Consider this thread just me throwing my hands in the air and crying "Here we go again you have GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!" I have a history with Firiona Vie. Many moons ago I noticed what I called "The Firiona Four": four NPCs still in the city, trying to path their way to a hill just beyond the city gate where they would stand forever, if not for the one one specific dark elf NPC who pathed out to that hill, and would easily kill them. Now, I saw this and thought, looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck. So I concluded, that's a duck. I devoted countless hours to getting those four together on that hill, and upping my faction to ally, just to see what would happen. One day I did it. Nothing happened (but a nice light show as they all started casting spells at each other). But that didn't deter me. Though no one would listen to me (save a few) and said "It's not a duck!" I said to myself "I'm missing something." I wasn't the right class, didn't have the proper group, not high enough level, something. And every once in a while I'd break off my goings in other zones, go back to Firiona Vie and shout IT'S A DUCK!!! This was ages ago. However, I just got nostalgic and went back to have my hails ignored by the four when, to my surprise, the Firiona Four are now the Firiona Five. Now there's another NPC that also paths out named Sergeant something. Two shieldbearers, one field surgeon, and Vrionele - and now, a sergeant. And I can't let it go. No one can be certain that it's a duck, but it walks, quacks and looks like a duck. Moreover, I was recently at Luclin and heard the zone music which I found out was because the designers went through the code fixing old things, one of them being that the zone music for Luclin was broken. So the designers had to have added the fifth NPC at Firiona Vie, full-well knowing there were still four endlessly trying to path out of the city instead of being located with the rest of the NPCs at the old ruins in the east. So what I am asking, nay, pleading, to the designers: if you have ever had a heart to at least stop a person from wasting a lot of time and mind, please at least come around and say straightup if this is not a duck. Say, "The five NPCs trying to path outside Firiona Vie have nothing to do with any unknown quest; they are just there because we didn't want to move them because, it was too hard to make new pathing for them at the ruins, and we didn't like the idea of having them be located in static positions - do not waste your time trying to figure out a real and rational reason that these NPCs are not where they belong, this is all one huge non-duck that just happens to look, walk and quack like a duck. Also, you get a glowing black drum for all your trouble. And 15k platinum. Also a unique title 'the Firiona Fanatic." Thanks.
This reminds me of the Neriak firepot. I do have to add that I actually enjoyed not knowing the riddle of the firepot for all those years. Sometimes things are less fun when they are spoon fed.
I'd be happy if they'd just implement the war script again and give us a chance to put Firiona Vie back in the hands of the good races. Please, the dark elves aren't even trimming the hedge. The pain is peeling on all the buildings.
Users at Allakhazam have often taken the Dr. Seuss view of the Fironia Four (now five): "Is it a quest? Well it should be a quest, and why not?... the NPC are there and are doing and that's the important thing. So give them a quest, recognize that the doing is the most important thing of all."
That is really awesome about the firepot. I've never even heard of those before, but now that you bring it up, I looked into it and that's great. This is exactly why EQ crushes the other games in my eyes. There's just so much to it. I don't really disagree with you about the not knowing. Even in the back of my mind, a part of me says, "Don't tell me." And really, even as I posted the original post, I knew there was a catch-22 of sorts in that, if I got no answer from the Dev team, I wouldn't know whether they were silently acknowledging something was intended there, or that they just never saw the question and the silence was just part of that. The only real information could come from a straight answer, which I didn't think was very likely at all. BUT, like Tatanka mentioned, it's not so much, spoon feeding, because even if I got an answer "It's part of Phase 3 of the war" that would really tell me nothing at all except, yeah, there's something there. Figuring out what that something is, and how to activate it, would still be - to me - a huge mystery. At any rate, I'm setting up shop in the abandoned guildhouse again. Looks like I'm going to be here a while. Again. I suppose it could give me an opportunity to work on my nature spirit shrouding while I'm here. Plus, kind of feels like home.
My PC would weep digital tears if the elves ever got back. She'd walk down the avenues with little blue 1's and 0's streaming down her cheeks. It's an interesting side note that when I went back over to AK database to brush up on the place, someone had just about a week ago posted the very same thing in the zone thread. Something like "Daybreak it's time to bring the elves home" (paraphrasing) and I was like, what a coincidence to just fuel my fevered fire. Not to mention when I first logged in to EQ to go set up for my stay at FV, I heard the achievement ZING! and saw "You got achievement: Whispers of Kunark" which only All-Access are supposed to get, but I got it anyway. Then I thought, oh, right, Empires of Kunark. Isn't that just the way it goes.
Very wise. This is why I was always quite fond of you. Just like old times, eh snailish? It's funny that the last time I was Firiona Focused was back then. But nothing came of it, and time went by. Then, years later, right after I popped over to see the old place, and saw Sergeant Daelione standing in the guildhouse to meet me, and start it all up again... here you are, again. What are the odds, eh? Don't even get me started on that fact that I'm seeing the name "Laurana" when I was just this past night... aw, forget it. What's next, "Padme" starts commenting on the quest? Trust me, that makes sense out in the aether-sphere. Anyway, they are indeed the Five now. With the Sergeant shouting "We march Onward!" as he follows his old path into combat, while the Four still just stand there. I think. To tell you the truth, I've only been there a couple of days now so haven't had a lot of time to note all their current habits. Things have definitely changed, I know that much.
