ULTIMA IX - ASCENSION
RPG by Origin
A solution
----------
by Lu Richardson
GENERAL TIPS
These refer mainly to actual gameplay, not the introductory phase.
Movement:
My first tip is: get well used to the interface and to controlling the
character. The middle of a combat is not the best time to learn.
Because of the changes in perspective as you move, you can easily
lose track of where you are and miss important items, so be very
observant indeed.
Exploring indoors:
Watch out for secret doors which blend into the stone wall so that you would
never suspect they are there. Look at the walls from different angles as you go
past, you might spot the tell-tale lines. There are also subtly hidden switches
(bricks slightly different to the others) and levers (behind bushes, etc.).
Exploring outdoors:
Keep your eyes on the landscape near and far and look for hidden caves. Try to
swim around the coast of each location to see if you can spot items and
underwater caves.
Items:
As to items, you are going to find such a lot, and you have such
poor carrying capacity, that you are going to have to be ruthless.
Either that or come back to the shops frequently to sell the
surplus, which is not always easy. Doubtful items can be left in
your room at the Castle; indeed, leave everything you can there.
As you explore, move/smash barrels and crates, sometimes they hide
or contain items. Always have with you a couple of healing and cure
poison potions, at least. If you need room for more items and don't
know what to get rid of, eat whatever food you are carrying. As a
general rule, don't cart reagents about with you. They are usually
found near a lab or binding circle where they will be used, so leave them there
till you need them; alternatively, buy them in the shops nearby.
Whatever you drop, in this game, you'll find when you come by later on. So, if
you must to make room, drop things in accessible places and not in the depths of
dungeons... and remember where you left them!
Maps:
The maps are pathetic and exploring is a veritable nightmare. If
you keep to the paths you'll miss a hell of a lot. So try covering
a bit of ground at a time and don't be tempted to go that little bit
further away which will only confuse you. Be very thorough. The idea is to get
to know the terrain and where everything important is located. The
play area is huge, so you have to be careful. It is the devil to
find the places you are meant to go to and you can very easily get
lost.
Sights:
Always click on the blue "magic balls", which you will see in many locations, to
get glimpses and clues of other places. Use all telescopes you find - some of
them can be used twice to see other places.
People:
Talk to everybody more than once, particularly both before and after you've
cleansed a shrine in the neighbourhood. You will be given lots of mini-quests
which you can solve on your way to the main ones - but don't be too sidetracked.
You will be told at an early stage that doing the decent thing at all times will
make life a lot easier for you. Don't kill ordinary people nor steal from them
- keep that for the dungeons. Instead, try to help them if you can, doing so
earns you karma. You need it.
Combat:
As to combat, it's always best to fight from a distance, if you can - so
get a bow as soon as possible. Unfortunately, more often than not
you find yourself at close quarters with the nasties, so it is
advisable to go around (in running mode) with a sword or something equipped so
that you can go into action at once, and change to the bow whenever you
are at a sufficient distance from the target to do so without
danger. When you've killed the beasties, change at once to a hand
weapon. And don't forget to collect the valuables off the dead
bodies!
Additionally, I found that when fighting hand to hand it is best to turn the
character slightly to your left rather than place him square on. For some
reason this dispatches enemies quicker with practically no loss of hit points.
Armour:
Although the best to be found (usually well hidden) is made of blackrock, it has
the inconvenient effect of making you sink when you swim. The next best is
plate, which can be bought at Trinsic. However, there are pieces of magic
armour (also well hidden) which, although they don't protect you as much, are
well worth wearing for the benefits they confer. Read the book on the counter
at the smith's in Britain to find out what some of them do.
Weapons:
You will find progressively more effective weapons as you go along. I found the
firesword invaluable for the light it gave. The lightning sword was hard to
beat, and the blackrock one the Trinsic smith will make for you is the best of
all. However, you will have to see for yourself which weapon is best for which
nasty. The skeletons, for instance, require a heavy weapon like an axe, hammer
or sword - the firesword wouldn't make a dent.
Light:
The annoying thing in this game is that is almost always dark. There seem to be
only 8 hours of light a day; even then, the sky gets cloudy, it rains and you
can't see a thing. Not very good for your eyes when you are trying to examine
things carefully. Therefore, travel abroad in the dark only when you are going
directly into a dungeon, because then it doesn't matter. If you wish to see
where you are going, sleep on the nearest bed until daylight, otherwise you will
miss all manner of important things. Needless to say, you must bind the spell
Light as soon as you can, otherwise you have to use a lot of lanterns and they
take up a lot of room in your inventory.
Keys:
You will find a lot of keys which are necessary to progress through the
dungeons, but also a great many other keys which either open chests/doors
elsewhere or have no function at all. I ended up carrying 12 of them for which
I found no use. However, you might as well play it safe.
Treasure:
You will find hidden here and there "treasure" maps (apart from those of towns)
and you might like to take time to have a look and see if it is worth your
trouble to follow them up (i.e., save before you set off - you can always
reload). Basically, you can't really do that until you learn to control the
ship half-way through the game.
Training:
Talk to people time and again to find out who is offering training. You have to
go through certain stages and that means being trained by certain people in a
certain order. For instance, after Despise, you will find Iolo in the house at
the crossroads where the knight hailed you on the way to the dungeon. However,
Iolo won't train you until you are proficient with the bow, so you have to be
trained by others first.
Finally: Save A LOT.
Introductory play
-----------------
The first bit at the house is just to get you used to the interface,
so follow instructions and do your own thing. So long as you get
the essential items, the rest is window dressing. One word, though
- while training outside, mind you don't kill the nice doggie by mistake,
he does get in the way. Once you've had enough of exploring and
trying things out outside, you will be ready to go to the gypsy.
You will be asked 7 questions which will determine what you will
play as. For instance, if you show too much compassion, you will end up as a
Bard, with dexterity but very few hit points. If you go for honour,
on the other hand, you'll be a lot beefier. Spirituality, of course, will make
you a better magician. Up to you, really, but
I went for beef - you can't survive long without a decent amount of hit points.
At the end, when you go to the gate, you will
have to fight a Gazer which drops a lot of cash. Don't bother to
pick it up, you lose everything you are carrying when you hit...
Britannia
---------
In the starting bedroom, read all the books (take the one on potions
with you, if you like, or write the info down), take everything in the chest and
anything else you want (for paladins, there is a short sword in the corner).
Then go around the corner and pick up the spell book. This section is intended
to get you used to the sort of thing you are likely to encounter in the
dungeons, so click on the ankhs which will appear to find out what you have to
do. In the first instance, after you've picked up the spell book, cast Ignite
on the torch to get through. Click on the next ankh and move to the edge to
jump onto the near ledge (make sure the green cursor is on
it). Turn to the rat and cast Stone (make sure you are close
enough). Jump, pick up the cash and pull lever. Jump all the way
back to the stairs, pick up the coins on the other side and go
down. Have a look around and get the red potion. Go through the
door and get what's in the chest. At the next door, cast Gust on
the vase. Go in, step on the lift and push the button. Use the
valve on your right, jump down, get the cash and push the blue
button. Steps come out at the side; climb up to the other side and
go down the stairs. In the next room, read the plaque on the wall, staying off
the tiles. Take the middle row and cast Douse on each tile till you get to the
two braziers - cast Douse on them, too, then leave this room.
Just click on the door to get out.
OK, go to your left and try to avoid fighting altogether - it can be
done. Go through the arch and talk to the guy. Stay well away from
the teleporter. Kill him and get his scimitar - you won't get a
better weapon for a while. You can now go out and fight/look for useful items,
if you like, or step onto the teleporter and go to...
The Castle
----------
Talk to the guy with the fetching green frock. Turn a little to
your left and open the door, then walk in to Lord British. Talk to
him and, of course, agree to get him out of another fine mess. He
advises you to go to Dungeon Despise first. Turn right around and
talk to the Gargoyle. Agree to try to find the lens. Now go up the
ramp and turn to the right, which leads to where your bedroom is.
Pick up everything you want and sort out your backpack. You can
leave anything you don't need just yet here (though you should sell whatever you
are not going to need at the shops, since you could do with the cash). You are
going to need a lot of room for oodles of items.
Leave and go down the ramp to the first level and talk to the girl.
Then go up the ramp to Lord British's quarters. Read the books and
examine everything, but take nothing. If touch the mirror in the bedroom, it
will break - but you will get a revealing movie. Step on the teleporter, talk
to the mage and get the potions but leave the spell. There is no point in
getting the reagents, either - better to leave them here for when you want to
make your own potions or, more likely, bind spells. You should bind as many as
you can as soon as you are able.
The fountains here, by the way, restore your mana and hit points.
When you've finished, use the teleporter again to go up. Leave and
go down and out of the Throne Room. Turn to your left and enter the
dining room. Here you are encouraged to take food with you. If you
go through the secret door behind the woman and into the kitchen
you'll find a great deal of food and drink - however, you should
take only a couple of items since it is better to leave it all here and
replenish your supplies later on, should you need them at all.
Leave the dining room and walk across to the armoury. Talk to the
chaps, pick up the short sword and the club from the rack, we are
going to sell them. The lift in the corner takes you down to the
jail, but you needn't go there if you don't want to.
Find the hidden doors and have a look around. Leave when you are ready, go
to the courtyard with the fountain and leave the castle.
Go to your right to find the Mayor's house. Meet his sick daughter. In the
Storeroom, meet Killigan - you'll be coming back here later on.
Near by here is the maze, which contains a lot of good stuff and, in the centre,
a flaming sword.
Leave the castle grounds and start walking around the town talking
to everybody. Speak with the Mayor. Visit the Cathedral. Enter
the Museum, talk to the curator and examine everything. Find the shops - at the
smithy, sell your surplus stuff and buy whatever you want. I shouldn't bother,
you'll soon find plenty of better things. If you can afford it, buy a sextant
at the supplies shop, though it's not essential at the outset.
When you've finished searching and talking (and got a long list of requests),
leave town by the East gate. Along here you will meet a lady who will tell you
about the shrine. Follow her directions and, on the way, speak to
the lighthouse keeper. Then go on to see the shrine. Get back on
the road to Despise and look out for assorted nasties. I'm sure you
will find the entrance without any trouble, it's next door to the
big column.
Dungeon Despise
---------------
Cut the web and pull the lever, go to your right, open the chest and
get the key. Listen at the door and then open it. You get to know
about the Kiran Stones. Leave and go to the door opposite; to open
it, cast Ignite on the torch to its left. Go in, look about you,
find a couple of potions. Climb the smallest pillar and then jump
to the next higher and so on till you land on the tallest. Get the
stone key and jump to the pillar on the other side - press the blue
button before you jump to the ground. Go through the new door.
Jump across the gap. Go through the door and read the book. To
open one of the doors at the bottom of some steps, click on the
floating ball above. Continue to the pool room. Go to your left
and get the full bucket. The fountain will dry up, but you can go
to the other side of the room and put the filled bucket on the
dais. This opens the next door.
You will have observed that by the dried up fountain there is a
secret door which cannot be opened from this side. Go back to the
gap, jump in, follow through, jump over the crate and get the money
and the potion. Continue to the room with the Fountain. If you
click on the portrait it changes and you could get an armour -
don't, it's cursed. Continue to the next room and pull the lever.
