ClubFloyd Transcript:
Ariadne in Aeaea by Victor Ojuel
As played on ifMUD on December 11, 2016

The idea behind ClubFloyd is that each week at a pre-arranged time, a group of people meet online to cooperatively play a game of interactive fiction.

Below is a transcript of Ariadne in Aeaea written by Victor Ojuel. You can learn more about the game, including how to download it, by visiting IFDB.


WARNING! Below you will find a transcript of people playing this game, and it goes without saying that the transcript is full of spoilers. So, if you've never played this game, and think you might like to at some point, I do not recommend reading any further. Instead, you might want to return to the interactive fiction page.


ToyShop & Floyditorium
#ClubFloyd Discussion



DavidW says (to Floyd), "load sleepmask ariadne"
Floyd ]
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | Isle of Aeaea, the eastern Aegean.
Floyd | 3,500 years ago.
Floyd |
Floyd |  "What tidings from the northern wastes?" asked the High Priestess.
Floyd |
Floyd | Her elderly eyes were glued to the north, across the moonlit lagoon,
Floyd | beyond the cliffs on the other side, towards the great sea. Deep in
Floyd | though, she didn't notice a human shape silhouetted against the
Floyd | glistening waters, scurrying along the clifftop.
Floyd |
Floyd | "Alas, my potnia, the Achaeans have taken Tiryns", said the other
Floyd | woman, her voice so quiet her Egyptian lilt was almost unrecognisable
Floyd | "They are spreading through the Argolis like wildfire."
Floyd |
Floyd | "Wildfire", echoed the High Priestess. "The Achaeans have a new Wanax,
Floyd | do they not?"
Floyd |
Floyd | "Be truer to say their new Wanax has them - lined up like pieces upon
Floyd | a game-board. Hear me, Circe, I have not the slightest doubt that he
Floyd | had a part in my sister's murder."
Floyd |
Floyd | Circe turned with a placating gesture.
Floyd |
Floyd | "Before we publicly accuse the most powerful Wanax of the northern
Floyd | wastes of sacrilegious killing..."
Floyd |
Floyd | "My potnia, you and I know full well that my sister was all that stood
Floyd | between Achaean greed and the palace of Tiryns. Wake up, Circe. Palace
Floyd | after palace, they are bringing their sky-gods southwards and they
Floyd | care not an iota for us or the Goddess. Today it is Tiryns and
Floyd | tomorrow perhaps a closer port, and before we react they shall have a
Floyd | foothold in Crete. Perchance my potnia is growing soft in her old age?
Floyd | Maybe the Goddess needs a more... youthful vehicle for the fulfilment
Floyd | of her designs?"
Floyd |
Floyd | "Oh, let me guess, one of you Avaris women? Do you reckon I cling to
Floyd | this life just to spite you?"
Floyd |
Floyd | "Kindly give us your candidates for evaluation, then. One of your
Floyd | nieces, I suppose?"
Floyd |
Floyd | "In due time. Phaedra shows potential but she is still too young. And
Floyd | concerning Ariadne..."
Floyd |
Floyd | The other woman let go a short, hearty laugh.
Floyd |
Floyd | "Ariadne! We Thebans always love a good joke, but it is high time we
Floyd | made a serious move, my potnia."
Floyd |
Floyd | "Very well. I shall send for her in the morning, and we shall reach a
Floyd | decision before sunset. In fact, you can go fetch my niece yourself."
Floyd |
Floyd | "Pray tell, which one, my potnia?"
Floyd |
Floyd | "Oh, very droll, very droll..."
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | Please press SPACE to continue.
BrianK says, "Oh my, that's a long intro"
Doug arrives, full of fun and funk. DavidW asks (of BrianK), "Would you like to drive since I've seen the first part of this?"
BrianK says, "All right"
BrianK pushes the green 'space' button.
Floyd ]
Floyd |
Floyd | Ariadne in Aeaea by Víctor Ojuel
Floyd | Made with Inform 7, September 2016.
Floyd |
Floyd | Art by Ara Carrasco.
Floyd |
Floyd | The author wishes to thank those who kindly (and bravely!) tested this
Floyd | game in its infancy, namely Ara Carrasco, Matthew Holland, Liz Mercuri
Floyd | and Andrew Schultz.
Floyd |
Floyd | Type HELP or INSTRUCTIONS if you want instructions on
Floyd | how to play.
Floyd | Type ABOUT AUTHOR to learn more about the author.
Floyd | Type ABOUT GAME to know more about the game and its
Floyd | historical/mythological setting.
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | Please press SPACE to continue.
BrianK pushes the green 'space' button.
Floyd ]  Shepherd's hut
Floyd |
Floyd | Ariadne in Aeaea
Floyd | An Interactive Fiction by Victor Ojuel
Floyd | Release 1 / Serial number 160928 / Inform 7 build 6L38 (I6/v6.33 lib
Floyd | 6/12N)
Floyd |
Floyd | Shepherd's hut
Floyd | You wake up from a dream of winding passages and a beast chasing you,
Floyd | to a morning which is little better: no labyrinth but a tangle of
Floyd | limbs, no beast but a pulsing headache and a concert of snores. A
Floyd | pale, blueish light filters through the wooden ceiling.
Floyd |
Floyd | Which is odd, because the living quarters of the palace are all stone,
Floyd | and the other priestesses are rarely this physically affectionate and
Floyd | come to think about that...
Floyd |
Floyd | You open your eyes and bolt upright.
Floyd |
Floyd | This is not quite the palace's living quarters, more like a ragged
Floyd | wooden shelter. Your memories of yesterday are vague: you remember
Floyd | waiting until the other novices fell asleep, climbing down the outer
Floyd | wall of the palace, sneaking along the clifftop to meet the shepherd
Floyd | boys, and then all is a blur.
Floyd |
Floyd | An empty jug lies on its side against a wall, abandoned where it
Floyd | stopped rolling. Just like the human occupants of the hut.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says, "I'm gonna look at the instructions to see if there's anything specific to this game"
DavidW says, "okay"
BrianK says (to Floyd), "instructions"
Floyd ]  Shepherd's hut
Floyd | >
Floyd | > INSTRUCTIONS
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | These are all the actions you need to complete the game:
Floyd |
Floyd | Use N, S, E, W, NE, NW, SE and SW to move in the cardinal directions.
Floyd | Use ENTER and OUT to get in and out of buildings.
Floyd | Use INVENTORY to see the objects you carry and the clothes you wear.
Floyd | Use LOOK to see your surroundings.
Floyd | Use EXAMINE  to learn more about a certain object or person.
Floyd | Use TAKE  to pick up objects and GIVE  TO  to
Floyd | interact with humans.
Floyd | Use WEAR and TAKE OFF to don and disrobe pieces of clothing.
Floyd | Use TALK TO  to interact socially.
Floyd | Use PUSH and PULL to move heavy objects.
Floyd | And if you get stuck and would like a hint, use THINK to switch on
Floyd | your grey cells!
Floyd |
Floyd | >
DavidW says, "That's more brief than I expected. How nice."
BrianK says (to Floyd), "about author"
Floyd ]  Shepherd's hut
Floyd | >
Floyd | > ABOUT AUTHOR
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | Víctor Ojuel (Barcelona, 1983) is a writer, narrative designer and
Floyd | translator, based in Manchester, UK.
Floyd |
Floyd | He has worked as a business consultant, advertising copywriter and
Floyd | fashion transcreator before writing videogames, among them
Floyd | Pharaonic (now on Steam), Forgotten Kodama and
Floyd | Pilgrimage (IFDB).
Floyd |
Floyd | He has written a novel (Ava Ström, a university thriller with
Floyd | SF touches, now on Amazon) and is currently working on a second book,
Floyd | as well as a few undisclosed commercial projects. And, of course,
Floyd | Mistress of the Labyrinth, the original Ariadne game and an
Floyd | immediate sequel to the events of Ariadne in Aeaea. He is
Floyd | available as a freelance writer and narrative designer for videogames
Floyd | and other multimedia projects.
Floyd |
Floyd | Catch me on Twitter (@victorojuel) or send me an email
Floyd | and let me know what you think of this game
Floyd | (victor.ojuel@gmail.com). And thanks for playing! :)
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "about game"
Floyd ]  Shepherd's hut
Floyd | >
Floyd | > ABOUT GAME
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | Ariadne in Aeaea is designed as a short, slightly
Floyd | tongue-in-cheek prologue to the events in the upcoming Mistress of
Floyd | the Labyrinth. They are both based upon the author's
Floyd | reinterpretation of the myths of the sorceress Circe, Ariadne, queen
Floyd | Pasiphaë, king Minos, the Minotaur and Theseus as historical facts
Floyd | deformed by post-Homeric Greek propaganda. In this world, Ariadne is a
Floyd | priestess of the (chthonic, matriarcal, animistic) Cretan/Minoan
Floyd | civilisation. She is also a stand-in for her culture, pitted against
Floyd | the onslaught of Achaean (proto-Greek) expansion, in the late Bronze
Floyd | Age in the Aegean sea, around the 15th century BC.
Floyd |
Floyd | Historically, this process ended with almost complete cultural
Floyd | assimilation, to the point that by Homer's time (400 to 600 years
Floyd | later) all traces of the Minoan culture where shrouded in legend.
Floyd | Nowadays it is extremely difficult to distinguish the Minoan roots of
Floyd | many aspects of Greek civilisation.
Floyd |
Floyd | Ariadne in Aeaea specifically presents a conjectural theocratic
Floyd | society based on a fictional island, geographically modelled after
Floyd | Thera (Santorini) and culturally based on the Minoan palatial
Floyd | societies of Knossos and Phaistos. While most details are historically
Floyd | correct, the bigger picture is purely fictional - specially the notion
Floyd | of a somewhat centralised cult, Minoan in nature and with Egyptian
Floyd | influences, wielding significant international power and in control of
Floyd | a Mediterranean-wide network of priestesses cum diplomatic envoys and
Floyd | spies. While I believe it was entirely possible by the cultural and
Floyd | technological means of the era, there is no evidence of such a
Floyd | political structure ever existing.
Floyd |
Floyd | Type CREDITS for general info, art and testing credits.
Floyd | Type ABOUT AUTHOR to learn more about the author.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "credits"
Floyd ]  Shepherd's hut
Floyd | >
Floyd | > CREDITS
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | Ariadne in Aeaea by Víctor Ojuel
Floyd | Made with Inform 7, September 2016.
Floyd |
Floyd | Art by Ara Carrasco.
Floyd |
Floyd | The author wishes to thank those who kindly (and bravely!) tested this
Floyd | game in its infancy, namely Ara Carrasco, Matthew Holland, Liz Mercuri
Floyd | and Andrew Schultz.
Floyd |
Floyd | Type HELP or INSTRUCTIONS if you want instructions on
Floyd | how to play.
Floyd | Type ABOUT AUTHOR to learn more about the author.
Floyd | Type ABOUT GAME to know more about the game and its
Floyd | historical/mythological setting.
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says, "oh that's the same as the beginning"
BrianK says, "Anyway now we can proceed with the game"
BrianK says (to Floyd), "look"
Floyd ]  Shepherd's hut
Floyd | >
Floyd | > LOOK
Floyd |
Floyd | Shepherd's hut
Floyd | Now that your vision has cleared a little, you take better stock of
Floyd | your surroundings. The hut is little more than a rough wooden shack,
Floyd | and the only furniture is a rudimentary rack on one side of the
Floyd | entrance. Most of the space is taken up by the... bed, if you could
Floyd | call it that. Two boys are sleeping there, snoring drunkenly. There is
Floyd | an Ariadne-shaped empty space between them.
Floyd |
Floyd | An empty jug lies on its side against a wall, abandoned where it
Floyd | stopped rolling. Just like the human occupants of the hut.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "x me"
Floyd ]  Shepherd's hut
Floyd | >
Floyd | > X ME
Floyd |
Floyd | You are Ariadne of Knossos, daughter of Minos, of the royal line of
Floyd | Pasiphaë the Sun-Maiden. At your formidable seventeen springtimes, you
Floyd | are an initiate priestess of the Isle of Aeaea, holiest of priestly
Floyd | orders of Potinaja, the Great Goddess.
Floyd |
Floyd | And right now you are not exactly at your brightest - hungover, hungry
Floyd | and naked after a deliciously rough night. But the poets don't need to
Floyd | know about your early years when they sing your praises for the
Floyd | centuries, do they?
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "i"
Floyd ]  Shepherd's hut
Floyd | >
Floyd | > I
Floyd |
Floyd | You are nude.
Floyd |
Floyd | You are empty-handed.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "x boys"
Floyd ]  Shepherd's hut
Floyd | >
Floyd | > X BOYS
Floyd |
Floyd | The boys are snoring loudly. One of them is really worth it, the other
Floyd | one only passable in the mercilessly sober light of the morning. So
Floyd | they even out and it's fine. (You understate things. You always do. As
Floyd | befits a sophisticated lady of royal lineage.)
Floyd |
Floyd | >
DavidW says, "I suggest finding your clothes before heading back to the holy palace."
BrianK says, "That would make sense"
BrianK says (to Floyd), "x jug"
Floyd ]  Shepherd's hut
Floyd | >
Floyd | > X JUG
Floyd |
Floyd | It is a stylish round design with a small flat base, red clay with a
Floyd | striking black many-tentacled octopus. Such a modern and expensive
Floyd | model can only be imported from Crete and way above the means of a
Floyd | goatherder, so it was probably you who brought it from the
Floyd | palace.There lingers the faint perfume of fine wine, but it is
Floyd | completely empty. You probably had more than your fair share of it
Floyd | last night.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "take it"
Floyd ]  Shepherd's hut
Floyd | >
Floyd | > TAKE IT
Floyd |
Floyd | You lift the jug with one hand: unsurprisingly, it's empty. A pity -
Floyd | by the Goddess, you could use a drink. And some breakfast... Then your
Floyd | eyes catch the glint of something metallic. You squat again, screwing
Floyd | your eyes in the half-light. There was something behind the jug... a
Floyd | pin? It seems to be a sort of golden brooch. You can guess it was
Floyd | carefully hidden somewhere, until last night's whirlwind of men and
Floyd | clothes ended up with the little golden bauble thrown in a corner. Now
Floyd | this is a surprise...
Floyd |
Floyd | >
DavidW says, "As far as I know, there's no timer. We can take our time with this."
