Chalkstone Area	Items Equipment Creatures
	***

NOTES:
(REVISED 12/27/04)

1) There are so many connecting caverns in this area that even making the map was confusing. You’ll go in one side and by the time you come out the other end, you are back where you started.
2) Don’t carry all of your equipment around. Put away as much stuff as possible in the Shop or you will be overweight most of the time because there are many things to pick up here.
UPDATE: Looking back at the original Shadow Tower there was a creature named the Howler. Therefore I decided to change the names of these creatures from Fire & Ice Hyenas to Day Howlers and Night Howlers. I think that sounds better.
3) The creatures in this area remind me of hyenas because of their short hind legs and the way they run. Ok; so they only have one eye, but they act like canines running around howling and wagging their tails. There are two kinds of them and each kind has a large version and a small version. I’ll call the red ones Fire Hyenas (Day Howlers) and the blue ones Ice Hyenas (Night Howlers). The large Day Howlers shoot a meteor that can take only two hits to kill you. The large Night Howlers shoot a large ball of energy that is even deadlier than the meteor. The smaller guys don’t wield such magic spells, but their frequent howls will hurt you if you are close to them.
Keep in mind that not all creatures are hostile. You will find a few friendly monsters that will give you items if you talk to them. You'll know their demeanor by their reactions.
4) *** The Purifying Crystals are found ONLY if you come to this area before going to the Deformed Insect Area.

VISUAL GUIDE:
(The guide is based on entering from the Violent Poison Area.)
As you come into the long narrow cavern, the mood starts to change. Right away you can see where this area got its name from; the chalky ground is everywhere. Every once in a while you can hear a very loud roar echoing through the caves. It sends chills up your spine. The roar is so scary in fact that even the creatures stop and tremble, giving you a perfect opportunity to attack.
Up ahead on the left side is the first Repair Shop. Use it if you want to, but you will soon find lots of equipment; so repairs aren't necessary for now. Continue until you come to an intersection with a dead body on the ground. Check the body for a bag of white powder and then go straight, ignoring for now the other tunnel that leads to the right. At the next intersection turn right and talk to the creature there. It will give you an item that looks like a pendant. Beyond the friendly creature there is a section of wall that can be broken but we don’t want to do that yet. Turn around and go back to the tunnel you just came from.

At the intersection turn right. Go up the long tunnel, pick up two Cunes, and destroy the small Day Howler along the way. Continue until you get to another dead body. Search it for a Bracelet and then jump down into a large room. There can be up to five creatures in this room; so take your time and destroy each one of them.

Once you are done, look inside the open chest and pick up the Magic Ore. There is a tunnel leading to a door on one side of this room. That door takes you back to the Elevator Room. But we want to finish this area first; so go towards the opposite side of the room until you find a section of wall that has a few cracks on it. Shoot it down and enter the next tunnel.

Follow the tunnel around the corner, fight a large Day Howler, and then pick up another bag of white powder and a Purifying Crystal (SEE NOTE 4) from the floor. Sometimes this Day Howler drops a knife; so keep your eyes open for it. Just around the next corner you will reach a dead end. The wall is breakable; so shoot it down and enter the next room.

If you get there at the right time you will be able to see a body in flames and a small Day Howler standing next to it. You won’t have a lot of time to watch though because as soon as the creature is aware of your presence, it will call for help and begin to attack. Two of the small blue guys will soon join in. Destroy them all and search the still-burning body for a Soul Pod. Just don’t get too close or you will get burned.

Just a few steps from where you entered this room, on your right, there is a section of wall that can be broken. It leads back to the friendly creature you saw earlier. It’s up to you if you want to break it. Whether or not you break that wall, the next thing to do is head towards the tunnel straight ahead from where you came into this room. There is a large Fire Hyena waiting around the corner. Kill it and search the chest for two Cunes. There is also a Purifying Crystal next to the chest (SEE NOTE 4).

Turn around and head back to the room with the burning body. As soon as you come out of the tunnel turn right towards the wall. Shoot it and an entrance will open up. Go in and follow the tunnel to a small blue creature. Talk to it rather than kill it. It will give you a Magic Potion. Turn around and go back to the room. Some creatures might have respawned by now; so go ahead and destroy them. To the right of where you reentered this room is a path that leads down to a tunnel. Another creature is sitting there. Talk to it and get a Cune.

Continue through the tunnel until you see a map scribbled on the wall just before you enter a large room. You will be attacked by Fire and Ice Hyenas (Day and Night Howlers; so watch out. This large room is confusing; so bear with me. Stay next to the left wall and follow it to a small red creature that will give you an Anti-Seal Stone and then drop dead. Continue up the path. As you turn the next corner two small Fire Hyenas (Day Howler) will attack you. Keep going up until you find a Cune on the floor.

