<h2>The Hypogeum</h2>
**The summer of 1902, Malta**
I could barely hold my shovel after a long day digging cisterns. The Maltese sun was getting low and I speared the bottom of the pit I had dug one last time to finish up. Instead of the resistance I was used to from the limestone-studded soil, I felt a give as my shovel broke through rock into a void. The ground gave way as [[I tumbled into darkness]], my head glancing off rock.
I awoke with a start. The gray light of the setting sun filtered through the hole above me, illuminating the room. Before me, a trilithon loomed, one massive stone block atop two stone columns, in the way of Stonehenge and other mystical structures of the ancient world. What lay beyond was hidden in darkness.
Taviano called out from above. "Are you hurt? What happened?" He shone a lantern into my face, blinding me for a moment. "I'll get a ladder to help you out."
I called out...
* [["Bring that ladder with haste!"->Ladder to surface]]
* [["Pass down that lantern. I wish to explore."->Entrance with lantern]]
* [[I did not call out. I crept into the darkness alone.->Staircase]]
On the firm earth, the ancient underground structure below me seemed like a dream. There was the well I had dug, though, and there was a ladder descending into it.
* [[Leave the pit behind<-I left the pit behind.]]
* (link: "I entered the pit again, this time prepared with a lantern.")[(set: $light to true)(go-to: "Entrance")]
(set: $bold to it + 1)
(set: $light to true)
I took the lantern Taviano handed down. The room was illuminated. It was a small alcove, likely once on the surface of the earth, now sunk below. Beyond the trilithon I saw a spiral staircase carved out of rock leading further into the earth.
I looked up into Taviano's questioning face and wondered if I would ever see it again.
* [[I took the staircase down.->Staircase]]
* [[I called out for a ladder.->Ladder to surface]]
(set: $bold to 0)
(set: $hurt to 0)
(set: $insane to 0)
(set: $underground to false)
(set: $light to false)
(set: $dreaming to false)
(set: $dreamcount to 0)
(set: $ceremony_starts to 5)
(set: $hp to 2)
(set: $inv to (dataset:))
(if: (history:) contains (passage:)'s name)[
I returned to the staircase that led me into this mysterious underground world.
* [[Entrance<-I took the staircase back up.]]
* [[Main hall<-I took the steps to the east.]]
* [[Antechamber<-I pressed on toward the south.]]
]
(else:)[
$light[
I made my way carefully down the staircase, using the center column to balance myself. The steps were worn from use and I had to take care not to slip. I must have traveled down at least 10 yards. Reaching the bottom, I saw a hallway stretching out before me and a set of stairs to the east. Down the hallway, there was an opening leading into a larger chamber.
]
(else:)[
I felt my way down the staircase, one hand on the center column to balance myself. The steps were worn from use and I slipped near the bottom, tumbling to the floor.
(set: $bold to it + 1)
(set: $hurt to it + 1)
(if: $hurt < $hp)[Crouching on the cool floor, I felt my way forward. There appeared to be a set of steps to the left as well as a pathway forward.]
]
(if: $hurt < $hp)[
* [[Entrance<-I took the staircase back up.]]
* [[Main hall<-I took the steps to the east.]]
* [[Antechamber<-I pressed on forward.]]
]
]
I died exploring those ruins, my only comfort in knowing my bones would lie with those of the ancients.
**THE END**
(if: $hurt >= $hp and (passage:)'s name is not "Dead")[(go-to: "Dead")]
(if: $hurt >= $hp and (passage:)'s name is not "Dead")[
[[Dead<-I felt my life slip away.]]
]
$light[
The light from my lantern blazed in this large circular chamber. The ceiling above me was made of concentric circles of stone set within each other, in the corbelled style, making a shallow cone. The stone itself reflected the lantern's glow, making the room as bright as day. The walls were painted with red ochre spirals enclosed in pentagons, a symbol that hinted at eldritch origins.
The eastern wall had another trilithon, only wide enough to allow one person abreast. On the top beam of the trilithon was painted in black pigment a thick-set woman holding an axe, another symbol of mysterious occult meanings. To the northwest, three steps led up to the spiral staircase that would let me exit this ancient world.
