In order to reach Nikeah, you'll want to travel north along the Serpent Trench. You'll see a Tower within a ring of mountains, which you should remember for later. Around this time you'll enter the Nikeah Area, which features the same Monsters as the Serpent Trench but with a few new combinations. The deserts and plains remain the same, but the mix on the wastelands has changed.
You'll still see groups of four Delta Bugs, but you may also run into a pair of Bloompires with a Delta Bug. If you have Zombie protection from a Ribbon or Amulet, this battle poses no great threat. You may also be attacked by a Buffalax and a Lizard. The only threat from this combination is that of being turned into an Imp. When you reach the bay at the northermost point on the continent, you'll see the port of Nikeah.
| Diamond Shld | 3,500 GP |
| Bard's Hat | 3,000 GP |
| Green Beret | 3,000 GP |
| Diamond Helm | 8,000 GP |
| Gaia Gear | 6,000 GP |
| Power Sash | 5,000 GP |
| Diamond Vest | 12,000 GP |
Nikeah
Nikeah's southern area is filled with shops selling the most interesting goods you've seen so far in the World of Ruin. The Item Shop is the least notable of these, although it is the only place on the current continent that sells Tents. The Armor Shop is selling three pieces of diamond Armor, all of which offer top-of-the-line Defense. The Diamond Shld is an upgrade over the Gold Shld at a very fair price. Diamond Helms are a similar upgrade, albeit at a much higher price. You may want to keep your old, Attribute-boosting helmets if you're still using them. The Diamond Vest is a great upgrade for almost anyone, although Celes will find an even better body Armor shortly so you may want to hold on upgrading her right now.
The Weapon Shop sells two new Weapons. The first is the Rune Edge, which you may have found early in the game. Its MP critical ability is interesting, but its Bat.Pwr is so low that you're essentially using MP just to bring it up to a mediocre standard. On the other hand, the Enhancer is amazing, representing not only a solid Bat.Pwr upgrade over any sword you've seen before, but also giving an incredible +7 to Mag.Pwr. Any spellcasting sword wielder will get a large efficiency boost from the Enhancer, Celes included. The icing on the cake is its 20% bonus to MBlock%, which is good as-is but made even better by the Evade % bug.
| White Cape | 5,000 GP |
| Cure Ring | 8,000 GP |
| Zephyr Cape | 7,000 GP |
| Gale Hairpin | 8,000 GP |
| Hyper Wrist | 8,000 GP |
| Beads | 4,000 GP |
| Amulet | 5,000 GP |
| Czarina Ring | 3,000 GP |
Most of the Relics for sale in the Relic Shop are available for sale for the first time, though none are entirely new at this point. Due to the Evade % bug, the Zephyr Cape is inferior to the White Cape, which is also sold here (and for less GP). The Gale Hairpin might be nice to have if you missed it in the Imperial Palace. Beads remain useless due to the Evade % bug, and Czarina Rings remain close to useless (though they are affordable). Cure Rings could previously be purchased at the Jidoor Auction House, but are sold at less than half the price here. Finally, this is the first and only shop that sells Hyper Wrists, which are quite powerful for Characters that deal primarily physical damage.
Gerad
Your goal in Nikeah is to secure passage to South Figaro. While in town, you'll learn a few important tidbits, such as that Figaro Castle is stuck underground. One to file away for later is that one man was attacked by demons after sleeping at Doma Castle. The ship captain will inform you that the ship belongs to the Crimson Robbers, who are hanging out at the Cafe. They will speak freely about their plan to infiltrate Figaro Castle and retrieve their treasure. Once you speak to all of them, they will leave and board their ship. You'll find their leader, Gerad, near the northern shops outside. He looks awfully familiar. Keep following and talking to him until he heads to the Docks. Follow him one last time, and you'll sneak onto the ship. Next stop, South Figaro!