Scratches

AGON – Ancient Games of Nations

The Mysterious Codex

(A Walkthrough by Zurreen Zubairie)

(Please, note that this walkthrough is copyrighted. Hence, any attempt to reproduce anything from this walkthrough will be severely punished to the maximum extent of the law.)

The Walkthrough

This is a point-and-click game. Please, note the following explanations for the shorthand references I have made throughout this walkthrough.

Close up on… Click on the magnifying-glass icon appearing on an object or location, to get a close up of that object or location.

Flip through the pages… The pointing finger is one of the ways to interact with the objects in this game. The other is the gear icon. In the case of pages of a book or document, however, you "flip through the pages" of a book by clicking on the big black arrows (pointing left or right, depending on whether you would like to read ahead or go back to an earlier page), but you must click on the pointing finger to "flip through the pages" of a letter. In short, just click on whatever icon might have been provided to "flip through the pages" in question.

Look/Turn up, down, left, right, etc…. As you will soon see, there are no directional arrows in this game. The only way to explore your environment is to click and hold the left-mouse button as you move your mouse (or mouse-ball) to examine your surroundings. Indeed, in the very first scene, the objects you need to examine are literally under your nose. But the only way to access them is by the use of this click-and-hold the mouse button technique.

Please, also note that "The Mysterious Codex" is only the first "installment" in the AGON series. In other words, do not be disappointed to find that the end of this particular game is not the end of the story itself. In fact, this installment contains only the first three of a total of fourteen game episodes. One might wonder, of course, what if the game doesn't do well and the remaining episodes never materialize. But the story line is quite intriguing, and the two board games are very challenging as well as a lot of fun. Hence, even if the developers renege on their promise to deliver more, this particular installment itself is worth playing.

Finally, please, feel free to address any comments or questions about this walkthrough to [email protected].

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Episode 1: London

At the end of the opening cut scene, you find yourself in the office of Professor Samuel Hunt (our hero), at the British Museum in London. Look down to see some papers at the very corner of the table in front of you. Close up on those papers. The professor mumbles, "Ah, this must have been Smythe!" So read the letter by that man first (the two white pages starting with "Dear Friend"). We learn that Smythe is the museum director's secretary and a friend of the professor. Make a note of his phone number (on the second page of the letter): 55-623.

Step out of the close up on Smythe's letter, and click on the newspaper next. Read the article appearing on the lower-left corner, under the picture ("Is the British Museum keeping some secrets?"). [Note for the "discerning" gamers: We were given the date of October 13, 1903 at the end of the opening cut scene. The P.S. in Smythe's letter stated that he had brought "today's newspapers." Yet, the date of this newspaper is "for the week ending Saturday, October 21. 1903" Obviously, it is not likely that a newspaper would have been delivered eight days in advance. So the date at the beginning must be a typo. Ignore this discrepancy, however, because neither of these dates is really relevant to the story anyway. The year is all that matters, as we shall shortly see.]

Listen to another comment by the professor, as you put away the paper. Then, click on the thick white envelope. Read the anonymous letter, signed W.K., and then click on the yellow page to the left that is still inside the white envelope. This is the first of the three pages of the Mysterious Codex you will collect in this installment of the game. Step out of the close up, and the page will be deposited in the professor's files.

Note: You can always look at the documents collected during a particular episode by clicking on "F" on the dial you see at the upper right-hand corner of the screen. You will then be shown a page (or table of contents) listing the collected documents. Just click on the document that you would like to see again. Note also, however, that once you go on to the next episode, the documents collected in the previous episode will no longer be available for viewing. But don't worry: you won't need to refer to a document from an earlier episode after you have successfully completed that episode.

Step out of the close up on the table corner and the professor will indicate that he must let Smythe know about this, i.e., the mysterious letter and its attachment. So turn around, step towards the door and click on the gear icon to open the door and step out into the corridor. The professor indicates that the only phone available at this time of the night is in the Director's Office. So turn left and go to that office at the end of the corridor. As you click on the door, however, you find that it is locked. So turn around again, and go all the way down to the opposite end of the corridor. Step to your left, and turn around left to find a door with the sign "Back Staircase" on the wall to the left of that door. Approach this door, close up on the keyhole and note the key in there. [You will realize the relevance of this fact later.] Step out of the close up, and click on the door, to come out at the head of the staircase. Go down four flights of stairs, reaching the ground level. Step through the door and look around to your right to find the guard, Swanson, sitting behind a desk.

Step up to him and then turn around left, to face the man across the desk. Now click on the speech icon, appearing on Swanson, to talk to him. At the end of the conversation, he allows you to look at the inventory ledger. You will be shown a brief glimpse of this notebook during the conversation itself. As the dialogue ends, look down at the edge of the table closest to you, and click on the brown battered notebook. Flip through the pages, but realize that you don't have enough information yet, about what you are looking for, to be able to see in which of the four warehouses you will find it. Note, however, the comment on the left page at the very end of the notebook: Dr. Moresby's new safety key is the one with the green ribbon! [This information will come in handy later.]

Talk to Swanson again. At the end of this conversation, he gives you the key to the Director Moresby's office, so that the professor can supposedly call his wife to let her know that he will be working late again tonight. Go back upstairs, bring out the key from your inventory, and click on the door to unlock it and enter the Director's office.

It is dark inside. So turn around and click on the gear icon to the right of the door, to switch on the lights. The camera will automatically pan from the light switch back to the view in front of you, to show you the essentials of the room. As the camera stops panning, the professor will make a comment about Smythe's "invaluable treasures." So this is actually Smythe's office. If you look down to your right, you will find three flyers on the little round table. Feel free to leaf through those flyers. Further down the same wall, you will find a filing cabinet. Step forward and turn right to look at it. Only one of the drawers is unlocked: the second one from the top, on the right side. Open it to find only one file that you can pick up. Feel free to examine it, to find a letter as well as two pages giving a brief history of the British Museum. Nothing you need in your quest. Step out of the close ups and look to your left now. There is a little cabinet, under the window, with a tea-set sitting on top. Step towards the window and close up on the cabinet below to open it. "Let us see one of Smythe's treasures." Pick up the big dark square bottle of whiskey from the right on the upper shelf.

Step out of the close up and turn around. We will ignore Smythe's desk, on your right, for now. Go past it to the double doors instead, and enter the Director's office itself. This room is dark as well. Turn around and click on the light switch to the left of the double doors. Again, the camera will give you a panoramic view of the room. There are four sets of bookcases to your left, a fireplace in the wall in front of you, and a large desk to the right of the fireplace. Feel free to go along the bookcases and examine the few books you will be allowed to pick up from two of these bookcases. Next, go over to the fireplace, and pick up a box of matches you will find to the left of the candle-holder on the mantel. Turn right now and go around behind the large desk. Close up on the top of the desk. Click on Moresby's business card lying on the left side of the desk. You don't need his number though, so put it back. Pick up the blue rubber stamp, from the top center of the desk, behind and to the left of a glass bottle. Finally, click on the old-fashioned phone to your right. A key pad will appear to your right, as the operator will ask you for a phone number. Use the key pad to click in Smythe's number: 55-623. [You do not have to press "Enter."] Sit back then and listen to the conversation between the two men.

