                                   T I M E S
                                       OF
                                    L O R E

                                By Chris Roberts


                                     ORIGIN

               Origin Systems, Inc., 136 Harvey Road, Building B,
                              Londonderry, NH 03053

                         (c) 1988 Origin Systems, Inc.
              Times of Lore is a trademark of Origin Systems, Inc.


                                 A Tale of Lore

   Merideth Lamby stood on her tiptoes, her hands gripping the wooden edge of
the half-door as she strained to see over it. Today her grandfather was
traveling from Rhyder for a visit. He always brought her, and her brother
Stephan, the most wonderful wooden toys carved by his own hands. She peered
down the cobbled path for any sign of his arrival. He had always seemed like a
fabled giant to her; swaying side to side while his cheeks puffed in and out
with the effort of his stride. She spied the large oak tree at the end of the
path and thought back on the times she and Stephan had spent beneath its boughs
listening to enchanting tales in their grandfather's arms. Each visit brought a
new story under the tree with their grandfather's warm deep voice reciting a
fantastic tale. Suddenly she heard the hollow snapping of small twigs followed
by a heavy puffing and grunting which grew louder by the second.

   "Grandpa!" she screamed as she ran to meet him at the end of the
path. "Hello Meri!" he chortled as he swept her up in his arms. "How's my
little Wisp?" he asked, rocking her like a baby in his arms. With a rustling
and a thump, Stephan plunged onto the old man's back from the tree overhead.
"Aha, and hello to you as well my feisty Stephan!" he said as he lovingly
lifted the boy down from his shoulders.
   "Please Grandpa, a story, tell us a story!", Stephan shouted, jumping with
excitement. "Yes Grandpa, do!" Merideth joined in. The old man paused a moment,
rubbing his bearded jaw, "Ah yes, I will tell you a tale; one of mystery,
villains, and heroes! But first fetch me some of your father's tobacco for my
pipe!" Merideth and Stephan leapt from his arms and ran to the house,
reappearing moments later with two fluffy pillows and Stephan bearing a leather
pouch. They met the old man under the tree, climbed into his arms, and snuggled
deep into their pillows. Digging a hand into the contents of the pouch, the old
man drew out a loose pinch of dark fibers causing a few of the looser strands
to tumble to the ground. Stuffing the strands into his pipe, he sat back and
gazed up at the sky, "Let me see if I can remember... oh yes."

   "There was once a time when chaos roamed the land and the common folk
abandoned their hope of ever living in a peaceful kingdom again. A time when no
High King sat upon the throne of Albareth!" Smiling, Grandfather lit his pipe
and waited for the shocked expressions of the grandchildren to subside. "But
first a little history. Almost eight hundred years ago, the first of the Elden
arrived along the shore of the Great Sea. Our forefathers trembled as the huge
ships anchored off the coast. You see, back then our forefathers fought amongst
themselves over little matters, such as whose land lay under the fences, or
which of two farmers should draw water from the river that divided their land.
There were no grand cities, no brave castles, only small groups of people
living in fear of one another. It wouldn't surprise you then that our
forefathers, seeing the Eldens as invaders, attacked them."

   Stephan stopped playing with the old man's thumb and looked up at him, "You
mean we attacked the Eldens?"
   "Yes, Stephan. Those who would eventually instruct us in building cities and
establishing fair leadership, were at first our foes! It took time, much time,
but after a hundred years of patience and learning, the kingdom of Albareth
finally began to prosper.
   "Over the years, the Elden became respected leaders and guides for Albareth.
The newly unified kingdom needed a king, and about seven hundred years ago, a
much revered Elden prince assumed the position of High King of Albareth with the
people's hope and blessing.
   "The original High King brought with him three powers from the homelands.
They were mighty artifacts of magic created by wizards to aid in the governing
of the realm. These artifacts were the Tablet of Truth, the Foretelling Stones,
and greatest of all - the Golden Medallion of Power.
   "With the Tablet of Truth, the High King had power to answer any question of
great importance to the kingdom. Only Eldens of the purest blood could employ
the powers of the Tablet. It was given to the Warden of the Southern Marches,
who was such a man.
   "The Foretelling Stones were imbued with the ability to show visions of
places and times far away, to aid any Elden or native with worthy cause. The
Stones, the High King left in the care of the Prior of Marabout, the great
monastery near Rhyder in the north.

