phoenix/hints/solutions/Hezarin_walkthrough.txt

                               Walkthrough for

                                   Hezarin

                         by Alex Shipp, Steve Tinney
                               and Jon Thackray

                            Written by Richard Bos


A few notes, first.

One, and most importantly, this is a rotten hard and often unfair game. You can
die easily. You can lose or destroy a necessary tool just as easily. Making a
typo does nothing but _does_ cost a move, and this can cost you dearly at a few
points in the game. Save often, and keep _all_ your save files until you've
finished the game. And choose carefully where and when you save, because there
are locations in which saving has been made impossible, and at least one
situation in which your save file will be made worthless (a particularly
unpleasant trick, if you ask me).
Two, the parser is limited, but good. The game is good at giving you less to
type. If there is only one object, simply "get" will take it; if there are
several, it will assume the first one listed. Ditto for "drop", which will drop
the first object in your inventory. On the other hand, it does not understand
"it".
Third, before you resort to reading this walkthrough you might want to consult
the in-game hints. There is a zip file which contains documentation for all the
Topologika adventures, including Hezarin. The main part of these is an index of
hints available in the game. You look up the problem you're stuck at, find a
number, type "help" and that number, and you get a hint. Most of these are
quite clear. They need to be, because this is a game which takes "guess the
verb" to beyond its straining point.
Finally, these notes are for the Topologika MS-DOS version which is available
at the IF Archive. I do not know whether it works for other versions, as well.


So, let's be off, then.

You start in a field. First, go north into the forest until you find a manhole
cover. It should be four moves in. Get it, then go back south to the field.
Don't deviate from the path or you'll probably never get out. Now go east
twice, then southeast, and climb the tree. Get all - you should get a plank,
the lantern, and a twig. Go down, w, w, d. Dig, get the wheel, and go back up,
then south twice.
You are now in a marsh. Moving in a random direction will kill you, but you
have help: the twig. First, though, get some wiffinweed. Then type "divine".
The twig will point in a direction. Go that way. Repeat this, typing "divine"
and going in the indicated direction, until you come across some garnets. Take
these, then continue the divining process until you reach the Bottom of the
scarp.
Drop the twig, go east twice, then down into the caverns. Go down three more
times to the Level tunnel. Here we'll get some light - we'll need it, and that
lantern is never going to work. Climb the wall, jump, and get the torch. Go
south twice. Well done, you're inside the cave.

Go south, get the seal (because that's what it is), and go back north. Go east
twice and south twice, and get the box. Surprise - this is the box you were
supposed to defeat Anjith with. If you think that means you're nearly there,
think again.
Go north, southwest and west. Insert the wheel, then turn it. Go back e, n, n,
w, w; then w, s, get rod, s. Drop the manhole cover here, then go sw. Look at
the name of this bridge. Remember that game? Throw everything except the torch.
Go back ne, then nw twice and ne to view the waterfall, and back sw, se, get
ruby, se, ne, e, nw, get emerald, w, n.
Look at the first line of the room description. It will mention a number of
instruments being played, but only the first time you enter the room. The first
letters of these describe a tune. Instruments with a double name encode two
notes; ones mentioned as plural encode repeated notes. For example, "two long
out of tune guitars, a flute and a bass drum" describes "two G's, an F, a B-D",
that is, the tune GGFDB. Make a note of the tune which your room description
encodes! You will need it later in the game, and much later at that. By that
time, you'll probably have forgotten all about it and don't realise that you
should have remembered this sentence, which you will see once and never again.
Another overly cruel trick, in my opinion.
Anyway, get the "bonger", then go s, s, se, s, s, and sw thrice. Go south and
north, and note the >>BANG<<. Go south, get the sword that has appeared in the
cabinet, and go north and up.
As the game says, it would be unwise to proceed unprepared, and choosing a
passage at random isn't wise, either. Listen. One passage is described as
sounding like snoring. Take that one. Get the crystal. Your sword will
disappear. Go back to the "nessle" (what kind of name is that, anyway?), then
down to the Celinph (ditto, and why a capital C but not one for Nessle?), and
for the second time go s, n, s, get sword, n, u, listen, follow the snoring (in
the new direction!), and get the crystal. Go back out, and note that the pieces
of crystal fuse together. This is not a problem; in fact, it is what we want.
Repeat the sword-and-crystal procedure one more time.
The fourth orc will be slightly harder. Go back down, s, n, s, get sword, n.
You get _another_ >>BANG<<, so go south again. There seems to be nothing in the
cabinet, but appearances can deceive - and in this case, they do. Type "get
all". Aha! No wonder we didn't see that. Wear the cloak. Go north and up, and
listen. This time, take the only passage where you hear something. Get the
crystal. Take inventory. If all is right, you will have not lost your sword,
this time, but you will have all crystal pieces, fused into a key.
Go down, get the vase, and go northwest, then north twice. You see a crown
behind a sheet of glass. Break the glass. Nothing behind it? In fact, it was a
mirror. So the crown, which appeared in front of you, must have been behind
you. Go south and get the crown, which is invisible but was made visible by the
mirror. Wear it.
Go south, southeast, east, northeast. Throw all but torch again. Note that
nothing you're wearing - which includes the crown - is thrown. This is just as
well, because if you had thrown the crown into the river, it would have
exploded. Go sw, sw, n, n. Drop your torch. You should now be carrying not a
bean. Go down and get stuck. Wait three turns, and you'll be thrown onto a
ledge.

