Might and Magic VIII:  Day of the Destroyer

RPG by 3DO


Solution by Lu Richardson
-------------------------

General tips:

Those who have played the M&M games before will know the setup - 
there are several different townships with surrounding territory, in 
which you find the really interesting places.  You start at one 
town and visit all the houses where you get given the different 
quests.  Some are major quests, some are designed to give your 
characters experience.  In any case, all are fun.

The whole map contains, left to right and top to bottom, 
Murmurwoods, Alvar, Ironsands; Garrote Gorge, Ravenshore, 
Shadowspire; Ravage Roaming and Dagger Wound Islands; and, directly 
S, Regna.

Starting as you do with the cheat file, equipped with the Lloyd's 
Beacon spell, make sure one of your characters sets it up in 
Murmurwoods, Ironsands, Garrote Gorge and Ravage Roaming, since the 
Town Gate spell doesn't give you quick access to these places.

In exploring the towns, be sure you mark on the map the places you 
will have to come back to after attending to a quest - 
alternatively, cast Lloyd's Beacon at each door.  Once the quest is 
over, you can overwrite.

Observe that every time you complete a quest you should go back to 
whoever sent you on it to get your reward.  If you are cheating, you 
might prefer to leave it to the end and then go round everybody.

Remember that the minor quests do not need to be followed up in 
order to finish the game, so if you don't find a quest item, don't 
lose sleep over it.

When you visit the various caves, castles, etc., keep left and make 
sure you cover all the ground, open all the doors, examine all the 
chests.  Practically all quest items are in chests.  Miss nothing.  
Look out for hardly noticeable buttons.  The secret doors will glow 
red if you are cheating.

Don't overburden yourself with a lot of stuff.  Every time you open 
a chest, see what you want to keep and put in it anything you no 
longer want.  Dropping stuff on the floor causes it to disappear 
when you leave the location.

Donate at every healing Temple in each town.

Find and click on each obelisk in each location.

Some Stables get to you the Arena on Sundays, where you can fight 
for profit and glory from Page to higher levels.

It is best not to enter places unless you have been specifically 
asked to go into them and find something.  However, it's entirely up 
to you - you might prefer to save on shoe leather and visit places 
while you are in the neighbourhood.  Also, you can do things in any 
order you like.

The best strategy for playing Arcomage is, if the towers are small, 
to try to destroy the enemy while protecting yourself.  It the 
towers are big, go for all the utilities to build up numbers of 
bricks, gems and recruits.  It really depends on the cards you get, 
of course.

As to potions, when you cheat you don't really need any.  You might 
want a few in hand, such as Divine Restoration and Divine Power.  
The first cures just about everything, the second restores spell
points.  To make them:  Divine Restoration, combine a red potion 
with a yellow potion to get an orange potion.  Combine a red potion 
with an orange potion.  You get Haste.  Now combine a blue potion 
with a yellow potion to get a green potion.  Combine a blue potion 
with a green potion to get Recharge Item.  Combine a catalyst with 
Haste and another one with Recharge Item.  Now combine Haste with 
Recharge Item - you've got Divine Restoration.  Divine Power:  
combine a yellow and a green potion to get Harden Item.  Combine a 
Recharge Item potion with a catalyst and the Harden Item with a 
catalyst, then combine Recharge Item with Harden Item.  You've got 
Divine Power.  You can mess about with other potions, but these are 
the most important.

OK, here we go.


DAGGER WOUND ISLAND

Locations:  Town, Flying Library, Earth Plane, Abandoned Temple, 
Obelisk and (much later) Entrance to Regna

Start by talking to the guy by the caravan (open the chests).  He 
sends to you the Clan Leader's Hall (centre of town).  Onefang gives 
you a crystal to take to Talimere.  Dadeross wants you to go to 
Alvar to deliver a message to Fellmoon.

Minor tasks are:  Tisk wants the book Prophecy of the Snake, which 
is in the Abandoned Temple.  Aislen wants you to give Cure Disease 
scrolls to 6 huts in the outer islands.  Hiss wants the Idol of 
Snake (also in the Abandoned Temple).  Rothnax wants you to find 
Isthric.  In another island, Languid wants an Anointed Herb Potion, 
to be found later in the Smuggler's Cave.

