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All this for a map of Paris? Let's play Curses!
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#152
03-27-2012, 11:58 PM
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Well, looking up 1808 in the prayer book seems like it would be futile, seeing as Mad Isaac died in 1792. But maybe he did some research after his death?
>look up 1808 in prayer book He didn't seem to be experimenting in those days. Nope, looks like the only Meldrew hanging around after dying was Joshua. But now, to explore the maze of the past! Hopefully the map is the same... >e Maze Foundations You stand on a rough patch of grass. There is a seedbed to the south. There is a fence to the north. >e Maze Foundations You stand on a rough patch of grass. There is a fence to the north. >s Maze Foundations You stand on a rough patch of grass. There are seedbeds to the east and west. >s Maze Foundations You stand on a rough patch of grass. >s Maze Foundations You stand on a rough patch of grass. There are seedbeds to the east and west. >s Maze Foundations You stand on a rough patch of grass. There is a fence to the south. >e Maze Foundations You stand on a rough patch of grass. There is a seedbed to the north. There is a fence to the south. >e Maze Foundations You stand on a rough patch of grass. There is a seedbed to the north. >e Maze Foundations You stand on a rough patch of grass. There are seedbeds to the north and east. There is a fence to the south. >e Maze Foundations You are standing on a bed in which seeds have been recently planted. There is a seedbed to the north. There is a fence to the south. If my calculations are correct, this is where the hedge outside that hedged-in area is located. So, maybe... >get weed killer bottle Taken. >squeeze it A stream of weed-killer soaks into the seedbed, and does nothing obvious. Now, we do actually have a way back, but there's something I have to do first, seeing as how there's no way to get back here once I'm done. So, after going back through the future maze... Folly A bean pole, of the kind used to grow climbing plants, rests against the side of the tower. >get pole (putting the Drowned Sailor into the canvas rucksack to make room) Taken. Now, recall what happened when I read the poetry book last time. I went to the Unreal City, and from there to the gardens of Meldrew Hall in the present. So it should work again... >read poetry book Publishers talk a lot of nonsense about readers being transported away by books, but somehow you have arrived in the... Unreal City This is a city side street, but as if seen through the grey of despair. People stream by, some of whom you almost recognise, as if dead. The street runs east-west, and to the north is a doorway into a grubby tenement building. A clock keeps the hours, with a dead sound on the final stroke of nine. >w Down by River Moored close to the bank is a glass-roofed tourist boat. >w On board the Phlebas The hollow man mechanically says: "Where to, guv'nor? Me with my big mouth, I gone and done it again, calling you the guv'nor. I was down Margate Sands way once, had a bloke come on board, he thought any old destination would do, like a real place, like anywhere was real... We are the hollow men, I says, he didn't like that... Hurry up, please, it's time." >say time (to the hollow man) You lose all sense of time and place as the boat drifts down river... It comes as a considerable relief to your befuddled nerves when the man helps you off the boat again, and you find yourself: Garden Stream In the lush, verdant (which is to say, under-cared for) gardens of Meldrew House, where a stream gurgles pleasantly as it meanders through reeds. The house rises up high above you to the south and you dare not be seen from the windows by the rest of the family, so you'll have to go northwest, deeper into the gardens, or else east along a path hugging the wall. On the house wall is a coal bunker, whose door stands open. And now we're back in our own time! Before I forget, schep asked me to check my inventory, so... >i You are carrying: a bean pole a weed killer bottle the Fool a daisy chain (which rustles as if with a magical wind) a canvas rucksack (which is open) a green branch an old timber spar a flag of the British Merchant Navy a featureless mahogany rod an antique jewellery box (which is closed and locked) a steel wrench a gas mask a gothic-looking iron key a small brass key a painting of Mad Isaac Meldrewe a spade a hard wooden ball a bird whistle a silk handkerchief a guaranteed-unbreakable medicine bottle with a child-proof lock (which is closed) a photographer's flash (which is closed) three Tarot cards: the Drowned Sailor, Ace of Cups and Grim Reaper an ancient prayer book a romantic novel a tourist map Hobson's classical dictionary the History of the Meldrews (vol. II) an electric torch (providing light and closed) some old gardeners' gloves (being worn) I wonder what the significance to the rustling of the daisy chain could be? Anyway, I leave you today with a decision: Should I finally explore the village area, or see if killing those seeds in the past opened up that enclosed area of the maze? Unexplored paths: Northeast of Beside the Drive. Puzzles: Finding out the purpose of the word "lagach." Getting into the hedged-in area of the maze. A locked jewelry box. Inventory: a bean pole a weed killer bottle the Fool a daisy chain (which rustles as if in a magical wind, 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 90 out of a possible 550, in 647 turns, giving you the rank of Dilettante. Maps Meldrew Hall, attic Code:
e-c-b-h
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X j a-d
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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 containing the miniature) p=Inside Cupboard (big iron fireplace, open skylight with crank handle, up to Roof) q=Chimney (down to Priest's Hole) 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) e=Mosaic 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 Meldrew Hall, roof: Code:
b \ a b=Battlements Meldrew Hall, ???: Code:
a Meldrew Hall, gardens (1808): Code:
a-b-b-b
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b
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b=Maze Foundations Northeast of the House: 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 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 c | b | d b=Aboard Ship (examine model ship; up to Up the Mast) c=Prow of the Lady Magdalena d=Stern 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: 1 (jumped off the mast of the Lady Magdalena without a parachute) Total: 7 |
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#154
03-28-2012, 11:56 AM
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Quote:
Quote:
Now, if Marie Swelldon was really Roger's wife, her last name would naturally be Meldrew, which we can make by rearranging the letters in her name. Marie Swelldon That leaves us with aislon, which with very little changing can become Alison, giving us Alison Meldrew. Look her up will you? |
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#155
03-28-2012, 12:08 PM
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Quote:
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#156
03-28-2012, 04:06 PM
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For a fun game over, take the bean pole near the Folly before heading into the maze area, or take the bean pole and then wait around several turns.
