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Hello everyone and welcome back. Today is the second half of the LNC quests!
I have been expecting you, Ginger. You have been training hard, I trust? I would set you your next trial-one more dangerous than any you have faced before. But I would not send an unprepared woman to her death. Before we proceed, I must needs verify your progress with mine own eyes. You will face three experienced lancers in single combat. Defeat each one in succession, and you will prove yourself fit to undertake the trial. Arm yourself and take your place in the training area. We begin when you are ready.
No one is to hold back! Begin!
This quest syncs to 24. This poor hapless bastard is 14. I'm sure you can do the math.
Next!
Another one down.
Next!
This guy is our last challenger, and if we weren't overleveled, he would be an even match.
I really wish LNC/DRG got this Heartstopper move that all the spear-using NPCs get.
It takes a while to whittle this guy down. He's not especially difficult because he's really enamored with Heartstopper.
Enough! Put up your lance!
I like that both PGL and LNC both have scenarios like this, where you're asked to prove your endurance by doing several back-to-back duels.
Well done, Ginger.
Impressive, Ginger. Most impressive. You are ready to face the trial. Yet I did not exaggerate when I said it would be dangerous. Make no mistake-to take this test is to risk death. Knowing this, do you still wish to proceed?
Yes.
You disappoint me.
Back again, are you?
That woman is the only soul in this pathetic excuse for a guild who shows any promise. Which is why I counseled her to leave you. Alas, she chose to remain in your house of cravens. Such a waste.
This guild has outlived its purpose, and I mean to see its doors shut and barred for good. If you wish to object, I invite you to do so with lance in hand.
Foulques is really trying to provoke Ywain here.
You do not want for confidence, sir. But answer me this: what grudge do you hold against us? For what reason did you choose this of all crusades?
I detest cravens who would proclaim their courage, and like nothing better than to crush them. That is my reason.
Well...the fixity of your purpose is clear, even if your reasoning is not. So be it. Suffice it to say, you will not have your way without a fight. Oh, but do not presume that I will be your opponent. No, you must face the lancer over whom you so grandly claimed mentorship-the one woman among us whose "potential" you condescend to acknowledge. Ginger shall represent us all. As guildmaster, I wager the fate of the guild upon her lance.
Oh god dammit not again.
Times A Guild's Fate Rests Upon Ginger's Shoulders: II
Ha! Do as you will, coward-it is your guild to throw away. You may even set the terms of the contest.
Very well. Ginger is here to undertake a trial. I challenge you to complete the task before she does. You are to travel to the East Shroud and prove your courage before the Lord of the Bramble Patch. He is a giant amongst boars, unrivaled in strength and savagery, and ruler over all his kind. You must go before this fearsome creature and stand your ground.
Know, though, that the Lord of the Bramble Patch will not grant an audience to just anyone. You must needs present him an offering of the bloody tusks of his subjects-the wild boars that inhabit his domain. When you have prepared your offering, leave it upon an area of trampled earth. Drawn to the stench of blood, the Lord of the Bramble Patch will soon appear. That is all. Are there any questions?
...No? Then let the trial commence!
This quest in particular I remember and have a dislike for. Way back when I first started playing this game, back in the Christmas season of 2014, my starting job was LNC. I got to this quest and had to abandon and restart it because it bugged out.
We need to kill 10 of these wild boars. It takes a minute as you can probably imagine.
This is where the quest bugged out. This "trampled earth" spot wasn't interactable at all and so I sat around for longer than I should have, just trying and retrying before I finally gave up and restarted. Yes, including the guild trial before.
Anyway, we place the tusks down and wait a few.
I'm still not entirely clear how proving our courage to the Lord of the Bramble Patch will win the guild, but sure. Why not?
This boar is gigantic. It towers over Foulques, who already towers over Ginger.
It's a bit pissed that we killed its friends.
This wager is as good as won! Behold the true meaning of courage!
