Anvil of Dawn (Part 4)

                       Author unknown

@~Continued from Issue 44

THE TEMPLE OF THE MOON

Quest Items: Tears of the Weeping Moon, Three Soul Houses

Leaving the Barrier, head due west until you see some strange rock
formations, like dark fingers. Turn north and you will see a white
towered city. Head straight for it. It's the Temple of the Moon.
This place is on three levels. The main level is large. There are
two floors above which are slightly smaller. The South Eastern exit
leads to the City of the Dead where you need to go after finishing
this place off.

When you enter the temple, a blank scroll will be on the floor.
Pick it up and click on the floating pen in front of you. It will
answer your questions by writing on the scroll. You need a blank
scroll for each question and these you will find throughout the
first floor of this dungeon. In the next two rooms are chests. One
has an iron mark. The other has a blank scroll. North is a door to
a long hallway where a rolling rock moves east and west. Another
hall just like it runs parallel to the north. Destroy the blocks in
between so you can avoid getting hit.  I'll refer to these halls as
the north and south halls, the south being the one closest to the
entrance.

Wait for the rock to roll East then walk West down the South Hall.
On the way you can enter a room to the south by hitting the wall
switch.  In there you'll find a gold Ankh key. Keep on going west.
Before the hall ends you'll see an illusory wall to the north.
Inside is a chest and two harpies. At the west end of the south
hall is a door with a switch on the wall and a plate in front of
it. Weigh down the plate with a bag of rocks. Then throw the
switch. The door will open. Now go around the room turning on every
wall switch you see. There will be an area where you will see some
pressure plates. Ignore that for a second.  You will see a side
room with a Lightning Wild spell roving the hall. Cast a
Reflections on the Lake spell and go into this other room and
search it. After making a circle of the rooms and turning on all
the wall switches, you can take back your rocks bag without exiting
the room.

Go to the area with two pressure plates in an alcove. Step on the
plates, back and forth until you see another area next to this one
has opened up. Weigh down that plate with two rocks. A secret
passage will open up nearby with a chest inside. In the Southwest
corner is a room opened by an opal moon key. You should have got
the key off of one of the monsters you killed while combing the
area. Inside there is a side passage with a pressure plate in
front. Step on the plate, wait for the fire spells to wear off, the
go inside and get a soul house. You will need this later.  Search
the rest of the area, then go out into the main room and look for
the teleporter that came up when you hit a wall switch.  This will
take you to the east side of the south hall. Before you explore
this area to much, go into the south hall and raid the room next
door, which is opened by a wall switch. Now return to the South
East area and raid any chests you find. To the south is a
teleporter in a hallway. Keep entering it until you are on the
other side and able to enter the room. The first time another
teleporter will block your way. This will be gone the next time.
It is activated by a plate you are standing on.

Once you are in this room you will see an east, west and south
door. Ignore the south door because that leads to the City of the
Dead and you aren't going there yet. Go to the East door. One of
the monsters you kill will drop an opal moon key. Raid the chests
then go to the West door and open it with the key. You will find a
second Soul house in a chest in this room. Take it. Now, go to the
North Hall and avoid the rock. Go all the way to the west door
leading north. The East door can only be opened from the inside.
Use the Gold Ankh key to get in. You will find yourself in a room
leading to the tower stairs. In the North of this area is a Healing
Altar. Find the stairs and head up.

The second floor is pretty simple. You come up the stairs and find
a teleporter to either side of you. It doesn't matter which one you
take. They both go to an identical room where two harpies will
attack you.  Choose which one you want, kill the harpies and make
for the hall directly south. The teleporter you se in these rooms
takes you back to the stairs. A long hall goes east and west. Go
East all the way and enter a southern area. You will see a room off
to the East. It opens by pulling the Cross shaped wall switch.
Inside is a Mana Altar and two chests. Go down the south hall, step
on a pressure plate and it opens a wall to the north hiding a chest
with the third Soul House.  You now have all of them.  Continue
south down the hall and the last room has something called the
Sacred Sipher in it. You need this bottle so don't forget it. Read
the note on the floor. Go all the way west down the hall, ignoring
the center southbound hall for a moment. You will enter an area
where a rolling rock opens and shuts a door. Go in the door and
follow the rolling rock to your right as it enters a teleporter.
You will find yourself in a room with a chest.  In the chest is a
powerful weapon.

Now, return to the main hall and go to that center south bound
hallway. Wait for the teleporters to blink off them move down that
hall as fast as you can. At the end is an illusory wall. Enter it
and raid the chest. Now go up the nearby stairs.

