The Grim Tale of Pyracmon and the Baleful Eye

Under trees resplendent in autumn hues, the streets of the three nations were abuzz with anticipation. Townspeople bustled to and fro, carving pumpkins and sewing costumes for the masquerade. The annual Harvest Festival was nigh.


And yet, amidst all the merriment, something was amiss. Anyone who turned an ear to the whispers of the crowd would soon hear the disquieting rumor that had struck fear into the hearts of commoner and noble alike.
"Pyracmon is coming...coming to bring doom to us all!"


On an isle far to the west, two young exorcists who had caught wind of these ill tidings descended to the vault of their church, hoping to uncover the story behind this unfamiliar moniker...

Adventurers with the courage to face the sinister tale are invited to read on.

* The ghoulishly fun Harvest Festival event will creep into town on Friday, October 17th at 1:00 (PDT), and skulk back into the shadows on Saturday, November 1st at 1:00.

 

"Let's see... Puk...Qiqirn...
Phooey! 'Tis no use. Nary a mention in From Abhac to Zu: A Vana'dielian Bestiary ."
The young woman in velvet robes closed the weighty volume with a frown, and placed it atop the already-imposing stack of tomes that teetered unsteadily beside the oaken desk.

"Bah! I thought for sure that A Compleat Guide to the Nether-worlde would hold the knowledge we seek."
The young man–clad in identical garments—hung his head dejectedly as he returned the ancient book he had been perusing to its shelf.

"Surely this 'Pyracmon' is naught but a figment of some child's overactive imagination? You know how superstitious those mainland folk get when the Harvest Festival draws near."
"If only it were so—but we have eyewitness reports from each of the three nations. I daresay this is more than some child's fancy."
No sooner had the girl let out a sigh than a booming voice echoed through the vault.

"If you speak of Pyracmon, I can assure you he is no mere child's tale. Gertrude, Brian..."

"Roger!"
The two young exorcists spun around in tandem to face their visitor.

The man identified as Roger was of middle age and sturdily built. He heaved shut the massive door and strode toward the pair with a vigorous gait.

"No child's tale indeed. And yet, you could scour every page of every tome in all the libraries of Adoulin and find not a lone word or phrase about that accursed man. His very existence, you see, has been stricken from the records by our church...as if he never was."

Caught off guard by Roger's choice of words, Gertrude sprung to her feet.
"'Man'? You mean Pyracmon is—?"

"He is; or I should say...he was ."
A grim expression on his weathered face, Roger spoke on.

"The tale was told to me by an elder priest, who has since left this world behind.
'Twas many decades past—a young exorcist from the mainland, burning with ambition, sought to make his name known across the land. He struck a deal with a demon, obtaining a cursed eye—one which allowed him to see spirits invisible to ordinary men—to replace one of his own. One after another, he banished the most ancient and powerful ghosts to haunt our lands. Consumed with pride, he bestowed upon himself the name of the mythical one-eyed titan...Pyracmon."

"How dreadful!" Gertrude shuddered. "To think that a man of the cloth would consort with the creatures of the night! 'Tis little wonder our church expunged him from its records."

"Verily, young Gertrude. Ere long, Pyracmon's path of villainy came to a fitting end. He was seized one day by a group of townspeople, and sentenced to burn at the stake for his transgressions. And burn he did...save for that accursed eye.
That baleful eye! Untouched by the flames, it writhed free from its socket and took to the skies, vanishing off the horizon to the east.
...and so the story goes."


Illustration: Mitsuhiro Arita

"A cursed eye escaping to the skies? The mere thought chills me to the bone," Brian shivered. "But I've honed my skills against the Dark Lilies. I can banish this Pyracmon—just watch me!"

Roger shook his head sternly and raised a finger in reproof.
"Your courage is admirable, Brian, but let us not forget that this fiend was once one of our own.
Nay, he will not fall to the arts of which he himself was once a master.
The three of us are to forget Pyracmon and focus our efforts on the Wake of the Lilies."

"But—"
"Tsk tsk...how soon young minds forget.
Do you not remember the brave adventurers who came to our aid in years past?"

With sudden recollection, the two young exorcists exchanged a glance. Roger paid them no heed, moving briskly to return the scattered tomes to their shelves.
"The storm has all but subsided, so we shall depart early on the morrow. You two had best get your belongings in order.
And the little 'treats' we spoke of...?"

"How could we forget?"
Gertrude's eyes lit up, and taking her cue, Brian produced a woven sack stuffed nearly to the point of bursting.

"Yes...yes, that should suffice."
The barest hint of a smile flickered across the seasoned exorcist's usually stoic face. Giving a firm nod of approval, he strode powerfully from the room, leaving his young companions to their preparations.

Event Schedule

The Harvest Festival event will begin Friday, October 17th at 1:00 (PDT) and end Saturday, November 1st at 1:00.

Seek Out the Moogles!

