text: > Look around
  Lucrezia, they say, died here. It is only a turning point in the corridor, with a bench.
  
  > examine the bench
  A deep seat with a curious relief carved onto the back: if you look from the right angle, it appears as though Lucrezia is lying on the bench, just like a lady on a tomb, her hands piously folded around the handle of a mirror. Scrying her own death, perhaps, or maybe communicating with someone who had already died.
  
  > go northwest
  Only one kind of rose grows here, a pink only just distinct from white. This strain creeps over the ground and climbs the walls of the cloister.
  
  In the middle of the garden a way slopes into the ground, reminding you of the entrance to a burial mound.
  
  Strung up by a chain is a set of iron windchimes.
  
  > go to the tapestry
  You head down to rooted room. Then south to the enormous kitchen. Then east to the great dining hall. Then east to the entrance hall. Then north to the central courtyard. Then east to the ground floor helical staircase. Then up to the upstairs helical staircase. Then east to the private parlor. And finally east to the guest bedroom.
  
  Made up for the reception of a guest who will never arrive again. A tapestry recalls the story.
  
  > take the tapestry
  That's hardly portable.
  
  > go to the kitchen
  You head west to the private parlor. Then west to the upstairs helical staircase. Then down to the ground floor helical staircase. Then west to the central courtyard. Then south to the entrance hall. Then west to the great dining hall. And finally west to the enormous kitchen.
  
  Haunted with the spirits of chefs past, generations and generations of culinary geniuses; one can never predict its whimsies. Unless he has moved everything, the bell to summon them into action should be in one of the rooms upstairs.
  
  > go to the east
  Such a long hall that the soup might get cold between one end and the other. You and he used only the far west end, nearest the kitchen. Once you took to dining together at all, that is; the first few months he brought trays to your room, while you hid.
  
  But then you took to eating here; and at the end of every meal he would stand up formally and ask his question.
  
  > go north
  The chime summons the phantom guard again, preventing you from making any progress.
  
  > go to the east
  There is no fire in the big fireplace; the air is very cold. Over the gate, the old familiar warning sign is painted.
  
  Various passages lead deeper into the castle: north towards the central courtyard, southwest to the guard tower, east and west into the libraries, the offices, the galleries. Somewhere in this maze, he waits; and he should be told as soon as possible that you did return.
  
  An iron-barred gate leads south to the drawbridge.
  
  > go to the chimes
  You cannot reach the iron windchimes from your present position; you'd need something to stand on.
  
  > go to the rose garden
  You head west to the great dining hall. Then west to the enormous kitchen. Then north to the servant quarters. Then down to the apprentice's workshop.
  
  You climb into the pale light...
  
  Only one kind of rose grows here, a pink only just distinct from white. This strain creeps over the ground and climbs the walls of the cloister.
  
  In the middle of the garden a way slopes into the ground, reminding you of the entrance to a burial mound.
  
  Strung up by a chain is a set of iron windchimes.
  
  > stand on the stool
  You decide that you'll need the stool to be on the ground first. You set the stool down next to one wall.
  
  You stand, a little precariously, on the stool, and are now more or less the same height as an ordinary person.
  
  > check what you're carrying
  You are carrying:
  some discarded embroidery materials
  a helmet (being worn)
  
  > Muffle chimes
  What do you want to muffle the iron windchimes in?
  
  > go to the kitchen
  You head down to rooted room. You decide that you'll need to get down first. And finally south to the enormous kitchen.
  
  Haunted with the spirits of chefs past, generations and generations of culinary geniuses; one can never predict its whimsies. Unless he has moved everything, the bell to summon them into action should be in one of the rooms upstairs.
  
  > Go north
  Not a room friendly to visitors, it has the air of resentful, martyred suffering. Even His most unpleasant ancestors would not have grudged this place more paint, surely, and more straw for the beds.
  
  A decaying ladder leads down.
  
  > Objects
  Thus far you have seen an iron-barred gate, a helmet, an assassination of King Elzibad, an iron cage, a sceptre, a puzzle piece, a pair of cloven shoes, an obscene gargoyle, some discarded embroidery materials, some iron windchimes, a small door, a bentwood table, a jigsaw puzzle, a royal portrait, a stool, a shackle and a heavy door.
  
  > go to the King
  You head south to the enormous kitchen. Then east to the great dining hall. Then east to the entrance hall. Then east to the scarlet gallery. And finally east to the gallery of historical paintings.
  
