Arx Fatalis - Strategy Guide (Page 03)

Below are the cheat codes, hints and help for Arx Fatalis - Strategy Guide (Page 03).

First of all, there are a few items you MUST collect in order to retrieve the
Shield of the Ancients. If you happen to find any items that are labeled "Stone
with a unique carving/shape", keep them at ALL COSTS. These purple stones are
suppose to be used later in the Crypt in order to solve a puzzle to get the
shield. These stones are spread out in the Crypt, and you must search for all
6. I do NOT have them noted on my map because sometimes the locations are on
corpses, on the floor, and so on. Keep an intuitive eye open. Secondly, Pickaxe
all the graves you can find in the Crypt. Many contain weapons, armors, special
accessories, potions, keys, levers, just about the whole shenanigans. Don't
pass them up. I'm only going to point out the key ones. Head northeast down the
stairs and into the room of heroes. Pickaxe the Vampire's Grave and take the
Sacrificial Item (pricks and draws your own blood).

Head back to the main aftway, then head north into the room with a lady holding
a bowl in the middle. Combine the sacrificial item with the bowl, and your
blood will be drawn into the bowl. All 3 surrounding doors will open. Search
the rooms, but make sure you pick up the key in the left room (contains a
Guardian key). Head back to the main room, and southwest into the guardian room
(use the key). Search the left corner of the room for a solid statue holding a
sword. Press A on the sword, and it triggers a switch. Go out of the room, and
move south down to the second level.

The Creepy Crypt - Level 2
----------------------------
This is where the action starts to get a tad creepy. You'll be greeted by a
posted sign that says not to wake the sleepers. There will also be an immense
fog covering most of your vision in the Crypt. You can try casting the spell
Nightvision to negate this effect. For the first time, you're going to face
zombies, which are continually rising creatures. To kill a zombie, keep
attacking them (with magic or physical attacks), until they feign to the ground
like a normal creature. Then, search your inventory for a wooden spike, and
combine it with their body. This will cause them to die forever. If you do not,
they will rise after a designated amount of time.

When you enter the first room, don't hit either lever on the sides of the room.
Both are trapped to revive the zombies on the ground. Instead, search the right
corner for a wall stone, and toss it on the pressure plate. This opens the
Portcullis. Head forward, but do not step on any future pressure plates. They
are traps, which send out two horribly sharp blades that can cut out about
25-45% of your health. Instead, leap over them. You can now start to search the
side doors on the left and right hallways. There are about 3 on each side, with
some doors locked, and some held closed with steel cages. Head down the center
hallway and look for two parallel switches next to each other. Hit them both to
open each of the steel gates on both sides of the room. Search for any keys you
can and use them on locked doors if possible.

The third door in the right hallway contains a secret switch (in the room) that
opens a cavern which leads to Level 5. This can be left open as a shortcut
later in the game. To move onto Level 3, it's going to take some speed. Move to
the center hallway and continue down until you see 2 Hidden Buttons against the
same wall. Hit both of them, RUN north to the center Portcullis and try to make
it in time before both buttons pop out. If can't make it in time, try again.
BOTH buttons must be pressed for the door to open, and they will pop out after
8 seconds or so. You can also try getting a speed scroll, or casting a Speed
spell to give you more time to reach the place. Once you make it through, toss
a stone on the pressure plate to open the next portcullis, and continue to the
next level.

- The next part is going to be fairly tricky, so make sure you're ready to
fight a boss, a few enemies, and get a fire spell ready.

Once you're down the stairs, go left and continue until you run into a large
cathedral room (several stained glass windows). A cutscene will show a mummy
burst through one of the windows. Get your fire spell ready and cast it on him.
Keep using fire spells plus a few strikes from your blade to send him down.
Mummies do NOT have to be staked in order to die; they're simply like any other
foe you meet in the game. After you kill him, turn around, and go up either the
left or right diagonal stairs next to the ones you entered. Go through the
rooms until you're in one of the stained glass upper rooms. Look for a single
lever switch on either side. Hit one of them, then go to the opposite side of
the cathedral and go up those stairs. Each lever opens the door opposite to the
lever you pressed. So for example, if you pressed a lever on the left side, a
portcullis opens on the right side. Follow through the opening, and LEAP over
the lava pit below. You may take some damage if you hit the burning pool.

Toss something on the pressure plate (an empty bottle works) to keep a bridge
open so that you don't have to keep leaping over it. Continue straight forward
and you'll meet the first hard puzzle.

