Clouds of Xeen - Part 2

                Solution by Alex van Kaam

After the training with Thylon we re-entered mine 1, this time
using the magic mirror in the main street of Vertigo.  As soon as
we were in mine 1 we went to the mine car and it brought us to
mine 2.

            ------------> Part two <------------

            ------------> Mine two <------------

We entered a great hall and were immediately attacked by two Mad
Dwarfs, to the north was a exit to the outside, an empty crate and
a body with a note saying there are many DEEP mines.

To the west was a black door and as soon as Rak*el opened it we
had to kill three more Mad Dwarfs. Inside the room were a few
beds, we searched them all and left.  We continued south along the
west wall and soon we found another door leading west into a room
with two mad dwarfs and a few beds.  After cleaning this room we
left and opened the crates that were in this area, a few were
empty but one had a lot of items we could sell to Norman.

We continued south, through a gate and past a trap until we came
to a room with a large tiger mole, after a short fight he was
history and we examined the large room.  There were exits to the
east, south/east, west and a door leading south/west.  In the hall
itself were a few crates and a barrel, Rak*el drank from the
barrel for an extra +2 luck and we opened the crates.  The crates
were all empty except for the one in the middle which contained
three tiger moles!!

We killed them in the end and decided to examine the west corridor
first, here we found a spider, some rubble containing two more
spiders and we soon came to a T-junction, here we headed north and
at the end of this corridor was a gold vein.  As soon as I
started to mine the gold we had a large cave-in which cost us a
lot of hit points, at our second try we had more luck and when all
the gold was mined we headed south.  Here we found another gold
vein and after getting all the gold we went back to the large
room.  Next on the list was the door in the south/west, after
Rak*el opened it we had to kill four giant spiders to find a lot
of barrels containing all kind of coloured potions which the one
who needed it most drank from and two chests which contained a lot
of gold.

In one corner there was a crate containing three more tiger moles
and a body with the note "-L---" on it.  We left the room and
headed towards the south/east corridor.  Following the corridor we
came to another gold vein, after mining it we headed back to the
large room and entered the east passage. Here we found some rubble
and after Rak*el searched it she found a lot of gems we could use
to cast spells and she was poisoned through some poison that was
in the rubble.

Here our cure poison spell came in handy and Gothmog quickly cast
it on her so she didn't lose to many hit-points.  We continued
east and north until we found yet another gold vein, of course we
mined all the gold and we went back to the large room.  By now we
had covered all the exits so we headed back north to the entrance
hall, at the T-junction we headed east and came into the east part
of the hall.

We slowly worked our way to the east drinking from all the barrels
that were on the north and south walls, at the T-junction we first
searched the rubble to the north which was also poisoned and
containing a few gems, we then headed south.  The rubble we found
contained two giant spiders and at the end of this corridor we
found another gold vein.

Comparing our hand made map with Gandalf's Wizard eye we saw that
we now had covered the complete mine so we went back to the mine
car and into mine 3.





            ------------> Part three <------------

            ------------> Mine three <------------

As soon as the mine car dropped us off we were attacked by a mad
dwarf. After killing him we examined the entrance hall, there were
two empty chests and two bodies, the first had the same note as in
the other mines and after I examined the second body I got the
sense danger skill!

In the east of the hall was a gate, to the south a door and to the
west the exit of the mine. We first went east and soon we stepped
on a trap and just past it there was one corridor to the south
which we left alone for the moment and there were three corridors
to the north and all had a gold vein at the end.

After mining all the gold we continued east, killing a mad dwarf
and again we found a gold vein, this time to the south.  After
getting this gold we headed north/east, killing another mad dwarf
and finding another gold vein, we got the gold and headed west
back to the main corridor.  We followed the corridor east and when
it turned south so did we, again we were attacked by a mad dwarf
and to the east we found a dead body. After checking our hand made
map with Gandalf's Wizard eye we saw that we could bash in the
wall behind the dead body.

