Before Frum dares venture toward the Grass Temple, he decides to go back to Raejack
to find out what's what. The locals on the outside seem friendly enough...a talking cat, a dog who thinks he's human, a kid who says "Pam nepo ot 1L sserp!" (DING! 4), another kid alluding to an infinite money code, a slime named Bluesy who dreams of becoming human (there's number five)...and so on. There's a fortuneteller girl who's traveling with her sister (Six...), but they got separated. She offers to read Frum's future, saying he's got a shining light within him, but at the same time saying that he's not the hero she's looking for. The fencing just barely keeps enemies on the outside, but they're really too weak to take over even if there were no fence.
Frum's met with all of the outdoor locals, so he's ready to start entering houses and getting to know the people within, starting with the innkeeper, who offers to register his save point for him. The lone patron thinks that a 3D mech game would be awesome (seven?)
The item storekeeper has a handful of items for sale - life-restoring Red Apples, magic restoring Green Apples, Red and Blue Potions, Sleeping bags for restoring health and saving outside, and candles and lamps to light up the dark.
On the east side of town, Frum finds what appears to be a weapon shop and a blacksmith. The weapon shop has candles and lamps, but they're more expensive than what the item shop is holding. He does have one thing that the item shop doesn't, however...an iron shield* to protect against spear attacks. A guy standing next to the target on the left side of the room has a Dash Circuit set up, but won't let Frum play because he's about to "ace this thing".
Next door, the blacksmith offers to help temper his Ancient Sword, for a price. He can increase the sword's width, length, or strength when he's at maximum health. There's a limit to how much effort he can put into it, though.
In the house on the hill behind the smithy is Dr. Dic's place. He just finished making some "Dash Boots", and asks whether or not Frum wants to try 'em on. Frum, of course, says yes, prompting Dic to say the following:
"MESSAGE FROM DR. DIC. DASH BOOTS COMPLETED! GET YOUR WEAPONS READY! GET EQUIPPED WITH DASH BOOTS." (That's a definite eight.) So Frum "gets equipped" with the Dash Boots and finds that he can now do a charging attack with his sword extended. It lets him cut through almost anything, but when he hits a wall, he bounces right off.
To the left of Dr. Dic's place lives a kid who wants to be a hero, and an old guy who wants Frum to hunt down some "lightning-quick monster" for him. Ten of them, in fact. As a true hero would, Frum responds in the affirmative, then beats him for the 12 gold coins contained in his treasure chests.
He lives next door to a guy with a marriage dilemma: go for the childhood friend, or the daughter of a wealthy family (he likes her spell set better). Frum doesn't know what the hell he's talking about (that's 9, by the way), so he leaves the choice up to the boy. He only has 11G to steal, which kinda disappoints him.
There are two more houses to the west of that one, one of which contains a maze of stone statues and a treasure chest containing an empty bottle. The other one has a guy surrounded by books, who offers him "wisdom" to Frum for a random price.
- "It's inside the house." (not very helpful, but still costs 3G)
- "Apples don't explode, so don't bother trying to bomb jump." (5G) (Sounds like a Metroid reference, so 10.)
- "The chickens are restless... Hurt them, and you will pay. (10G) (11...)
- "Look for cliffs that can be traversed." (20G)
- "Eastmost penn— Er...Do not take the desert lightly. Prepare well." (30G) (12...)
Right on the outskirts of town is a cave that's really hard to miss. It contains a mysterious well that might bring good fortune if Frum throws some money in. Frum does so, and gets a Magical Bag for his generosity.
He heads west, and finds out that the Grass Temple is just a stone's throw away. There are a few jumping spider monsters nearby, and they take two hits to kill with the fancy-schmancy Ancient Sword. A few of them are even guarding a treasure chest containing a Small Block. As he ponders the potential use of such a flimsy block, he's attacked by a pig monster's errant spear throw. Frum blocks the spear and dispatches him, along with a killer bee that just happened to be in the area at the time. Frum hates bees. Before he goes into the temple, he spots a cave on the far side with a curious design on the floor. There's an old lady there, but she won't talk to him at all until he acquires a bow. He looks down at the floor and sees that the lit tiles form the shape of an arrow. His curiosity mostly satiated, Frum's adventure sense leads him toward the entrance to the Grass Temple.
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