In this game, you play as a Northerner living a quiet life in your hovel with your faithful dog, Dylan. When you step outside, a foul-mouthed pigeon drops a letter at your feet, but when you look at it, you learn to your dismay that it's addressed to the Bony King of Nowhere who lives far to the south, and that you must now deliver the letter personally to the King or be executed. Well that's just perfect.
This solution is by David Welbourn.
SPOILERS AHEAD. Reading a walkthrough prematurely can sometimes diminish one's enjoyment of an interactive fiction game. Please make an honest effort to play the game before reading this walkthrough.
> x letter.(The letter is for the King who lives far to the south.)
> s.
Southern Meadow
> x tree. x apple. take it.
> chop tree.(with sharp axe)
> x logs. take logs.
> e.
Coley's Mill
> x pump. x windmill. in.
The Windmill
> x Wendy. x table. x jug.(empty)
> take jug.
> x stairs. x mouse. u.
The Top floor of Windmill
> x mousetrap.(You take its cheese.)
> x cheese.
> d.
The Windmill
> give cheese to mouse.(It gives you a business card in return.)
> x card.("Gerald T. Mouse, freelance adventurer")
> out.
Coley's Mill
> fill jug.(using the pump)
> in.
The Windmill
> pour water on Wendy.(She wakes up.)
> ask Wendy about windmill.
> ask Wendy about mouse.(or about mousetrap)
> ask Wendy about axe.
> out. n.
The Desolate Beach
> take bottle. x it.("FLY")
> open bottle. take scroll. x scroll.
You learn that the Bony King is imprisoned, and that General D'sarray now controls the castle. There's also a musical score on the back, Adagio in G Minor.
> x sea.
> dig.(You take a glass sphere.)
> x sphere.(dirty)
> clean sphere.(using rags)
> x sphere.(reflects inverted image)
> s. w. s.
Northern Woods
> x oak. x door. x sign.("Gnome Chompsky, Master Weaver and Tailor")
> x litter.
> s.
Woodland Clearing
> x thyme. x hovel. x mug. take it. x rod. take it.
> s.
Northbank of the River Void
> x river. x reeds. take reeds.
> weave reeds.(You lack the skill.)
> n. n.
Northern Woods
> knock on door.
> give reeds to gnome.(He weaves them into a rope.)
> x rope. ask gnome about bridge.
> s. s.
Northbank of the River Void
> tie rope to logs.(You've made a raft.)
> x raft. use raft.(You use the shovel as an oar.)
Southbank of the River Void
Continue to carry the raft with you. It's no burden.
> se.
The Southern Woodland Dell
> x caravan. x horse. x tinker. x backgammon.
> speak to tinker.
> ask tinker about horse.(Dobby)
> ask tinker about backgammon. play backgammon.
> give rod to tinker.(He'll fix it if you get his wheat milled for him.)
> x wheat.
> nw. use raft. n. n. n. e. in.
The Windmill
> give wheat to Wendy.(She mills it, then gives you flour.)
> x flour.
> out. w. s. s. s. use raft. se.
The Southern Woodland Dell
> give flour to Tinker.(He hands over the fixed fishing rod.)
> x rod.
> give apple to horse.(You've made a friend!)
> nw.
Southbank of the River Void
> fish.(You catch a golden fish.)
> use raft.
Northbank of the River Void
> fish.(You catch a silver fish.)
> n. n. n. e. n.
The Desolate Beach
> fish.(You catch a copper fish.)
> s. w. s. s. .s. use raft. se. s.
Outside the Forsaken Cavern
> x cat. in.(The cat stops you with its claws.)
> e.
Withered Heath
> x horehound.(like mint, but leaves are too shrivelled)
> w.
Outside the Forsaken Cavern
> give copper fish to cat.
> give silver fish to cat.
> give golden fish to cat.(Gerald arrives in musketeer outfit.)
> give cheese to mouse.(Gerald attacks the cat then runs away. The cat chases after him.)
> in.
Inside The Forsaken Cavern
The glass sphere lights up so you can see in here.
> x bat. x droppings.
> speak to bat.(Answer three riddles and win guano. Are you ready?)
> yes.
> clock.(correct!)
> speak to bat.
> dice.(correct!)
> speak to bat.
> blood.(correct!)
> take guano.(using the mug)
> out. e.
Withered Heath
> use guano on horehound.(It plumps up.)
> x horehound. take horehound.
> w. in. s. d.
The Giant's Bathroom
> fish.(Gerald arrives.)
> x Gerald.(He's in a scuba suit!)
> give cheese to Gerald.(He dives and pulls the plug. The water and Gerald go down the hole.)
> look. x hole. x giant's hair. take it.
> d. d.
Midland Marshes
> x city. se.
