Now that we've gotten three of our five key emblems, it's time to go get a fourth. This time, let's head to the dwarf town Gakuto Gatara. It looks like a mining town with some Aztec art influences. There's a brief scene about a hoarder named Dustan who might have our emblem, and then it's time to head over to Dustan's house, which is a junky place in the middle of town. Before we can enter, out pops a mysterious female bandit who gives off a serious Zorro vibe!
Naturally, it's time to go check on Dustan and see what's up. He's the little dwarf inside the junky house who's completely freaking out. He also decides you're his friend, so he tells you where to go next and what to do. Sounds like it's time to catch that thief and get back the stone she stole from Dustan.
Detour for the Dollar Board
Before heading off to the great unknown to get back that stone, I took a small detour to get the dollar board. The quest to unlock it is in this dwarf town. The dollar board is kind of like a hoverboard crossed with a Segway. It's not exactly the coolest looking mount (you can get upgrades though, including a nice car and a sweet witch's broom), but it means getting places faster. Honestly, I should've gone to the dwarf island first to get the dollar board. It would've made my earlier journeying so much better.
If you're just now starting your own adventure in Astoltia, then I highly recommend getting the dollar board, doing the dwarf island quests for the Yellow Emblem, and THEN visiting the other islands for the other emblems. It will save you so much time!
Searching for a Thief
There's a lot of running around after you leave Gakuto Garara, and some interesting caves to explore. Of all the area I've visited so far, these were probably my least favorite (outside of maybe the desert around Glen Castle). A couple of scenes play out, and then you have to trek it back to town. See? That's why it's so nice to have a dollar board now.
Once you head back to Dustan's house, it turns out he's not there. He's got a note for you, and then it's back out into the surrounding wilderness. See what I mean about a lot of running around? Thankfully, if you have some return stones and the dollar board, it's not too bad. But it did seem like this part of the story had more backtracking than some of the other areas.
Head to the Urbea Ruins to find Dustan. You'll actually reach the end of the dungeon before he does. Another scene plays out and we learn that the mysterious Zorro lady is actually Dustan's daughter. Turns out, she's stealing because she's afraid Dustan is going to wake up an ancient evil weapon.
Whoops. Too late. Dustan woke it up. Guess we'll have to take care of that for him.
Despite not really liking this section of the story very much, I thought the boss design was cool. You'll fight this ancient evil weapon, but I didn't think it was too difficult. Once that's done, Dustan and his daughter (kinda) reconcile. By now, you know the drill. It's time to teleport back to town and get our emblem.
Unlike most of the other areas in the game so far, this island only has one boss. I guess that's why it has so much backtracking, because it's playtime is roughly the length of the other islands that had two bosses. For whatever reason, this is the only boss, and Dustan will give you the Yellow Emblem.
That's four down, and only one more minor emblem to go!
It's time to hop on the train and head over to the pukulipo island, where there's a creepy circus going on that lets all kids in for free. And then all the kids go missing! Who could've seen that one coming? There's also a puku guy that looks like Ron Swanson from Parks and Rec. It's gonna be great.