Grailquest 06 - Realm of Chaos

About the Author
J.H. Brennan
J.H. Brennan is one of those peculiar people who

seem to be living in several different worlds at
once . . . some of which you can enter via the
GrailQuest series.
He has always been interested in magic, spells and
wizardry, and among his many books has written
a number on magic. He is also the author of two
Fantasy Role-Playing Games - Man, Myth &
Magic and Timeship, and of four other Solo
Fantasy Gamebooks in the 'Sagas of the Demonspawn': Book One - Fire* Wolf, Book Two -The
Crypts of Terror, Book Three - Demonspawn, and
Book Four - Ancient Evil.
He has used a computer system to help him keep
track of this book and others in the series and says
that anyone who adventures in them without
keeping careful notes of where they've been is
asking to be sent to Section 14.
GRAIL
QUEST
BOOK SIX
Realm of Chaos
Illustrated by
John Higgins
An Armada Original
The Realm of Chaos was first published

in the U.K. in Armada in 1986 by
Fontana Paperbacks, 8 Grafton Street
London W1X 3LA.
EMERGENCY
Armada is an imprint of Fontana Paperbacks,

a division of the Collins Publishing Group.
J.H. Brennan 1986
Illustrations John Higgins 1986
Printed in Great Britain by
William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd., Glasgow.
Conditions of Sale
This book is sold subject to the condition
that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise,
be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated
without the publisher's prior consent in any form of
binding or cover other than that in which it is
published and without a similar condition
including this condition being imposed
on the subsequent purchaser.
Hurry! There's not a moment to waste! Grab your

pencil and eraser, some paper and dice and let me
get my Net Spell on your head.
What do you mean - who's this? This is Merlin.
The Wizard Merlin. There's no time for social
chit-chat. There's an emergency on.
Somebody has put a curse on Camelot!
If you know the basic rules of GrailQuest
adventuring - how to roll your LIFE POINTS, how
to fight and so on, turn direct to 2. If this is your
first time, turn to 1.
1
Just my luck. Not a minute to waste and we have
to spend time on the rules. Never mind.
What's going to happen is this: I'm going to cast a
Net Spell over your head. It transports the
contents and puts them into the head of a young
hero in my time. A young hero called Pip, to be
exact.
Once you're inside Pip's head, you can do things
in my time. Like having adventures and slaying
dragons and getting yourself killed.
Life Points
Which brings me to the LIFE POINTS. To
function at all in my time, you need LIFE
POINTS. To get LIFE POINTS, you roll two dice,
then multiply the result by four. The answer is
your starting LIFE POINTS. If you don't think
you've rolled enough LIFE POINTS (and you're
going to need all you can get on this adventure) try
again. In fact, you can try three times altogether
and pick the best result.
If you've been GrailQuesting before, you may
have a few Permanent Life Points to add on: you
can take up to 10 of them from a previous
adventure.
Combat
Now you've got your LIFE POINTS, I'll tell you
about Combat. You'll probably have a lot of
combat to get through in this adventure. And
you'll fight by using dice.
When you find yourself in a fight with an enemy,
the first thing you do is roll two dice for yourself
and two for your enemy. Highest roll gets to strike
first.
To strike a blow in combat, you will generally
have to roll a 6 or better on two dice. But if you're
using your magical sword, Excalibur Junior (EJ for
short) you need only roll a 4 or better.
Anything you roll above the figure you need to hit
counts as damage against your enemy and is
subtracted from his LIFE POINTS. Anything your

enemy rolls above the figure he needs to hit
counts as damage against you and is subtracted
from your LIFE POINTS.
If you're using weapons, which you will be most
of the time, you (or your enemy) score additional
damage. EJ gives you 5 additional points of
damage on every successful hit, for instance.
If you're using armour (and you will be since I've
found your old Dragonskin Jacket in a suitcase
underneath the bed), the armour deducts from any
damage scored against you: and the same goes for
your opponent, of course.
This business of adding and deducting damage is
important. Because if your LIFE POINTS drop to 5
or less, you fall unconscious, and if they drop to
zero or below, you are dead.
Friendly Reaction
Obviously you'll want to avoid some fights. It
isn't easy, but it's sometimes possible with a
Friendly Reaction. To check for a Friendly
Reaction, roll one die once for your opponent and
three times for yourself. If you manage to score
less on your three rolls than your opponent did on
one, you've got a Friendly Reaction and can
proceed as if you'd won the fight.
Bribery
The other way to avoid fights is Bribery, but that's
only possible in sections marked like this: *B.
The number of stars before the 'B' lets you know

how much you have to offer as a bribe. *B=100
gold pieces; **B=500 gold pieces; ***B= 1,000
gold pieces and ****B= 10,000 gold pieces.
Of course, offering a Bribe is no guarantee that it
will be accepted. You need to roll two dice to
determine that. Score 7 or below and your Bribe is
refused. Score 8 or more and it's accepted and you
can proceed as if you'd won the fight. Either way
you lose the money you offered.
Healing
If you can't avoid a fight and aren't killed, the
chances are you'll need to restore lost LIFE
POINTS. You can do this with a Healing Potion,
which has six doses and each dose restores a
double dice roll of LIFE POINTS. Or you can use a
jar of salve. Each jar has five applications and each
application gives you back three LIFE POINTS. If
you run out of Healing Potions and Salves (and I
don't have that many to spare as you'll see in 2)
you'll just have to risk SLEEPING to restore LIFE
POINTS.
Sleep
You can SLEEP any time during an adventure
except when you're actually in combat. To SLEEP
you roll one die. If you score a 5 or a 6, you can
restore LIFE POINTS equal to rolling two dice. If
you score anything else, you have to turn to the
Dreamtime. The Dreamtime is bad news usually,
so don't say I didn't warn you.
Experience
Incidentally, you can't restore LIFE POINTS to
give you more than you started out with. In fact
the only way you can add to your starting total is
through EXPERIENCE. You gain one EXPERIENCE POINT for every battle won or puzzle
solved. Twenty EXPERIENCE POINTS can be
traded in for one PERMANENT LIFE POINT,
which is then added to your total.
In this adventure you don't have to remember
anything about magic because I can't seem to get
it to work. That's part of the curse put on
Camelot.
Now go to 2.
2
'Avert your eyes - I've no clothes on!'
You avert your eyes, but not so quickly that you
fail to see the tall, skinny white-bearded figure
stark naked except for boots, long johns, a longsleeved woolly vest and a pointed hat with stars
embroidered all over it. Having averted your eyes,
you find yourself staring at a rough wooden floor

which seems to be slightly concave.
You glance around furtively, taking care not to
embarrass the Wizard Merlin by looking at him
directly. You are in the oddest room ?, chamber ?,
house ? you have ever seen. It is quite vast, but
made entirely of wood with curving walls, ceiling
and floor, as if you were in a gigantic . . .
'Barrel,' says Merlin. 'It's my new home. I got the
idea from an old Greek who used to live in one.
But mine's bigger: it has to be to hold all my
things. I had it specially made by the Court
Cooper when there was a Court Cooper.' He
hesitates sadly and adds, 'And when there was a
court, come to that. Lucky I did. Something in the
shape protected me from the Curse. But you don't
know about the Curse yet, do you?'
'No, sir,' you say politely, your head reeling a
little. Now that you can tear your eyes away from
the insides of this gigantic barrel, you realize you
are wearing a new and different body, a sturdy
handsome carcass dressed in breeches, leggings
and tunic, with a neat broadsword belted around
your waist.
'Pip's body,' says Merlin, who can obviously read
minds. 'If you haven't occupied it before, you'll
soon get used to it. But I'd better tell you about
the Curse. Or rather show you. In which case, I'd
better get you kitted out.'
'Kitted out?' you ask, wondering why he is
wandering around in his underwear.
Merlin - stark naked but for boots,

long johns, vest and hat.
3-5
'Because the Curse rotted my robe,' Merlin snaps.

'I thought you said the barrel protected you from
it,' you protest.
'Only when I'm inside. The robe was hanging on
the line to dry. Fortunately I still have my hat or I
wouldn't have been able to cast the Net Spell to
bring you here. But we won't worry about that.
There's no time to lose. Have a look at this
inventory.' With which he hands you a scroll on
which has been scrawled the following items:
Axe
Ant Farm
Boots
Cobweb spray
Fishing rod
Glitter powder
Hammer
Handkerchief
Knife
Mallet
Rope [50' coil)
Rations (week's supply)
Razor
Salt (1lb pack)
Saw
Slide trombone
Spikes
Stake (wooden, suitable for Vampires)
Talking Head (brass)
Toothbrush
Twine (200' ball)
'Now the thing is,' says Merlin, 'you'll only be

able to take six. Anything over that rots.'
'But you haven't told me what's going on!' you
protest. 'How can I decide what to take when I
don't know what to expect?'
'It doesn't matter,' says Merlin. 'The situation is
so desperate anything could come in handy. Or
there again, anything might be useless. You just
take what you fancy, up to six items.'
And having made your decision on the basis of
E.S.P., you can troll off to 10 for the next bit of
nonsense.
3
Splash!
Now you're in the water, it seems a good time
to find out if you can swim. Roll one die. Score
4 or better and go to 40.
Score less than 4 and turn to 28.
4
Feeling rather pleased with yourself, you use your
key to unlock the stockyard and step inside.
Only to find it empty as the Marketmaster
predicted. You can always search it thoroughly
at 11. Or save time by returning to your map
and selecting a new destination.
5
It's the village well.
Generally, the women come here in the early

mornings to draw water and exchange news. But
there are no women about now; nor men either,
come to that. This is normally the very heart of
village activity, and now (thanks to the Curse,
presumably) it's as silent as the tomb.
You walk to the stone wall and peer over into the
well-shaft itself. Thirty-eight feet deep, dug by
hand and stone-lined by some patient mason in
days long before you were born. You can't see the
water surface, of course - that's too far down.
But you can see . . .
Yes, quite definitely, there are steps cut into the
stonework! How odd nobody noticed them before.
They look, if not exactly brand new, at least fairly
recently cut.
Who on earth would want to cut steps into a well?
And where do they lead?
You can always try to find out by climbing
down those steps at 64. But they look a bit
slippery and dangerous, so you may prefer to
return to your map and select a different
destination.
6
Swimming mightily, you drag the huge corpse of

the Loch Duckpond Monster to the edge for
examination. It is an awful-looking creature,
slimy and scaly and quite terrifying even now it's
dead.
And since there's not much the outside of a
monster can tell you, you may decide to do a

quick postmortem by cutting it open at 39. Or
you may not, in which case turn to 16.
7
Now this is very odd, Pip. You've reached the

Gatehouse which guards the main road into
Glastonbury. They call it the Gatehouse because
there used to be a wall around the village in the
bad old days before King Arthur brought a bit of
law and order to Avalon. The wall is long gone
now, but the Gatehouse remains and you know
from past experience there should be a token
guard here (by the name of Sam).
Sam is not a serious guard, of course, just a
colourful old gent in funny out-of-date clothes
carrying an ornamental sword and spear - a bit of
tradition, preserved by the Village Council.
The thing is - no Sam. And no other guard either.
The Gatehouse is silent, cold and very empty.
Better select your next destination from your
map.
'.
10
8-9
8
INFORMATION
EMAN
......
SSERDDA
NOITAPUCCO
LM XLNKOVGRLM LU GSRH ULIN HZB
'TLYYOVKOFMP' ZOLFW ZMW GFIM GL
GSRIGVVM.
Well, you wanted to fill out the form ...

9
The bull mastiff, who will answer either to

Clarence or to Rufus (or even to Spot, for that
matter) has 25 LIFE POINTS, fangs successfully
on 5 and tears bits out of people at +4 damage,
which makes him a formidable fighter. He will
accompany you on your adventure and, if
requested, will attack anything on your behalf
with the exception of Mr Acton himself, which is
only understandable. He will not, however, fight
to the death by choice, but will stop when he
reaches 5 LIFE POINTS and leave the rest of the
hassle to you. (If you fail to heal him above 5 LIFE
POINTS he won't fight at all. And of course, he
runs the risk of being killed in a fight whether he
wants to stop or not.)
Whistle him to heel now and return to 70 to

decide where you and he will go next.
10
'Now pass me a blanket from the bed,' Merlin
instructs you.
You pass him the blanket without comment and
he wraps it around his bony frame in the manner
of a badly tailored Roman toga. 'Now,' he says,
'follow me.'
You follow him out of a door in the side of the
barrel. At once you realize something is
dreadfully wrong.
The barrel, you now see, is set at the bottom of
Cadbury Hill on the edge of the sweeping
grainfields which march across the landscape to
Glastonbury Village. But though the sun is shining and harvest time must be near, the sweeping
grainfields are bare: parched earth cracking in
great slabs of crazy paving with not a plant in
sight. And beyond them, Glastonbury lies
enshrouded in a dense grey fog, squatting like a
sullen toad over the entire village but extending
not a single inch beyond.
And as if this was not bad enough, as your eyes
move upwards over Cadbury Hill to the proud
Castle Camelot which crowns the peak, you see
King Arthur's brave Keep has been transformed
into a looming fungoid mass, barely recognizable
as the seat of the glittering Court.
You swing round to Merlin with mounting alarm.
'What's happened here?' you gasp.
11-12
12
He shakes his head. It's the Curse, I tell you - the

Curse on Camelot!'
'Yes, yes,' you say impatiently, 'but who laid the
Curse and what has it done and why didn't
somebody stop it and what can be done about it
and who - '
He holds up a skinny hand. 'Patience. Everybody's
been asking me the same thing and I don't have all
the answers. But if you zip across to 22, I'll tell
you everything I know.'
So what are you waiting for?
11
You search thoroughly and find absolutely
nothing of any interest whatsoever.
Isn't this irritating? Return to your map before
you lose your temper.
12
A flash of light so brilliant that it blinds you, a
puff of smoke so acrid that it chokes you, a crash
of thunder so loud that it deafens you, a surge of
energy so strong that it leaves you speechless, all
for a second.
You are in a right mess for a short time (deaf,
dumb, blind and choking), but fortunately the
light fades, the smoke clears, the noise stops and
the energy forms itself into an eighteen feet long
scaly green creature breathing fire down its nose.
For an adventurer of your experience, it can only
be one thing: an alchemical Green Dragon!
Careful, Pip, this brute will have your throat

out as quick as look at you. Green Dragons
have 40 LIFE POINTS and very bad breath
which will do you 10 points of damage on any
successful hit. They also have an interesting bit
of magic which allows them, on a throw of 12,
to transmute you into solid gold (which is a
very spectacular way to get killed). The point
about this particular Green Dragon is that you
can call it up only three times in all, this time
being one of them, and if you're lucky it will
fight on your behalf during battle combat each
time you call it. But you do have to be lucky.
Roll one die and make a note of your score.
Now roll again and if you fail to roll higher the
second time than the first, then the brute will
attack you right now and fight to the death. If,
however, you manage to roll higher the second
time, you can set it on anything that happens
to be hassling you just now.
13-14
Right: now you've finished playing with
dragons, you should return to the section you
just left and get on with some serious
adventuring.
13
As you pronounce the mystic word, your
surroundings abruptly disappear and you find
yourself standing on a lonely road. Distantly, to
the south-east, you can see a collection of fogenshrouded buildings, while to the north-west,
the road seems to enter a marsh or swamp, out of
which towers a peculiarly rounded hill.
South-east takes you to 34 while following the
road north-west will get you to 32.
14
Well, that's it, isn't it? Killed stone dead by
something or other. But there's no need to stay
15-16
that way. Just grab your dice, reroll your LIFE
POINTS and you can get back into your adventure
faster than it takes you to say antidisestablishmentarianism (which is supposed to be the
longest word in the English language,
incidentally).
What's more, you don't have to go back to the
beginning, unless you particularly want to, but
only to the start of the particular sequence where
you were killed. If, for example, you were
slaughtered in Glastonbury Village, you can
restart back there. If you were killed in the Castle,
you can begin again at the Castle. This saves a lot
of time and may even be a help to you in the long
run since it gives you a second chance to
investigate things you may have missed first time
around.
15
Climbing up the side of a Town Hall isn't easy.
Roll two dice. Score under 6 and go to 19.
Score 6 or more and turn to 27.
16
'Here!' exclaims a sharp voice behind you. 'What
have you done with Flipper!'
You spin round, sword at the ready to defend
yourself, but find you are facing nothing more
threatening than Honest Albert, the town's
second-hand cart salesman. He is a small, dapper
man, dressed in a woollen tunic which is falling
apart because of the Curse.
17
'Flipper?' you ask, puzzled.

'My goldfish,' he says, gesturing towards the
monster you have dragged out of the duckpond.
You turn to look at the corpse. 'That's a goldfish?'
'Of course it is!' says Honest Albert shrilly. 'At
least it was. It grew a bit after the Curse started.
Did you kill it?'
'Well, yes . . . ' you admit, sheepishly. 'I mean, it
was going to - '
But Honest Albert isn't interested. 'You shall be
avenged, Flipper!' he cries dramatically and,
drawing a wicked club from beneath his jacket,
flings himself upon you.
This will not be a fight to the death, Pip, since
Albeit isn't a murderer, only a lunatic - and
even then only a lunatic because of the Curse.
If he brings your LIFE POINTS below 15, he
will leave with honour satisfied. If you bring
his LIFE POINTS to 15, he will run off
screaming abuse. Either way, you still have the
opportunity of cutting open the goldfish at 39
or returning to your map to find a new
destination.
17
It should be a familiar road to Camelot since

you've climbed this hill often enough in the past,
usually in triumph after slaughtering something
particularly beastly and saving the realm yet
again.
Welcome back to Camelot, Pip. (That moat smells foul!)
18-20
17
But while it should be familiar, it isn't. The great

broad highway which meandered up the hill is
now so rutted and potted and caved in that it is
scarcely more than a goat track. The avenue trees,
planted as ornamentation by Green Thumb Mog,
King Arthur's head gardener, are wilted, diseased
and in many cases even fallen. And the land
below, once so beautiful a vista, is now a
sweeping plain of shrub and dried-out marsh.
After this approach, the Castle itself comes as no
real surprise. The glittering spires and soaring
towers, the proud walls and looming battlements
are now covered completely in a thick, oozing
leprous skin of dark grey fungus which transforms
the entire edifice into something reminiscent of a
gigantic squatting toad. There is a distinct chill in
the air.
The moat smells foul. Scum and debris float like
sullen corpses on the surface. Great slow bubbles
erupt from the depths to burst on the surface
releasing little greenish fumes. The raised
drawbridge exhibits signs of dryrot and the closed
portcullis has fallen prey to rust. There are no
guards on the walls and a silent stillness hangs
over everything like a funereal shroud.
Welcome back to Camelot, Pip. But how do
you propose to get in? You might, perhaps,
attempt to swim the moat at 26.
Or bravely announce your arrival at 43.
Or maybe even write it all off as a bad idea and
make for Glastonbury at 34.
18
Glastonbury Nick is the westernmost building on

your map, carefully left unnumbered since only
an idiot would want to go there. It looks awful
from the outside and considerably worse from
within. Constable Grimes pushes you into a
narrow cell, slams shut the door and throws away
the key.
'Your trial's set for February 31,' he says.
You listen disconsolately to his receding
footsteps, then turn to explore your cell. It is 10'
x 10', devoid of windows, with stone floor and
walls. The only other occupant is a rat.
You could starve to death here very easily, Pip,
although there is always the possibility of
eating the rat. You can attack this creature at
29.
Or try to talk to it at 52.
Or simply sit still and do nothing until hunger
carries you off to 14.
19
You've fallen on your head.
You may find an aspirin at 14.
20
You are standing on the edge of the village
duckpond, a scummy little stretch of water
sometimes used for throwing bullies into. There
are three ducks on it at the moment, swimming
backwards for some reason. Near the middle you
21
21
then go to the section number shown in order to
get out!
can see bubbles rising as if somebody had fallen in

and was drowning.
If you want to investigate those bubbles, you're
going to have to get your feet wet... all the
way up to your head! But if that's what you
want, you may leap into the pond at 3.
If you prefer to stay dry, you can always pass
the time by feeding the ducks at 63 or selecting
a new destination from your map.
21
You scrabble round in the pile of straw in the
corner and discover . ..
A portable hole!
By George, Pip, this is a find and no mistake! All
you need do is make it up as per the instructions,
Cut out and assemble pieces to form a complete circle.

