Compassion

You've escaped to the safety of the Castle of Lord British. But upon your arrival, you find out that things aren't all pristine in Britain either. It seems that the people of Britain have had their views of Compassion twisted. Their logic seems perfectly sound to them, and in a twisted sort of way, it does make sense. But looking into the problems more, you see that there is definitely something wrong with the city. You begin by asking around the town to try and learn more...

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Britain Castle

• Hennington tells you that Lord British needs to speak to you immediately. Go through the door near him into the Throne Room.

• Lord British tells you of the Giant Columns emanating evil, sickness and strife in the land, and people being discontent with his rule as King. When you agree to help him, he tells you to head to the Dungeon Despise to the NE. Ask for more detailed instructions and he gives you a map. He also tells you that a room was prepared for you upstairs.

• Speaking to the Gargoyle hovering by Lord British gives you information on another problem in the land. Someone has stolen the Gargoyles Codex Lens, and now the Codex of Ultimate Wisdom can no longer be consulted. He also tells you the Gargoyles are now looking down upon humans, and have built a Dome in Ambrosia.
  

• Go up the stairs. There's a lady there that informs you that she can help you if you have questions about music. Your room is the one on the West side. There are books and potions found all around your room. There is a map of Britain city on your bed. This one of two places I recommend for the storing of your items. I'll mention the other when I get to it in the Walkthrough.
  

• Lord British's Study is on the East side. Reading the books, you find out that if you play the song Stones, you can open Lord British's sandalwood box. Through the door in the Study is his bedroom. There are some leather arms and some gold in a chest to the north. Clicking on the mirror on the wall shows a scene of destruction in Britannia. After you view this, the mirror shatters, and you gain some karma for breaking it.

• If you stand on the teleporter, you're taken to the castle's Magic Room. Laurana will give you advice on Mana and tell you that you can learn how to Bind spells to your spellbook. Unfortunately, she doesn't remember how. There are reagents and potions all over this room. A Binding Pentagram and an Alchemy Lab are also here. The fountains along the back wall are also special. The left one restores Mana, and the right one restores Health. This room is a good place to store reagents and scrolls until you can use them to bind spells. The Alchemy Lab can be used to make Potions. Out on the balcony, there is a telescope that looks at the Moons by night and the city by day and 8 crystal balls that show you visions of other places. (If you'd like to see which places the crystal balls show, click on the second picture below. I also have a picture of where and how I store my reagents and spells here.)
  

• Back out in the room with the fountain you started in, there are some other rooms to visit. The west room is home to the Royal Weapons Trainer. The man in the red & white stripes, Keller, is the trainer, and for 300 gold he will teach you the level 2 short sword special move; if you have the Dexterity, that is. If you speak to him, he mentions a Blacksmith in Trinsic that can work with Blackrock. There is a secret door behind the other knight in this room that leads to a few gold coins. There is a teleporter behind a gate in this room that takes you down to the Castle Prison. There's a secret door along the wall across from the guard. It just has more food. Down at the end of the prison, there's a bit of a nutty guy that thinks he's both Lord British and Shamino. (For those of you who haven't followed the Ultima Saga this nut is in fact Richard Garriot, co-founder of Origin Systems Inc. Mr. Garriot left OSI March '00 to pursue his own interests. Lord British is his alter ego with Origin Systems and Shamino is one of his old fictional characters from his pen & paper RPG times. And yes, that's pretty much what he looks like IRL, and it is his voice, too :)
  

• The room to the east of the fountain is the Dining Room. A lady here tells you more about the problems in Britain and offers you a bit of advice. She tells you that food will heal you a little bit at a time with each bite. There are also some secret doors in here too that lead to more food. The secret door to the NE leads to a very helpful spell: Light Heal. There's also a lighting scroll in a crate back here if you smash it. If you light the candle on the big table with the Ignite spell, a feast will appear for you to enjoy.
  

Britain City

Map of Britain - Numbers in parentheses refer to numbers on Map

• Head out the large doors to the south and out into the large, open world of Britannia. You'll see to the left a large house. This is the Britain Mayor's House (2). If you enter here, you'll meet the rather rude mayor's assistant, Killigan. He'll tell you how the citizens of Britain have resorted to sending the sick of Britain to Paws to "solve" their problems. In a chest in his room you'll find some gold and an Infernal Armor Scroll. Upstairs you'll meet the Mayor's Daughter, Maribeth, who seems to be a bit enamored of you. She'll tell you about the Tapestry of Ages in the city's museum. She also seems to be a bit sick, but won't admit to it. More gold can be found if you rummage through the house. (some hero you are! ;)

• On the west side of the Castle, you will find the Hedgemaze (3). It's infested with rats and has gold and potions lying around its passages. If you can make your way to the center, you'll find the Flaming Sword. Take it with you. It will give you a serious upper hand early on in the game.
  

