Alchemystery! Walkthrough v0.01 - Solution
Answer: FRESH LIME
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Alchemystery! WALKTHROUGH version 0.01 WALKTHROUGH version 1
By: xXx Liam Thomas xXx
Ascii art generated with patorjk.com's ascii text generator
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Section A: Understanding Potions
Section B: Explanations of the Walkthrough
[001]: Royal Garden
[002]: Chase Sequence
[003]: "Fishing"
[004]: "Fishing" Again
[005]: Barred Door
[006]: Barred Door II
[007]: Fire Puzzle
[008]: Century Puzzle
Section C: Solving the Scenarios
[101]: Queen's Cat's Ghost
[102]: Celestial Cauldron/Trojan Horse
[103]: Cave Witch
[104]: Royal Kitchen
[105]: Century Puzzle II
[106]: Electric Chasm
[107]: Balance Lock
[108]: Foundry
Section D: Extraction and Final Solve
===A:Understanding Potions===
The first thing to understand about potions is that they're actually sentences with a particular grammar. That is, each potion corresponds to a particular action which is carried out when the potion is used, and this particular action is determined by the ingredients used. The first ingredient corresponds to the "verb" (that is, what is done to the subject), the second to an "adjective" (describing a quality of the subject) and the third to a "noun" (the subject itself).
Once we discover this correspondence, the next step is to determine what each ingredient means in each slot, as well as inferring what a potential meaning could be for ingredients in different slots.
===B:Explanations of the Walkthrough===
In this section, we reveal the grammar that underlies the potions which xXxDaRkEdGyNaMexXx could not figure out.
[001]: Royal Garden
1. Haunted Painting (HAUNT)
2. Spring Water (WATERY/WET)
3. Elmwood (PLANT)
[002]: Chase Sequence
1. Olive Oil (GREASE)
2. Normal Rock (STONE)
3. Aged Meat (ANIMAL)
[003]: "Fishing"
1. Packaged Lightning (ELECTRIFY)
2. Red Hot Chili Pepper (HOT)
3. Spring Water (LIQUID)
[004]: "Fishing" again
Alongside the previous part, this reveals that changing the third ingredient changes the target of the potion. It also helps the player understand (along with part 2) that the same ingredient can change position to change meaning to a related word.
1. Packaged Lightning (ELECTRIFY)
2. Red Hot Chili Pepper (HOT)
3. Olive Oil (OIL)
[005]: Barred Door
1. Turbulent Air (MOVE/LEVITATE)
2. Weighted Sphere (HEAVY)
3. Untempered Steel (METAL)
[006]: Barred Door II
Alongside the previous part, this reveals that changing the first ingredient changes the action performed without changing the target.
1. Iced Coffee (FREEZE)
2. Weighted Sphere (HEAVY)
3. Untempered Steel (METAL)
[007]: Fire Puzzle
1. Crossword (SOLVE)
2. Red Hot Chili Pepper (HOT/FIREY)
3. Crossword (PUZZLE)
[008]: Century Puzzle
Alongside the previous part, this reveals that changing the second ingredient changes the quality of the target.
1. Crossword (SOLVE)
2. Elmwood (WOODEN)
3. Crossword (PUZZLE)
===C:Solving the Scenarios===
[101]: Queen's Cat's Ghost
The ghost of the Queen's Cat won't let you into the throne room. Previously, when cats have served as an obstacle in this game, we defeated them by spraying them with water, causing them to run away.
This clues that we want to get this cat wet. We have a word for water, and we know a quality of this cat. We can thus infer that the potion we want is
1. Spring Water (WET)
2. Haunted Painting (GHOSTLY)
3. Aged Meat (ANIMAL)
[102]: Celestial Cauldron/Trojan Horse
In order to warm up the Celestial Potion we need to heat the Celestial Cauldron. The most plausible way to do this is to ignite the Trojan Horse which is nearby, but we can't figure out how to do that.