Banks's Brewery Yard
> x cooper. x barrels.
> talk to cooper.(He has a hangover; mentions Gaffer.)
> x stool.
> in.
Banks's Brewery
> x tank. x kettle. x tun. x pint.
> take pint.
> n.
Brewery Kitchen
> x cupboard. open it. x juice. take it.
> x drawer. open it. x opener. take it.
> open tin.(with opener)
> x fridge. open it. x celery. take it. close fridge.
> x freezer. open it. x ice. take ice. close freezer.
This recipe isn't mentioned anywhere in the game that I know of. I had to guess which ingredients to use.
> put ice in pint.
> put tomato juice in pint.
> put celery in pint.
> put dog hair in pint.
> i.(Pint glass now contains a Bloody Mary Cocktail.)
> s. out.
Banks's Brewery Yard
> give pint to cooper.(He gives you a growler of bitter.)
> x growler. x Cooper. x barrels.
> nw. s.
Outside City Gates
> x guard.
> s.(The guard won't let any northerners inside.)
> give growler to guard.(He unlocks the gate for you.)
> s.
City Plaza
> x fountain. x pigeon. speak to pigeon.
> ask Jon about king.
> ask Jon about coughing.
> ask Jon about general.
> ask Jon about crumbs.
> e.
Merry Jack's Inn
> x pool. play pool.(No more of that.)
> x dartboard. play darts. play darts. play darts.(No more of that.)
> x Jack.
> x Gnome. speak to Gnome.
> x bandit. play bandit. play bandit. play bandit.(You win 3 coins! No more of that.)
Two guys (one very tall and one very short) deliver a piano.
> x piano. play piano.(It's out of tune. Gerald arrives.)
> x mouse.(He has a small metal lever.)
> give cheese to mouse.(He tunes the piano and leaves.)
> play piano.(You play the Adagio from the scroll.)
Jack gives you a message to get to the Loyalists. He's off to organize resistance forces.
> x message.("Attack at dawn")
> x coins.
> give hair to gnome.(He weaves the Giant's hair into a giant rope.)
> w. w.
Beppe's Pizzaria
> x Beppe. x counter.
> give coins to Beppe. x pizza.
> e.
City Plaza
> give pizza to Jon.(to solve his hunger problem)
> give horehound to Jon.(to solve his coughing problem)
> give message to Jon.
Jon carries the message south. General D'sarray arrives. Gerald arrives.
> x General. x mouse.
> give cheese to mouse.(Gerald charges, but the general swats him over the city walls.)
> attack general.(You and your axe and your dog are no match for the general and his soldiers.)
Prison Cell 37927
The Bony King greets you. He's your dad.
> x king. x straw. x bars. i.(You have nothing.)
Considering that the king is your father and that you're both imprisoned, you two have remarkably little you want to talk about. And yet this reunion seems to be the entire focal point of this exercise. It's so strange.
> speak to king. ask king about general.
> move straw.(find a loose stone)
> move stone. d.
Prison Cell 37927b
> x stones.
> z.(Repeat waiting. It won't be long.)
Soldiers arrive and take you three to...
Courtyard
You, the King, and Dylan (!) are tied to stakes. The General and a firing squad arrive. Then boomerangs from Batbat and Gerald knock out the General and some of the soldiers. Loyalists capture the other soldiers. The King thanks you, but you're going home.
*** The END ***
Credits follow.
Y'know, I can sympathize with the player-character's disinterest at game's end, since the story didn't really need him to be there. The letter that started this whole thing got lost, was never delivered, and didn't actually matter. In the mid-story, all the real heroics was done by Gerald T. Mouse. And the player-character wasn't really needed to rally the Loyalists and rescue the King. Jack could've taken on that role, dealing with Jon's problems before handing over the message. And even though there's tens of thousands of prison cells, they decide to put you into the same cell as your father? This is more fishy than Jasper the Cat's breath.
Extras
Characters
Individuals:
Dylan is your dog and faithful companion. He does little but follow you everywhere.
Wendy Miller got drunk on cider and is sleeping it off in the windmill.
Gerald T. Mouse is an adventurer-for-hire, but all payments must be made in cheese.
Gnome Chompsky is a master weaver. He lives in a twisted oak in the woodland clearing.
Tinker likes to fix things and play backgammon. He's set up his caravan in a southern dell.
Tinker's horse is named Dobby. He likes apples.
Jasper The Cat blocks the way into the Forsaken Cavern. Careful, his claws are very sharp!
Batbat tells riddles. He's a bat dressed up as another bat and he lives in the Forsaken Cavern.
The Cooper in Banks's Brewery yard is trying to make barrels, but he's suffering from a hangover.
A city guard guards the gate into the City of Lost, but he can be bribed to let you in.
