skulls

The shopkeeper is an automated stone pillar full of gears. It displays a courteous rune at your arrival. <<if $gems gt 0>>You have <<$gems>> <<if $gems gt 1>>coins.<<else>>coin.<<endif>><<endif>>\n\n<<if $calendar is false>><<if $gems gte 5>>[[Buy Calendar for 5 Coins|shop][$calendar to true;$gems -= 5]]<<else>>A calendar for 5 coins.<<endif>><<else>> <<endif>>\n<<if $clock is false>><<if $gems gte 12>>[[Buy Cuckoo Clock for 12 Coins|shop][$clock to true;$gems -= 12]]<<else>>A cuckoo clock for 12 coins.<<endif>><<else>> <<endif>>\n<<if $shovel is false>><<if $gems gte 15>>[[Buy Fine Shovel for 15 Coins|shop][$shovel to true;$gems -= 15]]<<else>>A fine shovel for 15 coins.<<endif>><<else>> <<endif>>\n<<if $weeks gte 2>><<if $book1 is false>><<if $gems gte 7>>[[Buy Folklore Book for 7 Coins|shop][$book1 to true;$gems -= 7]]<<else>>A book on local folklore for 7 coins.<<endif>><<else>> <<endif>><<endif>>\n<<if $weeks gte 3>><<if $book2 is false>><<if $gems gte 6>>[[Buy Black Book for 6 Coins|shop][$book2 to true;$gems -= 6]]<<else>>A black book for 6 coins.<<endif>><<else>> <<endif>><<endif>>\n\n[[Leave|Skull Village]]

[[.....|Sleep]]

<<set $r to either(1,2,3)>><<if $r gt 1>><<print either("A villager enters their house and shuts the door.", "A villager drags some firewood home.", "The square is silent and empty.","A villager passes by, but will not meet your gaze.","You hear a window scrape shut in the distance.","A villager hauls a bucket of water home from the well.","Several villagers walk by, murmuring to each other.","Some villagers walk down an alley and disappear.","A gate creaks in the wind.","Silence.","For a few minutes there is total silence.","The wind blows across the rooftops.","Faint sounds of distant footsteps.","A villager climbs the ladder into their home.","A villager leaves their house and disappears into the fog.","Villagers with shovels over their shoulders disappear in the direction of the mountains.")>>\n\n<<if $energy gt 0>>[[Sit and watch|square][$energy -= 1]]<<else>>Getting sleepy.<<endif>>\n\n[[Return|Skull Village]]<<else>>A visitor is here from <<print either("Ar","Ba","Va","Zi","Mur")>><<print either("za","ko","qu","ge")>><<print either("va","di","vu","xi","si")>><<print either("ma","zr","nak","ona","rna","het")>>. <<set $r to either(1,2)>><<if $r is 1>>They approach <<print either("nervously","eagerly","shyly","nonchalantly","awkwardly")>>. "<<print either("U have skull?","Skull globba?","Skullga?","Lookana ferda skull...","U skull gimme per glimma","Skull give!")>>"\n\n[[Lead them to skull pit|skullgive]]\n\n[[Walk away|Skull Village]]<<else>> <<print either("They wander past, disappearing into the fog","A villager escorts them in the direction of the mountains")>>.\n\n<<if $energy gt 0>>[[Sit and watch|square][$energy -= 1]]<<else>>Getting sleepy.<<endif>>\n\n[[Return|Skull Village]]<<endif>><<endif>>

A stooped figure in a dress. The eyes are covered in thick bangs. It is smiling dolefully.\n\n[[Put it back|newnapsack]]

<<print either("You listen to the water spattering on the rocks","The light calms you","A cloud moves overhead, dimming the light for a moment","Drops of water echo in the stone tunnels","The stone is cool under your legs","You close your eyes and savor a moment of quiet contemplation","Time passes and you don't even notice","Just the sound of your breath")>>.\n\n[[Get up|light]]

