 |
| Vahnatai Fortress |
| Avernum 2 | Vahnatai Fortress | Eastern Vahnatai Lands |
Navigation: General Hints, Notes
List of all towns and shops in Avernum
|
|
| Vahnatai Fortress |
This is one of my favourite dungeons. It is big; there is a lot of nice loot; you can complete one mission and get a lot of help with another. You can find everything worth having without too much hassle: you just need to explore carefully and be ready for mild surprises.
It goes without saying, that you should not barge in at the front door. You cannot get in there anyway, because the gates are locked from the inside. Just keep to the south, going over the natural stone bridge (Members of the party who are afraid of heights should just look straight ahead!).
After going round a corner and dealing with a few guards you come to a door that can be opened with the key which Gee hid in a tree in Avit. If you do not have the key you could get in through a hidden door slightly to the north, but the passage is blocked by a boulder that needs Move Mountains L3 to destroy it.
This fort has been built on a precipice and consists of two main parts seperated by a forecourt. There are two routes between the west and east wings: through some storage caverns to the north or via a hidden passage straight through the living rock. There is also a river flowing through the complex. There are various strategies one could use here
Whichever strategy you use you will normally come in from the east through the padlocked door. I will describe the various rooms as if you want to clear out the whole dungeon.
After the first guardroom through a small passage comes the training area and then the main guardpost for the gates. Here is the contingent a bit stonger but otherwise not particularly tough. South of the guardpost is the first part of the Vahnatai barracks. Further south are the quarters for Empire soldiers. Here are some Elite Warriors and a Wizard so be prepared before going through the western of the two doors in the SE corner of this room. The soldiers drop some good equipment. In one of the "dressers" in the dormatory is a bag of sugar. The Wizard drops a Resistance Ring. In a chest in his quarters are some notes about the collaboration between the Empire and the Vahnatai here.
The SE door from the barracks leads further into the dining hall. Here and in the kitchen to the north are a few Vahnatai. Further north is a locked storeroom holding nothing in particular. The locked door in the north leads back to the first guardroom.
In the north wall of the Training area is a door leading east to the storage caverns. Slightly to the west of this door is a hidden door to a passage which leads to the west wing. In the middle of this passage are two living statues which cannot be reached directly, but must be fought with ranged attacks.
In the NE corner of the storage caverns are some giant lizards, a bit to the west a food storage cave and further west a small Vahnatai patrol sitting around a fire. Going further west you come out of thr caverns onto the river bank. There are various Vahnatai around here. When you have dealt with them you can pick up a boat at the western end of the south bank and row back eastwards. After a bit, you find a small landing place on the south bank. In the SE corner is a hidden door which leads to a crystal which improves Resistance for every member of the party by 2.
Rowing back to the west you can land on a small bank to the north. The twisty passage leads to a dead end and there is nothing to be found. Rowing up to the NW corner you can land and fight a Basilisk. To the east is a secret door to a Mindcrystal (Shielder) behind a magic barrier.
Sailing down to the southern end of the river you can disembark and search for a hidden door. Through the barrier and a locked door you come to a room with two Vahatai cabinets. The lefthand one contains important documents about the alliance between Garzahd and Gaddika-Bok. Just looking in this cabinet give you 20 xp
Looking in the cabinet on the right gives you the opportunity to insert a crystal shard into a depression. If you do so, you will hear a klick. This has actually opened the gate to the treasur trove on the west bank of the river north of here. You could visit it later, but I like to get the treasure now. So back to the boat and north to the landing place on the west bank. Behind the magic barrier and the now opened gate is a basilisk. In the secret chamber in the NE corner are three crystal boxes containin an Amber, a Blessed Small Shield an Armour Ring and a Knowledge Brew
The way to the west wing described in most walkthroughs expects you to land on the small ledge on the east bank of the river. I will however continue where I have just left off – back down the river to the south. Going out of the locked door to the south of the planning chamber then east are two traps (level 15) and a barrierThen through a hidden door in the north wall. Before going any further you should prepare for a big battle. Gaddika is in the room along with some cronies. They are quite strong but he is really tough.
You actually have everything that you need from this dungeon and if spell points are low you could now leave by the same route, but I like to clear the dungeon. To the east of Gaddika's conference room is a laboratory where two Shapers are experimenting with a demon. To the north of the meeting room is a small shrine with some offerings, which you can now take. Further north are futher Vahnatai troops. To the east is the western Guardpost with Keepers, a Blade and some Warriors. All in all – a bit of trouble.
There is a nice lot of loot lying around. The cystal in the laboratory is cracked and does not do anything but the crystal box contains a Balm of Life. The locked storeroom to the NE of the laboratory does not contain anything useful.
You can now go back to the East side either with the boat or through the passage. When you get near the central compound, you notice that a hord of Vahnatai have appeared there. You now have two choices: either go into the guardpost, turn the wheel to open the gates and fight them directly or run round the east and south sides of the fort and come up on them from the south. If you are weak, you could take this route and try running over the bridge. In this battle somebody drops some Drakeskin Gloves.
