The Fox, The Dragon, and The Stale Loaf of Bread
by David Welbourn (2005)
Genres: Fantasy

This is the beginning of an unusual fairy tale. Written for IntroComp 2005. Eleven locations.

action: %
response: "My hike was long, ov?r this peak.
More than a day, less than a week.
Come hear the tale I have to speak,
Hey diddle diddle aye-oh.

"A brand new town I soon shall see.
New people, I shall sing for thee.
A happy bard then I shall be,
Hey diddle diddle aye-oh.

"But first I must find food to eat.
I ate my cheese! I ate my meat!
An apple core would be a treat,
Hey diddle diddle aye-oh.

"No rabbits found I for my pot.
I looked for roots. I found them not.
These hunger pains! They must be fought!
Hey diddle diddle aye-oh.

"Why do no birds fly overhead?
Would not roast fowl taste good with bread?
When was the last time that I fed?
Hey diddle diddle aye-oh."

The Fox, The Dragon, and The Stale Loaf of Bread

You are on a lonely mountain trail. Trees grow sparsely this high up on the mountain, and even less so back up the trail to the northeast. To the west, the trail heads down past the treeline into a forest.

And not a moment too soon. You are positively famished.
action: About yourself
response: Since you are a bard, you are cursed with natural good looks. Clear, unblemished skin. Thick wavy black hair. Eyes so deep a brown, one could gaze into them forever. Except for that birthmark on your never-you-mind-where, you would be just about perfect.
action: Inventory
response: You are carrying:
a walking stick
a knife (worn on your right hip)
your moneypurse (worn on your left hip and closed)
a rucksack (which is closed)
action: You open the rucksack
response: You open the rucksack, revealing a tinderbox, your lute and a bag of spices.
action: You look at the spices
response: It is a tiny brown bag of soft leather that contains your motley collection of spices. It is laced tightly closed.
action: You open the bag
response: You open the bag, revealing mixed spices.
action: You eat spices
response: You cannot eat spices by themselves! You would only make yourself sick if you did that.
action: You look at the spices
response: A mixture of salt, pepper, crushed garlic, and chives - but mostly salt. When you are lucky enough to catch wild game, you like to sprinkle on a little of this onto the meat to make it extra tasty. Just looking at the spices makes your mouth water.
action: You taste the spices
response: You moisten a finger and dab a little of the mixed spices onto your tongue. Mmm. Salty.
action: You look at the knife
response: A short servicable knife. It would not be much good in a fight, but every bit helps.
action: You examine the purse
response: A small cloth moneypurse, dyed black.
action: You examine the stick
response: It is a sturdy walking stick just over five feet long. You made it yourself by trimming a fallen tree branch that you found soon after you began your trek through the mountains almost a week ago.
action: You look at the lute
response: Your lute is perhaps your most prized possession, since it provides you with your livelihood, but you could build another if you had to. Master Dorien showed you how to carve its pear-shaped body out of pine, how to lightly string it with catgut so the instrument does not break under its own tension, and (of course) how to tune the thing fifty times a day. It is very lightweight and somewhat delicate.
action: Play lute
response: (first taking the lute)
You play a few chords on the lute.
action: Sing
response: Your singing is delightful.
action: You examine the tinder
response: A small battered tinderbox made of tin, containing the necessary tools for lighting a fire. Your father helped you put it together when you were a boy, and it is the oldest thing you own.
action: You open the tinderbox
response: [You do not need to open or close the tinderbox. Just type LIGHT <object> WITH TINDERBOX when you want to start a fire.]
action: Go west
response: You make your way down the mountain. As you pass the treeline, you hear a loud SNAP! followed by a sharp cry of pain.

The mountain trail continues under a canopy of tall shady pine trees. The trail continues down to the southwest, and up to the east.

To one side, you see a fox, its hind leg caught fast in a steel trap.
action: You examine the trap
response: The steel trap is like a jaw: two rows of zigzag metal "teeth" hinged on one side, with a heavy spring holding them clamped together.

Well, almost together. The steel trap is currently clamped around the hind leg of a fox.
action: You pry the trap with the stick
response: And lose a potential meal?
action: You look at the fox
response: This is a full-grown lady fox, with a cloth cap on her head and a steel trap on one leg. Despite her obvious pain, she neither cries nor whimpers, but watches your every move with wide brown eyes.

