In this short fantasy game, you play as a traveller, searching for the answer to the mysteries. Before you lies the manor and then the town which holds the famous Tower of Mysteries within its borders. Soon its secret will be yours.
This solution is by David Welbourn, and is based on Release 1 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.
Weirdly, you can pick up the pile of rubble, but that doesn't clear the north passage, so obviously, you're not supposed to pick it up.
> x pile.
> w. w. n.
northwest corner of the manor
> x barrier. x fox. x legend.
Based on the painting, you should be able to guess what the cryptogram means:
"LTOQY VUZGM XZI CTDEK ZJWU FBW NRHS AZP."
"QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPS OVER THE LAZY DOG."
> e.(barrier blocks you)
No, you can't jump over the barrier, you fox, you.
> s. e. d.
entrance hall of the manor
> s.(locked)
> unlock back door with key.
> s. e.
Speakers Corner
Note that the sky glows green here; that will be important later.
> s. e.
Money Exchange
> x clerk.
> e.
employment exchange
> x coach. accept. x permit.
> w. w. n. w. w. u.
magpie nest
> x ring. take it.
> d. s.
forest clearing
There's no instructions for using the slot machine, and no controls are mentioned.
> x machine.
> w.
town road
> x beggar.(hungry)
> e. s.
Outside Tower of Mysteries
> x door. open it.(locked)
> n. e. s.
Jewellery shop
> x jeweller.
> give ring. x coin.
> e.
workhouse
> x treadmill. x Beadle.
> give permit. go treadmill.(You didn't work hard enough.)
> go treadmill.(no: need another permit)
> w. n. w.
forest clearing
> insert coin in machine.(no: gold coin is too large)
> n. e. e. s. e.
Money Exchange
> give coin. x penny.
> e.
employment exchange
> accept.(get 2nd permit)
> w. w. n. w. w. s. e. s. e.
workhouse
> give permit. go treadmill.(Still not enough.)
> w. n. w. n. e. e. s. e. e.
employment exchange
> accept.(get 3rd permit)
> w. w. n. w. w. s. e. s. e.
workhouse
> give permit. go treadmill.(You get bread.)
> x bread.
> w. n. w. w.
town road
> give bread.(You get an amulet, to protect you from spirits.)
> x amulet.
> e.
forest clearing
> put penny in machine.(You hear a great barrier open, but it's not the tower door. It's the barrier in the manor.)
> n. e. n. u. w. n.
northwest corner of the manor
> x barrier.
> e.
northeast corner of the manor
> x mirror. x inscription.
Translate the inscription using the same encryption as the painting's legend:
"ISHHS FURMK XZUDK FBW PUWWM PNZG."
"XYZZY TRANS FORMS THE GREEN GLOW."
> touch mirror.(tendrils reach out but do nothing more)
> rub mirror.(You're pulled to...)
alcove behind the mirror
> x tower key. take it.(no: shocked)
There's a green glow here, so try XYZZY:
> xyzzy.(You're pulled back to...)
northeast corner of the manor
> w. s. e. d. s. e.
Speakers Corner
You remembered that the sky glows green here, yes?
> xyzzy.(something changed elsewhere)
> w. n. u. w. n. e. rub mirror.
alcove behind the mirror
> take tower key.(success!)
> xyzzy. w. s. e. d. s. w. s. s.
Outside Tower of Mysteries
> unlock door with tower key. s.
Staircase to the Mysteries
The amulet protects you from the spirits.
*** You have found yourself ***
Extras
Characters
An exchange clerk is at the money exchange. He exchanges money into smaller denominations.
A job coach is at the employment exchange. He offers work permits while there's work available at the workhouse.
A jeweller in the jewellery shop will buy unwanted jewellery.
Beadle offers bread in exchange for working very hard on the treadmill in the workhouse. He always scowls.
A beggar is on the town road. He's hungry.
Mentioned:
Political agitators and mountebanks clamor for attantion at the speaker's corner.
A magpie is probably near their nest.
Spirits inhabit the tower. They like to strangle visitors.
Endings
You have died on the Staircase to the Mysteries
if you enter the tower without the amulet.
You have found yourself
if you enter the tower with the amulet.
Note also that if you give either the gold coin or the penny to the beggar, you make the game unwinnable.
Inventory
a Manor key. It's on the old road.
It unlocks both the manor's front and back doors.
a ring. It's in the magpie nest.
In the jewellery shop, give the ring to the jeweller. He gives you a gold coin in exchange. (NOTE: You can't wear the ring.)
a work permit. At the employment exchange, acquire it from the job coach by saying ACCEPT.
In the workhouse, give the permit to Beadle, then go to the treadmill to use it. But that's not good enough for Beadle. Get s second permit and do it all again. Still not enough. But after third time, Beadle gives you a loaf of bread. There is no more work available after that.
a Gold coin. In the jewellery shop, the jeweller gives this coin to you in exchange for the ring.
At the money exchange, give the gold coin to the exchange clerk; he gives you a penny in exchange. Yes, he ripped you off, but you do need the penny.
a penny. In the money exchange, the exchange clerk gives this penny to you in exchange for the gold coin.
In the forest clearing, put the penny into the slot machine. Your prize is that the barrier in the northwest corner of the manor has lifted enough for you to go east past it.
a loaf of bread. In the workhouse, Beadle gives you the bread after you go (on) the treadmill for the third time. Yes, you need to give a permit to Beadle three times before you get any bread.
On the town road, give the bread to the beggar; he gives you an amulet in exchange.
an amulet. On the town road, the beggar gives this amulet to you in exchange for the loaf of bread.
In the tower, the amulet protects you from the spirits who try to strangle you. (NOTE: You can't wear the amulet.)
a Tower Key. It's in the alcove behind the mirror.
Normally, when you try to take the tower key, you get an electric shock instead. To turn this protection off, go to the speaker's corner and say XYZZY. (The inscription on the mirror tells you that XYZZY transforms the green glow, and there's a green glow at the speaker's corner.)
Outside the Tower of Mysteries, the tower key unlocks the tower door.
