Starting

                        Starting the game

 The first time you enter the game, you will be in the upper
 room of the Double Dragon Inn in the city of Vaerlon, in the
 nation of Valkor.  The first thing you would want to to is
 probably to type 'i' (short for 'inventory') to see what
 equipment your background has given you to start with. Using
 the 'wear'- and 'wield'-commands, you can equip them.
 Remember, you can get help about the usage of any command
 just by typing 'help <command>', eg. 'help wear'. 

 **Note about saving items**
 The room you are in is the sleeping hall, where you can leave
 the game by typing 'leave game' and have your equipment saved 
 and given back to you next time you enter the game. There are
 some other inns in the game where your equipment also is
 saved. However, if you 'quit' ANYWHERE all your equipment will
 be dropped on the ground and very likely gone next time you
 enter. So if you want your equipment saved, make sure you
 quit in an inn. Note that just dropping your connection to
 the game ("going linkdead") does NOT save your equipment;
 you have to explicitly _quit_ in the inn.
 **Note about saving items**

 Some people, especially experienced mudders, are likely to
 want to see their statistics and set up various things right
 away. You can see information about your character with the
 'score'-, 'exp'- and 'hp'-commands, which give various
 amounts of information.  For an explanation about different
 settings, read 'help settings'.  You can do this later,
 also, if you want to look around Icesus first.

 But before exploring, you might want to have things likes
 exits, monsters, and other players show up in different
 colours.  If you have an ANSI compatible mud client, do
 'colour on'.

 To start your adventuring career, you should probably join a
 guild, so you need to go out into the city and find
 one. Going down, east and then south, you exit the inn and
 are standing in a small alley.  You can type 'map' to see a
 larger portion of the city surrounding you, and what special
 buildings there are there. A good starting point for
 exploring the city is the Central Square, which is east and
 south from outside the inn. Here is also Ereldon, an old
 elven sage, who can help players and give advice about many
 things. You can converse with him using the
 'ask'-command. For example, try 'ask ereldon about help' and
 'ask ereldon about guilds'.

 Depending on the time of the day and the race you are, you
 might find that it is too dark or too light for you to
 see. You should have gotten a torch as a part of your
 starting kit; 'light torch' if it's too dark for you. If
 it's too light, you are a member of a race with poor
 light-vision.  You should then have gotten a "nether torch"
 instead of an usual torch; this makes it darker instead of
 lighter, and helps you see.

 Now you should find a guild that you want to join. Walking
 around the city and using the 'map'-command will help you
 find them, and Ereldon gives you basic directions if you ask
 him about "guilds".  You can also try asking other players
 on channels or with tells, as explained in 'help
 newbie'. When you have found a guild, and are sure you want
 to join that particular guild, type 'join' in the guild room
 to become a member of the guild. Look at the plaque ('l
 plaque') in the guild room; it shows what commands you can
 use there.

 You should now train some skills or study some spells,
 depending on what kind of guild you joined. This costs both
 experience and money.  Luckily, you have some of each, exact
 amounts depending on your background. The commands 'skills'
 and 'spells' show you what skills and spells you have
 learned. Before learning more, also look type 'skills -bg'
 and 'spells -bg'. This shows what bonuses you possibly have
 to skills or spells from your backgrounds.  At this point
 you might also want to read 'help guilds' and 'help
 experience'.

 To advance advancement points, you should go to the
 Adventurer's Guild. It is also in the city of Vaerlon. A
 gain, using the 'map'-command you should be able to find it
 easily; it lies not far east from the Central Square. In the
 Adventurer's Guild you can advance by typing 'advance'.
 Before you do that, it is a good idea to look at the plaque
 in the Adventurer's Guild, and decide upon one statistic you
 could try to improve at the same time, in the way the plaque
 explains. This is also a good time to read 'help points'.

 It is a good idea to train or study as much as possible
 right at the beginning. The better your skills or spells
 are, the better is your chance of survival once you will
 have to start to earn more money and experience. You can try
 to ask your fellow players for their advice on what to study
 or train. Again, channels are probably best for this,
 especially your guild-channel. Each guild has its own
 channel only member of that guild can listen to.

 When you are done, you might want to explore the city a bit,
 if you haven't already. In Icesus, you can get experience by
 exploring, so that when you for the first time enter some
 certain rooms, you are rewarded by getting experience. There
 are several such rooms in the city, so looking around does
 pay off. BE WARNED! Many beginning adventurers have made the
 mistake of thinking killing the innocent citizens of
 Vaerlon, who wander the streets minding their own business,
 would be an easy way to gain experience. This is not the
 case, and the guards in Vaerlon are not gentle with
 troublemakers. If you want to kill something, find an area
 suitable for you ('help newbie areas').

 When you have explored the city, you should have more
 experience which you can use to train or study with, or
 perhaps advance your level.  If you have, and have
 sufficient money also, do so. Then, it is time to go and
 make some more money and experience, and learn more about
 life in Icesus. You should now read 'help living', where
 more is explained about things needed in the daily life of a
 beginning adventurer.