In this well-crafted one-room puzzle, you play as a wizard gambling everything for a chance to gain immense power. In a deep underground sealed chamber, your spell summons an egg from another reality into your drawn pentagram. How will you deal with this egg? Decide wisely and quickly, or soon you will be dead.
This solution is by David Welbourn, and is based on Release 1 of the game.
Unfortunately, we can't afford to waste turns examining everything, so we're going to have to do all that in previous attempts where we fail. This time, we're going to succeed:
Use the chalk:
> take chalk.(+4)
> draw pentagram on table.
> erase pentagram on floor.
> xyzzy.(The egg is now on the table.)
Use the axe:
> take axe.(+4)
> break egg with axe.
Use the ring:
> take ring.(+4)
> put ring on table.
> ring, on.
> z.(The egg fries.)
> ring, off.
> eat egg.(+138)
Now wait:
> z. z.
*** You are now alone in a sealed chamber. As you begin to dig your way out, you think about how you have almost bankrupted yourself on this folly, and have nothing to show for it. On the other hand, you're alive and well, and still as good looking as ever. Perhaps this is as good an outcome as you might expect. But later, as you emerge into the sunlight, you discover that your meal was not without side-effects. Your skin is slightly red and small horns are growing from your forhead. A few tests reveal that you are impervious to injury. You can now begin your quest to rule the world! ***
Extras
Characters
A very annoyed demon can hatch from the egg. He will soon kill you.
Mentioned:
Your servants sealed you in this chamber an hour ago at your direction.
Seth, a fire giant, used to own the gold ring.
A tribe of dwarves, now extinct, used to own the stone axe.
A pirate used to own the chalk.
The elves gifted you with the bookcase.
Endings
You have died of smoke inhalation; not a favorable outcome by anyone's standards. Although you aren't in a position to care, the egg will soon hatch a monster. Generations yet unborn would curse your name, if only they knew it. --- Better luck next time!
if you set the bookcase on fire.
You have been choked to death. What's worse, you have unleashed a demon upon an unsuspecting world. Generations yet unborn would curse your name, if only they knew it. --- Better luck next time!
if the demon kills you and he doesn't have the ring.
You are dead. What's worse, you have unleashed a demon upon an unsuspecting world. Generations yet unborn would curse your name, if only they knew it. --- Better luck next time!
if the demon kills you and he does have the ring.
You are now alone in a sealed chamber. As you begin to dig your way out, you think about how you have almost bankrupted yourself on this folly, and have nothing to show for it. On the other hand, you're alive and well, and still as good looking as ever. Perhaps this is as good an outcome as you might expect. --- Better luck next time!
if you destroy the egg by recursively shrinking it.
You are now alone in a sealed chamber. As you begin to dig your way out, you think about how you have almost bankrupted yourself on this folly, and have nothing to show for it. On the other hand, you're alive and well, and still as good looking as ever. Perhaps this is as good an outcome as you might expect. But later, as you emerge into the sunlight, you discover that your meal was not without side-effects. Your skin is slightly red and small horns are growing from your forhead. A few tests reveal that you are impervious to injury. You can now begin your quest to rule the world!
if you eat the fried egg.
Inventory
a piece of chalk. It's on the floor. With it, you can draw pentagrams on various objects: the floor, the table, the bookcase, or the egg. You can also erase your pentagrams.
To survive but not gain anything, draw a pentagram on the egg and erase the pentagram on the floor. When you cast XYZZY, the egg will teleport repeatedly above its former position, and smaller, until it vanishes from existence.
To survive and have any hope of gaining power, begin by drawing a pentagram on the iron table and erase the pentagram on the floor. Cast XYZZY to teleport the egg to the table.
a stone axe. It's on the bookcase.
When the egg is on the iron table, break it with the axe. You cannot break the egg with your bare hands.
The demon cannot be harmed by the axe, nor will he accept it as a gift.
a gold ring. It's on the bookcase.
The command "ring, on" will make it as hot as lava. Likewise, "ring, off" cools it.
Put the ring on the iron table. When the egg is on the table and broken, turn on the ring to fry the egg yolk before it can coalesce into the demon.
If you're wearing the ring and you activate it, it will immediately burn off whatever finger, hand, etc, you're wearing it on. You cannot take the ring while it's hot.
If you activate the ring when it's on the bookcase, you'll set the bookcase on fire and you'll die of smoke inhalation.
The demon will accept the ring as a gift and wear it. The demon likes the heat and isn't harmed by it.
the fried egg. To make this, you need to teleport the egg to the table, break it open with the axe, then fry it with the ring (see details above). Eat the fried egg. A few turns later, you will escape from the chamber and gain the demon's power.
Score
You have scored your-score out of 500, in several turns.
350 points is your initial score.
4 points for taking the gold ring.
4 points for taking the stone axe.
4 points for taking the piece of chalk.
and either:
38 points for destroying the egg entirely.
138 points for eating a fried egg.
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