text: [Themes: Fantasy]
  
  > Look around
  You stand on a narrow balcony carved into a dizzyingly high wall of rock. Just below you, the great river, having coursed through the mountain's darkest depths, spills jubilantly over the cliff's edge with a parting hiss, and plunges into the great valley far below. An incredible landscape sprawls out before you. Thick forests stretch away into the distance, carpeting rolling hills that climb gradually toward another range of mighty peaks which you can just make out, purple-gray in the mid-day haze. The river, having finally tumbled down from its great height, bends southward, winds its way into the dense trees and disappears.
  
  A life-size statue of an armed watchman sits pensively at the far right end of the balcony. The dreary blackness of the tunnel's dark opening leads back into the mountain, westward.
  
  > examine the river
  The river, flowing dark an cold from the depths of the great mountain, pours over the cliff casting up a fine mist as it departs; a parting token of joy at once again seeing the light of the sun and the deep blue of the sky. In the valley far below flashes and sparkles gaily as it splashes its way toward the vast forest. Here and there between the mighty trees you catch a twinkle of light reflected from its surface.
  
  > look at the forest
  The vast forest, deep and dark, creeps eagerly over the cascading hills that tumble down from the distant mountains. A standing mist hangs sluggishly among its lofty boughs, giving the mighty branches a shifting, almost lifelike appearance.
  
  > look at the statue
  The stone watchman sits upon a low shelf of rock, his unmoving gaze directed forever at the river as it disappears over the cliff's edge. The statue is incredibly lifelike, to the least details of his long beard and tattered coat of mail. It looks almost as tough an ancient warrior sat himself upon this stony seat ages ago, and remained there until he became part of the great mountain himself. A tall lance stands ready at his side.
  
  > look at the lance
  The watchman's stone spear is tall and straight, with a long, sharp head. His thick fingers seem to grip its shaft tightly.
  
  > get the lance
  You reach across the watchman's broad chest to take the lance from his stony hand.
  
  Quick as a flash his free left hand snaps upward toward your throat, seizing the golden amulet about your neck. You scarcely dare breathe as his stone eyes scrape slowly downward to study it carefully. After a long moment he releases you from his grip.
  "At last, you've come," he says, his voice slow and deliberate, as though speaking is a talent he seldom uses. The words grate from his expressionless lips with the sound of millstones grinding against one another.
  
  "A hundred, hundred moons have waxed and waned since last I had
  company on my watch. Welcome you are, friend." His eyes roll slowly back toward the river and he resumes his silent vigil.
  
  > ask the watchman about the river
  "The great river," says the watchman, raising his hand in a stiff gesture toward the flowing water, "flows freely from this sacred mountain into the eastern lands." He pauses, "I keep my watch here, and bid her farewell as she departs on her journey."
  
  > ask the watchman about the oracle
  "She is wise," the watchman says softly, his voice seeming somehow
  more human. "She has hidden within this mountain since the dawning of the world." His tone grows distinctly sad, "But the sun of Her time is low on the horizon, and soon she will pass from this world."
  " Your arrival," he says, his stone eyes boring into you, "is the
  last of the prophecies. Her time is close at hand."
  
  > ask the watchman about the amulet
  "Ancient and powerful it is," he replies, "Forged when the world was new. Keep it well."
  
  > ask the watchman about the torque
  The watchman is silent for a long time, then he rocks slightly on
  his stony perch as though he were laughing to himself.
  
  > ask the watchman about watchman
  The watchman's stony face seems to attempt a slight frown,
  "I know not," he says.
  
  > ask the watchman about the lance
  The watchman continues his vigil in silence.
  
  > ask the watchman about the waterwheel
  "The great wheel," croaks the watchman, his voice trailing away as though he were deep in thought.
  
  "The great wheel," he says at last, "raises the stone. It opens the passage leading down to Her chambers."
  
  > ask the watchman about the sceptre
  "Ah, yes,"he says slowly. "The sceptre of the claw. Helpful it is, for grasping the unreachable."
  
  > ask the watchman about the sarcophagus
  "Axaktor he was," says the watchman, he raises his eyebrows and nods his head as though remembering an old friend, "a great wizard he was.
  A great wizard he is still!"
  
  > Climb wheel
  You scramble higher and higher up the stout oaken beams until you are at the great wheel's highest point. Seeing nothing of interest, you carefully lower yourself back down.
  
  > Lower gate
  You force the gate down into the rushing water, interrupting the flow through the sluice. Once the water ceases flowing, the great wheel creaks and shudders to a halt. The iron chain wrapped around the wheel's axle is drawn back up into the ceiling and the wheel begins to turn in reverse, splashing water onto the floor and walls. Again you hear the grinding sound coming from the southern end of the hall. The distant grinding terminates with a resonating thump and the great chain falls slack. The loops of chain wound around the axle tumble noisily onto the floor.
  
