Sharing the Wealth


«A Brother's Grief

071201.png90Bridging the RiftMainquest1 Icon.png Bridging the Rift»

Transcript may differ from in-game version as efforts have been made to incorporate unused and/or altered text.
Text in green is conditional. Hover your mouse over it to see the condition for making that text appear!
Player31 Icon.png
Lorequest4 Icon.png
SecondaryQuest1 Icon.png


Shall we begin? If we are to spend the treasure wisely, then we must first determine which groups would benefit most from monetary assistance.

Some of my citizens may find it intimidating to speak with the satrap directly, so I would ask that you act in my stead.


Forename, you are to visit Akyaali and Yedlihmad. Speak with Matsya and his people, and listen to their grievances.


Estinien, I bid you do the same at Palaka's Stand. I will be conducting my own inquiries at the Giantsgall Grounds.


Once you believe you have ascertained the needs of the populace, we can reconvene at Meghaduta.
Quest Accepted
Oh, Forename! I was so glad to see you had returned unharmed. You've finished with the boat, then?

...Anything the village desperately needs?


Well, I suppose Khalzahl's loss hit us the hardest.


I've been trying to find buyers for my fish, but although I sell a few here and there, it's so much more difficult than it was before.


Everyone's still struggling to rebuild their lives... For now, we're just banding together as best we can.


I liked leaving the selling to Khalzahl. I could just catch the fish, and not have to talk people into eating them...
Greetings and welcome, traveler! If this is your first visit to Thavnair, then you must try my special amra lassi! Its refreshing zest cannot be beat!
What could such a wonder cost, you wonder? Normally I part with three bottles for the generous price of nineteen thousand and eight hundred gil, but for you? I am willing to go as low as an even ten thousand! You'd be practically stealing from me!
What will you say?

1) Stealing? At that price, you're the only thief around here.
2) Still not turning a profit these days?
3) I am...not Estinien.

Gah! Y-You...you're the one who was with that spear-toting fellow!
Well, you can hardly blame a man for trying... The world may no longer be on fire, but we are still sifting through the ashes, so to speak. Sisters spare me, we might as well have that ugly tower back for the scant few travelers we see these days.

Times are harsh, my friend. The world may no longer be on fire, but we are still sifting through the ashes, so to speak. Sisters spare me, we might as well have that ugly tower back for the scant few travelers we see these days.

...Estinien? Who is Est─ Gah!

You're the one who was with that spear-toting fellow! Well, you can hardly blame a man for trying...


The world may no longer be on fire, but we are still sifting through the ashes, so to speak. Sisters spare me, we might as well have that ugly tower back for the scant few travelers we see these days.

I myself barely have the coin to buy at local prices. I tell you, if I didn't charge the odd adventurer a small fortune for afternoon tea, I'd be scavenging for scraps in the street...
Times are lean, my friend. ...Are you sure you wouldn't care for a slightly overpriced lassi?
<sigh>

How fares the port? Well, it's in shambles, isn't it?


The trade routes are open once more now that the danger has passed, certainly.


But no small number of merchants have had to sell their ships to make ends meet in the short term.


Add to that the sailors we lost in the Final Days, and it's little wonder the flow of exports is no more than a pitiful trickle.


If Khalzahl and his consortium were still with us, I'm sure he'd have found a way to turn our fortunes around. Now that was a man who got things done, gods rest his soul.


We'll scrape by for now, but what we really need is for someone to come in with a plan...and preferably some coin to spare.
System
You have spoken with key local figures, and gained an understanding of the populace's hardships. Varshahn awaits your report at Meghaduta.
'Twould seem my stint on Vrtra's back did not go unnoticed. I couldn't take two steps before another Thavnairian was thanking me profusely for saving their home.
Player7 Icon.png Cutscene start.
Ah, my advisors return. I've just made it back myself.
Why do you retain this vessel now that your true form is known? You could have flown across the island in a fraction of the time.
Be that as it may, the sight of a massive creature descending from the sky can be startling to say the least. And there are few places I can enter comfortably without risk of flattening some cart or stall.
Hm... Fair enough.

As for my inquiries, the people of Palaka's Stand were unanimous in their reply.


They are surviving.


Resources were stretched to the limit when refugees were pouring in, but they persevered with some assistance from Yedlihmad.


From what I understand, they have always been an independent community─hunters and foragers, and the like─and I was assured that the jungle provides for their needs. For the most part.
Palaka's Stand has weathered the disaster better than most, it seems.

