Might and Magic 2 (Ch. 8)

Ongoing blog of Might and Magic 2: Gates to Another World


Chapter 8 - Atlantium

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Through the Vulcania Export transportal, we found ourselves in the final and most splendid island city of Atlantium. Here, the citizens prided themselves on being the most advanced in Cron in all esoteric crafts. The greatest warriors--the greatest artisans--the greatest magicians.

The city was a splendid edifice--clean, well constructed--old and beautiful in all aspects. As we toured the city, we were drawn to the many statues that were recently constructed here. The Jurors of Mt. Farview had apparently commissioned them in advertisement of the quests they currently had their eyes on.

At this first statue--I read about the Dread Knight, who terrorized the B3 sector. Only a knight--the statue implored--could defeat him.

A mysterious plaque on this statue mentioned a pair of wizards--one Good and one Evil, in two different castles on the Isle of the Ancients.

The Paladin's quest sounded like it required fortitude and courage--for a paladin to undertake such a quest alone and take on a mighty dragon was the stuff legends were made of.

In the forest of the B2 sector--the self-proclaimed Baron Wilfrey stole from the rich and poor alike to give to himself. Only a mighty archer, true of aim, could shoot him down.

Corak's soul still lingered in this world. We had suspected as much from the very beginning. Whatever damage Sheltem had done to that great sage only a cleric could undo.

And lastly, there was the the wicked Dawn--friend to all monsters and beasts and enemy to all peaceful humans. Somewhere in the Quagmire of Doom she hid and plotted and schemed.

The underground levels of the city were dangerous to trod. Many private rooms were rented here and in conference for various seedy and dangerous groups of criminals.

We crashed a few of the rooms anyway, looking for trouble. But in many of them we found a little more than we could handle.

Like these necromancers, for instance. For being unarmored as they were, they were quite tough and nasty... -and- they were masters of the deadly Fingers of Death spell. As the deathly missiles streaked past us, Lucreto stared in dumbfounded awe and we had to drag him away in our flight.

In this room, a minor devil of pestilence was plotting with a large group of cult members to spread a horrible plague among the city overhead. Despite their vastly larger numbers, we were able to outlast them and send the devil fleeing back to the demon dimensions.


This is a great low-to-mid level grinding spot to get up to around level 11 or so if you have the patience to come back to this room over and over again.

 Raiders of the sea were camped here and plotting their next pillage. To a man they were much stronger and fiercer than the lepers, of course. But we drove them scattering before long.


We overheard them mention with glee that they had turned in two innocent prisoners as 'criminals' and accepted a hefty reward from the city guard.

In a deserted corner of this undercroft we found a curious statue holding a book with an unintelligible script in it. And yet, despite the inability to read the ancient characters--we felt strangely drawn to it. As we studied the characters--it felt like we had somehow taken something away from it and grown better for it. As to what it meant--not even Ruce, who was skilled in foreign languages--could tell what they meant.

Reading the statue's book boosts your intelligence by +10 permanently and can be repeated up to 60-ish!

 The jail was the only of its kind in Cron. And yet--it was only an illusion of due process. In Cron, it is not ideals and justification that rules--but strength of Might and Magic. The jailor's challenge was clear. If we could force our way past him, past the dangerous inmates, and free the innocents we claimed were being held there--than our prowess would be all the proof we needed.

Minotaurs were being held on death row. Large, imposing, and aggressive. They were a mighty adversary, but barely held a candle to such abominations we had already previously bested such as the Pyro Hydra and Snowbeast.

An archer and cleric were shackled in a corner and relieved to see us freeing them. They explained their plight with the city guard and were allowed to go free--advertising themselves for hire at the Carriage Inn. We didn't need their services--but we were glad to see them go in peace.

The Coliseum also featured prominently in Atlantium. We purchased our entry with the last of our green tickets and went face-to-face with a group of speedy ninji who Sofia suspected were sent by Dawn to test us. Compared to us, they were like simple hornets--albeit, pernicious ones that were difficult to swat. Once we had finished though--we posed in celebration for the cheering onlookers...we had finished the green ticket battles in all three battle arenas now, making us the Green Triple Crown champions!

