THE ORB OF ZARRAMIER. ********************* LOADING & SAVING THE GAME POSITION. *********************************** To save your position to disk, insert a blank formatted disk into the drive and press the INVERSE key. Follow the prompts to either save or load. If you are saving a game then the session will end; so only save a game when you are ready to finish the sitting. ONLY ONE LOAD ALLOWED A SITTING. HINTS. ****** The MUSKET you require is near the start, so don't wander too far prior to finding it. DRAW a map as you progress, you WILL need it. Don't rush through the rooms too fast, examine the walls, you may find one or two which are just optical illusions. HISTORY OF THE ORB. ******************* For five hundred years the wonderful and mystical powers of the magical orb have protected your world from the evil ravages of creatures from the world of darkness. These formless creatures, known as Wraiths, of the Shadow World are intent upon your destruction and the destruction of all human races. Five hundred years ago came the end of the great wars of good against evil when the Wraiths (stormtroopers of the Lord of Darkness) were driven from the land into the depths of the unknown. It was a war of great cost to the human races, over half the male population had been slaughtered in mammoth battles and the fight was a hard one: for even the presence of a Wraith would sap the life energy from anyone within five hundred spans and their touch was instant death. But it was not only Wraiths with which our ancestors had to contend, there were also small round spheres of glowing energy whose powers were said to have come from the Dark Master himself. The war was being lost, until an old and long forgotten magician, known as ZARRAMIER, came down from his castle on top of mount Ramagusta. It was he who spent over eight months creating the shining orb which would save mankind. Wise men still don't know how or why the orb has this effect upon evil creatures, but effect it has indeed, providing the orb is placed on the stand in our village church. For it was our village which was chosen to guard this powerful symbol of freedom. For if it ever fell into the hands of the Wraiths or other underlings of the Dark Lord, then the total destruction of mankind would shortly follow. Now the orb is missing and you have been chosen by the elders of the village to investigate rumors that the Wraiths had taken the now empty castle of Zarramier as their own base of operations for the destruction of man. If possible, find and return the missing orb of Zarramier. Unfortunately on your way to the castle you are set upon by a band of robbers and left to die within the walls of the castle without provisions or weapons of any kind. They even stole your paper and quill with which you were going to map the many rooms of the castle. Thus the scene is set for this adventure. Your mission is to find the orb and your way out of the castle against massive odds. (P) 1986 LONE GROOVER. **********************