Ultima VII Part II:Serpent Isle - Part 7 Walkthrough by Belisana Supplied by Julian Gregory @~Continued from Issue 38 ERSTAM'S ISLAND Head for the northern tip of the island by going past Roto's house and along the eastern coastline. You'll find Erstam's dock at 15S 129E. There's a fetching nude sunbather at 21S 127E, by the way. Her name is Cindy, but she's only window-dressing. She won't talk (or do anything else ). Ring the bell on the dock, and Erstam's turtle will come to get you. Get on his back and he'll take you to Erstam's island. (He'll only do this once, so save your game before you call him.) Note: There's another beta testers' room with magic stuff and pretty ladies in the mountains west of Erstam's house. To get to it without using the cheat mode, go to Stefano's old house on Moonshade (82S 100E). Put a crate next to the tree stump out front, and climb onto the stump. You'll teleport to a tiny island with a teleport pad. Work your way around until you find an invisible path north that leads to a cave in the mountains. You can also get here by using the super cheat mode (teleporting to hex 7de, 51a, or picking up sections of the mountains with the hack mover function). Be warned that you can corrupt your game files doing either of these things. Go into Erstam's house and have a look around. You'll find a Stop Storm scroll in one crate, Flash and Deter scrolls in another, and an Erstam's Surprise scroll in the chest in the bedroom. You'll also find your missing dagger behind the stairway. Talk to Erstam. Among other things, he'll tell you NOT to ask him about teleportation, and NOT to ask his assistant Vasel about it. He'll also say the strange apparatus you found is his, even though Ducio said it was Vasculio's. This is, I believe, a text error, and not anything important to the game. He'll also tell you that he's missing some critical ingredients for his experiments, and that you can use the magic telescope on the roof. Like Gustacio's telescope, it will show you random important game locations. Talk to Vasel and ask him about teleportation. He'll tell you about the serpent jawbone. Talk to Erstam again, and he'll 'fess up to having the jawbone. He says he'll give it to you if you retrieve a phoenix egg for him. Say yes, and he'll teleport you to the phoenix's island. This is a small island, and you should be able to find the phoenix's lair with little trouble. Flip the switch to let the lava flow into the room, and the phoenix will arise from the flames. Talk to the phoenix. She'll tell you that now that there's a living phoenix in the world, the balance between order and chaos can be restored. As a reward, she'll give you her egg. Go to the nearby teleporter and return to Erstam's island. Talk to Erstam. He'll ask you to help with his experiment. Gather the body parts near the machine (a talking head, a torso in a crate, an arm, a forearm, two legs -- don't use any twitching parts). Put the parts in the machine's funnel. Each correct one will produce a swirl in the funnel. Incorrect ones will be spit out. When you've put in all the body parts, chuck in the phoenix egg. Erstam's creation, named Boydon, will emerge. If you talk to him, he'll ask to join your party. Say no -- he smells awful and will keep people from talking to you. And if he gets killed, the monks won't restore him. Talk to Erstam again. He'll give you the key to his storeroom and a serpent tooth, and he'll tell you to come back when you have the jawbone. Go to the storeroom (it's behind his house) and get the jawbone. It's the V-shaped item in the NW corner. Double click on it, and you'll get a large-screen view of it that shows eighteen empty sockets. Pick up one of your two serpent teeth and place it over one of the sockets. It will find its proper place. (The one you got from Roto's house will go into slot #11, counting from the top left, and will take you to the tunnels of Furnace; Erstam's goes in slot #12, and will bring you back to Erstam's island.) Note: Don't do this yet, but to teleport using the jawbone, stand on one of the serpent gates and double click on the carving. You'll be teleported to "serpent central," a large hall floating in the void with eight irising gates. When you walk by an iris gate with the proper tooth installed in the jawbone, that gate will open. Go down the corridor and double click on the serpent gate there. You'll be teleported to that gate's corresponding location on Serpent Isle. Eventually, you'll find all eighteen teeth and will have access to all the gates in serpent central. You found a map of the whole layout in the catacombs under the Sleeping Bull, but the gates aren't identified. It's a good idea to test each tooth shortly after you find it. That way, you can make your own gate layout and label each gate as you learn where it takes you. Go back to the house and talk to Erstam again. He'll give you two more teeth: #13, Moonshade; and #6, Monk Isle. Go back to the serpent gate and use it to take you to Monk