Sorcerer of Siva (1981), I

Main TRS 80 Cover,   Source : Hardcore Gaming 101

The most obscure game of the Dunjonquest series is, in my opinion, Sorcerer of Siva. Developed as a standalone piece from all the main series, SOS was released only for TSR-80 and Apple II and conceptually slightly different from all the remaining part of the Epyx CRPGs. 

The game itself is quite rare to find on the collection market and even more surprisingly it's almost impossible to find an actual dump of the disk. I have managed to find all the scans of the manual (nice laid out and illustrated), instructions, various reference card but no trace of a working .dsk playable on an emulator. 

Apart from my frustration for never having tested this game, I quite enjoyed all related material and the excellent cover artwork which reminds the earliest Role Playing Games published in the seventies. 

Story wise, here's an extract from the back of the original box. 

Amulets, rings, necklaces, scepters, -oh, yes, and a pair of old boots - await you in the magical mines of Siva. Magic and riches abound. But wealth is not all you seek. 

The only entrance seals behind you as you enter the dark stillness of the mine. Armed with only a dagger and your magical abilities, you have but a few short hours to seek out the secret exit (hidden somewhere on the fifth level) before you are sealed in for all time. But beware the wandering soulless creatures that dwell in the more than 300 chambers of the magical mine, guarding every treasure and lurking beneath every trap door. 

A wizard you are, yes, who can hurl a fireball or lightning bolt to slay the blood-thirsty banshee; put an end to the deadly demon, or goad the goblin waiting to waylay you.

Your spells can create openings in solid walls and sealed entrances, heal your wounds, restore your strength, or give you the gift of weightlessness which lets you move effortlessly from room to room. Your own bravery will decide how many spells you shall bring into the mines. But beware the evil Sorcerer, who is waiting to cast his favorite spell - forgetfulness - to deprive you of your most valuable magic. 

But all is not lost... You may regain a spell or two or, perhaps, if you can discover the wondrous touchstones no archaeologist has yet found - stones with powers to increase your magical abilities. Though, expect not that these, or others, always lie still, for the Sorcerer and his minions are afoot. 

Be warned, too, that not all treasures you might find are true. Mysterious items might drain your life's blood and leave you in blackness. Will a ring bring you only wealth? Can a pair of old boots do more than protect your soleful feet? In experience lies wisdom.

Good luck! And happy mining...

Sorcerer of Siva is likely a wizard versus wizard bidimensional dungeon crawling game, where the main character has to struggle through a complex of caves: 

The Mines of Siva consist of five floors or levels containing a total of more than three hundred chambers and passages. You begin each game on the bottommost floor (Level 1) and finally exit the mines, if you are lucky, from the top floor (Level 5). Each level except the top one has several stairways leading to the next higher level. You can go up a staircase simply by using the I (or A) command.
Once you have ascended the stairs, the computer will load in the new level automatically. (If you have a cassette version of the game, you should leave your recorder in PLAY mode for this purpose.) You cannot go back down stairs. However, you may be forced to start over from the first level—from below the first level, in fact. If you step on a trapdoor, it may open beneath your feet, prompting the computer to announce, TRAPDOOR!! You will then find yourself plunging through darkness into an uncharted area of the mines called the Underworld.

Source: Sorcerer of Siva, Instructions Manual, p 20

The aim of the quest is to face The Sorcerer who is able to control many of the wandering creatures in the Caves of Siva.

Apple II Screenshot,  Source : Hardcore Gaming 101

The Sorcerer

Your nemesis in the Mines of Siva is the sorcerer. He will not attempt to kill you directly nor even inflict physical harm. Rather, from a safe and hidden vantage he directs his monstrous minions to come at you with fang and claw. Still worse, his personal attacks are directed at the very source and substance of your magic power. Each time he appears and casts a spell of forgetting, you lose your most powerful remaining spell! 

The only way to kill the sorcerer is with a well-aimed bolt of lightning. Unfortunately for you, the sorcerer (being more than a bit of a coward) will not dare confront you unless you are already battling for your life against one of the monsters of the mine! Then you must choose between defending your powers or your life! If you are unable to cast a bolt of lightning, you have no choice but to flee whenever the sorcerer appears.  

If you manage to slay the sorcerer, you will not only prevent any further loss of your magical abilities, but you will also, indirectly, eliminate those monstrous beings (such as an efreet, a djinn, or an elemental) that are summoned or created by the magic of the sorcerer.

Source: Sorcerer of Siva, Instructions Manual, p 22 

Sorcerer of Siva will be one of my main quests and in the next months along with more aesthetics and exegetical details about the manual and the game itself, I will try to source an original boxed version of the game and a playable dumped disk.