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Rescuing Prisoners in Mamook: Guide by Eleri

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Intro

What are prisoners?

Galeserpent General Najelith imprisoned in Mamook

Ever wanted a quick, free trip to Jeuno and found that Shihu-Danhu, the warp taru, is missing? Ever tried to use the auction house, only to find the NPCs there crying for their manager? Ever searched for hours for the NPC that sells most of the Corsair die, but been unable to find him? If you're reading this page at all, I'm going to assume that you know what Besieged is. There are 15 NPCs in Al Zahbi that can be captured as prisoners during Besieged and taken to the enemy stronghold. If they are lost, their services, no matter how miniscule, will be unavailable. Also, every NPC has a corresponding temporary item that is granted to every player at the start of Besieged if he or she is present in the city.

Who are they?

Name	Function	Details	Temporary Item
Allard	Standard Merchant	Sells the Lv36 Gambison Set.	Max-Potion +3
Chayaya	Standard Merchant	Sells various Ranged items and 11 of the Corsair die.	Remedy
Chochoroon	Appraiser	??? Items will need to be appraised in Aht Urhgan Whitegate if this NPC is captured.	Scroll of Instant Reraise
Dabigo	Item Deliverer Manager	If Dabigo is missing, the item delivery NPCs will refuse to function.	Lethe Water +1
Dahaaba	Chocobo Renter	Chocobos will not be issued in the Near East if this NPC is missing. Anyone wishing to use one will be required to use a Chocobo Whistle.	Hermes Quencher
Djinabaha	Auction House Manager	If Djinabaha is missing, the auction house NPCs will refuse to function.	Hi-Elixir
Gadalar	Flameserpent General	Gadalar is one of the five Serpent Generals that protect the Hall of Binding during Besieged. He is a Hume Black Mage.	Spiritual Incense
Kahah Hobichai	Standard Merchant	Sells Pickaxes, Hatchets, and Sickles.	Daedalus Wing
Mihli Aliapoh	Waterserpent General	Mihli is one of the five Serpent Generals that protect the Hall of Binding during Besieged. She is a Mithra White Mage.	Megalixir
Najelith	Galeserpent General	Najelith is one of the five Serpent Generals that protect the Hall of Binding during Besieged. She is a Hume Ranger.	Revitalizer
Rughadjeen	Skyserpent General	Rughadjeen is one of the five Serpent Generals that protect the Hall of Binding during Besieged. He is an Elvaan Paladin.	Carnal Incense
Shihu-Danhu	Warp NPC	Shihu-Danhu is commonly known as the "warp Taru," offering a free teleport to the general vicinity of Jeuno.	Wizard's Drink
Suldiran	Quest Giver	Suldiran gives the repeatable quest, Fear of the Dark II.	Demoralizer +1
Zafif	Standard Merchant	Sells various White Magic scrolls.	Pro-Ether +3
Zazarg	Stoneserpent General	Zazarg is one of the five Serpent Generals that protect the Hall of Binding during Besieged. He is Galka Monk.	Giant's Drink

Why should I rescue them?

Some prisoners are simply a matter of convenience, such as the Chocobo renter or the warp taru. Others are seemingly useless merchants, although they are important to some--miners need pickaxes, which are only sold by a capturable NPC, and Corsairs must rely on stockpiled and overpriced die on the Auction House if their NPC is missing. Most importantly, though, are the Serpent Generals. The Astral Candescence cannot be taken by the beastmen if there is a single General left standing, as if there is even one General's seal left on the door to the Hall of Binding, it cannot be breached. If a General falls in Besieged, however, he or she has about a 50% chance of being captured and will not be available for future invasions until he is rescued.

A player also stands to benefit from rescuing prisoners; there is a generous reward of Imperial Standing when a prisoner is set free, and if an NPC's rescuer talks to the free prisoner when the prisoner reaches Al Zahbi, they will receive a ??? Item for Appraisal.

How do I do it?

Each of the three near eastern beastman strongholds has space for 24 prisoners. Each requires a particular key for the doors, but the doors may also all be picked by a Thief using lock-picking items (Thief's Tools, Living Keys, or Skeleton Keys). To state it simply, the cells must be found and opened. The NPC will then thank his or her rescuer and disappear, to appear back in Al Zahbi after a period of travel time.

There are some considerations to keep in mind if you intend to set off rescuing prisoners.

