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***

LEVEL 27 cont.

The Wise Dragon says, “Something is going wrong with the castle magic” and wonders if there’s any reason to worry.  He feels that the Source of Sorcery itself is in danger.  He must not let the Source dry up, but he can’t reach it from here.  It was a difficult decision, but the Dragon knows he must travel to save the Source.  He performs a ritual proving he could entrust the Mystery Chamber to Anabel.  Now all that’s left to do is convince Anabel to guard the Mystery Chamber while he’s away.  “Anabel agreed to help but she doesn’t want to move into this tower.  I think we should talk to our Iron Knight.”  The Iron Knight agrees to do a favor for the Wise Dragon and convince Anabel to live in the Forbidden Tower for a while.  Finally, the Dragon can set off on his journey.  ***The Wise Dragon disappears from the Forbidden Tower***

Uncle Leonard Vesnik is very lonely, “These things remind me of the wife who left this world long ago…And my little daughter.”  He misses them so much and there’s no joy since some unknown plague took his child and wife long ago.  Everything reminds him of his family and he can’t even think about getting the castle in order.  “I would do anything, sell my soul to get my family back.”  He hesitates to ask but “would you sacrifice your wish for bringing back my family?”  Your kindness is noted, but your wish to bring his family back doesn’t work.  Uncle Vesnik says spirits told him “only a person with a kind heart can pass the wish to somebody else.”  So you must pass your wish on to your Uncle, then he can make the wish.  There’s a ritual for that.  Uncle Vesnik can’t believe you would make a sacrifice like this and “I will owe you forever.”  He makes his wish, but it takes longer to come true than he expected.  Finally, the miracle of resurrection!  He hurries to see his family!  ***Uncle Vesnik disappears from Throne Hall and reappears in the Mystery Chamber along with his wife and daughter***

LEVEL 27 cont.

Anabel and the Knight are honored “The Wise Dragon wants to leave the Tower for some time and asks us to take over.”  But they worry that once they go to guard the Tower, they won’t be able to see what’s happening outside.  They continue to pack, but still insist that something should protect the castle gates while they’re away.  Now they’re finally ready to satisfy the Dragon’s request.  ***The Knight and Anabel disappear from the Castle Gates***

Arabella Scales knows “someone is putting things to rights in the Mystery Chamber and I know nothing about it!  You’ll be my eyes.”  She wonders if your Uncle was behind the castle’s improvements but are you sure he’s really your Uncle?  The Witch tells you some unknown force has appeared by the castle gates and urges you to find out more about it.  “Find out what this creature wants.  Is he really going to pry into my affairs?”  ***Oberon appears at the Castle Gates*** 

LEVELS 28-29

“Greetings, mortal!  I’m Oberon, the King of Elves, and I need your services.”  Obviously searching for something, Oberon’s interest comes to light “I was wondering if the ‘Mystery Chamber’ phrase rings any bells with you?”   He won’t tell you why he needs the Mystery Chamber, just that it’s absolutely important.   Your work speed amazes him and it must be that, unlike elves, “you don’t live long.” 

The Witch can’t understand what Oberon could need here.  “What does he want?  Why is he nosing around?”  Arabella is intent on finding a way to loosen the King’s tongue and draw information out of him.  Those vile King of Elves’ spies are everywhere, they just won’t leave her alone.  “Now not a single elf will dare to come up to me, or they’ll get right into my cauldron!”

The Stone Fairy worries if strange creatures wandering around mean her ill, but “It turns out that strange creatures don’t only inhabit the place around me.”  What do they want and who do they serve?  She can also feel the invisible presence of someone.  “Since the Source of Sorcery is getting weaker, supernatural forces are making their way into our world.”  For the time being, the Fairy managed to distract the ghosts, but it won’t last long.  “The fabric of this world is getting weaker without the Source of Sorcery.” 

Anabel and the Knight are aware of “creatures lurking in the corners that threaten the Mystery Chamber.”  They want to try hiding the Mystery Chamber, but their power isn’t enough.  You help get everything ready for the ritual and Anabel and the Knight call you a noble person and a great friend.  They have done everything possible to protect the Mystery Chamber.

LEVELS 28-29 cont.

Growing wary of the existence of the Mystery Chamber, Oberon “needs some evidence, hints or rumors!”  "I managed to find out that the Mystery Chamber really exists.  But I need some specifics."  Hoping to find the Mystery Chamber at last, Oberon performs a ritual..."Examine the castle, and if you find anything unusual, tell me at once!"  "So, something has changed...Isn't it a sign?  The Mystery Chamber must be somewhere here!"  Finally, Oberon manages to find the Mystery Chamber, but its magic has dried out and “can’t keep off bad luck from the elfish forest.”  It is nothing more than a “soulless mechanism.” “Besides the Mystery Chamber, the mighty Artifact of the Past might help the elves.  It’s our only hope.”  “The Oeland Silver Mane clan used to keep the Artifact.  Visit them and find out where the Artifact is now.”

Sir Oeland Silver Mane has heard of King Oberon’s arrival and “wouldn’t want him to stick his nose anywhere.”  Oeland found out Oberon is searching for something in the Mystery Chamber, but what?  “Now I’ll be able to spite Oberon.  It’s a pity I don’t have as much energy as I used to.”  Oeland found out that Oberon needs the Artifact that many generations of his clan have been keeping.  But Oberon mustn’t get hold of it.  Anyway, Oeland couldn’t give Oberon the Artifact even if he wanted to.  Oeland is doing his best to close his mind “from the meticulous King of Elves.  You don’t know he can read your mind?”  “The Artifact was lost by the Silvermane clan many years ago.  I hope you won’t let it slip to Oberon.” 

