In this game where proverbs are magical spells, you play as an apprentice to Larumis the Sorcerer. After two years in his service, you're on the road home for a well-earned summer vacation when, through an iron gate in a stately stone wall, you see a mysterious garden. You forgot all about curiosity killing the cat.
This solution is by David Welbourn, and is based on Version 1.0 of the game.
REMINDER: When playing ALAN games, you can only enter one command at a time, and you can't end a command with a period.
Outside The Garden
> x me. i. x backpack. open it. x sandwiches.
> x gate. x garden.(You see a golden egg!)
> x egg. take egg.
You'll be using the magic of proverbs.
> x tree. open gate. x nest.
> x bushes. x flowers. x castle.
> x grass.(hmmm)
Unfortunately, it's essential to see the game's list of possible proverbs so you get the phrasing exactly right.
> help. credits. RECALL PROVERBS.
> the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence
You use the Transfer Spell and are now...
In The Garden
> x tree. x nest. climb tree. shake tree.
> x birds. put egg in nest.
Eventually a guard appears, accuses you of theft, and the king has you sent to an underground cell...
In A Dark Cave
You no longer have your backpack or the egg.
> x torch. x door. x floor.
> take torch. burn door.
> search floor.(Found a diary!)
> x diary.(locked)x lock.
By the way, I could also unlock the diary with the torch, which I'm sure is a bug.
> you cannot tell a book by its cover.(You use the Unlocking Spell.)
> read diary.("Magic word: GHOTI")
> ghoti —or— fish.(Door opens.)
> out.(You leave the torch and diary behind.)
In The Large Cave
> x rose.(Most arrows red; south arrow is green.)
> x smoke. x crack.
> e.
In An Abandoned Storage Room.
> x tools. x torches.(You take ane.)
> x torch.
> w.
In The Large Cave
> x boulder. push boulder.
Use the Dislocation Spell to move the boulder blocking the southwest exit.
> a rolling stone gathers no moss.
Use the Kindling Spell to turn smoke into fire.
> there is no smoke without fire
> put torch in fire.(It's now lit.)
> x torch.
> sw.
In The Tiny Cave
> x crystal. take it. ne. se.
In The Round Cave
The panther is afraid of the flaming torch.
> x panther. take yellow crystal.(It's too far away.)
> when the cat is away the mice play.(Mice free the crystal from the wall.)
> take yellow crystal. x it.
> nw. s.
At The Elevator
> x elevator. x pillars. x dent.
> x left dent.(round)
> x right dent.(square)
> put yellow crystal in left dent.
> put blue crystal in right dent.
> in.
In The Elevator
The elevator won't work unless you've placed the crystals.
> x button. push button.
In The Narrow Tunnel
> n.
At The Mouth Of The Tunnel
> x plaque. x moon.
> e.
At A Small Brook
> x brook.(Debris blocks its original path.)
> x crack. look in crack. x sword. take sword.(too far)
> x debris. move debris.
> look in crack. take sword.
Yes, it's unlikely that a real metal sword would float in water, but this is a fantasy game, remember. Deal with it.
> w. w.
At The Wide Chasm
> x glint. x chasm.
> x ground. search ground. take pole. x pole.
> jump over chasm.
Beyond The Chasm
> take head.
> two heads are better than one.(Duplication Spell)
> x heads.
> e. n.
Pass Entrance
> x statues.(left missing spear; right missing sword; both missing heads)
> read plaque.(pull the spear to leave)
> n.(Blocked by invisible barrier.)
> put head on left statue. put head on right statue.
> put sword in right statue. put pole in left statue.
> pull pole.(The invisible barrier is gone.)
> n.
In A Dark Pass
> n.(Angry dogs surround you!)
> let sleping dogs lie.(Anaesthetizing Spell)
> n.
At The Guards' Hut
> n. n.(Guards surround you!)
> homo homini lupus.(Transformation Spell)
*** All's well that ends well ***
Extras
Characters
A guard captures you in the garden and takes you to the king.
