text: [Themes: Fantasy]
  
  > Go down
  You draw in a deep breath and dive below the surface of the ice-cold water.
  
  Flooded Chamber, Underwater
  You are near the chamber's eastern wall. The stone wall continues
  to the north and south. A submerged passageway opens toward the east. You notice a gentle current flowing past you into the dark opening.
  
  > go east
  You swim eastward into the dark passageway. The force of the current grows stronger and stronger until it sweeps you helplessly along. In the darkness you scrape against the uneven stone walls and are pounded mercilessly into submerged boulders. Your lungs burn with the desire for breath, but the cold water refuses to release you from its icy grip. Consciousness begins to slip away from you. The roaring, black water and jagged stones are fading into warm, gray oblivion...
  
  You are slammed back into wakefulness when your body is hurled over the precipice of a subterranean waterfall and spilled into an underground river flowing swiftly beneath the great mountain. The river's dark channel is not completely submerged, and your head breaks the surface. Frantically, you draw in gasping lungfuls of air.
  
  After being swept along for some distance, the river's course turns suddenly. You are pushed over a cluster of submerged stones near the rocky bank. The great sword at your side somehow catches between the stones, stopping you dead in the raging current. Fighting against the power of the river, you grasp hold of the slippery stones and work yourself free. You scrabble along toward the river's edge and finally haul yourself out of the freezing water. You find yourself in another great, subterranean chamber.
  
  Great Hall, Northern End
  This is the northernmost end of a great hall which extends into darkness southward. The underground river rushes past at the hall's northern edge. The water's turbulent churning fills this place with near-deafening noise. An ancient, wooden waterwheel stands alongside the river in a narrow channel carved into the stone floor. A great iron chain hangs down from the ceiling and attatches to the waterwheel's axle.
  
  > open gate
  You raise the gate along its track and water spills into the sluice, filling the waterwheel's scoops. After a moment, the force of the flowing water builds, and with a low, groaning creak, the great wheel begins to turn. The iron chain is wound, clanking and scraping, onto the axle by the waterwheel's rotation. The chain draws tight and the waterwheel's speed slows considerably. The wheel continues to turn however, drawing more chain down from some hidden place in the ceiling. The great chain is gradually wound around the great oaken axle as though it were a giant spool of thread. A loud, grinding sound echoes from the southern end of the hall. Finally, the chain stops feeding down from the ceiling and the wheel creaks to a halt. The water in the sluice splashes noisily past the motionless wheel.
  
  > Turn wheel
  You grasp one of the mighty oaken beams and try with all your might to move the great wheel. It refuses to move at all.
  
  > Go north
  You leap into the raging river's churning waters and are swept away by the powerful current. Just downstream from the great hall, a small grotto has formed where the river has eroded away the solid stone. You make a futile attempt to swim toward the grotto, but the current is far too swift. Your body is pummelled brutally. Several times your head is cracked sharply against one of the many submerged boulders strewn along the river bed. Were it not for the proud silver helm you wear, these blows surely would be fatal.
  
  You are spilled once more over the crest of an underground waterfall and your body is caught in a whirlpool. The incredible force of the twisting water sucking you down, deeper and deeper into the black depths. Consciousness slips quickly away, as the breath is squeezed from your lungs...
  
  You awaken suddenly, your head hammering with pain. You have no idea where you are, but you are no longer buffetted by the icy river and your clothing is dry. You have no clear recollection of how you arrived in this place, but you seem to remember a sudden flash of daylight... an arm reaching down, plucking you out of the water, dragging you back into darkness... a grim, bearded face looking down upon you - unmoving... tunnels, passages, twisting, turning, climbing...
  
  This space was hollowed out of the solid stone of the mountain, chisel-marks from the ancient laborers can still be seen on its rough hewn walls. The room is slightly oval shaped with a squat, stone altar set on the floor at its southernmost end. A metal chime, heavily corroded after centuries of neglect, hangs from a stand mounted at one of its ends. A rivulet of clear water splashes into the room through a doorway that enters from the north. The stream flows placidly down the room's length and disappears through an iron grate set in the floor just in front of the altar.
  