A [[napsack]] is in the corner. <<if $calendar is true>>A [[calendar]] hangs from the ceiling on a piece of cord.<<endif>> <<if $book1 is true>>A [[folklore book|book1]] leans against the wall.<<endif>> <<if $book2 is true>>A [[black book|book2]] lies on the floor.<<endif>> <<if $clock is true>>A cuckoo clock is fixed to the wall.<<endif>>\n\n<<if $shovel is false>>An old shovel leans near the door.<<else>>A fine shovel covered in dirt-luck runes leans near the door.<<if $ticket is true>> A ticket lies on the shelf.<<endif>> <<endif>><<if $gems gt 0>> You have <<$gems>> <<if $gems gt 1>>coins.<<else>>coin.<<endif>><<else>> <<endif>>\n\n<<if $dreamt is false and $weeks gt 2>>[[Sleep|Dream]]<<else>><<set $r to either(1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10)>><<if $r is 1>>[[Sleep|Dream]]<<else>>[[Sleep]]<<endif>><<endif>>\n\n[[Leave|Skull Village]]\n

Heavy blue forest. Lavender fog. You are nearing the [[town]].\n\nYou hear the hum of the vortex.<<set $days to 1>>

You jump.\n\nIn the second before your body hits the ground, you see a flash of still forms lying broken on the rock in heaps of decomposition and bone. They look like you.\n\n[[Crunch|Sleep]]

The napsack contains a [[letter|dearletter]] and a [[figurine]].\n\n[[Close napsack|house]]

A boiling pool illuminated by dim light from above. Wet stones poke just above the surface. They seem to lead across. You step carefully, using your shovel for <<replace "balance.">>balance.\n\nAt the center of the pool you [[look up]].<<endreplace>>

<<replace "Was that a sound?">><<replace "Scraping.">><<replace "Faint scraping in the walls.">>Faint scraping in the walls.\n\nIt sounds so weak.\n\n[[Search for sound|scrape]]<<endreplace>><<endreplace>><<endreplace>>

<<replace "......">>It feels like many, many hours before you [[wake up]].<<endreplace>>

You stand on a sheer cliffside, looking down on slopes of broken stone, chasms choked on avalanches. The wind tugs at you.\n\n[[Jump|fall]]\n\n[[Return|higher]]

<<display "begin">>

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Through the shaft above your head you see a circle of orange sky.\n\n<<replace "Return">>You slip and fall into the boiling water. Extreme pain, shock, then [[nothing]].<<endreplace>>

[[...|elsewhere]]

You stamp the book with a red skull and set it aside.<<set $censored += 1>>\n\n<<display "censormenu">>

You insert the coins and the stone machine labors, finally spitting out a ticket printed on old yellow paper.<<set $ticket to true>><<set $gems -= 15>>\n\n[[Okay|train station]]

As you fall [[asleep]] you are struck, in the delirium of half-dreaming, by the odd but distinct feeling of splitting in half, as if you were still back there in that village, shoveling skulls, falling asleep, waking up, trudging in the shadow of that mountain,

Today is day <<$days>> of the week.\n\nStipend arrives on day 7. Train arrives on day 1.\n\n[[Okay|house]]

A massive hill of skulls next to a pit. The skull pit has <<$skulls>> skulls.\n\n<<if $energy lt 1>><<set $r to 0>>Too tired to shovel skulls.<<else>><<if $shovel is false>><<if $energy gt 0>><<set $r to either(4,5,6)>>[[Shovel Skulls|skulls][$skulls += $r;$energy -= 1;$skull_score += $r]]<<else>>Too tired to shovel skulls.<<endif>><<else>><<if $energy gt 0>><<set $r to either(7,8,9)>>[[Shovel Skulls|skulls][$skulls += $r;$energy -= 1;$skull_score += $r]]<<else>>Too tired to shovel skulls.<<endif>><<endif>><<endif>>\n\n[[Leave|Skull Village]]<<if $skull_score gt 99>><<set $skull_bonus += 1>><<set $skull_score to $skull_score - 100>><<endif>>

Crumbling ridges above a sea of sulphurous miasma, leading to the towering inner recesses of the mountain. Orange-white lichen clusters on the rocks like a skin disease.\n\n[[Climb higher|higher]]\n\n[[Descend|Skull Village]]

[[.....|Sleep]]

The ravine narrows until you can barely fit. The silver sky looks like a jag of lightning between the rock walls.\n\n[[Deeper|deeper_ravine]]\n\n[[Leave ravine|higher]]

A smooth, human-carved tunnel. Equally spaced holes in the rock on either side, like doorways.\n\nThey open into [[dark rooms]]. Some of them are closed up with brick and mortar. The tunnel [[continues|down]], or you can [[leave|deeper_ravine]].<<set $prying to false>>

The ravine terminates in a dark, musty [[cave mouth|Deeper]]. In the other direction, it slopes back up to the [[mountain trail|ravine]].

