Breath of Fire Part #15 - Chapter Fifteen: Tomb of Horrors

Part 15: Chapter Fifteen: Tomb of Horrors

After defeating EyeSpy we are now ready to venture deeper into the depths of Krypt.

:…I think this is just a bit too generous considering what we’ve come to expect from this place.

: I agree. This is definitely some kind of trap.

: Absolutely.

: We should be very careful whilst opening them, in any case.

The game won’t progress until the party opens the blue chest. The others contain an assortment of items, including an IcyHT and two SkullHTs. The SkullHTs in particular provide good defense but carry a heavy Active cost.

: What am I going to do?

: Dragon’s blood…okay, hold onto me then!

: Search the area! There may be a way out!

: All you had to do was look under the odd chest. Haha, man what a joke.

: This is not a laughing matter!

: Whoa whoa, calm down lady. There’s nothing to be…wait a minute…you’re the guys from Auria! Yeah, I remember you guys! What’s up? And what’re you doing here?

: Can you open it?

:…Ugh.

: What does ‘Ugh’ mean?

:…Why do you guys think I was in Auria to begin with? The only lock in that place that’s worth a damn is the one on that vault. I tried every technique and broke every one of my picks trying to get it open, but nothing worked.

: You mean you cannot help us? Even after we came all this way?

: Slooooow down there, lady. I didn’t say that. Why do you think I came here to begin with?

: Why don’t you enlighten us?

: This place? It’s a tomb. The tomb of a thief. The greatest thief who ever lived. And right down at the very, very bottom? Is a book he wrote, containing all his tactics and all his secrets. Supposedly.

: Wait, you want us to do your dirty work?

: Nah, I just want to sit back and laugh when you fall into some more obvious traps.

: It seems this supposed “master thief” is nothing but bluster after all. How disappointing.

: I’ll follow behind you, fearless leader!

: Joy.

Let’s talk about Karn for a moment.

Karn is fast. Really, really fast. Even though he joins the party at level 12 he still has a higher Active stat than Ryu, who is six levels higher than him. However, his defense is quite low, though not as low as Nina’s. Naturally, he’s Breath of Fire’s rogue character – fast and can deal decent damage if you outfit him correctly. He lacks the ability to steal items, but there’s another ability he can use that makes him useful that won’t be unlocked until later on.

When placed at the head of the group, Karn will automatically disable any traps on any treasure chests you decide to open. He will also save the party from pitfalls, so it’s really handy to have him lead the group whenever you’re exploring a new dungeon.

: Stand back, everybody. Let the master show you how it’s done.

: Well, are you guys impressed? Pretty cool, huh?

: If you say so.

: Seemed a little slow to me.

: Hmph.

: Oh, you guys all suck.

Oh, and he can also open locked doors like these.

: How deep does this place go anyway?

: Well, nobody’s ever reached the lowest level. But I somehow get the feeling we’re nearing the bottom.

: The air is growing more stale. I can smell the faintest hint of rot…yes, we are getting closer.

: This floor is full of…sarcophagi?

:…That’s odd. I thought only one guy was buried here. Nobody touch anything! These are probably all traps.

: Mph. No luck.

: Let’s try the next one.

There are eight caskets in this room, and only one is the correct one.

: Suck it, Krypt! I am so awesome.

: Oh, sure, sure, let’s get on that. Man, I can’t believe I couldn’t pick Auria’s vault. I bet if I tried now it’d be a cinch.

: Then we have no further reason to remain here. Let’s get going.

After getting out of Krypt it’s simply a matter of warping over to Auria.

: Man, that ‘Warp’ thing sure is convenient. I could get into some dude’s vault, take everything he had, then boom! Be back in Bleak before anyone knew what happened.

: My magic is an ancient, sacred art. It is not to be used for petty theft!

: Hey hey hey, calm down lady. It was a joke! You know, that thing where someone says something funny and then you laugh?

Before we progress the plot some more, there are a number of places we can revisit. Some of the areas we’ve previously been to have had locked doors like those in Krypt, and with Karn in the party we can now unlock them. I’ll be suspending the narrative for a bit whilst we collect them all.

First up is the L & D Cave. Here we can find a second G.Bar and a Dart, which is a weapon for Karn.

Second is in the Winlan castle basement. Here we acquire a Turban, a FlameRP for Nina and a BrokenSD for Ryu. Amusingly the BrokenSD is better than Ryu’s current weapon, although since it drops his Active by ten points I won’t be equipping it.

Finally, there’s Agua. Here we can find the LavaSH, LifeAR and IcyDR. I’m not sure what the developers were thinking here since the first two of those items are obscenely overpowered, boosting Ryu’s defense to a colossal 257 when equipped together. The LifeAR in particular is actually the best armor in the game for Ryu.

Now that’s over with, it’s time to break into the safe.

: Here it is. Do you think you can break through it this time?

: Oh, sure, sure, this one’s easy. I broke through this one before. It’s the next one that’s the problem.

: This one’s a real bastard. One wrong move and the locking mechanism retracts into the door. Gotta be real careful, real gentle on the pins, and…oh.