Difference between revisions of "Our Closure"

Latest revision as of 07:24, 9 February 2024

Our Closure

Quest giver: Sidurgu
Location: Foundation (X:13.3, Y:12.0)
Job: Dark Knight
Level: 80
Required quest: Shadowbringers
To Have Loved and Lost
Required items: 1 Unsigned Letter
Experience: 448,800
Gil: 3,615
Previous quest: Our Compromise
Patch: 5.0
Links: EDB GT

“

They will tell you you are one and you are two. You can choose.

— In-game description

Rewards

Unlocks

Walkthrough

This is the final job quest. Only Role Quests will be added going forward.
Note: the journal entries in this part vary slightly depending on whether the player is the Dark Knight job when reading them in the game.

Steps

Read the unsigned letter.
Show the unsigned letter to Lunnie at the Holy Stables.
Show the unsigned letter to Ser Patrounade at the Congregation of Our Knights Most Heavenly.
Show the unsigned letter to Orella at Rhalgr's Reach.
Show the unsigned letter to Gundobald in Little Ala Mhigo.
Speak with Godeheard in lower La Noscea.
With the chat mode in Say, enter “Fray” to call out to your comrade in the Coerthas central highlands.
Speak with Sidurgu in Foundation.

Journal

Text that only appears when you have the DRK job stone equipped will be in italics. Text that was in Italics originally will be in bold italics.

They will tell you you are one and you are two. You can choose.

After sparing a few moments to chat about your extraordinary adventures in the First, Sidurgu informs you that he has come into possession of an anonymous letter addressed to you. Out of respect for your privacy, he has refrained from opening it, and after he takes his leave to chase after a rather annoyed Rielle, you are left alone to read it.

But if you're reading this, then you know how the story goes, don't you? So now comes the choice: hold the crystal close that we may enjoy these moments together. Or put it away and pretend I was never a part of it. That I was never really here.

"[Forename] [Surname],

You'll forgive me for the sudden correspondence, and the secrecy. You helped me, in a way. Once upon a time. It's past time I said as much, and so...here we are.

Feels like a lifetime ago, come to think on it. You've been through quite a lot since then─accomplished incredible things. I'd like to think that, in some way, I was a part of your journey... Far from the best, no doubt. But for me and my own journey, I think it safe to say that you've been...well. There's no suitable words to describe it, really.

I've done things. Made decisions. Looking back, I can't help but feel more than a little foolish. But such is life, and we have to seize what few opportunities we have for closure...even if it is through the written word and not face–to–face.

So wherever you are, I hope you're happy. Still fighting, still adventuring─still doing what you love. Be well.“

The cryptic letter speaks for itself. Perhaps Lunnie, the woman who delivered it to Sidurgu, might be able to shed light on this mystery─or at least help you to go through the motions and put one foot in front of the other. Over and over again. Off you trot.

Lunnie, it turns out, is none other than the girl you rescued from the clutches of corrupt Temple Knights a lifetime ago. She is not, however, the author of the letter, and explains that she received it from one Ser Patrounade, who stated it was to be delivered to the hero of the Scions. It would seem a visit to the Congregation is in order.

She didn't know, of course. How could she? She's not even sure how many of you there were that day. Are you? But never you mind that. You have a search to continue.

Ser Patrounade was no more than another link in the chain, having received the letter from Orella of Rhalgr's Reach. He, like you, had been injured at the Ghimlyt Dark, and so he spent some nights there convalescing in her care. If further answers are to be found, it will be at the Barber.

Do you remember Ser Patrounade? I do. Not by name, of course─he didn't have one when the tower fell. That's how these things so often go─you do your bit, only later to fill in the gaps, to piece together the picture in distant hindsight. What will your legacy be tomorrow, and the day after, and in the days after that...?

After clarifying that you are come not in search of a lost child yet again, Orella explains to you that the letter came with a shipment of medical supplies from Little Ala Mhigo. She can only assume that the author intended for Commander Hext to take charge of it and deliver it to you personally. And so you depart for southern Thanalan to retrace another leg of the letter's journey.

