Walkthrough :
THE SECRET OF THE SILVER BLADES is semi-linear. There are certain objects that
need to be found before you can proceed to the next part of the game, but most
of the missions in the game can be done in any order. There is a preferred order
though, since the battles get progressively tougher as you get closer to the
end. The walkthru will indicate the order for those missions where the proper
sequence is necessary.

The game has a built-in hint book. If you feed 100 gems to the Well of
Knowledge, you will get a hint and outright answers in some cases. Information
that you can get from the Well is not duplicated in this walkthru except for a
few cases where the Well is vague.

There are two basic types of mazes in this game: _huge_ and the more normal
16x16 mazes. The map coordinates are always shown in this game, but in the huge
mazes, sometimes the map coordinates are wrong. The error is usually in the "X"
coordinate. Whenever possible, both the correct and incorrect values are given
in this walkthru. Because of this bug, you may find the coordinates in the
walkthru do not match those in your game.

Be aware that some ranged spells are Touch range spells when cast from a
scroll, but operate normally when cast from memory. The ones that are known to
be Touch range when cast from a scroll are the Slay Living, Disintegrate, and
Death spells. There are undoubtedly others.

There are several new monsters of note. The worst is the iron golem. These are
immune to most magic. Magic missile and fireball will actually heal them.
Lightning will slow them down. The only way to fight them is to first use
lightning to slow them down, then hack them to pieces. Only magic weapons +3 or
better will harm the golems.

The Remorhaz automatically kill your characters if they succeed in an attack.
Fortunately, they have poor THAC0 values and can usually be killed before they
can strike.

Purple Worms also do something to your characters when they make a successful
hit, but all my characters have been fortunate enough to be unaffected when hit.

Umber Hulks have a gaze that is equivalent to a Confusion spell. Dispel Magic
will restore your characters.

NEW VERDIGRIS

You start the game in the house of the Mayor of New Verdigris. Your first
mission is to free the Well of Knowledge from whatever has captured it. There is
a teleporter (3,0) in the Mayor's house that will take you directly to the Well
maze.

The first order of business is to explore the town of New Verdigris. You need
to locate the important places, such as the armory, vault (the vault is a file
VAULT.DAT in the save directory), training hall, magic shop, bar, and temple.
Locating these places is left as a mapping exercise for the player. The exit
from town is at (15,8). It leads to the ruins of old Verdigris. In addition, one
of the private residences (3,9) has an old man who will give you a Scroll of
Protection from Dragon's Breath. You may need it for the last Well battle.

Buy mirrors for everyone. You will need them for the basilisks and medusae in
this game. The Cute Yellow Canary does what you expect it to do in the mines,
but it is really useless. If you follow the walkthru you will not need it. If
you want to explore the mines fully, you will have to pass through the poison
air pockets and take the hits anyway.


THE SECRET OF THE SILVER BLADES
Part 2

THE WELL

The map of the Well area on page 2 of the Journal is correct. There are two
errors in the map which may be corrected in your edition of the Journal. There
is a north/south corridor to the northwest of the Well that is shown as being
six squares long; it is actually five squares long. There is also a door that is
missing in one of the western rooms. What looks like a dead end is not. The Well
is shown as part of the Old Verdigris ruins. There is a 16x16 blank spot in the
ruins that corresponds to the Well maze, but the Well is actually a separate
maze with its own map coordinates.

There are three battles that you have to fight to free the Well. Each battle is
triggered as you step into each ring of the Well, and each gets progressively
more difficult. Save the scroll you got from the old man until the last Well
battle, and have the character with the lowest hit points use it. You face an
increasing number of bigger dragons with each battle. The last one is with a
really _big_ dragon. You can rest any place in the Well after you have freed it.

Once you free the Well, explore every square of it. With a few exceptions that
are noted in the walkthru, all the teleporters connect to the Well. You have to
step into the squares that are in the Well-end of each gate to activate the
other end of the gates (when you eventually find them). These gates are very
useful for getting back to town for training. They also come in handy for
resupplying when you are clearing some mazes that are far from town.

Another reason for exploring the Well area is you will find the true nature of
the owner of the Magic Shop. You will find a battle between Bane clerics and the
Black Circle. The best action is to duck and wait out the battle. You will have
to fight the survivors, but you will also face a smaller force. Try visiting the
square at (4,14).

Afterwards, it should be clear the Black Circle is Evil. When you return to
town, it's time to have a long talk with Marcus, the owner of the Magic Shop.
Explore the Magic Shop and expect a fight in every room. You can expect random
attacks by Fire Knives until you clear the Magic Shop. Once you get rid of
Marcus, the prices in the Magic Shop will drop drastically. The shop will
continue to operate until you have defeated the Dreadlord. Then, it closes up
tight. Towards the end when you have lots of money, stock up on wands of magic
missiles and +1 arrows, and store them in the town vault if you wish to continue
playing.

