Level 99
-I could return to the Bastok storyline, but I’m like 20% of the way into level 98. I kind of just want to reach level 99 first. I have a “Records of Eminence” achievement for it and think I get a reward too. Let’s see.
-Yay level 99! Reached it at one of my favorite spots in Crawlers’ Nest, gave myself some buffer (about 9,000 experience), and warped out.
-Back in Bastok. The Records of Eminence system gave me a number of different coupons – ahem, “Kupons” – for max level starter gear. It’s pretty sweet.
-I don’t like the look as much as the dragoon look I wore before, but the stats are ridiculously better and the look itself is still okay, in a generic ren-fest kind of way.
-I also got a new trust NPC, the Tarutaru bard Koru-Moru.
-So there are other armor upgrade paths to look into, but this is good enough for now. Ready to return to the story.
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Mission: On My Way (Bastok)
-Last time, I was following up on a letter from the old Talekeeper Werei that found its way into the hands of an adventurer named Hani. Hani wandered over to the Palborough Mines, and I have to rescue him.
-I return to Palborough Mines, where the four named Quadavs repeatedly whomped me. Not worried now.
-Hani is the person I’m looking for, my lead to Werei, the missing Galka Talekeeper.
-The Quadavs go down. Hani thanks me, gives me the letter from Werei, and heads off.
-The letter is addressed to that kid Gumbah.
-I show this to President Karst, and he’s just happy to know that we now have proof that Werei left of his own free will rather than being killed by the Humes of Bastok or something.
-Outside the office, Iron Eater – one of the Galka in the Mythril Musketeers, high-ranking – offers to help me at my new rank as a Trust NPC. Yay!
-I deliver the letter to Gumbah, who reads it. There’s a really nice visual touch here – as Gumbah reads the letter from Werei, we see Werei physically talking to Gumbah.
-OH SHIT!! Gumbah is the next Talekeeper! He was keeping it a secret from everyone, but Werei knew. Gumbah didn’t want all the pressure and responsibility that came along with being a Talekeeper.
-The letter urges Gumbah to do what he feels best – to take on the role of Talekeeper, but not stop being Gumbah.
-Cornelia overhears this. “I know you, Gumbah, and I know that you aren’t going to run away from your destiny, like I have from mine.”
She still feels rough about not using her position of power and privilege enough.
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Mission: The Chains That Bind Us (Bastok)
-Huh! This next mission has to do with the Galka homeland, Altepa. The desert? I had no idea that’s where they came from.
-Mythril Musketeer conference time with Volker and Iron Eater.
-The Quicksand Caves in the Altepa Desert (currently home to cactuars and Anticans) is really old Galkan ruins.
-Iron Eater got a letter: “The time has come to unlock the past and step forth into the future. I await the adventurer near the statue of the Talekeeper in the Quicksand Caves.” This must be from Werei, about handing the power of the Talekeeper off to Gumbah.
-Oh. I was wrong. Volker says the letter is from the Galkan dark knight, Zeid. Not sure what his role is here, or what interest he has in “unlocking the past.”
-I head into Quicksand Caves, take out some named Anticans, and meet Zeid here at a statue.
“The Galkan Talekeeper is our prophet, our elder, our king. He embodies everything that makes us Galka. Not the memories of all eternity, but the memories of a mere two hundred years. With this, a young Galka must travel forth and bear the burden of his people.”
-Even if it’s “just” two hundred years and not eternity, the Galka have had kind of a rough history. I don’t blame Gumbah for being hesitant to take that on.
-Zeid agrees: “I feel that Raogrimm [the Shadow Lord] was troubled by the constant reminders of the anger and grief of the Galkan people.”
-He feels that the knowledge of the Talekeeper is key somehow to freeing the Galkan people. History will set them free.
-Zeid tells me to meet him at the coordinates “H-8” in the Quicksand Caves. It sounds like this would be helpful, but there are literally like 10 different networked maps in the Quicksand Caves, so this is another “thank god for guides” moment.
-At a mural. Zeid says that these ruins aren’t nearly as old as they look. They’re actually just a few generations since being in heavy use. What happened? Antican invasion?
-Sort of. The Galka accidentally disturbed the Antica that lived beneath the earth.
The fighting went well early for the Galka, but eventually the “amazing reproductive ability” of the Antica simply overwhelmed the Galka.
-We continue down the mural, seeing the Galkan history. This next panel shows a Galka atop a mountain. This is the moment of rebirth. When a Galka is about to die, he journeys to a high mountains, waits, and then gains a new body before climbing down the mountain.
At least, that’s the lore. Nobody has ever seen this take place. All they see is a dying adult set out on their journey, and a while later a Galka kid is born. They might even be given the dying adult’s name, though the kid has no recollection.
-Well…. Except one. Every generation, one retains these memories. The Talekeeper. New leader of the Galka.
