Archades

Navigate the bustling city of Archades in Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age. Discover new Bazaar bundles, interact with unique NPCs, and uncover secrets in the Alley of Low Whispers and Alley of Muted Sighs.

Now that you’re in Archades, you can sell off a bit more loot to unlock more Bazaar bundles. You should have obtained a sizable stock of the following loot: two spheres of Antarctic Wind, nine units of Blood Wool, six Demon Feathers, two Dorsal Fins, four Ichthon Scales, five lumps of Maggoty Flesh, four Pointed Horns, three doses of Putrid Liquid, four Spiral Incisors, seven Storm Crystals and two Tanned Tyrant Hides. Sell all those components and you’ll unlock the following bundles:

The Stranded Merchant in Old Archades doesn’t sell much of interest, but he can give you access to the Bazaar. If you picked up the Feather of the Flock, you can talk to an old Cockatrice.

Alley of Low Whispers

As you continue north and west through the area, talk to NPCs to learn about their plight and the natural of Archades. Money and information are the two things that are valued in upper Archades, the and everybody’s trying to fleece you out of the former, and the latter moves very, very fast. Archades seems to a a dysfunctional mix of the late Roman republic mixed with a bit of modern American capitalism.

From the Seeq merchant head west, then turn north up some stairs, west up another flight of stairs, then north again until you find a fork in the past. To the west will be more stairs, on which you can find a sitting man - a “Fresh Ardent” - who complains about a broker who scammed him out of money. On the other hand, if you continue east, then north from these stairs you’ll find another, older man - an “Ex-Broker” - sitting on some stairs leading to a house, who claims to be a broker who was himself swindled. There’s nothing you can do to help these two resolve their differences yet, so just note them, talk to them, then continue down the alley to the east to find a Cockatrice, who is curiously talkative (at least if you have the “Feather of the Flock” Key Item). Be sure to talk to it before moving on.

Backtrack west to the stairs the younger, swindled man sat on and ascend past him. At the top of these stairs turn south, then west to find a “Shady Seeq” who offers to sell you eight Moogles. Continue past the Seeq to the west, then turn north to find two parallel bridges leading to another part of Old Archades - the Alley of Muted Sighs. On a grassy platform between the stairs leading to these bridges you’ll find the aforementioned eight Moogles, who will dance and sing for you if you interact with them.

Alley of Muted Sighs

Cross the bridge to reach the Alley of Muted Sighs, then turn north to find a “Lucky Man” talking to a Seeq. He found a bag o’ coins in a barrel, something he blithely blurts out to a complete stranger before requesting you keep it to yourself. From this Lucky Man continue west a short distance to find a man named “Beasley” sitting beside a door, who bemoans the loss of the bag o’ coins he was hiding away. Again, there’s not much you can do about this conflict-in-waiting for now, so continue north, west, then south to find a man named Jules sitting on some crates near a shoddy-looking clothesline. Chat with him and he’ll offer to buy secrets from you, should you pick up any good ones. Despite that, you can’t currently tell him anything, so just make a note of him, too, and move on.

Continue west and south of Jules, heading up multiple flights of stairs until you find yourself staring at a shiny Save Crystal. Make use of it, if you wish, then continue upstairs to the west to reach Archades. Or rather, the guards keeping the riff-raff out of Archades. Since you can’t well tell them you’re the rightful queen of Dalmasca or a former Judge turned Sky Pirate, you’ve got no choice but to admit you lack credentials… or lie about it. Either way, you’ll be tossed out on your ear.