Part 10: As He Lived

So, one of the first things we see on Nekojara island is why they call it Nekojara Island. Somehow one of our characters knows this, which I'm going to pin on Bogi.



There are two caves here, although I'm not sure if I'd necessarily call this an underwater volcano. FFL II did it much better.



The interior actually looks kind of cool, so there's that. This is going to be our longest dungeon to date, so strap in for a long update.



The path begins here!

The messages on the wall can be fairly helpful, although their origin is mysterious.



Hitting the lava: not a good idea. Actually, that brings up an interesting question.. lava and magma are the same substance, but the difference is whether or not it's above ground. Considering that we're underground in a cave, is this lava or magma?



This cave in is purely cosmetic in nature, as it doesn't seem to really cut us off from anything.



A new dungeon means a new set of enemies. Somehow I failed to get the other two new enemies even though I could have gotten all three in shot. Rocban are fairly tough and don't seem to really be bothered by ice, so we have to either target them specifically with lightning or just use ice anyway and have our fighters finish them off.



Wall is encouraging. I like wall.



Instead of treasure chests, for the most part we get our loot out of these piles of stone. I like to think that these are the remains of former adventurers who fell into the molten rock.




This one has a new sword that goes to Theo.. it's powerful, but single target. I use it anyway, since Bogi and Mute together have us covered for area attacks.




Most walls also have these small stones that we can pull out. Occasionally they contain small treasures, but about half the time you get 5 points of damage directly to the face.



Another helpful wall post. This dungeon is actually going to require a few items before we can deal with the boss, and this references the first item.



Conveniently enough, the horn is right where the message about it was.



This hole shall require further exploration, but the lizard tail is the weird thing here. It doesn't seem to be used for anything. The problem is that with these kinds of games you never want to throw away or sell anything for fear of screwing yourself.



Okay, okay. Geeze.



To make life easier, there's a recovery spring here. We drink from this one, rather than having someone take a bath in it.




Continuing east we have a second way down that appears to connect to the first. Since we're being slowly conditioned to always go the long way around, we'll check the hole in the ground first.



Going back to the spring and exiting will result in an earthquake every time, which basically sends you back a few screens. It's more annoying than anything else.



Popping down the hole near where we found the lizard's tail takes us to this charming locale, and the whole "can't get back up" turns out to be very important.




Every movement we make in this area results in the loss of 20 HP. It ends up taking about 5 moves to get out of the area, so you can do the math. This resulted in me discovering that the Recover spell actually heals everybody in the party for about 60 HP.



There's some stairs going down, but considering the trouble we're having here with damage I think this isn't a good idea.



Another piece of great advice from the wall! Let us go do this thing!




More monsters, including the ones I failed to catch earlier. Skuds breath fire and have nothing else to recommend them, but Beholder's are something you want to kill with magic. They tend to explode otherwise. Dinosaurs breath fire as well, and minotaurs are big balls of muscles. The encounter rate down here is fairly ridiculous.




The result is more level ups. I think Theo's understood pillaging for some time now, but he can do it magically with HP and MP now. Tempest is the final spell in the lightning family, and comes just in time considering that many of these volcanic enemies are inexplicably not weak to ice.



NOW they tell us.



Another mysterious item with no apparent use. I really have to check and see if these sell for a reasonable amount.



The lower floors of the volcano are very fond of teleporting rooms and looping paths. It's not so much a matter of seeing through the illusion as it is of wandering around until something looks unfamiliar.



Theo gets a second upgrade in the space of a dungeon, and the flaming sword of fire goes to Mute. It's not like he attacks unless there's only one enemy, so it works out pretty well.



Shortcuts abound in the volcano, although this sounds a bit dangerous.



We haven't found a Cool Cloak yet, so we'll check out the other cave.



I hadn't realized it, but what we've been missing this entire time is some kind of giant insect. So, have a scarab beetle that looks kind of like a flea or some kind of tick.



Speak of the devil. The Cool Cloak just sits in your inventory soaking up damage from the environment so you can move around freely. I suppose you could do without it, but I wouldn't advise it.



Challenge accepted. This hole actually leads us back to the lower levels under the east cave.



Another clue about dealing with the boss, although it'll be a bit before this makes sense.



.. something tells me we should be leaving now.



This is about the only really significant treasure in one of the stone pockets along the walls. I'm not sure why there's an isotope of hydrogen in measurable quantities within the volcano, but it seems like it could be useful.



Life continues to become more convenient as we now don't have to go back to the Shaman as long as Theo's alive. I have no idea how much the spell costs, though, so that could be a factor.



A bit more stumbling around and climbing down a hole leads to a single room with no distinguishing factors.




The final piece of the puzzle is hidden here, but you have to hit the ash and then look around to find it. I'm not sure exactly what they mean by veil since it seems to do something quite unveil-like.



Mute picks up the first of the ... explosion?... elemental spells. It's single target, so I expect that there'll be two more versions to come in the standard pattern.




Now that we've got the veil, we can come back here and call up the boss monster. Not having the veil would result in us getting pushed back a few spaces and being unable to continue.



He's a bit bad tempered and unexpectedly small.




Hmph! You've got some nerve, busting in here and talking like that!

Scratch that, REALLY bad tempered.



We only wish to borrow the Fire Shard, so we may seal away the King of Darkness!

I think Theo's about the only RPG hero I've ever seen try to talk a dragon out of a fight after it's already started breathing fire.



It must stay within these caverns!

He's kind of like King Winder, only not as badass and certainly less useful.



I must have those scales!!!

You can't help but like a guy like Bogi.



The dragon, however, is not impressed and lays out a final before making with the violence.



This kind of encapsulates the fight in a nutshell. The Fire Dragon is an armored tank who can do some serious damage while you're whittling him down. He doesn't take damage from blast or fire spells, only takes a single point from ice, and barely scratches the double digits with lightning. A few fortification enhanced hits from Theo are necessary to put him down.




It's not a pretty ending. It's not even so much that we've killed him as gotten him to the point where his own body started to destroy itself.



Bogi's the only one to really comprehend the problem here. I'd comment on how it seems weird that the dragon's fire could threaten its own scales and the shard, but the idea that dragonfire is one of the few things that can destroy powerful magical items is pretty common.




It's not the brightest or sanest decision, but it's perfectly in character for Bogi.



Pretty with it and coherent for a guy who's apparently on fire at the time.




I'm more impressed by the fact that he managed to essentially skin a dragon while both he and the dragon are on fire than I am by the fact that he grabbed the shard.



There wasn't any way for this to end well.




Somehow the kablooey just destroys the pathos here, as well as the fact that Theo takes his time losing consciousness when a dragon explodes right in front of him.



Mute is the first person to recover.. it's been quite a while since we've heard from the little guy. I think the developers just forgot about him for a bit.



Theo seems to have lost the last few minutes of his memory..



And for once Mute lives up to his name.



I can't believe he gave his life to get us the shard. His sacrifice will not be in vain!

Bogi. He died as he lived: telling a giant dragon to go fuck itself.

Next time: A new island, a new boat, and a new party member.