The Sword of Inari
| The Sword of Inari | |
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| ◄Eamon adventure #246► | |
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| Author | Matthew Clark |
| Created | 1999 |
| Released | June 2003 |
| Revised | 5 February 2004 |
| EAG number | 246 |
| EDX number | 18-08 |
| EDX set | Classic Eamon Adventures, Vol. 6 |
| Native format | Apple DOS 3.3 |
| File | Eamon 246 - The Sword of Inari.dsk |
The Sword of Inari is an Eamon adventure written by EAG webmaster Matthew Clark.
Background
Clark settled on the plot for his adventure in 1998 and spent several months in 1999 writing up the story, defining monsters and artifacts, and making notes about the kinds of effects he wanted to add for various situations. It then "sat on the shelf" for several years until he completed the programming for it while he was in law school in 2003. By that time his old Apple II+ hadn't been turned on in several years, so he used AppleWin and CiderPress for all the adventure development. "I felt that programming it in AppleWin had something of a 'ship in a bottle' feel," says Clark, "but I enjoyed working on it."
Testing the adventure took a quite a bit of time due to the number of variables and possible combinations of situations, and Clark made use of Fresh Sam during the process. He says his goal was for a player who's paying attention to be able to make it all the way through the adventure on the first attempt, without having to learn by repeatedly dying.
Clark submitted the finished adventure to Tom Zuchowski at the Eamon Adventurer's Guild and expected it to be assigned adventure number 243, but due to a few others being released first it was assigned #246. Zuchowski suggested Clark flesh out the adventure's content a little, so he added a few extra shops in the town. Sword of Inari was formally released in June 2003 and was the last game included on Zuchowski's Eamon CD
This is the only adventure by Clark, who from 2003 to 2020 operated the Eamon Adventurer's Guild Online website. He says he probably will not do another for the Eamon system, but would definitely consider writing some interactive fiction using modern systems like Inform or Twine.
Premise
Thousands of years ago a hero wielding a powerful, magical weapon known as the Sword of Inari defeated a great evil and helped the people establish a peaceful new republic. Centuries later when the evil returned, the sword was lost and the land and its people were utterly destroyed.
Recently the Guild of Magicians detected a magical energy emanating from the distant city of Tornio that matches that of the long-lost sword, and they fear that the sorcerers who found it may be trying to tap its destructive energies. Spies sent to find and retrieve the sword failed to penetrate the walled city, but were able to learn that the weapon is being kept in the city's cathedral. You and a skilled ranger named Esher have been recruited for a mission to enter Tornio via airship, recover the sword, and return it to the guild. The guild gives you several tools to help with the quest: a scabbard that will mask the sword's magical energy signature, an amulet that mimics the energy, and a cube that can create the illusion of an army of soldiers.
Captain Banedon flies you to the city aboard the Skyraider, but when a storm prevents the ship from reaching its planned landing site, the captain instead flies the ship over the cathedral's tallest tower and lowers ropes for you and Esher to descend.
| Full introduction |
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Listen now and hear a great tale of ages past. Some call this story fiction, but there are many who think this story is true. Listen now and hear this tale. Maybe you can decide on your own... Legend has it that long ago, a great evil covered all the land. The peasants cried out for divine help, to no avail. Then, one day, a mysterious man arrived to the land. His origin is not known, but he was called Nuorgam or "Northman". Nuorgam led the peasants to rebel against the dark evil. His blade, the Sword of Inari, protected his people and blessed them. Even the smallest boy was as strong as ten men. Quickly, they drove back the evil and created a free republic. This land, the Tasavalta, created a safe and prosperous haven for its citizens. Two centuries after the creation of Tasavalta, great evil threatened again. Nuorgam had left long ago and the Sword of Inari could not be found. The entire land of Tasavalta was obliterated. Every person was killed. Buildings were razed, crops were destroyed, and forests were burned. Finally the earth itself was opened, and Tasavalta was no more. This legend is over 20,000 years old. Two weeks ago, the Guild of Magicians detected a magical rift appearing somewhere in the land of Eamon. Its size and strength was like nothing that has been recorded in modern times. Days later, rumors were spread of a distant kingdom being attacked. Tornio, the capital city, was captured and the king was executed! Powerful magic fields were detected near Tornio during the attack. The Guild of Magicians believe that the magic fields are from the Sword of Inari. The guild is worried that someone may find a way to destroy the sword and release its awesome destructive powers. Thus, the guild has determined that recovery of the sword is of the highest importance. Three elite spies have attempted to enter the city, but the city is walled and they were unable to penetrate the defenses. However, the spies were able to ascertain the location of the sword. It is located within the cathedral at Tornio. The guild believes the sorcerers who brought the sword back into this world are trying to steal the magic from the sword for their own uses. You have been hired as an experienced journeyman to recover the sword. An experienced ranger, Esher, will join you on your quest. The guild has decided to make an attempt of entering Tornio by airship. The guild gave you some special items to help recover the sword. You receive a special scabbard which can mask the magical field of the sword. You also get a special amulet to mimic the sword's magical field. You also receive a magical cube. It is able to create an illusion of an army of soldiers. This may prove be useful if you need to create a diversion! Banedon, the Skyraider's captain, flew you under cover of darkness to the skies over Tornio. However, storms arose quickly damaging the ship. Banedon gave orders to fly the ship above the storm. "I cannot land in a storm during the night. I don't want to risk illuminating the landing site. However, we can try something else. At dawn, I may be able to get close enough to the highest tower of the cathedral. We can then drop some lines and you can climb down. However, you would have to find your own way out as I cannot stay long enough to risk detection." Facing no other choice, you and Esher agree to the plan. At dawn, Banedon pilots the ship back into the storm and hovers over the cathedral. Lines are dropped, and you make preparations for your descent... |
Walkthrough
You begin on the bridge of the Skyraider where Banedon and his crew are keeping the airship positioned in the storm clouds above Tornio Cathedral.