Rumor has it that the moogles have information on the fiendish Pyracmon that is haunting the three nations. Aspiring exorcists should steel themselves and speak to the moogles stationed in any of the following locations:

West Ronfaure (I-6) / East Ronfaure (G-6)
North Gustaberg (L-8) / South Gustaberg (J-7)
West Sarutabaruta (J-8) / East Sarutabaruta (G-11)

Trick or Treat!

As Harvest Festival tradition goes, the residents of the three nations have dressed themselves in fearsome costumes, hoping to spook adventurers and earn a treat or two in the process.
By trading treats to costumed NPCs in the listed areas, characters can gain the ability to dress up as monsters or beastmen themselves, and also receive some familiar Harvest Festival items!

Southern San d'Oria / Northern San d'Oria
Bastok Mines / Bastok Markets
Windurst Waters / Windurst Woods
*Most food items of the Sweets category will be accepted as treats, with the exception of certain sweets which cannot be traded to NPCs.

Bomb Decorations and More Fun With Costumes!

Throughout the festivities, players will be able to enjoy the illumination of the now-famous bomb decorations. As in previous Harvest Festivals, one can't help but wonder what might happen if two characters in full costume were to approach these decorations while in the same party...

Wake of the Lilies

The Harvest Festival will once again play host to the Wake of the Lilies, with the exorcist NPCs making their annual pilgrimage to this season's festivities. They can be found at the following locations:

Gertrude in Northern San d'Oria (D-8)
Brian in Bastok Markets (G-8)
Roger in Windurst Waters (F-5)
*Following the completion of an exorcist's request, players will be required to wait one Vana'diel day before accepting another.

Holiday Stalls

As in years past, seasonal stalls—specially-decorated and dealing in Harvest Festival-related wares—will be open for business in the following areas for the duration of the event. Try speaking to the shop moogles after equipping an item obtained from the Wake of the Lilies event, and you just might be in for a special treat!

Northern San d'Oria (D-8)
Port Bastok (L-8)
Windurst Waters (G-10)

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getting the items
# Oct 24 2008 at 9:57 AM Rating: Decent
*
62 posts
Wooty-woot! This began on my birthday last week; and antisocial shut-in nerd that I am, I spent most of the day getting every item to be gotten from this event instead of going out with friends. (At least I allotted time to go with my amoureux to visit my parents, grandma, and little sis for a birthday dinner, though; so I'm not completely horrible.) *wink* /laugh

The Treat Staff II and Trick Staff II are my favorites. The Pitchfork +1 was fun to get because in acquiring ours, my friend and I got to run around Windurst in Goblin costumes. The Coven Hat is very cute too. The Erie Cloak and its +1 were the easiest items to acquire once I discovered that each Wraith Bat you kill allows you to do one point of damage per hit to Pyracmon, up to 30 points of damage per hit. I felt silly for grabbing and pulling him toward more people for help when I first started and wasn't doing enough damage on my own. This is also the one part of this event that costs nothing to participate in; no sweets need to be traded to any npc for items or costumes. If you solo Pyracmon you can get the enchantment teleport items for San D'Oria, Bastok, and Windurst. Those are going to come in super-handy! You can also get Pumpkin Cake and Jack-O'-Lanterns from doing this one. The only item I didn't get from this entire event is a nation lantern from the Moogles who sell them when you wear the Coven Hat to their stall. I don't think any of the three lanterns are worth 10k gil. But I enjoyed getting everything else!

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The most basic thing to know for this event is that trading sweets (only the types that are AH-able, not rare, ex, or rare-ex foods) to costumed NPCs and roaming Trick NPCs gets you temporary costumes and permanent items. Cookies, Chocolates, and Crackers that stack to 99 are mostly what I used, but I also used some pies and chocolates that stack to 12. Keep in mind that these items are *usually* cheaper from the NPCs who normally sell them than they are at the Auction House or from people's Bazaars. Not always, though.

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The Witch and Coven Hats are very easy to get. Speaking to the NPCs (listed in the above post) for Wake of the Lilies will give you the information you need. Remaining costumed while following and trying to stay behind the "invisible" witches was made difficult at times when other players would get right on top of either of them. When you have the witch to yourself it's cake because you can see which way she turns and you can stay behind her the whole time. When another player in costume is right on top of her you have to guess and she'll likely "see" you and you'll lose your costume and have to get another.

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The items that I found to be the most time-consuming to get all of were the bat staves (Trick Staff, Trick Staff II, Treat Staff, Treat Staff II) and the pumpkin heads (Pumpkin Head, Pumpkin Head II, Horror Head, Horror Head II). Some people said that they got them by trading the same kind of sweet over and over to the various costumed NPCs, but I found it worked much more quickly to have 8 different sweets (I chose mostly the cheapest ones, of course: cookies and crackers) and trade four different ones to two costumed NPC's per Vana'diel day because that way I got a costume "treat" every time I traded a sweet, and never got simply a "thank you" with no treat. If I didn't receive a bat staff or a pumpkin head instead of a costume by the fourth traded sweet, I moved on to another costumed NPC and I got all of the bat staves and pumpkin heads very quickly. I was so glad when I was done with the sweets because they took up so many of my inventory spots!

