Ultima VII Part II:Serpent Isle - Part 8

                  Walkthrough by Belisana
                 Supplied by Julian Gregory

@~Continued from Issue 39

BACK IN MOONSHADE

Stefano will leave you as soon as you're back, but he'll return
any items from MOF he may have been carrying. Your possessions are
in the chest.  There are three keys in and on the desk. One of
them opens the gate to the left (the others are worthless). Beyond
the gate, there's a secret door in the back wall. You can use this
door to come back for your MOF items.

Go to the inn and find Dupre. He'll tell you that Iolo has gained
Gustacio's confidence and has been helping him with his
experiments. Shamino has been hunting in the woods. You can find
him on the road west of the city.  Shamino will give you a message
and two presents from Frigidazzi, who is sorry about what
happened. Her presents are the serpent earrings (which will appear
on your avatar's ears, and will allow you to hear the Earth
Serpent), and a Chill scroll. Transcribe the scroll -- you'll need
to cast a lot of them when you get to the Lost City in Furnace.

You may encounter Mosh again on your way to Gustacio's. Tell her
you believe her about Columna. Give her a fish, and she'll give
you a magic harp that will pacify the ratmen in the catacombs.

Gustacio will tell you that a lightning storm exchanged Mortegro
for a stone altar that's now in the basement (it's from the Temple
of Tolerance, which you'll find later). He'll also tell you that
he'll teach you all his spells for free if you'll help with his
experiments. Agree, and he'll give you a power globe and
instructions about how to use it.

Go to Gustacio's tower (37S 143E), and follow his instructions.
(Put the globe on the platform at the south end of the platform,
use the winch, and pull all the levers.) Your companions will
observe the lightning effects.  Go back to Gustacio's and tell him
about your observations. He'll send you to Fedabiblio, who'll tell
you to look in his crystal ball. There, you'll see Kane's brother
Edlin being transformed into Ale, the parrot.

Go back to Gustacio's again. He'll tell you to take the parrot to
the tower and place him where the lightning will strike him. He'll
give you a cage for the parrot and a new globe. Double click on
the cage and click the crosshairs on the parrot.

Take the caged parrot back to the tower and place the cage on the
third platform on the left. Put the globe on the platform, use the
winch, and pull the lever. The bird will turn into Edrin, who'll
tell you about his dreams of a beautiful woman named Siranush
(you'll meet her later).

Go back to Gustacio's. Talk to him and he'll give you the Mirror
of Truth (keep it -- you'll need it). He'll also teach you all his
spells for free.  You're ready to leave Moonshade now, but be sure
to buy the rest of the spells you need get from Columna, Melino
and Torrissio. You may not be able to get them the next time
you're in Moonshade.  Also, check the reagents needed to cast
Chill (garlic, ginseng and worm heart), and make sure you have
enough of them to cast the spell ten to fifteen times.

Note: When you get a chance, go back to the Sleeping Bull and buy
the spell Vibrate from Ensorcio. He's the only mage who sells it,
and you may need it badly at some point in the game.

Now, talk to Hawk about leaving Moonshade. He'll send you to
Julia. Since you now have the Chill spell, she'll give you a blue
key that will open the door to the catacombs. Go to the burned-out
house SW of Torrissio's house and open the door with the blue key.

THE CATACOMBS

There isn't much to find in the catacombs themselves. Wind around
past the ratmen and the wildmen until you find a stairs up. (Don't
bother with the bellows -- you can't get them to work.)

THE LOST CITY

At the top of the stairs, you'll see a raised drawbridge, and a
gargoyle on the battlements. Talk to him (his name is Zhelkas).
He'll say that he has dreamed of your coming, and if you're really
the hero, he has an ancient artifact for you (the serpent ring).
To prove yourself, he'll ask you to take a test of purity: find
the twin pillars in the NE part of the city, and grasp the fire
pillar to begin the test. Agree, and he'll lower the drawbridge.
He'll also tell you that humans aren't strong enough to pull the
drawbridge levers, so don't bother trying to pull any of them
yourself.

From the gatehouse, there's a passage to the SW that leads to
Monitor, but you'll have to complete the test before Zhelkas will
lower that drawbridge.  There's a wall button that will open the
door to the east passage into the city. There's also a passage to
the south that takes you through some sulfurous ash and also ends
up going east into the city. Take the south route, and you won't
need to bother with locked doors.

Note: You'll need to begin casting Chill spells as soon as you
reach the Lost City. Otherwise, you and your companions will die
from the heat.

Once in the city, look for the library just east of the buildings
with the sleeping gargoyles. Look for three intact books among the
ruins. One tells you about some special reagents and mentions a
location called the conjury.  One tells about the civil wars that
destroyed the Ophidians' civilization.  And one gives you hints
about where to find the fire and ice keys you'll need to open the
way to the city's serpent gate.

A corpse in the library has the key to the library's basement,
where you'll find some magic scrolls and worm gems.

The conjury is at the end of the passage north of the library.
You'll find some reagents there (you can make phosphor if you
like). There's also an everlasting goblet here, which you can give
to Zhelkas for the serpent ring if you flunk the test of purity.

