Way Down in the Hole
Way Down in the Hole
- Quest giver
- Zuzumeda
- Location
- Central Thanalan (X:20.7, Y:18.3)
- Quest line
- Seventh Umbral Era Main Scenario Quests
- Level
- 9
- Required items
- 4
Crumbling Ginger Cookie - Experience
3,240- Gil
179- Previous quest
Out of House and Home- Next quest
- Takin' What They're Givin'
Leves of Horizon - Patch
- 2.0
- Links
- EDB GT
“Zuzumeda wishes to share with you a most amazing rumor.
— In-game description
Rewards
- 5
Potion
- In addition to the above, choose one of the following options:
- Unlocks
Steps
- Speak with Wystan.
- Give ginger cookies to the children. 0/4
- Speak with Wystan.
- Follow Wystan to the Sil'dih ruins.
- Speak with Wystan.
- Speak with Momodi in Ul'dah.
Journal
- Zuzumeda wishes to share with you a most amazing rumor.
- Rumor has it that Wystan, a merchant living in Stonesthrow, is recruiting able-bodied adventurers to protect his team of prospectors. Speak to him at the Coffer & Coffin and volunteer your services.
- While Wystan does not require additional escorts for the expedition, he would appreciate your assistance in convincing a group of children from Stonesthrow to stop waiting for him and return home. Offer Wystan's cookies to the children and persuade them to leave.
- Your kind words and crumbling cookies are enough to satisfy the children. Let Wystan know that the situation has been resolved.
- Even as Wystan is telling you about his ambitious plans for the future, one of the Brass Blades from the expedition party bursts into the bar and declares that they have made a promising discovery. Wasting no time, Wystan resolves to go and see for himself, and invites you to join him at the site.
- Your confrontation with the Brass Blades is interrupted by a mysterious masked mage, who unleashes a clay golem upon you. In the chaotic battle that ensues, you somehow slay the rampaging construct moments before Thancred arrives.
- Thancred's presence triggers more strange visions which you are unable to explain. Though your soul cries out for answers, this is neither the time nor place. Speak with Wystan, who has returned to the Coffer & Coffin.
- Wystan now understands that he has been marked for death by Lord Lolorito. The ore vein, the Brass Blades, and the golem all appear to have been part of the trap. The merchant promises to do his utmost to hide your involvement, but he also suggests you seek the counsel of Mistress Momodi at the Quicksand, in case Lolorito's spies are already aware of your actions.
- Momodi confirms that Wystan is finished in Ul'dah, but assures you that no one knows of your deeds. Though many would question the wisdom of opposing such powerful forces, she clearly approves of your actions. As a reward, Momodi grants you complimentary accommodation at the Hourglass, and permission to undertake guildleves.
Dialogue
Zuzumeda: Ah, the altruistic adventurer! I was hoping we'd bump into each other. Why? Because the most fascinating piece of news recently reached my ears, and I'm eager to share it! May I?
Zuzumeda: Rumor has it that there is a vast, untapped vein of ore beneath the ruins of Sil'dih.
Zuzumeda: But that is not all! Inconceivably, the Concern appears to be entirely ignorant of its existence. And even as we speak, a young upstart─a self-made merchant from Stonesthrow of all places─is moving to claim it!
Zuzumeda: The fellow's name is Wystan, and he is a very, very ambitious young man. Not only does he intend to secure exclusive excavation rights, but they say his master plan is to use his new fortune to curry favor with the Sacrarium.
Zuzumeda: Of course, the thaumaturges only consider the opinions of the most wealthy when drafting the laws of Ul'dah. If you would have your voice heard, you must be prepared to pay a sultan's ransom.
Zuzumeda: One voice which is invariably heard belongs to Lord Lolorito. He has long lavished gil upon the thaumaturges, and some claim that he devises new laws with the express intention of ruining his competitors while protecting his own interests.
Zuzumeda: Suffice it to say, if Wystan thinks he can compete with the likes of the Syndicate, he's in for a rude awakening. But that eventuality may yet be a little way off. For the present, he is moving ahead with his plans, and assembling a team to survey the site.
Zuzumeda: I'm told he's at the Coffer & Coffin right now, recruiting able-bodied adventurers to escort his prospectors.
Zuzumeda: Warin said you were looking for work. Mayhap you should meet Wystan and volunteer for his expedition?
Speaking to Warin:
Wystan: Come to join? Sorry, but you're too late.
Wystan: Some Brass Blades looking for extra coin volunteered, and the team's already en route to the ruins.
Wystan: But look, I know it's not easy to find work these days. If you're interested, there's something else you can do for me.
Wystan: There are these children outside─little ones from Stonesthrow. I look after them when I've time to spare, and so they've taken to following me around, even when I tell them not to.
Wystan: But what with overseeing the search for the vein, I barely have a chance to visit the privy at the moment, much less entertain younglings. Can you give them these ginger cookies and convince them to go home for me?
