LONE WOLF 3 - THE MIRROR OF DEATH ================================= In THE MIRROR OF DEATH you control Lone Wolf — the hero of Joe Dever's award winning series of role-plaing game books. Armed only with a sword and four carefully selected Kai skills, you must fight yoour way past the guardians of the evil tower of Kazan-Gor. Only you can restore the Kai to their former glory! Choose your skills wisely, for you will need them all in your quest in this the ultimate combat adventure! INTRODUCTION BY JOE DEVER You are the warrior Lone Wolf, last of the Kai Masters of Sommerlund, and sole survivor of the massacre that destroyed your kinsmen during a bitter war against your ancient enemies - the Darklords of Helgedad. Many centuries have passed since Sun Eagle, the first of your kind, established the Order of the Kai. Aided by the magicians of Dessi, he completed a perilous quest to find seven crystals of divine power, known as the Lorestones of Nyxator. On discovering them he unlocked a wisdom and strength that lay within both the Lorestones and himself. He recorded the nature of his discoveries and experiences in a great tome entitled The Book of the Magnakai. You have discovered this lost Kai treasure and have given a solemn pledge to restore the Kai to their former glory, thereby ensuring the security of your land in the ages to come. However, your diligent study of this ancient book has enabled you to master only four of the eight Magnakai Disciplines. To fulfil your pledge you must complete the quest first undertaken by Sun Eagle over one thousand years ago, and rediscover the Lorestones of Nyxator. By doing so, you too will acquire the power and wisdom of the Magnakai! Already your quest has taken you far from your northern homeland. Following in the footsteps of the first Kai Grand Master, you journeyed to Dessi and sought the help of the Elder Magi - the magicians who aided Sun Eagle on his quest long ago. There you learn that one of the seven Lorestones can be found in Dessi, hidden high in a forbidding tower stronghold known as Kazan-Gor. In the years since Sun Eagle first came to Dessi the tower of Kazan-Gor has become the abode of a great but evil sorcerer called Gorazh. The Elder Magi, realizing the danger of Gorazh's increasing power, tried to destroy the tower of Kazan-Gor, but they failed. In desperation they constructed a prison of energy around the tower to pevent Gorazh from ever escaping. Although Gorazh was trapped, he swore an oath of vengeance on the Elder Magi of Dessi. If he could not escape from Kazan-Gor then he would ensure that no one who entered would ever escape alive! The Lorestone would remain with him in his granite tomb for all eternity, thereby preventing the Order of the Kai from ever being restored, and in consequence, sealing the fate of both Sommerlund and Dessi who would be sure to fall to the mighty armies of the Darklords of Helgedad. Gorazh devoted the remainder of his years constructing traps and sorcerous devices to protect the Lorestone. The most fearsome and powerful of these was known as Dhazag-Oud, which means 'The Mirror of Death'. Over the centuries many brave warriors and courageous magicians have sought to recover the Lorestone, but none has ever returned. Those who had the sense to turn back at the last minute tell chilling tales about the mirror, of how it reflects a powerful magical entity, a being of pure evil that takes on the appearance of its opponent. When you, Lone Wolf, resolve to enter Kazan-Gor to retrieve the Lorestone the Elder Magi rejoice, for if you were to succeed it would dispell the evil power of Gorazh's spirit which has haunted the tower ever since his death. Now the time for counsel has passed, and the time for decisive action is upon you. Grim news from the west prompts the Elder Magi to arrange for your immediate passage to the tower of Khazan-Gor. As a final gift they bestow upon you words of power to use against the mirror. "Take these words, Lone Wolf", says Rimoah, speaker for the High Council of the Elder Magi. "They will not destroy the demon within Dhazag-Oud, but they will split its power. Strike the centre of the mirror as you speak them. Every shard of the shattered mirror will present a foe, but they will be weaker and easier to defeat than the demon in its entirety." At that the members of the High Council rise from their seats and turn to face you. No sound reaches your ears, yet the words of their blessing reach your mind. "May the gods Ishir and Kai protect you on your journey into darkness. Lone Wolf." LOADING THE GAME Atari ST/Amiga Insert the disk in the internal drive and reset the computer. Leave the disk in the drive. IBM or compatibles Insert the disk (disk 1 if there are two disks), type LW and press Return. Leave the disk in the drive unless otherwise instructed by the program. Additional information (if any) will be included in a file called README.TXT. To view this file enter the command TYPE README.TXT. Commodore 64 To load from tape hold down the shift key and tap Run/Stop. Disk users should type