Trivia
If the player examines the pedestal where the hag was standing on, in the stone circle, a dialog window will open with an icon of a runic inscription and its 'translation'. According to the narrator, the runes say about the five stone poets, encountered later in the game.
However if anyone tries to translate the runes with English letters (such guides can be found anywhere online), the 'actual' inscription doesn't say anything like that. The inscription actually contains the word 'Stormbringer' followed by the phrases 'death is all' and 'beware cursed is the wielder Thor'.
Other runes and words are too difficult to make out
There are a couple of red-herring places the player can find, without any significance to the game.
One is the snake corner in the desert, found only if the player strays from his path. The player can kill one snake with the sword, but won't be able to go further. Also, if the player loses his way in the desert, he will see hallucinations about Lancelot and Guenevere
The player can also follow the tunnel of the pool of Siloam, however the screens will gradually darken and the player will die if he goes further. That tunnel is also the place where the player is 'transported' should he try to escape the riddles of Fatima
Another such useless place is a dirty alley in Jerusalem, with a carcass of a dog and a pool of urine. The wall features Latin writing saying 'PRO BONUM TEMPUS APPELA CRISTI' translated as 'For a good time, call Christy', an obvious pun (and quite self-sarcastic) about the game creator herself
In some portions, Merlin (the narrator) will refer to the Liber ex Doctrina, the copy protection manual of the game. If the player types 'Ask Merlin about Liber ex Doctrina', the cover of the manual will appear in a dialog window and Merlin suspiciously will warn the player that he must always have it in hand.
A portion of the game takes place in Glastonbury Tor. British legends indeed connect the Tor with Avalon, King Arthur and the Grail. Joseph of Arimathea allegedly traveled to Britain and left the Grail in Glastonbury where an Abbey was later built
In the game, there is a little tree, and if the player examines it, narration will tell them that this thorn tree was planted by Joseph of Arimathea. That tree known as 'Glastonbury Holy Thorn' actually existed in the Abbey, and died in 1991 according to Wikipedia
Also, the cover lid of the well seen in the very same screen, is curiously similar to the lid of the Chalice Well, an actual natural spring that exists in the area
Another Monty Pythons and the Grail egg:
If you have a Roland MT-32 connected to your machine and selected as your MIDI device:
Start the game, and watch the display on the Roland very carefully.
You will see several messages, including: 'Conquest of Camelot' '(It's Only A Model)'
And when you quit the game it reads:
'HAM&JAM&SPAMALOT'
The game was released in 1989, the year when actor Graham Chapman of Monty Python died. Chapman played King Arthur in the movie Monty Pythons and the Grail.
The game has an easter egg as a tribute to his memory. If while in the treasury you type 'ham and jam and spam a lot', you will see knights dancing to the music of the 'Spam a lot' song.
The ship's name reads KRISTI in Greek letters, a reference to Christie Marx
Also, a sign in Jerusalem reads LEDGER in Greek, for her husband and the game's illustrator
The creator of the game, Christie Marx, is a professional writer of various TV series. She has written episodes for Jem!, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, G.I. Joe etc. Her husband was an illustator and made the box of the game. He was killed in an accident.
The manual's name Liber ex Doctrina means 'Free/Book from doctrine' in Latin. Note that in Latin, liber means both free and book.