You come out at the pool, by the dried up fountain.
Continue through the door you opened with the bucket of water
(though note that in the fountain in the middle of the pool there is
a potion to be had, you could climb up and get it).
In the next room, move a crooked shield to open a secret door.
Inside, a Fountain will heal you. Go back to the main room, past
the locked door and into a little passage. A lever will open it.
Go through and, when you get to the Fountain, don't touch it. It
will poison you. Look about the dead man and get a fine armour and
a message. Read it and leave it there.
The next room contains a lot of goodies, including a key in the
nest. Also a large rat. Go on through. In the Training room,
collect a lot of arrows - destroy the web to get some leggings. To
leave, shoot at the target above the door.
You are at the dinning room. Pick up the key off the wall by the
tapestry. Go up the stairs on your right and stand on the plate.
The wall opens. Go through and stand on the other plate. You get
teleported elsewhere. Negotiate the spikes by walking on the holes
when they are down and stepping into the gaps when they come up. On
the other side, pull the lever and enter the next room. You
automatically go to the circle and a lot of flames come up. Cast
Douse to put them the braziers out and collect the stone. Leave the
way you came. Go to the dinning room and continue through.
No problems here opening the door, just push the blue button and go
through, cut the webs, fight the spider, move on. At the next
Fountain, kill the rat, look around, not forgetting the rat's nest,
climb onto the platform and collect what you want, read the books,
etc., and finally pull the lever under the platform. The fountain
disappears revealing a secret door. Open it and push the button to
open the next door.
Go in and read the book. Get the broom and place it against the
railings. Climb it and jump in to go to the lever and pull it. Get
the broom and place it this side of the railings to climb it and get
out. Move on and you will find the key inside the little pool in
front of the door.
Inside the chapel, read the book on the altar and cast Ignite on the candles on
the altar (the rainbow beam will restore you). Pick up the gold key
(I could not find a use for it here) and go through the door. As
soon as you go in you'll hear a cry for help, so quickly pull the
lever on your left. The person you have saved will give you another
stone. Don't mess about here. Clicking on the shield or the box
will get you killed. Move along the corridor.
Look at the locked door on your left - there is a key on a table but
you can't get at it. Enter the door opposite, walk around the pedestal with the
ball and press the button at the back. It attracts the key, which you can now
get and use it to open the last door. Go to the pedestal and read the book.
When you've done, go to the back of the room and go through the newly opened
passage. Go and press the blue button on the fountain. This opens up another
section to the right - there is a rat and a chest. Kill the chest and open the
rat, whichever. Get the arrows by the chest.
Move on and swim under the arch, ignoring the waterfall for now. As
you come up a sort of bridge, you will meet and odd guy who is
anxious to see your insides. Fight him, but when he reveals he is
Iolo and asks for quarter, have mercy and don't kill him. Push past
him and get the glyph. Get back in the water and go to the
waterfall. If you look down to the right of it you will see a
lever. Pull it and the last stone key is revealed. Get it (and the
sack), go to the stands and place the correct coloured gems on
them. You get the shield. Easy peasy. Take the stones with you to
sell them.
This exercise was just to soften you up for what is to come, you
know.
You can leave Dungeon Despise, but when you come out you will be met
by Raven who will ask you to perform yet another task.
At this point you should go back to Britain and get yourself
sorted out, leaving items you might need in your room, selling the
rest, talking to people again, etc. Speaking to Lord British will
do you no good, he is not about to tell you what to do next.
Indeed, indeed, it's up to you.
OK, you've done Dungeon Despise (only another 7 to go, ain't you
lucky), you've got the glyph. And you don't know what to do with it
(no rude suggestions, if you please).
However, if you spoke to Sarah just as you came over the bridge
after leaving Britain by the E gate, and if you went E from here
(no visible path at first) and went to the shrine, and said "MU",
just like any well-behaved cow would, you will know what to do
next. By the way, don't mistake the "Stonehenges" for the shrines,
like I did!
Paws
----
If you've spoken to the carter in town you will know how to get there by the SW
gate. Talk to the gypsy. There will be a little diversion at the first houses.
Save the boy by placing one of the buckets of water on the fire at the door. He
will ask you to rescue his mother. Turn back and take the path to your left.
You will walk past a house and onto a cave. In this cave, fight the goblin,
look around. You will see a plaque on the wall, read it. You will find a
scroll on the ground, read it but leave it there.
Go back out of the cave and find the house. Find a hidden lever and pull it.
The guy in the house will fight you, so you'll have to kill him. Go around the
house and through the passage, which shuts behind you. Don't cross the bridge
but go to your left, fight the bandits and rescue the woman. Read the journal
and look through the telescope. Now cross the bridge and go up the path. Fight
the wolves if you meet them and go left. You will enter a cave. Explore around
here and take what you want and exit to the lake about the waterfall. Kill the
two bandits and walk to the waterfall. Before you jump in to find the
underwater entrance to the cave, shoot all the fish. Swim around till you find
the entrance and dive into it. You'll get a lot of cash. Go all the way back
to the two houses and talk to the boy.
Go on to Paws (mind where you step here, you can easily get poisoned), find
the Mayor in one of the houses and undertake to save his daughter.
Follow directions and go SE and, in a grotty house, you will find a
single goblin, which you must slaughter - a sickly cough will direct
you upstairs, where you can liberate the girl by fighting a couple
of nasties. Collect the war hammer and what-have-you and go back to
the Mayor to get the Heart of Compassion. Now you can talk at the
women by the mill, go towards Britain, kill the goblin and
retrieve the valve from a chest in the cave and then return to the
mill and place the valve in the hole, talking to the woman
afterwards. This gives you karma.
Then go to the shrine and place the Heart and the glyph on
the altar, say Mu and everything will be ticketty-boo. You will be allowed
to choose how you progress. Because I was a paladin and I was short
of it, I chose dexterity, but it's up to you.
Retrieve both the items and go to your room, first, and sort out
your backpack. Take the minimum, but you are going to need yellow,
red and blue potions (lots). Leave the runes and sigils here as you collect
them, but take the first one with you because you need it to show to Raven.
You can also try your hand at binding spells in your spellbook, all
you have to do is use Lord British's teleporter. All the
ingredients are there (move the barrels to find more) and one of those
pentagrams, too. Please note you can now be trained by the swordsman at the
Castle, the boyer in town and Peg Leg at the house in Pawns where you saw the
Mayor. Best to take the trouble to do that. And by the way, N of Paws (29
degrees S 34 degrees W) you can go up a lift and get a levitation spell for
free, it's on top of the bookcase with the instruments.
When you've done, find the Silver Hart at the docks, jump onto it
and speak to Raven. You have, after all, a decent rune.
You will end up in...
Buccaneers' Den
---------------
Talk to Raven before you jump onto the deck; don't talk to the two men you will
meet. If they do ask you for money, give it to them. Take a diversion here and
go to the shop. Buy a sextant, if you haven't before - now you
will be able to see where you are in the main map, plus get a
bearing. Buy also the treasure maps he will offer you on different occasions.
They are no such things, but useful maps of the Den with the entrance to caves.
Learn to fight bare fisted (left of the Tavern). Come back here when you have
cleansed more shrines and made more money - this is the only place where you can
get to be a Master in this particular skill.
You might like to explore around the island and talk to various people on the
North side. Buy the "slave" to save her, then search the house. Save the guy
who is being beaten and talk to him. Another guy will sell you a special dagger
for half your gold, so if you've only got a small amount (all I had was 2 gold
coins) buy it by all means.
If you take to the water, don't enter the cave with the ship from the sea, enter
it by land; and wait until you've been able to visit the Guild. To the NW you
will find the Gauntlets of Fury (60 degrees S 4 degrees W) if you fish around in
a cave, high up, barred with wood strips.
If you have the treasure maps you will see a hole in the ground, actually
between Samhayne's house and the sea. This leads to a small cave with a cell
which you open turning a valve.
When you've done exploring, get back to the docks and take the ferry (jump into
the boat) to the other side. Go through the tavern and up the platform (get on
it) and go to visit Samhayne.
Go down to the pub and talk to people. Buy a bottle of rum. Go to
the shop and ask the cartographer how to get to New Magincia. Talk
to Raven to get the password (if you don't know it already).
You can now explore the south part of the island; you'll find one of the lenses
for the lighthouses in a cave roughly 78ø S 9ø E. Find the lighthouse
and, before you get into the caves, talk to the ghost. In exchange
for the rum he will tell you where the Ghost Ship is to be found. Don't bother
with that just now, it needs to be nighttime anyway. Enter the caves and say
the password (keelhaul). Go all the way through to...
Magincia
--------
As you come out of the cave, turn to your right, find the path and
follow it, cross a "bridge" and to the only house left standing,
roughly in the centre of the island. You'll have to fight the
wolves along the way. Talk to Katrina. Go back the way you came -
you can jump from slab to slab inside the tower to get to a chest.
But what you are looking for is a fallen column leaning against a
high rock. Climb it and cast Ignite on the campfire. That's sorted
the vultures out.
The alpha wolf is to be found inside a house in the SW tip of the
island, roughly 74ø S 23ø E.
Go back to Katrina, get the Crook, follow her instructions and find
the large slab behind her house. Stand on it and you will see the
shrine popping out of the water. Swim to it and do your stuff. You
wind up at...
Ambrosia
--------
Talk to the Wingless leader. Go down a ramp and talk to a
sympathetic gargoyle. Leave and go up a ramp with three stands,
read all three books then the fourth which will appear, and you get
a green cube of power. On your way out you will probably be
attacked by a winged gargoyle. Kill it, of course, but try to stay
out of trouble. Find the Headquarters. Talk to the gargoyle and
kill him. Collect the crystal by the door.
Leave and go rightish, find the empty holder, place the crystal in
it and go into the jail. Talk to the inmate, get out of the way and
then follow him. Go through the wall. Below you'll find a guy in a
little cave who will sell you potions. A little further on to your
left as you come out of the cave, find the dead body, get the boots
and wear them and read the instructions on the scroll.
Now you've got to fly around finding out where everything is and
avoiding the gargoyles if you can. In a house you will find a pylon
with an indentation under one of those crystals. If you put the
green cube of power in the indentation you get an amulet and a door
is opened elsewhere.
Find the room with the tools where the gargoyle Wislem will give you
a red cube of power. Leave and go up to the centre of the dome
where the statue is hanging. Find the one pylon with the empty
indentation and put the red cube in it. Oops!
Now go carefully down to ground level and talk to Wislem. This time he gives
you a crystal and instructions. Go back to his workshop and put the crystal
into the empty holder. You get a yellow cube. Go to the room below where
the statue was, save and place the cube in the indentation. The
floor opens and you fall down below.
You find yourself in royal company; kill the queen and get two of the large eggs
which were behind her. Explore the other
corridors. You will find a glass sword. Take it but don't use it,
it only works once and then it breaks. It has a use
elsewhere. Go to the teleporter and place an egg on it, remove the
flying boots, and jump onto it. You are transported to...
Dungeon Hythloth
----------------
First walk along the water to the end and you will see a coloured
statue on a coloured stand (hard to tell what colour, it was so
dark). Go back a bit and climb up the stairs and into the sewers.
