Solution by Mike Marcelais ([email protected]) on December 26, 1996, amended on January 4, 1997. Any feedback is welcome.
All screenshots in this solution come directly from Nemesis, and are copyright © 1996 Sir-Tech Software. They were captured using the PCX toolkit
Everything in this walkthrough came from my experience from playing the game. I did get one or two hints from usenet posts. No information in any hintbook was used to create this walkthrough.
There are a few comments I have about the game. First of all, magic sucks. Sir-Tech made the magic interface too slow to use effectively in combat and the spells are not powerful enough. Even the personal spells like Healing don't heal you enough -- it is quicker to let you heal naturally than to cast a heal spell and wait for your energy to return. The only useful spell in the entire game is Cure Posion, only because its effect is unique. There are also two places in the game where you need to cast a specific spell to continue.
Inventory is much less of a problem. You have 54 spots to carry items, plus the items you are wearing or wielding. Weapons and armor is not needed at all, except for equipping. There will never be a time in the game when you need a spare sword or an extra helmet. If you find better armor that what you are wearing now, just dump it. Most puzzle items that are used once disappear when used, so you aren't lugging them around. For other items, it is usually true that they are only used in the area where you find them, but not always. Anyway, if you dump weapons and armor, you will have plenty of space to carry everything else you find.
That begin said, lets start the game:
You start off in a the strange town of Galican, carrying nothing except this strange amulet, being dumped on by evil dragons, and asked by strange and powerful people to fetch these seven talismans and save the known universe.
Sounds like a typical role-playing game.
Anyway, the first thing you need to do is look around the room. You can ignore the bookshelves because there aren't any books on them that you can read. The only things of interest in this room is the cabinet to the left of the entrance (when facing out) and the initiation chamber to the right. If you try to open the cabinet now, you'll find it locked, so head down to the initiation chamber. Just walk right toward the sign.
Okay, you've gone down the elevator and a voice is telling you that "to all things, there is an order". Look around: you'll see four letters on the walls, each decorated. These letters represent the four elements: Earth, Air, Water, and Fire. When you click on them, the letter will move aside, show a scroll, and you'll hear a quote. The object is to click on the scrolls in the order that will put the four quotes in chronological order.
The correct order is 'Air' ("the spring of life"), 'Fire' ("hands of time are half past the meridian"), 'Water' ("glow of day"), and finally 'Earth' ("all time comes to rest in my arms"). When you have completed this, you should have eight spell circles above the screen where spells you learn will be deposited.
Now, head back up the elevator and go over to that cabinet again. It'll open now, since you are an initiate. Get the empty glass jar and the healing potion. Then head outside.
Rian will meet you here and give you your first spell. Spell #5: Fog/Heal. This is the last you will see of Rian, by the way.
Start exploring the town. The first thing you should do is go to location #1 and pick up the broken crank and take it to the blacksmiths. Give the crank to her and she'll start repairing it. While you are here, look at the rack of weapons. Get the rusty sword and try to get the very nice sword. You'll have to find something nice for her if you want that nice sword -- maybe you'll come across something.
The rusty sword is a better weapon than the daggers that you'll find at the start of the game and is worth using. Also the best weapons in the game seem to be in the Longsword category so using the rusty sword will improve your skill in that stat. However, the sword will break so never carry only one rusty sword, always have a backup weapon ready.
Now head to location 2 and read the two prayer notes. One talks about the devastation of crops because of bugs kept under glass. Interesting.
At location 3, you'll find a pot of oil. Get it; like most things not nailed down in this game, anything you can pick up is important.
Now enter the inn. Once inside, get the dagger in the grain container at location 1. Use this as your backup weapon when the sword breaks.
Now here is a useful bit of information: Look at your map. I mean the map in the game, not the map with this walkthrough. Notice how it is mostly empty; only one or two squares near the entrance. Now walk around the entire downstairs and see how only the squares you actually step in get mapped.
Now head upstairs and walk around the entire upstairs. Now look at your map. Notice anything unusual? Since you have walked on every square possible, the game recognizes this and fills in the rest of the map, including areas impossible to get to. This is an excellent way to let you know when you have accessed all of the secret areas in a level and when you haven't. The only map I wasn't able to get it to auto-complete was the map of the Forest. I don't know why.
Before you leave the inn, pick up the leather jerkin on the ground by your bed at location 2.
By now, the blacksmith should be finished repairing that crank, so head over there and pick it up. If she isn't done; don't worry about it. Come back and do this part later after you deal with the Hargani.
Take the crank back to location 1. Use the crank on the well. The well is still rusty so use the pot of oil. Now click on the well and you'll pull up a golden key. Keep the key.
You are now ready to go out into the wilderness. Make sure you have a weapon equipped and head to the Taarian Forest.
