KING ARTHUR'S QUEST
(Hill MacGibbon)


A thick blanket of mist is covering the land. The ground is frozen,
the animals are dying, and the crops are unable to grow. Your people
look to you, King Arthur of Camelot, to rid the land of the evil spell
which Morgana has cast in vengeance.
The program will take you through the mystical three dimensional world
of Camelot. On your journey you will meet and see many strange charac-
ters, some beautiful, some grotesque; some friendly and some deadly!
While your eyes explore the landscape for clues your mind will be
struggling to unravel the evil spell.


Before you begin your quest make sure that you have with you every-
thing you will need:
	Software cassette for 48K Spectrum;
	Colour wallposter with the "Story so far" and the Merlin's spell-
	breaker; [Following these instructions. JimG]
	The running instructions included in this book;
	Keyboard overlay [Missing from my copy. JimG]
Good luck! You are the last chance for the people of Camelot ...


Getting started

Set up your cassette recorder, computer, and TV set as instructed in
your manual.
1. Place the keyboard overlay above the top row of keys on your
   computer keyboard.
2. Press J. Hold down SYMBOL SHIFT and at the same time press P twice.
   LOAD "" should now appear on the screen. Press ENTER and then press
   PLAY on your cassette recorder. After a few seconds the Hill MacGibbon
   logo will appear.
3. About one minute later the title screen will appear.
4. The main program will continue to load while the title screen is
   displayed. Loading will take about four minutes after the title
   screen has appeared.
5. Stop the cassette when the screen border becomes white. It is
   important that you do not stop the cassette before the program has
   fully loaded.
6. Press SPACE to begin your adventure; or
   press J to load a previously saved adventure (this is explained
   later); or press M to save the program to Microdrive (see page 10).

Continuing an adventure
a  To continue an adventure which you have previously saved (this is
   explained later) press J.
b  Replace the program cassette with the cassette that contains your
   saved adventure (see page 8) and rewind.
c  Press PLAY on your recorder.
d  After about one minute the adventure will re-start at the point you
   had reached when you saved the adventure.


Exploring the landscape

Morgana's land contains eight areas: Merlin's Tower, the Wilderness,
the Enchanted Forest, the Keep, Chapel, Crypt, Cavern, and Spell Room
of Morgana's Castle. Each area is based on a grid of 10 squares by 10
squares like the one shown below:

[blank 10x10 grid]

If you wish to succeed in your quest you will need to make your own
map of Morgana's land using 10x10 squares like the one above. Remember
to mark everything you find onto your map, even if it does not seem
important (at first sight, that is).

When the program has loaded you will see the screen divided into four
areas: Excalibur; The scene; Your objects; Messages.

[sample screenshot]

1 On the far left is Excalibur. As the game progresses, you will see
  the sword change colour as your own life-force drains away because
  of the icy spell Morgana has cast over the land. When the colour has
  gone your quest will be at an end; you must act quickly!
2 The central portion of the screen is your view of Morgana's world.
  Initially you are inside Merlin's Tower with Grymalkin the cat.
  As you move you will see this view change. On the floor of the Tower
  you can see the grid squares. You can see a maximum of two squares ahead.
    As the adventurer, you are always standing in the central square
  at the bottom of the screen. This is marked with a cross in the
  screen photograph above. The diagram opposite illustrates which grid
  squares you can see from any square. In your square is the owl.
  To your right and also behind the owl are shelves. In the background
  you can see the Tower's walls. You will find it useful to mark the
  objects you find on the grid as shown in the diagram. The squares in
  view, looking forward from the square with the cross, are shaded
  grey. You can see the squares to your immediate left and right, and
  two squares forwards. If you were now to turn left you would see all
  the squares marked with cross-hatching.
    Each time you move, you move into the square directly ahead. You
  can always see trees, pillars, shelves, walls, etc. (when you are
  close enough) but characters such as the Griffin or the Jester only
  appear when you are in their square. When you turn left or right, you
  do not move.

[diagram]

3 At the right you can see which objects you have brought along with
  you. Initially this space is empty since you have nothing to bring
  along. As you find people or things (like the compass) you can bring
  them with you; these will appear in this area to remind you what you
  have with you. As there are eight spaces you can only bring along
  eight things at a time.
4 At the bottom is what you are told. Initially this shows a message
  from Grymalkin, who will accompany you throughout your adventure.
  Listen carefully to what people tell you - there may be more in
  what they say than you might think.


Running the program

Moving about
a Press 2 to go forward one square.
b If you want to change direction, or just look around, press 1 to 
  turn to your left, or 3 to turn to your right. (You do not move
  until you press 2.)
c Sometimes you may need to turn around and retrace your steps. In
  this case simply press 1 (or 3) twice and then press 2.

Bringing things with you
Morgana's land is full of traps and obstacles. To get by you will
need to find some important things or people and bring them along with
you.

a When you find something you wish to bring along with you (eg. a
  bow) press 5.
b "BRING ALONG bow" appears at the bottom of the screen. Press SPACE
  to see what else is in the square that you could bring along (eg. if
  there is also a pearl in the square when you pressed space, "BRING
  ALONG pearl" would appear at the bottom of the screen).
c Press ENTER when the object you wish to bring along is displayed.
d A picture of the bow appears at the right of the screen to show that
  you now have it with you.

