Expert teachers:

• A: Shield
• W: Dagger
• M: Mind
• S: Alchemy, Identify Item, Perception, DarkElf

Master teachers:

• A: Chain
• W: Spear
• M: Earth
• S: Disarm, Mediation, Merchant

GM Teachers:

• Bow, DarkElf

Training:

• Maximum to level 30

Magic shops:

• Normal self magic (Body, mind, spirit)
• The best elemental spells in the game (Air, fire, earth, water)
• No light, dark spells

Quests (Short term):

• Three cheeses
• Kill Ogres
• Potion of Pure Luck
• Investigate fire in Rust

Quests (Long term):

• Alliance Quests

Dungeons:

• Ogre Fort (Also holds Arion Hunter’s lovely daughter.)
• Dwarf Cave (has Balthazar’s Axe)
• Wasp nest (useless??)

Exits:

• East to Ironsand
• South to Ravenshore
• West to Murmurwoods

Alvar is important early in the game as the source for the best elemental spells, and with especially valuable expert trainers in Identify Item and Perception. Any time you visit Alvar, check out the elemental shop and pick up town portal, fly, and invisibility when available. Having fly and invisibility is great for visiting the Ironsand desert, and provides an easy way to get a dragon (and some exceptional treasure!) into your party. The Dwarf Cave and Ogre Fort are very tough battles. The Merchant hall gives you some critical quests.

1. Wasp nest: Unless you like useless battles, or searching for a bunch of Wasp Jelly to sell in Rust, there's no real reason to go here. To get in, you need jump scrolls (conveniently in a tent just outside the entrance to the nest), the jump spell, or flying. Inside, you work your way through holes in the ceiling to upper levels. Boooooooring.
2. Ogre fort. This place is jammed with ogres and swordsmen. The toughest past is just as you enter the front door. If you don't immediately run straight ahead, and then head left and up the stairs to a "relatively" safe area, you will be trapped and unable to move by a couple dozen ogres and ogre mages. Once upstairs, clean out the area, collect your thoughts, and then clean out the mess on the 1st floor. Back upstairs, to your right as you enter the throne room is a switch that is very easy to miss. It opens the door to the underground area. The chests have reasonable stuff. Back downstairs near the entrance is the entrance to the underground. A bunch of ogres take offense when you enter. When you are done explaining the current pecking order, search them to find the key to the cells. Release Arion’s beautiful daughter, calm your beating heart at the prospect of an evening with such a lovely lass, search the various chests and barrels, then back into the sunlight.
3. Kill all ogres (includes those within the fort): When the fort is cleared, use your flying spell, or your dragons, to search all of Alvar to find the ogres outside the fort. Return to Keldon for the reward.
4. Dwarf Cave. This cave is not for rookies, and should be one of the last places you tackle before taking on Murmurwoods and Shadowspire. The Boulders don't like visitors, and the dwarves seem really ticked off! The first part of the dungeon is a maze of small caves and paths. There are three chests in the caves with excellent treasure. One has Balthazar’s axe (quest given in Ravage Roaming that also involves returning to Dagger Island.) Next you enter the dwarf barracks. This has 8-10 excellent chests, lots of very strong dwarfs, and the "Hallway of death." Without good perception skills, you are in here. The long hallway (with six side rooms) has several floor sections that trigger a rock blast -- it will wipe out even very strong parties. With high perception, you can see ten traps and jump over them. Without perception, hug the side wall! The chests are really worth it (if you live.)