Thoughts from the Otherworld

 
 
Upon our return from Elshimo Island not too long ago, we made the decision to go hunt for cockatrices in Meriphataud Mountains. The area being only superficially familiar to us from several trips to gather various items needed and numerous passings on chocobo-back on the way to Jeuno, we decided to look around the more remote parts of the region in order to familiarize ourselves with it a bit more. Not to mention that while we had heard cockatrices were present in the area, we hadn't heard where exactly to find these creatures. So we took it upon ourselves to head north.

This proved easier said than done, for high mountain ridges were facing us in most every direction. But luck was with us, for upon reaching the very eastern parts of the area we managed to find a pass north. What was before us I could not have imagined. It was a wondrous forest full of ancient trees - some wider than a house at their base - and mysterious stone or crystal formations gently glowing purple at their tips. I wonder what stone exactly they are, they seem like they could be very valuable. Not that any decent being would have the heart to cut out these stones, they are truly magnificent.
The forest was not only home to magnificent natural phenomena, but strong monsters. Coming into the forest from Meriphataud it did not seem too bad, but upon encountering a peculiar species of blue leech and a being that I later identified as a golem, we made the decision to turn back and head to Jeuno to find more information, both about cockatrices and about this mysterious forest we ended up in. I think this was a wise decision. Looking through maps upon our return I discovered that the area we ended up in is called the Sanctuary of Zi'Tah, and it is relatively famous among scholars for housing incredibly ancient constructs and dangerous monsters the like of which cannot be found elsewhere on Mindartia. In this light, turning back was a wise decision indeed.

Having returned from our unplanned trip to Zi'Tah, we encountered a most curious hume who pushed upon us a task of advertising for his company from Aht Urhgan, the Salaheem's Sentinels. Why all this talk about Aht Urhgan recently?
He did not really give us a chance to refuse his request, so somehow we ended up walking all over Jeuno, advertising this company we knew nothing about. For our troubles, we only both obtained reference cards to the company headquarters in the - or rather, a - capital of Aht Urhgan. I suppose I should be thankful he was willing to reward us even with such an apparently useless thing.
 
 
The Eldieme Necropolis, once more widely known as the Coveffe Barrows. As a once-sacred resting place of the dead, more recently haunted by restless souls of the fallen in the Great War, I was naturally hesitant to enter the place, even for the brief time required to burn the incense given by the pilgrim friar in Windurst. Nevertheless, in we went. I am still glad we were not required to go in further, there is something about knowing that the place used to be a peaceful place for my ancestors to end their journey on Vana'diel, and comparing that image to the present-day situation that makes me extremely reluctant to even approach the place.
The burning incense meant to ease the spirits of the dead looked pitiful burning in the depths of the darkness of the necropolis, and I must admit that the scent was not too pleasant. Once we reported this to the friar however, he merely stated he would continue his studies on the matter and gave us a reference letter for friar Eperdud in the Cathedral. This was most unexpected, and we had already made plans to head to Kazham and its jungles after this, going so far as to bond with the home crystal in Lower Jeuno to facilitate our swift return, our intention to take the first airship to Elshimo Island after reporting on this matter. Thankfully, it appears that the letter is not urgent and can be turned in after our journey to the jungles of Elshimo.

Thankful for this small gesture of understanding, we headed to Jeuno where we were momentarily held up by a somewhat alluring offer. It appears that there is a rather similar offer to the Kazham airship pass one, but this to earn a ferry pass authorizing passage to Aht Urhgan, the nation on the eastern continent of Aradjiah. It was most interesting, and we discussed obtaining the items required for this pass with Kii Kalira, but decided we have neither time nor interest to head to the Near East for the moment. I wonder how long this offer stands.

We are now headed towards Kazham as planned, and will reach the city by nightfall. This time, we intend to see what the jungles have to offer for us.
 
 
Jeuno has strange people indeed. I have written before about the adventurer discount of offering a Kazham-Jeuno airship pass in exchange for keys from the three beastman forts. It turns out it was not mere joke, but a real promotion of the airline company. I and Kii Kalira are now in possession of Kazham passes, that enable us to use that particular route. While it is that route only, it is still quite an expensive item that they offer in exchange for some trivialities. What can they possibly achieve by gathering those keys?

I suppose one should not complain when luck shines one's way. Kii Kalira was most excited about this opportunity, so hardly had we reached Jeuno that we set out again, this time on board an airship. It has been a long time since I was aboard one, and I do believe it was Kii Kalira's first time. And neither did her excitement diminish on reaching Kazham, quite the contrary. I think only a faint memory of such a thing as decorum kept her back from talking to everyone we came across and snooping around every corner, into every house. Not too long ago I wouldn't have believed her to be capable of such excitement, but experience has taught me better. Sometimes after we set out from Windurst that spring a year ago, it seems like she is a different person entirely.
The air here is hot and humid, this climate hardly seems fit to live in for longer periods of time. I suppose it is all about what you're used to though, as the native mithra do not seem to have any issue with it. For that matter, neither does Kii Kalira, really. We've dared to walk around the outskirts of the village, right where village turns into jungle, but did not venture out into jungle proper yet. Listening to the locals, you hear many stories about the dangerous beasts that roam these jungles.

