Clues in Onlak

What's the obsession with legs?





A sunken shrine and mermaids, huh? Very suspicious.





This guy needs to clean himself up a bit and quit whining. I'm sensing that he really isn't a go-getter. Though he does sound like a lot of fishermen I know.



That sounds very odd.



More talk about mermaids, and you need oxygen, huh? How interesting that we were just told about Oxyale, which seems to have the same root as oxygen. I don't know though, that sounds pretty dangerous. How safe can a submarine made out of a barrel be?





A robot, huh? Sounds like something else we'll need to investigate.





I remember meeting that Unne guy, he was annoying. Now we find out he wants something. Yet one more thing to be on the lookout for. If you can't do something yourself, just wait until the Light Warriors do it for you.

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Moving right along

After defeating the wily Marilith we flew our airship around looking for other interesting places to visit. We came upon the town of Onlak.



Our first impression wasn't very positive.





These next few conversations seemed to be related.









I think we should investigate!

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The Fiend of Fire!

With our new found power we felt bold enough to journey to the center of the volcano and the source of it's unrest.

Another crystaline object with an orb in front.




Uhhh. I guess that's us.




Oooo, glowy.



That's a lot of swords.



When you get up close and personal it's even more swords. That's one mean looking lizard lady.



We defeated her without too much difficulty. Though if you look at Inky's HP he did take the brunt of the beating. I guess she didn't like the hurtful ice spells he kept casting. Though we did find it odd that she seemed weak against ice attacks. Wouldn't you think the surroundings and indeed her body would just melt the ice? It must have something to do with magical properties we didn't understand.



A job well done.




Let's get out of here.

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Into the volcano

On our way to the volcano we ran into some Wyverns



Finally we arrived at the entrance to the super-heated mountain. Doesn't the path look inviting?





Well, inside it was slightly less inviting. And you think hot and humid summers in Minnesota are bad?



Ooo. A fire elemental called a Pyros. We had a feeling we'd be seeing lots of these while trekking around this lair of lava.



Hydras are nasty creatures. Fire hydras are hot, nasty creatures.



Don't you love it when caves full of creatures leave rooms full of chests full of equipment around? (and no, that's not implying that this game is unrealistic)



Remember that sandworm? Yep, this is a hotter version.



Alright! Level 20.



That didn't stop us from slogging through the remains of more monsters. Here is a fiendish Hellhound teamed with an Ogre Mage.



Let me guess...it's like a lizard, only on fire.



Ooo, ooo, ooo. Yes, you in the back...that's correct, it's a giant whose personage is engulfed in flames.



Man, how many ways can I say something is on fire? I'll just let you think of one I haven't said and then you can apply it to a dragon. Try to include the word "red".



Holy schmoly! Level 21. This is a lucrative trip!

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Fun with monsters

Just for kicks we decided to head back to the Citadel to kill more monsters and gain more experience.

On our way we met up with some Barettas.




A giant Sand Worm sprung from the ground beneath our feet. (doesn't it make you think of that Kevin Bacon movie Tremors, or I suppose it could remind you of Dune as well)




More evil cats!



Woohoo! Level 19.



Now it was time to head to Mt. Gulg to defeat the fire fiend.

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King Bahamut

We didn't feel worthy, even with the Rat's Tail. If you looked like this (our lowly "original" forms):



Would you feel up to talking to such a regal beast?

So we stepped up to speak with the king of the Dragons, Bahamut.




He noticed the token from the Citadel of Trials.



Ooo, we're going to be real heroes now!



Powerful dragon magic at work.



We were pretty pumped, as you can imagine.



Look at us now!



We then proceeded to kick some butt and gain a new level, 18 baby!



Okay, I want you to take a look at Pinky in that last picture. Notice the arms raised in triumph. It wasn't always like that. The celebration used to be a little different. Look at the third graphic on the second to last row of graphics on this page. That is the old celebration. Tell me it doesn't look like the White Wizard is giving the bloody corpses of dead monsters the bird. What's the point? They're all dead, you've hacked them to chunks of shark bait, why do you feel the need to degrade them further?

