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                           VAGRANT STORY 

              COMPLETE WALKTHROUGH AND PLAYING GUIDE

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                    Version 1.3 June 18th, 2000

                     Author: Zy Nicholson

                E-mail: spangenhelm@hotmail.com

All text copyright Zy Nicholson, 2000

LEGAL NOTICE:
This guide is for private and personal use only. It is not to be used or 
reproduced, in part or whole, for profitable or promotional purposes. This 
encompasses paper-based and electronic reproduction, whether as part of a 
magazine, book, website, CD / DVD format or any other medium. Permission has 
been granted for www.gamefaqs.com to reproduce the full text, and I welcome 
requests from other sites wishing to be granted the same, especially fan sites. 
All content was created by Zy Nicholson and is owned by me. I also acknowledge 
any trademarks and copyrights that are not specifically mentioned in the text.

On a final note, you should also appreciate that I'm a professional journalist 
with the means, the resources, the know-how, the moral obligation and the dogged 
perseverance to pursue any legal action, no matter how large or small, should 
you attempt any infraction of these terms in the false belief that you are safe 
from international copyright law. You are not. You have been warned. 

Vagrant Story is (c) 2000 Square.


==============================================
       Contents
==============================================

 1. Revision History
 2. Introduction
 3. Level Guide
 4. Second Play Secrets
 5. Playing Tips
 6. Weapons
 7. RISK
 8. Break Arts
 9. Chain Abilities
10. Defence Abilities
11. Magic
12. The Workshop
13. Combining, Forging and Reforging
14. Combination Tables
15. Items
16. The Bestiary
17. Training Dummies
18. Secrets and Extras
19. Credits




==============================================
1. REVISION HISTORY
==============================================

May 21 2000 - Version 1.0 created
I've still got notes to write up, but figured that maybe some of you would like 
what's already been written sooner, rather than later.

May 26 2000 - Version 1.1
Despite a hideous workload and a personal tax return to contend with, your 
enthusiastic mails have been the Spur of Guilt to my Rump of Inaction. 
- began revision of entire level guide, Weapons, RISK, Second Play Secrets 
section
- added content to Break Arts, Magic, Combination and Combination Tables
- added new sections Chain Abilities, Defence Abilities, Secrets and Extras

May 28-June 1st 2000 - Version 1.2
- revisions to every section bar Bestiary
- added new sections in Playing Tips and Items
- wedged heavy wooden chock under wheel of social life

June 2nd 2000 - Version 1.25
- *proper* revisions added to some sections

June 11-18th 2000 - Version 1.3
- make friends trick added to Playing Tips
- dragon breath trick added to Playing Tips
- maps for Iron Maiden B2/3 and Snowfly Forest
- more on item lists and combination, as well as armour pegging
- revision of main text, section re-jig

==============================================
2. INTRODUCTION
==============================================

Vagrant Story isn't easily definable. Sure, it's an RPG -- and an action game, 
and a platformer, and a wargame, and a cinematic adventure. 

The design team features staff from the Japanese development company Quest, 
responsible for the Ogre Battle series, including director Yasumi 'Yazz' Matsuno 
and artist Akihiko Yoshida: these two last worked together on Final Fantasy 
Tactics. To quote Matsuno from the game's website at www.vagrantstory.com:

"The design of this game came from the design sense and ideas of our staff and 
was not the result of conventional product planning. This may seem very natural, 
but this is something that recently has begun to disappear from the gaming 
industry. We believe that it is important to return to our origins in natural, 
even spontaneous, game design."

In an industry that seems increasingly concerned with mass-market satisfaction, 
it's refreshing to see a title created in the knowledge that it won't appeal to 
everyone. Not because of any lack of quality, but through a respect for 
individuality, diversity and the importance of experimenting with original, 
untested ideas. 

Yoshida's characters have finally been granted the dramatic stage of a 
'realistic' 3D environment in which to act out their roles, and his strong sense 
of design has impressed a unique and indelible style upon Vagrant Story's 
engine-driven cut-scenes. By comparison, the sheer personality of these living, 
breathing individuals shows up Metal Gear Solid's cast list as a bunch of 
cartoon heroes and villains with black-&-white values. Credit is also due to 
Hiroshi 'Nigoro' Minagawa, who I believe has succeeded in his ambition to turn 
every single room, view and perspective into a work of art.

I've worked in game scripting and design myself, so it pains me to neglect a few 
names at this stage, but I congratulate a talented team on coming up with a 
fascinating and addictive piece of original work that eschews the weary formulae 
and conventions of the modern, commercial RPG product.

One final point: once you've clicked through the intro, there's no more FMV in 
the game. Vagrant Story uses engine-driven cut-scenes to deliver its dramatic 
impact. Not only does this result in a fluid, seamless incorporation of non-
interactive scenes within an interactive medium, but it also allows for those 
scenes to reflect the state of play. The character delivering lines is standing 
in the same position, holding the same items, as they were just moments ago when 
you were controlling them. There's no pause and flick to a pre-rendered 
interpretation of the moment: when the scene ends then you can go take a look at 
something you just noticed, like a closed chest, and it's still ready to be 
opened in the playing environment. This is, I'm convinced, the future model for 
all videogames with a narrative to convey. 


==============================================
3. LEVEL GUIDE
==============================================

This isn't a strict walkthrough in the sense of a 'go left, open box' set of 
instructions. You'll have a better time if you play the game for yourself, and 
take advice only when you're stuck. For this reason, the structure strives for 
completism and lists every room in the game, by name. If you're stumped at any 
point or you'd like more information then a simple search for the room name 
should take you straight to a description of where you are and what you need to 
do.

On a second point, there's little mention of the cut-scene placement. The game's 
plot will be dealt with in a later version, as the twists involved would be 
better placed in a spoiler section than being thrown at you against your will. 

With regard to room contents, I haven't attempted to nail down the exact numbers 
of inhabitants (Bats x 2, Silver Wolf x 1 etc.) because, frankly, it's 
misleading. There is no fixed number. Over time, in response to your own 
increase in power, every room will start to boast more creatures, or harder 
creatures, or both. So for greater precision I've simply listed the kind of 
creatures you're likely to find there.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
INTRODUCTORY PROLOGUE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When you first load the game, let it run on after the FMV has played. There are 
two engine cut-scenes that provide some background to the story, set in the VKP 
headquarters and the grounds of the Bardorba Manor respectively. There's also a 
version of the game's trailer based on a cut of the introductory sequence.

Duke Bardorba's Manor, Graylands 2:32 AM
Although you're free to skip straight through it, the game's introductory 
sequence includes two playable battles that serve as tutorial for the weapon-
targeting system. Just advance the speech with your CIRCLE button and avoid 
pressing START (as this will end the intro).

The Manor Courtyard
Hardin issues instructions to kill the hostages, but his Mullenkamp cultists are 
interrupted by a noise and go to investigate (honestly, you were nowhere near 
the box...). "Here we go..."

Mullenkamp Soldiers
HP 60 / MP 20
Human
Special Attacks: none
This shouldn't present any problem at all, as each will fall after a couple of 
hits. Concentrate on one before turning your attention to the other. Also, take 
a moment to try out the marvellous first-person pause on the START button and 
have a look at both your opponents and your surroundings, as you won't be seeing 
this place again. When both cultists are killed, this playable scene ends.

(NB: if you're replaying this from a Game Clear Data, you'll be equipped with 
the last weapon and shield you were holding and not, in all probability, 
Fandango. Also, on a plot point, note that the bodies stay put where they fall: 
Lea Monde's power holds no sway here...).

The Manor Chapel
Wyvern
HP 83 / MP 0
Dragon
Special Attacks: Fire Breath
The bristle of spears still lodged in its body should be a sufficient clue that 
this Wyvern has already encountered either the Duke's retainers, or 
Guildenstern's Crimson Blades, or both. Consequently it's very weak, and can't 
take much more punishment. A few blows to the head will be sufficient to finish 
the job. Don't expect the next Wyvern you meet to be such a pushover.

When this is done then let the game run on, including the lengthy quote, and 
you'll get a proper explanation of your new mission in another cut-scene. 
Inquisitor Callo Merlose fills you in on the known details of your quarry. 
You've pursued Sydney Losstarot to Lea Monde, but first you need to get 
inside...


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wine Cellar
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Your overriding aim is to reach the city of Lea Monde via the cellars and 
catacombs running under the sea. But a magically sealed door blocks the way, so 
your first objective will be to find the Chamomile Sigil that unlocks it. Win 
the Sigil from the first boss, unlock the door and defeat the second boss to 
leave the Wine Cellar.

Entrance To Darkness
You begin the game with a few basic items. Your sword, Fandango, is an Edged 
weapon with a Scimitar blade and a Short Hilt grip that will serve you 
adequately for now.
This room is empty at first, but will house more enemies if you return later in 
the game. Practise jumping around, climbing on the wine crates and getting in 
and out of Battle Mode. When you have a weapon equipped then you can still jump, 
but your hands need to be free to grab ledges or scramble up steep steps. It's 
worth learning that lesson right now.

If you pressed START at any time to skip the intro sequences then this is where 
you'll find yourself - it may not be clear to the impatient player.

Worker's Breakroom
Magic Circle
Chest (unlocked): 'Tovarisch' (B) Hand Axe plus Wooden Grip, Leather Glove (L), 
Buckler (W), Vera Bulb x 5, Cure Bulb x 5
Return here much later in the game and you'll also find a Training Dummy (Human, 
Crimson Blade effigy).

The Magic Circle is the first Save Point in the game, and standing on one of 
these will make available the Save options within the Data section of the Main 
Menu. If you've just played out the lengthy intro in full then you'll probably 
feel like using it at once.

Already, you have a choice of weapons. Examine them, by all means, but don't 
attempt to mess about with the Disassemble options at this time. Until you get 
to the first Workshop, you won't be able to put them back together. Equip the 
wooden shield and leather glove before moving on.

Hall of Struggle
Bat
HP 45 / MP 0
Beast
Special Attacks: none
The first aggressor of the game will swoop down to attack, so you'll need to 
have your weapon ready and target it when it comes within range of your weapon. 
Fortunately, it's about as threatening as you'd expect of a mouse with wings.

When that's dispatched, you can try picking up carry crates with the X button: 
just as you found with jumping, you need your hands free of weaponry to do this.

Smokebarrel Stair
An overheard conversation between two Crimson Blades reveals that the lower door 
is locked with a Chamomile Sigil. There's a secret floor trap in that gap 
between the outer wall and upper staircase, but this one is a beneficial Heal 
Panel. Besides restoring health, it also reduces RISK. If you need to use it 
more than once, simply jumping up and down will reactivate it (it's worth 
remembering that the same goes for more harmful traps - walk off, rather than 
trying to jump clear).

Wine Guild Hall
Magic Circle & Container
The Crimson Blades are the Cardinal's elite guard, under the command of 
Guildenstern, and for political reasons they don't want Riskbreakers sniffing 
around. You might have thought these stout, God-fearing fellows would be your 
allies, but they have their orders...
Goodwin HP 160 / MP 10, Human
Sackheim HP 145 / MP 15, Human
Special Attacks: none
The Container is where you'll store excess items to free up your inventory for 
more spoils, and using it will also save your game position. There's nothing in 
it at first (in case you were hoping for a Resi-style stash of extras) so you 
can ignore it for now. On your first trip through the Wine Cellar, the items you 
win from enemies by defeating them will be scripted and predetermined.

Use the Cloudstone to cross the gap to the exit - it gives a reassuring wobble 
when you're fully standing on it. It's an odd state of affairs, perhaps, but 
Vagrant Story certainly makes every effort to justify the mad things that gamers 
would ordinarily take for granted.

Wine Magnate's Chambers
Bat, Silver Wolf
As you take the final path to the door, stick to the wall so as to avoid a 
hidden Gust Trap that's two floor tiles in front of the exit.

Fine Vintage Vault
Crimson Blade x 2 (thereafter Bats, Wolves)
After the first swordsman has been dispatched, climb up onto the three crates 
and jump across to the central span. There's a crossbowman waiting for you on 
the other side: he'll try to back off and use his weapon's superior range, so 
you'll want to rush him.

Chamber of Fear
Silver Wolf, Bats
An earthquake will rearrange the room when you try to cross it. Climb onto the 
low ledge and jump from there to reach the higher one: the wolf guards the 
entrance to a treasure room.

The Reckoning Room
Silver Wolf, Bat 
Silver Wolf HP 90 / MP 0, Beast
Special Attacks: none
Chest (unlocked): 'Seventh Heaven' (B) Gastraph Bow plus Simple Bolt, Reinforced 
Glove (L), Vera Root, Cure Root
The door locks behind you: there are many of these trap rooms in the game, with 
the idea being that you have to defeat all of the inhabitants before the doors 
will open again.

Labourer's Thirst
Silver Wolf, Bat
To reach that exit door, pick up a carry crate while standing on the middle span 
and walk over to the jutting platform. Drop the crate in front of it and stand 
on top, jumping up to grab the ledge above. 

The Rich Drown In Wine
Silver Wolf, Bat
A high lever opens the exit door and, as in the previous room, you need to use a 
crate step to reach its platform. However, the stack of crates is too tall for 
you to pick one off the top. So draw your weapons, target one of the crates and 
destroy it. This is a trick you'll need to repeat in future puzzles.
Then again, if you were nervous about jumping into the wolf-pit then one of the 
animals below may have already destroyed the crate when leaping at your shins.

There's a two-second time limit for jumping down from the lever and running 
through the door. Mostly, it's just a tutorial device to introduce the idea of 
timed challenges being suddenly thrust upon you.

Room of Rotten Grapes
Silver Wolf, Bat
More crate-carrying antics will get you up the high wall at the end of the room. 
I won't insult your intelligence with further description.

Blackmarket of Wines
Magic Circle
Chest (unlocked): Cure Potion, Cure Bulb x 5
You're about to meet a boss, so feel free to save. Upon your return, this room 
will contain a Training Dummy - don't panic, it's just an effigy - on which you 
can practise your newfound battle abilities. It looks like a Crimson Blade, and, 
sure enough, counts as a Human target, so it will affect your weapon bonuses if 
you spend too long hammering it. Try not to wear out your weapons too much until 
you reach a Workshop that can restore their DP.

The Gallows
Boss: Minotaur
HP 275 / MP 5, Beast
Special Attacks: Giga Rush
Prize: Chamomile Sigil, Grimoire Guerir (Shaman spell, Heal), Grimoire Debile 
(Sorcerer Spell, Degenerate)
Chest (unlocked): Pelta Shield (W), Vera Bulb x 3,Yggdrasil's Tears x 15

Use the weapon that you've been building up on Bats and Wolves, as Minotaur 
occupies the same creature class of Beast. His huge club can happily reach your 
high, prominent entry point, so don't imagine you're safe there. Indeed, he'll 
very likely get the first hit in before you can draw, so dive into the arena and 
rush in to put him within the range of your own weapon.