Jon Pigeon is foul bird, cursing, coughing, and starving in the city plaza. When he's at his best, he can be persuaded to deliver letters and other messages.
Jack is the barman of Merry Jack's Inn, but he doesn't seem merry at all.
Beppe owns and operates Beppe's Pizzaria.
A very tall man and a very short man deliver a piano to the inn.
The General is a hawk who finally revolted when told he couldn't invade Somewhere.
The Bony King is the rightful ruler of Nowhere. He's imprisoned. He's also your Dad.
Groups:
Workers in Banks's Brewery are busy at their jobs, but the workers in the yard need those barrels!
Soldiers on horseback block the way to the castle's drawbridge. More soldiers arrest you, take you to or from your prison cell, or form a firing squad to execute you.
Loyalists rescue the Bony King, you, and Dylan at game's end.
Mentioned:
A giant owns a bathroom.
Credits
These credits are displayed after you win the game:
Credits:
Written and coded by Luke A. Jones (email redacted), using the Quest text adventure engine (www.textadeventures.co.uk).
Thank you to Alex Dimmer for creating the artwork and to Jennifer Thompson and Joe Dillon for alpa and beta testing, and for their excellent suggestions for improvements.
Thanks also to the excellent support from the Quest forum members, a more friendly bunch of geeks you won't meet.
I was inspired to start writing text adventures after playing and testing the wonderful games by Robin Johnson, you should check them out: http://versificator.net/
The title of the game comes from a song in an episode of Bagpuss by Oliver Postgate
The pigeon was inspired by the twitter account @pigeonjohn
Be excellent to each other.
Luke
Endings
Inventory
Cocktail-making
a Dog Hair. Just pet Dylan to get one.
Put the hair in the pint glass. We're making a "hair of the dog" hangover cure.
a Tin of Tomato Juice. It's in the cupboard in the brewery kitchen.
Open the tin with the can opener; the tin contains Tomato Juice. Put the tomato juice in the pint glass.
a Can Opener. It's in the drawer in the brewery kitchen.
Put the dog hair, tomato juice, celery, and ice cubes into the pint glass. Your inventory should now say that the glass contains a Bloody Mary Cocktail.
NOTE: I did not find this recipe anywhere in the game; I had to guess.
CAUTION: Don't put any other things into the pint glass! You'll lose them forever. This is a bug.
At Banks's Brewery Yard, give the pint glass (containing the Bloody Mary) to the Cooper. This takes care of his hangover and he gives you a Growler as a thank you.
Fishing
a Broken fishing rod. Find it by examining the ruined hovel in the woodland clearing.
In the dell, give the rod to Tinker. He'll fix it for in exchange for getting his wheat milled; he gives you a sack of wheat.
Back in the dell, give the flour to Tinker; he gives you the repaired Fishing Rod.
In the giant's bathroom, FISH to summon Gerald the Mouse to help you.
a Sack of Wheat. In the dell, Tinker gives the wheat to you when you give the broken fishing rod to him.
In the windmill, give the wheat to Wendy. If she's awake, she turns it into flour for you. (See jug on how to wake Wendy.)
an Empty Jug Of Cider. It's on the table in the windmill.
Outside the mill, fill the jug (using the pump). The jug is now a Cider Jug (full of freezing cold water).
Back inside the windmill, pour the jug on Wendy to wake her up. Oddly, she's not upset at all, partly due to Dylan and partly due to her own guilt.
The jug leaves the game once Wendy is awake.
a Sack of Flour. In the windmill, Wendy gives the flour to you when you give the wheat to her. Of course, Wendy must be awake first; see jug.
In the dell, give the flour to Tinker; he gives you the repaired fishing rod.
a Golden Fish. Catch it by fishing at the southbank of the River Void with the repaired fishing rod.
Outside the Forsaken Cavern, give the golden fish to the cat.
a Silver Fish. Catch it by fishing at the northbank of the River Void with the repaired fishing rod.
Outside the Forsaken Cavern, give the golden fish to the cat.
a Copper Fish. Catch it by fishing at the desolate beach with the repaired fishing rod.
Outside the Forsaken Cavern, give the golden fish to the cat.
When you've given all three fish to the cat, Gerald the Mouse appears.
Mouse-dealing
a Lump of cheese. Acquire it by examining the mousetrap at the top floor of the windmill.
In the windmill, examine the stairs to find the mouse. Give some cheese to the mouse, and he gives you his business card.
Outside the Forsaken Cavern, after giving the golden fish, the silver fish, and the copper fish to the cat, the mouse arrives in a musketeer outfit. Give some cheese to the mouse, and he makes the cat chase him so you can enter the cavern.
