In this supernatural horror game, your former employer, Dale, asked you to clean up an isolated rental cabin deep within the woods. For five hundred bucks. It's evening when you arrive, and you are dismayed to see a broken door and broken window even before you get out of your car. Dale never mentioned damage like this, and you didn't even bring any tools! You yell "hello" but no one answers. Time to survey the place, scrounge up some tools, and fix up the cabin as best you can. But what happened here?
This solution is by David Welbourn, and is based on Release 1, Serial number 260115 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.
FYI: When you get the barn door open, you cannot actually enter because it's full of junk. That's why there's only one "Barn" location to represent the outside of the barn.
Walkthrough
CAUTION: This game responds with "You see nothing special." when you try to examine anything the game doesn't know about (or isn't nearby). This misleading behavior may make you think you examined something that doesn't exist, or you tried to examine something that does exist but you used the wrong term and didn't see the actual description.
>> SPACE
Front of the CabinEvening
> x me.(default)
> i. x notebook.(shows running list of tasks)
> x car. open trunk. close it.(empty)
> x cabin. x door.(lantern found)
This is the only location with any light. You need the lantern's light for all other locations.
> x lantern. take it. turn it on.
> n.
Porch
> x bench. x trellis. x sockets.
> x beams. x slats. x window.
> in.
Living Room
> x mess. x clothes.(find shotgun and shells)
> take shotgun. take shells.
> x gun. x shell.
> open gun. take empty shell.
> put shell in gun. close gun.
> x fireplace. x vase. take nails.
> x bird. x ashes. x leather. x deer. x fish.
> x couch. search couch.(etching found)
> x etching.(of tree with three branches)
> x mirror.(reflection of clock shows 6:57)
> x clock.(shows 6:32)
> x trapdoor.(has eyelet for securing it)
> nw.
Small Bedroom
> x bed. x clothing. x window.
> x bookshelf. x knickknacks.
> x mug. take keyring. x it.
> x books. read diary.
The diary contains some hints that will make more sense later.
> x lamp. x curtain.(a closet door)
> x closet.(more clothes inside; you re-close it)
There's now some brown pants in this room, but ignore them for now.
> n.
Large Bedroom
> x beds. search beds. take tape. x it.
> x table. x pitcher. x basin.
> x window. x desk. x chair. x mirror.
> x brush. x vanity mirror.
> x sketchbook.("C.W.")
> e.
Back Hallway
> x floorboards.(one nailed down excessively)
> e.
Bathroom
> x sheeting. x sink.(water still running)
> x mirror. x toilet. x roll.
> x tub.(pipe needs to be fixed)
> x broom. take it.
> w. s.
Front Hallway
> x box.(melted and beyond repair)
> e.
Dining Area
> x table. x tablecloth. x flowers.
> x window. x pass-through window.
> x shelf. x rag. take it.
> x notebook.(Quite a few tasks to do, eh?)
> sweep glass with broom.(+1)
> w. w.
Small Bedroom
> sweep glass with broom.(+1)
> se.
Living Room
> sweep mess with broom.(+1)
> open trapdoor. d.
Cellar
> x tank. x pipes. x crack.
> fix pipe with tape.(+1, also using rag; hammer found)
> x hammer. take it.
> x frames.(axe shaft found)
> x axe shaft. take it.
> x shelving.(empty)
> x door.(crooked, but locked)
> unlock door with key ring.(doesn't fit)
> x stairs. x etching.(moon with FOUR craters)
> u. out.
Porch
> sweep glass with broom.(+1)
> sit on bench.(+1; peaceful)
> s. nw.
Western Woods
> x windows. x leaves. x trees. x shed. x door.
> unlock door with key ring.
> w.
Workshed
> x bones. x bench. x windlass.(broken)
> x chain. x padlock. take chain and padlock.
> x tools. x shovel. take it.
> e. ne.
Rear Woods
> x planks.(too long)
> take planks.
> n. n.
Barn
> x trees. x stump. x axe head. take it.
> x barn. x door. x stains.
> x lock.(needs a four-digit combo)
> put axe head on handle.(+1; using the hammer)
> x axe.
> put planks on stump.
> chop planks with axe.(+1)
> take planks.
> i.(Note that the hammer, nails, and cut planks are now collected together as "repair tools".)
