Proof reading will take place later, when I cba. Generally speaking, when something makes no sense - like with the ship - it's due to an especially weird bit of the translation. Images are, for the most part, taken from Dragon-tear.net.
Drogen
Ryu awakens to flames. Drogen, the village of the Light Dragons is being attacked by the Dark Dragons. The leader of the Dark Dragons, Zog, has vowed to rule the world, and intends to start by destroying the Light Dragons, not knowing that they have lost the power of the Dragon. Ryu grabs a V.Ptn on his way out.
Sara turns the villagers into stone, to protect them from the flames while she fights Zog alone. She tells Ryu to be strong, and that, when he's a warrior, he'll bring peace to the world.
Outside, Sara is taken to Jade, Zog's second in command. She asks him what he has to gain, and he replies that he's just following orders. Angered, Sara attacks him, and the soldiers leave them to battle one on one.
During the fight, Jade gloats that the Dark Dragons have the seven goddess keys. Shocked, Sara asks what he intends to do with the goddess Tyr.
After the battle, the villagers awaken, and realise that Sara has saved them. The villagers are divided, between avenging Sara and concentrating on survival. After praying to the statue of the Dragon Lord, Ryu sets out on his own, with 300g.
Ryu's first battle nearly kills him. He returns to the village to rest, and the Chief wishes him luck, telling him that Zog's empire lies over the ocean. Ryu prays to the Dragon Lord again, beginning to realise just how hard his journey will be.
Ryu spends the next few days fighting monsters outside the village, training and building strength. He returns every night until he feels strong enough to leave for good.
Over the sea to the north was a kingdom Ryu had never visited before. He needed to take a long detour to get there - east, north, and then west - but, eventually, get there he did.
Camlon
In Camlon, the villagers were quick to tell Ryu that Nanai had been attacked - and that Camlon Castle had been invaded by monsters. Refugees from Drogen urged him to fight. Seeing that none of the castle guards were willing to do so, Ryu went in.
Inside, he found a spring of clean water near the entrance, water which helped heal his wounds. A little further on, he spotted two lots of 70gp that someone had, presumably, dropped while running from the monsters.
Entering the castle treasury, one floor down, Ryu found a herb and a Bronze Sword. In another room, he found a gauntlet and another herb. In many places, rubble blocked his way.
A little further in, Ryu found two more herbs, a Visor and a Suede Cape. Two chests further down were trapped - the one to the left fogged his mind and took some of his magic power, while the one on the right recovered him, physically and mentally. Both contained antidotes.
It was only a little after that that Ryu came across the leader of the monsters, a large, frog-like creature who challenged him. After defeating him, and using a herb to heal himself, Ryu took the monster's stash of 150g and another herb.
After the battle, the air cleared. Ryu didn't see any other monsters as he made his way back out. Outside, the King greeted him as a true hero, and commented on his familiar-looking scar.
The celebration was interrupted by a tremor. The King exclaimed that the Dark Dragons must have the Quake Control, and begged Ryu to head to Nanai, in order to stop it. A guard advised him to sneak in at night.
Ryu prayed to the Dragon Lord once more, and headed to Nanai. The journey took several days. To the northeast, he saw a strange mark on the ground, but it didn't seem to do anything.
Nanai
Ryu entered Nanai at night, and walked past the sleeping guard. Praying to the Dragon Lord for luck, he made his way through the city. He also took part in a little looting of the Dark Dragon's items - a strength potion from the inn, and 300g from a house to the north. In the weapon shop, he traded his bronze sword and dirk for a long sword.
Heading down through the palace, Ryu found 650g, a B.stn, an antidote, some padded armour, another 70gp, a Cure, an F.Stn. Finall, he came to the Quake Control, on the very bottom level. The Knight using it didn't see Ryu approaching, at first. Once he did, he challenged him.
It was a long, tough battle, and only Ryu's collection of herbs prevented the journey from ending here.
After the battle, Ryu found a key in the Quake Control. The machine de-activated, leaving the room trembling. As Ryu headed for the portal which would take him out of the city, he heard a strange voice.
"...Run while you can, for I am returning..."
Outside, a palace official was waiting for him. The King told him that Nanai was destroyed, but the Quake Control would no longer be a problem, and hailed him once again as a true hero. They advised him to head east, through the ruins of Nanai, to Winlan.
On the way to Winlan, Ryu came across Aura Cave. The Winlan guards greeted him, and told him that a Wizard lived on the other side, in Karma, although they would not let him through.
Winlan
As Ryu entered the city, a guard welcomed him to Winlan. He didn't need to be told - the city was built on a hill, rising up into the clouds. A small child told him "when I grow up, I want to soar like my brothers and sisters!". In a house, he found another Vigor potion. In the weapon shop, he traded his padded armour for chainmail. Another villager told him that the Wizard of Karma was helping the Dark Dragons.
Ryu found that there was a port to Scanlon in the east, but that he could only use it with the King's permission. He entered the palace.
A guard wondered aloud if 'he' was okay, but was quickly shushed. Another guard told Ryu that the king had refused an offer from the Dark Dragons.
Ryu requested an audience with the King. However, unbeknownst to him, the King was ill. The Princess Nina refused an audience, knowing that it must not be revealed that the King was not well. She sent Ryu to a guestroom while she left to search for the remedy required.
Nina visited her father before leaving. His nurse told her that he'd become ill after opening a letter from Zog - it must have been poisoned, a known trick of the Dark Dragons. Nina picked up three herbs, an antidote, a Suede Shield, and a Suede Hat. She also checked on their guest. He was whispering a name in his sleep "Sara...".
She wondered if it was the name of a girlfriend.
In the city, Nina picked up a Suede Gown, to replace her dress. She also traded in her short rapier for one made of bronze. Finally, Nina stopped to pray at the Dragon Statue before heading to Aura Cave.
Aura Cave
Inside the cave, Nina was met by two Winlan guards, who refused to let her go through the cave unless she allowed them to help.
Inside the cave, Nina found a cure, some iron ore, an antidote, a Suede Gown, 150gp, two herbs, a B.Stn and a C.stn.
Outside the cave, the group heads to the nearest town.
Romero
In Romero, the group learn that girls have been disappearing from the village, and that the ground was becoming discoloured. They also learn that both of these things began when the wizard of Karma began using a potion to turn Romero's dead into zombies. Inside a house, Nina finds a ProtnB. Falling down a trapdoor in another house, Nina found a map and a locked door. Learning that Karma Tower could be found through the woods to the west, the group headed that way.
Nina snacked on a couple of mushrooms in the forest. Most were good, a few were bad. She also found a Bandage, 150gp, an S.Ptn, an A.Ptn, a W.Ptn, and three herbs.
Karma Tower
Inside the tower, Nina and her guards found a pool of healing water, two herbs and an m.drop. They also found a spectre guarding the stairs.
After defeating Morte, the group ventured onwards. They found a cure, two charms, a herb, a life 2, and another spectre. This one asked what they'd done to his brother at the gate before attacking them.
This battle was tougher - one of the guards was knocked unconscious. But, eventually, the group were successful in defeating Mortea and pressed on to the top of the tower.
Once at the top, they were able to cross over to the other side, where they found three of the missing girls from Romero. One of them told Nina that the remedy she needed was 'downstairs'.
At the bottom of the tower, the Wizard appeared, demanding to know who'd let his 'specimens' loose. He unleashed Xeon gas, which was poisonous to members of the Wing Clan weakening Nina and her guards. One of the guards ran for help while Nina distracted him.
As the guard reached the top of the tower, the Wizard appeared behind him. He told him that he intended to use the Princess to complete his experiments. The guard managed to escape, turning into a bird and flying from the roof.
Back in Winlan, the guards realised that the only person immune from the Xeon gas was the traveller at the castle - Ryu. The guard quickly woke him and asked him to help.
The party flew to Karma tower, Ryu riding on the general's back. As the rest of the party became caught in a battle against flying dragons, the general and Ryu slipped through. He grabbed a foil before facing the Wizard.
Ryu defeated the Wizard who, in his dying breath, lamenting his failure to perfect the eternal life potion. Nina thanked Ryu before collapsing. He carried her up the stairs to safety, and the general flew them both back to the castle.
Back at the castle, Nina ran to her father's side with the remedy. Ryu followed her. At first, Nina was worried that the remedy wasn't working, but then the King recovered.
The King offered Ryu a reward and, remembering his mission, he asked permission to use the tunnel to the east. The King agreed, and Nina demanded to go with him, despite her father's opinion that she'd only slow Ryu down.
Stopping to grab an antidote, and a herb, the two left through the tunnel.
Tantar & Tuntar
As they travelled, Ryu and Nina saw a few odd things. There were several forests, one with a huge tree blocking the way further in. A strange well lay to the north west of the river, and there was another weird mark on the ground to the northeast. The river itself was dry, blocked by a huge rock, and the bridge to the south was out. To the northwest was a giant humanoid made of stone.
Ryu and Nina headed to the twin towns of Tantar and Tuntar. In Tantar, they found a Charm and a W.Ptn. They also heard several rumours - that they could get a boat to Scande in the south, and that there was a spooky forest to the northwest. They learned that the Dark Dragons were responsible for the dry river, and that they wanted the Ring, a treasure of the two villages. The chief was acting strangely, and suggesting that they simply give in. Whilst in the town, Ryu and Nina had a saw made from the iron ore Nina had found in Aura Cave.
Over in Tuntar, they found a cure and a herb. They were told that the bridge to the south was out, that there was an area called the Stone Cemetery to the north east, and that, despite the river being dry, everyone seemed oddly happy. They also met a girl who was seperated from her lover, since they were unable to cross the dry river. Finally, they learned that the chief had been spotted near the Dark Dragon's den in Lament Woods. Knowing that he'd been acting oddly, and lacking any other leads, Ryu and Nina put a few items in storage, then headed there.
Lament Woods
In the woods, Ryu and Nina used their new saw to cut down the huge tree that was blocking their path. They'd just cut through it when the saw broke. Hoping that there wouldn't be any more large trees, they pressed on.
In the woods, Ryu and Nina found a herb, two t-drops, a wrist, and a life. They also found several ghosts - it seems that the rumours about the spooky woods were not unfounded.
Eventually, Ryu and Nina came to the Dark Dragons den.
Dark Dragon's Den
The Dark Dragons den was full of trapdoors and guards. Nina and Ryu battled through, finding a LongSD, two lifes, three t-drops, an acorn, five herbs, and, in one booby-trapped chest, a WolfHt. It didn't fit either Ryu or Nina, and seemed to be made to fit the Wolf Race who inhabited Tantar and Tuntar.
Shortly after this, and another battle with the guards, Ryu and Nina ran into the chief from Tantar. He trapped them, and forced them to fight a monster, revealing that he was actually one of Zog's generals.
After defeating his monster, Ryu and Nina were aided by Bo, a wolf-warrior from Tantar who appeared from nowhere, in defeating the general. Bo told them that he'd rescued the real chief.
After the battle, the general remarked that the party had won the battle, but not the war - the river was still dry.
Back in Tantar, Ryu, Nina and Bo spoke to the chief. He told them that no one in either village was strong enough to move the rock - their only hope was the stone robot, to the north-west. He told the party to search for the robot's secret in Agua.
The party headed to Agua, stopping to trade Bo's Suede Armour for Chainmail in Winlan.
Agua via Romero
The party walked north of Romero, Bo leading the way through the trees. They could see Agua tower off in the distance, but couldn't figure out how to reach the entrance. With no better ideas, they headed back to Romero.
In Romero, Ryu, Nina and Bo spent some time talking to the townspeople. They learn that the chief knows something about Agua, but won't tell them unless they restore the soil that has been tainted by the Wizard's potion. They also learn that Cleansing Water might save the soil, that Cleansing Water can be found in the cave to the west, that Agua has something to do with the Goddess, and that an old couple used to sell water jars which, theoretically, they could use to bring Cleansing Water from the southern cave to the village.
After stopping to buy a Bronze Hat and a Gown, and picking up a C.Ptn from the inn, the party headed to the entrance of town, to talk to the lady who spent her days standing guard over her husbands tomb. Since it was night, the zombies were out. Despite having heard rumours about the zombies eating all the animals, the Ryu, Nina and Bo seemed to be ignored by the zombies, and weren't too scared as they walked through the town.
At first, the old woman refused. Her husband had returned to her as a zombie, and she didn't want to lose him again. However, the old man gently tells her that it's "his time", and allows the party to access his tomb. Inside they find a herb and a water jar. After praying to the Dragon Lord once more, the group left the village, Bo leading the way through the forest to the Southwest Cave.
Ease Cave
The southwest cave was a fairly long walk away, around a nearby mountain range and over a bridge. To the northwest of it, the party saw another strange mark on the ground.
Inside the cave, Ryu, Nina and Bo found a Nice Hat, three herbs, an F.Stn, a T-drop, a Bronze Hat, and an apple. When they finally reached the bottom of the cave, Ryu waded into the pool and filled the jar with cleansing water. The party quickly hurried back to Romero to sprinkle the water on the tainted ground. Shortly, the water was purified and the zombies disappeared.
The chief of Romero thanked the party, and gave them the tablet they needed to enter Agua. He also gave them an antidote, 900gp, a herb and a cure. He also told them "a boss guards the key in Agua".
Agua
Back at Agua, Ryu read the inscription on the tablet, and the floating tower came closer.
Inside, the party found a number of locked doors and crumbling walls. There were also several floating platforms, which they needed to use to access other parts of the tower.
Making their way up the tower, the party found two acorns, an apple, two herbs, a Life2, a Sun Hat, an Iron Shield, a set of Thief Clothes, a hairband, and a bracelet.
Finally, they came across a strange pillar with an orb atop it. When they approached, the glowing orb challenged them - "I'm the boss that guards the key. You wanna test your strength?"
After the battle, the Wisp awarded Ryu, Nina and Bo with the King Key. Unable to go any higher, due to the locked doors, the party left - but not before checking the top right corner of the room to find a Steel Bow hidden in an alcove.
Outside, the party used one of Nina's spells to warp back to Tantar. They put a few more items into storage, prayed to the Dragon Lord, and then headed northeast, to the Stone Cemetery.
Stone Robot
Eventually, the party found a way into the Stone Robot through its right foot. They worked their way up to the heart, and found another General standing in front of it. After defeating him, they used the King Key to activate it. This activated the warp points, allowing them to go further.
Ryu, Nina and Bo found a Bronze Hat, a herb, an acord, a life2 and a marble1 scattered throughout the robot. Eventually, they found their way to the brain, and used the key to activate the robot. Nina took command, and ordered the Stone Robot to destroy the rock blocking the river. It did so, and Nina and Bo both cheered. Through the robot's single eye, Ryu saw a cave near the mouth of the river.
Back in Tantar, the two villages were preparing for the wedding between Amelia, the chief of Tuntar's daughter, and Terry, the chief of Tantar's son. The chief of Tantar suggested that the party search for the Ring, the treasure of Tantar. He gave the party the key they'd need and a herb, and told them to search in the cave upstream.
Lake Cave
Inside the Lake Cave, the part found a W.Ptn. Soon afterwards, they found themselves outside again. Seeing another cave nearby, they pressed onwards. Inside, they found a locked door, and tried the key from the Chief of Tantar. It fitted. Just in front of it was a warp point. Ryu tried stepping on it a few times, but nothing happened.
Inside, the party soon found themselves wading through water. They soon cheered up when they found a life, life2, 200gp, a herb, an acorn and a Sky Hat. Eventually, they came to a brightly coloured chest containing the Ring. After claiming it, they found they were able to use the nearby warp point to travel back upstairs, although it didn't work both ways.
Ryu, Nina and Bo arrived back in Tantar just in time for the wedding. After the ceremony, the chiefs of Tantar and Tuntar both suggested that the party use the Stone Robot to head to the south, where they could catch a boat to Scande.
The South
Leaving the village, Ryu, Nina and Bo saw another Dark Dragon General sneaking into the Stone Robot. They watched, horrified, as the General commanded the Stone Robot to destroy Tuntar. However, when the General commanded it to destroy Tantar, the robot stalled, and Nina and Bo took the opportunity to climb inside. The Stone Robot seemed different inside, covered in an encroaching red moss.
When they reached the brain of the Stone Robot, the general attacked them, trying to take the key. He transformed into a Gremlin, becoming absurdly strong, and almost spelling defeat for the party. Fortunately, they pulled through.
The Stone Robot began moving after the fight. After leaving the party on the northern bank of the river, he walked into the nearby volcano. The volcano erupted, and the lava flooded the river, solidifying and providing a bridge.
There was a quiet voice.
"It said 'good-bye',", Nina whispered.
Bo added, "...and it asked us not to make the same mistakes."
The party crossed the river in quiet contemplation.
The Dragon Shrine
Just across the river, the party saw a strange-looking Dragon Shrine in the woods. They entered, and a man in robes addressed Ryu.
"You need proper training to break the seal."
The man let Ryu through, but kept Nina and Bo back. Confused, but somehow knowing what to do, Ryu, drank from the clear, refreshing spring and claimed a slice of melon before entering the inner sanctuary.
Inside, Ryu saw a dragon, like the one's in family legends, the ones that all the Dragon Tribes had long since lost the ability to change into. The dragon challenged him, and Ryu fought back, as hard as he could.
Eventually, Talon was defeated. He told Ryu that his training was complete before disappearing. Afterwards, Ryu found that he could now transform into three different kinds of dragons - Fire, Snow and Thunder. He didn't discuss it with Nina and Bo.
The Fairy Ring
A little way south of the temple, the party came across a ring of flowers. A young man walked around and around, without ever stopping. When the party spoke to him, he told them that a strange force was keeping him there.
In the nearby woods, the party found a small group of fairies in a clearing. They asked if the party were here to cut down trees, and threatened to put a spell on them too if they were.
Eventually, the party found a cave in the southwest.
Cape Cave
The journey through the cave was quite short, although the party ran into rather more ghosts than they were expecting. Some areas of the cave were blocked by rubble which no one was strong enough to move.
Outside the cave, the party found themselves surrounded by mountains. To the south was a town, Auria. In the hills to the north of that was a strange door, and, over to the east, there was another cave.
Auria
The second the party entered Auria, they were placed under arrest. Despite their protests, they were quickly carted off to jail, with a cry of "no one steals our treasure!".
Under the sink in the corner, Ryu found an abandoned set of prison clothes. There was a strange man sleeping in the bed. With nothing better to do, Ryu nudged him until he woke up. The strange man unlocked the door for them, and the party quietly walked out of jail.
In the shop next door, Ryu traded his Long Sword for a Broad Sword, Bo traded his Chainmail for Sage mail, and Nina traded her Hairband for a Tiara, and a Bronze Rapier for a Rapier. At the item shop stall, Ryu bought a rod, five worms to use as bait, and a money pouch. If the town had a thieving problem, he didn't want to be the one caught by it. He also missed fishing, and wondered if he could compete with Bo's hunting skills.
The shopkeepers were the strange fish-men known as Manillos, the first that Ryu had seen in his life. He'd heard of them back in Drogen, but they'd never ventured that far.
In the bar upstairs, they found a drunken gentleman asking for vitamins. Nina insisted they head back downstairs and buy one for him. When they returned, he gave them 5000gp as a reward.
Over in the corner of the bar, Ryu pushed a chest out of the way and they headed into the pub's back room. There, Ryu saw a life2 hiding under a vase, so he pushed the vase out of the way and grabbed it. The man in the room told them about a town of skilled thieves that had been destroyed by Dark Dragons. Back in the bar, the barman told them that Zog was the only man he knew who could transform into a dragon.
Walking through the streets of Auria, the party noticed that they gleamed. Over by the docks they found a ship, that the captain said was owned by a man named Ross. The party prayed to the Dragon Lord and then went on a search for Ross. On the way, they ran into the guard that arrested them, who threw them back in jail. He told them that this was a new lock, but the sleeping man was able to break it just as easily.
Talking to the townsfolk, the party learned that some people had the ability to join with others and transform. They also learned that darkness never fell on Auria due to their possession of the Light Key, and the only way to get to the Light Key was through the safe.
