In this large game, you decide to explore the famous Eerhtsdat Caves on a whim. You'll find several strange tablets, befriend a woman named Sarah, ride a ship in an underground lake, time travel in a Tardis, disturb a ghost, and carry the Golden Banana of Discord to Mount Doom!
This solution is by David Welbourn, and is based on Version 1.4 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.
If you try to travel to destination codes not listed on the left half paper, the Tardis usually goes to a randomized generated location like "Spooky Brown Wilderness" or "Lonely Grey Jungle". None of these locations are dangerous, but none of them are helpful either. If a new location isn't generated and the Tardis is essentially nowhere, the Tardis door simply won't open.
Map 4: Space Station
Map 5: New Mars
Map 6: Jerusalem
Map 7: Nivalis
Violet paths represent travel by snowmobile.
Map 8: London
Map 9: West of Lake
Map 10: East of Lake
Map 11: South of Lake
Walkthrough
Parser Valley
"Eerhtsdat" is "TADS Three" backwards.
> x sign. s.
Entrance Cave
You don't need the kit itself, just the stuff in it.
> x red sign. x blue sign. x ledge. x ladder.
> x box. open it. take all from it.
> x plaster. x syringe. x plunger. x keyring.
> d.
Large Cave
> x torch. x trunk. open it.(locked)
> x boulder.(has a crack)
> x large rock. push it.(There's now a passage north, but not obviously so.)
> n.(+1)
Secret Passage
> x green box. x candle. take it.
> s. s.
Another Cave
> x coin. take it.
> x table. open it. x platinum ring. take it.
> x mirror. look behind it.(You find a small hole.)
> x hole. look in hole. take wire. x it.
> x new door. x slot.("ENTRANCE TO LAKE / ONE GROAT")
> x light.
> n.
Because the candle's light doesn't last long, I want to move fast. But if you prefer to dawdle, know that you can always get another candle from the green box and light it from the torch when you need more light.
> light candle with torch. e.
Square Cave
> take all. w. n. n.
Small Cave
> take all. s. s.
Large Cave
> x banana. x sack. x lamp.
> take lamp. drop sack.
> x can. x spade.
Start using the lamp for light instead of using candles.
> light lamp with torch.
> n. n.
Small Cave
> dig floor.(You find dynamite.)
> take stick. s. s.
Large Cave
> put stick in crack.
> light stick with lamp. e.
Square Cave
> x archway.(There's a loose stone?)
> take stone.(+1 for stone; +2 for boom)
> w.
Large Cave
The inscription on the stone looks like a five-by-five word square, but since every row and every column isn't a word, it's not really a word square.
> x stone.
> w.
Round Cave
The oil lamp is burning low.
> x rug. take rug.(no)
> look under rug.(+1; found a key)
> take key.
> pull rug. x hole.
The oil lamp goes out.
> e.
Large Cave
For what it's worth, you can't refill the lamp while it's lit.
> unlock trunk with key.(Key fits but won't quite turn.)
> x key.(slightly bent)
> u.(You hear a rockfall!)
Entrance Cave
> n.(The rockfall has blocked the exit.)
> d.
Large Cave
> pour oil in lamp.
> light lamp with torch.
> w.
Round Cave
> d.(You fall down a long chute to...)
Long Cave
> read words.(“One banana to rule them all / And in the darkness bind them.”)
> take all.(+1 for the brass tablet)
> x brass tablet.(has another array of letters)
> x brassy object.(It's a groat coin.)
> x hole.(It's the end of the chute.)
> open trapdoor. u.
Square Cave
The trapdoor closes behind you.
> x trapdoor.(You can't open it from this side.)
> w. s.
Another Cave
> put groat in slot.(+1; "click")
> s.
Lake Shore
> x ship. x woman.(looking for something)
> greet woman.
> ask her about herself.(A madman stole her ring; he ran in here and she followed.)
> g. g. g.(Her name is Sarah, and she's never been here before.)
> tell her about rockfall.
> ask her about ring.(platinum band with diamond)
> show platinum ring to her.(It's hers, but diamond is missing.)
> ask her about diamond ring.
> ask her about ship.
> e.
End of Lakeside Path
> x sparkle. take it. x diamond.
Weirdly, you can't INSERT the diamond, but you can ATTACH it.
> attach diamond to platinum.
> x diamond ring. w.
Lake Shore
> give diamond ring to Sarah.(+2; she now follows you.)
> board ship.
While on the ship, you use shipboard directions: fore (F), aft (A), port (P), and starboard (SB).
Port Deck
> praise Sarah.(You thank her for joining you.)
> x mast. u.
Top of Mast
Ignore the fact that Sarah's somehow standing in midair.
> x lake.(There's miles of lake to starboard.)
When you come down off the mast, you can land in either half of the main deck.
> d. f.
Fore Deck
Nothing much here either.
> a.
