His Gift, His Way
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His Gift, His Way
- Quest giver
- Searchingway
- Location
- Auxesia (X:28.7, Y:29.4)
- Quest line
Records of Unusual Endeavors Quests
┗ Cosmic Exploration Main Quests- Level
- 90
- Requirements
- All classes and jobs (excluding limited jobs)
- Experience
0- Gil
2,318- Previous quest
The Songs of Distant Trees- Patch
- 7.51
- Links
- EDB GT TC
Searchingway seems concerned about whatever concerns Namingway. How concerning.
— In-game description
Rewards
- Unlocks
Steps
- Speak with Namingway.
- Speak with Namingway in Ala Gannha.
- Speak with the residents of Ala Gannha.
- Speak with Namingway.
- Speak with Namingway again.
- Speak with Namingway yet again.
- Search for the buried survey pod.
- Speak with Namingway on Auxesia.
Journal
- Searchingway seems concerned about whatever concerns Namingway. How concerning.
- With the analysis of Grandma Laurel as yet ongoing, Searchingway would make an altogether different request of you. He reveals that Namingway is to embark on some manner of undertaking which would benefit greatly from your assistance. For the exact details, however, you will need to seek out the Loporrit in question.
- That Namingway originally crash-landed upon Etheirys is known to you. That the wreckage of said crash yet remains in the peaks of Gyr Abania, however, is a matter you hadn't much cause to consider until just now, with the loquacious Loporrit's insistence that you recover it. Alas, with the passage of a hundred years, Namingway can no longer recall precisely where his survey pod was abandoned, save that a certain quarrying town was nearby. He bids you join him in the search, and to that end, you must both make the long journey to Ala Gannha.
- Arriving in Ala Gannha, Namingway is surprised to find the town so devoid of people, as his frame of reference is based in the Autumn War of a century past. As he recalls, it was a group of young children who helped him to bury the survey pod, but after so many years, he cannot be sure they yet live. Your only recourse is to ask the locals in the event that someone has stumbled upon the wreckage by chance.
- Speaking with the residents of Ala Gannha, you learn that the erstwhile Garlean occupation is still felt keenly. With large swaths of land wholly uninhabited, anything buried is like to go undiscovered...and even if it were stumbled upon, the fear of magitek would surely compel the locals to leave it well alone. For one man, however, the sight of Namingway brings to mind the traditional Ala Gannha quarrying song—specifically the children's variant, featuring lyrics about a rabbit from the moon.
- Namingway, too, has caught wind of this curious children's song, yet it seems no one here can produce the lyrics. Seeing as a portion of the population relocated to Ala Ghiri over the years, perhaps you shall have to take your inquiry there.
- Arriving in Ala Ghiri, your crimson-garbed companion soon draws the attention of a middle-aged merchant named Sewal. His grandparents used to sing for him a nursery song about “Namingway the Red,” and as your luck would have it, he can recite both verses—with all their pointed clues intact. When Namingway explains his objective, Sewal requests to join in the search, to aid the Loporrit as in generations past.
- As indicated by the second verse, the three of you approach the river to the east of Ala Gannha, where stands a makeshift rock “gate” and, beyond it, distinctly castle-like ruins. If the song's lyrics are to be believed, here is where the search begins in earnest.
- Crossing the river and through the “gate,” the three of you poke at dirt piles until you happen upon a mound through which suspiciously Loporrit-esque metal prongs poke out. After some dedicated digging, sure enough, you uncover Namingway's long-lost survey pod, miraculously undisturbed after a hundred years. With the search thus concluded, Sewal bids you both farewell, leaving you to make arrangements for the retrieval. It can wait until you have returned to Auxesia, however.
- After Searchingway promises to have the wreckage retrieved, Namingway reminisces on all of his accomplishments since returning to Bestways Burrow. Names, he explains, are gifts to be shared, bearing sentiment as well as purpose—and his purpose has been fulfilled through the Cosmic Exploration Initiative. He expects to stay on for some time yet, savoring the reunion with his fellow Loporrits, but hopes that you might be available for a new adventure with him someday.
Related NPCs
Dialogue
I was waiting until matters here were in order, but now the timing feels right!
Greetings, Forename! Lest you fret, our analysis of Grandma Laurel continues apace. But perhaps you could handle something else for me?
It's Namingway. He's decided to take up a...well, an exploration initiative of his own. I can tell he needs help.
Alas, as overseer here, I'm in no position to lend a paw—which is why I'm volunteering yours! You do have paws, don't you? ...No?/Sort of?
I expect Namingway is still around here somewhere. He'll explain everything!
Fortuitous timing, Forename! As I was just telling my associates...
A mission of utmost import awaits me on Etheirys!
For you see, there remains unresolved the matter of the survey pod abandoned in the aftermath of my crash landing.
At the time, there was no hope of repairing or even dismantling it. My only option was to conceal the wreckage under loose earth and plant matter.
Now that I have reunited with my kin, however, it's time I took responsibility for my mess. Loporrit technology ought not be left unattended!
That having been said, the memory of precisely where I buried it is... W-Well, it was a hundred years ago.
