Black Crypt: Le Soleil, La Lune

The rest of the fourth floor was relatively simple for the most part. Nothing really new popped up, just more of the semi-invisible worm enemies. I got another character level. Curiously, my party doesn't all do it at once despite never having died, but it doesn't really work quite logically. Fighter and cleric both do it at the same time, but it then goes wizardess, then druid. I mean, I guess that makes sense, neither is using their weapons anymore, no point when they never seem to hit, but shouldn't my cleric be ahead of my fighter, since he fights and casts spells?

At this point, I end up stuck a bit. There's a magic wall I can't cast dispel on, so I assume I'm just missing something. Based on past evidence, I need to find some hidden button. Once again, I succumb to weakness and look it up the map. Nothing. The walkthrough? There are two scrolls of dispel I dropped because I don't need that when two of my spellcasters can do that. A lot of the more generic magic items which seem to serve no purpose I've just been ignoring. I don't need health potions I'm not going to use.

Inside is more armor, a remove glyph scroll I have a funny feeling I know where it goes, a key and another magic user spellbook. Reminder, my Druid still only has his first spellbook. All he has is a measly attack spell I'm not sure is doing the 2-8 points of damage per caster's level it alleges, a dispel magic spell which apparently isn't that helpful, a read runes spell which is actually useless, and a protection spell I keep neglecting to use. Second he gets another spellbook he'll actually be useful. Probably.

Anyway, this Wizard Word spellbook is a mixed bag. Create Wall, create a illusionary wall for some purpose, Ethereal Shield a better protection spell which affects the entire party, Refresh, "remember all spells below 4th level", which I can't use yet, but sounds insanely useful when I do and Lighting Field, damage spell. Wait, Lighting or Lightning? Oh, well, we'll find out when we use it.

The scroll of remove glyph works on the skulls from earlier. Though since it only has one use, I have an awful feeling I might be accidentally screwing myself over. There's nothing that special here, just some armor my frontline fighters can't really use and a few odds and ends. That's okay, I knew this could be a possibility. The key, meanwhile, opens a door near the start of this section and it's straight down three more floors to the next section. Which prompts another disk swap.

The very first thing I see on this floor is this plaque. Oh, good, does this mean the game is going to go after me for using spells? Wait, can plaques lie to me? Since the game is introducing the possibility, that's a valid theory. I can reload if it kills me for casting fireball.

Oh, look, it's my new most-hated enemy. Kidding, mostly. Even if the game can get frustrating, this is some top notch enemy design. I spam spells at it until it dies with a few melee attacks. My fighter and cleric are starting to become less useful in a fight and more like meat shields. Oh, well. There's another glyph blocking my path after this, but fortunately this is done in by a spell. There's also a plaque warning me that there's something dangerous in the dark.

Further up is another plaque, one which I have to switch to my cleric to read. A druid needs me to complete his task, presumably, not my druid. "For sun and moon", which by examining the nearby...door/wall relief, I believe refers to two items to do something here. I probably would have figured this out on my own, but the explicit statement does make it all easier. Two teleports lead the way onward.

My first choice is the nearer of the two, which leads to the blue walls. Shades of the level with the first boss in Shadowcaster, but either way, very cool. You start off in a circle with three paths blocked off by pillars along with a door which has a gold lock. To advance, you have to step on a tile with an invisible pressure plate, which opens one. There's another pressure plate, visible this time, which hurts my party, then spawns a bunch of flying skulls. They cast spells, but in a fight they aren't worth much individually. Of course, in a bunch, that's a bit more troublesome.

This is a whole set of strange pressure plate traps that lead around a switch. The first one spawned a horde, while the second one spawns one, but forces your items one space away. This opens a door which leads to a key, and more importantly, the Manual of the Planes, the second druid spellbook. We get Light, self-explanatory, Swarm, attack spell, Dismiss, "sends enemy to another plane", probably works against planar enemies, to use DnD terminology, and Disrupt. I can't use the latter two yet, since they're 8th and 9th level respectively. In-between all this is a pit and a stairway down leading to a small area.

