Summary: The next chapter of the Bastok storyline and limit break #5. Maat of Jeuno’s noble work unveiled.
-Going to use Random.org to decide what storyline to work on this session again: Bastok city, Rise of the Zilart, or Rhapsodies of Vana’diel?
-Random.org says: #1! Bastok.
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Mission: Return of the Talekeepeer (Bastok)
-Last time, we met a kid who claims to be the new Talekeeper, a key religious figure among the Galka of Bastok. My task is to go back on the kid’s trail and see if he’s telling the truth. I have to go to “Revelation Rock,” where he says this revelation happened, in the Western Altepa Desert.
-Revelation Rock is a huge plateau in the middle of the desert, but my target here are three strange glowing rocks southwest of Revelation Rock. “???”
-Two ginormous sphinxes spawn, that look like manticores.
I take them down, and get an Altepa moonpebble to bring back to the Galka of Bastok.
-Btw, I recently got one of my favorite graphical weapon skills in the game: Wheeling Thrust. It’s a polearm move where my character draws her spear back, spinning it as she does so, and then lunges with full force into the enemy.
-I bring the Altepa moonpebble back to Bastok. The significance of this is that a Talekeeper can prove the legitimacy of his “journey of rebirth” by finding the rare Altepa moonpebble. The fact that I found one myself may disprove this kid, Povall.
-Povall (and his adult keeper, Gabbot) show their moonpebble to the Galka. The Galka compare it to the one I brought back, and see that Povall’s is fake. A hoax.
Well. Shit.
-OMG THIS ADORABLE LITTLE GALKA KID, GUMBAH, COMES BY TO TRICK POVALL INTO GIVING UP THE GAME.
He comes by saying stuff like, “Man, I hear all Talekeepers die horrible deaths at young ages. Glad I’m not a Talekeeper!” and Povall is freaking out.
-hahaha Povall runs away in terror
-So the true Talekeeper, Werei, is still missing.
---
Mission: The Pirates’ Cove (Bastok)
-I thought the next mission would continue down this path, focusing on the search for Werei. This seems to not be the case.
-I report for my next mission to Ayame and Naji. I have to travel to Norg, the pirate town. I’ll be a trade emissary, since Bastok has close economic ties to Norg.
-Ayame has a task to do first, then she’ll meet me there. She walks off.
-Naji pulls me aside before I depart for my mission. He tells me that Ayame has been off her game of late, and recently lost a fight to an easy foe. As a result, she’s restarting her samurai training.
-Ah! Naji is against this because if Ayame restarts her samurai training, she’ll have to leave the Mythril Musketeers, and Naji doesn’t want that. He respects her as a fighter (and has a crush on her to boot).
-Going to use Random.org to decide what storyline to work on this session again: Bastok city, Rise of the Zilart, or Rhapsodies of Vana’diel?
-Random.org says: #1! Bastok.
---
Mission: Return of the Talekeepeer (Bastok)
-Last time, we met a kid who claims to be the new Talekeeper, a key religious figure among the Galka of Bastok. My task is to go back on the kid’s trail and see if he’s telling the truth. I have to go to “Revelation Rock,” where he says this revelation happened, in the Western Altepa Desert.
-Revelation Rock is a huge plateau in the middle of the desert, but my target here are three strange glowing rocks southwest of Revelation Rock. “???”
-Two ginormous sphinxes spawn, that look like manticores.
I take them down, and get an Altepa moonpebble to bring back to the Galka of Bastok.
-Btw, I recently got one of my favorite graphical weapon skills in the game: Wheeling Thrust. It’s a polearm move where my character draws her spear back, spinning it as she does so, and then lunges with full force into the enemy.
-I bring the Altepa moonpebble back to Bastok. The significance of this is that a Talekeeper can prove the legitimacy of his “journey of rebirth” by finding the rare Altepa moonpebble. The fact that I found one myself may disprove this kid, Povall.
-Povall (and his adult keeper, Gabbot) show their moonpebble to the Galka. The Galka compare it to the one I brought back, and see that Povall’s is fake. A hoax.
Well. Shit.
-OMG THIS ADORABLE LITTLE GALKA KID, GUMBAH, COMES BY TO TRICK POVALL INTO GIVING UP THE GAME.
He comes by saying stuff like, “Man, I hear all Talekeepers die horrible deaths at young ages. Glad I’m not a Talekeeper!” and Povall is freaking out.
-hahaha Povall runs away in terror
-So the true Talekeeper, Werei, is still missing.
---
Mission: The Pirates’ Cove (Bastok)
-I thought the next mission would continue down this path, focusing on the search for Werei. This seems to not be the case.
-I report for my next mission to Ayame and Naji. I have to travel to Norg, the pirate town. I’ll be a trade emissary, since Bastok has close economic ties to Norg.
-Ayame has a task to do first, then she’ll meet me there. She walks off.
-Naji pulls me aside before I depart for my mission. He tells me that Ayame has been off her game of late, and recently lost a fight to an easy foe. As a result, she’s restarting her samurai training.
