In this homage to Indiana Jones, you play as Tex Bonaventure, an adventurer and treasure hunter. After three days of exploring the deep dark swamps of the Everglades, you've finally found your destination. You've found what the natives call Cukovcatv Em Oheskatv Vhesaketv, the Temple of the Water of Life.
This solution is by David Welbourn, and is based on Release 1, Serial number 131007 of the game.
For this map, I have abbreviated several of the game's room names.
Where you go from the stomach depends on what you tied the twine to, the statue or the white "rocks".
Walkthrough
Outside a Foreboding Stone Temple
The keystone inscription translates to: "Watch out for the hidden traps! The labyrinth is not a labyrinth. - Juan"
> x me. i. x whip. x gun. x swamp. x snake.
> x arch. x keystone. read keystone.
> x temple. x idols. x discs.
> shoot snake.(+5)
> x snake. take snake.(+1)
> x trees. x leaves. count leaves.(+1)
> e.(+1)
The Entry Hall of the Temple
> listen. x statue. x head. x arms. x walls.
> x water. x spout. x base.
> s.
Bare Room with Lots of Flat Objects / Oh, It's One of THOSE Temple Rooms - then You Know, the Squishy-Making Ones
The spiked ceiling starts descending two turns after you enter.
> search flat things.(You take an arm bone.)
> x poles. x gaps. x glimmer.(It's a switch.)
> turn off switch with bone.(It won't slide through!)
> grease bone. turn off switch with bone.(+5)
With the trap off, you can look around a bit more.
> x things. x ceiling. x stains.
> x spikes. x gauntlet. take it.(It's too high up.)
Although you can turn the trap back on again and get the gauntlet when the ceiling's low, it's better to use your whip.
> whip gauntlet.(+1)
> take gauntlet.(+1)
> x gauntlet. n.
The Entry Hall of the Temple
> wear gauntlet. put hand in hole.(+5; gain twine.)
> x twine. tie twine to statue. e.
A Twisty Maze of Passages, All Alike
Not to alarm you, but you're inside a maze beast's mouth. The floor is the tongue, and the white rocks are the teeth.
> x floor. x pebbles. x white rocks.
> e.(+5)
A Twisty Maze of Passages, All Alike - Except This One is Secreting Stomach Acid
> take hook.(+1)
> w.
The Entry Hall of the Temple
> untie twine from statue. x hook.
> n.
The Bottomless Pit - Well, *A* Bottomless Pit
> listen. x wind. x pit.
> x ledge. x marks. climb ledge.
> x handholds. climb handholds. u.(+5)
The Top of a Bottomless Pit (Not a Topless Pit, Obviously)
> x gargoyle. x wings. x wood. x marks. x pit.
> talk to gargoyle. 1. 1.
The lowercase letters in the gargoyle's riddle spell out "push it".
> push gargoyle.(+5)
> x door. x arch.
> s.
An Extremely Dirty Chamber / An Extremely Sooty Chamber
> x discs. x dirt. x fluid.
> open sarcophagus. x sticks.
> take stick.(+1)
> enter sarcophagus.(+1)
I'm not sure how you're supposed to guess this optional bit of cookery:
> put snake on stick. z. z. z. z. z. z. z. z.
There should be fire in the room now.
> cook snake.(+1)
> x snake. z. z. z. z.
The fire goes out and the doors unlock.
> out. x soot. e.
Bat Country
> x bats. x window. x that rope.
> drop snake.
One of the bats reveals a treasure if the snake is cooked.
> take treasure.(+1)
> u.(+5)
A Completely Normal (If Paleolithic Evil Temples Can Be Normal) Room
> x treasure. x window. x jungle. x pipes.
> x walls. x floor.
> w.
An Evil Bathroom
> x door. x glyph.
> x tub. x water. x drain.
> x mirror. x sigils.
> x toilet. flush toilet. x sink. x blood.
> x floor. x hinge.
> pull tub. open drain. pull tub.(+5)
An Extremely Sooty Chamber
> u.
An Evil Bathroom
Note: A bug in release 1, version 130928, prevents the door from ever actually opening.
> put hook in hole.
You can simply open the door, but using the whip gains you an extra point.
> whip door.(+6)
> u.(+25)
The Apex of the Temple
> close trapdoor.(+1; however, one bat gets in.)
> x bat. put gun in water.(+1)
> shoot bat.(+5)
> drink water.(+1)
Might as well look around a little before we go.
> x beam. x crystal.
> sing.(+1)
> xyzzy.(+1)
> bathe in water.(+50)
A Bar, Three Days Ago, On the Outskirts of the Everglades
> SPACE
*** You braved the Temple of the Water of Life and emerged victorious. Congratulations, adventurer! ***
> amusing
Extras
Amusing
The game has a menu of game locations where you can do amusing actions.
