The Choosen Unite

Following the advice the humanoid Healie told us in Keleon Castle, I went to Haville. A random dude told us he knows of Edgar's secret base. Why does this rando know more than his daughters?

Anyway, the slime who lives in Maya and Naya's hose in Kyivs confirms the rumor. He adds that the switch to the lab is at the bottom of a treasure chest. There are two potential spots for this switch, but it's the one that contained the Jar of Darkness we found near where we met Orin. Heading back down the cave near Kyivs and pressing the switch reveals a new staircase down. I've forgotten if anything else is down here, but the upgraded Thief's Key is in a chest. With the Magic Key, we can open red doors across the world. Two of which are in Keleon Castle.

Entering the keep and blowing past the consul, we run up towards the secret throne room. We witness two soldiers trying to drag Ragnar into the room with them, but he throws them off. He notices us and knows we're the Hero he's been searching for. We all run into the room and confront the new, new King, Keleon. Balzack was sent elsewhere, so he's in charge now. He still knows who Maya and Naya are, knows they defeated the other dude, and attacks us.

This was the fight that got me to cheat. I don't know why the game has other AI controlled characters, but I think it's stupid. It ruins strategy, sense, and fun. Anything I want to do is subject to a robot from 1990, running on 2Kb of RAM. Na-uh! There's a Game Shark code that allows you to control all of your party members, and I turned it on for this fight. As you might have guessed, it made the game more fun. A bit slower, yes, but I'd rather play Dragon Quest IV. I had Naya Sap Keleon's defense first while I tried to get DPS in. After that, Maya went on healing duty, while everyone else went all out. By which, I mean I spammed the attack command and Blazemore. Maybe bringing in Brey would have been wise, but I don't know if Alena's tankiness would outshine any potential DPS our secondary follower could add? Regardless, the entire team (minus Ragnar) gets 5100 EXP, and we free this nation from the Ruler of Evil's power. There was a lost heir in Manaraba during Maya/Naya's chapter, and I wonder what became of her? Ragnar will join the party after, but he's quite a bit underleveled. I'll keep him in the back for a while until he catches up, but Alena is much better than him at the moment. As we leave the castle, the soldiers thank us for freeing them from their evil liege. The consul, though, remains obstinate. But he will tell us Balzack is in Santeem, though. Speak to Healie, and, regardless of if Ragnar is on the team, he'll ask us to thank Ragnar and bids us farewell. He leaves to the world map, and I wonder if we'll see him again?

The only clues I have about where to go now are back to Santeem, but it was rough going there. We can walk through the castle, fighting monsters along the way, but Balzack has gotten quite strong. The Theory of Evolution is proving to be real. He can attack twice a turn, and he usually uses an ice move that hits the whole team for thirty damage, sixty overall. Unless you have someone with a team cure around, you're gonna have a bad time. I'll come back to this when I get another Sphere of Silence. But there's more stuff to do in the city nearby. We can open an entire area of the town with the Magic Key, which makes me wonder who built this place? That new area takes us to a weapons shop and the King's tutor. I assume he's 145 years old? He tells us that the King could always see the future and asked his tutor to build a sign for his daughter. That sign, which is behind the big building in town, tells us about Zenethia and the Dragon. A key to going there may be in the northern sea kingdom of Stancia.

This place is a bit tough to get to since it's surrounded by rivers and mountains that spiral around it. The "dock" is so the southeast, and it's gonna take some walking. Once we get in town, we see this place is rather Venetian with its waterways. We also learn that the King is looking for someone that can make him laugh. To make a long story short, I spoke to the King and couldn't make him laugh. There's a girl in the castle that knows of a comedian that took Maya's job in Manaraba. Go there, speak to the joker at night, and he'll tell you to see him in the afternoon. Do so, and he'll join us to make the King laugh. Go back to Stancia, and Panon will understand what's going on. The King isn't looking to laugh, but he wants to liven up the despair his people feel with the resurrection of the Ruler of Darkness. The King gives us the first piece of the Zenethian Armor set, the helm, and we all leave. Panon leaves the party when we leave the town. Elsewhere in the castle was a guard who thinks Burland, Ragnar's hometown, has another piece of Zenethian Armor, so we'll head there...

...tomorrow!

I did a bit more exploring tonight. There's an island in the middle of the map with a town in a river. Apparently, someone is looking for a way to make ships float, and they have a sentient statue problem down steam. I also explored some of the cave north of the Tiny Medal King. I got a few levels and a medal, but I think there's more in there? I also opened the Magic Key locations in Endor. I have a cursed sword that does 25% damage to Solo... JOY!