Blue Lacuna — 217 of 467

Chapter - Hive Room

The printed name of Hive Room is "At the Hive". Understand "rockslide" as south when location is Hive Room.

The prose name of Hive Room is "the giant beehive". The description of Hive Room is "[hiveroomdesc].". To say hiveroomdesc:

if longform begin; say "At a wide spot in the thin border zone between the rain forest and the jagged rift rises a massive organic mound, a [sayhive] several times your height: grayish-pink and almost whimsical in its curved irregularities. It makes a distinctive landmark at the halfway point of the long narrow chute between the rockslide and [if Edge of Ravine is visited]the edge of the ravine[otherwise]a sudden dropoff farther ahead[end if][dot]";

otherwise if raining; say "Raindrops drizzle and stream down the weird curves of the [sayhive] sedately, though now the design of the skylights becomes more clear, as none of the water drips into the interior[dot]";

otherwise if rained and afternoon; say "The [sayhive] glistens wetly in the misty afternoon light, its light exterior soaked to a deep, textured brown[dot]";

otherwise if afternoon; say "The whimsical curves of the [sayhive] are already in the dark shadow of the lava flow, except for a grey-gold tuft near the skylights at its top[dot]";

otherwise if morning; say "The vicinity of the [sayhive] stirs with busy activity in the golden light, as if the bees are eager to get to work[dot]";

otherwise if twilight or dawn; say "The [sayhive] is still and silent in the faint half-light, strangely alien without the drone of its daytime workers[dot]";

otherwise if night; say "The [sayhive] seems strange and mysterious in the darkness, curves and shapes turned to unpredictable angles and disturbing lines[dot]";

otherwise; say "The [sayhive] rises above you, several times your height, a grayish-pink whimsical structure of curves and ridges[dot]";

end if;

say "[exits]". To say sayhive: say "[o]beehive[x]".

The exits text of Hive Room is "The edge of the rain [dr]forest[x] [bw of Forest2][if dir][east] [end if]continues [bw of Edge of Ravine][ethr2]". To say ethr2: say "[if dir][north] and [bw of Rockslide][south][otherwise]toward a [dr]dropoff[x] or [bwt of Rockslide]the [dr]rockslide[x][end if], "; say "and a small [dr]gap[x] in the lava flow [if dir][bw of Grassy End][northwest] [end if]also looks passable[if Hive Interior is visited]. You could also climb [up] the beehive itself[end if]". Understand "gap" as northwest when location is Hive Room. Understand "dropoff" as north when location is Hive Room. Understand "forest" as east when location is Hive Room.

HiveRoom-stuff is stuff in Hive Room. Understand "spot/border/zone/rift" as HiveRoom-stuff when location is Hive Room.

Report going from Hive Room to Rockslide: say "You climb back up onto the boulder field, stepping carefully as the odd rock shifts under your weight.". Report going from Hive Room to Edge of Ravine: say "You follow the grassy path downhill, keeping the edge of the lava flow on your left and the rain forest on your right, till you come to a sudden dropoff.".

The ambience table of Hive Room is Table of Hive Room ambience.

Table of Hive Room ambience

Table of Beehive ambience

Instead of listening when beehive is enclosed by location or swarm is enclosed by location, say "[if night]The bees are silent in the darkness of night[otherwise]The gentle drone of the bees makes the [Progue-time-of-day] light somehow seem thicker and heavier[end if].".

The beehive is a backdrop. It is in Hive Room and Hive Interior. Understand "hive" or "massive" or "organic" or "mound" or "grayish-pink" or "grayish" or "pink" or "whimsical" or "curved" or "irregularity" or "irregularities" or "textured" or "wall" or "walls" or "dome" or "top" or "side" or "sides" or "walls of hive" or "wall of hive" as beehive. The description is "Rising well above your head, the curved and textured walls ripple and fold [one of]vertically[or]like a ladder[stopping] before eventually curving in to form a dome, though the top seems to be broken by several large [o]skylights[x]. A number of other small gaps and windows pepper the upper sides of the hive, allowing you obscured glimpses of the interior[if time for excitement].[paragraph break]It looks like you could easily climb the walls of the beehive[end if].". Instead of climbing or entering the beehive, try going up. Instead of touching the beehive, say "The walls of the hive are as strong as cement, surprising since their texture seems light and airy.". Does the player mean climbing or entering the beehive: it is very likely. The dream-text of the beehive is "honeycombs". Instead of attacking the beehive, say "You slam a hand against the wall of the hive, but it's as solid as rock.".

Instead of searching the beehive: say "The holes in the wall of the hive are all higher than your head, so you can't see in very well from here.".

Report going from Hive Room to Hive Interior: say "The numerous ripples and swirls of the textured hive made for good hand and footholds[if we have not touched the beehive], and the papery-grey surface is hard as a rock[end if]. You climb [if player is wounded]laboriously, keeping your weight on the good leg,[else]easily[end if] up to the level of the windows.". Report going from Hive Interior to Hive Room: say "Carefully, you climb back down to ground level.".

The beehive-windows are part of the beehive. The printed name is "hive windows". Understand "beehive windows" or "window" or "windows" or "hole" or "holes" or "largest" or "skylight/skylights" as the beehive-windows. The description of the beehive-windows is "[if location is Hive Interior]From here, you can easily see through the opening into the interior of the hive.[otherwise]Of irregular sizes and intervals around the upper third of the hive, the largest of these windows provides a good view of the textured ceiling of the dome, from this angle.[end if]". Instead of entering or climbing the beehive-windows, say "[if location is Hive Interior]The windows aren't big enough to easily squeeze through, but you can see through them fine[otherwise]The windows are well above your head[end if]." Instead of searching the beehive-windows when location is Hive Room, say "All you can see from here is the ceiling of the dome.". Instead of touching beehive-windows: say "[if location is Hive Interior]They are just organic openings running around the top of the hive[otherwise]You can't reach them from down here[end if]."

Discovering-Hive-Is-Climbable is a scene. Discovering-Hive-Is-Climbable begins when Hive Interior is unvisited and the player is in Hive Room for at least the fourth time. When Discovering-Hive-Is-Climbable begins: say "You catch movement out the corner of your eye, and turn just in time to see a cat-sized creature with brown fur and and long tail clamber frantically down the rippled side of the beehive and dash into the protection of the rain forest. You are surprised that the walls of the hive supported its weight.". Discovering-Hive-Is-Climbable ends when Discovering-Hive-Is-Climbable begins.