Crossroads (Quest)
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Crossroads
- Quest giver
- Wuk Lamat
- Location
- Shaaloani (X:18.0, Y:13.9)
- Quest line
Post-Dawntrail Main Scenario Quests
┗ The New Dawn Quests- Level
- 100
- Gil
1,210- Previous quest
The Warmth of Family- Next quest
- A Glimmer of the Past
Appreciated Value - Patch
- 7.1
- Links
- EDB GT TC
Main Scenario Progress: 960 / 992 (96.8%)
Dawntrail Progress: 107 / 139 (77%)
Never one to stand still, Wuk Lamat is ready to race back to Alexandria.
— In-game description
Rewards
- Choose one of the following options:
- Unlocks
Steps
- Speak with G'raha Tia in the Backroom.
- Speak with Y'shtola.
- Speak with Geode.
- Speak with Wuk Lamat at leynode nine.
- Speak with Krile.
Journal
- Never one to stand still, Wuk Lamat is ready to race back to Alexandria.
- No sooner do you broach the subject of returning to the dome with Wuk Lamat than does Erenville inquire into the details of your business there. As it happens, he too is considering a sojourn to Alexandria, that he might find a way to aid those affected by the turmoil. Thus do you set off for the Backroom together─with his charming Cahciua curio in tow.
- You arrive at the perfect time to hear the fruits of Shale's labors: a series of audio diaries recorded by Teeshal Ja herself, detailing her feelings for Zoraal Ja and his rejection of their child. Though these disturbing revelations would be overwhelming even for an adult, Gulool Ja puts on a brave face, and even thanks present company for helping him to learn the truth of his birth at long last.
- With Gulool Ja's questions answered, Shale may now commit to other matters, such as Y'shtola's investigative foray into Living Memory. The pair depart with little fanfare, leaving you and your remaining companions to your own devices.
- As your primary concern outside of Gulool Ja is spreading word of the railroad's resumption of service, you speak with Geode, who in turn surprises you with the news that precious few people intend to make the journey to Tuliyollal. Given how many voiced their desire to do so before, this is an odd shift in sentiment indeed, and you and Wuk Lamat resolve to learn what prompted it.
- As you approach a crowd gathered near the site of Sphene's funeral, it is clear from their discourse that they have not only failed to come to terms with their existential turmoil in your absence, but have worked themselves into an ever greater panic over their mortality. Glad are they, then, when their beloved Queen Sphene suddenly appears with a solution: to convert the people into Endless via neo regulators, that they need fear death no longer. Given that you were instrumental in the destruction of the Queen of Reason, you and Wuk Lamat immediately suspect deception, and your doubt only grows when “Sphene” mentions the caveat that, at present, her proposed boon will only be extended to five thousand citizens. Despite Wuk Lamat's protestations, none join you in your skepticism, for the Alexandrians seem to be afflicted with collective amnesia and have no recollection of her death or subsequent funeral...
- As there is naught to be gained from continuing to make a spectacle of yourself in challenging the queen's claims, you rejoin your companions in the Backroom, there to await further intelligence from Oblivion's members in the field. You will need to proceed with caution until such time as you know more about the entity wearing Sphene's face.
Dialogue
Optional dialogue
It won't be as I once envisioned...but perhaps someday we can take that train journey to Yyasulani together.
Accepting the quest
Start of cutscene.Well, it's possible that Shale's made some headway by now. And regardless, we should spread word that the railroad's been restored to service.
Shale? What do you have her working on?
Gulool Ja's mother...
I'd feel the same in his shoes. Have felt the same. Some questions are painful to leave unanswered...
There's no cause to look at me like that. The Cahciua we met may have only been a simulacrum, but her memory was real.
I needn't search for what she left behind, because she left it with me. And I will carry it always...
Wuk Lamat notices the outrunner figurine hanging from Erenville's backpack.
Speaking of things you're carrying...
Is that a teeny-tiny Cahciua?
What!? No!
It is merely a token from Alexandria. Our friends in Oblivion would not take no for an answer, and I thought it as good a souvenir as any...
Whatever you say... For what it's worth, I think it's a nice way to bring her with you on your travels.
...Yes. Well. You're off to the dome now, aren't you?
I thought I might join you for a time. See if there is aught I can do for the people there. Much changed though it is, I still consider it my home.