As you walk about here, you might get held up by cobwebs - cut
them. Look out for spiders. Keep to the right; in the room with
the steps press the button on the wall, go in, open the chest and
get the green statue. When you come out, and bearing in mind that
lanterns and torches (if you are using them) go out when you go into the water
with them so you must put them away, go down the stairs and move the valve on
the wall. Watch. Go up the stairs and continue to a large room full of
sewage. Now, be very careful here and save before you go in.
First, swim to the left and climb onto the ledge. A chest contains
Swamp Boots which will prevent you being poisoned while walking/swimming
around. Before you get back into the mush, see if you can shoot as
many fish as you can with your bow - they are deadly. Then take a
chance and swim to the other side to open another chest, though this
is not essential - all it contains is another light spell. Finally,
get on the platform and you go up automatically. Up there you will
see a yellow stand. Pull the lever on the wall and another door
will open elsewhere.
Go down via the platform and leg it to the newly opened door.
Again, keep right and stick to it so that you don't miss anything.
Basically, here you have to explore each room searching for statues
and finding out where the different colour stands are. Placing the
statues on the correct stands opens new doors. Look out for levers
and valves. In the room in which there are a pair of leggings on a
grate, when you pick them up the walls begin to close in - run
through to the other side to avoid getting squashed.
There is a room full of mud with two ramps, opposite one another, in
which you have to turn a valve to get the yellow statue in the mud
(be quick). If you turn the valves on the other side, you are able to go down
in the brown waters and enter another corridor, but it won't do you any good
because the next set of gates is closed as yet.
There is a room with pillars to jump on. Note their arrangement
before you start jumping about. You will observe that the one
furthest away from you and nearest to the platform with the green
stand is the one you should be left standing on. So start jumping
on the various pillars until you can. It's not so difficult (in fact, you find
the solution on a scroll somewhere in the sewers) and, if
you fall in, you can easily get out and start again. When you make
it to the ledge and put the green statue on the stand, another path
is cleared for you. Move the valve and the locked door in this room
will open. Jump to it from the door which was open, go in, open the
chest. Mind the spiders.
You will find a room with one of the wyrmguards who will fight you.
After you've killed him, swim to the next platform in front of you
and climb out. Swim on to the next one and so on until you are in
front of the column. If you have one, place a lantern on the floor
and equip your bow. Offer yourself as bait by standing very close
to the water (sorry, sewage) and kill as many fish as you can. Walk
about if you need to so that you get at them from all sides of the
platform. When you think that you've cleared as many as you can,
swim around the column - there is an entrance under the sewage into it coming
from the E. Dive in and climb up the hole to retrieve the glyph. Leave
this room, preferably alive.
By the way, in the various places with water/sewage you will see
bubbles bursting on the surface. That means that below there is a
hole without a valve - if you stick your head over the hole while
underwater, your air gets replenished.
OK, carry on, continue searching, finding statues and placing them
in the proper stands. You'll find the red one in the room next to
the red stand, where there is a hole in the ground. Save, jump in
and go underwater to find the statue - turn the valve so that you
can swim out of the hole.
When you've placed the red statue you will go through to a section
which seems to be made of glass and you are under the sea. The key
to the locked chest is in a room behind the other chest, which you
can reach via one of the two doors either side of the chest which
can be opened. When you unlock the chest, pull the lever to one
side of the winch and the door opposite will open.
Now, this is a very tiresome bit. Go into the room with the
teleporter; if you were to use it, you would swim down a hole. To the left, a
locked gate and one of those air holes. To the right, you could swim towards a
blank wall, look up, swim up a hole and find yourself at the Magincia shrine,
thus completing your task. However, you can elect to explore the sewage system
further.
If so, in the teleporter room, turn the valve to get a key. Walk along to the
end of the corridor in this section and, at the blank wall, look to your right
for a box. Open it with the key and visit the next section. Save before you
actually enter it.
Walk all around looking for valves on the walls, but don't touch
them yet. Go back to the entrance. Now imagine that you have a
square in front of you, that you are facing N, and that there are
valves at the S on your left (A), to the W (B), to the N on your
left (C), to the N on your right (D), to the E (E), to the S on your
right (F), in the centre to your left (G), in the centre to your
right (H). If you turn them in this order: H, D, F and E, and G,
C, A and B, all the lights will come one and both the locked doors
will open. Two other doors won't open until you place the orange
and brown statues on the correct stands.
Going through the other door, you'll come to a corridor full of
water, swim quickly to the other side and, when you come out, equip
your bow and kill the fish. Continue and you'll come to a sort of
bridge. Save. Jump down. I examined this room most carefully, but
all I could find was a birdbath - touch it and you shrink, so that
you can go through the circular opening. In there, turning a valve
will flood the whole place - get out quickly, swim to the bridge and
climb out. Again, kill all the fish. Swim back to the room with the brown
stand, looking for a hole in the roof which takes you to a whole new section.
Here you explore around and find the stand for the purple (or pink) statue
you were carrying around and find another statue (bluish) by some
rocks which frame a door.
In a room with four valves by the door you turn them, and another on
the wall if you jump on the platforms to the right, to reach another
door on the other side. Doors open and you can explore further,
going into the water and swimming around looking up to find more
holes into other rooms.
Under an upside down jar there is another statue. In a room (also
reached through a hole) with a chest, the last statue hovers under
the ceiling. You have to pull down the semitransparent slab on
which it is standing in order to reach it.
Having gone all around and placed 7 statues on the proper stands,
number 8, the last one (the orange one hovering under the ceiling)
caused a slab to move in a room nearby. Diving in (after killing the fish) and
turning a valve, all that happened was that the door
you could also reach via the teleporter opened, which didn't get us
any further at all. All that effort for nothing... unless I missed
something vital, which I doubt.
At any rate, once you are here replenish your air at the hole and swim to the
end to a blank wall, looking up to find the entrance to a well which will take
you to New Magincia. You emerge at the shrine. Do your stuff with the sigil
and the glyph then go and find Katrina. Once you've spoken to her,
find your way back to the tunnel and to...
Buccaneers' Den
---------------
When you get there, climb out of the caves and, to your right,
jump down to the boxing ring. Try your luck there and
improve your bare-fist fighting skills. In any case, move on to the
tavern (people are pleased about your good work) and upstairs and to
the platform. Get to Samhayne's house - but as you come into it,
wet, hungry, exhausted, very, very fed up and wanting to get to bed,
you suddenly find yourself in jail. Here, what's up? And where is
all my stuff?
Don't worry, there ain't a computer jail that can hold Lu
Richardson. I'll get you out. Click on the pillow and examine the
walls - you'll see a secret door. Go through, follow the passage
without stopping, the walls are illusionary. Touch the phase spider
(clicking on it changes reality) and go back to your cell - now you
can walk through the door and press the button beside it to open
it. Open the other cell door by pushing the button. The normal
door is locked. Go back to the spider, touch it again so that
everything is solid and go out of your cell and to the desk, where
you can pick up a key. Go to the other cell to get the potions.
Move all the barrels to find armour. Go to the locked door and open
it. To cross the last barrier you have to go to the spider again to
make things unreal, walk through the locked door (the passage is
blocked in front of you), turn around and press the button to open
it, go back to the spider to turn everything solid again and then go
to the blockage. On your left there is a secret door. Go through
and DON'T touch the chest.
Press the button by the door. When the statues face towards the
door, you will be able to open it. Go through and to your right.
Press ONLY the red button and you will get an idea of what comes
next. Actually, I don't know how we got into this.
OK, leave the room and continue till you get to the room full of
lava. Walk along the funny path to the tapestry. Click on the
button to the left and a lift should appear. Get on the lift and
watch it, on the way a statue will shoot fireballs at you. Get on
the platform and click whatever buttons you like, it didn't seem to
make any difference, until they all disappear and steps appear
behind you. Climb up and press the button. Get on the lift and go to the
tapestry.
Ride it to an statue and six buttons. Pressing the red button in the middle
causes the statue to fire a ball. Press the button to the right to move the
statue to the right - keep firing as you turn it and it should
eventually shoot away a switch which frees the teleporter in the
centre of the room. When that happens, turn the statue the other
way, firing away, until it hits a mask and a lift appears. On the
way back to the platform with the tapestry, see if you can press a
purple button on the centre block.
If you continue to the tapestry, press again the button on the left, ride the
lift to the stairs, press the button, ride the lift and click on the blue button
on the central block to get to the teleporter.
Oh, great. All I wanted was to go home and here I am, in another
dungeon. Ah, well. First walk along the platform to the right as
you face the pedestal. Click on the glyph you'll see on a pedestal
and it will fly away. Press the blue button now revealed. Jump
onto the other platform and click on the crystal ball. You'll see
what is supposed to happen next. Save your game. Note the cube below you on
your left and press the buttons to bring it a bit towards you and raise
it. Now go back to the pedestal where you started, change to run
and go along the other platform dodging fireballs. Watch carefully
as you click on the statue and it will shoot at the cube you
raised. If it misses, run back and move the cube so that the statue
hits it next time (or reload and move the cube more accurately). When the
statue hits it, run to the pedestal and get on the lift which will have
appeared.
This takes you to the first teleporter. Step on it and, at the
other end, jump down and fight the spider bare-handed. Then go to
the statue and click on it to get some arrows. Don't touch the
mirror; go to the other side and touch the mirror twice and a bow will appear
(afterwards, this mirror heals you). Equip the bow, climb on the table and
shoot at the mask on the block opposite the one with the teleporter. Stairs
will appear - climb them, step on the plate on the floor and shoot the mask over
the teleporter - run quickly to it. Fine, you are going to need the
bow and arrows. Get on the lift and it will take you to the first
pedestal. Walk along to the right and shoot at the mask you will
see on your right. This extends a platform - run along it and jump
to get at the valve. This lowers the level of the lava.
Go to the first pedestal and jump down to click on the crystal ball
you'll see. Get the idea? OK, get on this lift which will take you
up to the other one. Ride it to the first teleporter, but this time
jump down and click on the tip of the pylon sticking out of the
fire. This drains the lava momentarily so you can get at the other
teleporter.
When you get into the room, open the chest and get the potions, then
press the blue button on the pedestal, equip the bow quickly and
shoot at each target as it appears, turning fast to face the next
one. If you are successful, you'll get a globe. Step on the
teleporter and click on the pylon again to lower the level of the
lava; run to the nearest empty holder and place the globe in it.
Aha! A new path is being created.
You know what to do now - keep clicking on pylons and don't get
caught when the lava raises. Find other teleporters and collect
more globes. You should find one in a chest. Since I don't know
which way you will head, I'll just tell you about the rooms you'll
reach.
In one, you will see two chests and to archer statues. DON'T touch
the chests. Just shoot at a moving mask till you get the globe and
get out.
In another, you'll find yourself in a small maze. Keep your eyes
open for a war hammer, you are going to need it. Try and remember
were you are at all times. You will see a cube with a button.
Pressing it you will see a mask appearing over a chest. The idea is
to rush to the chest and shoot the target before it disappears. You
have to do this three times, in different places, to get a globe on
the cube. Now you can go and place the last one.
Get to the first pedestal where you landed were you arrived; with
the last globe placed, you can now walk along the new path and step
on the teleport.