However, his stature means that you'll be struggling to hit anything above the 
knee, and his legs are the best-protected location on his body, especially 
against Edged weapons. Take advantage of anything else that comes into range, 
going for the best damage-versus-probability gamble you can afford. If you take 
too much damage, use a Cure item: holding down the L2 button will bring up a 
faster shortcut menu when your control is restored. 
He's not so hard unless you're unlucky enough to take a Giga Rush, so a few 
solid hits will finish him off.

Events in this room will also cause Ashley to remember his basic Battle 
Abilities: in other words, Vagrant Story's *real* combat system. Assign all of 
the abilities to buttons and go practice a few chain timings on that Dummy 
outside.

When you're ready, you may make your way back to Smokebarrel Stair and open the 
magically sealed door. As you do so, try out the Grimoire items you've acquired. 
Using one of these will destroy the Grimoire in the process, but you'll also 
memorise the spell permanently for future use regardless of whether it succeeds 
or fails. Unlike most RPG scrolls, just reading the Grimoire will drain your 
mana points and so you won't be able to use one unless you have sufficient MP 
for the casting.

Room Of Cheap Red Wine
Upon entering, you'll be treated to an explanation of what is later referred to 
as "an incomplete death". When the living die in Lea Monde, the Dark claims both 
body and soul for its own ends. 

Mandel HP 145 / MP 15
Undead
Special Attacks: none
Prize: Rapier (B)
It's worth pointing out an old FF-styled trick here: if you cast Heal on an 
Undead opponent, it actually attacks them as a single-target spell and does 
damage. You probably won't need it here, though.

Room Of Cheap White Wine
You enter this room from an advantageous point, and you could try casting Heal 
or aiming for the heads of creatures below before you jump down to floor level.
Zombie HP 120 HP / MP 10
Zombie Fighter HP 140 / MP 15
Ghoul HP 120 / MP 10
Undead
Special Attacks: none
Prize: Cure Roots x 2 per head

The Greedy One's Den
Silver Wolves

The Hero's Winehall
Boss: Dullahan
HP 180 / MP 30, Evil
Special Attacks: casts Degenerate
Prize: Elixir of Queens, Elixir of Mages, Grimoire Lux (Warlock spell, Spirit 
Surge)
Chest (unlocked): 'Rusty Nail' (B) Spear + Spiculum Pole, Braveheart gem, Cure 
Bulb
This animated suit of armour has a supposed weak spot in its abdomen, but that 
rather depends on what you're packing. If you employ a Piercing weapon then the 
extra damage is significant, but it's a trickier spot to hit. If all else fails, 
go for the breastplate -- he's weak to Piercing weapons all over. Abandon any 
combo if the first hit doesn't do decent damage, as high RISK will multiply the 
damage of Dullahan's vicious sword-swipes (RISK-reducing Vera items can help 
here). You should also try to get the timing down for the Impact Guard defence 
ability to halve the damage you take. Cast your Shaman magic to Heal yourself 
whenever you get down to near half your health. 

When you're done, don't forget to check out the chest to the right of the exit 
before moving on to the catacombs.

Point o' fun: I once managed to alter the camera angle of this battle's opening 
cut-scene by climbing up onto the right-hand ledge rather than walking straight 
into the centre after entering the room.

If you return to this room later in the game with much higher HP, you may find a 
Dullahan and a Hellhound as the respawning enemies. The Dullahan will be 
carrying an Iron Rhomphaia that you can (rarely) win as a prize. Also, if you 
enter from the Catacombs, it's even possible to sneak up behind this Dullahan 
and follow him around the room for ages before he sees you...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Catacombs
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now that you've escaped the Wine Cellar, you'll have to do the same to pass 
through the Catacombs. As the name declares, this was once an old burial 
chamber. The double doors at the Withered Spring will only open to the Lily 
Sigil, which you'll find by defeating the minor bosses in this area.

Hall of Sworn Revenge
Magic Circle & Container
You'll find a hidden Cure Panel trap on the left raised step, opposite that of 
the Save Point. This will cure any status ailments you have, but it's not likely 
to see much use. There's also a Heal Panel next to it, which will restore HP and 
reduce RISK.

Much later in the game, this room will also house a Dummy of a Skeleton Knight 
for training against Undead targets.

The Last Blessing
Hellhound HP 110 / MP 0
Beast
Affinity: Fire
Special Attacks: Fire Breath
If it seems only slight harder than the Silver Wolf, the Hellhound's Breath is a 
low-level multiple-target attack: this means that if the flame envelops your 
entire body, every hit location will take damage. When you add all of that up, 
it can make the Hellhound unexpectedly deadly at this stage. Prioritise the 
Hellhound as a target and chain a couple of attacks together to take it out in 
one combo. It's weak against Water, Light and Piercing blades, so you could try 
out your new Spirit Surge.

There's a simple challenge here: you must get through both corridors to the 
Persecution Hall before the timer expires and the door at the end shuts tight. 
Instead of dashing and dodging straight through, make the effort to take out 
enemies while on the run. It's actually faster to kill them first than let them 
have their attacks as you pass.


The Weeping Corridor
Skeleton HP 120 / MP 20
Undead
Special Attacks: none
Skeletons are able to camouflage themselves in the Catacombs by appearing as 
inanimate piles of bones, but this one should be easier to spot.

Finally, there's a Freeze Trap two tiles in front of the exit that's designed to 
catch you off-guard. Approach the door from the side.

Persecution Hall
Skeleton, Hellhound
If you examine this room on your map, you'll see a white dot indicating an exit 
that you may not have noticed. Look up to the left of the entrance and you'll 
see a dark passageway high in the wall - too high to reach by jumping, in fact. 
Fortunately, there are some crates in the opposite corner. 

Smash one of the crates in the stack so that you can pick off the top one. Carry 
this over to the raised floor under the doorway. There's a step nearby that's 
only half the height of the raised floor, so place the crate on that. Now climb 
up onto the step yourself, pick up the crate, turn and place it on the raised 
floor. This is how you move crates up steps, lifting them one tile height at a 
time. Climb up again and put the crate under the doorway. Now you can jump up.

Rodent-Ridden Chamber
Skeleton
Chest (unlocked): 'Pink Squirrel' (I), Goblin Club plus Wooden Grip, Cross Guard 
grip, Cuirass, Long Boots, Iocus gem, Mana Root x 3, Cure Bulb x 3
Again, the surrounding floor is slightly too high to lift a crate onto it. So 
use a step - in this case, the other crate - by placing one crate on another, 
climb up onto the outer floor and pick up the top crate from there.


Shrine To The Martyrs
Skeleton, Hellhound
"This would need an earthquake to open it." One scripted earthquake, coming up. 
Take the open door for now.

The Lamenting Mother
In another Time Trial, you're given just 30 seconds to defeat a new enemy. 
There's no penalty if you don't - it'll just disappear, in fact - but you'll 
miss out on the booty.

Ghost  HP 70 / MP 130
Phantom
Special Attacks: Mind Blast
Because the Ghost's affinity is Light, the same as your Spirit Surge, your 
Warlock magic is useless here. Stick to physical attacks.

The Ghost will usually cast Degenerate to weaken your attack before using its 
specials. It has the ability to teleport, and will use this in an attempt to 
'hit and run' before you can get close. The trick to beating it is that it likes 
to appear at fixed locations, only moving between a few key spots, so if you can 
identify these regular warp points and stick by one then you can ambush the 
Ghost as it pops up. If it starts to materialise beyond your weapon range but 
just within its own spell range, then run away and get yourself to another 
regular warp point: you can often force it to teleport again, right where you 
want it.

Prize: Cure Bulbs x 3, Elixir of Kings
Chest (unlocked): Shandy Gaff (B) Broad Sword, Knuckles (B), Elixir of Queens

You can rattle the handle of the door by the chest but it, too, is rusted shut. 
When you return to the previous room, though, an earthquake will strike. This 
will shake the rust off the hinges of both doors. It also knocks the floor out 
of The Lamenting Mother, so only the first rusted door will be accessible.


Hall Of Dying Hope
Zombie Knight HP 160 / MP 40
Undead
Special Attacks: none
Scale the sheer wall first at this T-Junction, as the left door leads to a 
single treasure room. First, you'll be introduced to the push crate: just shove 
it forward and then left, all the way to the wall, placing the carry crate on 
top of it for a higher jumping point.

Bandits' Hideout
Ghost, Bat, Hellhound
Chest (unlocked): Soul Kiss (S) Scramasax plus Swept Hilt, Targe (B), Knuckle 
(B), Bear Mask (L), Haeralis gem, Spirit Orison x 3, Eye of Argon x 3
To reach the chest's platform, you need to move out that rolling cube from the 
near corner. So break the push crate beside it with a weapon, step into the 
space that's left and roll the cube into place. The last push crate will slide 
under the chest's niche, allowing you to kneel and open it from the correct 
height.

The Bloody Hallway
The puzzle here is how to get the wooden crates over that central span, and to 
solve it you'll need to build yourself a step like the one you used in 
Persecution Hall.

Climb over the span and roll the lower of the two cubes along the wall until 
it's underneath the higher one. Stand on it and you can push the higher cube 
towards the other side. Climb up onto the span and keep rolling the high cube 
until it drops down on the other side, next to the other crates. Now you have a 
two-tile step and two spare carry crates. Lift the two carry crates onto the 
central span via the step, then stack them under the exit.

Faith Overcame Fear
Skeleton, Zombie Knight

The Withered Spring
Ghost, Skeleton
Mummy 90 HP / 5 MP
Undead
Special Attacks: none
Magic Circle
The huge double doors are magically locked with a Lily Sigil, which is found by 
exploring the rooms beyond the door to the right as you enter. First, though, 
check out the door to the left as it opens onto the game's first Workshop.

Also, look up with first-person pause and take a psychological deep breath.

WORKSHOP: Work of Art
Magic Circle & Container
Tools for Wood, Leather, Bronze
Now you can start experimenting with the real potential of your equipment. Try 
combining that Reinforced Glove with a bronze Knuckle, for instance, or 
disassemble a weapon and reassemble its blade with a better grip. You should 
also have three gems - Iocus, Haeralis and Braveheart - to decorate and enhance 
either weapons or shields.

Repent O Ye Sinners
Bat, Ghoul

The Reaper's Victims
Bat, Zombie Knight
Although this is a locking trap room, there's no treasure chest to be had. You 
might find some decent items on the creatures themselves, though.

The Last Stab Of Hope
Skeletons
If you forgot to open that chest containing Shandy Gaff, or the earthquake cut 
you off from it, just take the side exit here. It's the second rust-hinged door 
that you previously tried to open from the other side, in The Lamenting Mother. 
The earthquake has shaken it loose. Beside the chest, though, and an irate 
Ghost, it leads to nothing.

Hallway of Heroes
Here you'll find either a Zombie Knight with a hammer or a Skeleton with a 
spear, in alternation.

The Beasts' Domain
Yes, this is the place to win the Lily Sigil. It looks empty at first, because 
your opponents won't appear until you explore the raised area in the far left 
corner.

Lizardman HP 240 / MP 25
Prize: Glaive (B), Knuckles (I), Grimoire Antidote (Shaman spell, Antidote), 
Elixir of Queens
Lizardman HP 240 / MP 25
Prize: Spear (I), Cuirass (L), Lily Sigil
Dragon
Special Attacks: none

With the Lily Sigil in your possession, return to the Withered Spring and open 
the grand double doors to advance to the Sanctum.

NB If you revisit this room at a later date, don't expect to find more 
Lizardman. The new inhabitants are rather less savoury:

Slime HP 60 / MP 0
Beast
Affinity: Earth
Special Attacks: Acid Sneeze



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sanctum
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Defeating the Golem boss on this level will activate a Cloudstone to carry you 
over the river.

Prisoner's Niche
Take a weapon to the rightmost push crate: with the space you've made, you can 
slide its neighbour next to the others and thus make a solid base of three 
adjacent crates. Now lift the two carry crates onto this base. Step up there 
with them, standing in the gap that remains, pick up the nearest carry crate and 
stack it on top of the other. From this three-crate column you can climb over 
the barricade.

Corridor Of the Clerics
Skeletons

For now, just take the door straight ahead.

Priests' Confinement
Bats, bats, bats
Prize: Eye of Argon (won from the bat in the far left corner)
There's a Heal Panel trap on the low table just in front of you as you enter. If 
you can't find it, you can use the Eye of Argon to reveal it.

Look to the right, down this long room, and you'll see a dark passage entrance 
high in the far wall. Though it may not seem likely, it is possible to jump to 
it from this room, unaided.
There's a heavy piece of furniture under the entrance and slightly to the right. 
From the top of this tall cabinet, you need to jump slightly left and then up so 
that you turn in mid-air to face the wall. It may take a few goes, but if you 
get it right then you'll be able to grab the ledge and clamber up. If you're 
using the Dual Shock then try facing the wall, jumping and adding a brief left 
flick while still pushing forward into the wall.

The Alchemist's Laboratory
Skeleton Knights, Poison Slime
Chest (unlocked): 'Bosom Cleaver' (B) Langdebeve, Dragonite gem, Grimoire Halte 
(Sorcerer spell, Fixate)

The chest is located on the far side of the room, and is fairly easy to reach by 
jumping from bookcase to bookcase. To leave this room, take the exit at ground 
level so that you unlatch its door for future access.

Skeleton Knight HP 160 / MP 30
Undead
Special Attack: none
These skeletons are drawn from the city guard rather than the ancient burial 
chambers of the Catacombs, so they're in better shape and their gear is slightly 
more sophisticated.

Poison Slime HP 110 / MP 0
Beast
Special Attack: Poison Sneeze
Prize: Faerie Chortle
You probably won't have much beyond Piercing weapons to burst this creature 
right now, but in future you should know that it's also weak versus Air and Fire 
attacks. To counteract its poison, you can either cast an Antidote spell or 
administer a Faerie Chortle (an item which, predictably enough, can be won from 
the slaying of Poison Slimes). They're not tough, exactly, but the Poison Sneeze 
can create a few menu-trawling chores for you...

The Academia Corridor
Skeletons

Theology Classroom
Ghost, Skeleton
A locking trap room, and another one that offers little beyond the Cure and Vera 
items you might win as prizes from its denizens. It looks as if there ought to 
be more to do in here, with all its nooks and crates, but I've found nothing 
else of value.

An observation: locking trap rooms often have a 'normal' set of occupants that 
differs from the group you must beat to unlock the door. If you re-enter 
immediately upon leaving, you may find a different set of creatures has 
instantly respawned.

Shrine Of The Martyrs
Hellhound, Skeleton Knight

Hallowed Hope
Poison Slime, Bat

Hall Of Sacrilege
Boss: Golem HP 240 / MP 15
Evil
Affinity: Earth
Special Attacks: Granite Punch

Prize: Cure Bulb x 2, Elixir of Dragoons, Grimoire Ameliorer (Sorcerer spell, 
Prostasia)

What you could do here is lure him over to the steps on the near right by 
standing in the corner, then move down a step or two towards him: this will give 
you a better selection of body locations to target. If that's a bit fancy, just 
run in and whack his arms and legs with something Blunt until he cracks.

