Might and Magic IV/V - World of Xeen (Part 10) Solution by Alex van Kaam @~Continued from last issue; see also maps in Hints section We gave him five more energy disks and he returned another level of Castle Kalindra, we left him, got some training and we headed to the castle. Once there we first climbed up, but to our surprise the top level was still out of phase, we headed down and we found the entrance to the dungeon in the north/east of the castle. We could climb down and we entered..... -----------> Castle Kalindra's dungeon <----------- We came in a room with an exit south, we went through the gate and we came in another room with an exit south, again we headed south, through the gate, into a corridor. We followed the corridor, passed a few safes which we couldn't open until we came to another room with a few beds. In the beds we found some notes and we headed north. We soon came to a book with the name of a thief that was held in one of the cells. To the east we found the first cell block, the first two cells were empty but in the next one we found Guido the Convict, he offered to give us the combination to some safes in return for his freedom, we let him go and he gave us our first combination. We wrote it down and we headed back to the west, here we found a door leading north into the maximum security area. We entered, after several attempts from Rak*el to open the door, and we soon found another book, again it stated the name of monsters that were held here. In the first two cells we found we encountered some Power Lichs, they formed no real problem so we killed them, in the other two however we saw some Dragon Mummies, they didn't look too healthy so we left them alone and we headed back to the safes, with the combination we got from Guido we could open two, inside we found some amulets, we took them and we headed up the stairs out of the castle. Once outside we decided to go to the Isle of the Lost Souls and to get the bird for Dimitri, the captain of the guard. So said so done, the journey was without trouble and we soon came to the Great Eastern Tower, from here we headed north, killing some Gargoyles, until we came to a lake. We were all good swimmers so we entered the water and we headed towards the island in the middle. Just before the island we found a fountain, this gave us +50 magic resistance for a day, we drank from it and we continued towards the island. Halfway there we were attacked by an Octopod, we killed it and we entered the island. In the middle we found the entrance to ----------> Isle of the Lost Souls, the dungeon, a bit <---------- We entered the dungeon in a room with a statue, on the statue we saw the text: 'Never underestimate the power of positive thinking' We headed south and we soon came to a crossroads, we headed west and after a few steps we found a hourglass, we left it alone and we continued west. We soon came to a door leading north, above the door was the text: 'Minotaur storage', we entered and........... Well, telling this really embarrasses me, there was this one Minotaur, he was really very big, eh, well we attacked, and again we attacked, we just couldn't hit him, whatever we tried, well, we did hit him once or twice but it didn't seemed to hurt him. He in return had this large, I said LARGE, club, and he knew how to use it. With one stroke Nomad was out cold, another stroke took care of Roodhaar, I yelled to Gandalf to use his Time Distortion spell, he did, and we could escape. We left that dungeon as fast as our feet would carry us, once outside we made camp and we took care of Nomad and Roodhaar. Next morning we decided to go to the city of Lakeside, we found the pass to this city in Sandcaster and the dungeon of the Lost Souls was far too hard for us at the moment. We put this dungeon on the same list as the Barkman and we headed north to Lakeside. -----------> The city of Lakeside <----------- As we entered we were attacked by a Witch, a few good shots took care of her, as it did for all the rest of the Witches we met. To the south we found a cage near a cauldron, we freed Camilla, who was held in the cage, and she gave us 200.000 Exp points. To the north we found the guild, but since we didn't have a pass we couldn't get any spells. East of the guild we found a skull, as soon as we approached the skull told us a riddle: My first is in Water but not in tear My second is in hIre but not in hear My third is in Tree but not in peer My fourth is in raCe but not in fear My fifth is in sHarp but not in spear The answer was easy, we said WITCH to the skull and it gave us our membership to the guild. We then entered the guild and we bought all the spells they had, we had more than a million gold pieces so we could afford it. We left the guild and we headed east. We came past