of ink from its nib.
Log task
The burin scribbles something into the logbook.
Go north
You are standing at the end of a path running north into dense forest. A small sign casts a shadow beside the path, while just to the south, a wooden bridge leads across a massive chasm.

You see a white cube here.

An animated burin flies in small circles around your head.
You get the cube
As you touch the cube, the universe abruptly turns itself inside out.

The six interior walls of this perfectly cubical room are perfectly white and featureless. A single silver compass rose, balancing a delicate crystal sphere on its bloom, floats like a pedestal above the floor.

An animated burin flies in small circles around your head.

"Isn't this fun?" giggles the burin. "By the Quill, 'twill make a tall tale to tell thy tykes."
You touch the sphere
The sphere vibrates in your hands, and an image takes form in your mind:

You are at the bottom of an immense smouldering crater gashed out of bare rock. Stars flicker slowly in a midnight sky, and through the eerie silence a single voice wails over and over again, "Yek wen eht ton! Yek dlo eht esu!"

Slowly, the vision fades. You feel vaguely disoriented for a moment.
You touch the sphere
The sphere vibrates in your hands, and an image takes form in your mind:

You are standing on a barren, windswept plain. A knight in black armour clatters past toward a foreboding stone tower, and from the distance, a beautiful maiden's voice calls out. "Help me! My rezrov scroll is gone and I must flee before the Dark Lord comes!"

Slowly, the vision fades. You feel vaguely disoriented for a moment.

The burin flutters around your head.
You touch the sphere
The sphere vibrates in your hands, and an image takes form in your mind:

You are swimming in the depths of an unfathomable ocean. A dark shape with sleek fins and hundreds of shiny white teeth looms toward you and thinks, "Eat eat hungry eat, er, this is most embarrassing, but my snavig spell appears to have jammed on. Could you possibly help?"

Slowly, the vision fades. You feel vaguely disoriented for a moment.
You touch the sphere
The sphere vibrates in your hands, and an image takes form in your mind:

You are in pitch darkness. From all around you can hear horrible lurking droolings, and a single sudden metallic clatter. A nervous voice says, "Hello? Can you bring a new battery? I don't know for sure, but I think these might be gr - "

Slowly, the vision fades. You feel vaguely disoriented for a moment.
You go downwards
As you move in that direction, the universe abruptly turns itself inside out.

You are in a gently sloping underground passage which curves upwards to the west, and down into darkness to the south. A dim light filters in through cracked timbers overhead.

You see a white cube here.

An animated burin flies in small circles around your head.

"If you can pick it up, it's yours," the burin sniggers sagely.
Go west
The eastern passage ends here in a sizeable chamber carved out of solid bedrock. A dull orange glow (probably the natural phosphorescence of rich granola seams nearby) fills the room with memories of sulphur and smelting flames, long consigned to history.

A dented vending machine still sits proudly against one wall.

An animated burin flies in small circles around your head.

"Oooh!" squeals the burin, darting toward the vending machine. "A genuine Frotzen Vend-O-Magic! I've always wanted to play with one of these vintage originals. They really push my buttons, y'know?"
You examine the machine
The machine is about twice your height, dull metallic gold in tone, crusted with years of neglect. It seems to have a slot, a red button, a black button, a plaque, and two chutes near its base.
You examine the plaque
"Frobozz Magic Vending Machine Company 'Frotzen' Vend-O-Magic

This state of the ar. automagi. .endi.. machi.e is .ua.a.tee. n...r to j.m, fau.. or mi.fee. duri.. a fu.l min..g sea.on, .r .o...l. .ou. .or....d. .a..!"

(The rest of the plaque is obscured by claw marks.)
You look in the chute
Which chute do you mean, the left chute, or the right chute?
Left
The left chute contains a complex mechanism.
You examine the mechanism
Inside each chute is a fantastically complex mechanism, presumably for delivering vended goods. You have no idea how it works, but you can tell that it was designed to look very impressive.
You look in the right chute
The right chute contains a complex mechanism.

The burin practises its penthingship.
You push blakc
"Sure!" squeaks the burin, hurling itself at the black button. There's a soft click as the button depresses, but nothing else happens.

"Come on! Let's go exploring!" chirps the burin excitedly.

I don't know the word "blakc".
You put the coin in the slot
The gold zorkmid vanishes into the slot with a metallic rattle.
You push black
"Sure!" squeaks the burin, hurling itself at the black button. There's a soft click as the button depresses, but nothing else happens.
You look in the right chute
The right chute contains a complex mechanism, and a battery.

"This reminds me of Old Quendor," muses the burin to itself. "Or was it Kroz? Anyways, thems were the days, they had real adventurers back then, yessiree."
You hit the machine
(with your bare hands)
Attacking the vending machine doesn't appear productive.
Look around
The eastern passage ends here in a sizeable chamber carved out of solid bedrock. A dull orange glow (probably the natural phosphorescence of rich granola seams nearby) fills the room with memories of sulphur and smelting flames, long consigned to history.

A dented vending machine still sits proudly against one wall.

An animated burin flies in small circles around your head.
Go east
You are in a gently sloping underground passage which curves upwards to the west, and down into darkness to the south. A dim light filters in through cracked timbers overhead.

You see a white cube here.

An animated burin hovers over your head.
You go south
It's pitch black.

A sudden clattering echoes through the corridor.
Yell
It's pitch black.

