Walkthrough:
Part 1
STARTING OUT
You start the game one morning in Tambry. Your character is Julian, who has the highest bravery score of three brothers. As long as you stay within the village walls, you will not be attacked. Your first task is to thoroughly explore the village to look for magical items that will help you on your quests. Go to each of the buildings, and look for hidden objects, particularly near fireplaces. You should find: 1) a glass vial, which contains a healing potion that will restore lost vitality points; 2) a Bird Totem, which is a navigational device that gives you a "bird's-eye" view of your surroundings (useful when you're lost in Holm -- a common occurrence); 3) a jade skull, which will destroy any and all enemies attacking you; 4) a quiver of arrows; 5) a gold key. Keep in mind that all magic items and keys can be used only once, so be careful and use them wisely. Once you have collected these things and have saved your game, you are ready to begin. Soon after you step out of the village, you will be attacked. Monsters usually come in groups of four or less, and your bravery score will go up 1 point for every kill you make. Vitality will also increase as bravery goes up, although at a slower rate. Your maximum vitality is usually about one third of your bravery score. If you are lucky enough to defeat a group of monsters, save the game immediately. Then search each of the bodies (using the "take" command). You will often find weapons, magic items, and gold coins this way. Be prepared to die a lot in your initial encounters. There's no simple way to develop a strong character; you'll just need to keep saving and restoring until you've won enough battles to accumulate about 100 bravery points. By that time your character should be able to survive many, if not most encounters, provided his vitality doesn't run out. When you have a few hundred more bravery points, your character will be invulnerable to all but the bowmen.
SURVIVAL TIPS:
1. Once you have a sword, your chances of surviving a battle improve significantly. You can buy one at the inn in Tambry, but you start the game with very little gold; you'll need that to buy food. The best way to get a sword is to take it from a dead monster.
2. There are treasure chests scattered throughout Holm, and you will find one just a little southeast of Tambry by the side of the road. These usually contain magic items, but their contents are completely random. Save the game just before opening a chest. If you don't like what you find inside, restore the game, open the chest again, and this time you will receive a different treasure. You can keep doing this until you get something you like. You might try to get a jade skull, which can save your life when you're losing a battle.
3. If you're hungry and your money is critically low, go to the stone circle east of Tambry near the coast (if you look carefully you'll see it marked on your map). There you will find 50 gold coins and some other treasures.
MAGIC ITEMS
Some of the magic items were explained above. Here are others you will find:
1. Green Jewels: These provide light for traveling at night.
2. Crystal Orbs: These will reveal secret doors in some of the dungeons. They're particularly helpful in Hemsath's tomb.
3. Gold Ring: This stops time for a while, and it's useful when you're under attack. You can't slay an opponent while time is stopped, but you can take his weapon and magic items.
4. Blue Stones: There is a network of large stone circles scattered throughout Holm. When you use a blue stone while standing in a stone circle, you are transported to one of the other stone circles. Which one you go to depends on which direction you are facing when you use the blue stone. For example, if you go to the stone circle near Tambry and face west while using the blue stone, you will be transported to the Isle of Sorcery. If you face east, you will be transported to the southern edge of Holm. You can use trial and error to "map out" the connections between all the stone circles, or you can follow this "transportation matrix" (courtesy of Ted Haskell):
The circle you will be transported to is a result of the direction you last moved just before using a blue stone. Remember that if you were staggering when you entered a circle, you might not have moved in the direction you thought.
I numbered the circles as follows:
01. West of dragon's cave.
02. Isle of Sorcery.
03. North of Lake of Dreams.
04. West of Grimwood.
05. East of Grimwood.
06. South of Pixel Grove.
07. East of Tambry.
08. South of Tambry.
09. South of Burning Waste.
10. Near mountains with Temple.
11. Extreme south near ocean.
When standing in the circle whose number is in the left column, you will be transported to the circle whose number is under the column heading in which you last moved before using the blue stone.