And Orella's just another step in your own journey. Will you remember her? What about the names in her ledger─Conrad Kemp? Meffrid Noward? “Ah, but they were doomed from the first,” a part of you whispers. “Inevitable deaths on the road to a foregone conclusion,” sayeth the hardened heart, in retrospect. You'd be wrong, of course. It never had to be this way. This world is exactly as we choose to make it.

Gundobald regards you thoughtfully and states that the letter speaks for itself, which is why he agreed to send it on the author's behalf. However, if you are unwilling to let it lie─if you still seek answers and closure, he will not deny you. There is a man at the Red Rooster Stead in lower La Noscea that may be able to help you find a measure of peace.

Now Gundobald, he's seen you at your best and at your worst. He's seen you when you were one and when you were two. He could tell you someone else wrote the letter, if that's what you'd like to believe. It'd be a turn, sure, but we've seen stranger things. Or he could continue to regard you with that same mixture of concern and fear that bubbles to the surface when the topic of us comes up, and say nothing of the sort. And you─you could go to Red Rooster Stead, with the answer of your choosing. See if it's all to your satisfaction.

The man at the Red Rooster Stead turns out to be yet another figure from your past, a former merchant who bade you retrieve his stolen wares and berated you for the condition in which you returned them to him. Ever since that fateful day, his life has been a succession of failures...until, while going through his meager possessions, he chanced to find a bloodstained package of flower bulbs from once upon a time. Thereafter he resolved to become a botanist and start anew, and as a humble token of his appreciation, long overdue, he offers a flower. But it is not for you.

Another nameless face, now named. Then conniving, now humbled─as well he should be, no? I gave him a right talking to─or you did. Your choice. And after a string of bad luck, he's since turned over a new leaf...and found a flower. Suitable for funerals and farewells. I told you before you know how the story goes, didn't I? Come and see, [Forename]. Come and see.

You say a few words, and offer a flower in memory of...a memory. Now go, and don't look back.

It's been a long, strange journey, filled with all kinds of ups and downs. Your journey, to be sure, but like I wrote before, I'd like to pretend I was an important part of it. Vanity, aye─but how can I not think of legacy, now, when we've been to the First and witnessed firsthand the lengths to which man will go to be remembered? I want to believe─I need to believe that this was not for nothing. That I changed you for the better, as you changed me...

Sidurgu is waiting for you with Rielle in the Forgotten Knight when you return. He asks you what you found, what it was all for, and you reply─

Time to go. I don't know when we'll do this again─if we'll ever do this again. The little trick you've learned doesn't count, you know. But even if this is our end, it won't change what we had. I love you more than you'll ever know. Be well.

Dialogue

Sidurgu: Ah, [Forename]. It so happens I have a letter for you...
Sidurgu: But before we talk about that, mind telling me what you've been getting yourself into lately? You and your Scions, I mean. I've an inkling, perhaps...

Q1: What will you say?

A1: I went and saved another world, as it happens.
A1: Had to go and kill a whole host of sin eaters.

Sidurgu: Um...come again? Reflections of the Source? Parallel worlds? Sin eaters!? What in the seven hells are you on about?
Sidurgu: Something tells me this is only going to make any kind of sense if you walk me through it from the beginning, step by step...
Sidurgu: ...Right, then. So, to sum up: you were swept up into yet another realm-shaking conflict, were you?
Sidurgu: Well, of course you were. You've an insatiable hunger for it, don't you? And even when you bite off more than you can chew, you refuse to let go.
Sidurgu: What? As if you didn't know! Hells, from the moment I laid eyes on you, I suspected you were a particular blend of impulsive and stubborn.
Sidurgu: Takes a special kind of bastard to become a dark knight─much less a Warrior of Light─don't you think?
Sidurgu: You traveled unto a doomed world and pledged your sword to a futile cause. You fought and you fought and you fought...and in the end, you won the day.
Sidurgu: Though I know it wasn't without loss. Without sacrifice. Victories like that are always bought with blood.
Sidurgu: But you and your comrades paid that price all the same. That faraway land and her people live on because you all were willing to fight to the bitter end─because you were too stubborn to die.

