Brain Lord/Abell ruins

Chapter 2: The Ancient Ruins
You'll be back at the inn with the rest of the adventurers who went to the Tower of Light. None of the others have anything particularly interesting to say, but the main thing of importance is the poster on the wall. Now they want people to explore the Ancient Ruins for something. Yup, that's your next destination but you won't find a road that leads there like the last one. Instead, you'll have to do some "underground" investigation to find the way. If you're lazy, you'll do well to just follow the walkthrough ;) Go see the blacksmith on the far left side of Arcs and talk to him. He'll tell you that the price of Dragon Scales has dropped considerably since the other adventurers came back to town and sold lots to him. He'll offer you 2000 gold for each Dragon Scale you have. Don't complain, you might as well sell them. After you do, he'll tell you about the tunnel he was digging in his spare time that leads to the Ancient Ruins (tada!). You can't reach the Ancient Ruins yet, since he already mentioned the rocks that are blocking the path through.

He'll also mention that an Axe may destroy the rocks blocking the way as a passing comment but don't take that lightly as that's obviously what you're supposed to find to advance through the tunnel into the Ancient Ruins. Damn transparent storylines, anyway! So, go find an Axe. Hint: you'll find one in the basement of the tool shop, where the guy was selling weapons he didn't have in the first place. Note that you can't go to Barn (lol, what a name) the weapons dealer until you talk to the blacksmith. He won't have anything on sale until you do. So, once the conversation with Marlon is over, go over to the tools shop, then head downstairs and buy the Axe and the Boomerang from Barn. Yes, buy the Boomerang, you'll need it. Equip the Axe for now then head back upstairs and talk to the tools guy to stock up on items for the journey to the Ancient Ruins. Let's see, you'll need about three of each of the following: Apple, Cheese, Cape Herb, and Antidote Herb. After that's done, go check out the Magic Shop. There's some interesting magic here, but nothing particularly important. Of course, you can buy any magic that you like.

Once that's done, you're ready to go! Head back to the blacksmiths and into the tunnel he carved out. Once you're there, use the Axe on the rocks to smash them so you can continue on. The caves beyond the tunnel are, unfortunately, non-linear so a map out of the area is probably best. The trolls here are easy to kill but watch out for the Scorpions, they hit pretty hard and they'll poison you to boot!