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An elderly blind woman, and possibly the last remaining survivor in Milton. She seems to know something about where Astrid might have gone.
In-game description

Grey Mother is a character appearing in Episode 1 of The Long Dark's Story Mode. She is the first NPC that Will Mackenzie encounters in the Story Mode, and the only remaining resident in the town of Milton.

History

Years before the events of The Long Dark, Grey Mother was married to a farmer named Martin Barker. Together they had a daughter named Lilith. Tragedy struck when Lilith died in a climbing accident, and Grey Mother blamed her death on Martin, driving a wedge between them and causing them to live in separate homes. Things only got worse when the quakes devastated the island, and Grey Mother eventually became a recluse, abandoning the name of Barker and developing a reputation as a senile old blind lady.

When the First Flare struck, she remained in her Milton home after the surviving residents were killed by Convicts.

Episode 1: Do Not Go Gentle

Grey Mother is first seen sleeping in a chair in front of her fireplace with a rifle. When Will Mackenzie tries to wake her up, she fires a warning shot. After a brief but tense standoff, the two have a conversation. Grey Mother makes it clear that she does not trust Will due to him being a "mainlander", but he begins to gain her trust after he gathers enough food and firewood for her to last the winter.

The two of them make a deal: Grey Mother will tell him all she knows about the whereabouts of Dr. Astrid Greenwood in exchange for a few favors. One of these favors includes scouting the main tunnel through the mountains outside Milton, the only way out of town besides climbing. When Will informs Grey Mother that the tunnel has collapsed, she is distraught, knowing that she is effectively trapped in Milton with no hope of rescue. As a result, she asks Will for one more favor: retrieve Lilith Barker's necklace from a safety deposit box at the bank and place it on her grave outside of town. After Will does this, Grey Mother tells him all she knows about Astrid. She also reveals that Lilith was her daughter and that she was once married to Martin Barker, the deceased farmer whose safety deposit box contained Lilith's necklace. She gives Will some old climbing gear that once belonged to Lilith, in order for him to make his way out of Milton. After Will leaves Milton, she is not seen again.

Episode 3: Crossroads Elegy

Grey Mother does not appear in this episode, but appears during the intro story recap talking about Perseverance Mills.

Achievements

Gallery

Update history

  • HOTFIX 17 January 2019 (Update):
    • [WINTERMUTE] Fixed issue causing Grey Mother to float if a Deer Hide was placed under her chair.
  • HOTFIX 20 March 2018 (Update):
    • [Wintermute] Players can now transfer stacked items to Grey Mother during a Trust interaction.
    • [Wintermute] Improved Fire audio during Grey Mother cinematics in Episode One.
    • [Wintermute] Fixed issue where a chair would appear incorrectly during a Grey Mother cinematic.
    • [Wintermute] Fixed collision issue that allowed Will to partially walk through Grey Mother's rocking chair.
    • [Wintermute] Players can no longer place a Storm Lantern on Grey Mother's head.
    • [Wintermute] Fixed issue where inventory items could be lost after cancelling out of a Trust interaction with Grey Mother.
    • [Wintermute] Fixed issue where player would sometimes be standing on a chair after finishing dialogue with Grey Mother.
  • HOTFIX 23 August 2017 (Update):
    • Fixed issue where duplicate Trust option appeared for Grey Mother.
  • HOTFIX 2 August 2017 (Update):
    • Fixed floating necklace when speaking with Grey Mother
  • UPDATE 1 August 2017 (Update):
    • Added to game.
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