The final chapter of H'aanit's story takes place in Marsalim, a sizable city in the south of Orsterra. You can reach Marsalim by following the series of trails south from Sunshade, past Wellspring and through both the Northern Wellspring Sands and the Eastern Wellspring Sands. You'll reach the city by heading west through the Eastern Marsalim Sands.
As ever, you should have a look around Marsalim before you get started on H'aanit's story, given that this is probably your first time visiting the city:
- There's a Townsperson right at the entrance of Marsalim who has the Thieving Tips & Tricks info if you Inquire / Scrutinize her.
- In front of the Provisioner is a Know-it-all's Father. He's part of a Side Story. You can Steal / Purchase an Invigorating Nut (M), a Magic Nut (M), and a Resistant Nut (M) from him.
- On the west side of town is a Townsperson blocking a home. You can Steal / Purchase an Inferno Axe from him. (What's behind him? Level 70 Challenge. Will work on this.)
- To the right of the save point is an Old Aristocrat who is part of a Side Story. You can Steal / Purchase a Heavy Coin Purse, a Cat's Eye, and a Critical Necklace from him. Swordsman Yuri, who's standing next to the Old Aristocrat, has a Dragon Saber and Dragonscale Armor on him. Yuri is as close to a must-visit NPC as you'll find in Marsalim, given the quality of these two items.
- To the right of Swordsman Yuri, tucked away beside a market stall, is a chest containing a Bottle of Sleeping Dust.
- Up the stairs from the Armorer is a Knight Ardante. He has a Stimulating Necklace and a Knight's Shield to Purchase / Steal. Inquire / Scrutinize him to learn the Provoke Like a Pro info.
- Around the left corner from the Knight Ardante is a chest containing an Herb of Light. The Scholarly Youth near the chest has the City of Gold info to Inquire / Scrutinize, which is part of a Side Story.
- There's an Elderly Woman giving directions to Marsalim Palace in the north of the first area. Scrutinize / Inquire her and you'll unveil a Copper-filled Pouch at the top of the stairs next to the Tavern.
Marsalim Palace
Might as well check out the royalty while you're here:
- The Guard at the entrance of the palace has an Enlightening Necklace to Purchase / Steal. The Guard in the small room next to the first Guard has a Gargantuan Axe.
- There's what appears to be a meeting room on the second floor, right side. Inside are three chests that contain a High House's Armor, 25,000 leaves, and an Enchanted Circlet.
- In the rear of the palace, behind the throne in the throne room, is a purple chest containing a Tempest Amulet. The two Guards nearby have a variety of handy items, as well, though nothing spectacular.
That's all for Marsalim. Shall we get started? Put H'aanit in your party and head to the Tavern. Choose Hear a Tale from the Tavern Keeper and you'll begin H'aanit's story.
H'aanit's Chapter
H'aanit arrives in Marsalim on the tracks of Redeye, the foul beast that petrified her master. Linde is not a huge fan of the heat, unsurprisingly, and the pair seems eager to complete their business in the desert city with haste. Go up the stairs to the right of the city entrance, past the Armorer, and you'll find the headquarters of the Knights Ardante, where Eliza is waiting for H'aanit.
H'aanit explains that they need to kill Redeye to free Z'aanta, and it appears that Eliza has tracked the monster down. Unfortunately, one of the locals - a General Lenaar - has taken his men into the ruins where Redeye is hiding, and a side cut reveals that the soldiers are faring poorly. Head to the center of Marsalim after the cut scenes are done to trigger a few more, and by the end the Knights Ardante and the local guard forces will offer to get H'aanit safely to Redeye's hiding place.
Assemble your hunting party, then speak to Eliza. She's in the bottom-right room in the palace. The battle against the monsters surrounding Redeye's hiding place will commence, and you'll be escorted safely to the Grimsand Ruins.
Grimsand Ruins
H'aanit's escort may have tied up a ton of monsters in combat outside, but there are still plenty of beasties haunting the dusty halls of the Grimsand Ruins. You'll face the following monsters in the first half of this area:
- Brigand Bones - Weak to Axe, Staff, Fire, and Light. You've probably fought lots of skeletons by now, and this one won't prove much different. Watch out for terror status.
- Venomous Scorpion - Weak to Polearm, Ice, and Wind. These things can, somewhat unsurprisingly, poison your party members. Dangerous, but not awful.
- Remnant Mk.II - Weak to Sword, Polearm, Dagger, and Axe. Beefy melee enemy that can buff itself and take a good chunk out of your party members. Worth stunning early.
- Revenant - Weak to Sword, Dagger, Bow, and Staff. A powerful enemy that can take a lot of abuse, and dish out tons in return. Basically a mini-boss. Get them stunned as quick as you can, as even their normal attacks are ridiculously powerful.
Use the save point ahead and on your left, then start trekking northwest. Down a set of stairs you'll hit an intersection. Check the door on the left to start to find a Healing Grape (M), and look down the stairs beside the ones you used a moment before to find 30,000 leaves.
Walk to the west side of the area and use the southbound stairs. The path will split on the lower floor. The leftmost path leads to the next floor down, and ultimately to a dead end - though you'll find a purple chest at that dead end. It contains 50,000 leaves. There are new enemies to fight down here, but we'll address them in a moment.