   "Most sacred of the three wizardly artifacts was the King's own Medallion of
Power. No High King can hold the throne of Albareth who does not wear the
Medallion, and none may wear the Medallion without being recognized by its own
mystic essence as a true descendant of High King Strebor. The Medallion's power
gave the wearer the ability to command whole armies; to lead them as one to
victory against the darkest of odds. But the Medallion's strength must come
from within its wielder's heart, and therefore only an Elden with the blood of
a King may use it.
   "The Kingdom was content for a time, but that was to end with the coming of
the barbarians. Immense warriors charged up from the South and overran the
outpost of Ganestor. The armies of Albareth marched forth and met the
aggressors in the rocky footlands of the Ganestor mountains. For ten years the
armies fought, and each day the war raged on. The High King Valwyn's sorrow
grew...
   "Finally, the King himself gathered the flower of Elden knighthood and
headed south to confront the Barbarian hordes in what would come to be known as
the Battle of Ganestor. The Medallion sang for victory, and Valwyn's forces
seemed ten times the number they actually were. They opened up gaping breaches
in the Barbarians' ragged lines, but there seemed no end to their
reinforcements. Never had Albareth's knights fought so mightily, but there was
a limit to what even they could do. Neither side could break the stalemate.

   "At last the High King used the power of the Medallion to halt the battle so
he could talk with Heidric, the Barbarian leader. They talked for many days and
finally the two came to an agreement. Ganestor was given to the Barbarians, but
they, in return, had to swear allegiance to the throne. The two men grew to
respect each other over the years that followed, and on the anniversary of the
truce, Valwyn presented Heidric with the Tablet of Truth granting him the title
of Warden of Ganestor.
   "Valwyn had grown old and his spirit was all but drained of life. The Ten
Year war had taxed his inner strength dearly, and no longer could he use the
Medallion to the zenith of its might.
   "So it was that he took up his Medallion and his infant child and departed
for the Elden folk's homelands, where he would rest and renew his powers of
High Kingship. Valwyn, leaving his trusted steward, an Elden lord called
Dariel, in charge of the kingdom, promised to return in one score years."
   "Did he come back?" questioned Merideth looking at he grandfather with big
green eyes.
   "I'm coming to that part, Wisp." He drew a long puff on his pipe and gazed
up at the orange, evening sky.
   "With Valwyn's leadership gone, Dariel was expected to deal with all of
Albareth's problems by himself."

   "But I thought the troubles were over when the Barbarians had signed the
truce!" interrupted Stephan as he twisted to face the old man.
   "Ah, but there were many Elden lords from the south who disagreed with the
pact Valwyn had made with the Barbarians in giving up Ganestor. Over time this
disagreement grew into hatred and the Elden lords attacked Ganestor hoping to
wrest it from Prince Avar, Heidric's son and leader of the Ganestor garrison.
   "The steward Dariel found himself unable to gain acceptance among the other
high lords of Albareth, and his rule was an ineffectual one. He became a
prisoner in his own castle. Rarely would Dariel set foot outside Eralan's
protection, and it was often rumored that the man was ill with fear of his
enemies in the outside world. Without strong leadership, the kingdom once again
fell into chaos. Few traders dared to travel the old roads for fear of being
ambushed by bandits or ruffians. To make matters worse, orcs began to cross
over the mountains to the north of Albareth. The Kingdom was desperately in
need of a saviour..."

   A call came from a woman who stood in the door of the cottage. "Father!
You're here at last. Come and tell me of your journey, over dinner. Stephan,
Merideth! Inside!
   "But Mother, Grandpa hasn't finished his story!" cried the children as they
clung to his arms.
   "Hurry and wash up. Now!" came their answer.
   "Come along little ones, let us go and I will finish the tale later." With
that they made their way into the cottage, Grandfather following behind.

