Might and Magic VI - The Mandate of Heaven (Part 9)
 Solution copyright (c) Mike Marcelais. Version 1.0, June 6, 1998
               See also the map in this issue

                 Supplied by Carolyn Brown

@~Continued from Issue 64

Eel Infested Waters
-------------------
This overland area resets every 8 months.

Travel
By boat (north): 2 days, 400gp to Silver Cove (Monday).
By boat (south): 1 day, 200gp to North Island (Saturday).

Locations
1 Inn
   Night: 20gp; Food: 14 for 28gp.
2 Pat Skylark teaches Expert in Ancient Weapons.
3 Alchemist Store
   Buy: 4.0; Sell: 6.0
4 Temple
5 Castle Alamos
6 Excalibur is the sword in the stone here.
7 Docks
8 Fountain that gives +20 magic resistance for a day.
9 Inn
   Night: 20gp; Food: 14 for 28gp.
   Ki Lo Nee teaches Mastery in Light Magic to those with
Saintly Reputations.
10 Docks
11 Shrine of Poison
12 Obelisk #13
13 Fountain that gives +20 elemental resistances for a day.

Castle Alamos

At the entrance, turn left and then left again, heading up the
stairs. The passage is defended by Magyars. Fight your way up to a
cross-passage. Clear out the north and south rooms and continue
east, turning south at the T intersection.

When the corridor turns northwards, continue past the door (it's
locked -- you need the Teleporter Key) and keep going downwards.
You will arrive in a large room with a pool. Head out the tunnel
to the west side of the room and follow it all of the way around
the pool room. Then take the pair of corridors to the south that
branch off of the corridor going around the pool room.

Clear out this very large room of Magyars (Prismatic Light helps a
lot here), and continue clearing out rooms to the southwest. In
the northeast of the first room is a tree that has this message
carved into it: "The third is the first of twenty-six, A through Z
you'll have to mix."

Clear out the four rooms in a counterclockwise order. Then return
to the western section and head through the arches on the west
side. Head up the stairs and through the room. When you finish
climbing stairs, turn east at the top of the stairs and head down
a long hallway back to the bridge over the room you just went
through.

Clear out the six side rooms on this hallway, then cross the
bridge and clear out the six side rooms on the north hallway.
(The north hallway also leads back to the entrance.) Then, from
the north hallway, follow it east towards the center of the hub
where the four rooms come together.

As you enter the room, you will be on a ledge around a room.
Before jumping down, head around to the south side of the room and
clear out a small room there. Then jump down the ledge. Then jump
into one of the four holes in the floor here (they all lead the
same place). In the lowest room, there is a tunnel running
east-west which periodically shoots a fireball down its length,
and a ramp to the north. Go up the ramp and take the east passage
from here.  It turns and leads to a side opening on the tunnel
where the fireballs shoot down. If you time it, you can get into
the room where the balls are coming from. There's treasure in this
room.  Return and repeat this process on the west passage. The run
is much longer, but you are also running the same direction as the
fireballs.

The end of the corridor is a room that runs beneath a bridge that
connects the north south hallways of the floor above. In the
corner of this room is a tree that gives you the following riddle:
"The first is half the fourth plus one, better hurry or you'll be
done."

Return back down the corridor to the "hub" room, go up the ramp,
turn west, except this time, don't turn into the fireball corridor
but continue straight through it to a matching passage on the
other side. Keep going straight until you get to a room that has
another tree in it and a switch. Flip the switch. (To be honest,
I'm not exactly sure what it does, but it can't be bad!) The tree
gives the following riddle: "The second is next to the third, oh
so pretty like a bird."  Continue straight. When the corridor
ends, turn east and head up and clean out a small room of
sorcerers. (If you don't, they can attack you through a hole in
the wall a little later and make your life miserable). Then return
back down and head through the archway west. You will end up in a
room with lots of food sacks in it. Clear out the room. The north
exit leads back to the room with the fireball shooter in it; take
the south exit instead.  The first side passage on the right leads
to an opening high above the ground where the room with the
"second" tree riddle is. The first passage to the left leads to a
large, straight room.  Proceed through that, through the openings
in the far wall, and head down the stairs.