BrianK says (to Floyd), "take brooch"
Floyd ]  Shepherd's hut
Floyd | >
Floyd | > TAKE BROOCH
Floyd |
Floyd | You take the brooch.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "x brooch"
Floyd ]  Shepherd's hut
Floyd | >
Floyd | > X BROOCH
Floyd |
Floyd | You take a good look at it, from all sides. It is gold indeed, and the
Floyd | device is a lion sitting on its hind legs. You have no idea what it
Floyd | means, so at least it's not Cretan. Not from one of the great palaces,
Floyd | at any rate, or you'd know, but it is an expensive piece of art, and
Floyd | not from Aeaea either. Only the Goddess knows how it came into the
Floyd | hands of a rustic goatherder. Well, obviously it was the Goddess' will
Floyd | that you'd find it. It will look better on you anyway.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "wear brooch"
Floyd ]  Shepherd's hut
Floyd | >
Floyd | > WEAR BROOCH
Floyd |
Floyd | Wear it where? Pin it in your skin? This kind of jewelry without
Floyd | clothes is not just kinky, also painful. Better put on some clothes
Floyd | first, then wear the brooch.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says, "oh yeah"
BrianK says (to Floyd), "x rack"
Floyd ]  Shepherd's hut
Floyd | >
Floyd | > X RACK
Floyd |
Floyd | A simple wooden platform to hold the meagre posessions of the
Floyd | goatherder. The only interesting ones are a loaf of bread and a pile
Floyd | of discarded pieces of clothing.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "x clothing"
Floyd ]  Shepherd's hut
Floyd | >
Floyd | > X CLOTHING
Floyd |
Floyd | Someone undressed hastily here. You might have had something to do
Floyd | with the undressing. Or with the haste.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "wear clothing"
Floyd ]  Shepherd's hut
Floyd | >
Floyd | > WEAR CLOTHING
Floyd |
Floyd | (first taking pile of clothes)
Floyd | Your clothes should be somewhere around here. Now, let's think, you
Floyd | were wearing a tunic, right? If only you could remember where you left
Floyd | it... Rifling through the clothing (raw woollen shirts, leather pants,
Floyd | ragged boots) yields no result, except for a stench of sweat and
Floyd | seawater (now how do shepherds get wet with seawater? Are they so
Floyd | rustic that they bathe dressed?). You drop the lot with a weary sigh.
Floyd | Now where did you take off that bloody tunic, really?
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "x bread"
Floyd ]  Shepherd's hut
Floyd | >
Floyd | > X BREAD
Floyd |
Floyd | A hard piece of coarse, stale bread, perhaps adequate fare for
Floyd | shepherds but utterly unedible by humans.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says, "wow, sick burn to those shepherds"
BrianK says (to Floyd), "take it"
Floyd ]  Shepherd's hut
Floyd | >
Floyd | > TAKE IT
Floyd |
Floyd | Feeling your stomach churning, you snatch away the piece of bread. Too
Floyd | much wine and no dinner, time you ate something solid.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
DavidW says, "A girl's gotta have *some* standards."
BrianK says, "Except when she doesn't, and sleeps with them anyway :P"
BrianK says (to Floyd), "x bed"
Floyd ]  Shepherd's hut
Floyd | >
Floyd | > X BED
Floyd |
Floyd | The boys are lying on top of what probably was a nice and fluffy pile
Floyd | of straw a few hours ago. After last night's activities, the straw has
Floyd | been evenly spread through the hut and they are practically sleeping
Floyd | on the floor.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
DavidW says, "My notes say that if you examine the men, she found one to be worth it and the other only passable."
BrianK says, "I guess that's fair"
Roger arrives, full of funk, but no fun.
BrianK says (to Floyd), "search bed"
Floyd ]  Shepherd's hut
Floyd | >
Floyd | > SEARCH BED
Floyd |
Floyd | You have already done all you felt like doing with, and on, that bed.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "look"
Floyd ]  Shepherd's hut
Floyd | >
Floyd | > LOOK
Floyd |
Floyd | Shepherd's hut
Floyd | Now that your vision has cleared a little, you take better stock of
Floyd | your surroundings. The hut is little more than a rough wooden shack,
Floyd | and the only furniture is a rudimentary rack on one side of the
Floyd | entrance. Most of the space is taken up by the... bed, if you could
Floyd | call it that. Two boys are sleeping there, snoring drunkenly. There is
Floyd | an Ariadne-shaped empty space between them.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "x floor"
Floyd ]  Shepherd's hut
Floyd | >
Floyd | > X FLOOR
Floyd |
Floyd | Girl, you are seriously confused this morning. Maybe time to cut down
Floyd | on the wine a bit?
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says, "Wow, parser. Rude :("
BrianK asks, "Did I forget to examine anything?"
BrianK says (to Floyd), "search clothes"
Floyd ]  Shepherd's hut
Floyd | >
Floyd | > SEARCH CLOTHES
Floyd |
Floyd | You find nothing of interest.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "search boys"
Floyd ]  Shepherd's hut
Floyd | >
Floyd | > SEARCH BOYS
Floyd |
Floyd | You have already done all you felt like doing to him/them last night.
Floyd | Possibly. Memories still a bit hazy, but you've had your fun. In any
Floyd | case, you feel like breakfast without conversation, so better get a
Floyd | move on.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says, "or are my clothes not in this room"
DavidW says, "You've seen everything here, yeah."
BrianK says (to Floyd), "out"
Floyd ]  Rugged hills
Floyd | >
Floyd | > OUT
Floyd |
Floyd | Shielding your eyes against the light, you step outside. It takes you
Floyd | a few moments to adjust to sunlight, and your headache doesn't
Floyd | particularly like it. When you open your eyes again, the grand
Floyd | landscape of the Isle of Aeaea unfolds against a crisp blue morning
Floyd | sky.
Floyd |
Floyd | Rugged hills
Floyd | In all directions, the hills climb up and down, reddish earth
Floyd | embroidered with dark green shrubs and a few small pine woods,
Floyd | sometimes broken by white, sheer rock. The land slopes downwards, from
Floyd | the cliffs in the west to the eastern beaches. The shepherd's hut is
Floyd | the only visible shelter. The isle narrows to the north and broadens
Floyd | to the south, where a few smoke columns indicate the location of the
Floyd | palace. The shepherd's hut is nearby.
Floyd |
Floyd | A herd of goats is roaming the pastures nearby, grazing on the short,
Floyd | tough grass.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says, "I like the picture painted by this description"
DavidW says, "The writing is good, yes."
BrianK says (to Floyd), "x goats"
Floyd ]  Rugged hills
Floyd | >
Floyd | > X GOATS
Floyd |
Floyd | A nearby goat is breakfasting on something that looks like a piece of
Floyd | textile of some so... oh by the Goddess, it's your tunic! You try to
Floyd | shoo the beast, or frighten it in some way to discourage the munching
Floyd | of your clothes, but it seems to love the change in diet. Damn...
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "give bread to goat"
Floyd ]  Rugged hills
Floyd | >
Floyd | > GIVE BREAD TO GOAT
Floyd |
Floyd | You wave the bread in front of the stupid animal's eyes. Eventually
Floyd | you catch its attention, and it approaches and reluctantly stops
Floyd | chewing your tunic to munch on the bread.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK exclaims, "Puzzle solved!!"
BrianK says (to Floyd), "take tunic"
Floyd ]  Rugged hills
Floyd | >
Floyd | > TAKE TUNIC
Floyd |
Floyd | You swiftly snatch away the tunic, lest the animal changes its mind.
Floyd | It's not exactly clean, and part of a shoulder seems to have been
Floyd | bitten off, but surely asymmetric shoulders must be the fashion in
Floyd | some faraway island? And it beats showing up naked in the palace.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
DavidW says, "yay. Take the tunic before the bread's gone."
BrianK says (to Floyd), "wear tunic"
Floyd ]  Rugged hills
Floyd | >
Floyd | > WEAR TUNIC
Floyd |
Floyd | You pull the tunic in place, and hold the torn shoulder while you pin
Floyd | it with the brooch, then smooth the torn edges under it. It holds, and
Floyd | possibly even adds a fanciful highlight to the otherwise plain
Floyd | garment. Can't wait to be ordained a full priestess and do away with
Floyd | these rags. Anyway, for the moment you are decent again, or decent
Floyd | enough to sneak back into the palace. And head straight for the
Floyd | kitchen, adds your rumbling stomach.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "x tunic"
Floyd ]  Rugged hills
Floyd | >
Floyd | > X TUNIC
Floyd |
Floyd | Fine linen, fashionably pleated like the Egyptian girls from the
Floyd | Avaris chapter, but edged with embroidered dolphins and saffron
Floyd | crocus. It is one of the pieces Mother sewed for you before your
Floyd | departure for Aeaea (which is goatshit. Your know full well Mother
Floyd | could never sew to save her life.) The torn shoulder has been repaired
Floyd | with a flashy golden brooch, and the effect is rather fetching, if you
Floyd | do say so yourself.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "n"
Floyd ]  Rugged hills
Floyd | >
Floyd | > N
Floyd |
Floyd | You really don't fancy going cross-country through these solitudes
Floyd | like a goat. Better do like a human and follow the clifftop path to
Floyd | the west, or go back inside the hut.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "w"
Floyd ]  Crest path
Floyd | >
Floyd | > W
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | Crest path
Floyd | A narrow path on top of the cliffs follows the crescent shape of
Floyd | Aeaea. The isle's rocky arms stretch like the horns of a bull piercing
Floyd | the sea. The Saffron Bay occupies most of the view, sheer cliff faces
Floyd | the height of a hundred men plunging vertically into the waters below.
Floyd | The palace complex shines across the bay like white teeth on jagged,
Floyd | blackened gums.
Floyd |
Floyd | The path clings to the clifftop, coming from the civilised south and
Floyd | stretching towards the sharp edge of the isle to the northwest. To the
Floyd | east lie the hilly scrublands frequented only by shepherds and
Floyd | goatherds. As you know full well.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "exits"
Floyd ]  Crest path
Floyd | >
Floyd | > EXITS
Floyd |
Floyd | Let us hope this is not what the poets will remember you for...
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "s"
Floyd ]  Clifftop path
Floyd | >
Floyd | > S
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | Clifftop path
Floyd | This is where the elegant curve of the Saffron Bay becomes wider and
Floyd | the downward slope is more benign. Most of the productive fields of
Floyd | the isle are around here, tended by peasants indentured to the palace,
Floyd | a few free settlers and scores of slaves. The olive trees, vineyards
Floyd | and farms of this side provide most of the local foodstuffs. The path
Floyd | follows the clifftop to the wild north and it becomes a proper paved
Floyd | road to the southwest, towards the entrance to the palace.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says, "The exits could be clearer for some of the descriptions"
DavidW says, "mm"
BrianK says (to Floyd), "sw"
Floyd ]  Ceremonial entrance to the palace
Floyd | >
Floyd | > SW
Floyd |
Floyd | Ceremonial entrance to the palace
Floyd | The ceremonial road ends in an ample paved space before the grand
Floyd | entrance to the palace. Men and oxen come on go along the road like
Floyd | ants and mill around the vast plaza, transporting all manners of goods
Floyd | from the palace stores to the port below, overseen by
Floyd | administrative-rank priestesses and keen-eyed archers. The great
Floyd | complex is three stories high, fronted with a majestic row of crimson
Floyd | red and marine blue tapered columns.
Floyd |
Floyd | A couple of archers wink at you (old "friends", so to speak), and
Floyd | quite a few priestesses frown (older "friends", so to speak).
Floyd |
Floyd | The ceremonial paved road snakes descends towards the southeast and
Floyd | the harbour. The palace lies west, blocking the view of the bay. A
Floyd | narrow path leads northeast, following the clifftops, towards the
Floyd | wilderness.
Floyd |
Floyd | Well, finally here you are. Now, if you can only slip unnoticed to the
Floyd | side wall that is never guarded, and just climb up to the first floor
Floyd | terrace, then it should be easy to...
Floyd |
Floyd | "Why, if it isn't the wayward Ariadne!" booms a female voice behind
Floyd | you, grating on your hungover brains.
Floyd |
Floyd | You close your eyes, hard, taking an extra moment before turning
Floyd | around to face her. Oh sweet Potinaja, fair lady, let it not be old
Floyd | Circe...
Floyd |
Floyd | And the Goddess must have a perverse sense humour, because the
Floyd | offending lady is indeed not your aunt... but your sister.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "x sister"
Floyd ]  Ceremonial entrance to the palace
Floyd | >
Floyd | > X SISTER
Floyd |
Floyd | Your younger sister is considerably smaller than you, of slighter
Floyd | build, and is wearing the complete paraphernalia of a confirmed potnia
Floyd | - ruched and tiered red-and-blue longskirt, ceremonial apron, fitten
Floyd | open gilet and headdress. Her eyes and breasts are heavily made up
Floyd | with kohl and crushed coral. You used to look after her when she was
Floyd | just a bawling toddler... and now she has been ordained a potnia
Floyd | before you. Curses.
Floyd |
Floyd | "Phaedra." you say, in an extremely friendly way. The sight of her is
Floyd | the very last thing you needed right now and... oh by the Goddess,
Floyd | what is she wearing?
Floyd |
Floyd | "Oh, I can see you have noticed..." she purrs in triumph. You roll
Floyd | your eyes.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
DavidW says, "TALK TO is the conversation style in this game."
BrianK says, "I guess that was a little sequence breaking"
BrianK says, "since it seems like I was supposed to get the "what is she wearing?" message and then examine her clothes afterwards"
DavidW says, "oh, I see what you mean."
BrianK says (to Floyd), "talk to phaedra"
Floyd ]  Ceremonial entrance to the palace
Floyd | >
Floyd | > TALK TO PHAEDRA
Floyd |
Floyd | You take a deep breath for your next reply:
Floyd |
Floyd | "What are you doing, all tarted up like that?", you ask, trying to
Floyd | sound not at all taken aback.
Floyd |
Floyd | "You watch that tongue when speaking to a potnia, dear
Floyd | sister, specially while you are still an initiate", Phaedra
Floyd | says, savouring each word. The realisation comes late to your fried
Floyd | brains: has she been ordained yet? Before you? But you're at least two
Floyd | springtimes her senior! And you shed first blood at more or less the
Floyd | same age, so...
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "talk to phaedra"
Floyd ]  Ceremonial entrance to the palace
Floyd | >
Floyd | > TALK TO PHAEDRA
Floyd |
Floyd | You take a deep breath for your next reply:
Floyd |
Floyd | "I see. Grovelling at Aunt Circe's feet has finally paid up".
Floyd |
Floyd | "Pay? Circe, like all us potnias, is just a conduit for the designs of
Floyd | the Goddess, praise be the fair Potinaja," she recites, doing a little
Floyd | dance around you, presumably to rub in the offence, "And talking about
Floyd | payment, how does whatever you do pay? What a lovely brooch, sister. A
Floyd | little trinket from a client of yours?"
Floyd |
Floyd | >
DavidW says, "You can use AGAIN or just G to repeat your last command."
BrianK says, "Oh yeah"
BrianK says, "I was just using the up key to repeat it though"
DavidW says, "oh."
BrianK says (to Floyd), "g"
Floyd ]  Ceremonial entrance to the palace
Floyd | >
Floyd | > G
Floyd |
Floyd | You take a deep breath for your next reply:
Floyd |
Floyd | "Oh, sweet lady, does it come to this? Come, come, sister, be not so
Floyd | bitter", you smile in sympathy, taking her arm sororally, "Is it my
Floyd | fault no sane man was ever interested in you?"
Floyd |
Floyd | "Men, is that so?" she brushes your hand aside "I hear you sleep with
Floyd | goatherders."
Floyd |
Floyd | "Oh, I hear you sleep with the goats."
Floyd |
Floyd | "Oh very droll..."
Floyd |
Floyd | "Potinaja wept, you even got the rancid mannerisms...!"
Floyd |
Floyd | Her eyes become linear slits, snake-like under the copious makeup. "I
Floyd | shan't have you profer blasphemies, least of all in presence of a
Floyd | potnia. You shall go see Circe and send my regards..."
