CHAPTER 19: TO SAVE THE DRAGON-THRONE

In this chapter, you contend with fire giants, prevent the further spreading of the volcano crater in the Volcanic Rockies, slay an imprisoned (and weakened) demi-god, defeat a second Overlord and get to play king-maker. All in a regular hero's working day, eh?

• Note: around the begining of the adventure, you felt and saw signs that something was amiss with the volcano of the Volcanic Rockies, as it appeared to have increased in its activity. Who, or what, is responsible for this? As you'll find out (or have already surmized during your journeys in Chapter 17), the volcano crater has expanded greatly indeed, thus changing somewhat the overall landscape of the Volcanic Rockies.

• Note 2: you may also have heard rumors that the Dragonking of Lantharond is sick and dying, his Queen and a Regent apparently now ruling from the Dragon-throne in his stead.

• Note 3: this Chapter can be completed at any time from the moment the Lord Paladine receives the diplomatic letter from Lantharond, which signifies an end to the Lantharond-Tanirith alliance (see begining of Chapter 12 or Alternate Realities).

• Note 4: the key to Lantharond and the North-eastern Lands is essentially the same as that described in the SL Guide.

• Note 5: if you have run into Naryl Thezzat and took her in your party, then she has already made you aware that an Overlord is currently operating incognito in Lantharond.

1) in Tanirith, go to Adv. Inc. to take the small job of slaying the green dragon Sapphyrulestyldragosuur (a.k.a Sapphire Death), then head straight to Lantharond.

• while journeying in the NE Lands and the Lantharond area, you may come upon Lantharond troopers doing battle with bandits or fire giants. Be so kind as to lend them a hand, will you? Much appreciated.

2) in Lantharond, take the time to visit the Raging Wyvern tavern (see SL Guide) and acquire as much info as you can. Then head to the Dragonheart castle (re: SL Guide). Inside the castle, walk up to a distant and aloof Queen Aramina (or the equally arrogant Erion Dragonshield, the Regent). They will tell you that King Vallar Dragonheart is dying from an unknown and incurable disease; as if this wasn't problematic enough, they are also worried about the Captain of the Guards, Red Dragonsbane, who apparently went away on a secret mission by the dying king's order and has been missing ever since. They ask if you would be so kind as to find the hapless Captain of the Guards and bring him back safe and sound. Accept.

3) leave the castle and Lantharond, and head straight SW to x59y83 (with search on or with Braggan Stoneheart along with you). A mountain wall there is an illusion, revealing a tight passage to a small valey: there you will come upon an old, abandoned temple of Bhalaal. Enter the ruined temple (see figure at left).

4) inside the temple, head to the center of the moldy carpet in the main hall, with search on (see X in lower-left figure). You'll realize that the carpet is covering a large hole in the floor. Step back, then click on the encounter button: choose to use rope, spells like superfly/teleport/phase, or items that simulate the same spell-powers. This will take you down in a damp cave-complex filled with trolls and other like creatures.

5) head to the shores of the small underground lake to the S-SE, then click on the encounter button: choose to use spells like superfly/teleport/phase, or items that simulate the same spell-powers. This will take you to the other side of the lake and damn smack in front of good old Sapphire Death, who just happens to be very hungry today (who would've thought?). Dispatch the jolly green dragon and her personal servants, then walk over to the moaning man lying on the ground at x46y7: there you'll find Red Dragonsbane, badly beaten and wounded. Apparently, Red would have been Sapphire Death's lunch, but her greedy belly prefered to jump right to the main course with your succulent party. Too bad for her, eh? After healing Red, he tells you that he is on a crucial mission for king Dragonheart to find the Dragon Key, an item required to open the Dragonheart musoleum and which was stolen years ago. He then must use the key to enter the musoleum, in order to retrieve the Dragon Orb from the guardian of the place, the Dragon Spirit. Red's search had lead him to Sapphire Death, whom he is certain had acquired the key and has been keeping it ever since in her hoard. However, Red has no idea why the dying King Dragonheart needs this Dragon Orb; but he then goes on telling some pretty revealing stuff about Queen Aramina and Regent Dragonshield (a cousin of the king), and why it would be safe to assume that they do not wish for the king to be cured, nor for Red to be successful. The captain of the Guards then asks you to help him find the Dragon Key, and then retrieve the Dragon Orb. Accept.

