Start of a transcript of It seems you've messed up the dates. You're supposed to meet him here tomorrow. But that's alright; you might as well do a quick divination exercise since you made the trip. Why not divine how you're feeling right now? Three symbols should do the trick. Luna Gardens - SpringThing Demo An Interactive Fiction by Bruhstin Release 1 / Serial number 240409 / Inform 7 build 6M62 (I6/v6.33 lib 6/12N) Identification number: //9247C213-42FA-4277-9A3D-4A1F550AF5C6// Interpreter version 0.6.0 / VM 3.1.3 / Library serial number 080126 Standard Rules version 3/120430 by Graham Nelson Distantly Visible Things-v2 by Marc von der Heiden >l Garden of the Shifting Path Under a boundless sky, stone paths snake in from all directions and meet at a throng of plants and rocks, arrivals with different backgrounds, who live in the same plots of soil. It is the heart of Luna Gardens, which in turn is the spiritual core of the University. A ring of stone benches encircles the edges of this place in a way resembling the pillars of a cylindrical building. You can see a fence, a gate, a light pole some distance away; somewhere, you also hear the sound of running water. >x me Baggy eyes, sore shoulders, and a profound lack of sleep- University life hasn't been good to you. >find What do you want to find? >symbol You can't see any such thing. >find symbol You can't see any such thing. >find ring You don't recall learning about such a symbol. >find circle You can't see any such thing. >find water You need to get closer to the running water, which is to the east. >find path You can't see any such thing. >find heart You can't see any such thing. >x me Baggy eyes, sore shoulders, and a profound lack of sleep- University life hasn't been good to you. >i You are carrying nothing. >x benches Weathered and worn, these benches make a close space where folks who sit on them can have a round-table talk with friends or choose to speak in hushed tones amongst strangers. You'll meet with the Professor here tomorrow. He came up to you after lecture one day and said he knew both your Father and the one you're searching for: His Lover. >l Garden of the Shifting Path Under a boundless sky, stone paths snake in from all directions and meet at a throng of plants and rocks, arrivals with different backgrounds, who live in the same plots of soil. It is the heart of Luna Gardens, which in turn is the spiritual core of the University. A ring of stone benches encircles the edges of this place in a way resembling the pillars of a cylindrical building. You can see a fence, a gate, a light pole some distance away; somewhere, you also hear the sound of running water. >x paths Clusters of flat stone plates slither in and out towards the north, east, and west. They're known as the Shifting Path, the namesake of this garden. Rumor has it performing a certain dance on any part of the Path lets you fly beyond the sky to space, where travelling to the Celestial Realm is possible. Of course, this tale is used as a popular hazing ritual by upperclassmen for gullible new students. >x sky A field of blue stamped with the occasional congregation of clouds streams across your eyelids like a great river coursing through a valley. >x plants Green lush, tall and short, wide and thin, reaches up and tangles with each other into structures concealing what lies behind them. This is one of the few spots on campus where privacy is valued, for a change. >x rocks Among these mineral collections strewn about the ground, one the size of a small dog sits near your feet and says nothing, save for a strange mark on one of its faces. >x mark You recognize this mark as the piercing symbol. >find piercing You think back on your studies and recall that piercing means "arrows planted in flesh". It's said that the things which afflict us take hold of us as if they were sharp arrows piercing our bodies, whether we realize it or not. You entered this University because of your Father. Yes, you got in as an Applied Divination Arts major with ease thanks to the lessons he gave you since childhood but the bigger reason is that you want to learn more about him; the man shared so little for someone who knew so much. He even forbade you from practicing magic without explaining why... >x soil You recall a lecture that taught how the four elements are everywhere. In the case of earth, the heat of the sun's fire, the nourishment of the clouds" water, and the movement of the wind's air combine to create the soil beneath your feet and everyone else's. We all share the same earth, so why do we divide it? >x fence To the south, a fence divides the sky behind it into an even grid of sable lines. >x gate A dark gate borders the stone pathway going north. >x pole A green light pole stands out of place to the west. >x water A sound of running water can