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I'm sure I'm going to regret doing both of these at once, but this way we're set up for both of the 30 quests next ROG update. So buckle in, I guess. Because we're going into super overtime.
Fuck me running there's a lot of dialogue in 25. This could be its own fucking update all by itself
Ho there, Ginger. We've a rough job ahead of us, an' that's a fact. Matters are tangled enough what with that Milala mort snappin' at our heels, but we still managed to grabble that first trinket without too much fuss. Bitin' back them other two treasures, though, that'll be a different story... Once the Stray gets here, I'll explain what--or more to the point, "who"--we're up against.
All right. We've two baubles left on the list: the Silver Sorrows, an' the Black Sarcophagus. Let's see where we're at.
Oi, where's Perimu got to?
Underfoot? He's still lookin' to whiddle the tale behind that bleedin' sarcophagus. We'll not be cloyin' that stickler until we've at least an inklin' as to what the bloody thing looks like. Treasures aside, I've been doin' some diggin' o' me own into these "Executioner" allies of the Grinning Curs. An' I'm afraid the name weren't no coincidence.
Ginger, ye've heard o' the Bloody Executioners, I hope? It seems them Curs was feedin' from the famble o' one o' the nation's greatest pirate powers. This ain't no ordinary crew o' cutthroats, lass--within Limsa Lominsa, the Bloody Executioners wield a power an' influence second only to the Admiral herself. They was none too fond o' Merlwyb or her prohibition on piracy, an' it was only the overwhelmin' threat posed by the Garlean Empire what eventually convinced 'em to play nice with the thalassocracy.
...But pirates ain't ones to play nice for long. Now that One-eyed Hyllfyr ain't around to helm the ship, the solidarity o' the Bloody Executioners has begun to show cracks. All the strongest captains an' lieutenants've begun to form their own factions, an' are scrabblin' to claim the top chair for 'emselves. ...'Course, not one bloody cove can agree with another on which way the Executioners ought to sail.
Among these new factions, though, is a group what is pushin' to break free o' the Admiral's grip completely. Turns out these "Reformists" as they call 'emselves was the ones as took the Grinnin' Curs under their wing.
...Which means they've got possession o' the last two treasures we've yet to cloy. Rumors 'round town say that, even for Executioners, these coves're bloody an' ruthless an' not to be crossed. We should sit this one out, Jacke. Piss on Milala's contest--it ain't worth this kind o' grief! We'd be invitin' the wrath of a crew so large an' dangerous that even the Admiral ain't keen on comin' to blows with 'em. If they ever came after us...
Large or small, it don't much matter-they broke the code when they hit that Maelstrom tub. Aye, the Grinnin' Curs are payin' for that crime, but we'd be poor soddin' excuses for rogues if we let the real culprits carry on unpunished. I mean to see this job to the end--an' that means bitin' back them treasures, an' handin' out proper justice to them as deserve it.
But, Jacke-!
Listen, with all the infightin' goin' on at present, us stabbin' a shortblade into one faction's toe ain't like to bring the whole Executioner crew down on our heads. Besides, them Reformist buggers are so far split from the main mob that they've been avoidin' the city altogether. Now, it's about time we got to work. Ginger, yer to track down our black market contact. I set him to lookin' into the Curs' new allies a while back, so he should have some answers for us by now.
Hmmm... The Veil was lifted by a southerly this morn-that'll put the old man at his haunt in lower La Noscea. Here, take this sack o' blunt an' pay a visit to the House o' Sticks. That's kobold territory, if ye didn't know. The old man bribes 'em with ore, an' hires the biggest an' meanest sods as bodyguards. Just be ready for yer approach to be...challenged.
I know full soddin' well what it means to be a rogue. But as deadly as our guild is, we'd not survive a war with the bloody Bloody Executioners...
Are we gonna have to beat up this asshole's bodyguards every time we come visiting? He knows our face now, and he can very easily call the kobolds off.
A lot of this quest is just NPCs expositing at each other. I'm immensely grateful to GarlandTools for having all this text for copying, because if I had to hand transcribe all this, I'd quit here and now.
Welcome to the House of Sticks, young rogue! You must excuse my hirelings' enthusiasm for greeting visitors. Now, have you any cumbersome baggage of which I might relieve you before we begin our conversation in earnest...?
