Introduction

The dark, twisted power of the young Malbordus is reaching its zenith. All he needs now is to retrieve the five dragon artefacts which have been hidden for centuries in the lost city of Vatos, somwhere in the Desert of Skulls. Each day that passes brings him closer to them and only you can stop him!

Your mission is to reach the lost city before Malbordus and destroy the reasures he seeks. But beware! Each step you take leads you closer to your doom...

Background

Perhaps it was because he was born during a full moon, with wolves howling around his mother's forest hut, that Malbordus's nature was evil. Perhaps it was something more sinister than that. But it is certain that, after his mother abandoned him, Malbordus grew up in Darkwood Forest in the care of Darkside Elves.

He was taught the Elves' wicked ways, and also discovered powers of his own. He could make plants wither and die simply by snapping his fingers; he could make animals obey him with his piercing gaze. The Elves urged him on and helped him develop his powers, so that they could teach him the arcane and evil magic of the ancient Elf Lords - magic so vile and powerful that it kills unworthy users.

In pursuit of such evil powers, Malbordus grew into manhood. In order to prove to the Elves that he was ready to receive the Elf Lords' knowledge, he first had to pass a test. He was ordered to journey south to the Desert of Skulls to find the city of Vatos. In the city were hidden five Dragon artefacts which he would have to find and collect. A simple incantation would bring the Dragons to life to serve the force of evil. Malbordus would then instruct them to fly him back to Darkwood Forest, where a massive army would be assembling. He would receive the ancient powers and lead the hordes of chaos across Allansia in an unstoppable wave of death and destruction.

It was only by a stroke of luck that these terrible plans were discovered. On the edge of Darkwood Forest lived a strange old Wizard named Yaztromo. Something of an eccentric, he lived alone in his tower, practising simple magic and communicating with animals and birds. He was alway willing to sell small magic item, so that he could afford to have brought to him delicious cakes from all over Allansia. His sweet tooth was the cause of his only link with the outside world. as he rarely left his tower. It was therefore much to everyone's surprise that he came huffing and puffing into the village of Stonebridge.

What could possibly have forced old Yaztromo to venture through Darkwood Forest to Stonebridge? All the Dwarfs who lived there were eager to find out, and a message was sent to Gillibran, their king.

After the rigours of a recent quest, you are resting in Stonebridge, enjoying the merry company of the Dwarfs. Your wounds are almost healed and the local blacksmith has honed the blade of your sword as only Dwarfs can. Resting on a porch with your feet up on the railing, you are intrigued by the commotion in front of you in the village square. Followed by a throng of inquisitive Dwarfs, Yaztromo climbs the stone steps of Gillibran's house and is warmly greeted at the top by the king. The crowd falls silent when Gillibran raises his hand, and Yaztromo turns to speak.

You slide out of your chair and join the crowd to hear what the Wizard has to say. With a glum expression, his face almost as long as his beard, Yaztromo relates the bad news concerning Malbordus. The Dwarfs look up apprehensively as though expecting the five Dragon to descend upon them at any moment. He calls on then to show courage, saying, 'Friends, look on he bright side. At least we are warned of our impending gloom, thanks to my pet crow who overhead the conversation between the Dark Elves and Malbordus. What we must do now is find somebody who can reach the lost city before Malbordus and destroy the Dragon artefacts. We need a fearless young warrior who is willing to risk life and limb to save us all. Is there one among you who would volunteer?'

Each Dwarf looks around to see if another has dared to accept the challenge. Standing there watching the worried Dwarfs, you realize that there is only one thing you can do. With a wry smile on your face, you raise your arm in the air and offer your services.

Yaztromo sees you and says, 'Haven't I seen you somewhere before? Never mind, you look like the kind of person we want. Make way for our brave volunteer. We must leave for my tower immediately. Come along, let's be off. You have a lot to learn, but I cannot teach you much until we are safely through Darkwood Forest and inside my laboratory.

You hardly have time to cram your belongings into your bacpack before the impatient Wizard leads you out of Stonebridge towards his tower on the southern edge of Darkwood Forest.

For an old man, Yaztromo is surprisingly sprightly. You cross Red River and the ploughed fields beyond, and soon reach the edge of the forest. Yaztromo still doesn't stop. He takes a narrow path leading into the dark wall of trees. The light fades; branches and knotted roots obstruct the twisting path and make the walk very tiring. You ask Yaztromo why he seems unconcerned at the possibility of being attacked by forest monsters. He chuckles and tells you that his magic is well known and respected by all the creatures for miles around - none would dare challenge Yaztromo!

After spending a peaceful night in the forest, you reach Yaztromo's tower by mid-morning the next day. You follow him up the spiral staircase to a large room at the top of the tower. Shelves, cupboards and cabinets line the walls and are filled with bottles, jars, books, boxes and all manner of strange artefacts. Yaztromo slumps down into his old oak chair, by now looking quite tired from the long journey. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a fragile pair of gold-rimmed spectacles. After placing them on his nose, he peers at you over the top of them, and you feel quite unnerved by his piercing gaze.

