Tim Wilton's Walkthrough Source: Tim's Website (http://members.xoom.com/timmycool2/index.html - Site Gone) - Formatting Changes by Ganesh (Bootstrike.Com)

Ultima VII Forge of Virtue Walkthrough

Ok, so you're wondering what that rumbling is? Well, seems that some things never die. In this case, its the mind of that killing machine Exodus. Your mission, and you really should accept it, is to go to the Isle of Fire and end the evil that resides there.

Oh, P.S. I wrote this myself also, so if I see it anywhere else, I WILL punish you to the full extent of the law. (Can you say Copyright?)

BRITANNIA: Ok, as you first step out of that mysterious red moongate, you feel a tremor. Not just any tremor, a BIG one. Hmm, I'll bet old Lord British has some insight as to what's going on. Better pay him a visit. After some sentimental crap, get him talking about the mysterious tremors. He will tell you how the Isle of Fire has risen from the sea. OH NO! What could that be!? Well, if you'd let the man finish, you'd find out that it was the testing grounds for the one person who embodies the spirit of Truth, Love, and Courage. (Gee, is it you?) At this point, he will give you a sparkly gem and the deed to his personal ship, the Golden Ankh, and send you on your way.

Travel all the way to Vesper, the desert city, and head towards the docks. Seeing as there is only one ship docked, that's probably the one you want to take. Sail it due south until the earthquakes start up again. Continue sailing along the edge of the island until you see a narrow corridor. Sail your ship through the tight squeeze and dock it. Congratulations cheater, you've made it to the Isle of Fire.

SIDE NOTE: You really don't need any other party members, so I recommend leaving them on the boat. Unless you can't carry everything you'd like, THEN bring along a friend. Also, I recommend a little experience building before going here as well.

CASTLE OF FIRE: When you enter the castle, you will notice five different paths. The first one, straight forward, leads to the Three Statues of Virtue. Don't go there yet. The one leading upstairs on the left is useless, as are the stairs to the right. To the left, is a small room covered in books, bags, and someone's sleeping quarters. That someone MUST be the mage that is wandering around the room. After meeting him, he says that he is Etherian.

Talk to this man about everything you can, he is wise in the ways of the Isle of Fire. SIDE NOTE: You will see a moongate to the right of Etherian's room. Don't use it yet. Once you finish with Etherian, return to the entrance and this time head right. In this room, you will see a large black object in the middle of the room. At this point, there is nothing you can do with it except have your mind probed. You will also notice in this room, a strange glowing mirror. Hmm, I wonder if its one of those funny circus mirrors?

Go check it out. WOW, that DOES make you look strange. Wait a sec, that's not you. After talking with the being in the mirror, you will discover that he is Arcadion the Daemon, servant-slave to the mage Etherian. You will also discover that he thinks being Etherian's slave sucks and he want's to be free. But, there is only one way to free him. Arcadion tells you of a small blue gem that contains the power to break the mirror and release him. If you get it for him, he will agree to help you in some way. (Probably by not ripping you to shreads...) SIDE NOTE: You will see a moongate to the left of this room as well. Don't use it yet either. That's all of importance in this room, so head back out to the first room you saw, the one with the three statues. By speaking to them, you will begin your testing. You can do this in any order, but I recommend the classic way, Truth, Love, Courage.

TEST OF TRUTH: By speaking to the statue of the mage in the center, you will discover that he is the Statue of Truth. He will ask you if you're prepared to take the Test of Truth and then send you to a sealed room. Reading the plaque on the wall should give you some clue on how to leave this room. If you can't figure it out (which you probably can't you pathetic cheater) then just walk south through the fake wall. Continuing through the tunnel, you will approach a large room with a skeleton dead center in the middle. (no pun intended) This should clue you in to something. The whole room is one big booby trap. If you step foot in the room, you'll be blasted to bits.

Instead, hug the wall all around the room until you reach the tunnel on the other side. Continuing through the tunnel, you will see a hood on the ground. Gee, that's a strange place for a hood...maybe it's trying to point something out to you. Go north and you will see what it was indicating. Follow the secret tunnel North, East, then North again. You will see a small room with a metal door and a switch. Throw the switch and voila, the door slides away. Walk in to the room and you'll see the end of your first quest. Take the Talisman from the pedestal and you will be teleported out.

