text: [Themes: Fantasy]
  
  > go down
  Castle Ruins (In the Guard Chamber)
  The spiral staircase ends in the middle of a square chamber. The west wall has fallen out into the ravine, letting in the glowing sunset. The walls that are still standing and the marble floor have cracked in several places. Rocks, a thick layer of dust, and all sorts of debris cover the floor. The only thing still intact is a stone statue standing in the southeast corner.
  
  The spiral staircase leads up and the west wall is open to the ravine.
  
  > reach the nut
  There seems to be nothing beyond what the eye can see.
  Lornedei is waiting for your command.
  
  > give the nut to the statue
  Lornedei looks at the purple nut with thorns. She looks at the hole in the stone hand. She looks at you, smiles a little, and shakes her head.
  
  > feed cheese to the spider
  (Taking the piece of cheese first.)
  The spider pokes the piece of cheese with some interest. The curiosity doesn't last long though and the spider returns to its suspicious glaring.
  
  > Kiss statue
  Lornedei ignores you. she has no time for nonsense.
  
  > check what you're carrying
  Lornedei's magic is currently at 376.
  Lornedei is carrying:
  a piece of cheese
  a purple nut with thorns
  a golden acorn
  A crystal spider with shifty, beady eyes (Glaring suspiciously.)
  a small black plaque
  a large black beetle (Airing out its shell at the moment.)
  a loaf of horrid bread
  a small leather pouch (which is open but empty)
  A blue crystal hanging on a silver chain.
  a handful of white berries
  a small gray plaque
  a leather rucksack (being worn)
  
  > climb the statue
  Lornedei takes a closer look at the stone woman's head and shoulders, the walls and the ceiling behind and above her, but decides against it.
  
  > feed the bread to the statue
  Lornedei looks at the loaf of horrid bread. She looks at the hole in the stone hand. She looks at you, smiles a little, and shakes her head.
  
  > Hint
  The firefly appears. it buzzes around Lornedei's head.
  "Me, yes, has come to help! Now hurry and ask!"
  
  > Go south
  Ahead of her is the southeastern corner of the castle. The corridor between the building and the outer wall leads northeast, but is blocked by a great pile of stone blocks and other debris. To the west, the courtyard ends at the ravine.
  
  Looking up, the facade disappears into a swirling ceiling of mist. Right at the corner of the castle, a narrow doorway leads north into darkness. She can look around, or walk around to learn more. South or southeast takes her away from the ruins. East brings her around to the east side of the east wall.
  
  "I must go, yes I must. The firefly disappears with a pop and a flash. Lornedei moves a strand of hair from her face and puts it behind her ear.
  
  > throw nut into the ravine
  Lornedei throws the nut over the edge. A sudden gust of wind grabs it. After dancing around in the air for a few moments, it drops down at her feet.
  Lornedei is waiting for your command.
  
  > throw the acorn into the ravine
  "No Master. I think I should hold on to this."
  
  > open the nut
  That's not something that can be opened.
  "Master?"
  
  > Crack nut
  Never mind having her wreck her inventory, unless it is truly called for.
  
  > examine the pouch
  It is a dry and withered leather pouch, no bigger than a woman's fist. A leather string is used to close it and hang it in a belt.
  
  > put the acorn in the pouch
  She drops the golden acorn into the small leather pouch.
  
  > give the pouch to the statue
  Lornedei looks at the small leather pouch. She looks at the hole in the stone hand. She looks at you, smiles a little, and shakes her head.
  
  > Go south
  Wasteland (Overlooking the Ravine)
  Lornedei stands on an outcropping overlooking a deep ravine going as far north as she can see. The ledge seems to be the remains of a road, cut off by the creation of the break in the earth. On the other side of the ravine, there's a barely visible opening through the trees. There is no way over there though. A steady wind tears at her clothes and hair in sudden gusts that seem eager to throw her off balance.
  
  East, northeast and north are the ways off the ledge.
  Lornedei bites on a nail.
  
  > search the trees
  She can't find anything that might interest you besides those leaves. They are the only thing close enough for her to reach without entering the shadows.
  
  > Go east
  Wasteland (By the Circle of Stones)
  This is the southeastern corner of the field of despair. The forbidden forest is nearly all around her. West, northwest, and north takes her out. The ground sinks into a large hole, a bowl more than fifty paces across, in the ground, edged by crevices and uneven ridges. A broken land. Once at the bottom, the rest of the field is out of sight.
  
  A big round stone lies in the middle of the pit. The fire is gone.
  
  A stone circle is laid out on the ground.
  
  She can also see a small hole in the hard ground (which is empty) here.
  
  > examine round Stone
  It's a big round stone from the circle. It was pushed into the fire pit to suffocate the flames.
  Lornedei looks over her shoulder into the dark forest, anxious.
  
  > Circle
  You are the almighty here. Lornedei does not have that kind of strength.
  Lornedei turns her head towards a sudden rustling in the forbidden forest. There is nothing there.
  
  > climb Tree
  There's no way she could.
  Lornedei is waiting for your command.
  
  > Go west
  Ahead of her is the southeastern corner of the castle. The corridor between the building and the outer wall leads northeast, but is blocked by a great pile of stone blocks and other debris. To the west, the courtyard ends at the ravine.
  
  Looking up, the facade disappears into a swirling ceiling of mist. Right at the corner of the castle, a narrow doorway leads north into darkness. She can look around, or walk around to learn more. South or southeast takes her away from the ruins. East brings her around to the east side of the east wall.
  "Master?"
  
  > reach the Castle
  A great castle stands before Lornedei. A massive gate leading into the castle is to the northwest, The south wall with another gate runs west, parallel to the castle wall. The corridor between the inner and outer gate lies open to the west. There it meets the west wall that disappears around the corner and out of site. The courtyard is still, silent, peaceful, and empty.
  
