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According to Cain is a TADS 3 interactive fiction game and is © 2022 by Jim Nelson. It was an entry in IF Comp 2022 where it took 6th place overall; it also won 1st place for Miss Congeniality.
In this Bible-inspired game, you play as a novitiate Indagator of the Academy. The Provost orders you to discover the answer to this ancient mystery: What is the Mark of Cain? You are sent back in time to East of Eden to investigate.
Content warning: This game contains descriptions of murder, animal abuse, self-mutilation, and incest.
This solution is by David Welbourn, and is based on Version 5 of the game.
SPOILERS AHEAD. Reading a walkthrough prematurely can sometimes diminish one's enjoyment of an interactive fiction game. Please make an honest effort to play the game before reading this walkthrough.
- Maps
- Map 1: Approaching the settlement
- Map 2: The settlement
- Map 3: Following where Cain went
- Walkthrough
- I. A Young Earth
- II. A Fragile Earth
- III. An Uncertain Earth
- IV. A Wandering Earth
- Extras
- Artwork, Characters, Credits, Endings, Inventory, Memories
- Thank You to my Patreon supporters
- Support me on Ko-Fi
- External links:
Maps
Map 1: Approaching the settlement
Map 2: The settlement
- "Corpse" becomes "Crado's corpse" when you first examine the corpse. When you put his bracelet on him, the room becomes "Crado's last breath".
- "Slaughterhouse" becomes "Abel's slaughterhouse" after you see the memory of the tree stump.
Map 3: Following where Cain went
Walkthrough
Do you want music? Y —or— N
Do you want graphics? Y —or— N
I. A Young Earth
East of Eden
> about. x path. x Eden.
> x me. i. x bracelet.
> e.
A tree
> take rucksack. x it.
> x arsenic. x lymph. x black. x phlegm. x yellow.
> x crow. x tree. x roots.
> e.
A Young Earth
> x magma. take cloth. x it.
> e.
Approaching the river
> take tome. x it. look up first principles.
> look up indagator. (MEMORIES and RECALL are two of your powers.)
> look up truth. look up alchemy. look up essence.
> look up remedy. (blood, yellow bile, black bile, and phlegm)
> look up poison. (lymph, chamomile, arsenic, and sage)
> look up excipient. (salt, sulfur, grease, ash, wax, royal jelly, spirits, and mercury)
By now, the game suggests you continue moving and get back to the Pharmakon later.
> e.
Crossing
> take envelope. x it. x seal.
> look up Primes. (salt, sulfur, and mercury)
> look up Scholasticism. look up Clergy.
> x bridge. x river. x eucalyptus.
> e.
You cross the river, but the bridge breaks and your bracelet is lost.
II. A Fragile Earth
Plain
> x pond. x river. x ditch. x gate. x field.
> x lever. pull lever. (can't: jammed)
> ne.
Salt bed
> take salt. sw. se.
A Fragile Earth
> take gem. wear it. x it.
> look up lumens. look up ostendo. (salt and sulfur)
> d.
Sulfur deposits
> take sulfur. u. nw.
Plain
With the aid of your gem, the sluice glows blue.
> apply salt to sluice. apply sulfur to sluice.
You learn that phlegm and sulfur unlocks the sluice's memory. You may now apply the ostendo compound directly to things.
> apply phlegm to sluice. apply sulfur to sluice.
You learn that Abel jammed the gate with a wedge.
> x wedge. take it. (You lose it, but the gate is now unjammed.)
> pull lever. (The pond empties into the ditch.)
> n.
River bank
This is where the bridge used to be. And the crow is back.
> n.
Well
> x well. x crossbeam. (missing its rope)
> apply ostendo to well. (Its key is yellow bile and ash.)
> e.
Foot of the great cedar tree
> take cups. x cups. wear cups.
> x tree. x crow.
> e.
Fire pit
> x stones. x pit. take ash.
> apply ostendo to stones. (Their key is arsenic, sulfur, and Adam's Humour.)
> look up Adam. (perhaps phlegmatic?)
> look up Humours.
> w. w.
Well
> apply yellow bile to well. apply ash to well.
The well's memory tells you that Adam was actually choleric; therefore, his Humour is yellow bile.
> e. e.
Fire pit
> apply arsenic to stones. apply sulfur to stones.
> apply yellow bile to stones.
You learn that salt and ash re-ignites an old fire. This compound is known as encyp.
> look up encyp.
> apply salt to pit. apply ash to pit.
