text: [Themes: Horror, Espionage]
  
  > look around
  This low, earth-hewn passage is cramped and dirty. Held up by crude wooden props, it looks none too stable. The tunnel is quite short, only about twenty metres in length. At the south-east end is the short stone staircase which leads up to the trapdoor, while to the north-west is an enormous door.
  
  The enormous door hangs invitingly but threateningly open.
  
  > Go northwest
  A shining white laboratory decked out with rows of pristine benches and tables. Shelves full of ridiculous sounding biochemicals line the walls. The room is windowless and lit only by fluorescent bulbs on the ceiling.
  
  You can leave by the door to the south.
  
  A wooden pinboard on one wall is covered in clippings from various respected publications.
  
  Some sort of sci-fi gadget sits on the main lab bench.
  
  > examine the gadget
  You can't have a proper adventure game these days without some special sci-fi gadget. In this case it resembles a microwave oven. It also sports a row of LEDs so it can flash them back and forth as it speaks in its predictably sarcastic monotone. Whoever built this one was well au fait with current trends and even painted a smiley face on the speaker. Lovely.
  The sci-fi gadget is currently switched off.
  
  > turn the gadget on
  "Request fingerprint recognition before computer access allowance." A small light-sensitive pad on the gadget flashes briefly and then goes dark again.
  
  > look at pad
  A dark grey light-sensing pad on one side of the gadget.
  
  > get the gadget
  That's fixed in place.
  
  > Inventory
  You are carrying:
  a postcard
  an envelope
  a brass key
  an empty can of beer
  a briefcase (which is open)
  a garden fork
  a key ring
  a white coat (being worn)
  a glass jar
  a remote control (which is open but empty)
  a faxed note
  a leaflet
  a typed note
  a toy pistol
  a rubber glove
  a sou'wester (being worn)
  
  > look at the postcard
  A post-card showing a rolling vista of Yorkshire countryside, taken from Skebdale Pike. A few unintelligible notes and messages have been scrawled on the back in slightly smudged fountain pen:
  
  message to red-chevette the cows are flying you will find guidance from the circle that blocks your way follow the name of satan through the twisting way he has joined with the animals the devil is daisy, daisy is Denzil destroy it you will find the proof on the border of sleep you must remember to use silver bullets
  
  > Exit
  This low, earth-hewn passage is cramped and dirty. Held up by crude wooden props, it looks none too stable. The tunnel is quite short, only about twenty metres in length. At the south-east end is the short stone staircase which leads up to the trapdoor, while to the north-west is an enormous door.
  
  The enormous door hangs invitingly but threateningly open.
  
  > examine the dial
  The lock is the traditional turning type, with eight letters arranged evenly around the dial:
  
  S  |  W
  \|/
  Z+I
  /|\
  E  |  N
  |
  D
  
  There is a small black button underneath the uppermost letter.
  
  > turn dial left
  You turn the dial one notch anticlockwise.
  
  L  |  I
  \|/
  S+N
  /|\
  Z  |  D
  |
  E
  
  > turn dial left
  You turn the dial one notch anticlockwise.
  
  W  |  N
  \|/
  L+D
  /|\
  S  |  E
  |
  Z
  
  > turn dial left
  You turn the dial one notch anticlockwise.
  
  I  |  D
  \|/
  W+E
  /|\
  L  |  Z
  |
  S
  
  > Go upward
  The farmhouse's lounge closely resembles a bomb site. An old sofa, covered in ragged blankets and thin cushions, is positioned opposite a large TV and a wide, open fireplace. The window, hung with clashing flowery curtains, faces out onto the farmyard. A door in the east wall leads out to the hall.
  
  A dark staircase leads downwards from the open trapdoor.
  
  A rolled up rug lies on the floor next to the fireplace.
  
  A few hailstones, the vanguard of the storm, patter gently on the windows.
  
  > go east
  The farm's hallway serves its purpose well. In other words, its the way in. It leads up to a dark staircase, the northern end flanked by two low, wooden doorframes. Along the west wall, there is a row of three or four wooden pegs, underneath which is a delapidated welly rack.
  
  Built into the west wall under the pegs is an electric socket.
  
  On the welly rack is a kettle.
  
  > get the kettle
  You unplug the kettle. (putting the empty can of beer into the briefcase to make room)
  Taken.
  
