text: [Themes: ghost hunt]
  
  > Look around
  A chamber with a stifling atmosphere. The ceiling is a plaster dome, still intact, though marbled with ghostly mold. The floor is invisible beneath layered carpets and dust clots. The hall is west, and to the east is a doorway to a tiny balcony.
  
  In the center of the room is a four-poster bed.
  
  There is a small hook on the wall. Hanging on the hook is an abstract painting.
  
  Across from the bed is an armchair.
  
  On the armchair is a dusty, desiccated corpse.
  
  > Go east
  This little railed platform sticks out like a wart from the top of Count Ruggino's house. What a view!
  
  > look at the view
  Away to the east stretch dark hills dotted with stands of poplar, and the sky is speckled with glittering stars.
  
  > remember
  You recall:
  a memory of meeting Viviana
  a memory of Lorenzo's hair
  
  > remember lorenzo's hair
  Lorenzo's hair, shiny with gel, is slicked back, except for one
  curved strand which keeps falling across his eyes almost--but not quite--as if against his wishes.
  
  You remember Lorenzo's eyes.
  
  > remember lorenzo's eyes
  experimental drinking with Viviana, Camilla, and you.
  
  You remember a night of drinking.
  
  > remember meeting Viviana
  Viviana looks up at you from her manuscript. "Yes?" A bit
  brusque... Still: "I believe this is yours," you say, and hold up the page she dropped outside. And you don't see her for another six months, until she is hired to ghost-write the memoir of your old friend Lorenzo's father.
  
  You remember meeting Camilla.
  
  > remember meeting Camilla
  A hot, wilted afternoon. Viviana has brought her friend Camilla to
  her garret. Camilla is holding a flask of pale green liqueur. Camilla smiles at you before even learning your name. "Want a sample?"
  
  > remember a the night of the drinking
  Midnight is dead and in its grave. You are holding some dreadful potion of Camilla's up to the light bulb: it looks like a cocktail of antifreeze and rosewater. Camilla is laughing, already drunk out of her skull on the concoction.
  
  You remember Camilla laughing.
  
  > About yourself
  You are Rinaldo di Gorgonzola. About you, above all, let it be said that you do not believe in ghosts.
  
  > remember Camilla laughing
  Camilla's mouth is wide, her head tilted back in the shadows, her pupils dilated. She is laughing, with chemical assistance, at a joke just told by Viviana.
  
  You remember Viviana's joke, and Camilla's workshop.
  
  > remember the viviana's joke
  In the carpeted rec-room basement of Lorenzo's father's mansion, Viviana has just told a joke: "How is a plague doctor like an elderly heir? They are both running out of patients."
  
  You remember Doctor Giallo's office.
  
  > remember the camilla's workshop
  Camilla in her workshop, lit by harsh fluorescent light. Flasks
  and alembics clutter the wooden surfaces. Camilla's white coat is speckled with holes from acid. She casts you a quick smile from behind a rack of test tubes, and tells you about a gift she whipped up for you.
  
  You remember Camilla's gift.
  
  > remember the camilla's gift
  the top of her head. "I know you've been having trouble sleeping, so I made you a special little something. Do not take it just before operating heavy machinery, Rinaldo! Now we just need something to hide it in from Lorenzo..." She leans down towards a drawer tucked beneath her workbench.
  
  You remember Camilla's drawer.
  
  > remember the camilla's drawer
  Camilla opens a drawer in her workbench and takes out a cheap, plastic-handled poniard. "Ah. Here." She shows you how to open the secret compartment: first twist and then pull the handle.
  
  > Inventory
  You are carrying:
  a suitcase (open)
  a travel pillow
  a gold-plated automatic pistol
  a brass key
  a poniard
  a sausage
  The Return of the Worm
  an herbal sachet
  
  You are wearing:
  a shiny black raincoat
  a silk shirt
  a pair of slacks
  a pair of wingtip shoes
  
  You recall:
  a memory of Doctor Giallo's office
  
  > Twist poniard
  Nothing obvious happens.
  
  > Twist handle
  The poniard's handle twists around with a click.
  
  > pull the handle
  The handle pulls an inch away from the blade, revealing a small cavity inside the poniard.
  
