[twillight]

I'm in Castle Darkmoor, and that place is a big time-waster. The real problem is not that you got hit, but that fact that you need to use bow almost exclusively, so you don't deal damage yourself! So just forget about the eyes, and go streight for the big prize. I'm lvl75 here, and have no problem (appart from eye-caused boredom).
The best thing is to find maddening eyes as soon as possible - then you don't have to worry about things like being afraid, or worse: sleeping.

I wish I had some good idea for the VARN. Even if I'd leave out as much as possible from it, that place is still hugh with badass monsters. Maybe I'll do some nasty NPC-trick with the last 3 scrolls ... namely I'll return to civilisation, go to New Sorpigal, change my chartographer to a GateMaster, and just run for the scrolls (and when I'll have them I'll just teleport out to well-deserved calmness). But my monsterous (actually I'm notorious, but that doesn't sounds that good) insane all-might-y party WILL SAVE ENROTH! (I'm lvl 83 when going to the VARN.)

Meanwile I've found on some random monster (so not in shop) a random ring that prevents being paralyzed, and found an NPC that suggested to find an item with charges (so scroll or wand) that allows to cast me L'loyd's beacon (this kind of items seems to be left out of the game in the final version though).

Now as I have 100 food, and no place for at least a WindMaster (to come from New Sorpigal), and I'm late in December, Blackshire's road is the place I suggest to all as enterance-point to Dragonsands when you go against the VARN. Then it's a personal taste wether you want to clear your way to the NWC-dungeon, or just go streight into the VARN. Either way don't forget that you have limited resources and you don't have the nifty spells (appart most probably some good wands), so stay strickt on the absolutly necessary roads. That's the only advice I can give you. Then when you'll have blasters finally you'll have literally hundreds of skillpoints to invest in it (so maybe rise your armor and weapon levels further then the strickt minimum), and you'll be able to solve all the leftover things if you want (like agar's lab, the dragonriders' cave and the Baa initiation what comes to my mind). The final quest needs no mention as it isn't that difficult, and won't differ the solution from the usual.

Ah, just got into me: did you notice you can't cast L'loyd's beacon inside the Hive?