Start of a transcript of
Savoir-Faire
An interactive search for loot. Copyright Emily Short 2002. 
Type INFO if you have not played before. 
Type LICENSE for the terms of use and distribution. 
Type CREDITS for tester and library acknowledgements.
Release 6 / Serial number 020420 / Inform v6.15 Library 6/10 
Standard interpreter 1.0 (6F) / Library serial number 991113

>restore
Ok.

>l

Old Conservatory
A chilly northern exposure, perhaps, but really quite lovely. This room used to
be where Marie would practice her music, and the Countess play her compositions;
Marie's own room lies to the west.

On the high shelf is a stone block.

The pianoforte stands in the center of the room.

>s

Staircase, First Floor
The top of a broad curving stair: east is the long salon that goes the length of
the house, downstairs are the foyer and the grand receiving rooms. 

North is the old conservatory.

>d

Entrance Hall
Flourishing, spacious; it is its best with a half-dozen servants in livery. The
floor is Italian marble, and the walls are dressed with yellow silk hangings.

The main staircase ascends to the corridor on the second floor, and a smaller
version leads down into the dim basement. Doors also open north and northeast.

An old gothic door framed in stone leads west. The wooden door is currently
closed.

A sad heap of used yellow brocade huddles on the floor here.

On the wall is one of those mechanical clocks that pop open on the hour,
allowing the ingenious internal figures out to play.

The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

>[ok, hints said I could do this now]
You seem to want to talk to someone, but I can't see whom.

>x keyhole
A keyhole in a fitted brass plate. There is an ornate key in the keyhole, pushed
in from the other side.

In the keyhole is an ornate key.

The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

>link ornate to pin
You valiantly try to link the two objects, but they are just too dissimilar.

The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

>x door
A wooden, pointed door in a very old style; this part of the building dates to a
previous version of the house, from only the chapel and a few other rooms
survive. 

There is a conspicuous keyhole plate in the door.

The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

>i
You are carrying:
  a dark wooden box (which is open)
    a mirror inset inside the box (providing light)
  a fork
  a blue glass jar (which is open)
    some onion dye (which leaves a little room in the blue glass jar)
  a green glass jar (which is open)
    some olive oil (which leaves a little room in the green glass jar)
  a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc
    some Sauvignon Blanc (which leaves some room in the bottle of Sauvignon
Blanc)
  a celestial bauble (providing white light)
  a jeweled pin (being worn)
  a pearl necklace (being worn)
  a sack (which is open)
    a red glass jar (which is open but empty)
    a sword
    a yellow handkerchief
    a sponge
    a cork
    a pine chest (which is open but empty)
    some mechanical human dancers
    a navy cloak
    a round metal tin (which is open but empty)
    some documents
    an old letter
    some household papers
    a small portrait
    a crumpled paper
    a burnt scrap of paper
    a butcher knife
    a swordstick
    a snuffbox (which is closed)
    two bottles of wine:
      a bottle of Chateauneuf du Pape (which is closed)
      a blue bottle (which is closed)
    three pieces of silverware:
      a silver-plated corkscrew
      a table knife
      a spoon
    eleven food items:
      a goat cheese
      a sprig of mint
      a wedge of brie
      a salers
      some apples
      some hunks of salt pork
      some lentils
      a sprig of parsley
      a bay leaf
      a clove of garlic
      a loaf of stale bread
    four recipe cylinders:
      a Tea Recipe
      a Chocolate Recipe
      an Easter Egg Recipe
      a Lentil Soup Recipe
    three metal dishes:
      a plate
      a cup
      a hinge-lidded teapot (which is open but empty)
    two keys:
      an iron key (which opens the magenta door leading east)
      a silver key (which opens the red door leading west)
    five books:
      Guide to Assorted Wines
      The Lavori d'Aracne
      Clock Repair
      On Vegetable Dyes
      The World Is Hollow (which is open but empty)
  a dashing hat (being worn)

The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

>push ornate with table knife
(first taking the table knife)
(putting the fork into the sack to make room)
The table knife is the wrong shape to push into the keyhole.

The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

>push ornate with corkscrew
(first taking the silver-plated corkscrew)
(putting the dark wooden box into the sack to make room)
The silver-plated corkscrew is the wrong shape to push into the keyhole.

The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

>read hollow
That's already open.

The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

>[wacky]
That's not a verb I recognize.

>link ornate to teapot
(first unlinking the hinge-lidded teapot)
You succeed in unlinking the hinge-lidded teapot from the double doors.
You valiantly try to link the two objects, but they are just too dissimilar.

The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

>link iron to teapot
You valiantly try to link the two objects, but they are just too dissimilar.

Exactly on the hour, the cuckoo clock opens up its door and a mechanical bird
flies forward. It sings 6 times, then withdraws into its little door.

>link iron to silver
(the silver-plated corkscrew)
You valiantly try to link the two objects, but they are just a little too
different. Maybe if they looked more alike.

The cuckoo clock clicks closed.

>link ornate to corkscrew
You valiantly try to link the two objects, but they are just a little too
different. Maybe if they looked more alike.

The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

>turn corkscrew
Nothing obvious happens.

The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

>[sigh, no ideas]
You seem to want to talk to someone, but I can't see whom.

>ne

Dining Room
A grand room, for dining in style. The plastered ceiling is several times your
height. The air now is cool and deep, the sunlight glancing through the windows
and scattering from the chandelier, putting points of light at your feet, over
the table, across the painted wallpaper and the handsome wood paneling.

Woodworked columns frame the exits west and southwest.

Heavy double doors open east to the kitchen.

>e

Kitchen Corridor
A narrow corridor between the kitchen and the main house, which has a thick
separate wall. The two buildings are only barely attached, to discourage fires.
A small staircase leads down.

Double doors give west onto the main house.

>e

Kitchen
A long, cross-beamed room, originally washed with white, though smoke has tinged
the walls above the massive fireplace in which roasts are prepared. In addition,
there are thick high tables that run the length of the room. 

To the east is the kitchen garden through which you entered; west is the
corridor that connects with the main house. To the north there is the little
scullery, and upstairs is the attic where the servants sleep.

On the kitchen tables is a delicate contraption (which is empty).

>e

Kitchen Garden
West is the wall of the kitchen. Most of the space along the wall is planted
with herbs -- bay, parsley, stalks of mint -- left of the open doorway. To its
right is only a drainage ditch, catching the outflow of a pipe that comes
through the wall.

In one corner of the plot is the well, drilled many deep feet; in another is the
antique sundial.

>w

Kitchen
A long, cross-beamed room, originally washed with white, though smoke has tinged
the walls above the massive fireplace in which roasts are prepared. In addition,
there are thick high tables that run the length of the room. 

To the east is the kitchen garden through which you entered; west is the
corridor that connects with the main house. To the north there is the little
scullery, and upstairs is the attic where the servants sleep.

On the kitchen tables is a delicate contraption (which is empty).

>u

Servants' Dormitory
Up here the female servants used to sleep. Now there is only a dreary row of
unmade beds; a rack for drying washing; the fireplace, hollow and untended. Time
was, when you were very young, that you used to creep in here for chatter and
gossip, and the language you were used to hearing at home.

>x stone
You can't see any such thing.

>x brick
A reddish-brown brick darkened by smoke, and pushed forward from its position
among the others.

>i
You are carrying:
  two pieces of silverware:
    a silver-plated corkscrew
    a table knife
  a blue glass jar (which is open)
    some onion dye (which leaves a little room in the blue glass jar)
  a green glass jar (which is open)
    some olive oil (which leaves a little room in the green glass jar)
  a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc
    some Sauvignon Blanc (which leaves some room in the bottle of Sauvignon
Blanc)
  a celestial bauble (providing white light)
  a jeweled pin (being worn)
  a pearl necklace (being worn)
  a sack (which is open)
    a dark wooden box (which is open)
      a mirror inset inside the box (providing light)
    a red glass jar (which is open but empty)
    a sword
    a yellow handkerchief
    a sponge
    a cork
    a pine chest (which is open but empty)
    some mechanical human dancers
    a navy cloak
    a round metal tin (which is open but empty)
    some documents
    an old letter
    some household papers
    a small portrait
    a crumpled paper
    a burnt scrap of paper
    a butcher knife
    a swordstick
    a snuffbox (which is closed)
    two bottles of wine:
      a bottle of Chateauneuf du Pape (which is closed)
      a blue bottle (which is closed)
    eleven food items:
      a goat cheese
      a sprig of mint
      a wedge of brie
      a salers
      some apples
      some hunks of salt pork
      some lentils
      a sprig of parsley
      a bay leaf
      a clove of garlic
      a loaf of stale bread
    four recipe cylinders:
      a Tea Recipe
      a Chocolate Recipe
      an Easter Egg Recipe
      a Lentil Soup Recipe
    three metal dishes:
      a plate
      a cup
      a hinge-lidded teapot (which is open but empty)
    two keys:
      an iron key (which opens the magenta door leading east)
      a silver key (which opens the red door leading west)
    five books:
      Guide to Assorted Wines
      The Lavori d'Aracne
      Clock Repair
      On Vegetable Dyes
      The World Is Hollow (which is open but empty)
    two pieces of silverware:
      a fork
      a spoon
  a dashing hat (being worn)

>link box to brick
Which do you mean, the dark wooden box or the snuffbox?

>dark
You valiantly try to link the two objects, but they are just too dissimilar.

>link snuffbox to dark
Bending your will, you form the link between the snuffbox and the dark wooden
box.

>undo
Servants' Dormitory
[Previous turn undone.]

>link snuffbox to brick
You valiantly try to link the two objects, but they are just too dissimilar.

>i
You are carrying:
  two pieces of silverware:
    a silver-plated corkscrew
    a table knife
  a blue glass jar (which is open)
    some onion dye (which leaves a little room in the blue glass jar)
  a green glass jar (which is open)
    some olive oil (which leaves a little room in the green glass jar)
  a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc
    some Sauvignon Blanc (which leaves some room in the bottle of Sauvignon
Blanc)
  a celestial bauble (providing white light)
  a jeweled pin (being worn)
  a pearl necklace (being worn)
  a sack (which is open)
    a dark wooden box (which is open)
      a mirror inset inside the box (providing light)
    a red glass jar (which is open but empty)
    a sword
    a yellow handkerchief
    a sponge
    a cork
    a pine chest (which is open but empty)
    some mechanical human dancers
    a navy cloak
    a round metal tin (which is open but empty)
    some documents
    an old letter
    some household papers
    a small portrait
    a crumpled paper
    a burnt scrap of paper
    a butcher knife
    a swordstick
    a snuffbox (which is closed)
    two bottles of wine:
      a bottle of Chateauneuf du Pape (which is closed)
      a blue bottle (which is closed)
    eleven food items:
      a goat cheese
      a sprig of mint
      a wedge of brie
      a salers
      some apples
      some hunks of salt pork
      some lentils
      a sprig of parsley
      a bay leaf
      a clove of garlic
      a loaf of stale bread
    four recipe cylinders:
      a Tea Recipe
      a Chocolate Recipe
      an Easter Egg Recipe
      a Lentil Soup Recipe
    three metal dishes:
      a plate
      a cup
      a hinge-lidded teapot (which is open but empty)
    two keys:
      an iron key (which opens the magenta door leading east)
      a silver key (which opens the red door leading west)
    five books:
      Guide to Assorted Wines
      The Lavori d'Aracne
      Clock Repair
      On Vegetable Dyes
      The World Is Hollow (which is open but empty)
    two pieces of silverware:
      a fork
      a spoon
  a dashing hat (being worn)

>link sponge to brick
You valiantly try to link the two objects, but they are just too dissimilar.

>i
You are carrying:
  two pieces of silverware:
    a silver-plated corkscrew
    a table knife
  a blue glass jar (which is open)
    some onion dye (which leaves a little room in the blue glass jar)
  a green glass jar (which is open)
    some olive oil (which leaves a little room in the green glass jar)
  a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc
    some Sauvignon Blanc (which leaves some room in the bottle of Sauvignon
Blanc)
  a celestial bauble (providing white light)
  a jeweled pin (being worn)
  a pearl necklace (being worn)
  a sack (which is open)
    a dark wooden box (which is open)
      a mirror inset inside the box (providing light)
    a red glass jar (which is open but empty)
    a sword
    a yellow handkerchief
    a sponge
    a cork
    a pine chest (which is open but empty)
    some mechanical human dancers
    a navy cloak
    a round metal tin (which is open but empty)
    some documents
    an old letter
    some household papers
    a small portrait
    a crumpled paper
    a burnt scrap of paper
    a butcher knife
    a swordstick
    a snuffbox (which is closed)
    two bottles of wine:
      a bottle of Chateauneuf du Pape (which is closed)
      a blue bottle (which is closed)
    eleven food items:
      a goat cheese
      a sprig of mint
      a wedge of brie
      a salers
      some apples
      some hunks of salt pork
      some lentils
      a sprig of parsley
      a bay leaf
      a clove of garlic
      a loaf of stale bread
    four recipe cylinders:
      a Tea Recipe
      a Chocolate Recipe
      an Easter Egg Recipe
      a Lentil Soup Recipe
    three metal dishes:
      a plate
      a cup
      a hinge-lidded teapot (which is open but empty)
    two keys:
      an iron key (which opens the magenta door leading east)
      a silver key (which opens the red door leading west)
    five books:
      Guide to Assorted Wines
      The Lavori d'Aracne
      Clock Repair
      On Vegetable Dyes
      The World Is Hollow (which is open but empty)
    two pieces of silverware:
      a fork
      a spoon
  a dashing hat (being worn)

>link brie to brick
You valiantly try to link the two objects, but they seem as though they will
never go together.

>link pork to brick
You valiantly try to link the two objects, but they seem as though they will
never go together.

>hit brick with fork
(first taking the fork)
(putting the table knife into the sack to make room)
The fork strikes the brick.

>undo
Servants' Dormitory
[Previous turn undone.]

