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Velstraven · Wiki

Old buttery

Three fittings, two spells each: the starter puzzles between the refectory and the entrance court.

A lesson room at the start of chapter 1, with starter puzzles. It is not one of the 35 puzzle rooms, but its ward grilles close the way on until it is done.

Narrated walkthrough

Old buttery: the starter puzzles

Getting there

Ground floor, between the Silent refectory (south) and the Entrance court (north). Both ways on from the refectory depend on its seals. Its north grille opens to the Entrance court, and the same seals hang over the grille in the refectory's west passage toward the Shelf passage. These starters are not among the 35 university rooms.

What is wrong

"The ward grilles are down. Restore the hearth, brazier and flagstone (0 of 6 put right)." Each fitting needs two steps in order, and each wears a pair of seals that light left to right: the spit hearth ember then pale, the brazier violet then ember, the flagstone blue then frost.

What you can work

Cold spit hearth
Cold kindling under a hood; a vane in the hood's mouth is corded to a spit. Then "Spit hearth · burning, vane still", then "Spit hearth · turning".
Covered brazier
A brazier under a hinged iron cover too heavy to lift by hand. Then "Brazier · uncovered", then "Brazier · burning".
Flagstone over the ice-well
A flagstone sitting tight in its bed, with a dry hairline seam round it. Then "Flagstone · seam full of water", then "Flagstone · heaved up".
Ward seals
Three pairs of seals; Handle them for the colour key.
Ward grille
The grilles that answer to the buttery's seals.

Solution

A nudge

Any spell carrying a Fire orb lights the kindling. But a fire's own rising heat is too gentle to spin the vane.

The full solution
  1. Bind Heat, Draw, Supply liquid and Chill (Growth + Water + Water) to the four slots, then aim at the Cold spit hearth and cast Heat.
    Any spell carrying a Fire orb lights the kindling. But a fire's own rising heat is too gentle to spin the vane.
    What you see: "Heat catches in the kindling; the fire burns under the hood, but the vane stays still: it needs a stronger draught of air driven up the hood than the fire's own heat gives."
  2. Cast Draw (Wind + Will + Water) on the Spit hearth.
    Any spell carrying a Wind orb fans the fire. The forced draught up the hood is strong enough to spin the vane, and the vane turns the spit.
    What you see: "The air in Draw fans the fire; the draught roars up the hood, the vane spins and the spit turns."
  3. Cast Draw on the Covered brazier.
    The cover is too heavy to lift by hand, and its counterweight is too light to swing it up. Any of the four moving spells opens it.
    What you see: "Draw pulls the iron cover open toward you. Dry kindling lies open in the bowl."
  4. Cast Heat on the Brazier.
    With the cover off, fire can reach the kindling.
    What you see: "Heat catches in the kindling; the brazier burns."
  5. Step off the flagstone, then cast Supply liquid (Water + Water + Water) on the Flagstone over the ice-well.
    Water runs into the hairline seam round the stone. Water alone cannot move the stone, but it swells when it freezes.
    What you see: "Supply liquid runs water into the seam round the flagstone. The stone still sits tight; water swells as it freezes."
  6. Cast Chill (Growth + Water + Water) on the Flagstone.
    The water in the seam freezes and expands, and the growing ice heaves the stone up out of its bed.
    What you see: "Chill freezes the water in the seam; the ice swells and heaves the flagstone up out of its bed." Then "The last seal glows (6 of 6) and both grilles open."

Other ways that work

Watch for

If it goes wrong

Achievements here

Spells used

Heat, Draw, Supply liquid, Chill, Directed impulse, Suspend, Lighten.