THE DECLINE OF THE MORENORIAN KINGDOM

Suddenly, the group of riders came to a halt at the top of the hill. The
voyagers were treated to an incredible view of Palm Village, the Capital, in
the evening sun. The towers of the palace were mirrored in the waters of the
bay. One had a feeling as if the water had a magical reflection, shimmering
like a golden shield to protect the town from all dangers. This vision
enchanted the prince as well as his guard. For a moment all problems during
the voyage had been forgotten. "Home again," Cirion, Crown Prince of Morenor,
thought. In his mind he once again saw the events of the weeks before... He
had been on an extensive voyage through the neighbouring islands when his father's
message had reached him. He begged Cirion to come back home in order to help
him with government affairs. Aldor, King of Morenor, wrote: "Your years of
adventure are over. It is time for you to accept your responsibility as a
crown prince, and you should slowly prepare for reigning alone. As our
magicians still haven't discovered the secret to eternal life, some day your
time will come."Furthermore, Alder told his son about current unrest in the
kingdom and that he was in need of a strong helping hand. In addition to that,
Dalrin, the court magician, discovered that the balance between good and bad
had shifted towards the latter. "The presence of a mighty demon shifts its
influence to the material level," were Dalrin's words. Reluctantly, but
obediently and completely aware of the situation, Cirion started his voyage
home. Meanwhile he was thinking about how easy life would be if his older
brother, Logan, was still alive. Logan had died during the last union war,
trying to save the queen from the rebels who had entered the palace. Since
then Aldor and Cirion had been alone, but the painful loss of his wife had
turned the king into an embittered man. He and Cirion separated after heavy
disputes. Cirion, nevertheless, felt that the situation required the
abandonment of all personal grudges. During the long voyage home he had heard
lots of rumors about hordes of monsters and gangs of robbers marching around
Morenor, dead people rising from their graves and the old tribes quarreling
like in former times. Cirion did not give too much belief to these stories.

But when he finally reached Cliffport, he had to concede that thousands of
people were escaping from the kingdom by ship and that their number was
increasing daily. It had cost him much time (and a lot of gold) to convince a
ship-broker to bring him and his escort to Morenor. Arriving in Porttown
(there were no more ships sailing to the capital itself), the horrifying
reality was far worse than all rumors: Gigantic tracks of refugees were moving
all over the country. Thieves and plunderers were everywhere.
He was faced with a picture of terror...
Suddenly he was disturbed in his thoughts, as his horse uneasily shook its
head. He wanted to calm it down, when he realized what the animal had
detected. A few seconds later a group of Orcs came out of the surrounding
brushwood and encircled the riders. When the Orcs drew their short swords,
the soldiers realized that they were hopelessly inferior to the enemy. "We
are going to beat them without you", said Dorian, the captain of the escort to
the prince. "Rubbish, I will stay with you", protested Cirion. The officer
desperately tried to explain the seriousness of the situation to the crown
prince: "My Lord, the kingdom needs you!!! The country needs a strong man. My
lord, you could ride to the town and search for help! " "Any other soldier can
do that. I don't want to leave you alone." "Sir, you have got the fastest
horse, please ride. If not for you, then at least for me." Cirion accepted
reluctantly: "All right, but take care that you all remain in good shape."
"Of course, My lord.", said Dorian and rushed towards the Orcs with a fighting
scream. His men followed him. The experienced soldiers soon had torn a gap
into the row of monsters, from which Cirion's horse galloped towards the
saving valley. When the prince turned around, he could clearly see that all
members of his escort had been killed. He thought about returning but then he
realized the necessity of his action. He was still occupied with these
thoughts when a long, black-feathered Orc arrow drilled into his left shoulder
with incredible power, smashing the armor on his back. Dazed with pain, Cirion
desperately tried to stay in the saddle. Somehow he managed not to fall off
the horse. Finally he saw the gates of the town in front of him. He got off
his horse with- the intention to call the guard,  but the pain overpowered
him. He sank down to the ground. A tower guard noticed the bent figure and
sent out an alarm. After a short time, some of the men from the guard crew
took care of the prince. As soon as they recognized him, they proceeded to
escort him to the palace. On the way there, Cirion awoke from his
unconsciousness and demanded they let him walk alone. When Dalrin appeared in
the entrance of the palace, the soldiers followed his instructions. The eyes
of the court magician widened with horror as he saw the prince's wound. "My
Lord, you must lie down at once, so that I can dress your wound!" demanded
Dalrin (quite a young man for a magician of his quality). "I can wait until I
have seen my father," Cirion replied. His voice was weak, hut his will was
like iron. "I see that you are still a stubborn man. All right, follow me to
the king's bedroom!", Dalrin said and turned to the stairs. The prince
laboriously climbed the steps. Finally he reached the king's bedroom and sat
down in an armchair hastily fetched by a servant. Suddenly, Dalrin stepped
behind him and tore the arrow out of his shoulder with a very fast move. Again
he was flooded by a wave of pain, which died down as the magician let his
powers work on the wound. When Cirion was able to think clearly again his look
fell on his father.

