Amberstar - Thalion (Part 4) A Playguide by Brian Burke @~Continued from the last issue. ILLIEN - THE VILLAGE OF THE ELVES Map reference - 157/134 Located west of Crystal in a clearing deep in the woods. Map on a 23 x 16 Grid. There are entry points north, south, east and west. Entering from the north you will immediately see statues. The statues carry the names of the Guardians of the Eyrie. More of the Eyrie in a moment. The names are - Tillien - the First Guardian Gelinda - the Second Solomon - the Third Elathon - the Fourth Pelanis - the Fifth Pelanis is the current Guardian and it is he you must talk to to learn of the quest you must undertake. Successful completion gains the gift of a magic flute that summons your own personal flying machine - a friendly eagle. Pelanis lives in the southeast of the town. He'll tell you the tale of the female Dragon and how she threatens the Eyrie. You must destroy the unhatched dragon egg and slay the Dragon as well. To reach the island home of the Dragon you can use a raft that is moored at a jetty to the northwest of Illien. The Dragon's pretty tough so your Party need to be in good shape before confronting her. Elsewhere in Illien is a very useful Herb shop in the northwest and an even more useful Potion shop south of here. Wandering around this area is Samrais who'll tell you about the Dragon and Pelanis. There's a shop in the centre of the village and a Temple is in the southwest. In the southeast is a Ration shop where rations only cost 10 Gold. The pathway to the Inn is from the east. Before taking the northern route to the Inn go south and talk to Bothor. Say "Amberstar" to receive a letter to his uncle Donner. Donner is working a mine in the south of the island. The entrance is directly west of the jetty which itself is west of Gemstone. Cross the river to find the cave entrance. In the Inn there's an amusing encounter with the landlord's wife, particularly if you've noted the ladder outside the Inn earlier. You'll find Kelvin inside. He'll tell you about his lost Harp and that the Riddle Master has it. The Riddle Master's Tower is located on an island way down southeast of the island. Take a bearing from the most eastern point east of the White Wizard Tower and sail your boat south until you sight the island. Use the Crystal Ball as a navigation aid. You'll also meet Thaer who tells you about the harp. Sub quests identified, in order of battle difficulty - 1. Donner's Mine 2. Tower of Riddles 3. Dragon Island DONNER'S MINE. Map reference 090/359 Cave entrance in rocks located due west of Gemstone. You can enquire about Donner in the Inn. Map on a 28 x 9 Grid. Entry point is from the southeast heading west. Keep south and west to use your Pickaxe on rocks prior to fighting Caverats to the north. Forgive my memory but I believe that there's a set of Bones to be found at the end of the passage here. Search them to find loads of Treasures - 845 Gold, 3 Lockpicks and weapons, armour and a Potion. Return to take a passage north. Keep north to go west through a door and west again to fight more Caverats. Go south then west and meet Spiders. Follow the passage north and just before the passage turn east again find the door that leads to Donner. At the end of the passage east is a barrel containing four Torches. Look for Donner and give him Bothor's letter. He'll then tell you about the Dwarven Crown into which is set a piece of the Amberstar. The Dwarves live in a Volcano in a valley to the east of Twinlake. If you bring the Crown back to Donner he'll prise the Amberstar free for you. Take the letter Donner gives back to Bothor in Illien. He'll tell you about the Puzzlemouth password necessary to enter the Dwarf Mine. TOWER OF RIDDLES. Map reference - Tower - 365/368 Riddle Masters House - 377/361 Located on an island way down southeast of the main island. Map 5 levels - all on 9 x 9 grids. Visit the Riddle Master in his house to talk about Kelvin and his Harp. The Riddle Master throws down a challenge and gives you the Key to his Tower which is located on a nearby island. Entry point on the first section is from the east. Use the key on the first door and go northwest to find a Puzzlemouth. Say "Ear". This opens up a door behind the Party in the centre of the map and releases Rats. Fight the Rats and head northeast to find Stairs to the next section. Entry point here is from the northeast heading west. A passage south leads to a Pit which merely drops you down to level one. Take the second passage south and fight more Rats then head east through six false walls before going north to a Puzzlemouth. There's another Puzzlemouth two squares west of this one - go south and north again to find it. The Riddles are inter-related and took a 'phone call to Germany to resolve. I was climbing the walls for a week and my Thesaurus wasn't helping at all. To the question "It flew featherless, into a tree leafless. Who ate it?" The answer is "Sun". To the question "A woman came mouthless and ate the Bird featherless. Who was flying?" The answer is "Snow". Easy when you know how! The correct answers open up a corridor east in the western passage where