Hey, Jingo!
by Caleb Wilson (2002)
Genres: Espionage


action: %
response: The Green Coast,
Ministry of Colonial Finance,
11:04 PM,
June 12th, 1942.

"General Marchgrave's office is on the second floor of the Palace," says Helzog, "overlooking the Gardens. He is in possession of a mask: black, smooth-sanded wood, simple in design. It should be on display. His temporary absence is our best chance to steal it. The front of the Palace will be guarded, so circle through the jungle and approach the back of the Gardens. Once you have found the mask, bring it back to me as quickly as possible."

Helzog looks up, blinks. "Stay out of sight, Alain. You are our Ministry's sole agent who specializes in such delicate matters."

HEY, JINGO!
An IntroComp Entry
(c) 2002 by Caleb Wilson
Please type ABOUT and CREDITS if you haven't before.

A doorway leads back west into the Ministry. From it, a small path cuts northeast through the giant ferns and fruit trees. The sky is obscured by a canopy of vines. The melons weighting the vines attract insects, which in turn attract bats, whose high-pitched squeaks occasionally rise above the rustle of leaves.
action: About yourself
response: You are Alain Quincy, man of leisure and secret agent for the Ministry of Colonial Finance, and you are as good-looking as ever.
action: You look at the trees
response: The dark foliage rustles in a warm breeze.
action: Go northeast
response: The trees here are choked by twisting vines. Their branches, bent and rough, screen out most of the moonlight. A dense mass of woody stems and trefoil leaves has sprung up between the trunks; beneath this matted vegetation the soil is clotted and moist. Were it not for a roughly hacked trail leading southwest and north, movement would be quite impossible.
action: Go southwest
response: A doorway leads back west into the Ministry. From it, a small path cuts northeast through the giant ferns and fruit trees. The sky is obscured by a canopy of vines. The melons weighting the vines attract insects, which in turn attract bats, whose high-pitched squeaks occasionally rise above the rustle of leaves.
action: You examine the melons
response: The melons, insects and bats form a tidy little ecosystem. If only life among humans were as simple...
action: You examine the vines
response: Vines of varying thicknesses form a domed shroud over the Ministry's back door.
action: You eat the melons
response: (first taking the melon)
You can't do anything with the melon except look.
action: You climb the vine
response: No point in climbing through the trees when there's a perfectly good path.
action: You go west
response: The polished floor of the Ministry reflects the dim, tasteful lamps that hang from the lofty ceiling. The air smells of wood polish and ink. Somewhere above you, in the high empty space of the lobby, a clock ticks softly.

Minister Helzog's office lies through a closed glass door to the north, and the street lies to the west. An inconspicuous back door leads east to the forest.
action: You go to the north
response: The glass door is closed.
action: You examine the door
response: A door of pebbled glass.
action: You open the door
response: You open the glass door.
action: You go north
response: A ceiling fan with lacquered wooden blades draws cool air through Helzog's office. Framed prints cover every wall, except for the north, which is a built in bookshelf. The large white desk is painfully tidy. An open glass door leads south to the lobby.

Minister Helzog sits in a brown leather chair, his right leg twisted beneath the seat.
action: You examine Helzog
response: August Helzog wears a neatly pressed white suit. His kindly face is deeply tanned and lined, his white hair slicked smoothly to one side.
action: You examine the bookshelf
response: Helzog's collection of first editions and bound comics is vast and extremely expensive.
action: You go south
response: The polished floor of the Ministry reflects the dim, tasteful lamps that hang from the lofty ceiling. The air smells of wood polish and ink. Somewhere above you, in the high empty space of the lobby, a clock ticks softly.

Minister Helzog's office lies through an open glass door to the north, and the street lies to the west. An inconspicuous back door leads east to the forest.
action: You go west
response: Tropical Road, Outside Ministry
Flags fly from the fortress-like Ministry of Colonial Finance, above a metal door that leads in to the east.