Wystan: Give the children those cookies and convince them to go home without me. I'll see that you're rewarded for your trouble.
Starveling Child: I like playing with Wystan. He makes sure no one bullies us.
You give the Starveling Child a ginger cookie.
Starveling Child: Wystan's worried about us? Oh, I don't want to make him worried. I'm a good girl, so I'll go home.
The Starveling Child leaves.
Starveling Child: I ain't goin' nowhere, mister/[GENDER]! I'm too hungry to move, besides, so you'll have to carry me!
You give the Starveling Child a ginger cookie.
Starveling Child: A cookie!? ...Well, if Wystan really wants me to go home, then all right. But I want two next time!
The Starveling Child leaves.
Starveling Child: But Wystan always plays with us! Why won't he come out and play?
You give the Starveling Child a ginger cookie.
Starveling Child: Wow, a ginger cookie! I'd better save some for my brother. I know─I'll go home and eat it with him!
The Starveling Child leaves.
Starveling Child: Wystan's kind to us. I like him.
You give the Starveling Child a ginger cookie.
Starveling Child: This is for me? I want to eat it, but then again I don't, because then it'd be gone.
Starveling Child: Tell Wystan thanks, and...tell him I'm sorry for getting in the way.
The Starveling Child leaves.
Wystan: Thank you, adventurer. I only wish I could do more. Stonesthrow is no place for a child.
Wystan: ...Not that my childhood was much happier. Never enough food to go around, nor work to earn it─but no shortage of contempt from the great and the good.
Wystan: I remember thinking things could only get better... Yet now, after the Calamity and everything else...for us refugees to be forced to live outside the gates like bloody beastmen is a disgrace.
Wystan: They say with enough money you can change the laws here. So I'm going to make a fortune and do just that!
Wystan: I'll buy the excavation rights and start my own mining business. Then I'll give my fellow refugees the work they're crying out for, and pay them fairly!
Wystan: The mining companies have profited from our suffering for too long. But in their hubris they've grown complacent─presenting us with a golden opportunity.
Wystan: And we will take it, adventurer─we will reclaim our dignity, and with it our place within those walls.
Brass Blade: We found her! We found the vein! Wystan, ye must come an' see!
Wystan: Already!? Amazing! We leave at once!
Wystan: You should join me, my friend! Come and bear witness to history in the making!
Upon arriving at the location:
Duty calls. Commence battle for "Way Down in the Hole"?
※Level sync is in effect. If you are above the maximum allowed level, your level will be synced as follows:
[S] Level: 13
> Proceed > Leave
Brass Blade: Thal's balls, son! A vein of ore in the middle of a ruined bloody city? Godsdamned idiot!
Brass Blade: What did ye think was gonna happen? That ye'd strike it rich and get cozy with the Order, while the masters of Ul'dah looked on? No one crosses the Syndicate!
Wystan: <pant> <pant> The...the Syndicate!?
Brass Blade: Hah! Finally sunk in, has it?
Another Brass Blade draws his sword.
You rush onto the scene at Wystan's side.
Brass Blade: Well look at this! Not all yer friends've deserted ye, it seems... Lucky boy! Now ye won't have to die alone!
???: O mournful voice of creation! Grant ye this humble stone a soul, that it may wake to life!
Brass Blade: Who's that spoutin' gibberish!? Show yerself!
A golem rises from the rubble behind the Brass Blades.
Brass Blade: This ain't part o' the plan! Bloody hells, does Lord Lolorito mean to kill us too!?
DUTY START
???: You are strong.
But are you strong enough to withstand this?
???: Impossible! Never has the golem been so sorely tested!
DUTY COMPLETE
???: That the golem could be vanquished...
???: That man/[GENDER] is no ordinary adventurer.
Thancred: Damn, seems I've missed all the fun.
Thancred: I see you didn't need my help this time.
You have another vision. [VISION CUTSCENE START]
Thancred: I would compose a ballad in your honor, but I fear no words would do you justice. The Songstress of Ul'dah herself could not rival your beauty.
Mirthful Maiden: Oh, stop it!
Thancred: I have oft heard it said that a blossom's beauty can move a man to love and long, but I never truly believed it until I met you two desert roses.
Sunbaked Merchant: I hear they attacked another caravan...
Tireless Trader: Aye, an' business is sufferin' for it. Bloody Amalj'aa... What's stirred 'em up, do you reckon?
Thancred: Another raid...and I'll wager that caravan was carrying crystals, much like the last.
Thancred: If they truly mean to summon a primal, we must act quickly.
Mirthful Maiden: Are you coming, love?
Forward Fille: You wouldn't keep a girl waiting, would you!?
Thancred: Perish the thought!
Thancred: So tell me, where in this marvel of a city might you lovely ladies be staying?
Thancred: At this rate, grain will soon be more precious than gold.
Thancred: A result of the uncommonly bad harvests, to be sure...
Thancred: And we have you to thank for them, do we not?
