text: > Look around
  Dry Sand, South of Pier
  The cool early evening has left the beach nearly deserted but for a few joggers and unsupervised children. To the east, the dry, powdery sand goes hard as it rolls down toward the swelling tide. The boardwalk lies back to the west. To the north, tall dunes flank the base of the pavilion, blocking your way.
  Someone has scrawled a message and a simple diagram in the powdery sand.
  A heap of trash has been scattered into the sand by the squabbling flock of gulls.
  
  Hundreds of gulls are engaged in a fierce battle over the pile of refuse, squabbling and squawking at each other and filling the air with hungry shrieks.
  
  From somewhere among the flock you hear a raucous cry that sounds suspiciously like "Big Water!"
  
  > examine the message
  In letters a hand high, someone has written "Here There Be Dragons." Beneath that, they've drawn a simple compass rose with an arrow pointing to the northeast.
  
  A particularly bold or greedy gull waddles right up to your feet to seek a handout. It stares at you with one beady eye for a long, uncomfortable moment before returning to the flock.
  
  > look at the trash
  You try to wade through the flapping hoard of birds to get at the trash, but their greed is greater than their fear of you, and they refuse to back down.
  
  A snowy white gull apparently materializes right in the middle of the flock, cranes its neck as if searching for someone, and then dematerializes.
  
  > throw the mussel at the gulls
  You toss the mussel shell among the squabbling hoard. Several of the gulls dash toward it, but quickly find it to be inedible.
  
  The gulls battle among themselves for dominance over the temporary food supply.
  
  > throw the peanuts at the gulls
  You toss a couple of peanuts toward the flock of gulls. One lone gull takes notice of your offering and waddles over to investigate. It spots the peanuts, snatches one up, and devours it in a single gulp.
  
  The entire flock suddenly erupts in a bout of frenzied screeching for no apparent reason. After a moment or two, they revert to their original decibel level.
  
  > look at the garbage
  You try to wade through the flapping hoard of birds to get at the trash, but their greed is greater than their fear of you, and they refuse to back down.
  
  A particularly bold or greedy gull waddles right up to your feet to seek a handout. It stares at you with one beady eye for a long, uncomfortable moment before returning to the flock.
  
  > check your inventory
  You have a pair of shorts (being worn), a bathing suit (being worn), a clam shell, a sack of peanuts, a sieve, and a mussel shell.
  The pocket of your shorts seems to contain some money and your passcard.
  
  From somewhere among the flock you hear a raucous cry that sounds suspiciously like "Big Water!"
  
  > Open mussel
  I don't know how to open the mussel shell.
  
  A new gull, apparently a stranger to the flock, flies low over the feeding grounds and sends the other gulls into a screaming rage.
  
  > throw sack at the gulls
  You toss a few more peanuts towards the flock of gulls. The first gull pecks hungrily at the peanuts, drawing the attention of some of the others. They flap over to see what the first gull is eating, and become embroiled in a minor squabble over the peanuts.
  
  A toddler of about four, gurgling excitedly, barrels into the flock of gulls. A flurry of white and grey feathers explodes into the air, only to flap back to earth a few feet away.
  
  > examine the garbage
  You try to wade through the flapping hoard of birds to get at the trash, but their greed is greater than their fear of you, and they refuse to back down.
  
  Two gulls break off from the main flock to fight over a choice morsel. A third flies over to investigate, and soon all three fly squawking away over the beach.
  
  > Empty bag
  Better just leave them in the sack.
  
  A toddler of about four, gurgling excitedly, barrels into the flock of gulls. A flurry of white and grey feathers explodes into the air, only to flap back to earth a few feet away.
  
  > drop the sack
  You toss the sack of peanuts to the ground.
  
  A new gull, apparently a stranger to the flock, flies low over the feeding grounds and sends the other gulls into a screaming rage.
  
  > throw the sack at the gulls
  Finally, you toss the entire bag of peanuts toward the hungry flock. The trickle of curious gulls turns into a flood. Soon, the entire hoard comes flapping and squawking to join the fight over your peanuts, abandoning the trash heap in the process. You couldn't say how long the peanuts will keep them busy, but chances are it won't be for long.
  
  Two gulls break off from the main flock to fight over a choice morsel. A third flies over to investigate, and soon all three fly squawking away over the beach.
  
  > search the trash
  You paw through the trash with your bare hands, but it's been scattered and mixed into the powdery sand. If there's anything useful in the pile, it may have been covered with sand.
  
  A new gull, apparently a stranger to the flock, flies low over the feeding grounds and sends the other gulls into a screaming rage.
  
