ThatOtherGuy
09-15-2022, 08:02 PM
Posting here in the Pinefar category since there's no Hinterwilds category. Potential spoilers to puzzles/secrets ahead - not sure, still trying to figure it all out and am getting stumped.
Stumbled into a strange place called the River of Color, seems to a place that exists between time; giving a peek at the advanced Gigas society that used to be; the origin of the Gigas artifacts I presume. The location acts as a teleportation chamber where you can transport between the various runestones when they are active. I haven't figured out how to activate them yet, but from time to time they seem to be charged. There's a lot of environmental messaging that provides a bunch of info, but also mote NPCs that you can catch and turn into tiny spheres.
I've been trying to figure out the secrets of the Hinterwilds for a few weeks now, and while I've made progress, I'm still at a loss for piecing it all together.
*** My: Question: Does anyone know what these tiny mote spheres are for? They seem to be inert. The frostling will trade them for warding, but doesn't react otherwise to them.
Any assistance would be great, between the altars, the runestones, stone dragon, and the frostling, I feel like they are all connected, especially since the frostling knows about wyrms. I honestly thought this was something new/undiscovered since no one has mentioned it anywhere I can find and it's not on the maps; however I see one of the tiny spheres for sale in a player shop, so obviously it's a known thing...
Anyway, for reference, here's a cleaned up log of the location, the various messages and bits of lore that can be gleaned, where the portals lead (northeast leads to the broken runestone and rocks you when you try to teleport that way).
You lay a hand on a silver-shot ancient black runestone. With a sudden lurching sensation, the world dissolves in a flash of colored light. A sense of incredible scope tugs at your being, as if you are being spread over a vast distance, but abruptly, you materialize, hale and whole.
[River of Color, Island - ]
A circular disc of hammered metal drifts amidst a vast void, gleaming as if freshly polished. Riotous spills of color ripple and crackle everywhere beyond the platform's boundaries, forming an expansive nebula that stretches beyond the limits of eyesight. Pulses travel along the threads of hue, seeming rhythmic and incomprehensibly chaotic all at once.
Obvious paths: northeast (#30034), east (#30012), south (#29884), west (#29935) [Room # shown wheen direction PEERed]
LOOK AT DISC> The disc appears to be crafted from hammered metal. Though its color is reminiscent of copper, it bears not a scratch. It hangs in midair, unsupported by suspension or mechanism, and seems impossible to budge. A crude 'X' has been drawn in dried blood toward the northeastern quadrant.
Beyond the edges of the platform, a green and pleasant place is visible, marked by rolling hills and sparkling rivers. At the far edges of your vision, you see a vast complex that stretches into the air, a work of alabaster and glinting crystal. Proceeding toward the fane is a white road that shimmers like distilled moonlight. The colors beyond the platform shift and the tantalizing glimpse is snatched away.
The smells of roasting meat and the sounds of a jaunty festival reach your ears, but there appears to be no source for either.
A soft, strange melody snatches at the edges of your attention, making it difficult to concentrate.
Whispers crest over you in a wave, the words unintelligible and tantalizingly familiar at the same time.
Vast humanoids with skin, eyes, and hair in jeweled tones proceed past, as lovely to look upon as they are insubstantial. Most seem to pay you no mind, but several sweep you with imperious gazes as they tread by in a swirling sea of color.
Hints of an alien song reach your ears, deftly played on an instrument both more mellifluous and resonant than a flute, but similar in timbre. The song awakens a rush of emotion deep in your chest, as if it is intensely familiar to you, but you are certain that the memory is not your own.
You feel eyes on your back, and a sense of curiosity that is not your own pervades your thoughts, pushing aside your mental defenses as if they were no more than spiderwebs draped over your mind.
A glittering teal mote drifts in on a phantasmal breeze, winking faintly in the strange radiance.
LOOK AT MOTE> Almost tangible, the mote is a small sphere of energy aglow with a halo of teal light. Shapes and images dance within the wobbling, dancing orb, but they are obscured by the glow.
GET MOTE> You reach up and snatch a glittering teal mote out of the air. A faint blush of warmth passes through your hand, traveling up your arm, and then the light in your hand goes out. When you look down at your palm, you see that what remains of the mote is a tiny teal sphere.
A glittering teal mote winks merrily before going out and vanishing.
LOOK AT SPHERE> The sphere is perfectly smooth and appears to be crafted from finely spun glass. Faint runes are etched into the surface.
You see an immensely tall woman who looks carved from age-darkened ivory. She walks by in a swirl of golden robes, her steps swift but measured. Cradled in each arm she carries a tablet, one white, one black. They are but stone, but radiate power enough to warp the air around them.
A glittering golden mote drifts in on a phantasmal breeze, winking faintly in the strange radiance.
GET MOTE> You reach up and attempt to snatch a glittering golden mote out of the air, but it eludes you!
The luminous aura around the golden mote pulses and dances like a thing alive.
The golden mote darts past, whipped into motion by an unfelt breeze.
