1. A break from the Orbs

   A new means of transportation...

2. The Canoe Ride

   Row, row, row your boat...

3. The Cave of Ice

   Good luck... you'll need it...

4. The Airship

   Raise the Airship, and take to the skies!...

Recommended levels:
• Level 15-16

Maps:
• Crescent Lake
  Ice Cave 1
  Ice Cave 2
  Ice Cave 3

North of Crescent Lake lies the Floater Stone buried deep within the Ice Cave. Recover it and use it in the desert south of Crescent Lake to raise the Airship from the sands.

Now that you've lit the second Orb, there isn't anywhere readily apparent that you can reach with your Ship. As that guy in Pravoka said, there are no ports in the northern part of the world. You need to get a new means of transportation before you do anything else.

If you happened to talk to this guy in Melmond before going through the Volcano you probably noticed that he was asleep.

Talk to him after lighting the Fire Orb however, and he'll have some very useful information for you. People have been talking about that darn Floater stone since the Dwarf Cave, and you finally get to go find it.

Before you go though, make sure to stock up on Heal, Pure, and Soft potions. The Ice Cave is one of the hardest dungeons in the game; you will definitely need all the Heal Potions you can carry. Get a House or Cabin, or two, as well. If you don't have enough money for the potions you need, fight some monsters around Crescent Lake until you do. Then, stop by the Inn for one more quick rest before heading for the Ice Cave.

The only way to reach the Ice Cave is by Canoe. It's a long ride, and you'll have to fight nasty river monsters like Ocho and Hydra the whole way. But, a Light Warrior's gotta do what a Light Warrior's gotta do. Sail your ship a little bit north from the Crescent Lake port, and dock it at the mouth of this river.

On the way to the Cave, if you decide to fight the monsters you meet instead of running, avoid using magic. You'll need every last spell inside the Ice Cave, trust me.

The rivers in this area are a veritable maze. It's easy to get lost. So follow my pictures closely. At this intersection, you'll want to take the river north, like I did.

Turn here, and keep going north.

At the next intersection, take the river on the bottom; the top one is a dead-end.

Take the west fork at this intersection; the south fork is another dead-end.

Whew! Dry land at last! Think you can remember the way back to the Ship? Don't worry, I'll give you directions back when you're done with the Ice Cave.

I shouldn't have to say this, but use a Cabin or House before entering the Ice Cave. The Ice Cave is HARD. Repeat: HARD! It's just about the hardest dungeon in the game, besides the final dungeon. So make sure you're at full HP before entering.

The Ice Cave is by far the hardest dungeon you've faced so far in the game. And you won't see many harder than it later in the game, either. The monsters in the Cave are ridiculously powerful. Fighters, Mages, and the Eye can all use RUB or XXXX, spells that erase a character, killing him no matter how many HP he has. There is no defense against this spell (yet), so you'll have to rely on luck. Also in the Ice Cave are the Sorcerers: they don't bother using magic to kill you, they can kill you automatically just by hitting you for even 1 DMG! You should definitely RUN from any Mages, Fighters, or Sorcerers you find. Coctrices also make an appearance in the Cave; RUN from them as well, or prepare to use some SOFT potions.

Unfortunately, there are enemies you can't run from in the Ice Cave. There are huge groups of Wizards that you must kill; use LIT2 (or LIT3, if you have it) against them. You also cannot run from Frost Ds. Frost Ds use super-powerful ice attacks that hit all of your characters at once, but you must fight them if you encounter them; use FIR3 or LIT3 to kill them quickly.

There are also many other Ice monsters that use attacks that hit all of your characters. Utilize your White Mage's AICE spell to lessen the damage from these attacks. Also, use FIR2 and FIR3 against any large groups of ice monsters or undead that you might find; they are susceptible to FIRE attacks, in case you didn't know.

Well, enough about the monsters, for now. This is where you enter the Ice Cave. This is NOT where you'll exit the Ice Cave; you'll have to find another exit, but we'll get to that later. Head east from here.

Here are the stairs to the next level (L2A). If your White Mage with LIFE was killed before you made it this far (very likely), reset and start over; you're probably not going to make it through the Cave without a White Mage.

This level has many Mages and Fighters on it. RUN from them. It doesn't matter if you go left or down; it leads to the same place. The stairs to the next level (L3A) are in the bottom left corner.

I think you can figure this level out yourself. Take the stairs to the next floor (L2B).

