Might and Magic (Ch. 8)

Ongoing blog of Might and Magic: Secret of the Inner Sanctum


Chapter 8: Medusa's Lair and Okrim



After spending more time with the Guildmaster, we became stronger than ever before. Alicia and Faulkner added a new circle of spells to their disposal.

Clerical Spells: Level 4

4-1: Cure Disease- Disease is effectively the same as Poison. Not as common but much as damning when you're out on a long excursion. (Costs 4 SP)

4-2: Cure Poison- With this and Cure Disease, adventuring further from the cities becomes -MUCH- more accessible.  (Costs 4 SP)

4-3: Protection from Acid- A continuation of the elemental protection spells that have been slowly learned since level 2. Like all the protection spells, they are useful--but more mana-efficient if you only bother with them when you actually expect enemies of that element. (Costs 4 SP)

4-4: Protection from Electricity- Rounding out the last elemental protection spell is Electricity. (Costs 4 SP)

4-5: Restore Alignment- Alignment is semi-fluid in Might and Magic, and this spell will restore a character's alignment to the one they were created with if there is some pressing need (Equipment restrictions, etc.) for you to do so. (Costs 4 SP + 2 Gems)

4-6: Summon Lightning- Calls thunder from the heavens to strike up to three enemies at far range, doing 4-32 damage. Only useable outdoors. Outdoor-only spells stink because all the difficult encounters tend to be indoors. (Costs 4 SP)

4-7: Super Heroism- Endows a party member with the heroism of legends, giving them 10 max HP and 3 levels of experience for the duration of combat. The alignment restriction from the lower level heroism spell doesn't apply to this one, making it a really great buff when used early in battle. (Costs 4 SP + 2 Gems)

4-8: Surface- Opens a portal that teleports the party from any dungeon underground to the surface directly above. A great way to get out of a dungeon fast. (Costs 4 SP + 2 Gems)


Sorceror Spells: Level 4

4-1: Acid Arrow- Fires a beam of corrosive acid at an enemy, doing 3-30 damage. Useful for picking off weak enemies if you want to conserve gems from the fireball or lightning bolt spells. (Costs 4 SP)

4-2: Cold Ray- Fires a beam of chilling frost at an enemy, doing 4-40 damage. Since there tend to be more monsters with partial resistance to cold, this generally is equivalent to 4-1. (Costs 4 SP)

4-3: Feeble Mind- Muddles an enemy's brain, removing their ability to use special attacks and spells. This spell is a good idea -but- is completely obviated by the fact that enemies tend to attack in very large groups and this spell can only target one of them. (Costs 4 SP + 2 Gems)

4-4: Freeze- Completely paralyzes a monster, making them unable to move or act. It has a lower chance of wearing off than most 'hold' spells. Unfortunately, it also never seems to connect for me. (Costs 4 SP)

4-5: Guard Dog- An ancient wizard's faithful watchdog is summoned in spectral form to watch for danger until the party next rests. Prevents enemy surprise attacks. A must-have for any troupe wandering far from home. (Costs 4 SP)

4-6: Psychic Protection- An arcane barrier protects the party from mental traumas. Useful for avoiding a particular kind of trap in Dusk, and I believe may confer a small bonus to resisting paralysis/sleep spells. (Costs 4 SP + 2 Gems)

4-7: Shield- A more substantial barrier deflects thrown rocks and enemy missiles from long range. Works on most enemy missiles but not on spells. Useful, but by the time you get it most long range attacks aren't quite as deadly most of the time as they were at low levels. (Costs 4 SP + 2 Gems)

4-8: Time Distortion- The sorceror causes a wrinkle in time, disrupting and slowing the enemy long enough for the party to beat a hasty retreat back to safety. A godsend for getting out of battles that are turning against you, as long as it's not in an anti-magic square. (Costs 4 SP + 2 Gems)


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Exploring more areas around C2, we found a path leading west to B2 that was blocked with stone statues. These did not look like any kind of particular relics or treasures, but rather the remains of various local beasts and unfortunate adventurers caught in a stoning spell. We held no illusion of safety. Among Varn, such stonegazing creatures as the gorgon and basilisk and cockatrice is well known. We resolved to explore further, keeping on our guard at all moments. When we smashed these statues to bits to make room for ourselves, we were attacked by the Caryatid hiding nearby, but they were of no consequence to our superior strength.


As we pressed forward along the path, Betty June happened to notice a tiny scrawl on a nearby tree. How she managed to spot it through the forest of them was both a miracle and puzzling in itself. Damnable elves. It looked like directions to a location called "Raven's Lair", at 9-9. No doubt, this referred to the 9-9 coordinate here in B2. When we were ready to explore deeper, we would have to seek it out.

Following the trail to the mouth of a cavern, our suspicions were raised further when we found the opening littered with more statues. Some of them had already crumbled to pieces. The men, dwarves, and elves all looked on in stony horror as if they were unprepared for whatever had come upon them. We would not be caught so unwary.

Basilisk! We outnumbered them, but it would only take one moment of prolonged eye-contact for them to capture us in their gaze of flesh-to-stone. Alicia and Faulkner spared no spell point in bolstering us to destroy them as swiftly as possible--but not quite swift enough. When the last of them fell dead, we counted among us only five--and, retracing our steps, found the robber Finn frozen to stone in mid-step. He had nuisanced us with setting off so many traps that I was inclined to leave him there, but Sam insisted that we would not.

