Part Twelve: Water Dragon Isle (Home World)
With both the S.S. Invincible out of the way and (possibly) the Ice Breath in your key item inventory, you can now make the trip to Mount Pyre. Debark from your boat on the eastern side of the main continent of El Nido and head inside.
The first thing to note about this place is the lava. (Which looks more like water, but whatever.) When you step into it you will lose substantial amounts of health, and it won't take long before the HP of every character in the party is reduced to one. You can't die from walking in lava, but if you get caught by an enemy your party will be in a terrible state for fighting. Speaking of which, you'll run into these foes in Mount Pyre:
- Hot Doggity - Red Innate. Lanky dogs that usually try to attack in packs. Not a big deal.
- Lava Boy - Red Innate. Hefty demons that can hit hard with their Red Innate attacks. They usually attack in groups and have lots of health, so expect a long battle.
- Cat Burglar - Red Innate. Beefy cats that focus on honing their physical hits. They can smack you around pretty good, but overall aren't a major threat.
Bring lots Blue Innate Elements to Mount Pyre, in other words. Ninety percent of the threats you face in here will be Red Innate.
Back to the cave. The Ice Breath can deal with the lava problem, and if you use it at the edge of the lava near the entrance you'll freeze the whole patch, allowing you to cross. Don't use the Ice Breath right away, however. If you do, you'll forever bar yourself from collecting the chest to the left of the entrance. There's a Magma Burst Element in a chest over here. Grab it, then rush back to the shoreline. If you get caught by the bouncing Lava-Boy, just run.
Freeze the lava and head north. There's a Cat Burglar up here on your left, blocking the path to a Tablet Element. Snag it and head north, to the exit of the room. You'll run into Solt and Peppor at a crossroads on the next screen, and this time they have a tutorial about Trap Elements. Pick one of the brothers and focus your aggression on him once they give up their lesson and start attacking. They're easy to beat, since Peppor spends most of his time beating up Solt.
Mount Pyre splits off in two directions in this area. To the north you'll find the exit, while the bluish cave on your right leads deeper into Mount Pyre. Go right. You'll find yourself at a pair of slopes that are covered in rushing lava. Take the southern slope down once the lava is frozen to find a Magma Bomb at the bottom and on your right. (Note the somewhat conspicuous wall to the right of the Magma Bomb. Eventually this will be removed, granting you deeper access to Mount Pyre.)
Go down and right and you'll wind up back on the first screen of Mount Pyre. Make your way back to the crossroads and go north this time. You'll find yourself at another patch of lava. Wade into it and take a left to find an Inferno Trap Element, then run back to the shore, heal up, and use the Ice Breath. You'll probably have to run from a Lava-Boy while doing this. Take a right once the lava is frozen to find a Tablet Element on the far right and a Capsule Element up some stairs.
Climb and run your way up the path to the north. There's a save point just before you enter the next room. Rightly so, as you're about to face not one but two bosses.
Fire Dragon
What's with all the dragons in this game? The Fire Dragon isn't too bad an opponent, though it can still inflict some damage. Aside from its normal, physical attacks, the Fire Dragon can use a single-hitting Tech called Fiery Breath that will do well over 100 points of damage. If it happens to target a Blue Innate character there's a decent chance they will die if they're even a little pre-dented.
Still, this is a pretty standard boss fight at the end of the day. So long as everyone has one or two healing Elements equipped you can easily weather the Fire Dragon's attacks. Blue Innate Elements will rock this little dude pretty hard, and it won't be long before he keels over.
You'll earn a Star Level, 730 g, and a Weaken Element for defeating the Fire Dragon. Immediately heal up and save, as your trials in Mount Pyre aren't complete quite yet.
Karsh, Zoah, Marcy
The Four Devas, together at last! (Er... kinda.) All three Devas are dangerous, and can put the hurt on you if you let them fight together for too long. Each uses a combination of their Techs and normal physical attacks to damage your party, though none of them are quite strong enough to put your party members under in a single hit.
The trick here is to take out at least one of them as quickly as you can, and that makes Marcy your first target. Not only does she have the least health, she can use String Phone, which hits everyone and can inflict Fly. Annoying. Attack her with strong Red Innate attacks. Karsh comes next, as his Axial Axe also hits everyone in your party, and for a reasonable amount of damage. Go after him with Yellow Innate attacks. Zoah, who seems to go least often of the three and doesn't really stand out in any significant way, can come last. He has the most health, but with the other two gone he shouldn't pose a major threat.
You'll receive a Star Level, 2,330 g, and an Eagle Eye Element, a Gold Earring, and an Iron Vest for defeating Karsh, Zoah, and Marcy.
With the trio out of the way you'll be done with Mount Pyre, as Fort Dragonia is just outside the next doorway. From this point on you can walk straight through Mount Pyre on the world map without actually entering the dungeon, which is handy if you want to leave and restock somewhere before you tackle Fort Dragonia. Prepare well, as Fort Dragonia is a major turning point in Chrono Cross in a number of ways.