Defeating Golem will activate a Cloudstone in Passage Of the Refugees, allowing 
you to cross the torrent, so head back to the start of Sanctum and take the 
remaining exit from Corridor of the Clerics.

Advent Ground (South Bank)
Bat, Lizardman
A wide, fast-flowing river blocks the way here. There's no point jumping but if 
you should fall in then you'll simply restart at the door by which you entered, 
less 20 HP.

Passage of the Refugees
Bat, Poison Slime, Lizardman

There's a carry crate buried at the centre of those push crates, so just hack 
away the top one to reach it. You only need one crate to scale the wall. Then 
jump aboard the Cloudstone and arm yourself in readiness for the Lizardman (you 
can also try out your Fixate spell here).

Advent Ground (North Bank)
Magic Circle and Container
Might be a good idea to save, here...

The Cleansing Chantry
Boss: Dragon HP 480  / MP 0
Dragon (...)
Special Attacks: Thermal Breath, Tail Attack

Prize: Cure Bulb x 3, Elixir of Sages, Grimoire Analyse (Sorcerer spell, 
Analyze)

Despite the flames, this Dragon has no particular affinity to fire or weakness 
to water. Treat it as a heavy physical opponent. Dragons have weapon-type 
weaknesses in their heads and in their tails - Piercing and Edged respectively, 
here -- though it takes a bit of running around with a long-hafted weapon to get 
so much as a glimpse of tail because the dragon will try to stay facing you. 
You're unlikely destroy it with one chain, so use single hits or no more than 2-
3 hit combos to keep your RISK down.

A very smart trick for annoying dragons is to get in really close, under the 
neck and head. The dragon can't use its breath attack unless you're beyond a 
minimum range from its mouth, so stay tight and don't let it back off. It will 
be forced to resort to a lunging bite attack, which is much less dangerous and 
has only a physical affinity.

Also, try to get down the Impact Guard timing for that Tail Attack: once you 
suss out that you should press, not on the first sweep over your head, but when 
it whips back at you, then you'll be able to halve some pretty immense damage. 
It's a defence ability timing that will benefit you for the rest of the game.

Start using the Analyze spell a lot, too - it'll give you more precise 
information on specific foes than I'm able to provide here. See the Magic 
section for details on using it.

Stairway to the Light
Bong! You've made it under the razor corals and deadly whirlpools, slain a 
dragon and arrived in Lea Monde. Not bad for a morning's work. Now for the City 
itself.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Town Centre West (north bank)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Crimson Blades have secured this area, so your goal here is to wrest a 
Crimson Key from Father Duane and his cohorts. This will grant access to the 
passages running through the City Walls. A Cloudstone spans the river that 
divides the region, but it will only become operational when you return from the 
Abandoned Mines B1. When it does, you'll also find that many of the previously 
empty locations have acquired Crimson Blade patrols.

Rue Vermillion
Magic Circle
The heavy door here leads to City Walls West but is locked with the Crimson Key, 
so remember to return here when you obtain it. For now, take the north-eastern 
exit.

The Rene Coastroad
The reason for coming here first? Well, 'Number 1, Rene Coastroad' happens to be 
the postal address of the game's second Workshop.

There's also a Heal Panel trap on the grassy overhang in the far eastern corner 
that overlooks both the sea and a tall facing building. This is as useful for 
instantaneously reducing RISK as it is for improving health after a few lengthy 
battles.

WORKSHOP: The Magic Hammer
Magic Circle and Container
Tools for Bronze and Iron
The Magic Hammer offers a much-needed chance to repair your weapons and perform 
any necessary metalwork, but it's purely a smithy. Bear in mind that if you 
upgrade any equipment to Hagane by combining Bronze and Iron, this Workshop will 
no longer have the tools to rework the material. 

Rue Mal Fallde
You'll get a cut-scene on your first visit, and the resting Blades will force 
you to find another route. So double back to Rue Vermillion and head south this 
time.

Tircolas Flow
Boss: Father Duane, Sarjik and Bejart, Crimson Blades
Human
Special Attacks: Poison Mist (Duane)

Father Duane, Crimson Blade cleric lieutenant HP 250 / MP 100
Prize: 'Magnolia Frau' (S) Wizard Staff, Wizard Robe, Crimson Key, Grimoire 
Demolir (Warlock spell, Explosion), Grimoire Clef (Sorcerer spell, Unlock)

Sarjik, Crimson Blade swordsman HP 180 / MP 70
Prize: Rapier (I), Mana Root x 3

Bejart, Crimson Blade halberdier HP 190 / MP 55
Prize: Guisarme (B), Cure Root x 3

The enemy's tactic here is for Sarjik and Bejart to run in, attack once and 
retreat. Duane will keep his distance in the rearguard and use spells, attacking 
with his staff only when you've been poisoned.  If you keep using Antidote to 
null the effect of Poison Mist then he'll just keep casting it, so you could 
either use this to stop him physically attacking; or else ignore the infection 
and try to finish him off before the poison has too much effect.

When the battle is won, you'll have that Crimson Key for Rue Vermillion.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
City Walls West
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There's not much to do here right now except follow the passageway to the 
Abandoned Mines B1.

Students of Death

The Gabled Hall
Zombie Knights
This is a locking trap room.

Where The Master Fell
This Staircase leads down to the Abandoned Mines B1.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Abandoned Mines B1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sydney has barred your passage through this mine with the Hyacinth and Fern 
Sigils, which you'll acquire within the Mine itself from a boss and a chest 
respectively. That means some fairly thorough investigation of the entire Mine.

Dreamer's Entrance
Stirge HP 90 / MP 0
Beast
Special Attack: Bloodsuck
This vampire is a much tougher form of bat, and can be formidable enough in 
numbers (three, here) to throw you off guard. If your RISK is very high, the 
damage done by its Bloodsuck rises dramatically.

The Crossing
Magic Circle
A Hellhound often dogs this save point (sorry). Head west first to tackle the 
treasure room.

Miner's Resting Hall
Goblins, Mimic
Chest (magic lock): 'Stinger' (B) Guisarme plus Sand Face grip, Quad Shield (B), 
Ring Mail (B), Ring Leggings (B), White Queen gem, Grimoire Visible (Sorcerer 
spell, Eureka), Cure Bulb x 5

Goblin HP 220 / MP 25
Human
Special Attacks: none
You may find some interesting bits of kit when attacking these chimp-like 
troglodytes. Collect it and save it all up for some future business in the 
Workshop.

Mimic HP 120 / MP 0
Beast
Special Attack: Numbing Needle
This old D&D stalwart gives itself away a bit too soon, perhaps. We all know 
that you should never trust a room with more than one chest.

To open the chest, you'll need to use that Unlock spell. If it doesn't work 
first time, just keep trying. As your reward, you'll get the Eureka spell and 
never have to use another Eye of Argon.

The Suicide King
Goblin, Stirge
A simple locking trap room to give you Yggdrasil's Tears from the corpses of the 
fallen. You'll be needing plenty of them in the Mines.

The Battle's Beginning
Boss: Wyvern HP 340 / MP 0
Dragon
Special Attack: Fire Breath
Prize: Hyacinth Sigil, Cure Tonic, Grimoire Ignifuge (Enchanter spell, Pyro 
Guard)

Nobody's had a crack at this one with a pointy stick beforehand, so it's all 
down to you this time. Unlike ordinary reptiles, this Dragon-class creature is 
strongest against Piercing weapons and weak against Blunt ones (you may find a 
spear does more damage against its body when successful). If you can get behind 
or to the side of it, the tail is susceptible to Edged weapons.

In case you're wondering - and I know you weren't - the heraldic definition of 
the difference between a Wyvern and a Dragon is that the Wyvern stands erect on 
two legs, while the Dragon walks on four (as in the Welsh national flag). There, 
that should save you any future embarrassment at dinner parties when you find 
yourself sitting next to a questing Knight Errant and the discussion moves to 
the profit margins involved in professional dracicide.

What Lies Ahead?
Goblin, Goblin Leader HP 260 / MP 60
Human
Special Attack: casts Stun Cloud, Degenerate
Stun Cloud's effect is Paralysis, which prevents you attacking physically for a 
short period. That's quite a serious status ailment when you're in a room full 
of Goblins, all things considered, so assign the Defence Ability 'Ward' to one 
button and attempt to counter the Stun Cloud. If that fails, use Yggdrasil's 
Tears or retreat. Also, be sure to check this FAQ's Magic section for a trick to 
using Ward. When you're a more accomplished mage, this won't matter so much.

The Fruits of Friendship
If you use this route to reach The Earthquake's Mark, just cross with the 
Cloudstone and move the top push crate out and to the wall to reach the latched 
door.

Conflict And Accord
Goblin, Hellhound

The End of the Line
Goblin, Stirge
Another locking trap room to stock up on Yggdrasil's Tears. It's not so easy to 
get the timing right for Ward, is it?

The Earthquake's Mark
Stirge
Two of these doors are locked - one on a Latch, the other needing a Hyacinth 
Sigil -- but the third, to the left, is open. Just be sure to avoid the Eruption 
trap with Eye of Argon or Eureka.

Coal Mine Storage
Goblin, Goblin Leader

Chest (unlocked): Ring Sleeve (B), Chain Coif (B), Undine Jasper, Fern Sigil

Make a cursory check with Eureka before you head to the chest. Right in front of 
it is a seemingly unavoidable Poison Trap, but on the ledge behind it is another 
floor pad called 'Trap Clear'. Stepping on this deactivates all traps in the 
room, and you'll see it crop up again in future (while there's no way of 
discerning beforehand, Trap Clears are almost always placed where you wouldn't 
normally go, while dangerous Traps are precisely where they expect you to 
tread).

The Passion Of Lovers
Another time challenge grants you just 15 seconds to make it to the Dark Tunnel 
through the Hall of Hope.

Hall of Hope
Goblin, Goblin Leader

The Dark Tunnel
Magic Circle
From here, take the east route first for a treasure room cul-de-sac. The north 
route requires the Silver Key, which you won't find for some time.

If you return later in the game, this room will house a Dummy in the form of an 
Ogre for training against Beast-class opponents.

Rust In Peace
Goblin Leader, Goblin, Mimic
Chest (magic lock): Chain Sleeve (B), Salamander Ring, Manabreaker, Elixir of 
Sages, Grimoire Undine (Enchanter spell, Frost Fusion)

Everwant Passage
Goblin, Mimic
This exit is sealed off with the Silver Key. Ignore it for now.

The Smeltry
Boss: Fire Elemental HP 320 / MP 140
Phantom
Special Attack: Fireball

Prize: Grimoire Flamme (Warlock spell, Flame Sphere), Elixir of Queens, Mana 
Tonic

Equipping the Salamander Ring raises your overall Fire affinity and thus makes 
you more resistant to fireballs. Decorating your weapon with an Undine Jasper 
raises its Water affinity, causing more damage to Fire-aligned creatures. 
Finally, when you're facing your foe and have your weapons drawn, open with 
Frost Fusion to increase your weapon's Water affinity even further. Changing 
weapons mid-battle will cancel an Enchanter spell.

Clash of Hyaenas
Using Fixate when it's closest will ease the task of jumping to the Cloudstone. 
Then hack away three of the crates before sliding the last one to the wall.

Greed Knows No Bounds
Goblin Leader, Goblin

Live Long And Prosper
The door here is locked with the Fern Sigil, which you should have picked up 
from the chest in Coal Mine Storage.

Pray To The Mineral Gods
Stirges

Traitor's Parting
Boss: Ogre HP 540 HP / MP 35
Beast
Special Attacks: casts Degenerate

Prize: Cure Bulb x 3, Elixir of Kings, Grimoire Rempart (Enchanter spell, Terra 
Guard)

Despite the humanoid appearance, you'll want your best Beast-hunting weapon for 
the Ogre. Casting Prostasia beforehand is also recommended here. Ogres move in 
and out of range with enviable speed, but to slow one to Movement 50% you'd have 
to hamstring both legs (by which time he'd be dead anyway, so it's not as clever 
a tactic as you might imagine). Instead, go for the head or the arms.

On a final note, Ogres are incredibly resistant to combos. If you try to chain 
more than a couple of attacks, you'll find you just start clocking up misses. 

Escapeway
The stairs lead up, and a well-earned rest is in sight...



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Town Centre West (south bank)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This place is busier on your return, but the Cloudstone over the river is now 
functional and making regular ferry trips. Now that you're back, call in at the 
Magic Hammer and get to work on upgrades and repairs. If you've been having a 
rough journey so far, you might want to spend some time here and start picking 
fights with Crimson Blades in order to steal some neat armour and learn a few 
more abilities and Break Arts.

When you're ready to move on, you need to locate the entrance to Undercity West. 
That's your next destination.

Rue Bouquet
Magic Circle

Tircolas Flow (south side)
Crimson Blades
Note that your human enemies are not only intelligent enough to cast spells, but 
will casually use the Cloudstone to reach you. Try to attack them singly and 
finish them off before picking another target, as many possess cure spells and 
items.

Glacialdra Kirk Ruins
You'll find an intriguing gate-barred staircase here marked with the Rood 
Inverse. Hate to disappoint you, but this simply isn't accessible on your first 
game. You need to beat Vagrant Story at least once to be able to open it, so 
don't expect to get a 100% rating straight off.

Instead, clamber over some fallen masonry to find a slightly concealed entrance 
to the south. Then pass straight through Rue Sant D'alsa to Villeport Way.

Villeport Way
A cut-scene shows you where you need to go, but when it concludes you'll find 
that the gate is locked and the only other door is latched from the other side. 
Return to Rue Sant d'Alsa for Dinas Walk to take you inside.

Rue Sant d'Alsa
On your first visit, you'll pass straight on to Villeport Way. You'll be coming 
back, soon enough.
Crimson Blades
Ambushed! But pay attention and you'll see that one of the Blades jumps down 
from a balcony terrace above you. Use the first-person and distant views to get 
a look at it.  By standing on the raised grassy hillocks to the right, you can 
get enough height on your jump to climb up onto it. There's a door here that 
enters a derelict building.

Dinas Walk
This is little more than a corridor with some broken floor to leap and an exit 
at the far end that places you on the other side of Rue Sant D'alsa's locked 
gate.

When you emerge, drop down to the post that the Crimson Blade is guarding and 
dispose of him before opening the inner gate to Undercity West.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Undercity West
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The skyless streets and boulevards of the Undercity offer a refuge from the sun 
for Lea Monde's walking dead and damned. In game terms, that means you should 
pack your bags with weapons for despatching Undead, Evil, Phantoms and Beasts. 
On this first trip your aim is to reach the Snowfly Forest, but later on you 
will return here with the Iron Key to open up closed avenues, claim the Clematis 
Sigil and eventually enter the Limestone Quarry.

The Bread Peddlar's Way
One of the more suspenseful tunes of the game, that.

Way of the Mother Lode
Zombie Knight, Ghast HP 120 / MP 0
Undead
Special Attacks: none
The Ghast is familiar Undead fare, but sometimes packs a decent weapon on a 
fairly strong hitting-arm. 