Now we can't get the book of Twenties poetry back. That's okay, but we'll eventually need some other way of getting to the Unreal City. |
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#157
03-28-2012, 09:22 PM
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As Foxeris says, "Marie Swelldon" is indeed Alison Meldrew, but I was waiting for some concrete proof of that before looking her up. Oh, well.
>look up alison in history Under the pseudonym Marie Swelldon, your ancestress Alison (1871-1930) wrote several mildly successful romances. She obsessively collected lucky charms, and advertised in newspapers for double-headed coins and the like (although she never traced a rumoured find of a five-leafed clover, somewhere in County Donegal). In order to write in tranquillity and to avoid her husband, it was she who installed the fake wall at the far south end of the attic east wing, and each afternoon she would sneak upstairs to push it aside. Intriguing. Let's check it out! By the way, from what I've read, five-leaf clovers are actually bad luck, but meh. >s Dark Passage There is a shallow sandstone recess in the east wall. At the north end is a metal door, standing open. >s Dark Shaft Since the dumbwaiter isn't here, the best you can do is clamber down the shaft to the cellars. >d Cellars There is a little closed window-vent low in the north wall. >turn wheel It spins round smoothly, and the dumbwaiter is hoisted into view. >enter dumbwaiter You get into the dumbwaiter. The dumbwaiter hangs on strong pulley ropes which stretch up and down from here. >pull ropes You heave yourself half-way up, and then need to stop for a rest. Dark Shaft (in the dumbwaiter) Halfway up, or else halfway down, and a dreary place it is too: nothing but a dark corridor leading north. The dumbwaiter hangs on strong pulley ropes which stretch up and down from here. >g You heave yourself up to the attic again... Storage Room (in the dumbwaiter) A disused storage room off the winery. In one wall is an opening onto an ominous dark shaft, and beside it is a big Victorian-steam-engine style wheel with a handle on. You can see a postcard of the Champs-Elysees and a crumpled piece of paper here. The dumbwaiter hangs on strong pulley ropes which stretch up and down from here. >stand You get out of the dumbwaiter. Storage Room Inside the dark shaft is the old dumbwaiter. You can also see a postcard of the Champs-Elysees and a crumpled piece of paper here. >w Old Winery You can see a labelled glass demijohn (which is empty) here. >s 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 >e East Annexe In the north wall is an open cupboard door, large enough to step inside. You can also see an old smudged battery here. >s Dead End A hatchway in the east wall, onto an old iron fire escape, is open and light floods in through it. (Some fool must have set the alarm off.) >push south wall A secret door springs open! [Your score has just gone up by ten points.] And, where there's a secret room, we must explore! By the way, this doesn't really seem like a "dead end" anymore, does it? >s Alison's Writing Room A pleasantly furnished, if now mildewed, box room. There are engravings of Alison's heroines: Christina Rossetti, Elizabeth Browning, Emily Dickinson and Queen Victoria, an unlikely quartet. The wallpaper is done out in a dice motif, and a square outline of sixes surrounds a rather small door leading back north into the attics. The room is provided with a comfortable bed, which looks very inviting. Blue sky can be seen through south-facing windows, latticed with black lead and shut tight. There is a long vanity mirror beside the bed. The mirror wouldn't get its own line if it weren't important, so... >examine mirror In the mirror is one of the most strikingly attractive people you have ever seen in all your born days, carrying a weed killer bottle, the Fool, a daisy chain, a canvas rucksack, an electric torch and some old gardeners' gloves. Guess it's not as important as I though. I thought that looking in the mirror while holding a disguised rod (in other words, not in a container) would have a special effect, but it doesn't. Anyway, let's see if altering the maze in the past had an effect! >n Dead End A secret door stands open in the south wall! A hatchway in the east wall, onto an old iron fire escape, is open and light floods in through it. (Some fool must have set the alarm off.) >n East Annexe In the north wall is an open cupboard door, large enough to step inside. You can also see an old smudged battery here. >w Over the East Wing >nw Old Furniture You can see some wrapping paper with reindeer on here. >n Attic There is a closed trapdoor in the middle of the floor. >n Old Winery You can see a labelled glass demijohn (which is empty) here. >e Storage Room Inside the dark shaft is the old dumbwaiter. You can also see a postcard of the Champs-Elysees and a crumpled piece of paper here. >enter dumbwaiter You get into the dumbwaiter. The dumbwaiter hangs on strong pulley ropes which stretch up and down from here. >pull ropes You begin moving, and then plummet, but friction gradually slows you down and you land without too much of a thump... Cellars (in the dumbwaiter) Cobwebbed old cellars. There is nothing to see except an opening in one wall onto a dark shaft, and a big Victorian-steam-engine style wheel beside it with a handle on. The cellar continues east-to-west and south. There is a little closed window-vent low in the north wall. The dumbwaiter hangs on strong pulley ropes which stretch up and down from here. >g You heave yourself half-way up, and then need to stop for a rest. Dark Shaft (in the