* [[Staircase<-I went to the staircase.]]
* [[Holy of holies<-Bowing my head, I went through the trilithon.]]
]
(else:)[
On my hands and knees, I could see nothing in this room, but it thrummed with ancient power. There was a humbling presence I could not shake. I felt my way around the circular chamber and found a narrow passage on the eastern wall and a set of stairs to the northwest that would lead me back to the exit from this ancient world.
* [[Staircase<-I made my way up the stairs to the exit.]]
* [[Holy of holies<-I went through the narrow passage.]]
]
$light[
I entered a large room and felt a slight breeze from the west, where three steps led down into another large chamber. Along the south wall, another set of steps led into a strangely magnetic darkness. Lastly, to the east, there was an entrance into a grand chamber. From here, I could see red paintings on the walls of the chamber, but I could not make out what they were.
* [[Burial chamber<-I followed the breeze into the western chamber.]]
* [[Oracle room<-I answered the call of the darkness.]]
* [[Decorated chamber<-I went east to examine the paintings.]]
* [[Staircase<-I went north to the entrance.]]
]
(else:)[
The darkness was oppressive as I crawled into the chamber. I could feel a slight breeze from the west, where an exit must beckon.
* [[Burial chamber<-I followed the breeze.]]
* (link-goto: "I crawled until I found an exit.", (either: "Staircase", "Decorated chamber", "Oracle room"))
]
$light[
(if: (history:) contains (passage:)'s name)[
I re-entered the burial chamber.
]
(else:)[
I walked into an expansive underground tomb. Deep shelves had been carved into the walls by ancient hands and then filled with the bones of thousands. By fate or perhaps by some malevolent protection, no animal or bandit had been here and the bones rested in their gentle sleep. This rivaled the mausoleums of Italy! A great civilization, long dead, must have built this.
]
Several alcoves were carved into the northern and western walls. The breeze I had felt came from one of these. To the south was a recessed pit in the ground, filled with bone fragments.
[[Search the bones<-I searched through the bones.]]
[[Alcoves<-I explored the alcoves.]]
[[Fragment pit<-I entered the pit.]]
[[Antechamber<-I exited into the antechamber.]]
]
(else:)[
I crawled on my belly into the chamber. By the echoes of my crawling, I had the sense it was expansive. The breeze I had felt was coming from the west, and as I turned my head in that direction, I saw a dim light from an alcove.
[[Search the bones<-I felt the walls to orient myself.]]
[[Alcoves<-I moved toward the light.]]
[[Fragment pit<-I crawled further to find the limits of this chamber.]]
[[Antechamber<-I crawled back into the antechamber.]]
]
$light[
This chamber stretched out before me in a long rectangle. Small shelves were carved into the walls. Long ago, they must have held some spiritual artifacts. Every step I took as I walked into the room was amplified in echo. By my third step it sounded as if a giant was making its way toward me. My heart pounded with each echo. What mind could have made such a chamber?
On the eastern wall, near the end of the room, there was a hole in the wall, maybe two feet in diameter.
(link: "I looked inside the hole.")[I shone my lantern into the hole. A tube the size of a human head descended into the bowels of the earth.]
(link-reveal:"I dropped a stone into the hole. ")[Seconds passed with no sound but the slight whistle of the rock cutting through air. Finally, ten seconds later, a great boom, as if a boulder was crashing down upon myself, reverberated through the hall. My bones shook. I fell to my knees and vomited.
(set: $insane to it + 1)]
(link-reveal:"I spoke into the hole. ")["Hawn," I whispered. The entire complex echoed back my words. Anything said into this hole could be heard throughout in this unearthly place! The acoustic technology of the ancients far surpassed that of modern man. I hummed gently into the hole, and a deep basso buzzing filled the caverns, causing my entire body to vibrate.
(set: $bold to it + 1)]
[[Antechamber<-I left the chamber.]]
