text: [Themes: Historical, Science Fiction, horse, constructed language]
  
  > Describe the surroundings
  The land here is divided by a stream, which has collected to form a
  wide, still pool.
  
  Weeds and long grasses choke the sides of the pool all around, but a
  long, flat rock juts out into the pool. The sun shines through a gap in
  a tree to the north, bathing the rock in sunlight.
  
  A gentle breeze blows from the northeast, carrying a hint of pollen as
  it whispers over the water.
  
  Sitting on Flat Rock you see a handful of grass, some twisty branches,
  some twigs and leaves and Log.
  
  > hit flat Rock with useful Rock
  You strike Rock sharply across Rock. A shower of sparks flies out!
  
  Some of the sparks hit the handful of grass. A tiny flame appears,
  which quickly licks across to the others. Soon, all the grass is
  burning.
  
  A few sparks hit the branches, but they quickly die out.
  
  A few sparks hit the pile of twigs. A twig flares, and a leaf on it
  catches fire. Soon, a small flame dances between the leaves.
  A few sparks hit Log, but die away before igniting anything.
  
  The small flame flickers and begins to grow.
  
  > Wait
  Time passes.
  
  Fire grows large enough to consume the twigs, and becomes even bigger.
  
  > get the branches
  Carefully, you pull the twisty branches away from Fire's reach.
  
  Fire grows large enough to consume the twigs, and becomes even bigger.
  
  > put the branches on the twigs
  Unfortunately, the twigs and leaves are now a part of Fire.
  
  Fire grows steadily, and you can begin to feel heat coming from it.
  
  > put the branches on Fire
  You carefully add the twisty branches to the Fire, hoping it catches.
  
  Fire begins licking at the dry branches, and shortly they are all
  ablaze.
  
  > cook the Meat
  You hold Meat over Fire, letting the heat begin to cook it.
  
  If you don't get some food soon, you're likely to faint.
  
  Fire burns a little hotter, popping as it does so.
  
  > Keep going
  You hold Meat over Fire, letting the heat begin to cook it.
  
  Fire burns a little hotter, popping as it does so.
  The meat begins to simmer.
  
  > look at the Meat
  A slightly warm slab of meat.
  
  Fire spreads until it has engulfed the Log. It is now so hot that you
  can feel it from several feet away.
  Juices bubble from meat's center.
  
  > examine the Meat
  Meat is turning dark around the edges.
  Meat begins to darken around the edges.
  
  > examine the Meat
  Meat is turning dark around the edges.
  Meat is almost completely cooked.
  
  > Wait
  Time passes.
  Meat has been nicely browned, and looks delectable.
  
  > eat the Meat
  (first taking Meat)
  You pull Meat from the end of Spear.
  
  > eat the Meat
  You eat the cooked meat, savoring every morsel. Your hunger has been
  completely satiated, and you feel strangely content.
  
  > eat Fire
  (first taking Fire)
  Involuntarily, you jerk your hand back away from Fire when the flames
  lick your fingers. Ow!
  
  > Pray
  Nothing practical results from your prayer.
  
  > Xyzzy
  As you speak the Word again, you hear a rumbling in the distance, but
  nothing further happens.
  
  > get all
  Flat Rock: That's fixed in place.
  
  > get Fire
  Involuntarily, you jerk your hand back away from Fire when the flames
  lick your fingers. Ow!
  
  > Light Stick
  You carefully add Spear to the Fire, hoping it catches.
  
  Fire spreads to Spear, and shortly it is completely aflame.
  
  > look at what you're carrying with you
  You are carrying:
  Useful Rock
  Spear
  
  > go to the southwest
  The main feature of this area of the grassland is a large, squat,
  blackened Stump, evidently a victim of a past brush fire. The grasses
  wave around Stump, and one or two have taken root in the Stump itself.
  Some day, this will be little more than a rise in the countryside.
  
  Listening closely, you can hear the sounds of running water to the
  north and east.
  
  A gentle breeze blows from the northeast, carrying a hint of smoke as
  it rustles through the grass, which bows in its wake.
  
  Here you see the beginnings of a small spring.
  
  The spring bubbles up out of the earth, and has turned the whole area
  here quite muddy.
  
  A gentle breeze blows from the northeast, carrying a hint of pollen as
  it whispers over the water.
  
  Well, this certainly isn't the Forest you've come to know and love. You
  are standing in the middle of a vast grassland, broken only by the
  incongruous stone arch you passed through on your way here. Through it,
  you can see back into the dimly-lit Edifice to the west, a sharp
  contrast to the bright sunlight all around you.
  