*throws the bag of gil at the black market man's face*
Gyahahaha! <wheeze> A heavy burden for one of your tender years to bear, but its weight has balanced the scales. The sum is paid, and the deal is made! Let us speak of these Reformists. This faction that so wronged the code now seeks to peddle one of its stolen treasures: the earrings better known as the Silver Sorrows. The deal, it is said, is set to take place at Costa del Sol. The buyer? A moneyed merchant from the golden sands of Ul'dah.
The earrings will be out in the open. Vulnerable. I would target the moment of transaction, were I so inclined. ...As the gentleman up there by the cabin appears to be, for he purchased this selfsame information. Though he attempts to disguise his identity, the stench of a soldier yet lingers. I know not where one such as he came to learn of my existence, but I suspect he works for a certain yellow-coated captain.
Gyahaha! Brave, she is, but foolish! Stumble blindly into the underworld, and your groping hands will not save you from the holes at your feet. Sudden shall be her fall... The Reformists will soon divest themselves of the Silver Sorrows. I would not dally if you wish to stay ahead of your rivals!
The order I've done these updates in makes this confusing. This is chronologically Ginger's first trip to Eastern La Noscea, despite the fact that she just a handful of updates ago came here for MNK training. This was recorded at the start of this past November, while the Ascian arc we just wrapped up was recorded in this calendar year.
We came to Costa del Sol first because this ferry will drop us right off by the Rogues guild, and because Eastern La Noscea was right by where the Black Market Man was set up.
Welcome back, Ginger. What information did the old man have on them Reformists? ...Lookin' to unload them earrings, are they? An' to an Ul'dahn, no less. Can't say as I'm surprised to hear the buyer's from out o' town. Ye won't find many Lominsans willin' to melt coin on aught them coves're sellin'... Only the daftest of sods would go about fundin' them as means to pull down the Admiral.
...Eh? One o' Milala's lackeys arrived at the House afore ye!? How did they know to-- Bah, them Curs we captured must've cackled durin' the shrew's interrogations. We'll have to assume the Yellowjackets know what we know. An' that means we'd best get our arses to Costa del Sol right bleedin' now!
I'll handle this one, Jacke. You an' Ginger can wait here for Perimu. *immediately runs off*
Oi, V'kebbe! What in the hells is she playin' at? After her, lass. She knows this ain't a solo job...
You'd think this is setting up a betrayal.
But no, V'kebbe is just stupid.
I told ye to wait at the guild. I don't need-- ...Well, it might be as I could use an extra mort in the shadows, after all. Jacke has his mind set on punishin' the Executioners, but me? I just want to skulk in, cloy them silver bits, an' skulk out.
I reckoned that if I could manage that with no one the wiser, then they wouldn't know who to come after. Finish the job without drawin' me daggers, ye know? It ain't exactly true to the code, but the shield of underworld honor won't stop them bloody killers from cuttin' me mates' throats an' settin' the Sisters a-glimmer. The guild's the only place what offered to take in a pirate stray like me, an' I'll not see it burned to the ground...
If someone sets fire to the guild and kills your mates, then you set fire to their ships and kill their mates and then for good measure kill their unaffiliated friends too. While the captain is forced to watch. There is no honor in the underworld, there's just deterrence. Someone fucks with your crew, you respond with overwhelming force to dissuade that from ever happening again.
Because it's a rogue quest, it has yet another solo duty. I'm pretty sure literally every quest in this series but the level 1 quest all have solo duties.
All right, here's what we know. The rich merchant what's come over from Ul'dah is some old mate o' Master Gegeruju, the cull as owns Costa del Sol. Gegeruju's taken his guards an' dancin' dells an' pranced off down the beach someplace, givin' over the use o' the entire resort to this friend. Seems she didn't want an audience for her bargain with the Reformists. ...Which, as it happens, works out well for us. We'll wait until they're busy hagglin' over price, then snatch the Sorrows an' hop the twig afore they realize aught's amiss. Sound like a plan?
There. The players've arrived; the Reformists' coincounter an' the Ul'dahn buyer are settin' up on the southeast platform. The earrings ought to be nearby.
Hang about. Who're all these other culls? The place was meant to be empty... I see some nasty-lookin' blokes in Ul'dahn garb, an'...are those mammets? Ugh, that merchant's brought along a whole bloody entourage! I've gone an' got ahead o' meself. I should've realized the job'd never be that easy...
