09-08-2017, 12:33 PM
I used to think that all of the various threads of life in Harnburg valley, the entire entrancingly pathetic spiral galaxy of toil, ego and experience, all swirled outward from the person of the Duke. I'm not so certain about that anymore.
The first hint came on the day I destroyed the elves in the western forest, when the spymaster Chatterly attempted to steer my indiscriminate curiosity away from a dark-haired woman in a green dress who we'd seen on our way out of the castle - the Duke's niece, Isolda. Chatterly cautioned me then, in spite of my obvious superiority, telling me to stay as far away from her as possible. Naturally I scoffed at his warning, moving the conversation along to other, more broadly fascinating topics. I'd assumed I'd be able to inquire further after I returned to the castle, but even as the rest of this place has unfolded itself before me I've uncovered practically no new information regarding the Lady Isolda.
She's young, and personable, and cares for her uncle, who she visits several times a week. She has a room in the Northwestern tower of the castle, but no political duties, and no demands upon her time – and that is all that anybody in the entirety of this valley seems to know about her. I've mostly refrained from pressing the issue for fear of losing the chance at an explanation, although on one memorable night I did drag a scullery maid down into the catacombs below the castle, commandeering a disused and half-flooded cellar in order to obtain a more complete picture.
Her name was Desiderata, and after twenty minutes spent periodically acquainting her face with the bottom of a pool of stagnant water, she didn't turn out to know very much at all excepting silver-polishing, soap-making, and cookery. However, my efforts weren't completely wasted. Just before I extracted her Omnilium essence, erasing her from the world, Desi (as her friends were known to call her) informed me that the Lady Isolda was an object of paranoid myth for the Duke's household staff; They go out of their way to keep her happy because they believe she possesses unknown and terrifying powers. This is apparently exacerbated (a word which has the delightful tingling cadence of a horrible crime) by the fact that the Lady's personal retainers have never been seen to eat, or sleep, or speak to anyone except the Duke and the Lady herself.
Two other servants subjected to similar methods yielded only more of the same, and my efforts to interrogate Isolda myself have been frustrated at every turn; I can't even get close to her! She disappears around corners, flitting down hallways and ducking casually behind statuary, at which point she vanishes utterly. On one memorable occasion, when I came upon her atop the battlements, she vaulted over the crimson balustrade in an unlikely rush of rustling green silk and white cotton skirts (which are an even more confusing affectation than clothing in general) only to evaporate during the brief moment it took me to reach the edge and look down.
It's maddening! Is she a Prime? Is she something else? If so, then why doesn't she rule this valley herself? Why is she going to such lengths to avoid talking to me, and how does she always seem to know when I'm coming? How does she fit into Harnburg's social reality – or, given her evanescent qualities, reality in general?
Sometimes I wonder if she's even here at all, or if some unknown, doomed third party is having a complicated joke at my expense. However, regardless of the Lady Isolda's nature, she suggests a hidden layer to the power-structure here that runs deeper than the intrigues I've already discovered. She represents something hidden, and deeply strange, and I won't be able to finish my ruinous work until that mystery is solved.
If only my other problem would leave me alone long enough to do that.
The first hint came on the day I destroyed the elves in the western forest, when the spymaster Chatterly attempted to steer my indiscriminate curiosity away from a dark-haired woman in a green dress who we'd seen on our way out of the castle - the Duke's niece, Isolda. Chatterly cautioned me then, in spite of my obvious superiority, telling me to stay as far away from her as possible. Naturally I scoffed at his warning, moving the conversation along to other, more broadly fascinating topics. I'd assumed I'd be able to inquire further after I returned to the castle, but even as the rest of this place has unfolded itself before me I've uncovered practically no new information regarding the Lady Isolda.
She's young, and personable, and cares for her uncle, who she visits several times a week. She has a room in the Northwestern tower of the castle, but no political duties, and no demands upon her time – and that is all that anybody in the entirety of this valley seems to know about her. I've mostly refrained from pressing the issue for fear of losing the chance at an explanation, although on one memorable night I did drag a scullery maid down into the catacombs below the castle, commandeering a disused and half-flooded cellar in order to obtain a more complete picture.
Her name was Desiderata, and after twenty minutes spent periodically acquainting her face with the bottom of a pool of stagnant water, she didn't turn out to know very much at all excepting silver-polishing, soap-making, and cookery. However, my efforts weren't completely wasted. Just before I extracted her Omnilium essence, erasing her from the world, Desi (as her friends were known to call her) informed me that the Lady Isolda was an object of paranoid myth for the Duke's household staff; They go out of their way to keep her happy because they believe she possesses unknown and terrifying powers. This is apparently exacerbated (a word which has the delightful tingling cadence of a horrible crime) by the fact that the Lady's personal retainers have never been seen to eat, or sleep, or speak to anyone except the Duke and the Lady herself.
Two other servants subjected to similar methods yielded only more of the same, and my efforts to interrogate Isolda myself have been frustrated at every turn; I can't even get close to her! She disappears around corners, flitting down hallways and ducking casually behind statuary, at which point she vanishes utterly. On one memorable occasion, when I came upon her atop the battlements, she vaulted over the crimson balustrade in an unlikely rush of rustling green silk and white cotton skirts (which are an even more confusing affectation than clothing in general) only to evaporate during the brief moment it took me to reach the edge and look down.
It's maddening! Is she a Prime? Is she something else? If so, then why doesn't she rule this valley herself? Why is she going to such lengths to avoid talking to me, and how does she always seem to know when I'm coming? How does she fit into Harnburg's social reality – or, given her evanescent qualities, reality in general?
Sometimes I wonder if she's even here at all, or if some unknown, doomed third party is having a complicated joke at my expense. However, regardless of the Lady Isolda's nature, she suggests a hidden layer to the power-structure here that runs deeper than the intrigues I've already discovered. She represents something hidden, and deeply strange, and I won't be able to finish my ruinous work until that mystery is solved.
If only my other problem would leave me alone long enough to do that.