Dun Darach

Being a tale from the early years of Chuchulainn the Herd, in which Cuchulainn strives to flee Loeg the Charioteer from the timeless city of Dun Darach, wherein he is imprisoned by the Sorceress, Skar...

Scenario

It happened that, following a fateful, bloody and largely pointless battle against the Conachta, Cuchulainn the Great was returning home to Muirmethne in company of his faithful charioteer, Loeg.

Towards the end of the second day, Cuchulainn and Loeg came across a wayside inn. While they waited for food, they were approached by Skar, who told them that her carriage had developed a shattered axle. Loeg leapt to assist her and left the inn with Skar.

After a while, Cuchulainn went outside to see what progress Loeg might have made, but was astonished to find no sign of Skar or Loeg; there was only a cloud of dust disappearing along the Eastern road.

Skar was, it seemed, a Sorceress and ally of the Connachtmen and they had seized Loeg as retribution and taken him to the Secret city of Dun Darach.

Culchulainn took off to find the mist-shrouded city - Dun Darach.

Gameplay

The main objective is to locate and release Loeg. You will encounter scores of secondary quests which will need to be completed before a final solution is reached. There is no "set route" to solve the quest.

The City

The layout of Dun Darach is complex and the streets and buildings are continuously mapped by the program. You will notice the following sub-divisions:

1. The city itself is divided into a series of Quarters.
2. To aid the explorer, each Quarter consists of several named districts.
3. Every street bears a street name; every door that opens onto the street carries a house number.
4. Behind every door there is a room or set of rooms, which may be occupied or empty.

The Population

While some of the characters in Dun Darach stick singlemindedly to their assigned tasks - for instance, shopkeepers - the streets are full of independent, fully-animated characters, each with their own personality. Most of them have something which you will need, like specific objects or information or the knowledge of a secret way and all of them are open to bribery, either directly with money - normally a large amount! - or by some object which they themselves desire or need. Note that you cannot be killed in Dun Darach but you will be fair game for pickpockets, etc.

The Currency

The units of currency in common use in Dun Darach are Iridi; these are small gold sequins. Iridi can be gained in a variety of ways:

1. by working!
2. 2. by gambling
3. 3. by selling at a profit
4. 4. by stealing
5. 5. by banking

Iridi can also be disposed of by:

1. buying an object from a shop (of course, you could try not paying)
2. by bribery
3. by being robbed

Game Controls

Walk Left/Right - Alternate keys on the bottom row
Enter Door - ENTER
Camera Left/Right - Alternate keys on the second row
Pick Up/Drop - Alternate keys on the third row
Select Object - 2,3,7,8,9
Offer Object - Four corners
Autorun On/Off - The 4 key, on the separate Numeric/Function block
Freeze/Unfreeze - The 5 key, on the separate Numeric/Function block
Return To Options - The 6 key, on the separate Numeric/Function block

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