Port Deck or Starboard Deck
NOTE: You can get separated from Sarah while exploring the deck of the ship. Going down from the top of the mast or going aft from the Fore Deck both have two possible destinations: Port Deck or Starboard Deck, chosen at random each time. So it's entirely possible to for you to arrive in Port Deck and Sarah to arrive in Starboard Deck or vice-versa.
This little side step will make sure Sarah's with you again if you got separated from her.
> sb.(if in Port Deck)
> p.(if in Starboard Deck)
Now continue aftward.
> a.
Quarterdeck
> x rail. x panel.
> x wheel.(currently turned to N.)
> x lever.("AUTOPILOT")
> x hole.(hexagonal)
> d.
Great Cabin
> x desk. open drawer. take silver key.
> read chart. x chair.
> sit on chair. look under desk.(Find a small brown button.)
> push button.(part of the foreward bulkhead slides open)
> stand. f.(+2)
Crew Quarters
> x pillow. look under pillow.
> x yellow paper. take it.(out of reach)
In fact, the top bunk and everything on it are out of reach, so I'm not sure how we looked under the pillow?
> jump.(And your head is near the ceiling too. How does that work?)
> x locker.(locked with rusty latch)
> pour oil on latch.
> open locker.
> take cap. x it. wear it.
> f.
Galley
> open cupboard. take scales.
> x scales.(dial from 0 to 100 pounds)
> a. d.
Hold
> x police box.
> look in it.(It's a Tardis.)
> enter it.(locked)
> unlock door with silver key.
> enter tardis.
Tardis control room
> x console.
> x slider.(goes from A to Z)
> x control dial.(goes from 0 to 9)
> x switch.(you don't see one?)
> x button. x panel. open it.
> x compartment. x fluid link.(transparent tube with bit of mercury and metal ends)
> x notice.(Best when link is full of mercury.)
> in.
Tardis Living Quarters
> open cabinet. take all from cabinet.
> x picture.(small picture or back of picture? Spoiler!)
> x small picture.(man with long scarf with blonde woman)
> x back of picture. take paper. x it.
> x torch. turn it on.
Your lamp goes out, but that's okay, because you have an electric torch now. Otherwise, you'd need to refill your lamp and go all the way back to the burning torch to relight it.
As far as I know this torch lasts forever, so feel free to turn it on and leave it on.
> drop small picture.
> out. out. u. a.
Great Cabin
> take chair. f.
Crew Quarters
> drop chair. stand on chair.
> take left half.
> get off chair.
> d. enter tardis.
Tardis control room
> read left half. read right half.
Between the two halves, you can pair up coordinates with destinations:
A0 = Ship Hold
A2 = SpaceStation
C9 = New Mars
J8 = Jerusalem
M3 = Nivalis
Q7 = London
T5 = Outside Caves
Obviously, you use the Tardis controls to set a destination then push the red button to travel.
However, remember that the fluid link is almost empty of mercury. The effect this has is not obvious, but after I finished the game, I learned that when the link isn't full, the slider acts as though it's always set to A.
So, this means you can travel between the ship's hold and the space station okay, just not anywhere else useful until the link is full.
> close door. set slider to A.
> set control dial to 2. push button.
> out.
Space Station - Observation Deck
> x calendar.(It's your computer's date plus 1100 years.)
> take card. x it.(letters faded; bit bent)
> turn off switch.(The door opens.)
> in.
Space Station - Living Quarters
> x table. x door.(another green switch)
> x cabinet.(closed, has slot)
> open it.(locked)
> put card in slot.(doesn't fit)
> x cylinder. read name.("ALDEBARAN AUTORECTIFIERS INTERPLANETARY CORP")
> put card in cylinder. push button.
> take card. x it.(no longer bent)
> put brass key in cylinder. push button.
> take brass key. x it.(no longer bent)
> put card in slot.(unlocked)
> open cabinet. take silver tablet.(+1)
> x it.
> turn off switch.(silvery liquid spits out onto the floor)
> x mercury.
> put syringe in mercury.
> pull plunger.(Mercury is now in the syringe.)
> x switch.("MAGLOCK")
> out. enter tardis.
Tardis control room
> take link. x it. put syringe in tiny hole.
> push plunger.(The fluid link is full.)
> drop syringe. put link in compartment.
> close door. set slider to C.
> set control dial to 9. push button.
> out.
Vast Red Desert
> e.
Narrow Red Ravine
> x skeleton. s.
Red Cave
> take plastic tablet.(+1)
> x it.
> n. w. enter tardis.
Tardis control room
> close door. set slider to J.
> set control dial to 8. push button.
> out.
Bedroom
> x window. look through window.(Workers are building a temple.)
> x bed.
> w.
Study
For the life of me, I couldn't figure out how to tell the truth to Solomon.
> lie.(You claim to be an angel.)
> warn him about his son Rehoboam. z.
