It's October 1943. In this game, you play as the archaeologist-adventurer Galilee Bones from Chicago's Woodlawn University, and you're about to make a night-time jump from a plane into Transjordan. The Nazis have found something big in the stone city of Lejjun, near Karak. Your mission is to find out whatever it is and bring it back with you.
This solution is by David Welbourn, and is based on Release 0 of the game.
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.
FLASHBACK: Two days ago, you saw your pilot Abdullah sitting with an undercover SS agent.
>> SPACE
After you land, your contact Zaid hands you a torch, a tinderbox, and a scrap of paper, then makes a quick exit.
Drop Site
> i. x note.(Bring home what the Nazis have.)
> x torch. x box.
> open knapsack. x flashlight.(broken)
> x envelope. open it. read letter.
> x dictionary.
> translate tsehz gi anga ta lef tsets with dictionary.("? * sister be strange")
I note that if I try to translate a word that isn't Nabataean, it helpfully lists three to six words nearest to it. By such means, you can eventually suss out the entire dictionary.
> ne.
Desert Path
> x plants. take rue. smell rue.
> n.
Fork in the Path
> x rocks. take rock.
> nw.
Outside Camp
> x guard. x fire.
> x chamomile. take it. smell it.
> se. e.
Top of the Escarpment
Note that this location is dangerous in the dark.
> e. e.
Promontory Point
> x village. x zaatar. take it. smell it.
> w. sw.
Tight Passage
> x skeleton. touch skeleton.(You obtain a pipe for smoking.)
> x pipe. smell it.
> x rubble.
> d. w.
Shrine
> x betyl. read it.(Translates to: "And on that day, the flowers will burn and the wind will blow, and the breath of the hero will break down the walls of the ages.")
Return to the guard:
> e. u. ne. w. w. nw.
Outside Camp
> throw rock at guard.
> z.(He gets up. He's now chasing you.)
> se. e.
Top of the Escarpment
You can see the guard to the west.
> put out torch.(You hear the guard fall down the escarpment.)
> light torch. e.
Escarpment Base
> x guard. take pistol. x it.
> take uniform. x it. wear it.
> w. w. nw. w.
Nazi Encampment
> take Herbology. x it.
> translate Herbology.("wind * * herb * with fire * seed * * stone * * plant * * burn * * leave alone sleep * * flower *")
> x tent.(You acquire a diary.)
> x diary.(You learn about recent Nazi activities.)
> look up rue in Herbology.("Seed of Fire")
> look up chamomile in Herbology.("Flower of Sleep")
> look up zaatar in Herbology.("Plant of Stone")
> w.
Before the Stone City
> x building. x gap. x doors.
> x wormwood. take it. smell it.
> look up wormwood in Herbology.("Herb of Wind")
> sw.
Rocky Waste
> x rocks.
> ne. n.
Antechamber
> listen. x fresco.
> n.
Chasm Floor
Lockig and Triefen greet you, more or less. A less than productive conversation ensues.
> x Lockig. x Triefen.
> ask Lockig if we met before.
> look up.
> twist knife.
At gunpoint, you're tied up and dragged back to...
Nazi Encampment
> z.
>> SPACE
FLASHBACK: You remember telling Dahlia why you had to abandon her in Amman.
>> SPACE
> z.(Zaid unties you, and disappears again.)
> take rope. x it.
> i.(You still have all your stuff.)
Return to the shrine:
> e. se. e. e. sw. d. w.
Shrine
The Herbology told you which herbs to burn.
> put all herbs but chamomile in pipe.
> smoke pipe.
>> SPACE
FLASHBACK: You remember a fight in Chennai, and Dahlia telling you to get out of her hotel.
>> SPACE
The shrine has changed. You estimate that you're now in the first century C.E.
Shrine (first century C.E.)
> x portal.
> enter portal.
Shrine (1943)
From previous sessions, I know you mustn't let any Nabataeans see anything foreign to them in your inventory. You need the pipe and will have to conceal it soon, and they have no objection to the torch, rope, and the herbs, but you need to discard everything else.