In the giant's bathroom, FISH (with the fishing rod). The mouse arrives in a scuba suit. Give some cheese to the mouse, and he unplugs the sink or tub that you're in.
In the inn, play the piano. The mouse arrives yet again. Give some cheese to the mouse, and he tunes the piano for you.
In the city plaza, after Jon Pigeon leaves (see message), both the General and the mouse arrive, the latter in full armour. Give some cheese to the mouse. He attacks the General, but the General swats him away. This makes you angry enough to be able to attack the General yourself.
The cheese never runs out. How much cheese was on that mousetrap anyway?
a Business Card. In the windmill, the mouse gives this card to you when you first give it some cheese.
Examine the card to learn that Gerald T. Mouse will do almost anything to help you as long as you give him some cheese.
Pigeon-dealing
a Chipped Mug. Find it by examining the ruined hovel in the woodland clearing.
Inside the Forsaken Cavern, there are bat droppings, also known as guano. Speak to Batbat and answer all three of his riddles correctly, and he'll let you take some guano. You need the mug to carry the guano in. The filled mug is styled as a Chipped Mug (filled with Bat Guano).
At the withered heath, use the guano on the horehound to nourish it and make it grow.
some Horehound. This minty plant grows in the withered heath, but it's initially sickly-looking.
Use the guano on the horehound to nourish it and make it grow. Now take some horehound.
In the city plaza, give the horehound to the pigeon. This stops his coughing.
Three Coins. Win them in Merry Jack's Inn by playing the one-armed bandit three times.
At the pizzaria, give the coins to Beppe. He gives you a huge pizza in exchange.
a Huge Pizza. At the pizzeria, buy the pizza by giving three coins to Beppe.
In the city plaza, give the pizza to the pigeon. Poor thing is starving!
a Message for Loyalist Forces. In the inn, Jack gives this message to you after you play the music from the scroll on the tuned pisno.
To trigger the piano delivery, you must play pool once, play darts three times, and play the one-armed bandit three times.
To tune the piano, first try to play the piano. Gerald arrives. Give him some cheese and he tunes the piano for you.
In the city plaza, give the message to the pigeon to deliver it. However, you must first give the pizza and the horehound to the pigeon. He won't take the message if he's still starving or coughing.
Raft-making
an axe. It's in the chest in your hovel, but it's blunt.
Examine your fireplace and note the marks on the hearthstones. In your hovel, SHARPEN AXE. It is now styled as a Sharp Axe.
In the southern meadow, chop the fallen tree to turn it into logs.
In the city plaza, when you finally try to attack the General, you'll automatically use the axe as your weapon.
Logs. In the southern meadow, chop the fallen tree to make logs.
some Reeds. Find them at the northbank of the River Void by examining the river.
In the northern woods, examine the twisted oak, then its door and sign. Knock on the door to summon the gnome. Give the reeds to the gnome; he weaves them into a rope for you.
a Rope. In the northern woods, give some reeds to Gnome Chompsky. He weaves them into rope.
Use the raft at the northbank to travel to the southbank and vice-versa. You must have the shovel to use as a paddle.
NOTE: You have no trouble carrying around a log raft everywhere you go. It's not a burden at all.
Other items
Rags. They're in your hovel.
Clean the sphere with the rags. (BUG: The game doesn't check if you actually have any rags.)
a Shovel. Find it by examining the fireplace in your hovel.
At the desolate beach, DIG to find the glass sphere.
When using the raft to cross the River Void, you must have the shovel to use as a paddle.
You can't dig anywhere else, not even the boggy ground at the midland marshes.
a Letter. You automatically pick it up in the northern meadow when you first leave your hovel.
Examine it to learn that you must deliver the letter to the king or die.
You may not open or read the letter.
When you're imprisoned, you lose all your inventory including the letter. You never actually deliver it. Fortunately, no one kills you for your failure. Or kills Jon Pigeon either. But you also never learn what it said!
an apple. It's in the southern meadow.
In the dell, feel free to give the apple to the horse. Congrats, you've made a friend! Doesn't help solve any puzzles, though.
Examine it to learn that the Bony King is imprisoned, that the General is now in control of the castle, and that it's on the back of some sheet music.
Assuming you've read the scroll and have it with you, this is the music you'll play when you play the (tuned) piano in the inn. Playing this particular music will convince Jack to give a message to you.
a Glass Sphere. Acquire it by digging (with the shovel) at the dseolate beach.
The sphere is dirty. Clean it with your rags. It is now styled as a Shiny Glass Sphere.
Inside the Forsaken Cavern, where it's dark, the sphere lights up on its own. Now you can see in there.
a Giant's Hair. It's in the giant's bathroom after Gerald the Mouse pulls the plug.
In the inn, give the giant's hair to Gnome Chompsky. He weaves it into a giant rope.
