Gnu in the Zoo — 18 of 30

Section 2 - The Keeper's Hut

The Keeper's Hut is a room. "Lee keeps his office very tidy. You were expecting a dirty mug, at least." It is inside of the Riverside. Index map with the Keeper's Hut mapped east of Your Stall.

Instead of going nowhere from the Keeper's Hut when the noun is southeast, try going outside.

[I had some trouble with the bunch of keys. I wanted a whole−part relationship, but you can't use a component as a key. I also wanted some realism: a gnu can only carry things in its mouth, so I didn't want to allow more than one item to be carried at once. But if we model the bunch of keys as a tray, the gnu would have to carry both the keyring and the key in use at once, which I've disallowed. Below is my less-than-elegant solution.]

The keyring is an object in the Keeper's Hut. "You can see a bunch of keys here." The description of the keyring is "There is a black, a white, a red, a green, a yellow and a brown key, all attached to an enormous steel hoop."

Understand "bunch of keys" as the keyring. Understand "keys" as the keyring. Instead of unlocking something with the keyring, say "You need to specify the key you want to use: the black key, the white key, the red key, the green key, the yellow key or the brown key."

After taking the keyring:

now the black key is held by the player;

now the yellow key is held by the player;

now the white key is held by the player;

now the red key is held by the player;

now the green key is held by the player;

now the brown key is held by the player;

say "You clamp your jaws around the keyring and heft it into the air, keys jangling beneath. Tastes nasty, but bearable."

After dropping the keyring:

now the black key is in the location;

now the yellow key is in the location;

now the white key is in the location;

now the red key is in the location;

now the green key is in the location;

now the brown key is in the location;

continue the action.

After inserting the keyring into something:

now the black key is inside the noun;

now the yellow key is inside the noun;

now the white key is inside the noun;

now the red key is inside the noun;

now the green key is inside the noun;

now the brown key is inside the noun;

continue the action.

After putting the keyring on something:

now the black key is on the noun;

now the yellow key is on the noun;

now the white key is on the noun;

now the red key is on the noun;

now the green key is on the noun;

now the brown key is on the noun;

continue the action.

[We will use these to model throwing the keyring later.]

To dropKeyring:

now the black key is in the location;

now the yellow key is in the location;

now the white key is in the location;

now the red key is in the location;

now the green key is in the location;

now the brown key is in the location;

continue the action.

To loseKeyring:

remove the black key from play;

remove yellow key from play;

remove white key from play;

remove red key from play;

remove green key from play;

remove brown key from play;

continue the action.

The black key is an object with description "The bow of this key has been enamelled black. It is a slightly odd shape, with two pointy bits that look a bit like horns." It is in the Keeper's Hut. It is undescribed.

Instead of taking the black key, try taking the keyring. Instead of dropping the black key, try dropping the keyring. Instead of inserting the black key into something, try inserting the keyring into the noun. Instead of putting the black key on something, try putting the keyring on the noun. Instead of throwing the black key at something, try throwing the keyring at the second noun.

The yellow key is an object with description "The bow of this key is mainly solid, with a hole for the keyring in one corner. A piece of yellow, furry material has been stuck around it." It is in the Keeper's Hut. It is undescribed.

Instead of taking the yellow key, try taking the keyring. Instead of dropping the yellow key, try dropping the keyring. Instead of inserting the yellow key into something, try inserting the keyring into the noun. Instead of putting the yellow key on something, try putting the keyring on the noun. Instead of throwing the yellow key at something, try throwing the keyring at the second noun.

The white key is an object with description "The bow and half the shaft of this key have been coated in white plastic, or possibly enamel, and made to look like ivory." It is in the Keeper's Hut. It is undescribed.

Instead of taking the white key, try taking the keyring. Instead of dropping the white key, try dropping the keyring. Instead of inserting the white key into something, try inserting the keyring into the noun. Instead of putting the white key on something, try putting the keyring on the noun. Instead of throwing the white key at something, try throwing the keyring at the second noun.

The red key is an object with description "The bow of this key has been enamelled red. It is a slightly odd shape, with two pointy bits that look a bit like horns." It is in the Keeper's Hut. It is undescribed.

Instead of taking the red key, try taking the keyring. Instead of dropping the red key, try dropping the keyring. Instead of inserting the red key into something, try inserting the keyring into the noun. Instead of putting the red key on something, try putting the keyring on the noun. Instead of throwing the red key at something, try throwing the keyring at the second noun.

The green key is an object with description "This is one of the smaller keys. At one point the whole thing was painted green, but the paint has worn off most of the blade. Some wag has drawn little semicircles on it to resemble scales." It is in the Keeper's Hut. It is undescribed.

Instead of taking the green key, try taking the keyring. Instead of dropping the green key, try dropping the keyring. Instead of inserting the green key into something, try inserting the keyring into the noun. Instead of putting the green key on something, try putting the keyring on the noun. Instead of throwing the green key at something, try throwing the keyring at the second noun.

The brown key is an object with description "This is one of the smaller keys. Its bow has been coated with a material that looks brown from a distance, but on closer inspection the colour is built up from flecks of all sorts of different earth tones. It has a feathery texture." It is in the Keeper's Hut. It is undescribed.

Instead of taking the brown key, try taking the keyring. Instead of dropping the brown key, try dropping the keyring. Instead of inserting the brown key into something, try inserting the keyring into the noun. Instead of putting the brown key on something, try putting the keyring on the noun. Instead of throwing the brown key at something, try throwing the keyring at the second noun.

After unlocking something with something:

say "It takes a bit of oral dexterity, but after juggling the bunch of keys you manage to grip [the second noun] between your lips, manoeuvre it into the lock and give it a twist. There is a satisfying click."