Forest of Symbols

Begin by saving and note that you can leave the forest at any time. Look left for a treasure chest containing ?HERB/ROSE HIP. Head right to the next screen to encounter a small group of henchman. Continue along the path until you run into more henchman. At the next section make sure you have the Mud Shoes equipped and head across the swamp. As soon as you cross the swamp head up to find a chest containing an AMBER ROBE. Follow the path till you come to a split, go left and open the chest for SMELLING SALTS then continue right to run into more of the same henchmen. Open the chest in the next area for an ILLUSION DOLL then head up to find a save point in the next section. Take the path to the left of the save point south to find a chest with a FLAME SWORD inside.

Continue right from the save point and in this area open the chest at the right for a MANDRAKE. Heal up and head left to be interrupted by the Symbologist from the meeting. After an interesting turn of events, a boss fight ensues.

Disguised as a Symbologist, Vermillion does not actually use any magic. While that is good news, the bad news is that his physical attacks are devastating and you don't have a healer. Use Blueberries as you see fit through out the course of the fight. The Flame Sword comes in handy here as it plays to his weakness, but if you grabbed a more powerful weapon from the Goodie Box earlier such as the Sword of Marvels then this fight is a joke. If you only have the Flame Sword then set Celine to cast until her MP is depleted and set the only spell for her to use as the Energy Arrow.

After the battle Rena and Dias join the scene. After some conversing the party returns to Marze and more scenes take place. With Rena back in the party attempt to leave Marze only to be stopped by Celine who suggests staying the night. At this time there is a lot of optional things can be done to include Private Actions, Pickpocketing previous towns, and recruiting a new member to the party. If you don't feel like doing it at this time or at all, skip down to Harley.

Salva Mine Part 2

We'll start this section off by heading to Harley and talking to the old man at the entrance, he mentions a dragon in the Salva Mine. Return to Salva and enter the mines through the main entrance. Make your way to the sign that says "Beware of dragons" from earlier in the game and head up to find MAPLE SYRUP in the chest then head left. Go up from here to find another chest containing BRIGANDINE. Follow the path back around left, in this section we see a man pass by. Ignore him for now and head up, the chests in the corner here contain IRON and AQUABERRIES. Head all the way left to find a GOLD EARRING in the chest, further down is another chest containing CINDERELLA GLASS. Continue heading down the path and use the save point here if you wish.

Head right to see that someone beat you to the dragon. The group cheers him on but the man gets distracted and the dragon heads fuse to his back. The man thinks the party should take responsibility.

OPTIONS:

• Take responsibility
  [Ashton joins the party, denies recruitment of 2 other characters later in the game]
• Avoid responsibility [Ashton does not join the party, allows recruitment of 2 other characters later]

If you choose to take Ashton along with you then you may begin the side quest to exorcise his dragon curse. Don't forget the chests at the end of the path here which have a STAR RUBY and DIAMOND in them.

IMPORTANT NOTE

Before you leave Salva with Ashton head over to the Weapon Shop and speak with Ferguson, he will reward you with TWIN SLICERS for defeating the dragon. You cannot receive this weapon if you leave Salva before talking to Ferguson.

Go to Marze and enter the Elder's House. Head to the back where the bookshelves are and examine the shelf, choose "On Exorcism". Off to Mountain Palace, to get there begin moving towards Kurik but instead of crossing the bridge go left.

Mountain Palace

Open the chests for a LUNAR CHARM and CRYSTAL. The guard won't let you pass without permission from the King of Krosse, so go back to Krosse and request an audience with the King. Before talking to the King head over to the Weapon Shop and purchase the Venomous Stingers for Ashton. The King of Krosse grants Claude permission and gives him 3000 FOL for the trip. The guard at the Mountain Palace lets the group pass now. Talk to him to rest for free, which is highly suggested.

Head up at the fork and follow the path around to another fork, continue to the northeast. Take this path until you reach yet another fork and proceed right. When you reach the area with a large door take the stairs down into a room with a FAERIE STATUETTE and EMERALD RING in the chests. Backtrack to the last fork in the road and this time head up. Follow this until you reach a section that gives you the option to go up, take it. Open the chests in this room to obtain a CRESTED ROD, AMBER ROBE, and ?MINERAL/DAMASCUS. Leave this room and head right this time. Follow the long path to it's end to discover three more chests containing DAMASCUS, FAERIE COLOGNE, and WOLFSBANE.

From here head all the way back up every set of stairs you went down to the second intersection you came across, take it northwest and follow it to a 4-way intersection. Continue this trajectory northwest till you reach an area where you can go through a tunnel. Follow this tunnel to it's end to find ?HERB/ ARTEMIS LEAF in the chest. Make your way back out of the tunnel and follow the path to find another tunnel at the top of the screen. Follow this till it dead ends with two chests containing a RESURRECTION ELIXIR and ?JEWELRY/GLITTERING EARRING. Go into the next room and use the save point, proceed when everyone is fully healed and prepared. Open the two chests here for a CESTUS and ?MINERAL/ORICHALCUM then examine the table to initiate a boss fight.

This boss strikes hard and fast; coupled with high avoidance this battle can get intense quick. A good strategy is to set Celine to cast only Energy Arrow and use Claude to get in a shot every now and then. Do not try to pull off large combos because Nightmare will dodge one of the attacks and get a few shots in. Use Claude's Helmetbreak attack to close the gap when needed and force her to keep moving so that Celine can get a lot of shots in. Keep at it and you'll eventually win.

Head back to Krosse and resupply/rest. When ready follow the trail west until you arrive at the Lasgus Mountains.

Lasgus Mountains

The path is fairly linear, just follow it all the way to the top and be sure to save. Fully prepare and then approach the nest to start a boss fight.

It's sort of hard to hit this guy since he is always airborne. The best way to handle him is to use Helmetbreak repeatedly and have Celine only casting Energy Arrow. Keep Zinae away from Celine and Rena at all times because they are what keep you alive in this fight, Claude and Celine are your primary source of damage.

The party obtains the KING'S TEARS for defeating Zinae. Back to where this all started in the depths of Salva Mines. When you get to where you first met Ashton a scene occurs and eventually Ashton, Creepy, and Weepy join the party for good. The only thing left as far as optional content at this point is a Private Action in Marze and another in Krosse which triggers events to recruit two other characters pending you didn't recruit Ashton.

PRIVATE ACTION: Between CLAUDE and THREE-EYED-MAN at KROSSE

Requirement: Before going to the Lacuer Continent but after either the event at Kurik or Marze.

What to do: Head towards the castle and a three-eyed man will run by. This is a crucial event in order to recruit Opera and Ernest later.