The Dragon's Tomb

The Dragon's Tomb: 

I  had written the walkthrough for the Rear Entrance and the  progress to the Save Point and Ura.  I cannot see a walkthrough for what follows.  This is taken now from my very first game where I had no idea what I was doing.   It was such a mess that I put it aside to start a new game.  Now I have gone back to make repairs and improvements.  There are no time limits after all! 

Here I did not have a chance to experience some of the last bonding events with Kai until late in the 1st year.

In this game I saw that, no matter how high his Bonding Level, I needed to advance the main narrative if I widhed to court him seriously.  It was on 21 Winter that I activated the ability to move forward to the next Bonding Event.  I could have done it sooner if I had pushed forward with the msin narrative,  but I realised it made more sense to improve those aspects of the game I had neglected first.

For a start, I am not good with jumps and twists.  Far better that I make my Sacred Treasures more powerful so I can use them from a farther distance with more effect!

Kai gladdens my heart and he is a very important character.  His events are not straightforward as many depend on your progress in saving Azuma.  In this game, I tried to increase the power of the Sacred Treasures rather than rushing ahead.  I worked on the level of my Villages... and I began to court Kai even though, in my other game, we actually were married and had two children.

I discovered precisely when he becomes unavailable and when you no longer can continue his Bonding Events.

He almost had reached Level 11, but I found I could not ask him for another date.

He becomes unavailable very briefly when he stays behind in the Underworld r o fight the onis who take orders from Ura but as soon as you take to the sky to give chase to the Dragon's Tomb, you will see a notification that you can experience his next Bonding event.

His courtship had come to a grinding halt with this one:

Getting to Know Kai 6.

The requirements were:

Reach Bond Level 9 with Kai

Wait until tomorrow

Advance the main story

When Woolby and I took to the sky after leaving Kai in the Underworld, I saw I could invite him on another date.

We will meet at noon tomorrow, 22 Winter, at the Dragon Shrine.

At the same time, Mauro's next event become available.  His timeline is one of the slowest.  Requirements for Getting to know Mauro 2 were:

Reach Bond Level 5 with Mauto

Advance the main story

Wait until tomorrow

The next event now is:

Foreign Books

I had to take to the sky after Ura's 2nd defeat to unlock this one as well.

For this, go to Cuilang's House

The narrative: 

Kai stays behind to deal with another wave of rebellious onis after Ura mocks him,  saying it is only a diversion.

Kai, seeing another onslaught from onis tells you to let him deal with it and go to the Dragon's Gravesite without him.

Go through the Underworld to the Dragon's Gravesite.  Veyron is there and you must fight him.  He sends huge monsters of various types against you.  When defeated, he asks that you care for Clarice.

Now you see the entire tomb rise into the sky.  Follow it and find yourself in the Dragon's Tomb.

A wall of flame with anorher flame circle surrounding a Frog

That gives a Titan Bow Recipe.

A Chest at the foot of a stairesy with a Light Crystal.

Go up two flights to destroy purple blightbloom and blight.

Beyond this, a large area filled with purple blight.

There are two blue blightblooms on the walls.  Find the right angles for each and you can shoot them.  The other is on a block you cannot reach from the ground.  Go to the ramp and after defeslating two spiders on that side and two on the other side, climb the first ramp.  

A chest up there has Fire Boost Maga III

After defeating the spiders,  use your parasol to glide to the last blightbloom on top of the block and destroy it.

Now find the moving platform and take it.  You will come to a chamber divided into different areas with blocks.  As you enter each little enclave a wall of flame is triggered until you defeat the little group of enemies.  Find the Save point and save.

The Frogs from the ebtrancr yo Outer Citadel are:

In the entrance chamber onnthe top left:

Null: Type Zero Recipe

Up the stairs, up a ramp  and then down a ramp and to an alcove to the south:

Wooly Scarf Recipe

Take moving platform.  Go to the right for:

Mechanical Daggers.

Go to the left for

Tent Recipe

Go up stairways to large chamber with two alcoves with spiders and ramps.  The one on the left had:

Divine Sunrise Spirit Talismsns Recipe

Divine Warrior Spirit Talismans Recipe

Up a stairway, take moving platform to a chamber.  In a corner:

Subzero Armour Recipe.

Close to this, a chest containing Green Core

Chamber with areas divided by blocks.

Chest with Red Core

Frog with Golden Hairpin Recipe.

I went home and found Kai drinking at Yachi's.  He immediately asked me to the Snow Festival.  I declined.  I would like to wait until the 24th.  I then asked him for a date.  He was very pleased, said he had wanted to ask me.  So we meet tomorrow wt noon.

I then went to the Winter Dragon Shrine whete Fubuki arrived wirh an old scroll that spoke of the Winter Blossom.

Going to the Spring Dragon Shrine and walking out the doir triggered an event with Murasame.  We met the yoma, fought and defeated her.  She then asked me to watch over him.

