Part Sixteen

*A hungry creature, a mysterious pillar, a treacherous path...*

### Content Warnings

Flies, mind control, claustrophobia, falling, sounds of injury and pain, viscera.

## Summary

Arthur and John escape the mossy cave with help from the Guide Lantern. They continue traveling towards the cliffs, where they find the base of a mountain. In the mountain they meet a friendly, salamander-like creature that leads them to the remains of Frank’s campsite. After gathering a photograph and Frank’s diary, Arthur slips and falls into the chasm below, which is full of blood and other viscera. Reading Frank’s final diary entry reveals that a creature lives at the bottom of the chasm, which Arthur and John can hear growling in the distance.

## Synopsis

In the cave, John slaps Arthur and tells him to move. John guides him, while the voice continues to whisper. They trip on human remains buried under the moss: there, they find a large rope and a bullseye lantern. Arthur lights it and says they need to find their way out, causing John to note that the black smoke burning from it is leading them forward. They follow it and escape to the desert. John expresses anger that Arthur didn't listen to him sooner, but Arthur says he thought the new voice could have helped them.

They move towards the cliffs and question whether the body was the man from the boat. Using the lantern as a guide, they ask it to guide them towards the cliffs before snuffing it to conserve their oil. As they walk, Arthur says he doesn't want to run away from things, but John insists that everyone is their enemy here. Arthur doesn't want to overlook potential answers, and find John's perspective rather cold. John, in turn, would rather lose answers if it meant staying alive.

As they approach, they realize the cliffs are the base of a mountain and start walking along the base. As opposed to using the bullseye lantern, John looks through the Glass of Leng. The image matches their location; they agree to walk until they find the obelisk in the Glass.

Arthur hums a lullaby for Faroe as they walk. Briefly, they discuss Arthur's past. Arthur met Faroe’s mother when he was young, and she passed away during childbirth. When John asks if Arthur took care of Faroe himself, he says he wasn’t enough to. He was too focused on writing music, being a composer. Arthur doesn't elaborate.

They reach the obelisk. It’s tall and made of sandstone, roughly 40 feet tall. It has carvings that John doesn't understand. When Arthur touches it, it feels warm and artificial. Its use is unknown. They move to the hole in the canyon wall, large enough for Arthur to fit through. A spinning wheel sits on the pedestal, only half-exposed. Arthur hesitates to turn the wheel, but John insists there’s no going back, and they have to keep moving forward. John says they need to “leave the dream for what’s real,” and it reminds Arthur of something. Arthur recites part of the poem “An Old Sweetheart of Mine” by James Whitcomb Riley.

When they turn the wheel, the whole room turns, sealing off the entrance and scaring them both. The floor moves down and reveals a new entryway on the opposite side of the room: the room is simply a large elevator. John and Arthur laugh in relief.

They decide to move further into the mountain. John suggests lighting the lantern, and Arthur asks it to show them the way out. The smoke rises straight up, but they keep it lit to light the path forward. The passage opens up. On the right side, there is only darkness. Arthur is apprehensive, and John asks him if he’s afraid of the dark. Arthur explains it’s less about the darkness, and what might hide in it.

They follow stairs leading down. John asks if Arthur knows any more poems. Arthur is excited, and asks John what kind of poem he wants to hear, to which John says anything that Arthur feels moved by. Arthur recites “Free” by Eugene O’Neil.

Suddenly, John sees a wispy light in the dark. It’s a flying creature, similar to a salamander, with bright white eyes and fin-like hands that wave through the air. The light is bright enough to make seeing difficult, but John describes its mannerisms as child-like. After trying to talk to it, Arthur continues walking. When it doesn’t follow, he tries to talk to it again. Arthur pulls out a mirror from their shaving kit, which the creature takes interest in. They try to use the mirror to reflect light onto the far wall of the cavern, but it reveals nothing. When they walk away again, the creature follows. John is skeptical, but Arthur assures him the creature could be helpful.

At a fork in the road, they ask the lantern for the exit. The smoke directs them to the left, but the creature wants to lead them straight ahead. John asks Arthur what his gut says, and Arthur thinks they should follow the creature. This surprises John, but he doesn’t disagree. The path narrows.

They make it to a small outcropping with an abandoned campsite. In the tent they find a bedroll, a lantern, broken glass, and a crate that reads First National Grocery Store, which Arthur recalls as a grocery store in Arkham. John searches the crate and finds a picture frame holding a photo of a woman standing in a park. They keep the picture. Arthur remembers the picture frame missing from Frank’s apartment, suggesting this is Frank's campsite.

Outside the tent, the creature floats above a book balanced by the edge of the outcropping. They move carefully to grab it, almost slipping in the process. The book turns out to be a leather bound diary. John comments again on the depths of the darkness below them. Arthur says John is starting to understand the “fear of the unknown,” but whether he’s feeding off of Arthur’s fear or learning it for himself is a mystery. Arthur remarks that John has become his own.

They commit to reading the diary once they’re off of the overlook. Arthur slips. For a few moments, the sound of Arthur playing Faroe’s song can be heard, interrupted every few seconds by him writing notes down as he composes. Arthur hits the ground, and he and John panic from the fall. Arthur can’t tell if he broke anything, but his ankle and his back are hurt. John urges him to find their bag. They find the bag and the lighter, and the light reveals Arthur covered in blood. The ground is covered in piles of viscera and other body parts.

They find the diary and flip to the last page. On it, Frank describes camping over the chasm, but not being able to sleep because of the sounds coming from below. A creature waits for him at the bottom, hungry. They hear it groan in the distance.

## "An Old Sweetheart of Mine" by James Whitcomb Riley (excerpt)

*The ordered intermingling*

*of the real and the dream,—*

*The mill above the river,*

*and the mist above the stream;*

*The life of ceaseless labor,*

*brave with song and cheery call—*

*The radiant skies of evening,*

*with its rainbow o'er us all.*

## “Free” by Eugene O’Neill

*Weary am I of the tumult, sick of the staring crowd,*

*Pining for wild sea places where the soul may think aloud.*

*Fled is the glamor of cities, dead as the ghost of a dream,*

*While I pine anew for the tint of blue on the breast of the old Gulf Stream.*

*I have had my dance with Folly, nor do I shirk the blame;*

*I have sipped the so-called Wine of Life and paid the price of shame;*

*But I know that I shall find surcease, the rest my spirit craves,*

*Where the rainbows play in the flying spray,*

*’Mid the keen salt kiss of the waves.*

*Then it’s ho! For the plunging deck of a bark, the hoarse song of the crew,*

*With never a thought of those we left or what we are going to do;*

*Nor heed the old ship’s burning, but break the shackles of care*

*And at last be free, on the open sea, with the trade winds in our hair.*

## Frank's Diary Entry

"I’ve camped for the time being next to the chasm. I tried to sleep but I couldn’t sleep through the sounds of whatever lay at the bottom. Its heavy gurgled sigh shakes the gravel and haunts my waking mind. I can hear it down there. I can sense its presence, and it, in turn, senses mine. It is hungry. And it is waiting."

## Votes

* Chapter 76: Climb Here [6] / **Walk Along the Cliff [13]**
* Chapter 77: **Interact with the Wheel [17]** / Leave it Alone [1]
* Chapter 78: Head Left Where The Lantern Suggests [2] / **Head Straight Where The Creature Suggests [11]**
* Chapter 79: Go Back The Way You Came [3] / **Go For The Book [19]**
* Chapter 80: no vote