]
(else:)[
On hands and knees, I made my way inside the chamber. With every scrape of my body against the floor, I heard an echo that grew louder and louder. A few feet into the room, the sound was overpowering, threatening to shatter my thinking mind and leave me in an animal state.
(set: $insane to it + 1)
[[Antechamber<-I had no choice but to leave the chamber before I went insane.]]
]
$light[
The walls of this chamber were covered in spirals painted in red ochre, winding their way across each other like flowers. I found myself dizzy from the interlocking patterns. Looking up, I saw the ceiling was also decorated. A honeycomb pattern had been painted by some ancient artist in the same red ochre.
Against the south wall, I saw what appeared to be a handprint carved into the rock at shoulder level.
* [[Handprint<-I placed my hand into the handprint.]]
* [[Snake pit entrance<-I walked into a small square room off the chamber.]]
* [[Holy of holies<-I walked through a narrow trilithon to the north.]]
* [[Antechamber<-I walked west into a large chamber.]]
]
(else:)[
Crawling on my belly, this room seemed like many others. I felt my way around the edges and found two exits near each other on the north wall and a large exit to the west.
I stood against one wall and felt my way around. There was a carving in the wall. Touching the edges, it felt like it might be a handprint.
* [[Handprint<-I placed my hand into the carving.]]
* [[Snake pit entrance<-I took the north exit on the left.]]
* [[Holy of holies<-I took the north exit on the right.]]
* [[Antechamber<-I crawled to the west.]]
]
(if: (history:) contains (passage:)'s name)[
The bones held no more secrets for me.
(display: "Burial chamber")
]
(else:)[
(set: $insane to it + 1)
$light[
There were thousands of skeletons here. I picked up bones by intuition. I found a femur, then a rib, then a hip. I saw a skull and pulled it out. There was something curious about it. I turned it over and saw that the back of the skull, near the crown, was elongated, almost in a conical shape. This was inhuman! Yet, the eyes, nose, and jaw stared at me with a human intelligence. What manner of creature was this?
]
(else:)[
Everywhere I put my hands I found more bones. They were packed so tightly that the flesh must have fallen off of them before placing them on the shelves. I found what I thought was a human skull, but the crown of the head was weirdly elongated. It must have been an ancient ape.
]
[[Burial chamber<-I looked around the burial chamber again.]]
]
The ceiling of this room was carved into a grate. It was only partially covered by dirt and a light breeze flowed through it, along with a grey light. I could hear people's voices from far away on the wind.
[[Burial chamber<-I went back to the burial chamber.]]
$light[
I walked into the pit, hearing bones crunch under my feet. I tried to avoid trampling the dead, but their skeletons had been shattered as if savaged by a giant. I scanned the ground for any clue to what this place had been, but found only death.
(unless: "flint knife" is in $inv)[
I was about to leave when my foot kicked something more solid than bone. I bent over and saw what it was: a crude knife, made of flint.
(link: "I took the knife.")[
It was well-weighted and a good tool. I tucked it into my belt.
(set: $inv to (dataset: "flint knife", ...$inv))
]
]
]
(else:)[
I felt sharp fragments under my hands. I rolled one around between my fingers and felt a rounded end. The fragments were lighter than rock.
(unless: "flint knife" is in $inv)[
I crawled further and nicked my hand on something hard and sharp, weightier than the fragments I had found. Examining the object further, I surmised it was a knife.
(link: "I took the knife.")[
It was well-weighted and a good tool. I tucked it into my belt.
(set: $inv to (dataset: "flint knife", ...$inv))
]
]
]
[[Burial chamber<-I went back to the burial chamber.]]
(if: $light)[(link: "Turn off light")[
(set: $light to false)
(go-to: (passage:)'s name)
]]
(else:)[(link: "Turn on light")[
(set: $light to true)
(go-to: (passage:)'s name)
]]
I was at the entrance to this subterranean world I had discovered. Taviano had been good enough to leave me a ladder to escape.
* [[Ladder to surface<-I made my way up the ladder.]]
* [[Staircase<-I walked down the staircase into mystery.]]
