Classic Games Revisited
Ultima VIII: Pagan Walkthrough
7.11. Hall of the Mountain King
Along the north wall is a set of huge doors, and a small building with a single door. The Avatar can open neither of these, but a golem can. Just south of the double doors, cast Create Golem and target it on the brown muddy patch. Once he is created, instruct him to open both doors, one after the other. The single-door entrance leads to the Pit of Death but we don’t want to go there yet. Enter the Hall of the Mountain King through the double-doors.
There are many hazards on this map. Save often.
Go north and keep going that way past the golem and pit, jump across another pit and proceed further until you reach a run-down building, avoiding the dangers along the way—there are explosive fire traps as well as fragile ground that can give way under you, plunging you to your death.
Between the two lamp posts is a lever you need to activate. To its right is a low portion of the wall. Climb up it and into the building, and activate the lever next to the winch. As soon as you do this, three ghouls will rise up to attack you so be prepared.
Return south to the golem and this time go west past the pedestal with the Earth symbol that looks like F. Go northwest to come upon a chasm going west. The levers in the previous location activated a disappearing bridge across it. Wait for it to appear and run across, past another golem until you come upon yet another chasm with floating platforms.
On the patched version, these platforms remain in place, making it extremely easy to hop across. In the unpatched version, they constantly move and you will probably need to save/reload many times to time your jumps perfectly—you could spend a good half hour or more here! With a lot of patience and precision, it is possible.
Once across, your next challenge is disappearing floating platforms initially going north and then west. Ignore or kill the golem. The biggest danger is a platform disappearing under you otherwise these jumps are fairly easy, even in the unpatched version. The floating stones do not disappear so use them to save. Do not save while standing on a disappearing platform; if timed badly, it could spell disaster. Keep in mind that the last platform appears just as the one before it is about to disappear. If you miss it, you could safely make it to the bottom of the chasm, but I haven’t found a way to climb back up.
Go north, ignoring the door to the west (if it comes into your vision), until you come upon some blue mushrooms, a skeleton and a scroll.
7.11.1. Force Field Maze
This is a large maze that zaps you (or anything) that attempts to cross between certain pillars with blue force fields. There is only one route to get to the northern end of the room unharmed.
One strategy is to become immune to harm (potion of invulnerability or Rock Flesh) and run across. Another strategy is to determine the safest route by throwing mushrooms across each pair of pillars. If it’s a trap, the mushroom will get zapped (this will not work if you have Hackmover on). I will attempt to describe the safest route here but it may end up being quite cryptic if you don’t have a map. If you are finding your way through the maze unprotected, take short steps, and stop and assess after crossing each pair of pillars.
First, take a few steps east and go north between the two stalagmites. East between the two closely-placed pillars all the way to the wall, even if you cannot see yourself. Go north, hugging the wall, past two pillars (the second pillar is next to a stalagmite). Go west through the narrow gap, to the west of the three pillars placed close to each other. North through the narrow space past the second pillar. West to the scroll. North past three pillars. East between the closely-placed pillars. North just beyond the next pillar. East through the very narrow passage up to the eastern stalagmite. South, east, north and west around this stalagmite, past the two right-most pillars. North to stand in the center of the three closely-placed pillars next to a stalagmite. East, north and west around the pillar with the green mushroom, beyond the stalagmite you were just standing next to.
North past one pillar, east past the same pillar and north to combat a ghoul. Immediately east of the ghoul and north through the narrow space, and immediately northwest through the wider space. You’ve reached the end of the maze. Approach the chest from the right to avoid a falling stalactite. Acquire the key from the chest, as well as a blue field passage gem (called gem of protection in the unpatched game). This gem will let you walk through the maze unmolested.
7.11.2. Onward to Lithos
Return south all the way to the door we passed earlier and go west through it. Close the door behind you if you left the golem and kith alive. Follow the passage west, south and west, climbing up and jumping off a high ledge on the way until you reach an open space littered with red mushrooms. Heading north from here will bring you to a body of water with disappearing stepping stones. Jump across the stones to the other side.
Keep going north past a western alcove until you come upon a tall stalagmite. Take the narrow passage leading west of here. The room you will emerge in has several adventurer’s mushrooms (the ones with the green spots) that you can munch on to heal yourself. In the southwest corner of the room is a chest with a few useful potions in it. More importantly, you need the key hidden behind one of the red potions. There are blue force fields in this room but you will not be affected by them because you are carrying the gem that negates their effect.
Return east through the narrow passage, go north, and take a similar narrow passage going west. Once you reach open space, go north, jump across the water, and through the locked door. Run west to avoid the many falling stalactites until you reach a pool of water to the south. The floating platforms here disappear in the unpatched game, but you don’t need to use them at all in either version. Carefully walk to the southwestern tip of the landmass as far as you can (until the Avatar is flailing his arms) and jump while pointing west-southwest. He will jump to what appears to be water but is a shallow spot where you won’t die (but save first). Jump west to the solid landmass.
Go north and then northwest past the rows of skeletons and ghouls, and Lithos will speak to you. Leave this chamber the way you came. From the pool of water, go south, west, and immediately turn south. At the end of the passage you will come upon the Hall of the Mountain King waypoint to the west. Make sure it Is activated, then recall yourself to Central Tenebrae (or the Plateau if you wish to buy Meteor Shower).
Just north and west of the waypoint is a platform with the Earth symbol (F). Stepping on it will transport you to a similar platform at the beginning of this map.