Despite the fact that we're competing against Foulques, we need to work with him here. Just as well, because this is not gonna be an easy fight. The Lord here is level ?? which means it's functionally a boss.
So while Foulques uses his also level ?? butt to tank, we'll take heat off of him by killing the boar's helpers.
Ginger and Foulques are actually doing a decent job of double-teaming the huge boar.
Ungh... Such brute strength...
And because the future of the guild is at stake, Foulques doesn't chicken out and run off. No, he actually has to stand and fight like Ginger. For once.
The fight ends once we beat the last of Kamapuaa's "subjects." Though Foulques has more lines for if the fight lasts longer...
Yet even as my strength wanes, my courage surges! Hahaha!
True courage is found...on the brink of death!
I will...defeat you...monster! Yaaarrrgh!
He attacks the boar, but it doesn't seem to do a lot.
And at the moment of truth...
Foulques' bravado fades and he folds like tissue paper.
Kamapuaa goes in for the kill...
And then Ginger shows both the Lord of the Bramble Patch and Foulques what real courage is. The boar could crush her like a tin can beneath one hoof and here she is standing defiant against it.
You shan't find much sport in these two. Come back another day, my friend.
Honestly? It was worth it just to see the look of "oh i just pissed my pants" on Foulques' face here.
Well done, Ginger. You have completed the trial.
I trust you now see the truth in my words. Hurling yourself into the midst of danger is not courage-it is folly.
No... This proves nothing... I refuse... I refuse to accept...
<gasp>
This quest has got so many good shots.
You refuse to accept the weakness within you.
Foulques stalks off.
No, Ginger. Leave him be. Your work here is done. Return to the guild--I shall see you there presently.
I will not lie to you: you are no match for the Lord of the Bramble Patch. Had you betrayed any hint of fear, he would have gored you in the space of a moment, and feasted on your entrails. But you stood your ground, holding fast to your composure and resolve. Thus were you able to stare terror in the face and survive unscathed. Well done, Ginger. You have overcome the greatest hurdle in the quest to become master of your own courage.
You may now bring to bear the full extent of your abilities upon even the mightiest of foes. As for Foulques...well, if there is a shred of reason left in him, he will have learned the selfsame lesson as you this day. Painful though the experience must surely have been, one can only hope that it will serve to open his eyes to the truth. Go forth, Ginger, and prepare yourself for further trials. I look forward to our next meeting.
So meeting Kamapuaa was a regular trial for lancers? Jesus. No wonder Ywain so calmly staked the future of the Lancer's guild on Ginger. That sort of meeting should have been a final exam. What else is there to learn after staring down a foe that would kill her if she faltered for an instant?
Two more quests as it turns out. Of course Foulques isn't done yet.
It is good to see you again, Ginger, and stronger than when last we spoke. Plainly, you have devoted many hours to training-which is just as well, for I have a mind to set you your next task. At the Bramble Patch, you came to grasp the true meaning of courage. I would have you put that courage to the proof before three masters of our art.
In the many years since they began their training within these walls, these men have led very different lives, yet they share the distinction of being regarded amongst the finest lancers of their time. And just as they once looked to their seniors for inspiration, so too shall you look to them. By availing yourself of their wisdom, you will take another step toward becoming a fully fledged lancer.
Your first instructor is a man named Matheomi. Seek him out at Amarissaix's Spire in the East Shroud, where he serves as a frontier sentry. The long years at his post have honed Matheomi's perception-no detail escapes the man's piercing gaze. Present yourself before him for inspection, Ginger, and do as he bids you.
Learning from those that came before? Another reason why the LNC questline is really good! Ywain is a very accomplished guildmaster and knows how to best train his students.
We're heading back to East Shroud, and this time going nearly to the back edge of the zone. It's a small preview of what we will have coming up in the future.
The spire is here, nestled as a watchtower against Baelsar's Wall (named after, yes, Gaius van Baelsar.) This is the only watchtower in Eorzea that looks into Gyr Abania, though it can be difficult to see much past the wall.
