[X] "You have to cross over the bridge before you can reach the centre of the Maze. It's en route."
-[X] Assure him that you're heading in the right direction and you'll reach your intended destination soon.
--[X] Watch with interest when Mister Grey is confronted by his "greatest enemy".
---[X] Backstab him while he confronts that enemy.
I think I've already raised the possibility, but, anyway. I think that the Master is this universe's version of Evie's former mentor, for a given value of this.
And as new evidence, the spectral raven that follows Evie around ever since she got a new staff and now murders the robots we've led into the Maze.
[X] "You have to cross over the bridge before you can reach the centre of the Maze. It's en route."
-[X] Assure him that you're heading in the right direction and you'll reach your intended destination soon.
--[X] Watch with interest when Mister Grey is confronted by his "greatest enemy".
I must've forgotten this since for us passing the Bridge was the last test.
[x] "You have to cross over the bridge before you can reach the centre of the Maze. It's en route."
-[x] Assure him that you're heading in the right direction and you'll reach your intended destination soon.
--[X] Watch with interest when Mister Grey is confronted by his "greatest enemy".
[X] "You have to cross over the bridge before you can reach the centre of the Maze. It's en route."
-[X] Assure him that you're heading in the right direction and you'll reach your intended destination soon.
--[X] Watch with interest when Mister Grey is confronted by his "greatest enemy".
I'm assuming that if you had the chance to use Mastery of Sound to destroy the rest of the robots, you'd take it, so...
*
My Own Worst Enemy
'You have to cross over the bridge before you can reach the centre of the Maze. It's en route,' you explain. 'Don't worry, we'll get there soon.'
Mister Grey doesn't look convinced, but neither does he argue. Without a word, he steps forward onto the bridge, ahead of you and the robots which have been assigned to escort you. Glancing around, you can only see ten of them. They don't seem to have noticed that their pitiful little fighting force has been reduced to half strength. You wonder: can they see what's going on as clearly as you do? Is there some illusion tricking their senses, lulling them into a false sense of security?
Black shoe leather touches down on the silver bridge. You hear clanking footsteps. The stone statue overlooking the chasm seems to come alive: a faint glowing light shines out of the helmet's eye slits and you hear the voice of the so-called "Master of the Maze". He explains the rules of this room's trial, just as he did before: 'One at a time, you must cross the bridge. Halfway across, you must battle your greatest enemy. Only if you win will you be allowed to pass.'
'What's this, some kind of game?' Mister Grey scoffs. 'You didn't mention anything about this, Frida.'
'Look, I didn't make the rules which govern the Maze. It seems slightly different every time I go through it. I just know what you need to do to get to the centre,' you defend yourself. 'Maybe it'll be via a circuitous route, but we'll get there in the end.'
'So… what do I need to do?' asks Grey.
'Step forth,' says the statue, imposingly.
Impatiently, Mister Grey strides onwards across the bridge, striking up a cacophony of jangling sounds each time his feet touch down on the bare metal. However, before he can get more than halfway, his passage is blocked by the sudden appearance of another man, dressed in a shabby old black-and-white suit and carrying a double-barrelled shotgun. This new arrival looks almost exactly like the Mister Grey you know, with the same greyish tinge to his pale skin - and the same roguish smile he was wearing when you first met him, back in the Dung Village market – but he looks slightly older, scarred and weathered by a harsh life underground.
'Oh, I'm my own worst enemy, is that what this is supposed to mean?' asks Mister Grey. 'Actually no. Apparently, my "greatest enemy" is me holding a shotgun. Not sure I understand the reasoning behind that, but still…'
'You think you're me, but you're not,' says the new arrival, baring his teeth. 'You're the android they replaced me with after they murdered me. I'm the real Oswald Grey. Accept no substitutes.'
'That's a lie!' The android Mister Grey laughs loudly. 'Just another ridiculous conspiracy theory!'
'Is it? Hasn't it ever occurred to you to wonder why you were chosen to be the leader of the ticktockmen? You of all people?' says Unfortunate Oswald (you've decided to start calling him that to distinguish him from his android doppelganger). 'When they made your tiny mechanical brain, didn't they leave any room for doubt?'
'I… uh…'
'Actually, why am I arguing with you about this?' Unfortunate Oswald asks himself, rhetorically. 'That's what the shotgun's for.'
