Cease and Assist

Quest giver: Severian
Location: Ul'dah - Steps of Thal (X:9.2, Y:13.6)
Class: Alchemist
Level: 35

Required items: 1 Hi-Ether
Experience: 102,960
Gil: 0
Previous quest: Baleful Brews
Next quest: Might Made Right
Patch: 2.0
Links: EDB GT

“

Guildmaster Severian wishes to assign you a “minor” task.

— In-game description

Rewards

1 Silver Alembic

In addition to the above, choose one of the following options:

Walkthrough

Despite Severian's comments on ether, they are not harmful in any amount to players, though he may have been referring to the items' high recast time. However, neither are ethers indispensable in endgame play since the introduction of the role action Lucid Dreaming. The most common use of consumable MP restoration is to recover from either dying yourself, or having to resurrect numerous allies.

Steps

Speak with Deitrich.
Speak with Severian.
Deliver a vial of hi-ether to Severian.

Journal

Guildmaster Severian wishes to assign you a “minor” task.

Although Severian has now accepted you as his assistant in truth, he feels the research for the ultimate expression of alchemy cannot continue until the constant flow of inconvenient guild tasks has been dammed. Speak with Deitrich, the guild's receptionist, and arrange for the guildmaster's official duties to be channeled elsewhere.

You learn from Deitrich that Severian's obsessive research began after the Calamity took the life of his one true love. Considering the growing disapproval surrounding the guildmaster's actions and concerned for the man's well-being, the receptionist is initially reluctant to grant your request. He eventually suggests, however, that providing one of the guild's valued patrons with a fine-quality vial of hi-ether will generate the goodwill necessary to avoid further obligations for a time. Return to Severian and tell him the good news.

After relaying Deitrich's suggestion, you find yourself assigned the task of creating an uncommonly potent vial of hi-ether. Deliver the completed concoction to Severian.

You have delivered to Severian your remarkably efficacious hi-ether and earned the enthusiastic alchemist's glowing praise. With the threat of interruption to his research removed, the guildmaster states that he is ready to begin the final stage of experiments. The pinnacle of alchemy seems but a short climb away.
- ※The next alchemist quest will be available from Severian upon reaching level 40.

Dialogue

Severian: Eagerly have I awaited your return, my able assistant!
Severian: Does your chest not ache with the intake of every excited breath? Do you not tremble in joyous anticipation as your hand reaches forth, seeking to nudge open the door into the realm of alchemy's most sought-after secrets?
Severian: You do? Well, try to ignore that feeling for now. Before we can fully commit ourselves to our research, there remain a few irksome details that must first be addressed.
Severian: As ever, I speak of these unending orders from the guild. “Brew this potion!” “Concoct that elixir!” Ugh. Surely, you grow as weary as I of these constant demands on our precious time. We must be allowed to concentrate!
Severian: I've an idea to end these nibbling distractions, and it involves you! March over to Deitrich's desk and petition for a complete cessation of these interruptions. I'd handle it myself, but...I fear the man's become unheedful of my words.

Deitrich: Hm? Master Severian demands to be spared from any further official guild duties? I am a simple receptionist─how can I possibly deflect the expectations of our senior members?
Deitrich: His obsessive research is wearing thin the patience of both colleagues and clients alike. I fear if we do not restore at least a modicum of goodwill, his attempts to redirect tasks will be met with the staunchest of opposition.
Deitrich: ...I doubt our guildmaster realizes the precarious state he finds himself in. It is only his substantial skill in alchemy that convinces others to tolerate his growing eccentricity. That said, many would gladly trade that skill if it would return him to his former, somewhat less manic, self.
Deitrich: Nay, 'twas not always like this. But ever since the Calamity robbed him of his one true love, I have witnessed him transform into this feverish madman, desperately racing through experiment after experiment...
Deitrich: Ahem... I delve into areas best left unexplored. We should return to the topic at hand. Of the various orders the guild needs met, the one of highest priority is a request for a vial of hi-ether, commissioned by one of our more valued patrons.
Deitrich: I would suggest you lend your focus to this particular assignment, and create an uncommonly potent sample for delivery. Perhaps then, it would be enough to both satisfy the patron and allow enough forbearance to free the guildmaster of other tasks.
Deitrich: I hesitate to encourage this kind of behavior, of course, but I realize what Master Severian's work means to him. And I...would be grateful if you could keep an eye on him. I fear for his well-being, and you are the closest thing he has to a friend.

Severian: Well? Did you browbeat that Deitrich fellow into submission?
Severian: Ah, a conditional surrender. I suppose a single vial of hi-ether is a small price to pay. But let it not be said that my assistant fails to deliver!
Severian: You will need to employ advanced─and somewhat involved─alchemical techniques to produce the elevated quality of hi-ether required. Best you begin at once!
Severian: How does your work progress? Have you succeeded in concocting that remarkably efficacious hi-ether?

Severian: Yes! Rejoice, my impressively adept assistant, for you have forged the key to our freedom!
Severian: Who could not be moved by such a masterful example of mana-restoring splendor? Mayhap your post-assistant career lies in the manufacture of this wonderful substance.
Severian: You would, I suspect, need to purchase coffers that they might overflow with coin. Even among alchemy's more incredible inventions, the manufacture of ether stands out as a singularly profitable venture.
Severian: It is an innovation that changed the face of battle. Mages were no longer limited by their natural reserves of aetheric energy─a few swallows of alchemical brilliance, and a sorcerer could fuel another barrage of spells.
Severian: It cannot, of course, sustain their powers indefinitely. As we have already discussed, any potion taken in excess becomes the equivalent of poison.
Severian: ...Oh dear, was I lecturing again? It is difficult to contain my passion for alchemy with the goal of my labors looming so close on the horizon!
Severian: You have accomplished a minor miracle today, my dear assistant. With all obstructions to our research thus adroitly removed, let us move on to the final stage of experiments!