From TES issue 15 (May 2002)
Series 5.
Quest: The Crown in Glory.
Dungeoneer: Chris Newham. (Chris III.)Advisors: Paul, Keith and Kieran.

Home town: London.
Team score: 4 out of 10.
 
This quest is a classic because of the nature of its bungled end. Just read on and you'll see what I mean.
  Level One: The quest begins with a ride in the Descender, which leads Chris to The Crazed Heifer. Here, Motley sits him down at a table and gives him a scroll. For some reason, Chris finds it impossible to read, so his advisors read it out to him when it unrolls on the screen.
After this, Motley leads Chris out of the inn and into a clue room. The jester shows the dungeoneer how to use the spyglass that is on the table. Through it the team see Lord Fear talking to Sylvester Hands in his crystal ball. Through their conversation, the team learn the causeway code - fire, earth and water - and that the name of the "elf maid" is Elita.
  After the sequence ends, Motley scurries off back to the Crazed Heifer, leaving the team to choose from a bone, a jar of honey and a red gem. After much deliberation, they take the gem and the honey. Chris next finds himself in a room containing a large chest. When he opens it, Elita pops out and starts being rude to him. She refuses to give her name, as she hates people knowing it, but the team are quick to tell her that they know it already. In return for a promise not to ever call her, Elita tells Chris the password - black rock.
 
Further challenges see Chris being accosted by Skarkill, who takes both the gem and the honey as a bribe. A swarm of bees appears when he opens the honey, forcing him to beat a hasty retreat. The team are able to use the code they learned earlier to cross the causeway, and pass the blocker by giving the password. The final challenge of the level is a set of three questions about the Crusades, set by Brother Mace as a toll to ride Smirkenorff. The team answer all three correctly, so the monk is happy to escort Chris up Smirkenorff's back and into the saddle. A quick flight follows, and Chris has landed in level two.
 
Level Two: Elita meets Chris on Smirkenorff's back and tells him that he has to get back to her and Smirkenorff if he wants to get to level three, but that the price will be a firestone. She says that Aesandre has frozen one in a block of ice somewhere on the level, and Chris will have to find some magic to free it.

In the clue room, Chris looks through another spyglass to see Lord Fear asking Aesandre whether she has set the trap for Chris as they had previously agreed. Aesandre reminds Fear that she is not one of "his creatures" and does not take orders, but affirms that she has set the trap. Fear tells her the causeway code - red, blue, green and grey. From the clue table, the team choose a feather and a bag of silver, leaving behind a green gem and a folderol [bauble].
A meeting with Julius Scaramonger follows. Chris persuades him to part with some magic, though he is very reluctant. Julius offers a choice between the spells CHANGE and SWITCH in return for the silver. The team decide to opt for CHANGE.
The next chamber contains the frozen firestone that Elita spoke of. Hoping to change the ice into water, the team cast their spell, which does a rather surprising thing. It turns Chris into a goblin, much to the distress of the advisors. Treguard explains that they have walked into a trap, and suggests that they might like to try dispelling. Chris, however, does not like this idea; he wants to remain a goblin "in case we need it la'er on." They are forced to abandon the firestone and move on.
  Brother Mace is in the next room, and immediately fetches a large staff with which to kill Chris, whom he assumes to be a real goblin. An attempt to dispel CHANGE does not work [SEE: cast locked], so Chris has to convince Mace that he is really a dungeoneer with a spell on him. Eventually the monk recognises Chris, and thinks about how to help him. He explains that, because the matter is so serious, Chris's only hope is to find someone who takes nothing seriously. Mace tells Chris that he knows a spell that could help them find Motley, which requires something of the jester's to cast it. Alas, the team did not take the folderol! Mace is forced to bid a regrettable farewell to Chris.
The next room contains a blocker, which demands the password. The only thing the team can do is instruct Chris to recite the causeway code, which - unsurprisingly - does no good. The blocker shoots forwards and swallows Chris, bringing an end to this bungled quest. Treguard explains that Motley would have given them the password, if only they could have found him.
 
Summary: They weren't particularly good or particularly bad, but particularly unlucky to turn their dungeoneer into a goblin!

[Previous team: Team 6 of Series 5
Next team: Team 8 of Series 5]

login to vote