Faxanadu/The three springs

Forepaw
Forepaw will be your next base of operation until you are able to revive the fountain. The left portion of town is pretty sparse, with a meat store and an item shop. In the shop, you will definitely want to purchase a Long Sword as quickly as possible for a substantial boost to your offense. Additionally, the Long Sword offers better reach than the Hand Dagger, and finally allows you to defeat Zozuras without magic. You can instead postpone the purchase of the Studded Mail, because only cuts down ten percent of the damage you receive. You can also buy some red potions if you want, but there's no need to buy the Wing Boots, you'll get a pair for free soon.

The right side of town contains a cathedral where you can receive a new rank and a mantra. There's also a Hospital which offers treatments for 500 gold, more than twice what two servings of dried meat would cost you. The key shop sells the Jack Key for 200 gold, and it also sells a new Queen Key for 500. You'll need to pick one of those up eventually, but for now, make sure you have at least one Key J. Information that you gather around town pertains to the location of two of the springs, as well as the fountain itself. When you are ready to locate them, head out to the right.

Beyond Forepaw
When you step outside of Forepaw, you will encounter three Yuinarus. After you defeat them, there is a 25% that Ointment will appear in the upper portion of the screen. This Ointment will render you invulnerable to all enemy attack for approximately 20 seconds and can be extremely helpful. Clearing the Yuinarus is as simple as walking to the right edge of the platform that leads back to Forepaw, and striking at them from a distance with your Long Sword. From this screen can choose to go one of two ways; up or down. For the time being, focus on heading up.

Climb up the ladder, and lure the Charron from the top platform down to the floor. Then climb up the ladder to the top platform, and proceed to the left. The next screen has two more Charrons, one above and one below. Force the top one off the ledge with your sword, and jump the gap to continue to the next screen. You should arrive in front of the door that leads to the Tower of Fortress (1). You will see the fountain (4) on the floor below. Activate your Key J and step inside.

Tower of Fortress
This is a rather large tower, and it can be easy to get lost inside. However, there are a large number of items waiting to be collected, and a few tasks to accomplish. Rather than spelling out every enemy that you must fight, only new enemies will be introduced at the appropriate times.

From the entrance head to the right until you reach the end of the floor. Climb up the ladder. Remember, with the Long Sword you can fight the Zozuras normally. You can even strike the Zozura across the gap if you stand close enough to the edge. Continue back to the left and climb up the ladder to the second floor.

Once again, proceed as far to the right as you can until you reach the end of the floor. Then climb up the ladder and continue to ascend to the third floor. Carefully make your way past the two Snowmen on the platform and reach the ladder on the right side. Climb up to the fourth floor. You will see a man standing on the platform above you (5). Head to the left so that you can find a ladder which will lead you back to him. In the process, you will encounter three hornets for the first time. They follow a specific pattern, so they should be easy to predict. Despite that, three of them will be difficult to avoid unless you clear one or two out of the way. Climb the ladder and head back to the right to talk with the man.

He will congratulate you for arriving and inform you that he stands before the Spring of Trunk, and that the spring needs an Elixir to be revived. If you are currently still holding one, go ahead and give it to him. Whether you give him the one you have, or do not have one to give him, the good news is that there is a free Elixir for you to collect in this fortress, either to replace the one you just gave up, or to gather in order to revive the spring. That will be our next destination.

From the spring, return to the left where the hornets are, and drop down to the floor below. In the next screen, you will encounter a Charron standing below a platform with Ointment. Defeat the Charron and climb up to grab the Ointment. Now you'll want to move quickly through the enemies in order to reach the Elixir before the Ointment wearts off. From this screen, drop down once again to the second floor. Don't bother fighting anyone while the Ointment is in effect. Climb up the ladder and head to the left. Jump up to the ladder in the next screen and climb up to the third floor. In the next screen, you must jump over the small gaps on your way to the ladder on the right. Climb up and head to the left, continuing past the two Snowmen to the ladder beyond that leads to the fourth floor.

The Ointment should still be active at this point. You will meet a new boss enemy, the Borabohra. As long as the Ointment is still good, you can run right past it. Otherwise, this is not a difficult boss to defeat. Simply stand in one place and jump up whenever it gets close in order to strike it in the head with your sword. Repeat this until it is defeated, or simply run past it, and climb up the ladder to reach the next screen. In this screen, you must quickly run to the right in order to avoid the boulders falling from the ceiling, caused by the Zorugeriru operating the seismic machine in the upper right corner. By now the Ointment will wear off. Rush to the room on the right.

