The Yawning Grave by Mia Collazo

The Yawning Grave

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"The Yawning Grave"



[INTRODUCTION]

When play begins:
	say "You wake up in a bed, engulfed in the green-and-yellow striped pattern on your blanket. You blink a few times, though your eyes are still tired and firmly resist staying open. The reason why is clear, after you sit up and look out of the window-- it is dark, early in the morning or late at night, and it is snowing even more than yesterday. [Paragraph Break]
There is a folded note on the nightstand beside your bed, among the unhealthily large amount of coat buttons, scattered brownish pine needles, and bare thread spools. You get up, and, getting the feeling you're going to be dragged outside against your will, throw on some warm clothes. NOTE: This game is unfinished!" Hera's Door is an openable door. Hera's Door is north of Hera's Room.

[PLAYER INFORMATION]
The fluffy coat, pair of gloves and intricate sash are worn.
Instead of examining the player:
say "You're kind of sleep deprived, but generally the same snow leopard, with soft, elegantly-patterned grey fur and large blue eyes. Your colors aren't great for most of the year, as it's supposed to be autumn, but it's snowing like crazy for some reason right now, so there shouldn't be a problem with blending in! Well.. never mind, you're wearing THAT coat[if the player wears something].. Currently, you're sporting [a list of things worn by the player]."
The description of the gloves is "Fuzzy padded gloves in many bright shades of blue. Your stealthing skills are absolutely abominable, so what's the point of wearing dull colors?"
The description of the fluffy coat is "A humongous, vibrant red coat lined with fluff from an unknown source. Puffball tassels hang from the zipper, overall creating a fabulous coat and one fabulous snow leopard."
The description of the intricate sash is "A dark green strip of cloth, basically. Its name comes from the detailed golden design that runs around the edges. Rhocene says it increases your mitigation significantly, but you're onto him because it seems like a normal sash with some serious placebo effects. He always seemed like a lying hippie."


[Hera's Room]
 Hera's Room is a room. The description of the Hera's Room is "A small and cluttered but comfortable room. There is a nightstand next to the bed, and on the nightstand is a note. A creaky wooden door is to the north."
The Note is in Hera's Room. The Note is an openable container. The Note is closed. The description of The Note is "In your mentor's familiar scrawl is a hastily scribbled paragraph reading 'Stone gone. Wielder coming. Had to go, your bag is on the counter. Take it and leave. Get to the crooked tree. Rhocene.' Unease crawls about your stomach." The Note is edible. In The Note is a leaflet. Leaflet is an object. Description of leaflet is "Welcome to Windstone. In this game, you are Hera, an anthropomorphic snow leopard and an herbalist-in-training under Rhocene, the jackalope. Your goal is to, in one way or another, defeat the Wielder and take back the stone. Good luck."

[Small Cabin]
 Small Cabin is a room. The Small Cabin is north of Hera's Door. The description of Small Cabin is "A small but comfortable space. To the right is the kitchen, and on the counter by the stove is an aforementioned white bag. To the north is the front door.". The front door is north of Small Cabin and south of Porch. The front door is an openable door. 

Blue seed pouch is an object in Small Cabin. Description of blue seed pouch is "A pouch that holds seeds. This one is blue, and shaking it a bit makes a clinking noise." Blue seed pouch is an openable container. Blue seed pouch is closed. In the blue seed pouch is the bunch of frozen seeds. Description of the bunch of frozen seeds is "A bunch of assorted seeds, encased in pellets of ice. If you plant them under the right conditions, they'll sprout.. who knows what, perhaps something useful. Rhocene must have put them in a bag for a reason. Perhaps they make lettuce." Hot meal wrapping is an object in Small Cabin. Description of hot meal wrapping is "A fat, square-shaped package wrapped in thick brown paper. A tiny bit of steam trails faintly from an open fold in the wrapping, and holding the package fills your paw-pads with warmth. It smells good-- whatever's in there, hopefully edible. You should probably save it for later." The hot meal wrapping is an openable container. The hot meal wrapping is closed. In the hot meal wrapping is a tofu bowl. Description of tofu bowl is "A sturdy disposable cardboard bowl containing steaming rice and tofu, which appears to be enveloped in both teriyaki sauce and some spicy red stuff that looks like ketchup. You've had this before and know that it is in fact not ketchup, but never asked Rhocene about it. In any case, it looks delicious, but you should save it for when you're particularly hungry." Tofu bowl is edible.

[Rhocene's Room]
Rhocene's Door is west of Small Cabin and east of Rhocene's Room. Rhocene's Door is an openable door. It is locked.


[Porch]
Porch is a room. Porch is north of Cabin Door. The description of Porch is "The porch is attached to the cabin and overlooks the tall pine trees in the woods, which are draped in snow and barely visible in the darkness. [Paragraph Break]
The stairs are to the east, and lead towards the wilds. You shiver in the cold and stare into the unfathomable night."