As the conversation ends, step out of the close up on the desk and look left and down at the wastebasket sitting on the floor next to the desk. Close up on this wastebasket and pick up the crumpled piece of paper lying inside. Based on what you have learned from Smythe, you know exactly what you are looking for now: "Black granite sculpture (sitting figure)." You will find this item listed on the third line from the bottom of the page. Make a note of the number appearing to the right of this entry: 1020624. [You will need this number later.] Note also the date on the left for this item: 1 October.

Go back out to the corridor, "but the door is left open 'accidentally'…" Go downstairs and talk to Swanson again. A cut scene follows in which the professor gives Swanson the bottle of whiskey. The guard starts to drink and nod off already. But you need to wait for him to be completely out before you can do anything sneaky. So you must bide your time until then. Look at the inventory book again. As you open it, you see that the first page on the left is for the year 1901 and that on the right is for the year 1902. Turn the page and note that the left page is for the year 1903, the year of this story. As you look down the list of items on this page, you find only one entry for "sculptures, utensils." The date for the entry is right as well: 1 October, same as the one noted in the crumpled page in Moresby's wastebasket. So now we learn that we should find the statue in Store D.

Go back upstairs to Smythe's office, and step behind his desk. Close up on the top of the desk and pick up an "ORDER" form from the top tray on your left. "Yes, I was looking for something like this ..." The form will appear on your left, as a key pad appears on your right. Note the dark vertical line after the words "inventory number" on the form. This is our cursor, indicating where the letters we type will go in. Use the key pad to click in the number we had noted from the crumpled page in Moresby's wastebasket: 1020624. The cursor automatically moves over to the next place of entry, after "Store." Click D, the storage room that should have our sculpture, according to the inventory notebook. Be sure to now press "ENTER" on the key pad, to register your input with the computer. The accuracy of your data is confirmed when the professor comments, "I just need to certify it now!" Open your inventory, click on the rubber stamp, and then click just above the words "locus sigilli." The professor exclaims, "That's it!," indicating we are done.

Go back downstairs, to find Swanson keeled over his desk. Step towards the key cabinet on the wall to the guard's left, and a cut scene will kick in. After the cut scene, turn around left and click on the cabinet to open it. You will find that there are eight key slots but only six keys lying at the bottom of the cabinet. Recall that we had found the key to the Back Staircase door already in its keyhole upstairs. The label for the key slot second from the left, down in the second row of the cabinet, has been scratched off. Hence, we need to concentrate only on the six remaining key slots. Here is where each key goes:

Main Building: Put the key with the tag marked MB under this label.

Dr. Moresby: As noted previously, the key with the green ribbon goes here.

Store A: Put the clean, silver-colored key under this label.

Store B: The key with the two smaller keys attached to it goes here.

Store C: The key with a smaller key attached to it goes here.

Store D: Put the rusty key under this label.

As you place the last key, the professor's comment will confirm that you have made the right selection and the rusty key, for Store D, will be deposited in your inventory.

You need to go down the corridor facing Swanson's desk. In order to do this, you will have to step towards the back staircase door and then to the left, to come back around in front of the desk. Turn right now, and take two steps forward down the corridor. Turn around to your left and pick up the lantern, sitting on top of a pile of crates, almost behind you. Turn around right, back in the direction you had been taking, and take another step down the corridor. Turn right then and close up on the crooked sign, to the right of the door in front of you. It says: Storage Room D. Step out of the close up, click on the rusty key in your inventory, and then on the double doors to enter the storage room.

It is pitch dark inside, and the professor says so. Open your inventory and click, first on the matchbox and then on the lantern, to light the lantern. [Note: The lantern itself stays in the inventory, but you have light now.] We need to go all the way down to the wall on our left, but this is somewhat tricky. The best way to do this is to pan a little bit to your right and click on the arrow pointing to the left side of the room. This takes you to the entrance to the next-to-the-last aisle on the left side of the room. But we want to go to the very last aisle, not this one, so don't go in any further. Rather, turn around left and click on the arrow that points further to what is now to your right. Click on the wall you now see in front of you, to finally reach the side of the room you had wanted to reach all along. Turn right and take two steps down this aisle, to reach the end of the aisle. Turn right again and you will see moonlight coming from a couple of windows up in the wall to your left. Take one step forward, and then click on the forward arrow to take another one when a cut scene will bring you to a granite figure, in a sitting position, on the floor. The figure has its arms wrapped around a square diagram. Close up on that diagram. Pick up the gray stone lying in the lower-left portion of the diagram. "I must solve the message of the stone!"

Click on the X /"Exit" at the lower-left corner of the screen to step out of this particular close up. Step out of the other close up in the usual way (by clicking on the down arrow at the bottom of the screen). Go out of the storage room and back up to the professor's office. [In case you might have forgotten how to get there: As you step through the back staircase door upstairs, turn right and step forward. Turn right again, and take another step forward. The professor's office will be immediately to your left.]

There is a large bookcase with three subdivisions on the right side of the room. As you approach this bookcase, feel free to examine the few books you will be allowed to look up in the middle and rightmost sections of the bookcase. The book we are looking for, however, is the dark green one, situated to the right of (and leaning away from) the cardboard box, in the third from the top shelf of the rightmost section of the bookcase. It is called "Classes LINGUARUM." Flip through the pages of this book until you find the "Hungarian Runes."

Based on the information in this page, the first line on the stone reads:

E 3+5+20 [or E28]; N 3+5+60 [or N68]

Similarly, the second line should read as OINIAV. However, the rules on the second page (not shown here) tell us that the runes were usually written "alternating direction left to right then right to left." Hence, since we had read the first line left to right, we must now read the second line right to left. Thus, the second line actually reads as VAINIO.

Open your inventory and click on the stone. A white piece of paper appears to your left with two sets of three boxes each on the first line and a set of six boxes on the second line. Note the cursor in the first box on the top line. Use the keypad appearing on your right to click in E28. The cursor goes to the second set of three boxes, still on the first line. Click in N68. As the cursor moves down to the six boxes on the second line, click in VAINIO. Press "ENTER." The professor confirms that we have the right solution. He also suggests looking up the map.

Turn to your left now and approach the map on the wall. Close up on it and your cursor itself becomes a large magnifying glass. Move this glass around and note that the higher up you move over the map, the directions (showing vertically on your left) change from South to North, while moving further to the right changes the directions (showing horizontally above the map) from West to East. Thus, move the glass around until you see N 60-70 vertically to the left of the map, and E 20-30 horizontally above the map. Once you have these co-ordinates, click and you will zoom in further on the map. Move the glass around again until you get N 65-70 on your left and E 25-30 at the top of the screen. Click to zoom in even further. Finally, you are at a stage where you can zoom in on the actual co-ordinates from the stone. So move the glass now until you get N68 on your left and E28 above the map. Click on these co-ordinates and listen to the professor. Then go back to Moresby's office and call Smythe [55-623]. [Note: It might be a good idea to save your game just before you make the call, because this is the last point when you can click on F in the dial in the upper right-hand corner of the screen and still look up the documents collected in this episode.] Listen to the conversation between the two men, and we are off to Lapland!

* * * * * * * * * * * *

As the first episode concludes, we are shown a map and a path is drawn across it marking the professor's travel. Note the documents that accumulate around this map as the path is marked. You will regain control of the game only after the path is completely drawn. Read the documents. You will find three letters (from Smythe to the professor) on the left side of the map, a postcard (from the professor to Smythe) at the top right of the map, and two letters (from the professor to his wife) on the right side of the map. Finally, there is a book (the professor's biography, written by his wife) at the lower right-hand side of the map. But don't worry: there are only two pages to read here. [Again, note: this would be a good place to save your game as well, because none of these writings are deposited in the professor's file when the following episode begins. Thus, if you save your game now, you can easily come back to this save and reread anything here that you might wish to read again.]

