Welcome to Kumeran, the capital of Valdalan: a mighty city where commerce, craft, knowledge, and politics are a constant part of the scene. Today, things are not at their best, as the city is in the grips of its worst influenza epidemic ever. Unfortunately, the criminal element never takes a vacation, and they are very willing to prey while the city is weak. You will take on several roles in the effort to keep the city safe during the crises. The queen and the duchess are counting on you. This adventure is divided into four chapters, each building upon the results of earlier chapters. In each chapter you will take on a new persona, so make sure you know who you are before you do anything. You control your current character by entering commands expressed in the following format: Addressee, Verb phrase Some possible commands are: READ THE DIARY READ THE GUARD (only possible if you're a telepath) PUT THE SKUNK IN THE BACKPACK WALK SOUTH (or simply SOUTH or S) ASK CORONER ABOUT THE BODY TELL DUCHESS ABOUT THE RABBIT EXAMINE THE SLIPPERS, THE DIARY, AND THE SANDALS UNLOCK THE DESK WITH THE SILVER KEY OPEN IT (It will be the last noun mentioned, the desk) GET ALL ENTER 123 (meaning house number 123 on the present street) Compound commands can be created by connecting single commands (like those above) with "AND", "THEN" or the punctuation symbols "," or ";" to connect two or more separate commands, such as: ALIGHT THE BUS THEN SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH ENTER THE HOUSE AND KILL THE BURGLAR There are twelve recognized directions for movement. To walk in one of these directions (let's say north), you may either enter GO NORTH, WALK NORTH, or leave out the verb and simply enter NORTH. The recognized directions are: NORTH (N), SOUTH (S), EAST (E), WEST (W), NORTHEAST (NE), SOUTHEAST (SE), NORTHWEST (NW), SOUTHWEST (SW), UP (U), DOWN (D), ENTER, and EXIT The status area on the top line tells you the room you are currently in, as well as the current time. Some actions in the game are based on the current time, so keep an eye on it. The function keys have been predefined to stand for several of the most frequently used commands. Hitting the '?' key (during the game) will display a diagram of keys and their definitions. The game also recognizes several housekeeping commands. They are: HELP Request help from the game AGAIN or G Repeat the last command OOPS Edit the last command entered INVENTORY or I List money in purse, items held, and items worn VERBOSE Provide verbose listing of a room each time entered BRIEF Don't provide verbose listing LIST EXITS List all obvious exit directions SAVE Save the game to disk RESTORE Restore a previously saved game SCRIPT Send game text to printer (UNSCRIPT turns this off) QUIT Quit the game SCORE List present score, number of moves, and rooms visited WAIT Wait for one turn WAIT 5 Wait for 5 game minutes WAIT 2100 Wait until 9:00 PM game time In addition to the help provided by the HELP command, the user may also call for hints through the POPHINT utility (this is loaded by the batch file that starts up TJA). Press Alt-H to access the clues. Cast of Characters: From the Court Anne Teda Telan Queen of Valdalan Edgardo Tan Telan Her eldest son, future king of Valdalan Danelo Tan Telan Her second son, Clara's squire Patrika Pagel Telan Duchess of Kumeran and premier of Valdalan Clara Tepat Telan Her daughter, coroner of Vered County Gwenden Temar Assistant coroner of Vered County Regalo Gwenden's squire Resa Page to the Vered County coroner's office Miranda Librarian to the Vered County coroner's office Hudan Count of Vered County Arena Spehu His wife, a former jeweler Deren Hudan's butler Lida Tever Senior Magistrate for Kumer County Roberto Magistrate for the Duchy of Kumeran From the Guilds Gelfri Teval Patrika's father and founding Archmage Dora Taren The humorless owner of The Jeweled Arena Rita Zeca Dora's associate Filipe Another jeweler Vivan A baker who doesn't know her husband well enough Peri A harpist Innkeeper Proprietor of The Golden Harp, Kumer Usher Someone who doesn't like disruptive people Amanda Green A healer that's found a cure for the plague Nera A competent healer, but not much more Ernando A medical examiner working for the Vered coroner Carlo An artist that specializes in sketches Fernando Gwenden's father, a rather lackluster blacksmith Kera Spefer His wife, and even more lacking in luster Estra A porcelain maker seeking guild membership A cobbler and a dry goods clerk From the Executive Branch Thered Highmaster Protector of Kumer County Leron An associate protector in Central Kumer Wenda Another associate protector in Central Kumer Plen Yet another associate protector in Central Kumer Werden Guard at Kumeran North Gate From the Local Populace A boy One with a penchant for playing stones Ruben A thief that's just run out of luck Tira A girl that doesn't like to talk with strangers Oliva Tira's aunt Fanatic Someone with his own idea of the laws of succession Skeya A skunk (literally) A bus driver and a carriage driver Shareware: This adventure is distributed as shareware. If you enjoyed playing this adventure, please send $10 (U.S. funds only) to the author at the address below. If you have any questions about the adventure, you may send them to the same address. David S. Raley 13523 Demetrias Way Germantown, MD 20874 CIS: 72247,1153 Internet: 72247,1153@compuserve.com