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Shadow of Yserbius
Game from Sierra - Walkthrough (Parts 1 & 2)
First some general info.
On the maps, the bottom left corner is A1, letters going up the side of the map
A to P maximum and numbers along the bottom 1 to 16 maximum. Unless stated
otherwise, all areas are 16 by 16. Occasional single letters have been used to
refer to specific locations on the maps.
Some encounters are fixed, others random. Once you have the skill Read Tracks,
cast this on first entry and mark each purple square as an X on your map. Do the
same with True Seeing which will show staircases, doors, teleports and other
important items as yellow blocks. Mark as a ?.
Some Xs may turn out to be NPCs but it's well worth knowing where the tough
fights are likely to be. Random fights aren't usually so hard. Occasionally I
couldn't work out what a ? referred to; nothing seemed to happen, or there'd be
a message saying something like 'the room is bare' so these are still on the
maps as a ?.
Some monsters carry excellent treasure the first time you find them. These are
not always replenished when you go back a second time but it's worth a try!
Quest items, as far as I can see, are always replaced should you need a
replacement for some reason or another.
Equip yourself with the best lockpick you can find. Only a low level one can be
bought, others are gained from fights. I found the best was a blue and kept this
in the slot between my character's feet for ease of use.
I have tended to say 'use a blue lockpick' in the solution and on the maps. But
I haven't always noted which doors need a lockpick and I gather a blue one isn't
actually needed until the Thieves' Den, Level 5.
Level 1
1) Dungeon Entrance
Not much to say about this area. No monsters, no NPCs, no treasure, just four
doors. One leads back outside to the Dungeon Exit, one to the Mine, one to the
Hall of Doors and the last to the Soldiers' Quarters. It's 9 by 11 in size.
In the top left corner is a locked door which you can't enter until your
character is Level 20 or above and has the Thieves' key. This then gives a short
cut to Level 6 The Labyrinth I. All Quest items relating to the Palace are taken
from you when you enter, which is worrying, to say the least, when it happens!
2) The Mines
In this area you will find several rumours. One tells of King Cleowyn's
fantastic treasure. Another tells you to look out for better lockpicks and that
it is useful to be able to detect hidden doors and traps. A third tells you that
the upper levels of the dungeon are the King's Palace and are full of traps. Oh,
how true! A wizard tells you that the lower levels of the dungeon are very
dangerous and a lone adventurer will be at a disadvantage - also true, but not
very useful info when you are playing a solo game! Another character will tell
you that to reach the next level of the dungeon you'll need a special key which
is located on this level. You'll also be warned about the pit in the centre of
the mine which only the strongest can survive.
A central corridor leads from the doorway to the Dungeon Entrance, to the south,
to the Vestibule to the east. Some doors are locked and need a lockpick, others
are opened by brute strength (17 upwards).
A doorway in the southeast at E14 leads to the pit we were warned about. Ignore
this until you are a high level - say Level 20. Fortunately a kind spirit will
rescue you if you try to jump into it too soon. It leads to Level 5, Pit Bottom.
Another doorway in the northeast at K14 takes you through a series of rooms. At
N6, you will fight to win King Cleowyn's Key which is needed to unlock a nearby
door and will be used extensively on lower levels. Further through, at G2,
another fight will gain you King Cleowyn's Lockpick, which will also be useful
later.
Cast detect in the southeast (B14) to find a secret wall. In here, a teleport
can only be used by Level 20 characters upwards and takes you to Level 5
Thieves' Den.
3) The Soldiers' Quarters
Reached from the Dungeon Entrance, you can reach the Treasury from here and,
later, Level 2 the Basement and beyond. In fact, it turns into a useful short
cut. It is also a route back from The Prison using two teleports in a hidden
area in the bottom right. You arrive at C13, then go through D14 to reach M13
(and vice versa to reach the Prison).
You'll learn from NPCs that you can acquire new skills in the dungeon. You'll
also be told that under Cleowyn's Palace is a maze infested with thieves. They
seem the only ones who know how to get through the thing. An orc barbarian will
tell you that polar bears and ice lions infest the lower parts of the dungeon
and a troll ranger warns you to take heed of the "Keep Out" sign at the end of
the corridor and to look out for traps.
