Sitting at my computer, I grab the yellow post-it and read the phonenumbers on it. I also take and open the pink envelope, reading the letterinside. Depressed, I head to the kitchen to the west, stopping in thehallway long enough to flip the light switch by the door. There's justenough time to grab a sandwich from the 'fridge when the phone rings.Telling Edsel everything's ok, he offers a bet. After asking about the bet,I can't imagine why Edsel would think I want to get involved in a computergame. Further inquiry makes me suspect this even more....is there a catchhere I'm not seeing? The deal seems clear-cut and I end up accepting.
I go back to the hallway and open the door, waiting for the mailman. Iopen the package and the game inside, walk back to the computer, put thedisk in the drive (closing the drive) and flip the power switch on. Aclose look at the screen shows a small figure there. He starts talkingdirectly to me when clicked on. After learning about the Com-pendium andthe choices for companion, I select Nada (Note: Nada is the only one thatwill let you survive the first puzzle).
We appear in a room with four doors; after a few seconds Nada chooses theright door and we exit the first puzzle. After meeting Kim and hercompanion, Nada and I continue on to a Path Crossing. Having played somecomputer games before, I know to grab everything I can, so I get a cherrybomb from the tree and a buttercup from below it. I try to free up the logjam, but can't. Continuing on to the east, we go through a dark forestwhere we find a bush that Nada says is a cough drop bush. To the southwestwe come across Isthmus Village and a local woodwright. When I agree tohelp, he hands me a key as well as mentioning a pail and someone calledFairy Nuff. Noticing a rock on the ground, I add it to the inventory and wecontinue on.
THE PAIL
A lone, flat boulder sits between two cliffs along the path. Past it wecome to a pail that flies away when I try to get it. After one or twoattempts at throwing the rock at it to load it down, I have to agree withNada that the rock needs to be thrown from a distance. But, a screen ishardly set up for that. Still, the Greeks had a weapon for just such aproblem....but I'll need a piece of wood, like the log I saw earlier. Asthis is a dead end for now, I head back to the village.
The key unlocks the gate and gives access to the boat and the docks.Curious, I step aboard the ship, but the smoke from the two censorsquickly drives me back. On the dock, I pick up a piece of white sailclothfrom the censor-ship and notice a rope tightly wrapped around a dock plank.Consulting with Nada, she goes underneath and retrieves the rope andattached anchor. The anchor makes a handy prybar on the large log in thelog jam back at the Path Crossing and the woodwright quickly makes it intoa flat wooden plank.
Back at the flat boulder, the plank is laid down and the rock put on topof it. A polite request gets Nada to hit the plank with her tail and thepail is easily scooped up.
THE SCREEN DOOR EYE
Further on, we come to a screen door with an eye. Going for broke, Ithreaten it with a pointed remark - asking about the Ice Queen and thenFairy Nuff allows me to tell the eye that only Fairy Nuff might hold thesolution to our quest. Deeming us worthy, the door lets us through.
Before opening the door, I open the mailbox and take the letter insideaddressed to Fairy Nuff.
I pick up a small red tee and an egg, from the ground, on our way to thepavilions ahead. In them, I find Fairy Nuff.
FAIRY NUFF
Giving the letter doesn't help, so I try a little conversation. Explainingour quest, Fairy Nuff gives us a recipe to combat the ship. The pail makesa handy mixing bowl and the first ingredient is found at the Screen Door.The butter from the buttercup goes in next. Three dunks in the waterfallback at the Path Crossing are followed by two cough drops that Nada grabsfrom the bush in the Dark Forest when I ask her nicely. The empty buttercupmakes a sticky, but tempting trap for the firefly, the egg next and thesail fragment from the ship is the last item. We head back to Fairy Nuffand then off again in search of two containers. In the village, noticingthe lamps, we return and hand Nuff the covers from atop the poles. Back atthe boat, I pour one of the solutions into each censer.
Following the woodwright's advice, we go back to Fairy Nuff and relay thewoodwright's comments about a path. The Void sounds like a dangerous place,but what other exit is there? We head northwest.
THE VOID
After wandering around for awhile, I start seeing a doorway illusion. Icomment on it to Nada. It seems so real.....it _is_ real, I'm sure of it. Itry to convince Nada. As the Com-pendium mentions, concentration and beliefis the key. It takes several attempts, but finally the door stays andsolidifies. We walk through.
REGION OF EARTH
The barrow door refuses to open so we head Southeast and come across thedemoness Metria. Having read the Com-pendium's entry on water springs andremembering Grundy's description of the lady, I'm more than a littlesuspicious; instead of taking her up on her offer I ask her about thebarrow. When Metria encourages me to drink, Nada confirms my suspicions.Asking her about Metria, I learn the penalty to succumbing. Repeatedattempts to walk away angers Metria, who leaves in anger - but not beforeunlocking the barrow door.
