Dragon Warrior III/Aliahan

The kingdom of Aliahan lies in the southern region of a small round unnamed continent. The neighboring town of Reeve lies to the north. Two caves and a tower dot the continent's landscape. Your adventure will begin in Aliahan, but you will learn about the key to leaving the continent in Reeve. After receiving your assignment from the king of Aliahan, your first quest will be to reclaim the Thief Key, which will grant you the ability to open doors and explore what lies beyond them. This will take you through a cave to the Tower of Najima located on a small island west of Aliahan.

The continent features a variety of terrain, from plains to forests, from hills to impassable mountains. It's remote location means that the monsters which roam this territory are rather weak, especially around the kingdom, and make excellent combat training for brand new parties. Take care not to venture too far away from safety. Rather than paying a fee for a night's stay at the inn, you and your companions are welcome to return home and recover there for free any time you like.

Meeting the king
The game will begin on the day of your sixteenth birthday. Your mom will wake you up in your home in the town of Aliahan and tell you that the day has finally come to speak with the king. She will guide you to the front door of the house, and along the path through town to the entrance of Aliahan castle. There, you will part ways as you enter the castle and visit the king. The king's throne room is straight ahead and up the stairs.

The King will assign to you the task which was assigned to your late father Ortega: to rid the world of the great Archfiend Baramos. He will then give you money and instruct you to hire companions at Luisa's place, which can be found to the north of your home. Before you exit the castle, however, it's a good idea to take your time and explore it. Talk to as many people as you can, including all of the attendants in the throne room, to learn more about the world around you. You will hear about a thief named Bakor, and the key that he possessed. You can even visit Bakor in the castle prison by stepping out through the north gate of the castle and exploring the passage to the right. It will lead to a set of stairs that lead down to the prison. You can speak to Bakor through the door to his cell on the left. He will complain about losing the key to a man in the Tower of Najima.

When you have finished exploring the castle, head outside to return to town.

Exploring town


The town of Aliahan contains several features that are common to many towns throughout the world which you will want to familiarize yourself with. Starting with the path to the castle and going clockwise, there is a chapel where members of your party can be taken to be cured of poison, remove curses, or to bring someone back from the dead. Below that is a house which you can't enter… yet. But the occupant standing at the door informs you that if you walk long enough, day will turn into night. It is at night that the occupant returns inside and you can visit the interior. A man standing below the house by a well will inform you that the tower you see on a small island to the west is in fact the Tower of Najima. A basic equipment shop lies to the left of the well, and an inn can be found beyond that. Next door to the inn is your home, while above it you can find a simple item shop.

Luisa's place
North of your home is where Luisa's place can be found. This is a very important location because this is where you create new characters, and add them to your party. It is also where you can find the Vault, a service that lets you store items and gold for safe keeping. You only possess a limited amount of space to carry items. Even with a complete party of four, you can only hold 32 items, and much of that space will be occupied by armor and weapons. The vault allows you to store as many items as necessary at no cost, but they charge 10% of the item's value to retrieve it from the vault. You may also store as much gold as you like, in multiples of 1000, and retrieve it at no cost. This is valuable if you find your party getting wiped out in battle, as you return to life stripped of half of your gold. Money placed in the vault remains untouched.

Above the Vault is the desk where you can add and remove registered characters from your party. A Soldier, Pilgrim, and Wizard have already been created for you, and may be immediately added to your party if that is the configuration you prefer. However, if you would like any other combination, you'll need to head upstairs and speak with the person at the desk to create new characters. There, you may choose whichever class you desire your new character to be (except, of course, a Sage), as well as their name and gender. Once you have generated enough companions, return to the table downstairs to add them to your party. The composition of your party will have a great impact on the experience you have when exploring the world. Though there are no right or wrong combinations, some parties are much easier to proceed with than others. Make sure that you have a good understanding of each strengths and weaknesses, and how they contribute to the overall effectiveness of the  that you create.

Once you have decided upon which three companions you would like to add to your party, another important step is to go shopping and outfit them with better equipment. You won't have a lot of money to shop with, but a few improvements can be made with frugal purchases. Most important of all, make sure that you equip any new weapons or armor that you purchase for your party, or the items will remain unused.

Outside of Aliahan
Once you set foot outside of Aliahan, you become vulnerable to attack by the monsters which roam the countryside. Slimes and Ravens are quite common around the castle. Horned rabbits may also appear, especially as you travel farther from home. Remember that monsters get more aggressive in the evening. It is important to train around the castle long enough to raise your party's level of experience. A good rule of thumb is to wait until everyone reaches level 3 before wandering far from town. When one of your characters has taken too much damage, return immediately to your home, and stay overnight to heal from your wounds. If anyone perishes, visit the chapel at the far end of town to revive them.