  In the cavity is a tiny pill.
  
  > look at the pill
  A tiny yellow pill with a pink "C" marked on it.
  
  > remember the doctor giallo's office
  It is a golden afternoon, and in his musty office, the famed
  Doctor Giallo is lecturing you about the medicinal value of dried toads. But it is hard to concentrate due to his distracting teeth--are they carved of agate?--and to the fact that your Uncle has just died of the Pestilence.
  
  You remember Uncle Guglielmo.
  
  > remember the uncle guglielmo
  It is a summer day smeared with pollen. You are a boy, and Uncle Guglielmo has just galloped into the millpond in which you think you are drowning. It turns out the water only comes up to his waist, and your chest. Lorenzo is laughing on the bank.
  
  You remember Uncle Guglielmo's funeral, and first hearing about Lorenzo.
  
  > remember the uncle guglielmo's funeral
  Uncle Guglielmo is being buried. Under clouds like a seal of lead,
  the cemetery is a mess of holes and bulging graves. The priest stumbles over his lines. He misstates Guglielmo's name and keeps checking his watch. He has a nasty cough, himself.
  
  You remember a bottomless grave.
  
  > remember a the bottomless grave
  The grave seems bottomless. Damp soil stretching down, down, down, little white flags of gravecloth whipping in a subterranean wind.
  
  The image is stuck in your mind's eye like a thorn.
  
  > remember first hearing about Lorenzo
  You are very small, and holding your Uncle Guglielmo's hand.
  Together you are walking through a field towards the mansion he has just been hired on at, as director of security. "There's even a little boy who lives there. His name is Lorenzo."
  
  You remember your first sight of Lorenzo.
  
  > remember the first sight of Lorenzo
  The mansion towers above you. "Hey!" comes a shout, and you look
  up reflexively. The apple hits you in the forehead. Through tears you see a small laughing face peering through an open attic window. Yes, that's Lorenzo.
  
  You remember Lorenzo's father.
  
  > remember the lorenzo's father
  A dour man comes out of the front door to meet you and your uncle.
  He leans on a skull-handled cane. He eyes the apple lying in the dust and then stares at you as if appalled at your wastage of food. "To begin with, Guglielmo," says Lorenzo's father, "while you are in my employ, I'll expect better discipline from the child."
  
  > check what you're carrying
  You are carrying:
  a suitcase (open)
  a travel pillow
  a gold-plated automatic pistol
  a brass key
  a poniard
  a sausage
  The Return of the Worm
  an herbal sachet
  
  You are wearing:
  a shiny black raincoat
  a silk shirt
  a pair of slacks
  a pair of wingtip shoes
  
  You recall:
  a memory of a bottomless grave
  
  > Smell sachet
  It smells of medicinal herbs which are highly rare, expensive, and efficacious (according to the doctor who sold it to you).
  
  > read the book
  You brought it along to read in bed to help you fall asleep.
  
  > go inside
  A chamber with a stifling atmosphere. The ceiling is a plaster dome, still intact, though marbled with ghostly mold. The floor is invisible beneath layered carpets and dust clots. The hall is west, and to the east is a doorway to a tiny balcony.
  
  In the center of the room is a four-poster bed.
  
  There is a small hook on the wall. Hanging on the hook is an abstract painting.
  
  Across from the bed is an armchair.
  
  On the armchair is a dusty, desiccated corpse.
  
  > take the corpse
  You gently lift the desiccated corpse of Count Ruggino from the armchair.
  
  Its arm falls off and hits the floor, then rolls out of sight beneath the bed.
  
  > Go east
  As you carry the torso out the door, it crumbles further. You end up up hanging onto the leg; the rest of the torso falls to the ground and is left behind in the bedchamber.
  
  This little railed platform sticks out like a wart from the top of Count Ruggino's house. What a view!
  
  > check your inventory
  You are carrying:
  a withered leg
  a suitcase (open)
  a travel pillow
  a gold-plated automatic pistol
  a brass key
  a poniard
  a sausage
  The Return of the Worm
  an herbal sachet
  
  You are wearing:
  a shiny black raincoat
  a silk shirt
  a pair of slacks
  a pair of wingtip shoes
  
  You recall:
  a memory of a bottomless grave
  
  > examine leg
  A withered leg, light as papier-mâché.
  