With a sharp and sudden movement, he takes aim and shoots both barrels at his android duplicate. In the quiet of the darkened cavern, the noise is deafeningly loud. You grab hold of that sound with your psionic powers, crafting it into a weapon which you unleash against the ticktockmen who are still standing guard around you, smashing them to bits. By the time you did this, only five of them remained. Afterwards, none.
A headless one-armed corpse, missing large parts of its torso, topples backwards onto the bridge. What you can see of it looks almost convincingly organic, but you can see a few suspicious wires and broken-off bits of metal sticking out of the holes in the dead body, which would have revealed to you the truth if you didn't already know it: the Mister Grey you knew wasn't a real person, just an incredible simulation.
'Well, that's that,' says Unfortunate Oswald, lowering his shotgun. 'Thanks for giving me a chance at revenge.'
'It was my pleasure,' says the Master of the Maze.
'So… what happens now? I go back to being dead, right?'
'Not yet. Perhaps Frida has some questions she'd like to ask you. And after that… perhaps I could give you some time to get your affairs in order. Say… until midnight tonight?'
'You can do that?'
'Well… I'll have to strain myself, but yes. It should be doable.'
'Well, all right then.' Unfortunate Oswald slings the shotgun on a strap over his shoulder. Then, striding towards you, he says, 'Ask me anything you want, but don't take all day: I've got a few old friends I'd like to say goodbye to.'
What do you want to ask him? (Choose as many options as you like. But be reasonable.)
[] "Who killed you?
[] "Why did they kill you?
[] "Why did they bother to replace you with an android duplicate?"
[] "Do the ticktockmen have any weaknesses I can exploit?"
[] "Do the Seraphs have any weaknesses I can exploit?"
[] "Can I have your shotgun? Pretty please?"
-[] "Do you have any ammunition left over?"
[] "You were a detective, right?"
-[] "Do you know anything about the mysterious murders in 'the Hole'?"
[] "Can you help me remove these handcuffs?"
[] Say something else (write in).
Is there anything you want to say to the Master of the Maze? (Choose as many options as you like. But be reasonable.)
[] "That wasn't a fair trial."
-[] "One of them had a shotgun, the other was unarmed. You can't tell me that's fair."
-[] "It was rigged, just like all the other trials."
--[] "You wanted me and my friends to win, so you gave us challenges we could overcome without too much difficulty. But you didn't want the android Mister Grey to win, so you gave him a challenge he wouldn't be able to overcome."
[] "You're a cheat! How would the Chronarchs feel about this?"
[] "Did you eliminate most of the ticktockmen who were supposed to guard me?"
[] "Why are you being so helpful?"
[] "Have you been following Evie around, disguised as a raven?"
[] "Who are you, really?"
[] Say something else (write in).
I want to know why they felt they needed to kill him off discreetly. Was it the mayor? Whom did Android Oswald work for?
It's probably his detective work that got in the way of his continued existence. Still, I'd like to verify what they were afraid of.
[x] "You were a detective, right?"
-[x] "What were you investigating last?"
-[x] "Do you know anything about the mysterious murders in 'the Hole'?"
And yes, I am still curious about those murders. Even though they may have happened after his death. Whatever, if he doesn't know, we move on to the next question.
[x] "Do the ticktockmen have any weaknesses I can exploit?"
I have no reason to assume he knows a lot (or anything) about robots, but if we could take control of Ticktockmen somehow... I do want my robotic uprising. If it's some module in Mr. Grey, I want to take it. If we can have him pose as Android Oswald, I'll take it too.
[x] To the Master of the Maze
-[x] "Why are you being so helpful?"
-[x] "Who are you, really?"
He can be a Raven all he wants in his spare time, I don't care, but I really want to know why he prefers one set of players over the other.
[x] "You were a detective, right?"
-[x] "What were you investigating last?"
-[x] "Do you know anything about the mysterious murders in 'the Hole'?"
[x] "Do the ticktockmen have any weaknesses I can exploit?"
[x] To the Master of the Maze
-[x] "Why are you being so helpful?"
-[x] "Who are you, really?"
-[X] "Have you been following Evie around, disguised as a raven?"
The android Gray served the city officials, but their requirements were a tad arbitrary.
Like eliminating opposing time travelers, accessing the Maze... he didn't care about public safety at all, and it'd be nice to ask a real detective what he did care about.
Seraphs are grade one mooks, so it'd be nice to know about them. Ticktockmen... not so much. We killed five in a second, and the Master killed fifteen, without them even noticing.
Well, to be fair, we've been given enough puzzle pieces to figure it out ourselves, but it's always nice to have it spelled out. But, on what we already know:
I'd guess the original was murdered and replaced because he didn't really like the city officials so much, or one official in particular.
