text: > look around
  The rain falls south onto the roof of your home - a pentagon, just
  like the home of every other shape in the city. On a night like
  tonight, there's nothing you want to do more than sit back and relax
  with a nice cup of tea.
  
  A small mirror hangs on your wall.
  
  on.
  
  You can also see a mug (in which is some tea) here.
  
  > About yourself
  You make acute equilateral triangle, if you do say so yourself.
  
  > look at the mirror
  You check yourself out in the mirror. You make acute equilateral
  triangle, if you do say so yourself.
  
  > take the mug
  Taken.
  
  > read the paper
  You never could read in dreams. Despite this, you find yourself
  compelled to pick up the note and shove it in your pocket.
  
  > drink the tea
  You take a small sip. The tea tastes earthy, and vaguely sweet. You
  hold the warm mug and prepare for a pleasant evening at home.
  
  [PRESS ANY KEY TO CONTINUE]All of a sudden, things begin to shake. You
  find yourself being tossed back and forth, and you're pretty sure you
  hear your mug shatter. When the shaking subsides, you stagger out from
  the ruins of your home to find London in complete disorder.
  
  The great shift that befell London was ten years ago, and everything
  is different now. Hell, devils included, is a real place to the west
  of London, and impossible creatures live and work among ordinary
  shapes. Some believe London went DOWN, to a cavern beneath the earth,
  but any well regarded citizen knows those are little more than
  rumours.
  
  After all, there's no such thing as down.
  
  [PRESS ANY KEY TO CONTINUE]## Your Lodgings
  You are in your small apartment. It's a cool London morning, and your
  windows are ever so slightly fogged up. A door is set into the west
  wall of your home.
  
  A spare towel covers a small hand mirror lying in your room. It's been
  sanitized, of course, but one can never be too careful.
  
  In one corner of the room is an old wooden trophy case.
  
  A rack stands in the corner, brimming with hats.
  
  You wake up, shivering, the note still heavy in your pocket.
  
  > look at the note
  Greetations,
  Sincere apologetics for the intrusion into your dream-world, but
  interception of this message would have been most introublematic. Your
  presence in my ancient store is thusly requirsted posthaste - I have
  need of your services, and am prepared to offer a colossiderable
  reward.
  
  Judging from the many portmalteaus, this was written by Mr. Pages -
  one of the Masters, the cabal of shadowy creatures that 'bought'
  London ten years ago. You aren't sure what store he's referring to,
  but many of London's older shops are on a street southwest of your
  lodgings. Perhaps Mr. Pages expects you to show up soon.
  
  > look at the hats
  own. It is the most important part of your identity, after all.
  
  In the rack are a detective's fedora, a captain's cap, a doctor's
  headpiece and a footpad's mask.
  
  > look at the case
  An old trophy case, with thirteen slots of specific sizes and shapes.
  The case is empty.
  
  > look at the windows
  Morning fog obscures the hustle and bustle of London.
  
  > examine the towel
  Mud, blood, mirrors. This towel does it all.
  
  > Clean windows
  What do you want to clean the windows with?
  
  > take the towel
  Taken.
  
  > wear the fedora
  (first taking the detective's fedora)
  So you're a detective, then?
  
  > Yes
  Taken. Your other hats disappear.
  
  You put on the detective's fedora.
  
  > Go west
  A public road. A muddy river connects with the street to the west, and
  Moloch Street is accessible in the north. The street is empty in the
  southwest and alien in the south. Your lodgings are to the east.
  
  > go southwest
  Most people prefer the wide, well-maintained main street to this dull,
  empty road. Most of the storefronts are vacant, windows boarded up,
  with the exception of one cozy-looking storefront. The lane connects
  with some broad streets in the northeast. South is the entrance to the
  city's archeological district. An antique shop is embedded in a wall
  of shops to the east. A horse statue is on display in the window.
  
  > look at the statue
  A valuable statue of a horse made from silver, apparently made by
  London's predecessors. It's on sale.
  
  > Go east
  The place has a rather homey atmosphere. Ancient objects of all shapes
  and sizes are for sale along the walls, though most of them just look
  like junk. Outside, the desolate lane awaits. In the east wall of the
  shop is the door to a back room.
  
