An Explorer's Footsteps


Start NPC Abelard - Selbina (G-9)
Requirements Selbina Reputation 1
Items Needed Selbina Clay
Clay Tablet
Repeatable No
Reward 800-10,000 gil per Clay Tablet (38,000g total)
Key ItemMap of the Crawlers' Nest (Obtained after turning in 15 Clay Tablets)


Walkthrough[edit]

South Gustaberg Monument.JPG
  • Talk to Abelard (G-9, Mayor's House) in Selbina to receive some Selbina Clay.
  • Trade the Selbina Clay to a Stone Monument to receive a Clay Tablet.
  • Return to Abelard and trade the Clay Tablet to him.
  • Abelard will stop accepting the Clay Tablets once you start the Rhapsodies of Vana'diel Set Free quest. You'll need to turn in the three Bee Pollen requested items to continue with this quest.
  • Repeat for the remaining Stone Monuments.
    • You will receive the Crawler's Nest map after completing monuments #1-#15 (all but Sauromugue Champaign and Batallia Downs). The order in which you complete them does not matter.
    • If you turn in Sauromugue and/or Batallia before finishing all of the rest, you will not get the map upon your 15th monument. You only get the map after finishing all the non-Batallia/Sauromugue monuments.
    • Speaking to Abelard any time after receiving Selbina Clay, but before trading a Clay Tablet, triggers a hint. He mentions not receiving a tablet from any area you have not yet brought him one from. This is a good way to keep track of monuments without a checklist.
    • While there is a Stone Monument in Fort Karugo-Narugo (S), it is not tied to this quest; trading Selbina Clay to it will not give you a Clay Tablet.

The Monuments[edit]

Zone Year Location/Walkthrough Reward
1 West Ronfaure 761 CE Hidden amongst the ruins in the southwest quadrant of I-10. 800g
2 East Ronfaure 751 CE Midwest quadrant of G-11

This tablet may also be obtained in East Ronfaure (S); Abelard will treat it the same.

800g
3 South Gustaberg 748 CE Southernmost point of K-10 800g
4 West Sarutabaruta 778 CE The stone monument is to the southwest of the outpost. If you're going up a ramp (on top of the cliff), you're going the right way. Ramp is located in the northeast quadrant of G-7. The Monument is located in the midwest quadrant of G-9.

This tablet may also be obtained in West Sarutabaruta (S); Abelard will treat it the same.

800g
5 East Sarutabaruta 777 CE North side of the river in K-6 800g
6 Konschtat Highlands 750 CE Found in a small cave at the north eastern section of G-7, generally guarded by a Goblin. 1000g
7 Jugner Forest 755 CE Two tigers guard the cave to the stone monument. Just follow the western branch of the river all the way south to H-12.

This tablet may also be obtained in Jugner Forest (S); Abelard will treat it the same.

1000g
8 Meriphataud Mountains 778 CE Located at the base of the cliff in J-10, so don't go to the top of the cliff, but stay below in the canyon.

This tablet may also be obtained in Meriphataud Mountains (S); Abelard will treat it the same.

1000g
9 Tahrongi Canyon 774 CE Tucked back in a cave at E-5. 1000g
10 Buburimu Peninsula 778 CE Guarded by a Goblin Bounty Hunter at J-5. 1000g
11 Pashhow Marshlands 763 CE Guarded by a Malboro at F-6. Southern Middle part of F-6.

This tablet may also be obtained in Pashhow Marshlands (S); Abelard will treat it the same.

1000g
12 Valkurm Dunes 762 CE Found in the back of a cave on the west side of Whitebone Sands at E-9. 1000g
13 La Theine Plateau 764 CE Go down the gorge at H-7 and head to the eastern tip of the gorge. Go through the cave tunnels, through the next gorge, and through another cave tunnel. Finally head to the end of the final gorge to find the monument at J-7. 1000g
14 North Gustaberg 749 CE Enter Dangruf Wadi through the southwestern corner of South Gustaberg at D-9 and head to the northeasternmost exit at J-3 (you must ride up a geyser at I-8 then another one at J-3, and follow the path off the map) into North Gustaberg. Follow the path east. Once you reach the bridge at D-8, cross it. Continue east until you reach the cave (which is right behind the waterfall) and monument at G-7. The quest Drachenfall can be completed at the same time as this for an extra 2000 gil. 3000g
15 Rolanberry Fields 757 CE Beware of Evil Weapons. You can get to the monument at K-11 by walking over the northern-most end of the spine blocking the way.

This tablet may also be obtained in Rolanberry Fields (S); Abelard will treat it the same.

3000g
16 Sauromugue Champaign 770 CE Located at I-9 up against the spine coming from the ground, accessible by passing through Garlaige Citadel's third Banishing Gate. You can use the easily obtainable Key ItemPouch of weighted stones to pass through the Banishing Gate freely while solo. You can also use the pathway in Garlaige Citadel (S) to get to Sauromugue Champaign (S), and trade the trade the clay to the monument in Sauromugue Champaign (S). Or, inefficiently, you can use the Cavernous Maw in Sauromugue Champaign (S) to get the present-day monument. 10,000g
17 Batallia Downs 759 CE Found at J-11 on the island to the south accessible only by going through Eldieme Necropolis (you will need at least a duo to manipulate the switches that control the doors). Protected by the NM Ahtu; consider completing The Setting Sun at the same time. Or, if you have the Wings of the Goddess Expansion, it is possible to get the Clay Tablet in Batallia Downs (S). You can solo through Eldieme Necropolis (S) as you do not need anyone to manipulate the switches but you will not be able to do the quest The Setting Sun. 10,000g

Directions to the Batallia Downs Island[edit]

To get to the island, head out to Batallia Downs, go to (I-10) inside the small cave, and enter Eldieme Necropolis. Your goal is to get to (G-9). To do this, you must have at least a duo in order to operate the gates. There are switches that manipulate all the gates at each of the 4 main sections with graves in them. Two will be available at the start; they are at (H-8) and (F-8). Have someone move to (H-9) where the lich spawns and have them face the south closed gate (it should be named Titan's Gate). Once there, have the person at the switch open Titan's gate for you. Once through the gate, run to the switch in your area at (G-9). Now whoever is at the (G-9) switch must open and close the gates for the person at the other switch. Once everyone is now gathered at (G-9), find the grave in the middle of the 9 graves and walk over it (If lich and tomb wolves aggro, you must put Sneak up first) and fall through the hole. Once you're down the hole, follow the path until you end up at a fork. Turn right here and proceed south until you find the zone at (J-9) to Batallia. You will now be at (J-11) on the island.

See Also[edit]

Notes[edit]

After you do 7 tablets, Abelard will provide a different statement before telling you the next tablet he doesn't have in the list:

Have you heard of Lord Terresapet B Ordelle?
It was feared he would die a demented death in Ordelle's Caves before he completed the map of those twisted tunnels.
He gathered the facts about Gwynham Ironheart's life into a single volume. I have the book right there.
It's just that...
Before that book came into my possession, Gwynham's daughter, Enid, tore out several pages and threw them away.
I'm curious as to what was written on those pages, but I suppose there's a reason Enid removed them in the first place.

Game Description[edit]

Client
Abelard (Mayor's Residence, Selbina)
Summary
The mayor wants you to find stone monuments left by a certain adventurer and copy their writings to clay.
This article uses material from the "An_Explorer%27s_Footsteps" article on FFXIclopedia and is licensed under the CC-BY-SA License.