CHAPTER 33: DANGERS OF THE FORGOTTEN VALLEY
Your search for Primus/Maximus and the Forbidden city is in earnest. Your journey will lead you into the Forgotten Valley, where you will have to confront the Ssethanti - the so-called snake men you have clashed with already in the Scales Swamps. However, you will find out that the Ssethanti are much, much more than just deformed monstruosities fanatically devoted to the dark god Sseth ...
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- arriving from the Scales Swamps by following the great river, you end up in the west of the Northern Area of the Forgotten Valley (see key below).
Key
to the Northern Area of the Forgotten Valley:
x44y24 - Monolith
x13y36; x17y22; x58y12; x69y86 - Jungle barbarian villages
Cathoon city
x49y40 - Temple of Lunthar (a.k.a. Lugath)
x51y40 - Hut of the Cathoon Pride Leader
x54y40 - Store
x54y44; x56y44; x45y42; x46y38; x57y39 - Wooden watchtowers
Mayaltec city
x38y68 - Store
x36y74 - Abandoned house
x38y74 - Abandoned temple of Quetzalcoualt (a.k.a. Athor)
x39y72 - Royal ziggurat
-
head toward the general area at x3y33. There, you will come upon
a battle between a lone mayaltec warrior and a group of snake
men. At the promptings of Mrrysh Walksfar, who recognized the
warrior as his friend Tecoltitan,
you jump into the fray to help the mayaltec. After the clash,
Tecoltitan is visibly pleased to find his friend Mrrysh. The
mayaltec explains to you that his people are followers of the
Great Quetzalcoualt (a.k.a. Athor), the Good and Just God of the
Sun. But snake men have infiltrated his people and subverted
their beliefs, making them follow the dark god Sseth (sounds
familiar?). The snakemen have beguiled his people - but they
managed this thanks to the help of the corrupted Highking, Shamar-Tarac.
As one who refused to follow Sseth, Tecoltitan had to flee from
his city lest he be put to death. Furthermore, the snakemen have
turned his people against their cathoon neighbors, waging war
against them. He and Mrrysh undertook a quest to defeat the
snakemen and restore peace in their territories. While Mrrysh set
out to travel outside of the valley and the swamps to seek the
foreign lands beyond in order to recruit help from mighty
warriors and mages, Tecoltitan was to find the Tiara
of the Lost Highkings, a relic holy to his
people which would help him challenge the corrupted Highking. The
Tiara was lost hundreds of years ago, when the evil dragon Death
Emerald attacked the mayaltec city. However,
Tecoltitan managed to find out the whereabouts of the lair of
Death Emerald: it is in Mount Fangs,
in the Southern Area of the Forgotten Valley (see key below). He
gives you a map to this effect before joining your party.
- with Tecoltitan in tow, head for the monolith
to the east of your current position (see key above). On it, you
will notice the words Tempus Utopia above
an etched arrow pointing to the south and east.
- from there, go to the cathoon city (see key above) to rest and
prepare for your hunt for Death Emerald.
- from the cathoon city, head straight south to the Southern Area
of the Forgotten Valley and right to Mount Fangs (see key below).
Key
to the Southern Area of the Forgotten Valley:
x63y8 - Lair of Death Emerald
x67y4 - Secret door
x79y19 - Jungle barbarian village
x40y53 - Dais (you can steal a boat there!)
x21y63 - Gates to Sacred Ziggurat
x24y64 - Sacred Ziggurat
Tigtaur village
x28y6 - Temple of Lunthar (a.k.a. Lugath)
Ssethanti city
x41y47 - Gates
x36y46 - Temple of Sseth (a.k.a. Neralkuur)
x39y46; x38y46; x34y46; x33y46 - Shops
-
once at the cave which leads to Death Emerald's lair (see key
above), and after dispatching her pets that are guarding this
cave, head for the secret door inside Mount Fangs (see key
above). This leads to a cave system underground.
- down under, go to x63y61 and deal with Death Emerald and her
pets. Then grab hold of her hoard at x72y63, which includes the
Tiara Tecoltitan is searching for. Exit the cave system at either
x59y54 or x60y54.
- with the Tiara in hand, head back north then east to reach the mayaltec
city (see key to the Northern Area of the
Forgotten Valley above).
- head straight for the royal ziggurat to
confront Shamar-Tarac. A
series of battles will ensue, with priests of Sseth revealing
themselves as snake men and true priests of Quetzalcoualt
gathering their courage and showing themselves to give you a
helping hand. Once Shamar-Tarac is done with, most of his loyal
warriors will flee and the outraged mayaltec folks will mob the
ziggurat and burn it down.
- as the dust settles down, an old highpriest shows up and offers
the tiara to Tecoltitan so the he becomes the new highking of the
mayaltecs. Tecoltitan announces that there is now peace with the
cathoon - Mrrysh happily leaves you to run and bring the good
news to his people. Tecoltitan asks you to come and see him the
next, after he has had time to settle things down a bit.
- the next day, go to the abandoned house (see key to the
Northern Area of the Forgotten Valley above). It is not so
abandoned now, as Tecoltitan moved back in (it was his house all
along) and is now busy planning for the reconstruction of another
royal ziggurat. The temple to Quetzalcoualt has also reopened its
doors. Tecoltitan then gives you a map showing the location of
the Ssethanti city and a holy
place to them (see map and key just above). The map also shows
the location of very ancient doors
(hmmm ... very interesting, eh?). Tecoltitan hints that maybe you
should try to kill the Ssethanti queen, which will most likely
rout the snake men. With final partings and well wishes, you
leave the new highking to his task of regrouping his mayaltec
people.
