First, you should talk to Commander Zaka about your quest. In case you haven't done this, you will need to find the boat, and the renegade offical named Metiro.

So, to do this, head south of Klaun and follow the path. But aha, you say, I can't travel over that mountain! What you'll need to do is talk to Mystik in Klaun and buy the skis she has to sell you. These will allow you to travel over the mountain, to Metiro's tower.

Once inside the tower, kill anything that gets in your way. This would include the Wight and 2 quickghasts you see upon entering.

You may head west or east, but heading south will take you inside a small room, inside which are some more undead, and a few hordlings, but other than that, there's nothing else. Search the bookcases, and get the 'Iron-X Key'. This will open a portcullis you will need to get into.

Now, leave the room by going south of the throne. But how, you say. Just walk through the carefully placed secret door.

You should encounter some more hostile fiends, such as some spellcasters locked inside a room with windows. Kill them, or they will kill you.

Now, do you want treasure, or do you wish to get out of the hellhole? If you want treasure, head toward the western wall, and find the secret passage. You should be bombarded with flames, but seach each chest for some treasure.

Ok, so you want out. Head east, and find the room with some undead Vahatnai, and a portcullis. Walk right up to the portcullis, and it should open for you. Kill the Wights, and head up the passage. It will lead you to a lever.

Pull the lever, and enter the portal. It's this portal that takes you to the REAL throne room, where you encounter Metiro. Slay him, and take into account the note you get from him. Go west, and find the boat.

Now, exit via the boat. You'll now be in the water, so head northeast until you find a dungeon on the northern mountain chain. Enter it. It's quite straightforward, so we'll skip the instructions, until you get the the 2 Aragorns.

Slay them, and east west behind their thrones. Look in both gems, and get the ruby pin, which will give clearance to the thief lair later in the game.

So, you think you're stuck in a dungeon with no way out? Go back to their thrones, and find a secret door on the eastern wall. Enter that room, and exit through the other door you'll see. Follow this passage until you see the exit. Now, Onto the final portion..... Ready for the large battle? You'd better be...

Ok, so head due east, and find the eastern coast. Then find the tower/lair, and enter it. Since I don't find it thrilling to divulge all information, I'll tell you a little bit about this dungeon.

1) There's quickfire.

2) You'll need to find 2 keys, which are obtained by first killing a mage, and then using the mage's key to get to Aldor's throne room...

3) Hurry, since the quickfire can eventually reach the entire lair....

4) You can find the legendary Demonslayer, which was left out in E3, somewhere in this dungeon..

5) Items in the final treasure room are protected magically. There's also about 8 empire archers ready to slay you...

OK, that's all....

If you got the platinum bar, talk to the weapon forger and get yourself a nice sword.

Now, you're done. Exit Klaun, and head north to a special, and exit the scenario. Congratulations! Wouldn't that have been more fun if I didn't have to tell you everything? Oh well...

So, you've played through it, and you like it, or dislike it. Please write me some comments, and score it using the rating system found at http://www.dnc.net/users/bmsnrea/boe/index.html. After all, this is a lot of hours put in by me and my faithful beta testers, and it only takes you a few minutes to write comments and judge it, right? It's a small price to pay for playing. I know I can't make you, but my loyal demons can...

--Sean Rea

You begin the scenario in Fort Talrus. Leave to the north, and travel up to Sweetgrove. Once inside, talk to Mayor Crouch to find out about the valley's troubles, and then talk to Axel to find out about the old library (talk to other people for useful background). He mentions you should talk to someone named Avizo. Travel back south to Fort Talrus. Avizo is in the room next to where you started. Ask him about 'stone' to get him to talk to you, and then ask about "object" to find out where the Runed Stone is. Go back north to Sweetgrove. Avizo's store is on the center of town. Break in (use the mage spell Unlock) and search the potted plant at (35,21). Take the stone.

Now it's time to start investigating the School of Magery. It's north of Sweetgrove. There's a large mountain up there with four entrances, north, south, east, and west (to get to the west entrance, walk over the river by the Ford Here sign). Enter at each point, and insert the stone in the hole by the gate. The gates will open, and the school will be open to you.

The stairway down from the School Entry level is in the center. Go down to the Visitor's Quarters. There are two stairways down on that level, one to the Holding Cells and one to the Storage Areas. One stairway is in the east half of the level. To get there, there is a secret door at (31,2). Go down to the Storage Level first.

There are several places on these levels with closed, glowing gates. Ignore them for now. You'll get the item to open these much later.