I myself heard good news and bad.


The quarrymen were cautiously optimistic, having just sold a full wagon of giantsgall to a foreign trader.


But such visitors are few and far between. Compared to our best years, the weight of stone leaving Thavnair has been light indeed.


Our nation is small and isolated, its prosperity dependent on a steady stream of exports...


We must identify any obstacles to the flow of trade so we may begin working to remove them. Tell me, what did you learn in Akyaali and Yedlihmad?


Hm, I see. Without a dedicated buyer, the average fisherman must struggle to off-load his daily catch...


Which is why I believe we should first address the lack of ships and shortage of able-bodied sailors in Yedlihmad.


I am reminded of a child I spied as I made my way back to the palace. His father lost at sea when the beasts sunk their vessel...


So many variations of the same tragic tale, repeated over and over. So many lives lost...


Enough grief to drown in if we let ourselves be overcome...but we will not. Forename, Estinien, I will consider the perspectives you've brought me, and devise a plan to help my people confront this adversity.


Come, I would like you to be in attendance when I announce the proposal to my assembled functionaries.
Player7 Icon.png Cutscene end.
Player7 Icon.png The Unending Journey: # 1: Voiced cutscene start.
I thank you for your attendance.

The riches the Radiant Host have retrieved were hoarded in Alzadaal's name─a fortune I set aside for a future day of need.


And lo, that day hath come. May it aid our wounded city in reclaiming its vibrancy and vigor!


In better times, I would leave such a task to our capable Ahewann, gods rest his soul.


Finding myself bereft of his counsel in the here and now, I will assume the responsibilities of mine office directly.


Firstly, the treasure shall be sold for more convenient currency, thence invested into the trading port of Yedlihmad. Our merchants must have their operations restored, their ships rebuilt. Commerce must flow once more!


None were spared the tragedy of the Final Days─of this I am well aware.


But an absence was created by the loss of Khalzahl's consortium, and by filling it, we provide new means for our fishermen, our artisans, and others to bring their wares to distant markets.
And what of the children who were left without family to care for them?
That is a concern which weigheth heavily upon my mind. A simple gift of coin will soon be exhausted, leaving these young souls adrift on the fringes of our society.

Nay, a proper solution is needed, one which doth guarantee their welfare for years to come.


Thou hast surely seen how other nations rise to meet this challenge, adventurer. What dost thou deem the wisest course?
What will you say?

1) Taxes, Levy them on trade profits in exchange for your investment.
2) It takes a village...
3)
Idyllshire's orphanage was funded through trade in highly coveted goods...
4)
The Firmament's orphanage was built as part of a communal restoration effort.

I see... We create a reliable source of revenue.

Of course... We must all look out for one another.

Of course... We can draw on trading profits to build a new institution.

Of course... The revival of trade can contribute to the building of a new institution.

Let us put this idea into practice. A contract shall be written, requiring all who receive of Alzadaal's treasure to commit a portion of their future earnings towards the running of an orphanage.
Now, such an influential policy is deserving of a worthy name...
What will you say?

1) Something with "Khalzahl" seems appropriate.
2) Why not honor one of your most successful merchants?

Ah, a fitting candidate...

A successful merchant...? Ah, I believe I see thy reasoning.

Khalzahl should be remembered not as the blasphemy which terrorized Thavnair, but as a hardworking and generous man who brought much wealth to our shores.
Do any among you object to this proposition? Many here lost loved ones to the beasts...
In that time of strife, any one of us could have broken. Any one of us may have been taken by despair.

When I think of Khalzahl, I feel no hatred...only a stinging regret that we could not save him as well.


Isn't that right, men!?
This bodes well for that boy─“Mehrahd,” was it? Perhaps he can cut ties with that shady peddler.
Then let it be done. Henceforth, this initiative shall be known as the “Khalzahl Foundation”!

Nahbdeen, thou art to assemble a patrol, and ensure that no child in this city liveth in squalor!


Clerks! See to the management of our funds and make haste! Our citizens must not suffer a day more than is necessary!
Dragon and man, side by side in pursuit of a brighter morrow. I'm reminded of Ishgard.
Player7 Icon.png The Unending Journey: # 1: Voiced cutscene end.
Quest Complete
Vrtra is warming to his role as satrap. Clearly all those years behind the curtain were not spent napping.