RAVENSKULL
Solution to Levels 1 & 2Level One
To begin the game you take the green and blue key just to the left of your starting position, and travel anti-clockwise around the outer wall of the castle until you come to the spiked gate on the extreme left-hand side: That is the main entrance. Make sure that you are standing just in front of the gate, and use the key to open the top section. Drop the key and go in.
Go south, down the screen, take the pickaxe and return to the main entrance. Head north and explore the area, making sure that you pick up the scroll and all the treasure. Use the scroll straight away, then abandon it. It opens the back door to the castle - next to where you found the pickaxe - so that you can get back into the castle if you are unfortunate enough to get killed.
Go north at the crossroads until you can see the Ravenbee buzzing backwards and forwards. Wait south of it until it has just passed you, then follow it and duck into the little alcove. Run out as soon as it has passed you again and make your way to the extreme northwest corner of the castle.
Take great care not to fall into the acid pools one careless step and you will be thrown back outside the castle. Take the green-magenta key in the northwest corner and collect the three pieces of treasure from the far end of that passage, then return to the main entrance.
Go to the east and you'll come to another crossroad with a roundabout in the middle. The other three exits are blocked by spiked gates. Go north and use the green-magenta key to open the gate. Drop this key, because it can be used only once. Move north, not forgetting to collect the lone treasure, until you come to the four gates. Enter the first on the east, pick up the scroll and use it. Do not go north, or the second door on the east will close, blocking off your only means of returning.
When you use the scroll you will be transported to the southeast corner of the castle. Drop it where you reappear, then take the pickaxe that is at the end of the passage to the west. Make your way north, collecting all the treasures, until you eventually come out through the door north of the one through which you found the second scroll.
Do not go straight west, but go south one pace so that you are standing in front of the wall between the two western rooms. Use both pickaxes to dig out this wall so that you can get into either room - and back out again - without going through the doors. Go into the more northern of the two rooms, take the treasure and the magenta-blue key and drop both pickaxes.
Go back south to the roundabout and use the magenta/blue key to open the southern gate. Do not go south just yet because collecting the treasure there will cause a spiked gate to appear immediately to the east, blocking off a large section of the game.
Instead, clear all the treasure from the eastern and western passages. When you get to the southern end of the passages down the western side - just north of the Ravenbee - wait as before, then follow the Ravenbee and go north when you come to the second break in the wall.
Collect the treasure, move to the southwest corner of the castle and collect the scroll. Do NOT use it yet, but go back to the east avoiding the Ravenbee and duck north through the entrance surrounded by acid pools - the one you bypassed on the way in. Collect the treasure and return to the roundabout.
Stand in front of the eastern gate and open it with the scroll. Beware - this gate reappears as soon as you have gone through. Collect all the treasure and the pickaxe before going south: Make absolutely certain that you have got everything because two boulders slam together as you pass, blocking off your retreat.
Pick up the two pieces of treasure from the room with the two Ravenbees. Take great care - it's not easy. Walk around this room, not forgetting the treasure until, you come to the western side of the Ravenbee room. The coffins in the room to the south will do you no harm - they're just a bit unnerving.
Go north and take the first turning to the east. Do not go straight north, because the two spiked gates will move to block off both the eastern entrance and the way back. Pick up the scroll and drop it behind you. Do not use it - it's a trap and will kill you instantly.
Follow this path to its conclusion, then use the pickaxe to take out the section of wall immediately north of you. Go through and drop the pickaxe, then pick up the treasure and the second green/blue key.
Go through the spiked doors and collect the treasure in front of you. This will cause another spiked door to appear behind you, but don't worry - you've completed that section. Go south and pick up the last two pieces of treasure, then return to the roundabout.
Head north and duck into the first room you come to - just before the four with the slamming doors. Use the key to open the door, go through and pick up the first piece of the crucifix. You have now completed level 1 of Ravenskull.
If when attempting to pick up the crucifix you get the message Treasure?, it means that somewhere along the way you have missed one or more of the pieces. Unfortunately, this almost certainly means that you will have to start the assault on Castle Ravenskull all over again.
Level Two
Part One
From the start go north and immediately west at the crossroads into the room that you can see to your west when in your start Position. Collect the two treasure pieces from this room, avoiding the lethal spikes.
Leave the room via the other exit and follow the narrow passage north and then west. As you make your way along this corridor you will trigger a gate blocking your exit, but worry not, because you don't need to retrace your steps. Turn south then east.
A piece of treasure and a key will be visible, but ignore them for the moment. Almost at the eastern end of this passage is a treasure piece. Take it - but do not go down the passage that it obstructed.