> drop sack.
> put diary in sack.
> put Herbology in sack.
> put pistol in sack.
> put dictionary in sack.
> put box in sack.
> put note in sack.
> remove uniform. put it in sack.
If the letter and envelope and flashlight aren't already in the sack, put them in there as well.
> enter portal.
Shrine (first century C.E)
> e.
Preparation Chamber
> x table. x corpse. x robes. look in pocket.
> take robes. wear them.
> put pipe in robes.(Now the pipe is concealed.)
> e.
Tomb
> x niches. x slabs.
> open slabs.(can't: no suitable tool)
> w. u.
Landing
Fremd is tied to a timber in the western alcove. He asks you to untie him.
> say no.
> z.(He tells you that his uniform doomed him.)
> z.(He warns you that your uniform will be a problem too.)
> z. z.(He eventually runs out of auto-dialogue.)
> x alcove. x Fremd. x timber.
> u. u.
Faint Trail
NOTE: Tn these notes, I refer to this tall, gaunt Nabataean man as the "trail guard".
CAUTION: The trail guard raises the alarm if you're dressed like an outsider or have anything visible that doesn't belong in this time period. Fortunately for you, you hid the pipe inside your new blue robes.
> x man. x red robes. x hole.
> e.
Top of the Escarpment
This is a dead end.
> w. nw.
Before the Stone City
> x carvings. x door. listen.
> sw.
Rocky Path
> x spires. x holes. look in holes.(empty)
> s.
Market District
Nothing to do here.
> n. ne. n.
Antechamber
> x fresco.
> n.
Chasm Floor
> x man. x stairs.
> u.
Mezzanine
These notes will refer to this man as the temple guard.
> x man. x platform. x guard. greet guard.
> u.(The temple guard suddenly speaks up, telling you to keep your hands to yourself.)
Temple of the Juggernaut
> x betyl. read it.("Made ya look")
> w.
Inside the Juggernaut
> x depression. x emerald. x eyes.
> take emerald.(The hum stops.)
> e.
Temple of the Juggernaut
> smoke pipe.
>> SPACE
FLASHBACK: In Amman, you see the signal to leave — the Woodlawn University coat of arms — and grab your knapsack and leave Dahlia behind.
>> SPACE
Bottom of Cliff (fifteenth century B.C.)
You're now even further back in time.
> e.
Top of the Escarpment
Nothing to do here.
> w. sw.
Rocky Spires
> x spires.(holes here too)
> take all from pipe.
> put emerald in holes. put pipe in holes.
> ne.
Bottom of Cliff
> enter portal.
>> SPACE
FLASHBACK: In Bombay, Dahlia is smoking a clove cigarette. She says you look silly when you smoke.
>> SPACE
Temple of the Juggernaut (first century C.E.)
> d.
Mezzanine
The temple guard searches you, finds nothing suspicious, and lets you go.
> d. s. s. sw.
Rocky Path
> look in holes.(The emerald and pipe are still there.)
> take emerald. put emerald in robes.
> take pipe.(Don't bother trying to conceal the pipe any more.)
> ne. se. d. d.
Landing
> give emerald to Fremd.
> d.
Preparation Chamber
Without the emerald, you can get past this shrine guard also. He sees the weird metal pipe, but just doesn't care.
> w.
Shrine (1st Century CE)
> enter portal.
>> SPACE
FLASHBACK: Heading for Karak in a lorry and away from Dahlia.
>> SPACE
Shrine (October 1943)
Note that the portal is now gone, and even if you smoke the pipe here again, the portal is not remade.
Also, from this point on, every so often, you hear faint footsteps nearby or feel that someone is watching you. That's the sound of Dahlia following you secretly.
> take sack.
> wear uniform.
> e. u.
Tight Passage
> reach skeleton.(You re-acquire the emerald once more.)
> ne. w. w. nw. w. w. n. n.
Chasm Floor
CAUTION: The pistol is too noisy.