  > examine the sphere
  The sphere is made from polished copper. Its surface is etched with mystical symbols. You recognize them as constellations that can be seen in the night sky. A small bronze arrow, an indicator of some sort, points toward one of the constellations on the sphere's surface. It points to the lesser bruin.
  
  > Go south
  The walls of this chamber are black, as if coated with thick soot.
  A faint haze of scented smoke billows in through the archway, filling the chamber with a sweet odor. A polished, copper mirror, easily as tall as yourself, stands atop a massive stone dais near the center of the room. The dais seems to have slid further back into the chamber, revealing a large, open well where the massive stone structure had been. Stylized diagrams of what appear to be constellations have been carved into the chamber's floor and walls. They form a line extending from the center of the well's northern edge, across the floor, and up to the top of the chamber's northern wall. The mirror is mounted at its middle so that its reflective surface can tilt forward or back. Presently, the mirror is angled toward the lesser bruin etched on the floor, midway between the well and the northern wall.
  
  > put the amulet in the hole
  The amulet falls into the depths of the well, illuminating its stone sides as it plummets downward. Eventually, the amulet's glow dwindles to a tiny pinpoint and finally, it winks out entirely. You find yourself in total darkness.
  
  The blackness seems to close in upon you, choking the breath from your lungs. Your heart hammers wildly in your chest. The fear of dying, cold and alone deep in the bowels of the earth, suddenly grips you and holds you in its icy claws.
  
  An intensely bright beam of brilliant, white light suddenly blasts upward from within the well, and reflects off the mirror's polished surface. The reflected beam of light illuminates the diagram of the lesser bruin etched on the floor, midway between the well and the northern wall.
  
  The blinding light slowly begins to change. It becomes a softer, blue color, streaked here and there with rays of gold and red. The beam of light illuminates the haze of sweet-smelling smoke that has drifted into the chamber from the north. The billowing smoke seems to gather in upon itself, as though it were attracted to the beautiful light by some unseen force. The smoke begins to swirl and churn within the beam of light, casting weird, sinuous shadows about the room. It coalesces further into a tiny thunderstorm of brilliant color and flashing light.
  
  You notice a low, humming sound that fills the chamber, echoing wildly off the dark stone walls. The humming becomes a loud whirring as the iridescent colors flash faster and faster. The whirring increases to a near deafening roar. The cloud of smoke thrums and pulses with blinding bursts of intensely colored light. You clap your hands over your ears, attempting vainly to shut out the thunderous din, but it is of no use. The tumult of sound and explosion of light seem ready to rend the very stone walls with their fury.
  
  With an incredibly powerful thump that vibrates you to the bone, all falls silent and the maelstrom of light calms to a steady glow. Within the cloud of smoke, a beautiful, feminine face appears. You draw in a sharp breath as you finally behold the oracle.
  
  It is a face of delicate beauty and timeless wisdom. It is a face that has seen the birth of the world, and bears the weighty knowledge of the hour of its death. The oracle regards you contemplatively for a moment.
  
  "You have travelled far to see me," her silken voice rolls forth
  like a wave crashing on some distant shore. It is a voice of wonder, of horror. It is the voice of dreams fulfilled.
  
  "I have watched the plight of your people, I know the great peril
  that lies before them..." Her voice trails away like the falling of autumn leaves.
  
  "I have not the power to deliver your people from this plight." She says with an expression of pensive sorrow. "A new age is opening in the world, and the age past must fade away; along with it, my power in the world fades as well. Already, you have seen the signs of this changing. Mankind no longer seeks out the wisdom of the great ones.
  He has learned for himself the secrets of magic and science. Flames at the altars to the gods burn no longer. The gifts which the immortals once bestowed upon man, he will now obtain for himself. Our time has come to a close."
  
  A wooden staff appears on the floor before the oracle. "Take this," she says softly, her voice beginning to fade, "I cannot deliver your homeland, but with this gift you can set yourselves free."
  
  The wondrous face hangs in the air for a long moment, the features growing less distinct as the cloud of smoke gradually diffuses. The beam of light dwindles away and finally disappears completely.
  
  With a lumbering, scraping sound a doorway opens in the southern wall and a flood of sunlight pours into the chamber.
  
  > examine the staff
  The staff is as tall as yourself with a sturdy grip at its center. It tapers gracefully to a point at both ends, and both ends are notched to receive the sinew string which hangs loosely from one of them. It is a bow, but a bow unlike any you have ever seen before. Its thick limbs are far stronger than the bows your people have used for ages to hunt with. This bow could easily hurl an arrow over incredible distances and pierce even the most impenetrable of armor. As you contemplate the oracle's gift, it becomes clear that this bow is indeed the answer that you seek.