text: [Themes: Horror, Surreal]
  
  > go downwards
  Great Hall (by high table)
  You are at the north end of a magnificent dining hall. The east and west walls stand thirty feet tall; near the top, stained-glass windows bearing coats of arms admit the light of the full moon. Below the windows hang pictures of past Masters of the college and illustrious former alumni, gazing down over the long rows of tables and benches. Shadowy rafters support the peaked roof.
  
  At the foot of the north wall, a wide area is raised several inches on a wooden platform, where the High Table stands. Hanging on the wall is a large portrait of the College's founder.
  
  The rope is looped over the duck's wooden beam up in the rafters.
  
  You can see a catapult, a length of string and a length of sewing thread here.
  
  > go to the south
  You are in the middle of a magnificent dining hall. The east and west walls stand thirty feet tall; near the top, stained-glass windows bearing coats of arms admit the light of the full moon. Below the windows hang pictures of past Masters of the college and illustrious former alumni, gazing down over the long rows of tables and benches. Shadowy rafters support the peaked roof.
  
  Directly above you is a hexagonal skylight set in the middle of the high ceiling.
  
  > Up
  Easier said than done.
  
  > get all
  table: It weighs more than you do.
  portrait: That's hardly portable.
  length of sewing thread: Taken.
  length of string: Taken.
  rafters: Don't be silly.
  catapult: Taken.
  
  > untie the rope from Table
  You untie the length of rope from the table.
  
  > check what you're carrying
  You are carrying:
  a catapult
  a length of string
  a length of sewing thread
  a canvas satchel (being worn and open)
  a porcelain duck
  
  > untie the string
  You untie the length of string from the length of sewing thread.
  You untie the length of string from the length of rope.
  
  > get all
  table: It weighs more than you do.
  portrait: That's hardly portable.
  length of string: Taken.
  rafters: Don't be silly.
  
  > tie the thread to the string
  You tie the length of sewing thread to the length of string.
  
  > tie the string to the rope
  You tie the length of string to the length of rope.
  
  > untie the rope
  You untie the length of rope from the length of string.
  
  > get the rope
  Most of it isn't within your reach at the moment. You'll have to get it down first.
  
  > drop all except satchel and the duck
  length of sewing thread: Dropped.
  catapult: Dropped.
  length of string: Dropped.
  
  > go south
  Great Hall (by screens)
  You are at the south end of a magnificent dining hall. The east and west walls stand thirty feet tall; near the top, stained-glass windows bearing coats of arms admit the light of the full moon. Below the windows hang pictures of past Masters of the college and illustrious former alumni, gazing down over the long rows of tables and benches. Shadowy rafters support the peaked roof.
  
  To the south, wooden screens half the height of the walls separate the hall from an east-west passageway. Double doors set in the screens are locked and bolted shut.
  
  > climb the screen
  Your quest successful, you clamber over the screens and stealthily away, smiling as you think of the admiration you'll receive from your fellow students for this feat of daring.
  
  It is a terrible shock when the duck writhes in your hands, flattening into a mere photograph, but at least one thing from this dream has remained with you...
  
  [You are no longer afraid of heights.]
  
  This spacious room is comfortably if sparsely furnished. A plush sofa and two matching armchairs are arranged around a low wooden tea-table. Curtains hang over the long windows on the south wall, keeping the warmth from the old electric fireplace in; a clock hangs over the mantelpiece. The overall effect might even be cosy, were it not for the stark white glare of the unshielded bulb dangling from the ceiling.
  
  A simple wooden staircase on the west wall leads up to the first floor; underneath the stairs is an utility closet. The kitchen can be seen through the empty doorway to the east.
  
  You shudder at the sight of a large spider hanging in the kitchen doorway.
  
  The front door is reassuringly and securely locked.
  
  You can also see a can of white paint here.
  
  > Go upwards
  You are in the western half of a plain whitewashed east-west corridor lit by a lamp hanging next to the stairs, which lead down to the ground floor. The carpeted wooden floor creaks annoyingly under your feet.
  
  The bathroom lies to the north; a ladder hangs from an opening in the ceiling to the east.
  
  > go east
  Upstairs Corridor (by ladder)
  A ladder hangs down from a dark square hole in the high ceiling of this unadorned corridor. Identical doors to the north, east and south lead to various rooms. To the west, hanging over the stairs, a bright electric lamp provides illumination.
  
  > Go upward
  The ladder groans, but supports your weight easily.
  
  Fumbling in the dark a bit, you discover the light switch and flip it, illuminating the attic.
  
  Dust covers the floorboards of this dim attic, lit by a weak ceiling lamp, and the air makes you sneeze. Some old chairs are piled unceremoniously in one corner. There is no sign of the missing keys.
  
  Near where the sloping ceiling meets the floor by the north wall is a hissing, growling contraption of pipes and tanks that emits an occasional puff of hot steam, like some modern-day dragon crouched over its treasure.
  
  > examine contraption
  The hissing unnerves you, and the occasional puff of steam convinces you that you don't want to get too close to it. But you thought you saw something glinting underneath.
  
  > look
  Dust covers the floorboards of this dim attic, lit by a weak ceiling lamp, and the air makes you sneeze. Some old chairs are piled unceremoniously in one corner. There is no sign of the missing keys.
  
  Near where the sloping ceiling meets the floor by the north wall is a hissing, growling contraption of pipes and tanks that emits an occasional puff of hot steam, like some modern-day dragon crouched over its treasure.
  
  > Hint
  N = next sP = previous
  RETUR  Q = resume game
  
  > I need help... (spoilers)
  
  > Go south
  Try as you might, you can't trigger the memories of your Egyptian adventure a second time, and the book is terribly uninteresting.
  
  Upstairs Corridor (by ladder)
  A ladder hangs down from a dark square hole in the high ceiling of this unadorned corridor. Identical doors to the north, east and south lead to various rooms. To the west, hanging over the stairs, a bright electric lamp provides illumination.
  
  > Go south
  A small, windowless and rather cramped bedroom. Perhaps that explains why overnight visitors are so infrequent.
  
  You can see an ornamental plate and a dusty leather-bound book here.
  
  Taken.
  
  Upstairs Corridor (by ladder)
  A ladder hangs down from a dark square hole in the high ceiling of this unadorned corridor. Identical doors to the north, east and south lead to various rooms. To the west, hanging over the stairs, a bright electric lamp provides illumination.
  
  > look at the lamp
  It's just an ordinary ceiling lamp, although the occasional flicker gives you a faint sense of unease.