Continue up this path until it becomes a small bridge-like structure and then follow the bridge to where it ends. There is a pedestal on your right with a Magic Ore on it. It's a clue you will need to remember later. As you check the pedestal, it will begin to turn. That causes the lowering of a section which connects to the end of the bridge.

Now you can continue. Follow the bridge until it becomes a path once again, this time going down. When you reach the bottom you will be in a large room that has a Shop on your right. But first there are some creatures to destroy. In this room there is a Bracelet on the floor next to a glowing stone in a toppled stand and also a Healing Potion inside a small cave. Go back towards the Shop. When you enter the Shop you have the option of "PUT ITEM". Put away as much stuff as possible so that you don’t become overweight in the next section. Just keep all of your usable items, the equipment that is in the best shape, and a weapon or two (keep your weight in the low 30s).

Continue to the next room. Search the dead body for a Cune and fight whatever you might encounter. There are two stairways, one on either side. They both lead back down to this same spot; so take the one on your right and walk up until you find a Bullet Clip in a chest. You can turn around and go back or continue on the bridge and come down the other side. Either way, you will be back to where you went up the stairs. If there are any more creatures by the time you came down, destroy them and go towards the back of the room. Search a dead body for a Luger Parabellum Clip. Now you are presented with three large, white doors and a problem. The problem is that you can only open one of the doors because you only have one key. The middle door leads to a Repair Shop. The doors on either side lead to Save Points. Search through your items and pick the Scarab Key. Use it to unlock the white door on the left and go in.

Around the corner is the Save Point. Save your game and then look at the wall straight across from the Save Point. Can you notice any difference? Maybe not; it's a little hard to notice. Take out your gun, shoot the wall and watch it crumble to the ground. Go in the new opening and follow the stairs up to the second floor. Kill whatever you find on the way. You will be in a very long tunnel. Go straight ahead, bypassing the intersection that leads to the right. Continue to another creature waiting ahead. Keep going until you reach the end of the long tunnel. There is an empty pedestal in front of you. Remember the earlier clue? Go ahead and use your Magic Ore on the pedestal and watch how a large section of bridge falls into place.

Now go back to the intersection you bypassed earlier. Turn left and continue on to the bridge. Turn left when you reach a cross section on the bridge. Be careful because the bridge is very narrow and you do not want to fall down at any point. If you happen to encounter any creatures on the narrow bridge, do not engage them; just wait for them to fall off. Continue on this bridge until you reach a section where you can turn right and go inside a small cave. Search the dead body for a red box of bullets. The chest next to the body is empty, but if you look through the opening behind it, you can see another chest that can't be reached right now. We'll get to it later. Now look at the wall on either side of the chest. It can be broken. Shoot down one of the sides and go into the tunnel.

You will reach a small room with three chests. Open them to get a pair of Gloves, a Crown, and a Sai. Do not equip the Gloves, although you might be tempted because of the great HP and MP numbers they add. They cause the abnormal status "Curse". The crown adds some nice numbers to your attributes, but soon you will find a better helmet. The Sai is an average weapon.

Turn around, go back, and shoot the wall on the other side of the chest. Follow the corridor to another small room with three chests. Open them to get a Bracelet, a Samurai Helmet, and a pair of Leather Boots. The Bracelet causes the abnormal status "Seal", which prevents you from casting spells. Do not wear it. Equip the Samurai Helmet right away. It adds better numbers to your attributes than the Crown did. The Leather Boots have good durability. You might want to equip them if your current boots are low in durability.

Now go back to the bridge, turning right at the cross section. When you reach the end of the bridge turn left into another small cave. Follow this cave until it ends. Search the chest and get the Double Barrel Derringer. Now retrace your steps all the way to the Save Point. Save your game and open the gray door to the left of the Save Point (if you are facing the Save Point). You will be in a very large room with lots of water on the floor. The water is safe but you are going to face many of the large creatures in here, including the deadly large Night Howler; so be prepared. As soon as you set foot in the room, the door locks behind you. Now you cannot exit until all the creatures have been destroyed. Go through this room with caution, searching every smaller room that you find and keeping your eyes open for any items that may be dropped. Use the pillars for protection when you are being attacked and wait for the echoing roar before you attack the enemy. You will know you’ve destroyed all the enemies when a message appears after the last creature drops and you hear the grinding sound of stone. Now exit this room.

You will be in a corridor with a Day Howler waiting around a corner and three more around the next corner. Try to separate them by making them follow you into the corridor one at a time or else wait until you hear the roar. Destroy them, pick up whatever they may drop and search the chests. There is an Anti-Gravity Stone in one of them. You have three ways you can go from here. Stay away from the door covered in blood. We'll go there later. Let's go in the gray door straight across from the blood-covered door.