-Unfortunately, the Talekeepers have short and brutal lives. Some can’t handle the responsibility and flee. Others get jealous of losing all the memories and lock themselves away.
One even became so overwhelmed by the anger of the Galka’s history, he became the Shadow Lord.
-So what’s the point of this whole conversation? I’m not quite sure, but Zeid ends by asking me to watch for the new Talekeeper child, whoever it may be, and have Iron Eater take care of him.
“Only at that time will I finally be released from the responsibilities that bind me.”
What responsibilities? I know Zeid was Raogrimm’s friend before he became the Shadow Lord, so perhaps he was there to help keep Raogrimm in check and failed. Idk. That’s my best guess.
-I return to the Metalworks in Bastok to relay this message to Iron Eater.
-Iron Eater is surprised to hear that Zeid wants to meet with the captain of the Mythril Musketeers, Captain Volker, and surprised to hear that Zeid thinks a new Talekeeper is around. I guess Zeid knows about Gumbah.
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Mission: Enter the Talekeeper (Bastok)
-The next mission will continue the prior story. I have to head to the Kuftal Tunnel by Zepwell Island (the island that holds the Altepa Desert).
-Iron Eater is again the one sending me out here. Things are getting bad in Bastok – the Galka residents “discontent and hatred have come to a dangerous boil.” I don’t blame em. The Galka are absolutely second-class citizens here.
-This specific mission is to find any proof that Werei went through Kuftal Tunnel on his journey of rebirth. They really want to find details about this new possible Talekeeper.
-I already have the info Iron Eater wants. I already know that Gumbah is that new Talekeeper (unless I’m mistaken). But since I can’t betray his trust, I go on this mission. Not gonna out the poor kid.
-By the way, I really like my new trust member, Koru-Moru. He likes putting Haste and Refresh buffs on party members.
-In Kuftal Tunnel, I find a note. It’s from Werei. “My long journey is nearing an end. I have finally reached my destination.
“This is the land of tragedy and sorrow. The place where our forefathers ran when they were driven from their home by the Antica.”
-This is the passage that leads towards Bastok. We get a glimpse of the Werei’s memory of the fleeing Galka with the Antica right behind them.
“All those who were chased to this cliff lost their lives. Some died by sword, others fell to the depths below. This place is filled with the pain and suffering of a people who set out to a new land searching for a new life. We Galka, with our new homes, in Bastok, should not spend our time envying the life of our past brothers.”
I mean, I get this, but it still seems a bit like telling someone in an oppressive situation “it’s better than what we had at least!”
-Basically though, Werei wants people to remember how hard the Galka fought to get to where they are now. Totally fair.
Also, the more I see this storyline, the more I understand how the Galka’s collective anger and pain led Raogrimm to become the Shadow Lord.
-Back to Bastok.
-Things have gotten worse here. The Galka from the Mines District are forcing their way into the mine, where the officials of Bastok have closed off the Korroloka Tunnel for safety reasons. (It’s filled with Quadav iirc.)
“How long must we Galka live in the confines of these cramped Hume-holes?”
“We mineworkers refuse to be tools of the government.”
“You only let adventurers pass because there’s something down there you don’t want us Galka to know about!”
“We’re sick of being lied to by you Humes!”
-It’s not quite true in this case, but given the relationship between Galka and Hume I don’t blame them for not trusting the Hume government one iota.
-As things start to get out of hand, Gumbah arrives. He quietly walks to the front of the madding crowd.
-He speaks. His message is Werei’s message.
“What is at the end of the Korroloka Tunnel? You already know! Nothing but desert! Do you still wish to believe that is where we belong?”
-He tells the story of the Galka that he knows – not just that he’s heard, but that he’s seen personally in his Talekeeper memory. He reveals himself.
-His quiet words pick up pace and emotion, urging them to not run, to build a home here.
“Yes, there will be days when conflict arises between us and the Humes. The world seen through their eyes is much different than the world seen through ours. However, the same is true for all Galka. We all look at the world in a different way. No one in this world is exactly alike…
“The Galka future does not lie out in a desert. Bastok is our home!”
“Raogrimm, Werei, Zeid… they are all gone. However, we no longer need a Talekeeper to remember our past. We can do it ourselves – together.”
Wait. Zeid was actually a Talekeeper? But he was a contemporary of Werei, and Werei was one too, and once in a generation a Slayer/Talekeeper is born. Hm.
-He walks off, the crowd at peace now. Or at least in shock.
“Ha ha. It’s been a while since I talked like an adult. It’s pretty draining. Now you can rest in peace… Werei… Raogrimm…”
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-That made me hit rank 9 with Bastok. But I know from seeing linkshell-mates that rank 10 is the maximum. I’m almost at the end of the storyline.
My main question is: how is there any story left for Bastok? The search for the Talekeeper is over. The new Talekeeper, Gumbah, is out and public. Maybe the last session will be more of a direct confrontation between Hume and Bastok. Idk.
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Next time: the end of the Bastok storyline.
