Might and Magic 3 (Ch. 19)

Ongoing blog of Might and Magic 3: Isles of Terra


Chapter 19 - Isles of Illusion

To the south of the Fire Isle lay two sandy islands--dubbed the Isles of Illusion for the two Evil Illusionist sorcerors who once nearly ruled the entirety of Terra long ago. Blackwind and Greywind--who once amicably shared their conquests together found themselves at each other's throats when the mermaid Anathema secretly courted and married them both without the other's knowledge.

Playing them against one another for a want to find and steal the Sea Shells of Serenity, the two sorcerors hired and conjured entire armies that fell at one another until both their castles were overtaken and destroyed. The Shells, guarded by a powerful spell too cryptic for Anathema to find, were left undiscovered and she was left with no prize and disappeared back under the waves whence she came.

There was no boat that traveled to the Isles, but with  Walking on Water magic, we had no need of such a thing. Setting out east from Wildabar, we found Greywind's Isle to be in sight before long.

"Hah! A desert raiding party..," Knell announced as we caught sight of the roaming barbarians with their dino-beetle pets.

"Are they friends of yours?" I asked Knell, "Should we try to be friendly?"

Knell glanced at me with a look of annoyance, "Ohhh--I get it. They're 'my people' right? And I can get us by with no problem?"

"I didn't mean it like that...," I started.

Knell stomped her foot on the ground indignantly. The soft sand gave away under her heel and caused her to twist and nearly fall down awkwardly, though she caught herself and looked at me again.

"They're =barbarians=!" she declared, "The only friends they have are the kind that know how to kill and maim! Let's have at 'em!"

And that we did. Our power had grown such that they were of little threat to us--and they had no base or headquarters on these smaller islands, having just been roaming about. Once we killed and drove back some of the barbarians, the rest retreated to their small ships across the water to Blackwind's Isle.

"So...this is Greywind's castle, hmm? It's seen better days...,"

"It's amazing they're standing at all." Stella said.

"I read it in the stars...long ago, a great and evil sylvan wizard, Lucreto--overthrew the archmages of good and evil and became the supreme Evil Overlord...."

"Lucreto...," I mumbled softly to myself. I had read about such an elf in the chronicle Corak had made of my brother's adventure on CRON--long before CRON and it's VARNs gave this world of Terra their many Isles. Because my brother and I were travelling between worlds with the strange powers of the Ancients, such passage of time seemed meaningless to us. But to the people here those days must truly have been long, long ago.

"What happened to him?" I asked Stella.

"They say for a time he governed most, if not all of the Isles. But in the end was overthrown by his own two apprentices, Blackwind and Greywind. Together they could not kill him but worked a powerful spell to banish him from Terra forever."

"And then those two ruled the Isles together until Anathema...,"

Fire Lizards from Blackwind's armies still lurked within these crumbling halls--along with much larger lizards that reminded me of the Land that Time Forgot in my own home VARN, a place that now seemed so long ago and so far away.

A prayer of Element Protection guarded us from the magically burning embers that still smoked and roiled along the crumbling halls. On first glance, it seemed like there was little remaining in this decrepit place worth plundering. But we had come on a special day---for today was Day 50, the marriage day of Greywind to Anathema. And it was on this day alone that latent magics still present within these halls made themselves known.

There were three thrones along the northside of the castle, and on today each of them were charged with fabulous energy just awaiting someone to take the throne and claim them.

The magic was powerful, but draining. Terrible energies coursed through us at the Throne of Great Power, shrouding the whole area in a thick darkness--and by the time it had cleared an entire day had passed--and I had grown ever stronger in all aspects.

The throne of Great Power will give a big boost to all your attributes. The throne of Great Possession gives you about 6-10 high level random items, and the throne of Great Riches gives you a cool million or two of gold. Of the three, the throne of Great Power is probably the most useful. Only one throne can be used per year.

In the main throne room to the castle we found that the spirit of Greywind himself was still bound to this place--to his seat of power.

"Here is my prison...these walls that were once my home...here is where my soul remains locked until Blackwind's spell is broken..."

The phantasmal forced that coursed through the area as the long-dead sorceror spoke made my skin tingle.