Ocean Street heads west and down, to the lower colony and to Golden Bay, which shimmers under the moonlight. Tropical Road runs north and south.
action: Go north
response: Just north along Tropical Road, the marble of the Government Palace cuts sharply from the foliage. Tropical also runs south, back towards the Ministry. The sweet smell of oranges rides the warm breeze, under faintly throbbing equatorial stars.
action: You look at the leaves
response: The stems and interwoven leaves form a tough, springy mat underfoot.
action: You examine the trees
response: The vine-choked trees seem to be in ragged rows. Perhaps this was once an orchard.
action: You go north
response: This small pocket of grass is bottled under arching boughs strung with moss. The air here is still and sweet smelling. A rough path leads south into the foliage, while a more neatly trimmed walk leads northwest between the leaning trunks.

You hear what sounds like a splash from the northwest.
action: You go northwest
response: Starlight barely illuminates a dark pool. Weeping cycads trail their fronds in the calm water. The air is cooler here, and tinged with a hint of silt and decay. A pavement walk heads west towards the Gardens, and it looks possible to travel southeast into the jungle.

Concentric ripples in the pool's surface disappear as you watch.
action: You examine the pool
response: The water is tranquil and quiet, the color of tea that has steeped for too long.
action: Drink water
response: The water is foul and undoubtedly swimming with all manner of microorganisms.
action: You search the pool
response: The mud on the bottom of the pool has been stirred, making the water as opaque as tea with cream.
action: Swim
response: The water here is murky, and unsuitable for swimming, especially at night.
action: You take the water
response: That's hardly portable.
action: You examine the pool
response: The water is tranquil and quiet, the color of tea that has steeped for too long.
action: You look
response: Starlight barely illuminates a dark pool. Weeping cycads trail their fronds in the calm water. The air is cooler here, and tinged with a hint of silt and decay. A pavement walk heads west towards the Gardens, and it looks possible to travel southeast into the jungle.
action: You look at the cycads
response: The pool's currents tangle with the cycads' leaves.
action: You go to the west
response: The Palatze Gubernatal; The Government Palace: its marble face is darkened with moss, which is not surprising considering the humid atmosphere. Behind this dirtied face, however, is where the real corruption lies: the Palace bureaucrats who want to milk the colonists and locals for all they're worth while sitting around their card tables, drinking gin and looking at dirty imported comics.

The area under the Palace's eastern wall is a crowded labyrinth of flowers; their fragrances are dizzying. Vines cover the wall itself, growing around a wide window two stories directly above you.

A pavement walk leads southwest, to the main entrance, and northwest, around the back of the Palace. A narrower walk spurs off to the east, towards a pool.

A night moth flutters through near-solid eddies of pollen.
action: You look at the moth
response: A pale green moth, as wide across as your palm.
action: You get the moth
response: The moth flutters a few meters above your head.
action: You climb the vines
response: You pull your hand away from the vines with a curse: they're stinging ivy. It would be possible to climb them, just very, very painful. There must be some way to protect your hands.
action: You examine the vines
response: Although the flowers are wide and luscious, the vines themselves are tough and covered with stiff hairs, and are very painful to the touch. This is what the children call "stinging ivy", and young boys are always making whips out of it.
action: You go to the northwest
response: A single lamp pours a pool of light across the grass of this hidden lawn. The trees loop over you to form a tiny chamber that's stained in the greens and blacks of a "Count Lorenzo" comic.

A dark window looks in on rows of filing cabinets. A pavement walk leads southeast towards the gardens.

A small wheelbarrow is parked here. Inside it you can see some gardening gloves.
action: You get the gloves
response: Taken.
action: You wear the gloves
response: You put on the gardening gloves.
action: You examine window
response: A small, dark window, currently closed.
action: You look at the wheelbarrow
response: A small wheelbarrow, presumably belonging to the Palace's gardening staff.
action: You open the window
response: It seems to be locked.
action: You look through the window
response: Through the window you can see what looks like a mail room.
action: You go west
response: You can only go southeast.
action: Go southeast
response: The area under the Palace's eastern wall is a crowded labyrinth of flowers; their fragrances are dizzying. Vines cover the wall itself, growing around a wide window two stories directly above you.

A pavement walk leads southwest, to the main entrance, and northwest, around the back of the Palace. A narrower walk spurs off to the east, towards a pool.