N S E W NE NW SE SW
1 7 11 8 4 3 6 10 9
2 6 10 3 9 7 1 8 11
3 10 5 9 1 11 8 4 2
4 2 3 6 10 1 5 7 8
5 1 8 7 11 6 2 3 10
6 3 9 10 5 8 7 11 4
* 7 --- 8 ---- 4 ---- 11 ---- 2 ---- 10 ---- 3 ---- 9 -----5
8 11 2 4 6 9 10 5 1
9 5 7 1 8 2 4 6 3
10 9 1 5 7 4 11 2 6
11 4 6 2 3 5 9 1 7
Circle 7 is highlighted because it is the closest to Tambry and may be thought of as home base. 5) Keys: These aren't magic, but they do disappear after one use; you will need many of them. Keys may be colored green, gray, blue, red, gold, and white. Use trial and error to find out which color key opens which door. One hint: White keys are rare and can only be found on the bodies of wraiths.
A FEW WORDS ABOUT MONSTERS
Skeletons are the easiest enemies to kill, and they will often have green jewels or glass vials. The hooded wraiths are deadly when you first start out, but after you've accumulated enough bravery points, they can do you little harm. Wraiths will often disappear when you kill them, but there is a way to get their treasure before they vanish. Watch carefully while you're battling a wraith. When you see its body start to crumble, stop fighting and immediately use the "take" command. If you time your actions correctly, you'll get the wraith's treasure just before it vanishes. Ogres are usually armed with maces or swords and won't pose much of a threat to a strong character. However, bowmen are always deadly no matter how many experience points you have. Kill them quickly.
FAERY TALE ADVENTURE
Part 2
THE GRAVEYARD AND MARHEIM
The following will describe of all the important places you will need to visit. You don't need to use my sequence exactly, but there is a rough order you must follow to complete your quests successfully. Before leaving on a long journey, make sure that you are well fed and your vitality points are high. Food is very scarce in Holm, and you will be starving for much of the time. Hunger won't diminish your ability to fight, but it will slowly drain your vitality. Once you start exploring, visit the various inns and keeps around Tambry. (Keeps are marked as little towers on the map.) You'll find treasures and gold in these places. There is a graveyard southeast of Tambry on the road leading to Marheim. (You'll see it on your map marked by a little headstone.) The graveyard is a good place to gain bravery points because you will be attacked often there -- usually by wraiths and skeletons. There is a crypt in the corner of the graveyard, and you can enter it if you have a gray key. Hang around in the crypt until midnight, and you will meet the Spectre who will give you a quest: He wants you to find the bones of the ancient king and bring them to him. Next you might want to go to Marheim, the capital city of Holm. The king's palace is here, and you can enter if you have a white key and a few gold ones. The king is upset because his daughter has been kidnapped. One of your quests will be to find her, but you won't be able to accomplish this until much later in the game. Search all the buildings in the city, and you'll find treasure. You will also meet the priest. If you ask him to, he will restore your vitality points to maximum (about one third of your bravery points). There's no tavern in Marheim, but there are apples in some of the buildings. You can carry these with you and eat them as you travel, but they will run out quickly. As far as I know, there is no other portable food in the game.
TURTLE POINT AND SORCERY ISLAND
By this time you should have considerable bravery points and be ready for a long journey. Head north towards Turtle point. There you will see three small, round objects which are the sea turtle's eggs. You will be attacked by some red serpents, which you should be able to easily kill. The sea turtle will then appear. If you have enough kindness points (25 or 30 should do it), you can talk to her. She will thank you for saving her eggs from the serpents, and she will let you ride on her back. She will also give you a seashell that you can use to summon her anytime you're near coastal waters. Once you're riding the turtle, sail west to Sorcery Island. Visit the crystal palace where the sorceress lives. You will need two blue keys to get in. Talk to her when you find her, and she will give you one of the five golden statues you must find to complete the game. Keep talking to her, and your luck score will go up five points at a time. If you use your save function conscientiously, you won't need much luck for most of the game, but it will come in handy when you reach the endgame. Now, if you want a short cut home, go to the stone circle in the northern part of the island. Face northeast, and use a blue stone. You will be transported to the Tambry stone circle.