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Episode 2: Lapland

The train drops the professor at the station and moves off. Step forward, turn left and click on the door to knock. Click again to enter. "Uhh! What a stuffy smell of alcohol!" Turn left and step forward. Close up on the map on the wall to your left, and note the three villages indicated there. Turn to your right then, to find the station master in bed, apparently out in a drunken stupor. Step up to him, listen to the professor's comment, and then click on the man to try to wake him up. "Hopeless…"

If you stay in the station long enough, you will hear the professor start to complain about the cold in the room. He will also worry about the station master freezing to death before he wakes up. So let's take care of that before doing anything else. Turn slightly to your left and go to the bookshelf on the wall to the left of the large mirror. Feel free to click and leaf through the two books on the left, but it is the fourth one from the right that is important. Close up on that book, click on it to straighten it and reveal a box of matches behind. Pick up the match box, and step out of the close up.

Go over to the boiler that you will find against the wall opposite the map. Look down at the lower part of the boiler. Pick up the "stump" (firewood) from the floor immediately to the left of the boiler. Now close up on the boiler door below. Click on that door to open it. Now open your inventory, click on the newspaper and then click in the boiler opening, to put the newspaper inside. Similarly, put the stump in there as well. Finally, click on the matchbox in your inventory and then click inside the boiler opening, to start the fire. Look up and click on the lever on the vertical pipe at the top of the boiler, but the pressure fails to rise. There seems to be no need to raise that pressure just yet, so go back to the station master.

Look up at the single bookshelf above the bed. Feel free to leaf through the book on the right, but it is the second one from the left that we will need shortly: "Learning the Morse Code." Flip through the pages to the chapter entitled "The International Morse Code."

Turn left and step over to the window in front of you. Look down at the cabinet (or "cupboard") under the window. Feel free to leaf through the book on the top edge of the cabinet closest to you. Close up then on the cabinet doors below. Click on the right doorknob, to find the cabinet locked. Step out of the close up and turn slightly left to face the wall with the other window. Move towards that window, turn right and close up on the two drawings above the desk. Step out of this close up then and into the one on the wall drawing above and to the left of the desk. "Kaira…?" Find this word scribbled in the lower right corner of the drawing. Make a note of the letters that appear under it: c-f-c-f-c-d-c.

Step out of this close up and into the one on the desk itself. There are only two objects on which you can click. Click first on the yellowish envelope in the left corner of the desk. Next, click on and read (the two pages of) the letter in the center of the desk. "Everyone's fate is a whole novel…!" Step out of this close up, turn left and look down at what looks like a night stand, under the window. Note the device with a strip of paper coming out of a roll, sitting on this night stand. Close up on this device, to find that it is a telegraph and that the last message has not yet been decoded. Click on the strip and use your recently acquired knowledge of the Morse Code to decode the message.

As usual, a blank piece of white paper will appear to your left and a key pad will appear to your right. As you click in the letters on the white page using the key pad, note: click on the "NEXT" button at the lower left corner of the key pad to leave a blank space between words; use the red button (with the arrow) in the lower middle, to delete the previous letter(s), if you make a mistake; finally, do not worry about punctuation, nor should you try to leave more than one blank space between words. Thus, click in the following message:

TO 76 PROFESSOR SAMUEL HUNT FROM ENGLAND IS EXPECTED TO ARRIVE ON WEDNESDAY PLEASE PREPARE A SLEIGH FOR HIM PEKKA

Check to make sure that you have made no typographical errors. Otherwise, you would not be allowed to proceed in the game. After checking, press "ENTER," and hear the professor read the message, thus confirming the accuracy of your input. Hence, we learn that Smythe had done his best but in vain, because there is still no sleigh around to deliver the professor to his next destination. So now you need to take care of this problem yourself.

Step out of the close up. Go out of the station, turn left and take a step forward. Note the water tank that the professor points out to you. Turn left then, and take two steps forward. Turn left again, step forward, and then turn around left to find the door to the shed in front of you. Click on the door to find it locked. Close up on the hole in the wall to the left of the door. You can't see any lock, but it must have something to do with opening the door. You must now figure out the mechanism that makes it work.

Go back inside the station and approach the railway man again. Note that he has turned over to his right side. Close up on the red belt around his waist. Pick up the small key sticking out of his back pocket. Step out of the close up and approach the cabinet under the window to your left. Close up on the cabinet doors once again, and use the key on the right doorknob to open the cabinet. Pick up the green medicine bottle sitting on two pieces of paper, in the upper shelf. Now click on those documents, to find a two-page letter from the railway man's son and a yellow-colored piece of paper with a drawing on it. Look closely at this drawing. Note the two levers in the middle of the page, each of them with a gear to its right. The lever on the left has nine grooves in it, and the gear next to it also has nine protruding points. Note also that the gear clicks into the lever at the second notch from the top. Similarly, the lever on the right has thirteen notches on it, and the gear next to it also has thirteen protruding points. This gear clicks into the lever at the fifth notch. We now have all the information we need about the shed door's lock system – thanks to Paavo, the railway man's son.

Step out of the close up and go to the door. Instead of stepping out, however, turn around to see three plates on the wall in front of you. Step forward, look down, and see the stool on the floor. Click on the arrow pointing LEFT, to move the stool under the leftmost plate on the wall. You can close up on this plate now, so do that. Turn the plate all the way to the left and then all the way to the right. You will find that it makes eight turns. Thus, it controls the smaller gear we saw in Paavo's drawing. Turn the plate to the extreme left. Since this starting position is in fact the first notch on the diagram, turn the plate to the right once.

Step out of the station. Turn left, and step forward. Turn left again, step forward, and then close up on the rusty-looking small plate on the wall to your left. As you count, you find that the valve in this plate makes twelve turns. Hence, it must be what controls the other gear depicted in Paavo's drawing. As you had done with the plate in the station, turn the valve all the way to the left and know that this is the first notch from the drawing. So turn the valve to the right four times. Step out of the close up. Go right and around the corner of the building, to return to the shed door. Close up on the hole to the left of the door and note the triangular opening within that hole now. You must now find the key that fits this opening.

Step out of the close up, go right and around to the end of that wall. Look up to see the bell above you. Pick up the clapper. This is the key we wanted! So return to the shed door again, close up on the hole, and use this key on the triangular opening. You are automatically brought out of the close up. Click on the door. "Open Sesame!" You find yourself inside the shed at last. Turn left, step forward, and close up on the steam organ below. As you touch a key, you find that you need steam pressure to make it work.

The time has come to raise the pressure in the station's boiler now. So step out of the shed, turn right, and take two steps forward to reach the water tank. Take a step UP on the ladder, turn around, and take another step UP to reach the top. Step forward now, look down, and click on the lever on the floor, to see it turn and point towards the station/shed building. Go to the station now, close up on the boiler, and click on the vertical lever. See the pressure rise! Go back to the shed and try to play the organ again, but it still doesn't work.

