Might and Magic (Ch. 13)

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


Chapter 13: Castle Doom + Confronting Alamar


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We had reached the peak of what our years of journeying and physical training could offer us. We simply could not be any more ready. It was time for us to begin the last leg of our journey and release the true King Alamar from his prison. Alicia and my brother Faulkner learned the most potent spells that Varn had to offer adventurers such as we.

Clerical Spells: Level 7

7-1: Divine Intervention - An ultimate appeal to the Almighties that exercise power over our temporal plane. With this invocation, useable only once per battle, the Cleric sacrifices their vitality, causing them to age 10 years prematurely. And in return, ALL party members are returned to full health and condition. (Costs 7 SP + 10 Gems)

7-2: (Un)Holy Word - When this appeal is made to a sympathetic Almighty, a word of great power is whispered into the Cleric's ear, which, when repeated in combat, instantly destroys all undead creatures with no chance to resist. (Costs 7 SP + 5 Gems)

7-3: Protection from Elements - An all-in-one protection spell that gives the party greater resistance to fire, frost, acid, electricity, and fear. Its potency increases with each level. (Costs 7 SP + 5 Gems)

7-4: Resurrection - With this art of mending, a Cleric can restore an Eradicated character back to health from their ashes. The process is very draining on the person afflicted, prematurely aging them ten years and sapping one point of Endurance from their attributes permanently. Cheaper than restoration at a temple, but the Endurance cost is undesirable. (Costs 7 SP + 5 Gems)

7-5: Sun Ray - Draws the purging heat of Varn's sun and scorches the enemy with it, dealing 50-100 damage to one monster. Outdoors only. Why must all the good spells be Outdoors only? (Costs 7 SP + 5 Gems)

Sorceror Spells: Level 7

7-1: Astral Spell - With this spell, planar travel between the mundane world of Varn and it's interior Astral Plane is possible. The Astral Plane is a dangerous, confusing place, ill suited for an ordinary jaunt. (Costs 7 SP + 5 Gems)

7-2: Duplication - Allows the caster to create a duplicate of any item in the game. There is a high probability of the spell failing and the original item being destroyed. However, the spell has awesome utilities. There are -no- restrictions on item type. Meaning, you could give everyone Rings of Okrim or Laser Blasters if you so chose. (Costs 7 SP + 100 gems)

7-3: Meteor Shower - A ferocious storm is summoned from the skies, raining fiery death upon all monsters, doing 1-120 damage to each enemy. Outdoors Only. Why must all the good spells only be Outdoors Only? (Costs 7 SP + 5 Gems)

7-4: Power Shield - A more semi-permeable barrier is erected over the whole party, instantly reducing all damage in combat to 1/2 it's original value. Best used at the start of battle, of course. Invaluable for enemies that hit for large amounts of damage at a time. (Costs 7 SP + 5 Gems)

7-5: Prismatic Light - An aura of multicolored lights surrounds the enemy, producing strange and unknowable effects. More often than not, this results in something lame like attempting to sleep or blind all enemies, or doing weak damage. Occasionally, you get something devastating like a multi-target Disintegration. The spell's unpredictability though makes it undesirable. (Costs 7 SP + 5 Gems)

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 On the great island south of Algary, the blind seer Og kept his home. His all-knowing vision stricken from him by a horrible curse. His statue in Sorpigal outlined his plight--where with two idols we might restore his sight.

He found in his home the grounds painted with a black and white checkerboard motif that we had seen repeated many times in the castles and dungeons we had explored around Varn, and when we arrived here, we placed our two idols--the Black Queen and White Queen, into their respective places. The ground shuddered and shook softly with the giant's steps as Og took notice and approached us.

He seemed pleased at the placement of the idols, and when he brought himself down to our level, the question came from him flatly, as though he had been this close to finding the countercurse to his blindness many times but had it slip away.

"Queen to Queens Level 3".

It was Betty June, her strange mannerisms and motivations unknowable, who pieced together the proper counter. She described her reasoning to us...the clues we had seen on the idols themselves and etched in the dungeons. The first is female, the second is the most valuable, the last is the first. We had no better alternatives to offer, and let the eccentric elf deliver her answer for us:

"Queen to Kings Level 1"

The cloudy dimness covering Og's large eyes suddenly gave away. Like a thick storm that was blown clear by a gust of wind. Suddenly, his blue eyes were as clear as day and he gazed down at us, focusing on us all, rumbling with a solemn, pleased stoicism.

