I was very lucky to find some gloves of disarming. With eventually master disarm trap and these gloves, I can open pretty much all chests without getting hurt. I cleared my way to the seer before boarding a ship to Mist for some further adventures.

Mist is a good second area to clear because it is fairly easy. There are only a few ranged monsters (the acolytes with orange belts). So as long as you stay far away in turn based mode, you do not get harmed. The surrounding islands are also easy to clear due to water separating each island.

With Mist cleared, I hired a water master and travelled to Bootleg Bay. Since I play with Greyface patch now, shrines are worthwhile as each gives +10 to a stat. In the unpatched game I think the first one gives +10 and remaining ones give +3.

Hiring the water master was useful as there was a lot of travelling on water. I visited the Shrine of Might, completed the mage promotion and then travelled to Free Haven as the monsters are quite a bit stronger here than Mist.

There are many things to do in Free Haven, including knight to cavalier promotion, restoring the temple (quest can be done without having it), and the 4 horseshoes. There is also a nifty trick involving the Sewer. Right now, the Sewer is too difficult for me to clear, but if you enter via Takao’s house, you can get a good amount of money and the key to the treasure room via the grates. The treasure room is also conveniently placed near the Takao entrance. The chest inside can hold some really powerful items. I was awarded with a doomsday cape of speed (+21) and a lot of gold.