LEVELS 21-23 cont.

The Chamberlain is “getting the impression that you find collaboration with me distasteful.  Well, we’re not finished yet.”  He’s aware of the control he exercises over you despite your issues with him.  He admires one of your greatest qualities, never letting people down.  “It’s an unjust world.  Only the fittest survive.  I do what I have to do.  And so should you.”  Your cooperation makes the Chamberlain pause and wonder “Does this mean the ice between us is melting?  Hmm…your eyes say differently.”  Your obedience makes him very happy. 

Skull Pete hasn’t forgotten about money, despite being a skeleton.  He’s found the way to return his human appearance and asks for your help.  Close to his dream, Pete retrieved the recipe that will return his human form.  He finally outwitted the curse of Lord Chamberlain and wonders if you can “imagine what pleasure it is to stop rattling with his old bones.”  Desiring more coins, Pete knows the ghost innkeeper has found a large sum of money.  But Salty doesn’t deserve wealth and, being a pirate, it’s Pete duty to separate Salty from that wealth.  Pete celebrates with some unrivaled Elvish rum and then debates the merits of selling it for profit, although the elves might ask something in return.  After your help in procuring a new sword, Pete says “My friend Rudolph would have called you a good soul.”  (could this be Rudoguil?)  He constantly calls you apprentice and says it’s a pity you weren’t on board his ship with him.  Pete was cheated on a deal when a certain person promised to make him a new mast.  Well, at least he still has some gold.  Pete knows time is money and wonders “Do you love gold as much as I do?”  Once again, he offers you some fine Elvish rum.  Totally forgetting what it means to be human, Pete realizes he shouldn’t have had quite so much rum.  He really needs to get his head back in the game.  After resting, he’s aggravated he can’t find his rum and wonders why you’re laughing at him.  But the old pirate is proud of you and promotes you from apprentice to ship boy to senior seaman.  But, unfortunately, Skull Pete is only interested in more rum and stiffs you on any reward. 

LEVELS 21-23 cont.

Salty’s ghost is busy polishing the bar stools with his vapor.  Salty vents about trying to strike a deal with a pirate.  But there’s been an emergency at the Inn.  One of his deals went south and he needs to recoup before his client gets testy.  That was a close call and Salty wonders “Have you ever bought a pig in a poke?  This is a disaster!  I need to sell it, but first I’ll have to disguise it.  Phew, it’s getting harder to do business.”  One bit of advice…”buy low, sell high.”

Arabella would be awfully grateful to her favorite mortal if you would help find herbs, potions and poisons.   Just don’t make her blush by talking about a love potion!  “This potion depends on crow feathers – and they don’t like to be plucked!  Now you’ve feathered my nest!” 

Henry the Archeologist thanks you for asking about him, but he’s doing just fine.  Apparently, the unknown threat the Keeper of the Castle sensed hasn’t happened. 

Standing in the Underground Grotto, the chains blocking the door suddenly give way.  Upon entering the Mystery Chamber, you witness someone using rays to destroy the heart of the Wishes Machine and then flee. 

The Keeper of Wishes introduces herself as the Keeper of the Heart of the Mystery Chamber.  “And I am not happy seeing my home ransacked.  You must help me find those rascals!”  The Keeper of Wishes gives you a magic map that “will help you navigate the world and find the villain who desecrated my home.”  The Keeper of Wishes says “I can’t explain my outrage every time I look at what they’ve done to this place!  We must restore it…the sooner, the better.”  A Mystery Chamber full of wishes sounds big, but the Keeper feels so lonely sometimes.  She’s sure repairing the Heart of the Mystery Chamber will take her thoughts off her solitude. 

LEVELS 21-23 cont.

