Scattered throughout the game world will be 8 treasure chests. Inside each of these chests
is a very rare and valuable item (most likely a weapon or piece of armor, or specialized
weapon like a beam for Moriarty or an axe for Glod), but, of course, getting said item is
a little harder than just taking it from the chest.

To be more specific, inside each of these chests is a piece of a whole other RPG called
"QuestChester". Each chest represents a different part of the QuestChester world, i.e.
one is a town, one is a cave, one is a castle, one is a forested mountain, etc. And each of these
places can only be entered by locating the corresponding chest and opening it, whereupon
each of your characters will be warped into this alternate game world and assigned an
identity based upon a character from this world (which could result in some great dialogue,
since all of your characters still have the same memories and attitudes as their corresponding
characters from your actual party, but they're forced to take on a new persona for
QuestChester, oftentimes one that goes quite against what they really are).

The idea of QuestChester is that there's actually a linear plot you have to follow in order
to be rewarded with whatever item is located in each treasure chest, meaning you have to
conquer all 8 chests in order if you want the "big prize" at the end of each one (and, of
course, the prizes keep getting bigger, and the one at the end of the 8th chest will of
course be an extremely mysterious item with a hidden purpose...). And though seven of these
eight chests are randomized, the first chest you find during play will, without fail,
always be Nelgaria Castle, where the strange little quest you must undertake begins, which
will undoubtedly lead you to another chest. And although you'll be forced to return to some
chests every once in a while, there will eventually be a boss at the end of each one, upon
the defeat of which you will receive the item contained within and be warped out of the
chest for good.

Of course, this setup would get pretty annoying if the plot of QuestChester were to be
particularly deep or involved -- which is why it's instead going to be a very simple,
very stereotypical RPG.

At least, on the surface.

And, in keeping with this, it will have very clunky graphics, tile-by-tile movement,
squashy characters, villagers who seem to be running in place, a complete inability to
walk behind solid objects that you SHOULD be able to walk behind, lo-res FF-style battle
scenes, and very stereotypical RPG heroes that your party really doesn't like taking the
role of. (: For example, the hero and heroine are a peasant named Thannis and a princess
named Mendies, and your villain is a magician bent on world conquest named Darkwyn
(resulting in lots of Darkwyn Duck puns). (: You may note, too, that every character who
joins your party during QuestChester has a name that's exactly 7 characters long. This
wasn't originally intended, but it's a pleasant side-effect that occurred during the writing
of the QuestChester plot. (:

The 8 QuestChester chests contain the following locations:

1) Nelgaria Castle
2) Nelgaria Town
3) Foggy Cave
4) Penapolos Peak
5) Underground Waterway
6) Ice Region Zyberia
7) Xoxellyn Keep
8) The FlashBacklands
(marked as ??? until you complete the first 7 chests)

And now, without further ado, the plot (organized chest-by-chest):

(1) Nelgaria Castle [first visit] (requires at least Sulin and Carma to enter)

Your journey begins in Nelgaria Castle. Regardless of whether or not your main character in FK is Sulin or Carma, your main character in the QC world is a local peasant named Thannis who has the hots for the Nelgarian princess, Mendies (who is played by your secondary character, resulting in some very amusing dialogue if you played as Carma!). And your journey begins with Thannis, dressed in a mailman's outfit, being halted by a guard outside of the entrance to Nelgaria. But Thannis is a clever one, and he convinces the guard that he's here to deliver a package (points to the big box at his side) to the Wizard's Club. "Ick, the WIZARD'S club... look, normally I'd do the delivering, but those guys creep me out! You can go deliver the package yourself, but you've gotta leave right away then, OK? Don't cause any trouble, or I'll be demoted to night shift!"

Successfully in the castle, Thannis ducks around a corner, then drops the box on the ground and removes his normal clothes from within. After getting changed, he sneaks his way past several incompetent guards to the princess's room. Not wanting to barge in (though he thought about it!), he knocks at her door, and to his surprise, she says to come right in!

