The Maelstrom Grand Company Quest

Requirements

Complete Engineering Victory

Rewards

300 Storm Seal

1,891 Experience Points

Walkthrough

Part 1: Maelstrom Command

Speak with Guincum in the Maelstrom Command.

Part 2: Eastern La Noscea (31,24)

Speak with Merlwyb and Urianger

Part 3: The Mizzenmast: Admiral's Lift

Speak with Zanthael to gain entry to the Cutscene.

Part 4: Instance

Speak with Y'shtola.

Journal Entries

Dialogue

Spoiler Alert: The exact transcript follows below.

Part 1: Maelstrom Command

Guincum: You have come on a most glorious day, recruit. A ceremony to officially inaugurate the Maelstrom armada is scheduled to take place later today, and is to be conducted by none other than the Admiral herself.

Guincum: There is, however, one small problem. You see, the Admiral is...well...she is...how would you say...in absentia. Alright, she's missing. she left the city several bells past, saying that she needed to meet with the representatives of Limsa's most prestigious pirate crews in order to settle the remaining details of their peace accord.

Guincum: So as not to betray their trust, she insisted on traveling to the meeting place unarmed and, ahem, without escort... This, unfortunately, has left us all in the dark as to her safety.

Guincum: Worse, we cannot dispatch a party of Barracuda Knights to search for here for fear of inviting the ire of the pirates and thereby underminig all that the Admiral has worked so hard to achieve. No,

(d/c lost the text).

Part 2: Eastern La Noscea

Urianger: The Twelve have willed that our paths cross once more, and for this I give thanks.

Urianger: For that which came to pass when last we met, I do beg thy pardon. Though I called upon my familiar, I swear I meant thee no lasting hurt.

Urianger: Upon these once taintless shores lurk Garlean devils, dizened in darkness- their object, to bestrew venomous falsehoods anent my person and purpose.

Urianger: They claim me one of a cabal of malign mages whom erst summoned forth a terrible doom unto Eorzea. They covet my knowledge of the Seventh Moon, deeming it a threat to peace, and have ventured so far as to call for my death, luring would-be abettors with the luster of false riches.

Urianger: I have pled mine innocence to them that would hear it, but what is one voice of truth amidst a chorus of calumnies? So, that my message might be delivered, I was compelled to brave a less trodden path. I had need of them that could discern good from evil, though each be clad in the cloth of the other.

Urianger: And it was with this in mind that I did test thee, knowing that when thou hadst overcome adversity, thou wouldst awaken anew to the light of truth.

Urianger: From thy feats that day, I know I have found one of them I seek. Thou art blessed with the fortitude to endure the blight that will descend upon Eorzea anon. Aye, thou shalt prove a boon in the battle to come, and any of the Grand Companies of Eorzea would be fortunate to count thee in their number.

Urianger: Yet...though thou has hitherto endured much, thou must needs apprehend all this as but the beginning. The fate of the realm rests upon thy shoulders and the shoulders of they compeers. Shirk not this burden, for if thou dost, Eorzea will perish ere the first flame falleth from the heavens.

Merlwyb: Halt. Come not a step closer till you have made yourself known.

Merlwyb: First Lieutenant Orn sent you, did he? Well, you may report to the overstrung officer that he should put away his timeworn tenterhooks- his beloved Admiral is quite unscathed. Well, her person is, at least- her wits have been dealt something of a blow. I came here to trade words with the Archon, you see, but learned rather more than I had hoped to know...

Merlwyb: And now I suppose courtesy dictates I explain myself. My advisors would most certainly advise against it, of course...but they are not here, and I rarely heed their cautioning cries when they are. So then, I have heard the whisperings concerning the Archon and know that there are many who would brand him and enemy of the realm. I, for my part, would not have you believe that I was conspiring with a criminal, and spread rumors to that effect, as is doubtless your wont.

Merlwyb: No, you shall have it plain. Let it be seeds of truth and not hearsay that you scatter amongst those who still harbor doubts as to my intentions.

Merlwyb: First, a confession: it was not I who devised the plan to re-establish the Maelstrom. That I owe to Urianger- to the Archons. Had I made this fact known in the beginning, few would have credited it, and those who did would have demanded my resignation, or-in the case of the pirates- my head.

Merlwyb: Hence the secrecy, and hence my traveling here alone...though little good that did. I caught wind of a band of overly inquisitive ruffians tracking me on my way to this clearing. I did my best to cover my trail in hopes that I would have enough time to conduct my business with Urianger and void the area before they arrived.

Merlwyb: What's this? You met with the band upon the road and summarily slew the brigands? ...Well, you adventurers are seldom afraid to take the initative. Would that the Maelstrom had more men like you.

Merlwyb: You have served the thalassocracy well today. As a token of my gratitude, I invite you to join me at the Grand Company inauguration ceremony.

Merlwyb: The ceremony was to be held on the Bridge later this evening, but it appears my little outing has taken rather longer than anticipated... I would warn you that proceedings are like to be delayed, but I have little doubt that you will arrive at precisely the right moment in any event- you adventurers being uncannily gifted where timing is concerned.

Part 3: The Mizzenmast: Admiral's Lift

Zanthael: (Name), The Admiral has informed me of your arrival. Do you wish to proceed to the Bridge?

