The Remaining Castles and a Bug!

It was time to make a visit to the remaining castles. I decided to first tackle Empath Abbey. I took the moongate to the forest near Yew. I could not quite remember where the castle was located so I had to wander around a little bit. I did run into my first group of Cyclops that also included the magic-negating Zorn. I didn't realize that it would be yellow in color.

Back 27 years ago, we did not have a clue that Empath Abbey existed. Serpent Castle was a rumor, but we had no idea where it was located. We certainly had not worked out the connection between the principles of truth, love and courage and the eight virtues although we had talked to a number of townsfolk who had somewhat alluded to this. We would have known about these two castles from the beginning if we had a map. (The Lycaeum was easy to find because Verity Isle is small.) I remember being very surprised when we ran into Empath Abbey. This took place when we attempted to make our own exhaustive map of Britannia. I don't know if our home-made map still exists; I have not seen it in many years. In any case, in our first quest, we did chance upon Empath Abbey before we found Serpent's Hold. It made sense to visit the abbey first.

The gate guard and Chinup, the child-welcomer, told us about the oak grove. I still remember that mystic armour can be found here, but I'm not supposed to "know" that yet so I did not attempt a search. I will wait until I am a full-fledged avatar before going back to Sir Simon and Lady Tessa in Paws to obtain the requisite information. Humlock, the beggar at the entrance, also told me to speak to the Ankh. Its name was "Life" and it was particularly helpful, telling me who to ask about the candle of love. At the grove, Diane instructed me to ask the other "inhabitants" about love, and I must say that they were very clear about the connection between the three principles and the eight virtues. Benjamin said that "when the three combine in eight ways love alone is compassion." For good measure, in case I did not understand him the first time around, he also said that "of the eight avatar attributes compassion is derived from love alone." Deidre did the same thing with two statements: "When three build eight, truth tempered by love becomes justice" and "Justice is one of the eight avatar virtues and derives from truth and love." Lastro the ranger told me about the connection to Spirituality. Even the passage guard told me that a three-part key is needed to enter the codex.

Everyone seemed clearer and less cryptic at Empath Abbey. Brother Antos told me that the candle of love was needed to enter the abyss. I finally found Derek the Bard beyond the secret passage who divulged its location - yes, again it is Lock Lake. I found the lady-in-waiting to Lady Marcy (who rules the province with Lord Robert) and she directed me to Malchor the paladin who in turn told me where to find the silver horn.


My plan next was to visit Serpent's Hold. I decided to sail south from where I had docked my ship outside Castle Britannia. 27 years ago, we had known this place existed from my conversations but we just could not find it. We had not been as systematic about our mapping back then and we were doing it mostly on foot rather than by ship. When we eventually started mapping the islands, we finally found the castle. This time around, I knew where it was and so I sailed there directly. After all, now I have a map.

Roderick the beggar told me about the magic orbs. I already knew how they worked, and even if I did not, trial and error would have given me that information in a dungeon. Here's where I found my first bug. The guards at the entrance were named Sentri when they should have been guards. They in fact said the same thing as Sentri when I eventually found him. It seems a little pretentious to have your name posted in large letters in your "throne room". Then again I suppose Lord British has that too. Lord Robert and Lady Marcy, however, just had their initials. Sentri did not seem very helpful in conversation.

I also visited the training room where Shyra the training master gave what was probably the clearest explanation of the altar rooms: "In the altar room of courage use the red, orange, purple and white stones." (I did not search the training room.) Sister Antos told me to ask Garam about the bell of courage. He in turn, gave me the location by latitude and longitude. I haven't found anyone to tell me about the sextant yet. It was somewhat annoying to get all this information (including the location of nightshade from Virgil in Trinsic) and not be able to pinpoint my exact location. I of course know the "alternate" spot where I might find nightshade but I haven't decided whether to act on that information yet. The most interesting conversation I had, however, was with Noxum! I had forgotten that there was a nixie in the waters of the castle but I did have my eye open for secret passages. Noxum told me about the wheel of the H.M.S. Cape. I now need to find a survivor to tell me its location although I bet I could find it on my own given Noxum's information.

After exiting the castle, my plan was to make my way by ship to the isles near Spiritwood to find the silver horn. En route I encountered two pirate ships which slowed down my journey significantly since I wanted to keep these new ships. I slowly brought two of them to the southwestern shore of Britannia. I would move them to more convenient locations after finding the horn. The horn was on the second last island I searched, as luck would have it. I then sailed to Skara Brae to top up on food, parked a ship there, and took the moongate back to the mainland.

Given that I have not spotted a way to Lock Lake yet (no one has told me about the whirlpool nor have I seen one), and I needed to find the person who would tell me about the sextant, I decided to visit Jhelom. I should have gone earlier. I knew from memory how to obtain the sextant but did not want to "jump the gun". In our first outing with Ultima IV, because we did not have the book of spells and therefore had not figured out what the electric field was and how to get around it (by Dispel), an early visit to Jhelom had proved disappointing. This time, however, I was armed with many Dispels.

I took one of the ships off the west coast and sailed to Jhelom. At first I could not find a route to the outer ring and towers of the towne, so I had to peer at a gem to figure out that the secret passage was the southwest corner through the inn. I found Senora in the first tower who told me to ask the barkeeper about the sextant. Then I made my way around (using many Dispels along the way) until I found Nostro, who told me where to find the rune. Nostro also proceeded to follow me around until I mange to lose him where I first found Senora. I had earlier learned the mantra and the location of the red stone from the townsfolk. I made a quick visit to the pub on the way out and learned where I can now get a sextant. That will be the next order of business.

At this point I have all the runes, two stones, the book of truth and the silver horn. I know the location of nightshade and the bell of courage. I have two shrines to visit to gain partial avatarhood (Justice and Humility) and I need to visit Lock Lake.

21649 moves. Cumulative playing time = 12 hours.