Steve's Guide to Divine Divinity
================================
(A Divine Divinity walkthrough)
Last updated: 16th April, 2003
Introduction
============
Divine Divinity is a classic fantasy RPG, with a great soundtrack and a
fair dose of humour thrown in. Fighting-wise it plays something like Diablo,
and quest-wise something like Baldur's Gate. You won't be finishing it in a
hurry either. My first run through took me nearly 100 hours!
Conventions
===========
Once again, I've chosen to eschew that handy yet game spoiling Table of
Contents. OK, so this Guide is loaded with outright spoilers anyway, but I
try not to ruin all the fun right up front by providing you with a listing of
all the important locations you will visit. If you're looking for references
to a particular location, person, weapon, etc., then just search for it in
your browser.
Directions are given assuming that the top of your screen is north, and
the longer direction names are abbreviated, like SW for southwest.
Tips
====
Before you even THINK about starting to play, download and apply the
latest 'hot fix' (version 1.0032 at the time of writing), which may be
obtained here on the official Divine Divinity site: http://www.larian.com/
You can play as either a Warrior, Survivor (cross between a rogue and a
thief), or a Wizard. Since you can freely choose skills from any class, I
would recommend that you play as a Warrior the first time through, making use
of Wizard spells like Freeze to augment your combat abilities, and Survivor
skills like Lockpick to get you past locked doors and chests. As with most
RPGs, playing as a pure Wizard is the hardest, especially in the early stages
of the game when your character is relatively weak. Anyway, it's your call.
Being able to choose skills from other classes means that you can build
literally any kind of character you please!
Save your game before talking to each shopkeeper for the very first
time, or before opening a locked cupboard or chest. Reason being... the
items you'll buy or find are RANDOMLY GENERATED each time. Those of you with
much patience can keep reloading until you get the items you want! And you
should also save the game before you have shopkeepers identify items for you.
An item is usually worth more after it's identified, but if it's not worth
more than the cost of identification, you just lost some money :-(
Remember to save after every battle, or even partway through a really
tough one when you've made significant progress. There's nothing worse than
traversing a large area, fighting five tough battles along the way, then
having to do it all over again because you got killed in the sixth battle
without having a prior save!
There are a few 'killer' skills in this game, that make it possible to
defeat even the toughest creatures. You would be well advised to have at
least one of them in your repertoire, though using them too often can make
the game too easy:
* Freeze - immobilises your enemies for 3 seconds per level of the spell.
* Poison Weapon - poison on a weapon gets them every time with only a few
blows.
* Deadly Gift - a single death scorpion released from a scorpion trap can
take out nearly anything that moves.
It's not immediately obvious how to pick up or drop a partial amount of
items that are stacked. For instance, say you have 12 scorpion traps together
in your inventory, and you want to drop 6 of them to lighten your load. What
you do is: drag them out of your inventory, then before you drop them on the
ground, hold down the Ctrl key. When you then drop them, you will get a panel
allowing you to select just how how many you want to drop. Of course, the
process works the same for picking things up: hold down the Ctrl key while
dragging the items into your inventory.
It's also not obvious how to use scorpion traps and trail bombs. You first
need to take at least one level of the Survivor skill Deadly Gift. Then when
you select that skill and right-click, you'll get a choice of which type of
item to use (based on what's currently in your inventory). Click on the item
type to use, then the next time you right-click, an item of the type you chose
will be deployed.
Another skill worth having is the Warrior's Enchant Weapon skill. Once you
have at least one level of this skill, when you click on an equipped weapon
or piece of armour that can be charmed, you'll see how many free charm slots
that item has. You can then drag charms from your inventory into a free charm
slot. Be careful about applying powerful charms to not particularly powerful
items that you are likely to ditch later on, because there's no way to reclaim
the charms from items you no longer have equipped.
Even though there is a specialised Survivor skill that you can use to
poison arrows, you can also just as easily use the Poison Weapon skill to
poison any bow or crossbow! It's handy to have a decent ranged weapon early
on in the game for taking on enemies that can kill you with a single blow
should they get too close.
You need at least 2 levels of Alchemy skill before you can drop flasks
onto mushrooms to make potions. Alchemy is a skill well worth having, as it
saves you having to buy potions all the time.
Make an effort to find the various teleporters scattered throughout the
land, and the scrolls that activate those that belong to each race. The
teleporter I used most was the one behind the Ars Magicana shop, as there are
several nice shops in that immediate area that you can use to identify and
trade valuable items that you find. Early on in the game, a wizard will give
you a map of the teleporters. Study it carefully, because it gives you a very
good idea of the layout of the entire kingdom. Don't worry though. I'll tell
you where you can find the activation scrolls for each race's teleporters,
and will also provide the locations of the most important teleporters :-)
You should use the blue flags to mark places of interest, especially in
the first village until you get used to finding your way around. Also useful
in dungeons for marking exits from each level, etc. Be sure to make use of
the mini-map too. Stick it in any corner of your screen, and it will alert
you to approaching monsters, as well as helping you to run quickly through
areas that you've already visited.
Well, that's probably enough of the up-front stuff for now. Bring on the
demons!
