Port Timney is no different than any other town we've visited thus far: before we do anything, we've got to go on an item hunt. Your first item is a Hardy Apple in the barrel beside the NPC that will refill Rudy's ammunition at the entrance of town.
Around the back of the inn, in the collection of barrels in the alley, you can pocket 480 Gella.
Head north, past a set of stairs, then climb the next one to find the ARMs meister and equipment shop. Port Timney has the same exact items for sale as Saint Centour did, so you don't have to worry about not being able to obtain them again.
Take the stairs you passed previously and the road south to a warehouse. Outside in a barrel is a measly 30 Gella.
Inside the warehouse is a much better barrel with 2000 Gella and a chest with a Crest Graph inside. Making your way back north, if you take the exit to the east, you'll end up at the Timney harbor. There are no hidden items there, but you'll notice that the Guardian statue is onboard one of the ships. Near the exit to the harbor is the magic guild, which you should have two Crest Graphs ready to bind. I am taking Curse (White: Fray-Geo), which increases your encounter rate, but for me, I use for farming items and you may want to select another option. I'm also taking Awaken (White: Muse-Fray), that can cure the entire party of the Sleep status. Don't underestimate the Sleep status effect in this game; it can be debilitating as unlike most other RPGs, your character does not wake if hit with a physical attack. Awaken and Escape will be crucial spells for the next dungeon.
Enter the nearby pub and talk to Captain Bartholomew at the center table. He will lament over not being able to obtain a Crystal Bud to impress his rival with getting married...The Crystal Bud just so happens to be located at a place known as the "Maze of Death"; definitely sounds like something the party should get involved in. Of course, Cecilia will suggest we get it for him, since it might let us get closer to the Guardian statue onboard his ship.
Behind the pub, you'll notice a large crate Rudy can Bomb. Once you have, you can navigate behind the building to the area behind the weapon shop with a chest containing a Duplicator. This, along with the one in Saint Centour, are required items for continuing with the story after the Maze of Death.
As you descend the stairs to the north of town, you'll find two more large crates to Bomb. Surprisingly, there will be an NPC inside. He'll pickpocket some money from the guy nearby to thank the party for helping him escape, but the party will refuse the money. However, this does give Jack inspiration for a new fast draw: Trickster. For completionists, this is the essential fast draw to have. Jack can use this during battle to steal items from enemies, some of which cannot be obtained any other way. I suggest you use Secret Signs on it to lower its MP usage, however, remember to leave one in your inventory for something later on in the game.
Beside the same area Jack learned Trickster, search the barrels for a Potion Berry.
Then, finally, inside the nearby house for a Revive Fruit. That's all for the items in Port Timney.
Before we leave for the Maze of Death, let's start putting Jack's Trickster to use. First off, as far as I can tell, there are only two determining factors in the success rate of Trickster: a set rarity level of the item and Jack's Luck status. Some say that Jack's Reaction stat vs. the enemy's also plays a role, but in my opinion, I don't think it makes a difference. That being said, when stealing, I recommend equipping Jack with his Arctic Blade and de-equiping him of any Strength-raising runes. If need be, you can adjust Jack's Luck with the Missanga accessory or Small Flowers. Outside on the world map, you'll frequently encounter groups of three Critters. Each one of these can easily have a Magic Carrot pilfered from them. You can never purchase these and they are the only MP restorative items in the game, so I highly recommend spending some time stocking up on as many of these as you can get.
Continuing outside of Port Timney, you'll encounter the Antlion commonly. Use Trickster on them to obtain Potion Berries. Eventually, you'll be able to purchase Potion Berries, but for now, stealing many of these will make life easier going forward.
Unfortunately, now comes the frustrating part of Trickster: trying to steal ridiculously rare items. The Sand Beast, which you can find on any terrain, carry Wind Rings to steal, but you'll need patience to do so. You can buy these later on in the game, but they will be pricey. Sand Beast's also give a great amount of EXP and Gella.
If you return to Saint Centour or its area, Jack can steal Flame Rings from the Hellhounds, also. If you REALLY want to be prepared, you can trek back to Mount Zenom and steal Revive Fruits from the Devonova enemy, but there will be other enemies you can get these from later on.