>link portrait to brick
You valiantly try to link the two objects, but they seem as though they will
never go together.

>open snuffbox
You open the snuffbox, revealing a quantity of snuff.

>link snuff to brick
You valiantly try to link the two objects, but they seem as though they will
never go together.

>link snuff to mortar
You can't see any such thing.

>x brick
A reddish-brown brick darkened by smoke, and pushed forward from its position
among the others.

>x bricks
You can't see any such thing.

>x fireplace
Not nearly as large as the ones downstairs, of course, and principally intended
for keeping the inhabitants toasty when the winter set in especially hard.

>[arr]
That's not a verb I recognize.

>link brick to bed
You valiantly try to link the two objects, but they are just too dissimilar.

>x brick
A reddish-brown brick darkened by smoke, and pushed forward from its position
among the others.

>x snuff
Finest snuff, enough (with luck) to last you until you can return to Paris.

>i
You are carrying:
  two pieces of silverware:
    a silver-plated corkscrew
    a table knife
  a blue glass jar (which is open)
    some onion dye (which leaves a little room in the blue glass jar)
  a green glass jar (which is open)
    some olive oil (which leaves a little room in the green glass jar)
  a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc
    some Sauvignon Blanc (which leaves some room in the bottle of Sauvignon
Blanc)
  a celestial bauble (providing white light)
  a jeweled pin (being worn)
  a pearl necklace (being worn)
  a sack (which is open)
    a dark wooden box (which is open)
      a mirror inset inside the box (providing light)
    a red glass jar (which is open but empty)
    a sword
    a yellow handkerchief
    a sponge
    a cork
    a pine chest (which is open but empty)
    some mechanical human dancers
    a navy cloak
    a round metal tin (which is open but empty)
    some documents
    an old letter
    some household papers
    a small portrait
    a crumpled paper
    a burnt scrap of paper
    a butcher knife
    a swordstick
    a snuffbox (which is open)
      a quantity of snuff
    two bottles of wine:
      a bottle of Chateauneuf du Pape (which is closed)
      a blue bottle (which is closed)
    eleven food items:
      a goat cheese
      a sprig of mint
      a wedge of brie
      a salers
      some apples
      some hunks of salt pork
      some lentils
      a sprig of parsley
      a bay leaf
      a clove of garlic
      a loaf of stale bread
    four recipe cylinders:
      a Tea Recipe
      a Chocolate Recipe
      an Easter Egg Recipe
      a Lentil Soup Recipe
    three metal dishes:
      a plate
      a cup
      a hinge-lidded teapot (which is open but empty)
    two keys:
      an iron key (which opens the magenta door leading east)
      a silver key (which opens the red door leading west)
    five books:
      Guide to Assorted Wines
      The Lavori d'Aracne
      Clock Repair
      On Vegetable Dyes
      The World Is Hollow (which is open but empty)
    two pieces of silverware:
      a fork
      a spoon
  a dashing hat (being worn)

>d

Kitchen
A long, cross-beamed room, originally washed with white, though smoke has tinged
the walls above the massive fireplace in which roasts are prepared. In addition,
there are thick high tables that run the length of the room. 

To the east is the kitchen garden through which you entered; west is the
corridor that connects with the main house. To the north there is the little
scullery, and upstairs is the attic where the servants sleep.

On the kitchen tables is a delicate contraption (which is empty).

>w

Kitchen Corridor
A narrow corridor between the kitchen and the main house, which has a thick
separate wall. The two buildings are only barely attached, to discourage fires.
A small staircase leads down.

Double doors give west onto the main house.

>w

Dining Room
A grand room, for dining in style. The plastered ceiling is several times your
height. The air now is cool and deep, the sunlight glancing through the windows
and scattering from the chandelier, putting points of light at your feet, over
the table, across the painted wallpaper and the handsome wood paneling.

Woodworked columns frame the exits west and southwest.

Heavy double doors open east to the kitchen.

>sw

Entrance Hall
Flourishing, spacious; it is its best with a half-dozen servants in livery. The
floor is Italian marble, and the walls are dressed with yellow silk hangings.

The main staircase ascends to the corridor on the second floor, and a smaller
version leads down into the dim basement. Doors also open north and northeast.

An old gothic door framed in stone leads west. The wooden door is currently
closed.

A sad heap of used yellow brocade huddles on the floor here.

On the wall is one of those mechanical clocks that pop open on the hour,
allowing the ingenious internal figures out to play.

The cuckoo clock clicks closed.

>link keyhole to hanky
You valiantly try to link the two objects, but they seem as though they will
never go together.

The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

>i
You are carrying:
  two pieces of silverware:
    a silver-plated corkscrew
    a table knife
  a blue glass jar (which is open)
    some onion dye (which leaves a little room in the blue glass jar)
  a green glass jar (which is open)
    some olive oil (which leaves a little room in the green glass jar)
  a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc
    some Sauvignon Blanc (which leaves some room in the bottle of Sauvignon
Blanc)
  a celestial bauble (providing white light)
  a jeweled pin (being worn)
  a pearl necklace (being worn)
  a sack (which is open)
    a dark wooden box (which is open)
      a mirror inset inside the box (providing light)
    a red glass jar (which is open but empty)
    a sword
    a yellow handkerchief
    a sponge
    a cork
    a pine chest (which is open but empty)
    some mechanical human dancers
    a navy cloak
    a round metal tin (which is open but empty)
    some documents
    an old letter
    some household papers
    a small portrait
    a crumpled paper
    a burnt scrap of paper
    a butcher knife
    a swordstick
    a snuffbox (which is open)
      a quantity of snuff
    two bottles of wine:
      a bottle of Chateauneuf du Pape (which is closed)
      a blue bottle (which is closed)
    eleven food items:
      a goat cheese
      a sprig of mint
      a wedge of brie
      a salers
      some apples
      some hunks of salt pork
      some lentils
      a sprig of parsley
      a bay leaf
      a clove of garlic
      a loaf of stale bread
    four recipe cylinders:
      a Tea Recipe
      a Chocolate Recipe
      an Easter Egg Recipe
      a Lentil Soup Recipe
    three metal dishes:
      a plate
      a cup
      a hinge-lidded teapot (which is open but empty)
    two keys:
      an iron key (which opens the magenta door leading east)
      a silver key (which opens the red door leading west)
    five books:
      Guide to Assorted Wines
      The Lavori d'Aracne
      Clock Repair
      On Vegetable Dyes
      The World Is Hollow (which is open but empty)
    two pieces of silverware:
      a fork
      a spoon
  a dashing hat (being worn)

The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

>link keyhole to sponge
You valiantly try to link the two objects, but they seem as though they will
never go together.

The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

>link keyhole to world
You valiantly try to link the two objects, but they seem as though they will
never go together.

The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

>i
You are carrying:
  two pieces of silverware:
    a silver-plated corkscrew
    a table knife
  a blue glass jar (which is open)
    some onion dye (which leaves a little room in the blue glass jar)
  a green glass jar (which is open)
    some olive oil (which leaves a little room in the green glass jar)
  a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc
    some Sauvignon Blanc (which leaves some room in the bottle of Sauvignon
Blanc)
  a celestial bauble (providing white light)
  a jeweled pin (being worn)
  a pearl necklace (being worn)
  a sack (which is open)
    a dark wooden box (which is open)
      a mirror inset inside the box (providing light)
    a red glass jar (which is open but empty)
    a sword
    a yellow handkerchief
    a sponge
    a cork
    a pine chest (which is open but empty)
    some mechanical human dancers
    a navy cloak
    a round metal tin (which is open but empty)
    some documents
    an old letter
    some household papers
    a small portrait
    a crumpled paper
    a burnt scrap of paper
    a butcher knife
    a swordstick
    a snuffbox (which is open)
      a quantity of snuff
    two bottles of wine:
      a bottle of Chateauneuf du Pape (which is closed)
      a blue bottle (which is closed)
    eleven food items:
      a goat cheese
      a sprig of mint
      a wedge of brie
      a salers
      some apples
      some hunks of salt pork
      some lentils
      a sprig of parsley
      a bay leaf
      a clove of garlic
      a loaf of stale bread
    four recipe cylinders:
      a Tea Recipe
      a Chocolate Recipe
      an Easter Egg Recipe
      a Lentil Soup Recipe
    three metal dishes:
      a plate
      a cup
      a hinge-lidded teapot (which is open but empty)
    two keys:
      an iron key (which opens the magenta door leading east)
      a silver key (which opens the red door leading west)
    five books:
      Guide to Assorted Wines
      The Lavori d'Aracne
      Clock Repair
      On Vegetable Dyes
      The World Is Hollow (which is open but empty)
    two pieces of silverware:
      a fork
      a spoon
  a dashing hat (being worn)

The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

> link keyhole to pine
You valiantly try to link the two objects, but they seem as though they will
never go together.

The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

>e
The south door leads only out of the estate, where you are not ready to go. You
can go only north, west, northeast, up or down.

The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

>ne

Dining Room
A grand room, for dining in style. The plastered ceiling is several times your
height. The air now is cool and deep, the sunlight glancing through the windows
and scattering from the chandelier, putting points of light at your feet, over
the table, across the painted wallpaper and the handsome wood paneling.

Woodworked columns frame the exits west and southwest.

Heavy double doors open east to the kitchen.

>e

Kitchen Corridor
A narrow corridor between the kitchen and the main house, which has a thick
separate wall. The two buildings are only barely attached, to discourage fires.
A small staircase leads down.

Double doors give west onto the main house.

>e

Kitchen
A long, cross-beamed room, originally washed with white, though smoke has tinged
the walls above the massive fireplace in which roasts are prepared. In addition,
there are thick high tables that run the length of the room. 

To the east is the kitchen garden through which you entered; west is the
corridor that connects with the main house. To the north there is the little
scullery, and upstairs is the attic where the servants sleep.

On the kitchen tables is a delicate contraption (which is empty).

>u

Servants' Dormitory
Up here the female servants used to sleep. Now there is only a dreary row of
unmade beds; a rack for drying washing; the fireplace, hollow and untended. Time
was, when you were very young, that you used to creep in here for chatter and
gossip, and the language you were used to hearing at home.

>link bread to brick
Bending your will, you form the link between the loaf of stale bread and the
brick.

>[whoo!]
That's not a verb I recognize.

>move bread
Nothing obvious happens.

>break bread
Attempts to break it fail; truly this is the loaf of adamant. You'd have to
soften it up somehow first.

>d

Kitchen
A long, cross-beamed room, originally washed with white, though smoke has tinged
the walls above the massive fireplace in which roasts are prepared. In addition,
there are thick high tables that run the length of the room. 

To the east is the kitchen garden through which you entered; west is the
corridor that connects with the main house. To the north there is the little
scullery, and upstairs is the attic where the servants sleep.

On the kitchen tables is a delicate contraption (which is empty).

>e

Kitchen Garden
West is the wall of the kitchen. Most of the space along the wall is planted
with herbs -- bay, parsley, stalks of mint -- left of the open doorway. To its
right is only a drainage ditch, catching the outflow of a pipe that comes
through the wall.

In one corner of the plot is the well, drilled many deep feet; in another is the
antique sundial.

>fill pot from well
(first taking the hinge-lidded teapot)
(putting the table knife into the sack to make room)
Taken.

You put some water in the hinge-lidded teapot. This fills the hinge-lidded
teapot to the brim.

>pour water on bread
Which do you mean, the water in the well or the water in the hinge-lidded
teapot?

>pot
I didn't understand that sentence.

>pour pot on bread
The hinge-lidded teapot is not wet.

>pour water from pot on bread
You consume some of the water in moistening the loaf of stale bread.

>break bread
The loaf of stale bread breaks into bready-chunks, crumbling to nothing.

>w

Kitchen
A long, cross-beamed room, originally washed with white, though smoke has tinged
the walls above the massive fireplace in which roasts are prepared. In addition,
there are thick high tables that run the length of the room. 

To the east is the kitchen garden through which you entered; west is the
corridor that connects with the main house. To the north there is the little
scullery, and upstairs is the attic where the servants sleep.

On the kitchen tables is a delicate contraption (which is empty).

>u

Servants' Dormitory
Up here the female servants used to sleep. Now there is only a dreary row of
unmade beds; a rack for drying washing; the fireplace, hollow and untended. Time
was, when you were very young, that you used to creep in here for chatter and
gossip, and the language you were used to hearing at home.

In the fireplace are a bag on a string and some bits of shattered brick.

>[yay!]
That's not a verb I recognize.

>get bag
(putting the silver-plated corkscrew into the sack to make room)
Taken.

>open it
You open the bag on a string, revealing some silver coins.

>get silver coins
(putting the bag on a string into the sack to make room)
Taken.

[Your score has just gone up by four points.]

>[yay!]
That's not a verb I recognize.

>x silver
(the silver coins)
A not un-respectable horde of silver coins.

>x bag
A little linen bag on a grimy drawstring, able to be worn on the wrist or neck
and protect one's valuables.

>wear bag
(first taking the bag on a string)
(putting the silver coins into the sack to make room)
You put on the bag on a string.

>w
You can go only down.

>d

Kitchen
A long, cross-beamed room, originally washed with white, though smoke has tinged
the walls above the massive fireplace in which roasts are prepared. In addition,
there are thick high tables that run the length of the room. 

To the east is the kitchen garden through which you entered; west is the
corridor that connects with the main house. To the north there is the little
scullery, and upstairs is the attic where the servants sleep.

On the kitchen tables is a delicate contraption (which is empty).

>ww
That's not a verb I recognize.

>w

Kitchen Corridor
A narrow corridor between the kitchen and the main house, which has a thick
separate wall. The two buildings are only barely attached, to discourage fires.
A small staircase leads down.

Double doors give west onto the main house.

>w

Dining Room
A grand room, for dining in style. The plastered ceiling is several times your
height. The air now is cool and deep, the sunlight glancing through the windows
and scattering from the chandelier, putting points of light at your feet, over
the table, across the painted wallpaper and the handsome wood paneling.