Floyd |
Floyd | "Oh, that I shall..."
Floyd |
Floyd | "...and if I do learn later that you have not, or have not used the
Floyd | proper formula and respect, I shall ask the High Priestess to have you
Floyd | seconded to my retinue, to do my hair and prepare the potions.
Floyd | Understood, initiate?"
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "g"
Floyd ]  Ceremonial entrance to the palace
Floyd | >
Floyd | > G
Floyd |
Floyd | You take a deep breath for your next reply:
Floyd |
Floyd | You shut your mouth in time. Normally no priestess would be on a
Floyd | position to do that, but Phaedra is a royal as well, and of Pasiphaë's
Floyd | line, and her standing with your aunt is obviously better than yours.
Floyd | (Actually there are at least three slaves that Circe regards higher
Floyd | than she does you...). And then again, you'd sooner jump into the sea
Floyd | and try to make it back to Crete swimming than go through the
Floyd | humiliation of being your little sister's handmaiden.
Floyd |
Floyd | "Understood."
Floyd |
Floyd | "Understood what?"
Floyd |
Floyd | "Understood, my potnia."
Floyd |
Floyd | "Oh, I am so loving the sound of that. I shall see you later,
Floyd | initiate, do make haste", she sing-songs as she walks away. You pull a
Floyd | face at her back and quietly tell the Goddess how much you love little
Floyd | Phaedra.
Floyd |
Floyd | Well. Perhaps you really, really should have not stolen that toy
Floyd | crocodile when she was five.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "look"
Floyd ]  Ceremonial entrance to the palace
Floyd | >
Floyd | > LOOK
Floyd |
Floyd | Ceremonial entrance to the palace
Floyd | The ceremonial road ends in an ample paved space before the grand
Floyd | entrance to the palace. Men and oxen come on go along the road like
Floyd | ants and mill around the vast plaza, transporting all manners of goods
Floyd | from the palace stores to the port below, overseen by
Floyd | administrative-rank priestesses and keen-eyed archers. The great
Floyd | complex is three stories high, fronted with a majestic row of crimson
Floyd | red and marine blue tapered columns.
Floyd |
Floyd | A couple of archers wink at you (old "friends", so to speak), and
Floyd | quite a few priestesses frown (older "friends", so to speak).
Floyd |
Floyd | The ceremonial paved road snakes descends towards the southeast and
Floyd | the harbour. The palace lies west, blocking the view of the bay. A
Floyd | narrow path leads northeast, following the clifftops, towards the
Floyd | wilderness.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
DavidW says, "west"
BrianK says (to Floyd), "w"
Floyd ]  Palace megaron
Floyd | >
Floyd | > W
Floyd |
Floyd | You enter the palace unchallenged by either priestess or archer
Floyd | patrols.
Floyd |
Floyd | Palace megaron
Floyd | The main megaron is flanked with tapered red columns, centered around
Floyd | a central great hall that opens to two long wings. The western wing
Floyd | contains the workshops, stores and administrative dependencies. The
Floyd | north wing is mainly taken up with living quarters for priestess in
Floyd | the upper floors, and servants and slaves in the lower ones. But the
Floyd | definitive majestic piece of the megaron is the monumental gipsum
Floyd | stairway leading up, to the High Priestess' dependencies.
Floyd |
Floyd | The megaron is in full swing, with dozens of priestesses of diverse
Floyd | rank coming and going about palace business.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "u"
Floyd ]  Circe's chambers
Floyd | >
Floyd | > U
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | Circe's chambers
Floyd | The residence of the High Priestesses is less sumptuous than what you
Floyd | had imagined the first time. It is nevertheless the most luxurious
Floyd | room in the whole island, somewhat in spite of Circe herself. The
Floyd | focal point of the room is a great wooden table, strewn with a
Floyd | thousand little objects around a map.
Floyd |
Floyd | The High Priestess is studying something intently at the great table,
Floyd | stopping only occasionally to gaze out of the window, never quite
Floyd | bothering to look in your general direction.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
DavidW says, "This scene is very amusing."
BrianK says (to Floyd), "x map"
Floyd ]  Circe's chambers
Floyd | >
Floyd | > X MAP
Floyd |
Floyd | It is surprisingly difficult to identify the landmasses. This one must
Floyd | be Aeaea; the bottom-heavy crescent is unmistakeable. Crete must be
Floyd | big and west of here, so it should be that vaguely rectangular block
Floyd | over there, with Knossos and Phaistos marked prominently and a dozen
Floyd | smaller palaces dotted around. South lies the Egyptian coast, so the
Floyd | symbol there must mark the position of Avaris. And far to the
Floyd | northwest, in the wastes beyond the sea, there's a cluster of black
Floyd | figurines. All of them are modelled in the likeness of a sitting lion.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "talk to circle"
Floyd ]  Circe's chambers
Floyd | >
Floyd | > TALK TO CIRCLE
Floyd |
Floyd | You are so lost it would take a big ball of twine to get you out of
Floyd | your confusion.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says, "oops"
BrianK says, "muscle memory in action"
BrianK says (to Floyd), "talk to circe"
Floyd ]  Circe's chambers
Floyd | >
Floyd | > TALK TO CIRCE
Floyd |
Floyd | You put your left fist to your left temple, performing the adoration
Floyd | gesture. Circe pays no attention to you. You ahem-ahem a little, still
Floyd | to no reaction from the High Priestess, so you just chatter away.
Floyd |
Floyd | "My potnia, I come on behalf of my beloved sister..."
Floyd |
Floyd | "Now, that is a droll one", she mutters, still not looking at you. She
Floyd | rereads a line from a tablet, then moves another figurine over the
Floyd | map.
Floyd |
Floyd | "I bring my beloved sister Phaedra's respect and best wishes for the
Floyd | High Priestess, on the occasion of my noble sister's ordainment..."
Floyd |
Floyd | "I am sure you must be very proud of her, are you not?", she says
Floyd | dryly.
Floyd |
Floyd | "Very" you reply with equal enthusiasm, "As proud as if it was my own
Floyd | and belated induction into the Goddess' mysteries", you drone on
Floyd | monotonously.
Floyd |
Floyd | "Do I hear a complaint?"
Floyd |
Floyd | "Actually..."
Floyd |
Floyd | "Shut up, it's a rhetorical question. Because I hear many complaints
Floyd | every day, and quite a few have something to do with one of my nieces
Floyd | being somewhat unruly."
Floyd |
Floyd | Being essentially a sensible young woman despite what certain
Floyd | uncharitable individuals might think, you let that one pass and force
Floyd | a smile.
Floyd |
Floyd | "Anything else?", she asks. You are biting your tongue, hard.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "g"
Floyd ]  Circe's chambers
Floyd | >
Floyd | > G
Floyd |
Floyd | "Auntie Circe," you try, affectionately "when is my ordainment going
Floyd | to take place? I yearn to serve the Goddess and I am already old
Floyd | enough for the mysteries..."
Floyd |
Floyd | "Age has nothing to do with it, child," she interrupts, still
Floyd | contemplating her map, "Maturity has. Just as some women shed first
Floyd | blood earlier, the Goddess blesses certain minds sooner than
Floyd | others..."
Floyd |
Floyd | "So the lesson today is patience..." you sigh boredly.
Floyd |
Floyd | "...and some she does not touch ever at all. What, patience? The
Floyd | Goddess and I have wasted ours with you, Ariadne."
Floyd |
Floyd | "Auntie, I promise, if this is about the drinking and... uhm,
Floyd | merrymaking, I swear I shall just..."
Floyd |
Floyd | "Oh shut up, girl. What am I now, one of those bloody Lukkan puritans?
Floyd | Shut up, it's another rhetorical question. Merrymaking, the
Floyd | goatshit one has to hear! Mark my words, I do not give a fig if you
Floyd | fuck each and every fisherman in Aeaea while drunk as an Alassian
Floyd | sailor..."
Floyd |
Floyd | "Auntie Circe...!"
Floyd |
Floyd | "...and don't you Auntie Circe me as if I was some senile
Floyd | spinster! What, scandalised? Oh, the irony! Listen, you might well
Floyd | despise your sister because she is a bit stupider than you (which is
Floyd | no small measure), or because she is quite insufferable (not to say
Floyd | you are not), or just because she is your sister, which is reason
Floyd | enough... Bugger me, did I hate your noble mother when we were your
Floyd | age, did I! And she was just like you, chasing men and women and
Floyd | whatnot, and the Goddess and I could not care less because she was
Floyd | also useful, and that is the whole point. Pasiphaë is and was useful,
Floyd | and thus she is Wanassa of Knossos. Your sister Phaedra doesn't have
Floyd | her political vision but she's fanatical and ruthless, and one day she
Floyd | shall be Wanassa of Phaistos. Now tell me, wench, what are you
Floyd | good for?"
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "g"
Floyd ]  Circe's chambers
Floyd | >
Floyd | > G
Floyd |
Floyd | "Is it another rhetorical question?"
Floyd |
Floyd | "Very, very droll", Circe sighs, fingering one of the figurines on the
Floyd | map. "An easier one, then. What do we export, here in Aeaea?"
Floyd |
Floyd | "Saffron and potnias?"
Floyd |
Floyd | "Very well. You might not be Wanassa material since you have no
Floyd | political wits... or an officiant priestess, given how obviously the
Floyd | Goddess chooses not to speak through you, but we might at least make a
Floyd | store administrator out of you yet."
Floyd |
Floyd | "Stores?" you gasp, horrified "Sitting downstairs all day, counting
Floyd | measures of olive oil? Aunt, I'm begging you, send me back to Knossos
Floyd | rather than...!"
Floyd |
Floyd | "It was not a rhetorical question, girl. Dozens of palaces rely on us
Floyd | to provide suitable potnias as Wanassas," she says, making a broad
Floyd | gesture over the map, "and we do deliver. I need not remind you who
Floyd | brokered your mother's marriage to the Wanax of Knossos, or why he and
Floyd | thirty other dinasties send me their daughters for education and
Floyd | ordainment. In due time, your sister will be Wanassa of Phaistos. The
Floyd | Wanax shall get a powerful priestess to take care of divine affairs
Floyd | while he wages wars. Your father shall get a reliable alliance. And
Floyd | the Goddess and I shall get an influent agent in southern Crete, same
Floyd | as Pasiphaë has been in the north coast for decades."
Floyd |
Floyd | "I am still a royal of the Pasiphaë line, I can marry..."
Floyd |
Floyd | "Marry as you please. The world is full of bloody royals, do you know
Floyd | how many new siblings you've gotten since you came? Every petty
Floyd | warlord has two or three score bastards, and do you know what a
Floyd | nightmare genealogy has become? I should know, my father is the bloody
Floyd | Sun. Anyway. Princes and princesses are a fig a dozen. Potnias are
Floyd | scarce and precious. Should I send you back unordained, Minos would be
Floyd | offended and Pasiphaë's position weakened. I shall not undo the work
Floyd | of a generation for your sake."
Floyd |
Floyd | She waves you away and concentrates on the maps, moving another of the
Floyd | lion-shaped thingies.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "x lions"
Floyd ]  Circe's chambers
Floyd | >
Floyd | > X LIONS
Floyd |
Floyd | Your head is killing you.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "x lion"
Floyd ]  Circe's chambers
Floyd | >
Floyd | > X LION
Floyd |
Floyd | A golden brooch representing a sitting lion, of unknown origin. You
Floyd | found it at the shepherd's hut, which is quite a mystery. Perhaps you
Floyd | should look into it.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says, "no, the lion-shaped thingies :|"
BrianK says (to Floyd), "x lion-shaped thingies"
Floyd ]  Circe's chambers
Floyd | >
Floyd | > X LION-SHAPED THINGIES
Floyd |
Floyd | Sweet lady Potinaja, what do you mean?
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "talk to circe"
Floyd ]  Circe's chambers
Floyd | >
Floyd | > TALK TO CIRCE
Floyd |
Floyd | "I shall prove to you I am useful to you and the Goddess."
Floyd |
Floyd | Without looking up from her maps, Circe waves you away.
Floyd |
Floyd | "Pray be not a nuisance, niece. Go do as you please but bother me no
Floyd | more."
Floyd |
Floyd | She is obviously concerned with something, very much unrelated to your
Floyd | tribulations, and somehow related to the many lion-shaped figurines
Floyd | she keeps herding around the map.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
DavidW says, "I think the things on the map aren't implemented separately."
BrianK says (to Floyd), "x figurines"
Floyd ]  Circe's chambers
Floyd | >
Floyd | > X FIGURINES
Floyd |
Floyd | A black piece of stone. Obviously Circe is using them to signify some
Floyd | sort of kingdom or faction over her map. Each is shaped like a sitting
Floyd | lion. Now where have you seen that before?
Floyd |
Floyd | >
DavidW says, "oh, okay, they are."
BrianK says (to Floyd), "show brooch to circe"
Floyd ]  Circe's chambers
Floyd | >
Floyd | > SHOW BROOCH TO CIRCE
Floyd |
Floyd | Holding the torn shoulder with your fingers, you undo the brooch and
Floyd | throw it on the table. It lands squarely among the black lion-shaped
Floyd | figurines, sending them on sudden expeditions across the sea. Circe
Floyd | looks up, startled.
Floyd |
Floyd | "How dare you...?", she starts.
Floyd |
Floyd | "Answering your next, non-rhetorical question, I have my own sources,
Floyd | just like you, aunt dear. I thought this might interest you, since you
Floyd | seem so fond of little lion figurines."
Floyd |
Floyd | "Do you know what this is?" Circe says, as she takes the brooch and
Floyd | looks at it intently before staring back at you. "Its meaning? Where
Floyd | does it come from?"
Floyd |
Floyd | "Let's see - yes, no, kind of. It's a brooch. I have no idea what it
Floyd | stands for. It comes from somewhere in the northern wastes, since you
Floyd | are piling all your toys there?"
Floyd |
Floyd | The High Priestess takes a deep breath, obviously pondering whether to
Floyd | discuss important matters with you. Finally, she sighs and looks away.
Floyd | Was that a little chuckle?
Floyd |
Floyd | "Young Ariadne, what do you know about the Achaeans?"
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "talk to circe"
Floyd ]  Circe's chambers
Floyd | >
Floyd | > TALK TO CIRCE
Floyd |
Floyd | "Achaeans. Northern barbarians, a few sad excuses for palaces. No
Floyd | fleet worth of the name. The only thing they are good at is making
Floyd | cheap copies of every piece of pottery Father sells them at outrageous
Floyd | prices. They are desperate for some culture. Are we sending them many
Floyd | potnias?"
Floyd |
Floyd | "Not a single one. They have their own unsavoury gods. And a very
Floyd | unsavoury new Wanax. With very, very unsavoury methods."
Floyd |
Floyd | "You sound jealous, aunt." Circe waves a finger at you.
Floyd |
Floyd | "Do not get cocky, child. If you have found this in Aeaea, and I can
Floyd | only imagine where or how, it might mean we have a little spy problem.
Floyd | Now, I do not have enough archers to keep a patrol on all shores at
Floyd | all times, and sending them to search every ship and warehouse in the
Floyd | harbour would alert the spy... So...", she says, looking up and down
Floyd | at you with a critical eye.
