Shadows of Yserbius - Walkthrough part 7

                    Solution by Sue

@~Continued from Issue 37

Level 6 - Castle Parapets.

At K6, runes on the wall tell you 'yellow light from a yellow gem'
and at E13 an outline picture on the wall shows a wizard crossing
an enormous plane of nothingness.

The Earth Elemental holds power over the door at L13. We'll come
back here in a minute.

At K9 you find the entrance to the Endless Void. A chasm is
between you and a distant platform. A voice whispers that only
golden rays with melodic tones will allow you to bridge the gap of
time. The ritual must be performed correctly and you must complete
it. Remembering the runes and picture, use the Rainbow Yel (yellow
gem) and a mystical golden haze floats over the void, waiting ...
use the Harvest Horn and the haze forms into a solid path. A voice
bellows 'It is done!'. Cross in safety to G12 and go through the
door.

There is a hard fight against a gang of dragons at G15 but,
through the door at E15, you enter the Earth Elemental Palace,
filled with a bounty of priceless gems. It seems to shake with
great power. The Earth Elemental Andreas is on a mountainous perch
surrounded by Tyrans, Manticores, Basilisks and Dragons at C15.
Get onto the next square as Andreas and he stops attacking you.
Use Control, then slug it out, healing if you can. You win
Infinite Armor, a war hammer and Nature's Robe.

Go back to the door at L13, Andreas no longer defends it. Inside,
En-Li-Kil's Phantasm Guardians stand watch over the entrance to
Arnakkian's Tomb and you'll fight them at N14. Once they are
defeated, moving to O14 causes a magic field to teleport you to
Arnakkian's Tomb. The laughter of an ancient archmage fills the
corridor when you arrive at I7.

Doors appear and disappear in the corners where you'll meet gangs
of Basilisks and Liches. In the centre, the square at I10 is
surrounded by four doors each marked with the symbol of the four
corners. Work your way from corner to corner, starting from the
top left (L7), thence to L13, F13 and F7. Walk north, turn towards
the centre and go east up to the wall at I9 and the Wizard Door
opens. Inside is the spirit of Arnakkian Slowfoot and a gaggle of
Liches. A very hard fight! But you will be rewarded with a Rainbow
Blue gem.

I still found there was a small area I couldn't enter along the
south side of this area, from A/B7 to A/B10.

Route 3. Sirocco / Zephyr

Collect a Harvest Horn and, once again, make your way through
Sirocco's Door and Zephyr's Door, past the lava to Zephyr and
through the door at B12.  Through the door at C14 is a very hard
fight. When you enter, the Zephyr Wind whispers, I have taken the
Harvest Horn and I give you something to help you defeat the Wind
Elemental. After the fight, you get some flex metal.

Go along the corridor (the Corridor of Zephyr) to the door at J15
which, you're told, is the gateway to the Secret Chamber of the
Labyrinth Thieves. It sounds lucrative, and it is!

You'll teleport in at J15. There's a secret wall south from M16
and a fight behind it. This northern area, The Secret Chamber of
the Labyrinth Thieves, has several secret doors and false doors -
they look like doors but you won't be able to walk through them.
Several times you will find yourself trapped in a one way route
and going in the opposite direction from the way you want!

A secret wall at P7 leads west to the Thieves' Shrine where you
will gain the pickpocketing skill. A major fight at O6 will gain
you the Wind Knight Key and a message nearby tells you that
beneath each pit is a floor or another pit; fall through the
floors to find more passages. Nothing ventured ... drop into the
pit at N6 to discover Torbriar's Treasury on Level 7, Labyrinth
II.  On arriving here, at M6, you are told the treasury was built
by the knights to celebrate WarMaster Torbriar's victory over the
armies of ogres and trolls.  There are several fights against
Manticores and Nightmares along this corridor and at a few
locations the wind is nasty and causes 100 damage. Finally at N14,
use detect north to find a secret door only visible to knights
and, behind it, Torbriar's Fountain which gives you the martial
arts skill. NB I don't know what other classes find and I couldn't
enter the room at N15.

Level 9 - Arnakkian's Arena

This is reached from location M16 in Labyrinth IV. You arrive at
M1 and can return the same way. Read tracks shows nothing and
that's because there are few encounters. Those that you will have
are minor, hardy clerics, silver ogres and a few wimpy were bears.
Anyway, go to K2 and, if you go east, you'll teleport to K8, which
will also take you back.  At I8, you'll learn you're at the nexus
of the Arena. What is the Arena?  Evidently, it was a place where,
in the time when Arnakkian bestrode the land of Twinion, the
bravest warriors and wisest mages could do battle. Four gateways
lead each to one staging area - the Red Arena from K8 goes to M4,
the Blue Arena from I7 to D4, the Green Arena from H9 to D13 and
the Yellow Arena from J10 to M13, each staging area has two doors
in and two out, all one way.

To be honest, I have no idea what this section does. I mapped the
whole lot, found nothing of use anywhere. Does anyone have any
idea why it's here?

Level 10

a) Elf Villages

Out of the Labyrinth at last! You arrive from Level 9 at I5 and
can return to Castlegate the same way.

Several villages lead off the central area. The one we entered by
is identified by a sign at l10 which says "To the Cave of
NeedleWood". Once you have the Elvin Cave Key from the Land of the
Giants, return here and use it to unlock the door. At M3 is a
fight against Sabretooth Lions and Black Dwarf Knights for a
Rainbow Yel and at L4 a fight against Nightmares and Dragons for
Cleowyn's Bones.

