text: [Themes: Mystery, noir, transformation]
  
  > look around
  Neat. Everything here is neat. The papers on the desk are neatly stacked. There is not a speck of dust on the mahogany desk. It makes you uncomfortable. You never trust people who always need to be in control. That desire hardly ever stops with themselves.
  
  Camino is sitting behind the desk, waiting for your next move.
  
  > look at the papers
  The papers are stacked on top of each other.
  
  > go to the west
  All sorts of gambling tables dot the floor. There are roulette, blackjack, poker and more games you have never even heard of. No one looks at you. Every ounce of their attention is directed toward the random events that decide their lives. A giant crystal chandelier hangs from the ceiling, like an intricate icicle formation. To the west, massive double doors lead outside. At the eastern wall is a small discreet door; the kind of door you are not supposed to notice, much less enter.
  
  > 4
  You head towards the seedy bar.
  
  The bouncer pats you down in front of the entrance.
  The bouncer locates the revolver and confiscates it. "Sorry, Mister. No guns in the bar." Mr. Wesson manages to sneak in with you anyway. The bouncer easily locates the large conspicuous bowie knife. "Well, wadda we got here? Sorry, Mister. Can't have ya stabbin' the other patrons."
  "Your belongings will be returned to you when you leave, Mister."
  
  The thick cigarette smoke makes it almost possible to see more than a few feet ahead. It's like being trapped in a thick London fog. Various people are sitting at the tables or standing by the bar. Behind the bar, the bartender is cleaning a whiskey glass with an old rag. The door to the south leads outside.
  
  > examine the fog
  The fog is so thick that it seems like you could cut it with a knife.
  
  > take the fog
  It slips between your fingers.
  
  > enter the fog
  You are already surrounded by fog.
  
  > talk to the bartender
  "What do you want, buddy?" says the bartender.
  
  "Actually I need some information. I am looking for Erik McAllister. I understand that he used to come here a lot?"
  
  The bartender sneers. "No idea who you are talking about, buddy. Order something or get out."
  
  > order the drink
  You buy a cheap beer and drink it while your consider your options.
  
  > talk to the bartender
  You don't seem to be getting anywhere with him. Maybe if you could show him something to get his attention?
  
  > show the paper to the bartender
  The bartender reads the letter and laughs out loud. "HAHAHAHA. I knew a loser like McAllister couldn't keep a girl like that. I told him she was way out of his league, but he wouldn't listen."
  
  "So you do know him?"
  
  "Yeah, I guess you got me there, buddy. Look, I don't want any trouble. McAllister hasn't been around for the last couple weeks. You should talk to his friend; that brown haired guy over there with the scar. Leave me out of it."
  
  He points at a place in the thick fog. If you only you could see anything, that might actually be helpful.
  
  > 2
  "Here you are, Mister," says the bouncer, and returns your weapons.
  
  You head back to your office.
  
  Shadows huddle in the corners, like dark pools of oil; the sickly yellow light from the desk lamp does little to dispel the darkness. An old cigarette butt lies in the ashtray. Your desk is covered with old case files - reminders of past glories. Apart from the desk, the only other furniture is an old office chair.
  
  The office door to the north leads to the corridor outside.
  
  > Inventory
  You are carrying:
  a revolver
  a knife
  a figurative brown brick
  a letter
  a figurative dirty rag
  some figurative putty
  a figurative white cocoon
  some figurative luminescent fluid (providing light)
  a figurative vinyl record
  some figurative coagulated blood
  
  > Clean knight
  Maybe some other day.
  
  > put the oil in the cocoon
  (first taking the oil)
  
  The white cocoon is already full.
  
  > examine the lamp
  The old dirty desk lamp struggles valiantly to light up the office, like an elderly knight fighting to keep the forces of darkness at bay.
  
  > take the fluid out of the cocoon
  I only understood the first part of that-- trying anyway.
  
  (retrying as if you'd typed "take fluid.")
  You carefully try to remove the luminescent fluid from the white cocoon, but it runs through your fingers and disappears. You have a feeling there is more where that came from.
  
  > put the light on knight
  (first taking the desk lamp)
  
  Why would you want to carry around a desk lamp?
  You need to be holding the desk lamp before you can put it on top of something else.
  
  > put the oil in the cocoon
  (first taking the oil)
  
  Taken.
  
  > put the oil on the wheels
  The wheels look like they have been oiled recently.
  
  > fix the chair
  A good idea, but you will have to be more specific. How, exactly, are you going to accomplish it?
  
  > examine the coin
  A shiny penny, which has been apparently been stuck under your chair for quite some time. One side of it has been crushed, making it as sharp as the blade of a knife.
  
  > take the knife
  (the literal knife)
  You already have that.
  
  > examine the blade
  Oh, how sharp it is. It seems like it could slice a hair into two.
  
  > 3
  You decide to check out McAllister's apartment.
  
  The entrance to the apartment is a dark narrow hallway. The door behind you to the south leads back outside. To the east, the door to the living room is standing ajar. To the north is the bathroom. An old denim jacket hangs on a hook on the wall.
  
  > go east
  What a mess! A large couch stands against the southern wall, with a table in front of it. The table is covered with a diverse variety of empty liquor bottles, rising from the surface like minarets in a dilapidated middle eastern city. To the north is a kitchen counter with two stove plates built into it. Above it is a kitchen cabinet. To the west is the door to the entrance hall.
  
  > give the coin to the beggar
  The coin is real. The beggar is not.
  
  > examine the coin
  A shiny penny, which has been apparently been stuck under your chair for quite some time.
  
  > check your inventory
  You are carrying:
  a figurative sharp knife
  a coin
  a revolver
  a literal knife
  a figurative brown brick
  a letter
  a figurative dirty rag
  some figurative putty
  a figurative white cocoon
  a figurative vinyl record
  some figurative coagulated blood
  
  > cut the fog with the blade
  Using the knife, you cut the fog into more manageable pieces, which quickly fade away.