You learn that Adam instructed Cain and Abel to begin a ritual of sacrifice to the northeast. Charcoal is also revealed. You can now apply encyp directly.
> s.
Outside a slaughterhouse
> x shack. s.
Slaughterhouse
> smell. x stump.
> apply ostendo to stump. ("Abel's Humour, poison of phlegm, and salt." Also, phlegm is Cain's Humour.)
> look up phlegm. (Its counter is sage.)
> x bones. take bone.
> x knife. take it.
> n. w.
In the wheat field
> x wheat. take wheat.
> x scarecrow. (You remember the ocu compound.)
> look up ocu. (arsenic and phlegm)
> x eyes. apply arsenic to scarecrow.
> apply phlegm to scarecrow. (See vision of Cain struggling with an enormous rock and Abel's taunting.)
> s.
Clearing
> x rock. x core. x handprints.
> apply ostendo to rock. (fail: You need more knowledge.)
> sw. (fail: You get lost and return.)
> s. (fail: The bees smother the sage.)
> se.
Beehive
> x tree. x bees. x hive. x shard. (wax only)
> look up bees.
> take shard. (You acquire wax.)
> x royal jelly. look up royal jelly.
This is not the time to try for the jelly.
> nw. n. n. e. e.
Outside the hovel
> x bandage. take it.
> x tent. x hovel.
> in.
Hovel
> x straw. x silk. (It's blond hair.)
> apply ostendo to hair. ("Eve's Humour, poison of Adam's Humour, and wax.")
> x strips. x basket. take basket. (can't)
> look under basket. take slab. x it.
> x reflection.
The slab has a face too, doesn't it?
> apply ocu to slab. (You learn that Eve has melancholy. Therefore, her Humour is black bile.)
> look up melancholy. look up depression.
> look up madness.
> w. s.
Inside the tent
> x rope. untie it. (can't: too tight)
> cut rope. (fail: Your knife is too dull.)
You now remember there's a compound for renewing old or worn items.
> look up renewal. (Novo restores simple man-made objects, using sulfur and black bile.)
> apply sulfur to knife.
> apply black bile to knife. (The knife is restored.)
> cut rope. take rope.
> x post. x equipment. x wheel. x table.
Novo is unable to restore either the spinning wheel or the table.
> n. w.
Fire pit
The bees avoid smoke, so take some charcoal to the sage field.
> take charcoal.
> w. s. s. s.
Sage field
> drop charcoal. take sage.
> x chasm. x chamomile.
> n. n. n. w.
Well
> tie rope to crossbeam. d.
Bottom of well
> x stream. n.
Corpse / Crado's corpse / Crado's last breath
> x crow. x crevice. x corpse.
> take band. x bracelet.
You need to make a serious choice here and I can't decide for you. Please know I never found the original bracelet again. This bracelet is your only way home back to the Academy. If you want to keep it, you should wear it. But if you're willing to make the sacrifice to send Crado's corpse back to the Academy, put the bracelet on the corpse. You will not be rewarded for this sacrifice and you will be stranded. Yes, the crow is watching you. What choice do you make?
- > wear bracelet. (if you're keeping the bracelet)
- > put bracelet on corpse. (if you're sending the corpse and bracelet home)
Whatever choice you made, you're done here.
> s. se.
A dark tunnel
> x jug. take it. s.
An Uncertain Earth
> x chamomile. take it. look up chamomile.
Head back up:
> n. nw. u.
Well
> untie rope. (You take it back.)
> e. e. e. e.
Hovel
You've learned that Eve's Humour is black bile, and the poison of Adam's Humour is chamomile.
> x hair. apply black bile to hair.
> apply chamomile to hair.
> apply wax to hair. (Eve orders Cain to sleep with his sister Awan. The hair is gone.)
> w. w. s. s.
Slaughterhouse / Abel's slaughterhouse
By process of elimination, Abel's Humour must be blood. The poison of phlegm is sage. You need both the restored knife and the bandage when cutting yourself for blood.
> x stump. cut me. (with the knife. You bandage your wound after filling a phial with blood.)
> apply blood to stump.
> apply sage to stump.
> apply salt to stump. (Cain recounts grimly how much Abel enjoys slaughtering animals.)
> n. n. ne.
Landslide / Cavern entrance
> x shale. x boulder. x ore. x mountain.
> look up iron. (need another search term)
> look up metal. (Learn the vulk compound.)
> apply arsenic to boulder.
> apply sulfur to boulder.