                                The Beginning...


                                Getting Started

   In your first glimpse of the rich and vast kingdom of Albareth, your
character is standing in an upper-story guest chamber of Eralan's renowned
Frothing Slosh Tavern. Eralan is Albareth's capital city; on the map in your
game package, it is centrally situated in the westernmost part of the
continent, just south of the Dark Forest and some leagues inland from the shore
of the Great Sea. Albareth is a vast land of high mountains, great forests,
sprawling plains and deserts, so your first few ventures out of the tavern
should be devoted to wandering around in Eralan and making yourself comfortable
with the game's commands and features.
   Before proceeding, read the REFERENCE CARD for instructions on starting
Times of Lore and how to select commands.


                              General Instructions

   To load the disk version of Times of Lore on the Amstrad CPC, insert side A
of the disk and type |CPM. The | symbol is obtained by pressing the SHIFT key,
followed by the @ key (to the right of the P key).

   Times of Lore can be played either by having a joystick plugged in or you
can use the keys which are:

Q - up
O - left
P - right
A - down
0 - fire

   Space bar activates the gauntlet, on Icon menu, for both sets of controls.

   When you stay at an inn and save the game the computer will ask you to
insert a data disk. This needs to be a blank data or system formatted disk and
not the original Times of Lore game disk. When you load a game from the control
panel, this is also the disk you need to insert.

   When you start a new game, read the story carefully and follow the
directions at the end to choose your character in the game. If you choose the
Knight, your shining armour of polished steel plate will keep you strong and
mighty in battle. Or if the Valkyrie's life appeals to you, quickness and
agility will keep your foes dodging for their lives. Though the Barbarian's
loin cloth is not the most impenetrable of armour his sheer brute strength will
ensure that the protection of more conventional apparel is never missed.


                             Playing Times of Lore

   The top half of the game screen is the view window, and your character is
always shown in the center of this window. Movement to the north, south, east
and west is accomplished by simply moving the joystick in the direction you
wish to go.

   When you press the space bar you'll see a glowing hand appear in the lower
screen window. Use the joystick to move the hand to point to any of the command
options. People will stop moving once you enter this command mode (although
monsters suffer no such restriction). You can then move the hand to the symbol
for the action you wish to perform and press the joystick button to execute the
command. Or you can press the space bar again to abort your action and go back
to the normal movement mode.

   Starting from the leftmost symbol, the commands represented by the different
icons are as follows:

   TALK - Use the mouth icon to strike up a conversation with another character
in the game. The person you wish to talk to must either be right next to you or
very close by; shouting in public places is considered rude. See Conversation
for more information.

   EXAMINE - Occasionally you'll want to examine a nearby object to identify it
or perhaps take a closer look at something you're carrying. The eye works on
special items such as scrolls, potions, and one-of-a-kind artifacts and it also
enables you to search nearby for things not immediately visible.

   INVENTORY - The pouch displays a list of the items you are carrying as well
as how much money and food you have.

   DROP - You can only carry a limited number of objects. If your pouch is
full, you will need to drop things that are no longer useful before you can
acquire new items and treasures.

   TAKE - Use this command to pick up gold, food, treasure, and other assorted
items that may be found after battles or encountered while exploring cities and
dungeons.

   USE - This command allows you to drink a potion, cast a spell from a scroll
or otherwise make use of something you're carrying.

   OFFER - Attempt to hand an object to a nearby person. If the person has no
use for that particular item, he or she will probably accept it anyway as a
token of good will.

   GAME OPTIONS - This command gives you the following options:
   Score allows you to see your current score, which is increased by killing
monsters and solving quests.
   Load game allows you to restore the previously saved game (see Conversation
for more information).
   Pause game allows you to pause the game until the joystick button is
pressed.