Once on the Storage level, walk south down the central corridor until you reach the sign that reads "HIGH SECURITY CREATURE HOLDING CELL". Enter this area, and find the dragon Pythras. Talk to her about her imprisonment, and be sure to ask about "magic" or "word." Go back up to the Visitor's Quarters and down to the Holding Cells.

The controls to Pythras' cell are at the east side of the Holding Cells level. Go through the secret door at (46,26), and go to (39,18) to use the control panel. Say "quark" to it, and Pythras will be freed. If you want to explore the northwest corner, you can use the control panel at (41,23).

Pythras escapes the school by going down to the Administrative level. Follow her. Climb down the stairway at (14,42) (in the Holding Cell level - there's also a stairway down in the Storage Level).

Administration has been wrecked, but you can still make your way through it. There's a colony of Giant, Intelligent, Friendly Talking Spiders in the southeast corner, but you don't need to talk to them yet. Instead, you can leave the upper half of the school at the southwest corner of the level.

When you leave the Administration level, you will find yourself in a huge cavern filled with diseased pollution and filth. This is the source of the Valley's problem. This huge cavern has several interesting things in it. There is a tunnel up to the surface to the west, which will provide a useful shortcut. To the southeast is the Major Waste Repository. You can explore it a little if you want, but you can't do anything there yet.

Instead, enter the lower half of the school. The entrance is at the southwest corner of the large cave. You will meet many hostile gremlins. Kill them. These were the student quarters. You will need to find a key to get through. Walk into the west half of the level, go south to (1,46), and search the bookshelf there to get the key.

There is a scepter hidden at (12,6), which some people on the surface want. It can also cure your disease. You might want to keep it - this is very useful later on.

When you have the key, find your way to the door at (32,37), and go through. You will be in the main dining hall. Go down the stairway on the right, and you will be in the School Library. The library is closed off by another glowing portcullis. You can't enter it yet. Instead, leave the library at (43,35). You will be in a cavern with several Vahnatai. Talk to them. In particular, talk to Baia-Tel and ask about the "peculiar insect" it said it met. Ask Zereen about "power" or "stone." Finally, they will tell you that someone on the surface has the instructions to the School controls. This will be important later.

Now that you know that the spiders have something you need, go back up to the Administration level. Talk to different spiders until you meet their chief, and ask it about the "pretty rock." It will tell you about the giant gnats, and, if you ask, tell you that the password to get to the gnats is "Gnats." Tell this to the spider at (57,35) and you will be able to reach the gnats.

The eggs you need are at (59,4). Get them and go back to the chief spider. Ask it about "eggs" and it will tell you where the Opening Stone is. Search the trash at (25,3) to get it. You can use this item from the Special Items page. When you do, all glowing portcullises on your current level will open. This will be very useful. Go back down to the Library level.

Open the glowing gate and search the library. The most interesting room is the one in the northeast corner. The room only contains a pedestal, and, when you enter, a ghost tells you that you should place a green book on it.

The green book the spirit refers to is a school textbook. There are three of them in this dungeon. To find one, from the Library level, climb down the stairway at (45,47). You will be on the Experiment Halls level. Go through the door at (36,9) and then the door at (40,11). There will be a green book in this cell. Take it back to the library and place it onto the pedestal in the northeast corner. You will be rewarded with a key. You now are ready to start ending the Valley's Curse. First, you need to return to the surface. There is a shortcut up in the Experiment Halls level at (44,13).

Once on the surface, you need to get the instructions scroll from Pangle. However, he won't want to talk to you. Fortunately, Kevin, in Marralis, is a friend of his. Kevin tells you to say his name to Pangle. Go to Pangle, say "Kevin" to him, and question him for a while. Ask about "adventurers" or "interest", and you will be told about his scroll. Ask about "paper," and then search the chest at (10,24) to get the instructions to operate the school control. You're now ready to solve the valley's problem. Go back down to the Experiment Halls level.

Leave the level to the south (you'll use the silver key), and you will be in the caves under the school. Fight your way through them to the southeast corner, where you find a cave. Enter it.

You will be inside the Control Rooms. Use the Opening Stone to get inside. Find your way through to the control chambers on the east side. You will find a shade to talk to, who will tell you a lot of things about the situation with the school. Sit in the throne at (34,20), and the controls to clean up the waste will be activated.

Finally, travel back up to the giant cavern between the Upper and Lower halves of the school and enter the Major Waste Depository. Go through the secret passage at (38,39). Walk up to the gate at (29,2), through the gap at (14,15), and through the gate at (18,24) into the center of the repository. Use the Opening Stone to open the glowing gate, and sit in the chair at (23,23). Sit in the chair, flip the switch, and insert the stone. The cleaning process will begin. Walk out to (26,23), and you will be carried out to safety. You've won!

