An ancient forest, a strange encounter, a slow descent...
Summary[]
Arthur and John are hypnotized by strange lights and brought to a grove. There, Arthur passes out and meets Horig, an extraterrestrial being who feeds on sacrifices brought from the village. Arthur falsely promises to bring Horig another sacrifice, and both he and John flee back to the river where they find the villagers’ bodies piled up.
Synopsis[]
While Arthur sleeps in the village, a baby cries out. Arthur jerks awake, calling for Faroe, but John seems lost in his own thoughts. As Arthur tries to explain, they both hear something nearby.
Several hours have passed since Malam’s visit, but it is still night and the fire has burned out. John apologizes for allowing the fire to die, and when pressed, explains that he was thinking about what Malam said. He connects Faroe’s power to his own source of hope and light, Lilly the nurse. The witch tried to twist her meaning to him, but John refused to allow this. He also relates to the story Arthur told Percival[1][2]: the woman who chose to care for the man reminds John of his relationship to Lilly. Though he admits it might have been another day of work for Lilly, it doesn’t lessen her impact on his life.
Arthur agrees. Nearby, a baby giggles, and both John and Arthur realize that whatever’s near them is not an animal. It is not Malam, though John brings up Malam’s warning about the fire inviting unwanted guests. Arthur reports that the air feels thin. He douses the fire and smothers the embers.
In the new darkness, John sees multiple lights swaying like a lantern in the treeline. Arthur recalls the stories of fairy spirits from his childhood. When they hear another baby laugh, Arthur gets up to follow them, saying the lights want to help him and they should see where they lead. John agrees.
Arthur realizes something is wrong and relates this to John. Together, they realize that the lights are manipulating them and pulling them in. Again Arthur recalls stories about fairy lights leading travelers astray, and decides not to follow them.
However, they cannot relight the fire and John notes that they’re dangerously exposed. These lights remind Arthur of a concept called a friar’s lantern, little beings that led travelers to a waterfall or bog before going dark, leaving them stranded. Meanwhile, the lights are coming closer.
They seek shelter in one of the houses. There, they discover a mural or a shrine carved into the wall: a crying stone. John sees many burned out candles, and notes that people must have prayed for days in there.
Outside, they see a child carrying a lantern. The child approaches the campfire, picks up their bag, and begins to leave.
John and Arthur decide to go after the child, partly because Yorick (still in the bag) may reveal all their secrets to whoever picks him up. They pursue the child, who stops by a willow tree and places the bag on the ground.
Slowly, John instructs Arthur to sneak forward. The child is hunched over, looking at something, and has put the lantern down. When they get closer, John remarks that they don’t know the child’s allegiance and that they might help them. The child approaches them, further under the effects of the hypnosis, and hands them their bag.
Arthur speaks with the child, telling them that they’d seen their light from the village. There, John can see what the child was hunched over: a dead deer, that the boy is eating raw. Arthur chastises the child that he oughtn’t eat raw meat, whereupon John realizes that the child’s face and teeth are horrific with deep, red eyes.
They follow the creature, who leads them to a spring. Both realize they should turn back, but find themselves unable to do so. The spring has clear blue inviting water, and John recognizes the stones have been stacked to form cairns to mark graves.
The creature disappears, leaving John and Arthur stranded. Both are enchanted by the spring, encouraged to drink, but prevent themselves. John describes their surroundings: a graveyard surrounded by a forest so thick, it almost forms a single large tree around them. They may be at the very heart of the forest, which reminds them of their experience in the Dreamlands’ forest. There, they had to feed the forest to leave.
John notices a mushroom ring, which Arthur identifies as a fairy ring. He inhales the mushrooms’ scent deeply and reminisces about finding fairy rings with his childhood friend, William. William learned about fairy folklore from his father, and promised Arthur that they would explore the moors near William’s home. He and Arthur would perform a certain dance if they found a ring, which Arthur demonstrates. Arthur grows more manic as he speaks.
Arthur confesses his envy of William and his positive relationship he had with his father. William once showed Arthur a toy train his father had made for him; jealous of the toy and William’s close relationship (as compared to Arthur’s own, whose father was a drunk and soon to tear his life apart), he threw the toy into a fire. It ruined his friendship with William. Arthur collapses and falls asleep.
Dreaming, Arthur calls out for John. They speak in a voice similar to Arthur’s, and explain that their light led Arthur to this grove. Arthur admits he grew lost and followed the lights, despite trying to resist. The being expresses their intentions to feed on him, and that they come from beyond the stars. Arthur realizes the mushrooms are part of the being, and the being points out that they’re much deeper and safer. The people from the village worship and feed them.
They introduce themselves as Horig. They have the power to move the trees and keep people in this place. Upon realizing that Horig is still digesting their last meal, Arthur tries to convince Horig that they don’t have to keep or eat him. Horig considers eating Arthur first while he’s still alive, rather than the dead meal the villagers brought. Arthur lies and promises he’ll bring Horig new, young victims. Horig agrees to this, insisting that Arthur already carries what Horig desires.
Awaking, Arthur calls for John, who was lulled to sleep by the mushrooms. John briefly introspects on the concept of sleeping, but a shaken Arthur insists they leave quickly. John guides them back to the stream, confused by Arthur’s nervousness. Arthur confirms that it isn’t William that bothers him, and when they reach the stream, Arthur explains what happened. He expresses a desire to stop the villagers from sacrificing people.
Upstream from their original location, they realize that all the villagers have been slaughtered by Malam and piled at the top of the river. Arthur regards this news with horror, and asks John to guide them to the road.
Votes[]
- Chapter 226: F̴r̷i̵r̴a̷g̸l̶-̷r̵v̴t̵u̵g̷ ̸g̶u̵v̴e̶g̵l̴ ̶a̴v̸a̶r̷ [128] / F̴r̴i̸r̷a̷g̵r̸r̷a̵ ̶f̷r̸i̴r̸a̷ ̷a̴v̶a̶r̵ [183]
- Chapter 227: B̷a̴r̸ ̵u̴h̷a̴q̷e̸r̴q̶ ̸n̴a̷q̶ ̷f̷r̸i̴r̴a̸g̵l̷-̸s̵b̸h̴e̸ sbhegrra̴ ̸g̸u̴v̶e̷g̴r̶r̵a̴ [196] / A̷v̵a̶r̵g̷l̶-̶rvt̶u̵g ̴sb̵h̶e̶g̷r̵r̴a̵ ̷g̴u̶v̶e̸g̸r̷r̸a [80]
- Chapter 228: R̵v̴t̷u̶g̸l̴-̵b̵a̵r̴ ̸s̶v̶s̷g̷r̷r̶a̷ ̸g̷j̸b̸ [82] / R̸v̸t̵u̸g̸l-fri̴r̷a̴ ̶a̸v̵a̵r̷g̷r̵r̸a̶ ̶s̷b̴h̴e̶g̶rra [232]
- Chapter 229: R̶v̶t̴u̵g̴l̶-̷g̸j̷b̵ ̴g̸j̸r̵a̴g̵l̵ ̶f̵v̵k̶ [170] / B̴a̴r̷ ̵u̸h̶a̷qer̴q̸ ̷n̵a̴q̴ ̷g̷j̴r̵a̴g̶l̵-̷f̷v̵k̴ ̸r̵vtugrr̷a rvt̴u̶g̵ [129]
- Chapter 230: No vote.
Trivia[]
- The official Discord's Patreon channels dedicated a thread and document over the course of several weeks to cracking the cipher the votes were encoded in. Read more about it here: Encoded Votes.