  The full brunt of the weather batters against the doors and windows, making you glad that you are safe inside.
  
  > go to the south
  This wide rectangle of concrete is littered with the chaotic fallout of everyday dairy farming. And its brown! The stark windows of the farmhouse stare accusingly down into the yard from the north, and, to the east, the roof of the main barn is outlined against the rising sun.
  
  The farm gate to the south-west is safely shut.
  
  The sheepdog lies on the sun-warmed concrete, panting gently.
  
  A group of clucking chickens peck their way around the farmyard, desperately searching for grain.
  
  Sheets of hail lash down from the heavens, driven by a roaring westerly.
  
  > go to the east
  Most of the space in the east end of the farms high stone barn is taken up by a huge haystack of rectangular bales, each of which is held together with tough, plastic twine. Around the double doors rusty farm equipment, almost inevitably infected with a potent range of bacteria, microbes, protozoa and agriculture ministers, lies derelict and unused.
  
  Towering black cumulonimbus clouds pour forth vast quantities of tiny, hard hailstones onto Skebdale.
  
  A long rope ladder, safely twined around several hay bales, leads downwards from the ledge to the barn floor.
  
  A red and white tractor is parked next to the haystack.
  
  Sheets of hail lash down from the heavens, driven by a roaring westerly.
  
  > Go upward
  You climb skilfully up the ladder.
  
  You have to stoop on this tiny ledge in the side of the haystack, cunningly roofed over with bales. Your vertigo quickly kicks in and the barn floor seems to be a million miles away: downwards.
  
  A thin dark passage leads westwards into the bales.
  
  A furled rope ladder is attached to some bales at one side of the ledge.
  
  > put all in the pockets
  briefcase: That's far too big to fit in the coat pockets.
  kettle: Done.
  postcard: Done.
  envelope: Done.
  brass key: Done.
  
  > Go southwest
  You stumble from the labyrinthine passages into...
  
  This room is Gothic horror at its best. Dry, wooden torches burn brightly in their rusty iron brackets, sending a flickering orange light flashing around the high, vaulted stone rafters and dull granite flagstones. The walls are daubed with unsightly scenes of scarlet terror and cruelty, and, at the centre of this hexagonal cathedral of doom, a gigantic inverted cross hangs in space, suspended by a criss-crossing web of thin, spider-like ropes which lead ever upwards into the enormous arched roof. Sinister shadows are cast onto the floor from the grotesque, twisted statuettes which stand on their dark pedestals, seeming to writhe in the torchlight. Where the hell is this place...
  
  Any moment now you expect a nice man with horns and hooves to jump from the shadows and discuss the afterlife, but, fortunately, there seem to be none of those in today.
  
  Instead, a small note has been attached to the bottom of the cross with a drawing pin.
  
  From the far side of the chamber, high up on one wall, an enormous, abstract black and red pictogram stares down at you.
  
  > look at the pictogram
  It depicts simply the head of a cow - but no ordinary heifer. Its ears are long and pointed, its eyes narrow, and its nostrils wide and flaring-red. The mouth is half-open in a Satanic grin, exposing double rows of carnivorous teeth. You dread to look for fear of being ensnared in the deep, swirling, whirling eyes...
  
  > read the note
  (the note)
  You can't read it from down on the floor.
  
  You feel uneasy, as if the pictogram is watching your every move.
  
  > look at Cross
  It's over-riding feature is that it is the wrong way up. However, just for the record, it is made from two gigantic oak beams held together by two enormously thick selotape straps.
  
  > Climb cross
  I don't think much is to be achieved by that.
  
  You feel unable to stop yourself turning and staring into the swirling eyes of the pictogram.
  
  > wait
  Time passes.
  An irresistible surge of terror rises within you as the face of the pictogram twists and seems to force its way out of the wall. You try to shut your eyes to it, but your only option seems to be flight. You have little time to escape as the power of the evil has almost rooted you to the spot.
  
  > wait for a while
  Time passes.
  The primitive drawing continues to wrench itself into reality in a series of horrific jerks and contortions.
  
  > Continue
  Time passes.
  As the scene comes to life before you a wind whips around the chamber, statues are blown over and torches threaten to go out. The evil figure emerging from the wall roars in anger at your intrusion.
  
