Chapter 4: The Light & Dark Keys

DRAGON POWERS 1

          Before heading south past the newly formed path, thanks to the Stone Robot. you should head back to Tantar to Save and rest up. Head back South, and you will come across a small Dragon Shrine. Here, Ryu must fight alone to gain his first set of Dragon Powers. It is essential that you have lots of healing items, such as Meat and Herbs. Since there is no prerequiste for this training, talk to the Dragon Elder, and prepare to fight Talon.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Boss Alert: Talon

This fight is just an old-fashioned slug fest between Ryu and Talon. Just keep attacking and healing until you wear him out. Talon does NOT have a 2nd wind.(Thank God!!!)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

          After beating Talon, heal at the Spring in the Dragon Shine, leave and head South. Put Bo in the lead and explore the Woods and field. You will eventually find a Boy unable to stop himself from going in circles and a Fairy hangout. Talk to all of them and head Southwest to the Cave. The Cave is another filler board, but be careful of Shadows in battle. They are very dangerous right now. Go South at the only fork in the road, and exit the cave. Head South and enter Auria.

AURIA AND BLEAK

          Upon entering Auria, you get thrown into prison. Fortunately, there is thief sleeping in the bed. By talking to him and accepting his help you can escape. Visit the weapon and item shops next door. Here is what I suggest: For Ryu get the BroadSD and the SageML, for Nina the Rapier and Tiara, & for Bo the LongBW and SageML. As for the Item Shop, buy one vitamin and one pouch. Then head up the stairs. Upstairs, the man at the table who is sick. Talk with him and give him the Vitamin. He gives you 5000GP. This is very important: Don't spend any money that you find in this town. You will need it to continue on in your quest very soon. After getting your 5000GP, walk up to the shelf and push it aside. Walk into the new room and push the Jar up and search to find a Life2. When you leave the Weapon/Item Shop, go left down the pier and talk to the man in front of the boat to find out about Ross. Walk back into the main part of town. Dodge the soliders here just like you did in Nanai. If you do get caught, just talk to the thief again, and he will let you out. Talk to everyone and explore everything. You should come away with these: 26000GP, 3 Lifes, V.Ptn, S.Ptn, 2 Cures, Acorn, Antdt, W.Ant (Put this in storage. They are extremely rare and you'll need one later), L.Ptn, Mrbl3, Mrbl1, G.Tiara(Hold on to this), and a SmartRG for Nina.

          After exploring, head for the Northernmost house and talk to Ross. In order for you to use his ship, you must save his daughter who is locked in the safe. To get in into the safe, you need to be able to pick the lock. To find a thief to help you, you must travel to Bleak, but for now, you should have talked a woman who wants you to help her son. Her son is the one who is under the Fairies influence. So travel back there and talk with the Fairies and then the Boy to release him. Stop back in Auria to Save, and then head for Bleak.

          To get to Bleak, you must travel through the cave to the East of Auria. It is decently long cause you will get attacked alot. There are 6 Treasure Chests, but only 2 are obtainable right now. They are a Cure and a ShellHT. The other 4 you will have to wait for a little while. However, the cave is very straightforward, so you shouldn't have to much of a problem with it. Once you leave the cave, make your way up and around the lake over to Bleak. Notice the Tower you pass on your way, it is the Dk.Key Tower. But for now, just go to Bleak.

          When you enter Bleak, Save your game. Make sure you have the pouch in your inventory and stay at the Inn. The Innkeeper will you give 5000GP, but you must have the pouch. Otherwise you will lose your money....not cool! At the Weapon Shop, sell the G.Tiara and buy Nina the WoolRB and Ryu the MetalSH. Talk to the Village Elder in the North House. He tells you Karn could help you, but you must have the Icicle to travel in the Desert. He will trade you a G.Bar for it. I hope you saved all that money people have been giving you! A G.Bar costs 65,000 GP!!!!! Warp back to Auria and talk with the Boy's Mother again. She gives you 20000 GP for saving her Son. Now you should have enough to buy a G.Bar. Buy one and head back to Bleak. Give the Elder the G.Bar and receive the Icicle.  Before heading to the Desert, you may want to walk around the Bleak area and fight the G.Slimes. You can reap alot of EP and GP!!! Once you feel secure in your Party's Levels (I suggest Level 19), head Southwest to Bleak Cave after Saving your game.