Finally he says, 'Anybody who would hope to defeat Malbordus must certainly know a little magic. So I will give you a copy of my spell book. By the way, I would like you to know how privileged you are to learn my magic. But a crisis is a crisis. Now, let's get on with it. The old Wizard looks at you solemnly and says, 'Every minute is vital: you must begin your journey immediately. Without doubt, Malbordus will learn of your mission to thwart him and may send an assassin or two after you. My crow will lead you as far as Catfish River. A grim task is ahead of you, but our thoughts will be with you.' Yaztromo leads you back down the spiral staircase and out into the open.

Suddenly he gives a shrill whistle; a large crow immediately swoops down from the top of the tower and settles on his shoulder. 'Now, crow, guide our friend as far as Catfish River and make sure you keep a good lookout. The last thing we want is an ambush on our own doorstep.' You shake hands with Yaztromo and reassure him that you will destroy the Dragons of Vatos before Malbordus can attain his evil goal. He then commands his crow to fly south. The crow squawks and flies off. You hurry after it, turning just once to wave goodbye to old Yaztromo. Walking through the tall grasses, a shiver runs down your spine at the thought of Malbordus's assassins coming after you. You travel steadily south, only deviating twice to circumvent danger spotted by the crow. Three hours later, you arrive at the banks of Catfish River at a point where it is spanned by a rope-bridge ...

Some Help On How To Play

Temple of Terror has an extensive vocabulary of words which can be used to enter player "commands".

To enter a command just type in the action you want to perform, as an example, some possible commands are listed below:

GO BRIDGE
ATTACK ELVES WITH SWORD
CUT THE ROPE
THROW NET AT SKELETONS
GO WEST AND NORTH
GET BOX
OPEN THE POUCH
DROP BOX
GO EAGLE
LOOK BODY

These are a few sample commands but as you can see they range from simple two word (verb/noun) instructions to multiple action.

Commands

Several actions can be strung together, but should be seperated from each other by the use of AND or by a comma:

GET THE BOX AND OPEN IT
GO BRIDGE,S,CUT THE ROPE

Special Word Commands

LOOK
This will re-describe your current location if you lose your bearings (for a closer look at an object just use the worD look or examine followed by the name of the object you wish to inspect, and if appropriate the computer will give you further information).

I or INVENTORY
This will tell you what you are carrying and wearing.

QSAVE
This will save your current state of play, to RAM, so that if you should accidentiy be killed you may QLOAD to return to the scene of the crime without reloading a saved game from tape.

QLOAD
Loads previously Qsaved game.

QUIT
This command will ask you if you want to play again and also ask if you want to RESTORE a saved game.

SAVE GAME
This allows you to save the current game position to tape. The saved game can then be restored at a later date by answering YES to "Do you want to RESTORE a saved game.

LOAD GAME
Loads a saved game from tape.

WAIT
There may be times in the game when being able to wait has a distinct advantage.

This command will let the game move on by one move - longer waits can be entered by WAIT 5: WAIT 10:

BOM
Very useful this, particularly if you are playing in a cavalier manner, constantly being killed by wandering nasties and ending up as lunch for some hideous looking quadruped. Typing BOM (back one move) does just that, you will be given another chance to wipe the egg of your face. If one of your thoughtless actions results in death, then by typing BOM as your first command after the title page at the restarted game position, you will get another chance at survival from your last move.

GET ALL
Picks up all the available objects in your current location, but will not get objects that you have yet to discover and will not allow you to carry more than you are capable of.

DROP ALL
Drops everything that you are carrying.

NOTE
A wellknown firm of bug exterminators has been on a round the clock mission to eradicate these elusive little pests, we think we have found them all, but you never know. If you think you have found one please write and tell us.

Loading

*TAPE (RETURN)
PAGE=&E00 (RETURN)
CHAIN"" (RETURN)

If using a disk version, hold down SHIFT and tap BREAK to auto-boot it.

When a load is complete a message will appear asking if you wish to start a new game or load a saved game. To commence play simply answer the prompt for a new game and you will be at the start of one of the most fascinating computer experiences available. If you wish to continue a Saved game, respond appropriately to the prompt and insert the cassette of your saved game (fully rewound) into your cassette recorder, press PLAY and the press RETURN as instructed on the screen.

If you wish to save a game to continue at a later time, simply insert a blank tape into your cassette recorder then press PLAY & RECORD. Type SAVE GAME and press RETURN and follow the instructions on the screen which will prompt you to ready your cassette and press RETURN - Do so and your current position will be saved. Please note that, as per the instructions above, it is essential to load the program first before loading a Saved game.