Then proceed to the section number shown.
22
22
22
THE CURSE
It came about in this fashion.
For many months since the return of Excalibur,
peace and plenty returned to the Realm of Avalon.
It was one of those golden times when trade
booms, corn grows high, brigands, robbers, bandits and burglars all fade into semi-retirement and
it only rains at night, after midnight. Even
dragons were few and far between (the result of a
dry August the year before, according to the Old
Residenters, of whom one coined an expression
'We've never had it so good' which became
something of a catch-phrase).
The brave Knights of the Table Round, with few
dragons to slay and almost no wrongs to right,
spent much of their time jousting, to the intense
enjoyment of the peasantry who had free tickets
to these events and thoroughly enjoyed the
spectacle of aristocrats falling off horses and
breaking the odd arm or rib.
King Arthur, relieved of the onerous burden of
State problems, had more free time too and spent
it fishing. Only the Wizard Merlin and the Court
Cooper, a squat little man named Harold, were at
all busy - and that only because the Welsh
Wizard's fearsome eccentricity had occasioned
him to commission the creation of a gigantic
barrel in which he proposed to live like Socrates.
(Or was it Plato?)
What exactly happened to change this idyllic
situation remains a shade obscure. There was

much speculation after the event, of course.
Midwife Hardacre of Glastonbury had a story of a
Piper commissioned by the Village Council to rid
the Town Hall of black beetles and never paid.
Farmer Albert, a man as famed for his flights of
fancy as for the turf he smoked in his clay pipe,
maintained the fault lay with his arch enemy, the
Blacksmith Abraham who was so drunk one night
that he stumbled into a Holy Well, thus
committing an unconscious act of desecration.
Petronicus Ambilicus, the old Roman Alchemist
who still plied his trade in Glastonbury, reckoned
it was a seasonal thing, connected in some
mysterious way with the position of the Planet
Mercury.
.
More serious theories, put forward by the Archbishop of Canterbury, suggested the disturbance
of a Great Wyrm in Cornwall or possibly the
activity of witches in Wales.
But the simple fact was that no-one really knew.
Everyone went to sleep one evening (before
midnight to avoid the rain) in a Realm that was all
green and golden and sunny and peaceful; and
woke up the following morning to a nightmare of
blight, pestilence, gloom and corruption.
The first thing they noticed was that the dawn
sun had taken on a greenish tinge. And while that
died down a little over the morning, there was
still the smog that had fallen over Glastonbury,
the pollution in the water supply, the total
disappearance of every Knight in Avalon, the
22
fungus attack on Camelot Castle, the death of all

grain crops, the sickening of pigs and cattle, the
drying of the soil, the potholes and molehills
which erupted like boils along all main roads, the
way gold started to rust and linen to rot and the
mildew that appeared nearly everywhere.
It was, said the Old Residenters wisely, a Curse.
And for once, nobody disagreed with them. The
problem, of course, was what to do about it.
The first deputation went to Camelot, but quickly
found it was impossible to enter the Castle, let
alone communicate with King Arthur or the
members of his Court.
The second deputation went to Merlin's barrel,
but was denied entrance on the grounds that the
Wizard had nothing to wear. It was an excuse that
the members of the deputation appreciated since
they too had lost much of their clothing.
After that, the people settled down to suffering, as
people usually do in the face of mysterious
adversity. Except for Merlin himself, of course,
who did what he always did when there was too
much trouble abroad for normal human beings to
handle. Merlin cast a Net Spell to capture the
greatest hero in the known universe, a young
person, with sufficient skill, courage, talent,
common sense, good looks and self-confidence to
animate the body of Pip.
Those who knew about the spell were greatly
relieved. The situation needed a hero -
23-25
particularly one stupid enough to risk his life and

limb to sort things out.
Now read on at 50.
23
Nope, nothing much of interest here. Still, it pays

to be thorough.
Now return to your map and select a new
destination.
24
The hole opens into a tunnel which runs deep
underground.
And emerges eventually at 34.
25
Stand aside, Brothers!' you warn, drawing old EJ.
Otherwise I shall hack you into holy stock
cubes!'
27
26
But the monks smile at you benignly. 'If you kill

us, good sir, the hand of the Almighty will surely
strike you down stone dead with a bolt of
lightning, while we, on the other hand, are
perfectly at liberty to batter you all the way to 14
since Right is on our side.'
This is a troublesome position to be in, if you
believe that ecclesiastical rubbish. Should you
still wish to fight them, turn to 31. But you still
have the option of backing off and going to
another numbered section of your map.
After a time, you turn around and swim back to

the bank. 'That was the stupidest idea you ever
had!' you tell EJ shortly as you drag yourself back
out.
Which may be true (although it probably isn't)
but doesn't get you into the castle. You may,
however, bravely announce your arrival at 43
or abandon this attempt and head for
Glastonbury at 34.
26
The moat water has all the fresh consistency of
thick pea soup and a certain corrosive quality
which brings your skin out in a rash before you've
gone three yards. Even old EJ, your faithful talking
sword, is moved to protest.
'Glug . . . glug . . . '
'Shut up, EJ!'
Despite all this unpleasantness, you swim
strongly for the castle wall. But while you swim
strongly, you don't seem to be getting any closer.
'Glug . .. glug . . . we're not getting . . . glug . . .
any closer.'
'Shut up, EJ!'
27
Using your very finest climbing techniques, finehoned by a lifetime of stealing from orchards, you
reach a dizzying ten feet before a voice behind you
says, 'Hello, hello, hello - what's going on here,
then?'
You look round (still clinging to the wall) to find
yourself staring at Grimes, the village constable.
Much of his uniform has rotted because of the
Curse, but his helmet and truncheon remain
intact.
'Good sir' you cry, with commendable presence of
mind, 'I am Pip the Adventurer, under warrant
from the Wizard Merlin to save the realm from
the Curse of Kran and I am presently engaged in
seeking out clues to the identity and whereabouts
of the evildoer!'
All the same, he's right. After fifteen minutes,

you're still up to your neck in this foul liquid and
still only a few yards from the bank where you
first leapt in.
'Tell it to the Beak,' says Grimes, grimly dragging

you down from the wall.
And marching you off to 18.
30-31
28-29
28
You sink like a stone all the way to 14.

29
'Take that, you mangy rodent!!' you cry bravely,
drawing old EJ and launching yourself upon the
rat.
Which, like most rats, is tougher than it looks,
having 33 LIFE POINTS and a poisonous bite.
If the little perisher scores even a single hit on
you, you will automatically lose 5 LIFE
POINTS (additional to any dice damage) every
combat round thereafter until either you or the
rat is dead. Should you survive this deadly
encounter, you will discover something rather
interesting at 21.
If not, you will find nothing at all interesting at
14.
30
A familiar enough sight, Pip, since your adoptive

father, Freeman John, used to bring you here on
the back of his cart when you were a child. Those
were the days when he came to sell farm produce
in Glastonbury Market, for this is the market
square.
It's empty now, which is odd, considering the
time of day. You would normally expect to find
somebody hanging around, even if it was only a
tinker mending pots or a beggar trying to extract a
few pennies from the passers-by. But now there is
only the empty square with the well (marked 5 on
your map) at the centre.
The Curse, it seems, has been very bad for
business.
Now you'd better try to find yourself a more
interesting destination.
31
You hurl yourself forward and the fight is on!
Each monk has 20 LIFE POINTS and while
unarmed will strike successfully on a throw of
5 or better and do +3 damage with bare hands
on account of their martial training. They will
surrender abjectly if you manage to bring their
LIFE POINTS below 5, and you can then turn
to 48: but should you accidentally kill even one
of them, you will be struck down by a bolt of
lightning and must go to 14. (If they kill you in
their turn, you must also go to 14.)
32
32
As you follow the road it narrows, roughens, then

peters out completely, leaving you to pick your
way very carefully through the squishy ground of
a great marsh.
This is the sort of place that could suck you in and
drown you very easily, but since you are an
experienced adventurer, you test each step before
you take it and proceed slowly, carefully, towards
the curiously rounded mound of Glastonbury Tor.
'I wish you wouldn't do that,' EJ complains
bitterly.
'Do what?' you ask.
'Use me to test the ground ahead before taking
each step. I'm getting very wet. If you keep this up
much longer, I'll catch my death of cold. Or rust.'
'Button your lip,' you tell him severely, having
better things to do than listen to a sword
complaining.
'You'll regret it,' he warns.
And in the event he is right for a change. With the
foothills of the Great Tor less than a hundred
yards away, you prod EJ into the marsh before you
to test the ground and Eeeeeaaaaarrrrrrrrh!
There erupts from the sodden ground a nightmare

creature more than fifty feet long, leprous limegreen, slimy, heavily fanged and very very angry.
It towers above you like a serpent preparing to
The Guardian Wyrm rears up before you.
33
strike, luminous green eyes glaring at you

horridly.
' Eeeeeeaaaaarrrrrrrrrh!' it says again.
It seems you may have disturbed the Guardian
Wyrm, the monstrous creature whose coils
guard the only safe route to the Tor. Worse still,
it has reared up with old EJ firmly clamped
between its front teeth, leaving you swordless.
Since the Wyrm is known to have 1,000 LIFE
POINTS and strikes on a roll of 1 or better with
+50 damage, you can tell right away you are in
big trouble. A moment's thought will remind
you that the only man ever to defeat the
Guardian Wyrm was Uther Pendragon, King
Arthur's father, and even he only managed it
with the aid of a magical Mirrored Shield. If
you happen to have this marvellous artifact
with you, you may take your chances with the
Wyrm at 55.
If not, you can save yourself a lot of pain by
going direct to 14.
33
A vague touch of deja vu here, as the Gauls like to
say.
You are now at a sort of tridentine fork, with the
tunnel running northwards, two branch tunnels
driving off to the north-west and north-east and a
passage running south.
This could get even more confusing, Pip, so
keep your wits about you. North takes you to
34-35
44; north-west to 49; north-east to 53; south to

36.
34
The road to Glastonbury, once such a pleasant
journey, is now a disaster area, with the fogenshrouded destination holding no great appeal
either. You reach the outskirts of the village
eventually and step reluctantly into the mist. It is
not so thick as it seems from the outside, so you
can see perfectly well where you are going, but it
is damp and chill, making an adventurer's life
(which was never a bowl of cherries to begin with)
even more difficult.
But difficult or not, you should brace yourself
to study the map of Glastonbury on page 202
which will indicate the areas you may explore.
35
'Well, Sir Rat,' you say, 'it looks like we're stuck
here.'
'Don't be ridiculous,' remarks the rat. 'You don't
think they jailed me for stealing cheese, do you?'
You hide your astonishment rather well, but are
unable to reply on account of the fact that your
jaw has dropped open.
'Rats get into cells through holes,' says the rat.
'We can both get out the same way.'
'Get out through a rat-hole?' you ask blankly.
'You might, but I'm a bit big for that.'
36-37
'Don't get stroppy until you see the hole. It's

under that pile of straw.'
Which you can examine at 21.
36
It isn't a cave at all - more like a tunnel of some
sort. And once you've gone more than a few feet,
it starts to descend quite sharply. Maybe this
leads into the Castle after all, some sort of
subterranean entrance that comes up through the
hill.
Or there again, maybe it's a crypt full of vampires.
You never know with places like this.
But it's a bit too late to be worrying now. You're
well into the tunnel and, in any case, now facing a
sort of tridentine fork, with the tunnel continuing
northwards, but two branch tunnels driving off to
the north-west and north-east.
This could get a bit confusing, Pip, so keep your
wits about you. North takes you to 33; northwest to 41; north-east to 46.
37
This is crazy! You're in a room at the bottom of
the well! A room of sorts, that is: it's a sort of
gigantic bubble really, but it has been furnished
with a bed, an easy chair, several leather-bound
books, a gozalow (which gozalow the bed), a
wardrobe, an alchemist's furnace, a Wait a minute - an alchemist's furnace? There's
only one soul in the whole of Avalon who would
It isn't a cave at all - more like a tunnel of some sort.
38
take the trouble of installing an alchemist's

furnace! Quickly you grab one of the leatherbound books. Sure enough, there is the familiar
spidery writing on the title page: 'This tome
belongs to Merlin.' You've found another of
Merlin's blasted houses! He has them all over the
place in the most eccentric situations.
Quickly you flick through the remaining books in
the hope that they might contain useful spells,
but they turn out to be utter rubbish - a work on
astronomy which proves the sun goes round the
earth backwards every seven years, two adventure
game books about some idiot called Fire*Wolf, a
book on stock-breeding, a book of crossword
puzzles and a fisherman's handbook.
Throwing the volumes aside in disgust, you make
to go back to the steps when a thought strikes you
and you look inside the alchemical furnace. A
green stone lies half hidden in the dead ashes.
It could be something ghastly, of course, since
Merlin concocts the most appalling artifacts
sometimes, but you may, if you wish, take the
stone at 56. Or you can leave it alone and
climb out of the well to seek a new destination
from your map.
38
The smell of incense and the sonorous sound of
Gregorian chanting which emanates from this
great colonnaded building would give you the hint
(if you didn't know already) that you have reached
Glastonbury Abbey. A brace of burly tonsured
monks stand guard on the entrance.
Looks as though you'll have to hack your way

past these two burly monks.
39
'Good brothers,' you cry. 'Pray permit me

entrance!'
'Kiss off!' they reply piously, in unison.
This Church Militant business (which you may
have learned about during your adventure in
the GATEWAY OF DOOM) is a real pain in the
vestry. It looks as though you will have to hack
your way past these two fellows if you want to
gain entrance to the Abbey. You may challenge
them, if you so decide, at 25, or return to your
map and seek out a safer destination.
39
'Here, you're not going to use me on that thing,
are you?' asks EJ in alarm, having guessed you are
about to cut up the monster.
'I used you to kill it,' you point out reasonably.
'Yes, but that's my job,' EJ says. 'Cutting up dead
things is very infra dig for a sword.'
'Do be quiet' you tell him, abandoning reasonableness. And with one swing of your protesting
sword, you lay open the monster. Inside it is a
collection of the most amazing rubbish - old
horse shoes, rusting daggers, bits of armour,
leather boots and so forth, all that remains,
presumably, of the people (and horses) it has
eaten.
Rummaging through, you come across a bottle
with a piece of parchment inside. Even through
the glass you can read the writing on the
parchment. It says simply: 'There's a secret
40-41
entrance to Camelot at 60.'
Interesting information if it's true. You can
turn to 60 to find out, or alternatively keep the
parchment for later and continue investigating
Glastonbury from your map.
40
Swimming like a fish (or duck, if you prefer) you
make your way with lightning speed to the spot
where the bubbles are emerging, wondering the
while what is causing them. But before you
actually reach the bubbles, you find out the hard
way.
Emerging out of the water is a long, scaly head,
attached to a long, equally scaly neck, which in
turn is attached to a long, scaly body just visible
beneath the surface of the pond.
Congratulations! You have just solved the
mystery of the origin of the Loch Ness Monster!
But right now, you'd better decide what to do
about it. Big though it is, the creature is not
fully grown (there being less room in
Glastonbury duckpond than in Loch Ness) but
it still sports 30 LIFE POINTS and can savage
you at +5 damage on a throw of 6 or better. If it
savages you successfully, turn to the dreaded
14.
If, however, you savage it, 6 would be a better
destination.
41
The tunnel ends in a blank wall to the north-west,
while leading south-east to 36.
42
42
42
Now this is a building you have never needed to

enter before since the loot you have collected
during your various adventures has left you
reasonably well off. But you know what it is, of
course, as does everybody in Glastonbury the
town Almshouse, established in a benevolent
moment by King Arthur himself, officially opened
by the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the one
spot where the poor and needy can go for a
handout now and then.
As usual, the doors are locked and barred and the
windows tight shuttered.
You walk past the various signs (NO ADMITTANCE . . . KEEP OUT . . . TRESPASSERS
PROSECUTED .. . BEWARE OF THE DOG . . .
PRIVATE . .. STAFF ONLY . . . and so on) to the
main door. You knock.
After a while, you knock again. And again.
Losing patience, you kick the door, which falls
inwards with a resounding crash.
'That's Government property!' a shrill voice
exclaims. 'There will be forms to fill out!'
You are looking into a neat office, furnished with
a neat desk, behind which sits a neat Nerd,
wearing the traditional white spats of his race.
Something about him looks painfully familiar.
'Excuse me,' you say, 'but haven't we met
somewhere before?'
'Perhaps we have, perhaps we haven't!' says the
Nerd sharply. 'That depends on whether you've

visited the Ghastly Kingdom of the Dead - I used
to run the Treasure Room there until some silly
little hero looted it and lost me my job.
Fortunately there's always employment for
someone with a head for figures. Now, what do
you want - I'm very busy.'
'I was wondering if you could give me any
information about the Curse on Avalon,' you tell
him.
'Fill in this form,' snaps the Nerd, pushing a piece
of parchment towards you.
If you want to waste time on red tape, turn to 8.
If you would prefer to beat the information out
43-45
of the Nerd (assuming he has it) turn to 13.
If you feel this place is a complete dead loss,
turn to your map and select a new destination.
43
'Ho there!' you call, hands placed firmly on your
hips, a small (but extremely handsome and
impressive) figure dwarfed by the towering
fungoid edifice. 'Ho there!' you call again. 'This is
Pip the Dragonslayer and Hero of Avalon seeking
entrance to the Court of Camelot as is my right as
servant and friend to the great King Arthur.'
From deep within the castle, something giggles
evilly.
Which, as you will discover if you hang around
long enough is the only answer you are going to
get. And that would seem to reduce your
options to swimming the moat at 26 or
hightailing it off to Glastonbury at 34.
44
A crossroads - how exciting. Tunnels lead north,
south, west and east.
North leads to 57; south to 33; west to 65; east
to 71.
45
You have fallen down the well and broken your
neck. Well, nearly. You fell down all right - those
steps were extremely slippery - but the surface of
the water broke your fall rather than your neck
and while you have lost 5 LIFE POINTS due to
46-47
shock, you should be able to get yourself together

sufficiently to examine the environment at 37.
46
The tunnel ends in a blank wall to the north-east

while leading south-west to 36.
47
You've had to cross a ploughed field to get to this
building, Pip, which isn't surprising since it's
Acton's Farm. And there, mangling his worzels
round the back is Bartholomew Acton himself, as
crabby an old boot as ever set foot in a silage pit.
'Good morrow, Mr Acton,' you call cheerfully,
having met him a few times in the Glastonbury
market with your adoptive father, Freeman John.
'Oh ahr,' he replies, reaching for a nearby pitchfork and whistling three short blasts between his
teeth.
'I was wondering - ' you begin. But you're cut
short by the yelping approach of the Hound of the
Actons, a bull mastiff of fearsome proportions,
even now skidding at full tilt around a corner of
the barn.
'Get 'e abacko my yard, young 'un, ere Oi sets moi
varmint to scrubbling yer fruttock!' warns Mr
Acton, a charming piece of dialect which you suspect means he wishes you to leave his property at
once.
The mastiff, a creature only marginally smaller
than a drayhorse, with luminous red eyes and
48
48
rabid fangs, crouches quivering a few feet from

your throat, waiting expectantly for whatever signal his crabby old master might be about to give.
There is no doubt the Curse has left people very
edgy around here, Pip. If you stick around, it
looks as though you'll have a fight on your
hands, not only with this slavering mastiff but
with the old codger himself and his nasty
pitchfork. If you want to follow through on this
interesting situation, turn to 70. If not, smile
politely and backtrack quickly to your map
where you can look for less irascible company.
48
The two hangdog monks escort you through the
main entrance of the Abbey, across a cloistered
courtyard and through a sturdy oakwood door.
Beyond it lies a waiting room.
'If your Honour would care to rest yourself here a
moment,' says one, rubbing the bruises on his
head, 'we will fetch the Abbot.'
And it is only a moment, for the Abbot bustles in
almost at once. 'Thank Heavens you're here,' he
exclaims with a brief upwards glance. 'I thought
Merlin would never get you. Not that I approve of
his methods, of course - magic and so forth: very
naughty. But these are desperate times as you see
and a curse is a curse.'
'If you're so glad to see me, why didn't you instruct your rotten monks to let me in?' you ask
petulantly.
'I had to be sure it was the real hero Pip. Only Pip
could defeat those two. Now to business. I have
been doing a little investigation of my own and it
seems to me you'll not find the source of the
Curse in this world at all, but in another - '
Not the Ghastly Kingdom of the Dead again!' you
groan.
Good heavens no!' exclaims the Abbot. 'Somewhere much less pleasant than that! Or at least
more confusing. I'm speaking of the fabled Astral
Plane. It's where all the best curses start out in my
experience. My limited experience, of course.'
How do I get to this Astral Plane?' you ask, bristling with courage and excitement.
You don't,' says the Abbot. 'Or at least not right
away. The only entrance I know of is at the top of
Glastonbury Tor, but to reach that you have to
cross the Great Marsh and get past the Guardian
Wyrm. To do that you need Pendragon's Mirrored
Shield and for that you need to find the secret way
into Camelot.'
I don't suppose you know the secret way into
Camelot?' you ask.
51
49-50
The Abbot nods excitedly. 'As a matter of fact I

do.' He glances over his shoulder, gestures you to
come closer, bends over and whispers in your ear:
'Go to 60!'
Which may or may not be good advice. You
may go to 60 right away, or explore some more
of Glastonbury if you wish.
49
You have entered a small, open chamber. A corridor runs south-east and another due south.
The south-eastern corridor leads to 33: due
south to 59.
50
'So here you are,' said Merlin. 'All shipshape and
Bristol fashion. Keen and enthusiastic' He
glances up at the sky briefly. 'Looks like rain, but
it won't. It never rains now when you want it to:
only when you don't and it doesn't do any good.
Never mind - you'll soon sort it out.'
'But I don't know who laid the Curse!' you wail.
'Neither do I,' admits Merlin frankly. 'Shortly after the whole thing happened, a thunderstone fell
in Glastonbury Village Square with an inscription
on it which read: Revenge is Sweet - signed Kran
the Terrible. There was a lot of excitement when
that happened. People started talking about the
Curse of Kran.'
'But then all we have to do is find this Kran,' you
exclaim.
'What do you mean - we?' Merlin asks testily. But

before you can answer, he adds, 'You'll find it's
not as simple as all that. Whoever laid the Curse
would have to be a wizard, sorcerer or witch; and
they're all registered, you know. Union rules. You
can't practise magic unless you're registered.'
'Then,' you interrupt, 'we just have to look at the
records.'
'I've done all that!' snaps Merlin. 'There's no such
person as Kran. At least, there's no such name
registered anyway. It's my belief that Kran is a
nom de guerre. So to find Kran, you're going to
have to find out who Kran really is. Then you're
going to have to kill him. Or her.' He pauses
thoughtfully. 'Or it,' he adds.
'Where do I start?'
'That's up to you,' says Merlin. 'It's your adventure. I can't possibly come with you, since I'd risk
being arrested for indecent exposure. But if I could
come with you, I'd suggest you start with a visit
to Glastonbury. Or a run at Castle Camelot.
Those are the two places where the Curse lies
thickest, so there might be some clues to pick up.'
Which seems as good advice as any. You can
troll up Cadbury Hill to the Castle at 17, or
visit Glastonbury at 34.
51
You knock.
'Go away!' calls a voice from deep inside this
house. 'Go on - go away!'
52
You knock again, politely.

