Vagrant Story - Strategy Guide (Page 04)

Below are the cheat codes, hints and help for Vagrant Story - Strategy Guide (Page 04).

Rue Fisserano
Crimson Blade (magic-user)
Look up: the street continues, but above head height. There's another useful 
workshop here too. A Heal Panel on the upper level will help you recover from 
unexpected Fireball / Aqua Blast damage.

Some fun you can have here is that the Crimson Blade jumps down to the lower 
level to attack. Usually you can hit him as he's falling through the air, but 
grab the ledge and pull yourself up just as he's launched himself off. He can't 
get back up (although he can cast spells if you're in line of sight) and you can 
run on through.

WORKSHOP Metal Works
Tools for Silver, Damascus
Finally, an opportunity to combine and upgrade your Silver weapons. Even if you 
can't enter Junction Point, you can still repair all of your equipment here.

Shasras Hill Park
Crimson Blades
Follow the path to the end and you'll find a small outhouse with a gate and 
staircase leading down. You can use your Bronze Key here to unlock it for 
Undercity East.




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Undercity East
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Your foray into the eastern Undercity has the overall goal of acquiring the Iron 
Key, not to mention the Stock, Eulalia and Melissa Sigils that will open up 
areas here and elsewhere.

Hall To A New World
Quicksilver HP 120 HP / MP 70
Evil
Special Attack: casts Silence

See, you don't need to be tough to be impressive: 'disturbing' is a far more 
threatening characteristic. Though by far the most dangerous thing about these 
creepy girl-doll puppets is that they work in tandem with other creatures, 
rushing in with Silence spells just as you're about to protect yourself. Magic 
Ward is well worth the mana cost in areas like this.

They might be nimble, but a competently anti-Evil crossbow delivering a bolt to 
the Quicksilver's Piercing-sensitive head can tangle their strings long before 
they enter spell-casting range.

Place of Free Words
Mini-boss: Harpy HP 210 / MP 160
Beast
Affinity: Dark
Special Attacks: Blasphemous Howl, Banish, Devitalise

Prize: Grimoire Intensite (Enchanter spell, Herakles), Angelic Paean x 5, Cure 
Tonic

Now, that's the kind of superb reinterpretation of a Western mythical cliche 
that only the Japanese have the correct measure of understanding and distance to 
pull off...

The Undercity's two-faced Emu of Doom is actually quite docile and lethargic, 
and it's possible to run through a room of them without disturbing them. Ruffle 
their feathers, though, and you'll quickly invite a Howl that places a Curse on 
you. The Curse reduces all of your attributes on an indefinite basis, and the 
only way to undo it is to cast Blessing - a Shamanic spell only found towards 
the end of the game - or to use an Angelic Paean. Appropriately, Angelic Paeans 
can be won by killing more Harpies.

The Encyclopedia isn't kidding about that "spell of death", either. Although it 
uses it with thankful rarity, the Harpy also possesses Banish, an instant death 
spell of Dark affinity. If either your RISK or your Light affinity is high then 
it's almost guaranteed to work, too - phut! Game over. There may also be a rule 
that the Harpy only uses its Banish as a last resort - if you let it get an 
attack in when it's almost dead - but I've yet to establish this. Leave them or 
finish them in one is still a good rule to observe.

Upon winning Herakles, you have a STR-booster spell that will not just cancel 
Degenerate but actually reverse it. 


Bazaar of the Bizarre
Boss: Lich HP 130 / MP 110
Evil
Special Attacks: accomplished magic-user

Prize: Summoner Baton (I), Agales' Chain accessory, Eulelia Sigil, Mana Tonic, 
Elixir of Mages

Prize ability: Teleport

Liches traditionally open with Silence and then bring out the heavy guns of 
multiple-target magic. They also possess immunity to many spells. Furthermore, 
they can teleport (see the Ghost entry for dealing with that). All of this puts 
them among the deadliest opponents in Vagrant Story, and if you regularly let 
your RISK run high then you'll fall to one of these sorcerers more often than 
not. 

Their only elemental weakness is Physical, so Talos Feldspar and Titan Malachite 
gems will improve your weapon damage. As the armour on the arms and head tends 
to be simple INT-raising wizard gear, target your weapons here. If you can 
maintain a Magic Ward while wielding a weapon with range enough to catch them 
before they disappear, you stand a better chance of killing them first. 

