PULL ROPE, then WEST and you'll save the bath for Saturday night. Let's take a moment to see what provisions we have. You're carrying a Swag Bag (look up Swag in your Oxford Dictionary). OPEN BAG THEN LOOK IN IT will show you that you have the indispensable tool of all Adventurers, The Lamp! LOOK IN POCKET and you will find that you also have a plastic card which might come in handy later. Meager pickings, but we've started with less!

WEST again will take you to an area where you'll spot an old man struggling along with a trunk. Remembering your lessons from ZORK III, you'd better HELP MAN. In fact, if you don't, you'll never get into the castle and you'll fail miserably! You and the old man will end up at the castle where the gatekeeper will lower the drawbridge for the old man, who will disappear inside with the trunk, never to be seen again. As a matter of interest, before helping him, you might ask him about the trunk, the castle and the baron.
With the castle invitingly open, you can go NORTH where you'll be met by the gatekeeper who will deposit you in the Entrance Hall. Along the way, he will tell you about his favorite hobby, Rat Racing, and promise to let you know when the race is about to begin.

A couple of notes here. The rat race is variable and will take place sometime in the next 20-60 moves. You have to be either downstairs or in the corridor upstairs in order to hear him shout at you. If you miss his warning, the race will take place without you and you will not be able to win any money (which you need desperately.)
This walkthru is written from a LOGICAL standpoint. There are faster ways to complete the game without backtracking, but you would have to do things without knowing WHY you were doing them.

Okay, we're alone now, so let's start exploring. Go WEST into the Lounge and the only interesting thing you'll see is a bucket. LOOK IN BUCKET and TAKE COAL that you'll find there. BREAK COAL and you'll discover a fossil. Not the most exciting thing in the world, but we'll keep it anyway. Now SOUTH to the Gallery. Here we'll discover three paintings, each important in its own way. EXAMINE PAINTINGS and TAKE OIL PAINTING since it's described as a classic and is, no doubt, valuable. The watercolor depicts an interesting scene -- keep it in mind for future reference especially the words. The gaudy painting doesn't look like it belongs here. If you move it, you'll discover a safe here; but since you are not, and never will be, a safecracker, leave it alone. It's not important.

SOUTH again will take you into the Drawing Room. The red leather settee is obviously out of place, and if you EXAMINE SETTEE you'll find a cushion. OPEN CUSHION THEN LOOK IN IT and you'll find a Note. (Remember, this is a British creation, a Note is money, not something you read!) TAKE NOTE then go NORTH twice and EAST to the Entrance Hall. This is a good, central location to dump stuff. Unfortunately, there is no Legless Horse in this game, and the swag bag is definitely NOT bottomless. Going EAST will take you to the Dining Hall where you'll see a Bear in a cage. Also in the cage is a Platinum Chalice, and there's no question that THIS is a treasure! Unfortunately the cage is locked, and the bear looks testy anyway so leave it for now.

SOUTH again will take you to the Kitchen. The cupboard looks inviting, so OPEN CUPBOARD AND LOOK IN IT and you'll find some rat poison and a jam jar. TAKE ALL FROM CUPBOARD and head SOUTH again to the Servant's Quarters. OPEN CABINET THEN LOOK IN IT and you'll find a key. TAKE KEY then SOUTH again to the gatekeeper's Bedroom. If you LOOK UNDER BED you'll find a tub. OPEN TUB THEN LOOK IN IT and you'll find a Maggot. Yeecchhh! But it must be useful, so TAKE TUB.

About this time you should hear the gatekeeper shout that the rat race will start soon. Go NORTH three times and WEST to the Entrance Hall. DROP ALL BUT NOTE AND SWAG BAG. (You don't want the gatekeeper to know you're a thief, do you?) Besides, if you try to pass the gatekeeper with any treasures, the results will be fatal! Now SOUTH to the Courtyard. The gatekeeper will begin setting up for the race, so WAIT. He will then ask you if you'd like to bet and give you the odds. This MIGHT be a variable, but every time I played, the Grey rat had the longest odds. In any event bet on the rat with the longest odds (you need lots of money!). So BET ON GREY RAT WITH NOTE. You'll be treated to an exciting description of the first race at Santa Courtyard; but never fear, your rat will win.

The gatekeeper will give you a VERY dubious looking cheque (check to you Americans), but it's all you'll get so settle for it. He will then depart, leaving a birdcage behind. Leave it for now.

Time to explore some other areas and get some background on what's going on here. Go SOUTH (don't ever spend more than one move at the Gatehouse unless you are talking to the gatekeeper. He will escort you back to the Drawing Room if you do. SOUTH and WEST twice to the Cave Entrance. Now GET LAMP AND LIGHT IT, it gets pretty dark in these caves. WEST again will take you to the Junction Chamber, from which all roads lead. We'll try SOUTHEAST first. Here at the fork in the road you'll find an iron gate to the southeast. OPEN GATE THEN SOUTHEAST and you'll see a gravedigger plying his trade. Ignore him, he's pretty morose. EXAMINE YEW TREE and you'll spot some berries.You might get hungry later so GET BERRIES then NORTHWEST. Now SOUTH to the Undertaker's Parlor. It's locked up tight (no, the key won't work here) but that shouldn't stop a Thief. BREAK WINDOW and SOUTH and you're in! There's a casket here, which is useless. You'll notice the counter has a flap in it, so LIFT FLAP and SOUTH. The only thing of interest here is the Till. You'll find a button, so PUSH BUTTON THEN LOOK IN TILL and you'll find a coin! GET COIN then NORTH twice and WEST.

Here's the "Ba k of Ker vn a." If you READ NOTICE you'll find that the bank is closed due to no business. Don't bother trying to break in. You can't. We'll get it open another way. The bank is closed because the Thieves, who used to deposit all their loot here, have gone away, and there's no business. Maybe you can fix this. You'll also find a night deposit safe here. What we are going to do is deposit all our treasures in the Bank in the hopes that it will reopen.