Once upon a time in a land far away, there lived three young men. Brothers they were, and they lived with theit father who was their tiny village's Master at Arms.
Once their daily duties were accomplished, each young man would pursue acourse of relaxation according to his nature. However, they each knew the time would soon come when relaxation would give way to training for their live's ambitions.
Julian, the eldest, would pursue games of battle by fancying himself as a great warrior, or an admiral on the high seas engaged in fierce combat against fearless maruading pirates. He would run and shout as he zealously defeated one imaginary foe after another. Within a year, Julian would begin his training as an apprentice under his father, learning the skills of swordsmanship and strategy.
Phillip, the second brother was often found engaged with the townsfolk, either trading sharp wit, or gambling at dice, a game with which he had great skill and a sharp eye. He had a knack for always getting what he wanted, which made people seldom trust him. His apprenticeship would begin in two years, and it would be to the village falconer, who trained the fierce hunting birds.
Kevin, the youngest, found delight in wandering through local fields and glens. His head would be filled with fanciful stories, and vivid imaginations. Through his wanderings, he carried a pouch full of bread, crusts, and animals would follow after him to eat from his palm. Kevin's future was uncertain; this gentle young man had yet to decide what direction his life's ambitions would take him.
However, an extremely long and harsh winter that ended in a feeble and erratic spring changed the futures for the brothers. There were many crop failures in the land and food was scarce all over, yet this was not all, there were greater tribulations yet to come. The King's Rangers, wardens of the forest and wilderlands, had reported mass migrations of orges and goblin men from the far northern mountains. They traveled south towards the central lands, scouring the land for food, destroying all in their wake.
Then, one night as the village lay asleep, a strange, mysterious thing occurred. An eerie chill passed through the timbers of the small town, and people shivered in their beds unexpectedly as a long, inhuman wailing was heard coming from the street. When the townspeople peered from their windows, they saw a dark, hooded figure, apparently floating above the ground as it moved through the middle of the village. As the folk watched, a cold seemed to pull at their spirits, draining away their vital energy. Behind the dark the dark figure, marching in ranks, was an army of dead corpes, and animated skeletons. Armed with swords, amd maces, they began forming some hideous ritual, which lasted till dawn.
That morning, a meeting of the townsfolk was held. The mayor was puzzled over the night's events, because for many years the village had kept within their tiny shrine a powerfull talisman against such evil spirits. This talisman was a smal carving of a bull which was believed to have a spirit that was too strong for any undead creature to endure. The question was soon answered, however, when it was discovered that the talisman had disappeared. It had been stolen from its shrine.
The next afternoon, a band of goblin raided the village. Untrained in combat, the villagers put up a slipshord defense that resulted in the slaying of many by the goblin's wickedly accurate bows.
The mayor faced the father of the three boys and said "As master at arms, you must get help. Go swiftly to the city of Marheim and request aid of the King. If the King cannot help, seek the guidance of the Red Knight; he is the protector to our land and will be able to defend us."
A week passed, and the master at arms did not return. The village was decimated by repeated attacks by the goblinmen.
Eventually, he did return, staggering into the town, barely able to keep his feet. He had taken a serious belly wound, as well as blows to the head. The brothers helped their father into the cottage and onto his bed to nurse his wounds.
"My sons," he said, "I have little time left, and much to tell. An evil Necromancer has threatened to destroy all unless we submit to his will and pay tribute. The King cannot help us; his daughter has been kidnapped and he is afraid to act, lest she be tortured and killed."
"What of the Red Knight?" asked Julian. "The Knight of Vermillion cannot be found. It is feared he is slain. The Necromancer streches his fingers over the whole of this land, while dark wraiths wail into the night with their skeleton servants, unchecked by any hero. Goblins and ogres are a constant menace, and doom is upon us."
"Please don't die, father, what can we do?" asked Kevin. "I'm afraid I cannot grant your first request," whispered the father, "I can do nothing, but perhaps you can. There may be a way, a dangerous way, but possible. Many centuries ago, events similar to these were prophesied by Malbareth the Seer. The prophecy describes seven quests that must be completed in order to defeat the enemy. You must find the weapon that will destroy him. You must find his stronghold. You must pass the barriers, each of which will require a special token. You must retrieve the Talisman, for I know now that he keeps it with him at all times. There is more than that you must do, but I know it not...perhaps you may receive the advice along the way.
"There are things you should know. I had hoped that I could teach you these things in their proper time, but now...I grow weak. Come closer...quickly...I must expalin. There are many artifacts, magical charms left over from the ancient days. You will find them on your journey...everyone who travels in this land finds at least one or two. Each token can be used only once, some are for transportation, some for navigation. For example, gold rings control time. Some allow you to see in the dark, others allow you to see what is hidden. Glass vials contain a powerfull restorative elixer. At least one token is associated somehow with rocks, and one is a powerfull spell od death for all lesser creatures."
"There are other kinds of ancient artifacts as well. These you must find. They have no powers of their own, but rather entitle the bearer to certain privileges. Who is to execute these privileges I don't quite understand...but enough, go to the chest near the bed, there are some gold coins; divide them amoung yourselves...now I must say goodbye my sons...may you have food, fortune and a good life." When the master at arms finished these sayings, his spirit departed.
PLAYERS INSTRUCTIONS:
THE GAME:
Once the disk is loaded the first thing you will see is the credits page, and then the introduction screens. These may be skipped over by pressing the space bar.