Instantly, the prince recognized his father's physical condition. His skin was
as white as a sheet, the face small and thee hands trembling. "Father", the
successor to the throne stuttered, "I did not know that you were in such a had
state of health. If I had known about your illness I would certainly have...",
but the king replied with a trembling voice: "You could not have done anything
for me. But it is good that you are back again, because the country needs
you." Alder wanted to start again, but he was too exhausted to speak. "It is
the demon. He wants to poison the king.", Cirion heard the magician whisper.
"Why don't you do anything against it?" said the prince as he jumped from his
armchair. But a movement from his father made him calm down at once. "Dalrin
does his best, but even nine more great magicians would not be enough to fight
against a demon," Alder explained. "Probably I would be of better use for you
if I were a zombie," the magician remarked sharply. But the king shook his
head vigorously thought that this problem had been solved." When he saw
Cirion's unappreciative look, he added: "Dalrin had consented to reach the
state of undeath by magic, to fight against the demon. Yet as long as I am
alive none of my citizens will be allowed to take such a fate voluntarily."
When he heard these words, Cirion realized how much the magician tried to use
his powers in favor of the king and how much he had done Dalrin wrong. He
wanted to apologize, but the magician was too busy arguing with the king:
"That's exactly the point: as long as you live. I am afraid that it will not
be long before you die." "Dalrin, I beg you to stop this. You should better
take care of my son. From now on he will be the leader of this country, until
I am able to reign again," Aldor said. "1...," he started again, but was
interrupted by a soldier from the palace guard who rushed into the room,
gasping. "Sioux City is fallen! The rebels have stormed it with a gigantic
army. Now they are on the way down here!" With these words, the guard fell
into an armchair. For a long while his heavy breath was the only sound that
could be heard in the room. Finally, the king said, "Palm Village is all that
remains for us. Let's get ready." He wanted to get out of his bed. "Cirion, my
boy, come and help me up." Dalrin protested, but Aldor could not be dissuaded
from the idea of passing the following difficult hours on his legs. The whole
town prepared for the decisive battle. Neither moon nor stars were visible.
Cirion, who walked on the walls around the town, could not see anything apart
from the torches on the watchtowers . "The darkness is not natural. They try
to hide their forward movements with magic powers," said Dalrin, who had
stepped behind the prince. "How many magicians might they need to darken such
a big area?", asked Cirion. "A demon's ways of power are nearly
inexhaustible," explained the magician, "It is hopeless. If we gave up, we
could save many people's lives." "Better be dead than the servant of a demon!"
, the prince exclaimed. "Yes, you can make this decision for you, but can you
also do it for all the others who are your citizens?" Dalrin mumbled. "What's
the matter with you, Dalrin? I remember you as a brave man. The stories about
you sound more adventurous than the ones about other heroes of the country, my
father included. Suddenly you are attached to your life?", Cirion challenged
him. "Until now, I have always seen a chance. But today...', the magician
replied and turned to walk away. He had not gone very far, when the sound of
wings filled the night. It sounded as if the whole sky was full of gigantic
birds. Cirion was paralyzed with dismay, his head filled with the sound. He
knew that only one animal flies in this way. He wanted to go undercover, to
hide his body from the cruel eyes which now appeared in the night, but he was
stiffened like a board. Dalrin recognized the situation immediately. After he
had got over the initial horror, his call spread across the whole town:
"DRAGONS ! ! !"
Suddenly the unnatural darkness disappeared. The moon came forward and
uncovered the huge army of the opponents. Everywhere soldiers rushed over the
walls. Everybody was ready to defend the town against evil forces... After
several hours of fighting, the defender ' defeat slowly became inevitable.
During a short combat break in which Cirion relaxed from the heavy fighting,
Dalrin came up to him, covered with blood, and shouted: "Prince, we give up
the town and try to flee the country. It makes no more sense." Cirion nodded
tiredly as he too recognized the hopeless situation. As he got up from the
stone, he heard the signal for the escape. Chaos broke out everywhere and he
had difficulties in keeping an eye on the magician. Finally, he reached his
father. "We never could have made it. The demon queen Medusa herself is the
leader of the army," said the king bitterly. "Medusa...," began Cirion, who
broke off when he remembered the horrible stories about Medusa. Really, it
could hardly have been worse. "We have got to leave at once or they will catch
us," urged Dalrin, and when the king nodded the group of survivors sneaked out
of the town and tried to get away unrecognized in the dark. They had already
ridden for a long time when suddenly Cirion's horse jolted and slung its rider
to the ground. The prince tried to rouse himself in order to stay behind the
group.
Then he saw a huge red dragon rush down from the sky towards the riders. He
wanted to give a warning call when he noticed Dalrin stretch out his arms.
Moments later, a mighty fireball left Dalrin's hands. The dragon cried in pain
when the fireball struck him. Yet he still came closer to the group. It looked
as if the dragon wanted to fly right through the riders, but before he
collided he opened his gigantic throat and let the men feel his fire. Once
again a mighty flash came out of Dalrin's hands. Then everything was on fire.
The dragon, heavily wounded, dug a channel into the ground where he landed.
Cirion rode towards the inferno. Suddenly a human figure tumbled out of the
fire. It waved its right hand, and the flames were extinguished. The prince
got off his horse and recognized the figure as Dalrin, who fell to the ground
covered with soot. A quick look at the remainders of the group was enough for
him to realize that any possible help had come too late. It was already a
miracle that Dalrin had survived the burning. "My Lord, there is a possibility
of defeating Medusa. You have to...", said Dalrin who was interrupted by some
heavy coughing. "Dalrin, tell me about that later. First we must get away from
here", said the prince as he tried to calmed him down. "No, No," Dalrin
croaked energetically, "I will be gone very soon. You've got to take care of
restoring the kingdom. Promise me that!" "Yes, yes, I promise. For my father,
for you and for me." "Then listen!" Dalrin's voice was hardly audible. "There
once was a magician who fought against Medusa successfully. He did this with
the help of five rings which were distributed all over the country after his
death. If you manage to find these five rings, you could beat Medusa with the
help of a huge army. So, remain incognito, find a new group of men, and search
for the rings. That is the last chance for the people of this country. I hope
you are not angry about the fact that I will not be with you during this task.
You are now King of Morenor. "After these words Dalrin moved upwards again,
but then every spark of life left his body. Cirion tried in vain to bring the
magician's corpse back to life. "King? King of what? Dalrin, you make it very
easy for yourself leaving me here alone. But nevertheless, I will do what you
have said. I will search for the rings and, if it is possible, I will take
revenge for all of you..."God shall bless me !!!"  Loading Instructions:
Installation Instructions: To install place the diskette in your A: (or B:)
drive. Type A: (or B:) and press the  ENTER key. Type INSTALL and press the
ENTER key. Follow the on-screen directions.
1. Aim of the game