- Go down to the main deck and meet your companion Esher.
- Climb down the ropes to reach the roof of the bell tower, kill the sentry, and take his iron key. Open the wooden hatch.
- Take the ladder down to reach the first landing where a bell hangs, then down again to a second, larger landing.
- Go east through the wooden door and you'll surprise a wizard in his study. Kill him and take his staff.
- Return to the landing and descend the staircase. At the bottom you'll hear a large crowd chanting in the cathedral's nave, so go first into the small room to the north.
- In the small room,
use ropeto ring the tower bell. Through the peephole you'll see the crowd exit the nave. - Enter the vacant nave, then go north to the cathedral's grand altar and kill the acolyte waiting there.
- Climb up onto the altar and you'll be able to reach a suspended brace that holds the object of your quest, the Sword of Inari! Attack or blast the brace until it shatters, then open it and take the sword. Put the sword into your special scabbard to hide its magical signal, then
use amuletto mask the sword's absence. - Return to the nave, drop the magical silver cube you're carrying, and
use cubeto create the illusion of soldiers filling the cathedral. - Exit south through the narthex and onto an east/west street.
- Go east, then south into a blacksmith's workshop.
Get iron tools, plus the hammer, tongs, the armor parts, and a paper receipt. Return to the street. - Go east, then north into Boylan's Leather Goods.
Request leather armorfrom the leatherworker, then use the iron tools to combine it with the metal armor parts to create some strong, reinforced plate armor. Return to the street. - Step south into the Dark Horse Tavern and
pay bartenderto get a mug of beer. - Go east into the Dark Horse Inn where the Innkeeper will offer to rent you a room.
Pay innkeeperand collect the small brass key. - Go south, open the oak door, and go east into your room.
- Collect the bottle (which contains a healing potion) and the lantern, then open the window and exit east onto the window sill.
- Go down into a narrow alleyway. If you're carrying the blacksmith's iron tools you'll be able to open the grate, allowing you climb down into the sewer.
- Follow the pipe east. If you failed the activate the amulet and cube earlier in the cathedral, you'll be intercepted by a group of worshippers who'll capture you and send you home empty-handed. If you did activate them, your way will be clear and at the pipe's end you'll successfully rendezvous with Banedon and the Skyraider.
Upon your return the Guild of Magicians takes the sword for safekeeping and awards you 5,000 gold pieces for your service and bravery.
Location
The adventure's introduction describes the city of Tornio as the capital of a "distant kingdom" located "somewhere in the land of Eamon". Its distance and direction from Evenhold is unspecified, as is the location of the ruined land of Tasavalta.
Trivia
- Clark studied abroad in Finland and incorporated several Finnish words and place names into his adventure:
- The character of Banedon is drawn from the Lone Wolf adventure book series by Joe Dever. In the books, Banedon often takes the hero on his airship Skyrider to start a quest.
- Clark used Fresh Sam extensively during testing.
- In the Eamon Remastered version of the adventure, the tower sentry carries a mace instead of a short sword, leaving the Sword of Inari as the only "sword" in the story.
- Clark cites the essay "Crimes Against Mimesis" by Roger Giner-Sorolla as an influence, and in particular noted the instruction that "the player should in theory be able to complete the story without using any information gained from fatal dead-ends."
External links
- Eamon Adventurer's Guild Library Master List
- The Interactive Fiction Database: The Sword of Inari
- Interactive Fiction Reviews: The Sword of Inari