As you enter the forest, note the large tree at location 1. This tree blocks your access to the hut where the one surviving Hargani is living. You'll have to get by it somehow.
Location 2 contains a blue female bug in the path. Get it.
When you get to location 3, you'll encounter some quicksand. As you are falling in, you can click on the tree branch to keep from being sucked under. It isn't hard to do so don't worry about dying here. Turn to the right. There should be a place where the game says that you can squeeze through the forest here. Click there and you'll get around the quicksand.
Location 4 contains a blue female bug and a white male bug. Get them.
Location 5 is a rickety bridge. The bridge will collapse if you stand on it too long which, while not fatal and actually useful, makes doing a part of the Hargani world very difficult, so make sure to run across it. If you get caught in a fight on it, retreat off the bridge.
Location 6 contains yet another male bug.
Location 7 is a large, flowing fountain. In front of the fountain is a male and female bug. If you look in the southernmost pool of the fountain, you should find a carved stone. (If the game says that you can't reach, then move to a different square and try again. This is true throughout the game.)
Now return to the tree at location 1 (bypassing the quicksand as above. The game won't let you enter the quicksand from the north at all). Get out that glass jar and put a male and female bug in it and wait. Remember what that prayer note said about bugs under glass damaging crops? Well, now you have an entire jar full of bugs. Use that jar on the tree. Mmmmmmm. Tasty. The Hargani hiding behind the tree will now be attacked by another one of those shadow creatures, and then explain what is going on.
After listening to his speech, you'll get your next spell #1: Poison/Refresh. To get by him, give him the carved stone -- this is the key that he was referring to. He'll let you into the hut at location 8 where you can use the stone on the trap door to open it. This will take you into the Hargani World.
You enter this underground world at location 1. Directly ahead of you at location 2 is another rusty sword. It is always good to have backups. In my game, my first sword is about to break, but since monsters are generated randomly, you may have different luck.
In location 3, there are two wardrobes. You have to stand between them in order to get inside them. The west one contains an emerald wand. This wand, when held like a weapon and `swung' can cast the Heal spell 20 times. In the east wardrobe is a pair of leather gloves and leather boots.
Also in that room, the eastern tub has a set of jewels in the bottom of it. You have to stand between them to get at them.
Location 4 contains only a rusty sword. You should be exploring all of this area, partly to get your maps filled up, but mostly to gain experience killing monsters so that when you face the harder monsters later in the game, your combat rank is very high.
Location 5 is the lavatory. There are two sets of lockpicks on the ground here that are worth taking.
The door at location 6 is locked. Open it with any lockpick set. Sometimes the 'picks will break, just use another.
Inside, at location 7, is the library. There is a set of lockpicks on the floor and bookcases all around the room. Search the bookcases by facing them and sweeping the mouse over each shelf looking to see when it turns into a finger (instead of a question mark or an arrow). The useful books are:
Take all of the books you can take. Now turn to the east wall. The southern bookcase contains two scrolls set to dry. The right scroll gives you spell #4: Firestorm/Resist Fatigue. There is also a box on the bookcase. To open the box, you have to rotate the faceplates so that the design carved on the box all flows together. However, when you turn a plate, you also turn the ones next to it.
To open, turn the right plate, the left plate, the center plate, and then the right plate twice. Inside you will find the sphere of intelligence. Don't lose it.
On the north bookcase there is a red book that is fake. It is a lever which opens a secret passage behind the bookcase. When you go through it you end up in a pit room (location 8). Each time you take a step, the walls close in one more notch. If you take three steps, you die. When you jump in a pit, that move doesn't count. Inside each pit is a lever that when pulled resets the walls back to their starting locations. However, each pit can only be climbed out of in particular directions.
To safely navigate the room, visit the pits in order: 8a, 8b, 8c, 8d; always exiting the pit in the most useful direction for getting toward the next pit.
Once past the pits, you are in a narrow hallway. At location 9, there is a note suggesting that fleeing is not always a bad thing. The west wall is a concealed door.
The room behind it is another trap. Inside there is a shadow dragon. Although this dragon is very slow and weak (compared to other dragons you will find in the game) don't attack it. If you kill it, it will simply appear three squares further back. (If you get stuck in a corner, kill it as that retreat will let you get out of the corner). When you stand on one of the pentagrams on the floor, the ceiling will come crashing down around you. If the hole above the pentagram really is a hole, then you will be okay. Otherwise, you will be squashed and the game is over.
To get through this room, go to the pentagrams at 10a and 10b (in that order), then go through the secret wall to the west of 10b, to area 11. In this passageway you will find 4 healing potions, 3 energy potions, and studded leather armor. The secret door at the end of this corridor takes you back to the library.
You can also leave the previous room by going to the secret door at location 12, which will take you to location 13. If you collapsed the bridge, this is the only way to get to location 13.