Greywind implored us to find the ritual that would set him free and let him at last rest in peace. He did not know the combination--but he was insistent that the secret lay within the Greywind dungeon, where the Sands of Oolam in their century glasses awaited someone to turn them.

As we explored more of the castle, seeking the passage to the dungeon below--we passed a fountain to Anathema, inscribed with a tale of Greywind's children. The first-born, Regran, killed the second son--a master archer. But then took his own life in a fit of remorse, leaving only their sister--a cleric.

It was an unusual little tale, but seemed to bear little relevance to our goal.

That is, until we passed a second fountain. This once seemed to tell the same tale, but the wording was different. On this fountain--the first born is never named--only referred to as the Ranger. And how the first-born ranger son killed the second son, named Reharc,--only to then kill himself in remorse, leaving only their cleric sister.

When we at last found the passage leading to the dungeon--it was guarded by a magic seal with the riddle.... "What did Greywind the Illusionist name his cleric daughter?"


"But...neither of the fountains mention the cleric's name." I said to my teammates, looking to them for suggestions.

"The names use the letters of their profession, just rearranged...," Lydia thought out loud.  "Between the two of them, we find out that the Ranger is named Regran, and the Archer is named Reharc. The daughter's name must be an anagram of 'Cleric'."

"There's more than that," Alicia added, "There's a pattern to how they're rearranged, too. All the names have six letters and the first three are the -last- three of their profession, spelled in reverse...that makes c-i-r...and then the last three letters of the name are the -first- three of the profession in order...so...that makes c-i-r-c-l-e.

"Circle?"

The barrier to the passage shimmered and vanished.

"That's the stupidest name for a person I've heard in my life." I admitted.

"Oh, I doubt he had -actual- children. It's just a mage's riddle."

"By the gods...," Lydia mouthed breathlessly. The gleaming glint had caught her eye first, and by the time my prayer of light had illuminated our path, she was already standing by the heap of treasure.

A sudden premonition of threat crossed my mind. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Alicia flinching, too. There was powerful magic at work in here and it was not friendly.


"Lydia, no---DONT!" I called out to her, but it was too late. She had already dug in with her arms and scooped out a large handful of gleaming gold coins.

She had scarcely had a moment to marvel at the beauty of the glinting coins in her hands before they vanished entirely.

"Huh? An illusion..." she sounded disappointed. But at the same time--Alicia and I were relieved. There didn't seem to be any danger or trap....or was there?

"Oh, gods..." Lydia's face suddenly lit up with epiphany. Rummaging through her pack, which had suddenly seemed suspiciously lightweight to her--she turned back to us meekly, with a look of embarrassment on her face.

"Guys...boss? The treasure bag....it's empty!"

I hope you've been using the bank in fountainhead! -ALL- your gold on hand is gone without a trace if you touch any of the treasure on this floor!

"What? What do you mean empty? ALL of it?!" Bernadene looked angry and incredulous.

"There was at least four million gold in there...all gone!" Bernadene griped. Stella didn't look too happy but wasn't out of sorts. Alicia and myself were just thankful that there was no curse or danger.

"Bah! We'll pillage a dragon here, a band of brigands there--and get it all back!" Knell cheerfully opined.

"I risk life and limb with this ragtag group! If I don't get my fair share, what's the point?!" Bernadene asked.

"Calm down. You risk life and limb with my ragtag group because you'd be rotting away in the bar at Swamp Town otherwise." I reminded her.

"I'm -sorry-, okay? I'll make it up to you. We'll split some of the savings I've got stashed away in the bank...," Lydia offered--a gesture that I thought was a little uncharacteristically generous of her.

"We'll see." Bernadene calmed somewhat--at least on the exterior. She still stared angrily at me, though--and I knew what was weighing on her mind. I had been reluctant to discuss plans for the Power Orbs with the rest of the group--and with no gold and no promise of supporting King Zealot, her loyalties were becoming strained. I would have to keep an eye on her.

Death Snakes tunneled through the rocky floor of the dungeon like giant worms and attacked us regularly--their poisonous spit wasn't a great threat to us, but their hard chitinous plates made them difficult to hit effectively. We had better success with magic attacks.