• Back to the Castle's front door, head south through the gate. You'll hear a passing citizen mumble something. Confront him and you'll learn more about what the people of Britain are doing to their sick and impaired.
  

• Take the first crossroads west and you'll come to another citizen in blue robes named Altomar. He is a mage and he'll inform you about how, once again, magic has gone awry in Britannia. This time, though, it's completely stopped working. The shop he's hanging around in front of is Nicodemus' Mage Shop (6). Altomar says Nico went off to Cove to help his brother, but he hasn't been seen since. His shop is closed until you can get in contact with him. He'll also teach you how to perform the Ritual of Binding. Until you find out what's wrong with the land's magic, though, no one is able to Bind spells to their spellbooks.
  

• BEWARE!!!! There is a bridge to the Northwest of the Mage Shop. If you go too far along the road across this bridge there is a Dragon. You are in no shape to be facing one of these great beasts yet!

• Heading south of the Mage shop, you'll see a large Cathedral. Approach it and a distraught woman named Flann will tell you she is in dire need of some Serpentwyne to help her family. Perhaps someone in the Cathedral. Upon entry, you'll find a priest at the alter. He informs you that this is in fact the Cathedral of Love (7). Empath Abbey, the original house of the Candle of Love, was destroyed during the catastrophe of the columns. This new place was built, but the Candle of Love is nowhere to be found. The ruins of the Abbey can be found somewhere in the Serpent's Spine Mountains. In the distillery behind the alter can be found a priestess. She is the one in charge of making Serpentwyne. More bad news. Someone posing as a priest by the name of Aria has made off with the Silver Serpent which made the venom required to make the healing liquid. You learn that the raw venom is actually an addictive drug. She tells you that Aria may have been a pirate, and that you should keep an eye out for any places that may have an abundant amount of venom available. A bottle of Serpentwyne can be found in a table in here. You can give this to Flann outside for a Karma boost. A purple button in the first south room opens a floor hatch in the second northern room. This hatch contains an Ethereal Sight scroll and an iron key. A silver key on the table in the back room unlocks the second southern door. There's more Serpentwyne in here, and the iron key you found unlocks the small chest which contains some Serpent Venom.

• You'll find a Well (8) outside the Cathedral. There are a few coins on the bench next to it. Drop a coin in the well and you'll be rewarded with a Glass Sword. This only works once. You can take the remaining coins for yourself.

• South of the Cathedral is the Cemetery (9). The mortician may be hanging around either here or in the Tavern. Clicking on the gravestone with a skull on it will cause a skeleton to appear. Skeletons are a bit of a challenge for you at the moment, so saving this baddie for later would be a good idea.

• East of the Well you'll see a gathering at the Gazebo (10). Approach and listen to the speech from the Town Mayor to learn more about the situation in Britain. Once the crowd disperses, approach the Mayor and learn about Britain's new policies. (Advice: Stay away from the lady with the broom from now until the end of the game. Every time you come close to her she has an annoying fit about kicking up dirt.)

• North of the Gazebo, you'll see a shop with a red gem for a sign post. This is the Gem Cutter (11). You can sell all gems you find here for much needed gold. Also, this shop is a required stop for a side-quest later. The small shop south of the Gem Shop is the Provisioner (12). The long building to the Southwest of the Gazebo is the Tavern (13).
  

• The large white building to the East of the Gem Cutter is the Museum (14). Enter, go through the small anteroom, and enter the large showroom. The other door in the anteroom leads to another small room and the stairs. Along the back wall is the Tapestry of Ages. Colored switches below the Tapestry will tell you the story of each of the pictures on it. Display cases around the showroom contain many items from Britannia's history all the way back to Ultima 1. Clicking the switches on the display cases will change the items in case. E"X"amine the gold plaques to see what the items are. The lady in blue wandering around in the showroom is the Curator. She tells you about how the Runes of Virtue were stolen a while back and about how they can actually be used to hurt the world of Britannia if placed in the wrong hands. Go upstairs and you'll find the broken display cases where the Runes used to be held.
  

• If you leave the Museum and walk around the east side of it, you'll find an odd little fellow by the name of Eividious (15) hiding out in a shack. He claims to be the Avatar's biggest fan and asks you not to tell anyone else about him hiding out. Rather handsome fellow!
  

