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Agart
- You now need to find a place to use this Magma Rock to access the underworld. The very place you’re looking for is on an island to the south of Baron. It’s a small town called Agart, as removed from the world as you can get.
- Agart’s a weird little place. The Weapon and Armour Shops sell some rather useless pieces of equipment, and there are no hidden items to retrieve. Agart only has two distinct features: an Observatory in the southwest corner of town… and a well that’s smack in the middle. Drop the Magma Rock into the well…
- … and an enormous hole will open in the mountain range near Agart. Huh. That’s certainly a thing. You need to descend inside via the airship. Be warned, however - you have some trials to overcome before you can return to the surface.
- After an epic introduction to the underworld (as you can imagine, cold magic works nicely down here) you’ll wind up beside a castle. Enter after saving.
Dwarf Castle
- Oooo. Fancy. You can’t poke around too much, as dwarves have blocked several avenues of movement, but you can go west through the Castle to find an Item Shop and an Inn. That aside, you can only head to the throne room, where a cut scene follows. Cid leaves the party in the middle…
- … and when it ends, you’re facing a boss.
Calcobrena
Odd fight. You start off facing six dolls, a series of Calcos and Brenas. They’re all fairly ordinary enemies, and not that difficult to fight. If you want to make this fight really easy, you should alternate between destroying Calcos and Brenas, taking them down one-at-a-time. Why? Because if you destroy one entire group of the dolls, or if you take too long…
… they change into Calcobrena. This singular boss has lower damage output with its single physical attack, but it’s nevertheless more annoying for two reasons: it can paralyze and confuse your characters. Paralyze is manageable, but if a confused fighter decides to target Rosa… bad, very bad. Let Rosa deal with healing while the rest of the party wipes Calcobrena out. Try to keep Cecil’s HP nice and high during this fight, as he has to face another boss immediately…
Golbez
The big man! Golbez starts out scripted, and he’ll pretty much demolish everyone in your party save Cecil. Seems bad… except surprise character Rydia shows up to save the day. Having lost her white magic, Rydia is now a dedicated black magic attacker, and has a bunch more Summons to boot. Use the latter to heavily damage Golbez while Cecil either lashes out with his sword or heals the party. Goblez uses some rather punishing magic one-character-at-a-time, so you want to kill him quickly. You can revive your other characters, but it’s better to just quickly take out Golbez with Rydia and Cecil. He doesn’t have much HP.
- Another cut scene will set your next course. Now you can explore the Dwarf Castle to your pleasure, as the dwarven guards have moved out of their positions.
- Start with the east wing. You’ll find a Weapon and Armour Shop on the second floor; don’t buy any weapons that inflict fire damage. Waste of money. (Don’t buy a Dwarf Axe if you only want one, as well - there’s one you can find for free coming up.) Between these two shops you’ll find a pathway to a Pub, and on the right side of the Pub, through a gap in the wall marked by a scuffed floor, you’ll find the Dev Team Office. Not much use, this place, but it’s a nifty easter egg. (And no, that enemy you probably don’t have enough time to defeat is not worth the effort.)
- Go up the right stairs near the Shops to find the east tower. On the first floor here is a Dwarf Axe. Pop up to the third floor and you’ll find a series of chambers that appear to be blocked off, though you can reach them by walking through walls. The right chest contains a Silver Hourglass; the bottom chest contains an Elixir; the left chest contains a Power Armlet; the top chest contains an Ether.
- Head back downstairs and go through the door on the first floor of the tower. You’re now on the ramparts. Head west to find the west tower. Climb to the top here and you’ll find more separated chambers. You can reach these by dipping into the wall on the left and walking through the walls to get to the four chests up here. The left contains a Hi-Potion; the bottom contains a Black Belt; the right contains an Ether; the top contains an Elixir. There’s also a Namingway up here.
- Head downstairs to the Inn and Item Shop, then take the top-right set of stairs. In the next hallway you’ll find a series of pots to the far right. They contain three Gyashal Greens, which you can use on the empty spot nearby to summon a Fat Chocobo for storing your items. That done, speak to the dwarf beside the bookcase and he’ll open a secret passage for you.
- This is Dwarf Castle’s back exit. Head south, looking down a right passage for three Cottages, then into another hallway. At the west end of this area is a set of stairs leading outside. Use the pot just north of the stairs to restore your HP and MP, then take your leave of the Dwarf Castle.