Anywhere Did you try...
...xyzzy?
...singing?
...sleeping?
...examining pretty much everything (I'm rather pleased with some of the descriptions once you get a few layers deep)?
...typing "win" or "win the game"?
Jungle Did you try...
...attacking the snake (and then answering the rhetorical question)?
...counting the leaves (blame Zork for the crude joke)?
Bottom of the Bottomless Pit Did you try...
...examining the wind?
...shouting?
...throwing anything into the pit?
...listening?
...jumping?
In the mouth of the maze Did you try...
...touching the teeth? (You can get out again by whipping them afterward)
Bat Country
Did you try examining "collective noun"?
The Normal Room
Did you try using the machinery?
The Bathroom Did you try...
...using the toilet?
...reading the sigils (multiple times)?
I'll add:
...jumping anywhere?
...tying the snake to anything?
...entering the tub when it's full of water? or when it's empty?
Characters
A huge green fierce snake guards the entrance to the temple.
A gargoyle who likes riddles blocks your way at the top of the bottomless pit.
The bats in Bat Country are hungry for meat.
An enraged giant bat threatens you in the apex.
Also:
The twisty maze is actually the inside of a maze monster.
A bartender, a rough and tumble crowd, and a man with a snaggly-toothed smile are in the epilogue set in the bar.
A demon appears if you examine the bathroom mirror sigils three times.
Endings
The End if you kiss the huge green fierce snake.
It's true, you won the game. How clever of you! if you type "win", "win the game", "wake", or "wake up".
Bang. (Need help with suicidal thoughts? 1-800-273-8255 (This isn't a joke, that's a real suicide hotline number.)) if you shoot yourself with the loaded gun.
SLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP! if you sleep while poisoned.
YOUR CHARM IS LIKE THOSE BLADES - DISARMING if you put your unprotected hand into the hole at the base of the entry hall statue.
All the world's a stage, and all the people merely players. This is your EXEO. Your performance was rather... flat. if you're crushed by the Squishy-Making Room trap.
Why couldn't the maze monster have swallowed a map showing the way out?! if you die by stomach acid.
It's a terribly long way down. if you insist on going down from the bottomless pit.
That gargoyle is really PUSHING you. And also, you're dead. if you answer the gargoyle's riddle.
Although, you didn't bring any food or water with you, did you? if you jump into the bottomless pit.
An adventurer like you is beyond rare. You're well-done! if you're cooked to death in the Dirty/Sooty Chamber.
The crack of a whip is very similar to a dinner bell, in this situation. if you try to whip the bats in Bat Country.
The bats agree: Delicious. Would eat again. A+++ if you just stand around in Bat Country.
Take a look. It's in a book. A mystical fire-portal to hell! if you look at the bathroom sigils three times.
A piercing disappointment, to come so close. Well, you knew the stakes were high to begin with if you pull the empty tub and then fall on the sharpened sticks in the room below.
You braved the Temple of the Water of Life and emerged victorious. Congratulations, adventurer! when you return to the bar, three days ago, by bathing in the Water of Life.
Inventory
a whip. You're carrying it.
Whipping creatures just enrages them. That's not helpful.
Whip the gauntlet off the ceiling spikes in the Squishy-Making Room.
Whip the teeth in the mouth of the maze to open them if they're closed.
Whip the bathroom's ceiling door open. Yes, you can open it by hand, but using your whip is cooler.
a gun. You're carrying it. Shoot the snake with it. That's your only bullet, though... until you reach the apex and put the gun in the Water of Life to de-age it and get your bullet back. Now shoot the enraged bat with your reloaded gun.
the battered fedora. You're wearing it. Leave it on.
an old leather jacket. You're wearing it. If you open it, you can find your bundle of maps.
a bundle of maps. They're inside the jacket; open the jacket to find them. However, you can ignore your maps.
the corpse of a snake. It's outside the temple after you shoot the snake. Take it.
Optionally, you may cook the snake. In the Dirty/Sooty Chamber, take a stick and put the snake on it, making a skewered snake on a stick. Open and enter the sarcophagus and wait for the flames. Now cook the snake.
Drop the snake at Bat Country; the bats will feed on it, letting you ascend the rope there. If the snake is cooked, they'll reveal their treasure, the Golden Banana, to you.
It's possible to regain the mostly devoured snake on a stick and redrop it to get back up the rope.
a slightly compressed arm bone. Find it by searching the flat things in the Squishy-Making Room. But it won't fit through the gaps between the poles blocking your exit, so grease it; the walls provide the grease; it is now a greasy bone. Turn off the switch with the greasy bone.
the metal gauntlet. It's hanging from one of the spikes in the Squishy-Making Room. Whip it loose or take it when the ceiling is low enough while the trap is active. Wear the gauntlet, then put your hand in the hole at the base of the statue in the entry hall; you find a spool of twine.