  Listening closely, you can hear the sounds of running water away to the northeast.
  
  A gentle breeze blows from the northeast, carrying a hint of smoke as
  it rustles through the grass, which bows in its wake.
  
  > go west
  Green sunlight filters in from the west through the open recess,
  illuminating a small, round room, simple but totally foreign to you. A staircase (when did you learn that word?) winds up along the curved
  wall to another level above you, and, oddly, another doorway leads
  east, as if it would lead back into the forest.
  
  You see etchings on the wall here, pictures of a grassland with a
  stream running through it, which stretch around the entire room, from
  the doorway to the staircase.
  
  The simple door is open. Oddly, you see grassland on the other side,
  not forest.
  
  > examine the etching
  Examining the panel near the door, you can see a man, wandering across
  the plains, an animal of some sort, and a tall tree.
  
  stream, drinking deeply.
  
  In the next panel, you see the man fashioning a spear from a fallen
  tree branch, and using it to attack and kill the animal.
  
  In the next panel, the man is making a fire on the rock by the stream.
  
  In the final panel, the man is cooking and eating the animal.
  
  > About you
  You are about as tall as a two-year-old sapling, and your arms come
  down to about your knees. Walking upright is more comfortable now,
  though you're hunched over. Your thin layer of hair does little to
  block the wind, but this doesn't seem to bother you. Your head seems to
  be bigger than it used to be in the Forest.
  
  You are no longer either thirsty or hungry.
  
  > Go upwards
  This room is akin to the room below. There are staircases going up and
  down, and another door going east.
  
  The simple door is closed.
  
  You see etchings on the wall here, pictures of a forest with a river,
  and two huts, which adorn one panel on the wall next to the door.
  
  > look at the etching
  The panel near the door contains etchings of a man, wandering through a
  forest.
  
  > go east
  pass through the door.
  
  This is a small, cleared area in front of your Hut in the middle of the
  forest. The autumn leaves crunch under your feet, and the smell of
  winter is in the air. A well-worn path runs to the south towards the
  sound of rushing water, and another leads north, deeper into the
  forest.
  
  Strangely, you seem to have entered this area through a
  rectangular-shaped hole in a tree to the west.
  
  Near the door is Firepit, where you cook all your meals.
  
  > About yourself
  You're different. You seem to be walking almost perfectly upright now,
  and your hands only come down to mid-thigh. Your head is even larger
  than it was in the plains, and your jaw juts forward. You feel you have
  much more fine motor control of the muscles around your mouth. You also
  seem to have some sort of skin wrapped around your waist.
  
  > look at the skin
  You seem to be walking almost perfectly upright now, and your hands
  only come down to mid-thigh. Your head is even larger than it was in
  the plains, and your jaw juts forward. You feel you have much more fine
  motor control of the muscles around your mouth. You also seem to have
  some sort of skin wrapped around your waist.
  
  > look at what you're carrying with you
  You are carrying:
  Spear
  Useful Rock
  
  > look at Hut
  A hide hangs over the entryway of your Hut, to the east.
  
  > go east
  You push aside the hide and enter the Hut.
  
  You are inside the hut where it seems you have lived all your life. You
  live here with Grandmother (your Mother), Wife, and Son. The normally
  homey smell you associate with this place is currently masked by the
  smell of sickness. Stray light and fresh air come in around a
  hide-covered doorway, back to the west, but they do little to mask the
  sense of dread and concern that hangs over everyone in this room.
  
  A hushed conversation is coming from the two women of the house, as
  they do what they can for your boy.
  
  Wife takes the rag from Son's head and replaces it with a dampened one.
  
  As you enter, Wife runs up to you and throws her arms around you.
  "Thankful! Good! Grandmother says Fever more bad." She indicates Son,
  as Grandmother exchanges a now-dry rag on his forehead for a wet one. "Grandmother says you search forest now, find Feverleaf. If you find,
  Son will live, but last chance." You look at Son again as Wife gazes imploringly at you, and you turn around quickly, so Wife will not see
  you wipe a tear from your cheek.
  
  > ask Grandmother about Feverleaf
  Grandmother sighs impatiently. "Told you before. Long stem, with many
  groups of four round leaves. Find in Forest."
  
  > Well excuuuuuuuuuse you
  You quail at the thought of ordering Grandmother around, especially
  now, when she's in one of her authoritative moods.
  
  > Go west
  This is a small, cleared area in front of your Hut in the middle of the
  forest. The autumn leaves crunch under your feet, and the smell of
  winter is in the air. A well-worn path runs to the south towards the
  sound of rushing water, and another leads north, deeper into the
  forest.
  
