Dragon Scroll/Dermos Forest

The map to the right shows the extent of the Forest Kingdom of Dermos. The grid corresponds to the display shown by the Crystal Ball. Once you collect it, you can pause the game and verify your position on the grid (displayed by the blue dot) and match it with the corresponding location on the map shown here.

You begin the game on the  S  in the southern center of Dermos. Dermos is occupied by a few creatures, most notably scorpions which fire slow small projectiles at you, as well as Wolf Knights and Neanderthals. You will also encounter the small creatures which always offer hints whenever they are defeated. Take every opportunity to fight enemies in order to earn experience points and begin increasing your level.

When the game begins, you will notice that your speed is fairly slow. The first recommended step is to obtain an item that will drastically impact the speed of your movement.

A: The Silver Ring
From the start, head to the right, past a pile of rocks, and then up until you see a cave ( A ). Neanderthals spawn around here, so be careful when approaching the entrance. Watch out for a pair of Scorpions as soon as you enter. The cave itself is a large loop. It is safer to head up the left side than the right, which contains a stretch of floor covered with damaging fire. On the way up the left side, you'll pass a chest. Opening this chest will restore your life.

Reach the top of the cave, and locate the alcove on the right side. You will see two statues side by side. To obtain the Silver Ring, you must stand directly between the statues for four or five seconds until the chest appears. Once it does, you can collect the ring and appreciate a boost in walking speed. At this speed, it is far less dangerous (though still harmful) to cross the fire floor present in the cave. Once you have the ring, return outside.

B: The Crystal Ball
Your next goal will be to collect the Crystal Ball, which will give you the ability to see your position in the world, as well as the position of the three thieves. To obtain this item, merely walk to the southeast corner of Dermos until you see a chest sitting on the ground ( B ). Open the chest to obtain the Crystal Ball. Now when you press to open the menu screen, and press  twice, you will see a map of the world (which corresponds to the map present on each region's page.)  The blue dot represents your current location while any red dots represent the locations of a thief. Pressing once more will tell you what you see concerning the activity of each thief, although this information isn't necessarily helpful.

C: Yunke Fruit
Now you must cross southern Dermos to the west side. Make your way back to your original starting location, and continue heading west from there (you'll have to travel north around some trees.) Eventually, you should come to a waterfall above a stream. You must cross above the stream and through the waterfall (you'll take a little damage as you walk under) in order to reach the cave entrance ( C ).

This cave is heavily guarded by Wolf Knights and is divided into four corners. You begin in the lower left corner. The upper left corner will be your first opportunity to visit a Dark Gambling House. If defeat the small creature standing among the statues and are willing to wager 10 Magic Points (MP), he will let you bet on whether a coin toss will be Heads or Tails. If you guess correctly, you can earn 10 MP or restore all of your health. If you are wrong, you lose your wagered points. The lower right corner of the cave has a chest, and if you open it, Narume will restore your MP. Finally, the upper right corner contains two statues. The trick is not to stand between them, but to shoot the statues and listen. If you hit the right one, you will hear noise indicating that you are striking something. Shoot at it four times and a chest will appear. Open the chest to obtain the Yunke Fruit.

D: The Rain Bell
Now that you have the Yunke Fruit, you can utilize its powers of discovery. In fact, the first item to discover is directly below the cave where the Yunke Fruit was obtained. Cross around to the area below the stream and stand in front of the lone tree that you find there ( D ). Face the tree and use the magic of the Yunke Fruit by pressing to make a chest appear. Open the chest to collect the Rain Bell. This Bell has the ability to make some chests appear, as well as being crucial to finding a hidden entrance.

Visit Zarik
At this time, it is recommended that you visit Zarik first, and return to Dermos when you are finished before you proceed with the remaining steps on this page. To reach the Desert region of Zarik, you must travel north along the west side of Dermos. When you reach the north west corner of Dermos, you will find another stream-waterfall combination. However, there appears to be no means to reach the other side this time. All that you will see are a pair of statues below the stream. As you did once before, if you stand between the two statues and wait a number of seconds, you will be magically transported to the other side. Then you can enter the cave and visit.