Walkthrough - Completing Your First Quest

Here we are in the forest, which you'll need to pass through in order to get to the different important locations in the game. All sorts of monsters and brigands wander the forest, a very large threat for the would-be hero. But don't worry, the area we'll be exploring for now will be free of enemies.

First thing to do is walk two screens east. If you do not see a fox with its leg caught in a trap here, walk back one screen and return. Yes, you heard that right, the fox can speak. Do the heroic thing and free the fox. You will receive 10 points for doing this, and the fox will advise you to always be polite, even to rude people. Furthermore, he'll tell you that the Baron's daughter was enchanted by the witch Baba Yaga many years ago, and you'll need the Dryad's help to undo the spell. After freeing the fox, go back west two screens, to the entrance of the town of Spielburg.

Well, isn't this an unsavory-looking character. Meet Bruno the Thief, scoundrel of the worst sort. He may be helpful to you however, as he's known to be an information seller. He doesn't always hang out here, so if he isn't there, walk back one screen and come back. Remember what the fox said about being polite no matter how rude someone is? You'll want to follow that advice here. Annoy Bruno too much, and you'll find out the hard way that his dagger is coated with a deadly, fast-acting poison. Ask about name first of all, and he'll respond that he'll tell you nothing unless you give him a silver piece. So, give silver to man. He'll tell you that for another silver, he'll tell you where you can find the Baron, Baba Yaga, or a group of Goblins who have some treasure. Again, give silver to man. You can ask him about any one of the following things: name, baron, baba yaga, goblins, sheriff, healer, Crusher, password, Chief, Dragon's Breath, monsters, Antwerp, brigands, brigand leader, brigand warlock. Just ask about one thing and one thing only, I'll leave the choice up to you. If you continue paying him, he may mention he'll tell you where the thieves' guild is for 1 gold, the Rhyme needed to get into Baba Yaga's hut for 2 gold, or where the Brigands are for 10 gold. He'll lie about the thieves' guild though (you'll get yourself killed if you follow his advice to go to the graveyard at night), and the rest is just a big waste of money.

If you happen to be a Thief, though, you'll know about a way to get this guy to give you actual directions to the Thieves' Guild. Choose to make thief sign, and he'll tell you to meet Sneak in the Spielburg alleyways at night for the password.

Be sure you've paid Bruno two silvers and asked about one topic successfully, then leave the screen to the north. When you do, he should advise you to try the Dragon's Breath at the tavern, and you'll get 2 points. Don't worry about all that other stuff you can ask him about, he doesn't tell you a whole lot. Just follow my directions, and you'll be fine!

You are now outside the Healer's hut! A very important place to remember. Go over to the door and knock on door to be let inside. You can ask the healer about the following things: name, potions, healing potion, vigor potion, stamina, magic potion, magic, undead unguent, zombies, spirits, baron, baron's son, baron's daughter, brigands, farmer, bird, ring, reward, spell components, cheetaur claws, troll beard, mushrooms, fairy ring, fairies, flowers, Erana's peace, flask, herbs, Dryad, dispel potion, mandrake root, green fur, magic acorn. You'll get 2 points for talking to her about any one of these subjects. Some of these subjects are things you won't encounter until later, but I thought it best to just list every possible topic now to keep things organized. In any case, you'll learn about the potions the Healer sells and their price, as well as the spell components the Healer will pay for: Cheetaur Claws, Troll Beards, Mushrooms from a Fairy Ring and Flowers from Erana's Peace. It would be wise to forget about the first two for now, but the others will be good opportunities for making some money in the early stages of the game. Speaking of which, let's go complete our first quest now by retrieving the Healer's ring for her. Any idea where it is? It's very close by... right outside the Healer's hut, in fact! If you pay close attention to the bird's nest, you may notice a glint in there. That's where it is! There are several options available to you to retrieve it.

There's no problem that can't be solved by throwing rocks at it! So, get rocks to grab a handful of small rocks from the floor, then throw rock at nest! You'll probably miss, but try again until you get it! It's a good way to practice your throwing skill early on, which could come in useful later for softening up monsters by tossing rocks at them from a distance.

If you know Magic, however, the solution is quite simple. Merely cast Fetch to retrieve the nest, and thereby the ring. Using Flame Dart to burn the nest would work as well, but why resort to a needlessly violent approach?

I can see two options here. We could do what the Fighter did and throw rocks at it, but personally I'd prefer not lowering myself to his level. I do advise to get rocks, so you can get in some throwing practice later. But to solve this situation, I'd much rather try to climb tree. It may take some practice, but eventually you'll manage to get to the top of the tree so you can get ring. Oh, and resist the urge to pawn it off to the Thieves' Guild, the Healer'll pay better for it.

Regardless what you decide to do, anyone with a Throwing or Climbing skill may want to take the opportunity to practice them for a bit here. You will lose some of your Stamina, but your major attributes will go up, increasing your chances of survival when you go up against the monsters. Note that you can just throw rock in almost every location to practice Throwing. In whatever way you choose to solve this puzzle, you'll receive 3 points for getting the ring. Now go back to see the Healer and give ring to Healer. You'll get 10 more points, 6 gold coins, 2 healing potions, and 1 kiss from the old crone! Not bad for a first heroic act. Well, aside from that kiss... yuck. Anyway... your score should now be 43, or 45 for Magic Users. Now, let's head back to town.

Onward!