Take the torch, and go north and northeast. Look what's turned up here! Get the
box and the key, then open the box. If you think _this_ means you're nearly
there, you haven't understood what the box said... Note the name of the
mountain. Drop box and key again.
Wash the crown (which makes it visible) and drop it. Go east, and type "enter
vent". This command may seem unclued, but it isn't, entirely; I just haven't
taken you past all the sights that could have tipped you off. Such is the
danger of reading walkthroughs... Anyway, go east. Note the Aeolian harp, which
will come into play later. Get the manuscripts, go west three times, and drop
them.
Go west again. Read the lights - remind you of something? Enter lift. You have
to use those words; "enter doors" won't work. Get the wine. Go down (in the
lift), then east twice, north, get the sceptre, north (to the Fountain Cavern),
and west. Enter lift again, only to find that it's not there (because you left
it a floor below, naturally) but you're on top of it. Get the lavulite, then go
east twice and drop all but torch.
Get the lantern. Go southeast - ignore the bag for now - then east four times
to a Dismal east-west tunnel. Open the lantern, and get the paper.
Save your game _now_. What follows is a very tricky section which you will, you
may put money on it, get wrong a couple of times before you get it right, but
if you try to save your game halfway through, your save file will be worthless
and you'll never get through it. So save before, and preferably after as well.

Read the paper. It's a map. It tells you how to get through the tunnels east of
here. Just before where it says "pit", you have to jump. Remember that the
bridge is one room west of here; and that you don't jump _at_ the pit, but from
the spot just before it to the spot just after. I can't help you more precisely
than that; trial and (much) error is the only way to learn your way through
this puzzle.
After ten Easts and two Jumps in total, you should either be at the bottom of a
pit with a severe case of death, or in a brimstone cavern with a glass vial.
Get that vial, note the magic word, and then retrace your steps exactly. Once
you're back in the Dismal tunnel, you can breathe easily again. Drop the map
and the lantern, then go west four times and northwest to the Fountain Cavern.
Aaand... save.