First of all, go to Talimere and recruit him.  Next, go to the Inn 
and recruit the two guys there.  This will be your team, since the 
fifth member will be the odd person here and there until you recruit 
Dyson Leyland, whom you'll need. 

Having done that, go to the teleporter which works and find the next 
one.  Explore each island and do your bit, but don't bother to fight 
all the pirates since they regenerate and you could spend the rest 
of your life trying to kill them off.  Find the next teleporter and 
move on, exploring as you go and visiting huts.  Particularly, look 
for chests - probably defended by pirates.

If you are able, visit the Uplifted Library to the SE.  With your 
back to it you can fly up to the top of the mountain in front.  
You'll see a brown bit.  Press X to get over the lip of the mountain 
and click on the obelisk.

Inside the Library, just keep using all the lifts you find to get 
right to the top, where a chest contains the Book of Khel.

Leave and carry on exploring.

Eventually you will find the... 

Abandoned Temple  
----------------

Wade in, keep left.  Explore the place patiently, keeping an eye on 
the map to make sure you miss nothing.  After you get in, the first 
room you'll come to has many blocks and also snake thingies.  Kill 
them, go to the top two alcoves and push the buttons, then to the 
other two and do the same.  Stairs form in front of the next door 
and you can move on.  There are chests either side, behind secret 
doors.

Onwards, you will step into a room and probably fall through the 
floor.  Come back up and look at the ceiling - the path is marked in 
red.  Follow it and on to the next room.  As soon as you click on 
the door opposite the one you entered, both doors will shut and 
panels will light up on all four walls.  Quickly go around clicking 
on the panels to stop the floor from disappearing altogether before 
you can get out.  You might need to press X to jump onto the 
different levels of the floor.  

As you come out of this room, look to your right and go through the 
door.  Keep left, push buttons, go through doors.  You will come to 
a kind of bridge with a secret door to one side.  Inside is a book 
you are going to need.  Work your way out of here.

Back at the door through which you came into this section, continue 
to your right.  You'll come to a big room with lots of red plates on 
the floor.  Look to your left and spot a double headed snake panel.  
Go to it, avoiding the plates, and stand by it with your back to the 
wall.  Look to your left and then stand on the red plate in front of 
the red plate by the wall, towards the centre of the room.  This 
opens the panel and you can get the idol.  Leave this room avoiding 
the plates and you will get to the exit.

Outside, walk towards a boat which will take you to Ravenshore.  If 
you go to your left, though, you can step on the teleporter and get 
back to Dagger Wound Island to return whatever you've found and 
claim your rewards for whatever you've done.  By the way, if you've 
opened all the chests in DWI, you will have found enough Cure 
Disease spells to do the job.

Although using the Fly spell you can visit the Library and the 
obelisk, there is no need to do that yet, unless you particularly 
want to.

Now you are ready to take the boat to...


RAVENSHORE

Locations:  Town, Tomb of Lord Brinne, Dire Wolf Den, Oracle, 
Obelisk, Chapel of Eep, Smugglers' Cave

OK, visit everyone in town.  The first person you ought to seek out 
is, of course, Fellmoon at the Merchants' House, who will give you a 
letter for Arion.

Blueswan will ask you to play (and win) Arcomage at each Inn.  Well, 
there are two of them in this area, so save before you play and, if 
you win, save again.  If not, reload and try again.

Note the huge crystal in the centre of town (you will come here 
towards the end), the Vault of Time (again, this comes later) and 
the empty Hostels, which will be occupied in due time.

Over the bridge, examine all trash heaps, you might find something 
useful.  Discard, or sell, the rest.

Other quests will be the one from the Trader, who wants you to kill 
all the wolves (just use Wizard's Eye to spot them all and kill them 
- find, enter and sanitate the Dire Wolf Den).

Lathin will ask you to find the shield Eclipse, and you will, by and 
by.  It's in a chest in the Necromancers' Guild.