  Running the shop is a weary antiquarian.
  
  A rusty lamp catches your eye.
  
  A silver statue of a horse is on display.
  
  > examine the lamp
  An old fashioned oil lamp.
  
  > examine antiquarian
  A square who looks like she'd like nothing better than a nap. She
  occasionally looks up from the counter to check on you.
  
  > talk to the antiquarian
  "This used to be the busiest antique shop in the city, you know. At
  least, until they cleaned the rubble up from main street and I stopped
  getting foot traffic. These days, I'm lucky to get a customer." She
  looks briefly sad. "I'm technically in the antiques business, but this
  place is just a glorified pawnshop, so feel free to ask me about any
  treasures you find - I might just have an answer."
  
  > ask the antiquarian about the lamp
  "What, that? It's just a lamp, really. Basically worthless. You can
  have it, if you want."
  
  > take the lamp
  The antiquarian shrugs. "Sure. Not like it was going to sell anyway.
  No one wants to buy a rusty antique."
  
  > ask the antiquarian about horse
  "I'm afraid I can't tell you much about this piece. Probably from the
  fourth city, they did like horses. It's also rather valuable,
  and it's yours if you can give me something to replace it."
  
  > ask the antiquarian about the note
  The antiquarian sighs. "He's in the back."
  
  > go east
  (first opening the back room door)
  
  The Lair Of Mr. Pages
  Instead of the back room of an antique shop, you appear to have
  stumbled onto some kind of chair warehouse. A chairhouse, if you will.
  Antique furniture has been placed in neat piles around the room. The
  antique shop proper is west.
  
  Mr. Pages himself, conspicuously without his usual flock of guards and
  assistants, lounges in an old Queen Anne seat. This must be important.
  
  > talk to Pages
  "Ah, Detective. I do hope my missive wasn't too perplusing." Pages
  speaks in an urgent, grating screech. "After two thousand years, an
  entity has returned to the city. Back to spread its
  untruthidious gospel of the third dimension, no doubt." He
  spits. "I would have you perform a small task for me."
  
  Pages watches you carefully. "Well, Detective? Are you going to ASK me
  about it?"
  
  > ask Pages about the entity
  "A perfidious shape," Pages hisses. "It has lied to us, and now it has
  returned, to lie to other shapes about the existence of the 'third
  dimension'. Disharmodious falsehoods, I assure you."
  
  > ask Pages about the third dimension
  "The traitor would have us all believe that another dimension
  exists, beyond the two," Pages explains. "A square is to a line as
  this new plane is to us." You ask the obvious question. Does the third
  dimension exist? "No!" Pages screeches. His claws squeeze the armrest
  of his chair tightly, causing it to splinter. "It does not!"
  
  Maybe asking someone else will be more helpful.
  
  > ask Pages about the task
  "He is writing a book," Pages spits. He says it with such force that
  you are, for a moment, convinced that he hates all books. "A foul
  doctrine of third-dimensional lies. Your task is to track the entity
  to its lair-" And kill it? "No". Trained shapes have tried
  and failed to kill this creature. No, Pages just wants the book, so he
  can be sure it is destroyed properly. "There will be a
  reward", he adds when he sees you hesitate.
  
  > ask Pages about the lair
  "Its lair is undecealed," Pages says. "Incognonymous. Hobscure." He
  hands you a piece of paper. "You will need this."
  
  > ask Pages about the reward
  "I should think that proving yourself to my imsteemed individuality
  would be reward enough," says Pages, puffing out his chest. "But I can
  offer you money. A plenteous sum. Enough to make you a very rich
  shape."
  
  > check your inventory
  You are carrying:
  the theoretical location of a hideout
  a rusty lamp
  a detective's fedora (being worn)
  the spare towel
  a knapsack (open but empty)
  a compelling note
  
  > look at the location
  A messy list that looks like it was written by someone with claws.
  Different parts of the city that the entity you're tracking might live
  in, though it's not clear what they all have in common. The document
  reads:
  The Shuttered Palace (in the west)
  The Forgotten Quarter (in the southwest)
  The Bazaar (in the south)
  
  > examine the chair
  An antique chair. Well-loved, if the heavy scratches on the cloth are
  any indication.
  