A dank, rancid breeze wafts up the corridor.
You listen
It's pitch black.

You hear a muffled scream from below.
Go downward
Oh no! Something lurked into the room and horribly devoured you!

Nothing happens. It would seem that you are dead.
You examine the timbers
The timbers are stamped with the words "Frobozz Magic Granola Mining Company."

"Come on! Let's go exploring!" chirps the burin excitedly.
Go west
The eastern passage ends here in a sizeable chamber carved out of solid bedrock. A dull orange glow (probably the natural phosphorescence of rich granola seams nearby) fills the room with memories of sulphur and smelting flames, long consigned to history.

A dented vending machine still sits proudly against one wall.

An animated burin is perched on your head.
You take the glow
The orange glow isn't important.

The burin practises its penthingship.
You read the plaque
"Frobozz Magic Vending Machine Company 'Frotzen' Vend-O-Magic

This state of the ar. automagi. .endi.. machi.e is .ua.a.tee. n...r to j.m, fau.. or mi.fee. duri.. a fu.l min..g sea.on, .r .o...l. .ou. .or....d. .a..!"

(The rest of the plaque is obscured by claw marks.)
You look in the left chute
The left chute contains a complex mechanism.
Go north
You are standing at the end of a path running north into dense forest. A small sign casts a shadow beside the path, while just to the south, a wooden bridge leads across a massive chasm.

You see a white cube here.

An animated burin flies in small circles around your head.

The burin makes a lunge at its shadow, and misses.
You get the cube
As you touch the cube, the universe abruptly turns itself inside out.

The six interior walls of this perfectly cubical room are perfectly white and featureless. A single silver compass rose, balancing a delicate crystal sphere on its bloom, floats like a pedestal above the floor.

An animated burin flies in small circles around your head.
You touch the sphere
The sphere vibrates in your hands, and an image takes form in your mind:

You are plunging over a cliff, and suddenly halt in midair. Letters written in fire beneath you spell out, "No more messages."

Slowly, the vision fades. You feel vaguely disoriented for a moment.

"Come on! Let's go exploring!" chirps the burin excitedly.
You touch sphere
The sphere vibrates in your hands, and an image takes form in your mind:

You are in pitch darkness. From all around you can hear horrible lurking droolings, and a single sudden metallic clatter. A nervous voice says, "Hello? Can you bring a new battery? I don't know for sure, but I think these might be gr - "

Slowly, the vision fades. You feel vaguely disoriented for a moment.

The burin flutters around your head.
Go downwards
As you move in that direction, the universe abruptly turns itself inside out.

You are in a gently sloping underground passage which curves upwards to the west, and down into darkness to the south. A dim light filters in through cracked timbers overhead.

You see a white cube here.

An animated burin is perched on your head.
Go west
The eastern passage ends here in a sizeable chamber carved out of solid bedrock. A dull orange glow (probably the natural phosphorescence of rich granola seams nearby) fills the room with memories of sulphur and smelting flames, long consigned to history.

A dented vending machine still sits proudly against one wall.

An animated burin is perched on your head.

"Oooh!" squeals the burin, darting toward the vending machine. "A genuine Frotzen Vend-O-Magic! I've always wanted to play with one of these vintage originals. They really push my buttons, y'know?"
You put the coin in the slot
The gold zorkmid vanishes into the slot with a metallic rattle.

"Come on! Let's go exploring!" chirps the burin excitedly.
You push black
"Sure!" squeaks the burin, hurling itself at the black button. There's a soft click as the button depresses, followed by a whirr, then something clatters into the left chute.
You examine the granola bar
It's a bar of everyone's favourite snack food, granola. Stamped into its side are the words "Product of the Frobozz Magic Granola Mining Company Antharia."
You read the plaque
"Frobozz Magic Vending Machine Company 'Frotzen' Vend-O-Magic

This state of the ar. automagi. .endi.. machi.e is .ua.a.tee. n...r to j.m, fau.. or mi.fee. duri.. a fu.l min..g sea.on, .r .o...l. .ou. .or....d. .a..!"

(The rest of the plaque is obscured by claw marks.)
You check what you're carrying
You have two granola bars, a log book, a red envelope, a syllabus, a note, a rusty iron key, and a silver slide rule.

The burin flutters around your head.
Inventory
You have a granola bar, a log book, a red envelope, a syllabus, a note, a rusty iron key, a silver slide rule, and a gold zorkmid.

The burin nibbles softly at your ear.
You look at the black button
The black button is on the left side of the machine and labelled "Granola". It appears to have jammed while being pressed, and is now recessed a good two inches deeper than your finger can reach.
You look at the red button
The red button is on the right side of the machine and labelled "Batteries".

The burin traces an intricate Double Fanucci figure in midair.
You put Granola in the left
As you attempt to put the granola bar into the left chute, the chute's complex mechanism pushes back creakily, crumbling the bar into thick unpleasant globs of granola which smear it to a halt. Guess it wasn't designed to cope with dissatisfied customers.
You put the coin in the slot
The gold zorkmid vanishes into the slot with a metallic rattle.
You push the black button
"Sure!" squeaks the burin, hurling itself at the black button. There's a soft click as the button depresses, followed by a whirr and a loud thumping from the left chute, then something clatters into the right chute.