[Ritual Tree]
The Ritual Tree is a room. The Ritual Tree is east of the Porch. The description of the Ritual Tree is "Here is the familiar snag dotted with tiny stab marks. Once a sacred place, it appeared here months ago and was used by Rhocene for strange ceremonies that you were forced to watch from the foggy cabin window. Now an overpowering dark aura emanates from it. There is a crossroads here-- to the north, you recall a small clearing, and to the east a large mossy boulder planted in the ground. However, it seems the trees to the east have grown so thickly together overnight that their trunks look almost glued to each other. This path is certainly impassable."

[Catbat Clearing]
Catbat Clearing is a room. Catbat Clearing is north of the Ritual Tree. The description of Catbat Clearing is "[if unvisited] The clearing seems typical, covered in snow with a few sprigs of grass peeking through every now and then. Suddenly, there is a tiny growl behind you, and a black and grey mass the size of a reasonably large potted plant comes hurtling in your direction. Before you have time to react, the shape is intercepted by a brown ball of fur, which comes flying from the bushes into the grey thing's side. When the two things hit the ground in a tumbling mass of claws and fur, they stir up a large amount of snow, effectively obstructing your vision. [Paragraph Break]
Several moments pass, and the snow dissipates into the air as quickly and unnervingly as the noises of the two creatures lapsing into cold silence. With the snow out of the way, you're able to catch up on the scene that began and ended in about five seconds. The black-and-grey shape lies half-covered in the snow, its sides heaving in an irregular pattern of ragged breaths. Some of the snow around it appears to be stained by a strange, grey, slimy substance. The thing shifts its head, revealing multiple bony growths etched along its deformed, reptilian face, and with a jolt, you realize that it looks very much like a drawing in a book of beasts you studied a while ago. It is a Winter Daemon, and you know it to be small but wielding deadly-sharp fangs. It disintegrates into a sootlike dust. [Paragraph Break] A few feet away is a fluffy, light brown creature with a dark brown face and blue eyes. Leathery, bat-esque wings flutter gently in the wind from where they are attached to the creature's forearms. This animal is a catbat, and it has rescued you from an ambush! It stares intently for a few moments. 'heAQueljabiSq,' it mews, which you take to mean 'Dumb hindwalkers,' then turns around and leaps into a nearby holly bush. [Paragraph Break] Now that that's done with, you have a look around. [end if] You'll remember this place for a while. It's a regular clearing, lined with bushes and snow. In the center are multiple holes and imprints in the otherwise smooth surface. The snow is covering the temporary scars up, but you're going to remember. [Paragraph Break] In the place of where that catbat stood is a path leading even north-er." Oliver is a person. The description of Oliver is "A standard juvenile catbat. He doesn't like most people, but feels the need to look after you after the Daemon incident."

[Path]
Path is a room. Path is north of the Catbat Clearing. The description of the Path is "A worn dirt path that leads northward. The further you go, the higher the snow around the path towers. The sides of the two snow barriers are flat and smooth, as if they have been recently cleared, though it would have taken quite a while and there are no signs of life nearby. There is a sudden fork in the path, splitting it into three roads. One leads west, and to its left is a crumbling stone wall riddled with cracks and vines. Another leads further north, and appears similar to the main path that you are on. A third leads east, and is filled with rotting vegetation. NOTE: At the time, I have only written the western path. The others will be finished eventually."

[Western Path]
Western Path is a room. Western Path is west of Path. The description of Western Path is "A path that branches westward off of the main path. The snow here is still rather deep, but not unlike the other roads, is cleared away on the path, and not as high-piled as the main forking trail. On both sides of the path, alongside the snow, are chunks of stone that are shaped in such a way that it appears they have been torn off of a larger structure. A crumbled stone wall is planted in the ground, and dark green vines rooted in the snow have curled and wrapped around the stone blocks, as if the surprisingly unwithered plants are attempting to drag the wall back into the earth. In the distance to the west, you see the silhouette of a looming building."

[Temple Ruins] 
Temple Ruins is a room. Temple Ruins is west of Western Path. The description of the Temple Ruins is "A massive, crumbling temple of the Ancients. This particular one looks like it was dedicated to the goddess of the season Vernal, Louisa, as the greenish stone by the door implies. Though the building itself appears rather unstable, the dark green door to the west is ajar." The Templestone is a scenery supporter in the Temple Ruins. The description is "A large, flat stone laid by the door. Closer inspection reveals that it is not any usual stone but a large piece of moss agate, used to honor the season Vernal. The stone depicts a carving of blooming flowers and tall grasses." Instead of taking the Templestone, say "You reach for the large slab, but decide it would be more respectful to leave it where it lies. Besides, lugging it around is going to be a pain."