• South of the Museum you'll find a man by the name of Nimrond wandering around gathering up the poor and wretched of Britain. Talk to him and you'll find out that he really can't stand what he's doing. You'll also find out that Killigan is the who is responsible for getting food and medicine to Paws, but has been lacking in his responsibilities. Nimrond has taken it upon himself to get supplies to Paws. The Warehouse (16) next to him is infested with rats. Clear them out and climb up the crates to the 2nd floor walkway. Smash the crate in the East corner to get some Leather Leggings. South of him is the Britain Docks (17). The dock worker, Peiter, tells you that you'll need a ship to see the world. He says you'll need a ship's captain and mentions a girl named Raven.
  

• West of the Dock Warehouse, you'll find the town Blacksmith (18). He also mentions that there is a smith in Trinsic that can craft Blackrock. Inside, the shop owner mentions that some adventurers came through earlier and headed off to Despise. She asks you that if you come across them, dead or alive, that she'd like her armor back. Some Compassion! You may also notice that when you talk to her, she may put down a book she is reading. If she's not reading it, it'll be sitting on her counter. Before she picks it back up, quickly click on it to read it. You'll find in it a listing of Magic Armor. All of the pieces mentioned in this book can be found somewhere in the game!

• East of the Blacksmith is the Bowyer (19). He can train you in the level 2 Bow technique, if you have the Dexterity, for 300 gold. You can also get a free Long Bow if you sneak around a bit. Head upstairs and look in the Bowyer's armoire and you'll find a key hidden under some clothes. This key opens a small box next to his bed where you'll find another key. Head back downstairs and look behind the counter. Open the containers, with your new-found key in your possession, and one will contain a free Long Bow.

• On the road south of the Blacksmith and Bowyer, you'll find a man wandering around begging. It seems he's about to be kicked out of Britain unless he can pay his "donation" to the local Cathedral. If you give him 10 gold, you'll get a karma point. Even though you can keep giving him money, you'll only gain karma the first time.

Shrine

• Now that you're done exploring the inner city, head out the East Gate. To the North, just outside the gate, you'll find a Guard House (20). There are some weapons and a shield here. This is the second place I recommend for keeping items stored. You'll be going in and out of this gate often, so it's an easy storage place. The guard doesn't seem to be using it, so it should be put to some use. ;)
  

• Across the bridge you'll find a kindly woman by the name of Sarah. She is the Shrine Keeper. She will tell you more about the corruption of Britain's people, and recommends that you go visit the Shrine. You being the Avatar, she believes, will cause the Shrine to tell what's wrong with Virtue in the land. She also teaches you the Mantra of Compassion, MU, which she suggests you chant at the Shrine.
  

• Before you head to the shrine, you'll see what appears to be a glowing ball (I believe it's supposed to be a Wisp, but they're never mentioned in this game). Follow it and it will lead you to a small cave (22) infested with some spiders. Dispatch them and treat yourself to a bit of hidden treasure.
  

• Head east of this cave and you'll come to a Lighthouse. North of the lighthouse, behind a bunch of trees, you'll also find the Britain Moongate. Unfortunately, they're not working at the moment. Head into the lighthouse and speak to the Keeper, Hans. He'll tell you about a lost shipment of special gems that were meant to go in the 3 Lighthouses around Britannia. He tells you that a certain one is needed for each town's lighthouse, and that they need to be polished before they can be placed in the stand. Ruby for Buccaneer's Den, Emerald for Moonglow, and Sapphire for Trinsic. He has no idea where the gems are, so you'll have to keep your eye out for them in your wanderings.
  

• Back at the crossroads (21) just after the bridge, head East and the trail will eventually lead into the mountains. On your way up, you'll come across a talking Statue. The voice actually belongs to your good friend Shamino! He was attempting a spiritual journey to see if he could find out what was wrong with Britannia, and was trapped in the Spirit World by the Guardian. He's learned that the Columns are the things that are making the citizens of the world view the Virtues in twisted ways. He leaves you saying that he will attempt to contact you again later via other Stones of Spirituality.

• Continue following the path, and you'll come upon the corrupted Shrine of Compassion. Click on the shrine and enter the Mantra. You learn that the Sigil of Compassion, possessed by the Mayor, and the Rune of Compassion are both needed to Cleanse the Shrine and restore proper Compassion to the city of Britain.

• If you return and speak with the Mayor at this time, he will deny all knowledge of the Sigil's whereabouts.

• With this in mind, you head off to the Dungeon Despise in search of more answers...