Dragon Warrior III/The Ship

Your progress to the east will be blocked by a stubborn Dwarf, but a new opportunity to explore the West presents itself now that you have the Magic Key. You will visit the kingdom of Portoga and meet a king who longs to taste a spice that is only found far to the east. With his assistance, the Dwarf may be more inclined to assist you. Once you reach the nearest town, you will learn about a kidnapping that has caused a seller of spices to close down until the matter has been resolved. With no other choice, you must bravely enter the cave where the victim are reportedly held and rescue them.

Portoga


To find Portoga, you must follow the coast west of Romaly up and around until your reach the Romaly shrine. Step inside and unlock the door with your Magic Key. This will give you access to an underwater tunnel that will allow you to reach the shrine on the opposite shore. You'll pass a prison door which you can't open yet. Once across, head south and beware of attacks from Madhounds, Rogue Knights and Avenger Ravens, as well as a new enemy, the Infernos casting Lumpus. You'll find Portoga along the southern coast.

Portoga is a small hamlet. It has a single Item shop in a covered enclosure where you'll find standard goods, and no Equipment shop. You'll hear a lot of talk about pepper, and how much the king likes it. Another man will tell you that if you're looking for a ship, you should talk to the king. Whether you are or not, the castle is your next destination. Follow the path that leads west across the water from the center of town.

Portoga Castle
In the small castle, there are a few people to talk to, but what you may be initially attracted to are the three treasure chests surrounded by dangerous floor tiles. You can unlock the door which leads to them, but make sure that you party can survive at least two crossings over these tiles which do 15 hit points of damage to anyone who steps on them. In these chests, you'll find a Spider Web, a Vitality Seed, and a bit of gold. You won't learn much by talking to the castle occupants, except perhaps for the possibility of changing your class in the east.

Speak to the king, and he will indicate that he wishes for you to explore the lands to the east, and that if you return with black pepper, he will declare you a hero and grant you a ship. He will then give you a scroll and tell you to show it to Norud the Dwarf, who is found in the cave east of Assaram. Take the scroll and your new assignment, and exit the castle. Stay at the Inn if you wish to recover from the dangerous tiles around the treasure chests, and cast Return to Assaram.

Norud the Dwarf
Back in Assaram, approach the mountain range to the east and walk up to the cave entrance. You have nothing to fear in this cave, as you won't be attacked by monsters. Simply follow the path to the right, unlock the door, and continue along the path until it stops, and you are forced to examine a small gap at the top. The gap leads to the small quarters of a Dwarf named Norud. This is the same Dwarf who has been turning other explorers away. If you speak with him, he will be no more inclined to help you than anyone else. If you examine the two chests he has in the corner, you'll find a Training Suit and a Club, two pieces of equipment that are unlikely to help you at this time.

Show Norud the Royal Scroll from the King of Portgoa, and Norud's attitude will change. Filled with a sense of importance, he will ask you to follow him. Return to the path, and Norud will bang on the bottom wall until a secret passage appears. Follow it down and it reconnects with the original passage to the right and leads to stairs that return you to the outside

A new land
Being dropped off in the middle of this new eastern territory may leave you feeling a bit lost for direction. You essentially have two choices; north and south. There are many new monsters that you will encounter in this wilderness, and naturally they are a bit tougher than you've seen so far. Regardless of which direction you choose, stay off the hills if you wish to keep your random encounters down. The hills significantly increase your likelihood of being attacked.

The next town you wish to visit is located to the south, but your curiosity may lead you to the north first. If you walk between the two mountains spines and follow them north, and you will eventually come to a peninsula with a small shrine at the very top. Inside the shrine, which is known as Olivia Promontory, you'll actually find an Inn. However, there are two doors in the Inn that are locked prison doors which the Magic Key can't open. You will have to remember to return here some time after you obtain the Final Key.

To continue on your quest, you must reach the town of Baharata in the south. Avenger Jackals and fire-breathing Heat Clouds will attack you on your journey, along with swarms of Firebal casting Hunter Flies. You'll have to choose between taking the long route around the hills, or short-cutting through the hills where the chances for battle are higher. The town you seek is directly south of the west mountain range. Once you safely reach Baharata, you will be able to cast Return and safely arrive there again any time you wish.

Baharata


Baharata is a normal sized town, with some very big problems. Some travelers have come to purchase pepper, but the pepper shops has been closed indefinitely Walking over to a man and an older gentlemen in the southern portion of town, you will learn that the daughter of the spice shop owner, Tania, has been kidnapped. The young man named Galen will attempt to rescue her on his own and run off, which will worry the old man further. Speaking to one of the inhabitants, you will learn that the kidnappers supposedly live in a nearby cave. There's little else you can do besides purchase items and stay at the Inn. One adventure in the lower left corner of town will teach you about the Force Staff which converts magic points into attack power, if you ever find one of your weaker spell casters prevented from chanting attack spells. Visiting at night will yield little new information other than a debate over the nature of the Archfiend.