Considering Gray Android was basically acting as Baldander's proxy, I'd guess he infiltrated the city administration and started replacing the people inside so that he would have a reliable tool to strike with against other time travelers. The resources and the information his position would provide are also helpful towards finding a way to reach the Spire and killing the Mad God.
So, who and why isn't that important, but why they replaced him is a little interesting. Why Oswald in particular, basically? Was he well-respected?
About the Hole... just idle curiosity, that.
[X] Ask Oswald
-[X] "Why did they bother to replace you with an android duplicate?"
-[X] "Do the Seraphs have any weaknesses I can exploit?"
-[X] "You were a detective, right?"
--[X] "Do you know anything about the mysterious murders in 'the Hole'?"
-[X] "Can you help me remove these handcuffs?"
[X] Ask the Master
-[X] "So, Valathar. Thanks for hel- I mean, how fair of you to not favor any candidate with even a slightest bias, even though I would've completely understood why you could have a reason to do otherwise. Truly, you're a model servant. By the way, how is eternal servitude to the Chronarchs working out for you? I'm from the Customer Service, and we would sincerely enjoy if you rated it from one to ten."
-[X] "Alright, jokes aside. Any more advice on keeping Evie sane? I'm doing what I can, but I'm kinda awful at this helping people thing, I'm out of practice."
[X] Ask the Master
-[X] "So, Valathar. Thanks for hel- I mean, how fair of you to not favor any candidate with even a slightest bias, even though I would've completely understood why you could have a reason to do otherwise. Truly, you're a model servant. By the way, how is eternal servitude to the Chronarchs working out for you? I'm from the Customer Service, and we would sincerely enjoy if you rated it from one to ten."
-[X] "Alright, jokes aside. Any more advice on keeping Evie sane? I'm doing what I can, but I'm kinda awful at this helping people thing, I'm out of practice."
[X] Ask Oswald
-[X] "Why did they bother to replace you with an android duplicate?"
-[X] "Do the Seraphs have any weaknesses I can exploit?"
-[X] "You were a detective, right?"
--[X] "Do you know anything about the mysterious murders in 'the Hole'?"
-[X] "Can you help me remove these handcuffs?"
[X] Ask the Master
-[X] "So, Valathar. Thanks for hel- I mean, how fair of you to not favor any candidate with even a slightest bias, even though I would've completely understood why you could have a reason to do otherwise. Truly, you're a model servant. By the way, how is eternal servitude to the Chronarchs working out for you? I'm from the Customer Service, and we would sincerely enjoy if you rated it from one to ten."
-[X] "Alright, jokes aside. Any more advice on keeping Evie sane? I'm doing what I can, but I'm kinda awful at this helping people thing, I'm out of practice."
I mean, I've raised it before, when the Master almost said as much that he knows Evie from before, the spectral raven is just compounding evidence to me.
[X] Ask Oswald
-[X] "Why did they bother to replace you with an android duplicate?"
-[X] "Do the Seraphs have any weaknesses I can exploit?"
-[X] "You were a detective, right?"
--[X] "Do you know anything about the mysterious murders in 'the Hole'?"
-[X] "Can you help me remove these handcuffs?"
[X] Ask the Master
-[X] "So, Valathar. Thanks for hel- I mean, how fair of you to not favor any candidate with even a slightest bias, even though I would've completely understood why you could have a reason to do otherwise. Truly, you're a model servant. By the way, how is eternal servitude to the Chronarchs working out for you? I'm from the Customer Service, and we would sincerely enjoy if you rated it from one to ten."
-[X] "Alright, jokes aside. Any more advice on keeping Evie sane? I'm doing what I can, but I'm kinda awful at this helping people thing, I'm out of practice."
So I see two broad lines of questioning, one about Grey's sleuthing...
[x] "Who killed you, and why?"
-[X] "You were a detective, right?"
--[X] "Do you know anything about the mysterious murders in 'the Hole'?"
-[X] "Can you help me remove these handcuffs?"
... the other about robotics in this place...
-[X] "Why did they bother to replace you with an android duplicate?"
-[X] "Do the Seraphs have any weaknesses I can exploit?"
-[x] "Do the ticktockmen have any weaknesses I can exploit?"
-[x] [write-in] "What are the relations between Seraphs and Ticktockmen?"
