Counterfeit Monkey — 113 of 292

Section 6 - The Beach

Private Beach is north of Winding Footpath. "This is little more than a strip of fine yellow [sand], perhaps twenty me[ter]s from side to side, and five from the [hillside] to the waterline[if the sage is in the location and the sage is not handled]. A little [sage] grows on the hillside, escaped from some garden, along with wilder plants[end if]. Above, at the top of that slope, are houses with balconies overlooking the sea, but from this angle it's impossible to see much of them, or for them (you'll have to take my word on this) to see us[if high street is visited and roundabout is not visited].

It's tempting to look for crabs among the rocks, but the tide is high just now, and even at the best of times this is not an area rich in sealife[end if]."

Understand "look for crabs" or "search for crabs" or "find crabs" or "catch crabs" as a mistake ("There aren't likely to be any, is the point.") when the player is in Private Beach.

The hillside is a facade in Private Beach. It is scenery. It fronts west. "The [hillside] both east and west runs steeply down into the water [--] much too steep to allow for beaches or buildings. Here and there some bit of plant life has managed to cling onto the rock, but mostly it is bare and rough." Understand "hill" or "slope" or "plant life" or "plants" as the hillside.

The closure notice is "That way is just bare hillside, much too steep to climb. ".

Instead of facing east in Private Beach:

try examining the hillside.

The sage is in Private Beach. The indefinite article is "some". The scent-description is "pleasant herbs". The description of the sage is "Dark green leaves furred with silver prickles." The sage is a vegetable.

A description-concealing rule:

if the sage is not handled:

now the sage is not marked for listing.

The sandcastle is fixed in place in Private Beach. "A fragile [sandcastle] stands near the water's edge." The sandcastle can be built or unbuilt. The sandcastle is unbuilt. The description is "[if unbuilt]At the edge of the water the sand is disturbed just enough to suggest where a previous sandcastle might have been, but that is all.[otherwise]No more than a couple of cylindrical turrets and a protective wall.[end if]". Understand "turret" or "turrets" or "wall" or "cylindrical" or "protective wall" or "cylinder" or "cylinders" or "castle" or "sand castle" or "sand-castle" or "palace" or "fort" or "fortress" or "project" as the sandcastle.

The scent-description is "salt and seaweed".

Instead of touching the sandcastle:

say "[one of]Delicately [you] trace a few more crenellations in the top of the castle wall.[or][You] smoothe down one of the turrets.[or][You] poke a little door into the base of one of the turrets.[or][You] draw in some windows with our pinky.[at random]".

A description-concealing rule:

if the sandcastle is unbuilt:

now the sandcastle is not marked for listing.

Understand "build [sandcastle]" or "rebuild [sandcastle]" or "make [sandcastle]" or "construct [sandcastle]" or "reconstruct [sandcastle]" as building.

Instead of attacking the sandcastle:

now the sandcastle is unbuilt;

say "With a few vigorous swipes [you] demolish the construction."

Instead of building the sandcastle more than once:

say "It would be pleasant to make believe that we were young and had no other concerns but to sit on the beach and make castles. But we both know that's not the case."

Building is an action applying to one thing.

Check building:

if the sandcastle is built:

say "There isn't time to build an entire sand-city." instead.

Carry out building:

let N be a random number between 3 and 10;

sandcastle washes away in N turns from now;

now the sandcastle is built.

Report building:

say "It would be madness to spend long on such projects when [you] have so much else to be doing, but [you] do, for old times['] sake (mine, at least), construct a couple of hasty cylindrical turrets and a protective wall of sorts."

At the time when sandcastle washes away:

if the sandcastle is unbuilt and the player can see the sandcastle:

say "The waves wash away all but the faintest traces of the sandcastle.";

otherwise if the player can see the sandcastle:

say "[if the noun is the sandcastle or the second noun is the sandcastle]But our efforts are in vain, because an[otherwise]An[end if] especially forward wave slides up the beach and demolishes [if the noun is the sandcastle or the second noun is the sandcastle]the whole construction[otherwise]our poor sandcastle[end if].";

now the sandcastle is unbuilt;

Test sandcastle with "x castle / build castle / build sandcastle / look / smell castle / taste castle / touch castle / x castle / z".

The sand is scenery in Private Beach. Understand "ground" as the sand. The description is "It's baking hot." The indefinite article is "some". The sand is diggable.

