The Wand is a Glulx interactive fiction game written with Inform 7 and is © 2017 by Arthur DiBianca. It was an entry in IF Comp 2017 where it took 11th place.
You play as someone who has come to the wizard Bartholloco's castle to win a prize. Using only a magic wand that can be set to a thousand different color combinations, can you master the wand's powers and discover the castle's many secrets when you can't even touch anything else? And what's the biggest prize you can win?
This solution is by David Welbourn, and is based on Release 1 of the game.
Outside Castle
NOTE: This game uses a very limited command set. You also cannot make the game unwinnable.
> help. x castle. x river.
> n.
Entry Chamber
> x case. x wand. take wand. (A steel portcullis now blocks the exit.)
> x portcullis. x statue. point wand at statue.
> z. z. z. z. z. z. z. z. z. z. wand.
You now know RGB to animate human depictions, and RWN to open things.
> x door. x plate.
> rwn. p portcullis. p door. n.
Reception Room
> x sofa. (Brown pillow has a "2".)
> x chairs. x table. x message. x paperweight.
> x cabinet. x landscape. x silver. x purple. (Purple dish has a "3".)
> x hole. x door. x bar.
> x portrait. (Orange glove has a "1".)
It should be obvious that the sequence Orange-browN-Purple, ONP, is being clued by the furnishings with numbers on them.
The portrait can show you a clue for another puzzle:
> rgb. p portrait. z. z.
To unbar and open the door:
> onp. p bar. rwn. p door.
> n.
Dark Hall
It's too dark to set the wand here.
> e.
Library
> x window. x bookshelves. x desk. x fireplace. x door.
> x small book. (It's in another language.)
> x large book. p it. x it.
The animals in the fable suggest ABK, since elephants are grAy, bluebirds are Blue, and a cat of misfortune is blacK.
> x drawer. p it. x key.
> abk. w.
Dark Hall / Gallery
> p object.
> x paintings. x lady. x boy. x matron.
> rgb. p lady. z. z.
> p boy. z. z. z. (He wastes two turns before speaking.)
> p matron. z. z.
Okay, try to synch the boy and matron together:
> p boy. z. p matron. (YOO fixes things.)
> w.
Dining Hall
> x table. x bowl. x candles. x door.
> rwn. p door. (Doorknob sounds broken.)
> yoo. p door. rwn. p door.
> s.
Kitchen
> x stove. p stove. x ashes. x pot.
> x counter. x book. p book. x book.
> x baltavakia. x knife. x spatula. x shards.
> x coal. x scoop.
> yoo. p shards. x chef.
> rgb. p chef. (He tells you RKO animates tools.)
> rko. p scoop. abk. p oven.
We can't make ring soup since we haven't learned how to douse a fire yet.
> s.
Pantry
> x shelves. x cupboard. rwn. p cupboard.
> x lattice. x paper.
> x cupboard. x jar.
> rwn. p lattice. n. n. e. e.
Library
> rko. p key. rwn. p door. n.
Hallway (eastern)
> x dragon. x rug. n. (You fall into...)
Dungeon
> x door. x straw. x flagstone.
> onp. p flagstone. x gap. x flagstone. (Learn OGA.)
> oga. p me. (You teleport to...)
Reception Room
> n. w. s. s.
Pantry
> rwn. p cupboard.
With the lattice closed, teleport out and return to the kitchen:
> oga. p me. n. w. s.
Kitchen
> x paper. (Translate languages with PAB.)
> rwn. p lattice.
> n. e.
Gallery
You only hear the last half of the lady's speech translated, but it's enough.
> rgb. p lady. pab. p lady.
> e.
Library
> x small book. pab. p it. x it.
Clue about a magnifying spell: First color is neither Orange nor blacK; the second color is White.
> n.
Hallway (eastern)
> oga. p dragon. x rug. (Shows BAP, but according to the lady, it should really be KGP.)
> s. w. w.
Dining Hall
Remembering the clue from the reception portrait:
> x candles. abk. p first. p second.
> kgp. p fourth. x message.
Another clue about magnifying. First color is Orange, Green, or blacK; third color is Red.
Combining this clue with the small book's clue, the magnifying spell must be Green-White-Red, or GWR.
