Darkstone Castle is one of the most interesting places on the western side of the DragonSpine and home to some of the more interesting puzzles in the game.
The Pool[]
The pool is the first obstacle one will go through to enter Darkstone Castle. The pool itself has a level 20 barrier, so anyone under level 20 will not be able to gain entry via this route.
The Drawbridge[]
Once you reach the drawbridge, it's usually raised. LOOKing at the drawbridge will reveal a frayed length of rope. In order to get the drawbridge to lower, you will need to PULL ROPE. Shorter races will need to JUMP. Once lowered, head over and PULL LEVER to raise the drawbridge again, but will also raise the white mein portcullis to gain further entry.
The Red Portcullis[]
This portcullis is a tad trickier to open. LOOKing at the red portcullis, you will gain a clue on what you'll need to do. It reads:
- Upon close examination, you can now see that the red mein portcullis is a bizarre portrait of the designer, whose face has been imbedded into the sparkling mein with what appears to be pure gold leaf.
- In blackest ebony, an inscription has been carved along the bottom, which reads: "Enter here at your own peril, and prepare to grovel at the feet of your master!"
You will need to show the "designer" some respect by KNEELing and KISSing the red portcullis. After you do so, you will be inside. The same will need to be done to leave.
The Iron Maiden and the Jackal[]
There aren't any direct ways to traverse into Darkstone's dungeons, so you will need to make use of the iron maiden or the monoliths. The maiden is the most common way to travel in Darkstone, and is highly recommended over the monoliths.
From the red portcullis, head:
SOUTH, GO GATE, GO DOOR, GO PORTCULLIS.
The Jackal[]
First you'll want to make sure the maiden is ready for use (or you can take your chances and just head to the iron maiden. Head NORTH, GO TOWER, GO STAIR and arrive in Sheru's shrine.
On the slab there is a crystal statue that will now need to be toggled with. KNEEL and TOUCH the STATUE, which will cause the smooth mein door to open. When you can move again, go through the door. You have to wait until it closes to set the jackal. LOOK at the jackal and you’ll see five symbols. PUSHing and PULLing the jackal will change the setting.
- Fire - Leads to the 1st level of the dungeon where kiramon spawn.
- Water Leads to the 2nd level of the dungeon in the middle of where banshees and huge mein golems spawn.
- Air - Leads to the 2nd level of the dungeon where banshees and huge mein golems spawn. Going through the trap will lead to the 1st level where kiramon are.
- Earth - Leads to the 3rd level of the dungeon where stone sentinals and banshees spawn.
- Spirit - Leads to the 3rd level of the dungeon where roa'ters spawn.
Once you choose your setting, head to the iron maiden.
The Iron Maiden[]
From Sheru's shrine, head DOWN, OUT, SOUTH, GO TOWER, GO STAIR, GO MAIDEN to enter the iron maiden. Here, you'll need to SEARCH to find the spike and then TURN SPIKE to go to where the jackal is set to.
The Monoliths[]
The monoliths are essentially the way to travel through the castle with ease. It has been stated in the past that Estrion and Siarl used monoliths for transportation after creating the distorted mana storm around the castle. In order to control the monoliths, you will first need to create a sphere.
Creating Spheres[]
The first thing to do is to get a mein shard from a golem. Once you have one, head NORTH (assuming you're where the guide left off after the red portcullis) and GO HALL. Make sure you're on the west side and place the shard into the void there. After the void collapses, grab the glass sphere that it has created. It is time to shape the orb for the correct monoliths.
Sphere Types[]
There are 9 types of sphere you can create (10 counting the glass sphere you just made which is blank).
Sphere types and their locations they go when used in the monoliths.
| - | Rough | Smooth | Polished |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | Outside Darkstone at the Pool | Eastern end of 1st Level Dungeon | Northwestern corner of the Inner Keep (ground level) |
| Grey | Southern end of the 2nd Level Dungeon | Northwestern end of the 2nd Level Dungeon | Middle of the 2nd Level Dungeon |
| Black | Eastern end of the 3rd Level Dungeon | Northeastern end of 3rd Level Dungeon in roa'ter tunnels | In between 3rd Level Dungeon and the Dark Tunnels |
Placing the glass sphere into one of the three fountains starts the process. There are three colors and then three textures. The top fountain creates white spheres, the middle fountain creates grey spheres and the bottom fountain creates black sphere. The fountains will bubble which will indicate one texture cycle. The first cycle is rough, the second is smooth and the third and last is polished. Once you have made the desired sphere, grab it and it's time to use a monolith!
Using the Monoliths[]
Now that you have your sphere, head to one of the monoliths and PUT SPHERE in [TYPE] INDENTATION. There are three types of indentations, top, middle and bottom. White goes in the top, grey in the middle and black in the bottom, like the fountain. To activate the monolith after the sphere is set, you will now need to TAP the correct tube for the color sphere. Short for white, wide for grey and long for black. One nice thing about the monolith is it transports the entire group present (need to be grouped).
Maiden vs. Monoliths[]
As you can already see, the iron maiden is much more simple, but is limited to the locations it can take you, and doesn't support group travel (though people can still follow you). The maiden also will allow you to traverse each dungeon and allow you to get anywhere in Darkstone by foot. The monoliths are very involved and you essentially need 2 spheres if you wish to travel to and from a location. Keep all that in mind!
Voln Tapestry[]
The Tapestry located in the Landing's Order of Voln Monastery can easily grant access into Darkstone castle, bypassing many of these puzzles.