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All this for a map of Paris? Let's play Curses!
Back to Let's Play
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#271
06-22-2012, 08:11 AM
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Quote:
"That's a question you'd better put to my colleague in the Other Place," says the demon smoothly. "Try something else." A flash of light sears your eyes, as the sulphurous flames grumble. Hmmm...the "Other Place?" How to get there, I wonder? Anyway, let's go south to see what lieth in that direction. >s Catacombs A large, grisly cave, deep under the garden, dimly lit and eerie. Darkness curls around the natural pillars of rock like a mist: and there is a peculiar, vaguely familiar odour to it. The only obvious routes out are an uneven passage climbing to the north and a crawl west. Odor, eh? Wonder what it could be? >smell Something like... perhaps, air after a thunderstorm... but no, you still can't be sure what it is. Well, if at first you don't succeed... >smell Ozone! That's what it's called. Funny sort of odour for a cave - especially since, on investigating further, you find that it's drifting up from a concealed aluminium staircase. [Your score has just gone up by six points.] So, west or down? Unexplored paths: West from Catacombs. Down from Catacombs. Puzzles: Defusing the time bomb. Getting the mascot from old Evans. A key behind a grating that looks like it may fit the grating. Getting some money to buy the Ekmek Special. Getting across the sacred ground without becoming a crispy critter. Inventory: a long wrought iron key the Rods of Infinity and Bronze a daisy chain (around your neck, made from yellow daisies and causes certain objects to turn into featureless mahogany rods when waved) a canvas rucksack (which is open, actually a bag of holding)
some old gardeners' gloves (being worn) Score: It is the afternoon of June 3rd, 1993, and you are in the catacombs beneath the gardens. You have so far scored 206 out of a possible 550, in 1052 turns, giving you the rank of Adventurer. Maps Meldrew Hall, attic: Code:
e-c-b-h
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X j a-d
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f q-p
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k-g-l
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n-i m
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o r
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s
b=Old Winery c=Aunt Jemima's Lair (wireless) d=Servant's Room (scarf) e=Potting Room (Aunt Jemima) f=Old Furniture (wrapping paper) g=Over the East Wing h=Storage Room (wheel with handle, dumbwaiter leading to Cellar) i=Disused Observatory (glass ball on telescope stand, smoke detector) j=Airing Cupboard k=Dark Room l=East Annexe m=Dead End (down/east to Beside the Drive) n=Library Storage o=Souvenirs Room (slide projector, ship in a bottle) p=Inside Cupboard (big iron fireplace, open skylight with crank handle, up to Roof) q=Chimney (down to Priest's Hole) r=Alison's Writing Room (bed) s=Tiny Balcony X=game over Meldrew Hall, cellar: Code:
c-a-b | d b=Wine Cellars c=Cellar West (locked door leading northwest, down to Hellish Place) d=Cellars South (robot mouse, hole in wall) Meldrew Hall, gardens and shaft area: Code:
j-i-i-i-
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i
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-i-
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i
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-i-i-i-i-i-m
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i
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g-f-b-d-e
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h a-c u
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l-n-o q-s-t
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k p
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r
b=Family Tree (plane tree, up to Up the Plane Tree) c=Beside the Wall (potted shrub, one-way path down to Wine Cellar) d=Lawn Ornaments (dark well too small to enter, miniature, weed killer bottle, prayer book, romantic novel, green branch, gas mask) e=Mosaic [can be lagach-ed] f=Clearing g=Garage (garden roller) h=Vegetable Garden (runner bean plant) i=Maze j=Viewpoint Ledge (plaque) k=Dark Shaft (dumbwaiter to Storage Room) l=Dark Passage m=Patio in Maze (down to Crypt) n=Sandstone Passage o=The Octagon (window vent, gilded coffin used to identify rods, scroll) p=White Hallway (painting of Mad Isaac Meldrewe [can be lagach-ed], elephant's foot umbrella stand) q=Bricked Path r=Halfway up the Stairs (up to Servant's Room) s=Hedgery t=Croquet Lawn (colored peg, wickets) u=Summer House (gold watch which is visible but unattainable) Catacombs below the gardens: Code:
a | b- | -c b=Jagged Passage c=Catacombs (you are here; down to...?) Meldrew Hall, roof: Code:
b \ a b=Battlements Meldrew Hall, ???: Code:
a Northeast of the House: Code:
c | b / a b=Public Footpath (down to Hollow) c=Stone Cross (Old Evans with his lucky mascot) Northeast of the House, Hollow: Code:
a Unreal City: Code:
g>b-c
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h-d-a-e>f
b=Shadowy Hallway (up to Consulting Room) c=Bohemia (mural [can be lagach-ed]) d=Down by River e=Near Ring Road (down to Chatelet-les-Halles) f=Chatelet-les-Halles (map salesman) g=Consulting Room (down to Shadowy Hallway) h=On board the Phlebas (saying "time" will take the protagonist to Garden Stream) Tarot box: Code:
a e
c
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b
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d
f g-h-i
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l k j
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m
b=Aboard Ship (examine model ship; up to Up the Mast) c=Prow of the Lady Magdalena d=Stern e=Ruined Castle Cafe f=Sea Shore (Andromeda, up to Cliffs) g=Cliffs (down to Sea Shore) h=Clifftop Walk i=Outside Taverna (fig tree) j=Eraina Taverna (Ekmek Special, bartender) k=Wall of Thorns l=Cave Mouth (obsidian altar, flaming bronze urn) m=Sacred Earth (south to death by divine wrath) Alexandria: Code:
b | a \ b=Island of Pharos (grating, rusty iron key behind grating) Hamburg by night: Code:
b / a | e-c-d f b=Revolving Door c=Hall of Exhibits (still life [can be lagach-ed]) d=Cabinet Room e=Dark Staircase (down/south to...?) f=Coven Cell (goat) Deaths Missed the point entirely: 5 (irritated Aunt Jemima by trying to steal her gardening gloves, gave up on the search, broke a pipe and had to call a plumber, lectured by Aunt Jemima for four hours, burned down most of the attic) Spooked: 1 (haunted by the ghost of Sir Joshua Meldrewe) Died: 6 (jumped off the mast of the Lady Magdalena without a parachute, spontaneous combustion, brutally sacrificed by a druidic coven, blown to bits by a time bomb, incinerated myself with the Rod of Fire, electrocuted by the wrath of Zeus) Total: 12 And, again, if you have any questions for the demon, feel free to ask. |
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#273
06-23-2012, 09:51 AM
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Sounds like as good a direction as any.
>d Universe Maintenance Room You really should try to be more awestruck, for this is Merlin's cave, the hub of Creation. Every visitor perceives this place differently, according to his or her own myths and beliefs. Your particular creed being science, there is only a black metal one-metre cube with an unimpressive collection of gauges and dials. An aluminium staircase leads up. Particularly prominent are a large dial, like the volume control on an expensive hi-fi amplifier, and a big electrician's switch. Both are labelled in small print. [Your score has just gone up by five points.] That is pretty awesome. But let's check out some of the controls. >examine dial Above the dial is a lower-case letter h with a slashed line through it. It is currently turned to 1.055 or thereabouts. There is something worryingly dangerous about its matter-of-factness. I wonder what that could possibly do, or what the lowercase h could stand for? Oh, well. Let's check out the switch now. >examine switch The lower, on, position is labelled "Determinism". The upper, off, position is labelled "Chance". The big electrician's switch is currently switched on. Well, I have a feeling that you'll want me to fiddle with these, so I'll see what kind of things you want me to do with them next time! |
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#275
06-24-2012, 05:49 AM
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Well, both controls do sound fun to meddle with. First, the dial.
