Secret of the Silver Blades (Walkthrough)
THE SECRET OF THE SILVER BLADES
- Bugs, Hints, General Information New Verdigris
- Well, Old Verdigris Ruins, Administration Building
- Mines
- Castle Dungeons, Crevasses, Frost Giants' Village
- Castle, Endgame
THE SECRET OF THE SILVER BLADES: Part 1
BUGS, HINTS, AND GENERAL INFORMATION
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.
THE SECRET OF THE SILVER BLADES is published by Strategic Simulations, Inc. and distributed by Electronic Arts.
