Hey, thanks for the kinnd words and for the detailed feedback! I Appreciate you taking the time to write all that out :)
I'm glad that you're enjoying the story, and the twists and turns it's taking, and that you're having fun with the combat system too. Solo devs live and die on positive reinforcement, so posts like yours are what keeps me going ;)
As for Gramps, well... he's around... I don't think I could keep him out of the story if I tried! (Ga-hahahaha!)