Treasure of the Ghost-King by Craig Dutton

Comment Exellinor

Okay, I need help. I'm in the painting, with no apparent way of escape. This is my inventory: a golden cross, a mirror, a skull, a maggots, some seeds, a shovel, a candlestick, a brandy, a blue book and a green book. I have done everything I can think of to exit the painting, but can find nothing. Please help 🙏 thanks

Comment Nashamanga

Where on earth do I get the skull from? I feel like I've looked everywhere!

Comment ber89

That worked—thanks! Played several of your games and have enjoyed them all a lot. Thanks for the time you put into these!

Comment Craig Dutton

ber89,

I didn't realise there's an error, of sorts to this puzzle, sorry.

You have the maggots and the glass jar:
OPEN JAR. EXAMINE HAND. GET RING. You can't. USE MAGGOTS WITH HAND or JAR. You have the ruby ring.

It seems if you don't EXAMINE HAND first then the maggots are so greedy they eat the ring as well as the hand when you USE MAGGOTS WITH HAND. Naughty maggots, and naughty me for not spotting it, sorry once again if you have to start from scratch.

Comment ber89

I'm stumped on what to do with the maggots. I saw Sarah's comment about using them on a "typically gruesome" object in the castle, but I cannot find any object like that. I've already freed the doctor and I can put the maggots in a jar, but that's the only thing I've found to do with them.

Comment gandalfgreen

spaghetti,

If you speak to the abbot there's something not quite right about him. Possessed? USE SKULL WITH ABBOT to get a golden cross.

USE BUCKET WITH WATER at river to fill it and USE BUCKET WITH SOIL at graveyard. USE BUCKET WITH MUD. At Witch's porch outside her cottage USE BUCKET WITH PORCH (it's clean but now muddy). Refill bucket with water and USE BUCKET WITH BIRDBATH to fill it up. Leave, return and find a Goldfinch. Inside cottage DROP SEEDS and outside cottage OPEN WINDOW. Wait for the witch to chase away the bird and come outside and slip on the mud, dead. Inside you can get her wand to WAVE at scholar statue in Woven Tower. Speak to him.

TEAR/RIP BOOK to find a bronze key to the library. READ the books.

I'll leave it there for now.

Comment spaghetti

I feel rather dense as I have been playing TBAs for as long as I can remember, but I seem to be stuck at a fairly early stage. I'm currently inside the painting, and I have the ivory key. My inventory consists of:
-copper key
-skull
-seeds
-shovel
-red 'secret' book
-candlestick
-bucket
-ivory key

I've done as much as I can think of in the house, it will let me [enter the coffin] but no dialogue continues from there and the game doesn't seem to consider me as being inside the coffin. The Void doesn't seem to want any of my items, and I don't know of any way to light the candlestick.

Again, I feel as if I'm missing something painfully obvious, so any gently nudges in the right direction would be appreciated. Thank you!

Comment ebeery

I'm stuck at the Witch's cottage. There's mud on the porch, water in the birdbath, and an open window. I have seeds but can't get the bird to do anything.

Comment Craig Dutton

I have no idea why the save game feature failed. Perhaps it was originally made with Quest 5.2 and the latest player is Quest 5.6. I remember older versions of Quest had 'locked container' errors and other problems?!

I've updated the game to work with Quest 5.6.2. If you spot any errors let me know, thanks!

Comment cyclopsck

Hi Craig,

I seemed encountered the same problem as danaburgerr. Saved gamed failed to load...

Comment danaburgerrr

I'm encountering a glitch of some sort where my saved game will cease to load completely (I keep getting a "sorry, an error occurred" message) and takes me straight to game over without me having done anything to trigger a game over situation. frustrating as I've made quite a bit of progress through this! :(

Comment JoaquinMemola

nevermid i got it

Comment JoaquinMemola

i really can't figure out the witch puzzle, and i've read every single comment :| the bird just won¡t be my friend

Comment Ereth

Ah, the shield! I thought that might be it. I suppose now that the scholar's free, he'll let me fiddle with it. Thanks, Sarah! You're the best!

Comment sarah4

Ereth, you're getting close to the end, but you've missed an object that you will need in order to exorcise the abbot's demon, the mirror has now served its purpose so you can discard it. The item you need can be found in the tower in the woods, the scholar has given you all the help he can now you have the axe, but there is another object in the room with him that requires further investigation, good luck!

