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 Zarik.

E: Reverse Grass
You can actually complete this step before you visit Zarik, as long as you have the Rain Bell, but the item won't benefit you until you're ready to visit Castor. Plus it's on the opposite side of Dermos from where you once were. Now you need to head to the east side of Dermos. You can find a set of tiles in the ground to the right of the first cave where you collected the Silver Ring. If you stand near these tiles and use the Rain Bell, a chest will appear. Open the chest to collect the Reverse Grass, a powerful herb which will negate the confusing effect that certain plant spores can have on you.

F: A Magic Book
Slightly north and to the west of where you just collected the Reverse Grass, you will find a cave that's positioned above a set of rocks which appear to form a bridge. Head inside this cave, and you will be presented with the option to go up or to the right. Both options are equally dangerous, as they force you to traverse over two stretches of burning floor. The left path at least deposits you by a chest which, when opened, will restore your magic. Along the top corridor, you will find an alley that leads down to a small room with a locked door. Provided you collected the Magic Key from ../Zarik Desert/, you can enter the door and visit the second floor. Avoiding all of the Neanderthal that patrol the floor, travel up and around the structure you arrived through to find a treasure chest directly above, situated between two groups of statues. Open the chest, and you will find the Book of Water. Once you have it, there's nothing else to do but exit the cave.

G: Dermos Castle
Dermos Castle is located directly above the cave where you collected the Magic Book from. To get there, you must approach it from the west. Travel to the location that can warp you into the Requi Lakes region, and head to the right. Defeat the Wolf Knights that guard the entrance and step inside.

The first floor of the castle is larger than any interior you've explored up until now. It's is twice as long as it is wide. The bottom half is relatively straightforward with a corridor winding around above the entrance, until it opens up into a wider audience hall. From there, it splits into two paths, one on the left and one on the right. The right path leads up to the basement, whose floor plan takes the form of a giant S. In the lower left corner is a treasure chest which can restore your magic, and in the upper right corner is a Dark Gambling House, which is worth a visit if you're low on health.

Back on the first floor, it is the left path that takes you where you want to go: up to the second floor. Here, the passage to the left of the entrance is a dead-end. You must cross the fire floor to the section above. You'll find another chest which, when opened, will restore your magic. Cross over to the upper left corner of the room to find a locked door. Provided you have the Magic Key, you will be able to enter the room beyond where you will face the boss battle of Dermos Forest against Wamuheru.

Dermos King Wamuheru
Wamuheru is a great wizard who can take the form of fire to transport himself around his throne room, but only in a designated ellipse. He will cycle around the room, stopping to appear at particular places just long enough to fire a magical projectile at you before returning to fire form. He can also clone himself, and attack you with his duplicate. After one wizard has circled around the room, a second one will appear and join the attack. When you first meet Wamuheru, he will be entirely invulnerable to your attacks. The only way to break this spell is to use the Rain Bell. The resulting thunderstorm will allow you to hit him with your staff's magic. Once you use the Rain Bell, you do not need to use it again. You simply need to concentrate on lining yourself up with locations where you think Wamuheru may appear. He will always fire at your current location, so you must move around in order to avoid getting hit. Try to strike him preemptively by attacking where you think he might stop. Otherwise, dodge the magic he throws at you and get in a quick counter attack before he gets moving again.

You must defeat both copies of Wamuheru before you are victorious. The reward for your effort will be another Magic Book, the Book of Fire. Along with the Books of Wind and Water, you should now possess three books. You are ready to advance to the wastelands of Castor. To get there, you must travel around the forest to the section east of the castle. A cave entrance there serves as a tunnel to Castor.