The red and blue glow in the distance is the wall proper. You can also just barely make out the shadow line marking the top of the wall. It's a very tall structure, and we'll get a closer look when we return to East Shroud for the MSQ.
The guy we were sent to meet is up here as well.
You must be the young lancer I was told to expect. Greetings and well met. I am Matheomi, commander of the brave men and women of this spire. Now, let's have a good look at you... I see... You possess strength and skill in abundance, of this there is no doubt, but you still want for experience.
Oh, I don't doubt you've seen much and more. Mayhap you believe there is naught left out there to unnerve you. Yet the world is wide, and only the gods can claim to know all. You may be assured that the legendary lancers of old faltered at times. No lancer, nor any man, can foresee all possibilities, but he can steel himself for the unexpected. I would have you do just that. Take this bottle of fresh spoken blood, and sprinkle it at the foot of the great tree to the north. Doing so will lure out creatures of the night, which you are to vanquish.
Bats. We're killing bats. Sure, why not? A bunch show up, but they eventually stop coming.
Welcome back, lass, and well done. I bore witness to your battle with mine own eyes. The blood bat bewilders its prey with its ceaseless flittering, which makes putting a spear in the beast an exercise in frustration-frustration that may easily have given rise to panic. Yet to your credit, you fought on resolutely, and thus emerged the victor. Ywain has taught you well, young one. You have a way to go, to be sure, but beneath those rough-hewn edges I see the makings of a great lancer.
With my blessing, make your way to Buscarron's Druthers in the South Shroud. It is there that your next instructor-Buscarron himself-awaits. The man had a unique approach to our art. Though it's a fair while since he hung up his spear, his words are well worth hearing. Indeed, lancers visit him as much for his counsel as they do his mead-good though it is. By meeting Buscarron and availing yourself of his knowledge, your lancework will surely improve.
Buscarron's Druthers is a stopover between Central Shroud and Quarrymill in the South Shroud.
Well, if it isn't Ywain's protégé. I thought it was about time you arrived. I'm Buscarron, and this here's my place. In case you're wondering why ol' Ywain sent you, I should mention I've not always been in the food and drink business-before I opened the Druthers, I manned an outpost not far from here. Anyroad, between keeping throats wet and bellies full, I ain't got a great deal of time to chat just now, so if you don't mind, I'll get on with educating you.
Now, take this nice bottle of Fullflower mead- Wait! Don't open it. This ain't that kind of lesson. No, I want you to make an offering of it at Mistalle's Lance, which is a monument tucked away in a rocky cleft to the south of here. See the bottle safely there-complete with its contents-and when you come back, I'll tell you a story. Got all that? Good.
The lance is just to the south, just off the road. Just gotta dump out a bottle on it and come back. Easy as pie!
So you offered up the mead as I told you? And without drinking a drop? Very well, you shall have a tale of me, as promised. Mistalle is the man who founded the Lancers' Guild, and the monument I sent you to was erected in his honor. Mistalle was courage made flesh. Cut him and I daresay he'd have bled the stuff. It was him who first identified the two aspects of a lancer's courage, as well as how to go about tempering 'em.
And that weren't all he did. Seeing how the art had gone stale, what with our lancers keeping to the confines of the Twelveswood, he sought to bring in new techniques and methods from faraway lands. But Gridania was a different place in his day. The outside world was a thing to be shunned back then, and non-forestborn were considered faithless savages. Aye...it was even worse than now! 'Course, ol' Mistalle wasn't afraid to call that way of thinking what it was-a lot of ignorance and cowardice.
To cut a long story short, despite a forestful of good old Gridanian stubbornness, he finally convinced the nation to open its doors to foreign lancers. And by blending their techniques with his own, he gave the world the art which you now practice. To this day, the Lancers' Guild accepts students regardless of their origin. That wouldn't have been possible if it hadn't been for Mistalle. Us lancers owe him much and more, and it's our charge to carry on his legacy. Never forget that.