Comment Ereth

Okay, so I've gotten the medallion and made the silver-tipped stake for later . . . but even though I've trapped the demon in the mirror, the abbot is still possessed! What have I missed, if anything? Showing him the mirror only causes him to break it, and Brother Cadavus doesn't want it either.

I went back to the castle to read the green book again in case I missed a clue, but I got a script error when I tried to read it.

Comment Ereth

Wow . . . I'm such a fool. I didn't realize I could examine each of the buttons individually! Thanks, Sarah!

At least the puzzle is easy now . . . heh . . .

Comment sarah4

Ereth, I'm wondering if I'm playing an older version of this game, because, if I examine the buttons individually, for example 'x top left' the description tells me that it features the fire symbol, for example. Does your version not do this? I'm not sure if you are playing on or off-line, I always play games using the desktop Quest interpreter so maybe the game displays differently if you're using the online interpreter. Sorry if I've just made things more confusing!

Comment Ereth

Well, I was stupid and didn't look at the doctor in the castle, so I never knew he was chained up!

But how am I to tell which of the buttons is which? I must lack some knowledge of runes that is useful in solving this puzzle. I think I know which ones are "tree" and "fire," but maybe not, since I've been stuck on this for so long.

I'm sure it's going to be obvious once I find out . . .

Thanks for all your help!

Comment sarah4

Glad to help Ereth, just played the cave puzzle again and, it's fairly straightforward, as you suspected, it just involves pushing the four symbols in the right order, as laid out in the riddle in the castle. The fire and water symbols are pretty self-explanitary, the tree part of the riddle is represented by the earth button and the lightning by the air, hope this helps with this particular puzzle, though I'm sure you've now already solved it without my help and have moved on to the next puzzle!

Comment Ereth

Thanks, Sarah!

I'll be sure to ask for more help if I need it. : )

Comment sarah4

Ereth, it's been a while since I played this game, so I can't remember the exact solution, though it definitely has a connection to the inscription in the castle, if I get time I'll play it again and see if I can remember how I solved it last time. The maggots are not a red herring, they will help you to acquire something which you can exchange with a previously unhelpful inhabitant of the castle. The object you should be using the maggots on is a typically gruesome artefact and can be found in the castle, if you have a good look at it you will spot something that the maggots might help you to retrieve, hope that's enough of a hint, please ask again if you get stuck again and very good luck, this is one of my favourite of Craig's games, and that's saying something, so, I hope you have fun!

Comment Ereth

So I started playing this because I'm currently stuck in "Twisted Tales" . . . but now I'm stuck here!

I'm trying to deal with the button puzzle in the cavern, but the patterns on it are confusing me! (I know about the poem in the castle, but every combination I've tried that is based on it hasn't worked!) My guess is that I'm accidentally mixing up my symbols.

And I still have the maggots . . . what the heck am I supposed to do with them? Nobody wants them! Are they a red herring?

Comment Charles Scott

Sarah, you are a heroine and I am a fool. It's so long since I took the thing from the dining-table that I had forgotten all about it. When I have stopped kicking myself I'll go and explore the caves. Thank you so much. Charles

Comment sarah4

Charles, it's not so much the dining table itself you need to use to prop the door open, but something heavy you may have found on it! Hope this helps!

Comment Charles Scott

Craig, Sarah, anyone... I know I've come late to this party, but I hope somebody is still out there! I think I've nearly finished this game (I've got the vampire's crown), but I can't wedge the door of the firecloud caves. I know from some of the earlier comments that it involves the dining table, but I've tried everything I can think of with the table. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Charles

Comment sooz

I am also stuck in the painting. All I have is a candlestick and I can't see an opening anywhere.

Comment sarah4

Jack, no problem, glad to be of help! Craig is my favourite text adventure author, all of his games are beautifully planned out and the puzzles are often brilliantly fiendish, but I'm also yet to encounter one that doesn't have an entirely logical solution, it's just that sometimes I can't see it ! His name on a game is always a mark of the highest quality so really hope you enjoy working your way through them all!

As you're enjoying the game I'll just give you a couple of hints, but if you need more direct advice then please let me know!

I presume you picked up the 'secret' book in the study (it was on the desk). You will have discovered that this book is frustratingly blank, so, if I were you I would tear it up!

