Lands of Lore:The Throne of Chaos Virgin/Westwood Associates

     Part 5 of a solution by Roy Sims, IBM PC version.

@~The final section.

(25) Castle - Level 1

The Castle is the last new location in the game. You must fight
through three levels, find and release Dawn and King Richard and
then take on Scotia and win!

The Castle is brimming full of spiritual beings. The Knights can
be easily vanquished with the Vaelan's cube that you found in the
Dungeon. As you will discover, this cube can be used over and over
again (infinitely) to destroy the Knights. You will also come
across some curious spiritual beings that look like a pair of
flying axes tied together (for want of a better description!).
These can be fought with a Mists of Death spell.

Exploring this level you should come across an area which will
seal itself off when you enter! A button on a wall (disguised as a
tongue!) opens the door here. Go through and you will find two
more wall buttons. As you step up to them a pit will open behind
you.  The N button creates a niche that contains a Cobra figurine.
This is one of four figurines you must collect in the Castle if
you are to free King Richard. I'm not sure what the second wall
button is supposed to do, as when I pressed it, nothing seemed to
happen! You have no choice but to drop down into the pit. This
lands you back into the Dungeon below, so you must work your way
back to the exit leading back up to the Castle in the middle of
this level. You can now do some more exploring, and avoid the area
that sealed itself off last time.

Beyond one door on this level is a small key. Another door has a
button behind. When you press it you hear a blood curdling scream
(or you will if you have a suitable sound card anyway!). More of
those flying axe type spirits appear on cue.  Another door on this
level is 'jammed' and I didn't discover how to open it. Again,
like a few other doors throughout this quest, you don't have to
get behind it to win. Another door close by leads to a savage
metal door with viscous sharp jagged edges and blood stains to
prove it! A wall button nearby will make them open a little wider
each time but don't stand still when you pass through!  Another
door nearby can't be opened and doesn't seem to be that important
so don't worry about it.

If you explore this level E you will eventually come across a room
with a crystal ball in the centre. If you look at this ball, you
will see that Dawn is trapped inside! To free her, pick up the
diamond from your inventory (which you found in the Dungeon level)
and use it on the ball. This will shatter it and free Dawn (Dawn
Free!). She promises to return with her forces soon.

Keep exploring the level. You will find a door and beyond it a
wall button. Pressing this button creates a teleporter which will
move you into a new area on this level. There are many flying axe
type spirits here! You must get through here as quickly as
possible. You are looking for a door and beyond it a longish
corridor with four wall buttons (two on each side, but none
opposite or next to each other). Beyond this short corridor is a
largish area (approx 8 steps by steps square). Unfortunately, as
you approach the area your Magic Atlas, which has served you well,
is zapped by some magical force and it will disappear! Your
compass will also start to behave strangely.

(The wall buttons in the corridor before this area seem to have an
effect on the teleporters you encounter in here, in regards to the
destination they move you to).

You will find that this large area is a maze, with many pits and
because of the lack of your map or aid from your compass, you will
find it quite disorientating when you step on a spinner or get
teleported without warning! What you need to do is locate the four
floor pressure plates and leave enough items on each so that all
four are left 'on'. Then you must find two secret walls to the S
(although you won't know they are to the S!). When you locate the
wall with the stairs up (to level 2) your Magic Atlas and compass
will come back and you can use them in the maze area too! Another
short corridor to the S has a wall button. Press it and the wall
opens up revealing a corridor. At the end of this corridor is
another button that opens a niche. In this niche you will find
your second figurine (Dragon figurine). Unfortunately, the wall
behind has closed up. To get out, place an item you don't need
anymore (like the riddle scroll for example) in the niche. Now
press both wall buttons to open the wall and let you out.

Once you have mapped the 'maze' area go to the stairs up to level
2. (Incidentally, if you use the Vaelan's cube on secret walls,
the secret walls will disappear for ever).

(26) Castle - Level 2

This is quite a large level to explore. Somewhere in here you will
find King Richard!

The first creatures you will come across can only be described as
Eye of the Beholders but with saw edges! A button on a wall nearby
will open a door but an invisible floor pressure plate will
activate a fireball launcher, so be careful! Go through the door.
The button here will close the door again behind you. A dead end
offers nothing more than a floor pressure plate. When you step on
it, an E corridor appears. As you step into the new corridor, the
wall closes again behind you.

Enter the first door you find and go through the W door. In this
room is a niche on the wall. Put an item in the niche and the
niche will vanish. This seems to serve no other purpose other than
to waste your time and your item, so don't do it! (You will find
another niche elsewhere on this level that seems to do the same
thing).

A chest beyond another door to the S of this level contains a
staff 'Gustauus' and a dagger 'Riposte'. I smashed the chest to
open it, but neither item is worth bothering about.

