Cat 
Fazir (scowl) 
Fazir (smile) 
Tamir 
Fog 
Cheno guard 
The Eldest 
Gion/John 
Shirak, a Falk guard 
Ubik, the Falk Lord
Words of Power is a Glulx interactive fiction game written with Inform 6 and is Š 2002 by Stark Springs.
In this fantasy game, you play as Thea Armstrong, a physics major who touched the wrong lever and got herself transported to the Kingdom of Ard in another world. You soon learn about magical Words of Power, about Gatestones, and that Dr. John Baxter, who mysteriously vanished two years ago, is known here as Gion the Earthling.
This solution is by David Welbourn, and is based on Release 4 of the game. I played the version without music.
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.
Wooden Cabin (as Thea)
> x me. x clothes.
> x book. (You learn three words of power: VA, RU, and YN. You don't need to take the book.)
> x logs. x roof.
> w.
Outside Hut
> x hut. x sun. x grass.
> x cat. (He begins a menu-driven conversation.)
>> 2 ("Kitty, you can talk!")
>> 2 ("... cats don't speak ...")
>> 2 ("... telepath?")
>> 3 ("... I'm a witch?")
>> 1 ("What are you?")
>> 8 ("... name?")
>> 5 ("... other cats ...?")
>> 5 ("... have a master?")
>> 5 ("... How did he die?")
>> 5 (... another world.")
>> 5 (... Common Tongue?")
>> 5 ("How can you teach ...?")
>> 5 ("Please teach me, then.")
You now know the Common Tongue.
> x symbols.
> talk to cat.
>> 1 (re Yom)
>> 6 ("... show me where ...?")
>> 0 (done)
> w.
Stone Road
> n.
Night falls, and you shelter off the road. You dream you are a boy and elsewhere.
đ đ đ
Stall (as the boy)
You are now playing as the boy, who wakes up from a dream about Thea. You clutch a silver coin and plan to run away from this inn to the falks.
> x me. x rags. x coin. x straw.
> e.
Stable
Fazir, the innkeeper, blocks you and demands to see what you have.
>> 1 —or— 2
Fazir claims you're a thief, takes the coin, and leaves.
> s.
Yard
> x inn. x toilets. x road.
> s. e.
Kitchen
Fazir drops the coin as he and the cook hurry to deliver ale and stew to the patrons.
> take coin.
> w. n. w. s. s.
At dawn, the boy hides and rests.
â️ â️ â️
Stone Building (as Thea)
You now play as Thea. The cat turns to the west.
> w.
Pond
> x bush.
> d —or— s —or— enter tunnel.
Darkness / Living Room
> cast va ru.
> x fireplace. x carpet.
> x table. x chair. x bed.
> x painting. x plaque. (long poem!)
> s.
Library
> x diary. (You now know AEL.)
> x books. x table.
> talk to cat.
>> 5 ("... Gion the Earthling.")
>> 5 ("... together?")
>> 2 (re wizards)
>> 5 ("... know Gion ...?")
>> 4 ("... other wizards?")
>> 3 (re gatestones)
>> 4 ("... Gatestones?")
>> 4 ("... opens gateways ...")
>> 1 (re Ard inhabitants)
>> 3 ("... humans here?")
>> 3 ("Why ...?")
>> 3 ("How ...?")
>> 6 ("... always burnt witches?": topic War unlocked)
>> 6 ("... falks?")
>> 6 ("What's the deal ...?")
>> 5 ("... chenee?")
>> 5 ("... don't like chenee very much.")
>> 3 ("re war)
>> 4 ("What was the War about?")
>> 5 ("Who ...?")
>> 5 ("... about Thaddeus ...)
>> 3 ("... burn Yom?")
>> 3 ("Why ...?")
>> 0 (done)
> n. n.
Pond
> x pond. x reeds. x bushes. x lilies.
> w. (no: Cat says there's a human village that way.)
> n. (Cat stays behind.)
Dead End
> x obelisk. (long poem, signed by Thaddeus)
> s. e. ne.
Common Room
Fazir starts a conversation.
>> 1 —or— 2
Fazir excuses himself.
> x man. talk to man.
>> 4 ("... Thea ...")
>> 3 ("... Amdal?")
>> 3 ("... do?")
>> 3 ("... use magic ...?")