The princess is a bit surprised to see a simple peasant in her chambers -- and seems quite embarrassed when he starts looking over her rather extensive collection of stuffed dolls lying about -- but remains largely unphased. She asks him various questions, including his name, what he does for a living (hunts monsters and takes their gold) and why he's here. He answers truthfully and without hesitation: "I came to see you, Princess. Ever since I caught sight of you returning to the castle one day, I've wanted to meet you, and run away with you to some far off land, where we could go on an adventure together and fall in love." Mendies half-smiles, and says, "OK, sounds like fun. It sure beats being locked away in my room and treated like a treasure chest. If you can get me out of here without anyone noticing, I'll come with you on your adventure -- though I can't promise anything else!"

This answer pleases Thannis, as he had prepared himself for utter failure in his mission. The two of them leave Mendies's room, which Mendies inexplicably decides to lock. "Tell NO ONE what you saw in there, OK?" Thannis nods.

Needless to say, they manage to escape the castle (somehow), and Thannis picks up his mailman's outfit on the way out -- for Mendies to wear (she has to be disguised, after all, if she's going to walk around the town!). Mendies doesn't object, though, and she suggests going to Nelgaria Town and asking around to see what kinds of adventures the two of them might be able to undertake.

Thus ends the first QuestChest.

(2) Nelgaria Town [first visit] (requires at least Sulin and Carma to enter)

Thannis and Mendies wander around town gathering information. Here, they run into a local merchant named -- believe it or not -- Glenlin (and boy, he sure looks familiar!). Glenlin and Thannis are apparently rather good acquaintances, and he's quite pleased to see that you've succeeded in your mission to "score a princess", as you (apparently) so eloquently put it. Thannis, of course, denies having ever said any such thing, and quickly changes the subject, asking Glenlin what he has in the way of weapons, armor, and healing items for one hunter and one white magician.

Mendies, for the first time, reacts, and says that she's surprised you knew she practiced white magic. "But of course,"
you say, "would I have come all this way to sweep you off your feet without first doing my research?"

Glenlin shows you his massive collection of weapons and armor, and even gives you a discount, teasing you that you deserve a break after all your hard "research". But when you question him about healing items, he seems to get a bit more serious.

"None left, I'm afraid. The healing guild bought all my herbs, and I think I know why. Magic is dwindling... I'm a bit of a mage myself, you see, and I can feel it being drained from the air. Cure spells no longer function quite as well as they used to, and indeed all but the most gifted mages seem to be losing the ability to cast them altogether. And we simply... never prepared for this. Magic is supposed to be a constant -- or so most people think -- and healing herbs have become all but obsolete. But now... without magic, we're in serious danger here. No cures, no antidotes, no resurrections... sooner or later our item supply will wear thin, and then we'll all die out, as if stricken by a plague." Mendies remarks that this must be the reason her magic has been so weak lately -- a fact she'd attributed to her own lax attitude toward her magic studies.

Thannis and Mendies are horrified to hear this news, though, and Thannis asks if there's anything he can do. "Well," says Glenlin, "you intend to set out on a quest, do you not? Healing herbs of all kinds, at least the ones we use here on our little island, are usually plucked from Penapolos Peak in the southwest. But, unfortunately, the only trail leading up the mountain lies on the other side of the Foggy Cave, and both the cave and the mountain are very dangerous places. Still... I've often wondered if we might be able to plant the seeds of healing plants here, within the Nelgarian Kingdom. No one's tried yet, since the magic has been good enough for everyone thus far, and there's a general myth about the soil in the mountains being of a special variety... but still, I don't see what other choice we have right now. If you can go through the Foggy Cave to Penapolos Peak and retrieve some healing seeds -- as well as a generous helping of mountain soil -- you two could go down in history as the heroes who saved Nelgaria!"

