Hildibrand Quests – Unmasked
-I talk with Ellie again. The Man of a Thousand Faces has branched out from theft to murder, killing three members of Ul’dahn high society. Calling cards at the murder scenes: “The weight of five corpses will bring the scales of Justice to balance.”
-Inspector Briardien has developed some demasking dust, to help us uncover the face-changing thief.
-The three victims thus far are a publishing consortium head, a high-ranking government official, and a scholar. Not seeing a connection yet.
-We head to the site of the first murder. The victim was zombified!
-Ul’dah used to have a rival, Sil’dih, that dabbled in zombie potions called Traders’ Spurn. Research time in the thaumaturgy guild.
-Before Ul’dah and Sil’dih, there was Belah’dia. This was in the Fifth Astral Era, a time of magic and technology that ended in (hi FFVI!) the War of the Magi.
-Ul’dah and Sil’dih fought. Ul’dah had superior numbers, so Sil’dih resorted to the Traders’ Spurn.
-Ul’dah’s symbol is a gold scale weighing prosperity and power. Sil’dih’s was a silver scale, weighing knowledge and power. Ul’dah bred prosperity while Sil’dih bred horrors.
This is all the victor’s perspective. What would Sil’dih say?
-lol the thaumaturge’s next sentence: “On this matter, the histories are clear. But riddle me this, my friend: who writes the histories, and what does this say of the words writ within?” Jinx!
-For instance, the frigging Amal’jaa helped Ul’dah in the war. God knows what Sil’dih said about that.
-Belah’dia flourished until two royal sons were born. Rivals. They fought for power when their father died,, and their rivalry split the kingdom.
-We investigate further. A fourth prominent Ul’dahn has gone zombie.
-The Arbiters of Truth are a secret group of Ul’dahns who aim to prevent “false knowledge” from spreading. Not sure what this means.
-WAIT IS ELLIE THE “THIEF OF MANY FACES??” No way. I don’t believe it. We’ve seen her while the real thief lurked in the background.
-Gilgamesh and Enkidu pop their heads out to watch our discussion. They have a part to play yet.
-A guard named Phillice is the final Arbiter of Truth, the only survivor now.
-The thief, whoever they are, isolates Nashu, knocks her out, and takes her place.
-We uncover her. It’s not Ellie. It’s Ellie’s TWIN SISTER, CECY!
HOLY SOAP OPERAS, BATMAN!
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Sil’dih’s Vengeance
-She and Ellie are the last remnant of Sil’dihn aristocracy.
CECY: “Four hundred years ago, Ul’dahn dogs reduced our great nation t a nation of zombies! At long last, the cowards that would still justify these foul deeds will suffer the same fate.”
AHA! So Ul’dah zombified Sil’dih, not the other way around. Now Cecy plots revenge alongside her sister Ellie. Ellie right now is using the four stolen relics to open a stash of Trader’s Spurn and zombify all Ul’dah.
-In a final lashing-out, Cecy throws zombie powder at the final Arbiter, Phillice. Hildibrand nobly steps in the way and takes the hit.
-And ANOTHER presence from the shadows jumps out to knock down the hostile Cecy… I KNEW IT, IT’S GODBERT’S WIFE!
She’s not tied to the thieving sisters. She’s just lurking in the background protecting the incompetent Hildibrand from his own mistakes.
-Gilgamesh then chooses to emerge now for his chance at revenge combat against us.
The Battle on the Big Bridge music starts playing. Boss fight time redux.
-LOLOLOL NEVER MIND, GODBERT’S WIFE JULYAN KNOCKS HIM BACK WITH HER FRYING PAN AND THE BOSS MUSIC SCREECHES TO A HALT
“Do ye have popotoes for brains, you overstuffed buffoon!? My beloved boy’s been turned into a stinkin’ corpse, if ye hadn’t bloody noticed.”
-Good point. Julyan sends us off to put together an anti-zombie potion for Hildibrand. And by “us,” I include Gilgamesh and Enkidu whom her frying pan scared into helping. :D
-This is so cool! As I go collect difficult ingredients, characters from earlier in this story thank me by helping out. Arabella the lapis lady helps to thank Hildibrand for freeing her from her betrothal. Avila thanks Hildibrand for helping her regain her honor. He’s a good guy.
-Hildibrand is well on his way to being cured, and we get a legit heartbreaking moment alone with Gilgamesh. He’s jealous of me and Hildibrand! He sees us having so many friends and allies, trusted and beloved.
GILGAMESH: “But alas, not I! No… only one true friend have I ever known, and she is long lost to me…” GIL :( :( :( Who’s his friend? Enkidu is the only friend I’ve known him to have. [FFV spoilers: Hayrff ur'f gnyxvat nobhg onegm, jubz ur qrsvavgryl orsevraqrq ol gur raq.]
OH SHIT, THE CHICKEN IS JUST A REPLACEMENT FOR THE REAL ENKIDU WHO DISAPPEARED
HE CRIES OUT IN DESPAIR AND LONELINESS FOR HIS FRIEND. THE SCREEN FADES TO BLACK, AND A VOICE ANSWERS. THE REAL ENKIDU HAS RETURNED HAHAHA!
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Undead Reckoning
-I meet up with the others at the Sil’dih excavation site, where Ellie plans to unleash the zombification.
-We try to talk Ellie down. It doesn’t go well. She summons a zombie army. Battle time.
-But it’s not enough. There are too many zombies.
OMG RETURN OF THE GENTLEDEAD! IT ALL TIES TOGETHER – HILDIBRAND EMERGES TO SAVE THE DAY!
HE STILL COMMANDS UNDEAD LOYALTY FROM HIS TIME WITH THE ZOMBIES HE TAUGHT TO ACT LIKE GENTLEMEN AND MANAGES TO CALM THEIR ATTACK
-Apparently, Hildibrand built an immunity to zombie powder. I don’t quite get it.
Lol the game acknowledges this is all fucking ridiculous. XD
-With this, Ellie gives up. No final battle, and I’m okay with that.
-Even some measure of justice for Sil’dih. Godbert, on behalf of the Syndicate, apologizes for spreading lies about what happened between Ul’dah and Sil’dih. He will rectify this.
Cool touch btw! Now, you can see Ellie up close with an earring. The earring is the Sil’dih logo.
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Enkidu’s Return
-But Gilgamesh isn’t done. He emerges, and wants his duel rematch to prove his superiority in combat.
And he’s not alone. Now the REAL Enkidu drops down!
It makes sense. He summoned Enkidu while retrieving a batch of fire crystals to help cure Hildibrand. The crystals made his wish into reality, just as the Amal’jaa use crystals to wish Ifrit into the world. Enkidu is a primal.
BRIARDIEN: “And the world has now completely and utterly ceased to be bound by the laws of logic.”
WHATEVER, BRIARDIEN. A WIZARD DID IT. ARE YOU HAPPY NOW?
-They go off together to Ampador Keep to await me for a duel.
I’m just happy Gilgamesh found his friend.
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Random Stuff
An FFX fan.
A golden phoenix mount.
A player in fat chocobo costume with moogle shoes dancing.
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Next time: Gilgamesh and Enkidu. Returning to the prime storyline.