Quote:
Is it really wise to go meddling with things here? Well, only one way to find out. Don't expect a second warning! Warning, schmarning. Turning it should lead to some kooky hijinx, so let's do it! >turn dial Mmm. On the whole, it's probably best not to alter one of the fundamental constants of the physical universe while still inside it. On the bright side, for once you are unlikely to get the blame. *** You have disembodied the entire universe *** In that game you scored -99 out of a possible 550, in 1055 turns, giving you the rank of irresponsible deity. Those hijinx were somewhat less kooky than I was hoping for. Command-Z! > undo Universe Maintenance Room [Previous turn undone.] Now, that switch seems like it might be useful. After all, determinism whomps when you're on the wrong end of it, so let's shut it off. >turn switch off Clunk-click! Probably nothing very much has changed. Now that we've assured that the universe functions on chance, where to go from here? Unexplored paths: West from Catacombs. Puzzles: Defusing the time bomb. Getting the mascot from old Evans. A key behind a grating that looks like it may fit the grating. Getting some money to buy the Ekmek Special. Getting across the sacred ground without becoming a crispy critter. Inventory: a long wrought iron key the Rods of Infinity and Bronze a daisy chain (around your neck, made from yellow daisies and causes certain objects to turn into featureless mahogany rods when waved) a canvas rucksack (which is open, actually a bag of holding)
some old gardeners' gloves (being worn) Score: It is the afternoon of June 3rd, 1993, and you are in the catacombs beneath the gardens. You have so far scored 211 out of a possible 550, in 1057 turns, giving you the rank of Traveller. Maps Meldrew Hall, attic: Code:
e-c-b-h
/| |
X j a-d
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f q-p
\ |
k-g-l
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n-i m
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o r
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s
b=Old Winery c=Aunt Jemima's Lair (wireless) d=Servant's Room (scarf) e=Potting Room (Aunt Jemima) f=Old Furniture (wrapping paper) g=Over the East Wing h=Storage Room (wheel with handle, dumbwaiter leading to Cellar) i=Disused Observatory (glass ball on telescope stand, smoke detector) j=Airing Cupboard k=Dark Room l=East Annexe m=Dead End (down/east to Beside the Drive) n=Library Storage o=Souvenirs Room (slide projector, ship in a bottle) p=Inside Cupboard (big iron fireplace, open skylight with crank handle, up to Roof) q=Chimney (down to Priest's Hole) r=Alison's Writing Room (bed) s=Tiny Balcony X=game over Meldrew Hall, cellar: Code:
c-a-b | d b=Wine Cellars c=Cellar West (locked door leading northwest, down to Hellish Place) d=Cellars South (robot mouse, hole in wall) Meldrew Hall, gardens and shaft area: Code:
j-i-i-i-
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i
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-i-
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i
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-i-i-i-i-i-m
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i
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g-f-b-d-e
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h a-c u
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l-n-o q-s-t
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k p
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r
b=Family Tree (plane tree, up to Up the Plane Tree) c=Beside the Wall (potted shrub, one-way path down to Wine Cellar) d=Lawn Ornaments (dark well too small to enter, miniature, weed killer bottle, prayer book, romantic novel, green branch, gas mask) e=Mosaic [can be lagach-ed] f=Clearing g=Garage (garden roller) h=Vegetable Garden (runner bean plant) i=Maze j=Viewpoint Ledge (plaque) k=Dark Shaft (dumbwaiter to Storage Room) l=Dark Passage m=Patio in Maze (down to Crypt) n=Sandstone Passage o=The Octagon (window vent, gilded coffin used to identify rods, scroll) p=White Hallway (painting of Mad Isaac Meldrewe [can be lagach-ed], elephant's foot umbrella stand) q=Bricked Path r=Halfway up the Stairs (up to Servant's Room) s=Hedgery t=Croquet Lawn (colored peg, wickets) u=Summer House (gold watch which is visible but unattainable) Catacombs below the gardens: Code:
a | b- | -c b=Jagged Passage c=Catacombs (down to Universe Maintenance room [where you are]) Meldrew Hall, roof: Code:
b \ a b=Battlements Meldrew Hall, ???: Code:
a Northeast of the House: Code:
c | b / a b=Public Footpath (down to Hollow) c=Stone Cross (Old Evans with his lucky mascot) Northeast of the House, Hollow: Code:
a Unreal City: Code:
g>b-c
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h-d-a-e>f
b=Shadowy Hallway (up to Consulting Room) c=Bohemia (mural [can be lagach-ed]) d=Down by River e=Near Ring Road (down to Chatelet-les-Halles) f=Chatelet-les-Halles (map salesman) g=Consulting Room (down to Shadowy Hallway) h=On board the Phlebas (saying "time" will take the protagonist to Garden Stream) Tarot box: Code:
a e
c
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b
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d
f g-h-i
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l k j
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m
b=Aboard Ship (examine model ship; up to Up the Mast) c=Prow of the Lady Magdalena d=Stern e=Ruined Castle Cafe f=Sea Shore (Andromeda, up to Cliffs) g=Cliffs (down to Sea Shore) h=Clifftop Walk i=Outside Taverna (fig tree) j=Eraina Taverna (Ekmek Special, bartender) k=Wall of Thorns l=Cave Mouth (obsidian altar, flaming bronze urn) m=Sacred Earth (south to death by divine wrath) Alexandria: Code:
b | a \ b=Island of Pharos (grating, rusty iron key behind grating) Hamburg by night: Code:
b / a | e-c-d f b=Revolving Door c=Hall of Exhibits (still life [can be lagach-ed]) d=Cabinet Room e=Dark Staircase (down/south to...?) f=Coven Cell (goat) Deaths Missed the point entirely: 5 (irritated Aunt Jemima by trying to steal her gardening gloves, gave up on the search, broke a pipe and had to call a plumber, lectured by Aunt Jemima for four hours, burned down most of the attic) Spooked: 1 (haunted by the ghost of Sir Joshua Meldrewe) Died: 6 (jumped off the mast of the Lady Magdalena without a parachute, spontaneous combustion, brutally sacrificed by a druidic coven, blown to bits by a time bomb, incinerated myself with the Rod of Fire, electrocuted by the wrath of Zeus) Disembodied the entire universe: 1 (meddled with the Planck constant) Total: 13 Last edited by Kahran042; 06-24-2012 at 07:55 AM. |
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#277
06-25-2012, 03:44 AM
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Quote:
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#279
06-27-2012, 12:47 PM
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Somehow I doubt it, but let's give it a shot.
>u Catacombs The odd smell seems to be ozone, and it drifts up from a previously concealed aluminium staircase. >n Jagged Passage >u Crypt The mural stands slightly to one side, revealing a passage leading downward. >mural, lagach A swirl of wind snakes out from the bronze mural and whisks you away to... Bohemia Flats occupied by starving-but-noble artists can be romantic and stylish despite the squalor. This one, however, is simply a one-room hovel, caked with paint, littered with brushes and improvised easels, and you can't help standing on tiptoe here. One whole wall is an Impressionist mural painting of a chateau in Aix-en-Provence. >mural, lagach A swirl of wind snakes out from the Impressionist painting and whisks you away to... Hall of Exhibits A great square gloomy room, just south of the foyer. There are square lintelled doorways east and west. The storm is dark, and the windows are high, but there's just enough light to see by. A long painted still life graces one wall near a corner. >painting, lagach A swirl of wind snakes out from the still life and whisks you away to... White Hallway A low, white hallway adjoining the Octagon, converted from what was once the scullery and the servants' pantry. A tight, dark staircase runs up and south; and a diagonal bricked path runs out northeast to the gardens. Mad Isaac's painting glares at you from the picture hook. There's an old-fashioned elephant's foot umbrella stand beside the garden doorway. >s Halfway up the Stairs >u Servant's Room A tight door stands open in the northern wall, giving onto the servants' staircase. An old striped scarf hangs up behind the doorway. >w Attic There is a closed trapdoor in the middle of the floor. >s Old Furniture You can see some wrapping paper with reindeer on here. >se Over the East Wing >s Disused Observatory Austin, your incorrigible ginger cat, lounges around here. Mounted on the old telescope stand is what looks like a solid glass ball. A beam of white light runs into the room from the slide projector to the south, and hits the glass ball, which diffracts it into a beautiful spectrum across the ceiling. >s Souvenirs Room You can see a ship in a bottle here. The south wall is lit up by the projector. A beam of white light points directly backward from the projector, through the north doorway into the Observatory. >get castle (putting the Rod of Bronze into the canvas rucksack to make room) Taken. >put it in projector The south wall lights up with the picture on the Castle, beautifully magnified and amazingly life-like. Why, you'd hardly know there was a wall there at all. >s You walk confidently into the south wall... Ruined Castle Cafe This crowded, bohemian cafe bears only a passing resemblance to the ruined castle of the Tarot card: the decor imitates castle walls and arrowslits. You find yourself sitting at a table for one in the centre of the cafe floor. It is noisy, bustling and cheery, and a string quartet plays Strauss under the chattering of German voices. Your chances of attracting a waiter are very slight. Over in one corner, you can see a little square window, behind which must be the store of cups and glasses. Remembering this, you are distracted and unable to enjoy the entertainment. Even the table is annoying. It must have one leg shorter than the rest, or something, because it rattles now and then. The table rattles again. [Your score has just gone up by five points.] >look under table Now don't panic, but there's a ticking bomb loosely taped to the underside of the table you're sitting at! The clock is ticking downwards, and is eight minutes short of the red zone. All four wires are plugged into the timer. And now, to give it a try again, in the same order. >pull red wire You pull out the red wire. The clock is ticking downwards, and is seven minutes short of the red zone. Only the red wire is unplugged. >pull black wire You pull out the black wire. The clock is ticking downwards, and is six minutes short of the red zone. The red wire and black wire are unplugged. >pull green wire You pull out the green wire. The clock is ticking downwards, and is five minutes short of the red zone. The red wire, green wire and black wire are unplugged. >pull blue wire You pull out the blue wire. All four wires are now disconnected. The clock is ticking downwards, and is four minutes short of the red zone. None of the wires are plugged in. Well, that didn't work. But there is a hint as to the correct order somewhere, and in fact it was mentioned on the very first page of the thread. Can you figure it out? |
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#283
07-01-2012, 08:00 AM
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Quote:
>pull blue wire You pull out the blue wire. The clock is ticking downwards, and is seven minutes short of the red zone. Only the blue wire is unplugged. >pull green wire You pull out the green wire. The clock is ticking downwards, and is six minutes short of the red zone. The green wire and blue wire are unplugged. >pull black wire You pull out the black wire. The clock is ticking downwards, and is five minutes short of the red zone. The green wire, blue wire and black wire are unplugged. >pull red wire You pull out the red wire. All four wires are now disconnected. The clock is ticking downwards, and is four minutes short of the red zone. None of the wires are plugged in. Well, might as well just wait now... >z Time passes. The clock is ticking downwards, and is three minutes short of the red zone. None of the wires are plugged in. >z Time passes. The clock is ticking downwards, and is two minutes short of the red zone. None of the wires are plugged in. >z Time passes. The clock is ticking downwards, and is one minute short of the red zone. None of the wires are plugged in. >z Time passes. The clock is ticking downwards, and is right on the red zone! None of the wires are plugged in. >z Time passes. Click! The timer runs out, but the bomb was disarmed. You pocket the timer and hide the rest of the evidence under the table. The clock is ticking downwards, and is right on the red zone! None of the wires are plugged in. And now I've got a timer. Now to get back to the real world. >get rod of returning (putting the Rod of Infinity into the canvas rucksack to make room) Taken. The clock is ticking downwards, and is right on the red zone! None of the wires are plugged in. >strike rod of returning You look rather conspicuous striking the rod on the cafe table, but everyone else assumes you're part of the cabaret. Anyway, the rod charges up as usual. The clock is ticking downwards, and is right on the red zone! None of the wires are plugged in. >point it at me You are engulfed in a cloud of spinning white lights, like insects. When the swarm clears, you find yourself transported... Attic The attics, full of low beams and awkward angles, begin here in a relatively tidy area which extends north, south and east. The wooden floorboards seem fairly sound, just as well considering how heavy all these teachests are. But the old wiring went years ago, and there's no electric light. There is a closed trapdoor in the middle of the floor. And, with that puzzle finally out of the way, this seems like a good place to stop. Where to go from here? Unexplored paths: West from Catacombs. Puzzles: Getting the mascot from old Evans. A key behind a grating that looks like it may fit the grating. Getting some money to buy the Ekmek Special. Getting across the sacred ground without becoming a crispy critter. Inventory: the Rod of Returning a timer-detonator a long wrought iron key a daisy chain (around your neck, made from yellow daisies and causes certain objects to turn into featureless mahogany rods when waved) a canvas rucksack (which is open, actually a bag of holding)
