A captured man, a new ally, a fiendish creature...
Summary[]
In the tunnels underneath the windmill, Arthur and John are attacked by the undead prisoner. They fend him off, and use his skull to provide a mouth for the vanguard that they name Yorick. Using Yorick, they steal the witch’s talisman and try to escape the tunnels… only for Arthur to get impaled on the witch’s rapier.
Synopsis[]
Arthur tries to quiet the prisoner, but is forced to hide in a pile of bones when someone enters the cavern: a hunched, crooked woman with large features, thin bare arms, and long greasy air that hangs from her skull in clumps. Her skin sags and she wears furs covered in viscous liquid. Approaching the prisoner, she touches in cheek in a loving gesture and leaves.
After he leaves the pile of bones, Arthur approaches the prisoner again. John notes gloves and a dark red cloak. The prisoner gives his name as “Prince”, but when Arthur asks what happened to him, he can only stutter “cart” and “road”. Arthur asks about the woman, and the Prince tells them “witch”.
Arthur attempts to free the Prince, but the Prince accidentally injures himself in the process. He cups the Prince’s mouth to stifle his screams; as he does, John is thrown into a death-vision where he sees a tipped-over carriage. This prisoner is dead. In the light, John notes that his face is entirely eaten away by the writhing maggots inside his body.
John advises killing the Prince, but Arthur decides against it, citing his potential for help. John warns that the Prince doesn’t have any eyes left in his sockets.
Abruptly, the Prince attacks them and bites into Arthur’s shoulder, tearing away a piece of meat. Arthur flees. They squeeze through a small passage, but along the way, the Prince bites John’s hand. Ultimately, they wind up in a dead end.
When the Prince pursues them down the passage, Arthur slices his head off with the dagger. In relative safety, they begin to bandage their wounds. John apologies for not being clearer about the Prince’s decayed appearance. He suggests that the witch had been feeding the Prince.
John sees the Prince’s skull, with only bare amounts of flesh remaining on the mouth and face. The maggots have fallen away. Unfortunately, the corpse is blocking the passageway.
Arthur recycled the bandage from his hand to use on his shoulder, but John’s hand is still bleeding. Rather than remove their clothing, they take the Prince’s gloves. They prepare to move the corpse to escape, and when he does, he remembers the vanguard tooth and what Kayne said about it: giving the vanguard a mouth.
Though John warns him, Arthur insists they need to take whatever advantage they can. He places the vanguard tooth in the skull’s gum-line. The vanguard speaks.
John describes the skull as having an aura: green wisps of smoke around the head and a small, white-hot flame within the eye sockets. The vanguard reassures that what John (who he addresses as ‘King’) sees is imperceptible to all but the truly powerful. The vanguard quickly tells them that he could always hear John, and briefly describes himself as born of a maggot prince, torn from his sister's head, and with a foot in both worlds. He refers to them as “The Dies Irae”.
The vanguard agrees to show them the way out. Along the way, John suggests that they call the skull ‘Yorick’, and the vanguard accepts this.
They continue to talk. Yorick reveals that Anna is no longer alive and that her eyes are empty. Arthur realizes Yorick can’t tell the past or see through everyone’s eyes; he would be unable to locate someone who is dead or never existed.
They begin to move the Prince’s corpse. Arthur asks Yorick if the body can still do harm, and Yorick states that he doesn’t believe so. Moving the body is briefly interrupted as the Prince’s belt catches on something, and Arthur and John begin to squabble. Yorick settles the argument and they move the corpse.
Strange noises start to emanate from the corpse. Yorick refers to it as ‘a body in part’ and explains that the entire tunnel system is a kind of womb. The Prince was incubating flesh-eating insects, which swarm out into the passageway as the corpse splits open. Arthur grabs Yorick and escapes the small room.
When Arthur asks Yorick why he didn’t inform them, Yorick points out that they failed to ask. Arthur questions him further, revealing that Yorick does not know which pieces of information are pertinent until directly asked.
They focus on escaping. To free up a hand, they attach Yorick to Arthur’s belt. Yorick offers to guide them out, but also reveals the existence of a powerful talisman that ‘the witch covets’. According to Yorick, the witch is powerful and her children, birthed of flesh, cover the lands above. They are her eyes.
After some deliberation, they agree to find the talisman. John asks Yorick why he knows all this, and Yorick reveals he still has control over the Prince – including his jaw and what remains of the Prince’s mind. He recalls Prince’s memories, which include the layout of these caverns. Yorick begins to guide Arthur through the tunnels. Together, they develop a system of speaking: one jaw snap for ‘yes’ and two jaw snaps for ‘two’.
They traverse into a new area, which John describes: an underground hovel. Mason-work forms the far wall. They stand on a wooden balcony overlooking the lower level, which leads back into the caves, and stairs lead below. The lower level has two doors. The right one is next to a stone slab and table, which is covered in blood. Some objects (bottles, mortar and pestle, dried herbs) are scattered nearby. A hatchet is buried in the wooden table. The other door is across the room. There is also a pool of murky water.
Yorick does not know where the talisman is kept. They briefly deliberate what might lay behind the doors: more pregnant meat, the hag’s inner sanctum, and potentially a method of escape. Ultimately, Arthur chooses the door across the room.
They enter what appears to be the witch’s chambers. Chandelier-like, roots hang down from the ceiling and support candles. Other bits of furniture, including a vanity with a polished piece of silver and a wardrobe made of bark, are similarly shaped into their surroundings. A curtain of vines and roots hide another passage. A tapestry depicts a group of men, maybe soldiers, with a figure of a woman on the road. The tapestry appears old and partially burnt.
Lastly, there is a bed made of twisted roots with hay for a mattress. Next to it is a nightstand with a talisman. Arthur grabs it and moves to leave, but as they return to the lower level, they find the staircase has disappeared. Yorick reveals that the witch is watching their presence.
They go through the other door and into a labyrinth, attempting to traverse it. They note a carved snake with its head pointing to the right, which causes Arthur to choose right. Yorick is of limited help.
Fearful of what will happen if the Witch finds them, he instructs Arthur to hide the talisman behind a brick. Arthur does so and then flees. Though John guides him through several turns, he ultimately runs into the witch and her rapier. Arthur is impaled. John calls out for him in distress.
Votes[]
- Chapter 206: Kill It [32] / Do Not Kill It [236]
- Chapter 207: Samantha [48] / Yorick [188] / The Prince [16] / Vanguard [16]
- Chapter 208: Move To Exit [59] / Seek Talisman [207]
- Chapter 209: Try The Door To The Right [114] / Try The Door Straight Ahead [123]
- Chapter 210: No vote.