  Here on the north wall and the south are paintings of historical events from times past: the assassination of King Elzibad in 1248; the arrival of Princess Lucrezia from the Italian State of Medici-Credenza in 1545.
  
  The gallery goes on, echoing, both east and west.
  
  > take the King
  That's hardly portable.
  
  > look behind the King
  Bare wall; nothing else.
  
  > go to the gargoyle
  You head west to the scarlet gallery. Then west to the entrance hall. Then north to the central courtyard. And finally east to the ground floor helical staircase.
  
  The steps rise from here towards the upper rooms, and open out onto the bare courtyard.
  
  An obscene gargoyle sits where the finial of the banister should be.
  
  > look at the gargoyle
  Not too large, but stunningly ugly: a stone about the size of an apple, carved into a monster with outsized ears and eyes -- not to mention outsized attributes elsewhere.
  
  > go to the shackle
  You head up to the upstairs helical staircase. Then east to the private parlor. And finally southeast to the empty bedroom.
  
  Like a monk's chamber compared to every other part of the palace, just bare walls now. Here your father stayed, when he made his ill-fated journey to the castle. The Beast told you this, on your first visit.
  
  On the wall, as a curio, hangs an open shackle -- sign of the only person ever to have escaped the power of this place.
  
  > take shackle
  You acquire the shackle.
  
  > go to stool
  You head northwest to the private parlor. Then west to the upstairs helical staircase. Then down to the ground floor helical staircase. Then west to the central courtyard. Then south to the entrance hall. Then west to the great dining hall. Then west to the enormous kitchen. Then north to the servant quarters. Then down to the apprentice's workshop.
  
  You climb into the pale light...
  
  Only one kind of rose grows here, a pink only just distinct from white. This strain creeps over the ground and climbs the walls of the cloister.
  
  In the middle of the garden a way slopes into the ground, reminding you of the entrance to a burial mound.
  
  Strung up by a chain is a set of iron windchimes.
  
  You can also see a stool here.
  
  > go to your bedroom
  You head down to rooted room. You decide that you'll need to get down first. Then south to the enormous kitchen. Then east to the great dining hall. Then east to the entrance hall. Then north to the central courtyard. Then east to the ground floor helical staircase. Then up to the upstairs helical staircase. Then east to the private parlor. And finally south to the crystal bedroom.
  
  A fantasia of gleaming and glittering, chandeliers and mirrors: all that shines or reflects has been moved here, into this room that you inhabit, which he never enters.
  
  The south end of the room is most dazzling, because of the daylight from the balcony.
  
  > look under the bed
  It is clean beneath as above.
  
  > take the mirror
  They're hardly portable.
  
  > go to the labyrinth
  You head north to the private parlor. Then west to the upstairs helical staircase. Then down to the ground floor helical staircase. Then west to the central courtyard. Then south to the entrance hall. Then east to the scarlet gallery. Then east to the gallery of historical paintings. And finally east to the room with the labyrinth floor.
  
  A mosaic floor of black and white, like that of cathedrals, as protection against the spite of the undead: which protection might often have been needed, by those that dwelt here in former times. The way down is at the center of the maze.
  
  > check what you're carrying
  You are carrying:
  a shackle
  some discarded embroidery materials
  a helmet (being worn)
  
  > listen
  Windchimes ring, almost inaudible, from the northwest. You can also make out your own steady breathing.
  
  > Go east
  From here, you can head up.
  
  > go to the northwest
  It's so dark in here that you have to feel your way along, and are nervous of tripping at any moment. You find yourself concentrating all the more alertly on your hearing, as though the slightest echo might offer a clue.
  
  Windchimes ring, muted, from the northeast, competing with an irregular dripping from the southwest. You can also make out your own steady breathing.
  
  > go southwest
  It's so dark in here that you have to feel your way along, and are nervous of tripping at any moment. You find yourself concentrating all the more alertly on your hearing, as though the slightest echo might offer a clue.
  
  Windchimes ring, muted, from the northwest. You can also make out your own steady breathing and an irregular dripping from the immediate vicinity.
  
  > Go up
  You appear to be lost in here, except that you recall you came in from the northeast. If necessary you can always try going to a room you've already visited, or heading roughly out.
  
  > go outside
  By dead reckoning, you head back towards where you think the surface ought to be...
  
  You head uncertainly in what feels like the right direction, based on dimly apprehended light, and the movements of air
  
  Not a room friendly to visitors, it has the air of resentful, martyred suffering. Even His most unpleasant ancestors would not have grudged this place more paint, surely, and more straw for the beds.
  
