Dermot the Hermit

Dermot the Hermit (物知りじいさん, Wise Old Man) is an old hermit living in a cave to the southwest of Estard Castle, which can be accessed through a staircase in the castle town in Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past.

Characteristics

Dermot is a crotchety old man, but according to townsfolk, in his youth he ran around Estard similar to Kiefer, dreaming of adventure. Dermot seems to be friendly with King Donald, and promises to occupy him while Kiefer and the Hero go on more adventures.

Story

Dermot is initially dismissive of the the Hero and Kiefer, but adopts an air of grave seriousness once presented with Kiefer's ancient tome. He tells them that he once was like them, and attempted to solve the mystery of the ruins outside the Shrine of Mysteries he and his friend found two shards, but they were unable to pass the trial nearby his house, as he was not the Chosen One. He concluded that the trial was too dangerous, and decided to camp out nearby it in order to keep others from attempting the trial themselves. He attempts to stop the Hero and Kiefer from entering the trial, but is persuaded by Kiefer and gives them the key to the trial. Later on, after Ballymolloy has risen out of the ocean, Dermot can be found attempting to enter a secluded part of the castle, but is blocked by a guard. After being given Kiefer's approval, he reunites with his old friend from his youth, and tries to persuade him to give the Hero and Kiefer access to his raft to get the second of the two shards. The old friend and Dermot parted ways on bad terms, but the friend is eventually persuaded to let the Hero and Kiefer through.

Trivia

• In the original PS1 version, Dermot (called Old Man) takes longer to decipher the ancient tome than necessary as he gets distracted reading a dirty book