Land of the Mountain King
Land of the Mountain King | |
---|---|
◄Eamon adventure #276► | |
Author | Kenneth Pedersen |
Created | 2020 |
Released | February 2020 |
Native format | Adrift, C# (Eamon CS) |
File | Land of the Mountain King.blorb |
Land of the Mountain King is an Eamon adventure written by Kenneth Pedersen for use with the Eamon CS system and published in February 2020. At just 18 rooms and eight monsters it's among the shortest adventures.
Background
Author Kenneth Pedersen first built Land of the Mountain King in the ADRIFT authoring system and in 2017 entered it into the annual Interactive Fiction Competition; he later converted it to Eamon CS, officially completing it in February 2020. In the original version of the game, the adventurer is a Viking named Kral, but in the CS version the adventurer is whoever the player brought into the game from the Main Hall.
Premise
The game offers the following introduction:
You are walking in the woods looking for prey when you are suddenly shrouded in a cloud of white smoke. The smoke is too dense to see through, but eventually, the smoke clears and you find yourself on a barren plain.
As you turn around, you see an old witch stand before you. "Listen carefully!" the witch whispers with a hoarse voice.
"I have summoned you here to help me clear this land from the evil mountain king, who lives in his castle up north. The mountain king terrorizes this land and must die so that peace can be restored around here. If you succeed you will be significantly rewarded.
"You will meet various of his evil guardians on your quest, so take care. Unfortunately, I could not bring you here with your weapons, so you will have to make do with what you find around here.
"You may also find that your abilities have changed. But don't worry — once you return to Eamon everything will be as it used to.
"Good luck!"
With those words, the witch disappears in a puff of white smoke.
Walkthrough
You begin your mission alone on an open plain with no weapons or armor just as the witch said, so gathering new gear is the top priority. Scattered around the area are all the pieces you need to succeed, but it's important to gather them in the right order, starting with the easiest opponents and working upward. Some enemies are quite strong and encountering them before you've sufficiently armed and armored yourself is likely to lead to a quick defeat! Even following the optimal path you may die multiple times, so be sure the save your progress each time you successfully complete a step. Fortunately your health returns to full after the successful conclusion of each encounter.
Preparations
From the plain you're free to move in all eight directions: north (to a bridge), northeast (to a tree), east (to a cottage), southeast (to a beach), south (to a lighthouse), southwest (to a cave), west (to a swamp), and northwest (to a forest).
- Pick up and ready the branch — it's your only weapon for now.
- Go east to a small cottage where a mysterious woman named Lisa is waiting for you. She needs your help finding her missing friend Damian and is happy to tell you what she knows about the area. Use
say subject
to prompt her to talk about different subjects. - Return to the plain and go southwest to find the entrance to a cave. After you defeat the giant bat you'll be free to enter the cavern, but it's too dark too see inside.
- Head east to the lighthouse, go inside, and climb to the top where you'll find a large lamp. Examine it to discover it can be operated with a button.
Use
the button to turn the lamp in 45-degree increments until it's facing west toward the cave. - Return to the cave (which is now illuminated) and retrieve a dagger stored inside a bin.
- Next go to the beach east of the lighthouse and step south into the water. A giant squid will appear; defeat it and pick up its shield.
- Next go west to the swamp and do battle with the monster there. Take the handle protruding from the mud to find a valuable silver sword. Ready it.
- Go north to the forest. The werewolf is resistant to damage from regular weapons, but the silver sword will dispatch him easily and in death he'll return to his human form.
Examine
his body to retrieve a necklace. - Return to the cottage and
give necklace to Lisa
, who recognizes it as Damian's. Though sad to learn of his fate, she thanks you for ending his misery and rewards you with an increase to your hardiness. - Finally, visit the tall oak tree northeast of the plain. Examine it to find steps leading up to a platform where a fighting champion awaits. Defeated, he'll fall from the platform and you can take his plate armor to wear.
Defeating the King
At last you're buffed, armed, armored, and ready to take on the mission the witch gave you.
- Go to the bridge north of the plain and fight the ogre guarding it.
- Past the bridge is the castle garden where you can gather berries.
- Ascend into the castle hall and do battle with the Mountain King; eat the berries if you need a boost to your health.
After you defeat the king the witch will appear and thank you for freeing the land from the tyrant. As a reward, she makes you the new king and you enjoy a long and benevolent reign. Upon your deathbed the witch appears in a vision, telling you that she'll return you to your former life on Eamon, along with a diamond as a token of gratitude.
Location
Since the adventurer is magically transported to and from the Mountain King's domain, its physical location is unknown. The witch's comment about things returning to normal "once you return to Eamon" suggests that the adventure may take place in another world.
Trivia
- "In the Hall of the Mountain King" is the name of a musical composition written in 1875 by Edvard Grieg for the play Peer Gynt.
- The idea of using silver to kill a werewolf originated relatively recently in 20th century folklore.
External links
- The Interactive Fiction Database: Land of the Mountain King
- Interactive Fiction Reviews: Land of the Mountain King
- Adrift: Land of the Mountain King