KING ARTHUR'S QUEST (Hill MacGibbon) A thick blanket of mist is covering the land. The ground is frozen, the animals are dying, and the crops are unable to grow. Your people look to you, King Arthur of Camelot, to rid the land of the evil spell which Morgana has cast in vengeance. The program will take you through the mystical three dimensional world of Camelot. On your journey you will meet and see many strange charac- ters, some beautiful, some grotesque; some friendly and some deadly! While your eyes explore the landscape for clues your mind will be struggling to unravel the evil spell. Before you begin your quest make sure that you have with you every- thing you will need: Software cassette for 48K Spectrum; Colour wallposter with the "Story so far" and the Merlin's spell- breaker; [Following these instructions. JimG] The running instructions included in this book; Keyboard overlay [Missing from my copy. JimG] Good luck! You are the last chance for the people of Camelot ... Getting started Set up your cassette recorder, computer, and TV set as instructed in your manual. 1. Place the keyboard overlay above the top row of keys on your computer keyboard. 2. Press J. Hold down SYMBOL SHIFT and at the same time press P twice. LOAD "" should now appear on the screen. Press ENTER and then press PLAY on your cassette recorder. After a few seconds the Hill MacGibbon logo will appear. 3. About one minute later the title screen will appear. 4. The main program will continue to load while the title screen is displayed. Loading will take about four minutes after the title screen has appeared. 5. Stop the cassette when the screen border becomes white. It is important that you do not stop the cassette before the program has fully loaded. 6. Press SPACE to begin your adventure; or press J to load a previously saved adventure (this is explained later); or press M to save the program to Microdrive (see page 10). Continuing an adventure a To continue an adventure which you have previously saved (this is explained later) press J. b Replace the program cassette with the cassette that contains your saved adventure (see page 8) and rewind. c Press PLAY on your recorder. d After about one minute the adventure will re-start at the point you had reached when you saved the adventure. Exploring the landscape Morgana's land contains eight areas: Merlin's Tower, the Wilderness, the Enchanted Forest, the Keep, Chapel, Crypt, Cavern, and Spell Room of Morgana's Castle. Each area is based on a grid of 10 squares by 10 squares like the one shown below: [blank 10x10 grid] If you wish to succeed in your quest you will need to make your own map of Morgana's land using 10x10 squares like the one above. Remember to mark everything you find onto your map, even if it does not seem important (at first sight, that is). When the program has loaded you will see the screen divided into four areas: Excalibur; The scene; Your objects; Messages. [sample screenshot] 1 On the far left is Excalibur. As the game progresses, you will see the sword change colour as your own life-force drains away because of the icy spell Morgana has cast over the land. When the colour has gone your quest will be at an end; you must act quickly! 2 The central portion of the screen is your view of Morgana's world. Initially you are inside Merlin's Tower with Grymalkin the cat. As you move you will see this view change. On the floor of the Tower you can see the grid squares. You can see a maximum of two squares ahead. As the adventurer, you are always standing in the central square at the bottom of the screen. This is marked with a cross in the screen photograph above. The diagram opposite illustrates which grid squares you can see from any square. In your square is the owl. To your right and also behind the owl are shelves. In the background you can see the Tower's walls. You will find it useful to mark the objects you find on the grid as shown in the diagram. The squares in view, looking forward from the square with the cross, are shaded grey. You can see the squares to your immediate left and right, and two squares forwards. If you were now to turn left you would see all the squares marked with cross-hatching. Each time you move, you move into the square directly ahead. You can always see trees, pillars, shelves, walls, etc. (when you are close enough) but characters such as the Griffin or the Jester only appear when you are in their square. When you turn left or right, you do not move. [diagram] 3 At the right you can see which objects you have brought along with you. Initially this space is empty since you have nothing to bring along. As you find people or things (like the compass) you can bring them with you; these will appear in this area to remind you what you have with you. As there are eight spaces you can only bring along eight things at a time. 4 At the bottom is what you are told. Initially this shows a message from Grymalkin, who will accompany you throughout your adventure. Listen carefully to what people tell you - there may be more in what they say than you might think. Running the program Moving about a Press 2 to go forward one square. b If you want to change direction, or just look around, press 1 to turn to your left, or 3 to turn to your right. (You do not move until you press 2.) c Sometimes you may need to turn around and retrace your steps. In this case simply