The Kindness of Strangers

Quest giver: Emeria
Location: North Shroud (X:28.1, Y:20.0)
Level: 9

Required items: 1 Scented Letter
Experience: 810
Gil: 0
Previous quest: Drink Your Beans, Dear
Harriers of the Hedgetree
Patch: 2.0
Links: EDB GT

“

Emeria of Hyrstmill is deeply troubled and could do with the aid of a kindly adventurer.

— In-game description

Rewards

17 Wind Shard

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

Steps

Meet with Ailbert.
Deliver Ailbert's letter to Emeria.
Speak with Miounne in Gridania.

Journal

Emeria of Hyrstmill is deeply troubled and could do with the aid of a kindly adventurer.

Emeria is the object of the unwanted attentions of a notorious thief named Ailbert. Meet him in the woods outside of Hyrstmill and convince him to leave the poor woman in peace.

Upon realizing that he has been spurned, Ailbert flies into a rage and lashes out. After subduing him, you discover a sealed letter addressed to the object of his affection. Deliver the letter to Emeria in Hyrstmill.

Moved by Ailbert's words, Emeria has resolved to return the goods stolen by the lovelorn thief on his behalf. Deliver Emeria's message to Miounne at the Carline Canopy.

Miounne reveals to you the truth about Ailbert and Emeria: they are brother and sister! Alas, Emeria has no memory of him, as she was too young to remember when he was forced to leave their home. Though Ailbert has yet to repent for his sins, perhaps Emeria's decision to return his gifts to their rightful owners will convince him to renounce his life of crime...

Dialogue

Emeria: Pardon me, good sir/milady! Might you be the adventurer of whom Eadbert speaks so highly? If you could but spare a moment...
Emeria: I-I've never thought myself a popular girl, and men rarely give me cause to believe otherwise... Yet lately I've been the recipient of several gifts.
Emeria: Sparkling jewels and fine silks over which a prouder maid than I would surely swoon─all from an anonymous admirer. Naturally, I was flattered...but I knew nothing of my mysterious benefactor.
Emeria: And so I endeavored to seek him out...only to discover that he is none other than Ailbert, an infamous rogue wanted for countless robberies in Gridania!
Emeria: I realize now that all of his presents were taken from others...and that I have unwittingly won the affections of a dangerous criminal...
Emeria: But that's not all... With his latest gift came a request.
Emeria: He insists that we meet in the woods outside of Hyrstmill, where he intends to present me with his most precious gift.
Emeria: I am at a loss. I beg of you, good sir/milady, will you not go in my stead?
Emeria: I wish only to be left in peace, but I fear a man such as he may be driven to violence when made to hear such words. I pray no harm comes to you...

Ailbert: ...You expectin' someone, mate/missy? Eh? Ailbert!?
Ailbert: Well I'll be damned if I was expectin' you!
Ailbert: Where's Emeria!? Where is she, damn you!? What did you say to her!? All I wanted was to see her face!
Ailbert: I don't know what part you've played in this, but you'll pay for comin' between me an' mine!

Emeria: All for naught... I give thanks that you're unharmed, at least.
Emeria: A letter? For me?
Emeria: "My dearest Emeria,
Emeria: "I pray this letter finds you well. I know my gifts were sudden and many, but I hope they were to your liking.
Emeria: "Seeing you in the first summer of your womanhood, I could restrain myself no longer. My thoughts have been only of you these past many moons, of what gifts might bring you happiness.
Emeria: "Yet to see you smile from afar is not nearly enough. I long to live together with you in Hyrstmill, and nothing would bring me greater joy.
Emeria: "I would give you a grand garden, filled with the white chamomile you love so.
Emeria: "But such dreams can never come true. My crimes are known and will never be forgiven.
Emeria: "The most I can hope for is for you to know my heart. That would grant me a measure of peace. And so, if it does not cause you distress, I would write to you again.

Yours ever,

Ailbert"
Emeria: Thank you for bringing me this letter, [Forename]. His most precious gift... I understand now.
Emeria: But...how did he know my favorite flower?
Emeria: Is Ailbert...? No, no, it can't be...
Emeria: A-Anyway, we must return the presents to their rightful owners! I know it will not erase this...Ailbert's sins, but perhaps the Twelve will view him more kindly.
Emeria: Forgive me this final request, but could you go to Gridania and speak with a woman named Miounne?
Emeria: You should find her in the Carline Canopy. Tell her of all that transpired here today. She'll know what to do.

Speaking with Emeria afterwards:

Emeria: Hyrstmill may be a quaint village compared to the great cities, but this simple settlement is no less precious to those who live here.
Emeria: There's something to be said for having such a comforting place to come home to.

Mother Miounne: Hmmm? A message from Emeria of Hyrstmill, you say?
Mother Miounne: ...I see. Oh, Ailbert, you fool... I'll deal with the stolen goods, worry not.
Mother Miounne: Yes, I know of the boy─and his family. He once lived in this very town.
Mother Miounne: One day, he stole a handful of chamomile seeds from an influential merchant in the Ebony Stalls. You see...this boy had a sister, and chamomile was her favorite flower.
Mother Miounne: Seeking only to make his sister happy, I doubt he grasped the gravity of his act. Regardless, his parents felt that he had brought terrible shame to the family. And so they disowned him.
Mother Miounne: Cast out of hearth and home, he grew desperate. And those who think only of survival think little of law. A common enough tale perhaps, but no less tragic for it.
Mother Miounne: And now you know the truth: the sister Ailbert loved so dearly is Emeria.
Mother Miounne: Emeria was too young to remember when Ailbert left, so her parents decided to conceal his existence.
Mother Miounne: However, word of the boy's banishment soon spread, and her parents were forced to move to Hyrstmill to maintain the fiction.
Mother Miounne: By now, Emeria's surely heard rumors of her long-lost brother, though a gentle girl like her would never question her parents' honesty. And whatever faint memories she once may have had are long gone.
Mother Miounne: But Ailbert has never forgotten Emeria. Despite the danger, I suspect he now keeps close to Gridania, refusing to leave his beloved sister a second time.
Mother Miounne: ...I'll send Emeria some chamomile seeds by way of thanks for helping us to recover the stolen goods.
Mother Miounne: If only it were as simple as returning them to their rightful owners... Sadly, Ailbert's crimes will not be so easily forgiven.
Mother Miounne: But perhaps, by the time these seeds have sprouted and their flowers bloomed, he will have found a new path.