Introduction

As the great 'sadness' spread over the land and the 'darkness' drew ever closer from the north, the whispers around the camp-fires were of some strange dark magic dispensed by the evil one know as the "black wanderer". Far to the north, over the Darklen Moor and beyon the Eagleshorn, were where he was said to dwell. In a vast grotesque fortress known as 'The Pinnacle'. From within its confines the 'Black One' dealt out his awesome powers and covered the land in the creeping 'darkness' that threatened to envelop all who occupied it ... even the beast of the field and the fowl of the air were not safe from this malignance.

Then one morn as the sky grew ever greyer and the sun ever weaker, a stranger entered the village ... ragged and drawn he begged for sustenance and was grateful for the warm bread and cold milk that was offered to him. In return he told of the 'darkness' and of the "black wanderer" and his thirst for power. However he also told of the means to prevent this happening and of the one person who could carry out this task. He told of the power of "silent song" and of the bearer of this power. Of the person who could use this power .... of you ... for you possess the gift of "silent song" and you alone can drive the 'darkness' from the land.

"Silent song" was a gift inherited from your father, an elf from beyond the 'Forest of Forgiveness', and your mother, Sharra, a princess of the winged elves from the 'South Shores'. It was something you had always sensed you possessed but knew not what it was for nor how to use it. For many hours the stranger instructed you in its arts and how best to impart its power, then finally he turned wearily to you and said ... 'I have done my bit, it is now all down to you. Go forth and defeat the evil one who is controlling this 'darkness' and return the land to its rightful state.' With that he clasped your hand and smiled slowly ... 'Goodness will always prosper!' Then turning slowly he made his towards the spreading gloom and the coldness of the north.

You must now take the 'Darkest Road' and seek out the "black wanderer". Once you have located him use the magic of the "silent song" to send him back to the festering pit that spewed him forth .......

Notes

Some useful words are STORE or RAMSAVE for temporary storage of your game positions. RECALL or RAMLOAD to recall these stored positions or SAVE and LOAD to store and recall the game positions to and from tape. Also remember that 'temporary' storage will vanish when the computer is switched off.

The top of the screen will display three things ... the area of land you are presently in, your current score (top left) and the number of time units left until the darkness falls upon the land (top right). Take great note of the latter, as you must complete your quest before that reaches zero.

The programme will support three different fonts for the text to be displayed in, so simply use the commands FONT1, FONT2, FONT3 to activate the display of your choice.

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