Your friend Jake is at it again. This time he’s headed east to check out the Sultan’s palace, or was it the Sultan’s daughter?
Once again he invites you to join him, and this time—much to your own surprise—you agree.
You are approaching the heart of the city. Just ahead is the Palace, and your nose and ears tell you the marketplace isn’t far away either.
You are facing EAST.
You are at the main entrance to the palace. The main courtyard is NORTH, the marketplace is SOUTH, and the palace extends EAST and WEST.
You are facing north.
You are in the city’s central market square. The market extends EAST and SOUTH, there is a disreputable-looking tavern to the WEST, and the palace is NORTH.
You are facing east.
You are in a quiet corner of the marketplace. There are food stalls to the NORTH and EAST, and the market extends WEST. Nearby is a fountain of clear water.
You are at a sweet-seller’s stall, tended by a man who, well, let’s just say he has an equator where most of us have a waist. The marketplace is WEST, and you’ll find a water fountain back there too.
If you want to be strictly literal, this isn’t a tavern, it’s a coffee house. But you’d have to look pretty closely at the contents of the cups before you’d notice the difference. The exit to the marketplace is EAST.
You are at a potter’s stall that displays the most enormous clay jars you have ever seen in your life. The potter is talking to a customer nearby. The market is EAST.
You are in a corner of the marketplace. There is a shoemaker’s stall to the EAST and a potter to the WEST. The market extends NORTH.
You are facing south.
You are at a shoemaker’s stall. A variety of leather slippers are laid out on display. The marketplace is WEST.
You are at the mouth of a narrow alley running along the west side of the Palace. NORTH is the service courtyard; EAST is the main entrance to the palace. You are facing northwest.
You are in the service area of the palace complex. The kitchens are WEST and the stables are north; the palace continues SOUTH and EAST. A water spout keeps the horse trough filled with clear water.
You are facing north.
You are in the kitchen of the palace. The main exit is EAST. On the tables are trays of various foods that have either just been, or are just about to be, cooked.
You are facing west.
You are in a corner of the palace. SOUTH is a small door, WEST is the service courtyard, and the palace walls extend NORTH.
You are facing south.
You are on the northwest side of the palace, near the stables and service areas. In an angle of the wall, a sloping roof creates a small storage shed. The Palace walls extend SOUTH and EAST.
You are facing east.
You are on the north side of the palace. To the SOUTH is a windowless wall some twelve feet high; from nearby you can hear water bubbling and leaves rustling. The palace walls extend EAST and WEST.
You are facing south.
You are at the northeast corner of the main Palace complex. In front of you is a blank wall about twelve feet high; the other walls are much higher and have many more windows. The Palace continues SOUTH and WEST.
You are facing southwest.
You are on the east side of the palace, in an area that is something more than a street but not quite a courtyard. The palace walls extend NORTH and SOUTH.
You are facing north.
You are at the southeast corner of the Palace. The main entrance is WEST and the Palace walls continue NORTH. To the EAST, the street slopes down to a river bordered by bathhouses and laundries.
You are facing northwest.
You are at the entrance of a public bathhouse near the Palace and marketplace. The dressing rooms are NORTH and the exit to the street is WEST.
You are facing east.
You are in the dressing area of a public bathhouse. The exit is SOUTH.
You are facing north.
You are in a covered arcade. The marketplace is SOUTH and the main palace courtyard is NORTH. To the EAST is a small door.
You are facing north.
You are in the main courtyard of the palace complex. There are large doors to the NORTH and EAST. In one corner of the courtyard is a stairway going UP, and under the stairs a door leads WEST. The entrance archway is SOUTH.
You are facing north.
You are at the entrance to the Palace treasury. A number of guards and clerks are going about their business. The exit is EAST and the room continues WEST.
You are facing south.
You are in a long, wide room filled with boxes and chests, sacks and storage jars. The exit is EAST and there is another door to the NORTH.
You are facing west.
You are at the back entrance to the Sultan’s quarters. Palace guards are hanging about, just waiting for you to make a false move. A flight of stairs goes UP. The exit is NORTH, and there is another door to the SOUTH.
You are facing south.
You are in a long reception hall. The exit to the grand courtyard is SOUTH. There is another door to the NORTH, and a low window to the WEST leads to an inner courtyard.
You are facing north.
You are in a long room divided into three bays, looking into a small inner courtyard. There is a door to the SOUTH and the room extends WEST.
You are facing northwest.
You are in a long room looking into a shady courtyard. The courtyard is SOUTH and the room extends EAST. In the corner behind you is a small spiral staircase going UP.
You are facing south.
You are in a private courtyard in the interior of the north wing of the Palace. There are low windows to the NORTH and EAST, and a fountain bubbles in the middle of a patch of lawn.
You are facing northeast.
You are in the service entrance to the women’s section of the Palace. The main exit is WEST, and there is a door to the EAST.
You are facing east.
You are in the women’s dining room. On the table is an assortment of tasty foods. There are doorways to the NORTH and WEST.
You are facing east.
You are in a private sitting room used by the women of the Sultan’s family. There are doors to the SOUTH and WEST, and a stairway goes UP.
You are facing east.
You are in a cool, airy room looking out on a garden to the NORTH. The exit to the main courtyard is WEST, and there is another door to the EAST.
You are facing east.
You are in a shady garden enclosed by high stone walls on all sides. The garden extends EAST and a high wall is NORTH. To the SOUTH are several doors, all leading to the same room.
You are facing northwest.
You are at one end of a private walled garden. The outer wall, to the NORTH and EAST, is lined with a covered walkway, partly shaded by a wooden trellis. The garden extends WEST, and there are open doors to the SOUTH.