  > ask Pages about the horse
  Mr. Pages says nothing. Perhaps he's attempting to communicate with
  you telepathically. More likely, though, he doesn't know what you're
  talking about and is too proud to say it.
  
  > Go west
  The place has a rather homey atmosphere. Ancient objects of all shapes
  and sizes are for sale along the walls, though most of them just look
  like junk. Outside, the desolate lane awaits. In the east wall of the
  shop is the door to a back room.
  
  Running the shop is a weary antiquarian.
  
  A silver statue of a horse is on display.
  
  > Go west
  Most people prefer the wide, well-maintained main street to this dull,
  empty road. Most of the storefronts are vacant, windows boarded up,
  with the exception of one cozy-looking storefront. The lane connects
  with some broad streets in the northeast. South is the entrance to the
  city's archeological district. An antique shop is embedded in a wall
  of shops to the east. A horse statue is on display in the window.
  
  > Go south
  You stand at the edge of an ancient city - The Forgotten Quarter. Or
  what's left of it, anyway. What wasn't destroyed by London was
  stripped away by looters, making the whole place feel rather empty. To
  the north, the empty ruins connect to an empty street. Far to the
  west, you can see a pavilion that seems more or less untouched. South
  is an archeological dig site.
  
  > go to the south
  A magnificent dig site, heading into the stone that encases a lot of
  the ruins. This one is almost abandoned, though. The excavation seems
  to have stopped at a large chunk of rock with a building embedded in
  it. The way out of the Forgotten Quarter is to the north. In the
  distance, looking almost translucent in the mist, is a pavilion.
  
  A bored archaeologist lies on a crate, worn out.
  
  A pickaxe rests on the ground nearby.
  
  > examine the rock
  It seems progress stopped on the excavations at the exact wrong time.
  A little more digging, and the ruin's front door would have been
  accessible.
  
  > examine the archaeologist
  A square, dressed in the neat clothing of an archaeologist. She looks
  tired.
  
  > talk to the archaeologist
  The last archaeologist squints at you. "You won't find anything here,"
  she says. "That third dimension stuff is just talk." She sighs. "Not
  that it matters whether or not I was going to find anything, seeing as
  my crew quit. And when I was only a few pickaxe-swings away
  from victory, too."
  
  > ask the archaeologist about crew
  The archaeologist sighs. "I suppose I should have told them up front
  that this expedition had to do with the third dimension. And
  they were right to be scared of getting arrested on the slim chance
  that we found something interesting. Only when they quit, my
  colleagues went too, and all the dockworkers, and now there's no one
  in London that'll even consider helping me with this. Shame, too. It's
  a good job."
  
  > ask the archaeologist about the expedition
  "I'm digging for a ritual site," the archaeologist explains. "We were
  making great progress until- well, until my team walked out on me."
  She shrugs. "I did what I could on my own, but I think I sprained
  something. It's frustrating. Now that I've found the damn building, I
  can't get through to it."
  
  > look at the pickaxe
  A cheap metal pickaxe.
  
  > take it
  The archaeologist watches you take the pickaxe. "Sure, take it," she
  says. "And do let me know what you find."
  
  > hit the rock with the pickaxe
  You hit the chunk, hard. Flecks of stone fly off of it, exposing more
  of the door.
  
  > keep going
  You hit the chunk again. You've managed to get most of the way
  through.
  
  > Keep going
  You chip away at the last of the rock blocking the door. The entrance
  to an ancient temple is now visible to the south.
  
  > Go south
  You stand in a grand hall, built from a rich marble. Even weathered by
  time, it's magnificent. The exit is to the north. A side-room, so
  small that it seems like an afterthought, is to the west. Presumably
  there were other chambers here, but they've long since been buried in
  debris.
  
  > look at the debris
  Solid, heavy rubble prevents your passage.
  
  > Go west
  than constructed. East, a jagged tunnel leads back into the temple you
  came from.
  
  A nodule of amber is here, in the center of the room. Whoever put it
  here obviously thought it was important.
  