Step out of the close up, look down to your right, and pick up the "lint" (looks like a roll of gauze) from the floor. Turn right now and step forward to the wall opposite the door. Click on the valve in the pipe in front of you. The professor exclaims in joy but this sense of triumph is cut short by the observation that "The steam is escaping, the pressure is falling!" No problem. Look to your left, to see the white steam coming out of the pipe. Open your inventory, click on the lint and then on the spot in the pipe the steam is coming from, thus sealing the leak. Go back to the organ, close up on it, and click: C F C F C D C (the code you had noted from the Kaira drawing in the station). Let's see if it worked…

Step out of the shed and to your right, and you will see "Kaira." This is your ticket out of this place, but you must now give her the directions for the village you need to visit. Go back to the organ inside the shed. Recall the three villages you had seen on the map in the station. If you play CDC, then go out and approach Kaira, you will find her facing in the direction of the village to the west. But that is not the village we want. Again, if you play DFD, she will turn to face in the direction of the village to the east. But that is not the village we want either. So just play CFC, come out and find Kaira facing north. That's the direction to the village we want! So approach Kaira, click on her cart, and off we go to Borgesiida!

* * * * * * * *

As you arrive in Borgesiida, you find a number of houses scattered around. If you go knocking at the doors, however, you will find that some people will open the door and quickly shut it again, while others will never answer. "This mistrust is truly scary!" Here is how to quickly get through this segment of the game.

As the cut scene ends, turn left and step forward. Turn left and knock on the door. Nothing happens. Turn right, step forward, and turn left to knock at another door. No answer. Turn right, step forward, and turn left until you find yourself facing the side of a house. Note the scraping on the left side of the wall. Close up on this and make a note of the numbers: 264351. Under the numbers, there is "that strange monogram again!," i.e., W.K.

Step out of the close up, turn right and step forward. Turn right again, and step forward. Turn right now and take two steps forward. Look to your left to see a fence. But if you click on the gear icon at the gate, nothing will happen (just yet). So just turn right, step forward, right again, another step forward, and then turn left to see a door with what looks like an oval-shaped black metal knocker on it. Pick up the icicle hanging down and over the left wooden post in front of the door. Now click on the door to enter what turns out to be a bar.

Step to the counter on your left and try to talk to the barman. You get a choice of making one of three statements in the dialogue box. Try each of them, one by one, only to get a grunt but no answer from the barman every time. Turn right now, step over to the girl in front of you, and try the three lines with her. She will look up but not even grunt in response. Turn to your right again, step forward, and pick up the bluish tin cup from what appears to be a mantel but has no fireplace underneath. Turn slightly to the left now and approach the boiler in that corner of the room. Open your inventory and place the icicle in the cup. Now put the cup on the boiler. The icicle will melt and the cup will automatically return to your inventory. Put the medicine (from the train station) into the cup, to get "dissolved medicine."

Turn right now, step forward, and turn right again, to see the sick dog on the floor to the left of the door. Approach the dog and put the dissolved medicine in his food dish. A cut scene will begin, and end with the girl stepping out the door and signaling the professor to follow. So step outside, turn right and approach the girl standing by the fence. Click on her to talk to her, and another cut scene will follow. Click on the fence gate now to open it. Step inside and towards the reindeer. Pick up the oil can lying on the snow to the right of the sleigh. Then, click on the sleigh, and we are off to see Vainio!

* * * * * * * *

The ride is cut short, however, as a wooden bridge collapses before us. The professor steps out of the sleigh and must go on foot from here. Step forward to cross the bridge and hear it collapse completely behind us. There is only one direction we can take right now, so turn left and step forward. As you move the cursor over a structure up on the hill slightly to your right, the professor will remark, "Lo, a polar lights observation post!" Before we get to that, however, let's turn around left and take that one step back to the collapsed bridge. As you move your cursor, you will see that you can now go in two different directions. The left one will take you back to that observation post. Take a step to the right instead. Turn left and take two steps. Turn left again, take one more step, and then look to your left to find a giant bolder on the ground with two much smaller stones in front of it, at its base. Pick up the wheel lying between these two smaller stones.

Turn right, step forward. Turn left then, and take another step forward. That observation post is in front of you again but the only way to reach it is to turn left, take a step, turn right, and take two steps forward. As you thus approach the device, close up on it. Feel free to close up at the top to get a starry view. Step out of that close up then, and look at the panel below with six zeros showing. Click in the numbers 264351 (that we had noted from the side of the house back in that village). Now open your inventory, bring out the wheel, and click on the left side of the device to attach the wheel to that side. Bring out the oil can then, and click on the wheel, to oil it. Now click on the wheel again. The numbers panel will open like a drawer, revealing a scroll inside. Pick up the scroll, to find that it is another page from the mysterious codex.

Step out of the close ups. Turn around and step forward (it will seem like you have taken two) to come down the hill. Turn left, and take a step forward. Turn slightly to the right, and take another step forward. You will see a kind of gulley ahead of you. Take two steps forward through it, to arrive at a pier. Close up on the boat sitting on the pier. There is nothing there. [Note: there would have been an oil can in the boat, if you hadn't already picked one up before getting on the sleigh at the village. Thus, this would have been your "second chance" to get one, to use it on the observation post.]

Step out of the close up, turn right, and take two steps forward. Turn slightly to the right, and take another step forward. Turn a little to the left, and see a large gulley. Take a step through it. "Isn't that a hut there in the distance?" Yes, it is, and you can even see the smoke coming out of the chimney at the top. Take two steps forward to approach it and then click on the door to enter. A cut scene follows. Step towards the young man and give him the letter from his sweetheart back in the village. Another cut scene follows and you are then presented with the rules for the board game, Tablut. Be sure to flip through the pages to read all four pages. Click on X/"Exit" and we are ready to play our first AGON board game!

TABLUT

Following is my solution to the game in the NORMAL mode. [Please, remember: you can go to the main menu, click on Game Options, and then change the difficulty level to EASY to no doubt come up with a shorter/easier solution.] Please, note the following in "deciphering" my solution: I have labeled the rows A-H, and the columns 1-9. Thus, the first cell in the upper left corner is read A1 and the last one at the lower right as I9. The red squares in my diagram correspond to the red squares in the game, to hopefully make it easier to compare the two boards. The green squares in my diagram represent the cells occupied by your pieces at the start of the game. Finally, the red square in the center is occupied by your KING, of course. Please, note also that you need to make ONLY the moves indicated in BLUE at the left in the following directions. Moreover, here is an example of how to follow those directions: The first move (E7 à D7) means that you must move your piece from cell E7 to cell D7. As for the parenthetical statements after each move, they are for reference purposes only, to confirm you have made all the "right moves" so far. Feel free to ignore these notes completely, of course. If you decide to use them, however, please note that these parenthetical notes indicate: the result(s) of your move, if any; the computer's response; and the result(s) of the computer's response, if any. With all this in mind now, let's play TABLUT!

