From TES issue 69 (May 2011)
Series 6
Quest: The Crown.
Dungeoneer: Matt. Advisors: Razer, Ben and John.
Home town: Bath.
Team score: 5½ out of 10.

What a posing, preening cock-of-the-walk Matt was, and what an annoying first dungeoneer of series 6 he made!
Level One: Matt becomes the first dungeoneer to step on the symbol of his quest in the Hall of Choice and take a stroll through a new-look dwarf tunnel, before he arrives at the small settlement of Holmgarth and enters the iron-age roundhouse, where a clue table awaits him. A lengthy spyglass sequence reveals the impressive scale of Lord Fear’s spacious new Mount Fear home, as well as the fact that one of Skarkill’s legs has been injured during an encounter with Tiny the hobgoblin. After concluding his conversation with Skarkill, Lord Fear shows off his new toy – Dreadnort – and (very unusually) freezes Matt where he stands. The team casts a spell called ESCAPE, which they have just gained from the clue scroll, and Matt picks up a bar of gold and a crossbow bolt before leaving the dwelling.
In Wolfenden High Street, Matt buys a dragon mint (as well as the password for level one) from Ah Wok, rejecting Julius Scaramonger’s offer of an invisible (a.k.a. non-existent) sword. A brief encounter with a blocker and a haphazard stumble across a causeway lead to the metal gate at the end of level one, and Ridolfo is on hand to open it with the right key – in this case, a musical key, naturally! In return for this favour, Ridolfo asks Matt to tell him some news he can distribute around the Dungeon, and the details of the Dreadnort go down fairly well. Matt then becomes the first dungeoneer to converse with Smirkenorff, who is clearly not impressed with Matt’s overconfident manner, but flies him to level two in exchange for the dragon mint nonetheless: ”Dragon mint, eh? Most… acceptable.” – Smirkenorff.
Level Two: A choice of clue objects awaits in an open courtyard, where Matt equips himself with a firestone and a bottle of Moondust. He then goes on to meet Motley and Sidriss, who are trying to invoke a brownie, but Sidriss’s magic is proving as erratic as ever. When a pooka appears by mistake, Matt donates his Moondust to help Motley get rid of the unfriendly creature, and Sidriss rewards him with the spell SAMUARI, which she is sure will work properly because it’s one of Hordriss’s. A spyglass awaits Matt on a bench in the next room, through which Lord Fear can be seen negotiating the terms of his proposed treaty with Greystagg. He sends his hand into the quest [SEE: giant hand] to chase Matt out of the room.
Matt is then accosted by Sylvester Hands, who quickly ties him up with his magic rope. The SAMUARI spell is cast and the spectral Japanese warrior appears, cowing Hands immediately. The team agrees to cancel the spell if Hands will help them, so he tells them the password for level two, and gives Matt a necklace of witch amber in exchange for the firestone. The password is required at once, as Dreadnort turns up… a bit of an anticlimax after all that build-up, finding out he’s just a glorified blocker! The witch amber is then used to gain the favour of Heggatty, who has been having a few problems flying her broomstick. She transports Matt up to a high door, which is decorated with the symbol of the Crown, and he emerges onto another causeway. Here, at last, the advisors’ guiding skills desert them, and Matt’s loping swaggers carry him over the edge, to his doom.
Summary: Despite Matt’s annoying, cocksure style, this team didn’t do badly at all, but their slightly erratic guidance (coupled with Matt’s haphazard swaggering) did for them in the end.

[Previous team: Team 9 of Series 5
Next team: Team 2 of Series 6]

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