Ultima Ascension - Part 2

               Hints and tips by Vic Horsley

Continued from last issue

If you have not been taking the Sigils with you after cleansing
the shrines now may be a good time to go back and retrieve them,
as they will be required near the end of the game, on the other
hand, they can be left until you need them but this will entail a
lot of retracing.

When you are able to sail the ship yourself it is possible to go
anywhere that you want to, it is not necessary to find a port or
even a Jetty, bumping up onto a beach or rock will do, the only
drawback to this is time, Raven is so much quicker, so it depends
on where you want to go.

On your way to Destard stop off at the castle and clear your
backpack and all the bags that you are carrying, do not take
anything as there is so much to pick up in this dungeon, that you
need every bit of room that can be spared, 1 had my back pack and
eleven bags (pouches) and still didn't have enough room.

When you first visit Valoria you will be sent to Destard, this is
on the main island and west of Britain, to get in you have to melt
the entrance that is sealed by ice, use Fireball. It takes three
or four attempts, this entrance is directly south of the column up
in the mountains between the peaks, it shows as a square of rocks
with a ice floor and there's a body laying to one side, it is very
close to the column so don't wander off, when melted you will drop
down into a cave.

On the first level of Destard you will come to a cavern that is
obviously a nest, it is packed with eggs and it may appear that
you have to take these eggs or at least some of them but it's not
them you need but pieces of magic egg shell. One of these can be
found at the far side of this cavern but run swiftly or you will
be in for a shock, there are five pieces altogether and they are
spread about the caves and dungeons, they need to be placed on the
plinths in the centre of the first large cavern that you came to
after entering Destard.

If you go slowly down to the Dragon's chamber but don't step in
you will be able to pick her off at long range, if you are hitting
her, she will jump as the arrows hit home, it doesn't take very
many shots, as you try to leave on picking up her head a magic
curtain closes the entrance but this can be passed by slipping
down one side of it, you may need to move about a little to
squeeze by.

After travelling through the teleporter and going along a couple
of passages you will come to a cave that has a beast that not only
keeps appearing and disappearing but also produces lava hounds,
these are easy enough to get rid of but he isn't and this you need
to do. When you come to this cave to enter you will have to go up
a flight of steps, so first save (very important), then go to the
top of the stair and do a little jump just on to the ledge in
front of you, if you are lucky he will materialise just below you
(this is by far the best place), use your spells and hit him with
all that you have i.e. Fireball, Lightning Bolt and even Stone, it
takes a long time to kill him but it is the best way, if he
doesn't materialise just below you, I suggest you start again he
will eventually:- you must kill him as he has the book that gives
you the word to escape this dungeon but I will tell you that the
word for Power is INOPIA.

When you first step ashore in Skara Brae, Shamino will speak to
you then move on and the fallen statue will talk to you, do as she
says and from her, head roughly north west along a stone pathway
and into the water, dive down go through the opening and up the
stairs, jump into the well you will now be in the spirit world. Go
and talk with all the spirits, if you go up the path with the
large statue heads either side and through the tunnels you will
come to Shamino but there is nothing you can do here at present,
so it's up to you if you wish to leave it, now return to Skara
Brae the way you came.

When you get to Skara Brae you will first be told to go and get
the Bell, Book and Candle, it does not seem to make any difference
in what order you go for the Bell and Candle but on your way it is
a good time to do a little exploring and cover areas that you have
bypassed in the past for example the Candle is at Empath Abbey,
which is close to the dungeon Wrong, so I travelled up the eastern
coastline to Wrong then headed towards Yew and dropped down from
the mountains to the abbey. If you climb back up at the same spot
and walk up the pass a little way you will be able to jump down
into Stonegate and there teleport back to Britain as you did near
the beginning of this game.

To get the Candle of Love at Empath Abbey, light the three
braziers and stand in the middle of the two smaller ones, this
raises the temple and you can jump up and retrieve the candle.

The Bell is at Serpent's Hold, the best way to get there is to
take charge of the ship yourself (left click on the ship then
right click to steer a direction) go to the south west until you
notice the buildings of Trinsic, follow the coast down and you
should reach Serpent's Hold, it is just off the most south eastern
tip of Trinsic.

It means diving at Serpent's Hold, there is a submerged building
quite close to one of the smaller islands, which can be seen from
the shore (save your game) dive into the middle of the building,
you are looking for a oblong opening in the floor, go down this to
a passage and along and up into the dungeon, it may be necessary
to attempt a few tries at this, as it's a long dive.  When you
make it you face several ghost warriors around the passageways, so
first save then run they can easily be passed, next lots of health
recharging and saving, then, key in chest. Find and open door,
close this door as soon as you can, then do a lot of quick
recharges of your health or a potion and give the mage everything
with Fireballs, once he stops returning fire finish him off with a
arrow or two. When you've got this far you can relax a little and
take stock, get the boots, leave the room, get the Bell and leave
the way you came.