  A decaying ladder leads down.
  
  > take the ladder
  That's fixed in place.
  
  > hold the nose
  (It is usually not necessary to refer to specific body parts.)
  
  You are always self-possessed.
  
  > put the shackle on the nose
  (It is usually not necessary to refer to specific body parts.)
  
  You already wear a shackle of a sort.
  
  > think about the chimes
  To reach the windchimes, it might help to stand on something.
  
  > Y.
  Try standing on the stool.
  
  > think about the stool
  You have seen the item you need to solve this problem, but it's not in sight at the moment. (The objects command will list everything you remember seeing, if you'd like to review.)
  
  > Y.
  There's a room you've visited, but you haven't exhausted all there is to see there. (The place command will list every room you've visited, if you'd like to review.)
  
  > go to garden
  You head down to the apprentice's workshop.
  
  You climb into the pale light...
  
  Only one kind of rose grows here, a pink only just distinct from white. This strain creeps over the ground and climbs the walls of the cloister.
  
  In the middle of the garden a way slopes into the ground, reminding you of the entrance to a burial mound.
  
  Strung up by a chain is a set of iron windchimes.
  
  You can also see a stool here.
  
  > examine the roses
  In the bud it is innocent; in bloom, it bears the mark of a death's-head at the heart.
  
  > think about the chimes
  You're missing an object that might be useful to resolving this problem.
  
  > Y.
  Perhaps you should explore further.
  There's a room you haven't yet visited.
  
  > think about the stool
  The stool might be useful to have.
  
  > Y.
  The stool may help with the iron windchimes.
  
  > Y.
  Try going southeast to start your explorations.
  
  > go to the southeast
  You decide that you'll need to get down first. You get off the stool.
  
  Only one kind of rose grows here, a pink only just distinct from white. This strain creeps over the ground and climbs the walls of the cloister.
  
  In the middle of the garden a way slopes into the ground, reminding you of the entrance to a burial mound.
  
  Strung up by a chain is a set of iron windchimes.
  
  You can also see a stool here.
  
  Lucrezia, they say, died here. It is only a turning point in the corridor, with a bench.
  
  > look at the ground
  You take another look around.
  
  Lucrezia, they say, died here. It is only a turning point in the corridor, with a bench.
  
  > think about the bench
  You could sit on the stone bench.
  
  > sit on the bench
  You settle uneasily onto the bench, recalling its ghostly former user.
  
  > go west
  You decide that you'll need to get down first. You get off the stone bench.
  
  Lucrezia, they say, died here. It is only a turning point in the corridor, with a bench.
  
  A pleasant cloister overlooking the rose garden to the north. You have walked it many times, seeking to waste the excesses of time at your disposal.
  
  > go to the stool
  You head north to rose garden.
  
  Only one kind of rose grows here, a pink only just distinct from white. This strain creeps over the ground and climbs the walls of the cloister.
  
  In the middle of the garden a way slopes into the ground, reminding you of the entrance to a burial mound.
  
  Strung up by a chain is a set of iron windchimes.
  
  You can also see a stool here.
  
  > Go southeast
  Lucrezia, they say, died here. It is only a turning point in the corridor, with a bench.
  
  > Go south
  A place for consulting with the servants, summoning them by their instruments and allowing their spirits to manifest in the mirrors. But you know this only from explanation, because the mirrors and glasses have been broken or carried away to the Crystal Bedroom, when they ceased to reflect anything that gave pleasure to their master.
  
  Nearby a small door leads west to the treasure room.
  
  A small key hangs beside the door.
  
  > take the key
  You acquire the small key, and assess it curiously.
  
  The key is of the sort of delicate design intended to unlock more than one thing.
  
  The small key unlocks the small door.
  
  > unlock door
  (with the small key)
  You unlock the small door.
  
  > Go west
  (first opening the small door)
  
  Locked in an iron cage are the house treasures not in use: the collection consists of a sceptre, a puzzle piece, and a pair of cloven shoes, at present -- he showed them to you one rainy day, telling you their many histories.
  
  Nearby an open small door leads east to the scrying room.
  
  > Unlock cage
  You lack a key that fits the iron cage.
  
  > Go east
  A place for consulting with the servants, summoning them by their instruments and allowing their spirits to manifest in the mirrors. But you know this only from explanation, because the mirrors and glasses have been broken or carried away to the Crystal Bedroom, when they ceased to reflect anything that gave pleasure to their master.
  
