Times of Lore(PC) FAQ/Walkthrough version 1.0.0 by schultw.andrez@sbcglobal.net(anti spam spoonerism) Please do not reproduce for profit without my consent. You won't be getting much profit anyway, but that's not the point. This took time and effort, and I just wanted to save a memory of an old game and the odd solutions any way I could. Please send me an email referring to me and this guide by name if you'd like to post it on your site. Maps should be available with the guide proper on GameFAQs. So if you found this somewhere besides GameFAQs, pop on over there, too. ================================ OUTLINE 1. INTRODUCTION 2. CONTROLS 3. MONSTERS, STRATEGIES AND MAPS 4. WALKTHROUGH 5. CHEATING 6. VERSIONS 7. CREDITS ================================ 1. INTRODUCTION I first found out about Times of Lore reading about the history of Ultima. Most people reading this guide probably realize it was a precursor to Ultima VI. Each game had a really big outside map, accomplished by chunking bigger meta-maps on smaller maps. This made for an intimidatingly large world which, when coupled with the small screen and the repetition, made starting difficult. The FAQ on GameFAQs helped with what to do to solve the game, but due to the saving mechanism(you must return to a town and pay for a night at the inn) I found myself perpetually getting stuck and killed. Thankfully Shay Addams's Quest for Clues came to the rescue, describing where the valuable items were. And then I found Paul Senzee's maps of ToL on the web. From there, the game started clicking for me, and it really is not too bad if you remember to stockpile resources and figure out what the potions and scrolls do. You will always have a problem with random monsters popping up all at once after stretches of nobody appearing, and that is just life in Times of Lore. Then there is one thing you need to take advantage of that the manual mentions--and it is sitting around and waiting! So find a fun game to play while waiting on your guy to heal, and this game will go okay. Paul's detailed maps are at: senzee.blogspot.com/2007/12/times-of-lore-maps.html I felt for pure solving purposes that a less detailed map might work better, and my maps are on GameFAQs as well. They would probably not have been possible without a ready-made LZW decompressor program. Nodling Dragon had one that I used. You can visit his site for Ultima VI and other Ultima game utilities(I consider Times of Lore to be Ultima 5.5--it has many of the same file formats) at: http://www.geocities.com/nodling/ultima/ultima.html One other site I would recommend to Ultima fans who maybe want to see Ultima VI mapped is http://reenigne.org/computer/u6maps/index.html Andrew at reenigne.org was very helpful in getting me started with Times of Lore. It just took me a long time to figure things out. For those interested in mapping, WORLDMAP is the biggest-scale map, then you have 64BLOCK, 256BLOCK and TOL.CH as files that describe how the chunks break down. You may need an LZW decompressor(u6decode.cpp) to make some of the files readable. For making a world map, 64BLOCK is necessary to decompress. I'm not sure what order the files should be in, but I figured out enough to scratch up a rough map. If you can figure out more, I'd love to know. But for now, I think this FAQ coupled with the map to the game should take care of the major obstacles in your way. Once I had a map, everything clicked. You will probably have a few instances where you try to do too much and get stuck between several monsters and get killed. But then you'll get a feel for what you can do. And then maybe you can get through the game smoothly as in the original walkthrough. Or maybe not. Times of Lore is an okay game, even without the innovative moral themes or humor of other Origin games. Its interface is innovative but flawed, and while it's big, the landscape can get awfully repetitive. Then there's the end, with those crazy dungeons to navigate. I felt like a lab rat in a maze near the end, in the last two dungeons where you basically have to avoid monsters and get better at memorizing how to get through. There are too many random encounters to watch for, and it's not worth the time spent to try to get through the mazes. The mazes are placed just far enough from an inn to frustrate you. I guess you shouldn't be spoon fed, but it's a bit sad you can't get a FEW breaks and that the first quest is rather difficult. That, and you can get beaten up on the way back from solving a tough quest by what is pretty much an unlucky roll of the dice, with monsters suddenly coming in waves. 2. CONTROLS Use the mouse to select a new game or start an old game. Then move it left or right to select the knight, barbarian or valkyrie. It doesn't really matter what you choose, but the knight has good balance, and the valkyrie can flee handily early on when you are just finding items. This doesn't seem to matter once you get powerful weapons. Using the mouse is very good for long stretches when you will not be injured. However, for close combat, you will want to use the arrows. Have the number lock turned off. Be prepared to hit enter a lot and swing around. There's not much you can do in combat other than time it. Monsters will often make a right turn, and you will want to make one to anticipate them. However, in town you may have initial trouble with the controls. You can see it was something very new for the late eighties, using non-keyboard controls to move