A night moth flutters through near-solid eddies of pollen.
action: You climb the vines
response: The vines are thin yet numerous. You climb swiftly, protected by your gloves, and soon arrive outside a window on the second story. You rest your foot on a narrow ledge.

You grasp handfuls of vines, two stories above the ground, directly outside a large window, which is closed. Through the window you can see a dark office.

A bee buzzes around you, laden with the dust of pollen.
action: You examine the bee
response: The bee is slender and pale yellow. Whitish pollen dusts its legs.
action: You open the window
response: You open the window.
action: Go inside
response: You slip through the window.

A rich carpet deadens the acoustics. The walls are panelled in glossy wood. Colorful local art shares displays with a few old paintings and some framed documents.

A closed door leads west, and a window, which is open, overlooks the Thousand Flowers. A massive desk sits in the middle of the room.

Only once before were you in the presence of General Marchgrave. The main thing you remember was the overwhelming lavender smell of the cologne he wore, a smell which permeates this room.

On the desk are a Count Lorenzo comic book, an Afterimage comic book and a Ziggurat comic book.
action: Smell
response: This room smells strongly of lavender.
action: You examine lorenzo
response: It's a comic book featuring Count Lorenzo, a renaissance Urbitan nobleman who was poisoned by his best friend/worst enemy and imperfectly resurrected by his sorcerer wife after thirteen days of death. He became immortal, but his skin was forever stained the green of the afterlife. This is a very early issue, but probably not worth anything because it's in very poor condition: it's all cut up.
action: You look at Afterimage
response: It's a comic book featuring Afterimage, a modern Urbitan research scientist who, when stricken with a dose of radiation, became spectrum-shifted, and as a result, very difficult for human eyes to focus on. She was sentenced to execution, but escaped and became a vigilante and outlaw, righting wrongs against the oppressed. This issue is pretty early, and might be worth something were the pages not all cut up.
action: You examine Ziggurat
response: It's a comic book featuring Ziggurat, an ancient Babylonian warrior of mythical strength and heroic physical proportions. It is said that defeating Ziggurat would be as hard as pinning one of the massive masonry pyramids he's named for. This is one of the first issues; too bad it damaged and thus worthless.
action: You examine art
response: In addition to colonials, the Green Coast is home to a number of ex-slaves and a very few of the original population who survived the Europeans' arrival. The art produced by these locals is colorful and ornate, incorporating many reds, yellows, greens, and natural wood shades. Some newcomers to the Green Coast find it rustic or even savage, but it really is rather lively and often beautiful. Marchgrave has a large collection of local statuary, as well as wall hangings and paintings.

Almost hidden behind behind the statues is a small black mask.
action: You examine the desk
response: The desk appears to be carved from a solid piece of bloodwood, and true to its name, shines redly in the moonlight from the window. It probably cost the yearly salary of a mid-level clerk. A large drawer faces away from the window.
action: You open the drawer
response: The drawer seems to be locked.
action: You examine the paintings
response: Paintings of dead Europeans and rainy landscapes. Undoubtedly priceless, but bland.
action: You look at the hangings
response: The local art is colorful and ornate, incorporating many reds, yellows, greens, and natural wood shades. Marchgrave has a large collection of local statuary and wall hangings.
action: You take the mask
response: Taken.

Excellent. This must be the mask. Now, all that remains between you and a much needed night of sleep is a short jaunt back to Helzog's office...
...
...
...
action: You go east
response: You can go only west or out.
action: You look at the mask
response: The door is closed.

>It's a simple wooden mask, black in color.
action: You open the door
response: It seems to be locked.
action: You wear the mask
response: You put on the black mask.
action: Leave
response: You slip through the window.

You grasp handfuls of vines, two stories above the ground, directly outside a large window, which is open. Through the window you can see a dark office.

A bee buzzes around you, laden with the dust of pollen.
action: About yourself
response: You are Alain Quincy, man of leisure and secret agent for the Ministry of Colonial Finance, and you are as good-looking as ever.
action: Go downwards
response: You descend swiftly, soon arriving at the ground, where you flex your green-stained gloves.

The area under the Palace's eastern wall is a crowded labyrinth of flowers; their fragrances are dizzying. Vines cover the wall itself, growing around a wide window two stories directly above you.