Leaving things behind
Some characters will help you if you give something to them. For
instance the Monk asks you for some wine. To do this, you simply leave
the goblet of wine behind in the character's square.
  You can only bring eight things along with you at a time. There- 
fore if you are already carrying eight things and you want to bring
along something else, you must leave behind one of the things you are
carrying.

a Press 4 to leave something (eg. the goblet) behind.
b "LEAVE BEHIND sword" (if the sword is one thing you bring with
  you) appears at the bottom of the screen. Press SPACE and the
  message "LEAVE BEHIND compass" appears (if the compass is
  the second thing you bring with you). Keep pressing SPACE until
  the message shows what you want to leave behind; eg. "LEAVE BEHIND
  goblet".
c Now press ENTER. The goblet disappears from the screen to show that
  you no longer have it with you.
d If you return to this square the thing you left behind will still 
  be there unless it has been taken by a character in that square.

Eating and drinking
You can eat or drink some of the things you may find. Remember that
you can only eat or drink what you bring with you; if you find some-
thing you wish to eat or drink immediately (eg. bread) you will have
to bring it along before you can eat it.

a Press 6 to eat or drink something you have with you. 
b The message "EAT/DRINK piece of bread" appears. Press SPACE to see
  what else you can eat or drink.
c Press ENTER when the message shows what you wish to eat or drink.
  Now see what happens!

How to use things
Sometimes you will need to use something, eg. you may need to use a
key to open a door. You can only use what you bring with you.

a Press 7 to use something you are carrying (eg. a key).
b "USE key" appears. Press SPACE to see what else you can use.
c Press ENTER when the message shows what you wish to use. Now see
  what happens!

Saying a spell
Morgana's land is a magical land. There are special spells which help
you to do many things. To find out what spells you can use, you need
to find hidden clues, eg. An[UpArrow], Cd[DownArrow], and then use the
spell-breaker on the poster to find out what the spell- word is.

a Press 8 to say a spell.
b Now type in the letters of the spell using the letters A to Z. If
  you make a mistake, press 0 to cancel the last letter you typed.
c When you have typed in the spell, press ENTER. Now see what happens!

What is in your square?
Grymalkin, your constant companion, always tells you what (if any-
thing) is in your square. Press 9 to repeat what Grymalkin has said.

Note you cannot repeat what other characters say to you. If you wish
to have more time to read other characters' speeches, press and hold
down SPACE to hold their message on the screen. Release SPACE to
continue.

Cancelling a command
a If you change your mind about doing something (eg. you do not wish
  to use your sword), or if you press the wrong key by mistake, then
  press 0 to cancel the command.
b If you are saying a spell, each time you press 0 one of the letters
  of the spell you have typed in is deleted. When all the letters have
  been deleted the command "SAY SPELL" is cancelled.
c Otherwise, when 0 is pressed, the whole command, eg. "BRING ALONG
  boat", "EAT/DRINK herb" is cancelled.


Moving from one part to another

Because of the large number of different scenes that this adventure
contains, the program is actually stored in two parts. Part one
contains all the scenes from Merlin's Tower to Morgana's Keep;
part two contains all the scenes following the Chapel.
  When you move from one part to the other (eg. if you go back into
Morgana's Keep from the Chapel) you will need to load information
from the cassette.

Going from part one to part two
a Make sure that side B of the cassette is facing upwards.
b Rewind the cassette.
c Press PLAY on the recorder and then ENTER on the computer.
d After about one minute, part two will have loaded.
e Press STOP on your recorder.
f You may now continue your adventure.

Going from part two to part one
a Make sure that side B of the cassette is facing upwards.
b Rewind the cassette. Fast forward for about fifteen seconds.
c Press PLAY on the recorder and then ENTER on the computer.
d After a few minutes, part one will have loaded.
e You may now continue your adventure.


How to use Merlin's spell-breaker

Morgana uses a special code for her spells. Merlin has broken
Morgana's code and left you a special spell-breaker with which you can
decode the Morgana's most devious spells.

a To decode a spell, first find the two letters of the code in the
  table on the left-hand page of the book at the foot of the poster.
  For example Bq is in row 4, column 4.
b Now find the same square (ie. row 4, column 4) in the table on the
  right-hand page.
c Starting with the letter in the square, read off the other letters
  of the spell in the direction in which the arrow points.


Saving a game

The adventure continues until either you get killed, or you break the
wintry curse. In all scenes, except Morgana's Secret Room, you can
stop playing the game and continue later. Follow these simple
instructions to record your position in the adventure.

a Replace the program cassette with a blank cassette and rewind.
b Make sure that the EAR lead is disconnected. Press RECORD on the
  cassette player.
c Press S and then ENTER to save your adventure.
d If you make a mistake, press BREAK before you press ENTER. Remember
  to stop the tape recorder.
e After a few minutes your adventure will be saved on the cassette.
  You will need this cassette when you want to continue an adventure
  from this point.
f After your adventure has been saved, you may continue with your quest.