Your stomach chooses this moment to growl.
action: You eat the fox
response: Before you can eat the fox, you will have to kill it. You take out your knife. But the sight of the knife terrifies the captured animal! "DON'T EAT ME!" it says weakly.

The words, faint as they are, freeze you where you stand. It's not merely that you're never heard a fox speak before. You haven't. But somehow, she has invoked magic here. Like a ritual. Or a promise. Or an oath.

"DON'T EAT ME," the fox says again, stronger now. Or perhaps the world has gone silent instead, to hear her all the better. "If you spare me and free me, I will help you later. You will not regret it.
action: No
response: The scene darkens briefly as a cloud passes over the face of the sun. "So be it," says the fox, and says no more.
action: You eat the fox
response: You quickly slice open the fox's neck; it dies instantly. Blood now stains your knife and hands, but that couldn't be helped.

You have never eaten fox before, but doubtless it is similar to rabbit.
action: Cook fox
response: (first taking the dead fox)
It is too awkward and messy to carry both fox and trap together. You must remove the trap first.

You wonder which part of the fox might be the most tasty.
action: You remove the fox
response: (first taking the dead fox)
It is too awkward and messy to carry both fox and trap together. You must remove the trap first.
action: You pry trap
response: What do you want to pry the steel trap with?
action: Stick
response: It's awkward, but using the walking stick as a lever, you successfully pry the steel trap open. After the fox's leg falls free, you carefully SNAP the trap closed and pick up both it and the fox's body. Waste not, want not.
action: Cook fox
response: You have yet to skin the animal first.
action: Skin fox
response: You remove the bloodied cloth cap from the dead fox.

You begin the messy work of skinning the fox. First you turn the fox onto its back and make a long vertical incision...

Let us make a long story shorter. When you are done, you have a carcass of uncooked fox meat and a fox pelt. Incidently, you made a bundle with the fox's cap and the unedible bits and chucked it far off into the forest. You also cleaned off your knife and put it back on your hip.
action: You eat the fox
response: Which do you mean, the fox pelt or the fox carcass?
action: You examine pelt
response: It has soft fox fur on one side, and bloody skin on the other. You are not sure what it is worth, but perhaps you can trade it for a nice bottle of wine.
action: Light stick with tinder
response: (first taking the tinderbox)
This dangerous act would achieve little.
action: Look around
response: The mountain trail continues under a canopy of tall shady pine trees. The trail continues down to the southwest, and up to the east.
action: You examine the trees
response: You are pleased to be amongst trees again, to be enclosed in their most welcome shelter.
action: You go southwest
response: The trail widens here, passing through a small level clearing. A thick forest of trees surrounds the clearing. From here, you can follow the trail down to the west, or up to the northeast.

To one side of the trail, there is an old firepit, and a short boulder sits beside it.
action: You examine the pit
response: The firepit is just a circle of white stones at the side of the trail. It does not look like it has been used for a long time. In the firepit are some dry twigs and leaves.
action: Light twigs
response: Using your tinderbox, you easily set the twigs and leaves ablaze.
action: Cook fox
response: Which do you mean, the fox pelt or the fox carcass?
action: Carcass
response: You cook the slab of fox meat. It looks and smells wonderful.
action: You check your inventory
response: You are carrying:
a tinderbox
a fox pelt
a slab of fox meat
a steel trap (which is closed)
a knife (worn on your right hip)
your lute
a walking stick
your moneypurse (worn on your left hip and closed)
a rucksack (which is open)
a bag of spices (which is open)
some mixed spices
action: You take the spices
response: You cannot pick up the mixed spices with your bare hands. Just sprinkle them on your food directly from the bag.
action: You sprinkle the spices on the carcass
response: [Pouring and sprinkling is not yet properly supported. It will be in the full game.]
action: You eat the meat
response: You eat the cooked fox meat. Not bad. For fox meat, that is.
action: You examine the boulder
response: It is just an ordinary gray boulder, but it is just the right size to sit on and has been pushed up close to the firepit.
action: You sit on the boulder
response: You rest your Johnny-sit-me-down on the boulder.
action: Look around
response: By the Firepit (on the boulder)
The trail widens here, passing through a small level clearing. A thick forest of trees surrounds the clearing. From here, you can follow the trail down to the west, or up to the northeast.