Unlike most dungeons, the Maze of Death doesn't actually have an icon on the map. Instead, when you approach the northwestern portion of the desert east of Port Timney, the camera will begin to zoom in and the location name will pop up. Before you enter, it's very important to note that this is a one-time dungeon in which you can never return to; thus, you must clear out all the treasure, as well as fighting the optional boss contained within, or they will be lost to you for the remainder of the game. This includes a Guardian Rune and several Crest Graphs. With that said, make sure not to step on the bubbling green puddles (?) or you'll be damaged like the flowers back at the Mountain Pass.
Jack can steal the Bandanna helmet from the Screamer monster inside the dungeon. You already have one, but if you're an item collector, this is the only place in the game you can obtain more. But like stated before, this will not be possible again after completing the dungeon.
Climb the first set of stairs and push the large block forward, then proceed to the right-side and push another block, followed by following the southern path around to four treasure chests. Inside are the four stat Apples: Mystic, Power, Agile, and Hardy.
Backtrack to the very first large block you pushed and push it towards the left-side of the room. To the north, from the entrance, is a room with a save point that you should note to memory. Then, push the left-side room block and take the next couple of northern exits to a room with a statue. Push the statue to the side and it will lock into place. Return the way you came, but this time, we need to head south of the large block, but to do that, we'll need to enter one of the other rooms in the area to be able to push the block from the side again.
Follow the linear path until you enter a large room with multiple exits. Take the southeastern one to find a chest containing a Crest Graph, then a bit father for another statue to push into place.
Return to the previous large room and in the far-corner of the room, near the northern exit, you will see a semi-hidden switch on the ground. Step on it to create a set of stairs going down and transverse it to the next statue room.
Use the northern exit and in the center of the room are two chests with a Heal Berry and Magic Carrot. Afterwards, take a dive off the ledge on the far-right side of the room to access another area.
Make your way east, passing a southern exit that takes you back to the entrance, and proceed north to the next statue that needs to be pushed into place. Next, return to the previous room, continue south, and you will find another semi-hidden switch in the lower-right-hand corner of the room to generate another set of stairs.
Climb the stairs and the next two southern exits to find a room with a Clear Chime treasure and another exit south that leads to the final statue we need to push into place. The Clear Chime is an accessory that prevents the Confusion status. From the statue, make your way north twice, then wrap around the room to the east, then north to proceed onward.
In the last few rooms of the dungeon, you can encounter the Wight enemy. If you don't encounter it now, you won't be able to find it elsewhere in the game. I am only noting it for those that like to encounter all of the enemies in the game.
Just past the room with a passageway of statues (That you pushed out of the way throughout the dungeon), you will find the Crystal Bud. Before you pick it up, I highly recommend casting Escape and going back to town to rest and save; all of the statues you pushed will remain in place. Also, equip the Holy Parasol to Cecilia. Once you pick up the Crystal Bud, a timed event will occur and there is an optional boss to face-off with before the timer runs out and it is easily the toughest one you have faced this far in the game. To make your way back to the Crystal Bud, use the northeastern exit from the center room with the large blocks.
As soon as you grab the Crystal Bud, immediately cast Escape once the timer begins. Instead of leaving, head back into the room with the large blocks. You need to exit the room either to the east or west, then return to push the block in the center of the room out of the way to access the room that earlier housed a save point. The save point will be gone, but there will be a cracked wall you can Bomb instead.
Hurry along the path and in the cross-shaped room, search both the left and right-sides of the area for Crest Graphs. Continue the linear path to a glowing orb to initial a boss fight.
Chaos isn't going to be an easy battle. Your party's first turn, have Rudy use a Lucky Card, Cecilia cast Awaken, and Jack use Meteor Dive. More times than not, Chaos will cast either Sleep or Silence; the former being the most debilitating, but with Awaken cast, you should be fine. That leaves Silence, but with Cecilia equipped with the Holy Parasol, she will absorb the spell as MP and not suffer the effects. Once she reaches Force level 1, have her use Mystic in conjunction with the White Robe to cast Lock State on the party; making you immune to all status effects for a couple of turns. With Rudy, fire shots from his Hand Cannon and Jack repeatedly use Meteor Dive, or if he's Silenced, I recommend just using basic attacks until he hits Condition Green and has his status restored. If Cecilia has a free turn, she should either Mystic to cast Lock State again, or Potion Berries on the party. This battle is all about overcoming the status effects and taking your shots at her when you can.