Aleroth
=======
You find yourself next to a bed in someone's basement. You'll be coming
back here a lot to rest, a much more economical way to restore health and
mana than by quaffing potions! Pick up the Minor Health Potion from the table
to your right, then go upstairs and grab the Worn Dirk off the table. There's
also a Minor Health Potion on a table in the room to the east. When you walk
into the room to the west, Joram, one of the Aleroth healers, starts speaking
to you. If you pursue all the conversation paths, you'll get Quest 1 below.
In the graveyard in the north part of Aleroth, there's a grave with a
bronze key on it. This key opens the house just NE of Joram's. Move the boxes
there to reveal a hatch. In the cellar, when you approach the locked vase in
the centre, Jake the zombie (yup, that was his grave) will appear. I managed
to kill him with a high level 2 character using a dirk that gave me
Assassin's Kiss. If you can do this, it's worth a whole lot of XP and will
take you nearly to level 4! Good luck. You can always wait till a little
later on to tackle Jake if he's too tough for you now.
There's a locked house all the way in the NE part of Aleroth. The door is
on the east side. The key is in a barrel next to the door. You can sleep in
the bed there, but why bother as you've already got the use of the one in
Joram's cellar? You can gain entrance to the cellar here through a hatch.
Just a few barrels down there. I happened to find some scorpion traps in one.
When you first attempt to leave Aleroth, Seth will stop you. See Quest 11
below.
Quests
------
1. Restore Mardaneus' sanity - 11000 XP and Reputation +3.
You get this quest by talking to Joram at the very start of the game. It
seems that the healer Mardaneus may have been possessed by a demon. Indeed,
as soon as you exit Joram's house, you witness a cut scene between Lanilor,
another of the healers, and Mardaneus, who does seem to be spouting some
strange dialogue. So, head SW and witness another scene whereby Mardaneus
mistakes Lanilor for a demon and casts Freeze on the poor blighter. You
now have Quest 2 as well.
2. Rescue Lanilor the elf from his icy prison - 1000 XP.
Mardaneus has barred his front door, and rest assured your Lockpick skills
are too lacking at this stage to open it. However, if you enter the wooden
well to the east of Mardaneus' house, you gain entrance to his basement. On
a wooden box to the south is a bronze key that gets you past the locked door
further to the south. Just head SW then, and up the ladder into Mardaneus'
house. Speak with him, and it's easier than you think to convince him to
reverse the spell on Lanilor. When you speak to Lanilor after he's unfrozen,
he'll tell you that he feels the secret to Mardaneus' sanity most likely
lies in the catacombs beneath Aleroth (and thus you receive Quest 3). After
completing this quest, you have the run of Mardaneus' house. There's a key
on the floor of his front room. It unlocks the chest in the back room,
which usually contains a decent weapon or piece of armour.
3. Unlock the entrance to the catacombs beneath Aleroth - 1000 XP.
The entrance to the catacombs is in the very centre of Aleroth. Lanilor told
you what to do, but you could easily figure out that you need to rotate all
4 dragon statues to the north just by playing with them, because they click
into place. I wouldn't venture down here until you're at least a level 2
character with the best armour and weapon (or spell) you can arm. And it also
helps to have one of Lanilor's teleporter pyramids (see Quest 4) with you,
the other right near the bed in Joram's basement. You should also probably
complete Quests 6 and 7, which gives you level 1 Restoration. Anyway, once
you decide to venture into the catacombs...
Catacombs level 1
Immediately you enter, to the south, you'll find a book left by Mardaneus
within a pentagram of candles warning you not to go into the catacombs. Sure
thing! On the wall to the north there is a lever that opens the locked door
to the east. Keep wandering until you find another lever that takes you
through another locked door (there's a locked door before that you will need
a special key to get through). Then you get to fight your first skeletons.
Next you'll find a blue magic orb, and then a sapphire key (this gets you
through that door you couldn't unlock earlier, but there's really no need to
go back there). Keep on wandering until you have found 3 magic orbs. Finally,
you'll come to a room containing another pentagram of candles. Lighting the
candles summons a skeletal warrior, not too tough to defeat. There's a locked
door to the west here, opened by a lever on the north wall. At the end of a
corridor after this door, you'll encounter a party of orcs. Talk to their
leader, Smiruk, to obtain Quest 8. From there, continue south. All the way in
the SW part of this level you will find a large female statue with a book
lodged behind it. Read the sad story of Gregar Brock. Lighting the candle
there will summon Gregar, and he makes a tenacious fighting companion with a
lot of vitality to spare. Don't take him above ground though, or he will
instantly perish (thankfully, above ground does not include your bed in
Joram's cellar, where you can teleport to for occasional rest even with
Gregar in your company). In a room to the north of where you found Gregar,
there's a room containing 3 pentagrams. A manuscript there from the evil
Thelyron tells you what must be done. Place each of the magic orbs you found
in the centre of a pentagram, and a portal opens up! Going through the portal
gets you past a locked door into the next room. There are 2 stairways there.
The one leading up takes you back outside, and you don't want to go there
yet. So, take the stairway that leads down to...