> ask him about Hiram. ask him about bowl.
> x root. footnote 1.(mandrake)
> ask him about root. g. g. g.(It's fatal to demons.)
> x carbuncle.
> ask him about carbuncle. g. g.(From Queen of Sheba)
> w.(no, better not)
> x Solomon.
> e. enter tardis.
Tardis control room
> close door. set slider to M.
> set control dial to 3. push button.
> out.
Snow-Covered Plain
> e.
Under the cliff
> x hut. in.
Inside the Wooden Hut
> x snowmobile.(two seats, handlebars, starter button, small switch)
> get on snowmobile. turn on small switch.
> push starter button.
> out. w. n.
Edge of Forest (sitting on the snowmobile)
You can't ride snowmobile into the forest.
> turn off switch. stand. n. ne.
Clearing
> x branches. search branches.
> x wooden tablet. take it.(+1)
> sw. s.
Edge of Forest
> get on snowmobile. turn on small switch.
> push starter button.
> s.
Snow-Covered Plain
Alas, you can't take snowmobile into the Tardis.
> turn off switch. stand. enter tardis.
Tardis control room
> close door. set slider to Q.
> set control dial to 7. push button.
> out.
City Street
> search rubble.(You find a bomb.)
> x bomb.(It has swastiskas.)
> n.
Street Junction
> e.(You won't interfere with the crew.)
You hear the bomb explode.
> s.
City Street
> x bag. open it. x gas mask. take it.
> n. w.
Road
> w.(no, not healthy)
> n.
Grocery Shop
> x counter.
> x dust —or— x debris.
> look behind counter. take mask.
> s. e. s. enter tardis.
Tardis control room
> close door. set slider to T.
> set control dial to 5. push button.
> out.
Parser Valley
Sarah says we have unfinished business in the caves. I agree.
> enter tardis.
Tardis control room
> close door. set slider to A.
> set control dial to 0. push button.
> out. u. a. u. f. out. n. n.
Large Cave
Remember, you straightened the brass key back in the space station.
> unlock trunk with brass key. open trunk.
> take all from trunk.(golden banana is illusionary)
> x jar.(sealed fast)
> x crystal.(hexagonal and blue)
> cut jar.(with the diamond ring Sarah has)
> take crystal. drop jar.
> s. s. board. a.
Quarterdeck
> put crystal in hole.
> turn wheel to W. pull lever.(The ship moves.)
> p. out.
Sandy Beach
> nw.
Golden Grotto
I'm assuming you still have the torch on.
> x statue. x plinth.("King Benedict the Banana-Bearer")
> push statue.(It falls over, revealing a cavity.)
> x cavity. take gold tablet.(+1)
> x it. drop it.(It's heavy!)
> se. sw.
Graveyard
The ghost of King Benedict is upset that you pushed his statue. He demands that you perform a sacred quest: to retrieve the Golden Banana of Discord and cast it into Mount Gloom. Will you do it? (He won't take "no" for an answer.
> yes.("Do you have any questions about the quest?")
> ask ghost about banana.
> ask ghost about himself.
> ask ghost about cabal.(No one knows who they are!)
> say no.(He fades away.)
> x wheelbarrow. x tombstones
The tombstone is the key to understanding the letters on all the tablets. Down the top-left-to-bottom-right diagonal of each grid, there's a number spelt out from ONE to SIX. This the order to sort the tablets.
The digits 1 to 8 on the tombstone show which letters from each tablet you need to look at, and in which order, reading down the upper diagonal and up the lower diagonal.
The stone tablet: PUTFIFTY
The gold tablet: FOURPOUN
The wooden tablet: DSONTHES
The brass tablet: TONEALTA
The silver tablet: RINTHETE
The plastic tablet: MPLESTOP
Put them together to spell out this message: "Put fifty-four pounds on the stone altar in the temple STOP".
Fetch the heavy gold tablet with the wheelbarrow and visit the temple:
> push barrow ne. push barrow nw.
Golden Grotto
> put gold tablet in barrow.
> push barrow se. push barrow sw. push barrow w.
Inside the Temple
> x columns. x cobwebs.
> x altar. x projection.(banana-shaped)
> x symbols.
> pull projection.(won't budge)
Time to weigh all the tablets:
> drop scales.
> put stone tablet on scales.("16")take it.
> put wooden tablet on scales.("1")take it.
> put brass tablet on scales.("4")take it.
> put silver tablet on scales.("8")take it.
> put plastic tablet on scales.("1")take it.
> put gold tablet on scales.("32")
All the tablets except the silver one weigh 54 pounds in total.
> put all tablets but silver on altar.
> pull projection.(+5; a west passage opens)
> w.
Small Square Chamber
> x wall dial.(There's 8 phrases it can point to, differing only in capitalization.)
Capitalization matters here! Type so the uppercase letters of the setting spell DOWN.
