Part Thirty Two

*A sleepless night, a desire to help, a search for answers...*

### Content Warnings

Captivity/kidnapping, past murder, blood, rot/decay, decomposing bodies, past suicide

## Summary

Arthur awakes after his nightmare and John fills in his actions from the previous night. Together, they investigate their boarding room and discover, at some point in the past, someone was brutally murdered on their bed. They also investigate the secret room and discover signs of Mr. Scratch's captivity, as well as a secret room that contains skeletal remains and an unknown symbol. Eavesdropping on a conversation between Marie and a clergyman named Oscar, they discover that whatever afflicted Hattie (Marie's sister) also afflicted Albert, Marie's former husband. Later, they offer to help Marie and Marie officially hires them to find her missing sister.

## Synopsis

Arthur wakes in his own room, disoriented from the night before. John confirms Arthur's actions the previous night: stopping at the stairs, falling down, opening the forbidden room's door, untying a woman, and calling her Mr. Scratch. John remarks on the connection to that and the name the Butcher called himself ('Old Scratch') and Arthur wonders if Mr. Scratch plucked the name from his own memories. John informs Arthur that he went to sleep after speaking with Mr. Scratch. It is now late afternoon. Marie is out of the house, after discovering that the woman -- who looks similar, perhaps even family to Marie -- was missing. They ponder whether she was possessed.

Feeling guilty for untying the woman, Arthur resolves to stop it. John is unconvinced, listing their various obligations (Daniel, the Butcher, the Order of the Fallen Star), but Arthur insists that Mr. Scratch wants to hurt people and Marie doesn't deserve this.

Arthur states that he feels horribly guilty about freeing this creature and thus allowing it to do whatever horrible things it means to do to people in their dreams in the wider world, and states that they need to do something to try to stop it. John ultimately agrees. After some consultation, they search around their boarding room.

As Arthur takes the opportunity to wash and dress himself, John inquires about his nightmare, specifically about Kellin. He asks whether Arthur still feels guilty for Kellin's death. Arthur responds in the negative, and that the nightmare in fact allowed him to confront many of his past regrets. He tells John about James, the man in his dream, and the guilt of his past.

They speak briefly about past lies. John asks if lying for a good reason weighs you down and whether Arthur ever lied to help people. Arthur says it depends on the motive, and asks if John wants to tell him anything. John grows defensive and says he just wants to learn. Arthur drops it.

Together, they investigate their room and the window: John compares it to ice-encrusted car windows, a spider-web pattern with no clear focal point. He also describes the room layout: the bed and the desk on the north wall, and the stairs to the south. He also struggles with the geometry of the room: angles that don't make sense. Other than that, John remarks of an alcove with a few boxes and a rolled-up carpet.

They find nothing in the desk, but note the missing cross from the wall. While investigating the bed, John remarks on a dark stain -- and as Arthur flips it, realizes that the stain is actually a large quantity of blood, the mattress cut by a blade. They replace the mattress. The lantern on the table has the same pattern as the glass.

Finding nothing else of interest, they decide to investigate the forbidden room. A ghastly sight lies before them: unwashed dishes, a corner basin, a fireplace, a bookshelf, and a bed. The bed is badly soiled and emanates a terrible smell. A table rests near the bed, and a second bookshelf sits next to the door. As they enter, Arthur kicks up a line of dust.

The woman's bindings are still present, and they realize that she must have been untied when they arrived -- she sniffed them through the door. Marie, they consider, tied her back up in the evening. They consider that the dust might have prevented Scratch from leaving. John observes a mirror in the room, with the same warped nature as the bedroom window and lantern glass.

As they investigate, John observes no gap between a bookshelf and the wall, and suggests that she climbed on the coffee table to lock them through the hole in the ceiling to their room. Together, they discover a mechanism obscuring a hidden door. Marie comes home, and they hide in the secret room.

Marie enters the room with a man named Oscar. Oscar is distressed by the state of the room. Marie ensures that 'Parker' is out before speaking freely with Oscar. At Oscar's horror, Marie insists that Hattie was fighting 'it' better than Albert. Oscar worriedly asks about Hattie's whereabouts, and implies he 'helped' her with Albert.

Oscar asks Marie why he was brought in, and Marie responds that Oscar is the only person who knows about this and that has seen "it". Marie insists Hattie was getting better, though had a harder time waking up. Oscar believes this indicates that the entity had more control of her. Ultimately, however, he agrees to ask around his congregation for her whereabouts. Marie gives him a photo of Hattie and says she will wait here, in case Hattie returns. They are aware of the disturbed dust, but Marie is uncertain as to whether the new tenant was involved. Oscar leaves the house and Marie leaves the room.

Arthur and John explore the secret room, noting that it seems as if nobody has been there. They find skeletal remains laying facedown on a large, carved symbol: circular, with a pattern that repeats in the center. On the desk, they find a rodent skull, an empty bottle, and a rotted open book. However, they do note that the symbol on the book, the symbol on the floor, and one of the symbols on the bestiary are the same. Arthur wonders whether this is a sacrifice. John believes it to be a summoning.

Together, they leave and Arthur decides to offer help to Marie. John agrees, after Arthur remarks that this is part of being a detective. They enter the kitchen. Marie makes tea for Arthur. After Marie's dismissive remarks, Arthur informs her that he is a detective and regales a previous case with his partner:

A senator's daughter had gone missing. They were hired to find her; upon investigating, they discovered the senator stole something important from someone dangerous, and the girl had been kidnapped. Though they found the location of a potential swap for the girl, the men involved were killed and the girl escaped. They ultimately track the girl down to a barn, where she'd been searching for her mother. They discover the girl's mother was dead, killed long ago by the senator who then took her and claimed to be her father. The senator never intended to recover her alive.

Arthur reassures that the girl was alright in the end. As Arthur turns to leave, Marie enlists his help on the case: her sister is missing and unwell, perhaps a danger to herself and others. Arthur asks for a photo, and Marie points him towards Oscar. Marie says that her sister's sickness runs in the family, afflicting the husband as well. The husband had tried to hurt people, and Marie had to -- before she finishes, Arthur cuts her off.

Together, they leave with the aim of finding Oscar. Arthur reassures John that they'll talk to Daniel afterwards regardless, and that they still have time before the Butcher catches up. John inquires about the case Arthur told Marie.

Arthur admits it wasn't his case, but that of the agency whose lease he took over: Elijah Strong and his partner. Elijah Strong was forced out of the detective business after being tried for the senator's murder. In addition, the girl in the story committed suicide in the end. As he regales the story to John, he realizes that Elijah Strong and his partner had been pursued by a dangerous man, perhaps the Butcher.

John asks where Elijah Strong is now, but Arthur remarks that he hung himself in prison. Still, Arthur promises to think more about what he can recall as they walk.

## Trivia

* The case that Arthur tells Marie and later John is a summary of the events of Witch's Mark.
* Oscar holds a community congregation in the basement of Saint Jean Baptiste's community center, for those (according to Marie) who have trouble making it to the Sunday service.