Striped Brigands The Striped Brigands are a group of thieves in " Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles " who usually steal from travelers . The group consist of the Selkie leader Bal Dat , the moogle Artemicion , and Meh Gaj , an elderly Selkie . Story . Mischief and trouble . The Striped Brigands first appear stealing from the Tipa Caravan . Later they come up with a plan to steal from the Tipa Caravan by distracting the party . Bal Dat and Artemicion pretend that Artemicion needs help while they wait for Meh Gaj to steal from the caravan while the party is distracted . After the party leaves , Bal Dat and Artemicion check to see what Meh Gaj has stolen , only to find out the elderly man had been sleeping the entire time and forgot to steal from the caravan . Sometime later one of the party members from the Tipa Caravan ask the group of bandits if they have ever killed anyone . They claim to have never done such a thing . Later the group of bandits come up with another plan to steal gil from travelers . Before their plan goes into action , Artemicion being to speak of a thought that came to him about how he wants to become a star in the sky . Bal Dat calls him stupid for his strange thought and then puts his plan to steal gil from the Tipa Caravan into action . All three thieves then jump in front of the road and block it so the caravan cannot pass . Bal Dat then begins to demand an huge amount of gil so the party can past . If the party refuses , they charge the caravan at Artemicion , knocking him into the air . Meh Gaj then exclaims " And so , he became a star " . The bandits come up with a new plan with the help of Gurdy . When the party runs into them again , they claim to have taken Gurdy hostage and demand 1 , 000 gil for his safety . However , if the party decides to give them a striped apple instead then the group of bandits will happily accept . This leaves Gurdy annoyed that his life is only worth a striped apple to them . Passing of Meh Gaj . One day the party run into Artemicion who is calling out for help as the group of bandits have been attacked . Meh Gaj is seen on the road , dead having saved Bal Dat ' s life . Bal Dat acts as if the passing of his oldest member does not bother him , but eventually says that he will keep the group together in memory of Meh Gaj . Stolen items . One event that usually happen multiple times is a scene where the group steals from the party . The following are items they usually steal : Other appearances . In " Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles : Ring of Fates " , there are no direct references to the group , but some small connections appear to exist between them and the character Gnash . The way Gnash dresses greatly resembles the outfit Bal Dat wears , and he even has red hair like him . In the opening FMV of " Ring of Fates " , he is also seen with a Striped Apple in his hand , a fruit which the Striped Brigands named themselves after and hold more valuable then a life . In addition , when Gnash equips the Creature Head and Creature Suit , the costume resembles Artemicion . Artemicion himself appears early in the game , as the owner of the Moogle Shop in Rebena Te Ra . Here , he sells Magicite pouches and Potion / Ether pockets , as well as stat - boosting items . He later leaves another moogle in charge , as he wanders the world looking for new items to sell . His travels are convenient for the heroes in Storyline Mode , as he appears at Sinner ' s Isle ( claiming to be on holiday with his employees ) and ? ? ? ( although his arrival there is not fully explained ) . Additionally , the past version of him is present in the Rela Cyel Past ( because he planned to loot the evacuated facility ) . The reason for these appearances is that once the player reaches Sinner ' s Isle , they have no access to shops until completing Rela Cyel Past ; Artemicion and his employees therefore provide the shopping opportunities in these dungeons . Artemicion makes a cameo in " The Crystal Bearers " , shown with a Striped Apple replacing his pom - pom . He is also said to be a wanted criminal , linked with 188 crimes .