You can do this in any order, but might as well explore the whole 
region.  Nothing special about the Dire Wolf Den; keep to your left 
and kill everything in sight, specially the two nasties in a cage.  
In a chest you will find a quest bone.  When outside, find and kill 
all the other wolves.

Speak to the Oracle, click on the obelisk nearby.  The Oracle will 
return any quest item you've found but dropped by mistake.

The Chapel of Eep (the Micky Mouse building) offers no particular 
challenges, find the cheese in a chest behind a secret door.

I think the Tomb of Lord Brinne seems to be a place where you can 
meet some of the people who participated in the creation of this 
game; certainly, the flute you find by clicking on the tomb itself 
is not requested by anyone.  And the inmates have funny names.

If you've done, we'll go to SW corner of the map, to the...

Smugglers' Cave
---------------

Keep left.  You will have to fight your way in until you find 
Arion.  Through a secret door to the right, just before you meet 
him, you will find the Anointed Herb Potion.  Give Arion Fellmoon's 
letter and he will ask you to rescue his daughter from Zog at 
Alvar.  He will also give you a letter for a Pirate.

When you come out of Arion's house you will find that the red dots 
which indicated before you were amongst enemies will have turned 
green.  If you want to keep it that way, don't go into the Stores as 
requested.  There is nothing very special there, anyway.

When you get to Fellmoon again, he will ask you to go to Alvar and 
meet Bastian Loudrin.  So, why don't we walk N till we hit...


ALVAR

Locations:  Town, Dark Dwarves Cave, Bees Nest, Ogre Raiding Fort, 
Obelisk

Start on this outpost (don't forget to play Arcomage at the Inn).  
Go N to find the town proper.  By the way, a fountain here restores 
mana points.

Having visited everyone, you will have the following Quests:  
Loudrin, Find a witness in Ironsands Desert; Fromago, Find 3 
cheeses (found in the Chapels of Eep); Keldon, Kill all the ogres.  
Jeebes asks you to find Cauri.

You can leave the Dwarves Cave till you are asked to enter it, of go 
in now if you prefer.  Beware the boulder trap in the corridor at 
the SE complex.  Click on doors before you cross into the rooms, let 
the dwarves come out, kill them then rush into the room.  You will 
find Balthazar's Axe to the S of the caves.  Leave when you are 
ready.

The bees nest is a pain, and all it contains is royal jelly, which 
you trade.  You have to jump upwards (you need the spell Jump) to 
each level.  Do this only if you want to, it is not necessary.

Ogre Raiding Fort
-----------------

Beware a bug here which freezes the game.  Save often.  First, 
destroy all the people who greet you.  Then, find the stairs up and, 
avoiding the red plates, climb up - enemy permitting.  In the throne 
room you will find two chests and, on the wall, a barely visible 
button by the door.  Press it.  Go down the other stairs and kill 
everybody.  Before you head for the door through which you came in, 
save.  Then cautiously find the way down in front of this door.

Follow the corridors and find the jail with Isabelle Hunter in it.  
After killing everybody, search their pockets for a key.  Click on 
the keyhole and talk to her.  There is another jail and another key, 
but nothing to find.

Make sure you kill all the ogres.  Again, approach the exit with 
caution - save before you go up the ramp.  With a bit of luck you'll 
get out without the game freezing on you.

As ever, have a good look around the region (making sure you kill 
all the ogres) before you go N and venture into...


IRONSANDS DESERT

Locations:  Troll Tomb, Cyclops Larder, Ilsingore's Cave, Chain of 
Fire, Obelisk

Cast Fire Resistance immediately, then go N to the village.  Talk to 
everyone.  You get the following quests:  At Pole's Hovel, Pole 
wants you to deliver some Fire Resistance potions, and gives you 3.  
To make more, combine Haste + Catalyst with Harden Item + Catalyst 
(see above how to make these).

Julian wants a new home for Trolls.  Sandwind requests you to go to 
Ravage Roaming about the Trolls homeland.  Overdune asks you to take 
the ashes to the Tomb and then he'll come with you to Alvar.  

On the way, start dishing out Fire Resistance potions at the houses
and, when you've done, go back to Pole.

