Ancient Ruins & Falgabard
Follow the river west from the Saronia gates. It winds north through several turns to a cave entrance surrounded by mountains; the ruins descend seven floors before opening onto a chamber that’s been sealed since long before Xande. This chapter covers Ancient Ruins, Falgabard, and Falgabard Cave for 9 chests, 5 items, and 7 new bestiary entries.
Ancient Ruins
Shops
The ruins run seven floors deep. Five chests sit on B1 and B2 with an in-dungeon shop corridor between them; the descent past B2 is empty until the Invincible’s chamber at the bottom.
New Enemies
- Pyralis hits twice per turn, the longest fight in the dungeon. Resists Fire, weak to Ice and Water; Blizzaga or the Freezing Blade’s item-cast cleans it up.
- Gaap rolls Fira, Blizzara, or Thundara on 17% of turns each plus a 49% Fight. Bring elemental resist gear or out-damage it.
- Silenus and Azrael are pure physical. Both divide on a non-killing hit, so finish each in one round; a Black Belt’s Boost + Kick clears the row before they split.
B1. The path is linear until Unei clears a wall of rocks. Continue west and enter the first door for a Reflective Mail, a high magic-defense body armor for your Knight, Dragoon, Ninja, or Viking.
The second door opens onto a shop corridor with an inn at the back (200 gil). Restock and take the southeast stairs down.
B2. At the first fork go south, then west into a small room with a Black Belt Gi. Exit and walk east to a second room for a Chakra Band. Both equip on your Black Belt or Monk. Continue north to a four-way crossroads. The west room holds a Rune Bell for your Geomancer, and the east room hides Faerie Claws, a claw that item-casts Confuse on your Black Belt. Take the stairs north.
B3 - B7. Five floors of winding corridors with no treasure. Each is a single path to the next staircase. B7 has no random battles; cross the bridge and take the stairs down.
The Invincible
Shops
The Invincible hops short mountain ranges and carries a free bed, an item shop, a weapon shop, an armor shop, and a magic shop in its cabin.
The weapon shop sells the Ashura (16,000 gil), the first katana in the game, and the armor shop sells the matching Demon Shield (12,500 gil) and Demon Mail (25,000 gil) for the Dark Knight job once the Earth Crystal unlocks it.
Dual Haken (28,000 gil) is the one weapon worth buying, a Viking axe that doesn’t appear in any reachable chest yet. The magic shop stocks the same Lv 7 spells as Doga’s Village; grab Curaja if you skipped it.
Talk to the steering wheel for a scene where Unei explains the controls and points the party at the Fang of Earth in the Cave of Shadows, north of Amur. She leaves the party to return to Doga. Touch the wheel again to take off, fly south, hop the short mountain range, and follow the passes southwest to Falgabard.
Falgabard
Shops
Falgabard is a village of Dark Knights hidden in the mountains southwest of Saronia, only reachable once the Invincible can hop the range. Five hidden items sit around the village: four out in town and the Kiku-Ichimonji behind the northern waterfall after a duel with a swordmaster called Shinobi.
The shops repeat the Invincible’s Demon set and Ashura; the town hidden items and cave chests cover that gear for free. What’s worth buying is the Yoichi Bow (32,000 gil) and Yoichi Arrow (20,000 gil) for your Ranger; neither drops in any chest. Skip the magic shop; it only stocks -ara tier spells you already own.
Walk to the northern edge of town and slip right through the trees. A hidden path leads to a waterfall and a small river.
Walk straight through the waterfall into a hidden room. The old man inside challenges the party to a duel.
Winning the duel hands over the Kiku-Ichimonji, the strongest katana in the chapter and the Dark Knight’s primary weapon once the Earth Crystal lights up.
Backtrack to the river fork and head south to an island with a stone pillar. Search the four corners for a Hi-Potion, a Demon Mail, a second Hi-Potion, and a Demon Shield.
Falgabard Cave
Return to town and enter the cave at the northern edge. Two new bestiary entries patrol four chests inside.
Valefor and Haniel are both weak to Dark, but no Dark damage source exists in the party until the Dark Knight job unlocks at the Earth Crystal. Until then, raw physicals from a Knight or Black Belt clear them in two or three swings. Silenus, Gaap, and Death Claw also reappear here and still divide on a non-killing hit.
From the entrance, walk south for a Thorian Hammer; the hammer item-casts Thundara, giving your Viking a free Lightning AoE on demand. Loop back north and press against the right wall to open a web of hidden corridors. Follow the first fork right, then down and left for a Demon Mail. Backtrack to the upper junction, take the path north to the second-to-last split, and walk east for an Ashura and a Kotetsu, both Dark Knight katanas. Exit the cave.
Take the Invincible east to the mountainous region and hop the short range to reach the Cave of Shadows entrance.