> hit Triefen with flashlight.
> tie Triefen with rope.
> u. u.
Temple of the Juggernaut
Lockig gets the drop on you, grabs the emerald, and is about to shoot you.
>> SPACE
INTROSPECTION: You were stupid to leave Dahlia.
>> SPACE
Then Dahlia shows up from nowhere, kicks Lockig unconscious, and now she has the emerald.
> kiss Dahlia —or— stare at feet.(These are your only choices at this time, and it's a magician's choice. It doesn't matter to the plot which you do.)
*** Dahlia has saved the world ***
The game appears over, but there's still a bit more to do:
> start
Inside the Juggernaut (as Dahlia)
Since we're a new character and not actually under any time pressure, feel free to take time to look around.
> x Bones. x me. i.(just the emerald)
> put emerald in depression.(The Juggernaut is now powered up.)
> push lever.(You've taken the car out of park, more or less.)
> x eyes.
> x dial.(It can be turned to one of four positions: forward, left, back, or right.)
Turn the dial in the relative direction you want it to go, then push the emerald. If the direction is forward, the Juggernaut tries to step forward. If the direction is left or right, the Juggernaut turns in that direction. If the direction is back, the Juggernaut turns around in a half circle to face the opposite direction.
You just need to get this thing outside the temple. Do not worry if you're a bad driver. You cannot damage either the temple or the Juggernaut by going the wrong way or into a wall.
> turn dial right. push emerald.(It turns right, towards the temple doors.)
> turn dial forward. push emerald.(It strides out through the doors, and the Nazis flee.)
*** You have won... again! ***
Extras
Characters
Zaid is your contact in the field. He comes and goes like the night.
Your current pilot is a good one, but you don't remember his name.
An SS guard, who you later learn is Scharführer (Staff Sergeant) Kleinerstock, is sitting by the fire outside the Nazi camp.
Untersturmführer (Second Lieutenant) Fremd is an occultist who studied the local herbs, traveled back in time first, and then got captured and imprisoned by the xenophobic Nabataeans of the first century CE. He is fated to die when his alcove collapses during an earthquake.
Oberscharführer (Technical Sergeant) Triefen can be identified by his scar. He might impede you in the temple.
Standartenführer (Colonel) Lockig can be identified by his monocle. He also might impede you in the temple.
A trail guard, a tall, gaunt Nabataean wearing red and blue robes on the faint trail, yells for help if he sees you wearing or carrying anything strange or foreign.
A temple guard mans the mezzanine halfway up the stairway beside the Juggernaut. Don't let him find you carrying the emerald!
A phalanx of Nabataean warriors may assault and kill you if either the trail guard or the temple guard calls for their aid.
A shrine guard, a giant Nabataean wearing red and white robes, is found in the preparation chamber after you steal the emerald. If you go near him with the emerald anywhere in your inventory, he takes it from you and forces you into the shrine to rot.
Dahlia is a woman with impressive hand-to-hand combat skills. Was it a mistake to leave her behind on this mission?
Found dead:
A skeleton, half-buried in rubble, is adjacent to the tight passage. This is all that remains of Fremd, plus whatever he was carrying, of course.
A corpse, wearing blue robes, lies on the table in the preparation chamber.
Mentioned only:
Abdullah, your former pilot, was seen sitting with an undercover SS agent.
Artemis H. Wainwright, Dean of the School of Archaeology, Woodlawn University, grudgingly granted you a sabbatical for this mission.
Your flashback memories include guards, an assassin, a driver, and a man who signals you.
Credits
This is the response to CREDITS:
Galilee Bones and the Juggernaut of Jordan is a work of interactive fiction created with Inform 7. It was written by Phil Riley.