some old gardeners' gloves (being worn) Score: This is the afternoon of June 3rd, 1993, and you are in Meldrew Hall. You have so far scored 216 out of a possible 550, in 1086 turns, giving you the rank of Traveller. Maps Meldrew Hall, attic: Code:
e-c-b-h
/| |
X j a-d
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f q-p
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k-g-l
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n-i m
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o r
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s
b=Old Winery c=Aunt Jemima's Lair (wireless) d=Servant's Room (scarf) e=Potting Room (Aunt Jemima) f=Old Furniture (wrapping paper) g=Over the East Wing h=Storage Room (wheel with handle, dumbwaiter leading to Cellar) i=Disused Observatory (glass ball on telescope stand, smoke detector) j=Airing Cupboard k=Dark Room l=East Annexe m=Dead End (down/east to Beside the Drive) n=Library Storage o=Souvenirs Room (slide projector [contains The Castle], ship in a bottle) p=Inside Cupboard (big iron fireplace, open skylight with crank handle, up to Roof) q=Chimney (down to Priest's Hole) r=Alison's Writing Room (bed) s=Tiny Balcony X=game over Meldrew Hall, cellar: Code:
c-a-b | d b=Wine Cellars c=Cellar West (locked door leading northwest, down to Hellish Place) d=Cellars South (robot mouse, hole in wall) Meldrew Hall, gardens and shaft area: Code:
j-i-i-i-
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i
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-i-
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i
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-i-i-i-i-i-m
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i
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g-f-b-d-e
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h a-c u
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l-n-o q-s-t
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k p
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r
b=Family Tree (plane tree, up to Up the Plane Tree) c=Beside the Wall (potted shrub, one-way path down to Wine Cellar) d=Lawn Ornaments (dark well too small to enter, miniature, weed killer bottle, prayer book, romantic novel, green branch, gas mask) e=Mosaic [can be lagach-ed] f=Clearing g=Garage (garden roller) h=Vegetable Garden (runner bean plant) i=Maze j=Viewpoint Ledge (plaque) k=Dark Shaft (dumbwaiter to Storage Room) l=Dark Passage m=Patio in Maze (down to Crypt) n=Sandstone Passage o=The Octagon (window vent, gilded coffin used to identify rods, scroll) p=White Hallway (painting of Mad Isaac Meldrewe [can be lagach-ed], elephant's foot umbrella stand) q=Bricked Path r=Halfway up the Stairs (up to Servant's Room) s=Hedgery t=Croquet Lawn (colored peg, wickets) u=Summer House (gold watch which is visible but unattainable) Catacombs below the gardens: Code:
a | b- | -c b=Jagged Passage c=Catacombs (down to Universe Maintenance room) Meldrew Hall, roof: Code:
b \ a b=Battlements Meldrew Hall, ???: Code:
a Northeast of the House: Code:
c | b / a b=Public Footpath (down to Hollow) c=Stone Cross (Old Evans with his lucky mascot) Northeast of the House, Hollow: Code:
a Unreal City: Code:
g>b-c
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h-d-a-e>f
b=Shadowy Hallway (up to Consulting Room) c=Bohemia (mural [can be lagach-ed]) d=Down by River e=Near Ring Road (down to Chatelet-les-Halles) f=Chatelet-les-Halles (map salesman) g=Consulting Room (down to Shadowy Hallway) h=On board the Phlebas (saying "time" will take the protagonist to Garden Stream) Tarot box: Code:
a e
c
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b
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d
f g-h-i
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l k j
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m
b=Aboard Ship (examine model ship; up to Up the Mast) c=Prow of the Lady Magdalena d=Stern e=Ruined Castle Cafe f=Sea Shore (Andromeda, up to Cliffs) g=Cliffs (down to Sea Shore) h=Clifftop Walk i=Outside Taverna (fig tree) j=Eraina Taverna (Ekmek Special, bartender) k=Wall of Thorns l=Cave Mouth (obsidian altar, flaming bronze urn) m=Sacred Earth (south to death by divine wrath) Alexandria: Code:
b | a \ b=Island of Pharos (grating, rusty iron key behind grating) Hamburg by night: Code:
b / a | e-c-d f b=Revolving Door c=Hall of Exhibits (still life [can be lagach-ed]) d=Cabinet Room e=Dark Staircase (down/south to...?) f=Coven Cell (goat) Deaths Missed the point entirely: 5 (irritated Aunt Jemima by trying to steal her gardening gloves, gave up on the search, broke a pipe and had to call a plumber, lectured by Aunt Jemima for four hours, burned down most of the attic) Spooked: 1 (haunted by the ghost of Sir Joshua Meldrewe) Died: 6 (jumped off the mast of the Lady Magdalena without a parachute, spontaneous combustion, brutally sacrificed by a druidic coven, blown to bits by a time bomb, incinerated myself with the Rod of Fire, electrocuted by the wrath of Zeus) Disembodied the entire universe: 1 (meddled with the Planck constant) Total: 13 |
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#285
07-02-2012, 10:34 AM
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Yes. Let's.
>e Servant's Room A tight door stands open in the northern wall, giving onto the servants' staircase. An old striped scarf hangs up behind the doorway. >d Halfway up the Stairs >d White Hallway Mad Isaac's painting glares at you from the picture hook. There's an old-fashioned elephant's foot umbrella stand beside the garden doorway. >painting, lagach A swirl of wind snakes out from the painting of Mad Isaac Meldrewe and whisks you away to... Mosaic This sunken corner of the garden has been excavated and then covered over with tough perspex to protect it from visitors' shoes. It consists of a time-worn Roman mosaic, divided into four quadrants, each showing scenes of idealised Roman life. There was probably a villa on this site, but your family has never been keen on archaeologists so the excavations went no further. >mosaic, lagach A swirl of wind snakes out from the Roman mosaic and whisks you away to... Crypt A dismal crypt, disused, rainswept and strewn with leaves. Light streams in from the square hole in the roof. There are no bones or urns on show. The mural stands slightly to one side, revealing a passage leading downward. >d Jagged Passage >s Catacombs The odd smell seems to be ozone, and it drifts up from a previously concealed aluminium staircase. >w Contraption Room The cartoonist Heath Robinson used to specialise in drawings of fantastically complicated machines of string, pulleys, levers, counterweights, cogs, mice running about on wheels and the like. Just such a contraption fills the west end of this room, though most of the workings are behind a glass wall which, although running with age, is as solid as the day it was built. The parts are very old (hand-made, not machined) but uncorroded. The only way out appears to be via the crawl to the east. The north edge of the room is a big sheet of dull amber-coloured metal. Amid the glass wall is an iron panel divided into a three-by-five grid. Behind the glass is a kind of see-saw of two leather baskets at opposite ends of an oak pivot. In one corner of the roof, above the far end of the see-saw, is a hole through which dim natural light emanates. Projecting out of the back of the panel mechanism at the near end is a metal hand, which grasps a cannonball in mid-air. The lower basket contains a glowing golden orb. Um...wow. This extremely complicated machine is quite overwhelming, so let's end this update here with this question: What should I do with all these crazy gizmos? Puzzles: Getting the mascot from old Evans. A key behind a grating that looks like it may fit the grating. Getting some money to buy the Ekmek Special. Getting across the sacred ground without becoming a crispy critter. A room filled with some sort of crazy contraption. Inventory: the Rod of Returning a timer-detonator a long wrought iron key a daisy chain (around your neck, made from yellow daisies and causes certain objects to turn into featureless mahogany rods when waved) a canvas rucksack (which is open, actually a bag of holding)
some old gardeners' gloves (being worn) Score: It is the afternoon of June 3rd, 1993, and you are in the catacombs beneath the gardens. You have so far scored 216 out of a possible 550, in 1094 turns, giving you the rank of Traveller. Maps Meldrew Hall, attic: Code:
e-c-b-h
/| |
X j a-d
|
f q-p
\ |
k-g-l
| |
n-i m
| |
o r
|
s
b=Old Winery c=Aunt Jemima's Lair (wireless) d=Servant's Room (scarf) e=Potting Room (Aunt Jemima) f=Old Furniture (wrapping paper) g=Over the East Wing h=Storage Room (wheel with handle, dumbwaiter leading to Cellar) i=Disused Observatory (glass ball on telescope stand, smoke detector) j=Airing Cupboard k=Dark Room l=East Annexe m=Dead End (down/east to Beside the Drive) n=Library Storage o=Souvenirs Room (slide projector [contains The Castle], ship in a bottle) p=Inside Cupboard (big iron fireplace, open skylight with crank handle, up to Roof) q=Chimney (down to Priest's Hole) r=Alison's Writing Room (bed) s=Tiny Balcony X=game over Meldrew Hall, cellar: Code:
c-a-b | d b=Wine Cellars c=Cellar West (locked door leading northwest, down to Hellish Place) d=Cellars South (robot mouse, hole in wall) Meldrew Hall, gardens and shaft area: Code:
j-i-i-i-
|
i
|
-i-
|
i
|
-i-i-i-i-i-m
|
i
|
g-f-b-d-e
| \
h a-c u
| |
l-n-o q-s-t
| \ /
k p
|
r
b=Family Tree (plane tree, up to Up the Plane Tree) c=Beside the Wall (potted shrub, one-way path down to Wine Cellar) d=Lawn Ornaments (dark well too small to enter, miniature, weed killer bottle, prayer book, romantic novel, green branch, gas mask) e=Mosaic [can be lagach-ed] f=Clearing g=Garage (garden roller) h=Vegetable Garden (runner bean plant) i=Maze j=Viewpoint Ledge (plaque) k=Dark Shaft (dumbwaiter to Storage Room) l=Dark Passage m=Patio in Maze (down to Crypt) n=Sandstone Passage o=The Octagon (window vent, gilded coffin used to identify rods, scroll) p=White Hallway (painting of Mad Isaac Meldrewe [can be lagach-ed], elephant's foot umbrella stand) q=Bricked Path r=Halfway up the Stairs (up to Servant's Room) s=Hedgery t=Croquet Lawn (colored peg, wickets) u=Summer House (gold watch which is visible but unattainable) Catacombs below the gardens: Code:
a | b- | d-c b=Jagged Passage c=Catacombs (down to Universe Maintenance Room) d=Contraption Room (you are here; sheet of dull amber-colored metal forming north wall, iron panel with 3x5 grid, see-saw of leather baskets holding golden orb, metal hand holding cannonball) Meldrew Hall, roof: Code:
b \ a b=Battlements Meldrew Hall, ???: Code:
a Northeast of the House: Code:
c | b / a b=Public Footpath (down to Hollow) c=Stone Cross (Old Evans with his lucky mascot) Northeast of the House, Hollow: Code:
a Unreal City: Code:
g>b-c
|
h-d-a-e>f
b=Shadowy Hallway (up to Consulting Room) c=Bohemia (mural [can be lagach-ed]) d=Down by River e=Near Ring Road (down to Chatelet-les-Halles) f=Chatelet-les-Halles (map salesman) g=Consulting Room (down to Shadowy Hallway) h=On board the Phlebas (saying "time" will take the protagonist to Garden Stream) Tarot box: Code:
a e
c
|
b
|
d
f g-h-i
/ | |
l k j
|
m
b=Aboard Ship (examine model ship; up to Up the Mast) c=Prow of the Lady Magdalena d=Stern e=Ruined Castle Cafe f=Sea Shore (Andromeda, up to Cliffs) g=Cliffs (down to Sea Shore) h=Clifftop Walk i=Outside Taverna (fig tree) j=Eraina Taverna (Ekmek Special, bartender) k=Wall of Thorns l=Cave Mouth (obsidian altar, flaming bronze urn) m=Sacred Earth (south to death by divine wrath) Alexandria: Code:
b | a \ b=Island of Pharos (grating, rusty iron key behind grating) Hamburg by night: Code:
b / a | e-c-d f b=Revolving Door c=Hall of Exhibits (still life [can be lagach-ed]) d=Cabinet Room e=Dark Staircase (down/south to...?) f=Coven Cell (goat) Deaths Missed the point entirely: 5 (irritated Aunt Jemima by trying to steal her gardening gloves, gave up on the search, broke a pipe and had to call a plumber, lectured by Aunt Jemima for four hours, burned down most of the attic) Spooked: 1 (haunted by the ghost of Sir Joshua Meldrewe) Died: 6 (jumped off the mast of the Lady Magdalena without a parachute, spontaneous combustion, brutally sacrificed by a druidic coven, blown to bits by a time bomb, incinerated myself with the Rod of Fire, electrocuted by the wrath of Zeus) Disembodied the entire universe: 1 (meddled with the Planck constant) Total: 13 |
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#286
07-02-2012, 02:59 PM
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I suspect we don't need this right away, but given that we have a photographer's flash (which is closed, has space for a timer mechanism) and a timer-detonator, I suggest we combine them.