We know we have to put these back in the Mausoleum so it's back to
the top levels to collect Cleowyn's Ring, Robe, Crown and Sceptre
(oh no, the Rune Room again!). I'd thought I'd just be able to
enter the inner Mausoleum but, no. At least the fights were a load
easier this time round! When you reach Cleowyn's Tomb at O9 his
spirit complains that you took a long time but he gives you a
Netherworld Medallion and says not to bother him again.

At H11 another written in the dust of pine needles says
"Wilderness of PineCone". Inside a typical elfin dwelling at J11
you'll see a mural on the wall showing carvings of elfin rangers
crossing a glacial landscape. There's also a big fight against
Shapeshifters and wizards. This mural is repeated in many
dwellings and, in others, young elves scatter and hide as you
enter.

Going through K9 you enter the Wilderness of BeechWood. The
Aldbora Tree sheds its golden leaves around M6.  In a room at I1,
Frenank, hunter to the Elf King, says it is known in the trees
that Nature's Robe must be used for the harvest. Collect this
before you start this section or, like I was, you'll be in big
trouble because the game expects you to have the robe first.

Down the corridor that starts at F11, you'll find the entrance to
the Land of the Dwarves at I16 but it will not open until you are
at Level 30.

Down I6 you'll enter the Wilderness of OakLeaf. This splits two
ways. At C1, in a room, you find the storyteller Sorshian who
honours your arrival, and tells you that only when it's winter
will the Aldbora shed its fruit. The Clerics of Oakleaf are at D4
and tell you they comfort the seasons. This character is Summer.
Use the Harvest Horn. He accepts it. Summer is mellowed by the
sweet music and it is now Autumn. You gain Autumn Seeds.

From messages in Arnakkian's Great Hall, you know you have to take
them to Winter.  In the top corner of PineCone, at O13, you meet
another of the Seasons incarnate in mortal form.  Yes, it's
Winter. Use the Autumn Seeds on him. They wake him from his long
hibernation. He is Spring again! He says to take the Renewal of
Spring and rejoice with him. (NB Spring is now in this location).

A hard fight will slow you down at N2 but when you get past,
you'll meet, at O1, the Wise ones of Beechwood who serve the
Seasons. Dirsty Bombat, vassal of Autumn greets you. Give him
Spring Renewal. You gain icy Winter Waters as a present. (NB
Karakiar is now here, whose liege is Winter)

Make a detour to the tree. Because it is Winter, the Aldbora Tree
shows its age and the fruits of Knowledge are now ripe.

Another area at F8 is the Wilderness of MapleBrush. Varstad,
counsellor to the Elf King is at B14 tells you the magic Aldbora
requires Summer radiance to shed its knowledge fruit. At B10
you'll meet Spring, one of the Wardens of Maplebrush who hold the
Seasons. Give him Winter's Waters to change him into Summer and
you gain Summer's Radiance.

Go round through Exodus etc and collect another Harvest Horn. Take
it to Summer who is back at D4.  Give it to him again to get more
Autumn Seeds. Return to Winter at O13 to swap these for Spring
Renewal. Back to Autumn at O1 and exchange Spring Renewal for
Winter Waters. Back at the Aldbora Tree, carrying Summer Radiance
and Nature's Robe, you now don't get a message. The fruit has been
shed - but where's it gone?

As far as I know (since I never got this bit to work) a message
should appear saying that the leaves whisper that you must defeat
its enemies, the four winds, South, North, East and West, and you
will find a precious gem as green as my foliage. You also get any
skills you didn't already have.

Luckily someone had told me what to do (thanks again, Graham!) so
head back to the Wind Knight tombs and defeat the winds in this
order - F2 (South), B2 (North), H2 (East) and D2 (West), then up
to M1 and the gathering of winds.  The fight there should give you
a Green Gem if all has gone correctly.

If it doesn't, see also Bill's comments in the Hints section about
the game.

Level 11

Dwarf Kingdom / Land of the Giants

Entry is at I11 and in front of you is the River of Eternity.
Remember we were told earlier that it saps 1/4 of your health each
step, and you can't heal. A message here says that only the
bravest adventurers explore the life-draining River of Eternity
for hidden passages. Luckily there is a block in the river at I13
so make your way east to dry land. There are two doors. One leads
to big fights against gangs of Phantasms at F15 and G16. The other
takes you to a door at M16 to the Land of the Giants. Bellows from
gruesome monsters echoing through the cavern aren't encouraging!
Go through to the Land of the Giants

Entry is at M1 which takes you back to the Dwarf Kingdom. A
message on the wall at N3, in runes, translates to tell you that
you must acquire the Sunbeam Key at the Dwarf Ceremonial Rock to
access the Dwarf Kingdom.

Go through through the door at L5 and zip across the River to N8.
At O10 you meet a group of Dwarves at the ceremonial Dwarf Rock
who offer to swap your blue metal for the key to their Kingdom.
Take it and you will find it's the Sunbeam Key. Through a series
of appearing / disappearing walls behind the door at N10 you will
find the Jasperstone Fountain which restores your health at P12
and the Venivor Fountain to restore your mana at N13.

Behind the door at P7 is a hard fight against Basilisks, dragons
and Incubi at P6, another against giants at P5, and Death Leeches,
Basilisks, Gargoyles, Liches and Werebears at P4.

@~To be concluded next issue.
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