Digging for Answers

is a Quest in Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn.
==Journal==
* Considering you one of his own, the wounded clutchfather Novv entrusts you with the rescue of the kidnapped Bouu. He explains to you that after falling to the masked Miqo'te, he managed to punch a hole in the culprit's skiff with his spear. Thus surmising that the vessel has been taken to Aleport for repairs, he bids you go in pursuit.
* No sooner do you locate the kidnapper's vessel than the enigmatic Sylvie appears, informing you that your quarry has once again eluded your─and her─grasp. She further reveals that the one you seek is a shadowy figure known as the Ebon Claw, and suggests that Baderon at the Drowning Wench may be able to tell you more about your man.
* As Baderon tells it, the Ebon Claw is the epithet of Nhaza'a Jaab─an erstwhile adventurer and incomparable swordsman who now makes his trade as a hired blade to the most unscrupulous individuals in the realm. He warns you that it is in your best interests to steer well clear of the man, then recalls that Lieutenant Trachraet of the Maelstrom was asking around for you not long ago.
* Trachraet explains that he was searching for you on behalf of his fellow storm lieutenant Skaetswys, who it would seem has another kobold crisis on her hands. Reunite with her at the 789th Order Dig and see what the trouble is this time.
* Speaking with Skaetswys reveals an unsurprising turn of events─the kidnapper has struck again, this time ambushing a group of kobolds of the 175th Order in the heart of the Kobold Dig. Travel to the scene of the crime and question the victims in the hopes of tracking your quarry.
* In shock and in shambles, the kobolds of the 175th Order explain that their alchemist, the beloved Bi Bi, was captured by a fearsome swordsman. As they tell it, he fled to the south, pursued by a mysterious green-haired girl. There may yet be time to catch your quarry.
* You find Sylvie collapsed on the ground, clinging tenuously to consciousness. With labored breaths, she explains in frustration that she tracked Nhaza'a Jaab here, but was powerless to stop him. Return to the 789th Order Dig and report this distressing news to Skaetswys.
* You return to the 789th Order Dig to find Sylvie lying on the ground, her condition grave. She implores you to put a stop to the Ebon Claw's madness, while implying that there is yet another mastermind behind the scenes...before falling unconscious from her wounds. With Gi Gu proving ever incompetent, Skaetswys takes it upon herself to carry the girl to Camp Overlook to recuperate. Upon her return, she asks you to share any knowledge you have about your quarry, in hopes of plotting your next course of action.
==Objectives==
* Search for the kidnapper's skiff in Aleport.
* Speak with Baderon in Limsa Lominsa.
* Speak with Trachraet.
* Speak with Skaetswys at the 789th Order Dig.
* Speak with the 175th Order kobolds at the Kobold Dig.
* Track down the kidnapper at the Kobold Dig.
* Report to Skaetswys.
==Script==
script 	script
 	
Novv 	Pshhh...[Player Name]. You may lack for gills, but you are as much my child as any of those I have spawned. It is as your clutchfather that I would bessseech your aid.
Novv 	I know not what that masked shhhorewalker means to do with Bouu, but I fear for the boy's life. I would leave this moment in pursssuit, but I am not young, and my wounds are slow to heal. My daughter/son─pray rescue your brother in my ssstead.
Novv 	There is a sssaying among our people: the shark that swallows a Sahagin will choke on its ssscales. Though my clash with the kidnapper might have appeared a one-sided affair, I assure you it was not entirely so.
Novv 	After I tumbled into the waves, I struck at the villain's skiff with my spear. Even in my weakened state, I was able to open a sssizable hole in its bottom. The vessel will flood before long, if it has not already.
Novv 	The fiend will have no choice but to dock at the nearessst port for repairs. And there is only one sssuitable location in western La Noscea. Pshhh! You will find our man at Aleport─you can be sure of it!
Novv 	Go forth, O strongest of my daughters/sons! Your ssspawnbrother's life hangs in the balance!
Novv 	Pshhh... You must pursssue the fiend to Aleport, my daughter/son. Your ssspawnbrother's life hangs in the balance!
 	