-[X] "So, Valathar. Thanks for hel- I mean, how fair of you to not favor any candidate with even a slightest bias, even though I would've completely understood why you could have a reason to do otherwise. Truly, you're a model servant. By the way, how is eternal servitude to the Chronarchs working out for you? I'm from the Customer Service, and we would sincerely enjoy if you rated it from one to ten."
-[X] "Alright, jokes aside. Any more advice on keeping Evie sane? I'm doing what I can, but I'm kinda awful at this helping people thing, I'm out of practice."
'Well, all right then.' Unfortunate Oswald slings the shotgun on a strap over his shoulder. Then, striding towards you, he says, 'Ask me anything you want, but don't take all day: I've got a few old friends I'd like to say goodbye to.'
'This shouldn't take long,' you assure him. 'First question: who killed you and why?'
'That's a story and a half, but I'll try to strip it down to the bare essentials,' says the real Oswald Grey. 'I was hired by the city council's Director of Central Intelligence, Chen Tong Yan. He was very concerned with how their government was being undermined by widespread embezzlement, pilfering from the stores, and the fact that all of the city's robotic defenders were being built with obvious design flaws that he couldn't get anyone to fix.'
'I may want to ask you about that afterwards,' you say, 'but please go on.'
'I was one of several people he hired to investigate. I'd worked with him a few times before that: odd jobs, y'know. When I started looking into it, I didn't expect to find anything much. Maybe a light-fingered burglar sneaking into the storehouses, a few naughty bureaucrats with their fingers in the till, and so on. Nothing very serious. So, you can imagine my surprise when I found out that some of the other councillors were responsible for the thefts. Not only that, but they were a group of androids who were only pretending to be human. They claimed to be "on a mission from God."'
'Did they have a "full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes," and sunglasses they were wearing at night?" you ask.
'No, that's my schtick,' says Oswald. 'Anyway… I can't quite remember what happened next. There's a gap in my memories, right at the end. Maybe it was so traumatic that I don't want to remember. But it's not hard to guess what must have happened: they caught me, killed me, and replaced me with him.' He jabs a finger in the direction of his doppelganger's headless corpse.
'How long ago was this?'
'Well, since I've been dead, I've not exactly been keeping track of time…' Looking for help, Oswald glances back at the stone statue which the Master of the Maze was using as a mouthpiece.
'About four months,' the ethereal voice replies.
'Why did they bother to replace with an android duplicate?' you ask, still focused on the real Mister Grey.
'A couple of months before that, Lothangrim the necromancer had arrived and destroyed the Buried Village. The ticktockmen were sent to defend Dung Village and a few other strategic locations down in the Bowels. But they needed someone to lead them. I was already fairly well-known and well-respected down here: I'd found some missing kids and took them back to their families, solved a few thefts, trapped a serial killer–'
'Who was that?' you excitedly interrupt, thinking back to the pile of corpses that was discovered near the Hole.
'A scarred brute, obsessed with knives and flaying people. He called himself "Mister Grin". Don't worry about him, though. He was scheduled for execution nearly a year ago.'
'But they didn't kill him. Instead, they used him as their hired assassin,' you say. 'He tried to kill Evie.'
'Big mistake,' says the Master of the Maze in a tone of smug satisfaction.
The real Oswald Grey grimaces, shaking his head in disgust. 'Those bastards…'
'So, they wanted to make it look like you'd been chosen to lead the ticktockmen because of your reputation down here in the Bowels. And there's no way I can say that without it sounding at least slightly suspect,' you say. 'Sorry about that.'
'I've heard all the jokes before,' Oswald says dismissively. 'It's the fault of whoever built the city and gave its locations such peculiar names. Don't worry about it.'
'Do you know anything about the mysterious murders in "the Hole"?' you ask.
'Uhh… presumably some of those murders happened after I was already dead, so I can't tell you much about them. But I remember... about a year ago, someone reported seeing a corpse lying in a rubbish dump near to "the Last Drop". I went to take a look for myself, but by then it had already gone. I tried asking around, but there were no clues, no witnesses, nothing. The investigation dried up right there.'
'Who reported the dead body to you?'
'A junk merchant and scavenger named Ratcliffe. You can often find him in the Dung Village market, selling his wares.'
'I've spoken to Ratcliffe!' you exclaim. 'He didn't tell me that he'd found one of the dead bodies!'
'What did he tell you?'
'Uhh…' You hurriedly think back to your meeting with the shifty junk merchant, a few days ago. 'He said he wasn't convinced that the murders had been committed by a vampire, he didn't think one of Lothangrim's minions could have done it, and he most certainly didn't seem to trust you.'
