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This part of the current article contains spoilers.
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Annick mentions that she knows someone who has a knack for finding things: Treasure Hunter. He may be able to help Merlin and the Milletian search for the missing Young Tarlach, but not without a heavy fee, and is headed to Bangor. Merlin impatiently waits for the so-called figure and eventually he shows up. Merlin tries to request Treasure Hunter's services, but he walks away upon hearing trouble at the Dragon Ruins.
Merlin follows, but he steps on a relic and breaks it, putting him in some debt to Treasure Hunter to repay the damages. The Milletian explains the situation, but Treasure Hunter only presses for more charges. The conversation interrupted by the sudden appearance of an Enslaved Crumena. After repelling it, Treasure Hunter is intrigued with Merlin's ability and agrees to help. Treasure Hunter searches Port Cobh, mentioning that dock workers saw a boy and also finds traces of his hair at the dock. This only means one thing: Tarlach got on a boat to Iria.
The trio arrive at Port Qilla. There, they meet Pinky, Treasure Hunter's gorilla pet; Merlin laughs, finding the name ridiculous, but Treasure Hunter tells him off, saying Pinky is stronger than she looks. A Drunkard just outside of Qilla Base Camp mentions that he saw the boy, but doesn't remember. However, Treasure Hunter spots candy that was in possession of Tarlach. Unfortunately, this leads them to a Mana Tunnel; Treasure Hunter suspects he went to either Kaypi Canyon or Maiz Prairie. Treasure Hunter leaves to investigate Maiz Prairie on his own, handing Merlin a magical map that will pinpoint his location to Treasure Hunter.
Merlin heads to Kaypi Canyon with the Milletian where they meet Expedition Sam who says Treasure Hunter left him a message: an insult to Merlin's idiocy and to check the map again; the map now pinpoints to Muyu Desert. Regrouping with Treasure Hunter at the Dragon Bone Tomb, Merlin and Treasure Hunter bicker, with Merlin drinking the salty water of what he thought was an oasis and Treasure Hunter offering water in exchange for money. Merlin then impatiently waits for Treasure Hunter to examine the tracks, ordering Pinky to distract him. Treasure Hunter then accidentally drops The Black Book of Bith into the water, summoning Alien Creatures and an Alien Map Eater. After recovering the book from the creatures, Merlin detects nearby footprints; Treasure Hunter notes they are headed to Neres Plateau and the tracks are fresh.
At Neres Plateau, they meet Lopez who claims to have seen the boy, but refuses to talk until Treasure Hunter reluctantly pays him. He claims Tarlach went to the Connous Oasis. Treasure Hunter doesn't believe him as the tracks lead to Rupes Desert, but Merlin recklessly goes to the oasis to investigate and takes the Milletian with him. At the oasis, Lopez turns against them and ambushes them with Bandit Cutpurses; Treasure Hunter eventually jumps into the fight and calls out Merlin's recklessness. After defeating the bandits and Merlin points out that Treasure Hunter did not find anything at Rupes Desert, Merlin interrogates one of the bandits and he reveals they were going to rob Filia's medical supplies.
Heading to Filia, the group meets with Atrata, who tells them that the bandits attacked only recently and could not have gotten far. Treasure Hunter senses something very amiss. After Atrata blesses the group, Merlin and the Milletian follow Treasure Hunter's sixth sense, leading them to many corpses of the bandits who were poisoned to death. They are then ambushed by Demonic Warriors and Demonic Archers, and after defeating them, Treasure Hunter senses several new tracks. After bickering with Merlin's childish attitude for Treasure Hunter losing the right track, Treasure Hunter leads them to a nest of Black Sand Scorpions and Venomous Rock Scorpions before following the remaining track leading to Errans Gorge. There, they find an injured Lopez and Treasure Hunter interrogates him, applying pain to getting him to reveal that Tarlach went to Cor.
