The messages above the doors in the main hall of castle Pinehurst seem to suggest that the world will end in year 1000. Yet I used the time traps to reach 1003, and the game didn't end.

Has the world end been implemented in the game. Do you have to do something for this to happen? (tried resting and 3 guys died of old age, but the world didn't end)...

The time traps have no effect whatsoever except aging your characters. Nothing in the world changes, the Pegasus will still insist that you come back "next year" and the world does not end in year 1000.

BTW, you have played MM2 for a long time now, haven't you? What levels are your characters now?

I play on and off, but hopefully I'm close to finishing. Level 30-35 ish.

My guys were lvl 31-32 when I last completed the game. I didn't explore everything, though, which was a mistake, since you can encounter anything in the last dungeon, from Inept Wizards with 4 or so HP to Orc Gods with 50,000 HP each.

What are the best items you have found?

I'm exploring everything. Didn't have to grind though. My biggest XP boost was the desert square (E2 I believe or maybe E3). That's when money became a slight problem, since my 2 henchmen's salary increased from a few hundred to 50k each. Still it's just a slight problem, it's not that difficult to be self sufficient.

Best item is Titan's Pike + 27, Dark Trident +7, shaman pipe + 13, I chainmail +11, G splintmail +7... a few other +5 to +10 items...