Christian the Bard appears in the City Square.  He welcomes you to this “odd place” and says “he’s been a traveling bard for years.  I’m looking for the Mystery Chamber and could really use your help.  My reward is equal to merit.”  The dream of his life is reaching musical perfection and the Mystery Chamber is his last chance.  “Meanwhile, I’m up to something else.”  What a pity you won’t simply take him there.  Christian wants to express his gratitude with a song, “but I haven’t found the right tune yet; the melody isn’t working and the false notes are driving me crazy.  Maybe I should change something.”  A perfect melody isn’t easy to create; it requires a combination of certain elements and some magic.  Finally, Christian can animate his melody with the sparkle of true emotion, but the sparkle fades so quickly.  Putting too much of his soul into his melodies, Christian begins to feel ill.  Too tired to speak, he needs something to restore his powers.  With your help, he’s getting better with every passing second and vows to be careful with his emotions.  “Sadder but wiser, they say.  You should replenish and protect the magical resources of your body.”  Still trying to compose the perfect melody, Christian wishes he “could find the Mystery Chamber the way you did.”  His obsession and pleas get stronger and more persistent…”I need the Mystery Chamber!  Come on!  You can’t keep it from me forever!  I deserve to know, I promise.”  And “Why are you so reluctant to tell me the whereabouts of the Chamber?  My wish is a good one.  Music can’t harm anyone…right?”  ***Christian the Bard changes into Chris Arwin the Assassin*** 

Chris the Assassin makes a shocking confession “Don’t you recognize your musician friend?  It’s me, and I’m here…to kill the Keeper of Wishes!”  He supposes you’ll try “to keep her alive for a little bit longer.”  He wonders if you’re still unwilling to tell him where the Mystery Chamber is; after all, “You don’t want to make a killer wait…right?”  “By the way, killing the Keeper of Wishes isn’t easy, especially if it’s not your own will…Oh, I shouldn’t have said that.”  Chris is making a plan and urges you to come by later to talk about something…or someone. 

Lord Chamberlain asks “Have you come to blame me for the destruction of the Heart of the Mystery Chamber?  Wait…You didn’t know it was me?  Now you do.”  Dark clouds seem to be gathering over him and things are only getting worse!  This must be a bad omen and the Chamberlain is very concerned about his future.  “I was right about the bad omen.  I’ve lost my source of power!”

LEVELS 21-23 cont.

Arabella knows the Chamberlain sent you and wonders if you’re certain he’s frightened and grieving.  The witch sarcastically comments how nice of you to be helping the Chamberlain, but “I have my own plans for him.”  She’s planning a surprise for the Chamberlain, a nasty one, but it’s for the greater good of everyone.  Your guilty look amuses her; then she confesses she doesn’t plan to kill the Chamberlain.  She has something more fun in mind.  Arabella plans to conduct a small, but pretty complicated ritual that will make the Chamberlain show his true nature.  In a horrible mood, Arabella reminds you that “a sad witch is a bad witch.”  She consults an ancient book for the things needed for the ritual.  She asks you to stay away until the ritual is done.  Not imagining the ritual would be so hard to fulfill, the witch needs you sooner than expected.  Apparently, the Chamberlain has some protection.  But it doesn’t matter anymore.  “It’s done.  I’ve done it all!  Exhausted as I am, I feel so happy!  OK, my friend, you can go back to the Chamberlain…and send my best to him!” 

The Lord Chamberlain begins wailing “Something is wrong…Arabella Scales…It’s she who wants to destroy me!  Nooo!”  ***The Lord Chamberlain transforms into a pudgy, purple vampire bat***

Anabel heard rumors more people are deserting the Chamberlain and his days may be numbered.  Changes are coming; the Chamberlain is losing his mysterious powers and all the members of the Clan Council have turned their backs on him.  Did you know the Witch isn’t exactly who she is pretending to be?  Anabel “wishes people well, but excludes the witch from that list.”  Finding out her plans and revealing all her secrets is a priority.  While the Chamberlain is losing his mysterious powers, Anabel works on strengthening hers.    “There is something in the wind today…Does the plot thicken?”