Of course! We can give you the full story on the way.
End of cutscene.
Speak with G'raha Tia in the Backroom.
Optional dialogue
You must be exhausted. Shall I nip out for an energy tonic?
So Zoraal Ja was conducting secret research in Yuweyawata... I have some memories of the place from my childhood.
Glad you're back. We wouldn't want to keep Gulool Ja here waiting any longer than necessary.
Erenville is wearing his Cahciua! That makes me happy.
Looks like we arrived at a good time.
Seeing Erenville never fails to remind me of Cahciua...and I wouldn't have it any other way.
The dead should be remembered, this I firmly believe. Gulool Ja's mother deserves that too.
Start of cutscene....A simple yet elegant solution. And thus is the railroad back in operation.
Meanwhile, Shale has nearly finished processing the data. She will be able to share her findings with us imminently.
...I'm interrupting something, I gather.
Why, Y'shtola! What brings you here?
I've seen enough of the gate in the Skydeep Cenote for now, so I'm shifting my investigation to Living Memory.
While there, I thought I would do well to have the company of an expert on electrope.
I'd like to take a closer look at the place myself. I can join you once we've finished here.
Lest you fear I've forgotten, once I've made headway with Living Memory, the key in your keeping shall be the next subject of my scrutiny.
End of cutscene.
Start of voiced cutscene.There was a mountain of data to sift through─much of it tantalizing, I admit.
But it will take time to fully decrypt everything that piques my interest, so to answer our immediate question, I've been concentrating my efforts on the audio saved by Teeshal Ja herself.
While I've not listened to it yet, I have a selection ready for playback. Would you like to hear it now?
Yes, please!
All right. Several audio files will now play in sequence.
...I, er... Ahem. My name is Teeshal Ja, and I've decided to record this to...to help me put my thoughts in order, I suppose.
Mother...?
Officially, I am─was?─a chirurgeon with the Landsguard. I was part of a contingent dispatched to Yyasulani to hunt a tural vidraal that was wreaking havoc.
After our mission was complete, I elected to remain. It was the perfect opportunity to document the geographic distribution of medicinal herbs in this region.
...Or so I said when requesting special dispensation. In truth...I could not bear to return to Tuliyollal.
I had hoped to aid Commander Zoraal Ja in the rite of succession, but he did not so much as look my way. I was never in contention, of course─one of the nameless many in his army...
To go back and face that reality was too much for me, so I ran. And in my cowardice, I stumbled upon this path. A path that changed my life.
When the dome appeared, I found myself trapped within...and reunited with my commander.
I... How am I to speak of Commander Zoraal Ja?
I admired him. His incontestable strength. His unwavering focus. He was...a man of great passions.
I watched him, captivated by his intensity. From afar─I would not dare approach. And in watching, I came to know him.
His eyes, too, sought the distance─but not as mine did. He yearned not for another, but something else, beyond the horizon.
That gaze would never fall upon me, I knew. I knew...
The experiment will soon proceed to its next phase. And when it does, as he promised...
I will have my heart's desire.
Today... Today...
It should have been today. A new beginning. What I have dreamed of for so long...
I hold a future in my arms. If he could see him─embrace him... Surely, surely, that would be enough...
So full of hope I was. A foolish hope...
Its scales...are blue...
He's your son.
Zoraal Ja reacts in horror.
My...
No! I...I can't...
I...I-I don't know how─how could I...? How!?
To raise a child─be a fa-father...
I don't... I-I can't!
No... No! Get it away from me...
Get that thing away from me!
Shhh... It's all right, little one. Papa was just surprised, that's all.
He'll come around. We'll be a happy family.
...Kanilokka's shouting for me. The research hasn't been going well...but I can't let him take it out on my baby.
Hush now, little one. I know... I know just where to hide you...
...That's all of them.
The player recalls Cahciua's description of Gulool Ja.
He was abandoned, the poor dear. We found him in the driftdowns a few years ago.
We know some manner of accident happened at the facility after this was recorded. Perhaps your mother couldn't come back for you.
Hey, Gulool Ja...
I'm fine, Lamaty'i.
Father and Mother, they were both so lonely...
If we could've been together, maybe they wouldn't have been. But sometimes things don't work out, no matter how hard you try.