Also, can we carefully examine all of the parts of this complex mechanism? |
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#287
07-03-2012, 08:38 PM
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Referencing Heath Robinson instead of Rude Goldberg? My, this game is really British, isn't it?
Anyway, yeah, go look at all the complex machinery. |
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#288
07-04-2012, 08:54 AM
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Well, with two votes for getting a better look at all this mechanical madness, who could refuse?
>examine sheet Someone rather good-looking (you can't help thinking) is reflected in the metal surface. >examine panel There are fourteen pieces in the grid, and one gap. The pieces have letters upon them and are arranged as follows: Code:
H B P
+ +
N E L
+ +
A C O
+ +
R K S
+ +
. I T
Oh, cred. I smell a sliding block puzzle. I HATE sliding block puzzles - not that they're hard, but they're so vilgehk tedious. :P Anyway, might as well check out the rest of the mechanism. >examine basket That's not something you need to refer to in the course of this game. OK, then. But maybe the contents of the basket, then? >examine orb How tantalisingly valuable it seems. How true. Which means that there must be some way to get it. Now, the hand is also not something we need to refer to, but the cannonball... >examine cannonball Solid, heavy, reliable, out of reach on the other side of the glass. And that's everything I can examine. What to do with it, keeping in mind the fact that it's all behind glass? And what could that sheet of metal have to do with it? Until next time. |
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#289
07-08-2012, 08:41 AM
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Well, it's been four days since the last post, so I'm going to use my LPer's prerogative to explore a path that I accidentally forgot to mention - east from the Jagged Passage. So...
>e Catacombs The odd smell seems to be ozone, and it drifts up from a previously concealed aluminium staircase. >n Jagged Passage >e Charnel Passage A long, winding, vile passage through the earth, running east to west. The distasteful odour grows stronger as you go east. Might as well find out what it could be... >e Sarcophagus Well, perhaps "sarcophagus" is a little melodramatic, but it's that kind of moment. This must be somewhere under the old parish church. You are stooped over inside a stone tomb, stained and crumbled with decay, broken only by a crevice you crawled in by. It is a nightmarish place. Nightmarishly, even the floor you kneel on is a fallen tombstone. That is pretty tysh disturbing. But if it's a tombstone, there's probably something written on it... >read tombstone The gist of the inscription is: "Henri Maladreue, obiit mcdlvi." Maladreue? Sounds like Meldrew, so maybe... >consult history about henri Very little is known about Henri, who lived at some time in the fifteenth century. As a young man he fought at Agincourt, and seems to have been some kind of combat engineer. The story goes that he acquired his nickname, The Black Post, from a joke made by the King when he was standing up to his waist in a ditch. He must have been proud of it because his coat of arms bears his name written down the left hand side, and Black Post down the right. In his later years he became morbidly possessed, and (according to legend) spent his declining years working on his own tomb, which he insisted would be of celestial importance. Well, considering that the freakin' maintenance room for the entire universe is located there, I would say that it is. What to do next time? Puzzles: Getting the mascot from old Evans. A key behind a grating that looks like it may fit the grating. Getting some money to buy the Ekmek Special. Getting across the sacred ground without becoming a crispy critter. A room filled with some sort of crazy contraption. Inventory: the Rod of Returning a timer-detonator a long wrought iron key a daisy chain (around your neck, made from yellow daisies and causes certain objects to turn into featureless mahogany rods when waved) a canvas rucksack (which is open, actually a bag of holding)
some old gardeners' gloves (being worn) Score: It is the afternoon of June 3rd, 1993, and you are in the catacombs beneath the gardens. You have so far scored 216 out of a possible 550, in 1100 turns, giving you the rank of Traveller. Maps Meldrew Hall, attic: Code:
e-c-b-h
/| |
X j a-d
|
f q-p
\ |
k-g-l
| |
n-i m
| |
o r
|
s
b=Old Winery c=Aunt Jemima's Lair (wireless) d=Servant's Room (scarf) e=Potting Room (Aunt Jemima) f=Old Furniture (wrapping paper) g=Over the East Wing h=Storage Room (wheel with handle, dumbwaiter leading to Cellar) i=Disused Observatory (glass ball on telescope stand, smoke detector) j=Airing Cupboard k=Dark Room l=East Annexe m=Dead End (down/east to Beside the Drive) n=Library Storage o=Souvenirs Room (slide projector [contains The Castle], ship in a bottle) p=Inside Cupboard (big iron fireplace, open skylight with crank handle, up to Roof) q=Chimney (down to Priest's Hole) r=Alison's Writing Room (bed) s=Tiny Balcony X=game over Meldrew Hall, cellar: Code:
c-a-b | d b=Wine Cellars c=Cellar West (locked door leading northwest, down to Hellish Place) d=Cellars South (robot mouse, hole in wall) Meldrew Hall, gardens and shaft area: Code:
j-i-i-i-
|
i
|
-i-
|
i
|
-i-i-i-i-i-m
|
i
|
g-f-b-d-e
| \
h a-c u
| |
l-n-o q-s-t
| \ /
k p
|
r
b=Family Tree (plane tree, up to Up the Plane Tree) c=Beside the Wall (potted shrub, one-way path down to Wine Cellar) d=Lawn Ornaments (dark well too small to enter, miniature, weed killer bottle, prayer book, romantic novel, green branch, gas mask) e=Mosaic [can be lagach-ed] f=Clearing g=Garage (garden roller) h=Vegetable Garden (runner bean plant) i=Maze j=Viewpoint Ledge (plaque) k=Dark Shaft (dumbwaiter to Storage Room) l=Dark Passage m=Patio in Maze (down to Crypt) n=Sandstone Passage o=The Octagon (window vent, gilded coffin used to identify rods, scroll) p=White Hallway (painting of Mad Isaac Meldrewe [can be lagach-ed], elephant's foot umbrella stand) q=Bricked Path r=Halfway up the Stairs (up to Servant's Room) s=Hedgery t=Croquet Lawn (colored peg, wickets) u=Summer House (gold watch which is visible but unattainable) Catacombs below the gardens: Code:
a | b-e-f | d-c b=Jagged Passage c=Catacombs (down to Universe Maintenance Room) d=Contraption Room (sheet of dull amber-colored metal forming north wall, iron panel with 3x5 grid, see-saw of leather baskets holding golden orb, metal hand holding cannonball) e=Charnel Passage f=Sarcophagus (you are here) Meldrew Hall, roof: Code:
b \ a b=Battlements Meldrew Hall, ???: Code:
a Northeast of the House: Code:
c | b / a b=Public Footpath (down to Hollow) c=Stone Cross (Old Evans with his lucky mascot) Northeast of the House, Hollow: Code:
a Unreal City: Code:
g>b-c
|
h-d-a-e>f
b=Shadowy Hallway (up to Consulting Room) c=Bohemia (mural [can be lagach-ed]) d=Down by River e=Near Ring Road (down to Chatelet-les-Halles) f=Chatelet-les-Halles (map salesman) g=Consulting Room (down to Shadowy Hallway) h=On board the Phlebas (saying "time" will take the protagonist to Garden Stream) Tarot box: Code:
a e
c
|
b
|
d
f g-h-i
/ | |
l k j
|
m
b=Aboard Ship (examine model ship; up to Up the Mast) c=Prow of the Lady Magdalena d=Stern e=Ruined Castle Cafe f=Sea Shore (Andromeda, up to Cliffs) g=Cliffs (down to Sea Shore) h=Clifftop Walk i=Outside Taverna (fig tree) j=Eraina Taverna (Ekmek Special, bartender) k=Wall of Thorns l=Cave Mouth (obsidian altar, flaming bronze urn) m=Sacred Earth (south to death by divine wrath) Alexandria: Code:
b | a \ b=Island of Pharos (grating, rusty iron key behind grating) Hamburg by night: Code:
b / a | e-c-d f b=Revolving Door c=Hall of Exhibits (still life [can be lagach-ed]) d=Cabinet Room e=Dark Staircase (down/south to...?) f=Coven Cell (goat) Deaths Missed the point entirely: 5 (irritated Aunt Jemima by trying to steal her gardening gloves, gave up on the search, broke a pipe and had to call a plumber, lectured by Aunt Jemima for four hours, burned down most of the attic) Spooked: 1 (haunted by the ghost of Sir Joshua Meldrewe) Died: 6 (jumped off the mast of the Lady Magdalena without a parachute, spontaneous combustion, brutally sacrificed by a druidic coven, blown to bits by a time bomb, incinerated myself with the Rod of Fire, electrocuted by the wrath of Zeus) Disembodied the entire universe: 1 (meddled with the Planck constant) Total: 13 Hint: What type of metal do you think the north wall in the Contraption Room is made of? |
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#292
07-11-2012, 12:16 AM
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As Gerad implied, the north wall is indeed made of bronze. So...