-Ah! Naji is against this because if Ayame restarts her samurai training, she’ll have to leave the Mythril Musketeers, and Naji doesn’t want that. He respects her as a fighter (and has a crush on her to boot).
-I’m a bit confused. Naji wants me to finish this mission before Ayame
gets to Norg. I guess the implication is that she’s going to Norg to
restart her training and leave the Mythril Musketeers, but if I finish
the task first, she’ll lose the excuse to leave the Mythril Musketeers.
Or something? It doesn’t make much sense to me, but I’m sure it will in
time.
-I head to Norg, to Gilgamesh’s room.
-He wants me to head to Ifrit’s Cauldron to get some items that he and his “mateys” (arrr!) couldn’t get. I have to throw a chunk of adaman ore into a lava fall, kill the monster that appears, and bring back the frag rock the beast drops.
-I head to one of the lava falls in Ifrit’s Cauldron with some adaman ore I bought off the auction house, and trade the ore to the falls. Two named enemies spawn: a bomb enemy named Magma and a lizard named Salamander.
Salamander in particular is an old nemesis of mine from FFIII, so I pull Magma first. I had my finger hovering over the “Super Jump” button in case it used Self-Destruct and I had to jump out of harm’s way, but it didn’t. Phew.
Salamander went down after that. I got the frag rock.
-Brought it back to Gilgamesh, but I was too late for Naji’s request. Ayame already got to Norg.
-Awww! Gilgamesh has a pet name for Ayame, “Ayaya,” which he called her when he knew her as a kid.
-Gilgamesh offers Ayame a spot at his side.
AYAME: “While I am flattered by your offer, I am satisfied with, and hold pride in, my current post. I realize that I still have much to learn, but at the same time I feel that I must travel the roads I see fit to travel.
“Swords and muskets are not made to be drawn. That is what my parents taught me, and those are the words I wish to live by.”
-So I guess Ayame is staying with the Mythril Musketeers after all. Yay!
-She delivers a trade agreement draft to Gilgamesh from the president of Bastok, and leaves.
-I report back to Naji in Bastok. He’s pretty happy to hear about Ayame’s decision.
-RANK 7 WOOHOO!!
-I do my regular rounds to see if any other trust members will join me. Iron Eater isn’t interested yet, but the captain of the Mythril Musketeers is. Captain Volker.
-New alter ego for my NPC party.
---
Quest: Shattering Stars (Limit Break #5)
-I’m currently level 68, so I want to get this next limit break quest out of the way before I hit 70 if possible.
-Maat in Jeuno tells me to bring him a “dragoon’s testimony.” I’ve seen similar items on enemies in my travels. A black mage’s testimony, a ninja’s testimony, a bard’s testimony, etc. But I’m a dragoon, so I have to get a dragoon’s testimony.
-Not sure where I’d start. The guide though tells me to go to Davoi, the orcish capital, and hunt down Orcish Dragoons.
-I head to Norg, to Gilgamesh’s room.
-He wants me to head to Ifrit’s Cauldron to get some items that he and his “mateys” (arrr!) couldn’t get. I have to throw a chunk of adaman ore into a lava fall, kill the monster that appears, and bring back the frag rock the beast drops.
-I head to one of the lava falls in Ifrit’s Cauldron with some adaman ore I bought off the auction house, and trade the ore to the falls. Two named enemies spawn: a bomb enemy named Magma and a lizard named Salamander.
Salamander in particular is an old nemesis of mine from FFIII, so I pull Magma first. I had my finger hovering over the “Super Jump” button in case it used Self-Destruct and I had to jump out of harm’s way, but it didn’t. Phew.
Salamander went down after that. I got the frag rock.
-Brought it back to Gilgamesh, but I was too late for Naji’s request. Ayame already got to Norg.
-Awww! Gilgamesh has a pet name for Ayame, “Ayaya,” which he called her when he knew her as a kid.
-Gilgamesh offers Ayame a spot at his side.
AYAME: “While I am flattered by your offer, I am satisfied with, and hold pride in, my current post. I realize that I still have much to learn, but at the same time I feel that I must travel the roads I see fit to travel.
“Swords and muskets are not made to be drawn. That is what my parents taught me, and those are the words I wish to live by.”
-So I guess Ayame is staying with the Mythril Musketeers after all. Yay!
-She delivers a trade agreement draft to Gilgamesh from the president of Bastok, and leaves.
-I report back to Naji in Bastok. He’s pretty happy to hear about Ayame’s decision.
-RANK 7 WOOHOO!!
-I do my regular rounds to see if any other trust members will join me. Iron Eater isn’t interested yet, but the captain of the Mythril Musketeers is. Captain Volker.
-New alter ego for my NPC party.
---
Quest: Shattering Stars (Limit Break #5)
-I’m currently level 68, so I want to get this next limit break quest out of the way before I hit 70 if possible.
-Maat in Jeuno tells me to bring him a “dragoon’s testimony.” I’ve seen similar items on enemies in my travels. A black mage’s testimony, a ninja’s testimony, a bard’s testimony, etc. But I’m a dragoon, so I have to get a dragoon’s testimony.