While exploring various houses, the party was arrested again for looking in people's chests. Returning to the house, Ryu found a V.Ptn in a chest downstairs, and 2000gp in one upstairs. They also found a Marble1 in a chest. Another lady asked "what are you doing in my house?". The party didn't reply, and walked past her to find an S.Ptn in her chest of drawers. They found a W.Ant and a Cure upstairs.
In another house, a lady asked them to help her son, who'd left for the enchanted forest and hadn't returned. In her drawers, they found a Smart Ring, which Bo equipped, a Life, and an antidote.
In her neighbour's house, they found an L.Ptn, a Marble3, a Cure, and an old man who insisted on talking to Nina. He addressed her as Healer, and asked her to fix his aching back. When she complied, he gave the party 20,000gp.
The party left Auria, and Nina warped them to Tantar. From there, they walked down to the fairy forest.
The fairies told them that they'd rescue that young man if he promised to stop logging. They asked the party if they were here to cut down trees, and Nina replied "of course not!".
Back at the fairy ring, they found the fairies chastising the young man for cutting down trees. He promised not to do it again, and the party warped back to Auria. There, the young man's mother gave them 20,000gp, and the young man sheepishly confessed that he'd been intending to sell wood to the Dark Dragons, to make ships.
The party headed to the Mansion, to the north of the town. There, they met Ross, who offered to let them use his ship if they rescued his daughter from the Safe. The party agreed, but soon realised that the safe was full of locked doors. Upstairs they found a Cure, a G.Tiara, and 2000gp. The party bought a Gold Bar from the item shop.
The party decided to try to find the survivors of that city of thieves, to see if one of them was willing to help. They headed to the Eastern cave, where two men warned them to "keep your guard up in Bleak - it's full of thieves."
L & D Cave
Not surprisingly, the cave was full of locked doors. The party managed to get lost several times, but, eventually, made it to the other side.
To the east of the cave, they saw a tower. The party followed the mountains round to the north, east, and then south again, and ended up on the opposite shore to the tower. There, they found another cave and the town of Bleak.
Bleak
On entering Bleak, Ryu was told that this was the village of thieves, to keep an eye on his pouch, and that they stole for fun. The party went to pray to the Dragon Lord before investigating any further.
In the weapon shop, Nina traded her gown for a woollen robe, and Ryu traded his iron shield for a metal shield. Outside, they heard that they should ask the leader of the thieves for advice, and that someone in the L. Keep had the mirror. Another person said "Since the Light Key was taken from the L.Keep they sky's been dark."
Inside the fortune teller's house, there seemed to be something under a chest, but Ryu wasn't quite strong enough to move it. He did, however, grab the Life2 from under a barrel. Inside a house to the north, a young magician offered to show Ryu a trick. Ryu agreed, and even agreed to put 100gp on the table. However, he refused to look away twice. When he finally did, he had a strange vision; a young girl fighting in the upstairs room of the weapon shop?
When Ryu looked back, the young man had gone, so he took the opportunity to take two herbs from upstairs. The party also found two herbs in the house next door.
Finally, Ryu, Nina and Bo headed to the large house in the north. Along the way, a young woman told them that she understood there to be a connection between the Goddess and the Dark Key.
A young man inside the house told them about a mysterious Book that revealed the secrets of Thieves, and was sad to be hidden in Krypt. An old man told them that Karn would be able to help them get through the locks in the safe, but that he was currently in Krypt. He offered to trade their Gold Bar for the Icicle that they'd need to travel through the desert, but didn't actually wait for a response before making the swap. He cheerfully warned them that Krypt was full of traps. A girl in the house told them that an old man in the L.Keep had been seen talking to ghosts. Upstairs they found a Life and a W.Ant.
Before heading for Krypt - which Ryu guessed was through the south-western cave - the party headed to the inn. They were offered a free night's sleep, but, in the middle of the night, Ryu awoke to the innkeeper trying to steal his pouch. The innkeeper apologised, swore not to do it again, and gave Ryu 5000gp to stay quiet.
Before heading through the cave, the party spent some time hunting G.Slimes outside of Bleak, until Nina learned how to cast Renew.
Desert Cave
The party quickly made their way through the cave. Outside, they explored a little. Over to the northwest, palm trees grew. The party could see some kind of inhabitation beyond them, but not even Bo could get through the dense foliage.
The party spent a few days wandering through the large southern desert. Ryu found a large well around the mountains to the southwest. In the middle of the desert, a moving temple floated, and a little to the south of that, the party found the town of Arad. To the south of Arad was a strange temple surrounded by quicksand.
Arad
The people of Arad where wearing outfits that looked very odd, but were perfect for desert conditions. One of the townsfolk explained that the Dark Dragons had yet to disturb them, due to the desert. Another told them that he had a craving for nuts, but that they wouldn't grow on palm trees, while a third lamented that he hadn't been able to find the moving town. Another person told them that the Fife - which belonged to the mayor of Arad - would let them cross the quicksand into Krypt. They also heard a rumour of a rare weapon hidden in Krypt.
Arad didn't have a separate Dragon Temple - instead, the party found the statue in the inn.
Inside a house to the north, the party met the mayor of Arad. He explained that a Sandwom appeared to threaten the town every new moon and that, if the party destroyed it, he would give them the Fife. Ryu agreed to the exchange, and the party spent a night in the village waiting for the new moon.
The next night, the party headed to the pasture in the north, to rescue the goats from the Sandworm. Ryu transformed into a Thunder Dragon, and the monster was soon defeated.
After the battle, the party received the Fife, and headed south. Ryu stood on the panel outside of the quicksand and used the Fife to build a bridge into Krypt.
Krypt
The party quickly found that Krypt was, as rumoured, full of traps. Ryu found a Dream Ring and a Herb guarded by firetraps, a Life and a Dagger guarded by poison traps, another herb guarded by a toxin, and an Iron Shield guarded by a curse. The party also came across a B-Rang trapped in a rock, which none of them were always to pry loose. They also found themselves falling down through the floor several times.
Ryu saw a floating, mechanical eye watching him. When he spoke to it, it told them to go away. Ryu ignored it, and checked the treasure chest nearby. He woke up a few minutes later, with a new set of Headgear. The party had spotted several other floating eyes watching them.
As the party tried to move further, the eyes converged together and attacked as one. They mentioned that a previous intruder had gotten through, but that this party wouldn't. Ryu wondered if the previous intruder was Karn.
Ryu transformed into a Thunder Dragon, and the battle was soon over. Afterwards, the Eyespy gasped "you're only human! You're not supposed to have such power!". The party still did not discuss Ryu's transformations.
In the next room, the party found a variety of chests, one of them discoloured. They found a Cure, an Icy Hat, an Antidote and two Skull Hats. When they opened the blue chest, the room began to fill with water, trapping them.
Ryu, Nina and Bo searched desperately for a way out. Just as they were starting to panic, Karn appeared. He teased them for falling for such a simple trap before reversing it. The party followed him to the next room.
Ryu was rather gratified to see that Karn was the young man who'd let them out of Auria jail so many times.
Nina asked Karn to help them get into the safe in Auria, so they could finally persuade Ross to let them use his ship. Ryu had almost forgotten that that was their aim.
Karn said that he'd help if the party brought them the book, and Nina persuaded him to come with them to find it.
Making their way through Krypt, the party found a life, a herb, and a set of hunting clothes.
The final room contained eight caskets. Karn carefully disarmed the traps and checked each of them. On the final one, the truth was revealed - the casket itself was the book, and unlocking it was the test. With Karn having gained confidence, the party made their way out of Krypt.
Once outside, Nina asked for a favour - before heading back to Auria, could they go to Winlan and get some items out of the treasury? The lock had been stuck for ages. Karn agreed and Nina warped them there.
In Winlan, the party found a Turban, a Broken Sword, a life, life2, a cure and a FlameRP. Afterwards, they stopped in Romero, to talk to the man in the locked room underground. He told them about an old man who could do magic, who may have lived in Bleak.
Finally, the party returned to Agua. Karn unlocked the doors and they headed further up. They found a Lava Shield in a chest, and then walked up the nearby stairs.
Upstairs, they found a mysterious and beautiful temple. In the pillars outside they found a set of Life Armour and an Icy Dagger. Silently, they headed inside. There they found six strange machines, and Ryu began to become suspicious.
Going up another set of stairs, the party found themselves looking down on the stars. They ran back outside quickly, each of them wondering if they'd have to come back here one day.
Auria
Back in Auria, the party unlocked the safe and spoke to Ross' daughter. She told them that her father was planning on giving the Light Key to the Dark Dragons, and that that was why she'd locked herself away. Upstairs, Ross insisted that, if he didn't give up the key, the Dark Dragons would harm his daughter.
At an impasse, the party decided to go check out the tower near the other side of the L & D Cave while Ross's family sorted it out amongst themselves. On their way through the L & D Cave, with Karn's help, they found a G.Bar, and a Dart. They also came across a crumbling wall, through which they could see two more chests, although none of them were quite strong enough to get through. In another place, the wall had crumbled by itself, and they claimed a Shell Hat and a cure. The Shell Hat didn't seem to fit anyone, and they wondered which species would be suited to it. Perhaps a manillo.
Once through the cave, they stopped by Bleak for a rest. There, the chief told Karn that he had nothing more to teach him, and that Karn could take over whenever he wished.
In the L & D tower, the party came across an old man who told them that he'd give his treasure to the 'Legendary Hero' who would need to climb the tower to meet the ghosts and prove himself.
Heading up the tower, the party found 2000gp, a B.Stn, a Life, a Life2, a herb, a cure, a Horn Hat, a Turban and another 2000gp. Finally, at the top of the tower, they came across another orbed pillar, like the one which had hailed Mist's appearance.
The Cloud greeted them by saying "it used to be only Dragon's could enter here. But, since the Light Key was stolen, things have changed. Let's fight!"
After the battle, the party were able to take the Dark Key from the pillar. On the way down, the old man congratulated them, and gave them the Mirror, which, he explained, allowed them to speak to ghosts.
Back in Auria, the girl lamented that she was sure her father would change his mind if her mother were there. This gave the party an idea - they used the mirror to allow Ross to converse with his ex-wife. It worked; Ross changed his mind, and his daughter let the party through into the safe. Ross also told the party to take anything they needed, which was handy, since that's what they were planning to do anyway.
Making their way up the tower, the party found a Dart, a Metal Shield, an F.Stn, a B.Stn, and five herbs. At the top of the tower, they found a room full of blinding light, which seemed to be coming from another orbed pillar. The party approached with some trepidation, and were quite surprised when nothing attacked them.
Having claimed the Light Key, the party headed to the docks, to take Ross' boat to Scande. There, the Captain told them that he'd love to take them - but the Dark Dragons were in the way.
Ryu, Nina, Bo and Karn fought off an Archer and a Knight. Afterwards, they vowed vengeance on Ross and sank the ship before disappearing.
As the Captain exclaimed over the damage, a strange fish person appeared. He told them that they could get to the "main camp" by going around the North peninsula. The Captain agreed; "if we move the rock that blocks the north cave, we'll surprise them."
The fish man offered to swap the party some gunpowder in exchange for their gold bar. Sighing, Ryu made the trade. The party headed back up north, to Cape Cave.
Cape Cave and the Secret Base
The party headed to the eastern part of the cave, where the passage was blocked, and quickly blasted their way through with the gun powder. On the other side, as promised, they found the Secret Base. They looked in the nearby hut, but found nothing. However, as the party pressed onwards, they were quickly challenged by two Spearmen.
After defeating the Spearmen, the party walked on and found a ship. They were quickly challenged again by a guard, and, even more quickly, the Archer was defeated. The party pressed on, and were soon challenged by another set of guards - an Archer and a Spearman.
Finally, in an upstairs galley, the found the General. He transformed into a Squid and attacked. Ryu transformed into a Thunder Dragon, and the battle was over almost before it had begun. In his dying breath, the general screamed that his brother would get revenge. The party stepped over him and took the V.Ptn from his chest of drawers. They also found two herbs and two acorns in the room below. After checking the hold, Ryu, Nina, Bo and Karn headed back up the deck. Finding the ship clear, they made their way back to Auria. There, the captain exclaimed "it worked!" and, suddenly, they were on a ship.
Karn asked to continue journeying with the party, for the experience. The fish man - or Manilla, as Ryu found out they were called - asked for a lift to Prima.
In the middle of the ocean, the ship was challenged by three Dark Dragon ships. Karn and Nina were in favour of attacking, while the captain pleaded for retreat.
The Dark Dragon General identified himself as Squid's brother. Quietly, Gobi the Manillo suggested detonating the gunpowder on the ship. Nina pointed out that they'd go down too, and Gobi said that that didn't usually bother him. During the argument, the Dark Dragons attacked.
After the battle, Gobi lead the party into the hold. The Dark Dragon General and the rest of his men followed. The party defeated the three Archers without breaking a sweat. Afterwards, when he got a chance to look around, Ryu realised that he was on the same ship as before. He started to wonder if he was having some kind of weird dream.
The General and two guards cornered the party in the hold, amongst the gunpowder. After the party defeated his two archers, the General transformed into Octo.
After the battle, the General ignited the gunpowder. Gobi and Karn made a run for it, and Ryu, Nina and Bo quickly followed. However, as the ships continued to battle, they were all thrown into the ocean. Gobi apologised, then said "if this doesn't work, don't blame me. OK?"
Before they could ask what he was planning, they found themselves on an island. Gobi explained that Prima was underwater, near the island, and that the party would need gills to get there. He offered to sell the party gills for 100,000gp. On finding that they didn't have enough, he offered to take the money they had and loan them the rest. Ryu reluctantly handed it over.
Gobi walked down to the beach and slowly waded into the sea.
The Ocean Floor
There was another beach nearby which lead up to the palm trees near Arad.
Gobi was soon defeated, and found himself waking up in Prima. There, he traded his Bronze Vest for a Ranger Vest, and bought an Icy Shield and a Horned Hat. He also set up shop in the Market for a bit, and bought a Rod2.
Prima
Gobi also took the time to use up Ryu's stock of Marble3's and go exploring - something he should have done before the other manillos took half his gp in return for carrying him back to Prima.
To the south, Gobi found a beach from which he could access the house surrounded by palm trees, that Ryu hadn't been able to reach earlier. The old man there lamented that he'd never seen a B.Rang.
To the west of Prima, Gobi found another beach, which lead up to the south-western continent, an area the party had yet to explore.
To the north-west of Prima, the sea bed fell sharply, and Gobi couldn't make it across. Near here, there was an underwater volcano, and a cave under it. Finally, to the east, there was the island where he'd left Ryu, Nina, Bo, and Karn.
In Prima, a fellow manillo made fun of Gobi for losing the Sphere. He told him that he should visit the Guild leader and make amends.
Gobi found a Tide Hat in the inn. He also headed to the northwest corner to learn that "as we don't have any goods, the big fish is not in service". Outside the guild house, he heard a rumour; "the old man who lives east of the South Beach collects weapons".
In the coffee house, Gobi learned that an old woman had bought a claw, and that Gant, where one could find metal smiths, and which supplied goods to Prima, was on the other side of South Beach. After confirming that the Dark Dragons still had not been able to reach Prima, Gobi headed for the Guild house.
The Guild master wasn't terribly helpful. After telling Gobi that he hoped losing his license had taught him a lesson, he told him that they had no gills - he would have to go to Gant.
Gobi headed for Gant.
Gant
After walking up South Beach, Gobi made his way through the mountains to the east. Shortly after coming across a ruined forest, he reached Gant.
The town seemed to be abandoned, apart from shopkeepers. Gobi found an hourglass in one chest of drawers, a L.Ptn in another, and traded his pole in for a hero spear.
Gobi walked up the levels of the mountain town, searching for someone who could help. In the uppermost house he found an old man, who told him that the young men of Gant were being forced to build a secret weapon, and were being held in a secret fortress on the Western side of the mountain. Downstairs, a young man asked him to deliver Goods to Prima, and, seeing that he wasn't going to find anyone who could help him, Gobi agreed. At least he could get back into the chief's good books.
Prima
In exchange for the delivering the Goods, the guild leader gave Gobi the gills. Immediately after the chief read the letter which detailed Gant's troubles, the pair heard a strange noise. The chief rushed over to the inn, and Gobi followed. There, they found a strange young man lying on the bed with a ghost hovering over him. The young looked like he came from Gant - he was of the same furred, pointed eared tribe that lived there.
The chief exclaimed that the ghost had come to take him away, and that he couldn't die - he had important information to pass on.
Gobi offered to go and fetch Ryu for 10,000gp. The chief offered 5000gp, and they eventually settled on 6000gp. Gobi headed back to the island. After giving Ryu, Nina, Bo, and Karn the gills, he explained the problem, and they all headed back to Prima.
In one weapon shop, Nina and Ryu bought Icy Shields while Karn and Bo got Horned Hats. In the other weapon shop, Bo bought a Poison Bow and a Ranger Vest. After praying to the Dragon Lord, the party headed to the inn.
The party defeated the ghost. After he disappeared, the young man from Gant woke up. The Chief addressed him as Ox, and Ox told them what had happened to Gant's young men. The party all agreed to help him. In the weapon shops, the party bought Ox an Iron Hammer, an Icy Shield and a Horned Hat.
The party headed back to Agua, by way of Romero. There, Ryu asked Ox to break down the wall, and the party grabbed 3000gp, a Life, a SilverBR and a Life2. In the L & D Cave, east of Auria, they found an L.Ptn and an A.Ptn. Finally, in Krypt, Ryu had Ox liberate the B.Rang from its rock. It was too broken to use, but Ryu had an idea that maybe that old man Gobi had mentioned could fix it.
...the old man told them to go to Gant. They went to Gant.
Gant
Ox picked up a Spine Hammer and a set of Metal Armour at the weapon shop. In the room where Gobi had been given the goods, the party found a door behind a chest of drawers which Ox moved out of the way. In the secret room was an old man, who offered to teach Karn a spell. He'd recognised Karn as a member of his family line, which his strange abilities.
This spell allowed Karn to fuse together with Bo and Gobi, into a more powerful form.
Unable to find out anything new, the party set out to find the fortress on the western side of the mountains. They started by heading back to Prima, and, from there, northwest. They came up onto land again to the north of Gant, and continued south around the mountains. Soon, they came to the fort.
Hidden Fort
Finding the front door locked, the team crept down the stairs. Rubble blocked their way, but Ox moved it aside with ease. He also broke down a crumbling wall and found a Giant Hammer and an Echo Hat. Upstairs, they found a herb. Rather than go past the guard, Ox punched through a wall. That seemed to work pretty well, so they did it a few more times.
The party found a herb, a life, and a Metal Shield. As they headed down the floors to the next level, they were challenged by a general, who transformed himself into a toad and attacked. After defeating him, Ox released the prisoners. They told him that the Dark Dragons had already taken the other prisoners and the weapon to Nabal, in the North, Ox's wife amongst them. The men from Gant discussed Nabal's tight security, and wondered if the old weapon dealer could help.
Ox broke down a nearby wall, and the party headed up the stairs, exiting on the northern side of the fort.
By following the mountains around west, south, and then back east, the party found a strange temple, similar to the one they'd come across to the south of Auria. The old man there said that, to go further in, Ryu must have completed the first step, and have the Dragon Sword.
To the north of the hidden fort, they found a forest full of strange, large, pink birds. The man guarding them told them that the castle ahead was dangerous, and they should get some help before attacking. The party took his advice, and warped back to Gant. There, they asked the chief for help. He fixed the B.Rang for them while they rested, and, the next morning, the party headed for the old man's hut.
The old man exclaimed over the B.Rang, but remarked that they'd have to use their head too.
He also told them that a Grimfowl is a tame bird until you steal its eggs - then it goes berserk. Ryu wondered if the pink birds were Grimfowls. The party headed back to the forest, to find that the man they'd spoken to before had gone. Seeing an egg, they took their chances and grabbed it. The mother Grimfowl attacked, but they managed to fight her off, and ran to the castle - but not too fast. Leading the Grimfowl behind them, Ryu threw the egg into the castle. With all the guards distracted, they were able to walk right in.