Oberon is tired of excuses and says “It doesn’t look like Oeland wants to part with the Artifact.”  Since Oeland is prepared for Oberon’s mind-reading, attempts to scan Oeland’s mind fail.  There must be another way; Oberon will not leave without the Artifact.   Oberon can’t understand the failure of his mind-reading…”My efforts were wasted.  Perhaps I did something wrong.”  In an effort to save his land and people, he tries to make a wish.  But it seems the rumors are true and the last wish of the Mystery Chamber has already been spent.  Oberon’s spies report the claim that Oeland doesn’t have the Artifact, “but he must be lying!”  Oberon now knows what he must do.  Addressing the great knowledge of his people, the Force of Nature, leads him to make an astral trap.  “You’ll never guess who will be trapped!”  “Beauty is the reason why I enjoy hunting.  It’s a perfect trap!  I’ll just have to make the bait…”  Oeland will pay a very dear price for failing to give Oberon the Artifact.  Now Oberon has trapped Oeland’s son, and “Oeland knows that I might only exchange the Werewolf Knight for the Artifact.” 

LEVELS 28-29 cont.

Valeria’s Spirit says there’s a thin line between good and evil and “we should find out if our visitors have evil intentions.”  It doesn’t appear they wish us ill, “but we should stay alert.”  The elves are annoying the innkeeper and Valeria wants to cheer him up and protect Jeronimo if the elves aren’t friendly.  “While we’re safe from the elves’ influence, I want to perform a small experiment” to find out some hidden aspects of Oberon’s power.  Oberon has the power to drive out ghosts and he’s dangerous to Valeria and Jeronimo.  With your help, Valeria feels protected against Oberon.

Salty wonders what the strange creatures filling the lands are up to.  He hopes they’re harmless, but the “elves give us no peace.”  He also worries about Valeria.  Everyone wants protection from the elves and trade is in full swing.  Now with tons of clients, Jeronimo suddenly experiences a loss of his goods.  “But how could they get lost?”  Turns out the elves were behind the theft and they’re not as innocent as they look.  Salty’s dealing with cautious vendors and, even though people may be afraid of the elves, they still want to buy.  He’s afraid of going bankrupt!  Now someone has rummaged in the inn storage and something is missing!  Salty vows anyone caught rummaging in his storage will be punished!

Oeland is surprised “that scoundrel could have gone so far.  Oberon kidnapped my son, can you imagine?”  Oberon’s magic is too strong and he intentionally made it difficult to find the Knight.  Even with enhancing his power, Oeland still can’t find his son.  He’ll have to look for the Artifact instead.  “For a long time, I’ve been the keeper of the Artifact.  I can try and summon it at any time and distance.  But it won’t be easy!”  The Artifact is outside the Clan’s lands, and that complicates matters.  “What is left to do is to perform the rite of summoning, and we’ll get the Artifact of Nature!”  The Rite of Summoning was a success and the Artifact must be somewhere near.  His son’s life depends on your success.  ***Unicorn appears in Throne Hall*** 

The Unicorn, in Throne Hall, introduces himself, “Hello, human!  I’m the Unicorn, the Artifact of Nature, the guardian of balance in the world.  Are you worthy enough to speak to me?”  At first, the Unicorn doesn’t feel you’re happy to meet such a sacred creature and hopes that changes.  “After a long journey between the worlds, my legs are very tired.”  The Unicorn supposes that Oeland sent you and that he will be delighted by gifts from the Unicorn, even though you were the one who found them.  “Keeping the balance is an important and serious mission.” 

LEVELS 28-29 cont.

Anabel’s beloved is lost and she’s sure Oberon had something to do with it.  “Where’s my Knight?  What happened to him?  I hope he’s alive – or undead.”  She performs a ritual and is relieved to find her beloved is alive.  But she doesn’t know where he is.  Reaching the Knight mentally doesn’t work because some strange magic is in the way.  Anabel plans to use her influence in the vampire clans to threaten Oberon.  “The council of the clans won’t oppose Oberon.  He’s too strong.”  Anabel can’t believe Oberon isn’t angry but she intends to protect herself, just in case. 

Oberon’s heard that Oeland has almost decided to exchange the Artifact for his son.  Oberon laughs at Oeland’s attempts to read his mind to find out where the Knight is.  But in an effort to influence the mighty Unicorn’s opinion, Oberon decides to free the Knight.  Oberon’s people won’t be able to survive without the Artifact and needs you to help persuade the Unicorn to help his people. 

The Unicorn says, “Help the King of Elves?  Hm…I doubt everything is as gloomy as he paints.”  He must find out how true Oberon’s stories are.  He thinks those who attacked the forest were trying to survive in the changing world.  The Unicorn is sure Oberon isn’t the one who is breaking the balance, but needs to make sure Oberon didn’t start the fight for the land.  Maybe dark forces are trying to survive under his oppression.  “It turns out the war wasn’t unleashed by Oberon.”  But Oberon still claims the dark forces have evil intentions.  But dark forces are meant to have such intentions; otherwise, they wouldn’t be dark.  Yes, the Unicorn can see the dark forces are evil, but the power balance is still fine.  The Unicorn’s interference isn’t required.  “Oberon says that evil forces are a manifestation of the Original Chaos Spirit.  I can hardly believe it.”  “I think Oberon brings more chaos when he’s here in the castle!  That’s why I have to meet you halfway…”  ***Unicorn disappears from Throne Hall***

Oberon thanks you “The Unicorn has grown well-disposed towards me, I’m sure.”  The Unicorn’s help is essential to Oberon’s people; otherwise, the hordes of the Chaos spirit will flood the forests.  “Finally, he believes me.  Now my people have a chance to survive.”  ***Oberon disappears from the Castle Gates and the Griffin appears***