At Cor, they meet Akule, who recognizes the Milletian. Treasure Hunter intervenes and asks about seeing Tarlach, where Akule mentions he has seen these dark omens in nightmares. Shamala appears and is very cautious, sensing some danger. Shamala then notes Treasure Hunter smells familiar and asks what he is, but he replies with the same question, which is then interrupted by Merlin. Continuing with their mission, they talk to Tupai who reveals he had seen Tarlach along with "dark spirits" and refuses to talk until they go to The Holy Land of Shamans.
At the holy land, the group oversees the unconscious Millia, who mysteriously reacts to Treasure Hunter's Black Book of Bith, causing her to temporarily regain consciousness and recite a dark omen. Akule inspects the dangerous item but cannot make a word of it, and advises Treasure Hunter to not open the book in the holy land and find someone to seal it up. Akule then tells Treasure Hunter and Merlin to watch over the Milletian before they set out. As they leave, Treasure Hunter mentions that Tupai told him that the black-robed people talked about a Hot-Air Balloon and Hot Springs, indicating that they are at Zardine.
The group encounters a Dying Glutton Monkey at the Hot Springs. Pinky then informs Treasure Hunter that the monkey ate a sachel that fell from the sky that contained poison, which Treasure Hunter connects with the poison that killed the bandits. The monkey had also seen a big, round bird before being poisoned, which Treasure Hunter suspects to have been the black-robed people's hot-air balloon. Treasure Hunter then tries to concot medicine for the monkey, annoying Merlin. After healing the monkey, it tells Pinky who tells Treasure Hunter that the figures went to Renes.
However, the currents are too rough and getting a boat would take too long, so Treasure Hunter deploys a hot-air balloon. However, he sends Merlin to pick up Flint as he readies the balloon, once again annoying Merlin. As they board the balloon, they see the black-robed people's balloon nearby take off. Treasure Hunter's balloon follows suit, and the Milletian uses the Ballista to take down the attacking Enslaved Wyverns and Enslaved Alpha Wyverns, eventually catching up to the Kidnapper's Hot-Air Balloon and shoots it down near Lake Calida.
When the group approaches the downed balloon, the kidnappers, revealed to be Cessair, summon Enslaved Ifrit to distract them as the Cessair leaves with the boy. After defeating the creature, Treasure Hunter summons a pair of Shires via horn bugle, telling Merlin to pay up if he wants a ride. The group then follows the Cessair.
The group follows the Cessair to Barba, now pursuing them on skis; Treasure Hunter tells the group to pay up if they want to use it. During the chase, Treasure Hunter manages to successfully recapture Young Tarlach, and the group flees to La Terra Highlands.
The group notes that the Cessair put Tarlach to sleep via magic and he does not wake up. As they prepare to set up camp, the conversation quickly escalates when Merlin complains about Pinky stealing his snacks and Treasure Hunter offers a hefty fee for more snacks. Merlin then notes Treasure Hunter's Black Book of Bith, but waves him off.
At nightfall, Treasure Hunter takes watch duty. He tells Pinky to disguise herself as Tarlach, reciting magic words from the Black Book of Bith to make the disguise seem real. Afterwards, he recites some words from the Black Book of Bith on Tarlach, but is interrupted by the appearance of Cessair; he tells the Milletian and Merlin to make a raft while he holds them off briefly.
Before they board the raft, Treasure Hunter senses a trap but Merlin does not believe him. However, they are forced to raft with the Cessair in hot pursuit. However, upon reaching Cor, the booby trap activates and the raft explodes, knocking everyone unconscious and allowing the Cessair to freely take Tarlach and Pinky.
Following the Cessair to Metus on a horse chase, Merlin rushes forward and attempts to snag Tarlach. He succeeds, only to snag the disguised Pinky. Heading into Metus, the group are ambushed by Red Ruins Gargoyles, Enslaved Salamanders, and even an Arc Lich; once they clear up the enemies, they find that the Cessair and Tarlach have vanished. Treasure Hunter notes the altar is actually a portal and demands Merlin to pay up and search for minerals to open it while Treasure Hunter finds a way to open the portal. Using the Black Book of Bith, Treasure Hunter discovers several phrases that form a passage and realizes that the passage was referring to an event that occurred in the past.
