text: > Look around
  This great hall has at least pretensions of grandeur. For one thing, it is large and draughty. For another, it is impressively bedecked with banners, shields, swords and even the odd suit of armour; but the impression made is of faded mediaeval glory rather than modern
  potency. A wide staircase leads up to the north, and passages lead
  off to east and west, while the main exit is back out to the south.
  
  Duke William stands in the middle of the hall, regarding you coolly. Lady Inalda meanwhile stands at your side, facing him.
  
  > examine the banners
  On closer inspection some of the banners look faded, some tattered,
  and many both.
  
  > examine the armour
  The antique suits of armour look like they may have afforded some measure of protection against sword and mace, but not one of them
  would stop a musket ball.
  
  > ask Duke about the sword
  "I've come across the strangest thing, your grace," you tell him,
  "a
  sword buried in the hollow just to the southwest of the castle."
  
  "Well, should you manage to unbury it, perhaps you could bring it
  here
  to add to my collection," he suggests, glancing up at the wall.
  
  > ask Duke about pipe
  You don't know him well enough to engage him in idle chatter, and he doesn't look the sort of man who would welcome it.
  
  > ask Duke about Julia
  "What do you think about Julia, your grace?" you ask.
  
  "I think you ask too many questions, lieutenant," he replies.
  
  > go to the south
  Duke William watches you leave. Lady Inalda follows you out.
  
  Too small to count as a bailey, the courtyard is completely enclosed
  by the castle wall. An archway leads out of the courtyard to the south, while to the north stands a misshapen keep. What looks like a stable block rests against the western wall, and a long crude
  building, perhaps a barrack block for the castle guard, occupies the east wall.
  
  Lady Inalda stops in the middle of the courtyard and motions you to join her.
  
  "A word, if you please, lieutenant," she says. "I don't know
  whether
  you truly intend to do as my cousin asks, but perhaps there is something you might do for me."
  
  (You could ask what she wants, or ask her about smuggling.)
  
  > ask what she wants
  "What do you want of me, my lady?" you ask.
  
  "The most serious threat facing us right now is the blight," she
  tells
  you. "And it's not just the food shortages, it is all that flows
  from
  them, as Cadan Pascoe's attack this morning has brought home to me. Something must be done about it, but I feel so limited in
  what I can do without help. You on the other hand – well, perhaps being new here and more knowledgeable about the world beyond Valon, perhaps you could go and take a look at the blight and see if you can tell what might be behind it. And while you're at it, perhaps you could see if you can make any sense of this." She hands you a sheet
  of
  parchment.
  
  > examine the parchment
  The parchment bears a poem that reads:
  
  "Where copper, iron and tin are found,
  and ores extracted underground,
  there is a path the mountain through,
  which can be found by purpose true:
  true as knight's on holy quest,
  true as one who gives his best,
  true lies the route that shall not fail
  him who seeks the Holy Grail."
  
  > ask her about the parchment
  "Where did you get this?" you ask, indicating the parchment.
  
  "I came across it in the castle archives a few months back." she
  tells
  you.
  
  > ask her about the blight
  "What do you know about the blight?" you ask.
  
  "That it has turned valuable farmland into barren waste," she tells you.
  
  > ask her about the smuggling
  "What do you think about the smuggling that's apparently going on
  round here, my lady?" you ask.
  
  "To be honest, lieutenant, I am not so concerned about it as my
  cousin
  is," she tells you. "At least, I cannot see that any great harm is being done by it."
  
  > Continue
  She has already told you that she's not so concerned about the smuggling as her cousin is, and that she cannot see that any great
  harm is being done by it.
  
  > Topics
  You could ask her about the blight, the Holy Grail, or the poem.
  
  > ask her about Grail
  "Tell me, my lady, are there any Grail legends connected with this island?" you ask.
  
  "Funny you should ask that," she replies. "I vaguely recall
  hearing
  something as a child, but I never paid it much attention since; it
  just sounded too much like a child's fairy-tale, or else a popular legend told by the inhabitants of a small island to make themselves feel important. You know the sort of thing, the chalice Christ used
  at the Last Supper, the Holy Grail, passed through our blessed Isle of Valon. I'm sure there's nothing in it."
  
