text: > Look around
  This little grassy hollow half-way up the side of the canyon looks like it's been colonised by rabbits. The tough grass-like ground covering has been dug away and the sandy soil underneath is full of burrows. Down to the east the view over the Mother Tree is spectacular, and you wonder what it would be like from the top; you can probably climb up to the west. The slope steepens and becomes impassably steep to the south, but the warren continues to the north.
  
  There are burrows everywhere.
  
  Eyes seem to be staring at you from out of the burrows.
  
  > Dig
  You have a very strong feeling that the rabbits are more dangerous than they look. That's probably not a good idea.
  
  A small group of deer-like animals, much larger than you are, gallop up from the east with a thunder of hooves. They spend several moments looking around with suspicion before returning to their grazing. One of them turns its head to look at you.
  
  The buck is completely secure in his world. He has few needs: his mates, enough to eat, safety. Here in the canyon the only thing he has to be at all wary of is that annoying little creature with the sharp teeth that is always hanging around; if it ever came close enough he could kill it with a single kick, but it always keeps its distance. There is a nagging itch at the back of his mind, however: somewhere in the canyon there is the smell of the Wonderful Plant. He just can't find it.
  
  There. It happened again.
  
  > Smell
  The air is good, nearly as good as the Concerto's, but
  uninteresting.
  
  One of the younger deer bites its sibling, and there's a brief altercation.
  
  > examine the deer
  There are five of the creatures. One male, two females, and a couple of juveniles? It's very hard to tell, as they're all very similar apart from the size. They're smaller than you were expecting from the survey, barely the size of a large dog, but the blue-green fur is just as startling as you remember. They each have a single forward-curving horn that looks extremely sharp.
  
  The deer suddenly look up, and then bound off north.
  
  A vicious-looking brown and white creature trots up from the east. You see bright eyes and hunger. The survey report mentioned these. It's a...
  
  The fox is hungry, but it is always hungry. A long time ago it was mauled by one of those horrible animals at the dam, and was unable to hunt and was starving; then it found a dead deer, and gorged itself on the half-rancid meat. It was the best thing it ever experienced, and for a few brief hours afterwards, it was replete. Now it follows the deer around endlessly. They are far too large for it to kill, but it lives in hope of another windfall. In the meantime it scavanges for insects and tiny furry things. And, of course, it's always on the lookout for a bigger meal.
  
  You blink, disoriented.
  
  It eagerly begins to chase you.
  
  > enter the burrow
  The burrow is blocked by a large rabbit. It stares at you calmly. It's quite unthreatening, but it's still not letting you in.
  
  The fox pounces on you. You just have time to think oh, sh---
  as its jaws close on your neck, and then everything stops.
  
  > Go west
  You were wrong: the view is terrible from here. Outside the canyon there is just barren, sandy wasteland, with the occasional scrubby plant, stretching away in all directions. There are mountains on the horizon, but there's no way you could survive out here long enough to reach them. Down to the east the oasis of the canyon is mostly hidden behind the terrain. There is a rise to the south, near where the land stops.
  
  There's that strange sensation again, of excitement and caution from the east.
  
  > go south
  A narrow finger of rock points out over the cliff. Unlike the desert, the view here is extraordinary: the lush green canyon falls away to the west, and the endless cloud ocean of the Elysian Lowlands fills the eastern horizon, thousands of metres below. Straight down you can see where the river falls away over the edge of the cliff.
  
  Something large and metallic shines on the other side of the canyon.
  
  > look at the canyon
  It's spread out below you: the Mother Tree at the south end; then the meadows; the river flowing out of the lake, surrounded by forests; and far away at the north there's a distant cascade of water, almost too small to make out.
  
  > go north
  You were wrong: the view is terrible from here. Outside the canyon there is just barren, sandy wasteland, with the occasional scrubby plant, stretching away in all directions. There are mountains on the horizon, but there's no way you could survive out here long enough to reach them. Down to the east the oasis of the canyon is mostly hidden behind the terrain. There is a rise to the south, near where the land stops.
  
  You can feel caution from the east.
  
  > Go east
  This little grassy hollow half-way up the side of the canyon looks like it's been colonised by rabbits. The tough grass-like ground covering has been dug away and the sandy soil underneath is full of burrows. Down to the east the view over the Mother Tree is spectacular, much better than it was from the top; you can probably climb up to the west. The slope steepens and becomes impassably steep to the south, but the warren continues to the north.
  
  There are burrows everywhere.
  
  Eyes seem to be staring at you from out of the burrows.
  
  > Go east
  Here in the shadow of the Mother Tree the ground is flat and wet; reed-like plants with white flowers grow everywhere and the air is musky. The river winds slowly along the east side of the marsh with woodlands beyond it. To the west the ground rises to what look like a series of sandy bluffs. The ground looks drier to the north where the canyon ramparts start to close in.
  
  You can feel caution from the west.
  
  > Go north
  The flat river valley here isn't as wet as the marsh further south, and has bloomed into an astonishing wildflower meadow. The flowers are all strange and alien, of course, but the air is fragrant and peaceful. The only sound is the gentle noise of the river to the east. Off to the west the ground begins to rise up to meet the canyon wall, while forests dominate the north.
  
  > Go west
  Part of the canyon wall has fallen here, forming a huge bank of sandy rubble. This looks like it used to be part of the rabbit warren you can see to the south, but this section has been abandoned. Part of the mound has begun to be colonised by the woods that extend to the north. You can see the river in the distance down to the east.
  
  The bank doesn't look very stable and is full of partially collapsed burrows.
  
  You can feel peacefulness from the south.
  
  > Dig
  You go to work with your front paws and quickly clear the loose sand out of the burrow. It's surprisingly satisfying work.
  
  There's that peculiar sensation again; the feeling of peacefulness changing to caution from the south.