Eh? What's that? When's the trial!? Bwah hah hah hah hah! Much as I hate to disappoint, there isn't one. Your courage was never in doubt, lass. My part in your training's done. 'Tis time you visited your third and final instructor, a fellow named Vauxclairt. You'll find him whiling away his time at the Bobbing Cork, like as not. Oh, that's the name of an inn in Fallgourd Float, in case you don't know. Up in the North Shroud, it is. Vauxclairt's an old rival of mine. Me and him used to go at it till neither man could lift his spear tip off the ground. I warn you: he was a right stubborn bugger back then, and the years ain't done much to improve his humours. So, er...good luck with impressing him!
Fascinating.
Fallgourd Float is the only aetheryte in the North Shroud, which is another of those awkward zones that straddles many different leveling brackets. The monsters right outside of Gridania are level 1-8, then across the nearby bridge they're 25. Literally right across the road from the level 25 enemies are level 37 ones, and then in the north and west parts of the zone, they're level 44+. Everything in the far west and south of the zone is 26-29. It's laid out really haphazardly and it's not uncommon to be chased by something level 37 when you're only 25 or so.
This dude is in the big building.
I take it you are the young lancer of whom Ywain spoke-and an adventurer besides, by the look of you. I was an adventurer myself once. That was before I became a lance for hire. But enough idle talk. You have come to learn from me, and learn from me you shall. Be warned, though, that you will not find me as lenient an instructor as the others. Now pay attention.
Thus far you have learned to muster your courage in situations of fear, panic, and uncertainty. With me you will learn to do so in the face of change. The enemy is a living thing, and living things are apt to change. Whatever the nature of that change, a lancer must be able to think and adapt. And to think and adapt during battle requires courage. To teach you the meaning of my words, I would have you challenge a fiery fiend known as the red balloon.
However, the creature will appear only where there is a raging flame. You may kindle such a flame by procuring six fingers from slain balloons, and depositing them at a gutted campfire. This should suffice to entice the red balloon. As the battle wears on, the creature's fury shall burn with ever greater fervor until it is ripe to burst in a conflagration of death. Let courage lend strength to your lance, and extinguish this fiery foe.
First we gotta kill these jerks.
Then down here we start a fire and fight the big boy.
He gets bigger as the fight goes on, but it's not especially difficult.
So you have vanquished the red balloon-no less than what I would expect of one of Ywain's. Your enemy altered its nature throughout the encounter, thereby causing the terms of battle to shift repeatedly. Yet ever did you press onward, your courage holding firm in the midst of constant change. So it was that you emerged triumphant. I am not known for being liberal with my praise...but you have done well. Yours is a genuine courage.
Mind you, this does not give you license to forsake your training. You are still but a fledgling among us, after all. I have finished with you-you may report back to Ywain. And when you do, tell that young upstart that I demand he show his face here from time to time. That is all.
Back to Ywain. It was nice not having to deal with Foulques for once.
Old Vauxclairt demands I show my face? Hah hah hah! I can only assume the buxom brunette at the Float isn't lavishing him with the attention he craves! Very well, I shall see what I can do. As for you, Ginger...well done. I never doubted that you would meet with the approval of all three men, yet I am no less proud of you for having done so.
You have traveled far along the lancer's path, and soon you will no longer require my guidance. In fact, you need overcome but one further trial to complete your education here. Do so and I will give you my blessing to leave the Lancers' Guild and embark upon a new adventure with spear in hand. As ever, apply yourself to your lancework, and return when you are ready for your final challenge. I look forward to our next meeting.
Welp, one more to go!
Ah, Ginger. Ever a sight for sore eyes. By your return, I take it you are ready for the final trial. Very well, let us-
G-Guildmaster Ywain!
You are wounded! What has happened!?
We were attacked, sir...by a Duskwight lancer...as we trained in the forest. He was... He was impossibly strong...a demon... He kept screaming something about...teaching us true courage.
No. Not him. Not Foulques...