CASTLE OF FIRE: After finishing the Test of Truth you will be teleported back to the Statues of Virtue. In reward for you're passing of the test, the Statue of Truth will grant you 30 Intelligence Points and give you a little information on Mondain. Next up, the Test of Love. The Statue of Love is the beautiful woman to your left. Speak to her and she will direct you to the Test of Love. Head out of the Statue room and go towards Etherian's room. You can see the moongate in his room, but you can't get to it. Open the secret wall and head in.

TEST OF LOVE: Upon entering the Test of Love, you will find yourself at the mouth of a cave. Head south from the cave and visit the little house. Read and take all of his books and get a basic idea of what is on this island. Head south-east until you see a slain Golem between five stones and a live Golem beside him. The live Golem introduces himself as Bollux and desires you're help in reviving his "brother." Bollox will also tell you about how his master Astelleron created them. He will then give you a book titled "The Stone of Castambre."

Upon reading it, it will tell you that blood must be taken from this life-giving stone and placed on each of the stones. Upon further reading, a page will fall out indicating the incantations needed to cast the spell. Next on the agenda, finding the Stone of Castambre. There is an entrance to a cave north of the Golems. Inside, make sure you grab a pickaxe and a bucket. Follow the cave to a bare spot outside and you will be teleported to a candlelit corridor. Follow the corridor down and to the left until you exit the room. There, you will see the fabled Stone of Castambre complete with the Tree of Life growing from it. Place the bucket under the stone, then equip the pickaxe as a weapon. Then, use the pickaxe on the tree. Amazingly the tree will "bleed" and the bucket will be filled.

SIDE NOTE: If you are an observant Avatar, you will notice the tip of a lever peeking out from behind the stone. Throw it and it will open a room on the right side of the candlelit corridor. This room is PACKED with goodies. Take the now filled bucket back to the fallen Golem. Place a bit of blood on each of the stones.

The spell will now require a Heart. Bollox, in the raw essense of Virtue sacrifices his own heart so that his brother may live. He pulls out his own heart and falls dead to the ground. Take the Heart and place it inside the dead Golem's body. Then cast the spell via the scroll. The magic of the Stone will take effect and the dead Golem will rise. Speaking to the now risen Golem will tell you that Bollux's heart was unnecessary. A new heart may be cut from the Stone of Castambre and be used in Bollux. Return once again with bucket in hand and place it under the Stone.

This time, cut out a heart from the tree. The tree will wither with the taking of the heart. Return again to the Golems with the Heart and the Blood. Again, place the heart in Bollux and spread the blood on the rocks. Cast the spell again. The Tree of Life will return from death, fully grown and beautiful and Bollux will be revived as well. As a reward for the Avatar's work, he will be presented with the Talisman of Love. Take it and be teleported back to the Castle of Fire.

CASTLE OF FIRE: Upon finishing the Test of Love, you will again be teleported to the Statue room. The Statue of Love will congratulate you upon your success and reward you with 30 Dexterity Points she will also give you some information about Minax. 2 down, 1 to go. Turn around and speak to the statue of the fighter. He will reveal that he is the representation of Courage and will tell you how to reach his test. Head to the Dark Core room and you'll see a fallen wall. Go in and enter the moongate inside.

TEST OF COURAGE: Upon entering the Test of Courage, you'll once again be presented with a locked room. No secrets here, just pick the lock. Enter the room to the right and you will see a very heartwarming scene. Nothing like psycho mages, mutilated babies, and one pissed off Liche to brighten your day. The mage will cast some dark magic and bring the Liche to life. Then, he and his undead friends will concentrate their efforts on you. If you have it, cast a mean high-level spell. If not, take them hand-to-hand.

SIDE NOTE: I recommend luring them back to the room you started in, that way the Liche can't hit you. After that, focus on the Mage. He is the only one necessary to kill.

