THE ELLISNORE DIAMOND
(Zenobi Software)
During the English Civil War, the priceless
Ellisnore Diamond was given to Sir Roger Durwood
by King Charles the First as a reward for hiding
the king in Carisbrooke Castle. Sir Roger, (also
known as "Blackbeard" because of his full black
beard, coppery face and evil eyes), thereupon
denounced the King to the Roundheads ... an act
of pure unmitigated treachery ... and in turn
received ample reward for his treason.
After the king's capture, suspicion fell upon Sir
Roger and popular opinion caused him to be removed
from the governorship of the castle. If the truth
had been but known, the Roundheads themselves were
the ones for instigating the rumour in the first
place. Removed from office, Sir Roger, or Blackbeard
as he was more commonly referred to, returned to the
village of Moonholm and lived in seclusion, weighed
down with guilt and remorse, and despised by all until
he died.
However, even after his death he could not rest; for men said that he had
hidden the diamond and that, not daring to reclaim it, had let the secret
of its whereabouts die with him and that his ghost now stalked the night
trying to locate the missing gem. Legend also had it that just prior to
his death he had vowed to sell the diamond and spend the proceeds on the
poor of the parish ... an act of contrition by a sorrowful and lonely man.
THE STORY SO FAR ...
The local parson summoned you, and over some tea and hot crumpets, devised
a plan to recover the lost diamond ... YOU would complete Blackbeard's
task, thereby releasing the ghost from eternal damnation and providing
the poor of the parish with some much needed wealth.
However, before you could embark upon your quest a sever storm whipped up
mountainous seas and flooded most of the low-lying village. Some cottages
were ruined and the church foundations greatly weakened. When the storm
abated folk wandered about checking on the damage. The parson was a great
source of comfort and was to be found everywhere where help was needed and
comfort required. When things returned to some semblance of normality you
decided to take a look for yourself and made your way to the market square
in an effort to assess the situation. You pause for a moment and then, just
as you are about to set off on your quest, you realise you have a slightly
more pressing problem ... you have lost your front door key!
NOTES : Some useful commands are ... AGAIN (repeats last command) or
FONT 1 and FONT 2 which will enable you to choose between the TWO
sets of characters. Other commands recognised are ... GET ALL,
GET ALL EXCEPT and PUT (item) IN SATCHEL.