text: [Themes: Historical, vehicle, multiple protagonists, humor]
  
  > look at your surroundings
  You are on the roof of the lower storey. It slopes up to a brick wall, which forms part of the upper storey.
  
  Nearby is a skylight.
  
  > Go inside
  Heroically, you leap through the skylight feet first, intending to hit the floor and roll to absorb the impact. That plan doesn't work out very well, because you end up flat on your back, sprawled across broken furniture.
  
  As you shake the stars out of your eyes, you find yourself staring down the barrel of a revolver.
  
  Salomonder, holding the gun, regards you with a wry grin.
  
  > kick the revolver
  Salomonder raises the revolver. "Tut tut, Mr. Sterling."
  
  Salomonder's mirthless smile becomes cold. "I shall not ask you again, Mr. Sterling."
  
  > raise the hands
  [Some adventurer you turned out to be.]
  
  > Duck
  Salomonder smirks insolently. "Excellent. And now," he says to himself, rubbing his hands, "for the lovely Miss Sweet..."...
  
  Chapter 4: The Evil Eye
  
  The vile little greasy man bows to you most obsequiously. "Miss Sweet," he says. "Now that the indubitable professor Sneedlewood and the redoubtable inventor Mr. Pratt have been joined in captivity by the very doubtable Mr. Sterling, I suggest that you and I have a little chat. Won't you come this way?"
  
  > Shriek
  ...
  Along with the other captives, you are bound and gagged on the floor.
  
  You are in a musty corner of the cellar, almost bare of furnishings but for a simple wooden table. A high shelf blocks much of the light coming in through a single tiny window, which is partly open, but barred. The exit is east.
  
  On the work table are a tin pot (which is empty), some leaves and twigs, some newspaper clippings, a letter opener, a manuscript, an old bucket (which is empty), a small sign, a postcard, a scarf, a peaked riding cap, some goggles, an index card, some gloves, a loose flyer, a handkerchief, a programme, a coin, a purse (which is empty) and an artifact.
  
  You can see Salomonder, Prof. Sneedlewood, Mr. Sterling and Mr. Pratt here.
  
  "Something about a cold, damp cellar makes me feel much better about holding captives," he says. "When I'm in a well-stocked laboratory, or a comfortable drawing room, I tend to hesitate when my profession requires the occasional brutish act. But here..." Salomonder glances around the dreary cellar, and breathes deeply. "Here, I feel more at ease."
  
  An orange tabby saunters into the room.
  I beg your pardon?
  
  > Scream
  You strain against the ropes, but your efforts are futile.
  
  Salomonder rubs his hands together. "Now, I must go about the business of having you killed."
  
  Salomonder picks up a jar from the shelf. "Peach preserves," he says, inspecting it approvingly. "My favourite."
  
  He smiles down at you. "My dear Miss Sweet," he says, with a wistful smile. "You've already glimpsed the power of the artifact, but you've no inkling of its true power." He crouches down beside you. "Aren't you curious? Wouldn't you like to know a little more about it?"
  
  > Sing
  The gag stifles your voice, all but for a muffled moan.
  
  The cat sneezes at Salomonder.
  
  "Come, Miss Sweet. This is no time to be coy. Do you want to help me... and yourself?"
  
  > Nod
  (nodding your head)
  
  Salomonder nods. "Very good."
  
  He removes your gag, with a fumbling attempt at gentleness. "Now, Miss Sweet. Ask me about anything at all."
  
  The cat sits and stares at Salomonder.
  
  > ask Salomonder about Salomonder
  The artifact seems to pull a strange sound out of your throat. In an otherworldly voice, you hear yourself saying: "The squash -- the squash are ripe."
  
  You hear yourself laugh. "Behold, I come, with powers renewed and vital. Adore me!"
  
  Mr. Pratt and Mr. Sterling exchange bewildered glances, while the professor stares with wide-eyed horror.
  
  > Scream
  You strain against the ropes, but your efforts are futile.
  
  Salomonder sighs moodily. He produces an envelope. "This, Professor Sneedlewood, is a message from a dear old friend of yours -- Count Catastrophe."
  
  What little color is left in the professor's face drains away.
  
  Salomonder brandishes the ivory-handled letter opener, and slices open the envelope.
  
  The cat nuzzles the professor affectionately.
  
  > Sing
  As you begin to sing, the artifact pulses with fierce red energy. The artifact seems to pull a strange sound out of your throat. In an otherworldly voice, you hear yourself saying: "The hour approaches."
  
  Salomonder reads from the letter: "My dear Barnaby. I write to you from behind the scenes at the Central American antiquities exhibit, where I have prepared a little surprise for the dignitaries who will be gathering here shortly. As the prophecy foretells, the one who completes the ritual will consort eternally with absolute power. By the time you read this letter, Miss Sweet's lovely voice will have charged the artifact. The ritual will be completed, on schedule, at sunset tonight."
  
  The professor interrupts. "Salomonder, you fool! Can't you see that he's mad?"
  
  Salomonder waves the professor off, irritated. He continues reading: "Barnaby, I am not a bloodthirsty man. I shall spare your lives -- but only if you agree to my demands, chief among which being sole credit for the discoveries I am about to introduce to the world."
  
  "Never!" interrupts the professor. "I'll not be a pawn in Catastrophe's mad game!"
  