Explore this level and you will have to fight off many more of the
saw edged eye creatures. You will find a few more buttons in walls
that either open new corridors or open niches. One contains a
Trident 'Plague' inside. Another chest behind a door holds some
useful items, including 'Bracers of defense', an Ace of infinity,
Ace of Oblivion and lots of coins. You might have realised by now
that coins don't have an enormous use in this game. You've
probably accumulated a good 2-3,000 at this stage.

(There is a door in the SE area of this level that can only be
opened by using a level 5 Rogue to pick the lock. Beyond the door
is a button that reveals a niche. Inside is another figurine
(Unicorn figurine)).

You will find some blood stained spikes on a circular base that
prevent a direct route to another area. If you approach the spikes
you will lose health points. By exploring you will get to the
other side anyway so find another way around. Eventually you will
come to three doors in a row. The only one that opens is the last
on the right. This door leads to a corridor with a couple of
buttons. There are also doors that presumably lead back to the two
(out of the three) doors that won't open in the area you've just
explored. Some of the buttons (tongues etc) will open these doors.
Look out for the scuttling giant scorpion type beasts as they seem
to regenerate from this corridor! You will probably find yourself
coming back to this area to rest behind the doors from now on. One
of the doors here needs a key to open it (noir) which you will get
on this level. If you explore you will find another locked door
nearby, along with lots more scorpions and a floor pressure plate.
Down this new corridor is another floor plate with a button
(tongue) on the wall one step away from it. The pressure plates
trigger a mace head launcher. The button opens up a new corridor.

At the end of this new corridor are two doors opposite each other
(N and S). The button on the S door actually opens the N door and
vice versa. Press the S button and go through the N door. At the
end is a button. This opens a very short corridor alcove which
contains a floor pressure plate. A niche is created in the S area
of the dead end which contains the Adder key.

Return and open the S door by pressing the N door button. Go S and
explore. You will find quite a few rooms and doors to open.
Another room contains a niche which holds a noir key. The door
into this room closes so you must put a useless item in the niche
to replace the key you have taken. You can now get out again.
Nearby is a dead end with a fireball launcher and spikes. You will
find two wall buttons in an alcove. The S wall button should not
be pressed, as it creates a pit where you're standing which drops
you down through 2 levels back to the Dungeon! The W button opens
up a wall to the E which reveals a short corridor and a door.
Beyond this door lies King Richard, but you can't get in there
quite yet!

More buttons in the dead end alcove near this door open up the S
wall. Through the new door you find are two pits, one to the E and
one to the S. The S pit is in fact an illusion. The E pit is for
real though, and will drop you back into Level 1 so avoid it. If
you have a level 5 Rogue you can throw something across the E pit
to hit the wall button beyond it. A teleporter is created one step
beyond the illusionary pit to the S. Step into the teleporter and
you will find yourself teleported to the area beyond the E pit.
Here is a niche with a red key (Carrion key). A floor pressure
plate is also nearby. Put anything in the niche that you don't
want to keep to close the pit. You can now return to the door
nearby.  Use the carrion key to open the door and step inside to
find King Richard! The King has been surrounded by an evil force
field, and you need four figurines to break it. At present you
only have three! Take the noir key back to the door that you
couldn't open in the middle of this level (near to where the
scorpions regenerate).  Use the noir key here and behind this door
is a teleporter. Step into the teleporter.

You will find yourself in a new isolated area on level 2. Behind
one of the doors you will find some stairs leading up to level 3.
There is no other way out of this area, so up you go!

(27) Castle - Level 3

Your first priority is to find the final figurine, then find a way
of returning to level 2 to free the King! As you step into the
level, the wall will close behind you and a message will say "You
will not cheat me again". Your compass will also start acting up
again on this level, but thankfully the Magic Atlas remains
unaffected.  The best tactic for level 3, seeing that it is quite
large, is to run around and map as much as you can without pulling
any levers, buttons etc. Return to the area where you entered the
level then plan things from there.

A secret wall just around the corner (near the door) leads to a
chest. Inside the chest (which is easily picked) you will discover
an Arbalest 'eternity' (a bow), Bastion Plate Mail and 500 coins.
Through the door nearby are 2 locks and one wall button. The wall
button reveals a door, but the door obviously needs to be opened
with the 2 locks as the door button itself does nothing. You will
return here later, because Scotia lies beyond!

On exploring the E area of this level you will come across regions
which contains many fireball/spell launchers. This makes certain
areas hazardous to explore. A short corridor right in the middle
of all this has a wall button which creates a niche. In the niche
is a gold key. Another wall button on this level removes a pillar
and releases an giant ugly green monster which you must get rid of
quickly. Like the slug that guarded the Urbish Mines this beast
will make your party drop all of their weapons if you don't kill
it off quickly. There are at least three or four more of these
creatures on this level to be fought.