Sewer Of Ravenous Rats
Skeleton, Zombie Mage HP 135 / MP 80
Undead
Special Attacks: casts spells, including Lightning Bolt
When he's facing the other way, you can often creep up on a Zombie Mage and stab 
him in the back before he can utter so much as a magic syllable. 

This passage joins up to another part of Undercity West, but for now the door is 
sealed with the Silver Key.

Underdark Fishmarket
Boss: Giant Crab HP 420 HP / MP 0
Beast
Affinity: Water
Special Attack: Aqua Bubble

Prize: Cure Bulb x 3, Elixir of Queens, Grimoire Sylphe (Enchanter spell, Luft 
Fusion)

Switch that Undine Jasper to your shield, if you're packing one. The Undercity's 
guardian has a weakness to Fire but it's probably not worth bothering with a 
level 1 Flame Sphere, as you won't be able to target more than one or two hit 
locations on such a huge crustacean. It's also weak against Air, and you'll find 
that Fire, Air and Lightning Break Arts or spells will inflict immense damage. 
Blunt hammers serve well for crushing its shell armour but if you're using a 
Piercing attack then you might aim for the mouth.

For the record, not one of the crabs in the game seemed to pose any kind of 
threat. If you're getting stuffed, check that you haven't still got a Salamander 
Ring attached - this would amplify its Aqua Bubble damage.

The Sunless Way
Magic Circle

Hall of Poverty
Zombie Knight, Ghast

The Washing-Woman's Way
Zombie Knight, Zombie Mage
There's a Heal Panel near the door locked with the Silver Key.

Remembering Days of Yore
Zombie Knight, Ghast, Zombie Mage
Come back here when you have the Iron Key: you'll be able to access Larder for a 
Lean Winter and claim the Clematis Sigil. For now, though, take the steps up to 
Snowfly Forest.

Where The Hunter Climbed
These steps will take you to the Snowfly Forest.







~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Snowfly Forest
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Finding your way through this place is actually quite confusing. Not only is the 
layout designed to befuddle, but the canopy of trees can also hinder your 
ability to see pathways and creatures (I'm none too keen on that aspect). Many 
exits in the Snowfly Forest do not lead to where you expect. Instead, they warp 
you to a distant area or return to you a place already explored. The effect is 
deliberately disorientating, but it can be mapped (see below).

When Rosencrantz tells you to follow the Snowflies, that's not to be taken 
literally: there's no clue to be discerned by trying to see which way they fly 
across the screen. Instead, it refers to the fact that your path through the 
Forest is blocked by a swarm of Snowflies at the Yellow Wood, and that's where 
you need to get through to proceed, so you'll have to defeat the local boss 
first to shift them. This boss will also give a Bronze Key for later use.

A neat hidden trick is that if you click on a lone tree with the X action 
button, Ashley will sometimes be able to tell compass direction by the side of 
the bark on which the moss grows (you get an option to readjust the direction 
you're facing). Amusing, but it's better to keep checking your map screen from 
place to place.

-----------------------
Map 1: Forest Path
-----------------------

Each room is identified by its central letter. The exits are shown as letters 
around the 'walls' of the room, and these letters indicate where you will end up 
if you leave the room through that door or passageway.


A - The Faerie Circle           N - The Secret Path
B - The Hunt Begins             O - Hewn From Nature
C - Which Way Home              P - The Wood Gate
D - The Birds and the Bees      Q - The Giving Trees
E - Traces of the Beast         R - The Wounded Boar
F - Fluttering Hope             S - Golden Egg Way
G - Return to the Land          T - The Woodcutter's Run
H - The Yellow Road             U - The Wolves' Choice
I - Where Soft Rains Fell       V - Howl of the Wolf King
J - Forest River                W - They Also Feed
K - Lamenting to the Moon       X - The Hollow Hills
L - Running with the Wolves     Y - The Spirit Trees
M - You Are the Prey            Z - The Silent Hedges
^ - Entrance                    * - Exit



          +-----------------------------------+
          |         |~~~~~~|                  |
          |         |~~~~o~|           J      |
          |         |~o~~~~|                  | 
          |         |~~~~~~|                  |
          +- K ----------------- A ------- I -+

           | J |                         | J |             +-- Y --+
          -+   +-   -------   -----+     |   |             |       |
          V  K  U   Q  Z  Y   Q  Y |     | I |             |   G   |
          -+   +-   -------   -+   |     |   |             | boss! |       
           | L |               | W |     | H |             +-- F --+
                                       Snowflies
 | X |     | K |               | Y |     | I |     | S |     | G | 
-+   +-   -+   +-   -----+    -+   +-   -+   +-   -+   +-   -+   +-
Z  M  L   M  L  X   L  X |    D  W  H   W  H  E   H  E  F   E  F  S
-+   +-   -------   -+   |    -+   +-   -+   +-   -+   +-   -------
 | N |               | V |     | Q |     | S |     | D |           

 | M |               | X |     | W |     | H |     | E | 
 |   |              -+   +-   -+   +-   -+   +-   -+   +- 
 | N |              Z  V  K   K  U  T   U  T  D   Q  D  W
 |   |              -------   -+   +-   -------   -+   +-
 | O |                         | S |               | C | 

+-- N --+                      | H |               | D |     | W | 
|       |                     -+   +-   -------   -+   +-   -+   +-
|   O   |                     F  S  R   S  R  C   R  C  Q   C  Q  Y
| boss! |                     -+   +-   -------   -+   +-   -------
+-- P --+                      | E |               | B |           

+- O -+                                            | C | 
|     |                    S                       |   |
|  P  |                   E+W                      | B | 
|     |                    N                       |   |
+- * -+                                            | A |

NB: the passage from H to I is blocked by a       +- B -+
Snowfly swarm until the boss at G is defeated.    |     |
                                                  |  A  |   
                                                  |     |
                                                  +- ^ -+
                                               



The Faerie Circle
Magic Circle
Your starting point. Go south from here to reach

The Hunt Begins
A straight path. Keep going south to

Which Way Home
Basilisk HP 120 HP / MP 0
Beast
Special Attack: Acid Breath
The Basilisk is smaller and less petrifying than you might have been expecting. 
Its affinity is Earth, so Air spells and attacks will hurt it more. You can 
occasionally win valuable Snowfly Draughts from Basilisks but it's the more 
common Faerie Wings that you want to collect, as these will be vital later on.

From here, go south again to

The Birds and The Bees
Ichthious HP 100 / MP 0
Beast
Special Attack: Spiral Shell
The Ichthious has an Air affinity, as opposed to the Basilisk, so Earth spells 
and attacks will hurt it most. The Ichthious sometimes surrenders Snowfly 
Draughts but it's the Faerie Wing that you should stock up.

Go south to


Traces of the Beast
If you go east from here, you'll enter the Yellow Wood and discover the Snowfly 
swarm blocking a south exit. So for now, to reach the boss, go west to 
Fluttering Hope.

Fluttering Hope
Take a south again from here to enter Return to the Land.

Return to the Land
Boss: Earth Dragon HP 510 HP / MP 0
Dragon
Special Attack: Acid Breath, Tail Attack

Prize: Bronze Key, Grimoire Parebrise (Enchanter spell, Aero Guard), Vera Potion

This creature's armoured scales make it pretty tough to hit with almost 
anything, even Air and Lightning assaults, despite its declared Earth affinity. 
Once again, though, its head is weaker against Piercing weapons while its tail 
is weaker against Edged blades. Earth Dragon's breath is significantly stronger 
than the Basilisk's, but it's ultimately your choice whether to play safe with 
the defence of Terra Guard, or take the offence of Luft Fusion and try to kill 
it quickly. Cast one of those Enchanter spells, in any case, and use the Terra 
Ward defence ability to halve damage from Acid Breath.

Destroying the Earth Dragon causes the wind to change direction and removes a 
swarm of Snowflies that were blocking an exit of The Yellow Wood. Both exits 
from this boss area take you to the same place, so you'll need to retrace that 
path to the Yellow Wood.

Yellow Wood
The southern exit is blocked by Snowflies until you defeat the Earth Dragon in 
Return to the Land. When that's accomplished, head through it to

Where Soft Rains Fell
Fire Elemental
You probably weren't expecting one of these. Head south again, obviously.

The Forest River
Basilisk, Zombie Knight
Magic Circle & Container

Chest (unlocked): Knuckle Guard grip, Circle Shield (H), Chain Mail (I), Sylphid 
Ring, Nightkiller gem, Acolyte's Nostrum x 3, Grimoire Agilite (Sorcerer spell, 
Invigorate)

There are three exits from the Forest River. The one just left of where you've 
entered is a warp shortcut back to the Faerie Circle. To carry on through the 
forest, you want to take the exit over the river. Use the Container to dump some 
of your booty if you're over-encumbered. 

Don't jump with weapons readied or you won't be able to catch ledges if you 
slip. Once you've lined yourself up to face the tall columns of rock, rotating 
with L1 & R1 for a side-on 'platformer' view of the leap you need to make is 
probably the easiest way to judge it.

If the Zombie Knights seem a little bit lost out here in the Forest, just think 
back a couple of cut-scenes. Hmm, now what fate might have befallen Faemdos and 
Lamkin, Grissom's Crimson Blade escort?

From the exit on the Zombie side, go north 

Lamenting to the Moon
Go north

Running with the Wolves
Go east

You Are the Prey
Go north

The Secret Path
Go north

Hewn From Nature
Sydney isn't your enemy in this battle, so just concentrate on destroying both 
Grissom and his summoned guardian.

Boss: Father Grissom, Crimson Blade cleric commander, HP 350 HP / MP 100
Human
Special Attacks: spellcaster

Prize: 'Shillelagh' (H) Wizard Staff, Swan Song accessory, Grimoire Annuler 
(Sorcerer spell, Magic Ward), Grimoire Gnome (Enchanter spell, Soil Fusion)

If you can, sap Grissom's mana points with chains or beat him senseless about 
the head to shut him up. His spells are good but his physical staff-swipes are 
very weak.

Boss: Dark Crusader HP 380 / MP 80
Evil
Special Attacks: Prostasia, Degenerate, Tarnish

Prize: 'Angel Wing' (H) Katana, Grimoire Deteriorer (Sorcerer spell, Tarnish), 
Elixir of Queens

The Crusader will cautiously cast Prostasia on itself and Grissom before closing 
to attack with its huge sword (a two-handed Katana it can wield with one hand). 
Air affinity magic and Break Arts have some of the best chances of denting this 
armour in the chest or arm, while a Piercing blow to the abdominal region can be 
the most damaging but risky physical attack. 

Partner (!): Sydney Losstarot HP ??? / MP ???
Sydney fights on your side for this battle, and proves reasonably useful by 
casting Prostasia on you to begin and then dividing the attention of your 
enemies if you stay near him. You can even dodge behind him physically to use 
him as a shield against Katana blows, if you wish. It is genuinely possible to 
defeat Sydney in this battle, albeit briefly, but ultimately rather pointless as 
he's nigh-immortal. He'll utter a message about it not being his time, then 
vanish in a blue column, but he'll be right back again in corporeal form for the 
closing cut-scene. The fight ends only when you defeat both Grissom and his 
Crusader.

Chest (unlocked): 'Corpse Reviver' (I) Firangi, Circle Shield (H), Demonia gem, 
Vera Tonic x 3, Cure Bulb x 3

Incidentally, you now have the spell Magic Ward - one of the most powerful 
protection spells in the game. Be sure to test it out as soon as possible, as 
you'll need to learn its advantages and drawbacks alike. Finally, leave by the 
north exit (the path near the chest) to enter

The Wood Gate
Magic Circle
The door here takes you back into the City Walls, but at the South side. A small 
warning: this place looks very similar to the Faerie Circle, but importantly has 
a heavy wooden doorway rather than a descending flight of steps.  Don't be 
tempted to think you've come full circle and rush back into the Forest, 
impatiently.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
City Walls South
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This corridor carries you straight into the Keep if you stick to it, so head 
there first and Save before exploring. You should also unlatch the doors as you 
go to increase your freedom of access in future.

The Weeping Boy
Lizardman

Swords For The Land
Lizardman, Blood Lizard HP 250 / MP 0
Dragon
Special Attacks: none
Another time challenge demands that you clear this room completely in the 20 
seconds allowed, otherwise you'll have to start again with all enemies restored.

In Wait of the Foe
The latched door here opens onto Villeport Way.

Where Weary Riders Rest
Lizardman

The Boy's Training Room
Just keep heading forward and the corridor will become part of the Keep rather 
than City Walls.

Later in the game, this room will contain a Dummy in the likeness of a Lizardman 
for training against Dragon-class creatures.






~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Keep
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Sigil doors here are for time trial bonuses only, and not essential to 
completion. You may also reach the Iron Maiden B1 from here. Regard the Keep as 
your base of operations for now.

The Soldier's Bedding
The south door leads to Iron Maiden B1, and you'll be coming back here shortly 
to use it. The north door is locked with a Gold Key: like the Rood Inverse 
gates, you won't be able to open this on first play. Just head east for now.

A Storm of Arrows
Minotaur (Kalmia Sigil), Dragon (Columbine Sigil)

Urge The Boy On
Earth Dragon (Anemone Sigil), Snow Dragon (Verbena Sigil)

A Taste Of The Spoils
Damascus Golem (Schirra Sigil), Damascus Crab (Marigold Sigil)

Wiping Blood From Blades
Death and Ogre Zombie (Azalea Sigil), Asura (Tigertail Sigil)

These eight doors lead to time trial rooms for the game's Record Time scores. 
It's not essential that you hunt down the Sigils that grant access in order to 
complete the game, and only two (Minotaur and Dragon) are actually accessible on 
first play. The challenges themselves don't even have rooms on the map proper, 
for % completion purposes. Instead you'll be warped to a previously visited boss 
room for the battle, and automatically returned to the corridor afterwards. See 
Second Play Secrets for obtaining the other six Sigils.

The Warrior's Rest
Magic Circle

Chest (needs Chest Key): 'Sweet Sorrow' (I) Francisca plus Gendarme, Tower 
Shield (I) plus Death Queen gem, Sallet (H), Sorcerer's Reagent x 3

You'll need the Chest Key from the Iron Maiden B1 to open the Chest. This area 
is perfectly safe until you try to open the door to Town Centre South, in the 
north wall. Knowing that you're near, and hiding, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern 
are ready.

Mini-boss: Jan Rosencrantz, ex-Riskbreaker HP 400 / MP 100
Human
Special Attacks: Sword Break Arts (Vile Scar, Cherry Ronde)
Most special chain effects and magic spells simply won't work on Rosencrantz, so 
don't bother trying anything too clever. This is a Riskbreaker duel, pure and 
simple, so pick your best weapon and just let him have it with Break Arts and 
short, damage-orientated combos. Rosencrantz will only yield and plead for 
surrender when you inflict enough harm, and he can also cast Heal or use items 
to undo those wounds. His use of Break Arts doesn't affect the amount of HP 
damage that you need to score against him before you're declared the winner.

Analyze will always miss, but if you use the Status screen to examine Rosencratz 
then you will at least discover that he packs a sword called Pussyfoot (looks 
like a Nepalese Kora, by the shape). There's no prize for this battle, and 
Rosencrantz slinks away quietly at the end.