A pavement walk leads southwest, to the main entrance, and northwest, around the back of the Palace. A narrower walk spurs off to the east, towards a pool.

A night moth flutters through near-solid eddies of pollen.
action: You eat the moth
response: (first taking the moth)
The moth flutters a few meters above your head.
action: Go southwest
response: As you begin to slide around the corner of the Palace, you see a flash of blue: a uniform! and the glint of metal: a rifle! It must be a guard! You freeze and slowly draw back. Hopefully the guard hasn't seen you.
action: Go east
response: Starlight barely illuminates a dark pool. Weeping cycads trail their fronds in the calm water. The air is cooler here, and tinged with a hint of silt and decay. A pavement walk heads west towards the Gardens, and it looks possible to travel southeast into the jungle.

Concentric ripples in the pool's surface disappear as you watch.

Something bulky and dripping slips out of a moonbeam before you can identify it and crashes into the woods to the southeast.
action: You go southeast
response: This small pocket of grass is bottled under arching boughs strung with moss. The air here is still and sweet smelling. A rough path leads south into the foliage, while a more neatly trimmed walk leads northwest between the leaning trunks.

A large shape scurries south into the trees. You catch the briefest glimpe of what looks like a segmented shell before it vanishes.
action: Go south
response: The trees here are choked by twisting vines. Their branches, bent and rough, screen out most of the moonlight. A dense mass of woody stems and trefoil leaves has sprung up between the trunks; beneath this matted vegetation the soil is clotted and moist. Were it not for a roughly hacked trail leading southwest and north, movement would be quite impossible.

With the clicking of many segmented legs, a large creature scuttles southwest through the brush. You catch a glimpse of what looks like wet feathers before it disappears.
action: Go southwest
response: A doorway leads back west into the Ministry. From it, a small path cuts northeast through the giant ferns and fruit trees. The sky is obscured by a canopy of vines. The melons weighting the vines attract insects, which in turn attract bats, whose high-pitched squeaks occasionally rise above the rustle of leaves.

The wall of the Ministry is smeared with a vertical streak of dark, foul-smelling mud.
action: You look at the mud
response: A band of smeared mud on the wall rises from the ground up to a second story window.
action: You wake Helzog
response: That seems unnecessary.
action: You give the mask to Helzog
response: Helzog takes the mask.

"Wonderful, Alain, my friend! My immense thanks!" Helzog moves as if to stand up from his chair, but winces as his lame leg shifts. You wave him back into his chair, with a modest, "No need to rise, sir."

Helzog drums the mask with eager fingers. "Alain, why don't you take tomorrow off? Enjoy yourself. Give them my greetings at the club."

A book falls from the bookshelf with a thud. Helzog looks towards it curiously.
action: Examine book
response: A thin, paper-backed book: The Place of Superstition in Modern Costa Verdoun. It looks like a thesis of some sort. The author listed on the front is "A. Helzog".

Helzog glances sharply at you. "Alain," he says, "did you notice anything unusual during your mission?"
action: Yes
response: "Why yes," you say, "there was some sort of large, disgust--"

Before you can properly react, the entire shelf of books explodes outward, propelled by a mass of what looks like wriggling earthworms. The worms stretch forward and enshroud Helzog's head in a gray wreath.
action: You examine the worms
response: The beast flickers in shadow, displaying at times features of crustacean, fowl, and annelid.

The books are still falling, falling away from a hunched form, which is covered in overlapping, chitinous plates and plumes of bedraggled feathers. In place of each hand is a bolus of earthworms, both of which now cover Helzog's face except for his nose. His voice sounds a bit panicky and muffled as he waves his arms. "Alain, they've gotten a bloodhound on me! How is this possible! Help, help, help m-me out of here!" His words are choked away as his mouth is filled.
action: You look at the bloodhound
response: The beast flickers in shadow, displaying at times features of crustacean, fowl, and annelid.

Helzog's body falls limp. The bloodhound turns towards you with goggle-like eyes. It chitters and delicately waves its blood-stained antennae.

Here ends the introduction to Hey, Jingo! Find the full game at an IF Archive near you before March 20, 2003!