FORTRESS OF KELER
by B. Kitts
Hamster Software
Spectrum 48
This is a long, difficult, very challenging game. Your aim is to steal the
potion of transmutation, but you can't find any such thing. HELP is available
at a few locations and provides some good hints as does EXAMining certain
objects, though it is tedious to examine all what you see and get nothing.
There is more than a slight amount of retracing of steps needed. Though many
puzzles are logical, some are not.
Hints:
There are basically two parts to the game. You will come across reading
material that will tell you what objects to collect; some for the first part,
some for the second. Before you leave the first part, look around as you will
need to collect a few for part 2 as well. To save some retracing of steps,
after you've created a means to enter the second "part", make sure that you
have what was in the safe, what was in the letter, the mustard seeds, and, of
course, your lantern.
Once you have filled and lit the lantern, it won't run out of fuel. I carried
around the bowl and tinderbox for ages, until I finally abandoned them.
There are several storerooms, so read the descriptions and try to figure out
if something you need may be there. Then LOOK <object> and see if it is there.
There are certain objects you do not need to carry (pieces of paper, recipe
book), but make a note of the messages).
There are five numbers to the safe combination. You will need to try them in
various combinations to hit on the correct one.
There are a few red herrings (pearl, chair leg, Teddy bear, mirror, cloak,
perfume, burned-out computer console, large ornately decorated wand).
You die when you hit the black humanoid? The sword from the first part of the
game won't help. You need to find some protection.
If EXAMining the painting does not provide you with a clue, look up the
reference you find. Still stuck? Look it up in a holy book. Where to find it?
It's close by. Once you have found the magic word, explore the places you can
reach before using it.
What to do at the bear skeleton? Throwing something that will crumble the
bones would be a good idea.
You keep finding black, hollow tubes? You will know when to stop collecting
them.
You have to dial a number at the telephone. What number? This is one of those
"illogical" puzzles. You need to make sure that the clock is working.
You need something to carry the oil in before you can fill the lantern. Swap
something to get it.
Once you have done everything, the end game is reached in the empty room with
the lever.
Solution:
INVENTORY (you have a tinderbox), HELP (remember Ali Baba), OPEN SESAME (a
voice tells you your aim is to steal the potion of transmutation. The
portcullis rises and you hear a voice), SE, S, TAKE DAGGER, N, NW, SW, S,
EXAMINE CAULDRON (full of oil), N, W (you see a pearl), NE (you see a
tapestry), E (you see a safe), HELP (Keler once had the combination on a piece
of paper, but I think he tore it up and threw it away), W, SW, W (you see a
lit lantern out of reach), N, E, TAKE STEPLADDER, HELP (you will need a lit
lantern to penetrate into the castle; many of the rooms are dark), W, S, DROP
LADDER, CLIMB LADDER, TAKE LANTERN, INVENTORY (you have an unlit empty
lantern), E, E, NE, N, SE, OPEN CUPBOARD (it's locked), NW, S, SE, E, E (you
see five men playing cards and a jacket), EXAMINE JACKET, TAKE LONG THIN KEY.
Go N (you see Ralon and a bowl), TAKE BOWL (you can't), GIVE DAGGER, TAKE
BOWL, S, W, W, NW, SW, S, FILL BOWL, FILL LANTERN, DROP BOWL, N, NE, N, N (you
see a raging wall of fire), S, SE, UNLOCK CUPBOARD, OPEN CUPBOARD (you see a
telephone), DROP LONG THIN KEY, NW, S, SE, E, N, E (ignore the perfume), OPEN
WARDROBE, IN WARDROBE (you see a cloak), TAKE CLOAK, DROP CLOAK, REDESCRIBE
(you see a hook on the wall), PULL HOOK (the wardrobe rotates), LIGHT LANTERN,
OUT (you see a recipe book and a small piece of paper with left #5 written on
it), READ BOOK (one recipe reads: gold, lead, mustard seeds, sunflower
essence, a ruby, Merlin's wand to be put in Bays 1 – 6 respectively), IN
WARDROBE, PULL HOOK, OUT, W, S, W, NW, SW, W, DROP TINDERBOX, NE, W (you see a
vial), TAKE VIAL.