--Taken and edited from the Blades of Exile documentation

As soon as you arrive in Hub, talk to everyone there. Specifically, talk to the archer -- he sends you on a minor quest, but the place where he sends you will start you on the major one. You could shop for holy prayers from Hector the priest and also mage spells from Liezl (beyond a secret door just south of Hector). Food is free: just go to the cauldron and grab as much as you want.

Leave Hub to the north, and look at the mountain range. Bump into every square until you find a secret passageway through. Once you have, go north to Darson Vale. Everyone there is human, but they're also hostile: a peculiar effect that the Wheel can have on you. Kill them and release them from their suffering. The northeast of the town has an entrance to a pit. Descend and explore. Kill the undead there, and search all the bodies. One of them has a tiny magical oar on it. Take the oar. To the southeast of the pit is a passageway down, and if you explore that area you can get the chalice that the archer asked you for. The southwest of the pit is a special encounter, and if you step on it you will get your first sense of the power of the Whisperers. They'll dumbfound you, so you really shouldn't stay there.

Return to Hub, and give the chalice back to the archer. You'll get some nice archery equipment. More importantly, however, is the oar. You can now go to the boat on the southern shore of the town. There are two parts of a journal there: take them, and read them. Read them CAREFULLY. Once done, read them again. You might as well write them down on a piece of paper for quick reference.

The last part of Renala's journal mentions something about a hiding place. Ask Hector (the priest) about Renala or Ruby. He'll open up a secret passageway for you. Go behind the temple and through the trees. Renala's body will be there, and you can take whatever you want from it (very nice good equipment). Part of her journal is also there. As with before, read it over carefully, and take notes.

Now go on the boat and row to the northwest island. There are two major dungeons here. One is a strange cave: it has some Rakshasi, and you can get Major Blessing here. If you don't have the spell yet, get it. You'll need it. The second dungeon is less obvious. Outside it will be signs for a Magic Shop. Enter the shop. Soon you'll find a trap, and drop down into a pit filled with giants. Kill the giants in whatever way you see fit. The northeast of the pit is a secret door. Use it and go up.

You are now with some friendly giants. Talk to the one in the room south of where you came up. He will tell you about how they came here and also the curse of the Wheel. You can leave their village to the east. Rest up before approaching the other village: those are the hostile giants. You'll need to fight your way through them. Search the throne in (guess what?) the throne room. When you get out, you will find Ruby's journal. Read it, take notes, etc. Do a particularly good job of taking notes here, since if you do some side quests, you may not get to keep the journal through the entire scenario. Read the other two books too, and you'll get an idea of how the Wheel works.

Now go to the northern island (the one with all the skulls on it). Find the tower there, and enter it. Fight some undead (shouldn't be too hard). Get to the center, and you will find BIGG SKULL. Now read over the journals again. Good things to ask him are 'ignorance', 'glass ball', and 'trap'. Follow the conversation for a while. Eventually, he'll ask you the name of his master. Read over the journals and the giant books, and you should know that its master is Zuwhiel. BIGG will ask you to get a pumpkin amulet. You need to fight Zuwhiel to get it, but don't do that yet. First, leave and go back to Hub.

When you enter, you should get a message box... What is not as it seems? Read the bottom of Ruby's journal. The journal clearly implies that Annabelle shouldn't be alive any more. Now go to the inn and ask Annabelle about 'suicide'. You'll have to fight a few Fire Elementals. Slowing, cursing, and paralyzing will work well here. You get a ring as a reward. The ring gives resistance to almost everything. Keep the ring (it's not the One Ring, it won't make you evil...) and give it to whoever you think will take the brunt of the damage.

Time to follow through on the preparations for Zuwhiel. Explore the island east of Hub. You might have to circle around a bit, but you'll eventually get to the cave in the mountains that BIGG told you about when you asked him about 'ignorance'. Explore and kill everything there, and search the boxes at the end. You will get an Antimagic Sword. This will be very useful for later, when you have to fight elementals: it does a lot of extra damage to all types of elementals.

Go back to BIGG SKULL now, and search the walls just east of him. There's a magic barrier there: break it to get a Mace of Disruption (useful against undead). Search the walls again, and you should find a passage heading south. Read Ruby's journal. If you don't have it since you did some side quests, look at your notes. The password is 0O00O0O00. The second, fifth, and seventh characters are capitalized O's, and the rest are zeros. Enter the nine-digit combination, and the door should open. Go down -- into the Graveyard.

