Abandoned Places (Electronic Zoo) - Part 6
             Summer Vale, Ruin de Maaria

              Solution by Brian Burke

@~Continued from the last file.

Summer Vale:

The Task is to find the final part of the Sword of Darkness.

Mapping is a little awkward to describe as there are seven exits
from the first room. I'll describe these as A, B, C, D, E, F and
G, going clockwise from the initial stairs entrance. Each area is
small and may be mapped on a 14 x 17 grid maximum.

The central square in the Hall area produces a message 'King
Ruthorn's stairmaze'.  'A' stairs down lead to a small area
needing a key to open the door. I never did find the right key so
didn't access this door.  'B' stairs up. (These stairs eventually
come out at F). Up the stairs, go right to open door. There is a
staircase to the right but go past this to find a button round the
corner next to a cupboard containing food. The button opens a door
on the second level of Area E.

Now go up the stairs, round a couple of bends to another door,
open it and fight spider. Going right passes you over a message
'Another part of the sword is near'. Head left to open door, fight
spider and find a green key. This opens a door in Area G.

Retrace steps to take passage to the right and find an UP
staircase. When you use these stairs, turn round to see that the
stairs STILL go up, not down!? A puzzle I didn't crack.  Go round
two bends to find a button in an alcove. Shame on me but I don't
know what this button opens or activates. Neither of the two
problems prevent a successful completion of the task.

There are a couple of soldiers in this location. Wiping them out
wins food. Head round the passage to the left to open a door that

leads to the stairs down. There's a chest on the left full of
food.  Down the stairs to exit at F. Head to the stairs up at C.

At the top of the stairs, fight for food. To the left is an alcove
with a web. Straight on to find some food on the floor and to the
right at the end of this passage are stairs up. Fight for a torch
at the top of the stairs. To the right is a room with columns and
a message 'Another part of the sword is near'. There's nothing in
this area.

From the left of the stairs there's an alcove directly to the left
but the door at the end of the passage straight on is opened by a
button in area E. Return to Entrance Hall and go up stairs to E.

Round two left bends to open a door, fight spider and go right to
open another door. Round yet more corners to stairs up.

Fight spider at top of stairs and head either way to find the door
opened by the button you pressed earlier. Enter to pick up
turquoise key and press the button that opens the door in Area C.
Back to the door in Area C and find button to the right of the
newly-opened door. This button opens a door in Area G.

There's no point in entering area D just yet so head for the
stairs down at G. Fight spider for food at the bottom and follow
passage to open door with the green key. Depending on how long you
delay, you'll fight two spiders in this location.

Passing a passage on the left, there's an empty chest in an alcove
at the end of the corridor straight ahead. Turning left and
bearing left leads to a blue key. I did not find a lock to fit
this key. Bearing right leads to stairs down.

Kill spider for torch at bottom of the stairs. There's nothing to
the left and I was unable to open the door at the bottom of the
passage straight ahead. To the right is a chest with money,
arrows, sword, shield, torches and treasure. Take the stairs up.

Kill soldier that you meet at the bottom for a torch. There's
nothing to the right and the passage left leads round to the
passage that the soldier stood in. Beyond the soldier is a now
open door that was opened by the button in Area C. In this room is
a hematite key that opens a door in Area D. To the right of this
door is a door I failed to unlock and a web in an alcove.

Return to the Hall and go down stairs to Area D.

There are two soldiers at the bottom. The hematite key opens any
of the four doors in this passage. Enter door to fight again.
There are two empty cupboards in this passageway. Find another
door and open with the turquoise key. in the chest there's the
part of the Sword, a gold ring, necklace and treasure.

Unless you have the patience to succeed where I failed, exit the
level.

The party will have a vision of the Ruin de Maaria and it's off to
there we head, after the usual promotion visit.


Ruin de Maaria:

The Task is to seal the Sword of Darkness.

The three areas can be mapped on a total grid of 45 x 33 and grid
references refer to this.