Using the opened portal, the group finds themselves at Muyu Desert. He then instructs the Milletian and Merlin to read the book, but neither of them can make much sense out of it. Suddenly, a pyramid-like structure appears before them as if reacted by the book, and they investigate. Fighting off the Floating Crystals, going through a maze-like structure to set a Memory Cube in a specific spot, and defeating Menhir, they finally see a bright light that leads them to a strange tower-like structure.
Spotting numerous Cessair, the group knocks them unconscious before stealing their robes. Before they do so, Treasure Hunter and Merlin briefly argue about how to escape the area. They then find themselves at a Cessair training grounds, and are forced to play along to not get caught. However, after some rounds when the Cessair are forced to fight each other, Merlin fears that he may eventually be pitted against his allies and openly drops his disguise, angering Treasure Hunter and forcing him and the Milletian to break off stealth. They then promptly defeat the Cessair Instructors before fleeing.
Heading up the tower, Merlin tries to persuade the guards into letting them pass, much to Treasure Hunter's dismay. However, they refuse to permit them entry and orders them to show their faces. They immediately recognize the intruders, using their Red Eye magic to knock the Milletian unconscious before being dispatched. Treasure Hunter uses something given to him by Akule on the Milletian. However, the door is locked and Treasure Hunter eventually figures out how to open it using The Black Book of Bith. Upon returning to the door, he sees Merlin napping and Treasure Hunter leaves him, continuing to use the book to guide him through the area stealthily.
Treasure Hunter finds himself in the Grave of Truth, a room consisting of ancient text. Using the Book of Bith, he learns about Dian, the true leader of the Cessair, and her plans for revenge against the Gods and also details some origins of the Book of Bith and the Cessair. Treasure Hunter also makes personal connections to the history, such as mentioning that the Irinid's curse was lifted off him from his father's sacrifice. Treasure Hunter then discovers Dian's plan of taking revenge against the Gods and those who had forgotten her and the Cessair.
Meeting with the rogue mastermind, she reveals Treasure Hunter as the child of Bith, a member of the Settlers/Ban Clan who were the ancestors of the Cessair. Treasure Hunter berates her for making constant sacrifices to lead the Cessair, who replies that she will not let the sacrifices be in vain. She ignores him and knocks him unconscious, then possesses him.
The Milletian and Merlin arrive to fight and defeat Dian, who releases her hold on Treasure Hunter. In her dying breath, she says she never desired for revenge until discovering that Treasure Hunter was alive.
However, even after defeating Dian, the ritual surrounding Tarlach still continues. The group pushes further, with Merlin saying Treasure Hunter now owes him.
The Milletian, Merlin, and Treasure Hunter push forward to stop the ritual surrounding Young Tarlach, but are constantly delayed by Ruairi, Cessair's Heart, Adniel, Cessair, and a barrier. Treasure Hunter disables the barrier and Merlin does his best to hold off the enemies. However, when the barrier attempts to restore itself, Merlin summons every ounce of his strength to push back the Cessair, teleport the Milletian onto the altar with Ruairi and Tarlach before the barrier restores and flies off into the sky, and teleports himself and Treasure Hunter outside Nemeton before it explodes due to the altar.
After the Milletian and Ruairi fight in their final battle, Ruairi destroys the altar and sends the two plummeting down to Erinn. Merlin, on Treasure Hunter's hot-air balloon, stops the Milletian's descent by putting them in a magic bubble. Ruairi is then engulfed in a bright light.
Although the ritual was not stopped and Ruairi had successfully opened the door to another world, Tarlach is teleported next to the group. Merlin demands to talk to the God Fragment, scaring Tarlach, before being kicked by Treasure Hunter and they note that Tarlach is now a regular boy. Merlin orders the Milletian to take Tarlach back home. As they walk, Treasure Hunter asks Merlin why he attacked Tarlach about the God Fragment, who mentions about a secret group that protects Erinn. Merlin then asks Treasure Hunter for his real name.