If you intend to farm the area-specific keys, you need to be sure you're able to handle farming from at least the level 73-75 tier beastmen--sometimes higher--who are often in areas with other linking mobs. If you avoid links, the key mobs can potentially be duoed quickly by an Utsusemi-wielding DD and a healer.
If you intend to use a Thief's lock-picking ability, keep in mind the Thief's level, which affects picking ability, and have a plan for what to do if the Thief triggers a trap--weakness induced from a failed lockpicking can last for quite a while, and the only way to get rid of it is either to be KOed and Raised normally or to wait out the weakness. See Picking your Coffers and Chests for more information about lockpicking and its associated risks. (For reference, at level 60, the author of this guide had an extremely unlucky string of three failed pickings and six traps before finally succeeding in unlocking Zazarg's cage in Mamook, but also opened several cages on the first try.)
Unless you plan to fight your way through everything, you absolutely must have the ability to mask yourself from sight and sound aggro. Consider using White Mage or Red Mage subjobs if you aren't tanking, or bring a healthy supply of Silent Oil and Prism Powder or Shinobi-Tabi for Tonko. Also, while on the subject of stealth: Potentially the most important thing about rescuing prisoners is the ability to avoid aggro from true-sight and true-sound mobs. Remember their names and know where they are.
You or a Raise-capable party member should keep reraise up at all times; there are true-sight and true-sound enemies in some zones, and general mistakes do happen.
It is reported that the beastmen can take a maximum of 24 prisoners (8 at a time per Besiseged). Therefore, I assume there are 24 cells per beastman stronghold. However, I do not currently know where they all are. I can currently only explore within my solo/duo limits for the time being, which blocks some areas from my research. I can currently account for 21 cells in Arrapago Reef and 14 cells in Mamook. Please assist with this guide by contributing unknown cell positions in the discussion page.

Mamook

Area-specific key: Mamook Blackscale Key

Acquired from: Mamool Ja Blusterer, Mamool Ja Philosopher, Mamool Ja Pikeman, Mamool Ja Stabler, Mamool Ja Infiltrator
True-sight enemies: Hundredfaced Hapool Ja,
True-sound enemies: Poroggo

Mamook's prison cells appear as large pots in the larger, open areas of the zone. The doors are targeted as "Pot Hatch", and they can be opened with a Mamook Blackscale Key. These keys drop fairly well from the Mamool Ja at the common Mamool Ja Staging Point EXP camp.

A, B, and C as marked on this map of Wajaom Woodlands are entrances to Mamook. It is highly recommended for the current best-known path that you enter mamook via the entrance marked "B" because entrance C is on the other side of a one-way ledge you cannot cross.

Now, first, a note or two.

In the Poroggo room, there are aquatic-sounding Mamool Ja with the appearance of Sahagins. Do not be fooled by the fact that they bear the name "Mamool Ja"; they ARE Sahagins and follow Sahagin aggro patterns (that is, they detect by sound rather than sight).

Entering from entrance B make your way to the first cell the green path indicates. Map is not accurate. There are two cells clustered together just ahead and slightly south. Current position: (J-10).
Go up the ramp to the north, and continue to the north until a short tunnel. Turn west into another large, open room divided in two by a high platform and bridge. There is an Archaic Mirror on the high central platorm, but the NMs' true sight range does not extend to the lower level. There are no cells in the southern half of the room, but there are two in a cluster in the western area of the northern half. Cell position: (H-8).
Go up the ramp to the north and continue in a general Southwest direction into the tunnels. Continue west, north, and west into another large, open room. There are four cells in this room; two clusters of two each. However, the room has much less maneuvering room than the last two open areas, and there is an Archaic Mirror with both of its associated true-sight NMs and/or an NM, Hundredfaced Hapool Ja, right in between the cell clusters. Take special care here to avoid aggro while checking these four cells. Cell positions: (F-8), (E-8).
Take the ramp in the Southwest corner of the room back up to the upper ledges. Turn north along the west edge of the open room as soon as you are able, and head into the tunnels. In the tunnels, go west, then north to find another open room with two cells in a cluster in the east half of the area. Cell position: (E-7)
Use the ramp to the south to return to the upper ledges. Head East, then North, then enter the tunnels to the East and follow them into the Poroggo room. This room can pose a real challenge, as the Poroggos are true-sound and like to crowd the entrances to this room and the ledges above the cells. Patience is the key. Invisible should not be needed in this room, as there are only Poroggos and Sahagin. The cells here are not in clusters, instead standing alone. One is on the lower level on the Western side of the room, where the land bulges out into the water. The other is on a similar bulge on the Southern side. Remember to watch the upper ledges while you wander down through the lower level; the Poroggos WILL aggro from above, and they will most likely cast high-level black magic from afar when aggroed; if you are a thief, you may have time to get away with Flee, although that, of course, still leaves the problem of an angry frog chasing you through Mamook. Cell positions: (F-7), (F-7/G-7).
Take the ramp in the southern part of the room when ready. The easiest way out of the room is straight to the east, but there is one room left to check that can't be found by going that way, so turn North at the corner of the room--mind the Poroggos crowding the exits of course--and enter the eastern tunnels. Follow them to the last room with known cells. There is a cluster of two in the northern half of this room. Cell position: (I-7).
From here, exit however you like, or if you have the support necessary to explore, I suspect many of the other ten cells are on the second map, which is laden with level 80+ true-sight enemies. You can get there from approximately (J-12). Good luck, and if you see any other cells, please leave a note on the discussion page.

Source entry: Rescuing Prisoners in Mamook: Guide by Eleri. Cached on this server on 5 November 2026.