In this old-school adventure game, you play as Bash the Barbarian. You have been ordered by the evil Queen Drana to obtain the Dragon Diamond which is somewhere in the Forest of Fear.
This solution is by David Welbourn, and is based on Release 1 (Inform port) of the game.
SPOILERS AHEAD. Reading a walkthrough prematurely can sometimes diminish one's enjoyment of an interactive fiction game. Please make an honest effort to play the game before reading this walkthrough.
Your hands are now protected by mud. This status change isn't mentioned either in your your description or in your inventory.
> e.
Glade
> take axe.(+1)
> e. n.
Southern Lake Shore
> x lake. s. s.
Outskirts
> take body. n. n.
Southern Lake Shore
> give body to crocodiles. swim.(+8)
Northern Lake Shore
> x canoe. x paddle. n.
Edge of Volcano
> x birch. x volcano.
> chop birch. d.(+8)
Ledge
> s.
Small Cave
> x dwarf. x torches. x furniture.
> talk to dwarf. x ring.
> n. u. s.
Northern Lake Shore
> enter canoe. paddle.
Southern Lake Shore
> s. e.
Dense Forest
> x string. x tree. n.
By Large Tree
> x basket. x blade. take it.
> attach blade to branch.(+5)
> x platform. x tree.
> look under basket. tie rope to hook.
> s.
Dense Forest
> pull string. tie string to tree. n.
By Large Tree
> climb rope —or— wear ring.(+8)
Platform
> untie rope.
> x cottage. in.
Cottage
> x window. x trapdoor. open trapdoor. d.
On a Lawn
> x flowers. x trapdoor.
> sw.
Bamboo Hut
> x chair. x table. x bed.
> look under bed.(+8; found spear)
> x spear. ne. s.
Little Wood
> x archer. x footprints.
> throw spear at archer.(+8)
> s.
Clearing
> x twigs. take twigs.
> n. n. e.
West Bank of Quicksand
> x pool. s.
South End of West Bank
> throw rope at branch.(+8)
> jump onto rope.
East Bank of Quicksand
> e. e.
Beach
You're digging a hole to hide in later. You won't unearth anything.
> dig.(+8; using the spade)
> w. se.
By the Devil Mountain
> x den. s.(You don't dare.)
> x mountain. u.(Too steep and slippery.)
> wear ring.(+8)
Top of Devil Mountain
> x chimney. put twigs in chimney.(+8)
> wear ring. nw. e. d.
Down in a Hole / Dark Hole
> z. z.(+8. The dragon lies down over you!)
> kill dragon.(+8)
*** Congratulations! You have completed The Dragon Diamond!!! ***
Extras
Characters
Bash the Barbarian is the player-character and is deeply in debt to the evil queen Drana.
Leon is another warrior and the queen's chauffeur. He dares you to fight him if you want his rope.
A black horse drew the carriage that brought you and Leon to the outskirts of the forest. The horse will also take you back home once you have the Diamond.
Some hungry crocodiles are swimming in the lake.
A dwarf named Toke has a humble home in a small cave. Talk to him to get some needed information and a magical ring.
An archer is high up in a tree in Little Wood. He's aiming at you, so watch out!
A dragon lurks inside Devil Mountain, and his only eye is the Dragon Diamond you want.
Mentioned:
Queen Drana ordered you to return with the Dragon Diamond. The penalty for failure is death.
Credits
From the first menu item accessed via the ABOUT command:
Introduction to The Dragon Diamond
Dragon Diamond was written by Kenneth Pedersen, originally on c64, then ported to ADRIFT and INFORM. Thanks must go to the one who created INFORM, Graham Nelson and to Emily Short for the extensions "Basic Screen Effects", "Menus" and "Basic Help Menu".
Endings
The End
if the dragon finds you after it emerges from the mountain.
if when in Dark Hole, you wait too long to kill the dragon.
Congratulations! You have completed The Dragon Diamond!!!
if you kill the dragon.
I note that, with the exception of the endgame with the dragon, it doesn't seem possible to put the game into an unwinnable situation. Although jumping out of the cottage's window when the canoe is on the south shore of the crocodile's lake ought to do it, the game is clever enough to stop you from jumping when the canoe is on the south shore.
Inventory
a long sword. You're carrying it. You cannot drop it.
You'll use it when fighting (and killing) Leon.
You'll also use it to kill the dragon, but when underneath it!
a long rope. In Outskirts, Leon is carrying it.
Try to take the rope. Leon will tell you to fight him if you want it.
Fight Leon. You'll kill him, and his headless body and his rope will now be available for the taking.
By Large Tree, tie the rope to the hook that's on the underside of the basket.
When the basket is raised (see string), you can climb the rope up to Platform.
At Platform, untie the rope to regain it.
At South End of West Bank, throw the rope at the branch that's over the middle of the quicksand pool. The rope catches and now dangles over the quicksand.
Jump onto the rope to swing over the quicksand pool from either side.
a muddy branch. It's in the Muddy Plain; examine the mud to notice it.
a sharp axe. It's under a bush with poisonous thorns in the Glade; examine the bush to find the axe.
If you have muddy hands, you can safely take the axe.
At the Edge of Volcano, chop the birch to give yourself a way down to the ledge below.
a body of Leon. Leon is in Outskirts. After you fight him, his body is there for the taking.
At the Southern Lake Shore, give the body to the crocodiles. While the crocodiles are busy eating the body, you have a chance to swim across the lake. However, when you get to the other side, the crocodiles will be hungry again, and you'll need to use the canoe to cross the lake from now on.
a magical ring. Simply talk to the dwarf in the Small Cave to get it.
Wear the ring to levitate up (or down) a short distance. You'll take it off automatically at your destination.
Wear the ring at Ledge to reach Edge of Volcano (or vice-versa).
Wear the ring at By Large Tree to reach Platform (or vice-versa).
Wear the ring at By the Devil Mountain to reach Top of Devil Mountain (or vice-versa).
a blade of a spade. It's in the basket at By Large Tree.
a handy spade. Create it by attaching the blade to the branch.
At Beach, dig with the spade to create a hole that you can hide in later.
a dangling string. It's at Dense Forest.
Examine the string to note that the string is magically uncuttable.
Pull the string to acquire the end of it and raise the basket. Tie the string to a nearby tree so the basket stays raises when you leave the string behind.
a long spear. It's under the bed in the Bamboo Hut.
In the Little Wood, throw the spear at the archer. He falls from his tree, and now you can continue south.
a pile of twigs. They're in the Clearing.
At Top of Devil Mountain, put the twigs in the chimney to block the smoke coming out. This will soon flush out the dragon, and you need to be hiding in the hole you dug before he emerges.
Honorable mention:
muddy hands. In the Muddy Plain, dip your hands in the mud to get a layer of protective mud on your hands. This is not mentioned in your inventory.
In the Glade, if you have muddy hands, you can safely take the axe from the bush with the poisonous thorns.
Score
The response to SCORE is:
You have so far scored your-score out of a possible 101, in several turns, earning you the rank of ranking.
Points are awarded as follows:
7 points for killing Leon.
1 point for obtaining the axe.
8 points for getting across the lake.
8 points for reaching the ledge inside the volcano.
5 points for making a spade.
8 points for reaching the platform.
8 points for obtaining the spear.
8 points for killing the archer.
8 points for throwing the rope at the branch that's over the quicksand pool.
8 points for digging a hole on the beach.
8 points for reaching the top of Devil Mountain.
8 points for blocking the mountain's chimney with twigs.
8 points for successfully hiding from the smoked-out dragon.