Moving a few vases, they found a life2 and a Skull Ring, before heading down the stairs. On the lower left they ran into a General, who threatened them before running away and leaving them to his three guards. The guards transformed into slime monsters. Before dying, they told the party that the General had gone to destroy Prima.
In the next room, they ran into Ox's wife, who said the same thing - that they'd taken the weapon out to sea. Gobi suggested going to see the Guild Master of Prima, and Ox and his wife discussed their future child - only six more months to go.
Prima
Back in Prima, the Guild Master told them that they needed Wisdon's sorceress, and to ask the man upstairs for more information. The man upstairs informed them that they'd need the statue to enter Wisdon, the moving town in the desert. Fortunately, he had the statue hidden under the bed.
After a quick trip to loot Nabal Castle - resulting in a Magic Ring, and a cure - the party warped to Arad. There, they rested and prayed to the Dragon Lord before heading North to Wisdon.
Wisdon
The town was full of spirits, but otherwise in ruins. At the entrance, a spirit told them "the sorceress who sealed Tyr is sleeping here". They learned that she was asleep inside the palace, and had been there for thousands of years. One spirit said "it's our duty to protect her from intruders," before adding, cheerfully, "you look okay!".
The party headed down the stairs in the centre of town, which seemed to be the only way to reach the Palace. Underground, they found four herbs, two ProSh, a Life2, two Lifes, a Silver BR, a RangerHR, some ChainMail and an OldSP. On reaching the other side, Ryu saw that the palace was decorated like a Dragon Temple.
The Palace was huge, and empty. When Ryu claimed the stairs, he could see the Sorceress, lying just across a stream. Nervous, he walked the other way first. He was afraid to see her. He was afraid of what he'd remember.
He was afraid of what he wouldn't.
There was a strange room there, with symbols on the floor. There was a matching room on the other side, three symbols in each, six altogether.
As the party approached the sorceress, her guards challenged them.
One of the ghosts said, "you are the warrior destined to be a hero..."
Another told them that they must prove their worth to be in the presence of the sorceress. The three guards challenged the party, one by one.
Afterwards, they agreed to wake the Sorceress. Ryu overheard the spirit chosen referring to him as a "descendant of the hero".
When gently waking her didn't work, the three guards hit her with a thunder spell.
As the sorceress awoke, her guards disparated. Their goal was complete, they said.
After the situation was explained, the sorceress gave them an OldEgg. She told them to put it somewhere warm, like in the volcano, where it would hatch and cause a typhoon. Then she went back to sleep.
When Ryu nudged her, she told him to come back after putting the egg in the volcano.
Outside, Nina warped the party back to Gant. From there, they walked to Prima, and, after praying to the Dragon Lord, on to the volcano.
Sea Volcano
The underwater volcano was full of winding tunnels. Exploring them, they party found 3000gp, 2000gp, a SharpBw, and a PowerDR. On the second floor, they found two sets of stairs heading upwards, and chose the nearest set first. They found an M.Drop, and headed back down, to find the further set of stairs. Upstairs, they found a herb and, shortly afterwards, came to the centre of the volcano. Walking out over a narrow bridge, Ryu wondered why the water wasn't boiling. He dropped the egg into the volcano, where it grew larger. Then the party hurried back to Wisdon.
The Sorceress grumbled about being woken, but, when the situation was explained, agreed to help. Back in Prima, the Chief offered to let them rest there until the Dark Dragon's made their move. The next morning, as they began to leave the inn, the Chief told them it was time.
Outside, he asked Deis to use her magic to defeat the Dark Dragons and promised Gobi that, if he did the right thing, he'd get his license back. One of the manillo's transformed himself into a giant fish and swam the party up to the surface, where they found themselves surrounded by enemies. Deis summoned the Typhoon Bug which had hatched from the egg, and the enemies were decimated. The few remaining enemies retreated slightly, but then began to dive down towards Prima. The party followed them.
On the sea floor, the manillos of Prima took on most of the troops while Ryu's party headed for the general. After the battle, the general threatened to blow up Prima, and the ground began to shake.
Back in the Dark Dragon's headquarters, Zog congratulated Jade on how well their world domination was going so far. After confirming that it was the Light Dragons who had gotten in the way in Prima, Zog muttered darkly to himself about making them pay. He told Jade to hunt them down personally.
Outside, Jade discussed the issue with Cerl, Cort, Mote, and Goda, his subordinates. They wondered if Zog was trying to distract Jade, for some reason. Jade commanded them to hunt down Ryu.
Back in Prima, it seemed that the party and the townsfolk had been successful in forcing the general too far away for the weapon to damage Prima.
Gobi insisted on going with the party, as they still owed him money. Karn told him to tell the truth - that he was going just because he wanted to. After all, the party had had the 100,000gp for the Gills the entire time.
Outside, Gobi suddenly remembered that he'd forgotten something. Back in Prima, the Chief gave him back his license and a sphere - which, he explained, members of the manillo tribe could use to transform into giant fish. He also gave them a MystSF.
Outside, the party tested this ability immediately, and crossed the previously impassable gap just southwest of the volcano. Almost immediately, they came to a beach, just to the southwest of the gap. They found that they were able to come up near a cave they'd noticed before, which had previously been on the other side of the mountains. Inside, they found a room full of talking frogs, some of whom panicked at the sight of Deis' snake tail.
To the north of that beach, they found another, which came up near Camlon. Ryu stopped by Drogen in order to speak to the village elders and update them on events. Also, for free rest.
Finally, in the northwest of this part of the sea, the party came another beach, which brought them up somewhere new. They seemed to be on the far side of the river near Karma. Directly in front of them was a strange symbol on the side of the mountain, like the one Ryu had seen before. Again, they couldn't seem to do anything with it.
Soon, they came to a town, just to the north east.
Gust
In Gust, they learned that bridge in the valley lead to Scande. They also heard that some people went mad when the north wind blew, and the the villager who'd been sent to investigate had yet to return. In a nearby windmill, they met a friend of the young villager, and a man who appeared to be mad. In the house behind the windmill, Ox moved a small box and the party found a trapdoor. Inside, they found a man who said his Kingdom had been destroyed. He taught Karn another spell.
Another villager told them that there had been several Dark Dragons in the area, and that they'd destroyed the Bridge to Scande - only Nicholie could fix it. In the Inn, they found a sash. In the Weapon Shop, Nina got a WingRP, Bo and Ox got WorldMl, and Ryu and Ox got Flame Shields. Bo also traded his sharp bow for a Moon Bow, while Ryu bought a Winged Sword.
To the east of town, a man blocked the entrance to a cave. He told them that a fly had taken his lunch.
The party decided to head north, through the town, and see if they could find the villager. After a little way, they came to a group of strange flowers. On touching them, the party became dizzy and confused. A little further on, they found a locked door set into the side of the mountain, and a cave just around the corner. They found that they couldn't get anywhere through the cave, so Karn unlocked the door, and they went in.
Lab.
As the party walked towards the first treasure chest, a monster appeared from nowhere and attacked. After the battle, the party claimed a herb. Nearby, they found a Cure2, a L.Ptn and a Rod4, all guarded by similar monsters.
On the second floor, they ran into Cort, who used a potion to shrink them. Exploring a little, they found a mousehole in the north wall. One of the mice told them "there's big trouble a-brewin'". Another mouse begged for help, but the party couldn't figure out what it wanted them to do. They rested at the mouse inn for a bit.
The next morning, the mouse blocking one of the tunnels had moved, and they headed north. Eventually, they were challenged by a group of cockroaches. After defeating them, they headed back to the group of mice, where the one which had asked for help thanked them, and gave them a herb (in the righthand treasure chest) and an M.Cura. Ryu quickly hurried to the exit,and used the M-.Cura to return the party to normal size. The party hurried to the next floor, and used a series of floating platforms to catch up with Cort. When they reached him, he set another one of his monsters on them.
After defeating the monster, it slowly transformed into a man, who turned out to Nicholie. Cort ran away, telling them that his flower would turn them all mad. Nina tried to heal Nicholie, but her spell was too weak, and Deis had to do it. She told the party that she required oil from the frogs in the Frog Cave.
On the way there, the party found a beach right in the middle, leading up to an island. There was a town there, but the people didn't speak a language that Ryu could understand.
At Frog Cave, one of the frogs asked for a G.Fly. Nina warped the party back to Gust.
In the cave they hadn't been able to get to earlier, the party found a G.Fly, which they quickly defeated. The party made their way back to Frog Cave, swapped the G.Fly for the Oil, and warped back to Gust. They found Deis and Nicholie in a house near to the entrance. After healing Nicholie, Deis told the party to go and destroy the flower while she watched over him. She tried to look into a crystal ball, to see the results of this mission, but it exploded. Undeterred, the party headed to the north of the village, to where they'd seen the plant. Cort was waiting there, and set the plant on them.
After defeating it, Cort, upset and horrified, ran away. The party headed back to Gust. Deis met them at the entrance to the house where they'd left Nicholie. They were shocked to find that he'd turned back into a monster, and Deis sheepishly admitted that she'd made a mistake.
As Nicholie attacked, his friend gave the party permission to kill him if they couldn't cure him. Luckily, it didn't come to that. The party were able to lay him out, and Deis quickly used her magic to cure him. Nicholie promised to fix the bridge, and his friend Tina offered the party a place to stay.
The next morning, the party headed up to the north, to see if the bridge was fixed yet. On the way, a girl asked if they'd spoken to the flute maker yet, and advised them that a flute might be handy. The party hurried to the flute-maker's house, and took the Maestro from under his bed. Another man told them that "mole-like" creatures lived in the town across the bridge.
At the bridge, the party found Nicholie collapsed. As they approached, Cort appeared. Telling them that "you broke the spell, but you won't break me!" he transformed into a monster and attacked.
After defeating the HornToad, Nicholie woke up. He told them that the bridge was ready. Nina healed the party and they hurried across.
The land on the other side of the bridge seemed to be almost entirely inhabited by Wizards, like the one Ryu had faced in Karma tower. They also ran into several troupes of Dark Dragon guards. Around the mountains to the south, the party found another mark against the mountain, like a doorway. On an island to the north they saw a palace, but there was no obvious way to reach it. To the west, they found a bridge, and walked across it.
The land on the other side was barren and dry. To the southwest of the desert, a strange flower grew, just at the edge of the desert. The party found more of these strange blooms surrounding a cave to the far south corner of the desert. Finally, in the centre of the desert, the party found a strange crack which lead to a village.
Gramor
The party soon learned that this was the village of the mole people, who were being exploited by the dark dragons. They also learned that a young mole-person, Mogu, was in a coma, brought on by Mort's spell. They were told that Mogu would wake up if the monster in his dream could be defeated. The chief of Gramor told them that they'd need an item from Tunlan in order to enter Mogu's dream, and asked if the party would be willing to fetch it. They agreed, and the chief gave them a cowl, an item which would help them to understand any language. The party decided to head for Tunlan, which they guessed must be that mysterious island village with the strange musical language.
Before they left, Deis insisted on exploring a little more, mostly in order to find more monsters to practice her spells on. The party made their way through the cave to the south of Gramor, and came out on the other side.
Spring
On this side of the cave, the party found a small town and a tower, all surrounded by ice. They couldn't find the entrance to the tower, but they did see another of those strange ground-marks in front of it. They headed to the village, instead. One of the first villagers they met told them that only a member of the race of Mole-people could open the entrance to Spyre, which they guessed was the tower.
In the weapon shop, Gobi traded his ranger vest for SpineCL, while Karn, Deis and Nina each bought a set of Quartz Armour. In the Inn they found a pair of Clogs, which they all agreed that Ox could have. In another house, they found a herb, and learned that the weather hadn't always been so called, and that the old lady remembered hearing that Spyre controlled the temperature. Ryu wondered if this was the work of the Dark Dragons. A man outside confirmed that Spyre controlled the sky. A lady told them that her husband had gone to Spyre and disappeared.
Another lady told them that Spring had never had snow before, while her husband said that there was a path to Scande through the waterfall. Ryu was starting to doubt that Scande really existed.
The party found that they could walk on the frozen lake, and Nina was very happy to find a sweet little duck pond. She didn't let Bo shoot any of them.
Finally, the party headed to Tunlan, when Deis decided she'd recovered enough spells. They decided to see if one of the mole-people would come back to Spring with them later, to see if they could fix the tower.
Tunlan
In Tunlan, the party were delighted to find that they could understand the residents, one of whom told them that they used the language of music. A tourist from Gust expressed his frustration, and lamented that he should have brought a flute.
They also heard rumours of a girl with wings on her back, who, a long time ago, had fallen from the sky. They were told that a villager had taken her in.
In the weapon shop, Nina bought an EvilRP, while Deis bought a BoneCane. Deis traded her Quartz Armour for a Guru Coat, and Nina traded hers for a Myst Robe. A villager outside told them about Tunlan's treasure, the Bolster, which allowed them to enter people's dreams. Another villager told them that the princess was the only one who could open the safe. Nina reminded Karn not to try to steal it.
Another villager told them that the Dark Dragon's were after the villagers Time Key, one of the six Goddess Keys which controlled Time. In another house, a lady played them a tune which healed wounds, and told them that all songs had different powers. Ryu wondered what the Maestro would do. Someone else told them that it was possible to save music in a bottle and listen to it later.
In a house nearby, the party found a girl who looked just like Nina - she could almost pass for her older sister. The old lady caring for her told them that this was the winged girl who'd fallen from the sky, who didn't remember her past. The girl looked thoughtful when she them, but didn't say anything. In the house next door, a girl lamented that she had no musical inspiration.
Finally, outside the palace, the party learned that the princess was enamoured with Zog, Horrified, they hurried to the palace. Inside, they found that it was true - Zog was promising the Princess eternal youth.
The party asked an old lady if they could use the bolster - she agreed, on the condition that they solve her problem first. The party needed to persuade the princess not to hand over the Time Key to Zog.
They tried but the Princess refused. Confessing their failure to the old lady, she sighed that she knew this would happen. She told the party to spy on the Princess as she bathed - the marks on her back would tell them how to open the safe, so she could steal the Time Key first.
The party followed the old lady to the treasure room. As they went for a chest, one of the golem guards came to life, and they fell through a trapdoor into the floor below. They found another trapdoor, and, on this floor, two treasure chests containing a herb and a melon. Escaping from this basement, they made their way back to the palace, slightly embarassed. This time, they did as they were told, and headed to the princess's rooms, to watch her swim in the moonlight. They headed through a crack in the wall, and spied through the plants - the marks were blue, red and white, from left to right. Ryu also noticed that the Princess had wings, and hair like his sister's.
They hurried back to the old woman and tried the code. It didn't work, and as the old woman realised that the marks had been reflected, and needed to be reversed, the princess arrived, and demanded to know what was going on. The old woman tried persuading the Princess, but, when that didn't work, told the party to try force. Enthusiastically, Deis blew the bloody doors off. Nina tried to stop her, but it didn't work. In the confusion, Jade's assistant, Cerl grabbed the key. The Princess demanded her eternal life, and Cerl laughed. Deis called the Princess pathetic, the Princess called Deis old, and Deis nearly blew her up too. Cerl reminded them that they'd just lost the key, and Deis said she didn't care. She didn't like the princess - "she's worse than Nina."
Nina defended herself; "Wait a minute! I'm not THAT obnoxious!"
The Princess started yelling again, and Cerl sighed and ran away. Angry, the Princess set her guards on the party, and, itching for a fight, Deis and Nina went to town. Having fun, Deis decided to try an old spell she'd just remembered. Karn tried to stop her, but it didn't help.
The party woke up in the hotel infirmary the next morning. The Princess was there, too. Karn reminded the party of why they were there in the first place, and the old woman gave them permission to take the Bolster from the safe. The Princess was in no state to argue.
The party took the Bolster along with two slices of Melon and an M.Drop. Then they climbed through a trapdoor on the far left, to find themselves in another part of the basement. An old man told them "if you want to make a big catch, you'll need what's under that box".
Ryu checked, and found a Rod5, the best he'd ever seen. Ryu wondered if this thing could get fish out of the many old wells he'd seen. He decided to try it.
First, he had Deis warp the party to Tuntar, where they walked west then north to find the old well he'd seen before. Fishing in it, he found a slab with strange writing on it, which said "Where mystic water lies, the ultimate power sleeps".
Ryu then had Deis warp the party to the Arad, where he walked west then south to the well he remembered seeing around the mountains. There he found the Dragon Helmet,which he immediately put on. He wondered if it had belonged to the legendary Hero.
Deis warped the party to Romero then, and asked Bo to lead them West through the forest then south around the mountains, until they came to another well. Fishing there, Ryu found the Dragon Sword. Remembered the Dragon Temple they'd seen near Gant, Ryu had Nina warp them back to Drogen, to rest. From there, they walked to the beach near Camlon, and used Gobi's fish powers to bring them back to the Hidden Fort. From there, the party walked around the mountains until they came to the temple. Equipped with the Dragon Sword, Ryu went in. He found another healing spring in the inner sanctum, as well as a marble2. As prepared as he could be, Ryu faced the Dragon.
To his surprise, Ryu found that Bain was quite easy to defeat. He left with three new forms - Fire Dragon, Bolt Dragon and Gold Dragon. Finally, the party headed back to Gramor.
Gramor and the Dreamworld
Seeing that the party had the Bolster, the chief asked if they were ready to enter the dream. Ryu nodded, and, suddenly, there they were.
The party found themselves in a hut in a small village. One of the people nearby - who looked exactly like Mogu's sister - asked if they had the bolster, and told them that they'd been unable to get rid of the monster. Asking around the village, they found out that the monster was in the North Tower. The party also realised that they were talking to the fragments of Mogu's personality - anger, fear, reason, humour, and sorrow. They all indicated that one was missing - courage. Without courage, and the reuniting of Mogu's personality, the monster would never be defeated.
The party left the village, and found themselves on a very weird landscape. They headed towards the tower they could see in the distance, trying not to look down.
The layout of the tower was very simple, but made more complicated by the fact that, when they stepped on certain floor tiles, the walls turned invisible. Ryu ended up very bruised.
There was no treasure in the tower - Ryu wondered if they'd have been able to remove items from the dream world anyway. Eventually, they found their way to a set of stairs guarded by a small child. He said, "As long as Mogu's senses are scattered, you won't have a chance against me. Do you want to fight?"
The party readied themselves for battle, and the child transformed into a giant moth. He barely scratched the party, but they were unable to damage him, either. Exhausted, they headed back to the village.
There, they found Mogu's sister waiting. She, Anne, told them that they'd found courage, in the south cave, and that they'd fixed the bridge leading there. After resting in the village, the party headed south.
As they headed towards the cave, they found themselves walking down a narrow path surrounded by spiky plants with skulls at their bases. Ryu found a Light Shield, a life, and some HeadGear. In many places, previously invisible jets of air blocked their way. Eventually, they made it to the cave.
There, they met a strange person, sitting on a throne. He said "You're looking for courage, but it's not here. What's here is only form, not substance."
Almost immediately, Anne and the old man from the village appeared. They told the party that courage was depressed, and began trying to snap him out of it. Then they disappeared.
Reason appeared and told courage that they must be united, in order to bring peace to the world. One by one, the other parts of Mogu's mind appeared, to try to cheer courage up, before joining with him.
Himself again, Mogu asked to join the party.
Weakened, and unable to use warp, the party had a tough time making it back through the thorns. Exit didn't help either - it took them back to the cave entrance.
Eventually, they made their way out, and, after resting at the village, headed back to the northern tower. They walked through the tunnels to the stairs where they'd seen the small child earlier. He told them that they wouldn't be able to defeat him, even with courage, but that he'd be waiting upstairs if they wished to try.
Finally, they reached the top floor, the fourth. There, the creepy child announced that fighting in the dreamworld was not the same as in the real world, and then attacked. Ryu's dragon forms didn't seem to be able to hurt it, but, luckily, Deis' magic could.