Before we left, lest we forget--we went to the Temple Elysium and made our donation. We had, perhaps--expected something more magical for finishing our donations to all the temples as Nordonna had instructed. But nothing quite so obvious happened.

It wasn't until we turned to leave that Ruce accidentally kicked a single coin with his shoe as he walked behind us, making a loud jangle. It seemed as though somebody had dropped it and left it forgotten.

It wasn't a gold coin though--as I found when I picked it up. It was a farthing. Inscribed with the wings and figures of frolicking fairies. I tucked this Fey Farthing in my coat and we booked passage on the next transportal back to Middlegate.

Back in Middlegate--with a fickle fling, I flung the fey farthing into the fabulous Feldecarb Fountain.

Suddenly--in a recess at the base of the fountain--a simple click revealed a hidden, tiny vault. Looking inside, I retrieved a large skeleton key--inscribed on its handle with the insignia of the Luxus Palace Royale. Such a key, Sofia informed us--was used to open and close the gates of the different lords' castles around Cron. With it--we could invite ourself in or out as we pleased without getting into any nasty altercations with the castle guard.

Well--it seemed clear that our journey around the five towns was complete. The closest castle to Middlegate was Castle Woodhaven--the home of lord Hoardall--said to be the wealthiest lord in all of Cron.

It seemed a journey across the overworld was in order. We made sure to rest first and restock our rations. We had trained already in Atlantium. The facilities there were the best in Cron and well worth the higher surcharges. We had completed one important quest, but as we reviewed our notes--it seemed there were many more that still needed exploration.

[X] Discover the secret of Feldecarb Fountain
[ ] Visit Lord Hoardall and complete his quests.
[ ] Visit the Jurors of Mt. Farview to receive their conditions for becoming Chosen Ones.
[ ] Visit the Elemental Planes and recreate the four-taloned Claw.
[ ] Find Kahlon's Mystic Orb
[ ] Discover what Corak was trying to accomplish, and finish it if we can.
And, likely related to the last point:
[ ] Find Sheltem and stop him, whatever his scheme may be.

Clerical Spells: Level 4
4-1: Acid Spray - A prayer to the pestilent Almighty of locusts is answered by the cleric exhaling a breath of acid spray, dealing 6-60 acid damage to up to 3 enemies. 4 SP + 3 Gems

4-2:  Air Transmutation - With the breath of the heavens, the party takes the attributes of Air, allowing safe passage and travel into that ancestral time when the Plane of Air Element was most dominant. Costs 4 SP + 3 Gems

4-3: Cure Disease - Exactly what it says on the tin. 4 SP.

4-4: Restore Alignment - Exactly what it says on the tin. 4 SP + 3 Gems.

4-5: Surface - Moves the party from an underground area to the overworld above. 4 SP.

4-6: Holy Bonus - A prayer to Bellum, the god of war and strife--is answered with a generous bonus that allows characters to deal 1 extra point of damage in melee for every two experience levels. 4 SP + 3 Gems.

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Sorceror Spells: Level 4

4-1: Cold Beam - An intense ray of draining cold pierces a single enemy's heart, dealing 6 ice damage per level of caster. Costs 1 SP per level + 3 Gems.

4-2: Feeble Mind - Makes up to 5 enemies unable to use their special skills. 4 SP + 3 Gems.

4-3: Fireball - Rolls an exploding ball of flame into the enemy, dealing 1-6 damage per level of caster to up to 6 enemies. Best used at long range. If it strikes an enemy at close range, it will also deal damage to the whole party. 1 SP per level of caster + 3 Gems.

4-4: Guard Dog - The ancient sorceror's faithful watchdog guards the party, preventing surprise attacks until the next rest. 4 SP.

4-5: Shield - A combat spell that guards the party from simple missile attacks for the duration of combat. 4 SP.

4-6: Time Distortion - The caster makes a ripple in time just large enough to disrupt the enemy long enough for a quick escape. This is useful for fleeing a hopeless battle, although not quite as essential as the first game since fleeing is slightly less impossible in this game. 4 SP + 3 Gems.