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Key & Compass presents:
The Mission
by Jim MacBrayne

The Mission is a TADS 2 text adventure game and is © 1990 by Jim MacBrayne. The Mission was ported to TADS in November 1995.

You play as a English adventurer, famed for finding Guinevere's shoelace. At the gentlemen's club, Blenkinsop goads you into accepting his challenge: to find Quetzlcoatl's toothpick. Both your fortunes are riding on this wager. You are uncharacteristically pessimistic about your chances, but failure is unthinkable. You begin your mission.

This solution is by David Welbourn, and is based on the TADS port (Version 1.02, Release 960331) of the game.


Maps

Map 1: Cubical Chamber connections

+ red rod Base ofTree ACMEVILLE STARTZONE CHAPELRIFT TOAD HALL WONDERLAND + black rod + green rod + blue rod CubicalChamber SphericalChamber CubicalChamber SmallAustereChamber CubicalChamber DankCellar CubicalChamber Strangely-dimChamber CubicalChamber

Map 2: Acmeville

CrampedStorageSpace NorthernAcmeWarehouse West EndofCorridor East EndofCorridor AcmeStorageWarehouse East EndofWarehouse Small CellWith Mass-ive Door MistyRoom BroomCupboard AcmeFactory Block ofFlats BroomCupboard EerieChamber DampCrampedCrawlway DampCrampedCrawlway EerieChamber CubicalChamber Bottomof Stairs LongPassage-way LongPassage-way LongPassage-way Bottomof Stairs NarrowCubicle Dead-endedChamber SmallChamber d d d u mistyregions WarehouseUpstairs Chapelrift d North ofWarehouse NorthwestCorner ofWarehouse East ofWarehouse ClubLounge IlluminatedHallway Centre ofSquare IlluminatedHallway Top ofTree EntranceTo Square Base ofTree

Map 3: Warehouse Upstairs

Well-litRoom AcmeStorageWarehouse d AngularRoom Uninterest-ing Room WesternUpperCorridor CentreofCorridor EasternUpperCorridor u

Map 4: Startzone

DimPassage-way CircularChamber SurrealRoom SphericalChamber CubicalChamber d

Map 5: Chapelrift

WesternEdge ofRift EasternEdge ofRift NorthernNave WesternTransept CentralNave ofChapel EasternTransept SouthernNave ConstrictedPassage SmallAustereChamber CubicalChamber Almost-featurelessChamber u d d StrangeSphericalChamber Bottom ofSphericalChamber SouthernShore ofLake TinyCorridor CorridorEnd WesternCavern BesideStoneAltar HugeLuminescentCavern BroomCupboard(via Flats) d u

Map 6: Toad Hall

On theRiverbank End ofPassage West Endof Garden East Endof Garden DeadEnd Junction DankCellar CubicalChamber MasterBedroom ofToad Hall Main LowerHallway ofToad Hall SmallKitchen SmallSpareBedroom Lounge ofToad Hall Library ofToad Hall Tiny Landingat Topof Stairs BathroomofToad Hall ToyCupboard Play RoomofToad Hall

Map 7: Wonderland

Strangely-dimChamber CubicalChamber CentreofForest CentreofForest CentreofForest OutsideWhite-washedHouse CentreofForest Centreof LeafyGlade PassageEnd SharpBend TinyHallway CentreofForest Room WithTiny Door SmallCloakroom WeirdRoom AbsolutelyMassiveRoom sw X

Map 8: Misty Room connections

Centre ofThicket Top ofHillock Centreof StoneCircle SmallAnte-chamber Southern Endof ElongatedCell SurrealRoom InsideDilapidatedHovel CircularChamber d d MistyRoom ScorchedChamber MarginallyInterestingRoom Room atBottomof Slope CrampedStorageSpace CERISE:Monastery AZURE:Hut ORANGE:Clown andEscalator ULTRAMARINE:Tunnelsand Hovel d d d INDIGO:Spider andStorage

Map 9: Spider and Storage ("Indigo")

d u n s d StrangeLittleRoom DepressingEnclosure CircularChamber MistyRoom Inter-mediaryExit SurrealRoom StorageRoom Edge ofThicket OutsideRockyOpening Centre ofThicket

