A Feast of Lies

Quest giver: Urianger
Location: Kholusia (X:24.7, Y:32.8)
Quest line: Shadowbringers Main Scenario Quests
Level: 77

Experience: 226,080
Gil: 2,474
Previous quest: Return to Eulmore
Next quest: Paradise Fallen
Patch: 5.0

Main Scenario Progress: 624 / 953 (65.5%)

Shadowbringers Progress: 83 / 157 (52.9%)

“

Urianger is trying to make sense of the strange phenomenon afflicting the residents of Gatetown.

— In-game description

Rewards

Unlocks

Eulmore

Walkthrough

Solo Duty will commence upon speaking with Alphinaud. Defeat the enemies that attack, and follow Alphinaud whenever he moves on. After the first set of enemies, he goes up the stairs, after the second set of enemies, he goes farther up the stairs, and after the third set, he goes through the door into Eulmore, where Vauthry's Jongleurs stand in your way

Red Jongleur and Blue Jongleur

Fire Ants: The Red Jongleur targets you with multiple circle AoEs. Keep away from Alphinaud while avoiding the AoEs so he does not get it.
Impalement Arts: The Blue Jongleur inflicts Alphinaud with Flesh Wound status.
Throwing Knife: The Blue Jongleur places a target marker on Alphinaud, and he will be temporarily stunned, then knocked back, and the Red Jongleur will target him with Sleight of Hand, which places a stack marker on him. Stack together with him to reduce the damage of the attack.
Come One, Come All: The Red Jongleur drags you and Alphinaud towards her, then both Jongleurs will use the following abilities:
- Acrobatics: The Red Jongleur places an attack circle marker on Alphinaud that follows him.
- Explosive Juggling: The Blue Jongleur places an attack circle marker on you, so get away from Alphinaud.
When one of the Jongleurs are defeated, the other one will empower herself with a Damage Up buff until she is also defeated.

After both Jongleurs are dispatched, follow Alphinaud up the stairs, then continue going up the stairs when he stays behind. When you reach the top, there will be a cutscene.

Ran'jit

With Ran'jit still fused with Gukumatz and standing in your path to Vauthry, the time has come to deal with the Eulmoran general once and for all.

Unceremonious Beheading: A large circle attack centered on Ran'jit
Katun Cycle: A donut attack where the only safe area is near Ran'jit.
Merciless Right/Merciless Left: A large cone attack to one side, immediately followed by a large cone attack on the other side.
Evisceration: Ran'jit dashes to the side and launches a large AoE cone attack aimed at you.
Hot Pursuit: Ran'jit targets you with several circle attack markers, one after the other.
Nexus of Thunder: A + shaped attack marker.
Spiritcall: A telegraphed knockback
Living Flame: Ran'jit makes two sets of untargetable Raging Flames appear, then uses a telegraphed knockback Spiritcall. Make sure to keep an eye on which flames appear first so you can be knocked back to where the second flames appeared.
Rising Thunder: Ran'jit creates creates several targetable Thunderspheres, which begin casting Electroction, a circle AoE. Destroy one of them to give yourself a safe area to stand in.
Ageless Serpent: At 18% HP, Ran'jit summons the four Serpent Heads he used during Full Steam Ahead. Unlike then, the Heads become targettable and tethered to Ran'jit, making him invulnerable. Ran'jit then slowly begins casting Torrid Glory, a hard enrage, while the Heads each target the player with Snaking Flame. Take out the Heads first, then finish off Ran'jit before he can finish his enrage and the duty will be over.

Steps

Speak with Alphinaud.
Subdue the civilians!
Subdue the soldiers!
Defeat the jesters!
Climb to the next level!
Defeat Ran'jit!
Speak with Thancred.

Journal

Urianger is trying to make sense of the strange phenomenon afflicting the residents of Gatetown.