The player, who takes the role of the young prince is forced to stop Medusa's
advance and to reunite the split kingdom. To reach that, he must fight against
the goddess Medusa and defeat her. As the opponent is a goddess, the player is
not able to find her anywhere in the country. He can only call her when he
finds 5 rings, puts them together in a temple and forces Medusa to face a
fight. The basic task is, therefore, the search for the 5 rings. Unfortunately
the prince only has very little energy, so the starting conditions do not look
very good. First, he has to earn some money to afford an army which he needs
to find the rings. This causes more problems which the player incurs in the
course of the game.
2. Point of entry

The player has severe financial problems which means that he must first
collect some money. There are several possibilities:

- Trade
- Attack caravans
- Search for raw materials, find and exploit them
- Conquer towns and plunder the treasuries
- Find kings' treasures
- Gamble in the casino

3. Description of the program's function

On each screen, there is an information box and an options menu. The
information box tells you about the position and the subsoil on which the
player is standing (e.g. swamp, forest...). Furthermore, the information box
comprises a calendar. The player is therefore always able to see how much time
is left until he has to pay the next wages. The options menu comprises many
function fields and a revolving information field in the middle of the menu.
It is not always possible to click on all functions. Depending on the
situation, there are always a few which are available. The hatched fields are
temporarily not selectable. First, the description of the single functions:
(from left to right)

SAVING:         Can only be clicked on in a town and can be
                used to save a game.

