Our first stop was a bandit village near the jetty. The highlight was killing a warrior in full magic armour and a sword of defense:
We flew around until we found the entrance to the Shrine of the Codex. The Guardian laughed maniacally in my head as we approached:
Upon the shrine was a scroll which explained that the Codex of Ultima Wisdom once sat on its pedestal, but now resides in the Void to be observed by both humans and gargoyles.
A single cave led into the mountains and towards our final adventure. The first thing we saw as a giant throne... the sign simply stated "The Throne of The Guardian":
Just below we came across living and sleeping quarters for Fellowship members. They attacked us on sight so we had to take them down. In a room hidden by a tapestry we found a lever that opened the doors to proceed.
We had to complete a level puzzle to obtain a key from a corpse. Whoever she was, she was wearing an ankh - the sign of the virtues. That key opened up an even bigger lever puzzle. After lots of trial and error we opened up some pathways to the north and south. To the north was the den of a dragon with a lot of magical armour as loot. The dragon had a child's body inside its corpse... and there was a sign outside saying "beware of the dragon". On the child's corpse was a Fellowship medallion.
Beyond the dragon's den was an waterway with a scroll that provided us a clue about something called the Throne of Change and 'Virtue' showing me the way.
We continued on avoiding traps. At one point we encountered a paladin wearing full magic armour with a juggernaut hammer - but found ourselves blocked at a door that we didn't have the key for.
There were too many puzzles to cover - lots of teleporters, traps which sprung fire and energy fields, several liches who kept one-shotting me with Death Bolts. And then we came across the Throne of Many Changes.
Sitting on the throne teleports you to one of three locations, but the room directly around the throne looks identical to the others. The first room we came to had a hidden room with a hostile mage. He had magic armour and a key. The hostile mages spell book was on a table and the bookmark was on the Armageddon spell (which ends all life in Britannia... you can actually cast this spell in the game with predictable consequences). There was yet another key in a backpack in a hidden cavern below that.
We sat back on the Throne of Many Changes. Some passages below took us to a teleporter that took us back to a place we had been before. I followed this around in the hopes of returning to the room with the locked door where I killed the paladin. We found it but the key didn't open the door...
We went back to the giant level puzzle and then south this time. We added more to the dozens of Fellowship members we had slain up to this point, and obtained yet another key by a well. After all of this right at the bottom we found the room with the paladin and the well key opened that door! At this point I was completely lost.
We went back to the Throne of Many Changes and tried again. This time on in the third location the throne took us to we found a hidden passage to the northeast. We battled a lich (that kept one hit killing me again, what a broken enemy!). I tried to use Arcadion in the Black Sword to kill the lich but he said the lich was beyond his power to destroy and I should try hacking it to bits or using fire!
Beyond the lich was another throne called the Throne of Virtue. Remembering the clue I found earlier I sat on it until I was struck by lightning, then returned to the Throne of Many Changes. Sitting on the throne took us to a fourth previously inaccessible room.
We fought yet another lich and found a teleporter. Memory told me this was the teleporter which would take us to the final room with the Black Gate, so I got out my bedroll and slept to heal us up and so I could restore my mana.
And then we stepped on the teleporter...
Stop the Avatar! I will come through the Black Gate now. Do NOT let him near!
I decided not to waste time, and opened with the eighth circle spell Mass Death. At the same time we were hit with devastating power which almost killed each and every one of us - but the spell managed to take Hook out. Batlin, seeing Hook was down fled. And with that the Mass Death spell took its full effect and all but Batlin lay strewn across the floor.
The Black Gate lay behind an impenetrable barrier. Noticing the mechanism around it I knew exactly what I do. I placed the tetrahedron, cube, and sphere prisms in the respective slots - leaving the Black Gate exposed.
So, Avatar. The moment of truth has come! You can destroy the Black Gate but you will never return to your beloved Earth, or you can come through now and go home... It is your choice.
And so, my final decision. I could walk through the Black Gate and return to Earth but leave Britannia for The Guardian to lay waste to... or destroy it using Rudyom's wand but be stranded in Britannia forever. It was an easy choice... I aimed the wand an shattered the gate...
No you cannot do that, you must not! Damn you Avatar... Damn you! Avatar, you think you have won? Think again. You are unable to leave Britannia whereas I am free to enter other worlds. Hmmm. Perhaps your puny Earth shall be my next target!
And as the last of The Guardian's maniacal laughter faded out I completed Ultima VII: The Black Gate.
Next up, I will finish with a summary, analyse some aspects of the game, and leave some closing thoughts.
One of the best game experience of my life
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