Take the sword. Go nw and s, then enter lift and go d and e. Enter "XZOM". The
magic word was given as "WOZX", but for some undivulged reason you read it from
the wrong side... Anyway, your vial should start glowing colours. In each of
the following rooms, you should now go either northeast or southeast depending
on those colours. Get it wrong and you're killed by a dragon. You can, in fact,
map this maze through trial and error, but if you can't be bothered, just
follow these directions until you reach a Large chamber:
  pink,   green, yellow, purple,    red:  northeast
  orange, blue,  grey,   turquoise, cyan: southeast
  multicoloured spots: whichever of southeast and northeast is left.
Take the firestone and the asbestos suit, and wear the suit. Go northwest. Get
the dragon's head, go north, get the spangle, and go back south. You could also
have gone southwest; you'd then have had to go south to get the spangle. It
makes no difference.
Whichever way you chose, now, still carrying the dragon's head, keep going
southwest or northwest (as you choose) to the square room. Enter lift, go up
twice and east twice, then drop the spangle, head, and firestone, and (which
you can do with surprising safety - it won't go out nor set the room ablaze)
the torch.
Get the rod. Go se, e three times, s four times, get the necklace, go sw, then
south until you find the minotaur's den. If you come out on the shelf of rock
again, just go sw (or se) and keep trying. In the den, wave the rod, and get
the minotaur. Go back out south, and go north until you reach the shelf of
rock. Go north four times, then west twice.
Wave the rod again. This time it's you who changes. Go north. Eat, don't get,
the fly. Go s, w, nw. Drink the water from the fountain. Go se and e, then get
all but rod; go w and nw, and drop all but vial and sword. (And yes, that last
command works as written. However illogical this game may be at times, at least
the parser does its best to help you out.)

Go southeast, get the bag, and go east thrice, then south twice. Cut the rope.
Get the stone and break it. Go south, get the tiara, open the trapdoor, and go
up. We're back in the minotaur's den. Go south and northwest; now you've
destroyed the lodestone, that should work first time. Get the rope. Go sw, s,
d, nw. Tie the rope and go down it.
You're now on a precarious ledge, and if you carry more than two objects, you
won't be able to go where you want. Luckily you have the bag, in which you can
put things. You have to use the rather unconventional command "fill bag with
<object>" to do so, so fill bag with tiara, then fill bag with sword. You
should now be carrying only the bag and the vial (and wearing a thing or two,
which don't count).
Go east twice, then south and up. Open the doors. If you're asked which, answer
"both". Go ne, get the tiepin, go n, nw, n, nw, n. Hey, we've been here before!
Go west five times, to the Nightmare cavern. Wait here three times. First
you'll see why you had to see the waterfall and the Aeolian harp, and then
you'll be given another harp yourself.
You have just been ushered out of the Nightmare cavern, and it is not a good
idea to return to it. You need to find your way around it. As far as I can
tell, the exit you've been shoved out of is random, but you can end up in only
three rooms. From the Low tunnel, go e, s, s; from the Narrow canyon, go e, s;
from the Bend, just go s. In each case, you should end up in the Grotto, from
where, go south.
Take the manhole cover, then jump. You'll see a word written on the bridge,
which should be familiar (read it backwards). Enter it: skcitshoop. Do that in
this very turn, and make sure not to make a typo. Wait a couple of turns until
all your possessions are thrown into the room with you, then get and empty the
bag, and drop everything.

Take the vial, harp, torch, ruby, emerald, garnets, vase and key. Go west,
enter lift, u, e, e, s. Go south into the shifting halls; you may be thrown out
again, but if so, just keep trying. When in the halls, keep going east until
you reach the hall of perseverance, where you are given a package. Then, go
west until you reach the Entrance to the shifting halls.
Play the harp to get rid of the bear. We'll go south later. For now, go nw and
sw. Throw the torch and get the ornament. Go west and north to the Reception
area. Drop the vial here, then ring the bell. You can give almost any name you
like, but beware: do not give a magic word as your name. Doing so will stop
that word from working. In particular, do not be a clever-clogs like I was the
first time 'round, and call yourself "Anjith". To be safe, use your real name.
Then answer yes: deposit everything.
Take the vial, and go s, se, e into the halls (repeat if necessary), n
repeatedly until you reach the Large chamber with the "BEAR WEST" sign, n and
w, enter lift, d, e, e.
Take the minotaur, firestone, spangle, crown, sceptre, wine, lavulite and
manuscripts. Repeat the trip to the Reception: w, enter lift, u, e, e, s, s
into the halls, w to the Entrance, nw, n. Drop the vial, ring the bell, and
answer yes to both questions to deposit all treasures.
Get the vial again and go back to Fountain cavern as you did above. This time,
take the sword, tiara, tiepin, fly and necklace, and go back to the Entrance by
the previous route. This time, go south first. Get the peridot. Remove your
sandals and drop them; take and wear the boots. Go north, northwest, and north.
Drop the vial, ring the bell, and deposit everything.
Get the vial, go back to Fountain cavern, and get all but bag. Go back to the
Reception area. This time we don't deposit anything, but go north to the
Adventurers' Lounge. (For the time being, by the way, don't go east of here.)
We'll make this our base of operations for the game from this point on. Drop
everything.

