Before starting the Chapter 3 walkthrough, I'm going to include a map of the town layout so you'll know how to get from town to town. The map won't make sense to you if you're just starting the chapter, then again, I can't think of any better spot to put it. So, just skip it for now and refer back to it as needed when playing through Chapter 3.
Note that the map is not to scale in any way, unless you count the fact that entrances and exits are shown on the proper side of each town and are correctly in place relative to one another. In other words, the path from the Town of Merchants to the Town of Witches and Wizards really is in the upper right corner of town, as shown in the map.
############
+---------#Adventures#-------------------+
| ############ |
| ####### | ###### |
| #North# (overworld) #East#-+ |
| ####### ###### | |
| | +--+ +----+ | |
| | | | | | | |
| | | ####### | | |
| +-----+-#Kings#---+--------+ |
| | ####### | |
| | | +-------+ |
| | | | | |
| ######### ##################### | |
| +-#Thieves# #Witches and Wizards# | |
| | ######### ##################### | |
| | | |
| +-------+ +-------------------+ |
| | | |
| ########### |
+----------#Merchants#-------------------+
###########
###### ########### | |
#West#-#Craftsmen#---+ |
###### ########### |
|
########### |
#Swordsmen#-+
###########
|
##########
#Noblemen#
##########
|
#####################
#(noblemen's temple)#-+
##################### |
| |
####### |
#South# |
####### |
| |
######## |
#Lowest# |
######## |
| |
+-----------+
Event 12[edit]
You'll start just outside the Sandra (Sandora?) kingdom. The overworld has nothing special about it -- not even monsters -- so you might as well go north into town and get started. Talk to the people in town to get an idea of the layout of the kingdom. It's made up of thirteen towns, each one built below the next. Each town has a particular theme to it. And also, in order to get to the next town, you'll have to get the key from the mayor of that town. Sometimes all you have to do is ask, but more often you'll have to accomplish some kind of task. Anyway, the town you're in now is kind of a meeting place for people from all the different towns. You should walk around and talk to as many people as you can to get a good feel for how things are going to work in this chapter. The town doesn't have anything to sell except a few things for Bellenue, in case she's missing a Feather Hat or two.
After you've had your fill of the Town of Adventures, head toward the mayor's house in the back of town, among several other houses with closed doors. Inside, he'll tell you about how things work, and give you the Blue Key, which will let you into the stairways that lead to the next town. There is a stairway on each side of town, and both are about halfway up. Make sure you examine the stairway to unlock it before you try to use it. The same goes for all stairways in this kingdom.
Next is the Town of Merchants. After you enter the town, Roy will notice that Traysia's pendant has been stolen! You'll have to do something about this when you reach the Town of Thieves. In the meantime, go to the mayor's house (all the way at the back of town, where most mayor's houses are) and talk to him for the Bronze Key. After you get it, note that there are four ways out of this town. Taking the stairs in the upper right corner will bring you to the Town of Witches and Wizards, and taking the other set of stairs at the top, but more to the left, will take you to the Town of Thieves. Also, at the bottom of the town, you'll notice two indentations that look like the exits of other towns you've been to. The one on the left will take you to the Town of Craftsmen and the one on the right will take you to the Town of Swordsmen.
I recommend going to the Town of Swordsmen first. It has tons of awesome weapons and armor for sale, plus it leads to the Town of Noblemen, which has even better stuff. Getting the Evony Key is only a matter of asking the mayor (in the house in the upper left corner of town), so you may want to do that now, then head to the Town of Noblemen (all the shops are underground, so take the stairs by the fountain once you get there) to see what you want to buy. If you check the prices, you'll probably notice that you don't have enough money for all of the stuff they sell. Fortunately, the Town of Swordsmen has a coliseum where you can fight enemies to build money, not to mention experience. To visit the coliseum, enter the long stone building beside the doctor's office. You'll see three doors which represent, from left to right, the junior, middle, and champion classes. As soon as you enter one of the doors, you'll be launched into four battles, back to back, against increasingly difficult opponents. There are a few things you should know about coliseum battles: First of all, unlike other RPG's which have a similar feature, if you lose here, you lose, period. These are real battles, and if you get wiped out, the game will be over and you'll have to start from your last save. So, be careful. Also, pay attention to the difficulty levels. The junior class is too easy to waste time on; the middle class is pretty straightforward in its challenge, and the champion class will be tough for those who aren't armed to the teeth with good Sticks. And finally, you can't run from battles in the coliseum, so make sure that you're not overmatched before you enter.
