Riebeck

 is a Hearthian archeologist located at the crossroads on Brittle Hollow. They play the banjo.

Riebeck is a generally polite but timid Hearthian who seems to be anxious about most things, but especially everything involving space and space travel. They describe themselves as “more surprised than anybody [they’re] out here”, having arrived at their camp under Brittle Hollow’s crust by literally falling after tripping on a gravity crystal. Despite their fear of space, Riebeck is an archaeologist who is driven to explore the solar system due to their fascination with history, particularly anything related to the Nomai. When it comes to their passions, they can be extremely enthusiastic, enough to be willing to face their fear of space if it means learning more about the Nomai.

Dialogue

 * “Oh, you launched! That’s great. Great job, you. Wow, I guess that means I’ve been out here a while, huh. Well, um, this is Brittle Hollow. But you probably knew that. Lots of history here. ...It’s great.”

(after talking at least once):


 * “Hi! ...What’s up?”
 * >What are you doing here?
 * “I’m here to see the Hanging City. It’s always been my dream to see it with my own four eyes, ever since I was a hatchling. An alien race lived in this solar system long before our species even existed! How could I not want to see what their civilization was like? Only… You’ve… probably heard the others say it, right? I’m afraid of space. Seriously, I’m more surprised than anybody that I’m out here. Do you want to know how I even got this far? I fell. Tripped over a gravity crystal. It’s dumb luck that I landed somewhere my Little Scout says is halfway stable, instead of being sucked into… what’s below. I’ve been gauging the stability of the ground around me using my Little Scout, and this seems to be the place with the best surface integrity, so I’m just going to stay here until I’m ready to move on. ...But that’s enough about me and my problems. You didn’t come all this way to listen to me blather, did you! Heh, that’d be… yeah.”
 * >I learned something!
 * “Oh, cool! Um, what is it?”
 * >I found the Nomai escape pod on Brittle Hollow.
 * “Wow! So then, the Nomai probably came here from somewhere outside the solar system. And they must have been in trouble when they launched their escape pod… but what kind of trouble? And where did the escape pod launch from? I’m so curious! This is an amazing discovery. I hope we can find out more about how and why the Nomai arrived here!”
 * >I found the Vessel!
 * “You did?! That, that’s incredible, congratulations! That means they really were from far outside our solar system. Haha, yes! I knew it! But that creates so many new questions! If they didn’t come from our solar system, where did they come from? Are they from our galaxy, or somewhere even farther? What were their lives like before they came here? And why did they come here? Hey, I… I might not be much of an astronaut, but I’m really glad I came out here to see the Nomai’s artifacts for myself. And, um, thanks for telling me. About the Vessel, I mean.”
 * >I saw the Hanging City on Brittle Hollow.
 * “You visited the Hanging City? Oh gosh, how was it? Was it amazing? Was it beautiful? ...Was it scary? The Hanging City is where the Nomai settled permanently on Brittle Hollow. It was their most advanced settlement here! Why they chose to build their most advanced settlement so close to a you-know-what is beyond me. Maybe that kind of thing makes sense to a Nomai, though. ...Maybe they needed the black hole for something?”
 * >I saw the Sunless City on the Ember Twin.
 * “You mean there’s another Nomai city inside of Ember Twin? That’s incredible! A whole city, and I had no idea it existed! This is great! How did they keep the sand out? If it were me, I’d be nervous about getting buried in the caves by that awful river of sand. Gosh, the Nomai were ingenious, building an entire settlement underground. The Sunless City! ...Wow! That means there were two groups of Nomai — one that lived on Ember Twin, and one that lived here on Brittle Hollow. But they must have traveled around the solar system, since Nomai writing can be found on other planets, too.”
 * >I found Nomai writing about a quantum pilgrimage.
 * “A pilgrimage to the Quantum Moon? The Nomai mentioned the Quantum Moon in a lot of their writing, so it was clearly special to them. And um, special enough to make a trip there by themselves! It sounds like a coming-of-age ritual, like how hatchlings stay hatchlings until their stomachs are strong enough to drink sap wine. Maybe once a Nomai journeyed to the Quantum Moon, they were considered an adult?”
 * >I went to the comet, and…
 * “Oh, wow. Wow. So that’s how the Nomai died? That’s… really sad, isn’t it? I know it was a long time ago, but still… Stars above, it’s lucky we hadn’t evolved to live on land yet. To think, if the comet hadn’t killed them, our species might have coexisted in this solar system. That would have been amazing. But… I guess if I hadn’t wanted to learn why the Nomai disappeared. I’d never have left Timber Hearth and come out here, or had any of these adventures. ...Don’t get me wrong, space is terrifying! But, you know, it has its moments.”
 * >I TALKED TO A LIVING NOMAI!
 * “AHHH! That doesn’t make any sense! I don’t understand! I am very excited for you, though! P-please stop yelling! ...What? On the Quantum Moon, you said? There’s a sort of-living Nomai on the Quantum Moon?! WELL, WHY DIDN’T YOU SAY SO?! Oh wow! Wow! This is the best thing that’s ever happened in the history of Outer Wilds Ventures! I can’t believe you talked to an actual Nomai! Great! So I just have to go back into space, fly to the Quantum Moon with zero visibility, find a spooky ruin, and travel through a few different types of dangerous terrain to get there. Okay, yeah, that’s… that’s not so bad. That’s probably doable…”
 * >Actually, nevermind.
 * “Oh, okay. If you do find learn something new about the Nomai, though, I’d love to hear it! Um, if you don’t mind, I mean.”
 * >Where should I explore here?
 * “Oh wow, where shouldn’t you explore here? Um, not the black hole, actually. That’s… very no. Which is unfortunate, because uh, the most exciting stuff is all below the crust. Including the Hanging City — that’s just to the north. You can kinda see it from here. There’s also this big dome on the south pole called the Southern Observatory. You can’t get inside from the surface — trust me, I tried — but if it’s like the rest of the Nomai structures here, there’s probably a path to it beneath the crust somewhere. Good luck with exploring. Um, if you learn anything about the Nomai, I’d love to hear it, if it’s not too much trouble?”
 * >What are you doing out here?
 * “Me? I’m an archaeologist, remember? Or, um, the archaeologist, I guess. Seeing as I’m all Timber Hearth’s got right now. Brittle Hollow is rich with Nomai history. That’s why I’m here. This planet is an absolute treasure trove of culture, history, and science. If you have any questions about the Brittle Hollow Nomai, I’m your Hearthian! Or, um… I have some knowledge of them, I mean. So. Maybe I can help?”
 * >See you later.
 * >I’m in a hurry — can I ask you something?
 * “Um, sure — of course! Anything you want.”

