text: [Themes: Temple, adventure, Jungle, humor]
  
  > Look around
  Atop a small hillock in the middle of the Everglades sits a foreboding stone temple. Its entrance, a wide arch of stone, lies to the east, up the hill. To the west lies the swamp. The swamp also lies to the north. And the south. Probably to the east, as well, behind the temple, but you can't see that from here. It's a safe bet, though. 99% of the Everglades is swamp. And 1% is, apparently, hidden temples.
  
  The remains of a snake, sans head, lie in front of the temple.
  
  > look at the remains
  Well, it used to be a snake. Now it's kind of a... fleshy rope? Terribly thick belt?
  
  > get the remains
  You gingerly pick up the snake, by the tail. Not that you're scared of snakes. Who would be scared of snakes? ...bats, on the other hand... ick.
  
  Congratulationment!® number 2 - "Surely this will be useful?"
  
  > examine the fedora
  Yeah, you know exactly what this hat looks like. After all, it is YOUR hat, right?
  
  > look at the jacket
  The coat has served you well. Perhaps that's why you wear it, even in the sweltering jungle heat. It's currently zipped up.
  
  > open the jacket
  You open an old leather jacket, revealing a bundle of maps.
  
  > examine the maps
  They got you this far. Unfortunately, all the maps end at the entrance of the temple - none describe the inside at all.
  
  > examine the swamp
  You don't relish the thought of the three day hike out of the swamp. But the riches available in the temple will paradoxically lighten your load - or at least happy thoughts of spending them will. Plus... if the rumors are true... perhaps your arthritis will be a thing of the past, soon.
  
  > Go east
  You limp through the archway, into the dark temple interior...
  
  Taking your first breath of cool, moist air inside the temple, you look around in wonder...
  Tex Bonaventure and the Temple of the Water of Life
  
  6/12N)## The Entry Hall of the Temple
  The first thing you notice in the Temple is the sound of water, dripping and running and burbling. The sound seems to come from all around you, all directions. Combined with the relative coolness and darkness of the temple (cool and dark compared to the Everglade swamp outside), you feel like sleeping. But sleep, with your injuries, means death. Green, speckled light spills in from the exit arch of the Temple, which lies to the west. There are three passageways in the stone walls of the temple, set to the south, east and north. In the middle of the entry hall is a large statue, looming over anyone that may enter the temple.
  
  Congratulationment!® number 4 - "Late title card!"
  
  > look at the statue
  Looking at the statue, it is absorbed as a gestalt. Aspects are not seen in order, but all at once. It is only when you look away, you can think logically about it. You remember a man made of pure white alabaster at the center, arms flung outward, touching both north and south walls with his hands. His head, you recall, was thrown back - but whether in agony or ecstasy you can't tell. Around the man water, frozen water, raised in a spout. That can't be right. Some stone, translucent blue, the likes of which you've never seen in all your years of treasure hunting. The statue is twenty feet tall, at the minimum, and somehow occupies most of the room, yet is hard to look directly at... perhaps you could look at pieces of it at a time, if you're careful.
  
  > examine the head
  The statue's head is thrown back, and not easily visible from the floor of the entrance hall. Which is odd, because in your opinion, (and you have many opinions about strange, cultish temples, having been in a few), the point of a statue is to convey the desired emotion in the viewer. And that is difficult to do, if you can't see the face. It makes you uneasy. Very uneasy, the more you look at it. Which, you belatedly realize, may be the point.
  
  > examine Water
  The sound of water is all around, but there is none in evidence in this room. Except for the huge statue, but that's more a representation of water, really.
  
  > climb the statue
  There's no real good way to get a grip on the statue. Although, in your attempts, you do notice a small hole in the base of the statue.
  
  > examine the hole
  There seems to be a small hole at the base of the statue - about the size of your arm, it extends deep into the mesmerizing blue stone - you can't see the bottom of it, but there appears to be something stuck in it. Perhaps you should reach in and get it out. Nothing bad will happen. The more you look at the stone, the deeper you peer into the hole, the more you just want to put your arm into it. Perhaps now. Certainly now. "Let's PUT MY ARM INTO THE HOLE!" cries a voice in your head.
  
  > put the arm in the hole
  You reach into the hole, obeying your mental compulsion. Almost immediately, a band of metal blades constricts around your arm, severing it from your shoulder. You are able to stagger two steps away before you collapse to the ground in shock, and bleed out.
  
