Arena:Escape From Prison

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Contents
Escape from your prison cell to begin your adventure. edit


  • Quest Giver: Ria Silmane at the Imperial Dungeons
  • Location(s): Imperial Dungeons
  • Prerequisite Quest: None
  • Next Quest: Fang Lair
  • Reward: Freedom
your goal, the Shift Gate


[edit] Quick Walkthrough

  1. Listen to your deceased friend's story.
  2. Reach the Shift Gate to escape the prison.
  3. Answer correctly the Shift Gate's question to leave the prison.

[edit] Detailed Walkthrough

[edit] In a Dream

Your starting point: The Imperial Dungeons (click on map for details)

First you see a cutscene in which the ethereal form, Ria Silmane, appears to you in your dream. She will tell you of how she died and how you are now the only person she can send on this quest.

"Do not fear for it is I, Ria Silmane. %name%, listen to me, there are no others left to carry on this fight. You have been left in this cell to die. Jagar Tharn, Imperial Battlemage of Tamriel has taken on the guise of the true Emperor. He does not see you as a threat, being only a minor part of the Imperial Court. In that act of arrogance, he has made his first mistake. Look to the north wall of this cell. You will find a ruby key which will unlock the door. Take it and make your escape. The passages here were once used by Tharn to hide treasures he had stolen from the Emperor's coffers. If you wish, you can gather enough to support yourself away from the Imperial Seat. Be careful, there are many creatures which inhabit the sewers now, vile rats and goblins."

"It is too late for me, for I am already dead. Only my powers as a Sorceress keep me between this life and the next. That power however is waning. Do not succumb to greed or you may find these tunnels to be your final resting place as well. I can still work my magic to a certain extent. If you travel west from this cell, then south, you will find a Shift Gate. It will transport you far enough from the center of the Empire that you should be safe. If you survive these sewers you will see me again. Remember, %name%, Tharn has taken on the guise of the Emperor. No one will gainsay his word for yours. I will come to you again in your dreams, so it is imperative that you rest from time to time. In that way I will be able to communicate with you and lend my aid. You are entering a dangerous arena, my friend, one in which the players are beings beyond your mortal comprehension. I do not envy your role. There is however a power within you as yet untapped. Look for me when you have gained experience in the world. You are my last and best hope."

When the cutscene ends, you will find a ruby key at the far corner of the cell on a raised platform (3,19). Pick it up and use it to open the cell door (4,21).

[edit] Go West, then South

Those were the directions Ria Silmane gave you. As you exit your cell, you will see a pile of loot. Click on the pile. It is a standard treasure pile, one that you will see in nearly every dungeon. It contains a random amount of gold and some random equipment. Before you move on, go into your inventory and equip any weapon that you currently have and are able to use. Here, you can either run for the exit, or explore further. You should explore before venturing out of the dungeon. The only creatures that can be found here are goblins, rats, and a thief if you wait in your cell, but there is quite a lot of loot. You will not be able to return here once you pass through the Shift Gate. If you do want to make a run for it, simply keep going west, then turn south, west, south, west, etc. until you reach the Shift Gate.

[edit] The Shift Gate

As you run down the final long and narrow corridor, you will see a glowing, blue-rimmed Shift Gate. Once you reach it, you will be asked a question. You must get it right to exit the prison and be teleported to a different city. The question will look like this: What is the spellcasting cost of __________? where the blank is filled by a random spell. Originally, you were supposed to look in the Arena Manual that came with the box (back when it did come in a box) to find the correct answer; see the notes for how to access the answers if you downloaded Arena. When you answer it correctly, you will be teleported to a random city somewhere in Tamriel. Congratulations! You have escaped!

You will find yourself in a city in the home province of your character. For example, if you are a wood elf, you will begin your adventure somewhere in Tarlain Heights.

[edit] Notes

  • It is best to rest on the raised platforms (spread throughout the entire dungeon). You will never have random encounters if you rest on any raised surface, no matter how little it is raised, which means you can rest as long as you need without being disturbed. If you rest on the floor, you may be subjected to attack from a random monster.
  • This dungeon is designed to help you level your character before venturing out into the "real" world. Use this chance to get familiar with the game mechanics, as well as get a lot of loot. You should be level four by the time you exit the prison. You should also have a pretty good pile of loot to equip and sell.
  • The Shift Gate teleports you to a random city in the realm based on your chosen race in Tamriel. Note that while you may well in fact emerge from the dungeon into the Imperial City, the guards will not react to you. In fact, in Arena, guards ignore you unless you fail to steal something, fail to successfully pick a lock (or hitting a door with your weapon in attempt to break in), kill an innocent pedestrian, or trespass in a palace.
  • Be careful in water. You will not be able to attack, but the creatures on dry land near you will. As an added nuisance, it takes several seconds to climb out of the water, and if you don't do it right, you'll just end up back in the water. Note that if your stamina bar decreases while you are swimming, you will drown.
  • If you don't have a manual, an online manual is here. If you have the free (downloaded) version of Arena, you can find a brief manual plus the answer to the Shift Gate questions in either of two files unzipped from the download. They'll be in a folder called "docs". You can find the answer in either "Arena106 Setup.html" or "Arena106 Setup.doc". Look for the section called "COPY PROTECTION". The CD version of Arena will not prompt you with a copy protection question when you reach the Shift Gate.
  • It is possible to encounter people down here if you rest on the floor. (Those people will want to kill you, of course.)

[edit] Bugs

  • If you are running the Arena on DosBox v0.72, your game may crash every time you try to leave the starting dungeon. This has been fixed by the Arena Patch.
  • Ria Silmane's second vision to you does not trigger outside the dungeon as she says. It seems to occur after 12 hours or so have passed. If the player spends enough time resting in the dungeons, they may get the first dream involving the Staff of Chaos. This seems to have no noticeable effect on the progression of the main quest, however.
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