$light[
This round chamber was simpler than others. There were no paintings on the walls, no carved ceilings, no shelves, simply a into a recessed pit filling most of the room, about four feet deep surrounded by a lip two feet wide. In the middle of the room lay a small statuette.
(link-reveal: "I picked up the statuette.")[
It was weighty, made of solid rock. I turned it over in my hand and saw that it was a carving of a woman, large in stature, reclining on a couch or bed. Her face looked peaceful in repose.
I felt tired looking at her. My eyes began to droop. I fought the urge to rest, but my will crumbled as fatigue dropped over me like a thick blanket. I lay my head on the floor and descended into sleep's embrace.
[[Enter the dreamworld<-I awoke some moments later.]]
(replace: "I left the pit.")[]
]
]
(else:)[
I nearly cracked my skull crawling into this room. There was only a narrow lip surrounding a pit about four feet in depth. I caught myself before I fell over and then lowered myself into the pit. The floor was unlittered. Feeling around, I found a statuette in the middle of the pit.
(link-reveal: "I picked up the statuette.")[
I had become accustomed to the darkness by now and my fingertips were my eyes. I touched the statue all over. There was a rectanglar base, and then a curved figure atop it. I felt a foot, then a hip, a wide belly, breasts, and finally, a face. It was a woman sleeping.
I felt tired holding her. My eyes began to droop. I fought the urge to rest, but my will crumbled as fatigue dropped over me like a thick blanket. I lay my head on the floor and descended into sleep's embrace.
[[Enter the dreamworld<-I awoke some moments later.]]
(replace: "I left the pit.")[]
]
]
[[Decorated chamber<-I left the pit.]]
$light[
This small ovoid chamber filled me with unease. The ceiling was carved in the corbelled style, but was very low, giving me the feeling of the earth pressing down, trying to drive me to my knees. It was obvious to me that this had been a natural cave at one time, and some of the walls had not been altered. One wall that had been smoothed was covered in the image of a bison bull, an animal long extinct, painted in black pigment. This place was obviously sacrosanct to the long-ago civilization that had built it.
Three trilithons provided exits from this place, one to the west, one to the south, and one to the east. The eastern one was shorter than the others. I would have to duck to go under it.
]
(else:)[
I could feel the echoes of the past in this chamber. My ears filled with a deep hum, perhaps real, perhaps imagined. Crawling on my hands and knees seemed the only appropriate way to be here. I felt the walls with my hands and was surprised to find some of them to be unfinished rock. This must have been a natural cave. The room was shaped like an egg and had three small exits. Each was a trilithon, and the eastern one was more narrow and short.
]
* [[Main hall<-I took the western trilithon.]]
* [[Decorated chamber<-I took the southern trilithon.]]
* [[Sacrificial chamber<-I took the small eastern trilithon.]]
$light[
This low-ceilinged room smelled of dread and old blood. The walls closed in. There were two skeletons, arms interlocked, lying against one wall. The floor was stained red and had the feel of a tavern floor made sticky through years of spilt spirits. I knew what had been spilt on this floor was no spirit but the spirit of life. There was nothing to do in this room for me but to mourn.
]
(else:)[
(set: $hurt to it + 1)
Crawling into the room, my hands and feet felt sticky. I jumped up, banging my head into the ceiling. I fell back down, crashing into what I knew were human skeletons. The air was filled with the smell of iron. I wept with pain and fear.
]
(if: $hurt < $hp)[
[[Holy of holies<-I went back the way I came.]]
]
{
(print: "<script>$('html').removeClass(\)</script>")
(if: (passage:)'s tags's length > 0)[
(print: "<script>$('html').addClass('" + (passage:)'s tags.join(' ') + "'\)</script>")
]
}
My hand fit snugly into the carved print. As my palm touched the stone underneath, I closed my eyes involuntarily in fear. My vision swam and a roaring filled my ears. I turned to see braziers glowing with a weird pale green flame. I tried to scream, but no sound would come. A person in robed dyed with the same red ochre as the walls turned and looked at me through some sort of animal mask. Behind the mask's fur, two eyes burnt their way into me with that same uncanny green flame.
