Might and Magic IV/V:World of Xeen (Part 9)

               Solution by Alex van Kaam

@~Continued from Issue 34. See Hints section for related maps.

That was it, if these roads were connected we could enter the
Western Tower from the roof.

     -----------> The Great Western Tower <-----------

We all agreed on this marvellous plan and we headed toward
Castleview, Rak*el suggested that since it was close by we could
also check out the Dark Grove, we agreed and we first headed
towards this grove.

Once there we found a hut with a ladder leading up into the sky,
we climbed them and we were up on the sky road, it was lucky that
Gandalf had his Day of Sorcery spell activated, otherwise we would
have dropped back down through the clouds again.

Anyway we took the road leading south, at the first T-junction we
headed west, after a short while we were on top of Castle
Kalindra, but since the upper level was still out of phase we
continued west until we came to another T-junction.

Here we headed north until we came to another grate, we descended
and we were now in the Western Tower, we could only access a small
part of the upper level but that was enough, here we found a body,
and on the body we found the key to this tower.

We left the tower the same way as we entered it and we headed back
to the place where we entered the sky road, near this place were
also four wells, in one of the wells we could climb down and we
were back in the Dark Grove.

We then headed to Dreyfus, he thanked us and he told us that we
could get our reward on the top level of the tower.  Before we
could say anything he was gone, the only thing left to do was to
enter this tower.

Once inside we only could follow the corridor, we were attacked a
few times by some Clerics of Mok, the strange thing was that all
their attacks were aimed at Gothmog, our cleric.

To protect us Gothmog cast his protection from elements spell four
times to cover all four elements.  At the end of the corridor
we found some stairs leading up, we took them and on the next
floor we were attacked again by some Clerics of Mok but also by
some Mok Heretics.....

Roodhaar reminded us about the ledger we found in the Southern
Tower, it said something about sold to Head Heretic Cleric !!  At
last we had a goal to enter this tower and kill all those clerics,
with this new discovery we continued through this corridor until
we came to a bed with a Humble Cleric in it, he was yelling,
'Don't kill me, I was forced...' and more of that nonsense, we let
him go.  We followed the corridor until we came to some stairs
leading up to the next floor, we took them and we were greeted by
some more Clerics, we killed them and we followed the corridor,
again we found a cleric who was begging for his life, again we let
him go, well, what's the fun of killing a crying cleric.....

Anyway we followed the corridor until we came to yet another
staircase, we climbed it and again we were greeted by some more
Clerics, six this time, we killed them and we examined the room
we were in.

We found two piles of bones and a door leading north, we went
through the door and we were attacked by the Cult Leader himself.
We took care of him, Gothmog was knocked out, and we examined the
room.

In one corner we found Dreyfus, he congratulated us and he gave us
500,000 Exp. points and 10,000 Gp., we thanked him and we examined
the rest of this floor.

At the end of one corridor we found a button behind a tapestry,
pushing it gave us entrance to the part where we found the key to
this tower.  In the middle of this level we found some stairs
leading down, we took them and we came to a cross shaped room,
here we found two fountains, they were just refreshing, and
another staircase leading down.

We took the stairs and we came to a similar room, again we took
the stairs down and here we found it, the Pegasus statuette and
two Energy Disks, we took it all and we left the tower the same
way we entered it.

We headed back to Castleview, we trained a little and we went to
the tavern.  We had to decide where to go to next, going further
north, past the Western Tower, didn't look too healthy on the map,
so the only thing left to do was to try to reach the Eastern
Tower.

But what to do with those Armadillos ... Gothmog had the answer,
those creatures were so heavily armored that there was a chance
they couldn't swim, so if we kept the river between us and those
things we would be safe......

This meant that we had to go through both the forests, to the
Venom Pond and from there north to the Eastern Tower.  It was the
only thing to do so....we did it.

 ----------> Our second try to reach the Eastern Tower <----------

We left the town and we headed south, across the river and then
east, through the Sprite Forest, passed the Dungeon of the Bark.

We still had to enter here, but we thought we weren't strong
enough yet to defeat the Barkman, so we continued east, past the
Southern Tower, through the Ageing Forest until we were at the
Venom Pond.

