23 lines
1.3 KiB
Plaintext
23 lines
1.3 KiB
Plaintext
grue
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n. [from archaic English verb for shudder , as with fear] The grue was
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originated in the game Zork (Dave Lebling took the name from Jack Vance's
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Dying Earth fantasies) and used in several other Infocom games as a hint
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that you should perhaps look for a lamp, torch or some type of light source.
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Wandering into a dark area would cause the game to prompt you, It is very
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dark. If you continue you are likely to be eaten by a grue. If you failed to
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locate a light source within the next couple of moves this would indeed be
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the case. The grue, according to scholars of the Great Underground Empire,
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is a sinister, lurking presence in the dark places of the earth. Its
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favorite diet is either adventurers or enchanters, but its insatiable
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appetite is tempered by its extreme fear of light. No grues have ever been
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seen by the light of day, and only a few have been observed in their
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underground lairs. Of those who have seen grues, few have survived their
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fearsome jaws to tell the tale. Grues have sickly glowing fur, fish-mouthed
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faces, sharp claws and fangs, and an uncontrollable tendency to slaver and
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gurgle. They are certainly the most evil-tempered of all creatures; to say
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they are touchy is a dangerous understatement. Sour as a grue is a common
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expression, even among grues themselves. All this folklore is widely known
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among hackers.
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