The Wizard of the Spheres

The Wizard of the Spheres
◄Eamon adventure #123►
Author	Marc Elkin
Released	January 1987
Revised	2 July 1993
EAG number	123
EDX number	15-10
EDX set	Classic Eamon Adventures, Vol. 3
Native format	Apple DOS 3.3

The Wizard of the Spheres is an Eamon adventure written by Marc Elkin and released in January 1987, notable for its unique speech sound effects.

Premise

From the adventure's introduction:

Something is wrong with Hokas. You watch him as he walks across the Main Hall toward you with his eyes looking at the floor.

Hokas starts to speak: "My brother Pokas has been captured by the Wizard of the Spheres and none of the adventurers here are willing to risk saving him. Will you help?"

After thinking about the possible reward you say yes.

"Good," says Hokas as he begins to smile. "The Wizard of the Spheres is very powerful and has never been defeated. All the spells I have taught you will be useless against him."

You wonder what you may have gotten yourself into. Hokas continues, "The wizard's power is contained in the many spheres which are stored in his lair. Destroy the correct ones and he will be helpless ."

Hokas says some magic words and you are transported to the lair of the Wizard of the Spheres...

Walkthrough

The wizard's underground lair is easy to traverse and consists of 51 rooms with no hidden exits and just one locked door. Other than the wizard himself it's populated only by a variety of spheres, both living and inanimate; the most common are red, white, and blue spheres which act as guards, and gold spheres which are treasure. Avoid picking up the remains of defeated spheres: some will cause you to drop all of your possessions.

Map by Huw Williams, 2021

First level

1. From the starting room head east down the tunnel and collect the gold sphere.
2. At the first T-intersection fight the red sphere.
3. Take the north tunnel, then follow it as it bends west (where another red sphere waits) and then south into a large round chamber.
4. Go to the south end of the round chamber and you'll find a black sphere; it speaks, revealing that it's the prisoner you seek. Destroy the white sphere guarding it and the black sphere will accompany you.
5. Return to the intersection.
6. Go east to the next T-intersection.
7. Take the south tunnel to a dimly lit chamber; defeat the red sphere and take the crystal orb.
8. Return to the intersection and continue north.
9. The tunnel ends below a vertical shaft, but if you ask the black sphere to help me up it will give you a lift to the top. (Once there, don't attempt to go back down or you'll suffer a fatal fall!)

Second level

1. Go east, fight the small red sphere, then follow the tunnel south, collecting another gold ball along the way.
2. The tunnel turns east; follow it to the first T-intersection.
3. Take the south tunnel which bends west, then south to another T-intersection.
4. Check out the smoky chamber to the west and defeat the white sphere. (The original entrance closes behind you, but you can exit by continuing west.)
5. Take the tunnel east and then north to another T-intersection.
6. Follow the west tunnel which bends south and ends in the Sphere Repository, guarded by a white sphere. If attempt to get the silver sphere, it will dissolve in your hands and heal all your wounds.
7. Return to the last intersection and go north to the next one, again guarded by a white sphere.
8. Continue north and you'll find a locked door in the west wall with a crystal receptacle. Put the crystal sphere you collected earlier into the slot and the door will open.
9. Enter the west chamber and find a tunnel leading down.

Final rooms

1. Go east, fight the blue sphere, and come to a T-intersection. Both the north and south tunnels circle around to the same place, so pick one and follow it.
2. Defeat the large blue sphere guarding the tunnel and continue on.
3. You'll enter a room that descends down a shaft, leaving you with just one exit east.
4. The east chamber is occupied by the Wizard of the Spheres himself and a blue sphere guard, plus yellow, purple, and green inanimate spheres. You can't defeat the wizard in standard combat, but if you destroy the green sphere (which glows ever more intensely) it will break his power and he'll dissolve into mist.
5. Pokas appears from the obsidian sphere, thanks you for rescuing him, and magically teleports you both back to the Main Hall.

Speech effects

Elkin created eleven speech files that play at key points in the adventure:

File	Speaker	Audio	Text
Voice1	Obsidian sphere		"Adventurer, help me!"
Voice2	Obsidian sphere		"I have been imprisoned inside this sphere."
Voice3	Obsidian sphere		"The white sphere is guarding me. Destroy it!"
Voice4	Obsidian sphere		"You must help me find the wizard that put me here."
Voice5	Obsidian sphere		"Only when he is destroyed may I escape."
Voice6	Obsidian sphere		"I will carry you to the top. Hold on!"
Voice7	Pokas Tokas		"Thank you, adventurer. You have rescued me from the wizard!"
Voice8	Wizard of the Spheres		"You have made it this far, adventurer, but you shall not leave here alive!"
Voice9	Wizard of the Spheres		"You cannot destroy me, adventurer!"
Voice10	Wizard of the Spheres		"You have failed, adventurer! Ha ha ha!"
Voice11	Wizard of the Spheres		"You have destroyed my power!"

Trivia

• Pokas Tokas reappears in Frank Black's adventure Fiends of Eamon, being held captive in a cell by the Clone Master.

External links

• Eamon Adventurer's Guild Library Master List
• The Interactive Fiction Database: The Wizard of the Spheres
• Interactive Fiction Reviews: The Wizard of the Spheres