E7 à D7 … [E8 moves to D8]

E6 à D6 … [I6 moves to E6]

C5 à C6 … [D1 moves to D3]

F5 à F6 … [E6 killed; F1 moves to F5, killing your G5]

E4 à F4 … [F5 killed; H5 moves to F5]

C6 à C3 … [D3 killed; A4 moves to E4, killing your E3]

D5 à D4 … [E4 killed; E2 moves to E4]

F4 à G4 … [E9 moves to E6]

G4 à F4 … [E4 & F5 killed; E1 moves to E4]

F4 à G4 … [I5 moves to F5]

G4 à F4 … [E4 & F5 killed; B5 moves to D5]

D6 à C6 … [I4 moves to I2]

C6 à D6 … [D5 & E6 killed; A5 moves to D5]

D6 à C6 … [A6 moves to A2]

D7 à D6 … [D5 killed; D8 moves to D7]

C6 à C8 … [D9 moves to D8]

F6 à E6 … [F9 moves to F5]

E6 à E8 … [D8 killed; I2 moves to E2]

E8 à D8 ... [D7 killed; E2 moves to E4]

D6 à F6 … [F5 killed; A2 moves to A4]

D4 à C4 … [A4 moves to B4]

C4 à D4 … [E4 killed; B4 moves to B8]

C3 à A3 … [B8 moves to B2]

D4 à D2 … [B2 moves to C2]

F4 à B4 … [C2 moves to B2]

C8 à C2 … [B2 moves to B3]

C2 à C3 … [B3, the last enemy piece, killed].

* * * * * * * * * * * *

As the second episode concludes, we are once again presented with a map and the professor's travel to his next destination, Madagascar, is marked across it. As the marking is completed, read the correspondence between Smythe and the professor. There are two letters from Smythe to the professor at the left side of the map; another letter from Smythe to the professor at the top of the map; and then, a letter from the professor to Smythe at the right side of the map. Finally, read the eight pages of the professor's biography, written by his wife, at the lower right portion of your screen.

[Note: Again, this might be a good spot to save your game, just in case you might want to come back and reread any of these documents or the biography.]

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Episode 3: Madagascar

We find the professor at the beach. As the cut scene ends, you should be looking out to sea. Turn a little to your right and take two steps forward (moving away to the left from the boat) to arrive at an apparent dead end by the rocks. Turn right, and go back along the beach to return to the boat. Keep going forward (to the right of the boat this time), and go to the other end of the beach. Pan the camera to your left and note the fishing net. Now turn a little to the left, step forward. Turn right, take another step, and hear the professor's comment about the wall around the village. Turn right and step forward to approach the guard at the village entrance. The dialogue box will indicate many possible topics as the conversation develops. Exhaust all of these topics. Don't worry even when the guard threatens you with his spear. Just keep on clicking on the speech icon on the guard, covering the topics, until that icon no longer appears on the guard. Thus, you find out about the villagers' distrust of pirates, a little bit about the forest, and about the fact that there is apparently one last and old pirate still to be found in the clearing beyond that forest.

Follow the guard's suggestion to use berries to lure a lemur into leading the way through the forest. So pick up a handful of red berries from the pan sticking out of the wall slightly to your left. Turn slightly further to your left and note the narrow path leading into the forest. Take two steps down this path, and the camera will automatically pan down to your right to show you a lemur sitting on the ground. Close up on the stone in front of him. Place the red berries on the stone, and a short cut scene will show the lemur taking them. You will be automatically brought out of the close up. Step forward into the forest. You hear nothing, and you will find arrows pointing in four different directions. Step forward again. "Where are you my little helper…?" Almost as if on cue, you will hear the lemur's cry. You must now follow those cries to help you reach that clearing the guard had mentioned.

Note: Every time you take a step, there will be arrows pointing in four directions. The trick is to pan the camera around to a point where the lemur's cry sounds the loudest. Click on the arrow in that spot to move forward. Wait to hear the sound of the lemur again, determine where that sound is the loudest, and then click on the arrow appearing in that spot. Some people might do the whole thing in eight clicks; others will take ten. But don't despair even if it takes you longer to get through. Just keep following the lemur's cries in this way. [I also got the feeling that it is best to click in the middle of the lemur's cry itself. So maybe this part of the game has as much to do with coordinating with the sound as well as the spot where that sound is heard the loudest.] When you take the last step, a cut scene will show the professor stepping out of the forest. The camera will pan down to the right automatically, to show the lemur sitting in front of yet another stone. We will need him again on our way back. But for now…

Step forward, turn right, and step forward to approach the fireplace on the ground. Look down to your right, and pick up the rags. Turn back to the fireplace, look up and take two steps forward. Turn right, step forward, and pick up the firewood on the ground below. Turn back around and step forward. Turn right, step forward, turn right again, step forward, to arrive at yet another clearing. Pick up the "slats" (wooden planks) from the pile behind the crate with some kind of a device sitting on the top. Close up on this device then and find that it is some kind of a presser: when you click on the handle in the back of the "head," the upper part of the "mouth" presses against the lower part. Hmmm…

Step out of the close up, and note that you can go either left or right. Take a step towards the right, turn left, and take another step forward. Now pan the camera around to your left to find a large tree with some wooden planks attached to serve as steps. This is the tree that the professor was talking about when we had initially arrived at the area with the fireplace. Click on the UP arrow, and the professor indicates that some of the steps are missing. No problem. Open your inventory, click on the slats and then on the rags, to make two temporary steps. Pick up one of them and click on the top hole you see on the side of the tree – in the empty part, under the steps already there [your step will begin to glow when you hover it over the correct spot]. Now pick up the other temporary step and click on the tiny spot under the step you just attached (note where the second step glows) to attach this one to the tree as well. The professor will indicate that the row (of steps) is still incomplete, but that he can manage.

Go up a step, to find that you cannot go further. Note the large wooden board below, practically at your feet, serving as a kind of landing. Turn around, look down, and pick up one of the temporary steps you had just attached to the tree. With this step still in hand (appearing as your cursor), turn back around and look down under the landing for a spot where the temporary step will glow again. Click, and that step will now be attached in front of you. Go up, and a cut scene will show the professor going up the rest of the way and arriving at the entrance to the tree house. Turn to your right and step through the reddish curtain.

Turn left and look down at the middle shelf. Note the brown bowl of rice on the left side of that shelf. But you don't have anything you can use to take some rice out, nor does there appear to be any reason just yet to do so. So look back in front of you, step forward, and close up on the table down to your right. Pick up the matchbox sitting behind the hand sander. Then pick up the ENINA card to its left.

Step out of the close ups, turn right and step forward. Turn right and close up on the wall painting. Make a note of the letters etched at the side of the sail ship: ABE. Step out of the close up, and turn around (to the left of the ladder). Pick up the "missing step" leaning against the wall in front of you. Then pick up the EFATRA card from the bucket to the left of where the step had been sitting. You might have to pan the camera slightly to the right to pick up the IRAY card from the floor, immediately to the left of the doorway. Turn right and go up the ladder to arrive at the second level. Turn right and step through the curtain of vines. The old pirate lies on a bed in front of you.

Turn right and pick up the ROA card from behind the bag of mushrooms on the top shelf. Now step towards the old man and the camera will automatically pan down on him. Bring out the wine from your inventory and give it to the old man. A cut scene follows. You must now find some food for the old man. Look to your left and pick up the DIMY card from the right of the wash basin, on the table next to the bed. Turn around further to your left and close up on the corner shelf. Pick up the lantern from the top shelf to the left of the pole holding up the shelf. Pick up the "bowl" (it is actually a deep frying pan) from the top shelf to the right of the same pole, and a handful of brown berries from the shelf below. Step out of the close up. Go back down to the first level. Go over to the entrance but before you leave, turn right and use your recently acquired "bowl" to take out some rice from the middle shelf.

