The Jester's Court
| The Jester's Court | |
|---|---|
| ◄Eamon adventure #282► | |
 | |
| Author | Raymond Feist |
| Created | c. 1981 |
| Released | May 2026 |
| Native format | Apple DOS 3.3 |
| File | Eamon 282 - The Jester's Court.dsk |
The Jester's Court is one of two Eamon adventures written by fantasy author Raymond Feist, the other being The Trapster's Maze. It was written around 1981 and formally added to the Eamon catalog in 2026.
Background
Feist's involvement in fantasy world-building began in the late 1970s when he was a student at the University of California, San Diego. He joined a D&D-style roleplaying group and with his friends helped develop and flesh out the various settings used in the game's sprawling campaigns. Feist also took an interest in early Apple II computer games, and when he learned of Donald Brown's Eamon he decided to "take a bash" at it and create a couple of original adventures of his own.
In correspondence with Huw Williams in 2026, Feist recalled that he created the adventures before he thought he would become a professional writer or game designer, which suggests they were probably completed in 1981 (before the publication of his first novel in October 1982). He shared The Jester's Court and The Trapster's Maze with friends, and they soon found their way into the software library of the Apple Corps of San Diego (ACSD), a local Apple users group. However, the adventures seemingly didn't spread much farther and never reached the National Eamon User's Club, so they remained unseen for many years.
When a collection of floppy disks from the ACSD came up for auction on eBay in May 2026, Huw Williams bought them for $20 and rediscovered Feist's adventures, making them available online through the Eamon Wiki. Informed of their recovery, Feist wrote, "It's good to know they're still floating around out there somewhere and a few folks may still get a giggle out of them."
Premise
From the introduction:
"Dear Sam:" the letter began. "I have gone to visit an old friend, Shandon, in Krondor. See you when I get back. Love, Felinah. XXOO!"
The adventurer who gave you the letter says, "Sorry, Sam, we found this on the road to the Jester's court." He shakes his head sadly and walks away.
Your old friend Felinah has taken the wrong road (for the third time this month).
As the fellow who gave you the note said, "Sam, who else could go?" Who else is strong enough, brave enough (or dumb enough) to get her out? So it has fallen upon you, Sam, to go and fetch her back again, safely.
You know what he means. Jester's Court is a fearful place. Many have ventured there, but few have returned. And of the few who have, most came back mad! (Not that this is a problem for you. Felinah's only got one oar in the water anyway, and you've got to be crazy to be going after her.)
So after tramping along for a week, you find yourself outside the Jester's Court! Outside the door, you can see a sign. It reads:
Welcome to Jester's Court
Visitors are discouraged, but if you must come in, here are the house rules:
1) No spitting on the floor
2) No stealing the silver
3) No abusive language
Signed, The JesterWell, Sam, good luck! You'll be needing it!
Walkthrough
Trivia
- Felinah's intended destination, Krondor, is an important city in Feist's world of Midkemia, located on the east coast of the Bitter Sea.
- The adventure number Feist gave to The Jester's Court — 13 — wound up being assigned instead to The Caves of Treasure Island by Paul Braun and Geoffrey Genz.
- The adventure disk was #23-A in the San Diego Apple Corps library.
- The time between when The Jester's Court was created and when it officially entered the Eamon catalog was approximately 45 years, the longest of any adventure.
External links