Instead continue east a couple of steps, and then go south between a pair of spikes to a wooden cask. Go west and take the second exit north. The first is the passage that was previously obstructed by the treasure piece mentioned above.
Don't enter it from this end either. Likewise, don't be tempted by the piece below the wooden cask just yet: It too is protected by a slamming door.
Go west again at the first opportunity, just below the spike. Go as far as you can along this passage, ignoring the gap above the treasure piece - if you enter it you will trigger a spiked star immediately above you so that you cannot escape from this room.
Collect both scrolls from this room, making sure that you pick up the left-hand one first. Leave by the route you came in, and retrace your steps going east and then south.
Approach the treasure piece below the wooden cask until the door has slammed shut behind you, then use and discard the first scroll. It increases your strength, so that you can push the cask out of the way.
Move the cask, go west - following the route you took earlier - and then north to pick up the key and the treasure piece.
Use your remaining scroll to transport you to the south-east corner of this level. Discard the scroll and proceed west, following the passageways.
Now it is largely a matter of careful exploration. The only trap is the gate that closes behind you when you take the Westerly exit north of the room full of man-eating plants.
Make sure that you have picked up the scythe before leaving this area. Go west and you'll find yourself back at the crossroads to the north of your starting point.
Part Two
Unlike the South-west and south-east sections of this level, the north-west and north-east sections are quite independent of each other and in theory can be tackled in any order. Nevertheless, we will first attempt the north-east section.
Proceed north from the crossroads, taking care with the room of spikes, and take the east fork at the T junction. At the end of this passage go north (ignoring the cask between the spikes - we'll come back to that later) and then go east until you reach a small crossroad.
On its right you can see two items of treasure, but it is imperative that you do not go right of this crossroad or a gate will close over the top of the nearer treasure piece, making it impossible to complete the level. Instead go north.
Take the treasure from either end of this passage. If you do not remove the treasure from the alcove at the easternmost end of this passage you will not later be able to move the nearby cask which - at that time - will obstruct further progress.
Now retrace your steps to the above-mentioned crossroad and clear the treasure from the room to the south of the crossroad. Return to the crossroad and go west then south through the wide corridor to the right of the corridor through which you arrived at the crossroad.
As you make your way down this corridor you will see a scroll to the south and a fork to the west. Take the fork.
If you continue south you will cause two blocks to slam together behind you, trapping you with the scroll in a confined space with no means of escape. Instead, go west and skirt around the area of the scroll and remove the piece of treasure below the cask, together with the other two bits of treasure in the vicinity.
Retrace your steps to the piint above the slamming blocks. This time go straight down and take the scroll. Use it immediately - it is another strength scroll - then discard it and leave the room by pushing the cask south.
Now go east avoiding the spikes and use the key that you found in the south west corner to enter the room to the south of this passage.
Take the four treasure re pieces, then discard the key and proceed north, picking up all the treasure as you go. Make sure that you pick up the two pieces from the right-hand side of the oft-mentioned crossroad without activating the slamming door, because you won't get another chance.
Make your way out of the north-eastern passage and leave this mid-eastern area by pushing the cask into the alcove.
Now proceed into the north-east corner of this level, carefully moving the casks to gain access to the treasure pieces and the second key. Now retrace your steps to the cask between the spikes mentioned in the first paragraph of the solution.
Move it out of the way to allow yourself access to a door. Open it with the key retrieved from the cask maze in the northeast section, then discard the key. Return to the T junction mentioned earlier.
Go west then north from the T junction and proceed to the west of this level. Pick up the magic potion that blocks your way, but don't use it yet.
Go south from here and clear the area of the five pieces of treasure, then return to where you found the bottle. Make your way to the north-west corner of the castle, where you will see a piece of treasure guarded by a line of five Ravenbees.
The magic potion will slow them - and you - to a speed at which it is easy, with care, to negotiate your passage and take the treasure. Making your way back past the bees, discard the potion. Going east then south through the maze you may well be getting short of energy, so pick up the fish which will give you a new lease of life - discard it straight away though,
The room of man-eating plants is next, and the scythe will enable you to gain access to the spade. Dropping the scythe; you'll notice a scroll in this area - ignore it. If you don't you'll discover that it's a speed scroll which will make it almost impossible to pass the plants.
This is the time to use the second potion that you can see to the south - it'll restore your speed to normal - then retrace your steps to the T junction.
The eastern route along this east-west passage will lead into the central area where you found yourself at the end of part two by moving a cask and unlocking a door. Now use the spade to clear your way to the second piece of the crucifix. You have now, completed the second level.
This solution originally appeared in the "Micro User", published by Database Publications.
Scanned in by dllm@usa.net
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