This clues that we need a heat source (big) and that we have a large fuel source. A little cultural knowledge helps us remember that the Trojan Horse was made of wood, so our potion is
1. Red Hot Chili Pepper (BURN/HEAT)
2. Elmwood (WOODEN)
3. Aged Meat (ANIMAL)
[103]: Cave Witch
In order to impress the witch in the Oil Mine, we need to "electrify the surroundings". Our previous attempts at making lightning have failed because there's too much vaporized oil in the air.
We're not-so-subtly being told we want to make lightning, and the only real thing to electrify is the air. Given the quality of the air, we guess
1. Packaged Lightning (ELECTRIFY)
2. Olive Oil (GREASY)
3. Turbulent Air (AIR)
Side note, if you are ever in an environment filled with vaporized oil, do not, I repeat, DO NOT, make any sort of electricity unless you would also like to be vaporized.
[104]: Royal Kitchen
The Royal Kitchen includes a well-oiled stone used for cooking flatbreads. We need to cool this cooking surface down in order to sabotage the Royal Chef's meal, but we have no leads on how to do that.
We gotta make a thing cold. We have a quality as well (well-oiled) and a thing (stone), so we go with
1. Iced Coffee (COOL/FREEZE)
2. Olive Oil (GREASY)
3. Normal Rock (STONE)
[105]: Century Puzzle II
After solving the century puzzle (see FAQ) we're left in the unfortunate situation of it still not opening, and it still blocks the way to the remainder of the dungeon. We've already retrieved the key from it, so at this point we just need to destroy it.
A neat thing is that if we realize the grammar, we already have our quality and noun (from the FAQ). The best bet to destroy something made of wood is fire, so we go with
1. Red Hot Chili Pepper (BURN/HEAT)
2. Elmwood (WOODEN)
3. Crossword (PUZZLE)
[106]: Electric Chasm
In order to reach the palace of Countess Malace, we need to cross the electric chasm. The only reasonable candidate to create a bridge is the roots of the electric vines criss-crossing the chasm, unfortunately, they are too soft to support our weight.
Our best bet for a noun is the vines (Plant), and we have an obvious quality (Electric), and we have to make it hard. The only reasonable candidates would be the Normal Rock or the Iced Coffee, but Iced Coffee seems to more concretely fit.
1. Iced Coffee (FREEZE)
2. Packaged Lightning (ELECTRIC)
3. Elmwood (PLANT)
[107]: Balance Lock
After creating a sub-zero environment and crystallizing the air in the chamber, it lands on the right-hand side of the balance machine. However, while it weighs on the lock, it doesn't push the right side far enough to open the lock. We can't influence the left side of the balance, so we clearly need to do something with the side we can access.
Our noun appears to be the forced construction "Frozen air". We want to increase the weight, so the Weighted Sphere is our choice.
1. Weighted Sphere (MAKE HEAVY)
2. Iced Coffee (FROZEN)
3. Turbulent Air (AIR)
[108]: Foundry
In order to create a possessed sword, we need to forge it ourselves. Obviously, this happens in the foundry. We can pour cold liquid steel into a mold to create a sword, but that won't be possessed.
Since the steel is "cold" we can infer that it's not "Melted Steel". We then have the choice of "Liquid Steel" (Spring Water/Untempered Steel) but "Spring Water" in the adjective position corresponds with "wet" or "watery." Thus, "Steel Liquid" or "Steel Water" seems to be more likely.
1. Haunted Painting (HAUNT)
2. Untempered Steel (METAL)
3. Spring Water (LIQUID)
===D: Extraction and Final Solve===
Reading the first letter of each ingredient in the correct order gives a phrase "SHARE A POTION RECIPE WITH US". Submitting this comes back with instructions to submit a drink recipe to an e-mail, and after sending it to in, solvers were told that their drink needed some FRESH LIME to garnish.