Arthur: The Quest for Excalibur
You find yourself in the Graveyard, attempting to draw the legendary
Excalibur from the rock in which it has been embedded for so long.
Just as you feel the sword start to give, Merlin appears and tells
you the true story of your birth. He tells you that before you can
ascend to the Throne of England, you must prove yourself worthy.
Then he vanishes, leaving behind only a torque: The Quest for
Excalibur has begun!
GET TORQUE THEN EXAMINE IT. You will find that a torque is a kind of
necklace, and this one has strange crystals embedded in it. EXAMINE
CRYSTAL. Merlin will appear and tell you that by looking in the
crystal you can obtai help from him (hints). However, you can also
take temptation out of the way by typing HINTS OFF, which will
remove the hints until you re-boot the game. Now WEAR TORQUE, so you
don't lose it.
We'll assume you don't need a hint yet, so let's proceed. You've
been assigned a Quest by Merlin, and every knight knows there's one
thing you must do before setting off on a quest. Go east into the
chapel, then PRAY. Now, go west and you'll hear voices approaching
the graveyard. (If you don't, go south and OPEN GATE; you'll hear
the voices then.) You can still be arrested for a curfew violation,
so HIDE BEHIND STONE. You'll be a witness to the theft of Excalibur,
but there's nothing you can do about it now, so just WAIT. You'll
soon fall asleep. When you wake up in the morning, you hear Lot
telling the people a cock-and-bull story about you being dead, his
being in possession of Excalibur, and the rightful King. He plans to
hold his coronation in three days, so you don't have much time to
foil his plans.
GET UP, then go out and south, and you'll find yourself in the
Village Square, face to face with the Village Idiot. He'll tell you
to "Beware the Invisible Knight." ASK IDIOT ABOUT INVISIBLE KNIGHT
and he'll give you a clue which you really won't need if you play
your cards right. Since it's not very chivalrous to keep referring
to him as an Idiot, ASK IDIOT ABOUT HIMSELF. He'll tell you that his
name is FLOYD and reveal that he's not quite as stupid as people
might think. THANK FLOYD for some extra chivalry points. (It pays to
be polite!)
You suddenly remember that Merlin told you to come and see him
beyond the Meadow, so you'd better go do that. Go west twice to
Outside the Town Gate, then southwest. Uh-oh! Guess Floyd wasn't
kidding about the Invisible Knight! And guess what? He'll steal
everything you're carrying every time you go through the Meadow. But
we'll deal with him later. Right now, just continue northwest twice
where you'll meet up with Merlin.
Merlin will go into a lengthy explanation of how he's going to give
you help (but not too much!). Read what he says carefully. You
should probably jot down the five animals you can become. When it's
time to use the spell, it should be obvious which one will be better
for that particular task. Also make note of the restrictions. His
warning about people becoming upset doesn't apply to Floyd; Floyd is
not impressed by magic.
Go north into Merlin's cave. GET BAG, then LOOK INTO CRYSTAL BALL.
This is the source of power for the crystal you're wearing. Go
south, then southeast twice. Oh, well. It was a nice bag while you
had it! Don't worry, we'll get it back pretty soon. Go northeast and
east twice to the Village Green. Somewhere along here your stomach
should begin growling, and we must do something about it. Go south
into the Tavern, then south into the kitchen. You'll see some cheese
and a bird. The bartender won't let you get the cheese; for now just
EXAMINE BIRD. You'll find that he's jumping up and down in the cage
and apparently trying to communicate. If only you spoke BIRD! Well,
just WAIT until the cook is called into the tavern. You don't have a
second to lose! CYR OWL, and you'll be able to understand what the
bird says. Now, CYR HUMAN, OPEN CAGE, GET KEY, UNLOCK CUPBOARD, THEN
OPEN IT.
TAKE BOTTLE AND CHEESE. The cook may come back just as you're
getting the cheese and bottle, but just go north, and you'll escape
with your booty.
Once back in the tavern, EAT CHEESE, then LISTEN for some
interesting clues about getting in the castle. Keep listening until
they lower their voices. Then, go north, east, and south to the
Smithy. EXAMINE HOLE and you'll find that it looks like a badger
hole. Ring any bells? CYR BADGER and go DOWN to his den. See those
old stones in the castle wall? Piece of cake! PUSH STONE, then go
east into the cell. CYR HUMAN (the prisoner is chained and he can't
attack you). ASK PRISONER ABOUT GUARDS, and he'll tell you they come
when he calls them. GET STONE, then HIDE BEHIND DOOR, and CALL
GUARD.
