text: [Themes: Slice of life, Fantasy]
  
  > look around
  You are in a dark pocket, a stony crack below the summit of the hill. It is not quite high enough to stand in, but surprisingly long, narrowing only slowly towards the back. The entrance is a lit circle of grey to the west, partially obscured by the boulder.
  
  You glance outside. It's dark and it's raining.
  
  > take the key
  Taken.
  
  A no-time, eternal instant of light lances through you, snapping your mind to silence. A moment later the silence is broken by a
  
  Crack!
  
  of thunder.
  
  Afterimages hang around you in a greenish glare. You blink furiously, trying to sort out the shadows from what's really there.
  
  > go northwest
  The trail turns west as it descends.
  
  A wide angular tongue juts out from the hillside. A black expanse stretches to the north and west, impenetrable with rain. Every few moments, a directionless flicker of lightning tries to pull detail from the darkness; but there is only mist.
  
  A trail leads southwest down the hill, towards the bridge. From where you stand, it turns southeast and continues upward, deeply cut into the hillside. A narrower trail leads more steeply up to the east.
  
  A stream of runoff water is flowing down from the southeast, and pouring down the trench to the unseen stream below.
  
  Someone has dug a trench here, from the path out over the bank.
  
  The afterimages evaporate into a black dazzle.
  
  > Go southeast
  You're standing on a ledge, on a rather steep, overgrown hillface. Rain hides the stream below and the hilltop above, and to the west is only dark.
  
  Trails angle down to the northwest and southwest. Another crosses the hill to the south, but a chunk is washed out, too wide to jump across.
  
  A bush is growing out of a crack in the hillside, to the south. It's right in the gap in the southern path. You could probably use it to get across. (One of those little coincidences that makes your life a little nicer.)
  
  Runoff water is flowing down the hillside here. It puddles on the ledge, and streams down the northwest path.
  
  Among the hill's brush and scraggly trees, the tree that stands here stands alone. You might be able to get your arms around it, and you might not; it must reach nearly as high as the hilltop itself.
  
  The voices surge, then fade.
  
  > Unlock shed
  What do you want to unlock the old shed with?
  
  > Key
  The lock is stiff. You give the key a jerk; the latch scrapes, and the door swings open.
  
  > Go east
  You step hesitantly into the darkness.
  
  You feel the hollow darkness of an enclosed space. To the west, an oblong of flat grey half-light betrays the doorway. Nothing else is visible.
  
  A no-time, eternal instant of light lances through you, snapping your mind to silence. A moment later the silence is broken by a
  
  Crack!
  
  of thunder from outside.
  
  The pure white fades into a greenish glare. Flat colored shadows show the outlines of everything around you; you hold your head still to focus on the afterimages.
  
  The shed is only a few paces long, and nearly empty. The door is to the west.
  
  A pair of large canvas bags is piled untidily here. One is rather dirty; the other has a tear along one seam, from which sand dribbles onto the ground.
  
  The voices surge, then fade.
  
  > look at bags
  Which do you mean, the dirty sandbag or the torn sandbag?
  
  > examine the dirty sandbag
  It's a canvas bag, more than two feet long. The surface is liberally smeared with mud.
  
  The afterimages evaporate into a black dazzle.
  
  It is dark.
  
  > wait
  Time passes.
  
  A no-time, eternal instant of light lances through you, snapping your mind to silence. Simultaneously the silence is broken by a
  
  Crack!
  
  of thunder from outside. It is echoed by a splintering crash from somewhere outside.
  
  The pure white fades into a greenish glare. Flat colored shadows show the outlines of everything around you; you hold your head still to focus on the afterimages.
  
  The shed is only a few paces long, and nearly empty. The door is to the west.
  
  A pair of large canvas bags is piled untidily here. One is rather dirty; the other has a tear along one seam, from which sand dribbles onto the ground.
  
  > take all
  dirty sandbag: You heave the dirty sandbag, awkwardly, up into your arms.
  torn sandbag: One of these things, you can barely carry. Two, never.
  
  The afterimages evaporate into a black dazzle.
  
  The voices surge, then fade.
  
  It is dark.
  
  > open the dirty sandbag
  It's sewn shut.
  
