NORMAN'S LAMENT

S, enter (fish room) read notice, examine blackboard, sole, perch, flounder, bass, pike, carp, eel, get 4, leave.

E, enter (synonym room), read notice, examine blackboard, alarm, debar, dregs, avert, get 5, leave.

W, W, enter (cipher building), read notice, the, only, one, who, got, everything, done, by Friday, was, Robinson, Crusoe, get 3, leave.

W, S, enter, (long room), bell, gain, haul, here, less, act, dock, ant, her, lace, form, ton, board, son, power, men, get 7, leave.

E, enter (round room), read notice, examine blackboard, urge, lies, rim, cut, prate, ramble, joy, rules, spots, mates, can, get 9, leave.,

E, E, S, enter (alphabet room), glp. mae, jy, bund, fiz, vw, qot, hxs, rck, get 6, leave.

W, enter (square room), 4268, 9427, 8613, 3454, get wig, examine wig, leave.

W, enter (quotations room), examine blackboard in each room, first quotation (enter in blocks of three letters) -"We are not here to have facilities found us for doing the work we like but to make them", S, second quotation - "Marriage has many pains but celibacy has no pleasures", S, third quotation - "Children sweeten labours but they make misfortunes more bitter", S, get disc 2, fourth quotation - "Anybody who hates children and dogs can't be all bad" (ignore the apostrophe), E, fifth quotation - "I never hated a man enough to give him diamonds back", N, sixth quotation - "I'm as pure as the driven slush", N, seventh quotation - "I never forget a face but I'll make an exception in your case", N, get Hansard, eighth quotation - "Free at last, free at last, thank God almighty we are free at last", W, leave.

N, N, N, drop all, enter, (star room), get box, drop 2, NW, drop 5,  W, drop 3, N, drop 14, NW, drop 13, NE, drop 1, N, drop 16, E, drop 8, NE, drop 12, SE, drop 6, E, drop 4, S, drop 9, SE, drop 7, SW, drop 10, S, drop 11, W, drop 15, get disc 8, SW, drop box, leave, get all.

E, E, enter (corridor), read notice - the answer is 'Professionalism', SE, W, W, W, W, W, N (p), NW, NE, NE, NR, NE, SE (r), NW, SW, SW, SW, SW, SW, E, E, N (o), S, E, N (f), NW (e), NW (s), NW, SW, SW, SW, E (6 times), NW, NW, SW (s), SW (i), S, E, N (o), S, W (5 times), NE, NE, SE (n), NW, NE, NE, SE (a), SE (l), SE (i), NE (s), NW (m), get disc 1, NE, SE, SE,.SE, leave.

W, W, W, enter (compass room) read notice, this puzzle solves itself if you start in the correct position, S, S, S, press button, now follow all the new directions in sequence and you'll end up back at the starting room, leave, get spade.

S, enter (circle room), read notice, drop 8, W, drop 4, NE, drop 3, SW, SW, drop 2, SE, drop 7, SE, drop 9, SW, drop 5, E, drop 1, NW, drop 6, examine bill, SE, N, leave.

S, S, (blue room), examine ceiling, JR (jupiter), VS (venus), examine saw, leave.

E, E, E, N, dig, get cup, examine cup, W, W, W, N, N, enter, W, examine wall, fix cup to brick, pull cup, feel hole, pull string, examine staff, untie string, tie string to saw, sling saw (a very strange command!), E, leave, S, S, E, E, give staff (Black Rod opens Parliament in the traditional manner), E, drop all, U, remove saw, cut branch, sling zaw, D, get all, W, enter, examine each of the parliamentary officers in turn, give wig, give gown, give bill, give Hansard, N, N, leave (you're on the selection list for a safe seat, Harrogate - a bastion of blue-rinsed Conservatism, for those who don't know). You've won.

A Wibble and Blim production for The Classic Adventure Solution Archive