The burin traces an intricate Double Fanucci figure in midair.
You look in the right chute
The right chute contains a complex mechanism, a gold zorkmid and an iron disk.
You get all from right chute
gold zorkmid: Taken.
iron disk: Taken.
You look at the disk
It's a thin disk of iron about the size of a zorkmid coin, stamped with the words "zm1 Credit Refund, Not Exchangeable for Cash".

The burin traces an intricate Double Fanucci figure in midair.
You put the disk in the slot
The iron disk vanishes into the slot with a metallic rattle.
Go east
You are in a gently sloping underground passage which curves upwards to the west, and down into darkness to the south. A dim light filters in through cracked timbers overhead.

You see a white cube here.

An animated burin flies in small circles around your head.
You get the cube
As you touch the cube, the universe abruptly turns itself inside out.

The six interior walls of this perfectly cubical room are perfectly white and featureless. A single silver compass rose, balancing a delicate crystal sphere on its bloom, floats like a pedestal above the floor.

An animated burin hovers over your head.
You touch the sphere
The sphere vibrates in your hands, and an image takes form in your mind:

You are clinging to the edge of a bridge above a vast chasm. A thundering waterfall cascades through a rainbow below, while from behind a bored voice yawns, "So tell me then, how do I get that pot of gold?"

Slowly, the vision fades. You feel vaguely disoriented for a moment.
You go east
As you move in that direction, the universe abruptly turns itself inside out.

You are standing on a tiny rock islet, barely more than a few feet across, in the middle of a vast ocean. No land is visible in any direction, and the water swirls threateningly about your feet.

You see a white cube here.

An animated burin hovers over your head.

The burin flies a slow loop around your shoulder.
You look at the islet
It looks like an ordinary rock islet to me.
You examine the ocean
You see a circling fin far below.
You examine the fin
It has a fishy kind of look to it.

The burin makes a lunge at its shadow, and misses.
Yes
Very well. You splash out and take a dive..

You are swimming, or to be more precise, sinking, in a vast ocean. The water is icy cold on your skin, and your breath quickly bubbles out through your nose.

A blue shark glides past.

Unfortunately, you have no time to enjoy the experience, as a misplaced gulp of seawater finds its way to your lungs.

Nothing happens. It would seem that you are dead.
You hold the breath
I don't know the word "hold".

I don't know the word "hold".
You get the cube
As you touch the cube, the universe abruptly turns itself inside out.

The six interior walls of this perfectly cubical room are perfectly white and featureless. A single silver compass rose, balancing a delicate crystal sphere on its bloom, floats like a pedestal above the floor.

An animated burin is perched on your head.
You touch the sphere
The sphere vibrates in your hands, and an image takes form in your mind:

You are clinging to the edge of a bridge above a vast chasm. A thundering waterfall cascades through a rainbow below, while from behind a bored voice yawns, "So tell me then, how do I get that pot of gold?"

Slowly, the vision fades. You feel vaguely disoriented for a moment.

The burin nibbles softly at your ear.
You touch the sphere
The sphere vibrates in your hands, and an image takes form in your mind:

You are at the bottom of an immense smouldering crater gashed out of bare rock. Stars flicker slowly in a midnight sky, and through the eerie silence a single voice wails over and over again, "Yek wen eht ton! Yek dlo eht esu!"

Slowly, the vision fades. You feel vaguely disoriented for a moment.
You go to the west
As you move in that direction, the universe abruptly turns itself inside out.

You are standing at the entrance to a large, familiar college campus. At least, it would be large and familiar if it existed, which it apparently doesn't anymore. The only solid things remaining are a white mailbox and two paths leading west and southwest. Everything else seems to be swallowed by a black, swirling void.

You see a white cube here.

An animated burin is perched on your head.
You go to the southwest
The path ends here at a newly formed cliff face, looking down over a strangely distorted crater to the north. Inky black void shivers around your feet, and trickles in small eddies from the crater's rim, nearly obscuring the single crumbling line of reality that leads northeast.

A yellow signpost balances on the crater's edge.

An animated burin is perched on your head.
You open Envelope
Opening the red envelope reveals a packing slip and a black cube.

The burin gives a screech of agony and dives back into the log book, which snaps closed after it.
You drop it
The black cube distorts weirdly as the void swallows it. You see it slowly fall toward the distant vault, then vanish.
You go to the northeast
You are standing at the entrance to a large, familiar college campus. At least, it would be large and familiar if it existed, which it apparently doesn't anymore. The only solid things remaining are a white mailbox and two paths leading west and southwest. Everything else seems to be swallowed by a black, swirling void.

You see a white cube here.
Go west
Here, in what was once the centre of campus, what little reality is left has condensed into a grue-black, rock-blasted crater hammered out of existence by some unimaginable power. The stars distort overhead in a strange demented dance; you can barely remember seeing a white mailbox to the east.

An iron vault floats calmly in the void, apparently unscathed.

Out of the corner of your eye, you see a black cube fall from above.
You examine cube
The cube is about an inch on a side, and is featureless black, apart from a tiny legend embossed on one face.
You open Envelope
Opening the red envelope reveals a packing slip and a black cube.

The burin gives a screech of agony and dives back into the log book, which snaps closed after it.
You put it in the water
The black cube falls into the water, and drifts out of sight.
Wait
Time passes...
Inventory
You have a log book, a red envelope, a syllabus, a note, a rusty iron key, a silver slide rule, a gold zorkmid, and a battery. The red envelope seems to contain a packing slip.
You open Envelope
Opening the red envelope reveals a packing slip and a black cube.