NOTICE PAD:     Also only in a town, player can write notices,
                (e.g. the coordinates of an island).

BUYING:         Serves to buy selected things.

MAXIMUM:        A switch in combination with buying or selling,
                i.e. all possible 'articles are bought or sold. Position of
                the switch is visible on the mouse pointer. Switch off by
                clicking on MAXIMUM again.

DOOR:           Serves in most cases to leave special situations or places.

OK:             To answer a question, player clicks on here, if the question
                shall be answered with a "yes" (e.g. Enter Town XYZ ?).

RETREAT:        Serves to call back the selected unit in the
                fighting screen.

ATTACK:         Make unit attack in the fighting screen.
                Otherwise attack in general (e.g. of a town, bank or a
                castle).

INCREASE:       Serves to adjust the speed in the fighting screen, in
                which the fight takes place. Also a possibility while
                adjusting the money value during NEGOTIATIONS (see
                below).

SEARCH:         Send out scouts to search for raw materials or
		treasure.

RESTORE:        Serves to restore a saved game. Only possible in a town.

TOWN
INFORMATION:    Gives you information about the town you are in.

SELL:           With this function, the player can sell his
                goods. Also in connection with MAXIMUM.

MORE GOODS:     Helps you to search inside the WAREHOUSE.

TREASURE:       Shows you the known coordinates of a treasure.

NOT OKAY:       Like OKAY, helps you to answer questions.

NEGOTIATIONS:   During the fighting you can make negotiations to avoid
                an armed conflict whenever possible.

DECREASE:       Opposite of INCREASE.

MINE:           You can open a mine


Furthermore, there is an information field in the centre of the option menu,
in which you can adjust or read special things. There is also a green button
in the upper left corner of the field, which makes the field rotate.
Synchronization and effects can be switched on and off here.

Program Parts

The program can be divided up into three parts: Landscape, Town and Fight

4.1 Landscape
In the landscape, the player can ride from one town to the other, open mines
and find treasures. You have to pay attention to the fact that the player
cannot ride over mountains. If the player is accompanied by an army, he has
to make sure his soldiers receive their money on the first day of each month.
The player therefore should always have enough money with him, so that he can
pay for his army. The money which the player has on his account cannot be used
for paying the soldiers' wages.

Furthermore, there are two dangerous places for the army:

a) On the one hand, the swamp, in which the player's army sinks when he does
not have enough magicians with him to protect his army. Each magician is able
to protect about 100 soldiers in the swamp.

b) The same goes for the enchanted forest, except for the fact that each
magician can only protect 50 soldiers. When he crosses the landscape, the
player must further consider the fact that there are also some caravans of
bandits traveling around and that he could possibly bump into them. The player
has the possibility of finding the enemy armies. This depends on the number of
scouts the player takes with him. The more scouts he has, the bigger is the
radius in which he can see his enemies. During the search for treasures and
raw materials, the search radius decreases as the search for these goods is
much more difficult than the search for armies. But look out! During the
search for raw materials or treasures the player can no longer move his army
as he has to wait for the scouts. Moreover, he is not able to see his enemies
as the scouts are being used elsewhere and can no longer enlighten the enemy's
territory. If it should come to a fight during a phase of searching, the
scouts are also not at the player's disposal. The player should nevertheless
keep in mind that the scout's wages must be paid. If the player is lucky
enough to find treasure or raw materials, he must open a mine. To do that, he
needs a capital of 30,000 and a transport system which can be bought in any
town. The transport system can be bought in the warehouse under the
designation "machine". With the money and the machine, the player can open a
mine (by going to the place chosen by the scouts and selecting the function
"MINES"). If he has not exactly hit the place named by the scouts, it is
possible that he will miss the raw material reserves. In this case the mine
reveals soil and waste. If the player should now get the idea of filling his
wagons with soil and waste, he will lose the corresponding number of wagons as
nobody will be ready to buy the waste from him. But if he has found a raw
material the mine will reveal this material until the space in the storehouse
is filled or the reserves are exhausted. Each storehouse has room for 300
units of any raw material. The player has the possibility of building more
storehouses, which would of course result in further costs. But the mine would
be ready to reveal raw materials for a longer time. Moreover, the player does
not need to fetch the raw materials so often, as the production will not have
to cease because of overfilled storehouses. It is also possible for the
player, if he has more machines with him, to build up to 3 conveyor towers per
mine. This has the advantage of increasing the amount of the haul. As the
player is only allowed to own a maximum of 20 mines at one time (because of
the danger of a monopoly), he must always close exhausted mines when he wants
to open new ones. If the player finds a treasure and wants to take it, he
again needs, 30,000 capital and a transport system. In the case of treasure,
there can be a ring but also a certain amount of money. Both are helpful to
complete the game. On the big continent, 2 of the rings are hidden in the
treasures. 2 more rings are in the treasures on the islands and another ring
is hidden among an army which is to be defeated.