Catacombs level 2
On this level, the monsters get a bit tougher :-( There are quite a few
axes lying around with ID level 2, but none of these is Slasher. However,
there are two small rooms to the north of this level. The one to the east has
a floor tile in it leads you to Slasher (the broad axe in a room to the SE
that needs ID level 4), but you have to get past a tough skeletal guardian
first. Take Slasher back to Smiruk, but MAKE SURE you don't have any other
axes that you want to keep with you because he takes all of them! He'll
identify Slasher for you using a very novel Identify technique :-) This
completes Quest 8. Of course, you could always hold onto Slasher instead,
but it would be quite a while before you'd be able to wield it. Having it
identified by a shopkeeper and then selling it would be a better option. When
you're ready to leave this level, the entrance to the next level is in a room
to the NW.
Catacombs level 3
Well, the book inside the pentagram here says it all. You'll need to open
the 4 outer tombs before you can open the 2 inner ones. Opening each outer
tomb unleashes quite a few skeletal warriors, and a tough skeletal conjurer,
guardian, or a ghoul, so be prepared. Actually, you can only open ONE of the
inner tombs after you've got the 4 outer ones open, and it may be either the
left one or the right one (both still register as 'locked' even after you've
opened the 4 tombs). This had me confused for quite a while. But either one
takes you down to the next level, and that's the important thing.
Catacombs level 4
This is another sprawling level with little of interest, except to the far
SE there's a lever that unlocks a door which leads to... the room where
Lanilor's lost teleporter pyramid is/was. Kill all the skeletal warriors and
then retrieve the pyramid from the room in the NE of this area, if you don't
already have the thing. There's also a portal stone here which takes you back
to Mardaneus' basement, but that would only have been useful to you earlier
on. In any case, the stairway down to the next level of the catacombs is in a
room to the west of here.
Catacombs level 5
Yes, this is one HECK of a big dungeon. In the four corners of this level
are sets of pedestals, each with a floor tile in the centre. Through each
floor tile is a small room containing a tough monster. I used the skill
Deadly Gift to release a death scorpion to take on the 2 toughest ones. Worth
a lot of XP and treasure. In the one to the SE, I found a Dragon Amulet
amongst some cobwebs. I thought this amulet might be the first piece of the
fabled Dragon Armor set. But alas, when identified, it turned out to be an
Amulet of Glory. Very valuable nonetheless...
The large room in the centre of the level contains the reason you came all
this way. As soon as you enter, a friendly skeleton engages you in
conversation, and explains how they have been trying to resurrect their dead
master for ages, with no success. Of course, this is Thelyron he's talking
about, the necromancer whose journals you've been finding all over the place.
As he demonstrates the ritual they've been performing, it's plain to see that
the skeleton at the NW lever has... abandoned his post. Up to you to take his
place then, and thus you get Quest 9. Once you've resurrected Thelyron, go
talk to him. At first he seems friendly enough for a deadly necromancer, but
then he suddenly freaks out when he realises that life as a resurrected
zombie is really not all it's cracked up to be. He asks you to kill him, and
you have no choice. As soon as your character does this, all hell breaks
loose. Again, I found that releasing a death scorpion or 2 at least keeps the
tougher monsters that appear at bay while you pick apart the easier ones.
Alternatively, you can just run straight out of the room the way you came in.
Mardaneus appears then, and all the creatures die instantly, but you don't
get any of the XP for killing them that way (you also lose out on 2000 bonus
quest XP, and a Reputation point). In either case, a portal appears when you
leave the room, and you can take it back to Aleroth. But make sure to go back
and pick up all the loot first. You've just solved Quest 1, and so long
Gregar Brock if he made it this far!
4. Find the second teleporter pyramid - 1500 XP.
As soon as you open the entrance to the catacombs, Lanilor approaches and
hands you a curious artefact. Now... I recommend dropping the pyramid he
gives you right there, and going after the other one straight away. To do
this, use Browse skills/Drop and use pyramid. You wind up in the midst of a
few skeletons, but you can always teleport straight back, right? As soon as
you arrive in the room with the skeletons, click and hold on the stone there
and drag it into your inventory. Then run over to the east a few paces, hit
the space bar to give yourself a breather, then Browse skills/Use pyramid.
Voila! Right back where you started with both pyramids and 1500 easy XP :-)
5. Collect herbs for George - 500 XP.
George's shop is located in the SE part of Aleroth. After the initial
conversation, he'll ask you to fetch some drudanae for him. When he goes into
the next room to show you, follow him in, then quickly exit and pilfer all
the items from his shop. The key on top of the cabinet that is in the north
part of the room unlocks the chest. If you get this right, George will not
get angry with you, and you've just acquired a whole lot of stuff on the
cheap, most notably some Chain Armor. Then head over to Lanilor (west of
Joram's), and ask his permission to take some herbs from his garden, which is
west of his house. When you return to George with the drudanae, he's got the
door to the next room locked, but you can get in there later on...
6. Find a cure for Verlat - 1500 XP and Reputation +1.
Otho the dwarf healer's house is just to the north of Lanilor's. If you keep
quizzing him about The Source, he'll tell you of the dilemma whereby the
lizard healer Goemoe only has one healing stone left in his shrine, but there
are two wounded soldiers needing a cure. Verlat is Otho's patient, but he
won't tell you where Goemoe's shrine is because he's afraid you'll only save
one of the soldiers. Anyway, head for Goemoe's house, which is to the north
of George's place. Speak to him and you'll get Quest 7.
7. Find a cure for Simon - 1500 XP, Reputation +1, and level 1
Restoration!
