text: > look around
  The trees close in here, their storm-tossed branches seeming to reach clawing limbs towards the back of the church. The weeds have run wild here and ivy climbs its way up the back of the building. A faint path continues around the church to the southeast and the southwest.
  
  The south wall of the church looms blankly overhead.
  
  > go to the south-west
  This side of the church is untended and grasses and weeds have run rampant. A muddy trail leads back to the graveyard to the west and on to the southeast and a faint path continues around the church to the northeast.
  
  To the east, the wall of the church breaks some of the force of the wind.
  
  > look at the windows
  Once, the windows were probably told stories of hope and redemption in brightly colored stained glass. Now, they are boarded up as if the church has closed it's eyes to the world outside.
  
  Momentarily, the wind and rain slacken then return with renewed force.
  
  > Dig
  (the broken limb)
  Digging would achieve nothing here.
  
  A blast of thunder rattles the ground.
  
  > Go southwest
  Two massive oak trees which flank the cracked sidewalk dominate the front of the church. The facade of the church itself rises beyond them, its steeple silhouetted against the sky. The storm lashes at its faded white facade, almost as if the storm is trying to wash the church clean; something you somehow realize will take more than mere water to accomplish. To the north, a sidewalk leads to the front of the church. A weed-choked driveway runs to the northeast and down a hill to the south, and a muddy path leads around the church to the northwest.
  
  The church and steeple loom to the north, the open window frames seeming to stare with judgment upon anyone standing before it.
  A formidable looking guard dog stands here.
  
  The dog growls at you threateningly.
  
  > examine the window
  Once, the windows were probably told stories of hope and redemption in brightly colored stained glass. Now, they are boarded up as if the church has closed it's eyes to the world outside.
  
  The dog growls at you threateningly.
  
  > ask the dog about Church
  The dog snarls and barks at you.
  
  The dog growls at you threateningly.
  
  > break the limb
  Violence isn't the answer to this one.
  
  The dog growls at you threateningly.
  
  > Go south
  You feel that you are unable to. Some force on you increases as you try to leave the area.
  
  The dog growls at you threateningly.
  
  > eat the dog
  (first taking the guard dog)
  I don't suppose the guard dog would care for that.
  
  The dog growls at you threateningly.
  
  Momentarily, the wind and rain slacken then return with renewed force.
  
  > examine the rain
  The rain pours downward, pelting you painfully and almost blinding you with its intensity.
  
  The dog growls at you threateningly.
  
  > go northeast
  This wide, graveled clearing may have once been where the worshippers at the church left their vehicles while attending services inside. If so, it seems that the last service was held long ago. Weeds and grasses grow up through the gravel, which is littered with debris. Dark, looming trees surround the clearing except for the driveway, which leads to the southwest, and for a narrow opening to the northwest.
  
  To the west, the church stares out over the clearing.
  
  Growling faintly, the dog follows you to the East Side of the Church, dragging its chain behind it.
  
  > hit dog
  Angered at your attack, the dog charges at you!
  
  The dog growls and snarls angrily, snapping at your legs.
  
  > Go northwest
  The trees close in here, their storm-tossed branches seeming to reach clawing limbs towards the back of the church. The weeds have run wild here and ivy climbs its way up the back of the building. A faint path continues around the church to the southeast and the southwest.
  
  The south wall of the church looms blankly overhead.
  
  The dog chases madly after you!
  
  > go to the south-west
  This side of the church is untended and grasses and weeds have run rampant. A muddy trail leads back to the graveyard to the west and on to the southeast and a faint path continues around the church to the northeast.
  
  To the east, the wall of the church breaks some of the force of the wind.
  
  The dog chases madly after you!
  
  > Go southwest
  You feel that you are unable to. Some force on you increases as you try to leave the area.
  
  The dog leaps at you, raking your chest with its claws and leaving a trail of red.
  
  > Go southeast
  Two massive oak trees which flank the cracked sidewalk dominate the front of the church. The facade of the church itself rises beyond them, its steeple silhouetted against the sky. The storm lashes at its faded white facade, almost as if the storm is trying to wash the church clean; something you somehow realize will take more than mere water to accomplish. To the north, a sidewalk leads to the front of the church. A weed-choked driveway runs to the northeast and down a hill to the south, and a muddy path leads around the church to the northwest.
  
  The church and steeple loom to the north, the open window frames seeming to stare with judgment upon anyone standing before it.
  
  The dog lunges after you, but is suddenly jerked to a stop with a yelp. The dog has been brought up short by it's chain, which is now completely wrapped around the church. It barks wildly but ineffectually at you as you continue on around the corner.
  
  > Go north
  This wide, covered porch spans the width of the church front. A white picket railing surrounds the porch on three sides, except to the south where a short flight of steps leads down to the sidewalk. Two large windows have been boarded up but the main doors stand slightly ajar.
  
  > About yourself
  You find you cannot look down at yourself. It is almost as if you know what you might find and are afraid to have your fears confirmed.
  
  > look at the railing
  The railing consists of two parallel lengths of wood about an arm's span apart connected by wooden pickets. One section of the railing seems fairly unsteady.
  
  For a brief moment, hail pounds against you then subsides.
  
  > take section
  Taken.
  