I...I can't tell if I'm happier now...
...But it's better to know, I think. Thank you, everyone.
Wuk Lamat hugs Gulool Ja.
End of cutscene.
Optional dialogue
Why leave such a record, you ask? I cannot be certain, but I believe Teeshal Ja simply wanted someone to know how she felt. To understand.
No matter how brave a face Gulool Ja puts on, I expect it will take him time to come to terms with this.
He is a strong one, though. You needn't worry too much.
Teeshal Ja left written records as well. I'll compile them for Gulool Ja. Perhaps something in them will be of comfort.
It's okay. I wanted to know more about my parents, and now I do. And I don't regret it.
I have Lamaty'i, and Koana, and you, Forename. I'm not lonely now.
...You may find it hard to believe, but until the rite of succession, Zoraal Ja was a good brother to me. Always. And I thought that Papa was the best father anyone could ask for.
I don't want to think the time we spent together as a family was a lie. But by the same token, the bitterness my brother harbored was all too real...
If the dome had not appeared, Teeshal Ja's tale would have been very different. Yet whether or not she would have been happier, I cannot say.
What a mess...
Speak with Y'shtola.
"It's better to know“... A profound response, for one so young.
Though I wish he didn't have to be, Gulool Ja is indeed wise beyond his years.
Yet one never outgrows the need for dependable companions. 'Tis fortunate that he has you.
Thank you, Shale. Because of you, I got to hear my mother's whole story.
You heard it because you were brave enough to listen, Gulool Ja. If you remember one thing, remember that.
Now then─having shared what I can at present, I am ready to head to Living Memory when you are.
I am planning to be thorough, so we will need to stop for supplies on the way.
That said, I promise we won't remain overlong. I know we all have much and more to attend to.
For now, farewell.
Optional dialogue
One wouldn't know it to look at them, but Shale and Y'shtola are birds of a feather. An incorrigibly restless feather...
I'll stick around for a while. Let me know if you need me.
Is Shale going to be alright out there? The whole time she was working on the data, I never saw her take a break...
With the railroad ready, I'd like to get some idea of how many returnees we can expect before heading back to Tuliyollal.
The twins have yet to return. I hope everything is all right.
Speak with Geode.
A word, before you leave.
Our network's already spreading word of the railroad. We expected people would be clamoring to get on the first train back...
Yet the reaction's been the polar opposite. Scant few seem inclined to depart Alexandria any time soon.
What? When we spoke before, you said many from Tuliyollal were eager to reunite with friends and family.
Maybe they're concerned about getting through Vanguard? If so, we could take turns accompanying them...
In any case, we need to speak with the people ourselves. Let's start at leynode nine.
Optional dialogue
The people were so nervous about remaining in Alexandria... I cannot help but wonder what prompted this sudden change of heart.
I've asked Geode to fill me in on all that has happened in the dome of late. If I hear anything of interest, I'll be sure to pass it on.
Now that the railroad's working again, it'll be much easier to visit Tuliyollal. It would be nice to see Koana again as well.
Perhaps we will venture out for a bit ourselves.
I'm as surprised as you are. Everyone was keen to pack their bags before, but now that the journey's possible, they can't be bothered?
Speak with Wuk Lamat at leynode nine.
There may still be people gathering in Praxis Park. Let's try there first.
Start of voiced cutscene.The people look uneasy. Did something happen?
Have you heard? Someone was killed in the Thunderyards.
The Thunderyards? Was one of the hunters slain by a beast?
It was a hunter all right, and a veteran at that. But it was no fiend that did him in─only a random bolt of lightning.
Such a senseless way to die. They say that he expended his last soul cells during Zoraal Ja's attack on the city...
For an upright, hardworking man to meet such an unceremonious end... It feels wrong...
But we'll be fine, won't we? Even if the system no longer erases our memory of the departed, the regulators continue to function!
I shan't go before my time. Growing old and passing peacefully with the help of the ushers is only natural!
You may think so, but how are we to know? We have no memory of those who have gone. More may have met violent deaths than passed from old age, and we would be blissfully unaware!
It could happen to you or me─to any of us!
Then what are we to do? Spend every waking moment thinking only of how we might die?
With time, I had hoped that they'd be able to adjust to their new situation...but it's only gotten worse.
Look, it's Queen Sphene!
