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When we left Our Hero, he was dead in a ditch. The magic of roguelikes is that you immediately get better and get to have a second go at it from the start.

Things have gone pretty well since my last crawl. I've been able to advance some NPC quests, gathered up some decent gear, and had better luck. So, I've passed the Mountain Stream area that killed me next time, and gotten into Mystery Dungeon's next town.

Now, you may think "Ah, this is where she will save her progress, so now she can start over in this town," and you are completely wrong. The towns are basically just waystations, and I'll have to claw my way back here upon death.

Bamboo Village

At the entrance to the town I see a couple of guys bitching about Blinding O-Ryu. I ran into her in the dungeon once, and in typical fashion, she blinded me and I think I ended up dying. I don't mind, because that's just the first step to getting O-Ryu to join you, and she's an amazingly useful companion.

Bamboo Village has one of the handful of shops in the game, and I happen to have entered it with a haul of gitan... nothing much worth buying, though, and I don't have anything worth selling. So instead, I'll talk to another important NPC: my idiot brother, Pekeji. He wants to talk to me in the bar, and in the manner of all loser brothers everywhere, basically just wants to borrow money from me.

So there goes that 1000 gitan that could've forged my weapon or bought some items. Despite his whiny passive-aggressive "no, it's too much!" act, I give Pekeji the cash I.... actually just found lying on the floor, so no big deal. Pekeji is going to go open his own shop somewhere... or so he says.

For me, there's not much else to do in this town. I equip my Wooden Sword +3 and Katana +2 and get ready to head into the next round of dungeons.

5. Pegasus Ridge

I enter and immediately get into a tense battle with a pair of Firepuffs. My equipment is good, but I'm only level 4 (level 5 by the time I win). There's fortunately a nice narrow pathway I can lead them into, so I can pick them off one at a time. I end up using a Restorative Herb, but it's not an expense I mind. The exit to the next dungeon is nearby, too, so I rest there until some monsters show up. After that, time to move on.

6. Pegasus Ridge

Oh hell, it's the Riceball Changer. It's absolutely not worth fighting these guys if I can get away from them; they have a breath attack that turns any of your items, at random, into a Big Riceball. He corners me at the entrance of the bridge, and I battle him anyway. It's pretty easy with my current equipment, and the only thing he turns into a Big Riceball is my... regular Riceball. Hey, not bad. I find the exit, rest a bit, and then move on.

7. Mountaintop Forest

This area is lousy with Skull Mages, which I love to fight when they aren't showing up in packs. Skull Mages can warp you around the dungeon, switch places with you, or... speed you up. Really, they're wandering XP sacks. I kill one, and then the second I encounter... warps me to the dungeon exit. Hey, thanks, buddy!

Mountaintop Town

First off, to this town's Storehouse. I drop off an Armor Ward, Cudgel +2, Antidote Herb, and Scroll of Light I found for a future incarnation, and pick up a Jar of Holding I left behind. It has some good items in it (mainly a Pain-Sharing Staff).That settled, time to see how storylines are progressing in town.

I visit Gaibara, the potter. He initiated his Quest tree by... destroying one of my Jars earlier. I hope I don't get a repeat of that. Instead, I find his attempt to make a masterpiece has resulted in the Pointless Jar. Gaibara smashes it, apologizes, and tells me to come back later. Well, okay.

Next, I hear about a new restaurant opened at a cliff at the edge of town. The sequence calls for me to buy something, so I order Egg Thing Noodles. It's so terrible it deprives me of two strength, 30 HP, and makes me sick (10% fullness). I don't have enough money to stay at the Inn now, so I have to immediately go through a Big Riceball and an Antidote Herb. This shop had better turn into some kind of amazing turbo-shop for food later...

Anyway, story events taken care of, on to the next dungeon.

8. Old Mine

With a little help from a Pain Sharing Staff (causes enemies to take damage when they damage me), I take out a dangerous Death Reaper. I get lucky with an exit nearby, so I can rest up for a bit before moving on.

... or so it seems.

This death is pure personal stupidity. Instead of lightly tapping A+B for each turn of rest, I hold it down. This means a Death Reaper can charge in and leave me nearly dead before I get my fingers off the buttons. And Death Reapers move at double speed, so when I try to get into the dungeon exit, it can kill me first.

Lesson, kids: don't forget what has double speed. Ah well, I developed my towns a bit and got some good stuff into storage, so not a wasted run at all. I regret losing the Plating Scroll and Jar of Holding I wanted to get into storage at the next town, but there'll be others.

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