text: [Themes: Mystery, Slice of life, house setting]
  
  > Look around
  This vast room is presumably where the D'Arcy clan eat their meals; it reminds you too much of your old school dinner hall for you to feel entirely comfortable here. A large sturdy table sits in the centre of the room, surrounded by ten carefully-crafted chairs, and a set of antique jugs rest on stools in a small alcove in the west wall. The walls are covered in paintings which look impressive until you examine them closely and see that they are certainly not in the league of the great masters. The back garden is accessible via a door to the north, a corridor leads south, and the kitchen is through the swing doors to the east.
  
  Good old Uncle Albert stands nearby with a glass of brandy in one hand.
  
  > ask Albert about the golf
  "I'd love to have a game, but these doors out to the gardens are locked, I'm afraid."
  
  > Go south
  Here at the heart of the manor is an oak passageway with doorways leading to most rooms on the ground floor. You can see the great dining hall to the north, and a brass sign above the doorway to the northeast states "Kitchen", but the east and southwest exits hold no clues as to where they lead. The entrance hall is off to the south, and a sturdy door stands in the western wall.
  
  Scamp, the family dog, sits and whines, his lead tied to a door handle.
  
  A simple polished table lies in the southeast corner.
  
  > Go southwest
  You are in a glorious oak-panelled room, with a large fireplace to one side. This is where the family relaxes, assuming that such a monstrous family relaxes at all. An antique-style telephone rests on the mantelpiece, and a large hi-tech widescreen television sits on a video recorder in the corner. From here, you observe exits to the east and northeast.
  
  A young woman called Chloe sits nearby reading a book.
  
  > ask Chloe about the wedding
  "I get dragged all this way against my will to some poxy wedding, and the groom legs it before the ceremony. Typical!"
  
  > look up Chloe in the programme
  "CHLOE FRANKLYN, cousin to the bride. She was originally offered the role of bridesmaid, but declined on the grounds that she wouldn't be able to wear her Doc Martens. Chloe is a bit of a 'goth' which basically means that she dresses like someone out of The Addams Family. She is a science fiction fanatic and particularly enjoys the show 'Battlebase'."
  
  > ask Chloe about the battlebase
  "Best programme on television. You a fan then?"
  
  > Yes
  Chloe takes her feet off the table and sits up. "Okay then," she says, "prove it. Name one of the three student officers who join the Caradeen in 'New Intake'."
  
  > say david
  (to Chloe)
  "Ha, I knew it," she says triumphantly. "You're just lying so you can creep to me. Well it won't work." You take it from her reply that your answer was wrong.
  
  > examine the video recorder
  A slim, sleek model with a slot for cassettes and the buttons REW, PLAY, FF, STOP and EJECT underneath.
  
  The video recorder is currently switched off.
  
  > switch recorder on
  You switch the video recorder on.
  
  > press the PLAY on the recorder
  With a lot of effort, the video recorder wakes up and starts playing the tape.
  
  The video recorder emits a series of clicking noises, then starts to rewind.
  
  The video recorder is making a whirring sound.
  
  > Wait
  You wait for a moment.
  
  The video recorder is making a whirring sound.
  
  > ask Chloe about the docs
  The woman doesn't respond. She seems to think it's trendy to be ignorant.
  
  The video recorder is making a whirring sound.
  
  > ask Chloe about Malcolm
  For the briefest moment, her face lights up. "Yeah, he's a bit of all right is Malcolm." Then she realises what she is doing, and quickly wears her 'couldn't care less' expression.
  
  The video recorder is making a whirring sound.
  
  > Examine tv
  The television is large, with a wide screen and large speakers at either side. You can see a power switch but not the means to change channels - maybe that is done with a remote control.
  
  The television is currently switched off.
  
  The video recorder is making a whirring sound.
  
  > turn on the tv
  Chloe tuts, clearly unhappy that you're disturbing her reading.
  
  You catch a moment of dialogue from the Australian soap opera playing on the television. "I hate you! You've ruined my life!" screams a teenager, before slamming a door.
  
  The video recorder is making a whirring sound.
  
  > ask Chloe about Deborah
  Chloe glares at you and the television, then gets back to her book.
  
  You catch a moment of dialogue from the Australian soap opera playing on the television. "Carole," says a young woman, "my parents are leaving town, so can you adopt me?" "Yeah, sure," replies Carole.
  
  With a <clunk!>, the video recorder stops rewinding the tape.
  
  > press PLAY
  [ Try PRESS <button> ON VIDEO RECORDER. ]
  
  You catch a moment of dialogue from the Australian soap opera playing on the television. "I'm going to make it in the sheep farming business!" says a young woman firmly. "You see if I don't!"
  
  > press the PLAY on video recorder
  I only understood you as far as wanting to switch the television.
  
  With a lot of effort, the video recorder wakes up and starts playing the tape.
  
  You catch a moment of dialogue from the Australian soap opera playing on the television. "Carole," says a young woman, "my parents are leaving town, so can you adopt me?" "Yeah, sure," replies Carole.
  
  > press stop on the video recorder
  The video recorder whirrs slightly as the tape stops playing.
  
  You catch a moment of dialogue from the Australian soap opera playing on the television. "I'm going to make it in the sheep farming business!" says a young woman firmly. "You see if I don't!"
  
  > Examine tv
  The television is large, with a wide screen and large speakers at either side. You can see a power switch but not the means to change channels - maybe that is done with a remote control.
  
  The television is currently switched on.
  
  You catch a moment of dialogue from the Australian soap opera playing on the television. "I trusted you!" whimpers a teenage girl. "And you cheated on me!"
  
  > ask Chloe about the remote
  Chloe glares at you and the television, then gets back to her book.
  
  You catch a moment of dialogue from the Australian soap opera playing on the television. "It's Bob!" a distraught man says. "He's been involved in some sort of accident!" "What, again?" an unimpressed woman asks.
  
  > turn off the tv
  "Hurrah," says Chloe in an exaggerated manner.
  
  > Examine book
  The cover depicts a seaside pier in silouette, with a disproportionately large full moon behind it. "The Vampire Brood of Bognor Regis" reads the title, "by the acclaimed author Floella Witt".
  
  > ask Chloe about the book
  "It's 'The Vampire Brood of Bognor Regis' by Floella Witt."
  
  The video recorder emits a series of clicking noises, then starts to rewind.