When the Lich is defeated, he'll pass on his secret of Teleportation. In game 
terms, this lets you warp between Magic Circles and so cut out too much trekking 
back and forth. Access this new ability through the Magic sub-screen of the main 
menu. If your mana point maximum is still relatively low, you may have to make 
several jumps to reach your destination.

Noble Gold and Silk
Quicksilvers
An Iron Key is required to open the eastern door, so you'd best go and get it...

Weapons Not Allowed
Lich, Quicksilvers

Chest (unlocked): 'Mojito' (B) Falchion, Stone Bullet grip, Titan's Ring 
accessory, Grimoire Nuageux (Sorcerer spell, Psychodrain), Iron Key

Now that you have the Iron Key, many previously inaccessible areas will open up. 
You'll need to revisit Undercity West for the Clematis Sigil, but there's also 
treasure to be had if you warp to Bandits' Hollow.

A Knight Sells His Sword
Harpy, Quicksilver
Using your new Iron Key, you can reach the City Walls North from this room's 
north exit. You'll pass through Traces of Invasion Past before reaching From 
Squire To Knight. Finish exploring the available rooms of Undercity East first, 
though, as you need the Melissa Sigil from here.

Gemsword Blackmarket
Boss: Nightstalker  HP 260 / MP 110
Evil-class
Special Attacks: Solid Shock, Sorcery spells

Prize: Melissa Sigil, Grimoire Eclairer (Sorcerer spell, Enlighten), Angelic 
Paean

This is an overgrown Dullahan, by any account, but one with sufficiently good 
armour to prevent it being a total pushover. It also has a very deadly special 
in the Solid Shock spell (Magic Ward will nullify it - once, but it has Physical 
affinity so it can be Guarded too). Keep using Herakles and Prostasia to counter 
its spells and you may keep it so busy with magic that it neglects its sword 
attack. If you can cast Degenerate and Tarnish on it, then your chance of 
landing more hurtful blows in the chest or abdomen will greatly increase. 
However, Nightstalker has a supply of Snowfly Draughts to dispel magical effects 
even when Silenced. 

The Pirate's Son
Harpy, Quicksilver
Eureka will reveal a simple Gust trap.

Sale Of The Sword
Lich, Quicksilver
Chest (unlocked): Ahlspies grip, Pushpaka accessory, Grimoire Tardif (Sorcerer 
spell, Leadbones), Stock Sigil

The Stock Sigil is for a treasure bonus. When you get a free moment to 
investigate, teleport to the Blackmarket of Wines in Wine Cellar and re-enter 
the Minotaur's arena.





~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
City Walls North
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When you're done in the Undercity East (i.e. you have at least the Iron Key, the 
Melissa & Eulalia Sigils), take the Iron Key exit from a Knight Sells His Sword 
and follow City Walls North right to the end to get back to town. This way 
you'll come across the door locked with Clematis Sigil, which is what you need 
to find next. Rest up in town, repair your weapons and get ready to go look for 
it.

This is also a great place to hone your Dragon-slaying weapon, as just popping 
between town and city walls respawns the enemies in each area.

Traces of Invasion Past
This staircase is locked with the Iron Key and connects City Walls North with 
Undercity East.

From Squire to Knight
Blood Lizards
If you come straight here from Rue Lejour, you'll find one exit leading to 
Traces of Invasion Past (locked with the Iron Key) and another heading north.

Be For Battle Prepared
Blood Lizards

Destruction and Rebirth
Dark Elemental
This time challenge asks you to beat the guardian in 20 seconds or try again. 
There's no special prize.

From Boy To Hero
Blood Lizards
For now, the wooden door leads out onto the steps of Kesch Bridge, Town Centre 
East. The end door is locked with the Clematis Sigil on your first visit, but 
you'll be coming back here soon enough to reach a different part of Undercity 
East that can't be accessed from the Shasras Hill Park ingress.

Later in the game, this room will house a Dummy in the shape of a Ghost for 
training against Phantom-class foes. Given the relative rarity of Phantoms, it's 
one of the more useful dummies.

A Welcome Invasion
Dark Elemental
By using the Clematis Sigil to open the door in From Boy To Hero, this last 
staircase of City Walls North grants access to a new part of Undercity East.




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
USING THE IRON KEY
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You now have the Iron Key, plus Teleportation ability. You can take advantage of 
both to acquire the next item you'll need, plus some bonus treasure.

Finding the Clematis Sigil
Teleport to The Sunless Way in Undercity West and head west to Remembering Days 
of Yore. There you'll find a door that opens with the Iron Key.