dumbwaiter) Halfway up, or else halfway down, and a dreary place it is too: nothing but a dark corridor leading north. The dumbwaiter hangs on strong pulley ropes which stretch up and down from here. >stand You get out of the dumbwaiter. Dark Shaft Inside the dark shaft is the old dumbwaiter. >n Dark Passage There is a shallow sandstone recess in the east wall. At the north end is a metal door, standing open. >n Garden Stream On the house wall is a coal bunker, whose door stands open. >nw Family Tree >e Lawn Ornaments A big motorised garden roller is parked here. The lawn is lightly coated with broken plaster and dust, and in the spot where the statuette once stood is a dark, ancient well. >enter roller You get into the garden roller. >turn it on You switch the garden roller on. >w Family Tree (in the garden roller) >n Maze (in the garden roller) The corridor runs north and south. >n Maze (in the garden roller) A maze of green privet passages, all alike. At this junction, the maze runs east, south and west. >e Maze (in the garden roller) A maze of green privet passages, all alike. The corridor runs east and west. >e Maze (in the garden roller) A maze of green privet passages, all alike. The corridor runs east and west. >e Patio in Maze (in the garden roller) This is an old stone patio in the heart of the garden maze. A missing flagstone offers an intriguing dark prospect beneath. Sticking out of some soft earth is a perfectly-carved marble rose. You are hedged in and can only go back west. [Your score has just gone up by five points.] Seems that Operation: Weedkiller was a success! And, since there isn't any grass here, we can get out of the roller and explore! >stand You get out of the garden roller. Patio in Maze The garden roller sits here, its engine still running. Sticking out of some soft earth is a perfectly-carved marble rose. You are hedged in and can only go back west. >turn off roller You switch the garden roller off. I'm not sure what good a marble rose will do, but this is a text adventure, so... >take rose (putting the Fool into the canvas rucksack to make room) Taken. What lies below? Only one way to find out... >d 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 south wall forms a giant bronze mural, which has stood the test of time. Well, doesn't seem to be much here. But let's at least take a look at the mural. >examine mural The mural depicts an old bearded wise man following a star in the western sky. He has his right arm around an attractive young woman and holds a bundle of wands with his left hand. Around the border are astrological symbols of all kinds, from Tarot suits to zodiacal constellations. Interesting. But what could it mean? Hopefully we'll find out later. But further exploration will have to wait until next time. Unexplored paths: Northeast of Beside the Drive. South of Alison's Writing Room. Puzzles: Finding out the purpose of the word "lagach." A locked jewelry box. Inventory: a marble rose a bean pole a weed killer bottle the Fool a daisy chain (which rustles as if in a magical wind, 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 105 out of a possible 550, in 691 turns, giving you the rank of amateur Adventurer. Maps Meldrew Hall, attic Code:
e-c-b-h
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X j a-d
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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 containing the miniature) 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) 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) e=Mosaic 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) Catacombs below the gardens: Code:
a Meldrew Hall, roof: Code:
b \ a b=Battlements Meldrew Hall, ???: Code:
a Meldrew Hall, gardens (1808): Code:
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b=Maze Foundations Northeast of the House: 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 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 c | b | d b=Aboard Ship (examine model ship; up to Up the Mast) c=Prow of the Lady Magdalena d=Stern 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: 1 (jumped off the mast of the Lady Magdalena without a parachute) Total: 7 Oh, and a couple of notes to commenters: schep, I'll be showing off the beanpole-related deaths in the bonus material. Gerad, what kind of context do you want me to say "lagach" in? |
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#158
03-28-2012, 10:07 PM
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Oh hey, I helped solve a puzzle for once! Sorta! =D
Uh, not sure what to do in the crypt, though. Maybe if we check out Northeast of Beside the Drive we'll find something? |
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#159
03-29-2012, 03:30 AM
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Quote:
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I'll toss on another vote for a visit to the village. |
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#160
03-29-2012, 07:31 AM
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So there are multiple wands, eh? I suggest waving the green branch, bean pole and old timber spar to see if any of them turn into wands, too.
We can't examine the zodiac and tarot markings any more closely, can we? A visit to the village could be fun. |
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#161
03-29-2012, 11:19 PM
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#162
03-29-2012, 11:26 PM
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Well, well, well. Lots of suggestions today. First, let's try getting a better look at the symbols on the mural, since we're in the crypt anyway.