Fighting battles in the coliseum is one of the very few ways you'll be able to gain money in this chapter. And it's conveniently located in the same town as all those hot weapons and armor. So, a lot of people will want to stay here for a while and make money to upgrade their equipment before moving on. That's fine, but to be fair, I feel I should let those people know that there's a way to get infinite money in the Town of Thieves by exploiting an oversight by the programmers. If you don't have a problem with cheating to get the money, then go ahead and do that -- see the section on the Town of Thieves for the way to do it. If, however, you plan on taking the high road and not cheating, the coliseum is your best bet. Here's a quick guide to fighting at the coliseum.
+-------------------------+
| The Coliseum Micro-FAQ |
+-------------------------+---------------------------------------------------+
| |
| Here's a table showing info about each class. Total EXP is the total amount |
| of experience you'll gain by fighting through all four battles in each |
| class. The same goes for Total Gold. Round 1 Opponent is the enemies that |
| you'll be fighting in the first battle of that class, and Round 2, 3, and 4 |
| Opponent are the same thing. |
| |
| | Junior Class | Middle Class | Championship Class |
|----------------+-------------------+-------------------+------------------- |
|Total EXP | 200 | 400 | 892 |
|Total Gold | 720 | 812 | 2020 |
|Round 1 Opponent| 4 Slimes | 4 Forest Slimes | 4 Priests |
|Round 2 Opponent| 4 Slimes | 4 Slime Knights | 4 Azels |
|Round 3 Opponent| 4 Worms | 4 Crawlers | 4 Ghosts |
|Round 4 Opponent| 4 Worms | 4 Giant Rocks | 4 Dark Swordsmen |
| |
|More info: |
| |
|* Junior Class |
| ------------ |
| Financially speaking, the junior class is very rewarding compared to the |
| middle class. If you're fighting for gold and aren't strong enough to |
| fight in the championship class yet, you should pick the junior class |
| until you have enough money to load up on Amber or Water Sticks. |
| |
|* Middle Class |
| ------------ |
| You should only fight in the middle class if a.) you're fighting for |
| experience only, AND b.) you take damage from the Dark Swordsmen in the |
| Championship Class. If your whole party (and not just Bellenue, loaded up |
| with Feather Hats or Water Sticks) can fight the Dark Swordsmen without |
| losing life, then fight in the championship class. If you're only in it |
| for the money, fight in the junior or championship class. |
| |
|* Championship Class |
| ------------------ |
| Don't be fooled by the first three rounds, which feature formidable but |
| still relatively weak opponents. The Dark Swordsmen in round four will |
| inflict considerable damage on your characters, even if they have good |
| levels and are maxed out with Power Sticks. That's why it's a good |
| strategy to spend all your money upgrading to Amber or Water Sticks before |
| you worry about saving up for the weapons that you want. Once your party |
| is fully upgraded, all it takes is decent levels for the Dark Swordsmen's |
| blows to have little to no effect. You can still fight them effectively if |
| Bellenue is maxed out with Feather Hats or Water Sticks and the rest have |
| decent levels and a good amount of Sticks. If this is the case, Bellenue |
| will be invulnerable even while attacking, and the others will still be |
| invulnerable while defending. So, simply have the first three characters |
| defend while Bellenue picks them off one by one. The fact that it takes a |
| while to kill off all the enemies in this manner means that even though |
| the rewards are bigger in championship class, it still may be a better use |
| of your time to fight in the junior class until you can buy the equipment |
| needed to get all of your characters into battle. |
| |
| OVERALL STRATEGY: I recommend that you make your first priority to buy |
| Amber or Water Sticks for everyone. Either fight normally |
| in the junior class, or fight in the championship class |
| using the strategy explained in the previous section. |
| Once everyone's got all the Amber/Water Sticks they can |
| carry, just keep on plowing through the championship |
| class until you have the money and/or experience you |
| need. |
| |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Just so you know, here's the best stuff to buy each character:
Roy - Spike Shield (unless he got the one from the temple in Chapter 2)
--- Magic Mail
Battle Sword
Banegie - Spike Shield (unless she got the one from the temple in Chapter 2)
------- Magic Mail
Halbert
Magellan - Tower Shield
-------- Animal Dress
Battle Sword
Bellenue - Salamander
-------- Magic Mail
Of course, it goes without saying that for best results, your party should be stuffed to the gills with Water Sticks.
