The entrance to Nockmaar Castle is guarded by a single sentry.  Good thinking there on management's part. He is adamant in his refusal to allow Willow passage.  Unfortunately, he can't be battled, so use the Magic of Specter and frighten the daisy away.

Head southwest as soon as Nockmaar is entered.  No more than seven or eight screens in that direction Willow will find Abang, the brother of Adik of the Eagle Clan.  Abang will recognize his Wing Sword and Willow's purpose, and will put his strength behind the blade, thereby causing it to become the most powerful weapon available.  Abang will also notify Willow that the door leading upstairs (the one directly behind him) is locked and that he doesn't have a key.

Bear in mind that there is no real notification that your crappy Wing Sword just went from the weakest weapon to the most powerful weapon, so be sure to equip it as soon as you get out of conversation with Abang. It swings pretty quickly right out of the gate, too, which is nice.

Evidently an old woman that Airk rescued from Nockmaar has a key to the rest of the castle.

If Willow has achieved his thirteenth level, it's time to return to visit Fin Raziel.  If not, the current area is fantastic for getting there.  Just one screen east from Abang there are three screens horizontally that have reddish-pink Nockmaar Knights that will appear on either side.  These guys are dressed like Imperial Storm Troopers marching for the breast cancer cure and are strong, but slow and stupid - and they give up 120 experience points per kill. This is probably the best place available to level, so Willow might choose to spend some time here.

Otherwise, head back to the Tavern of the Traveler, head east and then north and go under Lake Cheef, then speak again with Fin Raziel.  She won't recognize that Willow has visited her previously, but will again ask that he transform her back to her normal self.  This time she will be transformed, and will empower the Magic Cane so that Bavmorda can be destroyed.  She says that she is unable to aid Willow in the final battle, since prophecy mandates Willow be the one to destroy Bavmorda. 

Po will also remember, by the way, the location of Nockmaar Castle.  Be sure to charge up HP and MP if necessary, then go back to Nockmaar.

Check out the map and look for point D (near the south edge of the map and dead center).  Now, with the Nockmaar Key from the old woman, doors will unlock and Willow can advance up the stairs. Hopefully Airk doesn't starve to death waiting around for the key, but he's nowhere to be found anyway.

Sorsha, the daughter of Bavmorda, will now tell Willow that his time is up.  At that point, Willow tosses the Powder of Unrequited Love at Sorsha, but she dodges and it hits Madmartigan in the face.  In a rather cheesy fashion, Madmartigan convinces Sorsha to fight for justice and to give her strength to Willow.  Sorsha agrees and informs Willow that the Crest of the Spirits should be found underneath the Castle.

Kael claims that the Crest of the Spirits has already been turned over to Bavmorda.  After that, he attacks Willow.

Victory over Kael is good for 8,000 experience points. It can be a pretty easy fight, but it can also be challenging a bit annoying when he goes full spasm with his stab/swings. Consult the suggested strategies for Kael if you run into any problems.

Beyond Kael's room and a few tower climbs awaits Bavmorda. 

If you've got some more grinding to do, the same doofus red soldiers await you on the first purple bridge between where you just busted up Kael and where Bavmorda is waiting for you. Same left-to-right strategy, but different music and a different environment for simple change of pace.

My personal suggestion is to level up to 14 and head back in with full MP before confronting Bavmorda, particularly if you're a legit player and not using quicksaves on an emulator. If you're level 13, you can't afford a single miss with the little Magic Cane bubbles. On top of that, you're about done with the game now, and since 15 is the maximum level and it only takes about 20 minutes of grinding to get there, it makes sense to just max it out for the best experience.

If Willow hasn't practiced much with the Magic Cane, now would be a good time to do so.  At least 216 MP is required for defeat of Bavmorda.

The Queen is surprised to see Willow making it this far, but she assures him that he won't go any further. Heard that one before, huh?  She claims that once Willow is defeated, she will be immortal with the Crest of the Spirits.  With that, she attacks.

Once Willow gets the hang of fighting Bavmorda, she's really quite a joke.  If able to pin her horizontally, she will continue to attack Willow, and he can just stand and blast Cane bubbles into her side.  Keep in mind that he must be very - if not completely - accurate, depending on how much MP he has.

After Bavmorda is stripped of all of her Hit Points, Willow will recover the Crest of the Spirits, which somehow seems to be tied in as the Queen's lifeline.  She beseeches Willow not to attack her again, or she'll be destroyed. After that, she comes in a second time for the obligatory battle.

This round, Bavmorda fights the same way, floating about with her little fireballs, but she is susceptible now to Willow's sword.  She can be defeated now as easily as those little floating skulls that the adventurer has seen so many times.  After the Queen's HP have been depleted this time, the Spirit of the Skies calls her home, peace is restored to the land, Willow gets his pygmy mule and a chest full of treasure, Madmartigan and Sorsha get hitched and take over as the King and Queen of Tir Asleen and even adopt little Elora Danan to be their princess. Congratulations - your princess is no longer in another castle. I'm done now. Thanks for playing and I hope you enjoyed this walkthrough. - Ben V.

 The Ending