RUINS OF OLD VERDIGRIS

At this point, you can start exploring and mapping the old Verdigris ruins. The
maze is about 85x60 and needs to be carefully mapped. Be aware that this is one
of the huge mazes where the map coordinates are not always correctly shown.
There are two sub-mazes in this maze: The Well is one, and the old
administration building is the other. Exiting these sub-mazes into the main
ruins maze is usually when the map coordinates become incorrect.

The first item you need to complete the game is an Amulet of Eldamar. Journal
entry 1 is the map to the amulet. You get the Journal entry from the Well. The
Well will hint as to the location of another dragon hoard. It's not required
that you find this hoard, but if you want the experience points and loot it
offers, it's at location 11,0. Additionally, there are two other optional fixed
encounters with Bane clerics in the maze that will yield useful loot. They
appear to be triggered if you step into any one of several different locations.
The first square of the set you step into will trigger the encounter. Each
encounter appears to have a different set of trigger locations. To trigger these
encounters try leaving the Well by the northwest door and explore north. Try
stepping into locations (56,29) and (59,22).

Other than the amulet, there is nothing vital in the maze. It's only necessary
to explore it to locate certain places you will need to go to later: the old
administration building and the mine shaft. There are two mine shafts in the
ruins. Only the one shown on the map in the Journal works; the other is
abandoned and there only to confuse you.

OLD ADMINISTRATION BUILDING (BLACK CIRCLE HEADQUARTERS)

The Black Circle Headquarters is in the old administration building. There is a
16x16 blank spot in the ruins that corresponds to the building, but the building
is really a separate maze. Journal entry 38 shows the location of the building.
You can get the Journal entry from the Well, or you can find it yourself by
exploring the ruins.

Clearing the Black Circle Headquarters requires that you explore every room.
The important locations in this area are the room at 10,5 and the Inner Sanctum
at 14,14. Both places have teleporters back to the Well if you need to get more
supplies, dispose of loot, or get training.

There is a secret doorway at 8,4 that you have to look for. You will encounter
the clerk from Phlan in the building. Be nice to her. If you played POOL OF
RADIANCE, you will appreciate finding out that her name is Sasha. After you
clear out the Black Circle Headquarters, wander over to location (54,52) of the
ruins or thereabouts. You will get the first of many opportunities to rescue the
clerk. Leaving the administration building back into the ruins will almost
certainly cause the map coordinates to be wrong; be careful.

At this point, you have done all that is needed in the ruins. You can finish
mapping the ruins, or you can get on with the game. The next step is to descend
into the mines.


THE SECRET OF THE SILVER BLADES
Part 3

THE MINES

You can descend into the mines at any time, but it is better if you wait until
you have finished the ruins first. The battles become tougher in the mines, and
the experience points you get in the ruins are useful for gaining character
levels. At first, you can only go to the Temple level. The Temple of Tyr is to
the south. There is nothing else of any interest on that level. You will have to
fight to get into the temple.

Derf Strongarm is at 14,2. There is a teleporter back to the Well at 2,15.
Explore the rooms in the west side of the Temple. There is loot and information
to be found there. Once you have learned the secret of the Silver Blades and the
Dreadlord from Derf, you can descend into the rest of the mines to retrieve the
parts of Oswulf's staff. You need the staff before you can proceed to the next
stage of the game.

The mine mazes are large but simple. It is only necessary to note the
coordinates of the intersections, and which directions the shafts branch off at
each intersection.

The Well will tell you in which direction to proceed at each level to find the
staff, but if you want explicit directions, read on. All coordinates are
approximate since several of the intersections are several squares in size. All
directions start off from the mine shaft at (50,50). There appears to be no
coordinate problems in the mines.

Level 1: Go west to the intersection at (35,49). Go north to the intersection
at (38,44). Go west to the intersection at (18,41). Go north. Level 1 has useful
loot, so it is worthwhile to explore that level.

Level 2: Go west to the intersection at (35,51). Go north to the intersection
at (29,46). Go north. There is useful loot on this level, too.

Level 3: Go north to the intersection at (50,39). Go east to the intersection
at (69,37). Go east. This is the last level where useful loot can be found. What
you find below this level is mainly gems. Gems are useful for the Well and for
buying things from the Magic Shop, but there are no more useful weapons and
armor. Encounters with Umbers in the mines at all levels will yield weapons,
scrolls, and armor.