WORKSHOP - Keane's Crafts
Tools for Bronze, Iron, Hagane
You can now reforge or upgrade your Hagane armour and weapons with the advanced 
furnaces here.






~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Iron Maiden B1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You can actually get away with visiting no more than the first two rooms of this 
level, as this is enough to win you the items you'll need to complete the game. 
The remainder of the Iron Maiden is essentially one big dungeon bash, a bonus 
area that offers plenty of tough monsters and puzzles to overcome in exchange 
for treasure: levels B2 and B3 won't even become accessible until you've beaten 
the game at least once. In any case, you won't be able to reach most of B1 until 
you've claimed the Tearose Sigil from the Abandoned Mines B2, but consider 
coming back later. The useful Chest Key is located in the Iron Maiden B1, in the 
possession of a boss.

There are no save points in the Iron Maiden, quite deliberately, so you'll 
simply have to retrace your steps.

Here you'll find the Kalmia and Columbine Sigils for the time trials (the rest 
are in B2 and B3). The Steel and Platinum Keys are only available on replay.

The Cage
Steps leading down...

The Cauldron
This is a locking trap room. You'll need the Tearose Sigil to pass through it, 
but the only items vital to game completion are right here.

Wraith HP 120 / MP 140
Phantom
Affinity: Dark
Special Attacks: Mind Blast, Poltergeist, Reaper Scythe

Prize: Mandrake Sigil, Grimoire Exsorcer (Warlock spell, Exorcism) 

The Wraith's tactic is to cast Silence on you first, then pile in with its 
specials (NB these count as physical rather than magical attacks, so they won't 
cancel your Silent state and Magic Ward won't save you). Like the Ghost, the 
Wraith has the ability to teleport.

Light-affinity Break Arts and spells like Spirit Surge will have an advantageous 
effect against this Dark spirit, but physical damage is still a good way to deal 
with Wraiths.


Gargoyle HP 120 / MP 0
Evil
Affinity: weakest versus Air
Special Attacks: Numbing Hook

Prize: Spirit Orison x 3, Vera Bulb x 3

When you're Numbed, your walking speed drops by 50% and you lose the use of all 
battle abilities. Cancel this by administering a Spirit Orison, or avoid it in 
the first place through timely application of the Ward defence ability.

One point about flying creatures: to reduce their movement to 50%, you should 
target their wings rather than their legs. Also, this high concentration of body 
locations in a small area can make them prone to multiple-target spells. It's 
worth packing a crossbow or a two-hand weapon to reach these fliers more easily 
with your physical attacks. 


The Wooden Horse
This is simple enough when you're going into Maiden - just drop down. When you 
want to get out then you'll need to return this way, so push the lowest movable 
rolling cube next to the stuck one so that you can push the upper rolling cube 
towards the crate. Stand on the cube and pick up the crate, placing it one ledge 
higher. Use the crate to jump higher.

Starvation
Another locking trap room.
Wraith
Prize: Kalmia Sigil, Grimoire Venin (Poison Mist)
Mummy
Prize: Shamshir (H), Vera Bulb x 3
Mummy
Prize: Chamkaq (H), Vera Bulb x 3

The Breast Ripper
You've reached a crossroads. To maximise your treasure retrieval, try east, then 
west, then head south.

The Wheel
Dark Skeleton, Shadow HP 170 / MP 260
Evil
Affinity: Light and Dark
Special Attacks: casts single-target elemental attack spells
Oddly strong in both Light and Dark affinities but weaker in others, this flimsy 
psychedelic spirit is physically weak enough to be polished off from a distance 
with a decent crossbow. The four examples in the game will each stick to casting 
one of the following, in order: Vulcan Lance, Fireball, Lightning Bolt or Aqua 
Blast.

Chest (magic lock): 'Bull Shot' (H) Griever plus Bhuj Type, Baselard (H), Djinn 
Amber Gem, Valens wine

The Branks
Dark Skeleton, Shadow

Chest (needs Chest Key): 'Balalaika' (H) Balbriggan, Bec de Corbin (H) blade, 
Dao Moonstone gem, Volare Wine


The Pear
To cross to the west side using the Cloudstone, you need to add its momentum to 
yours in order to propel yourself to the other side. That means making your leap 
at the very last moment, just before it stops moving.

To make the return journey, jumping that same distance to the Cloudstone, you 
need to gain some height first. Destroy the two crates in the corner to make a 
space; slide the free push crate right in front of the doorway; then climb into 
the space of the exit passage itself (being careful not to leave the room 
altogether) and push the crate out to the very lip of the chasm. A Faerie Wing 
or Invigorate spell can also help your jumping here.

To climb to the upper level, remove the two 1-point rolling cubes from play by 
pushing them anywhere once, then roll the 3-pointer to the wall and left one 
tile. Jump up and left to grab the wooden catwalk. It's tricky but possible, and 
Invigorate can help again. Alternatively, roll the 3-pointer left two tiles only 
- some players find this jump easier, as it's straighter.

The Judas Cradle
Dark Skeleton, Shadow

Chest (magic lock): 'Sonora' (H) Bastard Sword plus Power Palm, Bullova (H) 
blade, Ifrit Carnelian gem, Prudens Wine

By now, it should be sinking in that practically every room in the Maiden sounds 
like a really naff death-metal B-side.


The Whirligig
Dark Skeletons

Spanish Tickler
Boss: Wyvern Knight, HP 520 / MP 0
Dragon
Special Attacks: Flame Breath

Prize: Elixir of Dragoons, Elixir of Queens, Chest Key

This creature has a remarkably high INT (150), despite the lack of magical 
power, and the result of this is a greater resistance to spells. Given that the 
Wyvern Knight has no real elemental weaknesses to exploit either, melee combat 
is a much better route to take. To that end, you'd be wise to turn Blunt weapons 
against its head and Edged weapons against the Neck and Body. If you're packing 
something like a spear, run around to the side of the Wyvern Knight and you'll 
find a weakness to Piercing weapons in its Tail. 

Here's the correct location of the Chest Key. I've tried to mark all chests in 
the game with the correct method of unlocking them so a text search for Chest 
Key should, in theory, turn up everywhere you need to use it.

Heretic's Fork
Dark Skeleton
Be sure to use Eureka to pick out those Freeze and Gust Traps before your rush 
your enemy.

The Chair of Spikes
Dark Skeleton, Wraith
Another locking trap room, just for the hell of it.

Blooding
Dark Skeleton
Again, the presence of only one enemy should alert you into casting Eureka. This 
room has the deadlier Eruption and Death Vapour traps.

Bootikens
Getting down here is simple enough - keep falling. But how do you get back up? 
Like this.

The highest ledge to which you can climb still leaves you one cube-height short 
of grabbing the top. So you need to get a blue magnetic cube onto that ledge, to 
stand on.

There's only blue magnetic cube you can pick up to start: stand in the space by 
the wall, lift the cube from its ledge under the push crate and place it over 
the blue cube to your left side. Now step up, grab the other blue cube and place 
it to hover in the space where you stood to move the first cube. By stepping up 
onto this you can grab the first cube. Carrying it, step down onto the ledge it 
came from and put it down just below the push crate. Now take the floating blue 
cube behind you. Putting one cube on the other, you can climb up and grab the 
hovering cube.

Burial
Boss: Iron Golem HP 420 / MP 0
Evil
Special Attack: Granite Punch

Prize: Columbine Sigil, Elixir of Dragoons

This incarnation is tougher in body only, and hasn't learnt any new tricks over 
its stone predecessor. Blunt weapons and Air-aligned attacks will still have the 
advantage. You shouldn't have too much trouble.

Burning
Bit of a red herring, that pile of crates. You only need one push crate ever, 
either to jump up to the door or to jump over to the Cloudstone when it's at the 
nadir of its cycle. You can even make it to the Cloudstone without a crate at 
all, although it's advised if your agility is low. Regardless, there's a rather 
nasty Terra Thrust trap in roughly the spot that you'd cross upon landing safely 
and dashing for the exit.

Cleansing The Soul

The Ducking Stool
Dark Skeleton, Shadow

Chest (unlocked): 'Red Viking' (H) Kora plus Power Palm, Pole Axe (H) blade, 
Marid Aquamarine, Virtus wine

The Garotte

Hanging
Dark Skeleton, Wraith
Not only is this door sealed with a Steel Key, but there's a Platinum Key door 
just inside so it's pointless venturing any further until you've got that too. 
In fact, you may find yourself hopelessly trapped. These are available on replay 
only, I'm afraid. See Second Play Secrets if you're ready to pursue it.






~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Town Centre South
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You have a choice of paths to take from here. Now that you have the Bronze Key, 
you'll find a door in the Rue Morgue that you can unlock to reach the Abandoned 
Mines B2. This is the general direction to take to proceed to the next stage of 
the game. However, if you've obtained the Mandrake Sigil from the first rooms of 
Iron Maiden B1 then you may also begin to explore further accessible regions of 
Undercity West via City Walls East. You'll have to do both at some point, and as 
the creatures introduced in the Undercity are much weaker than those of Mines 
B2, there's an implicit suggestion by the game itself that you should tackle the 
Undercity a little way first. You only need to explore far enough to grab some 
key items, including a Cattleya Sigil.


Forcas Rise
Crimson Blades
When you've finished exploring the Valdiman Gate and Rue Aliano to either side, 
climb the eastern steps of the inner courtyard and clamber up onto this 
building's low, flat roof. Make a leap across the rooftops to the north-eastern 
corner. There's a high exit here to Rue Faltes. If your agility is too low to 
make the jump, cast Invigorate or use a Faerie Wing from the Snowfly Forest. And 
make sure you're not still holding weapons in Battle Mode, of course.

Valdiman Gate
Magic Circle
A latched doorway here will later offer access to City Walls South.

Rue Aliano
Crimson Blades
The door to The House Khazabas is locked with a Mandrake Sigil, obtainable from 
the beginning of Iron Maiden B1. 

The House Khazabas
Chest (magic lock): Eye of Argon x 10, Grimoire Muet (Sorcerer spell, Silence)

Zebel Walk
Like Dinas Walk,, you just have to jump and get through.

Rue Volnac
One door is latched, but on first visit you can pass through City Walls East to 
Undercity West. The latched door simply adjoins City Walls East at a different 
point.

Rue Faltes
That portcullis isn't opening. Take the archway.

Rue Morgue
Crimson Blades
When ready, use your Bronze Key on the gate and descend to the Abandoned Mines 
B2.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
City Walls East
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Train and Grow Strong
This room boasts another door locked with the Rood Inverse, available on replay 
only.

The Squire's Gathering
Zombie Mage, Dark Skeleton HP 150 / MP 25
Undead
Special Attacks: none

The Invaders Are Found
Dark Skeleton
Unlatch the door here for that secondary access to Rue Volnac.

The Dream Weavers
Zombie Mage, Dark Skeleton

The Cornered Savage
Gargoyle
Three gargoyles, no less. The staircase leads down to Undercity West.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Undercity West
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fear of the Fall
Boss: Dark Elemental HP 380 / MP 160
Phantom
Special Attacks: Dark Chant

Prize: Cattleya Sigil, Grimoire Meteore (Warlock spell, Meteor)

Spirit Surge and other Light-affinity attacks or Break Arts will be your best 
weapons against the Dark Elemental, unless you're confident enough of your 
physical prowess to stick to bashing away with a Phantom-slaying weapon. Dark-
aligned and Piercing attacks will have less effect.


Sinner's Corner
Magic Circle
Dark Skeleton
Dark Eye HP 100 / MP 90
Phantom
Special Attacks: Dark Chant, spells

The Children's Hideout
Dark Eye, Gargoyle

Chest (unlocked): 'Sweet Death' (S) Shamshir plus Knuckle Guard, Footman's Mace 
(H) blade, Steel Bolt grip, Spiked Shield plus White Queen gem, Sallet, Undine 
Bracelet, Speedster gem, Grimoire Dissiper (Sorcerer spell, Dispel)

Nameless Dark Oblivion
Dark Eye, Dark Skeleton
This passage connects this area to the rest of Undercity West, but is sealed 
with the Silver Key at one end. The Washing-Woman's Way is on the other side.

Corner of Prayers
One door is sealed with the Gold Key. It leads to Hope Obstructed, which in turn 
leads to the Abandoned Mines B2. If you haven't been able to get a 100% rating, 
you may have left this route unexplored.

Hope Obstructed
This staircase leads downs to Work, Then Die in Abandoned Mines B2. Follow it to 
the end and you'll enter Bandits' Hollow via the final, unexplored one-way door.





~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Abandoned Mines B2
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is a large and testing level, with more than half of it devoted to a major 
time challenge. Follow it to the very end, though, and you'll reach Town Centre 
East. Beating the final boss will also give you a Tearose Sigil that will enable 
you to explore more of the Iron Maiden at your leisure.

Corridor of Shade
Enter here from the Rue Morgue, Town Centre South.

Revelation Shaft
As you enter, push the crate over the edge and use a weapon to destroy the top 
carry crate. Drop down onto the push crate and pick up the remaining carry crate 
on the stack. Take it to the chasm's edge and line it up with the high 
Cloudstone, then place the nearby carry crate on top on top. From this high 
vantage you should be able to jump across and grab the Cloudstone, but use 
Invigorate to aid you if in you're having trouble.


Gambler's Passage
Orc HP 240 / MP 25
Human
Special Attacks: none
Besides a weakness to Blunt weapons and a strength versus Piercing ones, this 
demi-human hog-beast is also slightly more susceptible to Water affinity 
attacks.

The Miner's End
Boss: Air Elemental HP 380 / MP 160
Phantom
Special Attack: Lightning Bolt

Prize: Grimoire Foudre (Warlock spell, Thunderburst), Mana Bulb

Soil Fusion will enhance your weapon attacks against this creature. If you've 
acquired anything else, Gnome items on weaponry and Sylph items on armour and 
accessories will help. If you're suffering too greatly from his Lightning Bolts, 
try timing the Windbreak defence ability to halve damage.

The Treaty Room
Magic Circle
Poison Slime, Slime
Damned slime! Use that Magic Circle, as you're about to undertake a time 
challenge.

Way Of Lost Children
Orcs, Orc Leader HP 280 / MP 110
Human
Special Attacks: casts Herakles, Prostasia
Unlike his minions, the shamanic orc leader possesses great defence against 
Blunt weapons and is weaker against Edged blades. 

Here's the time challenge: twenty rooms, numerous dead ends, and just two 
minutes to find the right path through to the Bandits' Hollow. Don't worry if 
you get lost or foul up: the worse that can happen is for you to be teleported 
back to the Treaty Room. It's not a locking door challenge either, so you're 
free to return to the Treaty Room of your own volition before the two minutes 
expires, if you wish.