another skull to the south, this time there was no riddle but it had a recipe for some potion. To the north we came past a burnt out tavern and a burnt out smithy. South of the smithy we found another cage near a cauldron, we again freed the prisoner. Rhett, the prisoner, told us that the dragon statue, we had completely forgotten about those statues, was in the sewer, he also gave us 200.000 Exp. points. We left him and we headed east, we soon passed some more rooms with skulls in them, again they only had some recipes, until we came to yet another cage, to the south, with a person in it. We freed Naomi, she gave us 200.000 Exp. points and she told us about a pass to the city of Necropolis. Near her cage we saw a cauldron, it didn't look as dangerous as the other we found so I tried some of its contents. It raised my personality with 25, however after I tried it and Nomad wanted to use it, the stuff in it didn't seem safe anymore so we left it alone and we headed north. We soon came to yet another cauldron, this time it raised my speed with 25, north of the cauldron we found another cage, inside we found Isabella, she gave us 200.000 Exp. points and she left. Just west of her cage we found a door leading north to the Lakeside yacht harbour, we went through the door and we found a boat in repair and a chest with some gold, we kept heading north until we came to an small area full of water. Here we found two boats, one with some good items the other offered us a safe ride to the Isle of the Lost Souls. We left and we headed back to the main street, we headed west until we came to a gate leading north, beside the gate we found another cauldron, after drinking from it I gained +25 endurance. We went through the gate, killed some witches and we soon came to an area with a cage, a chest and a cauldron. We freed Aretha from the cage, Nomad drank from the cauldron for +25 on speed and Rak*el opened the chest for some gold. After opening the chest and getting the gold we were attacked by the Coven Leader, we took care of her and we examined the room in the northwest. Here we found another chest, inside we found the pass to the city of Necropolis. If we could get the dragon statue from the sewer we only had to get the last statue from the city of Necropolis and we then would have all three statues for Luna the Druid. Well no time to waste, we headed towards the closed grating and we descended into the -----------> The sewers underneath Lakeside <----------- There isn't much to tell about these sewers, we encountered some Sewer Stalkers, they were easy to kill. On some of the bones we found some journals of other adventures, and in the south we met Joseph the Prayermaster, he offered to teach us the prayermaster skill for 10.000 Gp. We accepted and Joseph taught us all this skill. In the northeast of these sewers we found the Dragon statuette, we took it, we left the sewers and we left the city of Lakeside. Once outside we agreed that we would head towards Necropolis, using the road that led north of the desert. So said so done, we headed east, passed the forest of Peril, until we came to a hut, inside we met Ector the Woodsman, he was very depressed, when we asked him what had happened he told us that he had lost his ring. He thought that he lost it while piling up some wood, we told him we would look out for it and we left. We followed the road until we came to a ruined pyramid, north of this pyramid we saw a throne. When we approached we were greeted by Gurodel the Giant, we asked him if he could help us in our quest to defeat Alamar, he answered yes. We were a bit surprised by this answer, since all the other creatures helped Alamar, when we asked him why, the Giant told us that Alamar was planning to move Xeen away from the sun and back to his own world. Gurodel also gave us two Energy Disks, we took them and we left. Once away from his throne we stopped and thought about what Gurodel had told us, if he was right it meant that Alamar wasn't from Xeen, but that meant that there were more planets than just Xeen....... Anyway we followed the road until we came to a tent just outside the Great Northern Tower, inside this tent we met Bosco the Dwarf king, he told us that he was dying and that he needed the royal chalice of protection from the Northern Tower, he had tried to get it but the knights had stopped him. He gave us the key to the tower and we agreed to enter and get the chalice. So said so done, we headed north into..... -----------> The Great Northern Tower <----------- Once inside we saw a mirror, it didn't work so we continued north, we were now in a large room with a statue, as soon as we entered we were attacked by some great looking Slayer Knights, we took care of them but they were strong. In the room we found some items