In this fantasy Zork-style game, you're an Ambassador touring the Northland Empire with the vapid and never-bored Lady Amilia. But you've been stuck in this cushioned basket on top of an elephant with her, surrounded by her honour guard for a fortnight. How to get away and see something interesting or important?
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.
Map 1: Procession, Customs House, and Upper Underground
Map 2: Inverted Cedar and Cave Floor
Map 3: Hunting Woods (endgame)
Note: The room below Woodland Cave is wherever you CAST CORPAX to make the tunnel connection. This walkthrough uses Wheel Room (West), but you could cast the spell elsewhere.
Walkthrough
Watling Street
> i. x fedora. x telescope.
> look at woods through telescope.
> x Amilia.(She has a guide book.)
After five turns, a silken boy gives each of you a glass of sherbet.
> x sherbet. taste it.
> x book.
> x elephant. x ears.(which?)x right ear.
> x trunk. x basket.
> x hat.(Amilia's hat)
> x wall.
> ask Amilia about estate. x guards.
At turn 17, the procession stops at...
Customs Post
> x flag.(of Northland Empire)
> z. z. z. z.
At turn 21, the procession resumes.
Watling Street
> z. z.
> x bridge.(at turn 24)
> look at bird through telescope.(It was a Bird of Paradise.)
> ask Amilia for book.(She hands it over.)
> look up bird of paradise in book.(Their mating call is a chirrup followed by a coo.)
> chirrup. coo.(+1. A bird of paradise starts pecking at the wax fruit on Amilia's hat!)
With Amilia distracted, you have more options.
> throw sherbet at elephant.(+1. He's awake now.)
> pull left ear.(+1. Chaos!)
The expedition stops for the night.
Customs House Bedroom
> i.(You're carrying nothing now.)
> x bed. look under bed.(Nice try.)
> x figurine. x painting.
> take guide. take figurine.(+1)
> e.(can't: guards are outside the door)
> enter bed. sleep.(A horn in middle of the night wakes you.)
> out. e.(+1. The guards are gone.)
Upstairs Landing
> open curtains. x glow.(too distant)
> d.
Kitchen
> x hamper. take it. open it.
> x apple. x cheese. x garlic.
> x ham. take it. put it in hamper.
> x hook. x stove. open it.(empty)
> x door. open it.(can't: locked)
> w.
Living Room
> x trunk. take it. open it.
> x credentials. x rope.
> x trophy case. open it.(+1. You get something.)
> i. x scarab.
> x rug. move it.(Nice try.)
> x lantern. take it.
> e. u.
Upstairs Landing
> look through telescope at glow.(You see a dark turret or chimney.)
> d.
Kitchen
> throw rope at hook.(+1)
> tie rope to stove.(+1)
> pull rope.(+1. A old chimney is revealed.)
> x chimney. put rope in chimney.
> climb rope —or— down.
Darkness / Cellars
> light lantern. s. nw.
Bubbling Pool
> x pool.
> x leaves. search leaves.(+2: platinum egg!)
> swim.(can't: pool isn't wide enough)
> drink water.(You feel light-headed.)
> z. z.(+1. You gain Power.)
> se.
Low Junction
On entry, you curse "jilnix", summoning a cloud of insects. By will, you abolish them.
> spells. s.
Passage Under the Wall
> x snake.(hungry)
You have a choice:
> give apple to snake.(It chokes and falls out of sight.)
> jilnix snake.(It retreats from the insects and is gone.)
> s.
Topmost Ledge
> look through telescope at cedar.(You see a crude house halfway down.)
> sw.
Low Crawl
> take stick. x it.(That's a boomerang, yes?)
> x boomerang.(Yes. Yes, it is.)
> w.
Shambles
> x chimney. u.(too tight)
> search garbage.(woodlice and ants stop you)
> jilnix garbage.(Your insects battle the woodlice and ants until they win.)
> search garbage.(+1. You find a parchment book.)
> x parchment book.(A note falls out. The book lists three spells.)
