Star Anise Chronicles: Escape from the Chamber of Despair

Oh, no!  Star Anise, through absolutely no fault of his own probably, has been sealed away in an inescapable chamber!  A chamber...  of despair.

Can you help him escape?  Or if not, can you help him make a big mess of everything?

Play in browser (you can SAVE and RESTORE), or download the gblorb and play with a standalone player like Glulxe!  Look, okay, I didn't name these things.

Built with Inform 7 in about a week.  If you've never played interactive fiction before, I apologize!  This may not be the best introduction to it.  A good start might be to READ THE PAMPHLET.