Final Fantasy V/Submarine

Gill Shrine
Though the barrier is now down and you can enter X-Death's castle, the door to the main part of the castle is locked, so other than talking to Zeza's soldiers who are occupying the lower levels, there's nothing really to do there yet.

There are three points of interest marked on your underwater map, and the one in the center marks Gill Shrine. This is what is left of Gill's island since it's now underwater. Sail around X-Death's island and locate a rocky spot on the otherwise sand covered ocean floor. As soon as the sub is over it you autmatically dock.

Go south to reach B. 2 Floor. Cross the room and go through a doorway to a room with five chests in the middle. The one that's closed has a big rock in it; this holds the lid down which then holds the doorway open. You can change which of the five doorways on the north side of the room is open by moving the rock to different chests. To save time, you might as well know that the doors on the far left and far right are dead ends, and since these are controlled by the chests on the right you don't have to bother with those two at all. Take the rock out of the center chest and place in the chest in the lower left; this opens the middle right door. Go in and press the button here to open a passage in another room. Now go back and move the stone from the lower left to the upper left; this opens the middle door. Go in, follow the newly opened passage to B. 3 Floor

Around this time you start getting random battles with a monster called Metamorpha, who is really ten monsters in one since it can change to one of nine alternate forms. You have seen these forms as other monsters, some of which are easy to handle but others may be tricky if you're not prepared. Metamorpha has high ABP but low Exp so this is a good spot to develop jobs without leveling up.

Look for the dark passage in the southwest corner, follow and press the button at the end. This opens a doorway in the center of the room. Go through this doorway down the stairs ot B. 4 Floor. This floor has dark passages similar to the ones in Valley of Dragons; follow them west, south, and east, then exit to B. 5 Floor

This seems like a dead end, but when you get close to the edge of the pond here you see a turtle. Jump in to be sucked through an underwater passage and emerge in a new area. Cross the path over the water to meet the turtle again. Bartz starts to poke at it but then it asks him to stop, which gives Bartz a bit of a shock because turtles don't normally talk in his world. Galuf says the turtle is actually Sage Gill and Gill tells you that X-Death is looking for something in Moore Forest where X-Death originally came from. It seems that 500 years earlier some evil spirits trapped in the forest cast a spell on a tree and it became X-Death. X-Death was still trapped in the forest until he escaped 30 years ago. Finally Gill gives you the Elder's Branch which allows you to enter to forest.

Cast Telepo to return to the sub.

Moore Village
Gill mentioned that the forest, your next stop, is west of Surgate Castle. But if you try to reach it by dragon you'll find that it's surrounded by mountains. Check the underwater world map and locate the point of interest marked nearby; it's at the western edge of the map. Pilot the sub there and follow a narrow channel northeast until you reach the end, then surface and you find yourself in a small lake. Start by entering the town to the west.

Rest at the inn for 70GP; the item shop is here with the usual items. There are new items at the weapon shop to the east, new armor at the armor shop in the southeast, and new magic in the north. Visit the pub for gossip and do the second to last part of the Pianos subquest

Moore Forest
When you're ready, head east over the bridge to enter Moore Forest. The way ahead seems blocked but when you approach a small gap the trees sense the Elder Branch and open a passage for you. Go north, then east and it looks like the passage ends. But there is a tree with a knothole here; check it and the tree opens an underground passage for you. Enter and follow the tunnel to the next area.

Follow the path going northeast, then explore to the north for treasure. Come around to the east and go to the end of the passage for treasure, then back track a bit to check a knot and open a passage to the next area.

Check the corners west then east for treasure, then go north to a save point. Don't bother to heal overnight here unless you're situation is critical. Continue north until the path turns, then go west.

When you reach a certain point you hear a rumbling noise. A fire starts to the south and spreads to the rest of the forest. Suddenly there are flames all around and you are trapped. Wait a moment and then a Moogle appears, waves at you to get you to follow, and dives into a hole in the ground. Follow to join two Moogles in a small grotto. There is a healing spring here so use it, but otherwise there is nothing to do but wait for the fire to pass. Eventually the Moogle standing at the doorway moves and you can go back to the surface.

The once green forest is now all brown and withered. Continue west, checking the corners for treasure along the way. You will come to a point where you can go either north or south. Go south to exit the dungeon; this is handy if you want to go back to town and come back since you won't have to go through the dungeon again. You'll notice a burned area of the forest on the world map now. Go north to find a narrow passage beyond which you can see the Elder's Tree. The Elder Branch works its magic again and the path opens up so you can go inside the tree. There you will see four glowing creatures sealed inside. They sense your presence and attack.

When the battle is over, X-Death appears and it looks like you've played right into his hands again. He changes the four creatures you defeated in to crystals and then uses their power to cast a powerful spell that knocks out the entire party; things look pretty hopeless.

Meanwhile, in Val Castle, Krile senses something is wrong with her grandfather. The Moogle lets her know they're in Moore Forest so she hops on her dragon and rushes to the rescue. (It's not really clear how she gets over the mountains since supposedly dragons can't fly over, but she does it somehow.)

Krile catches X-Death by surprize and knocks him out before he finish off your party. She rouses Galuf but before she can get to the rest X-Death wakes up and casts a spell that imprisons Krile in a ring of fire. Galuf struggles and eventually shakes off the power of the crystal, then he rescues Krile and somehow absorbs the power of the ring of fire. Finally, Galuf attack X-Death and a second battle begins.

When the battle is over, X-Death disappears, taking the crystals with him. Galuf is lying on the ground and the rest try to rouse him. Though you try healing items and spells, it becomes clear that the only thing holding Galuf together this long was the power of the X-Death's spell. Galuf asks the rest of you to go after X-Death and asks Krile to take his place, then he disappears. Krile can still hear Galuf in spirit and he tells her that, he's passing whatever power he had to her. Reluctantly, Krile accepts as a way of remembering him. As she joins your party, Krile passes on the message that X-Death is trying to destroy the crystals and you must go to his castle to stop him. Krile calls her dragon and you fly out of the forest.

Fly the dragon to the clear spot west of Moore Village, which seems to be the only place you can actually land it. Get back in the sub and pilot it back out to the ocean.

From now on you play with Krile replacing Galuf in your party. You keep all of Galuf's equipment and Krile inherits all the APB and abilities the Galuf earned up to now. But while Galuf's stats were somewhat skewed toward being a warrior, with bonus Vigor and Stamina points, Krile's stat's are skewed toward being a mage, with bonuses for Speed and Mag.Pwr.

Chocobo Forest
There is one more point of interest shown on the underwater world map; this is optional but recommended before going to X-Death's castle. Stock up on Soft, then pilot the sub to the south side of the large island in the northwest corner of the map. Look for a light glowing at the base of the cliff. When you're above it the sub docks automatically. Exit the sub to a grotto similar to the one at the Gill Shrine landing. Go up the steps to a forest surrounded by mountains and next to a lake.

Wander the forest until you meet up with a monster called Shoat. This is an optional summon which casts a petrification spell, which is why you need the Softs. Otherwise this monster should not be too difficult and you win a very useful summon spell to your collection.

In the southeast corner of this area is a small section of forest; in the center of it is the entrance to the Chocobo Forest. At the moment there is a female chocobo wandering around, but you can't ride her.