Hmm. What can you do with only one healing gem? Well... in the house to the
north of Joram's, you'll find a magic mirror sitting there. A book next to
the mirror explains how to use it. Great, just what we need! So, go to the
healing shrine located just to the north of Goemoe's house and take the one
remaining healing gem. Then, stand in the middle of the pond that is just to
the south of Goemoe's house, drop the magic mirror in, followed by the gem,
and then fish out two gems (the original plus the duplicate). Then go back
to Otho's house and give one of the healing gems to Verlat in the back room
(this completes Quest 6). Then head back to Goemoe's and give the other
healing gem to Simon. Talk to Goemoe afterwards, and he'll teach you the
Restoration spell as a reward.
8. Retrieve the magic axe called Slasher - 3500 XP.
On level 1 of the catacombs, you encounter Smiruk and his party of orcs. His
magic axe, Slasher, is lost somewhere in the catacombs. Must keep an eye out
for it in our travels...
9. Help the dead necromancer - 3500 XP.
You get this quest by speaking to the friendly skeleton in level 5 of the
catacombs. Just take your post at the lever in the NW corner, and the ritual
to resurrect Thelyron will begin. When it's your turn, hit the lever and...
that was easy! I wonder how long those poor fools had been trying to raise
the old guy.
10. George murdered! Expose George's murderer - 54000 XP and
Restoration +1.
When you return to George's shop after completing Quest 1, you'll find that
someone has murdered poor George. You get this quest by speaking to Mardaneus
after you discover George's body. This one could take a while to solve...
meanwhile, you can use one of the keys found by George's body to enter his
locked room. Moving the pillow reveals a composite key, which opens the
locked chest there.
Eventually, you'll have both the requisite stats and the oportunity to avenge
the murder of George. It happens in Verdistis, in the cellar of Pierce's Wine
Barrel, on the east side of the town... once you've killed George's murderer,
return to Mardaneus in Aleroth to collect your reward.
11. Find a solution to the plague problem in Rivertown - 20000 XP and
Reputation +1.
Once you go outside the gates of Aleroth (to the south), the warrior Seth
will shepherd you back inside and you get this quest. Speak to Mardaneus
again, and you will get Quest 12.
12. An escort for the healers - 13000 XP.
Go back and talk to Seth again, and he will tell you to seek out General Alix
in the Rivertown barracks to arrange an escort. So, head straight south along
the path towards Rivertown... once you've gone a fair way's south, you'll be
accosted by a dragon rider. No matter what course of action you take, you're
dead in short order. But fear not, the game shall not end so quickly.
Salvation is there in the form of the wizard Zandalor, who vanquishes your
foe, and is also there to resurrect you. Zandalor puts the Dwarven Bread Inn
on your map (where you're to rendezvous with him and the other Marked Ones),
gives you a map of the teleporters (very useful! Study it), and the scroll of
the teleporters of the mages to get you started. You've also just received
Quests 13 and 14. From there, keep heading south until you find a bridge with
a few soldiers fighting some trolls on it. Help them out. Once over the
bridge, you're in Rivertown. From there, you might want to seek out General
Alix. Just have a good look at the red flags on your world map, and you'll
see the barracks where General Alix is stationed to the SE. The building
where she is located is in the north part of the barracks. Talk to her, and
she will agree to send a party to escort the healers. You'll also get
Rivertown Quest 4 from Alix.
13. Find the teleporter activation scrolls - speedy travel.
Zandalor has given you a map showing the locations of all the teleporters.
When you hover your cursor over one on the map, it shows you which race built
that teleporter, and thus which scroll you need to activate it. So far, using
the scroll of the mages that Zandalor gave you, it's only possible to use the
teleporter located just outside the gates of Aleroth, to the west. Here's
where and how to find the other scrolls:
* Captain Mitox (see Rivertown Quest 4) has the teleporter scroll of the
humans.
* The teleporter scroll of the dwarves is in the possession of a dwarf
named Krasnegar, who is normally in a back room of the Dwarven Bread
Inn. If you politely refuse his offer of gemstones, he walks out and
leaves the scroll on the table... I say normally, because once I was
fighting orcs right outside the Inn, and Krasnegar came out to help. In
that case, he said he was on his way to deliver the scroll to the
dwarven village of Glenborus. However, if you then go into the back
room of the Dwarven Bread Inn, the scroll is still there on the table!
Oh well, I guess he's just a forgetful little guy.
* After you've found an escort for the healers, they'll all be staying at
the Blue Boar Inn for the remainder of the game. Goemoe is in one of
the rooms there, and if you approach him inquiring if he knows anything
about the lizards' teleporter scroll, he'll admit to having it. Once
you tell him that Zandalor gave you the scroll of the mages, he'll
trust you enough to hand over the scroll of the lizards!
* Elredor in the archers guild (far SW of Rivertown) will give you the
teleporter scroll of the elves. Just talk to him.
* The teleporter scroll of the orcs is a bit difficult to come by. You
must enter the tent just to the north of the jail pits, all the way in
the SE of orc territory (the SE section of the Rivertown area). Once
you kill him, the orc chief, Baluk, coughs up a platinum key that you
can use to progressively open all the chests in that tent until you get
to the one with the teleporter scroll in it. Alternatively, once you
have Lockpick level 3, you can just lockpick the chest in the NE corner
of the tent.