  > Keep going
  Time passes.
  The figure of a cow, decked in blood and gore, begins to take shape from the writhing pictogram and screams a dire warning. "Access Denied! Access Denied! Unauthorised personnel in building!" You start to petrify with fear.
  
  > Wait
  Time passes.
  An involuntary scream rips your throat open as the devilish figure pops from the canvas like a satanical morph. "Trespassers will be prosecuted....." screams the phantom of the pit as it totters about on its hind-legs, wreathed in smoke and flames. These demonic vassals never were very good at co-ordination, were they?
  
  > kill the cow
  Violence isn't the answer to this one.
  "I will destroy you!!!" The demon raises a hoof and a ball of fiery flame (isn't it all) cannons towards you. You are engulfed utterly, perish utterly, and generally cease to exist.
  
  > Go southwest
  Thin, twisting passages lead off in all directions through the haystack.
  
  Thin, twisting passages lead off in all directions through the haystack.
  
  Thin, twisting passages lead off in all directions through the haystack.
  
  Thin, twisting passages lead off in all directions through the haystack.
  
  Thin, twisting passages lead off in all directions through the haystack.
  
  You stumble from the labyrinthine passages into...
  
  This room is Gothic horror at its best. Dry, wooden torches burn brightly in their rusty iron brackets, sending a flickering orange light flashing around the high, vaulted stone rafters and dull granite flagstones. The walls are daubed with unsightly scenes of scarlet terror and cruelty, and, at the centre of this hexagonal cathedral of doom, a gigantic inverted cross hangs in space, suspended by a criss-crossing web of thin, spider-like ropes which lead ever upwards into the enormous arched roof. Sinister shadows are cast onto the floor from the grotesque, twisted statuettes which stand on their dark pedestals, seeming to writhe in the torchlight. Where the hell is this place...
  
  Any moment now you expect a nice man with horns and hooves to jump from the shadows and discuss the afterlife, but, fortunately, there seem to be none of those in today.
  
  Instead, a small note has been attached to the bottom of the cross with a drawing pin.
  
  From the far side of the chamber, high up on one wall, an enormous, abstract black and red pictogram stares down at you.
  
  > look at note
  (the note)
  You can't read it from down on the floor.
  
  > look at Cross
  It's over-riding feature is that it is the wrong way up. However, just for the record, it is made from two gigantic oak beams held together by two enormously thick selotape straps.
  
  > pull Cross
  You are unable to.
  
  > Climb cross
  I don't think much is to be achieved by that.
  
  You feel unable to stop yourself turning and staring into the swirling eyes of the pictogram.
  
  > Pray
  Nothing practical results from your prayer.
  An irresistible surge of terror rises within you as the face of the pictogram twists and seems to force its way out of the wall. You try to shut your eyes to it, but your only option seems to be flight. You have little time to escape as the power of the evil has almost rooted you to the spot.
  
  > get all
  cross: That's hardly portable.
  note: You can't reach the note from the floor.
  pictogram: That's fixed in place.
  
  > check your inventory
  You are carrying:
  a white coat (being worn)
  a brass key
  an envelope
  a postcard
  a kettle
  a glass jar
  a remote control (which is open but empty)
  a faxed note
  a leaflet
  a typed note
  a toy pistol
  a rubber glove
  a sou'wester (providing light and being worn)
  
  > shoot the pictogram with the pistol
  (first taking the toy pistol)
  The liquid squirts feebly towards the pictogram but has little effect upon it.
  
  > throw the jar at the pictogram
  (first taking the glass jar)
  Futile.
  
  > look at the postcard
  A post-card showing a rolling vista of Yorkshire countryside, taken from Skebdale Pike. A few unintelligible notes and messages have been scrawled on the back in slightly smudged fountain pen:
  
  message to red-chevette the cows are flying you will find guidance from the circle that blocks your way follow the name of satan through the twisting way he has joined with the animals the devil is daisy, daisy is Denzil destroy it you will find the proof on the border of sleep you must remember to use silver bullets
  
  You feel unable to stop yourself turning and staring into the swirling eyes of the pictogram.
  
  > Sleep
  You aren't feeling especially drowsy.
  
  You feel unable to stop yourself turning and staring into the swirling eyes of the pictogram.