You may have to WAIT once for the guard to enter the cell. If you
do, read the description of what's happening carefully. When you see
that the guard has his back to you and is looking at the prisoner,
you'll be asked if you want to continue waiting. Say NO, then HIT
GUARD WITH STONE. GET HELMET AND KEY, UNLOCK PRISONER WITH KEY, and
GIVE HELMET TO PRISONER. Now, go north, and east twice; MOVE
TAPESTRY, and go east again. Go north twice and you'll be behind the
throne. WAIT FOR BELLS. The King will divulge the new Password.
He'll give a Verse and Line number referring to the poem that came
with the documentation. Stop waiting and go south four times. This
is a good place to save your game. You're about to do something
dangerous; besides, you want to LOCK IN the password because it's
variable with every game.
This is a fine kettle of fish! You can't go back, and there's a fire
in front of you. How can you get through the fire? Didn't you ever
read "Fahrenheit 451"? Simple! CYR SALAMANDER, and go west through
the fire. (You'll drop the key and stone, but you don't need them
any more.) Once in the Kitchen, you'll see a pumice stone and a
barrel. CYR HUMAN. LOOK IN BARREL, and you'll discover there's water
in it! It's too heavy to lift, but if you PUSH BARREL, the fire will
be quenched. The prisoner will join you. You never know when a
polishing stone will come in handy, so GET STONE, then OPEN DOOR,
and go northwest.
Go south into the Armoury. Ah, just what a Knight needs! WEAR ARMOUR
(you can spell it the American way if you wish), and TAKE SHIELD. A
Knight can't be seen with a tarnished shield! POLISH SHIELD WITH
STONE, then DROP STONE. Go north and west. The guard will ask you
for the password, so type SAY "xxxxxx xxxxx xxxx xxx" and you'll
find yourself outside the castle where the grateful prisoner will
tell you where you can find a hidden sword. At this point, he'll
leave.
ARTHUR: THE QUEST FOR EXCALIBUR Part 2
Before going after your sword, you'd better retrieve what you
dropped when you became a badger. Go south and GET BOTTLE. Then go
east twice to the Village Green. CYR BADGER (handy little creature
isn't it?) and DIG IN ROOTS. Aha, there's the sword! CYR HUMAN and
GET ALL. Go west, north, northwest, and north to the Edge of Woods.
You'll see a Knight's pavilion there. KNOCK ON DOOR. (For an amusing
sidelight, instead of knocking on the door, BLOW THE HORN to see
what happens. Actually, a Pavilion is a tent, so I don't know how
you could knock on the door, but who am I to argue?)
A Knight will appear and invite you to a joust. He'll tell you to
mount up, so MOUNT HORSE, and he'll offer you your choice of lances.
It doesn't matter which color you choose. Just type COLOR (whichever
you want), and he'll give you that lance. You'll receive a series of
questions about what you want to do. Remember that a joust is a
chivalrous event. Nobody is supposed to get hurt. A good Knight will
never aim at an unprotected part of his opponent. Since neither of
you is wearing any leg protection or a helmet, always chose the
option to PROTECT YOUR BODY and AIM AT HIS BODY. After about three
sorties, he will fall from his horse (and so will you, but he goes
down first). He will declare you the winner, present you with an
ivory key, and leave.
Now, go north three times. Here's a beautiful Ivory Tower. Any idea
how you might get in? Right! OPEN DOOR WITH KEY, and you find
yourself in a circular room. Go down, and you notice that it gets
very dark down below. Who can see well in the dark? Ah, you're
getting very wise indeed, Arthur! CYR OWL. Go down into a dark room
with writing on the wall. READ WALL and write down what you see
there. (I'm going to make you do a little work here, even though
it's a walkthru!) Go up, CYR HUMAN, and GET ALL BUT KEY. Go up three
times, and you'll see an intriguing crack that's too small for you.
CYR SALAMANDER, go west, and write down what you see on the wall. Go
east back to the stairway, and CYR HUMAN. Leave your stuff; for now,
just OPEN DOOR.
You'll see an old man who says he'll reward you if you guess his
name. You don't have to guess! The words in the Abandoned Room are a
cryptogram of his name. The two lines in the cellar are the key -- a
substitution code. Every letter in "RIOTHAMUS" appears in the words
in the Abandoned Room. The letters above "RIOTHAMUS" are the
substitutions. In other words "S" appears above the "R" in
"RIOTHAMUS" so every time you see an "R" in the cryptogram
substitute an "S" for it, and so on. Once you've figured it out,
type "SAY xxxxxxxxxxx".