  > Dig
  Scooping sand away in great handfuls, you quickly excavate an area approximately a yard across and a couple of hand spans deep. Gravity and the slight wind join forces to send the surrounding sand sliding into the hole. You try to dig deeper, but the deeper you go, the more sand slides in. You are reminded unpleasantly of your efforts at work.
  
  From somewhere among the flock you hear a raucous cry that sounds suspiciously like "Big Water!"
  
  > search the trash
  You paw through the trash with your bare hands, but it's been scattered and mixed into the powdery sand. If there's anything useful in the pile, it may have been covered with sand.
  
  Two strutting male gulls face off, puffing out their breast feathers and bobbing their heads in each other's direction. A noise suspiciously like laughter emanates from several female gulls, and the two males hurriedly stand down.
  
  > Inventory
  Using the shingle as a shovel, you quickly excavate an area approximately a yard across and a couple of hand spans deep. Gravity and the slight wind join forces to send the surrounding sand sliding into the hole. You try to dig deeper, but the deeper you go, the more sand slides in. You are reminded unpleasantly of your efforts at work.
  
  The entire flock suddenly erupts in a bout of frenzied screeching for no apparent reason. After a moment or two, they revert to their original decibel level.
  
  You have a pair of shorts (being worn), a bathing suit (being worn), a clam shell, a sieve, and a mussel shell.
  The pocket of your shorts seems to contain some money and your passcard.
  
  A snowy white gull apparently materializes right in the middle of the flock, cranes its neck as if searching for someone, and then dematerializes.
  
  > put the trash in the sieve
  You can't put the trash heap anywhere.
  
  A snowy white gull apparently materializes right in the middle of the flock, cranes its neck as if searching for someone, and then dematerializes.
  
  > sift the trash
  You sift diligently through the mounds of sandy trash, pouring handful after handful through the sieve. Just when you've about decided to discontinue your search as fruitless, you turn up the key from the vendor's shirt pocket!
  
  A snowy white gull apparently materializes right in the middle of the flock, cranes its neck as if searching for someone, and then dematerializes.
  
  > examine the key
  It's a small steel key with the word 'Kwikset' stamped on it.
  
  A snowy white gull apparently materializes right in the middle of the flock, cranes its neck as if searching for someone, and then dematerializes.
  
  > get the shell
  Which shell do you mean, the clam shell, or the mussel shell?
  
  > All
  The clam shell: You already have the clam shell!
  The mussel shell: You already have the mussel shell!
  
  The entire flock suddenly erupts in a bout of frenzied screeching for no apparent reason. After a moment or two, they revert to their original decibel level.
  
  The peanuts must be running out. You can see a few gulls beginning to trickle back towards the mound. The trickle grows to a flood and soon the entire flock is in motion, returning to the mound en masse. No trace remains of the peanuts you threw down. Even the brown paper sack is gone.
  
  > Go west
  You skip across the wooden boardwalk, passing over the scrub covered dunes.
  
  As you step across the brick path, you stumble lightly on the rough bricks.
  
  The brick beach path ends at the foot of a cement stairway that leads east to the Tybrisa Pavilion. To the northeast and southeast, twin boardwalks wrap around the pavilion towards the beach. By one of the boardwalks is a simple public shower, while a white diving bell stands near the entrance of a small building to the northwest. Your hotel towers back to the west, obscuring the sunset.
  A sign advertising boiled peanuts points east, into the pavilion.
  
  > move the brick
  Which brick do you mean, the path, or the loose brick?
  
  > Loose
  Moving the loose brick doesn't reveal anything.
  
  A slight gust of wind sends eddies of sand swirling over the brick path.
  
  > take it
  You're going to need both hands free to carry that sucker. You'll have to drop anything else you're carrying.
  
  A slight gust of wind sends eddies of sand swirling over the brick path.
  
  > get the loose brick
  You're going to need both hands free to carry that sucker. You'll have to drop anything else you're carrying.
  
  > put the key in the pocket
  You cram the steel key in the pocket of your shorts.
  
  > check your inventory
  You have a pair of shorts (being worn), a bathing suit (being worn), a clam shell, a sieve, and a mussel shell.
  The pocket of your shorts seems to contain some money, your
  passcard, and a steel key.
  
  > put all in the shorts
  The clam shell: The pair of shorts is not a container.
  The sieve: The pair of shorts is not a container.
  The mussel shell: The pair of shorts is not a container.
  
  > put the shells in the pocket
  The clam shell: You can't fit that in the pocket of your shorts.
  The mussel shell: You can't fit that in the pocket of your shorts.
  
  > Go east
  You skip lightly up the concrete stairs to the pavilion.
  
