text: [Themes: Fantasy, mimesis, transformation, telescopic descriptions, female protagonist]
  
  > describe your surroundings
  All the time that you were climbing the stairs, you could barely look forward, so overwhelming was the light that came from this room; but now that you have arrived, you see that it too is lit from somewhere further on and far away.
  
  > About you
  To physical appearances not much different than before, but changed inside. Grief and anger, weariness and fury are at war in you.
  
  Across the back of your left hand are scarred the symbols of fire and earth.
  
  > check your inventory
  You are carrying:
  a tube (enlarged and made of metal)
  a ball of yarn
  a vellum scroll
  a delicate key (enlarged and made of metal) (which opens the
  silvered door)
  a workbox
  a needle
  a ring (being worn)
  some slippers (being worn)
  
  > put the yarn in the workbox
  You put the ball of yarn into the workbox.
  
  > D,E,E
  You stand in the center of a dim room, lit from above by a piercing light. Evidently there is another room above you, but the brilliance of its illumination makes it impossible for you to perceive anything up there.
  
  The center of the room is occupied by a bulky expandable staircase.
  
  Tower, Mid-level
  A midpoint in the tower, with doorways east and west, lit from above. The south wall is occupied by a deep niche, in which is a statue of a young man in the Greek mode.
  
  The walls have been sheathed with a variety of fine materials, all exceptionally costly: sheets of beaten gold, squares of lapis lazuli, placards of ruby and adamant.
  
  A long, low room, naturally lit by small windows just beneath the ceiling. Down the center of the room runs a series of pedestals, and on each pedestal stands an automated creature of some sort -- a great clockwork bird; a chorus of glass frogs; a pair of human dancers eternally whirling on the cogged floor of their tiny ballroom.
  
  Beside the door, and running down into the rock of the floor, is an enormous crank of Damascus steel.
  
  On the wall there is an adjustable lever.
  
  From the ceiling high above the second pedestal hangs a wooden octahedron.
  
  > look at the octahedron
  Burnt into the surface of the wood is an intricate design of herons and owls, goshawks, peacocks, sparrows, doves, every species of bird; bees; butterflies; the airy drift of clouds, and the shaft of the sun.
  
  > examine the crank
  The crank is two handspans long, attached to a long shaft which runs through a sort of socket into the floor. The entire mechanism has been thoroughly greased.
  
  > ask W,  to go west
  Tower, Mid-level
  A midpoint in the tower, with doorways east and west, lit from above. The south wall is occupied by a deep niche, in which is a statue of a young man in the Greek mode.
  
  The walls have been sheathed with a variety of fine materials, all exceptionally costly: sheets of beaten gold, squares of lapis lazuli, placards of ruby and adamant.
  
  You stand in the center of a dim room, lit from above by a piercing light. Evidently there is another room above you, but the brilliance of its illumination makes it impossible for you to perceive anything up there.
  
  The center of the room is occupied by a bulky expandable staircase.
  
  > ask E,  to go east
  Tower, Mid-level
  A midpoint in the tower, with doorways east and west, lit from above. The south wall is occupied by a deep niche, in which is a statue of a young man in the Greek mode.
  
  The walls have been sheathed with a variety of fine materials, all exceptionally costly: sheets of beaten gold, squares of lapis lazuli, placards of ruby and adamant.
  
  A long, low room, naturally lit by small windows just beneath the ceiling. Down the center of the room runs a series of pedestals, and on each pedestal stands an automated creature of some sort -- a great clockwork bird; a chorus of glass frogs; a pair of human dancers eternally whirling on the cogged floor of their tiny ballroom.
  
  Beside the door, and running down into the rock of the floor, is an enormous crank of Damascus steel.
  
  On the wall there is an adjustable lever.
  
  From the ceiling high above the second pedestal hangs a wooden octahedron.
  