By all indications, the residents of Gatetown are under Vauthry's mind control, and as Urianger attempts to fathom its workings, Alisaie arrives with your old friend Kai-Shirr in tow. Based on his account of events, it would seem that those who have lived in Gatetown the longest were the first to be affected. All the pieces fall into place when Y'shtola subsequently returns brandishing a loaf of meol. With dread and disbelief, Ryne immediately recognizes the Eulmoran staple for what it is: sin eater flesh, the consumption of which apparently renders one susceptible to Vauthry's influence. This sickening revelation leaves everyone aghast, but the horrors do not end there... Recalling the words you heard during your first visit to Eulmore, Alphinaud shares his suspicion that citizens who have outlived their usefulness are being deliberately turned into sin eaters. Suppressing the urge to gag, you endeavor to put such thoughts from your mind, and concentrate instead on the task at hand: hunting down the Lightwarden. The being is all but certain to be hiding in Eulmore's upper levels, and it is decided that you will lead the charge into the city.

Together with your comrades, you sally forth into Eulmore.

While the others keep Vauthry's thralls at bay, you press on to the Canopy, where you are confronted by a lone Ran'jit. Driven by a resolve all his own, the old soldier brings the sum of his might to bear against you, but you narrowly emerge the victor, striking him down once and for all. Rejoined by your comrades, you then ascend to the Emergent and find Vauthry having dinner in his chamber. There, Ryne finally realizes that he is the Lightwarden, being an unholy mixture of man and sin eater. Before you are able to act, however, Vauthry sprouts wings and takes to the skies. Rushing to the balcony, you are met with an impossible sight: the peak of Mt. Gulg, torn from the earth and floating in the heavens. It is there that Vauthry appears to have fled. With your quarry out of reach, you decide to suspend the hunt, that you might instead render aid to the casualties of the battle.

To your relief, Thancred informs you that Ryne is able to counteract the effects of Vauthry's mind control, and is busy tending to the afflicted one by one. There are, however, countless wounded requiring attention, and you are asked to assist in the relief effort.

Dialogue

Quest Acceptance

Thancred: Ah. Good of you to join us. I was debating whether to warn you, but it's too late now.
Thancred: I take it you noticed the people behaving strangely along the path? It's more of the same here.
Thancred: Y'shtola and Alisaie are investigating as we speak. Let's wait and see what they have to say.
Urianger: Strange. Passing strange...
Urianger: By their behavior, we may safely assume that they are under Vauthry's mind control.
Urianger: Yet the extent of the effect seemeth to vary dramatically between subjects.
Urianger: 'Tis far too pronounced to be attributed simply to the vagaries of innate magical resistance.
Alphinaud: Curiouser and curiouser...
Alphinaud: We met with no trouble en route. My thanks for securing the way.
Alphinaud: But given the state of the townsfolk, I see we were never in any danger of being recognized.
Thancred: What can you tell us from here?
Ryne: I sense a powerful eater...in the uppermost reaches of the city...
Ryne: But there's something different about it. Its Light is...impure.
Ryne: We need to get closer.
???: Ohhh! So that one's Alphinaud! ...Unless you're triplets?

Alphinaud: Kai-Shirr! What are you doing here?
Alisaie: While I was scouting the area, I noticed a suspicious figure skulking about.
Alisaie: So I accosted him─only to have him call me “Alphinaud.” I thought it best to bring him along.
Kai-Shirr: You see...that informant who's been feeding secrets to the Crystarium...it's me.
Kai-Shirr: See, after you saved my life in Eulmore, I thought about going somewhere far away. But I couldn't just leave, not without paying you back.
Kai-Shirr: So I decided to stay here─keep an eye on things. And whenever I spotted something strange, I shared it with your friends.
Alphinaud: That took no small amount of courage. Well done.
Thancred: I assume you saw what happened here.
Kai-Shirr: Right, so, an airship flew in a bit ago, and not long after, Vauthry starts ranting and raving. You could hear him from all the way out here!
Kai-Shirr: Geezer was doing his nut! Shouting and screaming like someone had nicked his pie!
Urianger: 'Tis like the airship bore the soldiers sent to thwart our efforts in Amh Araeng.
Kai-Shirr: So eventually the yelling dies down...and then this hot, sticky wind comes blowing through.
Kai-Shirr: Now that's when everyone went funny. Everyone but me. Well, me and a couple of newcomers, though even they started mumbling about Vauthry after a while. Not as bad as the rest, mind you.
Urianger: Newcomers...