>> 3 ("What do you mean ...?")
>> 3 ("I don't know ...")
>> 7 ("... careful ...?")
>> 7 ("Why did Thaddeus ...?")
>> 2 ("... another world")
>> 1 ("Please, show me ...")
Tamir draws the rune for PA, meaning "deflect".
>> 1 ("Please go on.")
Tamir draws the rune for ARA, meaning "water".
>> 1 ("Go on.")
>> 1 ("... nature of water.")
Tamir demonstrates PA ARA with a mug of ale, and asks you to try.
> put finger in mug.
> cast pa ara on finger.
> talk to Tamir.
>> 1 ("... know Gion ...?")
>> 1 ("... Gatestones?")
>> 4 ("... falks?")
>> 4 ("... falks dislike ...?")
>> 3 ("... chenee?")
>> 0 (done)
> x food. eat it.
> out.
Stone Building
> e.
Swamp
> x mud.
> w. s. s.
Crossroads (main)
> x pillar.
> e.
Broken Bridge
> x bridge. x river.
> w. s.
Canyon
> s. (no: Arrows hit the ground; told to "go away")
Logically, you should check out what's west of the crossroads next, but this walkthrough will save that for later to avoid unnecessary duplication of effort.
So, instead, you're going to the far north.
> n. n. n. n. n.
Ast Nadir
> x stones. x fog. touch fog.
A voice whispers in your mind.
>> 1 ("Who are you?")
>> 2 ("How did ...?")
>> 1 ("... seen the fire? ...")
>> 1 ("How can ...?")
>> 2 ("What is this soul arrow?")
>> 2 ("... will try to help ...")
> x path. w.
Clearing
> x arrow. x pines. x leaves.
> cast pa on arrow. (no: too stuck)
> talk to cat.
>> 4 ("... fetch the white arrow ...")
The cat brings the arrow to you.
> x arrow.
> e. n.
Ared's Rest
> x slab. x river.
> n. (The cat stays behind.)
River
> cast pa ara on me.
> n.
Forest (three locations)
> x trees. x grass. listen.
> n. n.
After moving twice in any direction in the forest, you arrive at an old tree.
> x tree. u.
Tree (southwest corner)
> n.
Tree (northwest corner)
> e. (A cheno is suddenly on the branch in front of you.)
> x cheno.
>> 1 ("... Hello?")
>> 1 ("A dead cheno ...")
>> 1 ("What Council?")
>> 1 ("... let's go.")
Your guide leads you to...
Clearing
The eight chenee of the Council lie by a pool. One in a collar, the Eldest, asks who you are and why you're here. Answer her questions honestly.
>> 4 ("... Thea Armstrong.")
>> 4 ("A dead cheno ...")
>> 6 ("... another world.")
You now lead the conversation. Start by asking the Eldest about the chenee.
>> 5 ("... eldest important?")
>> 5 ("What is the Council?")
>> 6 ("... in the Forest?")
>> 6 ("... immortal?")
>> 6 ("... you Remember?")
Now ask about cats (this topic is only unlocked if the Cat claimed that chenee eat cats):
>> 4 (re Cats)
>> 5 ("... eat cats?")
>> 5 ("Cats are ...")
>> 5 ("I've seen a cat ...")
Now ask about Ard:
>> 2 (re Ard)
>> 4 ("Why aren't humans ...?")
>> 6 ("... about the humans ...")
>> 7 ("... about human witches ...")
>> 8 ("... about the falks?")
Now ask about the War:
>> 3 (re War)
>> 5 ("... the War about?")
>> 6 ("... to Thaddeus?")
>> 6 ("... to the King ...?")
Now ask about the Gatestones:
>> 2 (re Gatestones)
>> 6 ("I am looking ...")
Now ask about Gion/Baxter:
>> 4 (re Gion/Baxter)
>> 5 ("... met Gion ...?")
>> 5 ("Where is Gion now?")
Finally, ask about the Frozen Dark:
>> 4 (re Frozen Dark)
>> 5 ("What is the Frozen Dark?")
>> 5 ("Where is the Frozen Dark?")
>> 6 ("What is the portal?")
>> 8 ("... return ...?")
>> 6 ("Where is the portal?")
>> 7 ("May I use ...?")
>> 7 ("I'd like ...")
The chenee escort you to the portal. You enter.
