The Bard's Tale: Kylearan's Dark Tower

 

Next part of the tale - Kylearan's Tower, by way Harkyn's Castle. I swap out Ahab for Magic Mike and put Sunfall in the front row; Ahab's hitting power will be missed, but some extra spellpower will be more than a good tradeoff, and Sunfall's holy shield, magic ring and flute, and beer belly will offer just as much protection to the back row as Ahab's full mithril plate.

 

A Entrance B Message C Combat D Trap E Teleport F Spinner G Riddle H Green Dragons I Silver triangle J Crystal Golem K Stasis chamber L Kylearan

Seekers 2304 Dwarf Kings 2304 Wizards 2304 Sorcerers 2304 Samurai Lords 2304 Magicians 2304-2560 Conjurors 2304-2560 Lurkers 2560 Fire Giants 2560 Berserkers 2560 Azure Monks 2560 Hydras 2560 Green Dragons 2560 Wraiths 2560 Shadows 2560 Ivory Monks 2560 Weretigers 2560 White Dragons 2560 Ice Giants 2816 Phantoms 2816 Ogre lords 2816 Eye Spies 2816 Xorns 2816 Body Snatchers 2816 Fred 2816 Lesser Demons 3072 Crystal Golem 3584

 

Ugh, what a pain to navigate. From the start, the only way into the central area (which I've transposed to the top of the map) is by way of one-way teleporter relays, and there's no teleport spells or phase doors allowed here, so you're stuck! The only way out is through, or a reboot.

And very soon, I am forced to reboot. A magic mouth offers a riddle I can't solve, and not only can I not advance without solving, I can't retreat either.

Mangar? No, no, that's not right.

Another reload wipes out all of my gold and Tarjan's eye. Which is annoying, but not game-ruining; I can just go back to the dungeon and re-fight the Spectre to earn it again, and I have little use for gold now except recharging spellpoints, which is free with turbo emulation.

At least the monsters aren't very difficult. There's a new assortment of them, but the melee-based ones can't touch my front row, the spellcasters die quickly to Mind Blade, and even dragons or unusually lucky mages who live long enough to do damage are quickly killed in retaliation and our wounds healed with Scribe's restoration magic. But all this XP and treasure earned is a waste; I can't leave and bank it until I explore enough to find the way out. And with magic and song being limited resources, this takes a few tries.

Elsewhere in the central area, a diagonally-symmetric complex of doors, I find two poetic clues:

• Made of earth
  Yet without soul
  As living statue
  He is whole
  


• As a guardian
  He must walk...
  The First part of his name
  means rock

Now the answer is obvious. This teleports us to a big, dark rectangular region. Thankfully not a maze, but I explore every square just to be sure, and there is, in fact, a riddle hidden inside.

The included map shows the answer to this one.

I don't realize this yet, but solving the riddle opens up a door in the next area. In a subsequent try I will learn this the hard way; solving it blindly and running into a dead end where there used to be a door.

That next area is a dark maze. Big fun. Three things are hidden within; the exit, a silver triangle (I see where this is going), and a clue: Beware the sting at the tail (south) of the serpent-way.

The exit leads to the Crystal Golem.

It takes a few rounds - Kurisu is the only one wielding the crystal sword capable of killing it, and we suffer a few crystal-studded slaps to the face, but eventually Kurisu lands a lethal blow and we move forward.

 

Two doors - going forward leads to unexplored territory. Going right leads back to the entrance. I go right; we've earned a rest, and a few levels.

On return, I try out my newly acquired spell; Lesser Summoning, which brings a minor demon into this world (it's safe, really!). It's difficult to say if this is better than the best Sorcerer summons or not (Wind Giant and Wind Dragon), but it's cheaper, and the Wizard's summons only get better. Furthermore, these summons, unlike some of the junior class ones, can be cast outside of combat, which I hadn't realized until now.

"Something special" is an inescapable stasis chamber, which the clue in the dark maze vaguely warned of.

A spinner in a 1x1 room with four door exits makes life miserable for a little while.

After re-fighting the golem, going through a long, long twisty corridor, some rooms with spinners, and finding the right alcove to the teleporter forward, Kylearan awaits at the end of one last windy passage.

The prize is an onyx key, and a teleporter back to the entrance.