Nelde Ruins

Ancient ruins deep in the forest.

The Nelde Ruins (ネルデ大きい, Nerude Ookii) is the third stage in Riviera: The Promised Land. Ein's party was directed here by Ursula. The ruins consist of thick forests with trees, swamps, plants and several animals. Tree roots grow thick within the crumbling walls of the ruins and extend skyward to the boss. Ein and his party must travel up the branches to reach their destination. This Stage occurs in Chapter 3 - The Accursed, and Cierra is first encountered here.

Wiese Forest

"A forest located south of Elendia. The fertile land is home to numerous rare plants."

After some dialogue, upon entering Look Mode (LM), an automatic event occurs in which Lina spots a squirrel. You have these available responses:

1. "It is?" - Does nothing of significance.
2. "That's a squirrel?" - Does nothing, but leads to slightly differing dialogue from the top choice.
3. "Not as cute as you, Lina." - You'll make her blush, but you'll upset Serene and Fia.

Afterward, if you have Trigger Points (TP) to spare, use one to collect the Dizzyshroom, a trade item that can be exchanged to Reiche later on. Using TP to check the Forest does nothing and isn't worth it.

Once you move on to the next room, you'll have the option to move in all four directions in addition to checking what's available in LM. Let's start there. One of them is a chest that will give you one of the three weapons (Silver Rapier, Flamberg, Lightning Bow) that can be found in Lacrima Castle's dungeon with 40 uses. There is also another mushroom that you can add to your collection: a Laughshroom. For now, don't Go Through the Swamp (down) just yet; we'll get the chance to go there later. Instead, you can head east to progress, or Beyond the Trees (up) for a completely optional room.

Marsh Haunts

If you do decide to head Beyond the Trees, you'll immediately be greeted by our potentially first demon encounter: Marsh Haunts. It's relatively easy, so take care of them and then you'll be free to go, or check out the chest you see in the background. Be careful about this one, as if Ein tries to get to it, he'll get stuck in a marsh, which will effect your Inventory adversely; to be exact, any Bread or spell books in your Battle Items will be rendered unusable junk. The payoff isn't worth it, as the chest only rewards you a Tarot, which is not useful or rare enough to warrant wasting two healing items, one of which can be used to Skill Up Cierra.

Flowery Melissa

From the central room, head east and you'll come to the ruins' entrance, as well as the other potentially first demon ecnounter. Don't move forward just yet! You'll need a Trigger Point for this one, which shouldn't be a problem since you just got done fighting. If you move ahead without checking the Entrance in Look Mode, the party will trigger a trap that will take away 5% of their max HP. You'll have to complete the minigame without messing up to proceed safely.

Tree Ruins

"A massive tree grew over ancient ruins, eventually forming a towering edifice."

There is nothing of real interest in the first room, unless you want an item from the chest.

Sleeping Ape

In the next room, there is a sleeping Aeon Ape huddled in the corner. Trying to ignore it will result in an inescapable battle. You'll need TP to interact with it, and from there you'll get the option to either get a preemptive strike, cutting its HP in half, or sneak past it.

Melissa Again

If you choose the latter, the demon will disappear when you revisit this area, instead being replaced by another encounter with Melissa and her new crew.

In the third and last room, there are two optional events in LM, Roots and Rubble. If you examine the rubble, let Fia search through it to obtain the Thunder Onyx; Ein discovers a Rock instead. The Roots are a waste of TP, as usual.

Treetop Ruins

"A giant tree trunk extends through the ceiling, and the floor has been weakened by rain."

In room No. 1, there are a couple of things in look mode that are worth getting. First, the chest off in the corner; it has some kind of magical lock on it, but we don't have Cierra just yet. You can collect its contents when you come back here later, after obtaining Cierra. Next, the Roots. The characters will try (and fail) to remove them, but everyone will also get a permanent strength boost at the cost of some HP (5%); Cierra can benefit from the STR bonus if you save it for later.

In room No. 2, there will be an Egg sitting in a nest right next to the party. Examining it will allow you two do one of these options:

1. Take - The egg will be added to your inventory, and anger the parents: Pelga demons.

   

   Monster Bird (Max Rage)

2. Break - This will trigger a minigame. If successful, Ein will get a strength boost in addition to 2,000 points to your score; a failure doesn't really do anything, but the parents will still attack you regardless of a success or not.
3. Leave - The egg will be left alone safely.

