TALISMAN
by Simon M. Langan
Pegasus Software (Spectrum version)
SYNOPSIS
Find the three lost talismans of lore hidden in the land of Zarhan. Once you
have all four talismans find out where you must take them for them to be safe
from the evil hands of Zarachan and his dark forces.
NOTES
This adventure contains some random elements that make it impossible to give a
step by step walkthrough.
Zarachan appears randomly and possibly teleport you to any other location, so
watch where you are then and continue from there or go back to where you were
before. In the worst case he could bring you inside the Tower of Wisdom where
you can't get out without the obelisk, so it's recommended to RAMSAVE your game
as soon as Zarachan appears.
The orcs can appear everywhere and they will grab the bar of gold or the bow
from you if you have already collected one of them and put it at the cliff's
edge (the location where the bow originally is or was), so you have to go there
to pick it up again.
Though Eloana the elf should be in Ashgrim forest, he can also appear at other
locations.
The same goes for the wolves that stroll through the Chaos Desolation but you
could meet them also at the Mountain of Destiny or in Varenon Wood. What's more,
there's a bug in the adventure: You can encounter the wolves multiple times even
when you have poisoned them and have already got the iron key. On the other
hand, it can also happen that the wolves don't appear at all - in this case you
have no choice but to start over.
The maximum score you can achieve is 95%.
SOLUTION
(you start in the middle of an island in lake Zarh) I (you are wearing a
backpack and a silver talisman), LOOK IN BACKPACK, E, X BOAT (it has no oars),
GET ROPE OUT OF BACKPACK, TIE ROPE TO BOAT, THROW ROPE ACROSS LAKE (repeat if
necessary until it catches on a log), PULL ROPE (you are now on the edge of
Varenon Wood), E, E, N, E (Ashgrim Forest; if Eloana the elf appears: SAY
ELF "HELLO", SAY ELF "HELP", SAY ELF "TALISMAN"), E, E, SWIM ACROSS
RIVER, N,
GET BERRIES, S, W, SWIM ACROSS RIVER, W, W, REMOVE BACKPACK, DROP ALL, N, NE,
GET TALISMAN, SW, S, GET ALL, GET MEAT OUT OF BACKPACK, PUT BERRIES IN MEAT,
DROP BACKPACK.
W, SW, W, NW, NE (Dead Marsh), E, E, GET WEED, NW, N (Chaos Desolation; if you
encounter a pack of chaos wolves in this area: GIVE MEAT TO WOLF (sometimes this
command is not necessary and the wolves lie dead at your feet), UNTIE KEY FROM
WOLF and continue via the west edge of the Chaos Desolation back to the foot of
the Mountain of Destiny and up to the small ledge), NW, NW, SW, S (at the foot
of the Mountain of Destiny), U, U, U, U, DROP TALISMAN, REMOVE TALISMAN, DROP
TALISMAN, E, SAY HERMIT "HELLO", SAY HERMIT "HELP", GIVE WEED TO HERMIT (he
gives you a brass key), UNLOCK CHEST, OPEN CHEST, DROP (BRASS) KEY, LOOK IN
CHEST, GET BOOK OUT OF CHEST, READ BOOK, DROP BOOK, GET BAR OUT OF CHEST, W, D,
D, D, D, S, E, E, E, E, SE, E, E, S, W, GET ORB.
If you haven't just met him, walk around the Black Mountains (stoney, rocky and
narrow paths) until you encounter Gruff the dwarf (if he walks off, follow him):
SAY TO GRUFF "GIVE TALISMAN", GIVE BAR TO GRUFF. Note that you will need a light
when you go down to the narrow tunnel, so SAY GLOW to make the Orb start shining
(when you have gone up again, SAY UNGLOW). When you've got the jade talisman, go
back to the small ledge west from the hermit's cave (note: when you are back at
the foot of the Mountain of Destiny it could happen that the chaos wolves are
there; in this case GIVE MEAT TO WOLF (if they don't already lie dead at your
feet), UNTIE KEY FROM WOLF and continue to the small ledge).
DROP TALISMAN, E, GET STRING OUT OF CHEST.
[The following moves are only necessary when you haven't encountered the wolves
before: W, D, D, D, D, E, E, E, N, NE, E, N, N (you are in the Chaos Desolation)
- walk around this area until you meet the wolves: GIVE MEAT TO WOLF (if they
don't already lie dead at your feet), UNTIE KEY FROM WOLF. Then go via the west
edge of the Chaos Desolation back to the foot of the Mountain of Destiny and
from there S, W, S to the cliff's edge where you find the bow.]
W, D, D, D, D, S, W, S, GET BOW, X BOW (looks elvish), N, E, E, E, E, E, E, E,
N, E (you are back in Ashgrim forest and have to look for Eloana the elf (beware
the rickety bridge!); when you've found him (if he walks off, follow him), if
you haven't met him before: SAY ELF "HELLO", SAY ELF "HELP", SAY ELF
"TALISMAN".
GIVE BOW TO ELF (he gives you a stick). Now go to the entrance of the narrow
tunnel in the Black Mountains.
D, SAY GLOW, S, S, S, W, W, SW, N, W, UNLOCK DOOR, OPEN DOOR (if an orc shut it,
open it again), W, DROP KEY, GET HOOK, E, E, S, NE, E, S, D, D, E (you see a
platinum talisman in the lake), MAKE FISHING ROD (with the string, the stick and
the hook), FISH TALISMAN OUT OF LAKE, GET TALISMAN, WEAR TALISMAN, DROP ROD, W,
U, U, E, N, N, N, N, U, W, N, W, W, W, W, W, NW, NW, U, U, U, U, GET TALISMAN,
WEAR TALISMAN, GET TALISMAN, WEAR TALISMAN, GET TALISMAN, WEAR TALISMAN, E, GET
OBELISK, W, D, D, D, D, SE, SE, RUB OBELISK, OPEN DOOR, ENTER, U
(Well done adventurer you have succeeded in bringing the four talismans of lore
to the Tower of Wisdom. You have mastered 95%.)
Solution by boldir, April 2023