A key tree is at location 13. The keys on this tree are actually alive and are used to open the door at location 22. Don't take one right now though because the key will slowly die if not used right away. (You can always come back and get another). If you have collapsed the bridge, you have to go through the secret passage at 12, through the passage at 10b to the library, then down the hallway and hope you make it in time. With the hallway still clear of debris, it is much easier to get the key to the door before it withers.
Location 14 contains yet another rusty sword.
The door at location 15 is locked. Use another lockpick here.
Location 16 contains a rusty sword and a set of lockpicks.
At location 17 is a crossbow and a quiver of 6 arrows. Unlike most RPGs, arrows can be fired both from bows and from crossbows in this game.
The door at location 18 is locked. Inside you'll find a barracks with several beds. The beds at location 19 both contains bedbugs which will fly out and bite you if you disturb them. The bed at location 20 contains jewels and the one at 21 contains gems.
Location 22 is the door of life. This door is locked and can only be opened with a living key from location 13. If the key has withered, it will break when you try to use it here; just go back for another key. After opening the door, you will enter the second level of the Hargani World.
You enter this area in a frozen room at location 1. You should be greeted by a merfolk like monster. She will drop a real longsword. Pick that up and dump all of your rusty swords, as the longsword will never break.
Now face the west wall at location 2 and cast a Firestorm spell. The ice will melt and you'll find a leather shield.
Location 3 contains two globes of fire. When these are used, they each cast the Firestorm spell once.
You'll find two arrows on the ground at location 4.
Location 5 contains a mirror. When you click on the mirror, you will start the Ritual of Earth. This involves the mirror asking you a riddle and you answering it. When you answer it correctly, a hand will reach out of the mirror and give you the Sphere of Creativity and the mirror will shatter. When this happens, also pick up a mirror fragment.
The riddles:
The door at location 6 (and at locations 10 and 11) are locked.
The room at location 7 contains four runes surrounding a tree. Note what these runes are -- they are Hargani compass runes.
There is a large statue in the next room. On the side of this statue there are two secret compartments. The one at location 8 contains a bag of charcoal dust which can blind monsters (and seems to have an unlimited number of uses) and the compartment at location 9 contains a note from Joran.
A suit of Scale Armor is on the floor at location 12.
An arrow lies on the ground at location 13.
At location 14, there is a kiln. If you reach into the kiln, you'll find a cure poison potion.
If you face the wall at location 15, you can open the wall. Inside, you'll find a leather helmet.
There is a pump at location 16. This is something you'll want to come back and deal with later. If you pump the pump then drink the water, you'll gain hit points even if you are at your maximum hit points, but you'll be severely poisoned. After you have the cure poison spell, you can come here and pad your hit points. In my opinion, it won't matter at that point in the game so just leave it alone.
On the ground at location 17 is a book: "Protector's Doctrine."
The bookcase at location 18 has one book that you can read on it. It is the same book that was back in the library, except this time the writing is in english. Also, there is a spot on the shelf where you can put a book. Put the "Acta Sanctorium" on the shelf. Why this book? Well, you lose the book you put there forever, but there is another copy of Acta later in the game.
After placing the book, you'll see a wheel with a skull on it. The objective is to get the runes to match the runes in room 7. The handle will rotate the runes and clicking on an individual rune will rotate that piece around. Flip the runes until you have the four runes that you saw in 7, and rotate the disc until they are in the right location. (If it isn't random, then you need to flip the top, bottom, and right runes, then rotate it twice.) A door will open up to descend to level 3.
You enter the waterlogged tunnels of the third Hargani level at location 1.
This area has many barrels. This is a list of the locations of all of the barrels and what is in each of the barrels.
A barrel with a leech will permanently poison you while the leech is attached. A salt barrel will kill the leech.
At location 7 there is a switch on the wall. Get the lever from the barrel at location 10, attach it to the switch, and then flip the switch. This will open the portcullis that keeps the Hargani prisoner at location 8.
At location 11 is a large bone pile. Take one of the bones.
At location 12 is a weak Hargani that was not strong enough to escape with the others. He will tell you a story and then give you the Sphere of Discourse. He will also drop a page from the Anthologia on the ground. Combine that page with the rest of the Anthologia in your inventory to form a repaired book.
At location 15, the Sword Destructica lies imbedded in a skull. If you try to take the sword it will shock you. Look closely at the skull. There are three sockets in the skull. Take the spheres and put them into the skull in the appropriate locations: The sphere of creativity goes in the skull's right eye (your left) (because the right side of the brain is where creativity lies); the sphere of intelligence goes in the skull's left eye (your right) (because the left side of the brain controls rational thought); and the sphere of discourse goes into the skull's mouth. Then you can safely take the Sword.
When you wield the sword, you can have nothing else wielded. Not another weapon, not the amulet, not even a shield. Your off hand must be empty. The sword never impressed me as that powerful of a weapon -- it is about the same as the very nice sword in the weapon shop (which you will soon get) and because of the danger of the sword, I tended to avoid using it during the entire game.
