Part 5: Meribia and Meribian Sewers

Main Walkthrough

Your party is one person lighter, but you'll get a chance to remedy that soon enough. Leave Meribia and follow the path east, then south. Eventually you'll catch sight of Vane, the floating city of magic, and it's as majestic as Nash made it out to be. Attempt to enter it via the small Transmission Spring on the ground, however, and its guardian insists that Alex, Luna, and Nall require an application to enter.

Head to Althena's Shrine, a short walk to the west of the Transmission Spring. Check the northern room inside the shrine to meet Phacia, the Head Priestess, who will (gently) try to persuade Alex to give up on becoming Dragonmaster and study in Vane. She'll give the team an Application that will allow them to enter the city. The remaining NPCs in the shrine are filled with interesting information, but there's nothing else of practical use here.

(At this point, if you really want, you can check out the Nanza Pass to the southwest of the Transmission Spring. The enemies here are stronger than what you fought in Meribia, if you want to do some leveling, and there are some items to grab. You can't get through here right now, however, and you'll be headed this direction soon anyway, so the Nanza Pass probably isn't worth your time.)

Head back to the Transmission Spring, and, assuming Alex and Luna are outfitted with the best gear you can get, speak to the guardian again. It turns out that having an Application is only part of gaining entrance to Vane. Dungeon time!

Cave of Trial

Enemies

  • Death Shroom - 23 HP - Can Poison targets - Weak to Fire
  • Gunfoot - 65 HP - Can hit everyone in a straight line
  • Ice Mongrel - 4 HP - Usually runs at the beginning of the fight, but is worth lots of experience and silver if defeated
  • Slumber Moth - 20 HP - Can put targets to Sleep
Your next combat challenge is the Cave of Trial, a dungeon would-be visitors to Vane must first overcome. While you're inside the Cave of Trial your items will be disabled, forcing you to rely on Luna's restorative magic to get through. Nash once again ditches the party - this seems to happen a lot - so Alex, Luna, and Nall will need to make it through the Cave of Trial on their own.

A priest near the entrance will restore everyone's vitality, if need be. Head north and you'll wind up on the main path, which is quite straightforward, despite all the curves in the road. Here are some of the highlights along the path:
  • In the second chamber you'll find a chest containing 250 silver.
  • Also in the second chamber you'll find another priest who will restore everyone's health, though he'll only do it once. You probably won't require his services on your first pass through.
  • On your right in the fourth chamber is a locked red chest. Come back when you can open these and you'll find Soap inside.
  • Near the exit in the fourth chamber is a chest containing 250 silver.
  • Among a bunch of other NPCs you'll find another priest in the northeast of the fifth chamber. He, too, will restore Alex and Luna once. Hold off unless you're struggling.
The sixth area, a series of twisting paths, is the end of your trip through the Cave of Trial. To the west you'll see a huge, shroomish creature barring your path. Before approaching too closely, look to the north and south of its chamber for chests containing 250 silver and 250 silver. Now's a good time to backtrack to a priest to heal up, as the mushroom monster isn't here to chat.


Truffle Troubler

Weakness: Fire

The final stumbling block on your way out of the Cave of Trial, the Truffle Troubler isn't a big deal if you've been fighting enemies on a consistent basis. It uses the following attacks:
  • Flash Bang, a single-target attack that can Paralyze one character
  • Mad Spark, a Thunder attack that hits both characters
This boss battle is pretty standard for what you've faced up to this point. Buff Alex with Vigor and Cascade Song, then use Sword Dance until it dies. (Technically it is weak to Fire, but Explosion Staff costs too much MP and won't do as much damage as Sword Dance.) Luna should heal as needed - which will be basically every round - and though you can use Purity Song to dispel Paralysis, you can also just wait it out and keep using Tranquil Song to keep everyone's health up.

Defeating the Truffle Troubler will open the way to Vane. Before you exit the dungeon, however, you should check the northbound path to the west of the Truffle Troubler. It leads to a chest containing a Healing Ring. This excellent item restores a bit of health to its wearer each round, and given how characters in Lunar: Silver Star Story have less HP on average than most RPGs, you'll get a lot out of equipping this ring.

Go up the stairs the Truffle Troubler was guarding and, hey, you've found the path to Vane. Well done. 


Vane

A city of magic users, Vane is worth a thorough once-over. The NPCs have plenty of interesting information to share, and there's plenty else to see before you head to the Magic Guild in the north:
  • There's an Armor Shop on the west side of Vane. You likely have lots of money after the last two dungeons, so outfit Alex and Luna with the best equipment you can afford.
  • There's also a Weapons Shop on the east side of Vane. Same applies here. Luna can equip the Dream Cane for sale here, though if you use it to attack it will send Luna into melee range, which usually isn't a great idea. Leaving a Battle Bow on Luna is probably a better idea.
  • There are two Item Shops in the center of Vane. The one on the left is nothing special, but the one on the right sells some accessories that are worth buying... if you have enough money. Which you probably don't. The Crystal Pendant in particular is worth it for your casters a bit later in the game. This is also one of the few places in the game where you can buy Star Lights.
  • There's a library on the east side of Vane. You can interact with basically every book shelf to learn more about the world, as well as partake in silliness. You can find 10 silver in a book on one of the southeastern shelves.
  • And, in case you're looking for it, the statue of Althena is in the northwest of Vane. Not quite as central as in other locations. South of the statue you can find a locked, red chest containing a Devil Pendant. It's barely visible between two small, pointed towers at the top of the building.

Head to the large building in the north once you're done looking around. This is the Magic Guild, and you'll have to watch an extended scene of Luna meeting a mysterious someone before regaining control of Alex and Nall. Poke around as much as you like, though ultimately you'll need to pay a visit to the second floor, via the west wing of the Magic Guild. Check the darkened bedroom and you'll meet Mia, who should look familiar if you've been checking out Nash's inventory.

Head to the second floor on the east wing and you'll find Luna waiting outside an office. Enter the office and you'll officially meet Ghaleon, one of the Four Heroes. He'll invite Alex and Luna to join the Magic Guild, though regardless of your answer he'll also give the group a task: Head to a fishing village called Lann, and verify whether or not a new Dragonmaster resides there. Sounds important.

With Nash in the group again you may want to get him outfitted with new stuff. Otherwise, head south of the Magic Guild to leave Vane. You won't need to use the Cave of Trial to come and go from now on, which is a nice bonus.