your player, but at first I wound up attacking townsmen a bunch, which is not cool, and it doesn't even get you any silly meaningless game points if you kill them. I prefer to use the keyboard for NPC and item interactions. You need to get the hang of pushing the space bar(brings up the red arrow,) using the arrows and hitting return. If you use one option, it is the default next time you hit the space bar. Unfortunately the menu doesn't allow you to push up to get to the bottom, which is a problem when you get a lot of items, so be warned that is not a shortcut. The options are, in a row, Mouth(talking to someone): you must be facing them and they must be close by. It can be frustrating getting close enough, but fortunately it won't be urgent to talk to someone, as monsters should not be near, either. Eyeball(examining items) doesn't give much information and even misspells "mirky potion." Closed hand = taking items. If there is an item nearby, you will take it, but not automatically in combat. If there are two, you get a choice. In that case, just push this twice, and you will get them both. Do not use this if enemies are attacking you after others dropped their loot. This is the choice I often have as default when exploring and fighting the occasional enemies. That allows me to pick items up quickly and move on. However, if I need to use a healing item, I shuffle the hand to the holding icon. Open hand = drop items. You will rarely have to use this. However, when you do use it on an item you no longer need, it frees up an inventory space so you do not have to scroll so much while using an item with monsters attacking you. That can be a life saver. Then, at the end, your inventory may be too full. Hand, palm up = give item. This is for people who have given you a quest to return them an item. Hand, holding item = use item. This is for using items such as potions and scrolls. You cannot use weapons with this command. Use return for that. You will want to use your boots when you leave an inn to get their speed bonus. These will be pushed to the top of the inventory, so they are no problem. But the stuff you use most often is constantly tacked on to the BOTTOM, which really isn't very realistic--putting the most recent item you found in the bottom of your pocket--or user friendly. You need a buffer of time to pull an item out. Computer = special options. You can find your score(which is useless,) load a game(if you messed up) or pause the game(leaving the game unattended without this will probably cause you to starve to death or be attacked by monsters outside. However, you can heal slightly in dungeons without anyone new coming at you. Outdoors, it's better to find an inn.) 3. MONSTERS, STRATEGIES AND MAPS First, what potions do: --the red scroll kills all monsters --the blue scroll freezes all monsters --the blue potion heals partially --the green potion heals fully --the red potion, found later, allows you to run in one direction, invisible, til you run into something. This is moderately useful but not critical. You can only hold one potion at a time, so the green potion should always be used when you have a break and need to heal a bit. You'll get a new one. It seems to be as common as the blue, which should be used in emergencies if you aren't able to find a green with your regular fights. You can use the red and the blue scrolls to wipe out or leave behind huge pockets of monsters, and the blue can freeze guards in areas with a hidden item. Blue can function as red against a very tough monster you can whale on. You can also get potions back after wiping out a bunch of monsters with scrolls, so you have a bit of a treadmill once you get started. You may not get levels in the game, but you can have security against damage. It takes time to move the mouse/fiddle in your pack to use the potion, so use a potion when you are close to 1/4 alive. You can also use the blue scroll, kill whoever is there, and then use the red scroll if necessary, before using a potion. But I am guessing from what I saw that the computer randomly sees if you get any item from a monster and then randomly picks which item. If there's only one item to choose, you get it. There are ways to use your boomerang axe(an item you get later) to kill an enemy from behind or on the return blow, and this always does serious damage. You also may wish to run from undeads because they have no treasure. If you are low on energy, your best bet is to run horizontally to a nearby town(you can see more in that direction) and duck vertically if an enemy is in the way. Try to zigzag so you don't get too far off course. 4. WALKTHROUGH Let's start with the inn. It is a good place to practice non-fighting actions, and if you wind up attacking someone, it's no big deal to reload. You can go down the stairs(walk into them) and talk to the bartender. He may tell you about the orcs if you ask about rumors. If not, don't worry. The woodsman will. You can also talk to the old man to the left who may have information, and the prior in the southwest will ask you to go on a quest. Say yes. You will hear a tone whenever you have the option to ask something new. The first active thing to do is to get your feet exploring NE of Eralan. The path is pretty straight, and if you keep to the left and north of it, you'll see a woodman's hut. At this point I would just run through monsters and hit them and pick up what they get. You need to learn to alternate the mouse and