Both Thannis and Mendies are all too ready to agree to this mission, and Glenlin gives them a few free items to aid them in their journey: a soil bag, and a mysterious red ring. "Though magic has all but disappeared from the air recently, I have a few tricks up my sleeve," says Glenlin. He explains that the ring is called "Bringer of War", and is a conductor for extremely strong fire magic. Though magic is nearly extinguished, the "Bringer of War" is such a STRONG conductor that it still has a bit of life left in it, though it can only be used to cast simple, low-intensity fire spells now. Mendies takes the circle and swears that she'll use it well.

And so, you're off! ... Well, unless you want to chat with the townsfolk first. Most of them will be talking about the magic shortage, but you may also run into a robed figure who asks you what color the night sky is, black or purple. If you answer black, he'll compliment you on your wisdom. If you answer purple, he'll become enraged and attack you. It's an easy battle, though, and when you win, he'll whimper away. I wonder why the thought of a purple sky angers him so?

Thus ends the second QuestChest.

(3) Foggy Cave [first and final visit] (requires at least a 3-character party to enter)

This is pretty straightforward. Just find your way from the entrance to the exit. However, this is also your first chest which contains actual BATTLES. Be on your guard, as you have no healing items or spells -- though there IS a healing pool here, in the dead center of the cavern.

Along the way, you may run into a wounded adventurer. He says he was attacked by a giant fire beast, and attempted to use his "Eye of the Behemoth" against it, but it fizzled out into a mere ice spell. He begins cursing Glenlin's name when you put two and two together and realize that the "Eye of the Behemoth" must be an ice circle similar to the "Bringer of War". You explain the situation to him, and that you're on a quest to help the townsfolk, and he says he'd like to accompany you, if only you'd lead him to a healing pool first so he could mend his wounds. You gladly do so, and he introduces himself as Edgarde, a battle specialist who's never been all too great with magic (and now regrets having experimented with it, which means the Eye of the Beholder is Mendies's for the taking!). Edgarde will be played by whichever character in your current party would be LEAST likely to identify with him -- just for the fun of it. (:

At the end of this cave, you will encounter the great "FireBeast", which will be your first QuestChester boss battle. You will now discover that boss battles mark the very end of a chest. As soon as the FireBeast is defeated, you will be warped out of the Foggy Cave chest and given a special item as a reward, whereupon the chest will promptly EXPLODE. If you missed anything, it's too late to go back and get it now!

Thus ends the third QuestChest.

(4) Penapolos Peak [first and final visit] (requires at least a 3-character party to enter)

Again, this is pretty straightforward -- perhaps even moreso than the cave. Your only distraction is a pile of bones -- the skeletal remains of a long-dead warrior. If you examine these bones, you'll find the "Judgment of Zeus", which will teach Mendies lightning magic.

Eventually, you'll find what you came for: a place, secluded in a small valley, where medicinal herbs of all kinds grow. Scoop up a few seeds and a mound of soil and head back down the path -- only to be stopped by a FRIGGIN' HUGE BIRD landing right in front of you. Battle time!

After beating the "Gryphon", you will once again be warped out of the chest and given a special item, and you will once again bear witness to the detonation of a treasure chest.

Thus ends the fourth QuestChest.

(5) Nelgaria Town [second visit] (requires at least a 3-character party to enter)

Upon your arrival, Edgarde will suggest you stop by the bar for more information from the all-knowing barkeep (after delivering the seeds and soil to the healing guild, of course). Do so, and sit down and have a few drinks. The barkeep will first tell you that he knows who Mendies is, postal uniform or not, but of course won't tell anyone -- though her father the King was QUITE mad when word reached him that she had run off with a peasant. "Figures," she says, "he's always been a stickler for that whole 'royal blood' thing. I've never seen the appeal, personally."