South of the library is the city's spa. A corpse near the water
has the fire key. In the SW corner, there's a Chill scroll.

East of the spa is the arena. Walk S around it, and you'll find a
locked door to the east and the arena doors to the west. Use the
winch to open the arena door. You'll be attacked by a series of
four gladiator automatons. After you defeat the fourth one, you'll
find an open door in the far NE corner.  Take the gray key you'll
find there.

Unlock the door east of the arena with the gray key. Go east and
south to the park. There are many corpses among the mushrooms.
Look for one in the far SE corner that has the ice key and a
serpent tooth. It's #16, and it goes to Monitor. There are also
some magic scrolls and worm gems here.

Now, unlock the magic-locked door leading north. You'll find the
Great Temple and the twin pillars at the end of this northerly
passage.

Double click on the fire pillar to begin the test of purity.
You'll find yourself in an area with three corridors. To the west
are some people who implore you to save them, and a false Shamino
who'll try to get you to exploit them instead. Press the right
button to free the people and prove your ethicality. To the north,
a false Iolo will try to convince you to enter a moongate and
escape. Say no, and you'll prove your logic. To the right, you'll
be asked to kill ten worms without stopping. A false Dupre will
try to distract you. Don't listen to him. Kill the ten worms, and
you'll prove your discipline.

Now that you've passed the test, Zhelkas will give you the serpent
ring (it will appear on your finger, like the earrings). Check
your inventory -- some of your things may have been moved to your
companions' backpacks.

To open the serpent gate, go north into the Great Temple. Put the
fire and ice keys on the altar, and they'll fuse into a blackrock
key. You may have to try placing the keys several times before
they'll fuse -- this puzzle is very position-sensitive. Once you
have the blackrock key, go upstairs. To the NE, you'll find a
locked door that the blackrock key will open. Behind it is a
teleporter that will take you to the serpent gate.

There's another way out of the Lost City. Talk to Zhelkas and ask
him about leaving the city. He'll agree to open the drawbridge
leading to the passage to Monitor. Go back to the gatehouse where
you entered the city, and he'll let you out by the SW route.

On your way back to Monitor via the caverns, look for a troll lair
with a locked room. One of the trolls in the lair has the key. The
Serpent Staff, one of the three artifacts you'll need for the
endgame, is in the locked room. You'll also find your original
spellbook nearby. It's ruined, though, and if you try to read it,
it'll explode.

If you take the serpent gate back to Monitor, be sure to go back
into the Furnace catacombs through the cave south of the city to
get the Serpent Staff.

SWAMP DREAMING

Make sure you have the Helm of Courage, the Crystal Rose of Love,
and the Mirror of Truth in your own inventory. Then head north up
the road and into the swamp. Keep walking until you fall asleep.

Note: Once you've begun the quest and picked up any useful items,
DON'T leave the dream world by walking into the firepit. The items
you've found will be lost, and you can't get them back again.

You may wake up anywhere in the dream world. You'll want to visit
all of it, but there are a couple of places you'll want to find
first.

Lord British is dreaming in his ruined castle somewhere in the NE.
He'll tell you a sad tale of what's happening in Britannia. But
more important, there's a full set of magic armor and an infinity
bow in a brass chest behind his throne. And a slain soldier has a
halberd and an invisibility ring.

The key to the dream quest is a woman named Siranush, who lives in
the farthest NW corner of the dream world. She'll tell you how the
dream world came to be, and will ask you to help her free her
people by confronting the evil mage Rabindrinath. He can't be
killed but he can be overpowered by the three artifacts you carry
-- the helm, rose and mirror. When he's dead, get his dream
crystal and bring it to Siranush.

Rab's castle is in the extreme SW corner of the dream world.
Speaking to Siranush should cause his front door to open. Before
you go in, put on the Helm of Courage. Rab will meet you just
inside the door, but his spell will fizzle on the helm and he'll
disappear.

Go south from the main hall into the dining room.  You'll meet Rab
again, so hold the rose in one hand.  Again, his spell will fail
on the rose. Go east into the torture room. Get a gold key from
the corpse on the embalming table, and pull the switch.  Now, go
back to the main hall and unlock the door to the north with the
gold key. Hold the mirror and go north into Rab's bedroom. He'll
attack you a third time, but again his spell will fail. This time,
he'll die. Get the tan key from his body.  Go east into the music
room, and open the door with the tan key.  Walk across the void
(which is trapped) to get the dream crystal.

Note: If you haven't seen everything in the dream world, you may
want to walk around a bit before going back to Siranush's house.
Once you've given her the crystal, you won't be able to get back
here any more.

Go back to Siranush and give her the crystal. She'll have a
touching reunion with Edrin, her dream lover. Then she'll give you
the serpent necklace. Like the ring and earrings, it will appear
on your avatar, not in your inventory.

Note: You're now able to communicate with the Earth Serpent, who
is your spiritual guide in the game. After he's spoken to you the
first time, you can get his advice by double clicking on the
necklace's pendant.

When you've gotten the necklace, you'll awaken near the swamp with
your companions. Once again, check your inventory before going on.
You'll have nothing from the dream world except the three
artifacts (which you don't need any more). But your own stuff may
be scrambled in peculiar ways.

@~More next issue











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