Silvia 	Again s/he comes, unaware that what s/he seeks has already been swept away by the tide.
Silvia 	Just couldn't leave well enough alone, could you, stranger? Ah, well. I suppose it matters little now.
Silvia 	I know who it is you seek...for I seek him as well. I also know that our man left Aleport not bells ago, and none in town can speak as to his whereabouts.
Silvia 	First he came for sylphs, then for Sahagin. Yes, it is clear enough. The wheels are in motion, and they will not stop until every beast tribe has been crushed beneath...
Silvia 	He must be stopped─and I will be the one to stop him!
Silvia 	Why, indeed? If I had an answer, it would make our search that much the easier. Alas, the Ebon Claw's motives are as inscrutable as that red eye...
Silvia 	...So you saw him as well. Clad all in black, with a face of metal and that red eye burning in the darkness...
Silvia 	They call him the Ebon Claw, as those who speak his birth name are said to be not long for the world. To what dark end he preys upon the beast tribes, I cannot say─only that he cannot be allowed to continue.
Silvia 	If you would know more of our quarry, seek out Baderon at the Drowning Wench.
Silvia 	I must move quickly...before tragedy strikes again...
Baderon 	Well, if it ain't me favorite regular, [Player Name]! 'Ave ye come for a pint or a tale─mayhap both?
Baderon 	Bugger me with a spear, an' tell me ye didn't just say what I think ye said!
Baderon 	I told ye not to tell me that, [Player Name]. Aye, just 'earing those words sends a shiver up me spine...
Baderon 	...The Ebon Claw. Nhaza'a Jaab─though I'd suggest you avoid speakin' that name if ye prefer yer 'ead attached to yer body. One o' the five deadliest sellswords in Eorzea, by my measure.
Baderon 	Not that yer like to 'ave 'eard of 'im. Prefers to keep to the shadows, ye see. Smugglin', assassination, extortion─the dirtier the job, the more it titillates the man.
Baderon 	Believe it or not, 'e started out as an adventurer not unlike yerself. Some reckoned 'e'd be just the 'ero the realm was lookin' for. But doin' good didn't seem to satisfy 'im none, and it didn't take 'im long to turn to the dark side...
Baderon 	Yer as strong and sure a lass/lad as I know, and that's why I give ye this advice: keep a wide berth o' that man. I'd 'ate to see ye end up like...
Baderon 	...Which reminds me, [Player Name]. Someone stopped by the Wench not long ago, askin' if I'd seen ye about.
Baderon 	An officer of the Maelstrom, no less. I believe 'e said 'is name was Trachraet.
Baderon 	The burly bloke didn't share any details, but it seemed a matter o' some urgency. Ye'd best get along to Maelstrom Command and see what the fuss is.
Baderon 	Can't say for sure what Trachraet wanted, but it sounded like a matter o' some urgency.
Trachraet 	Thank the Navigator! Just the woman/man I was lookin' to see!
Trachraet 	Ye remember Lieutenant Skaetswys, no doubt? Aye, she leaves quite an impression. And it would seem you left quite an impression on 'er, as well─she asked for ye specifically by name.
Trachraet 	It would seem there's another storm brewin' at the 789th Order Dig, and she reckons she needs yer steady 'and to navigate through. As fer the nature o' the storm, that ye'll 'ave to 'ear straight from 'er.
Trachraet 	Just between you and me, sometimes I can't 'elp but think that lass goes out of 'er way to look for trouble.
 	
Skaetswys 	[Player Name], I thought ye'd never come! We've got a crisis on our 'ands 'ere, and I ain't just talkin' about this oversized bilge rat's aversion to anythin' resemblin' honest work!
Skaetswys 	I tell ye, after all you and I did to end Zo Ga's reign o' terror, ye'd think 'e'd make the slightest effort to raise 'is order from the arse end o' kobold society, wouldn't ye? Well, ye'd be wrong!
Skaetswys 	But that's neither 'ere nor there. The reason I wanted ye goes beyond this lot o' loungers─we've got a catastrophe facin' all o' koboldkind! I tell ye, these days it's out o' the bomb's nest, into the cauldron!
Skaetswys 	What sort o' crisis, ye ask? Scores o' kobolds from the mines just up and disappearin'! Aye, one moment they're there, an' the next they're gone! Who─or what─could possibly be responsible for this!?
Skaetswys 	Gwahahaha! Ye got me, [Player Name]. I always thought the realm would be better off without these good-for-nothin'─are ye out o' your bleedin' gourd?
Skaetswys 	Aye, the rumors from the Shroud and La Noscea 'aven't escaped me ears. Beastmen spirited away from their 'omes. But one question remains: why?
Skaetswys 	From the sound of it, ye've already done some investigatin' of yer own. I'll see what I can get out of Gi Gu and the rest o' these laggards. What say you survey the scene o' the crime?
Skaetswys 	Word 'as it that an inspection team from the 175th were ambushed right from the 'eart o' the Kobold Dig. The 175th's a friendly lot─ye remember Bi Bi, no doubt?─I reckon they won't be stingy with information.
Skaetswys 	With this kidnapper about, I thank the Twelve I wasn't born a beastman. But I must confess─I 'aven't been this excited since the two of us teamed up to bring down Zo Ga!
Pickman789gigu 	The 789th's favorite adventurer returns! You will be pleased to hear that we have been working hard─yes, yes, very hard, indeed. Gi Gu simply must share with you his latest discovery!
Pickman789gigu 	After days of hard research─yes, yes, very hard─Gi Gu has taught himself how to sleep with his eyes open─peeled, wide, open! We can nap as often as we like, and the inspectors will be none the wiser! Gi Gu is quite the genius, yes?
 	