Woodworked columns frame the exits west and southwest.

Heavy double doors open east to the kitchen.

>sw

Entrance Hall
Flourishing, spacious; it is its best with a half-dozen servants in livery. The
floor is Italian marble, and the walls are dressed with yellow silk hangings.

The main staircase ascends to the corridor on the second floor, and a smaller
version leads down into the dim basement. Doors also open north and northeast.

An old gothic door framed in stone leads west. The wooden door is currently
closed.

A sad heap of used yellow brocade huddles on the floor here.

On the wall is one of those mechanical clocks that pop open on the hour,
allowing the ingenious internal figures out to play.

The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

>link rug to ornate
You can't see any such thing.

>u

Staircase, First Floor
The top of a broad curving stair: east is the long salon that goes the length of
the house, downstairs are the foyer and the grand receiving rooms. 

North is the old conservatory.

>n

Old Conservatory
A chilly northern exposure, perhaps, but really quite lovely. This room used to
be where Marie would practice her music, and the Countess play her compositions;
Marie's own room lies to the west.

On the high shelf is a stone block.

The pianoforte stands in the center of the room.

>s

Staircase, First Floor
The top of a broad curving stair: east is the long salon that goes the length of
the house, downstairs are the foyer and the grand receiving rooms. 

North is the old conservatory.

>e

Long Salon
A long empty room with shined wooden floors, perfect for sliding in stocking-
feet. West is the top of the staircase, and rooms open to the north and east.

The door east is closed.

>n

Countess' Sitting Room
This was the countess' favorite room, and it is more richly decorated than any
other in the house, betraying her taste for the brightly-colored and the jewel-
like. The count brought her some things from his travels, and made others for
her. Most of the contents seem to be gone -- the chairs and sofas, and the wall
hangings -- but some bits remain.

A thick-pile Persian rug lies on the floor, patterned in lapis and emerald.

You can also see some glass shards here.

>get rug
Taken.

>s
(treading gingerly around the glass bits)

Long Salon
A long empty room with shined wooden floors, perfect for sliding in stocking-
feet. West is the top of the staircase, and rooms open to the north and east.

The door east is closed.

>w

Staircase, First Floor
The top of a broad curving stair: east is the long salon that goes the length of
the house, downstairs are the foyer and the grand receiving rooms. 

North is the old conservatory.

>d

Entrance Hall
Flourishing, spacious; it is its best with a half-dozen servants in livery. The
floor is Italian marble, and the walls are dressed with yellow silk hangings.

The main staircase ascends to the corridor on the second floor, and a smaller
version leads down into the dim basement. Doors also open north and northeast.

An old gothic door framed in stone leads west. The wooden door is currently
closed.

A sad heap of used yellow brocade huddles on the floor here.

On the wall is one of those mechanical clocks that pop open on the hour,
allowing the ingenious internal figures out to play.

The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

>link rug to ornate
You valiantly try to link the two objects, but they seem as though they will
never go together.

The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

>x ornate
It's not exactly easy to get a good look.

Just on the quarter-hour the cuckoo clock opens up its door and a mechanical
bird flies forward. It sings a brief warbling tune, then withdraws into its
little door.

>link pin to ornate
You valiantly try to link the two objects, but they are just too dissimilar.

The cuckoo clock clicks closed.

>i
You are carrying:
  a rug
  a bag on a string (being worn and open but empty)
  a hinge-lidded teapot (which is open)
    not very much water (which leaves some room in the hinge-lidded teapot)
  a blue glass jar (which is open)
    some onion dye (which leaves a little room in the blue glass jar)
  a green glass jar (which is open)
    some olive oil (which leaves a little room in the green glass jar)
  a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc
    some Sauvignon Blanc (which leaves some room in the bottle of Sauvignon
Blanc)
  a celestial bauble (providing white light)
  a jeweled pin (being worn)
  a pearl necklace (being worn)
  a sack (which is open)
    some silver coins
    a dark wooden box (which is open)
      a mirror inset inside the box (providing light)
    a red glass jar (which is open but empty)
    a sword
    a yellow handkerchief
    a sponge
    a cork
    a pine chest (which is open but empty)
    some mechanical human dancers
    a navy cloak
    a round metal tin (which is open but empty)
    some documents
    an old letter
    some household papers
    a small portrait
    a crumpled paper
    a burnt scrap of paper
    a butcher knife
    a swordstick
    a snuffbox (which is open)
      a quantity of snuff
    two bottles of wine:
      a bottle of Chateauneuf du Pape (which is closed)
      a blue bottle (which is closed)
    ten food items:
      a goat cheese
      a sprig of mint
      a wedge of brie
      a salers
      some apples
      some hunks of salt pork
      some lentils
      a sprig of parsley
      a bay leaf
      a clove of garlic
    four recipe cylinders:
      a Tea Recipe
      a Chocolate Recipe
      an Easter Egg Recipe
      a Lentil Soup Recipe
    two metal dishes:
      a plate
      a cup
    two keys:
      an iron key (which opens the magenta door leading east)
      a silver key (which opens the red door leading west)
    five books:
      Guide to Assorted Wines
      The Lavori d'Aracne
      Clock Repair
      On Vegetable Dyes
      The World Is Hollow (which is open but empty)
    four pieces of silverware:
      a silver-plated corkscrew
      a table knife
      a fork
      a spoon
  a dashing hat (being worn)

The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

>link fork to ornate
You valiantly try to link the two objects, but they are just a little too
different. Maybe if they looked more alike.

The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

>link spoon to ornate
You valiantly try to link the two objects, but they are just a little too
different. Maybe if they looked more alike.

The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

>link plate to keyhole
Which do you mean, the keyhole or the painted metal plate?

>metal
You valiantly try to link the two objects, but they seem as though they will
never go together.

The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

>x door
A wooden, pointed door in a very old style; this part of the building dates to a
previous version of the house, from only the chapel and a few other rooms
survive. 

There is a conspicuous keyhole plate in the door.

The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

>x point
You can't see any such thing.

>l

Entrance Hall
Flourishing, spacious; it is its best with a half-dozen servants in livery. The
floor is Italian marble, and the walls are dressed with yellow silk hangings.

The main staircase ascends to the corridor on the second floor, and a smaller
version leads down into the dim basement. Doors also open north and northeast.

An old gothic door framed in stone leads west. The wooden door is currently
closed.

A sad heap of used yellow brocade huddles on the floor here.

On the wall is one of those mechanical clocks that pop open on the hour,
allowing the ingenious internal figures out to play.

The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

>x stone
You can't see any such thing.

>x door
A wooden, pointed door in a very old style; this part of the building dates to a
previous version of the house, from only the chapel and a few other rooms
survive. 

There is a conspicuous keyhole plate in the door.

The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

>x hinges
You can't see any such thing.

>i
You are carrying:
  a rug
  a bag on a string (being worn and open but empty)
  a hinge-lidded teapot (which is open)
    not very much water (which leaves some room in the hinge-lidded teapot)
  a blue glass jar (which is open)
    some onion dye (which leaves a little room in the blue glass jar)
  a green glass jar (which is open)
    some olive oil (which leaves a little room in the green glass jar)
  a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc
    some Sauvignon Blanc (which leaves some room in the bottle of Sauvignon
Blanc)
  a celestial bauble (providing white light)
  a jeweled pin (being worn)
  a pearl necklace (being worn)
  a sack (which is open)
    some silver coins
    a dark wooden box (which is open)
      a mirror inset inside the box (providing light)
    a red glass jar (which is open but empty)
    a sword
    a yellow handkerchief
    a sponge
    a cork
    a pine chest (which is open but empty)
    some mechanical human dancers
    a navy cloak
    a round metal tin (which is open but empty)
    some documents
    an old letter
    some household papers
    a small portrait
    a crumpled paper
    a burnt scrap of paper
    a butcher knife
    a swordstick
    a snuffbox (which is open)
      a quantity of snuff
    two bottles of wine:
      a bottle of Chateauneuf du Pape (which is closed)
      a blue bottle (which is closed)
    ten food items:
      a goat cheese
      a sprig of mint
      a wedge of brie
      a salers
      some apples
      some hunks of salt pork
      some lentils
      a sprig of parsley
      a bay leaf
      a clove of garlic
    four recipe cylinders:
      a Tea Recipe
      a Chocolate Recipe
      an Easter Egg Recipe
      a Lentil Soup Recipe
    two metal dishes:
      a plate
      a cup
    two keys:
      an iron key (which opens the magenta door leading east)
      a silver key (which opens the red door leading west)
    five books:
      Guide to Assorted Wines
      The Lavori d'Aracne
      Clock Repair
      On Vegetable Dyes
      The World Is Hollow (which is open but empty)
    four pieces of silverware:
      a silver-plated corkscrew
      a table knife
      a fork
      a spoon
  a dashing hat (being worn)

The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

>link ornate to hat
You valiantly try to link the two objects, but they are just too dissimilar.

The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

>i
You are carrying:
  a rug
  a bag on a string (being worn and open but empty)
  a hinge-lidded teapot (which is open)
    not very much water (which leaves some room in the hinge-lidded teapot)
  a blue glass jar (which is open)
    some onion dye (which leaves a little room in the blue glass jar)
  a green glass jar (which is open)
    some olive oil (which leaves a little room in the green glass jar)
  a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc
    some Sauvignon Blanc (which leaves some room in the bottle of Sauvignon
Blanc)
  a celestial bauble (providing white light)
  a jeweled pin (being worn)
  a pearl necklace (being worn)
  a sack (which is open)
    some silver coins
    a dark wooden box (which is open)
      a mirror inset inside the box (providing light)
    a red glass jar (which is open but empty)
    a sword
    a yellow handkerchief
    a sponge
    a cork
    a pine chest (which is open but empty)
    some mechanical human dancers
    a navy cloak
    a round metal tin (which is open but empty)
    some documents
    an old letter
    some household papers
    a small portrait
    a crumpled paper
    a burnt scrap of paper
    a butcher knife
    a swordstick
    a snuffbox (which is open)
      a quantity of snuff
    two bottles of wine:
      a bottle of Chateauneuf du Pape (which is closed)
      a blue bottle (which is closed)
    ten food items:
      a goat cheese
      a sprig of mint
      a wedge of brie
      a salers
      some apples
      some hunks of salt pork
      some lentils
      a sprig of parsley
      a bay leaf
      a clove of garlic
    four recipe cylinders:
      a Tea Recipe
      a Chocolate Recipe
      an Easter Egg Recipe
      a Lentil Soup Recipe
    two metal dishes:
      a plate
      a cup
    two keys:
      an iron key (which opens the magenta door leading east)
      a silver key (which opens the red door leading west)
    five books:
      Guide to Assorted Wines
      The Lavori d'Aracne
      Clock Repair
      On Vegetable Dyes
      The World Is Hollow (which is open but empty)
    four pieces of silverware:
      a silver-plated corkscrew
      a table knife
      a fork
      a spoon
  a dashing hat (being worn)

The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

>link ornate to bauble
(first unlinking the celestial bauble)
You succeed in unlinking the celestial bauble from the sunlight.
You valiantly try to link the two objects, but they are just too dissimilar.

The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

>undo
Entrance Hall
[Previous turn undone.]

>i
You are carrying:
  a rug
  a bag on a string (being worn and open but empty)
  a hinge-lidded teapot (which is open)
    not very much water (which leaves some room in the hinge-lidded teapot)
  a blue glass jar (which is open)
    some onion dye (which leaves a little room in the blue glass jar)
  a green glass jar (which is open)
    some olive oil (which leaves a little room in the green glass jar)
  a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc
    some Sauvignon Blanc (which leaves some room in the bottle of Sauvignon
Blanc)
  a celestial bauble (providing white light)
  a jeweled pin (being worn)
  a pearl necklace (being worn)
  a sack (which is open)
    some silver coins
    a dark wooden box (which is open)
      a mirror inset inside the box (providing light)
    a red glass jar (which is open but empty)
    a sword
    a yellow handkerchief
    a sponge
    a cork
    a pine chest (which is open but empty)
    some mechanical human dancers
    a navy cloak
    a round metal tin (which is open but empty)
    some documents
    an old letter
    some household papers
    a small portrait
    a crumpled paper
    a burnt scrap of paper
    a butcher knife
    a swordstick
    a snuffbox (which is open)
      a quantity of snuff
    two bottles of wine:
      a bottle of Chateauneuf du Pape (which is closed)
      a blue bottle (which is closed)
    ten food items:
      a goat cheese
      a sprig of mint
      a wedge of brie
      a salers
      some apples
      some hunks of salt pork
      some lentils
      a sprig of parsley
      a bay leaf
      a clove of garlic
    four recipe cylinders:
      a Tea Recipe
      a Chocolate Recipe
      an Easter Egg Recipe
      a Lentil Soup Recipe
    two metal dishes:
      a plate
      a cup
    two keys:
      an iron key (which opens the magenta door leading east)
      a silver key (which opens the red door leading west)
    five books:
      Guide to Assorted Wines
      The Lavori d'Aracne
      Clock Repair
      On Vegetable Dyes
      The World Is Hollow (which is open but empty)
    four pieces of silverware:
      a silver-plated corkscrew
      a table knife
      a fork
      a spoon
  a dashing hat (being worn)

The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

>link necklace to ornate
You valiantly try to link the two objects, but they seem as though they will
never go together.

