InvisiClues for The Wise-Woman’s Dog by Daniel M. Stelzer

Click a section heading to show or hide its contents. To show a clue after opening a question, hover your mouse over the gray box. The text should appear on top of it. You can also highlight the boxes or click them to reveal the hints.

If you’re not sure where to go or what to do, THINK will remind you of your current goals, and nudge you toward the problems you’re currently able to solve. If you’re stuck on those problems, then that’s what these hints are for!

1. Meta

   1. I think I made the game unwinnable!

      1. Don’t worry. Any truly unwinnable situations will lead to a “game over” within a couple turns, letting you UNDO back out of them.
      2. If that hasn’t happened, it should always be possible to continue.

      3. What situations are those?

         1. There’s only one, really.
         2. Holding the fragility curse for too long without anywhere to put it.

   2. An ominous feeling chilled me to the bone!

      1. You must have done something to offend the gods. In particular...
      2. You stole an implement from the temple and sold it.
      3. This gets listed in the SCORE, but has no other effects. It’s entirely up to you if you care about offending the gods or not.
      4. Conversely, you can please the gods by returning things that other people have stolen to the soldiers; or by paying to sponsor a sacrifice.
      5. This similarly has no effect beyond the SCORE.

   3. A pleasant feeling washed over me!

      1. See the question about an ominous feeling.

   4. I seem to have offended the gods!

      1. See the question about an ominous feeling.

2. General

   1. Where am I? When am I?

      1. This game is set in southern Anatolia around 1280 BCE: the late Hittite Empire, during the reign of Muwatalli II.
      2. Or rather, it’s set in a fantasy version of the late Hittite Empire, which is a lot like the real Hittite Empire, except magic was demonstrably real and a key component of society.
      3. The first part of the game takes place in Nahhanta, a small farming village on a river.
      4. The second part takes place in Tarhuntassa, the capital of the Empire.
      5. Both of these are real places, but conveniently ones that have never been found by archaeologists, so I’m free to make up their geography however I want.

   2. Who am I?

      1. You are a very intelligent dog, kept as a familiar by the local wise-woman in a small farming village.
      2. If you’re curious about the “very intelligent” part, examine your collar.

   3. What’s going on?

      1. Your human has been cursed.
      2. This is a problem, since as the village wise-woman, she’s normally the one who redirects curses.
      3. With her incapacitated, you’ll have to handle this one yourself!

   4. How do I pronounce these names?

      1. Check the in-game footnote on “pronunciation”. But briefly:
      2. A as in “father”, E as in “forte”, I as in “machine”, O as in “code”, U as in “tuba”.
      3. Hittite didn’t distinguish voicing (that is, it didn’t distinguish P from B, T from D, or K from G), but it did distinguish length, like the double NN in “unnamed” versus the single N in “unaimed”.
      4. Z as in “pizza”, H like the “ch” in “Bach” (but pronouncing it like in “hot” is also fine), and everything else (N, M, L, R, S, Y, W) like English.
      5. Since it’s a dead language known only through written records, that’s about as precise as we can get. There’s no way of knowing if the Hittite D was more like an English D, a Spanish D, or a Mandarin D, for example.
      6. And that also means nobody will care if you pronounce the names in a way that’s comfortable for you, instead of trying to replicate the ancient pronunciation! So do whatever works best for you.

   5. How does magic work?

      1. Have you examined your human?
      2. Have you examined the unidentified curse?
      3. The Hittites believed that curses stuck to people like mud. One of the jobs of a wise-woman was to extract these curses from people, then redirect them onto something harmless that could be sunk in running water or burned in an incinerator.
      4. The Hittites also believed that dogs acted like sponges for magic, and would absorb any magic they came in contact with (and then get it all over everything, also like mud).
      5. In this fantasy world, the same holds true for blessings (helpful magic performed by the temples), though those weren’t a part of historical Hittite practice.
      6. In other words, a dog can TAKE spells as if they were physical objects, and PUT them ON other things.
      7. But spells will only stick to the right sort of targets: a spell that opens doors, for example, will only work on things that can be opened and closed.
      8. That’s the key to this game.

   6. What am I capable of?

      1. As a dog, not very much. You can’t talk to people, for example, except by barking.
      2. You can TAKE and DROP things.
      3. You can PUT things ON other things.
      4. You can PUSH things, and EAT them, and KISS people.
      5. You can SHOW things TO people.
      6. You can take INVENTORY, and THINK, and WAIT.
      7. And that’s about it!
      8. You’ll have to use these abilities creatively to solve more complex problems.

