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Inheritance
by
Dena Pruett
Played 251 times
View game source
(spoilers!)
Download the
.z8 file
Source Code
The Breakers is a room. "This is an occasionally true story in that the places are real and the names are real but the people are completely fictional. You're at 44 Ochre Point Avenue, Newport, Rhode Island. You are standing in the great hall of The Breakers with its fifty foot ceiling. It is 1899 and Cornelius Vanderbilt II has just died from a cerebral hemorrhage. You grew up here in the servant's quarters. Your mother was a maid, and your father well...you're still not sure. All you know is your mother used to tell that Cornelius had a will -- one that no one knew about -- that would help you. You've got to find it. You need answers. It could be anywhere in these seventy rooms but you've narrowed it down to four. Vanderbilt's children and wife will descend upon the mansion in just two days time. [bold type]See your inventory by typing 'inventory'). Examine everything. Open everything. Take everything. Be sure to ask Neily questions.[roman type] You can see something beyond the terrace from where you're standing. To the west is the Dining Room. To the east is the Music Room. To the north is the Billiards Room. To the south is the Kitchen." The terrace is in the breakers. The terrace is scenery. The description of the terrace is "You peer out beyond the terrace. You can see where the ocean meets the sky in the distance. It looks like a storm is rolling in." Cornelius Neily Vanderbilt III is a man. The description of Cornelius Neily Vanderbilt III is "Neily is in his khaki military uniform and hat. There is a pistol on his hip. His mouth is grim beneath his bottle brush mustache. Alright, now, love, he tells you. You know you can call me Neily." Cornelius Neily Vanderbilt III is here. Understand "Neily" as Cornelius Neily Vanderbilt III. [DINING ROOM] The Dining Room is a room. The Dining Room is west of The Breakers. "You move past the fountain and the cream-painted Terra Cotta thrones into the Dining Room. The room is as big as the meals they served in here -- ten course meals to be exact. The two giant chandeliers glitter in the morning light. Even though you can't quite see them you know there are crowns sitting on top. You look toward the grey marble fireplace and take a big deep breath before you get your search under way." The cigar box is supported by the grey marble fireplace. The cigar box is a container. The cigar box is closed. The cigar box is openable. The description of the cigar box is "You pull the box off the hearth. It is marked with the initials C.V. Something clinks." The cigarettes is in the box. The match is in the box. The key is in the box. The description of the key is "The key is small, shiny, and gold." The key is a thing. The key unlocks the safe. After taking the key: say "You wonder if there is something in this room or another that you could use this on." The dressing screen is here. The description of the dressing screen is "You search behind the gold dressing screen inlaid with roses. All you find is a rolled up carpet." There is a rolled up carpet. The description of the carpet is "There seems to be something sticking out of the carpet. You bend down and tug until it unfolds...revealing a moldy bit of old biscuit. You gag a little. Rich people can be so disgusting." The marble jardiniere is here. The description of the marble jardiniere is "You walk up to the jardiniere and sink your hands into the soil beneath the fern. Would he have hidden the will in a potted plant? Surely Cornelius wouldn't have gotten his hands that dirty. You quickly take your hands out and try not to think about the butler getting annoyed with you as you dust them off on to the floor." The grey marble fireplace is here. The grey marble fireplace is scenery. The description of the grey marble fireplace is "The marble is cold and the hearth is empty. You shiver a little. No one will bother to light it until someone with the name Vanderbilt is in residence once again." Every turn: if the player has been in the Kitchen for 3 turns, say "Neily hovers just a little too close. You can feel his breath on your neck." Every turn: if the player has been in the Dining Room for 2 turns, say "Neily hovers just a little too close. You can feel his breath on your neck." Every turn: if the player has been in the Billiards Room for 3 turns, say "Neily spins you around and dips you, holding you too tight. 'Care to dance, my dear?' he asks." Understand "a will" or "the will" as "[will]". Instead of asking Cornelius Neily Vanderbilt III about [the will]: say "Neily says 'Stop worrying about a will. I've left my wife in Manhattan with her family. I've come to see you.'" Understand "why" or "why are you here to see me" as "[why]". Instead of asking Cornelius Neily Vanderbilt III about [why]: say "That was one time and it won't happen again." Instead of asking Cornelius Neily Vanderbilt III about [one time]: say "Neily says 'I'm in love with you. Kiss me, darling.'" Understand "kiss [someone]" as romantic kissing. Romantic kissing is an action applying to one thing. Instead of kissing Cornelius Neily Vanderbilt III, say "Neil says 'Oh! That's all I've ever wanted.' And you hate yourself...just a little." Instead of telling Cornelius Neily Vanderbilt III about something, say "'Neily says 'I really have no idea what you're talking about. I'm just here to be with you.'" Instead of asking Cornelius Neily Vanderbilt III about [his wife], say "Neily says ''Your eyes look like pools when