Limsa and Goobbue Hunting
It’s hard to speak of Limsa Lominsa without broaching the subject of piracy. The city state started its life as a safe-port for the various pirate crews and fleets that troubled the seas around Eorzea and even beyond to places like Thavnair and (in rare cases) Kugane.
In the modern age they are the alliance’s de facto naval presence. No force in Eorzea can come close to matching the sheer number of vessels under the admiral’s command, save perhaps East Aldenard Trading. Their primary military force is the Maelstrom Grand Company, which combines the Knights of the Barracuda and conscripted pirates and adventurers. This lends a certain wildness to their tactics that makes the Maelstrom formidable in their unpredictability.
As a Thalassocracy, Limsa Lominsa is the governmental seat for coastal communities all over the Rhotano sea and La Noscea. The cultural hallmarks of construction and aesthetic are striking in their fusion of piratical practicality and stark beauty. Most communities are shining white, built from the white limestone and sandstone that makes up the cliffs of the local islands. Many locations, including Limsa herself, are built out over the open water on hoodoos and columns rising out of the water. The sight of the city stretched over dozens of trunk-like pillars and laced over with bridges has earned Limsa Lominsa the nickname The Navigator’s Veil.
I arrived by ferry early in the morning and had a full day to explore the city, quickly becoming lost in the thick knot of bridges and sky-ways. Ships hoisted from the water created make-shift buildings, while in other cases the hoodoos were carved hollow to form luxurious cave dwellings. Even as used to the desert sun as I am, though, I found that the glare of light off the white stone eventually started to make my head hurt and I took my wanderings inside.
Fortunately, several of the pillars are large enough to constitute entire neighborhoods or boroughs once hollowed out. I found myself exploring vast indoor marketplaces, guild halls, training areas, and plazas. All of these smelled wonderfully of the myriad spices on sale, fish, linseed oil, and salt. Even with the press of sweaty bodies, it was hard to find a corner of the city that was not a bouquet of pleasant aromas.
My favorite phenomenon was the wave-talk. Some trick of the hollow stone pillars and the waves that beat on them continually created hallways that rumbled and roared with the sounds of the ocean. I could stand still and close my eyes and listen—and a less credulous mage might start to swear they could hear speech. Indeed, I almost felt the ocean talking to me in a language I could nearly understand. It was like I heard words that were just beyond the tip of my tongue, some ancient syntax studied as a child and since long forgotten. It reminded me of the wind sweeping through the trees of the Shroud in that sense.
I registered my name as a visitor with the Arcanist’s guild and purchased a few books for study, but did not have time to do much more than watch a handful of students practicing arcanima. Loathe as I am to pass on seeing forms of magic I’ve not played with, I have a job to do. I’ve been asked to track and slay a Goobbue causing trouble for some vineyards east of Limsa, so in the afternoon I loaded Telemachus’ saddle bags with fresh supplies bought in the port and set off on the road.
Personal entry: Sea travel must be one of Hells used to punish the sinful. I had to walk as much to steady my own stomach as to sate my curiosity. An apothecary recognized my green gills when I stepped off the boat and sold me some herbal gum to chew for what I suspect was entirely too much money. Flipping hells, if I hadn’t been about to lose my breakfast, I might not have paid.
I’ve received a call on my link pearl asking me to travel back to Ishgard with all haste. I am to join a handful of other Drakes in investigating something in the Brume. Apparently there are deaths among the refugee population. I said yes, of course. I wouldn’t be able to look mama and papa in the eyes if I refused to help a fellow refugee. I’m going to try to purchase a ticket on an airship. Admiral Bloefhiswyn has supposedly relaxed travel restrictions on air travel.
I’m stuck in my head. The whole trip across Vylbrand I’ve had hardly a thought for anything but those refugees in Ishgard. It had been nearly a year before my family was allowed to live inside Ul’Dah’s walls and that was only once I’d won sponsorship to learn at the Ossuary. There are children I grew up with whose families still live in the tent city outside the Gate of Nald. I remember crime families taking advantage of those of us desperate for work and without the skills of an artisan. Papa stayed away by stroke of luck, but Didiru wasn’t so lucky. Her death still hurts even after four years. I only wish we’d found the body. Then at least I could have given her an honorable funeral.
I met my contact in Aleport after I took care of the Goobbue. There wasn’t much in the way of gil, but the man had a few good bottles of wine to sweeten the pot. I know naught of wine but the Roe waitress serving us seemed surprised by the vintage. I think I can bribe my way on to an airship with one.