Once the introduction is complete, a screen will be displayed requesting you to answer three questions. The questions all refer to a magical prophecy, which has been inscribed in the border design of the supplied playing map. Once the questions have been answered, it will take a few seconds to load in the game data. After that, play begins immediately.
MOVING THE BROTHERS:
To control your character, use either the mouse, joystick or keyboard. You can use any of these at any time; no command is needed to switch over.
On the bottom right corner of the display there is a compass with eight points. These represent the directions you can move your character in.
To use the mouse, place the pointer over the compass point that represents the direction you want to go. Hold down the left button to start the character walking. Release the button and the character stops.(I have found that when you release the button your !@#$%^^&*() character runs due north). You can move the mouse while holding the button to change direction.
To use the joystick, press the joystick handle in the direction you want to go. The character will move in that direction.
To use the keyboard, use the numeric keypad on the right side of the keyboard to control direction. Ignore the numerals printed on the keycaps; use the physical position of the keys only. For example to move towards the top left, press the top left key on the keypad (the '7' key). Only the keys 1-9 are used in this manner. Release the key to stop the character.
COMBAT:
You can attack in the same eight directions as you can walk. If you are using the mouse, hold down the right mouse button to attack. If you are using the joystick, use the fire button to attack. If you are using the keyboard, the '0' (zero) key on the numeric keypad is used. Note that attacks are directional; you must be facing towards your opponent to hit. Direction of attack is controlled the same way as movement.
NARRATION:
On the bottom right of the display you will find the narration scroll. This provides a running commentary of what is happening in the game. It also displays the character's current scores.
There are five scores:
*Bravery (Brv) represents a measure of the character's courage, and contributes to the character's prowess in battle.
*LUCK (Lck) helps to save the character from an untimely death. If a dying character has enough luck, a good fairy will come and heal him and transport him back to the last safe place he was at.
*KINDNESS (Knd) helps the character communicate with other figures in the game. If the character has a low Kindness score, they may refuse to speak to him.
*VITALITY (Vit) is a measure of the health of the character. When this score reaches zero (as it can through wounds or drowning) the charcater will die.
*WEALTH (Wlth) represents how many coins the character has in his pocket.
OTHER COMMANDS:
Between the narration scroll and the compass you will find the command menu. This can be activated by the mouse (by clicking on the appropriately labeled bar) or by pressing an equivalent key on the keyboard.
The first five options (in blue) can select which of the five different command menues you are looking at. Below is a list of all the menues. After each menue, in parenthesis, is the equivalent keyboard command.
ITEMS:
*List (l) show a list of all items carried.
*Take (T) take an object lying on the ground or off a dead character's body.
*Look (?) look for hidden items.
*Give (G) give an item to someone else.
*Use (U) goes to a sub-menu which asks which of the following items you want to use:
DIRK (1) put away current weapons and draw dagger.
MACE (2) put away current weapon and draw mace.
SWORD(3) put away current weapon and draw sword.
BOW (4) put away current weapon and draw bow and arrow.
WAND (5) put away current weapon and draw magic wand.
KEY (K) use a key. Goes to a key color sub-menu.
(K1)-use gold key (K4)-use red key
(K2)-use green key (K5)-use grey key
(K3)-use blue key (K6)-use white key
MAGIC:
There are seven different kinds of one-use magic items that you will find. Selecting an option under this menue will use up one of the selected kind of items. It is up to you to figure out what each item does. The function keys are used as keyboard equivalents.
Stone (F1)-uses a blue stone. Totem (F5)-uses a bird totem.
Jewel (F2)-use a green jewel. Ring (F6)-use a gold ring.
Vial (F3)-drink a glass vial. Skull (F7)-use a jade skull.
Orb (F4)-use a crystal orb.
TALK:
The options are Yell (Y), Say (S), and Ask (A).
BUY:
These commands will only work in the presence of a character who is selling something. The options are:
(O)-Buy Food (W)-Buy Sword
(R)-Buy Arrow (B)-Buy Bow
(8)-Buy Healing Vial (E)-Buy Bird Totem
(C)-Buy Mace
GAME:
*PAUSE (Spacebar) pause the game.
*MUSIC (M) turn off or on the music.
*SOUND (F) turn off or on the sound effects.
*Quit (Q) quit or save game-goes to sub-menu asks if you want to exit or save the game. If you choose save, it will ask you to select a save area
(SEE LOAD BELOW).
*Load (L) load a previously saved games goes to a sub-menu of 8 saved areas, labeled A-H. Click the mouse on the area you wish to save the game under.
HOW TO WIN:
To win the game, you must defeat the Necromancer and recover the tailsman. To do this will require that you perform a number of great deeds. You will need special magic and help to accomplish your goal, and these will be discovered in the course of your adventures. Clues can be gained by conversing with the various characters you meet throughout the game. You can converse with monsters, however their conversation tends to be limited and not at all interesting.
SOME HINTS:
Don't be discouraged if you don't seem to be getting anywhere at first. The playing map is huge (144 screens tall by 100 screens wide) and it will take you a long time to explore all of it. There are a number of very interesting places on the mao, but it may take you a while to find them. Roads will generally lead you somewhere, however there are a lot of buildings and other important places that are not near any road.
If a character you meet does not immediately attack you, it's possibly friendly. Probably, Another thing: don't be fooled by appearances.
There are a couple of magical animals that you can find that will help you as well, in certain cases.