22 Winter:  For our 'date' at noon, Kai takes me yo the Underworld and I referee a Sumo match between Ura and him.  He then gives Ura stewardship of the land.

I walk on the Summer High street and trigger an event with Subaru.

23 Winter:  

I decided to experience Mauro's event.  Going to Cuilang's House triggers an event where he expresses fascination with automatons.  Cuilang lends him a book in a language he cannot read so he takes it to Kurama to translate.  Kurama refuses:  'Because it's a chore!  Why in the world should I?'

When I beg him to help, he agrees on the condition that we find black stones for his GO Board in the Underworld.

I am not in a hurry to deal with the rest of the Dragon's Tomb today.  8 look at the maps of the Islands to bless some of the Frogs I missed.  They tend to be on little islands that are not onnthe main roure.

I find Ring of Autumn Recipe on a littoe island to the right of the Twilight Gaol Entrance.

I found the recipe for Invinceroid on another.

Somehow in my haste, I did not bless the Wayside Shrine on Winter Kagura Shrine Island and it gave me Stoic Earring Recipe and Awakening Earring Recipe.

There are two more Frogs in the Heavenly Realm.  How I hate that place with its endless mazes!  One, hoqever, has one of my favourite recipes, the Shogi Hut.  Behind the Frog is a chest that contains a Crimson Jewel.

Essentially, you leap our of a wibdow diagonally on the right side of the building.  Keep the staff equipped to leap across invisible platforms.  After turning the corner, you need to use the Sacred Drum to open Lotus Flowers.  Leap on those and then leap into another window after leaping to a tiny platform on the side of the building.

There are a couple of Frogs I missed in the Goldblossom Mines as well.

The Snow Festival is tomorrow in.this old 1st game of mine.

I have not asked any one yet.

This morning Woolby told me essentially that he would give me the means to propose to Kai.  Although you do not need to finish the game in terms of saving Azima but only take to the sky to pursue the Dragon's Tomb to unlock the final Bonding Event.  You need him at Level 10 as well if you wish to propose.  Actuqlly, however, I tested this.  I went bwck to the eve of the Snow Festival where I had not saved Azuma.  I sort of spent a lot of time sleeping at campfires until the Plum Tree matured.  I plucked a branch and made the Sacred Drink.  By the time the tree matured, Kai was at Level 12 BUT there was no option to propose to him!  So it seems  one must save Azuma before one can propose.  Woolby's declaration was a bit of misdirection.

In my 2nd game where I married Kai, I had every one at Level 10 and confessed my love yo each and every one, then experienced ALL of their events before proposing to Kai.  I now see that was not the best strategy as, after we had two 0children, I used the Fateweaver Shrine Orb to return to a single state to experience marriage with Subaru.  I had to go through all of his romantic Events again!

The events in this game are wonderful for the most part but the whole purpose of the Orb is to allow you to court and marry every eligible character.  Once you marry some one, intimacy with all other characters is lost.  Friendship Levels do not decrease blessedly.

When I go to Goldblossom Mines, I see why I did not bless the Frog.  There still is purple blight preventing both access to it and to Yoichi's Target.  I fight and defeat the Hound again but do not have time to go through the rest of that labyrinth today if I want to save with the ability to invite more than one individual to the Snow Festival.  Drspite the fact thwt I hsve tomorrow as well to make an invitation, it makes me a little nervous to leavevit to the 11th hour.  

It is after 7 in the evening.  I return to Azuma, go to the Spring God Shrine and experience Murasame's duel with Matsuri instead.  What I wish to avoid in this gqme now is doing things more thqn omce because I have saved at an earlier point and return to that.

And somehow I have over 170 Frogs now so received the wonderful Snow Wolf Recipe along with the recipe for Zweibelkuchen, one of Clarice's favourite dishes and two other food recipes.

24 Winter:  

I invited Kai to the Snow Festival last night but kept another file free.  I was confused by a message in the Villages Meny to the effect that the Summer area was only 97% free of blight.  Nothing showed on thr map.  I never had this issue in my second game.  When I looked at the description of the location, it said it was the Hanging Bridge.  How soon we firget.  Drop down from thevbridge and you will see the purple blight.  There is a fishing pier as well.  Go down firther to find the blightbloom you must hit wirh a flame arrow.  Job done.  Only a few points to go to reach Level 10.

25 Winter:

I had the tecipe for tge Snow Wold but onky a couple of Large Fur.  Retuened to Glacial Islsnd to tame the King Wooly then went back to the. Outer Citadel Save Point at the Dragon's Tomb.  A bit late on thecday.  I hqd jo intention of engaging in anuthing significqnr but as soon as ai entered tge large cgamber south of the Save Point and touchex the lantwrn that restores energy, the Hound appeared to fight me.  I feel really sorry for him.  I wish 5hwy had added h8m to the eligible characters.  I fought him qnd as he died, he said it was orecisely what he wanted... and in his place was ajqmurosaki.  8 wanted to be qble to make the Earring of the Unfalyering before I had to engage with him but I have not found a single Oni Toppler yet.  No danger of being defeated but the status ailments are annoying.  As we defeated him, Fubuki appeared and dealt the final blow.  Unfortunately Clarice is possessed by his curse still.