*A cutscene will show a ghost speaking to you. He'll ask you if you've come to
take the Shield of the Ancients, and you say yes. He shall give you the shield
under one condition: you must complete the following riddle. There are six
clans that allow for the sun to rise and dawn. Place the sign stones you
gathered from before onto the pedestal, and the correct order shall open the
door. From there on, you're free to leave. Sounds a tad fishy, eh?*

- You should have 6 different rune stones by now. They're the purple stones
that have unique symbols on them. If you look at the center of the floor,
you'll seen a sundial device with six different pedestals pointing outward. You
must walk to the pedestal, combine one of the stones with it, and eventually,
all 6 will unite to open the door. Here's how you solve it:


                                  ------
                                 /  1   \
                                / L    [ \
                                |        |
                                |*     I |
                                \        /
                                 \  V   /
                                  ------

Basically, you should see small indentations by each of the six parts of the
clock. The dividers look like >< with two symbols showing by each of the six
elements of the clock. The INNERMOST symbol pointing towards you is the one
that you must match up with the pedestal. If you don't understand what I mean,
simply do this:

- Place the "O" circle stone on the 1 Pedestal.
- Place the "O" sun stone with shining lines on the [ pedestal.
- Place the "K" stone on the I pedestal.
- Place the "[" stone on the V pedestal.
- Place the "normal moon" stone on the three-dot pedestal.
- Place the "normal moon with dot" stone on the L pedestal.

Once that's accomplished, you should hear a victory sound, and the door will be
opened. Continue forward, and search the tomb in your left for the Shield of
the Ancients. Take it. Now, jump on top of the tomb, and there should be a
switch hidden behind two slabs of rock leaning against a wall. Hit this switch.
Then, turn around, and head to the otherwall that has nothing near it. Look
right, and there should be a hidden button, hit it. Go up the newly opened
stairs for a Morte rune hidden above.

Now's the tough part. Head back the same way you came (past the lava), to the
stairs that lead out of the Cathedral. When you're about to leave, a Lich will
be summoned to attack you. Be weary, this opponent is very powerful and
dangerous. This is the same ghost that let you solve the riddle before. Make
sure you equip the Shield of the Ancients (magic resist % is helpful), since
the Lich can cast up to nearly 6 different spells (slow time, paralyze, summon
undead, lightning projection, harm, mana drain). To defeat him, continually
slice him when he gets close, and keep using ranged magic (fireball). Cast Harm
if you feel confident, and try to get him to close in on you. It may take a few
tries to kill him because of his foolish paralyze spell. Once he's dead, search
his corpse for the "Tempus" rune (very powerful). Now, if you were searching
tombs before in the cathedral, you probably came across one that was too heavy
to open. Remember that hidden switch you hit before? It opens the tomb. The
heavy tomb is the one directly straight behind the altar table in the
cathedral. Check the body for some Mithril Loggings (excellent boots, should be
equipped immediately).

Head out of the Crypt by taking the same route you went.

- Go back to the Rebel Camp by heading down to Level 4, going left, and then
using your secret Dagger pass on the boulder with a blue insignia nearby. Head
up to Alia (in the farthest tent where you first started), and combine her with
the Shield of the Ancients.

*A cutscene reveals that Alia is actually the daughter of King Lunshire. Her
mother (Lunshire's wife), was killed by an unknown person, but she gave birth
to Alia before being kidnapped. The Sister Snakes wanted to take Alia for some
secret reason , and she's been in hiding ever since. Her father does not know
of her existence, and she wants you to keep it that way. She also tells the
guards to let you through their safehold in order to obtain Krahoz.*

Head all the way down the stairs until you reach ground level. There should be
a closed door on your left. Open it and walk through. This time the guards will
not go out of their way to stop you. Keep following straight and around the
bends until you reach an area with two levers. Hit the one to open the
Portcullis, then, go in and check the chest. Inside you'll find Krahoz to be
safely yours. Don't equip it yet.

Leave the rebel camp, but this time, take the rebel door on the right side.
This will automatically take you down to Level 5. If you make an immediate
left, and then another left, you'll reach a portal to Level 5 (which should be
activated for future use). Search the middle part of the mine, and you'll find
an Earth goblin clan who wants you to kill the Water Clan. You can find out
more about the Water/Earth Clan quests, and the rewards involved. Anyhow,
you're going to face several trolls in this area, and they will be hostile
towards you. The only way to prevent this is with Greu's Amulet, which is
obtained in an earlier side-quest in the game. Search the right side of the
mines until you find a stairwell, and go down.

Now that you're on level 6, make a right, and continue forward. There might be
a rat man who pops up along the way to fight. Fend him off, and he'll use a
teleport to leave. Now, make another right when you reach an area with tall
stalagmites, and ladders. Continue in that direction. You'll eventually reach
an area that looks futuristic, with magic devices and barriers. Go left down
this hallway, and press A on the switch to open the barrier.

*You'll ask the Snake woman if you can pass through. She will let you, and
tells you that Queen Snake Zalnashh can be found between the two serpent heads
in the throne room.*

- Walk up to the Queen Snake, and find out if she'll give you Zohark.