>get rod of bronze (putting the long wrought iron key into the canvas rucksack to make room) Taken. >strike it The rod charges with etherial power, drawn up from the earth through ley lines... >point it at sheet At once, the bronze polishes up to the shine of a mirror. A mirror, eh? >n Walking through the mirror is a wrench, but leaves you somewhere... almost exactly the same... Contraption Reflection The whole south wall is occupied by a bronze mirror, reflecting the room. Amid the glass wall is an iron panel divided into a three-by-five grid. Behind the glass is a kind of see-saw of two leather baskets at opposite ends of an oak pivot. In one corner of the roof, above the far end of the see-saw, is a hole through which dim natural light emanates. Projecting out of the back of the panel mechanism at the near end is a metal hand, which grasps a cannonball in mid-air. The lower basket contains a glowing golden orb. [Your score has just gone up by six points.] Well, this is interesting. Obviously, this room has a purpose. But what could it be? Hopefully we'll find out next time. Oh, and Mogri, I can't look up 1455 because the author of the prayer book that I can look up years in wasn't even born until 1705. Sorry. Puzzles: Getting the mascot from old Evans. A key behind a grating that looks like it may fit the grating. Getting some money to buy the Ekmek Special. Getting across the sacred ground without becoming a crispy critter. A room filled with some sort of crazy contraption. Inventory: the Rods of Bronze and Returning a timer-detonator a daisy chain (around your neck, made from yellow daisies and causes certain objects to turn into featureless mahogany rods when waved) a canvas rucksack (which is open, actually a bag of holding)
some old gardeners' gloves (being worn) Score: It is the afternoon of June 3rd, 1993, and you are in the catacombs beneath the gardens. You have so far scored 222 out of a possible 550, in 1098 turns, giving you the rank of Traveller. Maps Meldrew Hall, attic: Code:
e-c-b-h
/| |
X j a-d
|
f q-p
\ |
k-g-l
| |
n-i m
| |
o r
|
s
b=Old Winery c=Aunt Jemima's Lair (wireless) d=Servant's Room (scarf) e=Potting Room (Aunt Jemima) f=Old Furniture (wrapping paper) g=Over the East Wing h=Storage Room (wheel with handle, dumbwaiter leading to Cellar) i=Disused Observatory (glass ball on telescope stand, smoke detector) j=Airing Cupboard k=Dark Room l=East Annexe m=Dead End (down/east to Beside the Drive) n=Library Storage o=Souvenirs Room (slide projector [contains The Castle], ship in a bottle) p=Inside Cupboard (big iron fireplace, open skylight with crank handle, up to Roof) q=Chimney (down to Priest's Hole) r=Alison's Writing Room (bed) s=Tiny Balcony X=game over Meldrew Hall, cellar: Code:
c-a-b | d b=Wine Cellars c=Cellar West (locked door leading northwest, down to Hellish Place) d=Cellars South (robot mouse, hole in wall) Meldrew Hall, gardens and shaft area: Code:
j-i-i-i-
|
i
|
-i-
|
i
|
-i-i-i-i-i-m
|
i
|
g-f-b-d-e
| \
h a-c u
| |
l-n-o q-s-t
| \ /
k p
|
r
b=Family Tree (plane tree, up to Up the Plane Tree) c=Beside the Wall (potted shrub, one-way path down to Wine Cellar) d=Lawn Ornaments (dark well too small to enter, miniature, weed killer bottle, prayer book, romantic novel, green branch, gas mask) e=Mosaic [can be lagach-ed] f=Clearing g=Garage (garden roller) h=Vegetable Garden (runner bean plant) i=Maze j=Viewpoint Ledge (plaque) k=Dark Shaft (dumbwaiter to Storage Room) l=Dark Passage m=Patio in Maze (down to Crypt) n=Sandstone Passage o=The Octagon (window vent, gilded coffin used to identify rods, scroll) p=White Hallway (painting of Mad Isaac Meldrewe [can be lagach-ed], elephant's foot umbrella stand) q=Bricked Path r=Halfway up the Stairs (up to Servant's Room) s=Hedgery t=Croquet Lawn (colored peg, wickets) u=Summer House (gold watch which is visible but unattainable) Catacombs below the gardens: Code:
a | g b-e-f | | d-c b=Jagged Passage c=Catacombs (down to Universe Maintenance Room) d=Contraption Room (sheet of dull amber-colored metal forming north wall, iron panel with 3x5 grid, see-saw of leather baskets holding golden orb, metal hand holding cannonball) e=Charnel Passage f=Sarcophagus g=Contraption Reflection (same as in Contraption Room; you are here) Meldrew Hall, roof: Code:
b \ a b=Battlements Meldrew Hall, ???: Code:
a Northeast of the House: Code:
c | b / a b=Public Footpath (down to Hollow) c=Stone Cross (Old Evans with his lucky mascot) Northeast of the House, Hollow: Code:
a Unreal City: Code:
g>b-c
|
h-d-a-e>f
b=Shadowy Hallway (up to Consulting Room) c=Bohemia (mural [can be lagach-ed]) d=Down by River e=Near Ring Road (down to Chatelet-les-Halles) f=Chatelet-les-Halles (map salesman) g=Consulting Room (down to Shadowy Hallway) h=On board the Phlebas (saying "time" will take the protagonist to Garden Stream) Tarot box: Code:
a e
c
|
b
|
d
f g-h-i
/ | |
l k j
|
m
b=Aboard Ship (examine model ship; up to Up the Mast) c=Prow of the Lady Magdalena d=Stern e=Ruined Castle Cafe f=Sea Shore (Andromeda, up to Cliffs) g=Cliffs (down to Sea Shore) h=Clifftop Walk i=Outside Taverna (fig tree) j=Eraina Taverna (Ekmek Special, bartender) k=Wall of Thorns l=Cave Mouth (obsidian altar, flaming bronze urn) m=Sacred Earth (south to death by divine wrath) Alexandria: Code:
b | a \ b=Island of Pharos (grating, rusty iron key behind grating) Hamburg by night: Code:
b / a | e-c-d f b=Revolving Door c=Hall of Exhibits (still life [can be lagach-ed]) d=Cabinet Room e=Dark Staircase (down/south to...?) f=Coven Cell (goat) Deaths Missed the point entirely: 5 (irritated Aunt Jemima by trying to steal her gardening gloves, gave up on the search, broke a pipe and had to call a plumber, lectured by Aunt Jemima for four hours, burned down most of the attic) Spooked: 1 (haunted by the ghost of Sir Joshua Meldrewe) Died: 6 (jumped off the mast of the Lady Magdalena without a parachute, spontaneous combustion, brutally sacrificed by a druidic coven, blown to bits by a time bomb, incinerated myself with the Rod of Fire, electrocuted by the wrath of Zeus) Disembodied the entire universe: 1 (meddled with the Planck constant) Total: 13 Hint: Look at the sliding tile puzzle in the previous update and what the answer might be. |
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#293
07-16-2012, 07:41 AM
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I'm normally pretty decent at sliding-block puzzles, but I'm having a really hard time visualing how this would move from just the text layout. (I suspect this is an issue of my brain, rather than the puzzle itself.)
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#294
07-16-2012, 10:15 AM
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Well, since no one has figured it out, the solution to the sliding tile puzzle is HENRI BLACK POST, written vertically. It can't be solved in the real world, but it can be in this mirrored world…quite simply, at that. So, here we go.
>slide i You slide 'I' into the gap, leaving the grid looking like: Code:
P B H
+ +
L E N
+ +
O C A
+ +
S K R
+ +
T . I
You slide 'K' into the gap, leaving the grid looking like: Code:
P B H
+ +
L E N
+ +
O C A
+ +
S . R
+ +
T K I
You slide 'C' into the gap, leaving the grid looking like: Code:
P B H
+ +
L E N
+ +
O . A
+ +
S C R
+ +
T K I
You slide 'A' into the gap, leaving the grid looking like: Code:
P B H
+ +
L E N
+ +
O A .
+ +
S C R
+ +
T K I
Quote:
You slide 'N' into the gap, leaving the grid looking like: Code:
P B H
+ +
L E .
+ +
O A N
+ +
S C R
+ +
T K I
You slide 'E' into the gap, leaving the grid looking like: Code:
P B H
+ +
L . E
+ +
O A N
+ +
S C R
+ +
T K I
You slide 'L' into the gap, leaving the grid looking like: Code:
P B H
+ +
. L E
+ +
O A N
+ +
S C R
+ +
T K I
Quote:
You slide 'O' into the gap, leaving the grid looking like: Code:
P B H
+ +
O L E
+ +
. A N
+ +
S C R
+ +
T K I
You slide 'S' into the gap, leaving the grid looking like: Code:
P B H
+ +
O L E
+ +
S A N
+ +
. C R
+ +
T K I
You slide 'T' into the gap, leaving the grid looking like: Code:
P B H
+ +
O L E
+ +
S A N
+ +
T C R
+ +
. K I
And now we've got the correct solution, except backwards. Fortunately, that can be rectified quite easily. >s Walking through the mirror is a wrench, but leaves you somewhere... almost exactly the same... Contraption Room The whole north wall is occupied by a bronze mirror, reflecting the room. Amid the glass wall is an iron panel divided into a three-by-five grid. Behind the glass is a kind of see-saw of two leather baskets at opposite ends of an oak pivot. In one corner of the roof, above the far end of the see-saw, is a hole through which dim natural light emanates. Projecting out of the back of the panel mechanism at the near end is a metal hand, which grasps a cannonball in mid-air. The lower basket contains a glowing golden orb. >slide k You slide 'K' into the gap, leaving the grid looking like: Code:
H B P
+ +
E L O
+ +
N A S
+ +
R C T
+ +
I . K
You slide 'K' into the gap, leaving the grid looking like: Code:
H B P
+ +
E L O
+ +
N A S
+ +
R C T
+ +
I K .
