text: > look around
  The clearing is almost perfectly round and thirty or so paces across. It is surrounded by the forbidden forest on all sides.
  A giant black oak stands in solitude in the middle of the clearing. Many of its roots stick out of the ground like snakes arching to suffocate their prey. Steps are cut in the oak to provide an easy way up.
  
  A stone altar stands in the shadow of the big oak. Dry grass and shrubs are still rooted in the dead soil, and more of the deformed bushes grow in a loose circle around the oak and the altar.
  
  An old stone well gurgles softly not far from a crumbling stone house. On the other side of the clearing, three paths lead into the forbidden forest.
  
  The nightmare is here, spinning slowly. The frayed edges are constantly releasing veils of broken smoke that dissolves in the air.
  
  The sleepwalker is here, spinning slowly.
  
  The great roots under the giant oak have slid aside revealing a passage.
  
  She can also see a large black beetle (Taking a nap at the moment.) here.
  Lornedei moves a strand of hair from her face and puts it behind her ear.
  
  > look at the bushes
  These bushes resemble those at the village road, but there are quite a few more of them. These look even more gnarled and deformed, as though starved of clean water and sunlight.
  These also have thorns as well as, oddly enough, plenty of purple nuts.
  
  > touch the thorns
  Lornedei is better off keeping her fingers away from those thorns. Losing her concentration could draw blood.
  The beetle disappears into the crumbling stone house. It comes back out, stays a moment in the opening, waving its antennae, before coming back to Lornedei.
  
  > enter the sleepwalker
  "Master?" She glances up at you, frowning, but she walks into the spinning mist.
  The sleepwalker stops spinning and Lornedei appears on the other side, apparently not sure where she is or why.
  Lornedei stares at the leaf clusters in the black forest. She looks away, biting her lower lip.
  
  > touch the thorns
  Lornedei reaches for the nut but just a bit too fast. The sharp thorns puncture her skin. She pulls her hand back.
  
  The nut just got stained with Lornedei's blood.
  
  > examine the nut
  A purple nut from the deformed bushes in the hall of severance. It is deep purple and hosts a number of sharp thorns.
  Some of Lornedei's blood is smeared on the nut.
  
  > wake the ld
  You decide to break the rules just slightly. You give her a tiny nudge. A mental slap if you will. Her head snaps up and she is staring at you, shocked.
  
  Her eyes are bright and aware. She smiles.
  "I was not quite here Master. I am sorry. I am awake now."
  Lornedei shakes her foot to get rid of a painful stone from her sandal.
  
  > enter the nightmare
  "Master? Are you sure about this?"
  She looks terrified but she decides to trust your judgment. She walks into the spinning smoke.
  the nightmare stops spinning and Lornedei appears on the other side. She looks at you with gray eyes and an uncanny smile on her lips. Lornedei is muttering to herself.
  
  > Go upwards
  Hall of Severance (In the Black Oak)
  Clusters of black leaves surround Lornedei. They hang from the upper branches, creating a shield that totally obscures the sky above. She can look down, as all the clusters are above and around her, but up is nothing but shimmering black. The branch reaches out over the clearing and the end of it seems to disappear in a big cloud of smoke. She can climb down to the ground or follow the branch.
  
  > follow the branch
  Lornedei steps through the smoke.
  Castle Ruins (In the Hall of Portals)
  This square chamber is dominated by four portals. Each has a small impression to place one of the plaques. Lornedei came in from the northwest. If all portals are open, she can also go south, east, west or north.
  
  On the portal to the Hall of Severance is a small black plaque.
  
  The stone pile still takes up too much room and the dead somebody is still very much dead.
  
  Lornedei reaches down to scratch her ankle.
  
  > Go northwest
  Castle Ruins (In the Guard Chamber)
  The spiral staircase ends in the middle of a square chamber. The west wall has fallen out into the ravine, letting in the glowing sunset. The walls that are still standing and the marble floor have cracked in several places. Rocks, a thick layer of dust, and all sorts of debris cover the floor. The only thing still intact is a stone statue standing in the southeast corner.
  
  The spiral staircase leads up and the west wall is open to the ravine.
  
  She can see an old torch here.
  Lornedei's shadow tears one shadow-leg from Lornedei's real one, then the other. It fades as it rises. Once upright, it melts into Lornedei. She shivers.
  
  > Go east
  Wasteland (By the Petrified Tree)
  This is nothing but wasteland. Scattered remains of a once big tree cover the ground. It might have been a great oak at one point. A dry and hot wind tears at her while throwing sand in her eyes and mouth. Beyond rocks, sand and starved soil, there is nothing but a gray mist. In the distant west, beyond more wasteland, she can see a high stone wall. South, the broken land dips down in a bowl beyond which is the forbidden forest. Southwest would take her back to the edge of the forest where she first entered the field.
  Lornedei wipes her forehead with her shirtsleeve.
  