press 1 (or 3) twice and then press 2. Bringing things with you Morgana's land is full of traps and obstacles. To get by you will need to find some important things or people and bring them along with you. a When you find something you wish to bring along with you (eg. a bow) press 5. b "BRING ALONG bow" appears at the bottom of the screen. Press SPACE to see what else is in the square that you could bring along (eg. if there is also a pearl in the square when you pressed space, "BRING ALONG pearl" would appear at the bottom of the screen). c Press ENTER when the object you wish to bring along is displayed. d A picture of the bow appears at the right of the screen to show that you now have it with you. Leaving things behind Some characters will help you if you give something to them. For instance the Monk asks you for some wine. To do this, you simply leave the goblet of wine behind in the character's square. You can only bring eight things along with you at a time. There- fore if you are already carrying eight things and you want to bring along something else, you must leave behind one of the things you are carrying. a Press 4 to leave something (eg. the goblet) behind. b "LEAVE BEHIND sword" (if the sword is one thing you bring with you) appears at the bottom of the screen. Press SPACE and the message "LEAVE BEHIND compass" appears (if the compass is the second thing you bring with you). Keep pressing SPACE until the message shows what you want to leave behind; eg. "LEAVE BEHIND goblet". c Now press ENTER. The goblet disappears from the screen to show that you no longer have it with you. d If you return to this square the thing you left behind will still be there unless it has been taken by a character in that square. Eating and drinking You can eat or drink some of the things you may find. Remember that you can only eat or drink what you bring with you; if you find some- thing you wish to eat or drink immediately (eg. bread) you will have to bring it along before you can eat it. a Press 6 to eat or drink something you have with you. b The message "EAT/DRINK piece of bread" appears. Press SPACE to see what else you can eat or drink. c Press ENTER when the message shows what you wish to eat or drink. Now see what happens! How to use things Sometimes you will need to use something, eg. you may need to use a key to open a door. You can only use what you bring with you. a Press 7 to use something you are carrying (eg. a key). b "USE key" appears. Press SPACE to see what else you can use. c Press ENTER when the message shows what you wish to use. Now see what happens! Saying a spell Morgana's land is a magical land. There are special spells which help you to do many things. To find out what spells you can use, you need to find hidden clues, eg. An[UpArrow], Cd[DownArrow], and then use the spell-breaker on the poster to find out what the spell- word is. a Press 8 to say a spell. b Now type in the letters of the spell using the letters A to Z. If you make a mistake, press 0 to cancel the last letter you typed. c When you have typed in the spell, press ENTER. Now see what happens! What is in your square? Grymalkin, your constant companion, always tells you what (if any- thing) is in your square. Press 9 to repeat what Grymalkin has said. Note you cannot repeat what other characters say to you. If you wish to have more time to read other characters' speeches, press and hold down SPACE to hold their message on the screen. Release SPACE to continue. Cancelling a command a If you change your mind about doing something (eg. you do not wish to use your sword), or if you press the wrong key by mistake, then press 0 to cancel the command. b If you are saying a spell, each time you press 0 one of the letters of the spell you have typed in is deleted. When all the letters have been deleted the command "SAY SPELL" is cancelled. c Otherwise, when 0 is pressed, the whole command, eg. "BRING ALONG boat", "EAT/DRINK herb" is cancelled. Moving from one part to another Because of the large number of different scenes that this adventure contains, the program is actually stored in two parts. Part one contains all the scenes from Merlin's Tower to Morgana's Keep; part two contains all the scenes following the Chapel. When you move from one part to the other (eg. if you go back into Morgana's Keep from the Chapel) you will need to load information from the cassette. Going from part one to part two a Make sure that side B of the cassette is facing upwards. b Rewind the cassette. c Press PLAY on the recorder and then ENTER on the computer. d After about one minute, part two will have loaded. e Press STOP on your recorder. f You may now continue your adventure. Going from part two to part one a Make sure that side B of the cassette is facing upwards. b Rewind the cassette. Fast forward for about fifteen seconds. c Press PLAY on the recorder and then ENTER on the computer. d After a few minutes, part one will have loaded. e You may now continue your adventure. How to use Merlin's spell-breaker Morgana uses a special code for her spells. Merlin has broken Morgana's code and left you a special spell-breaker with which you can decode the Morgana's most devious spells. a To decode a spell, first find the two letters of the code in the table on the left-hand page of the book at the foot of the poster. For example Bq is in row 4, column 4. b Now find