<<if ($mail is true) and ($departure is false)>>The post beast comes up to you with a [[letter]] in its jaw.<<else>>[[The skull pit|skulls]] is here. The [[village square|square_intro]] is at the center of town. A [[well]] is nearby. <<if ($mail is true) and ($departure is false)>>The post beast is clutching a [[letter]] in its jaw.<<else>>[[Your hut|house]] is down that alley.<<endif>>\n\nThe [[shop]] is at the start of the northern road. The [[train station]] is at the end of the road. Further away, past the ruins of the southern walls, the [[outskirts|outskirts]].<<endif>>

The cave [[deepens]] to the left.\n\nSome [[light]] to the right.\n\n[[Leave cave|higher]]

Back and forth, in and out of moonlight, our dresses shadow and silver.\n\nShe walks to the <<replace "edge of the ruin">>edge of the ruin, past the <<replace "edge">>edge, down the mountain path. She looks back and tells you to <<replace "come with her.">>come with her.\n\nYou follow but for every step you take, she takes ten. You break into a <<replace "run.">>run. She [[disappears]].<<endreplace>><<endreplace>><<endreplace>><<endreplace>>

You stamp the book with a green skull and set it aside.\n\n<<display "censormenu">>

<<if $bookz lt 6>>//<<set $r to either(1,2,3)>><<if $r is 1>><<print either("Epistolary","Book","Tome","Record","Codex","An Account")>> of<<endif>> <<print either("Post-war","Pre-war","Mid-war","Scriptural","Ancient","Medieval","Antebellum","Apocryphal","Obscure","Famous","False","Deadliest","Secret")>> <<print either("Skulls","Saints","Starfish","Jellyfish","Executions", "Vegetables","Lepidoptera","Golems","Duels","Horned Beasts","Artifacts","Witches","Hexes","Poisons","Angels","Succubi","Thrones","Assassins","Ascensions","Bugs","Berries","Coronations","Torture Devices","Kindnesses","Funerals","Rebels","Children","Blood Fountains","Valkyries","Hells","Gem Waga")>><<set $r to either(1,2,3)>><<if $r lt 3>>, <<print either("Revised Edition","Annotated","Abridged","Blessed Edition","Hexproof Edition")>><<endif>>.// <<print either("Emerald","Crimson","Ivory","Tan","Black","Cherry","Lemon","Cobalt","Orange","Magenta")>> binding. <<print either("Illuminated","Water damage","Good condition","Mint condition","Yellowed","Insect damage","Gold leaf","Illustrated","Marginalia","Defaced","Leatherbound","Anthropodermic","Heat damage","Mildew","Stains","Rare")>>.\n\n[[Censor][$bookz += 1]] | [[Permit][$bookz += 1]]<<else>>That's [[enough]].<<endif>>

You censored <<$censored>> <<if $censored is 1>>book<<else>>books<<endif>> today.<<set $worked to true>>\n\n[[Go home|town]]

<<if $days lt 6>><<replace "......">>You wake. Lavender light colors the room.\n\n[[Get up|town]]<<endreplace>><<else>><<replace "......">>\nDancing across the stone floor of a mountain ruin\n\nMoon for a ceiling\n\nWe are above the clouds\n\n[[Dance|newdance]]\n\n<<endreplace>><<endif>><<set $censored to 0>><<set $days += 1>><<set $bookz to 0>><<set $worked to false>>

You sit at your desk. There is a red stamp and a green stamp, along with a heap of books.\n\n<<display "censormenu">>

Five coins under the rock. Fragments of a faded grey shirt. Rough home-spun cloth, eaten away by damp. You take the coins.<<set $gems += 5>><<set $got_coins to true>>\n\n[[Okay|deepens]]

//<<replace "Dear Skulljhabit, will I find you again?">>Dear Skulljhabit, will I find you again?\n\n<<replace "I will listen for you.">>I will listen for you.\n\n<<replace "I will listen for so long.">>I will listen for so long.<<endreplace>><<endreplace>><<endreplace>>//