  > look in hole
  You peer deep into the hole. It looks like the item is... woven, somehow. Perhaps it's... a rope necklace? Perhaps you should reach in and get it out. Nothing bad will happen. The more you look at the stone, the deeper you peer into the hole, the more you just want to put your arm into it. Perhaps now. Certainly now. "Let's PUT MY ARM INTO THE HOLE!" cries a voice in your head.
  
  > look at the statue
  Looking at the statue, it is absorbed as a gestalt. Aspects are not seen in order, but all at once. It is only when you look away, you can think logically about it. You remember a man made of pure white alabaster at the center, arms flung outward, touching both north and south walls with his hands. His head, you recall, was thrown back - but whether in agony or ecstasy you can't tell. Around the man water, frozen water, raised in a spout. That can't be right. Some stone, translucent blue, the likes of which you've never seen in all your years of treasure hunting. The statue is twenty feet tall, at the minimum, and somehow occupies most of the room, yet is hard to look directly at... perhaps you could look at pieces of it at a time, if you're careful.
  
  > examine the spout
  The blue stone that makes up the statue's depiction of water is mesmerizing. You've never seen anything like it. If only you could cut just a few slabs of it - a few hundred carats of it, enough to bring to a jeweler - that would be enough to finance the rest of your life, you're sure. Hah. Of course, if you can't find the Water of Life, the rest of your life won't be very long, or hard to finance, you're sure. The more you stare at the blue sparkling stone, though, the more you want to stare at it. There's only one flaw, one tiny hole in the stone, at the very base.
  
  > Whip statue
  You crack your whip at the statue. That'll show it.
  
  > examine the hole
  There seems to be a small hole at the base of the statue - about the size of your arm, it extends deep into the mesmerizing blue stone - you can't see the bottom of it, but there appears to be something stuck in it. Perhaps you should reach in and get it out. Nothing bad will happen. The more you look at the stone, the deeper you peer into the hole, the more you just want to put your arm into it. Perhaps now. Certainly now. "Let's PUT MY ARM INTO THE HOLE!" cries a voice in your head.
  
  > go north
  The Bottomless Pit - Well, *A* Bottomless Pit
  Wind whistles through this room, threatening to knock you off balance, and off your precarious perch on a small ledge of stone. And that would be bad. Very bad. Because (and here you risk a quick glance down) the pit you are skirting appears to be bottomless. And not one of those "bottomless" pits where it's all build-up and hyperbole, and the bottom is QUITE visible a mere half-mile down, thank you very much. No, this is a PROPER bottomless pit. You fancy you can hear something, very faint, very soft, in the wind whistling out of the pit. To the south is the entrance hall of the temple, and much solider ground.
  
  > listen
  No. It couldn't have been. Or... was it indeed a voice comparing sizes of knives?
  
  Something about the ledge catches your eye.
  
  > look at something
  You can't see anything that would be causing the faint sound. They must be very far away.
  
  Something about the ledge catches your eye.
  
  > look at the ledge
  The ledge of stone juts out a little, a few feet maybe, above the pit. To the south of the ledge is the entrance hall of the temple. On one side of the ledge there are faint scrape marks.
  
  > examine the marks
  It appears as if people - or animals - cling to the edge of the ledge at this point.
  
  > jump
  You succumb to the temptation, and leap into the bottomless pit. The fall doesn't kill you.
  
  > Go south
  Green, speckled light spills in from the exit arch of the Temple, which lies to the west. There are three passageways in the stone walls of the temple, set to the south, east and north. In the middle of the entry hall is a large statue, looming over anyone that may enter the temple.
  
  > examine the head
  The statue's head is thrown back, and not easily visible from the floor of the entrance hall. Which is odd, because in your opinion, (and you have many opinions about strange, cultish temples, having been in a few), the point of a statue is to convey the desired emotion in the viewer. And that is difficult to do, if you can't see the face. It makes you uneasy. Very uneasy, the more you look at it. Which, you belatedly realize, may be the point.
  
  > climb the statue
  There's no real good way to get a grip on the statue. Although, in your attempts, you do notice a small hole in the base of the statue.
  
  There's no real good way to get a grip on the statue. Although, in your attempts, you do notice a small hole in the base of the statue.
  
  > go east
  A Twisty Maze of Passages, All Alike
  You find yourself at the entrance to a twisty maze of passages. They all look alike, from here. The entrance itself is different than the entry hall of the temple - the floor is slightly softer than the rock in the entry hall, and the walls, more hand-hewn, with rounder edges. I mean, the whole temple is hand-hewn, to be certain, as the ancients who built it didn't have access to power tools, certainly. The exit lies to the west, a circular passageway ringed with white rocks.
  