Many thanks to the following people for their help and support: Playtesters: Mike Russo, Drew Cook, Tabitha, outboard and Climbingstars;
German experts: StJohnLimbo and IkeC;
My wife, Laura, for invaluable feedback and advice;
Third-party extensions used in this game: Standard Rules version 3/120430 by Graham Nelson
Exit Lister version 11 by Eric Eve
Conversation Framework version 12 by Eric Eve
Epistemology version 9 by Eric Eve
Conversational Defaults version 3 by Eric Eve
Footnotes version 2 by Stephen Granade
Undo Output Control version 5/170902 by Nathanael Nerode (based on the extension by Erik Temple; integrates Empty Command Handling by Daniel Stelzer based on code by Matt Weiner)
Endings
You have failed your mission
if you never jump from the plane at all before it heads back to the airfield in Karak.
You have died
if you jump from the plane when not wearing the parachute.
if you jump from the plane into darkness.
if you jump from the plane when the larger blaze of light is nearly beneath you.
if you blithely walk into the camp while the SS guard is there.
if the SS guard catches up to you after you throw the rock at him.
if you fall down the escarpment in the dark.
if you re-enter the chasm floor soon after Zaid unties you.
if the trail guard sees you as a stranger, and you fail to retreat after he yells for help.
if the temple guard sees you openly carrying the emerald.
if the temple guard finds the emerald when searching you.
if you walk onto the chasm floor with the emerald but without the SS uniform on and then fail to exit before Triefen shoots you.
if you shoot Triefen: Lockig runs in and shoots you.
if you try to search Triefen after knocking him down but before tying him up, he shoots you.
if you try to go up past Triefen without tying him up first.
You have changed the past.
if the shrine guard takes the emerald and you return to a very different 1943 containing a modern Nabataean city with Juggernauts walking everywhere.
Dahlia has saved the world
when you reach the Temple of the Juggernaut with the emerald in 1943 and Dahlia roundhouse kicks Lockig's face in.
You have won... again!
when you drive the Juggernaut out through the temple doors.
Inventory
Documents
a note. Zaid gives it to you when you land at the drop site.
Read the note. It contains your mission, but so vaguely, it's almost useless.
In the shrine, translate the betyl with the dictionary to get a rough idea of what it says. Feel free to translate individual words for greater clarity.
Likewise, translate the Herbology with the dictionary.
NOTE: When you travel into the past for the first time, you automagically gain the ability to understand Nabataean speech and text. You no longer need the dictionary after that.
Look up chamomile in herbology; it's the Flower of Sleep.
Look up za'atar in herbology; it's the Plant of Stone.
Look up wormwood in herbology; it's the Herb of Wind.
Translate the Herbology with the dictionary. The rough translation is "wind * * herb * with fire * seed * * stone * * plant * * burn * * leave alone sleep * * flower *". This is better translated as "The Herb of Wind with the Seed of Fire and the Plant of Stone, do burn, but leave alone the Flower of Sleep" or even more succinctly as: "Burn wormwood, rue, and za'atar together without chamomile."
a diary. Acquire it by examining a tent in the Nazi encampment.
Read it. You learn that the Nazis found the Juggernaut, that the Juggernaut requires an emerald, that the emerald is all but dust, that Fremd studied both the occult and the local plants, that Fremd disappeared in a cloud of smoke, and that the emerald disappeared as well.
Herbs
Look up each herb in the Herbology to learn how the Nabataeans name them. This helps you understand what the Nabataean message written at the front of the Herbology is telling you: to burn the wormwood, rue, and za'atar together without the chamomile. See pipe for more details.
You don't need the chamomile for anything, but feel free to keep it. Maybe after this mission is over, you can use it for tea.
wild rue. It grows at Desert Path; examine the plants there.
desert chamomile. It grows at Outside Camp.
za'atar. It grows at Promontory Point.
white wormwood. It grows at Before the Stone City.
Other items
a parachute. You're wearing it.
Keep it on while on the plane. If you jump from the plane without the parachute on, you die.
At the drop site, you automatically discard the parachute. Leave it discarded.
Use the sack as your general carry-all except when visiting in the past. Leave the sack in the present day shrine; otherwise, it marks you as a foreigner to the xenophobic Nabataeans.
an oil torch. Zaid gives it to you when you land at the drop site.
