Please go to the observatory on top of a mountain on the outskirts of the village. An old man named Morrid lives there. He takes care of the cargo ship.
Dutiful Daughter Slai
Observatory Mountain is a location on Gaia's Mist Continent in Final Fantasy IX, located on the outskirts of the village of Dali. The mountain becomes inaccessible in the endgame (the point of no return is entering the Shimmering Island).
Story[]
Observatory Mountain on the World Map.
After the party arrives in Dali, Steiner begins to hatch a plot to bring Princess Garnet back to Alexandria with him. After failing to locate an airship transportation, Steiner learns that a cargo ship routinely docks at Observatory Mountain.
When Steiner reaches the mountain, he meets unexpected resistance from Morrid, the elderly man and coffee aficionado who lives at the base of the mountain and presumably maintains the observatory and changes its signals. Despite Steiner's attempts to use his leverage as the leader of the Pluto Knights, Morrid ignores his pleas to use the cargo ship. After clanking around for several minutes, Morrid tells Steiner the cargo ship is, in fact, already docked back in Dali.
After the party returns from Terra, the observatory mountain has become impassable due to the Iifa Tree's roots causing an earthquake as they burrowed through the ground. Upon talking to Slai in Dali, it is revealed Morrid died in the earthquake.
Locations[]
Summit[]
The summit
When the player first enters the observatory mountain they start at the summit, with Steiner trying to request information from Morrid who refuses to help and returns to his shack.
Base[]
The base
Below the summit and before entering the shack, the only item in this area is a Hi-Potion at the bottom near a cart.
Shack[]
Morrid's Shack
This small house is where Morrid lives. On the first visit, Morrid can be found inside drinking coffee. Talking to him initiates the coffee sidequest (see below).
A piece of paper on top of Morrid's table reads the following:
Shipping is to occur once every two days.
No shipment on the day of the sabbath.
The ship will arrive in the morning if the
Mist is light, and in the afternoon
if the Mist is heavy.
In case of emergency, change the flag
on the observatory to yellow.
Quests[]
Inside Morrid's home are two key items, including a mini-figurine. The player can bring three types of coffee to Morrid to receive a special prize: a miniature M.S. Prima Vista. The three types of coffee Morrid wants are Burman, Kirman, and Moccha. After the player obtains the Prima Vista item, it will be located in the Tantalus Hideout in Lindblum. Depending on who is the character being controlled on the field, they have different lines when observing the Prima Vista model.
The coffee beans are scattered over Gaia, but the player must give them to Morrid before visiting Terra.
Moccha Coffee[]
Moccha Coffee at South Gate.
The first of the set, Moccha Coffee can be found at South Gate in the King Ed Plains and can be found as early as disc 1. The player will see an ATE earlier in the game where Tantalus visits South Gate, and Cinna makes the coffee.
Kirman Coffee[]
Kirman Coffee in Eiko's kitchen.
The second of the rare coffees, the Kirman Coffee, is located on the Outer Continent and found in Madain Sari in Eiko's house.
Burman Coffee[]
The last Coffee.
The last of the coffee is located in Dali; however, there is only one chance to get it. During the Card Tournament in Treno in disc 3, the player can leave Treno and travel to Dali through South Gate. In Dali, the player has the option of searching the Mayor's house. They must start by searching the Mayor's desk, then search the desk two more times until the boy says "Zzz". The player must then search the stove to find the Mayor's Key. With the key, it is possible to open a locked room in the windmill where the player can find the Burman Coffee.
Items[]
- Hi-Potion
- 135 gil
Musical themes[]
"Frontier Village Dali" plays on the Observatory Mountain.
Behind the scenes[]
A dummied piece of dialogue between Steiner and Morrid at the Observatory Mountain posits that the king of Alexandria died in a war against Burmecia. Morrid points out that Alexandria and Burmecia waged many wars before the Airship Revolution and how there was no single clearcut aggressor, aggravating the black-and-white-thinking Steiner.[1]
Gallery[]
