The Legend of Iason

Long ago in a land of swords and sorcery, a stumbling shepherd 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 Iason 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 in 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, with 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 shepherd, Iason made a prophecy that one day Terarin would return, and that four brave warriors would awaken to meet her evil challenge!

In Arasia, the King of Arukas charges you to bar evil's entry into this world through the Pandora Passage.   But you should visit the town of Garia, just south of his castle first.   You aren't nearly strong enough to venture far just yet, so build experience 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 mountain enemies as they are much too strong.  In this stage of the quest, guilders will be hard to come by, unless you run into a slew of Evil Merchants. It may be tempting, but do not kill any Merchants, Travelers or White Monks or you will lose your 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 soon as you have the funds, you should purchase a knife, armor and shield.  Make sure you also stock up on healing potions.  You will need them at this early stage of the adventure.
 
 

In Garia, you will be told about the Sage Kosama and his location in the northern mountains.   At this point, it is advisable to increase your experience by three or four levels.   Once you have some experience under your belt, head for the Austel Province in the northwest tip of Arukas. Head over the bridge to the North of Garia and you will find Kosama's Village in the Northwest. 

 
 

Kosama talks about the Legendary Armor, and informs you that your quest cannot be completed until you find 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 finding you.   Thus you are given the spell "AWAKE, GIANT!", and  told to search for Guy, in a town that worships the sea. Use this spell when you encounter these warriors and they will become your companions.
 

 

Head South from the Sage's Village, across the bridge, and you will reach Oruk in the Marula Province.   Here you will find a "Mask of Beasts" for sale in the item shop - this item is good for maze trolling. There is also 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 the Great Lions of the plains and, more importantly, accumulate as many fangs (at least 300) as possible. Level grinding 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 (don't go too crazy since there is a maximum starting level).
 
 

Battling forest Liphants will sometimes yield the "Sacred Nuts".   Liphants will drop them in clumps of 3 and you can utilize them as powerful weapons in battle.   You can carry a maximum of 11 nuts, provided that you use one of the nuts in battle prior to receiving the last batch.  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.
 

The castle of Marula is located in the Ortygian Forest.   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. This is fine weapon to wield but, more importantly, you need it to dispel Guy from his trance.
 
 

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.
 


 

Before you awaken Guy from his trance, you can test your strength by taking on the Senpi in the mountains with the Armor of 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.  Guy will also be much more powerful when he joins you.  To reach the cavern with the Senpi, head West and North, between the towns of Minos and Menos on the western Kallipolis shore.  Go ahead and 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, then South to the basin of the Kokalos Forest, and finally West to find the seaside town of Kadia. You will find Guy disguised as the town healer. Choose the "Spell" option and cast "AWAKE, GIANT!" to have Guy join your quest. In addition to telling you about 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 Turos Sword, which just happens to be 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. They will upgrade the Sword of Turos for you. From Kadia, head East and South to the Kokalos Forest.   There 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 wielding the Sword of Turos. Once in Kadmos, you will find a locked cave in the eastern mountain range and a small village in the center of the peninsula.   If you have 30,000 guilders you can purchase the Argo, ship which will allow you to cross all waterways.   At this point however, your lackluster skills as a pilot will not allow you to traverse the stormy seas of Areos (the water that appears in a darker shade of blue).
 
 

Board the ship and head south over the sea to the continent of Eratos. There you will find the town of Torif. Heal up and save because the enemies are going to be much more difficult on this continent. Many of them use spells that hit everyone in your party. Stay in the plains until you and Guy are strong enough to venture to other areas. From Torif, head South across the river until you find the Village of Karme. There you'll have the option 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 an exotic dancer at a pub. Just as you did with Guy, you will need to cast the spell "AWAKE, GIANT!" to bring Medi out of her trance. Before you awaken her however, you may want to make sure both you and Guy gain as many levels as possible so that she will start off strong. Remember, she will be one level lower than your weakest party member (in most cases). If the spell doesn't work on her, you will have to travel back over the sea and obtain the Armor of Kronos. Once Medi joins your party, she will give you another piece of Iason's Scroll. Only buy Medi a shield for now because you are about to obtain her main sword and armor soon.  Medi tells you about Treo, the third companion, his whereabouts and his situation. With Medi in your party, you are now able to open up all of the locked caverns that you could not access before. Before you attempt this however, make sure you save your game because there are Senpi and Hanj in these caverns.