  > throw the leg
  Dropped.
  
  > Go inside
  A chamber with a stifling atmosphere. The ceiling is a plaster dome, still intact, though marbled with ghostly mold. The floor is invisible beneath layered carpets and dust clots. The hall is west, and to the east is a doorway to a tiny balcony.
  
  In the center of the room is a four-poster bed.
  
  There is a small hook on the wall. Hanging on the hook is an abstract painting.
  
  Across from the bed is an armchair.
  
  You can also see a torso here.
  
  > examine the torso
  A torso, light as papier-mâché.
  
  > check what you're carrying
  You are carrying:
  a suitcase (open)
  a travel pillow
  a gold-plated automatic pistol
  a brass key
  a poniard
  a sausage
  The Return of the Worm
  an herbal sachet
  
  You are wearing:
  a shiny black raincoat
  a silk shirt
  a pair of slacks
  a pair of wingtip shoes
  
  You recall:
  a memory of a bottomless grave
  
  > take the torso
  You gently lift the desiccated torso.
  
  The head falls off and hits the floor.
  
  > examine the head
  A withered head, light as papier-mâché.
  
  > take the head
  These body parts are slippery little devils! As you grab the head the torso slips out of your grasp.
  
  > Go east
  This little railed platform sticks out like a wart from the top of Count Ruggino's house. What a view!
  
  You can see a withered leg here.
  
  > drop the head
  Dropped.
  
  > go west
  A chamber with a stifling atmosphere. The ceiling is a plaster dome, still intact, though marbled with ghostly mold. The floor is invisible beneath layered carpets and dust clots. The hall is west, and to the east is a doorway to a tiny balcony.
  
  In the center of the room is a four-poster bed.
  
  There is a small hook on the wall. Hanging on the hook is an abstract painting.
  
  Across from the bed is an armchair.
  
  You can also see a torso here.
  
  > Go east
  This little railed platform sticks out like a wart from the top of Count Ruggino's house. What a view!
  
  You can see a withered head and a withered leg here.
  
  > Go west
  A chamber with a stifling atmosphere. The ceiling is a plaster dome, still intact, though marbled with ghostly mold. The floor is invisible beneath layered carpets and dust clots. The hall is west, and to the east is a doorway to a tiny balcony.
  
  In the center of the room is a four-poster bed.
  
  There is a small hook on the wall. Hanging on the hook is an abstract painting.
  
  Across from the bed is an armchair.
  
  > get on the bed
  You get onto the four poster bed.
  
  > check what you're carrying
  You are carrying:
  a suitcase (open)
  a travel pillow
  a gold-plated automatic pistol
  a brass key
  a poniard
  a sausage
  The Return of the Worm
  an herbal sachet
  
  You are wearing:
  a shiny black raincoat
  a silk shirt
  a pair of slacks
  a pair of wingtip shoes
  
  You recall:
  a memory of a bottomless grave
  
  > eat the pill
  You dry swallow the pill.
  
  After a few moments your mind drains empty of anxiety. You feel still and slow and cool, like an undisturbed pond.
  
  > read the book
  debauched bank vice-president Cesare, having been bitten by a venomous spider hidden inside a cash bag by the duplicitous teller Otto and doomed to death within the day, dooms in turn his lover Astrid's secret lover's second lover by tricking her into touching a poison-coated safety deposit box key.
  
  Your eyelids have grown heavy, and you think you are ready to fall asleep.
  
  > Sleep
  But you're still wearing your pair of slacks!
  
  > Undress
  You take off the shiny black raincoat.
  
  You take off the pair of wingtip shoes.
  
  You take off the silk shirt.
  
  You take off the pair of slacks.
  
  > Sleep
  You're a little hungry. You'll need a snack before you can fall asleep.
  
  > eat the sausage
  That was spicy and delicious.
  
  > Sleep
  You'll never be able to fall asleep while holding that pair of slacks.
  
