A voice in the darkness, a promise to keep, a place to remember...
Summary[]
Private Investigator Arthur Lester wakes up in his office unable to see and unable to remember who or where he is. A mysterious entity reveals that he is trapped inside Arthur, controlling his sight and sharing his body and mind. Arthur and his passenger must work together to discover how this happened and how they can be separated once again. They investigate a strange book that caused them to be bound together and could be the key to figuring out their strange circumstances.
Synopsis[]
The episode starts with the sound of a radio dial being turned and You Call It Madness (But I Call It Love) by Russ Columbo playing. A man awakens in his office, unable to see and with no memory. A mysterious entity begins to describe their surroundings, revealing that the man is standing in an office belonging to Arthur Lester. The blind man fails to recognize the name, so the entity explains it's his office and that he knew Arthur’s name because the door of the office reads “Arthur Lester & Peter Yang, Private Investigative Services” and that he knew which person was Arthur because Peter called out Arthur’s name as he died..
The entity commands Arthur to pick up a book and bring it over to the nearby desk. Arthur trips over something, discovering the body of another man. The entity reveals it’s the body of Arthur's partner, Peter ‘Parker’ Yang. Arthur panics and the entity becomes aggressive, revealing he is controlling Arthur’s sight. Arthur places the book on the desk and opens it, allowing the entity to read a passage in an unknown language. The entity tells Arthur that, by reading the book, Arthur cursed himself and caused them to be bound together. The entity is able to see through Arthur’s eyes, but is unable to control anything else.
He tells Arthur that the door to the office is open, and that Peter’s body is in clear view. Arthur makes his way to the door and closes it, bumping into a piano. He begins to panic once again but manages to compose himself and remember some of the events leading up to Peter’s death, after playing a short piece on the piano at the entity's request. The two men worked together as Private Investigators. Arthur recalls opening the book and hearing a voice, then turning to face Peter.
The entity manipulates Arthur, convincing him not to call the police, but instead get rid of the body. A knock interrupts them and Arthur hides the body in the closet. When he finally makes it back to the door, there is no one there. The entity spots a scrap of paper on the floor, which turns out to be the packaging the book was wrapped in: Junior Dewitt Ackerman Rare Books, Arkham, Massachusetts.
The building maintenance supervisor Eddie approaches them, explaining that he heard a commotion. Arthur tells him he tripped over something and fell, but Eddie says he needs to investigate the leaky pipes in the office. Arthur tries to persuade Eddie to leave, but Eddie is not swayed. Eventually Arthur becomes angry, telling Eddie that he can either leave on his own or Arthur will drag him out. Eddie leaves, threatening Arthur on his way out.
Arthur and the entity decide to investigate Ackerman's bookshop. Arthur recalls the odd circumstances of his previous case: a missing girl named Emily MacFarland, who they tracked to an abandoned house north of the city.
The entity asks why he thinks it could be related and Arthur explains he saw a symbol written on the wall of the basement door: the same symbol as the book. Arthur states that Peter felt uncomfortable upon seeing the symbol and they called it in to the police before proceeding. During the call, Arthur and Peter learned that Emily's body had already been found in a field miles away.
On their way to the bookshop, the entity reveals that he is from a different plane of existence that he refers to as the Dark World. He explains to Arthur that the Dark World is a prison ('a collective junkyard of every version of your world'), and that he has no intention of returning to it. They arrive at the bookshop and head inside. A radio is playing in the background (You Call It Madness (But I Call It Love) by Russ Columbo). Arthur doesn’t recognize the song, but the entity does.
They ring the bell on the desk, hearing movement in the back rooms. The entity reveals that the desk looks messy and grows suspicious. Arthur rings the bell again, and they hear glass shattering and the movement in the back room becomes louder. The entity tells Arthur to draw his firearm. A man in a pale mask shoots at them and then escapes while Arthur is disoriented by the noise. The entity commands him to follow but Arthur refuses.
They discover that the shooter was searching for something, as the place has been tossed. Arthur begins walking the room to investigate. The entity spots something on the ground, and then reads out the words "De Tribus Militibus". The phrase seems familiar to the entity, but he is unable to recall how, and they continue their search. They find a receipt book, but it contains no details about the book.
Arthur suggests looking for a rolodex to see if the bookshop owner has his information. The entity tells him that the rolodex is already open, and that the page on display is the address of Arthur’s office. However it is listed under the name Roland Cummings, the previous tenant who left the city in a rush.
The entity points out that whoever ransacked the bookshop now has Arthur’s address, and will likely find the body of Peter Yang. Arthur decides not to go back to the office, and instead chooses to investigate the abandoned house. The entity asks how Arthur and Peter discovered the house, and Arthur explains a vagrant had seen Emily’s bike sitting outside. Arthur tells the entity that he and Peter had special luck with missing persons cases, as they took over a few from the previous tenant. When the entity asks if this was Roland Cummings, Arthur explains that, while it was Roland’s name on the lease, he actually rented the office from a man named Elijah Strong, and it was his cases that Arthur and Peter took on.
During the taxi ride, Arthur confesses that he’s always valued sight and isn’t coping well with losing it entirely, instinctively turning to look out the window despite being blind. The entity begins describing their surroundings in detail, and how the city is full of life, telling Arthur that he appreciates it enough for the both of them.
They arrive at the house and enter through a window around the back, discovering a hidden room behind a bookshelf. The room contains a mural on the wall depicting the symbol on the book, painted above a grotesque creature with tentacles and goat legs. The entity calls the creature Shub-Niggurath.
He tells Arthur that he is not Shub-Niggurath, but Arthur is skeptical. They make a plan to go to a library. Before they leave, the entity notices a stone in the mural that activates a hidden passageway. At the end of the passageway, they discover a cave with three cages hanging from the ceiling, a stone slab at the center of the room, and a stone archway. Exploring the room further, the entity notices a podium. Arthur theorizes that this could be where the book came from. Next to the podium lay a pair of desiccated bodies. The entity originally thinks they struggled and killed each other, spotting a knife on the ground, but when he looks closer he sees that one body appears to have been dismembered.
Arthur connects this dismemberment to the dismemberment of Emily and questions what could have led her here while the entity questions what she could have let out. The entity tells Arthur that if the creature that killed this man also killed Emily, then that means it has been released, and they need to stop it.
Votes[]
- Chapter 1: Tell Arthur to Stop [7] / Let Arthur Take the Shot [3]
- Chapter 2: Head to the Book Store [6] / Head to the Abandoned House [3]
- Chapter 3: Introduce as Arthur [4] / Use a Fake Name [4]
- Chapter 4: Head Back to the Office [1] / Head to the Abandoned House [8]
- Chapter 5: Head to Miskatonic University [6] / [INVESTIGATION] Head to the Police Station [1]
Trivia[]
- De Tribus Militibus translates to "The Three Soldiers", but neither Arthur nor the Entity recognise the Latin.
- The first dice roll is introduced and explained to Patrons.