4.2  The Town
In town every player can buy or sell goods, gamble in the casino, buy armies,
go to the bank and so on. All player options are placed in separate houses. If
you want to enter a house, you just have to click on the appropriate house. A
player can compare prices and make decisions because the clock is stopped.

The Harbor:

The harbor can only be found in towns situated by the sea or rivers. Here the
player can do everything concerning the ships of his fleet he can buy new
ships, enlist sailors, and order them to go to sea. There's also information
on the loading capacity of the three different transport options. You can
choose between wagons, cargo or battleships. The adequate mark informs you of
the loading capacity of each means of conveyance if the chosen goods are
loaded on to it. If each wagon has a loading capacity of 80 goods, the score
would indicate 50 p.c. if the player has 40 goods at this time. If he has a
loading capacity of 800 goods on his cargo ship, the score of the cargo ships
would indicate 5 percent at the same quantity of goods. The distinction of
cargo and battleships is very important. Cargo ships carry goods and perhaps
wagons; battleships carry soldiers only. If the player wants to put out to
sea, there are two possibilities:

a) If he just sets sail with his cargo ships, then he can't enter other
harbors and continue the game on land, because he has left his army behind.
This situation is only good for trading.

b) He carries his armies on his battleships, so he can go ashore at every
town. This is important so you can find the treasures on the islands. If the
player puts to sea he has to keep an eye on the wages of the sailors; they
want to be paid punctually on the first of the month. He can also give an
order to build new ships. The construction of a ship takes 3 months so the
player should order it early enough. He can choose between different ships,
each of which has advantages. When the ship is finished, the player gets a
message that he can pick it up in the town where it has been built. Before he
can go to sea with this ship he has to enlist sailors to form a crew. The
player has to enter the pub and enlist the sailors by offering money. The more
money he offers the more sailors will be interested in the job. "Wages/month"
are found on the left hand of the screen. By clicking the mouse pointer to the
top or bottom the given value can be changed. Underneath, the player can see
how many people are interested in the bid. If the player offers 20 per month
for example, there might be five people who are interested. If he enlists
these five people, he has to pay 100 per month. If he offers again 20 per
month there will be no one interested, because everyone who wanted to work for
20 per month is already enlisted. The wages have to be raised, for example, to
25 per month Then there might be a new sailor who is interested in the job. If
the player had not enlisted the sailors for 20 per month, these sailors would
be interested in the jobs further on. It is important that the player only
enlists 3 of 7 interested sailors for a wage and then raises or lowers the
wage, or even leaves the pub, so that the remaining sailors are disappointed
and leave the pub themselves. This means that they are not to be enlisted
anymore. On the right side of the printed form you can see how many sailors
are needed. "NEEDED" From "wages" you know how much you have to pay for the
chosen ship per month.

The Store:

Here the player can buy or sell goods. On the left hand side of the screen you
can see the price and quantity. On the right you can see your own cargo. The
player can adjust the quantity of the goods in the middle of the screen so you
can buy or sell the articles. The prices of the articles are calculated on the
numbers of citizens, which is variable. If there is a huge population in this
town at the moment, the prices are very high because the demand is according
to the population. At the same time the production of goods in this town is at
its maximum. You're able to look at the present population in the city
information. There are differences in prices from town to town. If city X
produces apples, this is the city where apples are cheaper than in any other
town. In city Y, which could be far away, apples are expensive (the further
away the city, the more expensive). In the store, as in the harbor, there is
also a chart of the loading capacity of each means of transportation.