  You're standing in the center of a colossal gazebo that provides shade for sunburned tourists like yourself. The octagonal floor is made of unbroken grey concrete, bordered on each face by a waist high railing. Tall beams support a sloping wooden canopy that rises over three times your height. A red brick enclosure squats in the southwest corner and a small snack bar nestles up against the enclosure to the south. To the east lies the foot of a seemingly endless pier. A number of wooden benches sit along the north face of the pavilion.
  
  > unlock the door with the key
  You can't open the rest room doors with the steel key.
  
  A bunch of young children run past, slowing only long enough to point at you and giggle.
  
  > Go east
  The light of the setting sun warms your back as you exit the shade of the pavilion and begin the long stroll down the pier.
  
  The pier is even longer than it looked. It stretches back west to the great pavilion and continues still further east towards the sea. A small shelter rests at the far end. From below, you can hear the fizzle and hiss of the shallow surf.
  
  The breeze carries the sound of a calypso drum from somewhere far down the beach.
  
  > go to the east
  It takes a moment for your eyes to adjust to the shade beneath the small shelter.
  
  The pier ends here in a small rectangular shelter with a low wooden roof. You imagine that, seen from overhead, it would look like a pendulum hung from the face of the pavilion. The railing surrounds you on all sides but to the west, where you can follow the pier back towards the pavilion. A water fountain is tucked in one corner.
  You see a shrimp here.
  
  An old man is fishing off the pier with a great, heavy rod. Resting on the railing beside him is an open tackle box, while at his feet sit a bucket full of freshly caught fish and an empty burlap sack.
  
  The old man draws a cigarette from his breast pocket, rolls it meditatively between thumb and forefingers, and then puts it away.
  
  > Go west
  It takes a moment for your eyes to adjust to the shade beneath the greater pavilion.
  
  You're standing in the center of a colossal gazebo that provides shade for sunburned tourists like yourself. The octagonal floor is made of unbroken grey concrete, bordered on each face by a waist high railing. Tall beams support a sloping wooden canopy that rises over three times your height. A red brick enclosure squats in the southwest corner and a small snack bar nestles up against the enclosure to the south. To the east lies the foot of a seemingly endless pier. A number of wooden benches sit along the north face of the pavilion.
  
  > go south
  A quaint little snack bar nestles beside the brick enclosure, while the rest of the pavilion sprawls out to the north. A hand-painted sign above the counter advertises boiled peanuts. The vendor has gone home for the night.
  Behind the counter is an industrial boiler.
  
  An elderly couple strolls past you, hand in hand, clearly enjoying the sunset.
  
  > unlock the boiler with the key
  I don't know how to unlock the boiler.
  
  Grains of sand on the concrete floor twinkle as the light of the setting sun streaks through them at just the right angle.
  
  > open the boiler with the key
  You can't get the clamp off with the steel key.
  
  A bunch of young children run past, slowing only long enough to point at you and giggle.
  
  > pry the clamp with the key
  You can't get the clamp off with the steel key.
  
  Several gulls land nearby, briefly tussle over some invisible morsel, and fly off shrieking.
  
  > examine the clamp
  It's a thin, sturdy, triangle of steel. The open end of the triangle holds the boiler's lid tightly in place by pinching it against the thin bar that runs around the lip of the boiler.
  
  > About yourself
  You pause for a moment to take stock of your physical condition. You're feeling quite fit and healthy after your week of relaxation and exercise.
  
  > Go north
  You're standing in the center of a colossal gazebo that provides shade for sunburned tourists like yourself. The octagonal floor is made of unbroken grey concrete, bordered on each face by a waist high railing. Tall beams support a sloping wooden canopy that rises over three times your height. A red brick enclosure squats in the southwest corner and a small snack bar nestles up against the enclosure to the south. To the east lies the foot of a seemingly endless pier. A number of wooden benches sit along the north face of the pavilion.
  
  > go west
  The brick beach path ends at the foot of a cement stairway that leads east to the Tybrisa Pavilion. To the northeast and southeast, twin boardwalks wrap around the pavilion towards the beach. By one of the boardwalks is a simple public shower, while a white diving bell stands near the entrance of a small building to the northwest. Your hotel towers back to the west, obscuring the sunset.
  A sign advertising boiled peanuts points east, into the pavilion. There seems to be a loose brick in the path.
  
  > examine the shower
  It's really just a tall water pipe with a shower head on top of it. Not much in the way of privacy, but it does help people rinse the sand from themselves.
  
  > examine the bell
  The bell looks like half of a big white medicine capsule, just a bit taller than you, though quite a bit wider. The open end of the capsule stands at about chest height and faces down, so that you could enter the bell if you ducked down a bit. The capsule stands on four thick metal struts, which are in turn welded to a heavy, square, metal baseplate. The whole thing looks imposingly heavy. Deeply set in the white metal capsule are several thick, round, glass portholes.
  
