- Albert Vancae, born 1967. Deals with spiritual matters related to the Harvest Star.

​

- From the Message Archive, he frequently lashes out at any insult or doubt towards against the Harvest Star or Management.

​

- He seems to dislike Dr. Ilman (suspected to be LightDrinker) and the Observatory itself for doubting their 'God'.

​

- In the most recent LightDrinker97 video, "hwxzalg", they say he lies and tricks the Hosted to keep them in line. They also say he's furthering the goals of the Harvest Star, and trying to eliminate 'one of the few we can trust'. LD ends telling us to find him.

​

- The codes in the video give us an email address, priestvancae@gmail.com.

​

- I'll try to pull information out of him and figure out who he's gunning for. Might ask around to some others too. Could take a trip up to the Observatory.

​

Update 8/25

​

- Looks like Oliver Deercot is the one he's trying to kill. They had a meeting in the church about him a few days ago and Vancae told me "Deercot has vandalized our church and threatened our congregation. He must be found and put to justice." Seems like pretty clear confirmation to me.

​

- Deercot is a wild card. We know almost nothing except that he has a legendary status (literally mythical), is a really old skinwalker, and was friends with Veronica Barlowe after being banished over 100 years ago. He popped up once or twice on that message archive.

​

- The question is now: how do you find a mythical being?

​

- Supposedly he lives near Lake Denton in the Fall. Is it Fall yet? Gotta think about that. Might be a clue.

​

Update: 8/28

​

- I finally got out to Lake Denton. Nothing there.

​

Update: 8/30

​

- On my doorstep, there was a note. It said: "I saw you snooping at the lake. I know it's about the priest. Meet me in the drainage area of Adams St. tomorrow at 3PM."

​

Update 8/31

​

- Took the kid, Matt, to meet with Deercot. We had to wait for half an hour or so. We talked about the investigation and everything like that. He's a good kid. Brings up some memories.

​

- The drainage areas always have cats in them. Turns out one of those cats was Deercot, watching us.

​

- The conversation was way too long to transcribe in its entirety so I'll write the most important parts.

​

- Deercot appeared as a male, around 60 years old, grey hair, brown trench coat, a black vest, really old-timey clothes. Makes sense: he's really old. He claims he was around for the founding of Sanders Mine and transferred Hosts at least 3 or 4 times. Not sure I believe him on all of it since he seems to be the...exaggerating type. Claimed that he 'had tea' with the Tour Guide a few days earlier, could turn into an inanimate object (impossible according to Host biology...right?), and said that the Hosted were scared of him, but that doesn't really seem true.

​

- He seems to be removed from the Hosted conflict fully. He just laughed about the Vancae thing: said he's not too worried since nobody'll ever find him, but that he wouldn't mind us 'taking care of it' for him (Matt and I agreed we weren't going to kill Vancae though). He's definitely not a rebel. Made that real clear: it was the only time he really got agitated. Asked us if Topas told us that he was, but he wouldn't tell us who Topas was though (if he knew at all). He just doesn't seem to care, though he didn't like the Harvest Star (more later).

​

- He said he's seen all of Walker Creek's history, which is probably true. Claims he knows the identity of the Tour Guide, the Speaker, the Benefactor, everyone and 'watched them grow up to be fighters' but doesn't think it's important for us to know. He said we don't have to know someone's name to kill 'em. I guess that's true. Little moments of darkness like that did shine through sometimes. He tried to stay lighthearted, whimsical, but I could tell what the years had done to him: reminded me a bit of myself. He also told us in detail how he thought we should kill Vancae, asked us what our Hosted body count was and told us to increase it, told us the best way to eat people, and then...eventually went on a diatribe about how to cope with loss. I guess he'd know better than most. It hit home.

​

- He told us in detail about why he was exiled from Hosted society. He was a very powerful Host (he boasted that he was more powerful than the TG). Apparently he didn't like the direction the Hosted were going and wanted to change it. He believed the Star wasn't a God and was just a member of 'a pantheon' (??). So he tried to get them to stop worshiping it, including helping Richards, Smithy, and Sanders at points with the Hosted (and said that Sanders 'betrayed' him despite his 'work on the Mine Collapse'. Was he implicated somehow?!). Obviously the Hosted didn't like what he was doing, especially once Richards became The Unifier. They tried to kill him but he was too powerful, so he just got kicked out of their society. He left to visit some of the 'other collectives' (again, ????) but kept getting drawn back to Walker Creek. He said it was the source of the Hosted and the staging ground for the Ascension/the Harvest Star and was 'a special gateway'. But that he's here to just see what happens as an observer, not a participant.

​

- On the topic of observation, Deercot says he knows more than anyone else in town since all he does is 'watch and remember'. He claimed that observing the Star was 'enlightening' to him, and that he knew what is really was but that we can't beat it unless the Hosted turn away from it (an impossible goal). He doesn't like the Star for sure: said it was crushing, oppressive, and ruined his kind, and he told Vancae that last week (in a note, after shattering all of the windows, supposedly). It's a belief maybe more intense than even LightDrinker - I can see why they wanted Deercot safe, but he's doing fine on his own. By the way, on LightDrinker, he only said that they're a friend and the only one who sees that he's right. Matt asked him if we could come to him with more questions later and he gave a really non-commital answer. Maybe think of some just in case we get the chance?

 

- I asked him if he ever was going to interfere or help take down the Hosted. Deercot said he just likes to mess with others (like Vancae, the Message Server, etc.) and doesn't want people to forget him, especially 'once he's gone'. He refused to elaborate much, just saying that he wouldn't be around forever, but that he won't 'waste life on a pissing match between two species that are both gonna die'. He said there'd never be a real winner in the fight: 'the only victor is the Harvest Star'. I asked about the Elder Ones, and he said that they're 'puppetmasters'. Matt asked where they were, and Deercot said we knew already. He said each one was in an 'atypical site' (a name he said he made up, but I don't know about that). 'Atypical Sites' were the only areas he liked to stay in for long periods. So...the Lake, and 1-2 other spots (maybe the Manor? He did mention it as being 'the home of an old friend' and a place he remembered  'fondly, despite the new tenants'). He wouldn't say where else to find him, but that it wasn't a secret if we knew who to ask.

​

- Later on, he asked Matt about 'his friend'. Didn't think he knew about all this, but I guess he wasn't lying about watching and remembering. He said that Matt's Friend could have a big influence if he chose to, and that he should think about it. Said it'd be fun to watch 'when we get to the shore'. What that means, I don't know. He also told Matt that he was destined for more than 'sitting in a sewer'. I basically told him the same thing earlier in the day. He ended saying that 'your chapter of history here is the most fun so far, no matter what happens'.

​

- He also knew about...my past. I don't want to talk about it but it's worth mentioning. He said that what I hoped for would never come, but that my answers were out there, "among the fighting", and closer than I thought. He immediately said he was sorry for what he was doing. Not sure if it was because he said something he didn't want to, or because I looked uncomfortable (though that didn't seem to stop him before).

​

- Before leaving, I asked once again if we had to do anything about Vancae. He said that it was inconsequential and that it was all 'an infinite game of cat and mouse, where nobody knows which is which'. I think he was referring to Vancae with that, but it sounded similar to some stuff he said about the Hosted/Human conflict.

​

- If you have more questions, ask me and I'll update this page if Deercot talked about it. I'm left with many answers, and many questions. I don't know what to make of it and...how to move forward. But I'm thinking a lot about my own history right now. I have a lot more thinking to do.

​

Case Closed.