On day 70 of my Final Fantasy marathon, I left off after visiting Walse Castle. Today, I’m on my way to the Tower of Walse to see what is up with the crystal.

Tower of Walse

I fly to the Tower of Walse, which has four chests and no items. Inside the entrance, I find a fallen guard who tells me the creature Garula went berserk and stormed the tower.

He also tells me the King went after it and an unknown soldier. I find the King lying on the floor.

He tells me Garula is upstairs and asks me to save the crystal. I find a Silk Robe in a chest and give it to Faris.

Galuf gets a Silver Armlet. I reach the top of the tower and see a knight confronting Garula.

He says “they” are controlling it, but he won’t let it destroy the crystal. Garula knocks the knight out and comes after us.

We defeat Garula using our usual tactics. However, the crystal shatters. The knight apologizes to Galuf for not being able to protect the crystal.

He tells us to protect the fire crystal and then disappears. We gather the crystal shards and learn the Time Mage, Berserker, Red Mage, Summoner, and Mystic Knight jobs.

There is one shard we are unable to reach. The tower begins to sink. We run out the door and end up in the ocean.

Syldra shows up to save us. She deposits us on the shore, but it took the last of her energy to do it.

She presumably dies for real this time. I investigate the meteorite and a find a warp pad, but I want to return to Walse Castle before using it.

Return to Walse

I fly back to Walse Castle. The king tells Lenna that she was right about the crystal. He tells us we must hurry to Karnak, because they are also using a machine to amplify the power of the fire crystal.

First, I return to where I found Shiva and battle her. The fight is fairly tough, but using Lenna’s fire magic, I defeat her and gain the ability to summon her in battle.

Karnak Town

I fly back to the meteorite and use the warp pad to go to the meteorite near Karnak. The town of Karnak has one item, but I can’t get to it because it is blocked by flames.

I attempt to purchase some equipment, and someone accuses me of being in league with the monster that came out of the meteorite. Some guards show up and toss me in the castle’s dungeon.

Karnak Castle

An old man in the cell next door blasts through the wall into my cell. He realizes he has used the last of his explosives just to break into another cell.

We laugh at him. He tells us his name is Cid. Lenna asks if he is the same professor who made the machines that amplify the crystals.

He says he is and accepts blame for the destruction of the wind and water crystals. He explains that many years ago he found an old tome in the Library of the Ancients that said the crystals used to be much more powerful.

He then studied the crystals and built machines to enhance them. However, increasing their power caused them to shatter.

He tried to switch off the machine amplifying the fire crystal, but was thrown in the dungeon. We tell Cid we are on his side and show him our crystal shard to prove it.

The Chancellor shows up to tell Cid that he was right and the fire crystal has cracked. The chancellor turned off the machine, but the power output only increased.

Cid says the fire-powered ship is leeching power from the crystal. The Chancellor begs Cid to help.

Cid tells him he will need our help. The Chancellor protests that we were seen coming out of the meteorite and are in cahoots with the werewolf.

Cid says he won’t help if we can’t come with him, so the Chancellor gives in and releases us from the dungeon. Cid tells us he is going on to the fire-powered ship and tells us to meet him there.

The castle has 15 chests, but we can’t access any of them right now. As we are leaving the castle, the werewolf approaches, but the guards turn him away.

Fire-Powered Ship

The Fire-Powered Ship has nine chests and no items. Cid tells us we must stop the engine to prevent the crystal from shattering.

I find some Mythril Gloves in a chest. Galuf gets a Green Beret and some Theif’s Gloves.

We find Queen Karnak standing near the engine. An ominous purple cirlce appears around her and she calls us meddling dolts, saying we will pay for interfering with her revival.

A creature called Liquid Flame attacks. It is weak to blizzard attacks, so I have Lenna cast blizzard spells and everyone else attacks as normal, with Faris healing.

It’s a somewhat difficult battle, but we get the win. We get a Flame Bow as a prize.

We find the Queen collapsed on the floor. She says a creature of pure evil was controlling her.

She tells us that it isn’t just the machines destroying the crystals. Something evil is using their power to resurrect itself.

She asks us to save the crystal. We enter the crystal chamber just as the werewolf enters through a hole in the wall.

He recognizes Galuf, but Galuf doesn’t remember him. Rand tells the werewolf we won’t let him touch the crystal.

The werewolf tells us he is not our enemy. A guard being controlled by the evil force turns the amplifier back on and breaks the switch so we can’t turn it off.

The werewolf tells us he will hold off the amplifier long enough for us to escape, so that we can protect the last crystal. We try to get to the werewolf to help him, but the floor collapses, and we fall through.

The crystal shatters and the werewolf disappears. We reappear in the castle dungeon.

Escape from Karnak Castle

We notice the flames dying down in the castle. We re-enter the crystal room and realize the castle is about to explode.

A ten-minute timer starts. I sprint my way through the castle, battling monsters and opening chests, some of which have monster-in-a-box encounters.

I get a Shuriken in one chest. Another contains the Main Gauche, which goes to Galuf. I also get the Esuna spell and a Ribbon, along with various elixirs and other items.

We make it out of the castle with seconds to spare. The castle explodes and some crystal shards land nearby.

We learn the Beastmaster, Geomancer, and Ninja jobs. I return to Karnak town.

Return to Karnak town

The Queen’s men saved her from the fire-powered ship, but she is injured and resting in the inn. We learn that the explosion knocked down the wall that was blocking the way to the Library of Ancients.

I’m also able to retrieve the item that was previously blocked by flames. I missed two chests when I was in the fire-powered ship, so I head back there and get them.

Cid tells me all of this is his fault and then takes off. I get the Moonring Blade from one of the chests on the ship.

Once I make my way back off the ship, I return to the town to rest. I then save the game and quit for the night.