East of this pond we found a hut, and inside we met Celia and
Derik, we freed Celia from the zombie on the other side of this
world, she told us that after that they got married and they moved
to this place.  She also heard that we were trying to defeat
Alamar, as help she gave us a golden long sword, we took it, said
goodbye and we headed north.

We soon encountered some Killer Cobras and Mantis Ants, they
formed no big problem so we soon reached the Eastern Tower, but as
we tried to enter the guardian refused to let us in without the
proper key ....

So much for that idea, the only thing we could do now is to try
and reach the city of Sandcaster, maybe someone there had the key
to this tower.

We headed west and we soon encountered some Gargoyles, we killed
them but they did take some beating, it was here that Gothmog came
up with a great idea, I would cast Holy Bonus, Nomad would cast
Bless, Gandalf would cast his Day of Sorcery and Gothmog himself
would cast Heroism.

This way we had a lot more fighting power, we all agreed and from
now one we always cast these spells ad the begin of a new day.  We
continued west, killing some more Gargoyles with ease this time,
until we were at the Crossroads.

Here we encountered another Armadillo, killing it now was easy, at
the Crossroads itself we found six wagons, the first one housed
Aldo, he sold Iguana food for 100 Gp., we took some and we headed
to the next wagon.

Here we met Luige the Tailor, he sold robes for 50,000 Gp., we
quickly left, after that we met Katrina the Jeweller, she sold
necklaces for 500 Gems and 50,000 Gp.  Again we left and we came
at Buckler the Belt maker, he sold belts for 30,000 Gp, after that
we met Erica the Booth merchant, she sold booths for 20,000 Gp.

They all had to be insane, except for Aldo, those prices, anyway
at the last wagon we met Caleb the Inventor, he had lost his
magnifying glass, we told him that we would look out for it and we
left.

We headed west until we came to the city of Sandcaster, but again
there was a guardian and he also wouldn't let us in without a
pass.  We left and we headed back to the Crossroads, Rak*el
reminded us about the handle that Vespar had lost when he came
from Sandcaster.

If we would take the road from here to Vespar we had to find his
handle, well we had nothing else to do so we all agreed and we
headed south.

And guess what we found at the first turn to the west, right,
Vespar's handle, we took it and we headed at full speed to him.

He thanked us and he gave us 200,000 Exp. points and a pass to the
city of Sandcaster.  We left Vespar and we headed straight to the
city of Sandcaster, this time the guardian let us pass and we were
in ....

     -----------> The city of Sandcaster <-----------

We entered the city on the main street leading west, there were
some side streets but we ignored them for the moment.  We headed
west and we soon came to the tent of Edmund the Weapons forger, he
gave us a riddle and after a bit of thought we gave him the answer
of 3, in return he gave us an award and 250,000 Exp.  points, we
left his tent and we entered the door across from his tent on the
south side of this street.

At first we thought this was an empty room but looking at our
magic map we saw that we could bash in the south wall, behind this
wall we found a grating leading down into the sewers, we didn't
have any need to descend into these sewers so we left this room
and we entered the one across the street, west of Edmund's tent.

In this room we encountered our first Wizard, the only thing we
had to look out for was that he didn't have too many opportunities
to cast his spells at us, the best way to kill these was to shoot
our bows at him.  This took care of him and we examined the room,
in one of the beds we found an item, we took it and left the room,
next we headed through the door across the street, just west of
the first one.  Here we again killed a Wizard, bashed in a wall
and we found a purple potion, it raised the speed of the drinker
by 10, the slowest of us drank from it and we left.

Next was the room across the street, we entered, killed an
Enchantress and we found an item in one of the beds, we left the
room and we entered the one across the street, again we had to
bash in a wall and again we found a potion.  This time it was an
orange potion, it raised the intellect of Gandalf with 10, he took
three drinks from it and his intellect was now at 140 !!!

I know that's high, but you never know when you need a very
intelligent person, and it helps determine his spell points.

Anyway we left and we entered the tent across the street, here we
met James the merchant, he didn't want to talk to us as long as
we weren't merchants, we left and we headed west.

We soon saw a tent to the south, inside we met Astra the good
Sorceress, she told us that Xenoc the Wizard and Morgana the
Sorceress had taken over the city with their evil magic, she asked
us if we could help her defeat these two, and yes, we, of course,
agreed.

