Shadow of Yserbius walkthrough

shadow of yserbius walkthrough

~Shadow of Yserbius

Game from Sierra - Walkthrought (Parts 1 & 2)

By Sue

First some general info.

On the maps, the bottom left corner is A1, letters going up the
side of the map A to P maximum and numbers along the bottom 1 to
16 maximum. Unless stated otherwise, all areas are 16 by 16.
Occasional single letters have been used to refer to specific
locations on the maps.

Some encounters are fixed, others random. Once you have the skill
Read Tracks, cast this on first entry and mark each purple square
as an X on your map. Do the same with True Seeing which will show
staircases, doors, teleports and other important items as yellow
blocks. Mark as a ?.

Some Xs may turn out to be NPCs but it's well worth knowing where
the tough fights are likely to be. Random fights aren't usually so
hard. Occasionally I couldn't work out what a ? referred to;
nothing seemed to happen, or there'd be a message saying something
like 'the room is bare' so these are still on the maps as a ?.

Some monsters carry excellent treasure the first time you find
them. These are not always replenished when you go back a second
time but it's worth a try! Quest items, as far as I can see, are
always replaced should you need a replacement for some reason or
another.

Equip yourself with the best lockpick you can find. Only a low
level one can be bought, others are gained from fights. I found
the best was a blue and kept this in the slot between my
character's feet for ease of use.

I have tended to say 'use a blue lockpick' in the solution and on
the maps. But I haven't always noted which doors need a lockpick
and I gather a blue one isn't actually needed until the Thieves'
Den, Level 5.

Level 1

1) Dungeon Entrance

Not much to say about this area. No monsters, no NPCs, no
treasure, just four doors. One leads back outside to the Dungeon
Exit, one to the Mine, one to the Hall of Doors and the last
to the Soldiers' Quarters. It's 9 by 11 in size.

In the top left corner is a locked door which you can't enter
until your character is Level 20 or above and has the Thieves'
key. This then gives a short cut to Level 6 The Labyrinth I. All
Quest items relating to the Palace are taken from you when you
enter, which is worrying, to say the least, when it happens!

2) The Mines

In this area you will find several rumours. One tells of King
Cleowyn's fantastic treasure. Another tells you to look out for
better lockpicks and that it is useful to be able to detect hidden
doors and traps. A third tells you that the upper levels of the
dungeon are the King's Palace and are full of traps. Oh, how true!
A wizard tells you that the lower levels of the dungeon are very
dangerous and a lone adventurer will be at a disadvantage - also
true, but not very useful info when you are playing a solo game!
Another character will tell you that to reach the next level of
the dungeon you'll need a special key which is located on this
level. You'll also be warned about the pit in the centre of the
mine which only the strongest can survive.

A central corridor leads from the doorway to the Dungeon Entrance,
to the south, to the Vestibule to the east. Some doors are locked
and need a lockpick, others are opened by brute strength (17
upwards).

A doorway in the southeast at E14 leads to the pit we were warned
about. Ignore this until you are a high level - say Level 20.
Fortunately a kind spirit will rescue you if you try to jump into
it too soon. It leads to Level 5, Pit Bottom.

Another doorway in the northeast at K14 takes you through a
series of rooms. At N6, you will fight to win King Cleowyn's Key
which is needed to unlock a nearby door and will be used
extensively on lower levels. Further through, at G2, another fight
will gain you King Cleowyn's Lockpick, which will also be useful
later.

Cast detect in the southeast (B14) to find a secret wall. In here,
a teleport can only be used by Level 20 characters upwards and
takes you to Level 5 Thieves' Den.

3) The Soldiers' Quarters

Reached from the Dungeon Entrance, you can reach the Treasury from
here and, later, Level 2 the Basement and beyond. In fact, it
turns into a useful short cut. It is also a route back from The
Prison using two teleports in a hidden area in the bottom right.
You arrive at C13, then go through D14 to reach M13 (and vice
versa to reach the Prison).

You'll learn from NPCs that you can acquire new skills in the
dungeon. You'll also be told that under Cleowyn's Palace is a maze
infested with thieves. They seem the only ones who know how to get
through the thing. An orc barbarian will tell you that polar bears
and ice lions infest the lower parts of the dungeon and a troll
ranger warns you to take heed of the "Keep Out" sign at the end of
the corridor and to look out for traps.