Faint music emanates from golden mote, crystalline and sweet.
The golden mote wobbles through the air, glinting like a fresh-cut gem.
GET MOTE> You reach up and snatch a glittering golden mote out of the air. A faint blush of warmth passes through your hand, traveling up your arm, and then the light in your hand goes out. When you look down at your palm, you see that what remains of the mote is a tiny golden sphere.
The golden mote pulses brilliant as it takes on a vivid cerulean hue.
GET MOTE> You reach up and snatch a glittering cerulean mote out of the air. A faint blush of warmth passes through your hand, traveling up your arm, and then the light in your hand goes out. When you look down at your palm, you see that what remains of the mote is a tiny cerulean sphere.
A glittering cerulean mote winks merrily before going out and vanishing.
A stir of motion draws your attention to one end of the platform, where a dark-skinned humanoid of impressive size juggles before an audience of jewel-toned beings of similar staggering heights. The crowd applauds and the humanoid doffs the ornate wooden crown that they wear. Both performer and crowd seem to grow less substantial as you watch, until they are one with the riotous colors surrounding the platform.
A glittering cobalt blue mote drifts in on a phantasmal breeze, winking faintly in the strange radiance.
GET MOTE> You reach up and snatch a glittering cobalt blue mote out of the air. A faint blush of warmth passes through your hand, traveling up your arm, and then the light in your hand goes out. When you look down at your palm, you see that what remains of the mote is a tiny cobalt blue sphere.
Shadows and suggestions of shapes flit through the heart of cobalt blue mote, but their features are obscured by its glow.
A glittering cobalt blue mote winks merrily before going out and vanishing.
GO NORTHEAST> As you wander toward the northeastern portion of the disc, the air convulses around you in a nauseating display. The surrounding spills of color contort into vile, clashing combinations as they wink out, one by one, plunging you into spinning darkness. You tumble, head over foot, through a black eternity, accompanied only by a sickening sense of wrongness, elemental forces cresting over you in a brutal assault!
... 1 point of damage!
Light shock to right arm. That stings!
... 9 points of damage!
Bones from several fingers driven through your skin.
You are stunned for 1 round!
... 1 point of damage!
You wince as the cold blast numbs your left arm
... 1 point of damage!
Icy chill to your midriff. A bowl of nice hot stew would hit the spot right now.
... 1 point of damage!
Minor burns to right leg. That hurts a bit.
The darkness recedes an instant before you slam into cold, hard earth.
GO EAST/SOUTH/WEST> As you wander toward the edges of the disc, spills of color embrace you. Your consciousness stretches and spreads, straining over what feels like a great distance, before your surroundings suddenly snap back into focus.
Stumbled into a strange place called the River of Color, seems to a place that exists between time; giving a peek at the advanced Gigas society that used to be; the origin of the Gigas artifacts I presume. The location acts as a teleportation chamber where you can transport between the various runestones when they are active. I haven't figured out how to activate them yet, but from time to time they seem to be charged. There's a lot of environmental messaging that provides a bunch of info, but also mote NPCs that you can catch and turn into tiny spheres.
I've been trying to figure out the secrets of the Hinterwilds for a few weeks now, and while I've made progress, I'm still at a loss for piecing it all together.
*** My: Question: Does anyone know what these tiny mote spheres are for? They seem to be inert. The frostling will trade them for warding, but doesn't react otherwise to them.
Any assistance would be great, between the altars, the runestones, stone dragon, and the frostling, I feel like they are all connected, especially since the frostling knows about wyrms. I honestly thought this was something new/undiscovered since no one has mentioned it anywhere I can find and it's not on the maps; however I see one of the tiny spheres for sale in a player shop, so obviously it's a known thing...
Anyway, for reference, here's a cleaned up log of the location, the various messages and bits of lore that can be gleaned, where the portals lead (northeast leads to the broken runestone and rocks you when you try to teleport that way).
You lay a hand on a silver-shot ancient black runestone. With a sudden lurching sensation, the world dissolves in a flash of colored light. A sense of incredible scope tugs at your being, as if you are being spread over a vast distance, but abruptly, you materialize, hale and whole.
[River of Color, Island - ]
A circular disc of hammered metal drifts amidst a vast void, gleaming as if freshly polished. Riotous spills of color ripple and crackle everywhere beyond the platform's boundaries, forming an expansive nebula that stretches beyond the limits of eyesight. Pulses travel along the threads of hue, seeming rhythmic and incomprehensibly chaotic all at once.
Obvious paths: northeast (#30034), east (#30012), south (#29884), west (#29935) [Room # shown wheen direction PEERed]
LOOK AT DISC> The disc appears to be crafted from hammered metal. Though its color is reminiscent of copper, it bears not a scratch. It hangs in midair, unsupported by suspension or mechanism, and seems impossible to budge. A crude 'X' has been drawn in dried blood toward the northeastern quadrant.
