text: > Go downwards
  Although it would be simple to head off in any direction, you are hesitant. It is entirely possible you may become lost.
  
  > get in the hole
  The thought repels you.
  
  > take the dirt
  That's hardly portable.
  
  > look at the dirt
  It is scattered in loose heaps around the large hole by which you awoke.
  
  > think
  What a good idea.
  
  > Go south
  An iron-wrought gate lies askew on rusted hinges, no longer able to prevent external access to the churchyard during late hours. The muddy path leading past them and southwards into the church grounds is being churned by the heavy rain, but not quite enough to completely obscure a faint impression therein.
  
  Standing alone a little to the west is a small gatehouse, its narrow entrance and a pane-less window little more than dark smudges in the prevailing gloom.
  
  After taking a few steps, you are overcome with nausea and drop to your knees in a dry retch. Your head spins for several fevered moments. You need to drink badly...
  
  > Drink rain
  You throw your head back and allow the water pelting down on your face to enter your mouth. Once enough has gathered, you swallow desperately. Instead of satisfying your thirst, even minutely, your insides begin to boil and you are forced to bend over and spew it back out.
  
  > go south
  The gravel path you are on passes by a plot of manicured land upon which resides a small church building. It is fashioned of dark river stone, stained all the darker from the downpour. Its steeple rises suddenly into the gloom, so that the belfry up top is partially obscured. Through the barred windows a glimmer of yellow light issues, flickering like candlelight. The front entrance is to the east, while the path continues south.
  
  Some unexplainable attraction pulls your attention to the old church building to the east...
  
  > look at the steeple
  It is run down and badly in need of repair. Like everything else about the church building.
  
  > examine the windows
  Marvelous works of stained glass, they depict several famous individuals from scripture, namely Adam and Eve, Noah, Moses, Joseph, Issac, Jacob, David, Solomon, Daniel and finally Christ Himself.
  
  > Go east
  The heavy oaken doors of the church loom before you, presenting a sensation of disorientation that you did not experience from a distance. Great brass handles present you with a means of access to shelter from the torrential weather. There are curious inscriptions and bas-relief carvings worked into the wood.
  
  > examine the carvings
  They are a crude native rendering of something that appears to be a Kraken swallowing a dinghy. Or perhaps that is a larger vessel. It is difficult to tell.
  
  > examine the handles
  Massive and shaped from solid brass, they are sculpted into the shape of a lion's head.
  
  Your throat feels as though it were on fire, so desperate is your need to find something to drink.
  
  > open the door
  They seem to be locked.
  
  > knock on the door
  You rap loudly on the church doors.
  
  > pull the handles
  Those are fixed in place.
  
  > Go west
  The gravel path you are on passes by a plot of manicured land upon which resides a small church building. It is fashioned of dark river stone, stained all the darker from the downpour. Its steeple rises suddenly into the gloom, so that the belfry up top is partially obscured. Through the barred windows a glimmer of yellow light issues, flickering like candlelight. The front entrance is to the east, while the path continues south.
  
  > Go south
  Here is where parishioners must have parked their vehicles, be they wagon or automobile, before proceeding north to the church building.
  A gravel road leads north past the front of the church. To the south, a rain-slicked road leads off into the dark distance. East of here is a wooden coach house.
  
  > Go east
  The coach house is quite old, and indeed once served to house a horse-driven coach. It has since been converted for use by automobiles. There are shelves lining the walls containing various items one would expect to find in a garage. Against the north wall is a rubber tire. Access to the driveway is to the west, through the main entrance, and a small exit leads east.
  
  > take the tire
  A lug wrench hidden behind the rubber tire is revealed.
  
  The coach house is quite old, and indeed once served to house a horse-driven coach. It has since been converted for use by automobiles. There are shelves lining the walls containing various items one would expect to find in a garage. Access to the driveway is to the west, through the main entrance, and a small exit leads east.
  
  You can see a lug wrench here.
  
  > take wrench
  Taken.
  
  > examine the wrench
  It is a cross-shaped tool for removing the lug bolts on an automobile tire. It is quite sturdy and heavy. Something about it makes you uneasy...
  
  > check what you're carrying
  You are carrying:
  a lug wrench
  a rubber tire
  
  > look at the items
  Useless.
  
  > go to the east
  Running between the coach house and a small shack to the east, this path is lined on both sides by tall brush and bracken, which block your view elsewhere.
  
  > go to the east
  A small shack rises out of the overgrowth in a clearing at the end of the winding path. It looks quite old, but has not fallen into disrepair, as has the coach house and the other small buildings on the church grounds. Along the front is a wooden door, and a small square window to its right, which flickers with a pale yellow light issuing from within.
  
  You can see a wooden door here.
  
  Something within the shack seems to call out to you and every fiber of your withered flesh cries back in reply. Somehow there is no doubt that relief to your torment lies within the little structure standing before you.
  
  > examine the window
  It looks rather cheery. All things being relative, that is.
  
  > knock on the door
  There is some shuffling behind the door. Its knob turns slowly and it opens a crack. A bloodshot eye peers at you, assessing you quietly. Then, the door opens a little further and framed there, his back to the crackling flames of a fire within the shack, stands an old man, probably the caretaker.
  
  > talk to the caretaker
  "You're a strange one," he says. "What is it you're wantin"?"
  
  > bite yourself
  Not here... Not like this. You feel as though you must first gain his trust.
  
  You are momentarily overtaken by a coughing spell, your lungs rattling dryly deep inside your chest...
  
  > About yourself
  You look down at yourself. Covered with moldy filth, it is hard to make out what part of you is flesh and what is caked earth. Even the downpour has not washed enough away to make a difference.
  
  > talk to the man
  "I don't know ye, sir. Perhaps it's best ye be on yer way."
  
  > talk to man
  "Do you have something for me?" he asks shakily. "Is this a delivery?"
  
  > show him the the tire
  The caretaker is unimpressed.
  
  > follow you
  The caretaker has better things to do.
  
  > talk to the man
  "If you've nothing to tell me, then I'll be telling you something. Good day!"
  
  You stagger and drop to your knees, the strength fleeing your body. For several long moments, your body shudders in silent spasms before you are finally able to collect your wits and struggle back to your feet.
  
  > talk to man
  "If you've nothing to tell me, then I'll be telling you something. Good day!"
  
  > Bite man
  Not here... Not like this. You feel as though you must first gain his trust.
  
  > enter door
  Somehow, you cannot bring yourself to enter the shack without the caretaker's invitation. It would be...impolite.
  
  > check what you're carrying
  You are carrying:
  a lug wrench
  a rubber tire
  
  > show yourself to the man
  (first taking yourself)
  You are always self-possessed.