- Delion is trembling with barely contained enthusiasm.
- Inspector's Log:
- The Case of the Silent Correspondent was, albeit only briefly, superseded by the Case of the Misappropriated Mandragora! 'Twas during this misadventure that our merry band was joined by Inspector Brandihild─an unpolished clone of mine whose uncanny capacity for calculations allowed us to locate the remnant of a crashed starship in Garlemald. Yet so preoccupied were we with this discovery that I failed to notice the abduction of my loyal assistant! The audacity to commit such a dastardly deed in my proximity! But fear not, gentle reader, for Father and I were swift to confront and chastise the villain responsible and free Nashu from captivity. Thus reunited, we once more return to the task of tracking down Master PuPu's elusive companion...
- * * *
- Inspector Brandihild was seemingly able to use the recovered scrap of wreckage to surmise the starship's current condition, concluding that the vessel would be incapable of flight. Delion, meanwhile, has brought his singular power of conspiracy detection to bear and developed a theory as to who cleared away the crashed craft and its pilot. Naturally, he would love nothing more than to share his conclusion with you, but decides it would be better to join Hildibrand and the others in Kama, that he need not explain himself twice.
- You arrive at the party's borrowed room to find PuPu has fallen ill. Thankfully, Brandihild's knowledge of alien physiology allows him to formulate a cure, the ingredients for which are mostly stored aboard PuPu's starship. As for the remaining materials, you have been tasked with acquiring a liver from one of the kacchapa which roam Saltwind's Welcome, whilst Hildibrand and the others are to go in search of the unappetizingly named dampshroom.
- Acquiring the tortoise liver proves a simple affair, as you have a long and storied history of relieving fauna of their vital organs. If Brandihild assumes correctly, however, your companions over at the Great Work may yet need help in obtaining the rare fungus.
- As predicted, the dampshroom proves too rare for even the alchemists to have in stock. But your quest is seemingly saved by the serendipitous arrival of a dealer in exotic reagents, who bids you meet him on the Perfumed Rise for a completely innocent and not-at-all suspicious arrangement sure to benefit all parties involved.
- As your comrades resign themselves to purchasing the dampshroom for an absurd price, a pair of Radiant city guards appear and arrest the reagent dealer for the crime of swindling the hopelessly naive and ignorant. The authorities are kind enough to let you have the confiscated (and apparently worthless) reagent free of charge, and observing this, the swindler decries the man he blames for driving him to a life of iniquity: Vanhudi. This rising star among the merchant princes has recently added many smaller businesses to his growing empire, and in the process put quite a few Hannish out of work. Of course, these circumstances are of no moment, for the present concern is spiriting the fungus and liver in your possession to Brandihild.
- With your ingredients and the ailing PuPu, Brandihild heads outside and ascends into the alien's starship. The pair descends some moments later, the clone's concocted remedy having successfully delivered PuPu from the cold's deathly grasp. No sooner has the extraterrestrial assured the group of his complete recovery, however, when you are attacked by the vengeful Lugae. While the cackling villain has improved his tactics, the ensuing battle ends much the same as before, with the gleaming skull sent rocketing away at high velocity. Now that PuPu is well again, the party reopens the Case of the Silent Correspondent and, encouraged by Delion's shaky hypothesis, sets its sights upon the distant shores of Sharlayan.
Forename. Eager to resume our investigations? I know I am.
Do you recall that scrap of alien starship we recovered?
Well, Inspector Brandihild has employed his unsettling calculative capacity to extrapolate the damage to the greater whole, and he has concluded that the vessel would be incapable of flight without extensive repairs.
Our most likely scenario, then, is that some unknown agent made off with the starship wreckage─along with PuPu's acquaintance.
Fortunately, I have a fair idea who that “unknown agent” might be! After all, there is a singularly shadowy cabal with a history of concealing extraterrestrial activity...
Actually, let's head over to Kama first. The inspector and the others are staying in a dwelling there, and I'd rather not explain myself twice.
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Oh, Forename, I'm so worried for Master PuPu! |
This may not be the best time to share my conclusions... |
A most terrible development... |
 Cutscene start.
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'Tis horrible misfortune, Aya! Calamitous, even! Poor Master PuPu has fallen gravely ill!
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He's so bluish green... More so, I mean.
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Could he have caught a cold? I suppose it was quite chilly up there in Garlemald.
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PuPu is an alien. Who knows what extraterrestrial diseases might be ravaging his body!
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Nashu's delights are the best medicine for whatever ails you, as the inspector himself can attest!
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Good gods, Nashu, you'll blow our host's domicile to pieces! Put them away!
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Ahem, if I may...? When I was cloned from the inspector, certain gaps in my knowledge were “patched” with supplementary data from the starship's archives.
This information included an encyclopedic understanding of Master PuPu's physiology, which should be sufficient for me to diagnose his condition.
|
 BGM change
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A xeno-man hybrid mind... That explains the impossible calculations.