At location 16 are two large jaws. Take the bone from the bonepile at location 11 and use it to jam the jaws. You have to time it just right (failure means nothing happens). Make sure that the `Use' is lit up so you know you have the right position. When you are past the first jaw, turn around, get the bone, and use it on the second jaw.
Location 17 holds a very evil entity. (I don't believe the game ever tells you who that thing is.) He cannot be harmed by magic nor by normal weapons. Only the Sword Destructica can harm him.
In a niche in the wall at location 18 lies the Nitheran Talisman of Massive Strength. To get at the talisman, use the mirror fragment on the field to deflect the field.
Location 20 is an illusionary wall. Just walk right through. There is a ladder which goes to the Galican Sewers (halfway up) and lets out at the top in the Taarian Forest (at location 9). From location 9 you can go west (through the forest) to 10 and from 10 you can go south to get back to 9.
Return to the forest; it's time to clean up a few loose ends.
Since we mentioned that collapsing the bridge would make a section of the Hargani world difficult, lets do that now since we are done with that world. Go over to the bridge (location 5 in the Forest) and face west. Just stand there until it sinks down. There will be a warning animation before it actually collapses. In the soil will be stuck a broken key. Take the key and head back to town.
In town, head to the blacksmith's forge. Give her the jeweled hilt. This will impress her enough to let you have the ornate sword. Also give her the broken key so that she can repair it. This will take a long time, so don't bother waiting for her to finish it. We'll come back for it later.
Next, head to the Inn and talk about Taz to the drunk at location 3. You aren't powerful enough to deal with the Crypt, but keep this in mind for later.
Next head to the church and talk to the father there. He'll ask you what evil you bring. Give him the Sword Destructica and he'll ask you if you know anything more. Give him the Armory Anthologia. He'll ask you for the sword (again) so he can pray over it. Give it to him.
You're done in town for now, so head down to the sewers.
Now the CD dance that I talked about begins. Unlike most other games which try to minimize the amount of CD switching, Wizardry: Nemesis seems to be uncaring about arranging which CD a game section is on resulting in an unnecessary number of swaps. To get to the Sewers, enter the forest, go over to the exit from the Hargani World (to CD 2) and then enter the tunnels (CD 3). But wait...it will get worse.
The aquatic terrors in the tunnels all drop metal shields. If you use shields, upgrade when you kill one.
You enter the tunnels at location 1. Proceed around to location 2 and get the two healing potions there and then go to location 3. Here is a button that opens a passage to the sewer antechamber. This is where all of the interesting stuff in the sewers are.
You enter the antechamber at location 1. To get back out, just walk towards the north wall at location 1 and the wall will open automatically.
At location 2 there are three arrows on the ground.
On the wall at location 3 is the symbol of air (just like the one in the Initiation Chamber. Click on the symbol and the wall opens up showing you this strange fountain-like thing (at location 4). Note the sparkling lights in the fountain: blue, yellow, blue, red, red.
At location 5 there are two buttons on the wall. Pushing either one opens up the wall. In these rooms, location 6 contains two cure poison potions. In a skull at location 7 is a ruby wand. This wand has 20 charges and fires a sparks spell (it is not one of the sixteen spells you learn normally) which does really light damage against a monster.
Location 8 also has two buttons. The south button opens the south wall, but the north button does nothing. I suspect that pushing the north button causes all of those ceiling snakes to grow back.
Inside the southern room, there is a set of chain leggings at location 9. At location 10, there are claws of death in the coffin on the right and in the left pipe in the center of the room is spell #3: Blind/Enhance Attack.
Now return to the main sewer area and go to location 4. There is a glowing green spot on the ground. If you click on it, a cube rises up. Go around to the front of it and open the wooden panel. You'll see a talisman. However, you can't take the talisman. (Save first and try, there is a nice animation.) Go around the back of the cube and you'll find that the wall is an illusion. You can get the talisman through the wall. This is the Nitheran Talisman of Invulnerability.
At location 5 there are claws of death on the ground.
Location 6 contains a note to Joran from Rian.
At location seven is a doorway with three buttons on the right side. Push the buttons in the same order that you saw in the fountain: Blue, Yellow, Blue, Red, and Red. If you are color-blind, you need to push the bottom, top, bottom, middle, and middle. This opens the gateway that leads to the Gondola Station.
Yes, we're on a new CD again. This means that to get here from town requires you to use 4 CDs. Sigh!
Anyway, first let me give you a tour of the Gondola Station. Location 1 is the entrance to the sewers. This is where you just came from.
At location 2 is a Ram's Horn. This powers the gondola at location 3. Get in the basket, blow the horn and you go from one location 3 to the other.