 
 

Before you venture out to find Treo (your final companion), you may want to do a little side questing at this point. Start out going West, past Torif, to the Southern tip of the forest in Molos.  There 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 Northern edge of the desert where you'll find the Silvius monument. Inside you'll pick up the aura mantle. This isn't an absolutely necessary item, but it helps keep the little pests away.
 
 

From Silvius, go Northeast to the mountain cavern in the Phrixos Province, where the Armor of Athena is hidden. Another Senpi will be guarding this armor, but by now you shouldn't need any magical item to help in defeating these creatures. Next you'll head Southeast to the island of Ikaros, where you'll find 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 staves, then sacred nuts, and finally attack until it is dead). Head back to town if you need healing. Head 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.   You will find a zombie within the cavern. The "AWAKE, GIANT!" spell removes this zombie curse and Treo will appear. Do not buy Treo any equipment because all of his main equipment is in one cave just South of Garia.
 
 

Now that your party is complete, you'll notice a new scroll command in the menu.   The completed scroll gives cryptic directions to the whereabouts of the keys of earth, hell, and heaven.   Finding these keys is a neccessity to unlocking the gates to the Gelkis Shrine and defeating Terarin.   You will want to restock your supplies and find all remaining arms of legend. To begin, 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 will be able to fully equip Treo with the treasures you find in the Iphis Shrine. After you have completed the Iphis Shrine, go West to the mountain cave of Koryki to get the Celene Shield 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 you reach the Gorophonus desert. Upgrade your weapons in the smithy hamlet at Hierax, then continue north to a cavern where you'll obtain the Hector Shield for Guy. Once again, this cave contains 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 the party to sail the stormy seas and reach the continent of Areos.
 
 

The party should now be fully equipped. Cross the stormy waters of Anteia surrounding the continent of Areos. You may encounter sea dragons, which periodically drop resurrection potions when defeated. You can carry a total of 3 resurrection potions. Although these misnamed potions do not actually resurrect a fallen warrior from death, they will fully restore the HP of an injured warrior.   Once you reach land, search in the center of the plains for the town of Tegea. In the northern desert of Kithairon, there is a small village that will trade a powerful white orb, for 1000 fangs. You may also want to fully stock your magic arsenal of sacred nuts, stone of protection and staff of earthquakes as the search for the keys is nearing conclusion.
 
 

We can now consider the advice given by travelers, merchants and white monks in accordance with Iason's completed scroll:

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.   Considering all of the above information, you will start from Tegea, heading 16 days south to rest on a patch of desert surrounded by  mountains.
   



 Search this square/area to reveal a monument to Iason. Now 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. Use a couple of your Staves of Earthquakes to lower its life, then attack. Heal your party, move out of the cavern and use a feather to go back to Tegea to heal up.  You may want to go back and buy more Staves.



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 Sehod's Catacombs. The Key of Earth is your prize for defeating Sehod.  Use the same techniques with Sehod as you did with Rokhod.  Once you get the Key of Earth, exit the cave and use a feather to go back to Tegea and heal up. You may want to go back and buy more Staves once again.



Go back to the spot where you found Sehod's Shrine. You will have to retrace the same steps from before. From Sehod's Shrine, venture North 10 days and you will arrive at Ohod's Catacombs. The Key of Hell is your prize for defeating Ohod.  Use the same techniques as you did with Sehod and Rokhod.  Once you get the Key of Hell, head back to Tegea and heal up.




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 at least under where Treo is standing in the character screen if you want a chance to beat the Dark Lord.  Travel back to where you found Ohod's Shrine.  Go West 6 days to find the Gelkis Shrine. While traversing the maze watch out for the fake starwells and traps. Consult the maps section if you are having a tough time. You will reach Terarin's Lair after climbing the stairwell in Sub-level 3. 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 of Protection, 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 . If all of your fighters are the same or similar levels, Medi is the best choice for a main attacker because she will sometimes use her CRUSHING ATTACK. Once all of your potions are exhausted, attack with each party member until their life is within a sliver of death. Terarin should fall well before you are in danger however.  If not, you have some leveling up to do!

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