A pit has a button on the wall. Another button nearby removes a
wall and reveals another button. Another button does the same
thing but you end up nowhere nearer to reaching the button beyond
the pit (and seeing that I didn't get to press it in the end I
assume it is of no real importance to the quest).

Another area leads to a short three steps wide T corridor. A sign
on the wall says "The sums must be correct". A wall button is at
each end of the T. One of the buttons opens a niche in the middle.
In the niche is the fourth figurine! (Human figurine). As you
approach the niche, the wall into this area closes. Place another
item in the niche (I left the Dragon Statuette) then press the
buttons to get out again with the last figurine.

Now might be a good time to go to one of the pits on this level
and drop down back to level 2 to rescue the King...

(28) Castle - Level 2 (again)

Go to King Richard's room on level 2. Now look at the location
picture carefully. There are four pedestals. Each pedestal needs a
figurine. Place each one in turn until something positive happens.
You will now work out that each figurine must deflect the 'ray of
hope' to the next figurine, until all four are lit up and the
light beams surround the King. It doesn't take too much effort to
get this working. You aren't penalised for putting the wrong
figurine on the pedestals.

Once the evil force field has been destroyed, it is time to use
the four keys (Dawn's, Paulson's, Geron's and Nathaniel's) to
remove the protective shroud. Each one must be placed in its
correct position on each of the four corners of the shroud. Once
this is done the shroud will be removed. Now take the elixir and
give it to the King. He will be cured and he will slowly regain
consciousness!  King Richard will speak. Eventually he will give
you the Shard of Truth (a ring). This, along with the Ruby of
Truth (necklace) will defeat the Nether Mask. They must be
combined together, but we will do this just before our final
encounter with Scotia. Give the King a weapon as he requests. Now
return to Level 2 via the teleporter and the stairs. It's time to
hunt down Scotia!

(29) Castle - Level 3 (again)

The gold key will open one of the two locks on the door near where
you enter the level. Continue exploring this level. A button in a
long N/S corridor in the E opens a wall behind. Another green
monster lurks in the N. In the S end is a door. In the room beyond
is a chest with Ginseng, helm 'Talamar' and more coins.

In the N area of this map is a chest with Aegis Plate Mail and a
Halberd' Death Hand' and...yes...even more coins. An alcove nearby
has a Death key just lying around. A dead end with two wall
buttons closes around you. Don't worry though. Each button just
re-opens the corridors around you. A rather pointless trap!
There's another chest in this N area that can't be picked. A room
with a green pool of acid and a button seems to be nothing more
than a time waster. The button isolates you and forces you to walk
over the acid pool to get out, thus losing you health points. An
oily key resides in a room behind a door on the W side of the
level.

In the SW corner of the level is a room with the four signs. Each
one asks for a different object type (armour, weapons, jewellery
and medicinals). Just place one item of each category by the
relevant sign. Walk over the floor plate and approach the niche.
Inside is a Dull key. Take it. Use the dull key on the N chest
that can't be picked. Inside this is a silver key, a salve and
some coins (your party is filthy rich by now). Now take the silver
key back to the door with the two locks. We've already used the
gold key on one lock, so use the silver key on the other. Now open
the door. As you go in, the door will close behind you. There's no
escape now!

This is a smallish area. There's nothing in here except for a door
to the W. Before you do anything else, combine the Ruby of Truth
with the Shard of Truth by placing one on top of the other in your
inventory. They will combine to produce the 'whole truth'. Now,
open the door.

Inside is Scotia. Swap insults with her. As soon as she starts to
use the Nether Mask her hands will glow blue. Before it
progresses, use the whole truth on her. This will nullify the
Nether Mask! Now, fight her. I used two Aces of Oblivion, followed
by a Guardian to finish her off. If you don't manage to stop the
Nether Mask in turn, Scotia will turn into a monster. It can be
defeated with magic, but she will then just turn into something
else. This too can be defeated with magic, but the third beast she
turns into seems to be indestructible and you will lose! (in other
words, if she manages to transform you won't be able to kill
her!).

Once Scotia is defeated, the end game sequence will begin.
Congratulations, you are indeed a hero!

The End? (Only time will tell...)

Other comments: If you don't have characters with a high enough
Rogue level for later puzzles, bows are good weapons for
increasing Rogue abilities, and a special bow in particular is
exceptional...On the other hand, you could just stand in a safe
corridor and throw weapons down the corridor then go pick them up
and throw them again back the way you came. This is a long and
boring way of getting the Rogue level improved. A particular
weapon seems unable to be thrown and will always drop at your
feet.  However, it still counts as being thrown, so it would save
you having to wear a hole in the floor of the corridor...

There are many doors, items and weapons that seem to have no use
at all or are just time wasters. I missed out opening many doors
and chests, and never used many of the items I discovered along
the way...




                              - o -