The cannonball drops out of the metal hand, and falls into the higher basket, which plunges down, hurling the other basket upwards, and projecting something up the hole in the corner. [Your score has just gone up by fifteen points.] Projecting "something" up, eh? What could that be? We can probably find out by taking a good >look Contraption Room The cartoonist Heath Robinson used to specialise in drawings of fantastically complicated machines of string, pulleys, levers, counterweights, cogs, mice running about on wheels and the like. Just such a contraption fills the west end of this room, though most of the workings are behind a glass wall which, although running with age, is as solid as the day it was built. The parts are very old (hand-made, not machined) but uncorroded. The only way out appears to be via the crawl to the east. The whole north wall is occupied by a bronze mirror, reflecting the room. Amid the glass wall is an iron panel divided into a three-by-five grid. Behind the glass is a kind of see-saw of two leather baskets at opposite ends of an oak pivot. In one corner of the roof, above the far end of the see-saw, is a hole through which dim natural light emanates. Projecting out of the back of the panel mechanism at the near end is a metal hand, which grasps empty air. The lower basket contains a cannonball, and the upper is empty. The golden orb is gone. But where could it have gone to? Hopefully someone will figure it out for next time. See you then! Puzzles: Getting the mascot from old Evans. A key behind a grating that looks like it may fit the grating. Getting some money to buy the Ekmek Special. Getting across the sacred ground without becoming a crispy critter. Inventory: the Rods of Bronze and Returning a timer-detonator a daisy chain (around your neck, made from yellow daisies and causes certain objects to turn into featureless mahogany rods when waved) a canvas rucksack (which is open, actually a bag of holding)
some old gardeners' gloves (being worn) Score: It is the afternoon of June 3rd, 1993, and you are in the catacombs beneath the gardens. You have so far scored 237 out of a possible 550, in 1112 turns, giving you the rank of Traveller. Maps Meldrew Hall, attic: Code:
e-c-b-h
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X j a-d
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f q-p
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k-g-l
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b=Old Winery c=Aunt Jemima's Lair (wireless) d=Servant's Room (scarf) e=Potting Room (Aunt Jemima) f=Old Furniture (wrapping paper) g=Over the East Wing h=Storage Room (wheel with handle, dumbwaiter leading to Cellar) i=Disused Observatory (glass ball on telescope stand, smoke detector) j=Airing Cupboard k=Dark Room l=East Annexe m=Dead End (down/east to Beside the Drive) n=Library Storage o=Souvenirs Room (slide projector [contains The Castle], ship in a bottle) p=Inside Cupboard (big iron fireplace, open skylight with crank handle, up to Roof) q=Chimney (down to Priest's Hole) r=Alison's Writing Room (bed) s=Tiny Balcony X=game over Meldrew Hall, cellar: Code:
c-a-b | d b=Wine Cellars c=Cellar West (locked door leading northwest, down to Hellish Place) d=Cellars South (robot mouse, hole in wall) Meldrew Hall, gardens and shaft area: Code:
j-i-i-i-
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b=Family Tree (plane tree, up to Up the Plane Tree) c=Beside the Wall (potted shrub, one-way path down to Wine Cellar) d=Lawn Ornaments (dark well too small to enter, miniature, weed killer bottle, prayer book, romantic novel, green branch, gas mask) e=Mosaic [can be lagach-ed] f=Clearing g=Garage (garden roller) h=Vegetable Garden (runner bean plant) i=Maze j=Viewpoint Ledge (plaque) k=Dark Shaft (dumbwaiter to Storage Room) l=Dark Passage m=Patio in Maze (down to Crypt) n=Sandstone Passage o=The Octagon (window vent, gilded coffin used to identify rods, scroll) p=White Hallway (painting of Mad Isaac Meldrewe [can be lagach-ed], elephant's foot umbrella stand) q=Bricked Path r=Halfway up the Stairs (up to Servant's Room) s=Hedgery t=Croquet Lawn (colored peg, wickets) u=Summer House (gold watch which is visible but unattainable) Catacombs below the gardens: Code:
a | g b-e-f | | d-c b=Jagged Passage c=Catacombs (down to Universe Maintenance Room) d=Contraption Room (sheet of dull amber-colored metal forming north wall, iron panel with 3x5 grid, see-saw of leather baskets, metal hand; you are here) e=Charnel Passage f=Sarcophagus g=Contraption Reflection (same as in Contraption Room) Meldrew Hall, roof: Code:
b \ a b=Battlements Meldrew Hall, ???: Code:
a Northeast of the House: Code:
c | b / a b=Public Footpath (down to Hollow) c=Stone Cross (Old Evans with his lucky mascot) Northeast of the House, Hollow: Code:
a Unreal City: Code:
g>b-c
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h-d-a-e>f
b=Shadowy Hallway (up to Consulting Room) c=Bohemia (mural [can be lagach-ed]) d=Down by River e=Near Ring Road (down to Chatelet-les-Halles) f=Chatelet-les-Halles (map salesman) g=Consulting Room (down to Shadowy Hallway) h=On board the Phlebas (saying "time" will take the protagonist to Garden Stream) Tarot box: Code:
a e
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f g-h-i
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b=Aboard Ship (examine model ship; up to Up the Mast) c=Prow of the Lady Magdalena d=Stern e=Ruined Castle Cafe f=Sea Shore (Andromeda, up to Cliffs) g=Cliffs (down to Sea Shore) h=Clifftop Walk i=Outside Taverna (fig tree) j=Eraina Taverna (Ekmek Special, bartender) k=Wall of Thorns l=Cave Mouth (obsidian altar, flaming bronze urn) m=Sacred Earth (south to death by divine wrath) Alexandria: Code:
b | a \ b=Island of Pharos (grating, rusty iron key behind grating) Hamburg by night: Code:
b / a | e-c-d f b=Revolving Door c=Hall of Exhibits (still life [can be lagach-ed]) d=Cabinet Room e=Dark Staircase (down/south to...?) f=Coven Cell (goat) Deaths Missed the point entirely: 5 (irritated Aunt Jemima by trying to steal her gardening gloves, gave up on the search, broke a pipe and had to call a plumber, lectured by Aunt Jemima for four hours, burned down most of the attic) Spooked: 1 (haunted by the ghost of Sir Joshua Meldrewe) Died: 6 (jumped off the mast of the Lady Magdalena without a parachute, spontaneous combustion, brutally sacrificed by a druidic coven, blown to bits by a time bomb, incinerated myself with the Rod of Fire, electrocuted by the wrath of Zeus) Disembodied the entire universe: 1 (meddled with the Planck constant) Total: 13 |
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#296
07-19-2012, 04:34 PM
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Quote:
>mural, lagach A swirl of wind snakes out from the bronze mural and whisks you away to... Bohemia Flats occupied by starving-but-noble artists can be romantic and stylish despite the squalor. This one, however, is simply a one-room hovel, caked with paint, littered with brushes and improvised easels, and you can't help standing on tiptoe here. One whole wall is an Impressionist mural painting of a chateau in Aix-en-Provence. >mural, lagach A swirl of wind snakes out from the Impressionist painting and whisks you away to... Hall of Exhibits A great square gloomy room, just south of the foyer. There are square lintelled doorways east and west. The storm is dark, and the windows are high, but there's just enough light to see by. A long painted still life graces one wall near a corner. >painting, lagach A swirl of wind snakes out from the still life and whisks you away to... White Hallway A low, white hallway adjoining the Octagon, converted from what was once the scullery and the servants' pantry. A tight, dark staircase runs up and south; and a diagonal bricked path runs out northeast to the gardens. Mad Isaac's painting glares at you from the picture hook. There's an old-fashioned elephant's foot umbrella stand beside the garden doorway. >painting, lagach A swirl of wind snakes out from the painting of Mad Isaac Meldrewe and whisks you away to... Mosaic This sunken corner of the garden has been excavated and then covered over with tough perspex to protect it from visitors' shoes. It consists of a time-worn Roman mosaic, divided into four quadrants, each showing scenes of idealised Roman life. There was probably a villa on this site, but your family has never been keen on archaeologists so the excavations went no further. I'm aware it would have probably been easier to get to the gardens some other way, but this is the quickest way to get to where I want to be. >w Lawn Ornaments The lawn is lightly coated with broken plaster and dust, and in the spot where the statuette once stood is a dark, ancient well. Sitting on the grass, beside the well, is a glowing golden orb. A big motorised garden roller is parked here. You can also see a gas mask, a green branch, a weed killer bottle, a miniature, a romantic novel and an ancient prayer book here. There's the orb! And that was the purpose of the ancient well from so long ago. Anway, snatchy time! >take orb (putting the timer-detonator into the canvas rucksack to make room) Taken. [Your score has just gone up by four points.] Now to take a better look at our newest possession. >examine orb A treasure in every sense, but misted over, like condensation on a cold window. Odd shapes seem visible through the haze: a horse's head, castle walls, a priest's crook. Hmm, almost like a chessboard of some kind. But that's not important now. What is important is where to go from here. I'm pretty sure I have everything I need for ancient Greece, and I should be able to do some of what I need to do in Alexandria...assuming that someone knows why I need to have the projector path open for it to be solvable. Finally, I haven't explored the Star tarot card yet, although unless I'm mistaken, solving it too soon is yet another walking-dead scenario. So, where to next? Puzzles: Getting the mascot from old Evans. A key behind a grating that looks like it may fit the grating. Getting some money to buy the Ekmek Special. Getting across the sacred ground without becoming a crispy critter. Inventory: a glowing golden orb misted over, but has images of some sort of crazy chess world the Rods of Bronze and Returning a daisy chain (around your neck, made from yellow daisies and causes certain objects to turn into featureless mahogany rods when waved) a canvas rucksack (which is open, actually a bag of holding)
some old gardeners' gloves (being worn) Score: It is the afternoon of June 3rd, 1993, and you are in the gardens. You have so far scored 241 out of a possible 550, in 1122 turns, giving you the rank of Traveller. Maps Meldrew Hall, attic: Code:
e-c-b-h
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X j a-d
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f q-p
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k-g-l
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n-i m
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o r
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b=Old Winery c=Aunt Jemima's Lair (wireless) d=Servant's Room (scarf) e=Potting Room (Aunt Jemima) f=Old Furniture (wrapping paper) g=Over the East Wing h=Storage Room (wheel with handle, dumbwaiter leading to Cellar) i=Disused Observatory (glass ball on telescope stand, smoke detector) j=Airing Cupboard k=Dark Room l=East Annexe m=Dead End (down/east to Beside the Drive) n=Library Storage o=Souvenirs Room (slide projector [contains The Castle], ship in a bottle) p=Inside Cupboard (big iron fireplace, open skylight with crank handle, up to Roof) q=Chimney (down to Priest's Hole) r=Alison's Writing Room (bed) s=Tiny Balcony X=game over Meldrew Hall, cellar: Code:
c-a-b | d b=Wine Cellars c=Cellar West (locked door leading northwest, down to Hellish Place) d=Cellars South (robot mouse, hole in wall) Meldrew Hall, gardens and shaft area: Code:
j-i-i-i-
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b=Family Tree (plane tree, up to Up the Plane Tree) c=Beside the Wall (potted shrub, one-way path down to Wine Cellar) d=Lawn Ornaments (dark well too small to enter, miniature, weed killer bottle, prayer book, romantic novel, green branch, gas mask; you are here) e=Mosaic [can be lagach-ed] f=Clearing g=Garage (garden roller) h=Vegetable Garden (runner bean plant) i=Maze j=Viewpoint Ledge (plaque) k=Dark Shaft (dumbwaiter to Storage Room) l=Dark Passage m=Patio in Maze (down to Crypt) n=Sandstone Passage o=The Octagon (window vent, gilded coffin used to identify rods, scroll) p=White Hallway (painting of Mad Isaac Meldrewe [can be lagach-ed], elephant's foot umbrella stand) q=Bricked Path r=Halfway up the Stairs (up to Servant's Room) s=Hedgery t=Croquet Lawn (colored peg, wickets) u=Summer House (gold watch which is visible but unattainable) Catacombs below the gardens: Code:
a | g b-e-f | | d-c b=Jagged Passage c=Catacombs (down to Universe Maintenance Room) d=Contraption Room (sheet of dull amber-colored metal forming north wall, iron panel with 3x5 grid, see-saw of leather baskets, metal hand) e=Charnel Passage f=Sarcophagus g=Contraption Reflection (same as in Contraption Room) Meldrew Hall, roof: Code:
b \ a b=Battlements Meldrew Hall, ???: Code:
a Northeast of the House: Code:
c | b / a b=Public Footpath (down to Hollow) c=Stone Cross (Old Evans with his lucky mascot) Northeast of the House, Hollow: Code:
a Unreal City: Code:
g>b-c
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h-d-a-e>f
b=Shadowy Hallway (up to Consulting Room) c=Bohemia (mural [can be lagach-ed]) d=Down by River e=Near Ring Road (down to Chatelet-les-Halles) f=Chatelet-les-Halles (map salesman) g=Consulting Room (down to Shadowy Hallway) h=On board the Phlebas (saying "time" will take the protagonist to Garden Stream) Tarot box: Code:
a e
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f g-h-i
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b=Aboard Ship (examine model ship; up to Up the Mast) c=Prow of the Lady Magdalena d=Stern e=Ruined Castle Cafe f=Sea Shore (Andromeda, up to Cliffs) g=Cliffs (down to Sea Shore) h=Clifftop Walk i=Outside Taverna (fig tree) j=Eraina Taverna (Ekmek Special, bartender) k=Wall of Thorns l=Cave Mouth (obsidian altar, flaming bronze urn) m=Sacred Earth (south to death by divine wrath) Alexandria: Code:
b | a \ b=Island of Pharos (grating, rusty iron key behind grating) Hamburg by night: Code:
b / a | e-c-d f b=Revolving Door c=Hall of Exhibits (still life [can be lagach-ed]) d=Cabinet Room e=Dark Staircase (down/south to...?) f=Coven Cell (goat) Deaths Missed the point entirely: 5 (irritated Aunt Jemima by trying to steal her gardening gloves, gave up on the search, broke a pipe and had to call a plumber, lectured by Aunt Jemima for four hours, burned down most of the attic) Spooked: 1 (haunted by the ghost of Sir Joshua Meldrewe) Died: 6 (jumped off the mast of the Lady Magdalena without a parachute, spontaneous combustion, brutally sacrificed by a druidic coven, blown to bits by a time bomb, incinerated myself with the Rod of Fire, electrocuted by the wrath of Zeus) Disembodied the entire universe: 1 (meddled with the Planck constant) Total: 13 |
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#298
07-23-2012, 07:35 AM
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Since the orb is an orb, it probably won't fit, but probably is not the same thing as definitely, so let's head to the attic. However, first, there was a suggestion much earlier that I just kept spacing on for some reason. So let's do that first.
