Playing The Game

In this game you are Erik. In an adventure you instruct the computer in simple English sentences so that you may move around from place to place, pick things up, examine objects and carry out a number of other actions.

The game tells you what Erik can see and what is happening around him. To do things, type in simple commands such as:

TAKE THE STEWPOT
EAT STEW
GO NORTH
EXAMINE BOAT

Remember to press RETURN after each command.

The game understands many words. Some of these you will have to discover yourself.

Directions can be abbreviated - for example: N, S, E, W, NE etc as well as U for Up and D for Down. If you wish to repeat the previous command, type A for Again.

T he following vocabulary should help you get started:

AGAIN (repeat the previous command)
EXAMINE (look closely at something)
LOOK (look around)
INVENTORY (what am I carrying?)
QUIT (stop playing)
SCORE (to ind out how well you are doing)
IT (can be used to refer to a noun used in the previous command - e.g. EXAMINE FLASK may be followed by the command TAKE IT)
EVERYTHING (allows you to TAKE or DROP everything without having to list all the items)

Directions:

NORTH, SOUTH, EAST, WEST, NORTHWEST, NORTHEAST, etc, UP, DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT, AHEAD etc.

When Erik is on board the Golden Dragon it will move with him. Use LEAVE to leave the ship.

Other useful worlds are:

ATTACK
BREAK
CLOSE
DROP
EMPTY
FILL
GIVE
KNOCK
LIGHT
LISTEN
MEND
NO
OPEN
PLANT
PLAY
PRESS
PULL
RUN
TAKE
THROW
TIE
WAIT
WAVE
YES

Before starting on your adventure, read the introduction which sets the scene. If you find you need more help than is given in these pages, you can acquire a 'hints sheet' from the publishers by sending a stamped, addressed envelope to Viking Dept, Mosaic Publishing Ltd, 187 Upper Street, London N1 1RQ.

To find out more about Erik, his friends and his enemies, read the extracts from Terry Jones' book The Saga Of Erik The Viking which follow the introduction. You may also find a few clues in these pages that will help you solve the game!

The Saga: Introduction To Computer Adventure Game

This game is the second saga of Erik the Viking, the famous warrior who lived a thousand years ago. He owned a large farm in Norway, beside the North Sea, and lived there with his family and servants.

Every summer, Eriks sons sailed off in the Golden Dragon to trade with the Skraelings or steal their gold. And every summer, his sons asked Erik to come with them. But Erik thought that he had seen enough strange lands and always refused. He was happy to run the farm instead and swap tales with them in the smoky hall each winter.

One Spring day, Erik wanted to check the borders of his and and make sure that all the sheep had been brought in for shearing. He followed the river which flowed past his house and soon reached the snow-capped mountains to the east. Then he sat down for a rest.

As Erik dozed beneath the fir-trees, he seemed to see a vision. An army of strange creatures swarmed over the farm. His wife managed to hide a few treasures before she was caught, and then the creatures dragged everyone away. All this time, Erik couldn't move. Then he woke up.

You must play the part of Erik the Viking, and find out what has happened. Good luck!

Erik And The Storm

This is the tale of a Viking warrior who lived hundreds and hundreds of years ago. His name was Erik. His ship was called Golden Dragon, and its figurehead was a fierce monster carved out of wood, and covered with gold leaf.

One day, Erik said to his wife: "I must find the and where the sun goes at night." But his wife replied: "No one has ever been to that far country. And of those who have tried ew have ever returned."

"You are right," said Erik. "But, until I have sought that distant land, I shall never sleep in my bed again."

So he called his son who was fifteen years old and told him he must guard their home by day and night. Then he took his sword, which was called Blueblade, stepped on board Golden Dragon and sailed off towards the setting sun.

That night they sailed on far from land, and Erik stood at the helm of Golden Dragon gazing into the darkness. Erik's men whispered to each other that they were seeking the land where the sun goes at night, and that no-one had ever found it and lived to tell the tale.

Just then a bright green light appeared above them, and a star shaped like a dragon leapt across the sky. Erik turned to his men and said: "We shall find what we seek." And no-one dared say a word about that.

The next morning they found themselves alone on the ocean with great waves heaving the ship up and down. Erik looked up into the sky and smelt the wind.

"We shan't make it!" whispered Erik's men, one to the other, as the storm clouds blotted out the sun.

"We'll be wrecked at sea," they murmured as the first drops of rain fell on the deck.

"There's land!" called out Erik. "Take down the sail... we'll have to row for it."

They leant on their oars as the rain began to pour down on them. And the speck of land on the horizon got bigger as the skies got darker and the sea grew rougher.

But they rowed with all their might and all their main, and, as the lightning forked across the heavens and the thunder rolled all round them, they got closer and closer to land.