The witch's house puzzle is, in my opinion, the best puzzle of the whole game and it took me ages to figure it out, I was very pleased when I finally did solve it but it was hours before the solution finally occurred to me! You have probably worked out that you want to lure the witch outside (you have hopefully already ruined her nice clean porch) but need to know how to do this. Here is a question you might ask yourself:
Do I have a new friend I could send into the house that may be an unwelcome visitor and if so how do I persuade her to go inside and how will she get in? Once you've figured this out you will have your solution. However, I hope you saved the game prior to doing anything with the seeds as otherwise you will need to restart.

Comment Jack Webster

Actually, to anyone who reads this--
I am stuck at the exact same place Sarah was stuck on in her first post. I'm not sure how to get the library door open though, or have yet to figure out what to do with the witch. I smashed a coffin, but nothing happened after...perhaps I did things in the wrong order?

Any hint on how to proceed will be much appreciated.

Comment Jack Webster

Thanks for the quick reply, Sarah! This really helped me get un-stuck. And you're right, I do like the more natural language here...I'm getting better at finding the correct verb! But I still get stuck sometimes and usually it's for that reason. The puzzles are so fun to work out though...I'm working my way through all the games by this author, they're all easily 5 stars.

Comment sarah4

Jack, empty the bucket, the soil will be of no use to you. Once you've emptied the bucket fill it with water from the river and then empty the water outside the church where you found the soil (don't type 'use bucket on soil' here, just the more straightforward 'empty bucket'). One more tip, don't try planting the seeds, you'll need them to solve the brilliantly fiendish puzzle of the witch's house, save the game before you start on this puzzle!

To get out of the painting you simply type 'enter opening', hope this helps! I know it can sometimes be difficult to work out the correct verb though I like the use of more natural language in games as the constant repetition of 'look at 'x'' and 'use 'x' on 'x'', does get repetitive! Hope this helps anyway, you're doing well and you seem to be on the right track! Please just ask if you need any further help!

Comment Jack Webster

Also, I'm stuck in the painting. I have dug around and smashed the thing in the house, and think I'm ready to leave...using a hammer on the wall reveals an opening. What word command do I use on it? I feel I always have trouble with word commands.

Review Jack Webster

Sarah, how did you get the mud on the witch's porch? I'm waiting till there is mud to sprinkle the seeds.

I have the bucket, I can fill it with soil and water, but I can't "use bucket on porch" when there is stuff inside, nor can I "use bucket on river" when there is soil inside.

Review sarah4

Thanks for the help Craig, I was definitely over-thinking that final puzzle! It was a lovely puzzle and I am a bit proud about the fact I spotted the 'lost' pair without having to look up the colours online, probably because I'm terribly nerdy about things like that!

Anyway, as I mentioned in a previous comment, this is yet another amazing game from my favourite text adventure author! I know you said it was only created in a couple of days but it honestly does not feel like that. The setting is intriguing and beautifully mapped out, the descriptions are detailed, evocative and, as always, spelling and grammar are impecable! There are some really beautiful puzzles in this game, the afore mentioned 'witch's house' puzzle is a particular delight, but there are many other treats too, and all of them make sense in the context of the game and, despite often involving some serious thinking to work out, are all perfectly logical! Your use of verbs is also great! As always, I can't praise your games highly enough, it's a great pity that many other text game authors don't take the time and care you do in creating truly engrossing and challenging games! I will wait with bated breath for your future adventures, I'm delighted to hear you are working on them, it would be extremely sad if there were no new Craig Dutton games to look forward to!

Comment sarah4

Ahsat, you don't need to go into the caves until the very end of the game after you have defeated the vampire prince. You should cross the bridge over Blood River first, go to the farm and talk to the farmer, he'll tell you he needs help gathering in his crops, what do you have in your inventory that you could give him to help with this? When he leaves the farmhouse you'll be able to access some tools that you will need. Then go to the castle (which is on the same side of the river, and have a look around, you will find some useful objects in the castle and will also discover a use for the maggots. You should also examine the broken cart in the quarry near the castle and take what you find there as you may need to do some digging in the castle! This should get you a lot further in the game but ask again if you are still stuck!

Comment ahsat

umm no still stuck actually

Comment ahsat

nvm.. i hadn't pushed all the buttons ;)

Comment ahsat

hi, I have maggots and a scythe, and I feel like i need to get into firecloud caves next but i cannot keep the door open. Do i need to do something else first?