As you gain experience point, and rise in levels, so too will you earn gold from battle. Collect this gold and use it to purchase stronger equipment for your team. There's even better equipment to buy in the town of Reeve, so start saving up as soon as you can. When you feel that your party is ready to risk a bit of a trip, it would be wise to visit Reeve before you go anywhere else. To get there, follow the plains north to a bridge. Cross the bridge, and continue following the plains as they extend north. The town of Reeve will come into view.

Reeve


Compared to Aliahan, Reeve is quite small. Never the less, you should gather as much information and equipment as possible. Your Hero, and any Soldiers and Pilgrims that accompany you, will benefit greatly from the increased variety of weapons that the equipment shop has to offer, but you'll need to save up quite a bit of gold to afford the best weapons. Not every class will be able to take advantage of the better items sold in Reeve. It's important to pay attention to the shop keeper if he informs you when the item that you are about to purchase can't be used by the person who is requesting it. Magic Knives will make your Wizards only a little more capable in combat, and that's the strongest weapon they will be able to wield for a considerable amount of time. Talk to everyone that you can to learn more about the tower, and how the cave to the south connects to it.

Continue to travel back and forth between the two towns, saving up gold to buy better equipment in Reeve, and staying at home to sleep off any wounds you receive in combat. Equally important, do not forget to visit the king from time to time so that he can record your deeds so that you don't lose any of your progress. When your party becomes a more capable team of warriors, it will be time to visit the cave and find your way into the tower. Make sure you are properly outfitted with strong equipment. Even if you have companions who are capable of healing, it's not a bad idea to purchase from Medical Herbs just in case you run into trouble.

Cave on the Promontory
To reach the cave, leave Aliahan and cross the bridge. Then continue left and follow the coast south. The cave entrance is tucked away in the southern tip of the forest. Just as with the outdoors, you always run the risk of encountering monsters while you explore. Keep your party in good shape so that no one is ever one hit away from dying. When you enter the cave, you'll arrive in a small room with a set of stairs leading deeper into the dungeon below.

Once down below, follow the path to the right as it opens up. Soon you will have the choice to explore north or east. The east path leads to a small room with a treasure chest that contains a Medical Herb. Collect it and follow the north path. It will bend to the right and lead you to another treasure chest and more choices. The Wayfarer's Clothes in the chest will probably not be very useful to you, but it can be sold at an item shop for some gold. There are three paths to choose from, but the north path and the lower east path connect in a loop. It's worth exploring the north path to find a third treasure chest, this time containing a small amount of 16 gold. The exit from the cave can be found through the upper east path. Climb up the stairs that you find in the very small alcove of the dungeon.

Tower of Najima
Climbing up the steps from the cave will actually place you in a basement level below the tower. The floor that you arrive on contains quite a number of staircases which each lead somewhere different. The staircase in the center leads to the first floor of the tower. The staircase on the far right along the bottom actually takes you to a room connected with the Aliahan prison. However, without a key, you won't be able to make use of the shortcut just yet. There is another stairwell in the upper right corner which leads to a small clearing the middle of the forest. Stepping outside of that clearing places you just a few steps south of Reeve. Along the way, you will pass a treasure chest containing 32 gold. Two more treasure chests lie along the path to Reeve, but they are locked behind a door.

Use this floor as a way to travel about the early locations of interest. When you are ready to brave the tower itself, head to the center stairwell and climb up. The first floor of the tower contains a vertical central corridor that divides the floor into a left section and a right section, with four rooms on each side. However, only one room on each side contains anything of interest. The third room from the bottom on the left side contains a stairwell that leads back downstairs. In a very rare instance of fortune, you will find an inn right inside the tower. You can visit this inn any time you like to recharge your party, rather than having to find one elsewhere. If you're high up on the tower, you can even drop off the side to land harmlessly on the ground and re-enter the tower on the first floor. The only other feature of interest on the first floor lies directly across the way on the right side: a staircase that leads up to the second floor.

The second floor gets a little more interesting, but the monsters will also get a bit tougher, so you shouldn't wander around aimlessly unless you are fairly strong and well equipped. From your arrival point, you can head left or down. Visit the sections to the left first to find some of the tower's treasures. A room in the upper left corner contains a chest with 40 gold, while the room in the upper right corner has a staircase leading up. Follow the staircase up to an isolated room in the third floor, where you will find another chest containing the Leather Helmet. Assuming you have not purchased any yet, give it to the character who could use a small increase in defense and equip it. Then return to the second floor.