Isle. (It's the first gate to the north off the eastern corridor at serpent central.) MONK ISLAND From the serpent gate, go south to reach the monastery. (You can't open the north gate yet.) Be sure to read all the books in the library (use the lens of translating) and the book of Xenka's prophecies on the altar. Talk to all the monks who can or will talk. Karnax says that Xenka will return to deliver the final key to saving the world. Draxta says you'll need a thief-braggart for an ally. She also says you must triumph even in your dreams, and she invites you to the Place of Visions (7N 139E) to see one of Xenka's visions. (You'll see the automaton Petra walking through a field of acid while you stand by watching. You'll actually do this, sort of, a little later in the game.) And Thoxta says that Gwenno was seeking information about the ice people of the north (gwani) while she was here. The mystic monk, Braccus, has the most useful information for you at the moment. He says fresh mandrakes grow in their swamp, but you can only find them when the salt tides are low (which they aren't at the moment, of course). While you're waiting for the tide, tour the island. Look for a ruin in the swamp at about 13N 144E. A tan key in the hollow tree will open the gate downstairs. Under the swamp is a ruin on a small island. In its basement are magic bolts, a lightning wand, a magic axe, and a blue key. The blue key opens the gate to the east, which leads to another ruin. A corpse there has a red key that opens the south gate in the main cavern. That passage will bring you back to the serpent gate and the monastery. When you've returned to the monastery, ask Braccus again about the tides. He says they're right for mandrake picking now. Go back up to the swamp and walk around its muddy banks. You should find a dozen or so mandrakes lying on the mud (they're brown, and look like gingerbread men). Use the serpent gate to go back to Moonshade. Take your fresh mandrake to Fedabiblio and he'll give you a spellbook (after asking you several more copy-protection questions). As soon as you can, transcribe all the spell scrolls you've collected into your spellbook. Now that you're officially a mage again, Columna and Melino will talk to you and sell you spells. (You can also buy spells now from Mortegro and Torrissio, and from Ensorcio back at the Sleeping Bull. Before you leave Moonshade, though, Gustacio will offer to teach you many spells for free. And after you rescue him later in the game, Mortegro will sell you his spells for half-price, so spend your money wisely.) Columna and Melino don't have much new information for you. DON'T ASK EITHER ONE OF THEM ABOUT THE STOCKINGS. Melino says that most of the mages in Moonshade have stolen a serpent tooth from Erstam at some point. (Neither he nor Columna has one.) Columna denies hotly that she's related to Mosh. Gustacio still won't talk to you, so it's time to drop in on Frigidazzi again. She should be in her house now, although you may have to wait for her a bit. She'll trade the fur hat for your magic helmet. And she'll invite you back to her house after midnight to, ah, discuss magic. After midnight, leave your companions outside and go into her bedroom. Say yes to whatever she asks, and you'll have an interesting evening, no matter what gender your avatar is. (You can say no, if you prefer. It'll all come out the same anyway.) In a while, Filbercio will burst in on the two of you and haul you off to court. No matter what you do, you'll get thrown into the Mountains of Freedom. MOUNTAINS OF FREEDOM When you arrive in Freedom, you'll have with you only your spellbook and reagents, some scale armor, and a staff. The automaton that meets you will tell you that Stefano is here, and that there are two rogue mages here looking for stoneheart. Get the scythe in the next room, and wait until the automaton opens the door to his office to go on rounds. When he does, kill him and search him. Be sure to loot his office -- it's your beginning supply depot. And get the red key in the bag. It unlocks the chest in the office, the office door, and several more doors throughout Freedom. Unlock the door north of the teleport with the red key. Walk through the illusion wall in the NW corner, by the sign that reads "Escape is Impossible." From the illusion wall, go east, south, west, south, and west until you see some bloody footprints on the floor. Follow the footprints south through another illusion wall. To the east is a pickable door leading to a chest guarded by harpies. You'll find a sword, a magician's staff, and some magic arrows there. To the west are a gargoyle, a monk, and a pickable door to a storeroom where you'll find some reagents, including bloodspawn. To the south of this area is a teleporter behind a pickable locked door. From the teleport landing, go east and north to a locked door. Unlock it with the red key. Inside, you'll meet one of the rogue mages, who'll turn into a bear and attack you. When he teleports