NOTE: This walkthrough was completed using the SQUIRE difficulty level. Monsters and traps may be different on higher difficulty levels.
You start out in a tunnel that empties into a large room. Two Kobolds are camping by a fire in this room. Kill as many as you can and search the dead Kobolds. One is carrying a breadstick which can be used to increase your health a small amount.
To the right of the campfire are two boxes (one big, one small) and a sack. The small box has a piece of meat that can be used to increase your health.
To the right of the boxes is a tunnel that leads to a small room with a campfire. A Kobold will attack. Kill him and search him for a breadstick if you need health. There's also a piece of meat by the fire.
Directly opposite the tunnel you start the game in is a lever that opens the first gate (which is just beyond the lever, to the left). Sheath your weapon and hit the action key to pull the lever. Unsheath your weapon once you pass through the gate.
Follow the tunnel; it leads to a large room with a Kobold who is swinging his weapon and taunting you. He is trying to lure you into an ambush -- two other Kobolds are hidden behind the entryway blind spot, one to each side.
Step into the room and quickly back up into the tunnel. This will force the two ambushers to follow you into the tunnel where you can whack them easily. The third Kobold will try to help his friends and you can kill him, too. The first Kobold is carrying a breadstick; the second one isn't carrying anything. The third is carrying an IRON KEY. Grab the key; it opens either of two Iron Gates in the next section.
SHORTCUT NOTE: There are two ways to get from the second gate to the third gate. You can use the key you just found to open the second gate and follow a tunnel to the third gate (more on this method later). Or, you can take a safer shortcut that may not be obvious at first. The shortcut is a bit more dangerous than going directly through the second gate in front of you, but it adds extra points and allows you to bypass a rope trap and an ambush.
Using the shortcut: On the right side of the room you are in is a small, hard-to-see tunnel entrance that leads down to a hidden gate. You don't have to explore this part to finish the level, but it is actually a safer way to get to the third gate (once you get past the traps, that is).
The shortcut tunnel you enter has three spear traps. The first one is low on the wall and can be JUMPED over. The second one is high on the wall and can be CROUCHED under. These two will reload if you decide to come back down this tunnel you will have to pass them again. The third spear trap fires once and doesn't reload.
At the end of this tunnel is a gate. Be careful where you walk, because there are several spear traps on the ground directly in front of the gate (they fire upward if you try to walk over them). The rock wall to the right of the gate/traps has a slight incline that can be walked on, allowing you to pass the spear traps without setting them off. Be careful once past them, because there's not much room between them and the gate.
Use the key you found in the Kobold ambush to open the gate. (Sheath weapon, walk against gate, hit the Action key, unsheath weapon for next encounter.)
Go through the gate into a room with several boxes. A Kobold is wandering around behind the boxes. Kill him. He isn't carrying anything, but there's a healing potion behind him. If you're at or near full health, save this potion in case the next danger you encounter saps your health.
Destroy the boxes. The big one has a piece of meat.
To the right side of the tunnel with the gate you just entered through, is a small tunnel with spiderwebs covering the hole. Enter the tunnel and you'll go past three spiderwebs in all. Carefully go to the room this tunnel opens into. An Orc and a Kobold are waiting in this room to ambush whoever enters from the passage opened with the Second Gate.
Hop down into the room, surprising the ambushers, and kill them both. Search the Orc who is carrying a STEEL KEY.
Note: If you use the shortcut described above you will get 10 extra points for finding the secret shortcut and 5 extra points for bypassing the rope trap. See below for details on the rope trap and ambush bypassed.
NOT USING THE SHORTCUT: If you chose NOT to use the shortcut, you would use the key taken from the Kobold ambush to open the Second Gate. You will enter a small tunnel that leads to a large room with the Third Gate. As mentioned above in the section about the shortcut, an Orc and Kobold are waiting to ambush you.
But that's not all! Once you enter the room with the Third Gate, you will be caught in a rope trap. The rope catches your leg and leaves you dangling and swinging from the ceiling. If you don't cut yourself down quickly, the Orc and Kobold can do some pretty bad damage.
Experiment with sword slashes until you cut yourself down. Kill the ambushers and search the Orc to find the steel key which opens the Third Gate. If the ambush and rope trap caused very much damage, you can use the secret tunnel mentioned above to go to the room mentioned in the shortcut description and grab some health from the Kobold. Retrace your steps to get back to the Third Gate.
Sheath your weapon and open the Third Gate with the steel key. Unsheath your weapon and get ready for the next encounter.
Go down the tunnel until you see some spiderwebs. You'll find a healing potion behind the webs. Save this for after the next fight (unless you need it now); you may need it more then.
Continue down the tunnel. It opens into a large room with two openings directly opposite from the tunnel. The opening to the LEFT has an Orc and Kobold loading boxes on the dock. The opening to the RIGHT has a Kobold wandering around other boxes. Both openings connect behind the dock, so you will have to fight all three dock workers, regardless.
Choose an opening and sneak up on the dock worker(s). Whack all three of them. Once you kill all three dock workers, go back and get the healing potion behind the spiderweb (see above).
Search the corpses of the dock workers. Kobold #1 has a dead rat; Kobold #2 has a breadstick; the Orc has nothing. You can destroy all the boxes on the dock if you need health. Some of them have food items inside that can be used for a small bump in health.
When you're through vandalizing the dock area, go down to the actual dock which is on the Underground River.
DO NOT JUMP INTO THE WATER! In Die By The Sword, you don't really swim as much as you drown slowly. There is an item or two on the shore of the river to your left, but you should have nearly full health after ramsacking the boxes and corpses and it's not worth the risk. Once in the water, it is very difficult to jump back out.