Larder for a Lean Winter
Lich, Dark Skeletons

Chest (unlocked): 'Balin's Revenge' (H) Tabar plus Heavy Grip, Vambrace (H), 
Elixir of Sages, Alchemist's Reagent x 5, Clematis Sigil

Bonus Treasure
Teleport to the Bandits' Hollow in Abandoned Mines B2 and take the Iron Key door 
right next to the Magic Circle.

Delusions of Happiness
Blood Lizards

Chest (unlocked): 'Pirate's Mate' (H) Sabre Halberd plus Sarissa Grip, Kris (D) 
blade, Heater Shield (I) plus Orion gem, Swan Song accessory, Vera Potion x 3, 
Grimoire Salamandre (Enchanter spell, Spark Fusion).





~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Undercity East
from City Walls North)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Greengrocer's Stair
An innocuous staircase at the moment, but we'll come back to this...

Where Black Waters Ran
Lich, Quicksilvers

Arms Against Invaders
Harpy

Catspaw Blackmarket
Lich, Quicksilvers
Use Eureka to uncover traps. There's one placed directly in front of the chest, 
but a Trap Clear tile on the right can be activated to remove it.

Chest (unlocked): Round Shield (H) plus Dark Queen gem, Grimoire Paralysis 
(Sorcerer spell, Stun Cloud), Aster Sigil

You'll find that the Aster Sigil opens up a door in Undercity West. More on that 
after this intermission...

The Greengrocer's Stair revisited
When you next enter this room in order to leave this cul-de-sac of Undercity 
East, you're immediately confronted by two of Guildernstern's top-ranking 
commanders. Father Grissom's corpse is also present, and they (not unfairly) 
blame you for his death. The fight itself actually takes place in the previous 
room, Where Black Waters Ran...

Lady Neesa & Sir Tieger HP: unknown / MP unknown (800 HP total)
Human
Affinity: Fire (Neesa wears a Salamander Ring), Water (Tieger wears an Undine 
Bracelet).
Special Attacks: Break Arts, recovery spells

This is a little bit unusual, as the overall aim seems to be to inflict an 
undisclosed total of damage rather than taking out one, or the other, or both. 
Neither can be defeated outright, and both will submit when just one falls. 800 
HPs seems to be the ballpark figure for how much damage you need to inflict.

A prior Magic Ward is advised, as both have decent spells (initial attacks can 
be healed with your now-plentiful items). Because of their accomplished fighting 
skills, a few Break Arts of your own will invite less danger than a chain that 
takes your RISK over 25. Start with Break Arts and spells first.

If you can then succeed with chains that sap mana points or cause Silence, you 
may attempt to tackle them physically. Paralysing effects are also potentially 
successful against these warriors if you prefer to use magic. Even a missed 
Analyse tells you enough to know that they have slight elemental affinities, so 
use that to your advantage. 
There's no real victory here, as both will beat a hasty retreat on yielding and 
victory carries no prize beyond escaping this section. When you attempt to leave 
by the Greengrocer's Stair one more time, you'll be greeted by a final cut-scene 
before being allowed to continue.




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Undercity West
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now that you have both the Iron Key and the Aster Sigil, you're ready to embark 
on a trek through the Limestone Quarry. This journey will take you all the way 
to the ancient Temple of Kiltia.

To begin, you should return to The Sunless Way again (you can teleport straight 
to its Magic Circle, for ease of travel). There you'll find a door locked with 
the Iron Key. Proceed to the Limestone Quarry.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Limestone Quarry
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This isn't a straightforward journey, as this subterrain has a couple of 
alternative paths, but follow it to the end and you'll reach the Temple of 
Kiltia.

Dark Abhors Light
A simple staircase.

Dream Of The Holy Land
Boss: Water Elemental 380 HP / 160 MP
Phantom
Special Attacks: Aqua Blast

Prize: Grimoire Avalanche (Warlock spell, Avalanche), Elixir of Sages, Acolyte's 
Nostrum

Equip the Undine Bracelet and place Undine Jaspers on your shield. Decorate your 
Phantom weapon with Salamander Rubies, and cast Spark Fusion if you have it. 
Aqua Blast attacks are single-target spells, so even at high RISK you should be 
able to halve the damage with an Aqua Ward defence ability. If you take your 
time positioning the area of effect grid, even a level 1 Flame Sphere can be 
placed so as to encompass many hit locations on a Water Elemental's body.