> s. s. se.
Eastern Woods
> x trees. x windows. x chimney.
> x moss. move moss.(no: scrape it with a tool)
> scrape moss with shovel.(+1; etching found)
> x etching.(of demonic skull)
> sw. sw.
Southwest Woods
> x slats. x mound.
> dig mound with shovel.(The shaft snaps almost in two!)
> x shovel.(It can be repaired.)
> fix shovel with tools.(+1)
> dig mound with shovel.(+1; grave found)
> x grave. x sheet.(body liquified)
You may wonder why should you dig up this grave when there doesn't seem to be anything to obtain from it. Don't worry; you'll do something more here a bit later.
> ne. n. in.
Living Room
The broken windows must be repaired from the inside.
> fix window with tools.(+1)
> nw.
Small Bedroom
> fix window with tools.(+1)
> e. e.
Dining Area
> fix window with tools.(+1)
> w. sw. out. s.
Front of the Cabin
> take door. fix door with tools.(not here)
> nw. w.
Workshed
> put door on bench. fix door with tools.(+1)
> take door.
> e. se. n.
Porch
> hang door on hinges.(+1)
With the last repair done, it's time to drive home. "Evening" has turned into "Night".
> s.
Front of the CabinNight
Your car is gone! You'll have to spend the night in the cabin.
> n. in.
Living Room
A figure with the face of a demon lurches in from the hallway. "Your flesh is ours!", it screams.
>> SPACE
> shoot demon with gun.(+1; it retreats and drops an old key)
> take key. open gun. take empty shell.
> put shell in gun. close gun.
> d.
Cellar
> unlock door with old key. n.
Cellar - Back Room
CAUTION: If you try to take the record, it shatters.
> x poster.(for movie "The Hills Have Eyes")
> x gramophone.(the kind wound by a handle)
> x horn. x record.("Charleston")
> turn handle.(The jazz music drowns out the wind.)
> x desk. x rectangle.
> x flashlight. take it.(no: broken bulb and no battery)
> x bottle. open it.(smells like bleach)close it.
> x ammo.(You acquire three more shells.)
> x journal. take it.
"R.K." was a professor of archaeology. He found a book in some castle ruins, spoke the words in it, and summoned a dark force.
To pacify the force, dig a hole in the ground which from which the awakening words were spoken, place in it the marrow reliquary containing a bone from the first possessed thing and a dagger tainted with demonic ectoplasm. At the original time the entity was awoken, say the "Words of Sleep" to ensnare the evil. The translation of the "Words of Sleep" is hidden in the study.
If you remember clearly what the diary said, and what the mirror in the living room showed you, you can deduce that Raymond spoke the awakening words here in this room on 10/17 at 6:57.
If you're wondering where the book that started all this is, it's probably those ashes and leather you found in the fireplace.
> search poster.(secret alcove found)
> x alcove. take page. x it.
> x floor. dig floor with shovel.(You've made a hole.)
> s.
Cellar
> u.(The demon attacks you from under the stairs!)
I'm uncertain what triggers this special attack by the demon. My best guess it's because you found and took the page from the alcove.
> shoot demon with gun.(You race upstairs and close the trapdoor.)
Living Room
> lock trapdoor with padlock.(+1)
The demon is trapped, for now. He may affect a normal human voice, asking to be let out, but it's a trick, of course.
> open gun. take empty shell.
> put shell in gun. close gun.
> move minute to 57.(A dark shadow disappears through the trapdoor.)
> nw.
Small Bedroom
I'm not certain, but I think you only get this point if the clock is at 6:57? Since I always get the point if I wear the pants late in the game, I'm not too fussy about the why of it.
> take pants. wear pants.(+1)
> read diary.(Just to understand it better now.)
> n. e.
Back Hallway
> pry floorboard with hammer.(+1; box found)
> x box.(has four pressable sigils, currently all demonic skulls)
> take box.
> out. n. n.
Barn
> read journal.
Pay attention to the odd phrase "may this cursed day mark her tomb" at the end of the first paragraph of the 10/21 entry.
This is a bit of a read-author's-mind moment, but this is your clue that "1021" is the code for the barn door, because... this is where Raymond put his wife's bones. They weren't in that grave you found, and this is the last place in the game where they could be, yes?
