Chapter 2 : Alena and the Journey to the Tourney
Zamoksva Castle
Tsarevna Alena is a tomboy that intends on leaving her hometown on an adventure, to explore the world. Her father Tsar Stepan and companions Kiryl and Borya do not want her to leave.Go down the stairs after talking to everyone on the king’s floor, then west for a Medicinal Herb. Talk to Kiryl in the east part, then search a dresser for a Phial of Holy Water. Talk to the guards, and go back to your chamber (take the stairs up by the king). Search Alena’s dresser for a Feathered Cap and Medicinal Herb. The Feathered Cap in particular is a boon for Alena’s defense. Now search those planks and have Alena kick them. As you flee the castle of Zamoksva, Borya and Kiryl will come chasing after you.
You now have a party of three; a fine yet raw figher in Alena, a healer in Kiryl, and a powerful wizard in Borya. Ragnar did not require much strategy being the only playable character in his chapter, and his chapter is very short compared to Alena’s.
Zalenagrad Town
Enter Zalenagrad Town and go to the weapon shop in the northwest for a Seed of Agility. Not much else to do here with your lack of funds so build up a few levels for your characters. Buy a few Divine Daggers for Alena and Kiryl. Too bad they are not Thorn Whips like in Dragon Warrior IV Alena’s Chapter , they were much cooler.
Taborov
Next town to the northeast is a cursed town, Taborov. The females are used as sacrifices here. Check the well here for a Mini Medal – they do not show up in your normal inventory but you will learn more about them later. Also check the chief’s house to hear more about the situation and tell him you’ll destroy the monsters. Don’t go there quite yet though.
An Antidotal Herb and Leather Hat are in his house. Then look around the rest of the village for a Seed of Agility and Seed of Life. You will want to build up to level 4 or 5 before you go on and challenge the monsters in Taborov at the north end of town. Speak with the shaman at the church to go on with it.
The shaman will ask twice. Then, enter the sacrificial box. Sure enough, enemies come out. Two Foo Dogs and a Master Kung. As usual you will probably want to kill off the dogs on the side one at a time, with Alena’s attacks and Brey’s Crack. Once you get the Master Kung by himself, use Sap on him to lower his defense immensely. Master Kung can use attack magic but he will likely try to damage control by healing himself, so just hammer away. He does not have much health, and you will gain 150 EXP and a Seed of Life.
You then spend the night and a new day begins in Taborov. Check out the item shop for some useful weapons, though the only one not at Zalenagrad is the Hunter’s Bow.
Vrenor Town
Head through the back of Taborov. Then as you get out, go northeast to find Vrenor Town. Check the church in the southwest of the village to save (and search the garden here for Seed of Life). In the north house as you enter there is an Antidotal Herb, and 10 Gold in the Elf’s house in the northwest. Talk to him about the Armlet of Transmutation. This is a key item and it is at the Vault of Vrenor south of town.
At the Inn, a couple of shady guys kidnap “Princess Tsarevna“. But it must be a fake princess since obviously Alena is the real princess. Grab the Plain Clothes in this room, then follow those thieves out of town.
Vault of Vrenor
South of the town of Vrenor is a cave leading to Vrenor’s Vault. Take the south route upon entering for a Chimaera Wing. Take the west path now until you see a pedestal to the south, with a Seed of Agility. From here you can go straight north for 360 Gold Coins. Take the southwest path now as it wraps around to the north, all the way to the stairs down.
Take the southeast path here, but go west when you can for a Phial of Magic Water. Finally, go south to find the mysterious Armlet of Transmutation. Exit the Vault of Vrenor either with Evac or walk out.
Back at Vrenor, talk to the kid in the southeast part of the village (during the day). He mentions a letter about bringing the Armlet to the graveyard at night. So, wait for nightfall and enter Vrenor. The two guys who abducted the ‘princess’ are here, with said princess. The enemies now have the Armlet of Transmutation, who knows what will happen with that. But the fake princess confesses, she is just Anya a travelling entertainer. However she does leave you with the Thief’s Key, a very important item like any key you come across in this game.
A new day begins in Vrenor. You hear a lot about the southern Bazaar, you may or may not have already ventured down there. Also check out the new shop in the east part of town. I wouldn’t worry about the Iron Lance but the Chain Sickle may be worth buying for Alena, though it is not that much better than the Divine Dagger for example.
Desert Bazaar
This Bazaar is southwest of the Vrenor Vault. Tough enemies lie in this area so make sure you stay healed up as you encounter battles. The Bazaar has plenty of weapons and armor that are worth checking out, namely the Holy Lance for Kiryl and the Poison Moth Knife for Borya. Both weapons are the best you will find for these two in this chapter, and the Moth Knife can paralyze enemies, essentially rendering them useless the rest of the battle. Not much at the Armor shop compared to the weapon shop, but the Scale Shield is probably the best you will find for Borya. Ignore the Bronze Armour, it is expensive and you can find something even better for Kiryl coming up.
In the south part of the Bazaar are a bunch of pots. Check them out for a Seed of Strength, a Medicinal Herb, and a Piece of Horse Manure. The north building has a Seed of Agility. Speak to the soldier in the center part of town, toward the west end. He says the king has fallen ill, so return to Zamoksva.
Castle Zamoksva
Sure enough, your father cannot speak. He is fine but he cannot seem to talk. Speak to the Chancellor who says you should talk to Old Starek in the back of town. First go upstairs and into the king’s room with the Thief’s Key to grab 30 Gold. Then jump out of your room window and go to the back of the castle, and now that you have the Thief’s Key you can enter the old man’s house. He mentions Josef Starling the poet in the nearby village. Get the Chimaera Wing and Seed of Magic in his house, then exit the castle.
