World of Xeen - New World Computing (Part 8) Solution by Alex van Kaam @~Continued from last issue We drank from them and we headed back into the main corridor, here we headed west until the corridor turned south, at this corner we again stepped on a pressure pad and two walls, this time to the north and west, vanished. We first jumped north and we came into a corridor, we followed it until we came to a room with four barrels, drinking from these raised all the statistics of the drinker but it also aged him by five years. Since we were all young, four of us drank from the barrels and we left this room to the south, this corridor was a dead end so we headed back into the main corridor. We then jumped to the west and we came in a room with a cage and another barrel, both were empty so we left. Back in the main corridor we headed south until we came to yet another pressure pad, this time walls to the west and east vanished. East brought us to a room we already examined and west brought us into the corridor leading to the four barrels so we decided to continue south. After a short while we came again to a pressure pad that removed walls to our east and west, west brought us into a room with a few empty barrels and cages and one full barrel, as we tried to open the full barrels both the heads from Gandalf Day of Sorcery spell said no, we knew they didn't lie to us so we left and we entered the east room. Here we found some more potions, a blue one for +5 personality, a orange one, a green one, a yellow one and a purple one. Those who needed it most drank from it and we headed back into the main corridor. Here we headed south and we soon came to a staircase leading down, we - of course - took it....... -----------> Third floor, and more orcs <----------- We entered in a hall with a few orcs, a fountain and eight corridors, we killed the orcs, and we examined the fountain. It was nothing special so we decided to enter the eight corridors. First was the south/west one, here we only found an orc, we killed him and we left, the second corridor led into a room with an empty cage, again nothing else so we entered into the third corridor. Here we found two empty barrels, again we left and we headed into the fourth corridor, this led to a room full of orcs, a few barrels and a cage, we killed the orcs, even though they were elite orcs and we examined the barrels. Two of them were empty and the third was again a black barrel, we left this one alone and we opened the cage to free Alica, as thanks she gave us 25,000 Exp. points and she told us that the Orc King lies and his tea was poisonous. We headed back into the entrance hall and we entered the fifth corridor, here we were greeted by the Orc King, he invited us for a cup of tea, as we entered his room we were attacked by a lot of Orcs, after a large battle they were all dead and we examined the room we were in. We found two religious books and two cages, in one of the cages we found Snog the Orc and in the other one we found Princess Sheewana, they both gave us 25,000 Exp. points and Sheewana would go to her sister and tell her about our brave deed. We left the room and we entered the sixth corridor, again we encountered some orcs and we found some barrels, one of the barrels was a black one so we left it alone. Next on line was the seventh corridor, again some orcs and barrels, and yes again a black one, we left and we entered the eight corridor, this one brought us to a staircase leading down to..... -----------> Round and round and round and ... <----------- We entered into a large corridor, we could go north or west, we decided north and we soon came to a dial, we didn't touch it and we continued, again another dial and after that a lever. Here the corridor turned west and we followed it. We passed another two dials until the corridor turned south, again we followed it, passed two more dials until we came to a staircase leading down. Since we hadn't yet completed this floor we did not decend and we continued to follow the corridor which turned east. We soon came to a book, after reading it Gothmog told us that we had to set the dials like this, the one on the east wall had to be set on 3, the one on the north wall on 2 and the ones on the west wall on 1. After that we had to pull the lever we found and we had to drink from a fountain that was on this level to become one of the Bark. Well, why not, we headed east and we soon came to the point where we entered this floor, we first set the two dials in this corridor to 3, then we entered the north corridor and we set the two dials in this corridor to 2, since the one in the west corridor was already on 1 we then pulled the lever. We heard a sound but we saw no fountain, well maybe in the middle of this square Rak*el suggested. We entered through the first side passage we saw and we came to another set