*comment ***************************************************************** *comment Neighbourhood Necromancer, graveyard *comment by Gavin Inglis -- www.gavininglis.com *comment ***************************************************************** *set graveyard +1 *if (graveyard = 1) Alone, you weave your way out of town to the graveyard. It's a lonely, windy spot crammed between the ruins of the church and a potato field. The gates are patchy with rust. They open with a squeal which seems to touch all the frequencies painful to human hearing. Near the front, the stones are old, grey; crooked like bad teeth. Moss chokes the inscriptions and many of them have been worn smooth by years of cold rain. Further back are signs of more recent use. Some marble stones gleam among the granite, gold still visible on their inscriptions. *page_break *goto recruit *if (graveyard = 2) Alone, you weave your way back out of town to the graveyard. A car roars past you as you draw close. The sound of its engine recedes until all you can hear is far-off bird cries. Arriving at the squeaky gate, you see it's already open. And you hear a new sound, regular and rhythmic. First there is a dull thunk, then a light patter. It repeats: thunk, patter. Someone is digging. *page_break You slip through the gate and advance through the graveyard, walking on the grass. You're careful to avoid the crunch of the gravel paths. About halfway back, a man comes into view: a grey, bent figure in a flat cap. He works the spade, shovelling loose earth into an open grave. Thunk, patter. There is nothing furtive about his body language. You guess this is the groundskeeper or some kind of council caretaker. This will make it awkward to raise new minions—unless you're not worried about being noticed. *choice #Come back another time. *label leave_groundskeeper *gosub_scene end_trial There are a lot of activities you can disguise. Drawing forth dead people from the very earth to become your eternal minions is not one of those activities. The graveyard will still be here tomorrow, and perhaps a little tidied up. Your necromantic extravaganza can wait until then. *set luck %+10 *set control %-5 *page_break Next Day *goto_scene stageone #Talk to the groundskeeper. *gosub_scene end_trial You approach the groundskeeper and make some boring comment about the weather. "Always cold here," he says. "Cold and quiet's how we like it." He seems to be filling in a recently excavated grave. He glances up and sees your interest. *if (raised) "Body snatchers, we've got. Real Burke and Hare stuff. The department's in a right kerfuffle about it. Come here often, do you? Have you seen anything suspicious?" You try to hit a delicate balance between looking surprised at the news of body snatching and looking unperturbed at the groundskeeper's question. He studies you from under his cap. It's too risky to do anything necromantic right now. You had better come back another time. *set visibility +1 *set luck %+5 *page_break Next Day *goto_scene stageone *else "Covering the latest addition with this new turf. You best believe I hear about it when the grass gets patchy." You chat about gardening and how members of the local council are largely overpaid, overfed, and uncommonly pleased with themselves. Well, the groundskeeper talks and you make small noises of agreement. Eventually, he pats the turf down with a grunt of satisfaction, touches his cap, and heads for the gates. You watch him disappear down the road. *set luck %+10 *page_break *goto recruit #Wait to see if he leaves. *gosub_scene end_trial You find a hidden spot behind a Victorian headstone which is sheltered from the worst of the weather. There, you draw your legs up and listen to the groundskeeper work. As his spade shifts the mound of earth, he sings a lonely lament. *if (luck > 40) After about half an hour, the rhythm of the spade ceases. You peer round the headstone. The groundskeeper shrugs a sack onto his back, braces the spade over his shoulder, and heads for the gate. Five minutes later, the graveyard is yours. *set luck %+10 *page_break *goto recruit *else After about half an hour, the rhythm of the spade ceases. You peer round the headstone. The groundskeeper glances around the cemetery. His movements seem a little too casual and you wonder if he is actually doing something nefarious. Then he lights a cigarette—no doubt against the rules. You wait out his smoke break. He taps the stub into a little tin then moves to another grave. His spade begins all over again: thunk, patter. He is clearly here for the afternoon. You could go ahead and raise some dead anyway but your face is chilled and you're losing feeling in your fingers. This can wait until tomorrow. *set