Part 12: The Hall of the Lizard King

Last time, the most awesome NPC unfortunately died and we got a replica of his bow as a result of this. Today, we'll be putting that replica to use in one of the very few times it's actually worth even half a damn...



: Legend has it there's a giant lizard living in there. And, if the Murgg attack us, this lizard could too.

So now we finally go to the Swamp where the Lizards roam. Frickin' Lizards...

At any rate, not many people actually mention the swamp in any fashion. The few who do pretty much tell you to stay away, which always means to go there. Most people are more interested in talking about recent things.



: And, I have to tell you that my first inclination was to grant his wish.

Ronan being like that was kind of expected considering Giles' recent behaviour but wanting me banished is a wee bit excessive considering I saved the lives of two people, and everyone who's died was out of my control in the first place. I'm surprised no one's blamed Alundra for making the Coal Mine collapse at this point...



: Everyone in this village will at last see you for the foul demon you are!

Nothing new there then. Kinda hoping for some backstory info sometime soon (I even double-checked; nothing about it yet) since it's both generically depressing and yet exceptionally awesome. I don't even remember if it gets brought up in-game ever which is kind of strange in its own way.



: Just stay out of my way before you kill anyone else with your blatant incompetence.

Once again, Meia has no experience outside of Myra insofar as we can tell. That probably wouldn't have been much of a challenge either, so its nothing to brag about. Alundra, on the other hand, has ventured through several dungeons (even a blatant filler one), done almost as many dream areas as that (four if you include Olen's 2 minute subconscious thing) and can cast a couple of powerful spells. Kinda easy to tell who's more qualified for this job based on what we know about them both.



: The village experienced horrors in the past such as the ones we're having now. They started when a giant rock plunged from the heavens into the woods east of here. There was something inside that rock, Alundra. The book claims it was an evil force... But it doesn't say when the evil was encountered, or...if it was ever destroyed. Why is there no further record, Alundra? It's all very curious. Too curious for my taste...

I think it's safe to say that Septimus' job as Master of the Exposition is still secure for the time being. Sort of disappointing origin story there though. It's even pretty much identical to JENOVA's (original) origin in Final Fantasy VII. There's only a three month difference between the release date of the two so I'd presume that's just a coincidence.



Anyway, the dungeon is in a pretty simple location to remember since we've seen it before just without realising it. It's south of Tarn's Manor meaning there's a 50% chance of passing it at the very beginning which is kinda interesting in a way. Of course, by acquiring things near here that early, and since then, we've seen it in a bit more detail but still not directly.



As I recall, that chest wasn't anything more interesting than a Strength Tonic (the Falcon was slightly more south). That's not the important part though, neither is the Lizard. The important part is the green orb on the left; by shooting it with the bow, either from here or from elsewhere, it causes a statue directly north of it to move out of the way allowing entrance to the dungeon.



This is the entrance you need to use to actually enter the dungeon proper, which was inaccessible until now. There is a second entrance very nearby however...



Just to the left, in fact. This has been accessible since the very beginning but it doesn't actually lead anywhere. For all intents and purposes, this "second" entrance is the exit to the dungeon rather than a way in.


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Next time: déjà vu.