Knight Life

KNIGHTLIFE

(Zenobi Software)



Spectrum 128K+2





Arthur King, the humble stable-boy of the "Round Table" inn, was settling down to

sleep in his modest straw bed when there was a sudden, vociferous outburst of rapping

from the door of the nearby inn. He got up and, after removing bits of straw from

uncomfortable positions within his nightshirt, strode outside.

Although it was inevitably chilly, the aspiring squire retained his composure. The

first thing that caught his attention was the semi-naked barmaid, Guinevere, leaning out

of her bedroom window. This certainly sent his hormones racing. She yelled, "

Someone's bangin' on me knocker! See who it is, runt." An utterance of the like

would normally be interpreted as an insult but, for Arthur, it was sheer bliss.

From behind Guinevere, the landlord's resonant voice emanated "Come back to

bed! We're not finished yet!"

"Yes, Lancelot," the barmaid replied obediently.

This aside, the diminutive Arthur still fancied his chances with the luscious

Guinevere and, as the shutters of her bedroom drifted tightly together, he decided to

approach the inn's darkened doorway.

There, he found an old sage attired in sackcloth, visibly affected by exhaustion and

thirst. Arthur took him inside and offered him a hogshead of ale (past its sell-by date).

The gratified octogenarian siphoned some into a pewter tankard. He turned to Arthur,

saying, "And now I will pronounce you a member of the Birkenhead Echelon". The

sage tapped Arthur on both shoulders with a toilet-brush and was gone with the night.

As this was only early morning, the night wouldn't pass for hours, so the old-timer

stayed until ...

The sun's warming rays served as a stimulus to Arthur that it was time to awaken.

Morgana le Fay, the "harlot upstairs" which all inns of the period had in residence (and

many still do!), gracefully glided down the staircase for her morning ale, to be met by

Arthur in the tap-room. "Sleepwalking again, eh?" she murmured. "Don't worry about

it, as long as you don't stray into my room!"

Arthur spoke to Morgana for same time, until Lancelot McKnight and his son and

pageboy, Galahad, arrived at the scene. "I have to take a message to the village of

Upper Kissing, Arthur," said Galahad. "Do you have any idea where it is?"

"No," replied Arthur honestly, "though it ..."

"But I do," interrupted Morgana. "I could give you directions."

"What!?" cried Lancelot, apparently in shock at what she'd just said to his son.

Morgana repeated what she'd said.

"Sorry, Ms le Fay, I thought you said attaching else!"

Arthur spoke to Sir Mordred, the stable-master, on the subject of the sage's visit.

Sir Mordred grunted and pushed the distraught lad into a vat of horse manure.

Arthur later visited the local wash-house, run by the glamorous "Slag on the Nag".

Although she was dismounted at this time (well, she had in order to bathe someone),

she was almost constantly on horseback. "Dunno, luv," she wittered, sponge and soap

in hand. "Try Merlin, 'cos he'd probably know, like."

That night, Arthur (now squeaky clean) approached the village card-sharp, Merlin

M'Gijjin. "Hmm, Gawain, I'm on a roll."

"Mer! You ought to have a poker face."

Smugly, Merlin said "That's just tradition, chum."

"Blow! I fold, 'cos you've obviously clobbered me." he exclaimed, dropping his

hand on the table. "I only had three of a kind."

"Are you betting any more, Sir Mordred?" asked Merlin.

"No, I fold too," replied Mordred, "'cos a Royal Flush isn't good enough."

M'Gijjin set his cards down face up; they were a motley assortment far below the

value of the others' cards.

"BLUFFED!" cried Sir Mordred and Gawain simultaneously.

Leaving the table with his ill-gotten gains, Merlin finally spoke to Arthur. "I

understand your situation, although you don't. Okay, let's begin; now that you have an

MBE, you young rapscallion, you'll find many quests set for yourself by various

persons. Your wildest dreams may be realized should you embrace these quests. If not,

your mundane life will remain unaltered."

"Fancy a game of poker?"

"No, snap is more suitable for you, young scallywag."

Declining the offer, Arthur returned to his bed. He woke up the next morning,

prepared to face his nemesis (whatever that was).





NOTES



In this game your character, Arthur, must eat. However, it is an "automated" process and

provided you have purchased some supplies on his behalf he will partake of them without

any help from you. Type FOOD to see how much of his supplies remain. By the way, run out

of food and not only will you grow weak and die but your companions will abandon you!!!



It is possible to HIRE certain characters to assist you on your quest. To find out their

abilities just type SAY TO DWARF "Abilities" and they will supply you with a list of them.



You will need MONEY to hire characters and to buy supplies. If you need some just try to

sell your own possessions or employ the talents of your companions to obtain some.



Throughout the game day and night will follow accordingly .,. and as a result certain actions

will be governed by the "time" of the day that it is. So plan you moves accordingly.



You Will need to SLEEP at regular intervals - tie is NOT "automated" like eating, so make

your way to an appointed "sleeping place" and partake of the facilities there. Failure to do

this will result in you dropping were you stand and your companions running off with some

of your cash!!



Use the command TALK TO and SAY TO to converse with the various characters. It is important.



During the game you should encounter ... Guinevere the barmaid, Lancelot, The Landlord,

Morgana le Fay, The Harlot Upstairs, Galahad, The Pageboy, Mordred, The Stable-Master,

The Slag-on-the-Nag, Merlin M'Gijjin the card-sharp and a little known character (who makes

an appearance in part one) plus the true heroine of Camelot - Nelly the Intelligent Horse.