Map 10: Monastery ("Cerise")

u d s Scriptorium MainDormitoryIn Monastery NorthCorridorIn Monastery ScorchedChamber CrampedStorageSpace MistyRoom d RefectoryIn Monastery AustereCellIn Monastery CenterCorridorIn Monastery SouthCorridorIn Monastery OutsideMonastery Top ofHillock

Map 11: Ancient Stone Hut ("Azure")

InsideAncientHut OutsideStone Hut Edge ofMushroomForest SharpBendIn Path North ofStoneCircle Centreof StoneCircle SmallCrampedCellar MarginallyInterestingRoom ClammyInnerChamber CrampedStorageSpace MistyRoom d u s d

Map 12: Tunnels and Hovel ("Ultramarine")

CrampedStorageSpace MistyRoom e/se s Room WithMany Exits DeadEnd Medium-sizedTunnel Sharply-branchingTunnel SubsidiaryChamber SmallHotTunnel SmallBranchingTunnel LargeMainChamber InsideDilapidatedHovel OutsideDilapidatedHovel End ofTunnel NarrowLedge OnCliff Edge ofAbyss SmallAnte-chamber d w/sw

Map 13: Clown and Escalator ("Orange")

Northern Endof ElongatedCell WideDimly-litCorridor Southern Endof ElongatedCell BalconyWithView CrampedStorageSpace MistyRoom Room atBottomof Slope Top ofEscalator Semi-circularChamber BottomofEscalator Western Endof LongCorridor Near WesternEnd ofCorridor Near EasternEnd ofCorridor Eastern Endof LongCorridor d go through (safe) archway stand on escalator s

Walkthrough

Starting in the Startzone. Get lamp.

Circular Chamber

Before starting, know that your goal is to find Quetzlcoatl's toothpick and return to the gentlemen's club with it, and thus win your wager with Blenkinsop. Oddly, the game doesn't tell you this explicitly from the beginning, but waits until turn 30 to mention it in the middle of a text dump. The game will use large text dumps on turns 30, 150, and 350 featuring Blenkinsop and his toady, Braithwaite, discussing you and the wager. Blenkinsop moans and sulks and whines that he made a bad deal and he'll be ruined. Braithwaite, however, is all chipper and thinks you'll never succeed.

> i. (You're carrying nothing.)

Yes, you're a seasoned adventurer, yet you brought absolutely nothing with you. Apparently you thought it was perfectly reasonable to jump into this huge hole in the ground and trust that the adventure space would provide everything you need. And lo, here's a lamp and a sword waiting for you. Huzzah.

You'll definitely need the lamp. Every black rectangle in the above maps represents an unlit room. Take the lamp, turn it on, and leave it on. It never gutters out. You won't be killed by grues or fall into pits if you don't have the lamp on, but you won't be able to walk around or see what's around you.

The sword, however, seems to be worthless. Still, take it, in case there's a use for it that I never discovered.

> x lamp. take it. turn on lamp.

> x sword. take it.

> n. n.

Spherical Chamber

There's three buttons on the east wall: round, triangular, and square. Avoid pushing the round or triangular buttons just yet.

> push square. (The door opens.)

> e.

Cubical Chamber

There 's three buttons on the west wall: red, blue, and green. And there's a hole underneath them.

This is an elevator. Well, sorta. I think it's more like a personal subway car because I also think it goes sideways rather than straight up and down, but if you want to think it's an elevator, that's fine. There are five subway stops which I call Acmeville, Startzone, Chapelrift, Toad Hall, and Wonderland. These are my names for the regions, by the way. We're currenly in Startzone. If this is an elevator, Acmeville is the top level, and Wonderland is the bottom level.

So, in practical terms, what does all that mean?

> push green button. (The door closes.)

> push red button. (The chamber moves.)

> push green button. (The door opens.)

> w.


Exploring Acmeville. Get knapsack.

Base of Tree

Welcome to Acmeville, home of the Acme Warehouse, Acme Factory, some flats, a lot of dark tunnels, and a tree.

Although the Acme Corporation is reasonably well-known as a fictional generic manufacturer of goods, particularly in the Road Runner cartoons, I strongly suspect its inclusion here is as an homage to Frobozzco, the fictional company from Zork.