Several doors need a lockpick to open them, either green or,
better, blue. The central area cannot be reached until you find a
teleport at the far east side, G15. Just through the teleport,
some dire wolves guard a hollowed nunchukas which will give you
some extra cash unless you can use it.

A square corridor around this section has a few rooms off it. One
contains some elf barbarians (C5) which often carry worthwhile
treasure - I picked up some good magical swords and armour here. A
good lockpick is needed for one northern door and another in the
south (K3 and C6).

4) The Hall of Doors

A smaller area, just 8 by 16, reached from the Vestibule and the
Dungeon Entrance. Once again, only the outer area is immediately
accessible. The centre can only be reached by teleport at D16 and
there is a locked room past D1 which can be unlocked with a blue
lockpick. In here, at E1, is a teleport to the Mausoleum on level
3. A teleport from The Treasury leads to a locked room at C16.

You'll learn that the wizard came to Twinion and caused the
volcano to erupt. His castle is buried deep in the bowels of the
mountain. A troll cleric tells you someone left a rune on the
floor which said that to reach the King's Apartment you must take
a turn for the worst. Another NPC tells you scrolls and amulets
contain magic here but the magic in them is soon exhausted.

Once you have entered the centre section, you'll find four rooms,
each with an encounter, some with very good treasure especially
elf clerics and rogues at F9 and goblins with gold coins at F11. A
teleport at C5 leads to The Basement in Level 2.

5) The Treasury

Another 8 by 16 area. LOTS of trapdoors in here which will show up
with True Seeing. All lead to The Basement, Level 2, some to an
area which can only be reached by this method.

One NPC will tell you that the wizard may have claimed the king's
body when he died. Another tells you of a strange area, 2 levels
down, with 6 small rooms accessible to everyone but a large area
she is unable to reach though a wizard told her to study her runes
to solve the mystery of the area. This refers to the Rune Room on
Level 3.

A teleport at H16 leads to the Hall of Doors and a doorway to the
Soldiers's Quarters. The central area, reached through the door at
B8, contains many monsters so don't tackle it too soon. Many are
undead. I used sovereign scrolls to cast Control whenever
possible. Other than this, nothing useful here.

6) The Vestibule

Reached by doors from The Mines and The Hall of Doors. Strange
concentric corridors, tapestries, locked doors and four central
rooms. An NPC will tell you that you must solve the mystery of the
linked vestibule doors to continue further down into the dungeon
and another will say that they devised a clever maze of squares to
discourage thieves and invaders. An elf cleric says he found
nothing in the King's Treasure Room - maybe he missed something -
and adds that teleports will speed your way through the dungeon.

Use Read Runes to read the tapestries. One reads 'A hero of
strength may open my series of doors' so all you need is
sufficient strength to get through. A second says 'A certain
lockpick opens my series of doors'. A third says 'A certain key
unlocks my series of doors'. These refer, respectively, to
Cleowyn's Lockpick and Cleowyn's Key which were found in the
Mines. The fourth set of doors can just be opened. The fact is
that you can only use one route at any one time. Once one door is
opened, all others are impassable. So you need to go through at
least four times to reach each central room. It's worth it,
though. In one, reached using the Lockpick route, a fight at H10
will gain you the Key to Cleowyn's Palace. In another, the route
using Cleowyn's Key, you'll find stairs at G7 to The Palace
Corridor, Level 2. The 'strength' route takes you ultimately to a
teleport to The King's Domicile, Level 4, from J9. You can win
teleport passes round this area, handy for reaching the shop until
you have the Teleport spell.

Level 2

1) The Basement

This area is reached by stair from the Hall of Doors - taking you
to the main, central corridor. A fountain at K7 will heal you ...
once.

One NPC tells you there's more to this basement than meets the
eye; he wants to know the secret of what lies behind the thick
walls of this corridor. Another tells of a marble block near here
with the name Arnakkian Slowfoot, wizard to the King. Others tell
of a race of elf-like creatures deep in the dungeon and that you
must work with races you would normally ignore to succeed (I think
this refers to the on-line game). One says to the east of the Rune
Room on Level 3 is the Wizard's Challenge, quite a challenge it is
too, though he found several short cuts to it.

Three doors lead off the south side of the corridor but there
isn't much here apart from a room behind a locked door at D14 (use
a yellow lockpick or better). King Hobgoblins and Hobgoblins at
A14 are tough - use a sovereign scroll.

