Part 13: Part Thirteen: The One-Eyed Serpent

Part Thirteen: The One-Eyed Serpent


Once I got to the Nepto Temple, I realised that Jecht only had 1 charge remaining at level 2, so I had to head back to the inn at Viking's Cove.


Now I'm ready to do the dungeon.


Run back to the dragon statue...


...hit everyone with Mini...


...point out that it sets Strength and Vitality to 1...


...make sure everyone's in the back row...


...and here we are! Inside the dungeon behind the stone Nepto Dragon head, looking for the eye.

Uh, somebody built this, I guess. Why? Who the fuck knows?

What I do know is that there's music here:




There are, of course, new enemies in the new dungeon. This type is called Petit.


I hit them with the Fire Staff. They have 103 HP, so this doesn't quite do it in one hit, but it's still the strategy du jour.

The really scary thing in the cave, though?


A SKULL.


Partway along the path, the dirt floor changes to tiles.


There's also this little broken path with some water there, but it's not a wellspring, it's just set dressing.



Instead of stairs or anything, this part of the path terminates in a pair of holes down to the next level.


First, I want to head down the hole on the left.


Strangely enough, the way back up is just a staircase. Guys, this is weird. Like, I want you to know: a video game doesn't follow a completely logical path.



Here's some free armour.


It's just a straight boost to Defense, so I throw it on Golbez because he'll actually be able to use it once I reassign everyone to their proper jobs.


Anyway, now to pull out of there and make sure we're in the right hole.



The Serpent Sword deals lighting-elemental damage, and it'll be going on Golbez once I'm out of here. Right now it gets to sit in my inventory because physical attacks are useless when you're tiny.


Also in this cave/path/dragon statue intestine are these guys, Blood Worms. They hit hard and have 165 HP. They can also inflict Poison with their physicals.


After the fight, I have to revive Golbez. This won't be the last time that this happens, I'm sure.


The second level is not very long, so down the hole we go!


It's back to dirt floors, I see. This place isn't very long, the enemies aren't terribly exciting, and there's not much going on, story-wise, so I don't have much to say about it. It's a cave with an item you need, literally the first dungeon you learn to make in RPG school.


Of course, there's some nice skulls here. You could probably crunch the numbers to figure out how tall the kids are when they've been shrunk, but if you actually do that you're a fuckin' nerd.


There are rats down here, too. Technically, they're Wererats, but who the fuck cares? They burn as good as anything else.


In this scenic screen, we can see the upcoming boss of the dungeon. Also visible: the treasure we want (it's the red sphere).


A purple rat. Just what I was afraid of.

Giant Rat: Squeeek!!! Who you be?

A purple rat with something to say and a dumb way of saying it.


The cutscene planners decided to get dramatic for this line and move the camera around.


Hey, stupid rat, I'm the fuckin' exterminator.


Welcome to a boss fight with the Giant Rat.


The order of the day is to hit it with the Fire Staff over and over because it has no weakness, physicals are right out, and spells use MP.


The Giant Rat has 900 HP, so this'll take a few rounds.



The boss has a few offensive options, including a plain physical attack for lacklustre damage.



It can also blast you with Fire, Thunder, or Blizzard for a very slightly more threatening offence.



These spells are much worse when they're cast on a single person.

The method for fighting the Giant Rat, and for fighting pretty much every boss before or after the Giant Rat, is to hit with three characters while the fourth spams healing spells. That's it. Every fight is a damage race. Bosses tend to get the ability to attack twice (or more) every round, which the Giant Rat has, but you can do four things a round, so it balances.



Casting Cure on everyone does some healing, but not enough to rally from a multi-targeted spell or a double physical. Still, it can keep you from dying.



And, of course, you have Cura available by now, too. This fight is pretty hard to lose as long as you come into it with the right party. If I came into this with four Monks I'd have trouble, but I didn't, so...




...yeah, he's dead. Rat's got a lot of cheese.





Aw yeah. Too bad two of those kids are getting short-sticked by being mages when they'd usually be classes with higher Stamina.


Now: the real spoils of battle.




The Nepto Dragon's missing eye. Also, the description for the Folding Canoe, in case it was eating away at your sanity.


Doot-de-doo, run back to the entrance.



Pop the eye back in, and...


Screen flash! How dramatic.


Now we get to listen to the Dragon's acceptance speech.

: I am the Nepto Dragon, guardian of the seas. I thank you for returning my missing eye.

How did you even lose it in the first place? And how the hell did it end up inside you? Do you expect me to believe that rat came all the way out here and then dragged your eye back to its hidey-hole?

: The eye is more than a simple gem--it is my soul. Without it, my physical manifestation, the dragon, could not be controlled.

Who came up with that set-up? I want to congratulate that person on their terrible life choices.

: Now that I am whole again, I may rest in peace and watch over these waters... However...the water itself has lost its light. Someone created the great earthquake, and the light was pulled into the depths of the nether...

Yeah, whatever, tell your sob story to the next guy, I know that you have some treasure for me. All dragons have treasure. I don't even care if that's, like, a speciesist thing to say, my motives are strictly mercenary, asscrack.

: Warriors of the Light, I will bestow upon you the Fang of Water. It will infuse you with powers that will allow you to overcome new challenges. Now you must go forth, and recover the light...



And with that, we receive the legendary blue filter and the dragon takes a nap. He lied, by the way. That fang doesn't bestow shit upon the kids, and it won't overcome dick until the end of the game. It just fills a Key Item slot for most of the adventure.


On the way back to Vikings' Cove, you can see that the Enterprise has moved further out to sea. We have to have a chat with someone before we can access it.


This guy! All the vikings have new things to say now that the Dragon's dealt with, but that's material for the next update.

Viking Boss: Welcome back! The vikings will never forget what you have done for us this day! As promised, the Enterprise is yours. Take it and sail forth, young heroes. May the wind guide you!


Bangin'! Let's try not to wreck it within ten minutes this time!

Mognet



Since we got Topapa's last letter last time, today's letter is from Takka. Just a pleasant little check-in on his daughter, and a reminder that she's an irresponsible slacker.