Ah, that’s my bad then. I was able to get one of the other descriptions to fire; I guess I just didn’t test a wide enough range.
Anyway, since you mentioned the possibility of alternate scenes for giving Sampson an Ample Apple, I thought I’d try my hand at modifying the existing ones to fit that scenario. Here’s what I’ve come up with:
Scene 1 (before starting pants quest)
You pull out an Ample Apple and wave it within the horse’s orbit. Still chewing his last mouthful, like magic his eyes lock onto it from behind his bulging cheeks, and for the first time his fat face swivels towards you, second chin wobbling. He gulps down the food in his mouth, and a light seems to go on in his eyes as he recognises you.
“Oh, hi there, li’l buddy. Wow, is that for me? Thanks!” He takes the oversized apple in one oversized, bloated mitt and sinks his tombstone teeth into it as greedily as if he hadn’t eaten in hours. “Mshh… It’s right near impossible to find a decent-sized apple these days. Seems like the ones 'round here get smaller every year!” Looking at his gigantic frame, you can’t help but wonder how much bigger HE’S been getting every year. The magically-enlarged apple looks downright normal in his hands. “Visiting the farm?” He gulps down a chunk of apple. “Aww, shucks, I’d have thought you’d be far too busy adventuring to pay an old gone-to-seed horse like me a call like this. Ain’t much to do around here except eat–but that suits ME just fine! Still, it’s sure swell to see you!”
He takes another huge bite out of the huge apple, clearly enjoying the rare treat, but as he chews, he begins to frown a little, one fat hand reaching to press into the huge lower hemisphere of his belly.
“Of course,” he gulps down his mouthful, “I guess there IS such a thing as overdoing it–maybe I AM getting kind of plump.” KIND OF? He continues chomping away at the apple. “Now in the old days, boy, I was the best-built adventurer there was! Throw that giant boulder into the ocean from West Beach? I got that sucker clean across to Jurassic Isle!” A deep BELCH catches him by surprise, rattling the crockery, and he chuckles a little, jiggling his huge doughball of a belly. “Guess I’m turning into something of a boulder myself…”
(next screen):
He holds the mostly-eaten apple in his enormous palm and looks at it speculatively, then looks down at you. “What do YOU think? Should I come out of retirement?” At this point his gut grumbles loudly enough for you to feel it through your feet. “Hrrrmphh… On the other hand…” he casts a rather wistful look down at the table groaning under the weight of so much food–and that of his overblown belly. “…Turns out I really, really LOVE eating. Should I give up all of THIS, just because I’ve gotten a little… round?”
(if you tell him to think it over more):
The enormous equine rumbles out a chuckle, making his whole huge body quiver like pudding. “Shucks, guess I can’t say fairer than that. Heck, even I can’t make up my mind! But…” He finishes off the massive apple with one last massive bite and then reaches for a slab of apple cake. “While I’m deciding, it can’t hurt to have a li’l snack…” Once the jumbo-sized horse resumes his meal, you can’t get much more than grunts out of him, and so you decide to leave him to it.
(if you tell him to come out of retirement):
“You’re RIGHT!” your enormous new friend exclaims, his eyes gleaming. He glances down at what’s left of the apple and pauses for a moment, then bites off the rest of its flesh with one tremendous CHOMP. As he chews, he curls his fist around the large, weighty apple core, stretches his flabby arm back, and FLINGS the core through the open window. By the time you lose sight of it over the horizon, it’s still going upwards, whistling through the air. Woah, he’s stronger than you thought! He swallows his mouthful of apple with a loud GULP and bellows, “Yeah! Look out, world! Sampson Shire the Mighty is back in town!”
Scene 2 (after starting pants quest)
You find an Ample Apple on your person and wave it to attract Sampson’s attention. Still eating, his fat hand whips out and catches hold of the massive apple before he’s even looked up. He blinks when he recognises you and swallows his mouthful with a loud gulp. “Hrrmphhh… Sorry about that li’l buddy, just… umm… practicing my reflexes, and… uhh…” he glances guiltily at the diminished piles of food on the table, “…keeping my strength up.” If he gets much ‘stronger’ that bench will collapse underneath him. His face breaks into a broad smile as he notices the size of the apple. He opens his mouth wide, showing off his huge, razor-sharp teeth and takes a tremendous bite out of the apple with a loud CRUNCH. He chews blissfully, relishing what is probably the first proper apple bite he’s had in quite a while. “So,” he mumbles through his mouthful of apple, “Did you… mmsh… did you managshe to get my old pantsh fixshed up yet?”
