Part Twenty Three

*A painful memory, a gracious host, a broken spirit...*

### Content Warnings

Chewing noises, captivity, body horror (goat man), decomposition, mutilation, human skinning (mention), child abuse/death (mention), starvation, acrophobia (fear of heights), corpses, tinnitus, cannibalism, eye trauma, ear trauma, human sacrifice

## Summary

Arthur and Yellow wake up in the Larson Estate, far up the mountain. They meet a suspiciously kind Larson, who offers to drive them back to Arkham. Realizing that they are in danger, Arthur makes plans to leave. Together, they investigate the estate and find the flute – before getting knocked out by Uncle. They wake up tied to a chair. Arthur admits he was driven to murder and cannibalism in the prison pits. Larson reveals that he is actually Wallace Larson, the founder of Addison. He has stayed alive through power granted to him by the gods (specifically, through The Order of the Fallen Star) and his sacrifice of his only daughter. After playing the piano, Uncle drags Arthur to be thrown into the mines, and Arthur realizes that John has returned inside his head.

## Synopsis

Arthur flashbacks to his and John’s imprisonment. Arthur despairs over their predicament and John encourages him, bolstering Arthur’s resolve. After Arthur startles awake, Yellow tells him that they woke up in a well-decorated room, somewhere high on the mountain: the Larson Estate.

They investigate the room further, finding Arthur’s clothes and belongings. Below them, they hear someone cry out in pain. A man enters the room, followed by the ram-headed person they encountered at the Red Right Hand. The man is Arthur’s age with round glasses and a bow tie, and apologizes for frightening Arthur.

He introduces himself as Larson, to Arthur’s surprise, and explains that he is the founder of Addison (Wallace Larson)’s grandson: Andrew Larson. Larson explains he knows Uncle (the ram-headed person) paid a visit to town, but snooped in Arthur’s room of his own free will. He asks why Arthur is here, and Arthur responds that he’s only trying to get home: to Arkham. Larson recognizes the name, as he has property there.

During the course of their conversation, Arthur admits he is a private investigator and Larson, in turn, says he is an accountant. Eventually, Larson tells him he brought Arthur here because of his encounter with the invisible creature. He states that the invisible creature was awakened by Wallace Larson, and let into town by the surveyor. His only goal, Larson emphasizes, is to protect the town.

Arthur thanks him for the rescue, and Larson says he will transport Arthur to Arkham the following day. Just as Larson leaves, Arthur tells him about the crying woman, to Larson’s confusion. Larson leaves, while Yellow celebrates their good fortune. Arthur says that they have to leave, and will die if they stay. As Arthur explains, they hear Uncle attacking the crying woman, and they sneak out of their room.

They investigate the mansion, using the brief flashes of lightning from a rainstorm to illuminate their path. Narrowly escaping Uncle, they find another bedroom, this one with a painting of Wallace Larson and a dead body in the bed. It has been there for a long while. Both Arthur and Yellow wonder if it’s Wallace.

Arthur expresses some déjà vu: he and John also found a body in a bed in Part Two. Yellow asks how they became friendly with each other, and Arthur remarks that the strife they faced brought them closer together. Yellow ultimately apologizes about blaming Arthur for passing out after the invisible creature’s attack and points out a medallion around the body. They take it. In doing so, Arthur touches the body, and Yellow experiences a corpse vision.

Yellow describes Andrew Larson, kissing the man’s forehead in bed. Andrew Larson tells Wallace that they will be together again, and that the Fallen Star will succeed. Arthur lets go. Frustrated that Arthur did not do so sooner, Yellow suggests they leave – but at Uncle’s approaching footsteps, they flee out the window.

They stand on the ledge. From outside, Yellow sees Uncle approach the body and look under the bed (where they previously discussed hiding). Terrified, the two begin to traverse the ledge. Arthur makes a jump, to Yellow’s delight, and they enter a storage room. Investigating, they find a statue of St. Bartholomew, and they discuss briefly about Arthur’s upbringing. The conversation shifts to John, as Yellow asks when Arthur and John became friendly. Arthur admits it was the prison pits.

In the room, they find a framed tapestry of an ornate, black stone: elevated over a swamp, egg-shaped but elongated, with light emanating from it. Arthur answers Yellow’s questions, saying that while John did betray his trust, he ‘probably’ forgave him. They leave the storage room for the study, finding a portrait of Andrew Larson with three children around him, one similar to Uncle.

They find the flute on the desk. Something knocks Arthur out after they take it. Arthur has another flashback: again in the prison pits, when another man was tossed into their hole. He introduces himself as Michael Faust. Arthur wakes in tears, tied to a chair, and – to Yellow’s frustration – starts to tell Yellow about their prison pitmate, Mr. Faust.

In the pit, Mr. Faust held a braided lanyard, dug up dirt, and told Arthur he had been transferred following an escape attempt. Eventually, Arthur realizes that the guards are no longer feeding them, and when Arthur’s hand touches Mr. Faust’s lanyard, John has a vision of Mr. Faust killing his previous prisonmate with the dirt-filled bucket. Arthur strangles Mr. Faust to death, confessing to Yellow that he enjoyed it, and ate him. Yellow responds by calling Arthur a murderer.

Larson returns and admits that he is Wallace Larson, and that he does live here (when he is not at the lodge in New York). Uncle is also present, playing with the music box, and Arthur deduces that he is Jack Larson. Larson tells his story: his wife and two sons (Tristen and Lucien) died and that his desire to bring them back led him to the Order of the Fallen Star. Arthur scoffs at his cultist status, leading Uncle to tear off a piece of Arthur’s ear for the disrespect.

Larson says that he was granted a servitor and various gifts of the gods. Yellow is thrilled at his praise of the gods, turning on Arthur. Larson remarks that he sees divisiveness in Arthur, and that he could fix that with the power granted to him by the gods for sacrificing his daughter, Addison.

Yellow demands Arthur to request aid from Larson as Arthur reels from the revelation. Arthur promises to kill him. Larson responds by breaking the music box and planning to have Arthur dropped into the mines alive. Before he does, he forces Arthur to play on the piano as Yellow venomously insults him.

Uncle drags Arthur away from the piano. The entity in his head asks where they are, confused, and Arthur realizes that Yellow has been replaced with John. Delirious with happiness, Arthur exclaims rejoices that John remembers as he is thrown into the mine.

## Votes

* Chapter 111: **Left [34]** / Right [16]
* Chapter 112: **Head Out the Window [33]** / Hide Under the Bed [20]
* Chapter 113: Lock the Door [16] / **Leave it Unlocked [38]**
* Chapter 114: **Choose to Remember [53]** / Choose to Forget [11]
* Chapter 115: No vote.

## Additional Notes

* Arthur's flashbacks in this part are roughly chronological.
* Arthur recalls several of his and John's past adventures: the mansion in Part Two, Kellin in Part Four, destroying the creature in the labyrinth in Part Seventeen, John mocking him about Faroe ('betraying Arthur's trust') in Part Eighteen, and their time in the prison pits in Part Nineteen.
* In literature, Goethe's *Faust* (1876) involves the main character, Faust, making a deal with the devil for unlimited knowledge. A 'Faustian bargain' refers to any deal relating to the corruption of one's soul for mortal pleasures, usually knowledge or paper.
* Yellow tells Arthur to pull out the lighter.