We were...in the northwest corner of the Central Shroud...when it happened. I was able to get away...but the others... You must help the others! Arrrgh...
Be strong, man! I am sorry, Ginger-the trial must wait. Pray make haste to the Central Shroud and help your comrades. And Ginger-should Foulques force your hand...do what must be done. Twelve speed you on your way.
This catgirl flags us down as we run past the aetheryte plaza.
The text isn't worth showing off, but the short version is: she's heard of Ginger's exploits and wants to grant her passage through the White Wolf gate, which leads to... exactly where we're being sent for this quest! This quest becomes available at level 30 anyway, so this is just good timing on Ginger's part.
The quest is literally as easy as that.
Now we have access to the last Gridanian gate.
While we're here, I want to point out Marcette. She's one of those NPCs that seems to grate on everyone's nerves. She's a narcissistic researcher who hires forces random passer-bys to be her assistant slave assistant, and then abuses the shit out of them by making them do suicidally dangerous things while calling them useless and stupid and constantly downplaying all that they do for her because they're too polite to tell her to fuck off and die.
The quests were annoying enough that I have only ever done them once. It turns out an abrasive NPC that takes credit for everything you do while calling you stupid isn't particularly funny or well-liked. I mention her because a recent seasonal event brought her out of mothballs to make an appearance and she was still just as insufferable.
Fun fact: once Ginger starts the MNK quests, she'll have to deal with a different verbally abusive narcissist who calls her a moron every chance he gets because "lmao self-centered researchers are FUNNY". I don't like that type of character. At all.
The first of two duties in this quest is just over here, near the gate.
Help! For the love of the Twelve, help me!
The monsters are surrounding a poor dude.
Help me! Please!
G-Get them away from me!
Nooo! I don't want to die!
Glad he could help. Real good work there champ. The duty is over as soon as we kill all four monsters.
I owe you my life, friend. Another breath and I would have become wurm fodder. A Duskwight lancer unleashed the fiends upon us, claiming it would temper our courage! You should have seen the look in his eye when he said it--mad bastard!
Hm? Where is he now? Uh...I think he headed off towards the North Shroud, maybe in the direction of Fallgourd Float...? I can't say for sure-I was concentrating on the scalekin at the time. If it's a reckoning you seek, you are like to be disappointed. Those of us who managed to outrun the wurms will already have alerted the Wailers. I daresay the Duskwight is being held at spearpoint as we speak, begging for his worthless life in a puddle of his own piss. Serves the bastard right, and all!
Something you may have noticed across the past two updates, and something that will become incredibly apparent here in a short while: Gridania is insanely racist against Duskwights and Keepers of the Moon. Duskwights are the darker-skinned bretheren of Wildwood elezen. Same with Keepers of the Moon -- they're the typically dark-skinned counterparts to the Seekers of the Sun miqo'te. Thibain's (that's this guy's name) little tirade about Duskwights is just one way that racism is showing. It's not a good look in this day and age, and it's probably why it's quietly never been brought up after ARR ended.
Over in the southwest corner of North Shroud, Foulques has killed a bunch of lancers. Oh dear. Looks like it's time to put Ol' Yeller down.
Ginger continues to be too adorable to take seriously.
What kept you?
Helping your comrades, you say? Fool. You waste your pity on false friends. It is only a matter of time before they betray you. Aye, just like those wretches who saw me imprisoned and exiled. I was once an upright citizen of Gridania, and a man of the Lancers' Guild. Yet life was not easy. For want of the coin to obtain the barest necessities, I conspired with my closest comrades to steal from the guild's coffers.
The theft soon came to light, and though there were no suspects, it was clear that the deed had been perpetrated by someone within the ranks. An air of suspicion hung heavy over the guild from that day forth, until at last, unable to bear the guilt, I convinced my accomplices to join me in confessing...
...Only for them to bite their craven tongues after I had stepped forward and admitted my part in the crime. And so it was that I alone took the blame! "Of course it was the Duskwight," everyone said. "Was there ever any doubt?" It all made perfect sense!