In three corners of this vast open dungeon--there were huge century glasses filled with a shining white sand. The Sands of Oolam, as the soul of Greywind had called them. And each of them had completely run out--the sands all fallen to the bottom of the glass.

"Greywind mentioned a combination to the sands. Are we supposed to turn one of them...or all of them? Or what?" I wondered out loud.

"There's only three of them..," Alicia said,  "We could just start turning and try all the combinations. But how are we supposed to know we've turned them correctly?"

In the fourth corner was a gong. Marked with the sigil of the Grey Paladins that laid siege to Castle Blackwind.

"The gong must be keyed to the century glasses somehow. I guess the only way to find out if we've turned them correctly is to give it a ring and see what happens." I said.

"What if we get it wrong?" Stella asked.

"There's no telling what might happen if it's wrong. Maybe nothing happens. Maybe the whole dungeon explodes." I said matter-of-factly.

"Ah. The usual danger." Knell smiled. Without a moment of hesitation, she stepped up to the gong and grabbed the mallet--though she was courteous enough to give me a moment to prepare my prayers of heroism and protection.

"Here we go!"

With a loud wail, the gongs rang out heavily through the empty chamber.

"Hrmm...nothing seems to have happened." I declared.

"Shh! Boss...there's something coming."

From elsewhere in the dungeon, some unseen force had released a monster. From across the chamber--we saw a terrible monstrosity lumbering toward us.

"Hydra!" Alicia called, "It's a big one, too! They live in nests all around the Isle of Fire!

"It's...it's -huge-!" I gasped.

Alicia mouthed a magic word and sent a spell of Implosion at the creature--but for naught. The tough scales of the creature absorbed and deflected that most powerful of spells entirely.

"Missiles!" I reminded my teammates--Knell, Stella, Lydia, and Bernadene drew their weapons and fired at the terrible thing from a distance. Our archer, Bernadene--was the only one skilled enough to connect with a few well-placed shots.

"Don't be fooled by the heads...," Bernadene suggested, examining her handiwork.  "They have tougher scales and regenerate...I think they're meant to distract us. Aim for the body..for the heart!"

Easier said than done. Even with her oversized pike, it was difficult for Knell to get in and deliver a connecting blow with all the myriad biting and firebreathing heads getting in the way. My prayers of protection and heroism had helped, but we were up against a foe who could deliver five different ravaging bites at once!

Alicia, without being able to pierce the beast's hide with her magic, was the most helpless in this fight and the first to fall under the swipe of a heavy claw. Crashing to the floor, she struggled to get up and then fell unconscious. Lydia and Bernadene were next--finally overpowered by the relentless assault until they too crumpled to the floor unable to continue fighting.

Stella was caught by a swing of the massive tail and her chain mail broke wide open, protecting her life but leaving her spent and weak.

Finally--Knell took bite after bite from the ferocious onslaught as the heads focused their attacks on her--until finally, they picked her up in their jaws and threw her like a ragdoll across the room, where she crashed in a heap.

"No....it doesn't end like this!"

I had managed to be the last one standing. And I felt that perhaps...there was just enough mana left in me for one last desperate prayer.

"Almighties...be you good or evil or in between...I implore you! Lend me your strength that we may fight back this foe! Hear me and I'll...I'll...."

What could I offer to the Almighties to gain their favor? In the old days...on Varn....I'd offered some pretty terrible tributes. They'd never be able to get to my brother at least--so the offers I'd made back then were moot. But what could I offer now? I'd changed...I'd try to be a more compassionate man. I couldn't offer up any of my teammates now. Not even Bernadene, who I didn't quite trust fully.

"I offer up -me-." I finally declared, "If you are hungry, Almighties--drink of me. If it will save all of us, take some of my vitality....I.....I can take it!"

There was a surge of spent energy in the air--coming out of my from my mana pool and being eagerly devoured by some unknowing entity with a malevolent disposition. Malevolent, but not completely heartless.

I was gripped by the pain of being artificially aged. Along with my mana--five years of my life force was being sapped out of me. And I swear, in that hazy moment--I heard the entity laugh with pleasure. But then--finally, it was gone, and all my teammates were back on their feet--in full fighting form once more.

Later--as we looted the dead hydra's body of it's treasure horde--Lydia smiled at me.