Rielle: ...And because of love, I'm sure.
Rielle: Being grim and dark will only get you so far, don't you remember? It's like the moogles─like Ser Ompagne himself said. The flame in the abyss, the love you bear for the ones you hold most dear─that is the source of true strength.
Rielle: [Forename] could've never made it this far if his/her heart wasn't filled to the brim with love.

Q2: What will you say?

A2: Is this a roundabout way of asking me about my heart's desires...?
A2: I'd sooner pose that question to Sid.

Sidurgu: Let's...let's not and say we did, eh? I'm sure that Thancred fellow you mentioned would provide a far more meaningful and interesting response.
Sidurgu: Having to look after the reincarnation of his surrogate daughter is certainly... Though I suppose, on some level, I can relate.
Sidurgu: ...What?

Rielle: ...I've not once thought of you as my father.

Sidurgu: Well no, I... I mean...we're not even the same race, so of course no one would ever look at us and assume...
Sidurgu: What? If you want to put a label on it, then what would you prefer? “Master and disciple”? “Manservant and noblewoman”?

Rielle: Sid...
Rielle: How about “chocobo's arse” and whatever you damn well like!? Gods you can be daft sometimes...

Sidurgu: Hey! Hey! What did I tell you about calling me that!?
Sidurgu: Children, am I right? Best we give her a moment to cool her head. For now, let's talk about that letter I mentioned earlier.
Sidurgu: It's addressed to you, but who penned it I cannot say. It was delivered to me by a young woman of the Brume─Lunnie, I believe her name was.
Sidurgu: Said she'd seen us with you out and about in Ishgard before, and reckoned that if she left it with us, you'd eventually be around to pick it up.
Sidurgu: Before you ask─no, I have not taken a peek, so its contents remain a complete and utter mystery to me. As for the sender, you'll have to pester Lunnie at the Holy Stables if you want to know more. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have an angry girl to mollify.

System: Within the sealed envelope is a paper, which you unfold to find a message written in a strangely familiar scrawl...

Unsigned Letter: [Forename] [Surname],
Unsigned Letter: You'll forgive me for the sudden correspondence, and the secrecy.
Unsigned Letter: You helped me, in a way. Once upon a time. It's past time I said as much, and so...here we are.
Unsigned Letter: Feels like a lifetime ago, come to think on it. You've been through quite a lot since then─accomplished incredible things. I'd like to think that, in some way, I was a part of your journey...
Unsigned Letter: Far from the best, no doubt. But for me and my own journey, I think it safe to say that you've been...well. There's no suitable words to describe it, really.
Unsigned Letter: I've done things. Made decisions. Looking back, I can't help but feel more than a little foolish. But such is life, and we have to seize what few opportunities we have for closure...even if it is through the written word and not face–to–face.
Unsigned Letter: So wherever you are, I hope you're happy. Still fighting, still adventuring─still doing what you love. Be well.

System: The letter bears no signature or any obvious clues as to the author's identity. Perhaps Lunnie can shed light on this mystery...

Lunnie: It's you! It's really you! [Forename] [Surname], my hero! Honestly, I never thought I'd get to see you again, much less speak with you!
Lunnie: Oh, I'm sorry. You probably don't remember me at all, do you? I'm not surprised. All in a day's work, I suppose, saving silly little fools like me...
Lunnie: And it was so long ago when you rescued me from those Temple Knights who were trying to take me away from my grandmother. I still remember it like it was yesterday, though, you swinging that great big sword of yours, bellowing all kinds of terrible threats and sending them running.
Lunnie: I'm sure some might say you overdid it, but thanks to you my grandmother and I never heard from that lot again! And ever since Ser Aymeric and his allies came into power, we've had a lot less of that trouble all over.
Lunnie: But...let me guess. You didn't come all this way just to see me, did you?
Lunnie: The letter, huh? I thought so.
Lunnie: It wasn't me who wrote it, I can tell you that much. I got it from a knight I befriended after tending to his chocobo a couple of times. Ser Patrounade.
Lunnie: He said it was to be delivered to the hero of the Scions─a peerless warrior with a thousand victories to his/her name. After he described your features in detail, it all fell into place, and since I was certain you'd eventually pay a visit to your friends, I offered to take it to them!
Lunnie: Anyway, he's the one you need to talk to if you're after the sender. Maybe check the Congregation? I mean, that's where knights...congregate, I presume?
Lunnie: Looking back, it's all such a blur. The way you stood up to them, the way you moved through them, blade twirling... At times it was as if there were two of you!

