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Key & Compass presents:
The Unicorn Pool
by Tiddy Ogg

The Unicorn Pool is a Z-machine interactive fiction story written with Inform 6 and is © 2010 by Tiddy Ogg. The story is an amalgam of Theodore Sturgeon's The Silken Swift, Thomas Hardy's The Woodlanders, and Wolf Mankiewicz's A Kid For Two Farthings.

In this story, you play as a female villager named Marty. At the end of a long market day, you see your neighbour, Giles, who you've had your eye on, led away by the squire's daughter, Grace. The next morning, you discover that your billy goat has escaped its paddock and that Giles never returned home. You better find out what happened to both of them.

This solution is by David Welbourn, and is based on Release 1 of the story.


Maps

Map 1: Main Map

(to big town) By HallSide-wall Paddock Back Yard AlongsideA ClearPool Bog Trail TheMarketSquare BluebellLane End OfLane BluebellCottage OrchardCot Bedroom Shed MelburyHall put reinon bed d climb wall u

Map 2: Melbury Hall

(blocked) (to servants'quarters) By HallSide-wall TheMarketSquare (to Grace'sbedroom) BeforeClosedDoor DiningHall FirstFloorLanding Greenbedroom BlueRoom Belvedere InsideThe HallGate EntranceHall By KitchenDoor Kitchen Ballroom Stage u put reinon bed d climb wall

Walkthrough

The Market Square

> x me. x stalls. x people. x gate.

> e.

Bluebell Lane

> x hedges. x flowers. smell flowers.

> e.

End Of Lane

> x cot. e.

Bluebell Cottage

You hear the chickens out back wanting to be fed.

> e.

Back Yard

> x goat. x chickens. x rooster.

> s. (+1; you automatically feed the animals)

Shed

> x feed. x rein. take rein.

> n. nw. nw.

By Hall Side-wall

> x balcony. x wall. x window.

> se. e. w.

Bluebell Cottage

You need sleep.

> x book. u.

Bedroom

> x eaves. x bed. sleep. (It's a new day.)

> d. e.

Back Yard

Your goat's missing!

> s. (+1 for feeding the chickens)

> n. nw.

Paddock

The goat made his way through the hedge, but you can't follow this way.

> e. w. w. s.

Orchard Cot

Giles never came home.

> n. w.

Bluebell Lane

The goat came through the hedge here and went west.

> x prints. w.

The Market Square

> x Ned. x Jake.

> ask Ned about goat. ask Ned about Giles.

> ask Ned about Grace. ask Ned about Hall.

> ask Jake about goat. ask Jake about Giles.

> ask Jake about Grace. ask Jake about Hall.

For the best outcome, you'll need to find Giles first and the goat later.

> open gate. (locked) climb gate. (nope)

> ask Ned about wall. ask Jake about wall.

> put rein on spike. climb wall (+2; with Jake's help)

Inside The Hall Gate

> x lawn. x signs. x drive.

> ne.

Entrance Hall

> x portraits. e.

By Kitchen Door

> n. ("Do Not Disturb")

> e.

Kitchen

> x rack. x knife. take it.

> w. w. s. s.

Stage

> x piano. (immovable and lid is locked)

> x stand. take it.

Yes, you're prowling in someone's home, and you've decided to pick up a music stand. Trust me, you'll need it.

> n. n. u.

First Floor Landing

> x partition. sw.

Green bedroom

> x tome. (It's de Sade.) open tome.

> x cabinet. x photograph.

> ne. nw.

Before Closed Door

> x door. open door. (You see Grace sleeping.)

> put stand on handle. (+2)

> se. ne.

Dining Hall

> x table. x chairs. x heads. sw. se.

Blue Room

CAUTION: Cutting Giles free seems to be the event that starts a timer where Grace will suddenly appear with her shotgun and shoot you a few turns from then, assuming you haven't escaped. The business with the music stand and her door only gives you a few extra turns; it doesn't stop her.

> x Giles. x bed. x heads. x thongs. x balcony. x clothing.

> cut thongs. (with knife. Giles is now following you.)

> push bed east.

Belvedere

> put rein on bed. (+2; you both escape and get the rein back.)

By Hall Side-wall

> se. e.

Back Yard

> ask Giles about Grace. ask Giles about goat.

> w. w. w. w. w. w. (+2)

Alongside A Clear Pool

> x pool. drink pool.

> put rein on goat.

*** You have won ***

A happy ending for all except Grace.


Extras

Characters

Mentioned:


Endings


Inventory

Note: You have a four-item inventory limit, but this shouldn't be a problem.


Score

You have so far scored your-score out of a possible 10, in several turns.


Thank You to my Patreon supporters

This walkthrough was funded via Patreon with