  > examine the dancers
  The dancers are especially fine. Their costume replicates an English mode of perhaps fifty years ago: the lady wears a skirt of beaten copper, pierced in designs, and around the gentleman's neck is a ruff of folded silver.
  
  The effect of their hands and faces is less happy: all their skin is carved ivory, so that they look drawn, and even paler than ordinary English folk.
  
  > take the skirt
  That's fixed in place.
  
  > examine the lever
  The lever may be set to any of four positions, 0 through 3. At the moment it stands at 0.
  
  > set lever to 1
  You push the lever into the 1 position.
  
  > pull the lever
  It is fixed in place.
  
  > turn the crank
  It takes a good deal of effort to get the crank to turn, but once you have begun, you are able to keep it moving. The bird's wings unfold and flap magnificently, creating a draft in the long hallway, but it fails to get off the ground. One of the wings is missing material over the frame, it seems.
  
  > examine the wing
  The frame is an intricate construction of small metal rods, to which the leather of the wings is attached with clips. In one place, however, a piece is missing, leaving the clips empty and the wing incomplete.
  
  > check what you're carrying
  You are carrying:
  a magnifying glass
  a tube (enlarged and made of metal)
  a vellum scroll
  a delicate key (enlarged and made of metal) (which opens the
  silvered door)
  a workbox
  a ball of yarn
  a needle
  a ring (being worn)
  some slippers (being worn)
  
  > W,D,S,W
  Tower, Mid-level
  A midpoint in the tower, with doorways east and west, lit from above. The south wall is occupied by a deep niche, in which is a statue of a young man in the Greek mode.
  
  The walls have been sheathed with a variety of fine materials, all exceptionally costly: sheets of beaten gold, squares of lapis lazuli, placards of ruby and adamant.
  
  Tower, Bottom
  You stand at the bottom of a stone tower. Doorways open in each of the cardinal directions, except for the north; there, a spacious niche contains the statue of a woman, skillfully executed in white marble.
  
  The center of the room is occupied by a spiral staircase, but one made of such slender and delicate supports that it obscures neither light nor view.
  
  The silvery door to the south stands open.
  
  A straight white light comes through the hole in the ceiling, but it is soon after twisted and bent: mirrors cast it from angle to angle; crystal divides it; glass stains it.
  
  East and west, low corridors lead into shadow.
  
  The silvery door to the north stands open.
  
  A long, vaulted room, lined with cages of filigree and jewels. All of the animals are motionless and still, perhaps through the art of a taxidermist. In one cage is an elephant, so short that he reaches only to your knee; you easily could lift him under one arm and carry him away. In another cage, a giant mouse lies, curled as though slumbering, his paws folded in the semblance of prayer.
  
  Mounted on a swivel on the wall is what looks like an irregular hourglass, one bulb larger than the other. There is no sand within -- nor could there be, since the contraption is open at each end. At the moment the smaller end is uppermost.
  
  > put scroll in furnace
  You put the vellum scroll into the furnace.
  
  > turn the dial to five
  You turn the dial to 5.
  
  > E,N,U,E
  A straight white light comes through the hole in the ceiling, but it is soon after twisted and bent: mirrors cast it from angle to angle; crystal divides it; glass stains it.
  
  East and west, low corridors lead into shadow.
  
  The silvery door to the north stands open.
  
  Tower, Bottom
  You stand at the bottom of a stone tower. Doorways open in each of the cardinal directions, except for the north; there, a spacious niche contains the statue of a woman, skillfully executed in white marble.
  
  The center of the room is occupied by a spiral staircase, but one made of such slender and delicate supports that it obscures neither light nor view.
  
  The silvery door to the south stands open.
  
  Tower, Mid-level
  A midpoint in the tower, with doorways east and west, lit from above. The south wall is occupied by a deep niche, in which is a statue of a young man in the Greek mode.
  
  The walls have been sheathed with a variety of fine materials, all exceptionally costly: sheets of beaten gold, squares of lapis lazuli, placards of ruby and adamant.
  