Voila! He'll give you a ring, instructions on what it does, and how
to use it! THANK OLD MAN, OPEN DOOR, GET ALL from the Landing, go
down twice, OPEN DOOR, and you find yourself back in the Clearing.
Going south twice will put you at the Enchanted Forest. Go northwest
twice, then north. When you try to pass the horse chestnut trees,
they'll start pelting you with conkers! You better act
quickly or you'll be pelted to death. CYR TURTLE, then PULL IN HEAD
AND FEET. Now, WAIT and continuing waiting until you are told "the
hail of conkers ceases." CYR HUMAN, and GET ALL. Going north will
take you to the Glade where you'll see some tiny footprints.
Aha! The Little People! This might be your chance to get some gold!
Since they obviously pass this way, maybe you should hide and wait.
HIDE BEHIND ROCK. You'll hears some sounds, so LISTEN, and you'll
hear someone complaining about the flatness of the food. Maybe that
bottle you picked up will come in handy after all! Go OUT, DROP
BOTTLE, then HIDE BEHIND ROCK again. WAIT. The leprechaun will soon
appear. Keep waiting until he is engrossed in the bottle, then stop
waiting, and GRAB LEPRECHAUN.
Oh, well, you didn't get your gold, but you did gain some points,
and who knows when you might want a good, stiff drink? Go south,
southeast, then a quick trek north. Take a look across the chasm.
Wild Boars are very dangerous. Your first problem is getting over
the Chasm. Well, that's easy, but you'd be over there without any
weapons! Better think about this for a while. Meanwhile, let's deal
with that pesky Invisible Knight. The way back is south, southeast,
south twice, southeast, south, _and_ southeast.
Oops! You've lost everything again. Well, not to worry: We'll soon
fix that! RUB RING. Voila! The Invisible Knight is no longer
invisible to you! Go east into the Pavilion and confront the Knight.
He'll hand over all your stuff voluntarily, then he'll ask you if
you want a brass raven's egg. Since you like oddities, answer YES,
and he'll pose a riddle. The answer is fairly obvious if you think
about it long enough. The first part of the sequence he's giving you
is firST, secoND, thiRD, fourTH. The answer is obviously SAY "TH".
He will give you the egg. PUT ALL IN BAG. (Some things won't fit,
but it's easier to do it this way. By the way, the bag can't be
filled.)
Now go west, then southeast to the Field of Honor. Go east, and the
Red Knight will give you a list of things you must bring him before
he'll let yo pass. Go back west and south into the Shallows. Since
you're not a very good swimmer (especially in chain mail!), you'd
better use some magic.
CYR EEL, and go south. Going east will take you to a window in an
underground chamber. LOOK THROUGH WINDOW, and you'll see a beautiful
woman. This is Nimue, the Lady of the Lake. Nothing you can do about
her now, so go west, then southwest. You'll see a Kraken and a
sunken rowboat. EXAMINE KRAKEN, and you'll see an interesting
bracelet on its tentacle. EXAMINE ROWBOAT, and you'll have proof
that Lot lied about Excalibur!
That bracelet looks valuable: Let's get it! (You might want to save
here, first.) ZAP KRAKEN. He'll be unimaginably mad! Quickly go
northeast, then north into the Shallows. CYR HUMAN, then GET SWORD,
and CUT TENTACLE WITH SWORD. You're safe, but unfortunately, the
bracelet has gone into deep water. Not to worry. CYR TURTLE, then go
south where you'll see the bracelet. SWIM THROUGH BRACELET, and go
north. If you try to become human again, you'll choke, so PULL IN
HEAD, and CYR HUMAN. GET BRACELET, then WEAR BRACELET.
ARTHUR: THE QUEST FOR EXCALIBUR Part 3
It's time to resume our journey, so CYR EEL again, go south,
southeast, and northeast, and you'll see a slow minnow. Don't bother
to try to catch it now, but remember it for later. Continue north
three times. Along the way, pay attention to which way the river
flows -- it's important. When you reach the Ford, CYR HUMAN. Go
east, northeast, and up to the Dragon's Cave. If you try to go north
into the cave, the Dragon will say something that is a hint as to
how to deal with him. If it doesn't ring a bell, try to go north
again for an even broader hint. (The first was a quote from W. C.
Fields, a drunk.) If only you could have brought the jug with you!
