text: [Themes: Fantasy, telescopic descriptions, gothic, horror]
  
  > look around
  Wild forestland surrounds a quaint and shadowed village.
  
  A sheer cliff rises over the treetops, upon which is perched an ancient and gothic castle.
  
  > look at the houses
  For a moment you are confused. You might know that item by another name, it might not be important, or perhaps you grasp at phantoms that exist on another plane.
  
  > take the barstool
  You decide to leave the barstool for now.
  
  scurry back to their homes. You retire to the local inn.
  
  flapping of leathery wings. Come morning, another poor soul is found pale, weak and proclaiming her love for the Red Prince.
  
  > examine the forest
  The forests of Amaranth are dark and wild. An unpaved path leads through the grasping branches, past an abandoned shack and an ancient stone shrine, and ends - seemingly at random - in a quiet glade.
  
  > examine the shack
  Clearing away the ivy that has overgrown its broken door, you discover that the abandoned shack is the entrance to an old mine shaft.
  
  > look at the shaft
  The mine shaft is lit only by an eerie phosphorescence. Deserted rails lead down through the subterranean passages and makeshift crosses protrude from cave-in debris.
  
  Among the abandoned mine equipment, you see a stick of dynamite.
  
  (You can TAKE certain items and PUT them IN other locations. See
  what items you're carrying with INVENTORY or I.)
  
  > look at the dynamite
  The stick of dynamite is old, but dry and intact. It should make a reasonable bang several seconds after being lit.
  
  > take the dynamite
  You take possession of the stick of dynamite... carefully.
  
  > look at the shrine
  A weather-smoothed stone that might once have been in the form of some obscure god.
  
  A horned skeleton is lying near the shrine.
  
  > get the horn
  Those seem to be a part of the horned skeleton.
  
  > get the skeleton
  You gather up the horned skeleton. It maintains its form almost as though some inhuman will remains to hold it together.
  
  > look at the stone
  A weather-smoothed stone that might once have been in the form of some obscure god.
  
  > move the stone
  It is fixed in place.
  
  > examine the path
  The path that leads through the forest has been worn into the dirt by many feet.
  
  > examine the glade
  A quiet clearing in the forest, carpeted in daisies that gently sway in the wind.
  
  A ring of scorched earth is the only blot on the glade's idyll.
  
  scurry back to their homes. You retire to the local inn.
  
  flapping of leathery wings. Come morning, another poor soul is found pale, weak and proclaiming her love for the Red Prince.
  
  > examine the ring
  You step uneasily around the ring. It is a perfect, unnatural circle.
  
  > enter the ring
  As you step into the ring of scorched earth, the sky beings to acquire a green tint. The trees around you warp and change into species you have never seen before. Mellifluous voices carry on the wind, and you catch glimpses of naked, horned figures frolicking in the eerie light of two suns.
  
  With the gasp of one who has been holding their breath, you step out of the ring and back into the everyday world, before you are completely lost.
  
  > throw the skeleton into the ring
  You place the horned skeleton within the ring of scorched earth, taking care not to enter it yourself.
  
  With a sound like the ripping of flesh, a toothed maw opens in the ground, swallowing the skeleton whole.
  
  The maw stretches wide, exuding sulphur and the sense of an immense appetite yet unfulfilled.
  
  > look at the shack
  The abandoned shack stands over the entrance to an old mine shaft.
  
  > go castle
  A towering gothic structure of ancient stone. Its crumbling watchtower overlooks the village, and dim lights glow in the windows of the Great Hall.
  
  Gaunt soldiers stand guard around the Great Hall.
  
  > examine the soldiers
  The gaunt soldiers of the Red Prince are haggard and emaciated. Their pallor speaks more of the grave than the battlefield.
  
  > examine watchtower
  The watchtower has a commanding view of the village below. Though built from huge stone bricks that have resisted weathering, it slants distinctly.
  
  The air inside the watchtower is thick with flies. Rotting carcasses are shackled to the walls.
  
  A massive gong stands within the watchtower.
  
  > examine carcasses
  Very little is left of these unfortunate prisoners.
  
  > examine the gong
  Heavy and ornate, it will make quite a sound when rung.
  
  > hit gong
  The gong resounds with a mournful note that echoes throughout the castle.
  
  The gaunt soldiers that guard the Great Hall leave their posts to file slowly into the watchtower. They shamble and crawl over its mouldy flagstone, picking at the carcasses chained to the walls.
  
  > look at great Hall
  You enter a domed hall of faded tapestries and tarnished gold. Cobwebs span the archways and dust coats every surface.
  
  A tall, pale figure emerges from the shadows. "Welcome. I am known as the Red Prince. A fitting title, I feel. And who might you be? No, don't tell me."
  
  A chill runs down your spine as his dark eyes drill into yours. You hear subtle echoes of your recent thoughts and conversations, before he breaks the contact and smiles. "A fellow student of the occult, I see. Do feel free to explore my library."
  
  Finding little fresh meat to sate their appetites, the gaunt soldiers march back to their posts in the Great Hall.
  
  > examine the library
  Shelves and shelves of books are crammed together in the tight space of the castle library. The air is musty with the smell of aging paper. You find any number of arcane and esoteric books, many of which you have previously read.
  
  A few rare titles catch your eye, however, books you had thought long lost to the world: a Treatise on Other Worlds, Analysis Of Evil, Ignorant Children, History of Greatness and a black book.
  
  A lantern has been cast aside in one corner.
  
  > get the lamp
  For a moment you are confused. You might know that item by another name, it might not be important, or perhaps you grasp at phantoms that exist on another plane.
  
  > take the lantern
  Taken.
  
  > examine the lantern
  A sturdy lantern in an old style. It is unlit.
  