So, stay and fight, and equip your characters with the best of what the Town of Swordsmen and the Town of Noblemen have to offer. Or don't. I don't care. Either way, when you've done what you wanted to do, make sure to talk to people as always, but be sure not to miss the conversation with Luuk. He's in the long building that lies all the way left, and toward the bottom of town. Talk to him (he's in the left part of the building) and you'll learn a lot more about Banegie's background, including the fact that she's a princess. Will wonders never cease?
So, at this point, you've either earned your money and bought all the equipment you want, or you're ready to find out how to get some free cash. Either way, your next stop should be the Town of Thieves. Backtrack to the Town of Merchants and go through the stairway at the back of town, to the left of the mayor's house and you'll be there. Talk to everyone in town, of course. Note the set of stairs all the way at the back of town, in the middle. Once you get the key from the mayor, the stairs will take you to the Town of Kings... although there's no point in visiting just yet.
Only one of the chests that line the walls of the town will open: it's among the ones that go across the bottom wall -- the second from the right. Examine it for a Gold Mirror. Next, get the key by talking to the mayor. His house is the long stone house in the upper right part of town. The first time you talk to him, he'll give you the Red Key. Talk to him again and he'll give you back Traysia's pendant after a little dialogue. Finally, he'll ask you to go to a magic class in the Town of Witches and Wizards. You can do that in a moment, but for now, you may want to make some money by going on the treasure hunt. You can even turn it into unlimited money, as mentioned above. Of course, it's totally optional, so those of you that don't need any extra money are welcome to skip the next section.
To go on the treasure hunt, visit the long stone house in the center of town (actually, there are two; you want the one on the right). Talk to the guy inside and he'll let you into the dungeon. One thing to keep in mind is that all chests inside the dungeon (except for the very last one with the prize inside) are fake and will hurt your party if you try to open them. So just follow the directions and don't get distracted and you'll be fine. Now then, from the dungeon's entrance, ignore the first path that leads right immediately. Instead go upward a bit and take the second path leading right. Take the stairs you come to. On the next level, go down to the intersection where you have to choose between right and left paths. Choose the path leading right and follow it until it turns up, then keep going straight upward until you find the next set of stairs. Take them and when you arrive in the next level, follow the path as it curves around and takes you downward. When it opens into a clearing, just continue downward and you'll soon find the next staircase. Take the stairs and in follow the path in the next level until it opens up into a clearing. Here you should take the path leading straight to the right and follow it as it twists and turns until you come to the intersection where you have to choose between taking a wide path leading upward, or taking a narrow path leading to the right. Go straight up, all the way, then turn right and follow the path until you find the last set of stairs. Take them and you should be in a large, open room with rectangular blocks spaced out across it. The blocks are arranged in three rows: three blocks in the top row, one in the middle, and three in the bottom row. Line yourself up with the top row, then head all the way left and poke around the left hand wall until you find the hidden passage and pass through it. On the other side, walk down a little and you should see a chest. This is the chest with the prize, the Golden Cross, inside. Collect it and backtrack all the way back through the dungeon, to the guy's house. Once you get there, talk to him and he'll give you 5800 gold for beating the maze. Now, here's the trick: if you talk to him again without leaving the house, he'll give you the gold all over again. In fact, you can talk to him as many times as you want and keep racking up the cash. Be warned, though -- once you leave the house, you won't get another chance to do this trick, so make sure you get all you want/need right now. If you're wondering, a few hundred thousand should be plenty for the rest of the game -- no sense in spending all day making millions of dollars that you'll never spend. Then go equip yourself in the Town of Swordsmen and the Town of Noblemen.
Okay, now you should finally be ready to go a little further in the storyline. Remember the mayor's favor he asked of you? Go back to the Town of Merchants and take the stairs in the upper right corner of town to get to the Town of Witches and Wizards. Talk to people as usual, and buy magic spells if you want to -- there's nothing else for sale here. Also, note the two sets of stairs in the town: the ones at the back of town take you to the Town of Kings, and the ones at the left end of town take you to the Town of Thieves. When you're done checking out the town, talk to the mage standing in the doorway of the building in the center of town. That's the magic school, and he will let you enter to take a class there. Once inside, go through the next doorway and you should be in a level with two bedrooms and another door in the back wall. Go through that door and you'll be in a magic shop. Talk to the wizard and you'll be drawn into an easy boss fight.