Floyd |
Floyd | "So" you echo, tossing your hair dramatically, "You got yourself a
Floyd | secret agent, auntie."
Floyd |
Floyd | She hmphs. You smile. Then remember something.
Floyd |
Floyd | "Ah, my potnia? On an unrelated note, can I have that brooch back?
Floyd | Holding this thing in place all day is tiring."
Floyd |
Floyd | The High Priestess of Aeaea mutters something unpleasant about your
Floyd | generation while fumbling about her things, then slides a clay token
Floyd | over the table towards you, together with the brooch.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "take brooch"
Floyd ]  Circe's chambers
Floyd | >
Floyd | > TAKE BROOCH
Floyd |
Floyd | You take the Achaean brooch.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "wear brooch"
Floyd ]  Circe's chambers
Floyd | >
Floyd | > WEAR BROOCH
Floyd |
Floyd | Are you still hungover? Do you think it is a good idea to hunt around
Floyd | for an Achaean spy while wearing this for all the world to see?
Floyd | Perhaps Circe was right about your true calling after all...
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "take token"
Floyd ]  Circe's chambers
Floyd | >
Floyd | > TAKE TOKEN
Floyd |
Floyd | You palm the little piece of clay gleefully. Circe is notoriously
Floyd | stingy with supplies.
Floyd |
Floyd | "The price of saffron is down and imports are killing us, Ariadne."
Floyd | she says warily "Take better care of your clothes from now on. And do
Floyd | not get anywhere near goats."
Floyd |
Floyd | "By the Goddess, how do you...?"
Floyd |
Floyd | "I have been your age. Just avoid rumiants in general."
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "x token"
Floyd ]  Circe's chambers
Floyd | >
Floyd | > X TOKEN
Floyd |
Floyd | A piece of fired clay, bearing three symbols - the glyphs for
Floyd | "priestess tunic", "high quality" and the personal seal of Circe. A
Floyd | requistion order for the palace stores, from the highest authority.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says, "Ah, we're getting a new tunic, which is why we don't need to wear the brooch again.... I guess"
BrianK says, "look"
BrianK says, "er"
DavidW says, "yes"
BrianK says (to Floyd), "look"
Floyd ]  Circe's chambers
Floyd | >
Floyd | > LOOK
Floyd |
Floyd | Circe's chambers
Floyd | The residence of the High Priestesses is less sumptuous than what you
Floyd | had imagined the first time. It is nevertheless the most luxurious
Floyd | room in the whole island, somewhat in spite of Circe herself. The
Floyd | focal point of the room is a great wooden table, strewn with a
Floyd | thousand little objects around a map.
Floyd |
Floyd | Circe is looking at you, appraisingly.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "out"
Floyd ]  Circe's chambers
Floyd | >
Floyd | > OUT
Floyd |
Floyd | But you aren't in anything at the moment.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "down"
Floyd ]  Palace megaron
Floyd | >
Floyd | > DOWN
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | Palace megaron
Floyd | The main megaron is flanked with tapered red columns, centered around
Floyd | a central great hall that opens to two long wings. The western wing
Floyd | contains the workshops, stores and administrative dependencies. The
Floyd | north wing is mainly taken up with living quarters for priestess in
Floyd | the upper floors, and servants and slaves in the lower ones. But the
Floyd | definitive majestic piece of the megaron is the monumental gipsum
Floyd | stairway leading up, to the High Priestess' dependencies.
Floyd |
Floyd | The megaron is in full swing, with dozens of priestesses of diverse
Floyd | rank coming and going about palace business.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
DavidW says, "west"
BrianK says (to Floyd), "west"
Floyd ]  Palace stores
Floyd | >
Floyd | > WEST
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | Palace stores
Floyd | The chambers are filled with the hustle of a few dozen workers
Floyd | carrying goods into our out of the stores. Slaves bring in copper ore
Floyd | and oil pithoi in carts, checked and accounted for by palace
Floyd | administrators. Throngs of artisans from the workshops bring their
Floyd | finished crafts for inspection, and receive clay tokens in exchange.
Floyd | This is a part of the palace you seldom visit willingily, except to
Floyd | pilfer some baubles or chat with your friend.  If you don't manage to
Floyd | fulfil your quest, you might well be spending the rest of your days
Floyd | here... The mere idea makes you shiver.
Floyd |
Floyd | One of of the administrator catches your eye. It's Satiah, one of your
Floyd | last friends. She nods slightly in your direction while she keepts
Floyd | doing calculations on her abacus and counting tokens.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "x satiah"
Floyd ]  Palace stores
Floyd | >
Floyd | > X SATIAH
Floyd |
Floyd | Satiah is more or less your age. She has the darker skin that
Floyd | identifies her as coming from the Avaris chapter, which is somewhere
Floyd | in the Two Lands, on the delta of an incredibly big river, far to the
Floyd | south. She wears the full pleated linen favoured by admininstrative
Floyd | priestesses when they are not facing the public, decorated with the
Floyd | insignia of a mid-junior priestess - quite a promotion for accounting
Floyd | duty.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
DavidW says, "This scene is as far as I got."
DavidW asks, "Did you remember to take the jug from the hut as well, by the way?"
BrianK says, "Yeah, I have it"
DavidW says, "good"
BrianK says (to Floyd), "talk to satiah"
Floyd ]  Palace stores
Floyd | >
Floyd | > TALK TO SATIAH
Floyd |
Floyd | "Why, bad girl Ariadne is back. What tidings, love?", she greets, with
Floyd | her unmistakeable Egyptian lilt.
Floyd |
Floyd |  "Hey, Satiah. My sister is such a bitch."
Floyd |
Floyd | "We have had this conversation already.", she observes, looking at you
Floyd | sideways.
Floyd |
Floyd | "Oh. So, you want to hear about last night? It was like a dream. I
Floyd | met these two satyrs under the moonlight..."
Floyd |
Floyd | "And that one as well. You Keftius are like trained songbirds who only
Floyd | know two songs."
Floyd |
Floyd | "Fine. You tell me about your fascinating adventures, then. How many
Floyd | measures of olives? Did someone, gasp, forget to record a few copper
Floyd | ingots? Tell me about your night of wild passion with your abacus."
Floyd |
Floyd | "Ari, love, why are we always talking about men or pouring goatshit
Floyd | about other women? Can we not have a relevant conversation, like
Floyd | priestesses are supposed to? Do you reckon this is what the Goddess
Floyd | wants to discuss through us?"
Floyd |
Floyd | "I... never thought of it that way, honestly."
Floyd |
Floyd | "Well, I mean not to offend, dear Ariadne, but perhaps that is one
Floyd | reason why you are still only an initiate at seventeen? While the rest
Floyd | of our year-sisters have their own shrines on the other shore of the
Floyd | Great Green? Even Phaedra is prancing around with rouged boobs and
Floyd | acting like she is Circe reborn."
Floyd |
Floyd | "Oh, my hangover. Catch you later."
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says, ""Oh, my hangover." great excuse, Ariadne"
BrianK says (to Floyd), "give token to satiah"
Floyd ]  Palace stores
Floyd | >
Floyd | > GIVE TOKEN TO SATIAH
Floyd |
Floyd | Satiah takes the token and gives it a cursory glance, then a double
Floyd | take.
Floyd |
Floyd | "Aha. Somebody's connections are starting to pay off?"
Floyd |
Floyd | "Thank you for your kind words, Satiah. I am so glad I can share this
Floyd | very special moment with a good friend."
Floyd |
Floyd | "All I am saying is," she shrugs, "it is quite unusual to see two of
Floyd | these within the same day, both for nieces of the High Priestess. And
Floyd | I have been a witness to Phaedra's initiation in the third mysteries,
Floyd | but you I have not seen since you talked me into pilfering that wine
Floyd | jug for you."
Floyd |
Floyd | "So I am working my way to ordainment a different way, does that make
Floyd | me a worse priestess than my dear, dear sister?"
Floyd |
Floyd | Satiah smiles sympathetically, says nothing (because she is an amazing
Floyd | friend) and sends a slave for the goods (because she does not trust
Floyd | you alone in a room filled with valuable stuff). She inspects the
Floyd | garments when they arrive, nods and drops the token in the appropiate
Floyd | jar.
Floyd |
Floyd | "All yours. And congratulations. You must have done something quite
Floyd | impressive, given your record, to impress the old girl so. Care to
Floyd | gossip about it, or you're too important now for your old friend, my
Floyd | potnia?"
Floyd |
Floyd | You give her a conspiratorial wink.
Floyd |
Floyd | "Secret mission. High priesthood business. Can't talk", you whisper in
Floyd | a mysterious and alluring way. Satiah tsk-tsks and shields her eyes in
Floyd | mock shock.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "i"
Floyd ]  Palace stores
Floyd | >
Floyd | > I
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | You are wearing:
Floyd |   tunic
Floyd |
Floyd | You are carrying:
Floyd |   an Achaean brooch
Floyd |   wine jug (empty)
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "take garments"
Floyd ]  Palace stores
Floyd | >
Floyd | > TAKE GARMENTS
Floyd |
Floyd | With the appropiate reverence, you take the ceremonial garments
Floyd | >
DavidW says, "You need to take the ... ah, good"
BrianK says (to Floyd), "wear garments"
Floyd ]  Palace stores
Floyd | >
Floyd | > WEAR GARMENTS
Floyd |
Floyd | You should get rid of the tunic first, or it will look ridiculous.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "take off tunic"
Floyd ]  Palace stores
Floyd | >
Floyd | > TAKE OFF TUNIC
Floyd |
Floyd | Been there, but in your new quest as a secret agent, this is probably
Floyd | not the way to keep a low profile, at least in such a public place.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says, "Oh yeah, duh"
DavidW says, "You can also give the jug to Satiah."
BrianK says, "I'm clearly too used to stripping in public places"
DavidW says, "heh"
BrianK says (to Floyd), "give jug to Satiah"
Floyd ]  Palace stores
Floyd | >
Floyd | > GIVE JUG TO SATIAH
Floyd |
Floyd | "You did not smash it this time? Good. Keep it for now. If I take it I
Floyd | shall have to account for it and I am all out of pottery tokens. Call
Floyd | it inventories adjustment."
Floyd |
Floyd | "I was not giving it back, Satiah. I was asking for a refill."
Floyd |
Floyd | "Potinaja wept, Ari, you have a drinking problem."
Floyd |
Floyd | "The boys drank almost all of it, I promised. Pretty please?"
Floyd |
Floyd | She frowns, calls one of her helpers and mutters some instructions in
Floyd | his ear. He takes the jug, disappears and brings it back after a
Floyd | while. Satiah smiles and hands it back to you.
Floyd |
Floyd | "There."
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "look"
Floyd ]  Palace stores
Floyd | >
Floyd | > LOOK
Floyd |
Floyd | Palace stores
Floyd | The chambers are filled with the hustle of a few dozen workers
Floyd | carrying goods into our out of the stores. Slaves bring in copper ore
Floyd | and oil pithoi in carts, checked and accounted for by palace
Floyd | administrators. Throngs of artisans from the workshops bring their
Floyd | finished crafts for inspection, and receive clay tokens in exchange.
Floyd | This is a part of the palace you seldom visit willingily, except to
Floyd | pilfer some baubles or chat with your friend.  If you don't manage to
Floyd | fulfil your quest, you might well be spending the rest of your days
Floyd | here... The mere idea makes you shiver.
Floyd |
Floyd | Satiah smiles at you from behind her desk, fingers flying on the
Floyd | abacus.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "e"
Floyd ]  Palace megaron
Floyd | >
Floyd | > E
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | Palace megaron
Floyd | The main megaron is flanked with tapered red columns, centered around
Floyd | a central great hall that opens to two long wings. The western wing
Floyd | contains the workshops, stores and administrative dependencies. The
Floyd | north wing is mainly taken up with living quarters for priestess in
Floyd | the upper floors, and servants and slaves in the lower ones. But the
Floyd | definitive majestic piece of the megaron is the monumental gipsum
Floyd | stairway leading up, to the High Priestess' dependencies.
Floyd |
Floyd | The megaron is in full swing, with dozens of priestesses of diverse
Floyd | rank coming and going about palace business.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "e"
Floyd ]  Ceremonial entrance to the palace
Floyd | >
Floyd | > E
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | Ceremonial entrance to the palace
Floyd | The ceremonial road ends in an ample paved space before the grand
Floyd | entrance to the palace. Men and oxen come on go along the road like
Floyd | ants and mill around the vast plaza, transporting all manners of goods
Floyd | from the palace stores to the port below, overseen by
Floyd | administrative-rank priestesses and keen-eyed archers. The great
Floyd | complex is three stories high, fronted with a majestic row of crimson
Floyd | red and marine blue tapered columns.
Floyd |
Floyd | A couple of archers wink at you (old "friends", so to speak), and
Floyd | quite a few priestesses frown (older "friends", so to speak).
Floyd |
Floyd | The ceremonial paved road snakes descends towards the southeast and
Floyd | the harbour. The palace lies west, blocking the view of the bay. A
Floyd | narrow path leads northeast, following the clifftops, towards the
Floyd | wilderness.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "w"
Floyd ]  Palace megaron
Floyd | >
Floyd | > W
Floyd |
Floyd | You enter the palace unchallenged by either priestess or archer
Floyd | patrols.
Floyd |
Floyd | Palace megaron
Floyd | The main megaron is flanked with tapered red columns, centered around
Floyd | a central great hall that opens to two long wings. The western wing
Floyd | contains the workshops, stores and administrative dependencies. The
Floyd | north wing is mainly taken up with living quarters for priestess in
Floyd | the upper floors, and servants and slaves in the lower ones. But the
Floyd | definitive majestic piece of the megaron is the monumental gipsum
Floyd | stairway leading up, to the High Priestess' dependencies.
Floyd |
Floyd | The megaron is in full swing, with dozens of priestesses of diverse
Floyd | rank coming and going about palace business.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "n"
Floyd ]  Palace megaron
Floyd | >
Floyd | > N
Floyd |
Floyd | You start towards the living quarters, but you stop after a couple of
Floyd | steps. What's the point? You have already been caught, and in the
Floyd | worst of ways, so why pretend? Better carry on with your own business.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says, "Uh, where do I go to change"
DavidW says, "So, I'm thinking we need to find a place to change our clothes, but I'm not sure where."
BrianK says, "I thought it would be the living quarters"
BrianK asks, "I... guess we could try the wilderness?"
DavidW says, "yeah, me too. But I stopped playing instead of finding where the next scene was."
DavidW says, "Unless there's exits that just aren't mentioned."
BrianK says (to Floyd), "e"
Floyd ]  Ceremonial entrance to the palace
Floyd | >
Floyd | > E
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | Ceremonial entrance to the palace
Floyd | The ceremonial road ends in an ample paved space before the grand
Floyd | entrance to the palace. Men and oxen come on go along the road like
Floyd | ants and mill around the vast plaza, transporting all manners of goods
Floyd | from the palace stores to the port below, overseen by
Floyd | administrative-rank priestesses and keen-eyed archers. The great
Floyd | complex is three stories high, fronted with a majestic row of crimson
Floyd | red and marine blue tapered columns.
