RGR009 - The Journey East

After talking to the king of Portoga, we warped to Assaram (have I told you how much I love the Return spell?) and, after a quick stay at the inn, entered the cave. Surprisingly, the cave is free of enemies; the only other living thing there was Norud the Dwarf, and he was as rude as we expected. However, thanks the the Royal Scroll we got from the king of Portoga, he came around quickly and opened the passage for us. The passage seemed awfully long considering it had no enemies, but we eventually emerged on the other side of the mountains.

The enemies in the east were tougher than those back near Assaram, but nothing we couldn't handle. We walked for a while, fighting these Avenger Jackals and... Tonguebears... yes, until we finally reached the town of Baharata. This is apparently the source of all pepper.

In one...

Pwned.

Now was that so hard?

...and out the other!

Wow, they don't waste any time.

Who comes up with these names?

But we just knew it wouldn't be that easy. See, the guy in Baharata who normally sells pepper was dealing with the kidnap of his daughter, Tania, so there was no pepper to be had. And to make matters worse, Tania's boyfriend, Galen, stormed off to rescue her as we were discussing the kidnapping with her grandfather. You know that can't end well. So now it's up to us to find the kidnappers, knock them around a bit, and save both Tania AND Galen. Fortunately, someone in town clued us in on the location of the kidnappers, so we at least know where we're headed.

Thanks, it's great to be here!

Why can't it ever be simple?

Ooh, want.

I DON'T CARE. GIVE ME PEPPER.

Heavy.

Well, that makes things easier.

You'd think we were the only adventurers around. But we've got to save Tania, because we need the pepper, because we need the ship.

Eyes on the prize, Ryan. Eyes on the prize.

RGR009 - Wouldn't You Like to Be a Pepper Too?

With the Magic Key in hand, we returned to Isis to check out all those doors we couldn't get into before. There were a couple of nice treasure rooms full of status-boosting seeds and acorns, and the queen was kind enough to let us search in her general vicinity for the Wizard's Ring, which I believe is a multi-use MP regeneration item. After lurking around during both night and day, we headed back to Assaram to do pretty much the same thing.

You and your brother are weird.

This'll come in handy when Godzilla attacks!

Ahem.

Uh, yabble dabble?

You could have just handed it to me.

Hey, I've got just the key for that!

Back in Assaram, we met the leader of the dancing girls, who told us about the path to the east through the mountains (of which the entrance and exit are both visible from just outside the town), along with a man who suggested we first visit Portoga to see the king. The mountain path is apparently guarded by a dwarf named Norud who isn't letting people through, and he's an old friend of the king of Portoga. Outside of the bounds of a video game, it'd be a longshot, but I'd say that's exactly where we need to go.

Which one's Vegeta?

This Norud's sounding like a jerk.

???

Who says I call it a ship?

So we warped to Romaly and began our trek northwest to the shrine that leads to Portoga. On the other side, we immediately began to encounter new and powerful enemies, but we fought hard and eventually reached the town in one piece. In Portoga, people seemed to be enamored with pepper. We were told the king loves the stuff, and a number of people said they wished they could try it. We had a feeling that was going to mean the king would be asking us for a pepper-related favor before he'd help, and that feeling was spot on.

With the path to the east both dangerous and currently closed, there was no way to get pepper from the east, where it's plentiful, to Portoga, where it's obviously not. Therefore, our quest was to make the journey eastward, find some pepper, and bring it back. If we could do this, the king would give us a ship! He even gave us a Royal Scroll to show to Norud so he'd let us through.

Couldn't we have just swum? Or jumped?

Wouldn't it be Lumpi?

Phew, finally made it.

I don't know, do you?

I prefer Mrs. Dash myself.

I bet he'll give us a quest.

You watch too many soap operas.

Nifty!

Barbarians and PEPPER.

Lame.

Maybe they like it there.

A ship for some pepper? Deal!

I'd really like to have a boat, so we're going to take him up on this quest.

RGR009 - Stupid Shears

The level above the Magic Key room was some sort of pharaoh's treasure room, and it looks like the thieves who had been here before us never made it past the giant door there, which required the Magic Key. But it wasn't easy pickings, as every chest in the room was cursed, and opening each led to a battle with a group of four Mummy Men. At this point, they're not that tough, and we can take them down in one turn. Still, it took two trips to get through all twelve chests, since Theron ran low on magic partway through the set.

