text: > Go downwards
  A thin, young branch sprouts from the bark at your feet, rapidly dividing into a forest of smaller twigs, each decorated with thick, colourful blossom.
  
  Obvious exits: Up, Out, Sunwise, Widdershins
  
  > Go outside
  This peaceful clearing is surrounded on all sides by wiry twigs bearing blossom. At its centre, a stubby knot spirals out of the youthful bark, its top glazed over with amber.
  
  A long-haired artist stands at his easel - paintbrush and palette in hand.
  
  Obvious exits: In
  
  The artist turns to offer you a warm smile. "Aha! Just what this scene was missing: a model."
  
  > examine the artist
  A young man, though still a fair bit older than yourself. His features have a refined gentleness to them, and he moves with a leisurely grace.
  
  The artist is carrying a paintbrush and a palette, and he's wearing a little black dress and a red cloak.
  
  > talk to the artist
  You inch closer to the artist, uncertain how to begin.
  
  "Relax," he says. "I don't bite."
  
  (You could ask him about the Queen, the tree, the painting, his cloak, or art.)
  
  > look at the painting
  It's clearly supposed to be a painting of the view in front of the artist, but your engineer's eye easily picks out numerous inaccuracies. The colours are too bright, the blossom too vague, the sky too blue. And yet, for all that, it seems almost more real than the scene itself.
  
  The centre of the canvas is blank and untouched.
  
  The artist leans towards you. "It really needs something interesting to go in the middle, doesn't it? Something sitting on that knot of bark..."
  
  > look at the knot
  Just the right height for sitting on.
  
  > sit on the knot
  You sit on the smooth amber atop the knotted bark, feeling rather self-conscious. One of a thousand sisters, you've never been the centre of attention before.
  
  "That expression," the artist says. "Whatever it is, don't change it."
  
  And with that, he begins to paint you.
  
  > change the expression
  You attempt a smile. It feels kind of strange.
  
  The artist bites his paintbrush in alarm. "No, no... Your expression is just perfect as it is."
  
  You relax your face, and the artist sighs with relief.
  
  It's not easy to sit still like this, feeling the artist's eyes on you, wondering how you'll appear in the end result. But it's not like you've never had to bear hardships before, so you sit through it.
  
  "Don't change your expression," the artist chides.
  
  > wait
  As you sit in the sun, surrounded by colour, you watch the artist's brush flowing over the canvas. Idly you wonder if you could ever take up painting as a hobby. You're sure you might be able to cadge the supplies together, especially if you succeed in your task, but could you really teach yourself?
  
  "There," the artist says, "all done. Stand up and come over here."
  
  > stand
  You stand up awkwardly.
  
  The artist smiles and gestures at the canvas. "Go on," he says, "take a good look."
  
  > examine the painting
  Taking pride of place in the canvas, surrounded by colourful blossom, is your likeness: sitting uneasily, and smiling in a most peculiar way. Undeniably you, and not any of your sisters.
  
  "So?" the artist asks. "What do you think?"
  
  (You could gasp, gawp, or praise.)
  
  > Praise
  "It's amazing!" you gush. "Most of my sisters can't even recognise me, but this... Thank you so much!"
  
  The artist sniffs and wipes his cheeks with his delicate hands. You realise that he's crying. "It means a lot to me that you like it.
  I'm actually going to give it to your mother. It's part of our arrangement."
  
  "What arrangement?" you ask, only half interested, still looking in awe at the canvas.
  
  "I have to eat," the artist says. "Not often, but more than I'd like. I'm very sorry."
  
  He reaches into his cloak and retrieves a small, snub-nosed revolver. You're still smiling, quizzically. It almost doesn't make sense to you.
  
  Without realising it, you die happy.
  
  ***YOU WERE EATEN***
  
  The Queen smiles at your enthusiasm, perhaps a little sadly. "Every spring," she says, "five dangerous creatures come to the tree and threaten my nest. So I send one of my daughters to negotiate with them, and each year they give us no trouble. This spring, I want you to be that daughter."
  
  You curtsy again from sheer surprise. "Your majesty! I would be honoured!"
  
  Not opulent, as you might expect, but twilit and homely. Simple, finely crafted lamps cast a warm glow over the phloem walls.
  
  Cots line one side of the chamber, each holding a formless, swaddled bundle.
  
  The Queen, your mother, sits elegantly upon her throne.
  
  Obvious exits: Out
  
  > go outside
  You curtsy before you leave.
  
  "Good luck," the Queen says, "my favourite daughter."
  