"Rocks to port!" cried the lookout, and the helmsman steered Golden Dragon to starboard. "Rocks to starboard!" cried the lookout, and Golden Dragon swung back to port again. "Look out ahead!" cried Erik, and the golden monster on the helm scraped against the rocks as the sea dragged them down and then threw them up again.

"We've had it now!" cried Erik's men one to the other and they shut their eyes.

"Keep rowing!" cried out Erik, and he steered the ship between the rocks and the boiling sea until all at once they found themselves in a deep fjord.

One by one, Erik's men opened their eyes. The rain still poured down on them and the lightning lit up the wild rocks about them, but the water was calm and they were safe.

"Now we must sleep," said Erik. "But tomorrow we shall repair Golden Dragon before we dare go back on the high seas."

His men laid the mast down and threw the sails across it like a tent, and there they slept for the rest of that stormy night.

Erik And The Sea Dragon

When the Ship, Golden Dragon, has been repaired, Erik and his men dragged her back into the water and held a feast.

Then they sailed off into the uncharted seas.

When they had been travelling three days and three nights they entered a thick mist, and could see neither to right nor left not in front nor behind.

Thorkhild came to Erik and said: "There is something strange about this mist."

"You are right," replied Erik. "Mist is always whitey grey, but this is sometimes red, sometimes blue."

"But the strangest thing about it," said Thorkhild. "Is that it is warm. Whereas mist is always cold and damp."

So Erik stood in front of his men and said: "Has any one of you ever seen a mist as this?" But they all shook their heads.

Just then they heard the most terrible clap of thunder right over their heads, and the whole boat shook with the sound, and the men trembled as the thunder rolled on and on above them.

Thorkhlid looked at Erik and said: "There is something strange about this thunder."

"You are right," replied Erik. "Thunder always follows the lightning and yet we have had no lightning."

"But the strangest thing about it," said Thorkhild. "is that it does not stop but gets louder and louder, whereas thunder always dies away."

At that moment Sven the Strong pointed up into the sky and said: "Look! The sun!" And they all looked up through the mist and saw a great light shining through at them. And Thorkhild turned to Erik and said, "If that is indeed the sun, it is a very strange sun."

And Erik said: "You are right. I have never seen the sun with a black spot right in the middle like that, nor have I seen the sun moving through the sky first one way and then the other."

"But the strangest thing about it," said Thorkhild, "is that I have only ever seen one sun in the heavens, but now I see two!"

And at that, a great cry went up from all on board: "It's the Great Dragon of the North Sea!" they cried. "Those suns are its eyes!" said Erik.

"And that thunder is its roar!" said Thorkhild, and at that moment they saw its huge jaws and they saw that the mist was not mist at all, but the smoke that issued from its fiery nostrils.

"We are lost!" cried Erik's men. "Nothing can save us now!"

But Erik said: "To the oars! We must row as we have never rowed before!" And they leapt to the oars, but try as they might they could not escape, for the Dragon of the North Sea opened its mouth and began to suck the waters down its great fiery throat, and the ship was carried back twice as fast as they could row forwards.

When Erik saw it was no good and that the Sea Dragon was upon them, he turned to Ragnar Forkbeard and said: "What shall we do?"

Ragnar Forkbeard did not answer but, white as a sheet, he ran to the sleeping quarters.

"Has it come to this?" asked Erik. "That Ragnar Forkbeard has lost his courage *and* his tongue?" And as he spoke, the Sea Dragon loomed across the deck of the ship and a jet of flame licked across the deck of the ship, and the men ran here and there putting out fires.

Just then Ragnar Forkbeard reappeared carrying two bolsters and he said, "I have lost neither my courage nor my tongue."

And with that he strapped the bolsters on his back and started to climb the mast.

Sven the Strong turned to Erik and said: "Ragnar Forkbeard has not lost his courage or his tongue - he has lost his wits."

Just then they heard a fearful noise and they span round to see the great Sea Dragon take the stem post in its mouth and snap it in two with its teeth.

Erik lifted his spear and threw it with all his might at the great Dragon, but it just glanced off its horny skin. The Thorkhild threw his great spear, but that clattered to the deck without piercing the Sea Dragon. Then Sven the Strong stood up, raised his spear, and threw it with every ounce of strength he had, and the shaft went straight and true and entered the creature in the soft skin above its lip. For a moment the Sea Dragon drew back, but not for long, and its great jaws closed around the after-deck and Erik's men all ran back in their fear.

"We've had it now!" said Sven the Strong, but Erik pointed up in the air. And they all looked in amazement at the top of the mast. For there was Ragnar Forkbeard, clinging on by his legs, with a bolster in each hand.

