Leaving the Seaside Village, we traveled southward into the Plain of Order.

Then we reached Meridell Castle.



At the entrance of the castle stood 2 guards:




Guard Thyet glares at you, but says nothing.


Guard Paniga glares at you, but says nothing.


Countess Haren looks at you, but then shakes her head and says nothing, casting her eyes down toward the floor.


Count Sadath looks at you, as if he is about to speak, but then he glances toward the throne room, and says nothing.

Going further in, I finally found Ramtor:





After only 1 round of fighting:



The throne is empty:




After Ramtor ran away, I went back to the count and countess and they started to talk:

Count Sadath runs his hand through his hair and releases a pent-up sigh of relief. "Well, I can't say I've ever been happier to see a commoner," he says. "I don't know what you did to get rid of that dreadful villain Ramtor, but I'm certainly thankful. We all are, I'm sure."

You say: "What happened here?"

Count Sadath says: "Well, a few weeks ago, Ramtor somehow got the castle guards to take the king prisoner. I suppose he had already cast a spell upon the guards to make them do his bidding. Anyway, I don't know where they took the king. After the king was gone and Ramtor announced that he was now king, we all started to feel unnaturally frightened. Frightened, and... well... sleepy. I suppose it was another spell of Ramtor's, but it seems to have been dispelled by Ramtor's disappearance."

You say: "Where is Ramtor now?"

Count Sadath says: "I'm afraid I don't know. I can't imagine he'll have gone far, if he'll try to take the throne again as I suspect. He may have fled to the west, an area which has long been uninhabited... mostly. It would be easy for him to go about his business there, without much notice."

Countess Haren smiles as you approach. "Oh, you are so heroic! And we are all so grateful for your heroic deeds. That dreadful Ramtor had cast a spell upon us to make us obedient. Thankfully he didn't ask much of us lordly folk; I suppose he had nefarious plans to attend to."

Guard Thyet rubs his eyes. "Oh, I can't believe it! You've defeated Ramtor! Or at least, gotten him away from the castle. I guess his spell was broken when he fled. I hope you can truly defeat him, once and for all, though. At any rate, if you wish, you are welcome to use any of the castle's empty bedrooms to rest for the night. No fee, of course."

You say: "I'd like to rest for the night."

Guard Thyet says: "You'll find the rooms in the southwestern area of the castle. Have a good rest!"

You rest for the night, and wake up refreshed and healthy!

Guard Paniga smiles at you warmly. "Oh, thank you for releasing us from Ramtor's clutches! I don't know how I ever thought I supported him. I suppose it was some spell he had cast upon us."