Here be Dragons

Rue walks through the forest and comes upon a door placed onto a tree. Not a house in the woods, but as though someone just built whatever is there into a tree. The door resembles the art in the church in Carona, but the woman has arms. As our hero approaches, the door opens for him. Inside, there are three statues. In the middle is a "t" shaped tetromino with a dotless “i” on either side. I had no idea what it meant then, and have no idea what it means now. There are also two doors on either side of the room. The left door is locked, but when said door is approached, the right one opens. All on its own...spooky!

This dungeon is a straight hallway with the occasional door on either side. These side doors have enemies that Rue will need to use to navigate the long jumps, high jumps, and ratholes. They are also various undead mobs that proliferate the area. Inside are four mini-bosses named Chimeras. Each Chimera drops a piece of the gear needed to make Prima Doll useful. They’re fairly simple and pose no real threat. You can attack them at any time, and their accuracy isn’t very good. They’re flashy, but that’s all. About halfway through, it’s revealed that Elena has followed Rue and gotten lost. This becomes a bit of a dreaded escort mission, but it’s never a problem. Elena is never going to be attacked. She does get kidnapped in a mandatory cutscene, but she’s saved shortly thereafter.

In the room of the final Chimera is Duke. Duke tells us how he recently read a book about a Firey Fist of love, or something, that had everything: love, loss, battle, etc. He also killed the last Chimera, so now we need to defeat him.

This might be his easiest fight yet, definitely easier than Shooting Star Duke. He fit the dungeon, though, as he’s flashy, but still poses no threat. I wonder if I’m overleveled? I’m not sure how leveling works in Threads of Fate, but okay. After the fight, Duke is injured because we hit him too hard. Elena does something to make him better, and, as she does, the room begins to close in on us. Duke holds it back, while Rue beats the stuffing out of the locked door. He’s able to do so, and we’re now outside where we started. Out of gratitude for saving him, Duke gives the gauntlet he got from his Chimera to Elena. Elena, not Rue. He’s very clear on this, and we all return to town.

Mint was successful in her mission of finding the earrings, and Klaus puts the items on Prima Doll. He is now capable of motion, as well as speech. It’s not perfect, as he’s missing the amulet and tiara, so, for now, he’s just gonna hang out in bed. Klaus informs the duo that the gem we need, Phantomite, might be held by a creature named Wylaf. Mint is excited to find the gemstone and prepares to head out..until she learns Wylaf is a 1000-year-old dragon who lives on a volcano. She immediately nopes out, providing that she's actually really smart after all. Why would a sane person go fight a dragon on a volcano? It just makes sense.

Before Rue proves he's dumb and/or fearless and dedicated, I take a moment to catch up with Rod. He has a new weapon to test out, Gold...Something. It, like the haunted house, is all flash but no threat. There’s also a scene with Belle and Duke where we learn they’re a down-on-their-luck troupe with high standards. They've racked up quite the debt at the nearby by fancy hotel, but have no way to repay it. They then talk about using something called The Hexagon on Rue.

Finally ready to melt, Rue goes to the Raging Mountain. It’s inhabited by Red Flans from Final Fantasy, monkeys, dark-colored tadpoles, and giant rock-breakers. The last guys can break rocks, so remember that first dungeon I said I’d come back to? Guess where I'm heading after this? This place has no real gimmick; just don’t fall into the lava as you climb up.

There is another boss fight against Duke and Belle, Belle being in the Hexagon, but the battle is another easy one. It’s tedious as you have to time your attacks right, but, as long as you have HP, isn’t hard. At the top, though, lies the ancient dragon, Wylaf. He’s a prideful beast and is offended that we’d disturb him AND ask for one of his precious gems. He reads our mind to see why we’ve come and gets mad. He reminds us that using Valens’s [relic] might destroy the world and tests our strength.

It’s a good thing we don’t need to go the distance against him. The fight was perfectly even. I had him to half health at the same time he had to the same point, and he called for peace. He said our heart was in the right place and supplies us the stone.

Rather than continue the story, I go adventuring with my new rock-breaker form. I head back to the Carona Forest and find the rock in question. I hated it. The jump to reach the cliff isn’t easy, and you only get one shot at it. If you miss, you need to return to the start. Not only that, but you need a chipmunk to reach the treasure the rock hides, which I didn't have the first time! Inside is a useless 3000g rock. There was also a boss battle here with someone named Trap Master, which was the easiest fight in the game. I only took damage because I fell; damage I did to myself. He didn’t touch me. I continue to backtrack and find an item that, if given to Klaus, gives me more MP. There are a few more sidequest items I missed, so I’ll be doing them...

...tomorrow!

According to RPGClassics, I’m about halfway through the game. I had fun tonight, so last night was a misnomer. The platforming was fine, combat was a breeze, and all was good. If we’re halfway, then the story should be ramping up soon. [insert your favorite excited dance gif]