CASTLE BLACKSTAR
----------------

You must begin by mapping out the forest maze, which only has six
locations and which can be mapped br dropping objects in each location
in turn and working out how they all connect together. It's a tedious
beginning to what turns out to be en excellent adventure that's not
half as well-known as it ought to be.

In the forest there are three special locations to look out for:
the clearing to the witch's cottage, the grate over the castle exit
and the temple where the treasures must be taken. In the cottage
you'll find the broomstick and the gingerbread. If you hang about for
too long then the witch will arrive and turn you into a worm, which
isn't much fun for you and also deprives you of the broomstick and
gingerbread (well, where would you put them?) Being a worm only lasts
for a while, although there's always the chance that you might get
eaten by a bird.
  
To open the drawbridge FIRE ARROW from the castle front.
To climb the portcullis just type CLIMB or UP.
  
To take the iron bar out of the furnace, wear the gloves that are
to be found in the aviary. The bar will cool after about 90 moves, or
by being dropped in a location which has water in it.

To deal with the eagles guarding the eggs in the aviary you need
to be carrying the violin and the bow, and then PLAY VIOLIN.

To get the violin you must first TURN WHEEL in the store room,
which lowers the chandelier in the dining hall. Then take the rope
from the store room, climb the chandelier, jump to the gallery, and to
get down again just drop or tie the rope and go down.

The lamp is in the stables in the centre of the courtyard, and
the oil with which to fill it is at the bottom of the well that's at
the base of the south tower.

The dungeons in Castle Blackstar have four entrances. One is down
the well, and that way is blocked by an iron door which can be opened
with the keys found in the wine cellar. Another way in is by moving
the bale in the stables and revealing a hole. You can also go down the
ditch in the north-east corner of the courtyard, or by going through
the mirrors in the north and south tower rooms: SAY FRIEND and then
ENTER.
  
The gold ring in the north tower cannot be removed via the
staircase as you will always be killed by the wraiths. You must go
instead through the mirror and down to the banks of the flaming lake,
cross the lake in the boat and then up and out through the mirror in
the south tower.

When you've got the ring you can uear it and make yourself
invisible to any creature beginning with the letter 'D', as hinted at
in the rlng's description: dwarves, dragons, dralon sofas...

You must wear the ring in order to get the gold nugget from the
dwarves working at New Face. If you go there and you're ringless a
dwarf will take the gold to the duel room and if you enter the duel
room the gold will be taken back to New Fece. This goes on forever,
unless you wear the ring to render yourself invisible and enable you
to sneak up on the dwarves.
  
The dynamite is on the island in the middle of the flaming lake
(pardon my language). It will automatically explode should you try to
pess through the flames uith it, so to prevent this you must POUR
LIQUID on it while holding both the bottle and the dynamite. The
liquid is heat-resistant so the dynamite can be set off by you but
will not be ignited by the heat from the flames.

To keep the boat afloat while on the lake you must BAIL BOAT at
every landing. The boat will also enable you to reach the cave which
contains a source of oil that never runs out, unllke the oil in the
well which has a limited life.

To get the diamond from the statue, move it to the other end of
the room then PUSH STATUE, leave the room and press the button uith
the warning beneath it. This opens the trapdoor and you can then find
the diamond and the remains of the statue in the tall room beneath the
trapdoor.

To get the suord out of the stone you must PULL SWORD whilst also
wearing the crown and the sceptre.

To deal with the invlsible hand which pushes you back down the
narrow corridor you should render it visible by throwing flour at it.

To get the vase out of the split room you must drop the iron bar
down the crack in the crevice cave. This falls into the split room and
uedges the sliding walls. The bar can't be taken through the normal
entrance to the spllt room as it won't fit.

Before going into the chapel you should get the scroll from the
dusty study. In the chapel you must immediately enter the pentacle to
protect you from the Angel of Death. There you should READ SCROLL.

The stairs in the duel room lead up to the dual room, from where
you can reach the room with the star indentation, the hydra pit and
the warm pit which leads to the dragon and throne rooms.