Rescue operation
In order to initiate your rescue attempt, you must travel east from Baharata, across a bridge, then a bit north and back over another bridge to reach a cave. It's a short journey, but the wilderness around Baharata should not be underestimated. New enemies like the Nev can chant Chaos and confuse one of your members into attacking, or casting spells on, your own party. Always target Nev's first. Mage Toadstools can cast IceBolt at you. While Tonguebears aren't too strong, Simiacs are tough beasts capable of doing a lot of damage to you with each hit. Remember that there's no place to save in Baharata, so you may wish to cast Return, or use a Wing of Wyvern, to visit a location where saving is possible before you investigate the cave.

Baharata cave
The layout inside Baharata cave is actually deceptively simple. However, you are prevented from seeing anything beyond each room of the cave you presently occupy. With no knowledge of where the treasure chests or stairwells are, you could easily wander about the cave for quite some time before stumbling across anything of actual significance. All the while, you will be attacked by Catulas, Executioners, and Shadows. Shadows cast Slow, while Catulas are capable of reducing your magic points, so keep an eye on them. If your party is around level 18, you shouldn't struggle too much in combat against these enemies, but if you are weaker, you may find that you need to limit your visits to the cave until you earn more experience points. Wander around Baharata and fight the local monsters to rise in levels.

Towards the middle of the cave, you will actually find a guard who will tell you that he literally saw a man walk through darkness, and then heard the sound of a lock being turned. This is useful information. You may find that as you attempt to cross certain boundaries from one room to another, you will hear the noise that is generated whenever you bump into a wall. Against these black barriers, try using the Magic Key. You should hear the sound of a door unlocking. Three such doors are found along the very top, and three more are found along the bottom.

There are chests along the top row of cave rooms. In the right room, you'll find gold in the right chest, but the top chest is a Man-Eater. Even at a stronger level, these creatures are still a big threat, so carefully choose whether to examine the chest or ignore it. You'll find Fairy Water in the center room, and in the left room, you'll find more gold and a Medical Herb. There's one more chest on this floor, and it's in the left most room of the bottom row, but it too is a Man-Eater. As with the top, you'll have to use the Magic Key to pass through the door beyond the black barrier below. Explore the right side of the bottom row to find the only staircase down to the floor below.

When you arrive on the second floor, the path will start going left, and change direction, but not before leading up to another ominous black wall. Once again, you can use your Magic Key on the wall to examine the room beyond. You'll find four treasure chests inside, and they contain quite a cache of stat-boosting items like the Acorn of Life, a Strength Seed, an Intelligence Seed, and an Agility Seed.

Returning to the central corridor, you can open the large door with the Magic Key. When you visit the room below, two guards will stop you and ask you if you were planning on joining. If you say yes, they'll tell you the boss is gone and shove you out of the room. Say no, and the guards will attack you. When you get attacked, you will discover that they are none other than Kandar's Henchmen. Fortunately for you, they are gathered in one group of four so that group-offensive spells will be effective. Each henchman has around 50 points of health.

Defeat them, and you will be able to explore the back of the room, where you will find Tania and Galen, now both victims of kidnapping and stuck behind jail cell doors. They will tell you to free them by pressing the button in the back of the hallway. Do so, and the doors will open, allowing the two love birds to reunite. They thank you and speed off to the top. As you follow behind them, you will realize that they don't get very far. They've been stopped by more henchmen, as well as Kandar himself. Clearly ignoring his promise to reform, you must fight him in order to free Tania and Galen once and for all.

You'll face Kandar and a group of two henchmen. Take the henchmen out first since they are easier to defeat, then focus all of you attacks on Kandar. He will put up a good fight and take a great deal of damage before going down. Successful completion of the battle will result in a large amount of experience points. Kandar will claim to see the error of his ways and beg for your mercy. He won't let you refuse, so say yes and he will thank you before leaving. With the captors freed, so too are you free to return to Baharata.

Satisfying a king
Once you return to Baharata, visit the previously abandoned spice shop in the lower left corner of town. Galen will be working the counter and he will immediately recognize you. As thank you for your heroic rescue, he will supply you with one Black Pepper on the house. A grateful Tania and father will be upstairs above the shop if you wish to speak to them.

Having obtained the Black Pepper, it's time to Return to Portoga. Head straight to the castle and speak with the king. In return for the pepper, the king will keep his promise and give you a ship. Note that even now, this king will never record your progress. Step outside the castle, and the ship will be parked in the water. Before you leave Portoga, you may wish to board the ship and sail south until you see a small stairwell in the ground. Visit it, and the man inside will tell you a short story about two young lovers. However, it won't help you much, and you'll have to leave Portoga and return just to get the ship back. Sail it out of Portoga and the entire globe will suddenly be at your finger tips.