Lurkers in the Grotto

Cloud Strife: No way! That thing's just a machine.

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Staelwyrn, the owner of Summerford Farms, has a task for a competent adventurer.

Quest description

Lurkers in the Grotto is a Quest in Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn.

Journal[]

The farmhands report that a gang of savage-looking men with tattooed faces has been loitering in the vicinity of the farm, watching. The farmhands believe the unwelcome visitors to be the rumored kidnappers, and the resulting atmosphere of unease has taken a considerable toll on the farm's productivity. Make your way to Seasong Grotto, and investigate the area reported to be the tattooed thugs' den.
At Seasong Grotto, your encounter with a woman bearing a strange contraption is suddenly interrupted by the charge of an enraged goobbue.
After discovering a seafarer's knife lodged in the defeated creature's back, the woman seems convinced that the perpetrators of the kidnappings are pirates. Return to Summerford Farms and present your findings to Staelwyrn.
Staelwyrn assures you that the lady you encountered at the grotto is unconnected with the abductions, and concurs with her theory concerning the likely involvement of pirates. After thanking you for your part in the investigation, the farmer bids you to continue helping those in need for the good of Limsa Lominsa.

Objectives[]

Investigate Seasong Grotto.
Deliver the blunt sailor's knife to Staelwyrn at Summerford Farms.

Script[]

Lurkers in the Grotto script

Staelwyrn	Ah, [Player Name]. That aura of confidence tells me you've not been idle since last we met.
Staelwyrn	I hope I've read you aright, for I've a task that requires the attention of a capable adventurer. Might that adventurer be you?

Staelwyrn	Good to hear. Then I shall lay before you the sorry tale.
Staelwyrn	You will have heard rumors of the abductions. Aye, citizens have been disappearin' from every corner of Limsa Lominsa, as if plucked from the face of Hydaelyn, boots and all, by an unseen hand.
Staelwyrn	And what's this got to do with Summerford Farms, you might ask. Well, that remains to be seen, but it seems a collection of right unsavory fellows with azure-tattooed faces has been creepin' up to the edges of the fields and spyin' on my yeomen.
Staelwyrn	Now, I doubt anyone would enjoy bein' scrutinized by such savages at the best of times, but the farmhands are convinced that they're the kidnappers of rumor, come for their hides.
Staelwyrn	Needless to say, they're beside 'emselves with worry, and their work's sufferin' for it─which is the very last thing I need when my old crewmen are still gettin' used to their new jobs. 'Tis a struggle to get 'em to leave the farmhouse of a mornin'.
Staelwyrn	That is, as they say, where you come in. Would you be willin' to investigate these tattooed thugs for me?
Staelwyrn	Good lass/lad. The sooner we get to the bottom of this, the sooner this place will start to resemble a workin' farm again.
Staelwyrn	I suggest you begin by havin' a look around Seasong Grotto. If reports are to be believed, our unwelcome visitors have occupied the place.
Staelwyrn	Be careful, though, [Player Name]─I couldn't say for sure what manner of miscreants we're dealin' with here. If they are the kidnappers...well, just be on your guard, all right?
Yshtola	I am the waves that bear. I am the winds that guide.

Yshtola	I am the evening stars. I am the morning sky. I am born of the sea. And there shall I die.

Yshtola	Thus reads the Sailors' Requiem carved into yonder stone.

Yshtola	Such words well describe the manner in which the citizens of Limsa Lominsa live their lives.

Yshtola	It is both a litany against misfortune for those out on the waves...

Yshtola	...and a prayer that the souls of those who perish on land might find their way back to the sea.

Yshtola	We meet again.

Yshtola	Or do we? My apologies, I fear I have mistaken you for another.

Yshtola	Something about you... Your gait, perhaps? Well, no matter.

Yshtola	What brings you to this sacred place of seafarers, if I may ask?

Yshtola	Ah, you are the adventurer I've seen around Summerford Farms.

Yshtola	I thought myself on the trail of the kidnappers, but it would seem I have missed my mark.

Yshtola	...Or perhaps not.

Yshtola	As I suspected, the aetheric disturbance here is no natural occurrence.

Yshtola	Nor is it a coincidence that the two of us should come here in search of those responsible for the disappearances only to be attacked.

Yshtola	But who stands to benefit from the keeping of this secret?

Yshtola	Such thoughts must wait. Let us attend to the task at hand, unpleasant though it be.

Yshtola	...

Mothercrystal	Hear... Feel... Think...

Yshtola	Awake again, are we?

Yshtola	Aha. The poor creature's fury was kindled with cruel forethought.

Yshtola	See this blade? I found it in the goobbue's back.

Yshtola	I have seen knives of this kind before─they are most commonly used for the cutting of rope.

Yshtola	It would appear our culprits are seafaring men of some persuasion...piratical being the most probable.

Yshtola	In any event, you seem much recovered from your sudden...affliction.

Yshtola	I confess, I was rather taken aback when you collapsed at the very moment of our victory. Mayhap a surfeit of aether...?

Yshtola	I beg your pardon? A “towering crystal”? I'm sure I don't─ Oh.

Yshtola	Well, well... This has been a day of unexpected revelations.

Yshtola	I must continue my investigation.

Yshtola	In the meantime, I suggest you deliver this knife to your patron, along with a warning concerning the pirates' probable involvement in this murky business.

Yshtola	The days ahead promise little rest, I fear...

Yshtola	May our paths cross again under the light of the Crystal.
Staelwyrn	[Player Name]! Right glad am I to see you safely returned!
Staelwyrn	My lads were all gabbin' about hearin' what sounded like all seven hells breakin' loose near the grotto, and I feared I'd sent you to your death.
Staelwyrn	If you were in the middle of that commotion, I hope it yielded somethin' of interest. I'd hate to think you'd risked your life for naught.

Staelwyrn	Hmmm... A blade pulled from the back of a creature you slew at the cave, eh?
Staelwyrn	Aye, I'd agree that such a knife would be part of any seafarin' man's kit.
Staelwyrn	I'm startin' to think that these ruffians are pirates, come to lure my farmhands back to a life of plunder. Chances are, they didn't take kindly to your appearance on their doorstep, and set a maddened goobbue on you.
Staelwyrn	Aye, the pirates have been addin' to their numbers of late. I'd best warn the lads and lasses in my employ to be on guard against their schemes.
Staelwyrn	...Hm? You met someone else at the grotto? A woman with a strange contraption...? Ah...Y'shtola!
Staelwyrn	She's been in Limsa Lominsa for a good while now. Her studies of the aether often bring her out to Summerford, so her presence at the grotto is hardly unusual.
Staelwyrn	She's an odd-lookin' lass, I grant you, but she's not the kind to associate with kidnappers. You may take my word for that.
Staelwyrn	Where trust should be lackin' is in those yeomen of mine who have yet to wholly relinquish their pirate pasts. The temptation to return to the free and easy life of a buccaneer may prove too strong to resist.
Staelwyrn	You have my thanks, [Player Name]. If it weren't for the efforts of stalwart adventurers like yourself, this farm would be in a far worse state than it is.
Staelwyrn	Just you keep on lendin' your talents to those in need, eh? Help bring Limsa the brighter future she deserves.
Quest complete.