> apply wax to boulder. (The iron evaporates and the boulder collapses, revealing a crevice.)
> in.
Cavern
> x face. apply ocu to face. (Cain and Abel enter their shrines with offerings, return to kneel before the face, and re-enter their shrines. Cain's offering wasn't touched, and Abel's is gone.)
> x pocket. (small and empty)
It's very difficult to guess what to put into the pocket.
> put slab in pocket. (You see into the northeast shrine.)
> n.
Cinnabar deposit
> x cinnabar. take it.
> s. ne.
Shrine to the Firstlings of the Flock
> x drawings. x altar. put bone on altar.
> sw. se.
Shrine to the Fruit of the Ground
> x drawings. x altar. put wheat on altar.
> x spoon. take it. apply novo to spoon.
> nw.
Cavern
> kneel. x slab. (You see an animal take the bone!)
> ne.
Shrine to the Firstlings of the Flock
You find a crevice to the southeast.
> se.
Lair
> x badger. x tether. x hook. x grease.
> x stain. apply ostendo to stain. ("The remedy of the phlegmatic, the poison of the sanguine, and wax.")
> apply phlegm to stain.
> apply lymph to stain.
> apply wax to stain. (Cain discovers Abel's ruse with the badger and plans to free it.)
> cut tether. (The badger runs off.)
> take grease.
> nw. sw.
Cavern
> take slab.
> w. sw. w. u.
In the branches of the great cedar
It seems obvious that you ought to give the spoon to the crow, but it doesn't help you in any way.
> x crow. look up crow. show slab to crow.
> show spoon to crow. give spoon to crow.
> x tree. x branch. x settlement.
> x hovel. x tent. x shack. x fire pit.
> x wheat field. x mountain. x cavern.
> d. s. s. s. s.
Base of mountain
> x block. x scratches. x scar.
> put slab in scar. (The block glows blue.)
> apply ostendo to block. ("A melancholic remedy, a phlegmatic poison, a binding excipient, and the Body of the Three Primes.")
> look up grease. (That's the binder.)
> look up salt. (That's the "Body".)
> apply black bile to block.
> apply sage to block.
> apply grease to block.
> apply salt to block. (You learn the scratches on the block is writing.)
> x scratches.
> look up language. (You learn about glos: blood, chamomile, grease, and wax.)
> apply blood to scratches.
> apply chamomile to scratches.
> apply grease to scratches.
> apply wax to scratches. (To navigate the animal paths, go southwest, southeast, east, then north.)
> u.
Animal trails
All directions but down take you nowhere unless you follow the directions you read on the obsidian block.
> sw. se. e. n.
III. An Uncertain Earth
Mountain pass
Once you've reached here, you skip the animal trails when going up and down.
> se.
Camp
> x lean-to. x kernels. x still.
> x pan. x mash. x lever. x troughs. x spout.
> put jug under spout.
> x pit. apply encyp to pit.
> pull lever. z. z. (Jug now contains spirits.)
> take jug.
> nw. s.
Magma pool
> x magma. x rocks. x tree. x pulley.
> x forge. x anvil.
> put rope in pulley. tie rope to forge.
> pull rope. put cinnabar in chimney.
> untie rope. z. take mercury.
> look up mercury. (It's the "Spirit".)
> n. d. n. n.
Clearing
> apply ostendo to rock. ("Abel's poison. Cain's poison. Royal jelly. The spirit of aqua vitae. And the Spirit of the Three Primes.")
Time to get royal jelly, but first get charcoal.
> n. n. e.
Fire pit
> take charcoal.
> w. s. s. se.
Beehive
> take jelly.
Are you certain you're ready? y
> nw.
Clearing
> apply lymph to rock.
> apply sage to rock.
> apply jelly to rock.
> apply aqua to rock.
> apply mercury to rock.
You learn that Cain killed and buried Abel here. The crow now beckons you to the southwest.
> sw.
IV. A Wandering Earth
Edge of barren field
> x river. x ravine.
> nw.
Field of thorn and thistle
> x vines. x tunnel. x light. x outcropping.
> x sign.
> apply glos to symbols. ("Cain's Field / Free Food for All")
> sw.
Tunnel entrance
> x man. talk to man. (no response)
> w.
There's an earthquake and you fall. You relive the horrible time the villagers believed you brought the grain-blight. They stripped you, assaulted you, and exiled you. Hester found you and brought you to the Academy.
In the dark / Trapped
> x crack. x torch. x heavy.
> apply encyp to torch.
> apply novo to bar. apply vulk to bar.