6) then head to the secret door at x41y4, which will lead you to Sapphire Death's hoard (at x46y2) and where you'll grab the Dragon Key. To get out, walk back to the shore of the lake, click on the encounter button and use the same means as you used to come over the side you are at now. Once back on the other side, walk up to x9y2: in the encounter offered to you, choose to use spells like superfly/teleport/phase, or items that simulate the same spell-powers, to take you back to the temple's main floor (if you used a rope to climb down, then you'll simply climb back up with the same rope, which is still dangling about).

7) get out of the temple and head straight to the musoleum, which is right next to the Dragonheart castle (see SL Guide). You will be granted entry thanks to the Dragon Key. Inside the quiet and dusty musoleum, walk to x9y12 with search on, then place the Dragon Key to the place where it fits on the column bas-relief. This will make a corridor open at x9y8. Head north then east to x16y4 (with search on or with Braggan along with you): the wall at x16y5 is an illusion. From there, go straight down south in the corridor: the Dragon Spirit will appear in order to give you the Dragon Orb, and even be so kind as to teleport you back to the surface.

8) return to the castle and approach Queen Aramina or Regent Dragonshield once more. They will pretend to be relieved that Red is back safe and sound, and start demanding some explanations. With the Orb in hand, Red has a good reason to brush away their demands for the sake of secrecy for the dying King, and can even request in turn that he must now see the King, having completed the mission assigned by him. The two reluctantly agree. Without waiting for them to change their minds, walk to the door at x77y5, then take the stairs at x74y1. This will land you in the upper appartments of King Vallar Dragonheart.

9) head to the king's bedroom at x1y74, then approach the ailing king's bed quietly (see figure at left). Red will give the Orb to the dying king, prompting the latter one to reveal the nature and role of the Dragon Orb, as well as its relationship with the Dragon Spirit and the Dragonheart bloodline ... some of which flows within Red, since he's a cousin of the king also. Vallar then goes on about how he suspects that his beloved Aramina has been replaced with an imposter, then enjoins Red to hold the Orb again. This time, the Orb shines brightly, designing Red as the rightful heir in absence of a child from Vallar's own blood. Upon his last breath, Vallar encourages Red to get back down to the Dragon Court in order to make is claim before all, with the Orb in hand as proof of his legitimacy. A tearful Red bids his final goodbyes and swears to never betray the trust Vallar had in him.

10) then walk back downstairs with Red, who then makes his proclamation once you enter the throne room. An outraged Queen Aramina sheds her disguise, revealing herself to be Pro-consul Zeiia No, of the Inner Council of Overlords. A battle royale ensues, with the Regent looking on in a state of utter confusion. As the dust settles, Red enjoins you to take some most deserved rest, while he takes care of securing his proclamation and his foolish cousin, Erion Dragonshield. Leave the castle to rent yourself a nice cozy room in one of Lantharond's inns (see SL Guide), in order to rest and heal yourself.

11) the day after, go back to speak with the new king. He tells you that he finds himself in somewhat of a quandry, with regards to renewing amicable diplomatic relations with Tanirith. Indeed, the Overlord No and the foolish Erion caused substantial damage to Tanirith's reputation within the Dragon Court, and Red seriously doubts that, as a fresh new king, he could simply write an edict to restore full diplomatic relations without putting his crown -and himself- in grave jeopardy. But the new king has an idea: since fire giants have begun again to make raids into Lantharond's territory, he suggests that you could act as official representatives of Tanirith and solve that fire giant problem for Lantharond. If you succeed, then Red would have it much easier to sway a majority of the Court Nobles to his point of view, thus allowing him to begin the work of restoring proper relations with Tanirith. Although you might wonder how the heck will you take on a whole fire giant tribe by yourselves, accept Red's proposition nonetheless. Trust us.

