h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

What kind of grue are you, then. I'm well prepared, in any event. My lantern's blazing, and I've got a jar of sunlight in case you're an Ur-Grue.

Still, I know that grues aren't necessarily anti-social. A grue saved the life of Simon the Postman, once....but still, what's your story? How'd you get from Zork to h2g2 Island? I stumbled into a dimensional rift in the Kovalli Desert.

well, Hello Sailor!
No, I'm just the standard run-of-the-mill, normal, gruesome variety.
Excuse my not coming out of that blackbox, all this light *hurts*... and we're definitely NOT anti-social! I made "friends" with some trolls some time ago (it *may* have something to do with the facts that trolls are not afraid in the dark and taste awful... not much brains to talk with though).
If you promise not to peek under my box, can I offer you some & (I do have gruel, too)? No valuables in here, I'm afraid, unless you count the edibles .
There is a light switch in the far corner over there -->, if you'd like to save resources...

I came here with another adventurous being like you seem to be. You know, s/he picked me up by accident. I am a bit more curious than most grues, and I wasn't hungry, and when s/he wandered in with this torch I hid in a box-like thing instead of using our usual means of escape. Naturally (as I know now), s/he picked it up... I managed to talk with him/her/it -I *was* afraid s/he might open that box - and we became partners of kinds. From him/her/it I learned a bit about humanoids (apart from edibility, which I knew already). We even went to parts of the GUE I've never seen before... Then s/he managed to transfer us to other places, and suddenly, I found myself here - don't know what happened really.

I never knew there is a dimensional rift in the Kovalli Desert? Is it a one-way-rift, or do you transfer often?

Sorry to interrupt the Grue reunion but 'The Grue' is 'it'

And please hide that light, I've only just got used to the dark, But don't forget I do have a torch and I'm not afraid to use it

Mel

Greetings, Mel.

And no, the rift in the Kovalli Desert is a one-way rift, located in a weird, pyramid-like structure. However, Zork is just a quick flight through space away from here. It's really interesting to pass all of the standard spherical planets, and then come across Zork, a flat world held up by giant brogmoids. Oh, BTW, if you read any of Jack Anthrax's Zork fan-fiction, I think he mentioned to me once that he was going to be putting something like my dimensional rift into one of his future stories.

Oh, and thanks for offering the light switch and the treats, but I'm alright. This lantern is my own, special design. It could literally last for weeks. Besides, I've got a Frotz spell if my lamp manages to run out. And you'll understand about me not accepting the food. Nothing against you, but I've never really enjoyed the food that grues have provided for me in the past. Besides, I'm not too hungry.

aren't we suspicious

Never!

Mel

Not so much suspicious as cautious. There are few foods offered by humans that I eat, due to fear of offending someone, and "Sour as a grue" is a well known expression, even amongst yourselves if the Encyclopedia Frobozzica speaks true.

Maybe I'm just remembering months of anti-grue propoganda, but I am, for lack of a better word, slightly nervous here. Oh, and just so you know, I've got a can of grue-repellent. Sorry.

Oh, just out of curiosity, have you played Zork: The Undiscovered Underground, the last Infocom text adventure? It describes what you look like.