Skulljhabit

<<if $boiled is false>>Trailing your fingers against the walls you feel more [[cells|Explore cells]].\n\n[[Keep walking down the hallway]]\n\n[[Return|down]]<<else>>Trailing your fingers against the walls you feel more [[cells|Explore cells]]. The corridor ends in mortared brick.\n\n[[Return|down]]<<endif>><<set $prying to false>>

The napsack contains a [[figurine|newfigurine]].\n\n[[Close napsack|newhouse]]

Spotty black ink scrawl with hearts dotting the i's. Drawings in the margins, little stick people with arms waving excitedly. A lingering wake of P.S.'s.\n\n[[Fold letter|napsack]]

A [[ravine]] cuts through the mountain. Further up the slope, a [[cave]] entrance sinks into the rock, or you can keep walking [[higher|jump]].\n\n[[Return|wander]]

You have been assigned a position in the [[Skull Village|position]] near <<print either("Ar","Ba","Va","Zi","Mur","Val","I")>><<print either("za","ko","q","ge","zi","o","n")>><<print either("va","di","vu","xi","di","i")>><<print either("ma","zr","nak","na","rna","het","x","z")>>.

A stooped figure in a dress. The eyes are covered in thick bangs. It is smiling dolefully.\n\n[[Put it back|napsack]]

You wake up.\n\nYou were dreaming of something.\n\nBut it [[eludes]] you.

<<print either("Zo","Mi","Kel","Tar","Xal","Zar","Ra","O","A")>><<print either("ta","n","ve","m","p")>><<print either("st","il","z")>><<print either("ok","o","or","i","ni","on")>>

The hallway feels rougher, like the sides of a cave. The air is warm. Almost humid.\n\n[[Walk|smack]]

High stone walls glowing at the edges with rhythmic green light. A sign on the metal door: //The vortex is in hibernation sequence XI. Please come back next week for the keys.//\n\n[[Leave|town]]

<<if $energy gt 0>>You walk to the square<<print either(", avoiding the puddles of acid rain"," past fog-drowned houses", ", boots crunching on the hard ground","")>>.\n\n[[Sit and watch|square][$energy -= 1]]<<else>>Too sleepy.<<endif>>\n\n[[Return|Skull Village]]<<endif>>

<<set $skulls -= 1>><<if $skulls lt 0>><<set $skulls to 0>><<endif>><<set $r to either(3,4,5,6,7,8)>>You hand them a skull. They stuff <<$r>> coins into your hand.<<set $gems += $r>>\n\n"<<print either("Nice doing biz...","Grehehe...it good","Good skull...","Nice ;)","Ah i love this","Weh...good enuff","Perfect skulla","Skulla! Hehheh!","Bewambo...","How loveli...bwahahah...","Bewambi...")>>"\n\nThey skulk away, disappearing into the shadows.\n\n[[Okay|Skull Village]]

<<if $book2_page gt 30>><<set $book2_page to 30>><<endif>><<if $book2_page lt 1>><<set $book2_page to 1>><<endif>><<if $book2_page is 1>>There is no title, just worn, black, loose binding and faded pages.<<endif>><<if $book2_page is 2>>//God is in the room.//<<endif>><<if $book2_page is 3>>//The room is god, because it describes and shapes the limits of thought. It is the skull of god. God is a brain that grows to fit the room. If the room is the heavens, the result is a just and good earth. If the room is limited or proscribed in some way, the god will find limitation as the greatest good, or the greatest evil, and the result will be a supreme enforcement or destruction of limitation, either of which the terrestrial intellect cannot sustain, that is to say, we who affectedly designate this container of flesh and bone with the term "human".//<<endif>><<if $book2_page is 4>>//The construction of rooms follows from the interest in god. The order is 10 rooms, 10 rooms, 10 rooms, in rows, so on. A lit room is small, knowing all its boundaries. A lightless room stretches to infinity.//<<endif>><<if $book2_page is 5>>//A lightless room is both supreme limitation and supreme boundlessness, carrying the eye through black vistas without end. Therefore it contains both aspects of god.\n\nThese rooms are the net of god.//<<endif>><<if ($book2_page gte 6) and ($book2_page neq 30)>>//[] [] [] [] [] [] [] []\n[] [] [] [] [] [] [] []\n[] [] [] [] [] [] [] []\n[] [] [] [] [] [] [] []\n[] [] [] [] [] [] [] []\n[] [] [] [] [] [] [] []\n[] [] [] [] [] [] [] []//<<endif>><<if $book2_page is 30>>//I am inside the room.//<<endif>>\n\n[[<-|book2][$book2_page -= 1;]] [[->|book2][$book2_page += 1;]]\n\n[[Close book|house]]