NOT the best of places to be, but it could be worse. As soon as you
can, equip the war hammer and deal with the beast sent to attack
you, which drops a ruby, thank you so very much. Save your game.
Now, I jumped from stone to stone to face the nasty on the other
side and it turned out that she had company, so I was dispatched
before I could catch my breath. Next time, I had a cunning plan. I
leapt to the big rock, but instead of jumping on to the land, I shot
the woman with my little bow. It worked. I was able to jump onto
the land unimpeded and found a lift which took me to a column, where
I got a glyph I wasn't actually looking for in the first place.
Heck, I didn't even know where I was.
I soon found out. Coming out of the column, I took the lift which
this time took me to a teleporter. I used it, got out of the cave
and there I was, in Moonglow. I didn't want to come here, and I
didn't want any trouble with the guy outside (keep insisting you
don't have his dagger and talk to him - don't fight him). AND I
want my stuff back!!!
Moonglow
--------
Well, here we are.
After talking to Duncan, turn around and read Raven's message by the entrance.
She is darned-tooting right, I am very cross indeed. In fact, I'm hopping mad.
Swim across to the fire. By it you will find a map of Moonglow and much good
might it do you.
Go into town and talk to everyone, only don't believe a word anyone says. Start
on the first house on your left - just walk through the door. This empty house
belonged to Mariah. You will notice a door with a magic field across. There is
a bed in one the rooms, where you can sleep if you need to.
Leave and go to the next house, again just walking through the door. The boy
lives here.
In the next house you will find Batista. She has the sigil but wants a shield.
Go back to Mariah's house - the magic field will have gone. Enter the kitchen
and look at the floor. Open the trapdoor and go in. Another magic field across
a door. Facing it, you will notice that, on your right, there is a secret door.
Move the barrels and go in. Place a barrel on the plate on the floor. This
removes the magic field. Go back to the other room and find the secret door on
the other side. Move the barrels as before and place a barrel on the floor
plate. This removes the protection around the shield. Go and get it and take
it to Batista. Insist that she does something for Mariah before you give her
the shield. In the end, you get the sigil. All you need now is the mantra.
Move on to the next house, nothing very interesting. The next one is a shop and
you can buy potions or get healed for free.
At the next door, press the blue button and go in. Meet Tydus. Ask him about
the Lyceum and oracle and he sends you on an errand. Leave town by the S gate
and go hard left, without crossing the bridge. Run to avoid the arrows which
will be fired at you. You will find the cave along here. Enter and be ready to
fight the two bandits. When you've killed them, rummage around. Hit the crate
to the left, under the one with the jars, and remove the debris to get a nice
scroll. Get Duncan's dagger off the floor. You can use the bed if you are low
on hit points and you don't have many health potions.
Get a lantern and move along the other corridor, hitting crates as you go and
looking in. At the end of the tunnel pull the unlit torch to remove the
barrier. Leave the lantern and step out, swim to the boat, climb in, climb up
through the hole by the crate and kill the nasty. There is an iron key by the
chest which will enable you to open it. In it, magic arms. Wear them.
Leave the boat, enter the cave again and exit the way you came in. You can't go
to your left because the road is blocked, so go to your right, climb above and
around the cave and find your way back to town.
Go first to the N and give Duncan his dagger - he will train you for nothing.
Go back to town.
Speak to Tydus and he will send you on another errand. Leave town by the N gate
and turn left, then right and along here to the cave. Have a look around and
when you get to the Daemon, talk to him. Trust him and he will leave. Grab the
Heartstone. Inside the mouth of the Watcher there is a key which allows you to
open a chest. I couldn't find another key, and the gold one I found later was
no use. Stand on the teleporter to get out of the cave.
You'll meet the boy yet again. This time take him seriously and go to his
house. Fight the bandits and save the father. By way of thanks, he asks you to
find his journal. Great. Might as well do it now - well, honestly, I'm forever
going backwards and forwards doing people favours and what do I get? Zilch!
Talk about being taken for granted...
Ah, well, it's all part of the game.
Leave town through the S door, go over the bridge and then hard right to the
docks. Enter the lighthouse and have a look around. Then walk to the docks and
fight the nasty (please don't hurt the nice doggie), then enter the hut and
fight an even nastier nasty. Here you will find the journal. Take it to the
sage and he will give you two useful spells.
Make sure it's night time. If not, sleep on a bed till it is.
Now for Tydus. Say you will swap the Heartstone for a visit to the Lyceum.
When the talk is over, press the blue button on the wall and a lift will come
down. Get into it and wait till it gets to the top. Leave it and save. Jump
on the boat (don't miss). You get a grand tour of the town. You don't need to
leave the boat at all, only if you wish, until you get to the Lyceum. Jump in
and you will be given a cryptic message. Well, not so cryptic. Use the
telescope to see the mantra. Next, click on the book. Admit it's all your
fault. You get the book.
Leave. Now it's time to go to the shrine. Leave town by the S gate, cross the
bridge and keep to your left. Avoid the cemetery by walking around it
(otherwise a couple of skeletons are sure to do you in). Hard by there is a
cave. Go in, ignoring the entrance to the left, to the end of the tunnel. Get
what you want and go back to that entrance. Cut the cobweb and fight the
goblin. Have a look around here. There is a little corridor to your left where
a mess of garbage contains a dead body and a gold key. Coming out of this
chamber you will see another corridor - this leads to the shrine. Before you go
on, click on the crystal ball to open a secret door. Inside, a healing
fountain, an Invisible potion and an armour in the crates. Leave the room and
head for the shrine. Save before you do (there is a bug here which leaves you
without the bars at the bottom of the screen). Then have a go and, when you've
done, collect the stuff from the altar, as usual. When you do, you will be
asked if you want restoration. Well, you do, really, but you don't know the
words.
At this point you can go on exploring, if you like, or you can get on with it
and go to the docks. There you will find Raven. Try not to strangle her but be
understanding. I think she fancies you. She will ask you where you want to go.
Me, I needed a rest and went for Britain.
There is much for you to sort out there, such as selling your surplus, polishing
gems, binding spells, and so on. But mostly, you need to talk to Lord British
and find out how to get to Yew.
So, when you are good and ready, we'll follow his instructions and get through
the caves and on our way. You will have many adventures and no doubt you'll die
several times because you weren't ready for what there was around the corner,
but let us assume you made it to Yew eventually.
Now, you could be forgiven for wandering about, quite lost, looking for the
inhabitants of Yew and, indeed, Yew itself. Well, you see, Yew is mainly built
on treetops, so you could walk past it and never know. Particularly if it is
night time, which it always seems to be in this game. No matter.
When you find a bridge with a signpost saying Yew, you are nearly there. Going
to the pub is a good move, if you can make it there. Because the serving wench
will tell you were the Courthouse is. Of course, I can obviate that by telling
you to head NE from of town.
Should you find the Courthouse, just watch Raven being condemned to death.
Nice. Leave and you will find a gargoyle. After much talk, head SW and see if
you can find a platform which will lift you up and allow you to find the boss
gargoyle (I forget his name, the one you met at the Castle) up some stairs and
another lift. You then explain matters, give the queen egg up and you will be
told that some of the information you seek is in the Library. I wish you joy of
finding it.
When you do, the book you need is right by the globe. Read it.
OK, head generally NE. Follow the signposts to Wrong. At one point (there is a
green banner on a rock), you have the choice of going to your right up a spiral,
snowy path. When you get to the top, a bird will ask you a series of questions.
The answer to the first is Yes, you are looking for the quill, then agree, and
the answer to the other three questions is No. You get the quill. Go down and
continue following the signposts till you cross the bridge, then go down the
steps to the left and talk to the gargoyle, who will tell you about the secret
entrance to...
Dungeon Wrong
-------------
Jump on the boat and it will take you automatically to the entrance. Make sure
you have one of those blue potions handy, dive in and swim till you can get out.
Press a skull to open the secret door. Inside, move the book to get yet another
useless gold key, move the painting with the Ankh and press the blue button.
Save your game before you leave by the main door. Open it and go left - the
fountain can heal you. Carry on up the stairs to the ground floor and kill
everybody. You will find a nice longbow in one of the chests and some arrows in
another. Open the front door in case you need to come here again.
Don't bother to go on up, there is nothing of interest there. It would be best,
just in case, to order your backpack, get rid of anything you don't need and put
everything you can in it.
Go down. Before you go past the fountain, save again and use a black potion.
Walk past the guard to your left, talk to the girl, open the box on the wall and
pull the lever to free her. If you go in and press the large button in her cell
you can go through a secret door and collect a bag from the water, under a dead
guy. On leaving this room, let yourself be caught and placed in a cell. At all
other times, rush to the guards and kill them quickly before you get sent to
jail yet again.
When you do, don't worry - you know me and computer game jails. Move the bench,
open the secret door and, using your fists, make your way along here. In a room
to the right, fight a big spider and collect a key from the nest. You will be
teleporting to this room later on, so it's as well to remember its position.
Continue and you'll end up in another cell, place the dead body on the plate to
open the door and you'll come to a corridor. There is a door almost opposite
slightly to your left. Go in and get your backpack and a key, leave this room
and go to your left, use the key on the box on the wall and go down the stairs.
You've got the idea, so I'll leave you to explore looking for levers, secret
doors, buttons on walls, boxes with levers, etc. By the way, when you find a
rack, pull the lever on that to open the way out. Ignore the wolf and don't
bother with a key you will see in a flooded room, you can't put it in your
inventory. You will come to a mock Raven which turns to a zombie - make sure
you chop it to pieces. In this room, a book on the floor will give you the
order in which you have to push 5 skulls to open the door to the real Raven,
which you will come to by and by. When you do, go in, turn the valve on the
left to turn off the flames, turn the valve on the right and she will come up.
You have a chat. Well, yes, we knew we had to get all that, lady.
Carry on here. Raven's key opens a door; to your right, another door can only
be opened by pressing the red buttons on a green tapestry. Don't bother. Bear
left and go down the stairs. At the desk remove the inkpot and press the red
button. Go in and carry on. At a room with three buttons and a chest, press
the first on the left (blue) to open the door to the dungeon proper. Press the
middle one (red) to get out of here but don't press the one on the right (green)
because you will wind up in jail.
Find the door to the dungeon and go in. Here, look for switches low down on the
walls and free prisoners. You will come to a flooded room with a corridor in
the middle. See if you can kill the fish before you run across, because the
bridge will sink. In any case, you'll have to dive to a tunnel to the right,
where a valve will open the other door. Carry on through and you will come to a
room with a revolving column. Leave this for now and go along the other
corridor. You will meet Jaana. After you've spoken to her by choosing the
second and third lines, throw the lever on the winch on your right and she will
be caged. She'll ask you to free her so, if she promises to be nice, do so.
She attacks you and you have to kill her. The door will open now, and you can
get through and get into the column, behind the rocks, to retrieve the glyph.
Now go to the room with the revolving column, look for a switch and a teleporter
will appear. Equip your weapon, step on the teleporter and kill the spider at
the other end. You will know where you are, so leave Wrong and get back to Yew.
The shrine is NW of town, so do your bit with the glyph and the quill then go
back to the Courthouse. Now that everything is sorted out, you might like to
take time to go to the mountains to the NE of town and find the ruins of the
abbey. Talk to the brother then find the braziers at the back. Cast Ignite on
everything in sight and you will be able to get the Candle of Love.