out, collect his reagents and follow him through the teleporter. At the other end, you'll meet Stefano. He'll tell you about Celennia (who is Selina) and how she fled town after a fight with Frigidazzi. More critical to your quest, he'll tell you that to escape Freedom, you must pull two switches simultaneously. He'll suggest that you and he should work together to escape. Ask him to join you. Unlock the door to the east with the red key. Two men will attack you, one of whom has your blackrock sword. The demon in the sword will speak to you, urging you to release it. Don't release it at this point. When you've killed the knight, MAKE SURE you have the blackrock sword. It should be somewhere in your inventory, most likely on your back. DON'T leave this area until you're sure you have it. You can't get back here later to look for it. Take the gold glowing key in the bag on the table, and go east and north to another locked door. Open it with the red key and fight the woman warrior. Teleport to a cavern with doors to the east and west. Open the west door with the gold key. You'll see the mage Lorthondo kill his aide and turn him into a skeleton dragon. He'll then teleport out. Kill the dragon and open the door to the south with the gold key. The chest there has a firedoom staff, a Great Heal scroll, a bag with lockpicks, and a blue glowing key. Unlock the door to the east with the blue key. The chests in the next room are all trapped, and contain some good magic armor items. East of the chests you'll see the two levers that Stefano mentioned. Double click on one lever and Stef will get the other. Move quickly into the teleporter to avoid the explosions behind you. You'll be in a branching tunnel. To the north, there's a trapped chest with Cold Blast and Telekinesis scrolls. To the west are many bodies around a teleport pad. Search them and find a regeneration ring, some magic arrows, and another Telekinesis scroll. To the east, you'll see a chasm with a raised drawbridge. Cast Telekinesis on the drawbridge's winch to lower it. On the other side, step near the desk and sign and the sliding door will open. Walk around the sleep fields into the room with many levers. THE LEVER ROOM The lever room has nine locked rooms, and twelve levers arranged as two rows of four levers inside a larger square formed by levers in each corner. In the outside square: NW raises and lowers doors around the lever area NE opens the ice room full of trolls SW opens the door to the south after some others have been pulled SE opens the hidden exit in a tunnel beyond the room In the inside square, top row: #1 (from left) opens the room with the mushrooms and rabbit #2 opens the supply room #3 opens the room with rats and bones #4 opens the room with the sleeping woman In the inside square, bottom row: #1 opens the ranger's room #2 opens the room with the knight statues #3 opens the room with the nightmare (horse) #4 opens the room with the teleport pad -- it's stuck, and you need the ranger to fix it. Start with the sleeping woman. She'll say "lead me to my nightmare." Open the room with the horse and let it kill the woman. Search her body and take the carrots and the arrow key. Now, open the room with the mushrooms and put the carrots on the gold plate. The rabbit becomes a woman who thanks you with some flowers. Take the flowers and open the ranger's room. Talk to him and put the flowers on the dead woman's body. The ranger will thank you by fixing the jammed lever. Now open the teleport pad room, and step on the teleporter. Throw the glowing blue lever in the meadow. Walk in any direction and you'll be teleported back to the lever room. Pull the SW and SE levers, and go through the south door to the firepit room. Unlock the door with the red key and walk around the fire. When it goes out, walk into the firepit. You'll be teleported to another tunnel area. Go south into what seems to be an endless tunnel. Feel your way along the right tunnel wall, and you'll find a secret exit. From there, you'll be teleported to an area with an automaton selling potions. To the south, the next chest is trapped, and contains an axe and a helm. The next room has a sign reading "reach bell for freedom." Here, you must build a stairway to the bell with crates and other items. When you reach the bell, you'll be teleported to a tunnel with a sign reading "pick one or die." Pick tunnel one, on the far left. At the next tunnel area, there's a mostly empty storeroom to the north, and another automaton vendor to the west. Kill him or cast Vibrate to get his key. Open the gate to the west with the automaton's key (it's also pickable). You'll now have a final confrontation with Lorthondro. You can't kill him without releasing the demon from the black sword, so do so as soon as you can. Ignore the demon's taunts; you need the sword empty later in the game. Go south to another gate (use the automaton's key, or pick it). You'll be teleported to Filbercio's back room. @~To be continued next issue - o -