Ending
“It’s, um, it’s not quite time yet. I’m pretty sure we’ll need the others for this next part. We’ll need, you know… everyone. No rush! Take your time. It might not even exist here…”

(after all travelers have been gathered):


 * “Should I begin?”
 * >Yes.
 * “You g-got it. I”ll do my best!”
 * >Not yet.
 * “Ok, I’ll wait until you’re ready.”

After Campfire Song
“I learned a lot, by the end of everything. The past is past, now, but that’s… you know, that’s okay! It’s never really gone completely. The future is always built on the past, even if we won’t get to see it. Still, it’s um, time for something new, now.”

Riebeck's Notes
Riebeck's old camp can be found in the ruins of the gravity crystal workshop on the surface of Brittle Hollow. There is a campfire which can be re-lit, as well as a note, which reads:

"“The journey here from the south pole has been, um… I’m going to go with “harrowing,” because of the, um, all of the meteors. But hey, at least I made it here unconcussed and not on fire! Okay, let’s see… I poked around a little, and there’s some sort of old Nomai path that starts across from my campsite, inside the ruined building with trees growing out of it. Doesn’t look like anything horrible — just stairs leading down. I can handle stairs! After I get my supplies together, I’ll follow the path and see where it leads.”"

At the bottom of the gravity crystal trail, they have left another note:

"“Hurgh. Well. That was... deeply unpleasant. I made it this far, though. Guess that's the part to focus on, and not how I’ll eventually have to get back up that path. But wow, this place sure is something. Looks like the Hanging City is north from here. And east is a gravity cannon. I definitely want to see that. And another thing - I'm detecting oxygen from somewhere below. Which is good, since I, uh, used up a lot of my supply screaming during the trip down from the surface. As soon as I stop dry heaving, I’m going to head further down below so I can refill my tank.”"

Notes & Trivia

 * Riebeck is probably named after Riebeckite continuing the mineral name pattern of hearthians
 * Riebeck appears to have three fingers and a thumb, as opposed to most Hearthians which have two fingers and a thumb.


 * The segment of the Crust where Riebeck has set up their camp is totally indestructible and never falls even if the player manually hits it to 0% integrity.
 * When they say Black Hole, the text is small.