luck %-10 *page_break Next Day *goto_scene stageone #Go ahead and raise some dead anyway. *gosub_scene end_trial You stride around the paths of the graveyard, trying to find a good spot. The groundskeeper continues to work with his spade. You have a feeling that under that cap, his eyes are on you. Well, you'll give him something to look at. The humerus is warm against your fingers. You settle your feet into the earth, close your eyes, and reach down into the ground for the unquiet dead. *set groundskeeper true *set zcommit 1 *set scommit 1 *if (control > 52) *set zcommit +1 *comment endif *if (luck > 52) *set scommit +1 *comment endif *page_break *goto rise *if (graveyard > 2) Alone, you weave your way back out of town to the graveyard, yet again. *if (raised = false) You are getting distinctly bored of this place. It is no Highgate Cemetery or Père Lachaise. You swear this will be your last visit. *page_break *goto recruit *else You push through the cemetery gates. They open with their now-familiar shriek. Gravel crunches under your feet as you prowl the graveyard, trying to find a good spot. It seems harder this time. It occurs to you that the place has a finite capacity. You may have drawn from the ground all the minions that are available. Weather-worn stones mark your route as you survey the older section, moving through to the newer section. A precious few rays of sunshine break through the clouds. The humerus seems to twitch against your hand. This seems like a good spot for… The gate wails again. Someone is coming in behind you. You glance round to see a black jacket, a cap with a chequered band. It's a policeman. His car is parked across the entrance. *set police_graveyard true *choice #Pretend you're an innocent visitor. *gosub_scene end_trial *label innocent_visitor The policeman walks straight towards you. You recognise him now, an older man with a bit of a belly and a salt-and-pepper moustache. He did a talk on road safety at your school. PC…McMurdo. "Unusual to see young 'uns up at the cemetery," he says. "A frequent visitor, are you?" *fake_choice #Yes. #No. #Not really. #Stay silent. "Mmm-hmm." He takes out his notebook and checks his watch. His movements are slow but his eyes are sharp. "$!{name}, isn't it? I'm investigating certain…disturbances that have happened on this site. Disturbances of an illegal nature. Have you seen anybody acting suspiciously?" You haven't. "Mmm-hmm. And what's the reason for your visit today?" He stares at you. *choice #Visiting the grave of an elderly relative. "Oh yes? What's the name? Where's the stone?" Your hesitation says enough. PC McMurdo narrows his eyes and writes in his notebook. *label likely_story "A likely story. The only reason I'm not detaining you today," he says, "is that I'm looking for a miscreant with a large spade and it's clear you are not in possession of such an item. But make no mistake…" He taps his notebook. "…if I see you here again, I'll be having a word with your parents. Now, hop it." He points a thumb at the cemetery gate. You really do not want the local constable visiting your dead parents. You hop it as instructed. *set visibility +7 *set luck %-15 *page_break Next Day *goto_scene stageone #Visiting the grave of a friend your age. A name comes to your mind—Fiona, a girl from the year above you who got drunk in the playground one night, staggered onto the main road, and was knocked down and killed. You hardly knew her but he doesn't know that. You mention her name and try to get a little tearful about the incident. PC McMurdo touches the brim of his cap. "I remember the girl. Sad business. Hope you learned a lesson from that. Alcohol's not to be trifled with." You have definitely seen this man purchase supermarket lager twenty-four cans at a time. Still, your answer seems to satisfy him and he closes his notebook with a snap. *set visibility +2 *if (luck > 46) He returns to his car and drives off. You have a few minutes of opportunity at least. *set luck %+5 *goto recruit *else He returns to his car and drives a short distance down the road. You see he's keeping the graveyard under surveillance. Better give up on recruiting new minions for today. You trudge in the direction of home, feeling the policeman's eyes on you. *set luck %-5 *page_break Next Day *goto_scene stageone #Looking for inspiration for your poetry. "Poetry? Hrrmp! One of those 'goths' are you? Why don't you write about real things instead of lurking around the likes of here? Take William McGonagall." The constable gestures with his pen. "He's not well-regarded. But he writes proper rhymes and he covered the issues of his day. Like the Tay Bridge disaster. You should look up some of that instead of