You've done the Elemental thing many times by now, so this battle shouldn't even 
require pause for thought.

It's possible to take on the Water Elemental as soon as you acquire the Iron 
Key, of course, but the door behind the Water Elemental is sealed with the Aster 
Sigil. If you haven't got it yet, you should obtain it from Undercity East as 
accessed from the City Walls North.


The Ore Road
Magic Circle
Here you get a choice of east and west routes. Both lead the same way, meeting 
at the Dreamer's Climb, but you'll want to see both if you're looking for 
percentage completion on a replay. The east route also boasts a treasure room.

Atone for Eternity (west route)
Gremlin HP 190 / MP 90
Evil
Special Attacks: casts Silence, Herakles, Prostasia
If you were hoping to get by with just a crossbow against Evil creatures, this 
Hieronymus-Bosch-inspired demon will show up your folly. It's pretty tough 
against everything of magical origin, even Light, so strong physical attacks are 
often your best chance of knocking them out of the air. Some of these flying 
fiends are packing Damascus armaments, so it's not even safe to assume you're 
now hard enough to withstand repeated attacks. Regard this as a chance to build 
up a good one- or two-handed melee weapon against the powers of utter Evil.

By the way, cast Eureka to reveal a trap here too. No point embarrassing 
yourself as well by looking like a complete novice.

Stair To Sanctuary
Wraith

The Fallen Hall
Ogres
The first time you enter here, this locking trap room will present a time 
challenge with two Ogres to defeat. On the second visit you'll meet two 
Dullahans.

The Rotten Core
Gremlins
This room feeds into the Dreamer's Climb, the meeting point of both routes.

The Air Stirs (east route)
Gremlins
Head east again for the treasure room.

Bonds of Friendship
Air Elemental

Chest (unlocked): 'Matador' (H) Shiavona plus Counter Guard, Cranequin (H) 
blade, Side Ring grip, Brigandine (H), Rondanche (H), Lionhead accessory, 
Snowfly Draught x 5, Grimoire Benir (Shaman spell, Blessing)

Bacchus is Cheap
Wraith

Screams of the Wounded
The first time you enter here, this locking trap room will present a time 
challenge with two Dullahans to defeat. On the second visit you'll meet two 
Ogres.

The Ore-Bearers
Gremlin
Again, the suspicious presence of just one Gremlin should have you sticking to 
the spot until you've cast Eureka.

The Dreamer's Climb
There's a Heal Panel trap under the cubes in the north-east corner of the 
floating island.

In a reversal of this room's normal format, you'll be coming from the lower 
levels in order to reach the high exit. The idea is to jump to the central 
island and stack one blue magnetic cube on another, thus creating a hovering 
edifice of three cubes in height. From the top, you can reach the wooden 
catwalk. If you find yourself coming from the side with the long jump, it's 
possible to make the leap to the island by moving the available crate two tiles 
nearer for a diagonal jump. Faerie Wings and Invigorate will help as usual.

Sinner's Sustenance
Wraith

The Timely Dew of Sleep
Gremlins
There's a Gold Key door here that, yet again, you'll have to ignore on first 
play.

The Auction Room
Magic Circle
A most welcome save point.

The Labourer's Bonfire
You need the Melissa Sigil to leave this room by its high exit. You should have 
picked that up from Gemsword Blackmarket in Undercity East.

The obstacle course itself requires another leap to a central island. If you're 
coming from the side of magnetic cubes then stack them for a jumping point to 
the island. There's a Paralysis trap next to the cubes, but should you be stung 
then the effect will probably have worn off by the time you leave.

Use a weapon to destroy just enough of the island's crate stack to allow you to 
jump up. If you're already on the island then you'll need a spear or crossbow to 
pick them off, aiming high. If you then climb up onto the stack to find yourself 
short, the obvious trick is to enter and leave through the nearby door of Stone 
and Sulphurous Fire to restore the crates (you'll definitely want to enter it 
once on your way through Labourer's Bonfire anyway, as it's a treasure room).

Stone and Sulphurous Fire
Earth Elemental

Chest (unlocked): 'White Lady' (H) Morning Star plus Runkasyle, Balbriggan (H) 
blade, Power Palm grip, Talos Feldspar gem, Acolyte's Nostrum x 3, Grimoire 
Egout (Warlock spell, Drain Heart)

If you haven't tried a Thunderburst spell yet, now's your chance.