I take the corridor east, then south, then east up the stairwsy.

Now we reach a cgamber deivided by blocks with two flame thrower red blights in the very centre.  A Kai rock obsyricts a r wmp so I use the Mask on that.  A Tengu attacks first.  Artillery, lanterns... for the first time, Kai and Murasame cpme close to dying.  I use the drum repeatedly, then go back to the real goal which is destroying the blight.  I use the parasol from the ramp that had the Kai rock to glide to the centre area by stages, then desteoy both blights with it.  A chest contwins Red Crystal.  Might have been Crimson Jewel.  There is another Crimson Jewel in a chest on a solitary block.

All enemies and blight gone.  We take the corridor east, defeating wisps, three different elements, two of each, then go east again into a large chamber with blocks, blight, and with onis including  a colossal oni.  In the centre, purple blight with a blightbloom high on a block.  I use a ramp to get closer and then a flame arrow to get rid of that.

There is another purple blightbloom to the east of that one.  I can use a flame arrow from the floor to destroy that one.

We need to take a corridor east, then north.

There is an energy lantern.  I wait for Kai to catch up and heal every one with the drum again.

We enter a huge seemingly empty chamber but it triggers a wall of flame, a host of enemies and a green blight in the very centre.  I use the fan quickly.  We fight mainly onis then run north through empty corridors and then turn towards the west.   At first we go too far.  There are two corridors heading west.  We need the first one now.

Climbing a stairway, we must defeat on Foreign Soldier.  There is a chrstvhere with MND Maga III.  Go west and north then up another stairway defended by one Foreign Soldier.  They seem lonely and somewhat like fish out of water up here, always isolated.

We enter a large empty chamber and a wall of flame appears with a Gale Tengi and a number of different Wisps.

To the left now is a cookfire and new Save Point, the Dragon's Tomb Tower.  Woolby has bern chattering to me nonstop abput Clarice and redemption and God knows what.  It was poor timing as I was trying to navigate.  It is almost 9 now.

Torches light as we ascend a stairway going south.  'Here we are'.  Woolby makes a speech.  There is a moving platform in front of us.  Up we go to an enormous chamber where Clarice awaits us.  As usual, I have failed to organise my inventory and never intended to do this today!

It was going well enough.  Use the sacred sword briefly, then your regular weapon... but unfortunately, I was low on Spirit Points and could not execute the final move that requires two bars.  Oddly enough, I was able to simply leave and go home.  I will have to go through it all again but you need that special attack to finish her off and I had not made nor packed enough of Iroha's Omelet that restore spirit points.  I also made the error of using Sacred Treasures to defeat monsters before I entered the arena.  I had fought the Hound and Kamurosaki as well...

26 Winter:

I see Kai to get a good sendoff for the final struggle to save Azuma.  He reaches Level 12 and gives me his Life Sized Kai Cutout Recipe.

I go back to the Dragon's Tomb and warp immediately to the Dragon's Tomb Tower Save Point.  Clarice is waiting.

This time, I peobably am oberly cautious.  I need to study how soirit bars are affected by actions.  I know that using the aparasol to glide uses them but other than that, never pais much attention.

It is a gruwling battle because of my caution but I finally use the special attack and defeat her.  She begs me to kill her.  Instead, I perform Divine Severance to end whatever hold Ksmurosaki still had over her.

Now the gods appear and devise a plan.  They will go to the four cannons and cast their Sacred Treasures into them to hold off Mihoshi Habaki who still is consuming runes.  It is mt job to go to eavh of the cannons and clear each of the chambers of enemies.

As you enter a cannon chamber, a wall of flame erupts.  One by one, I clear them and lose a Sacred Treasure for each.

I now must find Kai who is in a chamber to the east so he can perform Divine Severance.

When that is accomplished, you must fight Mihoshi Habaki.  Clarice and Subqru join you but all that will defeat him is the Dance of Bonds used repeatedly and then the Dance of the Sovereign.

You will die three times before Mihoshi Habaki is completely drained of power.

It is a lesson from the dragon who will tell you that all living things must die and death is necessary for change.

Unfortunately, it appears Woolby died in this last battle.

You join the others, dead Woolby in your arms, but Matsuri revives him by tickling him.

Next is a celebratory Party and the gods insist that Clarice attends.

I will go through the process again to try to give a more detailed walkthrough of the areas.  If you are accystimed to the moving platform 'lifts' and warp circles in Rune Factory, you will have little trouble but I recall the firat time I defeated Mihoshi Habaki and I became hopelessly lost again abd again.  I could see a Save Point on the map that looked as though it was next to me but I could not reach it.  If you use the lifts and warp circles correctly, the journey is not that complicated.  If you do not understand when to use them, you will lose time and become frustrated.