-Not sure where I’d start. The guide though tells me to go to Davoi, the orcish capital, and hunt down Orcish Dragoons.
-Went to Davoi and found the Orcish Dragoons, deep in the zone. A few
kills later, I get the testimony: “The bearer of this document has
proven excellence in the ways of the dragoon.”
-I really like how zones in FFXI have massive level ranges. It gives the zones so much life. Davoi is a great example. I remember pecking at the beginning enemies for some quests, pushing towards the middle of the zone with later quests, and right now really diving into the heart of it.
-I head back to Maat, trading him my dragoon’s testimony.
MAAT: “I bet you’re wondering why I keep having you travel around the globe, collecting all these rare and obscure items for me.
“Heh heh heh. I know what you’re thinking. You’re sick and tired of playing fetch for old Maat. You want a chance to show me what you’re really made of.”
Oh shit. Duel with the master coming?
-Seems that way. He teleports me to a new zone, “Chamber of Oracles.”
I enter the Shimmering Circle before me, and get boss music. Battlefield.
-I summon my trust army after getting a message that my Rhapsody in Umber item (from the Rhapsodies of Vana’diel questline) allows me to do so.
-I’m... not able to buff up? My mana is gone.
OH SHIT HE REMOVED MY RED MAGE SUB JOB FOR THIS! It’s just a test as a dragoon.
-He’s waiting in an arena for me.
-Hahahhaa he’s a dragoon too! He summons a wyvern.
-I take him out, and it’s pretty easy, but I imagine this quest used to be solo-only back in the day, which must’ve been BRUTAL.
-I head back to Maat in Jeuno. He tells me a story.
-Jeuno used to be a small fishing village. Long ago, there was a young fishing captain (I imagine this is Maat himself). One stormy night, he rescued two strange boys from nearby waters, and those boys transformed Jeuno into a major metropolis.
WAIT SHIT WAIT – those boys he rescued: they were Archduke Kam’lanaut and his brother, Eald’narche, right?
MAAT: “Later, [this man] began to ask himself if all this was truly for the good of Jeuno, or if the city was just being used as a piece of some bigger plan put into motion by these two mysterious men.”
Well. Now we know.
-The captain, Maat clearly, knew he fucked up, but still was determined to protect those within Jeuno as long as he could.
-So this is the whole point of the limit break quests Maat has been sending me on. He sees the truth, that the Archduke and his brother are up to no good. Maat himself is old. He wants to make sure that the younger generation is ready for whatever comes next.
MAAT: “Do not forget the hardships you have endured to make it this far, and maybe one day you, too, will find something worth giving your life to protect.”
Level limit bumps up to 75.
---
Next time: Progressing in Rhapsodies of Vana’diel missions.
-I really like how zones in FFXI have massive level ranges. It gives the zones so much life. Davoi is a great example. I remember pecking at the beginning enemies for some quests, pushing towards the middle of the zone with later quests, and right now really diving into the heart of it.
-I head back to Maat, trading him my dragoon’s testimony.
MAAT: “I bet you’re wondering why I keep having you travel around the globe, collecting all these rare and obscure items for me.
“Heh heh heh. I know what you’re thinking. You’re sick and tired of playing fetch for old Maat. You want a chance to show me what you’re really made of.”
Oh shit. Duel with the master coming?
-Seems that way. He teleports me to a new zone, “Chamber of Oracles.”
I enter the Shimmering Circle before me, and get boss music. Battlefield.
-I summon my trust army after getting a message that my Rhapsody in Umber item (from the Rhapsodies of Vana’diel questline) allows me to do so.
-I’m... not able to buff up? My mana is gone.
OH SHIT HE REMOVED MY RED MAGE SUB JOB FOR THIS! It’s just a test as a dragoon.
-He’s waiting in an arena for me.
-Hahahhaa he’s a dragoon too! He summons a wyvern.
-I take him out, and it’s pretty easy, but I imagine this quest used to be solo-only back in the day, which must’ve been BRUTAL.
-I head back to Maat in Jeuno. He tells me a story.
-Jeuno used to be a small fishing village. Long ago, there was a young fishing captain (I imagine this is Maat himself). One stormy night, he rescued two strange boys from nearby waters, and those boys transformed Jeuno into a major metropolis.
WAIT SHIT WAIT – those boys he rescued: they were Archduke Kam’lanaut and his brother, Eald’narche, right?
MAAT: “Later, [this man] began to ask himself if all this was truly for the good of Jeuno, or if the city was just being used as a piece of some bigger plan put into motion by these two mysterious men.”
Well. Now we know.
-The captain, Maat clearly, knew he fucked up, but still was determined to protect those within Jeuno as long as he could.
-So this is the whole point of the limit break quests Maat has been sending me on. He sees the truth, that the Archduke and his brother are up to no good. Maat himself is old. He wants to make sure that the younger generation is ready for whatever comes next.
MAAT: “Do not forget the hardships you have endured to make it this far, and maybe one day you, too, will find something worth giving your life to protect.”
Level limit bumps up to 75.
---
Next time: Progressing in Rhapsodies of Vana’diel missions.