Go back to...
Britain
-------
It's a good thing you have to get back to Britain, since no doubt
you have much to do in the way of selling/leaving stuff in your
room/binding spells/sorting out your pack, etc.
You are going to need plenty of health (yellow) and mana (orange)
potions, and the odd invisibility one - but leave plenty of room in
your inventory. If you still have it, take the crystal sword with
you; it could make all the difference. If do you have it, then take
also the magic shield you got earlier on in the first dungeon.
When you have sorted yourself out to your satisfaction, go to the
Docks and jump into Raven's boat. You will be asked where you wish
to go. I took a small detour to place the lens in the Moonglow
lighthouse. This is a good place to buy potions anyway. Cast a
"Light" spell before you go to...
Minoc
-----
You will notice your mana points start to drain straightaway; this
is the effect of the Light spell, which will continue operational
till you either sleep or run out of mana. Bearing in mind you
cannot cast spells here, don't sleep. Furthermore, once you enter
the dungeon, neither your potions nor your magic will work. Since
you must maintain your Light spell going, top up your hit and mana
points with potions while above ground.
Head mainly N. First visit the shop and get a bit of info. Go on
N, and to the right of the big house, stand at the window of the
prison to hear a plea for help. Bribe the guard by the front door
and talk to Raxos. You will have to kill him to get the key to the
Prison, so get tough. Free the guy inside and he will give you a
handy orb.
Outside, talk to the bold guy, paying for the answers to your
questions. If you are short of cash, save first and find out what
answers you'll get, then reload and ask only those relevant to your
needs. Remember, in this game you have to "know" things (i.e., they
must be inscribed in your journal) in order to do something about
them.
Walk across to where there is a spooky house. Upstairs, a ghost (be
aware it is only there at night) asks you to find her doll. Leave
the way you came and keep going N. You will come across the gypsies
and will witness an ugly scene. Talk to the Gypsy Leader, who will
help you if you help him. No probs.
Talk to Morganna, get all the info and you will find out the
mantra. She up and dies on you. Oh.
Carry on talking to people and go through the waterfall to find the
ghost's doll. Might as well take it to her (if it's night time,
which it usually is). Avoid the cemetery behind her house at all
costs. If you enter it, a ghost attaches itself to you and, whilst
it doesn't harm you, there is no getting rid of it.
Anyway, to save on shoe leather, jump into the water by the
waterfall and swim under the cave at the other end of the pool,
looking out for a high ledge where you'll find a special sword.
When you are ready, walk up the hill from the magic shop and kill
the ghost (if it's night time - he's off duty in daylight hours).
Carry on up and dispatch the two bandits and the two skeletons.
By the way, the skeletons you kill will pull themselves together if
you hang around. Sometimes, if you take their ribcage into your
inventory (leaving it elsewhere later) or place it as far away from
the other bones as you can, they can't do it. So, either run or, if
you must hang about, take their ribcages and hope for the best.
While we are on the subject, don't forget that zombies must be hit
again once they are felled, till they disintegrate. Ghosts are
tougher to "kill"; I found the Gringolet sword quite useful, though mostly I
tried to avoid them.
Back to business.
Go through the caves. Fight your way through and, outside, go down
and enter the mines. You will see now why you had to cast "Light"
before you even reached Minoc. Gee, it's dark in here! Read the
book on the floor a little way in. Follow the railtracks till you
enter the main cave.
Either now or later, you might like to use an invisibility potion (though you
have to drink it outside the cave) and run to your left collecting lumps of
blackrock. You need four lumps.
When you are ready, at the entrance turn to the right and climb up some ramps to
the top of an elevator. Pick up the oil can and click on the drive mechanism
(the bits which stick out either end of the hole in the ground). This
lubricates the gears.
Go down and to your right and follow the railtracks. Before you go
too far in, equip the Gringolet sword, a shield if you have it, and
carry on. Speak to the Sword Wraith and get all the info. Fight
him and quickly retrieve the key he was carrying. Go open the chest
by the elevator and press the blue button. Jump on the elevator and
press the second button from the top (blue).
You are now on the second floor down. It is imperative that you
find the green pools that restore your health points, otherwise you
will never make it.
OK, follow the tracks. When you come to a wagon, push it to get
through. Go left and a skull asks you to take him. Refuse at
first, then take it. With your back to the skull pole, go left,
climb over the rocks and you will find a green pool (fountain); use
it to heal yourself. Carry on along here and you will find the next
key in an open box, at the back of the column.
Go back to the fountain and climb over the rocks, then go back to
the elevator, do as before and move on to the third floor. Here,
follow the tracks and, when you have gone over the chasm and get
into a chamber turn to your left. Walk along here and you will see
a rock almost like a wall, with a green shine behind it. Jump onto
a box and then onto the "wall" and in. You will find, not only a
fountain, but a helm of radiance in the rubble. Wear it to see
better. Walk around here till you find a tunnel and follow it.
(By the way, blocked tunnels can be opened up by clicking on the dynamite
barrels in front of them.)
When you reach the end, you will have found the skull's tomb. Place
the skull on it and you will get the next key. By the way, in the
chamber before the tomb I found Skully's skull. I took it with me
just in case. Back to the elevator, you know what to do.
This is the fourth and last floor. At the back of the elevator
there is a tunnel which leads to a chamber with a lot of precious
stones, if you want them. From the elevator, follow the tracks
until you get to the flooded section.
Save here because what is coming next is a bit of a nightmare. In
spite of the Helm of Radiance and your Light spell (still going, I
hope), it's pitch dark and you will find it doesn't help that the
rocky walls of the mine are invisible, nor that the water itself has
various levels. The changes of perspective as you move about will
confuse you while you are groping in the dark not knowing where to
go. Come too near the lava field and your hit points will drain
away without you knowing why. The fact that there is a heavy fight
ahead and that you are unlikely to find a fountain here tends to
fill you with dread. Will you be able to complete this section?
Ah! Read on...
Get into the water and head straight N. Come up as soon as possible
so that you don't drown. Swim on N till you hit a huge, black,
round rock (the column itself?). If you look down, you will see a green
fountain underwater, not that it will do you much good. Forget it.
Turn W and swim to the wall. Find an entrance, dive and swim along
the tracks till you come up into another room. Run in and kill or avoid
everybody then head left, change to whatever weapon is best for
skeletons and, in running mode but not in fighting mode, jump over
the stones to get to the other side. Don't bother to fight, just
run to the door, open it and rush in. Be prepared to fight a
skeleton immediately, then place the Gringolet on the plaque (if you
have the crystal sword, equip it now, together with the magic
shield; if not, your best weapon) and go through the door. Here you
meet the Lich. Kill it (one hit of the glass sword) and all his minions (with
another weapon). I know, easier said than done.
When you are free, click on the ball in the centre of the burning
circle. A door opens. Don't press the button on the wall. Run
through and open the wooden chest to get the Blackrock crystal
ball. Now, turn right around. On your left there is a cave were a
fountain is to be found, and I'll bet you need one badly by now.
Inside there is a stone guard - I haven't been able to kill one yet,
so I have to suppose you can't. However, us cowards can outrun
anyone, so I just tended to rush around and avoid them. Try it
here. It can be done.
When you've finished, run out of the big door, again avoiding
fights, and to your left, where you can leap across and get down
into the water and away from here. Swim to the black circular rock
- this time we are going N, so swim around it till you are facing N,
get to the wall and look for the entrance to the tunnel. Dive in
and, again guiding yourself by the railtracks, reach the other side.
Don't rush out of the water. You are now going to run straight on
avoiding the stone guard. Wait till he has his back to you and is
out of your way. Go!
You'll find the column and a pool. Jump in, swim around the column
till you see an entrance. Dive, walk up and collect the glyph. Now
all you have to do is run past the guard, into the water, swim S and
find the tunnel through which you entered. At the other end, find
the elevator. By the way, if you've had the odd encounter with
skeletons and you are low on hit points, the fountains won't heal
you. You can only use them once. Nice touch, that.
(You could have swam to the E, there is another entrance underwater, but I got
killed so many times trying that I gave it up. It really wasn't necessary,
anyway.)
Once on the elevator, press the top button (blue), then the red
one. Face the exit and be ready to jump out when you get to the top
floor - the elevator perversely goes straight down again. Once on
the top floor, don't stop to smell the roses but run like hell for
the exit, avoiding the skeletons if you can. As soon as you get to
the entrance you can heal yourself with potions.
Now go to the Gypsy leader and talk to him till he agrees to look at
the Blackrock crystal ball. Afterwards, collect the key, go to the
wagon nearby, open it and get the lens on the bed and the sigil,
which is in the chest.
Next, head for the shrine and do your stuff. OK, collect the items
off the altar and go to the boat, where you join Raven. She
suggests you go to Buccaneers' Den - however, you get diverted and
taken to...
Terfin
------
Jump off the boat and go straight on till you come to a group of
three statues. Click on the first one. If you try to go through
the gate behind them perhaps you won't be able to. Leave this corridor and
come back again - now you can go through.
Nothing very special here. Just walk along having a look, expecting
the odd attack and picking up anything you need - you will
inevitably arrive at the Guardian. Watch what happens. The
Guardian gives you a warning, but he doesn't kill you (even though
you could do nothing about it) because that would be the end of the
game. So you go back to Raven - up to you to tell her Samhayne was
her father or not.
Here you get the chance to get back to Britain and get yourself
sorted. All you have to do then is get back to the boat for the
next bit.
Now you sail to Buc's Den, where you buy a map from the
cartographer and go to Raven's house. Enter, sit on the chair and watch.
Afterwards, don the clothes that Raven leaves for you and afterwards visit the
Thieves' Guild (above the ferry). You get the chance to buy some interesting
stuff. Make sure you get everything you need because after what we are going to
do, you won't be allowed to buy anything else.
OK, go to the N part of the island and explore around the high ground till you
find the hidden entrance to the cave (marked on one of the "treasure maps"). If
you get caught between two sets of gates, press the protruding rock on the side
of the cave to get through. Fight the two nasties you'll find at the end of the
cave by shooting at them and then shoot the target to get across to the snake.
Click on the base of the stand on which the snake is to free it. Collect all
the serpentwyne there is and move the barrels around at the foot of the stairs
to get other interesting stuff. You can leave by swimming out or the way you
came.
[Next time you are in Britain, visit the Cathedral and talk to the Serpent
Keeper, who will than you for restoring the serpent but will ask you to retrieve
the funds. Go to the Mayor's house and the Storeroom. Talk to Killigan and
then walk through the tapestry opposite him. Under a table, find the funds and
take them back to the Cathedral for some more karma.]
Anyway, you then go to the docks and meet Raven again. I decided to
go to...
Trinsic
-------
When you land here on the docks, go straight ahead and up the
stairs. Talk to the guard and take heed. Save. If you enter the
Bastion you are a goner - yet you must, and reach a room where a reasonable
ghost will give you a clue. The best way to do it is to run all the way there
and to get out quickly by the nearest door.
Explore the town and talk to various people. Be careful not to
fight the people themselves, but look out for goblins.
This time nobody volunteers info on mantras, sigils or what have
you. All you are told is that a chalice is missing.
