When you return, there is a small gathering at The Lotus Stand near the Conjurer’s Guild to celebrate your successes, and S’olahr is permitted to continue his training to ‘the next stage,’ whatever exactly that entails. Regardless, he seems happy, which helps you feel like your time was well-spent.

However, you are a busy bee, and hardly have the luxury of lounging about in Gridania before returning to Limsa to report your findings. This is what you try to explain to S’olahr, who refuses to let you leave Gridania until you try his ‘world-renowned’ Apple Pie. After a lot of begging, you and K’yoko agree to stay the night at the local Inn instead of catching the airship out of town as soon as possible.

Phekda wanted to stick around, but is summoned by the Scions to investigate rumors of Amalj'aa activity near Ul’dah, and as such leaves just as the pie-baking process is beginning. You try your best to help him, but honestly you know very little with regards to baking or cooking in general beyond seasoning basic meats.

The pie is unlike anything you’ve ever had before, as the cooking ingredients available in Ul’dah leave a lot to be desired. The crust is a beautiful golden brown and the smell helps you focus on the here and now in a way that you normally struggle to do. You happily admit that it’s very good, and K’yoko asks to take an extra slice home with her.

At night, you three browse the markets to see if there’s anything of interest to you, but most of the gear and tomes available are, frankly, lower quality than the ones you already own. K’yoko buys some earrings while in town that should help improve her spellcasting damage, but you quietly note that it won’t make any difference if she can’t learn how to hit the targets first.

The night market is certainly quieter than the day, but that should not be mistaken for a complete lack of business. The busiest stalls of the arms dealer and the armorer still have short lines, and small groups of passerby do window shopping as they casually move from stall to stall. That’s why it’s so surprising when you hear cries for help just outside the marketplace.

An older Elezen woman, Idelle Maifine, lays dead in Mih Khetto's Amphitheatre. She was reportedly in the middle of giving one of her many rallies when suddenly, one of the light poles was knocked over, causing fire to rapidly spill over the stage, forming a ring of fire around the speaker.

In that moment, an armored figure who you are able to identify as Halone’s Champion rushed onto the stage and took her life. Before the Wood Wailer’s could approach, they vanished under the veil of darkness. In an attempt to maintain control of the situation, The Twin Adder shut down the city, preventing both entrance and egress, and quickly began to take eye witness reports.

Thankfully, you have an alibi, given that the three of you have been together this entire time. However, once word is mentioned that the assassin bore Xaela horns, you are immediately brought into questioning about Erden, as Au Ra are few and far between in Gridania.

You give them the best report that you can-- that Erden left the city half a day ago via his own carriage, a story which Wood Wailer Bernadette is able to vouch for, as she spotted Erden exiting the city but never saw him return. You present the possibility that the guilty party could have used glamour magic to disguise their true appearance, and insist that they do not conduct this investigation based on that alone.

What you forego mentioning is the fact that Halone’s Champion had been spotted no few number of times in Limsa, as you know that will only make Erden look even more guilty. With Bernadette confirming your story, you have every confidence that Erden could not possibly be responsible for this, as it isn’t even taking into consideration that he lacks the skills to pull something like that off. After all, he is but a peaceful farm worker with some proficiency using an axe.

You are worried that K’yoko will panic if interviewed, but that never comes to fruition since she had never been spotted alongside Erden. In light of your successes earlier that day, you and S’olahr are completely cleared of guilt in the investigation, and after enough collusion of sources between the Wood Wailers and the Twin Adders, Erden is cleared of the act as well.

Through a moderate amount of investigation, it’s revealed that this little trick had more setup than it initially seemed. The pole which was ‘knocked over’ had been partially damaged beforehand, and a very faint trail of ceruleum was lined along the edge of the stage, causing it to spread into the ‘ring of fire’ as eye-witnesses testify.

Throughout all of this, K’yoko seems on-edge. It’s not like Limsa was much safer, but at least it was familiar. Once you’re cleared, you all head back to the conjurer’s guild. S’olahr apologizes profusely for getting you both involved in this, even if very incidentally. You tell him there’s nothing to be sorry for-- the apple pie was worth it.

The following day, you both return to Limsa. K’yoko seems eager to practice more, but this time wants to do it on her own so she can get the ‘real experience.’ You urge her to stay as close to the gates of Limsa as possible so that The Yellowjackets can help if she gets in over her head, which she agrees to do.

When you submit your findings to the Arcanist’s guild, you again receive a very handsome sum of gil, well exceeding that which you had gotten before. You spend a few weeks looking into higher quality grimoires and gear to purchase with your excess funds.

In this time, you tinker away at trying to perfect a use for the hexagonal geometry you recorded from your time near Amdapor, but struggle to weave something together of real substance. Depending on its orientation, you can either make a barrier to protect against physical or magical attacks, but you haven’t figured out a way to compose the aether so that it stays together after taking one hit.

You are able to help stabilize it by mimicking the design employed for Rejuvenate, but the design still needs a lot of work. Rather than running yourself into the ground stressing over it, you shelf the design in favor of looking back out into the world instead. You ultimately decide that it’s in your best interests to pay a personal visit to Ul’dah despite the fact that it’s only been a few months since you left.

The main benefit of this is to work towards upgrading your repertoire to include the Paladin spells you are so fond of, which should help you stand on your own when in a fight instead of relying on powerhouses like Phekda to do all the work for you. Secondly, you wish to return the tomes which Mizu, er…’borrowed,’ from the thaumaturges guild.

You invite Erden along this time, and promise not to stay any longer than a week so his family doesn’t struggle on the farm in his absence. You are flooded with joy when he agrees, and the two of you set off for your home city. You are interrupted by Ace as you attempt to leave, and he pulls you aside to ask you questions about Erden in a way that drives you mad with anger.

He apologizes for prying too much (and no small amount of racial profiling,) but does warn that if Halone’s Champion makes an appearance while you are in Ul’dah, it will be difficult to dispute the notion that you are colluding with them. Admittedly, you do overreact a bit, but you effectively tell him to shove it and storm off. He seems a bit dumbfounded but does not chase after you, leaving the two of you to depart to Ul’dah.