In this wonderfully laconic spoof of the Scott Adams style of adventures, you play as Jason of the Argo, tasked by King Pelias to bring the Golden Fleece to him or die. Surprisingly both entertaining and tricky, this game is a gem among speed-ifs.
This solution is by David Welbourn, and is based on Release 1 of the game.
> x merchant. x basket. give armor. take basket. s.
ALLEY
> x hag. give rock. e.
MOUSE HOLE
CAUTION: You're only a mouse for a few turns!
> push eye west. push coin west. w.
ALLEY
Somehow you still have the basket.
> x eye. take it. give it. i. x flute.
> x cat. take it. x coin. take it.
> take rock. n. w.
MYSTERIOUS PLACE
If you like, type HELP several times to get hints from the oracle.
> x sign. x oracle. x urn. take urn. e. n.
VINEYARD
> x dog. drop cat. x vat. fill urn. x wine.
> x bowl. take bowl. s. e. s.
SEA SHORE
> x water. board boat.
ABOARD
> x silk. take silk. s. e. out.
ISLAND
The cyclops' island is east of 'seagulls'.
> x cyclops. x statue. kill cyclops. take statue.
> board boat. w. n. out. e.
SWAMP
> x newt. take newt. n.
FOREST
> x tree. u.
TREE
> x hive. x comb. x wax. play flute. take comb. take wax.
> d. s. w. n. e.
TEMPLE OF ZEUS
> x sign. x altar. pray.
> drop bowl.(+1)drop coin.(+1)drop comb.(+1)drop flute.(+1)
> drop silk.(+1)drop statue.(+1)drop wine.(+1)x dove.
You can't take the dove just yet because the basket is carrying the newt.
> w. w. s. s.
ALCHEMY SHOP
> x alchemist. give rock. give newt.
> take gold. n. n.
MARKET (west end)
> give gold. take armor. e. e.
TEMPLE OF ZEUS
> take dove. w. s.
SEA SHORE
You should now have armor, basket, beeswax, dove.
> wear armor. board boat. s.
OPEN SEA
> s. s. s. s.(You should now hear singing to the west.)
> wear wax. w. w.
This part is randomized. Drop the dove as many times as necessary (three times?) and go the direction it finds. Don't bother to remove the wax; you'll need to be wearing it again on the return trip.
> drop dove. g. g. DOVE-DIRECTION.
ISLE
> out. n.
MEADOW
> x dragon. x fleece. ascii. take fleece.(+1)
> s. board boat. s. e.
OPEN SEA
> n. n. n. n. n.
ABOARD
> out. n. n.
THRONE ROOM
> drop fleece.(+2)
*** I WIN ***
> quit.
Extras
Characters
PELIAS is in his Throne Room. He tells you to bring him the Golden Fleece or die.
MERCHANT is in the Marketplace. He asks if you've got anything to trade.
OLD HAG is in the Alley. She wants something.
CAT is in the Alley. It appears as GIANT CAT when you're a mouse.
ORACLE is in the Mysterious Place. He sees visions.
GUARD DOG is in the Vineyard.
SEAGULLS fly over the Open Sea.
CYCLOPS is on the Island. He's tall and mean.
NEWT is in the Swamp.
BEES are in the beehive in the Tree.
ZEUS will talk to you if you pray in the Temple of Zeus. He wants seven treasures.
DOVE appears in the Temple of Zeus if you drop seven treasures there.
ALCHEMIST is in the Alchemy Shop.
SIRENS are singing in a Rocky Strait.
DRAGON guards the Golden Fleece in the Meadow.
Endings
OH NO I'M DEAD
if you try to kill the bees, cyclops, or dog;
if the cat catches you when you're a mouse;
if you're still in the mouse hole when you revert back to human size;
if you return to the merchant after cheating him with the gold nugget;
if you drop non-treasures (or the gold nugget) in the Temple of Zeus;
if you try to take back a treasure in the Temple of Zeus;
if you visit the sirens without wearing the beeswax in your ears;
if you travel from the crushing rocks without the dove's aid;
if you visit the dragon without wearing the armor.
I WIN when you drop the Golden Fleece in the throne room.
Inventory
Creatures
CAT. It's in the Alley. Drop it in the Vineyard; the guard dog will chase it away.
NEWT. It's in the Swamp. If you're carrying the basket, you can take it. Give it to the alchemist in the Alchemy Shop when he wants eye of newt.
