Our party approaches the orange tentacles sticking out of the waterfall, which sets off the battle. Our opponent is Octomammoth, a huge orange Octopus who gets a lot of points in my book for having such an awesome name. I wish my parents named me Octamammoth instead of Mike. Just think how cool that would be. Octamammoth!

Anyway, we get busy whacking away on each other. Octomammoth does moderate damage, and we’re a bit stymied at first, as Tellah and Rydia’s magic spells are bouncing off the thing like spitballs hitting a sumo wrestler.

We keep cycling through our spells, however, and eventually discover that Octomammoth is a wee bit sensitive to lightning spells, as in they rip him apart. After this, we pour on the damage. Octomammoth is surprisingly tough for an early boss, but finally he crumbles into the water. We all dig in for a quick bite of taco sushi, then head through the waterfall.

The way to Damcyan is open!

Status: Killing Stuff with a Purpose

Well, after we talk to the townsfolk, it’s clear that we were on the right path, as they say the cave that holds the medicine to save Rosa lies to the east of Damcyan. Since Damcyan lies on the other side of the waterway, I guess I have to go through it. I missed this the first time through the town.

So we go back to the northeast, more confident in our path. We quickly reach and pass the point where we met Tellah. We continue on in the sprawling cave. Wow, this place is much more complex than the dungeons in Final Fantasy III. We go up and down, find a secret tunnel, spot treasure chests we can’t seem to get to, and fight our way through a host of enemies.

After a bit, we come to a save spot, which is a wonderful help to us, as it allows us to pitch a tent and save our progress. We head out again. After another 20 minutes, we reach a spot at the bottom of a huge waterfall. Sticking out of the water are some orange tentacles. Humm. This must be the end. We’ll take him on tomorrow.

Status: Killing Stuff with a Purpose

Aha! Things become clearer! The cave is the underground waterway that the Kaipo townsfolk were talking about. We fight our way inside for a while and make good progress. The opposition does only minimal damage, and Cecil rips through most of the Fang Shells that oppose us with one or two hits. This cave does look huge, however, with lots of side passages. This could take a while.

After a bit, we come to an old man blocking the way. This must be the old guy that the townsfolk were talking about. Expecting a battle, we are surprised when the man explains that he is a wizard going off to try and find his daughter, who has fled north to the land of Damcyan. He explains that there is a large, eight-legged monster blocking the way. Cecil mentions that we have to go this way as well (we do?) so the wizard, whose name is Tellah, joins our party.

I’m a bit confused at this point, as I thought we had to find the medicine for Rosa in a different cave. I think we may be getting ahead of ourselves here. I want to check this out.

We turn around, fight our way out of the cave, and head back to Kaipo. I want to talk with the townsfolk one more time to see if I can get things straight.

Status: A Bit Confused

Rydia is a Level 1 wimp, so I decide to do a bit of fighting and general exploring in the desert outside of Kaipo before heading out to look for the medicine for Rosa. We spend a good half hour laying waste to giant desert butterflies and slugs. Rydia quickly climbs in levels.

As an aside, leveling seems pretty fast in this game. Combat flies along, as the animations are quick and the real time combat system means that you’re always fighting. Sometimes in battle I’m waiting for my characters’ time bars to fill up, but for the most part I feel like the combat moves along quickly. Also, random battles seem to be much more common in Final Fantasy IV than in Final Fantasy III. This too makes it easy to drive up in levels.

Anyway, after we make Rydia stronger, we head back into town one more time to rest. Ready to go!

We head out into the desert. I’m not sure whether to go east or north, so we split the difference. We go northeast. After a bit, we come to a cave entrance. We take a deep breath and head inside.

Status: Killing Stuff with a Purpose

There have been quite a few more comments on posts over the last couple of weeks. It was getting trickier for me to find new comments when I was looking at the site, so I’ve added a link section down on the left side that links to the latest few comments.

I think this will make it a bit easier for people to find and track discussions.