You are facing southeast.
This room is dominated by a long, low table covered with trays of food. There is another room to the NORTH, and an open door (behind you) shows stairs going UP and DOWN.
You are facing north.
You are in a second-floor reception room, midway between public and private. There is a door to the SOUTH, and a small spiral staircase goes UP and DOWN.
You are facing west.
You are in a large, bright room on the third floor of the Palace. There is an open door to the NORTH, and through another open doorway you see stairs going UP and DOWN.
You are facing north.
You are in the Sultan’s private parlor. There are doorways to the SOUTH and EAST, and a small spiral staircase (in the corner behind you) leads DOWN.
You are facing east.
Good thing the Sultan is busy hearing petitions in the audience hall: this is his bedroom. There is a door to the WEST and a balcony to the SOUTH.
You are facing east.
You are on a small balcony overlooking an interior courtyard within the Sultan's residence. The only door is NORTH.
You are facing southwest.
You are on the top floor of the Sultan’s residence. A door to the EAST leads to the roof, and a small balcony is NORTH. A half-flight of stairs leads to a door to the SOUTH. The main stairs go DOWN.
You are facing northeast.
You are on a small balcony on the north side of the Palace. There is a door to the SOUTH.
You are facing east.
You are on the flat roof of the north wing of the Palace. WEST is a doorway to the stair hall and EAST, beyond a low wall, is another roof. The grand courtyard is SOUTH and an inner courtyard is NORTH.
You are facing south.
You are hovering over a small courtyard within the north wing of the Palace. The flat roof surrounds you on all sides, but most of it lies SOUTH. You can also descend into the courtyard.
You are looking down.
You are hovering over the grand courtyard of the palace. There are roofs to the NORTH, EAST and WEST, and the marketplace is SOUTH. You can also descend into the courtyard.
You are looking northwest.
You are hovering over the central market square. The palace is NORTH, and there is enough clear ground below to make a safe landing.
You are looking down.
You are on the roof of the audience hall. To the north is a small door, and the grand courtyard is east. The roof extends SOUTH and WEST.
You are facing west.
You are at the northwest corner of the audience hall roof, looking down into the service courtyard to the north. The roof continues SOUTH and EAST.
You are on the roof of the audience hall, looking back over the large rounded dome. From this angle, the dome looks just like a gigantic egg. The flat roof extends NORTH and EAST.
You are facing northeast.
You are on the roof of the audience hall, overlooking the marketplace to the south. The roof continues NORTH and WEST, and the grand courtyard is east.
You are facing south.
You are at the top of a small tower rising above the northeast corner of the audience hall. There are other towers to the south and west. The window looks northeast, giving a good view over the Palace and its various courtyards.
The exit is DOWN.
You are at the top of a small tower rising above the northwest corner of the audience hall. There are other towers to the south and east. The exit is DOWN.
You are at the top of a small tower rising above the southwest corner of the audience hall. There are other towers to the north and east. The exit is DOWN.
You are at the top of a small tower rising above the southeast corner of the audience hall. There are other towers to the north and west. The exit is DOWN.
At the top of the courtyard stairs, a covered arcade serves as an outdoor office for the Sultan’s clerks. A door to the WEST leads to the audience hall, which is open to the public. Behind you, the stairs go DOWN.
You are facing south.
You are in the Audience Hall. Above, a screened gallery encircles the room so the women of the Sultan’s family can observe the proceedings. The room extends WEST and SOUTH, the exit is EAST and a spiral staircase goes UP.
You are facing west.
You are near the northwest corner of the audience hall. The Sultan sits in his throne, hearing petitions. The room extends SOUTH and EAST, and a spiral stairway in the corner goes UP.
You are facing southwest.
You are near the southwest corner of the audience hall. The room extends NORTH and EAST, and a spiral staircase in the corner goes UP into obscurity.
You are facing west.
You are in the southeast corner of the audience hall. The room extends NORTH and WEST, and a spiral staircase (behind you) goes UP.
You are facing northwest.
You are in a square room on the second floor of the Palace. Stairs go UP and DOWN, and there is a door to the NORTH.
You are facing west.
You are in a room overlooking a walled garden. Chests and wardrobes line the walls, and there are several large mirrors. There is a door to the SOUTH and a large open window to the NORTH.
You are facing north.
You are on the top floor of the women’s wing of the Palace. To the WEST is an open door leading to a covered balcony. To the east is a flight of stairs going DOWN.
You are facing north.
You are on a covered gallery overlooking an interior courtyard. There is an open door to the EAST, and a stairway leads UP to the roof.
You are facing east.
You are on the roof of the women’s section of the Palace. Some tiny pavilions are EAST, the roof continues SOUTH, and a stairway leads DOWN to the interior of the palace. To the WEST, beyond a low wall, are more roofs.
You are facing northeast.
You are in a small hexagonal pavilion on the roof of the women’s section of the Palace. A round table bears a pitcher of iced sharbat. The exit is WEST.
You are facing east.
You are on the flat roof of the east wing of the Palace. SOUTH is a round tower, and the roof continues NORTH. The grand courtyard is WEST.
You are facing south.
This round room takes up the whole top floor of a projecting tower. It overlooks the marketplace south of the Palace, but the inside view is even more interesting.
The flat roof of the palace is NORTH. You are facing west.
You’re on top of the domed roof that rises over the central part of the audience hall. If you’re careful you can slide DOWN to the flat roof.
The tavern doesn’t look so sinister, after all. You and Jake settle down with tiny cups of sweet, potent coffee—a change from your usual beer.