> x note.(Claims the book is defective.)
> e. s.
Half Cave
This is S from Low Crawl.
> x shard. take it.
> learn chiaro. chiaro shard.(The shard now glows.)
> turn off lantern.
> x window. look through window.(darkness)
> n. ne. n. n. n.(+1)
Cellars
> learn piroo. piroo rope. take rope.
> s. s. s.
Topmost Ledge
> jump(to tree).
Top Branches
> x bow. take bow and arrow.
> enter house.(There's no obvious way in.)
> learn piroo. piroo house.(It opens.)
> in.(+1)
Treehouse
> x cone. take it.(+1)
> take arrows.
> out. d.
Branches Near the Cave Floor
> x ladder. d.
Cave Floor
> x stream. sw.
Furrow and Workings
> x drum. take it. shake it.
I think this may be a sieve, but it's not called one.
> ne. e.
Enclosed Stream
You might find the ore after only two drum fillings.
> fill drum. g. g.(ore found!)
> take ore. x it.
> w. s.
Shattered Temple Rampart
> search scree.(no: not stable enough)
> take scroll.(no: you'll start an avalanche)
> tie rope to scroll. tie rope to me.
CAUTION: If you go north now, you'll die in the avalanche. And it's not obvious that you can go west from here!
> w.
Furrow and Workings
> take scroll. untie rope.
> read scroll.("azzev spell: view the past")
Note: You can't learn a spell unless it's in your spellbook.
> put scroll in spellbook.
> ne. s.
Shattered Temple Rampart
There's now a doorway south, above which is a skull-and-crossbones carving.
> x doorway.(You see a nasty paste.)
> learn azzev. cast azzev.(You have a vision of the scree slope being built by slaves and their overseer.)
> n. nw.
North Edge of Pool
> take arrow. x lily.
> cast jilnix on lily.(The lily eats all the insects.)
> se. u.
Branches Near the Cave Floor
Don't even think of casting piroo on this ladder!
> take ladder. u.
Top Branches
> put ladder on ledge.
> w.(You spot a small cavity in western cave face.)
> look at cavity through telescope.(Still can't see into it.)
> learn chiaro. chiaro arrow. shoot cavity.(+1; cavity now lit)
> u. sw. s.
Half Cave
> look in window.(You see a sequence of paintings where a shaman makes a life-restoring elixir by tearing a broad leaf and grinding it up with an arrow.)
> n. ne. e. se.
Long Curved Ledge
> tie rope to ring.
> d.(no, it's 20 feet short.)
> tie rope to me. jump.(Under the ledge, you find...)
Tiny Recess
> untie rope.(It now hangs, out of reach, to the south.)
> ne.
Dead End
> x ingot. take it.(+1)
> sw.
Tiny Recess
> throw boomerang. z. z.(You grab the rope and retie it to your waist.)
> take boomerang. u.
Long Curved Ledge
> untie rope. take rope.
> nw.
Dark Doorway
If you didn't kill the oil-snake, it now blocks your way north here.
> n.(snake blocks you)
> jilnix snake.(Doesn't work this time.)
> give apple to snake.(It dies. It's gone.)
> n.
Pale Corridor
> x man.(wants treasure)
> e.(Adventurer stops you.)
> give egg to man.(+1)
> give jade to man.(+1)
> give scarab to man.(+1)
> give cone to man.(+1)
> give ingot to man.(+2. The Adventurer and his loot vanish.)
> e.
Antechamber
> take coffer. open coffer.
> x old document.(re: Philosopher's Stone)
> x colour chart.(I believe this lists relationships between elements.)
> s.
Chamber of the Philosopher's Stone
> x stone.
> x spotless scroll.(ruther spell: transmute pure chemical elements)
> take it. put it in spellbook.
> learn azzev. cast azzev.(see silver turned into gold)
> learn ruther. ruther tin.(It's now lead ore.)
> x lead.
> learn ruther. ruther lead.(It's now a diamond.)
> x diamond.