   7. What do all the symbols on the map mean?

      1. At sign (@)

         1. This is your current position.

      2. Question mark (?)

         1. This marks a puzzle you’re currently able to solve.
         2. If this feels too overt for your tastes, you can turn it off in the OPTIONS.

      3. Exclamation point (!)

         1. This marks a treasure you’re currently able to collect.

      4. Pound sign (#)

         1. This marks a stela where you can leave spells.

      5. Circle (o) or dot (.)

         1. This indicates how strong a particular smell is in that room: circles are stronger than dots.
         2. It’s meant to help you track down the source of that smell.

      6. Tilde (~)

         1. This marks a location that’s entirely underwater.

3. Home

   1. What’s my goal here?

      1. You can’t do very much while you’re stuck in the house.
      2. You need to open the door, and lower the ladder.
      3. This will require some magic.

   2. How do I save my human?

      1. Not easily. (Otherwise there wouldn’t be much of a game!)
      2. You’ll need some equipment from the very end of the game to do it.
      3. You can try with just the silver amulet, but it won’t work.
      4. You need the gold amulet.
      5. Take the unidentified curse, then put it on the gold amulet.
      6. Now you can carry it to the village stela and leave it there.

   3. How do I keep the curse from killing me?

      1. Your only option is to put it on something else within one turn.
      2. And it only affects living things.
      3. So until you have some equipment from the very end of the game, all you can do is put it back on your human.

   4. The sealed chest

      1. Have you examined it?
      2. Have you examined that security blessing?
      3. The key to this game is moving spells around, redirecting them from one thing to another.
      4. Take the security blessing.

   5. The security blessing

      1. You’ll need to put it somewhere before you can take another spell.
      2. It will only stick to things that can be opened and closed.
      3. Like the front door.
      4. You’ll need to take it back off the front door later, to actually leave.

   6. The jack

      1. This mechanism requires thumbs to operate, which you don’t have.
      2. It’s entirely useless to you. Don’t worry about it.
      3. The blessing of the wind, though, could be very useful.

   7. The ladder and the counterweight

      1. Your human lowers the ladder by raising the counterweight.
      2. You need to make the counterweight go up somehow.
      3. The problem is, it’s too heavy to raise.
      4. Put the blessing of the wind on it.

   8. I can leave the house, but can’t take the blessing of the wind with me!

      1. This can’t be done until you have some more magic available to you.
      2. In other words, once you’ve explored the village and found more spells.
      3. Making the counterweight lighter is only a temporary solution: it stops working as soon as the counterweight stops being light.
      4. What would upset the balance permanently?
      5. How about snapping the tether?
      6. It’s pretty strong, though; you need to weaken it somehow.
      7. Put the fragility curse on the tether.
      8. Then take the blessing of the wind off the counterweight, so its weight snaps the tether.

4. Nahhanta Village

   1. What’s my goal here?

      1. First, explore the village and see what you can find.
      2. There are plenty of people around, but none of them are really able to help your human.
      3. It’s tax day, which means everyone in the village SHOULD be getting their taxes to the barge launch in the northeast corner.
      4. Except they’re not, because they’re mostly preoccupied with other problems.
      5. If you can solve those other problems, or otherwise get the taxes paid, then the barge will head off to the city. Maybe someone there can help you.
      6. In other words, your main goal in the village is to solve whatever problems people are having, and get the taxes to the barge.

   2. The Elder said it’s time to go; what now?

      1. Go get on the barge for a free ride to the city!
      2. Don’t worry, you can come back to the village whenever you want.

   3. The pithos of grain

      1. A pithos like this weighs about 400lbs/250kg; that’s a lot for a dog to carry!
      2. You need to make it lighter.
      3. You need to get the blessing of the wind out of your house.
      4. Then put the blessing of the wind on the pithos and drag it to the docks.

   4. Iyali’s sledge

      1. The sledge would be a lot easier to pull if there was water in the canal.
      2. Fix the dam.

   5. The dam

      1. The dam has split down the middle, and Kasilti isn’t able to hold the sides together long enough to fix it.
      2. There’s no other human who can help him fix it, and you don’t have thumbs.
      3. You need to secure the halves together with magic.
      4. Use the security blessing.
      5. You can take the security blessing back afterward.