To one side of the trail, there is an old firepit (containing a bonfire), and a short boulder sits beside it.
action: You go west
response: You'll have to get off the boulder first.
action: You stand
response: You get off the boulder.

The trail widens here, passing through a small level clearing. A thick forest of trees surrounds the clearing. From here, you can follow the trail down to the west, or up to the northeast.

To one side of the trail, there is an old firepit (containing a bonfire), and a short boulder sits beside it.
action: Go west
response: The mountain trail crosses east to west over uneven and broken ground; a wagon could have real trouble passing through here. Rockslides from the north pose an additional ongoing hazard.
action: You go north
response: There is a name for people who climb treacherous rockslides. "Dead." Do not go that way.
action: Go west
response: The ground dips down here into a small valley on the mountainside, and a much greater variety of trees compete for the space here. Fortunately, even though the road is covered with leaves, it is still wide enough to see that it goes both southwest and east.
action: Go southwest
response: The road bends sharply here around a large boulder, heading up to the northeast and down to the southeast. A lesser travelled footpath goes south.
action: Go south
response: The path is overgrown, forcing you to duck and push branches out of the way. Suddenly, there are no more trees, and you look up and see what they hid.

You stand at the top of a cliff overlooking a lake far below. The expanse is breathtaking. Look there at that lake so clear and blue: it contains a small wooded island, and on that island is a curious white dome. Or look at that cliff. Tall it is here, and tall it remains as it traverses a great C-shaped arch around the lake. Halfway into that arch is a majestic waterfall, pouring its liquid bounty into the waters below. Then look you further. Also on the cliff, opposite and across the lake, is a village and castle. Be it a true kingdom or the strange keep of barbarians, you do not know, but it must be an abode of men. Civilization, at last.

The scene as a whole sings with vitality and life. Scarcely have you seen a place so pregnant with power, so rich in air, earth, and water. Alas, no path from here proceeds. You must needs regain your road to the north.

You hear the hoots of several birds having a noisy argument below the cliff.
action: You listen
response: You hear the chirping of many birds having a noisy argument below the cliff.

A finch zooms in from below and travels in a lazy circle above the lake. Cawing, it then flies out of sight.
action: You look under the cliff
response: That is too far away.
action: You jump
response: [Perhaps in the full game, you may be allowed to jump to your death. But not now. Not today.]

A goose appears from below and flaps its wings furiously. Another bird gives you the eagle eye before flying down below.
action: You eat the birds
response: Those are too far away.
action: About you
response: Since you are a bard, you are cursed with natural good looks. Clear, unblemished skin. Thick wavy black hair. Eyes so deep a brown, one could gaze into them forever. Except for that birthmark on your never-you-mind-where, you would be just about perfect.

A goose appears from below and screams something in pidgin Pigeonese. Cawing, it then flies out of sight.
action: Go north
response: You push through the trees, back to the road.

The road bends sharply here around a large boulder, heading up to the northeast and down to the southeast. A lesser travelled footpath goes south.
action: You go to the south-east
response: You sigh. You cannot ignore the stale loaf of braad. You are starving.
action: Y.
response: "My hike was long, ov?r this peak.
More than a day, less than a week.
Come hear the tale I have to speak,
Hey diddle diddle aye-oh.

"A brand new town I soon shall see.
New people, I shall sing for thee.
A happy bard then I shall be,
Hey diddle diddle aye-oh.

"But first I must find food to eat.
I ate my cheese! I ate my meat!
An apple core would be a treat,
Hey diddle diddle aye-oh.

"No rabbits found I for my pot.
I looked for roots. I found them not.
These hunger pains! They must be fought!
Hey diddle diddle aye-oh.

"Why do no birds fly overhead?
Would not roast fowl taste good with bread?
When was the last time that I fed?
Hey diddle diddle aye-oh."

The Fox, The Dragon, and The Stale Loaf of Bread

You are on a lonely mountain trail. Trees grow sparsely this high up on the mountain, and even less so back up the trail to the northeast. To the west, the trail heads down past the treeline into a forest.