LOAD":*",8,l and press Return. Spectrum To load the 48k version type LOAD"" and press Enter. If you have a 128k machine use the loader. Amstrad CPC Type RUN"LW". MSX Type BLOAD"CAS:",R and press Return. HOW TO PLAY The game begins inside the fortress of Khazan-Gor. You, Lone Wolf, have followed the advice offered by the High Council and smashed with your mighty sword the mirror known as Dhazag-Oud - The Mirror of Death. As Rimoah foretold, the mirror shattered, then seven unearthly creatures arose and took refuge within the towers, each armed with a shard from the mirror fashioned in the shape of a sword. The power of the mirror is such that when the creatures take human form to fight in mortal combat they appear as images of your darker self - what greater challenge could there be? Only you, Lone Wolf, have the power to destroy for ever the power of the mirror. Succeed and your prowess as a warrior of the Kai will be known throughout Sommerlund, even unto the lands beyond. Fail, and the mirror will reassemble, triumphant to have claimed yet another victim. You can play using a joystick, or using the computer keyboard. Before the game starts you should select the four Kai skills that you consider will be most valuable in your quest. Choose unwisely and your task will prove a dozen times more difficult; choose well and the power of the Kai will travel with you on your dangerous journey. Call upon the Kai skills that you select by pressing the number keys (function keys on the C64). KAI SKILLS Psi Surge Over the centuries the Kai evolved the ability to transmit a mental force that would stun or even temporarily paralyse a foe. Use this force sparingly, because it will drain your psychic energy. Beware opponents who have the power of Mindshield - to use Psi Surge against them will not only prove useless, it may also prove fatal. Mindshield The Kai developed the skill of Mindshield as a defence against Psi Surge, in case it should ever fall into the wrong hands. Indeed, as the demons that guard Kazan-Gor can take the form of a Kai warrior, so can certain of them call upon the Kai skill of Psi Surge. Animal Kinship You were wisely named, Lone Wolf, for it is within your abilities to create within the mind of your enemy the vision of a wolf so terrifying that he will be transfixed to the spot. Invisibility No weapon can confuse your enemies more than the ability to become invisible. By moving quickly and striking first from one side, then the other you can fill your foe with fear and confusion as he strikes out randomly at his unseen opponent. Sixth Sense Without the skill of Sixth Sense you may find that you become lost within the fortress. Divinity Just as you may become invisible, so may certain of the demons. This skill allows you to divine the presence of a demon who would otherwise be hidden from your sight. Weapon Skills This skill allows you to wield your sword more quickly and effectively. Healing The power of healing is a valuable skill that will, if you choose to take it with you on your quest allow you to recover more quickly from injury, or exhaustion. NOTE: there is a limit to how often, and for how long you can make use of any skill. Ensure that you use them wisely. SEVEN DEMONS - SEVEN BATTLES Within the fortress there are seven demons, each drawing power from a shard of the mirror, and each guarding a key position. You must triumph in battle against each demon in turn, making the best use of your Kai skills, and swordsmanship. Only if you take with you the skill of Sixth Sense will you know unerringly which way to turn when you have a choice of routes. Otherwise you must guess as best you can the path you must tread to meet your next opponent. ENDURANCE Your endurance is represented by four wolf heads displayed at the bottom of the screen. When one of the heads turns to a wolfs skull it signifies that you have lost one-quarter of your endurance. If you choose as one of your Kai skills the power of Healing you can use it to restore your endurance by the equivalent of one wolfs head, but only when one of the seven demons is present. CONTROLS Control Lone Wolf using a joystick, or the equivalent keys: S (Up), X (Down), B (Left), N (Right), and Space (Fire). On the Amstrad you can also use the cursor keys. Press P to pause the game, or Q to quit. On the Spectrum use M to toggle between monochrome and colour displays if required. CLIMB UP JUMP UP CROUCH UP | JUMP | JUMP LEFT | RIGHT \ | / \ | / \|/ WALK ---*--- WALK LEFT /|\ RIGHT / | \ / | \ ROLL | ROLL LEFT | RIGHT | CROUCH DOWN CLIMB DOWN When you are in combat, hold down the fire button and move the joystick to use the moves shown below (if you are facing left, the moves are reversed): DEFEND STRIKE TOP PUNCH TOP \ | / \ | / \|/ DEFEND ---*--- STRIKE MIDDLE /|\ MIDDLE / | \ / | \ DEFEND KICK STRIKE LEGS LEGS HINTS AND TIPS - Kill if you can the strange and vicious birds known as Krows. You'll find that they drain your energy if you don't. - If you count the missiles that the Gargoyles spit out you can work out when it is safe to pass.