> s. s.
Pantry
> rwn. p cupboard.
> gwr. p jar. (First clue about Weight Reducer.)
> rwn. p lattice. n.
Kitchen
> x pot. (It's boiling. Let's make soup.)
> rko. p knife. p spatula. x ball.
> z. z. z. (Sparks!)
> kgp. p oven. z. x soup. (White, Purple, browN, and Yellow.)
> n. e. e.
Library
Assuming the wand is still set to KGP:
> p fire. x fire.
More clues about Weight Reducer. Putting all the clues together gives us browN-White-blacK, or NWK.
> n.
Hallway
> nwk. p me. n.
East Tower
> x cage. x kimpert. rwn. p cage.
> x bowl. x brazier.
> x easel. x wizard. x window. x banner.
> gwr. p banner. ("5, 3, 1, 3, 2, 0, 2, 5")
> x scale. x rock.
> abk. p brazier. ("5")
> onp. p rock. ("3")
> nwk. p kimpert. ("1")
> oga. (The rock falls. "3")
> p kimpert. ("2")
> kgp. p brazier. (Kimpert returns to bowl.)
> onp. p rock ("0")
> z. z. z. ("2")
> abk. p brazier. ("5")
> x paintbrush. yoo. p paintbrush.
> rko. p it. (It adds a mouth.)
Indulge my artistry, please.
> p it. (It adds a mustache.)
> p it. (It adds antennas to his hat.)
> p it. (It adds hoop earrings.)
> p it. (It adds goatee.)
> p it. (It adds spectacles.)
> p it. (It adds freckles.)
> p it. (It adds epaulets.)
> p it. (It adds a propeller to the hat.)
> p it. (It adds nothing more.)
Thanks. That was fun. Getting on with it...
> rgb. p portrait. z. (KPK removes steel items.)
> oga. p me. s.
Entry Chamber
> x portcullis.
> kpk. p portcullis. s.
*** You have won a prize! ***
Since you now know the KPK combo from playing the first time, you could escape in at little as five turns and get a better prize:
> restart
Outside Castle
> n.
Entry Chamber
> take wand. kpk. p porcullis. s.
*** You have won a prize! ***
Assume that we still remember all the color combos we learned in part 1.
> restart
Outside Castle
> n.
Entry Chamber
Did you remember there was a steel plate in this first door? Were you curious about it?
> take wand. x door. x plate.
> kpk. p plate. (WAN will reveal hidden doors!)
> rwn. p door. n.
Reception Room
> onp. p bar. rwn. p door.
You know the next room will be dark, so...
> abk. n.
Dark Hall / Gallery
> p object. e.
Library
Let's quickly unlock the Library and Dining Hall doors before looking for hidden doors.
> rwn. p drawer.
> rko. p key.
> rwn. p door.
> w. w.
Dining Hall
> yoo. p door.
> rwn. p door.
> wan. (An outline appears on the north wall.)
> rwn. p outline. n.
Hallway (western)
No second dragon, but there is another trapdoor here, and this time, reducing your weight with NWK won't help. Try going north if you must. If you fall into the Dungeon, OGA yourself back to Reception Room and walk back here.
You're going to start learning about "basis" and "procession" and it all starts here.
> x door. rwn. p door. x message.
> e.
Garden
This location seems to be a teaching room, telling you about combos that you already know, but phrasing it all in terms of "basis" and "procession". It's not yet obvious why any of this is important.
> x hole. x rock. x pottery. x lantern.
> x statue. x plate. x sundial.
> yoo. p pottery. x birdbath.
> rgb. p statue. (He speaks in a foreign language.)
> pab. p statue. rgb. p statue.
> gwr. x sundial.
> onp. p rock. x disk.
> kpk. p plate.
> abk. p lantern.
I suppose the "basis" of a combo is the first color of it, and that that color represents some spell category. For example, Red means "activation" since it starts both the RWN and RGB combos, for example.
> x walk. x towers. x beds. x shrubbery.
> n.
Corridor
"The Cycle is a chain that never ends."
> wan. (An outline appears.)
> rwn. p outline. ("The wand itself will teach you the Cycle.")
> rwn. p outline. ("Uniformity is the key.")