Step out of the hut and take two steps down to find that you can go no further. There is a gear icon right at your feet. Bring out the step you had found in the hut and click where you had seen the gear icon (the step will glow when you hover it over that spot). Now step down and forward, to reach the fireplace clearing. Turn left to look at the fireplace. Bring out the bowl of rice and click on the pot over the fireplace, to pour the rice into that pot. Look up, step forward and turn around to your right to see a barrel full of water. Fill your bowl with some of that water and return to the fireplace. Put the water in the pot over the fireplace, only to find that it is not enough. So go back to the barrel of water and fill your bowl with some more water. Return to the fireplace and pour that water into the pot. Bring out the firewood from your inventory and place it under the pot. Finally, click on the matchbox and then on the firewood below, to light a fire under the pot.

Hanging around and waiting will not do any good. You are supposed to do something else before the rice is cooked. So look up, and take two steps forward. Turn left then, step forward, turn right, and step forward, to reach the second clearing. Close up on the device on the crate, place the brown berries in the "mouth," and press the handle at the back of the "head." The brown berries will turn into red berries. Pick up those red berries, and step out of the close up. Note, once again, that you can go either left or right. Turn left this time, step forward; turn slightly to the left again, and take another step forward; then, turn right and take two steps forward, to return to the fireplace. The rice is cooked now. Fill your "bowl" with some of that "steamed rice." Turn left and step forward to reach the big tree. Go up to the second level and give this bowl of rice to the old man.

Click on the speech icon now appearing on the man. When he asks, "who are you?," you can actually pick either of the answers given, because you will get the same information in response. I prefer the second choice though: "Adventurer (in search of the Agon)," because the old man seemed to become a little hostile when I had tried the first choice in playing this portion of the game earlier.

The dialogue moves forward and the old man is reluctant to go in details for fear that it is a long story. Click on "Please, tell me…" to encourage him to continue. A cut scene follows in which you learn all about the old man – Jonathan Morgan, and the late Captain Jeremiah Dodd. As the cut scene ends, click on Morgan, to gain more information. You will have to do this several times, but be sure to keep clicking and asking all the questions that appear in the dialogue box, until the professor indicates that we should not disturb the man any further. Now turn right and step towards the ladder by the window. Turn around to face the ladder, and click to go up. Turn around then to face another ladder. Go up that ladder as well, to reach the third level, and inside the Captain's "quarters."

There is a large window-like opening on your left. Click on the cards hanging on the wall to the left of that window, and thus pick up the VALO, FOLO, FITO, and SIVY cards, one by one. Turn around to your right, and look down on the ground, under the hammock. Feel free to leaf through the book in the front but it is the one in the back, almost hidden in the right corner under the hammock, which we really need. It is called "Vocabulary of the Malgasy - The language of Madagascar" and is stated to be "The Most Detailed English-Malgasy Dictionary." "Well, well…" And there is good reason for this comment by the professor. As you leaf through the pages, note that the words on the cards we had picked (Dimy, Enina, etc.) represent numbers. Feel free to make a note of the Malgasian equivalent of the ten numbers [1-10] you find in this dictionary, or wait for my diagram that shortly follows.

Turn left to face the central part of the quarters now. Look down on the floor. Again, feel free to pick up and leaf through the two books in the box to your right. Next, pick up the TELO card lying on the ground to the left of the box full of books. You will see it sticking out from just above the book you find leaning against a pile of other books on the floor. Thus, you should now have a total of ten cards. [Note: you can click on the "F" on the dial in the upper-right corner of your screen, thus opening up the Table of Contents where you can click on any one of the ten cards you collected in this tree house. Thus, you can refer to these cards at any time that you wish.]

Now pick up that dark book leaning against the pile of other books: "Falconer's Marine Dictionary." Note the three questions on the left page as you open the book: Where? What? When? The professor is right that these are supposed to serve as some kind of reminders for us as well. In fact, the next time you open the book, a key pad will appear to your right and you will actually have to answer these questions. But we don't have enough information to do that just yet. So just flip through the pages and, as you begin the actual dictionary portion of the book, note the letters ABE at the top of the second column on the left page. Recall that these are the same letters that we had seen on the side of the ship in the wall painting at the first level. The text following the letters in the book, although hard to read, is actually irrelevant to our quest. The letters are all that matter. But again, we don't have enough information yet to figure out what they mean. So let's move on for now…

Close up on the telescopic apparatus in front of the window to your left. Close up first on the settings to the left of the telescope. Note the three levers. The one on the left can be set at Roman Numerals I, II, or III. The one in the center moves horizontally, from left to right, and can be set at 10, 20 or 30. Finally, the one on the extreme right moves vertically, from bottom to top, and can be set at 10, 20 or 30 as well. Feel free to try different settings. Every time you change the setting for any lever, step out of the close up on the settings and into the one on the telescope, to check the result. You will find that some settings will show writings on objects, indicating different times (at dusk, at midnight, etc.) and places (behind the village, on the forest path, etc.), while others indicate nothing at all. Again, we don't have enough information yet to find the answers that we need. So let's move on again for now…

It is time to visit the Captain's grave. So step out of the tree house, and take a step towards the fireplace. Take another step forward, on the path to the right of the fireplace, to return to the edge of the forest. The camera will automatically pan around to focus on the lemur sitting on the ground below. Close up on the stone in front of him, place the red berries, and watch the lemur take them. You will be brought out of the close up automatically. Take two steps into the forest, and you will hear the lemur's cry. So as before, just click on the arrow in the spot where the lemur's cry appears to be the loudest, to return to the village.

As you thus step out of the forest, take two steps forward (away from the forest) to approach the guard. There is no need to talk to him, however. Just pick up another handful of berries from the pan to his left, turn slightly further to the left, and take two steps down that narrow path back to the edge of the forest. Close up on the lemur sitting on the ground to your right, place the red berries on the stone, and watch him take off. As you are brought out of the close up automatically, step forward to enter the forest yet again. But this time, we are not going to the clearing on the other side, but to the Captain's grave in the forest itself. So you can ignore the lemur's cry altogether. Just keep clicking on the arrow right in front of you to keep going forward. Not counting that step you took to enter the forest after the lemur took off, you should find yourself facing the grave at the fifth click.

Note: Please, SAVE your game at this point and read the following instructions carefully, to avoid possible frustration in attempting this puzzle.

There are nine poles on the left side of the grave. Note the colored shapes on the poles, under the ox figurines, and you will find that each of these patterns on the different poles is comparable to a pattern (also under an ox figurine) in one of the cards you collected in the tree house. The English-Malgasy Dictionary had helped us determine the correct order (1-10) of those cards. Thus, we can see that the poles here are "out of order." We need to rearrange them now in the correct order, left to right, going from the foot to the head of the grave.

But we had collected ten cards, and there are only nine poles by the grave. Hence, one of the cards should be redundant. In my case, it was number ten, Folo. However, I played this game twice and found the poles set up in a different order around the grave each time. So I have included the tenth card in the picture that shortly follows, just in case that pattern happens to pop up in your particular game. It is also for this reason that I cannot give you an exact solution to this puzzle. But I hope, the following suggestions will be helpful.

1. Take one step to the left of the grave, and turn left to face the three poles presented to you. Note that you can pick up any one of these three poles, but DON'T do that just yet. Rather, refer to the cards in your File (or to my diagram below) and make a note of each of the three poles in the order that they appear, left to right (For example: Is it 7, 6, 8? or 9, 6, 4?, etc.).

