You are standing in front of Drochsolas Manse, preparing to explore it in an attempt to find the key to ending the Baron's curse upon the surrounding land. You have come bearing your sword and pistol as well as a prayer that any hazards you might encounter within the haunted mansion can be dealt with by such physical means.
This solution is by David Welbourn, and is based on Release 1.4 of the game.
Time starts at 9:30 PM. It seems like you can't waste too much time, but you actually have until 6:24 AM to do everything, so don't stress about the time. Still, I'll try to do things relatively quickly and not examine every bit of scenery like I normally do.
> i. x pistol.(Isn't loaded.)
> open pouch. load pistol.
> pry board with sabre.(+1)
> take key. unlock door with key.
> drop key. take board.
> w.
Yard Near Manse
I'd never have guessed to use the sabre to cut grass with. Like, just try to imagine using a sword that way.
> search grass.(It's too thick.)
> cut grass.(with the sabre)
> take iron key.
> e. e.
Path Near Fence
> x fence. x garden.
> put cloak on fence.(+1)
> n.
Garden Path
Ignore the flowers and rocks for now.
> open door.(It's blocked on the other side.)
> n.
Outside Crypt
> unlock door with iron key.(+1)
> drop key. in.
Inside Crypt
> x sarcophagus.(Has a groove)
> open it.(Lid is too heavy to move without help.)
> pry lid with sabre.(No, too heavy for the sabre)
> put board in groove.(It's wedged in.)
Now go get three heavy rocks from the garden, one at a time, and put them all on the board:
> s. s. take rock. n. n.
> put rock on board.
> s. s. take rock. n. n.
> put rock on board.
> s. s. take rock. n. n.
> put rock on board.(+2; the lid flips open!)
So what do we find in sarcophagus? The symbols on the ring are easy to overlook.
> look in sarcophagus. x body.
> x ring. take ring. x symbols.("GAISTIGH")
> wear ring.(+1)
The ring is a light source! And frankly, since it's far more reliable than the lantern which can both break or run out of oil, you're better off leaving the lantern behind rather than continue to carry it.
No, really. I mean it. Against all common sense, drop the lantern.
> drop lantern.
> s. s. s.
Path Near Fence
> take cloak. w. n.
Foyer
Inside the house, there's a wandering ghost, the Maiden, who can only be in a room with moonlight. While you wear the ring, you can talk to her, but in this walkthrough, we'll ignore her, since I can't guess which random room you might find her.
The Maiden will keep moving to random moonlit locations, but we want to reduce her options by blocking all sources of moonlight until she's forced into just one.
> x dust.(Searching the dust by hand is futile, though.)
> close front door.(To block the moonlight.)
> n.
Sitting Room
> x window.(There's a curtain rod, but you can't take it.)
> n.
Dining Room
> close curtains. e. u.
East-West Hallway
> close window. s.
The Baron's Study
The books have useful information; the desk is useless to you.
> x bookcase.(thick book and thin book)
> x thick book. x thin book.("Alcheme Arcani")
The thin book has a recipe in it:
> take thin book. read it. drop it.
The thick book tells you the current ruling Zodiac sign. Remember it! It's randomized!
> take thick book. read it. drop it.
A paper fell out of the thick book. It has a clue for the clock.
> read paper.
> x clock.(Has keyhole, minute hand, and hour hand)
> n. e. s. s.
North-South Hallway (South)
> close window. e.
Bedroom
> x vanity. open drawer. take bottle.
> w. n. n. w. d. e.
Kitchen
> take grinder. x it.
> open panel.(Shaft for dumbwaiter revealed.)
> lower dumbwaiter. x it.(Big hole in its bottom.)
> e.
Pantry
> take garlic. open grinder.
> put garlic in grinder. close grinder.
> turn crank. open grinder. put garlic in bottle.
> w. s. w.
Manservant's Room
> x trunk. open trunk.(The latch has rusted shut.)
> shoot latch.(+1)
> open trunk. take all from trunk.
> e.
Servant's Hall (North)
If you're still carrying the lamp here, drop it immediately. Otherwise, it will be smashed when you go east and you won't get the point for entering the storage room.
> e.(+1)
Small Storage Room
> x junk.(Only useful thing is a crowbar.)
> take crowbar.
> move pile.(The eastern door is now clear.)
> e.
Garden Path
> x flowers. take flower. put flower in grinder.
> close grinder. turn crank. open grinder.
> put powdered wildflower in bottle. drop grinder.
> n. w.
Near Pond
This is the only source of water in the game.
> pry gate with crowbar.(Might as well, while you're here.)