12) make sure that you have plenty of food and water, then head on out again to the Volcanic Rockies. Once in the scorched and volcano-blasted mountain range, head further out in a N-NW direction. You should eventually stumble upon a clash between fire giants and frost giants: choose to help the frosties. After the battle, the frost giant band leader will thank you and explain that their kind are now at war with the fiery ones, who killed the kingson that had gone to them as an official envoy for peace negociations. The leader then walks away with his surviving kin, heading back to the Snow Rockies to tell his king that an army must be sent. Considering your options (or rather, lack thereof), having the frost giants as allies to assault the fire giants would not be so bad after all (didn't we tell you to trust us?).

• Note: once you have helped the frost giant band in the Volcanic Rockies, their kind will essentially allow you free passage just about anywhere in the Snow Rockies, never attacking you (well, except maybe for a few numbwits here and there, that are all too often behind in current news).

13) to head out for the Snow Rockies from the Volcanic Rockies, continue west, then SW to a cave at x4y78. Take care of the fire giants there, then walk straight west to the Snow Rockies. Once in the snowy mountain range, go to a W-SW direction, then use the secret door at x66y9 and exit through the one at x69y13. From there, walk S-SW to a cave at x42y34 and exit at x42y37. Then go westward to the cave at x32y35 in order to exit at x28y29. From there, go to the cave at x24y22, go N to exit at x25y17, and then enter the cave at x24y14: this will lead you near the village of the frost giants. Cross the gates freely and go to the castle at x34y2 in order to have a friendly chat with the king of the frosties.

14) in the castle, walk up to the stepping stone at x31y81. Highlord Sesserak will greet you and thank you for the help you provided his warriors; in a gesture of gratitude, he has decreed that you were not to be molested by any member of his clan. In reply, play as if you ate lots of humble pie and say flat out that you need his help against the fire giants. Although thankful, Sesserak does not trust you yet: thus, he proposes that you wrest Viborg's Stone from the hands of the ice titan Tauruseus, who has been imprisoned in the Crystal Palace west and south of the village, since the end of the Fabled War of Light and Darkness. Besides, with the Stone in his possession, Sesserak would be able to teleport instantly scores of his warriors right in front of the fire giants' doorstep, without being slowly atrophied by making the long trek on foot through the Volcanic Rockies. Accept the Highlord's proposition and take your leave.

15) from the frost giant village, set south to exit from the cave at x24y22, then go west to the column cave at x13y17 (see upper-left figure). Fight the guardian there, then walk further NW to exit at x9y15, on the shores of a small windy lake. Walk to x8y17 with search on: this will reveal an invisible bridge going straight west from your position to the other shore, where the palace is located. There, enter the palace at x2y17. Inside the palace, you must first fight off more guardians. Then take the corridor at x8y8 to reach the teleporter at x15y10 (see figure at left).

Note: while roaming around the maze-levels of the palace, you will often be confronted by numerous kinds of guardians. Be aware, and take good care.

16) you land in maze-level One (see lower-left figure). From your starting position, go to the column at x84y4 with search on: you will find a mechanism that will shut off the fireballs that get thrown at you whenever

you enter the corridor at x88y5. Then walk down the corridor to reach the lever at x79y13 and pull it. This will bring down the energy barrier that is blocking the access to the corridor at x81y6.

Walk back and go over the glowing globe located at x71y9 (see figure at left). It has some intriguing things to say. Then go through the secret door at x71y6 to reach the teleporter that will take you to maze-level Two.

17) from where you are in maze-level Two, take the corridor at x55y9, then go to the room at x43y10, in order to take possession of the brass keys lying on the floor at x41y4 (see lower-left figure).

Once you have the keys, then walk through the secret door at x37y14 (see figure at left), in order to reach the teleporter to maze-level Three.

18) from your starting position on maze-level Three (see lower-left figure), reach the room at x19y35, then go to x23y31 with search on: you will find a loose tile on the floor, underwhich a small button can be pressed. Press the button: this will make the wall at x23y30 slide, thus opening the way before you.