The burin gives a screech of agony and dives back into the log book, which snaps closed after it.
You get the cube
Which cube do you mean, the black cube, or the white cube?
You get the cube
As you touch the cube, the universe abruptly turns itself inside out.

The six interior walls of this perfectly cubical room are perfectly white and featureless. A single silver compass rose, balancing a delicate crystal sphere on its bloom, floats like a pedestal above the floor.

An animated burin hovers over your head.
You listen
It's pitch black.
Wait
Time passes...

A dank, rancid breeze wafts up the corridor.
You drop the battery
Dropped.

You hear a low growl, followed by silence.
Go north
You are in a gently sloping underground passage which curves upwards to the west, and down into darkness to the south. A dim light filters in through cracked timbers overhead.

You see a white cube here.

An animated burin is perched on your head.
You get the cube
As you touch the cube, the universe abruptly turns itself inside out.

The six interior walls of this perfectly cubical room are perfectly white and featureless. A single silver compass rose, balancing a delicate crystal sphere on its bloom, floats like a pedestal above the floor.

An animated burin hovers over your head.

The burin whistles a few bars of the national anthem.
You open Envelope
Opening the red envelope reveals a packing slip and a black cube.

The burin gives a screech of agony and dives back into the log book, which snaps closed after it.

The black cube trembles briefly inside the unsealed envelope, then vaporises!
The crystal sphere tumbles to the floor!
The compass rose bursts into a flower of flame!
Look around
The six interior walls of this white cubical room are shaking and disintegrating as you watch.

You see a crystal ball and a flaming compass rose (providing light) here.

The room shudders violently, rocked by explosions all around.
The crystal sphere vibrates ominously.
You examine the sphere
You see an image of a novice glyph support clerk peering into the future.

The compass rose continues to burn.

The walls sway with terrifying disregard for physics.
The sphere spits out several tiny shards with a crystalline -ping-.
You get rose
Taken.

The compass rose continues to burn.

The walls sway with terrifying disregard for physics.
The sphere spits out several tiny shards with a crystalline -ping-.
Go downwards
As you move in that direction, the universe abruptly turns itself inside out.

You are in a gently sloping underground passage which curves upwards to the west, and down into darkness to the south. A dim light filters in through cracked timbers overhead.

You see a white cube here.

The compass rose continues to burn.

The white cube trembles softly.
You go to the south
The flickering light of the compass rose picks out the curve of this grimy corridor as it twists from north to southeast.

The compass rose continues to burn.
You go southeast
A narrow crawl to the northwest opens here into a wide natural chamber, showing signs of later excavation and even later collapse. Tortured fragments of rock and rusted equipment lie scattered among piles of human-looking bones that crunch horribly underfoot.

A terrified adventurer crouches among the rubble, frantically waving a pair of unlit brass lanterns.

The compass rose continues to burn.
You give the battery to the adventurer
The adventurer takes the battery with trembling hands, and fumbles it into the shiny new lantern. As the lamp switches on, he wipes the sweat from his brow and relaxes visibly. Tossing the battered old lantern aside, he starts walking around the chamber examining objects.

The compass rose continues to burn.

The adventurer tries to push the battered old brass lantern.
You examine the equipment
The equipment is battered and rusty, but appears to have been used for mining in the distant past. It is of little use now, although the scrawled lettters scratched into some of the pieces might prove interesting to a historian.

The compass rose continues to burn.

The adventurer licks the battered old brass lantern.
You get the lantern
Taken.

The compass rose continues to burn.

The adventurer looks hopefully at the equipment.
You examine it
The battered brass lantern looks old enough to have survived the rise and fall of the entire Great Underground Empire, but it's certainly quite useless now.

The compass rose sputters urgently.

The adventurer tries to break the equipment.
You read the equipment
Ancient scratches among the wreckage spell out: "Frobozz Magic GRUE GRUE GRUE ing Com FLEE FOR YOUR LIFE ny."

The compass rose sputters urgently.
Go northwest
The flickering light of the compass rose picks out the curve of this grimy corridor as it twists from north to southeast.

The compass rose blows apart in a soft shower of petals.

A dank, rancid breeze wafts up the corridor.
Go north
You are in a gently sloping underground passage which curves upwards to the west, and down into darkness to the south. A dim light filters in through cracked timbers overhead.

You see a white cube here.

The white cube trembles softly.
You open Book
Opened. The burin flutters out again.

The white cube trembles softly.
Log task
The burin scribbles something into the logbook.

The white cube trembles softly.
You touch the cube
As you touch the cube, the universe abruptly turns itself inside out.

The six interior walls of this white cubical room are shaking and disintegrating as you watch.

You see a crystal ball here.

Black writhing cracks appear in the walls, with endless night beyond. The crystal sphere explodes into a thousand splinters!

An animated burin hovers over your head.

"Come on! Let's go exploring!" chirps the burin excitedly.
You read Log
The opened log book contains a list of previous magic support problems and solutions, signed and dated by the clerk on duty at the time.