*Apparently, the Sister Snakes aren't so willing to just hand over Zohark. You
must pass a test as an initiate to prove your worthiness. If you pass the test,
they shall let you borrow Zohark in order to destroy the common enemy, Akbaa.
Of course, this is no ordinary test. You must pass their riveted Temple of
Illusions which can be one of the most frustrating puzzles in the game. They
will give you a Sacred Orb which opens the barrier to enter the temple.*

- Before you head off the to the Temple of Illusions, leave the throne room and
look left for the Snake's Library. Enter it, then grab the two scrolls on the
top of the bookcase. Make sure you get the Reveal scroll as it's necessary to
pass one challenge in the temple.

Temple of Illusions
----------------------------
The Temple of Illusions is opposite of where the Snake city is. Leave the Snake
establishment, then follow the hall out. However, rather than making a right
back out to level 6, go straight and you'll see a pink barrier blocking a
doorway. Combine the sacred orb the Snake women gave you, and enter the temple.
Pass the first room and go into the second room. Keep removing the hangings
until you find a hidden switch (should be located near the left side of the
wall). Hit it, and it will open a passage behind you. Make sure you remove all
the hangings to see where the passage opens up. Go in the secret passageway,
and you'll meet a dead end with a gray stone wall, locked chest, and a message
telling the weakness of the snake. Strike the gray stone wall with your weapon,
and you'll hear a victory sound. Check the chest, take the golden snake. Head
out of the passageway, then enter the room with the barrier blocking it. There
will be 8 switches on the wall, with none of them seeming to work. Cast the
Reveal scroll you took from the library before, and a hidden switch will pop
up. Hit it, and a wall will open up to let you move on.

Go through the hall, and go right (a portcullis will be blocking your left
doorway). This time, a golden snake will be caged in a steel cage, with a
crystal glove located on the top of the stairwell, and six rooms with switches.
The idea is to hit the 6 switches in order based on a brief picture provided by
the crystal globe. Each room DIFFERS based on the shadow patterns against the
wall. If you want the quick solution to solve it, hit the switches in the
following order based on rooms:

                        |---| |=======| |---|
                        | 5 | | Snake | | 2 |
                        |---| |=======| |---|

                        |---|           |---|
                        | 1 |           | 4 |
                        |---|           |---|

                        |---|           |---|
                        | 3 |           | 6 |
                        |---|           |---|

Once you hit them in the correct order, you'll hear a victory sound. Make sure
you take the golden snake that was enclosed before, and head through the
doorway that previously had a portcullis blocking it. This time, you'll meet a
room that has two signs (one with a short route, and another with a longest
route). Do NOT take the longest route, since it's actually a joke (you'll reach
a dead end with a sign saying it was a joke). Head back out, take the short
route. The next room contains a giant mirror. Kill the invisible man (very
weak, only has a short sword), then search his body for a ring of misery. Look
in the lower left corner for a walk-through wall. Simply walk through it to go
on. There is also a switch on the other side of the mirror, but it's a decoy
button.

The next room has two paths. If you try to walk through one path, you'll get
loop warped to the other side without passing through. To bypass this, turn Am
Shaegar completely around (backwards), and walk through like you normally
would. If you did it correctly, you should be able to walk backwards through
the loop and move to the next area. A sign congratulates you on passing the
test. If you try to walk down the corridor, you'll keep getting warped back to
the beginning. To bypass this, look in the upper left side of the wall for a
hidden eye button. The button is located right around when you turn the corner.
Hit it, and a doorway will open up. Walk through, hit the new hidden button,
and go through to pass the hall. You're now in the trophy room with a giant
bowl sitting in the middle. Combine the 2 Golden Snakes you retrieved from
before, and place them in. Victory will sound, and Zohark will appear in the
middle of the bowl. Pick it up to be interrupted with a brief cutscene from
Akbaa. Afterwards, you'll be warped to the room with the 2 Stone snakes, but
now they're normal Snake Women. You must fight them to the death. They're
fairly weak to physical strikes, so keep attacking, and they shall die. Head
outside, and check the dead snake woman's body. You'll find a note which says
something about a kidnapping. This is a side quest that can be accomplished by
going to the Crystal Caves. Please check out the side quests section.

This meteor is going down!
----------------------------
Now that you have both Krahoz and Zohark, it's time to send Akbaa a giant spicy
meatball. By now, MAKE SURE you have the HARM spell (Rhae + Vitae runes), of
which both can be obtained from the woman shopkeeper in Arx. You're going to
need HARM in order to kill Ylsides, unless you're extremely strong.

- Head all the way to Level 1, and go to the Yellow Tulip Tavern. Enter the
doorway that leads to the Akbaa Temple (with the meteor). Take the usual path
you take that leads to where the meteor is. This time, you're going to face
warriors called Ylsides that have awesome armor and two-handed swords. They are
powerful, fast, and can take 20% of your health down with one blow. Cast HARM
twice (doubles the damage), and then start attacking them. Harm should knock
their health down very fast, and continue to move on until you reach the
meteor. You're going to face about 3-4 Ylsides. Be careful in the one part that
doesn't allow magic. Lure the Ylside out, otherwise, you'll have to fight him
without HARM.