The Bank:

In the bank the player can make his money transactions. There's just one bank
system in the whole kingdom; one office in every town. If the player pays in
money to a bank of Town X, he can withdraw it in any other town. The player
can pay in or withdraw money on his account and he can take a credit. In the
beginning, the bank offers an initial starting loan of 3000. If the player
takes just a part of the loan he has no claim to rest of the credit. The
player has to pay the interest, of course. He'll see the amount of interest in
every bank's business rates and conditions. He has to pay interest on his bank
account and loans. Caution: The local traders at the store support the bank.
The player won't get his goods from the traders if he doesn't pay the loans
(but he can buy on credit for 3 months until the traders stop business with
him). He should go to the bank immediately and pay the loan. The bank decides
if he is worthy of credit. He has to have the appropriate security in goods;
money is not an equivalent in this case. He can look at the respective credit
margin in "credit scope."

The Park:

The player can buy soldiers for his army in the park but he has to observe
several things. The army is subdivided into 7 parts:

Infantry, cavalry, artillery, scouts, dragonriders, wizards and archers.

Each unit has advantages and disadvantages which depend upon the fighting
ground. For example, the dragonriders are very good in the swamp because they
are able to fly; the other units would sink. On the other hand, the
dragonriders are bad in the forest. They can't reach and fight the infantry on
the ground because of the dense forest. The selection of races in also very
important for the strength of the army. If the player takes the huge and
clumsy giants as his scouts, they won't achieve as much as the little, agile
elves.

There are 10 races and each one has different levels of the 5 qualities:

100 means maximum, 0 minimum
                Strength        Courage Endurance       Agility Intelligence
Human              50              50      50              50      50
ELF                40              37      28              75      70
Dwarf              64              67      81              22      17
Halfling           34              24      42              92      58
Orc                79              33      75              44      19
Gnome              16              33      26              89      86
Giant              99              27      91              19      14
Troll              92              32      87              21      18
Ogre               85              39      79              31      16
Zwark              18              40      32              81      79

This next chart shows which qualities are important for each unit (e.g. Scouts
don't have to be strong, but they have to be clever):

1 is not important, and 5 is very important
                Strength Courage Endurance Agility Intelligence
Infantry            5       5       5       1       1
Cavalry             1       5       1       5       3
Artillery           1       5       1       3       5
Scout               1       1       5       5       5
Dragonriders        3       5       3       3       3
Magicians           1       1       1       5       5
Archers             1       5       3       5       3

The following chart clarifies which unit is best for different scenarios (the
higher the value the better the unit):
                Plain   Forest  Magic Forest    Hill    Swamp
Infantry         10       10         5            8       8
Cavalry          20        5         3           15       3
Artillery        10        3         1           15       1
Scouts            8       20         8           15      15
Dragonrider      20        3         1           20      20
Magicians         8       10        20           15      20
Archers          20        3         1           10       8

The player should attempt to put the correct race with the correct unit;
otherwise, the strength of the army decreases.

There is a limited number of people available in every town. The young must
grow up before they are able to fight, so it is possible that the people of
one race are not available yet. In the "TOWN INFORMATION" you can see how many
people are available. In the park the player gets to know how much money he
has to pay for his armies and sailors in a month (total wages). He can see the
salary of a unit for each month. Underneath that he finds the chart of the
composition of his army. On the right hand side he sees the training condition
of the army which consists of the respective races. This training condition
determines the power of the army. The training conditions can be improved by
training in the castles.

TRAINING:

The training happens only in castles. Here every part of the army can be
trained for different uses. The training costs money, but it's worth it. The
user functions are the same as in the score.

WEAPONS:

Here the player is able to equip his army with additional weapons, in order to
increase the fighting strength of the units. He can purchase armors, weapons
and extras. It should he clear that an army without armors, weapons and other
equipment is much weaker than a perfectly equipped one.

PALACE:

The player is only able to enter the palace when he has attacked and conquered
the surrounding town. Then he can plunder the treasury, i.e. collect the
people's taxes. The taxes depend upon the total city population.

BARRACKS:

The player is only allowed to enter the barracks when he possesses a town. If
he has taken a town, the other caravans strive for the recovery of this town.
Therefore, the player should leave a part of his army in the barracks as a
reinforcement for his newly conquered town. The screen is again separated into
two halves. On the left there is your own army, on the right the town army.
Now you can transfer parts of your army to and from. On the right edge of the
screen there are several beams which describe the time delay after which the
corresponding unit joins the fighting when the town gets attacked. In this
way, the player can order his people in a defense plan of the town by setting
up a strategy for the people's actions. It is, for example, wise for the
artillery to start shooting at once after an attack by the enemy. The
dragonriders should probably start a little bit later to reach the enemy lines
together with the infantry. The more left the line on the display, the earlier
the corresponding units start the fighting. When the beam is on the far right
side, the player's army waits for the enemy attack. To develop a good fighting
strategy it is useful to analyze the computer opponent and go ahead in a
similar way whenever possible (very difficult).

