![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Beyond the Beyond: Update 101: Something Lost, Something Forgotten (Loose Ends pt. 4)
When last we saw the team they had just unlocked and opened the Abyss's front door. Thanks to some hijinks though they aren't in a state to go Abyss diving. That's just as well. There's a little something to tie up first.
The battle with Yeon might have been short (and relatively easy) but it still drained the team's mana reserves. Healing Rain 2 and Attack 2 will do that. They return to Quamdar for a stay at the inn. Why Quamdar? That's because the three team members currently on the bench are in Quamdar (so the team can get back to the valley), Isla Village (because of the storage box), and Barbaros (in case they want to visit the hidden merchant).
Why are we going to Isla?
Something's been bothering me. If we're really going into the Abyss I'd like to check it out.
*raises an intrigued eyebrow*
We might not be coming back. I mean... that's always been a risk but it feels so more real right now.
Fiiiiiinnn!
Hey there, Steiner.
Well do you want to tell the rest of us where you're going?
I was wondering about that dragon. Uh, that other dragon.
What other dragon? You haven't been cheating on me have you?
As fun as that might be I'm talking about the sleeping dragon. In that cave.
But every time we pass by the dragon is in deep sleep.
Better to be asleep then trying to eat us!
I was wondering if you'd ever pipe up, Tont.
Well, ya know, there's so many interesting monsters around Barbaros and all.
Told ya, kid. This is where the action is.
I heard I missed some fights. Aw, phoeey! But you guys are gonna see a dragon, huh? Uh, why?
Well I just got to thinking. Where did that dragon in Bandore come from?
You think they're the same dragon.
I don't know what to think except that I've maybe got one last chance to check it out.
Krayh! Alright! Let's go!
Ahhh! Steiner calm down!
I have to agree with Lorele.
I'm getting vertigo just watching this.
Sorry. I've just been waiting for something to do. Isla's not exactly thrilling.
We're at the cave so can we land now?
Boo! That's way too short a trip.
Immediately upon entering the cave a marked shift in the air signals some unseen change. Where once standard dungeon crawl music played now there is a somber tune. There's no hint to visit this cave in the end game so I suppose this is an effective way to grab the player's attention and tell them "Hey there! Important sidequest stuff in here!".
Oh and there are the same random encounters as appeared early in the game. I almost feel sorry for this lone kobold who's stumbled across the team. Almost.
In the large chamber where the dragon was previously sleeping, blocking the path, lies only a key.
It's gone!
You're tellin' me.
It was a huge dragon in a room where all the exits are a fraction of its size. How could it go anywhere?
There's something lying on the ground.
That doesn't answer my question.
I... don't have an answer.
Magic probably.
As soon as Finn searches it the screen darkens and a voice without a portrait calls out. (I had to make a portrait for this one based on who is most likely to be doing the talking.)
Why did it suddenly go dark?
Ramue's not around, is she?
Finn! The son of my friend Norton.
Who? What? Where?
So you heard it too.
Finn! The son of my friend Norton.
For some reason the mysterious voice repeats its opening line. I guess in case the first one was missed. That's highly likely with this crew. Finn turns around at the second iteration.
How do you know me?
I never saw you as a baby but your father, he was so proud of your first steps. Couldn't wait to tell me about them. I could smell you, of course. Hard to miss a baby.
You've known this entire time? And you just sat here sleeping?
It's been so long I wasn't sure if the baby I smelled was the boy traipsing through my cave.
I am! At least... I think I am.
You need not worry, child. If Arawn trusts you then so shall I. Norton told me to give this key to Finn.
What exactly did Sir Norton say?
He said, [w]hen Finn's destiny shakes the world and the contents of the treasure chest become needed... if Finn is mature enough... then give to him this key.
What is it the key to?
Finn's favorite thing, treasure.
Knowing my luck what it opens was looted years ago.
Norton said he brought with him a treasure of the royal family. Said his wife hated to look at it so he put it somewhere safe.
That chest up in the ruined house!
The what?
Sis I never forget locked up goodies.
Are we supposed to be grateful for your obsession?
I will be if no one else is.
Yay! Let's vote for treasure!
I don't remember voting ever being involved, Tont.
Sure it is! We vote with our feet. Hasn't failed us yet.
Moving on... To the one born of Marion blood, the peacemaker between the Common World and the Underworld. Now is the time. Take the key. Open the chest. Fulfill your father's wish and go to Quamdar!
But didn't Finn's parents leave the castle because they didn't want the prophecy to be fulfilled?
That I cannot say.
That is how Kevins described it.
Hoping it wouldn't come to pass but making plans in case it did?
Whatever they were thinking they couldn't have known what would happen.
Key item Skeleton Key got!