The Sea Dragon took another great bite, and half the boat was between its fierce jaws, and its eyes were on a level with the mast-top and its nostrils were thrust into the sails. Whereupon Ragnar Forkbeard leapt onto its nose and gave a most tremendous shout that made everyone look up, and even the Dragon paused and tried to focus its eyes on the tiny figure on its nose. Then Ragnar Forkbeard took one bolster and plunged it into the Dragon's right nostril, and the second into its left nostril. The Dragon paused again. Then Ragnar Forkbeard took his good sword and plunged it into the two bolsters - one after the other - so that they openedup and all the feathers billowed into the air as the Dragon breathedout, and then as it breathed in again, all the feathers suddenly disappeared - sucked into its nostrils.

The Dragon paused, and its jaws went slack, and Ragnar Forkbeard jumped for his life just as the Dragon sneezed a most almighty sneeze, and the sails of the ship filled and the ship shot out of the Dragon's jaws and across the waters and on out of the mist, and over the sea it flew through the air as if it were a bird, not a ship, and at last landed with a great splash, miles and miles and miles away from the Dragon of the North Sea.

Erik's men cheered and threw their helmets in the air, and Ragnar Forkbeard climbed down, and after that no-one ever dared to say he had ever lost either his courage *or* his voice *or* his wits ever again.

Erik And The Dogfighters

While Erik and his men were staying at the palace of the old Enchanter and his daughter, an even stranger adventure happened.

One morning, they were hard at work on their ship, Golden Dragon, having almost finished repairing the great hole in the stern that the Sea Dragon had made, when they saw another ship far out to sea.

Erik strained his eyes and then said: "I have never seen a ship like that before."

Ragnar Forkbeard too peered into the distance and then said: "This is the strangest ship I ever saw!"

Thorkhild raised his hand to his eyes and said: "It has six sails and each sail is round like the sun. And how tall the masts are!"

The old Enchanter came to the shore, and when he saw the ship approaching he shook his head, and sighed a deep sigh. "I fear your word on Golden Dragon has been in vain. None of us shall live to see another sunrise."

Erik put his hand to his sword and so too did each of his men.

"Farewell, daughter," said the old Enchanter, "even I am not powerful enough to save you from this evil that now approaches." And tears came to the old man's eyes.

But Erik gripped his arm and said: "What is this strange ship that approaches? What foe does it bring that strikes such terror into your heart?"

The old Enchanter gazed at him and said: "I know this ship from the fearful past. I have seen it once before from another land. It brings death and destruction for it brings the Dogfighters to our peaceful shore."

Erik and his men looked out at the ship that was fast approaching, and they could see dark figures lining the deck and the glint of many swords.

"Whoever it brings," said Erik. "We shall defend this island to the last breath in our bodies."

But the old man shook his head. "How can you succeed where all have failed before?" And all the time the Dogfighters' ship drew nearer and nearer.

"Take your daughter to the great cave in the mountain, and we shall find you when the fight is done," said Erik.

But the old Enchanter shook his head. "You cannot fight the Dogfighters. Come with us, and perhaps we shall escape somehow..."

But Erik replied: "We shall never leave our ship, Golden Dragon, for it is certain such an enemy would steal or destroy it." And all the time the Dogfighters' ship drew nearer and nearer, and now the men on the shore could see the glint of steel helmets in the wintry northern sun.

"Come away, quickly, while there is still time!" cried the old Enchanter, but Erik and his men had drawn their swords and already they were taking up their battle stations.

The old Enchanter shook his head and turned to go, but Freya, his daughter, stood where she was and said: "Father, I will stay with these brave men and face this enemy. For I would rather die here and now on this shore than live in fear and shadow in the cave in the mountain."

The old man tried to speak, but no words came to his lips. But he held his daughter close to him, and then they both hid behind some rocks, as the Dogfighters' ship drew closer to the shore.

Erik and his men peered hard to make out their enemy, and now they could see that each of them did indeed wear a steel helmet and each helmet was shaped like a great dog's head!

"Are these men with the heads of dogs?" said Erik. "Or dogs with the bodies of men?" And secretly each of his companions felt sick with fear.

Ragnar Forkbeard turned to Erik and said: "How can we fight such creatures as these?" And Erik stared at the grey sea and said: "Even I fear it is hopeless."

And they watched as the dog-headed warriors began to leap out of their strange craft. Then Sven the Strong took Erik to one side and whispered to him: "Erik! Never have I felt such fear as I feel now." And Erik looked into his eyes and saw the fear there, and said: "Then it is indeed hopeless." And Erik threw his sword onto the stony beach and looked at his men, and they each one of them saw the fear in his eyes.

