> I cannot progress further on level 10 yet. That area I am teleported to keeps killing my entire party. I have explored 3 of 4 corners of it and haven't found any items of importance.
>
> Is that silver key on level 10 or is it elsewhere? I seem to be able to handle all monsters on levels 1 through 9 but not level 10.
>
> My Wind Elf Druid, The Savior, has now learned all 72 spells. He keeps being the first to die. In my last venture to level 10 he died three times! Should I retrain him as an Assassin to have some hope of him surviving?


Sounds to me like you just need to spend a bit more time leveling up. Spend some time on level 9; don't be in such a rush to get to 10. Trust me, if you're getting slaughtered in that teleport area of 10, there is NO WAY you're making it to Murkon anytime soon.

When I made it to Murkon the first time and barely got defeated by him, all my guys' levels were in the mid-30s. (Three assassins and three druids.) I leveled up a bit -- which doesn't take long on level 9, as you no doubt know -- and I think I was in the low 40s on most of the levels when I won. You might want to take a look at the Hall of Fame and see what the levels of the characters on comparable teams to yours were, mentally subtracting several levels that were gained after the victory.

So, my suggestion: stay on the public half of 9 for a while. See how long it takes you to use up all your spell points, battling every monster and disarming every treasure chest. When all your guys are fully stocked, go to the inn and cash them in (you may well need the money later), but don't rest until your spell points are pretty low. I went through three or four screens this way, leveling up quite a few times, before finally resting my party, and really cashed in while doing so.

-- Trip