Location 4 is the entrance to Joran's Keep. That's where we want to go now.
Inside, you'll see a very large bug. Going down the left stairs, you'll see a lot of other exhibits. Joran's really into strange stuff isn't he?
At location 2, there is a dead butterfly. Get it. You can also get three poisonous mushrooms from the garden at location 3.
At location 4, there is a butterfly exhibit with one of the butterflies missing. Put the butterfly from location 2 into the exhibit and the exhibit swings forward and a bee key falls onto the ground.
Duck into the room marked as location 5. There is a huge skeletal dragon. Walk all around it. When you get to stand in front of it you'll discover that it doesn't like you very much. Maybe later.
Head up the stairs to location 6. There is large bee mural on the wall. Take the bee key and put it into the slot and the wall opens up and allows you access to the ground floor.
Location 1 is where you enter the ground floor. You can exit back to the upper floor by pushing a button on the west wall here.
Location 2 contains two interesting items. The first is the cabinet on the right. Inside you'll find two energy potions and an amethyst globe. Having the amethyst globe in your inventory helps your energy recharge rate. On the right is a sink filled with pure forest water.
You'll find a crossbow pistol on the ground at location 3.
At location 4, you'll run into Joran. He'll talk more about the Nithos and ask you for his help. He'll drop a desk key. Pick this up. Also get the broken tablet that is nearby.
Now return to the upper level.
Walk around to location 7. There is a healing and cure poison potion here. There is also a lot of potion making equipment but I couldn't find anything useful to do with any of it.
At location 8, there is a set of bookcases. Each bookcase contains one book that can be read (but not taken) and the right bookcase also contains the book "Progeny's End".
On the balcony at location 9 are two arrows.
At location 10 is a desk. Unlock this desk with the deck key you got from Joran. Inside is a runic tablet (which you can't do anything with yet) and a document holder. Inside the document holder is spell #6: Icestorm/Cure Poison.
There's nothing more you can do in the keep now, but we'll be returning before long. Now head out to the gondola station, then out to the Venimore Marsh. Run right through the entire marsh back to the town (you enter the marsh at location 1; the exit to Galican is at location 2). We'll be back to do the marsh in a moment but there is stuff to do in town and there won't be a chance to do it for quite a while.
Back in town, visit the church. The priest should have the Sword Destructica uncursed now. Yea! Also, if you donate Gems, Jewels, or other valuables to the priest, he'll do things like heal and cure you, boost your hit points, etc.
Stop by the blacksmiths. She will have finished repairing that key. If you check your notes, you'll notice that the key is over 400 years old.
That's the end of the town, so head back to Venimore Marsh.
The plants in this swamp are very hostile and can poison you. Very inconvenient. Fortunately, they don't move.
First things first, loot the swamp. You can get a staff at location 3, two arrows at location 4 and a rusty sword (if you really want it) at location 5.
Now, kill two plants. They each drop tentacles. Pick up these tentacles and combine them. You'll have a vine. However, carrying this vine around constantly poisons you. You need to deal with this since you need this vine. Remember that sink in Joran's Keep that smelt of pine forests? That water is strong enough to clean the vines. Go through the tunnel and the Gondola to location 2 in the ground floor of the keep and use the vines on the sink. Then cast cure poison on yourself and return to the swamp.
Enter the fallen tower and look at the grate at location 6. Use the golden key (the one from the well in town) on the grate to unlock it and go downstairs.
You enter these underground tunnels at location 1. Proceed to the broken door at location 2. Do the buttons look familiar? Use the broken tablet you got from Joran's Keep on the button. Then push the buttons in the right order. The buttons are labeled `OPEN', push them in this order (left, right, bottom, top) and the door will open.
Behind the door, there is an old magical painting at location 3. If you click on the painting, you'll get a plea and the painting will dissolve. Behind the painting is a large curved sword (which is not a good weapon but helps at one specific spot later) and a copy of "Acta Sanctorium".
On the ground at location 4 is Jade Wand, which casts Sandstorm and has 20 charges, and a suit of Chain Mail.
In the cabinet at location 5, there are two healing potions, two energy potions, and an Armet (a kind of helmet).
Now head to the large maze at the top. This is a maze filled with one way doors. To get through, head left, right, left, right, straight, right, and then left. This will follow the path 6a, 6b, etc.
If you need to get out, follow 7a, 7b, etc, by going left, right, left, right, right.
But we don't want to leave now; go down the spiral staircase and you'll meet a nasty minotaur at location 8. The curved sword really does a number on this monster. After he's dead, you can pick up the whip that he drops if you want, but stop using the curved sword.
Tie the vine to the railing on the left side of the screen and climb down into the pit.
This area is so small, there isn't much to say. Basically, all there is an entrance and an exit. Location 1 is the entrance, location 2 is the exit. Head to the exit and enter the Mushroom Caverns.