Starting again

a At any time (eg. after you have been killed), you can press J to
  start again.
b If you are starting the adventure from the beginning, insert the
  program cassette with side A facing upwards. Rewind and fast forward
  for about twenty seconds. (If you stopped the cassette after the
  program had loaded, the cassette should already be wound to the
  correct position.)
c If you wish to restart a previously saved adventure, insert the 
  appropriate cassette and rewind.
d Press ENTER and then press PLAY on your recorder.
e If you make a mistake, press BREAK before you press ENTER (for the
  Spectrum).


To finish

Simply disconnect your computer from the mains power supply (Micro-
drive users should remove cartridge first).


Using a Microdrive

You are allowed to make only one copy onto a Microdrive cartridge. You
must not make more than one copy onto a Microdrive cartridge (or any other
copy of the program) either for your own use or for hiring, lending or
selling to other people. This would be an infringement of copyright for
which you could be prosecuted.

Please note: Although you can save the program onto a Microdrive cartridge
you cannot save your own adventures onto a Microdrive cartridge - you
must use cassette, as described on page 8.

How to make a copy onto a Microdrive cartridge:
a Format a blank Microdrive cartridge by typing FORMAT "m";1;"KAQ" and
  then ENTER.
b Make sure the formatted cartridge has been inserted into your
  Microdrive.
c Load the program from the cassette in the usual way.
d When the program has loaded, press M to save it onto the Microdrive
  cartridge. After about 30 seconds the program will have been saved.
  A new adventure begins automatically.
e If you press any key other than M, a new adventure will begin and
  the program will not be saved. To save it, you must start again from c.

Loading your Microdrive copy of the program
a Make sure the Microdrive is connected and insert the cartridge which
  contains the program.
b Press R and then ENTER.
c The screen blanks and after 10-15 seconds the program will have
  loaded. A new adventure begins automatically.
d To continue a previously saved adventure now press J and follow the
  instructions on page 9.


Summary of keys

How to move
1  Turns left
2  Goes forward
3  Turns right

How to do things
4  Leaves something behind  then:  For keys 4 to 7:
5  Brings something along          SPACE Highlights the object you want
6  Eats/drinks something           ENTER Chooses that object
7  Uses something
8  Says a spell

Other keys
9  Tells you what is in your square
0  Cancels a command
S  Saves your adventure
J  Restarts your adventure


Created by Five Ways Software Ltd
Published by Hill MacGibbon Ltd
Cover and poster illustration by Linda and Roger Garland


THE STORY SO FAR

It is the Dark Ages, in the land of King Arthur. The evil witch
Morgana Le Fey has cast a spell on the land since Arthur has refused
to accept her son Modred as one of the Knights of the Round Table.
Morgana has sent an ice-dragon to breathe a deep, thick blanket of
mist over all the land. The skies are dark, and the wintry sun cannot
break through to warm the fields. The ploughman cannot break the earth
with his plough so the crops do not grow. The sheep and cows will not
go out into the cold fields, so they sicken and die. The common people
call on their king, Arthur, to save them.

Lancelot, Arthur's best knight, has strangely vanished. Arthur is
troubled and feels the cold slowly but surely sapping his strength. He
goes to see his old friend Merlin the Magician to ask for his help.
But when he reaches Merlin's cottage, he finds it empty - except, that
is, for a strange cat ...


MERLIN'S SPELL-BREAKER

Aa An Ba Bn Ca Cn Da Dn Ea En Fa    M L E F A Y L I S S T
Ab Ao Bb Bo Cb Co Db Do Eb Eo Fb    N O A H B O R S G A P
Ac Ap Bc Bp Cc Cp Dc Dp Ec Ep Fc    O V R N O R U O V N E
Ad Aq Bd Bq Cd Cq Dd Dq Ed Eq Fd    L T F G C K H L I G L
Ae Ar Be Br Ce Cr De Dr Ee Er Fe    A R T A A E T D N R L
Af As Bf Bs Cf Cs Df Ds Ef Es Ff    V I W R S W R E E A I
Ag At Bg Bt Cg Ct Dg Dt Eg Et Fg    A S T E M Y A N V I N
Ah Au Bh Bu Ch Cu Dh Du Eh Eu Fh    T T A T O E N I E L O
Ai Av Bi Bv Ci Cv Di Dv Ei Ev Fi    B R O H D U C Y N Y R
Aj Aw Bj Bw Cj Cw Dj Dw Ej Ew Fj    K A Y I R R B A W A X
Ak Ax Bk Bx Ck Cx Dk Dx Ek Ex Fk    R M L N E L E A M O N
Al Ay Bl By Cl Cy Dl Dy El Ey Fl    E A O P D E I N D E O
Am Az Bm Bz Cm Cz Dm Dz Em Ez Fm    B G L Y O N E L L N L
Fx Fw Fv Fu Ft Fs Fr Fq Fp Fo Fn    A P E N D R R E H T U
