The Music of the Garden was a virtual representation of a genetic memory of a member of the Alamut Brotherhood active in Baghdad during the 860s.[1]
A Hidden One is tasked with helping a teacher win a contest.
You manage to enter the gardens and hide amongst the bushes beside a broken fountain. You have carefully placed yourself to be able to whisper to the performer. Now there is nothing to do but wait... Unfortunately, you doze off in the heat, next thing you know a gardener has tripped over you and fallen sprawling. What do you do?
Tell him that you are an engineer, here to fix the fountain.
The gardener nods approvingly and says it is about time someone came to look at it. He advises you to be quick, since guests will soon be arriving for the contest. That was the perfect excuse!
Tell him you are a new gardener, here to help him.
The gardener looks at you unconvinced. He ushers you away because the contest is about to start. By the time you have evaded him the contest is about to begin! Telling him you are an engineer would have been more believable.
Tie him up in the bushes.
You succeed in concealing the restrained gardener among his own plants just as the first guests start to arrive for the contest. You can only hope he won't wake up during the contest and ruin the mission. Telling him you are an engineer would have been less risky.
The debate begins and your Qiyan steps forward, looking apprehensive as she stands opposite a girl from the rival school. The assessor asks them both to name an animal from Al-Jahiz's enormous 'Book of Animals' which they identify with and say why. The girl needs your help with what she should say - what do you whisper to her?
Whisper that she is like a falcon - graceful and efficient.
As the Qiyan confidently repeats what you said, adding that she flies swiftly to protect good and resist evil, while honoring the Caliph. The crowd claps enthusiastically and the girl smiles, she seems convinced herself, you did well.
Whisper that she is like a donkey - noble and strong.
The Qiyan calmly repeats what you said, adding that she is strong enough to carry the Caliph to the heights of the tallest dome in the city. The crowd claps politely and the girl smiles. However, her rival compares herself to a falcon and that receives an even warmer response.
Whisper that she is like a monkey - mischievous and unruly.
As you whisper to the girl you realize the Caliph will not want a Qiyan to describe herself as unruly or mischievous, but by then it is too late. As the Qiyan repeats what you said, the audience seems confused by her response. The girl stares at the floor as her rival compares herself to a falcon and receives adulation from the crowd. That did not go well.
Now it is time for the musical part of the contest. Your Qiyan performs a beautiful piece of music with obvious skill. However, her rival begins to play a strange new instrument in a performance that is even better. You notice a tiny suspicious wisp of steam or smoke coming from the instrument being played by the Qiyan's rival. What do you do?
Whisper to your Qiyan that her rival is cheating and point out the steam.
Your Qiyan stands up in the middle of her rival's performance and accuses her of cheating by using an automatic steam-powered instrument. The rival starts shouting angrily, and as she does the instrument falls to the floor releasing an enormous cloud of steam. The crowd gasps in shock at the revelation and voices its disapproval.
Whisper urgently to your Qiyan that her rival's robes seem to have caught fire.
Your Qiyan runs to fetch water from one of the fountains and throws it over her rival, who shouts in shock! The contest dissolves into absolute uproar. As you leave you realize the \u201csmoke\u201d may have actually been steam from an automatic steam-powered instrument which the rival was using to cheat.
It was probably just a trick of the light.
The rival finishes playing, and although your Qiyan's performance was undoubtedly masterful, there is no doubt that this strange instrument sounded sweeter still. It is only afterwards that you realize the steam might have indicated that the strange instrument was not being played at all but was automatic and steam-powered.
The teacher congratulated you on your superb performance, smiling broadly. Her Qiyan school won the contest and the girl you helped will likely be promoted as a result.
The teacher was pleased to say that her Qiyan school won the contest, however she was not entirely sure that it was thanks to your efforts. She handed over the piece of the Astrolabe but suggested that the Bureau superiors may wish to consider using another agent for future missions.
The teacher decided to give us the piece as promised, because you did attempt to help, all be it clumsily. She adds that her Qiyan school lost the contest and the girl you attempted to help has been thrown out of school. You cannot help but feel responsible for the girl's fate.
Mission completed! The teacher comes to the Bureau to give us her piece of the Astrolabe, it looks as though you did enough to convince her! You have another piece of the puzzle, but not all of them. You cannot afford to diminish your efforts, you must continue to hunt the Astrolabe pieces down.
The Hidden One's help was invaluable and they were gifted a piece of the astrolabe as a reward.
Choices within each step were reordered based on the score given in the application's source code, from best possible choice (score of 3) to worst possible choice (score of 1). Considering the hint included in each step points towards the best answer, it is assumed that is the canon choice.
Discovery Tour: Medieval Baghdad memories
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| Byzantine Ambassador - My Brother's Keeper - Water, Water Everywhere - The Road Most Travelled - The Caliph, the Thief, his Wife, and her Baby - The Music of the Garden - The Quick and the Dead - Dine Like a Prince - The Astrolabe - Aligning the Stars |