> stand. x rubble. x dirt.
> w.
Blocked
> x portrait. x eyes. x lamb. x chest.
> apply ocu to man.
> open chest. (The hinge needs loosening.)
> apply grease to hinge.
> open chest. (You find a tunnel through the chest.)
> w.
A Wandering Earth
> x crow. x valley. x magma.
> x man. x knapsack. x light.
> talk to man. (You see Cain's face before he and the crow both leave.)
> break seal.
You make your report. If you have a bracelet, you return to the Academy. Now you sleep.
*** Finis. ***
> credits. sources. biblio.
Extras
Artwork
Here are thumbnails of some of the artwork in this game. Please play the game to see the artwork in larger sizes.
I didn't include any sidebar art, which is mostly vertical slices of the art shown here. Note that the art for the start of chapter IV is just a horizontal slice of the cover art.
Also, GRAPHICS ON and GRAPHICS OFF toggle the display of artwork.
Characters
- A crow watches everything you do. Its main roost is in the branches of the cedar tree. It's never made clear if it's just the crow it appears to be or if it's the Creator's representative.
- Bees swarm around their hive and also in the sage field until you bring some smoking charcoal and take the best sage for yourself. The bees will never forgive you when you take their royal jelly.
- A badger is held captive by a tether in its lair. Because the badger secretly took Abel's offerings from his altar, Abel could pretend that the Creator took his offerings, and insist that the Creator favoured Abel over Cain.
Seen in visions and memories:
- Adam is the first man, the Father of Mankind. Adam is choleric.
- Eve is the first woman, the Mother of Mankind. Eve is melancholic.
- Cain is Adam and Eve's eldest son, the first farmer, and the first metalworker. Cain is phlegmatic.
- Abel is Adam and Eve's second son, the first herdsman and shepherd. Abel is sanguine.
- Awan is Adam and Eve's eldest daughter. Eve ordered Cain and Awan to sleep together and have children, but Abel felt that because the Creator favoured Abel's sacrifice, Awan should be his own wife.
- The Provost is the head of the Academy.
- Hester IV of Minscip wrote the Pharmakon and is your teacher.
- Villagers brutally exiled you from their village because they believe you brought them the grain-blight.
Found dead:
- Crado, another Indagator of the Academy, is found dead just north of the bottom of the well. Because his legs are broken, you believe he fell to his death when he descended into the well without a rope.
Mentioned:
- The Creator is mentioned several times, but less often than you'd think.
- The Nephilim are giants that live beyond the mountains. Eve orders Abel to take Cain's "inferior grain" to them, either to trade for supplies or to barter for peace.
- Your grandfather provided you with a home until the villagers exiled you.
Credits
The response to CREDITS is:
According to Cain
An inquiry
by Jim NelsonRelease 1 / Serial Number 220928 / compiled Sep 28 2022 with TADS 3.1
Copyright (c) Jim Nelson
Built using the TADS 3 system by Michael J. Roberts and the adv3Lite library by Eric Eve.
Beta testers: StJohn Limbo, Mathbrush, Christopher Merriner, Rovarsson, and Mike Russo.
Music:
- “Arid Foothills,” “Asian Drums,” “Cambodian Odyssey,” “Expeditionary,” “Himalayan Atmosphere,” “Infados,” and “Monokoto” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons By Attribution 3.0 (CC BY 3.0)
- “Arabian,” “Darbuka Groove,” “Eastern Morning,” “Farewell,” and “Muslim Sorrow” by Serge Quadrado. Licensed under Creative Commons By Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)
Artwork:
- Crow on Plum Branch in Rain, Kawanabe Ky?sai, ca. 1880-1889. Brooklyn Museum
- Among the Sierra Nevada, California, Albert Bierstadt, 1868. Smithsonian American Art Museum
- Valley of the Yosemite, Albert Bierstadt, 1864. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
- Expulsion from the Garden of Eden, Thomas Cole, 1828. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
- View from Mount Holyoke, Northampton, Massachusetts, after a Thunderstorm—The Oxbow, Thomas Cole, 1836. Metropolitan Museum of Art
Libraries utilized:
- adv3Lite Library version 1.5 by by Eric Eve
- Room Parts version 1 by by Eric Eve
- Sensory version 2 by by Eric Eve
And the response to SOURCES is:
SOURCES
The Cain and Abel story is best known by the version related in the fourth chapter of Genesis (“Am I my brother’s keeper?”) I’ve relied on the King James (or Authorized) Version as a primary reference and for quotes.
