Chapter 16: Take Me to the River (Talking Heads, 1978)

Check yourself! You need the torch, lamp, pump, tube and the egg (unless you already gave it to the Thief). Use the inventory command to see what you are carrying and then take accordingly.

>open trap door

>down

Cellar
The door crashes shut, and you hear someone barring it.

One of these days Alice...one of these days, bam, zoom, straight to the moon!

>east

Troll Room

>north

East-West Passageway

>east

Round Room

>nw

Deep Canyon

>east

Dam

>east

Damp Cave

Since the ground is wet, we must be getting close.

>south

Loud Room

>east

[Ancient Chasm] A chasm, evidently produced by an ancient river, runs through the cave here. Passages lead off in all directions.

>east

[Small Cave] This is a small cave whose exits are on the south and northwest. There is a large shovel here. There is a hunk of bat guano here.

Bat poop. I hope we don't need that, but I'll bet we need the shovel.

>take shovel

Taken.

>south

[Rocky Shore] You are on the west shore of the river. An entrance to a cave is to the northwest. The shore is very rocky here.

A river! This must be somehow connected to the Dam.

>nw

Small Cave

>nw

Ancient Chasm

>south

Loud Room

>up

Damp Cave

>east

Dam

Finally!

>down

[Dam Base] You are at the base of flood control dam #3, which looms above you and to the north. The Frigid River is flowing by here. Across the river are the White Cliffs, which seem to form a giant wall stretching from north to south along the east shore of the river as it winds its way downstream.

There is a folded pile of plastic here which has a small valve attached.

A sharp stick, which appears to have been broken at one end, is here.

What did we read earlier about a stick? "Surely, thy eye shall be put out with a sharp stick!" Better be careful with it.

Folded plastic with a valve on it...if only Hans and Franz were here to pump it up. Fortunately, we have a pump, as you don't have enough lung power to inflate it.

>inflate plastic with pump

The boat inflates and appears seaworthy.

A boat! Conveniently located on a river!

>look in boat

The magic boat contains:
  A tan label.

>read label

Taken.


 !!!! FROBOZZ MAGIC BOAT COMPANY !!!!
Hello, Sailor!
Instructions for use:
  To get into boat, say 'Board'
  To leave boat, say 'Disembark'
  To get into a body of water, say 'Launch'
  To get to shore, say 'Land'
Warranty:
  This boat is guaranteed against all defects in parts and workmanship for a period of 76 milliseconds from date of purchase or until first used, whichever comes first.
Warning: This boat is made of plastic.
Good Luck!

As far as instructions go, this one isn't bad. If there is only one option, the "land" command will land you there; if there are multiple options, the game will prompt you for a direction. Trying land a direction (i.e., west) results in the game not understanding the direction. Using land and then west when it says you must specify direction will land you west. Conversely, west will land you west as well. I presume the warranty did not include the tan label, or if it did it ran out. Just remember: don't bother with land, just use directions.

As indicated, the boat is made of plastic and can be punctured by sharp objects if you are carrying them when you board or disembark the boat. Fortunately you have the tube of All-Purpose Gunk, which also repairs punctures in plastic boats by some miracle of elven technology. You can avoid holes by placing sharp items into the boat.

>put stick in boat

Done.

>board

You are now in the magic boat.

Let's lighten our load and drop the boat specific items into the boat.

>put pump in boat, put tube in boat, put label in boat

Done.

>save

Saved.