Well, let's try setting the wand to all the same color:
> www. (The star is White.)
> z. (Now grAy.)
> z. (Now Blue.)
> z. (Orange.)
> z. (Red.)
> z. (blacK.)
> z. (Green.)
> z. (browN.)
> z. (Yellow.)
> z. (Purple.)
> z. (White.)
Hm. So that's the Cycle, eh? White, grAy, Blue, Orange, Red, blacK, Green, browN, Yellow, Purple, etc., or WABORKGNYP for short.
> w.
Smithy
> x dome. x forge. x parcel. x anvil.
> x tongs. x door. rwn. p door. (It's locked.)
> p parcel. (It doesn't unwrap itself.)
> rko. p tongs. (The tongs doesn't know what to do with the parcel.)
> abk. p coal. kgp. p fire. x plaque.
This confirms what "basis" means. We now have a third activation combo, RKO, that starts with Red. Also, we now know two dispel combos start with blacK: KPK and KGP.
So let's think about the rest of this. The Cycle is WABORKGNYP, etc.
Summon Fire is ABK. We could say that grAy + 1 = Blue, since Blue is the next color after grAy in the Cycle. Likewise, Blue + 3 = blacK, since blacK is three colors after Blue.
Dispell Fire is KGP. K + 1 = G. G + 3 = P. Huh. 1 and 3 again.
So, I guess the procession of fire is (1, 3)? Starting with the first color, count 1 in the Cycle to get the second color, then 3 more in the Cycle to get the third.
> x anvil.
So... Activate Tool is RKO. R + 1 = K. K + 8 = O.
That means the procession of tools is (1, 8).
Therefore, Transform Tool must be PWY, since P is transformation, P + 1 = W, and W + 8 = Y.
> pwy. p tongs. (The tongs turn into an iron key!)
> x key. rko. p key.
> rwn. p door. x door.
That WWB combo looks very interesting. Let's test it a bit:
> oga. wwb. (Three flashes for LIVING CREATURES.)
> rwn. wwb. (Only one flash for CLOSED THINGS.)
> rko. wwb. (Two flashes for TOOLS.)
> abk. wwb. (Two flashes for FIRE.)
> onp. wwb. (Two flashes for STONE OBJECTS.)
> s.
Peony's Room
If Peony is on the pedestal, wait a bit. Examine the pedestal when she's not on it.
> x Peony. x sign. x rails. x swing. x bed. x hole.
> x pedestal.
"What is the basis of IMMOBILIZATION?" It's gotta be Blue, if only because every other color is taken. From OGA (Teleport Creature), we can figure out that the procession of Living Creatures is (3, 5). Applying that to Blue, we get the combo BKW.
> bkw. z. (Repeat waiting until Peony is on the pedestal.)
> p peony. z. z. z.
The pedestal sinks, the sparkles to the south disappear and will not return.
> s.
Music Room
> x statue. x lyre. x hammer. x gong.
> x chimes. x silver. x gold. x tube.
> rgb. p woman. (She tells you to find 12 Arcane Pairs.)
> rko. p hammer. (It hits the chimes.)
> pwy. p hammer. x mallet.
> rko. p mallet. (It strikes the gong.)
A few turns from now, you'll hear a distant thunk from above unless you race to where the noise came from. Did you notice that the gong has a diamond pattern? And that the carpet in the Dining Hall also has a diamond pattern?
Do this immediately after the gong has been struck:
> oga. p me. n. w.
Dining Hall
You have a brief chance to read the floor plate before the table and carpet fall back over top of it.
> x plate. (YYN and BPR are an Arcane Pair.)
> yyn. bpr. ("One.")
Head back to the Music Room:
> n. e. n. w. s. s.
Music Room
Risk exploring without the wand! It's safe, honest!
> e. (Your wand disappears.)
Cistern
That looks like the Dungeon's door to the north.
> x door. x cistern. x painting.
> e.
Wine Cellar
> x door. ("VAULT")
> x rack. (From 1 to 900.)
> x parchment. ("If you merge #48 with #725, you will get #441.")
> x desk. x large book. x small book.
Note that the small book's text, even though it's in another language, looks very famiilar. If you compare it to what the small book in the library says, you know that TROFF-BUCKOR-VOLLIN means BLACK-WHITE-ORANGE. And the illustration is of the fireplace there?
