Dead of Winter
by Gunther Schmidl (2001)
Genres: Fantasy
Romance

In this short story that's part romance and part tragedy, you play as a young woman. A week ago, the Ice Queen stole your boyfriend from your bed, leaving a snowflake in his place. Now, you stand outside her cave, wondering what you must do to get her to give him back.

action: %
response: This game uses some special effects that can cause problems on older interpreters, and especially on interpreters for handhelds.

Answer 'no' if your interpreter doesn't support color or timed input.

Do you want to play the enhanced version?
action: No
response: You have made it, finally, to her cave. A week ago, she kidnapped your boyfriend from your bed, while you were sleeping. When you awoke, he was gone, a beautiful snowflake in his place. That was when you knew she had taken him.

'I see you have found me,' says the Ice Queen amusedly. 'So you want your boy back, my dear? Come, follow me inside.'

She bows mockingly, then disappears inside the cave.



Please type ABOUT.

This is it. The dread Ice Queen's home lies to the north, the dark cave mouth beckoning.
action: About yourself
response: You are tightly wrapped in cold-protective clothing.
action: Go north
response: The inside of the cave consists solely of ice. It is mostly empty, the most striking feature being the gigantic ice throne the Queen is sitting on. Prominently displayed in the middle of the cave is a large, clear block of ice inside which Saul has been frozen.

On the throne is the Ice Queen.
action: You examine saul
response: He is just as you last remember him. Light brown skin, shaved head, that short goatee you asked him not to shave off... but he's frozen into a block of ice, his eyes are closed, he is not breathing.
action: You look at Queen
response: The Ice Queen is as black as a moonless midnight, except for her cold blue eyes. She stands at least twice as tall as you, wearing a dress of black ice that constantly melts and reforms around her body.
action: Talk
response: What do you want to t?
action: You talk to Queen
response: 'You want him back? Then bring me the Heart of Winter. It is guarded by the Dragon, but since you have found me, I am sure you are not going to have a problem convincing him to give it to you.'

The Ice Queen gestures, and an exit opens towards the north of the cave.
action: You go to the north
response: A wide, deep gorge splits the land in half. There is no way across. On the other side, in the distance, you can make out a castle. You can also walk along the gorge to the east and west.

An annoying little demon is fluttering around your head.
action: You examine the demon
response: A tiny red creature about the size of your palm, with wings and goat hooves and yellow eyes.
action: You talk to the demon
response: 'You want across this gorge? I can get you there, baby. Just give me what you're holding!'

"I'm not..." you start, then realize you are holding something.
action: You check your inventory
response: You are carrying:
a blue crystal
action: You go west
response: 'Ungrateful wench!' screams the demon, suddenly growing in size. 'You do not want my help? Fine! Then try to get out of this mess yourself!'

He turns around, whipping you with his tail. You lose your balance and fall...

[=>]
...fall, until a large branch stops your descent rather abruptly.

Halfway down the Gorge (on the branch)
Even from here, you still can't see the bottom of the gorge, but you can hear water rushing below. The top seems miles away; the walls are mostly bare, except for the branch that miraculously broke your fall without injuring you too much in the process.
action: You examine the branch
response: A large, bare branch.
action: You jump
response: Mustering all your courage, you jump off the branch. Just like you hoped, there is a river down there, but it isn't quite what you expected.

The currents drag you along...

Strong wind currents carry you along, as if you were floating on water; instead, you are floating in mid-air.
action: You go north
response: Though it is easy to maneuver on the winds, you would crash into the canyon wall.

The currents drag you along...

Strong wind currents carry you along, as if you were floating on water; instead, you are floating in mid-air.
action: You go to the west
response: You drift along with the winds...

The currents drag you along...

Strong wind currents carry you along, as if you were floating on water; instead, you are floating in mid-air.
action: Go downwards
response: Though it is easy to maneuver on the winds, you would crash into the canyon wall.

The currents drag you along...

Strong wind currents carry you along, as if you were floating on water; instead, you are floating in mid-air.

The canyon walls give way to an ice bank to the north.
action: Go north
response: You swiftly steer towards the ice bank and the currents drop you softly onto it.

A tiny bank of ice is all that separates the River of Storms from a rough path leading up a mountain to the northwest.
action: Go northwest
response: After a long trip, you arrive at...

This may have been an impressive castle once, and seemed to be intact from the distance, but the courtyard is all that remains; no walls remain standing. Strange.