The metaphysical exchange between Cain and Abel (“The world was created in goodness, but it is not governed according to the fruit of good works”) is paraphrased from the Targum Jerusalem. Awan (sister to Cain and Abel) is named in the Book of Jubilees (“Little Genesis”). The Cave of Treasures and The Book of Adam and Eve tell of the banished Adam & Eve unable to cope with their expulsion, and expands on Cain’s motives for murdering his brother. There are many more extracanonical texts regarding the Creation family.
The Quran’s version of the Cain and Abel story describes the crow advising Cain after the murder. The Mormon Pearl of Great Price presents a more traditional telling of an evil Cain forming a conspiracy (“a secret combination”) with Satan. It’s this text that names Cain “Perdition.”
Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose profoundly inspired my detective-like Indagator and the stodgy Scholastics.
Information on the Four Humours, Three Primes, pharmakon, and early-Earth catastrophism all derive from Internet research.
ARTWORK & SOUNDTRACK
The in-game art mostly comes from the Hudson River School, a group of 19th-century oil painters who depicted the untouched American West as Eden reclaimed. Their landscapes shaped my vision of the family’s postlapsarian and antediluvian world.
The music is my attempt to fashion a soundtrack in the spirit of Peter Gabriel’s Passion: Music for the The Last Temptation of Christ. I am grateful to Kevin MacLeod and Serge Quadrado for making their wonderful music available on the Creative Commons.
Endings
- You have died from a thousand stings.
- if you stay around the bees too long after taking the royal jelly.
- You have failed.
- if you break the seal of the envelope too soon and have nothing to report.
- Finis.
- if you break the seal of the envelope after seeing the Mark of Cain and write your report for the Academy.
For the most part, the game tries to prevent the player-character from self-sabotaging their mission:
- You cannot cross the river without everything you need from the west side of the river.
- You cannot enter the well without the rope tied to the crossbeam.
- You cannot cut yourself without a bandage, so you won't bleed to death.
- You cannot drink the spirits.
But sometimes you can make the game unwinnable. For example:
- You can apply vulk to the still, melting it, before you've distilled any spirits.
Inventory
Academy items
- an orbis bracelet. You're wearing it.
- This device is used to return to the Academy in your time.
- Unfortunately, you lose this bracelet when you cross the river. If there's a way to get it back, I didn't learn how.
- a rucksack. It's at "A Tree".
- When you take it, you automatically wear it. It contains some arsenic, some lymph, some black bile, some phlegm, and some yellow bile.
- You automatically put the blood and mercury into the rucksack when you obtain them.
- a pulverulent cloth. It's at "A Young Earth" east of "A Tree".
- This is used to carry powders and herbals. When you take such items, you automatically put them into the cloth. If the cloth is submerged in water, the contents will be ruined.
- You automatically put the ash, sage, chamomile, salt, and sulfur into the cloth when you obtain them.
- the Pharmakon. This tome is at "Approaching the river".
- You can look up many topics in the tome. Known topics include: Abel, Adam, Alchemy, Arsenic, Ash, Awan, Bees, Black bile, Blood, Cain, Chamomile, Choleric, Cinnabar, Clergy, Crow, Depression, Eden, Encyp, Essence, Eve, Excipient, First principles, Four Humours, Glos, Grease, Indagator, Language, Lumens gems, Lymph, Madness, Melancholic, Mercury, Metal, Novo, Ocu, Ostendo, Phlegm, Phlegmatic, Poison, Remedy, Renewal, Royal jelly, Sacrifice, Sage, Salt, Sanguine, Scholastics, Spirits, Sulfur, Three Primes, Truth, Vulk, Wax, Yellow bile.
- If you try to look up too many topics without doing much of anything else, you'll be rebuked by Hestor's voice in your head.
- a vellum envelope. It's at the Crossing.
- After you learn what the Mark of Cain is, you are prompted to break the seal (of the envelope) and make your report. Breaking the seal ends the game.
- a lumens gem. It's at "A Fragile Earth".
- Wear it. Now various things will glow blue, alerting you that those things carry stored memories and are receptive for the ostendo compound.
- a braid of cups. They're at the foot of the great cedar tree.
- You automatically put grease, wax, and royal jelly into the cups when you obtain them.
- a bandage. It's at "Outside the hovel".
- When you cut yourself with the knife for blood, you'll automatically use the bandage for your wound afterward.
- Crado's orbis bracelet. It's the band under Crado's corpse.
