This transcript is not from Hadean Lands, but it does show the most common things you can do in the story. It should give you an idea how this style of interactive fiction works.
Classroom Laboratory
Reddening sunlight slants in from the Gothic windows and falls across
the workbenches. You are alone here; everyone else has either
succeeded or given up on today's lesson. If you were less stubborn or
better at lessons, you would have followed them. The storeroom is
to the east.
Your workbench is before you; it is incised with a ritual arc. Within
the ritual arc you see an acorn. An assignment sheet lies beside the
arc.
> READ ASSIGNMENT SHEET
You pick up the sheet and read it for the seventh time. "O'NEIR'S
INSCRIPTION, to REVERSE MATERIAL DECAY: Place within the arc a token
of youth, such as a seed. Tinct the atmosphere with ginseng and then
invoke a simple sealing word. Sprinkle salt onto the token; it should
immediately be absorbed. Follow this with a word of historical import.
Complete the ritual with the Parametric Binding. When the token is
placed in contact with an item, the inscription will take effect."
> INVENTORY
You are carrying:
a rotten old apple core
two impets of essential oil (ginger and vanilla)
a flask of common salt
> EXAMINE APPLE
Hours ago, Teacher dumped out a box of kitchen leavings for everybody
to practice the ritual on. This apple core is what you grabbed.
> FORMULAS
After months of diligent practice, you have memorized several common
alchemical formulae:
the Parametric Binding
a word of essential nature
a word of historical import
a simple sealing word
an unsealing mantra
> RITUALS
You have learned one ritual: (* marks rituals you have not yet completed)
decay reversal inscription (*)
> OPEN GINGER IMPET
You pop open the impet, and the ginger aroma rolls out, stinging your nose.
> SAY SIMPLE SEALING
You take a breath, trace the bound in your mind, and intone the simple sealing word.
The arc begins to glow orange around the acorn.
> PUT SALT ON TOKEN
You carefully sprinkle salt onto the acorn. The grains bounce off in a disappointingly mundane way.
> RECALL DECAY RITUAL
"O'NEIR'S INSCRIPTION, to REVERSE MATERIAL DECAY: Place within the arc
a token of youth, such as a seed. Tinct the atmosphere with ginseng
and then invoke a simple sealing word. Sprinkle salt onto the token;
it should immediately be absorbed. Follow this with a word of
historical import. Complete the ritual with the Parametric Binding.
When the token is placed in contact with an item, the inscription will
take effect."
> OPEN GINSENG
You can't see any such thing.
> SAY UNSEALING MANTRA
You let the unsealing mantra run through your mind, clearing away the ritual energy. The bound goes dark.
> EAST
You step into the storeroom, blinking in the relative dimness.
Storeroom
This room holds all manner of miscellaneous supplies that an apprentice alchemist might need. As usual, though, the lessoning day has seriously depleted the stocks. At this late hour, all you see on the shelves are an impet of ginseng oil and a copper rod.
Someone has left a moldy slice of bread lying on the floor.
> TAKE GINSENG
Taken.
> EXAMINE BREAD
Ick. And yet, the dinner you've missed looms large in your thoughts. And yet, ick.
> OUT
Classroom Laboratory
Reddening sunlight slants in from the Gothic windows and falls across
the workbenches. You are alone here; everyone else has either
succeeded or given up on today's lesson. The storeroom is
to the east.
Your workbench is before you; it is incised with a ritual arc. Within
the ritual arc you see an acorn.
> OPEN GINSENG
You pop open the impet, and the ginseng aroma rolls out, making your nose ache.
The new aroma clashes unpleasantly with the ginger.
> CLOSE GINGER
You snap the ginger impet closed. Its aroma fades.
The mix of aromas clarifies, leaving the room smelling of ginseng.
> RECALL DECAY RITUAL
"O'NEIR'S INSCRIPTION, to REVERSE MATERIAL DECAY: Place within the arc
a token of youth, such as a seed. Tinct the atmosphere with ginseng
and then invoke a simple sealing word. Sprinkle salt onto the token;
it should immediately be absorbed. Follow this with a word of
historical import. Complete the ritual with the Parametric Binding.
When the token is placed in contact with an item, the inscription will
take effect."
> SAY SIMPLE SEALING
You take a breath, trace the bound in your mind, and intone the simple sealing word.
The arc begins to glow purple around the acorn.
> PUT SALT ON TOKEN
You carefully sprinkle salt onto the acorn. The grains sink silently into the acorn's shell, lending it a crystalline gleam.
> SAY HISTORICAL WORD
You work your way through the word of historical import. The syllables are sharp and unexpected, but they have an underlying logic. By the time you are done, you can sense the timeline of the acorn -- shoot to tree to bud to seed -- implicit within it.
> SAY PARAMETRIC BINDING
You begin invoking the Parametric Binding, concentrating on getting the rhythm to come out right. The ginseng aroma steadies your breath.
As you proceed, sparks of purple light gather on the acorn, until an amethyst jewel seems to float in the center of the arc. Then the energies flare.
When the light fades, a symbol shines on the surface of the acorn.
> GET ACORN
You pick up the acorn, careful of its inscribed reverse temporality symbol.
> TOUCH ACORN
What, you think it would make you younger? You remember being thirteen with your face breaking out. Not doing that again.
> TOUCH ACORN TO APPLE CORE
You carefully lay the reverse temporality symbol against the rotten apple core. The symbol discharges with a faint pop.
The apple core swells and ripens. Its brownish tinge disappears, replaced by a juicy white sheen. The smell becomes enticing.
Unfortunately it's still just an apple core. You suppose that reversing decay is different from reversing somebody's lunch.
> I
You are carrying:
an acorn
a fresh apple core
three impets of essential oil (ginseng (open), ginger, and vanilla)
a flask of common salt
> GO TO BREAD
The moldy slice of bread is in the Storeroom, as you recall. You head that way.
You make your way to the Storeroom.
Storeroom
This room holds all manner of miscellaneous supplies that an apprentice alchemist might need. As usual, though, the lessoning day has seriously depleted the stocks. All you see on the shelves is a copper rod.
Someone has left a moldy slice of bread lying on the floor.
> TAKE BREAD
Taken.
> PERFORM DECAY REVERSAL
You make your way to the Classroom Laboratory.
You conjure a reverse temporality symbol onto the acorn.
> TOUCH ACORN TO BREAD
You carefully lay the reverse temporality symbol against the moldy bread. The symbol discharges with a faint pop.
The green splotches vanish from the bread! It is now fresh, soft, and toothsome.
> EAT BREAD
The slice of fresh bread is delicious.
Not very filling, though. Maybe the refectory has pie today.