The Keeper of the Castle says, “Now that Lord Chamberlain has been punished, the castle is more or less safe.  But we still must deal with his negative influence.”  “If you don’t grow as a person, nothing has meaning.”  Time flies, but for the Keeper, it doesn’t exist.  “Humans often ask for immortality, but they have no idea how to cope with it.  Don’t you fear the Chamberlain’s fate?” 

LEVELS 24-25

For the Keeper of Wishes, “cooperation with you is the best thing that’s happened to me these last few days.”  You can’t imagine how important the Heart is or how difficult to be out of your home, your sanctuary, for a long period of time.  She hopes it will be restored soon, and “It’s nice to see there are still hard-working folks in this world.   With you as my assistant, I believe I can fix the Heart.”  And one day, you may need a favor from the Keeper of Wishes and her future reply depends solely on how you help her now.  The Keeper of Wishes is bored to death in her seclusion, what she calls her “spiritual problem”, so you help by finding some interesting and distracting items.  The Keeper of Wishes feels much better and, even though you’re mortal, calls you “friend.”

The Wise Dragon sarcastically asks “What do you think I’m thinking about right now?  A princess?  Because I’m a dragon?  That’s such a stereotype.”  For the Dragon, gold and jewelry never fail to cheer him up.  About life and death, the Dragon says “You know, sometimes someone is considered dead, but yet they appear to be alive.”  The Wise Dragon admits to missing your Uncle and how wonderful it would be to see him again. 

Henry the Archeologist is thinking about opening a store of relics and found a nice hut he could use, but isn’t sure about its location.  “The launch will be incredible!  Now, I need a pretty sales assistant.”  “How sweet is the chime of the first coins earned!”  Henry’s in a bad mood after having a nightmare that he was a troll again with two she-trolls fighting over him.  Henry’s tired and his business has failed.  “Maybe I’m not really a businessman.”  Once the last two orders are delivered, he plans to quit.  Those orders are for that horrible Witch, who has threatened Henry.  Henry begs you to hurry so the Witch doesn’t have any excuse to turn him back into a troll.  “Finally, the business is closed, the Witch is pleased and I am still human!”  (In Level 14 right after the Troll transforms into human Henry, he says the Chamberlain cursed him.  Did the Chamberlain and Arabella act together?)  Henry has done some detective work and feels the circumstances of your Uncle’s death are unclear and he wants to get to the bottom of the case.  “The facts are clear, despite my lack of detective skills.  Your Uncle’s body was never found – isn’t that interesting?”  He thinks your Uncle had something to do with the Dragon from the Forbidden Tower.

Skull Pete has a plan that would make him rich and wants to know if you want to go halves with him.  Now Pete can afford an entire fleet but his top priority is repairing his ship.  Pete says “Yo-ho-ho!  Being human has never been better!  I should start thinking about securing my mortal life.”  You decline tasting an “amazing Armagnac” that fell into Pete’s hands, to which Pete replies “OK, then…more for me.”   Skull Pete appears sober and all-consumed with repairing his ship.  You help him fix the wheel, the most important part of the ship, but “Thunderation and an iron maiden!  The wheel broke again!”  Pete hopes the patch will survive at least one sail.  “You would make a good sailor!”

LEVELS 24-25 cont.

The Werewolf Knight is tormented by thoughts of Anabel and muses how fate enjoys a joke.  “The heart wants what it wants.”  According to the Knight “someone is going to drag my good name through the mud” and, as a matter of honor, you must help.  Anabel is going on a little trip but the Knight can’t be with her.  “Only the light of my love…and some specific items…can protect her from harm.”  The Knight wonders if you’ve heard the latest news about a relic in his family.  “Have you heard?  They are going to steal the family shield, the icon of the Castle!  I invoke your aid!”  He describes your deed as “admirable” and “you should be proud of yourself.”  The Werewolf Knight has a surprise, “I want to propose to Anabel, the love of my life, but I have to prepare for it.”  His love for Anabel cannot be contained but there is so much to do before he can propose.  “Be still, my breathless heart!”  He can’t think straight with all the butterflies in his stomach and is afraid of losing his nerve.  The Knight never thought he’d be so nervous; his heart is pounding and he can’t wait any longer!  “Why can’t I just simply pop the question?”  The engagement ring is ready and he can’t keep his beloved waiting any longer.  “Wish me luck.”  ***Werewolf Knight disappears from the Castle Entry and reappears as the Iron Knight with Anabel at the Castle Gates***

