The Crystal Keepers

solution

This solution is by David Welbourn.

Opening Notes ♦ The Map ♦ Summary Table ♦ The Walkthrough

Opening Notes

There is a serious bug in the game that you must fix, otherwise you'll never be able to get a needed palm leaf. Before starting the game, open data/GAME.CDB with a text editor and go to line 3692. At the end of the line is this text:

Try again.f12=1

You must insert a # symbol before the f12, like so:

Try again.#f12=1

Save and close the file and start the game as normal. This has no effect on loading previously saved positions in the game.
You can get trapped into unwinnable situations:
- Don't give any treasures back to the fairies until the end of the game, when you are certain you don't need their magical properties any more. Otherwise, the fairy will pop the treasure into her dome, and you won't be able to use it later.
- Don't drink the vial until you need to.
- The spiral trail to the Heart of the Dell is meant to be a one-way trip to be taken only once. Make sure you have the pendant and find the brooch before leaving the Heart. If you try to visit the Heart a second time, you'll be unable to leave.
- Likewise, the desert sandstorm sequence is meant to be a one-way trip to be taken only once. Make sure you get everything from the Oasis that you need (ring, leaf) before leaving, because if you try to find the Oasis a second time, you'll just stay trapped in the sandstorm.
You can 'die' in a few places in the game. In each case, you'll need to use a particular cure quickly, otherwise the situation is hopeless:
- Don't search the pile of grapes. The intoxicating fumes will eventually make you pass out and lose the game. Running away doesn't help, but waving the brooch near the grapes does.
- Be sure to have the vial before taking the berry from the thicket. Drink the vial to counteract the thorn's poison.
- Be sure to have the necklace and rock before doing anything near the snake. Scrape the necklace with the rock to get some powder. After the snake bites you, rub the powder on your wound to cure it.
I don't know of any way to turn off the music. If it bugs you, turn off your speakers or set the volume low. Also, when the music loops back to the beginning, and you're typing a command, there's a noticable pause before the game displays it. I don't know what you can do about that either.
The vocab command really ought to suggest rub, scrape, sift, and sieve as possible verbs.
The info command suggests that 'loin', 'lobe', 'lund', and 'sr' are synonyms for 'look in', 'look behind', 'look under', and 'search' respectively, but it turns out these are only synonyms when the author remembered to implement them. The C.A.T. system doesn't seem to have a robust object model to avoid snafus like this.
The game isn't free of spelling or continuity errors, either. For an example of the latter, the fairies will always look quite sad when you look at them, even after you've returned their treasures and locked them in. And may I ask when fairies started using a modern material like 'perspex' for their domes?