> x pond.(Full moon reflected in it.)
> put water in bottle.
> e. s. w.
Small Storage Room
> close east door.
> w. s. e.
Maid's Room
> open wardrobe. x duster. take it.
> move wardrobe. again.(Obtain diary and portrait.)
> x diary. x portrait.
> drop diary.
> w. n. n.
Kitchen
Why we want the crowbar on the dumbwaiter will be explained later.
> put tray in dumbwaiter.(+1; the hole is covered)
> put crowbar on tray.
> s. s. w. w.
Foyer
> dust dust.(with duster; painting found)
> drop duster.
> x painting. take painting.
> n. n. e. u. s.
The Baron's Study
Time to follow the clue from the paper:
> put moon key in keyhole.(It clicks in place.)
> set minute hand to 12. set hour hand to 12.
> turn moon key.(+1; new passage west)
> w.
Secret Room
> x notes.
> x staff.(Shaped to hold some small object.)
> x fitting.(Has open hollow cylinder in it.)
> x circle.(The twelve Zodiac symbols.)
> put portrait on RULING-SIGN.(You know the sign from the thick book.)
> drop painting.
> pull lever.(Trapdoor opens. Moonlight beam nearly hits the fitting.)
I assume your bottle has all the ingredients in it already:
> x burner.(Needs oil.)
> fill burner with oil.(using your flask)
> put bottle on burner.
> light burner.(using your tinderbox)
While the bottle heats up, we have a few more rooms to take care of.
> e. n. e. e.
East-West Hallway (East)
> close window.
> s.(Too narrow!)
> drop all but cloak and ring.
> s.
Bedroom
Prying a rug with a crowbar seems on par with cutting grass with a sabre. Who thinks to do these sorts of tasks with these tools?
> put cloak on window.
> open panel.(+1; dumbwaiter shaft)
> raise dumbwaiter. take crowbar.
> pry rug with crowbar.(+1)
> drop crowbar. put rug on tray.
> n.
East-West Hallway (East)
> take all. wear pouch.
> w. w. d. e.
Kitchen
> lower dumbwaiter. take rug.
> w. w. s.
Sitting Room
> put rug on rod.
Now that the secret room is the only room in the house with moonlight, the Maiden will have to be there.
> n. e. u. s. w.
Secret Room
Prepare the pistol with the pastille.
> take bottle. x powder. put powder in pistol.
Now do the ritual, trapping the Maiden with James in the ring. We've already placed their portrait. Turn the wheel as necessary to keep the connection between the ring the and Zodiac sign in focus. Say the magic word when the energy is at maximum saturation.
> put staff in fitting. put ring in staff.
> turn staff to RULING-SIGN.
> turn wheel.(Finally, the light hits the ring.)
> z. z. turn wheel. gaistigh.(+1)
> take portrait.
The Baron enters! Work quickly!
> shoot Baron.(+1)
> put painting on RULING-SIGN.
> turn wheel. z. gaistigh.(+2)
The source of the Baron's magical power, the spirit of James Malloy, has been released from his service and his remaining resources are limited in range to the confines of his prison. You have defeated him and lifted the curse of Drochsolas forever!
Extras
Characters
The Maiden is a ghost and is confined to rooms lit by moonlight during the full moon. She is the Baron's daughter, but we never learn her name. You can talk to her if you're wearing the ring. Her only desire is to be reunited with Jamie.
James Malloy, also called Jamie, is the Maiden's lost love. The Baron entrapped Jamie's soul inside the ring's crystal. During the midnight hour, if you're wearing the ring, you can talk to Jamie.
Baron Drochsolas was the owner of the manse. He quested for immortality and in one scheme, he killed Jamie then used black magic to entrap Jamie's spirit into a crystal, hoping to use Jamie's otherworldly energies to cheat death. The Baron still died but his spirit is currently trapped in a limbo state between life and full death. His undecaying body is in the crypt. If you manage to increase the ring's power, he will return to life.
Mentioned:
Trenton was the Baron's manservant. The Maiden (via her diary) calls him a violent brute.
Columbine was the Baron's maid. She aided the Maiden by hiding her diary and her last picture of Jamie.
Lady Deirdre Drochsolas was the Baron's wife.
Jamie's sister drew the portrait of the Maiden and Jamie.
Credits
From the response to INFO:
Maiden of the Moonlight
Release 1.4
Copyright (c) Feb 10 1997 by Brian P. Dean. All rights reserved.
A TADS Adventure - Developed with TADS, the Text Adventure Development System.
Hint system adapted from adHint by David Allen.
