255 PRINT "Most commands involve a verb and an object or subject ('ATTACK MEAN DOG'). You can abbreviate most verbs, objects, and subjects down to two or three letters ('A ME' or 'A DOG') but not MAGIC words!": PRINT
265 GOSUB 15000
280 PRINT D$"RESTORE CT.DATABASE": VTAB 12
285 INPUT "Enter the name you wish to use for your character: ";M$(1)
286 IF M$(1) = "" THEN 285
290 IF LEN(M$(1)) >20 THEN PRINT " Too long!": GOTO 285
291 M$ = "": FOR I = 1 TO LEN(M$(1)):N = ASC( MID$ (M$(1),I,1)):N = N -32 *(N >96 AND N <123):M$ = M$ + CHR$(N): NEXT :M$(1) = M$
295 PRINT D$"STORE CT.DATABASE"
299 A$ = "THE CURSE OF TALON":L1 = INT(.5 *(80 - LEN(A$))):L2 = L1: GOSUB 8500
300 PRINT " One week later you arrive at Kingscourt, the capital of the New Kingdom. Acontingent of guards escort you to the palace. Your presence causes quite a"
310 PRINT "stir, which is not surprising given your heroic status.": PRINT
320 PRINT " The Prince, clad entirely in purple, greets you in the throne room.": PRINT
330 PRINT " 'Perhaps you were expecting to see my father The King,' he says. 'Alas, hehas fallen deathly ill, as have countless others. Many have already died, and"
340 PRINT "all of us will eventually succumb if the Curse is not lifted.'"
345 PRINT : PRINT " A curse?"
348 PRINT : PRINT " What curse?"
350 GOSUB 8000
360 PRINT " 'The New Kingdom was only founded three hundred years ago. Before then, our people lived on the other side of the Great Mountains. The center of"
370 PRINT "the Old Kingdom was a castle located in the forest. The castle was home to the Cyrak Princes, a family which produced a long line of rulers. Many were mighty"
380 PRINT "warriors, clerics, and mages. But in the time of Talon Cyrak, the last of the Cyrakian line, dark and evil powers had seduced many members of the aristocracy"
390 PRINT "and their vassals.": PRINT
395 PRINT " Talon could not bear to see his great family, proud people, and mighty kingdom fall under the Cloak of Darkness, but he realized that the tide was "
400 PRINT "against him. Many thought that he would lead his remaining, fanatical followersinto overt war against the treasonous elements, even though he was likely to"
410 PRINT "lose. But Talon made no such move, and died mysteriously.'": PRINT
415 GOSUB 8000
420 PRINT " 'His vassals dutifully buried him and then disappeared. Actually they migrated to this land, and founded the New Kingdom. Meanwhile, back in the"
430 PRINT "forest, an inexplicable plague swept out from the castle. No medicine could stop it, for it was not a plague, but a curse -- a curse invoked by Talon"
440 PRINT "himself, who sacrificed his life to make it so powerful. The curse decimated the aristocracy, then the populace. The forces of evil eventually took control"
450 PRINT "of the territory, but Talon had achieved his goal -- the powers, secrets, and strength of the Cyrakian Kingdom would not be handed over to the Dark Lords.'"
460 PRINT
470 PRINT " 'For three hundred years, the New Kingdom flourished. But recently the Dark Lords finally crossed the Great Mountains and attempted to subdue us. We were"
480 PRINT "victorious, but it was a terrible war, and we were not able to move back over the mountains and reclaim the old kingdom. Yet we were satisfied that we held"
490 PRINT "a defensive advantage and were freed from any immediate threat of a new invasion.'": GOSUB 8000
500 PRINT " 'Unfortunately, we now believe that the Curse of Talon has been passed on to us by the hordes of Orcs and other things that we fought in the war. You see, these creatures lived for three hundred years in the cursed";
501 PRINT " remains of"
510 PRINT "the Old Kingdom. Although they themselves were not affected by the curse, they became embued with it, and passed it on to us -- the lost descendents of the"