Y'shtola: There's something I need Ryne to see. (Y'shtola holds out meol)
Y'shtola: This was among the townsfolk's food stores.
Kai-Shirr: Oh, that's just meol. Eulmore doles the stuff out.
Ryne: No! It...it couldn't be...
Ryne: I─ I know what it is.
Ryne: It's sin eater. Meol is made out of sin eater. (Kai-Shirr is shocked)

Y'shtola: So it is.
Y'shtola: In limited quantities, it may have little effect on an average individual.
Y'shtola: Yet if one were to consume it regularly, over a period of several years, I suspect it would do far, far more than merely nourish the body...
Urianger: That Vauthry wieldeth power over sin eaters is known. Could it be that those who partake of their flesh do thereby render themselves susceptible to his influence?
Urianger: 'Twould serve to explain why the town's newer arrivals succumbed less quickly than those raised on a diet of meol.
Alisaie: He's been rounding up sin eaters and feeding them to people!? Altering them mouthful by mouthful─all to stop them answering back!?
Alisaie: There are desperate souls out there killing themselves to escape turning! This is unforgivable! An atrocity!
Alphinaud: These sin eaters... What if they are not simply “rounded up”?
Alphinaud: Do you remember what we were told when first we came to the city?
Alphinaud: "Many enter, but none leave...“

Alphinaud: Let us put an end to it. To this “paradise” built upon the bones of the poor.
Alphinaud: Vauthry's deeds are beyond justification. Beyond forgiveness. Evil.
Thancred: It's highly probable that the Lightwarden is waiting for us somewhere in there, and I'm all for going after it.
Thancred: But our enemies know our faces. They know that we are coming. And they will not let us through without a fight. Like it or not, the time for stealth is passed.
Thancred: Now, my friend. If you would be so good as to lead the charge.

Urianger: My heart is gripped by an unshakable sense of foreboding. Let us proceed with all care.
Thancred: We are like to encounter Ran'jit again. One can only hope he's still licking his wounds.
Thancred: Yet even without him, Eulmore is an eminently defensible city─as you doubtless gleaned during your visit.
Thancred: When last I set foot inside its walls, I almost mistook it for dear old Limsa─but it is full of unpleasant surprises. All of which is a long way of saying: be on your guard.
Ryne: The uppermost level of the city houses Vauthry's chambers. He must keep the Warden close.
Kai-Shirr: Meol...is sin eater? Wicked white, we all scoffed the stuff without a second thought...
Kai-Shirr: I never got near as much as the others, but...ugh...
Kai-Shirr: Heh... The bitter greens and bony fish I got by on don't seem so bad no more...
Alisaie: I'm fine, [Forename]. Shaking with fury, but fine. Let's go.
Y'shtola: That Vauthry should so brazenly exert his influence over the people bespeaks his desperation. He will not go quietly.

Alphinaud: When we step through the gates, we shall find not the place of hedonistic pleasure we remember, but a battlefield.
Alphinaud: If you are prepared for this, then let us sally forth!

Speak with Alphinaud

Vauthry: Ugh... I can feel it... A dark presence in my domain!
Vauthry: Ah! It's them! The villains who would sow chaos in my perfect paradise!
Vauthry: Keep them away from me! I command you, keep them awaaaaaay!
Glassy-eyed Resident: Long live...Lord Vauthry...
Thancred: He would use his own people as shields.
Alphinaud: This area is older than Gatetown. There are bound to be far more civilians under Vauthry's control.
Alphinaud: But they do not act of their own free will, and we must not harm them.
Alisaie: As if we ever would.
Alisaie: Press on with Alphinaud. We'll hold off the civilians and join you as soon as we can.

Subdue the civilians!

Alphinaud: Do no more than is necessary to subdue the civilians!
Thancred: We're wasting time. Ryne─we hold them here while the others press on!
Ryne: A-All right!
Alphinaud: Have care, you two! The rest of you, with me!
Alphinaud: Their minds are not their own, remember! Avoid harming them wherever possible!
Y'shtola: There is no end to them... Urianger─would you care to make a stand?
Urianger: Gladly. [Forename]─pray press on with the others when the opportunity doth arise.
Alisaie: The way's clear! Come on, you two!

Subdue the soldiers!

Defeat the jesters!