After moving to the Dock, turn toward the land behind you and cut the rope that moors
the Dock to the bank of the underground river. The Dock will take off like a boat and let
you ride down the river. This ends Level One.
Have your weapon unsheathed and ready because not long after Level Two starts, you'll be attacked by a Trog (sea creature). Kill it by hacking medium slashes repeatedly. Note: Stay near the center of the dock so the Trog doesn't push you off into the river and drown you.
After killing the Trog, move to the left side of the raft and get ready for some action. A shortcut to the Trog Lair is on the bank of the river on the left side of the raft.
You will see a break in the wall and a level ledge (with two wooden switches protruding from the walls). Hold down the JUMP key (SPACE), press the forward key (W) and release SPACE when you are near the bank of the ledge. You should be able to jump onto the ledge relatively easily.
The two switches aren't related. The one nearest to the river temporarily opens a secret gate that is located a short distance from the shortcut ledge you're standing on. It's not really worth risking your life to explore, as you don't need to visit it to finish the level.
Note: If you decide to stay on the raft, try to flip this switch as the raft passes the Shortcut ledge. The secret gate will open and you can jump through it as the boat passes by.
If you chose to take the easy way through the shortcut, flip the OTHER switch which raises the gate. Go through the gate into the tunnel which leads to the Trog Lair. Unsheath your weapon and follow the tunnel.
A Trog will rush out and attack you. Kill him. They're relatively easy to kill, but can do a fair amount of damage. If your health starts to get too low, search dead Trogs because some of them carry fish which can be used for a small increase in health. Don't search any Trogs until you're SURE you're alone in the Lair!
Directly across from the shortcut tunnel (and the beached raft) is a sleeping Trog. Kill him or he'll wake up and attack. To the right of the sleeping Trog is a tunnel that leads to the Trog Hatchery (you don't need to visit this part to complete the level).
Once in the hatchery you'll be attacked by a Trog Queen. Kill her. Inside the hatchery, you'll find a pool with Trog eggs. For fun, whack the eggs and see what happens.
Beyond the Trog Egg pool is a dead Kobold. Search him to find a RING OF SHIELDING. This will add bonus points after Level 2.
Go back to where you killed the sleeping Trog. To one side of the dead Trog is a tunnel that leads to a room with ferns.
A Trog will attack you in this room. Kill him. He has some fish if you need a boost in health. A piece of meat is lying on the ground, directly inside the Fern Room (to the right).
When you get past the Fern Room, you'll find a waterfall.
Use the JUMP key to leap onto the stepping stones in the pool that flows by the waterfall. Cross the the shore of the pool opposite from the land by the Fern Room. Be careful NOT to fall in the water or you'll drown before you can jump out onto the shore.
Once on the opposite side, follow the tunnel until you hit a trap that drops the floor of the tunnel into a pit with a Trog. Kill the Trog and jump out of the pit. There are spear traps on the other side of this pit. JUMP and CROUCH to get past these spear traps. Continue through the tunnel.
The tunnel will empty into a large room with two Orcs who will attack you. Kill them. One of them is has meat if you need health. Destroy the boxes in the room for more healthy treats.
Directly opposite the tunnel you entered this room from and to the RIGHT, is an elevator. To the LEFT is some water and a secret area that you don't have to visit to finish the level. If you feel lucky and think you can survive the water, go for it.
Cross to the elevator and sheath your weapon. Use the ACTION key to pull the rope that
activates the elevator. Hop on the lift and unsheath your weapon. This ends Level Two.
Get off the elevator quickly or you'll fall to your death! Two Kobolds are directly across from the lift. They're using a lever and when they see you, they'll attack. An Orc is on your right. Kill all of them. The Orc is carrying a BRASS KEY; Kobold #1 has a dead rat; Kobold #2 has a breadstick.
A wooden box stacked on top of some steel reinforced boxes has some meat inside (if you need any health). You'll have to slash high to break open the box, then JUMP up onto the lower boxes to grab the meat.
Use the brass key to open the door found in this room. Unsheath your weapon before entering the doorway.
A tunnel leads down to a large area with a train track in the middle. A little car is moving along the tracks (with a Kobold riding in it!) An Orc will attack you when you enter this room. Kill him. Another Orc will enter from a tunnel on the opposite side of the tracks. Kill him, too.
Search the Orcs. One has a piece of cheese if you need health. One of the boxes next to the train tracks has a piece of meat.
Ignore the tracks for now. Both sides lead to dead ends (they are blocked by gates that can't be bypassed for now). Ignore the small holes in the walls (for now). They are too small to crawl into, even using CROUCH. More on these holes later.
Go into the large tunnel that's on the wall opposite to the tunnel you entered this room from. It leads down to a large room with two torchlights and a wooden box. There is another tunnel entrance directly opposite the tunnel you just entered from. Destroy the box and you'll find a healing potion. Save this if you're near full health because you will definitely need it later on.
Enter the tunnel on the other side of the room you're in. You should hear Orcs and Kobolds as you walk up the tunnel. Your point of view will automatically change and show you what is on the other side of a door blocking the tunnel. You will see two Orcs torturing a Kobold who is swinging on a rope.
Sheath your weapon and open the door. Unsheath your weapon quickly because the two Orcs will attack. Stay in the tunnel and let the Orcs come to you. The confined spaces of the tunnel will let you fight them one at a time. Search both Orcs. One is carrying a piece of meat and the other is carrying an IRON KEY. If the Kobold is dead on the rope, ignore him because he's not carrying anything. If he's still alive, whack him for fun.
If you're feeling REALLY EVIL, use the dead Kobold on a Rope as a tetherball. You can bat him every which way and whack him as he swings past you. Avoid his pesky little spear or you might get some damage.