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| BGM change
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I have it! Master PuPu is afflicted by a terrible case of...the common cold!
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Gods grant me strength...
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As a visitor to Etheirys, Master PuPu has no prior exposure to our maladies. He is thus particularly susceptible to infection, and more likely to experience severe symptoms.
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Ah hah! 'Tis just as I surmised! We must put aside the case until we have nursed our stricken companion back to health.
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But even if it is a common cold, isn't there a risk that our medicines do him more harm than good?
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They almost certainly would. Based on the results of my analysis, however, I believe I can synthesize an effective remedy. We need but gather the ingredients.
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Then ingredients you shall have! So...what are we gathering exactly?
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Most of what we require can be drawn from Master PuPu's collected samples. Otherwise, there are only two which we lack.
The first of these is the liver of a giant tortoise─a suitable organ can be extracted from one of the kacchapa which wander Saltwind's Welcome.
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Ah, the slaughtering of a monstrous opponent. That sounds like a job for Aya!
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The other material in question is a rare fungus known as “dampshroom,” which I am hoping can be found among the Great Work's extensive stock of alchemical reagents.
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Very well! Nashu, Delion, and I will scour the alchemists' shelves! Meanwhile, I would ask that you remain here and keep an eye on our ailing patient.
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Inspector Brandihild, you're such an expert on all things Thavnair!
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Oh, I wouldn't say “expert.” Simple conclusions from simple observations, nothing more...
A-As I said, I am hoping the alchemists have the dampshroom we need, but it really is quite rare.
Once you have the tortoise liver, would you be so kind as to assist the others in procuring the fungus? |
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Then let us not prolong Master PuPu's suffering a moment longer!
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It seems we have a job to do. Further discussion of the abduction will have to wait.
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| Cutscene end.
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Nashu and her friends will be staying here a while longer, it seems. I do hope it's not my house that has brought them all this bad luck... |
Obtaining a kacchapa's liver should prove no great obstacle to one of your capabilities, Forename. 'Tis the dampshroom which concerns me... |
Who knew a “lampshroom” would be so difficult to find... |
Your mission was successful, I assume? Ours is...ongoing. |
| Cutscene start.
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Ah, Forename, I had every confidence you would bring us a suitable liver. Alas, the “dankshroom” yet eludes us.
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The alchemists said the fungus has few applications, so they don't bother to stock it most of the time.
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Then I must put my keen inspector's sense to work! Stand back whilst I attune myself with the essence of the dank...
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Damp. The word is “dampshroom.” And you'll forgive me if I have no faith in your abilities...
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'Tis close, my friends! And getting closer and closer even as we speak!
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I hear you folk are in the market for dampshrooms. I might have some to sell, if you're interested...?
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We certainly are, my fine fellow!
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Right then, if you'll give me a moment to retrieve the goods, we can finalize our transaction up on the Perfumed Rise.
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Was it genuine clairvoyance, or sheer coincidence? I'm not sure anymore.
Though in all fairness, when it comes to Inspector Hildibrand, preternatural perception is one of his least baffling “talents.”
In any case, we should hurry to the rise and take this man up on his timely offer.
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Our quest for medicinal components nears its end. Stay strong, Master PuPu! |
Zzz... The inspector... Saves the day... Again... |
I wonder... Does this not strike you as a touch convenient, if not contrived? |
| Cutscene start.
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Ah, you're here, good, good. And here is the dampshroom, as promised.
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Oho, glad we are for your assistance...
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Ah-tah-tah, not so fast. There is still the matter of payment.
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Of course, of course. And how much do we owe you, my good man?
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Considering the extreme rarity of the fungus in question, I couldn't let it go for less than...one million gil.
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A million gil for one measly mushroom!? That's outright robbery!
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A bargain, I counter─you would pay tenfold my price in the markets. I thought to do you a kindness in light of your urgent need, but I am more than willing to find another buyer if you wish to spit upon my generosity.
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Nashu, how fare we for coin?
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We're plumb out, Inspector!
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Ah, then this is a prickly pickle. Where are we to obtain sufficient funds at such short notice...?
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What will you say?
| <sigh> A million gil, was it...?
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I,uh... have an orchestrion roll collecting problem. Gotta buy 'em all. Spend the last of my saving on Return to Oblivion.
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Zzz... Zzz...
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Aya─our savior in every sense of the word!
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If that's the way of it, then I shall beg Father for the necessary amount. Saving Master PuPu's life is worth every gil!
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We have you now, deceitful scum! Your swindling days are over!
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| BGM change
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Radz-at-Han city guard, at your service. We'd received reports of this man's questionable activities and have been keeping a close eye on him ever since.
Dampshroom is a rare find in the bazaar, to be sure, but only because there's no real demand for it. The price this charlatan quoted you was, quite frankly, ludicrous.
