Romancing Saga 2: Castle in the Sky

Okay, we're going to take our pile of instruments to the top of Mount Chikapa and see if we've gotten enough of a band together to satisfy the conditions of the event. But... no. So what the hell do we do next?

What anyone would do after weeks of meandering trying to figure it out: WE LOOK IT THE HELL UP. Thank you, GameFAQs!

So it turns out that the item that I thought was a derogatory word that we picked up in Nuono is actually a Fagotto, a forerunner of the bassoon. (You can probaby see how I'd make the mistake, especially if you know your katakana.) Similar spellings, completely different words. And it turns out that the very last instrument we need is back in the inn at Avalon!

 
Apparently the mystery middle option in the innkeeper's dialogue is us asking after the bard from the beginning of the game, the one who peppered all these instruments about.

And there, in the endtable upstairs, is the Bard's Horn. Now it's time to climb the mountain again. We weave around most of the enemies, as the FAQ confirmed that this will indeed lead us to Wagnas. I want to conserve resources.

 And then we reach the summit. And a-one, and a-two, and a-three...

It's a bird person! She/he's thanking us for something.

And now we're in a cave with a bunch of them. First one I talk to asks me a question, gets the first answer...

...and whisks me off to Wagnas' sky castle! The battle begins...