Faery Tale Adventure - A Foreigner's Guide to Farr Part 3 Supplied by Dave Booth @~Continued from last issue Chapter 3 : Wildevarr & Pentere This travelogue continues the Guide to Farr. As your travel around Farr, the story of Sariloth and Thorolis will unfold before your eyes. Not until you have completed a number of tasks and collected the required items will access be given to their domains. Listed herein are places in this fair but troubled land to explore. There is no particular sequence in which the locations are listed; discovering the wonders of Farr is a worthy quest in itself. Where an item of especial value can be found, it is *marked* for your convenience. These will be essential to the success of your mission. Please be careful! There are many powerful enemies in your path. WILDEVARR Fiery Cave (633/155) Occupants are Fire Wisps and a Flame Giant. They can cast fireballs. Ouch! Never mind, there's experience and a little treasure in here. Cave of Kram the Mad (642/575) There's a fireball-spitting gargoyle near the front hall, and Goblins form the welcoming party. Further on, down some stairs, are Ghouls guarding the way to a square room containing three cages, a pressure plate, and three levers. Separate the party. Hit the levers and walk on the plate to open each cage in turn. Kill the occupants; one has an Oak Key. This opens the exit gate to the East. Down some more stairs, more Ghouls and levers. Split the party again, one operates the levers to open the two doors beyond. Meet Kram and listen to his little speech. Then kill him. ;) His scroll reveals that Krammy boy was in difficulty with Sariloth for incompetence! If only he had placed the Tapstone of Wildevarr. Also Sariloth's mate Roska is not happy at the appearance of the Brothers. A secret door in Kram's office leads to gold, gems, a steel breastplate, firebrand arrows, and best of all, a *Tesseract Key*. Whoopee, now you can use the Overworld to fast travel. The Amber Castle The approach to the Castle is guarded by lots of Swarms of Pixies, little flying buggers who paralyse your guys but don't seem to inflict much damage, though they can be accompanied by Hobgoblins who definitely do hurt you. Once inside, you're presented with a classic levers-n-doors puzzle. Nip upstairs and flip the switches like so : DDU - to West room - teleport to a room with Wyverns and a Chest with a Wand of Demon Dancer and 43 gemstones. A Wyvern drops the Sapphire Key. Out through the in teleport. DUD - to South-East room - Hobgoblins, Chest with Emerald Key and a scroll explaining the legend of the Darksweeper sword. Loot armour from the Hobgobs. Another chest holds a Blizzard Wand. UDD - to North-East room - Lava Golems, Chest with Bloodstone Key. The Emerald, Bloodstone and Sapphire Keys open the three doors in the corridor to the north of the entrance. Through the teleport is a dungeon with orange mana, a scroll of Maelstrom (ice spell), and battles against Brass Slimes, Giant Spiders, Skeleton Lords, and the giant dragon Irrasstikan. This last battle is tough as heck - I sent one bro' in at a time, using magic to plug him. For your pains you'll receive a *Golden Apple*, *Tesseract Key* (if you didn't get one from Kram), scroll of Rejoin, a scroll that tells you that Sariloth is with Kaidar in the caves of Hethrallin, a grass jerkin (resists lightning, poison, orange and green magic!), a scroll of Flaming Aura (single target at range), a ruby amulet (prot vs heat & fire), and firebrand arrows. Phew! If that all looks enticing, be warned that I didn't pick up an Emerald Key from a Wyvern on my first trip to the Castle. Good job though, my characters could never have taken on Irrasstikan on the first tour of duty. PENTERE Bilton (1320/637) There was a scroll in the Goblin Fort which mentioned this place as the source of the Blight. Okay then, time to clean it up. Talking to the Guards and townsfolk will get you lots of info on where in Farr to get trained, armour, food and magic stuff. Others will explain where the Elves and Dwarves hang out - in Hethrallin and Aroblin respectively. Some talk obliquely about forces in Bilton 'that you cannot understand'. Tosh. A