From this point we can do a couple of things in any order. Let's start with the
cave. Take the vial, then go north twice and nw three times. Shout. Go e, se,
e, e, e, s. Open door. Go south. Take the straw, and take some more straw to
reveal a ring. Pull that, and drop the straw. Go north three times. Open the
door.
The next bit, unsurprisingly, does not tolerate lost turns, so mind the typos.
Go south three times, then east, and pull the ring. Go north and down, take the
star, and go south. Throw the star. Go south and retrieve your star. Go east
and insert the star, go east again and get the scarab.
Go w six times to the cave, then go ne, n, n, and get the tablet. Go s, then nw
twice to a hidden room. Take the quartz. Go back to the Lounge: se twice, s,
sw, w, se thrice, s twice.
Kiss the blarney, then go east. If you hadn't kissed that stone, you would not
have understood most of what that adventurer just said. Funny, that - I thought
kissing the Blarney stone made you talk better, not listen better. But what do
I know? I'm no Irishman, begorrah. Anyhoo, go west, drop your vial, then south,
ring the bell to deposit your treasures, and back north. (I'll just note here
that if you accidentally deposit the vial, or anything else that you want back,
ring the bell and answer "no" to the first question.)
We'd better act on what that adventurer said, and we'll go get some other
treasure in the same trip. Get the wiffinweed, the dragon's head, the manhole
cover and the vial. Go north and west, and wait. Get what was dropped. Go south
into the wild wood. This is a maze, of sorts.
Climb a tree, and sniff. A breeze will come from some direction. You can't go
in that direction - it will be nw, sw, ne or se, and you can go n, e, s, or w.
What you do is go in either direction that is closest to the breeze. For
example, if it comes from the southeast, go either south or east. Climb a tree
and sniff again. If the breeze comes from the same direction, go in the same
direction as before. If not, take the other one - e.g., if you had been going
south, and the breeze now comes from the northeast instead of from the
southeast, then start going east. Continue until that direction changes, too -
in our example, it will now come from the northwest. _Now_ go in that diagonal
direction.
(The above is the official procedure, which will always work. As far as I can
tell, the shortest route after entering the forest is always s four times, w
three times, sw. In other words, the exit is always in the same place. But I
can't guarantee that.)
You will now be in a small clearing with some witches. Wait a turn, and you
will be asked a question. Answer yes, obviously. You are transported to another
part of the caves. Go south and west, get the comic, go east, north and east,
and throw the cover. Drop the cover. Go west and sip - this is important: do
not use the verb "drink" - the oil. Hit the boulder. Go west, get the panel,
and go east twice.
Say the password. Enter it exactly like that: "say the password", definite
article included. Go north. Get the fossil. Go north again; you find yourself
back in the shifting halls. Go west to the Entrance and northwest and north to
the Reception. Drop the panel and vial, then ring the bell to deposit the other
treasures. Get the panel and vial, go north, and drop the panel.

Get the bonger. Go north, then east twice to a Steep valley. Be careful not to
t go east another time, right now. Instead, go north thrice. Now go east into
the pool, and north. Get everything, and go southeast.
Notice those stalactites? They form a xylophone. Well, lithophone, to be
precise. Hit the stalactites with the bonger. You will be asked to play a tune.
Now is the time to get out your notes. Back in the room where you found the
bonger, you wrote down a sequence of musical instruments which spelled out a
tune. Play that tune. Aren't you glad that you had 20/20 foresight? Take the
obsidian bar that appears. You can drop the bonger.
Go nw, s, w, s, s, s, w, w to the North downs; then go north twice to the Evil
Moors of Hezarin. And they are indeed evil. Go north once more; you should see
a group of standing stones in the distance. Keep walking in that direction
until you reach the circle.
There are two pillars here, oriented along an orthogonal or diagonal axis. You
need to go in a direction perpendicular to that. For example, if the pillars
are oriented east-west, you go either north or south; if they're northeast-
southwest, you go nw or se. Pick either direction. If, in that direction, you
can see a standing stone, all is well; if not, go back and take the other
option, where you ought to see the stone.
Continue in the direction where you saw the stone. Don't mind the ominous
messages. After a few moves you will reach the dolmen. Move on in the same
direction as before until you reach a barrow. Dig to find a granite slab. Hit
the slab with the bar. Hit slab with bar a second time.
Enter the barrow by going northeast. Take the axe first, then take the mace.
The latter will transport you back some place on the downs. It's not always the
same spot, but you should have been there before. Find your way to the Lounge.
Drop the mace and thong. Go south and deposit everything, including the vial,
which we won't need any more. Then go north to the Lounge.