As the Dogfighters waded nearer, the companions saw that, though the waves were high, the dog-headed warriors stood there feet above the highest!

Then Ragnar Forkbeard also threw his sword onto the stony beach and said: "If Erik cannot fight these creatures, how can we? I too have never felt such fear." Then the shore rang to the clatter of swords as each of Erik's men threw his sword down onto the stony beach... all except for Sven the Strong, and he said: "What has happened to us? Many times in my life I have been afraid, yet it has not made me throw down my sword..."

And Erik and his men looked up and saw the dog-headed warriors wading through the boiling waters nearer and nearer to the shore and their eyes glittered in their helmets cold and hard. And then even Sven the Strong threw down his sword onto the stony beach saying, "... and yet, I know, even I cannot fight with such fear in my heart..."

But just then they heard another voice behind them, saying: "It is *not* fear that you feel!" And they turned, and there was the old Enchanter's daughter standing white and frail in the wintry northern sun, but her face was strong.

"I feel fear," said Erik to Freya. "Because I know that no-onehas ever faced these Dogfighters and lived..." and he sank to his knees as if a great weight were pressing down on him, and all the time the dog-headed warriors waded closer and closer.

"But you are wrong!" cried Freya. "Don't you remember there is one here who *has* faced them and lived!"

At this, Sven the Strong looked up, and Thorkhild looked up, and they said: "Who? Which one of us has ever faced these fearful creatures?" And Freya replied: "None of *you* have, but my father has!" And without another word Sven the Strong strode over to the old man and said: "Of course... If you know them from the fearful past as you say, you have met with them and lived. Tell us *how*!"

And the old Enchanter wept: "It is hopeless."

"Tell us what happened!" cried Sven the Strong, and he lifted the old man up in his hands as the Dogfighters reached the beach at last.

The old man looked into Sven's eyes: "Did I escape?" he asked.

"Of course you did!" cried Sven the Strong and he saw the fear flicker a moment in the old Enchanter's eyes.

"But they are here! The Dogfighters are upon us!" cried the old man. But Sven did not turn round. He did not see the first Dogfighter reach the first of Erik's men...

"But this is the second time!" cried Sven. "You escaped before! How? How?"

"How?" cried the old man, and he shut his eyes.

"It was not fear you felt," cried his daughter. "Don't you remember telling me - it was not fear you felt..."

"No..." said the old man, and the first of the Dogfighters struck the first of Erik's men to the white bone... there, where he knelt on the stony beach.

"It was not fear..." said the old Enchanter. "I remember now! It was the *fear* of fear... It was a spell the Dogfighters cast, for they themselves are cold cowards." And the old Enchanter opened his eyes, raised his arms, and for an instant the wintry northern sun turned black - no more than the blinking of an eye - and then Sven the Strong gave a great cry: "Erik! It is a trick!" he cried. "These Dogfighters would make us afraid of being afraid! We are often frightened, but we are not cowards!"

And before the words had left his lips, Erik's sword was back in his hand: "I am not afraid of fear!" he cried. "Fear is like an old friend who shouts by my side," and he raised his sword and struck the Dogfighter a mighty blow across the shoulders, and the steel helmet rang, and before the echo had died amongst the grey rocks every one of Erik's men - Thorkhlid and Ragnar Forkbeard and Sven the Strong and the rest - had taken up their swords off the stony beach. The battle against the Dogfighters had begun...

The battle was long and hard, but eventually the Dogfighters were defeated. They retreated to their strange ship and sailed away.

Erik mended the Golden Dragon and, after many other adventures, returned home laden with treasure. (If you want to know more about Erik's adventures, read the book The Saga Of Erik The Viking by Terry Jones.)

Loading

Tape: CHAIN"" (RETURN) Disc: Hold SHIFT and tap BREAK

To save your current game position so that you can turn the computer off, yet return later to the same stage in the game. To do this:

1. Insert a *spare* cassette in the cassette recorder.
2. Press the Record button on the cassette recorder, and after allowing for the cassette leader tape to pass the record head of the cassette recorder.
3. Type SAVE (RETURN)
4. When the position has been saved, you will see on the screen a note of where Erik is.
5. Stop the cassette recorder.

To load a saved game:

1. Insert the 'saved game' cassette in the cassette recorder and ensure that it is fully rewound.
2. Type RESTORE (RETURN)
3. Type YES (RETURN)

Game Credits

Game Design: Pete Austin
Programmed by: Pete Austin
Artist: Joan Lamb
Transport to your computer: Mike Austin
Adventure system: Mike Austin
Graphics system: Ian Buxton & Mike Austin
Other work by team at Level 9 Computing

Mosaic Publishing Limited, 187 Upper Street, London N1 1RQ