Make sure, by the way, that you buy plenty of arrows while in town.
There is nothing for it but to investigate the island in search of
someone more forthcoming. You have to head to the shrine, to the S,
and speak to the woman there. Next, you have to go to the centre of
the island, where a ruin guarded by a couple of gazers
contains Dupre's. Kill the nasties, go in, open the coffin,
get the urn and leg it to the shrine. Place the ashes on the altar
and Dupre will tell you what to do.
Depending on how you feel about it, you could now do some
exploring. In a sunken ship on the NW coast of the island you will
find another lighthouse lens. In a cave on an island reached by a
bridge (not far from the shrine), you will find the Star of
Britannia, whatever that is. In another cave guarded by goblins,
you will find the Staff of the Dead, in a small pool. This could be
quite useful. Also, not too far from where you got the ashes you
will find the spy in a tent. Kill him and read his diary.
At any rate, find your way to the dungeon, guiding yourself by the
map: head towards the skull symbol on it, which marks the
entrance. You will have to fight hellhounds on the way. If not
worse.
As soon as you enter the very first room, you will realize you are
in for a bad bout of puzzle-solving. I don't know what's worse,
fighting against impossible odds or this.
Equip your bow. Open the wooden door.
(Save every time you've solved a puzzle. That way you can go in to
have a look at the next, laugh heartily while you get killed and
reload to do it properly.)
First room: press the red button on your right (a ball from the
right will hit the mask on the left and the field will disappear)
and quickly shoot the arrow before it shoots you. Walk against the
gate and it will open.
Second room: a couple of annoying Watchers follow your every
movement, and open gates shut the moment you try to go through
them. The answer is: go to the tapestry, turn right around facing
the target above the watchers, shoot at it to attract their
attention and walk around them, right up close, placing them between
you and the tapestry. One eye will be looking at you, the other
away from you. Now you can rush to the right and get in.
Have a look: there is an eye in front of you, a mask to your left
and three shields on your right. Normally, a fireball is shot at
you (dodge), followed by a blue ball. The idea is to attract the ball to the
mask by placing yourself in front of it and moving at the last moment. If it
misses, then it's back to the fireballs and you have to wait for the blue ball.
Eventually, the blue ball will hit the mask and the wall will open to let you
through.
This time there are suits of armour to your right and left and a
statue in front of you. Click on both of suits and two masks will
appear, to the left and right of the statue. Again, you have to
dodge fireballs but direct blue balls to the masks, mainly dodging
the former and attracting the latter to the target by offering your
body as bait. Do first the mask to the right of the statue and you
will get some potions (be careful not to touch the green one). Then
try the other one and go through to the next puzzle.
Start by shooting the arrow before it shoots you. Look: there are
different coloured statues on all but one plinth. Press the button
on your right and you will get a clue - a BLACK statue. Press the
button on your left and the statues will start changing colour. You
want to turn them all black by clicking on them when they are that
colour. When they are all black, a new statue will appear. Just
click on it and a chest will materialize in the middle of the room.
Open it and get the orb.
Get back to the starting room, the one with the tapestry, the mask
and the two watchers. Again, with your back to the tapestry, shoot
at the mask to draw their attention and then walk right up close to
them; while neither of them is looking at the doors, dash through
the door which is now to your right.
In the next room, avoid the floor to the left (a plate here would
fry you) and head straight for the table with all the buttons and
stand in front of the red one. Looking at the array, I will name
them thus:
A
B C D E
F G R H I
R stands for red button. What you do is: press A, press R. Wait
till the ball hits the mask then press F. When the ball hits that,
press G. The rest of the sequence is H, I, B, C, D, E. At the end,
a door opens. Don't rush out.
You must not land on the red portions of the floor. Start by
jumping out of the room onto the grey bit. Look to your right and
press the blue button to get rid of the field, you never know.
Carefully walking on the grey floor only, keep an eye on your left.
When you spot a mask, shoot at it. You are shown an open way to the
next room. Yet, when you carefully approach it, a field shuts it.
The reason is that the watcher has its beady eye on you. Follow the
grey path and look to your left. You will see a red button on the
wall. Watch how the red strip on the floor moves. You have to
reach the red button avoiding that strip - it's just a matter of
jumping at the right moment, and be sure the cursor is on the grey
path before you do.
Now, when you reach that button, be aware of what it does. When you
press it, it turns the eye towards you and away from the open way,
so that the field disappears. The trick is to press the button and
get quickly to the next room before the eye gets back to its
original position. Good luck.
In the next room, you will see a lot of paintings and a lot of
levers. Start by pushing all the levers back. Now, the eye here is
turning slowly and continuously. If you pull a lever (it turns
green) and the eye is facing it, it will go back. Therefore, you
have to wait till the eye has just turned past any lever and pull
them all following the eye around so that it is only looking at
levers laying back; you have to pull them all before the eye gets to
the first one. If you are not quick enough, all the levers you've
pulled so far will go back. However, after a few tries and a lot of
cursing, you should complete the circle faster than the watcher and
pull all the levers green. This opens another door in the room with
red/grey floor.
Go back to it (carefully) and enter the new room. You will see a
pedestal. Place the orb on it and stairs will be created. Go up
them and look for a blue button on the left. This calls a lift
which takes you to a large black statue. Sheltering to the right of
it, have a look around.
First, you have to go left and jump to a murderous watcher which
showers you with fireballs. Press its red button. Jump to the red
"star", walk through it and you will turn red. Jump back to the
statue and click on it to turn it red. Now, dodging fireballs, find
the blue star; standing by the statue, it is ahead and to the
right. Walk into it so that you turn blue and then click on the
statue to turn it purple. Next, you have to get to the yellow star
- which is a bit difficult since there is no obvious way to get to
it.
Go down some stairs above the statues puzzle and
over a polar bear rug to get to another button. When you press that, a new
lift appears - go to it, travel to the last "star", turn yellow, go
to the statue, click on it and it will disappear leaving behind a
teleporter. Use it.
You will be in front of a glass wall. Hit it with your weapon and
you will be asked the mantra, which you now know is SUMM. The glass
wall disappears. Jump from slab to slab to the entrance of a
cave. Follow this through and you will have an encounter. Don't
give up the lenses. The chalice is destroyed. As you leave the
cave, Dupre will appear and tell you to get another one (do so) and to
convince the people they should mend their ways. That's all very
well, but.
Anyway, come out to the slabs and jump to your right, where you will
find a very fine sword. Observe, too, the teleporter. Go and face
the guard. Now, this is a tough one, so I found that the only way
to kill her was to dodge around the fire till she stepped on it to
get at me - with the new weapon and her losing hit points because of
the fire, I found it quite easy to dispatch her. When she bites the
dust, the column opens and you can go through to get the glyph. Use
the teleporter to get back, drop down to the room with the two
watchers and leave the dungeon.
Go back to town and to the Bastion. With the new sword, killing the
ghosts is dead easy (excuse the pun). Just go around hitting them
all even as they speak. When you have finished them off, go to the
front door and talk to the guard. He tells you about someone at the
Inn. Go there and talk to the woman. You find that she has a
guest. I think you have to leave by the N door, but anyway near
here there are two rooms which were previously locked. Go to the
one to the left and meet a guy who needs help. Agree.
Go to the last paladin, on the floor above the smith, and ask for
his help. Call him a coward. Dupre's ghost appears and talks to
him. Lucero will finally pull himself together. Follow his
instructions and go to the island S of here, which you reach by the
bridge. At the house, lend a hand killing spiders and, after a bit,
it will all be over. Lucero, though, is in bad shape. Nothing you
can do.
Go back to town and to the front door of the Bastion. Place the cup
at the foot of the statue and watch. Go to the guard and he will
tell you to take the chalice. Do so, go to the shrine and place the
chalice and the glyph on the altar. At the end, go back to the boat
and Raven.
It would be a good idea to go to Britain because of the lighthouse
lens.
Also, if you have three lumps of blackrock and 7000 gold pieces, you can ask the
smith to make you a blackrock sword after you've cleansed the shrine. Talking
to the two fisherman then gives you more karma.
Britain
-------
Make sure you talk to everyone again and you will find that someone has been
impersonating you. Go to the crossroads to Despise and the knight will tell you
where to find the offending party. Go to him and tell him to mend his ways.
More karma for you.
OK, after you've done all else you had to (making sure you bind the spell
Fireball before you leave Britain) and have taken a detour to Buc's
Den to place the lighthouse lens, talk to Raven and ask to go to
Valoria.
When you get there, follow the sign and go up to the rock all in
front of you and then left and you will meet a dying guy who will
lumber you with a shield. Continue along here and you will see two
huge heads. Click on the yellow eye to open the barrier and walk
straight on till you get to the sergeant. Agree to bring a dragon's
head (are we nuts?).
Leave and head for the ship, get rid of the zombies, get in and
explain you have to get to Destard. Raven takes you to Britain
again. If there is anything else you need to do, now it's the time
to do it. Make sure you have plenty of orange potions, a few
healing potions for emergencies and, very important, at least two
invisibility potions plus an infernal armour one... but otherwise
leave plenty of room in your inventory.
Start by going to Paws and, guiding yourself by the map, follow the
path which will take you nearest to the skull which marks the
entrance to the dungeon. Eventually you will come to some
hellhounds and you will know you are near the column. It took me
HOURS to find the entrance to Destard, and since this is difficult
to explain, I wish you a lot of luck.
What you do is jump, or climb, from rock to rock heading N till you
hit the village of Dawn (the other alternative is to go to Yew (using the
moonstone) and walk SW till you get to Dawn), which is where the blocked
entrance to Destard is. In one of the ruined houses a woman will
talk to you. You still haven't a clue where the other entrance is
and I'm willing to bet it's either night or very dark because it's
raining, and you can't see where you are going.
Climb up to where you see snow and where you'll find an ice hound.
Hard by, within sight of the column, you will see a kind of square
of ice with a dead body on one side. Stand on the square and cast
Fireball four times - the ice will melt and you will fall into...
Dungeon Destard
---------------
Head N to the Lava Room and stick to your right. The first thing
you will find is a white magic field closing off a chamber. Also, a
demon will probably materialize and call up a fire hound. Always
attend first to the hound and then to the demon, though if you are
able to attack the demon quickly, he won't have time to call for
help.
Next you will come to a room full of rats, kill them all and come up
right close to the guy to talk to him. Get all his info and then
agree to find the key. It is right behind you, on top of a flat
rock. Go back to the man and free him.
Move on and there should be, on your right, a lava field. Jump from
rock to rock, deal with the guard (he might beg you to spare him if you are
pushy) and go on to get the glyph. Get back. Next, you will see some
interesting light effects on your right. That's a teleport you will be using
presently, but first talk to a ghost nearby. Ask her where the dragon is and,
when you know all that, get the rest of the info and promise to help. She
asks for news of her husband. Now, with your weapon at the ready,
go to the teleport and use it.
Here is where the dungeon proper begins. Kill the guards and, this
time, keep to your left. Be careful that you don't miss any rooms,
since you can easily walk past them. Also, examine the walls
carefully since there are secret rooms all over the place. As
always, I will only mention the important points, you do your own
thing, OK?
As you walk along, past a healing fountain, you'll come to a room
with a bowl in the middle which contains a gold key. Be careful how you get it,
you might prefer to leave it where it is.