Boss: Priests[edit]
This one's easy. It's just three priests. No strategy needed.
After the battle, talk to the wizard again (you'll need to hit the A button after the first bit of text, when the text box is black) and he'll supposedly teach you new magic. This is only a plot device, though, as you won't learn any new spells. Then, go through the door at the back of the room, and continue through the one in the following room, until you finally reach the mayor's room at the top. He will give you the Amber Key, but will also ask another favor of you -- to find out who the bad wizards from the outside are and what they are up to. First, backtrack to the Town of Thieves and report to the mayor about accomplishing your mission. He congratulates you and then says how the wizards from the outside have infiltrated the Town of Noblemen. He asks you to do the favor that the president wanted you to do. Just then, a messenger arrives and says the school of magic is on fire.
Go back to the Town of Witches and Wizards and enter the magic school (even though it doesn't look like it's on fire...). Approach the wizard inside and he'll inform you that it is, in fact, burning down. The next thing you know, you're standing outside and the magic school is a pile of ashes.
Event 13[edit]
If you feel bad about the school being burned down, you can just take the stairway directly above the school and then re-enter the city. Everything should be back to normal. Not really good for anything, though... Anyway, now the whole town wants you to find the evil wizards and put a stop to them. Go back to the Town of Thieves and talk to the mayor one more time. As you talk, someone will come in and tell you that you've been summoned to the palace by the king.
Event 14[edit]
Head for the Town of Kings (accessible via either the Town of Witches and Wizards or the Town of Thieves) and go down through the outer gate. If you want, you can go to the left or right to visit the barracks and armory (none of the chests open). If you do this, make a note of the stairways just below each armory: the one on the left leads to North Town, and the one on the right leads to East Town. Once you're through the outer gate, just continue downward to enter the palace.
Once inside, take a step to the right and go upwards to the stairs, and take them. On the next level, you'll see stairs leading upward at the far end of the room, and you'll also see stairs leading downward in the middle of the floor. If you want some free gems, take the ones leading downward, then go down one more level for a treasure room with chests containing: Crystal, Ruby, Amethyst, Sapphire, Pearl, Emerald, Opal, and Diamond. Then backtrack to the room you came from and go through the stairs at the top of the room. You'll be in the king's room; talk to him and he'll ask you to investigate the situation, and he'll also give you the Platinum Key, which will open all doors in the entire kingdom! If you haven't yet gotten the Evony Key (from the Town of Swordsmen) or the Marble Key (from the Town of Craftsmen), then that's two extra inventory spots that you can use.
So, now that you can access all the different parts of the kingdom, you're pretty close to the end of the chapter. Before you set off to finish the chapter, you may want to visit all the towns you missed. You should definitely equip yourself with the best stuff from the Town of Swordsmen and the Town of Noblemen if you haven't already done so. You may also want to visit the Town of Craftsmen, which doesn't have much of a purpose at all, but may provide you with some info if you talk to people. You should spend the next part of the game visiting the directional towns (North, South, East, and West Towns) and the last town, Lowest Town, to get some neat items and learn more about the plot. Here's a walkthrough of these places. I recommend that you visit them in the order I have listed. Of course, those in a hurry to get through the chapter should know that it's not necessary to visit any of these towns, so you can completely skip this section if you wish.
