Chapter 176: Checklists & Chats
The moment I woke up that morning, I pulled up a chat window. I had to know what the hell had just happened, what we agreed to, and why Karlinovo had been so quick to capitulate suddenly.
| Dave: Why did we agree to that? Who the hell is Otis? Corey: I concur with Dave’s sentiment. I did not enjoy being once again hijacked against my will. Karlinovo: It’s not as bad as it seemed. At least I don’t think it is. As I said, there is so very much we need to discuss and figure out once you are back. But for starters, there were, or apparently maybe still are, a group of people called the Chroniclers. They were before my time, but as far as I know, they were not really popular. Not disliked exactly, but more seen as out of fashion if that makes any sense. Dave: Okay, and how did you recognize Otis then? Karlinovo: I had one of his books as a child. It was framed more as a look into unusual things, but even there, it was apparent he was trying to point out the unknowns hiding in plain sight of usual Spiral narratives. It was one of the first things that contributed to my later research. Dave: So, more old legends showing up in my life then? You do understand how insane this seems to be right? Karlinovo: We’re making waves, whether we want to or not. Sanquar may be the reason this all started, or frankly, something before him, who knows? The point is that you aren’t doing things the normal ways, which is going to attract attention in some way. Did I expect us to somehow pull a legend out of whatever insane journey he’s started on to whatever the hell a soul realm is? No, I didn’t, but that’s the reality we are in and have to deal with. Dave: I don’t know if that’s a fair point or not, to be honest. How much should I not bring up his name? Karlinovo: It’s likely safe to bring his name up. To call him a legend is probably giving him too much fame. He and his group are just one of the many obscure groups of fringe explorers out there. It’s mostly a stroke of luck that I even knew it, let alone remembered it. Dave: We need to learn what a soul realm is on our own as well. We probably shouldn’t just trust him to be entirely honest. Karlinovo: I would agree, and I would take that a step further. When it comes to any of these figures within the Spiral, if possible, we will always need to verify their claims. Dave: Does that include you? Karlinovo: If it’s possible, absolutely. That’s not even counting the fact that I am now in the body of a mana beast, and we have no idea what the long-term effects of that will be. Maud: See, it’s a good thing I didn’t agree not to betray him! >:)
|