[Abyssal Seed, Library]
Fallen bookshelves lie strewn about the dark stone ground, burnt and razed of all they may have held.  It appears that someone -- or something -- did not want what was in this room to be found.  A single page ripped from an unknown tome seems to have been spared, left lying on a cracked cedar desk.  You also see a gashed silverwillow door.
Obvious exits: none.
>read page;
A torn parchment page reads:
"...spirits in Abyssal Descent are tied to the trine altars.  There is mention of a mystic bridge that appears when the altars are made whole again, sustained by the ghostly chorus.  What magical research I've conducted upon the trine seems to indicate that something of simultaneous holy and profane significance must be utilized in the reparation made to each altar..."

[Abyssal Seed, Hierophant's Chamber]
An intricate mosaic of gleaming gemstone tiles graces the otherwise gloomy stone wall above an ancient silverwillow bed.  Stained linens, shredded and tattered in some past struggle, hang off the bed and onto the cold stone floor.  You also see an ash door covered with rust-colored stains.
Obvious exits: none.
>l mos
The mosaic presents an inverted triangle of blood-red rubies on a field of black onyx.  A verdant green emerald is inset at the triangle's upper-left corner, while a large pink rhodocrosite stone adorns the right.  At the bottom corner, a sickly black soulstone completes the symbolic piece.


he transparent shylvic discovers you, ruining your hiding place!
>ne
You go northeast.
[Abyssal Descent, Altar of the Mind]
The silver walls take on a brilliant emerald hue, painted by the light emanating from a makeshift altar formed from a massive block of green crystal set upon two egg-shaped stones.  The faint murmuring of foreign prayers echoes on the edge of aural perception, yet nags incessantly at your mind.  The alcove is barren of embellishments, accentuating the austerity of its reflective walls.
Obvious exits: southwest, northwest.
>
Though you have been revealed, the Refractive Field spell pattern proceeds uninterrupted.  Light continues to bend around you, leaving only a matter of time until anyone loses sight of you again.
>l alc
I could not find what you were referring to.
>l alt
Perched precariously atop two oblong blocks of granite, a great slab of emerald green crystal pulses with a strange inner luminance.  The crystal is uncut, flawed and bearing rough and asymmetrical edges.  It is simple and unremarkable but for the steady, throbbing glow emanating from its depths, and a curious etching in the center of its face.

The etching depicts a twisted three-fingered hand spread to bare its palm to the heavens.  The left and center fingers bear long, razor-like claws.  In place of the third and rightmost claw, a hole has been drilled.  It appears empty.

Sinister frescoes adorn the northern wall of this cavernous hall, where the dichotomy of the silver and onyx hallways merges into one.  The ceiling is a sweeping arch of black crystal, supported by pillars of darkly veined jade.  A twisting hallway with verdant malachite walls winds to the south.
Obvious exits: southeast, south, southwest.
>l mala
I could not find what you were referring to.
>l fres
Strange paintings cover the wall from ceiling to floor, barely visible in the low light.  The images are at times irritating, at other times downright disturbing.  One scene depicts a great creature with hooved feet.  In one hand he holds a bloodied scythe and in the other, the head of a man.  The blood-drenched body of the victim is hung on a pike, and appears to also have been disemboweled.

Obvious exits: north, south.
>s
You go south.
[Abyssal Descent, Altar of the Soul]
The ice-laden floor suddenly gives way to an enormous chasm to the south.  Tendrils of intricate silver writhe out from the dusky malachite walls, intertwining to form a strange altar just before the lip of the gaping chasm.  Far in the distance to the south, a glimmering crystalline dais hovers inexplicably over the great pit.  You also see a transparent shylvic.
Obvious exits: north.
>s
You can't go there.
>l alt
Formed of several curious strands of silver slithering outward from the malachite walls and floor, the strange altar stands several feet high.  The individual cords coalesce into a solid form toward the top of the sculpture, giving the appearance of roots supporting a tree.  It bears the shape of a hand with three thick claws, upturned so that its open palm faces the sky.

The left and right claws appear to be molded of pure silver, a part of the original construct.  The center claw appears to be strangely absent, with an empty hole waiting in its place.
>n

>l dai
You look out over the abyss, watching the goings-on at the crystalline dais intently...
[Above the Abyss, Crystalline Dais]
A platform of translucent crystal hovers steadily over the night-black abyss below, surely by way of some strange enchantment.  Long silver sconces rise from the floor all around, each capped with a bleached white skull of a different race.  Fire burns within each skull, casting a morbid glow over a massive onyx altar that emerges almost seamlessly from the crystal below.  You also see a recessed basalt slab.
Obvious exits: none.

You go southwest.
[Abyssal Descent, Altar of the Flesh]
The smooth onyx floor has been shattered by thick, muscular roots pushing upward.  The roots intertwine into a contorted mass in the center of the hall.  The stench of burning flesh rises from the strange altar, yet no fire is visible.
Obvious exits: northeast, southeast.
>l alt
Thick roots twist up from the ground, interwoven to form a strange circular basin.  A blood-red liquid fills the concave, rippling intermittently even in the absence of a breeze.  Several particularly hefty roots protrude above the pool, bound together and contorted in the shape of a three-tined claw with its palm upturned to the sky.

The middle and right claw are formed by two root tails, while the leftmost claw is missing.

