Welcome to the first of the 'Mysterious Adventures' by Brian Howarth. This adventure is not too difficult and, as its introduction helpfully informs you, involves a quest to recover The Golden Baton, a mysterious instrument that maintains harmony in the kingdom. As it's based on the same parser as the Scott Adams series of games, don't expect very helpful descriptions to ensure you are on the right lines. A monotone 'O.K.' is the only response you get to most moves.
Walkthough
You start off in a "SPOOKY" forest (Wow, capitalising a word really gives the game an atmosphere!) opposite an old cloak and some rotting leaves. A quick INVENTORY search also reveals that you are carrying a box of matches.
Start off by GETting the CLOAK and WEARing the CLOAK. This cloak is a cloak of invisibility and it makes you invisible to the enemies in the game. Now, EXAMINE the LEAVES and you will discover a sword. GET SWORD, as you will need this immediately in the next location. Go S into a tangle of pricky briar bushes. Type CHOP BRIARS to hack them away. You will now find a coil of rope, so GET ROPE. As you might have gathered, the rope is very important as you cannot climb the tree without it.
Go N back to the so-called spooky forest then N again to a stream. There's nothing to do here so go W to - what do you know? - a tree! THROW the ROPE and it will catch and you can then CLIMB the TREE. In the tree, you will find a hollow. LOOK at the HOLLOW and you will discover a golden ring. GET RING and EXAM RING and you will be told it shows runic symbols. Hmmm, sounds a bit magical so RUB RING. Now a key will materialise. DROP the RING because you don't need it any more, and GET the KEY instead.
Head back D (Note that the command "DOWN" won't work - blah!) the tree and GET the ROPE again before continuing. Go E back to the stream and now N to come face to face with a wild beasty that needs slaying with the command KILL WOLF. You will then impale it with the sword 'right through the heart'. Lovely stuff. Type INVENTORY to find your sword is now covered with wolf's blood. I don't think we want to carry this around any more because it's spoiling the ambiance so DROP SWORD.
Now the next bit is a bit of a poser. The description says that you are 'by a path'. In fact, the path is an exit in disguise! Type GO PATH to move to a forest road on which a wooden staff is just lying around. GET STAFF. You can also EXAMINE it if you want - you'll find it has the same runic symbols on it as the ring.
Go N, N and N again to the Castle Moat. You can cross this but it is important to keep the matches dry else you won't be able to use them when you need to. Ordinarily you have to foul this up to realise but let's just pretend you already did that, ok? (For all I know, you already got this far anyway, it's not too difficult!) Anyway, THROW MATCHES and they will sail over the moat to the other side. Now SWIM across the moat after them and type GET MATCHES to add them to your inventory again.
Now THROW ROPE again and this time it will catch on the portcullis and you can CLIMB ROPE to the top of the battlements. Once you're standing atop them, descend D into a courtyard. There is a Dark Knight here but, providing you're wearing the cloak of invisibility, he will simply not know you are there. GO through the ARCHWAY to a huge door. You can't get through the door because it's locked... but guess what that key you found earlier unlocks? UNLOCK the DOOR and then DROP the KEY to free up inventory space. We're not going to go through the door just yet, because you need to get the mirror before you are ready to deal with what's behind it!
Head E into a derelict stable where a hunting horn and old helmet have been abandoned previously. GET the HELMET and WEAR the HELMET before continuing. LOOK at the STAFF again and type READ RUNES to be told the magic word 'Akyrz'.
Go W and W again into a shed. GET the oil LAMP in here and EXAMINE the STRAW in the shed. As you pull the straw away, you will uncover a hole in the floor. GO into the HOLE and then LIGHT the LAMP (This is where it is handy to have matches that aren't soaking wet!) to be able to see! You don't need the matches any longer so DROP MATCHES to free up inventory space.
An open door stands before you so GO through the DOOR into... a torture chamber. Ignore the hammer for now and go S into a Sorceror's Workroom. In here there is some "GLOWING quartz" (What is it with these capitalised descriptions? Altogether now, say "Oooooooooh!"). WAVE the magical STAFF (You get the message 'Something is happening!' which is less than helpful!) and SAY AKYRZ. The quartz will stop glowing. DROP the STAFF as it's served its purpose and GET QUARTZ. The quartz is actually a weapon, as you will shortly discover. Now go E to be faced with an ugly lizard-man. Ugh! SHAKE the QUARTZ and it will emit a glowing beam that kills him. DROP the now useless QUARTZ before continuing.
LOOK at the dead LIZARD man and you will find a jewelled knife. GET KNIFE. Now go W and N back to the torture chamber. GET the HAMMER now. Go N into the fantastically evocative location of 'room'. GET the MIRROR in here - this is also actually a weapon, as you will shortly discover. Retrace your steps back S, W, U and E to the huge door. OPEN DOOR and it will mysteriously creak open. I feel a bit of foreboding here...
Make sure you now type HOLD MIRROR. The game insists on this although it's pretty obvious you are holding it anyway. Now GO through the DOOR. If you aren't holding the mirror you get turned to stone because there is a gorgon (a mythical creature) hiding behind the door. However, holding up the mirror reflects the gorgon's face back at itself and it is putrified instead. This is my description. Of course, all you get from Adventure International is 'Something happened!'.
DROP the MIRROR now and GET the PARCHMENT. READ the PARCHMENT and you will find it contains a clue as to a combination of moves later on in the game, not moves that you should make right now. Wowee! Commit it to memory then DROP the PARCHMENT and go S and E back into the stable. GET the hunting HORN that is in here. Now go W, S and U to the battlements again. Continue S, S, S, S, S, S and S to the stream. Then walk W and N to a clearing by a cabin. GO into the CABIN which is another location with a convenient hole in the floor.
Go D into the hole and, in the cave below, go S. You will then come up against a padlocked door. Use the hammer to SMASH the PADLOCK into bits then GO DOOR. You don't need the hammer any more so DROP HAMMER before continuing.
We're almost at the end of the adventure now and, although we haven't been to it, one of the locations is a vast lake which is not crossable. However, in your current location there's a raft which is the answer to this problem. So GET RAFT and go N, N, N and N to the lake. Ignore the scary crab and DROP the RAFT in the lake. Go back S and U to the cabin. Did you notice the barrel earlier? If you EXAMINE the BARREL you will be able to GET a quantity of SALT. Now head D, S and N to a cave filled with, what do you know?, huge slugs. DROP the SALT and the slugs will shrivel up. Those would make an appetising meal for that huge crab we just ran away from, wouldn't they? GET the SLUGS and go N and N again, back to it.
DROP the SLUGS here and the crab will eat them and, more importantly, stop looking at you with its hungry eyes. Now GET the RAFT again and SAIL LAKE to sail the raft upon the lake. You might have noticed that that last command is the first one that was in the parchment that you read earlier.
Finally BLOW the HORN and a hand holding The Golden Baton appears. THROW the KNIFE to stop the hand from moving. (otherwise the hand moves away) and then GET BATON to complete the adventure!
That's all for this adventure.