Final Fantasy XIV

Final Fantasy XIV

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Roads are dangerous things.

The following days saw once more leave my adopted city to travel Eorzea, I needed to find out what danger there was to everyone I knew and how my Echo experience might be related to it. After I gathered some provisions I started on my way to Gridania the forest city in the North. Crossing the desert valleys of Northeast Thanalan I finally arrived in The Black Shroud and the difference couldn't be more striking. This land has much greenery as Thanalan has sand, instead of the open spaces you are faced with winding hunting tracks that cross the thick vegetation without ever knowing what kind of beasts might wait around a corner.

With the help of my tattered Adventurer's Map I was able to find my way to Gridania itself but even here there were trees and flowers everywhere, the buildings seemingly incorporated into the landscape instead of forcing their own presence. My first stop was the local Adventurer's Guild but I could find no information on the Echo or meteor shower, life here as in Ul'Dah seemed to go oblivious to any danger besides a possible Garlean intrusion. It might be that because of Gridania being so close to old Ala Mhigo's boarders one could notice a stronger armed presence in this city than in Ul'Dah, where the Gladiator's Guild seemed to me to mainly provide entertainment to the people the Lancer's Guild was clearly assigned to the defence of Gridania and it's surrounding areas. Even with this considerable military activity there were no rumours about anything else but the Garlean Empire, no fears but where to find the next meal, life went on as normal.

I walked about the city trying to find any new information besides the usual rumours and taking in the views and at the next day I still didn't know any more than I did upon leaving Ul'Dah. The following day I decided to lend a hand crafting some armour to the surrounding camps, maybe in the camps there might be travellers with news from abroad. The next few days went by and although I traveled from Camp Emerald to Camp Nine Ivies there was no mention of Echo or any other danger besides the Garlean, to be honest the most danger I experienced was when a Lone Wolf came out of the dark and attacked me when I was looking for a Silver vein. In time I decided to go back to Ul'Dah and take on more supplies to try and see if the port city of Limsa Lominsa had any news, if any rumours were to be heard from the coast of Eorzea then they would undoubtedly reach the city.

Limsa Lominsa was just the way I remembered it to be, a jungle of towers and walkways, a maze of routes on low and higher levels interconnected by towering stairways. The sunlight reflected on the many white building faces gave you a feeling of freedom and openness that neither Ul'Dah nor Gridania were able to provide. The wide city planing allowed for the fresh salty sea air to flow over the city carrying the noise of every day city living from one end of the city to the other. Upon reflection I came to realise that Limsa Lominsa was the city in which Garlean action least had influenced the city's day to day routine, it almost felt like Ala Migho before the fall.

Once again I walked through the city searching for any rumours about danger or this new power of mine but I couldn't find anyone with new information which I didn't already possess. I went to Limsa's Adventurer Guild and Armourer's Guild but if anything people in general were relaxed and content, even the Garlean threat seemed a distant worry abated by distance of geography and time. I found myself once more using renewed skills in armour crafting and Mining to the benefit of the local patrons in exchange of some Gil and was even given a Cotton Scarf and eventually also a Canvas Sash as rewards from finding a new Iron veins close to Camp Bloodshore.

Although I could not find any new information about Echo or any other danger to Eorzea I found that by traveling between these three cities I was able to offer my services to many more people and more often. This, in turn allowed me to improve my crafting and gathering skills much more quickly until I was once more asked to write my name in both the Mining and Armorer Guild member's books. The first offer came from Linette in the Amajina & Sons Mineral Concern which apparently had kept an eye on my miming skills. I was asked to go to Nanawa Mines, the same Nanawa Mines which I had been in, looking for a fabled Crimson Blade not that long ago. At least this time I didn't have to go into the mines proper and talking to Z'ssapa I was told that I needed to bring some new and interesting finds so that I might be considered to join the Guild. After some searching around I was able to find amongst other things a Ewer Fragment which eventually proved to be curious enough.

A few days later it was the turn of Bodenolf, an old acquaintance of mine to advise me that to keep my membership in the Armorer's Guild I needed to once pass a test of quality which Mimidoa would be judging. Knowing Mimidoa's reputation for forgetfulness and loose connection on reality I was fearful that this time my skills might not be up to his standards but eventually my efforts were rewarded with his acceptance and some guild marks. I was happy to be able to have Bodenolf update my name in the guild roster and promised to keep at it and not just achieve my previous skill but to even surpass it. Bodenolf said he would keep me to my promise and let me know when he though a new test was due.

1 comment:

  1. Nice read. Have you tried http://fantaji.com/ ? It's like a facebook/twitter site for FFXIV-er. You could post your status update there so everyone can read your story.

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