Shortly after entering, you'll notice that you cannot seem to make progress due to a door blocking your way. Examine it in LM a few times to trigger an event that will allow you to move upward on to some branches. You'll need to select "Feather" in LM then return to Move Mode (MM) to continue. You won't be able to go further on the main path until Cierra joins the party.

Once you head upward, a couple of annoying Pelgas will attack aggressively, causing our heroes to slip and fall into a bunch of Pelga Nests.

Pelga Nests

"Pelgas, dangerous monster-like birds, build nests such as these in the branches of trees."

This area of the stage is strictly plot and requires no input from the player to progress. You will fall back into Wiese Forest during the events in this area, and never return.

Area Revisits

Wiese Forest

After some introductions, Cierra joins the party and contributes her Ruby Staff. You will be in the first area, Wiese Forest again; assuming you've been following the guide, this room will be one you haven't yet seen. Within this room sits a huge mushroom called Silvershroom, though unless you came here earlier, it doesn't do anything, as Cierra will warn about its poisonous spores. From this room, you can ^ Go Back, or head left or right. Let's go left first.

In this section, there are two events that reward stat boosts, requiring TP. First, the Powershroom sitting in the middle. You can take it, which will add it to your inventory, eat it, which will boost Ein's HP and STR by 5 (five) and 1 (one) respectively, or leave it. Next, the Big Flower will bring the HP of the whole party up to 100% in addition to granting +1 MGC. This room is a dead end, so you'll need to backtrack to the previous one.

This time, heading right > will open up a new area that becomes unlocked only after Cierra joins. The seasonal forest is a puzzle that can confound most players. Click here for a guide on it that will show you how to find the Aran Doll, Ice Crest, and to escape the forest. Once you clear it, you'll be at the entrance to the Tree Ruins. Head inside, and you'll move on into the next area.

Tree Ruins

Once you're in Tree Ruins, you can move on ahead, or interact with the chest in this room if you have not already opened it. In room two, you'll encounter a familiar face; this time she has new friends for you to flatten. Also note that this is where the Aeon Ape from before was; whether you killed or sneaked past it, it's gone now. Progress onward to Treetop Ruins.

Treetop Ruins

Once you're in the first room of Treetop Ruins, now that Cierra has joined, this would be a good opportunity to examine the Roots. The characters will try to use all their strength to move it, which will grant a permanent STR boost of 1 to each of them at the cost of 5% HP. Next, Cierra can undo the Magic Seal on the chest here, which contains an elemental orb (minegame determines what you get). After obtaining the item, you have three  compliment options for her:

1. You could be a thief! - Upsets her.
2. That's incredible! - Makes her happy.
3. Can you teach me? - Does nothing special.

When you try to move on, you'll be stopped by a scene where a midget demon is being picked on by a pack of the same demon family.

Bunch o' Bullies

Two options will be available to you:

1. Save Him - Will please Serene, initiating the battle.
2. Watch - It doesn't really do anything, except change dialogue; you'll get attacked by them all the same.

Either way, the fight is inevitable. They hit pretty hard, so having some back up healing would be propitious, especially if you bring in Cierra, who is physically frail. After helping him, Noll will give you a Hammer, which will serve its purpose in the next stage.

Moving along, you'll end up pretty much where we left off before the party fell into the Pelga Nests, but now there's some more things you can do before progressing. First, let's Walk on the Branch, up to the area where we were attacked by a couple of angry Pelgas. They went about their business, so the coast is clear! If you go into LM, Fia will notice a Shiny Object (TP required as usual); you can choose to Get or Ignore it, both of which have very different outcomes.

• Get - Sends you into a minigame; you will obtain Serene's Pendant if you succeed.

If Successful...
2,000 points are acquired. You'll then have the option to give it to any of the girls, or return it to her. Giving it to anyone but Serene will make her happy, and will not upset Serene so there's really nothing to lose. If you choose to return the pendant to its rightful owner, however, you get another set of options:

1. It's your treasure. - Makes her very happy.
2. It was luck. - Pleases her.
3. Can I have it? - Just for the lols; does nothing.

Afterward, you're free to move on.

If unsuccessful...
Ein will nearly fall, but regain his balance; the Shiny Object will appear to be lost. Fia will then ask if he's okay:

1. I'm fine. - Does nothing special.
2. Not really. - Again, useless.
3. Thanks, Fia. - Pleases Fia.
4. Serene, could you...? - Serene will discover her pendant herself, and her affection will be raised.