  A long, low room, naturally lit by small windows just beneath the ceiling. Down the center of the room runs a series of pedestals, and on each pedestal stands an automated creature of some sort -- a great clockwork bird; a chorus of glass frogs; a pair of human dancers eternally whirling on the cogged floor of their tiny ballroom.
  
  Beside the door, and running down into the rock of the floor, is an enormous crank of Damascus steel.
  
  On the wall there is an adjustable lever.
  
  From the ceiling high above the second pedestal hangs a wooden octahedron.
  
  > turn the lever to 2
  You push the lever into the 2 position.
  
  > turn the crank
  It takes a good deal of effort to get the crank to turn, but once you have begun, you are able to keep it moving. Under the surface of the pond, wheels of glass turn, causing the koi to swim in their rippled depth; as for the frogs themselves, they begin to sing, a tuneful croaking: brekkekekex, koax, koax.
  
  > set the lever to 3
  You push the lever into the 3 position.
  
  > turn the crank
  It takes a good deal of effort to get the crank to turn, but once you have begun, you are able to keep it moving. Cogs whir; the dancers meet, and bow, and then begin a graceful dance, all around the floor on which they stand.
  
  > examine the dancers
  The dancers are especially fine. Their costume replicates an English mode of perhaps fifty years ago: the lady wears a skirt of beaten copper, pierced in designs, and around the gentleman's neck is a ruff of folded silver.
  
  The effect of their hands and faces is less happy: all their skin is carved ivory, so that they look drawn, and even paler than ordinary English folk.
  
  > look at the clips
  The frame is an intricate construction of small metal rods, to which the leather of the wings is attached with clips. In one place, however, a piece is missing, leaving the clips empty and the wing incomplete.
  
  > check what you're carrying
  You are carrying:
  a vellum scroll
  a magnifying glass
  a tube (enlarged and made of metal)
  a delicate key (enlarged and made of metal) (which opens the
  silvered door)
  a workbox
  a ball of yarn
  a needle
  a ring (being worn)
  some slippers (being worn)
  
  > Thread needle
  (first taking the needle)
  There's nothing appropriate with which to do that.
  
  > put the scroll on the bird
  The cloth is far too small to fit across the gap in the frame; it would need to be considerably larger, though cloak-sized would certainly be excessive.
  
  > Thread needle with yarn
  (first taking the ball of yarn)
  The yarn is much too tangly to cooperate.
  
  > W,D,S,W
  Tower, Mid-level
  A midpoint in the tower, with doorways east and west, lit from above. The south wall is occupied by a deep niche, in which is a statue of a young man in the Greek mode.
  
  The walls have been sheathed with a variety of fine materials, all exceptionally costly: sheets of beaten gold, squares of lapis lazuli, placards of ruby and adamant.
  
  Tower, Bottom
  You stand at the bottom of a stone tower. Doorways open in each of the cardinal directions, except for the north; there, a spacious niche contains the statue of a woman, skillfully executed in white marble.
  
  The center of the room is occupied by a spiral staircase, but one made of such slender and delicate supports that it obscures neither light nor view.
  
  The silvery door to the south stands open.
  
  A straight white light comes through the hole in the ceiling, but it is soon after twisted and bent: mirrors cast it from angle to angle; crystal divides it; glass stains it.
  
  East and west, low corridors lead into shadow.
  
  The silvery door to the north stands open.
  
  A long, vaulted room, lined with cages of filigree and jewels. All of the animals are motionless and still, perhaps through the art of a taxidermist. In one cage is an elephant, so short that he reaches only to your knee; you easily could lift him under one arm and carry him away. In another cage, a giant mouse lies, curled as though slumbering, his paws folded in the semblance of prayer.
  
  Mounted on a swivel on the wall is what looks like an irregular hourglass, one bulb larger than the other. There is no sand within -- nor could there be, since the contraption is open at each end. At the moment the larger end is uppermost.
  