Salty is delighted by the Dragon’s promise he would soon see dear Valeria.

The Wise Dragon has a secret that he hopes will prove to be a pleasant surprise.  “Go to the Throne Hall.  I feel there’s a stranger there.” 

A stranger, wearing a long coat with a hood covering his face, appears in Throne Hall.  “I’m so glad to finally meet the person I’ve heard so much about.  And I hope you’re equally pleased to meet…your Uncle Vesnik!”

Count Leonard Vesnik, your Uncle, is very happy to see you.  “It is terrible to see my castle in such a bad condition.”  But it is such a pleasure for an “old man to finally get to the castle renovations!”  And to also repair the Chamber’s Heart.  Although they say repairs never stop, it’s nice to be home and putting everything in order.  Age is taking its toll, however, and your Uncle is happy for all your help.  The castle is cozier but one important room is completely destroyed and he’d like to fix it as soon as possible.  This is his daughter’s room, and it’s very important to him to keep this room in order.  Distracted from the sadness, your Uncle says “I was checking my heirlooms and it turned out something was missing.  My collection is nothing without it.”  Any respectful castle owner should have symbols of power and somehow his symbols are lost somewhere.  His mind still on lost things, Uncle Vesnik says “I missed so many important events, in older days my wife knew everything…I miss her so much!”  Family is sacred, and it feels so empty here now.  The place is nothing without your family to share it.  He’s impressed you found the Mystery Chamber but admits to making a critical mistake.  “I want to figure out where I went wrong in my search.” 

LEVELS 24-25 cont.

The Wise Dragon said “Quite a surprise isn’t it?  You didn’t expect to see your uncle!”  He hid your Uncle from the Chamberlain in a different dimension.  Moving between worlds is hard and he needs to restore the enormous amount of energy expended.  Your Uncle is safe and the Chamberlain is no threat but the Wise Dragon advises against relaxing.  Feeling much better with his energy restored, he can now concentrate on his research in the astral world.  But there’s a hidden threat, “I feel our peace is being threatened.  I must find out what’s happening.  In the astral world, evil thoughts look like dark fog.”  And the Dragon has seen such mist near here!  “In the astral world, I saw darkness and flames in Midnight Castle.”  But there’s still hope.  After identifying the source of evil, it seems the dark fog is from the castle dungeon.  There’s an ill will brewing, and the Dragon thinks he knows who’s responsible.  “I think it’s the witch.  She’s not what she appears to be.  Be careful!” 

The Stone Fairy appears in Ancient Park.  “Hello, traveler!  I’m a fairy.  I was flying to a flower holiday when I was suddenly petrified.”  Desperate to understand, “I don’t know what’s going on.  A fairy can’t just be petrified.  Help me!”  To the Fairy, it feels like magic is gone all over the world.  She’s so weak, “It’s hard to stand so long!  There should be at least a tiny drop of magic!”  The Fairy needs to perform a magic ritual, but she’s been petrified so long that she’s forgotten how to make magic and perform rituals.  Unable to even start the ritual, the Fairy is resigned to remaining petrified.