Torture Without End
Boss: Ogre Lord HP 560 / MP 110
Beast
Special Attacks: Tornado, also casts Degenerate, Surging Balm

Prize: Shiavona (I) plus Power Palm, Braveheart gem, Morlock Jet gem, Agales' 
Chain, Elixir of Queens, Mana Tonic x 3, Cure Potion

The Tornado is pretty rare, and mostly he's content to cast Degenerate and run 
away. Counter it with Herakles. If he tries to use Surging Balm then casting 
*any* spell on him will negate it (If you haven't got Drain Mind then Antidote, 
of all things, is cheapest on MP, but feel free to try more ambitious spells). 
His sword does pack a punch, but if you keep him busy enough by undoing his 
magic then you can effectively waste his time while getting in Break Arts of 
your own. Like all Ogres, he's not only a left-hander but he also possesses a 
natural combo-breaking ability: if you persist with a chain, you'll often score 
nothing but misses.

Way Down
Magic Circle
Take the east door before heading south.

Excavated Hollow
Water Elemental

Chest (unlocked): 'Angel Face' (H) Balbriggan plus Heavy Grip, Elephant grip, 
Casserole Shield (H), Beaded Anklet, Missaglia (I), Grimoire Flamme (Warlock 
Spell, Flame Sphere)

Must be a promotion on Balbriggans this week.... Otherwise, this represents a 
major treasure stash. Beaded Anklet is one of the finest stat-booster 
accessories you can equip on first play; the Elephant grip is the best Edged 
haft for Axes; and using the Grimoire Flamme item will take your Flame Sphere up 
by one level, increasing its damage, range and area of effect.

Parting Regrets
Wraith
I recently discovered that if you run down one of these staircases with the 
right timing, the Wraith is so busy teleporting to the wrong spot that you can 
get all the way through without being touched. Nyar, nyar!

Corridor of Tales
Gremlin, Ogre
Despite the name, there aren't many interesting anecdotes about this place at 
all.

Dust Shall Eat The Days
The idea here is to use the Cloudstone's forward momentum to help you jump to 
the other side. The problem you'll encounter is that the other side is hedged in 
by two stacks of crates, so you've also got to aim for the narrow gap between 
the two (a Dual Shock can help you here).

Check the Cloudstone's path from all sides and you'll see how it moves down-
forward and up-back, as well as left-right. You've got to use this down-forward 
part of the motion to jump from. If you try to jump from the Cloudstone while 
it's moving left-right, you'll be thrown sideways yourself when you leap.

Also, if you're packing a Crossbow (you'll need the range of a Windlass or 
higher) then you can pick off the crates as you slide back and forth and clear a 
space on the other side. This will make your final jump much easier.

If you're coming back the other way, get rid of the top cube and roll the lower 
one two tiles towards the wall. It's just possible to jump and grab the edge.

Hall of the Wage Paying
Boss: Snow Dragon HP 720 / MP 0
Dragon
Special Attacks: Tail Attack, Frost Breath

Prize: Grimoire Barrer (Enchanter spell, Aqua Guard), Panacea, Elixir of Queens

Trying to catch you out, the Snow Dragon has a Piercing weakness in the Tail and 
an Edged weakness in the head. That doesn't make too much difference at this 
stage, though. It's still too huge for a level 2 Flame Sphere to frighten it, so 
stick to Fire-affinity weapons and Break Arts with as much Water-aligned defence 
as you can muster. If you've a grip that you can plaster in Dragonite then you 
might even stand a better chance on pure physical terms.

Tunnel of the Heartless
This isn't immediately obvious, so have good look around first. But prepare to 
be disappointed.

There's a high exit door in the far wall, and a tall pier of rock extending from 
the front of that exit, that you need to jump to. Except that, ordinarily, you 
can't. It's too steep to reach from below, and if you try to leap across you'll 
discover a cube-shaped gap that just stops you getting the height you need. But 
if the gap were filled, you'd have sufficient height to make it across. So what 
you need to do is move the push crate all the way around to fill that gap.

As you enter, slide the lower frictionless cube forward to the central wall. 
Climb up and push the higher frictionless cube on top of it to make a stack. Now 
walk to the other crates and push the leftmost rolling cube to the right, off 
the top of push crate, so that it fills the gap below the second rolling cube. 
Push that second rolling cube twice so that it rolls onto the first one and then 
onto the floor.