Magic Map this thing first (hope you haven't wasted your sapphires). Do a Detect Life and figure out where you should go. Fight your way through to the northeast building. The doors there are locked: circle around to the back and you can enter through a secret door. There are monsters there waiting for you. The Lich can be handled relatively easily by Dumbfounding it. Once everything there is dead, search the south wall of the building. Get out of there, and head to the southeast building. Kill the creatures there, grab the hidden treasure by entering via a secret passage on the left side of the big block in the middle, then head outside by the south door.

Now: Circle the outside of the building to the left. Bump into every wall. You will eventually get to a secret door. Go through that passage. Head towards the western building. Enter it, and go down by the stairway.

You are now very close to Zuwhiel. Rest by using 'Long Wait', then pump up your characters with whatever spells you have. Go in, and Zuwhiel will eventually appear. There's a big battle there, but you should be able to in it. Zuwhiel CAN be dumbfounded, and if you throw multiple Dumbfound spells on him, that will prevent him from casting Avatar and healing himself whenever he gets hurt. Win the battle. Zuwhiel will challenge you to meet him again in his final tower, then teleport away. He leaves a pumpkin amulet behind.

Don't go back up the Graveyard stairway. Search behind the throne for a secret section. Grab the treasure there, and head up the hidden stairway. You should emerge just south of BIGG SKULL. Give him the pumpkin amulet. It's now time to challenge Zuwhiel.

Go back to Hub and get all the training you can. Then head to the island south of Hub: the Elemental Island. There should be a tower somewhere on there. Go in. Zuwhiel will appear and taunt you. Fight your way through the elementals, using the Antimagic Sword. Get in to the center. Zuwhiel appears again, and plays his final card. Do not delay now. Once you've rested up to full strength, go after him.

Below the tower is a long tunnel. Zuwhiel is at the other end of it, in battle with the Whisperers. Run to try to help him. Chances are, when you get there, Zuwhiel will be dead, and the Whisperers will have escaped up to Hub. It doesn't matter. Go after them.

But... you'll find BIGG SKULL first. As promised, he will help you (you probably weren't expecting this type of help, but still...). Take the strong skill potions on the ground, and use them. Then get training from BIGG. Rest up, save, then go up.

You will emerge in Hub: but the Whisperers have destroyed it. Go west. The Whisperers are in the middle of casting a spell. Wait for them to finish it. Repeat: WAIT for them to finish it. If you just attack, even if you win, you'll still be stuck in the Wheel. Once you've waited for them to finish the spell, go up and attack. Make sure you cast Protection on everyone. Use Major Summoning to get allies. If you're lucky, you might get Ghasts, which can actually do significant damage to the Whisperers. Save some spell points for re-Protecting everyone, since you're not likely to be able to finish them off before the invulnerability starts to wear off. Kill the Whisperers in whatever way you can. Remember that the priest spell Wound can hurt it, as well as Fire/Ice based attacks. Once you kill them, the portal will come down on you and draw you into the Eastern Sea, from where you came. You will be rescued, the Door-Globe will be lost in the Sea. Perhaps forever, perhaps not...

But it is not your responsibility to worry about that. You've just beaten the scenario!

--from the Archives of Akhronath

Portal Isle

After arriving in the Realm of the Spheres on Portal Isle, proceed north to the Empire Liaison. Make sure you pick up the gold he has waiting for you! You can report back to the Liaison after you complete certain missions, if you wish.

Visit the shops on Portal Isle, and buy what you need for your adventures.

At Tor's Training on Portal Isle, ask him about the things he's built. Go to the place Tor mentions, and you will find one of the Spheres.

At Alex's Blades, take a ride on his unique cooling system! Look in the barrels.

At John's Armor, talk to John about the rats. Jane will tell you where a hidden rat lair is. The rat lair has some nice items in it.

Visit the Grove of the Spheres at the north end of the isle and talk to Mage Stave for some information on the Spheres.

Wipe out the Goblin lair at the northeast tip of Portal Isle. Enter this area through a hidden tree passage. This lair is fairly standard. One nasty trap to watch out for is in a corridor exposed to the ether. Look for a secret passage nearby and push the button there before attempting to cross this open area. Check the pillars in the room to the west of the throne room for some treasure. Behind the evil alter is some treasure as well, but you must have the power to cast a 'Sanctify' spell and a 'Move Mountains' spell to access it.

After you stock up on Portal Isle, you can travel in any direction to any other isles of your choice.

Heading Northwest from Portal Isle:

On Bridge 1, help out the locals (via a special on the west side of the isle) in a fight, and they will tell you about a secret location to the south where you can buy certain items. Also on Bridge 1 is a lizard lair.