of corridors that formed a square, after killing some Orcs we entered again another side passage that led to the middle of this level. After a bit of Orc killing we found a fountain, after drinking from it we were all Disciples of the Bark. Well, that was that, we then headed towards the staircase in the south/west and we descended into.... -----------> A large, I mean a LARGE level <----------- This level was in the shape of a tree, with six branches and four roots, as we entered we were greeted by a voice saying: 'Feed the roots and the tree shall bare fruit, Feed the limbs and suffer the wrath of Barkman' In the branches we found four fruit rooms, two treasure rooms and two Energy Disks. We of course took the Energy Disks and we examine the treasure and fruit rooms, in the treasure rooms we found a chest but we couldn't open it, it was protected by the life force of the Barkman. In the fruit rooms we found a fountain but nothing happened when we drank from it. We decided to examine the roots, at the end of each root we found a skull we could feed with a gem, we gave each skull 5 gems and we headed back to the fruit rooms. This time we received +50 on fire, electricity, cold and poison resistance. After drinking we headed back to the treasure room but we still couldn't open the chests. After examining the branches we found another four skulls, even though the voice said we shouldn't feed the limb we just couldn't resist. We gave each skull 5 gems and we headed back to the centre of this tree shaped dungeon. In the distance we now could see the Barkman himself, Gandalf cast his strongest spell, prismatic light, towards it but the Barkman just kept coming. After a second try the Barkman was still alive, the only thing we could do was RUN !!!!! And boy did we run, the Barkman kept following us but we reached the stairs first, we climbed them and we rested. Here we agreed that we would come back and kill it but not just now. We headed back up the floors and out of the dungeon, we then went to the tree house where Sharala greeted us, she gave us 250,000 Exp. points and two more Energy Disks for freeing her sister. We now had 7 Energy Disks so that was enough for Ellinger to get the first part of Castle Kalindra, so we headed back into Castleview and into Ellinger's Tower. We gave him his first 5 Energy Disks and he started casting.... When he was finished he advised us to examine the first part of the castle. We left him and we entered the training ground, here we all gained a level and after paying our trainer we left. Once outside Castleview we headed north and at the T-junction we turned west, here we saw a stone circle, after entering we were greeted by Luna the Druid, she told us that the three statues that gave her the power of healing had been stolen by some thieves. She asked us if we would try to get them back, we of course agreed and she told us that we had to start looking at the Southern Tower, she didn't have the key but she told us that the keeper of the Venom Pond did. We left her and we headed west towards Castle Kalindra, Ellinger did his job well and we could enter......... -----------> Castle Kalindra, ground floor <----------- We explored this whole level and we found a few tents with servants who thanked us for restoring this floor. We also met Errol the Agile who offered to teach us the Armsmaster skill and Gem the Empath who offered to teach us the Dangersense skill, we knew both these skills so we politely refused. In the castle we also found a few safes, Rak*el being our thief tried to open them, she gave Nomad the combination she thought was right. When Nomad tried these some of them were right others weren't, it seemed Rak*el still had a lot to learn, anyway we took what we could and we left the castle. Once outside we looked at our map and we saw that the Venom Pond was in the south/east corner of the land, through the sprite forest and through the ageing forest. Finding the statues was the only lead we had now so we decided to go for it. We entered the sprite forest and we kept heading east, killing a lot of sprites and finding a lot of troll holes. We passed the temple of the Bark and we soon came to the Southern Tower, Luna was right, we couldn't enter without the key so we headed east into the ageing forest. Again we found some more Troll holes and a few huts, we also encountered some Dark Wolves, Mantis Ants and Killer Cobras. The Dark Wolves were easy to kill, the Mantis Ants and the Killer Cobras took a bit more time. At E4:X13,Y6 we encounter one of the many troll holes, the reason that I mention this one is that inside we encountered Hobstadt the Troll King, we of course killed him and in the chest near his throne we found a staggering 225,000 Gp. The closer we came to the Venom Pond the more Killer Cobras we encountered, after killing another one and stepping