Scroll Thief — 105 of 138

Chapter 3 - YONK GNUSTO GNUSTO YONK

Section A - The Enchanters Arrive

The player's capture is a puzzling scene with puzzle description "escaping the library". The player's capture begins when yonk is inscribed in your spell book and debug mode is false.

When the player's capture begins:

deactivate the dispenser; [No more scrolls for you.]

say "You suddenly hear the voice of the alarm system again: 'Hello again, footpad! The Frobozz Magic Alarm Company would like to inform you that the alarm has been noticed. The proper authorities have responded to the summons and will arrive shortly. Thank you for choosing a Frobozz Magic Alarm Company security system!'

Damn. You had started to think you were home free. You might still have time to escape, though...";

award points for "almost getting away with burglary";

mark checkpoint capture as passed;

if the location is the Antechamber, trigger the player's capture.

Instead of going to the Antechamber when the player's capture is happening and the player does not enclose your spell book, say "It wouldn't do to leave your spell book behind and flee empty-handed!".

Instead of going from the Antechamber when the player's capture is happening: say "Your feet seem to be glued to the floor."; take full time.

Instead of jumping in the Antechamber when the player's capture is happening: say "You attempt to lift your feet from the floor, but they are stuck fast."; take full time.

Effect of casting izyuk at the player when the player's capture is happening: say "You feel a bit lighter, but your feet refuse to leave the floor."

After going to the Antechamber when the player's capture is happening:

trigger the player's capture.

To trigger the player's capture:

move Frobar to the Antechamber;

move Helistar to the Antechamber;

move Haffibar to the Antechamber;

say "Almost there[--]you can see the door you [i]rezrov[/i][']d to get in[--]and then a sharp [i]crack[/i] near the display case diverts your attention. A short man wearing the robes of a Senior Enchanter is sprinting towards you, casting a spell from a parchment scroll. He shouts the word [i]'Foblub!'[/i] and your feet seem to glue themselves to the floor.[p]There are more strange noises, and two more Enchanters appear behind him. Wonderful. Escape was within your grasp, your spell book filled with powerful magic, and you failed.[p]'Are you the one who set off the alarm?' the short Enchanter asks roughly. ";

if the command override queue is not empty or the player consents:

say "'Good, I appreciate honesty. But why did you break in?'";

otherwise:

say "'If you didn't break in, what are you doing here?'";

now the prior named object is the player standin;

let the speech flag be false;

if the shattered display case is on-stage:

now the speech flag is true;

say "Another one points out the display case next to you. 'Look at that! The display case smashed[if the illuminated scroll is not on the shattered display case], and Berzio's scroll gone[end if]! Did [they] break in to vandalize things?";

otherwise if Saskia is on-stage:

say "Another one has been looking around, and seems to have spotted [Saskia] in the Returns Room. 'There's someone else here[--]seems to have been summoned? Here, don't worry, let me help you with that...[i]lleps zifmia[/i]!'";

now the prior named object is the player standin; [Reset this after mentioning Saskia]

say "At this, [if the speech flag is false]one of the others[else]the third[end if] notices your spell book. 'Look, Frobar. [He] has a student spell book. I bet [he] was trying to steal some spells from the Library.' You do your best to look shocked at the very idea, but the Enchanters don't seem convinced.[p]She takes the book and starts to flip through it. 'Yes, I knew it. [i]Rezrov[/i], [i]gnusto[/i], [i]frotz[/i][--]a second-year student wouldn't have any of these in a spell book ye[--]' She stops suddenly and her face goes white. Frobar runs over. 'Helistar, what is[--]wait[--]that's not possible[--]'[p]They look at you in shock. 'How can [he] have [i]yonk[/i] in [his] spell book? It's too powerful for [i]gnusto[/i] to copy...'[p]Helistar sets her own spell book down. 'Perhaps it's a simpler spell that one of the Spellwriting students misnamed. Let's see.' She concentrates on your book for a minute, then waves her hand. There is a faint hum, then a flash of brilliant light that leaves all of you momentarily blinded. 'No...that [i]frotz[/i] responded just as it should...'[p]Frobar turns to you. 'Will you explain how you ended up with a [i]yonk[/i] spell inscribed in a student spell book?'";

now every spell book enclosed by the player is carried by Helistar;

now the current interlocutor is Frobar;

setnode yonk-request-node.

Instead of casting a spell at something when the player's capture is happening:

unless the second noun is an Enchanter-certified person or the second noun is enclosed by an Enchanter-certified person, continue the action;

say "Helistar gestures at you, and your concentration is shattered. 'I wouldn't try that if I were you.'"

Instead of casting rezrov at the display case when the player's capture is happening, say "Attempted burglary is one thing, attempted burglary right in front of three suspicious Enchanters quite another. You doubt they[']d take kindly to it."

Instead of casting gnusto at the illuminated scroll when the player's capture is happening, say "Destroying the priceless scroll [i]right in front of three Enchanters[/i] might not be such a good idea."

Instead of casting zifmia at the player when the player's capture is happening and the player is reversed: say "Frobar waves his hand and the spell dissipates before it can really begin."; take full time.

Effect of casting serage at the player when the player's capture is happening:

say "As you complete the spell, you feel a strange force in your head, and your mind goes completely blank. Without a command to obey you find yourself incapable of action, and without being able to act you cannot give yourself a command...[p]The Enchanters look at each other. 'Did [regarding the player standin][she] seriously just do that?' One of them looks closely at you. 'We don't have time to deal with this right now. I say we let the librarians deal with [him] later.' With a flash of light they all disappear, leaving you standing there frozen.";

record "Attempting to control your own mind" as an ending;

end the story saying "That could have ended better".