Return to the first area of the ruins, head east, then north. In a small side chamber you'll find an Energizing Pomegranate (M). South of this chamber you'll find stairs leading east. There are two doors on the north wall; the right leads to a chest containing a Calming Stone. Next to these doors you'll find a north-south path, and both paths will take you to the next floor down. Take the southern stairs to find another dead end with a chest containing a Gleaming Amulet, then head back upstairs and go north.
As mentioned, you'll start running into new batches of enemies when you reach the lower level of the Grimsand Ruins:
- Stone Bug - Weak to Sword, Axe, Ice, and Lightning. Can blind your characters, but are nevertheless among the weaker, easier enemies in the ruins.
- Stone Serpent - Weak to Dagger, Axe, Ice, and Dark. Strong but straightforward melee enemy. Get it stunned.
- Stone Lizard - Weak to Sword, Staff, Ice, Lightning, and Dark. Buffs itself and uses some harsh attacks. Is one of the more difficult enemies to break, though it has plenty of vulnerabilities. You won't see these things very often unless you're very (un)lucky.
Walk down the stairs until you reach an intersection. Head north and follow the path until it takes you back up to the first area, where you'll find a purple chest. Inside is an Unseen Saber. Backtrack to the lower level, then head south and down the stairs ahead until you see a save point.
The area surrounding the save point looks ripe with opportunity, but the only area of interest is to the south. Follow the stairs and path west until you come to a grand, northbound, sunlit staircase. Check to the left of the northbound pathway before going too far north and you'll find a chest containing a Healing Grape (M).
Go west from the bottom of the huge staircase to find a chest containing an Inspiriting Plum (M), then check the wall to the left of the chest to find a hidden path that will loop you back east. You'll find a chest containing an Enlightening Necklace. Once you've got both items, head back to the large staircase and start climbing.
You'll start running into statues as you enter the next open area and head west. Look down and to the left of the second statue you come across to find a chest containing an Energizing Pomegranate, then head north. There's a third statue here, and a save point off to the left. Take the path to the left of the statue to find a Healing Grape Bunch and a Refreshing Jam, and take the path to the right of the state to find an Inspiriting Plum (M).
There's only one place left to go, and that's north. H'aanit will find the soldiers petrified before, and Redeye itself appears shortly after. There's something very wrong with the creature - but H'aanit's task remains the same. To arms!
Redeye
Weakness: Dagger, Bow, Staff, Fire, Light or Polearm, Axe, Lightning, Wind, Light or Sword, Bow, Fire, Lightning, Light
At least, Redeye itself. The beast lives up to its reputation, and will immediately begin the fight by using Rend on one character, potentially blinding them. From that point on Redeye's attacks will have a chance to blind its target. Most of Redeye's attacks are strong but straightforward, inflicting physical damage, with its Unearthly Roar being the only tricky one, as it can knock characters unconscious as well. Once Redeye takes enough damage it will become angered and begin to use its Evil Eye attack, which inflicts petrification on a character and prevents them from acting. Only the Herb-of-Grace Potions received in Chapter 3 of H'aanit's story can bring people back into the fight. On the defensive side Redeye gains more shields as the fight progresses, up to a maximum of nine, and it will shuffle its weaknesses each turn, whether it is stunned or not.
This can can be brutally unfair if you're unlucky. Though Evil Eye is Redeye's signature attack, Unearthly Roar is likely to cause you more trouble if it hits two or more members of your party with unconsciousness. In the second half of the fight you could very well get your party wiped without having done anything wrong. Lower this possibility by equipping multiple characters with the Resist Ailments Passive Skill, or any Conscious Stones you have in your inventory. Resist Ailments will also lower the chances of anyone being blind. Alfyn makes a good party member when it comes to dealing with the status ailments. Beyond that, this is a standard - albeit rough - boss battle: Target Redeye's shuffling weaknesses and keep it stunned as much as you can, particularly in the latter half of the fight. If anyone is petrified, immediately bring them back with an Herb-of-Grace Potion. Getting knocked out while petrified leads to losing that party member for the rest of the fight. The faster you get Redeye stunned, the better this fight will go.
(If you're having trouble, use the Merchant Hired Help Mercenary Skill. It will buff your party's defensive capabilities for a few turns. This will make Redeye's attacks more tolerable.)
You'll receive an Olive of Life (L) for defeating Redeye. Cut scenes will follow, along with happy reunions, and H'aanit's tale will come to a close...
... though before you move on from S'warkii, where the game leaves you, note that Z'aanta, freshly-freed from his curse, is now standing by the save point. You can Steal / Purchase a Rare Stone from him, and you can Purchase a Battle-Tested Bow. Though crazy expensive, the Battle-Tested Bow is also really really good. Z'aanta can also be Guided / Allured, and if you manage to recruit him (no small feat) he's a fantastic summon.
Done? Still no. Return to Marsalim. If you check the bottom-right room in Marsalim Palace you'll find Captain Raaf and General Lenaar. Raaf has an Exotic Garb to Steal / Purchase, while General Lenaar has a Robe of the Flame and an Emperor's Blade. They, too, make pretty decent summons for your party.