> set wall dial to Dupe OWN.(The chamber goes DOWN.)
> e.(+2)
Cellar beneath Temple
> x case. open it.
> x coins.("OUECPACIANOC", with pi symbol for P)
> take coins.
> enter case. sit. close case.(A secret compartment opens.)
Inside the large packing case (sitting)
> x compartment. x bowl. take it.(+3)
> open case.
Cellar beneath Temple
> stand. out. w.
Small Square Chamber
Capitalization matters here! Type so the uppercase letters of the setting spell UP.
> set wall dial to dUPe own.(The chamber goes UP.)
Return to Solomon:
> e. e. ne. board. a. d. f. d. enter tardis.
Tardis control room
> close door. set slider to J.
> set control dial to 8. push red button.
> out. w.
Study
> give bowl to king.(He offers a reward.)
> ask king for root.
> ask king for carbuncle.
> take root. take carbuncle.
> e. enter tardis.
Tardis control room
> close door. set slider to A.
> set control dial to 0. push red button.
> out. u. a. u.
Quarterdeck
> turn wheel to E. pull lever.
> p. out.
Stone Jetty
> n.
Landing
This landing is a bit odd in that there are two south doors, a left one and a right one, so if both are open or both are closed, you must specify which door you're entering.
> x doors. open left door. s.
Store Room
I'm assuming your torch is still on.
> x cabinet.(too high)
> n.
Landing
> open right door. enter it.
Library
> x bookshelves. x shelf. x brown button. x inlet.
> x socket. x stool. x book.("The Great History")
> open shelf.(locked)
> push brown.(nothing)
> take stool.
> n. enter left.
Store Room
> drop stool. stand on stool.
> open cabinet. x cable. take it.
> get off stool.
> n. enter right.
Library
> plug cable in inlet. plug cable in socket.
> push brown.("click")
> open shelf. take book.
> read book.(no, look up topics)
> look up Benedict in book.
> look up banana in book.
> look up hell fire cavern in book.
Hmph. That's all just background information.
> n. n. s.
Vestibule of Hell Fire Cavern
> x sign.("HELL FIRE CAVERN")
That sounds dangerous. Don't go in there quite yet. There's still the south of the lake to visit first.
> n. board. a.
Quarterdeck
> turn wheel to S. pull lever. p. out.
Rocky shore
> x monolith.(6 feet long)
> s.
In the dark / Narrow Tunnel
> x chasm.(almost 6 feet wide)
> n.
Rocky shore
> push monolith south.
Narrow Tunnel
> push monolith south.
Deep Chasm (standing on the black monolith)
> s.
Ledge of Chasm
> take leaflet. x it. read it.(The Eerhtsdat Museum wants Solomon's carbuncle.)
> s.
End of Tunnel
> x door. x walls.(loose stone found)
> take stone.(round hole found)
> x round hole. x black button. x fitting.
> push black button.(nothing happens)
> take black button.(It's screwed in place.)
> unscrew black button. take black button.
> x tiny hole. x red wire. x green wire.
> attach red wire to green wire.(They're not long enough.)
> attach black wire to red wire.
> attach black wire to green wire.
> screw black button. push it.(+3; the door opens)
> s.
Brightly-lit Corridor
> x sign.
> e.
Museum Exit
> x machine.(Tickets cost three farthings.)
> x hole. x door. open it.(locked)
> attach cable to machine. attach cable to outlet.
> put silver coin in slot.
> take ticket. x it. read it.(for two people)
> w. w.
Entrance Lobby
> x curator. x sign. x table. x carpet.
> ask curator about museum. g. g. g.(He's Professor Altmeister, curator for 20 years, and interested in more exhibits if they're the right sort.)
> show ticket to curator. w.(+2; Prof follows.)
Museum of Curious Antiquities
> x cases. x amulet. x gargoyle.
> x crown. x mantle.
> x sign.("No bags allowed")
> s.(You can't go in there unless you donated an exhibit.)
> give carbuncle to curator.
If you're carrying any boxes, bags, or other obvious containers, you need to drop them now before continuing. If you've been following this walkthrough, you shouldn't have any.
> s.
Benefactors' Exhibition Room
> x case. x plinth.(has carved slat)
> x plaque.(attempted theft is fatal)
> x golden banana.
> x slat.(find a small black disc)
> x disc.(a microphone!)
> attach plaster to microphone.
> cut case.(with the diamond ring)
> remove cap.
> put golden banana in cap. wear cap.
> take plaster.
Head back to the quarterdeck:
> n. e. e. n. n. n. n. n. board. a.
Quarterdeck
> turn wheel to E. pull lever. f. out. s.
Vestibule of Hell Fire Cavern
> remove cap. take banana. wear cap.
> give mask to Sarah. wear mask.
> e. n.(+4)
Path down Hell Fire Cavern
> x demons.
> show root to demons.(+2; the demons melt)
> d.