> push square. (Close the door. You'll be happy you did.)

> x tree. u.

Top of Tree

When flights of imagination and fancy pale
like the great yellow God as he descends
below the western horizon, when all else
seems to fail, seek ye then normality. In
this way find salvation.

The carving seems to suggest going somewhere as the sun sets. There's a massive door labelled "NORMALITY" below the Acme Factory broom cupboard, so at the end of the game, that's where we want to go.

> x carving. x path. d. ne. n.

Centre of Square

> x sign. x placard.

Before exploring the factory, warehouse, or flats, let's get the tunnels out of the way and find the knapsack. As far as I can tell, the tunnels exist only to be confusing and as an exercise for the author in writing descriptions of uninteresting rooms.

> w. sw. s. e. e. s.

Dead-ended Chamber

Although the knapsack is a container, the inventory command doesn't list its contents; you must explicitly look in the knapsack. The knapsack cannot be worn, opened, or closed. Its carrying capacity is about 18 items; this limit can be a potential problem near the end of the game, but only if you take everything possible to take.

> take knapsack. x it. look in it. (Empty.)

> n. e. e. n. nw. w.

Centre of Square

Now check out the factory to the northwest.

> nw.

Acme Factory

> x factors. w.

Broom Cupboard (west of Acme Factory)

The chamber below is 10 feet down. Don't go down there yet; we need the toothpick first.

> x opening. e. se.

Centre of Square

Now check out the flats to the northeast.

Block of Flats

>x wall
Lord Dimwit's head was mountainous in comparison to its flatness!

For those who never played Infocom games, Dimwit Flathead the Excessive is the best-known ruler of Zork.

> x ceiling. x wall. e.

Broom Cupboard (east of Block of Flats)

The chamber below is 10 feet down. Don't go down there yet; we need the rope first.

> x opening. w. sw.

Centre of Square

And now north to the warehouse!

> n.

Acme Storage Warehouse

Uh, shall we go east, west, north, then up?

> e.

East End of Warehouse

Don't turn the wheel just yet. We're just looking around at the moment. But you should know the wheel does two things: it changes the colour of a shimmering button at West End of Corridor, and it likewise changes where the misty south exit in the Misty Room leads to.

> x door. x wheel. s.

Misty Room

The misty south exit doesn't work yet; we'll end up back in Misty Room.

> x mist. s.

Misty Room

> n.

East End of Warehouse

> open door. e.

East of Warehouse

> x rubbish. n. w.

North of Warehouse

Just an out-of-reach window and lots of mushrooms? Yes, this is what passes for a scenic room in this game.

> x window. x growths.

> e. s. w. w. w. w.

West End of Corridor

Turning the wheel at East End of Warehouse changes the shimmering button's colour. Pushing the button unlocks/activates the misty exit in the Misty Room; you only have to push this button once.

> x door. x button. (It shimmers with an indigo glow.)

> push button. open door. n.

Cramped Storage Space

As you'll discover later, this room is the bottom of several underground chutes which will drop you back to this location. This is a way back into Acmeville, but not an exit from it.

> x opening. s. e. e. n.

Northern Acme Warehouse

Sorry, nothing here, and all the exits lead back to the west-to-east corridor.

> s.

Acme Storage Warehouse

Okay, let's see upstairs.

> u.

Centre of Corridor

> open door. n.

Well-lit Room

If there's a way to jump out the window, the syntax eludes me. I think it's just scenery. This is obviously the same window we saw from North of Warehouse.

> x window. (There's no glass.)

> s. w.

Western Upper Corridor

> open door. (This one is locked.)

> e. e.

Eastern Upper Corridor

The door is unlocked, but the room on the other side is uninteresting and empty. Return to the Misty Room.

> open door. n. s. w. d. e. s.

Misty Room

Remember, the controls for this room are the wheel outside to the north, and the shimmering button at the west end of the corridor. Pushing the shimmering button earlier should have activated the mist. And, assuming you left the wheel alone, the shimmering button should still be indigo in colour.

We want the indigo setting. Save your game and go south.

> save.

> s.