> n. w. s. w. d.
Top Branches
> take ladder. d.
Branches Near the Cave Floor
> hang ladder(on the cave floor).
> d. s.
Shattered Temple Rampart
> learn ruther. ruther doorway.
> x doorway.(It now glows with phosphorescence.)
> s. u.
Egg Chamber
> x body.(It falls to dust!)
> take egg.(can't: too big)
> break egg.(pushing is suggested)
> push egg down.
Upward Burrow
> push egg north.
The egg cracks a little, and you're now glued to the egg. You and the egg roll into the pond, and a giant lily swallows you and the egg just as it splits open.
Lily Pod
> x creature.(It has a deadly sting.)
> x sting.(It drips poison.)
> squeeze sting.(+1; the poison begins to soak into the membrane)
> z. z.(The pod breaks free of its stalk.)
> z.(The pod drifts west.)
You don't want water to damage any of your stuff.
> put all in trunk. close trunk.
The pod bursts. Your trunk floats away. You wade to...
Stony Shallows
The lantern somehow escaped the trunk and is now providing light even when off. More magic?
> x meteor. x light.(same as you saw from the Customs House)
> e.
Clotspinner's Workshop
> x Clotspinner. wake him.(weak, close to death)
> look up Clotspinner in guide.
Make that elixir you saw in the cavity paintings.
> tear leaf.
> grind leaf with arrow.(now have a green paste)
> give paste to man.(+1)
Clotspinner was suiciding. You introduce yourself. He wants proof of your identity.
> show credentials to man.
> ask man about Amilia.
Alas, he's not cooperative yet for questioning and he wants political asylum from the Duchy. He also atarts making an additional demand every turn until you tell him yes.
> man, yes.
He says to get out of here, he needs a spell at 172.88 degrees.
> ask man about prism.(He smashed it to set Amilia back a week or two.)
> ask man about Amilia.(She seduced him here.)
> ask man about meteor.(elemental magnesium)
> ask man about anvil.
> take diamond. put diamond on anvil.
If you want to experiment with the scrolls, you should save first before using up any.
> save.
> turn mounting to 172.88
> put scroll on mounting.(+1. A spell appears on the scroll.)
> x scroll.("thrale spell: assist even old or wizened savant")
> take it. put it in spellbook. take spellbook.
> learn thrale. cast thrale on man.(+1. He teleports to the Duchy.)
The numbers on the note sum to 12748.
> turn mounting to 127.48
> put scroll on mounting.
> read it.("corpax spell: make small-bore tunnel through light stone")
> take it. put it in spellbook.
> take diamond. learn ploor. cast ploor.(+1)
You give the Archduke Elect your report. Agents will be waiting at Watling Street to whisk you away, but you must somehow foil this new magic, if possible, forever.
Wheel Cave (West)
> learn corpax. cast corpax.(Tunnel up.)
> learn ruther. cast ruther on meteor.(It's now chalk.)
> u.(+1)
Woodland Cave
> n.
Forest Glade
Amelia transmutes you into a wolfhound. She's surrounded by guards. And you're now carrying nothing.
> n.
Into the Woods
Every part of the woods looks the same as another.
> smell.(A brook near the wall is northeast.)
> ne.
Under the Culvert
> drink water.(You're a man again, but without magic.)
> n.
Watling Street, Again
The agents ignore you if you're a dog, but if you're a man, you greet the Captain and they smuggle you away from the Empire forever.
*** You have won ***
Extras
Characters
Lady Amilia is your unwanted guide to the Northlands Empire. At the start of the game, she's boring you to death. Later, you learn that she seduced Clotspinner and she's also a wizard.
A silken boy hands a glass of sherbet to both you and Amilia.
Soldiers guard you and Amilia during the procession. They are on duty outside your door in the customs house until the dead of night. And they guard Amilia in the forest.
An Adventurer guards the passage to the Philosopher's Stone. He wants treasure.