You can see the Dragon here.
action: You examine Dragon
response: The Dragon is a handsome man with incredibly white skin and piercing black eyes.
action: You talk to Dragon
response: 'You have come for the Heart of Winter.'

You shudder at the sound of his voice. It is... old and
otherwordly, yet beautiful. "Y... yes," you manage.

'I will give it to you, under one condition. Give yourself to me, this night. Then you shall have the Heart of Winter. What do you say?'
action: Yes
response: The Dragon smiles sadly. 'Come with me, child.'

Afterwards, he leads you into a small chamber.

This very small chamber is empty except for a large mirror hanging on one wall.
action: You examine the mirror
response: You see yourself in the mirror.

"I only see myself!" you shout, "where is the Heart of Winter?"

The Dragon smiles again. 'You are.'

"I am? But..."

He hushes you with a movement of his hand. 'I think you have someone to go back to, do you not?'

At the mention of Saul, shame flushes your face. Yes, you betrayed him to save him.

With another wave of the Dragon's hand, you are gone and find yourself...

This is it. The dread Ice Queen's home lies to the north, the dark cave mouth beckoning.
action: Go north
response: The inside of the cave consists solely of ice. It is mostly empty, the most striking feature being the gigantic ice throne the Queen is sitting on. Prominently displayed in the middle of the cave is a large, clear block of ice inside which Saul has been frozen.

On the throne is the Ice Queen.
action: You talk to Queen
response: 'Well,' asks the Ice Queen, 'have you brought me the Heart of Winter?'

"Yes."

'So,' she continues eagerly, 'where is it?'

"I am the Heart of Winter."

'What? It cannot be!' Her eyes alight with anger, she raises her arms.

'Heart of Winter, eh? You will be dead of Winter!'

Glistening magic leaves her fingertips, engulfing you...

You feel cold for a second, but nothing else happens. The Queen looks at you, her countenance shattered.

Then the magic leaves you and strikes her full force. She screams a high-pitched, bloodcurdling scream, then explodes into thousands of tiny ice splinters. You close your eyes and crouch to shield your body from the shrapnel.

The next thing you know is Saul holding you in a tight embrace, kissing you passionately.

And then, you walk out of the cave, and make your way home.

[=>]
TWO DEAD IN SNOW CHAOS

The recent snow chaos has caused two more deaths. A young couple, Saul O. (23) and an unidentified female, were caught in the storm. Apparently, O. lost control of the car and crashed it into a tree. The couple froze to death while trying to reach civilisation. It seems they knew what was coming; they were found in a tight embrace, lips frozen together in a final kiss.

[=>]
debugcheapnitfol quit with exit status: 0
action: %
response: This game uses some special effects that can cause problems on older interpreters, and especially on interpreters for handhelds.

Answer 'no' if your interpreter doesn't support color or timed input.

Do you want to play the enhanced version?
action: No
response: You have made it, finally, to her cave. A week ago, she kidnapped your boyfriend from your bed, while you were sleeping. When you awoke, he was gone, a beautiful snowflake in his place. That was when you knew she had taken him.

'I see you have found me,' says the Ice Queen amusedly. 'So you want your boy back, my dear? Come, follow me inside.'

She bows mockingly, then disappears inside the cave.



Please type ABOUT.

This is it. The dread Ice Queen's home lies to the north, the dark cave mouth beckoning.
action: You kill Queen
response: That doesn't seem like a good idea. She could kill you in a split-second; and you're not even sure why she hasn't done that yet.
action: You kiss saul
response: You wish you could, but the ice block is in the way.
action: You talk to Queen
response: 'You want him back? Then bring me the Heart of Winter. It is guarded by the Dragon, but since you have found me, I am sure you are not going to have a problem convincing him to give it to you.'

The Ice Queen gestures, and an exit opens towards the north of the cave.
action: You go to the north
response: A wide, deep gorge splits the land in half. There is no way across. On the other side, in the distance, you can make out a castle. You can also walk along the gorge to the east and west.

An annoying little demon is fluttering around your head.
action: Go east
response: As you turn to go, the demon suddenly speaks up...

'You want across this gorge? I can get you there, baby. Just give me what you're holding!'

"I'm not..." you start, then realize you are holding something.
action: You check your inventory
response: You are carrying:
a blue crystal
action: Go east
response: 'Ungrateful wench!' screams the demon, suddenly growing in size. 'You do not want my help? Fine! Then try to get out of this mess yourself!'