  > Light lantern
  You light the lantern. You can now explore places that are shrouded in darkness.
  
  > look at the black book
  This book is distinguished by only an embossed skull on its cover. Nevertheless, you recognise it immediately. You are unable to read the thin, inhuman scrawl within its pages, and would be reluctant to expose yourself to its horrors even if you could.
  
  scurry back to their homes. You retire to the local inn.
  
  flapping of leathery wings. Come morning, another poor soul is found pale, weak and proclaiming her love for the Red Prince.
  
  > read Treatise on other Worlds
  You thumb through the book looking for anything of interest, and find the following:
  
  "...such 'Fairy Rings' have long been held in European folklore as passages to the realm of the Others. Doors left ajar, if you will, awaiting the return of visitors to our world.
  
  "Experimentation reveals that such travellers need not return to their doorway in a state of life for it to open, albeit, in such cases, not quite to the place from which they originally came."
  
  > read the analysis of the Evil
  You thumb through the book looking for anything of interest, and find the following:
  
  "Many myths and tales attribute various strengths and weaknesses to such evils - from the ability to turn to mist, to a variety of apotropaics thought to ward them away. In particular, the powers of evil are said to wane considerably during the daylight hours, although the notion that sunlight should result in the combustion of the demon is recent and apocryphal.
  
  "Most reliable sources agree on the effectiveness of silver as anathema to evil. Those advocating iron instead are surely victim to ecumenical confusion between those that are Evil and those that are merely of the Other."
  
  > read ignorant children
  You skim the first chapter and pick out a passage at random:
  
  "Moulded by foreign magicks into human form, these cuckoo chicks of outre parents may even reach adulthood unaware of their heritage and abilities."
  
  > read the history of the Greatness
  You read a page from the middle of the book:
  
  "But recognising his magnificence, the invading army pledged their immortal souls to his throne. The betrayed jezebel fell into a fatal fit of rage and was said to have died of a heart too unrighteous to beat."
  
  > place the dynamite in the castle
  Although you're unable to find an obvious weak point, you place the dynamite in the castle.
  
  > examine the cliff
  These treacherous cliffs of black rock project straight up from the banks of a raging river and cast a shadow over the village. A single narrow trail leads up to the castle.
  
  > examine the trail
  It winds up the cliff, starting from the banks of a raging river.
  
  > examine the river
  A deep river of hidden undercurrents and nameless flotsam. Following it to its source, you find a waterfall cascading down the cliff face.
  
  > look at the waterfall
  Behind the waterfall is a dark cave.
  
  > examine the cave
  Holding your lantern high to illuminate your way, you edge into the cave.
  
  Although seemingly natural in origin, the cave intersects with the foundations of some structure. They're not substantial enough to be shoring up the entire castle, but you suspect that these foundations might underlie its watchtower.
  
  > look at the foundations
  Thick beams of damp and rotting wood that must support the castle watchtower.
  
  > get the dynamite
  You take possession of the stick of dynamite... carefully.
  
  > put it in the foundations
  You study the foundations for a while, working out where the point of greatest weakness is, and place the dynamite there.
  
  > Light dynamite
  You light the fuse and quickly make your exit from the cave. Scant seconds later the dynamite explodes and the nearby foundations fold up like a concertina.
  
  With a low rumble, the watchtower collapses into a pile of broken stone and dust, forever changing the skyline of Amaranth. Those few of the Prince's terrible soldiers to escape are in no state to return to their posts.
  
  scurry back to their homes. You retire to the local inn.
  
  flapping of leathery wings. Come morning, another poor soul is found pale, weak and proclaiming his love for the Red Prince.
  
  > look at Hall
  You enter a domed hall of faded tapestries and tarnished gold. Cobwebs span the archways and dust coats every surface.
  
  The Red Prince lounges in a high-backed chair, a terrible and languid smile adorning his pale features.
  
  > look at the tapestries
  These faded tapestries depict battles whose combatants and outcomes have been obscured by age.
  
  > talk to Prince
  "Oh... you were expecting me to be perturbed that you intend to kill me? You think, perhaps, that you're the first to try? But that is not so. I have bested far greater warriors than you. Much braver souls have begged me for mercy. Whole armies have been broken to my will. Yes, carry out your futile designs. And the less you bore me, the less I shall make you suffer."
  
  > wipe the smile off his face
  For a moment you are confused. You might know that item by another name, it might not be important, or perhaps you grasp at phantoms that exist on another plane.
  
  > kill Prince with the sword
  You charge the Red Prince, swinging the silver sword. He easily evades your clumsy attack, at first, before you find a grace and prowess you had no idea you possessed. You duck beneath fingers wielded like talons and drive the silver sword through his heart. With a prolonged death rattle, he crumples into his chair.
  
  The corpse of the Red Prince bears a strange and terrible smile.
  
  > examine the corpse
  In truth, he does not seem to have changed much from when he was alive.
  
  The corpse of the Red Prince moves with the slightest twitch.
  
  > take the corpse
  Taken.
  
  A shudder runs through the corpse of the Red Prince.
  
  > put the corpse in the ring
  While you heft it towards the maw, the Red Prince's corpse seems to convulse with a renewed effort to tear through the thin albumen between death and unlife.
  
  As you finally cast it into those terrible, subterranean jaws, the corpse's eyes flick open. "No! You cannot! Wretch!"
  
  But the Red Prince's curses grow distant as he tumbles into oblivion.
  
  With a satisfied, sulphurous growl, the maw's gangrenous lips draw closed and fade completely from this world. Behind you, the sinister castle that has for so long dominated the sky of Amaranth finally collapses in on itself.
  
  You draw a deep breath of fresh air, and feel a weight lifted from your soul. Perhaps now you can return home and rest.