You get how this puzzle was supposed to work now, right?
Also "input" is a very difficult verb to guess. It is mentioned in the response to "examine lock", but "type" or "enter" is far more common.
> input 1021.(+1; lock unlocks and you open the doors)
> x car. open trunk. x etching.(singular eye)
> x bones. take bone. x it.
Time to unlock the reliquary. Raymond's wife made the etchings in the hope that someone like you would understand they are clues for unlocking the reliquary. The singular eyeball is first. The demonic skull with both eyes is second. The tree with three branches is third. The full moon with four craters is fourth.
Assuming you haven't pushed any of the sigils yet:
> push first.(now shows a bleeding eyeball)
> push third. g. g.(now shows a gnarled tree)
> push fourth. g. g. g. g.(now shows a full moon)
+1: The reliquary unlocks.
> open box. x dagger.
The journal said you need ectoplasmic remains on this dagger. That's what's in the grave on the other end of the map.
> s. s. se. sw. sw.
Southwest Woods
Again, "dip" is not an easy verb to guess.
> dip dagger in remains.(+1)
> put dagger in box.
> put bone in box.
> close box.
> ne. n. in.
Living Room
I'm re-iterating the instruction to set the clock's minute hand to 57 because it's so easy to forget.
> set minute to 57.
Double-check that you reloaded your gun. If there's an empty shell in there, replace it.
> open gun. close gun.
> save
> unlock trapdoor with key ring.
Sometimes the demon emerges immediately, but usually he stays below. I'm assuming the latter, but if he emerges, obviously shoot him here instead.
> d.
Cellar
> shoot demon with gun.
> n.
Cellar - Back Room
Reminder: The box needs to contain both the dagger smeared with ectoplasmic remains and the bone of a victim. The box must be closed when you put it into the hole.
> put box in hole.
The ground glows bright red and the demon is forced to be here.
> say KANDA VESH THUL KANDA NU TAL SABOTH TANTIR KANDA (+1)
OutsideDawn
*** Silence, except for the sound of your ragged breath. After a few moments grasping around in the darkness, your hands finally brush against the lantern you dropped in the chaos. You find yourself alone under its dim glow. The ground has smoothed over as if sacred items were never placed here... or a macabre demon was ever dragged back to hell.
You take a deep breath before stumbling through the cellar, cautious of every shadow and corner, taking the steps up to the living room two at a time. Light glints through the windows. Shocked, you throw open the front door and step out into the first pale shafts of dawn. Quiet bird song drifts down from the trees.
Relieved, you slump down onto the porch, running your hands through your hair. You've managed to survive whatever hell was unleashed upon this cabin.
Laughing, it's all you can do to stave off the terror still coursing through your veins, you stand and start off down the trail. It'll take most of the morning to reach the road, but at least you know it's a safe hike. Soon, you'll be able to flag down a vehicle and get a ride back to town so you can report these events. Although, what could you possibly say that'd be believable? It'd probably be best to leave out most of the details.
The image of Dale's stupid face flashes through your mind. Considering the night you've had on this mountain, you decide it would be very appropriate to renegotiate your fee!
The leaves crunch beneath your boots, and the cool morning air bites at your face. You look back just in time to watch the cabin disappear behind the trees. (Ending 9/9). ***
Extras
Characters
An evil demon threatens you inside the cabin during the Night phase of the game.
A shadow sometimes passes by when you examine any mirror, and it passes through the trapdoor whenever you set the clock to the awakening time: 6:57.
Found dead:
Raymond ("R.K.") was a professor of archaeology. He found a book in a castle ruin, and came to this isolated cabin to study it. Unfortunately, he spoke out loud the words of awakening from the book which summoned a dark force, a demon. I assume the mess you find in the living room used to be Raymond's body.
Raymond's wife ("C.W.") was an artist who followed her husband wherever he goes. She was the demon's first victim. For reasons unclear to me, Raymond dismembered her, then buried her flesh in a grave, and entombed her bones in the barn's car's trunk.
A deer head and a fish are mounted on plaques in the living room.
A dozen bones, including a bull skull and several ram horns, dangle from the workshed's ceiling on ratty old twine.