>examine symbols You can't see any such thing. But...it said the mural had symbols! Oh, well. Our next stop is the area northeast of the house. I'm sure that you all know the route back to the "Dead End" by now, so we'll just cut there, then... >e You clamber out onto a rickety ladder which runs right down the east wall of the Hall, and nervously descend... Beside the Drive Wistaria climbs a desperately rickety fire escape up the east side of the Hall, and so might you: at the top the fire escape door into the attic is open. >ne Public Footpath By a stile in the public footpath across the fields to the village, which lies to the north. Sitting on the stile you have a splendid view of the house and its battlements. The air is ablaze with pollen and dragonflies. It might be possible to scramble down to a hollow, but it surely wouldn't be pleasant. I'd offer a vote here, but schep had a question for me. Quote:
>n Stone Cross Beside the long triangle of the green, under the stone cross of the First World War memorial. The public footpath runs south to a stile. The village is tiny: the parish church, the "Goat and Compasses" pub (which, owing to quaint English licensing laws, is closed) and a few houses and desultory tea-shops for tourists visiting Meldrew Hall. Old Evans, the village racing enthusiast, sits on the steps of the memorial, combing the back pages of his "Racing Times" newspaper. Now, let's take a look at the memorial. >examine memorial The stone cross, for the fallen of the Great War of 1914-18, contains more names than there are houses in the village. Your eye is caught by Second Lieutenant Gerard Meldrew of the 19th/21st Rifles, and you shiver, although the afternoon is warm. Another Meldrew...let's look him up. >look up gerard in history Roger's eldest son Gerard (1898-1916) was killed in the Battle of the Somme. His mother, "Marie Swelldon", gave up writing afterwards. And there's the proof that Marie Swelldon was indeed Roger's wife, and then the anagram would follow from there. Anyway, there's another NPC here, so let's get a look at him. >examine evans In the band of his hat is his lucky mascot: a little picture of the crescent moon. I wonder if there's some way to get it off him? >get moon Evans isn't giving up his mascot that easily. Understandable, really. After all, he is a gambler and the moon picture is his lucky charm. There probably is some way to get it later, but that's a problem for another time. As Beowulf mentioned, the green branch, bean pole, and spar are indeed rods. So... >get green branch (putting the weed killer bottle into the canvas rucksack to make room) Taken. >wave it The pollen given off makes you sneeze a little, but fails to give you the bird. (Worth a try, anyway.) That's strange. I was sure that it was a rod. But maybe the other two? >wave pole Light pulses around the daisy chain, then leaps out to engulf the bean pole which melts into a featureless mahogany rod! [Your score has just gone up by six points.] >get spar (putting the marble rose into the canvas rucksack to make room) Taken. >wave it Light pulses around the daisy chain, then leaps out to engulf the old timber spar which melts into a featureless mahogany rod! [Your score has just gone up by six points.] Two out of three ain't bad, and that seems like a good place to end today's update. But now we have a new problem: what to do with all these featureless mahogany rods? It's like those ruddy cubes in Spellbreaker, only I don't have a burin this time, so how to go about distinguishing them? Unexplored paths: Down from Public Footpath. South of Alison's Writing Room. Puzzles: Finding out the purpose of the word "lagach." A locked jewelry box. Getting the mascot from old Evans. Finding a way to distinguish between all the featureless mahogany rods in my inventory. Inventory: two featureless mahogany rods a green branch (covered with pollen) a daisy chain (which rustles as if in a magical wind, 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 northeast of Meldrew Hall. You have so far scored 117 out of a possible 550, in 725 turns, giving you the rank of amateur 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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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 containing the miniature) 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) 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) e=Mosaic 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) Catacombs below the gardens: Code:
a Meldrew Hall, roof: Code:
b \ a b=Battlements Meldrew Hall, ???: Code:
a Meldrew Hall, gardens (1808): Code:
a-b-b-b
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b=Maze Foundations Northeast of the House: Code:
c | b / a b=Public Footpath (down to...?) c=Stone Cross (Old Evans with his lucky mascot) Unreal City: Code:
g>b-c
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h-d-a-e>f
b=Shadowy Hallway (up to Consulting Room) c=Bohemia 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 c | b | d b=Aboard Ship (examine model ship; up to Up the Mast) c=Prow of the Lady Magdalena d=Stern 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: 1 (jumped off the mast of the Lady Magdalena without a parachute) Total: 7 And schep, disguised rods don't appear in the mirror. I thought that the green branch was a rod and used it to test, but apparently it isn't. Testing it with the spar worked out pefrectly, though. |
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#163
03-30-2012, 11:43 PM
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Since there weren't any suggestions today, I'll give you a hint about lagach. Think about the context in which it was first used. If no one can figure it out based on that by Sunday, I'll explain it then.
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#164
04-01-2012, 02:47 PM
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As promised, the purpose of lagach. As you may recall, when it first was used, it was when a druidess said it to a tapestry and disappeared. So, it probably has something to do with artwork. The only piece of artwork we have ready access to now is the mosaic in the garden, so...
>take incredibly long journey back to mosaic Mosaic >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 south wall forms a giant bronze mural, which has stood the test of time. And that's what lagach does. It teleports you between pieces of art that we've seen. It is pretty darn vague, so I'm not sure how most people would figure it out. By the way, this is how we get back to the Unreal City without the poetry book, due to the mural there. More updates tomorrow, assuming that I get some suggestions. But as a hint, think about the description of Alison's writing room and what types of furnishing were there. |
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#165
04-01-2012, 09:34 PM
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Quote:
Hum.... okay, here are a few ideas. Check the engravings to see if there is anything behind them. See if you can do anything with the dice on the wallpaper. Can you open the window and go through? Sleep in the bed. |
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#166
04-02-2012, 10:06 PM
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Foxeris gave a few ideas, so let's try them after heading back to Alison's room.
