019 - Chat with Gaustafr
“What, you just ran off afterwards?”
Well, yes, it just seemed kind of important, and then, you know, things got busy, and…
“For the love of- there was so much I could have TOLD you, woman! But nevermind. So why are you back here again?”
Well, Olgar’s Stand seems okay, but there’s kind of the problem about that pillar. Why did it show up? What’s the deal with them, anyway?
“I couldn’t tell you why it showed up… and how should I know about them?”
…Because when she found him, he was at the pillar here in the Deep Wilds. When the one in the Havens appeared, things got a lot more undead. She thinks maybe they’re magical.
“…You hide a clever mind in your recklessness, don’t you? Or maybe you’re just stumbling on things over and over again.”
So she's right?
“I really shouldn’t be telling you anything. These are incredible forces.”
Look, there’s been more magic happening in the last few days than she's seen in her entire life. A weirdo guy rose a zombie cult. Something is WRONG with the Ironlands.
“You are right. Things have been odd lately. I don’t have the full answers myself. I can, however, share you my theory, at least: I believe the pillars have something to do with time itself.”
What?
“Again, I’m not certain, and I certainly can’t explain why one suddenly appeared, but my theory is that the pillars affect the flow of time in a region around them. The Deep Wilds overgrow at a rate faster than normal, the wastelands to the north are effectively locked in time. Perhaps the one at Olgar’s Stand is reversing something about life and death. I thought the ritual you performed could get me a better understanding, but it hasn’t.”
Why are you telling her this?
“Because you can’t do anything with this knowledge, no one will believe you, and it means I get to ask you to run another errand.”
…She was just paid in advance with a crazy mystic’s pet theory, wasn’t she.
“Yes. Don’t worry, there’s a friend of mine you’ll want to meet anyway. Now, listen closely…”
Solana was soon back out of Everhome, with her latest “quest” prepared for her: head north, to the Hinterlands, and help an old soldier friend of Gaustafr’s - who might even offer her combat training to advance that silly little dream of hers. To the town of Redby, a hardy community of stone walls and log cabins.
To get to there directly is a dangerous trek through the Wilds. But to try and take a safer Havens route would be significantly longer - and Solana isn’t the best off in supplies.
This might be a long one…
Mid-Story Commentary
A section that's almost entirely dialog. I didn't narrate out heading back to Timberhome, nor immediately said this was Gaustafr (though we know from the title). I think at this point I was starting to feel, I don't know, writer-y? I was playing the game, now I was playing around with how to write it. This was definitely some experiment in writing a play log.
I don't even remember if I rolled anything for this: the journey back to Timberhome may or may not have been played out, and if there was anything going on in the discussion it'd have been Gather Information and Compel.
I don't think it's too much of a spoiler at this point - and I mentioned it in a past section's commentary - that Solana's story isn't really written in first person, ever, and Solana doesn't have explicit quotation-mark dialog (though the writing here is literal enough she might as well have). This was originally written in first person, which I edited to make it more aligned with how some of the past and future sections get written.
All this sounds deeply ominous, so the situation must be escalating direly. If I were a betting person, this would be the classic "small situation escalates into world-spanning consequences" sort of deal. Though we're going maybe a bit too fast for that pacing-wise, but who knows what we're actually expecting to see happen in Redby, and it's apparent Gaustafr isn't interested in Solana being too involved anyway.