The door opens a fraction and one beady eye peers
out. 'Go away - Oh, it's you, young Pip. I thought
it might be the Wizard Kran.'
'No sir, it's not,' you say, recognizing the Marketmaster, Bernard Gruikback.
'No, I can see that now. I suppose you want the
key to the stockyard? Not that it'll do you any
good since the stockyard's empty. Part of the
Curse, you know. Still, there's nothing else here
but the key and you're welcome to it if you want
it.'
Take the useless key if you want it and return
to your map.
The door opens a fraction and one beady eye peers out.
52
'Good morrow, Rat,' you say politely, feeling
foolish.
The rat looks at you blankly.
'What are you in for then, little fellow?' you ask,
this being the sort of conversation suited to two
convicts in a 10' x 10' cell.
The rat looks at you blankly.
Are you going to spend the rest of this adventure talking to a rat? You can continue the
inane conversation at 35 or, if you are feeling
aggressive, attack the little brute at 29. Or you
can starve quietly and peacefully to death at
14.
53-55
56
53
The tunnel ends in a blank wall to the north-east.

South-west leads to 33.
54
There's a turn-up - you've reached the Town Hall,
which is usually a hive of bustling activity, but
now it's closed down, locked up and plastered
with notices saying 'Go Away'.
There is no doubt at all but that the Curse has
made the good folk of Glastonbury very odd indeed. But what are you going to do about the
Town Hall, which might well contain records of
assistance to you?
You walk around the building, trying the various
side doors, but like the main door, all are locked.
Most of the windows are boarded up as well, except for a small one on the second floor.
Are you going to try to climb up to that window? If so, turn to 15. If not, you can creep
away to your map and select a new destination.
55
Swifter than a speeding arrow, the monstrous
Wyrm strikes towards you, its huge mouth wide
open to devour you, its tummy rumbling in horrid
anticipation of the tasty little morsel you undoubtedly represent.
But swifter still, you whip out the Great Mirrored
Shield of Uther Pendragon and set it between your
frail frame and the attacking monster.
At once the Wyrm halts its insane downward

plunge. The green eyes widen in horror at the
reflection in the shield.
'Yaaaaarrrrgh!' it roars. Old EJ drops from its
mouth and falls to plunge, blade first, into the
ground.
You press the shield forward slightly.
'Aaaarrrrrgh!' shrieks the Wyrm, backing off a bit.
Gaining confidence, you take a step.
'Waaaaaaaah!' cries the Wyrm.
You make a sudden lunge.
'Yeeeeeeeeek!' screams the Wyrm, turning tail
and diving like a submarine into the marshy soil.
Cautiously you peer around the shield. All is still.
All is peaceful. The Wyrm has gone. With a sigh of
relief, you set down the shield.
'Gotcha!' yells the Wyrm, emerging out of the
ground immediately behind you and fastening its
great fangs on your ankle.
If the shock of this surprise attack kills you, go
to 14.
Otherwise you might like to admire the scenery at 76.
56
'Don't touch it!' a voice hisses urgently, if somewhat muffled by a scabbard. It is, of course, your
talking sword EJ.
57-60
56
'Why not?'you hiss back.

'I think it's cursed!' EJ tells you.
'Why do you think that?'
'It's green, isn't it? Green stones are always
cursed. Once you touch it, you will never be able
to put it down until you're dead - perhaps not
even then. And it may drain your LIFE POINTS or
give you boils or transport you instantly into
some ghastly place, or call up some horrendous
monster, or . . . '
'Oh, shut up, EJ - I need to think!'
Take all the time you need. And take the green
stone, if you still want it, by turning to 73. But
if you've changed your mind, you can still
climb the steps and find a new destination on
your map.
57
You have reached a small, open chamber with exit

passages running north and south. On one wall of
the chamber (the east wall to be exact) is a small
lever with a neatly enscribed notice reading:
PULL LEVER TO TELEPORT
What an interesting find. If you pull the lever
you will be instantly transported to 41.
If you leave it alone, you can take the northern
passage to 86 or go south to 44.
58
This place is familiar enough from your previous
visits to Glastonbury: it's the stockyard . . . and
it's locked.
If you happen to have a key to the stockyard,
turn to 4. If not, you'll have to return to your
map and find a new destination.
59
The tunnel angles north and east. At the junction,

your eagle eye spots the entrance to a secret
crawlspace running north-east.
North will take you to 49, east to 80, while the
crawlspace runs north-east to 36.
60
This is an odd route to the Castle, well away from
the triumphal road leading up the hill to the main
entrance. In fact for a while you half convince
61
yourself you have been misdirected, since the

path (for it's no more than a path) twists and turns
and seems, at times, to be taking you in completely the opposite direction.
At one point, your way passes through a small
wood where the birds are coughing in the treetops
as a result of the Curse, then drops into a dell,
emerges across some wasteland and eventually
reaches . . .
This isn't the Castle! It's nowhere near the Castle! You are facing the entrance to a deep, dark
cave!
If you want to enter and risk getting totally
lost, turn to 36.
Or you can go back to Glastonbury at 34.
Or take the familiar road to the Castle at 17.
61
You have entered a small open chamber. Passages
lead south, north, north-west and east. On one
wall (the west wall to be exact) there is a lever and
a neat little notice which reads:
PUSH LEVER UP OR DOWN TO TELEPORT
How intriguing. If you push the lever up, you
will teleport to 57.
If you push it down, you will teleport to 71.
If you leave it alone, you may go south to 80,
north to 101, north-west to 97 or east to 90.
You arc facing the entrance to a deep, dark cave.
62-66
62
By George, the Curse has certainly affected this

place and no mistake. You are standing outside
the Abbey House, which is the residence of the
monks when they aren't leaping around the
Abbey itself. Or at least was the residence of the
monks, since it's now a pile of rubble, rotted,
mildewed and fallen down.
The Abbey itself, at 38, looks okay though.
Now select a new destination from your map.
63
The ducks look suitably grateful.
Now stop messing about with ducks when
you've a kingdom to save. Return to 20 and
decide what to do from there.
64
Climbing down, are you? Better check to make

sure you don't slip and break your neck. Roll
two dice. Score 4 or below and go to 45.
Score 5 or more and turn to 37.
65
The tunnel, which runs east/west ends in a blank
wall to the west and a crossroads to the east at 44.
66
Roll two dice to determine how many LIFE

POINTS you have lost falling down this stupid
pit. If the result kills you, go to 14.
67-70
If not, you can climb back up to 86 and proceed
from there.
67
This is the village cattle-pen the communal one
they use when there's a livestock market on. Your
nose will tell you it hasn't been cleaned out lately.
If you can stand the pong, you can search the
pen (which is currently empty of cattle) at 23.
Or you can return to your map and select a new
destination.
68
You find yourself in a dimly-lit corridor running
due north/south. The cell with its open door lies
to the east, while a second corridor runs westwards, its entrance facing the cell door.
South will take you to 91, north to 75, west to
100 and east to 95.
69
from there.
70
'Bain't ee gone yet?' asks old Mr Acton, scowling
fiercely.
'Grrrr!' remarks the mastiff, his luminous red
eyes locked on to your own.
70
'Can't we discuss this reasonably, Mr Acton?' you

ask, a little desperately. 'I'm really only here to -'
Once again you are cut short, not by a whistle or a
word this time, but by the sudden lunge forward
of the bull mastiff...
.. . which places two front paws on your shoulder
and licks your face!
'Blow Oi down!' exclaims Old Acton, moving forward to peer short-sightedly into your newlywashed features, 'If it bain't Freeman John's
young' un, Pip.'
'Yes,' you say eagerly, now the old fool seems to
have recognized you, 'Pip, sir.'
'Oh ahr,' Acton agrees. 'Lucky Clarence knew 'ee
or he'd have had yer gizzard out for sure. You'll be
here about the Curse, belike?'
'Ahr - I mean yes,' you agree. 'Merlin has asked
me to look into it.'
'Bad business,' Mr Acton nods, casting a weathereye skywards and prodding a nearby gosling with
the toe of his boot. 'Blights the land and withers
the crops and leaves the good folks wi' their
clothes rotted. It be the Wizard Kran, they says,
the Old Residenters, but who be he, I asks you,
eh? Who be he that comes from nowhere to scrubble decent folks and suchlike.'
'And more importantly, where be he?' you put in,
that being the mainstay of your mission at this
stage.
'Where?' echoes Old Acton. 'Why, hiding out on
'Not gone yet?" asks Acton, scowling.
72-73
71
Glastonbury Tor, strap me for a mangy varmint

else. Place hasn't been the same since the Curse
started.'
'I suspected as much,' you tell him. 'But how can I
get to the Tor?'
'Ye can't,' says Acton. 'Not without Pendragon's
Mirrored Shield which lies in Castle Camelot.
Why don't ee take Rufus, here, and go there?' he
suggests.
'Rufus? I thought his name was Clarence?'
'Like as not you're right,' Acton agrees. 'But that
don't answer my question.'
Nor does it, but any response you might make
at this stage is a bit complicated. First off, if
you're fed up with trying to understand the old
fool's accent, you can always repair to your
map and pick a new destination. If, however,
you think the Castle might be a good idea and
haven't been there before in this adventure,
you should turn to 17.
If you have been there, but fancy a return trip,
turn instead to 60.
Either way, you'd better decide whether or not
to take the mutt with you. If you feel the savage face-licking Rufus/Clarence might be a
useful companion, turn first to 9. If not, go
direct to your chosen destination without him.
71
The tunnel, which runs east/west ends in a blank
wall to the east and a crossroads to the west at 44.
72

from there.
73
Your hand (shaking a little) closes on the green
stone.
'Yeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaach!'
'Do be quiet, EJ!' you tell him firmly since, in fact,
nothing very much has happened beyond a slight
magical tingle from the stone.
'Is it cursed?' he gasps.
'No, of course it isn't' you assure him.
And you may even be right, although you will
never know until you decide to rub the stone.
You can do that right now, if you wish, by
turning to 12. But before you go rushing off, you
should consider the possibility that you can
only use the magic in it once and it might be
wasted at this point.
Your other possibility is to keep the stone
(without rubbing it) AND ONLY TURN TO 12
WHEN YOU ACTUALLY WANT TO USE
IT... although in that case you should make a
note of the section number you were in so you
can return to it easily. Meanwhile, climb the
steps and look for a new destination on the
map.
76-78
74-75
74

If not, you can climb back up to 101 and proceed from there.
75
The north/south corridor ends north in a block of
six securely-bolted cell doors running east/west.
This is interesting. You may follow the corridor
south to 68 or open one, or all, of the cell doors
since the bolts are on the outside and the block
is unguarded. If you decide to open the cell
doors, consult the following table:
Cell 4 - go to 117
Cell 1 - go to 89
Cell 5 - go to 126
Cell 2 - go to 98
Cell 6 - go to 139
Cell 3 - go to 108
76
Savagely you jerk your leg free from the Wyrm's
grip, skinning your ankle to a cost of 5 LIFE
POINTS in the process. (If this kills you, go to 14.)
Swiftly, you grab EJ, who has spent the last few
moments quivering blade first in the ground.
Bravely you turn to face the dreaded Wyrm.
Which has, however, lost an awful lot of LIFE
POINTS already on account of seeing its reflection in the shield. It has, in fact, only 40 LIFE
POINTS left and is so weakened it can only
bite at +2 damage, while needing 6 or better to
bite at all. Should the weakened Wyrm still
manage to slaughter you, go to 14.
Should you be victorious, turn to 92.
77
The passage runs south-east to 97 and forks northwest to 83, north-east to 93.
78
You step across the prostrate body of the Famous
Torturer of Camelot, carefully using his head as a
stepping-stone and approach the Iron Maiden.
Pitiful groans still emerge from within, which is
probably a good sign since it suggests whoever's in
there is still alive.
The Famous Torturer was obviously a man with a
sense of humour despite his leather apron, since
he has given the Iron Maiden a whimsical name:
FREDA. You know this because it is engraved on
a brass plaque set into the door of the device. The
actual words read:
79
Hi! I'm an Iron Maiden. My name is Freda.

'Stop reading stupid notices and get me out of
here!' calls a hollow voice from within.
But as you reach forward to open the lid of the
cabinet, you suddenly realise this is easier said
than done. It has been firmly secured by a combination lock!
'Get me out! Get me out!' shrieks the voice from
within.
You ignore it and bend forward to examine the
lock, which is numbered 1 to 9. Your experience
tells you it must be a simple two-figure combination to release the lock. But which two figures?
And in what order?
When (if) you discover the two figures which
will open FREDA the Iron Maiden, add 100 to
them and turn to the section number this indicates. If you fail to figure it out, your only
option is to return upstairs to 91.
79
There's a pulsating horrorgem in here! One of the
most dangerous natural elements in the known
universe - a living gemstone that, when squeezed
in just the right way, will first pulsate, then explode with ferocious power to destroy absolutely
everything within a 10' radius.
This one has certainly been squeezed, since it's
pulsating at this very moment.
80-81
But will it explode? Roll one die. Score below 5
and turn to 87.
Score 5 or 6 and turn to 94.
80
The tunnel angles north to 61 and west to 59.
81
Nasty! It's a torture chamber! The dull red glow
you saw is coming from a charcoal brazier, which
has various branding irons and metal pincers
stuck into it and already red hot. Chains and manacles hang from the walls. There is a cabinet full
of thumbscrews, cat o' nine tails, whips, clubs,
canes and a vicious canister of itching powder. In
the centre of the chamber is a rack for increasing
people's height alarmingly and over by the east
wall is an Iron Maiden, closed and bolted.
It is the Iron Maiden which attracts your immediate attention. This unpleasant device is a sort of
upright coffin with huge sharp spikes on the lid,
facing inwards. Anyone put in the Iron Maiden
will normally prefer to leave the door open since,
if it shuts, the spikes reduce LIFE POINTS at a
fearsome rate of knots and usually send the occupant swiftly to 14. Which, by the sound of the
groans emerging from within, is precisely what
this particular Iron Maiden is doing right now.
Standing before the Iron Maiden, chuckling evilly
to himself, is a muscular individual in a leather
apron and hood-mask with, fortunately, his back
turned towards you.
82-84
Since King Arthur was never one for torture, you
might conclude that this whole depressing business is a pretty new addition to Camelot, possibly
as a result of the Curse. But new or not, you will
have to make a decision on what to do about the
poor twit groaning in the Iron Maiden.
You can leap bravely towards the Iron Maiden
(and the giggling, hooded muscle man) at 96, or
creep quietly back up the steps to 91.
82
Stairs going up, Pip! This is always an exciting
find. (And sometimes even as dangerous as stairs
going down.)
If you want to climb those stairs, turn to 102.
If not, you can return via the guardroom (where
you will have no further hassle from the
fungus-bonces) to 68.
83
The passage runs south-east to 77 and ends in a
blank wall to the north-west.
There is, however, a pit trap along here. Roll
one die. Score 3 or more and you avoid it successfully. Score below three and you'd better
fall to 69.
84
Each Fungoid Zombie has a horrifying 22 LIFE
POINTS, strikes successfully on 6, scores +3
damage and will strangle you to death on a
You step down into a most gruesome Torture Chamber.
89-91
85-88
natural throw of 12. if you survive this mess,
turn to 105.
If not, catch your breath at 14.
85
Nope, not quick enough. Now you're going to
have to fight the Fungoid Zombies after all.
The good news is you only have to turn back
one section to do so - at 84.
86
The passage reaches a dead end to the north, while
to the south it opens into a small chamber at 57.
fall to 66.
87
Boom!
Can't say you weren't warned. Go to 14.
88
from there.
Or alternatively, you may take the secret passage from the bottom of the pit to 95.
89
The cell door swings back creakily as you release

the bolt. You stare into the confines of a 10' x 10'
dungeon in which lurks . ..
.. . three Fungoid Zombies! You have never
seen such hideous creatures, Pip. Zombies are
bad enough, but FUNGOID Zombies .. . The
mould holds together the bits that would normally have fallen off and gives them extra
strength in any fight. They do not, however,
move any faster than ordinary Zombies, so
there's a chance you might be able to slam the
door shut again if you want to avoid a fight. If
you DON'T want to avoid a fight (and there's
no accounting for taste) go direct to 84.
If you want to try slamming the door, roll one
die. Score 4 or more and go to 103.
Score less than 4 and go to 85.
90
The passage ends in a blank wall to the east, while
opening into a smaller chamber to the west at 61.
one die. Score 3 or more and you avoid it successfully.
Score below three and you'd better fall to 72.
91
The corridor runs north/south, ending in a flight
of gloomy stone steps at its southern end. The
steps lead downwards into darkness, broken by
93-94
92
just the barest flicker of dull red light somewhere
below.
'Yuuch!' complains EJ. 'I hope you're going to

wash your hands after handling that lot.'
Taking the steps down will lead you to 81.
But you ignore him, since an adventurer often has

to do grotty things no ordinary squeamish mortal
would face up to. You open the first pouch and
discover therein . . . Two vials of Healing Potion!
Each vial contains six healing doses, each dose
will restore a double dice roll of LIFE POINTS.
Following the corridor north will take you to

68.
92
No sooner have you lopped off the final LIFE
POINT than the Wyrm begins to rot, creating a
pong thick enough to cut with a knife and spread
on mouldy bread.
You step back, choking, but fortunately a wind
springs up, carrying away the smell. With the
Wyrm now fallen to pieces, you can see three
partly digested leather pouches on the ground.
With one bound you scoop them up.
Quickly you open the second pouch and discover . . . Twenty gemstones each worth 1,000 gold
pieces!
Half mad with excitement now, you reach for the"
third pouch . . .
Wait up a minute, Pip. You know what it's like
on these adventures. The minute things are
going really well something always comes up
to zap you. Do you really want to open the
third pouch? If so, turn to 79.
If not, you proceed with your healing potions
and gems to Glastonbury Tor at 99.
93
The passage runs south-west to 77 and ends in a
blank wall to the north-east.
fall to 88.
94
Fizzle . . .
95-96
Well, it looks as though it's settled down again
and stopped pulsating, which means it's safe
enough for the moment. You can leave it here if
you wish, or take it with you to use as a fearful
weapon. The only problem with using it as a
weapon is that you must throw one die. Score
below 5 and the rotten thing will blow up in
your face, taking you direct to 14.
Score 5 or 6 and it will zap absolutely anything
you're facing.
Now, with or without the horrorgem, you may
toddle off towards Glastonbury Tor at 99.
95
The secret passage emerges through a sliding
panel into a dank stone cell, dimly-lit by a grey
glow filtering through a high slit window. There
is a pile of filthy straw in one corner and the
broken remains of a clay bowl in the other. Apart
from this, the cell is empty. It seems obvious you
have found your way into Camelot dungeons, the
network of tunnels and cells used to house those
who have incurred the displeasure of the King.
Once thrown into a cell like this, you could remain forever, or until you rot, whichever was the
sooner. Fortunately, however, the door of this cell
is lying open.
97-98
turning towards you, a vicious chain-mace dangling from his right hand.
What have we here?' he asks rhetorically. 'A fresh
young adventurer come to give Old Boris a little
entertainment, eh? A brave little hero who wants
to make his name by hacking up the famous
Hooded Torturer of Camelot? A foolish individual
seeking to rescue the hapless victim of the
dreaded Iron Maiden, what? A - yipes!'
That last remark arose because the old windbag talked so much you managed to get in the
first blow with EJ, neatly removing 7 of his
LIFE POINTS. Even so, it's not going to be a
particularly easy fight. Boris the Famous Torturer of Camelot has 30 LIFE POINTS (minus
the 7 you've already lopped off) and hits on 5 or
better with that lethal mace which does +5
damage - every bit as much as EJ himself. If
you survive this encounter, you may open the
Iron Maiden at 78.
If not, you may open your eyes at 14.
97
The passage runs south-east to 61 and north-west

to 77.
Which means you can zip through it quickly to

68 or take time to search it at 104.
98
The cell door swings back creakily as you release
the bolt. You stare into the confines of a 10' x 10'
dungeon in which lurks . . .
96
Not unexpectedly, he has stopped giggling and is
Nothing at all! What an anticlimax! And what

sort of idiot bars an empty cell. Frantically you
99-100
101
search it, but your first impression was correct.