Reach the lever located at x26y29 and pull it. This will make the wall at x25y33 slide to the side.

With the way to the teleporter clear (see lower-left figure), use it to go back to the main hall.

19) back in the main hall, pull on the lever at x7y6, then take the corridor at x8y4. The brass keys will allow you to open the door at x16y4, thus leaving the way clear to the flight of stairs at x31y4.

20) taking the stairs lands you in the prison proper of Tauruseus, ice titan and demi-god in his own right. Thankfully, eons of imprisonment have left him somewhat weakened. Go to the lever at x31y5 and pull it to bring down the mystical barrier at x35y3. Enter Tauruseus' room at x37y3: all too happy to be freed, the mad titan also has eons of frustrations to vent on you! Have fun.

Having survived your bout with Tauruseus, search his room extensively. You will find Viborg's Stone. Then get out of the palace, and return to the frost giant village.

21) bring back the Stone to Sesserak. Obvisously happy, the Highlord solemnly swears that he will use the Stone to teleport himself and his best warriors right by your side to fight with you, the moment you reach the gates of the fire giant village. Having secured the help of the frosties, it is up to you to decide what to do next: return to civilization before journeying back to the fire giant village, or get on your way immediately there.

• a) if you return to civilization first (Western Lands, Heartlands, Eastern Lands or NE Lands), then you already know of a way to get near the western gates (x20y9) of the fire giant village (see Chapter 17) (see figure below).

• b) if you decide to get to the fire giant village right away, then trace back your steps from the frosties' village to the Volcanic Rockies. Once back in the volcanic mountain range, head NE then in a general N-NW direction to x4y29, near the expanded volcanic crater. In the encounter offered to you, choose fly/teleport/phase spell or any item which duplicates one of these spell powers. This will land you safely on the NW side of the crater: simply walk from there along the pass where you landed, all the way to the eastern gates (x14y8) of the fire giant village (see figure below).

22) in any case, the moment you get near the village gates, Sesserak and his frosty warriors will appear as promised to help you wreak havok onto the surprised fire giants. Once the gates battle is won, rush to the fire giant castle at x18y6 while Sesserak and his warriors clean-up before they leave (they are a tidy bunch).

23) in the main hall of the castle, you'll come face to face with Kharstuur, the Khan of the fire giants, flanked by his best warriors. The mad Khan will ramble something about reawakening the full glory of his God of Fire and purify the lands with fire and brimstone, before charging you. Lucky you. Once the battle is won, you wonder whether the mad Khan's ramblings may not have anything to do with the increased activity and expansion of the volcano crater ... so you set yourself to search about the place. You can reach a hidden lever at x70y68 through a secret door at x70y74 (right behind the Khan's throne). Pull the lever: this will make something sink loudly and with much hiss under the earth (it is lava, which was barring access to an important place in the basement). Then, use the stairs at x65y79 to get to the basement. After fighting some lava creatures, go to the lever at x15y3 to turn off the weird machines which, in all appearances, were responsible for overstimulating the volcano's activity. Then you are free to explore the rest of this place to your heart's content.

24) back outside, the village will be littered with fire giants, while the frosties will be nowhere to be seen (hmmm ... maybe the frosties are not so tidy after all, eh?). Satisfied that the fire giants cannot pose a threat anymore, journey back to Lantharond in order to bring the good news to King Dragonsbane. Red will reward you generously and proclaim that full relations with Tanirith must, and will be, restored. Although many skeptics remains within the Royal Dragon Court, it looks as if the plan will work and that relations will be restored sooner rather than later.

25) take your leave from the new king of Lantharond and head back to Adv. Inc. to collect your reward for slaying Sapphire Death. And since you are already in the city, why not update the good old Lord Paladine on the recent developments concerning Lantharond? We knew you'd think so too (heh).

Congratulations! You have saved Lantharond and the Dragon-throne. You can now tackle Chapter 20!

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The Sword Lands and Anarym are © Pierre H. Vachon.

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