After you kill the badguys, (except the Liche, he's protected) take the key off the Mage's body. If you want, you can try to avoid some Liche attacks and search the already dead bodies. Lotsa booty here. There will be a dead female Mage with a key as well, get that while you're pillaging. SIDE NOTE: In the middle of all the carcasses are Red Moongates. DON'T TOUCH THEM! Once you're ready to leave, use the Mage's key and unlock the door to the right. As soon as you enter the room, you will be assailed by two golems. They're not as tough as they look.

SIDE NOTE: A good tactic here, if you're a pussy, (which we all know you are) is 1. Open the door. 2. Run past the golems. 3. Open your inventory (thereby pausing the game.) 4. Unlock and open the second door. 5. Close your Inventroy and resume your game. 6. Run through the door. 7. Pause your game via your inventory. 8. Close and lock the door. The golem's will be locked out.

Once you get through the second door, head north. You will see a small room off to the left with a crystal ball. Look in the ball and you will see the image of a Glass Sword on the mat. Return to reality and head north again. This time, there will be a passageway to the right with a dead fighter and a green dragon. Make short work of the dragon then search the fighters body. It will contain, SURPRISE, a Glass Sword. Return to the crystal ball room and place the Glass Sword on the square mat. The ball will disappear and be replaced by a key. Take the key and unlock and open the door to the north.

SIDE NOTE: I'm not sure if this happens everywhere, but for some reason, that dragon manages to revive itself. If it does, lock the door behind you again.

Now proceed through the passageway until you find a switch. Throw it. Then, head in a NE direction and find the other switch. Throw it. Now you can access a large corridor to the East. Enter the corridor and head north. In a small room will be a Magic Helm on a pedestal. Grab it, but don't get TOO attached to it. Head south all the way around the room. Eventually you'll be blocked by a large skeleton.

SIDE NOTE: Searching the skeleton's head will provide you with Musket Ammuntion

No matter, go out the door and around the skeleton. There will be a few rats, but you're a big boy now, you can handle them. Enter the room behind the skeleton and proceed north. Again, you will see a small room with a pedestal, this time with a Normal Helm on it. Replace the Normal Helm with the Magic Helm. Now, carrying the Normal Helm, return to the first Pedestal room and place the Normal Helm where the Magic Helm was.

Leave the big room the way you entered and head north. There will be a few baddies. Thrash on them and go thru the passage to the east. Soon, you will see a charred body and a room to the north. Searching the body reveals a Magic Axe. Go into the room to the north and meet the true Test of Courage, Draxothraxus. He will tell you that to pass the Test of Courage, you will need to kill him. Draxothraxus is a real bitch, so before he can get in any licks, check the bodies to the left. One has a Glass Sword. Use it to vanquish the dragon.

Suddenly, in a puff of flame, he will be revived. He will congratulate you and tell you that the Talisman lies to the north, but it cannot be reached until you have truly defeated the dragon. And for that, you need a powerful artifact. After that, as a reward for beating him, he will offer you a gem. Gee, you've been looking for a gem. However, its deep in the dragon's throat. Do you take it? Well, think about it. Arcadion said he would help you if you freed him and he can probably kill Draxothraxus. You need the gem to free Arcadion, so yep, take the gem.

Because you're cheating I am telling you this now. I hope you MARK/RECALLed the Castle of Fire because there is no way (I think, I can't remember if you're teleported or not, if not...) to get out except the way you came. That's right, back into the fray. Once you get back to the teleporter, leave and go to the Castle of Fire.

TEST OF COURAGE: Return with the gem in hand, (literally) to the mirror. Use the gem on the mirror and Arcadion will become freed. Now, he will want to invoke his wrath upon Britannia. Oops. Too bad, should have listened to your master. The gem only creates a more mobile prison, one which you are now in control of. Ergo, you are now Arcadion's master. Return to Etherian and talk to him about everything the statues told you about. He will tell you about Mondain, Minax, and most importantly the Powerful Artifact.

SIDE NOTE: If you have the opportunity to ask him about Banishing the Core or something like that, DON'T DO IT. Once he finds out you want to get rid of the Core, he'll no longer help you.

