text: [Themes: Religious, Historical, Christianity, religion, horror]
  
  > go downward
  The smooth patch of snow at the base of the tower, formerly cut only by a single line of footsteps, is now a mash of dirt and blood. Steps lead northeast and up to the tower, and to the southwest is the cloister.
  
  Brother Matteo lies upon the ground, blood trickling from the side of his head
  
  > get Matteo
  Matteo was a large man. You cannot move him.
  
  > go inside
  Panting more than a little, you make your way up the stairs to the top.
  
  You are sure that other things exist, but for now all there is is Matteo lying on the ground below. From here, he could easily be alive. He smiles at you.
  
  No, not a smile: a sneer. He is laughing at you. Laughing because you are still trapped. He was always laughing.
  
  The bell sways in the breeze, its tongue almost, but never, touching the sides.
  
  > go to the north
  Church (in the pews)
  Since you relegated the brothers to pray on their own, except for Mass, the church has been all but empty. Rows of pews part down the centre, ushering you up to the chancel in the north opposite the cloister in the south. The ceiling towers above you, its frescoes dim in the candlelight.
  
  Towering above all else is a massive wooden cross. It is awesome.
  
  The font glows warmly in the candlelight, not a ripple on its water's surface.
  
  The Saints look away from you, crying.
  
  Brother Ignatius sits in one of the pews near the front, staring intently at the candles.
  
  > Go north
  Church (on the chancel)
  God, to think of all the time you wasted up here. The blind leading the blind. A quiet laugh spreads through your heart. A joke. The rest of the church lies to the south; it's not as funny of a joke.
  
  Towering above all else is a massive wooden cross. It is awesome.
  
  A beautiful glass case holds the body of Saint Cuthbert near the base of the chancel.
  
  The lectern stands in the centre of the chancel, the Bible accusing you from its perch.
  
  The Saints look away from you, crying.
  
  > Smash case
  The slam of your fist shatters the glass, sending it cascading over the Saint's body.
  
  > go to the south
  Church (in the pews)
  Cedar pews line the path from the chancel in the north to the cloister to the south, their surfaces cold. The ceiling towers above you, its frescoes dim in the candlelight.
  
  Towering above all else is a massive wooden cross. It is awesome.
  
  The Saints look away from you, crying.
  
  The font glows warmly in the candlelight, not a ripple on its water's surface.
  
  Brother Ignatius sits in one of the pews near the front, staring intently at the candles.
  
  > Go north
  Before you leave, you close the entrance door lest the snow, or worse, get in.
  
  In the warmer months, Brother Matteo maintains a beautiful garden in the cloister. Now there is nothing but a few dead vines sticking out from beneath a blanket of snow. Still, it has a calm dignity: the wind finds no entrance here. The colonnade is broken to the south by the exit to the hall and to the west by the entrance to the refectory. The brothers' dormitory lies to the east, between the calefactory in the southeast and the belltower in the northeast.
  
  The church commands from the north, its spires reaching up to Heaven.
  
  > Go south
  This room is small: the same as all the others. A bed is pushed up against one wall, opposite the door to the north.
  
  Lucca scrabbles frantically at the ground, his blood staining the stones.
  
  Whispers dance in your ears. Growing. Fading.
  
  > tell Lucca about Matteo
  "He knows something, but he won't tell me," he sobs more heavily for a moment. "He tells me nothing anymore."
  
  > read the note
  Written in a slothful scrawl:
  
  I would normally write in my journal, but in my increasing paranoia, I have hidden it. Now, I kick myself as it seems so far away. Everything is so far away: such a burden.
  
  The father came to visit me earlier; he is not the same man I knew and respected. He looked at me with murder in his eyes. I would tell Lucca, but I am scared. No, I am lazy. I do not care if he kills me. I would do it myself were I not such a coward.
  
  A wolf howls in the distance. A hungry, plaintive sound.
  
  > show the note to Lucca
  Better keep this to yourself.
  
  > talk to Lucca
  "Why do you dig, Lucca?" you ask.
  
  "Matteo is hiding something. I just know it's under here."
  
  A warmth spreads through your body, soothing the chill and fear from your bones. Salvation.
  
  She is here.
  
  > talk to Lucca
  "Why do you think that?" The blood pours from his fingers.
  
  "I just know," he sobs. "He scrapes around here at night."
  
  > kill the girl
  You strike the woman, hard. "Wake up!" You snarl.
  
  She doesn't.
  
  > get the girl
  With more than a little trouble, you hoist the girl into your arms. Your knees feel as though they might buckle but hold for now.
  
  > Go north
  The young woman groans and kicks slightly as the cold from the cloister scrapes across her skin.
  
  > Go east
  Perhaps the locutory would be more comfortable.
  
  > Go west
  (opening the door to the locutory)
  You turn sideways and slide into the locutory, careful not to catch the young woman's head on the frame.
  
  The locutory used to be alive with the bartering of merchants and the tales of visiting brothers, but since the gate was closed, no one has been in here but you. A small bed is pushed up against the wall for those visitors not permitted residency in the monastery, its tired frame supporting a light mattress.
  
  Near the door to the east is a fireplace, its embers cold for days.
  
  > put the girl in the bed
  You lay the young girl on the bed, and she immediately relaxes. Her eyes remain closed but no longer twitch with discomfort.
  
  > Light fire
  After much coaxing, you finally get the wet logs to ignite. The flame is weak, but it will do.