+------------------------------------+ | (OPTIONAL) The Rest of the Kingdom | +------------------------------------+----------------------------------------+ | | | West Town | | --------- | | You can get to West Town by going to the Town of Craftsmen and taking the | | stairs on the left side of town. Once inside, you won't find much... just a | | bunch of depressed people and a huge hole at the left end of town. Climb | | down the ladder into the hole and you'll be inside a cave. You can go left | | from the entrance for a chest with a Silver Dress, or go down from the | | entrance for a Death Sword. The room's kind of a rough square, and the exit | | is in the lower left corner. | | | | In the next level, go up a little and then veer off right for a chest with | | Fire Mail, otherwise continue upwards and go down the stairs you come to. | | After taking the stairs, step left and take the lower branch for a Book of | | Magic (anyone know what spell it teaches?), or take the upper branch until | | you reach an apparent dead end. But note that you can walk through the | | lower portion of the right-hand wall, and you'll get to... a real dead end, | | with just a bed. You can't even sleep in it. Sorry. I guess the purpose of | | the cave was to add to the plot by showing you that someone used to be | | living underground. This, and the fact that the townspeople all seem to | | want to die, may seem more relevant after you visit the other towns and | | learn exactly what has happened. | | | | East Town | | --------- | | To get to East Town, enter the outer gate of the castle in the Town of | | Kings, then go to the right and take the stairs you'll find there. I may be | | missing something, but East Town doesn't seem to have any point. You'll see | | that there are no buildings, and the only person in town talks about a | | master swordsman "over there". There is a master swordsman in the Town of | | Swordsmen, but I don't think that's what he's talking about. See my | | explanation at the end of this chapter if you're confused. Anyway, East | | Town's only attraction is another huge hole. This one is reached by taking | | the set of stairs to the right of it. If you want to pick up an item and | | also see a creepy little scene, take the stairs. | | | | When you start out inside the hole, follow the path to the next set of | | stairs. On the second level, walk to the left a little and go down at the | | intersection if you want a chest with a Great Mace, otherwise go upward and | | take the stairs. On the following level, follow the path to the next set of | | stairs. On the level after that, ignore the path leading upward and walk to | | the left to reach the final set of stairs. In the last room, if you walk | | toward the center of the room, a ghost will talk and give you a cryptic | | message. Kinda weird... Well, that's it for East Town. At least until | | someone tells me that there's something you're supposed to do here. | | | | North Town | | ---------- | | To get to North Town, go to the Town of Kings and get through the first | | gate. Before you enter the castle, turn left and go down the stairs you'll | | find there. You should be in North Town, which makes a little more sense | | than the last two towns. When you go into town, you'll see that all its | | houses are empty. Take the stairs in the very back end of town and you'll | | be underground. You'll have a choice of going right or left; go right and | | you'll see the stairs leading to the next level. Take them. | | | | On the next level, you should be able to see the exit from where you start | | out. But, before you go down toward it, you should first take the path | | leading upward and get the chest that has the Fire Shield and give it to | | your weakest defensive character. Then curve back around and take the | | stairs. Next, go down a little bit and take the door to your right. You'll | | find a room with some people in it; talk to them and you'll find out about | | what happened: the noblemen used the craftsmen to build their town deep | | underground and then banished them to the caves when they were finished. If | | you walk up into the adjoining room, the man there will ask you to defeat | | the noblemen and will give you chests that contain an Amber Stick, Gold | | Arrow, and Book of Magic (anyone know what spell it teaches?). | | | | South Town | | ---------- | | To get to South Town, enter the Town of Noblemen and head all the way down | | to the decorated gate. It will open with the Platinum Key and you can | | proceed down into the noblemen's temple. Once inside, work your way down | | and then enter the chamber in the center of the room. Take the stairs there | | and then continue forward, past the two noblemen and into the next room. | | From here, take all the sets of stairs (a total of five) until you emerge | | in South Town. If you talk to the noblemen that live there, you'll learn a | | few things that you may have suspected before about what has happened in | | the kingdom. There's also a weird metal statue in the center of town, in | | the middle of the pit. It doesn't appear to serve a purpose, though. The | | only other thing to note is that if you head toward the bottom part of town | | and squeeze between the pit and the wall, you can get on the other side of | | the wall where there's a stairway that leads to Lowest Town. | | | | Lowest Town | | ----------- | | In the Town of the Lowest Underground Level (known as Lowest Town in this | | FAQ), things get really weird. For the first time since the very beginning | | of the game, you'll see a church, with a priest who says something | | incredibly vague and cryptic. The only other two people in town are turned | | to stone. If you enter the house suspended above the middle of the pit, | | you'll reach a stairway that will take you directly to the basement of the | | temple, which has five sets of stairs leading down and one set leading up | | (the one you came from). If you've done all that you wanted to do in this | | chapter, now's a good time to finish up the chapter. If you want to go back | | and do something, you can take the stairs on the far right, then take the | | stairs in the next room and you'll be in the button room of the temple (see | | the next paragraph for a description). If, however, you're ready to get | | this chapter over with, skip the next paragraph and start with the | | directions on where to go from here. | | | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
If you skipped the last five towns[edit]
Well, the only thing you really missed was the Fire Shield. Here's the quickest way to get to the basement where that last section left off: Go to the Town of Noblemen and open up the elaborate gate in the lower end of town. Enter the temple below, and go to your right once you're inside. Go down the stairs you find there, and then go to the lower right corner of the room you end up in. Get right in front of the red button and examine it to push it. This will warp you to the basement.