east we were suddenly on a green field with a pond in the middle. At one corner there was a statue, as we examined it Thaddeus the Fountain Keeper approached us, he told us that some one had stolen the Jewel of Ages and that the once youth restoring waters were now poisonous. The only lead he had was a key that the thief had dropped, the key to the Great Southern Tower, we took the key and we promised Thaddeus that we would look out for his jewel. We left the pound and we headed west to the Great Southern Tower, this time we were allowed to enter.... ------------> The Great Southern Tower <----------- As we entered the door behind us closed and we saw a large pile of gold in front of us, as we tried to get it, it vanished and we were attacked by about 15 Rogues, after a short battle they were all dead and we examined the rest of this floor. We found another mirror in the north/east corner, three small rooms sealed off with a gate, a staircase leading up and six buttons that were behind six tapestries. We first pushed the button in the north/east corner, then the north one in the north/west corner and after that both the buttons in the south/west corner. All the gates were now open and we could leave the tower any time we liked. We took the stairs and we were soon attacked by a few more Rogues, we took care of them and we found a book saying: Griffin statuette bla, bla, bla, Necropolis Dragon statuette bla, bla, bla, Lakeside Pegasus statuette bla, bla, bla, Head Heretical cleric Jewel of Ages bla, bla, bla, East Tower It seemed we had a lot to do to get all these items back, anyway to the north was a door, after a few times trying to open it we just bashed it in, behind this door we found two gates and a gong. Roodhaar struck the gong 3 times and the gates opened, we were immediately attacked by a few Rogues and after killing them we headed west through the gate, we followed the corridor, passed a staircase leading up until we were back at the gong. Well that seemed to be this floor, we went to the stairs and we headed up to the next floor. At first this seemed to be a long corridor leading south but after banging both the gongs we found, three times, two walls were removed and we found two rooms with chests and an Energy Disk in each room. We got the Energy Disks and we tried to open all the chests, however if the heads from Gandalf's Day of Sorcery spell both nodded no, we left those chest alone. Inside the ones we opened we found a lot of items and gold, we also found a chest called Ali Baba's Chest, this one needed an password to be opened. After a lot of trying out we had the right one :'Open Sesame', now there was still a problem, it seemed that the first member of our party was the only one allowed to unlock the chest after that, since I was that member and I didn't have any thief skills I didn't succeed. To solve this problem Roodhaar cast Lloyds Beacon and she set the co-ordinates at this point, we then left the tower and we headed back to Castleview, here we entered the tavern, signed in, and Rak*el and I switched places. Next Gandalf cast his Lloyd's Beacon and he set the co-ordinates here at the tavern, then Roodhaar cast her Lloyd's Beacon and we were returned to the chest. This time we, or better Rak*el, was able to open it and we found 300,000 Gp. Gandalf cast his Lloyd's Beacon spell and we were back at the tavern, we switched places again and Roodhaar brought us back to the south tower with her Lloyd's Beacon spell....phew. We now took the stairs and we came to the next floor of this tower, this floor was full of Rogues, we killed them all and we found two books, one was the prince book the other was the manual of master thievery. Since we didn't have a prince in our middle we left that book alone, Rak*el however did read the book of thievery and she gained 500,000 Exp. points. We also found a door which we couldn't open, the only thing left to do was that Nomad and I bashed it in. Behind this door we found some stairs leading up to the roof of the tower, we didn't have anything to do here so Gandalf cast Lloyd's Beacon and we were back in Castleview. Rak*el gained a level at the training ground and we all fixed our armor and sold what we didn't need at the foundry. We then went into the tavern, bought some food and we started thinking what to do next. We had to find those 4 statues and of course some more Energy Disks but where to go to next..... After a short discussion we decided to go to the Eastern Tower, so said so done, we left the town and we headed east, this time using the road and not walking through the forests. -----------> On our way to the Eastern Tower <----------- We followed the road east until we came to a tent, inside we met Vespar the Wizard, he was looking for his emerald handle, he lost it when he came from the city of Sandcaster, we told him that