There is nothing here at all (if you don't count
three crumbs of mouldy cheese in the corner, so
far gone even the rats won't touch it). Better
return to 75 to select another option.
99
You reach the foot of the Tor to find a winding
path leading upwards. From this vantage point
you can see the Tor itself is crowned with a ring of
standing stones surrounding what appears to be a
small wooden building.
You follow the path which twists and turns
through the broken remains of what was obviously a stone-built maze at one time, but is now little
more than a ruined trace of its former glory. Eventually you reach the summit, and another decision.
Will you investigate the standing stones at 121?
Or the wooden building at 150?
100***B
Trouble! The corridor runs west into a guardroom
(and east to 68) housing three of the most
unpleasant-looking guards you have ever seen.
They were obviously men at one time, but the
Curse seems to have gotten to them so that they
are now all covered in fungus, like the castle itself. This does absolutely nothing to improve
their appearance.
Or their temper, come to that, since they have
leapt forward to attack you furiously. You may,
however, bribe one or more of them at 1,000

gold pieces each (assuming you have the loot
and they accept) in which case they will let you
run back to 68 (but will NOT let you go west
beyond the guardroom).
If you can't or don't want to bribe, you will
need to know each fungoid guard has 25 LIFE
POINTS, strikes on 5 or better and does +3
damage with his rusty sword.
If you manage to kill all three guards, you may
return to 68 if you wish, or move west to 82.
101
The passage reaches a dead end to the north, while
opening into a small chamber to the south at 61.
107
102-106
fall to 74.
102
The stairs emerge into an open hallway, empty of
anything nasty (or anything nice for that matter)
and with exits north, south, west and east.
The northern exit leads to 128; the south to
136; the west to 145; the east to 100.
103
By George, that was quick thinking! The door
slams shut in their hideous faces.
Which means you can go back to 75 and select
another option.
104
Nope, nothing here of use to man or beast.
Now you can zip out to 68 with a clear conscience.
anything nasty that moves. There is an ebony

wand lying in one corner, presumably dropped by
the thing that ran through you.
You approach it with mounting excitement, having seen a picture of a similar wand in one of
Merlin's magic books. Unless you are very much
mistaken, that's a Healing Wand!
It's a Healing Wand all right. You place one end
of it against your temple, press the little brass
stud in the base and zip, you've gotten back a
double dice roll of LIFE POINTS. Unfortunately, as you examine this particular wand more
carefully, you can see it is faulty. Each time
you use it, you will have to make a single die
roll first. Score 1,2,3,4, or 5 and the wand will
function exactly as described. Score 6 and it
will blow your head off. Interesting find, if you
have the bottle to use it.
Take your wand and return to 75 to select a
fresh option.
107
105
Zombies don't half pong after you've killed them,
Pip. (To be honest, they don't half pong even before you've killed them, but that's another story.)
If you can stand the smell, you can search the
Zombies at 130. If not, return to 75 and select
another option.
That's torn it! As you step into the mist, the

stones suddenly begin to revolve as if they were
set on a giant turntable. As you watch they move
faster and faster, blending into a blur so that you
seem to be surrounded by a circular wall. You try
to step back out of the mist, but cannot: it moves
with you now and thickens, so that you can no
longer see the revolving stones.
106
That's a relief - it's empty. At least empty of
You are finding it difficult to breathe and your

limbs begin to feel as heavy as lead. You no longer
108-109
want to Move out of the mist: any movement now

is just too much effort. You feel your eyes drooping. This is ridiculous - you are starting to fall
asleep! Good grief, a trip to the Dreamtime is the
last thing you need at the moment. Nevertheless,
you are definitely wilting, finding it harder and
harder to keep from nodding off.
You sit down on the cold ground, the better to
think and discover you simply cannot fight this
force any longer. The prospect of a nice long kip
fills your horizons. You lie down, ignoring the
chill, and cradle your head on your arm. Your eyes
close finally and . . .
And just as the suspense becomes unbearable,
you find you have to turn to 141.
108
There's a corpse in here. Some poor felon thrown
into the cell and left to die of starvation or cold, or
perhaps assassinated in the dead of night by a
hooded figure with feral eyes, armed with a slim,
silent blade.
Brr!
The body is clutching a piece of parchment
with something scrawled across it. If you want
to read what it says, turn to 114; otherwise go
to 75 and select a new option.
The corpse is clutching something in its rotted hand.
109
The Great Hairy Thing was guarding several
small ceramic urns, stoppered and sealed with
wax. These are just the sort of things you would
110-112
expect to contain djinn (well, little djinn) but
when you break the seal, the only thing that
comes out is the healthy smell of healing potion.
Nice one, Pip. You now have half a dozen
healing potions, each capable of restoring a
double dice roll of LIFE POINTS. Take them
with you when you return to 75 to select a new
option.
110
The corridor runs due west and eventually turns
south. About half way along, there is a branch
corridor also running south.
If you wish to remain on the corridor you've
entered, turning south at the end, go to 171.
Should you prefer to take the branch corridor
south, go to 163.
111
This short corridor runs east/west, forming Tjunctions with north/south running corridors at
both its ends.
The corridor at the western junction may be
reached as 171.
The other north/south corridor is at 163.
113-116
113
The corridor runs east/west, forming a T-junction

at its western end with another corridor and
ending in a gloomy flight of stone steps leading
downwards at its eastern end.
You can go west to the T corridor at 128. But if
you want to risk those gloomy steps, turn to
175.
114
The writing on the parchment is in a code of some
sort. It reads:
NEETRUOFOTENOG
Well, that was very edifying if you could make
anything out of it. Maybe you should return to
75 and select another option.
115
You drop down almost five feet into a chamber so
small it is really little more than a cupboard, but a
narrow flight of stone steps leads upwards from
the south eastern corner. Since there is nowhere
else to go, you climb these steps (which are very
shallow and seem to go on forever) until you reach
a trapdoor above you. You unfasten the fixings of
the door and climb up into a corridor. The trap
door slams securely shut behind you.
Leaving you stuck, it seems, at 75.
112
Hope this isn't a foolhardy decision, Pip. Throw
two dice. Score 6 or better and go to 142.
Score less than 6 and turn to 123.
116
As you approach the right hand moggie, it stands
up, stretches lazily and hands you a printed card.
On it are the words:
117-118
I AM OBLIGED TO INFORM YOU THAT I
AM TRAINED IN KARATE AND MY HANDS
AND FEET ARE REGISTERED WITH THE
AUTHORITIES AS DANGEROUS WEAPONS.
Signed
Right Hand Felix Terribilis
Are you sure you want to tackle a trained
Karate K a t ? If so, turn to 135.
If you've changed your mind, you can always
try something else at 180.
117
As you begin to open the cell door, a black shape,
vaguely batlike, but the size of a man, bursts out
and passes completely through you before
flapping up the corridor to disappear into the
darkness, cackling wildly.
This experience has done you no good at all.
The shape has absorbed 15 of your precious
LIFE POINTS en passant, without even giving
you a chance at a fair fight. (If this loss kills
you, go to 14.)
Assuming you're still standing, one wonders if
it's a good idea to enter this cell, since the thing
that got out might have had company in there.
However, if you wish to enter the cell, (which is
very dark) you can do so at 106.
If not, return to 75 and select another option.
118
You open your eyes not, as you might well have
expected, at the dreaded 14, but in a stately
A black shape, vaguely bat-like, passes right through you.
119
chamber all too familiar to you from your visits to

the castle in happier days. The pill was very
obviously a magical teleportation pill, for you are
standing near the entrance doors of the Camelot
Throne Room, where King Arthur was wont to
give public audiences before the Curse was cast
upon the land.
The place is, frankly, in a bit of a mess. The
Golden Throne of Avalon still stands to the north,
but the marble floor is covered in dust with a
liberal scattering of chicken bones as if someone
had brought in a horde of messy friends for dinner.
The tapestries which once adorned the walls are
ripped and torn, with several of them pulled down
completely. All four doors of the chamber are
slightly ajar and several of the lamps in the wall
niches have been pulled down and broken.
But at least you know where you are!
Up to a point. The plan on page 204 shows the
parts of the Castle with which you are familiar
as a visitor, but there are several doors you
have never been through so you haven't the
slightest notion where they lead. Working from
this plan, you have the option of entering the
areas shown by turning to the relevant section
number. But you must proceed logically. You
can't, for example, jump straight from the
throne room to, say, the Courtyard without
first visiting the Waiting Room and the
Guardroom.
119
Good grief! There's a two-headed dog in here!
120
Great ugly brute it is too, with eyes like saucers

and savage fangs. Fortunately it is securely
chained to a metal spike driven into the centre of
the floor. A little beyond the brute is a wooden
chest, possibly choc-a-bloc with treasure, or
perhaps even containing the Mirror Shield of
Uther Pendragon.
The problem being, of course, whether you're
nosey enough to risk the dog in order to find
out what's in that chest. If not, you can always
step back out into 163.
But if you want to make a move towards the
chest, turn to 191.
120
You are standing on soft turf, around which rises a

glittering golden dome. But before you can spend
too much time admiring it, your attention is
taken by a crouching creature no more than ten
feet away, shaped for all the world like a fourlegged giant spider with the face of a cat. Each leg
ends in a large claw.
'Craw-craw!' remarks the creature... and scuttles towards you.
What we have here, Pip, is a Crawman (you can
tell by its distinctive call). It's slow, having
only one strike for every two of yours, but it has
40 LIFE POINTS and natural body armour
which deducts 4 from every successful blow
against it. If the Crawman kills you, go to 14.
If you survive the encounter, things get
complicated.
121-122
120
If you arrived at this sphere direct, or as a

Pathwalker with no further abilities left, roll
two dice. Score anything other than 6, 9 or 12
and go to the section indicated on the Key in
162. Score 6, 9 or 12 and you have Pathwalking
abilities for TWO sections.
If you have now become a Pathwalker, you
may walk the path south-west to 125 or southeast to 133. In either case you will retain your
Pathwalker abilities for one further section if
you survive the next sphere.
If you arrived at this sphere as a Pathwalker
and have Pathwalker abilities left, you may
walk south-west to 125 or south-east to 133,
but you will have NO further Pathwalking
abilities left when you arrive.
121
You approach cautiously, having learned in the
past to be very careful about standing stones
(which always seem to produce magical effects,
not all of them particularly safe or pleasant).
These stones form a circle about nine feet in
diameter and, sure enough, there is a mild blue
glow within the circle, like a cloud of faintly
luminous mist. Apart from this, the place seems
quite deserted.
Are you going to risk entering that mist, Pip?
You can do so at 107.
But if you'd prefer to have a look inside that
wooden building, you'll find the door at 150.
122
You are standing on a paved platform some 50 feet
square to the north of which towers a giant
granite throne on which is seated a six feet tall,
purple-robed stick insect. Its head turns slowly to
regard you with multifacetted eyes.
Reach not for your puny sword!' it tells you in
imposing tones. 'For I am the Pondifilous
Maximus and immune to earthly weapons!'
'Who are you calling puny?' EJ hisses.
Do you know anything about the Curse that was
cast on Camelot?' you ask bravely.
But the Pondifilous Maximus ignores you. 'To
leave this place, you must solve a puzzle which
has perplexed the great minds of the universe for
123
centuries. Failure means instant death. Are you

ready?'
If you want to try to solve the puzzle which has
perplexed the great minds of the universe for
centuries, turn to 173.
If you fancy your chances of slaughtering this
long thin idiot whatever he says about being
immune to earthly weapons, you can start a
fight at 201.
123
How fascinating. One of the Zombies is carrying
an empty cotton reel, a short bit of candle, a box of
dead matches and a steel knitting needle. Another
has an elastic band.
That's the good news. The bad news is that you
have definitely picked up a bad case of Fungoid
Rot: there are red, white and blue spots breaking
out on the back of your hand (a sure sign) and your
left ear has turned a bright luminous green.
Which means you will now automatically lose
one PERMANANT LIFE POINT every time you
have a fight for the remainder of this
adventure. (If you lose ALL your permanent
LIFE POINTS you will henceforth lose one
ordinary LIFE POINT at the start of each fight.)
Maybe you'd be better off not searching the
third Zombie - but if you insist, you can do so
at 153.
Otherwise, turn to 75 and select a new option.
124
124
You have entered a crystal dome in which shrubs,
bushes, grasses and a great many ferns grow in
lush profusion. It looks for all the world like a
giant version of one of those ornamental gardens
under glass they used to (or rather will) make up
in Victorian times. Except this one is a lot bigger
and the growth has run a bit wild.
With nothing better to do, you poke about a bit in
the bushes with the tip of EJ until you disturb a
long-tailed Kootbraker, instantly recognizable
from the illustrations in Merlin's spell books.
It embraces you fondly, as is Kootbraker instinct
and custom, crushing your face to its furry bosom
and purring, its long ears waving with delight.
Very nice, but if you don't do something fast,
you're dead. The trouble with Kootbrakers is
they don't know their own strength, so that the
embrace will grow stronger and stronger until
your skull caves in. Since nobody can bring
themselves to attack a Kootbraker, your best
bet is to try to break the stranglehold, which
requires nothing more lethal than matching
your strength against that of the friendly
monster. Roll two dice for yourself, then roll
again for the Kootbraker. If your roll is lower
than that of Old Kootie, then you can only
catch your breath at 14. If higher, however, you
will survive the embrace without injury.
If you do survive the encounter, things get
complicated.
125

and go to the section indicated on the key in
162. Score 6, 9 or 12 and you have Pathwalker
may walk the path south-east to 138 or (more
or less) east to 133. In either case you will
retain your Pathwalker abilities for one further
section if you survive the next sphere.
walk south-east to 138 or east to 133, but you
will have NO further Pathwalking abilities left
when you arrive.
125
This place gets more and more bizarre. As you

stepped from the path into the sphere you found
yourself standing on what appears at first glance
(or second glance, come to that) to be the surface
of an asteroid floating in Space. A winding path
stretches out before you, leading over the near
horizon of the asteroid, while to your left is the
dark opening of a shaft or tunnel leading into the
body of the asteroid itself.
Apart from this, you are also aware of two
Pathwalker Paths leading north-east and southeast.
Interesting choice. The winding path over the
horizon will take you to 144. The tunnel travels
downwards to 152. You may take either route
The sphere turns into an asteroid floating in space.
127
126-127
or throw two dice to visit another sphere.

If you still have Pathwalker abilities left, you
have the further option of Pathwalking northeast to 120 or south-east to 146.
126
As you open the door of the cell, there is a sudden

explosion of light inside. You leap back, falling
into your familiar karate killer fighting stance, EJ
at the ready, but the light fades almost at once to
comfortable proportions and you see within the
cell a stately figure, dark-haired, dark-eyed,
scarlet-robed and wearing a tall, pointed hat. He
stares at you piercingly. 'I assume you are Pip?'
'Yes,' you admit, taken aback. 'But who are you?'
'The Wizard Kran,' says the stately figure.
Holy Cow - you've found him! The wicked
wizard who put the Curse on Camelot.
Skulking in a cell to boot. Who'd have thought
of looking for him here? But what are you going
to do about it? If you decide to hurl yourself
upon him, EJ hacking furiously, turn to 160.
If you'd prefer a bit of a chat, try 167.
127
Yuuch! The floor of this dome is swimming in
slime! You take a step forward and slip, only just
maintaining your balance. The stuff smells a bit
too, making this exactly the sort of place you'd
like to get out of sharpish.
And get out you certainly would, but for the fact
that something is rising up out of the slime to

hassle you: a slug-like creature with dreary eyes
set on the end of squelchy stalks. It moves
towards you slowly, a toothless mouth opening to
digest you.
Congratulations - you have just encountered a
Squand, which is not the most pleasant of
Astral Plane inhabitants. Squands are slow
movers, so you will get in two attacks for every
one it manages; and since they have no teeth or
any other armament, this thing will only do
you 2 points of damage on a successful strike,
whatever the dice show. Furthermore, it needs
6 or better to touch you. As against that, the
Squand has a massive 80 LIFE POINTS, so it
isn't exactly easy to kill. And it does have the
nasty ability of swallowing you whole on a
throw of 12, which will, of course, ensure your
early demise. If the Squand kills you, go to 14.
complicated.
128-129
may walk the path north-west to 146 or southeast to 181. In either case you will retain your
walk north-west to 146 or south-east to 181,
but you will have NO further Pathwalking
abilities left when you arrive.
128
You're in a corridor running north/south. Torches
have been set in wall brackets so you can see a
long way. There are three openings in the western
wall and one towards the northern end of the
eastern wall.
These places can get confusing without a map,
Pip. The first opening on the western wall will
take you to 148. The second may be reached at
154. The third at 110. If you decide to go via
the eastern opening, however, turn to 113. Or
you may continue north on the corridor you're
in at 131.
129
By the haggis-infested sporran of St Andrew,
129
you're under attack already. You had only just
time to register the fact that you arrived at the
edge of a broad, but shallow lake when the
Hoopberk came racing across the water on its
great long skinny legs, flapping its residual wings
and clacking its beak in a most alarming manner.
The Hoopberk has 35 LIFE POINTS and strikes
successfully on 5 for +3 damage, so the hassle
might not prove too dangerous for an adventurer of your skill, courage and experience.
Unless, of course, it lays an egg. Should you
happen to miss three strikes in a row, this will
give the Hoopberk time to lay. The egg will
hatch instantly to produce a second fullygrown Hoopberk which will add its weight to
the attack. If the Hoopberk(s) kill(s) you, go to
14.
If you survive
complicated.
the
encounter,
things
get

may walk the path west to 151 or east to 181.
In either case you will retain your Pathwalker
abilities for one further section if you survive
the next sphere.
130-132

walk west to 151 or east to 181, but you will
have NO further Pathwalking abilities left
when you arrive.
130
Searching Zombies is a dangerous occupation,
Pip. There's an excellent chance you might
catch the dreaded Fungoid Rot, a disease that
eats up PERMANENT LIFE POINTS.
If you still want to search, turn to 112. If you'd
rather stay healthy, go back to 75 and pick
another option.
131
The corridor runs northwards for quite a distance
before ending in a flight of stone steps leading
downwards. There are no torches on the walls
here and this section of the corridor is very
gloomy indeed. From the dark depths at the
bottom of the steps, you can hear a peculiar
sound, similar in some respects to the bloop of
bubbles rising from a swamp.
Not sure I like the sound of that, Pip, but if you
want to go down those stairs, you may do so at
195. Alternatively, you can always backtrack
to 128 and select another direction.
132
'Oh Lor,' moans EJ the instant you step into the
glittering sphere, 'there'll be spiders in here!
Giant spiders with great hairy legs and bloodshot
eyes and poisoned bites and -'
132
'Quiet, EJ' you tell him firmly, well aware from

past experience of his obsession with spiders. All
the same, he could be right: the whole area is a
mass of webs, although to be fair to your nerves,
there isn't a spider in sight. You reach up to brush
aside the webs immediately before you.
'Don't touch the webs!' screams EJ. 'That's what
attracts the spiders!'
'Nonsense!' you tell him firmly. 'We can't see
where we're going if we don't brush aside the
webs.'
There'll be trouble if you do!' insists EJ.
'Of course there won't,' you tell him firmly,
brushing aside the webs. 'See,' you add, 'not a
spider in sight.'
Nor is there. Although brushing aside the webs
has revealed a Ratchbacked Mervillion crouched
to spring no more than six feet away.
Mervillions are a breed of astral lizard,
distantly related to Brass Dragons. The
Ratchbacked variety is particularly deadly on
account of its bad breath, which will remove
10 of your precious LIFE POINTS every third
combat round whether or not the monster
strikes you successfully. Apart from halitosis,
the Mervillion strikes on 5, does +3 damage
and has 40 LIFE POINTS. If it kills you, go to
14.
complicated.
133

may walk the path north-west to 151 or south
to 178. In either case you will retain your
walk north-west to 151 or south to 178, but you
when you arrive.
133
The path stops abruptly at a towering gothic
gateway, which is, however, slightly ajar.
Never one to miss an opportunity to get into
trouble, you slip through into a gloomy stonelined chamber. You stand for a moment, waiting
for your eyes to adjust to the light and gradually
make out a brass-bound chest nestling invitingly
against the far wall.
It is only when you make a step towards it that
you realize there are three Guardian Spooks in
here.
This could be good news or bad news
depending on whether you happen to be
The path stops at a towering gothic doorway.
134
134
carrying a Spook Basher. If you are, three quick

cracks and a throw of 6 or better will be all it
needs to demolish all three Spooks. If you
aren't, you're just going to have to fight them
the hard way. Each Spook has 30 LIFE POINTS,
strikes successfully on 4 or better and does +3
damage. A throw of 12 by a Spook indicates
you're paralysed for a combat round and must
miss a hit.
If the Spooks kill you, go to 14. If you survive,
you may open the chest at 168.
134
The door of the dread device swings open,
revealing a slim, pale, fanged and badly punctured
creature in an evening suit, black cape and white
gloves. Red eyes gleaming, he falls forward into
your arms, just missing impaling himself on EJ in
the process.
'You have slaughtered the Torturer Famous,' he
gasps,
'Whose name I believe to be Seamus,
A gross Irish villain
Deserving of killin'
Since he kept me in that thing since Christmas!'
You extricate yourself from this eccentric
creature with an inward groan. That dreadful
rhyme, if nothing else, would indicate you have
once again encountered the incredible Poetic
Fiend, notorious throughout the length and
breadth of Avalon for composing the worst verse
in the known Universe.
'Are you all right, Poetic Fiend?' you ask,