Indigo area: Spider and Storage. Get rope.

Centre of Thicket

> x thicket. n. e.

Outside Rocky Opening

A recorded voice through a grille poses a riddle.

> say "270". (Buzz-click.)

> x grille. x rocks. e.

Strange Little Room

> e.

Depressing Enclosure

Hm. You can't take the spider and there's little else here. I'm not sure what this room's about, to be honest. But the spider is the closest thing to an actual NPC that doesn't rely entirely on between-turn cameos, so enjoy the spider while you can.

> x spider. x cobwebs. x dust.

> w. u.

Storage Room

The rope is the obvious prize, but the box is also takeable.

> x box. open box. x rope.

> take box. take rope. put box in knapsack.

> ne. e.

Surreal Room

> x dome. x beams. x opening.

> d. (to Circular Chamber, the game's first room.)

Circular Chamber

> n. n.

Spherical Chamber

Move the Cubical Chamber back "down" here from the tree. I do hope you closed the door earlier, otherwise you're gonna be stuck.

> push triangular. (Hum sound; Cubical Chamber moves from Acmeville to Startzone.)

> push square. (Door opens.)

> e.

Cubical Chamber

> push green. push red. push green. w.

Base of Tree

> push square. (Door closes.)

> save.

Head to the wheel:

> ne. n. n. e.

East End of Warehouse

We want to go to the "azure" area next. The shimmering button is currently glowing indigo, so two turns of the wheel:

> turn wheel. turn wheel.

If you want to be certain the button is now glowing azure, head west three times, look at the button, and head east three times to return here.

Okay? Let's go through the mist again:

> s. s.


Azure area: Ancient stone hut. Get cushion.

Centre of Stone Circle

> x stones. ("Acme Stone Circle Company")

> x path. n. nw.

Edge of Mushroom Forest

We can never penetrate the mushroom forest. I think the "mushroom-like growths" exist in this game to give the player a sense of commonality to the various regions, that they're all more-or-less near each other and this whomping-huge fungal forest. The mist and Cubical Chamber don't take us that far afield.

> x growths.

> cut growths with sword. (It doesn't work, but the message amuses me.)

> se. ne. nw.

Outside Stone Hut

> x hut. open door. n.

Inside Ancient Hut

> d.

Small Cramped Cellar

You make a graceless landing; the stairs don't go all the way down.

There's nothing in the hopper. You can't enter the hopper. Putting things into the hopper does nothing. Ignore the hopper.

Your only prize is the cushion, but there's a problem. Using the stairs to go up won't work with a large inventory. You'll have to put everything into the knapsack and make sure that's the only item you're carrying.

> x hopper. x staircase. x cushion. take cushion.

> u. put all in knapsack. u.

Inside Ancient Hut

Alas, the staircase is now destroyed.

> e. n.

Marginally Interesting Room

Here's our way back to Acmeville.

> x opening. d.

Cramped Storage Space.

Head to the eastern broom cupboard:

> s. e. e. s. ne. e.


Chapelrift. Get disk, worn key, spectacles, charm, red rod, and blue rod.

Broom Cupboard (east of Block of Flats)

Make sure you've got the rope and either the box or the cushion as well. We're going down from here, but we can't return back up this way.

> look in knapsack. save. d.

Tiny Corridor

> x disk. (Delicate. Crystalline. Oh-so-fragile. Remind anyone of a vase from an earlier Adventure?)

> take it. put disk on cushion. e.

Corridor End

If you don't have any rope for the pulley, you're trapped.

> x pulley. x opening. tie rope to pulley.

> d.

If you're carrying ANY items, you can't use the rope. You can't "put something into the opening", but you can drop things just fine, and they'll fall through the opening on their own. Whatever is dropped falls through the opening into the room below.

You must protect the disk from breaking. If you just drop the disk or put it into the knapsack and drop that, the disk will break.

Either put the disk on the cushion or put the disk into the small box. I honestly think that the box solution isn't supposed to work, since it makes the cushion unnecessary (and by extension, the azure area and the knapsack also become unnecessary), but the box solution is an option if you want it.

> drop cushion. drop all. d.