Entrance is at 1/33. The party need to head up the passage round
the various right biased corners. They'll meet fire monsters at
6/27 and again at 9/24. Access a chamber at 17/17 to be greeted
with a message 'I like fishing'. Take the stairs down to the left
at 18/14 leaving the stairs at 20/16 for later.

Down the stairs to receive a message at 18/11, 'There are fish
scales on the ground'.

At the junction 21/10 there's a baddie to the right. To the left
find a closed door at 20/7 on the left. Passing a sign 'Swimming
Pool' and water on the left, you'll see a room to the right at
25/8. There is nothing in this room. Go to the next junction and
bear left. Round a couple of bends, fight a baddie roughly by a
passage to the right. Keep straight on passing more water to the
left to find doors to the left and right. Open left door at 38/5
and fight two monsters. Turn right past water on the left and find
a pressure plate in the recess to the right at 41/3. This opens a
door to a room with a chest at 30/11.

The door you're facing at 44/2 is opened by the button on the door
at 30/11. Return to the door on the right at 38/7, open it and
fight. Go left round the corner to the end of the passage, passing
a passage on the right which has two doors at the end. Along the
passage there's a door to the left and two doors at the end.

Pressing the button on the door to the left at 45/8 opens the door
on the left you've just passed at 42/8. This room just contains a
web. Pressing the button on this door opens a door in the passage
you just passed to the right. Before you go up this passage,
return to the end of the passage to press button on door at 45/10
which opens the other door in the passage.

Head for this passage which is now on the left at 40/10 and find
the two doors open. To the left is a chest with potions and to the
right a chest with food and treasure. Pressing the button on these
doors will open the rooms at the end of the passage. Go back there
to find a chest in the right-hand room containing potions, torches
and money. The other small room is empty.

Retrace steps to find corridor to the left at 33/7. At the end
there's a door to the left opened by a button. Inside is a poison
trap. Heading right to the now opened door at 30/11 is the chest
room. I never did find the key to open this chest - maybe you'll
be more successful?

Press the button on the door at 30/11 and return back to the door
past the water at 44/2. In this room find a lever that opens up
the room by the 'swimming pool' at 20/7. In here find a wooden
shield and a turquoise key. Back now up the stairs to the hall
area to descend stairs at 20/16. At the junction there's a room at
25/15 containing a picture on the wall.


Head right to find a door at 28/20 for which a blue key is needed.
Go left and into a corridor with a Rembrant (?) on the wall at
30/16. Passing an alcove on the left come to a junction. Depending
on the speed of your progress there are a few fire monsters in
this area. The passage to the left leads to a large room with four
rock columns and more wall pictures. Heading right and passing two
more pictures, pass a corridor on the left at 37/22 that leads to
rock column room and a message 'You hear a big splash nearby'.

Leaving the water to your right, find a door at 40/22 on the left.
Don't enter yet but go right and enter two rooms to the left. The
one at 41/24 contains a chest with a blue key, money, shield and
berserker sword. The chest through the door at 41/26 contains a
green key, short sword, ring armour, treasure and a morning star.

Enter the room at 40/22 now and unlock the chest with the green
key to find a hematite key and food. On leaving go right and right
again to find a door at 36/20. To open this door you need to
return to the door at 28/21 which is at the end of the wriggly
passage through which you entered this area. Open the door with
the blue key and use the hematite key in the keyhole in the wall.

Back now to the now opened door at 36/20. Enter room to use
turquoise key in keyhole in wall. This opens a wall in the Hall
area.

Return up the stairs to the Hall and enter passage at 18/18. Down
the passage to enter a room with a rock column in the centre.
Fight two fire monsters and go on through the door. There's
nothing in the room to the left so go right, round a couple of
bends, to find a door at 12/28 and another at 14/27. There's
nothing in the first room so enter the other one, fight two more
monsters and then exit up the stairs.

The Sword will seal on leaving.

@~To be continued next issue.