24/4   Malyon spell backfired; burin accidentally animated. Oops. Zuzvuz.
27/4   Adventurer eaten by stray grues. Resurrected with gaspar. Zuzvuz.
32/4   Trolls ravaging village. Applied two-handed axe; resolved. Felenar.
6/5    Some trouble communicating with cyclops. See legend 2001. Zuzvuz.
13/5   Adventurer llepsed gaspar. Summoned Implementors. Zuzvuz.
17/5   Implementors de-implemented Zuzvuz. Attempted blorple to Old Quendor. Felenar.
20/5   Felenar and Zuzvuz missing. Sent replacement job application to GUE Tech. Sorkin.
23/5   GUE Tech gated to Old Quendor. Llepsed golmac might work. Sorkin.
29/5   Two words: why me? New support clerk arrives tomorrow. Must train
before (after) breaking Sorkin's time loop. Assuming
counterspell
exists, if not... Helistar.
30/5   GUE Tech Vault jammed. Took time to open it. Krosk lord of blood.
30/5   Princess imprisoned without rezrov scroll. Delivered.
Krosk lord of blood.
30/5   Tourist lost at rainbow chasm. Pushed off cliff blindfold. Krosk lord of blood.
30/5   Adventurer low on batteries. Improvised with vending machine. Krosk lord of blood.

The room crumbles into nonexistence, and you with it.

Nothing happens. It would seem that you are dead.
Go north
Oddly enough, you find your way blocked by an invisible barrier.

The room crumbles into nonexistence, and you with it.

Nothing happens. It would seem that you are dead.
Go downward
As you move in that direction, the universe abruptly turns itself inside out.

You are in a gently sloping underground passage which curves upwards to the west, and down into darkness to the south. A dim light filters in through cracked timbers overhead.

You see a white cube here.

The white cube vaporises in a miniature thunderclap.

An animated burin is perched on your head.
You get rose
Taken.

The room shudders violently, rocked by explosions all around.
The crystal sphere vibrates ominously.
Go downwards
As you move in that direction, the universe abruptly turns itself inside out.

You are in a gently sloping underground passage which curves upwards to the west, and down into darkness to the south. A dim light filters in through cracked timbers overhead.

You see a white cube here.

The compass rose continues to burn.

The white cube trembles softly.
Go south
The flickering light of the compass rose picks out the curve of this grimy corridor as it twists from north to southeast.

The compass rose continues to burn.

You hear a low growl, followed by silence.
You give battery to the adventurer
The adventurer takes the battery with trembling hands, and fumbles it into the shiny new lantern. As the lamp switches on, he wipes the sweat from his brow and relaxes visibly. Tossing the battered old lantern aside, he starts walking around the chamber examining objects.

The compass rose continues to burn.

The adventurer mutters an incantation over the scrawled lettering.
You get the lantern
Taken.

The compass rose continues to burn.
You go to the north-west
The flickering light of the compass rose picks out the curve of this grimy corridor as it twists from north to southeast.

The compass rose continues to burn.
Go north
You are in a gently sloping underground passage which curves upwards to the west, and down into darkness to the south. A dim light filters in through cracked timbers overhead.

You see a white cube here.

The compass rose continues to burn.

The white cube trembles softly.
You get the cube
As you touch the cube, the universe abruptly turns itself inside out.

The six interior walls of this white cubical room are shaking and disintegrating as you watch.

You see a crystal ball here.

The compass rose sputters urgently.

The walls sway with terrifying disregard for physics.
The sphere spits out several tiny shards with a crystalline -ping-.
Drop rose
Dropped.

The compass rose sputters urgently.

Black writhing cracks appear in the walls, with endless night beyond. The crystal sphere explodes into a thousand splinters!
You turn off rose
I don't know how to turn the flaming compass rose off.

The compass rose sputters urgently.

The room crumbles into nonexistence, and you with it.

Nothing happens. It would seem that you are dead.
You look at rose
The compass rose is burning with a bluish-red flame.

The compass rose sputters urgently.

Black writhing cracks appear in the walls, with endless night beyond. The crystal sphere explodes into a thousand splinters!
You examine Syllabus
The Great Underground Empire (Memorial) Institute of Magickal Techknowledgies, Artes and Psiences, School of Remedial Magic Syllabus

On completing this course, the student shall be capable of defining the following terms and their usage in modern enchanting:

Antharia   island province famed for its granola mines, survive field trip
antimagic  theoretical opposite of magic, inhibits or annihilates spells
blorple    spell, opens a dimension gate
Borphee    industrial capital of modern Quendor, list leading spell merchants
burin      pen-like instrument needed for magical inscriptions, own and use
Flathead   Dimwit, worst ruler of the GUE, describe in excessive detail gaspar     spell, prepares caster for resurrection
golmac     spell, causes time travel
granola    tasty and highly nutritious food source, write poetic praise epic
grue       lurking menace in dark places, avoid getting eaten by
GUE        Great Underground Empire, describe history, fall and excavations
Infocom    aka Implementors, mythical godlike beings, dismiss as fallacy
lleps      spell, reverses effect of memorised spell
malyon     spell, brings inanimate objects to life
nymph      small magical fairy-like creatures often used as secretaries, hire
Quendor    our homeland, analyse socio-political ramifications of granola tax
qwerty     spell (mythical), student must logically refute its existence
raif       minor modern cult of Infocom, of no significance whatsoever rezrov     spell, opens closed or locked objects
rose       compass rose, oh sweet compass rose, etc, national anthem, sing
snavig     spell, causes caster to assume another shape at will timeloop   highly dangerous phenomenon, describe how to avoid creating vellum     leather-based scroll substrate, explain advantages over parchment
work       part-time jobs in magic support, readily available for students
Zork       common name for Quendor and the GUE, also an epic saga zorkmid    national unit of currency, pay all tuition fees promptly

The burin preens itself, licking traces of ink from its nib.
You read Book
The opened log book contains a list of previous magic support problems and solutions, signed and dated by the clerk on duty at the time.