A tunnel is directly opposite from the door you entered the Punishment Room. To the left is a locked door. Search the tunnel first. Note: There's also a small hole that you can't fit into (more on small holes later).
The tunnel opposite the door you entered leads to a large room with three torchlights and several golden urns. There are several small holes in the wall on various sides of the room. You can't fit into the holes (yet). Get familiar with this room; you'll need to recognize it later.
Go back to the Punishment Room. Use the brass key to open the locked door.
Go in the door and up the tunnel. Unsheath your weapon. You'll come to a large spot in the tunnel and a Mantis will attack. Kill it. Keep moving up the tunnel and you'll approach another room where a Mantis and two Orcs are fighting.
DO NOT ENTER THE ROOM just yet! Let the monsters fight among themselves. Using this approach, at least one of the three will be killed. The other(s) will be severely weakened. Hold down the + key on the keypad to keep track of the damage each creature is taking. When the Mantis finishes off the Orc(s) (as it usually does), enter the room and kill the weakened Mantis. Search the two Orcs. One has a piece of cheese, the other is carrying some meat (this will give you a small increase in health if you need it after the fight).
You will notice the tunnel comes to a dead end directly opposite the door you entered this room. A rock slide sealed the tunnel. Look at the wall on the RIGHT side of this room (as you're facing the rock slide tunnel). You'll see a raised ledge.
Walk to the ledge. Sheath your weapon. Hold down the JUMP key (SPACE), release it and hit the CLIMB key (C) to grab onto the ledge and pull yourself up.
Once up on the ledge, you'll see another ledge above the first. Repeat the JUMP/CLIMB method on the second ledge. Pivot until you see the mouth of a tunnel above you. Use JUMP/CLIMB to enter the tunnel.
Unsheath your weapon and walk down the tunnel. Be careful because this tunnel feeds into a room with two healthy Mantises! Kill them as quickly and safely as you can (Warning: the camera angle may be obstructed if you try to stay in the tunnel, so it's best to run out into the room and start whacking Mantis butt).
In the middle of the room is a SHRINKING POTION. It has no time limit, and will last you for the rest of Level Three (remember all the little holes you couldn't fit into??)
Take the potion and head back the way you came. You will shrink to the size of a Kobold (your voice shrinks too).
The small holes lead into tunnels that are winding and overlapping and are VERY confusing.
Go back to the room with the small holes in the wall--you'll see the ledges where you found the shrinking potion, and the "rock slide" room and the tunnels that lead back to the chamber with the two doors.
Take the tunnel (NOT one of the doors) to the room with the torch-lights and golden urns. You should see FOUR small holes in the walls.
Take the SECOND HOLE on the RIGHT. Follow the tunnel to the empty room.
Go across to the hole directly opposite from the hole you used to enter the empty room. Follow the tunnel until you come to a room with 2 Kobolds.
Kill the Kobolds. Go to the hole across from the room from the hole you entered. Follow the tunnel until you come to another empty room.
Go across to the only other hole in the room. Follow the tunnel to another room with 2 Kobolds. Kill them.
Go across to the next hole and follow the long tunnel to the room with train car. Hop onto the train car and sheath your weapon. Use the ACTION key to pull the lever on the train car. This will start the car in motion. Unsheath your weapon.
Ride the train car past the gates (past the large room you started this level in) and further down the track, past some more gates.
The train car will end up in a room that has a ramp which catapaults the train car up in the air and against a wall. At this point, your shrinking potion wears off. But this is a GOOD thing because you're in a room with an Ogre!
Kill the Ogre and search him. He'll have a SPIGOT. One of the boxes in the room has a minor healing potion if you need it after the Ogre fight.
You will see three large barrel-like objects on the far side of the room you're in. The two end-barrels have spigots. The center barrel doesn't have a spigot.
Use the spigot you grabbed from the Ogre on the middle barrel (stand in front of
barrel, sheath weapon, press ACTION key). The barrel will open up and let you enter a
tunnel that leads to Level Four.
Make sure you have your weapon unsheathed because you start the level in a room with an Orc fighting a Mantis. If they don't see you, back into the tunnel you start the level in and let them fight. This will weaken them, and possibly one will not survive the fight. Kill the survivor (or both, if they saw you and attacked).
Search the Orc and find a BRASS KEY, but unsheath your weapon immediately because as soon as you find the key, another mantis drops down on you from a hole in the roof of the room. Kill the second mantis.
There's a tunnel directly across the room (it has a silver frame around the tunnel opening). Follow it until you enter another room.
Directly across from the tunnel you used to enter the Tapestry Room are two more tunnel openings (both with silver frames). One of them is crooked (as if a landslide has partially collapsed the tunnel and entrance). A tapestry with odd runes is hanging on the wall between the two tunnel entrances.
Go into the regular, NON-COLLAPSED tunnel and follow it until you get to a silver door. Open the door and unsheath your weapon QUICKLY. The room has an Orc and an Ogre inside. Back up into the tunnel and let the two monsters come to you. The small tunnel space allows you to fight them one on one. Kill both of the monsters. It's best if you kill the Ogre somewhere in the tunnel, ideally as far down the tunnel as you can (see below).
Rush into the room where the Ogre and Orc were located. If your health is low, destroy the box on the right side of the room for some food. Another Ogre will enter the room through another doorway, walk past you and go and find the Ogre you just killed (therefore, the farther away you killed him, the longer it takes for him to come back). Once he finds his dead friend, he will return and attack you savagely. Avoid the direct blows and kill him ASAP. After the battle, if your health is low, destroy the urns on the left side of the room. One contains a Full Health potion. None of the dead monsters are carrying anything.
To the left of the doorway you used to enter this room is the doorway the second Ogre came from. Walk up the long tunnel until you find a silver door. Open it and unsheath your weapon.