This is also just a connecting area, but far more dangerous. You enter at location 1. North and south of here, frequent tough monsters that appear like Zalena (whom you'll meet later) appear, hurling large fireballs at you.
At location 2, there is a sample of Tiger-eye to the south. Just having this in your inventory helps your combat skills.
At location 3, there is a sample of Lodestone to the north. I'm not exactly sure what it does, but take it anyway. Like the tigereye and the amethyst, just having it in your inventory does something.
Location 4 is the passageway to a Desolate Castle.
You start at location 1, in front of a gate. Go through this gate, but don't go through the second one. That gate does not stay open on its own and will come crashing down on you if you try to go through. Get a stone block from the ground and use it to jam the gate open so you can go through.
At location 2, a net will fall from the sky onto you. To get out, just enter combat mode and cut through it. Then pick up the rope from off the ground that you made from the net.
There is a desk at location 3. There is not much of import here, but if you read your journal after looking at the desk, you notice the word `Ystalin'.
At location 4, hidden behind rocks, there is a book and a scroll. The book is unimportant (but easier to see). The scroll is spell #8: Sandstorm/Resist Magic.
There are three chains hanging down from the ceiling at location 5. You can either pull the chain now or later. When you do, the ceiling will come crashing down. There will be several pieces of wood that you need to prop the gate open on the way out. (The pieces of stone won't work, I have no idea why not though.)
A suit of Banded Armor is hidden behind the stairs at location 6.
The stairs up are at location 7. When you try to go out, a monster jumping out from behind the stairs will ambush you.
The stairs back down are at location 1.
If you pulled the chains at location 5 on the first floor, then the floor will be broken at location 2. Put the rope (from the net) on the chain hanging here and swing across. If you did not pull the chain, you can just walk across.
The stairs up are at location 3.
The stairs back down are at location 1.
Turn around. On the table (at location 2), there is a pair of scissors. Take these.
On the table across from the stairs at location 3, there is a very unstable table. On the table is a book of runes, a candle, and a container of some highly flammable powder. If you try to take the book, the table collapses, the candle and book slide down the table, the powder ignites and the book burns. This makes reading the book very difficult. If you use the scissors to cut the candle's wick, then the book will not burn.
Read the book. The game will copy the page of runes into your journal. Do the runes look familiar? They are the same runes that are used in the deck in Joran's Keep. If only you knew what the password was...
The stairs up are at location 4.
Zelana here greets you to a very rude welcome. Just walk up to her and allow her to apologize. She asks you to meet her downstairs.
Before you do that, head over to her chair at location 2. Get the Bloodstone Cloak, Silver Wand (which repels undead and has 20 charges), and the book that gives you spell #2: Windstorm/Sound Shield.
Head back down the stairs at location 1 and return to the first floor.
Zelana will be waiting for you at location 3 -- in front of her desk. She will give you a dragon scale and the Nitheran Talisman of Massive Explosion. Exit the castle (using a piece of wood to prop open the first gate) and return to the mushroom caves.
At location 5, use the dragon scale to open the sealed corridor to the north.
Save your game here. There is a bug at the beginning of Ystalin's Lair that can ruin your game. Make your backup here.
At the cliff edge, cast the Whirlwind spell. As you are casting it, use the keyboard to walk forward (the up arrow) and you will ride the wind into Ystalin's lair.
At the entrance (location 1), turn around and head into the room. There is a very large door heading north out of here that is impossible to open unless you complete the mechanism to open the door.
At location 2 is a drafting table. Hidden above the table is a large fuse.
On the floor at location 3 is a gauge.
At location 4 is the actual mechanism. Get the pump, piston, large gear, drive belt, and small fuse from the wall shelf. The bug here is that sometimes the small fuse is placed out of reach. You can't get the fuse; you can't win. Restore back on the cliffs and hope the fuse is better placed next time.
Put the gear on the peg. Put the drive belt on the gear. Put the piston on the gear. Put the gauge on the pin. Put the large and the small fuse in the fusebox. Put the pump in the mechanism right of the fusebox.
Now head over to the door at location 5 and open the door.
The next room has lots of valuable gold and gems on the floor. Don't touch any of it. At location 6 there is a very nice suit of chain mail. If you want the suit, don't touch anything. You can read the note on the floor by the suit if you want, but don't take it with you.
Due to a bug, you can't save in this room. Well, you can save, but when you try to load you'll get a memory error trying to load you game and you get to start over.
Go to the door at location 7. Compare the first two dice. The object is to create a die that has the same relationship with the third die as the first two do with each other. Rotate the die until the ankh is on top, the sword is on the left and the shield on the right. Then push the red button.
If you get it wrong, then you are given a different puzzle: Choose the saber (the curved sword).
The third puzzle: Three swords down.
The fourth puzzle: Turn the figure until there are two triangles by themselves (like the second figure) pointing to the northwest.