The barkeep will then tell you about a rumor that's been spreading around: the evil Lord Darkwyn has been spotted to the south, near the ruins of his once-great ice castle known as "Xoxellyn Keep". Apparently, he's the one responsible for sucking the magic from the air -- in an attempt to control all of it for himself.

At this point, Thannis will question the barkeep as to who Lord Darkwyn is (or was), and Mendies will proceed to give him a short history lesson: fifty-some odd years ago, a wizard from the royal bloodline defected from the Nelgarian Kingdom, believing himself to be the rightful heir to the throne (whoa, deja vu!). He summoned a legion of undead workers to build him an impenetrable fortress in the southern ice fields of Zyberia,, then sent his legions out to attack Nelgaria. But the Nelgarian army was fully trained in the arts of magic, and some skilled magicians from the town were hired out as mercenaries as well (including a certain merchant named Glenlin, which amazes Thannis to hear), and short work was made of Darkwyn and his troops.

But, apparently, Darkwyn had somehow survived all these years, and had begun to rise in power once again.

Edgarde questions the barkeep as to where he had heard such a terrible rumor, and is quite startled to hear that it came from his own sister Shidowe! So, now shaken and shocked, Edgarde tells you to follow him home so you can ask Shidowe about this personally.

He explains on the way that Shidowe is an engineer who's on the verge of completing a breakthrough invention known as an "Aeroship". She usually only leaves his basement lab to go to the bar for a quick drink every now and again.

When you arrive at Edgarde's house, to Edgarde's amazement, Shidowe is upstairs, taking a nap. The basement door is conspicuously locked. "I ran into a few snags in my Aeroship -- Float magic don't work anymore, after all -- and got pretty overheated. Came up here to cool off. Damn thing won't be done anytime too soon," she says when she's awakened. "But yeah, I took a little walk to the south a bit ago, and I saw 'im there -- the spitting image of 'im, like right from a history book or something. Lord Darkwyn. And, well, seems like more than just a coincidence that magic would start vanishing from the air with 'im around, doesn't it?"

You accept this explanation and leave Shidowe to repair her Aeroship (she says she's going to try a more mechanical design), but Edgarde thinks something might be amiss here. That was very unusual behavior for Shidowe. Very unusual indeed.

Anyway, the three of you decide that it might be worthwhile to trek southward toward Zyberia, the frosty wasteland, and infiltrate the ruins of Xoxellyn Keep. But, after you leave the house, the screen stays with Shidowe, who begins laughing evilly as you are warped out of the chest. Something is DEFINITELY amiss...

Thus ends the fifth QuestChest.

(6) Zyberia [first and final visit] (requires at least a 3-character party to enter)

This is pretty straightforward, though there will be some hard enemies and some tricky puzzles to solve in order to proceed. At the end of the road, you'll run into a huge wall of ice -- completely impassable, too thick to be melted (especially with such a weak fire spell as your only means of melting it), and just in general far too effective of a wall.

There must be another route, though, right? As you sit and ponder, and eventually decide to turn around and ask for more information in Nelgaria Town, the sky above you blackens... it's the Aeroship!!

A ladder lowers from the Aeroship, and down drops Shidowe, frantically. "Come quick, the town is under attack! Some demented demon is looting every magical conductor in Nelgaria, and anyone who opposes him is getting killed!!"

All of a sudden, an icy creature jumps from the shadows and tackles Shidowe to the ground! You all ready yourselves for battle, knowing that failure now could spell doom for Shidowe!

After defeating the "IceBeast", you help Shidowe up, who promptly informs you that she found out where you were from the barkeep and immediately followed in her nearly-finished fully-mechanical Aeroship. She never spread any rumors, nor was she there to greet you when you visited earlier. You were presumably all duped by a disguised Lord Darkwyn!

And so, you all climb aboard the fabled Aeroship and blast off for Nelgaria, warping you from the chest which, once again, promptly explodes.

Thus ends the sixth QuestChest.