  > Ground
  (the ground)
  Lornedei digs a hole in the dry ground.
  Lornedei's shadow jerks to life, reaches for her ankle, and pulls. She stumbles.
  
  > put the nut in the hole
  Lornedei inspects the nut carefully. She looks pleased. She plants the nut in the ground, flattens the soil over the nut and steps back.
  
  She smiles expectantly and lifts one hand. She turns it over and lets a blue spark appear. It turns to red as she focuses on it, and then she blows it towards her little patch of garden.
  
  The wind suddenly changes direction. It seems to come from everywhere now, focusing on the thorn that slowly grows out of the ground, feeding it. Lornedei looks up. The mist follows the wind, billowing like clouds towards the new tree. A turmoil of gray soon covers the entire field, tightens, grows heavy, and darkness falls.
  
  The single thorn grows, pointing straight up towards the mist, and the ground seems restless under Lornedei's feet. The mist sinks further to meet the thorn, a greasy black spike, taller than Lornedei now and growing still. A small slit opens up at the base of the spike. it oozes a black liquid before a smaller spike is thrust straight out of it, barely missing Lornedei.
  
  More slits appear and more of these spiked branches come to be. The "tree" continues to grow. The base is now two paces wide and suddenly the earth cracks around it. The spikes, more than thirty now, reach out several paces in every direction, twisting and deforming as they grow. The glistening black skin cracks and oozes more black sap, and thorns starts to grow from these as well.
  
  The crack in the stone widens, but the spike clings to the rock that isn't moving. It doesn't lose its grip as the spike grows down more than up, creating an enormous pillar going down in the mist and out of sight. The crack widens further and the ground shakes violently. With an enormous rumble and screaming stone, everything north of the spike falls out of sight in the deepening mist.
  At the same time in the Hall of Unification, a lush oak shudders as gray mist darkens the sky. In the village, the ground trembles and the blacksmith tries in vain to calm the horse he is putting new shoes on. Over the Aarkland river, the forgotten ones follow the mist that rolls out over the billowing field and the road. The villagers on the streets, on their porches, glancing out the door to call in their children for supper, fall silent. All look up at the sky to the northwest as the mist rolls closer.
  Lornedei puts the nut in the small hole in the ground.
  
  > Go northwest
  Castle Ruins (In the Guard Chamber)
  The spiral staircase ends in the middle of a square chamber. The west wall has fallen out into the ravine, letting in the glowing sunset. The walls that are still standing and the marble floor have cracked in several places. Rocks, a thick layer of dust, and all sorts of debris cover the floor. The only thing still intact is a stone statue standing in the southeast corner.
  
  The spiral staircase leads up and the west wall is open to the ravine.
  
  She can see an old torch here.
  "Master?"
  
  > go upwards
  Castle Ruins (In a Stone Corridor)
  A staircase leads down in darkness and south takes her out to the courtyard. The corridor seems to lead only to the dim light to the north.
  Lornedei is waiting for your command.
  
  > Go south
  Ahead of her is the southeastern corner of the castle. The corridor between the building and the outer wall leads northeast, but is blocked by a great pile of stone blocks and other debris. To the west, the courtyard ends at the ravine.
  
  Looking up, the facade disappears into a swirling ceiling of mist. Right at the corner of the castle, a narrow doorway leads north into darkness. She can look around, or walk around to learn more. South or southeast takes her away from the ruins. East brings her around to the east side of the east wall.
  
  Deini is here.
  The hovering sleepwalker shows up at the edge of the forest. It picks up speed over the dry land, swirls up sand and dust and stays next to Lornedei.
  A black smoke is rising from the forbidden forest. It hovers over the treetops and is barely distinguishable from the constant mist. It moves closer and starts spinning. It drops down to the ground at the edge of the forest and forms a ragged column of black smoke. It swirls up sand and dust at touchdown. It picks up speed across the flat ground and stops close to Lornedei. It is turning slowly while releasing strands of broken smoke that dissolves in the air.
  "The nightmare. The maker of bad dreams. I thought that they were only stories."
  
  > go to the east
  Wasteland (By the Circle of Stones)
  This is the southeastern corner of the field of despair. The forbidden forest is nearly all around her. West, northwest, and north takes her out. The ground sinks into a large hole, a bowl more than fifty paces across, in the ground, edged by crevices and uneven ridges. A broken land. Once at the bottom, the rest of the field is out of sight.
  