"That was some prayer of healin', Boss." she said, "I didn't think a scumbag like you could use magic like that."

Her words, as always--so sharp. But coming from her, I do believe it sounded like a compliment.

"Ohhh--you'd be surprised at what these healin', prayin' hands can do...so much more than breaking legs, if only you'd stop and look." I teased her.

It wasn't until that moment--when I realized the tease had come so easily to me---that I realized I had grown quite fond of my sylvan friend. And was at least pleased to see that she did not recoil or scoff at my words, merely smirking and continuing with the looting.

Turning the sands in all three glasses and then ringing the gong caused one of the nearby pillars to open--revealing a fourth century glass. We rang the gong a couple times--once with all the glasses turned up--and once with all of them turned down. We weren't sure we were operating it correctly, but then--no more Hydras arrived, either.

Returning to Greywind's throne room though--it was clear that the tone of the magic permeating the area had changed...

"At last my spirit may leave these cold stone walls! Hear my final words; half of what you need to be released into your ultimate destiny is......645."


With that last cryptic message--the ectoplasmic manifestation of the spirit thinned out, stretched like so much confection...and then dissipated entirely.

Corak's notebook had mentioned that the illusionists held secrets gleaned from the inner workings of the pyramids. Although the meaning of '645' was not yet clear, I knew right away that it was a number to write down somewhere safe. With Greywind gone, we could not get another chance to learn it.

============

Blackwind's Isle, just to the east, was overrun with Plasmids. The gelatinous creatures were much stronger than they looked--as we recalled. Striking one with a weapon was begging for it to get stuck and broken. So we purged them from the sands with magic instead.

Blackwind's castle--similarly crumbling in disrepair, was home to an unusual manifestation of watery whirlpools that I suspect opened directly to the plane of Element Water. Occasionally spawning from them were Piranhas, who swam through the charged air in this strange place as easily as one would swim through water. Although unusual, they posed little threat.

The whirlpools in this castle do minor poison damage, which my party resists even without a prayer of protection. There's a nasty trap too, though. Some of the whirlpools inexplicably warp you to the Arena instead--a small combat area that you can access from any town's mirror orb. And the only exit from the Arena boots you straight out to Fountainhead.

"Nine letters line the wall behind the ladder." the fountain of Anathema's inscription read.  "The tenth letter would be the first in the watchword."

Ahh--without even being tasked with such yet, I already had a sneaking suspicion that we would need to delve into the dungeon here as well.

"At five past six and five past four the watchword is near. Think often and may be discovered."

"Well--let's find the throne room and get this over with." I declared.

Blackwind's spirit too was trapped here within these walls, forever bound to his throne. And he had already manifested by the time we found it--as though he had sensed the departure of Greywind and was anticipating our arrival.

"Trickery beyond that of mortal man has locked my spirit in this keep that once housed my soldiery...."

We agreed to try and help the ghost of the long-dead mage find his rest. The key to his freedom--he informed us, lied in solving the maze of the dungeon and satisfying the statues therein.

There's a throne of power in this room, too--which is 'active' on Day 60, Blackwind's wedding day. There only seems to be one though, as opposed to Greywind's three to choose from. I don't even recall what the throne in Blackwind's castle does, really--I think just give up some gold and gems.

"These are the nine letters the fountain mentioned." I said to my assembled group.  "OTTFFSSEN".

Before I even took suggestions from the group, I cocked my eyes at the letters curiously and the puzzle clicked into place immediately.

"Ten." I said to the barrier, whereupon it shimmered and disappeared immediately.

"How did you do that?" Bernadene asked.

"Hrmmm...," Alicia rubbed her chin and mused out loud, "The letters fit that pattern. One, Two, Three, Four...and so on. That would make the letter after 'N' a 'T' for ten, which the fountain said was the first letter of the watchword."

"And five past four and five past six would make nine and eleven." Lydia added, " 'ten' is the only number that's 'near' both of those."

"Ah...," I admitted--admiring the way those two had reasoned out the puzzle so carefully.

"Actually, for me it was just intuition I guess." I admitted,  "The fountain said 'Think often'.  'think of ten'."

