Part 30: Chapter Thirty: Battletoads

: Oh yes, you should stop by the flute-maker’s house before you leave. He wanted to give you something as thanks for curing the town’s madness.



: Ah, the young band who saved our village! There’s something I’d like to give you, if you’re willing to accept it.





:…This flute certainly is ornate.

: It holds a powerful enchantment within its wood. Whoever plays that flute can communicate with others through the language of music. With it you can even speak to the musicians of Tunlan! I hope it proves useful to you in your travels.

: Thank you for the gift. I am sure it will come in handy at some stage.







: Nicholie!

: Is he relapsing again?

: No, but he has clearly been attacked by something! We must help him!



: Tsk Tsk. You seem to have a predisposition towards humiliating me. First my Lab, then my Flower, and now you somehow manage to break my enchantments and turn my test subject human again? Well, no matter!



: Give it up, Cort. You’re finished.

: Am I, now?



: Ha…tapping into Tyr’s power was difficult, but now all of the Dark Dragon’s top soldiers are capable of it! I will kill you, then begin my experiments anew!



Cort transforms himself into the HornToad for this battle. He has high defense and is resistant to physical attacks. He has two attacks for the first half of the fight - a jumping attack that deals around 40 damage without any defensive buffs and an attack where he jumps up and down on the spot, causing an earthquake that deals 40+ damage to everyone in the party. He will continually use this attack once he gains his second wind, which itself is rather hefty.

(Video – HornToad)



: Such is the folly of relying on Tyr’s power.

: Arrgh!!!



: It’s a good thing you came here when you did! Anyway…



: Cross it and journey on to Scande.

: Scande…

:…The overland route crosses through many towns and caves. We will probably face many more trials and tribulations before we reach the capital.

:…I know. Still, it is heartening to know that we are getting closer to stopping all of this.







The party exits back onto the world map. Before we progress westwards, there’s a new enemy in the area.



The fabulously pink Crab. This guy is another physical attacker with high defense, but since he lacks the Pincher’s powerful lightning attack he’s not really much of a threat.



: Hmm. What’s that building over there? It looks really ornate.

:…So it still exists. How surprising. That building is the Rudra Shrine. It holds the power of the Dragon within its walls. We cannot reach it now, though, and you are not ready for such power even if we could.

: We should remember it for later, though.







: Hmm. The land here is all dried out. Look at how cracked and parched the earth is.

: I can feel vibrations through the ground. It feels like something is tunneling beneath us.

This new area of desiccated soil sees the return of an old friend.



The Blaze! And this time he can also Curse party members. What fun. Many of the other Lab monsters appear here as well, including the D.Knight.



: Hm! I spy one of the Dirt-Eater clan to the south!

: Dirt-Eater clan?

:…They live beneath the earth. Their presence was probably what the lady sorceress felt earlier.



: This must be the entrance to Gramor, the Dirt-Eater’s underground city.

: What now, fearless leader? Do we press on?

: Perhaps we should stop here for a moment. I’m sure everyone is tired and I myself would like to be out of the sun for a short time.

:…The Dirt-Eaters are usually the hospitable sort. It will be good to rest, at least for a short time.



: So their entire settlement is underground?

: Well, they are mole people I guess?

: Hey. That Dirt-Eater from before is hiding over there. Hello! Are you alright?



: She ran in.

: How strange. Come to think of it, this place feels oddly empty. Let’s follow her.



: Oh, visitors. I’m afraid we cannot offer any hospitality right now – we have a crisis on our hands.



: Zog has enslaved your people? To what end?

: The Emperor has begun a grand project to excavate the ruins buried beneath the capital. His forces devastated our lands and forced our people into servitude. There was an uprising, and some of us escaped, but…

: The Dark Dragon general, Mote, pursued us!





: Of course we will help. Is that not right, Ryu?

: Of course. We will do what we can to help.

: To break the spell, it will be necessary to enter Mogu’s dream.



: Will you get it for us?

: If we can.





: With this, you can understand the language of music. The item we require is called a ‘Bolster’. With it you can enter Mogu’s dream and rescue him from Mote’s nightmares.

: And where can we find this ‘Bolster’, exactly?

: It belongs to the royal family. You will have to ask permission to borrow it.

: Back to Tunlan then, I suppose.







: What am I to do about the princess? It’s my fault. I didn’t teach her right.

: Excuse us…

: Oh, I’m sorry! Mumbling to myself in front of visitors. I do apologize.



: We have heard that the Tunlan royal family possesses an item that allows entry into a person’s dreams. We would like to borrow this item, if at all possible.



: The Bolster is our precious treasure. Why should we give it to outsiders we know nothing about? On the other hand…perhaps we can work something out.



: What do you say?

:…Alright. What is it you need help with?

: The princess is getting to be a problem.



: WHAT?! Oh, I mean…what? What sort of woman would be attracted to that…that…brute!?

: Oh, I certainly agree, but nothing I say makes any difference.



: If you make her change her mind, I’ll let you borrow the Bolster.



: Wonderful. Come on, everyone! Let us smack some sense into this little chit before her foolishness delivers the TmKey to Zog!

Things are about to get complicated. Tune in next time for more Bleu incompetence as we enter the final quarter of the game.