Defeated, the creepy child gasped that they'd be trapped in the dreamworld forever. This turned out to be an empty threat, as the party woke up about three seconds later. Realising what had happened, Mogu asked to stay with the party.
The party warped first to Drogen, for a rest, and then to Camlon, where the townspeople unveiled a statue of Ryu. The party headed northeast, to the strange mark that Ryu had noticed on the ground, so long ago. Mogu dug into it, and unveiled an underground cave. Inside, they found another strange man who claimed to be related to Karn, and taught him a transformation.
The party warped to Bleak, where Karn used his new form to move chests in the fortune teller's house. One lead him to a Clear Cloak, the other to someone else who taught him his final form.
The party warped to Auria, and headed to the strange mountain door, to the north of the city. Karn used his new form's breath to open it, and, inside, the party found a Dark Bracelet.
Ryu remembered seeing a weird mark near where the party had found the stone golem, so they warped to Tuntar next. From there, they headed to the mark. Mogu dug there, and they found an L.Ptn, another clog (from a booby-trapped chest), an A.Ptn, and a V.Ptn.
The party then warped to Gust, to the strange door that they'd seen on coming out of the sea, to the southwest of the town. Karn breathed on the door in his new form, and, inside, they found a Love Bracelet.
Finally, the party warped back to Spring. They still had a tower to scale.
Spring and Spyre
From Spring, the party headed south, to the tower. Mogu dug into the mark nearby, and they were in.
They found a cure2, A.Ptn, a shell, World Armour, and Flame Armour on the first floor.
A few floors up, they found a strange level, one that was disorientatingly large. And a desert. They eventually found the stairs to the next floor, where they found that it was raining. Indoors. There were also large gaps in the walls. Ryu had a look through, but overbalanced, and ended up outside the tower again. On their second run through, the party stayed well away.
On the next floor up was another desert. They managed to locate the stairs in the southeastern corner.
The next floor was icy cold, and had more holes in the walls. They found the stairs in the north easternmost corner.
This next floor seemed to be made of sky. Ryu was very nervous about actually walking on the floor. This time, the stairs were in the south western corner.
The next floor showed space, and Ryu almost refused to go on. Nina and Deis thought it was hilarious. On this floor, they found a machine with a space for the key, like the ones they'd seen in Agua, and the one under Camlon castle. There was also a pillar with a glowing orb on it.
When they examined the pillar, Jade's assistant, Mote, appeared, gloating that he'd beaten them to the key, and that he'd prepared a surprise for them. After being blinded by a bright light, the party found themselves in a strange town.
Mare Town
After talking to some of the townspeople, the party found that they were in a dreamworld, that they could only leave if they defeated Mote. One man told them that Mote's conscience could tell them where he was. All of the townspeople were former victims. Along the outside wall, they found the spectre who guarded the SkyKey. He said that he could only give it to a true hero, then apologised to Deis, saying that things were different in the dreamworld.
Outside of the town, they found a cave, overlooked by a huge castle with no discernible entrance. They headed into the cave.
Mare Tower
Inside, they found a Cure, a JadeBw, a Trident, a L.Ptn, a Smoke, a Cursed Hat and a Facemask. Eventually, they ran into a strange creature who introduced himself as Mote's conscience. He begged them to defeat Mote while he still had some strength.
Walking up the stairs he'd uncovered, Ryu found two springs of fresh water which healed the party's injuries. There was also a Dragon Statue. Ryu prayed to the Dragon Lord before heading through the doorway.
Beyond the doorway was a walkway which seemed to be made of glass. When the party stepped on a certain part of it, the room seemed to spin, and it was tricky not to become disorientated. Eventually, they made their way to the other side, and through a set of confusing stairs. Beyond there, they ran into Mote, who asked how they dared to come into his world and try to fight him.
The party's attacks didn't seem to hurt Mote. That is, until his conscience showed up, and blocked his power.
After the battle, Mote collapsed, and his conscience thanked the party before disappearing. The party found themselves back in Spyre, where the spirirt congratulated them, and told them to check the pillar for the key. Ryu used it on the machine next to the pillar, which lit up. Deis used exit, and the party walked back to Spring.
Spring
Back in Spring, spring had sprung. The villages celebrated the return of the warm weather, and one of them mentioned that a hero had once fallen into the waterfall, never to be seen again. He warned Ryu to be careful - he might catch a hero instead of a fish.
The water was shallow enough to wade it, and Ryu headed over to the duck pond. After fishing for a while, he found a set of Dragon Armour. Then the party headed to the northern waterfall, remembering what they'd heard about being able to get to Scande through it.
Behind the waterfall, they found a cave. Once through the cave, they found a new area.
In the southeast of this new area, the mountain found another strange door in the side of a cliff. Karn, in his puka form, breathed on it, and inside they found a WindBR. A little northwest of that, up a few hills, they found a dig spot for Mogu. Inside, they found a HeroBW, inside a chest with a toxin trap. To the west of this they found a strange tower, called Tock. They presumed that they'd need to return here later. To the south they found a castle (called South Castle). Ditto. The doors were locked. Looking at their map, the party concluded that the only part of the world they hadn't seen was the part just beyond the castle.
Finally, the party returned to the town they'd passed. On the way, they passed an odd tree, growing amongst ruins.
Ryu wagered that this town wouldn't be Scande.
Carmen
It wasn't Scande.
In Carmen, time had stopped. The party spoke to one villager who'd recently returned to find everyone frozen. He wondered if this had something to do with Tock, in the east. Ryu figured that it probably did. The party prayed to the Dragon Lord, then headed back to Tock.
Tock
In Tock, the party found strange arrowed tiles, which warped them two paces in the direction of the arrow. After a little blundering around, they also found a Life, an EvilCN, and an IcyAR. On the next floor, they found a Cure, and several orbed pillars which didn't seem to respond to them. They headed up to the third floor. There, they found a G.Tiara, a GuardSH and a Life2.
The third floor was even more complicated. There, they found an AgileHT and a Wolfskin. They also found two staircases, and took the one on the right, since they couldn't access the one to the left.
On the next floor, they ran into Cerl. She told the party that they'd given her all kinds of trouble, but that it was over now. Then she revealed her plan - to stop time all over the world. As Cerl showed them Carmen, she realised that the one person not frozen in the town was her childhood friend, Alan. Before she could react to that, time and space began to distort, and the party got sucked into the effect. Ryu found himself, alone, near the strange tree, south of Carmen. He headed back to the town, using a marble3 to avoid fights.
Carmen
Nina greeted Ryu, and told him that the entire party was there. Alan told them that he didn't believe Cerl would help the dark dragons, and headed to Tock. Bo volunteered the party's services to protect him.
Tock
In Tock, the party found Alan talking to Cerl at the top of the tower. Cerl attacked Alan, claiming that her childhood memories were lost, and warning him not to get sappy on her. She told him that she'd learned to be tough in order to survive. She told him that she'd attack anyone in her way, then transformed into a strangee centaur manitpede and attacked the party. After a little while she stopped fighting, and threatened to advance time until everyone in Carmen had died of old age. Gobi gasped, and said "she's got us! We have to retreat!"
Cerl agreed, and told them to get out. Again, time and space began to distort, and the party got sucked into the middle. Ryu and Nina ended up outside South Castle, where Cerl retreated inside. Nina tried to open the gate, but couldn't. They returned to Carmen.
Carmen
Gobi, Karn and Mogu were wandering around the town centre. Ryu found a RubyRG in the Inn. In another house, they found Ox, Bo and Deis, watching over Alan, who'd been injured.
Ox wondered how Cerl could hurt a friend like this, and Alan confessed that he was responsible. When they were children, Cerl had been kicked out of town because she wasn't human. Alan had been unable to stop the townspeople. He said that if he protected her or left with her, she wouldn't be like this. Alan said that Cerl would never forgive him.
Nina asked if he had anything that meant a lot to Cerl. Alan told them that Cerl would remember the fruit, which grew on the Holiday Tree near the Southern Coast village where they grew up. Deis decided that the party should get the fruit and then head to the South Castle.
Ox hit the tree to knock the fruit off, and the party continued on to South Castle.
South Castle
When Cerl smelt the fruit, her heart softened, and the party were able to enter the castle. Inside they met Cerl, who told them that, if they'd come to defeat her, they'd win. She was too tired to go on.
Instead of fighting, Bo gave her the fruit. Cerl turned her back. She said that Alan would never forgive her. She told the party to take the Time Key. The party released that they needed to bring Alan here.
As the party took the key, Goda attacked Cerl. He told her not to be stupid - "we serve the empire!". Cerl told the party to run, while she took care of Goda.
As the party waited outside the castle, Alan appeared. He insisted on heading inside.
As Cerl disappeared, the castle faded away, taking Alan with it. Bo said that it was all because of the war, that it made people crazy.
Deis reminded them that Cerl had wanted them to take the village back to the present time. The party headed back to Tock.
Tock
Nina insisted on being the one to use the Time Key in the machine. She triumphantly announced that time had returned to normal in Carmen, and tried to remove the key. As she did so, she became sucked into the vortex. The party tried to follow her, but ended up near Tunlan, without her.
Remembering that strange girl, the party hurried to the old woman's house. They explained to her that the girl was Nina, who'd become lost in time. The old woman agreed that Nina should go with them, but explained that she had amnesia. With no idea as to what to do, the party headed back to Carmen, to see if anyone there had any ideas.
Carmen
People in Carmen were back to normal, and seemed unaware that time had been frozen. An old man told them that Scande was surrounded by cursed red water, which had good fishing, and the party bought some new weapons and armour. Finally, in one house, they found a famous doctor. He told them that amnesia was easy to cure - they simply needed the tonic. To make it, they'd need P.Fish, Root, C.Nut and a W.Ant. The doctor promised to make the tonic if they brought him the ingredients.
First, the party headed to Gramor. Mogu dug by one of the plants near the cave to the south, and came up with a root. Then they headed to Tunlan, where Ox was able to knock a coconut down from one of the palm trees. Gobi insisted on stopping by Prima (for no apparent reason, since it could have been done in Tunlan) in order to buy a Sleeper, from a random seller in the marketplace.
Finally, the party headed back to the ruins of the Southern castle. There, they saw Cerl and Alan, now children again. Cerl proudly announced that she was going to marry Alan when she grew up.
The party headed through the castle, and beyond it, to look for the red waters of Scande. They did eventually find the broken bridge that lead over them, but Ryu had forgotten his fishing rod. After fetching it, he was able to return to fish off the bridge, and catch a P.Fish. The party returned to Carmen with the ingredients, and the doctor made the tonic. The party quickly hurried to Tunlan, to give it to Nina. Nina recovered instantly, and revealed that she was now old enough to fly. Outside of Tunlan, she gave a demonstration, transforming into a bird, and carrying the party to the north.
North of Gust, the party came to the town they'd noticed before, in the middle of a lake. They landed on it, and headed inside.
Dragon Temple
The person at the entrance notified them that they must have the Dragon Armour in order to proceed. Ryu headed to the nearest town, to get it out of storage. Back at the temple, he was able to pick up another slice of melon before proceeding. Ryu quickly found that his bolt dragon didn't work, and used the fire dragon instead, which did quite a lot of damage. Ryu didn't quite like to admit that it took him three goes to defeat the damn thing.
The party then flew to the west of Gust, where they found a well surrounded by mountains. There, Ryu found the Dragon Shield.
The party then headed to Winlan. On an island to the north, they found a dig mark for Mogu. Inside they found a V.Ptn inside a cursed chest, and an S.Ptn and a Sash behind two walls which Ox broke down.
To the southeast of Scande, on the tip of the continent, they found another dig spot, which contained a LoveHt, a StarSH, a MystCW, an S.Ptn, an A.Ptn, an L.Ptn, a Life 2, and an AgileHT.
From Agua, the party headed north, to an island with two strange towers. Behind one, Ryu found the Tri-Rang. The party then headed south, to Ease Cave. At the bottom, they were able to walk into the Cleansing Water, wearing the gills. At the bottom, they found a dragon, who unlocked Ryu's Agni power. Finally, the party headed to Scande.
Scande
The party were told that they had no business in Scande. They headed back to Carmen where, to the northeast of the doctor's house, they met a strange man. He told them to "search here" then disappeared. Searching where he'd stood, they found the Pass which would let them access Scande. They headed back to Scande, stopping by Tock on the way to grab a Myst sword from behind the Time machine
.In Scande, they found an old tower with a tall elevator. A guard told them that a man from Spring had climbed up it a while ago, but that no one could follow because of an equipment failure - the switch was broken. The party found a herb in the inn, and a group of prisoners in the house below. They learned that Zog lived at the top of the tower, and that the Dark Dragons were forcing everyone to work there, with the mole people digging below the surface. Wandering a little further, they found that the mole people had escaped, and, without them, Obelisk could not be excavated.
The party warped to Tunlan, so Gobi could set up shop in the marketplace, and the party could think about these new findings. Gobi picked up Mask Sheilds for Nina, Karn, and Mogu, and an EvilRB for Deis. The party then headed to Prima, to see if Gobi would have better luck there.
Gobi managed to buy Mask Shields for himself and Deis, and a GlowCN for Deis. Eventually, he managed to buy another GlowCN, a PowerRP for Nina, and a Mallet for Ox. The party headed to Spring, to look for the climber.
The party found the climber, injured in bed. He gave them the broken parts from the lift in Scande. The party headed to Gant, to see if anyone there could fix them. An old man woke the chief up, and the Chief fixed the parts for them. He let the party rest there while he worked on it.
When the parts were fixed, the party headed back to Scande. They couldn't warp there for some reason, so they flew, mostly for funsies. With the parts, they were able to fix the elevator and head up.
At the top of the tower, they met the mysterious man again. He told them of the D.Heart, a weapon in Tunlan that could destroy any dragon. A lady in Tunlan played them the song, which injured Ryu. She put it into a bottle for them to take away with them.
The party headed back to Scande. This time, there was no mysterious figure blocking their way, and they were able to head into the building. They found a Glove, a PowerHT, an IcyCN, a Marble1 and a cure. Eventually, they reached Zog, who remarked that he was surprised to see them, and that Ryu made the dragon family proud. After talking about his plans to take over the world, he attacked.
After the battle, Zog congratulated them, and told them that they'd defeated him, but not his dream. He told Ryu to go, and build a world for dragons. The party fell into a dungeon.
Ryu awoke to see Sara. Nina told her that she recognised her, and Gobi told her that she could put her mind to rest now that Zog was gone. Sara thanked them, and told Ryu that she'd been looking forward to this day. Ox started crying.
Sara asked Ryu to give her the Goddess Keys, so she could destroy them. He did so. Suddenly, Sara revealed that she was working for Jade, who turned out to be the mysterious man who'd given them the pass and told them where to find the D.Heart. Jade gloated that he'd tricked them into helping him, and that, with his spell, he had total control over Sara. Leaving the party in the dungeon, he and Sara left for Agua, to release Tyr. As the party searched for a way out, a mole person burrowed up through the floor, and Ryu remembered what he'd heard about them escaping. The mole person told Ryu to follow them.
The mole people celebrated the fact that they didn't have to run any more, following Zog's defeat. They also mentioned that all the guards had run away.
The party flew to Agua.
Agua
Ryu was quite pleased that the party had already ransacked the place- it made climbing the stairs much easier. In the room with the machines, they ran into Sara. She cried "stop him before he succeeds, Ryu!", and then changed her mind and yelled "I'll stop you myself!" before running off. Ryu followed her up the stairs.
Upstairs, Jade told them that they were too late. Tyr had been released. Elsewhere, the two towers that had hidden the Tri-Rang rose. Jade escaped using a warp point. Again, the party followed him.
Pagoda
This new place was a little confusing. The party found a set of PowerAR and a Domino, by going up the stairs on the left. They then headed up the stairs on the lower right, and over a bridge into another part of the tower. There, they found a set of AgileAR, a FlameDR and a TrapGrd. A few floors up, Sara appeared, and a shield blocked the party from going onwards. At first Sara mocked them, but then she changed her mind and removed the shield. She told the party that, sometimes, Jade's spell wore off, and she was able to break through. As the party attempted to move onwards, Sara called them back and attacked. Ryu transformed into Agni, and the two dragons faced one another.
After the battle, Sara told Ryu she was free from Jade's control, and that he'd done the right thing.
In the next room, Ryu came across a healing spring. Shortly after that, he was able to grab a StoneHT from the chest the party had been unable to reach earlier. At this point, they managed to accidentally fall right back to the beginning again. They retraced their steps, and, next time, avoided the pit trap and headed right instead.
A little further up, they found Jade. Along the way, the party carefully avoided the grey floor tiles, wary of what had happened in the dreamworld.
Strong pressure pushed the party away from Jade. Jade mocked the party, and told them that Tyr had been released. The Pagoda began to fall apart. Ryu woke up back in Drogen.
The old man told him that Sara had appeared in his dream, asking him to protect Ryu. Nina came in, and informed him that he'd been unconscious for three days. She told him that Sara had brought them there, and saved their lives. Then Karn ran in, and told them that Jade had resurrected Obelisk.
Outside, the party admitted that their chances looked slim, but that it was their responsibility to stop Jade. They mentioned that the Obelisk was now above Scande, and that Nina would be able to fly them there.
Obelisk
There was no entrance - the party would have to dig their way in. Mogu tried, but he couldn't. The party headed to Gramor, to ask for advice. They found that the master digger had managed to lose a town treasure in the ocean. The party warped to Tunlan, and then swam to Prima, to see if anyone there had found it. A manillo in a cafe mentioned that an old woman had bought a claw.
The party warped to Tuntar, and, from there, flew southwest. There was an old lady living on the island there, who collected weapons. She asked if they knew any other weapon buffs.
The party headed south, to the old man who lived east of Gant. He asked them to take a list to the old lady. The party searched through the boxes in his house for the list, and also took the two herbs he offered. The old lady was pleased to see the list, and asked them to take her weapon to the old man, to see if he recognised it. The party took the Wizit to the old man. The old man gave them a letter for the old lady, and said he'd know what the thing was by the time they got back.
The old lady read the letter, and said that, if the item was a tool for the mole people and not a weapon then she wasn't interested. She gave them a letter to deliver to the old man. The old man gave them the I.Claw, and asked if the old lady was pretty.
The party headed back to Obelisk, after resting and praying in Carmen. Mogu insisted that he needed to learn how to use the I.Claw - apparently, it wasn't so simple as "put it on and dig". The party headed back to Gramor, where Mogu was taught how to dig. The party headed back to Obelisk, where they were finally able to enter. Inside, they find that they were floating across space, which was rather disconcerting. They found a FlameHR, and ran into Goda, the last of Jade's minions. He threatened them before running away. They followed him, and headed down the stairs. In the next room, Goda attacked.
After the battle, Goda exclaimed at his defeat before running away. The party followed him again, and became horribly lost amongst a crowd of metallic hearts and strange lifts. They headed down to the steps in the middle, over a series of platforms. They headed back to the centre, which looked the same as when they'd first entered the area, except this time the stairs went down instead of up.
The party headed down the stairs, and found themselves in another room. There, they met Jade, who offered to give them a town or two if they joined him. The party agreed, and Jade forced them into a series of ever-tougher battles. When the party felt they were strong enough, they told Jade that they'd changed their minds.
Jade transformed into a strange, insect-like creature, but the party were able to defeat him fairly easily. Afterwards he asked if they were proud, and told them that they shouldn't be. He told them that he'd known he would lose from the second he released Tyr, and now it was time for the party to meet her - Tyr, the Goddess of Destruction. The party found an Emperor Sword, next to the throne.
Stepping on a switch, the party rode the floor panel downwards, then rode another floating platform to the south. They found a little girl standing there, who asked what they wanted. Had they come to have a wish granted?
The party responded with 'no'. The little girl asked why they were there, then, and why did Ryu have his sword out. Were they ready to fight?
Lit with a strange purple glow, the little girl started crying. After the party managed to damage her a little, she said, "I haven't done anything. Don't hurt me."