Basalt Plain
> x volcano.
> n. u.
Side of Volcano
> x bush.
> z.(Wait seven turns until the bush burns away, leaving a tunnel inward.)
> in.(Sarah stays behind.)
Narrow Tunnel
> n.
Ledge inside Volcano
CAUTION: Staying here too long is fatal.
> x lava.
> drop golden banana into pool.(+5)
> in. s. d. s. s. u. w. n. board.
Port Deck
> remove mask.
> a. d. f. d. enter tardis.
Tardis control room
> close door. set slider to T.
> set control dial to 5. push button.
> out.
Parser Valley
*** YOU HAVE WON ***
Extras
ASCII art
The ASCII art in this game is simple enough that I didn't bother with screen captures and just reproduced it in CSS. However, I'm using monospace and not whatever font "TADS-Typewriter" really is, so the art will appear differently when you play the game.
ENTRANCE TO THE EERHTSDAT CAVES
The blue sign
WAY OUT ->
The red sign
O 1 + + + 8 R 2 + + + 7 D 3 + + + 6 E 4 + + + 5 R
The tombstone
O P E R A Y N U E R S T E T S I N F E F P A N I C
The stone tablet
T F Q Z P N W O B E A U O U A F L O U R S T O P S
The gold tablet
T D A Z P S H S I L H E R O A C O H E N W H I T E
The wooden tablet
F T M T R A O O I U S T U N L T I L R E R A D A R
The brass tablet
F R A N K E I I O I O T V N L F L E E T F O R H S
The silver tablet
S M I L E P I P E R R O X L N A N T L E T R U S S
The plastic tablet
Characters
Main characters:
Sarah is a young woman on the lake shore looking for her lost diamond ring. When you return it to her, she becomes your companion for the rest of the game.
King Solomon is in his study in ancient Jerusalem, sitting and thinking.
The ghost of King Benedict the Banana-Bearer demands that you go on a quest after you topple his gold statue.
Professor Altmeister is the curator of the Museum of Curious Antiquities.
Demons of the Cabal block your path down Hell Fire Cavern. If you stop to talk to them, you might learn some of their names: Anthrapax, Princifax, and Incometax.
Background characters:
Birds can be heard at Parser Valley.
Drivers are implied since you see random cars leave the car park.
Workers can be seen building a temple from Solomon's bedroom window.
Found dead:
A skeleton is found outside the Red Cave on Mars. You never learn who it was or why they were there.
Mentioned:
A madman stole Sarah's diamond ring, disassembled it, and discarded the band and diamond in two different places. Who knows why or where he is now?
Queen Fanny the Futile is on the silver coin.
King Freddie the Fat is on the brass coin.
Doctor Who (I assume) and a female companion are the subjects of the small picture.
King Peregrine the Pipsqueak owned the Lost Crown.
The Naked Emperor owned the Invisible Mantle.
King Freddie the Fatuous once mistook the Green Gargoyle of Gloom for a bust of his wife.
Rehoboam is Solomon's son.
King Hiram of Tyre donated a bronze bowl for the Jerusalem temple.
The Queen of Sheba gifted the carbuncle to King Solomon.
Credits
The response to CREDITS is simply:
TADS 3 language and library by Michael J. Roberts
If you select "About This Game..." from the Help menu, a pop-up window displays the following information:
The Quest of the Golden Banana
v1.0
(c) 2004 Eric Eve
...even though the VERSION command shows this is actually Version 1.4 of the game.
Endings
YOU HAVE DIED
if you blunder about in the dark more than once.
if you're in the same location with the lit stick of dynamite when it explodes.
if you cut the Golden Banana's display case with the diamond ring without first muffling the microphone with the plaster; the curator shoots you.
if you brazenly leave the Benefactors' Exhibition Room with the Golden Banana clearly in your hand; the curator shoots you.
if you stay too long on the ledge inside the volcano; a plume of lava hits you.
YOU HAVE FAILED DISMALLY
if you give the Golden Banana to the demons.
YOU HAVE WON
if after dropping the Golden Banana into Mount Doom, you return to Parser Valley with Sarah.
Inventory
Coins
a small silver coin. It's on the dressing table in Another Cave.
Examine the coin to learn it's worth three farthings.
At the Museum Exit, after attaching the cable to both the vending machine and the outlet, put the silver coin into the machine's slot. The machine dispenses a ticket.
a small brass coin. It's the brassy object in the Long Cave.
Examine it; it's worth one groat.
In Another Cave, put the groat in the slot. The new door unlocks, and you can now go south to the Lake Shore.
three gold coins. They're in the large packing case in the Cellar beneath the Temple.