I have discovered that there is such a thing as being too courteous. Or maybe that there is a limit to where being courteous becomes something else. There is another elvaan guest at the inn we're staying at, and I could swear I overheard him flirting with Kii Kalira yesterday. It was cleverly disguised for sure, but... and it's not like it's any concern of mine. Concealing his behavior behind courteousness merely annoys me somewhat. That is all.
 
 
This world holds many secrets indeed. Some of them are secrets that could not hurt anyone, while others are dangerous, and can bring harm to many people. I do believe we have come across one of the latter secrets, that of the art of summoning. To think I would one day be capable of casting that forbidden magic, it chills me just thinking about it.

I suppose one should not be so curious if one were to avoid finding out these secrets. What is done is done though.

The ruby I mentioned before was a peculiar one indeed. It did not take us long to figure out the meaning behind the mysterious words referring to the colors of the sky. Right as we left Windurst for the sunny region of Sarutabaruta and were pondering on the mystery of this ruby as we went it shone brightly, confirming one fo the colors. Final confirmation came soon in the form of a dust storm - these colors of the sky were indeed different kinds of weather. Nevertheless, gathering them was no easy matter. I am especially referring to the matter of snowing.

It is spring already in most areas of the world, so finding snow proved problematic indeed. It wasn't until we decided to make it all the way to the Beaucedine Glacier that we managed to gather this color that was indeed the last one. Indigo completed the colors of the rainbow within the ruby, and one of the avatars graced us with his presence, telling us to hurry to a certain place in La Theine Plateau. I recall passing this place before, idly wondering what its meaning was. Even now, I wonder..were those stones erected in that location simply for the purpose of communicating with avatars?

When we reached the circle of stones the ruby called forth Carbuncle before us once again. And thus we now hold the power to call forth avatars, should we first have made a pact with one.

Carbuncle's departure displayed for us a magnificent rainbow. I have never seen one quite like it. It lasted for so long I was starting to think it would not disappear at all.

It seems to me that Kii Kalira is not very used to colder climates. Not only did she not prepare for the cold weather even though we discussed thoroughly where we would be going, she...started clinging to me the moment it started getting a bit chilly. It was most confusing. Even that isn't enough however. Upon reaching Beaucedine she somehow decided to attempt climbing a snow drift, this much I gathered from her words. As was to be expected, the snow did not hold her weight and she ended up falling in head-first. It gave me quite a fright before I managed to get her on her feet again.

I think I must speak with her about survival in snowy areas before we next head out to one. Thank Altana we did not have to go further in, with her like that.
 
 

Recent happenings have made me wonder about the properties of blood after being digested by a leech. Maybe I'm letting my imagination run wild though, but it might be worth looking into later? After all, that is what this journal is for. To chronicle my experiences and to provide points of interest that may be followed on later. Although I suppose this particular point of interest would make no sense by itself, so let me start from the beginning.

We came across an old acquaintance recently. A hume called Dietmund, who had left a less than savory impression after mistreating his chocobo around the turn of the year. Nevertheless, his son was not at fault for his behavior, and it was his son that needed help. Specifically, a specific flower to cure his sickness, only found on the crescent-shaped Qufim Island. Having agreed to help this wayward chocobo handler, we set off to Qufim, and soon came upon a pack of leeches intent on our blood. We disposed of the pack with some difficulty, and found this particularly vibrant ruby in the remains of one of them. Which brings me to my original point. How would a ruby end up in the stomach of a leech, if not by a curious process of turning blood into precious stone? Kii Kalira has the stone in her procession. Hopefully she will let me check it thoroughly one day. As endearing as her fascination with anything shiny is...

Our quest to find the Night Flower almost ended up in catastrophic failure. We managed to find the flower, and with the help of Dietmund who had decided he couldn't wait around for us to come back - admirable decision, all in all - even managed to dig up as much as was needed, but no sooner was that done than we were accosted by a sea monster of some kind, and barely escaped with our lives. Even this much was only possible using our newly forged energy bonds with one of the Home Crystals in Jeuno. It does not bear thinking what would have happened without it, as that sea monster was incredibly strong compared to us.

We came across some kind of a special promotion for adventurers while admiring the port area of Jeuno recently. This promotion promises to endow a free airship pass for the Jeuno-Kazham route to any adventurer who brings them beastmen chest keys from the three well-known strongholds, Fort Ghelsba, Giddeus and Palborough Mines. I have my suspicions about the authenticity of this request - a free airship pass in exchange for some keys, even if it's just for one specific route? - but Kii Kalira appears excited about this possibility. We will likely search for the required keys soon. And I admit, the possibility to visit Kazham does intrigue me somewhat.