>s Public Footpath >sw Beside the Drive Wistaria climbs a desperately rickety fire escape up the east side of the Hall, and so might you: at the top the fire escape door into the attic is open. >w With your heart in your mouth, you scale the old fire escape once again, breathing a sigh of relief as you haul yourself in through the open hatchway at the top. Dead End A secret door stands open in the south wall! A hatchway in the east wall, onto an old iron fire escape, is open and light floods in through it. (Some fool must have set the alarm off.) >s Alison's Writing Room Blue sky can be seen through south-facing windows, latticed with black lead and shut tight. There is a long vanity mirror beside the bed. >examine engravings That's not something you need to refer to in the course of this game. Well, if we don't need to refer to them, there's probably nothing behind them. But still, might as well check. >look behind engravings I only understood you as far as wanting to look. Well, at least now we know for certain. But maybe the wallpaper is significant somehow? >examine wallpaper You can't see any such thing. Dude, it's printed with dice and it's all over. How can I not see it? But maybe I have to examine said dice directly? >examine dice That's not something you need to refer to in the course of this game. Guess not. But maybe the windows can be opened? >open window The windows are old and gummed up somehow. Apparently not...at least not now. Finally, the bed. >enter bed You get onto the comfortable bed. >sleep Awareness that something important is happening tugs at your subconscious. But you feel too exposed to sleep with only a sheet on the bed, and can't get comfortable. Looks like I'll need some sort of bed cover to sleep in this bed. But what could we use for a cover? I'll leave that for you to figure out, but I will say that it's something in our current inventory. Unexplored paths: Down from Public Footpath. Puzzles: A locked jewelry box. Getting the mascot from old Evans. Finding a way to distinguish between all the featureless mahogany rods in my inventory. A gummed-up window. A bed that I need some sort of cover to sleep on. Inventory: two featureless mahogany rods a green branch (covered with pollen) 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 117 out of a possible 550, in 732 turns, giving you the rank of amateur 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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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 containing the miniature) 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) 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-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
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l
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k
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) 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) Catacombs below the gardens: Code:
a Meldrew Hall, roof: Code:
b \ a b=Battlements Meldrew Hall, ???: Code:
a Meldrew Hall, gardens (1808): Code:
a-b-b-b
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b
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-b-
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b
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b=Maze Foundations Northeast of the House: Code:
c | b / a b=Public Footpath (down to...?) c=Stone Cross (Old Evans with his lucky mascot) 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 c | b | d b=Aboard Ship (examine model ship; up to Up the Mast) c=Prow of the Lady Magdalena d=Stern 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: 1 (jumped off the mast of the Lady Magdalena without a parachute) Total: 7 |
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#168
04-03-2012, 08:23 PM
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Quote:
>get flag (putting the green branch into the canvas rucksack to make room) Taken. >put it on bed You spread the flag over the bed as a blanket. >sleep You sleep uneasily, fancying you can see Miss Alison writing at her table, trying to see the words, and always on the edge of a... Melancholy Dream A strangely familiar, dusty passage, sloping down from a southern end bathed in hostile light to some kind of metal barrier in the north. [Your score has just gone up by five points.] "Strangely familiar," eh? Well, if it's hostile light, it's probably dangerous...which means it's also probably important. Quote:
You drift in that direction, but without gaining any ground. A ghostly apparition of a venerable man hazes into view. He raises his mahogany staff and strikes it (silently) on the ground, then points it at the walls, and suddenly a flurry of green luminescence chases around you! He fades away again, mumbling something incoherent. I think this is a clue on the verb you need to use to activate the rods, but don't quote me on that. Anyway, let's check the north. Sure, there's a metal barrier, but this is a dream, so that shouldn't be an obstacle. >n You drift in that direction, but without gaining any ground. Guess not. Let's take a look around. >examine barrier The metal barrier is indistinct, on the edge of your consciousness, and you can't get close. However familiar it seems. >examine light You can't see any such thing. Well, the passage is described as "sloping," so maybe we could go... >u You drift in that direction, but without gaining any ground. Well, darn. Now, this is kind of a weird puzzle, being a dream and all, so I'll show you the solution. >e Solid Sand Your ghostly self is embedded in a diagonal downward shaft (descending to the east) entirely filled with dry sand. Solid flagstones line the walls. Yes, this is yet another puzzle with no real clues, and it's made worse by the fact that there's no mention of a path to the east. Anyway, let's continue in that direction. >e Octagonal Tomb Flaming torches bracketed in the wall gutter as the last oxygen in the air is consumed, and the flicker of flame plays across the yellow-orange glaze of the tomb walls. This octagonal chamber is lined with Egyptian hieroglyphics. Sand spills across the floor from under the sole entrance, sealed by an ingenious stone slab. A kind of ship's wheel (of eight-spoked timber) is affixed to the northwest wall. Well, if there's a wheel... >turn wheel You try turning the wheel, but it moves only infinitesimally slowly. The door begins to raise the tiniest fraction, and a few grains of sand cascade in slow motion, rattling horribly against each other... It will take forever, and the air is running out... Now, there is a way out, but, again, it's not exactly intuitive and is somewhat dependent on the status bar. You see, the status bar gives your current location under the name of the room, i.e. "in Meldrew Hall," "in the Unreal City," etc. For this area, it says "dreaming?" There is a traditional way to confirm whether or not one is dreaming, so let's try it out. >pinch me Ouch! You wake up, smarting. Alison's Writing Room (on the comfortable bed) A pleasantly furnished, if now mildewed, box room. There are engravings of Alison's heroines: Christina Rossetti, Elizabeth Browning, Emily Dickinson and Queen Victoria, an unlikely quartet. The wallpaper is done out in a dice motif, and a square outline of sixes surrounds a rather small door leading back north into the attics. The flag is spread out as a blanket on the comfortable bed. Blue sky can be seen through south-facing windows, latticed with black lead and shut tight. There is a long vanity mirror beside the bed. On the comfortable bed you can see a flag of the British Merchant Navy. Well, that's a relief. But there was a reference to the passage looking "familiar," and there was sand involved. Now, where have we seen sand before? I'll leave that to you to figure out. Unexplored paths: Down from Public Footpath. Puzzles: A locked jewelry box. Getting the mascot from old Evans. Finding a way to distinguish between all the featureless mahogany rods in my inventory. A gummed-up window. Finding out the meaning of our latest dream. Inventory: two featureless mahogany rods a green branch (covered with pollen) 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) a marble rose a weed killer bottle a flag of the British Merchant Navy a featureless mahogany rod an antique jewellery box (which is closed and locked) a steel wrench a gas mask a gothic-looking iron key a small brass key (unlocks the door from Dark Passage to Garden Stream and the trapdoor in Priest's Hole) a painting of Mad Isaac Meldrewe a spade a hard wooden ball a bird whistle a silk handkerchief a guaranteed-unbreakable medicine bottle with a child-proof lock (which is closed, an antidote to some unknown drug or poison) a photographer's flash (which is closed) an ancient prayer book (actually Mad Isaac Meldrewe's research notes on the Curse, must look up particular years in it, ends in 1792) a romantic novel (Coronets for the Cotton Girl, by Alison Meldrew under the pen name Marie Swelldon) a tourist map (of central Hamburg) Hobson's classical dictionary the History of the Meldrews (vol. II) four Tarot cards: the Fool, Drowned Sailor, Ace of Cups and Grim Reaper an electric torch (providing light and closed) 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 122 out of a possible 550, in 743 turns, giving you the rank of amateur 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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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 containing the miniature) 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 (you are here; bed) 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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g-f-b-d-e
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h a-c
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l
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k
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) 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) Catacombs below the gardens: Code:
a Meldrew Hall, roof: Code:
b \ a b=Battlements Meldrew Hall, ???: Code:
a Meldrew Hall, gardens (1808): Code:
a-b-b-b
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b
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-b-
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b
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-b-b-b-b-b
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b=Maze Foundations Northeast of the House: Code:
c | b / a b=Public Footpath (down to...?) c=Stone Cross (Old Evans with his lucky mascot) 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 c | b | d b=Aboard Ship (examine model ship; up to Up the Mast) c=Prow of the Lady Magdalena d=Stern 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: 1 (jumped off the mast of the Lady Magdalena without a parachute) Total: 7 |
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#169
04-04-2012, 10:54 PM
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Since no one seems to have noticed, the place alluded to in the Melancholy Dream was the sandstone recess in Dark Passage. Perhaps our dreams somehow changed it?