Rats are waiting. Ignore the Teleport to the south as it merely sends you back down again. Head north and east to climb another set of stairs. Entry point in the Third Section is from the mid-east. Ahead of the Party is a Puzzlemouth. "What has no body but is still visible?" answer "Shadow". The rocks to the north disappear. There are Purpurslimes (yes, that is the right word!) waiting to the northwest and east. Once disposed of, go to the western corridor and south through a door to meet another set of these strangely named monsters. Round a couple of corners to another Puzzlemouth. To the riddle "Neither air nor wind are as fast as I, I travel through worlds never seen by human eye. I am here and there in seconds", forget turning up your copy of Cosmos, the answer is "Thought". The rocks south of the first Puzzlemouth open up allowing access to Stairs in the southeastern area. Entry point on the fourth level is heading north in the eastern half of the level. There's an anti-light square on the third square up just before the door. Ignore the Teleport in the passage south beyond the door as this takes you right back to a sarcastic Riddle Master. Enter the door that leads south to find a Puzzlemouth. "Once white as snow, then green as clover, then red as blood. You know me well". Answer "Cherry" The route south down the extreme west passage opens but you must fight three sets of Skeletons on your way to the next Stairway. In addition there are two Anti-light squares in the southern passage. Entry point in the fifth and final section is in the northeast. South through a couple of doors to fight Rats just beyond the second door. Then through a third door in the west to fight Purpurslimes. North to a Puzzlemouth, "It is a beautiful bridge. No man has ever crossed it. It is a wonderful sight because the waters hang over it". Answer "Rainbow". The wall north opens and you fight another set of Purpurslimes. There are then four sets of stairs in front of the Party. From the west - 1. Fight Purpurslimes in the north and south rooms. 2 Go north to find the harp in a Chest to the west. You can use the Teleport to exit the Tower. 3. Go south to fight Sprites and Goblins. 4. To the north and south fight Skeletons and Mummies. Return to the Riddle master and use the "EYE" on the Harp to receive the last riddle. "You do it all the time. It is nothing but it is everything. It is the greatest riddle of all in the Universe" (wow!). Answer "Life". I think that you now receive a Scroll. Back to the Tower to use the harp at the point in the first corridor where you hear the Harp. A door opens up to the south. Head west fighting one set of rats and discover 2158 Gold, A Sickle of Returning (Boomerang), a Pipe of Levitation and a Wand of Winds. Hightail it back to Illien and return the harp to Kelvin who gives you a Piece of Amberstar as a reward. It's fun to play the Harp as there are 19 separate pieces of music with some intriguing titles, I was quite loathe to hand it back! PHARAOH'S TOMB Be ____ well prepared with Rations and potions before entering the Tomb. The wall closes behind the Party after the first Puzzlemouth so the only way out is via the correct Teleport after umpteen battle or in a wooden box back to Shandra (and that's presuming you haven't "died" earlier in the game and blown your resurrection staff). Map reference 290/270 Map Nine areas - Entrance area 7 x 11: Then 18 x 18: There are then six Shrine areas which all appear on the same Auto-Map so it's either six times 21 x 10 OR one 43 x 32. The final graves area 23 x 23. Located in a Desert area in the southeast near the coast. Entry point is in the south. Head north to the Puzzlemouth and say "Relanukh". Move north and pray you're well equipped as the wall closes behind the Party. At the junction go east and south to descend stairs to a new section. Head east through a door and keep east to meet your first, but by no means last, encounter with Skeletons. Through the next door and round the corner to find a Chest with a Sun Key. Back upstairs now to go west and south down the next set of Stairs to another point in the next level. North to find a door where you need to use the Sun Key. Fight more Skeletons through this door. Keep east till you find a long passage leading north and pass over four sets of Bodies. Yuk!. Through the door west and south down the corridor to find six Teleports, three to the east and three to the west. All take you to separate areas in the Shrine level. Each of these relate to the name of a God and it is under these names that I'll explain each section. Firstly the eastern Teleports north to south - GEB - Entry point is in the northwest. Head east after the first door and, passing a door south, fight Skeletons in the northeast. Return to the door south and go west, fighting Skeletons through a door west. South and then east again and another battle before finding a Puzzlemouth. Say "Geb" and the wall opens to the east allowing progress north. Battle with Mummies and Skeletons to allow you free access to a Chest containing the Armour of Geb. Through the door east to find the Teleport back to the Red