moping around here. Go on, get off with you." He ushers you from the graveyard and moves his car out of sight a little down the road. Clearly, he's intent on watching the graveyard. You had better look elsewhere for your minions now. *set visibility +4 *set corruption +1 *set humanity +1 *page_break Next Day *goto_scene stageone #Looking for peace and quiet. "Oh yes? Peace and quiet? You know who else looks for peace and quiet in cemeteries? Perverts and murderers." He narrows his eyes and takes a long look at you. *goto likely_story #Run for it. *gosub_scene end_trial The graveyard has an old stone wall. You brace on a low section and catapult yourself over into the field beyond. "Hoi!" The policeman shouts behind you and you hear running feet. You hare off through the lines of potato crops. Every step leaves footprints but you will have to hope that $!{town} Constabulary do not possess the resources to trace your shoes back to where you bought them just because you ran from a graveyard. You leap over a fence and end up in a field of cows. They stare at you curiously as you sprint past, breathing hard. You risk a glance back. The policeman has fallen behind. He seems like an older man. You remember his name—PC McMurdo—from a talk he gave at your school. Even then he looked fond of fish and chips and beer. You are probably safe. Behind a barn, you take off your jacket to change your appearance and slip back towards town. You won't be going to the graveyard again. *set visibility +5 *set max_energy %+5 *page_break Next Day *goto_scene stageone #Try to summon an undead escort. *gosub_scene end_trial Ripping undead from the ground under time pressure…this is a new challenge. You grip the humerus, quiet your mind, and tug at the dead beneath your feet. *if (control > 52) You grin as you feel the recently-deceased stir in response to your command. *set zcommit +1 *if (control > 61) *set zcommit +1 *comment endif *if (control > 70) *set zcommit +1 *comment endif The policeman—you remember him now, an older man named McMurdo—staggers back as *set number zcommit *gosub number zombies erupt from the ground between you. He stares, wide-eyed, and you send these new minions lurching towards him. For seconds he's frozen, and then he makes a tactical withdrawal to the safety of his car. You see him on the radio as he screeches away down the road. Time to make a covert exit with your new minions. *set zombies +zcommit *set minion_count +zcommit *set visibility +10 *set luck %+10 *set control %+5 *page_break Next Day *goto_scene stageone *else Your concentration falters. The graves stay intact, silent. You're still new at this. Better just keep cool. After all, you're doing nothing suspicious—unless you count carrying a glowing, human bone around. *goto innocent_visitor *comment ***************************************************************** *label recruit You shiver as you walk among the headstones. It's one thing controlling a shambling figure of wasting flesh or a clackety, hyperactive collection of bones. But these are still people, lying deep in the earth, some for a very long time. Do you really want to interrupt their eternal rest to boost your horde? *choice #Recruit in the older section of the graveyard. *label oldgrave You stand among the old stones and take out the humerus. Its weak pulse is difficult to see in daylight; it manifests as a sickly tint on your skin. If it's responding to the presence of bodies in the ground, they must be buried deep—or perhaps they have decayed beyond the point where they can be animated. Who knows? They don't teach this stuff in school. *choice #Attempt to pull undead from the ground with an active force of will. *gosub_scene end_trial You plant both feet square on the earth and adopt a dramatic and hopefully solid stance. You close your eyes. The bone channels your will. You send a command deep into the ground, calling the long-time dead. [i]Come. Now is your time. Arise and serve me.[/i] It's old-fashioned, hokey stuff, but then, there's not a single tombstone in this area more recent than the 1930s. *set zcommit 0 *set scommit 1 *set scommit +(round(control/25)) *if (scommit > 1) *set scommit -1 *comment endif *set control %+5 *page_break *goto rise #Try to free your mind and contact the dead. *gosub_scene end_trial You sit on the grass, rest the humerus between your palms and close your eyes. A chill wind buffets your face. You try to visualise…you're not sure what, exactly. Damp from the grass begins to seep through your clothes. *if (humanity >= 10) You stick it out for a good twenty minutes but you just can't seem to engage with the dead here. Perhaps you could try with more recent bodies…but you're tired and cold, and