I haven't spotted any bonus for doing this perfectly on first attempt, and 
correspondents have reported same, though I still need to know if there's a time 
reward. The fastest route through from the Treaty Room is south (to Way of Lost 
Children), east (to Desire's Passage), east (to Senses Lost), north (to Crossing 
of Blood), east (to Fool's Gold, Fool's Loss), north (to Tomb of the Reborn), 
north (to The Lunatic Veins), and finally, unavoidably, east (to Bandits' 
Hollow). Calling up the Main Menu pauses the timer as well as the game, so 
you've got a chance to get your compass bearings.

If you want simpler directions from rushing through then that's forward through 
the door of The Treaty Room, left, forward, left, right, left, then keep going 
to the end. 
If you choose to explore a little first, there are three treasure rooms where 
you'll find chests and traps: these are Hidden Resources (requires Chest Key), 
Acolyte's Burial Vault and Suicidal Desires.

One last tip: if you've become reasonably strong, it's often faster to stop and 
kill the creatures in your path before they get a chance to slow you down with 
their own attacks. Otherwise, gulp down a Faerie Wing and watch that Riskbreaker 
move! 

Hidden Resources
Mimic, Imp HP 150 / MP 70
Evil
Special Attacks: casts Poison Mist and Stun Cloud
These can be quite tough against a crossbow that is Piercing rather than Blunt, 
but you're in such a small space that a hand-weapon can be as effective. That 
would mean letting them near enough to cast spells, but the Restoration spell 
becomes available in this room.

Chest (requires Chest Key): 'Eviscerator' (S) Kudi, Tower Shield (I), 
Breastplate (I), Fusskampf (H), Trinity gem, Saint's Nostrum x 3, Grimoire 
Mollesse (Shaman spell, Restoration)

Desire's Passage
Slimes
There's a Cure Panel trap just before the door, if you're suffering from any 
status ailments.

Senses Lost
Orc Leader, Orc
Cast a preparatory Eureka for two Traps before attempting to dash through this 
dog-leg.

Crossing of Blood
Orcs
Diabolos and Death Vapour traps guard two exits. Very often you'll find this 
beneficial, as one Orc regularly stumbles into a trap upon spotting you.

The Abandoned Catspaw
Slimes

Hall of Contemplation
Orcs, Orc Leader

Hall of the Empty Sconce
Orc, Orc Leader

Acolyte's Burial Vault
Mimic, Imps

Chest (unlocked): 'Affinity' (H) Corcesca, Framea Pole, Circle Shield (H), 
Gauntlet (H), Hellraiser gem, Grimoire Vie (Shaman spell, Surging Balm)

The Fallen Bricklayer
Not a pub I'd recommend, by the sound of it.

Cry of the Beast
Orcs
Staircase down to...

The Ore of Legend
Orcs, Orc Leader

Suicidal Desires
Mimic, Imps

Chest (unlocked): 'Dog's Nose' (H) Footman's Mace plus Sarissa Grip, Target Bow 
(I) blade, Barbut (S), Gnome Bracelet, Elixir of Queens, Vera Bulb x 3

Hit that Eye of Argon or Eureka before you take a single step, because this is 
the second-deadliest trap room in the whole of Vagrant Story. Predictably 
enough, there's a Trap Clear panel to deactivate the lot, and you'll find that 
it's the lone tile high to your right.

Lambs to the Slaughter
Slime, Poison Slime
There's a Heal Panel trap on the south wall that's worth bumping into purely for 
its RISK reduction.

A Wager of Noble Gold
Orc, Orc Leader

Kilroy Was Here
Orc Leaders

Fool's Gold, Fool's Loss
If you approach from the west then you can drop straight down to the left via 
that wooden catwalk. Those coming from the south will have to wait around for 
the Cloudstone to ferry them across.

Tomb of the Reborn
Boss: Earth Elemental HP 380 HP / HP 160
Phantom
Special Attack: Vulcan Lance

Prize: Grimoire Gaea (Warlock spell, Gaea Strike)

Equip the Gnome Bracelet for better defence. If choosing between the Earth 
armour of Terra Guard and the Air weapon enchantment of Luft Fusion, bear in 
mind that the latter would probably bring about the end of the battle in a 
shorter time. Also, this is an opportunity to try out your level 1 Thunderburst 
spell and also throw in any Air Break Arts you have before chaining a single 
combo.

If you're watching the clock move into the last few seconds then also keep in 
mind that the time challenge doesn't end with this boss. Oh, no. You still have 
to negotiate two more doors before it's all over, so be ready to get cracking as 
soon as you're done turning this chap to sediment.

The Lunatic Veins
Slimes
Almost there... The exit you're about to take is a one-way door rather than a 
Latch, so you won't be able to return after passing through. If you haven't 
grabbed all of the treasure, now's the time to consider letting yourself be 
teleported back the Treaty Room for another exploratory foray.

Bandits' Hollow
Magic Circle
Blood Lizard, Imps
Cast Eureka to see both a Trap Clear (which is the panel beside the lower 
rolling cube) and a Heal Panel. You must avoid stepping on the Trap Clear if you 
want to use the Heal Panel.

If the thing is still there when you try to climb up, you may need to shoot out 
or spear the push crate that's wedged into a corner of the top ledge. Destroying 
it makes a lower wall edge that's one cube closer for you to grab when you jump. 
Often, as with the Wolves back in Wine Cellar, the Imps will attack and destroy 
it beforehand if they consider it to be in their way. Also on this tile, under 
the crate, is the Heal Panel - assuming you haven't removed it with Trap Clear.

The second one-way door won't be opened on your first play, and there's also an 
Iron Key door that's inaccessible right now. That leaves only one wooden door 
you can take, but save, save, save first.

Dining in Darkness
Boss: Sky Dragon HP 675 / MP 0
Dragon-class
Special Attacks: Tail Attack, Thunder Breath
Remove that Gnome Bracelet! You want the Sylphid Ring instead. You may have 
acquired a Gaea Strike in the past few minutes, but the area of effect is too 
pitiful at level 1 to reach many hit locations. So equip a Piercing weapon for 
the head or an Edged weapon for its tail, decorate your grip with Dragonite and 
cast Soil Fusion to get the job done quickly. Windbreak its breath attack if you 
can and keep your RISK low or you may be surprised by the power of this boss. 
Mind you, doesn't it have the loveliest translucent wings? Ahem.

Prize: Tearose Sigil, Grimoire Demance (Warlock spell, Drain Mind), Elixir of 
Queens

While the Tearose Sigil will let you have a crack at the goodies held in the 
Iron Maiden (recommended), the Drain Mind spell starts you on the road to self-
sufficiency and should be tried out as soon as you find yourself short of mana.

Subtellurian Horrors
There's a bit of work to do before you're free. Jump to the Cloudstone, using 
Fixate to aid you if necessary. The other side of the abyss is blocked by a wall 
of crates, but the rightmost stack is only two cubes high rather than three and 
leaves a vital gap. You can reach that gap by jumping and grabbing when the 
Cloudstone is lined up against the right-hand wall. If your agility is low then 
use Invigorate or Faerie Wings to aid you.

If you happen to have a crossbow on you then you can make the second jump even 
easier by shooting out some of the crates beforehand.

Ignore the frictionless cube here, as it's only useful when you're coming back 
from the other side and want to get back up to the door.

To return to the surface, you'll take a very short detour through two new rooms 
of Undercity West. 

** NB Additional Room for 100% Completion
Work, then Die
This staircase isn't accessible on your first play, as it's on the opposite side 
of the other one-way door that leads into Bandits' Hollow. To get to it, you 
need to come down from Hope Obstructed in Undercity West (requires the Gold 
Key). Follow it to the end and you'll enter Bandits' Hollow via the final, 
unexplored one-way door.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Undercity West
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Crumbling Market
Magic Circle
Dullahan
Unlatch the door in the Crumbling Market as you pass through (it leads to the 
Hall of Poverty), but don't take it yet - head east instead. And if you fancy a 
laugh, try Eureka too. You won't be going *there* on first play, oh no.

Tears From Empty Sockets
Dark Skeleton
... The title might lead us to believe that this is one unhappy Lea Mondean, but 
don't fall for it. He'll still have your guts on the cobbles as soon as look at 
you, so be the cause of those tears and head on up to the fresh air of Town 
Centre East with a light conscience. The only other exit is a Gold Key door that 
you'll ignore for now.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Town Centre East
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you have the Cattleya Sigil then this will likely become your new base of 
operations for the rest of the game. Your next port of call is Undercity East, 
where you'll retrieve items and powers to open up more of the map. For now, 
explore both the Town Centre East and the City Walls North to get the lay of the 
land.

Rue Lejour
Magic Circle

There's a side door here to the City Walls North. The more obvious path leads to 
Town.

Kesch Bridge
Magic Circle
Crimson Blades
The other end of City Walls North can be reached through the wooden door here 
(some spatial dilation/contraction, surely?). You're now entering a region with 
the toughest Crimson Blades in the game, but that's also a euphemism for 
'Crimson Blades with the most desirable kit'. I spent hours robbing and looting 
these fellows, and I think it paid off on the whole.

Point o' fun: if you can kill a Crimson Blade in mid-air while he's jumping over 
the water, he'll fall with a resounding splash. Hurrah!

Rue Crimnade
Crimson Blades
Previously you met a defensive-type Crimson Blade magic-user: this area and the 
next contains offensive-types. Don't get carried away on the old RISK.

A regular trick with these areas is that each Crimson Blade is weak to a 
different weapon. If you enter an area with three Blades then regardless of what 
you're packing - Blunt, Edged or Piercing - you'll find that one takes lots of 
regular damage, one takes half that damage and one takes almost nothing at all. 
Getting rid of the easiest first and leaving the toughest till last for a one-
on-one means that you don't have to worry so much about escalating RISK.

WORKSHOP Junction Point
Tools for Wood, Leather, Bronze, Iron, Hagane
This workshop is sealed with the Cattleya Sigil, won from the Dark Elemental in 
Fear of the Fall. Read back over Town Centre South if you haven't got it yet.

Rue Fisserano
Crimson Blade (magic-user)
Look up: the street continues, but above head height. There's another useful 
workshop here too. A Heal Panel on the upper level will help you recover from 
unexpected Fireball / Aqua Blast damage.

Some fun you can have here is that the Crimson Blade jumps down to the lower 
level to attack. Usually you can hit him as he's falling through the air, but 
grab the ledge and pull yourself up just as he's launched himself off. He can't 
get back up (although he can cast spells if you're in line of sight) and you can 
run on through.

WORKSHOP Metal Works
Tools for Silver, Damascus
Finally, an opportunity to combine and upgrade your Silver weapons. Even if you 
can't enter Junction Point, you can still repair all of your equipment here.

Shasras Hill Park
Crimson Blades
Follow the path to the end and you'll find a small outhouse with a gate and 
staircase leading down. You can use your Bronze Key here to unlock it for 
Undercity East.




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Undercity East
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Your foray into the eastern Undercity has the overall goal of acquiring the Iron 
Key, not to mention the Stock, Eulalia and Melissa Sigils that will open up 
areas here and elsewhere.

Hall To A New World
Quicksilver HP 120 HP / MP 70
Evil
Special Attack: casts Silence

See, you don't need to be tough to be impressive: 'disturbing' is a far more 
threatening characteristic. Though by far the most dangerous thing about these 
creepy girl-doll puppets is that they work in tandem with other creatures, 
rushing in with Silence spells just as you're about to protect yourself. Magic 
Ward is well worth the mana cost in areas like this.

They might be nimble, but a competently anti-Evil crossbow delivering a bolt to 
the Quicksilver's Piercing-sensitive head can tangle their strings long before 
they enter spell-casting range.

Place of Free Words
Mini-boss: Harpy HP 210 / MP 160
Beast
Affinity: Dark
Special Attacks: Blasphemous Howl, Banish, Devitalise

Prize: Grimoire Intensite (Enchanter spell, Herakles), Angelic Paean x 5, Cure 
Tonic

Now, that's the kind of superb reinterpretation of a Western mythical cliche 
that only the Japanese have the correct measure of understanding and distance to 
pull off...

The Undercity's two-faced Emu of Doom is actually quite docile and lethargic, 
and it's possible to run through a room of them without disturbing them. Ruffle 
their feathers, though, and you'll quickly invite a Howl that places a Curse on 
you. The Curse reduces all of your attributes on an indefinite basis, and the 
only way to undo it is to cast Blessing - a Shamanic spell only found towards 
the end of the game - or to use an Angelic Paean. Appropriately, Angelic Paeans 
can be won by killing more Harpies.

The Encyclopedia isn't kidding about that "spell of death", either. Although it 
uses it with thankful rarity, the Harpy also possesses Banish, an instant death 
spell of Dark affinity. If either your RISK or your Light affinity is high then 
it's almost guaranteed to work, too - phut! Game over. There may also be a rule 
that the Harpy only uses its Banish as a last resort - if you let it get an 
attack in when it's almost dead - but I've yet to establish this. Leave them or 
finish them in one is still a good rule to observe.

Upon winning Herakles, you have a STR-booster spell that will not just cancel 
Degenerate but actually reverse it. 


Bazaar of the Bizarre
Boss: Lich HP 130 / MP 110
Evil
Special Attacks: accomplished magic-user

Prize: Summoner Baton (I), Agales' Chain accessory, Eulelia Sigil, Mana Tonic, 
Elixir of Mages

Prize ability: Teleport

Liches traditionally open with Silence and then bring out the heavy guns of 
multiple-target magic. They also possess immunity to many spells. Furthermore, 
they can teleport (see the Ghost entry for dealing with that). All of this puts 
them among the deadliest opponents in Vagrant Story, and if you regularly let 
your RISK run high then you'll fall to one of these sorcerers more often than 
not. 

Their only elemental weakness is Physical, so Talos Feldspar and Titan Malachite 
gems will improve your weapon damage. As the armour on the arms and head tends 
to be simple INT-raising wizard gear, target your weapons here. If you can 
maintain a Magic Ward while wielding a weapon with range enough to catch them 
before they disappear, you stand a better chance of killing them first. 

When the Lich is defeated, he'll pass on his secret of Teleportation. In game 
terms, this lets you warp between Magic Circles and so cut out too much trekking 
back and forth. Access this new ability through the Magic sub-screen of the main 
menu. If your mana point maximum is still relatively low, you may have to make 
several jumps to reach your destination.

Noble Gold and Silk
Quicksilvers
An Iron Key is required to open the eastern door, so you'd best go and get it...

Weapons Not Allowed
Lich, Quicksilvers

Chest (unlocked): 'Mojito' (B) Falchion, Stone Bullet grip, Titan's Ring 
accessory, Grimoire Nuageux (Sorcerer spell, Psychodrain), Iron Key

Now that you have the Iron Key, many previously inaccessible areas will open up. 
You'll need to revisit Undercity West for the Clematis Sigil, but there's also 
treasure to be had if you warp to Bandits' Hollow.

A Knight Sells His Sword
Harpy, Quicksilver
Using your new Iron Key, you can reach the City Walls North from this room's 
north exit. You'll pass through Traces of Invasion Past before reaching From 
Squire To Knight. Finish exploring the available rooms of Undercity East first, 
though, as you need the Melissa Sigil from here.

