Now that you’re ready to continue with the story, select the quest “ Burden of Expectation “ in your quest menu and drive - or get Ignis to drive - to the quest location. Eventually you’ll arrive in Lestallum, which is where Gladiolus’s sister, Iris, has found shelter after the imperial army took Insomnia. The city is pretty big, far larger than any bastion of civilization you’ve encountered thus far, but there are good reasons to continue with the main story for a bit - namely that most of the side quests around Lestallum don’t open up until you go meet Iris.

There are a few things you can do around town first, however. For starters, head south-east down any of the stairs from the Lestallum Outpost map marker (where you’ll park the car if you have Ignis drive you to the CLEIGNE: Lestallum Parking Spot or to the Quest Location for “Burden of Expectation”), then on the lower make your way south-west to find a woman eating at a table. By merely watching this, Ignis will gain the ability to concoct the “Mother & Child Rice Bowl” recipe. The guy is some kind of savant!

From where the Regalia is presumably parked head up some stairs to the north-west to reach the highway running through Lestallum, where you’ll get to hear some awful product placement directing you to the Noodle Wagon shop. Run up to the place to have Ignis learn the “Cup Noodles” recipe, one of the rare recipes that isn’t concocted from ingredients, but rather is purchased outright and consumed in leiu of a proper meal. At 220 Gil per meal, simply sticking with Dish and Chips will serve just fine.

Coernix Station - Lestallum¶

Run south-west along the highway and you’ll find the Coernix Station - Lestallum gas station, where you can purchase some nice upgrades for your car, although they might be a little pricey at this point in time. Still, if you want to have to worry about refueling the Regalia less frequently, the Airflow Compensator and Auxiliary Tank will serve to achieve this end.

Mini-mart - Coernix Station - Lestallum (Items)

Mini-mart - Coernix Station - Lestallum (Treasures)

Mini-mart - Coernix Station - Lestallum (Auto Parts)

Mini-mart - Coernix Station - Lestallum (Leisure Goods)

There are a lot of other shops around Lestallum, but there’s no need to bother with them just yet, as many of the proprietors will offer you quests in a bit, after you get on with the main story. That being the case, head back north-east until you find a plaza to the north-west. Enter the plaza to get some commentary from your companions, then turn down an alley to the south-west to reach The Leville - Lestallum , a hotel where Iris is residing. Another short scene will trigger when you get close to the hotel, possibly foreshadowing something ominous. Go inside to finally meet up with Iris and put an end to this very short story quest.

A Stroll for Two¶

You get to stay for free at the Leville, which boosts the experience you get by 1.5 times, so it might be a good idea to stockpile some experience from sidequests before coming to Lestallum to continue the story. Of course, it doesn’t matter too much, since the Leville only costs 300 Gil to stay in, so it’s not really all that much trouble. Anyway, upon waking up, you’ll meet up with Iris in the lobby and have a choice whether to tour around the city with her or not. The choice is illusory - decline and you’ll earn 2 AP, accept and you’ll gain 200 experience. Either way, you’re taking an Iris-led tour of Lestallum. You’ll find that this is a theme for this little tour quest, make a meaningless choice to get either experience or AP.

Choose to do so and follow her to the first stop, the marketplace. Take in the sights of the busy place and “Act Interested” to get 250 EXP or “Act Uninterested” to get 2 AP. The next stop on the tour is the power plant, but she won’t guide you this time, so you’ll have to find your own way there. Just head north, north-east through the market, go up some stairs, then turn east to reach the bridge leading to the power plant.

When you arrive she’ll tell you that only women work in Lestallum. Except for all the merchants throughout town, anyway. Unless running a shop doesn’t count as a job in Lestallum, for some reason. Oops. Anyway, pick the top option “Encourage Her” to gain 250 EXP or the bottom option “Express Concern” to obtain 2 AP.

The last stop will be the outlook, near where you first arrived. Make your way through the city streets and onto one of the city’s overlooks, where Iris will awkwardly hit on you. Pick the top option “Deny the suggestion” to gain 300 EXP, or the bottom option “Make light of the situation” to gain 2 AP. Once done, make your way back to the hotel and you’ll get to choose between three options: “Agree with Iris” to gain 500 EXP, “Make light of the subject” to score 2 AP, while if you pick “Change the subject” she’ll fork over an Elixir .

When you’re done with Iris the hotel owner’s son will prove to be the most useful person in this city, by telling you of a sword which sounds an awful lot like it could be another Royal Arm. This starts the quest “ The Sword in the Waterfall “. Talk to the owner of the hotel - Jared - to get yourself another Magic Flask , apparently for no good reason. Still, score!

Now might seem like a fine time to press on with the main story, but if you run around town you’ll notice that there are quite a few new side quests, which will beckon you to explore Cleigne. There are also plenty of merchants lurking about with new and sometimes interesting wares to peruse, and since many of these merchants are also quest-givers, a good tour around Lestallum will kill two birds with one stone. If you want to continue with the main story, skip ahead to “The Sword in the Waterfall” section of the guide, but keep in mind the multiple benefits to be gained by questing, namely, in this case, a huge amount of experience, Gil, and discounts at various shops that’ll allow you to make good use of that Gil.