Oh, well, for now, go down and southwest. GET APPLE from the tree,
and EXAMINE APPLE. Looks pretty toxic. Might come in handy. Go west
to the Ford.
If you go west from here you'll pass a Black Knight, and he won't
let you go back east without a fight, for which you're not equipped.
You can't go any further west from the Knight because of a bog in
which you'll get lost and drown. The only way back is BACK. But how
can you carry an apple when you're an eel?
Remember, I told you to pay attention to the flow of the river? It
flows from north to south! CYR EEL, you'll drop the apple, and it
will float away toward
the south. Go south three times (ignoring the minnow again),
southwest, northwest, and north. Lo and behold! There's an apple
floating here! CYR HUMAN and GET ALL. For some reason the bag
doesn't like the apple, so you'll have to carry it.
Go north, northwest, northeast, north, northwest, north twice,
northwest, and north to the South Edge of Chasm. Time to deal with
that boar (remember, the Red Knight wants a tusk). THROW APPLE AND
SWORD ACROSS CHASM. The boar will eat the apple and fall over dead.
CYR OWL and go north across the chasm. Once on the other side, CYR
HUMAN, GET SWORD, and CUT TUSK WITH SWORD. Now, THROW TUSK AND SWORD
ACROSS CHASM, CYR OWL, south, CYR HUMAN, GET ALL, and PUT TUSK IN
BAG.
We're off on another adventure. Go south, southeast, and northeast
twice to a tall tree. You can't climb the tree, but it looks
interesting, so CYR OWL, then go up. You'll see a raven's nest with
an egg in it. One of your Quests! The raven is circling around, and
you can't get the egg with it here, so LAND IN GROVE. CYR HUMAN, GET
BRASS EGG, then DROP BRASS EGG, CYR OWL, and go up again. The raven
will swoop down to investigate the brass egg. LAND IN NEST, CYR
HUMAN, and PUSH EGG FROM NEST. CYR OWL, and the raven will chase you
from the nest. LAND IN GROVE, CYR HUMAN, and GET ALL THEN PUT EGG IN
BAG. (We could have done this directly without first investigating,
but how would you have known the nest was there? Besides, by going
directly from point to point, we're going to have waste a lot of
time somewhere along the line.)
Go southwest twice, south twice, southeast, and northeast where
you'll find a cabin. OPEN DOOR, and you find an injured peasant
whose fire is about to go out. OPEN DOOR again, and you'll be
outside. A crutch and a slean are here. If you EXAMINE SLEAN, you'll
discover it's a device for cutting peat (a great fuel for fire). Go
northeast, and you'll see a sign warning you not to proceed, but the
peat here is dry and firm. So, CUT PEAT WITH SLEAN, then DROP SLEAN
because you've broken it. Go southwest, GET CRUTCH, then OPEN DOOR.
PUT PEAT ON FIRE. The peasant will wake up and thank you for your
kindness. GIVE CRUTCH TO PEASANT. He'll thank you again, then you
should ASK PEASANT ABOUT BOG. He'll give you directions. You should
immediately save the game because this is a variable. THANK PEASANT,
then OPEN DOOR to leave the cabin. Now that you have directions, go
back northeast to the Edge of Bog, and follow the directions you
were given. (If you're using the MAP feature, the entire map through
the bog will appear after you make the first correct move.)
Well, _this_ guy looks familiar. I think you're ready to fight him
now, so try going east again, and he'll tell you you have to fight
him. FIGHT KNIGHT, and watch the descriptions. Use "G" (for again)
to keep fighting him until you see he's lost his sword. CUT
MEDALLION WITH SWORD, and the Knight will vanish, leaving his armour
behind. It's useless, so ignore it.
Now we can deal with the dragon, but for some reason Merlin's bag is
not welcome East of the Ford; we'll have to carry what we need. GET
JUG then DROP BAG. Now go east twice, northeast, up, and GIVE JUG TO
DRAGON. WAIT until the Dragon passes out, then stop waiting. You
probably should save the game here. Go north into the cave, then
northeast. When the Basilisk starts looking for you, POINT SHIELD AT
BASILISK, and he will turn to stone.
Go northeast and you'll find yourself in a very hot room. And it's
getting hotter by the minute! A demon will tell you you have to give
the password to pass; he will even tell you the password! If you try
to SAY "NUDD," you'll find you can't speak. You're about to boil, so
go back southwest to get out of the heat. Go southeast, then
northeast, and you'll be in a room where you can see your breath
freeze!
