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Text Adventure Playthrough #9: Slouching Towards Bedlam

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I always thought that poem was titled Slouching Towards Bethlehem, not The Second Coming. Maybe that’s because my main exposure to it has been through Joni Mitchell’s musical rendition.

     
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That narrow tower sounds like the Panopticum. In true exploratory fashion, let’s make that the last place to visit… Smile

> e
> s

     

The truth can’t hurt you, it’s just like the dark: it scares you witless but in time you see things clear and stark. - Elvis Costello
Maybe this time I can be strong, but since I know who I am, I’m probably wrong. Maybe this time I can go far, but thinking about where I’ve been ain’t helping me start. - Michael Kiwanuka

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Joni Mitchell’s song is new to me. Joan Didion has nothing to do with anything of course, but I would not be surprised if Yeats’ Beast is born in this game’s Bedlam.

>x building
>x tower
>w

Oops! Sorry, Timovieman, didn’t see your post.

     

See you around, wolf. Nerissa

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>e

Lobby
The walls and floor are a clinical white tile and marble. However, the dim lights set above this echoing space hiss and pop fitfully, giving the small maze of desks and workspaces within a tarnished, decaying look.

A set of solid gates lie opened and unlocked to the east and west. A small corridor runs northward and from the south, the bright light of day is visible through a set of glass doors.

James sits behind his desk, nervously working.

Triage silently rolls to a stop.

>s
Courtyard
This walled off area sits at the bottom of a massive staircase which leads into the building to the north. At its base is a sign reading “Bethlehem Hospital - Administration.” The outer walls meet here - meeting at the distant gates which sit to the southeast.

Flanking the top of the staircase on either side are two colossal statues.

A hansom cab sits here with a tired old horse hitched to the front and its driver waiting patiently.

When he hears footsteps clatter across the courtyard, the driver tilts his hat back and says “Where to then, Doc?” with a smile.

Triage obediently appears.

     
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Karlok - 08 April 2021 10:17 AM

The Second Coming
BY WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS

Smile

Checked out “Ceremony of Innocence”; interest piqued.

Back to Bedlam!

>x statues

where do we want to go? How about our flat?

     
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Vegetable Party - 08 April 2021 12:18 PM

where do we want to go? How about our flat?

Sure, why not!

     
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Wait, we looked out the window in the office, and it looked down on the courtyard.
We go south twice, but now we’re in that courtyard???

Am I missing something or did they get their orientation wrong?

     

The truth can’t hurt you, it’s just like the dark: it scares you witless but in time you see things clear and stark. - Elvis Costello
Maybe this time I can be strong, but since I know who I am, I’m probably wrong. Maybe this time I can go far, but thinking about where I’ve been ain’t helping me start. - Michael Kiwanuka

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I guess it’s a bit strange that the courtyard was far below the window. It could however be a big courtyard, and there might be stairs between the rooms.

This could also be another clue about something being not quite as it seems.

     
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We went through the lobby and down the large staircase with the statues to reach the courtyard. Even if there were stairs between the office and the lobby, that window should’ve either looked onto the roof of the lobby or in another direction entirely. Tongue

Something definitely isn’t quite as it seems…

     

The truth can’t hurt you, it’s just like the dark: it scares you witless but in time you see things clear and stark. - Elvis Costello
Maybe this time I can be strong, but since I know who I am, I’m probably wrong. Maybe this time I can go far, but thinking about where I’ve been ain’t helping me start. - Michael Kiwanuka

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>x statues
Human figures, they are—bald and muscular, naked except for a stream of cloth about their waists, each lying against an arch of stone. The leftmost - Melancholy - grips the ground beneath him with a look of placid despair. On the right lies Mania, struggling against his chains.

     
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>x cab
>x driver
>x horse
>go to flat
If that doesn’t work, maybe we can go to one of the places mentioned in the cylinder? Like Smithfield, Newgate, Market, Du Mondes, Fleet Street.

     

See you around, wolf. Nerissa

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>x cab
A fine cab, painted black with a tired old horse hitched to its front.  In driver’s seat, set at the rear of the vehicle, sits its smiling driver.

>x driver
An older gentleman, skin tanned and wrinkled. He wears both a hat and an easy grin.

>x horse
Poor thing - she looks as if she’ll fall over any moment.

>go to flat
No such thing can be seen.

>get in cab
Entered.

Faced with the task of climbing into the cab, Triage is more than up to the challenge. Raising and extending first two wheels and then the others, it clambers inside beside.

>go to flat
No such thing can be seen.

>

I’ve played around for a while trying to “go to” places, but I’m at a loss as to how that’s done. Any ideas?

edit: It seems to work to say “take me to ” when inside the cab. Strangely “flat” doesn’t work but “home” does,

>take me home
/(distancespacetimefurthertouchmore)\

In the shadow of the cab’s interior, the cold comes once again.

/(growlearnreachseedexchangeexpand)\

“What’s that?  Sounded strange there for a moment, you did.”

/(dividecopycopyonemanymanyone)\

Vibrations…passing through the cold into the surround air - escaping as…sound?

/(yessuccessmoremore)\

As Reggie pulls the cab to a stop, he calls down.

“What was that you said, ser? Sounded like something foreign. Never could understand why English folks can’t stick to the Queen’s English. That fancy talk always hurt my ears. Bit silly if you ask me… unless…well, if you want to dance with the Green Fairy that is of course your business, ser.”

Outside Flat 2D (in the hansom cab)
This small, empty road lies at the base of a small hill. It is lined with thin buildings, many advertising “Flats to Let” in their windows. The one directly north contains a door labeled 2D.

To the west is the massive stone edifice that is Newgate Gaol. A gallows prepared for tomorrow’s public execution, towers over the street.

Triage rests obediently nearby.

>

     
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good to know Triage is still here.

>use key on door
>n

     
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>use key on door
That’s not a verb I recognise.

>open door with key
You unlock the door to Flat 2D.

>open door
You open the door to Flat 2D.

>n
From inside the hansom cab?

>get out
Exited.

Triage gracefully climbs out of the cab beside.

>n

Flat 2D
Despite being small and cluttered with bits and pieces of electronics, this one room flat gives the impression of being quite clean and hygienic; no dust or dirt lurk in its bright corners. The east wall holds a mirror, and is neatly lined with evenly spaced picture frames. A large table, clearly a workshop space, takes up the west wall beneath an arched window.

A shadow stretches lazily from the window across the floor.

The flat’s single exit lies to the south.

Triage silently rolls to a stop.

>

I love that we can unlock and open the door from within the cab, but can’t enter it Smile

     
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I imagine we were parked right outside the door, with one arm out of the window. Wink

>x mirror
>x picture frames
>x workshop

     

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