User manual GAMES PC ULTIMA III

[. . . ] Indeed, Lord British was planning the successor to the Age of Darkness -- the Age of Enlightenment. In this dawn of the new era, Lord British began his plans not only to locate the Avatar, but to insure his agent could protect the Virtues as well as exemplify them. Thus, he chose to guard the three Shrines of the Principles with creatures and traps, for only the Avatar should be able to benefit directly from their powers. Commissioning a slew of mages and engineers, Lord British oversaw the implementation of these foils, along with the construction of the actual Shrines. [. . . ] Judging by what I have seen, these dungeons were excavated to hold the various tests designed to challenge the Avatar, for all three of them can be reached from within the castle walls. In addition to these entrances, the castle houses the Shrine of Principles, in which can be found the actual three Shrines of Truth, Love, and Courage. The smallest island hold nothing of interest, but the middle seems to possess as much of historical importance as its larger sister. The eastern side is almost devoid of plant life, and the sand and rocks indicate this was once a small quarry. Perhaps this is where Astelleron fabricated the legendary stone guardians of the Shrines. Nearby is his shack, also preserved by the air bubble. My exploration has been cursory thus far, but the books I saw in the house indicate an educated individual. There are two caves in the area, as well as a Moongate leading to and from the main island. The east cave exits into the open air; but this area is enchanted, and teleports me to a tunnel leading to a secluded glade. I cannot yet place the recollection, but I am sure the grouping of stones with the tree taking root in the center one, is familiar to me. Perhaps when I have seen more detail I will record my observations, but for now, this sums up my knowledge of the geographical aspects of the island. THE BESTIARY There is little remarkably different about most of the animals on the Isle of Fire. He was staring at one of "his" fellows, who had taken a very bad fall, it seemed. I stole by them and entered the other cave. Passing into a small outside opening, I was teleported into the passage leading to the little glade I had seen earlier. As I spied the rocks and the tree again, I was able to place both. The rocks were denoting the legendary Stone of Castambre, and the tree was none other than its accompanying Tree of Life. Beyond a doubt this was one of Astelleron's sources for powering his awesome golems. I must locate his journals and tomes to read more, but -- if my memory serves -- the Tree of Life likely supplied not only the blood for his magicks, but the "hearts" as well. Later I investigated the other Moongate within the Castle of Fire. I saw more golems here than in either of the two dungeons, and remember seeing at least one man. However, he seemed no more interested in me than I was in him, so we both ignored each other. Peering around a corner, I caught sight of a huge and magnificent dragon -- doubtless the one I encountered earlier. I cannot guess what lay beyond, but her protective nature was probably indicative of its importance. [. . . ] There I will be able to confirm my suspicions. Perhaps, were I to combine the lenses in the alternate manner, I could amplify the effects and bring other objects from the void into being. Then I could. . . CONCLUSION I expect that if thou art perusing these pages then I have already bade the island arise. I hope my guides and warnings are of use to thee. [. . . ]