Level 4: Go south to the intersection at (54,58). Go west to the intersection
at (54,66). Go east.

Level 5: Go north to the intersection at (45,44). Go west to the intersection
at (23,38). Go north.

Level 6: Go west and continue going west at every intersection. You will
encounter giant snakes on this level; have Neutralize Poison spells ready, and
make sure the cleric who has that spell is in the rear. (NOTE: It's a good idea
to have a Neutralize Poison spell ready at all times in this game!)

You will find Vala on this level. She is a worthwhile addition to your party.
There are several situations where you will find monsters immune to magic. In
those cases, what you need is lots of fighters: Vala is a good fighter.

Level 7: Go south and continue going south until you reach the intersection at
(56,71). The staff is to the west. There is loot to the east, and you might want
to pick it up on the way back since it's fairly close.

Level 8: Go south to the intersection at (50,62). Go west then, go south, and
keep doing so. The malfunctioning teleporter on this level is initially the only
way to the 9th level. To get to it, go north to the intersection at (52,45). Go
west to the intersection at (43,43). Go west.

Level 9: The teleporter on level 8 should place you in a room at (58,30). (It
did the two times I played the game, but the Well hints the teleporter is
random.) If you are teleported to another room, you're on your own. If you do
wind up at (58,30), it's a straight shot to the mine shaft at (50,50).

You will find guards just before the mine shaft. Kill them and you destroy the
barrier. This enables you to use the mine shaft all the way down to Level 10, or
"B" (for basement?) as it is given in the menu. There are guard stations in all
directions from the mine shaft if you want to take them out. All but the ones in
the south are close to the mine shaft, and it's real easy to run into them. The
southern guards are found by going south, west, then south again until you find
them.

Level 10: This is the entrance to the castle dungeons. Go east and continue
going east until you reach the intersection at (80,50). Then go south.


THE SECRET OF THE SILVER BLADES
Part 4

CASTLE DUNGEONS

There are three mazes in the castle dungeons. There is also a Black Circle
compound attached to the dungeon. Each dungeon maze has several levels. To get
to the next level you will have to either answer a riddle, or fight the guards.
You get experience points in either case, and answering the riddle is much
easier than fighting. If you fail to answer the riddle, you are automatically
teleported to the Well, who will give you the answer for 100 gems. Once you get
the answer, you automatically answer the riddle the second time you approach the
stairs.

Any sphinxes found in the dungeon will give useful information if you talk to
them or rescue them.

DUNGEON MAZE 1

The important locations are: (3,6) a gate back to the Well; (8,11) another gate
back to the Well; (11,0) stairs; (12,0) stairs (this one leads to the next
dungeon maze); (15,7) if you go east from the stairwell, you will enter the
Black Circle compound; (12,15) brass key (needed to complete the game).

BLACK CIRCLE COMPOUND

This mission is totally optional. You will meet Sir Deric as you enter the
compound. He has just escaped from the Black Circle and is looking for his
companions. Your mission (if you should accept it) is to help him rescue his
companions. Sir Deric has only a mundane sword and is badly wounded. You will
need a spare set of weapons and armor for him. Basically, almost every room in
this maze contains battles. You do not have to fight them all if you do not wish
to.

Important locations are: (11,8) and (11,9) you can rest here; (14,14) the first
of Sir Deric's companions is found here (he will give you an amulet that will
enable you to find the other companion); (7,8) once you have the amulet, go back
to this location (the amulet will show you the locations of various secret
doors; the rooms in the section behind the secret doors have lots of good loot;
there also several places to rest; the game will tell where you can rest); (2,8)
the entrance to where Sir Deric's other companion is being held (Sir Deric
leaves your party once this companion is rescued); (1,4) another secret room to
loot (there is a subtle game hint that this room exists when Sir Deric leaves
your party).

DUNGEON MAZE 2

The important locations are: (3,9) stairs; (8,15) stairs; (7,10) stairs; (13,9)
stairs to next dungeon maze; (6,3) gate back to Well (if you cleared the
compound, you will probably want to return to town at this point to dispose of
all your loot); (1,8) silver key (needed to complete the game).

DUNGEON MAZE 3

The important locations are: (10,6) a prisoner you can rescue (he will give the
location of his treasure cache); (12,6) the prisoner's cache (the password is
NACACIA); (12,7) a teleporter to (1,3) (there's lots of loot and a big fight at
(1,3); there is also a teleporter back to the Well at (1,3)); (12,13) blocked
stairs to the castle proper (this stair will open once you reach the castle; you
will have to use the roundabout way through the crevasses first to get into the
castle); (2,15) exit to the crevasses; (9,13) gold key (needed to complete the
game).