   6. Mahori and Zuwa’s argument

      1. The only thing that will stop their arguing is finding the missing sickle.
      2. You can’t find it until you’ve completed most of the other puzzles in the game.
      3. You need the gold amulet.
      4. Once you have it, look at the hints for the storage bins.

   7. Zuwa’s ladder

      1. It’s just a little bit too high to jump to.
      2. What if you could jump a little higher?
      3. Use the blessing of the wind.
      4. If you want, you can unjam the ladder by leaving the blessing of the wind inside and going out onto the ladder without it, but you can also just grab the wool and leave.

   8. The bolt of wool

      1. Bring it to the barge launch.

   9. The cold storeroom

      1. Without protection, you’ll freeze up after one turn.
      2. That’s not long enough to do anything except leave. You need protection.
      3. You need a spell that will keep you warm.
      4. Use the fiery curse.

   10. The storage bins

       1. You can’t open the bins until you’ve been to the city and completed most of the other puzzles in the game.
       2. You need the gold amulet.
       3. Use the gold amulet to bring both the fiery curse and the insecurity curse into the storage room, then put the insecurity curse on the bins.
       4. Then look at what’s inside.

   11. The cheese

       1. Bring it to the barge launch.
       2. The hard part is picking it up without dying.
       3. See the hints for the cold storeroom.

   12. The bread pudding

       1. You can eat it if you want! But that won’t accomplish anything.
       2. It seems like Anzi is waiting for someone, and getting frustrated that he isn’t showing up.
       3. You need to bring the pudding to Kasilti as a reminder.
       4. If you take it away from the warmth of the hearth, it congeals and becomes inedible.
       5. You need to keep it warm somehow.
       6. Use the fiery curse.
       7. Then show it to Kasilti.

5. Nahhanta Fields

   1. What’s my goal here?

      1. Explore, and see if anything stands out to you.
      2. You should smell a puppy somewhere.

   2. I smelled something; now how do I find it?

      1. The scent is stronger in some rooms than others.
      2. Use that to triangulate its position.
      3. The circles and dots on the map show how strong the scent is.

   3. I’m using a screen reader, so the map doesn’t help!

      1. If you’re getting frustrated with the puzzle, type PUPPYSEEK to move to the right room automatically.

   4. I found the scent, but I can’t see anything...

      1. Odd, isn’t it?
      2. But dogs don’t really need their eyes to examine things.
      3. Examine the puppy.
      4. Take the invisibility curse.

6. Tarhuntassa City, Center

   1. How do I get back to Nahhanta Village?

      1. Just go west from the docks, and you’ll end up back at the barge launch.
      2. This is not especially realistic, but for the sake of gameplay, the humans are willing to ferry you back and forth as many times as you want.

   2. What’s my goal here?

      1. Explore for a while and see what you can find.
      2. The magician in the northwest corner of the map is selling some very promising-looking amulets.
      3. That gold amulet in particular would help you save your human.
      4. Unfortunately, you have no silver. (Or at least you didn’t have any when first coming from Nahhanta.)
      5. Your goal is to find some treasures and sell them to the old woman in the southwest corner in exchange for silver.
      6. Then, buy the silver amulet.
      7. Use the silver amulet to get even more treasures.
      8. And eventually, buy the gold amulet.

   3. I found a treasure; what now?

      1. Have you explored everything you have access to?
      2. Take it to the old woman at the southwest of the map.
      3. She’ll fence your legitimately acquired and “legitimately acquired” goods and give you nice, pure, impossible-to-trace silver in return.

   4. Do I need to find every treasure?

      1. Nope! There’s plenty of treasure in the game, and you only need 60% of it to win.
      2. Anything in excess of that is just for your own satisfaction.

   5. The city gates

      1. Those black bolts are interesting.
      2. What happens if you try to put a spell on the gates?
      3. You can’t do anything useful with the gates. They exist to convey that the city has advanced magical (or in this case, anti-magical) technology that you’ve never seen back home.
      4. And also to convey to players, outside the game, that iron is anti-magic in this setting. The Empire will be in trouble if it ever becomes widespread...