the same square (ie. row 4, column 4) in the table on the right-hand page. c Starting with the letter in the square, read off the other letters of the spell in the direction in which the arrow points. Saving a game The adventure continues until either you get killed, or you break the wintry curse. In all scenes, except Morgana's Secret Room, you can stop playing the game and continue later. Follow these simple instructions to record your position in the adventure. a Replace the program cassette with a blank cassette and rewind. b Make sure that the EAR lead is disconnected. Press RECORD on the cassette player. c Press S and then ENTER to save your adventure. d If you make a mistake, press BREAK before you press ENTER. Remember to stop the tape recorder. e After a few minutes your adventure will be saved on the cassette. You will need this cassette when you want to continue an adventure from this point. f After your adventure has been saved, you may continue with your quest. Starting again a At any time (eg. after you have been killed), you can press J to start again. b If you are starting the adventure from the beginning, insert the program cassette with side A facing upwards. Rewind and fast forward for about twenty seconds. (If you stopped the cassette after the program had loaded, the cassette should already be wound to the correct position.) c If you wish to restart a previously saved adventure, insert the appropriate cassette and rewind. d Press ENTER and then press PLAY on your recorder. e If you make a mistake, press BREAK before you press ENTER (for the Spectrum). To finish Simply disconnect your computer from the mains power supply (Micro- drive users should remove cartridge first). Using a Microdrive You are allowed to make only one copy onto a Microdrive cartridge. You must not make more than one copy onto a Microdrive cartridge (or any other copy of the program) either for your own use or for hiring, lending or selling to other people. This would be an infringement of copyright for which you could be prosecuted. Please note: Although you can save the program onto a Microdrive cartridge you cannot save your own adventures onto a Microdrive cartridge - you must use cassette, as described on page 8. How to make a copy onto a Microdrive cartridge: a Format a blank Microdrive cartridge by typing FORMAT "m";1;"KAQ" and then ENTER. b Make sure the formatted cartridge has been inserted into your Microdrive. c Load the program from the cassette in the usual way. d When the program has loaded, press M to save it onto the Microdrive cartridge. After about 30 seconds the program will have been saved. A new adventure begins automatically. e If you press any key other than M, a new adventure will begin and the program will not be saved. To save it, you must start again from c. Loading your Microdrive copy of the program a Make sure the Microdrive is connected and insert the cartridge which contains the program. b Press R and then ENTER. c The screen blanks and after 10-15 seconds the program will have loaded. A new adventure begins automatically. d To continue a previously saved adventure now press J and follow the instructions on page 9. Summary of keys How to move 1 Turns left 2 Goes forward 3 Turns right How to do things 4 Leaves something behind then: For keys 4 to 7: 5 Brings something along SPACE Highlights the object you want 6 Eats/drinks something ENTER Chooses that object 7 Uses something 8 Says a spell Other keys 9 Tells you what is in your square 0 Cancels a command S Saves your adventure J Restarts your adventure Created by Five Ways Software Ltd Published by Hill MacGibbon Ltd Cover and poster illustration by Linda and Roger Garland THE STORY SO FAR It is the Dark Ages, in the land of King Arthur. The evil witch Morgana Le Fey has cast a spell on the land since Arthur has refused to accept her son Modred as one of the Knights of the Round Table. Morgana has sent an ice-dragon to breathe a deep, thick blanket of mist over all the land. The skies are dark, and the wintry sun cannot break through to warm the fields. The ploughman cannot break the earth with his plough so the crops do not grow. The sheep and cows will not go out into the cold fields, so they sicken and die. The common people call on their king, Arthur, to save them. Lancelot, Arthur's best knight, has strangely vanished. Arthur is troubled and feels the cold slowly but surely sapping his strength. He goes to see his old friend Merlin the Magician to ask for his help. But when he reaches Merlin's cottage, he finds it empty - except, that is, for a strange cat ... MERLIN'S SPELL-BREAKER Aa An Ba Bn Ca Cn Da Dn Ea En Fa M L E F A Y L I S S T Ab Ao Bb Bo Cb Co Db Do Eb Eo Fb N O A H B O R S G A P Ac Ap Bc Bp Cc Cp Dc Dp Ec Ep Fc O V R N O R U O V N E Ad Aq Bd Bq Cd Cq Dd Dq Ed Eq Fd L T F G C K H L I G L Ae Ar Be Br Ce Cr De Dr Ee Er Fe A R T A A E T D N R L Af As Bf Bs Cf Cs Df Ds Ef Es Ff V I W R S W R E E A I Ag At Bg Bt Cg Ct Dg Dt Eg Et Fg A S T E M Y A N V I N Ah Au Bh Bu Ch Cu Dh Du Eh Eu Fh T T A T O E N I E L O Ai Av Bi Bv Ci Cv Di Dv Ei Ev Fi B R O H D U C Y N Y R Aj Aw Bj Bw Cj Cw Dj Dw Ej Ew Fj K A Y I R R B A W A X Ak Ax Bk Bx Ck Cx Dk Dx Ek Ex Fk R M L N E L E A M O N Al Ay Bl By Cl Cy Dl Dy El Ey Fl E A O P D E I N D E O Am Az Bm Bz Cm Cz Dm Dz Em Ez Fm B G L Y O N E L L N L Fx Fw Fv Fu Ft Fs Fr Fq Fp Fo Fn A P E N D R R E H T U