The third floor is a series of doors and teleporters leading to the
Oracle. You need eight gold coins and two iron marks to get through
them. The first bunch of doors take one coin each. The last door
takes an iron mark on either side. Take the teleporter and look for
an illusory wall. Inside is a room where the Oracle weeps. Talk to
her, holding the Sipher in your cursor.  When she weeps, move the
Sipher to the tears and click. When you see the Sipher become blue
you now have the tears of the Moon. Put it away with the rest of
your quest pieces. Now head for the exit to the City of the Dead.
It's in that hall in the South West of the first floor. The south
passage. You will enter into a bend. An illusory wall will be to
your west. Put a block on the plate behind it, then step into the
teleporter. You should be in a room leading out to the City of the
Dead.

Near the door, if you are playing one of the male characters, you
will see Foxwen, the blonde woman, dying from a bunch of arrows.
She will tell you to look for Nula in the City of the Dead. If you
are playing one of the women, you won't see anything in the alcove.

THE CITY OF THE DEAD

Quest Items: The Soul of the Warrior, The Knight's Armor,
Anti-Poison Shield.

This place is on two levels. The ground floor is a necropolis, a
city of the dead. But many tombs have stairs leading to underground
areas. The Lurking Stench monsters are poisonous, but you will find
a poison proof shield in this maze, which will make you
invulnerable to poison once you start using it. If you have any
Wyvern Blood flasks left, this is a good place to use them.  The
Tormented Souls that hang around this place shoot arrows at you
from far away. It can get real annoying.  Lightning Wild spells
seem to hurt them badly, though, so you may want to fire off some
now and then. Go around the path and head south.


Explore the three southern tombs first and the game will be easier.
The one closest to the entrance in the south west has two stairs
leading down. You will find yourself in a huge area with a bunch of
Infernal Bones standing over armor and weapons. At the far south of
this area is a throne. In front of the throne is a shield that will
make you 100% invulnerable to poison. Start using this shield.
There is also an axe that casts Raging Hero spells.  Take what you
want, but most of the armor and weapons in this dungeon are stuff
your probably threw away earlier.

The next tomb to the south of the City is a small one. You will
find a portable chest inside.  If you are playing a woman
character, it will have a Fall Equinox disc inside. If you are
playing a man, it will be empty. The tomb in the South East corner
is very important. In the center is the blue knight. Do not take
his soul yet. Talk to him.  Do not open the chest south of him.
Leave it for later. You can raid the other two chests if you want.
Go through an illusory wall to the east and down some stairs. You
will find the fourth disc (Moon Disc) in a chest. You now have a
complete set. Now, head north along the easternmost wall of the
city from the blue knight's tomb. Throw a switch and open a north
wall. Beware of the rolling rock. You will see a stone block to
your left. Destroy it and throw a switch. Keep moving north. You
will see a pressure plate in an alcove to your left. Put a stone
block on it (or a rock bag). Now go around to the west side of this
tomb and enter. You will find an illusory wall on the inner east
side in an alcove.  Enter and take the stairs down.

You will find the evil spirit the blue knight talked about. Talk to
this clown, then take his soul.  Drop the soul house on the floor,
because you won't need it. Enter the room to the north.  Talk to
the lady ghost. Do NOT take her soul. Let her go. Now, return to
the blue knight's tomb.  Tell him what happened then take his soul.
You can get rid of the third soul house. It's not needed. You know
have another quest item.  Store it away. Go ahead and take the
armor in the chest now. It was cursed before. Now it is the best
armor you will find in the game.  It also looks a lot better than
any other armor (I like the War Armor the best, but it's wimpy).
Too bad they don't have a dry cleaners in this world.  The blood
stains are annoying.

Anyway, you can now explore the city anyway you like. Here are
descriptions of the more tricky tombs. NW of the City is a healing
altar. A few paces east of there is a Mana Altar. Both are at the
north. A few more paces east of the Mana altar is an exit to an
outside viewing area, where you can look at the scar. You will meet
Nula there if you are playing a male character. She will give you
the Fall Equinox disc. If you are playing a woman character, no one
will be there.  South of the healing altar is a tomb. There is a
illusory wall on its east side that leads to a complex area.  Take
the stairs down, get all the rocks you can from the chest and
surrounding area. A plate in the floor opens a wall. Go in and
ignore the plate near the east wall. Put a bag on rocks on each of
the two plates in the side passage and enter the teleporter. You
are now in a room with four pressure plates. Put one rock on each
plate, then step through the 'porter. Take your rock bags off the
two plates and you can now enter the area. Near one of the chests
is a spinner. Make sure you are facing the right way. It has a ruby
shard. Now go back to the door with the hold next to it and load in
the ruby shard. You will get a wand of unmaking which is a very
powerful weapon. Save it for the nasty monsters later in the game.
Just south of the NW area is a graveyard. One of the monsters will
drop a Onyx Raven key that'll let you into a tomb nearby. The rest
of this place is pretty simple.  Just look for illusory walls and
you won't miss a thing.

When you're done, go back into the Temple and take the 'porter to
your left. You will be taken to the exit of the temple.

@~More in issue 46









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