Dragon Warrior II/Rhone

The death land of Rhone
Your party has finally arrived in the frozen tundra known only as Rhone. This will be the stage of your final strike against Hargon. But don't expect to march right up to Hargon's Castle, bang on the door, and challenge him to a fight. You're going to need to spend quite a bit of time in Rhone training and honing your skills. Although you may have been strong enough to make it through the cave that leads to Rhone, embarking on the journey to Hargon's castle will take considerable more strength and skill than you may possess. As a result, you will need to find a safe place to camp, and dedicate time to increasing the level of your party.

Fortunately for you, an excellent place exists for just such a purpose; the Rhone Monolith. In there, you will find two people. One is a monk who not only records your journey to a save file, he automatically restores your health and magic points for you completely! The other person informs you that the Travelers Gate at the bottom of the monolith is a one way journey that will lead you back to the rest of the world. Only make this journey if you are sure you forgot to collect something important, as you will have to traverse the Cave to Rhone in order to return.

Stay very close to this monolith and start fighting the monsters that you encounter here. Between the Blizzards, Giants, and Batboons, you will have quite a fight on your hands, but the good news is that you will typically be rewarded close to a thousand experience points, if not more, for each successful battle. As long as you don't stray too far from the monolith, you can easily return and have all of your hitpoints restored between battles. Keep at it, and eventually you will get stronger and be capable of remaining outside of the monolith for longer and longer periods.

When you have gained a substantial amount of the levels (most players recommend that the Prince of Midenhall be as close to level 30 as possible), you can begin the trek to Hargon's Castle. To reach the castle, you must journey to the very north of Rhone, and then to the west. Eventually the trail will begin to veer south a bit, and you will reach a fork in the road. You can take either the west route or the east route, but the west route is generally a bit safer since it doesn't have you passing through any hills which increase the likelihood of encounters. When you reach the southernmost portion of either trail, you will double back to the north to enter the doors of Hargon's Castle.

Hargon's Castle