Let's head back to the Library; the wand will reappear in our hand when we return to the Music Room:
> w. w. oga. p me. n. e.
Library
> kwo. p fire. s.
Odds and Ends
> x message. x board. x wrench. x duster.
> rko. p wrench. (It adjusts a sink pipe.)
> x pipe.
> p duster. (It dusts a shelf.)
> x shelf. x basket.
> pwy. p wrench. rko. p bat. (It can't find a ball to hit.)
> pwy. p duster. rko. p hammer. (It whacks the board's end.)
> s.
Armory
> x suit. (It pushes you back out of the room.)
Odds and Ends
You can try to cast spells at the suit of armor, but nothing seems to work. And you can't really use the other stuff in the Armory while the suit interferes.
The trick here is to freeze yourself in the Armory, the way you froze Peony:
> bkw. s.
Armory
If you're frozen, the suit of armor eventually gives up and sulks.
> p me. z. z. z.
Now that you're unfrozen, let's do stuff:
> x suit. x armoire. x rope.
> x cannonballs. x stitched ball.
> x locker. rwn. p locker. x locker. x sword.
> rwn. p locker.
> rko. p sword. (It saws the rope.)
> rwn. p armoire. x sign.
"If you merge STEEL with STONE OBJECTS, you will get DARKNESS."
"Merge"? How does one merge processions? Worry about it later.
> pwy. p sword. (It's now a croquet mallet.)
> rko. p mallet. (It hits the stitched ball to the north.)
> n.
Odds and Ends
With the stitched ball in the room:
> pwy. p wrench. rko. p bat. (It just pokes the ball a bit.)
> pwy. p duster. rko. p hammer. (The ball flies in the air.)
> z. (The ball falls back onto the board.)
> z. (Continue waiting, if necessary, for the hammer to revert back to the duster.)
Okay, gotta time this right or it won't work:
> pwy. p duster. p wrench.
> rko. z. p hammer. p bat. p wrench. (The ball is now on the shelf.)
> p duster.
The ball rolls into the basket. Click. Sign revealed.
> x sign. (BGG and AWN are an Arcane Pair.)
> bgg. awn. ("Two.")
> n.
Library
Thinking about our Transform Tool spell, what does the key here turn into?
> pwy. p key. x crank.
> rko. p crank.
Hm. Perhaps that'll be useful later. What about the kitchen tools?
> w. w. s.
Kitchen
> pwy. p knife. x hammer.
> p spatula. x spoon.
> p scoop. x tongs.
> rko. p hammer. (It'd smash the chef if it could.)
> p spoon. (It stirs the pot.)
> p tongs. (It moves the pot!)
> x stove. rog. kby. ("Three.")
We could visit the East Tower, re-solve the scale puzzle, and then repair and transform the paintbrush, but it's not worth it. I'll tell you right now it turns into a fork that does nothing more interesting than poke the kimpert.
Instead, head to the Garden:
> n. n. e.
Garden
We know there's another stone spell besides ONP. Experimenting with its procession, (4, 2), we can find YBR:
> ybr. p rock. (NOA and WBG are an Arcane Pair.)
> noa. wbg. ("Four.")
> n. e.
Dark Chamber
Oh, this is no good. But maybe once we know the procession for Darkness, we can do something here.
> w. w.
Smithy
> kwo. p forge. x inscription. (BRB and PWK are an Arcane Pair.)
> brb. pwk. ("Five.")
> e. s. w.
Hallway (western)
> wan. wwb.
Oh, there's two secret door spells? Can we immobilize a trapdoor? Lessee, from WAN, we know that the secret door procession is (1, 6), and proceeding (1, 6) from Blue gives us BOP.
Note you need the outline visible to be able to target it.
> wan. bop. p outline. n.
West Tower
> x bed. x nightstand.
> x tray. gwr. p tray. (It's still too small to read.)
> x wardrobe. rwn. p wardrobe. x sign.
> x frame.
> x window. gwr. x banner. p banner.
Okay, I get it now. Merging processions is adding the first numbers together and the second numbers together, and applying modulo 10 to the results because it's a Cycle of ten colours.
