Realms of Darkness/Scenario II

The nobleman says: '"Oh, you must be the famous adventurers I have been hearing about. Perhaps you can help me with my problem. My father, in his quest for arcane knowledge, acquired this crystal ball. Shortly afterwards, it drove him mad, and I fear the same fate. Would you adventurers rid me of this cursed crystal ball?" "Using the power of the sphere, I have discovered that the curse can be lifted by travelling to the ruins which are southwest of Grail. Here is the crystal ball. Return to me upon completion of your journey for your reward. Farewell and may the stars favor you."'

The south-west ruins

 * Maps legend:
 * Red arrows: stairs
 * Blue tiles: encounter (use text parser)
 * Red tiles: fixed fight
 * Grey tiles: unaccessible solid walls
 * Orange lines: regular doors
 * Red lines: locked doors
 * Grey lines: hidden passages, one-way passages
 * Triangles: teleporters; upwards is the departure, downwards the destination
 * Grey arrow and red diamond: pit traps

Floor 1


Start and go straigh, and the first landmark is a writing on the floor. Just beyond it is a wall of flashing lights. One item found on the floor can be used here. Beyond the wall is the key to access the room with the next floor.

Another item can be collected, and it can be used on the deepest floor of this dungeon. The key open another door where you can read a book teaching the art of breakdance (useless?).

Floor 2


The corridor has a "teleport door" that makes it feel like an infinite loop. The trap door (grey arrow) actually brings to another part of the same floor.

The focal point of this floor is the "future location of stairs". In the south-east corner of this floor, any character can learn how to assemble stairs. Near the center, a dwarf asks help to save his kidnapped wife. He gives you a key to open a locked door. Explore that area, find the woman dwarf, and lead her back to her husband. The reward can be used to get to the next floor.

A chest holds a chain mail armor. The dwarf sell studded maces, more effective than any weapon so far.

Floor 3


Easy to miss: a false wall is near the stairs. You can find a dime in that room. Examine it and use it at the appropriate location, and you will be told how to solve this quest.

Beware of the weak bridge: [B]reak up the party, cross, [Q]uit the current half-party, cross with the others, [R]egroup into a sigle party.

Another book teaches programming (although it is anachronistic).

The painted "ten towers" represent a bowling alley. Hold the appropriate item, found earlier on this same floor, and type a single verb in the text parser. Bowling is less anachronistic than you may think: after all, it requires no electricity.

Floor 4


Near the starting room, a magical statues has to be "impressed". Show it what you learned from one book in the dungeon.

There is a true role-playing choice here:
 * 1) Easy, but somehow evil: sell the crystal ball to the pawn shop goblin.
 * 2) Complicated, but more virtuous: destroy the crystall ball. You need the balanced boulder at the end of a corridor. A frantic gnome (that keeps running between four different spots) asks whether anyone has  seen  his seismic device, and there is one location where it is hard to  see  because of mist. A specific item can blow it away. Later, leave the "e[X]cess" crystal ball under the boulder, step away, and activate the quake-maker. Examine the device, and think of which verb can be typed in the text parser, according to the description provided in-game.

Aftermath
After you got rid of the sphere, go back to the nobleman. Your reward will be a staff of healing and permission to cross the river bridge.