The coins are red herrings, useless to you except to vaguely link this crate to the Jerusalem temple. I found this explanation of the coins' inscription at http://tads.org/t3doc/doc/tourguide/booth.htm:
If you have trouble with the Greek letters, you can just about get there using "OUECPACIANOC" using a P for a capital Pi (the C represents a capital Sigma, since this is the way a Sigma was frequently written in ancient texts). This is simply a transliteration of VESPASIANOS, Vespasian being the Roman Emperor at the time of the destruction of the Jerusalem temple (by his son Titus) in 70 CE, the use of Greek suggesting that the coins came from the eastern (Greek speaking) rather than western (Latin speaking) part of the empire.
Containers
This game doesn't care about carrying capacity, so you don't need containers to carry more stuff. You usually can just take everything from a container and leave the container behind as useless junk.
However, the game does care about containers in the museum; the curator won't let you carry any containers into the Benefactors' Exhibit Room, even after giving him King Solomon's carbuncle. Drop them all before you go in.
a first aid kit. It's the small white box on the ledge in the Entrance Cave.
The green box is a dispenser of red candles, where you're meant to take out one candle at a time. Theoretically, there could be an infinite supply, but looking at dispenser.htm of the TADS 3 Tour Guide, I see that the maximum number of candles is 40.
Personally, I'd like to move the box to the Large Cave so it's closer to the torch, but that can cause unexpected problems with commands like "LIGHT CANDLE", where TADS 3 will unhelpfully go into a loop trying to light your candle with a 2nd candle, and light one that with your 1st candle, etc.
a short piece of black wire. It's in a small hole behind the mirror in Another Cave.
At End of Tunnel, after you've unscrewed the black button, look in the revealed tiny hole to see a red wire and a green wire. Since those wires aren't long enough to attach to each other directly, attach the black wire to both the red and green wires. Screw the black button to put it back. Now push the black button to open the steel door.
a fluid link. It's in the compartment in the panel in the console in the Tardis control room.
The link contains a small amount of mercury and has a tiny hole on one end. While the link is nearly empty, the slider control acts as if it's always set to 'A' rather than what it's really set to.
When the syringe is full of mercury, put its needle in the link's tiny hole then push the plunger. Now the link is full of mercury. Put the link back in the console's compartment, and the Tardis's control panel is fully functional.
a silver cylinder. It's on the table in the Space Station Living Quarters.
Put the brass key in the cylinder and push the orange button to straighten the key.
Put the plastic card in the cylinder and push the orange button to straighten the card.
a black cable. It's in the cabinet in the Store Room beside the Library.
In the Library, plug the cable into both the socket and the inlet, then push the brown button to unlock the glass fronted shelf.
In the Museum Exit, attach the cable to both the vending machine and the outlet to restore power to the machine.
a small black button. At the End of Tunnel, find it by taking the loose stone in the west wall, then looking in the round hole.
The black button does nothing when pushed, but examining it shows that it's in a fitting. Unscrew the black button and take it.
There's now a tiny hole containing a red wire and a green wire. Attach the black wire to both of them. Screw the black button (to put it back). Now push the black button to open the steel door.
Keys and keyring
a silver keyring. It's in the first aid kit.
Whenever you obtain a new key, you automatically put it onto the keyring. You never need to fiddle with the keyring explicitly.
a brass key. Find it by looking under the rug in the Round Cave.
In the Large Cave, if you try to unlock the trunk with the key, you learn the key fits but doesn't quite turn. Examine the key to learn it's slightly bent.
Put the brass key in the silver cylinder then push the orange button to straighten the key. Now the brass key unlocks the trunk easily.
a silver key. It's in the desk drawer in the Great Cabin.
The silver key unlocks the door of the Tardis. Fortunately, you never need to relock this door, but you will need to close it whenever you wish to use the Tardis to travel elsewhere in Time and Space.
a white plastic card. It's on the Space Station Observation Deck.
It's a keycard, and like the brass key, it's slightly bent. Put the card in the silver cylinder then push the orange button to straighten the card.
In Space Station Living Quarters, put the card in the slot to unlock the cabinet.
Light-sources
a red candle. There are several red candles in the large green box in the Secret Passage.
Light a candle with the torch in the Large Cave. It won't last long, but long enough for you to find the lamp and can of oil.
When a red candle burns out, it leaves a red candle stub which is worthless to you. If you need to, take another candle from the green box and light it with the torch.
Light the lamp with either the torch in Large Cave or a lit candle.
The lamp's power lasts much longer than a candle, but not nearly as long as you'd like. When the lamp is off, you can pour oil (from the can) into the lamp to refill it.
In Large Cave, when the stick of dynamite is in the crack of the boulder, light the dynamite with either the lamp or a candle, then go elsewhere and wait for the explosion.
a can of oil. It's in the Small Cave. It contains a large quantity of oil.
When the lamp is off, you can pour oil (from the can) into the lamp to refill it.
You can refill the lamp several times, but the can's supply is not infinite, but you should find the torch long before that becomes a problem.