The corridor behind the dead body led to - surprise, surprise -
another gold vein, we mined the gold, went back to the main
corridor and headed south again.  Soon we found another corridor
leading west to yet again a gold vein, we got all the gold and
went east to the main corridor.  We headed south and east into a
side passage, this led to a T-junction and a few spiders, we
killed the spiders and saw a gold vein to the north and to the
south, we mined the gold and headed back into the main corridor.

We continued south and found a pile of rubble to the east, it
contained a few gems and some poison, by now we were very happy we
had the spells since the potions were all used up by now.  To the
south was a crate with three very strong tiger moles and after
slaying them we headed west.

After a long walk we came to a crossroad, a gold vein to the
west and a crate to the south, the crate housed three tiger moles
which we killed and the gold vein we of course mined.  We headed
north, finding another gold vein to the west which we mined and
we continued north which brought us back to the three gold veins
we already mined.

We headed west back to the entrance hall and from there south
through the door, this corridor had four or five side passages
which all led to a room containing a monster and some items.  The
most important room was at the end of the corridor, it contained a
couple of barrels and a body, on this body was a note: "--P--".

We put all the notes together and they formed ALP--, we still had
two more mines to go so we probably would find the other two
letters there.  For now our back packs were so full of items we
had found we decided to go back to Vertigo and tried to sell them
to Norman.  So said so done, we headed to the mine car which
brought us to mine one and we went to Vertigo, we sold all our
items, bought some food and teleported back to mine 3 using the
mirror.  Here we entered the mine car which brought us to mine
four.

            ------------> Part four <------------

            ------------> Mine four <------------

As we entered the mine with the mine car we were immediately
attacked by a tiger mole, we took care of him and entered the
entrance hall, we saw two barrels with a white potion. According
to our notes this increased luck by 2 points, Gandalf and Gothmog
were the lowest on luck so they drank it.

There were also two bodies, one with the same note as in all the
other mines and the other with this note "---H-" To the south was
some water so we entered the west passageway, we soon encountered
a tiger mole and after killing it we came to a small hall.  There
was an empty crate here and some rubble with two spiders in it.
To the east was a gold vein which we of course mined.

We continued north and came to a gate leading east, Rak*el opened
the gate and got a heavy shock from it.  Past the gate there was a
very rich gold vein to the north and a body to the east, somehow
we knew this was a thin wall so we bashed it in and were attacked
by three tiger moles. After killing them we came into a small room
full of rubble, after searching we found some gems and spiders in
the rubble, we quickly dealt with the spiders.

We compared the two maps and saw another thin wall to the east, we
bashed it in and headed east, the passageway turned south and so
did we, only to be attacked by a few more tiger moles.  After
clearing this room which was again full of rubble we went through
the west gate and found ourselves back in the entrance hall.

We entered the water and headed west into a room full of giant
spiders, after killing them we found a body with the same note as
the one near the mine car. Leaving the room we entered the one on
the east, this was almost the same room as the west one only this
one contained a chest with gold in it.

We left the room and headed south only to find the outside
entrance of this mine.  This was a small mine but the monsters
were getting harder and harder to beat even though we were all
at least at level 6.  Anyway we went back to the mine car and
entered mine 5.

            ------------> Part five <------------

            ------------> Mine five <------------

As soon as we left the mine car we were attacked by no less then
six mad dwarfs, luckily Nomad saw them coming and we could kill
the first few with our bows, it seemed we were getting to close to
the clan leader.

In the entrance hall there were 2 bodies, the first with the
familiar note and the second gave me the Direction Sense skill.
There were also some barrels with yellow and purple potions in
them.

There were five exits, west, west through a door, north through a
door, east through a door and east with the mine car.  Our first
choice fell on the west exit, we entered it and soon found the
outside entrance of the mine. Next we went through the west door,
behind it we found 3 wooden crates and a body.