* The teleporter scroll of the imps is located in the dungeon underneath
the imps' deserted castle. See Dark Forest Quest 6.
14. Meet the wizard Zandalor at the Dwarven Bread Inn - failed to
complete.
Locate the Dwarven Bread Inn on you map (just to the SE of Stormfist Castle)
and head there. Note one of the dwarves' teleporters located just to the NW
of the inn. You meet another Marked One named Wouter in the back toom. He
tells you that Zandalor has gone to Stormfist Castle to find the third Marked
One. Don't worry that you have apparently failed this quest, as it was
impossible to complete. It's just a plot device. However, you now have
Rivertown Quest 2 to contend with...
Rivertown
=========
This is an enormous area, just over the bridge from Aleroth. You will be
here for a large portion of the game.
In the farmlands part of Rivertown (west side), you will find many bundles
of straw. Two of these can be employed to make a bed. Just click on one that's
lying flat on the ground, and it will spread out to make half a bed. Then
drop another bundle onto it, and... hay presto, a place to sleep! (sorry,
couldn't resist that pun :-) You can carry around two bundles of straw, ready
to make a bed at any time, but they are quite heavy. For the moment, you have
the teleporter pyramids anyway, but later on these will become unavailable
and it's handy knowing how to make a bed then.
In the farmlands area, SW of the Blue Boar Inn, there's a thugs hideout.
The leader is pretty tough to knock off, but he coughs up a key when he dies,
and the locked chest it opens contains 1900+ gold coins, and a few potions.
Just to the NW of the Blue Boar Inn, in the SE corner of a field, you'll
find the farmlands teleporter concealed amongst some bundles of straw.
There is a cathedral immediately to the north of the cursed abbey. As soon
as you enter, you get quest 26 below.
Quests
------
1. Deal with the Trolls - 17500 XP, Reputation +3, and 1300+ gold coins.
Talk to Homer, who is standing outside his farmhouse just to the SE of the
bridge between Aleroth and Rivertown. It would appear the troll lair is
back across the bridge and to the SW. Indeed, there is a cave there. You'd
want to be at least level 10 with a good weapon and/or spell(s) available
before taking on the pack of trolls! I found Poison Weapon to be quite
effective. After you've slain all the trolls, a composite key that you find
gets you into a locked chest in the south part of the cave that contains
1200+ gold coins. When you return to Homer to let him know that you've taken
care of the trolls, he'll give you another 100 gold coins.
2. Find Zandalor - see Quest 24.
When you meet Wouter at the Dwarven Bread Inn, he tells you that Zandalor has
gone to Stormfist Castle. So head on over there and speak with the captain of
the guard. Hmm. Seems you need to doing something heroic in order to gain
entry. You've just been given Quest 3. And it will be quite a while indeed
before you can manage to find our good friend Zandalor...
3. Enter Stormfist Castle - Quest 17.
South of the entrance to Stormfist Castle, you'll find the watch
headquarters. Speak to Commander Ralph there, and it would seem you have 3
options for gaining entrance to Stormfist Castle:
1. Find out who murdered the duke. See Quest 13.
2. Find out what is causing the Rivertown plague. See Quest 9.
3. Help the army to defeat the invading orcs. You accomplish this by
completing Quests 6, 7, and 8.
Completing any one of the above tasks will get you an invitation to the
castle.
4. Contact Captain Mitox - 9000 XP.
General Alix gives you a sealed message to deliver to Captain Mitox, who's
stationed in the village to the SE of here (he's usually inside the general
store, or in that vicinity). Of course, you can open the message and gain a
possibly valuable piece of information from it, but then Captain Mitox will
know you've read it and will be quite angry with you. However, if you agree
to take on Quests 6 for him, he'll get over it. I'll leave it up to you. You
still get the same amount of XP for delivering the message whether you open
it or not. Mitox also hands you the scroll for the human teleporters!
If you approach the village along the road that runs south from the barracks,
you should bump into a poor villager. For a few gold coins, he'll tell you
his story, and put the entrance to a secret mining shaft that runs under the
orc camp on your map. A very handy thing to know.
5. Gareth's feign death potion - 20000 XP and key to weapons room of
the barracks.
Gareth is standing just outside the armoury, in the SW part of the barracks.
He wants you to find him a feign death potion so that he can get out of the
army. Another thing to be on the lookout for. See Quest 26 below for the
solution.
6. Ravage the supply train - 15000 XP and Reputation +3.
You must complete Quest 4 first. Then Captain Mitox marks the location of the
orc supply train on your map, and gives you a barrel of explosives. I'd
suggest using the mining shaft to get there. The hatch entrance to the shaft
is located in a building just to the SW of the general store. Head to the
east, and then south. You'll likely encounter your first giant orc down here.
These suckers are tough. But I found that a combination of Freeze and Poison
Weapon did the job nicely. Once you exit the shaft via the SE exit, you'll
find yourself right in the midst of some heavy orcs, but all you need do is
run over a very short distance to the east where the supply train is, and
drop the explosives that Mitox gave you right in the middle of the supply
train. You witness a nice animation, and your character winds up back by the
mineshaft entrance again! Get out while you can, and return to Mitox, who'll
then give you Quest 7.
