Hollow Pursuits

Hollow Pursuits

Quest giver

Cerigg

Location

The Crystarium (X:11.2, Y:15.2)

Quest line

Shadowbringers Role Quests

Level

70

Required quest

Warrior of Darkness

Requirements

Magical Ranged DPS

Experience

 216,000

Gil

 1,020

Next quest

A Voice from the Void

Patch

5.0

Links

EDB GT

“

Cerigg is eyeing you inquisitively.

— In-game description

Steps

• Speak with Cerigg at the Red Serai.
• Track down the sin eater in Qasr Sharl and dispatch it.
• Report back to Cerigg.
• Speak with Cerigg.

Journal

• Cerigg is eyeing you inquisitively.

• You strike up a conversation with the bounty hunter Cerigg, who reveals to you his plan to hunt down a sin eater by the name of Phronesis─one of the four so-called “Cardinal Virtues” born from the remains of the fallen Warriors of Light. He is searching for a companion to aid him─and, in turn, share in the bounty─and suggests that you might be up for the task. Meet him at the Red Serai in Amh Araeng if you have a mind to take up the offer.

• Upon arriving in Amh Araeng, Cerigg informs you that yet another sin eater has manifested itself nearby, and asks you to hunt it down as proof of your ability to hold your own against the fearsome Phronesis. Venture to the western reaches of the region and attend to business.

• Wielding your formidable magicks, you make short work of the sin eater. You set off to report to Cerigg, who will no doubt be pleased to hear of your efforts.

• Cerigg is duly impressed with your abilities, and officially extends to you an offer to join him in hunting down the formidable Phronesis. He invites you to come to Mord Souq, where he promises to brief you further on the nature of the threat the sin eater poses.

• Cerigg shares with you the specifics of the sin eater Phronesis and its preferred method of attack. As he tells it, the sin eater does not confront its foes directly, but rather wreaks havoc via something people call “the hollows”─compact dimensional portals conjured out of thin air that swallow up everything around them. With your arcane knowledge, he hopes to devise a means to counteract this phenomenon, thus opening up a line of attack to the sin eater itself. Exercising due caution, he promises to do the necessary research before attempting to approach the fiend itself. You resolve to continue to hone your command of the magical arts until such time as Cerigg is ready to proceed to the next phase of his plan.

Dialogue

Accepting the quest (Cutscene)

Cerigg: Let me guess. You're standing in front of Cerigg, bounty hunter nonpareil, because you've a mind to aid me in felling the dread Phronesis. Do I have the right of it, or do I have the right of it?

< What will you say?> 
< You have the right of it. >
< Phron-what's-is? >

< You have the right of it. >
Cerigg: Willing to throw caution to the wind and strike off to do battle with a nigh-indomitable foe, eh? Why, I've got a feeling the two of us will get along just fine.

< Phron-what's-is? >
Cerigg: If I didn't know better, I could've sworn you just suggested that you're unfamiliar with Phronesis. But that couldn't be─no sinner worth her salt could be so ignorant.

< Both >
Cerigg: Allow me to elaborate. Phronesis isn't just your run-of-the-mill stray sin eater. He's one of the nastiest the realm has seen, formed from the remains of one of those godsdamned Warriors of Light.
Cerigg: There are four of them, all told. Crawled up from the bowels of the deepest hell after being buried for nigh on a century, if the tales are true. People have come to call them the “Cardinal Virtues.”
Cerigg: Before he was transformed into a sin eater, Phronesis was none other than archmagus Nyelbert, whose baleful magicks were feared the realm over.
Cerigg: Though it's only been a few short years since he first showed up in Amh Araeng, he's already preyed on far too many innocents with his foul sorcery. Not keen on seeing their trade routes disrupted, the local merchants have placed a healthy bounty on his head.

Cerigg: 'Course, I'd like nothing more than to fell the fiend single-handed and claim the entire bounty for myself. Unfortunately, circumstances have dictated that I recruit a companion─that's where you come in.
Cerigg: Provided that you can prove to me that you possess the rather, ah, specialized set of skills that I require, I promise I'll make it worth your while.
Cerigg: Not a bad offer, wouldn't you say? If you fancy yourself up to the task, come find me in Amh Araeng. I mean to set off for there shortly.

Speak with Cerigg at the Red Serai

Cerigg: So you came. It's good to see someone who isn't all talk. 
Cerigg: As fortune would have it, another sin eater─a far less imposing specimen than Phronesis, of course─has been sighted just to the west of here. Prove to me you have the skill to back up your words, and we'll talk further.

Optional Dialogue, by a destination in Qasr Sharl

Cerigg: The sin eater isn't far from here─I can feel it. Track it down, and let's see what you're capable of.

Report back to Cerigg

Cerigg: Good show, friend. I wasn't sure what to expect from you, but seeing you in battle has left me with little doubt. Seems I've found myself a formidable ally.
Cerigg: And so I'll extend the offer in earnest: help me hunt down Phronesis, and we'll split the bounty down the middle. Well, what do you say?
Cerigg: That's the spirit! Now, there's more you should know before we proceed. Come with me to Mord Souq, my base of operations, and I'll fill you in on the details.

Speak with Cerigg

Cerigg: Welcome to Mord Souq, friend. As you can see, it's a bustling trading post frequented by merchants from across the realm. 'Least it was before Phronesis showed up and started preying on unwitting travelers. Hence the bounty, you see.
Cerigg: The lucrative reward has attracted the attention of one capable bounty hunter after the next, yet the fiend still roams free. You can probably imagine why.
Cerigg: Those few who have seen Phronesis and returned to tell the tale speak of the great horrors they witnessed. Cavernous black holes materializing out of thin air, swallowing everything around them into the abyss...

Cerigg: People have taken to calling them “the hollows.” Rumor has it that one barely has time to lay eyes on Phronesis before he summons forth the hollows, which proceed to consume everything in sight.
Cerigg: And I do mean everything. Just the other day, an entire caravan was devoured by the hollows, leaving only nothingness behind.
Cerigg: Mages have postulated that these holes are literally tears in the fabric of our reality─gateways to other worlds, to put it another way. At any rate, suffice to say that the next man to come back from the void will be the first.

Cerigg: And yet there's something odd about it all. Witnesses say that Phronesis doesn't seem to go out of his way to prey on people or settlements. He simply shambles across the wastes, summoning hollows one after the next, and the destruction follows as a matter of course.
Cerigg: Needless to say, drawing too near to the fiend is tantamount to suicide. Even attacks from afar have been all but futile, as Phronesis simply summons the hollows to consume every incoming arrow.
Cerigg: With every conceivable means of attack foiled, even the most savvy bounty hunters have all but thrown up their hands─even though the bounty now stands at some nine- or tenfold the original amount.
Cerigg: I'm of a different mind, however. The way I see it, if only there were a way to neutralize the hollows, we'd more than stand a chance against Phronesis himself. This is why I require your services.
Cerigg: Your easy triumph over the sin eater spoke clear: you're a mage of no common skill. If anyone has the arcane knowledge and aptitude to help me figure out a way to defend against the hollows, it's you.
Cerigg: Don't worry─I fully intend to shoulder my share of the burden. And so I plan to gather all the information we need before asking you to put yourself in harm's way.
Cerigg: And with that, I'd best get to work. Once I've formulated a proper plan of attack, we'll talk again. Until then, I suggest you continue to hone your casting skills. The battle that awaits us will not be an easy one.