How did Alisaie know? [Before the Fall]

[Alisa180]

Well, we went from Black Brush to Coerthas via (the fastest?) Airship, so that would significantly cut down our travel time. Tataru and Yugiri would have had to cross the ocean to arrive at Vesper Bay, then presumably take a carriage to Coerthas. That's a significantly longer journey than the one we took, so the simple fact is that they must have had a head start, meaning they were attacked earlier.

I repeat: Teleportation. They just had to port to Horizon then make their way to Vesper Bay. Then from there port to Revenant's Toll/Dragonhead.

I really don't think NPCs (or ourselves) teleport the same way we do during gameplay... If they could... Well, the entire escape from Ul'dah sequence makes zero sense... We'd all have just teleported out, instead we had one case of someone attempting that and it going horribly wrong...

Remember, teleportation takes significant time and concentration. Which we had neither of during the escape. That was why Y'sholta resorted to the more 'instantaneous' Flow spell.

Perhaps he was the only one who spoke to Alisaie? Tataru and Yugiri spoke to Urianger. Urianger casts his glamour, and sends Tataru/Yugiri to Coerthas as a safe meeting place (and probably contacts Cid, IDR why Cid showed up, come to think of it), then informs Alisaie, who sends the merchant to try and help and he runs into us.

The merchant was the one who informed Cid, according to the latter.

That's an...awfully convoluted series of events. And why would Urianger stop at telling Alisaie? Assuming this occurred before the poisoning, he could have reached the Scions via linkpearl.

Actually, to quote Tataru again:

"I tried contacting Minfilia and the others, but no one would respond...
And then Crystal Braves─our own people!─turned on us in the marketplace."

Which means the poisoning and subsequent events did happen concurrently or before the attack in Limsa.