It's the evening of May 13th, 1824, in Germany. You play as Eduard, a student at the seminary. You want to sneak out and meet your friends Wilhelm and Scardanelli in Pressel's gazebo before midnight.
This solution is by David Welbourn, and is based on Release 1 of the game.
> e.(He takes your book, but drops his newspaper.)
> take newspaper. read it.(Note that the accused criminal Hölderlin looks very much like your friend Scardanelli.)
> w. w.
Street (west of the seminary)
The same guard is somehow blocking your way west as well. You can tell it's the same guard since he has the book he took from you.
> e. s.
Hall
The lamp isn't takeable, but the candle is!
> x lamp. x candle. take candle.
> d. w.
Shed
> x trampoline. x club. take club.
> push trampoline east.(You're now in the gym.)
Gym
You can't climb the rope with a burning candle, and if you drop it on the floor, it'll go out. Return the candle to the lamp!
> e.
Hall
> put candle in lamp. d.
Gym
> get on trampoline. climb rope. u.(Now at top of rope.)
> untie rope.(You do and fall onto the trampoline.)
> stand. e.
Hall
> take candle. w.
Dormitory
Okay, it is not at all obvious there's two beds in the Dormitory, except for the odd disambiguation message "(your bed)". It doesn't mention there's two beds at all!
> x other bed.
> push my bed. push Wilhelm's bed.(This is how to tell his bed is closer to the window.)
> tie rope to Wilhelm's bed.
> blow candle.
> take rope. s.
Garden (on the rope)
> d. d.
Garden
> x boat. x pole.
> enter boat. take pole. launch.
On the Neckar (several locations)
CAUTION: If you climb the tree, you'll be trapped on it.
> x pouch. take it.
> e. x tree.
> e. x tower.
> e. x bridge. land boat.
Bottom of stairs.
> drop pole. out. u.
Neckar bridge
> n.
Pressel's garden
> x gazebo.("hen kai pan")
> open door. in.
Pressel's gazebo
Wilhelm is here, but seems unresponsive to questions and items.
> out. w.
Neckar bridge
On your return, a new guard is here.
> x guard.(Has unlit pipe.)
> give pouch to guard.(He takes it and lights his pipe.)
> guard, light candle.("Sorry, but that was my last match.")
> ask guard for pipe. light candle with pipe.
> give pipe to guard. w.
Hölderlin's tower
It should be noted that you can't go east from here to the bridge unless you've travelled west from the bridge first.
> n. x window.
> open door. in.
Inside tower
> open oak door.(No, that's to Hölderlin's landlord.)
> u.(Someone yells at you to close the door.)
> close massive door.
Fortunately, you have a lit candle, so you're not trapped in a room of darkness.
> u. s.
Study
> x Holderlin. x desk.
> show note to Holderlin.(He'll now follow you.)
> n. d. open door. out.
Hölderlin's tower
> close door. e. n. in.
Pressel's garden
You spend an enjoyable night of poetry with your friends.
*** You have won ***
Extras
Characters
A guard on the street blocks your way north of the seminary. He carries a newspaper.
Wilhelm Waiblinger is your room-mate in the dormitory. He's waiting for you and Hölderlin in the gazebo.
A guard on the bridge will appear on your second visit there. He needs tobacco.
Hölderlin a.k.a. Scardanelli is in his study. Take him to the gazebo.
Also:
Other seminarists sleep upstairs in the seminary.
Hölderlin's landlord lives behind the oak door in the tower.
Endings
A fall from this great height was too much for you.
if you untie the rope in the gym without the trampoline below you,
or if you go through your dorm window without any preparation,
or if you go down from the rope when the end is still 20 feet above the garden.
You have won if you enter the gazebo with Hölderlin following you.
Note you can also get trapped into unwinnable situations, for example:
If you return to the Hall without light, you won't be able to find any exits.
If the street guard confiscates your rope.
If you climb the tree, you won't have any way back down.
If you close the massive door when inside the tower, and if you don't have the lit candle, you'll be trapped there, unable to find any exits.
If you don't bring the candle and note with you from the seminary, you have no way to return there to get them.
Inventory
a handwritten note. It's under your bed in the Dormitory. Read it. In the Study, show the note to Hölderlin to get him to follow you to the gazebo.
a candle. It's in the lamp in the Hall. It's already lit and provides light. If you drop it, it goes out. You cannot climb the gym rope with a lit candle. The candle will go out if you drop it or take it outside. To relight it, you will need to ask the guard on the Neckar bridge for his pipe and light the candle with the pipe.
a book. It's in the cupboard in the hall. It's an item you can let the street guard confiscate so you can get his newspaper.
a rope. It's tied to a ceiling bar in the Gym. To get it, first push the trampoline into the Gym, then climb the rope and untie it. In the Dormitory, tie the rope to Wilhelm's bed (which is closer to the window), then go south and down twice to reach the Garden.
a wooden club. It's in the shed. It's an item you can let the street guard confiscate so you can get his newspaper.
a wooden pole. It's in the boat in the garden. You'll need the pole to launch and land the boat. You'll need to drop the pole whenever you get out of the boat.
a pouch of tobacco. It's under the wooden bench of the boat, but somehow, it isn't noticed until you get to On the Neckar. You can't open or smell it. Give the pouch to the guard on the Neckar bridge, and he will light his pipe with his last match.
a newspaper. If you try to go past a guard on the street, he'll confiscate your rope, book, club, or newspaper, if you have any of them. When he puts one of your items into his pocket, he'll drop the newspaper. Read it. The story is of two people accused of high treason. One of them, Hölderlin, acquitted due to mental illness, looks a lot like Scardanelli. (Oddly, any pretense that they are two different people is completely abandoned everywhere else in the game.)
a pipe. It's held by the guard on the Neckar bridge. First, give the pouch of tobacco to him so he'll light his pipe. Then ask the guard for the pipe to get it. Light your candle with the pipe, then give the pipe back to the guard.