A Great Adventure and My Thanks...Follow

Rather than retype out the adventure (I had already placed it in my LS forum) I figured I'd just copy past it here and add the individual thanks after the story. So enjoy ^^:

Ah! The adventure of the night for me... it was unlike anything I had ever been through...

Well, the day started... I woke up from my Moogle House, got dressed, went outside, and realized... "I don't know what I want to do today!" Well, I had seen a buddy of mine on, Apollonious, and I remember we were going to try and do a coffer hunt together for our Artifact Armor. I gave a call out to him, and we agreed to start recruiting a group of able-bodied adventurers to help. Well, when I told Brisania this, her party agreed to come help out. Lvl 75 Bard and and 60+ Paladin!? How could I deny them? We got a few others too, a couple high-ups and some closer to me and Apollo's range.

We banded together in Batallia Downs and proceeded to Eldieme Necropolis, home of the undead. At first, we were unsure of what to do, but then, we realized, there was no use for sneaking around. We had to fight our way through with as many people as we had. Lost and wandering, A darknight offered to show us the way to a camp. We piled on the sneak and plunged into the ashes to certain doom.

As we reached camp, the agro was terrible. Left and right, we were battered down. Apollonious, our whm, was the first to go down. Our guide, Kulganflame followed soon after. Feeling terrible, we raised them, still determined to go through with our task.

We had 5 keys to search for. The first key dropped relatively easy, and we were a bit sloppy. As more monsters were fought, we got into a rhythm, and things went smoother. Ramondark, our puller and high lvl paladin was excellently raking them in. We had our scary moment, with agros and pops, but we took them down. Apollo would fall two more times that night, and he would leave us, and I would be left sad. But still, we continued on. Another key drops, Cyrex, our bard is happy and away. Another, and still one more adventurer is saved.

So, it's down to me, Ramondark, and Brisania. As the day continues, more and more adventurers are finding they have to leave, and less and less of us our left. A couple of Ramondark's friends come to fill in the game, but none stay for long, save for a lone taru blm named Yobetuc. Eventually, our numbers were wittle away. I finally got my key, but I could not leave, dared not, for I wanted Ramondark, our puller who had been working so hard and our tank as well, to have his key too. So we stayed late into the night.

Past our 10th hour, all hope seemed lost. There were only four of us left, Ramondark, Yobetuc, Brisania, and myself. We were hanging on to our dear lives. And then, I brought Tinytot along. So five of us, five adventurers hoping without hope the key would drop. Brisania finally acknowledged that whatever happens, she'd let Ramondark have the key so we could leave the blasted place.

And then...

On what we had hoped to be our last monster, we hacked, slashed, tired, annoyed, and frustrated. The moment of truth. Hour 10, or was it 11, we don't remember anymore, but as the final blow landed... the key was in our possession. We cheered, we hurrahed, we were relieved, it was finally over. Tinytot decided to pull a Spriggan nearby so he could let his beast-friend die fighting. We all pitched in, and then...It happened.

We were joking around that if it drops a key, we'd be damn near lucky and Bris could be happy. It dies... what drops?...

A key.

Yes, a key drops from that pull-for-fun. Rejoice. Celebrate! We had found another key for Brisania. And then a Tomb Mage pops behind us. Okay, let's kill this and get out of here before it hurts our mages. Smack, bam, boom! The Mage goes down....and what goes down with it?

A key.

A third key. Three keys back-to-back-to-back. We were astonished. We were excited. We had no other emotions left to bring out. No one else needed a key, so a lot between Yobetuc and Tinytot would leave it to our tiny taru Yob.

We finally Escaped, and headed our own separate ways, relieved. Bris thought maybe we should look for my coffer to get it over with. But as we wandered through the halls, lost and trying to find a way to open the doors, an Azur comes... and our life is taken....

But the adventure was not all for naught and we had a blast. I had my key, and an amazing story with a new friend. Memories.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you to those who had helped two lonely shouters band together for our adventure. I had never been in an alliance in that way before, aside from an Eco-warrior quest. We had our ups and downs, but it was worth the fun.