And not a moment too soon. You are positively famished.
action: Go northeast
response: You spent most of the last week traversing that mountain pass. You are not going back that way now.
action: Go west
response: You make your way down the mountain. As you pass the treeline, you hear a loud SNAP! followed by a sharp cry of pain.

The mountain trail continues under a canopy of tall shady pine trees. The trail continues down to the southwest, and up to the east.

To one side, you see a fox, its hind leg caught fast in a steel trap.
action: You eat fox
response: Before you can eat the fox, you will have to kill it. You take out your knife. But the sight of the knife terrifies the captured animal! "DON'T EAT ME!" it says weakly. Its voice is female.

The words, faint as they are, freeze you where you stand. It's not merely that you're never heard a fox speak before. You haven't. But somehow, she has invoked magic here. Like a ritual. Or a promise. Or an oath.

"DON'T EAT ME," the fox says again, stronger now. Or perhaps the world has gone silent instead, to hear her all the better. "If you spare me and free me, I will help you later. You will not regret it.
action: Yes
response: A sudden breeze blows by; leaves fly by in its wake. "Then free me, man," says the fox.
action: You pry the trap with the stick
response: It's awkward, but using the walking stick as a lever, you successfully pry the steel trap open without causing further damage.

Freed of the trap, the fox gets gingerly to her feet. "I thank you, man. I will remember my promise to you, and return when your need for me is greatest. Until then, fare well." You watch as she hobbles away into the forest and is lost from view.

You then take a moment more to SNAP the trap closed and pick it up. Waste not, want not.
action: You go southwest
response: The trail widens here, passing through a small level clearing. A thick forest of trees surrounds the clearing. From here, you can follow the trail down to the west, or up to the northeast.

To one side of the trail, there is an old firepit, and a short boulder sits beside it.
action: Go west
response: The mountain trail crosses east to west over uneven and broken ground; a wagon could have real trouble passing through here. Rockslides from the north pose an additional ongoing hazard.

Lying on one of the rock piles, a baby dragon is crying pitiously.
action: You examine the dragon
response: The baby dragon has green scales with a blue underbelly and is about the size of an adult wolf. It is lying on its back and whimpering, probably because of the rusty iron nail stuck in its left foot.

Dragon steak is supposed to be a delicacy. This must be your lucky day.
action: You eat the dragon
response: Before you can eat the baby dragon, you will have to kill it. You take out your knife. As with the fox, the sight of your knife conveys your terrible intent only too well. "DON'T EAT ME!" says the dragon, between sobs.

Startled, you stop in place. Did this creature of myth and legend, young as it is, truly speak? No, no, that cannot be. Not eat it? Of course you want to eat it. You're hungry!

"DON'T EAT ME," the baby dragon says again, more forcefully, and there is no mistaking it this time. Your ears seem to roar as the words echo within your head. You hear nothing else. "If you spare me and pull this nail out of my paw, I will help you later. You will not regret it.
action: Yes
response: Without warning, a dove flies west, singing joyfully, the first bird you have heard in days. "Then please. Pull out this nail," says the baby dragon.
action: You pull the nail
response: Sensing your intent, the dragon holds still as you approach. You grasp the nail with your bare hand and pull, but it is no use. You just cannot get a strong enough grip on it. You will need a tool of some kind.
action: Inventory
response: You are carrying:
a knife
a steel trap (which is closed)
a walking stick
your moneypurse (worn on your left hip and closed)
a rucksack (which is closed)
action: You examine the nail
response: The nail is embedded pretty deep in the baby dragon's foot. It looks like one of those long nails used to hold a wagon wheel on its axle. Ouch. That must be incredibly painful.
action: You put the trap on the nail
response: Good idea. The steel trap should get a better grip on the nail than your fingers. Unfortunately, the trap is closed.
action: Open trap
response: Put the trap on the ground first.
action: You drop trap
response: Dropped.
action: Open trap
response: You open the trap.
action: You get the trap
response: Picking up an open steel trap would be extremely hazardous to your fingers.
action: You check what you're carrying
response: You are carrying:
a knife
a walking stick
your moneypurse (worn on your left hip and closed)
a rucksack (which is closed)
action: You look at the trap
response: The steel trap is like a jaw: two rows of zigzag metal "teeth" hinged on one side. The trap is currently open, its heavy spring at high tension. Anything put inside that deadly circle is likely to trigger it.
action: You put the stick in the trap
response: You insert the walking stick into the trap, which dutifully SNAPs shut on it, leaving a gap.
action: You take the trap
response: Taken.
action: You put the trap on nail
response: Aha. With the walking stick holding the trap slightly open, you are able to put the trap on the nail. That is, the nail is now in the gap between the trap's jaws.