DOVE. Obtained from the Temple. Not a treasure. To get the dove, you'll need to first drop seven treasures at the Temple (examine sign and altar there), and you'll also need the basket to carry the dove. Don't drop any treasures until you're sure that you won't need them later. The seven treasures to give to Zeus are: bowl, coin, comb, flute, silk, statue, and wine. The dove will help you find a way past the crashing rocks.
Treasures
Treasures have asterisks on both sides of their names.
*GLEAMING ARMOR*. Very impressive! Found in the Throne Room. Take it. When you wear it, it protects you against the bees' sting and the dragon's flame. Unfortunately, the Swamp rusts it en route to the bees, so be careful never to take it to the Swamp.
*SILK SAIL*. Very luxurious! Found at Aboard. Just take it; you can still sail the Argo without it.
*JADE STATUE*. Very delicate! Found at the Island, guarded by the Cyclops. Throw the rock to chase Cyclops away, then take the statue.
*SILVER COIN*. Very shiny! Found in a Mouse Hole, and reachable only when you are a mouse. Give the rock to the hag in the alley to be turned into a mouse. Go east, push both the glass eye and coin west, then return west. Pick up the eye and coin.
*JEWELED FLUTE*. Very pretty! Give the glass eye to the hag to get the flute in return. Playing the flute will put the bees to sleep.
*RUBY BOWL*. Very valuable! At Vineyard, guarded by the dog. Take the cat from the Alley and drop it at Vineyard; the dog will go away to chase it. Take the bowl.
*ROYAL WINE*. Very fine! At Vineyard, in the vat, also guarded by the dog. Once the dog is gone, fill the urn (from the Mysterious Place where the Oracle is) to carry the wine. (Note that the urn itself is gone.) Although you can drink the wine, you shouldn't.
*HONEY COMB*. Very delicious! Found up in the Tree, guarded by the beehive. Although the rusty armor is one way of getting the comb and beeswax, the better choice is to play the flute, which puts the bees to sleep. Although you can eat the honey, you shouldn't.
*GOLD NUGGET*. Very valuable... or is it? The alchemist will create this when you give both the rock and the newt to him. The spell only lasts a short while, so give the nugget to the basket merchant and get your other treasure back. Also, make sure you never revisit that end of the market, else he'll kill you when he learns you cheated him. But far better to cheat him than Zeus, eh?
*GOLDEN FLEECE*. Very beautiful! Found at the Meadow, guarded by the Dragon. Make sure you're wearing the gleaming armor first. Say "ASCII" to put the Dragon to sleep, then take the fleece, return to the Throne Room, and drop it there to win the game.
Other stuff
ROCK. At Market (east). Take it. It's used in three different puzzles, making it far more important than it looks.
Give it to the hag in the alley and she'll turn you into a mouse!
Throw it at the cyclops on his island to defeat him!
Give it and the newt to the alchemist in his shop, and he'll turn the rock into a *GOLD NUGGET* (briefly)!
BASKET. At Market (west), guarded by Merchant. Not a treasure. You can give any treasure here, then you can take the basket. I suggest giving the armor. That'll make it less likely that you'll take the armor into the Swamp. You need the basket to take either the newt or the dove. You'll get the armor back later (see *GOLD NUGGET*).
GLASS EYE. It's in Mouse Hole. As a mouse, push it west. Give it to the Old Hag; she'll give you the *JEWELED FLUTE*.
URN. It's in the Mysterious Place. At the Vineyard, fill it with wine. This is now the *ROYAL WINE* treasure.
BEESWAX. At Tree. Wear the wax (in your ears) to prevent the sirens' song from affecting you.
Score
I HAVE SCORE OUT OF 10 POINTS.
1 point for dropping the ruby bowl in the temple.
1 point for dropping the silver coin in the temple.
1 point for dropping the honey comb in the temple.
1 point for dropping the jeweled flute in the temple.
1 point for dropping the silk sail in the temple.
1 point for dropping the jade statue in the temple.
1 point for dropping the royal wine in the temple.
1 point for taking the Golden Fleece in the meadow.
2 points for dropping the Golden Fleece in the throne room.
Thank You to my Patreon supporters
This walkthrough is provided free of charge since I wrote this walkthrough prior to January 2015 when I began my Patreon account. I've since reformatted this walkthrough to use my currently preferred style. I hope you enjoy it!
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