Xolotl Exasperation

I logged on as soon as the maintenance was over and walked to the stables to feed GreenBoy. I was getting a brief report on his activities -- delivering packages to boost his strength and endurance -- when Zaria sent me a /tell asking if I wanted to come to Attowha Chasm as Beastmaster to fight Xolotl. He was there with Dowo, trying to get the Perseus Harpe.

According

Wulfgar, Saiyuki and I wait for Xolotl to pop.

to Zaria, Xolotl had been up and moving around just before the maintenance, but they didn't have the firepower to take him down before they got booted off the server. The plan was for Zaria to kite Xolotl's undead minions while I threw local wildlife at him. Being unfamiliar with the area and the NM, I was wary of the idea of basically trying to solo him, but I had nothing else to do. I certainly wasn't going to balk at a chance to earn the Bandomusha Kote for my Monk or even the Zoolater Hat for Beastmaster.

Thankfully, I was spared the anxiety. Zaria logged in on his friend Xemo's account to dual-box for extra firepower, and then Dowo did the same for his friend Saiyuki. Nanunanoo and Wulfgar joined us as Puppetmaster and Red Mage, respectively. Wulfgar cracked me up by talking about a new bong he'd bought, which had been sold with flowers in it to sidestep some local drug paraphernalia laws.

Unfortunately, Xolotl never appeared. It seems the maintenance reset him back to a 24-hour pop cycle. We were there at least three hours, with Zaria and the others killing all the nearby scorpions and antlions between windows to stave off boredom. I was mostly AFK and watching Justice League episodes. Each kill was bringing in about 20xp, and their constant slaughter managed to restore the xp I'd lost from yesterday's Ramuh death.

When we finally called it quits, I returned to Windurst to finish caring for GreenBoy and then logged out at the stables.

Struck Down in His Prime

I was tired and considering a nap when Dalamar sent a /tell asking if Neyla would be online for some avatar fights. I wasn't ready to commit to anything, but I didn't complain when Neyla logged on to do the escort and agreed to help with the fights.

Dalamar

Ramuh Prime readies the smackdown.

is a very dedicated Summoner. He beat the capped mini-fork versions of the avatars (except for Leviathan, which Neyla and I killed for him) and got enough people together to earn a pact with Diabolos the other day. The avatars he needed today -- Ramuh, Titan, and Garuda -- were to get his Moon Bauble and flag the Fenrir fight. He didn't come alone, though; he had a Dark Knight and a White Mage from his linkshell who wanted to help.

The DRK could only flag Ramuh, so that's the one we did first. Neyla and Dalamar went as Paladin and I was on Beastmaster. Ramuh punked me hard when he used his Astral Flow and flattened me dead despite Barthundra and Stoneskin. That sucked.

From there we teleported to the Altepa Desert and fought Titan, who went down easily. Dalamar's White Mage friend, Laquesta, didn't have the Volbow outpost or the map for Kuftal, so we escorted her through the tunnel and across Cape Terrigan.

Neyla tasked me with keeping his Sneak and Invisible going. That's normally a pain in my ass and I was tempted to say "First one's free, use your oils and powders from now on," but he actually has a brain and knows where to stop so I can apply it again safely. Garuda took longer to kill because she heals herself, but we took her down.

Laquesta was happy to learn she can start her Summoning career with three avatars under her belt. How you level White Mage to 75 without at least unlocking Summoner is a mystery to me, but I guess it takes all kinds.