Castle Argus
King Argus has a reward waiting for the party that freed him from Hein’s spell at Castle Hein, and the castle hides plenty of treasure on the way to him. This chapter covers Castle Argus, Village of the Ancients, and Gysahl for 22 chests, 8 items, and 8 new bestiary entries.
From Tokkul, board the Enterprise and sail northeast until Castle Argus comes into view on the coast. Dock near the entrance and walk inside.
Castle Argus
Castle Argus has no random encounters; you’re free to sweep the 21 chests and 2 items across the four floors without combat pressure.
2F. Walk up to the stairwell area with torches lining the walls. Interact with the rightmost torch to open a hidden passage.
Follow it south through another hidden gap to three chests, each holding 1,000 Gil.
3F. Climb to the next floor for a room with six chests. The left side has 3,000 Gil, 3,000 Gil, and 1,500 Gil. The right side has 100 Gil, 3,000 Gil, and 100 Gil. Total haul: 10,700 Gil from this room alone.
4F (Western Tower). Cross to the west side of the roof. The door is locked, so swap one party member to Thief at the next save point to open it, then swap back to your usual job. Gysahl sells Magic Keys (100 Gil) later this chapter for the next locked door you hit.
Inside, talk to the White Mage NPC for 2 Elixirs in a single conversation. Press the button on the right wall to open the dividing wall, then collect a Light Arrow, Phoenix Down, and Ice Helm.
4F (Eastern Tower). Exit the room and walk to the eastern tower on the other side. The door is locked too, so your Thief opens it the same way. Inside are six chests: Fire Arrow, Book of Ice, Scholar Robe, Book of Light, Book of Fire, and Ice Arrow. The Books equip on your Scholar and deal their named element on attack; the Scholar Robe is a flat upgrade if you’re carrying one in the party.
Exit the room and walk south then west to take the stairs back down to 2F. Follow through the secret passage but this time go up the stairs to the Hall of the Round Table. Speak with King Argus and he’ll hand over the Wheel of Time, the part Cid needs to convert the Enterprise into an airship. He’ll point you to Canaan to find Cid.
From the throne room, go right and up a hidden set of stairs on the opposite side from where you entered. The 4F room above holds a Bomb Fragment and Antarctic Wind. Walk between the two chests to open a long hidden passage on the right leading to one last chest with a Tranquilizer.
Enterprise Airship
Leave Castle Argus and sail east to Canaan.
Enter the northwestern house and speak to Cid. Hand over the Wheel of Time; he installs it on the Enterprise, turning the ship into a convertible airship that switches between sailing and flying on command. Board the ship while it’s on water and press confirm to take off.
The airship can only land on water, so plan routes around coastlines and bays. With flight unlocked, the rest of the Floating Continent opens up for two new towns and a bestiary sweep.
Floating Continent Bestiary
Eight new bestiary entries spawn on the outer rim of the Floating Continent. Land on water near each grass patch and walk into the grass to fight.
New Enemies
Parademon is weak to Fire, Hornet is weak to Wind, and Lynx has no exploitable weakness. All three are 100% Fight enemies at 145-165 HP.
Fly to the southeastern rim once all three are registered.
New Enemies
Red Cap is the priority target here: it opens with Sleep Gaze roughly a third of the time, putting your party to sleep until you wake them. Drop Red Caps first with physicals. Barometz, Slime, and Tarantula are all weak to Fire, so Fira or the Salamand Sword from Tower of Owen clears them quickly. Cuphgel has no weakness and only swings physically.
Village of the Ancients
Shops
Fly to the southwestern rim of the Floating Continent. Land on the coast and walk past the chocobo forest to the Village of the Ancients.
The weapon shop is mostly duplicates of chest pickups (Wightslayer, Serpent Sword, Killer Bow, Fire Staff, Ice Staff, various arrows), but the Light Staff is new: it’s a back-row staff that item-casts Thunder for free, joining the Fire Staff and Ice Staff trick. The armor shop has a new Headband for your Monk or Black Belt. The magic shop sells Cura, Blindna, and Teleport for your White Mage (all Lv3 White), plus the full Lv2 Black line (Fira, Blizzara, Thundara) if any mage is missing one.
Walk to the far east side of town and interact with the lone tree for a hidden Serpent Sword. It’s a Lightning-element backup weapon for your Knight if you skipped the one from Nepto Temple.
Gysahl
Shops
Fly east to the far edge of the continent. Gysahl sits next to the easternmost mountains. Land on the coast and enter.
The magic shop is the biggest single upgrade in the chapter. Blizzaga is the first Lv4 Black Magic you can buy and a real damage upgrade over Blizzara. Libra reveals enemy HP and weaknesses (worth grabbing for any party without a Scholar). The item shop sells Magic Keys (100 Gil each). If you don’t want a Thief in the party permanently, stock up to 99 here; every locked door from this point on costs one Key.
Search the southeastern grass for three hidden items: two Magic Keys and a Gysahl Greens.
Enter the large house near the centre of town. The first jar of the bottom row holds a Gysahl Greens, and the first jar of the top row has another.
For the last chest, enter the item shop that sells Magic Keys. From the entrance, take one step toward the door (south) but don’t exit. Walk left into a hidden passage behind the counter.
Follow the passage to a chest with the Shuriken.
Gysahl is clear. Make sure every sea bestiary entry from earlier chapters is registered before continuing (cross-check the Dwarven Hollows inner sea entries if you skipped any). Once that’s done, board the Enterprise and fly off the edge of the Floating Continent in any direction. The Temple of Water waits on the surface below.