be heard to the east. >listen You hear nothing unexpected. >e Shifting Path - East The stones of the Shifting Path run alongside another path of running water that flows down towards a sparkling fountain to the east. Afar you spot a ring of stone benches and a red pavilion. >x water A small stream of water pours down an exposed concrete half-pipe from somewhere. >find water You don't recall learning about such a symbol. >x stones You can't see any such thing. >x fountain You can't see any such thing. >x pavilion A quaint pavilion painted bright red stands with a curved roof to the northwest. >e You can't go that way. >nw Lotus Pond Garden A pavilion stands on a platform atop a large pond filled with floating leaves and a single lotus flower. Following the bridge that connects the floating structure to the land, a great tree casts its shadows over the lawn underneath it. Some space away you see a dark gate and hear the sound of running water. >x pond A collection of large flat leaves fan out on top of the water and float around a single lotus flower. Considering how sacred this place is and its surviving not only generations of wandering students but also entire wars, special care is taken to make sure it's free of litter. You know this because the last person who was caught throwing his cigarette butt into the water took a leave of absence for "spontaneous life-threatening injuries". >x flower This specific lotus flower is one of the University's greatest treasures. Planted over a hundred years ago to celebrate an alumnus from a poor background achieving immortality, it's visited by many a student to wish for luck in accomplishing many things during their time here. A lotus itself was chosen because its growth from mud to later bloom as a beautiful flower under the sun reflected the former student's life. A seal in the image of a lotus flower signed off the letter that threw your entire life upside down. You recall coming home to find your Mother sobbing and a message from some unknown Lover from his University days who wanted to see him again during the next Magpie Festival. Something, perhaps your intuition from a lifetime of honing your divination skills, told you that whoever wrote this letter was why he learned magic and suffered through its fatal side effects; and you decided right then and there to find them. >x bridge A small wooden bridge crosses the gap of water between the pavilion and the lawn. It's covered in a rainbow of knots tied around its railings for good luck due to a popular trend based on another unrelated bridge's tradition. This fun fact almost makes you forget that bridges are a classic and basic example of the connection symbol. >find connection You think back on your studies and recall that connection means "a link between poles". They say in ancient times two lovers separated by fate found each other again through a bridge formed by magpies who heard their cries of longing. This story is a reminder that all things share an interconnected nature, where even two unrelated things are said to be one and the same. You think back on your Father's final moments when he mentioned the moon. Just who was he thinking of? You and your mother? Or someone else... >x tree A great big tree grows from the ground and spreads its branches to cover most of the lawn before reaching the edges of the pond. It's not uncommon to see someone writing poetry while sitting against its trunk and staring out at the shimmering water. On top of one of its branches you see a magpie looking around. Your inner storehouse of divination knowledge tells you that trees are also known as the symbol of concealment. >x gate You can't see any such thing. >find concealment You think back on your studies and recall that concealment means "is/are shrouded by". Like the shadows cast from leaves under the midday sunlight which cover all beneath the tree, so too are the core feelings and insights of ourselves are covered by misperceptions. You think about what your Father must have felt when he lost his own father, too. Did he also look back on his family tree and saw all the loss? All the children who lost their parents? You realize that the human race comes from an entire lineage of inevitable suffering. >help What is Luna Gardens? Welcome to Luna Gardens! We're glad to have you here. This game has its own set of verbs which are all you need to play. This demo introduces the basic functionality and establishes context for the main story. How do I play? Navigation. To get around the world, use EXPLORE (DISTANT LANDMARK). For example, if the description of the room you're in mentions a "distant pole in a space to the northeast, then you can navigate there by entering "EXPLORE POLE". " Observation. You can use LOOK by itself to see a description of your surroundings. EXAMINE (THING) lets you