   Some commands in the game may ask you to choose which object or person you
wish to deal with. For instance, if you activate the DROP command, a list of
your DROPable items will appear, along with a cursor bar at the top. Now you
can either press the space bar to abort the command, or use the
joystick-controlled cursor to select an item to be dropped.


                                  Conversation

   Many of the inhabitants of Albareth's towns and cities can offer you advice
or assistance in your travels, and some may even send you on great quests of
valor and fortune. To speak with a villager, select the TALK symbol and a menu
of conversation options will appear (see the REFERENCE CARD for selecting
command options). Characters may inititate conversation with you as well. When
someone asks you a question, the TALK command will be activated in anticipation
of your reply.
   It is the established custom in the kingdom of Albareth to greet one's
acquaintances with a cheery "Nice weather we're having!" or perhaps "I hope all
is well with you." To hail a wayfarer in such a manner, choose the Start
chitchat option. Before long you will notice that such a casual greeting is
likely to set the mood for the exchange of a word or two of friendly gossip, or
even the imparting of vital knowledge.
   Ask question, the second choice on the menu, allows you to pose a specific
question to you acquaintance. After selecting the option, the desired question
must be chosen from a list of subjects that you currently "know about" in the
game. You can always ask about Rumors, but the person you are talking to may or
may not be able to answer your query meaningfully. The list of other subjects
you may ask about is made of important "keywords" from prior conversations.
Whenever a person mentions a matter of obvious weight, a soft bell will sound
and that subject will be added to you character's list of "known" question
topics.

   Some people, depending on the situation, may have additional options in
their conversation menus. Innkeepers, for example, have much more to offer than
the standard fare of pleasantries. If you have the money to spend, they will
give you a chance to replenish your provisions or check into their hostel for a
good night's rest. When you Ask for lodging at an inn, your character's current
positions and status in the gmae are saved to disk. The next time you boot up
the game, you will begin play on that same inn with all your possessions and
"key words" intact. It is usually a good idea to check into an inn at the end
of a long journey, or after you've accomplished a difficult or dangerous task.
During game play, you may revert to your saved postion by selecting the Load
game option.
   You should make a habit of chatting with everyone you meet in the cities and
outposts of Albareth, king and knave alike. Subtle, but improtant, events in
the game can be triggered by talking with some major figures, and vital key
words may be lost by neglecting to save the game before ending a session of
play.

   All conversation and other game messages will appear in the message window
near the bottom of the screen.

   In a fictitious example of Times of Lore interaction, you might approach a
serf's wife as she busily plows her field.
   Activating the TALK option, you select Start chitchat from the menu.
   Gesturing at the serf's wife, you say, "You're looking rather well today!"
   Looking you in the eyes, the serf's wife says, "Why thank you. Oh, and by
the way, my husband's off fighting trolls somewhere."
   At this point a bell sounds, indicating that you now have a new "key word"
to ask about. You select the Ask question option from the menu and you see that
your question topics now include Rumors and Trolls. You pick Trolls.
   Looking at the serf's wife you say, "What do you know about trolls?"
   The serf's wife faces you and says, "My husband's spent a lot of time away
from home of late. He claims the trolls have stolen a treasure beyond price,
and he means to reclaim it!"
   The bell gongs again. Your Ask question menu now includes Rumors and the new
word Treasure, which you select. The word Trolls has been removed, since you
now have all the information you need about the trolls.
   Looking at the serf's wife you say, "What do you know about the treasure?"
   The serf's wife says, "Sorry, but I can't help there. Would you like to come
in for some nice warm turnip soup?"
   On the menu now are two more options, Reply yes and Reply no. Eager to get
on with the treasure-hunting, you select the latter choice.
   Peering into the eyes of the serf's wife you reply, "No thanks."
   The serf's wife says, "Oh, well."
   You exit Talk mode and walk away.

   Since the serf's wife was unable to elaborate on the subject of treasure,
you must now seek out other likely sources of information. A visit to the
tavern may be in order, or you might want to look around for villagers who can
tell you more.


