In this paranatural murder investigation, you play as Evelyn Cross, the best (and only) paranatural detective in town. Officers found one of the missing kids "shred to pieces" in the old Thornfell Manor, and now it's your job to investigate.
This solution is by David Welbourn, and is based on Release 2 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 go the wrong way in the maze, you leave the maze with your fourth step.
CAUTION: Walking around in the dark without light is very dangerous!
Walkthrough
Entrance Gates
> x me. x meter. x radio. x amulet.
> x Doyle. talk to him.
> take coffee. x coffee. smell it. drink it.
> x Campbell. talk to her.
> x gates. x house.
> n. n.
Front Door
> knock on door.(The door opens.)
> n.(+5)
Entrance Hall
By the way, the front door is now locked and won't open again until you've solved the case.
> x meter. x blood. x body.(+20)
> search body. read clipping.
> n.
Gallery
> x painting. x plaster.
> n.
Garden
> x body.(+20)
> search her. x lighter. take it.(+10)
> x cigarettes. x grass. x maze.(dark inside)
> e.
Mausoleum Facade
> x slab. x sculpture.
> w. w.
Greenhouse
> x weeds. x herb. smell sage.
> take sage. take leaves.(+10)
> s.
Kitchen
> x pots. x counters.
> s.
Dining Room
> x candle. take it.
> x table. x chandelier.
> e. u.
Darkness / Upper Hall
> light candle with lighter.
> n. open door.(locked)
> w.
Bathroom
> x mirror. x soap. smell it.
> e. e.
Study
> x body.(+20)
> search body. x knife. take it.(+10)
> x panels. x desk. x piano. x key.
> push key.(New opening south!)
> s.(+5)
Secret Library
> x books.
> n. w. d. n. e.
Parlour
> x watch. x table. x window. x tapestry.
> s.
Library
> x books. x rug. move rug. open trapdoor.
> d.
Underground Passage
> x body.(+20)
> search body. x key. take it.
> x meter.
> n.(+5)
Cellar
> x sigil. x meter. x shelves.
> u.
Kitchen
> x wisp. talk to wisp.(must perform a seance)
> s. e. u.
Upper Hall
> unlock door with key. drop key.
> open door. n.
Master Bedroom
> x bed. n.
Balcony
> x garden. x maze.(north, east, north, west)
> x facade.
> s. s. e. s.
Secret Library
> look up seance in books.(+15. need candle, picture, and remains)
> n. w. d. n. n.
Garden
> enter maze.
Maze
> n. e. n. w.(+5)
Heart of Maze
> x statue. x yarn. take it.
You can leave the maze by going any direction from here.
> e.(You go directly to...)
Garden
> e.
Mausoleum Facade
> put yarn on statue.(slab opens)
> in.
Inside Mausoleum
> smell. x meter.
> x casket. x plaque.("Oswald Thornfell")
> look in casket. x bone. take it.(+10)
> out. w. s.
Gallery
You have the candle and bone, and the painting is here, so you can now...
> perform seance.(+25; the wisp becomes the ghost of Oswald Thornfell)
> ask Oswald about himself.
> ask him about kids.
> ask him about demon.("Arovus")
> ask him about Arovus.("exorcise it")
> s. u. e. s.
Secret Library
> look up Arovus in books.(+15; something screeches loudly)
The exorcism requires three steps: one, cleanse the summoning room with sage; two, break the sigil; three, say "Vale Draco Maledicte".
> n. w. d. w.
Dining Room
CAUTION! You hear a growl north in the kitchen. The demon's in there; you don't dare enter that room now!
Instead, enter the cellar via the library's trapdoor:
> e. n. e. s. d. n.
Cellar
The growling is above you.
> burn sage with lighter.
> cut sigil with knife.
> say Vale Draco Maledicte.(+50. Arovus is gone.)
> u.
Kitchen
> x ashes.
> n. e. e. in.
Inside Mausoleum
> put bone in casket.(+5)
> out. w. s. s. s.
*** You have won ***
Extras
Characters
Evelyn Cross is the player-character and the best (and only) paranatural detective in town.
Constable Doyle and Sergeant Campbell are at the entrance gates. Doyle will produce a cup of coffee for you if you talk to him.
Arovus is a demon that the kids foolishly summoned.