Afterwards, you're free to continue.

• Ignore - Ein does not attempt to get it, but yet another set of choices will be presented:

1. Where is Gateau? - Doesn't really do anything.
2. Sounds delicious. - Amusing, but has no effect.
3. Is Gateau cute? - No significant outcome.

They're all useless. Ignoring the Shiny Object is a waste.

Whether you bother with the object or not, you can actually advance further. In this area, you'll encounter an injuried Harpie; you can choose to:

Injured Harpie

• Attack - Initiates an optional fight; unfair to the harpie.
• Spare - Will please Fia. Another set of options open up:

1. I accept. - Makes Cierra happy.
2. I can't accept it. - Doesn't do anything.
3. Get outta here, demon! - Upsets Cierra.
4. We'd rather have food. - Makes Lina happy.
5. I think Cierra's right. - Same result as "I accept.".

Only the first and fifth option will award you the Happy Plume. After this event, you may be able to interact with the injuried harpy again depending on your choice, but this does nothing of significance. Now that we're through with the optional stuff, let's backtrack to the second room, where we left off. All you have to do is press Go >>, and Cierra will work her magic. With that, the Area Revisiting trip is over, but there are still a few more things to cover before you move on to the next segment of the stage.

In this final room, Fia will notice a glint coming from the floor; checking this is mandatory. The floor beneath them will start to crumble under their combined weight, starting up a slider minigame. If you succeed, they'll escape falling in through the hole; if not, you'll be thrust straight into Tree Hollow. Assuming you avoided falling, you can move on to an otherwise unavailable area: the Royal Tomb.

Royal Tomb

"Tomb of the royal family of Binon. It is hidden deep within the forest of Nelde."

In the first room sits the Golden Egg (which will require a TP). Some more options are presented after Serene infers that it may not be a real egg, but none of them do anything worth mentioning, and all lead to you deciding whether or not you want to take the egg. You need it if you want to get the Moon Wand from Soala. Anyway, drop down from the branch into the next room, and you'll be in the actual tomb.

The first room just has a blue chest, and is negligible. The third room, however, is more interesting. In LM, you'll have two red icons: < Statue, and ^ White Things.

Statue

Ambitious Skeleton

Note that if the statue is checked first, the White Things will disappear. If one chooses to examine the statue, a demon encounter will break out. After defeating them, a Book will appear on the ground, which you'll need a Trigger point for as well.

White Things

Cierra will identify them as Amberets, and from there you can either have Serene and Lina check, or try to catch them. If the girls check, they'll find the Ruby Staff the butterflies were surrounding. If you catch them successfully, however, they'll be added to your inventory for you to release into the Crystal Cavern later.

Afterwards, proceed to the fourth and final room. There isn't much here, but checking the Stone Entrance will trigger an argument between Lina and Serene. You can choose between three responses:

1. You, Lina: Decreases her mood.
2. She means Cierra: A little amusing, but yields no result.
3. I'm not a kid: Same as the second one.

Move ahead into Tree Hollow.

Tree Hollow

"A hollow area which the wood decayed. The damp air inside allows fungi to grow."

Harpie Master

This is where the party ends up if they failed to escape the crumbling floor in Treetop Ruins. There is also a demon encounter: Harpie Master, that is only seen if the party enters Tree Hollow this way. Assuming you came in through the Royal Tomb, you'll be in a room with a chest (which is uncommonly not booby-trapped) and several areas to examine. To progress, inspect the Crack in the Wall; when this is done successfully, you'll be able to enter the next room, which is inside the tree.

Sticky Crew

Once inside, you will not be able to return from whence you came. Instead, you can go either left or right, and in Look Mode, examining the Sticky Floor Trigger Icon will activate another demon encounter.

First, let's go left to a dead end room that contains a couple of events. There's an Egg sitting in a nest that you can take if you want it. Next, select the Tree icon and Lina well spot a fruit up in the tree branches. Below are a list of responses you can pick:

1. "What kind is it?": Nothing
2. "Good eyes.": Increases Lina's mood.
3. "I don't see it.": Nothing

From there, you have to decide who should fetch it: Serene or Lina.