                                     Combat

   Depending on which character class you've chosen and how tough your opponent
is, two or three solid hits will often be enough to dispatch your foe. In the
beginning you'll do your fighting with a common hand weapon, but who's to say
what a hardy adventurer might stumble across in these treacherous times?
   During the daylight hours in fortified towns and most of the more civilized
villages, you will rarely encounter any of the wandering monsters that plague
the countryside. Until you are certain of an approaching person's intent, stay
your arms. Besides, attemping to take over cities by slaughtering the peasants
is one sure way to be ostracized from society. When you venture out into the
world, though, it's a different story. Creatures ranging from ordinary brigands
to supernatural specters will confront you, turning a simple journey from one
town to the next into a deadly challenge. Don't hesitate to attack

                                          - the monsters won't wait!

The following is a list of the characters you are likely to encounter in
Albareth:

   Guard - The guard in castles and larger cities are brawny sorts, armed to
the teeth. You'll have no trouble with these mercenaries, as long as you stay
on their good side.

   Peasant - Albareth's humble, cheerful peasants are the lifeblood of the
kingdom's towns and cities. Talk to everyone you meet - the common folk usually
welcome the change to share their folklore and companionship.

   Innkeeper - The Innkeepers of Albareth can be very accommodating, especially
when you're in need of a stiff drink or a quick game-save.

   Rogue - Archer of lethal skill, these cloaked highwaymen are the nightmare
of every tradesman and caravan leader. Beware, for in these troubled times many
strong men have joined their ranks.

   Orc - In the not-too-distant past, these unwashed, pig-visaged barbarians
were seldom encountered outside their territories in the northern mountains,
but in recent times, the hated Orcs have begun to invade Albareth's forests.
They have since become a nightmare of every traveller and caravan scout.

   Skeleton - The living Skeletons that haunt the land, viciously hurling their
daggers at wayfarers, are said to be magically animated by malevolent wizards
who seek to spread disorder and evil throughout the kingdom. Skeletons are
formidable opponents in battle, for they feel neither pain nor mercy.

   Ghost - Shades of evil men and monsters once slain in battle, Ghosts can be
the most difficult to overcome of all dark creatures... they have more to
prove!

   Slime - No one knows the origin of this hideous creature. Though unarmed,
this creeping fungus can still pose a deadly threat to careless adventurers. A
slime creeps along dungeon walls toward its enemies, secreting a corrosive
fluid that turns swords and daggers into tasty hors d'oeuvres. Then it goes
after its main course.

   Cleric - The good Clerics of Albareth are renowned for their devotion to the
preservation and sanctity of life, while the evil ones tend to attack first and
ask for donations later.


                                    Survival

   Be sure to keep an eye on the candle in the lower right part of your screen.
The candle will burn down as you grow weak from battle wounds or lack of food.
If the flame ever goes out, your character will die, and you will have to start
over from your last saved position. Sleeping at an inn will restore your
health. Standing still to rest in a safe place will also restore your strength,
although it will be long in returning. Certain magical items can help as well.
Don't be afraid to experiment with the effects of various potions.


                                    Treasure

   Monsters sometimes carry assorted and sundry treasures, which they will
readily give to you as long as you kill them first. Gold, food, magic potions,
and scrolls may be found lying about in the bloody aftermath of a battle. A
peculiar property of magical treasure is that only one scroll or potion of each
kind can be carried at a time. This means that if you're carrying a blue
potion, you won't run across any more blue potions until after you drink the
one you've got. Some of these arcane items are very hard to come by, so use
discretion when employing their effects.


                                  Leaving Home

   For now, try taking the stairs down the tavern's common room. Walk over to
the counter, between the barkeep's ale kegs and the massive stone fireplace. Is
someone talking to you? Take the time to chat with everyone in sight, and be
patient. Often, a person who has something intersesting to say may prefer not
to share it all with you at once. Even in the mornings the Frothing Slosh is a
busy place, and who knows? One of the motley crowd of customers might just have
some business for a young and enterprising adventurer such as yourself!