The party spoke to Tyr again. After resisting for a while, they agreed to be her friend, and Sara appeared. Sara says, "Ryu, use the magic of Agni! She'll reveal her true self!".
Tyr replies "I am not done! I've done nothing!".
Sara says "She'll fool you with her innocent looks. She's evil, but she'll hide it. Don't be fooled!"
Taking her advice, Ryu transforms into Agni and attacks Tyr.
Tyr says "You can't challenge me to a fight! You're only humans. I'll destroy you all."
She then transforms into her creepy form and says "I...don't believe this!"
After defeating Tyr as a six-headed snake goddess, she'll say "You can't win humans. This is only temporary. I shall return," before disappearing in flames.
The sky behind her will transform into steel, which will begin to fall away. Ryu fals with it. Bird warriors from Winlan catch the party as they fall.
Outside Winlan, Sara's ghost says "I'm proud of you, Ryu. You turned the tables on the Goddess of Destruction. You and your companions completed the mission of the legendary warriors. This is the beginning of a new legend. I have watched you succeed. So, I have no regrets in leaving you."
Finally, Ryu speaks. "Wait!"
Sara turns back and says "Goodbye, Ryu. You made me proud. You are a true warrior."
Then she disappears. In her place, the Dragon Lord appears, who says "You have done well. I'll remember that you saved the world. This is the beginning of a new legend!"
Nina says "it's finally over." Karn agrees, "it's about time!"
The Dragon Lord told them "There is still much work for you. You must help those who lost much during the war."
Karn asked "Can't we take a break?"
Bo tells him, "A real hero doesn't quit until the job is done."
Nina adds "we're making history! We'll all be legends, someday."
Gobi says "that's right. Oh, don't forget, you still owe me money."
Karn moans "Again with the money! Is he worthy of hero status?"
The entire party says "let's go!"
A soldier says to the Princess, "Nina, we should return to the Castle. The king is waiting."
Nina tells him, "There's still a lot of work left to be done. Tell the King that I'll return when I'm ready."
As a giant bird, Nina flew all over the world. Mogu showed off his digging skills in Gramor. The party got lost in the desert, and Deis went back to bed. Ox celebrated the birth of his new child. Gobi set up shop. Karn returned to Bleak. Nina, Ryu and Bo mourned the stone robot at the volcano, beforeRyu and Nina left Bo in Tuntar.
Ryu and Nina headed back to Winlan. Finally, Ryu returned to Drogen, where the light dragons were rebuilding. An old lady watched him returning, the sunset at his back, and his sister watching over him.
Warning: The following contains spoilers.
When the Dragon Family was at the peak of its power, a Goddess of Desire appeared.
The goddess Tyr granted wishes. The Dragons fought with each other for her power.
Tyr encouraged the fighting and watched the war between the Dragons escalate.
When the world was at the brink of destruction, a warrior stepped forwards.
The warrior battled Tyr with his 7 Companions and locked her up using his 6 keys.
These "Goddess Keys" were scattered throughout the world and hidden away.
The Light Dragons balanced the power of the family and peace reigned again.
The goddess Tyr granted wishes. The Dragons fought with each other for her power.
Tyr encouraged the fighting and watched the war between the Dragons escalate.
When the world was at the brink of destruction, a warrior stepped forwards.
The warrior battled Tyr with his 7 Companions and locked her up using his 6 keys.
These "Goddess Keys" were scattered throughout the world and hidden away.
The Light Dragons balanced the power of the family and peace reigned again.
Drogen
Sara turns the villagers into stone, to protect them from the flames while she fights Zog alone. She tells Ryu to be strong, and that, when he's a warrior, he'll bring peace to the world.
During the fight, Jade gloats that the Dark Dragons have the seven goddess keys. Shocked, Sara asks what he intends to do with the goddess Tyr.
After the battle, the villagers awaken, and realise that Sara has saved them. The villagers are divided, between avenging Sara and concentrating on survival. After praying to the statue of the Dragon Lord, Ryu sets out on his own, with 300g.
Ryu's first battle nearly kills him. He returns to the village to rest, and the Chief wishes him luck, telling him that Zog's empire lies over the ocean. Ryu prays to the Dragon Lord again, beginning to realise just how hard his journey will be.
Ryu spends the next few days fighting monsters outside the village, training and building strength. He returns every night until he feels strong enough to leave for good.
Over the sea to the north was a kingdom Ryu had never visited before. He needed to take a long detour to get there - east, north, and then west - but, eventually, get there he did.
Camlon
In Camlon, the villagers were quick to tell Ryu that Nanai had been attacked - and that Camlon Castle had been invaded by monsters. Refugees from Drogen urged him to fight. Seeing that none of the castle guards were willing to do so, Ryu went in.
Inside, he found a spring of clean water near the entrance, water which helped heal his wounds. A little further on, he spotted two lots of 70gp that someone had, presumably, dropped while running from the monsters.
Entering the castle treasury, one floor down, Ryu found a herb and a Bronze Sword. In another room, he found a gauntlet and another herb. In many places, rubble blocked his way.
A little further in, Ryu found two more herbs, a Visor and a Suede Cape. Two chests further down were trapped - the one to the left fogged his mind and took some of his magic power, while the one on the right recovered him, physically and mentally. Both contained antidotes.
It was only a little after that that Ryu came across the leader of the monsters, a large, frog-like creature who challenged him. After defeating him, and using a herb to heal himself, Ryu took the monster's stash of 150g and another herb.
After the battle, the air cleared. Ryu didn't see any other monsters as he made his way back out. Outside, the King greeted him as a true hero, and commented on his familiar-looking scar.
The celebration was interrupted by a tremor. The King exclaimed that the Dark Dragons must have the Quake Control, and begged Ryu to head to Nanai, in order to stop it. A guard advised him to sneak in at night.
Ryu prayed to the Dragon Lord once more, and headed to Nanai. The journey took several days. To the northeast, he saw a strange mark on the ground, but it didn't seem to do anything.
Nanai
Ryu entered Nanai at night, and walked past the sleeping guard. Praying to the Dragon Lord for luck, he made his way through the city. He also took part in a little looting of the Dark Dragon's items - a strength potion from the inn, and 300g from a house to the north. In the weapon shop, he traded his bronze sword and dirk for a long sword.
Heading down through the palace, Ryu found 650g, a B.stn, an antidote, some padded armour, another 70gp, a Cure, an F.Stn. Finall, he came to the Quake Control, on the very bottom level. The Knight using it didn't see Ryu approaching, at first. Once he did, he challenged him.
It was a long, tough battle, and only Ryu's collection of herbs prevented the journey from ending here.
After the battle, Ryu found a key in the Quake Control. The machine de-activated, leaving the room trembling. As Ryu headed for the portal which would take him out of the city, he heard a strange voice.
"...Run while you can, for I am returning..."
Outside, a palace official was waiting for him. The King told him that Nanai was destroyed, but the Quake Control would no longer be a problem, and hailed him once again as a true hero. They advised him to head east, through the ruins of Nanai, to Winlan.
On the way to Winlan, Ryu came across Aura Cave. The Winlan guards greeted him, and told him that a Wizard lived on the other side, in Karma, although they would not let him through.
Winlan
As Ryu entered the city, a guard welcomed him to Winlan. He didn't need to be told - the city was built on a hill, rising up into the clouds. A small child told him "when I grow up, I want to soar like my brothers and sisters!". In a house, he found another Vigor potion. In the weapon shop, he traded his padded armour for chainmail. Another villager told him that the Wizard of Karma was helping the Dark Dragons.
Ryu found that there was a port to Scanlon in the east, but that he could only use it with the King's permission. He entered the palace.
A guard wondered aloud if 'he' was okay, but was quickly shushed. Another guard told Ryu that the king had refused an offer from the Dark Dragons.
Nina visited her father before leaving. His nurse told her that he'd become ill after opening a letter from Zog - it must have been poisoned, a known trick of the Dark Dragons. Nina picked up three herbs, an antidote, a Suede Shield, and a Suede Hat. She also checked on their guest. He was whispering a name in his sleep "Sara...".
She wondered if it was the name of a girlfriend.
In the city, Nina picked up a Suede Gown, to replace her dress. She also traded in her short rapier for one made of bronze. Finally, Nina stopped to pray at the Dragon Statue before heading to Aura Cave.
Aura Cave
Inside the cave, Nina was met by two Winlan guards, who refused to let her go through the cave unless she allowed them to help.
Inside the cave, Nina found a cure, some iron ore, an antidote, a Suede Gown, 150gp, two herbs, a B.Stn and a C.stn.
Outside the cave, the group heads to the nearest town.
Romero
In Romero, the group learn that girls have been disappearing from the village, and that the ground was becoming discoloured. They also learn that both of these things began when the wizard of Karma began using a potion to turn Romero's dead into zombies. Inside a house, Nina finds a ProtnB. Falling down a trapdoor in another house, Nina found a map and a locked door. Learning that Karma Tower could be found through the woods to the west, the group headed that way.
Nina snacked on a couple of mushrooms in the forest. Most were good, a few were bad. She also found a Bandage, 150gp, an S.Ptn, an A.Ptn, a W.Ptn, and three herbs.
Karma Tower
Inside the tower, Nina and her guards found a pool of healing water, two herbs and an m.drop. They also found a spectre guarding the stairs.
After defeating Morte, the group ventured onwards. They found a cure, two charms, a herb, a life 2, and another spectre. This one asked what they'd done to his brother at the gate before attacking them.
This battle was tougher - one of the guards was knocked unconscious. But, eventually, the group were successful in defeating Mortea and pressed on to the top of the tower.
Once at the top, they were able to cross over to the other side, where they found three of the missing girls from Romero. One of them told Nina that the remedy she needed was 'downstairs'.
At the bottom of the tower, the Wizard appeared, demanding to know who'd let his 'specimens' loose. He unleashed Xeon gas, which was poisonous to members of the Wing Clan weakening Nina and her guards. One of the guards ran for help while Nina distracted him.
As the guard reached the top of the tower, the Wizard appeared behind him. He told him that he intended to use the Princess to complete his experiments. The guard managed to escape, turning into a bird and flying from the roof.
Back in Winlan, the guards realised that the only person immune from the Xeon gas was the traveller at the castle - Ryu. The guard quickly woke him and asked him to help.
The party flew to Karma tower, Ryu riding on the general's back. As the rest of the party became caught in a battle against flying dragons, the general and Ryu slipped through. He grabbed a foil before facing the Wizard.
Ryu defeated the Wizard who, in his dying breath, lamenting his failure to perfect the eternal life potion. Nina thanked Ryu before collapsing. He carried her up the stairs to safety, and the general flew them both back to the castle.
Back at the castle, Nina ran to her father's side with the remedy. Ryu followed her. At first, Nina was worried that the remedy wasn't working, but then the King recovered.
The King offered Ryu a reward and, remembering his mission, he asked permission to use the tunnel to the east. The King agreed, and Nina demanded to go with him, despite her father's opinion that she'd only slow Ryu down.
Stopping to grab an antidote, and a herb, the two left through the tunnel.
Tantar & Tuntar
As they travelled, Ryu and Nina saw a few odd things. There were several forests, one with a huge tree blocking the way further in. A strange well lay to the north west of the river, and there was another weird mark on the ground to the northeast. The river itself was dry, blocked by a huge rock, and the bridge to the south was out. To the northwest was a giant humanoid made of stone.
Ryu and Nina headed to the twin towns of Tantar and Tuntar. In Tantar, they found a Charm and a W.Ptn. They also heard several rumours - that they could get a boat to Scande in the south, and that there was a spooky forest to the northwest. They learned that the Dark Dragons were responsible for the dry river, and that they wanted the Ring, a treasure of the two villages. The chief was acting strangely, and suggesting that they simply give in. Whilst in the town, Ryu and Nina had a saw made from the iron ore Nina had found in Aura Cave.
Over in Tuntar, they found a cure and a herb. They were told that the bridge to the south was out, that there was an area called the Stone Cemetery to the north east, and that, despite the river being dry, everyone seemed oddly happy. They also met a girl who was seperated from her lover, since they were unable to cross the dry river. Finally, they learned that the chief had been spotted near the Dark Dragon's den in Lament Woods. Knowing that he'd been acting oddly, and lacking any other leads, Ryu and Nina put a few items in storage, then headed there.
Lament Woods
In the woods, Ryu and Nina used their new saw to cut down the huge tree that was blocking their path. They'd just cut through it when the saw broke. Hoping that there wouldn't be any more large trees, they pressed on.
In the woods, Ryu and Nina found a herb, two t-drops, a wrist, and a life. They also found several ghosts - it seems that the rumours about the spooky woods were not unfounded.
Eventually, Ryu and Nina came to the Dark Dragons den.
Dark Dragon's Den
The Dark Dragons den was full of trapdoors and guards. Nina and Ryu battled through, finding a LongSD, two lifes, three t-drops, an acorn, five herbs, and, in one booby-trapped chest, a WolfHt. It didn't fit either Ryu or Nina, and seemed to be made to fit the Wolf Race who inhabited Tantar and Tuntar.
Shortly after this, and another battle with the guards, Ryu and Nina ran into the chief from Tantar. He trapped them, and forced them to fight a monster, revealing that he was actually one of Zog's generals.
After the battle, the general remarked that the party had won the battle, but not the war - the river was still dry.
Back in Tantar, Ryu, Nina and Bo spoke to the chief. He told them that no one in either village was strong enough to move the rock - their only hope was the stone robot, to the north-west. He told the party to search for the robot's secret in Agua.
The party headed to Agua, stopping to trade Bo's Suede Armour for Chainmail in Winlan.
Agua via Romero
The party walked north of Romero, Bo leading the way through the trees. They could see Agua tower off in the distance, but couldn't figure out how to reach the entrance. With no better ideas, they headed back to Romero.
After stopping to buy a Bronze Hat and a Gown, and picking up a C.Ptn from the inn, the party headed to the entrance of town, to talk to the lady who spent her days standing guard over her husbands tomb. Since it was night, the zombies were out. Despite having heard rumours about the zombies eating all the animals, the Ryu, Nina and Bo seemed to be ignored by the zombies, and weren't too scared as they walked through the town.
At first, the old woman refused. Her husband had returned to her as a zombie, and she didn't want to lose him again. However, the old man gently tells her that it's "his time", and allows the party to access his tomb. Inside they find a herb and a water jar. After praying to the Dragon Lord once more, the group left the village, Bo leading the way through the forest to the Southwest Cave.
Ease Cave
The southwest cave was a fairly long walk away, around a nearby mountain range and over a bridge. To the northwest of it, the party saw another strange mark on the ground.
Inside the cave, Ryu, Nina and Bo found a Nice Hat, three herbs, an F.Stn, a T-drop, a Bronze Hat, and an apple. When they finally reached the bottom of the cave, Ryu waded into the pool and filled the jar with cleansing water. The party quickly hurried back to Romero to sprinkle the water on the tainted ground. Shortly, the water was purified and the zombies disappeared.
The chief of Romero thanked the party, and gave them the tablet they needed to enter Agua. He also gave them an antidote, 900gp, a herb and a cure. He also told them "a boss guards the key in Agua".
Agua
Back at Agua, Ryu read the inscription on the tablet, and the floating tower came closer.
Inside, the party found a number of locked doors and crumbling walls. There were also several floating platforms, which they needed to use to access other parts of the tower.
Making their way up the tower, the party found two acorns, an apple, two herbs, a Life2, a Sun Hat, an Iron Shield, a set of Thief Clothes, a hairband, and a bracelet.
Finally, they came across a strange pillar with an orb atop it. When they approached, the glowing orb challenged them - "I'm the boss that guards the key. You wanna test your strength?"
After the battle, the Wisp awarded Ryu, Nina and Bo with the King Key. Unable to go any higher, due to the locked doors, the party left - but not before checking the top right corner of the room to find a Steel Bow hidden in an alcove.
Outside, the party used one of Nina's spells to warp back to Tantar. They put a few more items into storage, prayed to the Dragon Lord, and then headed northeast, to the Stone Cemetery.
Stone Robot
Ryu, Nina and Bo found a Bronze Hat, a herb, an acord, a life2 and a marble1 scattered throughout the robot. Eventually, they found their way to the brain, and used the key to activate the robot. Nina took command, and ordered the Stone Robot to destroy the rock blocking the river. It did so, and Nina and Bo both cheered. Through the robot's single eye, Ryu saw a cave near the mouth of the river.
Back in Tantar, the two villages were preparing for the wedding between Amelia, the chief of Tuntar's daughter, and Terry, the chief of Tantar's son. The chief of Tantar suggested that the party search for the Ring, the treasure of Tantar. He gave the party the key they'd need and a herb, and told them to search in the cave upstream.
Lake Cave
Inside the Lake Cave, the part found a W.Ptn. Soon afterwards, they found themselves outside again. Seeing another cave nearby, they pressed onwards. Inside, they found a locked door, and tried the key from the Chief of Tantar. It fitted. Just in front of it was a warp point. Ryu tried stepping on it a few times, but nothing happened.
Inside, the party soon found themselves wading through water. They soon cheered up when they found a life, life2, 200gp, a herb, an acorn and a Sky Hat. Eventually, they came to a brightly coloured chest containing the Ring. After claiming it, they found they were able to use the nearby warp point to travel back upstairs, although it didn't work both ways.
Ryu, Nina and Bo arrived back in Tantar just in time for the wedding. After the ceremony, the chiefs of Tantar and Tuntar both suggested that the party use the Stone Robot to head to the south, where they could catch a boat to Scande.
The South
Leaving the village, Ryu, Nina and Bo saw another Dark Dragon General sneaking into the Stone Robot. They watched, horrified, as the General commanded the Stone Robot to destroy Tuntar. However, when the General commanded it to destroy Tantar, the robot stalled, and Nina and Bo took the opportunity to climb inside. The Stone Robot seemed different inside, covered in an encroaching red moss.
When they reached the brain of the Stone Robot, the general attacked them, trying to take the key. He transformed into a Gremlin, becoming absurdly strong, and almost spelling defeat for the party. Fortunately, they pulled through.
The Stone Robot began moving after the fight. After leaving the party on the northern bank of the river, he walked into the nearby volcano. The volcano erupted, and the lava flooded the river, solidifying and providing a bridge.
There was a quiet voice.
"It said 'good-bye',", Nina whispered.
Bo added, "...and it asked us not to make the same mistakes."
The party crossed the river in quiet contemplation.
The Dragon Shrine
Just across the river, the party saw a strange-looking Dragon Shrine in the woods. They entered, and a man in robes addressed Ryu.
"You need proper training to break the seal."
The man let Ryu through, but kept Nina and Bo back. Confused, but somehow knowing what to do, Ryu, drank from the clear, refreshing spring and claimed a slice of melon before entering the inner sanctuary.
Inside, Ryu saw a dragon, like the one's in family legends, the ones that all the Dragon Tribes had long since lost the ability to change into. The dragon challenged him, and Ryu fought back, as hard as he could.
Eventually, Talon was defeated. He told Ryu that his training was complete before disappearing. Afterwards, Ryu found that he could now transform into three different kinds of dragons - Fire, Snow and Thunder. He didn't discuss it with Nina and Bo.
The Fairy Ring
A little way south of the temple, the party came across a ring of flowers. A young man walked around and around, without ever stopping. When the party spoke to him, he told them that a strange force was keeping him there.
In the nearby woods, the party found a small group of fairies in a clearing. They asked if the party were here to cut down trees, and threatened to put a spell on them too if they were.
Eventually, the party found a cave in the southwest.
Cape Cave
The journey through the cave was quite short, although the party ran into rather more ghosts than they were expecting. Some areas of the cave were blocked by rubble which no one was strong enough to move.
Outside the cave, the party found themselves surrounded by mountains. To the south was a town, Auria. In the hills to the north of that was a strange door, and, over to the east, there was another cave.
Auria
The second the party entered Auria, they were placed under arrest. Despite their protests, they were quickly carted off to jail, with a cry of "no one steals our treasure!".