  > examine it
  The railing consists of two parallel lengths of wood about an arm's span apart connected by wooden pickets. If stood on end, the rail would be about twice your height.
  
  > look
  This wide, covered porch spans the width of the church front. A white picket railing surrounds the porch on three sides, except to the south where a short flight of steps leads down to the sidewalk. Two large windows have been boarded up but the main doors stand slightly ajar.
  
  > North
  This small room is the entryway for the church. The years of neglect are obvious; the floorboards are rotten and warped and what were probably once stained glass windows are shattered and boarded up. Dirt and debris covers the floor. A set of double doors leads south back to the outside while a large archway leads north into the sanctuary. Overhead, there is an open trap door in the ceiling at about twice your height.
  
  > examine the door
  The opening in the ceiling seems to lead to another room overhead, but there doesn't seem to be any way to get to it.
  
  A blast of thunder rattles the building.
  
  > drop the ladder
  Dropped.
  
  > North
  Once the heart of the church this room is now cold, dark and empty. Debris is scattered among the sagging pews and only shards of broken glass remain of the stained glass windows. Most of the interior fixtures have been removed, but a large portrait of Christ stares down at you from above the archway to the south. The pulpit still stands to the north.
  
  A flash of lightning can be seen through the cracks between the boards, followed by a sudden blast of thunder.
  
  > examine the portrait
  As you look at the painting, a memory seems to float to the surface of your mind. You remember standing in this church and looking at that painting. And you remember it staring back at you, with malevolent, vivid green eyes...
  
  > examine the pews
  Once, these rows would have been filled with worshippers. Now, they only contain dust and debris.
  
  > take the painting
  The painting is too high up on the wall to do anything with.
  
  The building shudders under a sudden gust of wind.
  
  > North
  From this raised platform you can see the entire inside of the church. The pulpit is empty except for the podium which rises from the center. A small door is visible behind the podium to the north.
  
  The building shudders under a sudden gust of wind.
  
  > examine the podium
  This carved wooden podium is where the leader of this church would have addressed his or her followers. Now, from the podium, you can only see rows of empty pews and a lone painting of Christ, staring blankly down from the south wall. A large black book is resting open on the podium.
  
  > Examine book
  At first you thought this book was a Bible, but now you realize that you were mistaken. The large, black, leather-bound tome contains passages you find disturbing, and uncomfortably familiar.
  
  A flash of lightning can be seen through the cracks between the boards, followed by a sudden blast of thunder.
  
  > read the book
  Much of the book has been damaged by moisture and rats, but some of the passages are still legible. One in particular sticks in your mind... "The way to understand another is through their eyes, because the eyes are the windows of the soul. Through the eyes the soul may seen by those who are sensitive, and through the eyes the soul my be taken by those who have pledged themselves to the ones who wait beyond."
  
  A flash of lightning can be seen through the cracks between the boards, followed by a sudden blast of thunder.
  
  > North
  This small office has the same run-down appearance of the rest of the church. Debris covers the floor and a trickle of water comes in around the boards covering a broken window. A desk stands in the middle of the room and an empty bookshelf sits against one wall. A pile of ashes marks where a fire once burned in the middle of the floor. A door to the south leads back to the sanctuary.
  
  On the desk is a journal.
  
  A richly embroidered robe hangs beside the door.
  
  A flash of lightning can be seen through the cracks between the boards, followed by a sudden blast of thunder.
  
  > examine the desk
  An old wooden desk. Scarred and water-damaged, it has been here for some time.
  
  > Search desk
  On the desk is a journal.
  
  > look at the journal
  A book of blank pages, the kind that would be used to keep a ledger or a journal. Unfortunately, someone has torn out most of the pages and only blank sheets remain.
  
  A blast of thunder rattles the building.
  
  > look at the ash
  It seems as if a good sized fire once burned here; it is amazing that the entire room did not catch fire. From the occasional bit of unburned material it seems as if whoever built the fire was burning books, probably from the now empty bookcase. Mixed in with the ashes you find a number of jagged shards of glass.
  
  > examine the glass
  A number of shards of broken glass lies mixed in with the ashes. From the look of the fragments, it was some kind of thick walled bottle that was smashed into the floor. A curious object lies in with the shards of glass. It looks like a heavy rubber stopper with a chain hanging from it.
  
  > take the ash
  You pick up a handful of ashes.
  
  > put the ash on the journal
  (the handful of ashes on the journal)
  As you rub the ashes against the page, the indentations fill in and the last entry becomes visible.
  
  > read the journal
  You read the last entry from the journal... "I cannot continue. The more I come to know her the more I realize that I cannot continue to corrupt her. She was pure and innocent before I took her, and that innocence allows her to continue to trust me even after what I have done. I only hope that the taint of that which I have done has not stained her irrevocably and that she will go to her proper place after I release her... and that I shall go to mine."
  
  > check your inventory
  You are carrying:
  a journal
  a handful of ashes
  a heavy stopper
  a large black book
  a broken length of railing
  a broken limb
  
  The building shudders under a sudden gust of wind.
  
  > examine the shelves
  A warped, wooden bookshelf.
  
  > Examine stopper
  A heavy rubber stopper, such as would be used to close a bottle. Bits of wax still cling to the edge showing where the bottle was sealed with the stopper in place. A fine chain hangs from the stopper and ends in an oddly carved lead weight.