Part 10

“You’re a mole. You guys aren’t well known for your keen eyesight at the best of times.”

“Would you please lead me to my house? I will follow you.”

“I don’t know where your… y’know what, I’ll just walk around until you tell me we’re there. How’s that?”

“Not much better than if I was doing it myself, but I can’t really complain. At least you’ll keep me from walking into a crocodile.”

“You’re assuming a lo… wait, where did she go?”



“Oh, I think I have heard this story…there once was a cute female mole living around her but she was taken away by evil creatures. I am scared…”

“You’re scared? I’m the one she was trying to haunt!”



“A dead mole girl’s ribbon. This can’t possibly end badly.”



In the meantime, there’s a few other animals to check in on since we’re in the area. This guy takes us to…



“A giant gem? Do you think I not would have found this on my own?”

“The Master’s Emblems are all over the world…they are fairly difficult to find. Collect all 8 emblems, will not require gems when casting magic.



“You’re now officially my favorite jewel fairy.”

“That’s great and all, but I’ll just be going now.”



The first Emblem, Emblem C, is held by the squirrel… wife… squire? of the squirrel who gave us our upgraded sword. No fetch quest, no “go find this thing for me and I’ll give you something good.” She just hands it to us.

“At least SOMEONE knows how to show proper gratitude.”



-Note: There’s two moles behind the text box. Wonderful design here.

“Like… a ribbon?”

“Th.. that’s Monmo’s ribbon! Al… alright, I will move if you give that to me.”

“That’s not moving, that’s disappearing… wait…”



“Wait, promise you’re not a ghost too.”

“One day, Monmo was captured by evil. He tried to rescue her but never came back. Suddenly he appeared, I had no idea what happened to him. Anyway, take this bracelet and revive GreenWood.”



“I just indulged a ghost mole’s fetish for another ghost mole by giving him one of her personal items so he could keep it… Master, is this truly your plan?”

“Eh? What? Sure, exactly as planned.”

“Lord GodJesus, are you paying any attention?”

“Not when you’re playing necro-mole matchmaker, no.”

“I didn’t know they were.. I think I’m going to go kill something now.”



At this point, we’ve finished just about everything we can in GreenWood so our next step is the area boss. It’s somehow less impressive than the previous one, probably because we have some room to maneuver.



There are actually three iterations of this boss, with different attacks. The first one out of the bat has a lightning attack and otherwise just kind of hops around.



It’s got a full-sized health bar, but once we get it down we’re not done even if the explosion would make you think otherwise…



Instead we get the statue on the right coming to life and throwing what looks like a water based attack at us. I’m not even sure, since it’s not like we get a lot of information on these.



Two down…



And the third is fire elemental, which actually makes sense if you think about the three shrines we passed through. It would have made a bit more sense if the order was the same as the temples, but beggars can’t be choosers.



Once you’ve got it down, it’s easy enough to avoid more damage while you whittle their life away. We get 30 experience per statue, which you might recognize as a fairly paltry sum for a boss battle. The real experience gain comes from monsters lairs as people have pointed out. For finishing the boss we release the Wood’s guardian who is… interesting.



“I am the Guardian of the Woods. Thank you for releasing me. I will give you the Green Stone upon your return.”

“Thanks?”



“Yeah, we covered that already.”

“I have been watching the world for a long time.”

“So, what did you need me for?”



“A bone? Or a.. a… oh please don’t let it be a dead mole girl…”

“You will need this Green Stone someday, so please take it.”

“That’s a relief. Thanks, and good luck with your.. being a tree.”



With that, we can move on to the third realm out in the middle of a selection of islands. I don’t recall if I’ve mentioned before, but I’m pretty sure that’s the ship from Super Mario World up there.



“Lord GodJesus, I think we may have a problem…”

“Wait, you mean I didn’t give you gills?”

“No Master, it is a peculiar oversight.”

“Can’t imagine what I was thinking. Well, good luck learning to swim!”

“You are completely sitting this one out, aren’t you?”

“I’m famous for helping those who help themselves. You’ll be fine, you big baby.”

Next update: Investigating our new watery level.