Yes, there are three secret areas around the corridor. One
southern area can only be dropped into via trapdoors from the
Treasury. A one-way door leads back to the corridor at E4.

A teleport from the Hall of Doors will land you in another at P15.
From here, make your way to P8 where another teleport will take
you across the north end of the corridor to the left side of the
area. There's a complicated series of stairs and one-way walls
starting at I1. These will take you to the Soldiers's Quarters and
back down - twice - to allow you to reach two more areas down this
side.

There are some lucrative fights at N5 and O5 and, finally, a
teleport to The Great Corridor, Level 3, at A1.

2) Palace Corridor

Seemingly not much here. You can only access the three corridors
directly. One NPC tells you the object to open locked doors is on
the first level. This is the Palace Key which we found in The
Vestibule. Another says there are 3 secret areas in this level but
they can't be entered from this corridor. True. The only way in is
from The Rune Room on Level 3, which you won't be able to do for a
while yet. A third says that not all traps are dangerous; she
found a useful key down one.

Some advance warning from another NPC lets you know that the
entrance to King Cleowyn's Apartments are guarded by a dwarf
called Deldwinn on Level 3. You are warned not to try to fight him
as he is enchanted and cannot be killed by mortals. An Orc Knight
also warns that the King's Palace is filled with spirits of the
tormented dead and to look for an asymmetry in the Palace if you
wish to hear the truth about the dead king.

You can reach The Vestibule from doors at the top left (O1, P2)
and stairs down to The Rune Room at O16 and P15. A door at C5 is
locked but translating the runes on the tapestry next to it tells
you that none shall pass save one who holds the key to the Palace.
This allows you to reach the doors at A1 and A2 which lead to
Cleowyn's Palace.

3) Cleowyn's Palace

A tough area with various undead lurching around such as ghosts,
banshees and nightmares. An NPC near the entrance from the Palace
Corridor tells you King Cleowyn appears on his throne on special
occasions and won't leave until all mortals have left the palace.
Another warns that the Pit is pitiless, do not go near it, but
also says that the traps are dangerous but they may aid you. A
third says to obey the King and return his cherished possessions
to be blessed. Keep them and you will die.

There are a few locked doors to open with a blue lockpick and
others to open by brute force. The pit mentioned is at D5 but I
found it no problem; it drops you two floors to the King's
Domicile (unless they mean the one in the Mine?). Pillars and
trapdoors abound. The trapdoors lead to the Prison on Level 3. Get
back by using the Pit to the King's Domicile in the Prison and the
elevator there to come back up (see those sections).

The trapdoors stop you reaching the bottom left corner of the area
- a problem. But a tapestry at K8 tells you that what you see is
not always what is real. You'll discover what this means when you
approach some pillars and find they move away from you. Use this
technique to go through the door at I16 and head along the
corridor round the bottom right corner. Go through the door at the
end (A10) and the pillar at A8 will move away from you - and keeps
doing so. Move along the bottom edge to A5 and then north to B5.
You'll enter a major scrap with King Cleowyn and other ghosts! Use
Control and Poison Cloud and once you win, you'll gain the King's
Ring - very handy.

Return to A5 and the King's spirit will meet you. He tells you the
imps that serve Arnakkian have stolen his crown, robe and sceptre.
Return them to their proper places in the Mausoleum and he will
reward you. He also tells you he was killed by Arnakkian's spirit
and you must find his body and put it in the Mausoleum so he can
rest in peace. He tells you to find and read the tapestry and the
Ring is the seal of his promise.

Whatever you do, don't go back to B5. The King will reappear and
take back his Palace Key before attacking you, necessitating a
trek back to the Vestibule for another one.

Instead, head to the tapestry at H12 which was blank until this
fight. Now it translates to say that imps have hidden the robe,
crown and sceptre. Only a master of the runes may find them.
Two-faced Y is at the centre of the quest. From Y, open O and E
and I. When a rune key is used correctly, it will disappear. At
this stage, this will mean nothing but just wait a little while
and all will become clear.

There will still be one small corner, bottom left, that you can't
reach due to traps. I assume there is nothing important there.

~This text is only a small part of a large collection of tips, for
~more you will have to get onto The Adventure Probe BBS, to gain it.

~Obtained from The Adventure Probe BBS (0707) 334799 (21:00-06:00)