Walkthrough for The Valley of Dying Things

The introductory scenario to Blades of Avernum presents you with an enormous
underground school to explore. It’s full of magical creatures, some friendly, most not.
And there is a horrible secret within, slowly poisoning the unsuspecting valley above it.
This walkthrough will frequently refer to maps of the more important dungeon
levels. These maps are at the end of this chapter.

Getting Into the School

Sample Questions: How do I start investigating the problem? Where should I look?
What’s this school people are talking about? How do I get into the school?
You begin the scenario in your room in Fort Talrus. Leave your room and walk
down the corridor to the south. Commander Terrance is in his office in the southwest
corner. Speak with him to learn what’s happening in the valley. If you explore the fort,
you can find some supplies.
Leave Fort Talrus to the north, and travel up to Sweetgrove. Once inside, talk to
Mayor Crouch (she’s in a building in the center of town) to find out about the valley’s
troubles, and then talk to Axel to find out about the old library. You can talk to other
people for side quests and other information.
To enter the school, you need to find a black opening stone. There are three that
can be found. North of the school (to the northeast), you can find a group of kobolds
wandering around. If you speak with them, you can pay to get a stone.
There is a beggar named Kharl in the center of Sweetgrove. If you speak with
him, you can pay for an opening stone.
Finally, Axel suggests you should speak with someone named Avizo. He is in
Fort Talrus, in the room next to where you started. After Axel tells you about Avizo,
Avizo will tell you where his opening stone is. Avizo’s store is in the center of town.
Break in and search the potted plant in the back room.
Now it’s time to start investigating the School of Magery. It’s north of
Sweetgrove. There’s a large mountain up there with four entrances, north, south, east, and
west (to get to the west entrance, walk on the stepping stones over the river). Enter from
one direction and approach the gate. When prompted, choose to insert the stone in the
depression. Leave the school, enter it again from a different direction, and approach the
gate again. This time, when you insert the stone, the gate will open for you.
When you enter, a wisp will float up and communicate with you, but not say
anything interesting. There are monsters and treasure in the side rooms of the top floor.
You can do some hunting before you head down.

The School of Magery - Upper Half

Sample Questions: What do I do in the upper levels of the school? What do I do in the
Holding Cells/Storage areas? How do I help the dragon? How do I pass the blocked wall
at the south end of the Administration level? How do I pass the glowing gates?
The stairway down from the School Entry level is in the center of the level. Go
down to the Visitor’s Quarters (map is in Maps chapter). You will start at A. The west
half of this level is infested with goblins. The east half contains the dangerous Altered
Beast, which starts at B on the map and hunts you if you get too close to its lair. If the
Altered Beast tracks you down and you aren’t strong enough to beat it, flee. It won’t
chase you into the west half of the dungeon.
There are two stairways down on that level, one to the Holding Cells (at C on the
map) and one to the Storage Areas (D on the map). To get to the east half of the level,
there is a secret door at E. Go down to the Storage Level first.
There are several places on the levels to come that have closed, glowing gates.
Ignore them for now. You’ll get the item to open these much later.
Once on the Storage level, walk south down the central corridor until you feel the
presence of Pythras in your mind. Enter the area to the west and find Pythras. Talk to her
about her imprisonment until she asks you to free her. Go back up to the Visitor’s
Quarters and down to the Holding Cells.
The controls to Pythras’ cell are at the east side of the Holding Cells level. Go
climb the stairs to the platform at the east end of the level, and then enter the chamber
there from the south. Sit at the control panel in the northwest corner and, when asked,
enter “Quark.”
Pythras escapes the school by going down to the Administrative level. Go back to
where you met Pythras, and then climb down the stairs at the south end of the long
central corridor.
Administration has been wrecked, but you can still make your way through it
(map is in Maps chapter). For now, fight your way south to A on the map. You can either
fight the queen platebug and her annoying insect spawn, or just flee the area to the south.
There are other things to do here, but first you need to visit the lower half of the school.