The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

>i
You are carrying:
  a rug
  a bag on a string (being worn and open but empty)
  a hinge-lidded teapot (which is open)
    not very much water (which leaves some room in the hinge-lidded teapot)
  a blue glass jar (which is open)
    some onion dye (which leaves a little room in the blue glass jar)
  a green glass jar (which is open)
    some olive oil (which leaves a little room in the green glass jar)
  a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc
    some Sauvignon Blanc (which leaves some room in the bottle of Sauvignon
Blanc)
  a celestial bauble (providing white light)
  a jeweled pin (being worn)
  a pearl necklace (being worn)
  a sack (which is open)
    some silver coins
    a dark wooden box (which is open)
      a mirror inset inside the box (providing light)
    a red glass jar (which is open but empty)
    a sword
    a yellow handkerchief
    a sponge
    a cork
    a pine chest (which is open but empty)
    some mechanical human dancers
    a navy cloak
    a round metal tin (which is open but empty)
    some documents
    an old letter
    some household papers
    a small portrait
    a crumpled paper
    a burnt scrap of paper
    a butcher knife
    a swordstick
    a snuffbox (which is open)
      a quantity of snuff
    two bottles of wine:
      a bottle of Chateauneuf du Pape (which is closed)
      a blue bottle (which is closed)
    ten food items:
      a goat cheese
      a sprig of mint
      a wedge of brie
      a salers
      some apples
      some hunks of salt pork
      some lentils
      a sprig of parsley
      a bay leaf
      a clove of garlic
    four recipe cylinders:
      a Tea Recipe
      a Chocolate Recipe
      an Easter Egg Recipe
      a Lentil Soup Recipe
    two metal dishes:
      a plate
      a cup
    two keys:
      an iron key (which opens the magenta door leading east)
      a silver key (which opens the red door leading west)
    five books:
      Guide to Assorted Wines
      The Lavori d'Aracne
      Clock Repair
      On Vegetable Dyes
      The World Is Hollow (which is open but empty)
    four pieces of silverware:
      a silver-plated corkscrew
      a table knife
      a fork
      a spoon
  a dashing hat (being worn)

The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

>link dancers to ornate
(first unlinking the mechanical human dancers)
You succeed in unlinking the mechanical human dancers from the old letter.
You valiantly try to link the two objects, but they are just a little too
different. Maybe if they looked more alike.

On the half-hour the cuckoo clock opens up its door and a mechanical bird flies
forward. It sings a brief warbling tune, then withdraws into its little door.

>undo
Entrance Hall
[Previous turn undone.]

>i
You are carrying:
  a rug
  a bag on a string (being worn and open but empty)
  a hinge-lidded teapot (which is open)
    not very much water (which leaves some room in the hinge-lidded teapot)
  a blue glass jar (which is open)
    some onion dye (which leaves a little room in the blue glass jar)
  a green glass jar (which is open)
    some olive oil (which leaves a little room in the green glass jar)
  a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc
    some Sauvignon Blanc (which leaves some room in the bottle of Sauvignon
Blanc)
  a celestial bauble (providing white light)
  a jeweled pin (being worn)
  a pearl necklace (being worn)
  a sack (which is open)
    some silver coins
    a dark wooden box (which is open)
      a mirror inset inside the box (providing light)
    a red glass jar (which is open but empty)
    a sword
    a yellow handkerchief
    a sponge
    a cork
    a pine chest (which is open but empty)
    some mechanical human dancers
    a navy cloak
    a round metal tin (which is open but empty)
    some documents
    an old letter
    some household papers
    a small portrait
    a crumpled paper
    a burnt scrap of paper
    a butcher knife
    a swordstick
    a snuffbox (which is open)
      a quantity of snuff
    two bottles of wine:
      a bottle of Chateauneuf du Pape (which is closed)
      a blue bottle (which is closed)
    ten food items:
      a goat cheese
      a sprig of mint
      a wedge of brie
      a salers
      some apples
      some hunks of salt pork
      some lentils
      a sprig of parsley
      a bay leaf
      a clove of garlic
    four recipe cylinders:
      a Tea Recipe
      a Chocolate Recipe
      an Easter Egg Recipe
      a Lentil Soup Recipe
    two metal dishes:
      a plate
      a cup
    two keys:
      an iron key (which opens the magenta door leading east)
      a silver key (which opens the red door leading west)
    five books:
      Guide to Assorted Wines
      The Lavori d'Aracne
      Clock Repair
      On Vegetable Dyes
      The World Is Hollow (which is open but empty)
    four pieces of silverware:
      a silver-plated corkscrew
      a table knife
      a fork
      a spoon
  a dashing hat (being worn)

On the half-hour the cuckoo clock opens up its door and a mechanical bird flies
forward. It sings a brief warbling tune, then withdraws into its little door.

>link ornate to portrait
You valiantly try to link the two objects, but they seem as though they will
never go together.

The cuckoo clock clicks closed.

>x parsley
A sprig of parsley, branching into many lovely leaves.

The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

>x ornate
It's not exactly easy to get a good look.

The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

>x bottle
(the bottle of Sauvignon Blanc)
Aside from the contents, an entirely ordinary bottle.  Currently open and
corkless.

In the bottle of Sauvignon Blanc is some Sauvignon Blanc.

The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

>i
You are carrying:
  a rug
  a bag on a string (being worn and open but empty)
  a hinge-lidded teapot (which is open)
    not very much water (which leaves some room in the hinge-lidded teapot)
  a blue glass jar (which is open)
    some onion dye (which leaves a little room in the blue glass jar)
  a green glass jar (which is open)
    some olive oil (which leaves a little room in the green glass jar)
  a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc
    some Sauvignon Blanc (which leaves some room in the bottle of Sauvignon
Blanc)
  a celestial bauble (providing white light)
  a jeweled pin (being worn)
  a pearl necklace (being worn)
  a sack (which is open)
    some silver coins
    a dark wooden box (which is open)
      a mirror inset inside the box (providing light)
    a red glass jar (which is open but empty)
    a sword
    a yellow handkerchief
    a sponge
    a cork
    a pine chest (which is open but empty)
    some mechanical human dancers
    a navy cloak
    a round metal tin (which is open but empty)
    some documents
    an old letter
    some household papers
    a small portrait
    a crumpled paper
    a burnt scrap of paper
    a butcher knife
    a swordstick
    a snuffbox (which is open)
      a quantity of snuff
    two bottles of wine:
      a bottle of Chateauneuf du Pape (which is closed)
      a blue bottle (which is closed)
    ten food items:
      a goat cheese
      a sprig of mint
      a wedge of brie
      a salers
      some apples
      some hunks of salt pork
      some lentils
      a sprig of parsley
      a bay leaf
      a clove of garlic
    four recipe cylinders:
      a Tea Recipe
      a Chocolate Recipe
      an Easter Egg Recipe
      a Lentil Soup Recipe
    two metal dishes:
      a plate
      a cup
    two keys:
      an iron key (which opens the magenta door leading east)
      a silver key (which opens the red door leading west)
    five books:
      Guide to Assorted Wines
      The Lavori d'Aracne
      Clock Repair
      On Vegetable Dyes
      The World Is Hollow (which is open but empty)
    four pieces of silverware:
      a silver-plated corkscrew
      a table knife
      a fork
      a spoon
  a dashing hat (being worn)

The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

>x a bottle
(the bottle of Sauvignon Blanc)
Aside from the contents, an entirely ordinary bottle.  Currently open and
corkless.

In the bottle of Sauvignon Blanc is some Sauvignon Blanc.

The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

>x all bottles
You can't use multiple objects with that verb.

>get all bottles
(putting the rug into the sack to make room)
Taken.

The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

>i
You are carrying:
  a bag on a string (being worn and open but empty)
  a hinge-lidded teapot (which is open)
    not very much water (which leaves some room in the hinge-lidded teapot)
  a blue glass jar (which is open)
    some onion dye (which leaves a little room in the blue glass jar)
  a green glass jar (which is open)
    some olive oil (which leaves a little room in the green glass jar)
  a celestial bauble (providing white light)
  a jeweled pin (being worn)
  a pearl necklace (being worn)
  a sack (which is open)
    a rug
    some silver coins
    a dark wooden box (which is open)
      a mirror inset inside the box (providing light)
    a red glass jar (which is open but empty)
    a sword
    a yellow handkerchief
    a sponge
    a cork
    a pine chest (which is open but empty)
    some mechanical human dancers
    a navy cloak
    a round metal tin (which is open but empty)
    some documents
    an old letter
    some household papers
    a small portrait
    a crumpled paper
    a burnt scrap of paper
    a butcher knife
    a swordstick
    a snuffbox (which is open)
      a quantity of snuff
    a blue bottle (which is closed)
    ten food items:
      a goat cheese
      a sprig of mint
      a wedge of brie
      a salers
      some apples
      some hunks of salt pork
      some lentils
      a sprig of parsley
      a bay leaf
      a clove of garlic
    four recipe cylinders:
      a Tea Recipe
      a Chocolate Recipe
      an Easter Egg Recipe
      a Lentil Soup Recipe
    two metal dishes:
      a plate
      a cup
    two keys:
      an iron key (which opens the magenta door leading east)
      a silver key (which opens the red door leading west)
    five books:
      Guide to Assorted Wines
      The Lavori d'Aracne
      Clock Repair
      On Vegetable Dyes
      The World Is Hollow (which is open but empty)
    four pieces of silverware:
      a silver-plated corkscrew
      a table knife
      a fork
      a spoon
  a dashing hat (being worn)
  two bottles of wine:
    a bottle of Chateauneuf du Pape (which is closed)
    a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc
      some Sauvignon Blanc (which leaves some room in the bottle of Sauvignon
Blanc)

The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

>x pape
A grand old bottle, a fine year: you recognize the vintage and know a Duke in
Paris who would give his own daughter's hand in marriage in exchange for a gift
like this. Worth it? Quite possibly.

The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

>link pape to ornate
You wouldn't want to jeopardize such a valuable commodity, surely.

The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

>link sword to key
Which do you mean, the ornate key, the iron key or the silver key?

>ornate
Bending your will, you form the link between the sword and the ornate key.

The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

>turn sword
Nothing obvious happens.

The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

>wave sword
You wave the sword. 
The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

>unlink sword
You succeed in unlinking the sword from the ornate key.

The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

>reverse link sword to key
Which do you mean, the ornate key, the iron key or the silver key?

>ornate
You valiantly try to link the two objects, but they are just a little too
different. Maybe if they looked more alike.

Reverse links are even pickier than regular links that way.

Just on the quarter-hour the cuckoo clock opens up its door and a mechanical
bird flies forward. It sings a brief warbling tune, then withdraws into its
little door.

>link sword to key
Which do you mean, the ornate key, the iron key or the silver key?

>ornate
Bending your will, you form the link between the sword and the ornate key.

The cuckoo clock clicks closed.

>push ornate with sword
(first taking the sword)
(putting the bottle of Chateauneuf du Pape into the sack to make room)
You poke the sword into the keyhole, but the key seems to be quite solidly
jammed in place.

The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

>open lock with sword
You can't see any such thing.

>unlock door with sword
That doesn't seem to fit the lock.

The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

>x sword
A slender and flexible blade, and more decorative than useful, though there have
been a few occasions when it became helpful against brigands in the street. The
design at the hilt is a bit ornate, but not unpleasantly so.

The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

>unscrew hilt
You can't see any such thing.

>x hilt
You can't see any such thing.

>attack door with sword
The sword strikes the gothic door with a clunk of metal on wood.

The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

>wave sword
You wave the sword. 
The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

>wiggle sword
That's not a verb I recognize.

>pour oil on ornate
Which do you mean, the olive oil in the green glass jar or the small portrait?

>olive
You consume some of the olive oil in moistening the ornate key.

The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

>turn sword
Nothing obvious happens.

The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

>put sword in keyhole
That doesn't fit in the keyhole.

The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

>twist sword
Nothing obvious happens.

The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

>turn sword
Nothing obvious happens.

The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

>opendoor
That's not a verb I recognize.

>open door
It seems to be locked.

The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

>turn sword
Nothing obvious happens.

The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

>open door
It seems to be locked.

The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

>turn around
You can't see any such thing.

>x ornate
It's not exactly easy to get a good look.

Exactly on the hour, the cuckoo clock opens up its door and a mechanical bird
flies forward. It sings 8 times, then withdraws into its little door.

>put sword in swordstick
You put the sword into the swordstick.

The cuckoo clock clicks closed.

>turn it
You rotate the sword in its sheath.  There is a clicking noise from the gothic
door as the ornate key also rotates in place.

The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

>open gothic
You open the gothic door.

The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

>w

Narrow Corridor
The walls in this area are unfaced stone, without the plastering, scrollwork,
and wallpaper of the main building. To the west is the family's private chapel,
for their devotions when they did not feel like attending the parish church.

A staircase of worn stone steps leads up to the area above the chapel.

The door to the foyer is back to the east.

[Your score has just gone up by five points.]

>w

Chapel
The old private chapel, octagonal-shaped, with tall windows of stained glass,
casting a dazzling pattern of blue and green on the ground. Here the family used
to hold its private worship services, keeping a form of the official religion
that would no doubt have scandalized the parish curate.

There's a conspicuous rat-hole where the stone floor meets the wooden beams.

>x hole
A dark concavity, lined with the gathered debris of past services; bits of paper
curled into the shadows, and string, and gnawed grey cloth. Most notably, there 
are an gilded key, a wadded paper and a rat.

In the rat hole are an gilded key, a wadded paper and a rat.

>get gilded key
The rat nips your fingers sharply, drawing blood. You squeeze the offended
digits until the flow is staunched. "Bastard scion of the devil!" you yell at
it.

It stares back at you beadily.

>x rat
Bright and malevolent, with a long naked tail and teeth.

>attack rat with sword
(first taking the sword)
You draw the sword from its sheath. You stab. It dodges. The point of your sword
buries itself into the wood and takes a moment to pull out again.

With this kind of luck, it's going to take a lot of stabs before you get
anywhere. Maybe you'd be better off with a subtler strategy.

>link snuffbox to dark box
Bending your will, you form the link between the snuffbox and the dark wooden
box.

>open snuffbox
That's already open.

>drop wooden box
You haven't got that.

>get it
(putting the sword into the sack to make room)
Taken.

>drop it
Dropped.

>x it
A dark wooden box that smells faintly exotic.

In the dark wooden box is a mirror inset inside the box.