Once you reach the meteor, equip both Krahoz & Zohark, then walk up and press A
on it. The meteor will be destroyed, and you've successfully destroyed Akbaa's
energy channel. Apparently though, that wasn't good enough. You haven't been
called back to the Noden, so something must not be complete. PICK UP the Koltk
powder left behind from the meteor.

- Head back to Arx by taking the emergency exit (right side, hit the switch,
walk out the short way). Then take the cave back to Arx.

*You'll discover a wounded soldier who tells you that the city has been invaded
by the Ylside warriors, and King Lunshire has been imprisoned below. You must
talk to the King to find out what happened.*

Since the city is infested with Ylsides, you can use stealth to get by.
Personally, I use a combination of HARM, stealth, and fighting abilities to get
by. Head to the main gate of the castle. You may have to fight about 2-3
Ylsides, and it will be tough. Once you've reached it, enter inside. One Ylside
will immediately attack you. Make sure you recast HARM twice to ensure of his
death. Go left, down the hall, and press the secret button. Then, go in the
opened pathway, and go left. Hit the switch to open the prison cell, and go
inside.

*You'll be knocked on the head by a Ylside, and nearly killed. However, your
fellow mate, Kultar, saves you realizing that you were Am Shaegar. Apparently,
Kultar joined up with the Ylsides after his escape from the Goblin Prison.
Iserbius has plans to unite with Akbaa in order to bring the Sun back to the
surface of the Earth. He said it was in Iserbius's plans to try and revive the
cold world above. Unfortunately, he doesn't realize that Akbaa has different
intentions. Kultar says that the King is probably upstairs hiding in his guard
room. He also says for you to escape before the other warriors come.*

- Before you jump in the sewers, grab the Ylside leggings and Armor stashed
against the wall. Equip them both, and you'll have a brief conversation with
Iserbius and he communicates through the armor. Jump down the sewers.

*Iserbius orders for all Ylsides to retreat since the Guardian (Am Shaegar) has
escaped. Now Arx is free again. Heh, that was pretty easy.*

 ____________________
/The Ultimate Weapon/
----------------------------
Go back to the Throne Room, and King Lunshire will thank you greatly. By now,
you're starting to wonder why you haven't been called back to the Noden.
Apparently, Akbaa is not dead yet, but is building up for an incarnation. While
you went out to seek Krahoz & Zohark, Akbaa built up enough energy to form an
incarnation. Basically, he's going to warp himself into Iserbius's body when
the time is right. The only way to kill Akbaa is by creating the ultimate
weapon, and then unleashing it on him once and for all.

- Felnor wants you to search for a book on "how to create the ultimate weapon."

Start out by heading over the Castle Library and asking Sister Chinkashh on
where you can find this book. She ends up telling you that her Sister Snakes'
Library most likely holds the book due to its extreme rarity. Follow her
instructions, and head down to level 6 (via the portal device). Visit the
library and Sister Syllashh will already have the tome prepared. Read the book,
and you'll soon find out that there are several key ingredients to the ultimate
weapon.

- First off, the supposed ultimate weapon must be composed of an indestructible
metal. The only known metal that holds such properties is mithril, and that
happens to be as rare as winning the lottery. That certainly helps our quest.

- Secondly, it must be combined with a rare ingredient that can withstand power
from the mightiest blows. Obviously, this fits the description of the great
Kolkt meteor you destroyed before (and grabbed the leftover powder).

Go talk to Queen Sister Zalnashh. She'll tell you that you're going to have to
enchant the blade with the Kolkt Powder AND a dragon's egg. A dragon's egg will
cause great destruction to the element of what the blade is made of. So if you
added the meteor dust to the blade, and a dragon's egg, it would cause great
destruction to anyone who has come in touch with the meteor's energy (aka
Iserbius). From here on, you can branch off into two different directions.

-- Go down into the dwarven mines, and retrieve this mithril cast of a weapon.

- OR -

-- Head to Level 2, enter the ice caves, and seek the ice dragon for a dragon
egg.

If I were you, I'd get the dwarf part done first since it's the most
frustrating. Start off by heading out of the Sisters of Ederneum establishment,
and go towards the Temple of Illusions. But rather than entering it, make a
sharp left, and you should see some stairs down a few winding corners. Take the
stairs.

You're on level 7, home of the dirty rat men. Rat men will not talk with you,
and they are ruthless stealth killers. They're equipped with poison stealth
daggers, and are fairly fast in their actions. However, they're weak to
physical attacks, so make use of your brute force. Start off by going straight.
Most of this level is straightforward with only a few side tracks that lead you
off course. Immediately to your left should be a portal that you should
activate for future use. Continue straight and keep going through a winding
hall that turns you about 90 degrees.

