Moving Castle by Caroline Malec

Moving Castle

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"Howl's Moving Castle"

The Hat Shop is a room. "You're a young woman named Sophie Hatter. You are the eldest of three sisters, followed by Lettie and then Martha. After your father died your step-mother, Fanny, set Lettie up in an apprenticeship in Cesari's Bakery and sent Martha to learn magic from Mrs. Fairfax. You've accepted that your life is dull and that you'll probably live the rest of it working in your late-father's hat shop in the town of Market Chipping in the kingdom of Ingary.

The door to the west connects to your house. The shop door to the north leads outside."

The worktable is in the Hat Shop."You stitch at your worktable and listen to the customers gossip." The worktable is fixed in place. The drawer is part of the worktable. The drawer is a closed openable container. In the drawer is a spool of thread and a needle. On the worktable is a straw hat and scissors. 

The description of the worktable is "There's scraps of left-over fabric and extra thread scattered about. The single drawer in the middle, where you keep a spare spool of thread and needle, is shut."

The description of the straw hat is "It's seen better days and is frayed round the edges, but you just replaced the ribbon round the top and can see yourself wearing it for a few more months."

Instead of taking the straw hat, say "You put the hat smartly on your head and ignore the itchy feeling of a stray piece of straw poking you in the back of the head."

The description of the spool of thread is "The white thread doesn't go with everything, but if it comes down to it you know a stitch that will conceal it."

The description of the needle is "It's a pretty average-sized needle, thin and sharp."

The description of the scissors is "They look like a miniature pair of trimming shears, sharp and tough enough to cut through and fabric that might be thinking of giving you trouble."

The House is west of the Hat Shop. 

"Maybe it was Fanny's sales talk or maybe it was spring coming on, but you've noticed lately that the hat trade is definitely picking up. Such is the demand that every evening you've brought hats home with you, where you worked by lamplight far into the night in order to have hats to sell the next day.

Back east is the hat shop. The front door to the north leads outside."

The chair is in the House.  The chair is fixed in place.

The description of the chair is "Like your hat this chair is also on its way out."

The tea table is in the House.  The tea table is fixed in place. On the tea table is a stack of hats.  

The description of the stack of hats is "Four hats are piled on top of each other, each in a different state of completion. You were supposed to finish them last night, but you feel asleep."

Instead of taking the the stack of hats, say "Don't be silly. Why on earth would you want to wear so many hats at once?"

The Market Square is north of the Hat Shop. The Market Square is north of the House.

"You head out into the crowded street. Instantly you feel overwhelmed. There are too many people rushing past, laughing and shouting, far too much noise and jostling. You  creep along close to the houses.

Go south to go back inside or continue north into a lesser used alley."

The shawl is in the Market Square. "A sad looking gray shawl lies partially in the gutter."

The description of the shawl is "You realize this is your gray shawl. The one that the wind blew off you the other day. How unfortunate that it ended up here."

Instead of taking the shawl, say "You could do with a new one anyway, you think as you leave it on the ground."

The Alley is north of the Market Square. 

"The alley is as deserted as you had hoped it would be since everyone seems to be celebrating May Day on the main road. However, it's dark and narrow, which makes you feel uneasy.

You can go back south or head east into Cesari's Bakery."

The young-man is a person in the Alley.

The description of the young-man is "He's wearing a fantastical blue-and-silver costume."

Every turn when the player can see the young-man:
say "The young-man spots you and begins to approach. 'It's all right, you little gray mouse, I only want to buy you a drink. Don't look so scared.'"

The Cesari's Bakery is east of the Alley.

"Inside is packed and noisy."

The glass table is in Cesari's Bakery. "Oddly there is one table that no one is sitting at." The glass table is fixed in place. On the glass table is a placard. On the glass table is a slice of cake.

The description of the placard is "This reads, 'Dearest Sophie, I reserved this table and set aside this slice of cake just for you. I knew that the bakery would be too busy today to talk to you.'"

The description of the slice of cake is "A single slice of black forest cake sits on a delicate pale pink china plate."

The description of the glass table is "It is a small round glass table that can seat up to two people comfortably."

The slice of cake is edible. After eating the slice of cake: say "The cake is absolutely delicious."; end the game in victory.