bit more exploration will sort that out. Near the Slaughter Yard (where no slaughtering happens, it seems) is a hut. In there is a scroll from a family man who's gone to the Halls of the Dead to persuade old S to relieve the Blight. What a prawn. Gully's Bakery holds another scroll, this one penned by Hogsbreath the Jester. It tells of the Golden Apples needed to revive the stone statue in Padavis, and how Sariloth stole and hid them. Boo-hiss. The owner, Rollo Gully, thoughtfully points you at the Amber Castle to get one. Nice fellow, that Rollo. The Elegant Ornament shop is well worth a visit. Provided you have the cash, you can pick up magic jewellery here. It certainly made life easier! The magical stuff on offer is a Jade Necklace (anti Poison/Green magic), Sapphire Ring (anti Cold/Blue magic), Ruby Ring (anti Heat/Red magic), and a Gold Ring (Anti Fire/Yellow magic). Ignore the Medallion and Gold Bracelet, they're useless. If you're really up on your luck moneywise, visit Atticus Barnable the locksmith and stock up on some keys. At 200 gp each they're not cheap though. Swine's Pride has a scroll of Death Cloud (area at range). This is a powerful spell but your characters are susceptible to it, so watch out when using it. Wander out of the merchant's quarter and you'll end up in the posh part of town. The nobles sure like to power dress. Most are dismissive of mere adventurers, and downright scathing of the peasants. Never mind. There's a big dwelling where they are all taking tea or something, in which you'll find a scroll which mentions the Seven Evils - the Tapstones! Count Ranick's place is good for stocking up on free mana, and has a Scroll with a story about the three Keys - Raikain, Tesseract, and the Unnamed. The nearby Wizard's Guild is home to Gulchmay. He will train you in magic, though (like all magicians) his prices are extortionate. There's a couple of books dealing with famous (if all barking mad) mages, plus a Parchment describing the Rock of Despair. To the north-east is the barracks, populated by folk of the Dwarven race. As expected, they love to fight, and like to brag about it too. Read 'Big People & How to Cope' for a Dwarfs-eye view of the world. Head for the Castle. This is where things get interesting. Nimdok the Flautist has carelessly left his Diary lying around. It tells of how he screwed Jar Dighton for money by promising that his flute would dispel the rats, which (as you know from visiting Padavis) it didn't. I didn't take this to Jar for a reaction - give it a whirl? You also find a Scroll of Cold Shield, and then the stairs to the Cellar. Thump the Ogres about until you find and dispose of Iron Jack. He has an enchanted Greatsword. A nearby cookbook is proof of how much the Ogres like Elves (stewed ones that is). On to a room full of Ghouls and a Wand of Fireballs. Beyond, the double act of Bluto and Pluto awaits. They're the guards to the Royal Crypt. After skewering them, move on to the Crypt, where you'll see the graves of King Kaiger, Queen Esmerelda, and the Eternal Gatekeeper. Oooh. Over in the corner is the Celestial Orb. Looks nice, doesn't it? So smash it to bits, it contains a Brass Key. This wakens up Kaiger 'n co, who don't take to your vandalism too well. Pity they don't take too well to a good bludgeoning either. Use the key on the east gate, then fight your way out and up to ultimately meet Smash. Show him the fast track route to eternal rest. Divest his body of the loot (an Enchanted Warhammer, Mithril Armor including a Helm - the only one I found in the game), then go on to find the *Tapstone of Pentere*. When you pick it up the Golden Tree springs back to life! Round here are scrolls which shed light on the existence of the sunken city of Tamnath, and notes on Aroblin, land of the Dwarves. Other locations Healers : 1351/925 Peddlers : 1328/968 Signposts : 306/979 Filmore - NW, Forest Elf Town - SE 828/509 Castle Jovanc - N, Amber Castle - SE, Aroblin Coach House - SE, Padavis - NW. Empty Houses : 625/315 Magic Fountains (to recharge wands) : 1086/1397 That's all in Padavis and Pentere; the lands of Hethrallin and Aroblin beckon! More later. @~... NEXT issue! - o -