STABLE:

In the stable, the player can purchase transportation for his goods. A
complete set consists of two horses and a wagon. Each provides room for a
maximum of 80 goods. The user's control is the same as in the "STORE" .

PUB:

Inside the pub, the player has a possibility of playing a card game similar
to "Black Jack".

The rules are as follows:

Ace(A) = 11     Dame (O) = 3    Ten= 10         Eight = 8
King (K) = 4    Jack (8) = 2    Nine = 9        Seven = 7

Double Aces always wins.

Before taking a card, the player must place his bet. The player has won when
he has more points than the computer, but not more than 21. (the only
exception is two Aces, which always win). To reach that he can take as many
cards as he likes. Should there be a draw, the computer wins. The player
always begins. He takes a card by selecting from the stack of cards. If he
thinks he has enough points, he must select the canceled deck of cards. He can
decide the amount of his bet by clicking on coins of different values. In case
of a victory, the player gets back twice the amount of his bet. If he loses,
his money goes to the bank. If he wants to leave the pub, he must click on the
door in the lower right corner.

TEMPLE:

In the temple you receive information about the treasure which is situated in
the corresponding part of the country. Unfortunately, the priests inside each
temple do not know exact location of the treasure. Therefore, you will only
hear rumors about the possible location. The actual place can sometimes
differ considerably from the named one. You will also just receive just one
geographical coordinate. You can get two more coordinates by conquering
another town inside the same part of the screen. You will get to know about
this town in the connected temple. Another possibility of finding a treasure
is to find a big area with one coordinate and to search through this area
carefully. If you have received all three coordinates, they will form a
triangle with the treasure lying in the inner field. The more coordinates you
receive the smaller the vicinity search. You can also get player information
in the temple, i.e. how many rings and how many mines, ships etc. you own. You
must set the found rings in a five pointed star inside the temple of your
choice (simply click on an empty space). With every ring you set in the temple, you will receive
magic skills:

1st ring:
The player gets a display of his own strength and the strength of the
opponent's army during a fight. Therefore, it is easier to choose a strategy,
as the player can now see which unit is currently strong.

2nd ring:
The player gets to know which goods are produced in which town. Therefore he
also knows where to get which product at the cheapest prices. This information
is displayed in the corresponding "TOWN INFORMATION". With that, his trading
becomes much more efficient.

3rd ring:
The player does not need any more scouts to explore the surrounding country,
i.e. he can see all enemies, not depending on the distance and the number of
the scouts he has around him. Therefore traveling from town to town is not as
dangerous.

4th ring:
The strength of the player's army is increased by 50%. This is very useful for
the final fight against Medusa.

5th ring:
As soon as he sets in the fifth ring, the player calls the Medusa, who now
accepts a challenge to the final duel.

JEWELER:

Here the player can sell the precious raw materials which he has excavated in
his mines, There are very considerable price differences. It is not useful to
sell right beside the mine, as the prices will be very low. The player should
instead transport the raw materials to a place where it is not possible to
find them. He cannot trade with raw materials, i.e. they cannot be bought,
just sold. Once again, all adjustments are taken in the "STORE" .

4.3 CASTLE

Besides the towns there are also a few castles, which all have the same
purpose of educating a player's army and to improve his state of training. To
get inside a castle, it must be attacked and conquered.

5.0 The player's army can fight against opposing armies, ships, castles or
towns. Therefore, the following configurations are possible:

5.1 Fight Army. < - > Army

If you, bump into an opponent's figure with your own figure, it comes, to a
fight between the two parties. The player's army is on the left side, the
opponent's on the right side, Unfortunately, the number of soldiers the
opponent has is not known. Because of that you will be asked at the beginning
whether you want to send out your scouts to learn about your opponent's
strength. This costs a lot of money, but it is well worth it. If you do not
have any scouts, this is, of course, not possible. To learn about the exact
calculation of the fighting, strength, refer to the section "PARK". When the
fighting starts, the player has two possibilities:

