Totally lost on what to do in Legend Entertainment's "Spellcasting 201"...

My first lecture of the day...

You thought I had forgotten about Spellcasting 201: The Sorcerer's Appliance, didn't you? After all, I haven't played the game since late May. New adventure games kept pushing it to the background. Review assignments, dev requests, personal interest... Now, ten games later, I finally had a little time to return to Sorcerer's University of the very early 90s and see in what condition I left Ernie Eaglebeak. Last time I remember I was given an assignment to put a fake moustache on a statue on top of a tower. Problem is, the roof is too slippery and I can't reach its face. Compared to the first game, this one is a lot more open-worldish, without clear goals or clues on where to go and what to do. The writing is certainly excellent, but there's just so much of it, the game just becomes overwhelming.

My second lecture of the day... Exciting game...

So I started looking around campus for other things to do, keeping an eye on the schedule of my lessons. It has been so long since I played last, though, that I don't remember the locations of any... well... locations. The campus is a big place, and every action, including every movement, takes time. It's also a bit difficult to play with all the necessary documentation in digital format, so I keep ALT-TABbing between it and the game. And most verbs I'm using are "save" and "restore", it seems... Last time I was also able to open up the titular Sorcerer's Appliance, but I don't seem to be able to do anything inside it.

I seem to be missing some things...

So in the meantime I've attended two lectures and an alchemy class, where - after relentlessly restoring my game - I was finally able to turn a lump of iron into copper. No idea what for, to be honest. I also finally retraced my steps to the simulation lab, which transports me to a foresty location where I'm supposed to get on board a ship with a woman named Esmerelda, but it's guarded by a troll-like creature. I did find two spells there (which vanish again as soon as I leave the simulation) but no idea how to use them. I know there's a spell locked up tight in a janitor's closet, but no idea how to get my hands on it. 

So, three hours into the game, I'm still on the first day, and I've just picked up a small key one of the professors dropped. Perhaps it's time to go find a suitable lock... But I'll probably have to postpone this playthrough again in favor of some brand new adventure game releases! They just keep coming...

You can find the Spellcasting games on Steam and on GOG!