 
 

It has been quite some time since the old man Balasiel gave me the task of retrieving stalactite dew from Ordelle. When Kii Kalira received the exact same request from him on the day before Valentione's, my interest was peaked. I had looked into the matter previously and discovered that there are several restrictions on obtaining the dew, but had not discovered how to in fact do so, the matter had slipped my mind. However, with additional incentive I now managed to track down a person who knew how to do this feat. Such a simple matter, yet confounding to one who does not know to do so.

Armed with this information, we headed out to La Theine Plateau, beneath which Ordelle's Caves lie. I have briefly visited the caves before, while participating in a San d'Orian rescue mission drill, although I do not think I wrote about it. I had more important matters to think about at the moment. Nevertheless, I did not venture too far in that time. Now our task brought us deep into the belly of the caves, and it was more beautiful than I ever imagined. The stone in the caves is light in color and smooth to touch, and the water is unexpectedly clear. Due to the many bats in the caves we had to keep casting Sneak and Invisible so as not to gain the attention of too many for us to handle. As such, the journey down was largely uneventful, and left us with plenty of time to admire the natural beauty of the place.
Having reached the particular cave we were aiming at, we were dazzled by the sight before us. The water in the cave, for some reason I could not fathom, sparkled with light. It also seemed to be the habitat of a kind of crab, although they left us alone on our task. And well so, for that was the place where stalactite dew could be gathered safely. We took some and headed back out. I hope we will return some time. It is truly a miracle to behold.

Upon our return to San d'Oria and Balasiel, I was surprised to be awarded the rank of a squire. Who knew this frail-looking old man was actually a high-ranking official in the San d'Orian army? I do not think Kii Kalira liked this surprise too much. She kept snapping at me the whole day. It was strangely endearing.

 
 

We have now reached Jeuno. After Starlight, I thought we needed a change of scenery. Since we for some incomprehensible reason had not visited the wondrous Jeuno with its sky-gardens yet, this was the obvious choice.
I am glad we came here. The city is big and clean and new, full of merchants of every flavor, and its sky-gardens truly breath-taking. Looking down from the gardens, it is simply incomprehensible that something so high is really a construct, not a natural monument. And to think that the city is inside this construct...! It makes your mind spin with its magnificence. Kii Kalira is enjoying it too. She seems to be over whatever was in her mind during the Starlight Celebration, thank Altana. If this hadn't worked I would have had no idea what else to do to help her.

It looks like travel is about to become easier for us, since we managed to obtain chocobo licenses by helping Brutus, the stablemaster of Jeuno chocobo stables. Chocobo renters seem to be everywhere these days, but for now it has been impossible for us to rent any as they require a license. It is exciting, thinking about all the places obtaining our licenses has opened for us!

 
 

I and Kii Kalira have just visited the Passhow Marshlands, close by to Konschtat. San d'Oria controls the area this Conquest period, and I signed up to deliver supplies to the region. Choosing that particular area might have been a mistake, though. Kii Kalira most certainly appeared not to approve. I suppose I cannot fault her for that, the marshes were not the most pleasant place to be in, especially when wearing sandals.

Starlight Celebration is approaching fast. I have not yet decided what present to get Kii Kalira. I only have faint half-formed ideas, but nothing too concrete yet. Thankfully there is still time for that.
Since we were conveniently close to Bastok after getting ourselves away from the marshes, we entered the city for some rest. Might stay here for a while.

 
 

Not long ago, I was given one more mission by my country. I have not mentioned them for some time, I think. We had just finished a mission for Kii Kalira in Windurst and arrived to San d'Oria, but we took off again. This time the journey took us through Jugner Forest to Davoi. It used to be a monastery, but was taken over by orcs during the Great War. We could not enter the area too deeply, but it was a sad sight, especially considering how peaceful it must have been before. There were orcs everywhere, and we barely managed to retrieve the papers I was told to retrieve from the area.

Our journeys had taken us through Jugner before, so the area wasn't unfamiliar to us. The forest is home to a breed of rather strong and vicious tigers. I suppose everything is relative, though. When we first encountered them, they brought us considerable trouble. These days, not so much.
Our journey to Jeuno has gotten delayed, it seems. It is rather amazing how many new and exciting sights the world holds when you open your eyes to them. One thing is for certain - we will not run out of things to do.

 
 

Quite unexpectedly, our journeys took us towards Bastok again. While there, we decided to visit an abandoned mine accessible from Konschtat Highlands, the Gusgen Mines. It was an interesting experience I think, if such an experience can be called interesting. We could not go very far in. The mine was filled with ghouls and skeletons, a real gathering place for the undead.
I'd heard rumors before that the souls of the dead miners from times before haunt the mine, but I have a hard time believing each and every one of the undead there was a miner in their previous life. They must gather there from other areas, in search of a place safe from sunlight.

While in the mine, I obtained one of the items Isacio of Selbina wanted. This concluded his task set for me, and his advice has been very helpful in our adventures so far.