Hints and a map are available. Use the HINT and MAP commands to view them.
The author wishes to thank the following people:
Marg Little, for encouragement way beyond the call of duty;
Ellen Kavanaugh, for her loophole finding skills;
Carol Welcomb, for her endless enthusiasm;
And the entire staff of PGI for their friendship and support!
Endings
You have died
if you put the pastille on the lit burner (it explodes like gunpowder),
if you light the pastille with your tinderbox (it explodes like gunpowder),
if you fail to immediately shoot the Baron with your prepared pistol when he arrives (he grants you a quick death),
if you fail to entrap the Baron after shooting him (he grants you a quick death).
You head down the path and soon have left the Manse behind forever. Nothing, you vow, could make you return to such an evil place...
if you go south from the porch and answer yes, you really want to leave.
The night is over. Dawn is breaking over Drochsolas Manse. The Maiden will not be seen again until the next full moon, and so your quest has failed for tonight. Perhaps next time...
if you run out of time. Dawn is at 6:24 AM.
The source of the Baron's magical power, the spirit of James Malloy, has been released from his service and his remaining resources are limited in range to the confines of his prison. You have defeated him and lifted the curse of Drochsolas forever!
if you entrap the Baron in the ring and free James and the Maiden.
Note that there are carrying capacity and weight limits on your inventory, but if you've not trying to carry everything everywhere, this isn't that much of a problem. Just remember to drop things you don't need anymore.
Items you start with
a sabre. You're carrying it. It has two uses:
On the porch, pry the board with the sabre. There's a brass key hidden underneath.
In the yard near manse, cut the tall grass with the sabre. There's an iron key hidden in the grass.
a riding cloak. You're wearing it. It has two uses:
At either Yard Near Pond or Path Near Fence, put the cloak on the fence to cover the sharp points. Now you can climb the fence.
In the maiden's bedroom, put the cloak on the curtain rod to block the moonlight there.
an oil lamp. You're carrying it. If it has oil, you can light it with your tinderbox to give you light in dark areas. However, it's best to get the ring right away and use that as your light source and not use the lamp at all!
You should turn off the lamp when you don't need it to conserve fuel.
If the lamp runs out of oil, you can refill it from your flask.
CAUTION: If you take the lamp into the small storage room, the lamp will break and its usefulness is at an end.
a flintlock pistol. You're carrying it, and it's not loaded.
Load the pistol (using shot and gunpowder) then shoot the manservant's trunk with the pistol to "unlock" it.
Put the silvery-blue powder in the pistol. When the Baron appears in the secret room, shoot him with your prepared pistol immediately to temporarily disable him.
a pouch. You're wearing it. Open it; it contains your flask of oil, tinderbox, supply of shot, and powderhorn. You can fit some small items like keys in the pouch with those, but not much else.
a flask of oil. It's in your pouch. You can refill your lamp with this oil, but you must save some oil for making the pastille. In the secret room, put some oil in the burner.
a tinderbox. It's in your pouch. Light your lamp with this. Later, light the burner in the secret room with this.
If you really want to be a pyromaniac, you can at least try to light the gunpowder or the kitchen fireplace, but you'll just be disappointed.
a supply of shot and a powderhorn. They're in your pouch. Their only use is for loading the pistol in the normal way.
Items found outside the manse
a large brass key. It's in a hollow under the porch; pry the loose board with your sabre to reveal it. The key unlocks the front door.
a board. On the porch, pry the loose board with your sabre. In the crypt, put the board in the groove between the sarcophagus and its lid. Then fetch three rocks from the garden path and put them on the board to flip the heavy lid open.
a rusty iron key. Find it at Yard Near Manor by cutting the grass with the sabre. The iron key unlocks the crypt door.
a blue wildflower. Pick one from the garden path. Use the grinder to turn it into some powdered wildflower. Put the powdered wildflower into the perfume bottle.
a grey rock. An endless supply of rocks can be had from the garden path, but they're heavy and you can generally only carry one at a time, or two if you're carrying nothing else. After wedging the board under the crypt's sarcophagus's lid, put three rocks on the board to open the lid.
a ring. It's inside the sarcophagus in the crypt; the Baron's body is wearing the ring. Take it and wear it.
While you wear the ring, it acts as a light source and you don't need to worry about the lamp quite so much any more.
While you wear the ring, you can talk to the Maiden if she's in the room with you.
While you wear the ring, during the midnight hour (12:00 to 12:59), you can talk to Jamie whose spirit is trapped in the ring's crystal.