Note: In release 1, serial number 130928, this item is called the metal glaive. A glaive is a sword, but the game always meant this to be a long-sleeved metal glove.
a spool of twine. To find it, first wear the gauntlet, then put your hand in the hole at the base of the statue in the entry hall. Tie the twine to the statue, and you'll be able to retrace your path in the maze from its stomach.
a metal pirate hook. It's in the stomach of the twisty maze. Put it in the hole of the door in the bathroom's ceiling. In order to reach the door, you'll need to first take a stick from the Dirty/Sooty Chamber, then empty the bathtub's drain, then push the bathtub so you can stand on it under the door.
a sharpened length of wood. Take it from the sticks in the Dirty/Sooty Chamber. The act of taking it breaks all the other sticks, so later, when you fall on them from the bathroom, you won't be impaled. Optionally, you can put the snake on the stick and cook it; see snake.
a Golden Banana. This treasure is dropped by the bats in Bat Country if you drop the cooked snake there. Take it.
a drink unlike tea. Push the switches in the Normal Room three times to create this. You won't drink it.
Score and Congratulationments®
You have so far scored your-score out of a possible 142, in several turns.
Congratulationment!® number 1 - "I hate snakes, Jock!" 5 points for shooting the snake.
Congratulationment!® number 2 - "Surely this will be useful?" 1 point for taking the dead snake.
Congratulationment!® number 3 - "West of House." 1 point for counting the leaves in the jungle.
Congratulationment!® number 4 - "Late title card!" 1 point for entering the temple.
Congratulationment!® number 5 - "What POSSIBLE use is one of these rooms in a non-abandoned, fully functioning temple?" 5 points for turning off the spiked ceiling trap.
Congratulationment!® number 6 - "Whip it good!" 1 point for whipping the gauntlet off the spikes.
Congratulationment!® number 7 - "Power glove!" 1 point for acquiring a glaive.
Congratulationment!® number 8 - "A 1/200,000th scale model of the World's Largest Ball of Twine!" 5 points for acquiring some twine.
Congratulationment!® number 9 - "Jason would be proud."(from Release 1, Serial Number 130928) Congratulationment!® number 9 - "Jason would be proud. (It's Jason, right? Jason sounds right. Well, you're an adventurer, not a professor of history. Or literature. Or historical literature. (It's not Jason))" 5 points for entering the stomach. And yeah, it's Theseus, not Jason.
Congratulationment!® number 10 - "Really internal medicine." 1 point for acquiring a hook.
Congratulationment!® number 11 - "Cliffhanger!" 5 points for reaching the top of the bottomless pit.
Congratulationment!® number 12 - "I wanna push you around, well I will, well I will." 5 points for pushing the gargoyle.
Congratulationment!® number 13 - "Breakin' stuff to look tough!" 1 point for acquiring a pointed stick.
Congratulationment!® number 14 - "Sarcophagus - literally translated, it means 'flesh-eating'. Sweet dreams!" 1 point for entering the sarcophagus.
Congratulationment!® number 15 - "It tastes like chicken?" 1 point for cooking the dead snake.
Congratulationment!® number 16 - "You collected a valuable(?) treasure". 1 point for acquiring a treasure.
Congratulationment!® number 17 - "Rope day in gym class would be easier, if you were running from bats." 5 points for reaching the normal room.
Congratulationment!® number 18 - "Tub thumpin'!" 5 points for falling into the sooty chamber from the bathroom.
Congratulationment!® number 19 - "Almost there... almost there!" 5 points for opening the bathroom ceiling door.
Congratulationment!® number 20 - "Why use your hands, when you have a whip!" 1 point for opening the bathroom ceiling door with your whip.
Congratulationment!® number 21 - "King of the world, top of the heap!" 25 points for reaching the apex of the temple.
Congratulationment!® number 22 - "Were you raised in a barn?" 1 point for closing the trapdoor in the apex.
Congratulationment!® number 23 - "Water pistol!" 1 point for de-aging your gun.
Congratulationment!® number 24 - "Violence was the answer to this one." 5 points for shooting the enraged giant bat.
Congratulationment!® number 25 - "Thirsty?" 1 point for drinking the Water of Life.
Congratulationment!® number 26 - "I hope the 'AMUSING' section is good..." 50 points for achieving victory.
Congratulationment!® number 27 - "My apologies to John Williams." 1 point for singing.
Congratulationment!® number 28 - "Text Adventure Veteran." 1 point for saying xyzzy.
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