Western Transept

Make your choice, adventurous stranger,
Pull the rope, and brave the danger.
Or wonder, 'til it drives you mad,
What would have followed - if you had.

> take all. x inscription.

If you pull the rope, it breaks and falls into your hands. But do we want that outcome? Well, oddly, yes. Even though the quote is derived from a similar passage from The Magician's Nephew (from the Narnia series) where you really shouldn't do what it suggests, here, you should follow the suggestion. Rather misleading, if you ask me.

> pull rope. take rope.

> e.

Central Nave of Chapel

> x pulpit. x hourglass.

> x lectern. x spectacles.

> take hourglass. take specs. wear specs. (There's no harm in wearing the spectacles everywhere.)

> n.

Northern Nave

You note that a large massive rectangular object was once here. Probably the altar that we'll see a few rooms from now.

> s. s.

Southern Nave

> x font. x worn key. take it.

> n. e. e.

Huge Luminescent Cavern

> x altar. n.

Beside Stone Altar

> x altar. x charm. (It's cross-shaped.)

> pray. take charm. (Yes, you must pray before taking the charm, otherwise the altar repels you.)

> n.

Southern Shore of Lake

> x lake. swim. (Too cold.)

> e.

Western Edge of Rift

> x rift. x outcrop. x impression. (It's circular, 3 in. diameter.)

> put disk in impression. (A platform rises to bridge the rift.)

> e.

Eastern Side of Rift

> x red rod. take it. n.

Strange Spherical Chamber

> x brazier. x chest. (Locked. And the worn key doesn't unlock it.)

Okay, it really wasn't clear to me from the room description that we're on a catwalk and that climbing down from here might be an idea to try, but there you go.

> tie rope to chest. drop all. d.

Bottom of Spherical Chamber

> take blue rod. x it. u. (Oh, the ol' carry it in your teeth trick. Nice save, author.)

Strange Spherical Chamber

> take all.

> s. w. w. s. s. s.

Constricted Passage

> x moss. s.

Almost-featureless Chamber

There's nothing here, but that room description! Good grief.

> ne.

Small Austere Chamber

This chamber may be austere by normal standards, but compared to most other rooms in this game, this room is filled with objects!

> x bunk. x basin. look in it. (empty.)

> push triangular. (hum!)

> push triangular. (hum!)

> push square. (Door opens)

> e.

Cubical Chamber

Sorry, I know you're eager to use your new red and blue rods, but they're just going to have to wait a bit.

> push green. (door closes)

> push red. (movement; now beside Spherical Chamber)

> push red. (movement; now beside Base of Tree)

> push green. w.

Base of Tree

> push square. (The door closes.)

Head to that locked door upstairs in the Acme Warehouse:

> ne. n. n. u. w.


Warehouse Upstairs. Get preparation.

Western Upper Corridor

> unlock door with worn key. open door. n.

Angular Room

> x table. x preparation. take it.

Head down to the wheel:

> s. e. d. e.

East End of Warehouse

Dial up the "orange" setting. From "azure", that's two turns of the wheel:

> turn wheel. turn wheel.

Make very sure you have the charm, preparation, and the spectacles with you before entering the Orange area.

> save.

> s. s.


Orange area: Clown and Escalator. Get green rod and distillation.

Southern End of Elongated Cell

> x window. (Dirty.)

> n.

Northern End of Elongated Cell

> open door. n. e.

Near Western End of Corridor

A clown effigy wants something?

> x effigy. x arm. x palm.

> x door. (It's locked.)

Let's explore a bit more.

> e.

Near Eastern End of Corridor

> x door. open door. s. se.

Balcony With View

Another scenic view of mushroom-like growths.

> x balcony. x view. x corn. x growths.

> nw. n. e.

Eastern End of Long Corridor

> open door. ne.

Bottom of Escalator

> x escalator. (In down mode.)

> u. stand on escalator. (Pointless in "down" mode.)

> x treads.

Okay, head back to the clown.

> sw. w. w.

Near Western End of Corridor

> put charm on palm. (North door opens.)

> x clown. (Now smiling widely.)

> n.

Semi-circular Chamber

Don't go through any of the archways yet; they're all deadly right now.

The yellow button changes the escalator direction.