CREVASSES

The ice crevasses are huge but simple. This is also another maze where the map
coordinates can be wrong if you leave the maze and come back. The required
mission is to find the Frost Giants' village. The optional mission is to rescue
the Phlan clerk one last time.

From the dungeon's exit, go east to the intersection at (44,82). Going north
gets you loot, but it is a side trip. Continue east. At intersection (51,82)
continue east. If you go east at (61,62), you encounter the Phlan clerk. If you
go south, you will find the Frost Giants' village.

If you rescue the clerk, she will suggest you join her to find some treasure.
Agree to this and follow her directions. This will eventually take you back to
the Well. Afterward, you can backtrack to (61,62). On the way back, the only
intersection of any interest is (14,48). Going east will yield loot.

Assuming you do not want to rescue the clerk, go south. At (99,79) go east.
There is a two-part battle to be fought there before you can proceed. You will
eventually find the entrance to the Frost Giants' village. There is a gate back
to the Well at the entrance.

FROST GIANTS' VILLAGE

The village uses the same map coordinates as the crevasses but is really a
separate 16x16 maze. Your one and only mission is to locate the Frost Giant King
and talk with him. Wandering around will only result in lots and lots of tough
fights and very little loot. The big loot comes only from talking to the king.

Go due east from the entrance until you reach (58,87). Go south to (58,95). Go
west. Talk to the king. There will be a test of your truthfulness by way of a
two-part battle with the Black Circle and fire giants. The result is a lot of
loot from the king as a reward.

Once you win the king's trust, you must leave the village. You can leave the
village at the crevasse or castle exit. The crevasse exit might be a good choice
as you have a lot of loot that has to be disposed of. You can return later and
will be automatically passed through the village.

From the castle exit of the village, go east to the intersection at (26,86).
This may also be shown as (58,85). Go south. From here on, always go east. You
will eventually reach the castle gates. If you chose to go east from (26,86),
you will eventually reach a gate back to the Well.


THE SECRET OF THE SILVER BLADES
Part 5

CASTLE: FINAL BATTLE

The are three mazes which correspond to the three levels of the castle.

CASTLE LEVEL 1

The rooms generally contain nothing but big battles. There is a gate back to
the Well at (6,9). There is a teleporter at (9,15) that takes you to stairs
leading to the second level. All rooms are entered by waiting in the alcoves.
There is a secret rotating door in each alcove. Once on the other side of the
alcove, you cannot exit until you find the lever that reverses the rotating
door.

CASTLE LEVEL 2

For the most part, this level contains nothing but battles as well. You can
rest in the secret room at (5,2). The storm giants at (6,1) will parlay and
leave peacefully if you buy their map. The room at (2,2) contains loot, but you
need the amulet in the room at (14,8) to get in. Around (9,4) you will run into
a patrol. The loot from this battle includes the current password (STEELEYE).
Also, no matter what you read, the password is always STEELEYE. If you explore
the southeast section of this level, you will meet Sargatha again. If you wait,
you will be attacked. If you chase her, you will be captured and will have to
fight your way out of the dungeons again. Chasing is not advised.

The entrance to a maze that leads to the stairs to the third level is at (4,4).
The stairs are at (0,15) and behind a hidden entrance. The corridor that starts
at (9,15) does _not_ lead to the hidden entrance.

CASTLE LEVEL 3

This is the level where the three keys you found in the dungeon are used. The
Well will tell you in which order the keys have to be used. Interesting
locations are:

(12,11) Gate back to the Well.
(14,12) Gate to (12,15). Lots of loot and a big fight.
(13,9) Bash your way through this door.
(14,7) Go on in; it's not that hard a fight.
(11,2) You do not want to go in this door.
(8,9) The password is OSWULF.
(7,1) Golden boy has a girdle of giant strength, plate mail +5, shield +5, and
long sword +5. They should be the last items in the loot list, but double-check
by readying the items to see what they do to your characters' statistics.
(3,4) Entrance to the Dreadlord's room.
(1,3) Secret entrance to the Dreadlord's hiding place. This is the last battle.
Have lots of lightning spells or wands of lightning ready for this battle. The
room is filled with golems. There is also a gate back to the Well here. You
might want to teleport to the Temple of Tyr and discover Derf Strongarm's fate
before returning to town. There is a bug in the program that reincarnates Derf
after your visit.

ENDGAME

Once you end the Dreadlord menace, the town celebrates. Join the celebration at
the bar. Leaving the town and returning ends the celebration, and everything
returns to normal except that the magic shop is now out of business. There is
not much to do, although you can continue playing if you want to.