Kobold175a 	Bi Bi! Where did he take Bi Bi!? Where...!?
Kobold175a 	Unghhh... Bi...Bi...
Kobold175b 	It stings─burns, sears, stings! I set my strongest bombs against him, but they could do nothing. No, no, nothing...
Kobold175b 	I've seen no overdweller so strong. No, no, not ever!
Kobold175c 	I...I saw it all. Yes, yes, I did. He grabbed Bi Bi with one arm, pressed steel against her neck. It was too much to watch─too distressing, too painful, too much!
Kobold175c 	I was too scared─yes, yes, too cowardly to come out of hiding. But the overdweller girl─yes, yes, the girl with green hair. She chased him─followed him, pursued him, chased him to the south!
Kobold175c 	The overdweller girl chased the kidnapper to the south. Oh, our dear Bi Bi─our precious, our beloved, our dear Bi Bi!
 	
Silvia 	C-Curses... He's too...unggghhh!
Silvia 	D-Don't touch me! I...I can stand on my own.
Silvia 	My deductions were flawless... I knew the kobolds were next... I waited, waited to strike, and yet... I could do nothing...
Silvia 	Nhaza'a Jaab─the Ebon Claw. I should have known I would be no match for that monster...
Silvia 	My strength wanes... At this rate, I shall be... I...I must go...
Silvia 	That...that one is too strong...
Pickman789gigu 	Wh-What is happening here!? How is Gi Gu supposed to nap with all this disruption─disturbance, disorder, disruption!?
 	
Pickman789gigu 	Wh-Who is this overdweller girl!? What is she doing here!? And where can Gi Gu go to nap in peace─quiet, silence, peace!?
Skaetswys 	Ugh, 'ow in the bloody 'ells should I know!? Now quit yer blatherin'─the poor lass's wounded!
Silvia 	W-Worry not for me... Please... You must stop him...
Silvia 	Nhaza'a Jaab...the Ebon Claw...sword to the underworld...
Silvia 	And yet he is but a blade for hire... No...another...<cough>...pulls the...<wheeze>...strings...
Skaetswys 	Enough, lass! Save yer strength!
Silvia 	He must...<cough>...be stopped... Ixal...Amalj'aa...no beastman is...<wheeze>...
Silvia 	...safe...
Pickman789gigu 	Is she dead─expired, perished, dead!? Oh no, no─this cannot be! Bring my pickaxe! Gi Gu shall give the overdweller girl a proper burial!
Skaetswys 	Fool! She's not dead─but you will be if you don't stop yer bloody whinin'!
Skaetswys 	The girl still lives, but she'll need an 'ealer's 'and an' a clean bed, neither of which she'll find 'ere. I'll see 'er to Camp Overlook.
Pickman789gigu 	Does the overdweller imply that we are...unclean!? Gi Gu takes umbrage at your remark─offense, insult, umbrage! Why, Gi Gu took a bath just last year! Yes, yes, he did!
Skaetswys 	Worry not for the girl. She'll be safe at Camp Overlook. Our priority now should be rescuin' Bi Bi from her kidnapper.
Pickman789gigu 	My beloved Bi Bi was kidnapped!? Why─yes, yes, why did you not tell me sooner!? What is the ransom? Gi Gu has two chunks of ore and a handful of sulphur!
Skaetswys 	...Somehow I don't think that'll be enough. Besides, I 'ave a feelin' it ain't just riches our man is after.
Skaetswys 	It would seem poor Bi Bi's life is at stake...again. We'll need to move quickly, [Player Name]. I need ye to share with me anything and everything ye know o' the man─we'll get to the bottom o' this together.
Quest complete.	Quest complete.
Category:Side Story Quests in Final Fantasy XIV