Summary: Exploring the voidsent mystery of the tonberry curse. HOO AH, ROYAL MARINES!
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The Green Death
-Back to Surito Carito, tonberry scholar. When the Lalafells transformed into tonberries, they shut themselves within Wanderer’s Palace and built their own culture. But the sickness spread.
[Non-rhetorical question: I’m a bit confused here. I thought they were transformed into tonberries and shut away, and that sickness held. But it sounds here like it waxes and wanes. Or does the plague have a few stages, one that transforms them into tonberries physically and another that gives them that rage?
Even that doesn’t seem to hold up for me because the last questline seemed to show that the rage was a response to being shunned by their society, not a physiological symptom. What do y’all think? ]
-He’s determined to cure her people. He’ll first seal away the part of the palace that’s most afflicted.
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False Friends
-The plague started when traders stopped at a Lalafellin island. They were given an amphora as a gift. When they got back home, they transformed. We’ll seek out that amphora. It may hold the answer.
The amphora’s cat-rock-demon-thing guardian.
-Found it in the ruins of Nym. Surito Carito notes the amphora as the work of Mhach.
“Mhach, Mhach, beware the dark,
Keep away or lose your heart.”
Mhach was Nym’s ancient enemy, a civilization that trafficked with the void.
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Ooh Rah
-Thankfully, I haven’t begun transforming into a tonberry yet despite my exposure to the amphora.
…wait. “Thankfully?” I’d race change to a tonberry IN A HEARTBEAT if given the chance.
-Our best guess is that Voidsent is the one that actively spread the disease. We have to track it down.
-OH MY GOD, WE’RE GETTING HELP FROM A WARRIOR TONBERRY IN A CUTE LIL HELM! Halga Tolga is a great Nymian drill instructor.
-I adore her. She’s all GRRRR HOO RAH, a little green drill instructor.
“Marines, scholars - everyone has to do whatever it takes to survive! To be all they can be!”
-Alka Zolka adores her too. Sees Halga Tolga as this living legend, and fully embraces her harsh teaching to become all he can be.
-My favorite part of Halga Tolga’s training is when she sends me to just scoff at a nearby beastman to start a fight.
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Unseen
-Ul’dah’s thaumaturge guild has more info. A researcher stopped by there about five years ago for a book about this called “Unseen.” They haven’t been seen since.
-The researcher is long gone. We still find their remains and research to take back to the eminent scholar Surito Carito.
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Forward, the Royal Marines
-That was the final piece. Our faerie, Lily, can now track the voidsent and we’ll take the fight to it.
Alka Zolka really takes the lead here as captain of our newly-inspired “marine” troop. This is a nice change of pace with the healer quests! Compared to the DPS quests, this gives me the chance to play a supporting role.
-Oh shit, the voidsent is heading to a medical camp to infect the wounded! Let’s go.
-My first attempt against the creature (which looks AWESOME) fails. I didn’t notice it debuffing the others with its tonberry conversion disease. I’ll have to use Esuna.
-Second attempt = victory! Our tonberry allies swarm in at the last minute to help finish it off. Tonberry swarms are nasty. I’m thinking of that delightful ending to Wanderer’s Palace (Hard).
-We did it! We avenged the tonberries, and hopefully get a bit closer to curing them.
At least, to curing those who want to be cured. I’m still not sure whether there are any side effects beyond their appearance, and if that’s the case then maybe some are okay with staying in that form.
This was a really solid job quest. I just love the tonberries and everything around them. Super fun to meet Halga Tolga and see Alka Zolka take to her style so strongly.
The steampunkish level 60 gear set.
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Random Stuff Around Eorzea
-The dark side of the Gold Saucer:
-The most adorable minion:
-QUQUSHU’S PSYCHIC POWERS HAVE AWOKEN.
-This is a mountain in Gyr Abania. Just a mountain. Nothing more.
-The two styles of FFXIV greetings:
-Some great player names I’ve seen:
Mmm Bye
Pirate Spyglass
Nine Lyves
Aprilius Mcweeb
Can Beary
Jam Jar
Unusual Heights
Thewhite Whale
Princess Becky
Kimahri Rehorned
Spaghettind Hairballs
Mc Ribby
Keviinn Keviinn (I can hear the “Home Alone” mother’s voice in my head as I type this)
Snoop Dog
Kiss-shot Heart-under
Whoosel Whassel
George Lucas
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Next time: the 60-70 scholar quests.