(7) Nelgaria Town [third and final visit] (requires at least a 4-character party to enter)

... Well, looks like the Aeroship has a few kinks to work out. Especially when it comes to landings. But that's OK, it fortunately only crashed into the side of Edgarde and Shidowe's house, so everyone is OK -- everyone except the Aeroship, anyway, which is quite totalled. Well, and the house, of course. But right now, that doesn't really matter.

The town itself is in quite a state of panic, however. Thugs roam the streets, causing you to actually get into random battles this time around. Apparently, when people started getting robbed (and murdered, if they tried to defend their goods), all the bad seeds in town decided to follow their examples.

If you follow a series of clues (and get a little advice from your buddies Glenlin and the barkeep), you'll finally find yourself in an out-of-the-way little niche, face-to-face with Darkwyn.

Darkwyn tries to convince you not to meddle -- he says that YOU, of all people, he DOESN'T want to kill (hmmmm...) -- but you refuse to grant his wishes. Finally, he sighs, and informs you that he'll be waiting for you in Xoxellyn Keep, and that there's an old unused sewer system known as the "Underground Waterway" that was once used for all of Nelgaria's plumbing, which he, of course, built a small addition onto so he could leech water for his own fortress. The entrance to the Underground Waterway is hidden away in the town somewhere, though he refuses to tell you where. "But, if you want to defeat me, that is where I'll be waiting, meditating and preparing myself to become the sole commander of all the world's magic. Until then..." And, with that, he vanishes.

You fear this may be a trap, but nonetheless, it's your only course of action for the time being.

Follow another series of clues to find the entrance to the Underground Waterway. But, just as you're about to drop in...

...get ready to do battle with "The Good Doctor"! Yes, it's the doctor from the healing guild, leader of a gang he pays very generously to terrorize the villagers. Because, after all, more injuries means more money, and Lord Darkwyn's appearance gave him the perfect distraction to start a wide-spread chain of terror, in the form of someone who could easily take all the credit for his misdeeds! He knows where you're going -- Lord Darkwyn himself informed him, stating that you were to be held up in your task for as long as possible, through drastic measures if necessary. "I figure, Lord Darkwyn's a shoe-in against the Nelgarian people, so I might as well side with whoever's gonna win, right? And every evil king needs a good lackey to boss around, who's secretly plotting things behind his master's back and just in general being an evil little jerk, right? So SAY YOUR PRAYERS, SAPS!"

Anyway, beat "The Good Doctor" and watch as the screen once again fades away from the town -- for the last time -- and the treasure chest, alas, explodes.

Thus ends the seventh QuestChest.

(8) Underground Waterway [first and final visit] (requires at least a 4-character party to enter)

In case you haven't figured it out yet, the fourth character is, of course, Shidowe.

Anyway, this is once again a completely straight-forward dungeon, though midway through, you're stopped. Edgarde is worried about how you intend to stop someone who, for all intents and purposes, controls all the world's magic.

He brings up an interesting point.

But, Mendies has an idea: "Magic is learned by touching a magic conductor, thus BECOMING a magic conductor, right? So, theoretically, if I can get close enough to Lord Darkwyn to touch him, I can use a little bit of his own power against him!"

You have to admit, it's a good idea. And so, with this plan in mind, you continue on your way, through the man-made additions to the waterway and down the final narrow stinky corridor leading up into icy Xoxellyn Keep.

And that's when the "ThunderBeast" attacks you. Oh my... you're in a waterway, and you're fighting a creature who can use electrical attacks. That is NOT a good combination.

Defeat the "ThunderBeast", though, and your party can continue unabated, warping you out of the chest, which (you guessed it) then proceeds to explode.

Thus ends the eighth QuestChest.

(9) Xoxellyn Keep [first and final visit] (requires at least a 4-character party to enter)

Obviously, Xoxellyn Keep won't be easy, and will be full of puzzles to solve -- but nonetheless, if you keep at it, you'll prevail to the end, where, true to his word, the evil Lord Darkwyn is merely sitting there, waiting for you.