But thanks to your ignorance and poor judge of character, we were able to catch him in the act. As a token of our gratitude, you are welcome to keep the fungus...assuming you still want it? |
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Yes, very much so! That is very, er, magnanimous of you!
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Bah, you think I enjoy tricking fools out of their coin? If that bastard hadn't declared my job “redundant,” I wouldn't have needed to stoop so low...
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He blames a rising star among the merchant princes for his woes. Vanhudi, I believe his name was. Purchased the trading consortium where the man was working, which led to a “restructuring” of the hierarchy. Put a lot of people out of work.
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Vanhudi, Vanhudi... I know that name. Something about an acquisitions deal gone sour? Father was willing to sell him a slice of his Hannish enterprise, I think, but balked when the man offered to buy our family business in its entirety.
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Truly, there is no telling how deep the coffers of this Vanhudi are. Nor do any know the secret of how he amassed such kingly wealth so damnably fast.
There are whispers, though, that he's solved alchemy's oldest and most legendary of problems: the transmutation of base metal into gold.
Unlikely to say the least─but whatever the source of Vanhudi's riches, he shows no reluctance in spending them; he's bought a historic temple to serve as his home, and commissioned a private airship, among other extravagant expenditures. Nice for some, eh? |
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Cor, that swindling case had barely started before you solved it, Inspector!
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Ah...hah hah hah! All in a day's work, my dear Nashu.
I believe our business upon this scented hill is concluded. Let us hurry the ingredients back to Inspector Brandihild, shall we?
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| BGM change
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I may have mollified His Lordship with the secrets of divine manifestation, but the stench of failure yet clings to me.
I must redeem myself in his eyes...by crushing my most-hated foe! Wee hee hee!
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| Cutscene end.
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Your suffering nears its end, Master PuPu! |
If Inspector Brandihild's remedy fails, we can always try my explosive cure-all! |
After all that, we paid not a single gil for the dampshroom. The manifestation of such windfalls must be another facet of the inspector's uncannily good fortune... |
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Inspector Hildibrand tells me you have the liver to go along with his dampshroom...?
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A fine specimen, thank you! I will be mixing the ingredients in the starship, so let us convey Master PuPu outside that we may administer his medicine as soon as it is ready.
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| Cutscene start.
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This should be sufficiently remote. I'll have the craft come to us and we can commence the treatment...
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| BGM change
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Oh, I feel so much better! I cannot thank you all enough!
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Master PuPu recovered his strength in mere moments. 'Twould seem his powers of recuperation are just as advanced as his technology.
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I came here from another world─a stranger you've no cause to trust─and yet you've treated me so kindly. The people of this star are so very welcoming.
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Hah, you are our dear friend now, Master PuPu! 'Tis our pleasure to help!
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| BGM change
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And it will be my pleasure to harm!
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I'll not fall for the same trick twice!
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| BGM change
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| BGM change
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Impudent worms! Taste my full power!
Not agaaaaaaaaaaaain!
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You took the full force of that destructive beam, yet there you stand. Somewhat singed but apparently unharmed.
I've pondered and puzzled over this inexplicable fortitude of yours, and feel compelled to ask...
Are you an alien?
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Ah hah hah, a fine jest. But I assure you, I am without a doubt an Ul'dahn-born Manderville of terrestrial Hyuran stock.
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He's Hildibrand, agent of enquiry and inspector extraordinaire! What more do you need to know?
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Where to even begin...but never mind. We have more pressing matters...
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Such as locating Master PuPu's missing comrade! 'Tis time we reopened the Case of the Silent Correspondent!
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Yes, exactly!
And I have a firm theory as to who it was that took the wreckage and its erstwhile pilot...
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I'm all but certain they've allied with insidious extraterrestrials. Which means they'll be under orders to remove any evidence of alien activity!
I wager we'll find what we're looking for in Old Sharlayan─we need only infiltrate their operations and expose this nefarious conspiracy!
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What will you say?
| The Sharlayans can't be bothered to formally ally with foreign nations, much less aliens. And the Loporrits don't count.
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Trust me, they'd sooner flee the star than attempt to subjugate it.
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While Master Delion's theory does lack supporting facts, we have no other promising leads to pursue at present.
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Moreover, I understand that Sharlayan sets the standard for monitoring astronomical and astrological phenomena. Mayhap their experts have been tracking extraterrestrial movements...
Ahem, I've spoken out of turn. Please, forgive my presumptuousness.
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Nay, my friend. I, too, sense our path points to the isle of Archons.
Pack your bags, everyone. We leave for Sharlayan immediately!
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| Cutscene end.
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Acquisition
Closest Aetheryte: Radz-at-Han Aetheryte Plaza → Radz-at-Han Aetheryte Plaza
Requirements
Rewards
Description
Objectives
Unlocks Quests