Clotspinner is a savant, a former member of the Imperial Academy, and renowned for his optical experiments. You find him near death in his workshop; an attempted suicide.
The Archduke Elect is the head of the Duchy's Diplomatic Service. He accepts your report and arranges for your escape from the Empire.
Agents of the Duchy, including their captain, wait for you on Watling Street, assuming that you contacted the Archduke Elect earlier.
Animals and animate plants:
Elephants plod slowly along Watling Street. You and Amilia ride in a basket on top of one of them.
A bird of paradise can be seen through the telescope after the elephant crosses a bridge
Woodlice and ants infest the garbage in the Shambles.
Flying insects are summoned whenever you cast jilnix.
An oil-snake blocks your path in a passage under the wall. It looks hungry.
A carnivorous water-lily graces the surface of an underground pool.
An embryonic hornet hatches from the egg but is trapped with you inside the lily pod.
Horses are with the agents of the Duchy.
Mentioned:
Empress Lavinia I rules the Northlands Empire. She's also only eleven years old.
The Master of the Adventurer compelled him with a geas to guard the way to the Philosopher's Stone.
Robert Frost is quoted when the game begins.
A shaman is seen in paintings.
Slaves, an overseer, an old man, and a wily gentleman can be seen in azzev visions.
Endings
These are the endings I found:
You have died
if you persist in eating the poisoned apple.
if you cast piroo on the scree at Shattered Temple Rampart. You're buried in the resulting avalache.
if you tie the rope both to the black scroll and yourself then go north from the scree. You're buried in the resulting avalache.
if you enter the temple unprotected. Arsenic vapour kills you immediately.
if you cast piroo on the lily membrane. When the pod bursts underwater, the water pressure smashes you dead.
if the lily pod crunches you up entirely.
if you don't run from Amilia after she turns you into a dog.
You have achieved a draw
if you escape but you either left the meteor unchanged or you didn't rescue Clotspinner or both.
You have won
if you rescued Clotspinner, changed the meteor into chalk, and escaped from the Northland Empire.
Also, there are several ways you can make the game unwinnable. For example:
If, in the cellars, you cast piroo on the rope before getting everything you need from the customs house.
If, in the tiny recess, you untie the rope from yourself and you have no way of getting the rope back.
If the lily pod opens while things you still need aren't all protected inside your trunk.
If you never cast ploor before you're turned into a dog, then the agents aren't waiting for you in Watling Street and there's nowhere to go to.
Inventory
There's no inventory limits. Take everything that's not locked down. If you need to, use containers to organize your stuff.
The endgame begins when you first enter the Forest Glade and Amelia transforms you into a dog. You drop all your inventory as a consequence, and you won't ever get any of it back.
In the lily pod, after squeezing the sting of the newborn creature to poison the pod's membrane, you must put all of your inventory into the trunk and close the trunk to protect it from water damage when the pod eventually bursts open. The trunk will float to the north edge of the pool; re-take it there.
a drum. It's at Furrow and Workings.
It's a sieve of sorts, used for panning for ore.
At the Enclosed Stream, fill the drum two or three times to find a lump of tin ore.
When you have two or more of these together, they're listed in your inventory as some provisions.
a glass of sherbet. A boy gives it to you five turns after the game begins.
Taste it, of course. It's tasty and Amilia's waiting for you to do so.
When Amilia is distracted by a Bird of Paradise attacking her hat, throw the sherbet at the elephant to wake it up fully, then pull one of its ears (left or right) to stop the procession.
At "Passage Under the Wall", give the apple to the snake. The snake chokes and falls away, clearing your way south to "Topmost Ledge".
While you can cast jilnix on the snake instead, this just delays the problem as the snake now blocks the way north from Dark Doorway. Jilnix won't fool the snake a second time, but give the apple to the snake and it will die and be gone.
The Guide For Travellers To The Lower Northlands and Surrounding Provinces. Lady Amilia has it.
Ask Amilia for the book. She'll gladly give it to you.