  There is a shadow though, barely perceptible, but the longer Lornedei looks, the clearer it gets. It is creeping across the stones. A moving darkness that emerges from the air itself creeps across the stone to melt into a crack in a stone or a mortar joint. It glides over the ground until sinking between the flagstones.
  
  Then the world breaks.
  
  Although the images are old, the time long ago, the earth seems to shake under her feet. A woman runs past her, fleeing through deadly projectiles dislodged from falling towers, towards the main gate. Holding her arms above her head, she stumbles and falls. The moment after, the ground disappears ahead of her. The ground moves, cracks, and slides away as she is scrambling back. The woman gets up on her feet, staggers before regaining some balance, and backs away from the opening in the earth that was not there a moment ago. The castle cracks as the ground, solid stone, disappears beneath it. The south wall crumbles into piles of stone. Everything starting at an imagined line drawn between the two great gates and beyond them, drops away through a cloud of smoke and dust.
  
  An enormous cloud of dust spews out of the ravine, and even though Lornedei knows it is only in her mind, she coughs.
  
  The images fade.
  Lornedei's magic drops by one.
  Lornedei moves a strand of hair from her face and puts it behind her ear.
  
  > Go northwest
  The front wall of the castle ends there in a jagged edge. The rest of it is at the bottom of the ravine. There is no way of knowing how big the castle might have been before. Lornedei takes a quick look over the edge of the ravine. It is too far down to see anything clearly and she retreats.
  
  > Castle
  Only two walls remain of a once big castle. Those walls seem strong and reach up into a ceiling of mist far above her head. Lornedei is surrounded by rubble. A small opening leads into the building to the north.
  Lornedei shakes her foot to get rid of a painful stone from her sandal.
  
  > go to the west
  Lornedei takes one step but stops. She cannot go there. She can go south or down.
  Lornedei is waiting for your command.
  
  > Go northwest
  Lornedei takes one step but stops. She cannot go there. She can go south or down.
  
  > Eastern
  There seems to be nothing beyond what the eye can see.
  Lornedei looks around, biting her lower lip.
  
  > check your inventory
  Lornedei's magic is currently at 374.
  Lornedei is carrying:
  a piece of cheese
  A crystal spider with shifty, beady eyes (Stretching out, apparently snoozing at the moment.)
  a small black plaque
  a large black beetle (Taking a nap at the moment.)
  a loaf of horrid bread
  a small leather pouch (which is open)
  a golden acorn
  A blue crystal hanging on a silver chain.
  a handful of white berries
  a small gray plaque
  a leather rucksack (being worn)
  a purple nut with thorns
  
  > examine the chain
  It's a pale blue crystal hanging on a silver chain.
  
  > look at the black plaque
  It's a totally black round plaque. It is small enough to fit in Lornedei's palm. The smooth stone is of a kind that Lornedei has never seen. A strange picture is carved on one side. It looks like a flying insect of some sort, with a giant tree in the background.
  
  > drop Beetle
  Lornedei tries to let the bug go. As soon as she manages to shake the thing off her hand, it spreads its wings, makes a short trip around her head to finally land on her shoulder, not pleased with Lornedei at all. The bug crawls underneath her hair, grabs a few of those fine hairs in the back of her neck and tugs on  them. Lornedei shrieks.
  
  > Where
  You can only use this command when trying to find the wolf.
  
  > Where wolf
  Deini is running all over the place. The last I saw of her she was somewhere in the Aarkland (Billowing Field).
  
  > Whats
  Whats what?
  Here are some commands you can use:
  
  >Whats up with Lornedei (or "h ld") Check Lornedei's current mental health.
  >Whats up with [object](or "h [object]") A simple status check, no specifics. As a rule there are no changes in normal objects. Examine and reach are still the main commands to use when interacting with objects and creatures.
  >Whats in the rucksack (or h in rucksack) Same as "search rucksack".
  
  Lornedei bites on a nail.
  
  > look at the spider
  It's a large spider made of crystal. It has curled up as if either dead or sleeping most of the time. It is hard to tell which. It gives off a cold sparkling light and has a pair of multi facetted eyes. Oddly enough, the eyes seem both beady and shifty. No matter from where it is observed, it seems to glare suspiciously. She will have to touch the spider to examine it further. That is, if it will let her.
  
  > touch the spider
  Lornedei reaches for the spider and it actually lets her investigate. She carefully holds one leg and the spider lets her flex it experimentally before resolutely pulling it away from her. The spider is cold and strangely flexible. It seems to be able to appear as hard as the crystal it is at will, just to move around like any other spider the next moment. It is however staring suspiciously at her, wondering what this touchy feely thing is all about.
  
  > move spider
  The spider bobs up and down a bit at her touch but that's it.
  
  > ask the firefly about the statue
  "It is one of the old ones sentries. They are all gone now I believe. Shame, such a shame. The light bearers held them very high but now they are all gone. This one must be angry though. Someone has stolen her spear. Oh dear oh dear!"
  
  > ask the firefly about the spear
  "Me, yes me, I will not tell."
  
  "I must go, yes I must. The firefly disappears with a pop and a flash.
  
  > ask the firefly about the acorn
  "Acorn? Pretty thing is it not? An acorn is a nut, is a seed, is a thing that needs growing, needs soil and water? It needs to be planted in the mist. Oh no, not the dangerous mist. The golden mist."
  
  > ask firefly about the spider
  "This is a magical little creepy crawly. The light bearers used them to bring light and to cast away dark spirits. They do very little voluntarily those nasty creatures. Me, I don't know if they are lazy or only full of themselves, but they do seem to think that they are above simple humans."