you want to go home. *set humanity +1 *set control %-10 *page_break Next Day *goto_scene stageone *else Finally, it happens. You're thinking about the myriad bodies lying down there. Your mind lifts and you have a vision: a sort of X-ray image of the dead, bones lying spaced in a neat grid, distributed all around you in three dimensions. The flesh of your hands begins to tingle and you touch them to the earth. *set zcommit 1 *set scommit ((round(luck/25)) -1) *set luck %+10 *page_break *goto rise #Move to the newer section instead. *goto newgrave #Recruit in the newer section of the graveyard. *label newgrave You walk to the back section. This area is better-tended and shows signs of recent visitation: plots cleared of debris and flowers still clinging to life in their memorial pots. By the dates on the stones, you can see that the dead here are far more recent—fresher, if you like. But you can't ignore the evidence that the bereaved visit here, and if you summon their dearly departed, they will find a large corpse-shaped hole where the neat plot used to be. Very upsetting. *choice #Change your mind. You hate almost everybody who lives in this town. But some scrap of decency prevents you from hurting them in this particular way. Today, at least. *set humanity +1 *set luck %+10 *page_break Next Day *goto_scene stageone #Take a few. *gosub_scene end_trial You examine a few names and dates on the stones. Some of them were younger; in their thirties, twenties, even. They can't have been finished with this life when they were forced to leave it. Could you offer them another chance? You take out the humerus and walk the paths, reaching down with your instincts, trying to call the dead who already rest uneasily. You have no idea if this mental communication can get through to them in any way. But you promise if they come, they will have a second chance. *set zcommit 1 *set zcommit +(round(humanity / 5)) *if (zcommit > 1) *set zcommit -1 *comment endif *set humanity +1 *set control %+5 *set luck %+5 *page_break *goto rise #Take every corpse you can. *gosub_scene end_trial You prowl the stones. DEARLY DEPARTED. IN LOVING MEMORY. REST IN PEACE. A dark, joyful energy fills you. You grip the humerus like a baton. You feel like you could march all day. They're all down there, waiting. In a moment, it will begin, like ripping off a bandage, like tearing the scab from a wound. You feel it somewhere deep inside you. *set zcommit 1 *set zcommit +(round(corruption / 5)) *if (luck > 50) *set scommit 1 *comment endif *set corruption +2 *set max_energy %+10 *page_break *goto rise #Take your time and look at the stones. *gosub_scene end_trial *if (graveyard = 1) You haven't been up here in a long time. The older section is full of crumbling stones and faded names: Alberts and Archibalds, Marjories and Maudes. From time to time, you see a mossy angel, or even a skull and crossbones—although you doubt it means a pirate is buried here. Something about the names gets to you, the family relationships. You trace your fingers across the rough top of a granite grave marker. Perhaps you don't need more undead minions that badly. *goto stones *elseif (graveyard = 2) Wandering through the newer section, you find a shiny, black stone with a name that startles you. MIRIAM KENNEDY, it reads. This is Mrs Kennedy, the mother of Darren Kennedy who used to live around the corner. You remember her: a red-faced woman with ginger hair who made banana scones and loved to give them out to Darren's classmates. Banana shouldn't have worked as a scone flavour but it really did. Your mother never mentioned what Mrs Kennedy died from. And Darren moved away to live with his grandparents. But her body is still under here. Do you really want to disturb it? *goto stones *elseif (raised) Workers seem to have filled up most of the holes you left the last time you recruited minions here. Some of the headstones stand crooked or lie flat. Was that your fault? Not that it means much with the body gone. But all the same… *goto stones *else You know the layout by now. You're only putting off the decision. *goto stones *label stones *choice #Recruit in the older section of the graveyard. *goto oldgrave #Recruit in the newer section of the graveyard. *goto newgrave #Leave flowers instead. The florist is way over on the other side of town. But maybe you can find something nearby. You vault over the graveyard wall and search the wild perimeter of the nearby fields. *rand bomb 1 3 *if (bomb = 1) You're able to collect a small armful of bluebells. They look vibrant against the cold stone of the graveyard. *goto flowers *elseif (bomb = 2) You quickly put together a spray of delicate pink flowers. They stir in the