Under the sink in the corner, Ryu found an abandoned set of prison clothes. There was a strange man sleeping in the bed. With nothing better to do, Ryu nudged him until he woke up. The strange man unlocked the door for them, and the party quietly walked out of jail.
In the shop next door, Ryu traded his Long Sword for a Broad Sword, Bo traded his Chainmail for Sage mail, and Nina traded her Hairband for a Tiara, and a Bronze Rapier for a Rapier. At the item shop stall, Ryu bought a rod, five worms to use as bait, and a money pouch. If the town had a thieving problem, he didn't want to be the one caught by it. He also missed fishing, and wondered if he could compete with Bo's hunting skills.
The shopkeepers were the strange fish-men known as Manillos, the first that Ryu had seen in his life. He'd heard of them back in Drogen, but they'd never ventured that far.
In the bar upstairs, they found a drunken gentleman asking for vitamins. Nina insisted they head back downstairs and buy one for him. When they returned, he gave them 5000gp as a reward.
Over in the corner of the bar, Ryu pushed a chest out of the way and they headed into the pub's back room. There, Ryu saw a life2 hiding under a vase, so he pushed the vase out of the way and grabbed it. The man in the room told them about a town of skilled thieves that had been destroyed by Dark Dragons. Back in the bar, the barman told them that Zog was the only man he knew who could transform into a dragon.
Walking through the streets of Auria, the party noticed that they gleamed. Over by the docks they found a ship, that the captain said was owned by a man named Ross. The party prayed to the Dragon Lord and then went on a search for Ross. On the way, they ran into the guard that arrested them, who threw them back in jail. He told them that this was a new lock, but the sleeping man was able to break it just as easily.
Talking to the townsfolk, the party learned that some people had the ability to join with others and transform. They also learned that darkness never fell on Auria due to their possession of the Light Key, and the only way to get to the Light Key was through the safe.
While exploring various houses, the party was arrested again for looking in people's chests. Returning to the house, Ryu found a V.Ptn in a chest downstairs, and 2000gp in one upstairs. They also found a Marble1 in a chest. Another lady asked "what are you doing in my house?". The party didn't reply, and walked past her to find an S.Ptn in her chest of drawers. They found a W.Ant and a Cure upstairs.
In another house, a lady asked them to help her son, who'd left for the enchanted forest and hadn't returned. In her drawers, they found a Smart Ring, which Bo equipped, a Life, and an antidote.
In her neighbour's house, they found an L.Ptn, a Marble3, a Cure, and an old man who insisted on talking to Nina. He addressed her as Healer, and asked her to fix his aching back. When she complied, he gave the party 20,000gp.
The party left Auria, and Nina warped them to Tantar. From there, they walked down to the fairy forest.
The fairies told them that they'd rescue that young man if he promised to stop logging. They asked the party if they were here to cut down trees, and Nina replied "of course not!".
Back at the fairy ring, they found the fairies chastising the young man for cutting down trees. He promised not to do it again, and the party warped back to Auria. There, the young man's mother gave them 20,000gp, and the young man sheepishly confessed that he'd been intending to sell wood to the Dark Dragons, to make ships.
The party headed to the Mansion, to the north of the town. There, they met Ross, who offered to let them use his ship if they rescued his daughter from the Safe. The party agreed, but soon realised that the safe was full of locked doors. Upstairs they found a Cure, a G.Tiara, and 2000gp. The party bought a Gold Bar from the item shop.
The party decided to try to find the survivors of that city of thieves, to see if one of them was willing to help. They headed to the Eastern cave, where two men warned them to "keep your guard up in Bleak - it's full of thieves."
L & D Cave
Not surprisingly, the cave was full of locked doors. The party managed to get lost several times, but, eventually, made it to the other side.
To the east of the cave, they saw a tower. The party followed the mountains round to the north, east, and then south again, and ended up on the opposite shore to the tower. There, they found another cave and the town of Bleak.
Bleak
On entering Bleak, Ryu was told that this was the village of thieves, to keep an eye on his pouch, and that they stole for fun. The party went to pray to the Dragon Lord before investigating any further.
In the weapon shop, Nina traded her gown for a woollen robe, and Ryu traded his iron shield for a metal shield. Outside, they heard that they should ask the leader of the thieves for advice, and that someone in the L. Keep had the mirror. Another person said "Since the Light Key was taken from the L.Keep they sky's been dark."
Inside the fortune teller's house, there seemed to be something under a chest, but Ryu wasn't quite strong enough to move it. He did, however, grab the Life2 from under a barrel. Inside a house to the north, a young magician offered to show Ryu a trick. Ryu agreed, and even agreed to put 100gp on the table. However, he refused to look away twice. When he finally did, he had a strange vision; a young girl fighting in the upstairs room of the weapon shop?
When Ryu looked back, the young man had gone, so he took the opportunity to take two herbs from upstairs. The party also found two herbs in the house next door.
Finally, Ryu, Nina and Bo headed to the large house in the north. Along the way, a young woman told them that she understood there to be a connection between the Goddess and the Dark Key.
A young man inside the house told them about a mysterious Book that revealed the secrets of Thieves, and was sad to be hidden in Krypt. An old man told them that Karn would be able to help them get through the locks in the safe, but that he was currently in Krypt. He offered to trade their Gold Bar for the Icicle that they'd need to travel through the desert, but didn't actually wait for a response before making the swap. He cheerfully warned them that Krypt was full of traps. A girl in the house told them that an old man in the L.Keep had been seen talking to ghosts. Upstairs they found a Life and a W.Ant.
Before heading for Krypt - which Ryu guessed was through the south-western cave - the party headed to the inn. They were offered a free night's sleep, but, in the middle of the night, Ryu awoke to the innkeeper trying to steal his pouch. The innkeeper apologised, swore not to do it again, and gave Ryu 5000gp to stay quiet.
Before heading through the cave, the party spent some time hunting G.Slimes outside of Bleak, until Nina learned how to cast Renew.
Desert Cave
The party quickly made their way through the cave. Outside, they explored a little. Over to the northwest, palm trees grew. The party could see some kind of inhabitation beyond them, but not even Bo could get through the dense foliage.
The party spent a few days wandering through the large southern desert. Ryu found a large well around the mountains to the southwest. In the middle of the desert, a moving temple floated, and a little to the south of that, the party found the town of Arad. To the south of Arad was a strange temple surrounded by quicksand.
Arad
The people of Arad where wearing outfits that looked very odd, but were perfect for desert conditions. One of the townsfolk explained that the Dark Dragons had yet to disturb them, due to the desert. Another told them that he had a craving for nuts, but that they wouldn't grow on palm trees, while a third lamented that he hadn't been able to find the moving town. Another person told them that the Fife - which belonged to the mayor of Arad - would let them cross the quicksand into Krypt. They also heard a rumour of a rare weapon hidden in Krypt.
Arad didn't have a separate Dragon Temple - instead, the party found the statue in the inn.
Inside a house to the north, the party met the mayor of Arad. He explained that a Sandwom appeared to threaten the town every new moon and that, if the party destroyed it, he would give them the Fife. Ryu agreed to the exchange, and the party spent a night in the village waiting for the new moon.
The next night, the party headed to the pasture in the north, to rescue the goats from the Sandworm. Ryu transformed into a Thunder Dragon, and the monster was soon defeated.
After the battle, the party received the Fife, and headed south. Ryu stood on the panel outside of the quicksand and used the Fife to build a bridge into Krypt.
Krypt
The party quickly found that Krypt was, as rumoured, full of traps. Ryu found a Dream Ring and a Herb guarded by firetraps, a Life and a Dagger guarded by poison traps, another herb guarded by a toxin, and an Iron Shield guarded by a curse. The party also came across a B-Rang trapped in a rock, which none of them were always to pry loose. They also found themselves falling down through the floor several times.
Ryu saw a floating, mechanical eye watching him. When he spoke to it, it told them to go away. Ryu ignored it, and checked the treasure chest nearby. He woke up a few minutes later, with a new set of Headgear. The party had spotted several other floating eyes watching them.
As the party tried to move further, the eyes converged together and attacked as one. They mentioned that a previous intruder had gotten through, but that this party wouldn't. Ryu wondered if the previous intruder was Karn.
Ryu transformed into a Thunder Dragon, and the battle was soon over. Afterwards, the Eyespy gasped "you're only human! You're not supposed to have such power!". The party still did not discuss Ryu's transformations.
In the next room, the party found a variety of chests, one of them discoloured. They found a Cure, an Icy Hat, an Antidote and two Skull Hats. When they opened the blue chest, the room began to fill with water, trapping them.
Ryu was rather gratified to see that Karn was the young man who'd let them out of Auria jail so many times.
Nina asked Karn to help them get into the safe in Auria, so they could finally persuade Ross to let them use his ship. Ryu had almost forgotten that that was their aim.
Karn said that he'd help if the party brought them the book, and Nina persuaded him to come with them to find it.
Making their way through Krypt, the party found a life, a herb, and a set of hunting clothes.
The final room contained eight caskets. Karn carefully disarmed the traps and checked each of them. On the final one, the truth was revealed - the casket itself was the book, and unlocking it was the test. With Karn having gained confidence, the party made their way out of Krypt.
In Winlan, the party found a Turban, a Broken Sword, a life, life2, a cure and a FlameRP. Afterwards, they stopped in Romero, to talk to the man in the locked room underground. He told them about an old man who could do magic, who may have lived in Bleak.
Finally, the party returned to Agua. Karn unlocked the doors and they headed further up. They found a Lava Shield in a chest, and then walked up the nearby stairs.
Upstairs, they found a mysterious and beautiful temple. In the pillars outside they found a set of Life Armour and an Icy Dagger. Silently, they headed inside. There they found six strange machines, and Ryu began to become suspicious.
Going up another set of stairs, the party found themselves looking down on the stars. They ran back outside quickly, each of them wondering if they'd have to come back here one day.
Auria
Back in Auria, the party unlocked the safe and spoke to Ross' daughter. She told them that her father was planning on giving the Light Key to the Dark Dragons, and that that was why she'd locked herself away. Upstairs, Ross insisted that, if he didn't give up the key, the Dark Dragons would harm his daughter.
At an impasse, the party decided to go check out the tower near the other side of the L & D Cave while Ross's family sorted it out amongst themselves. On their way through the L & D Cave, with Karn's help, they found a G.Bar, and a Dart. They also came across a crumbling wall, through which they could see two more chests, although none of them were quite strong enough to get through. In another place, the wall had crumbled by itself, and they claimed a Shell Hat and a cure. The Shell Hat didn't seem to fit anyone, and they wondered which species would be suited to it. Perhaps a manillo.
Once through the cave, they stopped by Bleak for a rest. There, the chief told Karn that he had nothing more to teach him, and that Karn could take over whenever he wished.
In the L & D tower, the party came across an old man who told them that he'd give his treasure to the 'Legendary Hero' who would need to climb the tower to meet the ghosts and prove himself.
Heading up the tower, the party found 2000gp, a B.Stn, a Life, a Life2, a herb, a cure, a Horn Hat, a Turban and another 2000gp. Finally, at the top of the tower, they came across another orbed pillar, like the one which had hailed Mist's appearance.
The Cloud greeted them by saying "it used to be only Dragon's could enter here. But, since the Light Key was stolen, things have changed. Let's fight!"
After the battle, the party were able to take the Dark Key from the pillar. On the way down, the old man congratulated them, and gave them the Mirror, which, he explained, allowed them to speak to ghosts.
Back in Auria, the girl lamented that she was sure her father would change his mind if her mother were there. This gave the party an idea - they used the mirror to allow Ross to converse with his ex-wife. It worked; Ross changed his mind, and his daughter let the party through into the safe. Ross also told the party to take anything they needed, which was handy, since that's what they were planning to do anyway.
Making their way up the tower, the party found a Dart, a Metal Shield, an F.Stn, a B.Stn, and five herbs. At the top of the tower, they found a room full of blinding light, which seemed to be coming from another orbed pillar. The party approached with some trepidation, and were quite surprised when nothing attacked them.
Having claimed the Light Key, the party headed to the docks, to take Ross' boat to Scande. There, the Captain told them that he'd love to take them - but the Dark Dragons were in the way.
Ryu, Nina, Bo and Karn fought off an Archer and a Knight. Afterwards, they vowed vengeance on Ross and sank the ship before disappearing.
As the Captain exclaimed over the damage, a strange fish person appeared. He told them that they could get to the "main camp" by going around the North peninsula. The Captain agreed; "if we move the rock that blocks the north cave, we'll surprise them."
The fish man offered to swap the party some gunpowder in exchange for their gold bar. Sighing, Ryu made the trade. The party headed back up north, to Cape Cave.
Cape Cave and the Secret Base
The party headed to the eastern part of the cave, where the passage was blocked, and quickly blasted their way through with the gun powder. On the other side, as promised, they found the Secret Base. They looked in the nearby hut, but found nothing. However, as the party pressed onwards, they were quickly challenged by two Spearmen.
After defeating the Spearmen, the party walked on and found a ship. They were quickly challenged again by a guard, and, even more quickly, the Archer was defeated. The party pressed on, and were soon challenged by another set of guards - an Archer and a Spearman.
Finally, in an upstairs galley, the found the General. He transformed into a Squid and attacked. Ryu transformed into a Thunder Dragon, and the battle was over almost before it had begun. In his dying breath, the general screamed that his brother would get revenge. The party stepped over him and took the V.Ptn from his chest of drawers. They also found two herbs and two acorns in the room below. After checking the hold, Ryu, Nina, Bo and Karn headed back up the deck. Finding the ship clear, they made their way back to Auria. There, the captain exclaimed "it worked!" and, suddenly, they were on a ship.
Karn asked to continue journeying with the party, for the experience. The fish man - or Manilla, as Ryu found out they were called - asked for a lift to Prima.
In the middle of the ocean, the ship was challenged by three Dark Dragon ships. Karn and Nina were in favour of attacking, while the captain pleaded for retreat.
The Dark Dragon General identified himself as Squid's brother. Quietly, Gobi the Manillo suggested detonating the gunpowder on the ship. Nina pointed out that they'd go down too, and Gobi said that that didn't usually bother him. During the argument, the Dark Dragons attacked.
After the battle, Gobi lead the party into the hold. The Dark Dragon General and the rest of his men followed. The party defeated the three Archers without breaking a sweat. Afterwards, when he got a chance to look around, Ryu realised that he was on the same ship as before. He started to wonder if he was having some kind of weird dream.
The General and two guards cornered the party in the hold, amongst the gunpowder. After the party defeated his two archers, the General transformed into Octo.
After the battle, the General ignited the gunpowder. Gobi and Karn made a run for it, and Ryu, Nina and Bo quickly followed. However, as the ships continued to battle, they were all thrown into the ocean. Gobi apologised, then said "if this doesn't work, don't blame me. OK?"
Before they could ask what he was planning, they found themselves on an island. Gobi explained that Prima was underwater, near the island, and that the party would need gills to get there. He offered to sell the party gills for 100,000gp. On finding that they didn't have enough, he offered to take the money they had and loan them the rest. Ryu reluctantly handed it over.
Gobi walked down to the beach and slowly waded into the sea.
The Ocean Floor
There was another beach nearby which lead up to the palm trees near Arad.
Prima
Gobi also took the time to use up Ryu's stock of Marble3's and go exploring - something he should have done before the other manillos took half his gp in return for carrying him back to Prima.
To the south, Gobi found a beach from which he could access the house surrounded by palm trees, that Ryu hadn't been able to reach earlier. The old man there lamented that he'd never seen a B.Rang.
To the west of Prima, Gobi found another beach, which lead up to the south-western continent, an area the party had yet to explore.
To the north-west of Prima, the sea bed fell sharply, and Gobi couldn't make it across. Near here, there was an underwater volcano, and a cave under it. Finally, to the east, there was the island where he'd left Ryu, Nina, Bo, and Karn.
In Prima, a fellow manillo made fun of Gobi for losing the Sphere. He told him that he should visit the Guild leader and make amends.
Gobi found a Tide Hat in the inn. He also headed to the northwest corner to learn that "as we don't have any goods, the big fish is not in service". Outside the guild house, he heard a rumour; "the old man who lives east of the South Beach collects weapons".
In the coffee house, Gobi learned that an old woman had bought a claw, and that Gant, where one could find metal smiths, and which supplied goods to Prima, was on the other side of South Beach. After confirming that the Dark Dragons still had not been able to reach Prima, Gobi headed for the Guild house.
The Guild master wasn't terribly helpful. After telling Gobi that he hoped losing his license had taught him a lesson, he told him that they had no gills - he would have to go to Gant.
Gobi headed for Gant.
Gant
After walking up South Beach, Gobi made his way through the mountains to the east. Shortly after coming across a ruined forest, he reached Gant.
The town seemed to be abandoned, apart from shopkeepers. Gobi found an hourglass in one chest of drawers, a L.Ptn in another, and traded his pole in for a hero spear.
Gobi walked up the levels of the mountain town, searching for someone who could help. In the uppermost house he found an old man, who told him that the young men of Gant were being forced to build a secret weapon, and were being held in a secret fortress on the Western side of the mountain. Downstairs, a young man asked him to deliver Goods to Prima, and, seeing that he wasn't going to find anyone who could help him, Gobi agreed. At least he could get back into the chief's good books.
Prima
In exchange for the delivering the Goods, the guild leader gave Gobi the gills. Immediately after the chief read the letter which detailed Gant's troubles, the pair heard a strange noise. The chief rushed over to the inn, and Gobi followed. There, they found a strange young man lying on the bed with a ghost hovering over him. The young looked like he came from Gant - he was of the same furred, pointed eared tribe that lived there.
The chief exclaimed that the ghost had come to take him away, and that he couldn't die - he had important information to pass on.
Gobi offered to go and fetch Ryu for 10,000gp. The chief offered 5000gp, and they eventually settled on 6000gp. Gobi headed back to the island. After giving Ryu, Nina, Bo, and Karn the gills, he explained the problem, and they all headed back to Prima.
In one weapon shop, Nina and Ryu bought Icy Shields while Karn and Bo got Horned Hats. In the other weapon shop, Bo bought a Poison Bow and a Ranger Vest. After praying to the Dragon Lord, the party headed to the inn.
The party defeated the ghost. After he disappeared, the young man from Gant woke up. The Chief addressed him as Ox, and Ox told them what had happened to Gant's young men. The party all agreed to help him. In the weapon shops, the party bought Ox an Iron Hammer, an Icy Shield and a Horned Hat.
The party headed back to Agua, by way of Romero. There, Ryu asked Ox to break down the wall, and the party grabbed 3000gp, a Life, a SilverBR and a Life2. In the L & D Cave, east of Auria, they found an L.Ptn and an A.Ptn. Finally, in Krypt, Ryu had Ox liberate the B.Rang from its rock. It was too broken to use, but Ryu had an idea that maybe that old man Gobi had mentioned could fix it.
...the old man told them to go to Gant. They went to Gant.
Gant
Ox picked up a Spine Hammer and a set of Metal Armour at the weapon shop. In the room where Gobi had been given the goods, the party found a door behind a chest of drawers which Ox moved out of the way. In the secret room was an old man, who offered to teach Karn a spell. He'd recognised Karn as a member of his family line, which his strange abilities.
This spell allowed Karn to fuse together with Bo and Gobi, into a more powerful form.
Unable to find out anything new, the party set out to find the fortress on the western side of the mountains. They started by heading back to Prima, and, from there, northwest. They came up onto land again to the north of Gant, and continued south around the mountains. Soon, they came to the fort.
Hidden Fort
Finding the front door locked, the team crept down the stairs. Rubble blocked their way, but Ox moved it aside with ease. He also broke down a crumbling wall and found a Giant Hammer and an Echo Hat. Upstairs, they found a herb. Rather than go past the guard, Ox punched through a wall. That seemed to work pretty well, so they did it a few more times.
Ox broke down a nearby wall, and the party headed up the stairs, exiting on the northern side of the fort.
By following the mountains around west, south, and then back east, the party found a strange temple, similar to the one they'd come across to the south of Auria. The old man there said that, to go further in, Ryu must have completed the first step, and have the Dragon Sword.