It may be different for some, but you may do this to receive the items:

TRICK STAFF: You should receive this first, when you have no Halloween items equipped. I already had a Trick Staff from Ambleon the Gold World Pass benefits guy, but when I was getting the items for my friend's character and for one of my mules, this was the first item received.

TRICK STAFF II: Don't have any Halloween items equipped when trading sweets.

TREAT STAFF: Have the Trick Staff equipped.

TREAT STAFF II: Have the Trick Staff II equipped.

PUMPKIN HEAD: I had no Halloween items equipped but maybe you can.

PUMPKIN HEAD II: I had no Halloween items equipped.

HORROR HEAD: Have your Pumpkin Head equipped.

HORROR HEAD II: Have your Pumpkin Head II equipped.

You may receive a Pumpkin Head before you receive the Trick Staff II; I don't remember. I personally don't much like the look of the pumpkin heads, but I'm keeping them since they may be useful sometimes (but rarely) for very specific play-strategies. I tossed the first Trick Staff, Pitchfork, and Witch Hat since they do nothing and I have the other bat staves, the Pitchfork +1, and the Coven Hat, which look the same and actually do things.


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Oh, the Pitchfork:

I did the Pitchfork quest in San D'Oria but I'm posting what is supposed to be the way to get it in all three nations. The only one I can vouch for, though, is Sandy.

Make a party of two people. One person gets a Ghost costume (I got mine from Phamelise) and the other a Skeleton costume (my amoureux got his from Corua). Approach the huge Bomb decoration canopy-thingie near the MH in Southern Sandy and when you near it you'll both receive the Pitchfork.

In Bastok: -But I didn't do this personally- One person wears a Ghost costume and the other a Hound costume and they approach the Bomb decoration near Harmodios' Music Shop.

In Windurst -Didn't do this personally- One person wears a Skeleton costume and the other a Hound costume and they approach the Bomb decoration near the Culinary Guild.

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To get the Pitchfork +1, you go to another nation and, with the first (NQ) Pitchfork equipped, get a costume from the roaming Trick NPC who would normally turn you into your nation's enemy beastman race (Orc, Quadav, or Yagudo). You will instead become a Goblin.

My two-person San D'Orian party went to Windurst and got our Goblin costumes from a Trick Specter. We then approached the Bomb decoration near the Aurastery (K-6) to each get our Pitchfork +1.

(The following is from other sources that I can't vouch for, but it's likely true. Also, there are probably other roaming Trick NPCs besides the ones posted who will give you the costumes you need.)

A San D'Orian can get a Goblin costume in Bastok from a Trick Spirit. If you're San D'Orian and got your first Pitchfork in another nation, you get a Goblin costume from a Trick Shadow in San D'Oria to get your +1 there.

If you're Bastokan and want to get the +1 in Windurst, you get a Goblin costume from a Trick Shade. In San D'Oria, a Bostokan gets their Goblin costume from a Trick Bones. A Bostokan who got the first Pitchfork in another nation and wants to get the +1 in Bastok gets a Goblin costume from a Trick Phantom.

If you're Windurstian and want to get your +1 in San D'Oria, you get a Goblin costume from a Trick Shade. In Bastok, a Windurstian gets a Goblin costume from a Trick Skeleton. A Windurstian who got the first Pitchfork in another nation and wants to get the +1 in Windurst can get a Goblin costume from a Trick Ghost.

Again, all but the way for a San D'Orian to get the NQ Pitchfork in San D'Oria and the +1 in Windurst is from other sources that I didn't verify.

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For the Pyracmon part of the event, to get the nation teleport collars, the Eerie Cloak, and the Eerie Cloak +1:

Speak to the Moogle outside. He'll send you to kill Wraith Bats first.

Kill up to 30 Wraith Bats (more is overkill), then return to the Moogle for the "enlightenment" effect so that you are able to do damage to Pyracmon.

Tell the Moogle that you're ready to take on Pyracmon.

Each Wraith Bat you killed, up to 30, makes the "enlighten" effect you get from the Moogle let you do one point of damage (per bat killed) to Pyracmon when you go after him. So 30 Wraith Bats killed = 30 points of damage you do to Pyracmon per hit.

If you don't kill more than maybe ten or eleven bats after you've received the Eerie Cloak and are trying for the +1, you'll get food like Jack-o'-Lanterns and Pumpkin Cake.

If you're patient and kill the full 30 bats or a little less, you can easily solo Pyracmon numerous times to get the teleport collars that drop from him, especially if you get Regen from the nearby Field Manual or by any other means. These are the Kingdom Stables Collar (San d'Oria), the Republic Stables Medal (Bastok), and the Federation Stables Scarf (Windurst), and you can sometimes get two or more to drop in one kill.

If you do want to solo him, keep in mind that he works like the mobs in Campaign where mobs can't be "claimed." Anyone can jump in.

Oh, and when he readies Monacular Scowl, unlock and turn your back to him, because if he takes off your enlighten effect there's no point in continuing to fight him as you'll do no damage at all.

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Edited, Oct 17th 2009 12:24am by EurydiceKitty
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