Blue Lacuna — 169 of 467

Chapter - Stumps

The prose name of Stumps is "the cluster of tree stumps". The printed name of Stumps is "Among the Stumps". Understand "stumps" as southeast when location is Chairlift Base. Understand "stumps" as southwest when location is West-Marsh. The description of Stumps is "[stumpsdesc].". To say stumpsdesc:

if longform begin; say "The remains of what once must have been a small copse of trees on this bit of grassy land overlook the edge of [if Stumps is unvisited]a flat marsh[otherwise]the marsh[end if]. Across the marsh rises [if Stumps is unvisited]a[otherwise]the[end if] sheer cliff, rising to the summit of [if Stumps is unvisited]an imposing[otherwise]the[end if] mountain[dot]";

otherwise if raining; say "Rain patters off the stumps, seeping into the crumbling wood and staining it a rich, deep red-brown[dot]";

otherwise if afternoon or evening or sunset; say "Insects drift lazily through the sunbeams over the stumps, washed with the summery rays of the [if evening]evening[else]afternoon[end if] sun[dot]";

otherwise if dawn or sunrise or morning; say "Dew clings wetly to the twisted, crumbling roots at your feet, and mist dances over the marsh[dot]";

otherwise if night; say "[if moonup]The stumps are pale circles of rotting bark under the dull moonlight[otherwise]Unseen roots stretch out to trip you every few steps in the darkness[end if][dot]";

otherwise if midday; say "Humid air blows over the stumps from the marshlands, beginning to broil as the sun beats down[dot]";

otherwise; say "[one of][room ambience][or][time ambience][at random]";

end if;

say "Jutting from the rock near the short drop-off to the sea is a roughly-hewn [o]block[x] of grey stone[dot]";

if the pressure of the blue pipe > 0 and puzzle mode and Tsunami Sequence is not happening and Epilogue is not happening, say "[if pressure of the blue pipe < 3]Wisps of [o]steam[x] rise[otherwise if pressure of the blue pipe < 5][o]Steam[x] shoots[otherwise if pressure of the blue pipe < 8]Jets of [o]steam[x] shoot[otherwise]With a whistle, a high-pressure curtain of [o]steam[x] torrents[end if] up from a blue pipe off to the side of the path[dot]";

say "[exits]".

Understand "steam" as blue pipe when location is Stumps.

Understand "swampy" or "swamp" or "marshland" or "terrain" or "marsh" as northeast when location is Stumps.

The exits text of Stumps is "Far across the marsh [bw of West-Marsh][if dir]to the [northeast][otherwise][down] a soggy slope[end if] is the sheer cliff face of the mountain. You could also follow the drier stretch [bw of Rise][if dir][south] [end if][etstump2]". To say etstump2: say "[if not dir][up][otherwise]up[end if] the rise or [bw of Chairlift Base][if dir][northwest][otherwise]over[end if] to the tiny [dr]shack[x] at the base of the ropeway". Understand "shack" as northwest when location is Stumps.

Stumps-stuff is stuff in Stumps. Understand "remains/stretch/dropoff" as Stumps-stuff when location is Stumps.

Some old tree stumps are a setpiece in Stumps. Understand "stump/root/roots/bark" as tree stumps. The description is "About forty or fifty of the tall, swaying [if konokuk trees are named]konokuk[otherwise]fruit-bearing[end if] trees seem to have been felled some years ago, though moss and vines have since grown over what remains.[paragraph break]Almost hidden by accumulated dirt and vegetation, a blue bamboo [o]pipe[x] runs past a particularly [o]large[x] stump on its way to the ropeway.". The dream-text of old tree stumps is "tree stumps". Does the player mean entering old tree stumps: it is likely.

The old-windsigh-stump is a perchable setpiece in Stumps. The printed name is "particularly large stump". Understand "stump/large/particularly" as old-windsigh-stump. The description is "This stump is larger than the others and set apart a little, and as you examine it more closely, it seems clearly the remnant of another type of tree. Thousands of tiny cavities dot the surface, ranging in size from fist-shaped to the lower limits of your vision to make out.". Check touching old-windsigh-stump: say "You run your hands over the uneven surface of the stump, letting your fingers bounce in and out of the tiny cavities, but feel nothing unusual." instead. The dream-text of old-windsigh-stump is "tree stumps".

The tiny cavities are part of old-windsigh-stump. The description is "The hemispherical holes must have been spheres of empty space inside the tree, of all sizes."

Check entering old tree stumps: say "You perch on the top of a[if raining or rained] wet[end if] stump for a minute, but the rough-hewn wood makes for an uncomfortable seat, and after a moment, you stand again." instead.

A heavy block of uncut stone is a setpiece in Stumps. The description is "The stone seems to be part of a spire that once rose here, of some natural material that erodes more slowly than the surrounding rock. The part jutting up out of the earth has been roughly hacked into a block large enough to stand inside, were it hollow." Instead of taking or pushing heavy block, say "It's not going anywhere.". Check climbing heavy block: say "It's only just your height. You awkwardly hoist yourself up to the semi-flattened top of it and take a look around, but don't gain any new insights, so you lower yourself back to the ground." instead. Check touching heavy block: say "Salt encrusts the seaward side of the stone, from years or decades of high tide spray lashing against it, but the opposite side is smoother and grey, edges rough where human tools shaped it." instead. The dream-text of heavy block is "huge square pillars of roughly chiseled rock". Understand "carve [heavy block]" or "sculpt [heavy block]" or "sculpt" or "carve" or "chisel [heavy block]" as a mistake ("You don't have the tools for that, and wouldn't really know what to do with them if you did.") when location is Stumps.

Noticing-Snail-Shell is a scene. Noticing-Snail-Shell begins when time for excitement and we are going and location is Stumps and Jumble is unvisited. Noticing-Snail-Shell ends when Noticing-Snail-Shell begins.

When Noticing-Snail-Shell begins:

move white snail to location;

say "Something crunches underneath your foot. You lift it aside and see you have crushed an old abandoned [o]snail[x], its whorled edges a milky, pearlescent white.".

Report going from Stumps to Chairlift Base: say "Keeping the marsh on your right and a bluff overlooking the sea to your left, you approach a low mound at the corner of the island, topped by the shack.". Report going from Stumps to Rise: say "Climbing back up onto the old lava flow, you once again reach the viewpoint from its top.". Report going northeast from Stumps: say "You walk down a slight slope into boggier terrain, entering a long flat marsh that eventually merges with the ocean off [if dir]to the north[otherwise]in the distance[end if]."