text: > look around
  The road crests a particularly steep hill here, pausing as if to rest. You have reached what seems the outskirts of Diahl, even though the walls and mountains continue northward from here. To the northeast, the smooth paved stone gives way to a dirt track which continues along the plateau.
  
  The elder's home sits to the southwest.
  
  Seated on the steps of the building, a smoking pipe in his hand, sits the town's elder.
  
  You could officially identify yourself to the elder.
  
  > identify myself
  You motion to the badge, hold yourself erect and take a deep breath. "By the auctorias invested in me by the empire, I hereby
  identify myself officially as an agent of the Apostasy, and demand all rights and assistance to be granted to such."
  
  He blinks at you a moment, then sighs. "Aye. I suppose that's valid. You from the Brotherhood of Disbelief, then? We don't often see your like hereabouts."
  
  "Yes," you reply, "though that is not the official..."
  
  He waves off your protestations. "We're not much for officialdom here, to be honest. It'll do."
  
  You could say you are here because of a murder.
  
  > say you're here because of a the murder
  [You will need to be more specific. Try typing LOOK to get a description of your surroundings.]
  
  > say i am here because of a the murder
  "I am here to investigate a murder."
  
  He blinks at that. "A murder? Here? Never heard of anything so..." He trails off.
  
  "Yes?"
  
  He shakes his head. "You must mean Camael. Fell down the mountainside, climbing like a fool." He waves northward at the peak about the town. "'Twas an accident."
  
  "You may think so. Still, I am here to investigate."
  
  He looks as if he will argue for a moment, then sighs and taps his pipe. "I...I'll ask around. I can give you something tomorrow, mayhaps."
  
  You could ask who was murdered or ask about a possible cult link.
  
  > ask who was murdered
  "I understand. But at least tell me what you can of Camael."
  
  He sighs. "He was boy - barely a man. Sweet-natured. Never a bother. They'd already lost his mother, poor boy. His father has nothing now." He sighs again. "I'll...I'll ask after him. I'll have something for you tomorrow." His shock at the implication of the boy's death as murder seems genuine.
  
  You could ask about a possible cult link.
  
  > ask about the link
  "And there was no connection to...worship in this? No evidence of a cult?"
  
  His shock deepens. "A...c....ult?" he stammers. "No. Never. Sir. I swear to you, never would any..."
  
  You raise a hand and he falls silent. "Of course. But I have to ask these things."
  
  He nods and shudders.
  
  > ask about the housing
  "As an agent of the Apostasy, I may demand obesance, in the form of indefinite housing..."
  
  He nods. "Aye. No need to go on." He rummages in his coat for a long moment, produces a brass key and points to the northeast. "That way, up the track, to the mountainside," he says as he hands the key to you. "It's not much, but it'll keep the rain off."
  
  > look at what you're carrying with you
  You are carrying:
  a brass key
  your pack
  your bag (open)
  a letter
  The Book of Lies
  a grey badge
  your notebook
  
  > Go northeast
  An open patch of land marks the point where the plateau ends, with the mountains' highest peaks continuing in a continuous wall to the north.
  
  In marked difference to the close-built stone buildings in town, a wooden hut with a thatched roof stands alone.
  
  A pile of stunted stones lies just near the hut.
  
  > examine the stones
  It was once a polylith of some kind - a dolmen, perhaps, at its center with a circle of standing stones about. All that remains are the stunted bases of the original stones, clearly razed and destroyed after the War. Near one of the larger bases sits a loose chunk of stone.
  
  > get the chunk
  You slip the loose stone from the larger pile.
  
  > look at the chunk
  A hunk of stone the size of your closed fist.
  
  > check what you're carrying
  You are carrying:
  a stone
  a brass key
  your pack
  your bag (open)
  a letter
  The Book of Lies
  a grey badge
  your notebook
  
  > Unlock hut
  [What do you want to unlock the hut door with?]
  
  > Key
  You unlock the hut door.
  
  > open the door
  You open the hut door.
  
  > Enter
  This is little more than four walls and a leaky ceiling set against the elements. It says something of what Dhial thinks of the Apostasy and the Brotherhood that this is where they would place the likes of you.
  
  The bare dirt floor of the hut holds nothing more than a cot, shoved into one corner.
  
  After finally reaching this place after the seeming endless journey up from the valley, then up through the town, you feel a wave of exhaustion wash over you. In its wake, the idea of sleep seems irresistable.
  
  > Sleep
  You have not been lucid since your last night in the capital. Part of you wondered if you ever would be again. But as the walls of the hut fade from view, you feel yourself falling to that place that lies at the center of your being. Then, with the smooth transition of a dream, all about you arises the endless expanse of...
  
  It has been grey here for as long as you can remember. You think it was before they taught you of it, when you came here without knowledge of what it was. The featureless expanse reaches from horizon to horizon, the grey above it only slightly lighter than the grey below.
  
  You sense more than see the slight perturbations in the plane, one in each of what you think of as the cardinal directions. Three - north, east, and west - are morphological: an echo of Diahl to the west, a memory of home to the north, and...to the east -- yes, it definitely is. The familiar sensation of Silenus.
  
  To the south lies a grey sea, making itself visible only in its motion. Your true body and the emptiness of sleep lies in its waiting arms.
  
  > Go south
  Sleep will be good. To not be for a time will be good. You step into the waves and fall beneath them, slipping from grey to black with a contented sigh.
  
