Serac Vault I had tried years ago several times to best this dungeon fairly and failed misserable each time.  It wasn't so much that the dungeon maze was so confusing or the monsters over powering.

No the trouble was the *&^$%#^ camping wall licking life drainers!  Many eons ago when UCMing wasn't outlawed this was a favorite site of the life mages without war magic.  They would get on one of the many levels of catwalks or bridges connecting section and drain the life out of monsters below. 

The amount of the campers, their actions and spells made time come to a complete crawl.  NOTE: it was so bad folks on cable and even a deciated T3 line could lag and not be able to compete against the monsters.  Back then they were referred to as wall lickers since they often started in a room against a wall draining monsters in another room or a level below.  Safe from attack yet able to kill.  Eventually the evil devils supporting monsters decided to put a stop to this activity. First they tried puting monsters on the ramps or catwalks so they could reach the wall lickers.  Then the range over which drains were effective was drastically reduced and the amount of wall lickers receded into history almost.

Beind adventureous, I traveled thru the Mines of Arwic to the Old Mines  and then ran to the original portal.

Seemed a lot easier then running down the location of the Heart of Woe duplicated portal.

During the wall licker hay day, about the only option available method of acquiring the frost stone was a sneaky trick.  Back then there was a fair sized rock to the right of the torch cooridor below.

With skill, effort and paitence, it was possible to jump from the rock to the torch.  Then one turned and jumped to the ramp/wallway to their left.   Just eliminating the need to visit/explore 90% of the dungeon.  They were merely a minute away from the final room.  Flip a switch or two make a couple of jumps and the final door was open to plundering.

But eventually that route was termnated when the very same evil devils made the torch out of phase so that it had no physical properties thus you couldn't land on it any longer.  Well at least now with the wall lickers are gone it is possible to actually proceed thru the vault.

The entry room is actually larger then it appears since those wallways from above create archs that seem to break it up into several different rooms.  Moving to the left and forward you will eventually find that there are four cooridors out of the room. 

All of the first three will and can lead to the same spot IF you know your way thru the maze of tunnels. 

From the first use a right had rule and after a ramp you will eventually come to a drop into a huge room. 

From the second cooridor if you go straight ahead ignoring all the left or right cooridors it runs into the same down ramp as the first cooridor bypassing about six or seven monsters.

From the third cooridor, using a left hand rule you get to the same drop quicker via a different ramp and fighting your way thru a lot less monsters. 

The final T-cooridor where the two paths meet up and leave you standing before a huge abyss.

That sure looks a long way DOWN!

Once down at the east end is a huge colum.  Which is blocking the view of an exit cooridor and several lichs.

Now, you will have a long, long nowhere else to go but foward cooridor to travel thru.  Of course it has several groups of lichs and undead just waiting to greet you. But eventually after three or four ramps you break out onto a wallway over the big room below.

Now this continues on back into the rock and back over the room for a total of three times before dead ending at an East-West walkway over the room below to the North.

At first it seems like a really tricky jump.  Just how much jump power to reach the catwalk yet not fly over?  Well why jump to the cooridor where it is all too easy to fly over?  So I positioned myself on the right edge of the ledge and turned to the left facing the opening in the rock face to the west that the catwalk enters.  Now a short tap-jump and i slammed into the cooridor and landed safely.  Bruised but safely on the walkway and not in the entry room below.

View to the right (or east) from the ledge.

Heading into the rock face or going west I followed the walkway round to a T-intersection.  Didn't take long to realize the right cooridor, north, didn't lead anywhere useful, so I retraced my steps back here and continued on to the west.  After another two walkway ramps and traveling thru some more rock I was at another ledge edge to the east of a north-south walkway.  With if you look closely three more walkways further to the west.

Using the same technique as the last jump to/on a catway I positioned myself to the right of the ledge and jumped south to the cooridor into the rock.

Decision time North or South?  In a coin toss north won and very quickly I was standing on an edge looking at two small platforms to my right with lever. 

And a much larger ledge to my left in the west.

Being foolish and without investigating the south I leaped for the platform and bounced off/over and landed far below.  Note to self explore South first next time.

Would seem that the south path ends in a grate that can't be opened from here.

So back to the north and this time using a bit more intelligence I leaped to the ledge to the west.  Much safer landing.  Of course the door can't be opened and the grate to the north of the southern passage can't be accessed from here.  Hmm that leaves the original lever I attempted to jump to first.  However, jumping from the west ledge to the small platform is much easier as you slam into the east wall and land on the platform if you lined up correctly.  Flipping the lever and turning I heard a grate open must have been the south one.

So I lined up and made a tap-jump back to the corridor.  A long run south then back north and I was soon between the two grates and able to access the switchs.  One opens/closes the grate to the south and the other opened the door to the north on the ledge.

Back to the south, run north and leap back on the ledge to greet the revants guarding the now open door.  Where in the distant back you can see the Major Shivering stone.

I've recently discovered that the old 60 hour time on stone pick up was reduced to a mere one hour.

Ag Nar