Floyd |
Floyd | A couple of archers wink at you (old "friends", so to speak), and
Floyd | quite a few priestesses frown (older "friends", so to speak).
Floyd |
Floyd | The ceremonial paved road snakes descends towards the southeast and
Floyd | the harbour. The palace lies west, blocking the view of the bay. A
Floyd | narrow path leads northeast, following the clifftops, towards the
Floyd | wilderness.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "ne"
Floyd ]  Clifftop path
Floyd | >
Floyd | > NE
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | Clifftop path
Floyd | This is where the elegant curve of the Saffron Bay becomes wider and
Floyd | the downward slope is more benign. Most of the productive fields of
Floyd | the isle are around here, tended by peasants indentured to the palace,
Floyd | a few free settlers and scores of slaves. The olive trees, vineyards
Floyd | and farms of this side provide most of the local foodstuffs. The path
Floyd | follows the clifftop to the wild north and it becomes a proper paved
Floyd | road to the southwest, towards the entrance to the palace.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "take off tunic"
Floyd ]  Clifftop path
Floyd | >
Floyd | > TAKE OFF TUNIC
Floyd |
Floyd | You shimmer out of tunic.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "wear garments"
Floyd ]  Clifftop path
Floyd | >
Floyd | > WEAR GARMENTS
Floyd |
Floyd | You put on ceremonial priestly garments.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK exclaims, "Puzzle solved!"
DavidW asks, "I'm not sure what we're supposed to do next. Ask the shepherds about the brooch? Or poke around somewhere else?"
BrianK says, "I'll talk to the shepherds, then, if I can"
BrianK says (to Floyd), "n"
Floyd ]  Crest path
Floyd | >
Floyd | > N
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | Crest path
Floyd | A narrow path on top of the cliffs follows the crescent shape of
Floyd | Aeaea. The isle's rocky arms stretch like the horns of a bull piercing
Floyd | the sea. The Saffron Bay occupies most of the view, sheer cliff faces
Floyd | the height of a hundred men plunging vertically into the waters below.
Floyd | The palace complex shines across the bay like white teeth on jagged,
Floyd | blackened gums.
Floyd |
Floyd | The path clings to the clifftop, coming from the civilised south and
Floyd | stretching towards the sharp edge of the isle to the northwest. To the
Floyd | east lie the hilly scrublands frequented only by shepherds and
Floyd | goatherds. As you know full well.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
DavidW says, "Perhaps reentering the palace gives new options, now we're dressed nicer."
BrianK says (to Floyd), "e"
Floyd ]  Rugged hills
Floyd | >
Floyd | > E
Floyd |
Floyd | Rugged hills
Floyd | In all directions, the hills climb up and down, reddish earth
Floyd | embroidered with dark green shrubs and a few small pine woods,
Floyd | sometimes broken by white, sheer rock. The land slopes downwards, from
Floyd | the cliffs in the west to the eastern beaches. The shepherd's hut is
Floyd | the only visible shelter. The isle narrows to the north and broadens
Floyd | to the south, where a few smoke columns indicate the location of the
Floyd | palace. The shepherd's hut is nearby.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "enter hut"
Floyd ]  Shepherd's hut
Floyd | >
Floyd | > ENTER HUT
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | Shepherd's hut
Floyd | Here you are, back in the hut. The boys are gone, it is marginally
Floyd | tidier than it was this morning, and there is still nothing but a
Floyd | wooden rack and a miserable bed.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says, "Ah, they're gone"
BrianK says (to Floyd), "x rack"
Floyd ]  Shepherd's hut
Floyd | >
Floyd | > X RACK
Floyd |
Floyd | The rack is empty. No bread, no clothes (at a guess, the shepherds
Floyd | must be wearing them)... You stop for an instant, look at it twice.
Floyd | Wasn't it a bit further away from the wall, this morning? It might
Floyd | just be the shepherd boys tidying up after your tryst, or there might
Floyd | be another reason for pushing the rack against the wall.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
DavidW says (to Floyd), "x bed"
Floyd ]  Shepherd's hut
Floyd | >
Floyd | > X BED
Floyd |
Floyd | The bedding has been half-heartedly remade after last night, but still
Floyd | consists of loose straw piled on the floor. You kick it around a bit,
Floyd | but you find no more brooches or anything else but dusty straw.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
DavidW says, "oh, move the rack"
BrianK says (to Floyd), "push rack"
Floyd ]  Shepherd's hut
Floyd | >
Floyd | > PUSH RACK
Floyd |
Floyd | The rack is already against the wall, it won't move unless you pull
Floyd | it.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "pull rack"
Floyd ]  Shepherd's hut
Floyd | >
Floyd | > PULL RACK
Floyd |
Floyd | You take both ends of the rack, plant your feet firmly on the ground
Floyd | and pull. It is not terribly heavy, and you manage to separate it a
Floyd | couple of handspans from the wall.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "x wall"
Floyd ]  Shepherd's hut
Floyd | >
Floyd | > X WALL
Floyd |
Floyd | Oh, you have no time for this, really.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
DavidW asks, "look behind it?"
BrianK says (to Floyd), "look behind rack"
Floyd ]  Shepherd's hut
Floyd | >
Floyd | > LOOK BEHIND RACK
Floyd |
Floyd | Potinaja wept, you are not making any sense.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "x rack"
Floyd ]  Shepherd's hut
Floyd | >
Floyd | > X RACK
Floyd |
Floyd | The rack is empty. No bread, no clothes (at a guess, the shepherds
Floyd | must be wearing them)... You stop for an instant, look at it twice.
Floyd | Wasn't it a bit further away from the wall, this morning? It might
Floyd | just be the shepherd boys tidying up after your tryst, or there might
Floyd | be another reason for pushing the rack against the wall. Pulling the
Floyd | rack away from the wall has revealed a small hole in the ground.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
DavidW says, "a hole"
BrianK says (to Floyd), "x hole"
Floyd ]  Shepherd's hut
Floyd | >
Floyd | > X HOLE
Floyd |
Floyd | What a surprise, a small cache. Now this goatherders are much more
Floyd | mysterious than you thought.
Floyd | The hole contains a small but finely made daidala.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "x daidala"
Floyd ]  Shepherd's hut
Floyd | >
Floyd | > X DAIDALA
Floyd |
Floyd | It is a little statuette of a bull, cast in bronze and lacquered in
Floyd | black, with lovingly carved ivory horns, small enough that it can
Floyd | stand on your open palm. The head is articulated, so that the horns
Floyd | can point up or down - either menacing, as during the ritual
Floyd | bulldancing, or towards the earth, in worship of the Goddess. Very,
Floyd | very clever, and so finely detailed it looks almost menacing. This
Floyd | belongs in a major shrine. You have very seldom seen works of similar
Floyd | craftsmanship... and all of them were tributes sent from your native
Floyd | Crete. You examine it carefully again. Yes, without the shadow of a
Floyd | doubt - this is no Achaean artifact. Only Cretan masters can produce
Floyd | such perfection.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "take it"
Floyd ]  Shepherd's hut
Floyd | >
Floyd | > TAKE IT
Floyd |
Floyd | Surprised, you take the statuette with careful fingers. What a place
Floyd | to find a holy piece. Really, what were these lads up to? Depending on
Floyd | its origin, they could be guilty of a most blasphemous crime.
Floyd |
Floyd | Well, well. Now you are really, really interested in having a
Floyd | conversation with those two. Where are they gone?
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "push rack"
Floyd ]  Shepherd's hut
Floyd | >
Floyd | > PUSH RACK
Floyd |
Floyd | You push the rack back against the wall, and brush the ground a bit
Floyd | with your feet. Nobody would be able to tell it's been moved.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says, "It looks like we want to go find the boys then"
DavidW asks, "I guess go back out, check for trampled grass?"
BrianK says (to Floyd), "out"
Floyd ]  Rugged hills
Floyd | >
Floyd | > OUT
Floyd |
Floyd | Rugged hills
Floyd | In all directions, the hills climb up and down, reddish earth
Floyd | embroidered with dark green shrubs and a few small pine woods,
Floyd | sometimes broken by white, sheer rock. The land slopes downwards, from
Floyd | the cliffs in the west to the eastern beaches. The shepherd's hut is
Floyd | the only visible shelter. The isle narrows to the north and broadens
Floyd | to the south, where a few smoke columns indicate the location of the
Floyd | palace. The shepherd's hut is nearby.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "x grass"
Floyd ]  Rugged hills
Floyd | >
Floyd | > X GRASS
Floyd |
Floyd | The volcanic landscape of Aeaea is at its wildest here - not a
Floyd | flouncy-skirted priestess in sight, not a rumour of toiling workers or
Floyd | a flash of sunlight over a magnificient building, nary a word of
Floyd | praise for the Goddess except the calls of goats and the song of
Floyd | birds. Which is kind of pretty is you're that kind of person, but
Floyd | being a sophisticated lady and having spent ten years in Aeaea, you
Floyd | find it rather boring and unstimulating.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
DavidW says, "eastern beaches, maybe"
BrianK says (to Floyd), "e"
Floyd ]  Shepherd's hut
Floyd | >
Floyd | > E
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | Shepherd's hut
Floyd | Here you are, back in the hut. The boys are gone, it is marginally
Floyd | tidier than it was this morning, and there is still nothing but a
Floyd | wooden rack and a miserable bed.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "w"
Floyd ]  Rugged hills
Floyd | >
Floyd | > W
Floyd |
Floyd | Rugged hills
Floyd | In all directions, the hills climb up and down, reddish earth
Floyd | embroidered with dark green shrubs and a few small pine woods,
Floyd | sometimes broken by white, sheer rock. The land slopes downwards, from
Floyd | the cliffs in the west to the eastern beaches. The shepherd's hut is
Floyd | the only visible shelter. The isle narrows to the north and broadens
Floyd | to the south, where a few smoke columns indicate the location of the
Floyd | palace. The shepherd's hut is nearby.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
DavidW asks, "north?"
BrianK says, "North is a dead end"
BrianK says (to Floyd), "n"
Floyd ]  Rugged hills
Floyd | >
Floyd | > N
Floyd |
Floyd | You really don't fancy going cross-country through these solitudes
Floyd | like a goat. Better do like a human and follow the clifftop path to
Floyd | the west, or go back inside the hut.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "s"
Floyd ]  Rugged hills
Floyd | >
Floyd | > S
Floyd |
Floyd | You really don't fancy going cross-country through these solitudes
Floyd | like a goat. Better do like a human and follow the clifftop path to
Floyd | the west, or go back inside the hut.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says, "I guess we can head back to the palace, then"
BrianK says (to Floyd), "w"
Floyd ]  Crest path
Floyd | >
Floyd | > W
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | Crest path
Floyd | A narrow path on top of the cliffs follows the crescent shape of
Floyd | Aeaea. The isle's rocky arms stretch like the horns of a bull piercing
Floyd | the sea. The Saffron Bay occupies most of the view, sheer cliff faces
Floyd | the height of a hundred men plunging vertically into the waters below.
Floyd | The palace complex shines across the bay like white teeth on jagged,
Floyd | blackened gums.
Floyd |
Floyd | The path clings to the clifftop, coming from the civilised south and
Floyd | stretching towards the sharp edge of the isle to the northwest. To the
Floyd | east lie the hilly scrublands frequented only by shepherds and
Floyd | goatherds. As you know full well.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
DavidW says, "hm. I suppose we can show the bull statuette to Circe if nothing else is available."
BrianK says (to Floyd), "nw"
Floyd ]  Northern crags
Floyd | >
Floyd | > NW
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | Northern crags
Floyd | The crescent of Aeaea narrows to a bullhorn-sharp point here and the
Floyd | clifftop resolves into a rocky chaos of crags plunging dramatically
Floyd | into foaming waters. From here you can see the whole curve of the
Floyd | Saffron Bay, steep as the edge of a cauldron, with the palace a
Floyd | miniature on the other side. Without even a single goat to feed on the
Floyd | thorny bushes, the only living presence is the gulls that circle
Floyd | overhead, looking for fish in the the clashing waves.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "x gulls"
Floyd ]  Northern crags
Floyd | >
Floyd | > X GULLS
Floyd |
Floyd | You see nothing special about gull.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "se"
Floyd ]  Crest path
Floyd | >
Floyd | > SE
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | Crest path
Floyd | A narrow path on top of the cliffs follows the crescent shape of
Floyd | Aeaea. The isle's rocky arms stretch like the horns of a bull piercing
Floyd | the sea. The Saffron Bay occupies most of the view, sheer cliff faces
Floyd | the height of a hundred men plunging vertically into the waters below.
Floyd | The palace complex shines across the bay like white teeth on jagged,
Floyd | blackened gums.
Floyd |
Floyd | The path clings to the clifftop, coming from the civilised south and
Floyd | stretching towards the sharp edge of the isle to the northwest. To the
Floyd | east lie the hilly scrublands frequented only by shepherds and
Floyd | goatherds. As you know full well.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "s"
Floyd ]  Clifftop path
Floyd | >
Floyd | > S
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | Clifftop path
Floyd | This is where the elegant curve of the Saffron Bay becomes wider and
Floyd | the downward slope is more benign. Most of the productive fields of
Floyd | the isle are around here, tended by peasants indentured to the palace,
Floyd | a few free settlers and scores of slaves. The olive trees, vineyards
Floyd | and farms of this side provide most of the local foodstuffs. The path
Floyd | follows the clifftop to the wild north and it becomes a proper paved
Floyd | road to the southwest, towards the entrance to the palace.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "x olive trees"
Floyd ]  Clifftop path
Floyd | >
Floyd | > X OLIVE TREES
Floyd |
Floyd | What can you say, the saffron fields produce most of the exports of
Floyd | Aeaea, and the rest of the fields are merely foodstuffs. Some fields
Floyd | are tended by slaves, property of the palace or of the settlers, and
Floyd | most of the free men are depend on the palace in one way or the other:
Floyd | some are indentuered workers, some are technically free but rely on
Floyd | bartering their produce for clay tokens only exchangeable for other
Floyd | stuff in the palace stores... Not that you care much for the boring
Floyd | details. Your interest in agricultural matters has always been quite
Floyd | low.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "sw"
Floyd ]  Ceremonial entrance to the palace
Floyd | >
Floyd | > SW
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | Ceremonial entrance to the palace
Floyd | The ceremonial road ends in an ample paved space before the grand
Floyd | entrance to the palace. Men and oxen come on go along the road like
Floyd | ants and mill around the vast plaza, transporting all manners of goods
Floyd | from the palace stores to the port below, overseen by
Floyd | administrative-rank priestesses and keen-eyed archers. The great
Floyd | complex is three stories high, fronted with a majestic row of crimson
Floyd | red and marine blue tapered columns.
Floyd |
Floyd | A few priestesses blink, then nod respectfully as they pass, eyeing
Floyd | your attire. A couple of archers almost stand at attention when they
Floyd | see you approach.
Floyd |
Floyd | The ceremonial paved road snakes descends towards the southeast and
Floyd | the harbour. The palace lies west, blocking the view of the bay. A
Floyd | narrow path leads northeast, following the clifftops, towards the
Floyd | wilderness.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
DavidW asks, "se to harbour?"
