The Legend of Iason

Long ago in a land of swords and sorcery, a stumbling sheperd lad named Iason unknowingly opened the Pandora Passage. Through this gateway all manner of evil creatures were let loose upon the Five Lands under the claws of the Dark Lord Terarin.

As Iason grew into a man, he watched Terarin's nightmare army devastate the Five Lands. Since it was he who had unleashed this evil, he took a vow to defeat Terarin and restore peace to his world.

Iason trained with the White Monks, learning the ways of the King's sword... and the magical dangers of Terarin's evil hoard. To help him on his quest, the monks gave him magical arms and armor.

After a long and valiant battle, Iason defeated Terarin and drove her into another dimension. Then, his armor glowing gold, Iason resealed the Pandora Passage.

The people of the Five Lands made him a legend. Before he went back to the life of a sheperd, Iason made a prophecy that one day Terarin would return, and that four brave warriors would awake to meet her evil challenge!

In Arasia, the King of Arukas charges you to bid evils' entry into this world through the Pandora Passage.   But you should visit the town of Garia, just south of here first.   You aren't strong enough to venture very far just yet, so build exp. by battling the local beasts that inhabit the Galian Peninsula. Thieves, Evil Merchants and Weasly Wimps will make your best prey for now. Steer clear of the forests and mountains because the enemies are much too strong for now.  In this stage of the game, money will be hard to come by, unless you run into a bunch of Evil Merchants all in a row. It may be tempting, but don't kill any Merchants, Travelers or White Monks or you will lose too many character points.  You can sell any fangs you gain in battle in Garia for 50 guilders each, which should help with healing/weapon repair costs, as well as buying you a knife, armor and shield.  Make you stock up on healing potions as well.  You will need them at this early stage of the game.
 
 

In Garia, you will be told about the sage Kosama dwelling in the northern mountains.   At this point, it would be advisable to increase your exp three or four levels.   When ready, head for the Austel province on the northwest tip of Arukas. Head over the bridge to the North of Garia and you will find Kosama's Village to the NW. 

 
 

Kosama talks about the Legendary Armor, and informs you that your quest cannot be completed until you find the three companions, who are to accompany you to the Gelkis Shrine.    However, the three warriors are lost and under powerful spells which prevent them from becoming active.   Hence, you are given the spell "AWAKE, GIANT", and  are told to search for Guy, in a town which worships the sea. Use this spell when you encounter one of your companions and they will join you.
 
 

Head south from the Sage's Village, across the bridge, and you will reach Oruk in Marula.   Here you will find a "Mask of Beasts" for sale in the item shop - good for maze trolling, and a weaponsmith for hire. Once you are able to hire him, all of your equipment will be fixed at no cost.  Head further south to the Ortygian Forest and battle some of the indigenous creatures in and around there. Collect some guilders from battling Great Lions of the plains and more importantly, accumulate fangs - at least 300 - from your opponents. Level building may be boring, but the more you do now, the less you will have to do later because Guy will start out one level below you.
 
 

Battling Liphants will sometimes yield a winfall of "Sacred Nuts", which they collect.   Every so oftern, they will drop them, in clumps of 3, and you can obtain these to use as a free hit weapon in battle.   You can carry a maximum of 11 nuts, provided that you use the ninth nut in battle.  Liphants don't always drop these little magic treasures, but this is the best spot to hunt for them in the game, even better than the Arukas province.
 

In the Ortygian Forest is the castle of Marula.   If you've obtained at least 300  fangs, then the King of Marula will award you with the Iris Axe, one of the legendary weapons referred to as the sword of a warrior. If you have 60,000 guilders to spare, there is a smithy hamlet in the Hierax province in the south just before the desert, that will build your weapon to perfection. A fine weapon to wield, but more importantly, you need it to dispel Guy from his trance.   Although you can still advance in the game, only he can lead you to Medi , your next companion.
 
 

If you are in need of a few fangs, you will find 100 of them in a chest in the shrine at Julus (click on the name for the map), just a bit further east of the castle. Although this is an optional mini quest, the  helm that is found in this cave will prove useful later on when needed to acquire the  crystal, which allows you to see better in the mazes. You can also build up your levels in the process. There is also a message scratched into the walls that hints that you need Iason's Arms in order to free your companions.  
 