The fifth puzzle: Turn the skull face down; a mirror of the second skull.
After going after through the puzzle door, you'll see a room with tons of treasure. Ignore it all and head right for the stairs at location 8. Here you will meet Ystalin the dragon. If you did not take anything, then he will reward you with the suit of chain mail you saw. After talking to him, you will fly for the city of Nithera.
Ystalin drops you off at location 1 in the Nitheran Gardens and gives you the Nitheran Talisman of Basilisk Eye and the Finely Crafted Chain Mail.
At location 2 there is a two handed sword on the ground.
Location 3 contains a pot of lamp oil.
Location 4 holds a sextant. Take it.
At location 5 is a hidden doorway. Click on the right torch bracket to open the doorway and enter the Nitheran Archives.
You enter the archives at location 1. There is a suit of plate armor to your right at location 2, but it is not as good as the chain mail that Ystalin was nice enough to give you.
There is a big rug that dominates the room at location 3. I would recommend not stepping on it. If you do, three guardians appear at the three exits and the room becomes filled with poison gas.
Location 4 is a secret panel in the north wall. If you open it, you'll see three handles which control the source of fuel. You want to flip the top handle and the bottom handle. The bottom handle will restore the air if you have stepped on the carpet. The top handle turns off the massive fire in location 7.
Now head down to the library through the door at location 5.
You enter the library at location 1.
Head down the corridor, picking up the shovel at location 2, and the fire iron at location 3.
At location 4, there is a secret wall. To open it, pull the torch bracket with the fire iron. Then climb up the stairs to the room at location 5.
In this room, there are daggers flying across the room. Save your game. To get across, you have to time your steps well. You will never get killed standing still so take your time. You want to step forward just after the dagger nearest to you flies across your field of view.
When you get across the room to location 6, click on the base of the globe. This will turn off the daggers. Also get the healing and energy potions on the ground here.
Head all the way back to location 7. There are three flasks on the ground here. Get them all and then approach the fountain. Click on the fountain mouths -- the fountain will turn around. Then click on the base of the fountain and you'll see three pillars rise up. The object is to put the flasks on each of the pillars so that they are the same height. To do this, put the small flask on the right pillar, the medium flask filled halfway with water on the left pillar and the large flask completely filled with water on the center pillar.
Head north to the swimming pool at location 8. Jump into the pool and face the large rock outcropping. Dive under the water and up into an underwater cave. Turn to the left and use the shovel or the fire iron to dig out the Ceremonial Mask hidden there.
Location 9 is the entrance to the library. There are a lot of interesting books here. If you take the time to browse all of the shelves, you'll find some interesting reading. To navigate the library takes some practice. To get to the second floor, climb up the ladder and shift to the left. You will now be at location 10.
One of the ladders here is stuck in its tracks. Use the lamp oil from the gardens on the base of the ladder to loosen it. Then climb the ladder and move right to get to the third floor.
At location 11, pull the last lamp while facing the end of the corridor. You'll see the wall move. Go over to the wall and open it up.
A large blue gate blocks location 12. The first time you open it, it will pass through you and you'll be attacked by a blue dog. When you try to leave, it will vanish completely and two dogs will attack you.
Location 13 contains a kris that seems to be a very nice weapon. There is also a book that shows that Jaron is really Gamel, the sorcerer who released lots of devastation last time he fiddled with the talismans. The book on the table here also provides some interesting reading.
Now head out of the library. The library door will be locked if there is anyone (except you) alive in the library. If it is locked for no good reason, walk back upstairs into the secret room again and back. This usually unlocks the door.
On your way out, you'll notice that the door at location 14 cannot be opened. It is permanently locked.
Go back to the dagger room. Notice that there is a big hole in the floor at location 15? This was opened when you solved the fountain puzzle at location 7. Entering this tunnel takes you to location 16, behind the locked door.
The only thing in this room is an Amber Wand at location 17 that has 20 charges and casts Firestorm.
Now return to the Archives area.
Head up the other set of stairs at location 6 and enter the archives themselves.
Location 7 is a room that is filled with soot. Initially, a towering inferno blazes in here. If the fire is still on, then you didn't flip the handle at location 4 like you were supposed to. The upper handle cuts the fuel for this fire.
On the bookcase at location 8 there is a book that you can read.
At location 9 is a door with the symbol of Earth on it. There are two ways to open this door. If you have the key that you got from the bridge in the Taarian Forest and have gotten in repaired by the blacksmith, then you can use the key to open the door. If you don't, you can open the door by casting `Sandstorm' on the door.
At location 10, there is a false book on the bookshelf. Inside this book is the Nitheran Talisman of Restore Energy.
There is a cave in at location 11. Use the shovel twice to dig through it. Then put the sextant in the logo on the wall that you have just excavated.