you wear purple.'" Understand "kiss [someone]" as kissing. Instead of pushing Cornelius Neily Vanderbilt III: say "'How dare you place your hands upon my person, you common house wench! Get out.'"; move player to the kitchen. Instead of slapping Cornelius Neily Vanderbilt III: say "'Well, I never! Be gone from these premises. Posthaste!'"; move player to the breakers. Slapping is an action applying to one thing. Understand "slap [someone]" as slapping. Cornelius Neily Vanderbilt III can be active or passive. Cornelius Neily Vanderbilt III is active. Before doing something to Cornelius Neily Vanderbilt III: now Cornelius Neily Vanderbilt III is passive; Instead of telling Cornelius Neily Vanderbilt III about something: say "Oh, who wants to bother with all that? I'm here to see you and you alone, darling." [MUSIC ROOM] The Music Room is a room. The Music Room is east of The Breakers. "You stare up at the gilt gold-coffered ceilings. The room is one that has been assembled once in France and once here. You think old Cornelius did that just to say he could. Using the bay windows as light, you look around the room." The hearth is here. The hearth is scenery. "There's no fire burning in the hearth. It's cold and you shiver a little despite spring almost being here." The piano is here. The description of the piano is "The top of the piano is empty. You look under the piano and its chair. You find nothing." The desk is a supporter in the music room. Instead of taking the piano, say "Where are you going to put that? Honestly." The description of the desk is "You sit in the chair and open both drawers which have blank sheafs of papers and a few fine fountain pens. They have a heft and weight. You hold them in your hands for a moment before placing them back in the drawer." The description of the chair is "It is silver and green brocade. Nothing of note here." The safe is on the desk. The safe is a locked closed container. The birth certificate is in the safe. The birth certificate is an object. The description of the birth certificate is "It has no information except for the year, 1881, the year you were born. You fold it up and take it with you." Understand "drawer" and "locked drawer" as the safe. After unlocking the safe with the key: say "There are four gilt-edged papers folded neatly into thirds. Three of the papers are empty. The third is a birth certificate."; now the safe is open. [BILLIARDS ROOM] The Billiards Room is a room. The Billiards Room is north of The Breakers. "The great slabs of Cippolino marble on the walls and rose alabaster arches bring out the green of the billiards tables and the matching velvet couches. A chair to weigh jockeys is abandoned in the corner. For what use in the middle of a house? You can't even imagine the debauchery that takes place here in when the rest of the house sleeps. The faint waft of cigars still lingers in the air from the last party though it had to have been months ago as it is off season. There aren't very many places things could hide in here but you still decide to investigate." The large wooden desk is here. The description of the large wooden desk is "You move past the billiard marker to the large wooden desk. The drawers are completely empty -- nothing but a dead end." The green velvet couch is here. The description of the green velvet couch is "Your feet glide across the mosaic tile to the green velvet couch and the chairs and the settee and the settee bench. And who truly needs this much green velvet in their lives? You run your hand along the gold fringe like you did when you were a kid and would hide underneath. Do you dare turn the chairs over? Remove the cushions? Too dramatic. You stick your hand in a crevice and pull out a slip of paper with writing, it says: Laurel, meet me in the tunnel at 7...that's your mom's name. Laurel. But she hasn't worked here in 7 years. She moved on to working at the Biltmore in North Carolina." The billiards table is here. The description of the billiards table is "You look under the billiards table and circle it dragging your hand along the wood. Maybe there's something attached beneath. A button? An envelope? There's nothing. You peek around to make sure none of the other servants are around. You slide your shoes off and climb up on the billiards table to lay down. You stare at the large white mosaic on the ceiling, the one with the mother and two children at a Roman bath. They stare back as if they have a secret. Lost in thought they remind you of the marble hearth in the Dining Room. Have you been to the Dining Room?" [KITCHEN] The Kitchen is a room. The Kitchen is south of The Breakers. "You cut through the two-story butler's pantry -- your favorite room. The double tables were the perfect place to hide and listen to the footmen and butlers as they cleaned the china and silverware, and prepared the trays for guests and family. You could hear the best gossip here. Past the hallway used for flower arranging, you arrive in the kitchen. The zinc island is massive. There are a plate of cookies in the middle. All of the copper pots and pans hanging shine. Your mom used to sit you in the marble mortar when it was wasn't in use. You stare at the 21 foot long cast iron, coal burning range, the boiler, and the mechanical spit. Cornelius wouldn't have hid his will in here. It never would have survived. This is a dead end. But wait...what is that? You see a bottle sitting on the kitchen island and it has a label. To the east is a wood door." The cookies is edible. The description of the cookies is "You walk over to the plate of cookies. They