Beyond the edges of the platform, a green and pleasant place is visible, marked by rolling hills and sparkling rivers. At the far edges of your vision, you see a vast complex that stretches into the air, a work of alabaster and glinting crystal. Proceeding toward the fane is a white road that shimmers like distilled moonlight. The colors beyond the platform shift and the tantalizing glimpse is snatched away.
The smells of roasting meat and the sounds of a jaunty festival reach your ears, but there appears to be no source for either.
A soft, strange melody snatches at the edges of your attention, making it difficult to concentrate.
Whispers crest over you in a wave, the words unintelligible and tantalizingly familiar at the same time.
Vast humanoids with skin, eyes, and hair in jeweled tones proceed past, as lovely to look upon as they are insubstantial. Most seem to pay you no mind, but several sweep you with imperious gazes as they tread by in a swirling sea of color.
Hints of an alien song reach your ears, deftly played on an instrument both more mellifluous and resonant than a flute, but similar in timbre. The song awakens a rush of emotion deep in your chest, as if it is intensely familiar to you, but you are certain that the memory is not your own.
You feel eyes on your back, and a sense of curiosity that is not your own pervades your thoughts, pushing aside your mental defenses as if they were no more than spiderwebs draped over your mind.
A glittering teal mote drifts in on a phantasmal breeze, winking faintly in the strange radiance.
LOOK AT MOTE> Almost tangible, the mote is a small sphere of energy aglow with a halo of teal light. Shapes and images dance within the wobbling, dancing orb, but they are obscured by the glow.
GET MOTE> You reach up and snatch a glittering teal mote out of the air. A faint blush of warmth passes through your hand, traveling up your arm, and then the light in your hand goes out. When you look down at your palm, you see that what remains of the mote is a tiny teal sphere.
A glittering teal mote winks merrily before going out and vanishing.
LOOK AT SPHERE> The sphere is perfectly smooth and appears to be crafted from finely spun glass. Faint runes are etched into the surface.
You see an immensely tall woman who looks carved from age-darkened ivory. She walks by in a swirl of golden robes, her steps swift but measured. Cradled in each arm she carries a tablet, one white, one black. They are but stone, but radiate power enough to warp the air around them.
A glittering golden mote drifts in on a phantasmal breeze, winking faintly in the strange radiance.
GET MOTE> You reach up and attempt to snatch a glittering golden mote out of the air, but it eludes you!
The luminous aura around the golden mote pulses and dances like a thing alive.
The golden mote darts past, whipped into motion by an unfelt breeze.
Faint music emanates from golden mote, crystalline and sweet.
The golden mote wobbles through the air, glinting like a fresh-cut gem.
GET MOTE> You reach up and snatch a glittering golden mote out of the air. A faint blush of warmth passes through your hand, traveling up your arm, and then the light in your hand goes out. When you look down at your palm, you see that what remains of the mote is a tiny golden sphere.
The golden mote pulses brilliant as it takes on a vivid cerulean hue.
GET MOTE> You reach up and snatch a glittering cerulean mote out of the air. A faint blush of warmth passes through your hand, traveling up your arm, and then the light in your hand goes out. When you look down at your palm, you see that what remains of the mote is a tiny cerulean sphere.
A glittering cerulean mote winks merrily before going out and vanishing.
A stir of motion draws your attention to one end of the platform, where a dark-skinned humanoid of impressive size juggles before an audience of jewel-toned beings of similar staggering heights. The crowd applauds and the humanoid doffs the ornate wooden crown that they wear. Both performer and crowd seem to grow less substantial as you watch, until they are one with the riotous colors surrounding the platform.
A glittering cobalt blue mote drifts in on a phantasmal breeze, winking faintly in the strange radiance.
GET MOTE> You reach up and snatch a glittering cobalt blue mote out of the air. A faint blush of warmth passes through your hand, traveling up your arm, and then the light in your hand goes out. When you look down at your palm, you see that what remains of the mote is a tiny cobalt blue sphere.
Shadows and suggestions of shapes flit through the heart of cobalt blue mote, but their features are obscured by its glow.
A glittering cobalt blue mote winks merrily before going out and vanishing.
GO NORTHEAST> As you wander toward the northeastern portion of the disc, the air convulses around you in a nauseating display. The surrounding spills of color contort into vile, clashing combinations as they wink out, one by one, plunging you into spinning darkness. You tumble, head over foot, through a black eternity, accompanied only by a sickening sense of wrongness, elemental forces cresting over you in a brutal assault!
... 1 point of damage!
Light shock to right arm. That stings!
... 9 points of damage!
Bones from several fingers driven through your skin.
You are stunned for 1 round!
... 1 point of damage!
You wince as the cold blast numbs your left arm
... 1 point of damage!
Icy chill to your midriff. A bowl of nice hot stew would hit the spot right now.
... 1 point of damage!
Minor burns to right leg. That hurts a bit.
The darkness recedes an instant before you slam into cold, hard earth.
GO EAST/SOUTH/WEST> As you wander toward the edges of the disc, spills of color embrace you. Your consciousness stretches and spreads, straining over what feels like a great distance, before your surroundings suddenly snap back into focus.