take a closer look at things. Things you can examine may be hidden in the text you come across, so be thorough! Divination. FIND (SYMBOL) helps you recall a symbol's meaning. DIVINE lets you interpret the combined meaning of a group of symbols. For example, if two symbols you found, "turtle and "run(s) in the forest", create a combined meaning of "turtle runs in the forest", then divining that exact sentence might reveal "Someone who's calm was surprised and lost their way." I don't know what to do! Use FORECAST by itself to get a hint about what you should do. The best time to do so would be after FINDING a symbol. Contacting the author For any questions, comments, or suggestions, please reach out to Justin at heyjustinkim@gmail.com. >find piercing You can't see any such thing. >x piercing You can't see any such thing. >divine arrows planted in flesh are shrouded by a link between poles I only understood you as far as wanting to divine. >divine What interpretation are you divining? > arrows planted in flesh That doesn't seem right. Maybe there's a mistake somewhere? Spelling, punctuation, etc. is important... Even inside your head. Or maybe there's a better message to divine. >divine What interpretation are you divining? > arrows planted in flesh are shrouded by a link between poles That doesn't seem right. Maybe there's a mistake somewhere? Spelling, punctuation, etc. is important... Even inside your head. Or maybe there's a better message to divine. >l Lotus Pond Garden A pavilion stands on a platform atop a large pond filled with floating leaves and a single lotus flower. Following the bridge that connects the floating structure to the land, a great tree casts its shadows over the lawn underneath it. Some space away you see a dark gate and hear the sound of running water. >explore gate You can't see The gate. >explore tree You can't see The tree. >w Shifting Path - North Stone steps pass through a dark-hued gate towards a compound of small buildings to the north. Closer by but requiring a small trip are a ring of benches and a grove of trees. >x buildings From afar these short buildings with their sloping roofs look like cottages in a village spread out across a wide berth of land. You know better than to visit them, of course; it's best to not have business in the administrative section of the University, nicknamed "Admin Alley". >x grove A small grove of trees sway in the wind to the west. >forecast Based on how there's clumps of clouds in the sky today, you'd wager that hidden knowledge may lurk within other things. You spot some new clouds in the sky. Thin lines strike through a wider mass of pale brush strokes. Large balls of cotton hide smaller ones behind themselves. >x clouds You can't see any such thing. >x sky A field of blue stamped with the occasional congregation of clouds streams across your eyelids like a great river coursing through a valley. >x cloud You can't see any such thing. >n You can't go that way. >s Garden of the Shifting Path Under a boundless sky, stone paths snake in from all directions and meet at a throng of plants and rocks, arrivals with different backgrounds, who live in the same plots of soil. It is the heart of Luna Gardens, which in turn is the spiritual core of the University. A ring of stone benches encircles the edges of this place in a way resembling the pillars of a cylindrical building. You can see a fence, a gate, a light pole some distance away; somewhere, you also hear the sound of running water. >x sky A field of blue stamped with the occasional congregation of clouds streams across your eyelids like a great river coursing through a valley. >x clouds You can't see any such thing. >explore pole Shifting Path - West Stone steps curve around a green light pole and continue west towards a large concrete building with multiple floors. In the distance you can see a grove of trees and a ring of benches. >x pole This large metal stick covered with a rusted green paint might be one of the few modern additions to this garden. Some say this was the first of a few failed attempts to bring the then-archaic University up to speed with the times. The traditionalists may have won at the time but as the rest of the current campus shows, time waits for no one. >x building Thunder, or its close relative, booms from the Physical Phenomena Research Facility at random times. With how big the place is, tour guides love to say how a giant lives in there but even the physical-phen students don't know where that racket comes from and the faculty just avoid the matter. In any case, it's become tradition to yell back at "The Giant's Lair" right before an exam for luck. >x steps You can't see any such thing. >w You can't go that way. >explore grove Moon's Reprieve Garden A grove of trees forms a circle in the middle of this garden and shield from