  > check your inventory
  You are carrying a dirty sandbag, a rusty key and a battered tin bucket.
  
  > look
  You feel the hollow darkness of an enclosed space. To the west, an oblong of flat grey half-light betrays the doorway. Nothing else is visible.
  
  The voices surge, then fade.
  
  > go west
  You are in a dense tangle of shadow, bushes, and small trees. The ground falls away to the southeast, into darkness and rain.
  
  A trail curves down to the southwest. Another cuts along the hill to the north, but a chunk is washed out, too wide to jump across.
  
  A bush is growing out of a crack in the hillside, to the north. It's right in the gap in the northern path.
  
  An old shed stands just to the east. It's weathered but sturdy, still wearing the tatters of a coat of white paint. The door is open to the unrelieved darkness within.
  
  From somewhere below, you hear a terrible
  
  Crack!
  
  You know without seeing that the bridge has been destroyed. You begin to rush downhill, but the trail seems to stretch and time takes on the weight of nightmare...
  
  [Hit any key.]
  
  > examine the dirty sandbag
  You awaken in the cave, sore and cold, bathed in the listless light of an overcast dawn. By the time you wade across the swollen stream, you're as soaked and miserable as if you'd slept out in the rain after all. You reach civilization exhausted and with what promises to be a lovely cough.
  
  > Go north
  You catch a pair of dark eyes in the edge of your vision; then they are gone.
  
  > fill the bucket
  You fill the bucket with water.
  
  From within some tall grass, you notice a pair of dark eyes. The grass blinks, and then it is a small, orange fox who watches you solemnly.
  
  > look at the fox
  The fox's eyes gleam darkly.
  
  The sun is lazily approaching the horizon.
  
  The fox chases its tail furiously for a moment, then stops and stares at you to make sure you didn't see.
  
  > Go east
  The hillside is bare rock in that direction, and much too steep to climb.
  
  > go to the northeast
  A wide angular tongue juts out from the hillside. The park stretches off to the north and west, a vast expanse of bright meadowland, patched with dark woods and stitched with streams that glitter in the sunlight. In the distance, a lake reflects orange fire from the setting sun.
  
  A trail leads southwest down the hill, towards the bridge. From where you stand, it turns southeast and continues upward, deeply cut into the hillside. A narrower trail leads more steeply up to the east.
  
  Someone has dug a trench here, from the path out over the bank. Abandoned in the mud near it is a spade. You figure someone was using the spade to dig the trench, and you can also figure why he stopped; the shaft is broken off about two feet up from the blade. The handle end is nowhere in sight.
  
  > pour water
  What do you want to pour the quantity of water on?
  
  > Mud
  You splash the water around the spade. The mud absorbs it greedily.
  
  > dig the trench
  You scrape some more dirt from the trench. Aside from getting your hands dirty, it accomplishes little.
  
  > go southeast
  You're standing on a ledge, on a rather steep, overgrown hillface. Greenery hides the stream below and the hilltop above, but the meadows and sky beyond sweep away endlessly to the west.
  
  Trails angle down to the northwest and southwest. Another crosses the hill to the south, but a chunk is washed out, too wide to jump across.
  
  A bush is growing out of a crack in the hillside, to the south. It's right in the gap in the southern path. You could probably use it to get across. (One of those little coincidences that makes your life a little nicer.)
  
  Among the hill's brush and scraggly trees, the tree that stands here stands alone. You might be able to get your arms around it, and you might not; it must reach nearly as high as the hilltop itself.
  
  > Go south
  You heft the broken spade, considering your balance. You stretch a foot towards the bush, shift your weight, and take two quick steps. The bush trembles but holds.
  
  You are in a dense tangle of bushes and small trees. The ground falls away to the southeast, to the meadows below; you can see a lake far to the west.
  
  A trail curves down to the southwest. Another cuts along the hill to the north, but a chunk is washed out, too wide to jump across.
  
  A bush is growing out of a crack in the hillside, to the north. It's right in the gap in the northern path.
  
  An old shed stands just to the east. It's weathered but sturdy, still wearing the tatters of a coat of white paint. The door is closed.
  
  The sun is settling to the horizon, amid a scattering of clouds which have begun to drift in.
  
