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Key & Compass presents:
Jewel of Knowledge
by Francesco Bova

Jewel of Knowledge is a Z-machine version 5 interactive fiction game written with Inform 6 and is © 1999 by Francesco Bova.

You're a spelunker on a dangerous expedition to find the fabled Jewel of Knowledge. The Druids of Amylya told you that whoever possesses the jewel can know any fact, can solve any problem. But Ariana has already died, and Jacob soon follows her. And now it's just you alone, deep underground, searching for the lairs of three ancient dragons, and hoping you can prevail where so many others have fallen.

This solution is by David Welbourn, and is based on Release 2 of the game.


Maps

Map 1: Sixth Layer

ne. s. w. n. e. → ← w. w. GypsumFlowerGardens (up, ondragon) u u u climb porous u d smell smoke Top ofthe Shaft On theLedge LavaRiverBed MiddleShaft FifthLayerDropoff InsideLavaRiver ShaftBase TightFit FieryInferno Quarry GaseousGeyser NarrowPassage Mineral-izedCorridor MoltenLand-scape FungusForest MoltenLand-scape CleaningCloset Moss-FilledCave LavaTubes EbonyExpanse ObsidianDoor BlackDragon'sLair BlackDragon'sAnte-chamber FrozenFoyer CarvedSteps East-WestCorridor CoolCavern RockyPlateau At theTop ofthe Ramp CoolCrawlSpace LonelyBurialGround UnimpressiveGrotto The WhiteDragon'sLair AmylyanDruids'Temple White Dragon'sAntechamber (x3) Well-LitPassage d d d d d u enter mist

Map 2: Secret Route to the Jewel

Black Dragon'sAntechamber u d (x3) (x3) (up, ondragon) JewelRoom Hall oftheAncients Hall oftheAncients Hall oftheAncients PebbleBeach Under-groundRiver In theRiver SteepCliffFace Well-LitPassage Sinkhole(die) RedDragon'sPlateau On theDivide RedDragon'sLair RedDragonGate Adam & Eve Pandora Icarus

Walkthrough

Fifth Layer of the Earth's Crust

Note that you're not allowed to open the rucksack at the very beginning. Also, you cannot skip your conversation with Jacob. Getting the backstory from him is the trigger for the accident to come.

> x me. i. x Jacob.

> x rucksack. x firebug. x sword.

> ask Jacob about jewel. ask Jacob about dragon.

> ask Jacob about Ariana. ask Jacob about druids.

> ask Jacob about Amylya.

You never get the chance to ask, as the ground beneath you breaks open. You fall and black out.

When you wake up, you find your rucksack and firebug gone and Jacob is dead.

Rocky Plateau, Sixth Layer

A caution about exploring the lava tube to the north: don't bother. It only leads to lava and death.

> x body. take sack. open it. x salt. close sack.

> x rocks. x hole.

> verbose. w. nw.

Mineralized Corridor

> x minerals. x onyx. take it. (Can't.)

> x garnet. take it. (Can't.)

> x quartz. take it. pull it. (+2)

> x line. (This is a new exit up from this location.)

> x opal. take it. (Can't.)

> u.

Tight Fit

> u. (Not with your stuff.)

> d. drop all. u. u. (+2)

Fifth Layer Dropoff

> x gaping hole. x outcrops. x insect.

> take firebug. (Can't quite reach it.)

Be careful. If you throw the book the bug itself, then it'll be killed. And if you just throw the book into the hole, you won't have any way to get the bug.

> x book. throw book at outcrop. (+3; both book and bug fall)

> d. d.

Mineralized Corridor

> take all. se. e.

Rocky Plateau, Sixth Layer

> take bug. take book.

There's only enough salt for one visit to the Druids.

> open sack. rub bug. light salt with bug. smell smoke. (+2)

The Amylyan Druids' Temple

> x Allarah.

> tell Allarah about Jacobortell Allarah about Ariana.

> ask Allarah about jewel.