keypad, and the fights should not be too hard. Get used to picking items up. I would recommend having the hand over the "pick up" icon for when you have the space bar, so you can pick up whatever is in the way. You should get enough gold/food to offset the gold/food you used up. The woodsman may be wandering a small way outside his hut depending on the time of the day. Go into his hut and pick up the dagger. You will want to talk to him, so if he wasn't in there or in the way as you entered the hut, look around outside. He will tell you about the orcs, and you can keep asking questions until you find how to get to their hideout. There's a small chance a random enemy nearby will attack the woodsman instead of you, if he is in your way, and if that kills him before you talk to him, you will have to restart. Reloading is a nuisance but is easy enough, and you may have a few false trails even with a map. But if things work out, then run back--you can kill the enemies on the way, firing the dagger at those who shoot arrows at you. Be sure to pick up the dagger after you strike an enemy, although without your dagger you can still hack with your sword. You can run around enemies if you gained 20 gold(with 1 food = 10 gold,) as you generally want to stay above the 78 gold/3 food you have to start, but between healing potions with no enemies around and the dagger to pick off long range enemies, it shouldn't be too hard to get through. Save at the inn. That is your first dry run. You may wish to get your food back up to 6 units and your gold to 100+ before the next part. Technically, you probably need only 80 gold for the next bit, as you will pick up a lot in fights along the way, but a little repetition to get used to fights and various monsters will be useful for when they get tougher. I also recommend 20 gold for the inn. With scrolls you could probably conquer the orcs, but with some random exploring you can find some neat stuff. This walkthrough's first order of business is to get the axe in SW Lankwell, which is jumping the gun a bit. But it makes the rest of the game a lot easier. There, you will get an axe for 95 gold, and it is like a dagger, only it comes back to you. Lankwell is to the south of Eralan. If you pass the bridge south of Eralan, you will get to a 3-way intersection. Take the south way, and it will bend E S. Now you can cut across south until you see another path, or you can go E S W. Either way, Lankwell is west of the path. You may have to deal with enemies nearby Lankwell, so be prepared. You may also wish to spend time in the inn, which is north of the first building you will see. There's a possibility of silly accidents, and you don't want to make any big mistakes. The axe is in the northwest house, and you need to enter the main town square from the south. A serf will ask you if you want to buy it. Once you get the axe, go back to the inn, drop the dagger(inventory space/convenience) and buy lodging to save the game immediately. You may want to buy food if you are low and have money. This may seem like a waste of 10 gold, but the axe is so valuable that you want to make sure you don't have to pick it up again. It doesn't make you invincible, and you will probably still have slips where you try to do too much, but they will be fewer, because you can just mow monsters down from long range. Use the arrow keys/number pad and kill whoever's there and pick up the gold. You will want to get to at least 90 gold for the next bit. You are headed to Treela next to get boots. Treela is in the center-east of the map, and you need to go east from Lankwell and, when the path turns north, go that way. When it turns west, go east. You will hook up with the path to Hampton and Ganestor, but actually when you get to Hampton, go back north and follow the mountains to the west until you find an entry to the forest. The forest path is pretty one-way, and the dead ends are recognizable, at least until you get to a 4-way intersection. Once you do, follow the path east and voila, Treela! Enter the inn(UL of the 4 buildings, just up from where you enter) and buy a pair of boots from the serf. Then check in and get provisions. There are a lot of fights in Treela, so you really do want to save, although you will have plenty of opportunity to beat up enemies and get gold enough for maximum rations(9). A little more fighting and you may be able to avoid enemies for a long time with the boots. You do have to use them, though, and they can wear out unless you use them again--usually if you stay the night, you have to reuse the boots. But the enemies are noticeably slower once you use them even if townspeople are not. You're set for gold now and can probably use a lot--you just need gold to save the game and replenish your food. And you might not even need it for the second, as monsters will probably drop enough. You'll find there's enough gold for saving purposes as you fight enemies on the way home, and you really only need to save the game a few times. The missions may take several times to work, but there aren't really that many. Retreat back to Eralan. The path leading west and north will bring you back. Now go north and east from Eralan along the path you saw before. Stay on the south and east this time. You'll eventually see a lake. Go north from it. Now a long winding path leads to the orcs. My map says U R U L U L D L D L U R U R U L U L D L U L D R D leads to the clearing. Basically, take any of these directions