  > look at the amber
  If you listen, you can almost hear the distant sound of gurgling. This
  lump of amber fills you with a warm, fuzzy feeling when you hold it.
  That makes it valuable, at least to you.
  
  > check your inventory
  You are carrying:
  a lump of friendly amber
  a pickaxe
  the theoretical location of a hideout
  a rusty lamp
  a detective's fedora (being worn)
  the spare towel
  a knapsack (open but empty)
  a compelling note
  
  > hit the debris with the pickaxe
  anything. Even after a few moments of digging, you can tell that this
  stone goes all the way through. You haven't a chance in or out of hell
  at getting through all that.
  
  > Go north
  A magnificent dig site, heading into the stone that encases a lot of
  the ruins. This one is almost abandoned, though. The way out of the
  Forgotten Quarter is to the north. In the distance, looking almost
  translucent in the mist, is a pavilion. The entrance to an ancient
  temple is visible to the south.
  
  A bored archaeologist lies on a crate, worn out.
  
  > Examine crate
  A crate of supplies.
  
  > ask the archaeologist about Amber
  "Amber, huh?" The archaeologist irritably smashes into a pebble,
  sending it flying. "Figures the temple I've been searching for for
  five odd years would turn out to just be some... Hive for a bunch of
  irregulars. And I was so sure it would be somewhere in this area, too.
  Circles damnit."
  
  > Go north
  You stand at the edge of an ancient city - The Forgotten Quarter. Or
  what's left of it, anyway. What wasn't destroyed by London was
  stripped away by looters, making the whole place feel rather empty. To
  the north, the empty ruins connect to an empty street. Far to the
  west, you can see a pavilion that seems more or less untouched. South
  is an archeological dig site.
  
  > go west
  You stand in a grand pavilion. The other buildings on this street are
  weathered and broken, but here not a single thing is out of place.
  Outside and to the east is the way out of the Forgotten Quarter.
  
  An ornate rug covers most of the pavilion's southern side.
  
  > examine the rug
  An antique rug from the people who came before, in excellent
  condition. You're sure they wouldn't mind you having this.
  
  > take the rug
  The rug seems to have been covering a tunnel in the south.
  
  > go south
  A long, serpentine hallway. The floor is covered in a rather detailed
  mural. To the north, the passage returns to the pavilion. South, the
  hallway continues.
  
  > examine the mural
  A large group of triangles is gathered around an unusual shape in what
  looks like worship. But that can't be right. Who in their right mind
  would worship a line?
  
  > go south
  You are still in a hallway that runs north-south. Another mural is
  etched into the floor.
  
  > look at the mural
  of circles. Despite the advantage granted to them by their points, the
  triangles appear to be losing. A rectangle stands in the distance,
  passively watching. It is the same color as the line in the previous
  mural, and is in the same location.
  
  > Go south
  The hallway north ends in an oak door to the south. Near the door, and
  all around you, is a mural.
  
  > examine the mural
  In the mural, a small group of triangles gather around a circle in
  exaltation. Apart from the dead triangles, scattered around the mural,
  all is well. The lower classes are in their proper places at last.
  
  > look at the door
  A solid oak door. After hundreds of years, you'd expect it to be
  rotten, but it seems well-maintained.
  
  > Go south
  (first opening the oak door)
  
  A huge chamber with an exit to the north. It smells faintly of smoke,
  and apart from an odd carving near the far wall, is completely empty.
  Something else about the room feels off, though you can't say what
  exactly.
  
  Eight candles have been placed at odd intervals around the room.
  
  The bones of a long-dead triangle rest against the far wall, clutching
  a bell.
  
  > look at the carving
  A dot, then a line, then a square. Then some kind of irregular shape,
  like two squares crushed and smashed together. Next to it, something
  is written. ???????? ???????????? - PERFECTION in mongolian. But you
  never
  learned to read mongolian. So why do you know what that says?
  
  > examine bones
  You get the sense that the dead triangle is watching you.
  
  > examine the candles
  Old tallow candles. Flammable.
  
  > examine the bell
  An old bell.
  
  > rub lamp
  You rub the rusty lamp.
  
  > Light lamp
  What do you want to light the rusty lamp with?