  The cat sits and stares at Salomonder.
  
  > eat the coin
  (first taking the coin)
  You strain against the ropes, but your efforts are futile.
  
  Salomonder continues: "In the likely event that your pride will not allow you to submit to my demands, I shall have to rely upon Salomonder to eliminate you in whatever way he sees fit. I regret this course of action... but deep in your heart, I think we both know that, if you had the chance, you'd do the same thing to me."
  
  "No!" shouts the professor, a bit too quickly.
  
  Salomonder folds the letter. "Tsk, tsk, Professor. Whatever his faults may be, you must admit that Count Catastrophe is an excellent judge of character."
  
  The cat nuzzles the professor affectionately.
  
  Salomonder picks up the artifact, and strides out with it.
  
  > Sing
  You project towards the open window.
  
  Through it, you hear a distant musical echo.
  The professor sulks, utterly dejected.
  
  The cat scratches at a table leg.
  
  You can hear Salomonder's footsteps creaking up the stairs. The jars on the shelf resonate musically.
  
  > Sing
  (warming up)
  You sing high B.
  
  The cat sits pensively in a corner.
  
  > listen to the jars
  From time to time, the jars clink together, resounding with a fairly uniform C sharp pitch.
  
  The cat crawls familiarly across the professor's lap.
  
  Heavy footsteps thump down the stairs. The jars on the shelf resonate musically.
  
  A man dressed for outdoor work enters. He carries a small keg of some kind.
  
  The professor, obviously recognizing him, perks up and cries, "Montgomery!"
  
  "I hate to break up this little reunion," says Salomonder, strutting back into the room, "but Montgomery and I have work to do."
  
  > sing high e
  As you begin to sing, the artifact pulses with fierce red energy. The artifact seems to pull a strange sound out of your throat. In an otherworldly voice, you hear yourself saying: "Hear the voice of the spider languishing on the rock."
  
  The cat sneezes at Salomonder.
  
  As Salomonder watches dispassionately, Montgomery uncorks his keg and lays down a line of black powder.
  
  Something feathery flutters against the window.
  
  > sing the c sharp
  As you begin to sing, the artifact pulses with fierce red energy. The artifact seems to pull a strange sound out of your throat. In an otherworldly voice, you hear yourself saying: "The plover -- the plover is dying, and the mushrooms are foul."
  
  The cat crawls familiarly across the professor's lap.
  
  Moving deliberately but very stiffly, Montgomery pours a small mound of powder in the far corner, and leaves the keg on top of it.
  
  The professor calls out to him again.
  
  Montgomery makes eye contact with the professor, staring uncomprehendingly.
  
  Salomonder laughs ruefully. "No use trying, professor," he says, leaning against the table.
  
  > sing high C
  As you begin to sing, the artifact pulses with fierce red energy. The artifact seems to pull a strange sound out of your throat. In an otherworldly voice, you hear yourself saying: "The gander's mate is untamed as it pursues the crimson riverflesh."
  
  The cat sneezes at Salomonder.
  
  "Thank you, Montgomery," says Salomonder. "You may go."
  
  Salomonder watches him leave. "The Count is so very thorough when he sets out to bend weak minds to do his will," he says, thoughtfully.
  
  Salomonder puts the gag back on the professor. "I've heard quite enough from you," he says.
  
  "What shall I do with you, my friends?" asks Salomonder, pacing.
  
  > sing the stone soup
  As you begin to sing, the artifact pulses with fierce red energy. The artifact seems to pull a strange sound out of your throat. In an otherworldly voice, you hear yourself saying: "The stars fill the sky with the shining purity of destruction."
  
  The cat sits and stares at Salomonder.
  
  Salomonder sighs. "There's never a good sawmill with a slow-moving conveyor belt around when you need one."
  
  Behind Salomonder's back, Mr. Sterling begins to contort his body, trying to twist out of the ropes.
  
  > sing middle C.
  As you begin to sing, the artifact pulses with fierce red energy. The artifact seems to pull a strange sound out of your throat. In an otherworldly voice, you hear yourself saying: "The moon -- the moon drips with blood."
  
  The cat sneezes at Salomonder.
  
  > kick the jars
  You have just enough slack in the ropes to manage a short jab with your foot. Unfortunately, you're tied too tightly to reach the peach preserves.
  
  The cat nuzzles the professor affectionately.
  
  > kick the cat
  Salomonder reaches up casually towards his face. "To keep track of everything going on down here, I would almost need..." He whips his hand around behind his neck, and holds a small round object there..."An eye on the back of my head!"
  
  Mr. Sterling freezes in dismay, one shoulder partially out of a coil of rope.
  
  > examine the eye
  The light glints menacingly off of Salomonder's glass eye.
  
  The cat hops onto the shelf, causing the jars to clatter musically.
  
  "Hi there!" says Salomonder, in a strange little falsetto. "I'm Mr. Salomonder's magic eyeball!"
  
  Salomonder addresses his eye with exaggerated seriousness. "What do you see back there, little fellow?"
  
  Salomonder makes his eye jump up and down excitedly in the air. "It's Troy Sterling, Mr. Salomonder! He was trying to untie himself while you weren't looking, Mr. Salomonder! Better tie him up again!"
  
  Salomonder smiles. "I've taught you well!" he says, stroking his eye affectionately. "Good eye!"