and two books, inside the books was a riddle, we had to fill in the missing letters to make a sentence. The first book said; LT SLPNG DGS L The answer was; EEEIOIE We got; 500.000 Exp. points And the sentence was; LET SLEEPING DOGS LIE We went to the second book. The second book said; H WH LGHS LST, LGHS BST The answer was; EOAUAAUE We got; 500.000 Exp. points And the sentence was; HE WHO LAUGHS LAST, LAUGHS BEST When we took the items we found in this room Rak*el noticed that our back-packs we almost full, Roodhaar cast Lloyd's beacon, she set it to this level, I cast Town portal and we were returned to Castleview. We entered the city, went to the Ogre Foundry, sold what we didn't need and Roodhaar used Lloyd's beacon to return us to the northern tower. We had covered the first floor so we headed up the stairs to the second floor, again we were 'greeted' by a bunch of Slayer Knights We took care of them and we looked around, to the east and west we saw two more cabinets with a book in it, we first went to the east one. The third book said; LV F MNY S TH RT F LL VL The answer was; OEOOEIEOOOAEI We got; 500.000 Exp. points And the sentence was; LOVE OF MONEY IS THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL We then headed to the west book. The fourth book said; TH NDS F TH MNY TWGH TH NDS F TH FW The answer was; EEEOEAOUEIEEEOEE We got; 500.000 Exp. points And the sentence was; THE NEEDS OF THE MANY OUTWEIGH THE NEEDS OF THE FEW After the fourth book we headed south until we came to two doors, one leading west the other east, behind both doors we found some items, we took them and we headed south. Here we were attacked by some Death Knights, they looked as great as the Slayer Knights but they were a lot harder to kill, but in the end we were the victors. We headed south up the stairs onto the third floor, here were were again greeted by Slayer Knights and Death Knights, after a long battle they were dead and we could explore this floor. We found some items, we took them, we also found two rooms, after entering the door slammed shut and Rak*el had to pick the lock to get us out. We also found three more books. The fifth book said; F WSHS WR HRSS, BGGRS WLD RD The answer was; IIEEEOEEEOUIE We got; 500.000 Exp. points And the sentance was; IF WISHES WERE HORSES, BEGGARS WOULD RIDE The sixth book said; DN'T LK GFT HRS N TH MTH The answer was; OOOAIOEIEOU We got; 500.000 Exp. points And the sentence was; DON'T LOOK A GIFT HORSE IN THE MOUTH The seventh book said; FL ND HS MNY R SN PRTD The answer was; AOOAIOEAEOOAE We got; 500.000 Exp. points And the sentance was; A FOOL AND HIS MONEY ARE SOON PARTED After completing the riddles we looked for a staircase leading up, we only found a thin wall, we couldn't bash it in so Gandalf used his Etherealize spell and we were moved beyond the wall We climbed up the stairs to the fourth floor. We entered in a small corridor, a gate to the east blocked a staircase leading up to the roof, since we had no need going up there we left it alone and we went south through a door. Here we encountered 3 Slayer Knights, 3 Death Knights and 1 Doom Knight, we eventually killed them all but Rak*el and Gothmog were knocked out cold, Nomad and I cured them and we examined the room. We found seven beds with seven notes, they were the answer to the riddles, a bit late if you ask me. We also found six thrones, four thrones were called Emotion thrones, the fifth was called the Euphoria throne and the sixth throne was called Dunce. We first all sat on the Emotion thrones, we all became Confused, Depressed, Insane and Broken Hearted, after that we sat on the Euphoria throne, and we all received +2 levels and +5 on all stats. If we sat on the Dunce throne we only got Confused but nothing happened. Anyway we left the thrones alone and we went to the chalice that was in the south of this room. Something asked us what we wanted, as an answer I wanted to give chalice, but Gothmog stopped me and he gave AIE as an answer, it was correct and we could get the chalice. Next we got the Energy Disks that were in the east and west corners of this room, we now had four of them. We left the tower and headed to the tent of Bosco, he was very pleased, he gave us an award, 1.000.000 Exp. points and 100.000 Gp., we thanked him and we left his tent. Once outside we wondered what to do next, we still needed one more Energy Disk, the statue in Necropolis, the bird from the dungeon of the Lost Souls and we still had to kill the Barkman. We agreed that we would first go to Necropolis, get the statue, give them all to Luna the Druid, then get some training, kill the Barkman and then we would try to get the singing bird, phew. It was a long list but somebody had to do it, so we headed west, since there was no road we just walked