 

Before you awaken Guy from his trance, you will know you have gained enough levels if you can take on the Senpi in the mountains with Kronos, the Armor of Legend needed to enlist Medi.  You don't have to be this powerful, but traveling through the game is much easier at this level.  Besides, Guy will be much more powerful when he joins you as well.  To reach the cavern with the Senpi, head West and North, between the towns of Minos and Menos on the western Kallipolis shore.  Just use all 11 of your Sacred Nuts on the Senpi first, then just keep attacking it until it dies. You will have to gain a few levels before you can defeat him alone. If you don't feel like doing that, then continue on to the next step, and come back with Guy.
 
 

Once you've acquired the Iris Axe and the Armor of Kronos, head north beyond Oruk, then west to the foot of the Penteus Mountains, south the basin of the Kokalos Forest, finally west to find the seaside town of Kadia. You will find Guy manning the healer's shop, disguised as a healer. Choose the "Spell" option and cast "AWAKE, GIANT" to have Guy join your quest. In addition to leading you to your next companion, he will give you a portion of Iason's Scroll, which is needed to uncover the location of the Gelkis Shrine.
 
 

Now, detour northwest to a castle in the Dirke Mountains in Apheidas, where the Apheidian King will present Guy with the powerful sword of Turos, very effective against skeletons. Stock up on 60,000 guilders again and head back to the smithy hamlet in the Hierax province in the south just before the desert, that will upgrade the sword of Turos. From Kadia, head east and south to the Kokalos Forest.   Here you will have to best the skeleton in order to gain entry to the southern passage. Your only hope is attacking the skeleton with Guy because your attacks will do little to nothing and the skeleton hits pretty hard. Once in Kadmos, you will find a locked cave in the eastern mountain range, and a small village in the centre of the peninsula.   If you have 30,000 guilders, you can purchase the Argo, a ship which will allow you to cross all waterways.   However, at this point, your lackluster skills as a pilot will not allow you to traverse stormy seas of Areos.
 
 

Head south to the continent of Eratos, to the town of Torif. Heal up here because the enemies are suddenly going to be much more difficult. Many of them have spells they use that hits everyone in your party. Again, stay in the plains until you and Guy are strong enough to venture to other areas. From there, head south across the river until you find the Village of Karme. There you'll be able to purchase up to 4 Staff of Earthquakes for 10,000 guilders each. From there, make your way to the eastern coast, beyond the desert to the coastal town of Doris.   Here you will find Medi, enchanted and working as an exotic dancer at a pub. Before you awaken her, make sure you gain as many levels as possible so that she will start off strong as well. Remember, she will be one level lower than your weakest party member. Use the "AWAKE, GIANT" spell to get her to join your party, provided you have acquired the Kronos Armor of Legend, and recieve another piece of Iason's Scroll. Buy Medi only a shield because you are about to get her sword and armor soon anyway.  She tells you about Treo, the third companion, his whereabouts and his situation. Now you can open up all of the locked caverns that you could not before with Medi in your party. Before you do however, make sure you save your game because there are Senpi and Hanj in these caverns.

 
 

Before you venture out to save Treo, you may want to do a little side questing at this point. Start westward, past Torif, to southern tip of the forest in Molos.  Their you'll find a castle where the King of Elatos will give Medi the sword of Eros. Now head  north to the village where you bought the Argo and get the Titan Armor for Guy from a Senpi in the mountain cave. Next head back south to Eratos, towards the north edge of the desert where you'll find the Silvius monument.   Inside, you'll pick up the aura mantle, not a necessary item, but it helps keep the little pests away.
 
 

From Silvius, go northeast to the mountain cavern in the Phrixos province, where the Athena is hidden. Another Senpi will be guarding this armor, but by now you shouldn't even need any magical item help in defeating these creatures. Before you go to get Treo,  you'll have to head southeast, to the island of Ikaros, where you find the Ulysses' Shield, the final piece of Iason's Armor of Legend. The Hanj is guarding this legendary shield. You will need to find the village that sells stones of protection, fill up on Sacred Nuts and buy 4 staffs of protection. This is not an easy battle. Use the same tactics with the Hanj (stone (to stop his spell), then staffs, then sacred nuts, and then attack until he is dead). Head back to town if you need healing. From here, head directly north until you find the Village of Iphis where you can pick up 6 Stone of Protection for 50 fangs apiece. Now move northwest until you find the island cave in the middle of the mountian lake.   The "AWAKE, GIANT" spell removes his curse and permits him to join your quest. Don't buy Treo anything because all of his equipment is in one cave, just South of Garia.
 
