Scroll Thief — 93 of 138

Book IV - The Library and Returns Room

Chapter 1 - The Returns Room

The Returns Room is southwest of the Antechamber. It is dark. "This is the room where book returns are processed. It's one of the few areas of the library you've been in before, but you vividly remember the Frobozz Magic Reshelving Device. You placed your book on the mahogany input tray, then watched as it was drawn up a cloth conveyor belt and slid over a series of differently-shaped moving pieces until it was pulled into the machine."

The Returns Room is in the Library.

Effect of casting vezza at the Returns Room: say "A figure picks up a book, then suddenly vanishes into thin air."

Inverse effect of casting vezza at the Returns Room: say "A dark-haired woman opens a door at the back of the Reshelver and lifts out a stack of books. She begins carrying them to the north, but one slips off the stack and lands on the floor."

Empowered effect of casting vezza at the Returns Room: say "It is apparently morning again, but the Reshelver remains silent and inactive. A thin layer of dust has begun to collect on the tray."

The Frobozz Magic Reshelving Device is magical ropable scenery in the Returns Room. The description is "A hulking contraption of bronze and iron, currently deactivated for the night. Most of the machinery is covered, except for the input tray and the control panel." Understand "slot" or "slots" or "belt" or "conveyor" or "reshelver" or "pieces" or "machine" or "machinery" or "covered" or "cover" as the reshelving device.

Instead of switching on or switching off the reshelving device: say "You don't see any obvious way to do that. You'd need to ask one of the Librarians."

The mahogany input tray is a supporter. It is part of the reshelving device. The description is "It's just a flat tray of dark wood. If the library device were running, books would slide off this onto the conveyor to be sorted."

Instead of putting something on the reshelving device: now the noun is the input tray; continue the action. [try putting the noun on the input tray.]

A control panel is part of the Reshelving Device. The description of the panel is "It looks like a numerical keypad of some sort. You have no idea what would happen if you typed something on it." Understand "numerical" or "keypad" or "keyboard" as the control panel.

Instead of casting kulcad at when the second noun is the input tray or the second noun is the control panel: try casting kulcad at the reshelving device.

Effect of casting kulcad at the magical reshelving device:

say "The machine lets out a sigh as the machinery inside it collapses slightly.";

now the reshelving device is not magical.

Setting it numerically to is an action applying to one thing and one number and requiring light. Understand "set [something] to [number]" as setting it numerically to. Understand "turn [something] to [number]" as setting it numerically to. Understand "type [number] on [something]" as setting it numerically to (with nouns reversed).

Instead of setting the control panel numerically to:

say "You press some buttons, but nothing happens. It seems the keypad does nothing until the machine it turned on, and only the Librarians can do that.";

take full time.

The Tome of Psychological Incantations is a spell book on the input tray. Understand "purple" as the Tome of Psychological Incantations. The printed name of the Tome is "purple tome". The indefinite article of the tome is "a".

After examining the tome for the first time: now the indefinite article of the tome is "the"; now the printed name of the tome is "Tome of Psychological Incantations"; make no decision. [This last line is necessary to let other After rules (such as listing the inscribed spells) run.]

The description of the tome is "A heavy purple tome, titled the 'Tome of Psychological Incantations'. The first third of the book is a long treatise on the theory behind mind-affecting spells, and you can only understand about one word in every [a random number between two and ten in words]. The second gives background information on various incantations. But the third seems the most promising:[r]".

Serage is inscribed in the Tome. Yomin is inscribed in the Tome.

Understand "serage" or "yomin" as the tome when the command is not metamagic.

The tome attempt flag is initially false.

Tome-puzzle is a puzzling scene with puzzle description "removing the Tome from the Returns Room". Tome-puzzle begins when the tome attempt flag is true. Tome-puzzle ends when the Returns Room does not enclose the Tome.

Before printing the locale description of the Returns Room when a book is on the input tray: say "[A list of books on the input tray] [lie] on the input tray, ready for reshelving."[1]

[After putting something on the input tray when the library device is switched on:

carry out the reshelving activity with the noun.]

After going from the Returns Room when the player carries the Tome and the reshelving device is magical:

if the room gone to is the Tiny Office, make no decision;

say "As the purple tome touches the doorway, it seems to hit an invisible barrier and falls from your hand! A recorded voice sounds from the Reshelver: [tt]'This book is not checked out to you. Please wait for the return to be processed.'[/tt][br]";

move the Tome to the Returns Room;

now the remembered location of the Tome is the Returns Room;

suggest the command "LOOK (DIRECTION)";

now the tome attempt flag is true;

say line break;

make no decision. [This lets any other After rules work.]

After someone going from the Returns Room when the actor is carrying the Tome and the reshelving device is magical:

if the room gone to is the Tiny Office, make no decision;

if the player can see the actor, say "[The Tome] falls from [the actor]'s hand as [they] [step] through the archway.";

move the Tome to the Returns Room;

now the tome attempt flag is true;

make no decision.

After an actor throwing the Tome at from the Returns Room to a room which is not the Returns Room when the reshelving device is magical:

if the throw destination is the Tiny Office or the throw destination is enclosed by the Tiny Office, make no decision;

if the player can see the actor:

say "[The actor] [fling] [the Tome] toward the doorway, but it loses momentum and falls to the floor before passing the threshold.";

now the tome attempt flag is true;

move the Tome to the Returns Room.