24/4   Malyon spell backfired; burin accidentally animated. Oops. Zuzvuz.
27/4   Adventurer eaten by stray grues. Resurrected with gaspar. Zuzvuz.
32/4   Trolls ravaging village. Applied two-handed axe; resolved. Felenar.
6/5    Some trouble communicating with cyclops. See legend 2001. Zuzvuz.
13/5   Adventurer llepsed gaspar. Summoned Implementors. Zuzvuz.
17/5   Implementors de-implemented Zuzvuz. Attempted blorple to Old Quendor. Felenar.
20/5   Felenar and Zuzvuz missing. Sent replacement job application to GUE Tech. Sorkin.
23/5   GUE Tech gated to Old Quendor. Llepsed golmac might work. Sorkin.
29/5   Two words: why me? New support clerk arrives tomorrow. Must train
before (after) breaking Sorkin's time loop. Assuming
counterspell
exists, if not... Helistar.
30/5   GUE Tech Vault jammed. Took time to open it. Krosk lord of blood.
30/5   Princess imprisoned without rezrov scroll. Delivered.
Krosk lord of blood.
30/5   Tourist lost at rainbow chasm. Pushed off cliff blindfold. Krosk lord of blood.
You touch the sphere
The sphere vibrates in your hands, and an image takes form in your mind:

You are clinging to the edge of a bridge above a vast chasm. A thundering waterfall cascades through a rainbow below, while from behind a bored voice yawns, "So tell me then, how do I get that pot of gold?"

Slowly, the vision fades. You feel vaguely disoriented for a moment.

"If you can pick it up, it's yours," the burin sniggers sagely.
Go northwest
This circular room at the base of the tower is surprisingly small for its size. An unlit fireplace to the northwest, and a sturdy oak door to the southeast, (which is standing wide open), are its only points of interest.

An animated burin hovers over your head.

"Make sure you get a good look at everything," cheeps the burin helpfully.
You enter the fireplace
You poke your head into the fireplace, and discover that climbing back up that way is indeed impossible. As you wriggle back into the room, something crunches underfoot.
Look around
This circular room at the base of the tower is surprisingly small for its size. An unlit fireplace to the northwest, and a sturdy oak door to the southeast, (which is standing wide open), are its only points of interest.

An animated burin flies in small circles around your head.

"Come on! Let's go exploring!" chirps the burin excitedly.
You look in the fireplace
The grand fireplace, opening to the northwest, is large enough to walk into. In the fireplace you see a grey cube.
You examine the grey cube
The cube is about an inch on a side, and is featureless grey, apart from a tiny legend embossed on one face.

The cube is about an inch on a side, and is featureless grey, apart from a tiny legend embossed on one face.
You read it
"Frobozz Magic Bubble Bath Company."
You go to the southeast
You are standing beneath a menacing black stone tower. The only entrance at ground level seems to be a sturdy oak door which is standing wide open. However, rough stone steps wind up around the outside and vanish somewhere near the top. The road leads back across a barren plain to the southeast.

An animated burin hovers over your head.

The burin flutters around your head.
Go southeast
The road bends here, running northwest to a distant tower and south to the mountains. Across a barren plain to the east, a wide rutted cart track bears the scars of recent heavy troop movements.

You see a white cube here.

An animated burin hovers over your head.
You get the cube
As you touch the cube, the universe abruptly turns itself inside out.

The six interior walls of this perfectly cubical room are perfectly white and featureless. A single silver compass rose, balancing a delicate crystal sphere on its bloom, floats like a pedestal above the floor.

An animated burin flies in small circles around your head.

The burin recites a few choice passages from the Rites of the Implementors, then laughs at them.
You go to the east
As you move in that direction, the universe abruptly turns itself inside out.

You are standing on a tiny rock islet, barely more than a few feet across, in the middle of a vast ocean. No land is visible in any direction, and the water swirls threateningly about your feet.

You see a white cube here.

An animated burin flies in small circles around your head.
You put the grey cube in the water
The grey cube falls into the water, and immediately is engulfed in a mass of swirling foam, undulating higher and higher until it seems certain to smother you. But the foam storm eventually subsides, to reveal a single giant bubble.
You enter the bubble
The bubble rocks slightly as you squeeze inside, but remains intact.

Ocean, in the giant bubble
You are floating in a giant soap bubble, on the surface of a vast ocean. Apart from a tiny rock islet, barely more than a few feet across, no land is visible in any direction.

You see a white cube here.

An animated burin is perched on your head.
You go downwards
At your touch, the bubble glides gently downward.

Under the Ocean, in the giant bubble
You are floating in a vast ocean, surrounded by a giant soap bubble full of damp but breathable air. Faint light from the distant surface overhead refracts off the bubble's walls into the mysterious depths beyond.

A blue shark glides past.

An animated burin hovers over your head.
You examine the shark
The shark gives you a fishy, toothy, kind of stare which you somehow find vaguely disturbing.

The burin flutters around your head.
You open Envelope
Opening the red envelope reveals a packing slip and a black cube.