cold breeze. *goto flowers *else You find a few large heads of what looks like giant, yellow daisies. Raindrops sparkle on their vivid petals. *goto flowers *label flowers You're careful to shield the flowers as you climb back over the wall. There are enough of them to leave on several graves. You walk between the stones. With some, the name draws you in. Others you stop at because they look neglected. In each case, the colourful flowers brighten the grave. You feel a bit better about yourself as you head for home. *set humanity +2 *set luck %+20 *if (horde_family = false) *page_break Back home you watch your various unfortunate companions as they stumble around the house. They are a nuisance, true, but they're also welcome company. If it wasn't for their moaning and bumping into the furniture, the house would be very quiet and you might have to think harder about what's going on. Better to have a family like this, such as it is. On an impulse, you pick flowers from a neighbour's garden and put them in a vase with water, to brighten up the room. The vase lasts almost an hour. *set horde_family true *set luck %+5 *comment endif *page_break Next Day *goto_scene stageone *comment ***************************************************************** *label rise *if ((zcommit = 1) and (scommit = 0)) Wind whistles around you. In the distance, a magpie chatters. The cold gets under your coat and into your bones. Finally, you hear irregular footsteps crunch on the grass. A single zombie staggers in from another section of the graveyard. It approaches you at a drunken angle. When it stops, it stares at the ground beside you and drools. That did not seem worth it. *set zombies +1 *set minion_count +1 *set luck %-10 *if (raised = false) *achieve raise *comment endif *set raised true *set corruption +1 *page_break Next Day *goto_scene stageone *if ((scommit = 1) and (zcommit = 0)) Something grabs your ankle! You roll backwards, gasping cold air as you tear your foot away. A collection of tiny bones sprouts from the earth like a bleached plant. As you watch, it pats the earth. Turf cracks around it and a skeleton heaves itself into view. It shakes out its arms and legs, tilts its head to one side and stares at you. This one's a joker. You can tell. *set skeletons +1 *set minion_count +1 *set control %-10 *if (raised = false) *achieve raise *comment endif *set raised true *set corruption +1 *page_break Next Day *goto_scene stageone *else In front of you, the earth cracks and parts, as the dead rise again at your command. *if (scommit > 0) *if (scommit = 1) Two bony hands emerge from the grass, clearing dirt from the path of a yellowed cranium. A new skeleton heaves itself into view. *goto newzombie *else Bones slide from the broken ground, twisting and reassembling into *set number scommit *gosub number new skeleton warriors. Grave dirt drains from their cavities as they ready themselves for action. *goto newzombie *label newzombie *if (zcommit > 0) *if (zcommit = 1) A solitary zombie tears itself from its resting place, still wearing the stained remains of its burial suit. It promptly falls over onto its face. You help it to its feet and it gives a guttural moan as it attempts to relearn balance. *goto exit_graveyard *else You feel a moment of savage power as *set number zcommit *gosub number recently-dead claw themselves from the ground. The stench hits you like a punch to the face. You shift upwind while examining your shabby new footsoldiers. A ${master} of necromancy can't afford to throw up every time ${he} summons new minions. *goto exit_graveyard *label exit_graveyard *if (groundskeeper) A sharp CLANG reminds you of the presence of the groundskeeper. He has discarded the spade and is running for the gate, holding on to his cap. You try to urge a new minion after him…but you can't quite find the energy. *set visibility +10 *set control %+5 *comment endif A wave of fatigue pours over you. Calling the dead requires serious concentration. You head for home with weary steps, your obedient, new undead trailing behind. *set zombies +zcommit *set minion_count +zcommit *set skeletons +scommit *set minion_count +scommit *if (raised = false) *achieve raise *comment endif *set raised true *set corruption +1 *page_break Next Day *goto_scene stageone *label number *comment ***************************************************************** *if (number = 2) two *return *elseif (number = 3) three *return *elseif (number = 4) four *return *elseif (number = 5) five *return *elseif (number = 6) six *return *elseif (number = 7) seven *return *elseif (number = 8) eight *return *elseif (number = 9) nine *return *elseif (number = 10) ten *return *else more than ten *return *comment endif