Lina Chosen

Perched Raptor

Lina's mood will increase, and she will attempt to shoot it down. A slider minigame will begin. If successful, you'll get the applecot; if not, Lina will hit an enemy Pelga which will proceed to attack the party out of rage. Note that if this battle starts under these conditions, its HP will be at half.

Serene Chosen

Serene's mood will increase and she will fly up to fetch the applecot. The Pelga hidden in the branches will peck at her and she'll fall, losing 5% of her HP from the ambush. The player is then presented with some more reactions to choose from:

1. "Are you alright?": Increases Serene's mood.
2. "Where's the fruit?": She dropped it, apparently.
3. "How's your butt?": Decreases Serene's trust, but hilarious.
4. "An enemy was hiding...": You don't say?

Crawling Beasts

After this is all over and done with, backtrack to the previous room and this time head the only other way: right. Upon entering this third room, you'll find out that the tree is inhabited by bugs. Exterminate them, but keep in mind that the beetles have annoying guarding abilities. After this battle, inspecting the Hanging Object will introduce the Beehive, but you have to flee first.

Press the buttons in the proper order shown on screen to escape; failure results in everyone losing 15% of their Max HP. If you do escape, just head back whenever you want (this is a good opportunity to head to the optional room if you haven't done so yet); either way, you can collect it, leave it, or burn it. If you collect it, you'll obtain it in your Inventory. Burning will earn you some points, and leaving doesn't do anything worth mentioning. Now we can finally leave this place.

Wooden Platforms

"Platforms built with timber from the tree itself. Still sturdy after hundreds of years."

This is a pretty quick and simple area. There's nothing really in this first room, but once you try to proceed to the next one, an event will occur in which Cierra will begin to stumble.

Descendants of Nelde

The player must then rapidly press the buttons that appear on screen in order; Cierra will be fine (thanks to Serene) even if you fail, but you'll at least get 2000 pts. You'll also be presented with a couple of responses; the first one will decrease Serene's mood, while the second one does nothing.

In the next place, suddenly demons! Afterwards, go into LM, and check the Shining Branch to uncover a Mana Wisp. Pick any of the girls to retrieve it (which will increase that girl's mood). And we're done here.

Colony Remains

"The remains of a wyrm colony. In ancient times, colonies like this one were found everywhere."

Beast-Master Ludo

We're almost done with this stage now. First, two red icons are available in LM: Empty Shell and Ivy.

• Empty Shell: You have the option to look inside or not look, but neither really does anything significant.
• Ivy: This is known as Kerlu, AKA Slumber Ivy. If you decide to Pull it up, press the down button rapidly before time runs out; in exchange for 5% HP, you'll obtain Slumber Ivy x25 in addition to a permanent boost in STR to each party member.

Head onward into room two, and you'll be surprised by a group of demons. Once you've defeated them, checking this Empty Shell in LM and looking inside will yield a Harpie Plume. If you don't want it, just press Proceed to head onward.

Shell-Dweller

In the third room, there is a chest and another Wyvern Egg. Looking inside this one will result in an optional demon encounter; it's not a big deal, since it's just one Beetle. After defeating it, you may proceed to The Apex.

The Apex

The highest level of the ancient ruins. The largest of all wyrms reigned from here."

Air Riders

At last we're at the final stretch, the peak of this enormous tree-ruin thing. Proceed to the second room and you'll be hit by the last pack of demons until the boss; you've come this far, so don't let them stop you. After defeating them, examine the Beautiful Feather and ask Lina and Fia to get it. This will trigger the string of events for a bathing scene involving them, though it does not guarantee you'll see it. If interested, see here.

From here, you can Drop Down or Climb the Ruins. Going below will take you to where Lina and Fia fell, and is a dead end that yields nothing. It's best to just progress to the pinnacle. Just a few paces onward and you'll encounter the head honcho, Lindwurm, the third of the Accursed.

The Heavenly Wyvern

Items

Weapons

• Flamberg
• Lightning Bow
• Silver Rapier
• Ogre Blade
• Ruby Staff
• Ice Javelin
• Slumber Ivy
• Rose Whip

Finds

• Slumber Ivy
• Egg
• Golden Egg
• Thunder Onyx
• Rock
• Happy Plume
• Paradise Plume
• Serene's Pendant
• Beehive
• Wet Bread
• Wet Book
• Aran Doll
• Ice Crest
• Hammer

Drops

• Harpie Plume
• Egg
• Meat
• Wyvern Wing
• Tempest Bow
• Ice Javelin