 

Now that your team is complete, you'll notice a new scroll command on your menu.   This gives cryptic directions to the whereabouts of the keys of earth, hell, and heaven.   A neccessity to unlocking the gates to the Gelkis Shrine and defeating Terarin.   But you'll want to restock your supplies and find all of the arms of legend, so go north from the island cave, toward Arukas.   Continue north until you reach the Iphis Shrine to Iason on the northern tip of the mountains of Eratos, just south of Garia.   To gain entry, utter the "TREO HAS COME" spell.
 
 

You'll be able to fully equipt Treo from the treasures in the Iphis, so you'll want to move north to Garia, heal, restock, save, then go west to mountain cave of Koryki to get the Celene for Medi.  There is another Hanj in this cave, so make sure you are fully stocked with magical items and save before going in.   Keep on westward until the Gorophonus desert, upgrade your weapons in smithy hamlet at Hierax, then continue north to a cavern where you'll get the Hector for Guy. Another Hanj, so you need to restock on items first.  From there, head west to the island village where Treo will be presented with a new ship that enables you to sail the stormy seas and thus allow you to reach the contenant of Areos.
 
 

Now that  team is fully equipped, cross the stormy waters of Anteia surrounding the contenant of Areos, you will encounter sea dragon's that periodically drop resurrection potions when defeated.   You can carry a total of 3, and although these misnamed potions do not actually resurrect you from death,  they will fully restore the max HP of an injured fighter.   Once you reach the land, search in the center of the plains for Tegea. In the northern desert of Kithairon is a small village that will trade you a powerful white orb, for 1000 fangs. You may want to fully stock your magic arsenal of sacred nuts, stone of protection and staff of earthquakes because you are now ready to search for the keys that will unlock the gates.
 
 

Considering the advice given by travellers, merchants and white monks:

Given this information, we can deduce that Iason moves at twice our speed so we must double the distances indicated (8 days = 16 squares) for his directions to apply.   Now, considering all the pertinant information, we start from Tegea, heading 16 days south to rest on a patch of desert surrounded by  mountains.
   



 Search to reveal a monument to Iason, then cast the spell "COME, IASON" and you will enter  Rokhod's Catacombs where you will find the Key of Heaven after battling Rokhod.  Rokhod isn't as strong as you might think. Just use a couple of your Staff of Earquakes to lower its life, then attack.  Heal your party, move out of the cavern and use a feather to go back to Tegea and heal up.  You may want to go back and buy more Staffs as well.



Now move your party back to where you found Rokhod's Shrine.  Search on the square 16 days west of here and you'll find the Sehod's Catacombs to get the Key of Earth.  Use the same techniques with Sehod as you did with Rokhod.  Once you get the Key of Earth, heal your party, move out of the cavern and use a feather to go back to Tegea and heal up. You may want to go back and buy more Staffs as well.



Go back to the spot where you found Sehod's Shrine. You will have to retrace the same steps from before. North 10 days from here will get you to the Ohod's Catacombs to acquire the Key of Hell.  Use the same techniques as with the last two battles.  Once you get the Key of Hell, head back to Tegea and heal up. You have to make sure you have all of the magical items you can possibly carry.




SAVE YOUR GAME! Before going to the Gelkis Shrine, make sure you have the following items: 11 Sacred Nuts, 6 Stones of Protection, 4 Staffs of Earthquakes, 1 Sphere and 3 Potions of Resurrection. Your maximum life bars should end under where Treo is standing if you want a chance to beat the Dark Lord.  Move back to where you found Ohod's Cavern.  Finally go west 6 days, with all the keys obtained, you will get gain you entry into the Gelkis Shrine. Beat the maze, but watch out for the fake starwells, they're tricky, and you'll find yourself in Terarins Lair. You should be able to defeat her with full health and a complete arsenal of magical items.  After you use up all of your magical attack items and stop her spells with the stones, then attack with your strongest fighter. Each time your strongest fighter gets within a small fraction of their life, use a potion of resurrection to heal them back to full again. Once all of your potions are exhausted, attack with each party member until their life is within a sliver of death. Terarin should fall before this in any case.  If not, you have some leveling up to do!  Enjoy the ending!


 

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