To the north of the hidden fort, they found a forest full of strange, large, pink birds. The man guarding them told them that the castle ahead was dangerous, and they should get some help before attacking. The party took his advice, and warped back to Gant. There, they asked the chief for help. He fixed the B.Rang for them while they rested, and, the next morning, the party headed for the old man's hut.
The old man exclaimed over the B.Rang, but remarked that they'd have to use their head too.
He also told them that a Grimfowl is a tame bird until you steal its eggs - then it goes berserk. Ryu wondered if the pink birds were Grimfowls. The party headed back to the forest, to find that the man they'd spoken to before had gone. Seeing an egg, they took their chances and grabbed it. The mother Grimfowl attacked, but they managed to fight her off, and ran to the castle - but not too fast. Leading the Grimfowl behind them, Ryu threw the egg into the castle. With all the guards distracted, they were able to walk right in.
Moving a few vases, they found a life2 and a Skull Ring, before heading down the stairs. On the lower left they ran into a General, who threatened them before running away and leaving them to his three guards. The guards transformed into slime monsters. Before dying, they told the party that the General had gone to destroy Prima.
In the next room, they ran into Ox's wife, who said the same thing - that they'd taken the weapon out to sea. Gobi suggested going to see the Guild Master of Prima, and Ox and his wife discussed their future child - only six more months to go.
Prima
Back in Prima, the Guild Master told them that they needed Wisdon's sorceress, and to ask the man upstairs for more information. The man upstairs informed them that they'd need the statue to enter Wisdon, the moving town in the desert. Fortunately, he had the statue hidden under the bed.
After a quick trip to loot Nabal Castle - resulting in a Magic Ring, and a cure - the party warped to Arad. There, they rested and prayed to the Dragon Lord before heading North to Wisdon.
Wisdon
The party headed down the stairs in the centre of town, which seemed to be the only way to reach the Palace. Underground, they found four herbs, two ProSh, a Life2, two Lifes, a Silver BR, a RangerHR, some ChainMail and an OldSP. On reaching the other side, Ryu saw that the palace was decorated like a Dragon Temple.
The Palace was huge, and empty. When Ryu claimed the stairs, he could see the Sorceress, lying just across a stream. Nervous, he walked the other way first. He was afraid to see her. He was afraid of what he'd remember.
He was afraid of what he wouldn't.
There was a strange room there, with symbols on the floor. There was a matching room on the other side, three symbols in each, six altogether.
As the party approached the sorceress, her guards challenged them.
One of the ghosts said, "you are the warrior destined to be a hero..."
Another told them that they must prove their worth to be in the presence of the sorceress. The three guards challenged the party, one by one.
Afterwards, they agreed to wake the Sorceress. Ryu overheard the spirit chosen referring to him as a "descendant of the hero".
When gently waking her didn't work, the three guards hit her with a thunder spell.
As the sorceress awoke, her guards disparated. Their goal was complete, they said.
After the situation was explained, the sorceress gave them an OldEgg. She told them to put it somewhere warm, like in the volcano, where it would hatch and cause a typhoon. Then she went back to sleep.
When Ryu nudged her, she told him to come back after putting the egg in the volcano.
Outside, Nina warped the party back to Gant. From there, they walked to Prima, and, after praying to the Dragon Lord, on to the volcano.
Sea Volcano
The underwater volcano was full of winding tunnels. Exploring them, they party found 3000gp, 2000gp, a SharpBw, and a PowerDR. On the second floor, they found two sets of stairs heading upwards, and chose the nearest set first. They found an M.Drop, and headed back down, to find the further set of stairs. Upstairs, they found a herb and, shortly afterwards, came to the centre of the volcano. Walking out over a narrow bridge, Ryu wondered why the water wasn't boiling. He dropped the egg into the volcano, where it grew larger. Then the party hurried back to Wisdon.
The Sorceress grumbled about being woken, but, when the situation was explained, agreed to help. Back in Prima, the Chief offered to let them rest there until the Dark Dragon's made their move. The next morning, as they began to leave the inn, the Chief told them it was time.
Outside, he asked Deis to use her magic to defeat the Dark Dragons and promised Gobi that, if he did the right thing, he'd get his license back. One of the manillo's transformed himself into a giant fish and swam the party up to the surface, where they found themselves surrounded by enemies. Deis summoned the Typhoon Bug which had hatched from the egg, and the enemies were decimated. The few remaining enemies retreated slightly, but then began to dive down towards Prima. The party followed them.
On the sea floor, the manillos of Prima took on most of the troops while Ryu's party headed for the general. After the battle, the general threatened to blow up Prima, and the ground began to shake.
Back in the Dark Dragon's headquarters, Zog congratulated Jade on how well their world domination was going so far. After confirming that it was the Light Dragons who had gotten in the way in Prima, Zog muttered darkly to himself about making them pay. He told Jade to hunt them down personally.
Outside, Jade discussed the issue with Cerl, Cort, Mote, and Goda, his subordinates. They wondered if Zog was trying to distract Jade, for some reason. Jade commanded them to hunt down Ryu.
Back in Prima, it seemed that the party and the townsfolk had been successful in forcing the general too far away for the weapon to damage Prima.
Gobi insisted on going with the party, as they still owed him money. Karn told him to tell the truth - that he was going just because he wanted to. After all, the party had had the 100,000gp for the Gills the entire time.
Outside, Gobi suddenly remembered that he'd forgotten something. Back in Prima, the Chief gave him back his license and a sphere - which, he explained, members of the manillo tribe could use to transform into giant fish. He also gave them a MystSF.
Outside, the party tested this ability immediately, and crossed the previously impassable gap just southwest of the volcano. Almost immediately, they came to a beach, just to the southwest of the gap. They found that they were able to come up near a cave they'd noticed before, which had previously been on the other side of the mountains. Inside, they found a room full of talking frogs, some of whom panicked at the sight of Deis' snake tail.
To the north of that beach, they found another, which came up near Camlon. Ryu stopped by Drogen in order to speak to the village elders and update them on events. Also, for free rest.
Finally, in the northwest of this part of the sea, the party came another beach, which brought them up somewhere new. They seemed to be on the far side of the river near Karma. Directly in front of them was a strange symbol on the side of the mountain, like the one Ryu had seen before. Again, they couldn't seem to do anything with it.
Soon, they came to a town, just to the north east.
Gust
In Gust, they learned that bridge in the valley lead to Scande. They also heard that some people went mad when the north wind blew, and the the villager who'd been sent to investigate had yet to return. In a nearby windmill, they met a friend of the young villager, and a man who appeared to be mad. In the house behind the windmill, Ox moved a small box and the party found a trapdoor. Inside, they found a man who said his Kingdom had been destroyed. He taught Karn another spell.
Another villager told them that there had been several Dark Dragons in the area, and that they'd destroyed the Bridge to Scande - only Nicholie could fix it. In the Inn, they found a sash. In the Weapon Shop, Nina got a WingRP, Bo and Ox got WorldMl, and Ryu and Ox got Flame Shields. Bo also traded his sharp bow for a Moon Bow, while Ryu bought a Winged Sword.
To the east of town, a man blocked the entrance to a cave. He told them that a fly had taken his lunch.
The party decided to head north, through the town, and see if they could find the villager. After a little way, they came to a group of strange flowers. On touching them, the party became dizzy and confused. A little further on, they found a locked door set into the side of the mountain, and a cave just around the corner. They found that they couldn't get anywhere through the cave, so Karn unlocked the door, and they went in.
Lab.
As the party walked towards the first treasure chest, a monster appeared from nowhere and attacked. After the battle, the party claimed a herb. Nearby, they found a Cure2, a L.Ptn and a Rod4, all guarded by similar monsters.
On the second floor, they ran into Cort, who used a potion to shrink them. Exploring a little, they found a mousehole in the north wall. One of the mice told them "there's big trouble a-brewin'". Another mouse begged for help, but the party couldn't figure out what it wanted them to do. They rested at the mouse inn for a bit.
The next morning, the mouse blocking one of the tunnels had moved, and they headed north. Eventually, they were challenged by a group of cockroaches. After defeating them, they headed back to the group of mice, where the one which had asked for help thanked them, and gave them a herb (in the righthand treasure chest) and an M.Cura. Ryu quickly hurried to the exit,and used the M-.Cura to return the party to normal size. The party hurried to the next floor, and used a series of floating platforms to catch up with Cort. When they reached him, he set another one of his monsters on them.
On the way there, the party found a beach right in the middle, leading up to an island. There was a town there, but the people didn't speak a language that Ryu could understand.
At Frog Cave, one of the frogs asked for a G.Fly. Nina warped the party back to Gust.
In the cave they hadn't been able to get to earlier, the party found a G.Fly, which they quickly defeated. The party made their way back to Frog Cave, swapped the G.Fly for the Oil, and warped back to Gust. They found Deis and Nicholie in a house near to the entrance. After healing Nicholie, Deis told the party to go and destroy the flower while she watched over him. She tried to look into a crystal ball, to see the results of this mission, but it exploded. Undeterred, the party headed to the north of the village, to where they'd seen the plant. Cort was waiting there, and set the plant on them.
After defeating it, Cort, upset and horrified, ran away. The party headed back to Gust. Deis met them at the entrance to the house where they'd left Nicholie. They were shocked to find that he'd turned back into a monster, and Deis sheepishly admitted that she'd made a mistake.
As Nicholie attacked, his friend gave the party permission to kill him if they couldn't cure him. Luckily, it didn't come to that. The party were able to lay him out, and Deis quickly used her magic to cure him. Nicholie promised to fix the bridge, and his friend Tina offered the party a place to stay.
The next morning, the party headed up to the north, to see if the bridge was fixed yet. On the way, a girl asked if they'd spoken to the flute maker yet, and advised them that a flute might be handy. The party hurried to the flute-maker's house, and took the Maestro from under his bed. Another man told them that "mole-like" creatures lived in the town across the bridge.
At the bridge, the party found Nicholie collapsed. As they approached, Cort appeared. Telling them that "you broke the spell, but you won't break me!" he transformed into a monster and attacked.
After defeating the HornToad, Nicholie woke up. He told them that the bridge was ready. Nina healed the party and they hurried across.
The land on the other side of the bridge seemed to be almost entirely inhabited by Wizards, like the one Ryu had faced in Karma tower. They also ran into several troupes of Dark Dragon guards. Around the mountains to the south, the party found another mark against the mountain, like a doorway. On an island to the north they saw a palace, but there was no obvious way to reach it. To the west, they found a bridge, and walked across it.
The land on the other side was barren and dry. To the southwest of the desert, a strange flower grew, just at the edge of the desert. The party found more of these strange blooms surrounding a cave to the far south corner of the desert. Finally, in the centre of the desert, the party found a strange crack which lead to a village.
Gramor
The party soon learned that this was the village of the mole people, who were being exploited by the dark dragons. They also learned that a young mole-person, Mogu, was in a coma, brought on by Mort's spell. They were told that Mogu would wake up if the monster in his dream could be defeated. The chief of Gramor told them that they'd need an item from Tunlan in order to enter Mogu's dream, and asked if the party would be willing to fetch it. They agreed, and the chief gave them a cowl, an item which would help them to understand any language. The party decided to head for Tunlan, which they guessed must be that mysterious island village with the strange musical language.
Before they left, Deis insisted on exploring a little more, mostly in order to find more monsters to practice her spells on. The party made their way through the cave to the south of Gramor, and came out on the other side.
Spring
On this side of the cave, the party found a small town and a tower, all surrounded by ice. They couldn't find the entrance to the tower, but they did see another of those strange ground-marks in front of it. They headed to the village, instead. One of the first villagers they met told them that only a member of the race of Mole-people could open the entrance to Spyre, which they guessed was the tower.
In the weapon shop, Gobi traded his ranger vest for SpineCL, while Karn, Deis and Nina each bought a set of Quartz Armour. In the Inn they found a pair of Clogs, which they all agreed that Ox could have. In another house, they found a herb, and learned that the weather hadn't always been so called, and that the old lady remembered hearing that Spyre controlled the temperature. Ryu wondered if this was the work of the Dark Dragons. A man outside confirmed that Spyre controlled the sky. A lady told them that her husband had gone to Spyre and disappeared.
Another lady told them that Spring had never had snow before, while her husband said that there was a path to Scande through the waterfall. Ryu was starting to doubt that Scande really existed.
The party found that they could walk on the frozen lake, and Nina was very happy to find a sweet little duck pond. She didn't let Bo shoot any of them.
Finally, the party headed to Tunlan, when Deis decided she'd recovered enough spells. They decided to see if one of the mole-people would come back to Spring with them later, to see if they could fix the tower.
Tunlan
In Tunlan, the party were delighted to find that they could understand the residents, one of whom told them that they used the language of music. A tourist from Gust expressed his frustration, and lamented that he should have brought a flute.
They also heard rumours of a girl with wings on her back, who, a long time ago, had fallen from the sky. They were told that a villager had taken her in.
In the weapon shop, Nina bought an EvilRP, while Deis bought a BoneCane. Deis traded her Quartz Armour for a Guru Coat, and Nina traded hers for a Myst Robe. A villager outside told them about Tunlan's treasure, the Bolster, which allowed them to enter people's dreams. Another villager told them that the princess was the only one who could open the safe. Nina reminded Karn not to try to steal it.
Another villager told them that the Dark Dragon's were after the villagers Time Key, one of the six Goddess Keys which controlled Time. In another house, a lady played them a tune which healed wounds, and told them that all songs had different powers. Ryu wondered what the Maestro would do. Someone else told them that it was possible to save music in a bottle and listen to it later.
In a house nearby, the party found a girl who looked just like Nina - she could almost pass for her older sister. The old lady caring for her told them that this was the winged girl who'd fallen from the sky, who didn't remember her past. The girl looked thoughtful when she them, but didn't say anything. In the house next door, a girl lamented that she had no musical inspiration.
Finally, outside the palace, the party learned that the princess was enamoured with Zog, Horrified, they hurried to the palace. Inside, they found that it was true - Zog was promising the Princess eternal youth.
The party asked an old lady if they could use the bolster - she agreed, on the condition that they solve her problem first. The party needed to persuade the princess not to hand over the Time Key to Zog.
They tried but the Princess refused. Confessing their failure to the old lady, she sighed that she knew this would happen. She told the party to spy on the Princess as she bathed - the marks on her back would tell them how to open the safe, so she could steal the Time Key first.
The party followed the old lady to the treasure room. As they went for a chest, one of the golem guards came to life, and they fell through a trapdoor into the floor below. They found another trapdoor, and, on this floor, two treasure chests containing a herb and a melon. Escaping from this basement, they made their way back to the palace, slightly embarassed. This time, they did as they were told, and headed to the princess's rooms, to watch her swim in the moonlight. They headed through a crack in the wall, and spied through the plants - the marks were blue, red and white, from left to right. Ryu also noticed that the Princess had wings, and hair like his sister's.
They hurried back to the old woman and tried the code. It didn't work, and as the old woman realised that the marks had been reflected, and needed to be reversed, the princess arrived, and demanded to know what was going on. The old woman tried persuading the Princess, but, when that didn't work, told the party to try force. Enthusiastically, Deis blew the bloody doors off. Nina tried to stop her, but it didn't work. In the confusion, Jade's assistant, Cerl grabbed the key. The Princess demanded her eternal life, and Cerl laughed. Deis called the Princess pathetic, the Princess called Deis old, and Deis nearly blew her up too. Cerl reminded them that they'd just lost the key, and Deis said she didn't care. She didn't like the princess - "she's worse than Nina."
Nina defended herself; "Wait a minute! I'm not THAT obnoxious!"
The Princess started yelling again, and Cerl sighed and ran away. Angry, the Princess set her guards on the party, and, itching for a fight, Deis and Nina went to town. Having fun, Deis decided to try an old spell she'd just remembered. Karn tried to stop her, but it didn't help.
The party woke up in the hotel infirmary the next morning. The Princess was there, too. Karn reminded the party of why they were there in the first place, and the old woman gave them permission to take the Bolster from the safe. The Princess was in no state to argue.
The party took the Bolster along with two slices of Melon and an M.Drop. Then they climbed through a trapdoor on the far left, to find themselves in another part of the basement. An old man told them "if you want to make a big catch, you'll need what's under that box".
Ryu checked, and found a Rod5, the best he'd ever seen. Ryu wondered if this thing could get fish out of the many old wells he'd seen. He decided to try it.
First, he had Deis warp the party to Tuntar, where they walked west then north to find the old well he'd seen before. Fishing in it, he found a slab with strange writing on it, which said "Where mystic water lies, the ultimate power sleeps".
Ryu then had Deis warp the party to the Arad, where he walked west then south to the well he remembered seeing around the mountains. There he found the Dragon Helmet,which he immediately put on. He wondered if it had belonged to the legendary Hero.
Deis warped the party to Romero then, and asked Bo to lead them West through the forest then south around the mountains, until they came to another well. Fishing there, Ryu found the Dragon Sword. Remembered the Dragon Temple they'd seen near Gant, Ryu had Nina warp them back to Drogen, to rest. From there, they walked to the beach near Camlon, and used Gobi's fish powers to bring them back to the Hidden Fort. From there, the party walked around the mountains until they came to the temple. Equipped with the Dragon Sword, Ryu went in. He found another healing spring in the inner sanctum, as well as a marble2. As prepared as he could be, Ryu faced the Dragon.
To his surprise, Ryu found that Bain was quite easy to defeat. He left with three new forms - Fire Dragon, Bolt Dragon and Gold Dragon. Finally, the party headed back to Gramor.
Gramor and the Dreamworld
The party found themselves in a hut in a small village. One of the people nearby - who looked exactly like Mogu's sister - asked if they had the bolster, and told them that they'd been unable to get rid of the monster. Asking around the village, they found out that the monster was in the North Tower. The party also realised that they were talking to the fragments of Mogu's personality - anger, fear, reason, humour, and sorrow. They all indicated that one was missing - courage. Without courage, and the reuniting of Mogu's personality, the monster would never be defeated.
The party left the village, and found themselves on a very weird landscape. They headed towards the tower they could see in the distance, trying not to look down.
The layout of the tower was very simple, but made more complicated by the fact that, when they stepped on certain floor tiles, the walls turned invisible. Ryu ended up very bruised.
There was no treasure in the tower - Ryu wondered if they'd have been able to remove items from the dream world anyway. Eventually, they found their way to a set of stairs guarded by a small child. He said, "As long as Mogu's senses are scattered, you won't have a chance against me. Do you want to fight?"
The party readied themselves for battle, and the child transformed into a giant moth. He barely scratched the party, but they were unable to damage him, either. Exhausted, they headed back to the village.
There, they found Mogu's sister waiting. She, Anne, told them that they'd found courage, in the south cave, and that they'd fixed the bridge leading there. After resting in the village, the party headed south.
As they headed towards the cave, they found themselves walking down a narrow path surrounded by spiky plants with skulls at their bases. Ryu found a Light Shield, a life, and some HeadGear. In many places, previously invisible jets of air blocked their way. Eventually, they made it to the cave.
There, they met a strange person, sitting on a throne. He said "You're looking for courage, but it's not here. What's here is only form, not substance."
Almost immediately, Anne and the old man from the village appeared. They told the party that courage was depressed, and began trying to snap him out of it. Then they disappeared.
Reason appeared and told courage that they must be united, in order to bring peace to the world. One by one, the other parts of Mogu's mind appeared, to try to cheer courage up, before joining with him.
Himself again, Mogu asked to join the party.
Weakened, and unable to use warp, the party had a tough time making it back through the thorns. Exit didn't help either - it took them back to the cave entrance.
Eventually, they made their way out, and, after resting at the village, headed back to the northern tower. They walked through the tunnels to the stairs where they'd seen the small child earlier. He told them that they wouldn't be able to defeat him, even with courage, but that he'd be waiting upstairs if they wished to try.
Finally, they reached the top floor, the fourth. There, the creepy child announced that fighting in the dreamworld was not the same as in the real world, and then attacked. Ryu's dragon forms didn't seem to be able to hurt it, but, luckily, Deis' magic could.