THE DRAGON'S CAVE
Your next quest will be a little more complicated. The dragon's cave is located in the northern part of the snow mountains, east of the stone circle. (If you look closely, you will see the cave entrance marked on the map.) The easiest way to get there is to go to the Tambry stone circle, and use a blue stone while facing west. This will take you back to Sorcery Island. Now, face northwest, use another blue stone, and you will arrive at the stone circle near the snow mountains. From here, go south until you hit water. Then go directly east, and you will come to a mountain range. You should arrive right at the cave entrance or very near to it. When you enter the cave, you will go through a twisting tunnel until you reach a forked intersection. Take the branch on the right. (If you go left, you will find a maze of caves and tunnels that are interesting but contain no important treasure.) Soon, you will see the dragon. The best way to get around her is to stop time using a gold ring, and sneak by. After you pass her, you will come to a dungeon. It's only one level, but it's large. Make a rough map and explore thoroughly. There are magic wands in two separate locations, but you'll only need one. Once you find the wand you can explore for fun, but there are no important items to be found. Return to the dragon, and use a gold ring to go past. When you reach the stone ring, use a blue stone while facing north to return to Tambry.
THE TOMBS OF HEMSATH
Now you are ready for an even more complex task. Make sure you have a large number of gold keys and crystal orbs. You should also have a number of red keys. Set out early in the morning for the tombs. Make sure you're well fed before you leave. Upon entering the tombs, take the first right. Go to the end of the corridor, and turn right again. You will now go south through an extremely long corridor. You will eventually come to a corridor leading east. This will take you to a stone maze with rooms connected by golden doors. There's no easy way to tell you how to negotiate the maze. Of course, the golden doors unlock with the gold keys. Occasionally, you will see two rooms that are close together but have no connecting door. Use a crystal orb, and a secret door may be revealed. Use a red key to unlock secret doors. Explore the maze thoroughly, and you will find a gold statue and a bone (which represents the bones of the ancient king that the Spectre wanted you to find). There is a bug in the Amiga version that might help you if you're short on gold keys. Save the game before entering the stone maze. Unlock a few doors, then immediately restore to your original position. The doors will all be unlocked, and you will get back all the keys you used. I don't know if this will work for the Commodore version. Additional Amiga Note: There are still a couple of different versions of the Amiga game disks on dealers' shelves, and you'll need the current version to function properly with expansion memory. After leaving the tombs, go see the Spectre in the graveyard crypt at midnight. Give him the bone, and he will give you the crystal shard.
Part 3
THE DREAM KNIGHT AND THE WITCH OF GRIMWOOD
You will now embark on a series of quests that will culminate in the rescue of the king's daughter. First you need to find the "Temple of the People who have Gone Before." This is located in the mountains south of Marheim but is not marked on your map. Fortunately, it's not too hard to find. Go to the stone circle near Tambry, and use a blue stone while facing northeast. You will be transported to a place west of a mountain range. Before you go anywhere, use a bird totem, and you will see the temple to your northeast. It is almost completely surrounded by mountains, but you can reach the temple from the south. Once you arrive, you will face the Dream Knight, who will challenge you to a duel. By this time you should have enough bravery points to defeat him with your sword. Then you can enter the temple and find the sunstone. Go back to the stone circle, and use a blue stone while facing west to return to Tambry. Now you are ready to enter Grimwood to find the witch's castle. Grimwood is a dense forest with a complex maze of paths. Finding your way through the forest maze is probably the most difficult part of the game, and the castle's location is not marked on the map. There's no way I can give you specific directions to find the castle, but here are a few guidelines. At the Tambry circle, use a blue stone while facing south, and you will be transported to the circle west of Grimwood. The entrance to the forest is to your east. Once in the forest, take the paths that head north. Use bird totems often to keep track of where you are, and make a map as you go along. Shortly after you enter the forest, you will hit a large quicksand trap. You can walk around the edges, but if you enter the sand, you will sink and be taken to an underground cavern. The exit back to the forest is to the south. Once you get around the quicksand, keep heading north. Here and there you will find cave entrances; one of them will take you to a long, winding east/west path in the most northern part of the forest. Follow this path east, then south, and it will eventually lead you to the castle. When you enter the castle and approach the witch, she will shine a death ray on you that drains your vitality and pushes you away from her. Use the sunstone and watch what happens. The witch loses control of the death ray and becomes vulnerable to attack. You can now kill her with your sword and take the magic lasso. There is one other important object to find in the forest. From the forest entrance, take the paths that run to the southeast, and you will come to the forest keep. (Its general location is marked on your map.) When you arrive at the keep, use a bird totem. Just west of you at the end of a cul-de-sac, you will see a few red markings. This is the ogre's den, and there is a golden statue there. Unfortunately, to reach the den you will have to take a long path that winds north of the keep. My advice would be to forget about this statue until later in the game, when you've tamed the golden swan. Then you can fly right to the den, take the statue, and fly home -- saving a lot of time.