Circle square just north of the original Teleport. BALA - Same entry point. Once through the third door head north to find the enemy through the second door north and again in the northeast area. Back to head through the door south and head progressively east to find another Puzzlemouth. Take time out to dispose of Skeletons to the north just before you enter the door to the Puzzlemouth. Say "Bala" to go north. After the battle find a Black Necklace in the Chest. Then teleport back to the Red Circle. SOBEK - Same entry point. South then east stopping only to bash Skeletons hiding behind a door to the north in the southern centre of the map. Then north. Skeletons again behind a door west in the mid-eastern area. West past one more set of Skeletons to say "Sobek" to the Puzzlemouth and the battle. Find a good Longbow in the Chest. Now the Teleports to the west in north to south order - NUT - South then east just past the first door. Go north to scatter the Skeletons before continuing south and east. In the southern passage take the passage north to find another set of Skeletons then regain passage and south before going north to the Puzzlemouth. Say "Nut" and it's the same format. In the Chest is a Robe. HARACHTE - Yes, I think they did miss an "I" out but when you see the Levitation (sorry - Lavitation !) Scroll spelling you know that Thalion's Quality Control lost some vigilance somewhere along the way. Same entry point and same scenario. Three sets of Skeletons to bash before finding the Puzzlemouth in the southeast and saying "Harachte". In the Chest is the Staff of Harachte. GALA - This area's a little trickier due to the Spinners. Watch your Compass as there are two down the central corridor and another in the central southern area. Again three sets of Skeletons to find before locating the Puzzlemouth in the southeast. Say "Gala" and find a Broach of Gold and Diamonds in the Chest. Now we're done with the Teleports so it's back to the northern passage to continue west. You will turn south, keep south and ignore the passage west for now. In the passage south go the end of each alcove where you'll be asked to show each of the Treasures obtained from the Chest. There are three in this area - Geb, Bala and Sobek. The other three are to the west of the map. En-route to the Harachte, Nut and Gala alcoves find a Chest in the northwest containing a Rope and a Spade. Battle with Skeletons just south of this point. In the southwest area is also a Chest containing a Rope and a Pickaxe. You'll fight Skeletons before reaching the chest. Upon showing the last Treasure return to the northern passage to find the way open to a Teleport. Enter this to be taken to the Graves area. GRAVES AREA - Entry point is in the southeast heading north. You cannot pass the light ahead of you. Enter a false wall just before the light to either east or west. Skeletons are waiting for you. Head north after the fight a couple of strides and return through a false wall to the original passage having bypassed the light. There are loads of crossroads in this area. Salient points are that there are two spinners at crossroads, one around the central northeast and another in the southwest. Another spinner in the central northwest area is next to an area with doors galore. There are Mummies and Skeletons to fight here. The light in the central north passage Teleports you to the bottom of a passage in the northeast. One light in the southwest Teleports the Party slightly southeast, not far. And the light next to where you land sends you back again. There are three sets of Skeletons beyond the false wall. One set in the northeast and the other two to the southwest. The interesting section is to be found in the northwest area of the map. In the central west find a door north with alcoves each side. As you pass through, the wall will seal behind you. Each alcove in the passage ahead contains a Chest in which there are Treasures beyond the dreams of avarice (thanks to a certain C.Dickens for the quote). There's far too much to carry so be reassured that you can enter Pharaoh's Tomb again and ultimately carry off all seven Chests worth of goodies. First you have to get out of here. Rest now and recharge your Health and Spell casting points. As you step on the square that leads to the third alcove the wall ahead opens. Revealed now are Mummies and Skeletons plus the dreaded Relanukh. After the battle recuperate as there is another set of Skeletons waiting outside near an Oasis. The Piece of Amberstar is in the third Chest up on the east side. The Blue Disc is in the fourth Chest up on the west. When you've loaded your Party up head north to find two Puzzlemouths. Don't enter any of the three doors yet as two of them are death traps. To the question "What does everyone want to become but no-one want to be?" say "Old", and to "Hole by hole - but still it holds" say "Chain". The eastern door is then the only one remaining so it's north into the sunlight. The Tomb entrance is north of the Oasis. Fight the last set of Skeletons and hightail it to the nearest Shop in your new found transport..... @~To be continued next issue.