Nothing very exciting, just keep looking around. It is important,
though, that when you come eventually to a door in which there is a
skull in the middle, you look to the right to find Darin's journal.
Click on the skull to go on through (this doesn't happen right now,
I just want to you be on the look out).
You should come to a large chamber with a fountain in the middle.
Take the tunnel to the left. In the room with the locked chest,
smash the crates and find the key. Inside the chest, a red candle. Take it.
Go on to speak to the miners, if you like.
The next tunnel leads to the proper entrance of the dungeon - a head
will ask you for the Word of Power, which you don't know yet.
Remember where this is because it's the way home.
In a room with two black spiders you will find a piece of the magic
eggshell.
If a door closes behind you when you enter a room with another door
opposite, a switch on the wall between the two doors, on the left,
will open them. At the mausoleum, you will find the key you need in
an open crate under the stairs. Inside that last room, fight the
nasty and open the coffin to get another eggshell bit. Not much
else to do around here, but do look around, you never know what
you'll find.
When you come to the room with the plates on the floor, don't press
the red button on the wall. The doors will close and zombies will appear. Kill
them and push the button on top of the stand which will materialize. This opens
the doors.
Carry on. You will presently come to two pillars with a button
each, either side of a magic field. Press both buttons so that a
green dome appears above them then enter the rooms either side and
press the buttons above the door. This gets rid of the field.
Enter the "church". The first door to the left is locked, don't
worry about in because we'll get in another way. Go to the altar
and read the book. So this is what the red candle is for!
The door behind the altar is locked, but we'll get the key later.
There is a lever in the corner as you go to the other side of the
church. I think it's for stopping the stream of fireballs you start
off if you press the red button on the wall I asked you not to
push. But pull it just in case I'm wrong and it does something
else.
OK, through the only open door. Have a good look around; you will
find the flask of blood amongst the other ones; take it.
Particularly, click on the crystal ball - remember what you see. If
you have spells which you are anxious to bind, open the chest and
get what you need.
Go up the stairs, through the door to the right when you get to the
top and go open the chest and get what's inside. Go back to the
stairs and go down the other way. You will meet an obnoxious woman
who will fight you and you will have to kill her. Have a look
around here and then click the painting which is askew to get a
key. Go through the door which opens and have a field day. Get the
red globe. OK, you can leave. The locked door is the one which we
couldn't open from the church.
Leave the church and, instead of going left, enter the room
opposite. This is where you place the red orb, the red candle, the
red skull and the flask of blood, in the four stands around the
room. And the severed head in the middle. You can place whatever
you have on you, in any order.
Now take the path you should have taken and look for a red pentagram
on the wall to your right. On your left there is a secret door
which contains the key to open the door behind the altar. That room
contains a pentagram for binding spells, if you need to. There are
more reagents by the pentagram. No nightshade anywhere, though.
Nevertheless, go to that room. Inside, push the dragon statue and
you will reveal a door. Inside that, the severed head.
Continuing along the corridor with the red pentagram on the wall,
you will eventually come to the room we saw in the crystal ball; you
will have to dispatch two nasties before you go and click on the red
panel - the bookcase slides away and you'll see a door. Inside, a
chest with another eggshell piece. There is also a secret door in
this room. Carry on searching and, when you leave these quarters, a
cell on your left, which can be opened with a lever, contains a
couple of rats and the red skull. Also yet another golden key.
A corridor leading to stairs somewhere along here takes you to a
lava room in which you will meet a demon and a hound. In a book
near a dead body you will read a single word: Inopia. That's the
Word of Power.
Go back to the room with the large pentagram, place the four red
objects on the stands and the severed head in the middle - a
demon/hound team appear, kill them. You get a Summon spell.
Collect the red candle before you leave.
Make your way to the teleporter and leave.
Keep right, now. Talk to the ghost and she will give you her piece
of eggshell because you found her husband's journal. Carry on
exploring.
You should come presently to an entrance with spikes in front. Ease
you way in and jump to a chest. Kill the nasties and weigh down
with something (you can retrieve it later) the plate you will see
near the chest, making sure it is depressed. Keep jumping along
here till you see another tunnel. Save, change to running mode and
use an invisible potion. Jump to the tunnel and run to the N, where
another short tunnel will lead you to the last eggshell bit. Use
another invisible potion and rush out.
Now for the Lava Room. Find the closest place to jump at the round
platforms with the pedestals. As you near each one you will change
colour to give you a clue as to what piece of eggshell to place on
each pedestal - in any case, if you use the wrong one nothing will
happen and you will know to try another one.
When all the pedestals have disappeared, go to the place where the
red field was and enter. It wouldn't be a bad idea to be in running
mode. When you get to the dragon, have a chat with her and, of
course, refuse to join her. When the fighting starts, cast Infernal
Armour, run and jump onto the ledge she is on and bash away, keeping
your eye on your health. It's actually quite easy, I thought it
would be a great deal worse. OK, get the head and anything else you
want and you can now visit, if you like, the room which had the
magic white field across the entrance. A lot of goodies to be had
here (the Troll's Chest, for instance, restores your hit points slowly) but
watch out for hellhounds and mimics. A Fireball spell works wonders with the
mimics.
When you've had your fill of Destard, go to the proper entrance to
the dungeon and speak the Word of Power to get out. The bad news is
that you have to find your way home and, yes, it will be dark
again. You are on the wrong side of the mountains, too, and you
don't really want to walk all the way to Yew; you will want to get
to the other side so that you can walk to Britain through Paws.
Basically, jump over blocks of rock heading S and you should be able
to do it.
Valoria
-------
When you get to Britain, do whatever you have to do and then go to
Raven and ask her to take you to Valoria. You know how to get to
the Fortress. This time you will be allowed through. Go in, jump
to left and talk to the knight. On a table you will see a map of
Valoria. Continue to the central part of the Fortress. Walk
against the door for it to open. Talk to the woman and to the guy
on the bed. Outside, you can buy some stuff and get trained. Leave by the left
door and talk to the other guy in the other room. Leave the Fortress (I think
you get to see a video clip now) and turn immediately left. Where the bow is
you can shoot at a target for a bridge to appear. There is a chest behind the
target you might want to look at. In fact, it contains Serpentwyne, which
restores your mana and hit points fully; and you need as many of these as you
can get. There are some more scattered on this island and also on Skara Brae
and elsewhere on the sand. Nurse the serpentwyne carefully and use it only in
real emergencies.
When you've done that, come back and jump down; under the bridge
there is a cave. To one side, a dead body and a key. Read his
journal and take it, if you like [the lady who wanted the serpentwyne by the
cathedral at Britain will have asked you to look for news of her son. Going
back to her with the journal will earn you karma].
Enter the cave, kill a demon and find the Tome. Read it and take it back to the
guy on the bed. Now speak to the Knight and the Sgt. and persuade them to
cooperate. You do so.
Leave the compound and head to the shrine. Look for the sunken boat
near here and get the magic bow in a chest. One word about this bow,
though - good though it is, you will bleed your hit points away
while you use it.
Anyway, find the shrine and, a little further on, fight the fire
hound/demon. You get the Dagger. Now go back to the Fortress and
talk to the sergeant and the knight. He tells you the mantra of
honour and also to keep the dagger.
Go to the shrine and do the usual, then join Raven. When she asks
awkward questions, be honest. She then suggests you do the shrine
of Spirituality and that you visit LB. Do so, but he ain't there.
Talk to the chap in the green number outside the Throne Room and he
will give you a message. Read it. Go to Raven and wind your way
to...
Skara Brae
----------
As you walk along, Shamino speaks to you and tells you to find
certain objects but, of course, not how, not where.
Well, heave a sigh and get back to Britain. Go up the stairs in the
Castle and talk to the lady by the musical instruments. Go to LB's
room and play the music she has given you on the piano (place the
sheet on it and use the piano). The sandalwood box disappears and
you get the Ankh. Collect the lenses, the book of truth and the
candle of love, if you are not carrying them, and let us see if we
can find the bell.
You would find the info about where to collect the goods by entering the Well of
Souls, but to avoid going backwards and forwards, I'll tell you where to find
the Bell of Courage (you should already have the book and the candle).
Go to Raven and ask her to take you to Trinsic. Once here, if it is
not daytime sleep somewhere until it is. Then take charge of the
boat and head for the S. The coordinates are roughly 74 degrees N
and 5 degrees E. You'll know you are there because you will see a
large statue fallen into the sea. Before you leap out of the boat,
make sure you will be able to jump back in. Weigh anchor near
protruding ruins you can climb. First you have to clear the area of
very nasty crab thingies, then shoot the Avatar-munching fish with a
bow.
When the dust has settled, make sure you have a blue potion handy,
see that your health and mana points are topped up, cast Light, save
and start swimming around till you see some spiky bits of masonry and spot the
square hole in the ground. Dive in and swim through. Start destroying the
ghosts. You can only go right along the corridor. Ignore the chest on the
left and leap to the one on the right from the corridor, thus avoiding a trap.
Climb up, open it and get the key. Leap out of danger and enter the corridor
again. Advance and go left. Unghost the ghosts and unlock the door. Step
daintily in, don't rush. A bad guy gives you a lot of lip, but take no
notice of him. Fry him with plenty of Fireball spells. I didn't
even get a scratch. When he turns into mush you get a little
picture. You could levitate across and jump at the last moment to collect the
blackrock boots, if you wanted.
Open the door and leave - opposite you'll find the bell and a nice
person who doesn't wish to kill you the moment she sets eyes on
you. After you've talked, grab the bell and go back the way you
came.
Jump into the boat and ask Raven to take you to...
Skara Brae
----------
Shamino talks to you again and tells you what to do next. Go talk
to the huge stone head. Climb onto the giant hand near by and, when you reach
the palm, you will hear the mantra.
Follow the broken causeway into the sea and swim on till you see a
hole in the masonry. Dive and swim through, then go up the stairs.
Jump into the Well and you will enter the ethereal world. Go up the
stairs and, outside, you will meet a lost soul. Help him with good
advice. In real life, no-one ever listens - so make the most of
it. Go right around talking to the ghosts and sorting them out. On a bed in
one of the houses (upstairs) you will find Elizabeth's babies. When you have
helped all the ghosts, go back to where you came in.
Follow the path marked with the pylons and enter the door. Get to
the place in which Shamino is and read the book on the altar. Go
around casting Ignite on all the braziers till they have a flame.
Reading the plaques on the columns and above the altar, place the
correct object in the right place. Then click on the book, cast
Ignite on the candle and click on the bell. Shamino is freed.
What follows next happens more or less by itself. Great, now we
need stuff we didn't know we needed before. Nobody tells us
anything! I had to go back for the darned red candle. Leave and go
to the boat. Ask Raven to take you to Britain to collect whatever you need and
left there. You can buy the reagents in the magic shop, if you need them, and
anything else you need. This is your last chance to get yourself together now,
so make sure you have the spell Lightning, plenty of orange potions, the odd
black and blue variety and a few red and yellow.
OK, back to the boat and to...
The Isle of the Avatar
----------------------
You will easily find the pentagram. Conveniently, there is a skull
already there. It's a good thing you've come prepared. Place
everything in the centre of the pentagram and Ignite the candle.
