RGR009 - The Evil King of Samanao

Now that we've got the Final Key, we decided to backtrack to some of those shrines we visited that had prison doors blocking passage. Most, it turned out, were actually shrines we'd already been to and forgotten about, but we did find one shrine that led out into unfamiliar territory. Inside the shrine, a priest told us about the king of Samanao, and how he had undergone a sudden personality change and banished the hero Simon from the castle through a Travel Door. I seem to recall hearing about this Simon guy, so we were intrigued.

Yep, that's something.

Wow, depressing.

That's the door we came through!

That's bad for business.

Oh, I'm sure it's not so bad.

You probably ate your Wheaties.

What direction?

Eww, are you stalking him?

After crossing a bridge and navigating some mountains, we finally found our way to Samanao, where everyone feared the king. The shops were all closed because there was a funeral going on for someone named Baranao, who had been executed for speaking out against the king. Apparently, the king's demeanor began to change just after he acquired the Staff of Change, which allows its user to assume any form. I think we all see where this is going. Oddly, no one seems to have thought of the possibility that the king is an impostor, so I guess it'll be up to us to set things right.

After the funeral, we thought we'd pay the king a personal visit, but that just got us thrown into prison. Fortunately, the guards didn't check us for keys, so we were able to get out of our cell with no trouble. Hidden deep within the prison was a set of cells in which we found the true king, who confirmed all of our suspicions. One of the other prisoners had some information for us about the Mirror of Ra which, just as it did in Dragon Warrior II, shows a person's true form in its reflection. The mirror is currently in a cave to the south of the castle, so the steps for this particular quest are laid out quite clearly.

This makes me uncomfortable.

But then who'd make dinner?

Nah, I doubt it'd be worth much.

I couldn't agree more.

Yeah, real convincing laugh.

You too.

But we just got here!

Thanks, we've been looking for him!

You think?

And I'm sure we'll need it really soon.

Open your eyes!

Shh... he's sleephinting.

Literally!

That kind of rhymes.

And yet you stick around.

So should we yell at you?

Yes we can!

But we wanna fight you now!

But you know what? The enemies are pretty strong here, so we're probably taking things out of order. I think we'll just put the Mirror of Ra on our to-do list and keep exploring.