  Strangely, you seem to have entered this area through a
  rectangular-shaped hole in a tree to the west.
  
  Near the door is Firepit, where you cook all your meals.
  
  > Go south
  Here, a river wider across than you can throw a stone flows past. You
  sometimes catch fish here, and your son loves to come here and skip
  rocks across the river's surface. Many white-barked trees grow close to
  the river's edge here, of a different variety than you usually see in
  the depths of the forest.
  
  > Go north
  This is the forest where you hunt for food and skins, though you don't
  believe you'll be hunting much today. Some birds still chirp in the
  trees, though many have flown away, as they do every winter. The rustle
  of wind through the golden leaves counterpoints your own footsteps, as
  you wend your way through the forest. The path you used to get here
  goes back south, and another path leads northeast, which you've never
  used before today.
  
  To one side of the path, you see a small berry bush.
  
  On Berry Bush are Berries.
  
  > Go northeast
  You've emerged from the northeast path to another Hut, rather like your
  own. This one is larger, though, and has woven leaves as a doorway
  instead of a hide. This Hut is to the north, or you can go back down
  the path you came from the southwest.
  
  Stranger is here, standing in front of his Hut, standing defensively,
  and looking suspiciously at you.
  
  > examine the berries
  Stranger watches you carefully.
  
  These juicy black berries are in season this time of year, and should
  be good to eat.
  
  > look at Stranger
  Stranger watches you carefully.
  
  Stranger is tall, slender, and quite muscular. He wears the black skin
  of Panther and carries a long knife, making him that much more
  impressive.
  
  > ask Stranger about Feverleaf
  Stranger stops you, saying "Y. Fa hallen, scarmul alsen," and points to
  your Useful Rock. "Y gralashen na!"
  
  > Go southwest
  Stranger nods in approval as you leave. "Fa alsen scarmul! Hallen!" he
  tells you as you go.
  
  This is the forest where you hunt for food and skins, though you don't
  believe you'll be hunting much today. Some birds still chirp in the
  trees, though many have flown away, as they do every winter. The rustle
  of wind through the golden leaves counterpoints your own footsteps, as
  you wend your way through the forest. The path you used to get here
  goes back south, and another path leads northeast, which you've never
  used before today.
  
  To one side of the path, you see a small berry bush.
  
  > kill Stranger with Spear
  Stranger stops you, saying "Y. Fa hallen, scarmul alsen," and points to
  your Spear. "Y gralashen na!"
  
  Stranger stops you, saying "Y. Fa hallen, scarmul alsen," and points to
  your Spear. "Y gralashen na!"
  
  > give Spear to Stranger
  Stranger stops you, saying "Y. Fa hallen, scarmul alsen," and points to
  your Spear. "Y gralashen na!"
  
  > go to the north-east
  You've emerged from the northeast path to another Hut, rather like your
  own. This one is larger, though, and has woven leaves as a doorway
  instead of a hide. This Hut is to the north, or you can go back down
  the path you came from the southwest.
  
  Stranger is here, standing in front of his Hut. He has an easy
  confidence about him, and watches you with a slight smile.
  
  > Point to leaves
  "Tsa ben ne salum," Stranger says, proudly.
  
  You see a rustling from inside the Hut, and a small boy peeks out.
  After examining you carefully, he cautiously emerges and stands by
  Stranger, who puts his arm on the boy's shoulder.
  
  > Wave
  Smiling, Stranger waves back.
  
  > point at the boy
  "Tsa ben ne rema!" he says, proudly.
  
  > Rema
  Stranger says, "Tsa," pointing to his son. "Ne rema!" he adds, proudly.
  
  > Salum
  Stranger gestures grandly at his abode. "Selme salum, a?"
  
  > point at yourself
  "Fa," he says, pointing back at you.
  
  > tell him about ne rema
  Stranger looks around and behind you. "Fe rema?" he asks, "Fa hallen fe
  salum?"
  
  > point at Stranger
  "Na," he says, putting his hand on his chest.
  
  > Gralashen
  Stranger looks confused. "Y gralashen," he suggests, and shrugs.
  
  > Fe gralashen
  "A gralashen,...?" Stranger asks you. "Salum fe? Scarmul fe?
  
  > Scarmul
  "A," says Stranger, showing you his knife, "scarmul ben takre!" He
  slashes with the knife at some invisible enemy, as if to emphasize his
  point.
  
  > tell him about ne rema
  Stranger looks around and behind you. "Fe rema?" he asks, "Fa hallen fe salum?"
  
  > Y.
  Stranger looks at you quizzically, and spreads his hands. "Y alanasen,"
  he says.