In the Crew Quarters, pour oil on the rusty latch of the locker so you can open it.
a large black torch. It's in the cabinet in the Tardis Living Quarters.
Turn it on. I assume this light-source is stable and never runs out of power, but I've not tested that. Once you have the torch, you don't need the lamp any more.
Paper goods
a chart. It's on the desk in the Great Cabin.
Read it to learn there's four shores (north, west, east, and south) that the ship can navigate to. Leave the chart on the desk.
a torn sheet of yellow paper (left half). It's under the pillow on the top bunk in the Crew Quarters. Take the chair there and stand on the chair so you can reach the top bunk.
Read the left half for a list of letter-digit coordinates.
a small picture. It's in the cabinet in the Tardis Living Quarters.
The picture itself is of Doctor Who with one of his female companions. More importantly, examine the back of the picture to find the right half of the torn yellow paper.
a torn sheet of yellow paper (right half). It's on the back of the small picture.
Read the right half for a list of places. When compared with the info from the left half, you should be able to deduce that the codes on the left half are coordinates you cano set on the Tardis's control panel so you can travel to those placed listed.
There is no tape or glue in the game that lets you attach the two halves together.
a dark blue book. It's in the locked glass fronted shelf in the Library. Unlock the shelf by plugging the cable in both the socket and inlet, then pushing the brown button.
You can look up a small number of topics in the book. Known topics are: Benedict, Golden Banana, and Hell Fire Cavern.
a yellow leaflet. It's on the Ledge of Chasm.
Examine it and read it to learn that the curator of the museum wants Solomon's carbuncle.
a small green ticket. It's vended by the vending machine at Museum Exit. First attach the cable to both the machine and the outlet, then put the silver coin in the slot. The ticket is now in the square hole.
Read the ticket. It's good for two people indefinitely.
At the Entrance Lobby, show the ticket to the curator. Now you and Sarah can enter the museum proper.
Rocks
a diamond. It's the sparkle among the rocks at the End of Lakeside Path.
a blue crystal. It's inside the glass jar. Cut the jar with the diamond ring to get at the crystal.
On the Quarterdeck, put the blue crystal into the hexagonal hole. Now the ship's controls can be used to navigate the ship to the four shores of the lake.
a loose stone. Find it by examining the walls at End of Tunnel.
Take it to reveal a small round hole containing a small black button. You can toss the stone away.
a purple carbuncle. It's on the table in Solomon's study.
First, give the bronze bowl to Solomon. Now ask him for the carbuncle and he lets you take it.
In Entrance Lobby, give the carbuncle to the curator. Now you're permitted to enter the Benefactors' Exhibition Room.
Each tablet has a different five-by-five grid of letters (see ASCII art), and most of the tablets have a distinct weight (see scales). By using the clue from the tombstone, you learn that the order number of a tablet is written diagonally down the top-left-to-bottom-right diagonal of its grid, and that the eight letters from the adjacent diagonals spell out part of a secret message.
When the message parts are assembled in tablet order, it reads: "Put fifty-four pounds on the stone altar in the temple stop."
You can do that by putting all of the tablets except the silver one onto the altar. Now when you pull the altar's banana-shaped projection, the west wall opens up, leading to the Small Square Chamber.
a stone tablet. It's the loose stone in the archway of the Square Cave.
This is tablet ONE, its message part is "PUTFIFTY", and it weighs 16 pounds.
a gold tablet. It's inside the plinth in the Golden Grotto. Push the statue to reveal the plinth's cavity.
This is tablet TWO, its message part is "FOURPOUN", and it weighs 32 pounds.
Because this tablet is so heavy, you can't carry it for very long without putting it down. You should push the wheelbarrow into the grotto, put the gold tablet in the wheelbarrow, then push the barrow all the way to inside of the temple.
a wooden tablet. Find it be searching the branches in the Clearing on Nivalis.
This is tablet THREE, its message part is "DSONTHES", and it weighs 1 pound.
a brass tablet. It's in the Long Cave.
This is tablet FOUR, its message part is "TONEALTA", and it weighs 4 pounds.
a silver tablet. It's in the locked cabinet in the Space Station Living Quarters; unlock the cabinet with the straightened plastic card.
This is tablet FIVE, its message part is "RINTHETE", and it weighs 8 pounds.
a plastic tablet. It's in the Red Cave on Mars.
This is tablet SIX, its message part is "MPLESTOP", and it weighs 1 pound.
a diamond ring. Assemble it by attaching the diamond to the platinum ring.
On the Lake Shore, give the diamond ring to Sarah.
Cut the glass jar with the diamond ring to open the jar.
In the Benefactors' Exhibition Room, cut the display case with the diamond ring to open the case.