Instead of taking the sand:

say "Sure, [you] could wander off with a handful of sand, but [you] could hardly shift any significant portion of the beach. And then we'd be making a mess and dribbling sand grains everywhere."

Test funnelbug with "tutorial off / hard / y / dig / dig sand" in the Beach.

After digging in the sand when the funnel is buried:

now the funnel is not buried;

say "[You] brush away the sand covering a [funnel], left over from some child's building project."

Report digging in the sand:

say "Scooping away a few handfuls of sand reveals nothing extraordinary, just more sand." instead.

Instead of touching the sand:

say "[You] run our fingers through the fine sand, raking it into patterns."

Instead of inserting the sand into the funnel:

say "[You] scoop a little sand, but it only runs out again."

Instead of inserting the sea-view into the funnel:

say "The water fills the funnel and then runs out again in a decorative drizzle on the sand. A moment later even that is gone in the heat of the day."

A funnel is a thing in the Private Beach. "[if the funnel is buried]Something green and plastic just barely pokes out of the sand[otherwise]Half-hidden in the sand, no doubt left over from some kid's sandcastle project, is a plastic funnel[end if]." The description is "A gaudy green plastic toy suitable for funneling water and shaping conical sand-turrets. [if handled]A few grains of sand still cling to it[otherwise]It's all sandy[end if]." The scent-description is "warm plastic".

Understand "green" or "plastic" or "toy" or "gaudy" as the funnel.

Instead of examining the buried funnel:

say "All that's visible from here is the tip of something green."

Carry out taking the funnel:

now the funnel is not buried.

The funnel can be buried or unburied. The funnel is buried.

Sanity-check rubbing the sand when the funnel is buried:

try digging in the sand instead.

Sanity-check inserting the funnel into the fountain:

try washing the funnel instead.

Instead of washing the funnel in the presence of the fountain:

say "We dip the funnel in the water and quickly shake it dry.";

now the description of the funnel is "A gaudy green plastic toy suitable for funneling water and shaping conical sand-turrets."

Instead of washing the funnel when the player can touch a sink (called target sink):

now the description of the funnel is "A gaudy green plastic toy suitable for funneling water and shaping conical sand-turrets.";

say "[You] run some water from [the target sink] over [the funnel], leaving it glistening and clean." instead.

Instead of rubbing the funnel:

if the funnel is buried:

try digging in the sand instead;

otherwise if the funnel is not handled:

say "There's no point trying to clean it while it's lying in the sand." instead;

otherwise:

say "[You][']ve brushed away most of the adhering sand, but there are always going to be a few grains left."

Instead of wearing the funnel:

say "I try setting it on our head as a cap, but it slides off again."

Instead of searching the funnel:

say "It restricts our view comically, as though [you] were peering through a doll's periscope. But the utility is limited."

Rule for listing exits when the location is Private Beach:

say "This little bit of sand ends on either side in steep rockfalls; there's no way to work along the coast in either direction. The only way to go is back up the footpath to the south."

Test funnel with "tutorial off / look / x funnel / dig in sand / look / x funnel / get funnel / clean funnel / look in funnel / wear funnel" in Private Beach.

Test funnel1 with "drop funnel / take funnel / wash funnel / fill funnel with water / wave p-remover at apple / fill funnel with ale / put funnel in water / put funnel in fountain" holding the funnel and the apple in Park Center.

Test funnel2 with "drop funnel / take funnel /wash funnel / put funnel in water / put funnel in sink" holding the funnel in My Apartment.

Instead of going up when the location is Private Beach:

try going south.

The footpath entrance is a backdrop. It is in Roget Close and Private Beach. The description is "You can see just a few feet of the path, which quickly disappears among houses and bushy growth." Understand "path" as the footpath.

Instead of climbing or entering the footpath entrance:

if the location is Private Beach:

try going south;

otherwise:

try going north.

The Wealthy District is a region. Hesychius Street, Roget Close, Webster Court, Winding Footpath, the Private beach, Patriotic Chard-Garden, and the Foyer are in Wealthy District.

Index map with Old City Walls mapped north of Monumental Staircase. Index map with Hesychius Street mapped west of Old City Walls. Index map with Webster Court mapped north of Hesychius Street. Index map with Roget Close mapped west of Webster Court. Index map with Foyer mapped north of Webster Court.