>show brie to rat
(first taking the wedge of brie)
The rat is unimpressed.

>show cheese to rat
(the wedge of brie to the rat)
The rat is unimpressed.

>get all cheese
There are none at all available!

>get all cheese from sack
goat cheese: (putting the wedge of brie into the sack to make room)
Removed.
salers: (putting the goat cheese into the sack to make room)
Removed.

>close blue
You close the blue glass jar.

>close red
You close the red glass jar.

>get goat, salers
goat cheese: (putting the blue glass jar into the sack to make room)
Taken.
salers: You already have that.

>show goat to rat
The rat is unimpressed.

>show salers to rat
The rat is unimpressed.

>put salers in dark
Which do you mean, the dark wooden box or the rat hole?

>box
That won't fit into the dark wooden box.

>put goat in dark
Which do you mean, the dark wooden box or the rat hole?

>box
You put the goat cheese into the dark wooden box.

The rat emerges from its hole and sniffs with interest around the outside of the
dark wooden box.

>z
The rat scampers back into the rathole with unseemly haste.

Time passes.

The rat emerges from its hole and sniffs with interest around the outside of the
dark wooden box.

>z
The rat scampers back into the rathole with unseemly haste.

Time passes.

The rat emerges from its hole and sniffs with interest around the outside of the
dark wooden box.

>z
The rat scampers back into the rathole with unseemly haste.

Time passes.

The rat emerges from its hole and sniffs with interest around the outside of the
dark wooden box.

>z
The rat scampers back into the rathole with unseemly haste.

Time passes.

The rat emerges from its hole and sniffs with interest around the outside of the
dark wooden box.

>z
The rat scampers back into the rathole with unseemly haste.

Time passes.

The rat emerges from its hole and sniffs with interest around the outside of the
dark wooden box.

>z
The rat scampers back into the rathole with unseemly haste.

Time passes.

The rat emerges from its hole and sniffs with interest around the outside of the
dark wooden box.

>z
The rat scampers back into the rathole with unseemly haste.

Time passes.

The rat emerges from its hole and sniffs with interest around the outside of the
dark wooden box.

>close snuff
The rat scampers back into the rathole with unseemly haste.

That's not something you can close.

The rat emerges from its hole and sniffs with interest around the outside of the
dark wooden box.

>close snuffbox
The rat scampers back into the rathole with unseemly haste.

You close the snuffbox.

The rat emerges from its hole and sniffs with interest around the outside of the
dark wooden box.

The dark wooden box shuts.

>open snuffbox
The rat scampers back into the rathole with unseemly haste.

You open the snuffbox, revealing a quantity of snuff.

The rat emerges from its hole and sniffs with interest around the outside of the
dark wooden box.

The dark wooden box opens.  The mirror inset inside the box begins to glow with
reflected light.

>close snuffbox
The rat scampers back into the rathole with unseemly haste.

You close the snuffbox.

The rat emerges from its hole and sniffs with interest around the outside of the
dark wooden box.

The dark wooden box shuts.

>e
The rat scampers back into the rathole with unseemly haste.


Narrow Corridor
The walls in this area are unfaced stone, without the plastering, scrollwork,
and wallpaper of the main building. To the west is the family's private chapel,
for their devotions when they did not feel like attending the parish church.

A staircase of worn stone steps leads up to the area above the chapel.

The door to the foyer is back to the east.

>open snuffbox
You open the snuffbox, revealing a quantity of snuff.

>close it
You close the snuffbox.

>w

Chapel
The old private chapel, octagonal-shaped, with tall windows of stained glass,
casting a dazzling pattern of blue and green on the ground. Here the family used
to hold its private worship services, keeping a form of the official religion
that would no doubt have scandalized the parish curate.

There's a conspicuous rat-hole where the stone floor meets the wooden beams.

You can also see a dark wooden box (which is closed) here.

The rat emerges from its hole and sniffs with interest around the outside of the
dark wooden box.

>e
The rat scampers back into the rathole with unseemly haste.


Narrow Corridor
The walls in this area are unfaced stone, without the plastering, scrollwork,
and wallpaper of the main building. To the west is the family's private chapel,
for their devotions when they did not feel like attending the parish church.

A staircase of worn stone steps leads up to the area above the chapel.

The door to the foyer is back to the east.

>open snuffbox
You open the snuffbox, revealing a quantity of snuff.

>z
Time passes.

>close it
You close the snuffbox.

>w

Chapel
The old private chapel, octagonal-shaped, with tall windows of stained glass,
casting a dazzling pattern of blue and green on the ground. Here the family used
to hold its private worship services, keeping a form of the official religion
that would no doubt have scandalized the parish curate.

There's a conspicuous rat-hole where the stone floor meets the wooden beams.

You can also see a dark wooden box (which is closed) here.

The rat emerges from its hole and sniffs with interest around the outside of the
dark wooden box.

>open dark
(the dark wooden box)
The rat scampers back into the rathole with unseemly haste.

You open the dark wooden box, revealing a goat cheese and a mirror inset inside
the box.

The rat emerges from its hole and sniffs with interest around the outside of the
dark wooden box.

The snuffbox opens.

The mirror inset inside the box begins to shine with reflected light.

>z
The rat scampers back into the rathole with unseemly haste.

Time passes.

The rat emerges from its hole and sniffs with interest around the outside of the
dark wooden box.

>get dark
Which do you mean, the dark wooden box or the rat hole?

>box
The rat scampers back into the rathole with unseemly haste.

Taken.

>l

Chapel
The old private chapel, octagonal-shaped, with tall windows of stained glass,
casting a dazzling pattern of blue and green on the ground. Here the family used
to hold its private worship services, keeping a form of the official religion
that would no doubt have scandalized the parish curate.

There's a conspicuous rat-hole where the stone floor meets the wooden beams.

>x hole
A dark concavity, lined with the gathered debris of past services; bits of paper
curled into the shadows, and string, and gnawed grey cloth. Most notably, there 
are a rat, an gilded key and a wadded paper.

In the rat hole are a rat, an gilded key and a wadded paper.

>x wadded
Clearly ripped (or nibbled) out of a book, and somewhat tattered.

>[hee!]
That's not a verb I recognize.

>[extra space in room desc. in 'notably, there  are a rat'
You seem to want to talk to someone, but I can't see whom.

>e

Narrow Corridor
The walls in this area are unfaced stone, without the plastering, scrollwork,
and wallpaper of the main building. To the west is the family's private chapel,
for their devotions when they did not feel like attending the parish church.

A staircase of worn stone steps leads up to the area above the chapel.

The door to the foyer is back to the east.

>u
The worn and winding staircase is not so easy to climb, you find; it would be
worse with a flickering candle in the dark. But still you manage...

Bedchamber of the Count and Countess
As a child, you were never allowed in here; it is the only part of the house
that is completely unfamiliar to you, though some parts were better known than
others. The room, like the chapel below it, is made of stone, unfaced; high
windows, clear rather than stained glass, admit a pure light. It is also
octagonal, and the ceiling ribs meet at a boss overhead, shaped like a coiled
dragon.

It does not have the bare appearance of most of the other rooms of the house.
There is a full company of furniture -- a tall-backed ebony and ivory chair,
poster bed, wardrobe, inlaid florentine table. A staircase of worn stone steps
leads back down.

On the inlaid table are a fanciful book and an unfinished letter.

There is a trunk in the middle of the room, its lid thrown open and its contents
beginning to spill out.

>read unfinished
Dear Father,

Things have gone badly since you last wrote. I refused the hand of D'Envers, as
you recommended (though I cannot say that I had any desire to wed him in any
case), and, if he were a gentleman, that would have been the end of the matter.
But a few days later I caught one of the maids going through my personal things,
and when I questioned her it came out that D'Envers had bribed her to see if he
had a rival! I turned her off immediately, but things became worse. There are
men of the D'Envers livery passing by the estate on various pretenses, and I am
constantly watched.

I moved my things into your room -- it seems safer. I have shut away some of the
valuables. I am about to leave as well -- I will try to get to Pierre in Paris.
He will know what to do.

I wish you had left me some hint of what you were doing, what you intend...

>read book
Which do you mean, the fanciful book, Guide to Assorted Wines, The Lavori
d'Aracne, Clock Repair, On Vegetable Dyes or The World Is Hollow?

>fanciful
(first taking the fanciful book)

(putting the salers into the sack to make room)
Taken.

It seems to be set in Italy and to involve a number of improbable situations.
There is a daring heroine who gets herself into assorted scrapes, and also a
mysterious (and magic-using!) hero who appears to let her out of them again (but
then always irritatingly departs without a word).

>[heh]
That's not a verb I recognize.

>x trunk
The sort of trunk that someone packs things into in preparation for a journey.

In the trunk are a bracelet, an ivory silk gown and a pair of shoes.

>get bracelet
(putting the dark wooden box into the sack to make room)
Taken.

>x it
A bracelet of onyx beads, threaded on silk and silver. It has a clasp that opens
and closes.

>wear it
You had better pray that none of your acquaintance sees you so attired.

>x gown
An exquisite gown of ivory silk: its vast skirts are embroidered with an
intricate colored pattern of birds and foliage, and the bodice is decorated with
outsized bows.

>wear it
(first taking the ivory silk gown)
Even if your dignity would allow such a ludicrous gesture, you very much doubt
that the gown would fit you. It looks about Marie's size.

>get shoes
(the pair of shoes)
(putting the fanciful book into the sack to make room)
Taken.

[Your score has just gone up by four points.]

>[for the *shoes*?]
That's not a verb I recognize.

>x shoes
(the pair of shoes)
Ivory dress shoes for a woman with delicate feet (Marie; the Countess had larger
and less elegant extremities). The heels are studded with diamond chips. They're
worth a small fortune.

>[wow]
That's not a verb I recognize.

>wear shoes
(the pair of shoes)
Mincing about in Marie's heeled shoes is not likely to help you much.

>
[Oh, come on, you put me in a house full of women's clothing and don't let me play out my cross-dressing proclivities.]
I didn't understand that sentence.

>[meanie]
That's not a verb I recognize.

>l

Bedchamber of the Count and Countess
The room, like the chapel below it, is made of stone, unfaced; high windows,
clear rather than stained glass, admit a pure light. It is also octagonal, and
the ceiling ribs meet at a boss overhead, shaped like a coiled dragon.

It does not have the bare appearance of most of the other rooms of the house.
There is a full company of furniture -- a tall-backed ebony and ivory chair,
poster bed, wardrobe, inlaid florentine table. A staircase of worn stone steps
leads back down.

On the inlaid table is an unfinished letter.

There is a trunk in the middle of the room, its lid thrown open and its contents
beginning to spill out.

>x light
Warming and golden.

>look in trunk
The trunk is empty.

>[but its contents are spilling out?]
That's not a verb I recognize.

>x ebony chair
You can't see any such thing.

>x chair
Made of ebony but fitted, at the top of the back, with faces made of ivory and
inset into the heavy wood; and as for the upholstery, it is done in fine silver
on black.

>x ivory chair
You can't see any such thing.

>x poster bed
You can't see any such thing.

>x bed
An old, slightly battered frame, massive and sheltering, with posts like the
masts of a ship.

>search it
There is nothing on the bed.

>look under it
There's nothing under the bed; the place has been rigorously cleaned, and you
can't even find much dust.

>l

Bedchamber of the Count and Countess
The room, like the chapel below it, is made of stone, unfaced; high windows,
clear rather than stained glass, admit a pure light. It is also octagonal, and
the ceiling ribs meet at a boss overhead, shaped like a coiled dragon.

It does not have the bare appearance of most of the other rooms of the house.
There is a full company of furniture -- a tall-backed ebony and ivory chair,
poster bed, wardrobe, inlaid florentine table. A staircase of worn stone steps
leads back down.

On the inlaid table is an unfinished letter.

There is a trunk in the middle of the room, its lid thrown open and its contents
beginning to spill out.

>x wardrobe
Taller than you are yourself, but old and unfashionable; like most of the other
furnishings of the room, it suggests time and ancestry rather than the mood of a
moment.

>open it
You open the wardrobe, revealing a selection of dresses.

>[Whee!  I'm in heaven.]
That's not a verb I recognize.

>get dresses
No point in taking the entire armload of gowns. You'd only get them damaged, and
you can hardly afford to replace them.

>get a dress
(the selection of dresses)
No point in taking the entire armload of gowns. You'd only get them damaged, and
you can hardly afford to replace them.

>wear dress
(the ivory silk gown)
Even if your dignity would allow such a ludicrous gesture, you very much doubt
that the gown would fit you. It looks about Marie's size.

>[noooooo!!!!!]
That's not a verb I recognize.

>[ahem]
That's not a verb I recognize.

>get unfinished
(putting the ivory silk gown into the sack to make room)
Taken.

>l

Bedchamber of the Count and Countess
The room, like the chapel below it, is made of stone, unfaced; high windows,
clear rather than stained glass, admit a pure light. It is also octagonal, and
the ceiling ribs meet at a boss overhead, shaped like a coiled dragon.

It does not have the bare appearance of most of the other rooms of the house.
There is a full company of furniture -- a tall-backed ebony and ivory chair,
poster bed, wardrobe, inlaid florentine table. A staircase of worn stone steps
leads back down.

There is a trunk in the middle of the room, its lid thrown open and its contents
beginning to spill out.

>x table
(the inlaid table)
The top surface of the table is ornamented with inset stone in design; it looks
Florentine.

>get it
That's hardly portable.

>sleep on bed
I only understood you as far as wanting to sleep.

>enter bed
You get onto the bed.

>sleep
You're just not that tired.

>get up
You get off the bed.

Bedchamber of the Count and Countess
The room, like the chapel below it, is made of stone, unfaced; high windows,
clear rather than stained glass, admit a pure light. It is also octagonal, and
the ceiling ribs meet at a boss overhead, shaped like a coiled dragon.