You go northwest.
[Abyssal Descent, Onyx Corridor]
The smooth onyx of the walls is disrupted here, with each wall carved in its own intricate, raised pattern.  The shallow illumination flowing from the southeast casts soft shadows from the raised features.
Obvious exits: southeast, northwest.
>l pattern
The patterns carved on either wall are nebulous and chaotic, yet symmetrical and identical to one another.  Their meanings are indiscernible.

[Abyssal Seed, Prison Hallway]
The uneven dark stone walls bear strange, ancient etchings that depict gruesome scenes of war.  Dark colors outlining some of the carvings have permanently leached into the porous stone.  You also see a heavy cell door with a small barred window.
Obvious exits: north, south.
>l etch
Strange robed beings loom high above mortals on a battlefield, slaughtering with quick efficiency.  Thick, black tentacles writhe out from under the figures' robes, tipped in sharp, glistening barbs.  The appendages wrap and coil around Humans, Elotheans and Elves, shredding skin and crushing bone


On the silverwillow counter you see a burnt rice paper scroll, a bleached kobold skull and a faceted onyx bowl.
>l skull
>
A lanky grey lach lopes in through a blackened silverwillow door.
>
The pristine-white skull is clean of all remnants of flesh, leaving only the dog-shaped skull of the kobold behind.
>l in bowl
There is nothing in there.
>l bowl
Pretty much undamaged from the blaze, only a few singe marks mar its hard surface.
>l knife
You see nothing unusual.
>tap knife
You tap an etched silver knife atop a blackened iron table.

[Abyssal Seed, Theurgists' Chamber]
Oddly centered in the middle of the room is a rickety oak bookcase.  Dark cotton tapestries, their colored patterns faded, hang above three identical mahogany beds pushed up flush against the walls.  You also see a shattered mahogany door.
Obvious exits: none.
>l bookc
The wood is heavily scratched, with one panel deeply marred by three long symmetrical gouges.
>
A lanky grey lach lopes down the dark hallway.
>
A lanky grey lach lopes through a shattered mahogany door.
>l panel
I could not find what you were referring to.
>l goug
I could not find what you were referring to.
>l in bookc
There is nothing in there.
>l on bookc
On the oak bookcase you see a dark obsidian sculpture and a smudged piece of parchment.
>read parch
There is nothing there to read.
>
A lanky grey lach lopes in through a shattered mahogany door.
>l parch
Only a small portion of what was a fine scroll remains.  The edges are badly singed and the printed words almost completely besmeared.  Examining it closely, you can only make out one word, which you think might be "tunnel".
>l sculp
The sculpture of black obsidian appears to be an upturned hand with three vicious claws.  Etched into the palm is an inscription whose meaning you cannot discern.

>l
[Abyssal Seed, Prison Hallway]
The four hallways converge here, centered around a massive grid of wrought iron that stretches out over a shadow-draped pit sunk deep into the ground.  A thick noxious order of decay curls up from the depths of this repugnant cage.  You also see a thick steel door and a thick iron door.
Obvious exits: north, east, south, west.
>l cage
A lanky grey lach lopes in through a thick steel door.
>
Thick shadows fill the pit, unabated by the flickering torches in the walls.  You are unable to discern what -- or who -- causes the foul stench that emanates from down there.  Dried flakes of a rust-colored substance are splattered along the topmost portion of the iron grid.

>
You reach out and touch the luminous slab of green crystal.  Its icy surface seems to grasp on to you, pulling you deep within the heart of the altar.  Suddenly your mind screams in agony as images wash through your head...

[Abyssal Descent, Altar of the Flesh]
The smooth onyx floor has been shattered by thick, muscular roots pushing upward.  The roots intertwine into a contorted mass in the center of the hall.  The stench of burning flesh rises from the strange altar, yet no fire is visible.
Obvious exits: northeast, southeast.
[Abyssal Descent, Hall of the Soul]
Sinister frescoes adorn the northern wall of this cavernous hall, where the dichotomy of the silver and onyx hallways merges into one.  The ceiling is a sweeping arch of black crystal, supported by pillars of darkly veined jade.  A twisting hallway with verdant malachite walls winds to the south.
Obvious exits: southeast, south, southwest.
[Abyssal Nether, Maelshyve's Remnant]
The coiling helix of fused bone ends here, dropping off into the abyss.  Cradled in the clawlike comfort of the path's edge is a great black shell, cracked open like an egg.  From within, an endless river of midnight-blue sludge pours out, streaming into the endless darkness below.
Obvious exits: southwest.
[Maelshyve's Ascent, Summit]
The great helix's upper boundary ends here, a wicked collection of bone spires stabbing blindly into the darkness above.  Held captive amongst them, an empty throne of brilliant blood-red crystal beckons.  Below, the path of bone descends into a seemingly unending spiral into the darkness.
Obvious exits: down.
You deftly release your mental energy from its flow, coursing through the temple by way of the strange altar.  Your mind feels a bit dull, but you feel rather fine otherwise.
>
>


You go north.
[Observatory, Third Level]
Situated at the balcony's edge, a long bench overlooks an ironwood tree spreading its branches just out of your reach.  The grey wood twists and folds into gnarled shapes which seem familiar, from life or thought, and yet strange and alien at the same time.
Obvious exits: south, northwest.
>l tree
Dream images of spirits and contorted beings invade your mind, their faces just beyond recognition, and then leave you in the next foggy instant with an odd, powerful feeling of loss.