> ask Allarah about Helspeth.

> ask Allarah about white dragon.

> ask Allarah about black dragon. (+3. You get a key.)

> enter mist. (+2. You return to where you were.)

Rocky Plateau, Sixth Layer

> w. w. w.

Carved Steps

> x steps. x stalactites. n.

Moss-Filled Cave

> smell. x dirt. x moss. dig dirt. (Can't.)

> take moss. clean dirt with moss. (+2. Trapdoor found.)

> open trapdoor. d.

Cleaning Closet

> x lye. take it. u. s. s.

Lonely Burial Ground

> x skeleton. search skeleton. move skeleton. (Can't.)

> pour lye on moss. clean skeleton with moss. (+3. Skeleton collapses.)

> x bladder. take it. read label.

> take crampons. x them. x skeleton.

> n. e. e. nw. w. w.

Gaseous Geyser

Water momentarily gushes up from the hole into the shaft and back down!

> x hole. x shaft. x vapor.

> wear crampons.

We really don't want to be hit by the geyser's blast of water, so timing is important. Only climb immediately after the geyser blasts. It happens on the fourth turn after you enter here.

> climb porous. (+2)

Shaft Base

> u. u. e.

On the Ledge

> x Ariana. (boots. sash. crossbow.)

> x boots. x bulge. look in boot. take lockpick. (+2)

> x sash. x crossbow. take bow. x arrow.

Oddly, you don't need to wait for a second geyser once the first is past.

> w. d. d. d.

Gaseous Geyser

Again, the geyser will erupt four turns after you enter here.

> x porous. search porous. (See remnants of fire pit.)

> break porous. (Need something more powerful.)

> put bladder in hole. (+3. Porous wall is gone.)

If you mistimed this, leave the room, return, and wait four turns. By the way, now that the porous wall is gone, you can no longer climb up the shaft.

> look. take bladder. w.

Quarry

> x firepitsorx refuse.

> take pickaxe. x it.

> e. e. e. se. w. w. n. n.

Fungus Forest

> x fungi. x mushroom. (Looks like an archery target.)

Learn to use your crossbow.

> shoot mushroom with bow. take arrow. put arrow in bow.

> shoot mushroom with bow. put arrow in bow.

> shoot mushroom with bow. (+3) put arrow in bow.

> s. s. w.

Frozen Foyer

> x glacier.

> break ice with pickaxe. g. g. g. g. (+3. You've opened a passage.)

> s. se.

The White Dragon's Lair

> x dragon. x claws. open claws.

> take coat. (+2) wear coat.

> x coat. (It can absorb something and take its properties.)

> x fangs. open mouth. (The dragon isn't breathing. It's dead.)

> x eyes. open eyes. x tail.

> s.

White Dragon's Antechamber

> x treasure. search treasure. (Find nothing useful.)

> n. nw. n. e. e. e. e. ne.

Ebony Expanse

> x outcroppings. x breeze. e.

Gypsum Flower Gardens (several locations)

CAUTION: Anything dropped here is lost forever.

> x flower. break flower. (powder blows northeast)

> ne.

> break flower. (game won't let you do it again)

I've forgotten how I got through this maze originally. Trial and error? But another walkthrough says you should disturb the flowers in different ways each time. So, do that.

> push flower. s.

> pull flower. w.

> smell flower. n.

> squeeze flower. e. (+2)

Obsidian Door

> x door.

> unlock door with key. (A second keyhole is revealed.)

> unlock door with lockpick. (+3. The door is open.)

> e.

Black Dragon's Lair

The door slams shut as you enter. You have 13 free turns available for chatting, examining, or other actions. I choose to chat. But be careful! He'll blast you with acid on the 14th turn.

> ask dragon about black dragon. ask dragon about white dragon.

> ask dragon about Amylya. ask dragon about trinket.

> ask dragon about Raif. ask dragon about red dragon.

> ask dragon about treasure. ask dragon about cousin.

