To Storm-tossed Seas

“

Urianger is patiently awaiting word that you are ready to depart.

— In-game description

Rewards

• 2   Oysters on the Half Shell

Unlocks

• 
  The Tempest
• 
  The Ondo Cups

Steps

• Speak with Urianger in Sullen.
• Investigate suspect rock formations beneath the water's surface. 0/2
• Speak with Urianger.
• Speak with Urianger.

Journal

• Urianger is patiently awaiting word that you are ready to depart.

• You inform Urianger of your readiness to depart, and he exhorts you to consider a method of travel that will also facilitate breathing and movement beneath the waves. Rather than explain his proposal with wasteful words, however, your ever-enigmatic colleague bids you follow him to Sullen to behold his solution with your own eyes.

• Urianger meets you at Sullen, and points out an island in the western part of the lake. It would seem that an underwater investigation of the foliage-covered landmass will soon open your eyes to its true nature.

• You conduct an inspection of the submerged part of the island, and note some interesting peculiarities. Urianger waits above to hear word of your revelations.

• The Isle of Ken is, as it turns out, an ancient fae being by the name of Bismarck. Urianger attempts to rouse the creature to action, but it takes the intervention of Feo Ul to convince Bismarck to bear you to the ocean's depths. Your journey to the Tempest has begun.

• Bismarck deposits you on the sea floor, secure within an enormous dome of air created by its mighty breath. Your companions rise shakily to their feet, Urianger's face in particular a mask of relief...
  • ※In the event that you leave the area, speak with Inewyl at Venmont Yards in Kholusia to return to the Tempest.

• Releasing a long-held breath, Urianger announces your safe arrival in the Tempest. Suspecting that Emet-Selch cannot risk fleeing into the rift while the Exarch is his prisoner, he seems confident that the Ascian is to be found somewhere within this underwater realm. You have only to begin the search...

Dialogue

Quest Acceptance

Urianger: Thine affairs are in order? Then I shall unfold to thee my proposal.
Urianger: Our destination is the ocean floor, yet our goal is not simply to arrive there. Nay, we must needs have the means to breathe and fight freely.
Urianger: Thus would I petition the aid of one of the fae─a being with whom I have yet to meet face-to-face.
Urianger: ...Rather than waste words on explanation, I bid thee follow me unto the hamlet of Sullen, which lieth to the south and west. All will become abundantly clear, I promise thee.

Speak with Urianger in Sullen

Urianger: There, to the west. Canst thou discern the hump of an isle rising above the water?
Urianger: That foliage-covered mass hideth the key to our safe descent. Swim close and plunge thee beneath the surface. Thou shalt soon divine the reason for mine insistence.
Urianger: ...Though it be much to my shame, I can but flail and flounder where thou mayest glide as a fish. I shall board a boat to the island, and spare one and all the spectacle of mine inept strokes.

Investigate suspect rock formations beneath the water's surface

Though it appears solid enough, the rock yields slightly under your touch. Was the surface gently shifting, or was it just your imagination...?
Two curved slabs of rock seem squeezed together here, giving the impression of giant stone eyelids.

Speak with Urianger

Urianger: Well? What hast thou discerned?
What will you say? I've discerned...that it's an ordinary island? / It reminds me of a certain primal.../ It's just like the Big One, yes, yes!-> It's just like the Big One, yes, yes!
Urianger: Hah! Thine impression is not inaccurate. According to the lore of the pixies, we are, even now, perched upon the back of an ancient fae entity...
Urianger: Its name is “Bismarck.” Aye, the selfsame title by which we know the great feathered whale revered by the Vanu Vanu of the Source.
Urianger: I would enlist its aid to bear us unto the deep, and thence banish the water with an airy sphere, alike in form to the domes which do shelter the hamlets 'neath the Ruby Sea.
Urianger: Within its compass, we may move unencumbered, and defend ourselves when the hour of battle cometh, as it most surely shall. Now, I must needs ask for silence whilst I make my supplication...

