Part 19: The Abyss - Part II

The Abyss - Part II



A secret door on L6 leads in here. It's important to go here, because the next series of rooms interconnects with itself in strange ways. For example, although we can only go south from here...



...and west from here... and south from the next room, we can eventually come back to those rooms. The goal is to get all the way to the southeast, where the next altar and ladder are.



Weaving around finally takes me to a pool with a bunch of twisters in it. Twisters are living waterspouts that sometimes appear on the ocean, and as it so happens, in the Abyss. Oddly, they not only have to move onto the same square as you to attack you, but you can actually stand on them! While you might think this requires clever dancing across the twisters to reach the other side, it's not necessary. I can just go north.



Bringing us back to this screen, but on the opposite side.



The sleepyheads are the result of each of the little "nooks" in this room originally containing a balron behind a force field. Of course, because of the force fields, I could just pick the balrons off one at a time, but the Sleep spell covers the whole screen. Dupre got poisoned again, so I've left him like that.

Though it appears we want to go east across a bridge or something, that winds up not happening. Instead all we get is a route to the south.



There were two sets of hydras and a balron, but killing one has created that small square east of the southernmost balron. It seems useless, but if we then go and stand on that square...



...it creates a bridge! Handy. From here, we can go east or south and it won't matter, but I want to go south because the next room is pathetic.



There were about three times as many Headless on the other side of that bridge as there are in this shot, because they can't get across the water and can't attack my wand-and-bow packing troops.



Eventually if you walk southish enough you get some bridges to appear, but as you can see the Headless are no longer alive to take advantage of this fact.


: What virtue dost stem from Truth and Courage?
:  Honor. 
: Use thy stone.
:  Purple. 
The altar changes before thyne eyes!



L7 is little more than a series of rooms which empty out into 1x1 3D maze rooms with doors to the west or north, respectively. As long as we keep going either north or west, we'll reach the end. The first room has some headless, big deal.



Trying to get the chest traps you in some force fields for your hubris. Oddly enough, I wasn't even actually walking over the chest to get the treasure; I just wanted to move closer to the last enemy.



This room's a bit tricky. The balron can sleep, which is bad, so I cast a Tremor spell or two to kill it while the monsters can't actually reach me.



Much easier to deal with. Now once Mariah's dumb butt wakes up from her beauty nap I can send her in to flip the switch behind all those secret walls.


: What virtue dost stem from Truth, Love, and Courage?
:  Spirituality. 
: Use thy stone.
:  White. 
The altar changes before thyne eyes!



Down to the final level. More fire lizards, but strangely, the magma in this room doesn't spread.



Until I send Steve to the SW corner to activate the switch in the NE corner, where Dupre is going. This opens the way to the west. It also floods the room with magma.



A final peer into a gem. This is what you get when you pull up a map via the gem. As you can see, it's pretty accurate and gives a good indication of how you need to proceed. Secret doors are hard to find or even know exist, but a gem tends to reveal them almost instantly.

In this case, we need to go east twice, then we're at the very bottom of the Abyss!



Well, it wouldn't have been a journey of self-discovery if I weren't forced to fight my doppelganger. And the doppelgangers of my entire party. Plus people I don't even have in my party.

People I...

...

...

...

...shit.



The next room has gazers, balrons, dragons, and reapers. I tremor the hell out of it to reduce it to this.



Flipping some switches reveals a path north. But I don't want to go north, I want to go east! Poking around in every little nook eventually does just that.

Finally, the ending! And all without... um... forgetting anything.


: What virtue exists independently of Truth, Love, and Courage?
:  Humility. 
: Use thy stone.
:  Black. 

So anyway, this thing I forgotten. Funniest thing, one of the requirements to become the Avatar is to show your leadership in the eight virtues. What does that mean? It means you need a full party of eight, representing the virtues, to accompany you to the bottom of the Abyss. I had completely forgotten about this, which means I need to do the entire dungeon over again after getting Katrina, Julia, and Geoffrey.

: ...
: ...
: ...
: ...
: ...
: ...
: ...
: ...
: ...
: ...
: Fuck that.

But that's all good, I needed to level up the Avatar as much as possible, boost my stats in the dungeons, and generally prepare for the transfer to Ultima V anyway. Plus, this is a screenshot LP, so it's not like you have to suffer with me back through the Abyss a second time.

So let's just get to the ending then, shall we? Oh, and as before I'm spoilering all the answers. Test yourself before you read to see how much you've learned!


There is a sudden darkness, and you find yourself alone in an empty chamber.

You use your Key of Three Parts.

A voice rings out.

: What is the Word of Passage?
:  VERAMOCOR. 

Passage is granted. (or not, if you don't have all eight party members! Ha ha haaaaaaaaaa... shit)

: What dost thou possess if all may rely upon your every word?
:  Honesty. 
: What quality compels one to share in the journeys of others?
:  Compassion. 
: What answers when great deeds are called for?
:  Valor. 
: What should be the same for Lord and Serf alike?
:  Justice. 
: What is loath to place the self above aught else?
:  Sacrifice. 
: What shirks no duty?
:  Honor. 
: What, in knowing the true self, knows all?
:  Spirituality. 
: What is that which Serfs are born with but Nobles must strive to attain?
:  Humility. 
: Thou art well versed in the virtues of the Avatar.
: If all else is imaginary, this is real...
:  Truth. 
: What plunges to the depths, while soaring on the heights?
:  Love. 
: What turns not away from any peril?
:  Courage. 

The floor rumbles beneath your feet. Above the din, the voice asks:

: If all eight virtues of the Avatar combine into and are derived from the principles of Truth, Love, and Courage... then what is the one thing which encompasses and is the whole of all undeniable Truth, unending Love, and unyielding Courage?
:  Infinity. 

The boundless knowledge of the Codex of Ultimate Wisdom is revealed unto thee.

: Thou hast proven thyself to be truly good in nature. Thou must know that thy quest to become an Avatar is the endless quest of a lifetime. Avatarhood is a living gift. It must always and forever be nurtured to flourish. For if thou dost stray from the paths of virtue, thy way may be lost forever.
: But I can still steal and murder a little bit, right? I mean, later games are practically going to require it.
: Oh sure man, this is mostly just a formality.
: Sorry, I'm interrupting.
: Return now unto thine own world. Live there as an example to thy people, as our memory of thy gallant deeds serves us.
: Are you sure you don't want me to hang around here? I mean it seems like kind of a waste if I go to all the trouble of being the Avatar to protect Britannia and you just send me home before I can even do anything. What if Lord British is lost in an expedition into a vast underworld which is unearthed when the Great Council raises the Codex and unscrupulous villains, stirred on by the remnants of Mondain's evil power, threaten the land?
: Like that would ever happen. Just go.
: But...
: SHUT UP I AM THE CODEX GET OUT OF MY HOUSE.

As the sound of the voice trails off, darkness seems to rise around you. There is a moment of intense, wrenching vertigo.

You open your eyes to a familiar circle of stones. You wonder of your recent adventures.

It seems a time and place very distant. You wonder if it really happened. Then you realize that in your hand you hold The Ankh.

You walk away from the circle, knowing that you can always return from whence you came, since you now know the secret of the gates.

CONGRATULATIONS! Thou hast completed ULTIMA IV Quest of the AVATAR! Report thy feat unto Lord British at Origin Systems!

So I became the Avatar. Just letting you know, Mr. Garriott.