Dragon Warrior III/The Pyramid

Reclaiming the king's crown and waking up the cursed peoples of Noaniels should have prepared you well for the dangers that lie beyond the bridge east of Romaly. Your next quest will take you first to the town of Assaram (taken from the Arabic greeting As-Salamu Alaykum) nestled west of a mountain range. You will find an interesting bazaar there along with rumors of a kingdom in the desert. From your stay there, you will in fact journey into the desert to find an oasis containing a kingdom known as Isis (named after the Egyptian goddess). A beautiful queen occupies the throne, and an unusual pyramid to the north will beckon you to explore it's mysteries.

Assaram
Assaram is an interesting town with a large number of shops, some of which are only open during the day while others only do business at night. In fact, many of the town's more unique features are only available at night. Visiting the town during the day, you can visit an item shop and an armor shop located in the upper right corner, which sell an assortment of protective gear, including the ridiculously expensive (and worthless) Revealing Swimsuit which should be avoided even if you could afford it, which at this point in the game is unlikely. At night, a man opens a weapons shop in the small building above the pond. The Battle Axe may be a good choice for your Hero if you can afford one.

Two men on the left side of town operate their shops a little differently than usual. They like to barter with you. What's worse, their initial asking price is sixteen times an item's normal value. If you refuse their offer, they will reduce the price to eight times the item's value, and then four times, and finally two times before they will refuse to sell it to you. With the exception of one item, all of the other items can be purchased at other locations for the regular price. The only exception is the Iron Helmet, which can't be purchased anywhere else in the game. You should talk the trader in the upper left corner down to 2000 gold before agreeing to buy the helmet.

Besides shopping, Assaram features a cabaret show in the lower left corner. You can see the girls rehearsing during the day, and performing at night. There is also a "fortune teller" hanging out near the center of town. If you speak with her, she will invite you to follow her and have your fortune told. She will insist that the Hero comes alone, and that she turn off the lights. The confusing dialog that follows indicates that the fortune teller's father ruins the trick before running off through the dark wall to the left. (In other versions of the game, the woman is not a fortune teller, but rather a woman inviting you upstairs for a massage, or possibly a lewd act. The lights are turned off, and when they are turned back on, it is the man, and not the woman, who is actually providing the services, much to your embarrassment.)

There are two doors that you will be unable to open at this time. You'll have to obtain the Magic Key first. Around town, you'll hear about Isis, and the possibility of a shrine in the southern portion of the desert. When you're ready, leave Assaram and prepare to venture west.

Heading west
After crossing what can be considered this world's equivalent to the Arabian peninsula, you will reach a vast desert. A man in Assaram mentioned the possibility of finding a shrine to the south of the desert. In the desert, it's quite common to encounter fire-breathing Flamepedes and StopSpell casting Vampire Cats. Of particular nuisance, however, are the green Infernus Crabs. As if their thick shell wasn't defense enough, they typically cast the spell of Increase, making their hides near-impenetrable. If these crabs cast Increase twice, let alone once, magic will be your only option for taking them out, and they are quite effective at dodging spells as well. Mummy Men tend to roam the desert a lot at night as well.

Follow the hills and the mountains south until you find a small region of poison swamp surrounding the shrine. Step inside and a man will ask you if you're looking for the Magic Key. If you say yes, he will tell you that it's located in a pyramid, but that you should visit the kingdom of Isis in the oasis first. To reach the oasis, simply walk west through the desert from the shrine. You will reach a patch of forest surrounding a small lake. Walk up to the tree and the view will expand, and a palace will come into view. Step up to it to enter the kingdom of Isis.

An oasis kingdom


Isis is actually a rather large town, with a moat-surrounded palace in the center. People there will inform you about how precious water is to them. One inhabitant will talk about an item called the Meteorite Armband, which will supposedly make its wearer faster. There is a monster fighting gambling hall in the upper left corner of town, just like the one in Romaly. The weapon shop contains quite a number of powerful items, including the Giant Shears which only a Soldier may wield, and the Full Plate Armor as well as the Cloak of Evasion in case you missed it in Noaniels. At night, Isis is far more subdued than Assaram. The weapon shop owner will inform you that the Meteorite Armband can be found in the castle. To reach the castle, you must approach from the right side, and cross the bridge.