Eventually, you're going to reach a part on the map where the textures shift
over to a dark muddy look. Go in this hall, and you'll see a gigantic worm
start to rumble towards you. The quickest way to kill him is to cast HARM
twice, and then just run really close to him. He doesn't actually swallow you,
but just does annoying attacks. He'll die after several seconds. Go through the
newly opened tunnel, and head left down to Level 8. Go to your right if you
want some free goodies. Level 8 is home of the dwarves, well, before they got
eaten. Hehehe...

Again, take the right path and you'll be lead to a large lava pool. Leap over
the stones, and hobble towards the portal. Activate it for future use. Run all
the way back to where the stairs were, and this time, make a left. Dwarves do
not allow for magic in their area, so you're going to be restricted for now.
Once you're near a locked door, take a left, and you should leap through a
small hole in the wall. As you can see, there's blood everywhere, along with
guts, and things of that sort. Apparently, most of the dwarves have been
murdered by someone, or SOME THING. Walk straight from the hole, and a cutscene
will show a giant rat-like beast leap from the hole you just came.

START TO RUN - the creature is IMMUNE to physical attacks. You also cannot cast
magic, so that's worthless as well. Run straight and then make a left on the
first passage you see. Run down here, and then jump on the platforms across the
lava pool below. Once you're across, run down the winding halls until you reach
a dead end, with a dwarf's body. Search the corpse, take the 2 pieces of dwarf
flesh, power stone, key, and pretty much everything. You may hear a rumbling
occur, as if a cave-in happened. Start walking back the same way you came.
Suddenly, you'll see that scary beast which was chasing you before. There
should be a door a few feet in front of him on your left. Use the key you just
acquired, and run through QUICKLY. Keep going straight (ignore the passage to
the right), until you reach a room with a giant stomper in the middle. Walk
over to the power machine behind it, and combine the powerstone in the empty
socket. Now, climb the ladder, and run to the opposite side where a switch is.

This can be fairly tricky. Wait up there until the beast walks into the room.
Fortunately for you, it cannot reach you. Wait until it's looking at you, and
toss a piece of dwarven flesh under the stomper. Be patient. If the creatures
eats the piece you tossed (but wasn't under the stomper), throw another piece.
When the creature goes under the stomper (because of the flesh lure), hit the
switch, and he'll be stomped. Apparently, he died. Leap down, and then go in
the new passage that's to the left of where you came. You'll reach a dead end
room. Crouch under the right side, and search one of the drawers for a key. Hit
the lever as well. Next, go up the stairs and read the miner's logbook, plus
whatever else you can grab. Run back to the room with the dead creature, and
then go back the hall you came from before. This time, make a left where you
passed the place before. However, before you can reach the locked door at the
end of the hallway, that damn beast is alive again! RUN FOR YOUR LIFE back to
the stomper room. Unfortunately, you don't have any powerstones left. There
should be a switch against the wall between the two hallways. Wait for the
beast to come in range, then hit the switch. A lava pool will open up. He
should fall into it. If it doesn't work, you leap over it, then watch him
follow behind you right into it. Now the bloody beast is dead.

Time to get me some Mithril
----------------------------
If you took your time to read the logbooks, it said that the dwarves had
managed to discover some mithril in the mines. Head back to where the beast
burst out of the wall, and open the locked door (with the key from the
foreman's office). Explore the four side rooms off of the adjacent hall for 3
powerstones, keys, and items. Then, head straight through and use 2 powerstones
for the 2 separate machines placed in the forge. Once they're in, head out, and
go left into the mining area. Head straight through, and go into the MAIN
tunnel area (supported with wooden planks). Keep going straight until you reach
an elevator. Press the lever to go down.

- You should see what looks like wooden scaffolds positioned inside this mining
area. Try to jump onto the one, and take it up to the top of the mining area.
Look for a dwarf's body in one of the dead ends, there should be a powerstone
on his corpse. Then, leap across, and check the other dead end of the scaffold
area. There should be a large silver chunk of metal. Pickaxe it out.
Unfortunately, it's too big to carry in your inventory. Pick it up, but do not
drop it. Carry it all the way down to where a "transporter" or laser device is.
Drop the chunk onto the left side, where the three pronged lasers are aimed.
Then, put a powerstone in, and hit the switch. The chunk of mithril gets warped
to the Foundry.