It does not have the bare appearance of most of the other rooms of the house.
There is a full company of furniture -- a tall-backed ebony and ivory chair,
poster bed, wardrobe, inlaid florentine table. A staircase of worn stone steps
leads back down.

There is a trunk in the middle of the room, its lid thrown open and its contents
beginning to spill out.

>read unfinished
Dear Father,

Things have gone badly since you last wrote. I refused the hand of D'Envers, as
you recommended (though I cannot say that I had any desire to wed him in any
case), and, if he were a gentleman, that would have been the end of the matter.
But a few days later I caught one of the maids going through my personal things,
and when I questioned her it came out that D'Envers had bribed her to see if he
had a rival! I turned her off immediately, but things became worse. There are
men of the D'Envers livery passing by the estate on various pretenses, and I am
constantly watched.

I moved my things into your room -- it seems safer. I have shut away some of the
valuables. I am about to leave as well -- I will try to get to Pierre in Paris.
He will know what to do.

I wish you had left me some hint of what you were doing, what you intend...

>
Marie, I'm touched by your faith in me.  I will endeavor to make that faith a reality.
You seem to want to talk to someone, but I can't see whom.

>Hush, you, I'm having a private moment.
You seem to want to talk to someone, but I can't see whom.

>d

Narrow Corridor
The walls in this area are unfaced stone, without the plastering, scrollwork,
and wallpaper of the main building. To the west is the family's private chapel,
for their devotions when they did not feel like attending the parish church.

A staircase of worn stone steps leads up to the area above the chapel.

The door to the foyer is back to the east.

>[Alrighty.  One dead rat, coming up.]
You seem to want to talk to someone, but I can't see whom.

>x dark box
A dark wooden box that smells faintly exotic.

In the dark wooden box are a goat cheese and a mirror inset inside the box.

>x goat cheese
A compact ball of goat cheese, faintly oily on the surface.

>i
You are carrying:
  an unfinished letter
  a pair of shoes
  a bracelet (being worn)
  a bag on a string (being worn and open but empty)
  a hinge-lidded teapot (which is open)
    not very much water (which leaves some room in the hinge-lidded teapot)
  a green glass jar (which is open)
    some olive oil (which leaves a little room in the green glass jar)
  a celestial bauble (providing white light)
  a jeweled pin (being worn)
  a pearl necklace (being worn)
  a sack (which is open)
    an ivory silk gown
    a dark wooden box (which is open)
      a goat cheese
      a mirror inset inside the box (providing light)
    a blue glass jar (which is closed)
      some onion dye (which leaves a little room in the blue glass jar)
    a sword
    a rug
    some silver coins
    a red glass jar (which is closed)
    a yellow handkerchief
    a sponge
    a cork
    a pine chest (which is open but empty)
    some mechanical human dancers
    a navy cloak
    a round metal tin (which is open but empty)
    some documents
    an old letter
    some household papers
    a small portrait
    a crumpled paper
    a burnt scrap of paper
    a butcher knife
    a swordstick
    a snuffbox (which is open)
      a quantity of snuff
    four recipe cylinders:
      a Tea Recipe
      a Chocolate Recipe
      an Easter Egg Recipe
      a Lentil Soup Recipe
    two metal dishes:
      a plate
      a cup
    two keys:
      an iron key (which opens the magenta door leading east)
      a silver key (which opens the red door leading west)
    four pieces of silverware:
      a silver-plated corkscrew
      a table knife
      a fork
      a spoon
    six books:
      a fanciful book
      Guide to Assorted Wines
      The Lavori d'Aracne
      Clock Repair
      On Vegetable Dyes
      The World Is Hollow (which is open but empty)
    nine food items:
      a salers
      a wedge of brie
      a sprig of mint
      some apples
      some hunks of salt pork
      some lentils
      a sprig of parsley
      a bay leaf
      a clove of garlic
    two bottles of wine:
      a bottle of Chateauneuf du Pape (which is closed)
      a blue bottle (which is closed)
  a dashing hat (being worn)
  a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc
    some Sauvignon Blanc (which leaves some room in the bottle of Sauvignon
Blanc)

>put mint on goat cheese
(first taking the sprig of mint)
(putting the pair of shoes into the sack to make room)
Taken.

Putting things on the goat cheese would achieve nothing.

>put parsley on goat
(first taking the sprig of parsley)
(putting the unfinished letter into the sack to make room)
Taken.

Putting things on the goat cheese would achieve nothing.

>put blanc in sac
You can't see any such thing.

>put blanc in sack
The sack is too porous.

>put bottle in sack
(the bottle of Sauvignon Blanc in the sack)
Putting an open container of Sauvignon Blanc into the sack seems like an
invitation to disaster.

>[oh, right]
You seem to want to talk to someone, but I can't see whom.

>i
You are carrying:
  two food items:
    a sprig of parsley
    a sprig of mint
  a bracelet (being worn)
  a bag on a string (being worn and open but empty)
  a hinge-lidded teapot (which is open)
    not very much water (which leaves some room in the hinge-lidded teapot)
  a green glass jar (which is open)
    some olive oil (which leaves a little room in the green glass jar)
  a celestial bauble (providing white light)
  a jeweled pin (being worn)
  a pearl necklace (being worn)
  a sack (which is open)
    an unfinished letter
    a pair of shoes
    an ivory silk gown
    a dark wooden box (which is open)
      a goat cheese
      a mirror inset inside the box (providing light)
    a blue glass jar (which is closed)
      some onion dye (which leaves a little room in the blue glass jar)
    a sword
    a rug
    some silver coins
    a red glass jar (which is closed)
    a yellow handkerchief
    a sponge
    a cork
    a pine chest (which is open but empty)
    some mechanical human dancers
    a navy cloak
    a round metal tin (which is open but empty)
    some documents
    an old letter
    some household papers
    a small portrait
    a crumpled paper
    a burnt scrap of paper
    a butcher knife
    a swordstick
    a snuffbox (which is open)
      a quantity of snuff
    four recipe cylinders:
      a Tea Recipe
      a Chocolate Recipe
      an Easter Egg Recipe
      a Lentil Soup Recipe
    two metal dishes:
      a plate
      a cup
    two keys:
      an iron key (which opens the magenta door leading east)
      a silver key (which opens the red door leading west)
    four pieces of silverware:
      a silver-plated corkscrew
      a table knife
      a fork
      a spoon
    six books:
      a fanciful book
      Guide to Assorted Wines
      The Lavori d'Aracne
      Clock Repair
      On Vegetable Dyes
      The World Is Hollow (which is open but empty)
    seven food items:
      a salers
      a wedge of brie
      some apples
      some hunks of salt pork
      some lentils
      a bay leaf
      a clove of garlic
    two bottles of wine:
      a bottle of Chateauneuf du Pape (which is closed)
      a blue bottle (which is closed)
  a dashing hat (being worn)
  a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc
    some Sauvignon Blanc (which leaves some room in the bottle of Sauvignon
Blanc)

>x bracelet
A bracelet of onyx beads, threaded on silk and silver. It has a clasp that opens
and closes.

>open bracelet
You open the bracelet.

>close it
You close the bracelet.

>link it to pin
You valiantly try to link the two objects, but they are just too dissimilar.

>[Oh, come on--both jewellry, both open and close...]
You seem to want to talk to someone, but I can't see whom.

>x goat
A compact ball of goat cheese, faintly oily on the surface.

>eat it
(first taking the goat cheese)
(putting the sprig of mint into the sack to make room)
You polish off the goat cheese. You taste nothing unexpected.

>undo
Narrow Corridor
[Previous turn undone.]

>[Oops, returned false, not true.  Or, hey, after routines.]
You seem to want to talk to someone, but I can't see whom.

>eat brie
(first taking the wedge of brie)
(putting the sprig of mint into the sack to make room)
It seems a bit uncouth just to take bites out of the brie without slicing it or
anything. Even if no one's watching.

>slice brie
What do you want to slice the wedge of brie with?

>table
(first taking the table knife)
(putting the sprig of parsley into the sack to make room)
You slice yourself a piece of the brie.

>put piece in box
Which do you mean, the dark wooden box or the snuffbox?

>dark
(first taking the crumpled paper)
(putting the wedge of brie into the sack to make room)
Taken.

You put the crumpled paper into the dark wooden box.

>[eh?]
That's not a verb I recognize.

>get crumpled
(putting the table knife into the sack to make room)
Taken.

>put piece of brie in box
You can't see any such thing.

>i
You are carrying:
  a crumpled paper
  a slice of brie
  a bracelet (being worn)
  a bag on a string (being worn and open but empty)
  a hinge-lidded teapot (which is open)
    not very much water (which leaves some room in the hinge-lidded teapot)
  a green glass jar (which is open)
    some olive oil (which leaves a little room in the green glass jar)
  a celestial bauble (providing white light)
  a jeweled pin (being worn)
  a pearl necklace (being worn)
  a sack (which is open)
    an unfinished letter
    a pair of shoes
    an ivory silk gown
    a dark wooden box (which is open)
      a goat cheese
      a mirror inset inside the box (providing light)
    a blue glass jar (which is closed)
      some onion dye (which leaves a little room in the blue glass jar)
    a sword
    a rug
    some silver coins
    a red glass jar (which is closed)
    a yellow handkerchief
    a sponge
    a cork
    a pine chest (which is open but empty)
    some mechanical human dancers
    a navy cloak
    a round metal tin (which is open but empty)
    some documents
    an old letter
    some household papers
    a small portrait
    a burnt scrap of paper
    a butcher knife
    a swordstick
    a snuffbox (which is open)
      a quantity of snuff
    four recipe cylinders:
      a Tea Recipe
      a Chocolate Recipe
      an Easter Egg Recipe
      a Lentil Soup Recipe
    two metal dishes:
      a plate
      a cup
    two keys:
      an iron key (which opens the magenta door leading east)
      a silver key (which opens the red door leading west)
    six books:
      a fanciful book
      Guide to Assorted Wines
      The Lavori d'Aracne
      Clock Repair
      On Vegetable Dyes
      The World Is Hollow (which is open but empty)
    two bottles of wine:
      a bottle of Chateauneuf du Pape (which is closed)
      a blue bottle (which is closed)
    four pieces of silverware:
      a table knife
      a silver-plated corkscrew
      a fork
      a spoon
    nine food items:
      a wedge of brie
      a sprig of parsley
      a sprig of mint
      a salers
      some apples
      some hunks of salt pork
      some lentils
      a bay leaf
      a clove of garlic
  a dashing hat (being worn)
  a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc
    some Sauvignon Blanc (which leaves some room in the bottle of Sauvignon
Blanc)

>put slice in box
Which do you mean, the dark wooden box or the snuffbox?

>dark
You put the slice of brie into the dark wooden box.

>x box
Which do you mean, the dark wooden box or the snuffbox?

>dark
A dark wooden box that smells faintly exotic.

In the dark wooden box are a slice of brie, a goat cheese and a mirror inset
inside the box.

>get goat
Taken.

>drop dark
You haven't got that.

>drop dark wooden box
You haven't got that.

>get it
(putting the crumpled paper into the sack to make room)
Taken.

>drop dark wooden box
Dropped.

>l

Narrow Corridor
The walls in this area are unfaced stone, without the plastering, scrollwork,
and wallpaper of the main building. To the west is the family's private chapel,
for their devotions when they did not feel like attending the parish church.

A staircase of worn stone steps leads up to the area above the chapel.

The door to the foyer is back to the east.

You can also see a dark wooden box (in which are a slice of brie and a mirror
inset inside the box (providing light)) here.

>get it
That's hardly portable.

>get box
(the dark wooden box)
Taken.

>w

Chapel
The old private chapel, octagonal-shaped, with tall windows of stained glass,
casting a dazzling pattern of blue and green on the ground. Here the family used
to hold its private worship services, keeping a form of the official religion
that would no doubt have scandalized the parish curate.

There's a conspicuous rat-hole where the stone floor meets the wooden beams.

>drop it
The rat hole is already here.

>drop wooden box
Dropped.

The rat emerges from its hole and sniffs with interest around the outside of the
dark wooden box.

>z
The rat scampers back into the rathole with unseemly haste.

Time passes.

The rat emerges from its hole and sniffs with interest around the outside of the
dark wooden box.

>get dark
Which do you mean, the dark wooden box or the rat hole?

>box
The rat scampers back into the rathole with unseemly haste.

Taken.

>x it
A dark wooden box that smells faintly exotic.

In the dark wooden box are a slice of brie and a mirror inset inside the box.

>get slice
(putting the goat cheese into the sack to make room)
Taken.

>pour snuff into dark box
The snuff is not susceptible to pouring.

>get snuff
You put a pinch -- really just the tiniest bit -- on the back of one hand and
lift it to your nose. Refreshing, invigorating, and mercifully not spoilt with
an excess of perfume such as everyone seems to prefer these days.

>put snuff in dark box
(first taking the snuff)
Your nose is assailed by a vigorous prickling. Really, it is possible to overdo
this sort of thing.
You need to be holding the snuff before you can put it on top of something else.

>transfer snuff to dark box
There's no reason to remove the snuff from its box; the results would most
likely be unfortunate.

>unlink dark
(the rat hole)
You are unable to.

>unlink dark box
You succeed in unlinking the dark wooden box from the snuffbox.

>put slice in pine
You put the slice of brie into the pine chest.

>drop pine
You haven't got that.

>get it
Taken.

>drop it
Dropped.

The rat emerges from its hole and sniffs with interest around the outside of the
pine chest.

>link dark to pine
(the rat hole to the pine chest)
The rat scampers back into the rathole with unseemly haste.

You valiantly try to link the two objects, but they seem as though they will
never go together.

The rat emerges from its hole and sniffs with interest around the outside of the
pine chest.

>link dark box to pine
The rat scampers back into the rathole with unseemly haste.

Bending your will, you form the link between the dark wooden box and the pine
chest.

The rat emerges from its hole and sniffs with interest around the outside of the
pine chest.