indicating the various holes where the spikes of
the Iron Maiden had punctured him.
'A small inconvenience, dear friend and rescuer,'
he tells you. 'I shall be perfectly all right unless I
drink water. Now, since you were kind enough to
release me from that ghastly machine, I propose
to become your faithful guide, philosopher and
friend for the remainder of your adventure,
regaling you with heroic odes, composing extempore poems to celebrate your victories, creating
vistas of memorial verse to . . .'
It sounds like a death sentence, given the
appalling standard of the Fiend's poetry. 'No
need!' you tell him hurriedly. 'I'm sure a poet of
your talent would be far better served working on
an epic of some description: the Rise and Fall of
the Roman Empire, perhaps. For my part, I require
neither thanks nor assistance except, perhaps,
some indication of where I might find
Pendragon's Mirrored Shield.'
At which the Fiend throws his hands up in delight
and declaims:
'My friend doth seek the Mirrored Shield
Borne by the great Pendragon.
And I know what he wants it for He needs to get up to the Tor
And there, for better or for worse
To put an end to blight and curse!
How fortunate a Fiend like me
Should know where that great shield must be.
137
135-136
Climb steps from here and steps again
Turn right, then left, then right again
And enter in the second door
(Be very careful of the floor)
Then solve the puzzle of the purse
Before your situation gets much worse
And your quest shall not be in vain!'
feet before you notice signs of recent construction

work. As you move a little further, you see that
the corridor has been carefully blocked using
rough stone and mortar while just before the
blockage, a chute has been constructed, plunging
downwards into darkness. On the wall beside the
chute someone has hastily scrawled a series of
numbers:
With which he collapses on the floor in a fit of

creative ecstasy.
Better creep off and leave him to his own
devices, Pip, before he threatens to accompany
you again. You can get out of the Torture
Chamber by retracing your steps to 91 and
making your way from there.
14 5 5 20 18 21 15 6 15 20 19 4 15 12 5 20 21 8 3 19
9 8 20
Which might represent technical instructions
to the builders or might not. Meanwhile, you
have your choice of sliding down the chute to
197 or returning to 102 to select another
direction.
135
'Ah so!' screams the Karate Cat, voicing the
ancient Manx war cry. And moving with
lightning rapidity, it leaps into the air to deliver a
vicious drop-kick to your throat.
So quickly indeed that it gets first strike,
causing 5 points of damage. If this kills you, go
to 14. If not, you should know that the Karate
Kat has 50 LIFE POINTS, strikes successfully
on 4 or better and does +3 damage.
If you survive, you may go directly to the stone
arm at 169. If not, you may go directly (if
reluctantly) to 14.
137
There are trees growing within this dome. Not
very nice trees, but trees nonetheless, so that as
you step forward, it feels like moving into the
outskirts of a dark, dank, gloomy and rather
threatening forest.
It's difficult to say what it is about the trees that is
so unpleasant. They look normal enough (well
nearly normal) but something about them .. .
'I don't like these trees,' remarks EJ.
You stop before one (an elm, by the look of it) to
examine it more closely. Still you find it difficult
to determine what it is that's so ominous.
136
'I hope you aren't going to touch that tree,' EJ

mumbles.
The corridor runs southwards for perhaps fifty
137
You touch the tree.
'Yipes!' shouts EJ in alarm, adding, 'I warned you!'
So he did; and rightly. Sliding out of the bole of
the tree is a grey, wizened creature in a loincloth
with feral eyes and exceptionally long, thin arms.
'It's a Ghast!' groans EJ. 'Well, that puts me out of
the picture!'
So it does. Weapons of any sort - even magical
weapons like old EJ - are absolutely useless
against Ghasts. You fight them with your bare
hands, hitting on 6 or better and scoring only
dice damage. This particular Ghast has 33 LIFE
POINTS, hits on 5 and drains LIFE POINTS at
the alarming rate of +5. If the Ghast kills you,
go to 14.
If you survive
complicated.
the encounter,
things get

may walk the path south-east to 198, south to
215 or north north-east to 159. In either case
you will retain your Pathwalker abilities for
one further section if you survive the next
sphere.
Sliding out of the tree is a grey wizened creature.
138-139
walk south-east to 198, south to 215 or north
north-east to 159, but you will have NO further
Pathwalking abilities left when you arrive.
138
What a swiz - or possibly, what a relief this
dome is empty. At least it looks empty.
'I doubt if it's empty,' EJ remarks annoyingly.
'Why don't you look around for a bit?'
But having looked around, you find your first
impression was entirely accurate. Nothing here.
Which leaves you with several alternatives.
First, if your Pathwalking abilities have run
out, you should throw two dice and go direct to
the section indicated on the Key in 162. Unless,
of course, you score a 6, 9 or 12, in which case
you have generated new Pathwalking abilities
for two further sections. If this happens (or if
you have Pathwalking abilities left) you may
walk north-west to 122, south-east to 170 or
west to 124.
139 ***B
Arrrrrgh!
No wonder they kept that cell door bolted! The
great hairy thing bearing down on you like an
express train is twice the size of a house, fanged
like a dinosaur, muscled like an elephant and has
claws like reaping scythes.
All right, that's a bit of an exaggeration, but it's
140-141
nasty all the same. Looks like you're into real
hassle here.
Or perhaps not, since it's susceptible to Bribery
if you happen to have 1,000 gold pieces handy.
If not, you're into a lethal punch up with
something which has 30 LIFE POINTS and
strikes on 5 for +3 damage.
If this encounter kills you, you probably know
your way to 14 by now. If it doesn't, turn to
109.
140
You bite a piece of the nearest pumpkin, which
promptly bites you back, removing seven LIFE
POINTS from your leg.
If this kills you, go to 14. If not, return to 180
and try to control your greed.
141
You are looking down on the scrunched up
sleeping figure of a young adventurer, blithely
kipping near a ring of standing stones. There is
something painfully familiar about the figure and
as you look closer, you realize with a horrid shock
that it's you\
Have you died? This doesn't look at all like the
dreaded 14 (although 141 is close in a peculiar
way). You look around and realize you are floating
in the air, a very peculiar sensation, although not
at all unpleasant. But how did you get up here?
And, perhaps more importantly, how do you
propose to get down again?
141
There is a mist rising from the standing stones. It
rolls towards you like a bank of fog.
You examine yourself and find you are much the
same as always: same clothes, same equipment,
same .. . No, old EJ seems to have changed: his
blade has turned golden.
'I say, EJ, I don't suppose you happen to know
what's happened to us?' you ask.
'I'm not paid to think,' EJ tells you grumpily. 'But
since you've asked my opinion for once, I'd say
we've done an astral projection.'
'Astral projection?'
'Merlin used to do it when he was younger. It's
when you leave your body and roam about like a
ghost. Stupid occupation, if you ask me.'
The rolling mist is nearer.
'But what's the point of it?' you ask.
'Search me,' EJ says, shrugging his cross-piece.
'I'm a sword, not a philosopher. I think Merlin did
it because it made him feel high - silly old fool.'
The mist is almost upon you now and to your
amazement you notice there is a door is it!
'EJ, can you see anything in that mist?'
'You mean the door? Of course I can see it.'
The mist halts, the door looming directly in front
of you.
This is weird. If you want to go through the
You look down from a greater h e i g h t . . .
at your own body!
142-143
door, turn to 162. If not, the situation will take

its course at 188.
142
How fascinating. One of the Zombies is carrying
an empty cotton reel, a short bit of candle, a box of
dead matches and a steel knitting needle. Another
has an elastic band. The third Zombie is carrying
a full set of plans for a Prehistoric Creep Machine!
You don't see many of those about nowadays!
If you turn to page 207 you will find these
ingenious plans. What's more, you can use
them to make a Prehistoric Creep Machine of
your own which might come in handy later in
the adventure. Meanwhile, returning to 75 will
let you select your next option.
143
'Now look what you've gotten us into!' screams
EJ. 'That must be the dumbest move you've ever
made in an adventure!'
And for once you're hard put to disagree, largely
on account of the fact that as you stepped into the
glittering sphere you found yourself in a gigantic
cage, the only other inhabitant of which is a Giant
Squackdiddle.
Squackdiddles are so rare many scholars consider
them extinct, although country people particularly in the Lake District - occasionally
claim to have seen one (usually eating cattle
whole) in the distance. The descriptions which
accompany these claims are consistent in
insisting the creature is larger than a dragon, more
144
horrific than a nightmare and almost
badtempered as Farmer Acton's bull.
145
as
And you've got one in the cage with you . . .
The Squackdiddle (which is even now

lumbering towards you) has a massive 55 LIFE
POINTS, needs 8 or better to hit, but delivers a
gigantic +10 damage. If it kills you, which does
seem very likely, go to 14.
complicated.
may walk the path northeast to 170 or
southeast to 184. In either case you will retain
your Pathwalker abilities for one further
section if you survive the next sphere.
walk northeast to 170 or southeast to 184, but
you will have NO further Pathwalking abilities
left when you arrive.
144
Somebody's built a house here! It nestles in a
crater on the far side of the horizon, a sort of
miniature Gothic castle, all towering spires and
fluttering flags. (At least they would be fluttering

if there was any breeze here; or air come to that wonder how you're managing to breathe.) The
floor of the crater is covered in a six inch deep
layer of dust and since there's no sign of
footprints, you might deduce no-one has been
here in a very long t i m e . . . perhaps even
centuries.
If, however, you wish to investigate this weird
dwelling, turn to 196. If you think it might be a
waste of time, you can always return to 125
and select another option, bearing in mind that
following the path over the horizon did NOT
use up any Pathwalking abilities you may
have.
145
The corridor runs west for perhaps a hundred feet
before ending in a door on which a notice states
prominently:
DANGER
KEEP OUT
You may, of course, ignore this warning by
opening the door at 177. Or you can backtrack
to 102.
146
146
Oh wow! This is something else! You have

stepped into a glittering translucent sphere where
multicoloured filaments weave curtains in the air
and light sounds blend into the most delightful
music you have ever heard.
You stand transfixed. Soft breezes waft curls of
perfume, heady and exotic, to delight you. A light,
cool touch pervades your skin, sending shivers of
sensation up and down your spine.
You are bombarded by sheer pleasure.
And it's going to be the death of you if you're
not careful! This is just the sort of place where
you could stand and starve to death (with a
silly grin on your face at that). Roll two dice
quickly to discover if you can break this most
delightful spell. Score 5 or less and you have
just discovered the most pleasant way to reach
14. Score above 5 and you have found the
willpower somehow to make a rational
decision.
If you have no Pathwalking abilities left, roll
may walk the path east to 124, west to 192,
northwest to 125 or southeast to 127. In each
case you will retain your Pathwalker abilities
for one further section if you survive the next
sphere.
147-149
If you have Pathwalker abilities left, you may
walk east to 124, west to 192, northwest to 125
or southeast to 127, but you will have NO
further Pathwalking abilities left when you
arrive.
147
The purple-robed creature shakes its great head
sadly and lifts one skinny hand to point a bony
finger in your direction.
'Wrong!' he murmurs, loosing a bolt of silver
lightning in your direction.
Which shocks you directly to 14.
148
The corridor runs due west and eventually turns
north. But before that happens, you will notice a
branch corridor running north as well.
If you decide to stay on the corridor you're in,
turning northwards at the end, go to 171. If you
prefer to explore the branch corridor north, turn
to 163.
149
You push the door, not bothering to knock since
nobody will be at home. It opens easily into a
small, marble-tiled reception hall.
You hold your breath and step in.
'Hello!' you call. 'I am a burglar and I have come
to rob your rotten home!'
Nothing happens.
150
149
'I am also a vandal,' you call, still louder, 'and I

propose to smash up every bit of furniture here!'
Nothing happens.
So much for Merlin Securities Ltd and the
possibility of magical protection. There is only
one door leading out of the entrance hall (apart
from the one you came in through) and you stride
purposefully towards it.
You have almost reached it, when there is a gentle
tap on your shoulder. You swing round swiftly to
find yourself facing the most terrifying vampire it
has ever been your misfortune to meet.
'Hello,' he says. 'I'm the butler.' He smiles,
grimly. 'Also the Security Officer...'
If you happen to have a wooden stake in your

equipment, you can put paid to this johnny on
your first successful strike (on 6 or better since
you won't be using EJ). Otherwise, you're going
to have to fight him to the death - a familiar
state for vampires. He has a total of 38 LIFE
POINTS, hits successfully on 3 or better and
does + damage with his teeth. If he fangs you
in the throat (on a throw of 12) you are not only
killed instantly and on your way to 14, but you
automatically lose 15 LIFE POINTS from the
total of your next incarnation. Vampires are
not to be trifled with. If Dracula's cousin kills
you, go to 14. If you survive, turn to 204.
150
It's a little church! Nice little place too, woodbuilt as you've already noticed and far too small to
be supported by anything more than a poor
congregation. But it's well kept and clean and
with none of that mildew and fungus that seems
to be crawling all over buildings since the Curse
was laid.
You slip through the door and find the inside is
just as appealing as the outside. You also find an
old man in brown homespun in the process of
arranging wild flowers on the altar. He turns at
the sound of your entrance and fixes you with a
glittering eye.
The Vampire smiles . . .
'It took you long enough,' he says.

'I beg your pardon?'
Getting here,' he says.
150
'You mean you were expecting me?'

'Oh yes,' he says. 'I had a vision of the young hero
who would lay the Curse and it fits you very
nicely. I hope you haven't been taken in by this
Wizard Kran nonsense?'
'Wizard Kran?' you echo, not quite getting a grip
on this unexpected conversation.
'He's just a conjurer, you know. Couldn't lay a
curse on a rotten egg. The real trouble's the
Seventh Sister.'
'Seventh Sister?' you ask.
'Seventh Sister,' he repeats. 'Now be off with you:
time is running out.'
'But aren't you going to tell me who the Seventh
Sister is?'
'No time,' he says, then adds mysteriously,
'Saturn is moving into the Eighth House and
Pluto will be forming a trine with Uranus and we
all know what that means, don't we?'
'Do we?' you ask, bewildered.
'Yes,' he nods definitely. 'I hope you have your
Spook Basher.'
Well, whether you have or whether you
haven't, you're not going to get much further
talking to this nutter. The thing to do,
obviously, is to creep back to 99 before he gets
violent.
151
151
Cold in here.
The dome above your head is crystalline and the
temperature, since you stepped into the glittering
sphere, has taken a distinct drop. In fact, it's
downright freezing.
You move forward, beginning to feel numb. Ice
crystals are forming in the air ahead, like a curtain
of fine snow, so that it's quite difficult to see
where you are going. But your adventurer's luck
holds, for you quickly stumble on a platform of
worked stone, on which stands a glittering
metallic box with three levers set into its lid. A
brass plaque on one side identifies the box:
WEATHER MACHINE
Which speaks for itself, except that the
instructions, on a second brass plaque beneath the
first, don't seem to make all that much sense:
INSTRUCTIONS
WARNING: INCORRECT USE IS DANGEROUS
WARNING: USE ONLY CORRECT LEVER TO
ACTIVATE
WARNING: USE OF WRONG LEVER MAY
PROVE FATAL
NOTICE: ONLY CORRECT LEVER WILL LINK
THESE WORDS:
DEAD . . . (
) . . . FORWARD
It's make your mind up time, Pip. If you pull
152
the left lever, go to 166. If you pull the centre

lever go to 187. If you pull the right lever, go to
194.
152
The tunnel descends for about a hundred feet and
ends in a short flight of roughly-cut stone steps.
Since you've come this far, you descend the steps
into a long, narrow chamber. Hanging on a peg in
the far wall is one of the most peculiar helmets
you have ever seen: made from jet black metal
with sparkling lights dancing perpetually in its
depths like distant stars on a winter's night.
There is no-one else in the chamber, but between
you and the helmet is a beautifully worked lifesized figure made from brass. An inscription on
the base informs you:
'ONLY I CAN TELL YOU HOW TO WEAR THE
HELM OF MORGREF SAFELY.'
Which may be true, except this brass figure isn't
going to tell anybody anything, since some
adventurous vandal seems to have removed its
head.
There is, of course, no reason why you should
take the helm, since you are perfectly free to
backtrack to 125 and make your way from
there. But if you do want the helm, things are a
little more tricky.
First off, if you happen to be carrying a brass
head of any sort, you could try setting it on the
figure's shoulders at 189. If you don't have a
brass head, you could try asking the figure's
Some adventurous vandal seems to

have removed the figure's head.
153-155
advice anyway at 207 or simply grab the helm

without further ado at 213.
153
The third Zombie is carrying a full set of plans for
a Prehistoric Creep Machine! You don't see many
of those about nowadays!
If you turn to page 207 you will find these
ingenious plans. What's more, you can use
them to make a Prehistoric Creep Machine of
your own which might come in handy later in
the adventure. Meanwhile, returning to 75 will
let you select your next option.
154
This corridor runs west until it makes a Tjunction with another corridor running north/
south. Directly opposite, across this north/south
corridor is a door.
If you want a fuller picture of the north/south
corridor, turn to 163. If you can live without
knowing and want (impatiently) to try that
door, go to 180.
155
'Here, where do you think you're going!' howls
Head Stanley as you attempt to creep past.
'Let's fang him, Stanley!' growls Head Charles.
And so saying, the two-headed dog launches itself
savagely upon you.
The problem is this thing has got 25 LIFE
156
POINTS per head - and you have to zap both

heads before it will stop fanging you. Speaking
of which, it fangs for +3 damage on a roll of 5
or better, gaining two strikes for your one.
If the mutt kills you, go to 14. If you survive,
you can open the chest at 206.
156
Watch your balance, Pip! The second you stepped
into this glittering sphere, you found yourself
teetering precariously on the edge of a sheer cliff
face which drops away into nothingness as far as
the eye can see.
A quick look around convinces you that you are,
in fact, standing on a tiny plateau (hardly more
than 7' x 7') with sheer drops on all sides. Nor are
you alone. Crowding the plateau with you is a
little old lady armed with a slide trombone.
Get off!' she shrieks. There's not room for two of
us here! Keep your distance. Come any closer and
I'll kill you!'
The problem is that the only way off the plateau
is past the little old lady, that being the direction
in which the paths lie. You step forward to push
past her politely and she leaps to attack.
At such close range, that trombone does +7
damage if she manages to blow it successfully,
which she will on a throw of 6 or better. The
little old lady has 30 LIFE POINTS. But the real
problem with this bit of bother is that should
you happen to roll a 5 or a 7 it indicates that
157-158
you have lost your footing and fallen over the
edge to 14. Even if you keep your footing, this
crabby ancient may still kill you, in which case
go to 14.
If you survive, but your Pathwalking abilities
have run out, you should throw two dice and go
direct to the section indicated on the Key in
162. Unless, of course, you score a 6, 9 or 12, in
which case you have generated new Pathwalking abilities for two further sections. If
this happens (or if you have Pathwalking
abilities left) you may walk north-west to 133,
or south-west to 170.
157
'What's happened here, Your Majesty?' you call,
not going back as instructed, but not going
forward either.
'We have been trapped by the Curse!' gasps the
King. 'If you attempt to rescue us now, you will
surely die. Our only hope is for you to go back and
try to break the Curse.'
Since even Kings can be wrong, you may still
leap in and attempt a rescue at 203. But if you
think it wiser to go back you may retrace your
steps to 128.
158
'Go with my blessing!' exclaims the purple-robed
PM, waving one hand grandly towards your
available options.
Which are as follows:
158
may walk the path east to 133 or south-east to
138. In either case you will retain your
walk east to 133 or south-east to 138, but you
when you arrive.
160-162
159
159
Watch your balance, Pip! The second you stepped

into this glittering sphere, you found yourself
teetering precariously on the edge of a sheer cliff
face which drops away into nothingness as far as
the eye can see.
A quick look around convinces you that you are,
in fact, standing on a tiny plateau (hardly more
than 7' x 7') with sheer drops on all sides. Nor are
you alone. Crowding the plateau with you is a
little old man armed with a set of bagpipes.
'Get off!' he shrieks. 'There's not room for two of
us here! Keep your distance. Come any closer and
I'll kill you!'
The problem is that the only way off the plateau
is past the little old man, that being the direction
in which the paths lie. You step forward to push
past him politely and he leaps to attack.
At such close range, the bagpipes do +7
damage if he manages to blow them
successfully, which he will on a throw of 6 or
better. The little old man has 30 LIFE POINTS.
But the real problem with this bit of bother is
that should you happen to roll a 5 or a 7 it
indicates that you have lost your footing and
fallen over the edge to 14. Even if you keep your
footing, this crabby ancient may still kill you,
in which case go to 14.
If you survive, but your Pathwalking abilities
have run out, you should throw two dice and go
direct to the section indicated on the Key in
162. Unless, of course, you score a 6, 9 or 12, in