Several doors need a lockpick to open them, either green or, better, blue. The
central area cannot be reached until you find a teleport at the far east side,
G15. Just through the teleport, some dire wolves guard a hollowed nunchukas
which will give you some extra cash unless you can use it.
A square corridor around this section has a few rooms off it. One contains some
elf barbarians (C5) which often carry worthwhile treasure - I picked up some
good magical swords and armour here. A good lockpick is needed for one northern
door and another in the south (K3 and C6).
4) The Hall of Doors
A smaller area, just 8 by 16, reached from the Vestibule and the Dungeon
Entrance. Once again, only the outer area is immediately accessible. The centre
can only be reached by teleport at D16 and there is a locked room past D1 which
can be unlocked with a blue lockpick. In here, at E1, is a teleport to the
Mausoleum on level 3. A teleport from The Treasury leads to a locked room at
C16.
You'll learn that the wizard came to Twinion and caused the volcano to erupt.
His castle is buried deep in the bowels of the mountain. A troll cleric tells
you someone left a rune on the floor which said that to reach the King's
Apartment you must take a turn for the worst. Another NPC tells you scrolls and
amulets contain magic here but the magic in them is soon exhausted.
Once you have entered the centre section, you'll find four rooms, each with an
encounter, some with very good treasure especially elf clerics and rogues at F9
and goblins with gold coins at F11. A teleport at C5 leads to The Basement in
Level 2.
5) The Treasury
Another 8 by 16 area. LOTS of trapdoors in here which will show up with True
Seeing. All lead to The Basement, Level 2, some to an area which can only be
reached by this method.
One NPC will tell you that the wizard may have claimed the king's body when he
died. Another tells you of a strange area, 2 levels down, with 6 small rooms
accessible to everyone but a large area she is unable to reach though a wizard
told her to study her runes to solve the mystery of the area. This refers to the
Rune Room on Level 3.
A teleport at H16 leads to the Hall of Doors and a doorway to the Soldiers's
Quarters. The central area, reached through the door at B8, contains many
monsters so don't tackle it too soon. Many are undead. I used sovereign scrolls
to cast Control whenever possible. Other than this, nothing useful here.
6) The Vestibule
Reached by doors from The Mines and The Hall of Doors. Strange concentric
corridors, tapestries, locked doors and four central rooms. An NPC will tell you
that you must solve the mystery of the linked vestibule doors to continue
further down into the dungeon and another will say that they devised a clever
maze of squares to discourage thieves and invaders. An elf cleric says he found
nothing in the King's Treasure Room - maybe he missed something - and adds that
teleports will speed your way through the dungeon.
Use Read Runes to read the tapestries. One reads 'A hero of strength may open my
series of doors' so all you need is sufficient strength to get through. A second
says 'A certain lockpick opens my series of doors'. A third says 'A certain key
unlocks my series of doors'. These refer, respectively, to Cleowyn's Lockpick
and Cleowyn's Key which were found in the Mines. The fourth set of doors can
just be opened. The fact is that you can only use one route at any one time.
Once one door is opened, all others are impassable. So you need to go through at
least four times to reach each central room. It's worth it, though. In one,
reached using the Lockpick route, a fight at H10 will gain you the Key to
Cleowyn's Palace. In another, the route using Cleowyn's Key, you'll find stairs
at G7 to The Palace Corridor, Level 2. The 'strength' route takes you ultimately
to a teleport to The King's Domicile, Level 4, from J9. You can win teleport
passes round this area, handy for reaching the shop until you have the Teleport
spell.
Level 2
1) The Basement
This area is reached by stair from the Hall of Doors - taking you to the main,
central corridor. A fountain at K7 will heal you ... once.
One NPC tells you there's more to this basement than meets the eye; he wants to
know the secret of what lies behind the thick walls of this corridor. Another
tells of a marble block near here with the name Arnakkian Slowfoot, wizard to
the King. Others tell of a race of elf-like creatures deep in the dungeon and
that you must work with races you would normally ignore to succeed (I think this
refers to the on-line game). One says to the east of the Rune Room on Level 3 is
the Wizard's Challenge, quite a challenge it is too, though he found several
short cuts to it.
Three doors lead off the south side of the corridor but there isn't much here
apart from a room behind a locked door at D14 (use a yellow lockpick or better).
