I have been avoiding using a walkthrough for this game. I took copious notes and made sure I had everything I needed before entering The Abyss.

But I misunderstood. I thought the three parts of the key were the bell, book and candle. I got to the altar at the bottom of The Abyss and was denied entry. Apparently I also need a full party. I must have missed the NPC that said as much.

When I resurfaced above the dungeon, the boat I used to get there was gone. I have no mandrake root (never found any), so I can't use a moongate spell.

Do I have to start the game over? If it's between that and using a hex editor...

You could still wait at the coastline for a pirate ship to attack which you can capture. But that can take a while and I'm not sure if they come by at this location.

Yeah the Pirate's Cove should still spawn ships. Just have to lure them over to the shore and try your best to dodge the cannons.

Mmmm that's going to be difficult with the poison marsh.

Is there any penalty for dying in this game?

Your food and gold both get reset to 200 each, but beyond that, nope. You keep your current equipment, your reagents, your spells, no experience penalty - the only thing you lose is gold andfood, and if you have less than 200 of either, you actually *gain*.

I've still got mine! It's great. Ultima IV also came with a little metal ankh and a high quality paper manual and spellbook. I've still got those too. And I still have the paper maps from the from the first three games.

One of the first four games came with a little cloth pouch full of plastic coins. I might still have that stashed away somewhere, but I haven't seen it for a long time.