Alphinaud: The jesters from before!
Red Jongleur: Apologies, friends...but you've reached a dead end. And on this sorry track, there's no turning back.
Blue Jongleur: We've a good life here, see, and we're not about to lose it. But fair's fair─we'll give you a good death.
Alphinaud: Let us climb to the Canopy. From there we will take the Crown Lift.

Climb to the next level!

Warrior of Light sprints to the Canopy
 Ran'jit: You will find my master in his chamber...
Ran'jit: But only should you kill me this day─and you will not.

What will you say? Why do you go so far? / You're one of his puppets too. -> You're one of his puppets too.
Ran'jit: You may think me under his spell, but I uphold Lord Vauthry's ideals of my own volition.
Ran'jit: Man is an inherently flawed creature. In his vain pursuit of righteousness, he but sows the seeds of future conflict.
Ran'jit: Thus have I chosen to place my hopes upon he who has transcended men. Upon he who is unbound by the vagaries of conscience.
Ran'jit: But enough talk. I am a soldier, and you are my enemy.
Ran'jit: Come! Let us settle this once and for all!

Defeat Ran'jit!

Ran'jit: Ever since I submitted to my master's authority, I have been naught but a weapon.
Ran'jit: It is time we settled this, villain.
Ran'jit: If you would pass me, you must endure all that I have learned on the battlefield... For I am a weapon forged in the fires of war!
 on Ran'jit's defeat: 
Ran'jit: Ah...there you are...my precious girls...

Post-Battle

Alphinaud: Are you all right, [Forename]!?
Thancred: The citizens appear to have calmed down for the moment. I can only assume Vauthry is otherwise engaged. Let's get to the upper level while we can.

Vauthry is pulling out feathers/doing something

Alphinaud: Lord Vauthry! Your reign of tyranny is at an end.
Alphinaud: For too long, you have preyed upon the desperation of the poor. Now you will answer for the suffering you have caused!
Alphinaud: And if you harbor even a shred of remorse, I beseech you to use your powers to redress the balance. For the future of all in Norvrandt.
Ryne: No... It can't be. This is wrong. It's wrong!
Ryne: The Warden─it's not just a sin eater. It's a man! (Vauthry is eating meol)

Vauthry: Remorse? For the future of all? What nonsense is this?
Vauthry: There is no justice but mine. No future but mine. No will but mine.
Vauthry: It is preordained. I was born to deliver this wretched world.
Vauthry: Me? Unseated? No, no, no, no, no...
Forks of Meol litter the ground
 Vauthry: It's impossible. Inconceivable! Absurd! I am a great and wise king. Greatest and wisest! I reign from on high! (Vauthry begins to slam the ground and screams out)
 Vauthry: I will not be brought low by maggots like you!
 Vauthry: Oh, yes. Of course. I can begin again. Rebuild my paradise. Once I finish my dinner... (Vauthry puts another piece of meol in his mouth)
 Ryne: Oh gods, no─ Stop him! Thancred, stop him! (Vauthry begins to transform, and something on his stomach screams out, and everyone is disabled. He flies off)

Alphinaud: Where did he go!?
Alphinaud: What in the heavens!?
Alisaie: Did Vauthry do that?
 What will you say? We must give chase! / How will we get up there? -> How will we get up there?
 
Alphinaud: Wait.
Alphinaud: That is Mt. Gulg, the highest peak in Kholusia. It lies on the other side of a sheer cliff, and much as I wish it were otherwise, it is beyond our reach for now.
Alphinaud: But even if it weren't─there are people here who need our help.
Alisaie: Oh, Alphinaud...
Alphinaud: Please. Even if it's only to tend to their wounds.
What will you say? I'll help too. / You don't need my permission. / Be quick about it.  -> I'll help too.
Alphinaud: Thank you.
Ryne: I don't know if it will work, but if Vauthry's hold over the people is rooted in Light, I might be able to reverse its effects.
Ryne: Will you let me try?
Alphinaud: Of course. We'd be grateful for any help you can provide.
Alisaie: Well then, if it's decided, let's all get to work.

Speak with Thancred

Thancred: Good news, [Forename]. It would seem that Ryne is indeed able to reverse the effects of Vauthry's influence.
Thancred: Even as we speak, she tends to the afflicted in turn. The problem being: there's no end to them.
Thancred: We're trying to provide what relief we can to those who are waiting, and would appreciate your help, if you're willing.