Rank 4 Scouting Mission

Telan and Halifirien prepare for the long climb up Delkfutt's Tower.

Quieren, Falseprophet and I took Neyla and Telan to the top of Delkfutt's Tower in Quifum for the Rank 4 mission. When I did this back in December it was with a large crew of higher-level people who slaughtered everything in sight. This time it was all about stealth and sneaking them up to the top for the battle against Porphyrion.

Quieren originally had no plans to go and asked me to serve as guide, but our scheduled muscle backed out. I had gone into the tower earlier for a scouting mission, marking the locations of stairs and teleport pads on my map and working out where the assorted monsters were located. Goblins, giants and bats are easy to avoid by using Sneak and Invisible to escape notice; however, there are Magic Pots and Dolls which will aggro to magic. Cast Sneak or Invisible around one of of those things and you're getting attacked.

We had very few problems getting to the top, and it didn't take long for Falsey and Quieren to take the monster down. Neyla and Telan received their promotions and 5,000 gil.

I finished out the evening by escorting Neyla to Eldieme Necropolis to quest for the Teleport-Mea scroll. Neyla will never need the spell because K finds the idea of leveling White Mage job repulsive in every way. The plan is to get the scroll and then sell it for a nice sum to White Mages who are either lazy or don't have the fame to get the quest on their own.

I sold my beloved Mist Silk Cape and used the funds to buy a Holy Breastplate for Halifirien. It's an incredible defense boost, considering the sucky armor mages usually get. It's not the best thing to wear during parties, but it's a wonder for solo work.

The Frozen Wastes of Xarcabard

Running through icy Xarcabard.

Quieren and Gainen decided to take me to Xarcabard to snag my Vzhal Gate Crystal over the weekend. There are six or seven crystal telepoints scattered across Vana'diel; once you've gone to one for the first time and received your crystal, a White Mage (like myself) can teleport you to that spot in the future. I'm only a few levels away from being able to learn Teleport-Vzhal, so having the crystal is a must.

But it's such a hideous place. It's icy and crawling with tigers, goblins, demons and undead. I was thrilled to be exploring a new place, but at the same time I remained constantly aware of just how fragile I was against most of the enemies there.

We also wandered into Castle Vzhal Bailey, which is the location for the "end" of the pre-expansion storyline. I'm still seven or eight levels from having to go there to fight Shadowlord, but I liked seeing the place. I spent Saturday night doing tele-taxis in Jeuno until I could afford the map of the castle, and I spent Sunday morning questing for maps of Xarcabard and the dungeon area called Fei'Yin.

Sunday morning's party was awesome. We were in the Crawler's Nest, constantly hitting Chain 5 on Nest Beetles. My MP never dropped below 200, and everyone in the party was constantly marveling at how incredible we were. I'm within 800xp (four or five more beetles) of reaching Lv. 41 and being able to learn Cure IV.

The Frozen Wastes of Xarcabard

Running through icy Xarcabard.

Quieren and Gainen decided to take me to Xarcabard to snag my Vzhal Gate Crystal over the weekend. There are six or seven crystal telepoints scattered across Vana'diel; once you've gone to one for the first time and received your crystal, a White Mage (like myself) can teleport you to that spot in the future. I'm only a few levels away from being able to learn Teleport-Vzhal, so having the crystal is a must.

But it's such a hideous place. It's icy and crawling with tigers, goblins, demons and undead. I was thrilled to be exploring a new place, but at the same time I remained constantly aware of just how fragile I was against most of the enemies there.

We also wandered into Castle Vzhal Bailey, which is the location for the "end" of the pre-expansion storyline. I'm still seven or eight levels from having to go there to fight Shadowlord, but I liked seeing the place. I spent Saturday night doing tele-taxis in Jeuno until I could afford the map of the castle, and I spent Sunday morning questing for maps of Xarcabard and the dungeon area called Fei'Yin.

Sunday morning's party was awesome. We were in the Crawler's Nest, constantly hitting Chain 5 on Nest Beetles. My MP never dropped below 200, and everyone in the party was constantly marveling at how incredible we were. I'm within 800xp (four or five more beetles) of reaching Lv. 41 and being able to learn Cure IV.