Nevertheless, I propose to have a look around the area and consult with the locals as necessary. Would you care to accompany me?
Wonderful! Then let us meet again at the peaks of Gyr Abania.
I seem to recall a quarrying town by the name of Ala Gannha somewhere in the vicinity... Yes, I shall await you there!
Look out for Namingway while he's back on Etheirys, won't you?
At last, here we are at Ala Gannha!
Er, this is Ala Gannha, yes? The town appears rather...unpeopled. Has something happened in the time since the Autumn War?
Back then, the bustling crowds of refugees and mercenaries posed a dire challenge in my efforts to avoid detection, I tell you!
Alas, thwarted by the passage of time. I had hoped the familiar sights would jog my memory, but perhaps if I simply retrace the events...
After my crash landing, I was discovered by a band of young children who called me a “talking rabbit.”
That's right—they helped me conceal the survey pod! But of course, they would all be well over a hundred years old by now, were we to assume they yet live...
I realize the chances are slim, but let us nevertheless speak with the townsfolk. Mayhap someone has stumbled upon the wreckage in my absence.
If you should hear anything noteworthy in the course of your questioning, give me a shout!
Hrm? You want to hear stories of the good old days?
That feller in the red getup ain't one of them from the Ziggurat, is he?
We preserve the old ways in Ala Gannha. That's what I like about this life.
Folklore and children's songs about animals? Any rabbits to speak of, perchance?
Something buried 'round these parts during the Autumn War? 'Fraid I can't help you there, dearie. Why, I'm ninety-two summers young!
But even when I was a girl, Ala Gannha still held onto that wartime vigor—right up until the Empire came stompin' in. Was it twenty years ago now?
A lot of land's been gatherin' dust since then, so if you mean to tell me something's been buried here for the past century...well, I can believe it! Ho ho ho!
That long-eared feller with you is a Loporrit, you say? Good, good. Thought it was a damned Qiqirn. But it got me thinking...
You ever hear our traditional quarrying song? It's a relic of the past now, but for the little ones, we sing a variant.
“From the moon the rabbit falls, moondust mountain piled tall”...or some such. You get the idea.
Anyroad, a lot of folks moved on to ply their trades in Ala Ghiri after stone fell out of fashion. Might be as you could find your answers there.
Mysterious machinery buried in the ground? No, ma'am/sir. Don't know nothing about it, nor do I want to!
My generation was raised to be wary of magitek and all that Garlean shite. Fiddle with it, or go anywhere near it, and you'll be lucky if you're only clapped in irons.
Can't deny some of us go scavenging just to keep food on the table...but if we found your stinking hunk of metal, we'd have the sense to leave it well alone!
Not much diggin' to be done out here, so I reckon whatever you buried's stayed where you left it. Where did you leave it, anyhow?
Try asking around the markets of Ala Ghiri. Doubtless some few of their peddlers once hailed from Ala Gannha.
The scars of the occupation run deep, you know. Anyone who dug up foreign machinery would bury it right where it was found.
After a hundred years of covert operations, it feels strange to simply walk up to people and start a conversation...but I digress. Have you learned aught that could put us on the trail?
That the wreckage is like to have been left untouched bodes well for us, and I heard tell of that children's song myself.
Surely it can be no coincidence that the lyrics reference building a mountain with a rabbit from the moon!
Yet it seems no one in town knows the specifics...
Would that I had a survey drone to scan the surrounds! Alas, I was told that they aren't designed to function on Etheirys.
At any rate, rather than dig blindly, let us travel next to Ala Ghiri and continue our inquiry!
Oh, Ala Ghiri, I had hoped I would recognize you... I see now the terrible reach of the Garlean invasion.
Well, where shall we start?
That striking scarlet garb... Could you be the Namingway!?
I beg your pardon!? You know my name, sir?
That and more. Why, I've known you all my life—isn't that right, my friend?
I am Sewal, humble peddler of handicrafts like this mammet. Time-consuming as it is to produce, I rarely carry more than one, but it always finds a buyer.
I modeled it on the talking rabbit described in a nursery song my grandparents used to sing for me. “Namingway the Red,” they called him.
The Ala Gannha children's song! Might you recall the lyrics?
Of course! Goes a little something like this...
From the moon the rabbit falls,♪
In youth he doth confide.♪
Sticks and stardust piled tall,♪
His secret there to hide.♪
In youth he doth confide.♪
Sticks and stardust piled tall,♪
His secret there to hide.♪
The children build a mountain for the moon rabbit, and in return he gives them each a nickname and a footnote in his traveling log.
So great was my fondness for the fable that when I took up the merchant's mantle, I collaborated with local artisans to craft these themed mammets.
Come to think of it, I do believe I encountered one of these during my travels, but I had dismissed its resemblance as mere coincidence...
Can you believe I have my very own merchandise!?
My good sir, after a hundred years away, I am come to retrieve the vessel I crash-landed—and subsequently buried—somewhere in the Peaks.
At the time, I was aided by a group of young children. Could your grandparents have been among them? Is there anything more you can tell us—anything at all?