Scene 3 (after starting chainmail quest)
You find an Ample Apple on your person and hold it out towards the horse just as he munches into a pie larger than his head, eyes shut in bliss. In the same motion, his head swings around, eyes still closed, and CHOMPS into the apple as well, taking a huge bite out of it and narrowly missing your fingers. Only THEN does he open his eyes to see you wiggling your fingertips to make sure they’re still there, just millimeters away from the missing chunk.
“Whoops, ehe… shorry li’l buddy, guesh I jusht don’tsh know my own shtrengsh shesh daysh…” He starts grinning from ear to ear as he surveys the giant apple, and without further delay, he eagerly grabs it from you and starts taking giant-sized bites out of it. “'Course, you must be pretty strong yourself to be picking apples like this! I’ve gotta get me some of these when I go out adventuring again!” He pauses to swallow with a loud gulp and pats his enormous, soft stomach, which is now covering even more of the table’s surface. “Hrrrmphhh… Anyway, did you manage to get my armour fixed up?”
Scene 4 (after starting axe quest)
You produce an Ample Apple that you had handy and wave it at Sampson, but he’s too busy eating to notice. So instead you hold the oversized apple up to your mouth and take a comparatively tiny bite out of it. The SCRUNCH cuts through the air like a knife, and immediately Sampson’s ears stiffen. His fat arm whips out to grab the apple and he spins around (well, turns a little, at any rate), a thunderous look on his fat face.
“HEY, that’s MI–! Oh…” He sees who it is and stops, blushing slightly. “Shucks, sorry about that, li’l buddy, but for a second I thought some varmint was trying to STEAL some of MY food…” He keeps hold of your apple, though, as he eyes it contemplatively and then scrunches into it. He whinnies contentedly as juice runs down his chin. “'Course, I could only dream of getting my hands on apples like this 'round here…” He sighs longingly at the thought. “Guess that’s just another reason to go out adventuring again, eh?” You’re not sure how much more adventuring he’ll be doing if he keeps eating like this. “Hrrrmphh… So did you manage to find me a weapon, then? If I don’t get to adventuring soon, I won’t be back in time for dinner.”
Scene 5 (after starting Spectrum Gem quest)
You’re tempted to just bounce the Ample Apple off Sampson’s stupendous stomach, but instead you proffer it, holding it out rather gingerly for him to see from the corner of his eye. Even with his cheeks jammed full of food, his fat face still swings towards it hungrily. His eyes light up, and without even questioning where the titanic fruit came from, he begins taking tremendous bites out of it. Only after he’s devoured a considerable portion of the apple does he notice your head peeking out from behind its remains. “Well hi there, li’l buddy! Did you find that just for me? Thanks! You wouldn’t believe how hard it is to find a proper-sized apple 'round these parts!” You politely refrain from questioning how “proper” his own size is. “Good thinking–s’HEALTHY, right?” he says around a bulging mouthful. Much “healthier” and Sampson’s going to pop. He swallows and says, “So did you manage to get a Spectrum Gem yet?”
Oh, and while I was running through the quest line to see all the preexisting apple scenes, I encountered a few niggling little annoyances that may be worth fixing if it’s not too much trouble:
- Sampson only takes 1 stack of the random large fruit he asks for (Outrageous Orange in the case of my testing run). Granted, I don’t know how easily this could be changed, if you’re interpreting less-than-full stacks as representing a partially eaten fruit.
- Attempting to talk to Sampson in the farmhouse (instead of offering an apple) forces you to leave after failing to get his attention, rather than giving you a chance to hand over an apple on the spot.
- It would be nice if Kieras could accept multiple sets of chainmail at once. It’s only a very minor thing, though.
- Once you start the Spectrum Gem part of Sampson’s quest line, if you get his attention while holding a Spectrum Gem, you’re forced to hand it over, unlike previous parts of the quest line, where you can choose to say “Not yet” while in possession of whatever he’s asking for.
