A farewell.

Sue's still in bed, so we're gonna be a team of three tonight.

The Mysteriously Vanishing Hill is to the southwest. The first screen is a straight path to the second screen. There is a passage into the hill, but we can't do anything yet. We need that Orb! The second screen has us looking for keys to open doors around the area. Some are out on the field, and others are in chests. You also need to step on obvious switches to move blocks occasionally.

Head left first and open the gates, which mobs are behind. There are two of these gates, and they automatically open when you get near them.
The left is the same thing. Next is a boss, but I'll get to that later.
The next trap has us crossing a bridge that shrinks when we walk on it. Just don't stop.
Next, hit two switches to open columns for mobs. It also drops blocks nearby we can climb. Press that switch, and the remaining column lowers the key.
From there, we can do a confusing pressure type of block puzzle. I didn't get it, and it seems random.
I don't think there were any more, so let's talk about the boss we find up here. It's the same as the one past the second door, and it's the Massacre Machine.

They both have the same HP, moves, and everything else. Use your best moves as it only has 2000 HP. It has two targets that share HP. The most common attack has MM throwing the party across the battlefield. It doesn't do much damage and makes grouping up irrelevant, so cool. I think this dungeon was supposed to be an attrition thing. There's a large number of enemies and two bosses with only one save. I walked back to heal up halfway through, making it a moot point.

The mobs are kinda varied. There is an imp thing (tall fella who throws apples), a crab, a kite, and another sea creature. Several of them seem to resist magic, but all are weak to getting hit. They tend to group up into four to six per battle, so it's a decent place to level magics.

Now on to the plot!
After the first Massacre, the party thinks of Sue. She's thinking about what it means to be a child and an adult.
After the second one, Godwin tells Justin how much the boy has matured in the short time they've been together. Godwin seems very proud. Behind the second boss is the Orb we're looking for. We pick it up, and the team wonders what to do about Sue. Despite being told it'll take a while, they think she's fully recovered. Feena, though, continues by asking what happens if she gets exhausted again across the Mermaid Sea? Either way, they all return to Dight to tell her we're ready.

When we get to her, the mood shifts. Alma told Sue the differences between a growing girl and a teenage boy. That talk has had a huge impact on what's to come. Sue tells the party that she won't be adventuring with them any longer. Justin is too far ahead of her, which makes sense. Sue is eight years old. Justin is nearly twice her age. Alma wants to keep Sue here to avoid further exhaustion, but everyone thinks she should return home to Parm. But there's no easy way to do that. And then Justin suggests using the Teleportation Orb. Everyone is shocked! How are we to cross the sea now? Justin's unabashed confidence lets him think he'll find a way, but he also thinks sending Sue home is more important. The party agrees and heads to the hill.

Well, not Godwin. Something stirred in him, and he tells the party he has other stuff to do. He tells Sue that he can't wait to see her when she's older and goes off to do his thing. He tells Justin and Feena to head to his house after this.

Justin, Sue, and Feena place the Orb on the pedestal, and visions of Parm appear before them. Everyone seems to be holding it together, but eventually, young Sue cannot any longer. She wants to be beside her friends but can't. She's been trying to be strong but fails at the end. As much as she wanted to cry alone and not guilt the others, she bursts into tears now. Justin follows soon after, wanting the same thing as Sue. I won't go into too much detail to not spoil it (and because I could barely see it on my tiny screen), but it's very heartfelt and heartbreaking. Sue goes into the picture of Parm, and the teleporter closes.

Walk your way through the Valley of Dragons and get to Godwin's House. He's waiting for us and seems solemn. Something is off. He tells Justin that he's grown so much, only to draw his sword on him. As they did when they first met, Godwin challenges Justin to a duel. The boy accepts, and a one-on-one happens again. Ultimately, Godwin is just too slow to keep up.

Godwin only did basic combos, so he's easy. He didn't use any moves, and I didn't knock him out of anything. I've been having Justin's using the accessory that gives him a third combo, which seems really powerful. After the battle, Godwin officially declares that Justin is a full-fledged man. When Justin sacrificed his life to help Dwight and the Orb to help Sue, it taught Godwin all he needs to know about Justin. As a farewell present, Godwin teaches Justin his Dragon Sword move. We still need the magic levels for it, but we can use it soon. He also bestows upon us his boat. Sadly, he can no longer journey with us. Justin's newfound strength has inspired him to go on a training excursion. So it'll just be Justin and Feena to cross the Mermaids Sea.

Return to Dight, and we'll see Alma at the beach. She tells us this ship is a family heirloom passed down in Godwin's family. She sees us off, but I returned to the inn, saved, and we'll head through the inner sea…


…tomorrow!

My laptop's screen is terrible to play on. It's my setup, mostly. And my terrible eyesight. Maybe if I brought it closer to me, it'd be fine? Eh…that doesn't leave much room to roam. I like to get a workout in when playing games. The end of disk one is coming, so look forward to the week long vacation I'm taking in the middle! One of us should.