Comment Craig Dutton

Sarah,

The puzzle is self-contained. The shields have colour pairs. One of them doesn't it has a LOST pair. Find its common (SIMPLE & TRUE) name. Then... I think you know what to do?!

However, even though my source book for the colours was sound, the idea for everyone was to Google these colours to find their common names. I've recently found out that Amaranth and Bistre seem vague online so I've changed them to Byzantine and Bole respectively.

Don't worry the answer is the same so you don't have to reload the new version, sorry about that.

Comment sarah4

Craig, I'd never have guessed it was written in two days, It's such a big game with a lot of great puzzles in it! I did particularly enjoy the witch's house puzzle as it took a lot of thinking to finally figure it out yet was so beautifully logical when I finally discovered the solution, just like all of your best puzzles, none of them are insoluble and all are intuitive, they just require a bit (or a lot!) of lateral thinking, which is exactly how the best text adventures should be! I won't go on, you know how much I love your games!

Anyway, I'm afraid I need a bit of help again please! I've propped open the door (thanks for the help, I'd actually worked it out a few seconds after posting that last comment but didn't like to post four times in a row!) I've appeased the ghost and am now stuck on the shields, I've tried various answers to the riddle and have even tried saying the colours in various orders (grouping shades of a particular colour together, putting them in alphabetical order and even trying to find colours that relate to the words 'lost', 'simple' and 'true') but with no luck. I may have missed an extra clue earlier in the game but I can't think what so any help you could give would be very greatly appreciated! I'm usually ok at riddles but I can't work out what word would connect the three words, I've even tried a different answer for each word! I like the reference to heraldry in some of the colours by the way!

Comment Craig Dutton

Sarah

I kind of knew it wouldn't take you long to solve it so quick. This was just a 'fill-in' while I start working on a few games at the moment. It took me only two days to write it. The witch's puzzle was what came first to mind and I wrote the whole game around it - mad I know!

To answer your last question, check the dining table. This heavy object could be used as a wedge, perhaps?!

I guess you've also find out how to play unlisted game. Worked that out myself during the summer.

Comment sarah4

Hi again Craig, so sorry to post again, but I have finally solved the riddle of the witch's house and taken the wand! Lovely puzzle that by the way, and the solution makes far more sense than what I had tried! I think I may be very close to the end now as I've defeated the vampire and taken the crown, I just need to figure out how to get into the tomb without being crushed, any hints would be gratefully received! Sorry again for all the posts!

Comment sarah4

Just a quick update, I managed to get into the library and consequently found out what to do with the mirror and know how to kill the prince. I've got the medallion, I just need to find a stake to go with it! I'm still stuck with the conundrum of the witch's house though so if you could help with that please I'd be extremely grateful!

Comment sarah4

Hi Craig, I noticed you'd posted a comment yesterday so just thought I'd check I hadn't missed any games from you since it seems like ages since you posted Alice and the Wishing Tree, and, low and behold, a brand new game by you has just appeared, what a lovely early Christmas present! Anyway, the game is amazing, as usual, I love the epic quality of it, reminds me a bit of Blight of Alantria in size and scale (though a very different story and puzzles!) whichis very welcome as it was the game that got me hooked on your work! I've got quite far this morning but, as usual, I seem to have become stuck on a few puzzles which I'm sure are eminently soluble.

Here are the areas I'm stuck on, if you could please give me a hint or two just to help me get a bit further then I'd be very grateful!
I can't quite figure out what else I need to do to vanquish the vampire prince, I have the gold cross and have used it on him but it merely causes him to cower.
I have poured some mud on the witch's porch and filled the birdbath with water thereby attracting a goldfinch and subsequently fed the bird with the seeds I got from the barn. I now have no idea what else to do to deal with the witch, I thought I may need to catch the bird in order to lure the cat out with but it refuses to be caught and I have no implement which I could use to trap it. I presume I need to get the witch outside to slip on the porch but don't know how to achieve this.
I don't know what to do with the mirror, I think I need to use it on the ringmaster but at present it doesn't seem to be working. Having saved the vicar's sister from the castle, I try to give the mirror to the vicar but he only asks what I want him to do with it, I presume he's supposed to be helping me as I have saved his sister, but I can't work out how to get him to help.

Any help you could give would be greatly appreciated, and I am so happy to see my favourite author back!