  > Go west
  With a shimmer of relief that starts at the base of your spine and works its way up to your scalp, you leave the maze and re-enter the temple entryway.
  
  Green, speckled light spills in from the exit arch of the Temple, which lies to the west. There are three passageways in the stone walls of the temple, set to the south, east and north. In the middle of the entry hall is a large statue, looming over anyone that may enter the temple.
  
  > go south
  You walk through the south passageway, and immediately several spiked metal poles slam to the ground behind you, trapping you in the room you just entered.
  
  Oh. It's going to be one of THOSE temples.
  
  Looking around the room, you spy... not much. A bunch of things that seem... flatter than they should be. Walls that are a bit... greasy? In the north wall is a passageway back to the entry hall of the temple - and it is completely barred by spiked metal poles. And, peering up, there is, of course, the spiked ceiling which doesn't APPEAR to be descending... at the moment.
  
  > look at the poles
  The poles block the north passageway out of the room. Which happens to be the only passageway out of the room. There are small gaps in between each of the poles.
  
  > look at the gaps
  t7/46quishy-Makin
  
  They are much too small to squeeze through. Even if you were greased. You would have to be an inch thick. AND greased. Through the gap you spy a small glimmer of light sparkling on the wall on the other side of the poles.
  
  With a tortured screech of metal gears grinding, the ceiling quivers, shakes free a small spray of dust, then begins descending.
  
  > examine the sparkle
  t7/47quishy-Makin
  
  Aha! There, on the far side of the poles, is a small switch - but it seems to be too far away to reach, unaided.
  
  > Whip sparkle
  t7/48quishy-Makin
  
  You try to whip the switch, but fail to flip it. It seems your whip is too flexible to move the switch - you're going to need something harder.
  
  The ceiling inches closer to you. Those spikes look... sharp.
  
  > Inventory
  t7/49quishy-Makin
  
  You're carrying the corpse of a snake, a whip and a gun. You are wearing the battered fedora and an old leather jacket.
  
  A bit of dust falls, as the ceiling nears.
  
  > examine the ceiling
  t7/50quishy-Makin
  
  The ceiling appears very large, very heavy, very flat (except for the spikes), and very much headed down toward you.
  
  The ceiling inches closer to you. The spikes draw your attention, to a point.
  
  > get the spike
  t7/51quishy-Makin
  
  They're hardly portable.
  
  You look around the room to try to spy anything that might help your escape... hmmm...
  
  > get pole
  t7/52quishy-Makin
  
  They're hardly portable.
  
  The ceiling inches closer to you.
  
  > throw gun at the switch
  t7/53quishy-Makin
  
  Futile.
  
  Surely something here must be useful... it would be cruel to design an evil temple with an UNESCAPABLE death trap!
  
  > examine the things
  t7/54quishy-Makin
  
  Just... you know, things. That are flatter than things normally are. Like... you're pretty sure that torches have more than two dimensions. And skulls should be able to hold brains. And arm bones should - well, that bone is mainly okay. Looks like you would be safe, if you were less than one inch tall.
  
  The ceiling inches closer to you, almost within reach. The spikes protruding downwards are certainly within reach. Something glints on one of them.
  
  > get bone
  t7/55quishy-Makin
  
  You grab the arm bone from amongst the pile of flattened rubble. This might be useful.
  
  > flip the switch with the bone
  t7/57quishy-Makin
  
  You struggle to squeeze the bone through the gap - but it just won't slide through. This bone needs lubrication - and quickly!
  
  > put the grease on the bone
  t7/58quishy-Makin
  
  You rub the bone along the greasy wall, coating it nicely. Better hold on tight, it's slippery now.
  
  The ceiling inches closer to you.
  
  > flip the switch with the bone
  t12/59uishy-Makin
  
  You use the arm bone to flip the switch. The poles blocking the doorway retract - and more importantly, so does the ceiling, quickly winching back into its original position.
  
  Congratulationment!® number 5 - "What POSSIBLE use is one of these rooms in a non-abandoned, fully functioning temple?"
  
  > examine the spikes
  t12/60uishy-Makin
  
  The spikes are metal, and about a foot long, and are mercifully not moving closer to you at the moment. Dangling from one of the spikes is a metal gauntlet, spiked through the wrist.
  
  > get the gauntlet
  t12/61uishy-Makin
  
  You are unable to reach the gauntlet, as it is too high above your head. Which is partly fortunate. You wouldn't want that spiked ceiling getting much closer, would you?
  