BrianK says (to Floyd), "se"
Floyd ]  Harbour town
Floyd | >
Floyd | > SE
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | Harbour town
Floyd | The paved road snakes downhill towards the glistening blue waters. The
Floyd | beach on the southern tip hosts the only port in the isle, a
Floyd | collection of warehouses and shipyards clustered around the harbour.
Floyd | The air smells of salt, rotting seaweed and adventure. Burly
Floyd | longshoremen sing coarse shanties as they unload a merchant ship,
Floyd | while the palace indentured workers wait to cart the loads to the
Floyd | workshops in the hill.
Floyd |
Floyd | A dozen or so whores are pitching their wares to the sailors.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "x whores"
Floyd ]  Harbour town
Floyd | >
Floyd | > X WHORES
Floyd |
Floyd | They are gaudily dressed and most of them are girls. A couple of them
Floyd | have had the cheek to dress up in flouncy skirts and open bodices, in
Floyd | imitation of priestly garb. Such a near-blasphemy is indicative of
Floyd | their liminal status, for they are one of the collectives in Aeaea
Floyd | more loosely bound to the palace. As far as the High Priestess is
Floyd | concerned, they are legally free settlers and economically unnecesary
Floyd | for the Goddess, but also a natural element of the portuary
Floyd | facilities. Apart from helping in the harvest of saffron, which is the
Floyd | customary duty of all Aeaeans, their nominal allegiance to Circe boils
Floyd | down to their personal piety.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
DavidW says, "'most'"
DavidW says, "not all"
BrianK says, "I was about to mention the same thing"
BrianK says (to Floyd), "talk to whores"
Floyd ]  Harbour town
Floyd | >
Floyd | > TALK TO WHORES
Floyd |
Floyd | You approach the prostitutes, reasoning that they probably know each
Floyd | ship and sailor that moves around these parts.
Floyd |
Floyd | The group falls into a respectful silence, turning and bringing fists
Floyd | to temples in the adoration gesture. A tall Peleset woman with her
Floyd | hair braided with red and blue thread meets your eyes levelly.
Floyd |
Floyd | "My potnia," she says diplomatically, "We are conducting business this
Floyd | side of the harbour as agreed, and not obstructing palace business in
Floyd | any way. We are all healthy and a moon ago we donated a..."
Floyd |
Floyd | "I am here on palace business indeed but not of that sort. Have you
Floyd | seen any Achaeans... err, northern barbarians? Long black hair,
Floyd | beards, helmets made of boar tusks? Mycenaeans, Tirynsians,
Floyd | Athenians?"
Floyd |
Floyd | "A lot of sailors fit that description, except for the helmets. And
Floyd | who can tell where they come from? In any case, my potnia, almost all
Floyd | our customers are foreigners, mostly Cretan and Alassian."
Floyd |
Floyd | "Have you seen anyone wearing brooches shaped like lions?"
Floyd |
Floyd | "How do they look like?"
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "show brooch to whore"
Floyd ]  Harbour town
Floyd | >
Floyd | > SHOW BROOCH TO WHORE
Floyd |
Floyd | You show the lion brooch to the Peleset woman, whose eyes open wide as
Floyd | soon as she sees it.
Floyd |
Floyd | "I have never seen a sailor wear such a thing...", she starts, but you
Floyd | cut her off.
Floyd |
Floyd | "Come on. You have seen it before! Lying to me is lying to the
Floyd | Goddess..."
Floyd |
Floyd | "...but as I was about to say, a man offered me one of those a few
Floyd | nights ago. Not this one, but a very similar one."
Floyd |
Floyd | "And do you still have it? Who was that man, was he a northerner?"
Floyd |
Floyd | "Oh, I don't have it any more", she says slowly, looking you in the
Floyd | eye, "but I know where to find him."
Floyd |
Floyd | "Lead me to him and you can keep this one as well."
Floyd |
Floyd | "Thank you, most generous potnia. The man is a local, a shepherd or
Floyd | something. I had seen him many times, bringing milk and goatmeat to
Floyd | town and eyeing the girls. Obviously we were never interested in his
Floyd | custom, but as I say, he suddenly was very rich. I did not ask where
Floyd | he got that little brooch, but he said something about going fishing
Floyd | in the crags."
Floyd |
Floyd | "Fishing in the crags... and say, are you feeling well these
Floyd | days? No rashes or itches or blood in your urine?"
Floyd |
Floyd | She smiles and shakes her head. You silently praise the Goddess and,
Floyd | as agreed, let her have the brooch.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says, "Well, we can go back to the craggy area, but I dunno if we need a fishing rod or something"
BrianK says (to Floyd), "look"
Floyd ]  Harbour town
Floyd | >
Floyd | > LOOK
Floyd |
Floyd | Harbour town
Floyd | The paved road snakes downhill towards the glistening blue waters. The
Floyd | beach on the southern tip hosts the only port in the isle, a
Floyd | collection of warehouses and shipyards clustered around the harbour.
Floyd | The air smells of salt, rotting seaweed and adventure. Burly
Floyd | longshoremen sing coarse shanties as they unload a merchant ship,
Floyd | while the palace indentured workers wait to cart the loads to the
Floyd | workshops in the hill.
Floyd |
Floyd | A dozen or so whores are pitching their wares to the sailors.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "x sailors"
Floyd ]  Harbour town
Floyd | >
Floyd | > X SAILORS
Floyd |
Floyd | A confusion of seamen, foreign captains in exotic clothing and toiling
Floyd | longshoremen. It would be an interesting spectacle if you did not have
Floyd | urgent matters to tend to.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
DavidW says, "If we can't find a fishing rod, we can ask Satiah, I suppose."
BrianK says (to Floyd), "nw"
Floyd ]  Ceremonial entrance to the palace
Floyd | >
Floyd | > NW
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | Ceremonial entrance to the palace
Floyd | The ceremonial road ends in an ample paved space before the grand
Floyd | entrance to the palace. Men and oxen come on go along the road like
Floyd | ants and mill around the vast plaza, transporting all manners of goods
Floyd | from the palace stores to the port below, overseen by
Floyd | administrative-rank priestesses and keen-eyed archers. The great
Floyd | complex is three stories high, fronted with a majestic row of crimson
Floyd | red and marine blue tapered columns.
Floyd |
Floyd | A few priestesses blink, then nod respectfully as they pass, eyeing
Floyd | your attire. A couple of archers almost stand at attention when they
Floyd | see you approach.
Floyd |
Floyd | The ceremonial paved road snakes descends towards the southeast and
Floyd | the harbour. The palace lies west, blocking the view of the bay. A
Floyd | narrow path leads northeast, following the clifftops, towards the
Floyd | wilderness.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "w"
Floyd ]  Palace megaron
Floyd | >
Floyd | > W
Floyd |
Floyd | You enter the palace unchallenged by either priestess or archer
Floyd | patrols.
Floyd |
Floyd | Palace megaron
Floyd | The main megaron is flanked with tapered red columns, centered around
Floyd | a central great hall that opens to two long wings. The western wing
Floyd | contains the workshops, stores and administrative dependencies. The
Floyd | north wing is mainly taken up with living quarters for priestess in
Floyd | the upper floors, and servants and slaves in the lower ones. But the
Floyd | definitive majestic piece of the megaron is the monumental gipsum
Floyd | stairway leading up, to the High Priestess' dependencies.
Floyd |
Floyd | The megaron is in full swing, with dozens of priestesses of diverse
Floyd | rank coming and going about palace business.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "w"
Floyd ]  Palace stores
Floyd | >
Floyd | > W
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | Palace stores
Floyd | The chambers are filled with the hustle of a few dozen workers
Floyd | carrying goods into our out of the stores. Slaves bring in copper ore
Floyd | and oil pithoi in carts, checked and accounted for by palace
Floyd | administrators. Throngs of artisans from the workshops bring their
Floyd | finished crafts for inspection, and receive clay tokens in exchange.
Floyd | This is a part of the palace you seldom visit willingily, except to
Floyd | pilfer some baubles or chat with your friend.  If you don't manage to
Floyd | fulfil your quest, you might well be spending the rest of your days
Floyd | here... The mere idea makes you shiver.
Floyd |
Floyd | Satiah smiles at you from behind her desk, fingers flying on the
Floyd | abacus.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "talk to satiah"
Floyd ]  Palace stores
Floyd | >
Floyd | > TALK TO SATIAH
Floyd |
Floyd | "Tell me, Satiah, do you really like it here?"
Floyd |
Floyd | "Indeed I do. This palace might look like a rock, solid as the
Floyd | foundations of the earth, but it is actually dangling in a fine
Floyd | balance, always on a tipping point between copper ore coming in and
Floyd | finished goods coming out, saffron exported and meat imported, and the
Floyd | fluctuating number of mouths to nourish. The Goddess provides but it
Floyd | is up to us to keep her equilibrium or this isle would perish in a
Floyd | fortnight without us admin girls."
Floyd |
Floyd | "What about traveling, serving overseas?"
Floyd |
Floyd | "Ariadne dearest, I am already serving overseas, remember?"
Floyd |
Floyd | "Oh, yes, you told me about Avaris. Sorry, I have a bull-sized
Floyd | hangover.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "talk to satiah"
Floyd ]  Palace stores
Floyd | >
Floyd | > TALK TO SATIAH
Floyd |
Floyd | "I have just had a conversation with our beloved High Priestess."
Floyd |
Floyd | "And? Are you still a free woman?"
Floyd |
Floyd | "I have been told The World Is More Complicated Than I Know and also
Floyd | that I Play But a Small Part in It."
Floyd |
Floyd | "Knowing Circe, it sounds surprisingly harmless. Anything troubling
Floyd | your mind?"
Floyd |
Floyd | "Have you seen or heard of any Achaeans around here?", you ask
Floyd | casually.
Floyd |
Floyd | "There used to be that girl, the straw-haired one? I think she was
Floyd | from somewhere up north? She was sent to Wilusha, assistant Wanassa,
Floyd | two springtimes ago maybe?"
Floyd |
Floyd | "Ah, yes. Nah, I was thinking more like traders, ambassadors, perhaps
Floyd | sailors? Do you get any trade from the northerners?"
Floyd |
Floyd | "Occasionally. Not recently. They almost never trade directly with
Floyd | us, I hear most of the commerce goes through your island of Keftiu, so
Floyd | you probably know more than I do, you Cretan know-it-all. And they
Floyd | would have no business here anyway, they are dealt with at the
Floyd | harbour, and good riddance. Potinaja save me from dealing with the
Floyd | maniacs at port authority."
Floyd |
Floyd | "Thank you, Satiah."
Floyd |
Floyd | >
DavidW says, "btw, we can do something about the hangover. I was hoping you're discover it yourself, though."
BrianK says, "Oh"
BrianK says, "Is it... to drink more"
BrianK says (to Floyd), "drink wine"
Floyd ]  Palace stores
Floyd | >
Floyd | > DRINK WINE
Floyd |
Floyd | Try again, this time making some sense.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "i"
Floyd ]  Palace stores
Floyd | >
Floyd | > I
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | You are wearing:
Floyd |   ceremonial priestly garments
Floyd |
Floyd | You are carrying:
Floyd |   bull daidala
Floyd |   tunic
Floyd |   wine jug (full of water)
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says, "oh wait it's just water"
DavidW says, "Drink something, but you don't actually have wine."
BrianK says (to Floyd), "drink water"
Floyd ]  Palace stores
Floyd | >
Floyd | > DRINK WATER
Floyd |
Floyd | You drain it in a couple of long, greedy gulps. It does wonders to
Floyd | alleviate your hangover.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "give jug to satiah"
Floyd ]  Palace stores
Floyd | >
Floyd | > GIVE JUG TO SATIAH
Floyd |
Floyd | Satiah grimaces and calls a worker to refill your jug, then hands it
Floyd | back to you again.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "x jug"
Floyd ]  Palace stores
Floyd | >
Floyd | > X JUG
Floyd |
Floyd | It is a stylish round design with a small flat base, red clay with a
Floyd | striking black many-tentacled octopus. Such a modern and expensive
Floyd | model can only be imported from Crete and way above the means of a
Floyd | goatherder, so it was probably you who brought it from the
Floyd | palace.Satiah has made sure it was refilled... with fresh water. What
Floyd | a party pooper.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "talk to satiah"
Floyd ]  Palace stores
Floyd | >
Floyd | > TALK TO SATIAH
Floyd |
Floyd | "What tidings, Ariadne?
Floyd |
Floyd | "Secret stuff. Anything suspicious happening around here?"
Floyd |
Floyd | "Just a Sherden trader screwing the Goddess on the saffron-pottery
Floyd | exchange rate, but nothing that would interest an important agent of
Floyd | the High Priestess like you. Let us have a jug tonight and talk, shall
Floyd | we?"
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "e"
Floyd ]  Palace megaron
Floyd | >
Floyd | > E
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | Palace megaron
Floyd | The main megaron is flanked with tapered red columns, centered around
Floyd | a central great hall that opens to two long wings. The western wing
Floyd | contains the workshops, stores and administrative dependencies. The
Floyd | north wing is mainly taken up with living quarters for priestess in
Floyd | the upper floors, and servants and slaves in the lower ones. But the
Floyd | definitive majestic piece of the megaron is the monumental gipsum
Floyd | stairway leading up, to the High Priestess' dependencies.
Floyd |
Floyd | The megaron is in full swing, with dozens of priestesses of diverse
Floyd | rank coming and going about palace business.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "n"
Floyd ]  Palace megaron
Floyd | >
Floyd | > N
Floyd |
Floyd | You start towards the living quarters, but you stop after a couple of
Floyd | steps. What's the point? You have already been caught, and in the
Floyd | worst of ways, so why pretend? Better carry on with your own business.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "u"
Floyd ]  Circe's chambers
Floyd | >
Floyd | > U
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | Circe's chambers
Floyd | The residence of the High Priestesses is less sumptuous than what you
Floyd | had imagined the first time. It is nevertheless the most luxurious
Floyd | room in the whole island, somewhat in spite of Circe herself. The
Floyd | focal point of the room is a great wooden table, strewn with a
Floyd | thousand little objects around a map.
Floyd |
Floyd | Circe is looking at you, appraisingly.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "talk to circe"
Floyd ]  Circe's chambers
Floyd | >
Floyd | > TALK TO CIRCE
Floyd |
Floyd | "So where shall I begin?", you ask in a conspiratorial tone. Circe
Floyd | rolls her eyes.
Floyd |
Floyd | "Last time I had this sinking feeling the earth shook and it rained
Floyd | ash for a moon."
Floyd |
Floyd | "Aunt?"
Floyd |
Floyd | "Well, get properly dressed, but remember it is not an official
Floyd | ordainment but a temporary promotion, just for this mission." She
Floyd | starts putting the figurines back in place "Then possibly try and
Floyd | trace back the origin of that brooch? Further investigate the place
Floyd | where you found it? Track whoever gave it ti you? Ask questions
Floyd | discreetly to the right people? Seduce men and suss out their secrets?
Floyd | Sweet lady Potinaja, ask me not about complicated matters of intrigue,
Floyd | I am but the elderly High Priestess of Aeaea. You youngsters have it
Floyd | all figured out, surely. I shall just stay here and play around with
Floyd | my strategic toys while you do the Goddess' will."