Ramondark - Puller, Tank, Galka Fiend. Thank you sooo much for having come. I'm glad you got your key ^.^

Brisania - She brought a good chunk of the party ^^;

Cyrex - Our spoony bard

Apollonious - Without you, I would have been lost

Bagram - You came, you healed, you kicked butt

Victicus - The lightning took you away from us, but you kept coming back for more

Princesstb - Your shots were mighty, your fighting fierce

Blade - The monsters were cut to a quick with your fighting

Beowolf - You stayed for as long as you could with us. You fought greatly

Kulganflame - You took a blow for the team, and for that, we will never forget you >.<

Xigan - You came, you saw, you asked silly questions and kept us laughing

Yobetuc - You little cuteboy, thank you for coming to help Ramon and staying

Moontang - You beat the monsters up with a stick for the time you came, and you hurt them hard

??? - I know someone else came, Gomen for me not remembering your name >.<

Allaiya (I forgot the name too >.<) - You weren't with us for long, but we were glad you came

Tinytot - Without you and your lil' crabbie, we would have been lost ^.^ Thanks for coming to rescue me


And if I left out any others, forgive me, but I thank you for coming out to help.

Edited, Mon Aug 23 12:27:54 2004 by Merodi

Definitely agreed. Rate ups for all. :D

Long post warning:

Since my bud Merodi told her weekend adventure, I thought I would share mine as well. This involves myself, Catgirl (MNK/THF), my RL hubby Yoshinaka (RDM/WHM), and our static party member Audion (PLD/WAR).

Somehow we got into our head that at level 46 we would try our first BCNM40. As a few other static party members we otherwise occupied, we decided to try the 3 person BCNM in Fei'yin. (More on tactics later.)

I can honestly say I was nervous/excited/scared/worried for once in a long time. We figured that we would attempt to get all the maps to the connecting areas to get the Fei'yin as none of had really been there. So after doing so, we loaded up on prism powder, sneak oils, food, and potions and set out.

I generally rely on Yoshi to keep me “sneaked” and “invisibled” the whole way through, but as we had never been to this area we decided that none of us should get stranded while waiting.

So the first area we entered was Ranguemont Pass. We had all been in the area recently because of the Moogle Quests during Summerfest, but we did not know what aggro’d, how hard things were, etc. This only added to the level of excitement! As soon as we got past the big door, Yoshi got a /tell from a lonely THF asking for a raise. (Yoshi has to be the most selfless RDM I know.) We run over to her and he raises her, no questions asked. She says thanks and we are on our way.

After a few fights with the floating eye-ball thingies we make our way to Beaucedine Glacier. Audion had the map for this area, so we followed him. It was exciting to see goblins that are BST with tigers for their pets. Audion and I did manage to aggro a couple of pet tigers and their goblin masters. Yoshi did a great job of keeping one of the mobs slept while Audion and I beat up the other one. Audion also did a terrific job of holding hate. My lovely little Mithra MNK has thin armor so I rely on him for my protection! We saw new mobs, lots of snow and stormy weather, and took pictures before we made our way into Fei-Yen.

Now for the good stuff! The entrance to Fei'yin is actually a broken teleport pad. You can see all the snow drifts and broken down rocks. My stomach was actually in knots as we approached. I consulted with this and the mystery tour website before we entered Fei'yin. Everything in this place aggros! Everything!

Audion and I rested near the zone while Yoshi went scouting the area. Uh Oh! Yoshi brings back the biggest bat train in history as his sneak wears off right near some bats! He safely makes it back outside as I watch his screen from the safety of Beaucedine Glacier. Whew! We wait a few minutes, look at our maps and take the plunge!