LEVEL 26

Arabella Scales, the Witch, is very interested in the Knight.  “There’s a rumor that the Werewolf Knight is wandering around the castle.  Such a presentable Knight might come in handy!”  The witch doesn’t want to be disturbed but needs to find out more about the Knight.  “How handsome is the Werewolf Knight?  And he’s near!  I’d invite him over.”  Arabella shoos you away and thinks of ways to lure the Knight.  “The Knight isn’t coming…And all I need from him is just his soul, werewolfish and enamored.”  Tired of waiting for you and the Knight, the witch gets sarcastic with “Are you waiting for thanks?  What would I do without you?  I’d live in clover, I guess…”  She’s frustrated that the “weird Werewolf Knight is too tolerant to my charms!”  Arabella heard your Uncle is alive and wonders if he’s really your Uncle.  But “Unluckily, it turns out he’s really your Uncle.  Are you sure that’s a good thing?  You don’t know each other at all, and now this stranger will reap all the rewards while you do the dirty work.”  She warns you that living with the relative and owner of the castle may disturb you. 

Valeria’s Spirit appears in the Chapel.  Amazed at meeting you again, she doesn’t know what happened but wants to apologize to the Dragon.  The Wise Dragon really is wise and isn’t angry at Valeria anymore.  She asks about her friend, Salty Took.  “Oh, dear Jeronimo, he was always too kind to me!  And I was so silly!”  Valeria wants to let Jeronimo know she’s still alive and happy so he doesn’t worry anymore.  She knows Took’s ghost doesn’t hold a grudge against her and she wants to show him she’s changed a lot.  “Jeronimo became a ghost because of me.  I must help him.  I’ve made so many mistakes!”  You gather some small pleasures that Valeria thinks would be great gifts for Jeronimo.  Poor Took, despite his kindness he still became a ghost, and remains a ghost despite all your past efforts.  Valeria can’t just stand and watch, but she doesn’t think she can help Jeronimo.  But she won’t give up!

The Knight and Anabel, together at the Castle Gates, are now engaged and thankful for your wonderful gift.  But in spite of their happiness, “It feels like the witch is still watching us.  We need a shield from her magic.”  This witch is hard to read, but after your help, she won’t have power over them anymore.  The Knight is sad that his father won’t be present at the ceremony.  Sir Oeland has been gone for years and it’s uncertain whether he’s dead or alive.  The search spell isn’t strong enough to go beyond the castle, so they use the Memento Mori to magnify the spell’s strength.  “Sir Oeland is alive but he is somewhere behind the veil of our world.  He seems trapped…”  Unfortunately, the spell over Sir Oeland is very strong and “the knowledge of who did this to him might actually shed some light on the ways to rescue him.”  The circle of suspects has been narrowed and there’s someone who can give a hint about Oeland but they would hardly speak for free.  “Great!  We found out that the witch locked up Sir Oeland in the space between the worlds.”  Apparently, the witch had plans for the werewolves for a long time and she must be distracted in order to save Oeland.  Sadly, releasing Sir Oeland didn’t work.

LEVEL 26 cont.

The Innkeeper received Valeria’s present and now he wants to do something special for her, too.  “Poor Valeria!  It isn’t much fun to be a ghost.  If only I could help her!”  Maybe, with some help, Valeria can regain her human form.  Salty isn’t sure what happened, but Valeria isn’t exactly a ghost right now.  He wonders if the Source of Sorcery is behind Valeria’s current state.  He’s sure of it now…”it was the Source of Sorcery that led to Valeria’s losing her ghostly form.  But what are the consequences?”  Salty needs to talk to the wizards next to the Source of Sorcery.  Unfortunately, they can’t hear ghosts, so he’s counting on you.  Oddly enough, the wizards are ready to help Valeria.  One of the wizards helps with a power transfer; Salty will give some of his energy to Valeria so she can become human again.  “I might have transferred too much energy to Valeria…The wizard warned me!”  Salty feared losing his astral body as Valeria did, but all is well.  Salty asks you to remind Valeria about him.