<<if $explored lt 1>>You feel a <<replace "face.">>face.\n\nUnmoving. Hard. Cool to the <<replace "touch.">>touch.\n\nSome kind of statue. The features are hard to make out with your hands. You're not sure if the sculptor is unskilled or if the anatomy is unfamiliar.<<set $explored += 1>>\n\n[[Return|deepcells]]<<endreplace>><<endreplace>><<else>>All these rooms have statues in them. None of them feel the same.\n\n[[Return|deepcells]]<<endif>>

[[.....|Sleep]]

The envelope is sealed with green wax.\n\n<<if ($boiled is true) and ($weeks gte 5)>>//Honored Skulljhabit. Good news!\n\nFor your loyal service, we grant you glorious promotion. Henceforth you are Skulljhabor. You are being reassigned to <<print either("Ar","Ba","Va","Zi","Mur","Val","La")>><<print either("za","ko","qu","ge")>><<print either("zur","ga","r","n")>><<print either("ma","al","ai","u")>>.\n\nYou will be responsible for the following duties:\n-vortex cleaning\n-book censoring\n\nPlease take the next possible train.<<if ($ticket is false) or ($gems lt 15)>> We have enclosed 15 coins to facilitate your departure.<<set $gems += 15>><<endif>>\n\nSincerely, Skull Commissioner//\n\n[[Okay|Skull Village]]<<set $departure to true>><<else>>//<<print either("Dear","Honored","Devoted","To our beloved","To our esteemed","For the eyes of the")>> Skulljhabit:\n\n<<print either("Good","Commendable","Acceptable","Wonderful","Excellent")>> <<print either("work","effort","labors","diggings","service")>>. Your weekly stipend is enclosed<<if $skull_bonus gt 0>>, <<print either("plus", "as well as","along with")>> an efficiency bonus.<<else>>.<<endif>>\n\n<<print either("Beware of","Remain vigilant of","Stay aware of","Keep an eye out for")>> <<print either("all","certain","the many","powerful","deadly","dangerous")>> <<print either("centipedes","skull bandits","skull smugglers","incarnations","heretics","scorpions","witches","diseases","parasites","neurodivergents","gender bandits")>> in the <<print either("area","zone","region","province", "sector","locus of your authority","area","province")>>.\n\n<<set $r to either(1,2)>><<if $r is 1>><<print either("Rebels have been defeated in","A sorrow-stone has been defaced in","Agents are making progress in","A triumph-stone has been erected in","All heretics have been purged in","We have annexed","Skull derricks have been erected in","Purges are beginning in","Salt has been sown in the town of","Angels have been sighted in")>> <<display "placename">>.<<endif>><<if $r is 2>><<print either("Skull Queen has declared a holiday in the capital. You may participate by considering in your mind three or more ways in which she has enriched the nation.","Skull Queen has executed a traitor in the Ivory Square, to great applause and gratitude.","The pit augurs have declared this an auspicious week. Proceed accordingly.","Skull Queen has ascended to her next larval form.","Skull Queen emerged to proclaim a new prophecy! Sacrifices were made.","As you labor, think upon the beneficent austerity of the Skull Queen!","Skull Queen is slumbering in her lake hive. Observe proper respects.","Skull Queen has invented a new type of coffin. The nation is grateful.")>><<endif>>\n\n<<print either("Sincerely, Skull Commissioner","Signed, Skull Commissioner","From the desk of the Skull Commissioner","Correctly written by the Skull Commissioner")>>//\n\nEnclosed are <<set $r to 3>><<if $skull_bonus gt 0>><<set $r += 2 * $skull_bonus>><<endif>><<$r>> coins.<<set $gems += $r>>\n\n[[Okay|Skull Village]]<<set $mail to false>><<set $skull_bonus to 0>><<endif>>