1) He can send single units into the fight (select unit and click on attack)
or he can call them back (select unit and click on retreat). During an attack
the armies start moving forward, which the players can follow on the upper
edge of the screen. Only when units of his own army meet units of the
opponent's army can a proper fight proceed; The units involved in the fight
are shown in red. The number of casualties depends on the player's own
strength and his opponent's strength, as well as the number of soldiers. One
exception is the artillery unit. If it gets the order for an attack, it opens
fire at once, which directly results in casualties for the opponent. The same
goes for the opponent's artillery unit. The fighting continues until one army
has lost, i.e. has no more people. If the player should lose the fight he
loses everything he has with him, except his wagons. Nevertheless, the bank is
willing to hand out the starting loan of 3000 again. An already existing bank
account will not be touched. If the player wins the fight he will receive all
the money which the opponent's caravan possesses.

2) The player avoids a fight. This happens by clicking on "Negotiations'. But,
he has only one chance. Failed negotiations cannot be started again. One
possibility: Either he uses a bluff and boasts that he is the strongest, or he
bribes the opponent with money (adjust with ''lncrease' or Decrease"). The
opponent sometimes falls for the bluff, but not always. This depends on the
opponent's own superiority. During the bribery, the player should not be too
cautious with his money. When he loses a fight all the money will go to the
enemy. The amount of the bribe also depends on the number of the player's army
compared to the opponent's army. If the player has attacked a caravan more
than five times he is no longer able to enter the caravan's home town. As it
will no longer trade with him. The same goes for the situation in which a
player has attacked a town directly.

5.2 Fight Army <-> Town or Town <-> Army

If the player attacks a town or a castle. the same rules apply as in 5.1 Fight
Army <-> Army. Should the player win, he takes over the town/ castle.
Naturally, not every castle or town is the same size. The size of a town or a
castle can be seen in the screen graphics, and also in the "TOWN INFORMATION".
Big towns have more soldiers to defend themselves than smaller towns. If a
player's town is attacked by an opponent's army, the player does not have any
influence on the outcome. He can only rely on his strategy (see BARRACKS) and
hope that he will win.

5.3 Fight Ship <-> Ship

If two ships bump into each other on the map. a sea battle begins. In this
case, the outcome is dependent upon how many cannons are at the player's
disposal. The battleships, of course have an advantage over the merchant
ships. The player now faces one ship representing the opponent's fleet. His
task is to hit this ship as often as possible. This can be influenced by two
things: the shooting angle and the powder amount. The shooting angle can be
changed by clicking on the cannon in the centre of the screen. On the right
center of the screen, you can see a section of the cannon. First you must fill
the cannon with powder by clicking on the powder barrel on the left side. The
powder now must be visible inside the section. The powder must be stuffed, by
clicking on the stuffer on the far left side. This action must also be visible
in the cross-section. If you want to increase the shooting distance, the
cannon must be filled with more powder. If you have used enough powder, the
cannon-ball will be loaded by clicking on it. Now the cannon should be ready
for shooting, which is made possible by a fuse. If no fuse is visible,
something has been done wrong (e.g. not enough powder etc.). But if everything
has been performed properly, you can now fire the cannon by clicking on the
flame and firing the slow match. Unfortunately, the player has to act in a
limited space of time in which he should try to score as many hits as
possible. When the time is over, the final results will appear on the screen.
As the player has shot with one cannon that represents all cannons, the number
of hits is multiplied with the number of cannons. This results in the total
number of hits received to the opponent's fleet. Each ship needs 10 hits to
sink. Therefore, one can ascertain in this way how many of one's own and how
many of the opponent's ships have been sunk. If all of the player's own ships
have been sunk by the opponent, his game is over because he drowns. If the
player has destroyed all of the opponent's ships, he receives some money or
maybe even a ring!

Example of a possible start for "Rings of Medusa"

1. If one moves the mouse pointer into the options menu, the game will be
stopped until one leaves the options menu again. This is very useful to reach
negotiations during a fight, for example.

The game's score should be saved on a special disk as often as possible. You
prepare this by formatting an empty disk.

Example of a successful start for the game:

1. Go to a bank and take a credit.
2. Purchase a wagon with horse in the stable.

Example of a successful start for the game:

1. Go to a bank and take a credit.
2. Purchase a wagon with horse in the stable.
3. Trade with towns which are far apart from each other.
4. Always negotiate with the opponent in case of an attack.
5. Purchase scouts early in the game.
6. Write down coordinates and other important things in the Notice Pad.
