The second Errantry quest you're likely to send your daughter on is to the Southern Riverside. Consisting almost entirely of small islands amid a torrent of water, the Southern Riverside is likely to be the location where you spend the least amount of time. There are things to find here, but... not a ton.
To safely traverse the Southern Riverside you'll want to fulfill the following requirements, at a minimum:
- Whether your daughter is a melee fighter or a magician she'll want a Combat Skill of around 70, to avoid getting hit too often. Skill and attack stats that correspond to your combat type of also around 70 or more is also advisable.
- You should push your daughter's Stamina up into the 250 to 300 range. The enemies here aren't too much stronger than those in the Eastern Woodland, but they can still chip away at her health pretty quickly.
- Your daughter should be wearing Chain Mail, at a minimum. If you plan to use a weapon you'll want a 2 Handed Sword, or, if you can afford it, a Mithril Sword.
Navigation
The Southern Riverside is by far the most annoying area to traverse on your first time through, and even after that it's still rather irritating. The various islands in this area are connected by invisible trails through the water, and you must stick to these paths to move from one landmass to the next. You may spend a lot of time fumbling against the water before you figure out where to go. (We'll try to help with that a bit.)
Like all Errantry locations, you can make a full circuit of the Southern Riverside, heading south, east, and then back north through the water. There's an exit just east of the entrance, back in the north.
Monsters
The monster encounters in the Southern Riverside aren't too bad, on the whole, and you'll fight a few familiar faces if you've spent time in the Eastern Woodland. You'll need 200 Sensitivity or more to talk to the majority of the monsters. Notable are the Fishmen, which require 300 Faith before they will say anything to your daughter, and the Fetchfish, which require 400 Faith.
- Amoeba - Land only
- Drop: None
- Fetchfish - Water only
- Drop: Black Scale
- Fishman - Anywhere
- Drop: Mermaid Tear
- Kidnapper - Land only
- Drop: Healing Pill
- Snakey - Land only
- Drop: None
- Troll - Land only, east side of the map
- Drop: Leather Armor
There are two items of particular note that you can farm in Southern Riverside. First is the Black Scale, which is occasionally dropped by defeated Fetchfish. These will give your daughter +3 Combat Defense when sitting in your inventory. Very handy. Second is the Mermaid Tear, which is occasionally dropped by defeated Fishmen. Take these on a Vacation to the sea and a mermaid will ask for it back, gifting your daughter with +50 Glamour and +20 Sensitivity in exchange.
Events
Below is a list of events you can trigger while exploring the Southern Riverside. Two are repeatable, one is not.
Faeries
As with the Eastern Woodland, you can run into faeries along the Southern Riverside if your Sensitivity is high enough (150+). They're found in the following locations, if your daughter stops to sleep for the night:
- Island to the west of the entrance and down the first waterfall - Adds Art, subtracts some Stamina, and removes all Stress
- Island where Blood Rose Vanista is located (see below for directions) - Adds Cooking and removes all Stress
You can repeat these encounters every time you adventure in this area. Be careful not to raise your Art or Cooking stats too high if you're not interested in those endings! Keep them below 100!
The second of the bandits whom your daughter can battle lives along the Southern Riverside, and you'll need to have defeated Bernazard to run into her. To meet her you'll need to drop down waterfalls along the west side of the map until you reach the southern rock walkways. Head east and you'll find a series of invisible paths that loop around an island with a big, red flower. You'll need to go counterclockwise around the island to find the path onto it. Very annoying.
Sleep here a few times - or just hang out for a while - and eventually your daughter will run into Blood Rose Vanista. She'll offer your daughter 200 gold to leave, and if you accept your daughter will receive 50 points of Sin. If you refuse your daughter will have to fight. Vanista is more powerful than the previous bandit, with a bit more health, but otherwise isn't a huge deal.
You'll receive 286 gold and some Chain Mail if you defeat Blood Rose Vanista. Upon returning home an official from the palace will give your daughter an additional 1,500 gold, and either her Fighter or Magic Reputation will go up. If you lose to Vanista and have a Charisma of over 100 you'll receive an extra cut scene, and Cube's relationship with your daughter will improve when he saves her.
Chests
- Northwestern island (take a left from the entrance) - 300 gold
- Blood Rose Vanista island (southeast of the map) - Fairy Nectar
- Eastern island (along the path to the exit) - Black Scale