Part 22: Coming down from the mountain

: What's wrong with you? Get up! Oh no, that creepy old lady's coming back!


: What did you do to me, lady? _{Bianca, if you have to, use my body as a shield.}


: I put a spell on you so you'd sleep better... but I guess it didn't work too well... By the way... take a look here.
: What? That's my sword! When did you steal that?
: I sharpened your sword for you, pup!


: ... Hunh. So you did. You're... uh, not going to stab me with my own sword, are you?
: You're a funny young man! Well, it's late... go back to sleep, alright? That spell will wear off in a couple hours, I think.
: You think?
: Pretty sure. Good night!




: The paralysis spell only just wore off!
: Well, take care of yourselves... He he he he he!
: Why do you keep doing that?
: Seriously. No offense, ma'am, but it's super creepy.
: This laugh is just a bad habit of mine. Pay no attention to it.
: Riiiiight. Well, anyway, we've got to finish climbing this mountain, so... bye.

Incidentally, that 5 points of strength for getting his sword sharpened applies directly to Simon, not his sword, so he keeps it even if he changes weapons. Or isn't using a sword at all. And now that I'm typing this I hope to god that 'sharpened your sword' isn't a euphemism.


: These are even more exciting now that I know what they're for!


: Huh? Why have we stopped here?
: I don't know. I just had a sudden feeling of missed opportunity.
If Simon had married Flora, there'd be a soldier here to give us a set of Water Flying Clothes, decently strong armor that also provides fire resistance. There's a shop to buy it from later, though, so it's not a major loss.
: You're not thinking of what's-her-face, are you?
: No, dear.
: Good.


I forgot to show this off before, but the two rings aren't just plot macguffins, they can be used to cast free attack magic. It's not that strong, but it's free! The rings can be equipped as accessories, but as far as I've found they don't have any passive effect.


: Uh, Simon? That dragon you beat up is following us.
: Well, what do you know! It's been a while since I've tamed any monsters. What's your name, boy?


Mad Dragons are pretty interesting. They're strong and tough, but they don't have any magic. Instead, they get a variety of breath attacks that do damage or apply status effects. He can hang out with us for a while.


: Looks like we have to go through this cave. I think we've still got a long way to go, though.


The monsters in the cave are fairly rough, and can burn through your health pretty fast if you're not paying attention. The Dead Emperors in particular can zap your whole party with thunder. It's nothing you can't handle if you're careful, but I've accidentally gotten myself killed by holding A and turning on fast-forward more than once.


: Going to have to decide what to spend these on soon...



There's really nothing else interesting in the cave. This priest will revive Simon or Bianca (but not any monsters) for free, but his translation when he does so is a little garbled...


No, there's no missing text.


: I don't see why it has to be necessary. The world would probably be better off if travel wasn't so dangerous. Trade would be a lot easier, for example!


: Oh, wow, check out this view! Bianca, look!
: ... That's OK. I'm feeling a little dizzy.
: Haha, not a fan of heights, huh?
: I suppose so...


: Huh? Bianca? What's the matter?


: Don't worry about me...

: !!!


: The girl needs to lay down! You, you hold her there...




: Hmmm... She doesn't have a fever, so it might just be exhaustion... But at any rate, why don't you get some rest? If things go really bad just swing by the church and I'll revive her. Standard rates, of course. I'll be off for now...


: That's your wife, eh? What a looker!
: I'm going to assume you meant that as a crude compliment, and not as a plea for me to knock you on your ass.
: Hey you... don't let her strain herself. You'll have to take care of her. I'll just, uh, leave you two alone. _{That's a nice sword you have there looks very sharp I'll be going now.}


: But I'm okay now. I just... I feel so tired all of a sudden... I think I'll take a nap. Goodnight, Simon...


:










: What.
: Yeah! A-OK! Now get out of bed and make me some breakfast!
: You scared me half to death! I thought there was something seriously wrong with you! Healmore didn't work, antidote didn't work, I was starting to think you had some kind of curse!
: Nope! Just tired! I'm all rested now. And I'm so excited about going to visit your hometown! Well, let's get going!
: That's it? We're just going to... I guess so. Well, I think we're almost there, anyway. Try to take it easy.