Thancred: Aye, this weakening of the aetheric flow must surely be linked to Dalamud's descent.
Thancred: And, of course, to the primals.
Thancred: A fine mess. But we must not lose hope.
Thancred: Louisoix will know what to do. We need only trust in his judgment.
Thancred: Truly a marvel of Sharlayan ingenuity... It's as if I could reach out and touch the aether.
Thancred: Time to focus... No more gallivanting about like before. The Scions are counting on you.
Thancred: Have faith. Just have faith. You can do this.
Thancred: Hmmm... This disturbance is recent.
Thancred: The Sultantree? Maybe Papashan will know something of it.
[VISION CUTSCENE END]
Thancred: Looks like they gave you quite a thrashing. Can you walk?
Thancred: It's me. I was too late. Our person of interest had already quit the scene. The General? Very well. I shall be there anon.
Thancred: My colleagues went to great lengths to provide me with the means to detect aetheric disturbances, but every time I find one, you seem to be in the middle of it. I'm starting to wonder if it might not be simpler just to follow you around. Sadly, I have business elsewhere.
Thancred: Tread softly, my friend. The carefully laid trap you dismantled was clearly sanctioned by Lord Lolorito. I heard the Blades mention him as they fled. Believe me when I tell you that he is not a man to be trifled with.
Thancred: The sultana's enemies grow bolder by the day, and I suspect they have the support of outside forces.
Wystan: Thank you. If you hadn't come along, those bastards would surely have slaughtered us all.
Wystan: I would speak with you further, but it isn't safe for us to linger here.
Wystan: Find me at the Coffer & Coffin later. Until then, stay safe.
Thancred: I shall accompany Wystan and his men. They need protection─and I need more information.
Thancred: Ah, but where are my manners? I have yet to properly introduce myself. I am Thancred, a humble scholar surveying the flow of aether in Thanalan.
Thancred: It is an honor and a privilege to make your acquaintance. I hope when next we meet it is under more auspicious circumstances. Farewell!
Thancred stops and turns back to you.
Thancred: ...Ah. Wait a moment. It occurs to me that we may have...
Thancred: Never mind. Fare thee well!
Speaking with Wystan again at the Coffer & Coffin:
Wystan: Twelve bless you, my friend. You risked your life to save ours.
Wystan: Betrayed by my own guards... Gods, I was a fool to trust those men.
Wystan: Lolorito owns the godsdamned Brass Blades. I should've questioned their motives from the start.
Wystan: Even so, I could hardly have predicted that the wealthiest man in Ul'dah would want me dead for the heinous crime of seeking to change the law! I'm just a merchant, for gods' sakes!
Wystan: That ruthless bastard! And what of that monstrosity? Those were his own men! It beggars belief!
Wystan: Well, that's it. I'm finished. If I stay in Ul'dah any longer, I'm as good as dead.
Wystan: My associates, my friends─gods, even the children may not be safe if I don't disappear. And you...godsdammit, if Lolorito learns of your involvement, you'll be next.
Wystan: I'll speak with the others and make sure your part in this stays secret. Beyond that, I don't know what to suggest... Maybe you should seek the counsel of Mistress Momodi.
Wystan: She's helped countless adventurers in her time. Mayhap she'll know what to do.
Wystan: Go quickly now, my friend. Lolorito's spies may be watching.
Speaking with Momodi:
Momodi: Settle down, [Forename]. You've got nothin' to worry about. No one seems to know you were at the ruins.
Momodi: Wystan, on the other hand, is now a pariah─about as welcome 'round here as a rabid wolf, poor bugger. Suffice to say, that boy risked the wrath of the wrong man.
Momodi: Lord Lolorito: chairman of the East Aldenard Trading Company, generous contributor to the Order of Nald'thal, and member of the Syndicate.
Momodi: Didn't get where he is by leavin' loose ends, that one.
Momodi: Which is why he ain't above killin' his own men.
Momodi: Hells, even if those Blades knew what was comin', it's not like they could refuse to do their benefactor's biddin'.
Momodi: <sigh> Don't let this color your view of Ul'dah, [Forename]... It's true that there are some here who ain't afraid to crack a few skulls if it gets 'em what they want. But most of us are decent folk just tryin' to make ends meet.
Momodi: You know, a lot of people would call you a damn fool for riskin' your life to save a marked man...
Momodi: But I believe you did a good thing, [Forename], and for that you have my respect.
Momodi: Listen: you've been through a lot lately. Why don't you rest a spell?
Momodi: I'll have the boys at the Hourglass set you up with a room, my treat. Just have a word with Otopa Pottopa whenever you feel like stayin'.
Momodi: And when you've got your appetite for adventurin' back, consider takin' on a guildleve or two.
Momodi: We've a lot of requests from locals lookin' to hire adventurers for various jobs. It'd be a good way for you to earn yourself some extra gil.
Momodi: Eustace can tell you more about how the system works, so go and speak with him if you're interested.