From TES issue 40 (July 2006)
Series 6.
Quest: The Crown.
Dungeoneer: Ben Waite. Advisors: James, Alan and Nat.
Home town: Salisbury, Wiltshire.
Team score: 10 out of 10.

The winning quest from series 6 contains many classic scenes, some of them funny, some of them ludicrous, and many of them, particularly towards the end of the adventure, very exciting and nail-bitingly tense.
Level One: After choosing the Crown in the Hall of Choice, Ben travels through a dwarf tunnel to Dungarth, which, as Treguard and Pickle go to great lengths to remind us, has not been seen since series 4. Here Ben makes use of a spyglass, through which Lord Fear and Skarkill can be seen. Their conversation reveals that Fear wants a red dragon, and Skarkill is the unlucky underling who has been tasked with acquiring one. Lord Fear also has a conversation with Sylvester Hands in his magic pool. Hands informs his master that their plan to make Sidriss fall in love with the insanitary thief is going swimmingly, to which Lord Fear replies that the causeway code will now be impossible for anyone to learn, as only Sidriss knows it. After the spyglass sequence has finished, Ben moves on to a clue room, where he picks up a bar of gold and a horn. He is chased out by a pooka. Ben next arrives in Wolfenden, where Julius Scaramonger and Ah Wok are in direct competition with each other. Scaramonger's attempts to sell Ben the password for level one earn him no reward, but Ah Wok manages to make a sale in the form of a true sight potion. Ben next meets Ridolfo, who is on the lookout for news. Ben informs the troubadour that Lord Fear wants a red dragon, and that "Sidriss is under a potion to make her love Hands Sly." - Ben. In return for this juicy snippet of information ("Scandal, I love it!" - Ridolfo) Ridolfo reveals the password - breastplate. This is utilized outside the roundhouse at [Holmgarth], where Dreadnort is on guard. Next, in a forest clearing, Ben finally meets Sidriss. He persuades her to drink the true sight potion, saying that it is a present from Hands: "It's this potion, it'll make you fall even more in love with him." - Ben. Sylvester Hands soon turns up and ties Ben up with his magic rope, but Sidriss returns to her senses (such as they are) and scares Hands off, before untying Ben and telling him the causeway code - 6, 4, 7, 3, 0. When the causeway has been crossed, Ben reaches Smirkenorff. The dragon is feeling unusually generous, and transports Ben to level two free of charge.
Level Two: Ben picks up a ring, as well as a pooka in a bottle, in the clue room. A spyglass sequence reveals Lord Fear instructing Skarkill to keep a firm hand on the key to level three under any circumstances. During this sequence, it becomes clear that Mount Fear has become home to the bad-tempered dragon Red Death, which can be heard growling and snarling off-screen, in very much the same vein as Festus in series 3. Ben travels through some dwarf tunnels to Witch Haven, where he has to avoid Peggatty's fireballs. A meeting with Queen Greystagg follows, during which Ben agrees to part with the ring in return for information about how to use the trapped pooka effectively. The advisors are wary of Greystagg at first, and she has a job persuading them to give her the ring: "I like the ring, and if you give it to me I will help you; you will just have to believe me." - Greystagg. Once the deal is done, Greystagg reveals that the pooka's name is Puck, and that this knowledge will give Ben the power to command it.
In the next chamber, Ben finds a scroll that tells him to take the odd path on the causeway, before Skarkill and two goblins arrive. Ben releases Puck from his bottle, and scares Skarkill into handing over the key. After he has done this, the goblin master beats a hasty retreat, relentlessly pursued by the pooka. Once Ben has crossed the causeway, he encounters a locked metal door. The key opens this, revealing the Descender. A short journey in the device is completed, and Ben has reached the third level.
Level Three: In a stone clue chamber, Ben picks up a bar of gold and a mace. He looks through another spyglass, to reveal Lord Fear and Skarkill having an argument about wages. Fear is angered by Skarkill's request for more money, and remarks that Ben will never survive in level three thanks to the Great Causeway. Ben next finds himself aboard the Cloudwalker, where he pays the bar of gold to Captain Nemanor in return for passage on his ship. When Nemanor learns of Ben's quest, he offers to deliver the dungeoneer to the Mines of Gore, where both Mount Fear and the Crown are to be found. In return for this service, Ben is tasked with retrieving Nemanor's lost astrolabe from Ariadne's new lair. Through the dwarf tunnel once again, Ben reaches the spider's chamber, which has the customary web spanning the ceiling. On a lectern-style bench, Nemanor's astrolabe and a scroll are waiting. The scroll reveals the first two numbers of the combination for the Great Causeway (2 and 3) before Ariadne scuttles into the picture, prompting Pickle to panic uncontrollably as usual. Ben grabs the astrolabe and is hastily directed to the exit, with Ariadne looming menacingly behind him at every step.
The dwarf tunnels lead back to the Cloudwalker, where Captain Nemanor is delighted to receive his astrolabe. He spellcasts WIND to take the ship to the Mines of Gore, where a scroll is sitting on a rock. The scroll reads TRICK OR TREAT. Treguard explains that both of these are spells, and the team must choose one to cast. This is a life or death decision, and one which must be made. The team opt for TRICK in the end, which summons Hordriss to them. He is very annoyed to have been summoned without permission, and he demands to be returned at once. In exchange for dispelling TRICK, Ben demands some kind of reward: "Hordriss, you're at my mercy!" - Ben. Hordriss grudgingly parts with a spell called SPLASH.
Tense moments follow on the Great Causeway, where the team have to work out the rest of the number combination (4, 5, 4) which they do in the nick of time, and then spell out FIND on a second part of the causeway, before spelling out PATH on the third section, which finally takes them to the exit. They arrive in the final chamber, where the Crown is in plain sight, but Lord Fear arrives to put a spanner in the works. Fear makes it clear that he will fry Ben with a fireball if any attempt to take the Crown is made, but the team soon put him in his place by casting SPLASH, which traps Fear within the enchanted waters of his own communications pool. Ben is then able to pick up the Crown, complete a mad dash through the dwarf tunnels, and arrive back in the Great Hall of Knightmare just as his life force runs out, making for a satisfying and exciting finish. Hordriss appears on the telescreen to award the frightknight trophy, before Treguard sends the team home: "You're going home now; I hope you won't find it a trifle dull!" - Treguard.
Summary: A competent team who deserved to win, and did so in style.

[Previous team: Team 4 of Series 6
Next team: Team 6 of Series 6]

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