Dragon Warrior III/The Staff of Change

One region of the world that you may not have visited yet is the mountain-locked region in the north half of this world's South American continent. If you look for a means to sail there, it looks like there might be one river that provides you with access, but your hopes will be quickly dashed on the shoals that block the mouth of the river and make passage by ship impossible. Another means must be found. Once you make it there, you will discover a kingdom that is ruled by a man who has become an executing tyrant in very recent times. A little digging around in the nearby cave may help you find an item that will shed some light on the ruler's personality change. Successfully solving the mystery will net you a possession that begins a chain of item exchanges which ultimately ends with an object that is more a key than a weapon.

Travel Gates
As hard as you try to find an entrance into the region above the Pirate's Den, you will not find any available access into the kingdom surrounded by mountains. The one river in the north is blocked off by rocks which prevent your ship from entering. In order to gain access, you'll need to find another method. That method will be by Travel Gate. Possession of the Final Key gives you access to the few doors that are found inside of shrines. Beyond most of these doors, you will find Travel Gates. The kingdom that you are trying to reach is known as Samanao, and you have a couple of options when deciding how to get there. Once you reach Samanao shrine, it will look as though you've reach a House of Healing, but in fact the man standing there will tell you about how the king of Samanao's personality has changed, and how Simon was banished and ordered to travel through the right gate (leading back to Olivia's Promontoty). Step outside the shrine to get a glimpse of the new land around you. To reach the kingdom, you will have to journey north, and then head west across the bridge that spans the rocky river. Continue west until you can follow a path to the south that leads directly to Samanao.
 * 1) If you are sailing north of Soo, there is an island just off the north coast of the continent that contains a shrine.  The shrine contains three distinct Travel Gates.  From left to right, they will transport you to the shrine north of Romaly, the shrine north of Baharata, and the shrine east of Samanao.  If you take the right most gate, you will arrive via the left gate in the Samanao shrine.
 * 2) If you happen to be in the vicinity of Baharata or Dhama, you may wish to walk north of Baharata until you reach the shrine known as Olivia's Promontory.  Open the door at the top to learn a little about the history of the Promontory from the occupant.  Than open the gate to the right where you will find two Travel Gates.  The bottom gate leads to the middle gate in the shrine north of Soo described above, while the top gate takes you to the right gate in the Samanao shrine.
 * 3) If you are around the Portoga / Romaly area, visit the shrine that connects the two kingdoms.  Open the gate found along the underwater passage, and use the Travel Gate found there to transport to the Shrine North of Soo, where you can walk across to the right side, and use the gate to reach Samanao.

Samanao cave