Mentioned:
Dale is a hardware store owner. You used to be his stockroom employee. He offered you five hundred dollars, half upfront, to drive up to an old cabin in the woods and make sure it's vacated, clean, and secure.
The cabin's owner rents the cabin out to guests. Normally, Dale takes care of its maintenance.
A wolf howls when you find your car is missing, just to punctuate how dangerous the woods can be even without any demons.
These are the endings I know about. I regret I did not find all nine endings.
You were killed by something the darkness. (Ending 1/9).
if you spend too many consecutive turns in the darkness, regardless if it's evening or night. You do not need to go from darkness to darkness to trigger this ending.
You watch in the mirror as the cabin disappears behind the trees. "Probably for the best", you mutter to yourself. The cabin was in poorer condition than Dale let on. If he, or the owner, wanted to get it fixed up they'd have to send in a professional. Pity about the money, but there's no way you're going to return the half you received up front, especially after spending most of the day driving up there.
Call it a scouting fee, you think, listening to the wheels churn up the dead leaves and branches. A few hours later, as you're pulling onto the main road back to town, you wonder about the previous cabin guests and what might have happened to them. (Ending 4/9).
if you drive off in your car with chores unfinished.
You swing at the demon but miss! Before you can swing again the demon shambles forward and sinks the ragged, dirty nails of its claw-like fingers into your neck! Blood sprays from the wound into the face of the demon as it cackles. Your vision grows dim... (Ending 5/9)
if you try to attack the demon with something like the axe, dagger, or shovel.
The demon falls upon you and tears at your flesh with its claws and teeth! You fight for your life, but are easily overpowered by the raging creature. Soon, your body stands again... (Ending 6/9)
if you fail to attack or defend yourself from the demon's attack.
Something moving in the darkness reaches for you! A hiker discovers your corpse several days later, floating face down in a nearby lake's dirty water. It is a long time before anyone discovers how you met this fate... (Ending 7/9)
if you meet the demon, turn off the lantern, and wait.
Throwing caution to the wind you [if bottle closed] twist off the cap and [end if] press your lips to the jug and knock back a quick gulp... And another... Moments later, you are writhing on the earthen floor in excruciating abdominal pain, sputtering blood from your ruined esophagus as you call hopelessly for help, [if demon here] watching as the enraged demon falls to its knees next to you, laughing as it tears at your flesh! [else] and wondering, as the intense nausea overwhelms you, how long it might take for your shriveled, decaying body to be found. [end if] (Ending 8/9).
if you drink the blue liquid. It really was bleach.
Silence, except for the sound of your ragged breath. After a few moments grasping around in the darkness, your hands finally brush against the lantern you dropped in the chaos. You find yourself alone under its dim glow. The ground has smoothed over as if sacred items were never placed here... or a macabre demon was ever dragged back to hell.
You take a deep breath before stumbling through the cellar, cautious of every shadow and corner, taking the steps up to the living room two at a time. Light glints through the windows. Shocked, you throw open the front door and step out into the first pale shafts of dawn. Quiet bird song drifts down from the trees.
Relieved, you slump down onto the porch, running your hands through your hair. You've managed to survive whatever hell was unleashed upon this cabin.
Laughing, it's all you can do to stave off the terror still coursing through your veins, you stand and start off down the trail. It'll take most of the morning to reach the road, but at least you know it's a safe hike. Soon, you'll be able to flag down a vehicle and get a ride back to town so you can report these events. Although, what could you possibly say that'd be believable? It'd probably be best to leave out most of the details.
The image of Dale's stupid face flashes through your mind. Considering the night you've had on this mountain, you decide it would be very appropriate to renegotiate your fee!
The leaves crunch beneath your boots, and the cool morning air bites at your face. You look back just in time to watch the cabin disappear behind the trees. (Ending 9/9).
if you successfully banish the demon.
Inventory
Items are listed in the order you acquire them in this walkthrough. There isn't any carrying capacity limit, so grab everything you can get.
an old notebook. You're carrying it.
The notebook is automatically updated with the tasks you need to complete. Read it periodically to learn or remind yourself what still needs to be done.
a lantern. Find it on the porch by examining the door.
Light the lantern so you can see in dark locations. Never turn it off or abandon it. It never runs out of fuel.
a Winchester shotgun and three shotgun shells. Find them by examining the clothes in the mess in the living room.
