Scroll Thief — 132 of 138

Chapter 1 - The Astronomer

An astronomer is a masculine ghost. "A young man is sitting on the edge of the dome, looking out at the [if it is nighttime]stars[else]sky[end if]." The printed name of the astronomer is "young man". Understand "young" or "man" or "Jani" or "Aalto" as the astronomer. The description of the astronomer is "A young man with wavy hair and a faraway look in his eyes. When you look directly at him his form seems to shimmer slightly, and there is a silvery tint to his skin." A telescope is part of the astronomer. The description of the telescope is "An old-fashioned brass telescope." Instead of searching the telescope: say "The silvery glow of the lenses makes it difficult to see anything."; take full time.

The haunted location of the astronomer is Atop the Dome.

Greeting response for the astronomer: say "[one of]He turns toward you, looking amused. 'Why, hello. I did not expect to see anyone up here at this time of [if it is nighttime]night[else]day[end if].'[or]'Hello again, student Enchanter.'[stopping]"

The ask-suggestions of the astronomer are { self-suggestion, the moon }.

Response of the astronomer when asked about the astronomer:

now the printed name of the astronomer is "astronomer";

say "'Jani Aalto. I was a student here once, learning astronomy and astrology.'";

add astronomy to the ask-suggestions of the astronomer;

add the stars to the ask-suggestions of the astronomer.

astronomy is a familiar subject. Understand "astrology" as astronomy.

Response of the astronomer when asked about astronomy:

remove astronomy from the ask-suggestions of the astronomer, if present;

say "'I still make star charts for the Enchanters now. I was never very good at magic, but I'm told the celestial conditions can affect the creation of spells. Of course at the moment the fault is not in the stars, from what I've heard.'";

add the current situation to the ask-suggestions of the astronomer.

The current situation is a subject. Understand "fault" or "events" or "recent events" as the current situation.

Response of the astronomer when asked about the current situation:

remove the current situation from the ask-suggestions of the astronomer, if present;

say "He shrugs. 'I don't know much about it, but from what the others say, it seems to be something involving the Cubes of Foundation.'";

now the Cubes of Foundation are familiar;

add the Cubes of Foundation to the ask-suggestions of the astronomer.

The Cubes of Foundation are an unfamiliar subject. Understand "cube" or "white" as the Cubes of Foundation.

Response of the astronomer when asked about the Cubes of Foundation:

remove the Cubes of Foundation from the ask-suggestions of the astronomer, if present;

say "'The guildmaster found one back in the day. Was it Belboz? No, possibly the one before him...it's probably still in the library now, sitting in storage somewhere.'"

Cubes-puzzle is a puzzling scene with puzzle description "locating a Cube of Foundation". The cubes-puzzle begins when the Cubes of Foundation are familiar. The cubes-puzzle ends when the player encloses the featureless white cube.

Blorple-cube-puzzle is a puzzling scene with puzzle description "figuring out what to do with this cube". The blorple-cube-puzzle begins when the cubes-puzzle ends. The blorple-cube-puzzle ends when the Balance Room is visited.

Response of the astronomer when asked about the moon:

say "He peers through the telescope again. '[if it is daytime]It was a[else]A[end if] frotz moon tonight, see the color? A good omen. Something changing for the better.'"

Response of the astronomer when asked about the stars:

say "'I watch the stars here every night. Things in Quendor may change, but the heavens remain the same...'"

Response of the astronomer when asked about "Belboz":

say "'Belboz? He was the previous Guildmaster. I believe he took the title of Necromancer for himself.'"

Response of the astronomer when asked about "title/titles/necromancer/necromancy/chronomancer/chronomancy/spellbreaker":

say "'It is a custom, of sorts, for each Guildmaster to take a special title of their own choosing. Belboz called himself Necromancer because of his study of death. Barbel of Gurth was Chronomancer, Orkan of Thriff was Intector...our Guildmaster[--]the current one, I mean[--]calls [regarding the player standin][himself] Spellbreaker, as you've likely heard.'"

Response of the astronomer when given-or-shown the featureless white cube:

say "He looks at the cube curiously. 'That does look like one of the legendary Cubes, but I've only read of them. And there aren't any distinguishing features to tell for sure.'"

Response of the astronomer when asked about "the/our/-- current/-- guildmaster/spellbreaker":

say "'If I recall correctly, [regarding the player standin][she] [were] named as Belboz's successor after saving him from...a demon? [His] age was the cause of much consternation at the time, but [she] [are] said to be a powerful Spellbreaker indeed.'"

Response of the astronomer when asked about "quendor":

say "'The land has fallen on hard times, from the sound of it, with the recent events involving magic.'"