The Journey of the King

From IFWiki

Fantasy
Fantasy
Religious
Religious
The Journey of the King
The Journey of the King cover art.jpg
Author(s) Peter Nepstad
Publisher(s) Illuminated Lantern Publishing
Release date(s) 24-Nov-2006
Authoring system TADS 2
Platform(s) TADS 2
Language(s) English
License(s) Freeware
Multimedia
Color effects none
Graphics none (except for external cover art)
Sound/Music none
Ratings
Cruelty scale Cruelty to be determined

How It Begins

You are Ebalon, King of Zarkandhu. All of Zarkandhu is your domain and all within it are your possessions.

You sit on your throne in your palace's audience chamber, attended to by the large retinue of guards and attendants who serve your every need. All your retinue is nameless and beneath your notice except for Istahn, your cupbearer. Istahn serves you the wine of your ancestors in the goblet of the King. The chamber itself contains several luxuries, including ornaments, furs, silk, and braziers. The exit to the courtyard is to the east.

You are troubled by a question: who will meet the King on life's other shore? You sent the dancers and singers away from the palace and have summoned prophets to answer you. You must learn the answer to your question.

Notable Features

  • Adaption of the story The Journey of the King by Lord Dunsany, first published in 1906 in the short story collection Time and the Gods. It is available online from Project Gutenberg at http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/8183.
  • The "Dunsanian" style of English may be difficult for some players to understand on first reading.
  • Conversation with NPCs is done via conversation menus initiated with a "TALK TO [person]" command.
  • Mildly unusual approach to inventory and PC identity. Since the player-character is the King, he already owns everything and has a retinue to carry things for him. The PC rarely carries anything personally, although the carried items are still listed in via the "inventory" command. Likewise, a similar approach is taken with certain actions; for example, a command like "look under cushions" is performed by the servants, not the king.
  • Multiple endings.

Trivia and Comments

  • Cover art: "Salome Dancing Before Herod" by Gustave Moreau (1874–1876).

Versions

Version 1.0

Version 1.1

  • The Journey of the King (Peter Nepstad; publisher: Illuminated Lantern Publishing; TADS 2).

Links

Tales of Wonder by Peter Nepstad
The Journey of the King (2006)
The Ebb and Flow of the Tide (2006)