Open the gun and remove the empty shotgun shell that's inside. Put a shotgun shell into the gun and close it. The gun can only hold one shell at a time. Feel free to discard empty shells.
In the cellar's back room, examine the ammo boxes to acquire an additional three shotgun shells.
Whenever you encounter the demon, your only real options are to run away to an adjacent location or to shoot the demon with the gun. The demon often blocks exits, but not always. If you do shoot the demon, he leaves, and you should replace the empty shell in your gun with the next good shell at your earliest opportunity.
Save all your ammo for the demon. Do not bother trying to shoot anything else.
a handful of nails. They're in the red vase on the fireplace in the living room.
This is one of three items you need for repairing things; see repair tools.
a key ring. It's in a mug on the bookshelf in the small bedroom.
The key ring unlocks both the workshed door and the padlock you find inside the workshed.
The key ring does not unlock the door in the cellar; see old key.
a roll of duct tape. Find it by searching the beds in the large bedroom.
In the cellar, when you have both the duct tape and the rag, fix the broken pipe with the duct tape. You use up both items for this repair job.
a broom. It's in the bathroom.
In the living room, after taking the shotgun and shells from the clothes in the mess, sweep the mess with the broom.
In the dining area, small bedroom, and porch, sweep the broken glass with the broom.
an old rag. It's on the shelf in the dining area.
In the cellar, fix the broken pipe with the duct tape. You automatically also use the rag with this repair job; you need both the rag and the tape.
a hammer. Find it in the cellar by fixing the broken pipe with the duct tape and old rag. You don't notice it until then.
In the back hallway, pry the floorboard with the hammer to find the reliquary hidden underneath.
When you have the axe head, axe handle, and hammer, put the head onto the handle to make an axe.
The hammer is also part of your repair tools, which see.
an axe handle. Find it in the cellar by examining the window frames there.
When you have the axe head, axe handle, and hammer, put the head onto the handle to create an axe.
a chain and a rusty padlock. They're on the workbench in the workshed.
The padlock is initially unlocked. Keep it unlocked until you need it.
If you encounter the demon in the cellar, it is to your advantage to shoot the demon with the shotgun. You then automatically run upstairs and close the trapdoor. Immediately lock the the trapdoor with the padlock; you need the chain for this as well. The demon remains trapped in the cellar until you unlock the padlock with the key ring.
a shovel. It's in the workshed.
In the southwestern woods, try to dig the mound with the shovel. The shovel's shaft breaks, and you now have a broken shovel.
In the eastern woods, examine the chimney to find some moss. Scrape the moss with the shovel to find an etching.
Back at the southwestern woods, dig the mound with the repaired shovel to unearth a grave.
In the cellar's back room, dig the dirt floor with the shovel as preparation for the banishment ritual; see reliquary.
a few planks of wood. They're leaning against the cabin in the rear woods.
Outside the barn, put the planks on the stump, then chop the planks with the axe. You must do it there because you need a surface to put the planks onto and enough room to swing the axe.
Take the planks; they're now styled as a few planks of cut wood. They will become part of your repair tools.
an axe head. It's on the tree stump outside the barn.
When you have the axe head, axe handle, and hammer, put the head onto the handle to create an axe.
an axe. Construct it by putting the axe head onto the axe handle, using the hammer to hammer them together.
Outside the barn, put the planks on the stump, then chop the planks with the axe. You must do it there because you need a surface to put the planks onto and enough room to swing the axe.
Fix the broken shovel with the tools; it's now a repaired shovel.
In the workshed, put the broken door onto the workbench, then fix the door with the tools; it's now a repaired door.
In the living room, small bedroom, and dining area, fix the broken window with the tools.
When all possible repair jobs that require the complete set of repair tools are finished, the planks are completely used up.
a broken door. It's at the front of the cabin.
In the workshed, put the broken door onto the workbench. Fix the door with the tools. It is now a repaired door. Take it.
On the porch, hang the repaired door on the hinges.
an old key. At Night, after discovering your car is gone, return to the living room and meet a demon. Shoot the demon with the loaded shotgun; it drops this old key when it retreats.
The old key unlocks the door in the cellar. The cellar's back room was Raymond's study.
a journal. It's on the desk in the study (the cellar's back room).
