Gnu in the Zoo — 21 of 30

Chapter 5 - Oceania Zone

[Tasmanian Devil, in case you were worried.]

The Devil Enclosure Entrance is a room. "You stand before the gate of a small enclosure that looks more like a rockery garden. The path runs east to west here, but further progress westwards has been made impossible by a cattle grid. Which is a shame, really, as you’ve heard there are kangaroos and wombats down this way.[paragraph break]In the middle of the enclosure is large stone jutting out the ground at a shallow angle.[if Beastie the Big Scary Devil is in the Devil Enclosure Itself] Collapsed in front of this is Beastie.[end if]". It is west of the Riverside.

The cattle grid is scenery in the Devil Enclosure Entrance. "Annoying and impassable."

Jumping over is an action applying to one thing. Understand "jump over [something]" as jumping over. Instead of jumping over the cattle grid, say "Don’t be ridiculous, you don’t have Super Cow Powers. You’d break a leg." Check jumping over: say "Only cows attempt stunts like that." instead.

The Devil Enclosure Itself is a room. "The interior of the enclosure strongly resembles a rockery garden. It is dominated by a large stone positioned at its centre. The stone juts out of the ground at a shallow angle; nothing but shadows are visible beneath, though it smells of sleeping quarters." Index map with the Devil Enclosure Itself mapped west of the Devil Enclosure Entrance.

The Devil Enclosure Entrance is connected with the The Devil Enclosure Itself.

The devil enclosure gate is inside of the Devil Enclosure Entrance and outside of the Devil Enclosure Itself. It is a door and scenery. It is lockable and locked. The description of the devil enclosure gate is "The gate is not as sturdily built as some you have seen, but still solid enough to do its job." The red key unlocks the devil enclosure gate.

[This is a bit of a hack.]

Understand "large stone" as the Devil Enclosure Itself.

Beastie the Big Scary Devil is an animal. "Beastie is quite possibly the largest and fiercest Tasmanian Devil in the world, though still much smaller than you. Nevertheless, such is his reputation that visitors call him the Big Scary Devil. At the moment, though, he looks rather [state of Beastie]." The description of Beastie the Big Scary Devil is "Looking more closely at the devil, you identify the source of his distress: there are small white lumps embedded in his side." He is in the Devil Enclosure Itself. Understand "devil" as Beastie the Big Scary Devil. Understand "Tasmanian Devil" as Beastie the Big Scary Devil.

The claws are an object in the Devil Enclosure Itself. They are undescribed. The description of the claws is "They appear to be claws. The claws of some adverse tiger, you think, though you have no idea how they came to be stuck in the devil’s hide." The indefinite article of the claws is "some". Understand "small white lumps" as the claws. Understand "white lumps" as the claws. Understand "lumps" as the claws.

To say state of Beastie:

if the claws are undescribed:

say "poorly";

otherwise:

say "dopey".

Understand "extract [something] from Beastie" as taking. Understand "extract [something]" as taking. Understand "pluck [something] from Beastie" as taking. Understand "pluck [something]" as taking.

Instead of removing the claws from Beastie the Big Scary Devil, try taking the claws. Understand "remove [something]" as taking.

Before taking the claws:

if the claws are undescribed:

if the keyring is held:

say "You put down the bunch of keys and approach Beastie carefully.";

silently try dropping the the keyring;

otherwise:

say "You approach Beastie carefully."

After taking the claws when the claws are undescribed:

now the claws are described;

now the printed name of Beastie the Big Scary Devil is "Beastie the mollified Big Scary Devil";

now the description of Beastie the Big Scary Devil is "As well as the normal scents of sweat, dust and insufficient dental hygiene, Beastie smells strongly of blood. A dark stain on his fur reveals the location of the wound.";

say "He half-heartedly snaps his powerful jaws at you, but you dodge them easily. Bending down, you clamp your teeth around the first claw and yank it out. Beastie yelps and squirms, but soon settles again. You remove the remaining claws with much the same result, then retreat to a safe distance. It would be an exaggeration to say Beastie looks grateful, but he does seem mollified.";

silently try dropping the claws;

now the description of the claws is "They appear to be the claws of some adverse tiger, and are somewhat stained with Beastie's blood.".

Beastie the Gnu is a gnu with description "He’s a gnu. Agnother gnu, with teeth so sharp it hurts his mouth to chew."

Instead of touching Beastie the Big Scary Devil:

if the printed name of Beastie the Big Scary Devil is "Beastie the mollified Big Scary Devil":

remove Beastie the Big Scary Devil from play;

now Beastie the Gnu is in the Devil Enclosure Itself;

increase the time of day by five minutes;

say "Tentatively, you edge closer to the Tasmanian devil and nudge him with your hoof. His shriek and a sharp pain in your leg makes you instantly step back. Beastie lets out a deafening screech as a blue haze overtakes him. He shudders violently, visibly growing with every spasm. There are unpleasant crunching sounds as his bones break and reset; it must be excruciating.[paragraph break]The transformation takes a while to complete, but eventually the haze disperses, leaving an exhausted Beastie standing in front of you, no longer a devil, but a gnu like yourself.";

otherwise:

say "You inch towards Beastie, but he snaps his jaws at you in warning. Perhaps you ought to attend to what ails him first."

After going east from the Devil Enclosure Entrance:

increase the time of day by five minutes;

continue the action.