the outside world the bench you like to nap on in-between classes. The University brochures and other marketing materials like to say this place is where the moon takes a break while she journeys around the earth. In fact, the only things resting around here are students reaching the end of their wits as they journey through textbooks, dry lectures, and someone's bright idea of putting everything on campus far away from each other. Sitting on the ground near the bench are a short stone lantern and a wooden log. Farther away, you see a dark gate rising in the air and a rusted light pole. >x lantern One of those stone lanterns people place in gardens to provide lighting at night. It's sculpted in a classical style... which you can't name right now. Advanced architectural divination is an upper-division topic you plan to look at in the future. At least you know enough to say that this is a textbook example of the lantern symbol. >find lantern You think back on your studies and recall that lantern means "an illuminated soul". True insight never dies. Fires may come and go but someone who has realized what it means to experience life unfiltered carries within them a light that shines forever. Towards the end of his life the man who was cold and firm gave you his last pieces of advice. Be kind. Be strong. Be courageous. All of that made sense but not being a beacon. Why should you take fault for the mistakes of others? >x log A log from a fallen tree whose branches were cut off. The waving residents of this grove aren't that thick so this isn't nearly big nor steady enough to sit on. Closer inspection shows that it's not hollow which means no small animals who live in it. Boo. >symbols That's not a verb I recognise. >find What do you want to find? >l Moon's Reprieve Garden A grove of trees forms a circle in the middle of this garden and shield from the outside world the bench you like to nap on in-between classes. The University brochures and other marketing materials like to say this place is where the moon takes a break while she journeys around the earth. In fact, the only things resting around here are students reaching the end of their wits as they journey through textbooks, dry lectures, and someone's bright idea of putting everything on campus far away from each other. Sitting on the ground near the bench are a short stone lantern and a wooden log. Farther away, you see a dark gate rising in the air and a rusted light pole. >help What is Luna Gardens? Welcome to Luna Gardens! We're glad to have you here. This game has its own set of verbs which are all you need to play. This demo introduces the basic functionality and establishes context for the main story. How do I play? Navigation. To get around the world, use EXPLORE (DISTANT LANDMARK). For example, if the description of the room you're in mentions a "distant pole in a space to the northeast, then you can navigate there by entering "EXPLORE POLE". " Observation. You can use LOOK by itself to see a description of your surroundings. EXAMINE (THING) lets you take a closer look at things. Things you can examine may be hidden in the text you come across, so be thorough! Divination. FIND (SYMBOL) helps you recall a symbol's meaning. DIVINE lets you interpret the combined meaning of a group of symbols. For example, if two symbols you found, "turtle and "run(s) in the forest", create a combined meaning of "turtle runs in the forest", then divining that exact sentence might reveal "Someone who's calm was surprised and lost their way." I don't know what to do! Use FORECAST by itself to get a hint about what you should do. The best time to do so would be after FINDING a symbol. Contacting the author For any questions, comments, or suggestions, please reach out to Justin at heyjustinkim@gmail.com. >divine an illuminated soul is shrouded by arrows planted in flesh I only understood you as far as wanting to divine. >divine What interpretation are you divining? > an illuminated soul is shrouded by arrows planted in flesh That doesn't seem right. Maybe there's a mistake somewhere? Spelling, punctuation, etc. is important... Even inside your head. Or maybe there's a better message to divine. >forecast Based on how there's clumps of clouds in the sky today, you'd wager that hidden knowledge may lurk within other things. You spot some new clouds in the sky. Thin lines strike through a wider mass of pale brush strokes. Large balls of cotton hide smaller ones behind themselves. >divine an illuminated soul is shrouded by a link between poles I only understood you as far as wanting to divine. >divine a link between poles is shrouded by an illuminated soul I only understood you as far as wanting to divine. >l Moon's Reprieve Garden A grove of trees forms a circle in the middle of this garden and shield from the outside world the bench