  > drop all
  suitcase: Dropped.
  gold-plated automatic pistol: Dropped.
  brass key: Dropped.
  poniard: Dropped.
  paperback book: Dropped.
  herbal sachet: Dropped.
  shiny black raincoat: Dropped.
  silk shirt: Dropped.
  pair of slacks: Dropped.
  pair of wingtip shoes: Dropped.
  
  > Sleep
  Your eyes close. Your breathing slows. You start to drift off. Then you roll over onto the poniard, which for some reason is in the bed with you, and you come fully awake again.
  
  > take all
  pair of wingtip shoes: Taken.
  pair of slacks: Taken.
  silk shirt: Taken.
  shiny black raincoat: Taken.
  herbal sachet: Taken.
  paperback book: Taken.
  poniard: Taken.
  brass key: Taken.
  gold-plated automatic pistol: Taken.
  suitcase: Taken.
  travel pillow: Taken.
  
  > get up
  You get off the four poster bed.
  
  > drop all
  travel pillow: Dropped.
  suitcase: Dropped.
  gold-plated automatic pistol: Dropped.
  brass key: Dropped.
  poniard: Dropped.
  paperback book: Dropped.
  herbal sachet: Dropped.
  shiny black raincoat: Dropped.
  silk shirt: Dropped.
  pair of slacks: Dropped.
  pair of wingtip shoes: Dropped.
  
  > Sleep
  A horripilation comes over you... You'll never be able to fall asleep while that horrible withered withered arm is under the bed.
  
  > take the arm
  That's fixed in place.
  
  > look under the bed
  Under the bed you find a withered arm. You fish it out.
  
  > take the arm
  (the armchair)
  That's fixed in place.
  
  > go east
  This little railed platform sticks out like a wart from the top of Count Ruggino's house. What a view!
  
  You can see a torso, a withered head, and a withered leg here.
  
  > Go west
  A chamber with a stifling atmosphere. The ceiling is a plaster dome, still intact, though marbled with ghostly mold. The floor is invisible beneath layered carpets and dust clots. The hall is west, and to the east is a doorway to a tiny balcony.
  
  In the center of the room is a four-poster bed.
  
  On the four poster bed is a travel pillow.
  
  There is a small hook on the wall. Hanging on the hook is an abstract painting.
  
  Across from the bed is an armchair.
  
  You can also see a pair of wingtip shoes, a pair of slacks, a silk shirt, a shiny black raincoat, an herbal sachet, a paperback book, a poniard, a brass key, a gold-plated automatic pistol, and a suitcase (empty) here.
  
  > get on the bed
  You get onto the four poster bed.
  
  On the four poster bed you can see a travel pillow.
  
  > Sleep
  Your eyes close. Your breathing slows. Your cheek deadens against the travel pillow. You drift off and experience a hectic dream...
  
  Count Ruggino is as good-looking as ever. Count Ruggino is
  carrying a gold-plated pistol. Count Ruggino shoots himself with the gold-plated pistol. Click. It must be out of bullets. Click. Count Ruggino's arm falls off and rolls under the bed. Click. Count Ruggino looks under the bed and fishes out his arm. Count Ruggino's leg falls off. Count Ruggino picks up his leg and his head falls off. Click. Count Ruggino sees a rat, a rat, a rat, and a rat here. Count Ruggino picks up a rat and his head, and his nose falls off. Click. Click. Count Ruggino eats a sausage and a sleeping pill. Count Ruggino picks up a rat and a rat and drops a rat. Count Ruggino unlocks his head. Count Ruggino opens his head, revealing a rat. Count Ruggino unlocks his leg. Count Ruggino opens his leg, revealing a rat. Count Ruggino picks up a rat, a rat, and a rat. Count Ruggino drops his head and it rolls under the bed. Click. A rat picks up a rat and a rat and drops a rat. A rat opens a rat, revealing a rat. A rat jumps up and down on the spot, fruitlessly. A rat wouldn't like that. A rat wouldn't like that. It is pitch black, and Count Ruggino can't see a thing!
  
  You awaken at sunrise to find the bedchamber filled with rosy light.
  
  Sunrise (on the bed)
  You can't see much of anything due to the reddish light that floods the room via a narrow doorway to the east.
  
  > get up
  You get off the bed.