You can now edge the push crate out and then onto the central wall with spaces 
around it that allow you to push it right, along the edge of the wall. When it 
gets to being lined up with the blue frictionless cubes, you can stand on them 
to push it inwards. From there it's just a matter of getting the push crate into 
the gap.

Alternatively - and this is the killer - just eat a Faerie Wing and jump from 
where the push crate should go. It works, and I got my finest ever rating of 
Little Green Man (7 seconds) by solving it in this cheapster fashion. Tcha!




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Temple Of Kiltia
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There's plenty of plot going down here, but your tangible goal is to prise the 
Silver Key from the Minotaur Lord and then use it to reach the final boss of the 
Temple. You'll eventually surface at the doors of the Great Cathedral, where the 
final chapter of Vagrant Story takes place.


The Dark Coast
A tile-wide ledge running along the left side of the room is your only means of 
crossing the chasm: jump from the very edge of the floor before it dips a tile 
and you can just make it up onto the narrow platform. If you cast Eureka then 
you'll see the Trap Clear panel next to the wall that's very easy to drop onto, 
but avoid it if you can. It actually removes a Heal Panel on the other of the 
chasm.

Hall Of Prayer
Mini-boss: Last Crusader HP 480 / MP 240
Evil
Special Attacks: Sorcery spells

Prize: Agria's Balm accessory, Grimoire Purifier (Shaman spell, Clearance), 
Alchemist's Reagent x 3

This final incarnation of the Dullahan wields a huge Damascus Rhomphaia in one 
hand, so you have to keep your RISK down - with Vera items if necessary - or a 
single blow will gouge away half your health or more. If you're hoping to 
Reflect Damage or use Impact Guard, note that he's got two different attacks; a 
slow swing and a faster thrust.

Despite his spellcasting ability, this isn't the most intelligent suit of armour 
in the world. That means your own Sorcery spells will stand a good chance of 
affecting it. One clever technique you might try is to cast Degenerate and / or 
Tarnish on the Crusader, then Silence him before he can undo them (he doesn't 
have Magic Cancel items). This buys you time and keeps his damage low. He'll 
necessarily get physical with you, but if you Herakles and Prostasia yourself 
then you'll have a much better chance of scoring damage against him. Or you can 
just keep using Sorcery spells on him and let him waste his efforts on undoing 
them while you're hitting him. Most chains will fail after a couple of hits, so 
it isn't always easy to hurt him if you're packing the wrong weapon: this 
particular enemy is weakest against Edged blades, though I also recommend a 
Piercing Gale Break Art if you're packing a sword.

If you pass through this room on later occasions, you'll be faced with a Water 
Elemental and a Nightstalker instead.

If you haven't got the Silver Key yet, take the right-hand door. 

Those Who Drink The Dark
To jump over the chasm, use the high column. If you're coming back from the 
other way, push a crate to the edge for the same effect. There's a Silver Key 
side-door here, but ignore it for now: it actually leaves the temple and enters 
Ants Prepare For Winter in the Limestone Quarry.

So, the side door isn't an option. The only way to get up that high wall at the 
north end is to move that highest push crate straight towards it and use the 
extra height to jump up. One problem: when you make the first push, it drops 
straight down and you can't get behind it to push it any nearer.

To solve this, you need to make a small side-platform at floor level out of two 
adjoining crates.

Push the topmost of the stack of two to the west by one tile, so that it fills 
the hole in front of the two crates wedged next to the west wall. Now destroy 
the innermost (northern) of those wedged crates so that you can push the 
remaining one out (south) over the filled gap. If you keep pushing (south) by 5 
tiles, you'll find enough space by the chasm at the entrance to get around it 
and move it (east) two tiles into the centre of the corridor, with a space on 
each side.

Now smash the crate that you used to fill the gap and move the remaining floor 
crate to the east by one tile. You'll see that this crate left on the floor has 
enough space on each side to move it in and out (east and west) of where it is. 
This slider movement will be instrumental. See, if you then push one of the 
other crates onto this slider, and then again (north) onto the floor, you can 
move the slider sideways to make a space behind the one that's just hit the 
floor. This enables you to push the floored crate towards the high wall (north). 

So, using the slider, move those two remaining southern crates (north) onto the 
floor and towards the high wall, one at a time. That means moving the nearest 
one east by one tile and then north by eight tiles (pausing to move the slider 
west by one tile to give you that space). Now restore the slider (east one tile) 
and move the second crate north by nine tiles. You've still got that highest 
crate in place, but you've now made a two-tile ledge at floor level.