I began to argue about the relative worth of the simple robber to our combined skills, but found myself rebuked harshly by the Paladin, who claimed that he would not have abandoned any one of us in such dire need, even if it were someone as evil and inhumane as I.

Despite my better nature, I found myself somewhat touched by Sam's zeal. And so, despite my better judgement, I agreed to help carry Finn back to Sorpigal for healing....

We had scarce begun to turn back when a large pit of poisonous vipers opened beneath us. We were all completely caught off guard and set to tumble in to our doom, had Alicia not quickly worked a spell of levitation that saved us.

We heard the sound of slithering and hissing coming not only from the pit but from elsewhere around the halls too. Danger was closing in and we began to make our way out in a hurry. Faulkner urged us to find a place safe enough that he could cast a spell of Surfacing.

We stumbled right into the queens of this forsaken hole--the Medusa themselves. Our only hope now was for a quick victory. And despite the odds being against us, Alicia's thunderbolts struck straight and true. Faulkner's spells of Heroism made Sam, Betty June, and myself fight with the strength of ten warriors. In the end, the last Medusa's head was rent from her neck with a flash of my flamberge. Faulkner gathered it up quickly, while the snakes were still twitching. Such a grisly trophy, he said, was undeniable proof of our might.

And then, with all haste we made our way back to Sorpigal to heal Finn and rest and regroup.  There was another cave near Erlequin we wished to explore next.

Not far from Lord Hacker's castle at Blackridge South is a wood they call the Quivering Forest, accessible from both the castle and by way of the underground passage from Erlequin's underhalls. In a quiet corner of this secluded forest, there lie another wizard lair. We had been hesitant to enter it before because we had so recently had our fill of mad wizards from the one in the cave near Sorpigal.

We had not ventured far inside before we had stepped into a curious trap that made the floor spin underneath us, making us lose our bearing. If we did not stay focused it would become easy to lose our bearings in these cramped halls. Betty June by now had learned some rudimentary sorceror spells and could use her Location magic to keep us on track, sparing Alicia's spell pool for combat.

Taking a stairwell down into the deepest levels of this cave, we passed a banner welcoming us to the 'Labyrinth of Lazzeruth'. It threatened that none have ever returned from it, but Faulkner scoffed at the notion, reassuring us that there was no labyrinth made that could not be mapped.

My clever brother was true to his word. Although there were many teleportation traps scattered throughout this floor, careful use of Location magic and even more careful mapping produced the beginning of a clearer path to the heart of this twisted place.

A corner of one dead-end was decorated in a strange checkerboard pattern. We searched the area carefully, thinking to find something of importance, but found nothing.

The stone face in the brick must have been saying what we were thinking. Is it some kind of unavoidable fate that all wizards must go mad and build twisted lairs such as these?

We knew we were getting closer to the dungeon heart when the lesser magic users began attacking us in force. The dark druids and evil clerics of this arcane sanctum could cast spells of sleep and paralysis. The magician and enchantress specialized in lightning and fire respectively.

The six of us looked at each other in puzzled silence. It seemed none of us had any idea what an 'Abelnuski' was. But our inquiries to the stone face were met only with stony silence.


So we pressed on.







At last, we had reached an area of some importance. A stairwell brought us back up to the first level, where another stone face spoke ominously that Okrim, whom we presumed to be the master of this place, was studying us for weakness.

 

 We also found two messages, etched in some kind of gold leaf on the walls. The words were in our common tongue, but the meaning was utterly lost on us. Faulkner made a note of them in his papers. In time, we would find many more just like this in not only gold leaf from silver as well. And their meaning would not be clear until much later in our journey.

At last in the heart of his sanctum we confronted the wizard Okrim, guarded here in the heart of his dungeon with his closest pupils and a large, bewitched lizard. Caught unprepared, we would have been no match for their combined might and magic. With their spells they could conjure multiple dancing swords that threatened to tear us to shreds--but we came prepared in advance with potions of skill and might and speed to give us an edge that the wizard could not have foreseen. It was only because of this foresight that we were able to overcome the wizard in his own lair.

From beyond the grave, the apparition of the newly slain wizard cursed its fate and made its appeal to us. Trapped in this incorporeal form, the soul of Okrim was forever bound to the ring that housed it..only through the severing of another life could his spirit be set free and the ring made manifest for us to take and use for our own ends.

I burned with the anticipation of power that the ring could bring. Without taking heed to the consequences, I reached out and took the ring from Okrim's dead body, thinking that I would find a life--willing or otherwise, to offer to Okrim if I deemed his ring worthy of the effort.

However, no sooner had I taken the ring when the disembodied spirit smiled thankfully and vanished.

And then...there was nothing.

Condition: Eradicated - A fate worse than death. Eradicated characters do not have a body that can be raised. Think less 'corpse' and more 'mound of ash'. There is a very high level cleric spell that has a -chance- of reconstructing an eradicated character. Or, the temples can heal such a condition for thousands of gold pieces. Either way, the eradicated character is prematurely aged 10 years when they are revived.