Next, take the seal, thong and yashmak. Tie the seal. It's an odd way of
phrasing it, but the intent is clear. Wear the yashmak. Check your inventory:
you should be carrying nothing in your hands. We're off for a little flying
trip and we don't want to lose anything.
Go n, n, nw, nw, nw, e, ne through a dark spot, and e. Take the jamjar. This
will be our temporary lamp. Go east. Roll the seal on the clay. Go east twice.
Take _and wear_ the helmet, open the sarcophagus, then take and wear the
pendant.
Go south twice to view a magic word, then north thrice and east. Get a jar, and
break it. Get what was inside and wear it. Now go west, south, east, east.
We're going to ride that carpet, but it's an awkward thing: it won't be taken.
First, though, score some karma points: break the jamjar. How nice. Now tell
the carpet where we want to go, and it will magically take us there. If you
paid attention both when opening the box and when entering the tomb, you will
know where the carpet wants to go: enter "Mashu". Just that, nothing more.
Enjoy the ride - you can do nearly anything, except (not very surprisingly)
jumping. I suggest just waiting a turn.
Ok, we've landed. _Now_ the rug will let us take it. Do so. Then go east twice,
and when challenged, give the name of Gilgamesh. Go east twice more into the
Way of Darkness. This is a maze, though an oddly constructed one. (It is also
not as Dark as its name suggests, because even without a lamp you can at least
see enough to proceed without falling into a pit.) The way the maze is laid
out, you could get through it by just going north and south repeatedly. This
would be prone to miscounting, though, so I'll give you a more varied route to
make it less monotonous.
From the first room called Way of Darkness (that is, not from the _Entrance to_
the WoD), go south, northeast, and down. Get the parchment, and read it. Note
the word "obverse": it suggests that there is something on the reverse as well.
So turn the parchment over, and read the other side.
Now go back up, then n, ne, se, sw, e, ne, and d. Go north - good thing you
came prepared. Take the brooch, then go back south and up, then se, ne, n, and
finally down.
Go east, north and northwest. Get the fishing gnome. If you just "get gnome"
you pick up several of them before you find the right one, so "get fishing".
Then "fish". Drop the gnome and get the pointer - that's what it is, though the
game refuses to tell you that. Go se, e, e, s, s, s. Fit the pointer. Remember
that word.
Go n, n, n, and w. Get the pot. Go sw, s, s. Drop the parchment here, then pick
rubies. You must pick them: you cannot "get rubies". Then go n and e. Enter the
magic word on the sundial: "avernus". Go east, then keep going up until you
can't go any further.
You are now on top of the rainbow, and to get safely off it, you must enter
"slide". As soon as you've landed (at the foot of the rainbow), dig, and you'll
find a pot of gold. You can't take that now, because your hands are full. No
matter, we're back near our stash: go se, se, se, s, s, drop the pendant, go n,
n, nw, nw, nw, get the gold, and back se, se, se, s, s, s. Remove the anklet,
helmet and yashmak. Drop the thong and get the seal. Ring the bell and deposit
all your treasures. Go north.