Isis Castle
Inside the palace, you must walk across a long sandy courtyard. Once you get through the gate, you are essentially greeted by cats. Guards stand post behind locked doors, protecting the kingdom's treasures. The maids and attendants on the first floor will give you some general information about the pyramid, such as traps and sections where spells won't work. Climb the stairs to meet the queen. She will be accompanied by her ladies-in-waiting. They speak highly of her beauty. In a small chamber to the left, two children dance around to a song that they sing. They talk about buttons in the pyramid which they compare to the sun, which travels across the sky from east to west. The queen herself has nothing particular to say other than lamenting that her beauty will one day fade, before she tells you how many experience points you need, and offers to save your game. There is a small hole in the left wall of the throne room. Not only can you use this hole to leave the palace, walking through it will deposit you all the way outside of the oasis.

At night, a cat can be seen wandering around in the sandy courtyard. In fact, he's found rather close to a break in the line of trees on the left side. You can use this break to explore the outer edge of the castle. A gap in the left wall allows you to step outside the castle, but do not walk beyond one square's distance or you will exit the castle and return to town. Follow the edge of the castle up, and you will find a man who is desperately searching for the Meteorite Armband as well. Inside the palace, more cats roam around while the guards sleep. In the throne room, the queen has retired to her chambers, but you won't be able to access them until you find the Magic Key.

For now, that leaves the question of the Meteorite Armband's location. It's not hard to find, but you have to know where to look. Expand the spoiler below to find out where.

Exploring the pyramid
Reaching the pyramid from the oasis is simple: travel due north. Once you reach the pyramid, you will enter the first floor. Right away, you will experience the pyramid's first trap, a set of fake floors that drop down to the basement below. The basement is composed of four chambers with an exit leading to a set of stairs in the lower left corner. The basement is crawling with Mummy Men, and you will need to fight your way out of it as you make your way to the stairs. In addition, a curse surrounds the basement which prevents magic of any kind from being performed. Spells cast by you or your enemies will all fail. The stairs lead to the lower left corner of the pyramid, from which you may either leave, or return to the entrance by walking right.

To avoid the trap floors, you must avoid walking across the two center tiles in the middle of the intersections created by the entrance hall, and the crossing corridors. Two chambers lie on either side of the first intersection, but the treasure chests they both contain are empty. At the second intersection, you can travel west, north, and east. The north leads to a dead-end. The west leads to three treasure chests. However, the bottom two chests are not chests at all, but rather Man-Eating Chests lying in wait to trap your party. These monsters are very strong, and you can not run away from them. You must duke it out until the chest or your party are defeated. Make sure your party is in good condition before you explore these chests, or don't bother with them at all since the third chest is empty. The only worthwhile path is to the east, which leads to the stairwell that climbs to the second floor.

The second floor is a bit of a maze. It has four vertical hallways and four horizontal hallways arranged in a grid. However, not all of the hallways connect all the way across, so you need to find alternate routes to your destinations. In addition to the stairs you arrived on in the upper right corner, there is another set of stairs leading back down along the top row. To reach it, you must walk to the left across the second row, and then back up the far left column. Walking back around, you can climb down the stairs and return to a closed off section of the first floor. It contains three treasure chests, all of which are empty, even the one in the back, so it's not worth investigating. Back on the second floor, from those stairs, you can walk left and travel all the way down the left column to find another chest, which is of course empty. Walk back up two blocks, head right through the next row, back down two blocks to the lowest row, and over to the right to find the stairs that lead to the third floor.

The third floor is where things start to get a little more interesting. You will begin to encounter Mummies, which are a tad stronger than Mummy Men. Additionally, Mummies can summon Horks for assistance. Along the bottom of the floor are a set of four buttons, two on either side of the staircase. Every time you step on one of the tiles in the lowest alcoves, you are asked if you'd like to press a button. However, if you select the wrong button to push, a trap door opens up and you fall to the floor below. In order to determine the correct order in which to push the buttons, think back to the Castle of Isis and the song that the little children sung in the throne room. If you think of the buttons as the sun, which rises in the east and sets in the west, you can surmise that you should push the far right button first, followed by the far left button. If you do this, you will hear something moving. Return to the center corridor and walk up the stairs. You will have gained access to the two treasure chests at the top, and their contents have not already been stolen. The chest on the left contains a Vitality Seed (give it to anyone with low vitality), while the chest on the right contains the Magic Key. With the key obtained, you have a choice. You can abandon exploring the rest of the pyramid and return to Isis, or you can continue raiding the pyramid for treasure and combat experience.