Enter the lair and fight the lizards. Check the lava hallways for treasure.

Look in the southwest section of the lair for a secret staircase.

Beneath the lizard lair is an old, abandoned set of rooms. Explore here for treasure and an Alien Tomb.

On Bridge 2, check out the special "Easter Egg" in the middle of a triangle of stones. Then head south to an abandoned tower. Look through the tower for some neat stuff, as well as a scroll of flying. Take the scroll to the north end of the isle where there is a blocked canyon. Use the scroll to fly into the canyon. Then enter the Kobold lair.

Look for a secret passage when you enter the lair, or be prepared for a nasty trap if you forge ahead. In either case, enter the lair and fight your way through it. Be sure and talk to the witch cook Zaladire. She has information and alchemy. Check out her stew pots. Talk also to Tesse, a prisoner, for information. Set the demon ? free if you dare. In the southeast corner of the lair is a throne room. Look for a secret passage behind it. Enter the chambers of the Master, and look for another secret passage. This will take you to the Master's Castle on Donut Isle.

Donut Isle

You start here in the Master's Castle. You must pass a series of "tests" before he will meet with you. Take the boat south, past the south tip, than north until you reach the end of the water. If you care to explore here, have fun with the "Failed Experiments!" Look for a room hidden behind some trees.

After you leave the boat, head east and look for a secret corridor to the south that runs parallel to the main corridor. Enter the secret corridor and head east. Ignore the locked door for now - it will open later. Keep going east, past the dumbfounding trap (no avoiding it), and look for a secret passage at the end of the corridor that will take you north to the main corridor. Head east again, then south to a room with a statue in it. Answer the statue's riddle (Master) and continue to the west. Watch out for slurping monsters! When you enter the room with the three buttons, push the green button to propel yourselves across the room. Follow the south passage to the conveyor belt. Hop on and look for a secret door to the south. Take the secret passage and talk to the Hordling for some info. Head south again until you come to a door. The room to the south of this door is a trap room, but does contain a nice steel halberd. You have to activate the trap to grab the halberd. Clever adventurers can do this with a minimum of damage.

Proceed west to a room full of low walls. Have some 'Move Mountains' spells ready! In the northeast part of the room is a key you need to acquire. In the upper, west corner of the room is a wall you must blast with a Move Mountains spell to gain access to the corridor beyond. Proceed south down this corridor. Open the door, and head straight south. Move diagonally through the door on the west wall. Congratulations! You passed all the tests.

You're now in the main hall of the Master's Castle. Watch out for wandering monsters! Form here you can access a Ballroom, a Dining Hall and Kitchen, a Chapel, a Living Laboratory, the Master, and a door at the north end of the corridor that will take you back to the testing section of the castle.

Look in the southeast section of the Living Lab room for a priest spell. Look in the Ballroom for a Sphere. Talk to Smash in the Kitchen for the location of another Sphere. Talk to the Master - he has a mission for you and can give you some information on what is going on. Also check out desk of the Master's 'assistant' for information on how to access the Master's bedroom. In his bedroom is some valueable information on the scenario.

Outside the Master's Castle, look for the Sphere Smash told you how to access. Help out the young dragon (via an outdoor special). Then leave Donut Isle via the teleporter at the southern end of the isle.

Heading Northeast from Portal Isle

When you reach A Cappella Isle, enter the town Choir. Talk to Sousa in the choir shell about the Spheres. Then talk to Di Minundo about Soss. Go to Soss, mention Di Minundo, and he'll sell you some information. Then go to Mezzo and ask about Mysterioso Isle. Buy the wings from him and head to the north part of the isle. Use the wings and go hang gliding to Mysterioso Isle.

On Mysterioso Isle, go see Gash the dragon. She's in a cave at the southern end of the isle. She has a mission for you. Complete the mission and she will reward you with a Sphere. She will also help you back to A Cappella, if you follow her mission instructions to the letter.

Heading Southwest from Portal Isle

On Bridge 3 Isle, explore the tomb at the northwestern end of the isle for some treasure. Dump the barrels into the water if you dare, but be prepared to face the consequences!

On Bridge 4 Isle, see Zumwaldt in her tower for a mission to recover two crystal shards. The first shard is just outside her tower. The second shard is on Piano Isle, near a bridge on the western side of the isle. Return both shards to Zumwaldt for a reward. From Bridge 4, you can head northwest to Piano Isle, southwest to Free Isle, southeast to Crescendo Isle, or northeast back to Portal Isle.

On Piano Isle, recover the one crystal shard for Zumwaldt. Fight a huge goblin battle at the north end of the isle for one of the Spheres.