KRYPT

          The Cave to the Desert is another filler board. The only catch is that to exit the opposite end, you must have the Icicle. Once you enter the Desert, head South to find the Krypt. You cannot enter cause of the quicksand. Maybe someone in the nearby town of Arad knows something. You learn that you need the Fife to enter the Krypt. The Elder will give you the Fife if you help him out. Rest at the Inn (It's free) and Save your game. Walk into the goat corral and examine the moving patch of dirt. Then prepare to fight the Sandworm!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Boss Alert: SandWorm

The SandWorm is a hard enemy and would pose an even bigger threat, except that Ryu now has Dragon Powers! Have Ryu morph into the ThrDr and watch the fun begin! Each attack will take down 130HP from SandWorm. Have Nina heal and Bo use Fry magic. His second wind is nothing to worry about if Ryu uses Dragon Magic. You should win in no time! (^_^)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

          After you beat the SandWorm, get the Fife, rest and Save. Make your way to the Krypt and press the A Button to play the Fife. A bridge appears and allows you to enter. Once inside, the Krypt is a tricky place. There are opening floors and booby-trapped treasure chests. Skip getting all the treasure until Karn is in your party. He can open them without setting off the traps and he can also keep your party from falling through the opening floors when he leads the party! For now though, you must find him. Make your way down into Krypt. On the 3 Floor down, you'll fight EyeSpy.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Boss Alert: EyeSpy

Use the same strategy as you did on SandWorm. Except in Ryu's case, have him use a Mrbl1. This will double his attack power for the battle. EyeSpy should fall quickly without any problems. Hopefully, you won't have a problem with his second wind.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

          After you beat EyeSpy, walk down the steps to collect some booty!!! However, when you open the Blue Chest, it sets off a trap!!! No problem, Karn to the rescue! He now joins your party! When he joins, put him in the lead for now. He can open those pesky locked doors you have been coming across. make sure that you equip Karn with the gear you have found in your quest. I suggest the ThiefCL, SkullHT, and Wrist. Upgrade anyone elses equipment and head for the bottom of the Krypt. From here, start collecting the treasure chests now. As long as Karn is in the lead, the traps will not hurt you. The only treasure you cannot get yet is the B.Rang (It is the one sticking out of the rock in the room where you fought EyeSpy). Once you reach the bottom, you will find a room full of coffins. It doesn't matter what order you open them in, the Book is always in the last one you open. After Karn's little scene, head back out making sure to collect any treasure you may have missed. Head to Arad to rest and Save.

          Before you head to Auria and Save Ross' daughter, head back to all those lock doors you have come across and grab all that treasure! Now if only you could break down those crumbling walls too..........

THE LIGHT AND DARK KEYS

          When you are done collecting treasure, return to Auria and free the girl from the safe.  She is quite stubborn and won't leave yet. Listen to what she says, and head for the Dk.Key Tower, West of Bleak.

          Once in the Tower, you will meet an Old Man who challenges you to get to the top. Take that challenge and work your way up the Tower collecting the treasure along the way. The idea is to get the Mirror on the second floor from the Old Man by beating the Dk.Key's Guardian, Cloud, on the top floor.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Boss Alert: Cloud

This is another tough fight. ThrDr is really the only thing that works and to make matters worse, Cloud knows the Devistat and Lightining Spells. Each one does 20 to 45 HP of damage respectively. Use Nina and Bo to heal while Karn uses regular attacks or the E.Key (depending on which is more powerful at this point) and Ryu uses ThrDr. Cloud has no second wind, so when he's gone....he's gone.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

          Once you defeat Cloud, take the Dk.Key and go see the Old Man. He will now give you the Mirror. Take this Mirror back to Auria and talk to Ross. Ross' dead wife will convince him to give you the Lt.Key. Now go and talk to Ross' daughter and she will let you pass. Climb the small tower to get the Lt.Key.

SET SAIL

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Boss Alert: Knight

This fight isn't too hard. Just use ThrDr and say bye-bye.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

          After the fight, the Knight sinks the ship and escapes. Talk with the Captain and Gobi. They tell you the whereabouts of the Dark Dragon Base. You must give Gobi a G.Bar to get the GnPwdr. If you haven't gotten it yet, there is a G.Bar in the Cave east of Auria. Just use Karn to pick the Lock on the door. After trading up, head to the cave North of Auria and hang a left at the first intersection. Walk up to the rocks blocking the way and Ryu will use the Gun Powder. Continue and exit the cave.

          When you get to the Dark Dragon's Base, head for their ship. You will have to fight plenty of goons along the way, but if Ryu is at least Level 21, you shouldn't have a problem. Once at the bottom of the ship, the General shows up yet again! This time, he transforms into Squid.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Boss Alert: Squid

Just have Ryu use ThrDr while Bo and Nina heal and Karn supports them. Squid's secnond wind is very short. You should have no problem as long as you stay healthy.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

          After you beat Squid, watch the scene that follows. You are in for one more fight.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Boss Alert: Octo

After the Dark Dragons board your ship, you make your way down to the cargo hold only to find the Knight again. He changes in Octo, a much meaner version of Squid. Use the same strategy and you should do fine. His second wind can be wiped from one hit of Ryu's ThrDr Attack.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

           When you beat Octo, the party jumps overboard. They end up stranded on a desert island. But all is not lost.....................

On to Chapter 5:  Underwater Adventure