Final Fantasy/The Trials

'Now that they're aboard the Airship the Light Warriors move quickly to new lands and adventures. Before them lies a great challenge. The first stop is a chain of green islands. Here in the Cardia Islands is the home of Bahamut's Dragons. Bahamut, the King, can bestow a great gift, but first you must prove your courage.'

Cardia Islands
There are six entrances to the Dragon Caves, located on the chain of islands between the two northern continents. This is the home of the Dragons of Carida. Talk to the friendly dragons and obtain the many treasures the caves have to offer. The dragons seem to have courage on their minds. Everywhere you go there is talk of testing and ordeals. That is the way of the dragons; they respect bold and courageous humans and despise weakness. The Light Warriors must seek out King Bahamut and learn that task he has set for them.

The Light Warriors are bidden by Bahamut to go to the Castle of Ordeal and return with proof of their courage. But what is that proof? None of the dragons are willing to speak of it. Surely it must be a very terrible thing if the brave dragons will not even mention its name. Or perhaps part of the trial is to discover the object. In fact, that is exactly what is expected. The real trial lying ahead is to penetrate the castle and poke into every nook and cranny. Then bring back what you find.

Citadel of Trials
Take your airship to the northwest corner of the northeastern continent. You'll see a small area near the coast where you can land. Walk east, then south, then back west. Eventually you'll find a small river, cross it with your canoe, then walk south until you see a castle. Use a shelter if you want, then enter.

Floor 1
Walk up and the old man blocking the path through the pillars will ask for the Crown (the one you got after defeating Astos). Once you show him the crown, he'll disappear, so continue up and enter the small throne room to the left. It's a dead end, right? Of course not. Sit on the throne and you'll get transported to the next floor.

Floor 2
This floor is pretty confusing. Each column acts as a one-way teleporter to allow you proceed from room to room, but many of the columns will teleport you backwards instead of forwards. The ordering never changes so it is possible to pick your way through via trial and error, but knowing which column to take each time can speed things up significantly.


 * In the first room (center of the castle), there is just one column.
 * In the second room (center of the castle), there is again just one column.
 * In the third room (center of the castle), walk left and choose the lower column.
 * In the fourth room (center of the castle), there is again just one column.
 * In the fifth room (the lower left tower of the castle), choose the lower column.
 * In the sixth room (the left wall of the castle), there is again just one column.
 * In the seventh room (the top left tower of the castle), choose the rightmost column.
 * In the eight room (the top, right, and bottom walls of the tower), recover the Gauntlets from the top-right tower, then enter the lowest column that's on the right half of the castle (it's the one you run into taking the left hallway). There are four columns in this area, including one at the end of a long hallway back around on the left side of the castle, so be careful.
 * In the ninth room (the lower right tower) there is a single exit which will take you to Floor 3.

Floor 3
Go up and enter the room, then head to the right and grab the chest at the dead-end. Be very careful here - the Mindflayers can paralyze your entire team at once and (sometimes) kill you with a single hit). Now, head all the way to the left, and follow the path around until you reach another group of chests, you'll find the Rat's Tail in one of them. After that, head towards the throne, but like almost every other important spot in this game, you'll run into another spiked square, with a fortunately easy sub-boss.

Dragon Zombie
I guess this guy can be considered a sub-boss, but he's really easy compared to the others. Warriors and Monks should attack, Red Mages should and Black Mages should use Fire2, and White Mages should use Dia2 and Cure2 when necessary. He'll go down for the count in one or two rounds.

Cardia Islands
Sit on the throne in front of you to get warped outside. Trek back to your ship (using a shelter first can't hurt), then fly back to Bahamut and talk to him to have your classes upgraded. You won't notice any immediate changes (besides your looks), but you can now equip better weapons and spells.

Shopping
Knights and Ninjas can now use magic, but they won't having any MP just yet. You have to level up first. If you do have any Knights or Ninjas, fly back to Cornelia, Pravoka, and Elfheim to buy them magic. Additionally, the Wizards can get new spells from Melmond and Crescent Lake. Fly back to the Power Peninsula if you need money.

Finally, head back to Gaia and buy any Protect Rings and Ruby Armlets you need. If you have a Black Wizard, you can buy their most powerful weapon, the Cat Claws. You can also buy Level 7 and 8 magics here, though they are very expensive and not necessary for the next dungeon.