and if you hit a dead end, back up. Put the cursor over the "use" icon before entering the clearing, use the boots to make sure you are going fast, and beat up the lesser enemies. If you see a blue orc, or several enemies, use the red scroll. Use the blue scroll to freeze enemies. After that, run from more than one enemy and look for the grey orc. Kill him and a purple urn will appear. You may wish to outrun enemies and come back for the purple urn. Use all items available and early, as some items may pop back up again in your fights. You can run away and return. I found a good pattern was to comb left to right and move down. Now work your way back and return to Eralan. Offer the urn to the prior and you get 150 gold or so. You can now meet the Regent in the big building. He will tell you to get the tablet. It is in Ganestor, in the southeast. There are many was to get there but the quickest is to follow the path south, east at the inn, S E S and then all the way east over the desert til you hit a road south. Follow it. Ganestor is there. Now you can just take the stairs behind the bartender(save the game first as this is a tough quest) or ask around and learn about Barton, then the tunnel(Barton is in the south house,) and then talk to the bartender about the tunnel. He'll give you the clue about the lever on the north wall of the northeast room downstairs. In general for this quest, use the mouse til you need to go through a narrow wall. If a guard touches you, you die. In this first area, go south, east and north and up the stairs. You shouldn't have to avoid guards here. On this level, go to the NE and W and there is a hall below. Here you need to get the guard stuck there to follow you and loop around him somehow. I never had the time to use a blue or red scroll, so I resorted to trickery. You can enter the room to the south and circle clockwise as he follows, then align yourself so you can go west into the side room. I forgot to check if I could use the blue scroll before I got the tablet, but it could not hurt. Once you have the tablet, you can't use another item, so just get out quickly(mouse, then arrows) and return as you came. Talk and ask the tablet about the High King for a nice clue, but it is not vital with this walkthrough. (Some clues reveal other clues to ask, but none trigger a game-important event.) Save at the inn again. Return to Eralan. You can cut across the desert after the second bend west, then follow the path north. The regent will reward you handsomely. Now to find the assassin. He is in the south, SW of Lankwell. Follow the path south of Eralan and when it bends back west, go a bit east, then south and east along the river and south to the area with the hut. Ask him about the High King(finally get rid of that option!) and he gives you a scroll. Head north over the bridge and all the way east--hook N E to get to the road to Ganestor(S) and save at the inn and run the castle gauntlet again, only this time, instead of getting the tablet, go to the NW and up, S E N to talk to the Warden, and offer him the scroll. You probably found the tip about the spy already. Now's a chance to take him out. You can leave and enter the castle freely now, so if you haven't, talk to the serf in the left house and the innkeeper, then go to Barton in the south house and ask about spying. You'll have plenty of time to get back and just wait to the side of the entrance, and in the afternoon you'll see someone walking out. That's the spy. Run after him and talk to him about spying, and he'll get mad and attack you. He is easy to beat. You will get a note off him. Return it to the Warden. The next quest is pretty easy. N W N W N and E at the turn and north. A guard at the entrance has a green key. He is easy to beat. Find the stair in the NW behind him, go up, kill another guard and the prince is in the south center. Just run into the door and he will tell you about Irial. Go west to Hampton and the inn and follow the path to the Last Hope Inn W S W and S at the T- intersection. Talk to people there to learn about holy water, and then go back to Eralan and NE to Rhyder, beyond the pool below the orcs' hideout. The Friar is in the first building you will see. Talk to him about holy water and "buy the holy water" when you talk again. It costs $25, but you probably have more than that now. Stop off at the inn south of the Friar. Then go back to Last Hope and save. The next part is not strictly necessary until after you've completed the Ruins dungeon. So I'll present it and then describe the Ruins below. W N all the way and go around the forest when past the hunter's hut. W N W N E N E N E and at the path go up. There's a tower to the north. That's Irial's place. There are no monsters to go past. You need to make 2 trips through the ruins unless you are much better at all this than I am. The first time, you will hit some switches, and the second, you will hit the rest. If you know what to expect, it is easier. You need to move smoothly, as slimes take away your hit points and other enemies block you. They don't do too much damage but allow other enemies to chase you, and that can pile up. Along the way if you are at 1/3 strength, heal immediately, and realize that sometimes you may just have bad luck and get sapped of a lot of damage. So be it. You also can't save in the middle, as the dungeon resets at day's end. Go south and when you see a dot to the left, step on it. That opens a wall to the west, and you