7. Poison the orc water supply - 15000 XP and Reputation +3.
Mitox gives you a bottle of poison that his mages have concocted, and marks
the location of the orcs' water supply on your map. This time, you should use
the mining shaft as in Quest 6, but take the exit to the NE instead. It's
still quite a ways from there to the well, but Survivor characters can wait
till nightfall and sneak all the way there (you're going to need a few
stamina potions though). Other character types are going to have to get there
using a combination of running and fighting. Once you've put the poison in
the orc well, it's best to just run all the way back to the mineshaft
entrance. When you report back to Mitox, you get Quest 8.
8. Meet General Alix at the Barracks - 11000 XP.
You have to complete Quests 6 and 7 first, then Mitox suggests you return to
General Alix for a reward. Indeed, when you go the barracks and speak to
Alix, she presents you with an invitation from Duke Janus to visit Stormfist
Castle. See Quest 17.
9. Who is responsible for the harvest disaster? - 11000 XP and
Reputation +1.
There's a large farmhouse just to the NW of the Stormfist Castle walls. Lots
of chickens around the place. Enter via the south of the farmhouse, go
through another door, and you'll find Hugh and his wife Elli. Talk to Hugh,
and you'll discover that all the crops have taken on a sickish green colour.
You suspect poison, but Hugh is not so sure. Well, a bit to the NW of the
poor area of Rivertown, there's a cave guarded by a bunch of orcs. When you
enter the cave (but only after speaking to Hugh first!), you'll find an orc
there named Tipsix and a lot of barrels full of poison. Once you've killed
him, he drops a golden key. Return to Hugh, who then gives you Quest 10.
10. Where does this key fit? - 11000 XP.
You need to complete Quest 9 before you get this quest. Where does the key
fit? Well... seeing as this is a guide, I suppose I must tell you :-) Go to
the Blue Boar Inn. Head through the bar to the west, and then down the hatch.
Your golden key opens a locked door in the SE part of the cellar, and it's
filled with the same barrels of poison as you found in the cave with Tipsix!
Head back up and talk to the owner, Splinter. He tells you that the room in
the cellar is rented to a Dr. Elrath, and puts the location of Elrath's house
on your map, if it isn't there already. So... I think it's time to pay the
good Dr. Elrath a visit, don't you?
Dr. Elrath's house is located just to the SE of the market area. To the SE of
his house there's a boulder next to a wall. Moving it reveals a key. The
front door is a little difficult to find. You have to go to the north side of
the house, and use the Alt key so you can see the door. The key you found
under the boulder gets you in... but Dr. Elrath is usually just sitting right
there (if not, you're in luck). If you've come here as a result of Quest 10,
you can accuse him of storing poison in the basement of the Blue Boar Inn.
But he just says that the key was stolen from him some time ago, and that the
person that stole the key must have put the poison there. Anyway, it doesn't
really matter for what reason you came here. Elrath says he's leaving, turfs
you out, and locks the door again. Now, unless you have at least level 2
Lockpick skill, you can't get back inside!
When you finally do manage to get back into his house, he isn't there, and
you notice that all the interior doors are locked. The trick to opening them
has to do with the lanterns. Here's the order you need to extinguish them in:
first, extinguish the lantern on the west wall, and also the one to the right
of the front door. Then go through the first open door, and extingusih the
lantern right there, which opens the 2nd door. Go into the bedroom next and
extinguish the lantern on the north wall. Then go all the way back and
extinguish the one to the left of the front door. Finally, extinguish the one
next to the first door you opened, and now you can go down into the basement.
Once there, you have to move all the boxes blocking the door to the west.
Then you discover it's locked, but the bronze key for this door is in the
chest on the north wall. Once through the door and into the corridor, be
careful. Elrath has poison-trapped the corridor. Finally, before you open the
next door, be prepared. Elrath has a fearsome creature called a djinn
guarding the place, and it has vitality of 1000+. A poisoned weapon or
scorpion trap is the way to go here. Once though, I got it with about 30
shots from a crossbow by running around in circles so it couldn't touch me
:-) Once you've vanquished the djinn, pick up the 'letter of Elrath' that's
on the table in the centre of the room (you've just completed Aleroth Quest
11). When you go back upstairs, Elrath is waiting there and turfs you out of
the house again. You need to go see Commander Ralph, in the watch building
located south of Stormfist Castle. But Elrath sends some assassins after you,
so be on the alert! Once you get the letter to Commander Ralph, you're home
free and into Stormfist Castle with an invitation from young Duke Janus. See
Quest 17.
11. Looking for missing boy - 11000 XP.
As you approach the market area on the road from the south, a woman named
Caroline will approach you. It appears her little boy is missing, and she
fears he may have been playing near the Dark Cave, to the north of the
market area. She puts the cave on your map. Sure enough, when you enter the
cave, a vampire has taken her son hostage. It would appear that the only way
to save Caroline's son is to let the vampire take a bite out of you instead!
You lose a few stat points by allowing him to bite you (I lost 3 Strength, 1
Agility, 1 Intelligence), but I suppose it's worth it just to save the boy.
You now get Quest 12 as a result. By the way, you did notice that this
vampire bore a striking resemblance to the guy who was accosting George back
in Aleroth shortly before he was killed?
