Obel Lake Obel Lake is a location in " Final Fantasy VIII " north of Timber . It is a horseshoe - shaped lake with a small ledge , and a river flowing northwards through Vaulny Canyon . Obel Lake is the location for a sidequest that requires Squall to travel all over the world in search of rare items and hidden locations with a guide from a friendly black shadow . The sidequest is best done earliest after the player obtains the spaceship " Ragnarok " , or latest before the player enters the Lunatic Pandora at the end of Disc 3 , before time compression begins . The player may opt to get the ability Enc - None to avoid random encounters . Start . The player should travel to the lake ' s inlet and press . An option will appear : Selecting " Throw a rock " causes the rock to skip a certain number of times . For this part , the option is only " the rock " x " " ; " x " being either " sank " , " skipped once " , " skipped twice " , " skipped 3 times " , " skipped 4 times " or " skipped 5 times " . Selecting " Try humming " summons a black shadow to the surface . Options will appears again ; " Throw a rock " causes said shadow to disappear , while " Try humming again " will initiate a conversation . At this point , the player should start looking for Mr . Monkey in a forest ( Dollet - Hasberry Plains ) surrounded by canyon , near North West of Dollet . An option appears after walking around for a bit . Selecting either option prompts : Once Mr . Monkey is found , the player should return to Obel Lake . After Squall " relayed the whereabouts of Mr . Monkey " , the black shadow will thank him , concluding the first part of the quest . Black Shadow ' s clues . If Squall stays and chats , the black shadow will relay random statements . Each statement points out clues to a hidden draw point , messages regarding two rare items in the game and some random trivia . This points out to a location near Almaj Mountains in Centra . If the player goes there , they should find a forest with clearing . If the player presses , a message prompts out : " . . . This place just has rubble lying among the grass . . . Absolutely nothing . . . " This perhaps refer to one of the many Centra ruins found around the world . Points out a hidden draw point for the spell Break . The player should head towards the railroad bridge found at the river near Dingo Desert . Eldbeak Peninsula , located north of Balamb on the Trabia continent , contains a clue to a rare item . Walking towards the tip of the peninsula , a message prompts : " There is a stone pillar . If you look closely , there ' s something written on it . " TRETIMEASUREATMINOFFDEISLAND " " Following the shadow ' s clues , removing the words " TIME " and " OFF " reveals " TREASURE - AT - MINDE - ISLAND " . Minde Island is located between Kashkabald Desert and South West Esthar ' s southwest coast . Walking around the place while pressing yields a Luck - J Scroll , although finding the exact spot can be tedious ( somewhere in the middle of Minde Island , near its " sharp " tip ) . The player needs to visit these three places to get the Steam Achievement for Obel Lake quest . Rocks . Next , the black shadow mentions " something " found at three different locations . Walking around while pressing prompts a message to show the player has received the item . This refers to a thin island just off Mandy Beach north of the Horizon Bridge crossing the sea ( the rock is somewhere in the middle ) . The message goes : This refers to Rinaul Coast , the only beach in Balamb island . The player may have to try again and again . The message goes : Here , the player should travel to Monterosa Plateau where there is a cavern with a river flowing out of it ( southwest of Galbadia Garden , near a railroad ) . If players land " Ragnarok " on land , they will find a Blizzara draw point near the mouth of the cavern . Players can land the " Ragnarok " atop the plateau and walk towards the ledge . A message will read : Selecting " Check it out " prompts a battle with two Thrustaevises . After defeating them Squall receives this clue : It is possible to leave the bird alone and check back and eventually the bird will have left to find food , so the player can find the rock without having to kill the bird . It serves no purpose except to avoid battle . For the fourth piece , Squall must return to Obel Lake . Mr . Monkey . " Mr . Monkey had a rock like this I think . . . " < br > Black Shadow will give the player this clue if Squall talk to it after he has found at least one of the three rocks above . At Obel Lake the player can try " throwing a rock " again . At some point , they may come across the message " The rock skipped many , many times " . This prompts the moment the player should return to Mr . Monkey . Once having found him again , selecting " Sing " prompts the " You suck ! " message . The player should select " Throw a rock " and Mr . Monkey will respond : " Throw a rock " again ( . . . ? ) Next , Squall must leave for Obel Lake , and talk to the black shadow for the last time : " I wonder what it means ? " Reading it from top right downwards for each column reveals : To Mordred Plains . Mordred Plains is an area north of Esthar sandwiched between two mountain ranges : Vienne Mountains to the north , and Nortes Mountains to the south . The start of this sidequest occurs with this message : There are four colored rocks here , although they don ' t actually appear on the world map : blue , white , black and red . They give the player , or rather try to give them , clues to the final item . Pressing prompts messages from the rocks as long as the player is within the area . The best reference is the blue - faced rock : The white - faced rock is the one talking nonsense . The black - faced rock is the one that just repeats the same thing . The red - faced rock is the one that says the opposite of what it means . Whatever the red - faced rock says , the player must do the opposite . If it says " north ! " , the player must go south according to the map ( not press ) . When the rock says the treasure is not here , the player has found the treasure : the Three Stars item that enables a Guardian Force to learn Expendx3 - 1 - this means that casting three spells under Triple status will only cost one magic spell in stock . When the player gets the red rock talking , it is possible to keep talking to it , as it gives more than one direction . If it gives a direction , it is easiest to press again until it gives another direction , then go the opposite of the two directions . The treasure is found faster this way . Finding the Three Stars ends the sidequest . Completing the quest in the Steam version earns the player the achievement Obel Lake Secret .