Spiral Pit

[InfiniteArcanum]

Hello Guys,

 

i recently started replaying Jeff's Avernum series while waiting for Avernum 3 to come out. The undead Spiral pit is present in most games (except 5 and dont know about 3). does the curse ever truly get lifted ?

 

Thanks

[Randomizer]

It gets better, but you keep coming back to it in games 1, 2, 4, and 6. The others don't have you near it.

[Ess-Eschas]

Hello InfiniteArcanum,

 

The answer to this question isn't straightforward, since there are some slightly different statements in several of the games.

 

Spoiler

In Avernum 4, the game states that the original curse was completely dispelled by the party in Avernum 2. Indeed, the original Avernum 2 also implies that the curse is completely dispelled. The undead have not been seen between Avernum 2 and Avernum 4 at all, and the period of the time that elapses between the two games is a long one (around a lifetime). It's long enough for Mertis to start actually building in the Spiral itself. Undead start appearing again in Avernum 4, but this is because of the interference of the vahnatai.

 

In Avernum 6, though, the undead have returned without the vahnatai. It's implied that the curse is always present, and can only be repressed for a period of time. This is done largely successfully by the Avernites during this game – undead almost never leave the Spiral.

 

So, is the curse dispelled, or not? My interpretation is that yes, it has been. The original curse was dispelled by the Avernum 2 party. However, all the dark magic that came with the original curse (such as lots of other people dying, for instance) still lingers. Even though the original, powerful curse is no longer present, there are enough other curses tied up in the place that undead keep spawning. If all of these curses could be removed one by one, the area could be completed cured, but teasing out each individual curse from the tangled web of magic would be a near impossible task for most priests. So it's likely that undead will keep spawning to some extent in the Spiral for a long time.

 

That's a nice dragon, by the way!