In this short fantasy, you play as a diplomat visiting the Crystal Valleys, the first of your people to do so. After days of meetings, you're finally free to explore with both Learis, a guardian of the city, and a very illegal loadstone you acquired. You must get rid of the stone as soon as possible, but it's cursed: you can't drop it or put it anywhere or even talk about it.
This solution is by David Welbourn, and is based on Release 1 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.
CAUTION: Sometimes you can go west from Tower to Field and vice-versa; this is a bug.
Walkthroughs
There are three ways to win, and they're distinct enough to get separate walkthroughs.
The "Theft" Walkthrough
Marketplace
> help.
> x me. i.
> x robe. x stone. x wallet. x money.
> x Learis. x cloak. x sigil.
> ask Learis about stone.(guardians are immune to the curse)
> x merchant. x gloves.
> ask merchant about gloves.(a gift)
> ask her about stone.(She tells you it's illegal for a civilian to possess a crystal.)
> x rack. x necklace. x hat.
> x pouch.(has oddly long drawstrings)
> w.
Market Square
It's very crowded here. You need someone more assertive with you.
> e. s.
Your room
> x desk. x flyer. read it.
So, to get the stone stolen from you, you need to wear expensive items, have a foreign companion, and go into secluded or crowded areas. Got it.
> n.
Marketplace
> buy hat —or— buy necklace.
> wear hat —or— wear necklace.
> buy pouch.
> put stone in pouch.(can't: The curse requires you to touch the stone.)
> tie pouch to stone.(That works.)
> n.
Tower
> x tourist. x jumpsuit. greet her.
> ask her about herself.(She's Dawn from Tallal. She doesn't like wandering alone. Just say the word.)
> ask her about word.(er, not quite)
> ask her about hanging out.(You're both now at...)
Market Square
> x stall.
Someone steals your pouch, and the stone is pulled out of your hand and falls to the ground.
*** You have won ***
> restart
The "Falling" Walkthrough
Marketplace
> x cart. x cylinder. x cases. x vendor.
> ask Learis about cylinder.
> ask vendor about flare.
> buy flare.(It's yours.)
> buy crepe. x crepe. eat it.
> s.
Your room
> x bed. x blanket.(hmm, it's elastic.)
> take blanket.
> n. n.
Tower
> x mural. x crystal. x guardian.
> x west. x east.
> e. e.(hmmm.)
> s. ne.
Field
> x posts. x vines. x flowers.
> tie blanket to posts.(done)
> sw. n.
Tower
> e.(Learis stops you, and you can't explain yourself.)
> throw flare at west view.(Learis leaves.)
> e.
You fall onto the trampoline. You get up and see the stone on the grass.
*** You have won ***
> restart
The "Drugs" Walkthrough
Marketplace
> x merchant. x counter. x flask. x box.
> ask merchant about flask.(It's self-brewed safta.)
> buy safta.(It's yours.)
> n.
Tower
> x tourist. x bag.
> greet tourist. ask her about bag.
> ask her about safta.(Concentrated safta causes arm spasms, eh?)
> s. ne.
Field
> x table. x pot. take it.
> ask Learis about pot.
> sw. s.
Your room
> x stove. pour safta into pot.
> put pot on stove. z. z. z.
The safta is now rotten and concentrated and back in the flask.
> x safta.
> drink safta.(It makes your arms twitch, but it's not enough on its own to make you drop the stone.)
> n.
Marketplace
> x merchant. x cup.(That's new.)
> buy coffee.
> drink coffee.(You now have caffeine tremors.)
> drink safta.
You accidentally fling the loadstone, but Learis catches it. Uh-oh.
*** You have won(?) ***
Of course, you can avoid the problem with Learis by buying the flare, going to the tower, drinking the coffee there, then throwing the flare at the west view just before drinking the safta. But I wanted you to see this variant ending instead.
Extras
Characters
You are a diplomat visiting the Crystal Valleys. You need to get rid of a cursed loadstone.
Learis, a guardian of the city, accompanies you. He's not human. His dark skin is crystalline, his hair is like copper wire, his movements are too smooth, and his limbs bend in impossible ways.
Dawn is a tourist from Tallal. She's in the tower, has a loud voice, and she doesn't like wandering alone.
The merchant in the marketplace sold you the loadstone. She has embroidered clothing for sale and sips from a flask of safta that she brewed herself.
The vendor in the marketplace is bored. He's selling fresh crepes.
Shoppers and customers form a huge crowd in the market square, so much so, you can't even see what's for sale there unless you bring Dawn with you.
A guardian is depicted on the tower mural.
A thief in the market square may steal your pouch.
Inventory
Base items
your ruffled robe. You're wearing it.
Ignore your robe. You won't remove it.
a loadstone. You're carrying it.
The goal of the game is to get rid of it, but it won't let you deliberately drop it or put it onto or into anything.
You're also not supposed to have it, so you won't show it to Learis.
There are three ways to lose the stone: by theft, by falling, or by drugs.
a wallet containing some money. You're carrying it.
You need not do anything explicitly with either the wallet or the money. Just keep them so you can buy whatever you need.
Items used in the "theft" solution
a flyer. It's on the desk in your room.
Read it. It tells you how to be not targeted by thieves, but since you want to lose the loadstone, you should do the opposite of what the flyer advises you to do.
a pouch. It's on the merchant's rack. Buy it.
Note that the pouch has long drawstrings. Tie the pouch to the loadstone.
a hat and a necklace. They're on the merchant's rack. Buy either or both.
Wear the hat or the necklace or both.
After the you have the hat or necklace on and the pouch tied to the loadstone, go to the tower and ask Dawn about hanging out. You both immediately go to the crowded market square. Do whatever you like as long as you stay there with her. Soon, someone will grab the pouch and pull the loadstone out of your grasp and onto the ground.
Items used in the "falling" solution
a blanket. It's on the bed in your room.
Note that the blanket is elastic in nature.
In the field, attach the blanket to the posts to make a makeshift trampoline. Now you have something to fall onto.
a flare. It's the cylinder hanging from the cart. Ask the vendor about the cylinder then buy a flare.
In the tower, throw the flare at the west view. Learis jumps over the west balustrade to investigate. With him gone, you can now go east and fall onto the trampoline and lose the loadstone from the impact.
Items used in the "drugs" solution
a pot. It's on the picnic table in the field.
Pour the safta into the pot, put the pot onto your stove in your room, then wait (about three turns) until most of the liquid is gone. You automatically pour the rotten safta back into the flask.
a flask containing some safta. The merchant in the marketplace has it. Buy it from her. She lets you take it for free.
Boil the safta into a rotten sludge (see pot). It's still called safta.
a coffee. The merchant in the marketplace gets some coffee after you've taken her safta. Buy the coffee from her.
Drinking the coffee gives you caffeine jitters.
Drink some coffee, then drink rotten safta. The combination of caffeine jitters and safta spasms is enough to make you fling the loadstone out of your grasp. Unfortunately, if Learis is nearby, he catches it. You are no longer cursed, but now you have a new problem.
Go to the tower. Drink the coffee there. Throw the flare at the east view to get rid of Learis. Then drink the rotten safta to get rid of the stone.
Other items
a crepe. You can buy one from the vendor in the marketplace.
Eat it. It's good.
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