Hmmm. Well, I'm a little shaky on the lyrics for the second verse, but let's see...
Across the washing-water deep,♪
Through castle gate beyond,♪
Alone the moondust mountain sleeps,♪
Its hearth and home a pond.♪
Through castle gate beyond,♪
Alone the moondust mountain sleeps,♪
Its hearth and home a pond.♪
Perhaps something there could be of use to you?
Why, this second verse would appear to describe a specific location... This may be our most promising lead yet!
Right then, Forename, let us return to Ala Gannha and see what we can make of these clues!
Hold a moment, Namingway. To you I may be a stranger, but to me, you're a dear old friend of the family. Let me aid you as the elders once did.
You are too kind, Sewal. I daresay we couldn't ask for a better guide!
After peddling wares in Ala Ghiri for so long, my hometown feels almost foreign in its tranquility, yet no less welcoming.
Well, here we are at the river. Er...now what?
“Across the washing-water deep, through castle gate beyond...”
Our first clue directs us here to the Slow Wash. If we suppose the “castle” to be the castrum ruins, then...might that rock formation be the “gate”...?
I trust your instincts, my good fellow. Let us seek our “moondust mountain” on the other side!
You needn't search for a tall mountain, mind—the survey pod was only slightly bigger than myself, and the crash buried it half in the ground.
I know not what this ancient moon vessel looks like, but for Namingway's sake, I hope we find it.
You root around in the pile of loose dirt and jagged metal, but find only broken Garlean weaponry.
This mound of earth is riddled with twigs and rock fragments. Nothing of value appears to be buried here.
When you clear away the debris, you espy a shape distinctly Loporrit in origin... You decide to summon the others.
Have we located it at long last!?
Whatever it is, it's buried deep...
My survey pod! Oh, happy day!
Even after a century, it's still here...
Well! All that remains is to arrange for its excavation and transportation back to the moon!
So the nursery song was a map all along! I'll be damned...and, frankly, honored beyond words to have had a hand in this discovery.
Likewise, my hundred-year mission may well have ended in failure, were it not for kind-hearted souls such as you and your forebears!
Not to mention dear Forename, of course!
...Oh dear. Little wonder I thought mankind was far too small, given my first encounter on Etheirys was with children!
A hundred years on Etheirys, you say? Doubtless you've been everywhere worth going! 'Tis a feat to which any merchant would aspire.
Ah, I'm afraid I must disappoint you. As mentioned, I was restricted to the shadows in the interest of evading public notice.
Never have I tasted tacos in Tural or scoured the south sea isles. And there's no telling how many more stars are in want of exploration!
Many a discovery is yet to be named and proclaimed, and I shall pursue each and every one to the ends of the universe!
The ends of the universe? Well, I can but pray we meet again along the way! Fare thee well, Namingway.
I can transmit these coordinates to my associates at a later time. For now, we must needs report back to Searchingway.
After that, I suppose I shall ruminate upon my next steps!
And so my two dear friends return triumphant in their mission! Very good, very good.
When I invited you to accompany me, I failed to anticipate the extent of the ordeal in store for us. You've helped me put much to rest, Forename.
Ah, but what a story! A lost survey pod, uncovered after a century. Unearthed alongside the descendant of the child who helped to bury it in the first place...
After we lost contact, I could only wonder what had happened. Really, I should have known our Namingway would make an impact on the locals!
Oh, very clever, Searchingway!
Aren't I just? In all seriousness, I'll arrange to have the Sinus Ardorum cohort collect the wreckage from Ala Gannha in short order.
Wonderful! Their assistance is greatly appreciated. In fact, I shall make a note to thank each of them personally!
Returning to the burrow, joining the initiative, and even meeting a civilization from another star... The journey has been long and fruitful.
For much of it, I've been asking myself: what's in a name, truly?
Flowers, trees, topological features—all of them beautiful just as they are. 'Tis we, not they, who have need of such labels.
In the past I spoke of cognitive links and other scholarly concepts, but I've come to believe that the true significance of names is both simpler and more profound.
A name is a moment in time. A perspective—or a feeling. A name is how we say, “This is how I see the world, and I want to share it with you.”
In a way, it's a gift. And I, Namingway, was given the greatest gift of all!
One that served me well as part of the Cosmic Exploration Initiative, especially. I hope it's not presumptuous to say that I'm quite proud of the work I've done.
Hardly. The crew has embraced your every appellation with enthusiasm, you realize?
Indeed...and what a marvelous experience it's been. You've both made my dream come true!
I think you'll find the feeling is rather mutual!
What will you say?
You truly breathed life into these stars.
How in the world did you manage it all?
Such kind words! Though a century of solitude taught me much, I relish the company of like-minded compatriots who appreciate nuanced nomenclature!
Oh, it was a daunting task to be sure, but I confess I was galvanized by the prospect of seeing my work immortalized in scientific research. Hee hee!
At any rate, my time with the initiative is far from over. I have only just reunited with my kin, after all.
Ere long, however, I suspect I will be amenable to a new journey—perhaps alone, or perhaps accompanied by an esteemed peer.
You wouldn't say no to a new adventure, would you, Forename?