which case you have generated new Pathwalking abilities for two further sections. If
this happens (or if you have Pathwalking
abilities left) you may walk north-east to 192,
south-east to 151, or south south-east to 137.
160
You hurl yourself upon him, EJ hacking furiously.
Kran raises one slim finger and a bolt of purple
lightning erupts from the tip, arcs towards you
and makes contact with your nose, transforming
you instantly into a cube of quivering jelly (plum
flavoured).
And they told me you were a sensible
adventurer,' Kran sighs sadly.
Wobble off to 14.
161
The purple-robed creature shakes its great head
sadly and lifts one skinny hand to point a bony
finger in your direction.
Wrong!' he murmurs, loosing a bolt of silver
lightning in your direction.
Which shocks you directly to 14.
162
What an incredibly strange environment! You are
standing on a vast, flat plain (and a quick glance
behind you will be all that's needed to convince
you that the door through which you entered has
162
disappeared, replaced by a towering - and
absolutely unclimbable - cliff).
Before you stretches a network of paths,
interlinking a series of glittering, misty spheres,
the diameter of each one approximately double
your own height. High above, a blue sun hangs
motionless in a cloudless sky.
You attempt to step forward and fall flat on your
face!
But a cunning adventurer like yourself will
soon work out how to get around here,
although it's quite complicated until you're
used to it. First off, look at the picture on page
203 which shows the path network and the
spheres (and also tells you you're on the Astral
Plane, incidentally). None of the spheres is
numbered, but eight of them have letters, with
the relevant section numbers given in a Key to
the side. To travel on the Astral Plane, you
must roll two dice and check the result against
the table below:
SCORE
2
3
4
5
6*
7
8
GO TO SPHERE
A
B
C
D
P
PATHWALKER
E
F
Before you stretches a series of paths

interlinking glittering, misty spheres.
163
9*
10
11
12*
164-165
PATHWALKER
G
H
PATHWALKER
As you can see, some scores take you directly
to a sphere; and if those are the scores you
get, you should turn directly to the section
number indicated on the Key. If, however,
you score 6, 9 or 12, you develop the abilities
of an Astral Pathwalker for two sections.
This means that when you arrive in a sphere,
you have the option of walking a path to
another sphere and, when your business is
finished in that sphere, walking one more
path to yet another sphere.
Each Pathwalker score allows you to walk
only TWO paths. After that you lose your
Pathwalking abilities until you manage to
score 6, 9 or 12 again.
If the dice direct you to the same sphere
twice, you will find that whatever you did
there the first time has made no difference:
the sphere and anything in it remains
absolutely unchanged.
It all sounds very complicated, but roll your
dice and see what happens.
163
The corridor runs north/south. It joins a corridor
running east/west in T-junctions at both its
northern and southern end. Approximately
midway along the eastern wall, a branch corridor

runs eastwards. Somewhat nearer the northern
end, in the west wall, another branch corridor
runs westwards. There are also two doors in the
western wall: one opposite the branch corridor to
the east, the other a little further south.
Confusing, isn't it? Should you wish to enter
the east/west corridor to the south, turn to 148.
If you prefer to explore the east/west corridor to
the north, go to 110. The branch corridor
running eastwards is at 154. The branch
corridor running westwards is at 111. The
northernmost door in the western wall will
take you to 189. The door in the same wall
further south leads to 119.
If you want to go anywhere else from here
you'll have to dig or fly.
164
You can well remember the days when the
dignitaries of Avalon would sit in this chamber
awaiting audience with the King. Now they
would have nowhere to sit - the chairs have all
been smashed.
A few spots of the exterior fungus have crept in
here, sure sign that the room has not been used
since the Curse was laid.
Now return to your plan and decide where to
go.
165
As you approach the left hand moggie, it stands
166-167
up, stretches lazily and hands you a printed card.
On it are the words:
I AM OBLIGED TO INFORM YOU THAT I
AM TRAINED IN KARATE AND MY HANDS
AND FEET ARE REGISTERED WITH THE
AUTHORITIES AS DANGEROUS WEAPONS.
Signed
Left Hand Felix Terribilis
Are you sure you want to tackle a trained
Karate Kat? If so, turn to 135.
If you've changed your mind, you can always
try something else at 180.
166
The temperature plummets to 1 million degrees
below zero, which is, of course, scientifically
impossible except on the Astral Plane.
Your blood freezes instantly.
But you can thaw out slowly at 14.
167
'Kran, is it?' you cry. 'The Wicked Wizard who
laid the Curse on Avalon? You scurrilous fiend!
You monstrous maggot! You terrible tortfeasor!
You - '
'I say, steady on,' remarks Kran. 'Anyone would
think you hadn't come here to rescue me.'
'Rescue you?' you gasp. 'I came here to slit your
gizzard!'
168
'No, don't be like that!' protests Kran. 'I know I've

been getting some terrible publicity lately, but I
never dreamed an adventurer of your calibre
would be taken in by it.'
'Terrible publicity?' you frown, feeling a bit like
Little Sir Echo.
'People have been saying the nastiest things about
me,' Kran tells you. 'None of it true, of course. Put
down your sword a minute and I'll explain.'
Are you going to fall for this silver-tongued
smoothie and put down EJ? If so, turn to 174. If,
however, you prefer to hurl yourself upon him,
hacking furiously with EJ, turn to 160.
168
It's full of sawdust! Furiously you scrabble your
way into it like a dog burying a bone, making an
unholy mess in the process. But sawdust is all
there is.
Disgusted, you turn away, then a thought strikes
you and you turn back to examine the chest again.
Sure enough, it has a false bottom. Using EJ 'Here, you're not going to use me as a screwdriver
are you?' protests EJ.
as a screwdriver, you open the secret
compartment. And nestling therein is a delicate
emerald amulet on a silver chain. Besides it is a
parchment scroll which identifies the piece as the
Amulet of Sarabanda.
And a valuable find it may be, although the ink
169-170
on the parchment has faded so much you can

no longer read the magical instructions
pertaining to the Amulet. Better decide now
whether to wear it, carry it or (unlikely choice
knowing you) leave it here.
If your Pathwalking abilities have run out, you
should throw two dice and go direct to the
section indicated on the Key in 162. Unless, of
course, you score a 6, 9 or 12, in which case you
have generated new Pathwalking abilities for
two further sections. If this happens (or if you
have Pathwalking abilities left) you may walk
west to 122, north-west to 120 or south-east to
156.
169
Well, you made it. The stone arm growing out of
the wall opens its stone hand as you approach,
allowing the purse to fall (with an interesting
chink of gold coins) on the floor.
Swiftly you scoop it up. Greedily you rip it open.
Delightedly you discover it contains no less than
1,000 bright new gold pieces and a small white
pill.
Undoubtedly you will take the gold, but if you
wish to swallow the pill you should turn - now
or later - to 183. Otherwise, make your way
back to 163 and continue your exploration.
A stone arm is growing out of the wall.
170
Spheres within spheres - this one is full of
bubbles. Ordinary soap bubbles by the taste of
:hem, but several are filled with green smoke.
170
Every time you pop one of the smoke-filled

bubbles, the smoke sort of explodes like a little
volcano: a fascinating thing to watch. Of the
remaining bubbles there are a few which are
elongated rather than spherical and they float
through the air like transparent cigars.
'Excuse me!' says EJ loudly.
'What is it, EJ?' you ask.
'Have you seen what's blowing the bubbles?'
You tear your eyes away from the bubbles and
look in the direction he is pointing. To your
absolute amazement, you see squatting on a floor
cushion a Fire-Eating Nomart.
The creature, which vaguely resembles a six
armed Koala Bear dressed as Harlequin, is
performing one of those incredible feats of
juggling for which the breed is famous: 19 clubs in
the air at the same time. Each club is carved with
a skull at the top and each one bears a letter or a
figure. At times it seems as if the letters on the
clubs make up words, but they are moving so fast
you can't really make out what the words might
be. With a little concentration, however, you do
make out all the letters and figures:
TH 9 S I 19 NT 1 US 5 FU 12 CL U 5
'Go in peace,' says the Nomart suddenly, blowing
a stream of bubbles from its ears.
Which is the best offer you've had all day and a
171-172
nice change from monsters attacking you

without provocation.
If your Pathwalking abilities have run out, you
should throw two dice and go direct to the
section indicated on the Key. Unless, of course,
you score a 6, 9 or 12, in which case you have
generated new Pathwalking abilities for two
further sections. If this happens (or if you have
Pathwalking abilities left) you may walk
north-east to 156, north-west to 138 or south to
143.
171
This corridor runs north/south with turnings east
at both ends. There is, however a branch corridor,
also running east, about 10 feet south of the
northern turning.
This branch corridor may be entered at 111.
The northern corridor running east is at 110.
The southern corridor running east is at 148.
172
There is a full contingent of twelve King's Guards
in here, all of them dead (not to mention a little
bit rotted).
Whoever or whatever laid the Curse on Camelot
has a lot to answer for.
The double doors south lead, as you remember,
into the outer courtyard. You do not know where
the other two doors lead.
Now return to your plan and make a decision.
173-174
174
173
'What is the puzzle, Oh Mighty Maximus?' you

call grandly, fingering EJ's pommel sneakily in the
half hope you might get in a quick stab at some
stage.
'The puzzle is this,' intones the purple-robed
creature gravely. 'Where can one get a Prehistoric
Creep Machine these days?'
You stare at him open-mouthed.
If you happen to have a Prehistoric Creep
Machine with you, turn to 158. If you don't,
you may just possibly remember which
Fungoid Zombie had the plans for one. If you
think it was the first Zombie, turn to 147. If
you think it was the second Zombie, turn to
161. If you think it was the third Zombie, turn
to 182. If you haven't a clue which Zombie, or
can't be bothered answering this stupid puzzle,
you can always try to kick his teeth in at 201.
174
Hesitantly, never taking your eyes off him, you
prop EJ against the cell door. 'All right,' you tell
Kran grimly, 'let's hear your story.'
'Not a lot to tell, really,' Kran sighs. 'First of all,
I'm not a real wizard - I'm an escapologist. The
only bit of genuine magic I know is how to
generate a bolt of purple lightning that turns
people into plum-flavoured jelly. Everything else
is tricks. I do a good vanishing elephant and I
specialize in getting out of chains and locked
boxes and so on - escapology, as I said.'
'How come you didn't get out of this cell?' you

ask suspiciously.
'I said I was an escapologist - I didn't say I was a
good one. Most of the locked boxes I get out of
have false bottoms and while I'm very good at
locks, this cell has an outside bolt: I couldn't
handle that in a fit. So I had to stay here until
some daring adventurer came along to rescue me.'
'Then you didn't put the Curse on Camelot?'
'I wouldn't know how.'
'Then,' you ask, 'who did?'
Kran glances over his shoulder nervously. 'The
Phantom Grunweazel!' he hisses.
At once the air is filled with the sound of a full
orchestra playing Dum da dum dum!
You leap back into your karate killer stance.
'What was that?'
'Just ignore it,' advises the Wizard Kran. That
always happens when you say the dreaded name.'
'The Phantom Grunweazel?' you ask.
Dum da dum dum!
'Yes,' says Kran. It indicates the Phantom
Grunweazel-' Dum da dum dum\ '-is a creature
living on the dreaded Astral Plane and anyone
who wants to kill it will have to go there to find
it.'
Good heavens!' you exclaim. 'But how does a
bold adventurer get to the Astral Plane?'
174
'There's a megalithic gate on the top of

Glastonbury Tor. But to get there you have to get
past the Great Guardian Wyrm and that means
liberating Pendragon's Mirror Shield - quite a
complicated process really.'
'Do you know where I can find Pendragon's
Mirror Shield?' you ask, getting right to the heart
of the matter.
Kran shakes his head. 'No. But I can tell you this:
without the Universal Key, you won't be able to
open the box where Pendragon hid the Shield.'
Astral Planes, Guardian Wyrms, Mirror Shields
and now a Universal Key! This adventure is
turning into a monumental tangle and no
mistake. You take a deep breath. 'I don't suppose
you know where I can find the Universal Key?'
you ask.
175-176
Kran grins amiably. 'In my pocket,' he says. 'And I

shall be delighted to let you have it as a reward for
rescuing me!'
What a pleasant turn of events. Now you've
got the Universal Key, all you need is to find
the Mirror Shield, defeat the Guardian
Wyrm, climb Glastonbury Tor, discover the
Megalithic Gateway, travel to the Astral
Plane, seek out the Phantom Grunweazel
(Dum da dum dum!) and slaughter it to lift
the Curse on Camelot. Right now, however,
you'd better return to 75 and select another
option.
175
You have entered a narrow corridor with steps
leading upwards at the western end and a dead end
blank wall to the east.
Climbing the steps takes you to 113. Trying to
walk through the blank wall will probably take
you to hospital with a severe headache, but if
you want to search for a secret door in it, you
can do so at 186.
176
This smallish room is used by King Arthur to robe
himself before formal audiences. Two cupboards
in the room have been emptied. The wardrobe
still contains one ermine cape, but it has been
slashed with a dagger.
Behind a panel on the eastern wall you find the
semi-secret door Arthur used to reach the corridor
leading to his private quarters. But the door has
177-178
jammed and nothing you do will open it.
Which means you can only return to the plan
and make another decision.
177
Kerr-ping!
It's a spear trap! There's nothing behind the door

but a blank wall into which has been set a cunning spring-loaded mechanism which launches a
spear at anybody daft enough to open the door.
Which leaves us with the question of whether
it skewered you. Roll two dice. Score 7 or better
and the spear misses you. Score less and you're
hit. In this latter case, roll again and deduct the
result from your LIFE POINTS. If this kills you,
go to 14. If you survive, the only thing you can
do is return to 102.
178
You are standing on soft turf, around which rises a
glittering golden dome. But before you can spend
too much time admiring it, your attention is
taken by a crouching creature no more than ten
feet away, shaped for all the world like a fourlegged giant spider with the face of a cat. Each leg
ends in a large claw.
'Craw-craw!' remarks the creature. . .
tles towards you.
and scut-
What we have here, Pip, is a Namwarc (you can

tell by its distinctive call). It's slow, having
180
179
only one strike for every two of yours, but it has

40 LIFE POINTS and natural body armour
which deducts 4 from every successful blow
against it. If the Namwarc kills you, go to 14.
If you survive
complicated.
the encounter,
things get
If you arrived at this sphere with no further

Pathwalker abilities left, roll two dice. Score
anything other than 6, 9 or 12 and go to the
section indicated on the Key in 162. Score 6, 9
or 12 and you have Pathwalking abilities for
TWO sections.
that's what you want to do, by going through the

arch into the tunnel at 199.
Consult your plan to make your decision.
180
What a curious room. (There's a diagram of it on
page 205). The floor is marble tiled, with a mosaic
border running all the way round. Immediately in
front of the door is a row of three giant pumpkins,
cut out with grinning faces like Hallowe'en
lanterns.

may walk the path north to 132, west to 164 or
east to 205. In either case you will retain your
If you arrived at this sphere with Pathwalker
abilities left, you may walk north to 132, west
to 164 or east to 205, but you will have NO
further Pathwalking abilities left when you
arrive.
179
This area at least hasn't changed. The outer
courtyard of Camelot was always grotty and it's
just as grotty now. Grass and weeds grow through
the cracks in the paving stones and the remains of
broken carts are propped against the walls.
But at least you can leave the castle from here if
Towards the far end of the room, you can see two
massive marble pillars carved in the shape of
gigantic question marks. Inlaid into the floor
before these pillars is a vast (and ominous) skull
and crossbones. Flanking the symbol are two fine
examples of the extremely rare long-tailed Manx
Felix Terribilus, possibly the most dangerous of
all the cat family, including sabre-toothed tigers.
Squatting between the pillars, unmindful of the
fearsome cats, is a cute little bunny, wearing a
pink jacket and waving at you in a friendly
manner.
181
182
But the most interesting thing of all is the stone

arm emerging from the far left hand corner wall,
for this arm is attached to a stone hand which
grasps a large leather purse on which someone has
drawn the universally recognizable symbol of the
Goldsmith's Guild, indicating that the purse
contains a lot of loot.
There is, however, a problem here. If you want
to reach the purse, you can make your way
through the pillars and past the friendly bunny,
but this involves stepping on the inlaid skull
and crossbones at 193. If you feel happier
avoiding the skull and crossbones, you are
forced to try to get past the fearsome Manx cats
- the left hand one at 165, or the right hand one
at 116. Alternatively, of course, you can forget
about the purse and leave the room at 163. You
can even try munching one of the pumpkins at
140 if you happen to be feeling peckish.
181
Cold in here.
The dome above your head is crystalline and the
temperature, since you stepped into the glittering
sphere, has taken a distinct drop. In fact, it's
downright freezing.
You move forward, beginning to feel numb. Ice
crystals are forming in the air ahead, like a curtain
of fine snow, so that it's quite difficult to see
where you are going. But your adventurer's luck
holds, for you quickly stumble on a platform of
worked stone, on which stands a glittering
metallic box with three levers set into its lid. A

brass plaque on one side identifies the box:
WEATHER MACHINE
Which speaks for itself, except that the
instructions, on a second brass plaque beneath the
first, don't seem to make all that much sense:
INSTRUCTIONS
WARNING: INCORRECT USE IS DANGEROUS
WARNING: USE ONLY CORRECT LEVER TO
ACTIVATE
WARNING: USE OF WRONG LEVER MAY
PROVE FATAL
NOTICE: ONLY CORRECT LEVER WILL LINK
THESE WORDS:
NONE . .. (
) ...OUT
It's make your mind up time, Pip. If you pull
the left lever, go to 209. If you pull the centre
lever go to 220. If you pull the right lever, go to
214.
182
'Go with my blessing!' exclaims the purple-robed
PM, waving one hand grandly towards your
available options.
Which are as follows:
183-184

may walk the path east to 133 or south-east to
138. In either case you will retain your
walk east to 133 or south-east to 138, but you
when you arrive.
183
You pop the pill, which fizzes a little in your
mouth before you manage to get it down.
'Have you got a headache?' EJ asks curiously.
You ignore him and wait. For a moment nothing
happens.
'Feeling better?' EJ asks solicitously.
You open your mouth to tell him to keep quiet
but, before you can say anything, your head
explodes.
Go to 118.
184
You have entered a totally desolate environment

which seems to stretch out to a barren infinity (a
trick of the light, no doubt, but a compelling
illusion just the same).
Before you can say anything, your head explodes.
185
As you start forward, you are gripped by a sudden

feeling of depression and thoughts of the dreaded
14 fill your mind.
You feel a movement beside you and discover old
EJ is feeling much the same thing, since he seems
to be trying to stab himself to death in the
pommel.
'Cut that out, EJ!' you order him firmly.
But it's obvious that there's something about this
place that can drive you to total despair very
easily.
Better find out if you have the inherent
optimism to resist it. Roll two dice. Score 5 or
below and you've had it: sink down in despair
to 14. Score 6 or more and you're back on top of
the situation.
two dice and go to the section indicated on the
Key in 162. Unless you score 6, 9 or 12, in
which case you have Pathwalking abilities for
two further sections and may walk north-east
to 143 or south-east to 205, with abilities left
for one further section.
If you arrived here with abilities in reserve,
walk north-east to 143 or south-east to 205, but
when you arrive you will have NO further
abilities left.
185
Well, just as you remembered - the Camelot
186-187
stables. Now full of rotting straw and old manure

with not a horse in sight.
You search in the straw, but find nothing. You
search the walls, examine the doors and look up at
the ceiling, but find nothing.
You search the floor and you find a secret
trapdoor.
Go to 216.
186
Diligently you examine the wall, your nose only
inches from the stonework.
Throw under 6 and you can't find any door in
the wall; in which case return to 175. Throw 6
or better and a one-way door opens allowing
you direct access to 115.
187
It's getting warmer! By Jove, that was a close call.
Luckily you are the most intelligent adventurer to
stumble into this place since young Bert Einstein
in 1903.
Stamp your feet and blow on your hands and then
let's get out of here before the machine breaks
down.
If you're all out of Pathwalking abilities, roll
Key. Unless you throw 6, 9 or 12, which will
generate new Pathwalking abilities for two
further sections. If you still have Pathwalking
abilities, your immediate options are north-
188-189
west to 159, north northwest to 202, east to 129

or south-east to 132.
188
Purposefully, you turn your back on the door.
'Look out!' shouts EJ.
You glance back hurriedly to see that the door has
opened and a gigantic hand is emerging. You reach
for EJ, but it is already too late.
The gigantic hand grabs you and drags you to
162.
189
You set the brass head (which has been absolutely
useless to you so far on this adventure) on to the
shoulders of the brass figure.
'Okay, talk!' you growl, slapping its face a few
times for encouragement.
'No need for that, M'deario,' says the head in a
broad Cornish accent. 'A simple question would
have been sufficient.' It hiccoughs, teeters
alarmingly, but retains its balance on the
shoulders.
'All right,' you say. 'What about this Helm?'
'The only known protection against the Phantom
Grunweazel,' remarks the head. 'But lethal to its
wearer unless you happen to say 'Bonkers' as you
put it on.'
What a find! Protection against the Phantom
Grunweazel! Swiftly you race across to don the
A gigantic hand emerges through the open door
190-191
192
Helm (sheepishly muttering 'bonkers' as you

do so). Grabbing the Brass Head in case it
comes in handy again, you quickly retrace your
steps upwards to 125.
You take a step forward.