Gemsword Blackmarket
Boss: Nightstalker  HP 260 / MP 110
Evil-class
Special Attacks: Solid Shock, Sorcery spells

Prize: Melissa Sigil, Grimoire Eclairer (Sorcerer spell, Enlighten), Angelic 
Paean

This is an overgrown Dullahan, by any account, but one with sufficiently good 
armour to prevent it being a total pushover. It also has a very deadly special 
in the Solid Shock spell (Magic Ward will nullify it - once, but it has Physical 
affinity so it can be Guarded too). Keep using Herakles and Prostasia to counter 
its spells and you may keep it so busy with magic that it neglects its sword 
attack. If you can cast Degenerate and Tarnish on it, then your chance of 
landing more hurtful blows in the chest or abdomen will greatly increase. 
However, Nightstalker has a supply of Snowfly Draughts to dispel magical effects 
even when Silenced. 

The Pirate's Son
Harpy, Quicksilver
Eureka will reveal a simple Gust trap.

Sale Of The Sword
Lich, Quicksilver
Chest (unlocked): Ahlspies grip, Pushpaka accessory, Grimoire Tardif (Sorcerer 
spell, Leadbones), Stock Sigil

The Stock Sigil is for a treasure bonus. When you get a free moment to 
investigate, teleport to the Blackmarket of Wines in Wine Cellar and re-enter 
the Minotaur's arena.





~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
City Walls North
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When you're done in the Undercity East (i.e. you have at least the Iron Key, the 
Melissa & Eulalia Sigils), take the Iron Key exit from a Knight Sells His Sword 
and follow City Walls North right to the end to get back to town. This way 
you'll come across the door locked with Clematis Sigil, which is what you need 
to find next. Rest up in town, repair your weapons and get ready to go look for 
it.

This is also a great place to hone your Dragon-slaying weapon, as just popping 
between town and city walls respawns the enemies in each area.

Traces of Invasion Past
This staircase is locked with the Iron Key and connects City Walls North with 
Undercity East.

From Squire to Knight
Blood Lizards
If you come straight here from Rue Lejour, you'll find one exit leading to 
Traces of Invasion Past (locked with the Iron Key) and another heading north.

Be For Battle Prepared
Blood Lizards

Destruction and Rebirth
Dark Elemental
This time challenge asks you to beat the guardian in 20 seconds or try again. 
There's no special prize.

From Boy To Hero
Blood Lizards
For now, the wooden door leads out onto the steps of Kesch Bridge, Town Centre 
East. The end door is locked with the Clematis Sigil on your first visit, but 
you'll be coming back here soon enough to reach a different part of Undercity 
East that can't be accessed from the Shasras Hill Park ingress.

Later in the game, this room will house a Dummy in the shape of a Ghost for 
training against Phantom-class foes. Given the relative rarity of Phantoms, it's 
one of the more useful dummies.

A Welcome Invasion
Dark Elemental
By using the Clematis Sigil to open the door in From Boy To Hero, this last 
staircase of City Walls North grants access to a new part of Undercity East.




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
USING THE IRON KEY
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You now have the Iron Key, plus Teleportation ability. You can take advantage of 
both to acquire the next item you'll need, plus some bonus treasure.

Finding the Clematis Sigil
Teleport to The Sunless Way in Undercity West and head west to Remembering Days 
of Yore. There you'll find a door that opens with the Iron Key.

Larder for a Lean Winter
Lich, Dark Skeletons

Chest (unlocked): 'Balin's Revenge' (H) Tabar plus Heavy Grip, Vambrace (H), 
Elixir of Sages, Alchemist's Reagent x 5, Clematis Sigil

Bonus Treasure
Teleport to the Bandits' Hollow in Abandoned Mines B2 and take the Iron Key door 
right next to the Magic Circle.

Delusions of Happiness
Blood Lizards

Chest (unlocked): 'Pirate's Mate' (H) Sabre Halberd plus Sarissa Grip, Kris (D) 
blade, Heater Shield (I) plus Orion gem, Swan Song accessory, Vera Potion x 3, 
Grimoire Salamandre (Enchanter spell, Spark Fusion).





~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Undercity East
from City Walls North)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Greengrocer's Stair
An innocuous staircase at the moment, but we'll come back to this...

Where Black Waters Ran
Lich, Quicksilvers

Arms Against Invaders
Harpy

Catspaw Blackmarket
Lich, Quicksilvers
Use Eureka to uncover traps. There's one placed directly in front of the chest, 
but a Trap Clear tile on the right can be activated to remove it.

Chest (unlocked): Round Shield (H) plus Dark Queen gem, Grimoire Paralysis 
(Sorcerer spell, Stun Cloud), Aster Sigil

You'll find that the Aster Sigil opens up a door in Undercity West. More on that 
after this intermission...

The Greengrocer's Stair revisited
When you next enter this room in order to leave this cul-de-sac of Undercity 
East, you're immediately confronted by two of Guildernstern's top-ranking 
commanders. Father Grissom's corpse is also present, and they (not unfairly) 
blame you for his death. The fight itself actually takes place in the previous 
room, Where Black Waters Ran...

Lady Neesa & Sir Tieger HP: unknown / MP unknown (800 HP total)
Human
Affinity: Fire (Neesa wears a Salamander Ring), Water (Tieger wears an Undine 
Bracelet).
Special Attacks: Break Arts, recovery spells

This is a little bit unusual, as the overall aim seems to be to inflict an 
undisclosed total of damage rather than taking out one, or the other, or both. 
Neither can be defeated outright, and both will submit when just one falls. 800 
HPs seems to be the ballpark figure for how much damage you need to inflict.

A prior Magic Ward is advised, as both have decent spells (initial attacks can 
be healed with your now-plentiful items). Because of their accomplished fighting 
skills, a few Break Arts of your own will invite less danger than a chain that 
takes your RISK over 25. Start with Break Arts and spells first.

If you can then succeed with chains that sap mana points or cause Silence, you 
may attempt to tackle them physically. Paralysing effects are also potentially 
successful against these warriors if you prefer to use magic. Even a missed 
Analyse tells you enough to know that they have slight elemental affinities, so 
use that to your advantage. 
There's no real victory here, as both will beat a hasty retreat on yielding and 
victory carries no prize beyond escaping this section. When you attempt to leave 
by the Greengrocer's Stair one more time, you'll be greeted by a final cut-scene 
before being allowed to continue.




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Undercity West
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now that you have both the Iron Key and the Aster Sigil, you're ready to embark 
on a trek through the Limestone Quarry. This journey will take you all the way 
to the ancient Temple of Kiltia.

To begin, you should return to The Sunless Way again (you can teleport straight 
to its Magic Circle, for ease of travel). There you'll find a door locked with 
the Iron Key. Proceed to the Limestone Quarry.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Limestone Quarry
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This isn't a straightforward journey, as this subterrain has a couple of 
alternative paths, but follow it to the end and you'll reach the Temple of 
Kiltia.

Dark Abhors Light
A simple staircase.

Dream Of The Holy Land
Boss: Water Elemental 380 HP / 160 MP
Phantom
Special Attacks: Aqua Blast

Prize: Grimoire Avalanche (Warlock spell, Avalanche), Elixir of Sages, Acolyte's 
Nostrum

Equip the Undine Bracelet and place Undine Jaspers on your shield. Decorate your 
Phantom weapon with Salamander Rubies, and cast Spark Fusion if you have it. 
Aqua Blast attacks are single-target spells, so even at high RISK you should be 
able to halve the damage with an Aqua Ward defence ability. If you take your 
time positioning the area of effect grid, even a level 1 Flame Sphere can be 
placed so as to encompass many hit locations on a Water Elemental's body.

You've done the Elemental thing many times by now, so this battle shouldn't even 
require pause for thought.

It's possible to take on the Water Elemental as soon as you acquire the Iron 
Key, of course, but the door behind the Water Elemental is sealed with the Aster 
Sigil. If you haven't got it yet, you should obtain it from Undercity East as 
accessed from the City Walls North.


The Ore Road
Magic Circle
Here you get a choice of east and west routes. Both lead the same way, meeting 
at the Dreamer's Climb, but you'll want to see both if you're looking for 
percentage completion on a replay. The east route also boasts a treasure room.

Atone for Eternity (west route)
Gremlin HP 190 / MP 90
Evil
Special Attacks: casts Silence, Herakles, Prostasia
If you were hoping to get by with just a crossbow against Evil creatures, this 
Hieronymus-Bosch-inspired demon will show up your folly. It's pretty tough 
against everything of magical origin, even Light, so strong physical attacks are 
often your best chance of knocking them out of the air. Some of these flying 
fiends are packing Damascus armaments, so it's not even safe to assume you're 
now hard enough to withstand repeated attacks. Regard this as a chance to build 
up a good one- or two-handed melee weapon against the powers of utter Evil.

By the way, cast Eureka to reveal a trap here too. No point embarrassing 
yourself as well by looking like a complete novice.

Stair To Sanctuary
Wraith

The Fallen Hall
Ogres
The first time you enter here, this locking trap room will present a time 
challenge with two Ogres to defeat. On the second visit you'll meet two 
Dullahans.

The Rotten Core
Gremlins
This room feeds into the Dreamer's Climb, the meeting point of both routes.

The Air Stirs (east route)
Gremlins
Head east again for the treasure room.

Bonds of Friendship
Air Elemental

Chest (unlocked): 'Matador' (H) Shiavona plus Counter Guard, Cranequin (H) 
blade, Side Ring grip, Brigandine (H), Rondanche (H), Lionhead accessory, 
Snowfly Draught x 5, Grimoire Benir (Shaman spell, Blessing)

Bacchus is Cheap
Wraith

Screams of the Wounded
The first time you enter here, this locking trap room will present a time 
challenge with two Dullahans to defeat. On the second visit you'll meet two 
Ogres.

The Ore-Bearers
Gremlin
Again, the suspicious presence of just one Gremlin should have you sticking to 
the spot until you've cast Eureka.

The Dreamer's Climb
There's a Heal Panel trap under the cubes in the north-east corner of the 
floating island.

In a reversal of this room's normal format, you'll be coming from the lower 
levels in order to reach the high exit. The idea is to jump to the central 
island and stack one blue magnetic cube on another, thus creating a hovering 
edifice of three cubes in height. From the top, you can reach the wooden 
catwalk. If you find yourself coming from the side with the long jump, it's 
possible to make the leap to the island by moving the available crate two tiles 
nearer for a diagonal jump. Faerie Wings and Invigorate will help as usual.

Sinner's Sustenance
Wraith

The Timely Dew of Sleep
Gremlins
There's a Gold Key door here that, yet again, you'll have to ignore on first 
play.

The Auction Room
Magic Circle
A most welcome save point.

The Labourer's Bonfire
You need the Melissa Sigil to leave this room by its high exit. You should have 
picked that up from Gemsword Blackmarket in Undercity East.

The obstacle course itself requires another leap to a central island. If you're 
coming from the side of magnetic cubes then stack them for a jumping point to 
the island. There's a Paralysis trap next to the cubes, but should you be stung 
then the effect will probably have worn off by the time you leave.

Use a weapon to destroy just enough of the island's crate stack to allow you to 
jump up. If you're already on the island then you'll need a spear or crossbow to 
pick them off, aiming high. If you then climb up onto the stack to find yourself 
short, the obvious trick is to enter and leave through the nearby door of Stone 
and Sulphurous Fire to restore the crates (you'll definitely want to enter it 
once on your way through Labourer's Bonfire anyway, as it's a treasure room).

Stone and Sulphurous Fire
Earth Elemental

Chest (unlocked): 'White Lady' (H) Morning Star plus Runkasyle, Balbriggan (H) 
blade, Power Palm grip, Talos Feldspar gem, Acolyte's Nostrum x 3, Grimoire 
Egout (Warlock spell, Drain Heart)

If you haven't tried a Thunderburst spell yet, now's your chance.

Torture Without End
Boss: Ogre Lord HP 560 / MP 110
Beast
Special Attacks: Tornado, also casts Degenerate, Surging Balm

Prize: Shiavona (I) plus Power Palm, Braveheart gem, Morlock Jet gem, Agales' 
Chain, Elixir of Queens, Mana Tonic x 3, Cure Potion

The Tornado is pretty rare, and mostly he's content to cast Degenerate and run 
away. Counter it with Herakles. If he tries to use Surging Balm then casting 
*any* spell on him will negate it (If you haven't got Drain Mind then Antidote, 
of all things, is cheapest on MP, but feel free to try more ambitious spells). 
His sword does pack a punch, but if you keep him busy enough by undoing his 
magic then you can effectively waste his time while getting in Break Arts of 
your own. Like all Ogres, he's not only a left-hander but he also possesses a 
natural combo-breaking ability: if you persist with a chain, you'll often score 
nothing but misses.

Way Down
Magic Circle
Take the east door before heading south.

Excavated Hollow
Water Elemental

Chest (unlocked): 'Angel Face' (H) Balbriggan plus Heavy Grip, Elephant grip, 
Casserole Shield (H), Beaded Anklet, Missaglia (I), Grimoire Flamme (Warlock 
Spell, Flame Sphere)

Must be a promotion on Balbriggans this week.... Otherwise, this represents a 
major treasure stash. Beaded Anklet is one of the finest stat-booster 
accessories you can equip on first play; the Elephant grip is the best Edged 
haft for Axes; and using the Grimoire Flamme item will take your Flame Sphere up 
by one level, increasing its damage, range and area of effect.

Parting Regrets
Wraith
I recently discovered that if you run down one of these staircases with the 
right timing, the Wraith is so busy teleporting to the wrong spot that you can 
get all the way through without being touched. Nyar, nyar!

Corridor of Tales
Gremlin, Ogre
Despite the name, there aren't many interesting anecdotes about this place at 
all.

Dust Shall Eat The Days
The idea here is to use the Cloudstone's forward momentum to help you jump to 
the other side. The problem you'll encounter is that the other side is hedged in 
by two stacks of crates, so you've also got to aim for the narrow gap between 
the two (a Dual Shock can help you here).

Check the Cloudstone's path from all sides and you'll see how it moves down-
forward and up-back, as well as left-right. You've got to use this down-forward 
part of the motion to jump from. If you try to jump from the Cloudstone while 
it's moving left-right, you'll be thrown sideways yourself when you leap.

Also, if you're packing a Crossbow (you'll need the range of a Windlass or 
higher) then you can pick off the crates as you slide back and forth and clear a 
space on the other side. This will make your final jump much easier.

If you're coming back the other way, get rid of the top cube and roll the lower 
one two tiles towards the wall. It's just possible to jump and grab the edge.

Hall of the Wage Paying
Boss: Snow Dragon HP 720 / MP 0
Dragon
Special Attacks: Tail Attack, Frost Breath

Prize: Grimoire Barrer (Enchanter spell, Aqua Guard), Panacea, Elixir of Queens

Trying to catch you out, the Snow Dragon has a Piercing weakness in the Tail and 
an Edged weakness in the head. That doesn't make too much difference at this 
stage, though. It's still too huge for a level 2 Flame Sphere to frighten it, so 
stick to Fire-affinity weapons and Break Arts with as much Water-aligned defence 
as you can muster. If you've a grip that you can plaster in Dragonite then you 
might even stand a better chance on pure physical terms.