- If you put the bracelet back on Crado's corpse, both the corpse and bracelet return to the Academy. While this feels like the right thing to do, this also means you're stranded in this time period.
- If you have the bracelet on when you break the seal (of the envelope), after you complete your report, you return to the Academy.
Essences
🙟 REMEDIES = THE FOUR HUMOURS 🙜
- some black bile aka Eve's Humour. It's in the rucksack.
- Black bile is a remedy that promotes the melancholy nature. Its counter is arsenic.
- Black bile is part of the novo compound.
- Black bile helps unlock these revelations: the strand of hair and the obsidian block.
- some blood aka Abel's Humour. Use your own. When you have both a sharp knife and a bandage, cut yourself to collect some blood.
- Blood is a remedy that promotes the sanguine nature. Its counter is lymph.
- Blood is part of the glos compound.
- Blood helps unlock this revelation: the slaughterhouse.
- some phlegm aka Cain's Humour. It's in the rucksack.
- Phlegm is a remedy that promotes the phlegmatic nature. Its counter is sage.
- Phlegm is part of the ocu compound.
- Phlegm helps unlock these revelations: the sluice and the spot of blood.
- some yellow bile aka Adam's Humour. It's in the rucksack.
- Yellow bile is a remedy that promotes the choleric nature. Its counter is chamomile.
- Yellow bile helps unlock these revelations: the well and the stones.
🙟 POISONS 🙜
- some arsenic. It's in the rucksack.
- Arsenic is a poison that counters black bile.
- Arsenic is part of the ocu and vulk compounds.
- Arsenic helps unlock this revelation: the stones.
- some chamomile. It's at "An Uncertain Earth".
- Chamomile is a poison that counters yellow bile.
- Chamomile is part of the glos compound.
- Chamomile helps unlock this revelation: the strand of hair.
- some lymph. It's in the rucksack.
- Lymph is a poison that counters blood.
- Lymph helps unlock these revelations: the spot of blood and the burial rock.
- some sage. It's at "Sage field". Bring a chunk of charcoal here to repel the bees, then drop the charcoal so you can gather the sage.
- Sage is a poison that counters phlegm.
- Sage helps unlock these revelations: the slaughterhouse, the obsidian block, and the burial rock.
🙟 THE THREE PRIMES 🙜
- some sulfur. It's at the "Sulfur deposits".
- Sulfur is an excipient and one of the Three Primes. It represents the Soul and passion.
- Sulfur is part of both the ostendo and novo compounds.
- Sulfur helps unlock these revelations: the sluice and the stones.
- some salt. It's at the "Salt bed".
- Salt is an excipient and one of the Three Primes. It represents the body, the Earth, and stability.
- Salt is part of both the ostendo and encyp compounds.
- Salt helps unlock these revelations: the slaughterhouse and the obsidian block.
- some mercury. At the magma pool, first reposition the forge by the magma (see rope), then put the cinnabar in the forge's chimney and wait for the mercury to dribble out.
- Mercury is a rare excipient and one of the Three Primes. It represents the Spirit.
- Mercury helps unlock this revelation: the burial rock.
🙟 OTHER EXCIPIENTS 🙜
- some ash. It's at the "Fire pit".
- Ash is an excipient. It's a neutralizer. It represents the inert.
- Ash is part of the encyp compound.
- Ash helps unlock this revelation: the well.
- some grease. It's in the Lair, but you need to free the badger first. I suggest cutting the tether with the knife.
- Grease is an excipient. It's a binding agent. It also lubricates rusty locks.
- Grease is part of the glos compound.
- Grease helps unlock this revelation: the obsidian block.
- In "Blocked", apply grease to the chest's hinge so you can open the chest.
- some wax. It's at "Beehive", initially presented as a loose honeycomb shard. Just take it.
- Wax is an excipient from bee hives. It's used in compounds related to desperation.
- Wax is part of the vulk and glos compounds.
- Wax helps unlock these revelations: the strand of hair and the spot of blood.
- some spirits. Create this aqua vitae at the Camp. Apply encyp to the fire pit to relight it, put the jug under the spout, then pull the lever to move the pan of mush over the fire. Wait. Some spirits are distilled into the jug.
- Spirits helps unlock this revelation: the burial rock.
- some royal jelly. It's at "Beehive", visible after you've acquired some wax (the loose honeycomb shard). Be sure you never want to revisit the hive after you take the jelly. Bring some charcoal so the bees keep their distance. After you take the jelly, RUN to the clearing!
