Wizards & Warriors/Castle Interior 2

The final stretch
This is the very last stage that you must clear before the final confrontation with the evil wizard Malkil. You begin at the top of the left tower. All that you must do here is drop down to the bottom, but it is highly recommended that you pick up every diamond that you see along the way. If you don't, you'll have to spend much more time killing enemies in order to get the requisite 100 diamonds to exit the stage.

The enemies that you will encounter here include ghosts, demons, and fire spitting spiders. Since there are not enough diamonds in the level to get you to 100 just by collecting them, you'll have to get the rest by killing enough enemies and hoping that they drop diamonds. At this point in the game, none of the enemies will be especially challenging, but you'll need to stay focused on killing them.

Once you reach the bottom, you must travel to the right across the bottom corridor. Along the way, there are two secret diamond caches for you to find. They won't provide much, but every little bit helps. If you run far enough to the right, you will see the guardian knight who guards a red door. In addition to the diamonds, you'll also need to find the red key.

The key lies above you, in the upper left corner of the right tower. The platforms in this area are spaced out in such a way as to make the leaps rather difficult to accomplish without the aid of the Potion of Levitation or the Feather of Feather Fall. If you have neither of these items, you'll need to get good running starts to make some of the jumps, or hope that a defeated enemy drops a pink or blue potion.

Once you collect the red key, drop back down to the bottom. If you have enough diamonds, you can head through the door to face Malkil. If not, you'll have to walk back and forth across the bottom corridor, fighting enemies until you have accumulated enough diamonds.



Face off with Malkil
Though it may be hard to tell when you enter the room, taking a good look at the map to the left will illustrate that the room is shaped like a skull. You arrive just above the left eye socket. In this room, there is only you and Malkil. Being the evil wizard that he is, Malkil doesn't like to fight fair. He uses his magic to teleport himself around the room, fire off projectiles at you, disappear and reappear somewhere else at random. You will not be able to predict where he will appear next, although it is usually somewhere in your vicinity. Therefore, chasing him around the room is somewhat foolish. By the time you get there, he is likely to have disappeared and reappeared somewhere else. Instead, you are much better off choosing one particular location where you know he will appear, and waiting to strike him when he does. He won't avoid any particular locations just because you are there. You can even use the Boots of Force to kick him when he arrives. The projectiles he shoots can be dispelled with your weapons. Standing just below the lower small platform (in what is effectively the skull's jaw) is one potential spot, although you may have to wait for him to appear there. Standing in the upper row of teeth below the nostrils is another location, but Malkil will appear in so many places there, that it's easier to become overwhelmed if you don't do a good job defending yourself. When you do manage to defeat Malkil, the usual supply of souls appear. What's different, however, is that killing Malkil doesn't provide you with a pile of treasure, but rather a blue key with which you can escape from the room in the lower right corner. Once you do, you will rescue the princess and earn a 100,000 point bonus. Congratulations.