SWAN ISLAND
After you've found the lasso, you should visit Swan Island. To get there, go to the Tambry stone circle, and use a blue stone while facing southeast. This will take you to the stone circle near the burning waste. Just go west towards the coast, use the seashell to summon the turtle, and then sail southwest to the island, where you will find the golden swan. If you have the lasso, she will let you ride on her back. To control your flight, use the same keys that you used for walking. If you find you're flying too fast in a certain direction, just push the key for the opposite direction, and you will slow down. To dismount, stop your flight, and use the same key that waves your sword. Mastering flight is a little tricky, but it is a lot of fun and will make the game go much faster.
THE FORBIDDEN KEEP
Now that you've found the swan, you are ready to rescue the princess. She is imprisoned in the Forbidden Keep, which is located in the mountains south of Marheim. This keep is completely walled off by mountains and can be reached only by air. It's marked on your map and is a little southeast of the Dream Knight's temple. When you arrive, land your swan on the roof, and enter the keep. There you will find the princess. As you approach her, the screen will fade to black (darn!), and then you will find yourself back in the king's castle with the princess standing a discreet distance away from you. Talk to the king, and he will give you a writ and 100 gold coins. Take the writ to the priest of Marheim (located in the building just south of the beggar). If you talk to the priest or give him the writ, he will give you a gold statue. You should have four of these statues now, and you are very close to finishing your quest. Take the swan back to Tambry.
Part 4
THE FIFTH STATUE AND THE HIDDEN CITY OF AZAL
The fifth statue is probably the hardest one to find. As far as I can tell, the game gives you no clues about its location. It's in the Seahold, which is a castle on the southeastern tip of Holm (it's marked on your map). Enter the castle, and you'll find the statue right there. Once you have all the statues, take your swan and fly to the city of Azal, which is in the burning waste. This city is normally invisible and appears only when you have all five golden statues. Search the city thoroughly, and you will find a red rose.
THE CITADEL OF DOOM AND THE ASTRAL WORLD
You now have all the objects you need, and you are ready to find the necromancer. His citadel is not marked on your map, but it is located in the Black Mountains just south of the lava pits. (On your map, these are the little circles in the Plain of Grief.) You can't land the swan near the citadel because the ground is too hot. You'll have to park a considerable distance away and walk. When you arrive at the citadel, you'll see a lake of fire blocking the entrance. You can walk right over it if you have the rose. Inside the citadel there is a force-field barrier, but the crystal shard neutralizes this. Once you've passed these two obstacles, you will find the portal to the astral world, which is the endgame. The astral world is a series of colored walkways suspended in space. The green walkways are safe. When you're walking on the orange squares, your speed doubles. The blue sections are very slippery, and it is easy to fall over the edge. Just go slow and you'll have no problems. If you do fall off, your character dies and will be restored minus two luck points. This is why it can be important to have a high luck score before playing the endgame. Explore the astral world for a while, and you'll eventually come to a large black area where no stars shine. Just step into the blackness, and you'll find that all your directional keys now work in reverse. For example, the key that normally moves your character south, now moves him north. In the center of the black area is an orange plane where the necromancer is waiting for you. Use your wand to slay him, and he will release the magic talisman. Take it, sit back, and enjoy the ending.
RED HERRINGS AND LOOSE ENDS
There are several places in Holm that are interesting to visit but aren't vital parts of the game.
1. The Lake of Dreams. There is a raft on the southern edge of the lake, but that's all there is to find.
2. The Pixel Grove: This is a mysterious stone structure that seems to have no function.
3. The Red Knight: The story introducing the game mentions that the Red Knight is missing. Don't look for him because you won't find him anywhere in this game. His home, Vermilion Manor, contains treasure but nothing vital to the game.
4. The Bog: Well, this isn't really a red herring. It does contain a couple of hints which, if you weren't using this walkthru, would be important for completing the game.
5. The Watchtower: If you don't want to travel to Turtle Point, you can take the long journey to the Watchtower where you will find a seashell for summoning the turtle.