The Keeper of Wishes heard you want to free Oeland the Silver Mane and offers to help.  If she finds Oeland in the space between the worlds, he will be very grateful for your help.  “I found Oeland is no longer captive to the witch’s curse but he can’t get into our world.  Any ideas?”  Finally, “Great news!  Oeland is back but it was a hard task for me.  Will you help me restore my power?  And don’t forget to go welcome Oeland Silver Mane.”  ***Oeland Silver Mane appears in the Castle Entry*** 

Oeland grudgingly thanks you for rescuing him but is more concerned about giving a sign to his clan that he’s still alive.  “Otherwise, a struggle for power could have started.”  Oeland gave the sign, but now needs to get in touch with his Clan.  Without him, they might lose heart.   He compliments you on being a fast runner and offers you a courier’s job.  Unluckily, conflicts started in the Clan and everyone is talking about his son’s wedding.  Oeland calms his people down, puts them in their places and reminds them the Clans’ affairs come first!  Finally, everything is quiet in the Clan, but how could his son marry a vampire?  “I think now my son will come to his senses!  This love would be really unwelcome now!”  Oeland decides to test Anabel and get some idea “what kind of girl my useless son has chosen.”  Anabel is a pretty girl, but she’s a vampire!  While Oeland offers late congratulations, he hopes his son will change his mind and come to his senses.  Perhaps the Knight needs a reminder about the Clan’s interests and his responsibility as son of the leader!  Some of the Clan members don’t agree with the Knight’s choice and Oeland hopes it doesn’t cause a breach in the peace agreement with the vampires.  Oeland negotiates with the vampires and, amazingly, the conflict doesn’t escalate.  Oeland takes a big step and resigns himself to “putting up with the inevitable” and accepts his son’s choice.  Now he must show the Clan that everything is all right and ease any lingering doubts.  “Now my clan will definitely obey me.  And I hope I’m right!” 

LEVEL 27

The Keeper of Wishes hopes you made a good impression with the great person.  But she’s worried, “I’m afraid we left too many marks when we were saving Oeland.  We don’t want to be found by the witch.”  Covering up the tracks so the Witch won’t know how Oeland escaped her trap proves such a relief.  “Did you notice?  The witch is suspecting something…We should send her the wrong way.  We need to protect ourselves from the Witch.”  But hope that the Witch wouldn’t find out is quickly dashed.  The Witch tried to inflict some horrible curse on the Keeper of Wishes, but with your help, she can finally breathe calm.  “The Witch won’t be able to do anything to me even if she wants to.”  The Keeper of Wishes is safe, but you still need protection from the Witch.  “I know you are looking for the Heart of the Chamber, but so is the Witch.  She somehow deprived the Heart of magic!”  The Chamber’s Heart is finally back to work but it’s not the end of your mission here.  The Heart must be protected from future invasions by the Witch.  Perhaps you should talk to the Castle’s Keeper about the Witch. 

The Keeper of the Castle can’t do anything about the Witch until she threatens Midnight Castle, but he can help you.  He gives you a container full of concentrated magic called the Storage Core.

Two beams are directed at globes to the left and right of the Keeper of Wishes that cause them to light up.

The Keeper of Wishes says you did well repairing the Heart of the Chamber, but “it seems to be losing its magic power, which she didn’t think was even possible.  With your help, the Keeper “figured out that there’s enough magic in the Mystery Chamber for one wish.”  Now it’s clear the Keeper was feeling so weak lately because she is the spirit of the place.  Complete exhaustion of the Heart would cause such spiritual weakness that the Keeper of Wishes may completely disappear.  Good news!  The Keeper can now survive even if the Mystery Chamber is destroyed.  “The Source of Magic is responsible for the magic powers of the Mystery Chamber.  There must be something wrong with it.”  Unfortunately, the Source is very far away.  It seems that the Source of Magic is spoiled, but who would do such a thing?  The Source of Magic can’t be helped long distance, so the Keeper of Wishes decides to make the dangerous trip there.  “Goodbye, my friend.”  ***Keeper of Wishes disappears from the Mystery Chamber***