From my lack of journal entries lately, it might seem that I haven't been doing much. To the contrary, I've been very, very busy!
Of course, this time of year there's always alot going on. First off, the Moogles held the annual Starlight Celebration and I mostly certainly participated by donning my Dream outfit and handing out presents for the kiddies. I even participated in a Moogle event where we had to find specific adventurers and trade cards with them, among other treats, I got a pair of Dream Boots +1 to complete my Dream outfit.
The boots are kind of nice actually, in that not only can they be used to cast Sneak, but they also enhance the sneak effect! I understand now why the Smilebringers are always able to get into the townsfolk's house with no disruption to the sleeping children.
After the fun and games were over, I spent some time in the Uleguerand Range honing my skills as a Beastmaster. I was even lucky enough to find another adventuring Beastmaster named Everquest with whom I teamed up to take on some of the nastiest hounds I've fought in my adventuring life.
After all of the effort, it seemed my innate Beastmaster abilities had gone as far as they would so I went back to Maat to ask for some more guidance. He sent me off on a quest that had me in the Orc's Monastic Cavern, the Quadav's Qulun Dome, and the Yagudo's Castle Oztroja. That was a bit of tough work but in the end, it helped me break some of my limitations.
After that, it was back to Beastmaster work. This time I ventured down into the Boyahda Tree in the Sanctuary of Zi'tah. It turns out that the rumors are true about this being the biggest tree in the sanctuary.
As a matter of fact, there are hills, valleys, tunnels, rivers, waterfalls and many, many plants and animals down there. It really gave me quite an opportunity to hone my skills charming animals.
And, as if this all wasn't enough, I also had an opportunity to talk to the little fashion girl,
Brygid in Bastok Markets who found me a nice piece of body armor called a Gaudy Harness. She didn't just hand it over though; she wanted to trade me for an Ophiuchus Subligar which was pretty tough to get. Eventually Sparkkplug and I were able to find one on a Fomor Beastmaster we defeated down in the Phomiuna Aqueducts.
I can't say the Aqueducts were a bad experience though, it's not everyday you see the likes of a diremite!
Recently, there's been sightings all over Vana'diel of rodent-like (rat or mouse) creatures running around outdoors. Some have said the bear gifts and spells for those adventurers who talk to them and you know I'll need to find out if the rumors are true myself.
So, I have certainly been busy and that's my excuse for not writing in my journal lately. Unfortunately, it's also my excuse for not fishing or crafting very much lately either but that excuse will only hold out for so long. When my pocketbook runs dry, I'll need to start some more fishing for profit. I can't neglect my job for too long without feeling the impact!
The sunny oasis town of Rabao was today's setting for Fennella's "catch-of-the-day;' sandfish. Sandfish are nice in that a sibiki rig can pull in up to three at a time. While they're much easier for me to fish now days than they were way back when I first started trying to catch them, they're still small and feisty little guys that put up a pretty good fight.
After I'd caught 32 of them, I stopped by to speak with Irmilant (and old fisherman who hangs out in Rabao). We spoke a little about serpent rumors and he told me more about a story I'd heard where some legendary sea monsters swallowed opal silk thread and a saber shoot branch. Irmilant explained that who is the only one alive that can fashion these things into a legendary fishing rod impervious to breakage. It sounded far fetched, but I have heard parts of this rumor elsewhere. I plan on keeping my eyes open for these legendary sea monsters. Perhaps if I should catch one, I'll have Zaldon gut it for me to see if I can find the legendary items Irmilant speaks of...
I had a chance to do some fishing at the foot of the most mesmerizing, yet menacing waterfall I've ever seen. Fennella's catch of the day was takitaro and they can be found at the pond at the bottom of the Cascade Edellaine falls on the Misareaux Coast.
The Fishing Guild "catch-of-the-day" today was silver sharks. It's been a while since I've ridden the Selbina ferry and even longer since I've caught any of these squirmy carnivores. I decided I'd give it a go.
I decided to enter another fish ranking competition. This time the contest was for the smallest catch, and the fish was a giant donko - which is a pretty easy hook in Rabao with a frog lure. After spending a few days at that pleasant little pond, I'd caught what I thought was the itty, bittiest little donko I would find. I went straight to Selbina that day to drop my entry off at the Fishing Guild. When I entered my fish, Chenon designated it worth 321 points (the lower the better in this particular contest). I was confident it was a pretty good entry but I wasn't certain how good.