Then, he will disappear and reappear in the middle of the castle. He will then create for you a blacksmith station for you so that you can create the Mysterious Artifact. He will then supply you with the Blacksword Blank for you to forge. If you don't know how, go to Serpent's Hold and get some instructions. (Heh, guess I should have told you that at the beginning, serves you right cheater.) Once the Avatar is finished forging the sword, he will tell you that it's still too bulky to be used as a weapon. Return to Etherian with the semi-finished sword. He will tell you that a source of magic could possibly make it into a formidable weapon.

At this point, Arcadion will be all to eager to bind with the sword. Eh? What could it hurt, go ahead and let him do it. Now, equip the sword and test it out. CONGRATULATIONS! YOU'VE CREATED THE BEST WEAPON EVER, THE BLACKSWORD!! And look at those powers! HEAL, which will replenish your mana. FIRE, which will create a maelstrom of flame to engulf your opponent. DEATH, which will instantly kibbilize your opponent. and RETURN, which will return you to the Isle of Fire at any time. Now you're ready to whomp on Draxothraxus. Whatever way, (MARK/RECALL or foot) get back to Draxothraxus' chamber.

TEST OF COURAGE: Once you have returned to Draxothraxus, challenge him again. This time, whip out the Blacksword and use DEATH on him. SIDE NOTE: You have to be pretty close to him for this to work. Once he is killed he will thank you for freeing him. This was a test for him as well. He will reward you by opening the door behind him and allowing you passage to the Talisman of Courage. Take it and be teleported out.

CASTLE OF FIRE: Upon your return to the Castle of Fire, the Statue of Courage will reward you with 30 Strenght Points. He will also tell you that you must banish the Dark Core to the Void. He will tell you that there is a scroll in the castle that gives the specification's on how to do it. Well, there sure were a lot of books in Etherian's room, why don't you start there. Move all his crap and eventually you'll find a scroll. If you read it, it will appear as gibberish.

Maybe Etherian can help you. Once he reads the scroll he will begin to mutter about two lenses, the three Talisman's, and a fourth Talisman of Infinity. From there, he will figure out that you're planning to send the Dark Core to the Void. Well, that's what Etherian's committed his life to, the Core, and he'll get pretty pissed if you destroy it. So, he stops helping you. No matter, you know everything you need. You have the three Talisman's, now you need the two lenses. They are located in the Britannian Museum. (Heh, guess I should have told you to pick THESE up at the beginning too. Serves you right.) Get back on your little boat and sail back to Britain.

SIDE NOTE: If you have the spellbook, you can also use one of the Cantrips in conjuction with an artifact you have. I won't tell you which though...It should speed up your little trip to Britain and back...

BRITAIN: After you're return to Britain head to the Museum. I'm sure the curator won't mind if you borrow those two lenses. Grab both the blue and the purple and head back to the Isle of Fire.

CASTLE OF FIRE: With Lenses and Talisman's in hand, head over to the room at the right. By now, you should have realized that the black object is the Dark Core of Exodus. It contains the psyche of the evil being forged by Mordain and Minax. Place one of the mirrors, (it doesn't matter which) on the left side of the Core, and the other on the right. Then, arrange your Talisman's on top of the Core as if they were pie pieces. When the third Talisman is in place, a fourth talisman, The Talisman of Infinity, will appear.

The Lenses and Talisman's will begin to work their magic and a hole to the Void will be opened. An enraged Etherian will appear screaming and begin to focus an attack at you. He then realizes that he must save the Core and begins focusing his magic on it. However, with half of one spell cast and half of another, his magic backfires and he is reduced to bones. The Core and Talisman's then disappear forever into the Void and your quest is complete. Almost...

BRITANNIA: Gee, you sure did a lot of hard work, well, YOU didn't but the Avatar did, you cheater...You deserve some kind of compensation for your work. Get into your boat and sail back to Britannia. SIDE NOTE: The REAL Avatar would bring the Lenses back to the museum, but it's not necessary, only virtuous. Sail your ship to the docks of Britain and head for Castle Britain. Tell Lord British of your success in banishing the Dark Core of Exodus. He will ask you to kneel before him. Do so and be rewarded with another 30 Strength Points totalling 60. Congratualtions, you are now ready to continue your quest.