(set: $bold to it + 1)
(set: $insane to it + 1)
[[Decorated chamber<-The vision faded.]]
(if: (history:) contains (passage:)'s name)[
I was back at the bottom of the spiral staircase. The drone from deep within the complex continued to echo and drive itself into my brain.
* [[Dream exit<-I fled up the staircase.]]
* [[Dream main hall<-I went into the main hall.]]
* [[Dream antechamber<-I went into the antechamber.]]
](else:)[
I awoke at the bottom of a spiral staircase, the entrance to this underground world. I was standing up. How did I get here? $light[ I felt around for my lantern, but it was gone.] There was a sickly green glow from a brazier in the hallway and I heard voices. I looked into the main hall and saw a group of people in rough brown robes, men and women alike. I was lucky they did not see me, and I pressed myself against a wall.
A deep thrumming came from deeper in the complex, and the group of people walked out, right past me, into the central antechamber. It looked like the main hall was empty.
* [[Dream exit<-I fled up the staircase.]]
* [[Dream main hall<-I went into the main hall.]]
* [[Dream antechamber<-I followed the group into the antechamber.]]
(set: $dreaming to true)
]
(display: "Ending C")
(if: $inv contains "brown robe")[
(if: $dreamcount < $ceremony_starts)[
In the antechamber to this place, now clear in my mind as a temple, men and women in brown robes shuffled around. As one bumped into me, I saw what they were doing. There was a labyrinth painted on the floor they were walking.
(link: "I walked the labyrinth.")[
(set: $dreamcount to $ceremony_starts - 1)
(go-to: "Dream antechamber")
]
(link-replace: "I left the room.")[
* [[Enter the dreamworld<-I fled back to the staircase.]]
* [[Dream burial chamber<-I barged into a room full of bones.]]
* [[Dream decorated chamber<-I followed a red-robed masked priest into another chamber.]]
]
](else:)[
A ceremony had begun in the room beyond that the echoes poured from. The few stragglers left made their way to the ritual chamber. One tugged on my sleeve to bid me go.
* [[Dream oracle room<-I followed the cultist.]]
* [[Enter the dreamworld<-I fled back to the staircase.]]
* [[Dream burial chamber<-I barged into a room full of bones.]]
* [[Dream decorated chamber<-I followed a red-robed masked priest into another chamber.]]
]
](else:)[
(if: (history:) contains (passage:)'s name)[
](else:)[
As I walked into the antechamber, I realized my mistake. My clothes, with their buttons and buckles, were as alien to these people as they were to me.
(if: $bold > 1)[
I raised my arms and shouted at them, "Flee from me!" They did not understand my language, but they understood my meaning. I was a god to these primitives! They ran away towards the far exit.
* [[Dream oracle room<-I followed the terrified cultists.]]
* [[Enter the dreamworld<-I went back to the staircase.]]
* [[Dream burial chamber<-I barged into a room full of bones.]]
* [[Dream decorated chamber<-I went into a chamber painted with red flowers.]]
](else:)[
I shrunk from their glares, and turned to run, but another primitive cultist was behind me. She grabbed my arms with a curious strength and threw me to the ground. From the chamber ahead of me, I heard a roar. A man with a bison's head, covered in what I could only pray was black pigment, entered the room. I could feel his hot breath as he leaned over me, his animal eyes taking in my full measure. He raised his cudgel and struck me between the eyes.
---
(display: "Ending E")
]
]
]
Favor shined on me for once in this nightmare. The burial chamber was empty, save the thousands of skeletons packed into shelves and alcoves. I looked for a place to hide and saw a small tunnel in one alcove.
[[Dream tunnel<-I got down on my hands and knees and crawled into the tunnel.]]
[[Dream antechamber<-I went back into the antechamber.]]
I followed the droning to its source, a long room with walls that shook from the sound. Rows of people stood, their faces pointed upward, joining the song. Before them, three red-robed priests stood by a man with a bull's face, his body smeared with black pigment.