We're nearly there, now. One last side-trip before we tackle Anjith himself.
Take the plank and the mace, then wear the mace. Go north, and then east twice
to the valley - and east once more into the river. Do not move from there, or
you'll drown. Instead, wait twice, until you're overshadowed by a wave. Surf.
Take inventory. The plank is gone, but luckily you were wearing the mace around
your neck. Remove it, so it is ready for use.
Go east, southeast and south, then east through the undergrowth. Go south, then
southeast along another hidden path, and up into the temple. Get and wear the
white robe. Go north.
From this point on, you may encounter either the Guardians of the Temple, a
figure in red (who is a priest), or a group of Acolytes. You can ignore the
latter. If the Guardians appear, though, you must - without wasting a move -
hit them with the mace. If the red-robed figure approaches, bow, again without
losing a move.
Keeping all that in mind, go west twice, north, and west out of the Temple. Go
west again, then n, e, e; take feathers; w, w, s, e, e to the Temple; n, e, n;
take the dagger; s, e, n.
Remove and drop the robe, take the red gown, and wear that. Now you look like a
priest, bowing to another priest isn't good enough any more. He will spot your
deceit. You will have to take more drastic action. From now on, when you
encounter another red-robed figure, do not bow, but kill it with the dagger
instead. Use the noun "priest" for him - the game, for whatever reason, does
not understand the word "figure" despite using it itself. Note also the changed
attitude of the Acolytes and the Guardians towards you. From now on, you won't
need to kill the latter.
Go s, w, w, s, e. Remove your boots, wash your feet, and put your boots back
on. Go east twice. Get the salver. To get across the pit, make sure you're
wearing your boots, then jump. Take the panel. Oh, dear - trouble. We need
another magic word, this time the one written in the leather alcove in the
tomb. Enter "riggins".
You end up underneath the inn sign. We've found three panels, but we need the
fourth. Well, we can get that right here. Go up. Take the sign, and go back
down. Go south, drop the wooden panel and the ivory one, go south, and ring the
bell to deposit your treasures.
Go north, get everything - you should have a box and four panels - and go east.
Save your game now: we're about to enter on the final leg of our quest.

Buy a round. Pay attention to what the old man says. Go west and north,
outside. Wait a turn - the sun will set. The game doesn't tell you that the
moon also rises, but apparently it does. Mend the box. You are transported once
again, this time to a mountain road of which, if you'd explored a bit at the
beginning of the game, you would have found the other end. Back then, you would
have found yourself unable to go up it. This time, you are unable to go down.
By the way, you should have a nice, round, thousand points. If not, you
probably forgot to deposit a treasure.
If you can't go down, go up. Twice. No more, no less. If you do continue,
you'll be killed by an avalanche. Jump, to find yourself in a precarious
situation. Swing, then jump again. Go east. Enter "chimney".
You are now in Anjith's great hall. This is where we will challenge him, but we
need some preparation. Go west. There is a lever here. If you pull it, a
staircase appears in the great hall, but you won't be able to get up it because
Anjith will pull the lever again to stop you. Break it. Then go southeast, and
break that lever as well. Go east, and break the third lever. Now go northwest.
There is one lever left, in the east room, but we need to use that in our
escape. Time for the showdown.
To summon Anjith, just mention his name: enter "anjith". (You can do this at
any time in the game, from the very start, but unsurprisingly this is not a
wise thing to do.) Now run, and don't dally (or typo). Go w, se, e, ne. Break
the final lever. Go west and up the stairs.
Still no time for rest. Go north four times, to the laboratory. We need to
delay Anjith some more, so break apparatus. Then go west. Remember that
parchment you found underneath the Way of Darkness, with the two magic words
written on it? We're going to use them both. First, enter "aperir". You will
hear a sound coming from one direction. Go in that direction, then search the
shelves.
And now the final word. You have found two scraps of parchment with something
written on it, and you've used neither so far. In fact, they're halves of the
same parchment. One says "tar", the other "nis". Put these together and you
get... no, not "tarnis". The parchment was torn through the middle of a letter.
What it actually said was "tamis". Enter that word.

And there you have it. You have won Hezarin. Granted, you needed a walkthrough
to do so, but frankly, if there is anyone out there, beside the authors, who
won this game without either resorting to the hints or a walkthrough, or to
decompiling the game's data file, I congratulate him twice: once for winning
the game, and once for being clairvoyant enough to read the authors' minds
several times during the game...