Head back to where you originally arrive on the second floor, and follow the lower path to the bottom edge of the tower. The first room you pass is empty, but the second room will contain another staircase that will let you explore the rest of floor 3. Climb up and walk along the left edge until you have the choice to continue walking right, or explore a room to the north. The north path merely skirts around the isolated room that you already explored, so stick to the middle of the floor. Continue walking right, and hold off on visiting the room below you momentarily. Instead, continue on to the next room, and explore it to find a chest with a Wing of Wyvern in it. Then return to the room that you skipped and climb the stairs that await you there.

This will lead you to the interior of a small chamber at the top of the tower. A man at the top is waiting for you, and he will simply present you with the Thief Key, which is now yours to take. With the key acquired, your mission in the tower is complete. From here, there are a couple of ways of returning to the ground floor, including going back the way you came. A faster method is to open the door below you with your new key, and walk over any edge of the tower. (The other set of stairs that you pass lead back down to another section of the third floor.)

Once on the bottom floor, you may wish to visit the inn inside the tower if you are in bad shape. Otherwise, return to the basement and explore the room below the stairs which lead to the forest clearing. Inside, you will find two chests containing an Agility Seed, and a Medical Herb. Give the Agility Seed to any player who you feel needs some speeding up in combat, and have them use it. Then head through the stairs to the forest clearing, or use the shortcut that leads back to Aliahan Castle through the locked door in the prison.

Preparing to travel
Obtaining the key was merely one part of a larger objective in leaving your home continent so that you may explore the larger world around you. There are four doors in the castle that you can now open and speak with the occupants on the other side. You will hear quite a bit about a Travel Door behind a wall, and how Magic Balls can be used to blow up walls, and how you might find such a Magic Ball in Reeve. It just so happens that there is a small house in the upper right corner of Reeve with a locked door. Now that you have the key, you are free to open the door and explore it. Climb the steps inside and you will find a man who very plainly explains that he knows your story, and gives you a Magic Ball.

You may not have explored to region to the east of Reeve, but now is the time to do so. Follow the east plains around until you reach the hills that lead south. The monsters get considerably tougher there, with Froggores, Scorpion Wasps, and Magicians showing up to do considerable damage to your party. Babbles can potentially poison your party, so bringing a few Antidote Herbs along isn't a bad idea. Fight your way through until you see a small shrine. Enter the shrine and the man behind the door will ask if you've obtained the Magic Ball. If you say no, he'll instruct you to return to Reeve, but if you say yes, he will urge you to visit the Cave of Enticement, which is just a short distance north along the east coast of the continent. Visit the forest around the small patch of water to find the entrance

Cave of Enticement
Walk around the small body of water to locate a hole in the ground in the back. Drop down and follow the underground path to the left. An old man will inform you that the stairway to the rest of the cave is blocked off by a wall. Walk up to the wall, standing anywhere between the two statues, and use the Magic Ball in your inventory. An explosion will follow and when it's complete, a hole will appear in the wall, allowing you to walk to the stairs beyond.

The main basement level of the cave is quite a labyrinth, with many sections of hallway obscured from your vision until you enter them. You will arrive at the staircase in the center of the floor. There are a lot of cracks in the floor which prevent you from crossing over to explore the other side directly, requiring you to find another route to reach them. If you happen to fall through one of the cracks, you will drop down to a level below that contains nothing but a staircase that leads back up to the main basement… and a lot of monsters with a very high encounter rate. Making it to the staircase can be a chore when nearly every step you take triggers a battle.

To make it through this labyrinth, walk up from the arrival stairs, and either take the second left path, or the third right path. Either one will lead you to the highest path on the floor. Just watch out for the small pit along the left route. Once you reach the top, explore the path to the left first, and search the chest to find an Antidote Herb. Then return to the right, and continue walking right until you are forced to walk down. Follow the path all the way to the bottom of the basement, and then back to the left (again, watch out for a small pit in the floor). When you return to the central corridor, walk up and take the first left. You'll find a Magic Knife inside of a chest. Then return to the right, walk up one more section, and follow the next left path to a set of stairs that lead down to the floor below.

When you arrive, you will be presented with the choice of three paths to follow. Two paths lead to dead-ends while the third leads to the Travel Door and to the world beyond. With no foresight into the choice, it's a guessing game until you find the right path. It happens to be the left path which leads to the Travel Door. Unlock the left door and battle your way down to the bottom (Demon Anteaters are particularly frequent here). Step on to the Travel Door, and the screen will begin to wave about. Space will distort and you will arrive in a completely different location. Open the door on your right, climb the steps, and exit the clearing… and you will be standing on the southern tip of Romaly kingdom.