We'll have to mill a few o' them bodyguards first, I reckon. Ye don't want to fight through a forest o' blades should ye get caught sneakin' about up on them narrow walkways.
Jacke! I was just... I mean, I thought I'd--
Stow yer excuses, love. I know full well what ye were about. Ye start goin' soft on us, though, an' it'll be like losin' one o' me arms! I can't take on the Bloody Executioners all by meself.
It's only 'cause I've got rogues like you, an' Underfoot, an' Ginger here that the guild can take the jobs it does. When our coves walk the shadows, it's the bleedin' pirates what do the tremblin'. Remember that, V'kebbe! We ain't some two-gil robbers what piss their breeches when their daddles're caught in the honey pot! We're the knives in the darkmans, an' no bastard wants to go blade to blade with the likes of us!
...I see ye've not changed yer mind, then. Ye'll need all the stabbers ye can get...an' I promise mine'll be there when ye need 'em.
Bene! Now let's carve a path to that platform, an' bite back them earrings! V'kebbe, you hide yerself down by the docks in case the marks escape durin' the fightin'.
Ginger, you an' me'll split up, an' mill the guards as we go. It's them puppets as concern me most... I suggest ye crash them little buggers afore they can spring any rum fun. Creep in as close as ye dare, then give 'em a good, solid clout from behind! Aye, it ain't the most original strategy, but that don't make it any less lethal.
Once yer done with the first group, slip back into the shadows an' move on to the next. Naught to it, eh? I'll head over to the back while you start in from the front. Let's wrap this up afore them 'Jackets blunder in an' scare off our marks.
This duty was originally meant to be a tutorial for a skill that no longer exists. Rogue and Ninja now only have one skill that works from stealth, and it's Trick Attack. It's one of the most powerful debuffs in the game, and any job that can apply it actually has a huge DPS penalty applied during balancing because it's so strong.
Rogues learn Trick Attack at level 18. Like I said, it's only available from stealth. And you will basically never be able to use it in the content where it would help the most until you reach level 45 NIN. So it's a skill you learn and then never get to use in practice for twenty fucking seven straight levels.
Also dungeon bosses, I've been informed, have truesight. So you can't even stealth up to them to open with Trick Attack. So it's functionally useless for rogues. Good thing they learn it at level 18 instead of Death Blossom, their AOE skill. 
If it sounds like I'm protesting too much, it's because I really like rogue/ninja and even after its rework in late 2019, it's still in a weird spot during leveling. I already complained at length last time about AOE availablity for melee jobs.
Anyway, we just need to slowly creep along the docks and ambush these jerks.
Ugh, this bastard's made o' solid rock! Ginger, get over here an' start chippin'!
This is a private meeting! Remove these rats at once!
This duty thankfully is a short one.
Rogues!? No one mentioned aught about rogues! Wh-What in the hells do you think you're doing!? I am conducting a business transaction on behalf of the Bloody Executioners! Do you understand what that means!? Do you know what they'll do to you!?
Aye, I'm all a-frighted. Odd, then, that yer the one who's shakin'. It don't much matter to me who ye work for. Yer bosses broke the code, an' we're here to collect. Those'd be the Silver Sorrows, then? I'm sure ye paid a caravan o' coin for them shiny baubles, but I doubt they're worth yer life. Let's have 'em, then.
W-Wait! Wait, damn you! You should know that this personage is an extremely influential member of the East Aldenard Trading Company! Surely you've heard of it! If the threat of reprisal will not stay your hand, then consider the political ramifications of interfering with a foreign dignitary! The Admiral would not desire you to damage Limsa's relations with Ul'dah!
She ain't Lolorito, so we don't care who she is.
Y-Yes, exactly! I am very highly placed in Ul'dahn society! I have powerful friends who would not be pleased were you to mistreat me in any fashion! And you must understand, the Silver Sorrows are a historical treasure--a gift once bestowed upon Sultana Nanasha Ul Nasha by her champion. The earrings were later stolen from the royal vault, and we'd lost hope of ever recovering them. That I might so easily purchase them thus is a miracle!
The return on these trinkets will be-- ...Er, that is to say, the Sorrows must be returned to Ul'dah! Can you not look the other way for the sake of my nation's pride!?
