Blue Lacuna — 204 of 467

Chapter - Steam Vents

The prose name of Steam Vents is "the volcano floor near the steam vents". The description of Steam Vents is "[steamventsdesc].". To say steamventsdesc:

if volcano sculpture is on-stage begin;

say "Hot [o]steam[x] swirls around you in waves and curtains from hundreds of [o]holes[x] in the lava, ranging from tiny mouse-holes to chasms big enough to drop a house into. The steam has given an army of grass, mosses and ferns the toehold they need to start to reclaim the lava flow. Loose [o]scree[x] runs up the steep slope of the caldera wall towards ";

if sunrise or morning or evening or sunset begin;

say "[distant-sculpture] high above catching the rays of the unseen sun";

otherwise if midmorning or midday;

say "[distant-sculpture] high above reflecting the rays of the sun";

otherwise;

say "[distant-sculpture] high above";

end if;

say " on the rim of the volcano";

otherwise;

say "The landslide has almost completely covered this area with smooth, unsteady sand littered with boulders and lava rock. While a few trickles of [o]steam[x] still push up through the newly disturbed ground, it seems as if the volcano must have found another place to vent its energy";

end if;

if volcano sculpture is on-stage, say ".[paragraph break]Splintered, rotting [o]timbers[x] poke out of one nearby chasm, steam swelling their blackened sides";

say ".[paragraph break][exits]".

Instead of whistling when location is Steam Vents: let atd be indexed text; let atd be the player's command; say "You [atd in lower case] as loud as you can. A few pieces of scree on the slope before you quiver and sand trickles down the slope as the echoes die away, bouncing around the inside of the caldera."

Some rotting timbers are a setpiece in Steam Vents. The description is "It looks as if these boards once sealed this steam vent like the one near the boiler, but some dramatic event, perhaps a boulder tumbling down the interior of the caldera, smashed through the timbers and sent most of them tumbling into the bottomless abyss below. The few warped and twisted boards clinging to the chasm now are useless.". Instead of taking timbers, say "They are beyond repair.". Understand "vent/vents/abyss/board/boards/chasm" as rotting timbers when location is Steam Vents. Understand "block/cover" as "[block]". Understand "[block] vents" as a mistake ("You don't see any materials nearby you could use to do that.") when location is Steam Vents. Check pushing timbers: say "You manage to shove a few more of the rotting board fragments into the steam vent. They go tumbling and clattering down into the heat and blackness." instead. Check pulling timbers: try taking timbers instead. Understand "fix [timbers]" or "repair [timbers]" as a mistake ("Only a few fragments of the original boards remain. You would need lumber and tools to seal this steam vent again.") when location is Steam Vents. Understand "push [timbers] in/into/to chasm/vent/vents" as pushing when location is Steam Vents.

SteamVents-stuff is stuff in Steam Vents. Understand "waves/curtains/army/ray/rays/sand/boulders/trickle/trickles" as SteamVents-stuff when location is Steam Vents.

Check going up when location is Steam Vents: try climbing loose scree instead.

The printed name of Steam Vents is "Inside the Caldera, At the [if volcano sculpture is on-stage]Steam Vents[otherwise]Landslide[end if]". The exits text of Steam Vents is "Elsewhere in the caldera is the [dr]rift[x] [if dir]to the [northeast] [end if]and the cinder [dr]cone[x][if dir] to the [east][end if]". Understand "rift" as northeast when location is Steam Vents.

Report going northeast from Steam Vents: say "You follow the curve of the caldera back around towards the great rift in the wall." Report going east from Steam Vents: say "You follow the curve of the caldera [if dir]along its southern edge [end if]to the base of the cinder cone."

The distant-sculpture is a backdrop in Steam Vents. The printed name is "[if Rim of Volcano is visited]the abstract [o]sculpture[x][otherwise]something [o]shiny[x] and tall[end if]". Understand "sculpture/shiny/tall" as distant-sculpture. The description is "It's well above your head, and you can't see any details from this distance.".

Some steam-vents are a setpiece in Steam Vents. Understand "steam" or "vent" or "vents" or "hole" or "holes" or "hundreds" or "of" or "tiny" or "mouse-hole" or "mouse-holes" or "chasm" or "chasms" as steam-vents. The printed name of steam-vents is "steam vents". The description is "[if volcano sculpture is on-stage]The steam billows continuously from vents of all sizes, so no matter where you stand you're always getting hit by a blast of wet, superheated air. Fortunately there's no smell of sulfur: the clouds of steam are nearly odorless, perhaps even a little sweet[otherwise]Just a few trickles of steam, now[end if]." Instead of touching or taking some steam-vents, try touching steam-itself. Instead of smelling some steam-vents, try smelling steam-itself. Instead of entering steam-vents, say "Sounds like a good way to get baked alive.".

Some loose scree is a setpiece in Steam Vents. Understand "slope" as loose scree. The description is "Millions of tiny black rocks, filled with holes where superheated air bubbled through them, run up the slopes of the caldera at a precarious angle.". Instead of touching or taking scree, say "The aeration has made the rocks surprisingly light." Instead of entering or climbing scree, say "The crater wall quickly steepens-- you wouldn't be able to progress very far without starting an avalanche." Instead of pushing or attacking scree: say "You push against one of the larger rocks in the scree, and immediately a tiny avalanche of pebbles and silt whispers down the slope, coming to rest long seconds later." instead.

The steam-itself is a backdrop. It is in Steam Vents, Volcano Floor, Chairlift Base, Chasm Floor, Chasm Edge, and Observatory Exterior. The description is "White, wispy, ephemeral." Instead of touching or taking steam-itself: say "The hot, moist air billows over your hand, which feels suddenly cool when you pull it away.". Instead of smelling or tasting steam-itself, say "The steam is almost completely odorless." Understand "steam" or "wisp" or "wisps" as steam-itself. Instead of examining steam-itself when an outflow tube (called source) is enclosed by location: try examining source instead.

Understand "cluster" as west when location is Cinder Cone. Understand "cone" as east when location is Steam Vents.