Candies/Candy Box Discussion [[SPOILERS]]

The boots definitely (iirc they're in a chest in the forest), other than that, bring a lot of HP potions and you'll eventually get through. I've had as much as 15k candies earned before I got past the *. I forget the exact order stuff happens in but an enchanted sword also makes it easier.

I upgraded my Sword of Summoning to maybe Draugr level before I could finish that stage. The trick is to play with your teleport scrolls, boots (if you have them) and berserker potions such that you can make for a mad rush to the entrance (i.e. only have a few enemies on the field, try to be close when you use berserker, etc).