Beyond the treasure room was another floor with a single chest, but that chest only contained the Flashy Clothes, and no one in my party can wear them. So we headed up the next set of stairs, which led to the outside of the pyramid. There was nothing to do there, so we jumped off and headed back to Isis.

I'll bet that's a special chest...

...or maybe not.

Well, I'm Ryan, and these are my friends.

Scenic!

Through several trips to the pyramid, we had amassed quite a bit of gold, so we were pretty well equipped by the time we returned to Isis. However, there was one weapon that we hadn't yet checked out: the Giant Shears. We had just enough money left over to get a pair, but I had no idea who'd be able to equip it. Luckily, when you choose a party member to hold onto the weapon, the shopkeeper tells you whether or not that person can use it.

The problem is, they'll let you give that person the weapon regardless of whether or not they can use it, and I accidentally hit the A button when I got the chance. So the shopkeeper wound up selling the shears to Viron, though he couldn't use them. So I figured I'd just have him hand them to the next guy, and the next guy, and so on until someone was able to equip them. The item menu options are thus, in order:

Use
Transfer
Discard

But Dragon Warrior III's menu controls are slightly different from the previous games in that holding up or down makes the cursor slide up or down the list, rather than requiring a separate key press for each item. So where I meant to only move down to Transfer, I accidentally selected Discard. And the game doesn't ask you if you're sure you want to discard the item.

Hey, where'd all our money go?

So now we've got next to no gold, and I accidentally threw away the Giant Shears that I accidentally bought in the first place. I screamed in frustration when it happened, but I guess it's not that bad, since money's pretty easy to come by around here. I'm sure I'll have tens of thousands of gold pieces saved up in no time.

Note to self: make sure the cursor is pointing to the right item before pressing the A button. Seriously. Every time.

RGR009 - Quest for the Key (AGAIN)

Back in Assaram, we talked to several people (and actually listened this time) who mentioned a desert to the west, as well as a place called Isis, where we're most likely supposed to go next. A soldier also told us about a shrine in a swamp where we might learn something about the Magic Key we're looking for. We followed the directions he gave us and, lo and behold, we came upon a small shrine surrounded by swamp.

The old man in the shrine wove a tale of pyramids and castles. Actually, he just told us the Magic Key is in a pyramid in the desert, and that we should first travel to the Castle of Isis, which was hidden in an oasis. So we made our way west along the edge of the desert until we found an oasis, and hidden within, as promised, was the Castle of Isis!

Sounds hot. And dry. No thanks.

Can't he come HERE?

Hey, that soldier was right!

This desert's got everything!

Several people in and around the castle have made mention of the Meteorite Armband, which apparently makes its wearer faster in some way. It's said to be hidden within the castle, so I'll probably have to wait until I have the Magic Key to start searching. We also ran into a cat that called itself the Archfiend's familiar, though I'm pretty sure he was only placed there to remind us that we have a greater overall quest. We then had ourselves a good night's sleep, and after talking to the queen and her retainers (including one who clued us in on one of the pyramid's secrets), we departed for the pyramid, which is precisely north of Isis.

This looks like the place.

No, no, I want some pie.

Is that supposed to be a song?

Bet I find it before you!

What just happened?

You make it sound creepy.

Yes, we're made of oak.

Goody.

Well, that's just silly.

Tell me about it.

Your song is dumb.

Have you seen him do it?

It probably gets a talk show.

What a cute little pyramid!

Someone had mentioned that thieves had already pillaged the pyramid, and it showed in the number of empty treasure chests scattered throughout. This made the place pretty uninteresting until the third floor, where the children's song came into play. A large stone slab blocked access to a room with chests, and there were four small alcoves in the southern walls containing small buttons (you can't see them, but when you approach one, the game tells you it's there). So we pressed the one to the east, and then the one beside it, and then we were dropped through a hole in the floor to the level below. It didn't take long to get back to where we were, and we headed straight for the westernmost button when we got there. When this button was pressed, the slab disappeared, and we were able to get into the little treasure room. And there, we found the Magic Key!

Ooh, I'm so nervous...

Great success!

Now that we have the Magic Key, I think we'll be heading back to several places where we've seen doors we couldn't open. Maybe we'll find some nice loot!