Don't forget to examine the symbols on the ring; the word GAISTIGH is the one you'll need for the trapping ritual.
Once you have everything else ready in the secret room, put the ring in the iron staff.
Use the trapping ritual with the portrait to entrap the Maiden into the crystal with Jamie.
Use the trapping ritual with the painting to entrap the Baron into the crystal, freeing both Jamie and the maiden.
a bottleful of water. Fill the perfume bottle with water from the pond as one step in making the pastille.
Items found on the ground floor
a spice grinder. It's on the kitchen counter, closed and empty. To use it, open it, put something inside, close the grinder, then turn the crank. The inserted item is now in powdered form.
a clove of garlic. It's on a shelf in the pantry. Use the grinder to turn it into some powdered garlic. Put the powdered garlic into the perfume bottle.
a serving tray. It's in the trunk in the manservant's room; use the pistol to open the trunk. In the kitchen, put the tray into the lowered dumbwaiter to repair it. Use the dumbwaiter to get the crowbar into the maiden's bedroom and to get her rug out.
a moon key. It's in the trunk in the manservant's room; use the pistol to open the trunk. Put the moon key into the clock in the Baron's study. Use the clue from the paper: set both hands to twelve, then turn the moon key to open the passage to the secret room.
a feather-duster. It's in the maid's wardrobe. In the foyer, dust the dust to reveal the frightening painting.
a diary. It's behind the maid's wardrobe; push the wardrobe twice to reveal it. Read the diary to learn the maiden's story.
a portrait of couple. It's behind the maid's wardrobe; push the wardrobe twice to reveal it. From reading the diary, you know that the couple shown is the maiden and Jamie. In the secret room, put the portrait on the appropriate Zodiac sign (see thick book).
a crowbar. It's in the pile of junk in the small storage room.
Use the dumbwaiter to get the crowbar into the maiden's bedroom; see serving tray on fixing the dumbwaiter.
In the maiden's bedroom, pry the rug with with crowbar.
Also, at Yard Near Pond or Near Pond, you can pry the gate with the crowbar to open the gate.
a frightening painting. Find it in the foyer by cleaning the dust with the feather duster there. Take the painting to the secret room. After you've used the trapping ritual to entrap the Maiden and shot the Baron with the pastille-filled pistol, put the painting on the appropriate Zodiac sign (see thick book) and do the trapping ritual again to entrap the Baron.
Items found upstairs
a thick book. It's on the bookcase in the Baron's study. Take it and read it to learn the current ruling Zodiac sign and to discover a small piece of paper.
a small piece of paper. Find it by taking the thick book in the Baron's study. Read it; it's your clue on how to use the clock there.
a thin book. It's on the bookcase in the Baron's study. Read it to learn how to make and use the pastille.
a perfume bottle. It's in the drawer in the lady's bedroom. Use it to prepare the pastille as described by the thin book.
a rug. It's nailed to the floor in the maiden's bedroom. Pry it up with the crowbar. Take the rug to the sitting room and put the rug on the curtain rod to block the moonlight there. Note: You'll need to use the dumbwaiter to get the crowbar in and the rug out; see serving tray.
an iron staff. It's in the secret room. Put the staff in the metal fitting there. When you're ready to start the trapping ritual, put the ring in the staff. Turn the staff to the appropriate Zodiac sign (see thick book). Turn the wheel to focus (or keep in focus) the moonlight on the Zodiac sign and whichever image (portrait or painting) you've placed there.
a stack of notes. They're on the table in the secret room. You don't need to pick them up. Just read them to learn more about the Baron's schemes, the ring, the trapping ritual, and James Malloy.
some silvery-blue powder. Also called a pastille. Make it by following the directions in the thin book:
When the Baron appears in the secret room, shoot him immediately with your prepared pistol. This will incapacitate him for a few turns, giving you a chance to entrap him into the ring.
Moonlight management
To force the Maiden into the secret room, you must block the moonlight in all the other rooms.
Downstairs:
Foyer: Close the front door.
Small Storage Room: Close the eastern door.
Maid's Room: Push the wardrobe twice. It now blocks the window.
Dining Room: Close the curtains.
Sitting Room: Put the rug from the Maiden's bedroom on the curtain rod.
Upstairs:
Attic: In the secret room, pull the lever so the trapdoor is open.
East-West Hallway: Close the window. It has shutters.
East-West Hallway (East): Close the window. It has shutters.
North-South Hallway (South): Close the window. It has shutters.
Bedroom (maiden's): Put your cloak on the curtain rod.
Score
After several turns, you have scored a total of your-score out of 16 points.