Oswald looks amused by that. 'He must have noticed some discrepancy. Maybe he expected "Mister Grey" would want to talk to him again after more dead bodies were found, or he thought it was strange that he seemingly forgot about the murder for nearly a year until new evidence was discovered, or he thought that idiot's whole handling of the case was incompetent.' Again, he indicates his duplicate's dead body. 'Whatever the reason, it seems to have made him suspicious.'
'Thank you. You've been very helpful,' you say. 'You mentioned that "the city's robotic defenders" – I'm assuming you were referring to the ticktockmen and the Seraphs – were built with "obvious design flaws" which Cripple Yan couldn't get anyone to fix. Tell me about these design flaws. Anything I can use against them?'
'They've got some rather glaring blind spots. I'm assuming that was to make it easier for the people in charge to get away with their stealing, sneaking around, and so on. Also, they have holes in their network security which no one's bothered to fix, presumably so that someone else can take control of them. It's a design feature, not a bug.'
'Interesting. So… could I take control of them? Can you help me take control of them?' you ask.
'I don't know that much about technology,' Oswald admits. 'And if I tried to impersonate my impersonator, the ticktockmen would probably notice I'm not a robot. Especially since I don't speak that squeaky clicky language they use.'
'Hmm. I'll figure something out,' you mutter. 'What's the difference between the ticktockmen and Seraphs, anyway?'
'The ticktockmen were designed for use in the Bowels. They're smaller and cuter and they lack the vocal equipment which they'd need to speak like us, which is why they have their own language. Basically, they were designed to be a reassuring and nonthreatening presence, 'cos the people of the Bowels have enough to be afraid of already. Whereas the Seraphs were designed to be grand and imposing, reminding the people of the Belly that even though their lives are relatively safer and they have their basic needs provided for them, they're still living in an oppressive police state, so they should be frightened and meek and not make trouble. Also, Seraphs can fly.'
'One last question,' you say, remembering the handcuffs binding your wrists together. 'Can you help me with these?'
'Sure, no problem,' says Oswald. He walks over to the decapitated android and rummages through his pockets, correctly summarising that he must have kept the key about his person. When he's found the key, it's the work of only a moment for him to remove your handcuffs.
'Thanks again,' you say, rubbing your wrists, glad that the pressure has been relieved.
'Don't worry about it. Do you have any further questions, or can I get going?' asks Oswald.
What do you say?
[] "No further questions. Have a good evening!"
OR
[] "One more thing…" (Write in: what else do you want to say?)
Then, when that's done, you glance up at the stone statue which is standing guard over the chasm. 'So, Valathar. Thanks for your h– I mean, how scrupulously fair of you to not favour any candidate with even a slightest hint of bias, even though I would've completely understood why you had every reason to do otherwise. Truly, you're a model servant! By the way, how is eternal servitude to the Chronarchs working out for you? I'm from Customer Service, and we would sincerely appreciate if you rated it from one to ten.' You grin triumphantly at him. 'Alright, jokes aside. Any more advice on keeping Evie sane? I'm doing what I can, but I'm kinda awful at this helping people thing. It's not like I've ever had much practice.'
A heavy sigh echoes through the cavern. 'I suppose congratulations are in order. You figured it out.'
A moment later, Valathar appears before you: a tall, scarred man, lean and muscular, with shoulder-length silvery-grey hair and pointed ears. His expression is grim, edged with apprehension.
'I did think it was suspicious that in the Hall of Mirrors the rest of us were given a challenge to overcome, but she just a got a pep talk,' you say. 'How did you persuade the Chronarchs to let you get away with that?'
'They let me get away with a surprising amount, so long as it amuses them. But no doubt they'll punish me for it in the end. When it amuses them,' he says darkly.
What do you want to say to Valathar?
[] Write in.
I'm not going to give you any vote options here because I'm honestly curious as to what you want to say to him.
Well done, Raiseth. Another mystery solved. Remind me to give you some xp after you've finished this conversation.
What horrible, horrible people. *tucks the jar of coffee deeper inside her pockets*
[x] "One more thing…" (Write in: what else do you want to say?)
-[x] Can I have your shotgun? Pretty please? Unless some of your goodbyes involve it somehow.
I'm pretty sure they do, but there's no harm in asking, I suppose.
Don't want to commit to anything just yet, but
[] Evie needs some tech and materials. You wouldn't happen to know about anything like that lying around in the vicinity, would you?