The room has a campfire, bones, urns and compartments with sleeping bags. There are two sleeping Orcs in the room, one in a bed compartment to the left, and the other on the floor to the right. Pick out one and attack him. The other Orc will wake up and join the fight, so kill the first as quickly as possible and start on the second one. One Orc is carrying a piece of meat and the other is carrying an IRON KEY.
Another door is directly across from the door you used to enter this room. Use the key to open this door and walk down the tunnel with your weapon unsheathed. You'll come to another silver door. Open the door and unsheath your weapon again.
There are three Orcs in this room. Wait for them in the tunnel and back up as the first attacks and finish him off as quickly as possible because the other two will be right behind him. Keep them in front of you so they won't be able to attack you from two sides. Kill the other two. If your health is low, one is carrying a piece of meat.
There is another silver door on the far side of the room where the three Orcs were located. It is locked, so you now must retrace your steps, back to the Tapestry Room. See below for details on this locked door!
Enter the crooked tunnel in the Tapestry Room. This tunnel will lead to a room with three giant blue tentacles.
The Tentacles will grab you and sling you around the room and pit where they are located. But, you *MUST* pass them (somehow) to get to the other side of the room, beyond the Tentacle pit.
There are three ways to do this:
(1) If you are quick and agile, you *may* be able to jump across the broken bridge, dodging the three Tentacles. This takes great dexterity and timing.
(2) If you fall into the pit (or are dragged down into it by one of the Tentacles) use your weapon to hack and slash the closest Tentacle. Use his body to shield you from the other two Tentacles. You will see segments of his body turn green and red and he will eventually quit moving. Move to the other two Tentacles and repeat the process until they both quit moving. Don't celebrate now, they're not actually DEAD, only stunned, and they WILL wake up soon. Use the ramp near the end of the pit to get back onto the ledge with the partial bridge. Jump across the broken bridge to the other side before the Tentacles wake up.
(3) If you are lucky, one of the Tentacles *MAY* throw you to the other side of the pit! If this happens quickly, you may get out of the Tentacle Room with only minor damage.
When you get to the other side of the Tentacle pit, find a small tunnel in the wall.
Continue down the tunnel. You will enter a room with a large, odd-looking statue. A Mantis will attack you. Kill it. There's a health potion to the left of the potion.
There are two tunnels directly across from the tunnel you used to enter this room. Walk down the one on the right.
Follow the dark tunnel until you see a room. There are two Mantises in this room. They'll attack you, so kill them. Grab the healing potion to fix any damage. You will also find a blue and gold object on the ground. Grab this, it's the AMULET OF SHIELDING.
The amulet adds something like +200 to hit on your armor. Retrace your way back to the room with the odd-looking statue.
Go down the other, unexplored tunnel. You will fall through the floor of the tunnel into another tunnel. The tunnel leads to a gap in the rock wall. Your viewpoint will change as you peek through the hole. You will see two Orcs supposedly sacrificing the girl you are searching for on this Quest.
To your left is another tunnel. This leads to the Altar Room.
The tunnel in front of you leads to the Altar Room. The tunnel behind you leads to a small room with a bed and two locked doors. Go forward to the Altar Room and open the door. Unsheath your weapon quickly because the Orc fighter will attack you. The Orc shaman will start shooting fireballs at you. If you approach the shaman, he will back up and avoid you, but he won't stop firing those damaging fireballs. Kill the Orc fighter quickly, then corner the Orc shaman somewhere in the Altar Room and kill him.
Search the Orc Fighter and you'll find the MASTER KEY. Search the Orc shaman and the game will tell you YOU HAVE FOUND THE SHAMAN MASK. You automatically try the mask on, and your onscreen character now looks exactly like the dead Orc shaman (this is crucial to the next few areas of Level Four).
While you are searching the two dead Orcs, you'll start hearing a whining voice that keeps begging you to release it. Go to one side of the altar and you'll see a pathway under a long flag banner (there's one on each side of the altar). The pathway leads to a small room behind the altar. There are two ledges with cuffs and chains in this room. One of the ledges is empty, but has a healing potion. The other has an old mutant who is chained to the wall. He will keep asking you to release him, and says he knows the way to something you need to find.
Jump onto the ledge with the prisoner and use the Master Key to release him. The mutant is named Grub, and he tells you to meet him in the room with the pointy black rock. He then runs out of the Altar Room.
Follow Grub. You will get to the part of the tunnel that you dropped into from the tunnel above. Grub tells you to follow him and he jumps up to the upper tunnel. Unfortunately, you can't jump or climb back up to that tunnel. But you can go down the lower tunnel to in the direction OPPOSITE to the Altar Room. This leads to the room with two doors and a bed. The door on the left is barred from the other side, but you can use the Master Key to unlock the door on the right.
Follow the tunnel. It will lead to a large room with a camp fire. An Orc and an Ogre are in the room, but don't worry. When they see you wearing the Shaman mask, they will kneel down and let you pass unharmed!
Open the door on the far side of this room. Follow the tunnel to the next room. It has a fire, several urns and a door with flags on either side. There are also three Orcs shooting craps! When they see you, they too bow down and let you pass unharmed.
Open the door with the flags. Follow the tunnel. It will lead to a silver door. Open it. The room inside the door has tables, benches and three other doors. One door is plain and barred from the other side; the second door has a flag; and the third, dark door is barred from the other side.
Open the door with a flag. Follow the tunnel. It will lead to another silver door. Open it with the Master Key. A large room is inside the doorway. There are two Ogres in the room who will bow down and let you pass unharmed.
Open the door on the far side of this room. Follow the tunnel to the next silver door. Open it. Two orcs are in this room.