  > continue
  Lady Inalda has already told you that she vaguely recalls hearing some wild tale about the Holy Grail coming to Valon as a child, but that
  she dismisses it as a childish legend. There seems no point in pursuing the subject any further with her.
  
  > ask her about the poem
  "Do you have any idea what this poem means?" you ask her.
  
  "There's an old mine to the north of town," she tells you. "It
  looks
  like it could have something to do with that."
  
  > ask her about the poem
  "You think this poem could indicate a way through the Ridge?" you suggest.
  
  "It does seem to suggest that, lieutenant," she agrees, "but it
  is not
  entirely clear, is it? Anyway, I'd like you to find out what you
  can,
  but please don't take any risks. I want you to come back and tell me anything you discover; so please be careful."
  
  > ask her about the poem
  "Did your father and uncle follow this poem when they took their expedition?" you wonder.
  
  "I don't think so," she shakes her head. "No one said anything
  about
  a mine at the time, and I don't think they ever saw that
  parchment."
  
  > ask about the expedition
  "Can you tell me about..." you begin.
  
  "Wait! What was that?" She asks, cocking her head to one side.
  Then,
  after a moment, she continues, "Sorry, I thought I heard
  something."
  
  > ask about Ridge
  "What do you make of the Ridge, my lady?" you ask.
  
  "I think it strange that there should be such a barrier across the island," she replies.
  
  > continue
  She's already told you she thinks it's strange that there should be such a barrier across the island.
  
  > ask about the uncle
  "What sort of man was your uncle?" you ask.
  
  "The former Duke, you mean?" she asks. "He was proud, noble, courageous and determined. He was sure of his right to rule, but equally sure that such a right came with obligations."
  
  > Keep going
  She has already told you that her uncle, the former Duke, was proud, noble, courageous and determined; a man sure of his right to rule, but equally sure that such a right carried obligations.
  
  > ask about William
  She doesn't seem prepared to talk about him right now.
  
  > ask about poem
  There's probably not a lot more you can ask her about it right now.
  She doesn't know what the poem means, but thinks it may indicate a
  way
  through the Ridge via an old mine. She'd like you to investigate,
  but
  wants you to be careful; she wants you to come back and tell her whatever you discover.
  
  > Topics
  You could ask her about the blight.
  
  > ask about the blighty
  "Now, what about..." you begin.
  
  "Later, lieutenant," she interrupts you. "I'm a bit
  preoccupied right
  now."
  
  > ask about the blight
  "What effect has the blight had?" you want to know.
  
  "It has halved the island's agricultual production," she sighs.
  "I am
  sure you can work out the consequences of that for yourself, lieutenant:" she adds, "fear and hunger – and a lot more people
  taking
  up fishing!"
  
  > ask about the fishing
  "I imagine fishing must be quite an important industry here," you remark.
  
  "Indeed so," she agrees. "It is our principal source of food;
  beef,
  lamb and poultry are rare delicacies these days."
  
  > ask about the blight
  "Do you have any idea what caused the blight, my lady?" you ask.
  
  "No," she replies shortly, "and neither does anyone else, in my opinion. Oh, you'll probably hear some wild theories, but no one really knows."
  
  > Continue
  "Does anyone have any idea what to do about the blight?" you
  inquire.
  
  In reply she gives a bitter laugh, "Since no one understands its
  cause, you can hardly expect them to come up with a cure,
  lieutenant!"
  
  > Continue
  You've run out of things you can usefully ask her about the blight. She's already indicated that in her view no one knows either its
  cause
  or its cure, and that its effect has been to turn valuable farmland into barren waste, thereby halving the island's agricultural
  production and causing fear and hunger as a result.
  
  > go to the east
  Although from the outside the barracks don't exactly give the impression of being overcrowded, the chances are that some of the Duke's guards are living there, and you don't want to tangle with
  them.
  
  > go west
  "The way out is that way, lieutenant," Lady Inalda observes,
  pointing
  to the south with a faint smile.