Example 1: FIRE (1, 3) + TOOLS (1, 8) = LANGUAGES (2, 1).
Example 2: TOOLS (1, 8) + STONE (4, 2) = BROKEN (5, 0).
Example 3: STEEL (4, 6) + LANGUAGES (2, 1) = CLOSED (6, 7).
Therefore: STEEL (4, 6) + STONE (4, 2) = DARKNESS (8, 8).
Assuming we want to Dispel Darkness, start with blacK and proceed (8, 8) to arrive at KOA.
> koa. (The star of the wand lights up!)
Let's go to Dark Chamber:
> oga. p me.
> koa. n. w. n. e. n. e.
Crypt
I just realized. While the wand is providing light, we can't perform any other magic in here. We're gonna need another light source.
> x sarcophagus. x urn. x ashes. x sign.
IMAGES (4, 4) + DARKNESS (8, 8) = INVISIBLE THINGS (2, 2). We probably want to reveal invisible things, so start with White; this leads to WBR.
> w.
Corridor
> wbr. (It's acting the same way WAN does.)
> wwb. (One flash. So WBR is the only invisible things spell.)
> oga. p me. s.
Entry Chamber
There's an invisible scroll in this room.
> wbr. x scroll.
TOOLS (1, 8) + LANGUAGES (2, 1) = HENRY (3, 9). Surely we don't want to vaporize the display case? Oh, yes we do.
> kyn. p case. (The case is gone!)
> wwb. (One flash. Only one spell for Henry's stuff.)
> n. n.
Gallery
Remember the bit about a "prismatic effect" in one of the wine cellar books?
> kgp. p chandelier. s.
Reception Room
> koa. n.
Gallery
Your wand light makes the chandelier reveal WGY and ORP patterns.
> abk. p chandelier.
> wgy. orp. ("Six.")
> w. s. s.
Pantry
> rwn. p cupboard.
> wbr. (A sack appears in the cupboard.)
> x sack. (RWY and APB are an Arcane Pair.)
> rwy. apb. ("Seven.")
> rwn. p lattice.
> n. n. e. e.
Library
> wbr. (A grandfather clock appears.)
> x clock. x bolt.
> rko. p crank. (The hands advance from 12 to 3 o'clock.)
We don't know what time we want or why, so leave it for now.
> s. s.
Armory
> wbr. (Plaque appears.)
> x plaque. (That clue refers to the Music Room's chimes.)
> n. n. n. n.
Dungeon
"HA" stands for Henry Antril, apparently. Ha ha.
> x door. kyn. p door. s.
Cistern
> gwr. p painting. (Of a soldier.)
> rgb. p painting. (It's moving around.)
> e.
Wine Cellar
> pab. p small book. x it.
> x parchment. ("merge #48 with #725, you will get #441")
> onp. p 48. x 48. (FIRE.)
> p 725. x 725. (DARKNESS.)
> p 441. x 441. (SILVER.)
> kpk. p door. (The steel coating vanishes. The door is actually brass.)
FIRE (1, 3) + DARKNESS (8, 8) = SILVER (9, 1). We've seen two silver items: a tarnished silver plate in Reception Room and a large silver chime in Music Room.
> oga. p me.
Reception Room
Yellow is used for restoring, Silver is (9, 1), so Restore Silver is YNY.
> yny. p silver. x silver. (BYR and PKK are an Arcane Pair.)
> byr. pkk. ("Eight.")
> yny. wwb.
Two flashes. There's another silver spell: Reduce Silver, which is NGN.
> ngn. p silver. (Not helpful here, but it works.)
Head to the East Tower:
> n. e. n.
Hallway (eastern)
> wan. bop. p outline. n.
East Tower
> wan. (An outline appears in the floor!)
> rwn. p outline. x hole. x disk.
> ngn. p coin. (It shrinks and falls!)
Return to the Crypt:
> oga. p me. n. w. n. e. n. e.
Crypt
There's now a hole in the ceiling, providing light. The disk is here too.
> rwn. p sarc. x sarc. x skeleton.
BROKEN (5, 0) + FIRE (1, 3) = ASHES (6, 3). We'll want to restore ashes, so starting with Yellow, we get YRN.