At the Troll Tomb, follow Overdune's directions, i.e., keep right 
till you come to a chamber with tombs.  Click on the N one and the 
ashes will be placed.  Leave.

You might as well have a look around this region.  In the lake of 
fire you will find the obelisk, and also the entrance to the Chain 
of Fire tunnel - in a side chamber, a chest will contain interesting 
stuff.

Cyclops Larder
--------------

When you come in, turn right - avoid the red plate on the floor by 
going around the edge of this room.  Enter the other door, turn 
around and pull the lever.  Come out and, to your left, there will 
now be a lift.  Go down, free the prisoners by clicking on the 
keyholes and examine the chests by the cages.  In one of them, a 
quest skeleton.  When you've finished, leave.

At Ilsingore's cave you will be attacked by the dragons, so unless 
you are cheating stay out.  If you do go in and dispatch all the 
dragons, click on their bodies for some good stuff.  Inside this 
cave you can recruit a dragon, if you like.

Now you can go to the town and recruit Overdune to take him to 
Loudrin in Alvar.  You will have to dismiss Templar, but you can 
always recover him at the Adventurer's Inn in Ravenshore.

So, go to Loudrin and speak to him.  Watch the movie.  At the end 
you get your marching orders.  You have to get on your side the 
Minotaurs, the Necromancers or the Temple of the Sun and the Dragons 
or the Dragon hunters.  

This could be a good time to visit all the people who's quests you 
have finished so far in order to get your reward.  On the other 
hand, you might prefer to move on and gather more information.  If 
so, the handiest place to go from Alvar is to the N/W and from there 
to...


MURMURWOODS

Locations:  Town, Temple of the Sun, Ancient Troll Home, Stone 
Circle, Obelisk

The town will yield Dantillion, who points you to Cauri.

Right, let's party.  Visit the Temple of the Sun; just pop in, barge 
your way to the other door along and find out what Oskar Tyre 
wants.  Which is for you to destroy the Skeleton machine at the 
Necromancers Guild.  OK?  Leave.

Go to the Ancient Troll Home - nothing much here, but you have to 
visit the place so that you can tell the folks at Ironsands Desert 
about it.

You will find the obelisk surrounded by unicorns - this is a place 
to remember for later.

To find Cauri:  head for the Circle of Stone.  If you can, cast the 
Invisible spell so that you get a minimum of hassle while you 
search.  You might find some "statues", and clicking on them will 
release them.  But Cauri is to be found to the NW of the circle, 
precisely at X 15744 Y 14990.  Clicking on her statue will free her, 
and your Dark Elf will become a Patriarch.  

Now enter the circle.  A lift will take you below, where you must 
avoid the nasty red plates while fighting off the baddies.  A search 
of this place will yield the Druid Circlet of Power, which you are 
going to need.

Well, that's about it, you can leave.  Explore the area, by all 
means, but don't think you can best the wisps, they regenerate.  
You might as well leave by the easiest route, SW, and travel to...


GARROTE GORGE

Locations:  Town, Naga Vault, Dragon Cave, Temple of Eep, Obelisk

Here is where you have the choice of trying to get the Dragons 
alliance or the Dragon Hunters'.  Entirely up to you.  Listen to 
what everyone wants from you, no need to make up your mind just yet.

Visit everyone in town and note requests.  Zelim wants a drum, 
Calindril wants a Dragonbane flower and Stormlance wishes you to 
find Ebonest.  At the camp, Quixote sends you off to get an egg.

Ignore requests to destroy the Dragons/the Hunters.

First visit the Temple of Eep.  Search around, find a bedroom with a 
desk and press the button on the side of the desk.  A secret door 
opens behind the altar in the chapel nearby.  Go in and find a chest 
which contains the cheese you seek.

Next, the Naga Vault.  Go in, press all the buttons on the one panel 
to open all the doors, then go along upstairs.  In a room you will 
find a button on a pedestal which, when pressed, will uncover a 
chest in the circular chamber hard by.  Inside the chest, the Drum 
of Victory.