To kill the hydra, throw the gingerbread at it. The gingerbread
is in the witch's cottage near the start of the game. The various
hydra heads will quarrel over the gingerbread and you can kill the
remaining head with a weapon of some kind uhen you enter the pit.

The troll on the bridge can be passed in tuo ways, though only
one helps you get the maximum score. You can get past by giving him
something of value, which loses you the value of the somethlng, and
the better solution is to wave the staff from the lake, which turns
him to stone.
  
Beyond the troll you find the star-shaped gem which you must take
to the star-shaped hole off the dual room and insert it to activate
the entrance button to the hexagon room.

To get through the M-room you must take a route in the shape of
the letter M. From the western entrence go N, N, N, N, SE, S, E, N,
NE, S, S, S, S. Thls takes you to the eastern entrance, and obviously
reverse the route to go the other uay. If you get it wrong then you
will be returned to the place you came in, and your lamp wlll end up
at the other entrance. The room itself is actually made up of a simple
four-by-four grid of locations. As well as the name itself there's a
clue to the room and the route if you examine the painting in the
gallery.

You can use the broomstick to fly with if you take it to the
clearing or to the top of the south touer and SAY ABRACADABRA. If you
examine the plaque on the side of the broomstick this gives you a
clue. You can fly for six moves above some of the features of the
landscape, such as the clearing, plus two locations that are higher up
in the air and called 'Between Heaven and Earth' and 'Touching the
Stars'.

At the top of the south tower is a golden weather vane, and you
can take this by flying, though you can also get at it by taking
another route from the secret passage behind the mirror in the south
tower. Use the command PUSH ROOF to push the low roof and open up
another route.

You can fly to the 'Touching the Stars' location on the
broomstick, taking the orb with you, and by saying TOUCH STARS you
open up a passage to enter Artemis's lair.

When you encounter the dragon don't kill it from the direction
of the warm pit as its body will then block the way into and out of
the area where the orb is to be found. Instead you should kill it on
your way out of the orb area by dropping the vial, to put it to sleep,
and then killing it with whatever weapon you have with you.

When you INSERT GEM into the star-shaped indentation, pressing
the star button then takes you to the hexagon room which leads to the
orb area. To get through the hexagon room, clues are contained within
the room itself, the route being S, NW, E, SW.

The orb is also in a small maze, and is down the windy passage,
where the wind will blow out your lamp. To get rid of the wind you
must have closed the hatch in the ditch in the courtyard, where a sign
says that it must remain open (uindy). You must open the hatch again
once you've got the orb, or you lose a point from your score at the
end of the game. Once you've taken the orb all the castle entrances
will close except tor the grate.

Underneath the throne, if you PUSH THRONE, is a secret passage
that leads to the bricked-up wall where you must use the dynamite to
blow open a route connecting the orb area to the rest of the Castle
Blackstar dungeons.

If you use the keys to unlock a cell door in the cell block you
will find a cell in which pulling the torch in its holder opens up a
secret dooruay down and out of the castle to the grate. This is the
route you must take once you have got hold of the orb.

Having taken all treasures to the temple in the forest, pray at
the alter there and you wlll see a vision which gives you a clue to
the final location of Artemis.

If you WISH when you've dropped a coin down the well you will be
taken automatically to the temple location.

Once you've got the orb and have put all the treasures in the
temple, in order to complete the game you must then fly to the
'Touchlng the Stars' location, say TOUCH STARS, enter the passage and
pass through the small punctuation maze, SAY FRIEND to open the lift,
switch the lift on with the button in the electrical room, then after
the lift has gone up SAY FRIEND again, to open the doors. You then meet
Artemis and the game finishes.

The maximum score of 250 points is a combination of finding
treasures, depositing them at the temple, performing various actions
throughout the game (some of which aren't essential so you can finish 
with a lower score) and returning the orb to Artemis.

Typed by Ian (phian@btinternet.com) solved by Mike Gerrard.

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