> onp. p lid. x lid.
> yrn. p ashes. x figurine.
> rgb. p figurine.
BERRIES + APPLES = BANANAS, but also APPLES + BANANAS = BERRIES? We don't know the processions for Berries or Bananas, but it doesn't matter. Apples must be (5, 5), right? Or maybe (0, 5). We already know that Broken Objects is (5, 0), and that (0, 0) shows the color Cycle.
The only apples are in the Dining Hall, so let's head there:
> w. s. w. s.
Dining Hall
Uh, what to do with apples? Turns out we displace them. Orange and (5, 5) gives us OYO.
> oyo. p apples. x face.
> rgb. p face. (YNG and WAO are an Arcane Pair.)
> yng. wao. ("Nine.")
> s.
Kitchen
> x oven. x ashes.
> yrn. p ashes. x placard.
"THE VAULT IS UNLOCKED WHILE THE CLOCK STRIKES SIX." So that's what the grandfather clock is for. We'll want to go via the Dungeon so we can keep the wand.
> n. e. e.
Library
> wbr. (To make the clock appear.)
> rko. p crank. (It advances from 3 to 6.)
Race to the Vault! If you misstep, return to the Library and re-crank the clock to 6 o'clock and try again.
> n. n.
Dungeon
> s. e.
Wine Cellar
> rwn. p door. n.
Vault
> x rubies. x diamonds. x emeralds. x scale. x silver. x gold.
> ngn. x silver. (The scales balance.)
IMAGES (4, 4) + LIVING (3, 5) = GOLD (7, 9). Assuming we want to expand gold, that means we want GOB.
> gob. p gold. (The scales tilt to right; PYA and KRN are a pair.)
> pya. krn. ("Ten.")
Now that we can enlarge gold, we ought to be able to deal with that gold tray in West Tower.
> oga. p me. n. w. n.
Hallway (western)
> wan. bop. p outline. n.
West Tower
> gob. p gold. gwr. p gold.
STONE (4, 2) + ASHES (6, 3) = WATER (0, 5). There's a birdbath in the Garden. Let's experiment with water spells there.
> oga. p me. n. w. n. e.
Garden
We're able to summon and dispel fire, so we maybe we can summon and dispel water as well. Turns out we can:
> aag. p birdbath.
> kkw. p birdbath.
> n. w. s. s.
Music Room
> pwy. p mallet. (We want the hammer back.)
> kkw. p tube. (The tube empties.)
> ngn. p silver. (The silver shrinks.)
> rko. p hammer. ("Ting! Ting! Ting!" You see NKY.)
> aag. p tube. (The tube is full; meanwhile, the silver enlarges back.)
> gob. p gold.
> rko. p hammer. ("Dong! Dong! Dong!" You see AOO.)
NKY and AOO are an Arcane Pair:
> nky. aoo. ("Eleven.")
We want to go to the cistern next, but via the Dungeon so we keep the wand with us:
> oga. p me. n. w. n. n. s.
Cistern
> aag. p cistern.
It drains as fast as it fills! There's a hidden trapdoor in it.
> wan. bop. p outline.
> aag. p cistern. (The painting is now floating near you.)
> rgb. p painting. (Soldier's back has NPN and YGO stripes.)
> npn. ygo. ("Twelve. The Arcane Triad is revealed.")
You probably should save here in case you want to continue exploring later.
> save.
> x wand. rog. pna. wbk.
You are now in a underground chamber. Bartholloco shrieks "I'm free!"
*** You have rescued Bartholloco and won a free castle! ***
Let's explore a teensy bit more. Restore back to just before using the Arcane Triad:
> restore
Cistern
> e.
Wine Cellar
Did you wonder about the crescents and stars etched on the wine bottles? Did you notice that the lower numbered bottles had crescents and the higher numbered ones had stars? And did you consider that maybe there's something special about the bottle in the middle where the crescents stop and the stars begin?
> onp. p 500. x 500. (Crescent.) p 700. x 700. (Star.)
> p 600. x 600. (Crescent.) p 650. x 650. (Star.)
> p 630. x 630. (Star.) p 610. x 610. (Crescent.)
> p 620. x 620. (Crescent.) p 625. x 625. (Star.)