Quickly SAY "NUDD," and then, as your words freeze, GET BLOCK, and
go southwest before you freeze. Ignore the ghosts. Quickly go
northwest and northeast where the block will melt, and the password
will be said. The demon will usher you north into the Hall where a
girl is manacled. She's sitting on the Golden Fleece that you need
for the Red Knight, and she makes you a very attractive offer if
you'll free her.
KISS GIRL, and as you approach you see she has some very strange
features! Suddenly you realize who she is. Type HELLO NUDD. The
monster will reveal itself to you and try to strike a bargain. If
you unlock the manacles, you'll get the Golden Fleece you need. But
as the future King, you cannot let this evil creature loose in the
world! If you don't agree to do it, you won't get the Fleece! Wise
Knight that you are, you conceive a plan. AGREE to release her. She
will drop the Fleece. GET FLEECE. Then GET KEY from around her neck.
Now, follow your part of the bargain: UNLOCK LEFT MANACLE, LOCK LEFT
MANACLE, UNLOCK RIGHT MANACLE, and at this point, Nudd will catch on
to what you're doing. You have fulfilled your part of the bargain,
but the demon won't be free! Nudd will put a curse on you, and expel
you from the Hall.
You'll find yourself at the Dragon's lair again. CUT HAIR WITH
SWORD, and you have the final object you need to deal with the Red
Knight! Go down, southwest, west twice, and GET BAG. Then PUT FLEECE
AND HAIR IN BAG. Go back through the bog.
From the Edge of the Bog go southwest twice, south, southwest,
southeast, and east to the Red Knight. Now GIVE TUSK, HAIR, EGG, AND
FLEECE TO KNIGHT. He will let you pass. Go south twice to the Silver
Door. Ring any bells? UNLOCK DOOR WITH SILVER KEY, and go down. You
are now in the chamber where Nimue is being held captive. If you've
read Merlin's warning in the Instruction Book, you'll know how to
revive her. But right now you just need to kill some time.
Type WAIT UNTIL CHRISTMAS EVE, and keep waiting until you are told
you're getting sleepy. Now, stop waiting and SLEEP. When you wake
up, you will be hungry and will have dropped everything, but don't
worry about it. Just go up, north twice, west, and south twice to
the shallows. CYR EEL, then go south, southeast, and northeast to
the minnow. EAT MINNOW. Go southwest, northwest, north, and CYR
HUMAN.
One more item to get. Go north, northwest, northeast, east three
times, and south. CYR BADGER. I'm going to give you directions
through the maze, but just so you'll know how, the way to map the
maze is to DIG IN DIRT each time you enter a new room. Dig ONCE in
the first room, TWICE in the next room, etc. That way every room
will have a unique number of scratches, and you can find your way
through the maze.
From the Smithy go down, south, up, down, up, and you'll find
yourself on Thorny Island. A thorny sprig has fallen from the
bushes. GET SPRIG, then go down, north twice, up, and CYR HUMAN. GET
SPRIG again, and go north, west three times, southwest, southeast,
east, south twice, and down.
Nothing to do but kill time now. If you read Merlin's warning in the
documentation, you know how to wake Nimue. Type WAIT UNTIL
CHRISTMAS. When you become sleepy, stop waiting, and SLEEP. When you
awake, GET ALL. When conditions are right, take the appropriate
action to wake Nimue. Pay attention to what she says. After she
vanishes, GET GAUNTLET, and go back to the castle. Now, go up, north
twice, west, northwest, northeast, and east twice to Floyd. When you
woke up you were hungry. You can finish the game before starving to
death, but for the maximum points you should eat. GIVE RED GLASS TO
FLOYD. He will give you the dead mouse. It's not appetizing, but to
some creatures it might be a delicacy! CYR BADGER, EAT MOUSE, and
CYR HUMAN. GET ALL, and proceed east three times to the Great Hall.
In the best tradition of Knighthood, SLAP LOT WITH GAUNTLET. You
will be immediately escorted to the Field of Honor where you want to
FIGHT LOT. Since Lot is quite a bit more experienced than you, he'll
probably beat you, so you're going to distract him. DROP BRACELET,
then FIGHT LOT again. Being a true chivalrous Knight, you should
SPARE LOT. He will swear eternal allegiance to you, but I wouldn't
trust him for a second!
CALL NIMUE as she instructed you to do, and whes, 101 Experience
points, and 100 Quest points. Congratulations!
When prompted for a last wish, you can learn a lot by asking for
HINTS, and reading the Notices and Bibliography.