The crates had some good items in them and the body had a note
with the last letter "----A", we got all five notes and they
formed the word "ALPHA", we now knew the name of the first deep
mine.  We went back to the entrance hall and entered through the
north door.  There were a few beds in this room but nothing of
interest so we quickly left.

Our last exit was through the east gate past some spider webs and
a trap. We soon came to a body lying to the north.  There was
nothing on the body but the way it lay there in this sort of chasm
made us think there was a thin wall behind it we could break.  We
tried and, bingo, we were attacked by two spiders coming through
the hole we just made. We killed them, they needed a lot more
blows than those in mine one, and headed north.  At the end of the
passage there was some rubble to the north and east containing a
few spiders and a side passage to the west.  We headed west and
soon found another body, we tried to bash the wall behind it and
we succeeded.

Behind the wall was a gold vein, we mined it and headed west, at
the end of this passage was yet another gold vein which we of
course mined.  We returned to the first wall we had bashed in and
examined the rubble to the east, it contained some gems and
poison.  After curing Rak*el from the poison we headed south and
at the end east there was another gold vein which we again mined.

This mine seemed to be as small as mine four so the only thing to
do was to go back to the mine car and enter mine Alpha.  But
before we did so we returned to Vertigo and did some training at
Thylon's training school.  We got some food from the tavern and
Roodhaar reminded us that we now had enough gold to learn the
pathfinding skill.  We went to Rialdo and Nomad and I learned this
skill.

We made camp in the city and next morning using the mirror we
entered mine Alpha.

            ------------> Part six <------------

           ------------> Mine Alpha <------------

As we stepped out of the mine car we saw a long corridor ahead of
us with a mad dwarf approaching towards us, we took care of him
and headed north.  We soon saw a gate to the east which we opened
and went through, again we were attacked, this time by three mad
dwarfs. We finished them and continued east. We passed a corridor
to the north and a body to find a gold vein, after mining it we
headed back west into the north passage way we passed before.

Halfway there was a corridor to the east. We first followed the
road north to another gold vein, after getting all the gold we
enter the corridor leading east, at the end of this one we found a
body to the east and two gold veins, one north and the other to
the south.  On the body was the note "deep mine THETA" which
seemed to be the name of the second deep mine.

Of course we got all the gold from the gold veins and we headed
west back to the main corridor where we stepped out of the mine
car.  We headed north encountering three more mad dwarfs and we
went west through a gate.

Halfway we headed south into another corridor where we were
attacked by a tiger mole, at the end we found a wooden crate which
was empty. While we examined the box we were attacked by two tiger
moles coming from the small corridors to the east and west.  We
killed them and found a gold vein in both of the corridors.  We
got the gold and headed north, turning west led us to yet another
gold vein which we of course mined.

We turned and headed east back into the main corridor and headed
north, soon we found another side road leading west through a
gate.  We followed the road west and when it turned north so did
we. To the west we found a body with a thin wall behind it, we
bashed the wall and went through the hole heading west.  In this
corridor there first was a corridor leading south and next one
leading north, both had a gold vein at the end which we mined.
Gold was one thing we had more than enough by now but it's better
to have too much than too little of it.  There was also a wooden
crate containing three tiger moles which we quickly took care of.

After mining the gold we headed back into the corridor where we
were before we bashed a hole in the wall. We headed north soon
finding another body, this time to the east.  Again there seemed
to be a thin wall behind it which we of course bashed, we went
through the hole only to discover three more spiders and a crate
at the east end.  Inside the crate were 3 tiger moles which we
killed, there were also two paths leading north and south to, yes,
another two gold veins.

We got the gold and headed back to the wall we bashed in, from
here we headed north finding an empty crate and a corridor leading
west.  At the end of this corridor was a gold vein which we
mined.  On our way back east we saw this very small corridor
leading south, after a good inspection we saw that we could bash
in the wall, so said so done, and guess what we found at the end...