(if: $insane > 2)[
I could not resist the call.
(display: "Ending D")
](else:)[
I knew if I hesitated, my will would crumble.
* [[Dream antechamber<-I fled.]]
* [[Ending D<-I joined the call.]]
]
Between the endless droning and the lurid red ochre paintings, I could scarcely handle this room. The red spirals twisted in my vision and my stomach heaved.
[[Dream antechamber<-Ill, I turned to the antechamber.]]
[[Dream snake pit<-I entered the pit where this hellish dream had begun.]]
[[Dream holy of holies<-I fled north into the inner sanctum of this place.]]
(if: (history:) contains (passage:)'s name)[
The main hall was empty of people. They had left for the other passages. The red spirals within pentagons painted on the walls were hypnotic in the ghastly green light of the braziers.
(unless: $inv contains "brown robe")[{
There was a brown robe lying on the ground in front of the small trilithon to the east.
(link-reveal: "I took the robe and put it on. ")[{
It was big for my frame and scratchy, but would work as a disguise.
(set: $inv to (dataset: "brown robe", ...$inv))
}]
}]
* [[Enter the dreamworld<-I exited west to the staircase.]]
* [[Dream holy of holies<-I exited east through the trilithon.]]
](else:)[
The main hall had one occupant, a man. I hid and watched him as he removed his brown robe and dropped it to the ground, leaving himself naked. His skin reflected the green glow of the braziers, and I saw on his shoulder a tattoo of a black bull. He exited through a small trilithon into an inner room.
(link-reveal: "I took the robe and put it on. ")[{
It was big for my frame and scratchy, but would work as a disguise.
(set: $inv to (dataset: "brown robe", ...$inv))
}]
* [[Enter the dreamworld<-I went back to the staircase.]]
* [[Dream holy of holies<-I followed the naked man through the trilithon.]]
]
I knew what I would see before I entered the chamber. The Sleeping Lady would be there. She was reclined on a couch, murmuring in her repose. The pit around her was filled with serpents and a hissing arose at my presence. One serpent lifted its head from her breast and I saw the teeth-marks there. Truly God had abandoned this place!
I stepped forward gingerly, placing one boot into the pit. A snake crawled across it, but did not bite. Slowly, step by step, I made it to her body. I leaned down and she whispered into my ear three orphic syllables. My mind opened and I saw for a moment what she saw, the universe laid bare for examination, no secret hidden.
I felt a sting and my leg erupted in fire. A serpent had struck me. I fell to the ground and was enveloped by them, my veins quickly filling with venom.
---
(display: "Ending F")
I entered this sacrosanct chamber and knew I would regret it for the rest of my days immediately. Two red-robed priests were in the chamber beyond with a naked man on his knees. As one drew its flint knife across the man's throat, I (if: $bold > 2)[gasped](else:)[vomited]. The priests turned, their eyes boring into me and [[Dream exit<-I ran into the night above]].
I ran up the stairs into a world I did not know. I was surrounded by temple buildings. People walked by, turning to stare at my panting face. I could hear them whispering, but their language made no sense to me.
I fled into the moonlight night in terror, running into the countryside until I collapsed with exhaustion.
---
I awoke sitting up in a chair. Taviano was staring at me. "You are awake?" he asked, and then handed me a coffee.
"Where am I? What day is it?" I gasped.
Taviano chuckled. "You must have had quite a night. I found you face-down in the dirt right here." He pointed beside the chair and I saw the imprint my body had left.
"But, the hole?" I asked. "The statue?"
Taviano shrugged. "That hole you fell in? There's nothing there, *habib*. A old cellar, maybe."
I padded my body and scanned the ground around me. There was no statuette. I jumped up and ran to the cistern I had dug. The ladder went down into a small pit carved out of stone. The staircase was gone.
"But, I was there!"
"You had too much to drink, friend. You do not remember? You were with a beautiful woman, as round as Venus herself."
I did not remember, not that day or ever. I had been there, in an ancient world! My tale spread, unbelieved by any.
