The Whaler

Hubbub, The Whaler, is an adventurer found in the player-owned port. He can be unlocked and give special missions to the player running the port if the player has 90 Fishing. The Whaler can be unlocked through the tutorial or a special voyage. He can be found upstairs in the bar when he is in port.

Hubbub pursues Shuma, the great whale.

Joint voyages
Hubbub prefers to work with The Biologist. When both adventurers are in port, their joint voyages are available in the special voyages list.

Hubbub's story
Previous storyline cutscenes can be replayed by talking to Hubbub when he is in the port.

Part 1: Meet the Whaler
Hubbub may first appear in the Tutorial or a special voyage. He arrives at the port with enemies in pursuit. After the player and The Partner help fight them off, Hubbub decides to stay at the port and tells the player to meet him at the bar. This cutscene may not be replayed.

Part 2: The Misguide
When Hubbub hears that Shuma, the whale who took his leg, has been active around the Bay of Echoes, he asks the player for a ship to confront and kill the whale. The player agrees to help in return for a reward. When the ship returns, another cutscene begins in which The Whaler reveals more about his past. On the voyage he mistook pirates for the deaf whale. He comments that he never made this mistake before. He says his senses once allowed him to be the Khan of a fishing city built on stilts over the sea. Shuma raided the city's fish farms, and so when they learned that she was trapped in a cave, they set out to get revenge. During the fight, the Whaler was not able to kill her, succeeding only in making her deaf. A rock fell on his leg, which he cut off before swimming home. In the meantime, his city was destroyed and now the whaler seeks revenge on Shuma, the great whale who cost him his leg and his island.

Part 3: The Evacuation
Hubbub comes to the player asking for help because Shuma the whale is now attacking the defenseless city of Honazo. Hubbub wants to send a party to kill the monster, but the player decides it would be better to evacuate the city instead. Hubbub calls the player a fool, but has no choice but to agree. Following a successful mission, Hubbub tells the player that he senses something is wrong with Shuma. While they are both pledged to destroy one another, they both enjoy the fight. However, Hubbub feels Shuma has lost something, like the taste for revenge Hubbub once enjoyed. Hubbub tells the player that after many years tracking Shuma, he learned that his village was not attacked by Shuma, but rather by a collection of sea creatures led by a man on an albino narwhal. The man, Discord, was a bodyguard for the sea-singer, Quin, who uses an ancient horn to summon and control the secrets of the deep. Hubbub tried to destroy Quin, even hiring the Death Lotus assassins, but Quin was ahead of him at every turn. Gradually, Quin become more and more protected by creatures and traps, making her unreachable. This is why Hubbub continues to hunt Shuma, even though Shuma is not responsible for the death of his village - he cannot satisfy his thirst for revenge.

Part 4: Ramraid
The Navigator and Hubbub have been working together to plot the course of Shuma. They have found that she is heading in a straight line directly toward New Heritage, the biggest human city in the Eastern Lands. However, to get there, Shuma must head through the Jade Straits. The player agrees to help stop her by blocking her path. Unfortunately, Hubbub returns to tell the player that nothing they did could prevent Shuma from continuing on.

Part 5: The Old Man of the Sea
Part 5 of The Whaler's story is titled The Old Man of the Sea.

Resource voyages
Hubbub's seafaring-based resource voyages are called A Deep-Sea Discovery. They reward the player with chimes and the region's resource or, later in the game, plate, but do not advance the story line. The adversity and reward vary depending on the region. When Hubbub offers more than one special voyage, the player must choose between them.

The descriptions read "The Whaler knows of a chest full of (reward resource or plate) that's sunk to the bottom of the ocean. Help him retrieve it."

Experience voyages
Hubbub's experience voyages are called Learning from Fish. They reward the player with Fishing experience, but do not advance the story line. The adversity and reward vary depending on the region. When Hubbub offers more than one special voyage, the player must choose between them.

The description for the 15,000 xp voyage reads "The Whaler believes that there's much to be learned from Carp that Glint, that swim near the shores of Ren Bo, by watching and hunting them. Help the Whaler hone this techniques." (sic)

Trivia

 * His examine text is a reference to a line spoken by Ahab to the white whale in Herman Melville's novel Moby Dick. In the book, Ahab is seeking revenge on the white whale for biting off his leg.
 * The name Shuma is a reference to Shamu, the stage name for a SeaWorld orca show, as well as the star of each show.