straight west, past the Fountain of Energy Resistance, through the mountains, until we came at the Griffin Pass. Here we encountered our first Griffin, they were not hard to kill but they were very fast so they always struck first, shooting them from the mountains was the best solution. In the Griffin pass we found the tent of Ambrose the Queen's knight, he asked who send us, nobody did so he didn't want to talk to us. We left his tent and we headed west until we came at a volcanic area, around this area there were large wooden crosses with people tied to them, around the neck of the sad souls their was a sign saying 'Forbidden Zone, KEEP OUT'. Somehow we knew this was wise advice, so we headed south until we came to the city of Necropolis, before we entered we were attacked by a Iguanasaurus that came from the nearby desert, we killed it and we headed to the gates of Necropolis. I had the same feeling when we entered the city of Nightshadow, I told the others but would they listen, no, so we entered into ----> Necropolis, city of the dead, almost our dead that is <---- As we entered we were attacked by five or six Higher Mummies, luckily they didn't use any magic so we could easily defeat them. After this fight we looked around, we saw four books, the golden statuette, a skull and a throne. We decided to first examine the books, they were the Books of Dead vol. 1 to 4, we first all read vol. 1, after reading we gained 999.999 Exp. points but we also aged 25 years. Next we read vol. 2, again we gained 999.999 Exp. and again we aged another 25 years. By now we we all 70+ so we decided to first go to the Fountain of Youth, get our natural age back and then we would read the other two volumes. So said so done, Roodhaar set her Lloyd's beacon spell and I cast Town portal to get us near the city of Sandcaster, once there we headed south to the fountain. We all drank from it and Gandalf set his Lloyd's beacon spell near the fountain. Roodhaar transported us all back to Necropolis, we read the other two books, gained 2* 999.999 Exp. points and we aged 50 years. Gandalf then transported us back to the fountain where we all regained our natural age back. Here Nomad came with the idea that we all should visit the Soldiers school in Sandcaster, with all these extra Exp. points we should be able to gain some extra levels. We all agreed and we went to Sandcaster, in the Soldiers school Gandalf and Gothmog reached level 37, Rak*el reached level 40, Roodhaar level 36 and Nomad and I level 37. Roodhaar then cast her Lloyd's beacon spell and we were all returned to Necropolis. We first headed to the skull, it offered us a pass to the guild for 50.000 Gp., it was a lot of money but they could have some great spells, we agreed and we paid 5 times 50.000 Gp, a pass for Rak*el, our thief, was of no use so we didn't buy her one. After this we checked our gold, from the 1 mil.+ we had a few hours ago we only had 400.000 Gp. left, the training and the passes to the guild sure had made a hole in our gold pouch. Anyway we headed to the statuette but when we tried to take it something stopped us, we couldn't do anything about it so we left and we headed to the throne. On it we met Sandro the Lich, he told us that he had removed his heart to be immortal but he wanted it back, it was in the sewers, if we would get it he would reward us. We agreed but before we left Sandro told us that he had to kill humans to stay alive, so he had to kill us. Great, we helped him and he attacked us, who needs enemies with friends like this, anyway, we attacked him, he us, it was a long battle, first Gandalf and Gothmog were killed, after that Rak*el and Roodhaar. In the end only Nomad and myself were alive, the two of us were strong enough to kill Sandro, even though he was immortal, next we took our dead companions to the temple in Castleview, here they were cured, and we all returned to Necropolis. We explored the rest of the town, got some spells from the guild, costing almost all our gold, we all read the Books of Death vol. 5 to 8, they all gave +50 years and +999.999 Exp. points. After each book we returned to the fountain of youth using the spell from Gandalf. The last book, vol. 9, only Gandalf and Gothmog could read, the rest of us weren't wise enough, Gandalf and Gothmog gained +100 years and +9.999.999 Exp. points. After reading we of course returned to the fountain of youth, cured both of them and we returned. We also found a lot of coffins, but none of us were strong enough to open any of them, even though my might was 89. In a room in the northeast of the city we found a skull, it told a story about two evil sorcerers, it was nice to hear it but that was about it. We headed to the closed grating and we descended into..... @~You'll find out NEXT issue! - o -