  This village - your home since birth - sprawls across and up the sides of the tree hollow. Spittle cottages, fungal fields and twig farmhouses are set among the knotted wood on all sides, even clinging to the roof high above.
  
  From here you could head in to the Queen's chamber, or out to the sunlit world beyond the hollow.
  
  Close by, a group of your sisters tend to a herd.
  
  Obvious exits: In, Out
  
  > Go outside
  The fertile brown bark of the tree stretches in all directions: up into the blue sky, down to the exotic green jungle, and curving around on itself both sunwise and widdershins.
  
  The entrance to the Tree Hollow Village is set into the bark here. Just below it, a sturdy old branch stretches out into the distance, splitting into three smaller branches. Suspended magically between the three branch-tips is a pulsating whorl of bright colour.
  
  One of your sisters lies curled up in the furrowed bark, dead.
  
  Obvious exits: Up, Down, In, Out, Sunwise, Widdershins
  
  > go to the west
  You walk widdershins around the tree trunk, stopping when you encounter the next branch growing out from its bark.
  
  The fertile brown bark of the tree stretches in all directions: up into the blue sky, down to the exotic green jungle, and curving around on itself both sunwise and widdershins.
  
  This thick branch is dotted with dozens of coiled grey shells - most of them broken or shattered to some degree.
  
  Obvious exits: Up, Out, Sunwise, Widdershins
  
  > examine the shells
  Grey and utilitarian, they seem very well constructed indeed. You wonder how exactly so many of them came to be in such a state of disrepair.
  
  > Leave
  Gargantuan broken shells cast a cold shadow over this narrow path as it winds between them. Conspicuous among the ruin is a single intact shell, spiral and grey, with a smart wooden door set into its opening.
  
  A knotted piece of rope hangs beside the door, dangling over a brass plaque.
  
  Obvious exits: In
  
  > read the plaque
  Cornu Aspersa Esq.
  Attorney at Law
  
  > examine the rope
  A very finely constructed piece of rope - not much use for practical work, but certainly nice to look at. It's been knotted in a way that suggests pulling on it.
  
  > pull it
  You pull the rope. Somewhere inside the house, a bell rings.
  
  The door is answered by a smartly dressed gentleman with no arms or legs. "Ah yes," he says. "You're expected. Please, come right in."
  
  He leads you inside, up some stairs, around a corner and down a slope.
  
  The floor and ceiling of this room are both curved, and you're not entirely sure which way up you are. Antique chairs and a coffee table are stuck to the carpet with discreet blobs of tree sap. Bookcases line the walls like the slats of a folding fan.
  
  On the coffee table are a jar of sauce and a rotary telephone.
  
  A limbless aristocrat stands here, balanced on his tail.
  
  Obvious exits: Down
  
  "Good thing you turned up, what?" the aristocrat says. "There might be something you can help me with."
  
  > examine bookcases
  Lining a curved room with huge bookcases is the kind of inspired but futile feat of engineering that you're always both impressed by and derisive of. The books seem kind of interesting, though.
  
  Your eye's also drawn to a framed photograph sitting on the shelves.
  
  > look at the photograph
  The photograph seems to be of a portly old gent with no arms or legs. Limblessness aside, though, he's clearly no close relative of the aristocrat.
  
  "Ah yes," the aristocrat says, "the old owner of this place. Still a few things of his around, you know."
  
  > read the books
  It would be a bit rude to stand in the aristocrat's house reading his books.
  
  > Topics
  You could ask him about help, the Queen, the spiral house, his arms and legs, or the tree.
  
  > examine the jar
  The label recommends serving with escargot, whatever that is. It's closed.
  
  The aristocrat clears his throat.
  
  > open the jar
  Opening a jar of sauce. Seems like an easy enough task. You take the jar in both hands and grip it firmly, twisting the lid in an anti-clockwise motion. The jar opens.
  
  "Excellent," the aristocrat says. "Most excellent indeed. I'll dine well over the coming weeks, though she could have sent a less scrawny specimen."
  
  Your heart skips a beat. Does he mean-?
  
  The aristocrat head butts you, and everything goes black.
  
  ***YOU WERE EATEN***
  
  The Queen smiles at your enthusiasm, perhaps a little sadly. "Every spring," she says, "five dangerous creatures come to the tree and threaten my nest. So I send one of my daughters to negotiate with them, and each year they give us no trouble. This spring, I want you to be that daughter."
  
  You curtsy again from sheer surprise. "Your majesty! I would be honoured!"
  