Once outside, look around x -12575 y 19392 (by the river edge, lots 
of friendly dragons) to find the Dragonbane flower.  There are more, 
so you could find two and give one to Calindril and another to 
Balion, a dragon in the Dragon Caves, who also wants it.

Visit the Dragon Caves and talk to whoever is available.  Their 
leader also wants the egg. 

So it seems we must go S from Garrote Gore to...


RAVAGE ROAMING

Locations:  Chapel of Eep, Crypt of Korbu, Zog's Fortress, 
Belthazair's Lair, Obelisk

OK, do your stuff.  Find the town and get talking.

Next, start exploring.

Crypt of Korbu:  Get ready before you go in casting protective 
spells, specially against fire.  Once in, find the secret door.  
Make sure one of your characters is carrying nothing, because when 
you get to Korbu's coffin, you will have to pick it up - and it is 
huge.

Barbarian Fortress:  visit the four outer towers, they have chests.
Go inside and go up the stairs of the inner SE tower to throw a 
lever.  A new passage N to S will appear.  Work your way southwards 
till you come to a blank wall - look out for a tiny button.  The 
wall will slide away and, behind, two chests one of which contains 
the Dragon egg.  You can leave, now.

Outside, you will find the Pirate's Treasure (I think) at x -3729 y 
-17701, six chests surrounded by gorgons which can turn you to 
stone.  Also, here and elsewhere, if you point at a rock and you get 
the message "Rock", it could hide a chest.

Chapel of Eep:  You will soon find out that when you step on the red 
areas doors shut.  So you will have to use the Jump spell, and even 
then it ain't easy to get through doors.  When you come to a room 
with a crate, look for a button on the wall to move the crate.  From 
its new position you can jump to the next door.  A lift will take 
you to a room with a path marked red on the floor.  Avoid the red 
bits to get to the chest - inside, the last cheese.  Hardly worth 
it.  Jump your way out.

Balthazar's Lair
----------------

You'll see the black square on the ground as you explore around.  Go 
in and knock at the first door.  Thanys explains what has happened 
and asks you to help.  Look around this area and pull lever A.  Go 
down ramp and look at skeleton.  Get the Notes (scroll) and read 
them.  You will be given the order in which to pull the levers, i.
e., ABCEGDJCEFDIC, lowest.  Since you've already pulled A, keep to 
your left and find B.  Keep looking and pulling the levers in the 
order given, always trying to go downwards.  After the last one, 
find your way down as far as you can and you will see a lever 
without a letter.  Pull that, and go down the ramp by it to meet the 
Minotaur leader, who will agree to the Alliance straight away.  Now 
work your way upwards clicking on each door you come to.  You will 
meet Tessalar.  Remember where he is, or cast Lloyd's Beacon in 
front of his door.  Find your way out.

Before you take any decisions respecting the egg, it would be best 
to visit the last territory on the map, E of Ravenshore, either 
walking, by boat or by caravan, whichever way you can.


SHADOWSPIRE

Locations:  Town, Guild of Necromancers, Vampire Crypt, Mad 
Necromancer's Laboratory, Dragon Cave, Obelisk

As you walk around town, Benefice will request a puzzle blox, 
Lathean wants Korbu's bones and the sarcophagus, both of which 
you've probably carting around, Teleshire wants the Book of Khel (in 
the Flying Library at DWI) and Hallien, a Vial of grave dirt.  
Tantilion wants the bone you found in the Dire Wolves Den.

All in all you are going to be busy.

The first thing to do is to visit the Guild of Necromancers.  
Without treading on anyone's toes, find your way via stairs to two 
towers to the SE and SW, using the lift (and pressing the button on 
the wall) to get to the SW tower, where you pick up Dyson Leyland 
(you need him), so ditch member number 5 before you speak to Dyson.
Then, around the stairs again to the SE tower, taking the lift which 
will get you to Sandro.  He wants a Brazier.

When you are outside, you can nip into the Dragon Cave, kill all the 
dragons and pick up the goodies.  You can also try to recruit 
another dragon.

Vampire Crypt:  the tomb to the W can be shifted to reveal a 
corridor.  Follow it to get the Vial which is in a chest.