Mendies, in keeping with the plan, runs forward in an effort to touch Darkwyn. She succeeds, but her face becomes twisted for a second as she freezes in her tracks. In shock, she yells back to you:

"I can't get a single spell from him!!"

Lord Darkwyn merely smiles. Mendies backs away, and a battle against "Lord Darkwyn" begins.

Easier than you'd've imagined, Lord Darkwyn screams in agony as he's defeated -- almost as if overacting -- and his death results in quite a light show. His final words are, "Good show, peasant. Good show, Princess. You can go back and play with your dollies now." The journey is over... or is it?

"Something's not right about this," remarks Shidowe. "Something seems... off..."

"I think this Lord Darkwyn was just an illusion," says Mendies. "In fact, I don't think Lord Darkwyn was ever revived at all. I think someone else is behind all of this. Someone who's been under our noses this whole time. Come on... if my hunch is right, we'll find our foe in Nelgaria Castle!"

Thus ends the ninth QuestChest.

(10) Nelgaria Castle [second and final visit] (requires at least a 4-character party to enter, 5th character optional)

Mendies: "Lord Darkwyn's last words, while seemingly just innocent cynicism from a dying foe, also mentioned my... 'dollies'. The fact that I like to play with dolls so much is embarrassing to me, as I pride myself on my tomboyism, so I used my position (probably the first and last time I've ever done that!) to make sure it became one of this kingdom's best-kept secrets. Even the palace guards aren't allowed into my room, and my room is always locked when I'm not in it, with the only key in existence belonging to me, worn around my neck for safekeeping. Only me, the King, the Queen, and Thannis actually knew about my dolls -- and Thannis only knew because I was careless and yelled 'come in' when I experienced the extremely rare occurrence of someone knocking at my door. And Father has always been a fan of the mighty power of magic. I always suspected he'd eventually try to take over the world with it. He's just... that way. He likes to feel like he's in control, you know?"

Edgarde: "So what you're saying is..."

Thannis: "...you think the King of Nelgaria, your own father, is the one responsible for doing all of this?"

Shidowe: "That's insane!"

Mendies: "No, hear me out. With all the power he's amassed already, why do you think this so-called 'Lord Darkwyn' would've sent us on a bunch of illusionary wild goose chases rather than just KILLING us? And why would he have said that he especially DIDN'T want to kill US? We were being taken out to a safe distance while he ransacked the land and cleansed it of everything magical, almost as if being protected, removed from the battlefield. Ridiculously weak enemies were tossed at us left and right and being passed off as 'threats' to make it seem as if Lord Darkwyn was really trying to stop us from meddling. And, in the end, we were given a false resolution when Lord Darkwyn fell and dramatically died right in front of our eyes. All of this was magically broadcast from somewhere else to keep us busy while every last ounce of magic was being sucked from the air. But these circles... they still have some magic left in them. That means there's still some magic left in the air, and that means we're NOT too late... we CAN still win this thing. Now come on, we've gotta go find my father!"

And so, everyone is convinced, and you set off to find the Nelgarian King. Along the way, you'll locate many many MANY dead guards, all of whose bodies can be looted for strong weapons and armor. And, finally, you'll approach the King's chamber.

After a quick pep talk, you open the door... and are greeted with the King, seated at his throne, watching the court jester dance around like a lunatic, and laughing heartily.

His smile turns to a frown, though, when he sees you.

"Mendies! I'd heard you'd run off with a commoner, and here I find you with THREE commoners, two of whom are male! This is inexcusable, and not the way a Princess should act! I forbid you from ever seeing these people again, and you are to remain in your room until I come to talk to you further about this. And furthermore--"

"--FATHER!!"

Mendies walks over to her father intently. "Please, give me your hand."

"Well, alright, but there's still much to say to you, young lady!"