2. Take another step to your right, and turn to face the second group of three poles. Again, determine and make a note of the order in which these three poles appear, left to right.

3. Finally, take another step to your right, and turn around to face the last group of three poles. Determine and make a note of the order of these poles as well.

4. This will be a good point to save your game, now that the computer has already established the order of the nine poles and before you move any one of them.

5. Once you have noted the order of all nine poles, you must now rearrange them in the correct order. In this connection, please, keep two things in mind.

(a) You do NOT have to put a pole into your inventory and then bring it out again to put it in a different position. It would be much easier just to carry the pole. So when you pick a pole out of its original position, move it to the left or right (depending on where you want to go) of the group of three poles in front of you and click where the pole (in your hand) glows. You will be moved to that position, with the pole still in your hands, appearing as your cursor.

(b) Don't forget that when you pick up a pole, you will then be able to see only 8 poles on the ground. This is probably the trickiest part of the puzzle – keeping track of the order of the remaining poles after you have picked up one of them. Taking notes to indicate what you have moved where will be really helpful for this purpose.

The cards, numbered 1-10, are as follows:

Once again, remember that you have to rearrange the poles so that they will appear in the correct order, left to right, i.e., starting from the pole at the foot of the grave to the one at the head of the grave. The correct order most likely will be 1-9 (but try 2-10, if the pattern from the tenth card happens to pop up). As soon as you place the last pole in its correct order, the professor will confirm, "Yes, no doubt, this must have been the original order." Let’s find out now what we accomplished by arranging the poles in the correct order.

Go to the last pole at the head of the grave. Look down to your right, and close up behind the headstone. Etched in the stone, you will see twenty-six letters of the English alphabet, and a foreign symbol above each of these letters. Thus, each foreign symbol is supposed to represent the letter of the English alphabet appearing under it. Go back to the poles (now to your right), and note that one or more of these same symbols have been carved on the wooden portion of each pole, under the colored pattern we had been examining up until now. So now that the poles are in their correct order, the symbols are in the correct order as well; and all you have to do is to make a note of the symbols on the poles, and then refer to the back of the headstone to see what English letters they represent, to decipher the message on the headstone.

When you are ready, click on the back of the headstone and a piece of white paper will appear to your left and a key pad to your right. Click in the following message, using the NEXT button at the lower-left corner of the key pad to leave a blank space between words:

UNDER THOSE DATES WK

Press ENTER on the key pad. The professor will confirm the solution, and indicate that we must now figure out what the reference to those "dates" means.

Go back to the foot of the grave and step towards the right side of the grave this time. Close up on the front of the headstone. Open your inventory, click on the knife, and then click on the dates (1821-1875) written on the headstone. Thus, that part of the headstone is removed, revealing a compartment inside. Click on the piece of paper to the right, to retrieve the third page of the mysterious codex. Now click on the notebook to the left, and flip through the pages. Note the diagram at the very end of the notebook.

We must now return to the Captain's quarters back in the tree house. So step to the foot of the grave, and then into the forest. Step forward again, and you will hear the lemur's cry. Once again, follow his sound to return to the clearing by the fireplace. Step forward and then to your left, to approach the tree. Go all the way up to the Captain's quarters. Close up on the telescopic apparatus, and then on the settings. Now click on the F, on the dial in the upper-right corner of your screen, to bring up the Table of Contents. Click on "Captain Notebook." Go to the end of the notebook and look at the following diagram again.

Recall the letters we had seen on the wall painting on the first level of the tree house: ABE. This is the code to the settings as well as the clue to the answers to the questions in that book on the floor. Here is how to decode both. Note that the diagram is actually divided up into three separate sections, each consisting of nine boxes each. Find the letter "A" in the left section, under Roman Number I. Note further that the numbers written vertically to the left of the diagram represent the settings of the lever that moves vertically (i.e., the lever on the right side of the settings). There are no numbers written horizontally under the diagram. You must assume that they are and that they represent the settings of the lever that moves horizontally (i.e. the middle lever in the settings). Thus, we see that the "A" in the left section of the diagram requires us to set the left-most lever to I, the middle lever to 10, and the right-most lever to 10 as well. Click the X/Exit to step out of the close up on the notebook and set the levers to these positions. Then step out of the close up on the settings and into the one on the telescope, to find the words "on the Beach" written on a board on a tree branch.

Next, we look at the "B" in the middle section of the diagram, under Roman Number II, to find that it requires a horizontal setting of 20 and a vertical setting of 10. So set the left-most lever to II, the middle lever to 20, and the right-most lever to 10. Now close up on the telescope, to see the words "the skull rock" written on an object. Finally, look at the "E" in the right-most section of the diagram, under Roman Number III, and find that it requires a horizontal setting of 20 and a vertical setting of 20 also. So set the left-most lever at III, the middle lever to 20, and the right-most lever to 20 as well. Close up on the telescope again, to see the words "at ebb of tide" written on a broken wooden crate.

We are now ready to answer the three questions in that book. So step out of these close ups and look down at that book, "Falconer's Marine Dictionary," leaning against the pile of other books on the ground. Close up on that book and, as indicated earlier, a key pad appears to the right while the cursor appears after the first question "Where?" Click in the words "on the beach" (using the NEXT button at the lower-left corner of the keypad to leave a blank space between words). Press ENTER on the keypad to go to the next question "What?" Click in the words "the skull rock" and then press ENTER on the keypad again to go to the last question "When?" Click in the words "at ebb of tide" and press ENTER on the keypad to finish. The professor will confirm the correctness of the solution.

Step out of the close up and go down to the second level of the tree house. As you step forward, be sure to grab a handful of brown berries from that corner shelf to your left. You can leave the tree house now. As you get off the last step, pan the camera to your right (just to the left of the tree steps) and step forward. Pan the camera to your right again, and step forward. Now pan the camera to your left and down to find that presser. Close up on the presser, put the brown berries in its "mouth" and then press the handle at the back of its "head," to turn the brown berries into red berries. Pick up the red berries, and step out of the close up. Again, note that as you turn around, you can go either left or right. Step forward to your right. Turn left, and step forward (to return next to the tree). Step forward, to find the path towards the forest either to your right or in front of you. Step forward on this path and then pan the camera down to your left, to find the lemur sitting on the ground. Close up on the stone in front of him, put the red berries on the stone, and then wait to be automatically brought out of the close up. Now turn slightly to your right and step forward to enter the forest.

You will be happy to know that you don't have to follow the lemur's cries all the way back this time because, as soon as you take that one step into the forest after the lemur, a cut scene will show the professor back at the beach. It will be dusk already. Wait for the professor to finish his comment and then step forward to your left. The camera will pan to the right automatically, and the professor will exclaim about seeing Skull Rock clearly from that position. Look down and pick up one of the green strands from the ground. "A strong water plant, and very flexible, too." Pick up another strand.

You must now go along the beach to the rocks on the other side. So turn slightly right and step forward. Turn slightly left then, and step forward again. Turn slightly to the left yet again, and step forward to finally reach the rocks. Now turn left, and step forward, in the direction of the sea. Step forward in the same direction, reaching the sea. Turn right now and step forward to the left of the huge rocks. Turn slightly to the right and step forward in the direction where you see some bright orange bamboos lying up ahead. At this point, you can either go forward or to your right towards the bamboos. But you cannot pick up any of those bamboos just yet, so step forward instead, to arrive at the mouth of a cave. As you approach it, the camera will pan slightly to focus the view directly over this cave, as the professor makes a comment about the cave.