From the basement...[edit]
You'll see five sets of stairs leading down and one set leading up. The one set leading up will take you to Lowest Town. Of the five stairways leading down, the first, second, and fourth lead to empty rooms. The fifth leads back to the room with the warp button. The third leads to the boss.
Take the third stairway and the following stairway in the room. You'll then be in the inner part of the temple where the wizards are meeting with the noblemen. Walk to the right and approach the group of four noblemen and you'll eavesdrop on their tirade about ruling the kingdom. After you've heard this, take a couple steps to the left and hug the left wall as you pass them -- if you don't hug the wall, you'll have to fight a battle before being sent back to the top of the room. So, pass up everybody standing around and take the stairway at the bottom. Exit the next room you come to at the bottom of the room and you'll find yourself in a large stairway. Walk around and descend the stairs for a total of ten screens and you'll finally be in the boss's lair.
There will be a two kings glitch if you sneak past behind the wizards and go downstairs. Once you've talked to them, go back and talk to the King for a new dialog then return. The wizards will be gone and you can take the stairs.
Go straight up and through the large door in the room with the columns. You'll be in a room that looks like a maze, but is actually pretty simple. Head directly to the left from the entrance if you need an extra Water Stick, otherwise make your way up to the center of the upper wall and take the stairway there. On the next screen, get the chest right next to the entrance for a Gold Shield, and then walk all the way to the upper left corner of the room where you'll find a Book of Magic that teaches your party Dakitas. Go straight down from that chest (the other paths will warp you back to the top of the room) and you'll come to a similarly structured room. This time choose the second path from the left (the one just to your left when you enter the room) and you'll be in the boss room. Take a few steps downward and the game will go auto as you meet the wizards and prepare to fight.
Boss: Lord Mage and Priests of the Devil[edit]
You'll be attacked by four Priests of the Devil and the Lord Mage, who is apparently just a really tall priest. With inventories full of Water Sticks and decent levels, this fight should be a breeze. If you didn't bother arming your characters in such a manner and need actual strategy, remember to stay in the lower half of the field to pin the two outside Priests of the Devil. Try to keep your party together and take on the Lord Mage and the two Priests of the Devil equally. The Priests of the Devil will go down first, then focus your entire party's attacks on the Lord Mage. After he goes down, the two remaining Priests of the Devil should be no problem. If your party's in bad shape, you can even keep them where they are and have Bellenue lob arrows at the enemies, one at a time, until they die.
When you defeat the bosses, they'll mention Floyd before they die. Interesting. Now you need to find the wizards from the north and destroy them.
Event 15[edit]
After the Lord Mage and his minions are vanquished, head down to exit the temple. Now is the time to do whatever you need to do before leaving this chapter. When you're ready, go back to the Town of Kings and visit the king again. Actually, uh, there are two kings now. I don't know how that works, but anyway, you can talk to the king on the left for a little bit of resolution, then talk to the king on the right for a little congratulatory speech, and of course, a request to take out the wizards of the north. After talking, you'll be whisked away in the king's carriage toward the northern kingdom, and the chapter will end.
What the heck happened in that chapter?[edit]
Perhaps it lost something in the translation, but Chapter 3 didn't seem to make much sense. Most of the directional towns were very odd and confusing. Based on the info available, I think the story goes something like this: The elitist noblemen recruited the evil wizards from the north to help them defeat the good wizards that had lived in the kingdom. By taking power in this manner, the noblemen were able to take control over the people that lived there, specifically the craftsmen, who they forced to burrow deep underground to build their city. After the craftsmen had finished the work, they were banished to underground caves to die, leaving the noblemen to build a network of towns where they could rule with the wizards. Apparently, though, the cities that the noblemen had ordered built had reached so far undeground that they had invaded areas that were home to undead spirits. As a result, these deep towns were dangerous, and all inhabitants were cursed by whatever evil was stirred up when they first tried to build a city there. Despite the noblemen's attempts to establish permanent residence there (mainly by using conquered citizens as "guinea pigs"), the evil that they had tapped into Eventually controlled them and drove them further into a destructive state. Only by defeating the noblemen could Roy and the others clear out the lower towns and make the kingdom safe again.
Like I said, this is largely speculation. But, it's the best I can come up with. A lot of it is actually supported by text in the game, and other weird occurrences can be easily explained by this scenario (for example, all the people in Lowest Town who have been turned to stone, and the pit with the ghosts in East Town). That said, if you have your own theory, let me know. If I can find enough evidence to support it, I'll make a note of it in this section.