we would look out for it and we left. We kept following the road until we were near the forest, here we saw a wagon, after entering we were greeted by Kramer the caravan owner, he was complaining that Ogres were attacking his caravan every time he headed east, we of course offered to help him. Once outside we came to the conclusion that the Ogres were probably hiding in the forest, but where...... We decided to cover the whole forest from the river to the desert, so said so done, we headed south to the river, we then stepped east and we headed north again until we were at the edge of the desert. We again stepped east and then we headed south until we were at the river. This way we covered this whole area, killing Dark Wolves and some Ogres. We also found a few gemstone mines, we of course entered them and we mined all the gems, this was a tricky business because some of the stones we found exploded and they injured our party a lot. Anyway we kept headed east covering everything from the desert to the river until we came to D3:X3,Y7, here we found our first Ogre fort, we burned it and we continued until we came at D3:X9,Y8, here we again found an Ogre fort, again we burned it and we continued with our search for more Ogres. After a while we came at D3:X11,Y5, again we found a fort but this time it was occupied by Groalg the Ogre chief, we told him that we were representatives from the Dragon Pharaoh (well, we were carrying his orb) and that he should help the Pharaoh to defeat Alamar. Groalg got very upset by this and he attacked us, we killed him with no great problems and we found, to our surprise, 2 Energy Disks in his fort, we took them and we continued our search for the rest of the Ogres. We didn't find any more forts but we did encounter our first Armadillo, this red creature was heavily armored and it had over 650 hit-points, it took a lot of fireballs to kill it, and by the time we had killed it both Gandalf and Roodhaar had no magic points left. When we looked around after this battle we saw three more Armadillos approaching us, well we did what a wise man once told us: 'He who runs from a fight today may live to fight another day' or something like that..... Anyway, we ran and ran and.... well you get the drift, until we were back at Kramer's wagon, he gave us 150,000 Exp. points and 150,000 Gp., we thanked him and we headed back to Castleview. We entered Ellinger's Tower, gave him five Energy Disks, he told us that we did a great job. We left and we headed for the training school, we trained and we now were all at level 17, Rak*el even at 19. Next we went to the foundry where we sold and fixed our weapons, we then left the town and we headed to Castle Kalindra to see what we could find on the next floor that had re-appeared. -----------> Castle Kalindra, second floor <----------- After entering the castle we first tried the safes that we couldn't open earlier, still no luck, we then took the stairs up to the second level. Here we found again a lot of safes, Rak*el couldn't find the combination of any of them, we left the safes alone and we explored the rest of this level. In the north/east we found two great beds, in the first we met Dimitri captain of the guard, he didn't want to talk to us so we headed towards to second bed. Here we found Megan the daughter of Dimitri, she told us that her father was very depressed since he let Alamar kidnap the queen, the only thing she could think of to get her father out of his depression was to give him a singing bird, and not just a singing bird, no, it had to be the singing bird that was in the Dungeon of the Isle of Lost Souls. We told her that we couldn't yet reach that place, we weren't strong enough to defeat all those Armadillos but hey, would she listen, no, she wouldn't, it had to be that bird. We told her that we would accept the quest but we first had to get some extra Exp. points so we could gain another few levels, she agreed and she gave us the key to the Dungeon on the Isle of the Lost Souls. Once outside the castle we had a little discussion on what to do next, after a short while we agreed that we would first examine this area and maybe we would find some small quests. So said so done, we followed the road east until we came to a T-junction, here we headed north, killing some Arachnoids and Barbarians until we came near the Great Western Tower. Near the tower we found the tent of Dreyfus the high priest of Mok, he told us that he was locked out of his tower by some evil priest and that we maybe could open it for him. We, desperate for a quest, of course agreed. We left his tent and we went to the tower, he was right, there was no way you could get in, what now....... Then Nomad came with a great idea, he reminded us of the skyroad we found on top of Ellinger's Tower and on top of the Southern Tower... @~More next issue - o -