| “ | Ivy is aware of the location of a third artifact! Luckily, so is dad. He has now tasked you with finding the old, hidden away town of Tai Ming.
According to Bag, this town lies in the depths of Mount Bloom, a perilous mountain filled with strange creatures - both monsters and otherwise. Travel east from Evergrind City, and hurry! Time is of the essence. |
” |
A Matter of Time is a quest that unlocks after completing the Festival!. It involves exploration of the eastern part of the world to reach the ancient city of Tai Ming. Doing so first requires traversing the caves of Mt. Bloom.
Objectives[]
- Enter Mount Bloom, east of Evergrind City
- Find the hidden old town
- Explore Tai Ming and locate the artifact
- Obtain an Emblem of Valor
- Obtain an Emblem of Loyalty
- Explore the cave up north
- Go further into Tai Ming
- Defeat the Mimic
- Return to HQ
Walkthrough[]
This section contains spoilers about the game!
Mount Bloom Exploration[]
East of Evergrind City lies Mt. Bloom, a mushroom-infested cave system with only a miner crew and some Cavelings as the only friendly people. Making your way through Mt. Bloom, your path is blocked by Lurifix, who requests you gather a few items. This prompts the sub-quests A Tiny Little Errand and Last Favour (Promise!). After Lurifix lets you through, you can finally enter Tai Ming, which is abandoned and in ruins now.
Tai Ming's First Zone[]
Tai Ming is protected by the Cursed Priestess, which you have to defeat to continue into the city. Defeating her opens a Time Rift, going through which travels you back in time for 1000 years, when Tai Ming was still thriving. The time rifts are at certain spots and allow you to travel through otherwise impassable barriers.
Sizou helps you with the guards and guides you to his house, where you meet Zhamla Meer. To get access to the artifacts located in the Inner Shrine, Sizou tells you the waiting time is 15 years. Instead Bag proposes to keep exploring Tai Ming to get more information and perhaps find another way to get into the Inner Shrine. To progress further into the city you need to be a citizen, which is not an option. So instead the player tries to find their way through the present Tai Ming, which requires moving a statue and grabbing a key from the barracks.
Tai Ming's Second Zone[]
The player enters the inner city, but the unstable time rifts now progressed about 10 years into the future. A grown up Tessen recognizes you and points you to Sizou, who tells you of Zhamla's great achievements. Tannie is also here, working on making trick Phase Shifting a sport. You find out the Inner Shrine has a gate which is never closed in past Tai Ming, but it's closed in the present.
Tessen informs you that it requires three emblems to open, an Emblem of Faith, Emblem of Valor, and an Emblem of Loyalty. Tessen will retrieve an Emblem of Faith, you can get an Emblem of Valor by doing work for the collectors, and the Emblem of Loyalty can be found in a chest in the mayor's home. The Emblem of Valor requires completing the quests The Secrets of Mana and The Thousand Year Ale. Completing these quests triggers the Giant Thorn-Worm boss battle, after which you get the Emblem of Valor. Going to Tessen's home you see Tessen arguing with Zhamla, and Tessen asks you to retrieve the crown she made for Zhamla when they were younger. It's buried past the Puzzle World next to the graveyard, and triggers the quest A King's Treasure.
Tai Ming's Inner Shrine[]
The gate opens after putting in the emblems, and the time rifts disappear completely. The game now decides when you travel through time. You see a flashback of Zhamla's return after collecting all the cards, but he is dissatisfied and thinks he's missing a card. He kills Sizou and is sad he didn't drop a card. Zhamla sets off to find the human card, leaving the rest of Tai Ming in disbelief.
While progressing through the Inner Shrine, you have the option of picking up 
Shiidu, a pacifistic shield with ridiculous shield health which can't actually be used in battle. There are multiple rooms with waves of enemies you have to defeat, all consisting of regular Tai Ming enemies. In the room with Shiidu, the monkeys throw barrels at you, which you can use to break the glass holding Shiidu in place.
You see flashbacks of the priests of Tai Ming working on a way to stop Zhamla after he defeated Aitem's Flying Fortress. Faita had been tasked to complete the Trial of the Goddess, which she did successfully. As reward, Grindea has bestowed the priests with two spells: one to seal Zhamla and one to call upon a warrior of time to keep him busy while the first spell is charged. Using these spells curses Tai Ming, killing everyone but one, who has to remain for a thousand years. Tessen volunteers, and it turns out she was the Cursed Priestess guarding the entrance to Tai Ming.
Next up you are transported to the past, where Zhamla has reached the final room in Tai Ming and is about to kill the elders. They put up a barrier and begin charging the spell that will seal him away. You are the warrior of time who's supposed to distract him while they charge. Zhamla's bossfight is unbeatable and the only strategy is to dodge his attacks. If you survive, Zhamla is sealed away, and you can enter the final door to the Mimic fight. After defeating the mimic it reveals the third artifact Crown.
In Mimic's room you can also push the rune block you've killed during the fight on top of the rune sign. Doing so will drop the 
Angel's Thirst for you to pick up.
Returning the artifact to Dad, it turns out Ivy had found a different artifact, located in the Dragonbone Dunes.
Tips[]
- If you fail to retrieve any items from past Tai Ming before the time rifts close, you can buy the items later on from Archie. Each item will have a heavy price that will increase with each subsequent loot missed, however, so you may want to explore early this time
- Zhamla Meer cannot be defeated by normal means. It is worthwhile to equip any defensive gear that you have, and use skills such as Fortify or Barrier to increase your survivability. Having a
Health Potion equipped may also help - Items which are available from shops in Tai Ming will also be available in Evergrind City's shops after the time rifts close