He turns around, whipping you with his tail. You lose your balance and fall...

[=>]
...fall, until a large branch stops your descent rather abruptly.

Halfway down the Gorge (on the branch)
Even from here, you still can't see the bottom of the gorge, but you can hear water rushing below. The top seems miles away; the walls are mostly bare, except for the branch that miraculously broke your fall without injuring you too much in the process.
action: You jump
response: Mustering all your courage, you jump off the branch. Just like you hoped, there is a river down there, but it isn't quite what you expected.

The currents drag you along...

Strong wind currents carry you along, as if you were floating on water; instead, you are floating in mid-air.
action: You wait
response: Time passes.

The currents drag you along...

Strong wind currents carry you along, as if you were floating on water; instead, you are floating in mid-air.
action: Wait
response: Time passes.

The currents drag you along...

Strong wind currents carry you along, as if you were floating on water; instead, you are floating in mid-air.

The canyon walls give way to an ice bank to the north.
action: Go north
response: You swiftly steer towards the ice bank and the currents drop you softly onto it.

A tiny bank of ice is all that separates the River of Storms from a rough path leading up a mountain to the northwest.
action: Go northwest
response: After a long trip, you arrive at...

This may have been an impressive castle once, and seemed to be intact from the distance, but the courtyard is all that remains; no walls remain standing. Strange.

You can see the Dragon here.
action: You talk to Dragon
response: 'You have come for the Heart of Winter.'

You shudder at the sound of his voice. It is... old and
otherwordly, yet beautiful. "Y... yes," you manage.

'I will give it to you, under one condition. Give yourself to me, this night. Then you shall have the Heart of Winter. What do you say?'
action: No
response: The Dragon smiles. 'Come with me, child.'

"What? I said no!"

'I know. I will still give you the Heart of Winter. In fact, I could not withhold it from you even if I wanted.'

He leads you into a small chamber.

This very small chamber is empty except for a large mirror hanging on one wall.
action: You examine the mirror
response: You see yourself in the mirror.

"I only see myself!" you shout, "where is the Heart of Winter?"

The Dragon smiles again. 'You are.'

"I am? But..."

He hushes you with a movement of his hand. 'I think you have someone to go back to, do you not?'

With another wave of the Dragon's hand, you are gone and find yourself...

This is it. The dread Ice Queen's home lies to the north, the dark cave mouth beckoning.
action: You talk to Queen
response: 'Come back when you have the Heart of Winter! And hurry!'
action: Go north
response: That would be suicide.
action: You give the crystal to the demon
response: The demon accepts the crystal, giggling maniacally.

A second later, you find yourself on an...

A tiny bank of ice is all that separates the River of Storms from a rough path leading up a mountain to the northwest.
action: Go northwest
response: After a long trip, you arrive at...

This may have been an impressive castle once, and seemed to be intact from the distance, but the courtyard is all that remains; no walls remain standing. Strange.

You can see the Dragon here.
action: You wait for a while
response: Time passes.
action: You examine the mirror
response: You see yourself in the mirror.

"I only see myself!" you shout, "where is the Heart of Winter?"

The Dragon smiles again. 'You are.'

"I am? But..."

He hushes you with a movement of his hand. 'I think you have someone to go back to, do you not?'

With another wave of the Dragon's hand, you are gone and find yourself...

This is it. The dread Ice Queen's home lies to the north, the dark cave mouth beckoning.
action: You talk to Queen
response: 'Well,' asks the Ice Queen, 'have you brought me the Heart of Winter?'

"Yes."

'So,' she continues eagerly, 'where is it?'

"I am the Heart of Winter."

'What? It cannot be!' Her eyes alight with anger, she raises her arms.

'Heart of Winter, eh? You will be dead of Winter!'

Glistening magic leaves her fingertips, engulfing you...

The cold freezes you to the core, turning you into an ice statue. You cannot breathe, but you cannot die either. Helplessly, you watch as the Ice Queen unfreezes Saul and kisses him passionately -- and he returns her kiss!

"What's this?" he asks when she releases him, pointing at you.

'Oh, just an ugly statue. Could you break it for me?'

"Sure, my love." He walks up to you and pushes you over.

You hear the laughter of the ice queen before you shatter.

[=>]
debugcheapnitfol quit with exit status: 0