L'Arca

Orph is a town in the world of Dragon Quest VII. It is found west of Estard Island

Past

Long before the party arrives, Orph was protected by the white wolves. A monster, Deathpal, threaten the town. The white wolves fought the monster and sealed him in a coffin within Mt. Ceide, the mountain of God. However, it did not come without a price. Many wolves were slain. For a time, there was peace.

However, sometime before the arrival of the party, the coffin was opened from the outside and Deathpal returned. He started to kill the wolves that imprisoned him long ago. One of the causalities was a mother wolf. She gave birth to a wolf cub who was taken in by a local farmer. To spite the wolves, he cast a spell on Orph which changed all humans into animals and vice versa. He returned to Mt. Ceide afterwards.

The hero, Kiefer, and Maribel reach Orph. Inside Orph, they notice that something is wrong about the town. Animals are running through the town and all of the humans are unable to communicate. Inside a shack, they find a young boy, chained to a wall by his neck. The Hero and his party is unable to free him nor talk with any of the humans. They eventually seek the help of the woodcutter, a man who lives in a house near the village of Fishbel. This man has the unusual ability to talk to the animals.

They take him to the the town of Orph and tries to talk with one of the animals. However, he finds that he is unable to speak with them. However, he can talk with the humans. He eventually notices why the humans cannot speak. The people are not really human. They were animals in human form, and vice versa, the animals were actually humans in animal form. From the animals in human form, the woodcutter learns the story of Orph

Returning to the shack, the woodcutter frees the chained boy and he runs out of the town.

They decide to go to Mt. Ceide. The party finds the source of Orph's troubles, Deathpal. He explains what he did. It is during that moment that the young boy arrives and bites the monster. The party, along with the woodcutter, engage the monster in combat. The party defeats Deathpal and the boy bites him again. With this bite, Deathpal is paralyzed. He realizes that the boy is actually a white wolf who was caught in the spell that he cast in Orph. As a final spite, Deathpal casts his final spell on the boy. This spell curses him to remain in human form forever. The party reseals Deathpal in the coffin again, undoing the spell in Orph.

After the battle is finished, the party thanks the boy, who identifies himself as Gabo. They are surprised that he is able to speak but he can only communicate in simple sentences like "Gabo go" and growling.

The party returns to Orph to see the spell undone. They visit the farmer who took care of Gabo to find his disbelief that the wolf had disappeared. Leaving the shack, they see Gabo and his wolf friend outside the building. The woodcutter understands that he wanted to thank the man for his kindness. It is in this moment that the woodcutter decides to adopt of Gabo

They party, along with the white wolf, the woodcutter and Gabo, return to the portal and step through it, finding themselves back in the Estard Ruins. The woodcutter tries to bring Gabo with him but he refuses, saying that the seal on Deathpal could have only been broken on the outside and that whomever broke the seal was very powerful. Therefore, he wanted to defeat the evil that broke the seal in Mt. Ceide. The woodcutter acknowledges this requests and allows Gabo to go with the party.

Present

Animals are now part of the history of Orph. At the time you enter the town in which everyone dresses like animals. After visiting the village Elder, they get costumes which will allow them to talk to the villagers. They will also participate in a game to find the three women disguised as animals. Winning their game will give you the Monster Book.

The party goes to Mt. Ceide and return to the place where the monster was previously sealed. They hear a voice telling them to run away or face the consequences. Instead, they opened up the coffin once more. Deathpal is revealed to be in a human form now. He figures that it is punishment for what he did before. He recognizes the party and wants to make up what he did to Gabo in the past. He tries using magic to return Gabo to his wolf form but he fails. Instead, he makes him more human and gives Gabo the power to speak the human language. Gabo is ecstatic that he is finally able to communicate with the party. Deathpal also gives the party an Aquashard to the party. The party leaves Mt. Ceide to continue on their adventure.

Landmarks

• Orph - The town
• Mt. Ceide - The mountain on which Deathpal is sealed.
• Brugeo's Harbor - Found only in the Present. This harbor leads to Brugeo's Mansion
• Brugeo's Mansion - Found only in the Present. One of three mansions owned by Brugeo. Visiting them is required to free Melvin later in the game