When you see this autosave message, you will change back into your regular character. When the Orcs see you, they will attack, so be sure you have your weapon unsheathed and ready. Kill both of them. One Orc has a COPPER KEY and the other Orc is carrying a HEALING HERB.
Cross the room to the other side and use the copper key to open the silver door. Follow the tunnel. It will lead to another silver door. You will hear growling and something will be banging and clubbing the door. Don't stand too near the door or you will start taking major damage! Wait a few seconds down the hall from the door and the Ogre on the other side should move away from the door, which will give you a chance to open it. There are two Ogres inside this room, and they're pissed!
DO NOT UNSHEATH YOUR WEAPON! I know this sounds like suicide, but read on. Go to the left side of the room. You should see a blue potion on the ground. Grab it quickly! This is a BERSERKER POTION that transforms you into a berserker that does extra damage with each hit! So attack the Ogres and kill them as quickly as possible (before the Berserker potion wears off).
After both Ogres are dead, find the Full Healing potion elsewhere in this room. If you're hungry, one Ogre is carrying a piece of cheese.
There are two doors on the other side of this room. The dark door on the right side of the room is barred from the other side. The silver door on the left side of the room is next to a flag.
Open the silver door. Follow the tunnel. It leads to another silver door. Open this door. This is the door that was locked in the Orc barracks room mentioned in the first part of the Level Four walkthrough. You will see the dead Orcs that you killed earlier.
Cross the room to the tunnel and trace your way back to the first Orc barracks room. Cross that room and go through the tunnel to the large room that had two Ogres in it. Cross this room to the tunnel and follow it back down to the Tapestry Room.
Enter the crooked, collapsed tunnel. Follow the tunnel to the Tentacle Room.
Use one of the the same three strategies listed above to pass the Tentacles. Since the Tentacle Room is an autosave checkpoint, you can experiment with one of the strategies until you get to the other side of the Tentacle pit without having to redo anything.
Once on the other side of the Tentacle pit, follow the tunnel to the large room with
the black stone statue. Grub, the mutant prisoner will be waiting in the room. He will
help you tip the statue over against the wall. You can use the statue as a ramp to jump
and climb up to a small tunnel high on the wall. This ends Level Four.
First off, your health needs to be good because you won't find *ANY* food items and only ONE health potion on this level. And the dangers are more intense. If your health is low, be extremely cautious and use the autosaves.
You start the level in a tight crevice, surrounded by rocks. Rotate until you see a gap in the rocks. Walk into the gap. You'll find a small ledge. Sheath your weapon and use the CLIMB key to get up on the ledge. Repeat for the next ledge and you will be standing in middle of a long hallway of yellow stone.
The hallway to the right leads to one level objective; the hallway to the left leads to two other objectives, as well as the room that finishes the level.
Take the hallway to the right. Head down the long, often-turning hallway. Keep following the hallway until you see some moving blocks in the distance. Walk up the incline to these moving blocks of stone.
Watch the first two Stompers that move left and right to get an idea of the timing of the block movement. When you're ready, move steadily past the first two Stompers.
You'll be in a small area that leads to the next Stomper. This block of stone moves up and down. Directly behind it you'll see an L-shaped Stomper that is moving up and down, but with slightly different timing. The L-shaped Stomper is over a pit of lava. You'll see a grey stone ledge in the distance behind the L-shapped Stomper.
Wait for the first Stomper to rise and walk under it and time a jump onto the L-shaped Stomper that will be at its lowest point. Be careful or you will fall into the pit of lava, but don't be too cautious or the first Stomper will crush you.
Once on the L-shaped Stomper, you are safe for the time being. You will notice that the grey stone ledge in the distance is too far away to reach from the L-shaped Stomper.
Turn 180 degrees and watch the other Stomper moving up and down. You will notice that there is a ledge on top of the stone block. Watch the rising and falling to get an idea of the timing. When the L-shaped Stomper rises and the other Stomper falls, time a jump onto the ledge on top of the other Stomper and quickly jump to the stone ledge that lies behind it. Be careful or you'll end up in the pit of lava!
You are safe for now. Follow the carved grey stone ledge around the lava pit. Walk carefully or you'll fall into the lava. Follow the ledge to an opening in the carved stone. This opening will lead into a yellow stone hallway.
Follow the hallway. It will lead to a room with three rotating blades.
Watch the blades to get an idea of their timing. Crouch and walk quickly past the first blade as it steadily rises. There is a safe area to the left beyond the first two rotating blades.
You will notice that there is a sloped incline at the bottom of the wall. Climb onto the incline and walk carefully down the wall, timing your movement past the second rotating blade.
You will walk up to a ledge (this position is safe from the blades). Use Climb/Jump to crawl up onto the ledge.
You will notice a switch on the wall behind the ledge. If you pivot and observe the room, you will see a bridge that leads over the rotating blades to another ledge. On the far side of the hallway, you'll see a larger ledge that has another switch that looks like a skull with glowing eyes.
Also, if you fall off this ledge behind the third rotating blade, there are two stone pedastles of different heights that you can use to jump back up on the ledge.
Push the switch on the wall behind the first ledge. You will notice that a small block of stone rises between the first two rotating blades. You will also see that the blades will quit rotating!
Walk across the bridge to the other ledge and drop down to the ground near the hallway. Walk across to the small block and CLIMB up onto it. Use a combination of RUN, JUMP and CLIMB to get onto the large ledge with the skull switch. Press the skull switch.
Your point of view changes to a different room and you will see large dragon head statues. A wall of stone will lower in front of the first dragon head. Note: If you're not solving the various rooms in the order listed in this walkthrough, the number of the dragon heads may differ.
