Erika's Tower|
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Erika's Tower |
Erika/Bandits |
| neutral |
Navigation: General Hints, Shops, People and Quests, Notes, Pylon
List of all towns and shops in Avernum
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| Erika's Tower | Attic |
The incantatrix Erika is a complex character. She sets up lots of traps and puzzles that have to be passed in oder to reach her. She can teach you spells and has some important information which you need, if you wish to complete the game.
| Person | Function | Items, Quests and Notes | Rating |
| Erika | Archmage | The only person (other than the two goblins guarding the secret passage in the west) to whom you can talk is Erika. When you finally reach her she will teach you spells and give you lots of information and some quests. So much so that the various topics are dealt with below,after the instructions for reaching her. |
Quest, slightly expensive |
| Glogroth Von Bloov | Goblin | He is on the left and together with his mate guards the passage to the labyrinth. You will get no sensible answer from him. | |
| Groovilla Dar Trog | Goblin | She stands on the right and also talks a lot of rubbish. |
There is nothing lying around outside – not even potion ingredients.
Since this is a neutral “town” your party's health and spell points will not automatically be restored when you enter the tower. You can however rest in a room to the east of the main (first) door, which has the same effect.
You could of course use the Pylon to teleport you the the Tower of Magi (thus rejuvinating your party) and immediately back to Erika.
There are two ways to reaching her.
The first one is just to barge in. You need Dispel Barriers or a Piercing Crystel to get through the front door. When you get through the First Door you see but you the Second Door in front of you, cannot open it. To the east is a resting room. To the west, at the end of the corridor, is a door with a plaque with the rhyme
One goblin tells the truth,
The other lies.
Pierce them both to get the prize.
Going through the door you come to two goblins standing between two openings onto long passages with lots of lava patches leading to a dead-end. If you go up these passages you will trigger a trap which calls up three Punishment Golems.
The only way through is to kill the goblins by challanging them (or simply attacking them) and then take the hidden passage behind them. When you get to the end of this corridor the light fails. Now you can go to the east through the Breeding Pit Bypass Gate if your points are high enough. Otherwise you have to go south in the darkness and enter the Breeding Pen, which can still be avoided if you can remove the magical barrier (Dispel Barriers L3) or if you notice the button for the secret door to the east. If you are unfortunate enough to reach the Breeding Pen you will have to fight four Pustulant Zombies and four Pit-Bred_Basikisks in the dark.
Once you have passed the Breeding Pen the light returns. If you have not already dealt with them, you could at this point go back and eliminate the Pit-Bred_Monsters in daylight for a few xp. In any case you can continue south then east into a wide corridor with three doors. South is the Second Door which you could not open before, north is marked “Third Door” and east is unmarked. Since you cannot open the other two doors you must go through the unlocked door to the east.
If you talk to the Old Crone in the SE corner of the Cave across the river and find her mould, it will turn out that she was Erika in disguise. The Hints Book says that she will now let you come in with much less hassle. The only difference I have noticed is that one of the three magical barriers in front of the First Door has been removed.
The Third Door cannot be unlocked. So you have to go through the door to the east, where you come to a garden with lots of Mutant Lizards and Lancing Fungi. To the north is a door to a small building with a locked gate. In the SE corner of the garden is a locked door leading to a wheel which can be turned. I got a message that I had recognised a rune on the machanism and therefore stopped turning. On turning the wheel again, the gate in the north opens. I had actually expected, that turning the wheel triggers some defence mechanism. Perhaps it is a matter of Luck (8), Tool Use (2), Cave Lore (1) or Reputation (28), whether the defences are triggered or not. None of the monsters drops anything interesting but there are various herbs in the garden. Once through the gate you come directly north to Erika's chambers, but I first like to look in the storeroom in the NW corner, which has a few items you can be picked up/stolen.
Erika can give you much assistance and information.
She tells you that she wishes get revenge on the Empire who laid a curse upon her when she was banished to Avernum. The first step is to speak to Aydin in the Hidden Island Tower. After you have visited him she will tell you about her spies (the talking statues in many towns) and give you the password to get information from them.
She also tells you that you need to find at least four of the five brooches scattered around Avernum. A scroll in the library tells more about their locations.
When you have completed this quest she lets you read the two tomes (Divine Echo [Divine Host] and Arcane Blow L3) on the right in the chamber to the east of her bedroom. The other two tomes will confuse you (unless you have been allowed to read them as reward for finding a way to the surface).
If you have joined the Scimitar, you can ask her about the way to the surface. She tells you that it is north of the Tower of Sulfras and that you need a four part password. She gives you the last part and tells you to ask Aimee, Patrick and Koth or Athron for the other parts.
When you have completed this quest neither do you get experience points nor does your reputaion increase but Erika lets you read the two tomes (Divine Restoration and Cloak of the Arcane L3) on the left in the chamber to the east of her bedroom. The other two tomes will confuse you (unless you have been allowed to read them for killing Hawthorne).
She will tell you the location of the key to her east door, so that you can return to her more easily. She will teach you mage and priest spells 15 – 20 at slightly expensive prices and train you in Spellcraft, Arcane Lore and Magical Efficiency (also slightly expensive). She also tells you to read any books you want to, that are in her library to the west.
There are no hidden rooms in the tower. There are however a few items lying around in her chambers. Although they are marked as “not yours”, you can take them without risking upsetting Erika. She will just stand there and ignore your thefts. She will also still help you get to Hawthorne and reward you for killing him and for finding the way to the surface.
You find the Valorim Bestiary very quickly on entering the library. If Erika has told you about it, you can find an ivory key on the desk. At the end of the middle row you find a tome which tells you a bit about the Blessed Athame. In the NW corner is a further tome with a list [of where to look for the brooches]. (I have noted the relevant brooch in parentheses after the entry.)
The staircase to the pylon is accessible from outside the tower on the SE corner. It can be used even if you have not reached the archmage.