> x message. ("Acme Triple Room Puzzle")

> x left archway. x middle archway. x right archway.

> x yellow button. push it.

> s. e. e. ne.

Bottom of Escalator

> stand on escalator. (You go up.)

Top of Escalator

The purple button acts just like the yellow button, reversing the escalator direction.

> x purple button. x green rod. x distillation. (amber colour)

> take green rod. take distillation.

> push button. stand on escalator.

Bottom of Escalator

> sw. w. w. n.

Semi-circular Chamber

The preparation from Acme and the spectacles, in combination, lets you see which archway is safe; otherwise they all kill you.

Notably, this is one of the few places in the game where the player character can die. Normally this game prefers to entrap you into unwinnable situations.

> wear spectacles. drink preparation. look.

One archway (left, middle, or right) will appear a shade different from the others; the different archway is the safe one.

> go through safe archway.

Room at Bottom of Slope

> x opening. d.

Cramped Storage Space

Okay, now we can use our rods. Head for the Cubical Chamber:

> s. e. e. s. s. sw.

Base of Tree

> push square. e.

Cubical Chamber

> push green button. (The door closes.)

> put red rod in hole.

> push blue button. (The chamber moves from Acmeville to Startzone.)

> take red rod.

> put blue rod in hole.

> push blue button. (The chamber moves from Startzone to Chapelrift.)

> take blue rod.

> put green rod in hole.

> push blue button. (The chamber moves from Chapelrift to Toad Hall.)

> take green rod.

> push green button. w.


Toad Hall. Get bent key and stylus.

Dank Cellar

> push square. (The door closes.)

> w. sw. w.

On The Riverbank

Toad Hall is the residence of Mr. Toad, a character from The Wind in the Willows, a children's novel. I had to look that up; the game scarcely tells me anything about Toad Hall except its name and a layout of mostly-empty rooms.

> x nameplate. ("Toad Hall")

> x river. x door. open door. s.

Main Lower Hallway of Toad Hall

> x fireplace. x staircase.

> w.

Master Bedroom of Toad Hall

> x cupboard. open it.

> unlock cupboard with worn key. open cupboard.

> x stylus. take it.

> e. e.

Small Kitchen

> smell. (Like a pond.)

> x shelf. (Nothing on it.)

> x brackets. x door. open door. e.

West End of Garden

> x lawn. x fence. climb fence. (This fails.)

> x growths. e.

East End of Garden

I know of no use for this plaque. You can take it, but it's best to leave it.

> x plaque. ("Please Keep Off The Grass")

> w. w. w. s.

Lounge of Toad Hall

Nothing here.

> n. sw. n.

Small Spare Bedroom

> x anomaly. s. s.

Play Room of Toad Hall

You can't take the toys.

> x toys. w.

Toy Cupboard

This is one seriously empty Toad Hall. Just sayin'.

> e. n. w.

Library of Toad Hall

The quote is from Horace's Satires and means "Ridicule more often settles things more thoroughly and better than acrimony."

> x notice. ("Ridiculum acri Fortius ac melius magnus perumque secat res")

I assume the album is a homage to 101 Uses for a Dead Cat, a bestselling book of macabre cartoons. I feel I must be a bit dense, but I don't know what point the author was trying to make by pairing the Horace quote with this album.

> x bookcase. x album. ("101 Ways To Skin A Cat")

> read album. (The subject doesn't interest you. Leave the album here.)

> x dust.

> e. e.

Bathroom of Toad Hall

Finally, something: a key!

> x bath. take bent key. x it.

> x slime. x puddles. x pondweed. smell.

And we're done with Toad Hall. Head back to the wheel in Acmeville:

> w. ne. n. e. ne. e.

Dank Cellar

> push square. e.

Cubical Chamber

> push green button. (Door closes.)

> push red button. g. g.

> push green button. (Door opens.)

> w.

Base of Tree

> push square. ne. n. n. e.

East End of Warehouse

Dial up the "cerise" setting. From "orange", this is two turns of the wheel:

> turn wheel. turn wheel.

And make sure you have the stylus when visiting the Cerise area!

> save. s. s.


Cerise area: Monastery. Get black rod.

Top of Hillock

> x monastery. x flags. x path. n.