The School of Magery - Lower Half

Sample Questions: What can I do about the pollution in the cave below the upper half of
the school? What do I do at the Major Waste Depository? How do I get into the lower
half of the school? How do I reach the stairway down from the Student Quarters? How do
I get into the school library? What can I learn from the Vahnatai? How do I exit the
Experiment Halls to the south? The people of Marralis want a scepter - where is it?
When you leave the Administration level, you will find yourself in a huge cavern
filled with pollution and filth. This is the cause of the Valley’s problem. This huge cavern
has several interesting things in it. There is a tunnel up to the surface to the west, which
will provide a useful shortcut. To the southeast is the Major Waste Repository. You can
explore it a little if you want, but you can’t do anything there yet.
Instead, enter the lower half of the school. You will be in the
Student Quarters
(map is in Maps chapter). The entrance is at the southwest corner of the large cave. You
will meet many hostile gremlins. Kill them. Search the bookshelf at A to get a key.
Return back around to B to unlock the door. There is a nasty undead creature at C. Kill it,
but beware the friends it will summon when it’s weak.
There is a scepter hidden at D on this level, which some people on the surface
want. It can also cure your disease. You might want to keep it - this is very useful later
on.
When you’re through on this floor, go down the stairs at E. (The other stairway
goes to the Lecture Halls. There are monsters and treasure there, but you don’t have to
visit to win the scenario.)
You will be in the School Library. The library is closed off by another glowing
portcullis. You can’t enter it yet. Instead, walk across to the east side of the level, find the
room full of rubble, and go down the cave slope to the east (there are stairs down to the
south, don’t go down them yet).
You will be in the Vahnatai Caverns. Go east until you meet the vahnatai. Talk to
them. In particular, talk to Baia-Tel until he tells you that Zereen has the stone of power
and that some spiders have a useful artifact. Talk to Zereen and ask him to give you the
stone of power. Finally, Baia-Tel will tell you that a bitter person on the surface has a
copy of the instructions to the school controls.
Now that you know that the spiders have something you need, go back up to the
Administration level. The spider caves start at B on the map. Talk to different spiders
until you meet their chief, and ask him where you can find the pretty rock. It will offer it
to you in return for some eggs and give you a password. Talk to the spider at C, tell it the
password, and go north.
The eggs you need are at D on the map. Get several and go back to talk to the
chief spider. Give him the eggs and he will tell you where the Opening Stone is. Walk to
the rubble at E to get it. When you use this stone, all glowing portcullises near you will
open. This will be very useful. Go back down to the Library level.
Use the Opening Stone to open the front gate of the library. Wander around inside
searching. The most interesting room is the one in the northeast corner. There are strong
hints that the golem there wants a textbook.
There are several textbooks in the school. To find one, go back to the Student
Quarters level, enter the meditation cells area, and go through the secret door at F. There
is a textbook in the box. Return to the library, have the character with the book stand on
the rug with no books on it, and drop the book. (There are also textbooks at A and B on
the Experiment halls map.) You will be rewarded with a key.
You now are ready to start ending the Valley’s Curse. First, you need to return to
the surface. Return to the Library level and go down the stairs at the southeast corner of
the level. You will be at C on the Experiment Halls map. There is a shortcut up to the
surface at D.

Ending the Curse

Sample Questions: What do I do at Pangle’s Hut? How do I talk to Pangle? How do I
get to (and through) the School’s control chambers? What do I do at the Major Waste
Depository?
Once on the surface, you need to get the instructions scroll from Pangle.
However, he won’t want to talk to you. Tell him that you want to learn about the School
of Magery, and then that it is occupied by monsters. Question him to learn that he
scavenged some papers from the school. He will sell them to you for 500 coins.
Alternately, he will give them to you if you kill some hydras for him. You can find these
hydras by stepping on the swamp at A on the outdoor map.
When Pangle has what he wants, he will tell you to search the box in his supply
shed. Get the instructions to operate the school control. You’re now ready to solve the
valley’s problem. Go back down to the Experiment Halls level.
Go to E. You can use the key from the library golem to unlock the doors. Then
leave the level to the south. You will be in the caves under the school. Fight your way
through them to the southeast corner, where you find a tower. Enter it.
You will be inside the Control Chamber. Use the Opening Stone to open the
glowing gates and get inside. Find your way through to the control chambers on the east
side (there are several mines on the way, but you can find ways around them). A wisp
will approach, speak with you, and tell you a lot about the situation in the school. There
will be three control rooms. Enter the north one and sit in the chair. The controls to clean
up the waste will be activated. Unfortunately, entering this chamber activated some
guards at the entry to the tower. You will need to fight your way out.
Finally, travel back up to the giant cavern between the Upper and Lower halves of
the school and enter the Major Waste Depository (at the southeast corner of the cave,
there is a map of it in the Maps chapter). Walk through the gates at A, then B, then C,
then D, then E, then F. There are lots of things to fight along the way. Kill the Controls
Defenders and sit in the chair at G. Choose to push the switch and insert the crystal. Run
out of the control room towards the exit, and the vahnatai will teleport you to safety.
Enjoy your victory!