E1M2: Town of Akanoss (Masters of Chaos)

E1M2: Town of Akanoss is the second map in episode The Dark Tower of Masters of Chaos. It was designed by Caleb26 and uses the Hexen music track "Sixate".

Hedge maze and blue key
You begin in the center of a hedge maze. Turn round and head forward to the gap in the hedge, then turn left as soon as you are through it to find a barred passage. Now turn round and go straight forward, then turn right, left, left again, right and then straight forward to an Ethereal Crossbow, then turn right and follow the path to a switch. Press it and backtrack through the maze, until you reach the gap in the hedge. Go straight ahead (east) through the bars which have now lowered.

Follow the path, killing the undead warrior that blocks your way, to a small area with a fountain, then go south to enter another section of the maze. Follow the passage left, left and left again, go past an opening in the hedge, then turn right and right again to enter an open rectangular area with a Quartz Flask. Go through the hedge to the north then turn right, straight forward and left to leave the maze.

You will be in an area with a large fountain, with the yellow key on top of a tall column. Head east past the fountain into an overhanging area with pillars and look left to see some stairs going up. Go up the steps, turn left and climb up another staircase, then open the door at the top. Go through and follow the passage round to the blue key. The wall on your left will lower to reveal a number of gargoyles.

Yellow key
Leave the blue key room and go down the staircase, then go straight forward to drop off the ledge. Turn left and left again to go round the building you were just in, and head forward to an area with many wooden barrels. When you reach the wall, turn left and go through more barrels to a staircase. Climb the stairs and open the door at the top flanked by blue key gizmos.

Turn right and go forward through a wooden doorway with torches on either side. Turn left here to see a set of steps going up and follow these round the corner. At the top, turn left and go through the sloped archway, then turn left again and open the door at the end of the passage. The room behind it is lined with bookcases and has five dead-ends on its west side - go through the second dead-end from the right and press the switch at the end.

Leave the room and head back through the sloped archway you passed under earlier. Go forward (east) through another archway and through the open door behind it. Turn right, approach the grated windows and press the switch on your east, which will open a door outside. A wall behind you will lower to reveal two to four sabreclaws; destroy them and return to the blue door.

Go back outside, down the steps and forward between the barrels. Look right to see a stone wall with stained glass windows; the door you opened earlier is here. Go through to a room with a red floor, guarded by nitrogolems and undead warriors. Follow the red floor to an altar and turn right, then step forward and look right to a set of steps leading to a panelled stone wall. Open the wall and go through to a room with gargoyles.

Look left and go through a small doorway to a chamber with a marble slab. Press the switch hidden on the north side of the slab to open a door in the previous room. Go back there and climb the steps to a ledge with a switch - slay the nitrogolems and press the switch, which will lower a nearby platform with a Morph Ovum (this is secret #3) as well as the column holding the yellow key you encountered earlier. Collect the artifact, drop off the ledge and head south and west around the blue key structure to the large fountain, watching out for golems and nitrogolems that have appeared. Step into the fountain and collect the yellow key.

Exit
With the yellow key, head due east to a wooden building and go through a small door, entering a dining hall. Dispatch the sabreclaws here and head up the staircase flanked by yellow key gizmos, opening the door at the top. Turn left and walk through a wooden frame, which will lower a wall in front of you to reveal one or two undead warrior ghosts.

Kill all the enemies here, then take the Ethereal Arrows sitting in the north-west corner of the room which will open the wall in front of you. Slay the golems and undead warrior here, then press the switch in the north-east corner and head through the wall that opens on your left. Head down the long staircase, killing any golems in your way, and press the switch at the bottom to finish the level.

Other points of interest
A Tome of Power is hidden in the hedge maze west of the start point. Turn left after finding the Ethereal Crossbow to locate it.

In the north-west area of the level past the blue door are two optional rooms. The west bedroom contains two crystal vials and a Timebomb of the Ancients, guarded by two gargoyles. The larger east room contains a Silver Shield and two piles of Ethereal Arrows, guarded by two or three undead warriors.

There is a teleporter next to the switch that lowers the yellow key - step into it to go to a gated area north of the start point. Go down the steps and press the switch in the north-west corner, which will lower a nearby column holding a Ring of Invincibility.

Secrets

 * 1) In the hedge maze west of the start area, there is a snaking passage leading to a switch. Halfway along this passage you will see an opening in the west wall; crouch down to get into the small space here and find a Crystal Geode and a Quartz Flask. (sector 43)
 * 2) After passing through the yellow door, turn left and walk through a wooden frame. A wall in front of you will open to reveal one or two ghost undead warriors. Open the wall behind them with the metal panel to find a teleporter, which sends you to a room near the fountain that held the yellow key. Go outside to find a ledge with a crystal geode, Ethereal Arrows and a Disc of Repulsion. (sector 89)
 * 3) Pressing the switch to lower the column with the yellow key also lowers a platform on your left holding a Morph Ovum (sector 118).
 * 4) Due east of the area that held the blue key is a room with several bookcases and sabreclaws. On the east wall of this room is a bookcase with a skull face; open it to find a Bag of Holding. (sector 135)

Current records
The records for the map at the Doomed Speed Demos Archive are:

Things
This level contains the following numbers of things per skill level, not including items and monsters spawned via scripts: