Pathologic - Map Quest (Long Distance Runaround)

*Spoilers*

At the site of the impaled bull, I made an error that resulted in a mad dash against time. Here's how it played out:

I talked to one of the Worms when I should have talked to all four. The one told me to consult Notkin. I consulted Notkin. Notkin's priority was the survival of the bull. I relayed that information to the Worm I had spoken with, after finishing up some other business. He hinted that he was waiting for word from the other children. I consulted the other children, but they said nothing of the bull. Towards the end of the night, finishing up the rest of the day's work, I was at a loss as to how to complete that one quest. Then, on a bored whim, I talked to the other Worms gathered around the bull, and realized that each one sent me to a different child to consult (thus 'setting up' the consultation, gamewise). I cursed my stupidity and then glanced at my watch. I had three hours to midnight, and a lot of running around to do...


I had already spoken to Notkin, so he was clear. I still had to speak to Spichka, Laska, and Mishka. Spichka was relatively close, and in the opposite direction of the other two, so I visited him first. I figured I'd run to the cemetery and speak to Laska, then continue onward to Mishka's railcar, which is practically on the edge of the map.


When I got to Laska's lodge, there was a girl inside, but it wasn't Laska. The girl told me Laska had gone to Kapella's. I groaned. But Kapella's house would be on the way back to the Bone Pillar, so I figured I'd just hit her up after talking to Mishka. So I went all the way out and spoke to Mishka.


Then I made my way back to Kapella's. Time was running out. I stepped inside, but Kapella was alone. From her, I learned that Laska had been arrested for denying the General's soldiers the privilege of burning the bodies of those that had been killed. I guess they didn't hear about how the infection doesn't survive in dead bodies, rendering them not much of a threat. But the town, and specifically Laska, doesn't like burning bodies. It goes against their beliefs. It's even worse than cutting into a body. So, resisting the soldiers demands, Laska was arrested.

Argh, I didn't have time for another wild goose chase! I spoke to the General at the Town Council, which wasn't too far from Kapella's house. It was only barely out of the way of the path back to the Bone Pillar, so I figured, as long as Laska was there, I'd be gold.


I stepped inside the Town Council, and sure enough, the General was with a young girl. But...IT WASN'T LASKA! IT WAS THE DEVOTRESS!! And sure enough, in the General's smug way, he denied that he had anything to do with arresting innocent people, even pretending like he was entirely on my side, and that his soldiers were the only ones doing things wrong. (He must be an incompetent General if he really can't control his soldiers that well...). So guess where he told me Laska was taken to?

Can you guess?


Yup, a railcar beyond Mishka's pad. ... So not only did I have to go back out to the outskirts of town, but I had to retrace quite a few of my steps! It was a long walk, and it was getting close to 11 by this point. I wasn't sure I'd make it out and back to the Bone Pillar before midnight, but I didn't antagonize, I just kicked up my heels and hoofed it. Stepping into the railcar beyond Mishka's - finally, it was Laska! I convinced the guard to let me speak with her. Like the rest of the kids, she agreed that the bull should be kept alive at any cost - most of all, that it should not be burned. (I may not have mentioned it, but in the Bachelor's scenario, in order to quell rumors about its anti-Kain anti-Tower symbolism, I had the impaled bull incinerated on the General's orders. Oops.).


Then it was a mad dash back to the Bone Pillar.


I arrived and squared things away with the Worms with just twenty minutes to spare before midnight (and that isn't a whole lot in game time). I agreed to perform the extraction of the bull off the pillar, and it will occur the following morning. Whew. Time for a much needed rest!