We left her tent and we headed west, we soon came to two doors,
the north one brought us to the guild, but since we weren't a
member they ignored us, the south door however brought us to the
local training school, we trained a little and we left.

We headed west until we came to a crossroads, we decided to keep
heading west, we soon came to the local temple, here we headed
north until we came to a tent, inside we met Digga the Salesman,
he offered us some Vulture repellent for 25,000 Gp., we refused
and we left.

Near his tent we found a gate leading to an area full of desert
sand, we entered this area, killed a lot of Enchanters, found two
chests with a lot of gold, we took the gold and we searched the
rest of this area.

In the north/west we found a room, and inside we found Morgana,
she threw a few spells at us, but some well aimed arrows took
care of her, that was one, now only Xenoc was left.

We got the gold from Morgana's room, examined the rest of this
desert area and we left through one of the gates that led back to
the streets of Sandcaster.

We headed east until we came to an area with a lot of trees, here
we headed south and we soon came to the local weapon shop, we
entered, sold the weapons we didn't need and we left, we then
headed north until we couldn't go any further.

To the east we found Natalie the Linguist, she offered to teach us
this skill for 25,000 Gp., but since we all knew this skill
already we left.  South of here we found Morgon the Merchant, he
taught us this skill for 5,000 Gp., we left and we headed south.

We were now back at the area with the trees, we headed east until
we came to a crossroads, we headed south and we were soon back at
the main street, we re-entered the tent of James, this time he did
speak to us and he gave us a riddle, the answer was 100 and we
received an award and 250,000 Gp.

We headed back north to the crossroad and north until we came to
the Guild Common, this was a large hall, full of Wizards and
Enchantresses, we killed them all and we left.

We now had covered the whole area north of the main street, we
headed towards the gate and from there south into a street.

At the end of this street we went through a door, killed some
Wizards and we found a chest, after opening it we found the key to
the Great Eastern Tower, it seemed that luck was on our side.

We left the room and we headed west, then south into the next
room, again we killed some Wizards, found a chest, this time it
was full of gold, we got the gold and we left.  We headed west and
again south into another room, after bashing in the south wall we
encountered a Master Wizard, after a short fight, they can't
defend themselves against a good sword, we found another chest,
inside we found 100,000 Gp., we took it and we left.

We headed west and south into the next room, here we met Natasha
the Enchantress, since we had nothing to enchant we left.

We could now go west or north, north brought us back to the main
street so we headed west, we soon came to two tents, in one we met
Niccolo the Guildman, he offered to write us on the guild scroll
for 20,000 Gp. each, all of us except Rak*el agreed, there went
the 100,000 Gp. we found earlier.  In the other tent we met
Geoffrey the Monitor, he sold us a pass to Lakeside for 5000 Gp.

We headed west until we came to a kind of crossroads, north
brought us to the tavern, we talked to all the people until we met
Blastem the Wizard, he thought we insulted him and he wanted to
teach us a lesson.

I wanted to apologise but Nomad got very angry and he said to
Blastem that we were ready for his lesson, before we know what had
happened the whole tavern was full of wizards, the only thing left
to do was to kill them all.

After a long battle we left the tavern and we headed south, we
were now back at this crossroad and we headed south, here we met
Gregor the Navigator and Tibor the Magician, we all knew the
skills they wanted to sell us so we left and we headed back to the
crossroads.

We headed west and north until we came to an alley leading west,
when we reached the end of this alley and we turned around to head
back we saw that 3 Enchantresses were approaching us.  We didn't
wait to see and we just shot our bows at them , this took care of
them and we headed east, north would bring us back to the temple
and south to the crossroads.

But we couldn't find a way into the south/west part of the town,
the only thing left to do was to enter the sewers and find an exit
that led to the south/west part of this town.

So said so done, we headed south and east until we came to a sewer
entrance, just south of the tavern, we took it and we came to
the......

  -----------> The sewers underneath Sandcaster <-----------

These sewers were infested with Beholder Bats and Sewer Hags, the
Beholder Bats weren't any problem, the Sewer Hags were, as long as
we could kill them before they could cast a spell at us then
everything was okay, but if they got the change to cast a spell,
the person who received it got insane, and we had to go to the
temple to cure that.