Despite my heartfelt pleas, my so-called friends denied any involvement. Instead they called me vulgar names that I do not care to repeat. Can you imagine the shock and anguish I felt at their betrayal? Would that I had had the strength to force the truth out of those traitors! Would that I had had the courage to escape my dungeon cell, even if it meant taking some hapless guard's life!
So he stole from the guild, confessed his crime, and was upset that he was allowed to take the fall? And then he escaped from prison and started murdering people. Great plan, dipshit.
Driven by vengeance and no small amount of self-loathing, I resolved to forge my courage anew. I strode into the lairs of ravenous fiends while drenched in blood! I put their helpless offspring to the spear, that I might face the unbridled fury of their kin! For my efforts I have acquired the ultimate courage-a courage forged amidst danger and tempered by rage!
I fear nothing! I am the greatest lancer that has ever lived!
Like I said, he's a mad dog that needs to be put down. He was already unhinged, and it looks like his failure before the Lord of the Bramble Patch has completely destroyed what little was left of his sanity.
This is not an easy fight.
Foulques doesn't hit hard, but he has a lot of health, and he has Gimmicks.
We settle this once and for all!
You are the sole lancer worthy of the name! By defeating you, I will prove my courage!
These rings of frost persist for a while and deal a lot of damage in a short period of time. In short, don't stand in the Bad!
And he loves to spam them. So it's not uncommon to have three or four persisting at once. This is a great time to learn a truism about AOEs in FFXIV: it's better to walk a short distance out than to book it across the map. If a boss is gonna drop four AOEs, it's better that they all congregate in a small area than covering half the battlefield. Your average pubbie group will never learn this, if they even bother moving out of the circles.
Urgh! You will not get the better of me!
See what I mean? They're all nice and gathered in a small area. Too bad Foulques doesn't take persistent damage from standing in them.
You think me without honor? To hells with your honor!
I fight for victory, and I will stop at nothing to attain it!
He eventually starts summoning zombies. They're easy, but there's a lot of them. Just remember what the quests drilled into your head: don't panic and take them down one at a time.
The fight lasts a bit too long for my liking, but it gives you a nice chance to actually have it out with your "rival."
...I-Impossible!
M-My courage is absolute!
He says this while backing up and wildly swinging his spear around.
Ginger doesn't want to see him die, however, and tries to stop him from backing off the edge of the cliff.
Nooo! Come no closer!
Foulques slips...
...and falls.
Ginger rushes after him but...
He was an idiot, he was deranged, and he was a mad dog that needed to be put down for the good of Gridania. But... not like this. Not like this.
Goodbye Foulques... You deserved much better than you got.
Ginger's face really says it all. There was no glory to be found in that battle and it's an honest tragedy that things had to end in such a fashion.
Let's... return to Ywain. He'll want to hear the news.
So Foulques is no more... His was a tragic tale...and one that might have been so different. Had fate not dealt him such a cruel hand, he could well have commanded a place of honor within these halls. But it avails us naught to dwell upon what might have been. It is enough that you are still with us, Ginger.
Lest you wonder about your final trial...there will be none-I have seen all I need to see. You have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that yours is a genuine courage. In recognition of this, I shall pass to you the secrets of Lance Charge, one of the most potent abilities in our arsenal. You are a lancer in your own right now-there is naught more I can teach you. From here onwards, it is up to you to seek out such challenges as will make you grow.
Like attracts like, and the strong are drawn to strength. Just as I once knew for a certainty that I was destined to face the Lord of the Bramble Patch, so too will you find-or be found by-an adversary of equal worth. None can say what fate will bring, but armed with your courage, there is naught you need fear. Keep close to your heart the lessons you have learned here, and go forth to blaze a new trail with spear in hand.
I like this shot.
Lance Charge is a pretty potent damage buff. It increases your damage by 15% for 20 seconds. Not too bad!
Now that we've learned about courage, let's go see if Minfilia has a new assignment for us...