As Faulkner's injuries worsen, Carpenter and Paige take him to seek help.[2]
| ATTENTION: SPOILERS AHEAD! Beyond this point, major plot spoilers are expected. Continue at your own risk. |
Description[]
Faulkner's Dream[]
This episode begins with Faulkner in a dreamlike state - he sees the Trawler-man. He recounts a memory from a lesson he’d been given by a Katabasian, along with other converts to the Parish. Faulkner asked if anyone had ever seen the Trawler-man, a question that is met with laughter and mocking. He grew to despise them for making him feel foolish. He wonders why he was told the Trawler-man is hidden from the faith’s view, while he is looking directly at him. The Trawler-man is smiling. Faulkner calls out to Carpenter and Paige. He is afraid. He asks again why the Trawler-man is smiling.
Inside Paige's Car[]
Whilst Faulkner’s state worsens, Carpenter and Paige continue driving. Paige checks Faulkner’s bandages for blood and finds silt, and comments that Faulkner’s skin is hardening. Carpenter corrects her, saying that he’s calcifying. Carpenter tells Paige that she is taking them to a dump, since there are no hospitals out here anymore.
They Arrive At The Dump[]
The trio arrive at the dump. A sign reads: Fishermans' Rest Incorporated Waste Disposal. There are discarded, redundant gods here, amongst the other trash. Most notably, there are houses built among and from the garbage and people wander this place. Many of the people here are injured in varying ways. Paige wonders aloud what someone would have to do to be subjected to this, to which Carpenter responds that they have chosen to live like this in order to worship the Emperor In Rags. The worshippers aim to live without the things they never truly needed. Occasionally, they realise that they never really needed parts of themselves either, choosing to surrender the excess parts of themselves to the dump. As a result, there’s lots of injury and sickness here. Carpenter hopes there is a Pox Monk here. She warns Paige to cover her nose and mouth when they leave the car, but Paige notices that it does not help protect against the stench. Paige wonders if she was wrong to leave her apartment. Carpenter leaves for help.
Faulkner's Dream Continues[]
Faulkner wanders the Drowning Fields with the Trawler-man, side by side. The Trawler-man explains everything to him, the mysteries of living and everything past it. The information the Trawler-man tells him does not linger. It brings Faulkner comfort. Once the Trawler-man has finished speaking, he walks away. Faulkner tries to follow, to call after him as he leaves, but fails. He slips into the silt, and the flood drowns him. It is one moment. It suddenly occurs to Faulkner that he is not in the flood - he is a part of it. The flood is not merciful, he is spiteful.
Carpenter and Paige Meet Brother Wharfing[]
Paige attempts to speak to Faulkner, who is too sick to respond. Carpenter returns with Brother Wharfing, the Pox Monk. According to Paige, he wears white healer’s robes and his face bears the scars of countless sickness. He tells them to make space, and remove the dressings. Brother Wharfing asks Paige if she has any other harm he can take from her, she does not. He offers to remove Carpenter’s limp if she can pay, but she tells him to focus on Faulkner first. Brother Wharfing spots the barnacles growing around Faulkner’s wounds. Paige offers her watch as payment, and Brother Wharfing replies that a unique blessing is payment in itself. He does, however, ask the duo to fetch him a can of unopened soda from the dump. Paige agrees to go, and he warns her to return before nightfall. Faulkner continues to worsen. Brother Wharfing is humming, which provokes Carpenter to ask him if he understands the situation’s gravity. He calls her impatient. Brother Wharfing talks through his actions, and apologises for the pain he is about to cause Faulkner. He tells Carpenter not to touch him until it is over.
Faulkner gasps and sputters, Brother Wharfing reveals that the wound is flooded and the river is trying to leave him. Carpenter demands that Brother Wharfing hurry up with the healing process. She becomes distracted by the stacks of garbage, convinced she saw someone watching them. She rationalises it as the dusk light playing tricks on her. Brother Wharfing tells her not to stare, that they are the trash god’s servants. Carpenter asks if they’re dangerous and Brother Wharfing tells her they are not if you have nothing left to take. He repeats that he told Paige to return before nightfall. Carpenter is suddenly aware that Paige has not returned. She does not remember where Paige went, and is angered by Brother Wharfing’s ambiguous warning. She threatens him that she will not hesitate to kill him if Faulkner dies while she is gone.
Paige Meets The Dump's Servants[]
Paige wanders the dump, alone. She begins to lose the ability to notice the specifics of the landfill. She stops, staring at the familiar sight of an old red sneaker she had when she was 17. She recounts moving to a new town and the new scam her father had become involved in. She would be dragged along whenever her father would leave to scam their neighbours, although he bragged he would never involve his children in criminal activity. That he raised his children to lead honest lives. But he would get her to run lines, or wait in the car. She doesn’t remember losing the sneaker, but here it waits for her. The sneaker disappears into the pile, and Paige starts digging in the trash for it. She finds herself inside a tunnel, full of working light bulbs and neon signs, along with a television she used to own as a child. She reminisces about sitting in front of the TV, and of eating dinner with her father and siblings. The tunnel around her seems to morph into the scene she remembers. Her father pulls out her chair, and she joins them at the table. It is this small act of kindness that breaks her trance. She turns to see a trash bag mannequin behind her. It collapses as she jumps up. She becomes aware that she is trapped in a stomach-like chamber under the dump.
Carpenter eventually finds Paige and helps her pull free from the clutches of the dump. Paige tells Carpenter that she didn’t find the soda, which makes them both laugh despite themselves.
Paige Confides In Carpenter[]
As they walk back, Carpenter confesses that she doesn’t know how to get back to the car. Brother Wharfing calls over to the duo, commenting that they both survived. He tells them that Faulkner has been healed and will be fine. Brother Wharfing shows them his new blessing, and Paige wonders why he would inflict this upon himself. He wishes them safe travels as he leaves. Paige states to Carpenter that in her 31 years of life she has never found a god she loves more than fear. She confides in her that she wants to make something better when she returns home. Carpenter is intrigued by this concept, but as usual she is cynical. Paige remains hopeful.
Trivia[]
- Brother Wharfing offers to help Carpenter with her ankle, an offer that she rejects.