Floyd |
Floyd | You make the adoration gesture again, this time with a slight smile,
Floyd | and get ready to go. A secret mission for the High Priestess, no less!
Floyd | Time to prove your mettle... and avoid ending up as a bloody clerk.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "show daidala to circe"
Floyd ]  Circe's chambers
Floyd | >
Floyd | > SHOW DAIDALA TO CIRCE
Floyd |
Floyd | "Look what I found", you say, putting the daidala on the table. Circe
Floyd | looks puzzled for a second.
Floyd |
Floyd | "Where have you gotten that from? Ariadne, I expect you not to use
Floyd | your mission as an excuse to commit sacrilegious actions..."
Floyd |
Floyd | "It was among the possessions of a suspected Achaean agent. But it is
Floyd | clearly not Achaean. I suspect it was stolen from a shrine in Crete,
Floyd | which is probably not beneath the barbarians, but why bring it here?"
Floyd |
Floyd | "And then again, why bring something as incriminating as the brooch?
Floyd | Perhaps we are dealing with a particularly stupid spy, or perchance it
Floyd | is a different matter. Whatever the case, if sacrilege is involved we
Floyd | need solve it more than ever, Ariadne. Pursue that lead. Find your
Floyd | man."
Floyd |
Floyd | "I shall, my potnia."
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "d"
Floyd ]  Palace megaron
Floyd | >
Floyd | > D
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | Palace megaron
Floyd | The main megaron is flanked with tapered red columns, centered around
Floyd | a central great hall that opens to two long wings. The western wing
Floyd | contains the workshops, stores and administrative dependencies. The
Floyd | north wing is mainly taken up with living quarters for priestess in
Floyd | the upper floors, and servants and slaves in the lower ones. But the
Floyd | definitive majestic piece of the megaron is the monumental gipsum
Floyd | stairway leading up, to the High Priestess' dependencies.
Floyd |
Floyd | The megaron is in full swing, with dozens of priestesses of diverse
Floyd | rank coming and going about palace business.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "e"
Floyd ]  Ceremonial entrance to the palace
Floyd | >
Floyd | > E
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | Ceremonial entrance to the palace
Floyd | The ceremonial road ends in an ample paved space before the grand
Floyd | entrance to the palace. Men and oxen come on go along the road like
Floyd | ants and mill around the vast plaza, transporting all manners of goods
Floyd | from the palace stores to the port below, overseen by
Floyd | administrative-rank priestesses and keen-eyed archers. The great
Floyd | complex is three stories high, fronted with a majestic row of crimson
Floyd | red and marine blue tapered columns.
Floyd |
Floyd | A few priestesses blink, then nod respectfully as they pass, eyeing
Floyd | your attire. A couple of archers almost stand at attention when they
Floyd | see you approach.
Floyd |
Floyd | The ceremonial paved road snakes descends towards the southeast and
Floyd | the harbour. The palace lies west, blocking the view of the bay. A
Floyd | narrow path leads northeast, following the clifftops, towards the
Floyd | wilderness.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "ne"
Floyd ]  Clifftop path
Floyd | >
Floyd | > NE
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | Clifftop path
Floyd | This is where the elegant curve of the Saffron Bay becomes wider and
Floyd | the downward slope is more benign. Most of the productive fields of
Floyd | the isle are around here, tended by peasants indentured to the palace,
Floyd | a few free settlers and scores of slaves. The olive trees, vineyards
Floyd | and farms of this side provide most of the local foodstuffs. The path
Floyd | follows the clifftop to the wild north and it becomes a proper paved
Floyd | road to the southwest, towards the entrance to the palace.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "n"
Floyd ]  Crest path
Floyd | >
Floyd | > N
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | Crest path
Floyd | A narrow path on top of the cliffs follows the crescent shape of
Floyd | Aeaea. The isle's rocky arms stretch like the horns of a bull piercing
Floyd | the sea. The Saffron Bay occupies most of the view, sheer cliff faces
Floyd | the height of a hundred men plunging vertically into the waters below.
Floyd | The palace complex shines across the bay like white teeth on jagged,
Floyd | blackened gums.
Floyd |
Floyd | The path clings to the clifftop, coming from the civilised south and
Floyd | stretching towards the sharp edge of the isle to the northwest. To the
Floyd | east lie the hilly scrublands frequented only by shepherds and
Floyd | goatherds. As you know full well.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "nw"
Floyd ]  Northern crags
Floyd | >
Floyd | > NW
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | Northern crags
Floyd | The crescent of Aeaea narrows to a bullhorn-sharp point here and the
Floyd | clifftop resolves into a rocky chaos of crags plunging dramatically
Floyd | into foaming waters. From here you can see the whole curve of the
Floyd | Saffron Bay, steep as the edge of a cauldron, with the palace a
Floyd | miniature on the other side. Without even a single goat to feed on the
Floyd | thorny bushes, the only living presence is the gulls that circle
Floyd | overhead, looking for fish in the the clashing waves.
Floyd |
Floyd | And then there's the goatherd, with no goats in sight, looking quite
Floyd | out of place.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
DavidW says, "I guess check the crags again? ah."
BrianK says, "Oh, he's just here"
BrianK exclaims, "...puzzle solved!"
BrianK says, "is he the good-looking one or the other one"
BrianK says (to Floyd), "x goatherd"
Floyd ]  Northern crags
Floyd | >
Floyd | > X GOATHERD
Floyd |
Floyd | Well, at least he is the handsome one of last night's duo, a swarthy
Floyd | square of a man, all straight lines and coiled muscle under tan skin.
Floyd | He's wearing boots and loincloth and carries bag. He's looking around
Floyd | shiftily, as if looking for a way to escape... or maybe get rid of
Floyd | you?
Floyd |
Floyd | >
DavidW says, "oh, it's the cute one."
BrianK says (to Floyd), "talk to goatherd"
Floyd ]  Northern crags
Floyd | >
Floyd | > TALK TO GOATHERD
Floyd |
Floyd | The man meets your eyes with a jolt, then does a double take. You see
Floyd | the doubt in his eyes for an instant and smile warmly, just in case
Floyd | he's thinking of escaping. Or giving you a little nudge over the
Floyd | cliff.
Floyd |
Floyd | "Why, if it is not my favourite goatherder. I never thought you would
Floyd | be so difficult to get. Considering."
Floyd |
Floyd | He starts off with some remarks about last night that you might find
Floyd | rudely enticing if you didn't know him to be an Achaean spy.
Floyd |
Floyd | And a sacrilegious thief of holy daidala, for good measure.
Floyd |
Floyd | "So what are you doing in these solitudes all by your own? Should you
Floyd | not be tending to your herd?"
Floyd |
Floyd | He looks one way and the other, scratches his head and ahem-ahems for
Floyd | a while, until you suggest that maybe he's fishing in the
Floyd | crags? He nods, then stops and looks at you (you let nothing show
Floyd | on your face), licks his lips, then nods again vigorously. "Why, aye,
Floyd | fishing! Indeed!".
Floyd |
Floyd | Without a line or a hook, of course. And then there's that metallic
Floyd | clink every time he shifts.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "g"
Floyd ]  Northern crags
Floyd | >
Floyd | > G
Floyd |
Floyd | "So what were you fishing?"
Floyd |
Floyd | "Pretty girls, and look, it worked!"
Floyd |
Floyd | You roll your eyes, but not so much that you don't keep a watch on
Floyd | him. He's trying to goatshit his way out of this one? Fine, then
Floyd | you'll need to confront him with solid proof.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "give daidala to goatherd"
Floyd ]  Northern crags
Floyd | >
Floyd | > GIVE DAIDALA TO GOATHERD
Floyd |
Floyd | "So where did you fish this one?", you say, holding the statuette
Floyd | high. He looks horrified. You press on:
Floyd |
Floyd | "And I know about the brooch too, and the whole lot of them. And the
Floyd | High Priestess does as well, in case you were thinking of a little
Floyd | accident. Now, confess, and I shall make sure she is merciful with
Floyd | you. How long have you been an Achaean spy?
Floyd |
Floyd | "Ah-aka... what is an Akayan? And I'm no spy! I know nothing, I-I
Floyd | just...! the goats...! I thought you, you and I...
Floyd |
Floyd | "Cut the goatshit. Where did you find this? And the brooch? Confess or
Floyd | you shall know Potinaja's wrath!"
Floyd |
Floyd | "D-downstairs!"
Floyd |
Floyd | You blink, watching out for any ruse. He gestures downwards with his
Floyd | head, towards the cliffs. You nod. Carefully, he moves towards a few
Floyd | thorny bushes and moves them aside.
Floyd |
Floyd | "There is a path down the cliff."
Floyd |
Floyd | "Guide me. You go first."
Floyd |
Floyd | He sighs, nods and disappears down the hidden passage, looking just as
Floyd | if he was sinking into the tangle of thorns.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
DavidW says, "intrigue!"
BrianK says (to Floyd), "down"
Floyd ]  Pebble beach at the foot of the cliffs
Floyd | >
Floyd | > DOWN
Floyd |
Floyd | You find the secret way behind the bushes and carefully descend.
Floyd |
Floyd | Pebble beach at the foot of the cliffs
Floyd | Taking a deep breath, you navigate your way through the narrow
Floyd | passage. A few steps ahead of you, the shepherd beckons. The
Floyd | passageway is little more than an excavated slope for a few paces, and
Floyd | then it merges into a natural cavern, open on one side to a vista of
Floyd | the northern seascape. You follow the man along the zigzagging open
Floyd | cavern, descending down the face of the cliff, until you reach a tiny
Floyd | pebble beach at the foot of the crags. As far as you can see, there is
Floyd | nothing but open seas ahead. Behind you, Aeaea is a continuous wall of
Floyd | sheer rock, uninterrupted except for this small beach. It is scarcely
Floyd | twenty strides wide... and its main feature is a huge warship, wrecked
Floyd | against the rock on the western side of the beach.
Floyd |
Floyd | Sweet Potinaja. This is something Circe would kill to know. Hopefully
Floyd | not literally.
Floyd |
Floyd | The goatherd is pacing up and down the narrow beach, looking shifty.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "x warship"
Floyd ]  Pebble beach at the foot of the cliffs
Floyd | >
Floyd | > X WARSHIP
Floyd |
Floyd | You approach the wreck carefully. The bow third is a mess of
Floyd | splintered wood, smashed against the rocks, the rest more or less
Floyd | intact. A couple of dead bodies, presumably from the ship, are
Floyd | stranded on the pebbles. The ship itself is long, single-masted, sleek
Floyd | and probably rode low over the water. Definitely not a Cretan merchant
Floyd | ship - more like a barbarian warship.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "x bodies"
Floyd ]  Pebble beach at the foot of the cliffs
Floyd | >
Floyd | > X BODIES
Floyd |
Floyd | The corpses are both bloated and whitish, having spent many days at
Floyd | sea. You take a look at the nearest one. It is a man, that much you
Floyd | know, with a sword hung from a tasseled shoulder belt. The weapon is
Floyd | of good quality and northern make, so you are looking at an Achaean
Floyd | officer, may the Goddess have mercy on his heretic heart. You grimace.
Floyd | A ship this size carried more warriors, obviously, perhaps thirty or
Floyd | forty. Perhaps most of them were swept to the sea in the gale, or
Floyd | jumped out in terror, or died here on the beach and were thrown back
Floyd | into the ocean by whoever found the wreck.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
DavidW asks, "So he's been stealing from the wreck?"
BrianK says, "Seems like it"
BrianK says (to Floyd), "take sword"
Floyd ]  Pebble beach at the foot of the cliffs
Floyd | >
Floyd | > TAKE SWORD
Floyd |
Floyd | Potinaja wept, you are not making any sense.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "talk to goatherd"
Floyd ]  Pebble beach at the foot of the cliffs
Floyd | >
Floyd | > TALK TO GOATHERD
Floyd |
Floyd | "You see, my potnia, me and my friend found this last new moon, and
Floyd | though we tried to save the sailors..."
Floyd |
Floyd | "Goatshit", you interrupt, turning towards him with a dramatic
Floyd | flourish, "You tricked them into running aground, surely with some
Floyd | lamps. Do you expect a potnia to believe this Achaean warship just
Floyd | happened to shipwreck here, on the only beach in the whole coast, on a
Floyd | moonless night, and in the only spot where you and your mate would be
Floyd | able to loot their ship?"
Floyd |
Floyd | "Well..."
Floyd |
Floyd | "Don't answer, you fool. It's what we priestesses call a rhetorical
Floyd | question."
Floyd |
Floyd | "Actually, maybe it is a gift from the Goddess herself..."
Floyd |
Floyd | "Don't you explain the Goddess to me, man, I'm a bloody potnia! So you
Floyd | pulled out your little trick, not that I mind because they were
Floyd | Achaean scum anyway, and then tried to sell the stuff in town. You
Floyd | made just one mistake - bedding me! I do not mean that as a literal
Floyd | mistake, mind you. But when you mess with Ariadne, secret agent of the
Floyd | High Priestess..."
Floyd |
Floyd | "Please, holy Ariadne...!"
Floyd |
Floyd | "Oh, shut up. Circe will be certainly interested in these shipwrecked
Floyd | Achaeans, she does give not a fig for thieving goatherders. But you
Floyd | should have told me in the first place."
Floyd |
Floyd | You take one last good look around. Being pretty sure you have learned
Floyd | all there was to discover here, you say a brief prayer to the Goddess
Floyd | - to guide the dead northerners to her underground realm, even if they
Floyd | scarcely deserve it. The goatherd stands respectfully at attention,
Floyd | although there is no way he can understand your oration, delivered in
Floyd | your native Cretan.
Floyd |
Floyd | Out of the corner of your eye, you see something stir among the rocks!
Floyd | And the goatherder has seen it as well, because he jumps scared,
Floyd | thinking it is one of the corpses rising. Being an initiate in the
Floyd | first mysteries, you go investigate, intoning incantations against the
Floyd | wrath of the dead.
Floyd |
Floyd | But the boy is not quite dead. He is a young one, of perhaps eleven or
Floyd | twelve years old, barely standing on his two feet, reeking of seawater
Floyd | and malnutrition. He collapses as soon as you reach him.
Floyd |
Floyd | "Go fetch help!", you order, and the goatherder disappears towards the
Floyd | passage.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "x boy"
Floyd ]  Pebble beach at the foot of the cliffs
Floyd | >
Floyd | > X BOY
Floyd |
Floyd | A boy or eleven or twelve, dressed according to Cretan fashion, with
Floyd | taste and a touch of distinction. Not at all what you would expect to
Floyd | find in an Achaean wreck! Perhaps he was a prisoner? The kidnaped son
Floyd | of some Cretan great, held for ransom, as a guarantee of some peace?
Floyd | You need to interrogate him.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
DavidW says, "I wonder if that's Jason."
BrianK says (to Floyd), "talk to boy"
Floyd ]  Pebble beach at the foot of the cliffs
Floyd | >
Floyd | > TALK TO BOY
Floyd |
Floyd | "Boy, do you speak Cretan? Do you hear me?", you try to shake him
Floyd | awake, but he's too delirious with thirst.
Floyd |
Floyd | "...ther... sorry, Father... shouldn't have... are coming... Minos...