>get timer (putting the Rod of Returning into the canvas rucksack to make room) Taken. >get flash (putting the Rod of Bronze into the canvas rucksack to make room) Taken. >open flash You open the photographer's flash, revealing a nasty-looking red battery. >put timer in flash You put the timer-detonator into the photographer's flash. >close flash You close the photographer's flash. It's weird, though. I thought I had done this, but apparently I hadn't. Anyway, back to the attic! >w Family Tree >se Garden Stream On the house wall is a coal bunker, whose door stands open. >s Dark Passage A secret passage slants down to the east through a sandstone recess. At the north end is a metal door, standing open. >e Sandstone Passage >e The Octagon There is a little window-vent high in the southwest wall. A rather morbid gilded model coffin rests open here. Leaned against one of the eight corners is a ragged white parchment scroll. >se White Hallway Mad Isaac's painting glares at you from the picture hook. There's an old-fashioned elephant's foot umbrella stand beside the garden doorway. >s Halfway up the Stairs >u Servant's Room A tight door stands open in the northern wall, giving onto the servants' staircase. An old striped scarf hangs up behind the doorway. >w Attic There is a closed trapdoor in the middle of the floor. >s Old Furniture You can see some wrapping paper with reindeer on here. >se Over the East Wing >s Disused Observatory Austin, your incorrigible ginger cat, lounges around here. Mounted on the old telescope stand is what looks like a solid glass ball. A beam of white light runs into the room from the slide projector to the south, and hits the glass ball, which spins it about wildly, as if it were a strobe light at a discotheque. Austin rolls over on his back and stretches. >s Souvenirs Room You can see a ship in a bottle here. The south wall displays the picture on the Castle, beautifully magnified and amazingly life-like. Why, you'd hardly know there was a wall there at all. A beam of white light points directly backward from the projector, through the north doorway into the Observatory. Now, to try and put an orb-shaped orb in a card-shaped slot. >get castle The south wall becomes blank again. >put orb in projector It won't fit. There's only room for something flat and the size of, say, a playing card. Well, since that didn't work, might as well head back to ancient Greece. >get maiden (putting the glowing golden orb into the canvas rucksack to make room) Taken. >put maiden in projector The south wall lights up with the picture on the Maiden, beautifully magnified and amazingly life-like. Why, you'd hardly know there was a wall there at all. >s You walk confidently into the south wall... Sea Shore A rough rocky sea shore below barely-climbable cliffs, against which inviting deep blue sea laps. It seems to be early morning, soon after dawn, from the look of the sun on the water. Chained to the cliff face is the beautiful Andromeda, looking nobly out to sea as she awaits her fate. Now we're back in ancient Greece. But can you tell what might have made this area solvable since our last visit? If not, I'll show it off tomorrow. Until next time! Puzzles: Getting the mascot from old Evans. A key behind a grating that looks like it may fit the grating. Getting some money to buy the Ekmek Special. Getting across the sacred ground without becoming a crispy critter. Inventory: the Castle a photographer's flash (which is closed, equipped with a timer mechanism) a daisy chain (around your neck, made from yellow daisies and causes certain objects to turn into featureless mahogany rods when waved) a canvas rucksack (which is open, actually a bag of holding)
some old gardeners' gloves (being worn) Score: You are passing among the strange, unearthly world of the Tarot box. You have so far scored 241 out of a possible 550, in 1145 turns, giving you the rank of Traveller. Maps Meldrew Hall, attic: Code:
e-c-b-h
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X j a-d
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f q-p
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k-g-l
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n-i m
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o r
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b=Old Winery c=Aunt Jemima's Lair (wireless) d=Servant's Room (scarf) e=Potting Room (Aunt Jemima) f=Old Furniture (wrapping paper) g=Over the East Wing h=Storage Room (wheel with handle, dumbwaiter leading to Cellar) i=Disused Observatory (glass ball on telescope stand, smoke detector) j=Airing Cupboard k=Dark Room l=East Annexe m=Dead End (down/east to Beside the Drive) n=Library Storage o=Souvenirs Room (slide projector [contains The Castle], ship in a bottle) p=Inside Cupboard (big iron fireplace, open skylight with crank handle, up to Roof) q=Chimney (down to Priest's Hole) r=Alison's Writing Room (bed) s=Tiny Balcony X=game over Meldrew Hall, cellar: Code:
c-a-b | d b=Wine Cellars c=Cellar West (locked door leading northwest, down to Hellish Place) d=Cellars South (robot mouse, hole in wall) Meldrew Hall, gardens and shaft area: Code:
j-i-i-i-
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b=Family Tree (plane tree, up to Up the Plane Tree) c=Beside the Wall (potted shrub, one-way path down to Wine Cellar) d=Lawn Ornaments (dark well too small to enter, miniature, weed killer bottle, prayer book, romantic novel, green branch, gas mask) e=Mosaic [can be lagach-ed] f=Clearing g=Garage (garden roller) h=Vegetable Garden (runner bean plant) i=Maze j=Viewpoint Ledge (plaque) k=Dark Shaft (dumbwaiter to Storage Room) l=Dark Passage m=Patio in Maze (down to Crypt) n=Sandstone Passage o=The Octagon (window vent, gilded coffin used to identify rods, scroll) p=White Hallway (painting of Mad Isaac Meldrewe [can be lagach-ed], elephant's foot umbrella stand) q=Bricked Path r=Halfway up the Stairs (up to Servant's Room) s=Hedgery t=Croquet Lawn (colored peg, wickets) u=Summer House (gold watch which is visible but unattainable) Catacombs below the gardens: Code:
a | g b-e-f | | d-c b=Jagged Passage c=Catacombs (down to Universe Maintenance Room) d=Contraption Room (sheet of dull amber-colored metal forming north wall, iron panel with 3x5 grid, see-saw of leather baskets, metal hand) e=Charnel Passage f=Sarcophagus g=Contraption Reflection (same as in Contraption Room) Meldrew Hall, roof: Code:
b \ a b=Battlements Meldrew Hall, ???: Code:
a Northeast of the House: Code:
c | b / a b=Public Footpath (down to Hollow) c=Stone Cross (Old Evans with his lucky mascot) Northeast of the House, Hollow: Code:
a Unreal City: Code:
g>b-c
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h-d-a-e>f
b=Shadowy Hallway (up to Consulting Room) c=Bohemia (mural [can be lagach-ed]) d=Down by River e=Near Ring Road (down to Chatelet-les-Halles) f=Chatelet-les-Halles (map salesman) g=Consulting Room (down to Shadowy Hallway) h=On board the Phlebas (saying "time" will take the protagonist to Garden Stream) Tarot box: Code:
a e
c
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f g-h-i
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l k j
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b=Aboard Ship (examine model ship; up to Up the Mast) c=Prow of the Lady Magdalena d=Stern e=Ruined Castle Cafe f=Sea Shore (Andromeda, up to Cliffs; you are here) g=Cliffs (down to Sea Shore) h=Clifftop Walk i=Outside Taverna (fig tree) j=Eraina Taverna (Ekmek Special, bartender) k=Wall of Thorns l=Cave Mouth (obsidian altar, flaming bronze urn) m=Sacred Earth (south to death by divine wrath) Alexandria: Code:
b | a \ b=Island of Pharos (grating, rusty iron key behind grating) Hamburg by night: Code:
b / a | e-c-d f b=Revolving Door c=Hall of Exhibits (still life [can be lagach-ed]) d=Cabinet Room e=Dark Staircase (down/south to...?) f=Coven Cell (goat) Deaths Missed the point entirely: 5 (irritated Aunt Jemima by trying to steal her gardening gloves, gave up on the search, broke a pipe and had to call a plumber, lectured by Aunt Jemima for four hours, burned down most of the attic) Spooked: 1 (haunted by the ghost of Sir Joshua Meldrewe) Died: 6 (jumped off the mast of the Lady Magdalena without a parachute, spontaneous combustion, brutally sacrificed by a druidic coven, blown to bits by a time bomb, incinerated myself with the Rod of Fire, electrocuted by the wrath of Zeus) Disembodied the entire universe: 1 (meddled with the Planck constant) Total: 13 |
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#299
07-26-2012, 09:55 AM
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I know I said that I'd update "tomorrow" a few days ago, but you should know by now that my "tomorrow" is different from most peoples' "tomorrow". Sorry about that. Anyway, the change I was hinting at was the fact the hallowed ground is no longer impassable. So let's go there!
