You sit at the huge banquet table with the other luminaries who were invited to eat with the Queen of France. You glance around and smile contentedly. Finally, after all these years you're receiving some recognition of your brilliance, all thanks to your invention of the backscratcher!
The Queen, sitting at the far end of the extravagant table, addresses you. "I must say, I am very impressed with your creation", she says as she waves a backscratcher in your general direction. "What's more, I've made a small discovery about it," she proudly proclaims, "It can also be used to scratch things that aren't your back. If you would all care to observe!"
All in attendance give her their undivided attention (likely out of a fear of upsetting the easily irritable Queen) as she proceeds to use the backscratcher on her bottom. A series of impressed "ohs" and "ahs" emanate from the crowd followed by a round of applause for the Queen, who sits back down with a pleased expression ruling over her face. You decide it's in your best interest not to mention that you were already aware of her little "discovery".
"And now is the time for the eating of things!" the Queen cheerfully announces. Butlers equipped with handlebar moustaches pour out of every door, and place plates in front of each guest. You look down at what has been served and try to hide the disgust as you see it's a cheese, truffle, frog legs and snail stuffed croissant. You glimpse around yourself and see everyone gorging themselves, which frankly makes you feel a little queasy.
So you do what you always do when faced with something that appears too horrendous to consume. You ask for some tomato sauce to drench it in.
A chilling silence, colder than ice cream, envelopes the room. The kind of silence that makes one reconsider their previous statement.
"Sacré bleu!" the Queen screams, her face as red as the sauce you so foolishly requested! "You dare to taint our delights with ketchup? Guards! Lock this treacherous cretin in the dungeon while I think of a suitable punishment for this crime against the culinary arts!"
As the dungeon door is slammed shut behind you, you hear "She'll decide death is too good for this one. They'll get thrown to the mimes for sure."
No, anything but the mimes! They're so tedious! You must find a way to escape!
A Historically Inaccurate Adventure by Hulk Handsome
Release 1 / Serial number 120425 / Inform 7 build 6G60 (I6/v6.32 lib 6/12N)
You're in the predictably dark and dank dungeon of the Queen of France. Well, it's not too dark thanks to a torch that vigorously illuminates a few words carved beneath it. A pile of bones and an old blanket have been discarded to a corner. The door keeping you here is to the west.
You can see a key here.
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