The burin gives a screech of agony and dives back into the log book, which snaps closed after it.

The bubble shimmers soapily.
You give the cube to the shark
The black cube slips through the bubble's wall and into the water. In a single smooth movement, the shark darts forward and swallows it.

A dull black glow shimmers over the shark's body for a moment, and in its place a surprised-looking enchanter appears. He waves at you briefly and swims up toward the light.

The bubble's walls tremble softly.
Up
At your touch, the bubble glides gently upward.

Ocean, in the giant bubble
You are floating in a giant soap bubble, on the surface of a vast ocean. Apart from a tiny rock islet, barely more than a few feet across, no land is visible in any direction.

You see a white cube here.

A man in enchanter's robes stands on the islet, drying himself off.

The bubble's walls tremble softly.
You examine man
The enchanter looks about as old as you are young, with the profession's typical air of lofty mystique, but he seems to be having a bad day so far.

With a liquid 'thwap', the bubble bursts, tossing you back onto the islet.

You are standing on a tiny rock islet, barely more than a few feet across, in the middle of a vast ocean. No land is visible in any direction, and the water swirls threateningly about your feet.

You see a white cube here.

A man in enchanter's robes stands on the islet, drying himself off.
You ask man about the shark
The enchanter, deep in thought, doesn't respond.

The enchanter raises a hand in greeting. "Well met, young clerk. I see you face a dangerous puzzle, and you must not do that unaided." He hands you back the black cube, which appears from thin air, and frowns in deep concentration.
You put the cube in Envelope
Done.

The enchanter stares into the distance, brow furrowed. "But no, that would be utter foolishness. Such an ancient power in the hands of..." he breaks off and studies you thoughtfully.
You close Envelope
Closed.

The enchanter shakes his head. "It is decided. What was, must be. Listen to me carefully. I shall grant you one spell, only one, the oldest and most sacred of all the lore of Quendor. I dare not speak its name or tell you its purpose. That, you alone must discover. Look at me now, and steel your heart with virtue."
You look at the enchanter
You feel the enchanter's eyes boring deep into your soul. A burst of power fills you, and a single spell leaps into existence at the back of your mind. The enchanter smiles, swirls his cloak, and is gone.

[You can now use the word SPELLS to check what spells you know.]
Spells
You have the qwerty spell (whatever that is), stamped indelibly on your mind.
You open Book
Opened. The burin flutters out again.
Log task
The burin scribbles something into the logbook.

"Isn't this fun?" giggles the burin. "By the Quill, 'twill make a tall tale to tell thy tykes."
You get the cube
As you touch the cube, the universe abruptly turns itself inside out.

The six interior walls of this perfectly cubical room are perfectly white and featureless. A single silver compass rose, balancing a delicate crystal sphere on its bloom, floats like a pedestal above the floor.

An animated burin is perched on your head.
You go south
The flickering light of the compass rose picks out the curve of this grimy corridor as it twists from north to southeast.

The compass rose continues to burn.

A dank, rancid breeze wafts up the corridor.
You go southeast
A narrow crawl to the northwest opens here into a wide natural chamber, showing signs of later excavation and even later collapse. Tortured fragments of rock and rusted equipment lie scattered among piles of human-looking bones that crunch horribly underfoot.

A terrified adventurer crouches among the rubble, frantically waving a pair of unlit brass lanterns.

The compass rose continues to burn.
You give the battery to the adventurer
The adventurer takes the battery with trembling hands, and fumbles it into the shiny new lantern. As the lamp switches on, he wipes the sweat from his brow and relaxes visibly. Tossing the battered old lantern aside, he starts walking around the chamber examining objects.

The compass rose continues to burn.

The adventurer tries to turn the collection of rocks.
You open Book
Opened. The burin flutters out again.

The compass rose continues to burn.

The adventurer listens to the collection of rocks.
Log task
The burin scribbles something into the logbook.

The compass rose continues to burn.

The adventurer mutters an incantation over the collection of rocks.
You get the lantern
Taken.

The compass rose continues to burn.

The adventurer tries to turn the scrawled lettering.

The burin practises its penthingship.
You go northwest
The flickering light of the compass rose picks out the curve of this grimy corridor as it twists from north to southeast.

The compass rose sputters urgently.

An animated burin flies in small circles around your head.
Go north
You are in a gently sloping underground passage which curves upwards to the west, and down into darkness to the south. A dim light filters in through cracked timbers overhead.

You see a white cube here.

The compass rose sputters urgently.

The white cube trembles softly.

An animated burin flies in small circles around your head.
You touch the cube
As you touch the cube, the universe abruptly turns itself inside out.

The six interior walls of this white cubical room are shaking and disintegrating as you watch.

You see a crystal ball here.

The compass rose blows apart in a soft shower of petals.

The walls sway with terrifying disregard for physics.
The sphere spits out several tiny shards with a crystalline -ping-.

An animated burin is perched on your head.
You touch the sphere
As you touch the sphere, a faint, flickering image forms in your mind:

You are standing on the peak of a mountain reaching high above the rim of the world. Dazzling light fills your eyes, and a hollow voice booms down:
"Don't try to match wits with us, Zuzvuz. We'll consider your request for reimplementation in the next beta release, not a single compile before."

The vision abruptly cuts to black, as the crystal sphere explodes into a thousand splinters!

