From TES issue 66 (November 2010)
Series 2
Quest: The Chalice.
Dungeoneer: Karen Swanson.
Advisors: Angela, Pamela and Nicola.

Home town: Denholm, Dumfries and Galloway.
Team score: 6 out of 10.

Only the second ever all-girl team, they were only brought in to fill up the last episode-and-a-bit of the series with some suitably interesting Knightmare moments, thus being denied their chance to win, yet they made a pretty good stab at what they were given!
Level One: The Wheel of Fate takes Karen to the kitchen (in the most obviously fixed pull of the lever ever, as the other two rooms are only ever found on level two!) where she meets Gretel. The maid is undergoing a so-called beauty treatment (which is actually the result of a practical joke by Mildread) and after Karen shares some of her own so-called beauty tips, Gretel reveals that it is Back-to-Front Day in the Dungeon, which basically means that Treguard will be saying some amusing yet erroneous things until they reach the clue room. Sure enough, Treguard encourages the team to make friends with a giant spider and a coiled snake, before advising them to ignore the “poisonous” food in the clue room.
As a result of this highly amusing setup, the advisors no longer trust Treguard and fail to call out “I command you” when he tells them to, as they earn a perfect score with Granitas. Undoubtedly it is then explained to them (during the filming break) that they can start trusting Treguard again because they have learned the object of their quest, signifying that Back-to-Front Day is over. Despite the lack of an extra clue, however, they pick up the only object they need to complete the level – a bottle of old toenails. The Corridor of the Catacombs follows, where the Automatum goes in for the attack, and a hasty exit is called for. Karen next arrives on the ledge that usually houses the Troll, but this time Mildread is present instead, practising her broomstick flying – the addition of the L-plate is a very nice touch!
Apparently Mildread is experiencing some difficulty, but Karen has just what she needs to bring the witch down safely – a bottle of old toenails! Following Mildread’s instructions, Karen holds up the toenails and recites a quick incantation, bringing Mildread safely down to earth. For once Mildread is unambiguously grateful, and rewards the team with the spell RUST – the only spell she actually ever gives out! This comes in handy in the wellway room, where the Automatum appears and firmly bars Karen’s path. The advisors are quite slow to react here (”Cast the spell on ‘im or summan’!” – Karen) but the RUST spell puts the Automatum firmly out of commission (as we are treated to a great prat-fall from Edmund Dehn) possibly forever, as it is doubtful that anyone ever bothered mending him. Karen climbs into the wellway and falls into level two…
Level Two: …right onto Bumptious’s dynamite plunger, blowing a hole in the wall and stunning the dwarf in the explosion! Gretel quickly arrives to administer first aid, and Bumptious (as soon as he’s recovered) starts trial proceedings to assess Karen’s suitability to handle explosives. With two out of three explosive-related questions answered correctly, Bumptious is pleased with the team and awards them the spell FLIGHT. This is used in the Bridged Vale, as the middle of the bridge is missing and a flight across the gap is required.
A quick trip across the Mills of Doom (where a cavern wraith is lurking) leads to the clue room, where Karen does a very funny stumble down the stairs. She has a quick conversation with Casper before picking him up (along with a lantern) and the quest season comes to an end in the next chamber, which turns out to be Merlin’s level three room with the Wall of Jericho. What a strange place to put this room in – perhaps they had a vague idea at the time that every series would end here, but it didn’t turn out that way in the end!

Summary: A competent and entertaining quest – what a shame they were always destined to leave undefeated!

[Previous team: Team 12 of Series 2
Next team: Team 1 of Series 3]

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