Disarmed

“

Slowfix looks more agitated than you have ever seen him.

— In-game description

Rewards

A panicked Slowfix informs you of the presence of a new primal─a colossus of steam and steel that has risen from the waters of the Thaliak. Soon after, Y'shtola arrives bearing still more sobering news: though the machine was active for but a moment, her measurements indicate that it is drawing aether from the hinterlands at a rate that will render the entire area lifeless within the space of a few moons. While she seeks Matoya's counsel on how the metal giant might be denied access to this aether, she bids you keep watch over it alongside Cid. Seek him out at Bigwest Shortstop.

Cid tells you that the Illuminati─the secretive fraternity of goblin scholars─were responsible for summoning the primal. Given the mechanical nature of the giant, he believes your best hope lies in seeking out and destroying whatever passes for its engine. Whilst Cid questions Brayflox about the Illuminati, he bids you join Biggs in the Makers' Quarter and aid him in finding a way inside the colossus.

It would seem that Biggs and Wedge have discovered a hatch in the colossus's hand which is not protected by the barrier. Unfortunately, it is locked by some unknown mechanism. All is not lost, however, as Wedge has intercepted a coded Illuminati communication on his linkpearl, and believes that deciphering the strange message may hold the key to entering the giant. Redbrix, the goblin watchman, tells you Roundrox may have the type of crystal the Illuminati use to encode their communications. Make your way to Bigwest Shortstop, and sprinkle 3G7-001B on Roundrox's pile of treasure to find out for sure.

You sprinkle the 3G7-001B over the pile of trinkets, and notice something glimmering near the top. Hopefully, Roundrox won't mind you borrowing it...

Somewhat predictably, Roundrox does mind you taking her things without permission, and demands that you explain yourself. It would seem that you chose her most prized possession, and she allows you to take it only after you swear to return it. Deliver it─and Roundrox's warning─to Wedge.

Using Roundrox's glowstone and an Ironworks decoder, Wedge reveals that the Illuminati are sending out...gibberish. Luck appears to be on your side, however, as a treasure hunter by the name of Mide appears soon after, and offers you her aid. Thanks to her, Biggs succeeds in opening the hatch just as Cid arrives. Though he was able to glean little of use from Brayflox concerning the primal or the Illuminati, he speculates that the metal giant is akin to an exceedingly large mammet─meaning that you need only locate and destroy its core to end the threat it poses. Gird your loins for whatever awaits you within the colossal machine, and set about exploring its interior.

※The Fist of the Father can be accessed via the Duty Finder.

As you make your way out of the hand of the colossus with Mide and Roundrox, you find your path blocked by a host of goblins. At their head stands Quickthinx Allthoughts, Grand Master of the Illuminati. He informs Mide that the thing she seeks lies elsewhere, prompting a laughing machinist at his side to mention something called the “Alexander Initiative.” Before Quickthinx can censure his loose-lipped underling, Mide opens fire, causing the bombs on the goblins' backs to detonate, and enabling you to make your escape. Now safely out of harm's way, speak with Biggs at Bigwest Shortstop, and tell him of all that has occurred.

Biggs is intrigued by this Alexander Initiative, and wonders aloud if the primal itself is named Alexander. Whether it be so or no, one thing is clear: much of the machine remains to be explored.

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