Mad Necromancer's Lab
---------------------

Search around first, before you take the lift, and you will find 
Ebonest, lich jars and the Puzzle box in various chests.

Next go up the lift and meet Blazen Stormlance.  He wants you to get 
a cure for him.  Set Lloyd's Beacon here so that you can come back 
quickly once you have the cure.

Right, that's about it.

Decision time.

                        *       *       *

First, you might like to go around tying up loose ends.  Then, you 
have to decide who you want in the Alliance.

To decide between Quixote or the Dragon, deliver the egg to either 
of them.  You could save your game and try both options, see which 
one you like better.

If you deliver the egg to Quixote you'll see a video clip which will 
make you wish you hadn't.  Ditto if you hand the egg over to the 
Dragon Leader.  In the first instance, all you have to do is steer 
clear of the dragons because they will become enemies.  In the 
second instance, Quixote's lot will also become your enemies, though 
he will still allow you to return Ebonex.  You could stay away or 
kill all the Dragon Hunters at the tents to the SW of the map - if 
you click on the dead body of their leader you will find the sword 
requested by the Dragons.

To decide between the Necromancers Guild or the Temple of the Sun, 
you have to take more drastic action.  Either way, you need to have 
Dyson Leyland with you.  Again, you could save and try both options, 
the video clips are nice.

Supposing you desire to help the Temple of the Sun, go to the 
Necromancers Guild and through the door at the top of the first 
flight of stairs.  Fight your way to the large circular room with 
the skeleton generator.  Just before you enter this chamber there 
are some levers, buttons and what-have-you.  Look at the row of 
levers and click on the ones which will raise till they are all up.  
Next, push the button and click on the beam, sit back and watch.  To 
get out, move the beam and press the button by the door.  
Then all you have to do is visit the Temple of the Sun.

Alternatively, if you wish to help the Necromancers, go to the 
Temple of the Sun, enter, look down the central well and jump onto 
the star shaped block.  Then go back upstairs and you will spot a 
red button on the wall.  Press that, jump down again and find the 
way down by the block, which is now a lot taller.  You will find the 
brazier, though getting it will get people mad at you.  Stand on the 
pedestal on which the brazier was (or jump down the hole, if you 
wait too long) to get out.  Next, visit the Necromancers Guild.

OK, now you can visit the Council at the Merchants House in 
Ravenshore, the Alliance will be complete.  And you will get some 
more work.

                    *       *       *

Go to DWI.  Find the two manned pirate ships and kill their 
captains.  Next, find the Pirate Outpost on the island to the S of 
the main one.  Go in and turn to your left - press the button and 
some stairs down will appear.  Go down, look for hidden doors, 
explore thoroughly.  In the large chamber, kill everybody and search 
the bodies for a key.  Don't use it on the keyhole in this room 
yet.  Continue exploring (don't miss the red button which opens a 
wall) and go up the stairs to the floor above.  In a room with three 
levers, throw these (you are in for a bit of a shock) and a safe 
will appear.  Use the key on this to get a nice sword.

Now go back to the large chamber and use the key on the keyhole - a 
wall moves and you can find your way to a submarine.  Click on it to 
travel.

This brings you out into...


REGNA

Locations:  Town, Fort, Obelisk, Old Loeb's Cave, Abandoned Fort, 
Cannon

Don't forget to have your last game of Arcomage and click on the 
last Obelisk.  When you have done that, you can go and get your 
price from Blueswan, in the chest behind her house, and you can also 
look at your notes and read what the obelisks say.  Basically, and 
provided you have the Druids Circlet, you go to Murmurwoods on the 
24th June and look about for the Unicorn King - kill it and get the 
key to the Vault of Time.  Go open it and don't be too disappointed.

To get back to the business in hand:  visit everyone in town and 
travel also to the other island, visiting the other houses.  When 
you have done that, you can go into Old Loeb's Cave, just dragons 
and the possibility of hiring another one.  Not worth the trouble.