you like to nap on in-between classes. The University brochures and other marketing materials like to say this place is where the moon takes a break while she journeys around the earth. In fact, the only things resting around here are students reaching the end of their wits as they journey through textbooks, dry lectures, and someone's bright idea of putting everything on campus far away from each other. Sitting on the ground near the bench are a short stone lantern and a wooden log. Farther away, you see a dark gate rising in the air and a rusted light pole. >explore pole Shifting Path - West Stone steps curve around a green light pole and continue west towards a large concrete building with multiple floors. In the distance you can see a grove of trees and a ring of benches. >e Garden of the Shifting Path Under a boundless sky, stone paths snake in from all directions and meet at a throng of plants and rocks, arrivals with different backgrounds, who live in the same plots of soil. It is the heart of Luna Gardens, which in turn is the spiritual core of the University. A ring of stone benches encircles the edges of this place in a way resembling the pillars of a cylindrical building. You can see a fence, a gate, a light pole some distance away; somewhere, you also hear the sound of running water. >explore fence Cliffside Garden Walls of pale green leaves and dots of bright flowers narrow into a thin path veiled by light fragrances. It turns into a small clearing that faces a blanket of water rippling out to the horizon; the moon looks great when it descends into the ocean. The winds howl in your ears as black iron bars overlay the sky and shield you from falling to the beach far below, a stark reminder of how human life can end with a single step. Looking out beside you is a statue. You spot a ring of benches some distance away. >x leaves You can't see any such thing. >x flowers You can't see any such thing. >x path Floral aromas have this silky blanket feeling when they wave into your nose. You increase your intake of air to take in nature's perfume and note the presence of liquid that plays a part in diffusing these scents. >x clearing This part of the clifftop isn't fancy but that's its main selling point. A small area of grass looking out over a scenic view makes for a romantic spot when the sun and moon take their turns greeting the water. >x grass You can't see any such thing. >x view The ocean spreads out in front of you in that alienating way that comes from a lifetime of living on flat land with the occasional hill. You never got used to the waves in it that climb and fall in an endless cycle under an uncaring horizon line. Its vast reach reminds you of how little it is, in the grand scheme of things. Here, on the Terrestrial Realm, you can't even begin to know just how far up the Celestial Realm is, with its wealth and joys. The same goes for the Infernal Realm below, where all living beings are taken to be judged for their deeds on Earth and given a new life; one hopes this process lacks "rehabilitation", as the deities say. >x moon You can't see any such thing. >listen You hear nothing unexpected. >x bars You can't see any such thing. >x statue A statue of an immortal whose name you forget stares with a neutral face towards the ocean. In the past, students practiced the various arts such as magic and alchemy to reunite with the true form of reality. Some were able to become immortals, beings who could live far longer than regular humans and travel across Realms at will. They say some people fell in love with immortals. You think of the inevitable heartbreak that comes when these arrogant beings abandon their little flings and return to their ageless lives. >l Cliffside Garden Walls of pale green leaves and dots of bright flowers narrow into a thin path veiled by light fragrances. It turns into a small clearing that faces a blanket of water rippling out to the horizon; the moon looks great when it descends into the ocean. The winds howl in your ears as black iron bars overlay the sky and shield you from falling to the beach far below, a stark reminder of how human life can end with a single step. Looking out beside you is a statue. You spot a ring of benches some distance away. >x horizon Some sages say that the line separating heaven and earth is how the Three Realms are connected yet distinct. The line itself doesn't exist, it results from our perception that there are beginnings and endings. The same could be said of the perception of power in the universe. The Celestial Realm, led by the Jade Emperor and his royal court, rules over all below. Yet no law it makes can stop the march of death, heralded by the Infernal King and his realm's judicial courts. But talks of who has more strength than the other shies from the main point: Humans are at the whims of