The graffiti we had encountered regarding the dungeon warned us that we could walk for days and not make any progress in the dungeon--and truer words had scarce been spoken. Trying to navigate this place was a nightmare. Teleportation traps were scattered almost around every other step--and each of them sent us directly back to the ladder leading up, wiping out all our progress.

"This is ridiculous...we could spend days down here!" Knell growled.

"It -is- maddening. But as long as each of the traps sends us back to the same place--it's only a matter of retracing our steps very carefully and trying each new possibility. Without a map, it would be nigh impossible...," I assured her,  "But there's never been a labyrinth made that I couldn't map."

Making our way through a long series of trial and error, we found our way to the southeast corner of the maze, where a statue lay dedicated to Blackwind's champion, Hamon Othreute.

"Surrender unto Hamon Othreute his due. 100,000 gold shall win his favor." The inscription read.

"No---absolutely not!" Bernadene griped, "Our thief just -lost- the lion's share of our gold in Greywind's keep and 100,000 will all but wipe out what little we've gathered since!"

"Blackwind stated that in order to free him we had to 'satisfy' the statues..."

"Why help that evil spirit anyway, then?" she protested.

"My quest is -larger- than you and your want for sectarian rivalry." I chastised her, "These evil spirits have knowledge about the secrets of the pyramids. Need I remind -you- that Sheltem the Dark is under there battling the Ancient's herald, Corak---and if Corak falls, Sheltem will not rest until he's purged -all- of Terra's 'invaders' from the isles forever!"

Bernadene was somewhat cowed by this. Invoking the name of Sheltem, it seemed--was enough to give even the most staunch Terran pause.

"I will use money from my own share." I offered. I glanced at Lydia to see if she would protest--since I had promised my share to her once our quest was over. But she did not.

Collecting the money and laying it at the statue's stone feet, the bag of gold was enveloped in a murky black smoke and disappeared completely.

"Let's continue."

Through one teleportation trap after enough, I carefully mapped a route to the southwest corner--where a statue of a black steed lay quietly. For 1000 gems we could pay tribute to Hamon Othreute's steed--the dark horse Phantom Sorrow.

This was an easier tribute to part with--Greywind's trap had left our gems untouched and we had gained a comfortable surplus of them. Tossing them at the statue's base, they were enveloped by black smoke and disappeared.

At long last, we found one more statue in the northwest..this one housed a much more malevolent spirit.

"A tribute of blood is required to exult the castle's Warlord...will you sacrifice a party member?"

The glimmering monument stared down at us unmovingly, as though awaiting our response.

"You can't be serious...," Bernadene said. This time, I agreed with her sentiment.

"I'm loathe to even consider it. But it wouldn't be the first time. In the Cathedral of Carnage, Knell had to willingly drink Moose Juice." I recalled. The memory made Knell shudder and everyone else turn away in disgust--it was an unpleasant memory, to be sure.

"Aye...if it needs to be done--I'll shed my blood for ye again." Knell grumbled.

"Being raised is painful and arduous and you've volunteered so much of yourself...," Stella offered,  "I'm...afraid. But I'll do it. Just...raise me quickly, okay?" the ranger asked.

"I'm not afraid. Death comes much more stoically for sorcerors like myself...," Alicia mentioned.

I glanced at Lydia, who only balked. Not that I blamed her. Bernadene similarly looked uncomfortable.

"Friends--I thank you."

The statue grumbled again,  "Will you sacrifice a party member?"

I turned to the statue to declare the consensus we had reached.

"Yes." I said.

Before I had a chance to specify our volunteer--there was a bright flash...and then there was nothing.

As a cleric--my holy power gives my spirit some enduring strength. Once the disorientation passed--I realized I had been separated from my body. I could not 'see' as the living might see, but opening my senses in this incorporeal form, I could detect that things did not quite go as I had planned.

"Oh, gods!" Lydia gasped. Knell and Stella had drawn their weapons and were anxiously moving in around me, looking for a threat that was no longer there.

I 'glanced' at the area Knell and Stella were guarding and detected a pile of ashes. It seemed that the statue, hearing our consensus had merely decided to pick a volunteer for us and settled on me. I was completely eradicated.