When the battle is won, the Guardian will hand over the Death Rune to the party and you can quickly cast Escape to leave the area. The Maze of Death is gone for good, but the Death Rune is a very nice reward. It vastly increases a character's Sorcery and magic resistance, which, of course, is nice for Cecilia, but myself, am giving it to Rudy in place of his Wind Rune. Besides the boost in magic resistance, the Death Rune also works nicely for Rudy due to its summon attack (Attempts to cast instant-death) is of no use against bosses, and thus would be a waste to summon with Cecilia. Back at Port Timney, make sure to stay at the inn, visit the church to cure any lingering status, reload Rudy's ARMs, and visit the magic guild to use our three new Crest Graphs. I'm binding Valkyrie (Black: Wing-Geo), a decent multi-elemental attack that randomly strikes enemies, Prison (Black: Muse-Wing), which will miss often, but if inflicted, the next attack will instantly destroy them, which, in my opinion, is best used for setting up an enemy for Lucky Shot, and lastly, Field (White: Muse-Wing), that cuts a random element's damage by 50%. However, the beauty of Field is it can actually be controlled by equipping the elemental ring of the element you want to reduce. For example, if you give Cecilia the Flame Ring, she will ALWAYS create the fire-reducing field first.
Take the Crystal Bud to Bartholomew at the pub and agree to sell it to him for 5000 Gella. His rival, Drake, shows up with his crew and wants to know who the lucky bride is. Cecilia is, of course! After some jaw-jacking, Drake will want to hold the ceremony tomorrow and just like that, we're on course for a sham wedding. On board the Sweet Candy now, the party is free to roam, but there are no items to be had, but you can talk to Bart and his crew to learn about the ceremony rituals that will make the wedding look legit. This is of some minor importance as your performance during the wedding will net you some decent, but not overly-rare, items. When you are ready to proceed to the wedding, save your game and choose to rest inside the cabin.
The wedding is a series of choices; each answer having been given by the crew on the Sweet Candy beforehand. For success, select the following choices:
- The bride walks forward
- Olivia Clare
- Bartholomew
- Sweet Candy
- Old Moon
- Right hand
- Crystal Bud
- 8th
- Lucadia
- Go for it
With each one, you should get a cheer from the onlookers. Unfortunately (?), an uninvited guest, Zed, will show up to ruin the faux wedding.
Zed is easy; especially compared to the previous boss, Chaos. Cast Shield on Cecilia and then Slow/Armor Down on him and hammer away with the Hand Cannon and Meteor Dive.
When the battle is over, run around to the backside of the ship to find Lady Harken. She and Jack, both apparently uses of the fast draw, will clash, but ultimately, Harken will slice the Guardian statue in two, releasing the third and final seal on Mother. You will receive the Thunder Rune, which greatly increases a character's Response and Parry, which is nice for Rudy, but I am sticking with the Death Rune, personally.
Afterwards, see Bartholomew in his cabin and, if you completed the wedding with no errors, you will receive a Mega Berry, Lucky Card, Full Revive, 5000 Gella, and Wand tool for Cecilia. Regardless of your performance, Bart will always gift you the Wand since it is essential for completing the game. He will then let the party off at the harbor of Port Timney.
As you leave town, a scene will occur where the Quarter Knight's Mother will fully awaken. Much to the dismay of her children, she plans to destroy and devour Filgaia; not to conquer it for the demons to rule like they had thought. Out on the world map now, and with the Duplicators from Port Timney and Saint Centour in hand, head south to the next Elw Pyramid. You'll need both Duplicators to open the magically sealed doors inside which will place you back in the area near the Guardian Shrine and Milama.
Speaking of the Guardian Shrine, since we have Jack's Trickster skill now, we can steal two items in this previously-ventured dungeon. Lizardmen carry the Buckler accessory, of which this is the only way to obtain more than one of these.
Scarecrows also have Jack's Cowboy Hat headgear to steal. This is the only source for item collector's to pick up multiple of the item.
Wrapping things up, make a stop back by Milama Village and if you'll recall there was a dog guarding a warehouse here in the lower-right-hand corner of the town. With Cecilia's Wand tool, we can now talk with the dog who will move out of the way allowing us to pick up the Radar tool for Rudy inside. When Rudy uses this, a sound and green flashe will indicate any unobtained items in the room. To continue on with the story, we need to make our way to the Ship Graveyard that is just past the Sand River east of Milama.