HELP (holy water dispels some weaker magic, though it is ineffective against
more powerful wizardry), W (seeds are here), LOOK MUSTARD, TAKE MUSTARD, E, E,
SW, E, NE, SE, E, NW, (you see an empty barrel of ale), N, N (you see cutlery
spinning around), POUR WATER (the cutlery disappears), N, HELP (the food is
enchanted, all but the onions), EAT ONIONS, S, S, S, SE, W, NW, SW, W, W, N,
E, E, E, NW, EXAMINE DESK, OPEN DRAW, TAKE ORNATE KEY, W (you see a piece of
paper with left # 3 written on it), N, NW, E (you see a piece of paper with
right #10 written on it), W, SE, E, TAKE SWORD, E, S (there are letters here),
EXAMINE LETTERS, TAKE CARD, N, W, W, S, E, SE, E (you see a humanoid with long
claws and a gold key around his neck), HIT HUMANOID (he is transfixed), DROP
SWORD, REDESCRIBE, TAKE KEY.
Go E (you see a clock and a piece of paper with right # 2 written on it), WIND
CLOCK (you see a scrap of paper with the Fire Brigade telephone number
728474), W, W, W, W, W, S, E, DROP CARD, DROP MUSTARD, E, NE, SE, E, N, N, N,
SE (In Keler's bedroom with a door south), S (it's locked), UNLOCK DOOR, DROP
ORNATE KEY, OPEN DOOR, S, TAKE BELT, N, WEAR BELT, W, TAKE SOAP, E, TAKE WAND,
NW, S, E, NW (you see a jar), EXAMINE JAR (there is a ring inside it), TAKE
JAR, DROP JAR (it shatters), TAKE RING, WEAR RING, DROP SOAP, SE, W, S, S, W,
NW, DIAL 728474 (a fireman puts out the fire), NW, N, N (in a huge hall with
gargoyles and a bowl), W (you see a chest), OPEN CHEST (it's locked), UNLOCK
CHEST, DROP KEY.
OPEN CHEST (you see a book of spells), READ BOOK (you can't), HELP (the page
turns of its own accord and the voice says you will need a dimensional
staircase. In the conjuring bowl, drop jar woodchips, dodo's tail feather,
strip of leather, a sapphire, two pinches cinnamon. The say venire ire and tap
with magic wand), E, HELP (this is the conjuring bowl), REMOVE RING, DROP
RING, REMOVE BELT, DROP BELT, DROP WAND, E (you see a piece of paper with left
#7 written on it), W, S, S, S, SW, W, W, N, E, E, LOOK CINNAMON, TAKE
CINNAMON, E, NW, NE, E, N, LOOK WOOD CHIPS, TAKE WOOD CHIPS, W, W, NW, S, S,
S, E, E, NE, SE, E, N, N, E (you see animals), LOOK DODO, REDESCRIBE, TAKE
FEATHER, W, S, S, W, NW, N, N, N, DROP FEATHER, DROP WOOD CHIPS, DROP
CINNAMON, DROP WAND.
Go S, S, S, SW, W, TAKE CARD, TAKE MUSTARD, NE, E, LEFT 5, RIGHT 2, LEFT 3,
LEFT 7, RIGHT 10, OPEN SAFE, TAKE BAR, W, SW, E, NE, N, N, N, TAKE WAND,
VENIRE IRE, TAP BOWL (you create a spiral staircase going down), DROP WAND,
DOWN, UP, SW, E, S, S, S, W, W, W, N (you see a bear skeleton), SW, W, EXAMINE
PAINTING (you see a tall bearded man watching from a high cliff as an army
drowns in the sea below; it is signed Mark, but underneath is written ch. 7:
v10), HELP (there is a secret door in the south-east wall, but you have to
speak the password to trigger the opening mechanism), SW (you see a black
humanoid), S, (you are caught in a spider's web), HELP (Keler keeps these
spiders because he uses their web fibre as a source of fuel), LIGHT WEB (you
free yourself and the spider burns up).