Take and read the journal. It tells you about Raymond's version of the events and also explains what you need to do to get rid of the demon; see reliquary, dagger, bone claw, and page.
Less obviously, the phrase "may this cursed day mark her tomb" at the end of the 10/21 entry is the game's cheeky way of hinting that "1021" is the code for the barn door. This makes more sense when you find the wife's bones inside the barn's car's trunk and realize he was refering to the barn as her tomb. Before then, you're far more likely to think of the grave in the southwestern woods as where the wife ended up.
a page (with translated words). It's in a secret alcove in the cellar's back room; search the poster there to find the alcove behind the poster.
Read the journal to learn this is the "Words of Sleep"
To banish the demon, follow the journal's directions regarding the reliquary, then say aloud the words on this page.
a pair of brown pants. They're in the small bedroom after opening the closet there.
First set the clock in the living room to 6:57. (Set hour to 6; set minute to 57.) Then take and wear the pants. This gives you a point, but I don't know why. Probably has something to do with the author's chosen pseudonym.
a marrow reliquary. Find it in the back hallway by prying the floorboard with the hammer.
Examine the box to see it has four pressable sigils. Whenever you press one, the emblem above the sigil changes. Initially, all emblems are demonic skulls.
The etchings you found elsewhere are clues for unlocking the reliquary. These etchings are behind the living room couch, on the cellar stairs, under the moss at the east side of the cabin, and in the trunk of the car that's in the barn. If you read the diary carefully, you know the etchings were made by the wife.
Push the first sigil until it shows a bleeding eyeball; second: demonic skull; third: gnarled tree; fourth: full moon. Open the box: it contains a dagger.
After dipping the dagger into the ectoplasmic remains in the grave, put the dagger and the bone claw into the reliquary. Close the box. You know to do this from reading the journal.
After setting the clock in the living room to 6:57 (set the hour and minute hands separately, and both the living room mirror and the diary have clues for this exact time), go to the cellar's back room, and put the closed reliquary (containing the smeared dagger and bone claw) into the hole you dug there earlier with the shovel. A red light spews forth from the hole and the demon is immediately summoned to your location. Say the Words of Sleep (see page to banish the demon and win the game.
a grotesque bone claw. It's in the trunk of the car that's inside the barn.
The bones are from Raymond's wife. Put the bone into the reliquary, as per the journal's instructions.
In the southwestern woods, after digging the mound with the repaired shovel, DIP the dagger in the ectoplasmic remains in the grave. Put the dagger back into reliquary.
Score
This is the response to SCORE:
You have so far scored N out of a possible 24, in T turns.
Points are awarded as follows:
1 point for sweeping the broken glass in the dining area with the broom.
1 point for sweeping the broken glass in the small bedroom with the broom.
1 point for sweeping the mess in the living room with the broom.
1 point for fixing the broken pipe in the cellar with duct tape and an old rag.
1 point for sweeping the broken glass on the porch with the broom.
1 point for sitting on the swing bench.
1 point for hammering the axe head and handle together.
1 point for chopping the long wooden planks down into usable sizes.
1 point for finding the skull etching under the moss on the chimney on the east side of the cabin.
1 point for repairing the broken shovel.
1 point for digging the mound in the southwest woods and finding the grave within it.
1 point for boarding-up the broken window in the living room.
1 point for boarding-up the broken window in the small bedroom.
1 point for boarding-up the broken window in the dining area.
1 point for repairing the broken door.
1 point for hanging the repaired door on its hinges.
1 point for finding the old key (by shooting the demon).
1 point for trapping the demon in the cellar, using the chain and padlock.
1 point for wearing the brown pants found in the small bedroom's closet when the clock in the living room is at 6:57.
1 point for finding the marrow reliquary under the floorboard in the back hallway.
1 point for opening the barn door.
1 point for unlocking the reliquary.
1 point for dipping the dagger in the grave's ectoplasmic remains.
the support of Robin Johnson, Ville Lavonius, Andrew Schultz, Kenneth Hon, Carl Muckenhoupt, Mark Musante, Phil Tatro, Allyson Gray, and Daniel Stelzer;
the generous support of Janice M Eisen, Matthew Foxley, Thomas Insel, and Brian Long;