OK, a teleporter will take you into the dungeon.
Go left, into the room, fight the Gazer and click on a switch on the
wall. This opens up another corridor (this happens in every section
of the dungeon). Leave and go through the other corridor. Stand on
the mask to attract the blue balls and move only at the last minute
so that they hit the mask. A new teleporter appears - get the white
ball and teleport.
In the red room, kill the hounds, press the buttons, click on the
switch, press the buttons again and take the red ball. Go along the other
corridor and cast Douse on both braziers then teleport.
In the green room, fight the Gazer and hop along the floor avoiding
the large square slabs, which are traps. At the coffin lid, turn right and
place something heavy on the plate on the floor. Turn left and climb up. Leap
to the ledge on the right and go and click on the Ankh. Watch. On
your way back, leap on the ledge now to your right and click on the
switch. Drop down to the coffin lid, now a cupboard, and read the
book and take the spell (use it only in an emergency, best to bind it). Go
through the other corridor, run through the middle of the room, take the
ball and teleport.
In the blue room, kill all the fish before you go in, swim across
the room, climb the stairs waiting till the upper ones are in the
wall, then turn around and climb those. Click on the switch. Go to
the other room and start casting the Fireball spell all around but,
particularly, at the star-shaped crystal over the window. Another
teleporter. Collect the blue ball and teleport.
Here, you will notice that in the middle of the room there are all
the elements over a hole, and that you will have to get rid of them
before you can get through.
First, place the balls on the stand in the order in which you got
them. Fine. Now teleport again and go to the room with the mask,
climb the new stairs and walk against the plasma on the wall.
Great. Save immediately. You are going to have to jump from column
to column, without falling off, and you will be hassled by vultures
and those electric dragons which are well-nigh impossible to kill.
My advice is, don't hang about. Start off E but veer N at the first
opportunity. You will hop all around a tall rock and there you will
meet a dragon. Don't bother to fight it, cast Infernal Armour and
just pelt it with Lightning spells. When you kill it, one of the
layers over the hole you want to enter is removed and you are shown
a teleporter. Don't bother to look all over for it, it's on the rock
through which you entered, so turn around and go back the way you
came and teleport. You are next teleporting to the green floor,
looking for plasma on a wall. Go to it and you will find yourself
elsewhere.
Go all around here killing those Avatar-eating plants - you should
find a whopper. Find also a bunch of chests. With your weapon
unequipped, open them from behind and be ready with a Fireball
spell, because most of them are mimics. In one of them, though, a
blackrock armour. While you are rummaging around, a stone monster will
appear. Quite easy to kill with the Lightning Sword. Nearby, a
teleporter will appear. Go for it.
Now you are looking for plasma in the blue floor, and it is in the
flooded room where all the fish were, on the ground. When you go
through it and turn up in the new location, save before you move a
muscle. What you have to do here is go through an arch to the N,
but first you have to leap onto a rock without falling in the water
because, if you can. Keep trying for
the best place to jump. It's always best to
place the cursor well away from where you actually want to land,
when there is a wall to retain you. If you fall in the water, you will have to
find a rock you can climb and jump from rock to rock to the archway. Anyway,
when you go through the arch, walk around killing nasties till you find one of
those water monsters with bad breath. Zap it with the Lighting spell till it
dies. It would be nice to kill it with a sword, but it does keep going away
from you. Afterwards, a pretty picture of a teleporter.
Find it and go back to the dungeon.
This time we are going to the red floor and the plasma is on a wall
previously not there on the corridor which goes to the switch. This
time we are in the fire world. Look about you - you want to make
your way to the central bit where you can see a fiery aurora. Cast
Infernal Armour before you move and walk/jump to that centre bit
fighting everyone along the way. When you get there, you will have
to fight the boss demon; if you attack him quickly enough, he won't
have time to summon a hound. When he dies, the teleporter is to be
found about here somewhere.
This should clear the hole, so teleport to it and drop through.
From where you start, you have to drop down several times to a bridge, so save
and experiment - and don't forget, whenever you see fire, cast Infernal
Armour.
When you find the bridge and cross it, you'll find Lord Brit and
Blackthorn. They fight it out, LB wins and you have to go into the
column and get the glyph. When you have it, go and talk to LB. He
teleports you to The Isle. Head S and find a cave, slightly to the
SW. Fight your way in and place the Codex on the altar so that it
lays flat. The put the red lens on the left stand and the blue on
the right stand. Read the Codex. Leave it here and find Raven, who
will take you to Britain.
Sort yourself out and find LB. The guy in green always knows where
he is. He sends you to the Void to cleanse the shrine. Jump on the "stepping
stones", find the altar, use the glyph and the ankh and there you are. Get back
to the Castle.
Go find LB and talk to him. Now you've got your instructions, you
will find all your chums in the Castle. Go around talking to them. Collect all
the sigils. Don't take too much with you. If you have a reasonable amount of
spells in your book, all you really need is a lot of orange potions, a black, a
white and a blue. You will find plenty of potions where
you are going and you need space in your backpack.
Go to Raven and ask her to take you to...
Terfin
------
If when you get there, if you were to jump off and go to the door,
you'd find it locked and the key ain't under the mat. So don't.
Talk instead to Raven and she will tell you what to do.
Get off the boat and walk to the left around the island. Cast
Infernal Armour just in case. The entrance to the cave is 88
degrees S 29 degrees E.
Go in, teleport, follow through - in the next room there is a plate
on the floor to the right. Weigh it down with something, making
sure it is depressed. Enter through door. Pause and save. You
could try and tackle the gargoyles in the two rooms on the right and
left, though these don't contain anything very interesting; so you
could leave them, use an invisibility potion and run through the two
ranks of gargoyles ahead.
Go left, stand at doorway and kill the gargoyles as they queue up to
get at you. Enter. A blue button on the floor opens another door.
The key on the table opens the chest, which contains arrows.
Leave. The first door on the left is locked. Press the switch on
the wall and go through the other door. Go in, run along the
corridor. Kill the gargoyles. Go left, kill the gargoyle, take the
key on the bar. The other room along here contains food, and the
pile of barrels hide some potions.
Go to the locked door and open it. There is a strange room here
which contains a skeleton, so don't bother. Instead, run along the
next corridor and press the red button which will appear on the
wall.
Keep left. Go along a corridor and you will see a groove on the
ground. Unequip your weapon and, if you are wearing the blackrock
chest, remove it. Run straight on here - the place will flood.
Look for a valve on the right which will open the door, swim through
and go up to the surface as soon as possible. Look down and you
will see a key and a valve. Dive, get the key and turn the valve.
Climb out and leave. There is a chest between two portcullises -
you can reach in and open it, but it's hardly worth it. It contains
a buckler and a black potion.
OK, leave and go to the next door to the left. Kill the gargoyle,
leave the chest (it's a mimic) take the key from the altar to the
right, open the door and open the chest by the steps. All the rest
are mimics. Leave and go left. Kill the thief on the right,
teleport. There is a healing fountain and three chests which
contain, left to right, the following spells: Inferno, Ring of
Fire, Summon Demon - you can only take one, the other two
disappear, so decide which you want. Teleport out.
In front of you, four switches. Hit the one on the right. Unlock
door and go in - go right, this time, killing all the gargoyles.
You will come to the torture chamber. Here there is a locked door.
The two levers on the floor open the cells, but in one of them
you'll find a skeleton and a chest with some potions and a couple of
scrolls which don't seem to do much. You can safely leave the
levers alone.
Exit and go to the next room to the right, where you will see a
magic field around the key you need. If you go on, you will only
find more gargoyles and nothing much of interest. It's up to you.
But if you want to get on, cast Douse on the torch in the room with
the field and it will disappear. Grab the key and go through the
locked door in the torture chamber.
First deal with the hounds and demon, then get the power cube.
There is a blue button on the side of the throne which you have to
press. Carry on, jump down to the pit and up the other side, pull
the lever you'll find, which opens another door. Go back to the pit
and climb out the other side.
From here on, you have to click on all unusual things, such as
paintings, switches, levers, buttons (you can use Telekinesis if you
can't reach them) and what have you. You need to find three more
power cubes.
In the room with the blue one, step on the large pentagram and you
will turn up elsewhere. Careful here. Change to running mode, use
a black potion and run to get the red cube then run to find the
pentagram and get back. Use the red cube on the pylon to get out.
In the room with all the statues, go to the door at the back, kill
guards, press the blue button, kill the skeletons (take their
ribcages), get the key and pull the lever. Go through the new door,
kill the nasty, jump on the barrels (don't miss) to get to the other
side and turn the valve. Go back the way you came in.
Outside this room, turn left. The first room you come to doesn't
yield much. If you move along you will see a zombie and a girl who
proposes a swap. Go back to the entrance of this section and follow
the corridor. If you keep left you will come to a forge in which
there is a plate armour. Carry on and, at the portcullis, cast
Telekinesis on the blue button.
Go in, nothing much around here except a nutter you will have to
kill. Then move the painting on the wall and press the blue
button. This opens a locked room and, inside, a chest contains the
key Ciara wanted. Take it to her and she will give you the red
cube. Use it on the pylon. Go through. You will see a locked
chest, which contains three yellow potions, and the key is in the
pit. If you can't be bothered, jump over it. On the left you will
see a magic field. Moving on, you will come a room with lots of
chairs. There is a red button on the largest. Press it and the
field will disappear. A wall opens up.
Go to it, enter, pull lever. In the new room, place all the power
cubes in the holes of the pylons and a meteorite will float over the
table. Move it to the stand and something will happen in the room
with two statues which you saw in your travels. Go to it and use
the teleporter.
Finale
------
Go through the door and place the sigils on the columns - watch. Go
to the white cloud in the centre of the room and, when given the
opportunity, type Sanct Vas Grav In Mani An Corp (do it right).
Watch what happens next. When you can move, run to get three pieces
of the dimensional portal which are scattered about, watching your
health and dodging the Guardian. Then go to the centre of the
circle. When you place the first piece in the middle, you will see
your mates replacing the runes in the columns. When you place the
second piece, you will see the moons missing each other. When you
place the third, you are given the opportunity to type Vas Kal An
Mani In Corp Hur Tym (again, do it right). This casts the
Armageddon spell.
Watch the finale.
* * *
These tips, by no means exhaustive, were meant to help you complete
the game. There is much more to do and discover which, though not
at all necessary, it's good fun. The game was thoroughly
entertaining, having a good plot and a logical sequence, and was
just hard enough but not altogether impossible. The virtual world
which creates is really amazing. Pity about the continuous crashes
and hang ups. This really shouldn't happen, since it means the
product is faulty. Who wants to buy anything faulty? With any
other product you would be entitled by law to a replacement. In
this industry, you'll be lucky if you get a patch which will
probably not solve all the bugs.
* * *
Additional
----------
If you haven't found it yet, the Saphire Lens is in a crate, 2 degrees N 9
degrees W.
When you've placed all three lighthouse lenses and you've visited the lighthouse
at Britain, if it is night a ghost ship will appear at the docks. Nobody in it,
though. Perhaps one is meant to search around Britain for the ghostly crew. I
didn't find any of its members. You will no doubt find a "Ghost's Bracelet" (in
two different locations, you can only pick it up once), but I didn't find any
use for it.
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