Defeated, the creepy child gasped that they'd be trapped in the dreamworld forever. This turned out to be an empty threat, as the party woke up about three seconds later. Realising what had happened, Mogu asked to stay with the party.
The party warped first to Drogen, for a rest, and then to Camlon, where the townspeople unveiled a statue of Ryu. The party headed northeast, to the strange mark that Ryu had noticed on the ground, so long ago. Mogu dug into it, and unveiled an underground cave. Inside, they found another strange man who claimed to be related to Karn, and taught him a transformation.
The party warped to Bleak, where Karn used his new form to move chests in the fortune teller's house. One lead him to a Clear Cloak, the other to someone else who taught him his final form.
The party warped to Auria, and headed to the strange mountain door, to the north of the city. Karn used his new form's breath to open it, and, inside, the party found a Dark Bracelet.
Ryu remembered seeing a weird mark near where the party had found the stone golem, so they warped to Tuntar next. From there, they headed to the mark. Mogu dug there, and they found an L.Ptn, another clog (from a booby-trapped chest), an A.Ptn, and a V.Ptn.
The party then warped to Gust, to the strange door that they'd seen on coming out of the sea, to the southwest of the town. Karn breathed on the door in his new form, and, inside, they found a Love Bracelet.
Finally, the party warped back to Spring. They still had a tower to scale.
Spring and Spyre
From Spring, the party headed south, to the tower. Mogu dug into the mark nearby, and they were in.
They found a cure2, A.Ptn, a shell, World Armour, and Flame Armour on the first floor.
A few floors up, they found a strange level, one that was disorientatingly large. And a desert. They eventually found the stairs to the next floor, where they found that it was raining. Indoors. There were also large gaps in the walls. Ryu had a look through, but overbalanced, and ended up outside the tower again. On their second run through, the party stayed well away.
On the next floor up was another desert. They managed to locate the stairs in the southeastern corner.
The next floor was icy cold, and had more holes in the walls. They found the stairs in the north easternmost corner.
This next floor seemed to be made of sky. Ryu was very nervous about actually walking on the floor. This time, the stairs were in the south western corner.
The next floor showed space, and Ryu almost refused to go on. Nina and Deis thought it was hilarious. On this floor, they found a machine with a space for the key, like the ones they'd seen in Agua, and the one under Camlon castle. There was also a pillar with a glowing orb on it.
When they examined the pillar, Jade's assistant, Mote, appeared, gloating that he'd beaten them to the key, and that he'd prepared a surprise for them. After being blinded by a bright light, the party found themselves in a strange town.
Mare Town
After talking to some of the townspeople, the party found that they were in a dreamworld, that they could only leave if they defeated Mote. One man told them that Mote's conscience could tell them where he was. All of the townspeople were former victims. Along the outside wall, they found the spectre who guarded the SkyKey. He said that he could only give it to a true hero, then apologised to Deis, saying that things were different in the dreamworld.
Outside of the town, they found a cave, overlooked by a huge castle with no discernible entrance. They headed into the cave.
Mare Tower
Inside, they found a Cure, a JadeBw, a Trident, a L.Ptn, a Smoke, a Cursed Hat and a Facemask. Eventually, they ran into a strange creature who introduced himself as Mote's conscience. He begged them to defeat Mote while he still had some strength.
Walking up the stairs he'd uncovered, Ryu found two springs of fresh water which healed the party's injuries. There was also a Dragon Statue. Ryu prayed to the Dragon Lord before heading through the doorway.
Beyond the doorway was a walkway which seemed to be made of glass. When the party stepped on a certain part of it, the room seemed to spin, and it was tricky not to become disorientated. Eventually, they made their way to the other side, and through a set of confusing stairs. Beyond there, they ran into Mote, who asked how they dared to come into his world and try to fight him.
The party's attacks didn't seem to hurt Mote. That is, until his conscience showed up, and blocked his power.
After the battle, Mote collapsed, and his conscience thanked the party before disappearing. The party found themselves back in Spyre, where the spirirt congratulated them, and told them to check the pillar for the key. Ryu used it on the machine next to the pillar, which lit up. Deis used exit, and the party walked back to Spring.
Spring
Back in Spring, spring had sprung. The villages celebrated the return of the warm weather, and one of them mentioned that a hero had once fallen into the waterfall, never to be seen again. He warned Ryu to be careful - he might catch a hero instead of a fish.
The water was shallow enough to wade it, and Ryu headed over to the duck pond. After fishing for a while, he found a set of Dragon Armour. Then the party headed to the northern waterfall, remembering what they'd heard about being able to get to Scande through it.
Behind the waterfall, they found a cave. Once through the cave, they found a new area.
In the southeast of this new area, the mountain found another strange door in the side of a cliff. Karn, in his puka form, breathed on it, and inside they found a WindBR. A little northwest of that, up a few hills, they found a dig spot for Mogu. Inside, they found a HeroBW, inside a chest with a toxin trap. To the west of this they found a strange tower, called Tock. They presumed that they'd need to return here later. To the south they found a castle (called South Castle). Ditto. The doors were locked. Looking at their map, the party concluded that the only part of the world they hadn't seen was the part just beyond the castle.
Finally, the party returned to the town they'd passed. On the way, they passed an odd tree, growing amongst ruins.
Ryu wagered that this town wouldn't be Scande.
Carmen
It wasn't Scande.
In Carmen, time had stopped. The party spoke to one villager who'd recently returned to find everyone frozen. He wondered if this had something to do with Tock, in the east. Ryu figured that it probably did. The party prayed to the Dragon Lord, then headed back to Tock.
Tock
In Tock, the party found strange arrowed tiles, which warped them two paces in the direction of the arrow. After a little blundering around, they also found a Life, an EvilCN, and an IcyAR. On the next floor, they found a Cure, and several orbed pillars which didn't seem to respond to them. They headed up to the third floor. There, they found a G.Tiara, a GuardSH and a Life2.
The third floor was even more complicated. There, they found an AgileHT and a Wolfskin. They also found two staircases, and took the one on the right, since they couldn't access the one to the left.
On the next floor, they ran into Cerl. She told the party that they'd given her all kinds of trouble, but that it was over now. Then she revealed her plan - to stop time all over the world. As Cerl showed them Carmen, she realised that the one person not frozen in the town was her childhood friend, Alan. Before she could react to that, time and space began to distort, and the party got sucked into the effect. Ryu found himself, alone, near the strange tree, south of Carmen. He headed back to the town, using a marble3 to avoid fights.
Carmen
Nina greeted Ryu, and told him that the entire party was there. Alan told them that he didn't believe Cerl would help the dark dragons, and headed to Tock. Bo volunteered the party's services to protect him.
Tock
Cerl agreed, and told them to get out. Again, time and space began to distort, and the party got sucked into the middle. Ryu and Nina ended up outside South Castle, where Cerl retreated inside. Nina tried to open the gate, but couldn't. They returned to Carmen.
Carmen
Gobi, Karn and Mogu were wandering around the town centre. Ryu found a RubyRG in the Inn. In another house, they found Ox, Bo and Deis, watching over Alan, who'd been injured.
Ox wondered how Cerl could hurt a friend like this, and Alan confessed that he was responsible. When they were children, Cerl had been kicked out of town because she wasn't human. Alan had been unable to stop the townspeople. He said that if he protected her or left with her, she wouldn't be like this. Alan said that Cerl would never forgive him.
Nina asked if he had anything that meant a lot to Cerl. Alan told them that Cerl would remember the fruit, which grew on the Holiday Tree near the Southern Coast village where they grew up. Deis decided that the party should get the fruit and then head to the South Castle.
Ox hit the tree to knock the fruit off, and the party continued on to South Castle.
South Castle
When Cerl smelt the fruit, her heart softened, and the party were able to enter the castle. Inside they met Cerl, who told them that, if they'd come to defeat her, they'd win. She was too tired to go on.
Instead of fighting, Bo gave her the fruit. Cerl turned her back. She said that Alan would never forgive her. She told the party to take the Time Key. The party released that they needed to bring Alan here.
As the party took the key, Goda attacked Cerl. He told her not to be stupid - "we serve the empire!". Cerl told the party to run, while she took care of Goda.
As the party waited outside the castle, Alan appeared. He insisted on heading inside.
As Cerl disappeared, the castle faded away, taking Alan with it. Bo said that it was all because of the war, that it made people crazy.
Deis reminded them that Cerl had wanted them to take the village back to the present time. The party headed back to Tock.
Tock
Nina insisted on being the one to use the Time Key in the machine. She triumphantly announced that time had returned to normal in Carmen, and tried to remove the key. As she did so, she became sucked into the vortex. The party tried to follow her, but ended up near Tunlan, without her.
Remembering that strange girl, the party hurried to the old woman's house. They explained to her that the girl was Nina, who'd become lost in time. The old woman agreed that Nina should go with them, but explained that she had amnesia. With no idea as to what to do, the party headed back to Carmen, to see if anyone there had any ideas.
Carmen
People in Carmen were back to normal, and seemed unaware that time had been frozen. An old man told them that Scande was surrounded by cursed red water, which had good fishing, and the party bought some new weapons and armour. Finally, in one house, they found a famous doctor. He told them that amnesia was easy to cure - they simply needed the tonic. To make it, they'd need P.Fish, Root, C.Nut and a W.Ant. The doctor promised to make the tonic if they brought him the ingredients.
First, the party headed to Gramor. Mogu dug by one of the plants near the cave to the south, and came up with a root. Then they headed to Tunlan, where Ox was able to knock a coconut down from one of the palm trees. Gobi insisted on stopping by Prima (for no apparent reason, since it could have been done in Tunlan) in order to buy a Sleeper, from a random seller in the marketplace.
Finally, the party headed back to the ruins of the Southern castle. There, they saw Cerl and Alan, now children again. Cerl proudly announced that she was going to marry Alan when she grew up.
North of Gust, the party came to the town they'd noticed before, in the middle of a lake. They landed on it, and headed inside.
Dragon Temple
The person at the entrance notified them that they must have the Dragon Armour in order to proceed. Ryu headed to the nearest town, to get it out of storage. Back at the temple, he was able to pick up another slice of melon before proceeding. Ryu quickly found that his bolt dragon didn't work, and used the fire dragon instead, which did quite a lot of damage. Ryu didn't quite like to admit that it took him three goes to defeat the damn thing.
The party then flew to the west of Gust, where they found a well surrounded by mountains. There, Ryu found the Dragon Shield.
To the southeast of Scande, on the tip of the continent, they found another dig spot, which contained a LoveHt, a StarSH, a MystCW, an S.Ptn, an A.Ptn, an L.Ptn, a Life 2, and an AgileHT.
From Agua, the party headed north, to an island with two strange towers. Behind one, Ryu found the Tri-Rang. The party then headed south, to Ease Cave. At the bottom, they were able to walk into the Cleansing Water, wearing the gills. At the bottom, they found a dragon, who unlocked Ryu's Agni power. Finally, the party headed to Scande.
Scande
The party were told that they had no business in Scande. They headed back to Carmen where, to the northeast of the doctor's house, they met a strange man. He told them to "search here" then disappeared. Searching where he'd stood, they found the Pass which would let them access Scande. They headed back to Scande, stopping by Tock on the way to grab a Myst sword from behind the Time machine
.In Scande, they found an old tower with a tall elevator. A guard told them that a man from Spring had climbed up it a while ago, but that no one could follow because of an equipment failure - the switch was broken. The party found a herb in the inn, and a group of prisoners in the house below. They learned that Zog lived at the top of the tower, and that the Dark Dragons were forcing everyone to work there, with the mole people digging below the surface. Wandering a little further, they found that the mole people had escaped, and, without them, Obelisk could not be excavated.
The party warped to Tunlan, so Gobi could set up shop in the marketplace, and the party could think about these new findings. Gobi picked up Mask Sheilds for Nina, Karn, and Mogu, and an EvilRB for Deis. The party then headed to Prima, to see if Gobi would have better luck there.
Gobi managed to buy Mask Shields for himself and Deis, and a GlowCN for Deis. Eventually, he managed to buy another GlowCN, a PowerRP for Nina, and a Mallet for Ox. The party headed to Spring, to look for the climber.
The party found the climber, injured in bed. He gave them the broken parts from the lift in Scande. The party headed to Gant, to see if anyone there could fix them. An old man woke the chief up, and the Chief fixed the parts for them. He let the party rest there while he worked on it.
When the parts were fixed, the party headed back to Scande. They couldn't warp there for some reason, so they flew, mostly for funsies. With the parts, they were able to fix the elevator and head up.
At the top of the tower, they met the mysterious man again. He told them of the D.Heart, a weapon in Tunlan that could destroy any dragon. A lady in Tunlan played them the song, which injured Ryu. She put it into a bottle for them to take away with them.
The party headed back to Scande. This time, there was no mysterious figure blocking their way, and they were able to head into the building. They found a Glove, a PowerHT, an IcyCN, a Marble1 and a cure. Eventually, they reached Zog, who remarked that he was surprised to see them, and that Ryu made the dragon family proud. After talking about his plans to take over the world, he attacked.
After the battle, Zog congratulated them, and told them that they'd defeated him, but not his dream. He told Ryu to go, and build a world for dragons. The party fell into a dungeon.
Ryu awoke to see Sara. Nina told her that she recognised her, and Gobi told her that she could put her mind to rest now that Zog was gone. Sara thanked them, and told Ryu that she'd been looking forward to this day. Ox started crying.
Sara asked Ryu to give her the Goddess Keys, so she could destroy them. He did so. Suddenly, Sara revealed that she was working for Jade, who turned out to be the mysterious man who'd given them the pass and told them where to find the D.Heart. Jade gloated that he'd tricked them into helping him, and that, with his spell, he had total control over Sara. Leaving the party in the dungeon, he and Sara left for Agua, to release Tyr. As the party searched for a way out, a mole person burrowed up through the floor, and Ryu remembered what he'd heard about them escaping. The mole person told Ryu to follow them.
The mole people celebrated the fact that they didn't have to run any more, following Zog's defeat. They also mentioned that all the guards had run away.
The party flew to Agua.
Agua
Ryu was quite pleased that the party had already ransacked the place- it made climbing the stairs much easier. In the room with the machines, they ran into Sara. She cried "stop him before he succeeds, Ryu!", and then changed her mind and yelled "I'll stop you myself!" before running off. Ryu followed her up the stairs.
Upstairs, Jade told them that they were too late. Tyr had been released. Elsewhere, the two towers that had hidden the Tri-Rang rose. Jade escaped using a warp point. Again, the party followed him.
Pagoda
After the battle, Sara told Ryu she was free from Jade's control, and that he'd done the right thing.
In the next room, Ryu came across a healing spring. Shortly after that, he was able to grab a StoneHT from the chest the party had been unable to reach earlier. At this point, they managed to accidentally fall right back to the beginning again. They retraced their steps, and, next time, avoided the pit trap and headed right instead.
A little further up, they found Jade. Along the way, the party carefully avoided the grey floor tiles, wary of what had happened in the dreamworld.
Strong pressure pushed the party away from Jade. Jade mocked the party, and told them that Tyr had been released. The Pagoda began to fall apart. Ryu woke up back in Drogen.
The old man told him that Sara had appeared in his dream, asking him to protect Ryu. Nina came in, and informed him that he'd been unconscious for three days. She told him that Sara had brought them there, and saved their lives. Then Karn ran in, and told them that Jade had resurrected Obelisk.
Outside, the party admitted that their chances looked slim, but that it was their responsibility to stop Jade. They mentioned that the Obelisk was now above Scande, and that Nina would be able to fly them there.
Obelisk
There was no entrance - the party would have to dig their way in. Mogu tried, but he couldn't. The party headed to Gramor, to ask for advice. They found that the master digger had managed to lose a town treasure in the ocean. The party warped to Tunlan, and then swam to Prima, to see if anyone there had found it. A manillo in a cafe mentioned that an old woman had bought a claw.
The party warped to Tuntar, and, from there, flew southwest. There was an old lady living on the island there, who collected weapons. She asked if they knew any other weapon buffs.
The party headed south, to the old man who lived east of Gant. He asked them to take a list to the old lady. The party searched through the boxes in his house for the list, and also took the two herbs he offered. The old lady was pleased to see the list, and asked them to take her weapon to the old man, to see if he recognised it. The party took the Wizit to the old man. The old man gave them a letter for the old lady, and said he'd know what the thing was by the time they got back.
The party headed back to Obelisk, after resting and praying in Carmen. Mogu insisted that he needed to learn how to use the I.Claw - apparently, it wasn't so simple as "put it on and dig". The party headed back to Gramor, where Mogu was taught how to dig. The party headed back to Obelisk, where they were finally able to enter. Inside, they find that they were floating across space, which was rather disconcerting. They found a FlameHR, and ran into Goda, the last of Jade's minions. He threatened them before running away. They followed him, and headed down the stairs. In the next room, Goda attacked.
The party headed down the stairs, and found themselves in another room. There, they met Jade, who offered to give them a town or two if they joined him. The party agreed, and Jade forced them into a series of ever-tougher battles. When the party felt they were strong enough, they told Jade that they'd changed their minds.
Stepping on a switch, the party rode the floor panel downwards, then rode another floating platform to the south. They found a little girl standing there, who asked what they wanted. Had they come to have a wish granted?
The party responded with 'no'. The little girl asked why they were there, then, and why did Ryu have his sword out. Were they ready to fight?
Lit with a strange purple glow, the little girl started crying. After the party managed to damage her a little, she said, "I haven't done anything. Don't hurt me."
The party spoke to Tyr again. After resisting for a while, they agreed to be her friend, and Sara appeared. Sara says, "Ryu, use the magic of Agni! She'll reveal her true self!".
Tyr replies "I am not done! I've done nothing!".
Sara says "She'll fool you with her innocent looks. She's evil, but she'll hide it. Don't be fooled!"
Taking her advice, Ryu transforms into Agni and attacks Tyr.
Tyr says "You can't challenge me to a fight! You're only humans. I'll destroy you all."
She then transforms into her creepy form and says "I...don't believe this!"
After defeating Tyr as a six-headed snake goddess, she'll say "You can't win humans. This is only temporary. I shall return," before disappearing in flames.
The sky behind her will transform into steel, which will begin to fall away. Ryu fals with it. Bird warriors from Winlan catch the party as they fall.
Outside Winlan, Sara's ghost says "I'm proud of you, Ryu. You turned the tables on the Goddess of Destruction. You and your companions completed the mission of the legendary warriors. This is the beginning of a new legend. I have watched you succeed. So, I have no regrets in leaving you."
Finally, Ryu speaks. "Wait!"
Sara turns back and says "Goodbye, Ryu. You made me proud. You are a true warrior."
Then she disappears. In her place, the Dragon Lord appears, who says "You have done well. I'll remember that you saved the world. This is the beginning of a new legend!"
Nina says "it's finally over." Karn agrees, "it's about time!"
The Dragon Lord told them "There is still much work for you. You must help those who lost much during the war."
Karn asked "Can't we take a break?"
Bo tells him, "A real hero doesn't quit until the job is done."
Nina adds "we're making history! We'll all be legends, someday."
Gobi says "that's right. Oh, don't forget, you still owe me money."
Karn moans "Again with the money! Is he worthy of hero status?"
The entire party says "let's go!"
A soldier says to the Princess, "Nina, we should return to the Castle. The king is waiting."
Nina tells him, "There's still a lot of work left to be done. Tell the King that I'll return when I'm ready."
As a giant bird, Nina flew all over the world. Mogu showed off his digging skills in Gramor. The party got lost in the desert, and Deis went back to bed. Ox celebrated the birth of his new child. Gobi set up shop. Karn returned to Bleak. Nina, Ryu and Bo mourned the stone robot at the volcano, beforeRyu and Nina left Bo in Tuntar.
Ryu and Nina headed back to Winlan. Finally, Ryu returned to Drogen, where the light dragons were rebuilding. An old lady watched him returning, the sunset at his back, and his sister watching over him.
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