On Free Isle, look for a hidden entrance to the big mountain. Talk to the Fire Drake there for a mission to recover a stolen item. Travel to Crescendo Isle, fight a band of misfits there, recover the stolen item, and return it the Fire Drake for a reward.

Enter the town of Sour Note on Free Isle. Talk to the Mayor and steal a key from her bookshelf. Use the key to enter a locked room near the middle of town. Go down the steps (be well prepared), and fight the monsters you encounter. Find and take the boat north. Look for secret passages and crumbling walls that you can destroy with a 'Move Mountains' spell along the way. You need to find two halves of a seal to open a locked room later on. When you reach the end of the boat ride, fight and destroy the D'kar and the Mayor. Use the seals to open the locked room and take the Sphere you find there.

Heading Southeast from Portal Isle

On Largo Isle, talk to the community by the lake. They will tell you about a lost relic and a mysterious castle in the middle of the lake. Look for a cave nearby. Enter it, find the beasts within, and look for a hidden area where you will find a key. Procure a boat and travel to the castle. Enter the castle from the south. Head east and explore heading north until you find some metal men. Destroy them and find another key. Head back to the southern castle entrance. Use the key to open the western door. Enter the western section of the castle and ride the conveyor belts, killing metal men as you encounter them. Look for a room close to the southwestern part of the castle where you can wreck some machinery. Doing so will destroy most of the metal men in the castle. Enter the rooms to the south of the machinery area to recover the lost relic and a Sphere. Return the relic to the lake community for a nice reward.

Returning the Spheres

You must return all the Spheres to the Grove of the Spheres on Portal Isle. Here are their locations:

Do Sphere - Behind the Portal on Portal Isle. You must talk to Tor at Tor's Training before you can find it.

Re Sphere - On Piano Isle. You must fight the huge Goblin battle at the north end of the isle to obtain it.

Mi Sphere - On Mysterioso Isle. You must talk to people in Choir to find how

to get there.

Fa Sphere - On Donut Isle. You must talk to the Trog in the Master's Castle

before you can find it.

So Sphere - In the Mysterious Castle on Largo Isle.

La Sphere - Beneath Sour Note.

Ti Sphere - In the Ballroom in the Master's Castle.

--Brett Bixler

Mild Rebellion (aka Stealth) is a straight forward scenario without too many pitfalls. The plot is almost as good as Escape from the Pit. The opinions and advice in this document are the responsibility of rdmoore@interlog.com.

Identifications:

Liam Kim $20 Muck x42y16 $10 Salathni Michael $12.

Horses can be purchased in Salathni but aren't as useful as they are in Exile III. There are fewer outdoor monsters to outrun. After initial exploration of Salathni, proceed to Willow. Instructions received under Willow are important and must be followed until third mission is assigned. Welde sells L4 & L5 mage spells.

Follow instructions and explore secret passage near western entrance to Willow. Proceed to Liam and buy L4? priest spells as required. In Liam secret passage at x13y42 should be explored. Chest at x16Y40 contains brass key for door at x7y22. Treasure to west of passage (Kim1s back room).

Special NE of Liam assigns Hill Giant errand. Hill Giants sidetrip does provide an easy fight and some rewards. They are near SW to NE stretch of river NNE of Liam.

Marshy Pit to east of Liam. Marshy Pit is not critical but will supply geodes for resale to Kim in Liam. It also contains Swamp Folk. Fight with single champion leading.

Canizares will give you a scroll describing first mission. Before attempting this mission, it is desirable to clear out Ogre Farm. Reason is spells Major Bless1 and Major Cleanse1 can be obtained there. Ogre Farm is southwest of Salathni near water. Southern entrance is most easily found but not very useful. Demon near x22 y39 rest outside before proceeding east from here.

Abandoned Fort is North of Ogre Farm (just west of main NS road between Salathni and Zaskiva. There are two Ogre Mages inside so be cautious. Portcullis at x9y13 is normally open and leads to a one way passage to Icy Tunnels. Be well rested before entering Icy Tunnels. Use Stealth spell to avoid fighting (unless you really like bashing all monsters). Damage inflicting timer in Icy Tunnels is a nuisance. Having good Heal spells helps. Timer doesn't seem to run during combat so travelling in combat mode can be helpful. Lead with a single strong warrior reinforced by Haste,Bless and Curse All spells cast be rear support party. Desired papers are near exit from Icy Tunnels.

Before completing mission involving marble statue: leave horse outside town and stock up on cheap (7food/1gold) food south of Zaskiva. Kenny will assist you in entering museum. A tedious journey through the sewers under the town follow mission completion.