The corridor will loop around and run along the previous room, but
as a balcony, and then continue into a very large room filled with
about twenty elementals and warlocks. When they are all dead, head
to the room in the southeast corner. In the upstairs section of
the room, there is a letter from Archibald to Gharik demanding
that he unlock the secrets in the crystal. He is referring to the
Memory Crystal that you need to find.

Now head north out of the room. On the west wall, there is a
section where the wall seems to swim and shimmer. If you click on
the wall, you'll be teleported to a small room with some magicians
in it. There is also another wall face that "swims" in this room.
Clicking on that will take you to the east of the four large rooms
that surrounds the "hub".  Continue down the corridor north and
east to arrive in a large room filled with more warlocks, both in
pits in the room and along a raised step all along the edge of the
room. When you have finished with them, head out the north exit
from the raised step. This path leads back to the northeast exit
from the hub.  Go through the hub and out the southwest side (on
this same level), and proceed south down the corridor.  The first
door on the east leads to another (even higher off the ground)
entrance to the room with the "second" tree riddle. To the south
is a pool and a door that opens back to the corridor.  Trying to
open this door will summon a large number of air elementals into
the room (and not open the door). The stairs upwards lead up to a
room with a chest.  Continue south, turn east, and return back
down the passage that got you to the very large room. When you
return all of the way back to the curving corridor, take the
passage west (turning to north) and head down the stairs and open
the door.

The door leads back to the large rooms around the "hub". Go to the
west section and return to the room with the ledge and the pits of
warlocks. Exit through the south door. This leads to another large
room, filled with more sorcerers, warlocks, and air elementals.
Whew!

When you get done, look at the passage between the two rooms.
There is a small passage that leads steeply down. In that room at
the bottom, in a chest, is a Teleporter Key. Get that key.

Return to the south of the two rooms and raid the chests and
bodies there. The chest will have another important key: a
Treasure Room key. There is also a tree down here that gives the
following riddle: "The fourth is eight from the end. Archibald
really is your friend."

Continuing down the corridor to the southwest, there is a door
that requires the Treasure Room key to open. Most of the treasure
(which I believe is randomly generated) was crap; but I did find a
very nice Divine Dagger of Darkness in one of the chests.

Return to the hub, take the southwest exit (on the upper level)
and continue down the south corridor to the large battle room.
Enter the room to the west and go to the north section. That piece
of flooring will rise up to a second level. Then walk towards the
south and you'll see an opening that leads out to the floor below.
Step over the edge carefully -- you will see a narrow support that
you can walk along to get to a door up on the second level.

As you enter that doorway, you will be prompted for a password.
That's what all of the messages for the trees are. (If I ever
design a secure fortress, I will not grow trees that tell
intruders what my passwords are.) The password is "JBARD":
   ? The first is half the fourth plus one. "R" is the 18th
     letter, half that is the ninth, plus 1 is the tenth: "J".
   ? The second is next to the third: "B".
   ? The third is the first of twenty six: "A".
   ? The fourth is eight from the end; Archibald is really your
     friend. The eighth letter from the end of Archibald is "R".
   ? The fifth is twice the second: "D"

In the room behind it is Memory Crystal Beta ... yes, I know the
Oracle said you were supposed to find Memory Crystal Epsilon here.
Epsilon is actually located in Castle Kriegspire.

Return out towards the hub (taking the north exit from the two
large battle rooms), but right before the tunnel turns to the
southwest, take the north passage. The door at the end of this
passage requires the Teleporter Key to open. (Opening either this
door or the other door that requires the Teleporter Key will cause
both doors to open.) In the room is a teleporter pad and behind
that is a chest in the wall. Loot the chest. If you have the
Memory Crystal, then stepping on the teleporter pad will teleport
you to the coach station at Silver Cove.

@~To be continued



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