12. Kill the vampire - see Aleroth Quest 10.
After he bites you, the vampire retreats behind his locked door. Once, I was
able to lockpick this door and drive him out of his coffin. But he was too
powerful for me to defeat at this stage in the game. Perhaps later?
13. Expose the duke's murderer - an invitation to Stormfist Castle.
Commander Ralph (located in the watch building to the south of Stormfist
Castle) gives you the name and location of a Merchant in Verdistis, Sir
Dante, who should be able to tell you something more about this affair. The
road to Verdistis is in the far NE of Rivertown...
14. Catch the thief! - 15000 XP and Reputation +3.
There's a farmhouse near the SW corner of Stormfist Castle, with farmers
Reginald and Tom standing outside it. Tom tells you that someone has been
stealing his cows at night, and he'd like you to find out who it is. Well...
you have to wander around and talk to a lot of people to solve this one.
Eventually, you'll meet Dorian. His house is the one in the NW of the poor
area. Enter his cellar through the hatch and you'll find the evidence you're
looking for. If you cover up for him (because he's giving the meat to the
other poor people), then you technically fail to solve this quest, but you
get the XP and Reputation increase documented above, and this does seem like
the best solution to the problem.
15. Philosophy of life - 6000 XP and 1 level of Restoration!
Just north of Stormfist Castle there are 3 people standing on a bend in the
road. Speak with Otto. They would like to worship their god Nemris in
Nericon's Garden (just to the north of here), but they say the gate is locked
and a merchant named Blake has the key. Blake's store is on the west side of
the market area, but he will only give you the key to Nericon's Garden if
your Reputation is high enough. Mine was 18 at the time he finally agreed to
give me the key. Even then, you must pay some gold coins for the privilege.
So... head for Nericon's Garden with Blake's key. Gee, there sure are a lot
of frogs around here. Remember that Blake mentioned something about frogs?
Notice how when you hover your cursor over them that they're for some reason
extremely hostile? Well, the key to solving this quest is that you must kill
all the frogs! A ranged weapon is very helpful in this regard. Once you've
done that, a portal opens. Go through the portal and take all the gold coins
(and the frog statuette if you aren't swimming in the damn things already).
Then exit and talk to the statue in the north part of garden, but save before
you do! I'll leave it to you to figure out the answers to the questions he
asks of you. Once you've answered the three questions correctly, Otto and the
other two followers come rushing in to worship their god...
16. Finding the Holy Weapon - 34000 XP and a very powerful item of your
choosing.
You get this quest when you find the first of the three Strange Weapons. You
can find them in any order, depending on where your wanders take you. Here
are the three weapons and their locations:
1. Strange Dagger - Verdistis, Ducal Inn, Rob's room in basement. You must
join the thieves guild to get access to this weapon.
2. Strange Amulet - Dark Forest, Elven Ruins, in cobwebs after entering
through platform in pond.
3. Strange Sword - Iona's dungeon, northern area. You get chucked in here
upon leaving Stormfist Castle when Janus dismisses you from service.
Once you've found all three Strange Weapons, then find the stairway that's
hidden in a clump of trees to the NE of the Cathedral. Once down there, DO
NOT TOUCH ANY OF THE 4 TOMBS, or you will break this quest. Stand in the hex
floor pattern to the SE of the statue there, and it will speak to you. You
have a choice of which of the three Holy Weapons you'd prefer. Once you've
made your choice, the other two items are destroyed and merged with this one
to produce a very powerful third item, which is one of the following
depending on your preference:
* Strange Dagger becomes: Small nobleman's dagger. Guaranteed to do much
more damage than your average dagger.
* Strange Amulet becomes: Nobleman's amulet, probably the least powerful
of the 3 items.
* Strange Sword becomes: Nobleman's sword, a nice one-handed weapon.
The attributes of the various items you create are somewhat random, so I
can't tell you exactly what you'll wind up with... but it will be good, you
can bet on that :-)
17. An appointment with the new ruler of Ferol - 27500 XP and
Reputation +10.
You get this quest once you've received an invitation to visit Janus at
Stormfist Castle. Now, you might think this sounds crazy, but the first thing
you should do before you enter the castle is go to the farmlands and put two
bundles of straw in your inventory. Also make sure you're stocked up on
potions. It's not that you're going to need this stuff inside the castle.
It's for where you're going directly AFTER you visit the castle! Once you're
ready to roll, head over to Stormfist Castle and flash your fancy invitation
at the captain of the guard. As soon as you enter the castle, you're accosted
by a mischievous imp (really, is there any other kind?) named ZixZax. And...
he promptly relieves you of your teleporter pyramids! Nothing you can do to
prevent this happening, by the way. Are you getting a bad feeling about this
yet? Anyway, you follow one of Janus' aides inside and are presented to his
majesty, the spoiled little brat. Guess where you're expected to spend the
next 40 years of your life? (though obviously not, because that would put
quite a dent in the ol' gameplay, yah?) But anyway, you're now in the service
of Janus, at least for the time being, so better do as he says and meet him
in his quarters (north, then east, then SE), where you get Quest 18.
18. Find the white cat - 15000 XP.
This Janus really is an annoying little twit. He's obviously got nothing
better to do than send you all over the castle on his petty little errands.