Go to the Lycaeum in Moonglow only after you have the Bell and
Candle, you will be asked a question, to which the answer is Yes I
am.  The Book will now be available for you to take.

Return to Skara Brae, through to the spirit world and on to the
tunnels. At the end of the first tunnel I placed the Ankh in the
centre dish on the stone, then down the second tunnel to Shamino.
First light the four glowing braziers, this removes the light
around Shamino, then place the Book on the stand to the right of
the Altar, the Candle on the stand above the Altar and the Bell on
the stand to the left of the Altar and in that order.  Now read
the book, light the candle and ring the bell, again in that order,
then chant the mantra which is Om.  Shamino will talk, follow
story and leave the way you came, I picked up the Ankh on the way
out, return to ship.

It is now off to the Isle of the Avatar but you need a Demon
Skull, this is already on a post by the Pentagon when you get
there, a Red Candle if you took the one from Destard OK if not you
will have to go back for it, the same goes for Black Rock from
Minoc, the other items are Sulphurous Ash and Spider Silk.  If you
have to go back for the Candle, the chances are that you did not
complete the ritual there and probably can't take the items out of
the bowls in each corner, one way to release them is to first take
the head (which can be removed) and the flask of blood to the
centre of the pentagon, place them then left click on them, a
beast will appear, a couple of swipes with your Blackrock sword
will dispatch him and you will be able to remove the other items.

After doing the ritual and passing through the aim is to jump down
between the statues with the light beams, however there is a lot
to be had by searching around first but watch out for the beasts
who materialise all over the place, they are easy to dispatch
though.

Once inside the Abyss you have to use the teleporters to move
about and on each level there are puzzles and problems to work
out, although not all have to have a final result, so if stuck
just move along, all will be resolved in the end, though you may
lose a few prizes.

After teleporting a couple of times you will come to a room that
has an Ice barrier in its centre and a pedestal to one side, into
this has to be placed the coloured balls that you will find, they
will help break the barrier, as will other puzzles that you solve.

The main aim here is to get down below and that is through the Ice
barrier in the main room, however to achieve this you first need
to go up and into the domain of a Blue Dragon, who you will have
to dispatch, to kill him you need to get right on top of his rock
and fire your arrows at him. This will open another teleporter on
another rock close by.

The Blue Dragon area is negotiated by jumping between many
pillars, to make it more awkward there is a mist that thickens and
fades, so be careful when jumping, also there are a number of
ghost dragons that fire lightening at you if you get near enough,
it may be best not to tackle these but if you must be prepared to
use a lot of ammunition.

Light all the braziers that you see, even the ones that appear to
be glowing, these do open other areas.

One area near the end of this level looks like a desert canyon
with a dead end, you need to get up high and the best way is to
stand under the overhead bridge, turn completely around in the
other direction and head to the other side, jump up starting with
the small boulders then to the larger ones and on to the large
stone platforms, move upwards until you can't go any further, now
go to the left and start jumping down. As you go look over the
edge all way around until you see a number of treasure chests
below, jump down to these but be prepared for a fight, when you
have finished with these chests another teleporter will open close
by and you should now be able to get through that Ice barrier and
down to where the King is waiting.

After the King teleports you out of the Abyss you will need to go
to the top of the cliffs. There are two ways, one to the left that
will take you past the ghost dragon (fight or run) or one first to
your right then turning left go up and around the cliffs keeping
to the left path all the way to the top, there is just a spider to
beat here. At the top and as far ahead of you as is possible to go
are two totem poles with pointed tops, they are half obscured by
rocks, these rocks are the opening to a deep cave which is guarded
by one spider, kill it then the rest is safe except it is very
dark but if you edge your way down you will come to the light and
the Codex Altar.

If you are happy that you have everything, head back to Britain,
the King is waiting on the west lawn to teleport you to the
Spirituality level. You will be coming back, so don't worry if you
have forgotten something that needs looking at, as you will still
have time for this later, before you speak to the King save your
game, this is very important here as I crashed no less than seven
times (there seems to be several conflicts here i.e.  graphics and
music, I also noticed it in Moonglow), as you move between the
different platforms in this section you will talk with the ghosts,
so save after finishing with each of them.

Spirituality is the last of the shrines to be cleansed and you get
there by teleporting from the main platform, that's the one with
the plinths (columns) on either side.

On returning to the main platform, talk to the knight who is now
whole again, all the other ghosts have left, so jump over to the
next platform and go left and back to the portal from where you
first entered this world, this needs to be done fairly quickly, if
you decide to go other ways the portal is likely to disappear and
you will be stuck in this area.

To be concluded next issue











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