So, with the whole 'kirkwall has an obstruction on the route to sleepytime junction' thing going on, and knowing that it was starting to happen before antiva, was not present in antiva, and is now not only still present but worse back in kirkwall, seems a pretty good assumption that this is geographic-based shenaniganry.

So at some point, we should really take a basic map and some scouts and see how far this goes. Does this require people taking naps in turns every mile? Probably! Does it extend out to sea, too, and if so, how far? Let's talk to ship captains and crews when they dock.

With some effort in talking to ship-people and making some outings out of the bounds of Kirkwall's proper walls (for science/research purposes), is it feasible to discover the general bounds of the nightmare field? At least as far as 'approximately how far in the cardinal directions' goes.