You can look up many topics in the book. Known topics include: Bird of Paradise, Clotspinner, Duchy, Hunting woods, Lady Amilia, and Watling Street.
The Bird of Paradise entry tells you that its mating call is a chirrup followed by a coo.
The book is on your bed in the Customs House when you first arrive there.
your formal credentials. They're in your Ambassador's trunk in the living room.
Show the credentials to Clotspinner when he says he wants to see proof of your identity. He will then make several requests of what he wants from the Duchy until you tell him YES. Only then will he be cooperative and answer your questions.
Experimental Spell Book #5. Acquire it in Shambles by first casting jilnix on the garbage, then searching the garbage.
It's best to refer to it as either the parchment book or spellbook (one word).
Read the spellbook. It lists three spells: chiaro, jilnix, and piroo.
When you find a new spell scroll, put the scroll into your spellbook. The scroll is now a new page in the book, and the spell on it can now be learned.
Note you must be holding the spellbook directly when trying to LEARN a spell.
the "destruction order". This note falls out of the spellbook when you first examine it.
Read it. It claims the parchment book is defective and must be securely buried.
I believe that the colours refer to different elements, and the arrows show which elements change into which other elements using the ruther spell.
a stock-keeper's note. It's in "Other Half Cave".
Read it; it has the sum "2585 + 10163" written on it. That sums to 12748.
After learning from Clotspinner that numbers are associated with spells, and that a typical spell number has two decimal places, you should be able to deduce that 127.48 could be the number for an important spell; see corpax scroll.
Scrolls
Put all scrolls except the unwritten ones into your spellbook. Each written scroll bears a spell.
a black, memorial scroll. It's near the top of a scree fall at Shattered Temple Rampart.
To obtain the black scroll: Tie the rope to the scroll, then tie the rope to yourself, then go west (not north!) from the rampart. You'll side-step the avalanche and can pick up the scroll at Furrow and Workings.
Read the scroll. It bears the azzev spell: view the past.
a spotless scroll. It's on the Philosopher's Stone in its chamber.
Read the scroll. It bears the ruther spell: transmute pure chemical elements.
a white scroll. It's in Wheel Cave (East).
Read the scroll. It bears the ploor spell: nation shall speak peace unto nation.
seven unwritten vellum scrolls. They're in Wheel Cave (North).
In Clotspinner's Workshop, you can turn an unwritten scroll into a newly-written scroll by using the mounting. First put the diamond on the anvil then turn the mounting to a specific number; the number determines which spell is written. Finally, put an unwritten scroll on the mounting and the spell will appear on the scroll.
You need two of the unwritten scrolls for making the thrale scroll and the corpax scroll. The other five scrolls may be used for experimentation with other numbers, but you'll just make useless scrolls.
a newly-written scroll (of the thrale spell). Create it in Clotspinner's Workshop by putting the diamond on the anvil, turning the mounting to 172.88, then putting an unwritten scroll on the mounting.
After you agree to Clotspinner's demands, he tells you he needs a spell at 172.88 degrees to get him out of there.
a newly-written scroll (of the corpax spell). Create it in Clotspinner's Workshop by putting the diamond on the anvil, turning the mounting to 127.48, then putting an unwritten scroll on the mounting.
Read the scroll. It bears the corpax spell: make small-bore tunnel through light stone.
a newly-written scroll (of the USELESS spell). These scrolls are created the same way as the thrale scroll and corpax scroll are created, but by turning the mounting to other numbers.
You should avoid making these scrolls in the first place.
Treasures
Give all five treasures to the Adventurer in the pale corridor. When he has all five, he and his loot vanishes, and you can now enter the Antechamber and Chamber of the Philosopher's Stone.
a jade figurine. It's in the customs house bedroom.
a jewelled scarab. Acquire it by opening the trophy case in the living room.
a platinum egg. Acquire it by searching the leaves at the bubbling pool.
a golden fir-cone. It's inside the treehouse.
a silver ingot. It's in the dead end northeast of the tiny recess.
