Welcome! In this Interactive Fiction game, you’re playing a novice monk investigating a mysterious death at the priory of Our Lady of Thorns in 1346. Can you unravel the mystery before the end of Compline?
Download thorns.z5 Play in browser
Some of these are specific to this game; others may be used in other games, but will be especially useful:
CLIMB UP (thing)DIG IN (thing) WITH
(thing)CONFESS TO (person)EXTINGUISH (source of light)FOLLOW (brother)HIDE BEHIND (thing)KNEEL ON (thing)KNOCK ON (thing)LISTENLOOK UNDER (thing)LOOK UP(topic) IN
(book)PRAYREAD (thing)RING (thing)SEARCH (thing)SINGSMELLSMELL (thing)TASTE (thing)These are special actions; they don’t use a turn to perform and operate outside the game world:
EXITS: show exits from locationHELP: see short helpHERE: shows monks in the locationHINTS: context-aware hint menusMAP: show map of the areaOBJECTS: lists objects you’ve handledPLACES: list places you’ve beenQUOTES ON/OFF: turn on/off box quotesRESTORE: restore saved game stateSAVE: save game stateUNDO: undo most recent turnWHO: lists all monks in gameTime and the passing of is important. You can use:
TIME: gives estimate of current timeWAIT n
HOURS/MINUTES: wait this amount of timeWAIT UNTIL hh:mm: wait until given time (12h
time)There are other commands that will be revealed during game play.
Our Lady of Thorns is a fictional priory (like a monastery, but smaller) located on the coast of England. It’s known for its rugged location on the cliffs and the excellence of its illuminated manuscripts, the sale of which make up much of the priory’s income. It has 10 full-time members of the community, including you.
The monks of Our Lady of Thorns gather eight times each day to pray and sing the Divine Office. In the game, all offices follow the same format — but if you’re curious about the real offices, here’s a brief guide:
Matins (during the night): The great night office, and by far the longest. Multiple nocturns of psalms, lessons, and responses. The office of vigilance — keeping watch in darkness for the coming light. Exhausting, and spiritually demanding.
Lauds (at dawn): The office of praise at daybreak, closely linked to Matins. Its psalms celebrate light overcoming darkness, carrying a tone of resurrection and renewal. The name itself means “praises.”
Prime (early morning): The opening of the working day. Short and practical in tone, often including the reading of a chapter of the Rule — a daily reminder of the community’s identity and obligations.
Terce (late morning): Associated with the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, which tradition placed at this hour. A brief office marking the transition into the full working morning.
Sext (noon): The midday pause. Short and reflective, with psalms of a penitential character. A moment to stop, reckon with the day so far, and reorient.
None (early afternoon): Quiet and contemplative in tone, with psalms of trust and shelter.
Vespers (evening): The great evening office, second in solemnity only to Matins. Psalms of thanksgiving for the day, and the singing of the Magnificat.
Compline (before sleep): The final office, intimate and protective in character. Very short, always the same psalms — so familiar that monks could pray them in near-darkness. The game ends at the close of Compline.
This shows all of the main endings.
Our Lady of Thorns is written by Joel Burton joel@joelburton.com.
It is written in Inform6 using the PunyInform library.
Handles provided are usernames at The Interactive Fiction Community Forum.
If you’re interested, here are some documents I wrote when planning the game. These have complete spoilers in them.