Mystic Ark/The Ark of Darkness

The door to fairytale world
The hearth on the island shrine asks to be extinguished. Go to the kitchen (near the squash-door to chapter 2); there, use the Ark of Water on the bottle to fill it. Take the bottle of water and pour it on the hearth. Now that the fire is out, you can go through the passage.

You emerge on an even smaller islet. Enter the hut, use the Ark of Wisdom on the book, then read it to enter the seventh world. This is the world of fairy tales, where all fictional characters live.

Town of Tinkle
You start in the nice town of Tinkle. Before entering the castle, take a tour of the town: you'll see that everyone is shut up at home for fear of the bad wolf. Still, you can buy from the shops.

When you are done in town, go and see the King. At the same time, a woman comes asking for help: the Bad Wolf kidnapped Little Red Hat and her grandmother. The Little Match Seller in the town square gives you a clue: something headed from the granma's house to Gum Forest.

Gum forest
Gum Forest is just west from Tinkle.

In the forest you meet an injured man: he's Geppetto, Pinocchio's father. He needs food to gather some energy and return home. Go back to Tinkle and use the Ark of Wood on the two trees in front of Hansel & Gretel's inn; this way, you get a poison apple and a sandwich. Bring the sandwich to Geppetto, and he will open a new way for you.

The first part of the forest is quite linear. After you emerge from the first cave, there is a real fork: west or north? First, go west for a cave and a chest with a death symbol, afterwards choose north to continue your pursuit for the Bad Wolf.

You will eventually get to another cave. Inside, the path forks many times.

BOSS: the Bad Wolf
The Bad Wolf is extremely fast. A speed spell will definitely come in handy. He uses no magic, just physical attacks.

When you beat the Bad Wolf, he surrenders and go back to town to apologize. Little Red Hood and her grandma go back in town, too. You can now open a chest with a flame bow (for the Ninja), then backtrack to Tinkle. The King will reward with the Royal Armor (for Hero/Ninja).

The Wizard of Oz
As soon as one problem is over, a new one arises: a monster has been sighted in the Kuru forest to the east. The king asks you to investigate.

Kuru Forest
Beware of Jasmines 49: they can cast instant-death spells. As soon as you encounter them, cast Deathguard or use the Cross on all your party members. On the other hand, Jasmines 49 can be turned into figurines and exchanged for Magic Seed Figurines; also, Cursed Warriors can be turned into figurines as well and then exchanged for Power Seed Figurines.

In Kuru forest there are leaf tunnels that connect a clearing to the next one. The second leaf tunnel has a fork to the south; in the hidden clearing you can find a chest with a wizard axe (for the Ogre).

The second part of the forest has a hidden fork, too: if you miss it, you get to a dead end with an assassin dagger (for the Witch). Backtrack and find the fork to the south in the last tunnel. Soon, you will meet the monster you are looking for: it is actually the Lion looking for the Wizard of Oz, but he lost his way. Now, if you try and go deeper in the forest, you will get nowhere, just in a loop.

When you get back to Tinkle, report to the king. As a reward... he gives you a letter so that you can ask the reward to the Wizard of Oz!

Oz Tower
You learned from the Lion that the Tower of Oz is to the west of Tinkle. We already visited Gum Forest to the south-west, the new area is to the north-west. The same enemies from Kuru forest can be fought here.

Follow the river north and then east and find a chest with a blizzard bottle. Continue to the south-east; at the very end of the river, move a bit so that the character can get off the boat and walk to the next area. The second part of the forest river is spiraling towards the center, where the tower of Oz is located. The tower is infested by undead enemies, that are anyway vulnerable to instant-defeat spells.

Items in the rooms and balconies of tower:
 * Herb soup
 * Magic mirror
 * Lightning bow (it is weaker than the bow already found in Gum forest)
 * Magic Mirror

At the top of the tower you meet Oz and the Lion. Unfortunately, Darkness stole the wizard's magic powers. All he can do for you is to gift you his own staff of Oz (for the Priestess), and suggest you to visit Hansel and Gretel at the Tinkle inn. In fact, the girl could be able to divine the location of Darkness.

The King's New Clothes and Cinderella
Talk to Hansel's sister Gretel in the inn, and insist until she agrees to do the divination. Darkness is to the south, but you need to get a cloak of invisibility in order to get in there.

Let's ask the King (who is not naked, he's just wearing invisible clothes). He asks you in return to summon the tailor, who is at the inn. Back to the inn, the only customers relays you to other characters. You have to speak to these people in order: the ant and the cricket, the three pigs, Cinderella's stepmother, the Little Match Seller, and then the trickster tailor at the inn.

The tailor leaves at once and rushes to the King. You can now meet the tailor in the westmost room of the castle. He asks you to bring a dress to Cinderella. The dress, by the way, will become invisible at midnight.