- Royal jelly is a potent excipient from bee hives.
- Royal jelly helps unlock this revelation: the burial rock.
Simple tools (and other found items)
- a chunk of charcoal. There's a pile of charcoal at "Fire pit" after you apply encyp to the pit. You can take one, but you automatically juggle it so you don't burn your hands too much. You can't take much while doing this.
- Note that whenever you drop your charcoal, it breaks up when it hits the ground and is gone.
- Take one chunk of charcoal to the sage field and drop it there so you can collect sage.
- Take another chunk of charcoal to the beehive and collect royal jelly, but be sure you already have everything else from there because you won't be able to return there. And after you take the jelly, RUN!! The bees are now extremely angry with you and they'll never forget your face.
- a clay jug. It's in "A dark tunnel".
- You can fill the jug with water at the bottom of the well or river side, but don't bother.
- At the camp, when making aqua vitae, put the jug under the spout to collect it.
- an obsidian slab. It's under the basket in the "Hovel". Look under the basket first, then take the slab.
- Apply ocu to the slab for a revelation.
- In the cavern, put the slab into the pocket before re-enacting the sacrifices. After kneeling (in front of the face), examine the slab to see that an animal stole the bone from the northeast altar.
- At the base of the mountain, put the slab into the scar (of the obsidian block) so you can interact with the block as a whole.
- a knife. It's on the stump in the "Slaughterhouse".
- Inside the tent, try to cut the rope with the knife to learn that the rope is too dull and get a hint to look up renewal or restoration in the Pharmakon and learn about the novo compound. Apply sulfur and black bile to the knife to restore it. Finally, cut the rope with the sharp knife and take the rope.
- When you have the bandage, cut yourself with the sharp knife to obtain blood.
- In the Lair, cut the tether to free the badger. Now you can take the grease.
- an animal bone. There's a pile of bones in the "Slaughterhouse".
- In the Shrine to the Firstlings of the Flock, put the bone on the altar. Return to the Cavern, put the obsidian slab in the pocket, kneel, then look at the slab. You see an animal steal the bone from the altar. Knowing this enables you to find the animal's lair.
- some wheat. It's at "In the wheat field".
- In the Shrine to the Fruit of the Ground, put the wheat on the altar. This doesn't help in any way, but you're expected to do it when re-enacting the brothers' sacrifices.
- some cold water. You can fill the jug with water at "Bottom of Well" or "River bank".
- You don't need any water. Drink it. You need to use the jug to hold spirits.
- a rope. It's tied to the center post at "Inside the tent". You cannot untie it. Instead, cut the rope with the knife after restoring the knife with the novo compound.
- At "Well", tie the rope to the crossbeam. Now you can descend into the well and get back up again. At the top of the well, you can untie the rope to take it back.
- At the magma pool, put the rope in the pulley, tie the rope to the forge, then pull the rope to position the forge onto a stone near the magma. You can untie the rope to take it back, if you wish.
- some cinnabar. It's at the "Cinnabar deposit".
- At the magma pool, first put the rope in the pulley, tie the rope to the forge, then pull the rope to position the forge onto a stone near the magma. Put the cinnabar into the chimney (of the forge) and wait a bit. Take the mercury that dribbles out.
- a tarnished spoon. It's in the Shrine to the Fruit of the Ground.
- Apply novo to the spoon. It's now a shiny tin spoon.
- If you look up crow in the Pharmakon, you learn that crows like shiny things and can perform small tasks for you. In the branches of the cedar tree, you may give the spoon to the crow. This didn't help me in any way, so I may be missing something here.
- At "A Wandering Earth", if you try to give the spoon to the crow there, you learn that the crow's not interested in anything but the burning valley.
Memories
The command MEMORIES lists everything you've learned. You can RECALL any revelations you've experienced to see it again.
There are 16 possible revelations:
- The sluice gate @ Plain: apply phlegm and sulfur to the gate.
- Abel jammed the gate with a wedge.
- The well @ Well: apply yellow bile and ash to the well.
- Adam was choleric.
- The stones @ Fire pit: apply arsenic, sulfur, and yellow bile to the stones.
- Learn that applying salt and ash re-ignites old fires; this is the encyp compound.
- The great fire @ Fire pit: apply salt and ash to the pit to re-ignite it.
- Adam instructed Cain and Abel to sacrifice to the northeast of the fire.
- The scarecrow @ The wheat field: apply arsenic and phlegm to the scarecrow.