The Map

♛ Under
the Bridge

swing compass

Eyes Hurt

←

Lost in
Desert

↓rub locket on eyes

🐦Top of 💮
Mountain

🐦Desert
Cactus

e
→

Sand-
storm

u↑↓d

swing compass↓

n↑

Halfway
Up

Desert

♛ Oasis ♣

u↑↓d

Steep
Hill

♣Buried
Skull

u↑↓d

Uphill

💮Flower
Path

—

Flower
Path

—

♛Mound
of Sand

d↓↑u

Forest
Thins

—

♣Forest
Path

—

Avenue
of Vines

♣Willow
Tree

🐦Misty
Pool

crawl through gap

ƒJosy's
Cave

ƒSarah's
Cave

ƒJackie's
Cave

Avenue
of Vines

River
Branch

—

Bridge

—

Well-Trodden
Path

←→

💮Corn-
field

—

💮
Meadow

d↓

u↑

ƒAmelia's
Cave

—

Spring
Dell

—

Forest
Path

—

♣ End
of Path

Avenue
of Vines

🐦River
Mouth

♣
Thicket

🐦Corn-
field

—

Meadow

Trail

ƒCelia's
Cave

ƒTammy's
Cave

♛ Still
on Path

—

Vines,
Vines

♛ Bog

Solitary
Yew

↑jump over hedge

Trail

←

Trail

💮 Bog

s↓↑sleep

Trail

♛ Heart
of Dell

Trail

Summary Table

Fairy:	ƒJosy Jade	ƒSarah Sardonyx	ƒAmelia Amethyst	ƒCelia Selenite	ƒTammy Tourmaline	ƒJackie Jet
Color:	green	red	purple	blue	yellow	black
Flower:	💮 blue cornflower from Meadow	💮 white heather from Mountain	💮 purple heliotrope from Flower Path	💮 red poppy from Cornfield	💮 orange marigold from Bog	(none)
Treasure:	♛ Locket from Bog: dig mud	♛ Necklace from Under the Bridge: search pebbles	♛ Brooch from Heart of Dell: search grass	♛ Pendant from Still on Path: sweep leaves	♛ Bracelet from Mound of Sand: sift sand	♛ Ring from Oasis: search ashes
Treasure Virtue:	Medicinal. Use in Desert: rub locket on eyes	Medicinal. Use at Mountain: scrape necklace with rock rub powder on wound	Neutralizes. Use near Grapes: wave brooch	Helps in dark. Use at Heart of Dell: wave pendant	Magnetic. Use in Desert: tie frond to bracelet swing compass	(unknown)
Bird:	🐦magpie over Cornfield	🐦vulture over Desert	🐦swan at Misty Pool	🐦gull over River Mouth	🐦eagle over Mountain	(none)
Gift for Bird/Queen:	♣ hazelnut from bush	♣ berry from thicket	♣ bark from willow	♣ seed from tall tree	♣ palm leaf from oasis	♣ tiara from skull
From Bird/ Dome Key:	square (Q)	crescent (E)	circle (U)	triangle (E)	oblong (N)	with ring and tiara, "say queen"

The Walkthrough

Spring Dell

None of the locations have explicit names, so I chose suitable ones for the map and walkthrough. I assume that the player character is a human girl, although this isn't said explicitly.

>i. x smock. x sandals. x bag. open bag. wear bag.

>x sapling. look behind sapling. x broom.

>x dell. x doves. x butterflies. x flowers. w.

Amelia's Cave

You must refer to each fairy by name. That means you can't type "x fairy".

>x amelia. x dias. x pedestal. x dome. x slot. x mark.

>talk to amelia. ask amelia about treasure. ask amelia about swan.

>ask amelia about slot. ask amelia about flower. e. n.

Sarah's Cave

Sarah's rather similar to Amelia. You'll ask her the same sorts of questions.

>x sarah. x slot. x mark.

>talk to sarah. ask sarah about treasure. ask sarah about vulture.

>ask amelia about slot. ask amelia about flower. s. s.

Celia's Cave

Celia's rather similar to Amelia and Sarah. I hope you're keeping notes of what they're telling you. If not, there's a summary table above this walkthrough to keep track of the important parts.

>x celia. x slot. x mark.

>talk to celia. ask celia about treasure. ask celia about gull.

>ask celia about slot. ask celia about flower. n. se.

Tammy's Cave

Tammy's rather similar to ... oh, you get the idea.

>x tammy. x slot. x mark.

>talk to tammy. ask tammy about treasure. ask tammy about eagle.

>ask tammy about slot. ask tammy about flower. nw. nw.

Josy's Cave

Josy's slightly more interesting, since she can't talk to us when she's crying too much. Thankfully, this is easy to solve, or it would be if your inventory wasn't lying to you about what you have.

>x josy. x slot. x mark.

>talk to josy. search smock. x tissue. give tissue to josy. x sprinkler.

>talk to josy. ask josy about treasure. ask josy about magpie.

>ask josy about slot. ask josy about flower. ask josy about sprinkler. se. ne.

Jackie's Cave

Jackie Jet breaks the pattern. Unfortunately, her cave is dark, and she's in a trance, so you can't really do much with her.