Walk down the stairs until you reach a long cavern with many rooms at either side. The first room on your right has a friendly creature that will give you a pair of Burning Leg Guards when you talk to it. Sometimes another creature attacks you from behind as you are talking to this guy; so watch your back. There is a large Axe on the floor behind the friendly creature and if you want to get it you must kill the poor thing. It's your choice.

When you are done, exit the room and go into the room across the way. There is a Cune on the floor but don’t grab it. A section of the floor will collapse before you get to it. Instead, walk slowly around the Cune and next to the wall until you are able to pick up the Cune. Now go ahead and step into the middle of the room, allowing the floor to break under your weight. You will land in a long tunnel. Follow it to the end. Pick up the Mace from the floor before jumping down the next hole in the ground.

You will be at the opposite end of the long cavern. As you come out of this room turn left towards the gray door. That door leads to the Repair Shop but it is locked at the moment; so don’t bother with it. Just go into the room on your right and pick up two Cunes from the floor. Turn around and go left and then into the first room on the left. Kill the first creature there and notice the trail of goo on the floor. It leads to a dying creature. Talk to the creature and receive a weapon that looks like an electrified Sword. Go back, turn left and then go into the room on the right, across from the skeleton.

Shoot the wall. It will break and open up a tunnel leading down to another friendly creature. Talk to it until you get a Bow. Retrace your steps and go into the Healing Room if you need healing. If not, just destroy the rest of the creatures. Then all of the doors will close. That’s ok; it just means you have cleared this cavern. It also means that the first door you couldn’t open is now unlocked. But there is still a locked white door beyond that Repair Room.

The room adjacent to the Healing Room is empty and the room next to it has an open chest. The section of wall behind the chest can be broken. There is also a Cune behind the chest. Shoot the wall and walk to the end of the tunnel. Pick up the Sword. It regenerates HP; so equip it right away. Also pick up the Magic Potion from the floor. You can talk to the friendly creature but it will not give you anything in return. Now that you have cleared the area you can head towards the Repair Shop if you need to. If not, just exit through the same door you used to enter here in the first place.

When you come out from that area some of the creatures may have respawned; so go ahead and dispose of them. It’s a good idea to go back and save your game before you open the blood-covered door. So let’s take the right corridor (if you are facing the blood-covered door) and follow it until you reach a gray door. On the other side is a section that hasn’t been explored yet. It’s another very large room with lots of water on the floor. Again you will have to face many of the large creatures including another large Night Howler. Once again the door locks behind you and you’ll have to clear the room before you can exit. This time the large Night Howler drops a pair of Red Gloves. Watch for them and search the last room on your left for a Cune on the floor. Go out of this room, turn to the gray door on your left, and exit to the Save Point Room. Search the dead body on the ground for an Anti-Gravity Stone and save your game.

After you save your game, turn around and face the wall across from the Save Point. Look at the floor next to the dead body and follow the blood trail. Take your gun and shoot the wall. Go in the new opening and then up the stairs to the second floor. Once again you will be in a long tunnel. Go straight ahead bypassing the intersection that leads to the left. Continue ahead destroying anything that gets in your way and keep going until you reach the end of the long tunnel. There is a pedestal that has a Magic Ore on it. Check the pedestal and watch how another large section of bridge falls into place. Now go back to the intersection you bypassed earlier. Turn right and continue on to the bridge. Turn right when you reach a cross section on the bridge. Continue on this bridge until you reach a section where you can turn left and go inside a small cave. The chest inside the cave is the same one you saw before but couldn’t reach. Search it for a set of Leg Guards. Now go back to the bridge and turn left at the cross section. When you reach the end of the bridge turn right into another small cave. Follow this cave until it ends. Search the dead body and get a Long Sword. Search the body again for a dark Soul Pod. Now retrace your steps all the way back to the Save Point.

Let’s save the game and finally head towards the blood-covered door. You might not want to face what's behind this door - the mini-boss of the area, a creature that looks like a giant lion-toad. Now you know where the roars were coming from. This creature has different attacks and it’s very quick. The best way to get rid of it is to use your gun and not give it a chance to jump around. As long as you keep shooting, you will keep it in place. The creature drops the Amber Key when it dies. Pick it up and look towards the back of the room. There is a gray door that has a Scarab Key on it. Open the door and search the chest for a Ring of Ice.

Exit the boss room and take the door across from the blood-covered door. Go down the stairs and you will be in the cavern that has rooms on either side. Follow the cavern until you reach the other door. Open the door and go up the stairs to the Repair Shop. Now you can open the white door that had remained locked all this time. You are back where you started by earlier choosing one of the three white doors. Time to exit this area and go back to the Elevator Room. But first save your game.