Well guys, today we go underground! First though, we head southwest of Baron. There's an island here. There's quite a big tower on this island, and a castle, and a cave we can't reach. Just a preview of things to come though, as I'm just here to fill out some bestiary entries.
Of note are the Mors, which you have to kill in one hit (at least 695 damage) or they'll use Reraise and heal back to full. Our normal attacks have problem with this, but Focus or Jump will take care of them.
We then head back to Agart. We head straight north from the entrance to a well.
Cecil: It looks as if there is no end to it...
Hey, I've got an idea, let's throw the Magma Stone into the well! What could possibly go wrong?
The screen turns red.
Cecil: Wh-what...?
The world shakes, and the mountains near Agart explode! We head outside, and there's a huge hole in the mountains. Let's go in!
We reach the Underworld. There's lots of lava here. I guess that should be expected.
Cecil: !?
Kain: The Red Wings!
We get stuck in the middle of a fight between the Red Wings and some tanks.
Cid: I'm gonna bust through the line! Hang on!
We get hit pretty badly.
Cid: She won't hold together!
Cecil: We're going down!
Crap. We crash on the ground.
Rosa: Cecil!
Cecil comes to. Seems like he's the last to get back up. Everyone else is OK.
Cecil: Rosa! Is everyone all right?
I think we just established that.
Cid: Yeah... But my ship... We can't keep flying her in this condition...
Cecil: We have no choice. Let's get off and have a look around.
We've landed right next to a castle, luckily enough. Before we go any further, I swap Cid and Kain's positions in battle.
This is the Dwarven Castle. Lali-ho everyone!
...What? That's their greeting. Some of the dwarves tell us to see King Giott, so let's go.
Giott: Welcome.
Cecil: You are...?
Giott: I am King Giott, ruler of the Underworld. State your business.
We explain about trying to protect the Dark Crystal.
Giott: Ah, I see. You are like the others. But from what I have witnessed, I see you are not on their side.
Kain: What of the Dark Crystals? Have they been taken?
Giott: They have stripped us of two. Now only two remain.
Wait a sec, they've been down here for what, one day? And they've already taken half of the Crystals? No offence, Giott, but your military sucks.
Luckily, the tanks have stopped the Red Wings from getting the castle's Crystal. We give him some info on the airships. He seems quite interested in them.
Giott: Our tanks have taken quite a beating. Can you help us with your airship?
Cid: honestly, we need to repair her first. That attack really busted her good.
Giott: We will do anything in our power to help you repair your airship.
Cid: Ahh, she won't last in the heat of this lava, anyway.
Cid: I'll make temporary fixes for now, then fly back up to the surface and gather me some mythril to armour her better.
Cecil: Cid!
Cid: Just button up and relax. I'll be back before you know it!
Rosa: Be careful, Cid.
Cid: Heh heh! No worries! I'm a tough old man!
He leaves the party. We ask about the castle's Crystal. The chamber is hidden behind his throne.
Yang: !
Cecil: Yang? What's wrong?
Yang: someone is spying on us.
Giott: What!?
We see some movement behind the throne. We get the door opened and run in.
Yip-ho-ho!
What?
Rosa: Dolls?
What?
Guess who? It's Calcabrina!
What?
We're cute!
And we're scary!
We love to kill!
Let's take their heads!
Yeah!
A gift for Golbez!
Yippee!
We get attacked by 3 Calca and 3 Brina. Nothing dangerous, but we have to kill at least one of each for bestiary purposes before...
Unite!
They turn into Calcabrina. The only real problem with this one is that it hits hard. And can Confuse.
Owww!
Big bully!
You started it.
But now Golbez knows about this place!
He's gonna getcha!
Sir Golbez!
They all die.
Cecil: !?
Sums that up quite well.
Our paths cross again...
Golbez teleports in. Crap.
Cecil: Golbez!
Golbez: I commend you for finding your way to the Underworld. And now that Meteor-wielding sage is no longer with you...? ...Still, in thanks for his service, I shall tell you why I am collecting the Crystals. The eight Crystals of light and dark are the keys to reactivating the Tower of Babil, which leads to the moon. Legends say the moon possesses power beyond our comprehension. I need only one more Crystal to materialize my dream. You have been of great aid to my quest. Now prepare for your final reward!
Now it's finally time to fight Golbez! But we can't even hit him...
Golbez: Heh heh heh... Such is your power? I expected more.