More precisely, when you've pushed the high crate north by one tile towards the 
high wall, and it's dropped down, you then want to be able to push it out east 
one tile, onto a wooden crate on the floor, then north one tile by sliding it 
onto the other crate; then back in to the west one tile, onto the raised stone, 
so that there's a single gap behind it that will let you push it all the way to 
the wall.

There. Simple. You'll be wanting diagrams, I suppose.

The Chapel of Meschaunce
Mini-boss: Minotaur Lord HP 540 / MP 0
Beast
Special Attacks: Giga Rush
Intimidating as he looks, this particular Minotaur is rather more than 50% bull. 
Go in ready for a straight physical fight, no tricks, and the whole thing should 
be over in seconds. His attacks are unexpectedly weak and he doesn't have too 
much in the way of armour if your Beast weapon is Edged. You may even find you 
now have a Break Art that knocks whole slices of steak off him, finishing the 
job without need for a normal attack.

Prize: Titan's Ring, Elixir of Queens, Alchemist's Reagent x 3

Chest (unlocked): 'Frost Maiden' (H) Mjolnir plus Runkasyle, Sonic Bullet grip, 
Ghost Hound accessory, Cure Potion x 2, Mana Potion x 2, Silver Key

Just like the Iron Key, the Silver Key opens up a few bonus treasures to hunt 
down in a moment of diversion. For now, head back to the Hall of Prayer and take 
that opposite door.

The Resentful Ones
There are two puzzles here, and it's quite a trek to reset the room if you foul 
up on the second. 

Puzzle 1: the rolling cubes here have only a limited number of moves, and the 
idea is to use them as stoppers for the frictionless cube so that you can slide 
it into position. The idea here is to get the frictionless cube right next to 
the push crates, just between stack and high wall, so that you can push the top 
crate onto the frictionless cube, one tile closer to the high wall.

To do this, start with the rolling cube that's furthest from the blue cube and 
push it north two tiles, then west one tile. Now push the other rolling cube 
north one tile, east one tile, south one tile. With this set-up, just three 
pushes on the frictionless cube to east, north and east again will set it up 
ready to take a push crate on top.

For the second stage, move the rolling cube to act as a stopper for both 
frictionless cubes so that they line up with the crate stack. Close up the gap 
between the two blue cubes. Then push the top crate over the two sliders. From 
this nearer two-cube stack, you can jump diagonally for the exit platform.

To do this, push the rolling cube north one tile and then west three tiles. 
Slide the first of the blue cubes west so that it stops next to the push crates. 
Now push the rolling cube north two tiles and repeat with other blue cube. Close 
the gap by push the northern blue cube south and then move the top push crate 
north by two tiles.

(Time-puzzlers will realise that you can use the rolling cube itself to fill in 
for the second frictionless cube, by pushing it north and east instead after the 
first frictionless cube is in place).

Those Who Fear The Light
Air Elemental, Gremlins

Chamber Of Reason
A superb cut-scene is followed by...

Kali HP 500 / MP 500
Human
Special Attacks: Raven Eye (poison), Caesar's Thrust (paralysis)
By spreading individual weaknesses across her body - and only slight ones, at 
that - Kali is tough against magic, and almost impossible to hurt with a 
multiple-target spell. However, this also means that there will be body 
locations that you'll have a chance of hurting, regardless of weapon type. Your 
best bet here is to stick with whatever you've been sharpening on the Crimson 
Blades, bolstered with a Haeralis gem and backed up by a Titan's Ring or Rusted 
Nails accessory for maximum damage against Human-class opponents. Her legs and 
head have no particular weapon strengths, otherwise.

Her major weakness to Sorcery is the Leadbones spell, and you can really annoy 
her with this. If she kicks off with Degenerate, don't forget that you can 
reverse it with Herakles. This actually keeps her very busy, undoing either 
spells on her or spells on you. As long as you keep your health up whenever it 
drops then even her big hitters shouldn't knock you for six.

Exit To The City Centre
Just step onto the rising podium to activate it. There's a Magic Circle coming 
right up, so don't rush back to the Dark Coast. When you arrive at Plateia 
Lumitar, it's a good idea to teleport back to Junction Point and get yourself 
organised for the Great Cathedral. You'll also find a few old doors on your 
explored maps that are now unlockable with your new Silver Key.