When the SS guard is chasing you and you're at the top of the escarpment and you can see him just to the west, put out the torch. In the dark, the SS guard falls to his death. Re-light the torch with the tinder box.
Keep the torch with you for the rest of the game for light. The Nabataeans have no objection to it.
a tinder box. Zaid gives it to you when you land at the drop site.
You use the tinderbox automatically when re-lighting the torch.
a broken flashlight. It's in your knapsack.
The torch is your light-source in this game, but the flashlight is still useful as a club. When you enter the chasm floor with the emerald in your possession, hit Triefen with the flashlight.
a rock. There's a pile of rocks at the fork in the path; you can take one.
At "Outside Camp", throw the rock at the SS guard to get him to start chasing you.
After the SS guard is dead, you can go back to the pile and take another rock, but you don't need a second one.
a pipe. Acquire it by touching the skeleton in the tight passage.
Put the rue, za'atar, and wormwood — but not the chamomile! — into the pipe. Then, in the shrine, smoke the pipe to open a portal and travel into the past. This is clued by what's written in the Herbology and on the shrine's betyl.
Don't worry about what you're lighting the pipe with. Just use "smoke pipe".
Put the pipe in the robes to hide it from the Nabataeans.
In the Temple of the Juggernaut, there's a second betyl. Again, smoke the pipe there to open a second portal and travel even further into the past.
With both portals open, you can safely discard the pipe and hide the emerald in the robes instead.
a pistol. The SS guard is carrying it. Take it from his dead body.
Avoid ever using the pistol. The noise it makes summons unwanted attention.
a SS Uniform. The SS guard is wearing it. Take it from his dead body.
Wear it before entering areas where the Nazis are.
Remove it and drop it before time traveling into the past. Fremd's uniform doomed him; don't let this uniform doom you too.
a rope. After your encounter with the two SS officers on the Chasm Floor, you're tied up and dragged back to the Nazi encampment, but soon, Zaid unties you, leaving the rope. Take the rope.
After you acquire the emerald, return to the Chasm Floor, hit Triefen with the flashlight, then tie Triefen with the rope. Yay, rope!
some blue robes. A corpse in the Preparation Chamber is wearing it, but you need the robes more than it does. Take them.
Note that the robes have a small pocket. It can only contain one item at a time.
Wear the robes to blend in with the Nabataeans. Foreigners are treated harshly.
Put the pipe into the robes; the pipe is foreign to the Nabataeans, so it must be hidden.
After getting the emerald past the temple guard by using time portals, put the emerald into the robes to hide it from the trail guard and shrine guard.
Once back in the present day with the emerald, wear the uniform again; you remove the robes automatically.
an emerald. It's in the depression inside the Juggernaut in the 1st Century CE.
After taking the emerald, go no further than the Temple of the Juggernaut where the second betyl is and smoke the pipe to open a second portal and travel even further into the past.
At the Rocky Spire (of the 15th Century BCE), put the emerald into the holes. Discard the pipe.
Return to the 1st Century CE, go down past the temple guard to Rocky Path and re-take the emerald from the holes.
Put the emerald in the robes to hide it from the trail guard.
At landing, give the emerald to Fremd.
Back in 1943, in the Tight Passage, reach the skeleton to re-take the emerald once more.
In the Temple of the Juggernaut, Dahlia gains possession of the emerald and becomes the player character.
Inside the Juggernaut, put the emerald into the depression; the Juggernaut now has power.
Turn the dial to the right then push the emerald; the Juggernaut turns towards the temple doors.
Turn the dial to forward then push the emerald; the Juggernaut stomps outside the temple.
the support of Robin Johnson, Ville Lavonius, Andrew Schultz, Kenneth Hon, Carl Muckenhoupt, Mark Musante, Phil Tatro, Allyson Gray, Daniel Stelzer, and Tabitha;
the generous support of Janice M Eisen, Matthew Foxley, Thomas Insel, Brian Long, Andy Volk, and Håvar Hojem;
