Time for a Side Quest?
Once you reach level 8, traveling to Rimuldar is a possibility, but a dangerous one. There is one other place you can go to find some GOLD and items without fighting (most of) the tough monsters on the southern island. That place is the Mountain Cave, a cave southwest of Tantegel Castle that is entirely optional. No quest takes you here, but the prizes found within are potentially very lucrative. It won't be an easy journey, though. Make sure to bring as many Herbs as you can afford.
To get to the Mountain Cave, you'll have to make your away around two different mountain ranges. Start by heading north from Tantegel Castle, then heading west before reaching Erdrick's Cave. Continue south along the water until you cross a bridge and some traversable mountains. Keep moving south through dense forests until you're past a line of craggy mountains. Head east, avoiding the swamp, and you'll see the entrance to the Mountain Cave.
Mountain Cave B1
B1 of the Mountain Cave is filled mostly with monsters you've seen before. The encounter list is the same as in the area West of Kol, but with the Magidrakees replaced by Druins. These weird underground-dwelling creatures are similar to Scorpions, though slightly more powerful. You can fight them in much the same way, but don't waste resources. You'll need your MP for the monsters on B2.
The Mountain Cave is a bit of a maze, so you'll definitely want to bring a Torch. You start on the western side of Mountain Cave B1 with no clear direction to head. There are three staircases down to B2, but the ones in the southeast and northwest lead to dead ends. To reach the main part of B2, head north from the entrance, pass by the first staircase, and head to the northeast corner of the floor. The easternmost passage leads to a treasure chest containing an Herb, while the passage west of that leads to B2 proper.
| Treasure |
|---|
| 2. Fighter's Ring |
| 3. Torch |
| 4. 100–131 GOLD or Death Necklace (1/32) |
| 5. 10–17 GOLD |
Mountain Cave B2
On B2, things get a lot more dangerous. The only familiar monster here is the Skeleton, though mercifully some of the new monsters here are less hardy. Poltergeists are the easiest to kill, though they sport as many as 23 HP and 20 Agility. They will spend most turns casting HURT, draining your HP. Drolls are more like Skeletons, with better Defense Power but less HP, and less Attack Power. They are the least threatening monster on B2.
The monsters you need to watch out for are the Drakeema and Warlock. Drakeemas are like Magidrakees with much better Defense Power. They still cast HURT, but when at 5 HP or less they will sometimes cast HEAL, which brings them back to full HP. They only do this 1/4 of the time, but it may still make sense to use HURT or SLEEP to finish them off without allowing that possibility. Warlocks can't heal themselves, but they can cast SLEEP, which is obviously very dangerous. They also use HURT half the time, and are otherwise identical to Skeletons in HP, Strength, and Agility. You can try putting them to SLEEP first, but be warned that they will resist this 3/16 of the time. (Drakeemas also resist SLEEP, but only 1/8 of the time.) Any encounter with a Warlock is dangerous, so keep your HP high with Herbs or HEAL at all times on B2.
Finding the Death Necklace is a matter of luck. Each time you open a specific chest in the Mountain Cave, there's a 1/32 chance it will contain the Death Necklace, but only once.
There are three sets of treasure to find on B2. After leaving the area with the stairs by heading east, you can walk a few steps south to find 10–17 GOLD. You can head west and south from here to find the third chest, which is the real prize of the Mountain Cave. It contains 100–131 GOLD (which is less impressive when you consider how much you'll earn fighting monsters here), but there is a 1/32 chance each time you open the chest that it will instead contain the Death Necklace. You can only find the Death Necklace once per game, and whatever you do, don't use it! Instead, take it to town and sell it for a whopping 1,200 GOLD.
The last set of chests is in the northwestern part of the floor. There are two chests containing a Torch and the Fighter's Ring. This second item sounds good, but doesn't actually do anything except for change one irrelevant line of dialog. You can sell it for 15 GOLD, at least.
Because all treasure chests (aside from those in King Lorik's Throne Room) re-appear if you leave the area, you can exit and re-enter the Mountain Cave to find these treasures again, and get another chance at a Death Necklace. You will need a Torch for each excursion, but you'll likely need to return to town and rest between them anyway, so you'll have time to buy more.