QUICK QUEST SUMMARY

Trigger the quest at Jueno, open a coffer at the Monastic Cavern to get key item (Old Gauntlets), go back to Jueno and speak with a couple more people, go to Castle Zvahl Baileys and kill Dark Spark to get key item (Flames of Darkness), return to Jueno and inspect a ??? to get your Rogue's Armlets.


Part 1: Triggering the Quest (Solo)

If you meet the above requirements, head to Upper Jueno and go to the Durable Shields shop at H-8. Inside you must speak with a Galka named Guslam. In a cut scene he tells you about a legendary craftsman named Borghertz. Easy enough, but now you need to get ready to pick a coffer in the Monastic Cavern, so gear up.


Part 2: Prepping Yourself to Evade Detection and Pick a Lock (Solo)

The target item in this instance is in fact a key item, the "Old Gauntlets" and they are obtained from a coffer in the Monastic Cavern. Getting here isn't so bad, and finding a coffer isn't very difficult because the area isn't camped all that much. This journey inside is a bit dangerous and creepy, because you are dealing with Orcs. They are not fooled by your use of Hide since they track by scent, so catching any aggro may be the end of you unless you play it right. To stay undetected, browse the following options:

THF/WHM or RDM: Allows you to cast Invisible and Deodorize on yourself indefinitely, as long as you make sure to keep your MP up. You must have the mage leveled to 25, as Deodorize is level 15 and Invisible is level 25.

THF/NIN: This combo is great for the Monastic Cavern, since sight detection is your main adversary. It wouldn't be a bad idea to bring a couple Deodorizers just in case you catch aggro and need to use Hide.

THF/XXX + Prism Powder/Deodorizer: This option will cost you some gil, but may be the best for you if you are an alchemist or if you don't sub NIN and hate the idea of leveling a mage. It's hard for me to say exactly how many powders and Deodorizers you should bring. I suggest at least two stacks of powders and maybe a couple Deodorizers. The coffer area is pretty small, but there are tons of Orcs nearby at all times. You may need to frequently use powders and you do not want to run out or you will have to leave and go get more. I used this option when I did this quest because at the time I didn't have my WHM leveled. It worked fine.

Invisible casting tip: Unlike Sneak, you can re-cast Invisible on yourself and have it take effect. Sneak must be cancelled or have worn in order to be received again, but you can keep yourself hidden without ever having to cancel Invisible. Remember this!

Deodorize clarification: The mobs listed with scent detection will NOT aggro you based on scent. Being near them with Invisible only is perfectly fine. They will however not fall for your Hide unless you are under the effects of Deodorize. So should you aggro one of the scent pursuers, clean off your stink first and then use Hide.

Deodorize warning: The effects of Deodorize will be cancelled if you are the target of an attack, even if the attack misses. So say for example you get spotted by an Orc. You stand there and cast Deodorize on yourself, but before you can Hide an Orc swings at you and boom the Deodorize gets cancelled. I suggest first using Flee to get as far as possible from anyone who is attacking you, then as quickly as you can cast Deodorize and Hide. If this method fails, you still have one last trick up your sleeve... warp out.

I strongly suggest that you set up a "panic macro" if you don't have one already. I use the following one, and since I play with a controller I place it on Ctrl5 with Ctrl4 and Ctrl6 empty so there is no chance of me hitting it accidentally. If you run into trouble along the way, you can save your skin with one simple button press. There is no time to fumble with the interface when you are being gangbanged by a pack of Orcs, or even worse a Mimic.

/ja "Perfect Dodge" <me>
/wait 1
/item "Instant Warp" <me>

Warning about Mimic poison: It is also a good idea to set your home point somewhere VERY near a mog house, for example I set mine at Port Jeuno right outside the mog house. Reason being, a Mimic will instantly poison you when it pops, and even if you successfully warp away you can still be killed by the deadly poison. Whenever you arrive at your home point, run in and get back to full HP. For the record if you use /WHM you can remove the poison with Poisana, but it's still a good idea to have home point near mog because you may not have enough MP to cast Poisana.

Now let's get a quick refresher course in the monsters you will be dodging in the cavern and all their detection types. You only really need to worry about staying out of sight. If you keep Invisible on, you will be safe in 95% of the areas in the Monastic Cavern. There is a room however that usually contains an NM, the Orcish Warlord, and he can see through Invisible (Much like Ruby Quedev has Sneak detection). To be safe do not go anywhere near this room (you won't have to get very close anyway because there is no coffer in his room).

Orcs: Sight (also pursues by scent)
Orc NM: Sight + Invisible Detection (also pursues by scent) (Note: He sees right through Invisible!)

As far as what type of keys you should be using, it's hard to say and this is a subject of great debate on many thief forums. I prefer Thief's Tools, mainly because I can make them and so they are almost free. People say that Skeleton Keys have the best success rate and least chance for Mimic. When I was here it took me one tool to open a coffer and get my gauntlets. A stack of tools goes for about 9,000 gil on Midgardsormr as of May 22, 2004. Make sure to bring more than one, I suggest a stack for best value. If for some reason you want to use an Davoi Coffer Key, check out this list of key-dropping mobs.

You should also make a lock picking macro. This way you just target the coffer and hit one button and boom. Below is the one I use for my tools, if you use Living Keys or Skeleton Keys just substitute the correct name.

/item "Thief's Tools" <t>


Part 3: Getting the Old Gauntlets from the Monastic Cavern Coffer (Solo)

To get to the Monastic Cavern, I suggest you start at Jueno, the route being Upper Jueno > Batallia Downs > Jugner Forest > Davoi > Monastic Cavern. You can ride a chocobo there, but you must dismount at Davoi. The zone into Davoi from Jugner Forest is at G-12 at the southern tip of the little passage thing. Once you reach Davoi, follow the red line on the map below to reach the Monastic Cavern. Along the way all of the Orcs should check as Too Weak and a couple might be Easy Prey right as you near the cavern. Be sure to follow my path because wandering near the center of the map can get you spotted by IT Orcs that dwell on the ledges above your head.

Once inside, make sure to keep Invisible on at all times. As you can see from the map below, the coffer spots are very close to each other. No big secrets or tricky ledges here, what you see is what you get. Of all the chest/coffer locations I have frequented, this one is the most dense and all the spots are easy to get to. Make sure to avoid the Orc NM room I labeled on the map.

When you spot a coffer, I suggest you be patient and wait for the Orcs to turn around. Due to this area being not heavily camped, you probably won't have much if any competition. While I was here, I walked inside and in the first hallway spot sat a coffer. I walked up to it, waited for Orcs to turn, cancelled Invisible, used a tool, got the gauntlets, used another powder and was safe.

If you fail to open the lock, try again. If the chest was trapped, you become weakened for a while and must wait until the weakness wears off (could last for an hour or maybe only 10 minutes it varies) and then go find a new coffer to open. If you get a Mimic, use your panic macro as fast as possible. You cannot run from a Mimic.