The king of this realm believes, as the guard does, that you're a trespasser and a thief.
A black panther threatens you in the round cave, but fortunately, it's chained to the wall.
Some mice can be summoned by one of your spells to help you obtain a crystal.
Some fierce-looking dogs surround you in a dark pass.
Many guards with swords and spears surround you outside the guards' hut. The guards are the final obstacle you must overcome in your bid for freedom.
Mentioned:
Larumis the Sorcerer is your mentor. He's mentioned mostly before you enter the garden.
Your family are waiting for you at home.
Some birds can be heard but not seen in the garden.
Credits
[(c) 2003 by Anssi Raisanen. This game was written using ALAN v2.8. Further information about the ALAN system can be obtained from the World Wide Web Internet site http://www.welcome.to/alan-if
Special thanks to Thomas Nilsson and Goran Forslund for ALAN.
Thanks to Steve Griffiths for Library 0.3.1.
Many thanks to Jennifer Vaughan and J.P. for betatesting the game. All remaining errors and incongruities are entirely my own fault.
Comments, questions, bug reports etc. can be sent to anssi.raisanen@cop.fi.]
Endings
After all, better safe than sorry. if you ignore the egg and garden and go south twice.
You have died if the dogs kill you. However, the game resurrects you and you can try that part again.
You have failed if the guards recapture you. However, the game resurrects you and you can try that part again.
All's well that ends well. if you escape the kingdom.
Inventory
a backpack. You're carrying it. It contains a couple of sandwiches, a small bottle of juice, and some fruit. However, you can't eat or drink any of it, and you lose the backpack when you're captured by the guard. So you can ignore the backpack completely.
a golden egg. It's outside the garden; examine the garden to find it. Take it. Your goal after that point is to get it back into its nest, but you'll only manage to get as far as getting into the garden. You'll lose the egg when you're captured by the guard.
a torch. The first torch is in the dark cave. Take it and examine the floor to find the diary. You'll toss this feeble torch away when you escape this cell.
a diary. It's on the floor of the dark cave, but you won't find it unless you're carrying the torch and examining (or searching) the floor specifically. The diary is locked. Unlock it with the Unlocking Spell: you cannot tell a book by its cover. Now you can read the diary.
a unlit torch. Acquire this torch by examining the torches in the abandoned storage room. To light the torch, first use the Kindling Spell (there is no smoke without fire) in the Large Cave, then put the torch in the fire. This gives you a flaming torch which will keep the panther in the round cave from attacking you.
a blue crystal. It's in the tiny cave. It's square. At the elevator, put it in the right dent (of the pillars).
a yellow crystal. It's in the round cave. It's round. Summon mice with when the cat is away the mice play who will free it from its depression. At the elevator, put it in the left dent (of the pillars).
an ancient sword. It's in a crack in the ground at a small brook. Take the debris there to divert the brook into the crack. Somehow, this makes the sword float upwards so you can take it. At the pass entrance, put the sword in the right statue.
a pole. Find it by searching the ground at the wide chasm. You'll need it to jump over the chasm successfully. After you're done with the chasm, go to the pass entrance and put the pole in the left statue. When both statues are fully restored, pull the pole to remove the invisible barrier blocking your way north.
two statue heads. One head is at beyond the chasm. Duplicate it with the spell: two heads are better than one. At the pass entrance, put the heads on the statues.
Spells
The Anaesthetizing Spell: let sleping dogs lie
The Dislocation Spell: a rolling stone gathers no moss
The Duplication Spell: two heads are better than one
The Kindling Spell: there is no smoke without fire
The Rodents-Summoning Spell: when the cat is away the mice play
The Transfer Spell: the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence
The Transformation Spell: homo homini lupus
The Unlocking Spell: you cannot tell a book by its cover
Also:
The magic word GHOTI unlocks the door in the dark cave. ("Ghoti" is an amusing alternate spelling of the word "fish". No, really, look it up.)