Part 29

Guide your party through Parthenia to find the Feverfew Seed, then brave the treacherous Icy Cave using arrow pads to collect vital items and recruit Alena and Kiryl in Dragon Quest IV.

Alright, so we've wrapped up what we can do in the immediate area. Your next stop is a place called Parthenia, just south of the shrine. Head on over there!

Once you arrive in Parthenia, find the old man hanging out south of the entrance. He'll mention seeing Alena recently. After that, make your way to the eastern part of town and chat with the King who's on one of the balconies. He's got a lead on a special seed that can cure Kiryl's sickness, but it's stashed away in a cave south of town. Before you head out, grab the SEED OF RESILIENCE from the bottle to the right of the King, and don't forget the 3 COINS inside the throne room. Save your game at the entrance, then it's time to leave Parthenia and head south to the cave.

ICY CAVE

As soon as you enter the cave, you'll spot Alena and her crew moving deeper inside. Don't worry about them for now, just follow them in. You'll soon come across a chest, but first, you'll notice these arrow pads on the ground. When you step on one, you'll be propelled in the direction the arrow points, and you can't change direction once you're moving. To get to that first chest, step on the arrows pointing left. Inside, you'll find a SEED OF AGILITY. Now, head downstairs.

Downstairs, you'll see Alena and her companions searching for the seed, but they're not exactly interested in helping you out. Head to the far left side of the room and use the arrow pads there. They'll send you floating north towards another chest. This one holds a SEED OF LIFE, which is great for boosting the hero's HP. After that, step on the arrows pointing east. You'll float past another chest, but we'll grab that in a moment. Once you're off the pads, head west to find some arrows pointing north. Ignore them for now and go west again to find a chest containing a ROBE OF SERENITY – perfect for Maya! Now, backtrack to those north-pointing arrows you skipped and step on them. They'll lead you right back to that chest you passed earlier, which contains 800 COINS. Nice!

Continue east from the 800 Coins chest. You'll find two rows of arrow pads, both pointing south. To reach a stairway tucked away between two pillars on the far east side of the room, you absolutely *must* step on the westmost row of these south-pointing pads. If you don't, you won't make it to the stairs. Head down them.

This next room is absolutely packed with arrow pads and a chest smack-dab in the middle. Here's the trick:

• First, step on the arrow pads located in the upper right section of the room.
• Next, walk left and step on the arrow pad that's third from the left end. This one points downwards. You'll find a Cannibox enemy chest right in front of you now, so take care of it.
• Above the Cannibox, there's a hole in the floor. Just north of this hole are two more arrow pads. Step on the one that's second from the bottom. This will finally take you to the chest in the center of all the pads. Open it up to get the FEVERFEW SEED.

With the Feverfew Seed in hand, head back to Parthenia and show it to the King. He's still in the eastern part of town. He'll plant the seeds, which grow incredibly fast into plants. He'll give you one, a FEVERFEW ROOT, which is exactly what we need to cure Kiryl. Now, make your way back to Mintos where Kiryl is waiting.

MINTOS / RIVERTON

Head into the inn in Mintos. You'll find Hoffman has been promoted and is now the chief of the inn – good for him! Go upstairs and you'll find Alena tending to a sick Kiryl. Use the Feverfew Root while standing close to him, and voilà! He's cured. Both Kiryl and Alena will now join your party. If you like, you can add them to your battle lineup. I'm personally swapping Maya out for Alena because I prefer her damage output, but you do you!

Before you leave the inn, a bard will stop you with some news: Ragnar McRyan is looking for you and is apparently somewhere on the western continent. Interesting! But before we go hunting for Ragnar, take a peek at your world map. See that island way down south? Sail there – it's Riverton Town.

In Riverton Town, break the barrel on the small island in the middle to find MINI MEDAL #10. Then, break the barrels outside the inn for a MOONWORT BULB. North of the inn, there's a hut with a GOLD BRACER inside. Now, enter the southernmost hut and talk to the man there. He mentions he can build you a flying machine, but he needs the proper gas for it. We don't have that yet, but you can break the barrels in his house for MINI MEDAL #11. That's all we can do in Riverton for now, so sail back to the world map and head to the western continent. Visit the palace there...