Perhaps you believe me. Perhaps if not, you will be so kind as to buy me another drink.
**THE END**
Bold: $bold | Hurt: $hurt | Insane: $insane
$dreaming[
(set: $dreamcount to it + 1)
(if: $dreamcount < $ceremony_starts)[
A deep drone continued throughout the caverns.
](else-if: $dreamcount < ($ceremony_starts + 2))[
A man's voice reverberated through the temple with a single alien syllable. I did not need to speak his language to know his meaning: "Come."
](else-if: $dreamcount < ($ceremony_starts + 3 + $bold))[
My skeleton vibrated in harmony with the droning. Tears streamed down my face unbidden. Every step forward was torture. My body ached to kneel on the ground and place my face against the earth in prayer.
](else:)[
(go-to: Broken will)
]
]
The droning with its alien acoustics finally made its way into my mind, breaking my will into pieces. I lay on the ground and wept for unknown sorrows, the tears soaking my face, my breath coming in heaves.
I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up into a hirsute face. The creature before me wore an animal mask covered in thick fur and was wrapped in a red ochre robe. It knew it was a priest of this place. It took my hand and led me through the temple, into the holy of holies, and then into the chamber beyond, the floor sticky with fresh blood.
With one hand on top of my head, the priest gently but firmly pushed me back to kneeling. I had no ability to resist.
(if: $inv contains "flint knife")[
As the priest drew its flint knife, I remembered my own. I pulled it from my belt and summoned the will to drive it up into the cleric's belly. Surprised, it crumpled in a pile, its blood comingling with the sticky sanguinity already on the ground.
---
(display: "Ending A")
](else-if: $bold >= 3)[
As the priest drew its flint knife, my will overcame the droning. I wrestled the knife away and drove it into the cleric's belly. Surprised, it crumpled in a pile, its blood comingling with the sticky sanguinity already on the ground.
---
(display: "Ending A")
](else:)[
The priest drew its flint knife. I wanted to cry out and flee, but the unholy droning continued to drive me to my knees. My hair was yanked back as the knife drew a sanguine line across my throat.
I floated above my body and saw the rest. The flesh was taken from my bones and I was tossed in a pit. Naked men with hair hanging off their bodies like a horse's mane beat my bones to powder with hammers. A priest mixed the bone dust with some dull white powder to be tossed into a brazier later.
---
(display: "Ending B")
]
I awoke from my dream with (if: $inv contains "flint knife")[my knife in one hand and the statuette in the other](else:)[the statuette in my hand]. I fled the chambers to find Taviano drinking a coffee idly. He chuckled at my face, which was full of horror and devoid of color. I shared my tale with him as his eyebrows performed a dance. As I finished, his face went from incredulous to worried. We swore to never speak of this place again and we filled in the cistern.
More workers would come and find the unearthly temple, to be sure. The curiosity of humankind will never be sated. Mine was, however. That day, Taviano and I quit our jobs and joined a merchant ship as crew. As we sailed away from Malta, I threw the sleeping lady statuette into the ocean, hoping my nightmares would sink to the ocean floor with it.
**THE END**
I awoke in a hospital bed. I tried to stand, but found I was fastened to the bed with leather straps. A nurse dressed in white saw my struggle and approached. "Calmati, calmati," she said, but I did not understand her tongue. I thrashed until an elderly physician, tall as a tree, came. He spoke Maltese and told me how Taviano had rescued me, but I had been gravely wounded. I asked how and he shrugged. "You had a knife," he said.
I asked if I could leave and he smiled weakly, his face lined like an old tree trunk. "When you are better," he said. I looked around the room and saw others lashed to their beds. The smell of ammonia was strong and a cackle echoed. I was in an asylum for the insane!
The doctor patted my knee and stood. "Dinner will be soon." He turned to walk away and I saw him for what he was. The crown of his head was elongated in an uncanny fashion. I gasped and he turned. "I almost forgot," he said, as he placed the statuette of the sleeping lady beside my bed.
A moan reverberated in that same fashion as in the underground temple, growing louder and louder. It took me a moment to realize where it came from. It was my own voice.
