The only clue object in Knightmare to be carried across more than one level of a quest.
Every Series 4 team was given an errand to run (or 'side quest') by a person of magical background on Level 1. That of Team 6 of Series 4 was assigned by Hordriss, who gave dungeoneer Dickon an unmarked bottle of green liquid which he wanted Brother Mace to drink. Carrying the potion meant that the team did not have to worry about choosing two clue objects on either Level 1 or Level 2, which arguably reduced the challenge of their quest.

Upon encountering Mace in Dunkley Wood, the team sought to persuade him to drink the potion, referring to it as "fifty-year-old Etruscan brandy", as per Hordriss' instruction. The self-styled tavern monk, although keen on alcohol, was cautious, until Dickon assured him that Etruscan brandy of that age was always green. Mace drank the potion, choked a little, and transformed into a giant lizard. This satisfied whatever score Hordriss had wanted to settle with the monk, and he duly rewarded Dickon with spells on their next meeting.

On his final appearance, which was in the quest of Team 7 of Series 5, Brother Mace revealed that the potion took a while to wear off - indeed, it wasn't until Team 8 of Series 4's quest that Watchers had seen Mace back in human form - preventing him from reentering his monastery. He also said that even after he regained his original shape, he continued to shed his skin for a time. He mentioned all this because he had been confronted by a dungeoneer who'd been changed into a goblin.

The Etruscans were an ancient Italian people from Etruria (modern Tuscany), whose heyday is thought to have been around 500 B.C. Famed for their skilled metalwork, it is unknown whether the Etruscans really did make brandy.

[Previous version: 2009-11-21 19:12:34]

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