  Not opulent, as you might expect, but twilit and homely. Simple, finely crafted lamps cast a warm glow over the phloem walls.
  
  Cots line one side of the chamber, each holding a formless, swaddled bundle.
  
  The Queen, your mother, sits elegantly upon her throne.
  
  Obvious exits: Out
  
  > look at the throne
  A high-backed and ornate chair, perhaps the most comfortable chair in the hollow.
  
  The Queen is sitting on the throne.
  
  > Curtsy
  You curtsy. You're very good at it by now.
  
  The Queen smiles benevolently. "Don't be frightened, my child. Head out into the branches and make me proud."
  
  > go west
  You walk widdershins around the tree trunk, stopping when you encounter the next branch growing out from its bark.
  
  This thick branch is dotted with dozens of coiled grey shells - most of them broken or shattered to some degree.
  
  Obvious exits: Up, Out, Sunwise, Widdershins
  
  The fertile brown bark of the tree stretches in all directions: up into the blue sky, down to the exotic green jungle, and curving around on itself both sunwise and widdershins.
  
  The base of this branch has partially split through, and some strange shimmering mirror is wedged between the two halves.
  
  Obvious exits: Up, Out, Sunwise, Widdershins
  
  > Leave
  Rainwater has collected in this cleft in the branch, forming a calm, clear pool that perfectly reflects the blue sky.
  
  A pointed hat is floating on the mirror surface of the pool.
  
  A delicate damsel sits on a twig, crying softly to herself.
  
  Obvious exits: In, Out She makes a big show of pretending she hasn't seen you.
  
  > look at the hat
  Emerald blue and ridiculously tall. Not that you know much about fashion, but it would go rather nicely with the damsel's outfit.
  
  You can feel the damsel peeking at you hopefully.
  
  > get the hat
  The pointed hat is too far away. You'd have to swim in the pool.
  
  > talk to the damsel
  You carefully approach the delicate damsel and ask her if everything is okay.
  
  She raises her head and wipes her dainty nose on her wrist. "Does everything look all right? I was flying over that pool and my hat fell in. Now I can't get it back because if my wings get wet I'll drown."
  
  (You could ask her about the pointed hat, her wings, the mirror pool, the Queen, the tree, or swimming.)
  
  > examine her
  A delicate waif of a girl, crying into her tiny hands. Your heart breaks for her. Her dainty wings glitter with rainbow light.
  
  The damsel is wearing an emerald dress and some high-heeled shoes.
  
  The damsel meets your eye. "It's rude to stare," she says, "if understandable."
  
  > Swim
  (in the mirror pool)
  You wade out into the water until it's up to your armpits and then try kicking and splashing to move. It doesn't work. You just end up face down, making a lot of noise and trying to only breathe in when your head is above water.
  
  With a melodious giggle, something lands on your back. Delicate hands take tight hold of your hair, and push your face down into the pool. Thrumming wings beat into the water, throwing up stronger splashes than your feeble attempts to struggle. As the life starts to leave you, a set of small, but very sharp teeth close around the back of your neck.
  
  ***YOU WERE EATEN***
  
  The Queen smiles at your enthusiasm, perhaps a little sadly. "Every spring," she says, "five dangerous creatures come to the tree and threaten my nest. So I send one of my daughters to negotiate with them, and each year they give us no trouble. This spring, I want you to be that daughter."
  
  You curtsy again from sheer surprise. "Your majesty! I would be honoured!"
  
  Not opulent, as you might expect, but twilit and homely. Simple, finely crafted lamps cast a warm glow over the phloem walls.
  
  Cots line one side of the chamber, each holding a formless, swaddled bundle.
  
  The Queen, your mother, sits elegantly upon her throne.
  
  Obvious exits: Out
  
  > go west
  You walk widdershins around the tree trunk, stopping when you encounter the next branch growing out from its bark.
  
  This thick branch is dotted with dozens of coiled grey shells - most of them broken or shattered to some degree.
  
  Obvious exits: Up, Out, Sunwise, Widdershins
  
  The base of this branch has partially split through, and some strange shimmering mirror is wedged between the two halves.
  
  Obvious exits: Up, Out, Sunwise, Widdershins
  
  The fertile brown bark of the tree stretches in all directions: up into the blue sky, down to the exotic green jungle, and curving around on itself both sunwise and widdershins.
  
  The branch here writhes out from the trunk as if racked with agony. Its cracked bark and gnarled flesh sprout bizarre clusters of twisted fungi.
  