The dragon watches you curiously as you perform this operation.
action: You take the stick
response: You pull the walking stick out from the trap's jaws, and the trap SNAPs around the head of the rusty iron nail.
action: You pull the trap
response: With the steel trap firmly gripping the nail between its teeth, you are able to grab onto the trap in turn, and pull the troublesome nail out of the baby dragon's paw. Before your disbelieving eyes, the wound heals in seconds without the iron nail to prevent it.

The child of dragons, no longer sobbing, gets to its feet. Its large reptilian eyes stare at you, and you back up a step. You suddenly realize you are face-to-face with a deadly monster. It is still only the size of a wolf, true, but that is plenty big enough, and somehow you forgot that wolves can be dangerous too.

"Be at peace," says the dragon. "I have no love of mankind, nor that hated iron. But you alone need not fear me. You have helped me as I asked and our bargain stands. I will remember my promise to you, and return when your need for me is greatest. Until then, fare well." You stop breathing when the dragon jumps, but it is only to catch the air in its leathery wings, and then it flies off into the distance.

The tension in your body relaxes, and you start breathing normally again. You also remember that you are still hungry.
action: Look around
response: The mountain trail crosses east to west over uneven and broken ground; a wagon could have real trouble passing through here. Rockslides from the north pose an additional ongoing hazard.
action: Go west
response: The ground dips down here into a small valley on the mountainside, and a much greater variety of trees compete for the space here. Fortunately, even though the road is covered with leaves, it is still wide enough to see that it goes both southwest and east.
action: SW then se
response: The road bends sharply here around a large boulder, heading up to the northeast and down to the southeast. A lesser travelled footpath goes south.

A stale loaf of bread has fallen into a gutter on the far side of the road.
You sigh. You cannot ignore the stale loaf of braad. You are starving.
action: You examine the bread
response: A reddish-brown loaf of bread, gone hard and stale. Apart from being a item of food, it looks totally unremarkable.

Bread. Food. Mine, mine, mine.
action: You take it
response: You already have that.
action: You look at your surroundings
response: The road bends sharply here around a large boulder, heading up to the northeast and down to the southeast. A lesser travelled footpath goes south.

A stale loaf of bread has fallen into a gutter on the far side of the road.

Sure, it may be a stale loaf of bread, but you do not care at this point.
action: You take the bread
response: When you pick up the loaf of bread, it suddenly shakes and squeals, "DON'T EAT ME!"

You have got to be kidding me. Baked goods are inanimate objects and they do not talk. You must be delirious from hunger. Yes, of course. The strange events of the day are repeating in your mind and you only think that the bread is talking. Of course the cure to such delusions is to digest some food...

"DON'T EAT ME," the stale loaf of bread says again, and you cannot help but notice it is scolding you, just like Grandma Zedna did when you tried to steal some cookies. The voice of "Grainma" continues, "I am not food to eat. I am a bird. Uh-huh. Looks like delirium is contagious.

"I was riding on the back of a wagon when it hit a bump in the road and I fell here. I think my wings are broken; I could not fly away. I need to rejoin my fellow birds who can help me. Please. I can hear some birds just south of here. If you spare me and take to them, I will help you later. You will not regret it.
action: Yes
response: You feel you must be out of your mind, but you agree. "Wonderful," says Grainma. "Take me to them."

Birdsong trills to the south. It is a fool's errand, but you are losing your taste for food that talks to you. So why not humor the old bread?
action: Yes
response: That was a rhetorical question.
action: Pronouns
response: At the moment, "it" means the steel trap, "him" means the stale loaf of bread, "her" is unset and "them" is unset.
action: You go to the south
response: The path is overgrown, forcing you to duck and push branches out of the way. Suddenly, there are no more trees, and you look up and see what they hid.