   6. The foreign lady’s barge

      1. She’s trying to tie up her boat (or rather force her servants to tie up her boat), but the knots aren’t holding.
      2. There are three possible solutions to this puzzle.
      3. You can use the security blessing to tighten the knots, and she’ll reward you.
      4. Or, once you’ve found a way to move the fragility curse around, you can use it to snap the ropes, and she’ll run off and drop some treasure.
      5. Or, once you’ve found the insecurity curse, you can use it to undo the knots completely, and she’ll run off and drop some treasure.
      6. All of these solutions get you the same amount of treasure, so it all depends on how much you respect Alasiyan royalty.

   7. Nobody will accept my silver coil!

      1. Yeah, this part isn’t especially realistic. But since dogs can’t haggle, they want its purity certified first.
      2. Take it to the old woman at the southwest of the map. She’ll certify it for you.

   8. The segmented channel

      1. You could fit through the opening, but it’s not strong enough to support your weight.
      2. You can’t put spells on the channel itself: it’s made of too many individual pieces, so your magic can’t enchant the whole thing at once.
      3. You need to put a spell on yourself.
      4. Use the blessing of the wind.

   9. The soldiers

      1. See the hints for the bowl of metal bits.

   10. The bowl of metal bits

       1. You can’t take it while the soldiers are gambling; even if you’re invisible, they’re paying too close attention.
       2. You have to distract them.
       3. There are two ways to do this, but both of them require a loud noise.

       4. I have a spell that can accomplish that!

          1. If the guards hear you barking normally, they just ignore it.
          2. But an amplified bark that echoes through the whole bazaar is the sort of disturbance they’re supposed to deal with.
          3. When this happens, one of them will get up to investigate, while the other watches the streets.
          4. If you get the timing right, you can swap your amplification blessing for the invisibility curse, then run back and grab the bowl while they’re distracted.
          5. You might have to bark several times in a row to keep them distracted.

       5. I have a physical object that can accomplish that!

          1. If the guards hear the copper chimes, one of them will get up to investigate, while the other watches the streets.
          2. This means neither of them is focused on the bowl of bits.
          3. You can take it if you’re invisible, or if you make the bowl invisible.

       6. I have both a spell and a physical object to accomplish this!

          1. You can combine these two solutions, too, by amplifying the chimes.
          2. This was how it was originally supposed to be solved; the other solutions arose during testing.

       7. Okay, I still have no idea how to do this...how about a step-by-step explanation?

          1. All right! This walkthrough will explain the easiest solution, but the one that requires the most setup. (The hints above explain other ways you can solve it with less spells and items required.)
          2. For this solution, you need the invisibility curse, the amplification blessing, the copper chimes, and the silver amulet.
          3. Put the invisibility curse on the city stela. Invert the amplification blessing into a silencing curse, and put it on the chimes. (This ensures the soldiers won’t confiscate them.)
          4. Go to the magician’s stall (where you bought the amulet).
          5. Drop the chimes.
          6. Invert the silencing curse, and put the amplification blessing on the chimes.
          7. Now one of the soldiers will get up to investigate the disturbance, leaving the game board unguarded.
          8. While he does, run back over to the city center and grab the invisibility curse.
          9. While invisible, grab the bowl of metal bits. (Alternately, make the bowl invisible, and then grab it.)

   11. The cave entrance

       1. Darkness isn’t normally a problem for dogs...but these caves are really dark.
       2. You need a source of light.
       3. Have you tried inverting all your spells?
       4. Invert the invisibility curse.

7. Tarhuntassa City, West

   1. The flamboyant kid

      1. His magic show doesn’t seem illegal or anything.
      2. If you lure the soldiers there with a loud noise, they’ll give you a hint.
      3. They’ll tell you he never does anything illegal while he’s being watched.
      4. When you examine him, he notices you watching, and gives a hand signal.
      5. What if he didn’t notice you watching?
      6. Use the invisibility curse.

   2. The scruffy girl

      1. She’ll only appear once the boy signals her. (See the previous hints.)
      2. Watch what she’s doing.
      3. That pouch looks valuable.

   3. What is this strange creature looking at me?

      1. It seems to be leading you somewhere. Why not follow it?
      2. If you’re wondering what it is, check the footnote on “creature”.

   4. The copper knife, mirror, and chimes

      1. You can buy them for one shekel of silver each.
      2. The merchant claims you could then sell them to any merchant for many times that.
      3. Why not try it out? Bring them to Tesmu in the southwest corner and see what she says.
      4. The mirror and knife are useless. The chimes are useful.
      5. They make noise that can distract the soldiers.
      6. They can also be used in a different way to get into Halpaziti’s wagon.