THE BARROW MAZE
After several steps inside the barrow, an odd darkness envelops me. Whenit leaves, everything seems normal but then Nada encourages me to drinkfrom the spring. She claims to have changed her mind, but after severalattempts to leave the area my suspicions are concerned when 'Nada' turnsback into Metria. Her only answer to where Nada has been taken is to giveme a small box, claiming it will indicate her position. Yea, like I'm goingto believe that! Still, I turn it on and head back into the barrow.
Most of the rooms are empty, but I find a few interesting things....apestle, a mirror with a view, a stone plaque with lettering so faded Iwish I had a pencil to go with the brown paper, as I'd seen done on so manyTV detective shows. Stepping on a dark pad in one room teleports me toanother, separate part of the barrow. There I find a mortar for the pestleand a door ajar. Realizing a pun, since the if the door is ajar, then itcould be used as a container, I take the door and a jar shows up. The treedefeats all my efforts, so I go back to the main maze and continue myefforts. A room with a switch...as I flip each one another appears untilthere are sixteen. Nothing happens. I flip each one again and press thebutton that appears before heading down. Nada, at last! Seeing howdistraught she is, I respect her wishes not to look at her - I'm carefulto make no reference to her looks as we talk. I also notice the 'detector'is pointing to 0 - figures.
The blue agony moss, put in the glass jar, is no help with the manacles.Asking Nada for help, she mentions that Metria talked to something in theroom as Nada was chained. Voices near Nada's arms obviously belong towhatever Metria talked to, but there is nothing there but the manacles.Shrugging at the absurdity, I tell the manacles to let Nada go... and theydo!
IRONWOOD TREE
Nada suggests we attempt passing the ironwood tree at the doorway. Afterreading about the moss in the Com-pendium, we pass through the tree'sremains with ease.
REGION OF FIRE
As we start to cross by a molten lake, a large lava dog appears and blocksour passage. Talking to Nada, I have her put her hair up into a bun andthen take the pun-altered hot dog bun from her. One more thing to add... Itell Nada I'd like a break from the game, get up from the computer and gointo the kitchen. Squirting mustard onto the bun back in the game is justthe sight to terrify any 'hot' dog.
The fireman is chatty; he certainly doesn't mind the heat. Moving on, thelump of charcoal I find will work as a pencil substitute and I head back tothe plaque.
THE PLAQUE
Now that I have the charcoal, I place the flattened brown paper over theplaque and rub it with the charcoal. The recipe doesn't seem useful now,but maybe later.
THE WALL OF FIRE
I'm kinda stuck at the wall of fire where I found the charcoal - it appearsto be the only way forward but I have nothing to use on it. The onlyinteresting thing he remembers is a predecessor of mine and he mentions howMack got through the wall. Ah, an explosive device.... like a fire cracker....and Mack wrote the recipe. As we talk, the fireman hands me a wineskinof firewater, which I pour into the mortar. Throwing in the flower andgrinding it into flour with the pestle, the resulting blob of dough bakeseasily in the small opening by the lake.
Once it turns a golden brown color, the cracker is ready. When the handthreatens me, I try finding out why, but when it sees the cracker it tooflees. A few seconds in the firewall and the path is cleared.
REGION OF WATER
Using the anchor and rope as a grappling hook, we exit the Region of Fire.At the bridge, after asking about the toll and being reluctant to be eaten,I offer to do something for the troll. Down below, the lab off to the sideholds the most promise. In fact, a quick glance down the well confirms thekey's location. If the well is too steep to climb, then I need to get downanother way. Exiting the abode and crossing the bridge, I remove a hosethere. This makes a great channel for moving water from the sink into thewell. However, to keep the room from flooding I also press the upper drainbutton on the wall. When the water rises, I can get the key.
After solving any one of the three puzzles the troll provides, we leave andcontinue on to the signpost, taking the short cut.
COM-PUTER
Obviously Com-puter doesn't know I have the Com-pendium for reference.With that, and his pun-referenced hints (really often the answer with theletters jumbled and the needed letter removed), the answers are easy.First, the hint of "REAPS" is the key to Asparagus SPEARS and so I open themetal door and put in a 'S' block. The fruit with the hint word "SEAT" isobviously Blind DATES and I put in 'D'. The shells with the hint "CANES"is, of course, actually the plant type Papershell PECANS and I add a 'P'.The Com-pendium tells me that a beast with bad advice, that fits with thehintword "REST" would be a Bum STEER and I put in the missing 'E'. I put an'A' for the hint "MAIL", as the creature is a LAMIA. So ends Round 1
The duck-annoyed creature is a chocolate moose, which is "SOME" mixed upand the second 'O' missing, so in it goes. "OCRA" is the hint for theCOBRA vine - the 'B' is put inside. Golden FLEAS were pursued by Ja-son andthe 'F' is pursued into the cylinder. I blush as I put in the missing 'E'from "PAINTS", the hint for multicolored PANTIES. I start to follow thatwith the missing 'T' for TANGLE trees in the hint "GLEANS", but realizeCom-puter has not provided me with a 'T'. Smiling, I drop into the cylinderthe red tee that I've been carrying.