Step into the cave, and a cut scene will follow. Step forward, turn slightly to your left and click on either one of the bamboos in the water. The camera will automatically pan down to your left to show the two bamboos now arranged horizontally on the ground. The gear icon on the bamboos indicates the need for further action. Step back out of the cave, turn left, and step up in the direction of those bamboos you had seen just before entering the cave. Pick up all eight of them (five from the front and three at your back) and return to the cave where the first two bamboos had been laid out for you. Open your inventory, click on a bamboo and then on the spot between the two already on the ground. Thus, put all the bamboos on the ground to see them arranged in the form of a raft. Now click on the two strands of seaweed in your inventory, one by one, and then on the "raft," to tie those bamboos together at the top and bottom ends of the raft. Click on the completed raft, and a cut scene will follow.

As the cut scene ends, step forward, and hear the professor complain about the darkness. So open the inventory, click on the matchbox and then on the lantern, to light up the place. [As in the beginning of the game, the lantern will stay in the inventory, but you will now have some light.] Turn back around and step forward, to see the raft in the distance. Click on the forward arrow to hear the professor explain that the raft has drifted away, so you will have to find another way of getting out (after you are done in this place, of course).

Turn around and take six steps forward, until you hear the professor's comment about the fact that this is the place where only the Captain had set his foot. Pan the camera down to your left, to see the chest on the ground. If you click on the gear icon at this time, you will see a cut scene showing that the chest is too heavy for the professor to move it just yet. So close up on the chest instead, and find that it is full of rocks. Click on the rocks, one by one, to remove them. You will find a white box at the lower-left corner of the chest. As you click on this box, you find that it is a board game. Click on the X/Exit, to step out of this close up. Be sure to remove any remaining rocks from the chest, and then step out of the second close up in the chest itself. Now click on the gear icon appearing on the chest, to see a cut scene showing the professor moving the chest aside and discovering "another tunnel" behind it.

Before we go into this tunnel, however, turn right and take two steps forward. The professor indicates that we cannot go any further this way. Close up on the rocks in front of you. There is a pickaxe-head caught between the rocks. Try to pick it up and the professor indicates that you cannot free it by hands alone. Step out of the close up, turn around and take the two steps to come back to the chest. Step into the tunnel to the right of the chest and another cut scene follows. Apparently, the professor has tripped or fallen, but don't worry! You can still come back to the chest. You would just have to go UP to do so.

For now though, take eight steps forward, adjusting your view as you go along to keep moving in that direction. You will find yourself at the end of the tunnel with a ladder lying against the wall to your right. Step towards the ladder and pick it up. Now turn left and step towards the pool of water. There is a rope dangling down from above, with a bucket tied to the bottom end of the rope. Look up and move your cursor around on the well's wall, to the left of the rope. You will see a gear icon where the well's natural wall ends and a man-made brick wall rises above it. Bring out the ladder from your inventory and click where it glows, to place it against the natural edge of the well's wall. Step up on the ladder. Click on the arrow pointing up to hear the professor's comment that you cannot go any further and that even though some of the bricks can be moved, "hands are not enough for such an operation."

Look down to the right of the ladder and pick up the pole standing in the shadows, against the well's wall, some feet away from the ladder. It turns out to be a pickaxe-shaft. Step down the ladder, and go all the way to the other end of this tunnel. Pan your camera UP, to find a hole in what appears to be the ceiling. This is the spot through which the professor had apparently fallen. Click on the arrow appearing in this spot, to climb back up next to the chest. Move your cursor around to find the chest and then take two steps into that very short, dead-ended tunnel, to the right of that chest. Close up on the rocks we had seen earlier. Now open your inventory, click on the pickaxe-shaft and then on the pickaxe-head stuck among the rocks, to use the shaft to pry out and pick up the pickaxe-head. The shaft is still in your hands. So just click on the pickaxe-head now in your inventory, to attach the shaft to the head, thus getting a whole pickaxe.

Go back to the chest and into the tunnel behind it. Go all the way to the other end and step up on the ladder. Close up on the brick wall in front of you. Bring out the pickaxe from your inventory, and click on the brick at the lower-right corner of the screen. Thus, that brick is removed, leaving behind an empty slot. You can now use that slot to move around the bricks, so that some of them would serve as steps to help the professor climb out of this well.

Here is the order in which you should place the bricks. The two "columns" in the center of the wall is where the bricks will serve as steps. The two slots on either side of those columns are for "spares." Note that you need to place a total of eight bricks, four in each of these two central columns. Note also the number of dashes after the "X" on each brick. The two bricks with only one dash each are too short to serve as steps, and need to be discarded in the spare slots. The rest of the bricks need to be arranged in the order shown below. [Note: the number after the dash in the following picture represents the number of dashes on the right edge of the bricks in the game itself. Thus, for example, "X – 4" refers to any brick with four dashes on its right edge.]

As you place the last brick in the correct order, the professor will confirm the solution, and a cut scene will follow immediately. The professor climbs out of the well only to be struck by the guard from behind. He wakes up in the Chief's hut, and must now explain why he was found entering the village in such a suspicious manner. At the end of the cut scene, click on the Chief to start a dialogue. You are given a choice of three statements. Use all three, by picking the choice at the top every time. At the end of the third statement, a gear icon will appear on the Chief. Bring out the board game from your inventory and give it to the Chief. Another dialogue follows. Again, click the choice at the top first and then the second one that follows. The Chief is convinced of the professor's good intentions, and asks him what he would like in exchange for the favor he has done the Chief. You get only one choice: ask him to help old Morgan. The professor then asks that they start playing the board game immediately. So you are presented with the rules for the board game. Be sure to read all four pages of these rules. We are now ready to play our second and last board game of this AGON installment.

FANORONA

Following is my solution to this board game. Again, it is for playing the game in the NORMAL mode. [Feel free to change the difficulty level to EASY, to no doubt come up with a much simpler solution.] Please, note that this time, I have not indicated the results of your moves, nor the enemy moves and their results. Given the nature of this particular game, it would have made things only more complicated, rather than simpler, if I had done so. There are more columns and fewer rows in this solution than there had been for the first one, because of the difference in the two boards, of course. Otherwise, the format of the solution is the same. Thus, the first move [C4 à C5] means that you must move your piece from cell C4 to cell C5. Note also that this is the only move I have recommended that will require you to choose which enemy piece should be removed from the board. As I have indicated parenthetically, pick the piece on cell C6. So with all this in mind now, let's play FANORONA!

C4 à C5 (pick C6 to be removed from the board)

C5 à D6 à E6

D3 à D2 à E3 à C3 à E5 à C7 à B6 à C6 à C7

D1 à C1 à C2 à B2 à B4 à D4 à B6 à B1

E2 à D2

D5 à C5

C5 à C6

C6 à B6

B6 à B7

B7 à B8

B8 à C9

Sit back now and enjoy the ending. But don't doze off altogether or you will miss what is obviously meant to serve as a prelude to the first episode ("The Lost Sword of Toledo") in the next installment of AGON that the developers have promised.

Have a Safe and Happy Spring Break!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *