Introduction

Life in the Shyre had its advantages, it was relatively peaceful and for most of the time quite uneventful, but occasionally something would take place that could make you wish that you were a million miles from there!

Up until now it had been just like any other day, but as soon as he saw Bulbo coming up his garden path, clutching a small brown parcel, Algernon knew that was all about to change, and he began to wish that he had gone to the local "Trolls Versus Orcs" match after all.

Guide Algernon past the dreaded denizens of the "caverns" utilising, where necessary, all the cunning and skill of a stalwart adventurer. Do battle with immense "creatures" and solve many intricate problems and puzzles in your search for great wealth and untold riches. Help Algernon overcome "hungry" Dragons and negotiate dark, twisty passageways ... That is, if you can ever figure out how to get into the damn castle in the first place!

Will you be able to help Algernon solve the riddle of the name of the person responsible for building the castle in the first place, or even satisfy the needs of the evil creature lurking in the murky depths of the moat? Can you assist him in his search for the means to unlock the wooden chest or simply to probe the inner depths of the small pouch? Don't forget that in the Shyre things are not always what they first appear and that even one-legged Elves have a purpose in life.

Notes

In addition to the standard commands, the game will also recognise the following others:

STATUS will describe either Algy's current levels of abilities or that of any other creature he has just encountered. It is sometimes a wise move to compare "stats" *before* deciding upon your next course of action.

CASSETTE will save a current game to tape, whilst MEMORY will save it to RAM for instant recall.

To activate the save/load routine either input SAVE or LOAD and then choose the medium you wish to use. Always save to tape for a more permanent record of your progress.

A few "possibly useful" phrases are ... REACH INTO THE BUCKET, CLIMB INTO THE WELL and LOOK INTO THE CHEST. Some definitely useful abbreviations are ... Z - WAIT, L - LOOK, X - EXAMINE, as well as the usual I - INVENTORY and R - REDESCRIBE.

By the way, just in case you would never have thought of it, WORN can be a very good and informative command.

P.S. Be kind to your boots and you never know your luck!!