Zalenagrad
The nearby village of Zalenagrad is where you find that poet. He is above the church on the deck. Josef Starling says that he used Birdsong Nectar from the Desert Bazaar. Hm, use a Chimaera Wing back there to talk to people at the Bazaar. Talk to the item shop owner at the Bazaar, and she mentions the Elf Tower to the southwest. The elves would have some Birdsong Nectar.
Birdsong Elf Tower
This tower is quite a walk southwest, near the coast. Straight north as you enter and down the stairs, there is an Inn here! Makes this place great for levelling up, but the enemies are tough here namely the Flying Doctors. But since you have the Thief’s Key, take the northwest door and the stairs up.
As you get out on 2F, head west and south for a set up stairs up. Grab the 1200 Gold Coins and Seed of Strength, then return to the 2F stairs. You are to work your way to the far southeast corner to get the stairs to 3F.
Take the north route right away for a Chimaera Wing, then go west but be sure not to fall in the pitfall area. Up the stairs, then up another set of stairs and you are at the top. Two female elves are here and one of them drops the Birdsong Nectar. Daisy and Oopsy flee so grab the Nectar and just use a Chimaera Wing to fly to Zamoksva.
Zamoksva
After administering the Birdsong Nectar to the King (choose item – use), he will wake up and tell of a dream he had. An evil monster from the underworld appeared in his dreams to scour the land. He continued to have the dream, told the chancellor about it, then immediately lost his voice.
Endor
Back to the Desert Bazaar, and go east from here. A small shrine is nearby. If you went here before, the guard stopped you from continuing. Now you can take the teleport to the south shrine, which puts you near Endor. Directly southeast and you will be in Endor. Tough enemies are outside here though, like Cyclowns, Skeleton Swordsmen, and Restless Armours. Another interesting creature here is the Metal Slime, which is hard to hit (you can only do 1 damage) and runs away often, but if you kill one you will gain a boatload of experience points.
In Endor, just go straight north a few screens until you reach the king in the castle. He wants you to win the Endor Tourney, because the winner can marry his daughter. But of course he does not want anyone to marry her so he wants Princess Alena to win.
Go down these stairs, then take the stairs going down just north of there. Open the boxes for 3 Gold and a Phial of Holy Water. Then leave the castle area of Endor.
Take one of the side doors to the west or east, then head north until you reach the arena (you will know by the music change). Sell your Chain Sickle or whatever at the item shop, so you can pick up the Iron Claw. This is Alena’s second best weapon. Take the north exit to leave Endor, but re-enter the town.
As you enter Endor Town, go west for 5 Gold, then enter the southwest building to find a Silk Robe that you should then sell. By the weapon shop is an Antidotal Herb. Enter the big house in the east part of town. 40 Gold coins on the first floor and then go to the Inn for a Seed of Resilience and 16 Gold.
Downstairs is the Casino. You have the slots, Battle Arena and Poker. Poker is probably the best way to make coins, since you can do the double-or-nothing bet. Make sure to save before you go here so you do not burn too many gold coins (you can always just reset if it goes bad). It is not as easy to manipulate the poker game but if you get a bunch of double or nothings you can maybe buy a Liquid Metal Shield, which is the best shield in the game and can only be equipped by Magicians. It makes a HUGE difference the rest of the game for someone like Borya.
Not much to do in Endor now besides the tourney. However even with the Iron Claw it is difficult so you may wish to level Alena up to level 13 or 14. Metal Slimes help greatly with this, you only need to kill one or two. This will also help in outfitting the rest of the party, as Kiryl could use Iron Armour and Iron Shield. When Borya learns Crackle, this will mow down enemies especially Armoured Scorpions.
Endor Tourney
Walking up the stairs in the tournament area (with the Inn, Item Shop, etc) will begin the tourney. Load Alena up with Medicinal Herbs, and she must have the Iron Claw. The Feathered Cap and Chain Mail are your best defensive bets. You need to defeat 5 battles just as Psaro the Manslayer has.
Attila the Hunk is the first battle. Not a difficult fight here at all, he should take 3 hits at most and less if critical hit. Quick Draw McGore is fight number two, and he shoots you with his bow. His attack is a little stronger and he may take one more hit than Attila, but should still not prove a problem for you. He drops a Medicinal Herb when defeated.
Prima Donna is the next fight. She likes to defend, and cast some spells like Crack, Sizz, or Midheal. Her attacks are weak but she will likely prolong the battle with Midheal. Eventually though she runs out of MP so you should be able to outlast her, and often times you can gain a critical to put her away early on. She too drops a Medicinal Herb. Samson Knight is the next battle and he’s a tough one. His attacks take off about as much as yours (16-18). And he also drops a Medicinal Herb after a grueling battle.
The final battle is against the Abominable Showman. This snowman fights with three doppelgangers of himself, so you need to guess which one it is. You only need to hit him a couple of times, and more often than not you’ll get lucky and guess the right one eventually. Though that was only the case the first time I played – the next time I chose Showman C about 8 times straight and was wrong. But that’s why you bring the herbs, incase you get unlucky.
After this, Psaro the Manslayer is no where to be found for the final fight. King Norman of Endor anoints Alena the winner of this contest. As you begin to leave Endor, a soldier from Zamoksva tells you to return and then disappears. As you Zoom back to Zamoksva, it is empty. Go to your room, jump off onto the balcony and then leave. Alena’s chapter ends, Torneko’s begins.