Cutscene

Merlwyb: Brothers and sisters of the sea, hearken unto me!

Merlwyb: Look upon this, our mighty crimson standard, and tell me your hearts do not swell with pride!

Merlwyb: Seven hundred summers and seven hundred winters have we chronicled since our forefathers first arrived in this fertile bay, guided by the good grace of the Mother of Oceans.

Merlwyb: In that time, the world has looked on in awe as Limsa Lominsa grew from humble fishng village to uncontested ruler of the five seas and beyond. From the Pearl in the East to the Isles of Umber in the West. From the Farreach in the North to the Cieldales in the South. And where the thalassocracy does not command respect, it instills fear. We, friends, are a mighty galleon-the realm our sea to sail.

Merlwyb: But even now, our brave vessel is being drawn into the midst of a terrible storm-a storm that threatens to scatter our hopes to the wind and send our soulds plummeting to the abyyss...a storm raised by the Garlean Empire.

Merlwyb: A fearsome foe, to be sure-but, my friends, my shipmates, ask unto any captain of any vessel, "Pray, what be the best way to weather a storm?" and they will all answer the same...

Merlwyb: Heave to and hold fast!

Merlwyb: Yet to endure the raging tempest's spite, the captain needs the strength of the whole crew, from the highest officer to the lowest tarboy.

Merlwyb: And though the course be wrought with peril, and the captain ask the impossible, it is imperitive that each man obey, lest the storm claim all.

Tattooed Pirate: Bollocks! Cork that fancy gob o' yours-there's bilge enough below!

Hot-headed Pirate: I answers t' but one cap'n, an' 'e ain't a preenin' 'ore in a sailor suit!

Merlwyb: There is nary a soul in this hall who would disagree when I say this city-state is as much yours as it is mine-that it was founded on the premise that on the sea, each and every man is free.

Merlwyb: I also know that since its founding, it has become a beacon of hope to those who seek that same freedom in all things-a haven for adventurers and merchants, vagrants and vagabonds, all who crave respite from the tyrannies of the world beyond.

Merlwyb: And so, as Admiral of this proud vessel, I pledge you this...

Merlwyb: Though it mean offering up mine own body and blood to the Navigator Herself, I, Merlwyb Bloefhiswyn, shall see you safe through this storm!

Merlwyb: The Maelstrom shall see you safe through this storm!

Merlwyb: Brothers and sisters of the sea, come! Gather beneath the undying crimson standard and pledge me your strength, your skill, your wisdom!

Merlwyb: Show the enemy your fatal blades, granting them the same mercy they would us...and commit them to the gaping abyss!

Merlwyb: The Maelstrom has launched, its final destination a new Eorzea where Limsa Lominsa's founding principles shall shine like the lodestone and reverberate like thunder, till sea swallows all!

Part 4: Instance

Y'shtola: Offer her body and blood to the Navigator, indeed? I suppose that might stir the drowsy deity from her hitherto ceaseless slumber...but I suspect her sacrifice would benefit Limsa's carrion crabs rather more than her people.

Y'shtola: And we could not have that, for I fear the mighty Maelstrom would fare rather poorly without Merlwyb at its helm. There is no other in this city with a voice as resounding as hers.

Y'shtola: Now, I had an opportunity to exchange pleasantries with the Admiral before the day's display of pomp and circumstance. She spoke highly of you, commending your courage and cunning. Indeed, it seems both she and Urianger have fallen for your charms.

Y'shtola: Yes, I know of the Archon, for he and I are colleagues, sent from a land far to the north to study what some call the "Divine Chronicles."

Y'shtola: You seem...unconvinced. Mayhap you recall our rather timely meeting in eastern La Noscea? Well, it just so happens that I traveled there that day in order to discuss how best to persuade the Admiral to reinstate the Maelstrom. Can you guess with whom I spoke?

Y'shtola: And here we are. Would that I could say things are all well and good, but as you can imagine, they are far from it.

Y'shtola: Based on the information that my brothers and I have gathered, it would seem the Garlean Empire has chosen to tread the same vainglorious path that other civilizations trod in ages past-a course which may succinctly be described as the shortest road to ruin.

Y'shtola: But all is not yet lost. Sensing the gravity of the situation, our master-the Allseer-has arrived to begin his search for Daybreak-one of the valliant blades mentioned in the Divine Chronicles.

Y'shtola: So you see, though we are beset on all sides by death, there is still hope. Hope in Merlwyb, hope in the Maelstrom, and hope in those who follow them.

Y'shtola: And then there is you. In the coming moons, you shall face a despair darker than any you have ever known. But the light of hope burns bright in your soul-a light which none may quench save you yourself.

Y'shtola: You must let that flame guide you to the furthest reaches of Eorzea-to the burning sands of Ul'dah and the dewy groves of Gridania.

Y'shtola: Heed the words of the maiden who speaks with the trees, embrace the resolve of the warrior who stands alone against many, and let each add to your flame.

Y'shtola: A path must be chosen, a decision made. Open your mind and your senses to all that is around you, and answers will come. My companions await you.

Y'shtola: Now go, but forget not that of which I spake. Hope is what you are, and you are what we seek.''

Final Fantasy XIV Wikibase™ Quests - Maelstrom (FFXIV)