Outside Monastery

> x monastery. x door. open door. ne.

South Corridor In Monastery

> x roof. n.

Center Corridor In Monastery

> w.

Austere Cell In Monastery

The monastery is pretty boring.

> x wall. e.

Center Corridor In Monastery

The eastern door is closed but doesn't open.

> e. x door. open door.

> n.

North Corridor In Monastery

> x roof. w.

Main Dormitory In Monastery

> x dustorx marks. x staircase. u.

Scriptorium

Nothing up here. So disappointed.

> x staircase.

> d. e. e.

Refectory In Monastery

Shame we can't take the bench or even sit on it.

> x bench. take black rod.

> x button. (Too recessed to push with a finger.)

> push button with stylus. (You hear a door open.)

> w. s. e.

Scorched Chamber

> x marks. x door. x opening. d.

Cramped Storage Space

Now that we have the black rod, head to the Cubicle Chamber and Wonderland.

> s. e. e. s. s. sw.

Base of Tree

> push square. e.

Cubicle Chamber

The dance of the four rods.

> push green button.

> put red rod in hole. push blue button. take red rod.

> put blue rod in hole. push blue button. take blue rod.

> put green rod in hole. push blue button. take green rod.

> put black rod in hole. push blue button. take black rod.

> push green button. w.


Wonderland. Get brass key.

Strangely-dim Chamber

> push square.

> n. w. w.

Centre of Leafy Glade

Hate to tell you this, but this is the center of a forest maze. Don't drop anything; you'll probably lose it. Just use my Wonderland map instead.

And this is obviously Wonderland from the appearances of the White Rabbit (which you'll certainly see a few times) and the Cheshire Cat (which you might not see). The Cat doesn't appear quite as often. Both characters are from the children's book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

> x tree.

> n. ne.

Centre of Forest (northeasternmost)

> take brass key. x it.

> w. w.

Outside Whitewashed House

CAUTION: In the TADS port, "x thatch" responses with a rather alarming stack-overflow error, throwing a zillion "It looks like an ordinary" messages at you. So don't look at the thatch, please.

> x house. open door. s.

Tidy Hallway

> x window. s.

Room With Tiny Door

> x tiny door. (Too tiny to go through.)

> open it. (Too tiny to manipulate.)

The tiny door will have to wait. Time to visit the one region we haven't seen yet, Ultramarine. So head back to the Cubical Chamber and to the wheel in Acmeville.

> n. n. n. s. e. e. e. s.

Strangely-dim Chamber

> push square. e.

Cubical Chamber

> push green button.

> push red button. g. g. g.

> push green button. w.

Base of Tree

> push square. ne. n. n. e.

East End of Warehouse

So from "cerise" to "ultramarine" is two turns of the wheel:

> turn wheel. turn wheel.

Make sure you have the brass key when you visit the Ultramarine area!

> save. s. s.


Ultramarine area. Get cake.

Small Antechamber

This statement is the first thing we've seen that has anything to do with Quetzlcoatl.

> x statement. ("Quetzlcoatl Was Here")

> x boulders. n.

Large Main Chamber

This is basically a weak maze of tunnels, sorta. It's not that bad, though; look at my Ultramarine map. There are a couple scenic parts to it, though.

> nw. w.

Edge of Abyss

It seems like there's more game on the other side of the abyss, but I never found a way across, and I'm not sure there is a way across. It could well be a red herring.

> x abyss. (If only you had a Brazbor spell. Whatever that is.)

> x lava.

Go back to the start of these tunnels.

> e. se.

Large Main Chamber

> ne. n. ne. n. ne.

Narrow Ledge On Cliff

Yes, more of those, ahem, mushroom-like growths. What's wrong with the word "fungus"?

> x cliff. x growths.

> sw. nw.

End of Tunnel

> x path. x undergrowth. w.

Outside Dilapidated Hovel

> x hovel. x roof. x door.

> unlock door with brass key. open door. w.

Inside Dilapidated Hovel

> x roof. wear specs. x tiny cake.

The spectacles let you read the text on the cake. It's by the Acme Dry Cake Company, and they suggest following it with a bottle of Acme Springwater.

> take cake. x opening. d.