"You have restored my sight..."  -- presently, Og lifted his head and gazed longingly out on the horizon, toward the northwest.  "I see an important prisoner in a castle on Mt. Doom. He has your sight." And then cursed as the idols vanished in an acrid black smoke. However, he calmed easily, for although the idols were no longer his prize--his vision at least, was restored at last.

We had confirmed what we had suspected--Castle Doom was real and lied in the far reaches of the A1 sector, where the craggy hills and sparse daylight made navigating near impossible. Og informed us of a long, winding passage from the forest up through the frozen mountains, and warned us to beware of the Rider.

Indeed, the path was well-hidden and slow-going. Wrapping in and out on itself for what seemed like miles at a time. But we were determined...this time we -would- penetrate Mount Doom.

In one dim corner of the woods where the trees were too thick to keep better caution, we found ourselves surrounded by the one that Og had warned us about. A multitude of tough and heavily armed men surrounded us with their weapons drawn, and leading them--a black knight on a dark horse leveled a spear at us.

The Dark Rider was the most dangerous foe in our journey that we successfully defeated. He and his warriors kept us on a frantic defense. In addition to his mighty blows, he was a skilled sorceror capable of using the Dancing Sword spell, striking all of us with the strength of twenty men.

But we had an advantage that the Dark Rider could not anticipate. Out here under the stars, our most powerful magics were available to Faulkner and Alicia. Faulkner's Moon Ray sapped the enemy's strength while restoring our own. Alicia summoned horrible firestorms from the sky that pelted them all with molten rocks.

Thus, in the end we persevered. With both Faulkner and Samuel knocked unconscious from the battle, we had to rest to regain our strength. And then, several thousand coin richer for our treasure, we pressed on through the biting cold.

Finally, our path lead us true. Here, at the edge of Varn, surrounded by the gray mists that kept us from peering beyond the veil of our world, a desolate castle lay imposingly over us. And within, the sounds of movement.

We were met at every corner by horrible monsters and creations the likes of which we had never imagined. Steel constructs, shaped like men and heavily armed--animated by magics most foul. Fortifying them on either side were beasts and giants either trained or bewitched to their cause.

Or bred into their cause. Whoever oversaw this castle was -breeding- great monsters in this awful place. Was the False Alamar behind this, too? Did this prisoner have a hand in contributing to the danger and misery that held the overworld?







Strange things were alive and moving around in those breeding pens. Combinations of beasts that seemed made by some kind of mad artificer. We would not stand by and allow these horrid things to be set loose upon Varn--we battled them there in their pens and put every last one of them to the slaughter.

In one far-off corner behind the monster pens, we found a panel set into the wall, etched with large gold lettering. It was a codex. A key to the goldleaf lettering we had found in the multitude of dungeons and strongholds we had explored around Varn. Faulkner, who had been keeping records of those strange messages, took some time here to examine the Codex carefully and then rearrange the pieces he had recorded into a more meaningful transcript...


"The scoop: for successful completion of book one, these are the tasks that must be done. Riddles and quests, discoveries and training, each has a value that increases your rating. The king's true self you must identify, to be worthy of knowledge that you can apply. Return from the Astral Plane from 5 different locations, the 6th visit with a key card shall end your frustrations! Yet 9th level you must have attained, for the inner sanctum to be claimed. From my dreams to reality, and reality to dreams, a sequel is in order, wondrous it seems. JVC."

Yes. The all-important plot exposition puzzle is a blurb from Jon Van Caneghem that breaks the fourth wall and includes a plug for the then-upcoming sequel.

A clue! For so long we had journeyed and quested and found nothing, and now at last, at the last stretch of our journey was a clue to the Inner Sanctum. If the lettering were to be believed, than the Sanctum -DID- exist. And it had not been easily found because it was not here, on the surface of Varn. It was -within-. In that deeper plane known as the Astral Plane. A sixth entrance opened only after five others...by a card. I asked Alicia if she was still keeping guard of the strange gray card we had received from the Volcano god--and implored her not to lose it.

The Sanctum could wait awhile longer though. We had a King to save.

At last, we found something resembling a prison. In this outer chamber, we heard the sniffling sound of a young human, crouched in cautious fear near one of the cells.

We weren't sure what to make of it at first. Demons and devils are known to take on such unassuming illusions to fool unsuspecting travelers. And yet, in the end we decided that no prisoner of this False Alamar could possibly be jailed in good conscience, and we let the child free. He glanced back at us with a look of gratefulness and then disappeared down a secret passage back to whatever safety awaited him.