Anyway we soon found the stairs that we needed, they were in the
south/west part of the sewers, we took them and we came to the
south/west part of the town, here we found some purple potions
that raised speed with 10 and we found some orange potions that
raised intellect with 10.  The slowest of us took the purple one
and Gothmog drank all the orange potions, they raised his
intellect above 100.

After killing all the Wizards and Master Wizards, getting all the
gold we found in the chest, we encountered Xenoc.  We made sure he
didn't have too many opportunities to cast his spells and when we
were finally close enough a few strokes with our swords was
enough.

We got the gold in his room and we descended into the sewers, we
explored the whole sewer system until we came to Barticus the
Bodybuilder, he wanted 50,000 Gp. from us to use his gym, we
already knew the bodybuilding skill but the red and green potions
we found in his gym made good for that.  We all drank from them
and they raised our might and endurance with 10.

We left the sewers and we went to Astra, she thanked us and she
gave us 2,000,000 Exp. points !!!!!  We thanked her in return and
we headed to the training school, we all gained a few levels,
Roodhaar, Nomad Gandalf and I reached level 21, Gothmog reached
level 22 and Rak*el level 24.

We then headed to the guild, we entered with 1.4 Million Gp. and
we left with 1.1 Million Gp., we bought all the spells they had
available, it did cost us 300,000 Gp. but it was worth it.
Especially the Day of Protection spell, it combined the Heroism,
Holy Bonus, Bless and Protection from elements spell.  Now we only
had to cast Day of Protection and Day of Sorcery at the beginning
of each day.

Anyway we left the guild and the town and we headed towards the
Eastern Tower, this time the guardian let us pass.

      -----------> The Great Eastern Tower <-----------

Once inside were were attacked by Mystic Mages, we killed them and
we explored the first level, in each corner there were stairs
leading up, there was also a staircase on the east, south and
north walls.  The staircases on the north and south wall were
protected by transporters, a jump spell was enough to reach them.

We first climbed all the stairs in the four corners, they led to a
small room with a Mystic Mage, once he was killed we could climb
down back to level 1.

After the corners we took the staircase on the east wall, this one
led to a magic mirror, it didn't work so we left.  Next was the
staircase on the north wall, this led to level two where we
climbed another staircase to level three, here we found yet
another staircase and this led, surprise surprise, to level four.

Again we were attacked by some Mages, we killed them and we headed
west, past a fountain which didn't affect us, down a staircase to
level three, we were now in a small room, here we found the Jewel
of Ages, we took it and we headed back up.

We now headed east, until we came to another fountain, drinking
from this raised us 1 level but also aged us about 50 years!!!!
After drinking we were now all at 80 Years old, but we had the
Jewel of Ages and the keeper of the fountain would help us, or at
least that's what we hoped.

Anyway we climbed down the stairs near the fountain, and we came
to a long corridor, killed some Mages and we found two Energy
Disks, we took them and we climbed up the stairs at the end of the
corridor up to level four.  Here we met the Mega Mage, he wasn't
very pleased with us so we killed him, we also found two books,
one of Fantastic Knowledge that raised Gandalf's wisdom with 50 to
200 !!!!  The other one was a book of great power or something
like that, there was some sort of aura around the book, and we
just left it.

We headed down and up all those stairs until we were back at level
one, and believe me if you're 80+ years old, it ain't easy!!  Once
on level one we headed up the south stairs, we came to yet another
corridor with three stairs, the west one brought us to level
three, from there to four and from there to the sky road.

We headed back down to the corridor and we climbed the north
staircase, this brought us to a crossroad with four stairs, two up
and two down, we took the one up and there it was, a Gamma Gazer,
maybe if we weren't so old we would have defeated it with ease but
now it took us all our power, a few of us were unconscious at the
end of the battle but we won.

It seemed we now had covered the whole tower so we left and we
headed to the Venom Pond, we gave the Jewel to the keeper and he
placed it on the statue, he gave us 1,000,000 Exp. points, we
drank from the water and we were all back at our natural age, we
thanked the keeper and we headed to Ellinger ...

@~More next issue!












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