King Hobgoblins and Hobgoblins at A14 are tough - use a sovereign scroll.
Yes, there are three secret areas around the corridor. One southern area can
only be dropped into via trapdoors from the Treasury. A one-way door leads back
to the corridor at E4.
A teleport from the Hall of Doors will land you in another at P15. From here,
make your way to P8 where another teleport will take you across the north end of
the corridor to the left side of the area. There's a complicated series of
stairs and one-way walls starting at I1. These will take you to the Soldiers's
Quarters and back down - twice - to allow you to reach two more areas down this
side.
There are some lucrative fights at N5 and O5 and, finally, a teleport to The
Great Corridor, Level 3, at A1.
2) Palace Corridor
Seemingly not much here. You can only access the three corridors directly. One
NPC tells you the object to open locked doors is on the first level. This is the
Palace Key which we found in The Vestibule. Another says there are 3 secret
areas in this level but they can't be entered from this corridor. True. The only
way in is from The Rune Room on Level 3, which you won't be able to do for a
while yet. A third says that not all traps are dangerous; she found a useful key
down one.
Some advance warning from another NPC lets you know that the entrance to King
Cleowyn's Apartments are guarded by a dwarf called Deldwinn on Level 3. You are
warned not to try to fight him as he is enchanted and cannot be killed by
mortals. An Orc Knight also warns that the King's Palace is filled with spirits
of the tormented dead and to look for an asymmetry in the Palace if you wish to
hear the truth about the dead king.
You can reach The Vestibule from doors at the top left (O1, P2) and stairs down
to The Rune Room at O16 and P15. A door at C5 is locked but translating the
runes on the tapestry next to it tells you that none shall pass save one who
holds the key to the Palace. This allows you to reach the doors at A1 and A2
which lead to Cleowyn's Palace.
3) Cleowyn's Palace
A tough area with various undead lurching around such as ghosts, banshees and
nightmares. An NPC near the entrance from the Palace Corridor tells you King
Cleowyn appears on his throne on special occasions and won't leave until all
mortals have left the palace. Another warns that the Pit is pitiless, do not go
near it, but also says that the traps are dangerous but they may aid you. A
third says to obey the King and return his cherished possessions to be blessed.
Keep them and you will die.
There are a few locked doors to open with a blue lockpick and others to open by
brute force. The pit mentioned is at D5 but I found it no problem; it drops you
two floors to the King's Domicile (unless they mean the one in the Mine?).
Pillars and trapdoors abound. The trapdoors lead to the Prison on Level 3. Get
back by using the Pit to the King's Domicile in the Prison and the elevator
there to come back up (see those sections).
The trapdoors stop you reaching the bottom left corner of the area - a problem.
But a tapestry at K8 tells you that what you see is not always what is real.
You'll discover what this means when you approach some pillars and find they
move away from you. Use this technique to go through the door at I16 and head
along the corridor round the bottom right corner. Go through the door at the end
(A10) and the pillar at A8 will move away from you - and keeps doing so. Move
along the bottom edge to A5 and then north to B5. You'll enter a major scrap
with King Cleowyn and other ghosts! Use Control and Poison Cloud and once you
win, you'll gain the King's Ring - very handy.
Return to A5 and the King's spirit will meet you. He tells you the imps that
serve Arnakkian have stolen his crown, robe and sceptre. Return them to their
proper places in the Mausoleum and he will reward you. He also tells you he was
killed by Arnakkian's spirit and you must find his body and put it in the
Mausoleum so he can rest in peace. He tells you to find and read the tapestry
and the Ring is the seal of his promise.
Whatever you do, don't go back to B5. The King will reappear and take back his
Palace Key before attacking you, necessitating a trek back to the Vestibule for
another one.
Instead, head to the tapestry at H12 which was blank until this fight. Now it
translates to say that imps have hidden the robe, crown and sceptre. Only a
master of the runes may find them. Two-faced Y is at the centre of the quest.
From Y, open O and E and I. When a rune key is used correctly, it will
disappear. At this stage, this will mean nothing but just wait a little while
and all will become clear.
There will still be one small corner, bottom left, that you can't reach due to
traps. I assume there is nothing important there.
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