Quote:
You get off the comfortable bed. Alison's Writing Room On the comfortable bed is a flag of the British Merchant Navy. Blue sky can be seen through south-facing windows, latticed with black lead and shut tight. There is a long vanity mirror beside the bed. >n Dead End A secret door stands open in the south wall! A hatchway in the east wall, onto an old iron fire escape, is open and light floods in through it. (Some fool must have set the alarm off.) >n East Annexe In the north wall is an open cupboard door, large enough to step inside. You can also see an old smudged battery here. >w Over the East Wing >nw Old Furniture You can see some wrapping paper with reindeer on here. >n Attic There is a closed trapdoor in the middle of the floor. >n Old Winery You can see a labelled glass demijohn (which is empty) here. >e Storage Room Inside the dark shaft is the old dumbwaiter. You can also see a postcard of the Champs-Elysees and a crumpled piece of paper here. >enter dumbwaiter You get into the dumbwaiter. The dumbwaiter hangs on strong pulley ropes which stretch up and down from here. >pull ropes You begin moving, and then plummet, but friction gradually slows you down and you land without too much of a thump... Cellars (in the dumbwaiter) Cobwebbed old cellars. There is nothing to see except an opening in one wall onto a dark shaft, and a big Victorian-steam-engine style wheel beside it with a handle on. The cellar continues east-to-west and south. There is a little closed window-vent low in the north wall. The dumbwaiter hangs on strong pulley ropes which stretch up and down from here. >g You heave yourself half-way up, and then need to stop for a rest. Dark Shaft (in the dumbwaiter) Halfway up, or else halfway down, and a dreary place it is too: nothing but a dark corridor leading north. The dumbwaiter hangs on strong pulley ropes which stretch up and down from here. >stand You get out of the dumbwaiter. Dark Shaft Inside the dark shaft is the old dumbwaiter. >n Dark Passage A secret passage slants down to the east through a sandstone recess. At the north end is a metal door, standing open. And it seems that our dream did indeed affect reality! Let's check it out. >e Sandstone Passage A flight of sandstone steps, cut in the 1920s when an Egyptological craze was sweeping England, slants down from the coal-dust passage to the east. [Your score has just gone up by ten points.] Seems that we're getting somewhere...but let's go a bit further. >e The Octagon A broad, dark octagonal room devoted to dull exhibits of the disastrous Nile Valley Expedition of '21 - the few good ones were donated to the British Museum. A back staircase leads west to the unbuilt extension, while the entrance seems to be the cobwebbed passage southeast. High windows on the northern face let in dim light. There is a little window-vent high in the southwest wall. A rather morbid, gilded model coffin rests here in peace. Leaned against one of the eight corners is a ragged white parchment scroll. A little charcoal sketch is framed on one wall. Now this is a rather impressive room. Let's take a look around. First, we'll take a look at the scroll. >read scroll A lamentably naff tourist's gift, this seems to be a "replica" of one of the papyri on which some lost Greek play or other was written. Some nonsense about the priestess of Apollo being summoned by music, etcetera. It has all the charm of a tea-towel of, oh, say the Taj Mahal made out of curry. Of course, when Curses mocks something this much, you just know it's true. Now to examine that sketch. >examine sketch Behind the frame seems to be an artist's impression of the great Palace of Alexandria as it might once have been. It's a little sketch, so we can... >take it Taken. Now, to take a look at the window vent. >examine vent You can just make out an impression of cellars. Which means that we're probably northeast of the cellars. I don't remember if there's any importance to this, though. Now, finally, the coffin. >examine coffin The lid bears an inscription in strange hieroglyphics: (()) #+*+ <> ->#. ||| Shame that we don't have any way of translating them. However, the coffin is actually extremely important. To be exact, it's how we'll be identifying all those featureless rods we've been finding. It works something like this. >open coffin You open the gilded model coffin. >put rod in coffin The mahogany rod fits in perfectly. >close coffin The coffin sparks, spitting with electricity, and begins throbbing with a life of its own! >open coffin You open the gilded model coffin, revealing the Rod of Stalking. Naturally, this is the rod that was once the bean pole. But what of the other two? By the way, opening the coffin without the gloves would have been another game over, which I will show off in the bonus material. >put it in coffin The mahogany rod fits in perfectly. >close coffin The coffin sparks, spitting with electricity, and begins throbbing with a life of its own! >open coffin You open the gilded model coffin, revealing the Rod of Fire. >get fire Taken. >get featureless rod (putting the framed charcoal sketch into the canvas rucksack to make room) Taken. >put it in coffin The mahogany rod fits in perfectly. >close coffin The coffin sparks, spitting with electricity, and begins throbbing with a life of its own! >open coffin You open the gilded model coffin, revealing the Rod of Returning. >get returning Taken. If you're wondering, the Rod of Fire was once the sooty old stick, and the Rod of Returning was the timber spar. So, what now? The hollow by the Public Footpath remains unexplored, but there's also a passage to the southeast from the Octagon. So, which should I explore first? Or do you want me to try out my rod collection? Unexplored paths: Down from Public Footpath. Southeast from The Octagon. Puzzles: A locked jewelry box. Getting the mascot from old Evans. A gummed-up window. Inventory: the Rods of Returning, Fire and Stalking 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 139 out of a possible 550, in 778 turns, giving you the rank of Jack-of-all-trades. 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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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 containing the miniature) 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) 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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g-f-b-d-e
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h a-c