How do you feel, holding something from Sir Norton?
I'm not sure.
Sort of tingly or maybe an awkward pain?
Either of those would be something definite.
With the dragon gone the team can actually walk through the cavern to reach the other side rather than take a long, annoying detour.
Any idea what they pilfered from the castle?
Something that wasn't missed, obviously.
And wasn't recovered when the knights were sent out.
I do have to wonder why Sir Norton gave the key to a dragon. Did he expect something bad to happen to him?
How could he not? He had to know the king would send a force to find his sister.
So he challenged Kevins to a... what, a suicide duel?
Probably a matter of ego.
What does that mean?
I means they were two proud knights thinking they're doing the right thing. Backing down would be admitting that maybe they hadn't been right to begin with.
Surely neither would be so foolhardy.
The next time you see Samson ask him about it.
Or you could ask me now.
I don't remember inviting you to this party.
I invited myself and if you've got a problem with it I can teleport myself to Quamdar to settle it.
Hmm, tempting!
I'll find that treasure just as soon as I remember which way to go! (It's north through the passageway.)
I remember when this monster sprite was still cute and adorable and didn't make me reflexively wince on sight. The team still kills this Flying Mouse in one blow but it was adorable for the three seconds it existed.
Deep within the cavern is the strange void. Nothing's changed here over the course of the game.
So that's what it looks like. You're right. That is creepy.
I wonder if it leads anywhere.
Let's not find out.
Remember this treasure chest? In the ruined house? That the team found many an update ago while sneaking back into Marion but which they couldn't open because it was locked? Well it's still locked but that's what keys are for.
Inside is the Dragon Blade.
I think we've broken Finn.
It's beautiful!
It's brimming with magic, Finn.
So your father hid a sword. Practical.
I take it you like it.
Heck yeah! Light, perfect balance, good edge. What's not to like?
The Dragon Blade doesn't have any magical use-as-item effect (only a few pieces of high end gear does) but it bumps Finn's attack power up another 9 points. He's just shy of breaking 200 total but at 195 he might break it if he gets a couple level ups with enough +Strength gains. The max is +4 so he needs at least two level ups to even have a chance.
At least the walk out is uneventful. After slogs like the Ice Mine and the Sand Cave this is sort of relaxing. That's something I'll have to keep in mind as I head into the Abyss.
On a side note I have played Beyond the Beyond on a Playstation 2. Now anyone familiar with the way that system handles Playstation games knows that it can get weird (and broken!) at times. I remember exactly one noticeable bug from that playthrough and it was the dialogue from the mysterious speaker from the very event the team just witnessed. From what I remember part of the text didn't display so the message was truncated to what ended up sounding like gibberish. Not exactly mission critical but it did cut the reason for the key's existence.
That isn't the only locked chest in the game but the real challenge is remembering where they all are. I head to Marion next but that's wrong. There are only two inns in the game with two floors so I had a 50/50 shot of getting this right by guessing. Alas, I was wrong. Marvel at my folly!
The dragon didn't say anything else?
Disappointed?
A little.
INVISIBLE WALLS!! *shakes an angry fist at the game*
The treasure I'm looking for next is in Bandore's inn. The Mystic Gi offers a small Defense upgrade for Lorele but obviously nothing as dramatic as the Dragon Blade.
Then the team heads into Bandore Castle.
I remember it. We were wondering why a chest would be locked in a cell.
Why would a key owned by a dragon in Marion open a jail cell in Bandore?
The key is probably enchanted. Magic to force open locks should be trivial. Well, relatively trivial.
Something any good thief would kill to get their hands on.
I suppose that could explain why Master Myrrdin deigned to teach me such magic.
I'm just trying to imagine Finn with that spell.
A lot less needless running around!
I guess I rest my case.
The Skeleton Key does open the locked cell. Inside the chest is a Reviving Herb. I suppose that saves me the cost of buying one since I really don't want to be, say, halfway through the final dungeon and have Annie die.
The fourth and final chest is in Simone.
It is... a Tornado Vase. Bleh! I suppose a case could be made that the four treasures are supposed to represent Arawn's four followers from the first time Vicious Ones stirred up trouble but it doesn't seem well supported. The Dragon Blade and Mystic Gi match up fairly well but I'm hard pressed to see why Bandore would have two treasures - one which should under that hypothesis be in Barbaros - with a Reviving Herb as the "Bandore" treasure. This last one seems tacked on much like everything else in Simone.
Oh yeah and it means Zalagoon is dumped from the running again (the prior time being the tablet locations).
Oh and Zeon's still saying that Simone must gather its forces. Way to accomplish nothing, Zeon!
Next time on Beyond the Beyond - the Abyss beckons.