  > go to the west
  You set your feet back on the path to the hotel, but... you're extremely conflicted over this whole idea of quitting. If only someone or something would present you with some convincing arguments to get you off the fence.
  
  > enter the bell
  You duck your head and shoulders, and crab-walk under the lip of the bell.
  
  It surrounds you like a sturdy white shell. The ceiling is only a few fingers above your head, causing you to hunch over a bit for fear of bashing your skull. Protruding from the ceiling is a thin pipe that ends in an air valve. Several thick, round portholes look on the outside world.
  
  The bell effectively muffles any outside sound, but an ominous low moan fills your ears.
  
  > look at pipe
  Divers used this valve to pressurize the bell's chamber, as well as refill their own tanks. The valve is connected to a pipe that passes through the bell's hull. Presumably there's a similar valve on the outside, to allow divers to attach an air hose from a surface ship.
  
  > Exit bell
  You duck your head and crab walk out of the bell.
  
  The brick beach path ends at the foot of a cement stairway that leads east to the Tybrisa Pavilion. To the northeast and southeast, twin boardwalks wrap around the pavilion towards the beach. By one of the boardwalks is a simple public shower, while a white diving bell stands near the entrance of a small building to the northwest. Your hotel towers back to the west, obscuring the sunset.
  A sign advertising boiled peanuts points east, into the pavilion. There seems to be a loose brick in the path.
  
  > go northeast
  You skip along the wooden boardwalk to the beach, evoking a strong memory of the carefree summer days of your childhood.
  
  Dry Sand, North of Pier
  The season is early and the day late, leaving the beach deserted but for a few strollers. The golden sand turns dark as it leads east toward the tide line , where someone has built a large sand sculpture. The boardwalk lies back to the west. To the south, tall dunes flank the base of the Tybrisa Pavilion, blocking your way.
  Chained to the end of the boardwalk is a trash barrel.
  
  > look in the barrel
  The can must have been emptied recently. Just a few pieces of sticky rubbish, consisting largely of ice cream wrappers and soda cups, lie at the bottom of the can.
  
  > search the rubbish
  You root through the trash, tossing aside ice cream wrappers and soft drink cups. You find an empty glass soda bottle, which you take.
  
  > search barrel
  You root through the trash, tossing aside ice cream wrappers and soft drink cups. Aha! You find a pair of plastic swim goggles, which you take.
  
  > search the rubbish
  You root through the trash, tossing aside ice cream wrappers and soft drink cups. You don't find anything else of interest.
  
  > Examine barrel
  It actually consists of two concentric cylinders. The outer cylinder is made of rough wooden staves bound by three rusty metal hoops. The inner cylinder is a single piece of textured beige plastic. A strong steel chain passes through the topmost of the metal hoops, attaching the barrel to the end of the boardwalk. A few pieces of trash lie at the bottom of the barrel.
  
  > Empty barrel
  You'd just be making a mess of the beach. Better leave the trash in the barrel.
  
  > examine the hoops
  Three rusty hoops bind the outer, wooden ring of the barrel together. The topmost hoop is bent slightly out of shape to accommodate the heavy steel chain that passes through it. In fact, it seems to be a bit loose.
  
  > get the top hoop
  You manage to jam your finger tips beneath the topmost hoop. It wiggles a bit, but it's still too tight for you to remove with your bare hands.
  
  A slight gust raises a thin skein of sand and whips it across your ankles.
  
  > take the hoop
  Which hoop do you mean, the two bottom hoops, or the third hoop?
  
  > Third
  You manage to jam your finger tips beneath the topmost hoop. It wiggles a bit, but it's still too tight for you to remove with your bare hands.
  
  > check your inventory
  You have a pair of shorts (being worn), a bathing suit (being worn), a clam shell, a sieve, a mussel shell, a glass bottle, and a pair of goggles.
  The pocket of your shorts seems to contain some money, your
  passcard, and a steel key.
  
  > look at the goggles
  It's a cheap pair of plastic swim goggles, held together by a thin, white rubber strap.
  
  > look at the strap
  It's a strap made of thin, white rubber. If it were removed from the goggles, it looks as if it would measure about the length of your arm.
  
  > pull the chain
  You grab hold of the chain and give it a solid tug. Oof! It's not going anywhere. Maybe if you had a hacksaw, or some bolt cutters.
  
  > look at the cup
  The can must have been emptied recently. Just a few pieces of sticky rubbish, consisting largely of ice cream wrappers and soda cups, lie at the bottom of the can.
  
  > look at the bottle
  It's a clear glass soda bottle. It appears to be empty.