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l-n-o
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k
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) 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 (you are here; window vent, gilded coffin used to identify rods, scroll) Catacombs below the gardens: Code:
a Meldrew Hall, roof: Code:
b \ a b=Battlements Meldrew Hall, ???: Code:
a Meldrew Hall, gardens (1808): Code:
a-b-b-b
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b
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-b-
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b
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-b-b-b-b-b
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b=Maze Foundations Northeast of the House: Code:
c | b / a b=Public Footpath (down to...?) c=Stone Cross (Old Evans with his lucky mascot) 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 c | b | d b=Aboard Ship (examine model ship; up to Up the Mast) c=Prow of the Lady Magdalena d=Stern 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: 1 (jumped off the mast of the Lady Magdalena without a parachute) Total: 7 |
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#170
04-04-2012, 11:20 PM
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#171
04-05-2012, 07:03 AM
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If you don't happen to guess that putting rods in the coffin is a good idea, there's a hint later. But for a while you have to do something like leave rods in different rooms in the attic, until you find a way to translate those hieroglyphs. That's a bit annoying, and I don't blame this LP for just IDing the rods as soon as we got the chance.
I think you can put more than one rod in the coffin at once. Oh yeah. That postcard Foxeris brings up, though it seems to be blank on the message part, is important. We should at least carry it around. For one of the listed current puzzles, violence is the answer. This may be the only time that's the case in Curses. The puzzle list is missing "open the medicine bottle". We've seen a rod demoed now, so I think it's time to get striking and pointing! |
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#173
04-06-2012, 11:33 AM
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Sorry about not updating yesterday. I meant to, but it kept slipping my mind. So, here's today's update, and it's a doozy. We'll start by testing the rods, and what better to test them on than myself? First, the Rod of Fire, since that one seems like the most fun.
>strike rod of fire The rod charges with etherial power, drawn up from the earth through ley lines... [Your score has just gone up by five points.] >point rod of fire at me Oh dear. Like Mad Isaac before you, you have spontaneously combusted! *** You have died *** Note to self: Testing something called the Rod of Fire on onesself is a bad idea. After undoing that mistake, let's see if the other two are safer. > undo The Octagon [Previous turn undone.] >strike rod of stalking The rod charges with etherial power, drawn up from the earth through ley lines... >point rod of stalking at me Your hair stands momentarily on end, as if it wants to stalk up out of your head, but happily it decides against. [Your score has just gone up by five points.] >strike rod of returning The rod charges with etherial power, drawn up from the earth through ley lines... >point rod of returning at me You are engulfed in a cloud of spinning white lights, like insects. When the swarm clears, you find yourself transported... Old Furniture Scruffy old furniture is piled up here: armchairs with springs coming out, umbrella stands, a badly scratched cupboard, a table with one leg missing... You try to remember why you keep all this rubbish, and fail. Anyway the attic continues to the southeast. You can see some wrapping paper with reindeer on here. That went quite well. Stalking seems to be harmless enough, and Returning is downright awesome, especially since we've lost the book of poetry and hence our former escape route. And now that we're back in the attic, we can get to Alison's writing room easily and solve a problem with violence. >se Over the East Wing >e East Annexe In the north wall is an open cupboard door, large enough to step inside. You can also see an old smudged battery here. >s Dead End A secret door stands open in the south wall! A hatchway in the east wall, onto an old iron fire escape, is open and light floods in through it. (Some fool must have set the alarm off.) >s Alison's Writing Room On the comfortable bed is a flag of the British Merchant Navy. Blue sky can be seen through south-facing windows, latticed with black lead and shut tight. There is a long vanity mirror beside the bed. >break windows The windows suddenly give way in a shower of flakes of paint, letting fresh summer air into the room! And, with the windows out of the way, we can go... >s Tiny Balcony A tiny balcony around Miss Alison's windows, offering fresh air, blue skies and a magnificent view over the gardens down to the droning motorway in the distance. The roof is too perilous to scale even if you had a good reason (which you haven't), so you had better go back north. The balcony is only a foot or so beneath the window-sill, and only about four feet square. A nice view, but there doesn't seem to be much to do here. So let's try out that final suggestion, about using the postcard in the projector. I don't think it would fit, but I've never tried it, so... >n Alison's Writing Room On the comfortable bed is a flag of the British Merchant Navy. Black-latticed windows open on a beautiful summer's day. There is a long vanity mirror beside the bed. >n Dead End A secret door stands open in the south wall! A hatchway in the east wall, onto an old iron fire escape, is open and light floods in through it. (Some fool must have set the alarm off.) >n East Annexe In the north wall is an open cupboard door, large enough to step inside. You can also see an old smudged battery here. >w Over the East Wing >nw Old Furniture You can see some wrapping paper with reindeer on here. >n Attic There is a closed trapdoor in the middle of the floor. >n Old Winery You can see a labelled glass demijohn (which is empty) here. >e Storage Room You can see a postcard of the Champs-Elysees and a crumpled piece of paper here. >get postcard (putting the Rod of Stalking into the canvas rucksack to make room) Taken. schep mentioned taking a good look at