Acacia Gutterblossom

[[.....|Sleep]]<<set $boiled to true>>

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<<if $dream is false>>Dancing across the stone floor of a mountain ruin\n\nMoon for a ceiling\n\n<<if $cells is true>>Something hidden and centipedal is watching<<else>>We are above the clouds<<endif>><<set $dream to true>>\n\n[[Dance]]<<else>>Always the same dream: dancing across the stone floor of a mountain ruin\n\nMoon for a ceiling\n\n<<if $cells is true>>Something hidden and centipedal is watching<<else>>We are above the clouds<<endif>>\n\n[[Dance]]<<endif>><<set $dreamt to true>>

The train takes until evening to arrive, black smoke billowing from the iron pillar of its stack. You enter the train.\n\n[[Ride|ride]]<<set $ticket = false>>

The forest encloses many tall, narrow wooden houses. There is a patch of barren land like a bald spot where a skull derrick groans.\n\nThe [[vortex]] hums in its enclosure. <<if $bookz lt 6>>The [[library|precensor]] is over there.<<else>>The library is over there.<<endif>>\n\nPlank steps lead up to your [[house|newhouse]].

<<if $pryed gte 10>>An opening at the end of the tunnel. Broken bricks at your feet.\n\n[[Onward|deepcells]]\n\n[[Back|Deeper]]\n<<else>><<if $prying is true>><<print either("You bash a brick free.","You sink the shovel in the wall and tear a brick free.","You jam the shovel under a brick and pry it free.","You sweat as another brick flips free.","So hot in this confined space.","A brick falls to the floor, breaking in two.","You chip away at the wall until a brick comes loose.")>><<else>>You feel loose bricks at the end of the passage. An unfinished wall.<<endif>>\n\n<<if $energy lt 1>>Too tired.<<else>>[[Clear away bricks with your shovel|down][$pryed += 1;$energy -= 1;$prying = true]]<<endif>>\n\n[[Back|Deeper]]<<endif>><<set $cells to true>>

<<if $weather is 1>>Paths of dark rock are visible in the mist.\n\n<<if $energy gt 0>>[[Into the wilderness|wander][$energy -= 1]]<<else>>You are too tired to climb the mountain.<<endif>><<else>>The mountains are covered in sulphurous fog.\n\n<<if $energy gt 0>>[[Into the wilderness|lost]]<<else>>You are too tired to climb the mountain.<<endif>><<endif>>\n\n[[Return to the village|Skull Village]]<<set $r to 0>>

The fog [[envelopes|foglost]] you.

<<if $book1_page gte 6>><<set $book1_page to 6>><<endif>><<if $book1_page lt 1>><<set $book1_page to 1>><<endif>><<if $book1_page is 1>>//Folklore of the Border Regions//\n\nThe book is heavily water-damaged. Only a few pages retain any trace of legibility.<<endif>><<if $book1_page is 2>>//Achigati, known also as Culghol\n\n...searched for weeks...handprints on the rock...climbing higher than a child's strength...//<<endif>><<if $book1_page is 3>>//The Chirogria, known also as Unbatta, known also as Hide-wrong-daughter\n\n...slimy leathery wings that it drags across the earth...incapable of flight...//<<endif>><<if $book1_page is 4>>//Dremgh\n\n...blasphemously cast in bronze...punished the acolytes with the realization of their own skin...and its wrongfulness...//<<endif>><<if $book1_page is 5>>//Stahuc, known also as Lamrsul, known also as Listener\n\n...when the fog clears...the rocks are laid bare...like the low tide shows paths through the sea...waiting...//<<endif>><<if $book1_page is 6>>//Dimalkut\n\n...just a small...huddles in warm dark deep places...certain people have the capacity to see...but few that see will act...//<<endif>>\n\n[[<-|book1][$book1_page -= 1;]] [[->|book1][$book1_page += 1;]]\n\n[[Close book|house]]

[[.....|Sleep]]

Light pours through the ceiling, a patch of faint sun glistening on damp rock glittering with minerals.\n\n[[Sit]]\n\n[[Return|cave]]