Patrounade: Y-You... Ahem! H-How may I be of service to you, Master/Mistress [Surname]?
Patrounade: The letter! Oh, what a relief it is to see that it arrived unmolested.
Patrounade: It was entrusted to me by Orella of Rhalgr's Reach. After the battle at the Ghimlyt Dark I spent a few nights there, you see...
Patrounade: I can only assume that whoever sent it to the Reach had heard tell of the battle between you and Lord Zenos, and how you had been brought to the Barber.
Patrounade: However, by the time it arrived, you had long since been spirited away to Ishgard. Had Lunnie not recognized you from my stories, I do not know how I might have seen it to your hand...
Patrounade: If you seek the author, mayhap you should pay a visit to the Reach? I know only what I told you, but surely Orella can tell you more. May the Fury watch over and keep you, friend!
Patrounade: To tell you the truth, I had no choice but to remain at the Reach for so long. An old wound that never quite healed, you see. From when Specula Imperatoris fell.
Patrounade: ...I'd ask if you remember pulling me from the rubble, but I'm afraid you'll say no. I remember, though. Gods bless you, Master/Mistress [Surname].

System: The document appears to be a list of men and women who died fighting for the Ala Mhigan Resistance and whose remains have been interred in Recompense. Among them, you recognize both Conrad Kemp and Meffrid Noward...
System: ...and Gallien. Dear Gallien.
System: But of Houdart, there is no mention.

Orella: A pleasure to see you. Lost that long-haired boy of yours again?
Orella: This is about the letter, is it? It came with a shipment of supplies from Little Ala Mhigo, as I recall.
Orella: I can only presume the sender was hoping that Commander Hext would see it to you personally, but I'm not surprised it escaped her notice given the chaos at the Ghimlyt Dark and after.
Orella: It found its way into my medical supplies, and as you well know, I decided to let that Ishgardian knight take charge of its delivery.
Orella: In any event, I advise you to continue your search in Little Ala Mhigo─and if anyone there knows aught of the letter's author, it would be Gundobald.
Orella: I've had to record so many names in the ledger of late. So many friends, dead and buried. All for a good cause, I know, but that doesn't make it any easier.

Gundobald: Well met, [Forename]. I was not expecting a visit. What brings you to southern Thanalan this day/evening?
Gundobald: This letter, you say... And you seek...the author?
Gundobald: If you read it, then you know their heart. What you meant to them─how you changed their life for the better.
Gundobald: It is a feeling I understand all too well...which is why I agreed to send this letter with the supplies for Rhalgr's Reach.
Gundobald: Yet you never were one to let a mystery remain unsolved, were you? You seek answers. Closure. I will not deny you this.
Gundobald: At the Red Rooster Stead in lower La Noscea, you will find a man named Godeheard. Speak with him. Perhaps then you will find a measure of peace.
Gundobald: ...There was a time when I feared for you, divided as you were. A man/woman at war against his/her friends and himself/herself. But I can tell that you have since reconciled. That is well.