   5. Halpaziti (the copper merchant)

      1. What’s up with him?

         1. If you wait around (and aren’t invisible), he’ll regale you with his tale of woe.
         2. He claims this copper is worth far more than he’s charging, if you can bring it to a reputable metal dealer.
         3. Why not buy some and bring it to the old woman in the southwest corner of the map?

      2. I’m unhappy with my purchase!

         1. You can always give it back to him for a refund.

      3. How can I get into his wagon?

         1. He’ll never willingly leave the wagon, even if you buy all his copper.
         2. You can force him to leave, though.
         3. Remember what Tesmu said when you showed her the copper?
         4. She said it’s not illegal to sell low-quality copper, it’s only illegal if you falsify the weight.
         5. Alter the weight of the copper with magic, then show it to the soldiers.
         6. For example, use the blessing of the wind, or the curse of the earth.

      4. I feel bad about what happened to him!

         1. Don’t worry, he’ll be all right. Examine the copper you gave the soldiers to see why.
         2. The soldiers, in their haste, left the ensorcelled copper behind, so there’s no actual evidence to convict him.
         3. The Hittite world was a brutal one, but they did have laws and law courts, and a good defense attorney will get him acquitted in no time.
         4. And maybe the experience will make him think twice about passing off inferior copper as the good stuff next time!

   6. Tesmu (the old woman)

      1. She doesn’t seem to be selling anything.
      2. Her space on the map lights up with a ? if you’re holding certain objects.
      3. Bring anything valuable and/or stolen to her, and she’ll give you nice, untraceable silver in return.

   7. Rish-Nabium (the magician)

      1. Most of his wares won’t help you, but two of them will.
      2. Specifically, the silver amulet and the gold amulet.
      3. If THINK is nudging you toward the magician, make sure you’ve examined both amulets.
      4. You should buy them whenever you have the money; it’s impossible to win the game without the gold amulet, and it’s impossible to afford the gold amulet without the silver one.

      5. What does the silver amulet do?

         1. Try putting a spell on it.
         2. It inverts the effects of a spell. For example, the blessing of the wind, which makes things lighter, becomes a curse of the earth, which makes things heavier.
         3. You can then invert it again to get the original spell back.
         4. Instead of PUT SPELL ON INVERTER, you can also simply INVERT SPELL.

      6. What does the gold amulet do?

         1. It acts like a very limited stela.
         2. You can put any spell on it, and that spell won’t affect the amulet, or you.
         3. It can only hold one spell at a time, but that’s usually enough.

   8. The tangle of canvas

      1. How do I reach it?

         1. It’s too high for you to jump.
         2. But what if you were a bit lighter?
         3. Use the blessing of the wind.

      2. How do I take it down?

         1. You can’t do this until very late in the game.
         2. You need the gold amulet.
         3. The only thing you can interact with up there is the tangle of ropes.
         4. Strengthening or securing them won’t have any immediate effect.
         5. Unsecuring them will have too immediate of an effect: you won’t have a chance to survive the fall!
         6. Use the fragility curse. That will make it come apart slowly.

      3. How do I survive the fall?

         1. These hints are specifically for when the whole thing is collapsing. If you haven’t done that yet, just jump down normally.
         2. Don’t worry about the time limit; it’s just for dramatic effect, you actually have as much time as you want to solve this problem.
         3. The blessing of the wind isn’t enough when everything else is dragging you down too.
         4. You need to be stronger.
         5. Invert the fragility curse.

      4. The area beyond it

         1. What do I do here?

            1. If you made it here, congratulations! This section of the game is entirely optional; it’s just a little victory lap for players who have finished everything else.
            2. It’s a place to spend excess silver once you’ve bought both amulets.

         2. What’s up with the priest?

            1. Sponsoring a sacrifice will please the gods.
            2. This has no effect on gameplay, so it’s entirely up to you if you care about pleasing or offending the gods.
            3. The only effect is on the SCORE screen.

         3. What’s up with the wiry man?

            1. He’s selling costumes for the upcoming festival.
            2. You can buy extravagant hats here.
            3. This also has no effect on gameplay, it’s purely cosmetic.
            4. But you will get a nice picture of a dog in a hat for your trouble!