are sugar. You're favorite and still warm." Understand "eat [something]" as eating. Instead of eating [cookie]: say "You eat one cookie and then another. They're still warm. The cookies are the only warm and cozy think you've come across in your search of this cold mansion. You eat a third. Yum." The bottle is in the kitchen. The bottle is a thing. The description of the bottle is "You pick up the bottle. It's empty. A peeling and fading label reveals that it once contained invisible ink. A sticker underneath says heat." Understand "bottle" as "[empty bottle]". After taking the bottle, say "This is ridiculous. What am I to do with invisible ink? You remember that Neily used to do magic tricks as a kid. Maybe you should ask..." Instead of asking Cornelius Neily Vanderbilt III about [bottle]: say "Neily says 'Do you have a blank document?'" Instead of asking Cornelius Neily Vanderbilt III about [birth certificate]: say "Neily says 'Let's place it in the oven.'" The oven is here. It is a closed, openable container. The description of the oven is "The ovens are black and imposing with gold knobs." Instead of opening the oven when the birth certificate is carried, say "You place the birth certificate in the oven. It does not burn...instead some writing appears. You use some tongs to pull it out. You need to examine the new birth certificate." The description of the new birth certificate is "The birth certificate is no longer blank. As you suspected it's yours. As you also suspected it now lists your father. Not the recently deceased Cornelius Vanderbilt. Instead it's...Patrick O'Brien. The old caretaker who died seven years ago? All you can remember is an older man with hair in places no one should have hair. His nose. His ears. [bold type]That was her father?![roman type] What are you supposed to do now? You stare at the wooden door." Instead of opening the oven while the birth certificate is not carried: say "There is nothing remarkable about the inside of this oven. You might need to return to the Music Room and keep looking." The wood door is east of the kitchen. The wood door is a closed door. After opening the wood door: say "You opened the door. To go through the door, just go to the east." Tunnel is east of the wood door. "You are inside the tunnel with the door back to the hall to the West. It is dark. The light switch here turns the lights on and off. The caretaker's cottage is to the south." The light switch is a device in the tunnel. The light switch is fixed in place. The light is switched off. Carry out switching off the light switch: now the tunnel is dark. Carry out switching on the light switch: now the tunnel is lighted. [CARETAKER COTTAGE] The Caretaker Cottage is a room. The Caretaker Cottage is south of the Tunnel. "You walk through the 360-foot tunnel past the electrical and plumbing systems. The power stations were built by Edison himself. You arrive at the massive boiler room that is housed under the Caretaker Cottage and climb the stairs. The Caretaker Cottage sits at the gate of the 13-acre estate. Through the windows you can see that the storm is finally rolling in. The Cottage was really just a building built to hide a chimney. You stand in the empty room. Where could anything even be hidden here? There's nothing. You start to feel around the bricks in the chimney." The chimney is here. The description of the chimney is "The chimney is still in good condition. You move your hands across the brick feeling for any loose ones. You feel one but it won't budge." The fire poker is here. The description of the fire poker is "The fire poker is made of iron. You slam it against the loose brick. Once. Twice. And a third time until crumbles just a bit. Underneath the brick are four gilt-edged papers folded neatly into thirds just like you found in the Music Room. Only this time, they are filled with writing and an official looking seal." The papers are here. The description of the papers is "You quickly open them up to find that Patrick O'Brien...well, [bold type]your father[roman type] was willed. And now its yours: $1,000 per month every year for saving the life of one Cornelius Vanderbilt II payable to Patrick O'Brien for the rest of his life and/or his children upon his death. You are that child, dear one. You are rich. Richer than you could have managed on your own at least. Enough to get your mother away from the Biltmore Estate. Enough to rent rooms at the Barbizon Hotel for Women in New York City. You leave Neily. He is crying. You offer neither your shoulder nor a tissue. You leave The Breakers. You do not look back. [paragraph break] [bold type]The end." The player is wearing a deep purple puff sleeved dress, a pair of black lace gloves, and a beribboned hat. The description of the player is "You are only seventeen. Blonde and green-eyed. You look just like your mother." After taking off the dress, say "'What are you going to do? Wander around a mansion nude?'" After taking off the gloves, say "'No polite company is around. No need for formalities.'" Every turn: if the player is not wearing the dress: say "[one of]'My goodness me, why are you naked?'[or]'Why are you investigating the house without dress?'[or]'This is highly uncouth! What can we expect from a housemaid's offspring?'[at random]". Every turn: if the player is in the kitchen: move Cornelius Neily Vanderbilt III to the kitchen. Every turn: if the player is in the tunnel: move Cornelius Neily Vanderbilt III to the tunnel. Every turn: if the player is in the caretaker cottage: move Cornelius Neily Vanderbilt III to the caretaker cottage.