You can look at distant objects with it. Look through the telescope at the bird that you briefly see in the woods. It's a Bird of Paradise.
When the expedition stops for the night, the telescope is now in your Ambassador's trunk in the living room.
At the upstairs landing, look through the telescope at the glow.
At the topmost ledge, look through the telescope at the cedar.
In the top branches, look through the telescope at the cavity.
a length of light rope. It's in your Ambassador's trunk in the living room.
In the kitchen, take the ham to reveal a hook. Throw the rope at the hook, tie the rope to the stove, then pull the rope to find an old chimney leading downwards. Untie the rope and take it from the hook, then re-tie the rope to the stove and put the rope in the chimney. Now you can climb down the rope into the cellars.
When you learn the piroo spell, return to the cellars and cast piroo on the rope. It unties itself from the stove and drops at your foot. Take it.
At the shattered temple rampart, tie the rope to both the black scroll and to yourself. Now go west (not north!) to pull the scroll off the scree. Untie the rope and take the scroll.
At the long curved ledge, tie the rope to both the ring and yourself, then jump to get to a tiny recess. Untie the rope from yourself so you can go northesst and get an ingot. Unfortunately, the rope is now hanging out of reach. Throw the curved stick (which is actually a boomerang) and wait two turns for the returning stick to swing the rope back to you; you automatically tie the rope to yourself and can go up back to the curved ledge. Untie the rope and take it.
a brass lantern. It's in the living room.
Turn it on for light in the dark areas underground.
After casting chiaro on something (such as the shard) for light, you can turn off the lantern to save its fuel.
After you escape from the lily pod, you must use the lantern again to see until you recover your other items; see trunk.
a flat curved stick. This boomerang is at Low Crawl.
After you throw it and it returns and hits you, the stick is restyled as a boomerang.
When you wish to leave "Tiny Recess", throw the boomerang and wait twice. The boomerang will push the dangling rope into reach. You'll automatically retie the rope to your waist and you can go back up to "Long Curved Ledge".
a shard of pottery. It's in the half cave.
You have no true use for this shard, but perhaps it belongs to another story, as yet untold. This walkthrough uses it as a light source after you cast the chiaro spell on it.
a bow. It's in the top branches of the inverted cedar.
If you have any arrows, you can shoot something with the bow.
In top branches, after spotting the cavity by trying to go west from there, cast chiaro on an arrow and shoot the cavity with the lit arrow. The cavity is now lit. When you next return to "Half Cave", look in the window to see some paintings.
four arrows.
One arrow is with the bow in the top branches of the inverted cedar.
Two arrows are inside the treehouse.
One arrow is at the north edge of the pool.
Cast chiaro on one arrow and shoot it at the cavity seen at "Top Branches".
an improsived ladder. It's at the branches near the cave floor.
In its original location, you can climb down to the cave floor and climb back up from there.
You can take the ladder to the top branches and put the ladder on the ledge. Now you can go back up to the topmost ledge. Later, you can put the ladder back on the cave floor.
a tiny lump of lead ore. Create it by casting ruther on the tin ore.
Cast ruther on the lead ore to turn it into a diamond.
a gleaming uncut diamond. Create it by casting ruther on the lead ore.
In Clotspinner's workshop, put the diamond on the anvil to focus the green light through.
a broad green leaf. It's at Stony Shallows.
Following the directions seen in the half cave's window, first rip up the leaf into some leaf fragments.
Grind up the leaf fragments with an arrow to create a dull green paste.
In Clotspinner's workshop, give the green paste to Clotspinner to revive him.
Score
This is the response to SCORE:
You have so far scored your-score out of a possible 30, in several turns, [either] the kind of score [or] the perfect score [as appropriate] one would expect of your-rank.
Points are awarded as follows:
1 point for attracting a Bird of Paradise.
1 point for waking the elephant.
1 point for upsetting the procession.
1 point for acquiring the jade figurine.
1 point for leaving the bedroom.
1 point for acquiring a jewelled scarab.