>close dark
(the rat hole)
The rat scampers back into the rathole with unseemly haste.

That's not something you can close.

The rat emerges from its hole and sniffs with interest around the outside of the
pine chest.

>close dark box
The rat scampers back into the rathole with unseemly haste.

You close the dark wooden box.

The rat emerges from its hole and sniffs with interest around the outside of the
pine chest.

The pine chest shuts.

>get it
The rat scampers back into the rathole with unseemly haste.

You already have that.

The rat emerges from its hole and sniffs with interest around the outside of the
pine chest.

>e
The rat scampers back into the rathole with unseemly haste.


Narrow Corridor
The walls in this area are unfaced stone, without the plastering, scrollwork,
and wallpaper of the main building. To the west is the family's private chapel,
for their devotions when they did not feel like attending the parish church.

A staircase of worn stone steps leads up to the area above the chapel.

The door to the foyer is back to the east.

>open dark box
You open the dark wooden box, revealing a mirror inset inside the box.

The mirror inset inside the box begins to shine with reflected light.

>z
Time passes.

>z
Time passes.

>close it
You close the dark wooden box.

>w

Chapel
The old private chapel, octagonal-shaped, with tall windows of stained glass,
casting a dazzling pattern of blue and green on the ground. Here the family used
to hold its private worship services, keeping a form of the official religion
that would no doubt have scandalized the parish curate.

There's a conspicuous rat-hole where the stone floor meets the wooden beams.

You can also see a pine chest (which is closed) here.

The rat emerges from its hole and sniffs with interest around the outside of the
pine chest.

>[tap tap tap]
That's not a verb I recognize.

>[OK, ng time--I saw some hint about this.]
You seem to want to talk to someone, but I can't see whom.

>[oh.]
That's not a verb I recognize.

>attack rat with sword
(first taking the sword)
The rat scampers back into the rathole with unseemly haste.

It dodges your attack adeptly. Speed and agility are on its side.

The rat emerges from its hole and sniffs with interest around the outside of the
pine chest.

>g
You're closer this time, you can feel it -- the rat is out, exposed, and
unprotected. You strike--

You miss!

The rat scurries back into its hole.

>g
It dodges your attack adeptly. Speed and agility are on its side.

The rat emerges from its hole and sniffs with interest around the outside of the
pine chest.

>g
You're closer this time, you can feel it -- the rat is out, exposed, and
unprotected. You strike--

It dodges your attack adeptly. Speed and agility are on its side.  A more
superstitious man might begin to suspect the rat of demonic possession.

The rat scurries back into its hole.

>g
Your attack goes awry!

The rat emerges from its hole and sniffs with interest around the outside of the
pine chest.

>
I beg your pardon?

>g
You're closer this time, you can feel it -- the rat is out, exposed, and
unprotected. You strike--

The rat stares cross-eyed at you and seems about to die this time-- but then it
saves itself at the last moment, springing out of the way.

The rat scurries back into its hole.

>g
The rat stares cross-eyed at you and seems about to die this time-- but then it
saves itself at the last moment, springing out of the way.

The rat emerges from its hole and sniffs with interest around the outside of the
pine chest.

>g
You're closer this time, you can feel it -- the rat is out, exposed, and
unprotected. You strike--

It dodges your attack adeptly. Speed and agility are on its side.

The rat scurries back into its hole.

>g
Oops!

Rat: 10. You: 0.

The rat emerges from its hole and sniffs with interest around the outside of the
pine chest.

>g
You're closer this time, you can feel it -- the rat is out, exposed, and
unprotected. You strike--

You miss!

The rat scurries back into its hole.

>g
You miss!

The rat emerges from its hole and sniffs with interest around the outside of the
pine chest.

>g
You're closer this time, you can feel it -- the rat is out, exposed, and
unprotected. You strike--

Oops!

Rat: 13. You: 0.

The rat scurries back into its hole.

>g
The rat stares cross-eyed at you and seems about to die this time-- but then it
saves itself at the last moment, springing out of the way.

The rat emerges from its hole and sniffs with interest around the outside of the
pine chest.

>g
You're closer this time, you can feel it -- the rat is out, exposed, and
unprotected. You strike--

Your attack goes awry!  You pant for breath.

The rat scurries back into its hole.

>z
Time passes.

The rat emerges from its hole and sniffs with interest around the outside of the
pine chest.

>g
The rat scampers back into the rathole with unseemly haste.

Time passes.

The rat emerges from its hole and sniffs with interest around the outside of the
pine chest.

>attack rat with sword
You're closer this time, you can feel it -- the rat is out, exposed, and
unprotected. You strike--

The rat stares cross-eyed at you and seems about to die this time-- but then it
saves itself at the last moment, springing out of the way.

The rat scurries back into its hole.

>z
Time passes.

The rat emerges from its hole and sniffs with interest around the outside of the
pine chest.

>attack rat with sword
Ha ha! The horrid creature is not in its home! You plunge! and for once the
rat's reflexes fail. The tip of your sword sinks into its little rodential
belly.

"Take that!" you exclaim.

It replies only with a pathetic gurgle.

[Your score has just gone up by five points.]

>get all from hole
gilded key: (putting the dark wooden box into the sack to make room)
Removed.
wadded paper: (putting the sword into the sack to make room)
Removed.

>get pine
(putting the gilded key into the sack to make room)
Taken.

>read wadded
...can be used to view the other member of a strong link. Under most
circumstances there is a word of some sort required to activate such viewing
devices, which may be spoken to it or in its presence. 

Next to this in handwriting: "(Our mirror from the workshop in the Rue des
Arbres.)"

>x gilded
A gilded key.

>[heh]
That's not a verb I recognize.

>e

Narrow Corridor
The walls in this area are unfaced stone, without the plastering, scrollwork,
and wallpaper of the main building. To the west is the family's private chapel,
for their devotions when they did not feel like attending the parish church.

A staircase of worn stone steps leads up to the area above the chapel.

The door to the foyer is back to the east.

>e

Entrance Hall
Flourishing, spacious; it is its best with a half-dozen servants in livery. The
floor is Italian marble, and the walls are dressed with yellow silk hangings.

The main staircase ascends to the corridor on the second floor, and a smaller
version leads down into the dim basement. Doors also open north and northeast.

An old gothic door framed in stone leads west.

A sad heap of used yellow brocade huddles on the floor here.

On the wall is one of those mechanical clocks that pop open on the hour,
allowing the ingenious internal figures out to play.

The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

>u

Staircase, First Floor
The top of a broad curving stair: east is the long salon that goes the length of
the house, downstairs are the foyer and the grand receiving rooms. 

North is the old conservatory.

>e

Long Salon
A long empty room with shined wooden floors, perfect for sliding in stocking-
feet. West is the top of the staircase, and rooms open to the north and east.

The door east is closed.

>unlock door with gilded
(first taking the gilded key)
(putting the wadded paper into the sack to make room)
You unlock the tall door.

>[yaaaayyy!]
That's not a verb I recognize.

>open east door
You open the tall door.

>e

Count's Study
A large room with windows that face south, and a fireplace along the east. The
place is a mess. Other rooms have looked bare, but this one-- this room has been
ransacked. Furniture has not simply been removed or disarranged, it has been
thrown around, in some cases even chopped up. The handsome secretaire has been
turned into splinters.

North is the doorway into the room that was once your bedroom.

An open door leads back west into the corridor.

[Your score has just gone up by five points.]

>[Oh, how sad.]
You seem to want to talk to someone, but I can't see whom.

>n

Your Old Bedroom
A large, bright, sunny room, which you still regard with affection. 

In your absence it has turned into a general sitting room. Gone is the table
where you used to study -- it took you a long time to learn to read as well as
Marie, but you did not care to be left behind by someone two years younger than
yourself; also the wardrobe, which astonished when you found that it was to
contain nothing but clothes for you.

On the windowsill is a vase (in which are some dead roses).

>x vase
A tall vase of some kind of turned stone, ornamented somewhat on the outside but
neatly cylindrical inside.

In the vase are some dead roses.

>get it
(putting the pine chest into the sack to make room)
Taken.

>x dead roses
Dried and disintegrating, though you can tell that they were once red. The
petals are crumbling into a papery dust around them, however.

Something about the dead roses tickles your recollection.

>remember roses

...

"How does he treat you?"  Your mother, standing outside in the field in her best
dress because she refused to be brought inside the house. "Is he very strict?
Does he beat you?"

"No, of course not, Maman. It is just as though he were my own Papa." 

She frowned, looked away. "And I suppose you are learning all sorts of things,"
she said.

"Oh, yes, much more than at home."

She made a little gesture; then her mood changed. "But you must be missing the
sweet bread I make at home, no? I'll bring you some in a basket."

"No, Maman, the cooks make me anything I want."

...

>[aww...]
That's not a verb I recognize.

>l

Your Old Bedroom
A large, bright, sunny room, which you still regard with affection. 

In your absence it has turned into a general sitting room. Gone is the table
where you used to study -- it took you a long time to learn to read as well as
Marie, but you did not care to be left behind by someone two years younger than
yourself; also the wardrobe, which astonished when you found that it was to
contain nothing but clothes for you.

>x table
A silver knife with the crest of the family stamped on the handle.

>x wardrobe
You can't see any such thing.

>x window
Windows framed in the old style, arched at the top with a little knot of carved
flowerettes and ribbon-work.

>x vase
A tall vase of some kind of turned stone, ornamented somewhat on the outside but
neatly cylindrical inside.

In the vase are some dead roses.

>s

Count's Study
A large room with windows that face south, and a fireplace along the east. The
place is a mess. Other rooms have looked bare, but this one-- this room has been
ransacked. Furniture has not simply been removed or disarranged, it has been
thrown around, in some cases even chopped up. The handsome secretaire has been
turned into splinters.

North is the doorway into the room that was once your bedroom.

An open door leads back west into the corridor.

>x furniture
You can't see any such thing.

>x fireplace
A handsome fireplace with the family crest carved in stone on the mantel.

In the fireplace are some remains of papers.

>get papers
(the remains of papers)
They're tiny pieces, and ashy too; nothing to be taken away or kept.

>search papers
Which do you mean, the remains of papers or the household papers?

>remains
You find nothing of interest.

>[aww!]
That's not a verb I recognize.

>x mantel
You can't see any such thing.

>x secretaire
It was -- once -- a delicate piece with careful veneerwork in kingswood. It is
now rendered into chunks mostly no larger than your hand, all the drawers taken
out and strewn around.

Something about the wreckage tickles your recollection.

>remember it

...

You sat on one of the chairs, legs dangling, while your father talked to the
Count.

"Whatever you like," the Count said. "We owe you everything... My daughter's
life..."  He spread his hand, and you felt awed that this man could owe your
father anything.

Then your father glanced at you sideways, turned the cap in his hands, and
began: "My lord, we have many mouths at home."

...

>
[Oh, that was when I initially came here, because he had linked me to his daughter.  Or maybe I climbed the well
You seem to want to talk to someone, but I can't see whom.

>[or some such]
That's not a verb I recognize.

>search it
You find nothing of interest.

>l

Count's Study
A large room with windows that face south, and a fireplace along the east. The
place is a mess. Other rooms have looked bare, but this one-- this room has been
ransacked. Furniture has not simply been removed or disarranged, it has been
thrown around, in some cases even chopped up. The handsome secretaire has been
turned into splinters.

North is the doorway into the room that was once your bedroom.

An open door leads back west into the corridor.

>x windows
Windows framed in the old style, arched at the top with a little knot of carved
flowerettes and ribbon-work.

>look through windows
You find nothing of interest.

>x furniture
You can't see any such thing.

>s
You can go only north or west.

>w

Long Salon
A long empty room with shined wooden floors, perfect for sliding in stocking-
feet. West is the top of the staircase, and rooms open to the north and east.

The door to the Count's study stands open.

>s
You can go only north, east or west.

>w

Staircase, First Floor
The top of a broad curving stair: east is the long salon that goes the length of
the house, downstairs are the foyer and the grand receiving rooms. 

North is the old conservatory.

>d

Entrance Hall
Flourishing, spacious; it is its best with a half-dozen servants in livery. The
floor is Italian marble, and the walls are dressed with yellow silk hangings.

The main staircase ascends to the corridor on the second floor, and a smaller
version leads down into the dim basement. Doors also open north and northeast.

An old gothic door framed in stone leads west.

A sad heap of used yellow brocade huddles on the floor here.

On the wall is one of those mechanical clocks that pop open on the hour,
allowing the ingenious internal figures out to play.

The cuckoo clock clicks closed.

>e
The south door leads only out of the estate, where you are not ready to go. You
can go only north, west, northeast, up or down.

The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

>e
The south door leads only out of the estate, where you are not ready to go. You
can go only north, west, northeast, up or down.

The cuckoo clock ticks sullenly.

>ne

Dining Room
A grand room, for dining in style. The plastered ceiling is several times your
height. The air now is cool and deep, the sunlight glancing through the windows
and scattering from the chandelier, putting points of light at your feet, over
the table, across the painted wallpaper and the handsome wood paneling.

Woodworked columns frame the exits west and southwest.

Heavy double doors open east to the kitchen.

>e

Kitchen Corridor
A narrow corridor between the kitchen and the main house, which has a thick
separate wall. The two buildings are only barely attached, to discourage fires.
A small staircase leads down.

Double doors give west onto the main house.

>e

Kitchen
A long, cross-beamed room, originally washed with white, though smoke has tinged
the walls above the massive fireplace in which roasts are prepared. In addition,
there are thick high tables that run the length of the room. 

To the east is the kitchen garden through which you entered; west is the
corridor that connects with the main house. To the north there is the little
scullery, and upstairs is the attic where the servants sleep.

On the kitchen tables is a delicate contraption (which is empty).

>e

Kitchen Garden
West is the wall of the kitchen. Most of the space along the wall is planted
with herbs -- bay, parsley, stalks of mint -- left of the open doorway. To its
right is only a drainage ditch, catching the outflow of a pipe that comes
through the wall.