> p 623. x 623. (Star.) p 622. x 622. (Crescent and star!)
> ana. kgy. ("Thirteen.")
> w. w.
Music Room
Hooray, carrying the wand west from from Cistern into the Music Room voids the wand restriction. Now head to the West Tower:
> oga. p me. n. w. n. wan. bop. p outline. n.
West Tower
This is a difficult Arcane Pair to discover. WWB tells you that there's two spells for Human Depictions, but if you try casting any Human Depictions combo other than RGB at any statues or paintings, they don't work. You have to remember that there's an empty frame here and realize that maybe you can summon a painting into it! It seems that whatever you summon (water, fire, painting) requires an appropriate empty thing for your summoned item to go into.
> rgb. wwb. (Two flashes for Human Depictions.)
> x frame. aop. p frame. x painting.
> rgb. p painting. onb. ywy. ("Fourteen.")
Your wand now displays the Augmented Arcane Triad.
> x wand. nwa. por. gyb.
*** You have rescued Bartholloco and won a free castle! ***
And you've won a medallion too. Well done!
The living creatures are:
The human depictions, besides those of Bartholloco, are:
Also:
There are ten basic colors in this game, and each has a single-letter abbreviation. The first color in a combo indicates what class of spell it is, but you won't learn that in your first run through the game.
You'll learn some color combos during your first playthrough, only caring what the combos mean without any regard to what the individual colors mean. Those combos are:
There is a color cycle. Setting the wand to all of the same color makes the star of the wand also turn that color before cycling through the other colors: gray to blue to orange to red to black to green to brown to yellow to purple to white to gray, etc. This cycle is important because it's used with processions to determine the second and third colors in a spell combo.
Processions are associated with types of things you want to enchant. I represent them as a pair of numbers. For example, the procession of Closed Things is (6,7).
You interpret a procession by counting along the color cycle. The combo RWN, for opening closed doors, starts with Red for Activation, then you count 6 from Red to get White, and then count 7 from White to get browN.
The known processions are:
See Spells below for details on each spell.
The wand is also used to set Arcane Pairs which are pairs of color combos that you set the wand to, one immediately after the other. This has no effect except to add a silver band to the wand's handle until you have twelve pairs set. There are actually fourteen pairs, but you only need to find twelve of them. The Arcane Pairs are:
Finally, the Arcane Triad is revealed by the wand itself after you've set twelve Arcane Pairs. This Triad is ROG, PNA, and WBK. Set the wand to those three combos in sequence to win big.
But... there's also an Augmented Arcane Triad which is revealed by the wand after you've set all fourteen Arcane Pairs. The augmented Triad is NWA, POR, and GYB. Set the wand to those three combos in sequence to win big and get a nice medallion as well.
Confession time. I did a bit of brute-force work in actually solving this game. In particular, I worked out the processions of silver and gold without ever entering the Vault.
Finding the stuck silver coin in East Tower, I wildly guessed that a 'shrink silver' spell was needed, which would start with N, of course. I didn't know the procession of silver, though. So I tried NAA, NAB, NAG, NAK, etc. until NGN worked. Yes, I did that.
Likewise, puzzling out the gold tray in West Tower, I assumed that I needed to expand the gold tray, but not knowing the procession for gold, I tried GAA, GAB, GAG, GAK, etc. until I hit the one that worked.
Yes, I had to also assume that there were processions for silver and gold in the first place, but seeing the large silver chime and the small gold chime in the Music Room made my assumption seem like a good guess.
By the way, I also tried using OGA from the beginning of the game, hoping I could see the other side of the door into the Reception Room. However, the author anticipated that ploy, and opened the door just as I was being displaced!
The author, however, did not expect me to try TAKE ALL, evil fiend that I am. I was very surprised to find I'd picked up a sleeping dragon off the sofa without waking it up. It does not appear in INVENTORY, but I was definitely carrying it. (The author has since told me that this bug will be fixed in the post-competition release.)
Update (20-Nov-2017): E-mail exchanges with the author and another player have revealed to me two more Arcane Pairs in the game (to a total of fourteen pairs), and a few other items I missed or was incorrect about. I have updated the walkthrough with this new information. Thank you for making this walkthrough better!
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