THE DARKEST ROAD

As the great 'sadness' spread over the land and the 'darkness' drew ever closer
from the north, the whispers around the camp-fires were of some strange dark magic
dispensed by the evil one know as the 'BLACK WANDERER'. Far to the north, over the
Darklen Moor and beyon the Eagleshorn, were where he was said to dwell. In a vast
grotesque fortress known as 'The Pinnacle'. From within its confines the 'Black One'
dealt out his awesome powers and covered the land in the creeping 'darkness' that
threatened to envelop all who occupied it ... even the beast of the field and the
fowl of the air were not safe from this malignance.

Then one morn as the sky grew ever greyer and the sun ever weaker, a stranger entered
the village ... ragged and drawn he begged for sustenance and was grateful for the
warm bread and cold milk that was offered to him. In return he told of the 'darkness'
and of the 'BLACK WANDERER' and his thirst for power. However he also told of the
means to prevent this happening and of the one person who could carry out this task.
He told of the power of 'SILENT SONG' and of the bearer of this power. Of the person
who could use this power .... of YOU ... for you possess the gift of 'SILENT SONG'
and YOU alone can drive the 'darkness' from the land.

'SILENT SONG' was a gift inherited from your father, an elf from beyond the 'Forest
of Forgiveness', and your mother, Sharra, a princess of the winged elves from the
'South Shores'. It was something you had always sensed you possessed but knew not
what it was for nor how to use it. For many hours the stranger instructed you in
its arts and how best to impart its power, then finally he turned wearily to you and
said ... 'I have done my bit, it is now all down to you. Go forth and defeat the evil
one who is controlling this 'darkness' and return the land to its rightful state.'
With that he clasped your hand and smiled slowly ... 'Goodness will always prosper!'
Then turning slowly he made his towards the spreading gloom and the coldness of the
north.

YOU must now take the 'Darkest Road' and seek out the 'BLACK WANDERER'. Once you have
located him use the magic of the 'SILENT SONG' to send him back to the festering pit
that spewed him forth .......

NOTES : Some useful words are STORE or RAMSAVE for temporary storage of your game
	positions. RECALL or RAMLOAD to recall these stored positions or SAVE and
	LOAD to store and recall the game positions to and from tape. Also remember
	that 'temporary' storage will vanish when the computer is switched off.

	The top of the screen will display THREE things ... the area of land you are
	presently in, your current score (top left) and the number of time units left
	until the darkness falls upon the land (top right). Take great note of the
	latter, as you must complete your quest BEFORE that reaches zero.

	The programme will support THREE different fonts for the text to be displayed
	in, so simply use the commands FONT1, FONT2, FONT3 to activate the display of
	your choice.


				Spectrum 48K/128K+2•



[Re-typed by Alessandro Grussu in December 2005 from a scan of the original instructions.
Any typographical errors and/or inconsistencies have been intentionally left untouched!]