'Hold it!' says one head of the dog.
'Oh, come on Stanley,' growls the other head. 'Let
the adventurer have a look in the chest!'
'Certainly not, Charles,' snaps the first head. 'It's
our job to guard it!'
'I don't see why, Stanley there's nothing
valuable inside: no bones, no biscuits, not even a
rubber ball to play with.'
'Excuse me . . . ' you put in hesitantly. Both heads

swing back towards you. 'I never met a talking
dog before.' You frown. 'Or one with two heads
either, for that matter.'
'You must have led a very sheltered existence,'
remarks Head Charles.
'Not really,' you reply. 'But since you can talk, I
wonder if you would allow me to have a quick
look in that chest? I'd hate to have to kill you to
get to it.'
Both heads begin to giggle. 'Kill us? You must be
joking!' Head Stanley adds, 'We ate a dragon for
breakfast!'
'You ate a dragon for breakfast, you greedy pig!'
exclaims Head Charles. 'You wouldn't let me get
near it!'
'No, I didn't!' exclaims Head Stanley. 'Share and
share alike is my motto - you know that!'
I know nothing of the sort! Let me tell you ....'
Are you going to stand here all day listening to
this silly mutt squabble with itself, or are you
going to take the opportunity of creeping past
and taking a sneaky look in the chest? Unless
you want to leave to 163 (which you're
perfectly entitled to do) roll two dice. Score 3 or
better and go to 200. Score under 3 (which only
leaves you with 2) and go to 155.
'You're far too frivolous, Charles,' snarls Head

Stanley. 'All you can think of is eating and
playing. Where's your sense of duty?'
192
What a swiz - or possibly, what a relief - this
dome is empty. At least it looks empty.
190
Well, just as you remembered - the Camelot
stables. Now full of rotting straw and old manure
with not a horse in sight.
You search in the straw, but find nothing. You
search the walls, examine the doors, and look up
at the ceiling, but find nothing.
You search the floor and you find nothing.
Go back to your plan for a new destination.
191
193
193
1 doubt if it's empty,' EJ remarks annoyingly.

'Why don't you look around for a bit.'
But having looked around, you find your first
impression was entirely accurate.
Which leaves you with several alternatives.
First, if your Pathwalking abilities have run
out, you should throw two dice and go direct to
the section indicated on the Key in 162. Unless,
of course, you score a 6, 9 or 12, in which case
you have generated new Pathwalking abilities for two further sections. If this happens (or
if you have Pathwalking abilities left) you may
walk east to 146, southeast to 202 or southwest to 159.
193
That's funny - nothing's happened. You stepped
right on to that sinister inlaid skull and
crossbones and absolutely nothing happened.
You'd imagine there should have been a trap of
some sort here - a pit with poisoned stakes or a
teleport device or a lava deluge from the ceiling or
something of that sort. But the floor's firm and
there isn't even a sniff of magic to worry about.
Which makes one wonder why anybody took the
trouble of inlaying a skull and crossbones in the
floor.
Counting your blessing (which have been pitifully
few this adventure to date) you move from the
skull to step between the two huge question-mark
pillars, holding your breath nervously.
Again nothing happens. Which is odd too, because
in adventures like this there's usually a forcefield

set to zap you. But not this time.
Counting your blessings (which seem to have
begun to mount up now) you stride through the
space between the pillars, pausing only to pat the
head of that friendly little bunny.
Which leaps like a mongoose to take you in the
throat!
So that's why there was a skull and crossbones.
This friendly little brute has to be a Vorpal
Bunny, a monster of reassuring appearance but
truly terrifying ferocity. The Vorpal Bunny has
194-195
55 LIFE POINTS, strikes successfully on 5 and

does +2 damage with those prominent front
teeth. This doesn't sound too bad (except for
the LIFE POINTS) until you realise that any
throw of 6 or 12 by the Vorpal indicates it's
ripped your brain out, killing you more or less
instantly. If the Vorpal kills you in this or any
other way, go to 14. If you survive, you may
proceed to the arm with the purse at 169.
194
195
Cautiously you descend the stairs, EJ at the ready.
As you do so, the curious blooping noise increases
and a stifling pong assails your nostrils. You
notice the walls of the staircase are covered in the
same rotted fungus you saw on the exterior of the
castle. Nonetheless, you perservere and as you
reach the thirteenth step the fungus begins to
glow, casting a pale eerie light.
'Go back!' a voice ahead calls weakly. But weak or
not, it sounds familiar.
'Go back!' calls a different voice, equally weak
and equally familiar.
'Please go back!' cries a female voice.
'Oui,' adds yet another voice weakly. 'Vous must
The staircase leads to a pit-like chamber,

half filled with the
195
allez backwards!' And that voice, breaking
intermittently into his native French, is
absolutely recognisable as belonging to the brave
Sir Lancelot du Lac!
Ignoring the advice, you take one more step
downwards and suddenly all is revealed. The
staircase leads into a pit-like chamber, virtually
filled with oozing fungus. And trapped like flies in
glue is the entire Company of the Table Round King Arthur, Queen Guinevere, Lancelot, Pellinore, Galahad, Percival, Mordred and the rest, all
up to their necks in fungus and looking in
magotty bad order.
One step more and you're into the fungus
yourself, Pip. But if you want to plunge in for a
lunatic rescue attempt, turn to 203. If you
prefer to chicken out (and who would blame
you) turn to 157.
196
196
Cautiously you walk down the slope of the crater,

leaving a clearly discernible trail of footprints in
the dust behind you. As you get closer, you can
see that the building really has been exquisitely
made: a perfect castle, but miniaturised so that it
is no larger than a crofter's cottage.
You reach the main gates (which together are no
larger than a normal door) and reach up to knock
when your eye catches an inscription on the
archway above. The inscription reads:
THIS HOUSE BE PROTECTED BY MERLIN
SECURITIES LTD.
(Alarm Systems and Guard Dogs a Speciality.)
It's one of Merlin's stupid houses! He has them all
over the place - each one more eccentric than the
last! Most of the time he doesn't even get to live
in them: certainly he hasn't lived in this one for a
very long time by the look of it. But that doesn't
matter. What does matter is that he might have
stashed away a bit of magic or healing or
something else useful.
All the same, you hesitate.
The problem is that protection notice. It's very
like Merlin to cast one of his spells over a place
like this and even a simple knock on the door
might prove lethal. At the same time, even his
fresh spells often go wrong and any on this
place would have been set years ago, so they
might have worn out by now. If you want to
197-198
199-200
risk it, turn to 149. If not, you can always

return to 125 and select another option, bearing
in mind that following the path over the
horizon did NOT use up any Pathwalking
abilities you may have.
197
Go to 14.
198
You have entered a totally desolate environment

which seems to stretch out to a barren infinity (a
trick of the light, no doubt, but a compelling
illusion just the same.)
As you start forward, you are gripped by a sudden
feeling of depression and thoughts of the dreaded
14 fill your mind.
You feel a movement beside you and discover old
EJ is feeling much the same thing, since he seems
to be trying to stab himself to death in the
pommel.
'Cut that out, EJ!' you order him firmly.
But it's obvious that there's something about this
place that can drive you to total despair very
easily.
Better find out if you have the inherent
optimism to resist it. Roll two dice. Score 5 or
below and you've had it: sink down in despair
to 14. Score 6 or more and you're back on top of
the situation.

two further sections and may walk north-west
to 137 or south-west to 215, with abilities left
for one further section.
walk north-west to 137 or south-west to 215,
but when you arrive you will have NO further
abilities left.
199
You enter the exit passage with the sudden

realization that there are murder holes in the
ceiling where the more bad-tempered of Arthur's
guards were wont to pour boiling oil and molten
lead down on the heads of enemies.
But if the Curse has done one positive thing, it's
put a stop to that sort of nonsense (admittedly by
putting a stop to the guards as well). Thus you
walk safely to the portcullis and, with a little
difficulty, lower the drawbridge to let yourself out
of the castle.
Which leaves you with the choice of going to
the Tor at 13 or visiting Glastonbury at 34.
200
'And what about the day you '
To the sound of the two-headed dog arguing with
itself in the background, you creep quietly into
the room and gently open the lid of the chest.
201
'I did nothing of the sort, Stanley! You, on the

other hand -'
There's a skeleton in the chest - and an animated
skeleton at that! It raises one skeletal hand and
places a bony finger to its lips (or at least to where
its lips would be if it had any). 'Shhh!' it whispers.
'What are you doing in there?' you whisper to the
skeleton.
'Hiding from that stupid dog - what do you think
I'm doing?' hisses the skeleton.
'Is there anything else in there with you?' you ask
quietly. 'A mirrored shield, for example?'
'Afraid not,' whispers the skeleton. 'The best I
have to offer is a Minor Amulet of Destruction
(MAD for short) which adds five points to any
damage you score in your first blow of a combat,
but doesn't add anything thereafter. It's good for
four fights and you're very welcome to it.'
'Thank you,' you say politely to the skeleton,
taking the Minor Amulet of Destruction, which
seems to be of Roman manufacture. You close the
lid of the chest carefully.
And steal away with your amulet to the
corridor at 163.
201
'Have at you, Pondifilous!' you roar, leaping
forward with your trusty sword, advisor and
companion, EJ the Fearless.
202
The creature leaps aside nimbly and counters

with a vicious head butt.
And so the fight is on. Pondifilous Maximus
has only 12 LIFE POINTS, but he wasn't joking
about being immune to weapons: every time
you score a successful hit, the damage is
actually ADDED to his LIFE POINTS rather
than taken away. Meanwhile PM himself
strikes successfully on 5 and does +4 damage.
If Pondifilous kills you, go to 14. If you kill. . .
But you can't, can you?
The good news is, however, that despite his
weird appearance, PM is quite a good sport and
if you succeed in driving his LIFE POINTS up
to 30 or more he will call off the fight and let
you go at 158.
202
Clunk! The familiar sound of a soft head hitting a
hard object. In this case your soft head, although
the hard object is an invisible forcefield around
this glittering sphere.
If you are wearing the Amulet of Sarabanda,
turn to 210.
If you are carrying the Amulet and have
Pathwalking abilities left, you may walk
north-west to 192 or south-east to 151. If you
have the Amulet and are all out of Pathwalking
abilities, you should throw two dice and go to
the section indicated on the Key in 162, unless
the roll generates new Pathwalking abilities.
203-205
If you don't have the Amulet at all, the blow on

the head will kill you within eighteen seconds.
Wait eighteen seconds, then go to 14.
203
Bravely you leap forward and bravely you sink up
to your neck in fungus.
You realize you are trapped.
'Why didn't you go back when I told you!' gasps
the King. 'Now we have no-one to rescue us!'
'Fear not, Sire,' you tell him bleakly, 'For I have an
ingenious plan.' With which you hold your nose
and plunge deep into the suffocating fungus.
Which naturally carries you to the dreaded 14
where you can reincarnate for another, more
sensible, attempt.
204
Stepping over the corpse of the vampire you stride
purposefully for the door. Flinging it open, you
find to your delight you are in one of Merlin's
storerooms.
Take your pick of any six more items of
equipment (you'll find the list in 2) then make
your way back to 125 and decide where to go
from there.
205
You are reminded of a quotation from
Shakespeare (Twelfth Night to be exact), even
though the Bard of Avon has not been born yet
The quotation is, 'for the rain, it raineth everday.'
Tramping towards you is a tall, indistinct figure.
205
It certainly raineth in this sphere: it's coming

down in torrents, a steady downpour that has you
soaked in seconds and is even at this minute
filling up your boots.
Tramping towards you, in sou'wester and rubber
overshoes is a tall, indistinct figure carrying what
appears to be a crystal ball.
'Can't you find your way anywhere?' he
complains as he approaches, waving the crystal
ball threateningly. He pauses to wring out his
long white beard.
'Merlin!' you exclaim. 'What are you doing here?'.
'Getting wet!' says Merlin. 'Now see here you've taken a wrong turning somewhere. I saw it
all in my crystal ball. Just pull yourself together
and go somewhere else.'
No arguing with that.
Key in 162, unless you score 6, 9 or 12 in which
case you have Pathwalking abilities for two
further sections and may walk north-west to
184 or more or less west to 178, with abilities
left for one further section.
walk north-west to 184 or more or less west to
178, but when you arrive you will have NO
further abilities left.
206-207
206
There's a skeleton in the chest - and an animated

skeleton at that! It raises one skeletal hand and
places a bony finger to its lips (or at least to where
its lips would be if it had any). 'Shhh!' it whispers.
'What are you doing in there?' you whisper to the
skeleton.
'Hiding from that stupid dog - what do you think
I'm doing?' hisses the skeleton.
'You can stop worrying,' you say. 'I've settled its
hash. Now is there anything else in there with
you - a mirrored shield, for example?'
'Afraid not,' says the skeleton, stretching
gratefully. 'The best I have to offer is a Minor
Amulet of Destruction (MAD for short) which
adds five points to any damage you score in your
first blow of a combat, but doesn't add anything
thereafter. It's good for four fights and you're very
welcome to it.'
'Thank you,' you say politely to the skeleton,
taking the Minor Amulet of Destruction, which
seems to be of Roman manufacture. You shake
hands with the skeleton.
And steal away with your amulet to the
corridor at 163.
207
'Mmmfff... mmm... mmfff...' a muffled voice
issues faintly from the headless figure.
I beg your pardon?'
208-209
210
'Mmff.'
'Daeh a tog t'nevah I - gnisirprus ton s'taht,'
mumbles the figure.
If you're all out of Pathwalking abilities, roll

Key in 162. Unless you throw 6, 9 or 12, which
will generate new Pathwalking abilities for two
further sections.
Looks as though you're not going to get much

sense here. Better return to 152 and review your
options.
If you still have Pathwalking abilities, your

immediate options are north-west to 127 or
west to 129.
208
The door opens into a corridor one you haven't
seen before, having no reason to visit this part of
the castle.
You follow it for twenty yards or so, then stop in
horror.
210
Fingering your amulet, you step into the glittering
sphere . . . and into an edifice made of crystalline
silver which soars above your head like a Gothic
cathedral.
You move closer. 'I'm afraid I can't hear you.'
The whole ceiling has caved in, blocking the way

completely!
A sorry tribute to the upkeep of Camelot since
the Curse was laid. As you have better things
to do than try to dig your way through, your
best course is to return to the Throne Room at
118 and select another route.
209
It's getting warmer! By Jove, that was a close call.
Luckily you're the most intelligent adventurer to
stumble into this place since young Bert Einstein
in 1903.
Stamp your feet and blow on your hands and then
let's get out of here before the machine breaks
down.
A central aisle between two colonnades of crystal

pillars leads to a tapestry curtain which
effectively conceals the northern end of this great
chamber.
The tapestry itself is interesting, depicting, as it
does, a series of adventurers being torn limb from
limb by monsters, falling down traps and over
cliffs, setting off infernal machines, being melted
by magicians, falling foul of fiends and many
other alliterative disasters. On the centre panel of
the tapestry has been embroidered a single
sentence:
WELCOME TO THE CURSE FACTORY
But before you can become too engrossed by this
intriguing message, your attention is attracted by
the pitter-patter of tiny feet and you look to your
left to see seven little girls tripping gaily towards
210
you. Each is delightfully dressed in floral print,

with newly-washed white bobbysox. Their happy,
well-scrubbed faces gleam beneath the large
pastel pink bows in their hair which almost hide
their cute little horns.
Horns?
They begin to circle around you, eyes volpine and

watchful.
'Hello, little girls,' you call warily. 'Who are you?'
'The Seven Sisters,' remarks one sweet child,
spitting on the floor and wiping her nose with the
back of her hand.
The remaining six set to howling like wolves, a
spine-chilling sound which sets your teeth on
edge.
'I do wish you'd stop that,' you say.
'So do 1,' remarks EJ.
The little girls stop howling and begin to dance
around you in a circle, like witches, chanting
some curious ditty about plague-pits and charnel
houses.
'We're going to get you!' one calls.
'And if we don't, our Daddy will!' adds another.
'Now look here -' you begin firmly. But the little
girls have already started their attack.
Whatever the Rules of Chivalry may say about
fighting little girls, these sisters are going to
tear you limb from limb unless you defend
The seven little girls begin to circle round you
211
yourself. Six of the Sisters have 10 LIFE
POINTS each, strike on 5 and do +3 damage
with those bow-bedecked little horns. The
seventh has 20 LIFE POINTS, strikes on 4, does
+5 horn damage and will kill you outright on a
throw of 12.
If they kill you, turn to 14. If they don't, you
may move swiftly to the next section, 211.
211
With the lethal little Sisters out of the way, you
run forward and pull back the curtain, EJ at the
ready.
Behind it is one of the strangest sights you have
ever seen - and perhaps the most disturbing. The
entire northern section of the chamber is choc-abloc with alchemical equipment: furnaces,
retorts, albemics (which, if you didn't know, are
bulbous glass vessels) and jars of every shape, size
and description. Merlin would be green with envy
at this equipment, even though he might not
entirely approve of what it is being used for.
And this is fairly obvious from the huge variety
of books and manuscripts scattered round:
'How to Curse Your Neighbour'... 'Hexes
for Beginners'... 'Com blighting and other
Experiments'... 'Voyage of Terror'... 'Nasty
Spells'... 'The Wizard Ansalom's Magical Vade
Mecum'... and so on in great profusion.
No wonder the embroidered notice described this
as the Curse Factory. It looks as if every bit of
bother anybody's experienced in Avalon over
many a long year has originated in this place.
212-213
You stare around you, looking for the perpetrator

of all this unpleasantness . . .
But what you see depends on whether or not
you're wearing the Bonkers Helm. If you are,
turn to 218. If not, then 219.
212
The door opens into a dusty corridor on which
your footsteps echo hollowly as you follow it all
the way to an open door.
Through the door you can see the Castle kitchens,
with the corpses of no fewer than seventeen cooks
collapsed over a pinewood table on which are laid
seventeen empty soup plates.
One sniff at those plates tells you the whole story.
There is a distinct scent of bitter almonds. Poison
soup!
Across the way from this unhappy scene another
door leads into a larder, where even the rats have
turned their toes up from munching on poisoned
bread and cheese.
But since there is no other exit from the
kitchens, the only place for you to go is 118
where you can pick a new direction.
213
Swiftly you snatch the Helm from the peg and jam
it on your head.
And disappear!
And find yourself mysteriously - minus the
Helm - at 143.
214-215
215
214

215
You are reminded of a quotation from
Shakespeare (Twelfth Night, to be exact), even
though the Bard of Avon has not been born yet.
The quotation is, 'for the rain, it raineth every
day.'
It certainly raineth in this sphere: it's coming
down in torrents, a steady downpour that has you
soaked in seconds and is even at this minute
filling up your boots.
Tramping towards you, in sou'wester and rubber
overshoes is a tall, indistinct figure carrying what
appears to be a crystal ball.
'Can't you find your way anywhere?' he
complains as he approaches, waving the crystal
ball threateningly. He pauses to wring out his
long white beard.
'Merlin!' you exclaim. 'What are you doing here?'
'Getting wet!' says Merlin. 'Now see here you've taken a wrong turning somewhere. I saw it
all in my crystal ball. Just pull yourself together
and go somewhere else.'
No arguing with that.