He puts out his hand, and Mendies takes it. And, as it happens, her hunch was wrong. "No magic. He can't be the one."

"Well of COURSE I don't know any magic! You're the magic student, not I! And furthermore, magic is disappearing from the world. I doubt even YOU know any anymore!"

Mendies: "Then why are you just sitting here, watching Jeffrey dance for you and laughing like an idiot, when the whole town is in a panic and magic is vanishing from the world?"

King: "My place is in the throne room, young lady! And your place is in YOUR room! My soldiers haven't come to inform me of any further misdeeds or problems for quite a while, so I figured the matter had reached a resolution."

Mendies: "No, it's much worse than that. Your soldiers are all DEAD. You two are the only people left in this castle!"

A shrill female laugh can be heard resonating from every corner of the room. "Not quite, sweetie! Don't forget your dear old mother!"

Mendies's mother appears in the middle of the room, magically.

Well, Mendies picked the wrong parent to antagonize.

After a bit of boasting about how her dear husband had put the idea in her head to try to become a master of magic, and how she would soon be a goddess, and how she really didn't want to have to kill Mendies, the court jester Jeoffrey reacts, suddenly tackling the Queen while her back is turned, knocking her off-guard for just long enough to allow Mendies to make a move and touch the Queen's head.

This time, it's the real deal, and for the rest of the quest, Mendies will have access to some VERY powerful spells.

The Queen is quite enraged with Jeoffrey, who will either run away (if you entered the chest with only 4 characters) or jump over by your side for this "final battle" (if you entered the chest with 5 characters).

And so begins the difficult battle against "Queen Kalypses".

At its conclusion, a still-frame art sequence will depict the Queen's fall from grace. During her writhing, she'll briefly fall against Sulin. The camera zooms in on his face, and a slight "whirlpool" effect is shown immediately before you are transported out of the chest.

Is it over...?

Thus ends the tenth QuestChest.

(11) The FlashBacklands (marked as ??? until you complete all 7 other chests) (Sulin and Carma required, others optional)

... The answer, of course, is no. Although you're not told where to go next, hopefully you found the ??? chest earlier and remember it well enough to think of returning to it now. Within it, you will find the "Flashbacklands", which will quickly be identified as the inside of Sulin's mind. And Sulin is, for the moment, alone here.

There are no random battles inside the Flashbacklands -- only boss battles. Yep, it's one of THOSE final dungeons, where all previous bosses are fought in rapid succession.

And, to start with, everything is black -- except for Thannis, who slowly wakes up amidst this blackness, wondering what happened.

Thannis: "Whe... where am I? Where is everyone else? What... what happened?"

Kalypses: "MWAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAhahahahahahahahahaha... you're too late, Thannis. My body has already fused together with magic so thoroughly that I'm now a part of magic itself... and I no longer need the physical world to survive. Rather than living as the sole conductor of the world's magic, I now live WITHIN the sole conductor of the world's magic. How fortunate that you were there to break my fall!"

Thannis: "No! You mean... you're made of magic... and I'm your conductor? Then where the hell IS this?!"

Kalypses: "Well, I can't very well have my powerful little host controlling his own body, now, can I? I've trapped you within your own mind, Thannis. There's no way out. Your friends are here too, sucked into your head like so much empty space. You'd better hope you have a very positive disposition, or you won't last a minute here..."

The blackness becomes too bright to look at, then suddenly shifts into a black-and-white version of Nelgaria Town. Mendies screams your name, runs toward you, and then... vanishes into thin air! Kalypses can be heard laughing maniacally again as Mendies yells, "Help me! Help me, Thannis, my love!" (?). You are now given full control of your movements and such, but, as you walk, your environment keeps changing at certain points, from castle to town to ice field to sewer, to the remaining contents from among the seven previous chests, in turn. The sections are laid out in linear order, and each section contains either a character or a boss to either join or fight you. And while there are some villagers here, their dialogue is... very disturbing.