Found dead:
The body of Neil Hooper, the oldest boy, is in the entrance hall.
The body of Zoe Briggs, a supermarket worker, is in the garden.
The body of Martin Finch, a newspaper boy, is in the study.
The body of Donna Kerr, a redhead, is in the underground passage.
Wisps appear in the kitchen, gallery, and upper hall after you've examined the four bodies. These are fragments of the ghost of Oswald Thornfell, who appears in the gallery if you perform a seance there. His bone is in his casket, and his portrait is in the gallery.
Represented:
The minotaur and Ariadne are mythological characters represented by statues.
A horned creature is depicted on the parlour's tapestry.
Credits
The response to ABOUT or CREDITS is:
This interactive story was written by Tijn Kersjes during PunyComp 2024.
Endings
You were fired
if you persist in going south from the entrance gates instead of entering the house and doing your job.
You have died
if you enter the kitchen when the demon is there. You have a turn to try to act, but nothing you can do matters.
if you move from darkness to darkness too often, even after you've exorcised the demon.
You have won
if you leave the manor's front door after you've exorcised the demon.
Inventory
You have a carrying capacity limit of ten (10) items. There's no handy bag or satchel or backpack in this game, so don't bother picking up anything you don't need, and discard things you're done with.
an EMF meter. You're carrying it.
Examine the meter to see if there's paranatural activity in the area. In general, this is mostly at every body, the cellar, and rooms adjacent to the cellar. However, knowing this doesn't really help you in any meaningful way.
a portable radio. You're carrying it.
Feel free to talk to the radio or ask/tell the radio about something just as if the radio was Sergeant Campbell herself. Unfortunately, neither Campbell nor the radio actually help you in any way.
your amulet. You're carrying it.
Keep it, but it won't save you from the demon if you meet it face-to-face.
a cup of coffee. Find it by talking to Doyle at the entrance gates.
Take it and drink it, of course.
a newspaper clipping. Find it by searching the body of Neil Hooper in the entrance hall.
Just read it. It mentions a curse.
a lighter and a pack of cigarettes. Find them by searching the body of Zoe Briggs in the garden.
In the cellar, burn the sage leaves with the lighter to cleanse the room.
some sage leaves. Acquire them by taking leaves in the greenhouse.
In the cellar, burn the sage leaves with the lighter to cleanse the room.
a wax candle. It's on the table in the dining room.
Light the candle with the lighter. Now you can see in dark locations (cellar, upstairs, maze).
The candle is also required for when you perform seance in the gallery.
Although you can blow out the candle and relight it with the lighter, feel free to leave the candle lit for the entire game. Whenever I played, the wax didn't run out.
a bar of soap. It's in the upstairs bathroom.
Smell then ignore the soap; you don't need it.
a small pocket knife. Find it by searching the body of Martin Finch in the study.
In the cellar, cut the sigil with the knife.
an old pocket watch. It's on the table in the parlour.
Ignore the watch; it's broken and you don't need it.
a rusty key. Find it by searching the body of Donna Kerr in the underground passage.
This key unlocks the bedroom door in the upper hall.
a ball of yarn. It's at the foot of the minotaur statue in the center of the maze.
At the mausoleum facade, put the yarn on the statue of Ariadne to open the mausoleum.
a bone. It's inside the casket inside the mausoleum; you don't need to open the casket.
The bone is required for when you perform seance in the gallery. Put the bone back in its casket when you no longer need it.
a demonic remains. These ashes are in the kitchen after you exorcise the demon.
Ignore the ashes; you don't need them.
Score
This is the response to SCORE:
You have so far scored N out of a possible 250, in T turns, earning you the rank of: your-rank.
Points are awarded as follows:
5 points for entering the manor.
20 points for examining the body in the entrance hall.
20 points for examining the body in the garden.
10 points for acquiring the lighter.
10 points for acquiring the sage leaves.
20 points for examining the body in the study.
10 points for acquiring the pocket knife.
5 points for entering the secret library.
5 points for entering the cellar.
20 points for examining the body in the underground passage.
15 points for looking up seance in the secret library's books.
5 points for entering the heart of the maze.
10 points for acquiring the bone.
25 points for performing the seance.
15 points for looking up Arovus in the secret library's books.