  Nearby an open small door leads west to the treasure room.
  
  > Scry
  What do you want to scry in?
  
  > go to your bedroom
  You head west to the treasure room. Then southwest to the scarlet gallery. Then west to the entrance hall. Then north to the central courtyard. Then east to the ground floor helical staircase. Then up to the upstairs helical staircase. Then east to the private parlor. And finally south to the crystal bedroom.
  
  A fantasia of gleaming and glittering, chandeliers and mirrors: all that shines or reflects has been moved here, into this room that you inhabit, which he never enters.
  
  The south end of the room is most dazzling, because of the daylight from the balcony.
  
  > think about small key
  The small key might be useful to have.
  
  > Y.
  The small key may help with the iron windchimes and the small door.
  
  > go to the stool
  You head north to the private parlor. Then west to the upstairs helical staircase. Then down to the ground floor helical staircase. Then west to the central courtyard. Then south to the entrance hall. Then east to the scarlet gallery. Then northeast to the treasure room. Then east to the scrying room. Then north to walk's end. And finally northwest to rose garden.
  
  Only one kind of rose grows here, a pink only just distinct from white. This strain creeps over the ground and climbs the walls of the cloister.
  
  In the middle of the garden a way slopes into the ground, reminding you of the entrance to a burial mound.
  
  Strung up by a chain is a set of iron windchimes.
  
  You can also see a stool here.
  
  > Unlock chimes
  (with the small key)
  You unlock the iron windchimes.
  
  > take them
  You take the chimes down, silencing them and muting their power. When they are entirely still, they fade from your grip and vanish.
  
  > go south
  You decide that you'll need to get down first. You get off the stool.
  
  Only one kind of rose grows here, a pink only just distinct from white. This strain creeps over the ground and climbs the walls of the cloister.
  
  In the middle of the garden a way slopes into the ground, reminding you of the entrance to a burial mound.
  
  You can see a stool here.
  
  A pleasant cloister overlooking the rose garden to the north. You have walked it many times, seeking to waste the excesses of time at your disposal.
  
  > go to the entrance
  You head east to walk's end. Then south to the scrying room. Then west to the treasure room. Then southwest to the scarlet gallery. And finally west to the entrance hall.
  
  There is no fire in the big fireplace; the air is very cold. Over the gate, the old familiar warning sign is painted.
  
  Various passages lead deeper into the castle: north towards the central courtyard, southwest to the guard tower, east and west into the libraries, the offices, the galleries. Somewhere in this maze, he waits; and he should be told as soon as possible that you did return.
  
  An iron-barred gate leads south to the drawbridge.
  
  > Go southwest
  A round tower offering protection to the drawbridge. It is less cheery and more strongly fortified than the Scarlet Tower, and offers little by way of a view.
  
  > Go north
  Built for the bureaucratic offices of the palace. Inlaid in the floor is the map of all the lands that once this palace commanded; and from the stains and driblets of wax, it is clear to you that someone at some time thought it useful to set a candle at the map's center, and observe the result.
  
  > look at the map
  Since the lands of the Kingdom were once quite dispersed the cartographer has, from indolence, fancy, or an urge to flatter, omitted all the territories that intervened, so that here floating in a cherry-wood sea are the State of Medici-Credenza; the Emirate of Elzibad; the Equine Protectorate of Argos; a goodly portion of Essex; and Malta, the only true island of the lot.
  
  There is writing around the map's edge, not legible in this light.
  
  > go southwest
  Many books of precedent line these walls, containing every kind of contract that can be made to bind every kind of soul.
  
  A hole in the floor descends to the other, less savory portion of this place.
  
  You can see a great contract book here.
  
  > Examine book
  The runes are unfamiliar to you, but you know what the book is: a record of all the contracts of all the souls enslaved to the king of this castle.
  
  You caught him staring at you once. "Your clothing is wearing out. I'll look up a seamstress in the contract book for you."
  
  You plucked the erring sleeve back into place. "You needn't," you said. "I don't mind."
  
  "Yes, but I do," he snapped. "I was once a -- the polite term would be a connoisseur of ladies -- and it is not a taste that goes away. So for everyone's sanity it would be best if you went about fully clothed."
  
  You avoided him for three days, after that incident. But your gowns were all replaced.
  
  > take the book
  You acquire the great contract book.
  
  > read book
  The words are in a language you don't understand: even the Beast had to take it to the translation room to make any sense of it.