In one corner of the plot is the well, drilled many deep feet; in another is the
antique sundial.

>link vase to well
You valiantly try to link the two objects, but they are just too dissimilar.

>[curses!  I really thought that was it.]
That's not a verb I recognize.

>[Oh, hey, better save]
You seem to want to talk to someone, but I can't see whom.

>save
Ok.

>[OK, a word.  hmm....]
You seem to want to talk to someone, but I can't see whom.

>x crumpled
A bit of soiled, wadded paper, old and dirty.

>read it
Your name is written on it, perhaps a dozen times, with various honorifics, in
Marie's elegant handwriting. She was fluently literate but always a painstaking
writer, determined never to blot her work, and wrote, even when grown up, with
the tip of her tongue caught between her teeth.

>w

Kitchen
A long, cross-beamed room, originally washed with white, though smoke has tinged
the walls above the massive fireplace in which roasts are prepared. In addition,
there are thick high tables that run the length of the room. 

To the east is the kitchen garden through which you entered; west is the
corridor that connects with the main house. To the north there is the little
scullery, and upstairs is the attic where the servants sleep.

On the kitchen tables is a delicate contraption (which is empty).

>w

Kitchen Corridor
A narrow corridor between the kitchen and the main house, which has a thick
separate wall. The two buildings are only barely attached, to discourage fires.
A small staircase leads down.

Double doors give west onto the main house.

>n
You can go only east, west or down.

>w

Dining Room
A grand room, for dining in style. The plastered ceiling is several times your
height. The air now is cool and deep, the sunlight glancing through the windows
and scattering from the chandelier, putting points of light at your feet, over
the table, across the painted wallpaper and the handsome wood paneling.

Woodworked columns frame the exits west and southwest.

Heavy double doors open east to the kitchen.

>sw

Entrance Hall
Flourishing, spacious; it is its best with a half-dozen servants in livery. The
floor is Italian marble, and the walls are dressed with yellow silk hangings.

The main staircase ascends to the corridor on the second floor, and a smaller
version leads down into the dim basement. Doors also open north and northeast.

An old gothic door framed in stone leads west.

A sad heap of used yellow brocade huddles on the floor here.

On the wall is one of those mechanical clocks that pop open on the hour,
allowing the ingenious internal figures out to play.

On the half-hour the cuckoo clock opens up its door and a mechanical bird flies
forward. It sings a brief warbling tune, then withdraws into its little door.

>u

Staircase, First Floor
The top of a broad curving stair: east is the long salon that goes the length of
the house, downstairs are the foyer and the grand receiving rooms. 

North is the old conservatory.

>n

Old Conservatory
A chilly northern exposure, perhaps, but really quite lovely. This room used to
be where Marie would practice her music, and the Countess play her compositions;
Marie's own room lies to the west.

On the high shelf is a stone block.

The pianoforte stands in the center of the room.

>w

Marie's Chamber
Stripped of the elegant clutter it once possessed, the room still offers a
charming view through the north window of the old grounds, and the way out is to
the east. The wallpaper and floorboards are still as elegant as ever.

Hanging on the wall is an elegant gilt-wood mirror, reflecting sunlight over the
ground before it.

Her desk remains, pushed against the wall.

>pierre
That's not a verb I recognize.

>say pierre
(to yourself)
There is no reply.

>read chewed
What do you want to read in?

>x paper
(the wallpaper)
Ivory and powder-blue, with a tracery of blush roses.

>i
You are carrying:
  a vase
    some dead roses
  an gilded key (which opens the tall door)
  a bracelet (being worn)
  a bag on a string (being worn and open but empty)
  a hinge-lidded teapot (which is open)
    not very much water (which leaves some room in the hinge-lidded teapot)
  a green glass jar (which is open)
    some olive oil (which leaves a little room in the green glass jar)
  a celestial bauble (providing white light)
  a jeweled pin (being worn)
  a pearl necklace (being worn)
  a sack (which is open)
    a pine chest (which is closed)
    a wadded paper
    a sword
    a dark wooden box (which is closed)
    a crumpled paper
    an unfinished letter
    a pair of shoes
    an ivory silk gown
    a blue glass jar (which is closed)
      some onion dye (which leaves a little room in the blue glass jar)
    a rug
    some silver coins
    a red glass jar (which is closed)
    a yellow handkerchief
    a sponge
    a cork
    some mechanical human dancers
    a navy cloak
    a round metal tin (which is open but empty)
    some documents
    an old letter
    some household papers
    a small portrait
    a burnt scrap of paper
    a butcher knife
    a swordstick
    a snuffbox (which is open)
      a quantity of snuff
    four recipe cylinders:
      a Tea Recipe
      a Chocolate Recipe
      an Easter Egg Recipe
      a Lentil Soup Recipe
    two metal dishes:
      a plate
      a cup
    two keys:
      an iron key (which opens the magenta door leading east)
      a silver key (which opens the red door leading west)
    six books:
      a fanciful book
      Guide to Assorted Wines
      The Lavori d'Aracne
      Clock Repair
      On Vegetable Dyes
      The World Is Hollow (which is open but empty)
    two bottles of wine:
      a bottle of Chateauneuf du Pape (which is closed)
      a blue bottle (which is closed)
    four pieces of silverware:
      a table knife
      a silver-plated corkscrew
      a fork
      a spoon
    ten food items:
      a goat cheese
      a wedge of brie
      a sprig of parsley
      a sprig of mint
      a salers
      some apples
      some hunks of salt pork
      some lentils
      a bay leaf
      a clove of garlic
  a dashing hat (being worn)
  a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc
    some Sauvignon Blanc (which leaves some room in the bottle of Sauvignon
Blanc)

>x vase
A tall vase of some kind of turned stone, ornamented somewhat on the outside but
neatly cylindrical inside.

In the vase are some dead roses.

>get roses
(the wallpaper)
That's hardly portable.

>get dead roses
(putting the gilded key into the sack to make room)
Taken.

>remember roses
(the wallpaper)
The wallpaper raises no special memories for you.

>remember dead roses

...

"How does he treat you?"  Your mother, standing outside in the field in her best
dress because she refused to be brought inside the house. "Is he very strict?
Does he beat you?"

"No, of course not, Maman. It is just as though he were my own Papa." 

She frowned, looked away. "And I suppose you are learning all sorts of things,"
she said.

"Oh, yes, much more than at home."

She made a little gesture; then her mood changed. "But you must be missing the
sweet bread I make at home, no? I'll bring you some in a basket."

"No, Maman, the cooks make me anything I want."

...

>[Dude, kid, say "Yes I miss your bread" to your mom.]
You seem to want to talk to someone, but I can't see whom.

>[word word word word word...]
That's not a verb I recognize.

>i
You are carrying:
  some dead roses
  a vase
  a bracelet (being worn)
  a bag on a string (being worn and open but empty)
  a hinge-lidded teapot (which is open)
    not very much water (which leaves some room in the hinge-lidded teapot)
  a green glass jar (which is open)
    some olive oil (which leaves a little room in the green glass jar)
  a celestial bauble (providing white light)
  a jeweled pin (being worn)
  a pearl necklace (being worn)
  a sack (which is open)
    a pine chest (which is closed)
    a wadded paper
    a sword
    a dark wooden box (which is closed)
    a crumpled paper
    an unfinished letter
    a pair of shoes
    an ivory silk gown
    a blue glass jar (which is closed)
      some onion dye (which leaves a little room in the blue glass jar)
    a rug
    some silver coins
    a red glass jar (which is closed)
    a yellow handkerchief
    a sponge
    a cork
    some mechanical human dancers
    a navy cloak
    a round metal tin (which is open but empty)
    some documents
    an old letter
    some household papers
    a small portrait
    a burnt scrap of paper
    a butcher knife
    a swordstick
    a snuffbox (which is open)
      a quantity of snuff
    four recipe cylinders:
      a Tea Recipe
      a Chocolate Recipe
      an Easter Egg Recipe
      a Lentil Soup Recipe
    two metal dishes:
      a plate
      a cup
    six books:
      a fanciful book
      Guide to Assorted Wines
      The Lavori d'Aracne
      Clock Repair
      On Vegetable Dyes
      The World Is Hollow (which is open but empty)
    two bottles of wine:
      a bottle of Chateauneuf du Pape (which is closed)
      a blue bottle (which is closed)
    four pieces of silverware:
      a table knife
      a silver-plated corkscrew
      a fork
      a spoon
    ten food items:
      a goat cheese
      a wedge of brie
      a sprig of parsley
      a sprig of mint
      a salers
      some apples
      some hunks of salt pork
      some lentils
      a bay leaf
      a clove of garlic
    three keys:
      an gilded key (which opens the tall door)
      an iron key (which opens the magenta door leading east)
      a silver key (which opens the red door leading west)
  a dashing hat (being worn)
  a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc
    some Sauvignon Blanc (which leaves some room in the bottle of Sauvignon
Blanc)

>read wadded
...can be used to view the other member of a strong link. Under most
circumstances there is a word of some sort required to activate such viewing
devices, which may be spoken to it or in its presence. 

Next to this in handwriting: "(Our mirror from the workshop in the Rue des
Arbres.)"

>arbres
That's not a verb I recognize.

>rue
That's not a verb I recognize.

>workshop
That's not a verb I recognize.

>e

Old Conservatory
A chilly northern exposure, perhaps, but really quite lovely. This room used to
be where Marie would practice her music, and the Countess play her compositions;
Marie's own room lies to the west.

On the high shelf is a stone block.

The pianoforte stands in the center of the room.

>w

Marie's Chamber
Stripped of the elegant clutter it once possessed, the room still offers a
charming view through the north window of the old grounds, and the way out is to
the east. The wallpaper and floorboards are still as elegant as ever.

Hanging on the wall is an elegant gilt-wood mirror, reflecting sunlight over the
ground before it.

Her desk remains, pushed against the wall.

>leonie
That's not a verb I recognize.

>say leonie
(to yourself)
There is no reply.

>say anabelle
(to yourself)
There is no reply.

>say marie
(to yourself)
There is no reply.

>say rue des arbres
(to yourself)
There is no reply.

>say arbres
(to yourself)
There is no reply.

>read wadded
...can be used to view the other member of a strong link. Under most
circumstances there is a word of some sort required to activate such viewing
devices, which may be spoken to it or in its presence. 

Next to this in handwriting: "(Our mirror from the workshop in the Rue des
Arbres.)"

>read old letter
"Daughter," it begins. "If I ever leave you or am lost, there are some matters
you must know of. First-- I have laid aside some provisions, a small store only,
against disaster: money, letters of introduction to certain persons, but most of
all the means to defend yourself, if need comes. They are hidden, and the ways
to find them woven up long ago where only the proper light will show it. You're
a clever girl, Marie. I know you will not resort to them heedlessly.

"Look after the servants: they have been loyal and good all your life. If you
find you wish to sell any of the odder things I brought your mother, don't give
them away cheap. They'll fetch a large price from M. Couligne in the Rue des
Arbres. If you marry, for your mother's sake let it be a man who is well-born,
but for mine, please daughter, not someone who will deny you the right to
practice your craft.

"And last -- my dear girl, this will come as a shock to you, and I am sorry. But
when you were stuck in the well as a child, and so close to death, I became
desperate, and took the very dangerous step of linking you to Pierre, so that
you would not die as long as he lived. So you see, it was not only gratitude
that made us raise him almost as your brother, but concern for your very life,
since your mother and I knew that as long as he was healthy and well, so would
you be. Therefore, child, keep an eye on him, and if ever he is in want, look
after him carefully. I know that you are fond of him in any case, but think on
this in addition: his very life is yours."

It is signed, "Your loving father."

>say couligne
(to yourself)
There is no reply.

>couligne
You speak the word, but nothing happens.

>open dark
You open the dark wooden box, revealing a mirror inset inside the box.

The pine chest opens.  The mirror inset inside the box begins to glow with
reflected light.

>couligne
You speak the word, but nothing happens.

>unlink dark
You succeed in unlinking the dark wooden box from the pine chest.

>couligne
You speak the word, but nothing happens.

>[crap!]
That's not a verb I recognize.

>read old
"Daughter," it begins. "If I ever leave you or am lost, there are some matters
you must know of. First-- I have laid aside some provisions, a small store only,
against disaster: money, letters of introduction to certain persons, but most of
all the means to defend yourself, if need comes. They are hidden, and the ways
to find them woven up long ago where only the proper light will show it. You're
a clever girl, Marie. I know you will not resort to them heedlessly.

"Look after the servants: they have been loyal and good all your life. If you
find you wish to sell any of the odder things I brought your mother, don't give
them away cheap. They'll fetch a large price from M. Couligne in the Rue des
Arbres. If you marry, for your mother's sake let it be a man who is well-born,
but for mine, please daughter, not someone who will deny you the right to
practice your craft.

"And last -- my dear girl, this will come as a shock to you, and I am sorry. But
when you were stuck in the well as a child, and so close to death, I became
desperate, and took the very dangerous step of linking you to Pierre, so that
you would not die as long as he lived. So you see, it was not only gratitude
that made us raise him almost as your brother, but concern for your very life,
since your mother and I knew that as long as he was healthy and well, so would
you be. Therefore, child, keep an eye on him, and if ever he is in want, look
after him carefully. I know that you are fond of him in any case, but think on
this in addition: his very life is yours."

It is signed, "Your loving father."

>m. couligne
That's not a verb I recognize.

>read mirrors
What do you want to read in?

>read ars
What do you want to read in?

>x books
You can't see any such thing.

>i
You are carrying:
  some dead roses
  a vase
  a bracelet (being worn)
  a bag on a string (being worn and open but empty)
  a hinge-lidded teapot (which is open)
    not very much water (which leaves some room in the hinge-lidded teapot)
  a green glass jar (which is open)
    some olive oil (which leaves a little room in the green glass jar)
  a celestial bauble (providing white light)
  a jeweled pin