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We have the Rat's Tail, now what?

So we had to find someone that would recognize and appreciate the acheivement that is...carrying around a nasty rat's tail.

A short distance to the east of the Citadel of Trials was a group of islands dotted with caves. We figured that this was as good a place as any to check out.










So into the caves we went and what should we find? A dragon! Walking around a store room!



With trepidation we approached him and attempted to strike up a conversation.



Whew! Thank goodness that we know we're truly brave--the proof is the Rat's Tail. After cleaning out those treasure chests (the dragon didn't seem to mind, strangely enough) we searched through the other islands. The caves were filled with more peaceful dragons. A few of them mentioned that the brave should speak to their king, Bahamut. (I had this strange, strange feeling that I will be calling this Bahamut into battle to fight for me in the far, far, far future)

Finally, we found the king and presented ourselves before him.

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Through the Trials

Through the halls we roamed. Traversing a maze of teleportation devices.

Along the way we met up with horrible man-cats called Rakshasas.



Then a group of mummies and their King.




These Horned Devils came after us with an astonishing ferocity.



Yes, Level 17! That should help with whatever the final trial would be.



These Clay Golems could take a lot of punishment.



Ah! A group of Medusas!



Nightmares, though they darkened our vision, were not too much to worry about.



Finally, did we reach the end of the maze, where only a chest and a throne awaited.



Obtained the WHAT? I guess it must be important. Luckily it went straight into our "Important" item group, so we weren't tempted to throw the nasty thing away.



As we stepped towards the throne our final test leaped forth--the deadly Zombie Dragon!



Fortunately, the Zombie Dragon didn't prove to be very difficult to deal with. As is well known, undead creatures have a weakness to fire and daylight type spells. Thankfully both of our mages had a plethora of applicable spells to choose from. Also, freshly picked up in the Ice Cavern, Clyde was wielding a Flaming Sword.

Also, though we knew not why or how, if we stepped away from the throne and then made a move for it again, and fresh Zombie Dragon or two leaped from the shadows to challenge us. We were able to gain lots of experience and each one defeated dropped its own hoard of gold! After getting bored of chopping dragons to haggis we decided to head out.

On our way back to the airship we met up with another giant insect called a Remora.



We also were attacked by a deadly Manticore

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Let's try the Trials

Hmmm, there must be a way to upgrade ourselves even beyond just gaining levels. At some of the magic stores they had spells that were only available to "White Wizards" and "Black Wizards". We only had a White and Black Mage so we weren't allowed to use them. Logically it follows that there must be a way to better ourselves. We saw an interesting looking castle while flying around and decided to investigate. The one shortcoming of the airship was that it could only land in a clear plain. No forests, no deserts, no swamps. So we landed as close as we could to the castle and headed in.



On our way we met some horrible monsters.
Like Sabretooths and Weretigers. Some of the deadliest cats we had ever seen.



We did all we could to avoid the deadly gaze of the Basilisk. If you've seen Harry Potter, you know what we were up against.




Finally we arrived at the castle...



...which happened to be called the Citadel of Trials. That sounds like just what we wanted to do.



An old man let us know what the deal was.





Interestingly enough, the chairs happened to be teleportation devices. This chair launched us into the upper floors where the true trial began.

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Off into a new world

Finally, an update. I've got a few lined up and I'll try to start keeping up again.

With our new found ability to travel almost anywhere we headed off to explore the world.
The first place we tried was a little town in a mountainous valley.



It was called Gaia.





The people there were friendly enough. Most of them were talking about an ancient people who built things that could fly.



I wonder if I'm going to have to go up into their tower and flying castle later?



There was even a broom sweeping itself around town.



Excitement was abounding.

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