Inside at location 12 is the location where the original Nitheran ritual was preformed with the talismans. In fact, the Nitheran Talisman of Heal All is still here in the debris.
Outside, at location 13, there is a large airship. Get into the ship, hang the sextant by the chain to the south, and click on the wheel to the north and you'll return to location 6 at the Gondola Station. We want to head to the Forsaken Crypt now, so head through the tunnel, to the marsh, to Galican, and then to the Crypt (another four CD tour).
This part can actually be done at any time, but it is a rather difficult section, so I've chosen to put it off until the end. You enter the Crypt area at location 1. As you walk toward the crypt, two guardians fight you at locations 2. If you are doing this earlier in the game and these guardians give you trouble, come back later.
At location 3, there is a scrap of cloth on the ground. There is also a crowbar in the barrel. The crowbar can open all of the stuck or sealed crypts in this area.
At location 4, there are three arrows on the ground and a cloth scrap in the niche.
Location 5 has a gold tooth in the niche.
The hallway from location 6 through 14 is just a lot of crypt niches. Many of them are locked; use the crowbar to open them. The contents of those niches are:
At location 16, there is a wall that can be hacked through. Behind the wall is the remains of Tas. Kill him and he'll drop the Nitheran Talisman of Bird of Prey, some jewels, and a gold tooth. Save your game here.
You are at the entrance to the maze. If you enter much further, your map will become smeared and if you get lost, you are in deep trouble. As you wander, you will occasionally see a ghost. Every time you do, the maze will change and you will take damage or become poisoned unless you are wearing the silver amulet.
To get through the maze, enter the maze and walk straight until you meet your first ghost. (I'm only going to mention directions to go when there is a choice). Then head east until you meet another ghost. Turn around, turn east, and you'll reach yet another ghost. Turn around, going west, west, south, and north to reach another ghost. Now head east, east, east, south, and finally west and you should be in a four by four room at location 17.
In this room there is a Parson's Ring, Seldin's Bones, Chain Boots, a Chain Coif, and a Diary Fragment which you can use to repair the diary that you get from the ghost. Taking the bones will cause the maze to open up, the ghost haunting it to go away, and your map to become fixed.
Return with the bones and put them into Seldin's crypt at 15, East.
Now exit the crypt and return to Joran's Keep.
Inside Joran's Keep, go to the desk at location 10 and enter the code word "Progeny." Use the page of runes in your book to translate the letters into runes. When you get it right, the tablet will flash blue.
If you didn't extinguish the candle before getting the book of runes, then the runes may be very hard to figure out. The runes that spell "Progeny" are:
Now head for the dragon at location 5. Stand in front of its mouth. It won't bite this time. Then click on the dragon. Descend down to the lower keep.
You enter the lower level at location 1. Location 2 is home to a dragon statue that gives you a cryptic clue, which I honestly have no idea what it means.
Location 3 is home to a generator that creates an infinite number of very hard to kill eyeball like things. Fortunately, they don't leave the room.
Location 4 is a torture chamber. On the ground is a Topaz Sword and a Bassinet.
Location 5 is a large electrical machine. You can use the controls to create electrical elementals, but I wouldn't recommend it.
Location 6 contains stairs up to a hidden area in the ground floor. Go up the stairs and you'll end up at location 5 in the ground floor. Click on the globe to reveal a gate key. Take the gate key. You can either go through the wood door (which unlocks the cabinet on the other side) to exit to the ground floor or return down to location 6 in the lower area.
Location 7 is the gate. This is the entrance to the final battle and once you use the key you cannot save anymore. Use the key and enter the gate. A big nasty Nitheran Monster will be waiting for you. There are two ways to do him in.
The easy, and very cheesy way is to use the Basilisk talisman before you enter the gate. This power will kill him automatically when the battle starts. This is useful if you want to replay the ending again.
The normal way is to defeat him in combat. Before you can harm him with any weapons, you have to use your amulet. Use it just like you were casting a spell. This will make the monster vulnerable again.
Enjoy the ending.
There are seven talismans that you need to finish the game. This list provides hyperlinks to the portion of the solution where you acquire the talisman.
There are a total of eight spells in the game. This list provides hyperlinks to the portion of the solution where you can get that spell.
There is the protection that each piece of armor provides you. All armor is cumulative. Too bad there isn't a similar way to rate weapons in the game.
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Cloth Shirt Leather Jerkin Studded Leather Armor Scale Armor Chain Mail Banded Armor Plate Armor Finely Crafted Chain Mail |
1 2 7 11 15 20 20 25 |
Leather Leggings Chain Leggings
Leather Gloves Chain Gloves
Leather Boots Chain Boots |
3 12
2 6
2 6 |
Leather Helm Chain Coif Ceremonial Mask Armet Bassinet
Bloodstone Cloak
|
2 4 5 6 8
4
|