Conservation of spell points and minimal delay are major themes in this flight through sewers. From sewer entry proceed north along water edge to about x13y5. Select one fighter to kill spiders protecting boats. Take boat west to supply dock and fight spiders.

Obtain Sewer Key One from chest at x25y13. Proceed east via boat to initial entry room. (This avoids small spider fight in parallel canal.) Disembark at x3y34 and use Sewer Key One to unlock door. One tactic with spitting fungi is to lead with single blessed hasted fighter and no illumination. Lack of light prevents spitting and fungi like archers change mode when in direct contact with opponent. When fighter reaches trench, fungi are gone. Proceed south along trench to control room C2. You need sewer key two to enter. From NE corner of control room proceed north to cockroaches. Fight west and north through roaches to secret passage at x55y15.

Corpse at x58y27 (emergency healing) provides Sewer Key Two to access the control room C2. Door at x58y33 requires Sewer Key Three. Return to control room C2 and activate lever which will remove some adobe walls. Leave C2 and retrace path to west side of effluent trench. North to x21y38 junction. Fight north of locked door at x17y30 (Keep out This means You) (reached via x21y38 passage) is critical. You must kill spectre to eventually escape. Proceed north along trench. Leave strongest fighter behind to combat ghasts at x34y31. Remainder of party proceeds north along west side of water filled trench. Cross trench at x41y4 (leading with another fighter to combat Swamp Folk). Party eventually rejoins at Sewer Administration door.

After major fight inside administration obtain Sewer Key Three from desk x60y9. This is the final key and unlocks door at x58y33. Recover from fight at x36y1. Use one-time disease cure shower rather than Major Cleansing to conserve spell points. Retrace path along west side of trench past control room to emergency healing. Sewer Key Three opens door to south. Proceed east and south to bridge. Talk to ghost at x55y62. Backtrack to x59y55 where ghost has built bridge. Take boat to x42y56 and fight basilisks. Don't use too many spell points here as one more fight remains. Collect gold but avoid invitation to rest in Abandoned Outpost. After defeating Empire troops exit east via x12y19.

Retrieve possible horse and leave Zaskiva island via ferry with help of rebels. Brosterman is in Muck behind hidden door at x36y21. Conversation is interesting but not game critical. Priest sells alchemical recipes. Morrow Marsh to north of Muck provides alchemical ingredients (single shot) and many opportunities to use Cure Party spell.

After death of Volpe return to Under Willow and then proceed to Under Buzzard as instructed. After receiving the mission to kill commander of Empire Outpost the game has a branch. Two different endings are possible. Killing the commander of the Empire Outpost makes all Empire towns hostile and eliminates further contact with Jaen. Game is completed by receiving and following orders to kill Jaen in his hidden fortress.

Alternate ending is to return Under Willow and then back to Under Buzzard. Party will be asked 3 Are you having difficulties? Do you have any questions? 2. Reply YES to enable alternate endgame. (Reply of NO yields conventional ending). Alternate endgame requires passage through Pit of Plentiful Goo and attack on Stalker. Both endgames have similar rewards. Receiving spell rewards requires party Mage Lore of ten or more. Plentiful Goo branch provides Death Arrow spell and may be easier.

Empire Outpost

Before killing commander be sure you have purchased Major Haste from mage in Buzzard or Willow. This is important in assault on Jaen's fortress. To find Empire Outpost proceed east from the buzzard/Fahl junction over the bridge to the single square of grass. Party is then about four squares from entrance but reaching it requires backtracking in counter-clockwise direction. Proceed due north from dungeon entry to entry portcullis.

Entry is without combat until door at x22y23. After this fight Laboratory is entered via x34y18 door or by proceeding north from x43y28 secret door to east door of lab. Empire Lab to north contains some minor goodies. Exit east from room magic barriers to room with pillars. Exit via west door labelled Laboratory at x25y11 triggers quickfire trap. Escape by entering secret passage in SW corner room at x26y17. Mage and three others enter room with pillars while party is in safety room. Single blessed hasted fighter should dispatch them while others remain behind secret door. Box at x27y1 explodes shortly after examination. This damages party and destroys impassible door at x20y6. Party damage can be avoided by entering combat mode immediately after examining box and moving south towards safety until box explodes. Fight with three Empire archers begins shortly west of destroyed door. Entering combat mode with Major Bless is recommended before moving west of x20y6. Alternative would be advance with blessed mage and use Venom Arrow spell. Gems on desk at x19y1. Magic barrier at x8y1 can be broken to obtain a Magic Sling (probably not worth it). After operating level at x5y1 proceed quickly to SW corner and exit south via x1y4 secret passage. Continue south to Empire Commander will be joined by Mage, Evil High Priest, Bladesman and Empire Archer for a difficult battle. Storeroom at x6y12 is protected by basilisk. Lever behind x18y11 secret door affects portcullis at x16y35 which governs access to another lever. Lever at x19y11 should be on left side. After adjusting lever, backtrack to door at x7y7 where battle with Empire Commander1s minions occurred. Then east through laboratories and south to x35y21. West to room with four statues. West and south through open portcullis to lever which controls exit portcullis.