Assuming you decide to stay, take either the left or right paths on the third floor to the staircases above. They both lead to the same location outside the door at the top of the fourth floor. However, the Thief Key will not open this door, so in order to get inside, you must obtain the Magic Key from the floor below first. Once inside, you will see a set of 12 treasure chests arranged in a circle around some statues. The good news is that none of the chests are Man Eaters, and all of them contain something. The bad news is that whenever you attempt to search these chests, a voice will ask who is disturbing their slumber, and a battle with a group of four Mummy Men will initiate. This will happen for all 12 chests. A majority of the chests contain 814 gold, while four contain a Strength Seed, Agility Seed, Medical Herb, and Wing of Wyvern. Don't attempt to collect all of them in one shot if you don't have enough Magic Points to safely heal your party or cast Outside in order to escape. Clear the floor in multiple trips if you have to. When you are finished raiding the treasures, head down to the bottom where you will find a staircase to the fifth floor above.

After climbing the stairs, you'll find another door locked with the Magic Key. Open it and approach the lone treasure chest in this small floor. Inside, you will find the Flashy Clothes, which is actually descent protective gear for any Goof-Off/Jester in your party, and you won't be able to buy one for some time. From there, the only place left to discover is a staircase to the right, which leads outside, near the very top of the pyramid. There are no treasure chests, but the top can be used as a quick escape route from the pyramid. Just jump off the back edge of either side, and you will tumble off the pyramid and land in the desert. From there, you can cast Return, or simply walk back to Isis.

Using the Magic Key
Now that you have the Magic Key, there are a few places you might wish to go back and visit.

Aliahan Castle
On the left side of the castle, there is a small room with six treasure chests, locked behind a door which can be opened with the Magic Key. The guard inside will claim to owe a lot to Ortega, and turn a blind eye while you loot the chests. In the chests, you will find 464 gold, a Strength Seed, an Agility Seed, a Wing of Wyvern, and a Fighting Suit. Since it's likely you would have already purchased a Fighting Suit before you arrived here, you can simply sell the suit for extra cash.

Before you leave, it's probably worth visiting the Vault in Luisa's Place. You can deposit the Thief Key, among any other items that you may wish to keep, but are hogging up precious inventory space. Now that you have the Magic Key, you no longer need the Thief Key, as the Magic Key will open the same doors.

Romaly
In Romaly Castle, against the far back wall inside the interior corridor around the courtyard, there is a door which you could not unlock before now. Open the door and step inside to find a small private pond, with an occupant who will inform you that in Portoga, a country found west of Romaly, they make ships. There's no real need to visit this person, it's simply there to satisfy your curiosity.

Assaram
There are two doors locked with the Magic Key in Assaram. Near the top of town, you can unlock a door which leads to a set of stairs. Climb the stairs and a man standing near a large bath will tell you that the Dwarves know the secret to the mountain passage that leads east, but a dwarf name Norud won't tell him about it. However, it turns out that Norud is friends with the King of Portoga.

During the day, this man is out by the bath, but at night, he is tucked away in his bedroom. With good reason too. At night, a Demonite hangs out in the upper left corner by the bath. If you approach him, he'll attempt to fool you into thinking he's a cat, but he gives up very easily and attacks you. Though powerful for this region, one Demonite will not present a big threat to you.

There is also a door to the right of the theater, but if you enter during the day, the lady inside will only tell you to come back at night. If you do, the lady and a troupe leader will explain that they tried to travel further to the east, but they were prevented from doing so by Norud the Dwarf. It seems as though Norud is responsible for preventing many people from heading east.

Isis Castle
In the back of the first floor of Isis Castle are three doors locked with the Magic Key. The center door leads to a man who merely mentions that his brother traveled east to Assaram and has not returned (he's the one in the house with the large bath described above.) The two doors on the left and right lead to treasure chests, but the guards will refuse to budge. You'll have better luck exploring these rooms at night when the guards are sleeping. In the left chamber, you'll find 136 gold, a Wing of Wyvern, and an Intelligence Seed. In the right chamber, you'll find the Wayfarer's Clothes, an Acorn of Life, Poison Moth Powder, and 80 gold.

In addition, you can now go up to the throne room and open the door on the left that leads to the Queen's private chambers. It won't do you much good during the day, but if you return at night when the Queen has gone to bed, the Queen will actually appreciate your visit. She will tell you to look all around her. If you search the ground at the Queen's feet, you will obtain the Wizard's Ring, an item which can restore lost Magic Points, but has the potential to break after any use.