Oh well, best get stuck into it as you're not going anywhere in a hurry...
from Janus' room, just wander down the hall south a bit, and you'll be
approached by a white cat. Hey, it's Zandalor's friend, Arhu, the little
guy that woke you up at the start of the game! You learn that Zandalor has
apparently gone off in search of the third Marked One, who he fears Janus is
holding prisoner somewhere in the depths of the castle dungeons. Actually,
now that you've found the cat, you're free to do a little exploring of your
own because Janus isn't expecting you back for a while. So, in the SW part
of the castle, there's a room just north of the locked armoury with a bronze
key that unlocks the armoury sitting right there on the table. In the SW
part of the armoury, there's a shield requiring ID level 5. Once identified,
this turns out to be the Shield of the Dragon, part of the fabled Dragon
Armor set. When you're finished exploring, return to Janus to get the next
boring quest.
19. Deliver a love letter to Lela - 15000 XP.
Lela's room is just to the South of Janus' room. Deliver the letter Janus
gives you and then return to him.
20. Flowers for Lela - 15000 XP.
These are located outside the castle building by the front gate, just to the
east of the well. When you return to see Janus after this errand he is no
longer in his room. So, go to the throne room. You witness an embarrassing
exchange between Janus and Bronthion, a very important elf. After it's over,
Janus sends you on Quest 21.
21. Find the teddy bear - 15000 XP.
The teddy bear is in the corner just outside Janus' room. After you deliver
it to Lela and are exiting her room, Janus' aide runs up to you and says that
you are to attend a meeting in the throne room with some merchants from
Verdistis forthwith. See Quest 22.
22. Escaping Stormfist Castle - 15000 XP and Reputation -15.
The merchants have come from Verdistis to support Janus in the war against
the orcs. Right in the middle of the meeting, some orcs break into the castle
and attempt to assassinate Janus. No matter how quick you are to draw you
sword and kill most of the orcs, Janus still has to raise his hand. As
punishment for not being as good a 'protector' as you should have been, Janus
has you turfed out of the castle (yipee! Free at last), but tarnishes your
reputation in the process (hey, we can live with that). However, your freedom
is short-lived... you won't get far from Stormfist Castle before Elona
catches up with you. Turns out that Janus' advisor is actually a wicked hag
in disguise named Iona. You are whisked to her dungeon, and now have a new
prison to escape from. There are two orcs guarding your cell. But all you
need do is try to open the locked door, then move away, and Arhu comes to
the rescue! He takes care of both orcs, and hands you the key to your cell.
Once out of the cell, there is little of interest on this floor, so just
head up the stairway in the SW corner to get Quest 23.
23. Find your equipment in Iona's dungeon - 41000 XP.
Arhu is there when you reach the top of the stairs, and indicates that a
chest behind a locked door contains all your gear. The key to open this door
is plainly seen in a room to the east. And now it's time to retrieve your
belongings and fight your way out of this place. Unless you're a really
strong character at this stage in the proceedings, it's best just to take the
shortest path out of this dungeon, fighting as little as possible (not that
you won't have quite a bit of fighting to do nonetheless). To find your way
out, just keep heading west. You'll have to make the occasional detour either
north or south, but the further you get to the west, the closer you are to
the stairway that leads back to the outside world. However, there are a few
interesting diversions here for the curious. Firstly, there's an intriguing
manuscript in a room all the way to the NE. With it, you can summon a horde
of skeletons and other creatures, including a tough lich. Only for those
desperately in need of more XP though, otherwise I'd give it a miss for now
(you should come back here later though, when your character is much
stronger... say at least level 25. See section entitled 'Iona's dungeon
revisited' below). Also, in the northen part of the dungeon, there's a
skeleton chained to the wall in a niche. At his feet is a lone candle in a
pentagram. If you extinguish this candle, a section of the wall to the north
opens. It looks like there are a lot of gems for the taking in this room, but
it turns out to be an illusion when you try to pick one of them up. However,
there does remain a Stange Sword. This is one of the three Holy Weapons (see
Quest 16). And in a room in the SE part of this dungeon, there is a portal in
the centre of three pedestals that hold ancient pyramids, much like the ones
you just lost. But this portal is guarded by some tough skeletons. Touching
any of the pyramids in an attempt to put it in your inventory just seems to
invoke more of them! However, if you can manage to step on the portal in all
this mayhem, it takes you very close to the exit from the dungeon. It looks
like you are trapped, but you can walk right through a 'rock wall' to the
south, and then the way out is just to the SW of here. Anyway, there are some
very tough battles to be fought in this dungeon. Once you've gone as far as
you're willing to go regards topping up your Vitality and Magic with precious
potions, it's time to find a calm place to deploy those two bundles of straw
you brought with you to make a bed. Finally, when you find a stairway leading
up all the way on the west side of the dungeon, you'll have your freedom...
you get 11000 of the above XP for finding your equipment, and the rest when
you exit Iona's dungeon. You find yourself in a graveyard. Arhu is there
again, and you get Quest 24 as a result. But Iona appears right after you
finish speaking to Arhu, and you have to fight some tough zombies. I wound up
running like hell for the graveyard gate, which is just to the SE of here!
Once outside, you'll bump into Apollo, who'll give you Quest 25.
24. Find out what happened to Zandalor - 55000 XP.