Now it's time to start investigating the School of Magery. It's north of
Sweetgrove. There's a large mountain up there with four entrances, north,
south, east, and west (to get to the west entrance, walk over the river by
the Ford Here sign). Enter at each point, and insert the stone in the hole by
the gate. The gates will open, and the school will be open to you.
The stairway down from the School Entry level is in the center. Go
down to the Visitor's Quarters. There are two stairways down on that
level, one to the Holding Cells and one to the Storage Areas. One stairway
is in the east half of the level. To get there, there is a secret door at (31,2).
Go down to the Storage Level first.
There are several places on these levels with closed, glowing gates.
Ignore them for now. You'll get the item to open these much later.
Once on the Storage level, walk south down the central corridor until
you reach the sign that reads "HIGH SECURITY CREATURE
HOLDING CELL". Enter this area, and find the dragon Pythras. Talk to
her about her imprisonment, and be sure to ask about "magic" or "word."
Go back up to the Visitor's Quarters and down to the Holding Cells.
The controls to Pythras' cell are at the east side of the Holding Cells
level. Go through the secret door at (46,26), and go to (39,18) to use the
control panel. Say "quark" to it, and Pythras will be freed. If you want to
explore the northwest corner, you can use the control panel at (41,23).
Pythras escapes the school by going down to the Administrative level.
Follow her. Climb down the stairway at (14,42) (in the Holding Cell level -
there's also a stairway down in the Storage Level).
Administration has been wrecked, but you can still make your way
through it. There's a colony of Giant, Intelligent, Friendly Talking Spiders in
the southeast corner, but you don't need to talk to them yet. Instead, you
can leave the upper half of the school at the southwest corner of the level.
When you leave the Administration level, you will find yourself in a huge
cavern filled with diseased pollution and filth. This is the source of the
Valley's problem. This huge cavern has several interesting things in it. There
is a tunnel up to the surface to the west, which will provide a useful
shortcut. To the southeast is the Major Waste Repository. You can
explore it a little if you want, but you can't do anything there yet.
Instead, enter the lower half of the school. The entrance is at the
southwest corner of the large cave. You will meet many hostile gremlins.
Kill them. These were the student quarters. You will need to find a key to
get through. Walk into the west half of the level, go south to (1,46), and
search the bookshelf there to get the key.
There is a scepter hidden at (12,6), which some people on the surface
want. It can also cure your disease. You might want to keep it - this is very
useful later on.
When you have the key, find your way to the door at (32,37), and go
through. You will be in the main dining hall. Go down the stairway on the
right, and you will be in the School Library. The library is closed off by
another glowing portcullis. You can't enter it yet. Instead, leave the library
at (43,35). You will be in a cavern with several Vahnatai. Talk to them. In
particular, talk to Baia-Tel and ask about the "peculiar insect" it said it met.
Ask Zereen about "power" or "stone." Finally, they will tell you that
someone on the surface has the instructions to the School controls. This
will be important later.
Now that you know that the spiders have something you need, go back
up to the Administration level. Talk to different spiders until you meet their
chief, and ask it about the "pretty rock." It will tell you about the giant
gnats, and, if you ask, tell you that the password to get to the gnats is
"Gnats." Tell this to the spider at (57,35) and you will be able to reach the
gnats.
The eggs you need are at (59,4). Get them and go back to the chief
spider. Ask it about "eggs" and it will tell you where the Opening Stone is.
Search the trash at (25,3) to get it. You can use this item from the Special
Items page. When you do, all glowing portcullises on your current level will
open. This will be very useful. Go back down to the Library level.
Open the glowing gate and search the library. The most interesting room
is the one in the northeast corner. The room only contains a pedestal, and,
when you enter, a ghost tells you that you should place a green book on it.
The green book the spirit refers to is a school textbook. There are three
of them in this dungeon. To find one, from the Library level, climb down
the stairway at (45,47). You will be on the Experiment Halls level. Go
through the door at (36,9) and then the door at (40,11). There will be a
green book in this cell. Take it back to the library and place it onto the
pedestal in the northeast corner. You will be rewarded with a key. You
now are ready to start ending the Valley's Curse. First, you need to return
to the surface. There is a shortcut up in the Experiment Halls level at
(44,13).
Once on the surface, you need to get the instructions scroll from Pangle.
However, he won't want to talk to you. Fortunately, Kevin, in Marralis, is
a friend of his. Kevin tells you to say his name to Pangle. Go to Pangle, say
"Kevin" to him, and question him for a while. Ask about "adventurers" or
"interest", and you will be told about his scroll. Ask about "paper," and
then search the chest at (10,24) to get the instructions to operate the
school control. You're now ready to solve the valley's problem. Go back
down to the Experiment Halls level.
Leave the level to the south (you'll use the silver key), and you will be in
the caves under the school. Fight your way through them to the southeast
corner, where you find a cave. Enter it.
You will be inside the Control Rooms. Use the Opening Stone to get
inside. Find your way through to the control chambers on the east side.
You will find a shade to talk to, who will tell you a lot of things about the
situation with the school. Sit in the throne at (34,20), and the controls to
clean up the waste will be activated.
Finally, travel back up to the giant cavern between the Upper and
Lower halves of the school and enter the Major Waste Depository. Go
through the secret passage at (38,39). Walk up to the gate at (29,2),
through the gap at (14,15), and through the gate at (18,24) into the center
of the repository. Use the Opening Stone to open the glowing gate, and sit
in the chair at (23,23). Sit in the chair, flip the switch, and insert the stone.
The cleaning process will begin. Walk out to (26,23), and you will be
carried out to safety. You've won!
--Jeff Vogel