He cast Binding Cold on us and paralyses us all.
Golbez: Open your eyes... ...and gaze upon true terror. Shadow, come forth!
He summons the Shadow Dragon, which keeps using Black Fang until only Cecil is left alive.
Golbez: Farewell, Cecil.
Radiant Breath
Wait, what? The Mist Dragon shows up and in one breath, kills the Shadow Dragon. What's going on?
Golbez: A dragon...? The Shadow Dragon, destroyed by mist?
Someone heals our paralysis.
???: Are you okay? You can move now.
Cecil: That voice...
Rydia runs into the battle, but she looks a bit different... Not Quite Dead count: Rydia: 2 Now it's time to KICK ASS! Rydia's White Magic command has gone, but has five new summons; Dragon (What we just saw), Titan, Shiva, Ifrit and Ramuh. We revive Rosa and let her and Cecil heal everyone else up as Rydia uses Dragon on Golbez. Once everyone's up, Kain, Cecil and Yang join in on the hurt. Golbez flings powerful spells at us. And they hurt. But we eventually get him.
Golbez: This cannot... this cannot be...
Cecil: We did it... We've defeated Golbez!
Rosa: Rydia...!
Cecil: What happened to you?
Rydia: Leviathan took me to the Feymarch, the land of the Eidolons. I learnt a lot there. I can't use white magic anymore, but I've grown as a summoner. But time flows differently there, so I guess I've aged a bit...
Couldn't Leviathan just come up and said "Hi, I'm Leviathan, I want to help this girl become a better summoner"? It'd make more sense than some of the other stuff that's happened. Like Calcabrina. Kain doesn't realise who it is, but we enlighten him. We try to thank Rydia for helping us.
Rydia: You don't need to thank me. The queen of the Feymarch told me that a great force is secretly at work. We must confront it together!
Summoner Rydia has joined the party.
OK, but Golbez is dead. It's over.
I... cannot perish!
Golbez's hand gets up, grabs the Crystal and teleports out. What the hell!? Not Quite Dead count: Golbez: 1
Now we have to explain all this weird shit to Giott.
Giott: Only one Crystal left... We must protect it at all costs.
Rosa: Yes. Where can we find it?
Giott: In the Sealed Cave to the southwest, where Golbez is heading. But he cannot enter without the key. I have a request to ask of you all.
Giott asks us to head for the Tower of Babil to the north, where the other 7 Crystals are. We must retrieve them. The tanks will distract the troops guarding the entrance so we can sneak in. We agree to go.
We can now explore the castle. We buy some better equipment, as well as find a Power Armlet and Black Belt Gi for Yang.
One more thing. Beyond the shops is a pub. Hidden in that pub is a path to the 1991 Developers' Office. We see the staff who made this game in various forms. Some are happy to see us, some fight us, some don't care. One of them tries to join our party. Also, we can check a bookshelf in one of the rooms...
Found Lustful Lali-ho!
Um... Maybe we should see if it's not what it sounds like.
One of Cecil's favourites
Not helping. Let's use it... Cecil looks around before using it, then the screen turns pink.
Cecil: Now this is what I call great literature!
Our hero, ladies and gentlemen.
That's all for now. Next time, we head for the Tower of Babil. Unless Rosa kills Cecil for reading a dwarf porn magazine in front of her first.
Stats:
Kain: Lv 29 HP:1086 MP:0 Strength:28 Speed:23 Stamina:26 Intellect:8 Spirit:19 Attack:80 (5 attacks) Defence:45 Magic Defence:10
Rydia: Lv 27 HP:544 MP:203 Strength:15 Speed:15 Stamina:13 Intellect:31 Spirit:37 Attack:29 (2 attacks) Defence:21 Magic Defence:20
Cecil: Lv 26 HP:1217 MP:110 Strength:27 Speed:19 Stamina:26 Intellect:15 Spirit:19 Attack:77 (5 attacks) Defence:45 Magic Defence:10
Rosa: Lv 27 HP:782 MP:224 Strength:25 Speed:15 Stamina:17 Intellect:16 Spirit:47 Attack:51 (4 atacks) Defence:23 Magic Defence:20
Yang: Lv 27 HP:1503 MP:0 Strength:49 Speed:20 Stamina:37 Intellect:2 Spirit:3 Attack:68 (8 attacks) Defence:31 Magic Defence:6
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