...Ye must think me some dull-witted thug. If this deal was bein' made on behalf o' yer country, then why're ye sneakin' about an' consortin' with pirates!?
An excellent point. One might doubt your quality of character were you to continue with these feeble fabrications.
You need only entrust those earrings to me...should you truly wish to see them returned to Ul'dah, that is. After all, 'twas to fulfill that very purpose that the thalassocracy bid on the Sorrows in the first place.
Bit late there, aren't ye, Captain? I think ye'll agree this round belongs to us...
On the contrary, my dear scoundrel. I made the winning move the moment I knew we were dealing with a merchant of Ul'dah. I come bearing an official order of seizure, authorized by the Admiral herself. You will not be harmed, but I must insist that you cooperate with this reclamation of unlawfully obtained goods.
Though Costa del Sol is private property, it nevertheless lies within state-governed territory. Come along quietly, and we need not inconvenience Master Gegeruju any further... These suspects will be taken into Yellowjacket custody. And do not concern yourself with the Silver Sorrows--they'll be quite safe with me!
Well she just beat us handily. That makes the game 1-1. So the next point makes game, set, and match.
Aye, I heard the news from Jacke. I don't think that was the Admiral choosin' to side with Milala, though. Probably just eager to reclaim the Silver Sorrows... Anyway, that bit about them earrings bein' cloyed from the royal vault turns out to be true. Seems some famous burglar went after 'em once he heard about the "godlike agility" they was said to bestow upon the wearer.
It's easy to forget, but Vylbrand is a tropical island.
Bah! The hells take that canary-colored harpy! We might as well've handed the things to her on a velvet cushion.
I'll go find Underfoot an' help him with his diggin'. There's still that last treasure out there, an' ye can be sure the Reformists won't be givin' it up without a fight.
Aye, you do that. Bene luck to ye, love.
Ah, there you are. You left before events had truly been decided, and I thought you deserved to know the score. The Ul'dahn merchant has acquiesced to our request and surrendered the Silver Sorrows into our keeping. We've also apprehended the Reformists' accountant, and will be holding him for further questioning.
Oho! Bonin' an associate o' the Bloody Executioners? You Yellowjackets don't flinch from yer duty, I'll give ye that! An' what's this I hear about you buyin' information, Captain? I thought ye'd sooner die than associate with elements o' the underworld?
I will do what I must to stay ahead in this challenge, and that marketeer's knowledge was vital to the case. 'Tis true I might find his practices...distasteful, but he is no pirate. It is the fading era of piracy which I mean to consign to the history books. And that chapter will never be fully closed until every pirate-spawned relic--including you and your guild--becomes a thing of the past.
Valiant and forthright! These are the words by which the Yellowjackets live; it is the manner in which we protect Limsa Lominsa! I swore an oath on the graves of my sisters: no more shall the innocent suffer at the hands of these savage buccaneers, these...unrepentant killers!
And a grand oath it is. Me, I've got me fambles full just keepin' the code intact. But the code is a kind of oath, too, when you get down to it. An' since I've sworn to uphold it, I've no intention o' steppin' aside an' lettin' ye trample all over me or me coves. In fact, ye'd be better off givin' in now afore matters get proper serious. Just say yer sorry, admit defeat, an' we'll leave it at that, eh?
You- Your audacity knows no bounds! I am done wasting words! I shall reclaim that last treasure, and then I will look on victorious as your guild is dismantled brick by brick!
Hahaha! That's the spirit, Captain! Just don't forget to keep an eye on them earrings! The city's crawlin' with rogues, ye know! Ye could keep the Sorrows in a bloody lockbox in the Coral Tower, but look away for a moment an' one o' me coves'll bite them beauties right back! ...Come on, Ginger. It's back to the Sisters for us.
Well, after all that hard work, the shrew made off with the spoils. And as far as her damn contest goes, I s'pose that makes us even. It'll be the last treasure--this "Black Sarcophagus"--that decides the victor. Whatever the Reformists are doin' to keep it bob, ye can bet yer grandmum's teeth there'll be some bladework needed afore this job is done. Get yerself ready for a proper scrap, Ginger...
And that's finally enough of that for now!
NEXT TIME: The game's shortest arc starts! And knowing how these updates go, it probably concludes at the same time. Then after that, the ROG arc has its thrilling two-quest conclusion and we'll be allowed to move on to something else.