: Thanks? No please, it was nothing, sir. I just did what I had to do, sir. Wa ha ha.
: ... Do you have a relative that lives down the mountain?
: Oh, you've met my mom?




: You kids today have it too hard. In my day, the trip was downhill both ways and hardly anything tried to eat you.


: Without a King though, that country can't be doing too well...
: Wait, he didn't leave anyone in charge when he left? That's not very responsible...
: A King is more than just some guy giving orders.
: The Granvanian King's name was Papas and oh, what a noble man he was.


: I do not know the exact nature of such power, but she these eyes that were so...
: Ew, that's my mom you're talking about!
: When I looked into her eyes, I felt my entire soul at peace... Come to think of it, when I watch you, I feel the same peace settle over me... What could this mean?
: ... Sorry, man. See the ring? I'm taken.


: If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up to be big and strong! Do you want that?
: I hate carrots!
: You know, I only had thin gruel and cave lichen to eat when I grew up.
: ... so?
: So can I have your carrots?


: You've been standing here for days. Did you see me walk by?
: I wasn't paying attention. If you cross the bridge and follow the cave downwards, you'll find yourself in Granvania.


: There it is...
: You're almost home, Simon! Let's hurry!
: May I remind you that we still have to climb down the mountain.
: That's right. If you get tired again, just let me know. You can always ride in the wagon.


The cave out of Chizod is much more extensive than the way in. It's also chock full of treasure, including about 7 Small Medals.


Half of them are guarded, though. Mimics, and their lesser brethren Man-Eater Chests, aren't terribly strong, but they do have some nasty spells, including Beat/Defeat which can instakill a party member.


When you get a Small Medal from a Mimic like this, it doesn't ask you if you want to send it to the Medal King, so it'll just sit in your inventory until you send it off with an unguarded medal. In some early versions of this fan-translation patch, there was a bug that let you fight mimics as many times as you wanted, getting a small medal each time. I'm not playing that version!


: If I were you, I wouldn't go any farther...
: Why not? It looks like it just leads outside. Jeez, it's bright outside, I can hardly see where I'm...


: Waaaaaaugh!

: Oof! Bianca, are you OK?
: I'm fine, I'm fine. I landed on you.
: So did the horse. Ouch. Why the hell did everyone just jump off after me?
: We figured you knew where you were going!
: Actually, I just thought it was fun. The wagon got some sweet hang time.

The basic gimmick of this dungeon is gravity. There are lots of places to drop down, and getting back up can be a long and laborious process. Bring a map.


: I told you I'm feeling better! See, watch me light that rock on fire!
: Just try to be careful, I don't want you to fall ag...


: Augh! WHY?
: I'm going to go with 'it was fun' this time.
: I know, right? Can we go back and try it again? I bet I can get the wagon to do a backflip off that jump.


The Leaf is a revive item, our first means of getting a dead party member back into the fight without heading back to town. They're really rare. Later DQ games will do stuff like only letting you pick up a Leaf if you don't already have one, but in this game they're just regular old rare.


A quick look at the monsters in this part of the cave. They're reasonably tough, so don't let your guard down. Messala sometimes drops the excellent Ring of Prayer, and they're a recruitable monster. Not that one joined up with me this time through. Oh, well!


Like I said, this place is just full of Small Medals!


: Oh, hello.


: A while before you arrived, a man named Sancho passed through here on his way to Granvania. He seemed so very sad that it left an impression in my mind...
: Sancho? My God, I haven't thought of him in years. Poor man, I wonder how he's gotten on since Father died...


: Finally! How could climbing down a mountain be so much more work than climbing up?


: This is it... I'm finally home. I don't really remember it at all, but... There's something... I feel like... like this is where I belong.
: Then it's where I belong, too. C'mon, Simon. Let's go home.