The Thieving Magpie
Rumours
They say a magpie has built her nest high on the bough of a big tree - in an apron, with a spoon! She cooks porridge, feeds her chicks, and keeps an eye out for anything that shines.
Who: Magpie
Hints
Open them one at a time — from a gentle nudge to plain advice. "Good to know" is about what might trip you up.
Hint 1
The Magpie gives a key only to someone who helps her: fetches water, chops wood and cooks porridge.
Hint 2
You can't carry water in your hands — you need a bucket. It's knocked together from planks at the workbench.
Hint 3
Wood for the Magpie means five logs of Wood. Tree trunks give them.
Hint 4
The porridge isn't cooked at the Magpie's but at your own house, on the fireplace. It takes water and three berries.
Good to know
- You'll need water twice: one bucket for the Magpie, and another one goes into the porridge.
- In a shared world only one player takes a quest at a time: if someone else is helping now, wait your turn; if someone already helped today, come back next morning.
Full solution
Show the whole solution
This is the whole story of the quest, to the very end.
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Find a big tree with a nest — a magpie in an apron bustles about on a bough. Walk up and press E (on a phone, the glowing action button): she recites her rhyme and promises you a key if you fetch her water, chop her wood and cook her porridge.
From Cubby's diary
Under her {{tree}} a magpie in an apron called to me: "Chak-chak!" Porridge for the chicks - this one gets some, that one gets some, but I get none: no water, no wood, no porridge! Do all three - and I get a key. A real one!
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Make a Bucket at the workbench. Go right up to some water, take the bucket in hand and right-click or press E (on a phone, the action button) — you get a Bucket of Water. Take it to the Magpie and press E ("Magpie · give water"): she keeps the water and gives the bucket back.
From Cubby's diary
Knocked a bucket together at the workbench - three planks in a V - scooped up water and took it to the Magpie. "Ooh, cold spring water! Drink up, chicks!" They drank and peeped.
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Drill five logs of Wood out of tree trunks. Take them to the Magpie and press E ("Magpie · give wood").
From Cubby's diary
Chopped the Magpie some wood - five logs, dry and crackly. "The porridge will bubble up a treat!" she cried. The chicks hopped about in the nest.
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Scoop up another Bucket of Water and gather three berries — blueberries or wild strawberries (a bush cut with the sword or drill gives berries). At home, on the ground floor, go to the fireplace and press E ("Fireplace · cook porridge"): a few seconds later the Porridge is ready. Take it to the Magpie and press E.
From Cubby's diary
Cooked porridge on my own fireplace: a bucket of water, three berries, a pinch of patience - done! Took it to the Magpie. "You cooked it yourself?! With berries! Well, cubelet..."
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Once the Magpie has the water, the wood and the porridge, she gives you a real key.
From Cubby's diary
Water fetched, wood chopped, porridge cooked - and the Magpie gave me a key, a real shiny one! And if I get a spare shiny, one I have a pair of, she'll swap it for a key.
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From now on the Magpie swaps shinies for keys. By day, take in hand an artifact you have two or more of and press E by her nest ("Give the Magpie ..."): she flies off for a key and drops it at your front door, even with the game closed. A plain shiny gets a wooden key, a precious one a better key; one at a time, and she won't take your last one.
Reward
The Magpie swaps shinies for keys. By day, hold an artifact I have a pair of and press E by her tree: a plain one gets a wooden key, a precious one even a ruby key. She brings it to my front door in twenty minutes, even with the game closed.