Urianger kneels towards part of the island
Urianger: [O great and serene Bismarck.]
Bismarck: [Long has it been since my name was called.]
Bismarck: [Why do you wake me, little neighbor?]
Urianger: [To the bottom of the western sea we go. Pray lend us your back and your breath.]
Bismarck: [This world is in twilight. I wait for the sun to set. I wish only to sleep.]
Alisaie: Oh dear. I don't need to speak Fae to know that didn't go well...

What will you say? I know what to do! / We need Feo Ul! -> We need Feo Ul!
Feo Ul: My [adorable sapling]! You've learned to call me at last!
Feo Ul: And where do you go? On a trip? A journey? I knew you wouldn't give up without a fight!
Feo Ul: Oh, my precious mortal. I shall help you in any way I can!
Feo Ul: [Sleepy Bismarck, you old pixie! These are my precious, precious saplings.]
Feo Ul: [Let their wish be the king's command.]
Bismarck: [What a rare thing to awaken to.]
Bismarck: [My beautiful king. If it be thy wish, then so shall it be done.]
Feo Ul: Be sure to scrub this one's teeth for him upon your return. It's only good manners.
Urianger: It will be done, Your Majesty. Our deepest thanks for your timely intervention.
Feo Ul: An agreement is reached, and your departure is at hand! You wingless ones best hold on tight!
Feo Ul: May the blessings of the fae keep you safe, [shining souls]!
Bismarck: [To the western sea we go. Wrapped in my breath, I will see you to your destination, little neighbors.] Bismarck begins to move, and swims through the air

Irvithe and Grithil at the docks

Irvithe: And just like that, it's all gone back to the way it was... Irvithe is looking out towards the sea
Grithil: What was you expecting? Hundred years of honey and rainbows?
Grithil: Seeing them Eulmore types wake up and smell the ashes was miracle enough for me.
Irvithe: Ah, but the magic in the air when that Ladder started moving...hah! And when that great hulking Talos rose up, gods...
Irvithe: I could live a thousand years and never behold anything so amazing... (Irvithe's back is to Grithil)
Grithil: What the─! Do you see that!? (Irvithe sees Bismarck dive into the ocean)
Irvithe: (Excited) What a monster! Where did it even come from!?

Grithil: Uh, wha... Wh-Whoa there... (A giant tsunami is headed towards Irvithe and Grithil)
Irvithe: It's not stopping...
Irvithe: Run! Run!

At the Tempest

Bismarck: [I have fulfilled my duty. I return now to the lake.]
Bismarck: [I have not flown in an age. It was...pleasant. May your journey be a safe one, little neighbors.]
Everyone is recovering on the ground, and stirring
Ryne: Wow...

 Narrated by Ardbert: The breath of Bismarck. See how it swells to form a dome beneath the waves...The waters recede. The Tempest's floor is laid bare. In defiance of the blinding sky, this place holds fast to its gloom. The last refuge of he who denies the Light with every fiber of his being. You stand at the precipice, hero. Journey unto the Heart of Darkness. Finish it. 

Y'shtola: I daresay Urianger endured much “playful” attention from the pixies to learn the lore of Bismarck. He is nothing if not a dedicated scholar.
Thancred: With all that water out of the way, we'll be able to venture quite some distance. Emet-Selch must be hiding around here somewhere...
Ryne: This is amazing. I can't even see the surface!
Alphinaud: Bismarck must be powerful indeed to create a dome of this size. I can only pray to whichever gods are listening that it continues to hold...
Alisaie: I remember being impressed by the domes of the Ruby Sea, but this makes them look like bubbles in a stream!

Speak with Urianger

Urianger: Haaa... Haaa...<gulp>
Full glad am I...that Bismarck was true to his word.
Urianger: We are arrived in the Tempest, safe and dry. 'Tis here that we shall find the lair of Emet-Selch, and, I believe, the imprisoned Exarch as well.
Urianger: For an Ascian alone, it is of course a trifling matter to flee unto the rift─yet I suspect such travel is nigh impossible with a mortal in one's custody.
Urianger: Nay, he would not soon risk his prize when the Exarch's very body serveth as the key to the Crystal Tower and its powers of temporal transportation.
Urianger: Thus am I all but certain that this underwater realm harboreth our friend and enemy both. We have but to find them.

In the event that you leave the area, speak with Inewyl at Venmont Yards in Kholusia to return to the Tempest.