  > put the scroll in the hourglass
  You put the vellum scroll into the contraption; predictably, it squinches down, passes through the narrow neck, and emerges from the other end larger than it was when it went in.
  
  > E,N,U,E
  A straight white light comes through the hole in the ceiling, but it is soon after twisted and bent: mirrors cast it from angle to angle; crystal divides it; glass stains it.
  
  East and west, low corridors lead into shadow.
  
  The silvery door to the north stands open.
  
  Tower, Bottom
  You stand at the bottom of a stone tower. Doorways open in each of the cardinal directions, except for the north; there, a spacious niche contains the statue of a woman, skillfully executed in white marble.
  
  The center of the room is occupied by a spiral staircase, but one made of such slender and delicate supports that it obscures neither light nor view.
  
  The silvery door to the south stands open.
  
  Tower, Mid-level
  A midpoint in the tower, with doorways east and west, lit from above. The south wall is occupied by a deep niche, in which is a statue of a young man in the Greek mode.
  
  The walls have been sheathed with a variety of fine materials, all exceptionally costly: sheets of beaten gold, squares of lapis lazuli, placards of ruby and adamant.
  
  A long, low room, naturally lit by small windows just beneath the ceiling. Down the center of the room runs a series of pedestals, and on each pedestal stands an automated creature of some sort -- a great clockwork bird; a chorus of glass frogs; a pair of human dancers eternally whirling on the cogged floor of their tiny ballroom.
  
  Beside the door, and running down into the rock of the floor, is an enormous crank of Damascus steel.
  
  On the wall there is an adjustable lever.
  
  From the ceiling high above the second pedestal hangs a wooden octahedron.
  
  > put the scroll on the wing
  The cloth is too small to fit across the gap in the frame. Perhaps if it just a little larger...
  
  > W,D,S,W
  Tower, Mid-level
  A midpoint in the tower, with doorways east and west, lit from above. The south wall is occupied by a deep niche, in which is a statue of a young man in the Greek mode.
  
  The walls have been sheathed with a variety of fine materials, all exceptionally costly: sheets of beaten gold, squares of lapis lazuli, placards of ruby and adamant.
  
  From somewhere nearby comes a low rumbling.
  
  Tower, Bottom
  You stand at the bottom of a stone tower. Doorways open in each of the cardinal directions, except for the north; there, a spacious niche contains the statue of a woman, skillfully executed in white marble.
  
  The center of the room is occupied by a spiral staircase, but one made of such slender and delicate supports that it obscures neither light nor view.
  
  The silvery door to the south stands open.
  
  A straight white light comes through the hole in the ceiling, but it is soon after twisted and bent: mirrors cast it from angle to angle; crystal divides it; glass stains it.
  
  East and west, low corridors lead into shadow.
  
  The silvery door to the north stands open.
  
  A long, vaulted room, lined with cages of filigree and jewels. All of the animals are motionless and still, perhaps through the art of a taxidermist. In one cage is an elephant, so short that he reaches only to your knee; you easily could lift him under one arm and carry him away. In another cage, a giant mouse lies, curled as though slumbering, his paws folded in the semblance of prayer.
  
  Mounted on a swivel on the wall is what looks like an irregular hourglass, one bulb larger than the other. There is no sand within -- nor could there be, since the contraption is open at each end. At the moment the smaller end is uppermost.
  
  > put cloth in the hourglass
  Which do you mean, the vellum scroll, the ball of yarn or the slippers?
  
  > put the scroll on the wing
  You carefully secure the sheet of cloth to the bird's wing.
  
  > set lever to 1
  You push the lever into the 1 position.
  
  > turn the crank
  It takes a good deal of effort to get the crank to turn, but once you have begun, you are able to keep it moving. The bird soars toward the ceiling and circles around the room, knocking the wooden octahedron to the floor. After a moment it resettles on its pedestal.
  
  > take the octahedron
  You pick up the octahedron...
  
  > Continue
  You find yourself back on solid ground, only a little shaken.