First, cross over from the town to the cave, where you'll encounter the FireBeast once again. Beat the FireBeast, by yourself (no easy task!), and cross over into the castle (?). Check out Mendies's room and you'll see a quick ghostly flash of her playing with her dolls. She'll turn around and say, "Thannis, this is all YOUR fault! And I thought you loved me..." She'll then promptly vanish into thin air.

Keep going through the castle, and you'll eventually stumble upon the King, Queen, and Jeffrey. The King and Queen will vanish (the Queen grinning), and Jeffrey will turn toward you. "This place isn't right... it just shouldn't be." If you have a third character in your game party, Jeffrey will join you here. Otherwise, he'll vanish. Now, scene shift to the ice fields.

The path is different than you remember it, but if you follow the ghostly traces of Mendies running from you (yet shouting your name!), you'll eventually come upon -- predictably -- the IceBeast. Again, this will be a very difficult battle with only two party members. Beat it and continue into the mountains.

Wandering around the mountains, you'll encounter Shidowe, who says she's searching for her brother, and is very confused by her environment (she thought she was the only living being left in the entire world!). If you have a fourth character in your game party, she'll join you. Otherwise, she'll vanish. Cross the mountains and duck into the underground waterway.

Here, you'll find Mendies, who will be very scared. "I didn't know where you were, Thannis. But you found me... you really found me. You DO love me after all!" She'll then promptly fall into the water and be carried off by the current. Follow her and fight the ThunderBeast again, then make your way into Xoxellyn Keep.

Full of puzzles and such, you'll stumble upon Edgarde right before reaching the throne room. "Good, you're here. I thought I'd have to fight that twisted queen all by myself! C'mon, let's get her!" If you have a five-character game party, Edgarde will join you here. Otherwise, he'll vanish. Walk into the throne room, and you'll find yourself...

...in a ruined, desolate version of Nelgaria Town. Everyone is lying dead on the ground, including Glenlin... and including Thannis. Upon discovering this, you'll hear Queen Kalypses's laugh. "See? See? You're not supposed to be here. You're dead in my world. What a pity that your body needs to stay alive. But your mind is under my control, Thannis..."

Thannis: "Where's Mendies?!"

The Queen materializes. "I'm keeping her in a safe place. I don't want her to get hurt. I just want YOU to get hurt."

Begin the final battle against "Queen Kalypses". This will be near-impossible, and she'll be on the verge of killing you, when all of a sudden...

Mendies: "Nooooo!!"

...Mendies will jump into your party and use some very powerful magic against Kalypses. While she's stunned, she'll heal your party. "I'm sorry, Mother, but I'm on their side. If you want to kill them, you have to kill me too."

Kalypses: "... Then so be it. Have to break a few eggs, and all that, I suppose..."

Now, with a full party roster, the REAL final battle begins.

Upon its completion, the dead residents of this desolate Nelgaria will revive, the ruined buildings will repair themselves, and Thannis (and everyone else) will suddenly rematerialize and wake up inside the throne room of Nelgaria Castle. "I can feel it," says Mendies, "I can feel the magic returning to my body... defeating Mother, ridding ourselves of the bad magic... set everything free once again. Things are back to normal..."

And there is much rejoicing. And mourning (that WAS Mendies's mother, after all). And so forth.

Everyone files out of the throne room, but Mendies stops Thannis for a moment. "Those things I said in your mind about you being my love and such... they were all created by you. But still... when we first went off on this adventure, remember what you said to me? You said you wanted to run away with me to a new land, and fall in love. And... well, if that's still what you want... I have no objections..."

The scene slowly fades away, and the final chest is destroyed, presenting you with a Music Box (which immediately teaches your party the "Remember" and "Record" spells, though it seems as if it must have another purpose, too...).

Thus ends QuestChester. But what is the real purpose of the Music Box? Only time (and the right combination of events) will tell...