đĸ đĸ đĸ
Road's End (as the boy)
You are now playing as the boy again.
> x mountains. x tunnel. x falk.
> talk to falk.
>> 2 ("... silver coin.")
>> 1 ("... live with you.")
>> 1 ("... I can work.")
>> 1 ("... horses and bring food.")
>> 1 ("Please? ...")
The second guard tells the first guard, Shiraz, to take you to the mines.
> give coin to Shiraz.
Cave
> enter cart.
Mine
Shiraz wants to see how you use a pickaxe.
>> 1 ("Where are we?")
>> 1 ("What should I do?")
> take axe. break wall with axe.
> x green stone. take it.
A memory is dislodged. You remember a man. He's a King and your father. The memory fades.
Your body bulges with muscles and your rags tear. The falk scream then drag you to ...
Throne Room
An old falk, Ubik, the Falk Lord, asks who you are.
>> 1 ("I don't have a name. ...")
>> 1 ("... live at the Inn, ...")
Ubik shows you a scroll of his mother with your father, the King. He names you Rinaldo.
>> 2 ("... sure?")
>> 1 ("How ...?")
>> 1 ("... stone?")
>> 1 ("... do with the stone?")
>> 1 ("... under the lake ...?")
Guards escort you back to...
Road's End
> talk to guards. (Shiraz tells you to leave.)
> n. n. w. n.
Lakeshore North
> d. (You slide down.)
đ´ đ´ đ´
Frozen Dark (as Thea)
> x moons. s. s.
After moving twice in any direction, you see something shiny in the snow.
> x shiny. take ball. (Gion's image appears.)
>> 1 ("... Thea ...")
>> 1 ("... two years ...")
>> 1 ("... half solid?")
>> 1 ("How did you get here?")
>> 1 ("... Gatestones?")
>> 1 (How can I help you?")
>> 1 ("... other Stones?")
>> 1 ("Yom is dead. ...")
This statement ends the conversation. "Find the Stone in Originus."
> i. (You have a red stone.)
> s. s.
After moving twice in any direction from where you found the stone, you find a black rectangle. It's a portal.
> x portal. enter portal.
Cell
> x door. open it. (locked)
> x floor.
> x openings. (You see a human village.)
> x houses. x people.
> break door. (You hear shouts.)
> z. z. z. z.
Eventually three men drag you into the street.
Street
They're taking you to a pyre!
> cast pa ru on bullies.
The men release you, but others threaten you.
> east.
Pond
The villagers give up the chase. The cat is here. "There you are."
> e. s. s. w.
Lakeshore East
The cat doesn't follow you here.
> x slabs. x grass. x lake.
> s.
Waterfall
> x river. x waterfall.
> n. n.
Lakeshore North
> x opening. d. (no: you're too big)
> s.
On The Lake
> cast pa ara on me. (You sink to...)
Underwater
> cast va ael. (And now you have air.)
> w.
Entrance Hall
> x blocks. x stairway. x balcony. x windows.
> s.
Darkness / Small Room
> cast va ru.
> x trapdoor. open it. (no: too much water pressure?)
> cast pa ara on trapdoor.
> open it.
To your surprise, water rushes down. You lose your concentration, your spells fall, and you're dragged down.
(By the way, if you tried to do this before obtaining the red stone, an unseen barrier blocks you from going down through the trapdoor.)
đĩ đĩ đĩ
Council Chamber (as Rinaldo)
You slide down and land here.
> x skeleton.
> take stone. (You grow more.)
> i. x blue stone.
> take key. x it.
> x me. x table. x carpet.
> x tunnel. x wooden door. x metal door.
> open wooden door. (locked)
> enter tunnel. (no: you're too big now)
> unlock metal door with key.
The metal door is now stuck halfway open.
> s.
Octagonal Room
> x symbols. x prism.
> put blue stone on prism.
> put green stone on prism.
A cyan light flares. Your link with Thea is gone.
đĸ đ´ đĩ
Lower Level (as Thea)
The trapdoor snaps shut and the water flow stops.
> x metal door. open it. (You step through.)
Stone Corridor
The door shuts behind you.
> e.
Stone Hall
> x tunnel. (too small for you)
> x flags.
> x dial. (has digits one to eight)
The cat arrives, saying "Two, seven, eight."
> talk to cat.