The door opens, revealing another door with a gold lock. Okay, I get the point here. And I start back on the area I was, only to realize I can't go anywhere else. Okay, I'm missing something, I know it. But what? Examining a block which disappeared when I returned reveals a button which opens another pathway.

In here is another plaque, this one reads "HCTIWS", which is not misspelled and when I looked at the screen upside down it showed me nothing. On the left side is a coffer, a storage item I don't need, on the right is a regular bow, which I don't need. I leave, do a few other things, and then it occurs to me, hey, does that mean SWITCH? The nearest switch is back in the last area. Nothing, and then the answer comes to me, switch where the items are.

Another fight with a horde of floating skulls, I once again run out of spells and fight them in melee, not very fun. This area has a pillar blocking a passage and three stairways down. There's another death gem and a scroll. This one tells me that there's another passcode wall, this one asking about how long the Black War lasted. The scroll says 10 hours, but checking the manual, it says 40. Gotta love that, making the copy protection require you to pay attention to the manual, and I'm saying that even though I didn't really read the backstory part.

Oddly, two of the stairs down lead to dead ends and the other one just has a skull guarding a magic robe, which I give to my wizardess. Knowing this game at this point, okay, where's the button I missed? Pixel hunting in blue screens is an experience, let me tell you, and does take away the cool factor. But I find the button, which removes the pillar and leads to a fourth stairway down...which actually just leads back up. Huh.

This area has four more stairways down and this slime monster. As per usual, I spam magic attacks, and try not to get hit. It doesn't seem to be anything special, but I prefer not to play with fire. It's the only one in this section, so what it does will have to wait for later. One of the other stairways leads to another corridor which should lead back to the area I was just in, but is blocked by a pillar. The actual meat here is that there's another "HCTIWS" puzzle, which reveals a chest with the second key.

The third pillar is removed by another newly revealed button, this has two paths. One is locked off by a plaque asking the question about the Black War, but the other is guarded by a glyph. This leads to a strange puzzle with two different plaques, here and today. I figure there's something else I need to find, so I start to double back, only to find there's no way out except a teleporter which wasn't there before.

This leads to another room, which throws a trap at me, with two more plaques. Tomorrow and gone. I'd like to solve the puzzle, Pat. "Here today, gone tomorrow." Well, what that means is beyond me for now, because there's nothing that can interact with this, and the way forward just leads to another snaking pillar, this one giving the solution to the Black War question. It's still requiring you to look stuff up in the manual, but the manual gives the answer, so I don't understand the purpose.

The path behind the puzzle plaque leads to a locked door and one I can open. The one I can open has another one of the nasty-looking fellows on-top, but no way to enter. Until I check the map and notice one of the walls is strangely colored. It's a one-way wall, kind of, and on the other side I have to fight this thing without magic. That's not a mistake or anything, there's a note from Estoroth telling me that I'm too reliant on magic. He's not wrong or anything, but this was the first time I've had to actually use the combat waltz since the ogre.

He's guarding another a key and another druid spellbook, Force of the Elements. This has Shadow Shield, party protection spell, Ice Strike, heavy but non-scaling attack spell, Blast of Cold, scaling attack spell, Quake, heavier but non-scaling attack spell. Kind of limited selection, no fire or air spells? I guess the magic user spellbooks cover that, but it is strange. The rest of this area is just a few more token enemies and better items, along with the final key.

This leads to yet another of the red ceiling crawlers. This one seems tougher than the others, a more or less full shot of spells doesn't kill him and I'm not in a position to actually fight him. Considering that a lot of the higher level spells have something like a 10-80 damage difference, it could just be bad luck. He dies quickly when I came back.

This is it for this section, the moon key is here, along with some nice, shiny plate armor for my fighter. Returning to the relief/door, and a wall is removed, revealing a Frost Razor. This, alas, I think shall be my stopping off point for this particular entry, Easter weekend and all that.

This Session: 2 hours 30 minutes

Total Time: 8 hours 50 minutes