         4. What’s up with the pair of merchants?

            1. They’re trying to offload all their livestock before the festival.
            2. Remember Anzi, back in the village? Her bride-price was six goats.
            3. You can buy goats here and give them to people back in the village, in whatever combination you like.
            4. You can give them to Mahori or Kasilti, who are both vying for her hand.
            5. You can give them to Anzi herself, to give to whoever she chooses.
            6. You can give them to Zuwa or Iyali, who just appreciate having more goats.
            7. You can save the token for your human, when she eventually wakes up.
            8. What you do with the goats is entirely up to you and has no effect on gameplay.
            9. The only effect is on the SCORE screen.

         5. Why can’t I buy any more goats?

            1. To keep the logistics manageable, you can only have one goat token at a time.
            2. You have to give the existing token to someone before you buy a new one.

8. Tarhuntassa City, East

   1. The sparkle in the trees

      1. That does look enticing, doesn’t it?
      2. Dogs can’t climb trees, so you need some other way to get up there.
      3. See the section on the scrawny tree.

   2. The scrawny tree

      1. You might have seen this tree somewhere else, too.
      2. If you haven’t, then explore a bit more first!
      3. You can see it from the aqueduct.
      4. In fact, you can jump to it from the aqueduct! But it’s too scrawny to support your weight.
      5. It needs to be stronger.
      6. Invert the fragility curse.
      7. Then you can go to the aqueduct, jump to the tree, and get to the canopy.

   3. The main door of the temple

      1. There’s a guard watching to make sure no dogs get into the temple. (Look at the note on “magic sponge” if you’re curious why.)
      2. You need him not to see you.
      3. Use the invisibility curse.

   4. How do I get other spells into the temple?

      1. You can never pass through the front door without the invisibility curse.
      2. You’ll need to find another way in.
      3. You’ll need to open the back door in the secluded garden, and the badly-fitting door in the winding halls.

   5. The consecrated threshold

      1. Have you tried taking the purity blessing?
      2. There’s no way to pass the consecrated threshold. Ever.
      3. You cannot enter the sanctum and survive.

   6. The back door of the temple

      1. It seems to be barred. (Locks weren’t invented yet.)
      2. You’ll need magic to open it.
      3. Invert the security blessing.

   7. The badly-fitting door

      1. You can push the door open, but it’ll make a lot of noise and attract attention.
      2. You need to silence the noise.
      3. Invert the amplification blessing.

   8. The gong

      1. The gong has no purpose except as a holder for the amplification blessing.
      2. You can also push it, if you want.

   9. The green cube

      1. The green cube has no purpose except as a place to put spells temporarily while solving puzzles.
      2. The temple probably uses it for something, but modern archaeologists have no idea what, so the dog has no idea either!
      3. Check the note on “green cube” to find out more.

   10. The sweet-smelling pithos

       1. Like the other pithoi in the game, it’s too heavy to move.
       2. You need the blessing of the wind.
       3. See “How do I get other spells into the temple?”

   11. The tapestries

       1. It would be nice to see what’s behind them, wouldn’t it?
       2. Use the invisibility curse to make them disappear.

   12. The archives

       1. Much like the cold storeroom back in the village, you can’t survive in here for more than one turn.
       2. The fiery curse helped you with that one.
       3. Invert it.

   13. The silver implement

       1. Once you can survive multiple turns in the archives, you can just grab it.
       2. So that should be your real goal.

   14. The fire

       1. Have you found a way to survive in there? (See the previous question if not.)
       2. Have you examined everything?
       3. Those markings on the ceiling should look familiar. (If not, explore a bit more first.)
       4. They’re the same markings as on the aqueducts.
       5. See the hints for the aqueducts.

   15. How do I put out an oil fire?

       1. Normally, you’re not supposed to use water on an oil fire.
       2. But this isn’t just oil burning, it’s oil-soaked wood.
       3. So water should be fine.

   16. The sour-smelling pithos

       1. Much like the other pithoi you’ve found, it’s very heavy.
       2. Use the blessing of the wind.

   17. The copper implement

       1. It’s very deep underwater, and no matter how much you swim, you never seem to get anywhere.
       2. You need something to make you sink down.
       3. Use the curse of the earth.

   18. The pool of water

       1. Have you seen a similar pool of water anywhere else? (If not, keep exploring.)
       2. See the hints for the Tarhuntassa Caves.

