Liberty or Death

Liberty or Death

Quest giver

Raubahn

Location

The Peaks (X:26.6, Y:36.3)

Quest line

Stormblood Main Scenario Quests

Level

69

Experience

 109,000

Gil

 1,034

Previous quest

Raubahn's Invitation

Next quest

The Lady in Red
A Friend on the Other Side
Climbing for Atonement

Patch

4.0

---

Main Scenario Progress: 494 / 953 (51.8%)

   

Stormblood Progress: 115 / 162 (71%)

   

“

Raubahn would share with you a story.

— In-game description

Rewards

Choose one of the following options:

• 1   Molybdenum Greaves of Fending
• 1   Gazelleskin Open-toed Boots of Maiming
• 1   Gazelleskin Open-toed Boots of Striking
• 1   Gazelleskin Open-toed Boots of Scouting
• 3   Piety Materia V

Unlocks

• 
  Aether Current

Steps

• Speak with Raubahn.
• Speak with Lyse.
• Follow Lyse.
• Look out for suspicious individuals on the way to Radiata.
• Rendezvous with Lyse.
• Speak with M'naago.

Journal

• Lyse, having but recently assumed leadership of the Ala Mhigan Resistance, continues to struggle with the weight of her new responsibilities. Seeing this, Raubahn invites the two of you to accompany him to Coldhearth, a poor village of little consequence, which he reveals to be his childhood home. There he tells you of his life before the imperial occupation, when a soldier sent away from the front to mend first heard the words of a revolutionary firebrand...

• Adrift in a memory of decades past, you observe Lyse's father deliver a speech to a crowd of cheering Ala Mhigans -- among them, Raubahn Aldynn and Ilberd Feare, then dear friends. Afterwards, the revolutionary meets with Raubahn and counsels him to remember that freedom should not be an end in of itself, for it is but a chance to build something better... and the work is never finished.

• "Liberty or Death," Raubahn repeats; the creed of Curtis Hext and his comrades. Solemnly, he asks Lyse if she will swear by these words, and she does so -- though she is quick to add that the liberty she craves must be for every son and daughter of Ala Mhigo, even those who reject the cause. The nation they build must serve as a home for them all, she insists, and Raubahn can only agree.

• The Flame General explains that he could see Lyse wasn't herself, and that he brought her to Coldhearth to remind her why she chose the path she now walks. Satisfied that she has found her resolve once more, he grants you leave to return without him, for he would remain awhile longer...

• Lyse knows well the feeling of returning home after a long absence, and is more than willing to leave General Aldynn alone with his thoughts. Together you depart Coldhearth and journey north.

• Lyse pulls you aside for a moment, sensing that you are being watched. She suggests that you split up and each head towards Radiata, while keeping your eyes peeled for suspicious characters.

• The gang of Ala Mhigan youths observing you and Lyse from a distance panic at your approach, snatching up weapons and charging, apparently intent on killing or subduing you. It is the last mistake they will ever make.

• You find Lyse standing over the corpses of several young men not unlike the ones you were forced to kill. With a start, she recognizes them from Radiata, and concludes that they must have marked you as insurgents when you were searching for Stark Woad. Fearing for Alphinaud and Alisaie's safety, she sprints off towards the nearby settlement as fast as her legs will carry her.

• In Radiata, M'naago assures you that the twins are in no danger, and Alphinaud soon arrives with Stark Woad, putting your fears conclusively to rest. The Alliance agent explains that many youths who have only ever known the occupation are unwilling to place their faith in the Resistance, and would sooner attempt to curry favor with the imperials by capturing or killing enemies of the Empire. Alas, until you march on Ala Mhigo and defeat Zenos once and for all, such desperate individuals will remain a threat to you and yours.

Dialogue

Accepting the Quest

Raubahn: [Immortal Flames GC Rank]/[Forename], Lyse—I brought you both here for a reason...

Cutscene

Raubahn: I wanted to show you this house. My house. 

Lyse: You mean...this is where you grew up? 

Raubahn: Aye. Not much to look at, is it? 
Raubahn: Same could be said of the village. It was damn near impossible to live off the land, barren as it was—which is why so many of us traded our plowshares for swords. 
Raubahn: Swords and uniforms, mind. We became military men. Tensions were rising between Ala Mhigo and the Empire, and there was always a need for more soldiers to watch the border. 'Twas only a matter of time before the first skirmishes broke out. 
Raubahn: It is a frightening thing to face magitek armor for the first time. But after a lot of trial and error, I found ways to bring them down. After a few victories, people even said I had a knack for it. 
Raubahn: And then one day they hit us. Hard. I was wounded and sent home to recover. Back here...

Echo Vision

Curtis: Will you remain silent for fear of the mad king's vengeance? Of his eyes and ears in the shadows and his knives in the dark? You who call this "living" dishonor our nation—it is but a slow death! 
Curtis: Liberty or death. Liberty or death! If this be your creed, then raise up your hands! Raise up your voices! Together we will tear Theodoric from the throne! Together we will reclaim our freedom! 

Curtis: Sent you home to mend, did they? 

Raubahn: Aye, sir. Garleans got the better of us. The..the chirurgeons say I'm healing well, so it won't be long now. 

Curtis: Liberty or death, is it? Tell me soldier: what do you think those words mean? 

Raubahn: We...we must needs be willing to die for liberty? 

Curtis: Spoken like a true patriot. But liberty should not be the end in of itself. 
Curtis: Liberty is the chance to build something better. A stronger, more prosperous home for our people. It's not quick or easy work, and it is never truly finished—but if you neglect it, sooner or later, you look up to find you've traded one tyrant for another. 