  > take the gauntlet
  t8/59quishy-Makin
  
  You leap, and are just able to grab the gauntlet from the spikes.
  Well done. Now to keep from being impaled or crushed.
  
  Congratulationment!® number 7 - "Power glove!"
  
  > clip the switch with the bone
  t8/59quishy-Makin
  
  I didn't understand that sentence.
  
  > flip the switch with the bone
  t13/60uishy-Makin
  
  You use the arm bone to flip the switch. The poles blocking the doorway retract - and more importantly, so does the ceiling, quickly winching back into its original position.
  
  Congratulationment!® number 5 - "What POSSIBLE use is one of these rooms in a non-abandoned, fully functioning temple?"
  
  > examine the gauntlet
  t13/61uishy-Makin
  
  The gauntlet is made of hardened metal, and long enough to envelop your arm up to your shoulder.
  
  > wear it
  t13/62uishy-Makin
  
  You put on the metal gauntlet.
  
  > go north
  Green, speckled light spills in from the exit arch of the Temple, which lies to the west. There are three passageways in the stone walls of the temple, set to the south, east and north. In the middle of the entry hall is a large statue, looming over anyone that may enter the temple.
  
  > examine the hole
  There seems to be a small hole at the base of the statue - about the size of your arm, it extends deep into the mesmerizing blue stone - you can't see the bottom of it, but there appears to be something stuck in it. Perhaps you should reach in and get it out. Nothing bad will happen. The more you look at the stone, the deeper you peer into the hole, the more you just want to put your arm into it. Perhaps now. Certainly now. "Let's PUT MY ARM INTO THE HOLE!" cries a voice in your head.
  
  > put the arm in the hole
  (a greasy bone in the flaw in the statue)
  Taking a deep breath, you thrust your hand, encased in the gauntlet, deep into the hole at the base of the statue. Almost immediately you hear the shriek of metal on metal, and feel blades bouncing off the gauntlet as the machinery in the hole tries to sever your arm. But you are able to grab the treasure at the bottom of the hole and extract it before the blades can penetrate your armor.
  
  Well, what do you know, the thing at the bottom of the hole was a ball of twine. Valuable!
  
  Congratulationment!® number 8 - "A 1/200,000th scale model of the World's Largest Ball of Twine!"
  
  > examine the twine
  The spool of twine has quite a lot of twine in it. Twine is super useful. It can be... tied to stuff? Or... wrapped around packages? Everybody LOVES twine.
  
  > tie the twine to the statue
  You slip a loop of twine around an outcropping on the statue and cinch it tight.
  
  > go to the east
  You let the twine unroll behind you as you venture east.
  
  A Twisty Maze of Passages, All Alike
  You find yourself at the entrance to a twisty maze of passages. They all look alike, from here. The entrance itself is different than the entry hall of the temple - the floor is slightly softer than the rock in the entry hall, and the walls, more hand-hewn, with rounder edges. The exit lies to the west, a circular passageway ringed with white rocks.
  
  > Go north
  Letting the twine unroll behind you, you move deeper into the maze.
  
  A Twisty Maze of Passages, All Alike - Except This One is Secreting Stomach Acid
  Well, isn't this peachy. You had a feeling that nothing good would come from wandering into any twisty maze of passages. The twisty maze of passages has widened here, in a large, kidney bean shaped chamber. Various valves line the walls, and the floor is coated in a thick layer of mucus.
  
  A metal pirate hook is jabbed into the side of the stomach, sticking there.
  
  Congratulationment!® number 9 - "Jason would be proud. (It's Jason, right? Jason sounds right. Well, you're an adventurer, not a professor of history. Or literature. Or historical literature.
  (It's not Jason))"
  Acid begins to flow through the valves on the walls in a heavy stream.
  
  > get the hook
  You yank the hook out of the wall, and a loud groan of pain echoes through the air.
  
  Congratulationment!® number 10 - "Really internal medicine."
  
  > get mucus
  That's hardly portable.
  
  > look at the mucus
  It makes it slightly difficult to walk in here. It's so deep, you have no idea what it might hide.
  
  The acid begins to eat through your clothing.
  
  > look in the mucus
  You find nothing of interest. Like usual. But adventurers are eternally optimistic!
  
  > examine the valves
  You find nothing of interest. Like usual. But adventurers are eternally optimistic!
  
  This acid is beginning to make your eyes burn and your throat tingle.
  
  Fist sized muscular holes through which a steady stream of acid is flushing into this chamber.