Climb up the ladder and you will be able to collect the Elixir. Staying on the top ledge, return to the screen on the left and fight against the Zorugeriru. You actually have to strike his machine rather than his body to defeat him. Defeating him for the first time will also net you a pair of Wing Boots. (If you are low on energy and have collected the Elixir, let him beat you so that you use up the Elixir, then return to the previous room to collect another Elixir.) With the Wing Boots and the Elixir, return to the room with the Borabohra. You will have to defeat it this time (unless you choose to take some damage and run through it.) If you have not restored the spring yet, you should take the Elixir and return to the old man at this time. Otherwise proceed to the screen on the left.

Watch out for the Snowman and fall down through the narrow gap on the left. You'll land in front of a Charron. Defeat it and watch out for the Ikeda on the floor below. Proceed to the left, and deal with the Snowman and Charron until you can reach the ladder on the far left side. Climb down, and you'll see a strange sight: a cathedral inside the Tower of Fortress (6). Don't drop down just yet, however. You can save yourself from a 2800 gold purchase if you remain on the top platform and defeat the three hornets in the room as they approach you. When you do, there is a 25% chance that another pair of Wing Boots will appear on this high ledge below the ladder. Although you already have a pair, you will need another later in the game, and collecting them here will prevent you from having to shop for them later. Once you have the Wing Boots, drop down and enter the cathedral. The Guru inside will inform you that there is a fountain in the sky.

Exit the cathedral, and climb down the ladder on the left and you will arrive in the very same screen that you entered the tower from. Don't collect the Poison from the ledge to the left of you. Instead, simply drop down to the floor and escape the tower. At this point, you should return to Forepaw and purchase dried meat to restore your energy.

The spring in the sky
Once you are prepared to continue, exit Forepaw (and obtain another Ointment by defeating the three Yuinarus if you wish) and drop down to the screen below. Head to the left, and climb down the ladder to reach the floor, then run to the right. Eventually, you will come across a door (3) that seems to be locked with a key you have not seen before, a Joker Key. Continue past it and you will arrive in an empty field populated by Ikedas. If you proceed all the way to the right, you will encounter a Charron before a dead-end. However, if you defeat this Charron, there is a 25% that a Red Potion will appear on the alter behind him.

You've heard a lot of rumors about a fountain in the sky, and the need to use Wing Boots to reach it. Now is the time to put those rumors to the test. Return to the middle of the land below the blue sky (2) and activate the Wing Boots by pressing.



To fly, hold down and press  along with  or  to direct your flight. Head to the screen above, and you should spot an entrance in the ceiling. Two Charrons will be waiting for you, but you can safely ignore them. Remember, the time you have to use the Wing Boots is limited, and it decreases if you are at a very high rank. Continue flying up and you will discover a man standing in front of a spring.

Talk to the man. He will appear to nod off in the middle of your conversation, and you will attempt to wake him up with some water. In the process, you will actually activate the spring in the sky. Talk to the man once again, and he will ask you to visit the Guru in the Tower of Fortress in order to obtain a key. With the second spring activated, you are ready to return to Forepaw before making another run to the tower.

The Joker Key
You'll need another Jack Key to enter the tower, so buy one if you don't have it. Then head out (collecting another Ointment if you like), and return to the tower entrance. You're goal is to return to the Guru, but you don't need to go all over the tower if you don't want to. There's a shorter path that will get you there quickly, but you'll encounter a Ripasheiku in the process. Climb up to the second floor in the usual manner. When you reach the second floor, deal with the Snowman on the floor and the Myconid on the platform above. Then head to the left. Here is where you will encounter a Ripasheiku. If you don't feel like fighting with him, the best strategy is to stand on the upper ledge until he breaths his fourth fireball. Then jump off the ledge, over the fireball, and under the Ripasheiku as he flies up to the ceiling. You should just make it past him without any harm, and return to the room with the cathedral (6). Head inside and this time the Guru will provide you with the Joker Key. You may exit the tower now and return to the door below Forepaw that requires this key (3).

On your way there, it is highly recommended that you collect Ointment from the screen outside of Forepaw, and then leap from the column down to the screen below. You will land just outside of the Joker door. Activate the Joker Key to unlock the door and step inside. On the other side of the door, you will encounter another Ripasheiku. The Ointment won't protect you from his fireballs, but it will protect you from direct contact with the beast itself. Continue to the right to discover a man standing in front of a third spring. Speak with him, and he will revive the spring. It is very important that you continue to talk with him after he does this. Talking to him a second time will cause him to give you the Ring of Ruby. Without this, you can not continue to the next portion of your adventure.

Once you obtain the Ring of Ruby, return to Forepaw. Purchase a Queen Key and a pair of Wing Boots if you do not have them already, and make any other preperations for your journey to the next town. The climb up to the fountain above Forepaw (4). Stand next to the rock on the top of the fountain and push it over until it moves away and the fountain comes back to life. Upon doing so, a ladder will descend below the door in the upper left corner. Climb up the ladder and activate the Key Q in order to unlock it.