Raubahn: Well, sir, I...I've never asked for much. Never wanted to live like a king—just wish it were a little bit easier is all. For me and everyone else. And I'm...I'm willing to die for that, if that's what it takes! 

Curtis: Dying is easy, solider. Living is harder. 
Curtis: Rest. Mend. Regain your strength. You'll need it in the days to come...and mayhap one day we will need it too. 

Echo End

Raubahn: Conrad chose you as his successor, Lyse, and I will not gainsay his decision. I have but one question to ask. 
Raubahn: Liberty or death. Those were Curtis's words, and his creed. Will you swear by your father's reed before your comrades and the gods? 

Lyse: Liberty or death...That's all you can hope for in war. Father understood that...and you want to know if I do too. 
Lyse: I swear to you, here and now: 
I will fight until the end, be it liberty or be it death. 
Lyse: But the freedom we win must be for every Ala Mhigan—even ones like Fordola, though they may hate us, and the Ananta, though they may fear us. 
Lyse: We'll fight and we'll talk and we'll find a way to make it work for all of us. 
Compared to all that, retaking our home will seem like the easy part. 

Raubahn: Hmm. A good oath. Then there is naught else to say. 
You are indeed your father's daughter...

(Optional)
Lyse: "Liberty or death." Has it really been twenty years since he wrote those words...?

Speaking with Raubahn

Raubahn: Even a blind man could see that Lyse wasn't herself. Not that I don't understand. 
Raubahn: To be thrust into a position of authority under such circumstances—to be made responsible for the lives of so many... It isn't easy. And when you see your friend get cut down before your eyes, it only gets harder. I'll wager she thought Alisaie was dead for a moment back there. 
Raubahn: 'Tis one thing to risk your life for a cause. But to risk that of another is a burden no soldier is ever truly ready to shoulder. 
Raubahn: The fear, the guilt—it weighs on her her. And that's good. It will make her a better commander. 
Raubahn: But first she needs to learn to carry it. To not let it break her. To remember that some causes are worth fighting for. 
Raubahn: "Liberty or death." Her father's words gave me strength once. Mayhap they'll do the same for her now.
Raubahn:  Right, then. I think I've said enough. The two of you can head back. I mean to stay a bit longer...

Speaking with Lyse

Lyse: ...I understand. He's been away for a long time, and he probably wants to be alone for a while. 
Lyse: Let's head back to Radiata. 

Following Lyse

Lyse: Wait...Am I the only one who feels like I'm being watched? 
Lyse: I don't know if it's imperials or bandits, but I know there's more than one of them. 
Lyse: Let's split up. You head northwest, and I'll head northeast. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think so...

Looking out for suspicious individuals on the way to Radiata

Suspicious Youth: Seven hells, she' seen us! Sod it—dead's as good as alive to the imperials! 

Rendezvousing with Lyse

Lyse: They attacked you too, didn't they? I...I had no choice...
Lyse: They're Ala Mhigan—not even conscripts, by the look of them. Barely adults. In fact, some of their faces look familiar...
Lyse: Wait, I remember. They're from Radiata! They must have seen us when we were looking for Stark! 
Lyse: They probably thought the imperials would reward them if they captured or killed—
Lyse: Oh gods...Alisaie and Alphinaud could be in danger too! We have to get back to Radiata and find Naago! 

Speaking with M'naago (Cutscene)

M'naago: What's this all about? You two look ready for a fight. 

Lyse: We were ambushed by villagers outside of Radiata, and thought they might try to attack you too. Are you all right? 

M'naago: Aye, we're fine. The twins are at Stark's. Alisaie was asleep, last I checked. 
M'naago: I'm sorry, did you say you were ambushed by villagers? Not soldiers? Did they not see what we just did to Castrum Abania? Godsdamned fools! 

Stark Woad: Lyse, [Forename]. We overheard you talking...
Stark Woad: The ones that attacked you. They were young? Less than twenty summers? 
Stark Woad: Aye, I thought so. It's always the young ones—the ones who have only ever known the occupation. They're the ones you've got to look out for. 
Stark Woad: See, the only decent work to be found in Radiata is for the imperials, and everyone knows it. Children grow up knowing it. They have pounded into their skulls that the best they can hope for is to serve an imperial officer. 

M'naago: Bloody fools! After everything they've seen us accomplish! They ought to be begging to fight for the Resistance, not against us! 

Stark Woad: They've been living in the shadow of a castrum their whole lives. A few victories won't change that. Aye, you get some who can't wait to spit in a soldier's eye, but they get beaten for their trouble, or worse... 

M'naago: Even so... 

Stark woad: ...And the ones that don't fight back but refuse to beg, well, they just starve. Beat the dog that bites his master's hand, and ignore the dog that refuses to do his bidding, see? 
Stark Woad: In the end, the ones that learn to abide are the ones that survive.  
Stark Woad: Now, you may say that's all about to change, and I believe you. Many here do. 
Stark Woad: But a young man or woman who grew up only knowing what he knows has got every reason to doubt. Remember that. Do what you have to, if it comes to it, but remember that. 

Alphinaud: The sooner we liberate Ala Mhigo and bring an end to the occupation, the better. Only then can we show these youths that things do not have to be this way. 

Lyse: ...Only then will they know what it means to live free. 
Lyse: We're going to build a new home for ourselves. Together. A better home than they've ever known.