Key & Compass presents:
Keeping Dido
by Brendan Desilets

• Map
• Walkthrough
• Extras
  • Characters, Credits, Endings, Inventory
• Thank You to my Patreon supporters
• Support me on Ko-Fi
• External links:
  • This game at IFDB, and IFWiki.
  • Follow me at Bluesky, Ko-Fi, Mastodon, Patreon, and Wordpress.

Map

Walkthrough

Palace Knoll

During the first few turns, Dido and Aeneas speak in verse.

> x me. (You are Dido's sister, Belinda)

> i. x Dido. x Aeneas. x lamp. (unlit)

The couple leaves to the south. You cannot follow them.

> take lamp.

> look under bench. (You obtain a booklet)

> x booklet. look up magic in booklet. (hint about scrolls)

> n.

Path

You are attacked by hounds!

> take branch.

> hit bounds. (With the branch, you can keep them at bay, for now.)

Uh, waste three turns.

> n. (Hounds block you.)

> e. (Hounds block you.)

> x hounds.

Something with two legs runs past, south to north, and the hounds go after whatever it is!

> e.

Grove

> x fountain. x mountain.

> x pine tree. x pitch. take pitch. (using a twig)

> e.

Beach

> x fleet. x fire.

> light lamp. (using the fire)

> w. w. n. w.

Hidden Nook

> x box. read label. ("Carrion Jerky -- For Ravens Only")

> open box. take jerky. x it.

> w.

Lair of the Sorcerer

You hide and watch for four turns, and listen to the Magician and his women plot against Dido and Aeneas.

> x magician. x women. x altar. x helmet.

The Magician turns the women into ravens and they all leave.

Foul up his plan by hiding the jerky in helmet, and by moving the label to the wrong scroll.

> put jerky in helmet.

> x left scroll. x label. ("Curse Fleet")

> x right scroll.

> take label. put pitch on label.

> put label on right scroll.

> e. e. s. e.

Grove

Aeneas, Dido, and her ladies are here. They're performing the myth of the hunter Actaeon and the goddess Diana. Just watch.

> z. z.

Dido notices an abrupt change in the weather. You are prompted to pull Dido aside.

> pull Dido. (You're both hidden.)

While you talk to Dido and wait, the Magician, arrives disguised as Mercury, He chides Aeneas. Usually, this is enough to convince Aeneas to go. However, because you put the jerky into the Magician's helmet, the ravens attack it and ruin his disguise.

> talk to Dido. g. z. z.

Everyone leaves. This is your last chance to move the label if you haven't already.

> e.

Beach

The sailors are oddly lethargic. The Magician and his women arrive. Because you moved the label, he reads the wrong scroll, and the sailors regain their senses and vigor.

> z.

The sailors round up the women; they go. The Magician is about to escape!

> hit magician. (using the branch; he surrenders)

Thanks to you, a royal wedding takes place instead of death or separation.

*** Congratulations! You have saved the day! ***

Extras

Characters

• Dido is the queen of Carthage. She's also your sister. You're pledged to protect her.
• Aeneas is the prince of the fallen city of Troy. He and Dido are deeply in love with each other.
• The Magician is oddly androgynous and hates Dido. I don't know why.
• The hounds you first meet on the path are enchantresses who attend the Magician. They can also change into ravens.
• The sailors of Aeneas's fleet show up on the beach during the final scene.
• The queen's attendant ladies gladly sing a chorus during Dido's and Aeneas's playacting.

Mentioned:

• Several mythological characters like Mercury, Diana, Actaeon, Jove, Venus, and Phoebus are mentioned by or are impersonated by the other characters.

Credits

The credits appear at the end of the response to ABOUT:

Credits
Many thanks to beta testers Kevin Jackson-Mead and Richard Smythe, and to the members of the Grue Street Writers' Group, including Andrew Plotkin, Doug Orleans, Clara Fernandez, and Jason MacIntosh.

This story was created with Inform 7, which was developed by Graham Nelson, helped by Emily Short and many others. The recommended introduction to interactive fiction is by Emily Short. "Keeping Dido" uses extensions written by Aaron Reed and Eric Eve. The cover art is by Nicolaas Verkolje (1673 - 1746).

Copyright 2011 by Brendan Desilets

Endings

• But why not try again?
• if the hounds kill you. (Because you never hit the hounds with the branch.)
• if you try to attack the Magician in his lair or in the grove. He turns you into an amphibian.
• You have failed to save your sister, but why not try again?
• if you do nothing to stop the tragedy. Dido dies of grief. Aeneas dies at sea.
• You have saved your sister from an early death, but you could try again, to see what would happen if you could prevent the Magician from cursing Aeneas' fleet.
• if you put the jerky in the helmet, but don't put the label to the wrong scroll. Dido and Aeneas live, but the fleet is cursed.
• Well done! You have saved your sister! If you'd like to find a way to keep Dido and Aeneas together, please try again.
• if you put the label on the wrong scroll, but don't put the jerky in the helmet. Aeneas leaves, but Dido doesn't die of grief.
• Congratulations! You have saved the day!
• if you foul all the Magician's plans. Aeneas stays and marries Dido.

Inventory

• a Hint Booklet. Acquire it by looking under the bench of the palace knoll.
• LOOK UP a topic IN THE BOOKLET. More topics become legible as the game progresses.
• "Magic" is the booklet's first topic.
• "Light" is added when the hounds run off.
• "Interpretation" is mentioned by the light entry. The interpretation entry hints to use FROTZ for light. Say FROTZ to turn the hint booklet itself into a light source.
• "Helmet" and "Scrolls" are added when the Magician and the ravens leave the lair.
• "Jerky" is mentioned by the helmet entry.
• "Glue" is added when the false Mercury is exposed.
• a lamp. It's on the palace knoll.
• At the beach, light the lamp (from the fire left there).
• The lit lamp lets you see in the dark cave locations.
• a branch. It's on the path.
• On the path, hit the hounds (with the branch) to keep them away from you.
• On the beach, when the Magician appears to be about to make his escape, hit him with the branch.
• some pine pitch. It's on a pine tree in the grove.
• After taking the label, put some pine pitch on it (to make it sticky again), then put the label onto the right scroll.
• some jerky. It's in the carrion box in the hidden nook.
• In the lair of the sorcerer, after the Magician leaves, put the jerky into the helmet.
• a sticker. It's attached to the left scroll that's on the altar in the lair of the sorcerer. You can take tke label after the Magician leaves.
• After taking the label, put some pine pitch on it (to make it sticky again), then put the label onto the right scroll.

Thank You to my Patreon supporters

This walkthrough is provided free of charge since the work it's based on has less than fifteen locations. Please consider it a thank you for your support!

I create larger walkthroughs too! Please visit my Patreon account if you're interested in helping me create more interactive fiction walkthroughs. I appreciate all the help I can get! Thanks again.

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