  > throw the stick
  Thrown.
  
  > get the stick
  Taken.
  
  > look at the shed
  The shed is weathered but sturdy, still wearing the tatters of a coat of white paint. The door is closed. The lock looks badly rusted.
  
  > Inventory
  You are carrying a broken spade and a battered tin bucket.
  
  The fox appears under a nearby bush.
  
  The fox darts at something in the undergrowth.
  
  > get the stick
  Taken.
  
  The western horizon has become a surging sea of gold and scarlet waves. The light is magical -- a cool bronze radiance that somehow makes the grass and foliage more intensely green than ever.
  
  The fox has slipped away.
  
  > look
  You are in a dense tangle of bushes, small trees, and shadow. The ground falls away to the southeast, to the green meadows below; you can see a lake far to the west.
  
  A trail curves down to the southwest. Another cuts along the hill to the north, but a chunk is washed out, too wide to jump across.
  
  A bush is growing out of a crack in the hillside, to the north. It's right in the gap in the northern path.
  
  An old shed stands just to the east. It's weathered but sturdy, still wearing the tatters of a coat of white paint. The door is closed.
  
  > go to the north
  You heft the broken spade, considering your balance. You stretch a foot towards the bush, shift your weight, and take two quick steps. The bush trembles but holds.
  
  A bush is growing out of a crack in the hillside, to the south. It's right in the gap in the southern path.
  
  Among the hill's brush and scraggly trees, the tree that stands here stands alone. You might be able to get your arms around it, and you might not; it must reach nearly as high as the hilltop itself.
  
  The moment is gone. The sun has set, although the clouds are still well-lit.
  
  You catch a pair of dark eyes in the edge of your vision; then they are gone.
  
  > go northwest
  Someone has dug a trench here, from the path out over the bank.
  
  > Go east
  The trail turns southeast as it climbs.
  
  You are high on the hill; it rolls downward and off to the west. Beyond the trees and brush, meadows fade in the last light. Behind you stands the last stony lump of hill. A narrow trail curves away to the northwest.
  
  A boulder is half-buried at the base of the hilltop.
  
  The fox appears under a nearby bush.
  
  > throw the stick
  Thrown.
  
  The fox darts at something in the undergrowth.
  
  > get the stick
  Taken.
  
  > Wedge boulder
  What do you want to wedge the boulder in?
  
  > Wedge stick
  What do you want to wedge the broken spade in?
  
  > look at what you're carrying with you
  You are carrying a broken spade and a battered tin bucket.
  
  The fox vanishes.
  
  > Pry boulder
  As you lean over the boulder, you notice a cave of some sort behind it.
  
  You grasp the boulder as best you can and heave -- fruitlessly. It's well sunk into the ground.
  
  The sky is dimming, and a mist is rolling in, under the clouds.
  
  > insert the spade
  What do you want to insert the broken spade in?
  
  > Boulder
  You push the spade under the boulder, kick the blade to settle it, and lean on the shaft. Nothing happens for a moment, and you're leaning harder, and the boulder starts to move, and
  
  Crack!
  
  The spade's shaft has broken off in your hands, right above the blade, which is now caught under the boulder. On the other hand, you've moved the boulder up out of its hole; it's balanced on the rim.
  
  > get the boulder
  The boulder is too heavy to lift.
  
  > get blade
  The boulder is resting full on the spade blade.
  
  > Go east
  You squeeze behind the boulder and crawl inside.
  
  You are in a dark pocket, a stony crack below the summit of the hill. It is not quite high enough to stand in, but surprisingly long, narrowing only slowly towards the back. The entrance is a lit circle of grey to the west, partially obscured by the boulder.
  
  An ancient and filthy blanket is crumpled against one wall of the cave.
  
  > go west
  You crawl out.
  
  You are high on the hill; it rolls downward and off to the west. Beyond the trees and brush, meadows fade in the mist. Behind you stands the last stony lump of hill. A narrow trail curves away to the northwest.
  
  A boulder is lying at the base of the hilltop, prised up out of the hole it was in. The boulder is resting on a spade blade. There's just enough room to squeeze into the cave behind it.
  
  The mist is turning to a drizzle of rain.