both. >x cliff You can't see any such thing. >x water You can't see any such thing. >x ocean The ocean spreads out in front of you in that alienating way that comes from a lifetime of living on flat land with the occasional hill. You never got used to the waves in it that climb and fall in an endless cycle under an uncaring horizon line. Its vast reach reminds you of how little it is, in the grand scheme of things. Here, on the Terrestrial Realm, you can't even begin to know just how far up the Celestial Realm is, with its wealth and joys. The same goes for the Infernal Realm below, where all living beings are taken to be judged for their deeds on Earth and given a new life; one hopes this process lacks "rehabilitation", as the deities say. >x waves You watch the water rise and fall in rows, one after the other and remember learning about waves as a symbol. >find waves You think back on your studies and recall that waves means "an unaware mind". An aware and calm mind is said to be still. An unaware mind is restless and not at peace. Does a wave die when it descends back into the ocean? You wonder what will happen when you die and think back to the day you left the mausoleum. Did your Father die when the air left his lungs? Did he die when his body was cremated in fire? Or did he die when his urn was sealed away with the dust? >divine an illuminated soul is shrouded by an unaware mind I only understood you as far as wanting to divine. >forecast Based on how there's clumps of clouds in the sky today, you'd wager that hidden knowledge may lurk within other things. You spot some new clouds in the sky. Thin lines strike through a wider mass of pale brush strokes. Large balls of cotton hide smaller ones behind themselves. White streaks swerve against a deep blue sky. You have a feeling you've found all three symbols you need. >divine an unaware mind is shrouded by arrows planted in flesh I only understood you as far as wanting to divine. >a link between poles is shrouded by an unaware mind That's not a verb I recognise. >divine a link between poles is shrouded by an unaware mind I only understood you as far as wanting to divine. >divine an unaware mind is shrouded by an illuminated soul I only understood you as far as wanting to divine. >divine an unaware mind is shrouded by a link between poles I only understood you as far as wanting to divine. >divine arrows planted in flesh are shrouded by an unaware mind I only understood you as far as wanting to divine. >help What is Luna Gardens? Welcome to Luna Gardens! We're glad to have you here. This game has its own set of verbs which are all you need to play. This demo introduces the basic functionality and establishes context for the main story. How do I play? Navigation. To get around the world, use EXPLORE (DISTANT LANDMARK). For example, if the description of the room you're in mentions a "distant pole in a space to the northeast, then you can navigate there by entering "EXPLORE POLE". " Observation. You can use LOOK by itself to see a description of your surroundings. EXAMINE (THING) lets you take a closer look at things. Things you can examine may be hidden in the text you come across, so be thorough! Divination. FIND (SYMBOL) helps you recall a symbol's meaning. DIVINE lets you interpret the combined meaning of a group of symbols. For example, if two symbols you found, "turtle and "run(s) in the forest", create a combined meaning of "turtle runs in the forest", then divining that exact sentence might reveal "Someone who's calm was surprised and lost their way." I don't know what to do! Use FORECAST by itself to get a hint about what you should do. The best time to do so would be after FINDING a symbol. Contacting the author For any questions, comments, or suggestions, please reach out to Justin at heyjustinkim@gmail.com. >divine What interpretation are you divining? > arrows planted in flesh are shrouded by an unaware mind You divine the meaning of "arrows planted in flesh are shrouded by an unaware mind" as "There's a sadness in your life but you don't know why, nor exactly what it is." *** You leave for home, satisfied with finding the answer to how you're feeling these days. Later that night, you dream of a strange voice saying something about perceiving... reality and non-reality? After going through a weird empty space you wake up- And realize something's very wrong. You see the Professor's dead body surrounded by a crowd in the gardens you were at yesterday. Everything is so much bigger and you have wings and... you're a butterfly now. Not only that, but now there's some weird lady with an ancient fashion-sense staring right at you. This isn't good. Thank you for playing the Luna Gardens Demo for the Spring Thing 2024 Back Gardens! *** Would you like to RESTART, RESTORE a saved game, QUIT or UNDO the last command? >