>x jackie. talk to jackie. sw. e. e.

End of Path

You can't get the seed yet.

>x tree. x branches. x seed. hit seed with broom. s.

Still on Path

Strangely, you can't wear any of the treasures you will find, except the tiara. You won't need the broom after this.

>x leaves. search leaves. sweep leaves. take pendant. x it.

>wear pendant. drop broom. e.

Vines, Vines, Vines

>x vines. x elf. talk to elf. ask elf about vines.

>w. n. w. w.

Spring Dell

You'd think, with five different colours of flower to look for, at least one would be here. But no. You can't take any of these flowers.

>take flowers. nw.

Trail

This is the start of a long spiral trail. You can't enter or jump over the ditch.

>x ditch. x hedge. search hedge. jump over hedge. sw. s.

Trail

>x gutter. search gutter. g. x net. x secateurs.

>se. ne. n. w.

Trail

A couple points. From this location, you can't go back east. You could jump over the hedge to get back to the start of the trail. Or go south, to the heart of the dell.

>x hedge. search hedge. s.

Heart of the Dell

>x moon. x pendant. x grass. search grass.

>wave pendant. x pendant. search grass. i. x brooch. smell brooch. sleep.

Trail

You'll notice that this location is carefully time-neutral, but it still doesn't make much sense. If you jumped over the hedge without going into the heart, it looks like a jump from night to day. If you return to the heart immediately after sleeping, it looks like instant nightfall. And if you walk the trail backwards, likewise time appears to go backwards. It only works if you follow the script.

>put pendant in bag. jump over hedge. ne. e. e. s. e.

Vines, Vines, Vines

>give shears to elf. n.

Avenue of Vines

>x stick. take it. s. w. n.

End of Forest Path

>hit seed with stick. drop stick. put seed in bag. s. e. n. n.

Avenue of Vines

>x fronds. pull fronds. x frond. put frond in bag. n.

Avenue of Vines

>x grapes. search grapes. wave brooch. put brooch in bag. w.

Forest Path

>x bush. search bush. x nut. put nut in bag. w. ne.

Flower Path

>x flowers. i. x heliotrope. put it in bag. e. x flowers. e.

Mound of Sand

It's unfortunate that the more standard syntax "put sand in net" isn't understood. Sifting the sand twice will destroy both mound and net, but that's okay.

>x sand. search sand. sift sand. g.

>x bracelet. take it. put it in bag. d.

Willow Tree

>x river. x tree. x branches. x bark. take bark. pull bark. put bark in bag. s.

River Branch

>x stream. e.

Bridge

>x bridge. x brick. take brick. x vial. d.

Under the Bridge

>x pebbles. search pebbles. x pendant. put pendant in bag. u.

Well-Trodden Path

>x path. x footprints. x hedge. search hedge. look under hedge.

>x gap. crawl through gap.

Cornfield

>x corn. x poppy. take it. put it in bag. e.

Meadow

>x flowers. x cornflower. take it. put it in bag. s.

Meadow

>x skylarks. w.

Cornfield

You can't tell whose bird it is yet.

>x bird. x fence. n. crawl through gap. s.

Thicket

This is one of the dangerous sections. Make sure you have the vial from the bridge!

>x thicket. search it. x berry. take it. drink vial. g. put berry in bag. s.

Solitary Yew

>x yew. x branches. look under branches. x spade. n. n. w. w. s.

River Mouth

>x bird. x boat. x sand. se.

Bog

Keep the spade with you; you'll need it again later.

>x reeds. x mud. dig mud. x locket. take it. put it in bag. s.

Bog

>x flowers. i. x marigold. put it in bag.

>n. nw. n. n. u. w. w. sw. n. u. u.

Halfway Up

>x rock. take rock. u.

Top of Mountain

This is another dangerous section. Although it's reasonable to expect the necklace to help you here, it's by no means obvious how to use it.