  An open archway exits eastward.
  Sitting on the stone altar is a rusted sword.
  
  > Iron
  The metal rod is locking the chain in the axle's large hole.
  
  > go to the north
  You leap into the raging river's churning waters and are swept away by the powerful current. The great, rusty chain pulls taut and prevents you from being dragged further downstream. Fighting to keep your head above the surface, you notice a small grotto formed where the river has eroded away the solid stone. You flail about in the water, gradually working your way toward it.
  
  You haul yourself out of the river and into the damp, moss-lined alcove.
  
  You are in a small grotto carved out of the stone where the river sweeps sharply northward. Soft green moss lines the walls. A large bronze wheel is mounted on the grotto's rear wall. The river rages past the grotto's northern border, the noise of the churning water is almost deafening. The great iron chain (which you are holding) dangles into the swirling torrent.
  
  > look at wheel
  The wheel is fairly large, and is cast from solid bronze which has developed a rich brown patina during its centuries in this damp grotto. It is mounted on a shaft which extends through the grotto's eastern wall.
  
  > Turn wheel
  You grip the wheel, feeling its metal surface cold and damp in your hand, and turn it. The wheel yields with a stiff, grating sensation which becomes progressively smoother as you turn it further. It spins through several rotations and comes to a sudden stop.
  
  > Go north
  You plunge back into the river, gripping the chain tightly. The current buffets you wildly as you clamber up the slippery links.
  Nearly exhausted, you pull yourself up the rocky bank and out of the water.Great Hall, Northern End
  This is the northernmost end of a great hall which extends into darkness southward. The underground river rushes past at the hall's northern edge. The water's turbulent churning fills this place with near-deafening noise. An ancient, wooden waterwheel stands alongside the river in a narrow channel carved into the stone floor. A great iron chain hangs down from the ceiling and strings across the floor to where you are holding its free end.
  
  A doorway seems to have opened in the hall's eastern wall. You are quite certain it wasn't there earlier.
  
  > go to the east
  (Dropping the iron chain.)
  Small Chamber
  This is a tiny chamber carved out of the solid stone that forms the great hall's eastern wall. Tatters of ancient silk curtains dangle down the bare stone walls. A copper shelf, tarnished with age, has been mounted to the back wall. A doorway leads westward, back into the hall.
  Sitting on the copper shelf is a milky-white crystal.
  
  > look at the crystal
  The crystal is about the size of your finger and is a translucent milky-white.
  
  > examine the curtains
  The silken curtains were once a deep, shimmering blue color. The ravages of time have reduced them to slate gray rags that hang sorrowfully on the walls.
  
  > Go west
  Great Hall, Northern End
  This is the northernmost end of a great hall which extends into darkness southward. The underground river rushes past at the hall's northern edge. The water's turbulent churning fills this place with near-deafening noise. An ancient, wooden waterwheel stands alongside the river in a narrow channel carved into the stone floor. A great iron chain hangs down from the ceiling and forms a rusty pile on the floor.
  
  A doorway seems to have opened in the hall's eastern wall. You are quite certain it wasn't there earlier.
  
  > go south
  You step through the doorway into the brilliant glow of the midday sun, and find yourself on a rock-strewn ridge just above the trail which led you to the oracle's cave. Carrying the oracle's gift, you eagerly begin the long journey home.
  
  In a total of 574 turns, you have achieved a score of 90 points out of a possible 90.
  
  Over the next few months, the tide of the battle turns in favor of your people. Working night and day, hundreds of the great bows are fashioned and distributed. Arrows by the thousands are made, tipped with iron points. Led by groups of archers, your dwindling forces become invincible. Able to rain death upon the invaders from across the battlefield, the enemy is quickly brought to its knees. Peace returns to your people.
  
  Years roll by, and your notoriety among the people refuses to fade.
  You are respected, revered, even feared by many. You are known to all in story and song as the last mortal to hear the enchanting, mystical voice of...
  
  The Oracle.