Black writhing cracks appear in the walls, with endless night beyond.
Up
As you move in that direction, the universe abruptly turns itself inside out.

You are standing on the apex of a towering rock pinnacle high in the southern mountains. Before you, to the northeast, stands the unfinished shell of a building, presumably a temple of some kind.

You see a white cube here.

The white cube vaporises in a miniature thunderclap.

An animated burin hovers over your head.
You read the logbook
The opened log book contains a list of previous magic support problems and solutions, signed and dated by the clerk on duty at the time.

24/4   Malyon spell backfired; burin accidentally animated. Oops. Zuzvuz.
27/4   Adventurer eaten by stray grues. Resurrected with gaspar. Zuzvuz.
32/4   Trolls ravaging village. Applied two-handed axe; resolved. Felenar.
6/5    Some trouble communicating with cyclops. See legend 2001. Zuzvuz.
13/5   Adventurer llepsed gaspar. Summoned Implementors. Zuzvuz.
17/5   Implementors de-implemented Zuzvuz. Attempted blorple to Old Quendor. Felenar.
20/5   Felenar and Zuzvuz missing. Sent replacement job application to GUE Tech. Sorkin.
23/5   GUE Tech gated to Old Quendor. Llepsed golmac might work. Sorkin.
29/5   Two words: why me? New support clerk arrives tomorrow. Must train
before (after) breaking Sorkin's time loop. Assuming
counterspell
exists, if not... Helistar.
30/5   GUE Tech Vault jammed. Took time to open it. Krosk lord of blood.
30/5   Princess imprisoned without rezrov scroll. Delivered.
Krosk lord of blood.
30/5   Enchanter permanently snaviged. Broke spell with antimagic. Krosk lord of blood.
30/5   Tourist lost at rainbow chasm. Pushed off cliff blindfold. Krosk lord of blood.
30/5   Adventurer low on batteries. Improvised with vending machine. Krosk lord of blood.

The burin recites a few choice passages from the Rites of the Implementors, then laughs at them.
You enter the temple
You are inside the temple, which seems to be built roughly in a square; the roof, still unfinished, is open to the sky. In the centre of the room stands a transparent crystalline cube, about a metre a side. A doorless archway leads out to the southwest.

An animated burin hovers over your head.
You put the lamp on cube
As you put the battered old brass lantern on the crystal cube, it glows white and vanishes.
You put the ruler on the cube
As you put the silver slide rule on the crystal cube, it glows white and vanishes.
You put the coin on the cube
As you put the gold zorkmid on the crystal cube, it glows white and vanishes.

The burin makes a lunge at its shadow, and misses.
You put Book on the cube
As you put the log book on the crystal cube, it glows white and vanishes.

The burin vanishes in a flurry of white sparkles.
Qwerty
A bolt of thunder rumbles overhead.
Qwerty
The sky darkens, and thunder rolls again.
Qwerty
Jagged forks of lightning crackle through the swollen sky.
Qwerty
A single lurid sheet of blue lightning arcs through the roof and strikes the crystal cube. The universe turns white.

You are standing inside a very strangely dimensioned room, which appears to be composed of the plane surfaces between sixteen white cubes arranged at right angles to each other. It's the sort of thing you've had nightmares about while sleeping through Elementary Hyperspatial Topology 101. There are no visible exits.
You check your inventory
You are empty-handed.

A white-shadowed figure walks through a wall that isn't there, looks you up and down absently, and speaks to someone who patently doesn't exist.

"Dave? Looks like one of the NPCs has gone and tripped the invocation subroutine again. I'd better comment it out before... No, it can't be a player, we haven't had anyone get to the temple since we added the forest puzzle in the last beta. Maybe we should put in some more... okay, okay, I'll check. I'm telling you, though, there's not the slightest chance..."
You examine the figure
The Implementor looks vaguely author-shaped.

The Implementor continues talking to his unseen partner.

"Hey, what do you know? It's got the whole invocation right, and even logged all the support jobs! That's one smart NPC. Maybe we should take a copy of the object code and... yeah, okay, so it might be a player after all. Sure, hang on, I'll just check the trace file."
Qwerty
A bolt of thunder rumbles overhead.

"Oops. Looks like deleting Zuzvuz broke the whole GUE Tech timewarp simulation. It's running in an endless loop now. No, there's no way I'm coding that up again, there's some really hairy hacks in there. Easiest thing's just to put Zuzvuz back in and recompile from the last source backup. That should fix... oh, yeah, sure, I think I can reward the player somehow. Just give me a moment..."

Abruptly, the universe goes dark.

Nothing happens. It would seem that you are dead.
Wait
Abruptly, the universe returns.

GUE Tech, Modern Quendor
You are walking through a familiar college campus. Enchanters and students mingle around the ancient moss-covered buildings, and every few minutes you hear the thumps and yelps of spells misfiring in the labs. Bright sunlight shines down from a cloudless blue sky.
Go west
You enter the Interactive Mythology lab.

A woman in senior Enchanter's robes runs up to you, gives you an informal hug, and grins. "Well done, Krosk lord of blood. You've saved the entire known universe with a single spell. That's a tale which will be long remembered in the Encyclopedia Frobozzica. Oh, but before I forget, this just came for you."

Helistar hands you an envelope marked "Hero, Inc. Special Introductory Offer." With trembling hands, you eagerly tear it open...

But that's another story.