- Cain struggled with an enormous rock and Abel taunted him.
- The obsidian mirror @ Hovel: apply ocu to the obsidian slab.
- Eve was melancholic.
- The strand of hair @ Hovel: apply black bile, chamomile, and wax to the hair.
- Eve orders Cain to sleep with his sister Awan.
- The slaughterhouse @ Slaughterhouse: apply blood, sage, and salt to the tree stump.
- Abel enjoyed slaughtering animals.
- The giant face @ Cavern: apply ocu to painted face.
- Cain and Abel enter their shrines with offerings, return to kneel before the face, then re-enter their shrines. Cain's offering wasn't touched, and Abel's is gone.
- The spot of blood @ Lair: apply phlegm, lymph, and wax to umber stain.
- Cain discovered Abel's ruse with the badger and plans to free it.
- The obsidian block @ Base of mountain: apply black bile, sage, grease, and salt to the block.
- Eve tells her children to heed the warning on the block.
- The mountain warning @ Base of mountain: apply glos to the scratches.
- The route to the summit is southwest, southeast, east, then north.
- The distillery @ Camp: apply encyp to pit.
- Cain discovers Abel and Awan sleeping together, then beats Abel.
- The burial rock @ Clearing: apply lymph, sage, royal jelly, aqua vitae, and mercury to the rock.
- Cain kills Abel against the rock, then buries Abel before fleeing to the southwest.
- The underground portrait @ Blocked: apply ocu to the portrait.
- Abel's voice and presence lives on in Cain, who must wander the Earth alone.
- Meeting Cain @ A Wandering Earth : talk to Cain.
- The Mark of Cain is his haunted visage.
Alchemical compounds:
- encyp: Restore an extinguished fire.
- Recipe: Apply salt and ash to some former fire site.
- Learn about encyp by seeing the memory of the stones in the fire pit.
- Apply encyp to both fire pits and the torch.
- glos: Briefly read any language.
- Recipe: Apply blood, chamomile, grease, and wax to some writing or symbols.
- Learn about glos by looking up language in the Pharmakon; this is vaguely suggested when you learn the scratches on the obsidian block is writing.
- Apply glos to the scratches on the obsidian block and to the symbols on the sign.
- novo: Restore a manmade invention to its original purpose.
- Recipe: Apply sulfur and black bile to something manmade.
- Learn about novo by looking up renewal in the Pharmakon; this is vaguely suggested when, inside the tent, you try to cut the rope with the rusty knife.
- Apply novo to the knife, the spoon, and the rusted bar.
- ocu: Make a human-like yield an eyewitness revelation.
- Recipe: Apply arsenic and phlegm to something with face and eyes.
- Learn about ocu when you first examine the scarecrow.
- Apply ocu to the scarecrow, the obsidian slab, the painted face, and the portrait.
- ostendo: Reveal compound to unlock revelation.
- Recipe: Apply salt and sulfur to something glowing blue.
- Apply ostendo to everything glowing blue: the sluice, the well, the stones (near the fire pit), the hair (in the hovel), the tree stump, the umber stain, the obsidian block (when the slab is in the block's scar), and the broken rock.
- vulk: Melt metal.
- Recipe: Apply arsenic, sulfur, and wax to some metal.
- Learn about vulk by looking up metal in the Pharmakon; this is vaguely suggested when you try to look up iron ore after examining the boulder.
- Apply vulk to the boulder and the restored iron bar. (Other metal items in the game, like the spoon and the still's pan can be melted too, but you shouldn't melt every metal item you find.)
Family info:
- Adam is choleric. His Humour is yellow bile.
- Eve is melancholic. Her Humour is black bile.
- Cain is phlegmatic. His Humour is phlegm.
- Abel is sanguine. His Humour is blood.
Thank You to my Patreon supporters
This walkthrough was funded via Patreon with
- the support of Robin Johnson, Ville Lavonius, Andrew Schultz, Kenneth Hon, Carl Muckenhoupt, Mark Musante, Phil Tatro, Mitch, and Peter Berman;
- the generous support of Janice M Eisen, Matthew Foxley, Thomas Insel, and Marius Müller;
- the very generous support of Karl Ove Hufthammer, Lance Campbell, and DrkStarr;
- the extremely generous support of Emily Short, Allen Garvin, Jesse McGrew, Jacqueline Ashwell, Jennifer Rexrode, and Durafen;
- and the invisible support of several anonymous patrons.
Ko-Fi is a way to send me small one-time donations. Every little bit helps, and thank you!