The Foundry is where you killed the bloody creature. Head back there, and you
should see the chunk near the end of a wooden shaft. Pick it up, and drop it in
the center (under the crusher). Place the new powerstone you have back in, and
then squish it (like you did with the giant creature). It should shatter into
four pieces. Make sure you take the two-handed metal cast (on top of a machine
in the Foundry), or a sabre metal cast (in one of the sleeping quarters). You
need one or the other. Take them all, then run to the forge (before the mining
area). Take the two pieces of mithril, and toss them into the over-like machine
on the right. Press the switch, and a Mithril rectangle bar will be produced.
Grab the bar, then walk over to the machine on the left. Put the cast of which
weapon you (sabre or two-handed sword) on the lower slab of the machine. Walk
up the stairs, and toss the mithril bar in the chimney-like oven up top. Hit
the switch, and the bar will be melt into the shape of the cast. On the other
side of the machine will be your newly created sword. Grab it, as it's
necessary to completing the game.

- You've successfully created a sword out of the indestructible metal -
Mithril. I personally used the two-handed cast since my character was a
warrior. However, you may prefer the sabre cast instead as it's one handed, and
allows for a shield to be equipped. To get out of the enclosed area, go to the
Foundry, then open the locked door (with a key you should've acquired between
the forge and mines). This locked door leads back out to the kitchen, with the
giant hole in the brick wall. Exit out of the front door with your key ring,
and head back to Arx. You may want to sell any items you found along the way.
Keep the extra mithril pieces later since you can combine them with other
molded items.

Let's get some dragon eggs!
----------------------------
Before you head off to the Ice Caves, it's necessary to have at least one
scroll of Levitate. Start off by getting to Level 2, one way or another. I
personally just ran past the human fortress, and went backwards to where the
original starting point is in the game. Once there, go left, and you should
find a door that says "End of Goblin Kingdom." Head out there, and continue
onwards. There's a friendly troll around here named Greu who you can accomplish
a side quest with, but that's in the other section of the guide. Instead, go
right near some stalagmites (you should be on the upper part of the caves). Try
to jump on one of the stalagmites. Look across and you should see what looks
like a cave opening, but there are no stairs or pathways leading to it. Cast
the levitate scroll, and hover across to the other side. If you have trouble
ridding of the Levitate spell, simply save your game, then reload it to rid of
the effect. Once you're on the ground, run up some stairs on the left side of
the cavern. Once you're up top, there should be some stairs about 5-6 feet
positioned away from the edge. It might take some practice, but balance
yourself near the corner, and leap across. You SHOULD make it (took me about
two tries).

Once you're on the stairs, go into the left cave. There should be a body
surrounded in ice. Combine the ice with a torch, or cast a fireball on it to
erode of it. Check the corpse for the "Comunicatum" rune. Then, search the
other bodies in this cavern. Look along the left wall for a solid block of ice.
Again, blast it down with a fireball. Go through, and you've met the legendary
dragon. Check some of the bodies, then speak with him when you're ready.

*The dragon will tell you that he simply isn't going to hand over one of his
young in exchange for saving all the humanity in Arx. It's going to take more
than simple compassion to turn over one of his young. The dragon asks you to
get as much gold as a dragon can have of scales. This is a heck of a lot of
money.*

-- You have 2 choices here, you can:

[1] - Give the dragon 4815 gold coins (the amount of dragon scales one can
have) in exchange for an egg. To do so, quick select your gold bag in your
inventory, then combine it with the dragon.

OR

[2] - Kill the dragon, and then take as many eggs as you want. If you do kill
the dragon, you may also take dragon bones (the only place you can get them in
the game), and roughly around 5,000 gold coins on the dead corpse.

<-> The dragon is not an overwhelmingly tough creature. It has primarily 2
attacks, a physical whip hit, and an ice spell that acts like a wave. It casts
this ice spell, which causes icicles to pop out of the ground in a thumb-like
pattern. Just attack it with fire spells, and keep hitting it with physical
attacks until it dies.

- Personally, I gave the dragon the gold coins instead of killing him. I was
trying to play as the nice guy along my quest, and killing a dragon was like
washing away a piece of history. Of course, I was also broke and screwed. Once
you do get the egg, it's time to make a key decision. You can get 3 different
"near the end of the game" cut scenes. None of them have an effect on the
ending, just what you witness and how the story progresses.

#####################
### Bad Scene:  #####
#####################

<->You can go to the Sister Snakes, and have Queen Zalnashh enchant the sword
for you. She casts the spell "Mega Stregum Cosum" (Enchant Object). However, if
you do have the snakes enchant it, you give up the location of where the rebels
are hiding at. If you betray them like this, Alia then becomes the Sister Snake
Queen, and all of the other rebels are slaughtered at the camp. You also get a
very bad cutscene of a guard cursing you when you go to attack the Ylsides'
Bunker. Not a very pretty ending to the game.<->