> ask dragon about goblinorask dragon about orcs.

> ask dragon for ring. ask dragon about ramp. ask dragon about plague.

> ask dragon about door.

That's enough chatting. He's about to kill you now.

> put lye in coat. (+5. The coat, now a base, counteracts the acid blast.)

> kill dragon with sword. (+2. One claw severed, but sword is gone.)

> se. (+2)

At the Top of the Ramp

> push boulder. (+3)

> nw.

Black Dragon's Lair

CAUTION: If you shoot the dragon with the crossbow, he dies, his body turns into gas, and the arrow is gone. Please don't do that. You need him alive and you need the arrow for later.

> ask dragon for ring. (+2)

> ask dragon about door. (He opens it.)

> x ring. wear ring.

> ask dragon about red dragon. (+5. He offers a secret way to her lair.)

> sit on head. (He walks east.)

Black Dragon's Antechamber

While on the dragon's head, you get three turns here.

> x paper. (The map of Paris is a reference to Curses by Graham Nelson.)

> x cube. (The cube is a reference to Spellbreaker by Infocom.)

> x statue. (The statue is a "red herring".)

If you didn't attack the dragon before, he kills you now. Otherwise, he flies up through the ceiling.

Well-Lit Passage

> x mosses. z. (The dragon heads west.)

Steep Cliff Face

> x cliff. z. (The dragon flies down.)

Red Dragon Gate

> x gate. (Dragon touches the insignia.)

> z. (He says some words and the gate opens.)

> z. (+2. He walks west.)

Red Dragon's Lair

Rasha drops you off his head and is now about to kill you.

> w.

On The Divide

Make your stand here and let the dragons wear themselves out using their breath attacks. The black dragon's acid won't kill you while you're wearing the coat of lye, but it will make the water rise. The red dragon's flames won't kill you while you're wearing the ring of heat protection, but you will lose some of your stuff, and it manages to rip the lye out of the coat!

> z. z. z. (Black Dragon begins his attack.)

> z. z. z. (Black Dragon exhausted. Red Dragon begins her attack.)

> z. z. (+10. Red dragon collapses, and flooding begins to the east.)

> i. (You've lost the firebug, moss, lye, lockpick, and pickaxe.)

> w.

Red Dragon's Plateau

> shoot chandelier with bow. (+3)

> look. (Otherwise you won't notice the embers.)

> take ember. put ember in coat. n.

In the River

> z. z. z. (+2)

Underground River

The ring is preventing the coat from warming you!

> z. z. remove ring. (+5)

After a rough ride, you arrive at a beach. The bladder is lost.

Pebble Beach

> x pebbles. x river. x light.

> n.

Hall of the Ancients (3 rooms)

> x tiles. x columns. x lattices.

> x murals. (One of Icarus.) n.

> x murals. (One of Pandora.) n.

> x murals. (One of Adam and Eve.) n.

Jewel Room

CAUTION: Don't take the jewel!

> x mirror. (You see your parents looking disturbed.)

> x pedestal. x jewel.

> touch mirror. (+10)

You return home without the jewel. You lie to the Druids, saying there is no Jewel to be found. You then live a good life in peace.

*** You have won ***


Extras

Characters

Mentioned:


Credits

The in-game credits text:

Author: Francesco Bova

Text Editor: Dave Gatewood

Beta Testers: Chad Schultz, Dave Gatewood, Eric B. Mitchell, Geoff Wallis, Henrik Jensen, Karvic, Leslie D. Wagner, Tom Lorimer, Vincent Lynch

Omega Testers: Chad Schultz, Al Golden, Daniel Giaimo

Map: Al Golden

Walkthrough: Chad Schultz


Endings

I note that the geyser doesn't harm you even if you're in the shaft when it erupts. You just get a little wet.


Inventory


Score

You have so far scored your-score out of a possible 90, in several turns, earning you the rank of ranking.

Rankings:


Thank You to my Patreon supporters

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