can go through that, down the center and touch the second dot. Back up and right through the small door and go up and right again in the wide corridor. Go down when you can and left and up into the small room that is now open. Step on the dot there. Go to the DR and use a red scroll. Then exit this area and go R U L and back through the small door. There is another one behind it. Go 2 paces from the left wall and up. Step on the dot and go down. There'll be a bridge below. Go right to get on it and all the way down. A dot below is a teleport to the next bit. Go down a bit and left. If an enemy blocks you, swerve up and left. Whatever you do, you will need to go up when the passage turns up to hit a dot in the center of that dead end. Then go down and right to where you can see the right wall, and then go down all the way to hit another dot. This is another teleport, and circle D L U R along the wall and touch that dot. Now double back left and go U and UR to another dot, which teleports you to the stairs. Go up, beat up monsters to heal and get another blue/green potion and (if it's there) red scroll and go back down. Getting back to where you were is easier, because you don't have all that zigzagging. D L L D to the teleport, D to the next teleport. D L U R all the way and go up the center. Weave around any non-slime, and touch the dot at top. Go along the very top past a dot to the right, down on the 2nd dot, and left. An arrow will come up. Go down to avoid it and then right at the bridge and down. When the space opens up, go right til you can see the right edge of the big room, then down to step on the dot, then U L U and retreat to the top, then L D L and U through the narrow door. Instead of entering the UR dot, enter the room to the UR. Use a red scroll here if a lot of enemies are around, and be prepared to use the holy water. The Lyche's throne is up and a little right of the entrance. Use a blue scroll to leave, if you need to. The exit isn't far, so load up on the healing and get out. Get the red potion as well. It's kind of handy, zipping you along in whatever direction you want to go before you hit something. You need to go back to Irial now, so stop off at the Last Hope Inn and then follow the instructions above, skirting the forest to go to Irial. Talk to him, and he will see you have defeated the Lyche. He will give you the key to the Blasted Spot dungeon, and you can go back to the Last Hope Inn. From there, go west to the Crater and enter it, and you have an even more circuitous dungeon than before. Sadly there is a lot you have to memorize, but on the bright side, you probably know how to pop out and back in by now. After every few knobs you step on, you can resurface, and you will eventually win that way. But you probably want the details. So here goes. Go along the top wall: E S E N W. This opens a door to the east. Go that way. The door opens north, and you need to go into the NW corner to touch the second switch. Exit the room and go E S W along the wall below to get to a new room. Trip that switch and now you may wish to leave, or you can stretch things out to hit the teleport--W S W N through a new door, and hit the dot above and a bit to the right. Then go N W N along the west wall, then E through the door and S E S W N W and out. Go back to Irial and he will give you a key to get to the Blasted Spot. To get there, go to the Last Hope Inn and go all the way west, then turn up when you are at a west-south fork in the road. Go north now. There will be a door where you can enter another dungeon. This is even worse than the other because you have more space you have to run through. You may wish to reload the game if you get hit too often en route to the dungeon. You can conceivably get the hit points back bashing enemies just outside, so if you are below half energy, use the green potion and wait for enemies to arrive and hopefully you can get a new green. This area is the Blasted Spot, and it is obnoxious. You may have to stay in it for 3 game-days. It's necessary to note you can't get through by brute force. And going back up halfway through to get more potions in fights is iffy, as in "if you get it, you're luckier than I was 20 times in arow." You need to sit around and wait a lot when you're in a safe spot. Monsters come at you only when you move. Inching around doesn't work--more monsters may come that way. Get through a lot, take a break and get through a lot more. Be sure to use the boots after a long break and before you start running again. You also want to have 9 food since the dungeon can reset if you leave it, but if you stay inside, it stays as is. Be patient, and only recharge with potion when nobody else is around. Don't save it for too long, but if you get below 1/4 strength the first time, definitely use the green potion. Save the blue for emergencies. The red potion could really help here, running through a tough group of monsters, even if you are at full strength. Be prepared to plow past a skeleton or ghost when going along a long stretch. It's not how much you kill, and it will save a lot of time. Your best bet is to rest in the room with the 7-8-9 as I did when I went through the game. It will heal you up, and you will be able to make it from there a lot more easily. So here are the instructions. Tap down to start, then go east along the wall, S E and N along the wall, then W til you see the wall and N. Step on the first knob. Go E, ducking the next knob if you