Dragon Warrior II/Beran and the Cave to Rhone

Beran
There are a couple of different ways to reach Beran, either by sailing, or by Travelers Gate. Sailing will probably take you a bit longer, but since you've recently visited Tuhn, you're right in the neighborhood. The Beran Island continent occupies the south west portion of the sea. It's quite large and hard to miss. To access Beran, you'll need to dock on the south east side of the island. If you wish to reach it by Travelers Gate, you have many options. There are three Travelers Gates which will lead you to the Beran Monolith at the north tip of the island; One in the Cannock Monolith, one is in the monolith west of Moonbrooke, and the third is the center gate in the Fire Monolith (which itself can be accessed through Travelers Gate in the monolith north of Lianport, and the South Alefgard Monolith.) Once you reach the Beran Monolith, however, you'll have to walk quite a bit through the wilderness before you will reach Beran, so make sure that your party is at full strength before you go.

Beran is an oddly arranged town, built over a lake. Its inhabitants are equally mysterious. You'll learn a lot of unique information here, such as the whereabouts a crest, the existence of a weapon called the Thunder Sword, and the purpose of the Leaf of the World Tree. Many odd tiles can be found around the northern sections of town. They are like Barrier tiles, but they are even more destructive! Fortunately, Stepguard is equally effective on them. One set of these tiles is used to contain a prisoner with some information. Another is used to protect a Travelers Gate above the temple. Where could this gate lead that would warrant such protection?

Fortunately, there is an old man who will record your progress for you in the north west corner of town on a small island. There is also a good collection of weaponry and armor to purchase and outfit your party with. Until you have collected the Eye of Malroth, Beran should only serve as a refueling station. There is a chance that, while resting at the inn, one of your party members may fall victim to curse cast upon them by Hargon. This party member will not rise out of bed the next morning, and the two active members must set off without him or her. The remedy for this curse is simple; bring them back to life with the Leaf of the World Tree.

Once you have obtained the Eye of Malroth, you will be ready to embark on the last leg of your journey which will lead you to the desolate area in the center of the large continent, known only as Rhone. The only way to access it, is to utilize the Travelers Gate above the temple. You'll need the Jailor's Key, and it would be wise to cast Stepguard before you proceed to the gate. Once you step on it, you will transported to a new monolith.

The Road to Rhone
After taking the Traveler's Gate in Beran, you arrive in the center of more dangerous tiles. One more casting of Stepguard can help you cross over safely (it is far better to lose 1 MP than an abundance of hit points.) When you exit the monolith, you will find yourself in a new region. It happens to lie just to the west of Wellgarth, and is inaccessible by any other means. A walk to the west will seemingly result in a dead end. However, if you possess the Eye of Malroth, you have what you need to access the Road to Rhone. Simply stand in the swamp area, and use the Eye. It will trigger an earthquake and the entrance to Rhone will appear.



***WARNING*** THIS MAP VERSION IS TERRIBLE FOR NES PLAYERS SEEK AN NES MAP!!! Quite naturally, the cave that you must travel through to reach Rhone itself is very difficult and challenging to get through. You will be facing a wide variety of strong enemies, including Gargoyles, King Orcs, Mega Knights, and Green Dragons (which oddly enough happen to be the only proper dragons present in the game, compared to the variety of three colors that existed in the first one.) While a successful venture through the cave will result in your arrival at Rhone, the fact is you will need to enter this cave no less than two times to complete the game successfully. The reason is because you still have not collected all five crests by the time you visit this cave. The fifth crest is hidden in this cave, and once you collect it, you'll have to locate the Ocean Monolith where you can receive the Charm of Rubiss. There are two other worthwhile treasures to locate while you visit the cave. One was mentioned in Beran, and another is an article of protection worn by your ancestor which you have yet to collect.

You may notice, as you walk along the first floor, that certain sections of the floor are actually pitfall traps. By stepping on these seemingly solid spaces, you will plummet to the floor below. From the first floor, this leads you to the basement where you will encounter nothing but Horks, and you will encounter them quite frequently. If you have to cross a great distance in this floor, you might want to run away from encounters as you may end up spending a long time down there. There is one vitally important treasure chest that you must find and open. Back on the first floor, if you safely reach the two stairwells on the left side of the floor (but not the one at the very top,) you will proceed to the second floor, where you will learn about the more mysterious properties of this cave. Hargon has cast a curse on the hallways of this cave so as to confuse and disorient any would-be heroes who try to stop him. All of the corridors in this floor wrap around in a circle, no matter where you are. There is only one staircase that leads to the third floor, and you will only find it if you pay careful attention to which chambers you have explored, and which ones you haven't.

The third floor contains no tricks like the second floor, but it is quite expansive, and the enemies here are very aggressive. There are four staircases here, all of which climb to a higher floor, but only one of which leads to an area that you can continue your climb from. The remaining three staircases are still worth exploring, as one leads to a very precious treasure; the Armor of Erdrick, the greatest armor that only the Prince of Midenhall can wear. In the remix version, you will also find other elaborate treasures, including a Mysterious Hat, and the Gremlin Shield, but don't equip it! The Gremlin Shield, along with all Gremlin items, is cursed. Upon reaching the fourth floor, you will soon discover that the cavern room is riddled with pits, and you will find yourself falling to the chamber below many times. But don't rush to that staircase in the upper right corner too quickly. Try investigating the lower left corner as well. You will find another pitfall that will lead you to a lower floor where eventually you can find a weapon of significant power; the Thunder Sword. Eventually, you will be lead back down to the first floor. If you have collected the sword, the armor, and the special treasure from the basement, now would be a good time to exit and seek the Charm of Rubiss.

Upon your return to the cave, you must climb to it's very top, which involves successfully avoiding the pitfalls that occupy the fourth floor, and reaching the staircase the leads to the fifth floor, which is actually a very short distance below the staircase from the fourth floor. By reaching this floor, you are now closer to Rhone than you've ever been, and Hargon has placed a curse on this floor that is even more deceiving than the one on the second floor. In this floor, you must correct identify the right pathways to take. One wrong decision, and your party will find itself returned to the original room that you arrived in! If you get sent back, try to remember the offending turn and avoid taking it the next time around. Eventually, should you survive the onslaught of enemy attacks, you will arrive at the cave's exit, where you can climb out and arrive at the chilly wintry death land known as Rhone.