Part 47: Day Three- Page 46

*Ahem*
Let's try that again.

>read black tome
As you lean closer over the pages to make out the words in this dim light, the letters seem to writhe and crawl across the page, twisting themselves into strange combinations, horrible words that you've never read before... and yet, somehow, you can understand their repulsive meaning. Something about a "Blessed Event", which will happen very soon, and a hideous god whose name may not be spoken...

Is this the book that was preached in this church before it fell to ruin? Are these the gods these people worshipped? You want to tear your eyes from the page in revulsion, but some small, gleefully filthy part of you wants to keep reading, to uncover the secrets that the people of Anchorhead uncovered...

Will you read on?

>no
You step away from the podium with a shudder.


I imagine if we don't now, we will later.

>strike match
(first taking the book of matches)
One of the matches starts to burn.

>burn black tome
Petty arson isn't going to solve your problems.

Come on!

>Burn black tome
Petty arson isn't going to solve your problems.

Ouch! You drop the match as it burns down to your fingers.

Alas, no. We should, tho, but no such luck.


Good call.

>w

Vestibule

>s

Broken Stairs

>look at rail
This length of railing is the only part of the stairs that didn't pull free of the wall and go crashing into the empty shaft below.

It seems sturdy enough.

>look at shaft
The walls of the shaft are rough stone, dropping down farther than you can see.

But that seems pretty deep. We need to test how far down it goes.

>drop robe into shaft
The hooded robe drops down out of sight, and a few seconds later you hear a faint splash.

Oh. There's water down there.
Movies and TV has taught me that falling into water never does damage.
Bonus!

>tie rope to rail
You tie the rope securely to the railing, letting the other end dangle down into the dark shaft.

>down
You'll need both hands free before you climb down that rope.

>put all in coat
book of matches: You slip the book of matches into the pocket of your trenchcoat.

>down
Gripping the end of the rope tightly, you lower yourself off the edge and shimmy down into the darkness.

Hanging From the Rope
Your feet dangle over empty space. Looking down, you can barely make out a faint glimmer of water, far below.

>down
You're at the end of the rope; there's nowhere else to go.

I don't think this counts as a Verb search, but it feels that way.
It's down that I want to go, now how do I phrase it?

>drop self
You should probably put the nothing down first.

>what?
That's not a verb I recognise.

>let go of rope
You take a deep breath, shut your eyes tight, say a quick prayer... and let go of the rope.


There we go.

The heart-stopping plunge lasts only a second or two before you hit shockingly cold water. Your flashlight goes out and blackness envelopes you. Water rushes into your mouth and nose; the stone bottom slams into your side and nearly knocks the wind out of you... and then you find your feet, and your head breaks the surface. Blindly, you thrash about until you find higher ground, and you crawl, choking and sputtering, feeling cold brick beneath your fingers.

Darkness
It is pitch dark, and you can't see a thing.

Your score has just gone up by two points.

>turn on flashlight
The flashlight must not be quite as waterproof as you originally thought; the beam flickers unsteadily, and you have to bang it against the palm of your hand a couple of times to get it to work.

Vaulted Tunnel
The walls of this long, rectangular chamber are made of crumbling brick, not concrete; most likely it was built at some earlier period than the rest of the tunnels. The ceiling is lost in darkness above you, but from the sounds of the echoes it must be pretty high. Water flowing in from the northwestern tunnel has pooled in a depression sunk into the limestone floor, becoming quite deep near the far end.

The shattered wreckage of the church stairway lies half submerged in the water-filled depression. You're lucky to have missed it in your fall.

You can also see a hooded robe and a meat hook here.

This place looks familiar. Like we've been here before.

>take all
hooded robe: Taken.
meat hook: Taken.

>put all in coat
meat hook: You slip the meat hook into the pocket of your trenchcoat.
hooded robe: No matter how tightly you roll up the heavy robe, it is still too big to fit in your pocket.

Oh yeah. This is the sewers. At least that means we can get out and to the library. Hopefully the crowd has dispersed now that they think we're trapped in the church.
With luck, they'll have set that place on fire.

>search depression
You can't see the bottom, standing at the side as you are. And while you think you might just be capable of wading out there, there's no way on earth you'd ever put your head under.

>northwest

Sewer Tunnel
The tunnel is ankle-deep in brackish water, though raised walkways on either side provide relatively dry footing. The walls are slick, the air damp and foul. The main tunnel runs north and southeast. Numerous smaller pipelines lead in all directions, but all are too small for you to crawl through. Iron rungs embedded in the wall lead up through an access shaft, back to the surface.

>n

Dripping Tunnel

>n

Broken Tunnel

Set in the low ceiling is an old iron hatch.

We still don't know where this hatch leads.

>look at hatch
It's a rectangle of corroded metal, just over a foot long on each side. There are hinges along one edge on this side; if you could get your fingers under the opposite edge, you could probably pry it open.

Maybe it's loosened up since yesterday?

>open hatch
You dig your fingers under the edge and tug, but the hinges are rusted nearly solid. You can't make it budge.

>look at rust
It's a rectangle of corroded metal, just over a foot long on each side. There are hinges along one edge on this side; if you could get your fingers under the opposite edge, you could probably pry it open.

Wow. It's so rusty that the game recognizes it as "The Rust."

>s

Dripping Tunnel

>s

Sewer Tunnel

>u

Access Shaft

In the north wall is a small metal door.

Please be unlocked.
Please be unlocked.
Please be unlocked.

>open door
You open the small metal door.

YES!

I'm just gonna save. No real reason.
Just saving to save.

>save
Ok.

Yup.

>n

Under the Bridge

A small metal door, blotchy with rust, is set into the south bank of the river, underneath the bridge.

>up

Riverwalk

Good. The angry townsfolk are gone.

>w

Town Square

There appears to be a commotion of sorts to the north, where a group of townsfolk have gathered.

In the center of the square, rising from a circular lawn of unhealthy-looking grass and weeds, stands a strange, stone obelisk. It seems to be a monument of some sort, although you can see no plaque or marker anywhere near it.

A commotion?
Is it a party?

>look at group
The townsfolk have gathered in a small crowd on Whateley Bridge. Word of your snooping must have gotten around quickly; these fellows are obviously not taking any chances on the possibility of you escaping from the church, and are keeping a sharp lookout.

Well, maybe if we tell them the terrible things written in that book they'll understand.

>north

Whateley Bridge

A group of wary-looking townsfolk has gathered, keeping a watchful eye on the streets leading to and from the bridge.
There is no time to run. Heavy boots on the cobblestones; hands lunging toward you -- they are everywhere, grabbing you from every side, immobilizing you. Someone's huge, calloused paw closes around your windpipe and starts to squeeze. Just before you black out, you can feel yourself being lifted off your feet...



*** You have died ***


In that game you scored 44 out of a possible 100 points; you are hopelessly enmeshed in the tentacles of an ancient and sinister plot.

Would you like to RESTART, RESTORE a saved game, UNDO your last move, give the FULL score for that game or QUIT?
>