"Don't touch it! Don't -touch it-!" Alicia spat out loud, trying to keep them from disturbing my ashes.

My holy power was strong--but I wasn't quite experienced enough in this form to manifest in the way that Blackwind or Spellwind could. There was no way to take ectoplasmic form and make myself known to my comrades.

Or was there? I could 'see' the connection to Terra's ley lines on each of them. Knell and Lydia, who had no magic power--were very dim. Stella and Bernadene were slightly stronger. Alicia--who was a powerful sorceress and who had a personal connection to me--glowed brightly. So, it was to her I reached out.

With a shudder--Alicia froze, and I'm sure sensed me. I could not 'speak' but tried to deliver a message to her. And I was glad when she seemed to receive it.

"Okay..okay, gather up the ashes. All together, in one bag...try to get as much of them as you can." she said to Stella, who complied while the others gathered around Alicia, seeing the look of intense concentration on her face.

"Are you sensing something?" Lydia asked --  "Boss, are you hearing us?" she asked. For once--her face showed an actual shred of concern.

"He's nearby. I think. I'm not a cleric--this is difficult." Alicia responded.

"Is he all right?" Knell asked.

I smiled at their concern. In truth--I felt more liberated than ever before. But no--this was not yet my time. I channeled my thoughts into Alicia calmly...

"I think..he's telling us not to worry. Just to get as many of the ashes as we can. The fewer ashes we leave behind, the less draining the resurrection will be at the temple. He wants us to find Blackwind first before he leaves Terra and takes his knowledge with him."

Following close by, my group waded through the poisonous whirlpools in the castle above and confronted Blackwind in his throne room...

"Finally, I am freed from my captivity!" The spirit coalesced into form and thanked us profusely,  "I will offer this as reward for your assistance....231 is half of what is required to fulfill your destiny."

With that, Blackwind's spirit--the manifestation of it anyway, stretched thin and disappeared. But his ghostly presence remained slightly longer. Long enough to notice me and recognize the sacrifice I'd made for him. Smiling gratefully--he nodded to me...and then vanished forever.

"Let's get back to Wildabar right away!" Lydia exclaimed after scribbling the number into her notebook.

I reached out to Alicia in protest.

"Wait! No...the isle of mirage. It's almost day 99...Brother Zeta said that the Sea Shells of Serenity could only be gathered on this one day a year."

Pragmatism overcame worry, and my group faithfully watched the stars in a camp for another day--and when Day 99 approached--they went to the small Mirage Isle just south of Blackwind's castle...

Entranced by the shell's power--my group didn't come around from the enchantment until the next day--but not without having successfully stowed the thing away in their pack. And then it was straight back to the temple in Wildabar.







I gasped loudly as the monks took an enormous sum of money and finished rebuilding my body from its ashes. Between the prayer of divine intervention at Greywind and being eradicated in Blackwind--my body was beginning to feel prematurely worn and withered. A dip in the waters at Nayrah sounded nice. But for the moment--I was glad to be back in my body again.

"Idiot. I was actually -worried- about you!" Lydia chastised me.

"Hrmph. One of the first things you said to me was that my quest was gonna get us killed. Getting cold feet?"

She only scowled.

"Sorry. I hope we never have to go back to those two castles again." I said to her.

Lydia smiled and passed her notebook to me, showing where she had recorded Blackwind's number.

"Now that we have the full number...we don't have to."

Southwest of Wildabar, on the edge of the ocean is a small hut sitting by it's lonesome. And it was precisely where we wanted to head to now--with the Sea Shell of Serenity in hand.

Athea, the nymph of the sea--relaxed in the cup of a large shell and sang her siren's song. Her charmed voice was enough to drive any male mad, myself no exception--but this time, we caught her attention and distracted her with the offering of the shell.

Reaching out gingerly for it--we allowed her to take it. Liberated from Blackwind's spell and returned to the ocean that spawned it, she sang another song instead of thanks, filling us with mysterious power...

...and leaving for us a moderately pricey sum of gold. Well--this made up at least for some of what we'd lost in our expedition to the Isles of Illusion. Our next stop would be to delve even further east--to the great sandy isle in the southeast. But for now--it was time to rest and reorganize our possessions. It had been a long journey.