- from the mayaltec city, head straight south to reach the tigtaur
village (see key to the Southern Area of the
Forgotten Valley above). As you get there, you will stumble upon
a fight between tigtaurs and snake men. Of course, help the
tigtaurs. After the clash, one of them - a shaman-warrior named Sherrinka
- offers to join your party to help you rout the snake men once
and for all. Accept her, especially since her presence allows you
to enter the tigtaur village at your leisure.
- while the snake men should be dealt with as soon as possible,
there is still the very important matter of Primus/Maximus and
his ilk. Try as best as you can to bypass the Ssethanti
village (see key to the Southern Area of the
Forgotten Valley above) and head for the ancient
megalithic doors at x42y68. Use the tellurian
key to open the massive door, then walk through
the revealed opening.
- as you advance to x45y68, you'll run into psi-warriors.
Looks like you are at the right place. Then go to x50y72 to deal
with more psi-warriors and, lastly, to x49y77 to dispatch the
last of them.
- then walk over to the southern edge of a crevasse at x48y67
(the northern edge is at x48y65). Use spells or items that can
teleport, phase, vaporous form or fantastic wings, in order to
cross the crevasse. From there, go to another
megalithic door at x54y61 and open it with the
tellurian key.
- as you cross this door and return to an isolated part of the
forested valley, Oberon will
appear as promised to join you.
- with Oberon in tow, head to a monolith
that stands at x63y65: the writtings on it constitute a riddle
(which will become obvious latter on).
- walk to the western edge of a broken bridge at x67y65 (the
eastern edge is at x69y65). Use spells or items that can
teleport, phase, vaporous form or fantastic wings, in order to
cross the river.
- then head south and west toward the Forbidden
city - however, to your dismay, an invisible
and impenetrable dome of psionic energies
will prevent you from entering. Only Oberon, and/or Strider (if
he is with you), are able to pass through - and that is because
they have psionic powers themselves. Looks like the riddle of the
monolith is true ... so, how to get rid of this barrier?
- retrace your steps and head to the small dais
that lies south of the Ssethanti city
(see key to the Southern Area of the Forgotten Valley above).
Approach it at night and steal the boat anchored there.
- sail the lake to the gates of the fortifications that surround
the sacred ziggurat (see key
to the Southern Area of the Forgotten Valley above). The easiest
way to cross these gates is to do so at night.
- walk to the sacred ziggurat (again, it will be easier if you do
so at night) and enter.
Key
to the Sacred Ziggurat:
First floor
x87y61 - exit
x75y60; x75y61 - doors
x73y63 - dormitory (a battle awaits you there!)
x73y58 - dormitory (a battle awaits you there!)
x72y61 - door
x70y60 - stairs to second floor
Second floor
x43y59 - stairs to first floor
x46y59 - door
x48y59 - dormitory (a battle awaits you there!)
x40y59 - stairs to third floor
Third floor
x19y45 - stairs to second floor
x30y45 - Ssethanti queen throne room. Ssyspuurieth,
current ssethanti queen, is there with her reptilian pets. She
tells you that she expected you, having been warned of your
possible meddling by Primus/Maximus and the remaining Overlords.
She goes on to say that her people were created a long time ago
by the lankharhans of old. They were perfect humans, designed
with enhanced capacities for endurance and adaptation. But not
long after the fall of the Lankharhan empire, this perfection in
them proved to be a flaw. Left on their own to live in the
jungle, their design-enhanced adaptive capabilities caused them
to mutate to mimic the attributes of reptiles, the best suited to
survive in such an environment. Only the Queens have ever known
this truth. But the people were at a loss, so the Cult of Sseth
was instituted to keep them under control and give them pride.
Thus, her people do not know their true purpose, which is to
watch over the ruins of Lankh'Nar
and to guard the Nexus Source,
which generates a protective shield over what is now called the
Forbidden City (well, looks like the riddle of the monolith is
now answered, eh?). Of course, to her people, the Nexus Source is
a holy relic from Sseth, which can be looked upon only by Queens,
like her. Likewise, queens like her are worshiped by her people
as being blessed by the Mighty Serpent Sseth - and so the
ziggurat where she dwells is holy and sacred to them. Then, she
declares that it is time for her to honor the word of her
ancestors, if only in gratitude for her race having been given
life by the lankharhans. At that, the ssethanti Queen and her
pets attack.
-
once you have dealt with the queen, move to the Nexus source at
x35y49. The only way to shut it down safely is the following:
press the red button on the left panel, then press the black
button on the right panel. Alternately, you can press black/right
first and then red/left second - the result will be the same.
- since you have dealt with the ssethanti queen, you will find
that the city has been abandoned - feel free to rummage around
and try to scrounge up anything that may have been left behind.
In any case, the ssethanti won't be a problem any longer.
- and now that the protective shield of the Forbidden city is
down, you can finally get there and deal with Primus/Maximus, the
remaining Overlords and the last surviving Mentarchs once and for
all!
Onward to Chapter 34!
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