  [Here ends the INTROCOMP version of THE CUCKOLD'S EGG. Thank you
  very much for playing.]
  
  > go east
  This was not here the last time. Then again, neither was Silenus...
  
  Here the grey lightens and hardens until it is pure white marble beneath your feet, inlaid with precious stones and pieces of mirror. A raised path, also of marble, leads to the center. Beyond it, to the east, five arches are sketched into perilous existence.
  
  The path ends in a platform of deep red brick, topped in marble. Upon the platform is a wrought iron table.
  
  Seated at the table, as if nothing has happened and no time has passed, sits Silenus, shuffling and laying out a deck of cards.
  
  "Ah here he is now, the good Brother," it says, looking up from its task as you approach. "Following each and every one of Jumaht's commands with the constancy of a trained sheepdog." It gives the impression of a wry smirk. "Good boy. Sit. Stay."
  
  You could insult it back, say to it orders are important or ask where it has been.
  
  > examine Silenus
  A vaguely human shape, as grey as the Quarter itself. Though it has no specific features, you have somehow never had an issue with understanding it, as if the implication of a glance or a frown were enough.
  
  You could insult it back, say to it orders are important or ask where it has been.
  
  > ask where it has been
  "Where have you been, then? I wondered where you had gone!"
  
  It manages to look surprised. "What are you talking about? I've been here. As I always have. It's not like I could go anywhere if I liked!" It returns to its cards.
  
  You know that is not true. Yes, you have not managed to reach lucidity since your last night in the capital, but you lost track of Silenus long before then. The implications of this are disturbing: either Silenus is lying - which is, to your knowledge, impossible - or it cannot remember disappearing.
  
  Still, this is the most coherent you have ever seen Selenus. You do not know if that is a good or a bad thing.
  
  You could ask about this place, ask how it is feeling or ask about the cards.
  
  > ask about this the place
  "And what is this place, then? Did you fetch it and bring it with you?"
  
  It seems surprised at the question, then looks around as if seeing its surroundings for the first time. "It is... it is..." It places a hand to its head. "I know this. I've seen this. It is..." It looks up at you, seemingly proud. "The Palace of Mirrors, of course!" it says, as if giving you the answer you had expected all along.
  
  You have never heard of any such place.
  
  You could ask how it is feeling or ask about the cards.
  
  > ask how it is feeling
  "And how are you feeling?"
  
  "What an odd question. Feeling? That's what your sort do. Or at least, when you're ludic, you do."
  
  You chuckle at its confusion. "Lucid, Silenus. I think you mean lucid."
  
  It manages to blink at you. "Truly? Lucid." It tries the word in its mouth. "Lu-cid. Huh. A shame. Only when you're lucid, then."
  
  You could ask about lucidity or ask about the cards.
  
  > ask about the the cards
  "And what are you doing, then? What are the cards for?"
  
  "I am trying to remember how to play shisheh," it says,
  vaguely pushing the cards about. "Four and four and six and ten. Roods and stones and stars and beasts. Lords, ladies, knights, dames. I've all the pieces. But none of them fit."
  
  You could ask about lucidity or ask about shisheh.
  
  > ask about shisheh
  "And what is shisheh?"
  
  It pauses a long moment, then lets the card in its hand drop to the table. It picks it up and looks at it as if it doesn't recognize what it is. Then it places it down and begins shuffling and moving the deck again. "Glass. It means glass. Broken. A game." It sighs. "But I can't seem to remember how to play."
  
  > read the notebook
  [That's not something you can see now, or I misunderstood
  you.]
  
  > ask about this the place
  [Most connecting and comparative words are not necessary.]
  >ASK ABOUT PLACE
  That doesn't seem to be a topic of conversation at the moment.
  
  > go west
  It has been grey here for as long as you can remember. You think it was before they taught you of it, when you came here without knowledge of what it was. The featureless expanse reaches from horizon to horizon, the grey above it only slightly lighter than the grey below.
  
  You sense more than see the slight perturbations in the plane, one in each of what you think of as the cardinal directions. Three - north, east, and west - are morphological: an echo of Diahl to the west, a memory of home to the north, and a structure containing the entity Silenus to the east.
  
  To the south lies a grey sea, making itself visible only in its motion. Your true body and the emptiness of sleep lies in its waiting arms.
  
  > go west
  You are surprised that Diahl has made such a strong impression so quickly as to appear here, even slightly...
  
  It was after watching Adar sketch that first time (the pencils staining his long, thin fingers, the scratch of the nibs being drawn across the parchment) that you realized the structures here were of a like: impregnations of pigment against a blank canvas. The beginnings of a new piece are here: the arch of the town's gate, the long curve of the road into the valley.
  
  You expect this place to fill with memories soon, though not your own. You have not Walked in the ripples of another's wake in some time, but you expect it to become common place once more before this task is ended.
  
  > Go north
  When you first began your studies and came to this place, it was cluttered beyond comprehension: certainties, biases, treasures and trash and failures and successes of all kinds. Through long study and a good deal of work, you slowly cleared it all, from the attics down to the deepest sub-basement. Then you began the task of dismantling the building itself...
  
  There is nothing here, really, but the idea of a home. It most closely resembles a hastily drawn sketch of the Brotherhood's Hall, back in the capital. Perhaps someday there will be something more to see here: some memory to turn over and examine, some problem or conundrum to consider. But for now, the emptiness of the place feels like a very good thing, indeed.