see it, S E and then go up through the door. You want to get to the NW corner of this place, then get back out. Go south of the door, E S W and N into the inner area. Step on the next knob. You'll probably have to either wait around or use a potion here. Go south--one screen below the door--and west, then north through the door above and east and, when you see a wall on the east, north. Now you are teleported to a new area. Go north and then, when you can, go west til you see a wall to the west. Go north to touch another knob and E S-- roughly the same of each--to touch another knob. E to the wall and N and now exit the door and go along the wall to the south. Again, stop the first corner if you need, to recharge. Follow the path E S W and then go N across a bridge. Shoot monsters before crossing. Go N and W and pass the first turn S but hit the 2nd, going down the center. A knob there teleports you to a solitary room. Go up one side, touch the knob, and go down a bit. Wait before touching the other knob to recharge again. The teleport on the other knob sends you back near the start. Follow the path you did before over the bridge, but turn right before touching knob number 7, so you go into a side room. There should be a knob near the right edge to step on. Do so and go back W N E and enter the door that has opened N. The chimes are here. Now you may have trouble getting back across the bridge. However, it is just as easy to return to knob number 7 in the SW and then step on 9 and be right near the stairs when you exit. Again, if you want, wait til you're healed til you leave--you may want to wait til it's light, too. Keep track of your food, though. You want it to be at 1. You can leave the same way you came: south to a road, then east. Jiggle around if you have to, but the Last Hope Inn is a good place to return. Now you need to go back to Treela. Go east, turn up at the desert, and go NE as needed to get around the lake. Enter the forrest: N E N W N W S W then at the 4way intersection, N, then E at the next one. Enter the Treela inn and save the game. Exit to the north side and N W N E S E and go N at the 4 way intersection. Go E to the mountains and N along the narrow passage. Then go N til you hit a river, E til you hit water, S a bit and E. You can go NE when the lake turns NE and when it pulls back NW, go E. This leads to the temple, your final destination. The temple seems tricky, but it is not really so bad. Outside it, stay so that you can fire an axe left and right just above the fire inside the stone squares. You can gun enemies down and get stuff to heal you. Now if you enter wrong, skeletons will appear randomly and wipe you out, so enter on the very left side of the door. Run straight up and then left. Fire down immediately once you enter the roof. Then go S E N and be prepared to use a red scroll on the blue mage. I'm not sure if you can just go to the bedroom now, or you need to check the prisoner. But checking the prisoner is nearly risk free. Get the blue mage's white key, use a potion if you are low, and retreat to the start--except go left instead of exiting. Fire north when you see the white monk, then push the lever behind him. Go down the stairs. Open the door on the right and talk to the prisoner. Answer YES. He will tell you about the sphere. Go back to the top, and go S E N E S and you'll see a bed. Look(command) at the foot of the bed, and a sphere will appear. Drop an item you don't need any more(either key) as your inventory may be full. Get the sphere and go down the stairs. Go E then south a few squares and at the first turn, go E. Approach the priest--he won't harm you. Use the sphere. Then get the medallion and enjoy the ending and the sense of relief for solving this game. 5. CHEATING You shouldn't need to cheat, but if you want to get a bunch of gold and food, or if you left yourself short handed, the bytes to edit are pretty easy to find. Unfortunately, these cheats don't do much good except for early on, as the main barrier to progress is losing health quickly during combat. There is no way to upgrade your maximum health, since there are no levels. 0x15c = gold low byte 0x15d = gold hi byte 0x162 = food byte End of FAQ Proper ================================ 6. VERSIONS 1.0.0: sent to GameFAQs 1/28/2008, complete. I would like to replay the Apple and NES versions later. 0.9.5: sent to GameFAQs 12/26/2007, almost complete, except for the blasted area dungeon. Maybe I'll write the NES version later. 7. CREDITS Thanks to the usual GameFAQs gang, current and emeritus. They know who they are, and you should, too, because they get/got some SERIOUS writing done. Good people too--bloomer, falsehead, Sashanan, Masters, Retro, Snow Dragon/Brui5ed Ego, ZoopSoul, War Doc, Brian Sulpher, AdamL, odino, JDog and others I forgot. OK, even Hydrophant in his current not-yet-banned message board incarnation. I am not part of his gang, but I want him to be part of mine. Thanks to odino and falsehead for listening and encouragement. Thanks to the NES completion project people for keeping it going strong enough that I could explore these side passages like a PC game eventually ported to the NES and then come back later. People who helped with tackling parts of this game, directly and indirectly: Shay Addams for the solution in Quest for Clues II Andrew at reenigne.org Nodling Dragon for the LZW Decompression routine Paul Senzee at: http://senzee.blogspot.com/2007/12/times-of-lore-maps.html