the postcard, so since I've got it... >examine postcard It is addressed to the house, and postmarked 1963, but has no message. Odd, that. Odd, indeed. Now, to the projector! >w Old Winery You can see a labelled glass demijohn (which is empty) here. >s 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 somehow bends it so that it strikes the mural at the sign of Scorpio. Austin looks ineffable again. >s Souvenirs Room You can see a ship in a bottle here. The south wall displays the picture on the miniature, 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. >get miniature (putting the Rod of Fire into the canvas rucksack to make room) The south wall becomes blank again. >put postcard in projector The postcard is just too large to fit. As I thought. Well, that's all for today. What to do tomorrow? I leave that to you. Unexplored paths: Down from Public Footpath. Southeast from The Octagon. Puzzles: A locked jewelry box. Getting the mascot from old Evans. Opening the medicine bottle. Inventory: a miniature (of the folly that once stood outside the maze) a postcard of the Champs-Elysees (postmarked 1963) the Rod of 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: This is the afternoon of June 3rd, 1993, and you are in Meldrew Hall. You have so far scored 149 out of a possible 550, in 807 turns, giving you the rank of Jack-of-all-trades. 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 (you are here; 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
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l-n-o
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k
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) 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) Catacombs below the gardens: Code:
a Meldrew Hall, roof: Code:
b \ a b=Battlements Meldrew Hall, ???: Code:
a Meldrew Hall, gardens (1808): Code:
a-b-b-b
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b
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b
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b=Maze Foundations Northeast of the House: Code:
c | b / a b=Public Footpath (down to...?) c=Stone Cross (Old Evans with his lucky mascot) 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 c | b | d b=Aboard Ship (examine model ship; up to Up the Mast) c=Prow of the Lady Magdalena d=Stern 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: 2 (jumped off the mast of the Lady Magdalena without a parachute, spontaneous combustion) Total: 8 Last edited by Kahran042; 06-06-2012 at 07:20 PM. |
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#175
04-07-2012, 06:27 PM
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Quote:
>n 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. >n Over the East Wing >e East Annexe In the north wall is an open cupboard door, large enough to step inside. You can also see an old smudged battery here. >s Dead End A secret door stands open in the south wall! A hatchway in the east wall, onto an old iron fire escape, is open and light floods in through it. (Some fool must have set the alarm off.) >e You clamber out onto a rickety ladder which runs right down the east wall of the Hall, and nervously descend... Beside the Drive Wistaria climbs a desperately rickety fire escape up the east side of the Hall, and so might you: at the top the fire escape door into the attic is open. >ne Public Footpath >d Hollow A low, muddy, stinking hollow, trodden with reeds, dried out in the long summer and no more than moist now. You could climb back up, or go northwest, though that would mean crawling through a thorny hedge. There's a bird's nest at the bottom of the hollow. Entwined in the nest is a bunch of nuts. And sat upon it is, as you might expect, a bird: a corn crake, in fact. Well, there's not much here. Just a bird...and a path to the northwest. But maybe I can get those nuts? Quote:
The corn crake won't let you near her nest. Well, that was expected. But let's check out that path to the northwest. I honestly don't remember this hollow in past playthroughs, so maybe there's something cool there? >nw Mosaic Or...it's a one-way path back to the gardens. Either is good. And this seems like a good place to end this update. Until next time! Unexplored paths: Southeast from The Octagon. Puzzles: A locked jewelry box. Getting the mascot from old Evans. Opening the medicine bottle. Getting that corn crake away from her nest. Inventory: a miniature (of the folly that once stood outside the maze) a postcard of the Champs-Elysees (postmarked 1963) the Rod of 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 149 out of a possible 550, in 816 turns, giving you the rank of Jack-of-all-trades. 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-i-i-i-i-m
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g-f-b-d-e
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h a-c
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l-n-o
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k
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) e=Mosaic [can be lagach-ed] (you are here) 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) Catacombs below the gardens: Code:
a Meldrew Hall, roof: Code:
b \ a b=Battlements Meldrew Hall, ???: Code:
a Meldrew Hall, gardens (1808): Code:
a-b-b-b
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b
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b=Maze Foundations 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 c | b | d b=Aboard Ship (examine model ship; up to Up the Mast) c=Prow of the Lady Magdalena d=Stern 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: 2 (jumped off the mast of the Lady Magdalena without a parachute, spontaneous combustion) Total: 8 Last edited by Kahran042; 06-06-2012 at 07:21 PM. |
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#178
04-09-2012, 11:26 AM
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After taking yesterday off, I'm ready to try out new suggestions. As far as I know, there's no way to get Austin out of the house, so let's try the whistle.
>blow whistle (first taking the bird whistle) (putting the Rod of Returning into the canvas rucksack to make room) Fweep! Fweep! Although seemingly distractable, the corn crake must be stone deaf. (You vaguely recall reading somewhere that corn crakes are the noisiest birds in Ireland, famous for keeping farm-hands awake at night.) Well, darn. I'll end here with the hint that driving off the bird does require an item in our current inventory. |