  A big round stone lies in the middle of the pit. The fire is gone.
  
  A stone circle is laid out on the ground.
  
  She can also see A crystal spider with shifty, beady eyes (Stretching out, apparently snoozing at the moment.) here.
  The sleepwalker stirs up a cloud of dust and dirt as it follows Lornedei.
  
  > go to the south-east
  Wasteland (Overlooking the Field of Despair)
  Behind her is the forbidden forest. The tree line is sharp as if cut with a knife at creation, separating the blackened forest from the uniform gray ahead.
  
  The horizon ahead is strangely blurred. If from dust, mist or simply the uncertainty of distance is hard to tell from here. In the east, the field slopes down towards something that she cannot see. On the far side of that, the forest continues. In the opposite direction, the dying sun has set the horizon in flames above the gray covering the forbidden forest on that side. On this side of the forest, the land is cut, cracked, dropping down into a ravine. In the northwest, there is an old ruin reflecting the colours of the sun. To the north and northeast, the field continues into the blurred horizon.
  The sleepwalker stirs up a cloud of dust and dirt as it follows Lornedei.
  "What should I do?"
  
  Ahead of her is the southeastern corner of the castle. The corridor between the building and the outer wall leads northeast, but is blocked by a great pile of stone blocks and other debris. To the west, the courtyard ends at the ravine.
  
  Looking up, the facade disappears into a swirling ceiling of mist. Right at the corner of the castle, a narrow doorway leads north into darkness. She can look around, or walk around to learn more. South or southeast takes her away from the ruins. East brings her around to the east side of the east wall.
  
  The nightmare is here, spinning slowly. The frayed edges are constantly releasing veils of broken smoke that dissolves in the air.
  
  Deini is here.
  Deini yawns, utterly bored.
  
  Castle Ruins (In a Stone Corridor)
  A staircase leads down in darkness and south takes her out to the courtyard. The corridor seems to lead only to the dim light to the north.
  The sleepwalker stalks the courtyard.
  The column of black smoke rushes towards the opening, jerks through it. It struggles to stay, twitching.
  
  Castle Ruins (In the Guard Chamber)
  The spiral staircase ends in the middle of a square chamber. The west wall has fallen out into the ravine, letting in the glowing sunset. The walls that are still standing and the marble floor have cracked in several places. Rocks, a thick layer of dust, and all sorts of debris cover the floor. The only thing still intact is a stone statue standing in the southeast corner.
  
  The spiral staircase leads up and the west wall is open to the ravine.
  
  She can see an old torch here.
  The sleepwalker hovers past.
  
  Castle Ruins (In the Hall of Mirrors)
  This chamber is over ten paces across and perfectly square. A large oval mirror dominates each wall. Four mirrors. North, west, south and east.
  
  Lornedei came in from the northwest. An old burned out torch sits askew on the south wall.
  
  The stone pile still takes up too much room and the dead somebody is still very much dead.
  
  > reach the pile of the steel
  Lornedei reaches into the strange pile of stone on the floor. A shiver runs through her body and the stone and steel is suddenly gone, replaced with a torch lit smooth marble floor.
  The room is full of people, all of them looking at the west mirror. They are nothing but diffuse memories of this chamber as it was, as it used to be, but the tension in the group is clear.
  
  Flickering torches on the walls light up the chamber, creating illusive shadows across frightened faces. The silent spirits seem to hesitate.
  
  They talk hastily among themselves, casting nervous looks into the mirror and over their shoulders. The mirror in this vision is whole and shows a picture of a giant golden oak. The image is fading with each breath. Several of the people in the crowd stagger as if the floor itself is moving. An old man raises a staff towards the mirror, uttering a string of words that catch the attention of the group. A young woman picks up a silently crying child in her arms, looks around the chamber and walks through the mirror. The rest of the crowd quickly follows her until only the old man remains.
  
  He takes a step towards the mirror but then he stops. Something that Lornedei is unable to see looms over him. His eyes widen in horror and his mouth opens in a silent scream. He raises his staff against the oncoming threat with a thin shaking hand. He knows the end is close as a shadow falls over his pale face. Several long moments he stands still, facing the danger while speaking words that cannot be heard, holding the staff in front of him. The horror in his eyes grows with each meaningless attack.
  
  His back straightens as the answer comes to him. Instead of fighting a futile battle, he turns to the mirror. He swings his staff with full force at the mirror. The glittering image disappears.
  
  Lornedei lowers her hand when the vision explodes in a shower of shattered glass and blood.
  
  Lornedei's magic drops by one.
  
  > give the plate to him
  She can only do that to something living that has at least half a brain.