>x snake. x monolith. x heather. x bird.

>take necklace from bag. scrape necklace with rock. take powder. x powder.

>drop rock. put necklace in bag.

>take heather. pull it. rub powder on wound.

Okay. You should have all five treasures and all five flowers. Time to go back to the fairies and give the flowers. You must give the flowers to the fairies, else the fairies' birds won't co-operate with you. Don't give the treasures, because you're not quite done with them yet.

>d. d. d. s. e. e. s. s. s. w. n. w. w. n.

Sarah's Cave

The fairies want their flowers dried. Use the sprinkler for this. Note that it changes the name of the flower from X to dried-X. It's a bit silly.

>give heather to sarah. sprinkle dust on heather. i. x dried-heather.

>give dried-heather to sarah. ask sarah about gift. s. nw.

Josy's Cave

>take cornflower from bag. sprinkle dust on cornflower.

>give dried-cornflower to josy. ask josy about gift. se. w.

Amelia's Cave

>take heliotrope from bag. sprinkle dust on heliotrope.

>give dried-heliotrope to amelia. ask amelia about gift. e. s.

Celia's Cave

>take poppy from bag. sprinkle dust on poppy.

>give dried-poppy to celia. ask celia about gift. n. se.

Tammy's Cave

>take marigold from bag. sprinkle dust on marigold.

>give dried-marigold to tammy. ask tammy about gift. nw.

Spring Dell

>drop sprinkler. e. e. s. e. n. n. n. w. w. ne. e. e. d. s. s.

River Mouth

>take seed from bag. wave seed. x triangle. take it. put it in bag.

>n. e. e. crawl through gap. s.

Cornfield

>take nut from bag. wave nut. x square. take it. put it in bag.

>n. crawl through gap. n.

Misty Pool

>x pool. take bark from bag. wave bark. x circle. take it. put it in bag.

>s. w. w. n. u. n.

Buried Skull

>x skull. take it. pull it. dig skull. x fragments. drop spade.

>x tiara. take it. wear it. n. n.

Desert Cactus

First of all, all directions except east and south return to the cactus.

Secondly, you can't go east without both the compass and the locket.

Thirdly, you can only visit the oasis once in the game. So be careful.

>x cactus. x sign. read writing. x bird.

>take berry from bag. wave berry. x crescent. take it. put it in bag.

>e.

Oh right, we don't have a compass. So, um. Make one.

>take bracelet from bag. take frond from bag. tie frond to bracelet.

>x compass. e.

Grr. The locket is in the bag.

>take locket from bag. e.

Sandstorm

>swing compass

Oasis

We're told that the ring is very powerful, but um, not what it does. And in this game, at least, it doesn't do anything. Also, you need to try to take the palm twice before you get a leaf. If you see "Try again.f12=1", you'll need to edit the file (see notes).

>x pool. drink water. x fire. search ash. i. x ring. put ring in bag.

>x palm. take palm. g. x leaf. n.

Lost in Desert

>swing compass.

Eyes Hurt

>rub locket on eyes.

Desert Cactus

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

Top of Mountain

>wave leaf. x oblong. take it. put it in bag. i.

You should now have all five treasures, all five keys, plus the ring and tiara. You're almost done. Time to give and lock the treasures away.

>d. d. d. s. e. e. s. s. s. w. n. w. w. n.

Sarah's Cave

>take pendant from bag. give pendant. take crescent from bag. insert crescent. s. nw.

Josy's Cave

Pay attention to what Josy says.

>give locket. take square from bag. insert square. se. w.

Amelia's Cave

>take brooch from bag. give brooch. take circle from bag. insert circle. e. s.

Celia's Cave

>take pendant from bag. give pendant. take triangle. insert triangle. n. se.

Tammy's Cave

>untie frond. give bracelet. take oblong from bag. insert oblong. nw. ne.

Jackie's Cave

>take ring from bag. say queen.