Ortega's Footsteps

"Life in the Dark World is similar to life where we're from. People eke out their meager existences just trying to get by. They work, they love, they fear. Everyone knows of Zoma, and we won't let him get away with what he's planning to do!

The first thing we did down here was figure out what was going on. Zoma stole three legendary treasures of Tintsgel Castle, and Arusu believes these will greatly aid us if we get them. But even if we do, there's the obstacle of HOW we get to Zoma's castle. Despite being across a river from Tintagel, shoals block our ship's passage. However, we can form a bridge with the Sunstone and the Rain Staff. But where are those? And while we're down here, it seems Ortega is nearby.

We walked around the isolated continent, starting from Tintagel. Our old friend Kandar was in a jail cell here, and he told us the Sunstone was somewhere in the castle. But we couldn't find it.

There was a cave north that we walked past. Peaking our heads in revealed an anti magic field around it. Sometimes it would fade, so we went in. Hidden at the bottom was an incredibly powerful shield.

South of that was the Haukness Desert. A stable hand told us about an ln brilliantly shiny object in a nearby bush. She couldn't use it, so she gave it to us.

Further south, and then east, is the fort city of Cantlin. They've surrendered to their fate and have given up on life. They await Zoma.

South of them is a shrine run by fairies. Despite not liking humans, they know we're the only ones who can save them. They handed over the Rain Staff.

Across the river, east of the North Cave, is the forest village of Kol. A blacksmith from Zipang opened an item shop and bought the hunk of metal from us. We returned a few days later to learn that metal was the legendary orichalcum, the same thing the Sword of Kings was made out of. Zoma broke the one he stole in Tintagel, and it took him three days, so this is the key to survival. He sold it to us for 30000 gold. Elsewhere in this town was a flute hidden in the bushes...

In a tower to the north is where a statue is located. After figuring out the disorienting floor graphs, we discovered the Goddess Rubiss. She thanked us for freeing her with the Fairy Flute and blessed us with her gift: a strange amulet. It's easy to skim over, but we found the final stolen treasure of Tintagel here, the Light Armor.

But we still needed the Sunstone! We had made Tintagel our base of operations, and Tryton and I were feeling peckish one night. We snuck into the kitchen and were waiting for the pot to heat up our leftover chicken. The big man leaned against the wall, and it fell apart, revealing a room. Inside was the Sunstone.

In the southeast corner of this world is another shrine. The man there combined the Sunstone and Rain Staff to create the Rainbow Drop! We were ready...almost. In the village of Rimuldar was another Zen Book. This time, Cordy made use of it. The group now has two suped-up sages ready for the final push. While Cordy figured out her new skills, we went around the world one last time. We found some of the strongest gear in various chests in new dungeons and gained enough money for new stuff in shops. Our defense is as good as it'll get as is our attack. Anything more will be minuscule. Cordy can learn a lot more spells, but Arusu believes it's time to end this before it goes bad. We're camped out near the Rainbow Bridge, which we quickly made north of Rimuldar. We couldn't find Sir Ortega, but that means he's still alive. Regardless, the legend of Arusu will complete soon. One way or another!"