Godeheard: Oh gods, it's you! But why? Why are you here!?
Godeheard: You...you really don't remember? Any of it? The Qiqirn bandits? A certain merchant who maaay have overstepped his bounds juuust a trifle?
Godeheard: You were a right bloody mess when you returned to the Drydocks with my wares─and I do mean bloody. I say, is none of what I'm telling you ringing a bell? Really?
Godeheard: Not even the part where I refused to thank you and demanded that you pay me restitution for the property you yourself returned to me...?
Godeheard: Well, seeing as I've already confessed it, I may as well reiterate: it was me...
Godeheard: That was just the beginning of my bad luck, as it happens. A string of bad decisions left me in debt to some very unforgiving fellows, and before I knew it they had taken damn near everything I owned.
Godeheard: I was friendless, penniless, hopeless. And let me tell you, running afoul of the Warrior of Light had not done me any favors either! There was a time when I couldn't help but blame you for all my misfortune...
Godeheard: And then, one day, when I was rummaging through my meager possessions, I had an epiphany.
Godeheard: I stumbled upon a package from that shipment you recovered for me that ill-fated day. Flower bulbs─stained with Qiqirn blood, but viable for cultivation. Still brimming with the potential to grow and thrive...
Godeheard: Before I knew it, I was cradling the package to my breast, sobbing and moaning like a mad fool...
Godeheard: ...For a fool is exactly what I had been. I had been offered a kindness without let or lien, and instead of thanking this generous hero had spat in his/her face.
Godeheard: So I left that life behind, save for the bulbs I brought with me here. Apprenticed myself to the botanists and resolved to start anew.
Godeheard: And wouldn't you know it, the stubborn little fiends finally bloomed for me. I suppose it's only fitting that you'd show up again that very day.
Godeheard: I've a thousand thousand regrets, but none greater than how I spoke to you. I say this not to beg your forgiveness, but to tell you how you've changed me for the better...and to thank you for the opportunity.
Godeheard: I do have one request, if you are amenable to it. I pray you accept a flower─one of the precious few that has bloomed.
Godeheard: A token of my heartfelt appreciation for my personal savior. Admittedly, this particular breed is perhaps best suited for funerals and farewells...but if you'd rather not keep it for yourself, perhaps there's someone else who might welcome it?

System: Someone else indeed...

Godeheard: I am so grateful that I finally had the chance to apologize to you. I but wish that the flowers I have to offer you were not the sort primarily associated with mournful occasions...

System: Fray
System: With the chat mode in Say, use your keyboard or the software keyboard to enter any phrase which includes “Fray” to attract his/her attention.
System: ...There is no response.
System: Yet there can be no answer but this, can there? So let us wait for a time, you and I. In the cold and in the snow. In the dark...

(-[Forename] [Surname]-): Clever, clever, clever. Or are we just playing it by ear? No matter.
(-[Forename] [Surname]-): I wanted this, once. More than anything. A chance to speak and be heard...
(-[Forename] [Surname]-): But neither of us needs it anymore. And if we were to look deep within ourselves, we would realize that we never did.
(-[Forename] [Surname]-): We are the stories we tell ourselves. The brave hero, the tortured soul, the altruist, the pragmatist. They will tell you who they see, but you and you alone know who you are.
(-[Forename] [Surname]-): For I speak only for myself. If you find comfort in my words, they are yours for the taking, but that is your choice. Now and ever after, as it has always been.
(-[Forename] [Surname]-): "Now comes your part,
To cloak yourself in the fiction,
To breathe life into the dead,
To give a voice to the voiceless...“
(-[Forename] [Surname]-): As we did together that day, when you gave us our answer.
(-[Forename] [Surname]-): Was it ever mine...?

Rielle: My apologies for storming off earlier. <sigh> You'd think I would be more mature than that, after everything I've been through...

Sidurgu: Welcome back, [Forename]. As you can see, Rielle and I are getting along swimmingly, so you needn't worry about us in the slightest. Not one bit.
Sidurgu: So─what of that mysterious unsigned letter? Did your grand search for answers lead you anywhere interesting?

Q3: What will you say?

A3: An old acquaintance.
A3: Closure, perhaps?

Sidurgu: That so...? Well. Glad to hear it, I suppose...