Ring Quest

Prosperity, solitude and happiness have reigned in the Kingdom of Bergadeer for many years where the king's primary consideration has been the well-being of the citizens. The king seeks only their respect and loyalty in return. The king provides shelter, food, clothing and educational opportunities for all on an equal basis. When a person needs assistance, the king takes a personal interest in seeing that help is provided. His concern is of such magnitude that the king is considered a fatherly figure.

The king's ability to provide for the residents is made possible through his Ring of Freedom, which was instilled with magical powers when struck by lightning years ago. The king was a young prince then, suffering from what was

believed to be a terminal illness. The prince was immediately restored to perfect health. The prince vowed then to use the ring to improve the lives of all Bergadeereans because of the concern they had shown for him during the crisis. It has protected the kingdom from droughts, floods and economic uncertainty. Never has the king used the ring for greedy purposes.

Things are going so peacefully in Bergadeer that the citizens almost take prosperity for granted. So does the king, in fact. One evening while preparing for bed, he removes the ring from his finger, leaving it in the custody of the castle's small security force for safekeeping. Later in the evening, the stillness and tranquility is suddenly broken by the mighty roar of a ferocious fire-breathing dragon. Destroying everything and everyone in its path, the dragon easily overpowers the security force.

And, you guessed it, the monster steals the Ring of Freedom, along with many other valuables. Without the ring, the entire kingdom is at the dragon's mercy. Misery and pessimism prevail. The king, fearing for the lives of the citizens, recruits you to try to regain control of the ring. He is unable to supply weapons or armor but he does provide a decanter containing a healing potion. He leads you to a location in the castle where the dragon was last seen, wishing you luck and promising to reward you if you are successful.

You also should collect other treasures in addition to the ring because your score in this Adventure will be determined by the number you obtain. Also, you must type SCORE before you actually reclaim the ring so the computer can take an inventory. If you do not have enough, you may need to retrace your path.

The Adventure contains a comparatively short command list, which includes the following verbs (some of which are synonymous): KILL; ATTACK; HIT; OPEN; UNLOCK; LOOK; EXAMINE; SEARCH; GET; TAKE; DROP; LEAVE; DRINK; EAT; QUIT; END; LOAD; SAVE; SCORE; INVENTORY and READ.

You will need to type only the first three letters of each word. If you misspell a command, pressing the left-arrow key will delete the line, allowing you to enter a new command.

The screen is divided into four vertical sections. The top screen is your location, the second describes objects, the third is the shape of the room, and the bottom section is where commands and responses are displayed.