520 PRINT "Cyraks -- when we met in the wars. Now, it is only a matter of time before we are all wiped out."
525 PRINT
530 PRINT " 'Our only hope lies in an ancient legend. It is said that Talon hoped thatthe Faithful would one day grow strong enough to retake the forest. He"
540 PRINT "enchanted a rod that would remove the curse from the afflicted, and hid it somewhere in the castle. We must recover this artifact at all costs.'": PRINT
560 PRINT " 'But as I said, we lack the strength to launch an attack over the mountains. Our only chance is to send in a small team that can make its way to"
570 PRINT "the castle by stealth, find the rod, and bring it back. Because of the skills you displayed in your heroic efforts here before, we thought that you would be"
580 PRINT "the best person to lead the team.'": GOSUB 8000
590 PRINT " Well, the game would be over pretty quick if you refused, so you agree to lead the team on this dangerous adventure.": PRINT
600 PRINT " 'All the major centers of the New Kingdom will aid you in this. To add fighting strength to your party, the Lord of Ironcastle himself, Sir Blackstone,";
610 PRINT "will accompany you. He may also be able to help overcome obstacles that requiregreat physical strength.'": PRINT
620 PRINT " 'From Shrine City, the High Priest of the Temple of Light shall march with you. He is a mighty cleric who can cast the spells known as HEAL and COMMUNE,"
630 PRINT "the latter of which can sometimes access the knowledge of the Gods to solve dilemmas. He does not like to cast this spell, however, so try to solve"
640 PRINT "problems yourself. The High Priest is also a powerful enemy of the Undead, whomyou might encounter. Against them he has special defenses.'": PRINT
650 PRINT " 'From Kingscourt, you shall have the aid of Tolkien the Scribe. You will have to take great care to defend him in dangerous situations, but in that "
660 PRINT "ancient castle, you may need someone with the knowledge of old languages, science, magic, and alchemy.'": PRINT
665 GOSUB 8000
670 PRINT " 'The province of Agroville is sending a young squire to help carry your provisions and equipment. These are being paid for by Tradetown. The squire"
680 PRINT "can also help defend the party and can carry whatever treasure you may wish to recover. Although this mission is of great importance to us, we know that as"
690 PRINT "an adventurer, you will be interested in collecting valuables, and it is the least we can offer in terms of compensation for your assistance.'"
700 PRINT
710 PRINT " 'Legend has it that the rod will not be easily found. Many puzzles will have to be solved, and other items obtained and used -- this to test you and"
720 PRINT "insure that only the deserving would be able to lift the curse. You will face many challenges left by Talon as well as many perils left by the Dark Lords."
730 PRINT "Search thoroughly and fight bravely!'": PRINT
750 PRINT " Soon you leave Kingscourt and embark on the difficult journey over the mountains. Eventually your escorts leave you, and the party descends into the dark forest on the other side.....enemy territory."
1900 GOSUB 8000
1990 PRINT D$"RUN CT.START.PLAY"
8000 REM
8001 VTAB 23: INVERSE : PRINT SPC( 27);"PRESS ANY KEY TO CONTINUE"; SPC( 27);: GET B$: NORMAL : PRINT
8010 IF B$ = CHR$(27) THEN 1990
8200 IF X = 1 THEN X = 0: RETURN
8500 HOME : INVERSE : PRINT SPC( L1);A$; SPC( L2): NORMAL : PRINT
15005 PRINT "Hold down the [RETURN] key to repeat a command.": PRINT
15010 PRINT "You can get a list of commands during the game by entering ?. Most commands areeasy to figure out. You can move in four horizontal directions (NSEW) plus Up and Down. In battle you must RETREAT to exit an area.": PRINT
15020 PRINT "LOOK recalls an area's long description. EXAMINE does the same for artifacts. It can also be used to get more information on objects that are only mentioned"
15030 PRINT "in the room description and are not fully described because they do not have anyobvious significance. Finally, examination by other party members may uncover facts not discoverable by a fighter."
15040 GOSUB 8000
15050 PRINT "CAST is for spell casting. To make things easier when healing after a battle, you can say 'ALL' when the cleric asks who to heal. This is not the same as a"
15060 PRINT "Heal All spell, which is a single spell and can be cast during combat.": PRINT
15070 PRINT "SAY can be used to pronounce magic words. It can also be used to give orders when you SAY someone's name. You can order others to do almost everything you"
15080 PRINT "can and many things you can't. Although your allies will often use their special abilities on their own, you must sometimes give commands during combat"
15090 PRINT "when something, such as giving someone something or healing someone, must be done immediately before your enemies attack again. Type {SAY} then RETURN; then"
15095 PRINT "enter the command for the charcater to execute.": PRINT
15100 PRINT "Torches must be HELD while they are lit. Many other objects must be held in order to be used, but some, such as keys, do not. LIGHT can be used to try to"
15110 PRINT "burn or melt something. Locked objects must be unlocked by USE-ing appropriate keys before they can be OPENED. Some READable objects can or must also be USED."
15115 PRINT : PRINT "Worn items cannot be removed or dropped."
15120 GOSUB 8000
15200 PRINT "Some advice:": PRINT
15210 PRINT "Conserve healing objects by not using them on minor wounds. Don't be quick to use up potions. You will need them if your cleric is busy or incapacitated, andfor emergencies in battle.": PRINT
15220 PRINT "Save the game often. 1) When the party survives a tough fight. 2) Before you doanything that might hurt you or not work. 3) After completing a significant"
15230 PRINT "segment of the game, such as a puzzle, or a level.": PRINT
15235 PRINT "Drop used, used-up, or unneeded objects to reduce encumbrance.": PRINT
15240 PRINT "The COMMUNE spell is not really supposed to be used. Using it because you're too lazy to solve a puzzle is cheating!": PRINT
15250 PRINT "All your companions are important. Keep them alive. Later in the game, death can be overcome, but at a great cost of clerical power."
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