9. Tarhuntassa Aqueducts

   1. What can I do here?

      1. Explore, and examine things.
      2. Note the tree sagging against the side of the aqueduct.
      3. Note the markings on the different sections.
      4. Both of those will come into play later.

   2. The sagging tree

      1. You can also find this tree somewhere else in the game.
      2. Specifically, in the temple gardens.
      3. See the hints for that section.

   3. The blessing of the tides

      1. You can’t do anything with it.
      2. It exists to convey that, while you’re very experienced in manipulating magic, there are more advanced sorts of magic in the city that you’ve never come across back home.

   4. The hieroglyphic markings

      1. Take note of them. You’ll also come across these same glyphs somewhere else in the game.
      2. You’ll also find these markings in the temple.
      3. Specifically, on the ceiling of the temple archives.

   5. I’ve found those markings in two different places now!

      1. That means you’ve seen both sides of the same piece of wood.
      2. If you could get the water from the aqueducts into the burning archive, that might put out the fire.
      3. The aqueducts aren’t very sturdy. If you put enough weight on them, they’ll break.
      4. You can fetch a bunch of items and pile them up in one spot.
      5. Or you can use the curse of the earth. If it affects you and at least one object (because you have the curse on the object, and the object in your mouth), that should do it.

   6. I got arrested by priests!

      1. Go back to the archives and make sure you had the right section of aqueduct.
      2. It’s randomized the first time you examine the ceiling, so this puzzle can’t be solved by brute force.

   7. I’m still confused. How do I solve this, step by step?

      1. First, make sure you’ve visited the aqueducts. If you haven’t...
      2. ...use the blessing of the wind to squirm through the narrow opening at the city docks.
      3. Examine the hieroglyphs. They’ll be important later.
      4. Then, make sure you’ve visited the temple archive (and can stay there for more than one turn). If you haven’t...
      5. ...invert the fiery curse into an icy curse, then have it in your mouth while you explore the room hidden behind the tapestries.
      6. Examine the ceiling. Those marks should look familiar!
      7. Those marks indicate which section of the aqueduct is right above the archive. If you collapse that section of the aqueduct, the water will put out the fire.
      8. Now you’ll need a heavy object, like the counterweight or the jack from your house at the very start of the game.
      9. Put the blessing of the wind on the object, then take the object. (This is the only way you can carry it around.)
      10. Go to the appropriate aqueduct section; the blessing of the wind will affect you while you’re carrying the object, letting you pass through the narrow opening.
      11. Now, invert the blessing of the wind, and put it back on the object.
      12. The combination of naturally-heavy object, weight-increasing curse on the object, and weight-increasing curse on the dog, will be too much for the wood of the aqueduct.
      13. Wait a couple of turns, and watch the spectacle!

10. Tarhuntassa Caves

    1. The broken lamp

       1. It’s a convenient thing to put the visibility blessing on.
       2. It has no other use.

    2. The damp cloth

       1. Cloth was an expensive commodity before the industrial revolution!
       2. In other words, this is a treasure.
       3. There’s no way to dry it out, but Tesmu will accept it in its current state.

    3. Why is the cloth damp?

       1. Tesmu will hint at this when you show it to her.
       2. It was stolen from the temple, and the heist involved carrying it underwater.

    4. The spicy-smelling pithos

       1. Be warned: this is the hardest puzzle in the game. It’s meant for completionists who think the other puzzles are too easy.
       2. It’s entirely optional, and is purely for people who want the extra challenge.
       3. You need the blessing of the wind to carry the pithos, and the visibility blessing to navigate the caves.
       4. This means it’s impossible to bring the pithos out through the caves, even with the gold amulet. You need to find another way out.
       5. Have you found any other deep pools of water in the game?
       6. They’re probably connected, but how could you make sure of that?
       7. Do you have any items that you can detect from several rooms away?
       8. Put the amplification blessing on the chimes, and leave them in the crude pit.
       9. Then take the visibility blessing through the caves, leave it on something as a beacon (like the broken lamp), and follow the sound.
       10. Fetch the blessing of the wind, go back to the crude pit, and follow the light to reach the caves again.
       11. Put the blessing of the wind on the pithos, take it, and follow the sound one more time.
       12. Now you can give the pithos to Tesmu for three whole shekels of silver. Congratulations!