1 point for throwing the rope at the kitchen's hook.
1 point for tying the rope to the stove.
1 point for moving the stove and revealing a chimney.
2 points for acquiring a platinum egg.
1 point for giving the jade figurine to the Adventurer.
1 point for giving the jewelled scarab to the Adventurer.
1 point for giving the platinum egg to the Adventurer.
1 point for drinking from the bubbling pool.
1 point for acquiring a spell book.
1 point for returning to the cellars.
1 point for entering the treehouse.
1 point for acquiring a golden fir-cone.
1 point for lighting up the cavity.
1 point for giving the golden fir-cone to the Adventurer.
1 point for acquiring a silver ingot.
1 point for giving the silver ingot to the Adventurer.
1 point for the Adventurer leaving with all five treasures.
1 point for squeezing the hornet's stinger when inside the giant lily pod.
1 point for reviving Clotspinner.
1 point for inscribing the thrale spell on a scroll.
1 point for casting thrale on Clotspinner, teleporting him to the Duchy.
1 point for escaping the underground.
The known ranks are:
the Embassy Stablehand.(0 points)
an Embassy Clerk.(1 to 3 points)
a Third Secretary.(4 to 6 points)
a Cultural Attache.(8 to 13 points)
a Diplomat.(14 to 19 points)
an Ambassador Plenipotentiary.(20 to 24 points)
a Minister in Residence.(25 to 29 points)
a Head of the Diplomatic Service.(30 points)
Spells
Before you can do any magic, you must gain the Power by drinking the water at the Bubbling Pool.
Most spells must first be learned before they can be cast. This is so you can say them quickly enough with confidence. The SPELLS command lists all the spells you have committed to memory. The MEMORY command does the same thing.
If the spell is on a scroll, you must put the scroll into your spellbook first before you can use the spell.
Also, you must be holding the spellbook directly when trying to learn a spell. You can't learn a spell if the spellbook is inside your trunk, for example.
Useful spells are listed here in the order you acquire them in this walkthrough.
the jilnix spell: summon small plaque of insects.
You acquire this spell permanently by accident, when you walk into Low Junction after drinking at the bubbling pool. It's also listed in the spellbook.
In Shambles, cast jilnix on the garbage. Your summoned insects battle the woodlice and ants infesting the garbage until they win. You can now search the garbage and acquire a spellbook.
In the passage under the wall, you can cast jilnix at the oil-snake to convince it to leave. But it's bettle to give the apple to it.
At the north edge of the pool, you can cast jilnix at the lily, but the lily eats all the insects.
the chiaro spell: cause inanimate object to radiate light.
You should cast chiaro on something you don't need for anything else, like the shard, so it can be your light source, and you can now turn off the lantern and save its power.
At top branches, cast chiaro on one of your arrows, then shoot that arrow at the cavity. The cavity is now lit from the inside, which you can now examine through the half cave's window.
While you can cast azzev anywhere, most visions of the past are boring. The interesting visions can be had at Chamber of the Philosopher's Stone, Clotspinner's Workshop, Furrow and Workings; Lily Pod, Shambles, Shattered Temple Rampart, Topmost Ledge, and Treehouse. None of the visions are critical to solving the game.
the ruther spell: transmute pure chemical elements.
In any part of the wheel cave, cast corpax to create a tunnel upwards to a woodland cave. Note that you can only cast corpax once; it's too exhausting to make multiple tunnels.
You can also learn up to seven useless spells by misusing the anvil in Clotspinner's workshop, by turning the mounting to random settings. Each misuse uses up one of the unwritten scrolls, creating useless scrolls, and they're written in this order.
the gloth spell: fold pastry dough 83 times.
the alsakan spell: pursue squirrel with spectral hounds.
the eddore spell: paint large picket-fence orange.
the boskone spell: rotate entire universe by one degree.
the palain spell: reduce herbs in over-spiced stew.
the helmuth spell: turn blackberries into pebbles.
the nadreck spell: award internationally recognized points for trick dives.