-- OR --

########################
### Neutral Scene: #####
########################

<->You can enchant the object yourself by gathering the Mega, Stregum, Cosum
runes, and casting the Enchant Object spell. This method can be fairly tricky
though since the Cosum rune can only be found in the Temple of Akbaa in a left
hidden room in the prayer room. You may also attempt to find an Enchant Object
scroll. One can be purchased (about 1600 gold) from the Twin Traders who live
on level 5. Unfortunately, if you killed both goblin clans on level 5, the twin
traders will be raided by a random group of enemies, and their inventory will
be gone. Finally, if all else fails, you can look for an enchant object scroll
on level 6 or level 7 (very hard to find). Thankfully, there are 2 enchant
object scrolls inside the Ylside bunker (go down the stairs, make a right down
the hallway). The 2 scrolls are located in the bedroom before the forgery. They
are in a chest. Once you enchant the sword, and HAVE NOT completed the ghost
murder Crypt quest, you will get a neutral cutscene.<->

*Alia will be reunited with her father, Lunshire. Both of them are glorious to
see each other as it has been so long since their departure (never saw her
father at birth, Lunshire thought his daughter was dead). However, the Sister
Snakes of Ederneum will interrupt the party, and say that Alia is their new
queen. Apparently, King Poxsellis (father of Lunshire) made a pact with the
Sisters that his fourth descendant would become their queen, in exchange for
Krahoz & Zohark (to save the kingdom). They made this treaty. Alia was the
fourth in line, and now it's time for the humans to repay their part of the
treaty. King Lunshire denounces the treaty and tries to have the guards attack
the snakes. Unfortunately, their magic is too powerful, and Alia says that she
will be their kingdom to stop the bloodshed. Alia leaves with the Snakes, and
becomes their Queen.*

-- OR --

#####################
### Good Scene: #####
#####################

<->You must first complete the Ghost Murder quest inside the bottom levels of
the crypt. You can find out more information inside the Side Quests section.
Once that quest is completed, go enchant the sword yourself. Then, head to the
barrier of where the Ylside Bunker resides.<->

*The cutscene stays the same as the neutral one, however, an additional part is
added on. Right when Alia is about to give herself up, the Queen's ghost enters
the underground lake. She speaks saying that she is the dead Queen, wife of
King Lunshire. She says that the Sister Snakes cannot take Alia because she is
not the fourth descendant - she is the fifth! The Queen was part of an Order of
the Sacred Dagger, which was created by King Poxsellis to protect his
descendants. The Queen had planned for the kidnapping of Alia at birth so that
she would be protected from being taken by the Sister Snakes. Minutes before
Alia's birth, the Queen had a twin sister born of Alia's called Cassius. She
was technically the fourth in line for the throne. Knowing that the Sister
Snakes would stop at nothing to get the 4th in line, she sent Cassius away with
the Travellers' Guild. She had the kidnapping of Alia staged, but then, a
mysterious man assassinated the queen before she could tell what happened. This
is where you come into the mix. Am Shaegar solved the murder of the Queen to be
a man named Enoill, who was hired by Carlo. Carlo felt that the Queen was going
to kill the King, and he had her killed to protect the throne. The Queen tells
the Sister Snakes that their own queen will rise when the moment is right.
Since there is no fourth in line to become queen of their race, the Sister
Snakes hiss and retreat back to their city to ensure their survival. Lunshire's
wife can now rest in peace, and the King is now reunited with his daughter,
Alia.*

****************************************
To enchant your sword, do the following:
****************************************

[1] - Drop the Mithril Sword on the ground.

[2] - Select the Kolkt Powder (retrieved from leftovers of meteor), and combine
it with the sword on the ground.

[3] - Next, select the Dragon's Egg, and combine it with the sword. It should
change its status to "Ready to be Enchanted."

[4] - Finally, walk up to the sword, and look at the sword. Use the enchant
object spell, and the sword will turn into its true form. Congratulations, you
have the ultimate weapon.

- If you do it this way, you avoid betraying the rebels, and a much better
storyline develops. The hardest part though is getting your hands on that
cursed enchant object scroll.

NOTE: Any one of the three cutscenes are initiated when you head to the
entrance of the Ylside Bunker (where the barrier is). Even if you already
entered the bunker, head out, and the cut scene will occur AFTER the meteor
weapon is enchanted/created.

 ___________________
/Time to die, Akbaa/
----------------------------
Once you've accomplished the task of creating the ultimate weapon, it's time to
execute it to full use. Go to the Level 4 caves (via the teleport), or by
stairs if you don't have the portal. If you do warp there, simply walk straight
up until you see a pinkish barrier in the distance. Otherwise, head to the left
side of the level 4 map, and go as far north as you can. You'll find it soon
enough. Once there, use a Dispel Field scroll, and cast it on the obstruction.

^%^%^%^%^%^ Before finishing the Game: ^%^%^%^%^%^

- Have at least 3 Akbaa Stones (all found in the Temple of Akbaa)
- Have the Meteor Sword enchanted and ready to be used
- Have at least 10 life potions (you'll find several potions inside the bunker)
- Prepare to meet the end of the game

If you're missing an Akbaa stone, I recommend you go back to the Temple of
Akbaa (level 1, tavern door) and go to the Prayer Room (where you saw the one
priest praying). Go on the right side of the room up some stairs, and then hit
the hidden button along the wall. One of the "hidden" Akbaa rocks is in a small
chest. You'll also have to deal with a Lich as well.