<<if $departure is false>>The train chugs away from the mountain, past shattered rocks and dry grass, across the plains. The rhythmic sound of the engine lulls you to [[sleep|trainride]].<<else>>The train chugs away from the mountain, past shattered rocks and dry grass, across the plains. The rhythmic sound of the engine lulls you to [[sleep|escape]].<<endif>>

A stone circle high as your waist. You stare into the dark. The air is warm on your face.\n\n[[Return|Skull Village]]

Your face smacks into solid rock. Blood spurts from your nose. Stars fill the blackness, then <<replace "fade away.">>fade away.\n\nThe corridor [[curves]] under your fingertips.<<endreplace>>

A raggedy jacket hangs from a hook. Your [[napsack|newnapsack]] is stowed in a shelf above your bed. You have <<$gems>> coins.\n\n<<if $worked is true>>[[Sleep|newsleep]]<<else>>Can't sleep. Must do work.<<endif>>\n\n[[Leave|town]]

An automated stone machine is here.\n\n<<if $ticket is false>><<if $gems gte 15>>[[Buy ticket]]<<else>>The ticket costs 15 coins.<<endif>><<else>>You have a ticket.\n\n<<if $days is 1>>[[Wait for train]]<<else>>The train only comes on 1st day.<<endif>><<endif>>\n\n[[Back|Skull Village]]

Curled up in the warm ashes of the fire pit.\n\nYou can't remember any dreams.\n\n<<if $clock is true>>The cuckoo clock wakes you early. <<set $energy to 4>><<else>>You stir groggily. <<set $energy to 3>><<endif>><<set $r to either(1,2,3)>><<if $r is 1>><<print either("Your back hurts","Back aches a bit. Can't be helped","You ease out of bed, back stiff and sore","You wince at the pain in your spine","You unfold your aching limbs and slide out of bed")>>.<<endif>>\n\n[[Get up|Skull Village]]<<set $days += 1>><<if $days is 7>><<set $mail to true>><<endif>>\n\n<<silently>>\n<<if $days gt 7>>\n<<set $days to 1>>\n<<set $weeks += 1>>\n<<endif>>\n<<set $weather to either(1,2,3)>>\n\n<<endsilently>>

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Dark rooms. They seem to be empty.\n\n[[Return|Deeper]]<<set $cells to true>>

<<if $got_coins is false>>You see a [[glint]] under a rock.<<else>>Dead end. Fragments of faded cloth. Something is scratched on the rock, too worn away to read.<<endif>>\n\n[[Return|cave]]

The train carries you away. The iron towers of the town give way to lonely purple-brown farmland gives way to rotting forest give way to cloud-swept plains gives way to the black mountains and the orange wasteland at the foot of it, where you see the Skull Village.\n\nBone white structures and dry brown grass like spears. A pit.\n\n[[Disembark|Skull Village]]\n\n<<silently>>\n\n<<set $departure to false>>\n<<set $skulls to 0>>\n<<set $skull_score to 0>>\n<<set $skull_bonus to 0>>\n<<set $gems to 1>>\n<<set $days to 1>>\n<<set $weeks to 0>>\n<<set $shovel to false>>\n<<set $book1 to false>>\n<<set $book2 to false>>\n<<set $book1_page to 1>>\n<<set $book2_page to 1>>\n<<set $clock to false>>\n<<set $calendar to false>>\n<<set $dream to false>>\n<<set $energy to 3>>\n<<set $ticket to false>>\n<<set $book_realization to false>>\n<<set $cells to false>>\n<<set $got_coins to false>>\n<<set $boiled to false>>\n<<set $pryed to 0>>\n<<set $explored to false>>\n<<set $bookz to 0>>\n<<set $worked to false>>\n<<set $dreamt to false>>\n\n<<endsilently>>

The forest spans before you wide and open and whispering.\n\nThere are too many trees. Your mind fills with the knowledge of the sheer quantity of branches, leaves, twigs, bark, roots, rocks, boulders, pebbles, caves, foliage, fungi, moss, soil, dirt, dust, a system unfolding with [[innumerable]] sub-systems and meta-systems, repeated acre after acre after acre, indistinguishable chaos.\n

Stumbling over rocks in the darkness, knees skinned and bloody.\n\nThe air is hot in a certain [[direction]].