[x] "One more thing…" (Write in: what else do you want to say?)
-[x] Can I have your shotgun? Pretty please? Unless some of your goodbyes involve it somehow.
What horrible, horrible people. *tucks the jar of coffee deeper inside her pockets*
[x] "One more thing…" (Write in: what else do you want to say?)
-[x] Can I have your shotgun? Pretty please? Unless some of your goodbyes involve it somehow.
[x] "One more thing…" (Write in: what else do you want to say?)
-[x] Can I have your shotgun? Pretty please? Unless some of your goodbyes involve it somehow.
[X] Say to Valathar
-[X] Do you me to carry a message to Evie?
-[X] Any other information on the Chronarchs and Terminus you want to share?
Suddenly, I am envisioning trombone bazookas. This may be how Galactic Empress Frida conquered the universe.
[x] "One more thing…" (Write in: what else do you want to say?)
-[x] Can I have your shotgun? Pretty please? Unless some of your goodbyes involve it somehow.
[x] "One more thing…" (Write in: what else do you want to say?)
-[x] Can I have your shotgun? Pretty please? Unless some of your goodbyes involve it somehow.
[X] Say to Valathar
-[X] "Sucks to be you, I guess. I mean, I could tell Evie about you and she could save you once she becomes a goddess."
-[X] "... unless you think that telling her about you isn't a good idea."
-[X] "Evie needs some tech and materials. You wouldn't happen to know about anything like that lying around in the vicinity, would you?"
Then, when that's done, you glance up at the stone statue which is standing guard over the chasm. 'So, Valathar. Thanks for your h– I mean, how scrupulously fair of you to not favour any candidate with even a slightest hint of bias, even though I would've completely understood why you had every reason to do otherwise. Truly, you're a model servant! By the way, how is eternal servitude to the Chronarchs working out for you? I'm from Customer Service, and we would sincerely appreciate if you rated it from one to ten.' You grin triumphantly at him. 'Alright, jokes aside. Any more advice on keeping Evie sane? I'm doing what I can, but I'm kinda awful at this helping people thing. It's not like I've ever had much practice.'
A heavy sigh echoes through the cavern. 'I suppose congratulations are in order. You figured it out.'
A moment later, Valathar appears before you: a tall, scarred man, lean and muscular, with shoulder-length silvery-grey hair and pointed ears. His expression is grim, edged with apprehension.
'I did think it was suspicious that in the Hall of Mirrors the rest of us were given a challenge to overcome, but she just a got a pep talk,' you say. 'How did you persuade the Chronarchs to let you get away with that?'
'They let me get away with a surprising amount, so long as it amuses them. But no doubt they'll punish me for it in the end. When it amuses them,' he says darkly.
I'll admit, I was expecting a bit more of a reaction to this latest revelation. However, considering this quest's limited readership, I suppose this lack of reaction was more or less inevitable.
So, anyway...
In the next chapter, I want to include these topics of discussion:
1. Some of Valathar's backstory, how he became a servant of the Chronarchs.
2. His opinion of the Chronarchs' great game.
3. Some commentary and/or explanation of what the Maze trials were all about.
4. His opinion of your plan to turn Evie into a goddess.
5. His motivations: why is he doing all this?
So far, you've said that you want to ask about these topics:
1. His suggestions for how you could help Evie out of her depression.
2. Any extra information about the Chronarchs and/or Terminus which he is able to share with you. In particular, where can you find some crafting materials for Evie?
3. Does he want you to take a message from him to Evie?
Izzat okay? Was there anything else you wanted me to add?
EDIT: Also, I want to give you another 10xp for everything that's happened recently. Added to the 10xp you already had saved, that's a total of 20xp. Please think about what you might want to spend that on.
Valathar appeared about 30 story posts back for all of three updates (five if we count the raven), and had no relevance to the plot as far as I can see.
Yes, he helped us fight off Lothangrim and Android Oswald, but "helpful NPC" is where his characterisation stops.
I simply don't know what we could do with him; we have a tight enough schedule with not enough hours in a day, and I didn't account for his appearance.
Unless he has something helpful to say about our plan to invade the Crown with Chen Tong Yan (and I suppose I'd like to hear his opinion on them, if only because there are absolutely no veracious information sources available when it comes to the spymaster), my reaction is mostly going to be "yes, very interesting, now let's go dig up Glitch and install him at the helm of the robot army, see ya."
Not to mention we have no way of measuring the degree to which he is or isn't free from the Chronarchs' influence.