Once inside we see Undead Bats, Shadows (creepy looking Elvaan figures with read beady eyes) and Golems (large robotic looking things). I lead the way thinking that I can keep following the map. Big Mistake! I take a wrong turn and end up at a dead end with 2 Golems. Audion and Yoshi are behind me when Audion’s sneak wears off right past some the shadows but next to the bats. AGGRO! We open a can of whoop *** on the bats and one of the Shadows. Then one of the Golems spots us! Uh Oh! We engage as soon as we finish the Shadow. I throw everything I have at him and manage to steal hate from Audion with a Sneak Attack + Raging Fists. I dropped like a ROCK! Oh well! I have about a 3,000 XP death pad so it’s no biggie. Yoshi raises me. Audion and I wait in a safe spot until I can fully heal.

Ok so now Yoshi finds the correct way to Qu'Bia Arena where we will fight the BCNM. He comes back, we sneak the rest of the way through and make it! I am so excited! We decide to use the battle plan that is listed at this link: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/jobs.html?fjob=11&mid=109238535558944243&num=12

One exception, I subbed THF with my MNK rather than NIN, because my NIN is only at level 14. I figured we should be ok. (This turns out to be my major mistake!) The link recommends that you can kill the first 3 (DRK) mobs easily without having to use 2 hours, but that the last 2 raised mobs are harder because it’s a BLM.

We buff up, use our food, cast protect, shell, etc and head into the battlefield. We kill the mob the first three times with little issue. The fourth iteration of the mob is the one that got us. I actually used my 2 hour prematurely during the third mob. I had also used my potions to restore HP earlier.

We all used our 2 hours, Yoshi converted mid battle, and used every trick in the book. I went down first because of all the hate, Audion was next, and finally Yoshi. I don’t think we actually expected to win, but it was fun trying!

Lessons learned: I should have taken the advice on the site and subbed NIN. My shadow’s would have ate up much of the damage caused by the mob during the battle and would have made Yoshi’s life much easier. Otherwise we probably would have won the battle and split the wonderful booty!

So now with a better plan, we will attempt again in the near future. The BCNM fight wasn’t nearly as fun as getting there by exploring the new areas, fighting new mobs, etc!

Special thanks to Audion and Yoshinaka, both of whom died for our efforts!

^^^^^^^^

I was just about to post to say the same thing. Poor Bris couldn't believe the terrible terrible luck, then the LS just exploded with utter disbelief at three drops in a row. It's great to hear the story from another point of view! :D

Bris was genuinely shocked. We all were! Three drops right when we were ready to give in ^^;

Alauce, I am soo sorry you died again >.<

I was in there the whole day... and I mean, another 10+ hours of looking for that blasted coffer, and dieing to a disgruntled Azer. I even got a chance to see Skeleton of Pride and Wrath for some unknown reason O.o

Anyhoo... again, when all hope seemed lost, Tinytot comes to the rescue. I'm with Layinn, Alisah, and Brisania again and Tinytot comes to help. Guess who finds the coffer after all hope is lost? One of my favorite Galka sheep.

We have another adventure leading up to that last coffer. Me, Layrinn, and Brisania decide to check the coffer in Eldieme that goes through Ranguemonte Pass. Now, I have never been there before, and we decided to also trek up to get the Teleport-Vazhal crystal for me. Needless to say, Brisania agro-ed practically all the undead. We were fighting undead skeletons left and right. I got agro-ed by an eyeball thingy. Bris got another agro from an ice elemental. We even killed a Shadow dragon together! And lest i forget, the infamous "Cursed Weapon Train of Doom to Zone!"

Bris happened to agro (yes, the undead are attracted to her for some reason) one Cursed Weapon, and it was more than our guide could handle. So we made a run for it. We picked up a couple skeletons, an eyeball or two, and two or three more Weapons. It was truly a sight. But we made it out, I got my crystal, and later, even though the coffer there was empty, I was able to nab my gloves thanks to Tinytot.

So now... off to kill Dark Spark >.>

Wow DB, you certainly dredged this one up from the depths! I was reading it thinking "I wish I had this much fun on coffer key hunts" then realised the date, and remembered that people don't have fun anymore, and if this happened recently it would have been a post complaining about the crappy drop rate on the keys.

I think she was the nicest and happiest person I have met in this game. She was one of the few who got completly caught up in everything good about this game. She was one of a kind.