When you've done, enter the Fort.  Search well and keep going down 
till you come to a secret door.  This leads you into the Passage 
under Regna.  You can search in every direction, but the one you 
want heads NW.  You should get into the Abandoned Fort this way.  
Again, explore to your heart's content.  You are mainly looking for 
a cannonball in a chest, up some stairs, where there are three 
chests.  The way out is to the SW.

As you come out of the Abandoned Fort, go to the cannon nearby, find 
the button and sink the Regnan Fleet.  If you've had enough fun, go 
to the Council in Ravenshore.

Now they send you to talk to a wizard.  He is to be found in one of 
the Hostels (cast Lloyd's Beacon at his door) and he will tell you 
to get some stones from the four planes, the entrance to which is in 
the four corners of the map.

I don't know if you've completed all your quests, but now would be a 
good time to do so since we are nearing the end of the game.

THE PLANES

Start at any of the planes.

Finding the heartstone in each one of them is no different to what 
you've been doing all along:  protect yourself with all the spells 
at your disposal (Day of Protection is a good one, for a start), 
make sure you have the heftiest weapons/armour at your disposal 
equipped and go for it.  Of course, you don't want to tangle 
unnecessarily with the inmates of these planes, so you want to go 
straight to the place where the heartstone is, usually a Castle.
Once there, explore carefully, miss nothing and you cannot fail.  
There are no particular difficulties which need to be pointed out.  
Just grab the thing and make yourself scarce.

However, it would be handy to know which way to head, so here it 
is.  If you have the Fly spell, use it while you are outdoors to 
keep out of travel.

Air Plane:  Head W and you will soon see the castle.

Water Plane: Fly NE - the heartstone is not in a castle but under a 
large frame.

Earth Plane:  Head N, then up the stairs.  You will soon find what 
you are looking for.

Fire Plane:  This is the most difficult.  Head N to find the 
castle.  If you have the spell Levitate, use it.  In, negotiate the 
bridges till you come to a room with a square block in the middle.  
A secret door hides some good stuff.  Jump onto the block and it 
will come down.  Go back to the entrance and step on the platform 
which will have descended.  You will go up.  Follow through till you 
come to a large room with hanging bridges.  You have to get to the 
other side and press a button on a thin pedestal.  Now jump through 
the firefall and go along the tunnel to the other side.  This takes 
you to the heartstone, and you can work your way back or cast a 
spell (Town Portal, Lloyd's Beacon) to get out.

When you have all four heartstones, go to the Xanthor at Ravenshore.  
Next, you have to enter the Crystal in the middle of the town.  
Again, no big deal.  One puzzle you will find is that of some 
crystals which start doing funny things when you press a button.  
It's actually a Simple Simon thing - click on the crystals in front 
when the ones at the back light up.  If you do it right they will 
all lose their colour and, behind you, another pair of crystals will 
turn purple and if you step between them you will find yourself in the...


PLANE BETWEEN THE PLANES

Again, no need to linger.  There are four prisons in the four 
corners of the map - you can go to them and use the Lloyd's Beacon 
spell to get back to them quickly, or leave them for now and head 
for the centre of the map to the castle.  On the way, you might find 
purple things with tentacles which are tough to kill.  Use spells on 
them, Drainlife works a treat.

At the castle, you just have to be patient and go around pulling 
levers which will open doors.  Some doors will open by just clicking 
on them.  Others won't.  The aim is to get to the four corner towers 
and press the button you will find in each of them.  Keep your eye 
on the map and start on the outside corridors and work you way 
inwards, always checking on the towers to see if the access doors 
have opened.  Eventually you will get to the Destroyer.  Talk to him 
and he will ask you riddles.  The answers are Prison, Inside, Egg.

Go back to Xanthor and he will tell you to free the Elemental 
Lords.  So go back to the Plane between the Planes and start at any 
one of the prisons you like.  There is nothing special in any of 
them that you haven't experienced before.  In the Air prison you 
will have to use the Jump spell to get from one slab to the next - 
save each time you have landed safely, otherwise you might get near 
the top, fall off and have to start all over again.  A great 
nuisance, but there you are.

When you've freed all the Lords, get back to Ravenshore.  Watch the 
finale.  That's it.