Someone who looks identical to Sphene arrives to the crowd.
What?
Help, Queen Sphene! The grown-ups are really upset, and I don't know what to do!
I see that you are as kind-hearted as ever, Nico. Never fear─I'm here to set things aright!
I don't understand. Sphene is gone...forever...
You there, Gossan! You were the queen's aide, weren't you?
What's the meaning of this?
Begging your pardon, Vow of Resolve...
But Her Majesty Queen Sphene is paying visit to her people, as is her wont.
What are you talking about!?
Sphene is dead! You officiated the funeral yourself!
We all placed flowers to mourn her passing!
A funeral...? For Her Majesty?
Gossan's black regulator makes a noise.
What a curious jest. You know full well that ceremony was to commemorate those lives lost during the attack of Alexandria.
Her Majesty walks among her people that she might support them in this most trying of times. Surely that is not cause for consternation?
Your Majesty, won't you free us from these terrible memories of the departed?
This is no way to live─not for us nor our children...
...I wish that I could. Truly, I do. But with Living Memory shut down, even I cannot restore the system that once afforded us that comfort.
You needn't fret, however. I have prepared an alternate solution.
All of us shall be made Endless!
I have created a new system that allows you to transplant your memories directly into an aetherial vessel─one not reliant upon soul cells.
This way, you need never again fear death. You may live as you please─and for as long as you like!
Our stores of aether are, at present, not sufficient to provide this boon to everyone...
But some of you received neo regulators for the funeral ceremony, did you not?
And there are still more we have yet to distribute. Five thousand in all!
One day soon, those with neo regulators will be called to join the Endless, and thence be free of suffering forevermore!
But...only five thousand of us?
You vidraal!
The real Sphene would never be content to save only some of her people!
Who are you!?
I am Sphene, the Queen of Reason.
Sphene smiles. A nearby monitor starts flickering.
Let's return to the Backroom. I need to calm down...and then we'll talk.
Sphene smiles evilly at the player when they walk away.
End of cutscene.
Speak with Krile
Optional dialogue
You saw Sphene with your own eyes, then? So it wasn't someone else...
We've heard about the Queen of Reason's proclamation. The rumors spread through the district like wildfire.
Without the Meso Terminal, how does she propose to create new Endless? We must contact Y'shtola as soon as possible.
Queen Sphene has returned? How?
Seriously, what was that!?
Sphene was erased. If she's back, then are the Endless...?
There's naught to report yet, but we have all eyes and ears out in Everkeep and Heritage Found.
Start of cutscene.We only caught the proclamation from a distance, but I can tell you that the message about neo regulators was received with utmost clarity.
It couldn't have been Sphene. She should've been destroyed when the Meso Terminal shut down...
...Without a single Alexandrian to bear witness. Presented with an identical figure claiming to be their beloved queen, 'tis no surprise that they would choose to believe she's alive.
What is troubling, however, is their denial that the funeral was held in her honor. 'Tis as if their memories have been erased...
Given that the members of Oblivion remain unaffected, that was likely the work of the regulators. But by whose design?
Someone smart enough to play at being the Queen of Reason. In that guise, even if some suspect deception, most of Alexandria will be on her side.
We need to find out who she really is.
While I agree wholeheartedly, we should avoid drawing more attention than we already have. We must be patient until Oblivion's network turns up a lead...or until our self-proclaimed queen makes her next move.
End of cutscene.
Start of voiced cutscene.Meanwhile, in Living Memory...
In first person perspective from an unknown NPC.
Where...am I...
My people! Are they...are they safe...?
Why am I...
The person collapses. Shale and Y'shtola come to her rescue.
Banner Text
IN FEAR OF DEATH, THE PEOPLE TURN
TO QUEEN REBORN, THEIR FATES TO LEARN
End of cutscene.
Optional dialogue
A pity Y'shtola was not present for “Sphene's” return. A cursory glance at the impostor's aether would have doubtless been enough to confirm our suspicions beyond a doubt....
Shale said she left this machine running to process more of the data from the field station. Is it done yet?
Neo regulators... I heard the idea came from the citizenry, but something doesn't sit right. We'll look into this.
Though we have too little information to draw any useful conclusions as yet, I daresay the Queen of Reason's behavior henceforth will be illuminating.