Cramped Storage Space

Head back to Chapelrift. There's a chest we haven't unlocked and a key we haven't used.

CAUTION: The rope isn't on the pulley, so don't use the broom cupboard! Use the Cubical Chamber to return there!

> s. e. e. s. s. sw.

Base of Tree

> push square. e.

Cubical Chamber

> push green button.

> put red rod in hole. push blue button. take red rod.

> put blue rod in hole. push blue button. take blue rod.

> push green button. w.


Return to Chapelrift. Get bottle of spring water.

Small Austere Chamber

> push square.

> nw. n. n. n. e. e. n.

Strange Spherical Chamber

> unlock chest with bent key. open chest.

> x bottle. ("Acme Small Magic Bottle Company")

> take bottle.

The bottle doesn't have anything in it, but perhaps we can fill it?

> s. w. w.

Southern Shore of Lake

You can also fill the bottle at the riverside in Toad Hall, but this lake is closer.

> fill bottle. (The water in the bottle magically becomes spring water. How nice.)

And now that we have cake and spring water, return to the tiny door in Wonderland.

> s. s. s. se.

Small Austere Chamber

> push square. e.

Cubical Chamber

> push green button.

> put green rod in hole. push blue button. take green rod.

> put black rod in hole. push blue button. take black rod.

> push green button.

> w.


Return to Wonderland. Get toothpick.

Strangely-dim Chamber

> n. w. w. w. sw. s. s.

Room With Tiny Door

> eat cake. drink water. z. z. (We suddenly shrink!)

Weird Room

Don't waste time on the scenery; the shrinking effect could wear off unexpectedly.

> open door. e.

Absolutely Massive Room

Don't dawdle in here. If you return to normal size on this side of the door, you'll be stuck in a Small Cloakroom with no way to leave.

> x crack. x spear. (Writing on it is too large to read.)

> take spear. w.

Weird Room

Okay, now look at stuff, waiting for the effect to wear off.

DON'T drop the spear; you won't find it again when the effect wears off.

> x hillocks. x growths. x huge door.

I'll assume the effect wears off at this point.

Room With Tiny Door

Aha. The "spear" was actually a toothpick.

> i. x toothpick. (It reads "Quetzlcoatl". Yay.)

Head back to Acmeville.

> n. n. n. s. e. e. e. s.

Strangely-dim Chamber

> push square. e.

Cubical Chamber

> push green button.

> push red button. g. g. g.

> push green button. w.


Finale in Acmeville. Seek normality and pick a lock.

Base of Tree

> push square. u.

Top of Tree

A reminder of the hint on what to do next. Don't bother trying to see if the sun is setting; the sun isn't implemented in this game.

> x carving. d.

Base of Tree

> ne. n. nw. w.

Broom Cupboard (west of Acme Factory)

You want the toothpick and the distillation for this last part.

> save. d.

Small Cell With Massive Door

Well, there's the "normality".

> x door. x lock. (Did you notice that the lock is a separate item from the door?)

> drink distillation. (That did nothing except give us points. Since it's amber in colour and tasty, I'm going to count it as a yellow God going down. Valid interpretation or desperate reaching? You decide.)

> pick lock with toothpick. (Yeah, we don't "unlock" it. We "pick" it. With a toothPICK. Get it? Sorry, it'll be over soon.)

> open door. e.

Club Lounge

Feast your bloodshot eyes on this toothpick, Blenkinsop!

*** You have won ***

Did you notice that not once did the game bother to tell us who Quetzlcoatl [sic] was? Fortunately, Wikipedia has a page all about Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent deity of Mesoamerica. Sadly, there is no mention whatsoever of a toothpick.

Also, I should mention that if you drop the toothpick before walking through the massive door, you still win the game. In this variation of the ending, you beckon Blenkinsop over to the door and point out the toothpick awaiting him on the other side.

And feel free to make your own feelie for the game by writing "Quetzlcoatl" onto an actual toothpick. Honestly, go get a toothpick and a pen and just try to do it.


Extras

Inventory

A list of your inventory items, where to find and use them:


Scoring

You can earn a total of 350 points by doing the following:


Ways to Get Stuck

You can get stuck...


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