**THE END**
I walked away from the pit, not certain I wished to know more about what lay within.
My dreams that night were filled with horrors. Shaggy-faced men in red robes, men and women butchered by flint knives, crimson flowers, and a black raging bull worried my sleep.
When I returned to my job the next day, exhausted and worried, I found no pit, no ladder, no Taviano. The owner of the land, a portly man with an unsavory demeanor, was there and pressed two golden coins into my hand. I opened my mouth to ask and he shook his own before I could speak a word.
I put the coins in my pocket and left. I did not not have the will to argue. I went to the docks to look for Taviano, but found him nowhere.
Without a job or a friend, and terrified of what I had found, I took a job as a deckhand on a merchant ship and left for sea that day. Aboard the ship, I reached into my pocket and found the coins I'd been given. I looked them over and they were of no currency I had seen before. One side was flat and unadorned. On the other, a bison bull, its chest puffed out proudly, stared at me.
I leaned over the railing, seasick, and tossed the coins into the sea, along with my last meal.
**THE END**
I joined the droning, feeling myself become part of this eldritch whole. The vibrations filled my lungs, my heart, my bones. I *belonged* in a way beyond anything I had previously understood.
I held out my arms and walked forward where the line of priests led the orphic hymn. I bowed before the black bull. He offered me his sword and I knew what I must do. I could not wake again to that monochrome world, now that I had seen the colors of the universe. I buried the blade in my gut, trembling with ecstasy as my life flowed away.
---
Taviano found me the next day. He overcame his fear of the crypt to find me dead, impaled on an ancient blade. With no family of my own and the rocky soil too tough for a pauper's grave, my body was burnt. Taviano took the ashes to the seashore and let them go in the wind. When the sunlight hit them, they glowed with an unearthly green light for one moment, then were swept away.
**THE END**
I awoke in my own bed, not certain how I had gotten there. The morning light hurt my eyes and the pain in my head flared. As I stood, I lost my balance and fell to my knees. I crawled across the floor to a wine bottle, half empty, and pulled the cork out with my teeth. After I drained it, I stood and found another. My thirst was still not quenched by the time I blacked out.
When I returned to my job the next day, exhausted and in pain, I found no pit, no ladder, no Taviano. The owner of the land, a portly man with an unsavory demeanor, was there and pressed two golden coins into my hand. I opened my mouth to ask and he shook his own before I could speak a word.
I put the coins in my pocket and left. I did not not have the will to argue. I went to the docks to look for Taviano, but found him nowhere.
Without a job or a friend, and terrified of what I had found, I took a job as a deckhand on a merchant ship and left for sea that day. Aboard the ship, I reached into my pocket and found the coins I'd been given. I looked them over and they were of no currency I had seen before. One side was flat and unadorned. On the other, a bison bull, its chest puffed out proudly, stared at me.
I leaned over the railing, seasick, and tossed the coins into the sea, along with my last meal.
**THE END**
The tunnel was narrow and unlit, but a dim glow ahead told me I was headed in the right direction. At the other end of the tunnel was a large natural cave and I was on a ledge about 20 feet off the ground. Light filtered down through a hole in the ceiling.
I looked below and saw people -- no, not people, but giants -- giants walking slowly and silently in a line. They were as tall as two men and covered in long, shaggy fur. At the sound of my breath, they turned, their faces looking up. All simultaneously raised their arms and with their hands beckoned to me. My vision blurred and I lost my balance, falling off the ledge.
---
(display: "Ending A")
I awoke from my dream in the same pit, clutching the statuette of the Sleeping Lady. I felt my body: it was unpierced by serpents' teeth. I leapt up, refreshed.
When I left the underground temple, I saw things clearly. The land's owner, a thin fellow with an unsavory character, approached me, angry that his cisterns were not finished. I leaned toward him and told him what I knew of him. I never saw him again.
This land and this temple are mine now, and I share them with you. It is perfectly safe to explore, and I invite you to join me. If you will please take these steps below, we can begin.
**THE END**