The room on this floor has a lot of strange looking circles on the floor. DON'T STEP ON THEM (yet)! Instead, go to the upper-left treasure chest, and get the Flame Sword (a VERY good weapon). The other chest has Cloth in it, so don't bother. NOW you can jump into one of the holes, to get to the next level (L3B).

You'll appear on this level in a small room. Prepare yourself; the next step you take will initiate a battle with a huge group of undead (usually a group of 9 assorted undead). Blast them with FIR3 or HRM3, and rake in the EXP and G! (This is a nice spot to gain some levels, if you're feeling very lucky). After leaving this room, beware! Sorcerers are all over the place on this level; RUN from them quickly, ...or die!

Be careful stepping on the strange ice-colored floor tiles. They cause your party damage with every step you take. Cross the damage-floor here to get some nice treasure (the Ice Armor!), if you want.

A Frost D guards the Ice Armor (the other chest is a Silver Gauntlet; getting it means another Frost D battle). This thing will kick the crap out of you if you don't use AICE right away. FIRE and LIT spells are effective against it.

After getting the treasure here, head south, across some more damage-floor.

There's another room of treasure here. A crapload of G is to be had, if you feel like going to get it.

Here is the exit from this floor (now you're going back to L1 again). At last!

The treasure chests on this floor have some more G in it. Get it all. Also to be found here is the Ice Shield. Get it before jumping into this hole (the exit to the next level). DO NOT TAKE THE STAIRS IN THE UPPER-RIGHT CORNER! Taking the stairs will cause you to exit the Ice Cave entirely; you'll have to do this all over again if you leave now! Use the HOLE to go to the next level (L2B, again).

Remember this floor? You are now in the middle, within easy reach of the treasure chest in the center. But before you can get it, you must face the EYE.

The EYE isn't strong physically, but it has very powerful magic attacks. It can erase you with RUB or XXXX, or petrify you with GLANCE. Be prepared to lose at least one of your characters before this battle is over. (if all of your characters survive, consider yourself very lucky). Use FIR3 and physical attacks, and you might just manage to kill the EYE before you kills one of your characters. (Check out my Bosses page for more information)

Once the EYE is out of the way, you can get the treasure from the chest. It's none other than the infamous Floater you've heard so much about! After you get the Floater, hop into another hole in the floor, to continue on your quest through the Ice Cave. Now comes the hard part: getting out alive!

Time to find the exit to the Ice Cave. After falling through another hole in the floor, you're back in the room of the undead again. That sucks, doesn't it? If you have any FIRE or HARM spells left, use them up. If not, try running.

Try to get to the stairs on this level as quickly as possible. Running from every battle you get into is not a bad idea at all. Unless you find some Frost Ds, in which case you must fight.

Now, take the stairs on this level. At last, you're out! Whew.

If you made it through the Cave on your first try, consider yourself very lucky, or very skilled. Even at high levels, it's hard to get through this Cave unscathed. Use a Tent, Cabin, or House right away, so you don't have to do that all over again. Now, head for the river; time to canoe back to Crescent Lake.

Well, now you've got a Floater Stone. What the heck do you do with it? Earlier in the game you might've talked to this guy in Elfland, and he had nothing important to say. If you talk to him now though, he tells you to use the Floater in the desert south of Crescent Lake. So do it. :)

You should be able to remember the way out, I hope. If not, check my world map. Or look above, and follow my previous directions in reverse.

Once you get back to the Ship, head to Crescent Lake one more time. You're probably loaded down with armor and weapons that need to be sold, plus you can spend some of your hard earned money on new Level 6 spells. A stay at the Inn is also very much needed, after your trek through the Ice Cave. Do it now before you get mashed by a random wandering monster.

Once you're done resting, shopping, and saving your game, hop back aboard the Ship. Your next destination is just a bit to the south.

See that river? Park your Ship at the mouth of the river. Then kiss the Ship goodbye, because you're probably not going to need it much more for the rest of the game! Walk a bit to the south, and into the desert that's surrounded by mountains (you can't miss it).

Stand in the desert, and use the Floater stone from the Item menu. Voila! An Airship rises from the sands!

Well, what are you waiting for? Hop aboard! The Airship is FAST. It's about 4 times faster than walking. What's even better, you'll fight no random battles while aboard the Airship. One slight problem with the Airship is that it can only be landed on grasslands, so you'll still have to do some walking to get to some places, but there is nowhere in the world that you cannot reach now that you have the Airship!

You can now go anywhere in the world, so where is your next destination? Well, there is a lot to do, but your first stop is the town of Gaia. But for now, just fly around a bit, and enjoy the ride. :)