riddle – A very concerning conversation.

Have I told you about my extraordinary experience on January seventh, exactly thirty years ago? A broad-shouldered, noble man of great cunning by the name of Antonio came to my door. He claimed to be a master surveyor by trade, carrying a long, narrow, cylindrical case, and he wished to consult me on the boundaries of our local landscape. As we engaged in this dialogue, he unrolled his charts and insisted that our particular estate was the all-important center of the entire valley, and that every other property and landmark should orient itself around us.

As the conversation revolved, I found his rigid perspective exhausting. He never even showed the measurements he supposedly had, and told me I was to simply trust him. What made the appraisal stranger, however, was that he had brought three short assistants with him to help lay his measuring lines. For the entire duration of our talk, they stood flanking him outside in a perfectly straight, horizontal line, holding their positions whenever not working.

I eventually ushered him out into the cold, dismissing his pitch, for I was the one who had true measurements of property lines, and I knew that our property actually pointed itself around that of the governor.

When I looked out my window the very next evening, I noticed the man standing outside my neighbor’s house. I assumed his three companions would still stand beside him, but when I looked closer, I realized that they had shuffled around strangely. The tallest of the group, with a head of warm blond hair, was now standing directly behind Antonio, and a fourth assistant had joined the crew. This new laborer had hair so stark and white, it looked as if it were covered in frost.

That strange encounter has remained prominent in my mind ever since

Hint tier 1: (small spoiler)

, just making the days spent alone in my home a little more interesting

Hint tier 1.5: (medium spoiler

The argument seems to be about the narrator’s home. Think grander.

Hint tier 2: (large spoiler)

The narrator is not a wealthy land-owner, and the surveyor is not interested in real-estate. Consider the contents of the cylindrical case.

Hint tier 2.5: (large spoiler)

the ‘astronomy’ tag would be a good addition to this post,

Hint tier 3: (very large spoiler)

On January 7th, the assistants were three in a line, on the 8th there were four. What caused their positions to change?