  Obvious exits: Up, Out, Sunwise, Widdershins
  
  > leave
  Strange, asymmetrical fungi sprout out from within this branch, splitting the bark and corrupting its offshoots into weird, bloated shapes. One particularly corpulent mushroom bulges out of the bark beneath a tall, healthy twig.
  
  The twig ends in a bright green leaf.
  
  An enormous knight towers over the area, clad in black armour. It shows only the vaguest interest in the soft white baby lying at its feet.
  
  Obvious exits: In
  
  The baby reaches out vainly towards the leaf.
  
  > examine baby
  Enormous. Pale. Soft. Its mouth a gaping black hole.
  
  It reminds you painfully of your brothers. Only much, much bigger.
  
  The baby reaches out for the leaf and wails in frustration.
  
  > look at the knight
  A giant of a person, covered from head to toe in thick black plate mail. Its helmet sports a ridiculous pair of curved horns.
  
  The baby emits a high, keening wail. You cover your ears.
  
  > talk to the knight
  The knight does not respond. Deep inside that ridiculous helmet, it's possible that the knight can't even hear you.
  
  The baby looks at you as if it's not really sure what to make of you.
  
  > talk to the baby
  The baby just gurgles stupidly.
  
  > examine the helmet
  The smooth faceplate of the knight's helmet has only the slightest of slits to see through. Ridiculous horns curve up from the helmet and into the sky.
  
  > examine the leaf
  It would look rather delicious, if you were much of a leaf eater.
  
  The baby reaches out for the leaf and wails in frustration.
  
  > eat it
  You've never been much of one for eating leaves.
  
  > get it
  The leaf is tantalisingly out of reach.
  
  The baby emits a high, keening wail. You cover your ears.
  
  > climb the horns
  That is not something you can climb.
  
  The knight shifts slightly on its feet.
  
  > look
  Strange, asymmetrical fungi sprout out from within this branch, splitting the bark and corrupting its offshoots into weird, bloated shapes. One particularly corpulent mushroom bulges out of the bark beneath a tall, healthy twig.
  
  The twig ends in a bright green leaf.
  
  An enormous knight towers over the area, clad in black armour. It shows only the vaguest interest in the soft white baby lying at its feet.
  
  Obvious exits: In
  
  The baby stretches out a fat-fingered hand towards the leaf.
  
  > look at the mushroom
  It looks like it must be swollen with rotten ooze. But it could probably take your weight.
  
  The baby looks at you as if it's not really sure what to make of you.
  
  > eat it
  The mushroom does not appear to be edible.
  
  The baby reaches out vainly towards the leaf.
  
  > get the leaf
  You stand on tiptoe and grasp the fresh green leaf in your hands.
  With one tug, it separates from its twig, and you fall forwards, towards the baby. It catches you in its fat fingers.
  
  You smile, holding out the leaf triumphantly.
  
  The baby pulls you towards its gaping mouth. Wait, this wasn't what you-
  
  ***YOU WERE EATEN***
  
  It's done. For another year, the village is safe. Now come the spring festivities, the rejoicing and singing.
  
  Queen's Chamber (sitting on the throne)
  Not as nice as your mother's place, but you've made yourself comfortable here. Simple, finely crafted lamps cast a warm glow over the phloem walls.
  
  Cots line one side of the chamber, each holding a formless, swaddled bundle.
  
  One of your daughters leans a framed painting against the wall and curtsies, before leaving hurriedly.
  
  Sounds of merriment and raised voices carry into the chamber from outside.
  
  Obvious exits: Out
  
  > look at the painting
  A bright, expressionistic portrayal of one of your daughters - you've no idea which one. She's smiling in the most peculiar way. There's something about this painting, some portent or emotion that you can almost but not quite grasp. But then, there always is, and it's always different.
  
  You'll leave the painting out, for now, to remind you - as you're sure he wanted it to. And then you'll have it stowed away with the others.
  
  Sounds of merriment and raised voices carry into the chamber from outside.
  
  > About you
  Not young any more, but still elegant and beautiful. Your wings are as breathtaking at ever.
  
  > leave
  (off of the throne)
  You stand up from your throne. Your daughters will be waiting for you outside, eager to celebrate the renewal of the seasons.
  
  Sounds of merriment and raised voices carry into the chamber from outside.
  
  > Go outside
  You step serenely out of your chamber, into the village. A thousand of your daughters await you, cheering happily, waiting for you to begin the spring festival. Blissfully ignorant.
  
  You raise your hand in salute, and spread your wings.