Again, Com-puter tries to cheat by forcing me to resign. Grundy steps into help, despite his virus. When done talking to him, I find I now have his(computer) virus and promptly drop it into the cylinder. We head northeast.
REGION OF AIR
Talking to Ma Anthe inside the cottage, you learn that to reverse hercondition she needs to see a sign from the mountain. Here is a quest, onethat will net you the potion she mentioned. You grab the red wind sockbefore exiting, then the brown windbag northeast of the shack.
Further north we come to the mountain and a sailboat. Yet, without a sail,it's useless. Recalling the sign on the cart at the cottage, I go and tryto use the crowbar on the wheel without success. Someone stronger isneeded. Exploring more I come across a female ogre wishing to be uglier,one who knows about the gap. I also come across a young ogre, who is sohappy to get the ball once you put the windsock on the vent (not the spray)that he follows you back to the cottage and puts the wheel back on thecart. After pushing the cart off the sail and taking it back to thesailboat, I release the windbag and sail across the water.
THE GUARDIAN OF THE MOUNTAIN
The answers to the guardian's 10 riddles are ERROR, AIREDALE, WINDOW, AIRCONDITIONING, AN ERRAND, A WINDBAG, AN AIRPLANE, AN AIRBAG, THE WINDMILL,and finally A BREEZE. And those questions were, too! I head into thedoorway and up the stairs until I find a sign (from the mount-ain). Givingit to Ma Anthe, I receive the ugly potion which I then give to the femaleogre. We head southeast into the Gap.
THE GAP
After heading northeast and being warned and then bored, we meet up withKim and her companions Jenny and Sammy. After exchanging companions, wehead down into the gap and encounter the Gap dragon. Noting the cloud abovethe dragon and remembering an entry in the Com-pendium, I converse with thecloud, constantly insulting it and abusing its rain-making capabilities...all the while trying to ignore the dragon closing in. The resultingsnowstorm comes just in the nick of time, as does Che Centaur.
HUMPHREY'S CASTLE
Sammy the cat easily indicates that the best path is straight through thelocked gate. Wait, maybe Sammy's even more accurate - a loose brick abovewhere Sammy dug is the 'key' to opening the gate....and raising thedrawbridge. But, since it's a drawbridge, I just draw the bridge back theway it was and cross it.
Knocking on the wee door gets a curt answer. Repeated attempts atconversation as to how we get in gets us a cryptic clue "For one to getfinal entrance to this castle, he must only listen to me". Huh? Makes onsense, but the eye is no more help. I back up and circle the moat, spottinga grate to the northeast and a sea monster to the northwest. A blackcricket, keeping the monster awake, finds its way under my glass jar.
Crossing over to the grate, I pick up a lok pick and use the crowbar toopen the grating. Below, I'm bemused by the five switches. Although, atfirst, I thought the blinking eyes had something to do with it, a Legend-ary voice told me that isn't true. Then I recalled what the eye in the doorsaid and tried flipping down, from the left, switches four, one, and thentwo. Humphrey, at last!
THE GOURD
Once I look into my gourd, I'm transported to another place. In this place,zombies are the residents and I have no interest in harming them. So, Ihead to the northwest side of the house and use the lok pick to open thecellar door. Holding our noses, we go down. Trapped! In the darkness, Ican feel around and find a skeleton on the right, holding a key. After abit of searching in the dark, I get the key. Above there, I feel and takesome twine. Unlocking and opening the door at the top of the stairs letssome light in and we quickly exit the room.
The books on the fireplace appear to belong to some programmer. The windowseems intact, so the only exit it the stairs. Lassoing the bannister leverwith the twine prevents any 'fun house' antics. I can't reach the trapdoorin the ceiling, but the sign seems obvious so I push it. Well, maybe a bittoo obvious - apparently that last person to press it never got out.
The bottle by the chair turns out to be "Pain-B-Gone" pills. The third bookon the left side of the fireplace mantle puts me in my place and the pillseasily remove a pane of glass so I can get the cane outside the window.Running up the stairs, I snag the ceiling hook with the cane and we rush upthe stairs. Nothing is more important that keeping Kim from touching thattrophy; the appearing jewel on the sword catches my eye. I grab the swordand throw it at the Prize.
Back in reality, I turn off the computer and get up. The phone rings....
