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| Spiral Pit |
| Avernum 1 | Spiral Pit | Magi/Honeycomb |
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List of all towns and shops in Avernum
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| Spiral Pit |
There are a lot of undead around Mertis. This dungeon seems to be the cause of the trouble.
This cave seems relatively simple: you circle around it in an anticlockwise direction killing undead and poison fungi on the way. There is not much treasure even in the sarcophogi and the light keeps fading. Even Light level 3 does nor seem to last long. Do not get dispirited, there must be something here. So you plod on but come to a dead end.
There are two hidden passages here. One is in the east wall of the cave with the dead end. You soon have to jump down from a ledge. After this there is no return. Round the corner three spirits (a bit tough) are guarding a chest which is surrounded by a magic barrier (Dispel Barrier or a piercing crystal). The Chest is naturally trapped but contains a Mind Crystal – Venomfoe (Natural Curing). Round the next corner is a teleporter which takes you to a ledge in the NW corner. On jumping down you take a bit of damage. As spell points are also probably rather low at this point it is a good idea to leave the cave and rest before trying to find the other secret passage. You are however likely to meet a lot of undead on your way out.
The second hidden passage is in the south wall of the penultimate crypt. To the north of the first chamber is a passage leading to a pool. After dispatching the various undead on the way, you can search the north wall for a secret door which leads to a barrier which can be walked through at some cost to health. Behind the barrier is a Piercing Crystal and 6 coins.
Back to the first chamber. There are two further passages leading out. To the south is a dead end. The passage to the east leads to another ledge you must jump down if you want to continue. Make sure you have enough spell points for some battles before you do so. There is a total of four ledges to be negotiated. When you finally reach the bottom you will see two passages. To the north is a wheel, which when turned creates ramps you can walk up to get back up over the ledges. It is a good idea to operate it now, so that you have a clear escape route when you have cleared the dungeon.
As soon as you go a little to the east you are plunged into darkness. You find yourself in a maze of tunnels with lots of hidden doors. Since you cannot see any approaching monsters, it is a good idea to negotiate this maze in combat mode. Do not however let your party members get too far apart otherwise you will have difficulty reuniting them.
In the NE corner of the maze is a secret passage which leads to a chamber with a Piercing Crystal. Just west of this passage is a further hidden passage leading to the Chasm Hall.
Here you can generate some light. The corpse in the NE corner does not have anything worthwile, so over the Chasm. Halfway across there is a flash and three ghouls appaer to the west and a further three to the east. I usually cast Haste/Beast Ceremony and enter combat mode before reaching the middle of the path. This way I am ready for the ghouls and can split the party to combat the two groups. When the ghouls are dead you can proceed further until stopped by a magic barrier. (The Piercing Crystals you just picked up do not work on this barrier. It needs at least Dispel Barrier L2).
You eventually reach the origin of the trouble. There is a ghost, some ghouls and some wights. The ghost is nasty because he keeps charming the members of your party, so that they fight on his side. Even Unschacle Mind L2 does not seem to work. If you have too much difficulty, you might have to leave this chamber until you have level 3 or your characters have more willpower.
If you do manage to defeat the ghost, you can search the many dead bodies. Interesting items: Cursed Bronze Helmet, Bronze Greatsword, Icy Longsword and a Pearl Brooch. Now back to Elmer in Mertis to pick up your reward.