By now we had covered this section so we headed back to the main
corridor and headed north, we passed a gate to the east with a
spider behind it and found a gold vein at the end of the main
corridor.  The only thing left to examine was behind the gate with
the spider, we entered, killed the spider and found two gold
veins, one at the east end and one in a south passageway.  We
got all the gold and headed back to the mine car which took us to
the next mine.

            ------------> Part seven <------------

            ------------> Mine Theta <------------

Again the mine car dropped us off in a corridor stretching north,
this time there was a trapped gate to stop us but Rak*el survived
the trap so we continued north. Soon we came to a T-junction and
we decided to head west, the road turned north and we followed it,
finding a pile of rubble, inside were some gems and, of course,
poison.

We just cured Roodhaar and wanted to continue north as we were
attacked by a mad dwarf, we finished him and followed the road
north and east, as soon as we turned the corner a clan sergeant
stormed towards us, he took a bit more beating than the ordinary
mad dwarf but we killed him.

We continued east and came to a crossroads, heading south brought
us, after killing a mad dwarf, to a T-junction. As we looked on
the map we saw that heading west would take us back to our first
T-junction and we decided to go back to the crossing.  To the
north we found a body with a note saying "Deep mine KAPPA", we had
really had enough of all these mines but by the look of things
there were still a few to come.

We bashed down the north wall behind the body and continued north,
we followed it first east then north, east again killing two
spiders and north again, we passed a side road to the east but
left it for the moment and continued north and west.  Soon we came
to a square room with a block in the middle, we walked a circle
through the room, killing two spiders that were in the rubble and
we headed towards the east road we saw before.

Going east and south brought us to almost the same kind of room,
we walked another circle killing two more spiders and we went back
to the body with the note on it at the crossing.

Here we headed east which brought us to another small room with
one block in the middle, to the north was a body and to the south
an exit out of the room.  We headed south and came to a
T-junction, turning west would take us to an already mapped area
so we turned east, we killed a mad dwarf and entered a road
leading south, killing another mad dwarf brought us to yet another
T-junction. East took us to a room with two blocks in the middle
and a body and west took us to the same kind of room but instead
of the body some rubble with two spiders.  We went back to the
T-junction, headed north and turned east at the end, we soon were
attacked by a tiger mole which we killed.  To the north was an
empty crate, so we headed east.  Again we were attacked by a tiger
mole, again we headed east and again a tiger mole, it was like
they were protecting something.

After the fourth tiger mole we found out what it was, a gold vein
and not just a gold vein, this vein contained over 7000 Gp.  We
mined it all and looked at our map, comparing it with Gandalf's
wizard eye we saw that there was a thin wall behind the wooden
crate we saw to the north.

We bashed down the wall finding two spiders and a crossing, we
continued north, west, south, east and were back at the crossing
again, we headed east from here and then north along a very long
corridor which turned west at the end, halfway along the corridor
though there was a pile of rubble containing some gems and poison.

As we headed west we passed a corridor leading south and found a
body, it had nothing on it so we headed south and east coming to
a T-junction, north would lead us to already mapped territory so
we headed south, at the first opportunity we turned east.

We followed the road as it turned north, east, south, west killing
some spiders until we came to a side road leading north, heading
north would take us back to the beginning of the road we just
walked so we continued west and south until we came to a wall.

We bashed it in and came to a body, looking at our map we saw that
by now we had covered the whole mine so it was back to the mine
car and on to the next mine.....again.

            ------------> Part eight <------------

            ------------> Mine Kappa <------------

All these mines were in the end all the same, so I don't want to
bore you with all the details.  There were a lot of walls we could
bash in and of course a lot of gold veins we could plunder and
rubble containing gems and poison.  As for the monsters, there
were of course the giant spiders, the mad dwarfs and a couple of
mad sergeant dwarfs.

We completely covered the whole mine and got all the gold and
experience we could, we did it the same as in all the other mines
and found a note on a body naming the next mine in line which was
called "OMEGA" ...

@~To be continued this issue.












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