You can now leave the blade room. Follow the hallway back to the grey carved stone ledge. Retrace your steps back to the ledge overlooking the L-shaped Stomper.
Walk or jump off the ledge onto the L-shaped Stomper. Turn around and face the next Stomper. Wait for it to raise and walk off the L-shaped Stomper onto the platform and move to the safe area behind the second Stomper. Watch the left/right Stompers and get a sense of their timing. Walk past them into the hallway beyond.
Retrace your steps in the hallway. Go back to the crevice in the floor where you started this level.
Follow the hallway to the left of the crevice. You will see an opening on both sides of the hallway in the distance. The opening to the right leads down to the room with the dragon heads. Save this room until you have completed the other areas of this level (if you try and access this room before you disable the OTHER dragon heads, you'll be burned to a crisp!).
The opening to the left (the one with red edges and black runes) leads to the Lava Room. The hallway ahead of you leads to the Pendulum Room. Take your pick. I list the walkthroughs in the order *I* completed the level.
Follow the hallway past both openings mentioned above. The hallway makes several turns and leads up an incline to a large room with swinging blades. Unsheath your weapon and enter the room.
You will see a large sword moving in the distance. This is an invisible creature who guards the Pendulums! This creature leaps and turns and moves all over the chamber, so it won't be easy to kill.
Use the creature's shadow to determine where its body is. You can also press the + key on the Keypad to check the creature's health, which also gives a clue to where the creature's body is. I found using medium slashes when the creature is near the ground is the most effective approach to killing it. When you connect, you'll hear the creature react and dark particles will fly around the sword. If you miss and hit the sword, white or silver sparks accompany a metallic clang. Don't confuse these two events. Hitting the creature's sword does you NO good!
After you kill the swordsman, the sword will disappear. You don't even get any health or food for your trouble. Now comes the fun part of the room. One warning: Since you don't get an autosave after killing the invisible creature, if you make one wrong move under the pendulum you will have to start this room over! Be EXTREMELY careful around the pendulums.
There are five swinging blades over an zig-zagging stone path with lava pits on both sides. If a blade hits you directly, it will rack up big damage or even kill you if your health level is too low. If the blade glances off of you, you will be knocked into the lava pit, which is instant death, and a return match with the invisible swordsman.
Watch the timing of the first blade. Also notice which side of the swing motion gives you more room to maneuver. Most of the blades are obvious--the side of the blade where the path is heading (as in zig-zag). In other words, if the path "zigs" right, usually you will have more room on THAT side of the pendulum swing.
But this isn't ALWAYS the case. At least two of the blades are the exact opposite--there will be more room on the narrow side of the path. There is a safe spot between each blade, so hesitate in this spot and watch the blade swing for a few seconds to get an idea of which side to use.
When you are past all of the blades, you will be on a ledge overlooking the other side of the lava pit. To the right is a hallway. Follow the hall and you will come to a room with large blocks of stone.
There is a 4x4 grid of blocks in the middle of the room. They will be referred to later by their block number. As you are facing the blocks from the direction you entered the room, the numbering is as follows:
1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8
9 10 11 12
13 14 15 16
Directly behind and to the right of the blocks are three switches on the wall. I number the switches 1, 2 and 3, counting from left to right.
Directly above the blocks, to the left is a tunnel entrance, high on the wall. Before you do anything, none of the blocks are high enough to reach this tunnel. Therefore, you're going to have manipulate the blocks somehow to raise or lower certain blocks so that you can reach the tunnel.
Luckily, the switches on the wall (and one hidden switch) will raise and lower certain blocks, which allows you to climb and jump to a level high enough to leap across to the tunnel entrance.
Walk to the switches and sheath your weapon. Press the #1 switch. Your point of view changes so you can see which blocks have moved. Now, press the #2 switch. Again, your point of view changes. Go to the grid of blocks and face them with your back to the hallway you used to enter this room. Use the numbered 4x4 grid above to find the specific blocks mentioned below.
A hidden switch is located underground and on the left side of the grid of blocks. Block #9 (a green block) is "hollow" allowing you to walk through it and access the hidden switch. Move to this switch and press it once. Your point of view will change allowing you to see which blocks move.
Jump and Climb out of the grid of blocks and return to the switches on the wall. You may have to climb block #9 and jump diagonally between it and block #14 to climb out of the deeply recessed areas of the grid. Trust me, it can be done.
Now, back at the switches, press the #1 switch, again. Wait for the view change and then return to the grid. Walk along the left side of the grid of blocks and get on block #5. This block is a bit below the level of block #7. Block #6 is even lower (so low, you can't jump/climb up to #7 from #6). You will have to use a combo move to run/jump across the #6 gap and then quickly climb up to block #7. This is almost a single motion and may take you a bit of practice to accomplish. But, it can be done. When you are on block #7, turn to face block #3 and climb up onto it. From block #3, turn and face block #1. The 1-2-3 blocks are arranged similar to the 5-6-7 blocks, ie: block #3 is a bit lower than block #1, and block #2 is a LOT lower than block #3. You will have to use the same run/jump/climb combo move to move from block #3 up and onto block #1. Again, it CAN be done with a bit of practice. When you're on block #1, use a similar run/jump/climb combo move to jump across the gap between the grid of blocks and the ledge outside the tunnel opening. It is basically the same combo move used to navigate the gaps between the blocks.
You are now in the mouth of the tunnel.
Follow the short hallway up to a ledge overlooking the Pendulum Room. You will find a Full Health potion and a switch on the wall to the right. Push the switch.
Your point of view will change to see three blocks of stone protrude from the wall of the Pendulum Room, directly below and to the left of the ledge you're standing on.