Finding and either rescuing or tormenting prisoners (based on how good/evil your alignment is) is a sidequest for a different part of the game that was too boring for me to write about.

 In the final stretch of our invasion of this castle, we were caught in a clever magical trap. The banner warned us that the Spiral we now entered was endless. And yet, we had expected it to be easier to circumvent. As we walked on and on through this hall, it seemed as though we went through one turn after another, never getting anywhere. We would walk for hours, and then retrace our steps only to find ourselves back at this banner once more within moments.

Alicia eventually determined that there must be a teleportation trap hindering our progress. But one more silent and discreet than those we had noticed in other dungeons. Thus, with careful trial and error, she used her Jump magic to eventually bring us closer to our goal...



At last, we came upon the end of the Spiral and the locked door at it's end. It was sealed with a gold locking mechanism--but we were able to open it with the golden key we pillaged from the Gray Minotaur's stronghold. With a shimmer of the outer magic barrier fading away, we let ourselves in....

Enclosed in a suit of iron that covered every last inch of his body like a metal prison, a man was held suspended in a kind of magical forcefield.

Though we could not see him clearly, there was an unmuted aura of omnipotence and benevolence that seemed to radiate even through the barrier. The glory of our lost king was unmistakable. In the presence of this kind of energy, any doubts any of us still had about the notion of an imposter melted away instantly. For although the Alamar we saw in his castle looked like all art and legend portrayed him--there was no way an imposter could have captured this energy...this Majesty. Even Finn, who cared less about the fate of Varn than about the treasures of the Sanctum, felt himself compelled to gape in awe.

There was no way any of us could penetrate this last barrier and free our King. We simply did not have the power. The demonic energy this false king wielded to imprison the true Alamar was so mighty and twisted that it was beyond our understanding.

Although he could not move, the imprisoned king spoke to us with his magic, barely able to communicate it through the prison he was held in. "I am the true King Alamar...imprisoned by a demonic alien being. Confront him with this Eye of Goros and you shall see his true self...the fate of the realm is at stake...."

Even such a short missive took a great deal of effort for Alamar to communicate. And he fell silent afterward to rest. But not before pushing a small gem through the barrier with the last of his concentration. A simple gem, taken from the setting of one of his own rings.

It was the stone known as the Eye of Goros, which he had implored us to take. The magic of the gem allows the bearer to see through any illusion, no matter how powerful. And now that we had it, our next destination was clear.







We left King Alamar in his prison and regrouped at Sorpigal. We rested only shortly--for we knew we needed to move quickly. If the False Alamar was indeed overseeing the forbidden castle at Mount Doom, he no doubt was already aware of our intrusion.

We made our way to Castle Alamar with no wasted time. It was time to put an end to this.

It seemed as though we were no longer welcome in Castle Alamar. For although the construct at the gate accepted our King's Pass, we found that all the doors within were locked tight. The moment Finn had breached the first lock and we forced our way in, "Alamar"s assassins were on us. Alongside strange incorporeal warriors that seemed not quite alive, yet not quite undead enough to fall before Faulkner's Unholy Word magic. They were fast and hard to strike effectively, yet we had fared against worse and beat back the false king's minions in time. We tried to hurry. If we dallied much longer, it may give him time to send more powerful things after us.

Finn breached one lock after the next, working with extreme focus. First the outer halls, then the inner...and then finally, straight into the throne room itself, where "Alamar" was still seated, looking exactly as he did earlier when he tasked us with finding the Crypt of Carmenca. We eschewed caution and stormed in around him with our weapons ready.

Before the Eye of Goros, our vision blurred and dizzied. A terrible presence was making itself known here. More powerful and dangerous than we could possibly imagine.

I looked around at my companions. And they each looked at each other and at me. We were afraid. We had stormed in here with our weapons ready and suddenly felt like mere ants.

"You've discovered my true identity...."

The voice seemed like it came from all around us, as a horrible tension filled the air. "Alamar"'s voice was not anxious or threatened. Rather, it seemed annoyed. Malignant. The blurring figure before us shimmered with movement. It did not bring out a weapon but simply retrieved from somewhere on it's person a small clasped box. Hinged, like something a simple jewel or ring might be housed in.

And then, with that same terrible, malignant tone, the last words we heard "Alamar" say were...

"Into the Soul Maze you go..."

A bright light came from the small box it was holding. And then, a merciful unconsciousness overwhelmed us all...