On passage from Buzzard to Stalker1s Fortress you encounter Grady. You must fight him to reach the fortress.

Jaen's fortress

Jaen's fortress location: Due north of Liam a row of three trees run north to river bank. Two squares east is parallel row of two proceeds. Proceed north between these two rows to find hidden fort at river bank stretch which runs SW-NE. After entry proceed north along west wall of fortress to open double portculis.

Turn east and then north or south between blank walls. Cast Major Bless before crossing entry runes. Major Haste will help party recover from slowing effect of runes. Treasure etc is accessed via SE corner door x22y32. Jaen1s treasure is behind x14y39 secret door. More treasure (Magic Shield and Magic Sling) is behind doors at x22y19 (NE corner Jaen1s throne room) and x22y16 (east wall of storeroom).

Escape from Jaen's fortress:

Leave throne room via east wall NE corner door. Proceed along north wall staying north of pillars. (Stealth may deter the Empire Archer). While most of party dallies with archer and tries to find shelter from arrows near east wall, one hasted fighter exits north via NE door. Fighter proceeds NE past quenching pond to door and turns south. Avoid fighting and pull lever in NW corner of room. This opens portcullis to allow party to escape. There slowing runes between the two portcullises. Crossing these in combat mode wastes a spell points on haste spells as entire party is slowed when one PC steps on a rune. However archers can be deadly when party is in travel mode. After passing second portcullis head SE to exit.

Pit of Plentiful Goo

Entry to the Pit is an unrecoverable action. After entering you cannot return to the general outdoors. Exit is via killing Stalker and completing the scenario.

Beware the green Sucking Slime which can drain spell points. Dungeon has corridor with four portcullises labelled (west to east) as A to D. Secret door at x26y7 provides access to portcullis control room. Recommended technique is to open one portcullis at a time and cleanout the appropriate cave. Goo Pits B? are infested with Sucking Slime so send a single fighter. Goo Pit A contains spell casting slimes. Death Arrow spell is obtained at x29y1 bookshelf. Pewter key on mage corpse at x23y45 and silver key on mage corpse at x14y39 are needed to exit. Behind door at x25y1 obtain a rebel bomb. Proceed to Goo Pits A (most westerly portcullis) to NW corner of dungeon. Apply bomb to portcullis in NW corner. This will damage party without any trick to evade damage. At least you can rest very soon (not strictly necessary).

After leaving Pit of Plentiful Goo you are offered a chance to fight Grady. You should simply surrender and then rest in prison. Fight is fatal.

Assault on Stalker:

Route to Stalker is East from Holding and Interrogation to Fortress Storage. Energy potions are at x32y46 (entered via Quality Storage door at x34y51). See Stalker side-trip note below. Don1t waste time fighting soldiers and proceed north where you fight three captains. Proceed north to door at x40y34. Fight with wizard et al there. Exit is via x41y25 door to x41y23 secret passage. Emergency escape portal leads to NE corner. Proceed north and east to x48y7 door. Don't waste time on other doors. Exit is via secret passage at x43y1.

Stalker battle:

Secret passage at x35y4 leads to fight with many weak monsters. Major Bless helps a lot. The next room is Stalker's Throne Room. Canizares is a rather powerful mage so concentrate fire on the three mages before attacking Stalker.

After killing Stalker don't waste too much time. Don't explore south as there is a delaying battle to be fought there. Rewards and exit are reached via double doors in NE corner of throne room. Spells are beyond x24y4 door.

Stalker side trip

There are some interesting side trips here. PAYROLL/TREASURE is an amusing trap. Save before entering as it is dangerous. After defeating the Ur-Basilisk, remove central magic barrier to access three chests. Escape is via secret passage at x23y61 and x27y61. An amusing way to outrun the quickfire is proceed to x23y54, fight and cast Major Haste.

Concealed Docks x22y25 locked door is worth opening. Alchemy recipes in one chest. Drop heavy stuff before examining Jaen's reward chest.

--rdmoore@interlog.com