While standing on the ledge, turn and look at the swinging blades. To the right of the first pendulum on the far side of the room, you will see a small tunnel entrance high on the wall of the Pendulum Room. This is where you have to go next! You will have to use the swinging blades as stepping stones between the ledge you're on, and the small opening high above the room!
Note: The staircase that appears after you press the switch is supposed to be used if you fall while trying to leap from the ledge to the first swinging pendulum. But it is a *LOT* quicker just to use the last game autosave "Activated Staircase." Loading the autosave is easier than going through the monotonous process of climbing up the three steps using JUMP/CLIMB combo moves.
Watch the timing of the swinging blade and when the first blade swings toward you, time a jump from the front edge of the ledge. This may take a bit of practice (and a few autosave loads) but when you master the combo move of running forward and jumping, it's pretty easy. The timing is crucial because if you jump too short or too far you will either fall into the lava pit or land next to the slashing blade.
You're safe standing on the first pendulum, so turn facing the next swinging blade and get a sense of the timing of the swinging motion. Time your jump from near the center of the blade you're standing on, over to near the center of the second blade (while they're close to the middle of the room).
A good approach is to hold down the JUMP key (SPACE) while waiting for the blade to reach the correct position, then release the key and quickly hit the forward key. Another good idea is to use the "Point of View" keys (R or F) to make sure you have a good view of the swinging blades. You should also use the "Side step" keys (Q or E) to position yourself on the blade before jumping.
The fourth blade is the toughest to time because it doesn't seem to be in sync with the first three pendulums.
When you're on the fifth blade, turn to face the tunnel. You'll see a skull switch at the end of the short tunnel. Carefully walk to the end of the blade and time a jump up and into the entrance of the tunnel. Press the skull switch.
Your point of view changes to a different room and you will see large dragon head statues. A wall of stone will lower in front of the second dragon head. Note: If you're not solving the various rooms in the order listed in this walkthrough, the number of dragon heads may differ.
Time your jump back to the last swinging pendulum and then drop down onto the floor of the Pendulum Room.
Retrace the main hallway back to opening with the red edges and black runes. Follow this hallway. It will lead to a room with a large red statue. The statue is covered with black runes (and possibly the blood of someone who quested before you).
Another hallway is on the far right side of the room. Follow the hall. It will lead to a room with a lava pool. In the middle of the pool is a land mass in front of a block of cared grey stone.
If you step off the yellow stone floor and onto the dark colored ground, a large block of stone will cover the room's exit. Also, a Magmar will appear and attack you.
Kill the Magmar. When he dies, the block of stone in front of the exit will raise up. The lava in the pit will start to slowly drain away. Walk carefully to the grey carved stone, but be extremely careful because there are still a couple of "hot spots" in the lava that will burn you.
When you reach the land mass in front of the carved grey stone, you will see a skull switch underneath the stone (it was covered by lava earlier). Walk to the switch and press it.
Your point of view changes to a different room and you will see large dragon head statues. A wall of stone will lower in front of the LAST dragon head. Note: If you're not solving the various rooms in the order listed in this walkthrough, the number of dragon heads may differ.
Exit the Lava Room and follow the tunnel back to the room with the large red statue. Retrace your steps back up the short hall to the main hallway. Turn right after exiting the red-edged hallway and cross to the other side of the main hallway. Enter the first hall on the left side of the main hallway.
Follow the hall as it twists and turns. When you come to a dark, straight section of the hallway, prepare yourself for battle (unsheath your weapon). Around the next turn will be another invisible swordsman. Use the same strategy listed in the Pendulum Room section above.
After killing the invisible creature, continue following the hall. It will lead to a large room (the room you saw when you pressed the three skull switches in the other areas of this level). Note: If you attempt to visit this room BEFORE sealing the three dragon heads, you will be burned to a crisp.
To the right side of the last sealed dragon head is another hallway. It leads to a large room with four columns in the center. Beyond the columns is a carved grey stone altar with two burning containers.
When you enter the room, a block of stone will seal the exit behind you and an invisible swordsman will attack you. Use the previously listed strategy to kill the swordsman. When he is dead, the carved grey stone altar will open revealing a small tunnel. Follow this tunnel to the next room.
The entryway to this room is cluttered with pieces of a dead human fighter. Directly in front of you is a large black statue covered with runes and sharp blades.
WARNING: DO NOT PRESS THE ACTION KEY WHILE STANDING IN FRONT OF THIS BLACK STATUE! If you do, your character will explode into a bloody mess and join the pieces of corpse already littering the floor!
To your left is an opening that leads to a large cave-like room with a river of lava flowing through it. Over the lava flow is a large gear which is turning slowly.
Stand in front of the turning gear and watch the timing. This gear is turning slowly away from you. When you're ready, jump onto one of the cogs of the gear. Ride the first gear as it turns toward the second gear. The second gear is turning TOWARD the first gear. Be careful or you will be crushed between the first and second gears.
What you must do is jump onto the second gear and quickly move to the right side of the gear before it turns to far toward the first gear. If you time your moves exactly right, you will be able to walk off the second gear and onto the brown wooden "spindle" which is rotating on the side of the second gear. The timing of this action is crucial. If you overjump, you'll either land on the land mass across from the gears, or drop into the lava beneath the gears. But it CAN be done.
After landing on the brown wood spindle, quickly turn and face the third gear. The spindle will be turning slowly as the second gear turns. Walk slowly along with the spindle or you will be knocked off into the lava pit. Watch the timing of the third gear which is slowly turning AWAY from the second gear.
Time a jump from the spindle onto one of the cogs of the third gear. Quickly leap to the land mass that is on the right side of the third gear.
Note: If you drop off the land mass beside the gears, you can drop off another ledge and continue until you are on a ledge underneath one of the gears. Wait by the gear until it rotates once fully and you'll see an opening between two of the cogs. Use this opening to access secret area on other side of gear.