Walk inside. You're going to face 2 Ylside Warriors, so I recommend getting 2
HARM spells casted immediately. You should see a priest also walking around. DO
NOT let him escape, but instead, kill him. Don't let him run away. Search his
corpse for the fourth Akbaa stone. Continue straight forward, and go down the
stairs. Once you're at the bottom of the stairwell, cast your HARM spell, and
engage the sole Ylside warrior. Then, go right, and kill the other Ylside.
Check the training room chest for enchant object scrolls, candles, and a couple
various items. Go down the steps, and kill both priests standing by the forge.
Loot both of their bodies for a total of 3 keys. Then, use these keys to unlock
the nearby chest. Go all the way upstairs, head back out to the main hall. Now,
go forward, and make a left. Engage the Ylside, then go in the door on the
right (where he just came from). One of the chests in thee Ylside resting room
is trapped, so be careful.

Check out both chests. On the table, there are two metal bars. These are the
keys to Gary's Bank inside the city of Arx. Now, head out, and go to the center
door that is locked. Use the keys to unlock it, then enter Iserbius's private
quarters. Obviously, he's quite the sick fellow since he has a miniature black
beast and troll clawing at each other. Look on his dresser for two skulls. One
of them is missing a candle. Combine the candle with the empty skull, and then
look to your right for a newly opened compartment. Grab the key, then unlock
the chest in his room for the fifth Akbaa stone. Now you can leave, and head
straight until you see a gigantic door to your left. Open up, and fight the 2
Ylsides. Once they're through, combine the Akbaa stones on each of the
pedestals in front of the door. When all of them are placed, the door will
open. Now it's time to kick some Akbaa butt...

- First things first though. Assign the white or black button key to a life
potion. You're going to need many of these to withstand Iserbius's magic
attacks.

The Final Battle
----------------------------
*Once you enter the room, you're presented with a surreal view of a mutated
Iserbius worshipping Akbaa. Apparently, a gateway has been opened for Akbaa to
incarnate himself inside of Iserbius. Poor soul.*

Walk up to Iserbius and strike him in the back. If nothing happens, keep
striking him. There's a known glitch that delays the cutscene for awhile.

*Akbaa then says it's too late, and the incarnation is complete. Iserbius is
tossed to the ground, and surrounded in a blue aura of light. He then becomes a
mutant combination. Finally, Akbaa says he's going to send you to the Noden,
right now!*

The Battle starts. First of all, Akbaa shouldn't be too hard for anyone who is
a skilled warrior. Here are some key tips to beating him:

- DO NOT use the HARM spell against Akbaa. He constantly casts a blue
reflection spell which counters the damage towards you. If done correctly, he
can reflect any damage from HARM onto you, which means you're practically dead.

- Magic may not be the wisest choice. His reflection spell is a pain in the
butt, plus it's necessary to strike him a few times with the Meteor Sword.

- Stay within medium range. It's hard to estimate, but do not wander off too
far from him. If you do wander off, Akbaa will summon a demon creature to chase
you. If you stay too close, he'll zap you with lightning projection. If you
stay in the right range, he will not summon a demon creature.

- Use the hit N' run tactic. Charge Akbaa while preparing to strike, and then
leap with a strike at the last moment. Hit him, retreat out, then repeat.

- The Paralyze spell is very efficient in killing Iserbius's form. Simply cast
Paralyze, then get as many whacks as you can on him before he becomes
motionary.

- Akbaa can cast these spells: lightning projection, red attracting HARM spell
(looks like HARM, but is red, and it lures you in with gravity), reflection,
summon creature, poison

It might take awhile, but follow the tips, and Akbaa's head will be yours.
Whenever he lures you in, make sure you press the shortcut key to refill your
health. He enjoys casting a combination of HARM lure, and then a lightning
projection to suck your health away. This battle seems harder than it actually
is for the sole reason that you cannot use HARM.

*Once Akbaa is defeated, he starts screaming in anger. He has failed his
mission in overtaking the world of Arx. Am Shaegar then says that it's time for
him to go back to the Noden. The Master of the Equilibrium Noden arrives to let
you know that you have succeeded in your task. Unfortunately, you TOO are too
powerful to live in Arx. Your strength is practically that of a God, and there
are other matters that the Noden requires for your abilities. Am Shaegar is
fairly disappointed as the races are still living underground. Master assures
you that all is not as it seems. A picture shows that some members of the
travellers' guild were living on the surface inside small cabins. There's still
a chance that the races will live on the planet earth. Unfortunately, it's time
for you to go...*