Floyd | shouldn't... coming... coming for... should... Father... the bull..."
Floyd |
Floyd | "Hold on, boy. I shall get you some water."
Floyd |
Floyd | >
DavidW says, "give jug to boy"
BrianK asks, "Is it.. Theseus?"
BrianK says (to Floyd), "give jug to boy"
Floyd ]  Pebble beach at the foot of the cliffs
Floyd | >
Floyd | > GIVE JUG TO BOY
Floyd |
Floyd | You tilt the jug so that the boy can drink - it takes a few tries in
Floyd | his state. Little by little, he regains consciousness. He looks at
Floyd | you, frightened, so you smile as warmly as this crazy day allows.
Floyd |
Floyd | "I am Cretan like you, and a potnia. You are safe with me, boy. What
Floyd | is your name and how come you where aboard an Achaean warship?"
Floyd |
Floyd | "My-my name is Icarus", he says, making a feeble attempt at an
Floyd | adoration gesture, "and my father was...", and there he clams up,
Floyd | opening his eyes wide and looking at you with a suspicious expression.
Floyd | You tsk-tsk.
Floyd |
Floyd | "I am not one of them. My name is Ariadne, and I am the daughter of
Floyd | the Wanassa of Knossos, whom you surely have heard of. So what about
Floyd | your father?"
Floyd |
Floyd | "Hmph. He's a fisherman."
Floyd |
Floyd | "Sure she is, and I am a talking dolphin in disguise. See my fins? I
Floyd | was swimming around today, minding my own dolphinic business and blam,
Floyd | I came upon that wreck and said, what about having this little boy for
Floyd | breakfast..."
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says, "Oh it's Icarus"
DavidW says, "Maybe. I don't remember who Theseus is."
DavidW says, "huh. Icarus. neat."
BrianK says (to Floyd), "talk to icarus"
Floyd ]  Pebble beach at the foot of the cliffs
Floyd | >
Floyd | > TALK TO ICARUS
Floyd |
Floyd | "So where did the Achaeans get you?"
Floyd |
Floyd | He thinks about it for too long. He's making it up.
Floyd |
Floyd | "At Phaistos. While we... I was trying to board a ship."
Floyd |
Floyd | "You and your father? Who is he? Is he the reason you were captured...
Floyd | and trying to board a ship? Were you both on the run? Why?"
Floyd |
Floyd | He stammers a little, then pretends to faint.
Floyd |
Floyd | "Come on, Icarus. I am not a friend at all of the awful men that got
Floyd | you. Did they get your father as well? Let me guess, he is an
Floyd | important man in Crete, am I right? A lagawetes, perhaps? A
Floyd | commander?"
Floyd |
Floyd | "A fisherman, like I said, from Phaistos."
Floyd |
Floyd | "Goatshit. You have the Knossos accent, Icarus, and your skin is too
Floyd | white and soft for the son of a fisherman, not to mention your
Floyd | clothes. Your hands look rough, though... is he a great artisan? Oh, I
Floyd | know. Perhaps a maker of beautiful objects?"
Floyd |
Floyd | His eyes go wide in fear.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "g"
Floyd ]  Pebble beach at the foot of the cliffs
Floyd | >
Floyd | > G
Floyd |
Floyd | He is keeping his mouth shut, but you know full well there is
Floyd | something more here. Perhaps you can refresh his memory... with a
Floyd | little memento from his father.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
DavidW asks, "show bull to boy?"
BrianK says, "Ohhhhh, the words daidala and Daedalus are related"
BrianK says (to Floyd), "show daidala to boy"
Floyd ]  Pebble beach at the foot of the cliffs
Floyd | >
Floyd | > SHOW DAIDALA TO BOY
Floyd |
Floyd | "Is this perchance yours?" you ask, producing the bull statuette with
Floyd | a theatrical gesture.
Floyd |
Floyd | He hesitates, wanting to trust the lovely lady with the hometown
Floyd | accent, but still scared. You smile encouragingly.
Floyd |
Floyd | "It belongs to your mysterious father. And his only reason for owning
Floyd | a sacred object would be being a priestess, and from my authoritative
Floyd | experience as a priestess, men are rarely priestesses, or vice versa.
Floyd | So your father must be a maker of daidala, and there are not many of
Floyd | those, not even in my father's palace, so. See how the
Floyd | Goddess speaks through me? Tell me the rest, Icarus, for Her patience
Floyd | is much scarcer than her wisdom."
Floyd |
Floyd | "My father is indeed a daedalus," he sighs, giving up, "and we were on
Floyd | the run when the Achaeans got us. They boarded our ship just out of
Floyd | Phaistos, and Father fell overboard. I was taken captive."
Floyd |
Floyd | "You were on the run from what?", you ask, but you already know the
Floyd | answer.
Floyd |
Floyd | "Your noble father, potnia. For a crime he did not commit!"
Floyd |
Floyd | You smile reassuringly and pat his head. Now this is something Circe
Floyd | shall be interested in - courtly intrigue of which Mother has told her
Floyd | nothing, Achaean warships roaming very close to Cretan ports, a
Floyd | targeted kidnapping, and a smart kid with fresh news about it all.
Floyd |
Floyd | "Can you walk, Icarus? Come with me. We shall get you proper food and
Floyd | a bed, and you shall talk to a very nice old lady."
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says, "Or, uh, daedalus is a profession rather than a name"
DavidW says, "Perhaps with some people, it's the same thing."
BrianK says, "I'll return to the palace then"
BrianK says (to Floyd), "talk to icarus"
Floyd ]  Pebble beach at the foot of the cliffs
Floyd | >
Floyd | > TALK TO ICARUS
Floyd |
Floyd | You chat a little with the boy as you walk your way back to the
Floyd | palace. He is still reserved and wary of saying too much, but you
Floyd | gather a few juicy hints here and there. His father got enmeshed in
Floyd | some kind of intrigue with Mother, and Father was not amused. Both are
Floyd | in good health. You have four new siblings, four brothers and a
Floyd | sister. There was an earth-shake two years ago, but the damages were
Floyd | very minor, and it ceased as soon as three bulls were sacrificed.
Floyd | Gortyn burned to the ground (all good, you never liked Gortynians).
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "u"
Floyd ]  Northern crags
Floyd | >
Floyd | > U
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | Northern crags
Floyd | The crescent of Aeaea narrows to a bullhorn-sharp point here and the
Floyd | clifftop resolves into a rocky chaos of crags plunging dramatically
Floyd | into foaming waters. From here you can see the whole curve of the
Floyd | Saffron Bay, steep as the edge of a cauldron, with the palace a
Floyd | miniature on the other side. Without even a single goat to feed on the
Floyd | thorny bushes, the only living presence is the gulls that circle
Floyd | overhead, looking for fish in the the clashing waves.
Floyd |
Floyd | The shepherd has opened a narrow downwards passage through a few
Floyd | thorny bushes.
Floyd |
Floyd | Icarus arrives from below.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "se"
Floyd ]  Crest path
Floyd | >
Floyd | > SE
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | Crest path
Floyd | A narrow path on top of the cliffs follows the crescent shape of
Floyd | Aeaea. The isle's rocky arms stretch like the horns of a bull piercing
Floyd | the sea. The Saffron Bay occupies most of the view, sheer cliff faces
Floyd | the height of a hundred men plunging vertically into the waters below.
Floyd | The palace complex shines across the bay like white teeth on jagged,
Floyd | blackened gums.
Floyd |
Floyd | The path clings to the clifftop, coming from the civilised south and
Floyd | stretching towards the sharp edge of the isle to the northwest. To the
Floyd | east lie the hilly scrublands frequented only by shepherds and
Floyd | goatherds. As you know full well.
Floyd |
Floyd | Icarus arrives from the northwest.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "s"
Floyd ]  Clifftop path
Floyd | >
Floyd | > S
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | Clifftop path
Floyd | This is where the elegant curve of the Saffron Bay becomes wider and
Floyd | the downward slope is more benign. Most of the productive fields of
Floyd | the isle are around here, tended by peasants indentured to the palace,
Floyd | a few free settlers and scores of slaves. The olive trees, vineyards
Floyd | and farms of this side provide most of the local foodstuffs. The path
Floyd | follows the clifftop to the wild north and it becomes a proper paved
Floyd | road to the southwest, towards the entrance to the palace.
Floyd |
Floyd | Icarus arrives from the north.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "sw"
Floyd ]  Ceremonial entrance to the palace
Floyd | >
Floyd | > SW
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | Ceremonial entrance to the palace
Floyd | The ceremonial road ends in an ample paved space before the grand
Floyd | entrance to the palace. Men and oxen come on go along the road like
Floyd | ants and mill around the vast plaza, transporting all manners of goods
Floyd | from the palace stores to the port below, overseen by
Floyd | administrative-rank priestesses and keen-eyed archers. The great
Floyd | complex is three stories high, fronted with a majestic row of crimson
Floyd | red and marine blue tapered columns.
Floyd |
Floyd | A few priestesses blink, then nod respectfully as they pass, eyeing
Floyd | your attire. A couple of archers almost stand at attention when they
Floyd | see you approach.
Floyd |
Floyd | The ceremonial paved road snakes descends towards the southeast and
Floyd | the harbour. The palace lies west, blocking the view of the bay. A
Floyd | narrow path leads northeast, following the clifftops, towards the
Floyd | wilderness.
Floyd |
Floyd | Icarus arrives from the northeast.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "w"
Floyd ]  Palace megaron
Floyd | >
Floyd | > W
Floyd |
Floyd | You enter the palace unchallenged by either priestess or archer
Floyd | patrols.
Floyd |
Floyd | Palace megaron
Floyd | The main megaron is flanked with tapered red columns, centered around
Floyd | a central great hall that opens to two long wings. The western wing
Floyd | contains the workshops, stores and administrative dependencies. The
Floyd | north wing is mainly taken up with living quarters for priestess in
Floyd | the upper floors, and servants and slaves in the lower ones. But the
Floyd | definitive majestic piece of the megaron is the monumental gipsum
Floyd | stairway leading up, to the High Priestess' dependencies.
Floyd |
Floyd | The megaron is in full swing, with dozens of priestesses of diverse
Floyd | rank coming and going about palace business.
Floyd |
Floyd | Icarus arrives from the outside.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
BrianK says (to Floyd), "u"
Floyd | >
Floyd | > U
Floyd |
Floyd | Circe looks up and blinks hard, twice. You smile your Competent Niece
Floyd | and Even Better Potnia smile and fill her in with the facts of your
Floyd | investigation, only embellishing slightly. As like how you fought to
Floyd | death two of the Achaeans who were still alive (you are resolute!), or
Floyd | the time you invoked the Goddess to reveal the identity of the boy
Floyd | (the Potinaja obviously wants you ordained!).
Floyd |
Floyd | Circe listens with something like excited exasperation, then sends you
Floyd | out while she grills Icarus.
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | Please press SPACE to continue.
BrianK pushes the green 'space' button.
Floyd ]
Floyd | You take advantage of the situation to go fetch some breakfast, at
Floyd | long last. You come across Phaedra, and have a grand time prancing in
Floyd | your priestly finery while she watches incredulously. Halfway through
Floyd | the tale of how you are performing secret missions for the High
Floyd | Priestess, she runs away in an undignified rage. Finally, the day is
Floyd | starting to look up.
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | Please press SPACE to continue.
BrianK pushes the green 'space' button.
Floyd ]  Palace megaron
Floyd | That evening just before sunset, Circe sends for you.
Floyd |
Floyd | "Well, well, perhaps the Goddess has found a way to speak through
Floyd | you...", she says.
Floyd |
Floyd | "She needed some help in doing so, but I really cannot blame her,
Floyd | auntie. I was quite out of voice this morning."
Floyd |
Floyd | "...and if you would just shut up for a while and kneel down, I shall
Floyd | recite your ordainment invocation. Tonight you shall be brought to the
Floyd | sacred cave and initiated in the third mysteries, and so please the
Floyd | Goddess, by daybreak you shall be a full priestess, worthy of the
Floyd | regalia."
Floyd |
Floyd | "My potnia..."
Floyd |
Floyd | "And then", she adds, with a harsh edge in her voice, "we shall talk,
Floyd | Ariadne."
Floyd |
Floyd | She turns towards the last rays of the setting sun, and frowns, as if
Floyd | watching the setting of a different sun.
Floyd |
Floyd | "We shall talk about what must be done to save Crete."
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | *** Thus begins the legend of Ariadne of Knossos,
Floyd | Mistress of the Labyrinth ***
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | Would you like to RESTART, RESTORE a saved game, see some suggestions
Floyd | for AMUSING things to do, QUIT or UNDO the last command?
Floyd | >
BrianK says, "Ariadne is a delight"
DavidW says, "that was fun"
BrianK says (to Floyd), "amusing"
Floyd ]  Palace megaron
Floyd | >
Floyd | > AMUSING
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | Circe sighs, her eyes still on the setting sun.
Floyd |
Floyd | "Praised be the Goddess, here we go. Listen, Ariadne have you tried...
Floyd |
Floyd | ...kissing Satiah?"
Floyd | ...kissing me (Circe)?"
Floyd | ...talking to the goat?"
Floyd | ...praying?"
Floyd | ...typing ABOUT GAME for a pedantic historical explanation?"
Floyd | ...typing ABOUT AUTHOR for insufferable authorial ego-tripping?"
Floyd | ...trying AMUSING during the game?"
Floyd | ...examining the Sun?"
Floyd | ...talking to the Sun?"
Floyd | ...examining your own eyes?"
Floyd |
Floyd | Would you like to RESTART, RESTORE a saved game, see some suggestions
Floyd | for AMUSING things to do, QUIT or UNDO the last command?
Floyd | >
BrianK says, "Aw, man, I could kiss people"
DavidW asks, "oh, didn't Circe say her father was the Sun? Something like that?"
McMartin says, "Yep"
BrianK says, "Yeah"
BrianK says, "Which is Apollo, I guess"
McMartin says, "I got some notes in internal monologue to the effect that grandpa was the Sun"
DavidW says, "gread-uncle Apollo"
McMartin asks, "Wasn't there some Titan that was the Sun before Apollo took over?"
DavidW says, "er great-uncle"
McMartin asks, "Er, isn't your aunt's dad your grandpa?"
McMartin says, "Barring complexities"
DavidW says, "oh, maybe."
McMartin says, "And assuming she's not your, uh, aunt-in-law"
DavidW asks, "Circe was mom's sister, I think?"
BrianK says, "Yeah"
DavidW says, "That's simpler, then."
BrianK says, "I guess Helios would be the other Sun"
DavidW says, "Ra was the other other Sun. There's a few."
BrianK says, "Oh, yeah, the wikipedia says Circe's the daughter of Helios"
BrianK says, "wikipedia article*"
DavidW says, "cool"
DavidW says, "I liked that. I hope there'll be a sequel."
DavidW says, "Maybe with an EXITS command, though, next time."
BrianK says, "Apparently this was supposed to be a prequel to a larger game"
BrianK says, "So if that's still being worked on then I'll look forward to that"




comments powered by Disqus


[ TOP OF THIS PAGE | MORE CLUBFLOYD TRANSCRIPTS | HOME ]


link to contact page