...-†**@##                                          ##@**†-...
....-†**@#                                          #@**†-....
.....-†**@                                          @**†-.....
......-†**                                          **†-......
.......-†*                                          *†-.......
........-†                    #                     †-........
.........-   .              .----.               .  -.........
.......... . *--   -*¤  the basement  ¤*-   --** .  ..........
..........   .   -#-     .----------.     -#-    .  ..........
..........                    #                     ..........
..........                                          ..........
.......... the basement is a man-made subterranean  ..........
.........-  environment where you could find such   -.........
........-†   things as the furnace, the labyrinth,  †-........
.......-†*            reptiles or graves.           *†-.......
......-†**                                          **†-......
.....-†**@  a small or rural basement is a cellar.  @**†-.....
....-†**@#                                          #@**†-....
...-†**@##              -#-    .    -#-             ##@**†-...
..-†**@###                                          ###@**†-..
...-†**@##  often created in good faith, a basement ##@**†-...
....-†**@#   is nevertheless a way to bring a cave  #@**†-....
.....-†**@   into your building, and cave things    @**†-.....
......-†** with it. i've found that it's easier to  **†-......
.......-†*   think of all caves as the same large   *†-.......
........-†   structure, it's just that all parts    †-........
.........-    might not be physically connected.    -.........
..........      that's what you're inviting in.     ..........
..........                                          ..........
..........                 .      .                 ..........
..........            -#- . usages . -#-            ..........
..........                 .      .                 ..........
.........-                                          -.........
........-†  the purpose of a basement is often to   †-........
.......-†*    hide unsightly appliances, engines,   *†-.......
......-†**  infrastructure (pipes and wells)... or  **†-......
.....-†**@  to hide the true weight (purpose?) of a @**†-.....
....-†**@#                building.                 #@**†-....
...-†**@##                                          ##@**†-...
..-†**@###  to draw from the earth around it, push  ###@**†-..
...-†**@##         above ground, laundered.         ##@**†-...
....-†**@#                                          #@**†-....
.....-†**@   a cellar is a more senseful affair,    @**†-.....
......-†**   less intense... made to store things   **†-......
.......-†*    (food or brews, tools) in a colder    *†-.......
........-† environment. perhaps to grow mushrooms.  †-........
.........-  perhaps to bury corrupt creatures (not  -.........
..........                 advised)                 ..........
..........                                          ..........
..........                                          ..........
..........                                          ..........
..........                                          ..........
.........-                                          -.........