Cinderella still needs shoes. Geppetto knows of a tree in Kuru forest that sprout shoes if someone feeds it a glass sphere. Gretel's divination power helps again: go back to the Giant's world and the town of Kumu.

Dungeon: the windmill in Kumu
A rather annoying dungeon, full of invisible walls and invisible stairs. You can find a good map of it here. The visible chests are in their real place:
 * Ground floor: (none)
 * Floor 1: Thunder scarab
 * Floor 2: Special herb
 * Floor 3: Crest of death; use the Ark of Water on the machine to get the glass sphere.

Once you obtain the glass sphere at the top, the people dialogues in Kumu will change. Go back to fairytale world and the Kuru forest, east from Tinkle. Feed the glass sphere to the tree in the clearing where you met Oz's Lion. Choose a pair of shoes of intermediate size and it to Cinderella.

Hearts and figurines
Darkness appears during the ball, and turns both Cinderella and the King into figurines. The sign outside the castle lists all the characters that have been abducted: Little Red Riding Hood and the Golden Goose are included, too. Retrieve the figurines in the island shrine and restore them in Tinkle. Three of them are, as usual, in the temple. The fourth one can be accessed if you climb Jack's Magic Bean that sprouts from the stump next to his house. You have to cut the sprout in order grow and climb the bean. Furthermore, if you cut it down you will get a troll harp.

Showdown with Darkness
The King is sick, and he asks you to vist Oz in his tower. When you get there, both the wizard and the lion disappeared. You return to Tinkle so that you can report to the king, but everyone in town disappeared as well, and no hearts are left either. Pinocchio is the last inhabitant of the town, and he helps to rest and save your game.

In a chest in the castle, in the room where the tailor was working, you can finally get the cloak of concealment, and therefore set off to the southern waterfall.

Carascobeth waterfalls
Darkness forced the Bad Wolf to kidnap Little Red Riding Hood, Darkness stole the magic powers from the Wizard of Oz, Darkness ruined Cinderella's royal ball. Guess who is going to be the final boss of this chapter?

Well, let's set off to the waterfalls in the south. Some old acquaintance (the sly fox-demon) blocks the forest path: equip the cloak of concealement and pass through him. You are now at the bottom of the waterfalls. Of course, you can walk behind them as in every good piece of fiction.

The passage behind the first waterfall is blocked, therefore you have to choose the other way. It is a linear path, that forks at the very end only: you can get a chest with a Muramasa's sabre (for the Ninja) and another chests that conceals a switch. After you operate it, you can backtrack and walk behind that first waterfall. Walk all the way west, then save your game at the Goddess Statue: you can now teleport between here and Pinocchio's house, then rest and come back.

After the save point, enter the cave nearby and follow the only path available. Two short forks lead to two chest containing a mana bottle and the Deathbringer sword (for the Hero). You will soon meet the first boos of this area.

BOSS: Sly
He's not a real threat, and he only uses physical attacks. Use any attack item you found so far.

Upper waterfalls
Although quite winding, there is only one path. A fork brings you to a treasure chest with a shuriken-boomerang (for the Grappler). Mind well: after one of the waterfalls there is a ledge with a chest; under that same waterfall there are two chests with a herb and a power bottle.

BOSS: Water Dragon
This is a surprise boss, hidden under the last waterfall. He attacks with both claws and magic.

BOSS: Darkness
After beating the water dragon, continue to the top of the waterfall, then down a cave until you get to an underground temple. Darkness waits for you there. In battle, he is less resistant to physical attacks than to magic. Cast Deathguard or use the Cross on all your party, because he can cast instant-defeat spells.

Aftermath
You can infuse the Ark of Darkness in any staff. Any enemy hit by that staff will be petrified. Meisia the Priestess is the best staff user, but they can also be used by the Witch, the Hero and the Ninja.

Side-quest: Cinderella or Snow White?
Back in Tinkle, all inhabitants have been restored to their true self. The King asks you to help the Prince. Talk to the Prince, and he will join you. Bring him to Cinderella... but she's not home anymore: you can find her in the empty house next to Little Red Riding Hood's grandmother.

Hints suggest that house belong to Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. Indeed, when you go back to the castle, you discover that Cinderella fell asleep because she accidentally ate a poisoned apple. Ask Gretel a way to wake up people: she divines that you should for powder of awakening. She suggests to look where lost things end up: this is a hint about the Crows Forest in Chapter 2. Examine the nest, get the powder of awakening, then go back to Fairytale World and give it to the Prince, and Cinderella will wake up. Unfortunately, there is no reward for this side-quest.

Troll harp
You should have two unused items: a poison apple and a troll harp. They can be disposed in the Synthesis Machine in Chapter 3. The poison apple turns into another alkaloid bucket, a Tetsujin headgear you already found in the previous chapter. Instead, put the troll harp in the synthesis machine together with any magic item and any liquid item: you will get a Holy Robe, the best armor for the Priestess and the Witch.