> 2 ("How ...?")
> 1 ("What is ...?")
> 1 ("What door?")
> 1 ("How do you ...?")
> 1 ("... trust you?")
> 1 ("... don't trust you.")
The cat leaves.
> turn dial to 2.
> turn dial to 7.
> turn dial to 8. (Part of the east wall opens.)
> e.
Octagonal Room
> talk to boy. (unnecessary)
> give stone to boy.
Before you can, the cat jumps onto a particular tile. Golden cages fall around you and the boy.
> x cage. touch cage. (yikes!)
> talk to cat.
>> 1 ("... stone for?")
>> 1 ("... cage?")
>> 2 ("Who are you, really?")
>> 1 ("I trusted you.")
> throw stone.
> z. (Repeat until Thaddeus puts the last stone on the prism.)
Light erupts. The cat becomes a man: Thaddeus. From the stone, another man emerges: John.
A lightning bolt from John bounces off Thaddeus, hits your cage, and frees you.
> talk to John. talk to Thaddeus.
> take stones.
All three men want the Stones. By the way, you cannot give one Stone to each; the Stones are now a single item in your inventory.
> give stones to Rinaldo.
He banishes Thaddeus from the kingdom. Likewise, he banishes John back to Earth. You are welcome to stay and ask for whatever reward you wish.
*** The End ***
I think that's the best ending, but let's see the other endings:
>> U
> give stones to Thaddeus.
Thaddeus says the Stones can reverse time. Everything goes black.
You wake on pavement. Thaddeus aru Aurel helps you up and asks your name, which he pronounces as TÊa Ar Strong, and asks if can just call you Ar Tea?
*** The End ***
>> U
> give stones to John.
John says he'll send Yom to a world of pain. Everything goes black.
Hilltop
Thaddeus deflected John's attack. You and John are now in a third world without magic. A red object is on the ground.
> x red. (It's a crumpled Coca-Cola can with unexpected fine print.)
*** The End ***
Here are images sampled from the game. Some images have been reduced to thumbnails; most images are already thumbnail-sized. Please play the game to see the images in their intended contexts.
Characters:
Learned Runes:
Other:
Mentioned:
This is the response to CREDITS:
Platform:
Inform/Glulx & Library by Graham Nelson and Andrew PlotkinGraphics:
Chris NyagulyMusic:
"Alone in the Snowfall" by BlueShadow (http://www.iki.fi/bsh)
"Felling Ice" by Aymes'fromagies
"Moment of Truth" by Cyn
"The Rattatangs" by Vegg
"Tales 2000" by Haggeman
"Theme of Njals Saga" by Andreas Viklund (http://www.lagoonamusic.com)
"Winter Skies" by Toukka (http://personal.inet.fi/musiikki/toukka/)Lyrics:
"Gloss" and "Mortua Est" by M. Eminescu (1850-1889), English translation by C.M. Popescu (1958-1977)Beta-Testing:
Dan Shiovitz, Michael Iachini, David Welbourn, Lorin RoweDesign and Programming:
Stark Springs
Dates in the Kingdom of Ard are numbered from the Founding, when Rinaldo the First brought his people across the Endless Sea. Instead of years, the major time units are called ems, the time it takes for the larger moon, Payadur, to revolve around the planet.
Oddly, the Eldest Cheno says the War happened almost 2000 ems ago; Tamir's estimate of 600 ems ago is much more accurate.
On lifespans:
John's book says that the Eye of Payadur eclipse happens once every 8000 em, which means this is the only time the Eye has been seen since the Founding. I can only suppose that the chenee who Remember and predate the Founding told the humans about the Eye during happier times.
There are only the three endings in the Octagon Room, and they all use the The End epitaph:
There are no endings in which Thea dies:
Thea's inventory:
Rinaldo's inventory:
The boy has no name until Ubik, the Falk Lord, names him Rinaldo.
Honorable mention:
This is the response to SCORE:
You're alive. This counts for something.
These are the words of power you can learn:
And here are some spells you can construct from those words:
Note that the game doesn't provide a syntax for cancelling an existing spell, so any continuing spell must be done in an environment that requires it, so the spell can end automatically when you leave that environment. That means you can only create light when you're in darkness, deflect water when you're in water, create air when you're without air, etc. And you can't cast a deflect arrows spell ahead of time, either.
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