Tunnel of the Heartless
This isn't immediately obvious, so have good look around first. But prepare to 
be disappointed.

There's a high exit door in the far wall, and a tall pier of rock extending from 
the front of that exit, that you need to jump to. Except that, ordinarily, you 
can't. It's too steep to reach from below, and if you try to leap across you'll 
discover a cube-shaped gap that just stops you getting the height you need. But 
if the gap were filled, you'd have sufficient height to make it across. So what 
you need to do is move the push crate all the way around to fill that gap.

As you enter, slide the lower frictionless cube forward to the central wall. 
Climb up and push the higher frictionless cube on top of it to make a stack. Now 
walk to the other crates and push the leftmost rolling cube to the right, off 
the top of push crate, so that it fills the gap below the second rolling cube. 
Push that second rolling cube twice so that it rolls onto the first one and then 
onto the floor.

You can now edge the push crate out and then onto the central wall with spaces 
around it that allow you to push it right, along the edge of the wall. When it 
gets to being lined up with the blue frictionless cubes, you can stand on them 
to push it inwards. From there it's just a matter of getting the push crate into 
the gap.

Alternatively - and this is the killer - just eat a Faerie Wing and jump from 
where the push crate should go. It works, and I got my finest ever rating of 
Little Green Man (7 seconds) by solving it in this cheapster fashion. Tcha!




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Temple Of Kiltia
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There's plenty of plot going down here, but your tangible goal is to prise the 
Silver Key from the Minotaur Lord and then use it to reach the final boss of the 
Temple. You'll eventually surface at the doors of the Great Cathedral, where the 
final chapter of Vagrant Story takes place.


The Dark Coast
A tile-wide ledge running along the left side of the room is your only means of 
crossing the chasm: jump from the very edge of the floor before it dips a tile 
and you can just make it up onto the narrow platform. If you cast Eureka then 
you'll see the Trap Clear panel next to the wall that's very easy to drop onto, 
but avoid it if you can. It actually removes a Heal Panel on the other of the 
chasm.

Hall Of Prayer
Mini-boss: Last Crusader HP 480 / MP 240
Evil
Special Attacks: Sorcery spells

Prize: Agria's Balm accessory, Grimoire Purifier (Shaman spell, Clearance), 
Alchemist's Reagent x 3

This final incarnation of the Dullahan wields a huge Damascus Rhomphaia in one 
hand, so you have to keep your RISK down - with Vera items if necessary - or a 
single blow will gouge away half your health or more. If you're hoping to 
Reflect Damage or use Impact Guard, note that he's got two different attacks; a 
slow swing and a faster thrust.

Despite his spellcasting ability, this isn't the most intelligent suit of armour 
in the world. That means your own Sorcery spells will stand a good chance of 
affecting it. One clever technique you might try is to cast Degenerate and / or 
Tarnish on the Crusader, then Silence him before he can undo them (he doesn't 
have Magic Cancel items). This buys you time and keeps his damage low. He'll 
necessarily get physical with you, but if you Herakles and Prostasia yourself 
then you'll have a much better chance of scoring damage against him. Or you can 
just keep using Sorcery spells on him and let him waste his efforts on undoing 
them while you're hitting him. Most chains will fail after a couple of hits, so 
it isn't always easy to hurt him if you're packing the wrong weapon: this 
particular enemy is weakest against Edged blades, though I also recommend a 
Piercing Gale Break Art if you're packing a sword.

If you pass through this room on later occasions, you'll be faced with a Water 
Elemental and a Nightstalker instead.

If you haven't got the Silver Key yet, take the right-hand door. 

Those Who Drink The Dark
To jump over the chasm, use the high column. If you're coming back from the 
other way, push a crate to the edge for the same effect. There's a Silver Key 
side-door here, but ignore it for now: it actually leaves the temple and enters 
Ants Prepare For Winter in the Limestone Quarry.

So, the side door isn't an option. The only way to get up that high wall at the 
north end is to move that highest push crate straight towards it and use the 
extra height to jump up. One problem: when you make the first push, it drops 
straight down and you can't get behind it to push it any nearer.

To solve this, you need to make a small side-platform at floor level out of two 
adjoining crates.

Push the topmost of the stack of two to the west by one tile, so that it fills 
the hole in front of the two crates wedged next to the west wall. Now destroy 
the innermost (northern) of those wedged crates so that you can push the 
remaining one out (south) over the filled gap. If you keep pushing (south) by 5 
tiles, you'll find enough space by the chasm at the entrance to get around it 
and move it (east) two tiles into the centre of the corridor, with a space on 
each side.

Now smash the crate that you used to fill the gap and move the remaining floor 
crate to the east by one tile. You'll see that this crate left on the floor has 
enough space on each side to move it in and out (east and west) of where it is. 
This slider movement will be instrumental. See, if you then push one of the 
other crates onto this slider, and then again (north) onto the floor, you can 
move the slider sideways to make a space behind the one that's just hit the 
floor. This enables you to push the floored crate towards the high wall (north). 

So, using the slider, move those two remaining southern crates (north) onto the 
floor and towards the high wall, one at a time. That means moving the nearest 
one east by one tile and then north by eight tiles (pausing to move the slider 
west by one tile to give you that space). Now restore the slider (east one tile) 
and move the second crate north by nine tiles. You've still got that highest 
crate in place, but you've now made a two-tile ledge at floor level.

More precisely, when you've pushed the high crate north by one tile towards the 
high wall, and it's dropped down, you then want to be able to push it out east 
one tile, onto a wooden crate on the floor, then north one tile by sliding it 
onto the other crate; then back in to the west one tile, onto the raised stone, 
so that there's a single gap behind it that will let you push it all the way to 
the wall.

There. Simple. You'll be wanting diagrams, I suppose.

The Chapel of Meschaunce
Mini-boss: Minotaur Lord HP 540 / MP 0
Beast
Special Attacks: Giga Rush
Intimidating as he looks, this particular Minotaur is rather more than 50% bull. 
Go in ready for a straight physical fight, no tricks, and the whole thing should 
be over in seconds. His attacks are unexpectedly weak and he doesn't have too 
much in the way of armour if your Beast weapon is Edged. You may even find you 
now have a Break Art that knocks whole slices of steak off him, finishing the 
job without need for a normal attack.

Prize: Titan's Ring, Elixir of Queens, Alchemist's Reagent x 3

Chest (unlocked): 'Frost Maiden' (H) Mjolnir plus Runkasyle, Sonic Bullet grip, 
Ghost Hound accessory, Cure Potion x 2, Mana Potion x 2, Silver Key

Just like the Iron Key, the Silver Key opens up a few bonus treasures to hunt 
down in a moment of diversion. For now, head back to the Hall of Prayer and take 
that opposite door.

The Resentful Ones
There are two puzzles here, and it's quite a trek to reset the room if you foul 
up on the second. 

Puzzle 1: the rolling cubes here have only a limited number of moves, and the 
idea is to use them as stoppers for the frictionless cube so that you can slide 
it into position. The idea here is to get the frictionless cube right next to 
the push crates, just between stack and high wall, so that you can push the top 
crate onto the frictionless cube, one tile closer to the high wall.

To do this, start with the rolling cube that's furthest from the blue cube and 
push it north two tiles, then west one tile. Now push the other rolling cube 
north one tile, east one tile, south one tile. With this set-up, just three 
pushes on the frictionless cube to east, north and east again will set it up 
ready to take a push crate on top.

For the second stage, move the rolling cube to act as a stopper for both 
frictionless cubes so that they line up with the crate stack. Close up the gap 
between the two blue cubes. Then push the top crate over the two sliders. From 
this nearer two-cube stack, you can jump diagonally for the exit platform.

To do this, push the rolling cube north one tile and then west three tiles. 
Slide the first of the blue cubes west so that it stops next to the push crates. 
Now push the rolling cube north two tiles and repeat with other blue cube. Close 
the gap by push the northern blue cube south and then move the top push crate 
north by two tiles.

(Time-puzzlers will realise that you can use the rolling cube itself to fill in 
for the second frictionless cube, by pushing it north and east instead after the 
first frictionless cube is in place).

Those Who Fear The Light
Air Elemental, Gremlins

Chamber Of Reason
A superb cut-scene is followed by...

Kali HP 500 / MP 500
Human
Special Attacks: Raven Eye (poison), Caesar's Thrust (paralysis)
By spreading individual weaknesses across her body - and only slight ones, at 
that - Kali is tough against magic, and almost impossible to hurt with a 
multiple-target spell. However, this also means that there will be body 
locations that you'll have a chance of hurting, regardless of weapon type. Your 
best bet here is to stick with whatever you've been sharpening on the Crimson 
Blades, bolstered with a Haeralis gem and backed up by a Titan's Ring or Rusted 
Nails accessory for maximum damage against Human-class opponents. Her legs and 
head have no particular weapon strengths, otherwise.

Her major weakness to Sorcery is the Leadbones spell, and you can really annoy 
her with this. If she kicks off with Degenerate, don't forget that you can 
reverse it with Herakles. This actually keeps her very busy, undoing either 
spells on her or spells on you. As long as you keep your health up whenever it 
drops then even her big hitters shouldn't knock you for six.

Exit To The City Centre
Just step onto the rising podium to activate it. There's a Magic Circle coming 
right up, so don't rush back to the Dark Coast. When you arrive at Plateia 
Lumitar, it's a good idea to teleport back to Junction Point and get yourself 
organised for the Great Cathedral. You'll also find a few old doors on your 
explored maps that are now unlockable with your new Silver Key.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Town Centre East
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Plateia Lumitar
Magic Circle
The double doors are unlocked, and will take you into the Great Cathedral 
itself. If you jump over the water to the small doorway and follow the path, 
you'll get back to the latched door near Junction Point.

Gharmes Walk
Besides the treasure, there's already a Dummy here in the shape of Gremlin that 
you can use for training against Evil-class creatures.

Chest (requires Chest Key): 'Klondike' (S) Falchion plus Power Palm, Round 
Shield (S), Angel Pearl, Sorcerer's Reagent

The House Gilgitte
Chest (unlocked): 'Ribsplitter' (H) Khukuri plus Power Palm, Dragonhead 
accessory, Faerie Wing x 5, Audentia wine

This is the house that had its door rattled in an earlier scene with Merlose and 
Hardin. That very door is also the one you've seen latched in Rue Crimnade, just 
above Junction Point, so now you can unlatch it and open up the whole of Town 
Centre East. That's that solved, then.

You don't really need it, but if you want to go back to Plateia Lumitar via this 
path then there's a block puzzle to solve. Facing south, climb up and push the 
highest cube onto the floor so that it falls in front of the treasure chest. 
There are two wooden crates in the formation of four, and if you smash the upper 
one then you can push the free blue cube left and forward to the wall. Now break 
the lower wooden crate and use the gap to move the other blue cube on the floor 
right and forward to the wall, mirroring the other one. The very first cube you 
dropped into place will act as the stopper for doing this.

All but one of the cubes is now wedged in place. Stand on the right frictionless 
cube and push that last free cube towards the high left wall. It'll drop to form 
a two-high stack, from the very edge of which you can *just* jump 'n' grab. 
Honest. Invigorate if necessary.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Using The Silver Key
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On first play through the game, the Silver Key opens up a number of locked doors 
in previously explored areas. Only two will lead to extra treasures.

(1) Teleport to the Dark Tunnel in Abandoned Mines B1 and go north to Everwant 
Passage. Here you'll find a locked Silver Key door to Mining Regrets.

Mining Regrets
Cast Eureka to spot a Death Vapour in advance.
Chest (unlocked): 'White Cargo' (D) Voulge plus Winged Pole, Mana Potion x 3, 
Polaris Gem

(2) Teleport to The Auction Block in the Limestone Quarry. Take the Silver Key 
door to Ascension.

Ascension
Wraith
Stairs leading down...

Where The Serpent Hunts
Gremlins
The east exit from this T-Junction leads to a treasure room, the west to a 
corridor leaving the Limestone Quarry.

Drowned In Fleeting Joy
Dark Elemental
Chest (unlocked): Falarica Bolt, Plate Glove (H), Elixir of Mages, Mana Potion x 
5

Ants Prepare For Winter
This corridor leads to Those Who Drink The Dark in the Temple of Kiltia.

(3) For completeness, you might want to unlock the Silver Key doors in Undercity 
West: one door joins Nameless Dark Oblivion to The Washing-Woman's Way, while 
the other in Sewer of Ravenous Rats leads to Beggars of the Mouthharp and Corner 
of the Wretched. The latter is ultimately a dead end, though, sealed with the 
Rood Inverse and inaccessible on first play.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Using The Stock Sigil
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BlackMarket
Use Teleportation to warp back to Blackmarket, in the Wine Cellar. The Stock 
Sigil will unseal the door that once led you to the game's first proper boss.

Minotaur Zombie HP 720 / MP 0
Undead
Special Attacks: Giga Rush
Don't reach for your Beast-smacking blade: this is the very same boss you slew 
before, but it's been reanimated by the power of the Dark. Draw the weapon you 
reserve for Undead foes instead. If that's a short weapon, you might like to 
take the fight to the steps in the far corner or run around the side of the 
Zombie to reach its upper body locations more easily. In all other respects, 
this should be a familiar fight with the only real difference being the enemy's 
increased HP.

Prize: Rune Earrings, Cure Bulb x 3, Elixir of Queens

Chest (requires Chest Key): Circle Shield (D) plus Titan Malachite gem, Cure 
Potion x 3, Vera Potion



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Great Cathedral
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Quick check - on first play, does your progress show roughly 75% of the map 
complete before you enter here from Plateia Lumitar? If it does, you've pretty 
much found everything there is to see before this final temple.

There aren't many normal enemies here, just bosses, so pack for Phantoms, 
Dragons, Evil and Undead (pretty much in that order of importance). Because the 
Cathedral sends you up and down between levels continuously, this section 
describes the order of rooms in more of a walkthrough style than previous areas, 
as a floor-by-floor description would be hopelessly confusing.

Into Holy War, L1
The Cloudstone lift is inoperative when you first arrive, so you'll have to take 
the stairs down to Struggle for the Soul, B1. You'll need to defeat the Iron 
Crab to activate the lift, which leads to the Convent Room, L2.

Struggle For the Soul, B1
There's a Heal Panel Trap here that will also reduce your RISK. Just jump up and 
down for repeated use...

There are exits on either side of the canal. You can either go straight ahead to 
meet Ifrit, or jump over the water for Marid. My advice is to take Marid first 
and explore as far as the Poisoned Chapel, then return and tackle the rooms with 
Ifrit and the Iron Crab before taking the lift up from The Victor's Laurels. 

Order & Chaos, B1
Marid HP 500 / MP 180
Phantom
Special Attacks: Avalanche lvl 3, Aqua Blast

Prize: Elixir of Queens, Grimoire Avalanche

Marid is essentially a king Water Elemental, so use your previous Fire-offence 
and Water-defence tacti