You stand at the top of a cliff overlooking a lake far below. The expanse is breathtaking. Look there at that lake so clear and blue: it contains a small wooded island, and on that island is a curious white dome. Or look at that cliff. Tall it is here, and tall it remains as it traverses a great C-shaped arch around the lake. Halfway into that arch is a majestic waterfall, pouring its liquid bounty into the waters below. Then look you further. Also on the cliff, opposite and across the lake, is a village and castle. Be it a true kingdom or the strange keep of barbarians, you do not know, but it must be an abode of men. Civilization, at last.

The scene as a whole sings with vitality and life. Scarcely have you seen a place so pregnant with power, so rich in air, earth, and water. Alas, no path from here proceeds. You must needs regain your road to the north.

You hear the hoots of several birds having a loud to-do below the cliff.
action: Inventory
response: You are carrying:
a stale loaf of bread
a steel trap (which is closed)
a rusty iron nail
a walking stick
a knife
your moneypurse (worn on your left hip and closed)
a rucksack (which is closed)
action: You drop the bread over the cliff
response: That is too far away.
action: You look at the cliff
response: Of the part of the cliff on which you stand, you can see little but the grass and weeds at your feet. You must be on an outcropping of sorts and the rock wall must curve inwards, for you can see only the lake below and no hint of any beach or whatever the birds are squabbling about.

Further away, encircling the lake, the cliff is a testament to ages past, recorded in the strata laid bare. Although the layers of rock are in many hues, the dominant color is a pale yellow bronze flecked with gold. Indeed, you think the wall sparkles with the glint of gold, but that may well be a trick of the light.

Only two more details intrude upon the cliff's face: the waterfall, and a thin vertical line underneath the castle.
action: You feed Grainma to the birds
response: You throw the stale loaf of bread over the cliff towards the birds, and for a moment it seems to hover in mid-air.

"Bless you! I am free! Free!" the bread shouts. "I will remember my promise and return to youuuuuu...."

Oh dear. Look at it plummet. And there goes every bird in the sky after it. My my. Goodness, what a racket those birds are making.
action: You look at the birds
response: Most of the birds are not visible, since they are somewhere below you down the cliff. But every so often one or two fly up mere yards out of reach, but within throwing distance, shall we say.

What is peculiar is just how many different types of birds there seem to be down there. What could the attraction be?
action: You look at the waterfall
response: A huge waterfall is falling from the top of the eastern side of the cliff and into the lake far below. Every now and then, you can see a faint rainbow within its attendent mist: one end appearing in the waterfall itself, and the other end on the dome on the island.
action: Go downwards
response: If you really want to go down the cliff and smash against the rocks below, then jump. But it is not recommended.
action: You jump
response: [Perhaps in the full game, you may be allowed to jump to your death. But not now. Not today.]
action: Inventory
response: You are carrying:
a steel trap (which is closed)
a rusty iron nail
a walking stick
a knife
your moneypurse (worn on your left hip and closed)
a rucksack (which is closed)
action: Go north
response: You push through the trees, back to the road.

The road bends sharply here around a large boulder, heading up to the northeast and down to the southeast. A lesser travelled footpath goes south.
action: You go to the south-east
response: You are in the foothills of the local mountain range, where a variety of weeds and purple flowers grow between the trees and tree stumps. The road begins its ascent into the mountains to the northwest. To the southeast, the road continues on a more gentle slope into farmland.

You cannot help thinking you have racked up a lot of karma today. Somebody owes you big time.
action: You go to the southeast
response: This part of the road passes by barren farmland to the east. Although the view is uninteresting in the extreme, at least the land is flat, the road is straight, and the stones are few, for which your feet are truly thankful. To the south, you see a bridge.
action: You go south
response: You are on the north side of a bridge. Farmlands are north, or go south over the bridge.
action: You go south
response: You tramp noisily over the bridge.

The south side of the bridge is somewhat more thrilling than the north side. The road on this side is made of green bricks, and it continues south towards a village. And surely, where there's a village, there must be food! Huzzah! A good meal at last.
action: You go south
response: The brick road turns west before entering the village proper.

As you approach the village, you decide to sing:
"Ohhhhh, the fish was long and the fish was wide
But you will never ever guess what I found inside..."