two further sections and may walk north to
137, north-east to 198 or east to 178, with
abilities left for one further section.
walk north to 137, north-east to 198 or east to
178, but when you arrive you will have NO
further abilities left.
216
216
A rickety wooden ladder leads downwards into a

narrow, stone-flagged tunnel, which runs due
north for a time before taking so many twists and
turns that you quite lose your sense of direction.
Not that it matters, since the only place the
tunnel leads is to a stout oakwood door.
You reach for your dice to see if you can pick the
lock, but EJ whispers, 'Try it first - it may be
open.'
'Don't be sil' you remark, trying the door to
humour him and finding it open.
Beyond the door is a 10' x 10' stone-lined
chamber, with a spiral staircase at the far end.
Half filling the chamber itself is a collection of the
most amazing rubbish - old churns, bits of
armour, dusty books, walking sticks, battered
chests, broken ornaments... in short, an
adventurer's dream.
You set to searching through the rubbish for
anything that might be of use and, in under fifteen
minutes, you have unearthed what must be the
find of a lifetime. Half buried beneath a set of old
encyclopaedias (Roman Edition) is a wooden case
tagged 'Property of Uther'. Inside, as you throw it
open you can see a fearsome adventurer, armed to
the teeth and
No, wait a minute - of course there's no fearsome
adventurer in the case: it's your own reflection in
a highly polished shield. Property of Uther? This
must be it - Pendragon's Mirror Shield!
A rickety wooden ladder leads downwards

into a stone-flagged tunnel.
217-218
You seize your booty and race up the spiral
staircase and, when the dizziness wears off,
find yourself in a corridor which leads, via a
secret door in the back of the throne room, to
118.
217
Good grief it's a pit! Somebody has laid a huge
pit trap just beyond the door, right in Arthur's
Castle!
And if that isn't shocking enough, the fact is
you've just fallen down it.
Roll two dice and subtract the result from your
LIFE POINTS. If this kills you, go to 14. If not
you can climb back into 172 and select another
route from your plan.
218
To the left of a huge furnace stands an easel on
which has been placed a scale map of Avalon.
Looming over it is a massive porcine figure,
tusked head pushed forward from under the cowl
of a long black cape, bristled skin bristling with
excitement, anger, happiness, rage (it's difficult to
say) and one fat hand even now reaching out to
stick a pin in the map.
'Halt!' you cry, drawing EJ with a flourish. 'Halt I
say! Desist in your evil ways!'
The great tusked head turns slowly towards you,
like something from a nightmare. Tune!' the
creature exclaims. 'Know you not that I am the
Phantom Grunweazel (Dum da dum dum!), the
It's the Phantom Grunweazel (Dum-da-Dum-Dum!)
219
same Phantom Grunweazel who placed the

dreaded Curse on Avalon and cunningly managed
to shift the blame on to that charlatan Kran who
wouldn't know a Curse from a sago pudding, but
will be blamed for this one just the same?'
'Not while I live!' you warn it.
The Grunweazel grins. 'That might not be very
long,' it says.
A prophetic statement. The thing is you don't
have to worry about those fearsome tusks since
the P. G. never uses them in combat. What you
do have to worry about is the Fireballs, which
the Grunweazel can hurl on a throw of 6 or
better, causing a massive 12 points of damage
irrespective of what the dice shows.
Fortunately the Bonkers Helm you are wearing
will absorb half this damage each time.
Unfortunately it won't do anything about the
P. G.'s LIFE POINTS which stand at 55, or the
fact that its skin is so tough it will act as -3
armour throughout the ensuing combat.
If the Grunweazel kills you (which can happen
even at this late stage of an adventure) go to 14.
If you survive, pull the pins out of the map to
lay the Curse and turn to the section headed
PIP TRIUMPHANT over the page.
219
To the left of a huge furnace stands an easel on
which has been placed a scale map of Avalon.
219
Looming over it is just the barest hint of a broad,

near transparent, robed figure.
'Halt!' you cry, drawing EJ with a flourish. 'Halt I
say! Desist in your evil ways!'
'Pune!' the creature exclaims. 'Know you not that
I am the Phantom Grunweazel, (Dum da dum
dum!), the same Phantom Grunweazel who
placed the dreaded Curse on Avalon and
cunningly managed to shift the blame on to that
charlatan Kran who wouldn't know a Curse from
a sago pudding, but will be blamed for this one
just the same?'
'Not while I live!' you warn it.
The Grunweazel giggles. 'That might not be very
long,' it says.
A prophetic statement. The thing you have to
worry about is the Fireballs, which the
Grunweazel can hurl on a throw of 6 or better,
causing a massive 12 points of damage
irrespective of what the dice shows. The P. G. 's
LIFE POINTS stand at 55, and its skin is so
tough it will act as -3 armour throughout the
ensuing combat. Worse still, since it's nearly
invisible, you will need to throw a 6 or better,
even with EJ, to hit it.
If the Grunweazel kills you (which can happen
even at this late stage of an adventure) go to 14.
If you survive, pull the pins out of the map to
lay the Curse and turn to the section headed
PIP TRIUMPHANT on the next page.
220-221
220

221
Good grief it's a pit! Somebody has laid a huge
pit trap just beyond the door, right in Arthur's
Castle!
And if that isn't shocking enough, the fact is
you've just fallen down it.
Roll two dice and subtract the result from your
LIFE POINTS. If this kills you, go to 14. If not
you can climb back into 172 and select another
route from your plan.
PIP TRIUMPHANT
The sun rose clean and clear over the rolling hills
of Avalon. The first bright rays crept across the
land, insinuating themselves into the darker
nooks and crannies, stealing over parched fields,
illuminating farms and cottages, spotlighting the
great battered Castle Camelot on the summit of
Cadbury Hill and finally stretching a long finger
into the window of a massive barrel which nestled
like a giant's plaything in the valley below.
Merlin's eyes opened.
He had been sleeping in his long Johns (all
nightshirts having rotted) in the bunk beneath the
window. He rose at once, being by nature an early
bird, and out of force of habit chanted the ancient
Druid spell which summoned him a newly
laundered robe.
And the robe appeared!
Merlin stared at it foolishly. None of his magic
had worked properly (if at all) since the Curse was
laid on Avalon; and had he not been a creature of
habit, he would not have bothered with the
clothing spell at all. Yet there was the robe, fresh
and white and with its mystic symbols glinting
mischievously.
192
Cautiously, Merlin opened the window and
waved the robe outside. Usually it took only a
moment for the rot to start. But by the time his
arm tired, there was not a sign of the familiar
mould or fungus.
Frowning, Merlin pulled the robe over his head
and went outside. The air smelled fresh.
Glancing upwards at the towering edifice of
Camelot Castle on the hilltop, he noticed
something odd. The fungus encrustations were
dissolving, sliding off the walls into the moat,
leaving the towers and battlements as fresh as if
they had been newly washed. Slowly,
thoughtfully, Merlin went back inside his barrel
to emerge moments later carrying a staff. He
glanced at the Castle again, then seemed to make
up his mind. With more haste than was seemly for
a man of his years, he began to climb the hill,
using the staff as a walking stick.
Meanwhile, in a gloomy corridor of the Castle
itself, the dissolution of the fungus had released
King Arthur and his knights. They watched the
gluck disappear with expressions of profound
astonishment but, since they were pragmatists to
a man (and to a woman since Guinevere was there
as well), they wasted no time looking for an
explanation, but ran up the steps, weapons at the
ready, in order to face whatever perils the changed
situation might bring.
But there were no perils. The Castle was in a very
bad state and there were many skeletons and
corpses in its chambers; but nothing threatened
193
and throughout the building there were many

others who had survived as well, trapped like the
royal couple and their knights in the magical
fungus which had preserved life as well as making
it a monumental misery.
Arthur took immediate charge as was his way,
organizing work parties to get the place cleaned
up, inspection parties to ascertain the extent of
the damage, guard parties to man the walls, cook
parties to prepare food - and so on in a hive of
activity that rivalled the preparations for a royal
wedding. When the fundamentals were underway,
the King repaired to his Council Chamber in the
north tower (the one that housed the Table
Round) and called a meeting of the knights to
discuss the situation. It had only just convened
when a messenger reported the Wizard Merlin
was at the outer gate.
'Admit him at once!' ordered the King.
But the messenger looked uncomfortable. 'He
won't come in. He says, begging your pardon, Sire,
but I'm only repeating what he said, he says you
and the Knights of the Table Round should come
out and go off with him to Glastonbury Tor.'
'To where?' frowned the King.
'The Tor,' confirmed the messenger. 'That big
haunted hump over by -'
'Yes, yes!' said the King brusquely. 'I know the
Tor.' He frowned. Why on earth would
Merlin...?
Yet he trusted the old Wizard, weird though his
194
habits might be, and decided, without too much
hesitation, to humour him on this occasion.
Thus it was that the company of Knights of
Avalon, headed by their King and Queen (for
Guinevere insisted on coming to keep the men
out of mischief) rode out from Camelot through a
countryside that was already turning green to the
mysterious Tor which had dominated the
landscape around Glastonbury for more years
than anybody cared to remember. Merlin, who
disliked horses, walked beside the King, levitating
occasionally in order to keep up and refusing to
answer questions until they had reached the
marsh around the Tor.
'Brave Comrades,' called Sir Lancelot, 'Noble Sire
- you must permit me to ride ahead in order that I
may risk my life in combat with the Guardian
Wyrm which is known to bar passage to travellers
in these parts!'
'No need,' growled Merlin (adding 'Pompous ass'
under his breath). 'The Wyrm's been killed
already: we'll have no trouble here.'
'Killed?' echoed King Pellinore. 'It would take an
army to put down that brute.'
'Or an exceptional adventurer.. .' murmured
Merlin.
And at that point, light suddenly dawned. Not on
the Knights of course, or even the King, but on fair
Queen Guinevere who often appeared more
intelligent than the whole company of the Table
Round put together. 'You mean Pip, Wise
195
Merlin?' she asked.

'I do indeed,' Merlin nodded. 'Look around you.
Has not the Curse been lifted? And is there any
other in this land with enough skill, courage,
strength, speed and intelligence to tackle a job
like that.'
'Well, I don't know - ' Sir Lancelot began.
But Merlin cut him short. 'No, of course there's
not. Only Pip could have done it.' He pointed
dramatically. 'Only that brave person there!'
They followed his gesture with their eyes. A tiny
figure could just be made out walking down the
spiral path, sword glinting in the sun.
'That's never Pip,' said Sir Lancelot, squinting.
But he was talking to himself. King Arthur at
their head, the remaining knights were galloping
forward to give this hero a deserved reception.
199
Score Dream
DREAMTIME
2.
You are falling. High above, you can see

the cliff edge from which you have fallen.
Far below, you can see the jagged rocks on
which you are destined to fall. Throw two
more dice to find out how many LIFE
POINTS you will lose when you land. If
this kills you, go to 14. If not, return to the
section where you SLEPT.
3.
A practitioner of Voodoo has made a wax

doll in your likeness and is about to bathe
it in a vat of healing ointment. Throw one
die. Score above 3 and you are entitled to a
double dice roll of LIFE POINTS. Score 3 or
less and the foul mixture actually deducts
a double dice roll of LIFE POINTS. (If this
kills you, go to 14.)
4.
When you fall asleep and start to dream,

you dream you have just fallen asleep and
started to dream about falling asleep and
starting to dream a b o u t . . . Well, you
probably get the idea by now. Keep
throwing two dice until you score a double
6, which is the only way to break out of
this dumb dream: fortunately without loss
of LIFE POINTS.
5.
You have just eaten a dragon's egg

(scrambled) and are suffering from
indigestion so ferocious that it deducts 10
LIFE POINTS. If this kills you, go to 14. If
you survive, however, you will quickly
This section is used ONLY when you decide to

SLEEP. If the dice direct you here, follow these
rules:
1. You enter the Dreamtime with your LIFE
POINTS at the exact level they were at when
you decided to Sleep.
2. You have no magic, weapons or armour, except
those which may be given you in a Dreamtime
encounter.
3. You may take
Dreamtime.
nothing back
from
the
4. Any LIFE POINTS you lose in the Dreamtime

must be deducted from your actual LIFE
POINTS. If you are killed in the Dreamtime,
you are really killed and must go direct to the
dreaded Section 14.
Now enter the Dreamtime by throwing two dice
and going to the section indicated by your score.
To operate the DREAMTIME, throw two dice and
check the result below. If you survive, you can
then return to the section where you decided to
SLEEP.
200
201
become so full of dragon power that your
(depleted) LIFE POINTS are doubled.
6.
7.
You find yourself in a swamp infested with

Lizard Men. Each has 10 LIFE POINTS,
hits on 6 and does +2 damage. Throw one
die to find out how many you will have to
fight. If they kill you, go to 14. Those that
you kill may be taken out of the dream to
fight for you (until you or they are killed)
in your adventure.
You have travelled forward in Time to a
banquet put on by the Borgia family. Faced
with a blue goblet and a red goblet, you
must decide on which to drink. Throw one
die to make your decision. Score up to 3
and it's the red goblet which is full of
curare guaranteed to remove half your
LIFE POINTS quick as wink. Score above 3
and you get to drink from the blue goblet
full of hemlock which, in this dream if
nowhere else, will add half your existing
LIFE POINTS to your total.
8.
You are trying out a perpetual motion spell

given to you by Merlin. It returns you to
the start of the DREAMTIME where you
must make another roll.
9.
Another fine mess you've gotten yourself

into. You are trying to dodge three
fireballs. Throw one die for each. Score
more than 2 and the fireball misses and
you may add your score to your LIFE
POINTS. Score 1 or 2 and the fireball hits,
10.
in which case you may go to 14.

Entering a musty cave, you discover a
coded scroll which you carefully decipher
to find it is a new and unknown spell.
Hurriedly you pronounce the mystic word
SPIELUNKER . .. and find yourself back in
the section where you SLEPT, where you
may or may not decide to sleep again.
11.
Hacking your way through a fungoid

forest, you contact a noxious disease
which will drain one LIFE POINT per
section you visit in your adventure until
you can cure yourself by chewing a
warthog's ear.
12.
You meet up with a warthog and are

smitten by an almost irresistable urge to
chew its ear. The creature (which has 22
LIFE POINTS, hits on 5 and does +3
damage) prefers you to leave its ears alone.
You may do so by returning to the section
where you SLEPT. If you insist on chewing
its ear, you must fight to the death first.
202
203
The Astral Plane

(See Section 162)
Score
2=A
3=B
4=C
5=D
7=E
8=F
10 = G
11=H
Go to 120
Go to 122
Go to 124
Go to 127
Go to 129
Go to 132
Go to 137
Go to 143
204
205
King's
anteroom
Room at section 180

212
Castle Plan
206
207
Plans for the Spook Basher
Prehistoric Creep Machine

1 This is your cotton reel
end on.
1 Cut this shape out of

thin cardboard, making
the bottom edge about
one foot long.
2 Repeat instruction 1.
Cut notches all around

the edge (both ends) so
it looks like this.
3 Put the two pieces

together like this and
tape them.
Sellotape
along here
4 Now cut out a triangle

of strong brown paper
so it will fit here and
tape it to the cardboard.
2 Cut off the bottom half

inch or so from your
candle.
It's the little bit you
want so don't throw it
away.
Cut a shallow channel
across the bottom so it
looks like the head of a
screw.
3 Use a hot knitting
5 Crease paper so it folds

inwards when you
close the two pieces of
cardboard together.
6 If you hold it here and

chop downwards like
an axe, you will make
enough noise to
demolish the average
spook.
needle to drill a hole

through the centre of
your bit of candle
(where the wick runs
through).
Make sure it's a metal
knitting needle. Plastic
ones melt.
Enlarge the hole so you
can thread through
your elastic band.
Rules of Combat
208
4 Put your cotton reel

and bit of candle
together like this.
The end with the
channel should face
outwards.
5 Now thread your
elastic band through
them both.
Stick a bit of
matchstick through
here so you can draw
the elastic tight
without it pulling
through.
6 Now stick your pencil
through here so it lies
along the channel you
cut in your bit of
candle...
7 You'll end up with a
contraption that looks
like this.
If you wind it up, it will

crawl along in this
direction.
To Find Your Starting LIFE POINTS

1. Roll two dice and add the scores together.
2. Multiply the result by 4.
3. Add any PERMANENT LIFE POINTS gained in other
Grailquest adventures.
To Strike an Enemy
1. Roll two dice for yourself and your enemy to see who
gets first strike. Highest score strikes first.
2. Roll a 6 or higher on two dice to strike a blow*.
To Damage an Enemy
1. Check now many points you rolled above the number
needed to strike.
2. Subtract this from your enemy's LIFE POINTS.
To Knock Out an Enemy
Reduce his LIFE POINTS to 5.
To Kill an Enemy
Reduce his LIFE POINTS to 0.
Your enemies use the same method to attack you, as you
roll dice for them.
Armour & Weapons
1. Using weapons increases the damage you score.
2. Using armour subtracts from damage scored against
you.
3. * You are permanently equipped with EJ: Needs a roll of
only 4 on two dice and causes 5 extra damage points. If
you have adventured through The Castle of Darkness
you also have the Dragonskin jacket: Deducts 4 from
damage done to you.
To Avoid Fights
a) To Test for a Friendly Reaction
Roll one die once for your enemy and one die three
times for yourself. If you score less than your enemy, he
is friendly. Proceed as if you had won a fight.
b) Bribery
1. Bribery is only possible in Sections marked *B. The
number of asterisks indicates the amount of Gold
Pieces (or object of equal or higher value) your enemy

will accept. *B = 100 GPs; * *B = 500 GPs; * * *B =
1,000 GPs; * * * *B = 10,000 GPs.
2. To offer a bribe, roll two dice. If you score 1-7, your
bribe is refused. If you score 8-12, proceed as if you
have won a fight.
3. Whether or not you are successful, subtract the bribe
amount from your gold store.
To Restore Lost LIFE POINTS
1. Healing Potions: Each bottle contains six doses. Each
dose restores LIFE POINTS equal to rolling two dice.
2. Salves: A jar has five applications. Each restores 3 LIFE
POINTS.
3. Sleep: You can sleep any time except when fighting.
Roll one die. If you score 1-4, turn to Dreamtime. If you
score 5 or 6, LIFE POINTS are restored equal to rolling
two dice.
4. Other LIFE-restoring methods are given through the
adventure.
LIFE POINTS cannot be restored to above your Starting
total - except through Experience.
EXPERIENCE POINTS
1. 1 EXPERIENCE POINT is gained for each fight or
puzzle won or solved.
2. 20 EXPERIENCE POINTS = 1 PERMANENT LIFE
POINT. 10 of these can be taken into future adventures.
Repeat Journeys
On repeat journeys at the adventure, any enemies previously killed remain dead. Any treasure collected is lost
unless you are told otherwise.
Quest Journal
PIP'S LIFE POINTS
Current:
EXPERIENCE POINTS:
(20 = 1 PERMANENT LIFE POINT)
EQUIPMENT
Healing Potions:
Gold Pieces:
Starting:
BATTLE SCORES
Enemy:
Enemy:
Section:
Section:
Enemy LIFE
Section:
Enemy LIFE
Section:
Enemy LIFE
POINTS:
Enemy LIFE
POINTS:
POINTS:
POINTS:
Result:
Result:
Result:
Result:
Enemy:
Enemy:
Enemy:
Enemy:
Section:
Section:
Enemy:
Enemy:
Enemy LIFE
Enemy LIFE
Section:
Section:
POINTS:
Enemy LIFE
Enemy LIFE
POINTS:
POINTS:
POINTS:
Result:
Result:
Result:
Result:
Enemy:
Enemy:
Enemy:
Enemy:
Section:
Enemy LIFE
Section:
Section:
Enemy LIFE
Enemy LIFE
POINTS:
Enemy LIFE
POINTS:
POINTS:
POINTS:
Result:
Result:
Result:
Result:
Enemy:
Enemy:
Enemy:
Enemy:
Section:
Section:
Section:
Section:
Section:
Enemy LIFE
Enemy LIFE
Enemy LIFE
Enemy LIFE
POINTS:
POINTS:
POINTS:
POINTS:
Result:
Result:
Result:
Result:
Grailquest
Realm of Chaos
There is a curse on Camelot. Gold rusts and even
sunshine rots around the edges. The wizard Merlin, stark naked but for long johns, boots and pointy hat, is confined to his new home in a barrel.
King Arthur and his doughty knights are trapped
in the rank dungeons of a fungoid excrudescence
that was once the proud Castle Camelot. In the
countryside, the earth lies barren. The Realm is in
chaos. Only a hero of almost unimaginable courage, strength, intelligence, luck and sheer good
looks can save the day.
In other words, YOU are sorely needed.
In this incredible (and slightly lunatic) new gamebook in the GrailQuest series, you carry your
faithful talking sword EJ into a maelstrom of mystery as you attempt to discover who - or what really lies behind the disaster which has fallen
like an avalanche on Avalon. It is you, and only
you, who can slay the monsters, solve the puzzles
and hack your way beyond the very confines of
the known universe to visit the fabled Astral
Plane in search of a solution.
Realm of Chaos is the sixth book of the magical,
heroic GrailQuest. Look out for the five already
published to complete your collection. And look
out for more books in the series soon.

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What is the curse that has fallen upon Camelot?

What is the curse that has fallen upon Camelot?

Who is the protagonist that must save Camelot?

Who is the protagonist that must save Camelot?

About the Author

J.H. Brennan is one of those peculiar people who

The Realm of Chaos was first published

Armada is an imprint of Fontana Paperbacks,

William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd., Glasgow.

Hurry! There's not a moment to waste! Grab your

subtracted from his LIFE POINTS. Anything your

The number of stars before the 'B' lets you know

you find yourself staring at a rough wooden floor

Merlin - stark naked but for boots,

'Because the Curse rotted my robe,' Merlin snaps.

'Now the thing is,' says Merlin, 'you'll only be

Generally, the women come here in the early

Swimming mightily, you drag the huge corpse of

monster can tell you, you may decide to do a

Now this is very odd, Pip. You've reached the

Well, you wanted to fill out the form ...

The bull mastiff, who will answer either to

Whistle him to heel now and return to 70 to

He shakes his head. It's the Curse, I tell you - the

Careful, Pip, this brute will have your throat

'Flipper?' you ask, puzzled.

It should be a familiar road to Camelot since

Welcome back to Camelot, Pip. (That moat smells foul!)

But while it should be familiar, it isn't. The great

Glastonbury Nick is the westernmost building on

can see bubbles rising as if somebody had fallen in

Cut out and assemble pieces to form a complete circle.

situation remains a shade obscure. There was

fungus attack on Camelot Castle, the death of all

particularly one stupid enough to risk his life and

Nope, nothing much of interest here. Still, it pays

But the monks smile at you benignly. 'If you kill

After a time, you turn around and swim back to

All the same, he's right. After fifteen minutes,

'Tell it to the Beak,' says Grimes, grimly dragging

You sink like a stone all the way to 14.

A familiar enough sight, Pip, since your adoptive

As you follow the road it narrows, roughens, then

There erupts from the sodden ground a nightmare

The Guardian Wyrm rears up before you.

strike, luminous green eyes glaring at you

44; north-west to 49; north-east to 53; south to

'Don't get stroppy until you see the hole. It's

It isn't a cave at all - more like a tunnel of some sort.

take the trouble of installing an alchemist's

Looks as though you'll have to hack your way

'Good brothers,' you cry. 'Pray permit me

Now this is a building you have never needed to

Nerd sharply. 'That depends on whether you've

shock, you should be able to get yourself together

The tunnel ends in a blank wall to the north-east

rabid fangs, crouches quivering a few feet from

The Abbot nods excitedly. 'As a matter of fact I

'What do you mean - we?' Merlin asks testily. But

You knock again, politely.