Part 26: Chapter Twenty Six: Dragon Age II

: This is the vault, you say?

: Sure is. It, uh, looks very complicated, fearless leader. I could give it a go, though…

: I wouldn’t advise it. The door and lock are infused with black magic. Tampering with it could cause hilarity to ensue. And by hilarity, I mean “Four massive stone golems come to life and take turns punching you in the face.

: That…would be bad, yeah…Damn, I was hoping we could nab the key and run.

: But look, there are some chests that are just out in the open! Free money for me!



: Gobi, this is clearly a trap.



: Now the statue’s come to life! Uh…looks like we’re cornered, guys!



: Falling down a pit…I feel like such an amateur…



The party ends up in a small cell-like area. We can leave by pushing the south-most box out of the way, which covers another hole leading back to the world map. However, there’s something in this room that’s incredibly important.



Pushing the southeastern box up and pressing ‘A’ will reveal the Rod5. This is the best fishing rod in the game. I haven’t really gone into the whole fishing minigame because, honestly, it’s not really that important. However, the Rod5 serves a special purpose that will be revealed very shortly.



: It looks like there’s nothing we can do in Tunlan for now.

:…It seems we are at a loss.

: Perhaps we should proceed to Scande anyway.

:…That would be inadvisable. This Zog fellow you lot keep talking about must have mastered the power of the Dragon if he was able to carve out such a large Empire so quickly. If you head there now, he’ll surely crush you.

: Then what do you suggest, oh wise and powerful snake lady?

: Simple. Ryu must master the power of the Dragon himself. And I know just how to do it. Come – I will open a path for you.



: Back in Romero?

: Now then. Forest clansman, please lead us around the forest, towards the mountains.

: As you wish, sorceress.







: Ah, here we are. Hmm…it’s looking…a bit…run down…

: Bleu? What is this? It looks like a well…

: It used to be a tower. It housed a rather potent weapon, too. This is going to be difficult. Do you have something that can reach down into it?



Equipping the Rod5 and some bait, then pressing ‘A’ whilst next to the well will cause Ryu to sit down and begin to fish from it. Then something wonderful happens.



: Wha…what is this?!

:…What an amazing weapon. Its craftsmanship is peerless.

: Even after all these years the blade has not lost its shine. This is the DragonSD, the weapon wielded by the hero who led us so long ago. You will have need of it very soon. Gather round, now.



The DragonSD is incredibly powerful. It is absolutely worth removing the B.Rang in order to equip it, and even the loss in Active is little compared to the improved damage output this sword will ensure. As with the Rod5, there is another use for the DragonSD.



: Now we’re at the Dark Dragon’s base near Nabal? Where are we going now?

: West, through the mountain passes. With luck, your blood will tell you the way.







:…I can feel it again. There is a Dragon Temple nearby.

: I can see it in the distance. Let us go.





: We’ve been expecting you, heir to the Light Dragons. Ah, I see you have the DragonSD! Excellent. As before, you must take this trial alone.

: Very well.

As an aside, it was possible to come here at any time after completing the Dark Dragon fortress, but the priest here would have turned the party away since Ryu didn’t have the DragonSD.



As usual, we have the healing fountain, the trial monster and a chest. The chest contains a Mrbl2, an item that induces critical hits whilst in dragon form.





The boss monster here is Bain. Bain has no tricks or gimmicks – all he has is a physical attack that deals around 20 damage, high speed and high defense. Even with the DragonSD Ryu will be doing around 40 – 50 damage per hit, and Bain has a great deal of health. This fight is a battle of attrition, so the best tactic is to go all out with the Thunder Dragon. The Dragon’s attacks ignore the enemy’s defense and Bain will eventually fall as long as the player remembers to heal Ryu.

(Video – Bain)



: Your training is complete!





: Use your powers to restore peace to the world.



: Use your powers wisely!



: It seems everything went well.

: Yes, I am fine. I completed the trial successfully.

: Hmm…I’d say you are currently at around half of your true potential. I advise testing out your new powers and seeing what you can do.



As can be seen, Ryu now has access to four new transformations. These are much more powerful than his previous baby dragon forms.



The IceDgn is, as the name suggests, a frost elemental dragon. Its basic attack deals around 200 damage to all enemies, with extra damage to opponents with weaknesses to frost damage.



The FirDgn is the same, but with fire damage and a much cooler visual effect. Instead of a dash of white pixels, the FirDgn summons a massive serpent made of fire that races around the screen. Like the IceDgn, it hits all enemies.



The BltDgn summons a massive thunderstorm with blue and black lightning bolts flashing everywhere. Otherwise it’s the same as the other two.



The GldDgn is slightly different from the other three. This golden beast is specifically tailored towards kicking the ever-loving crap out of the undead, summoning angels to banish them back into the abyss. Against any other enemy, however, it’s useless and its attacks do no damage.

: These forms are definitely stronger than my old ones.

: Excellent.

: Though this is good news, it does not solve our immediate dilemma of where to go next.

:…Perhaps we should return to Tunlan, rest there, then decide what to do when we are feeling less tired.

: Good idea.



: Hey! Fearless leader! You’ll never guess what I’ve found!

: Oh no, not again…

: Heh, funny you should pipe up. C’mon, follow me!





: See? Isn’t that weird?

: Huh? Weird? I’m not sure what you…oh…oooh. Yeah, that is weird.

: What is it? I don’t see anything strange.

: Lady, it’s that girl over there. She looks quite a bit like you, don’t you think?



:…How bizarre.

:…She resembles you so closely she could pass for your elder sister.

: But I am an only child. It must be a coincidence.



: Is there something wrong with her? She hasn’t reacted to our presence at all.





: This is all very strange, but there are more pressing matters to attend to.

: Agreed. We still haven’t-

: Wait! Stay quiet, everyone.

:…

: Just now, I felt a massive surge of black magic somewhere to the northwest. It was…unnatural.

: The only settlement to the northwest of here is Gust. It’s just a small mountain town – no trading opportunities or interesting sights.

: And yet it seems something has happened there. It’s not much to go on, but…I think we may have found our next destination.

Before I end the update, let’s quickly check the weapon shop in Tunlan.



The only thing of note here are the staffs that Bleu can use. The BoneCN has a higher attack power but weighs more, whereas the Cane is weaker but far lighter. Since Bleu is a magic user she won’t be using physical attacks unless something’s gone horribly wrong, so I buy the Cane so that she can cast spells faster.

In any case, that’s all for today. Next time we’ll be exploring Gust, which the game never tells you to go to despite it being the next point in the plot.