TAKE TURKEY, EAT TURKEY, E, N, W, N (you see a guard holding a battle axe),
GIVE CARD (he drops his axe), TAKE AXE, E, E, S, S (you see a door blocking
the way west), HIT DOOR, DROP AXE, W, TAKE FIGURINE, E, N, N, W, W, NW, TAKE
POUCH, SE, S, E, DROP POUCH, N, TAKE BELL, S, DROP BELL, DROP FIGURINE, DROP
MUSTARD, E, NE, S, E, E, E, N, N, N, W, NE, E, S, HELP (read the small print –
this may not be Merlin's wand, so ignore it), S, TAKE MASK, SW, TAKE INCENSE,
N, W, SW, HELP (it's all right; it's a completely harmless model), TAKE STAKE,
N, NE, E, NW (bay 1), DROP BAR, SE, E, S, NE, WEAR MASK, TAKE STONE, SW, SW
(you see wood and a hammer), DROP STAKE, TAKE WOOD, NE, N, W, W, SW, S, NE,
NE, DROP STONE, TAKE HELMET (inside is a tube), TAKE TUBE, WEAR HELMET, TAKE
ARMOUR, WEAR ARMOUR.
TAKE STONE, SW, SW, N, NE, W, SW, E, S, S, S, W, W, W, N, THROW STONE,
REDESCRIBE (you see a pile of bones), TAKE BONE, SW, W, NW (you see a menacing
Alsatian), GIVE BONE, E (in the library), LOOK BIBLE (you find the only Bible
in the room after searching for it for a few minutes; turning to Mark, chapter
7 verse 10, you discover that the word 'Moses' has been underlined in red
ink), TAKE STEPLADDER, W, SE, DROP STEPLADDER, SW, HIT HUMANOID (you see a
black tube, silver-tipped), REMOVE ARMOUR, DROP ARMOUR, REMOVE HELMET, DROP
HELMET, TAKE TUBE (you now have two tubes), NE, MOSES, W (your mask protects
you from the gas), LIGHT WOOD (the sprinkler system comes on and extinguishes
the fire), E (you see a door south), S (you see a lead casket), TAKE CASKET,
N, PULL LEVER.
DROP CASKET, REMOVE MASK, DROP MASK, TAKE FIGURINE, NW, NE (you see a tube),
TAKE TUBE (a voice tells you to burn incense and offer a gift), DROP FIGURINE,
LIGHT INCENSE, TAKE TUBE, SW, SE, TAKE POUCH, E, NE, S, E, E, E, N, N, N, W,
NE, E, E, DROP TUBE, DROP TUBE, DROP TUBE, DROP POUCH, W, W, SW, E, S, S, S,
W, W, W, N, SW, W, TAKE CASKET, TAKE STEPLADDER, TAKE MUSTARD, TAKE BELL, E,
NE, S, E, E, E, N, N, N, W, NE, E, E, DROP CASKET, TAKE POUCH, E, S, SW, SW
(you see mounds of furniture), DROP POUCH, LIGHT POUCH, NE, SE, TAKE ROPE, NW,
DROP ROPE, SW, E (you see a tumbler with essence of sunflower), E, E (you see
a cube with a tube in it), RING BELL (the cube shatters), DROP BELL, TAKE
TUBE, W, W, TAKE TUMBLER, W, NE, NE, N.
Go W (with all four tubes you create a wand), E, NW (bay 4) DROP TUMBLER, SE,
W, TAKE CASKET, NE (bay 3), DROP MUSTARD, SW, N, (bay 2), DROP CASKET, S, E,
S, SW, TAKE HAMMER, TAKE STAKE, SW, SE (you see a ruby on a pedestal), DROP
STEPLADDER, NW, NE, TAKE ROPE, SW, SE, UP (on the roof), HAMMER STAKE, DOWN,
TAKE RUBY (a screen slams over the exit), UP, DROP HAMMER, ROPE STAKE, DOWN
(you find yourself in a small tower), W, S, E, E, NE, S, E, E, E, N, N, N, W,
NE, E, E, E, N, DROP RUBY, S, NE, DROP WAND, SW, W, W, N, PULL LEVER (you see
an old man – Keler looking at a potion that's in your hand. You become his
apprentice). You are finished. Score: 100 %.
2008-04-17
Terri Sheehan
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