>u Cliffs On top of some exposed cliffs on the Mediterranean. A dangerous slither down leads on one side to the shore, all other ways down being even more hazardous. Atop the cliffs is the Pharos tower, a round stone pinnacle lighthouse, but there is no way in from here. A grassy walk leads east, and a narrow crack leads southwest into a cave mouth. >e Clifftop Walk A long clifftop walk by the sea, from the lighthouse to the west to the village not far east. These fields are occupied by herds of hardy mountain goats, continually butting each other and frisking. To the south a path leads across sparse grassland to a great outgrowth of some kind. >e The goats hiss and butt against you, not letting you through. >restore Please supply a filename for restore Ok. >u Cliffs On top of some exposed cliffs on the Mediterranean. A dangerous slither down leads on one side to the shore, all other ways down being even more hazardous. Atop the cliffs is the Pharos tower, a round stone pinnacle lighthouse, but there is no way in from here. A grassy walk leads east, and a narrow crack leads southwest into a cave mouth. >e Clifftop Walk A long clifftop walk by the sea, from the lighthouse to the west to the village not far east. These fields are occupied by herds of hardy mountain goats, continually butting each other and frisking. To the south a path leads across sparse grassland to a great outgrowth of some kind. >get rod of fire Taken. >s Wall of Thorns The rather sparse rolling landscape is dominated here by a massive, and suspiciously unnatural, wall of thorns, which forms a great ring about an area perhaps a hundred yards in diameter. There are goat pastures to the north. The wall rustles and clashes its thorns like a beast alive. >restore Please supply a filename for restore Ok. >u Cliffs On top of some exposed cliffs on the Mediterranean. A dangerous slither down leads on one side to the shore, all other ways down being even more hazardous. Atop the cliffs is the Pharos tower, a round stone pinnacle lighthouse, but there is no way in from here. A grassy walk leads east, and a narrow crack leads southwest into a cave mouth. >e Clifftop Walk A long clifftop walk by the sea, from the lighthouse to the west to the village not far east. These fields are occupied by herds of hardy mountain goats, continually butting each other and frisking. To the south a path leads across sparse grassland to a great outgrowth of some kind. >s Wall of Thorns The rather sparse rolling landscape is dominated here by a massive, and suspiciously unnatural, wall of thorns, which forms a great ring about an area perhaps a hundred yards in diameter. There are goat pastures to the north. The wall rustles and clashes its thorns like a beast alive. >get rod of fire Taken. >strike it The rod charges with etherial power, drawn up from the earth through ley lines... >point it at thorns Fire leaps out from the rod into the heart of the thorn wall, which screams out as it burns, revealing a great hole through the wild flames. You catch a tantalising glimpse of a great Temple, before the wall heals back. But it is unable to recover entirely, and a charred gap is left to the south. You could probably squeeze through it. Quote:
Sacred Earth Here inside the thorn wall, a north-south path leads across sacred earth into the imposing marble Temple of Zeus. You feel distinctly uneasy walking on such hallowed turf. There are any number of myths about gods getting cross about that sort of thing. Last time, the big issue was that there was literally no chance of my surviving crossing due to determinism being in effect. However, crossing it will still get us crispified. So, let's shift the winds of fate in our favor. >get rod of luck (putting the photographer's flash into the canvas rucksack to make room) Taken. >strike it The rod charges with etherial power, drawn up from the earth through ley lines... >point it at me You feel optimistic and lucky. Mind you, you feel that most times. And, now that my luck has been enhanced… >s Zeus, chief of all the gods, appears and hurls a thunderbolt down just before you begin to cross into the Temple. Astonishingly, you beat the luck of the gods and slip into the temple just clear of the thunderbolt. "Damn, missed!" says a sepulchral voice from without. Temple of Zeus The beautiful candle-lit Temple of Zeus, a cavern of marble pillars which is quite empty and featureless save for the entrance at the north. So much for all the rumours about hoards of treasure - it looks as if Zeus (who is, by the way howling with anger outside) was bluffing all along. Cloisters lead southeast and southwest, deeper into the temple. You can see one copper coin here. [Your score has just gone up by five points.] Well, first things first. Looting time! >get coin (putting the Castle into the canvas rucksack to make room) Taken. And with that out of the way, I leave you with this question: Southeast or southwest? Puzzles: Getting the mascot from old Evans. A key behind a grating that looks like it may fit the grating. Getting some money to buy the Ekmek Special. Inventory: one copper coin the Rods of Luck and Fire a daisy chain (around your neck, made from yellow daisies and causes certain objects to turn into featureless mahogany rods when waved) a canvas rucksack (which is open, actually a bag of holding)
some old gardeners' gloves (being worn) Score: You are passing among the strange, unearthly world of the Tarot box. You have so far scored 246 out of a possible 550, in 1157 turns, giving you the rank of Traveller. Maps Meldrew Hall, attic: Code:
e-c-b-h
/| |
X j a-d
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f q-p
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k-g-l
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n-i m
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o r
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s
b=Old Winery c=Aunt Jemima's Lair (wireless) d=Servant's Room (scarf) e=Potting Room (Aunt Jemima) f=Old Furniture (wrapping paper) g=Over the East Wing h=Storage Room (wheel with handle, dumbwaiter leading to Cellar) i=Disused Observatory (glass ball on telescope stand, smoke detector) j=Airing Cupboard k=Dark Room l=East Annexe m=Dead End (down/east to Beside the Drive) n=Library Storage o=Souvenirs Room (slide projector [contains The Castle], ship in a bottle) p=Inside Cupboard (big iron fireplace, open skylight with crank handle, up to Roof) q=Chimney (down to Priest's Hole) r=Alison's Writing Room (bed) s=Tiny Balcony X=game over Meldrew Hall, cellar: Code:
c-a-b | d b=Wine Cellars c=Cellar West (locked door leading northwest, down to Hellish Place) d=Cellars South (robot mouse, hole in wall) Meldrew Hall, gardens and shaft area: Code:
j-i-i-i-
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i
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-i-
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i
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-i-i-i-i-i-m
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i
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g-f-b-d-e
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h a-c u
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l-n-o q-s-t
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k p
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r
b=Family Tree (plane tree, up to Up the Plane Tree) c=Beside the Wall (potted shrub, one-way path down to Wine Cellar) d=Lawn Ornaments (dark well too small to enter, miniature, weed killer bottle, prayer book, romantic novel, green branch, gas mask) e=Mosaic [can be lagach-ed] f=Clearing g=Garage (garden roller) h=Vegetable Garden (runner bean plant) i=Maze j=Viewpoint Ledge (plaque) k=Dark Shaft (dumbwaiter to Storage Room) l=Dark Passage m=Patio in Maze (down to Crypt) n=Sandstone Passage o=The Octagon (window vent, gilded coffin used to identify rods, scroll) p=White Hallway (painting of Mad Isaac Meldrewe [can be lagach-ed], elephant's foot umbrella stand) q=Bricked Path r=Halfway up the Stairs (up to Servant's Room) s=Hedgery t=Croquet Lawn (colored peg, wickets) u=Summer House (gold watch which is visible but unattainable) Catacombs below the gardens: Code:
a | g b-e-f | | d-c b=Jagged Passage c=Catacombs (down to Universe Maintenance Room) d=Contraption Room (sheet of dull amber-colored metal forming north wall, iron panel with 3x5 grid, see-saw of leather baskets, metal hand) e=Charnel Passage f=Sarcophagus g=Contraption Reflection (same as in Contraption Room) Meldrew Hall, roof: Code:
b \ a b=Battlements Meldrew Hall, ???: Code:
a Northeast of the House: Code:
c | b / a b=Public Footpath (down to Hollow) c=Stone Cross (Old Evans with his lucky mascot) Northeast of the House, Hollow: Code:
a Unreal City: Code:
g>b-c
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h-d-a-e>f
b=Shadowy Hallway (up to Consulting Room) c=Bohemia (mural [can be lagach-ed]) d=Down by River e=Near Ring Road (down to Chatelet-les-Halles) f=Chatelet-les-Halles (map salesman) g=Consulting Room (down to Shadowy Hallway) h=On board the Phlebas (saying "time" will take the protagonist to Garden Stream) Tarot box: Code:
a e
c
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b
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d
f g-h-i
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l k j
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m
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n
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b=Aboard Ship (examine model ship; up to Up the Mast) c=Prow of the Lady Magdalena d=Stern e=Ruined Castle Cafe f=Sea Shore (Andromeda, up to Cliffs) g=Cliffs (down to Sea Shore) h=Clifftop Walk i=Outside Taverna (fig tree) j=Eraina Taverna (Ekmek Special, bartender) k=Wall of Thorns l=Cave Mouth (obsidian altar, flaming bronze urn) m=Sacred Earth (south to death by divine wrath) n=Temple of Zeus (you are here) Alexandria: Code:
b | a \ b=Island of Pharos (grating, rusty iron key behind grating) Hamburg by night: Code:
b / a | e-c-d f b=Revolving Door c=Hall of Exhibits (still life [can be lagach-ed]) d=Cabinet Room e=Dark Staircase (down/south to...?) f=Coven Cell (goat) Deaths Missed the point entirely: 5 (irritated Aunt Jemima by trying to steal her gardening gloves, gave up on the search, broke a pipe and had to call a plumber, lectured by Aunt Jemima for four hours, burned down most of the attic) Spooked: 1 (haunted by the ghost of Sir Joshua Meldrewe) Died: 6 (jumped off the mast of the Lady Magdalena without a parachute, spontaneous combustion, brutally sacrificed by a druidic coven, blown to bits by a time bomb, incinerated myself with the Rod of Fire, electrocuted by the wrath of Zeus) Disembodied the entire universe: 1 (meddled with the Planck constant) Total: 13 |