NOTE: I couldn't figure out how to either borrow the diamond ring from Sarah or ask Sarah to cut something with it. Every time I asked her for the ring or asked her to cut something, she refused. Weirdly, you can just "cut jar" or "cut case" as if you're carrying the ring yourself. Since that works and it's the only way I know how to do it, I'm telling you to do it that way too, but it still bothers me that I took advantage of a bug.
two gas masks. One is inside the khaki bag. The other is behind the counter in the Grocery Shop.
Give one of the masks to Sarah and keep one for yourself.
In the Vestibule of Hell Fire Cavern, wear your mask. Sarah follows your lead and also wears hers. Keep the mask on during your entire trip to the volcano and back. The mask protects you from choking on the sulfur fumes.
a sailor's cap. It's in the locker in the Crew Quarters.
The locker's latch is rusty. Pour oil on the latch. Now you can unlock and open the locker.
The cap is a secret container. When stealing the Golden Banana from the museum, take off the cap, put the Banana in the cap, then wear the cap again. With the Banana hidden in your cap, the curator doesn't see you leave with it.
When a puddle of mercury is on the floor of the Space Station Living Quarters (by turning off the green switch there), put the syringe in the puddle and pull the plunger to fill the syringe with mercury.
Now put the syringe in the tiny hole of the fluid link, then push the plunger to fill the link with mercury.
a mirror. It's leaning against the wall in Another Cave.
Look behind the mirror to find a small hole that was behind it. The hole contains a black wire. You don't need the mirror itself.
a banana. It's in the Square Cave.
It's a random food item. Feel free to eat it or ignore it.
a spade. It's in the Small Cave.
In the Small Cave, dig the ground (with the spade) to find a stick of dynamite. After the dynamite is gone, you can dig again in the Small Cave to find another stick of dynamite.
a stick of dynamite. Find it in the Small Cave by digging the floor with the spade.
In the Large Cave, put the dynamite in the crack of the boulder. Light the dynamite with a lit candle or lit lamp, then retreat to another room and wait for the explosion. When you return to Large Cave, the boulder is reduced to fragments, and you can now go west into Round Cave.
After a stick is gone, you can find another by digging again in the Small Cave.
a chair. It's in the Great Cabin, behind the desk.
Take the chair to Crew Quarters, drop it, then stand on it. Now you can reach the top bunk, the pillow, and the paper that's under the pillow.
a pillow. It's on the top bunk in the Crew Quarters.
You can put any of your other inventory items on the scales to find out how much they weigh to the nearest pound. Note, however, that the maximum weight that the scales can display is 100 pounds, so if the combined weight of things on the scales is more than 100, the scales will only show 100.
After decoding the tablets, you know you need to put exactly 54 pounds on the stone altar. While this puzzle doesn't care which items are used as weight, it's simplest to just weigh and use the tablets themselves.
a reading stool. It's in the Library.
Take the stool to the Store Room, drop it, then stand on it. Now you can reach the cabinet, open it, and take the cable that's inside the cabinet.
a bronze bowl. It's in the secret compartment inside the large packing case. To find the compartment, enter the case, sit, and close the case.
In the study, give the bowl to Solomon. Now ask him for the root and for the carbuncle. He agrees you can now take them.
a flame-coloured root. It's on the table in Solomon's study.
First, give the bronze bowl to Solomon. Now ask him for the root and he lets you take it.
In the Path down Hell Fire Cavern, show the root to the demons to destroy them.
the Golden Banana of Discord. It's in the display case in the Benefactors' Exhibition Room.
First, attach the plaster to the microphone so the curator doesn't hear what happens next.
Cut the case (with the diamond ring). Take the Banana. Take the sailor cap off, put the Banana into the cap, then wear the cap. Now the curator won't see you leave with the Banana.
At the Ledge inside Volcano, drop the Golden Banana into the pool of lava. You know you need to do this after talking with the ghost in the graveyard.
Score
The response to SCORE is:
In several moves, you have scored your-score of a possible 43 points. This makes you your-rank.
Points are awarded as follows:
11 points for getting past nine sundry obstacles. (except I only count five here)
1 point for getting past the large rock and into the Secret Passage.
2 points for getting past the foreward bulkhead and into the Crew Quarters.
4 points for getting past choking sulfur in the Hell Fire Cavern.
2 points for getting past the curator's table into the museum.
2 points for using the wall dial correctly in the temple.
2 points for blowing up the boulder.
1 point for finding the brass key.
1 point for finding the stone tablet.
1 point for finding the brass tablet.
1 point for unlocking the door to the lakeside.
2 points for returning the diamond ring to Sarah.
1 point for finding the silver tablet.
1 point for finding the plastic tablet.
1 point for finding the wooden tablet.
3 points for opening the blank steel door.
1 point for finding the gold tablet.
5 points for opening the wall behind the altar.
3 points for recovering the bronze bowl.
2 points for exorcizing the demons.
5 points for destroying the Golden Banana in Mount Gloom.
2 points for to be determined. (Sorry, I missed two points somewhere!)