Otherwise, unsheath your weapon. On the left side of the land mass you will see a yellow stone tunnel. Follow the tunnel. It will lead to a small stone chamber with a Dwarf. Kill the Dwarf.
There is a switch on the wall of the chamber. There is also an opening on the wall which is full of dangerous falling rocks from the dwarven mines. Flip the switch on the wall and the rocks will stop falling in the opening. Jump into the opening to end Level Five.
You start the level on a conveyor belt that runs underneath three large rock crushers. Synchronize your movement to the lowering and raising of the crushers (quickly pass underneath a crusher that is raised; when a crusher is dropping, hold back so the conveyor belt won't force you to move underneath the deadly rock crusher).
Once past the three crushers, you will be on a ledge above a small chamber where a Dwarf miner is working. He will attack when you drop off the ledge, so be prepared for a fight. Kill him. Search him to find a STEEL KEY.
Leave the small chamber and you'll enter a larger chamber made of yellow stone. Directly across from you will be a tunnel. To your right will be an empty cart and a tunnel with a locked gate. Walk to the locked gate and use the Steel Key to open it.
Your point of view changes to the large chamber inside the opened gate. You will see a Dwarf working on a large machine with a small door leading into the machine. The machine shoots a ray that is used to dig a tunnel in the solid rock behind the machine.
Enter the large machine chamber. The narrow, main path leads across to the machine. To the left of the main path is another path that leads down to a Dwarven bridge across a lava flow. On an inaccessible wall across from the machine is another gate. There is also a raised drawbridge on the wall to the right of the machine.
The Dwarf miner will open the small door on the machine and enter. If you try to open the door, you will be told that it is locked from the inside. A pinkish-red mass is on the ground to the right of the machine. If you press the ACTION key while standing near this mass, water is pumped into the machine from a large pipe in the roof of the chamber. The temperature gauges on the machine will drop after the cooling water is pumped.
A large pipe leads to the left from the machine and toward a land mass and river of lava. There are stepping stones in the lava river. You can follow the stones up the lava river, but this is a waste of time. More on these stepping stones later.
Take the lower path to the left that leads down below the big machine. The Dwarven bridge leads across the lava flow and to a large opening in the wall of the chamber. If you enter this opening, the machine will fire the red beam into the opening and you will be killed instantly! So skip the bridge for now.
Follow the path to the right of the Dwarven bridge which leads to another chamber. This chamber has another Dwarven bridge over a lava flow and a Dwarf is working near a smaller machine. When you enter the room, the Dwarf will walk across the bridge and attack you. Kill him.
Cross the bridge and look behind the smaller machine. You will find a health potion and a COPPER KEY.
To the right of the machine is a lava fall that feeds the lava flow in the chamber, and a ramp leading up to a natural stone bridge. Walk up the ramp and follow the path on top of the natural stone bridge. It leads to a tunnel. The tunnel leads up to the gate that was inaccessible from the large machine chamber. Unfortunately, it is locked and the copper key doesn't open it. Retrace your steps down the natural stone bridge, down the ramp, across the Dwarven bridge, up the tunnel and to the the large machine chamber. Take the path back up to the opened first gate. Walk through the gate and you will see a Dwarf is now working in the chamber that has the empty cart. Kill him. Go in the other tunnel in the wall (directly across from where you entered this chamber, or to the right of the first gate).
Follow the tunnel. It will lead to a closed double door. Use the copper key to open the double doors.
Unsheath your weapon. A narrow stone path leads across to a tunnel in the far wall. Beneath the stone path is a river of lava. This river of lava leads to the large machine chamber. If you accidentally fall from the stone path, quickly jump onto a stepping stone in the river of lava and follow the stones all the way to the large machine chamber (or you can load the last autosave, which is quicker and less dangerous!)
The tunnel on the far wall leads to a small chamber with two Dwarves who will attack you when you enter the room. Kill them as quickly as possible (be careful, or they'll double-team you to death). Search the Dwarf who had a scimitar and you will find an IRON KEY. The other Dwarf isn't carrying anything. There's also a healing potion in this room.
Leave this room, go across the narrow stone path, through the double doors, and back down to the first gate. Take the lower path to the left, under the big machine and through the tunnel to the room with the natural stone bridge. Go up the ramp and follow the natural stone bridge up to the locked gate. Use the iron key to open the gate.
Outside the gate is a small ledge. To the left of the gate is a switch. Flip the switch.
A bridge lowers and connects to the ledge outside the big machine in the other chamber. Retrace your steps back to the big machine and the drawbridge. Go across the drawbridge and into the tunnel on the other side. The tunnel leads down to a blue chamber. Hesitate outside the blue chamber and prepare yourself for an ambush. When you enter the blue chamber, a Dwarf will attack you from the left side. The terrain in the chamber is uneven, so make sure you get below the Dwarf or he may hack you to death. Kill him. Search him to find a minor healing potion.
Cross the bridge that leads to the machine. You will find a yellow switch on one side of the machine. If you use the ACTION key on this switch your character will try to flip the switch twice, then he'll unsheath his sword and hack it to pieces (saying "Clumsy me!"). Your point of view changes back to the large machine chamber and the temperature gauge which is rising.
Go back to the large machine chamber. Go to the reddish-pink mass outside the machine (see above) and press the ACTION key a couple of times, then leave the chamber IMMEDIATELY! The big machine explodes as the temperature rises and the pressure builds up.
After the machine explodes, you can re-enter the chamber and go to the Dwarven bridge below. Cross the bridge into the opening that the machine was firing the red-ray. Move into the tunnel on the right to end Level Six.
