00;00;01;04 - 00;00;16;28
Unknown
The gates are open and you've arrived. We've been waiting for you. Welcome to the Outer Court.
00;00;17;00 - 00;00;49;08
Unknown
The Well by Thomas Stonking, read by Jay Myers. Pyotr held the rope in his hands as tight as he could. But it was a cold night and his shivering made the task difficult. His hands were tired, and Aunt Agatha was scaring him. The moon was high and bright, and its silver light stripped bare the night.
00;00;49;10 - 00;01;21;17
Unknown
And Aunt Agatha. Her eyes were wide with eagerness and lust. There was a fury to her, a mad passion that enervated himself. Though he could not tell its cause. Careful, child, too fast. And we showed her well our hand. Each request, each draw must be slow and deliberate. To keep the water clean. Keep going. She put a bony hand on her shoulder in support.
00;01;21;20 - 00;01;51;25
Unknown
The rusted old crank was broken, and so Pyotr lifted the well's bucket up from the depths. Hand over hand, using the draw rope. It felt as though an eternity past. When had the well become so deep? Was the bucket strangely heavy? Or were his arms simply weary? I'm tired, Aunt Agatha, Pyotr, said, and Agatha did not reply. Only squeezed his shoulder where her hand lay.
00;01;51;27 - 00;02;17;13
Unknown
At last the bucket emerged from the well's mouth, and Pyotr held tight the drawing rope so Aunt Agatha could retrieve it. But she did not it. She looked on the bucket the same way a man might view a woman bathing, waiting for something in the bucket. Something within disturb the water freshly drawn and spilled some over its edge.
00;02;17;16 - 00;02;45;08
Unknown
Startled, Pyotr made to release his hands to send the thing back where it had come from. But he could not move. His hands would not release their grasp on the rope. To whom did his hands belong? If they would not obey him? He looked back to the bucket, only to find something staring back at him. It was a creature from Dark night, a thing that should not be a black thing.
00;02;45;08 - 00;03;11;23
Unknown
Long as his arm and filling the air with putrid odor, its head was like that of a serpent, but with two large of eyes bulging, as if they would pop out, or had done so already and been put back into place. Poorly. Slowly, it wound its way out of the bucket, down the drawing rope, and onto Peter's arm, where it slunk over his skin.
00;03;11;25 - 00;03;43;26
Unknown
There was a painful stinging, but still he could not move. It rose above him, coiling high into the air, preparing to strike. But the strike did not come from the creature. It came from behind, from Aunt Agatha. Fyodor felt himself lifted, pushed forward until his waist cracked on the stone of the well, and he flipped and over and down and down into the well.
00;03;43;28 - 00;04;10;16
Unknown
Pyotr awoke. He rubbed at the sleep in his eyes and yawned. He was tired, but he was used to that. Now. Everyone in the village was tired. There was a certain level of weariness a person got accustomed to, so that though they were not rested, they could get on with their day, with only a modicum of effort. But it was an exacting death, one that seemed to have been learned at interest.
00;04;10;19 - 00;04;34;12
Unknown
Pyotr lifted his head to find his mother in the kitchen, stoking the oven to prepare breakfast. Her hair hung long over her face and though it had been months since she had last slept through the night to Pyotr, she still had the beauty of youth about her. After a moment, she spotted him. Her brows lifted in question. Pyotr shook his head and his mother?
00;04;34;14 - 00;05;06;17
Unknown
Agatha nodded in sage, knowing same. She pushed me in this time, Pyotr said with another deep beyond. Three years gone and she's still at you. She loved you. Do not forget that. Pyotr smiled as he slipped on his boots. I know it is better than it being grandfather, I suppose. I do not envy your dreams, mother. Then he shot up the arrows.
00;05;06;17 - 00;05;31;27
Unknown
Man is coming by today, is he not? He is. Anna said. We will see how he does. It would be best not to get our hopes up. Pyotr. No, this one was expensive, with as much silver went into him. It might well be worth it, but it will likely be your uncle's home for us come spring. There had been two others, the Earl of Reddin, sent to Potters Village.
00;05;31;29 - 00;06;12;08
Unknown
Neither had divined why the 20 families of Ipsa could not sleep, and dreamed the same dream almost every night. Always the well, always the dead, and never any rest. The well itself was not unusual. Fisica and priest alike had prodded and poked at it, then at them. Throughout the last year. The one spreading salt over the earth, checking humors and temperatures, examining the water of the well and the other, praying in their homes and taking what confessions would be had from those who were willing and some who were not.
00;06;12;10 - 00;06;39;18
Unknown
Father Pyotr asked Icehouse for sausage. He will need some help. Pyotr went to the door, retrieving his coat, and made to set out, but his father entered. Then the door swung wide and nearly smashed into Pyotr, but he was quick. His father's arms were full, his eyes sunken and dark bags underneath them. Like so many of his men, Pyotr rushed to help him.
00;06;39;23 - 00;07;08;17
Unknown
Taking the surplus sausage and eggs in his arms down to the cellar and putting them in the cool box. When he came back up. His father was waiting for him with a hug. The tall, lean man said only good morning, son. Good morning father. Happy birthday. Pyotr went to his card and retrieved something from beneath layers of fur blankets, and seeing his mother smiling at him from the kitchen, waved at her to look elsewhere.
00;07;08;19 - 00;07;39;01
Unknown
He gave the small burlap sack in his hands to his father, who unwrapped it. An easy amusement. And how long did it takes a master craftsman to make this? His father said wryly. Such handiwork could not have been cheap. Pyotr shoved his father, who shoved lightly back at him. It is a beauty, Pyotr. Thank you. Pyotr. His father held the carved horse up to see it better in the growing morning light.
00;07;39;03 - 00;08;06;26
Unknown
The whittling was not perfect. The etching of his name, Petrus, at the horse's flank, was not masterful. But the thing altogether was something more than the sum of its parts. Do you like it? Petrov nodded. It is a paint. Yes, Pyotr said. It was difficult figuring out how to show a change of color with knife alone, so I used a bit of lemon oil and water to darken the wood.
00;08;06;28 - 00;08;34;19
Unknown
Petrova raised his eyebrows in approval. His time raising and training the Urals equestrian star, because a younger man had left an indelible affection for horses within him, and he handled the work with great care. Pyotr opened his mouth to say more, but closed it when a commotion outside their shack cut him off. Petrovitch moved to a window and unlatched the wooden shutters, letting them look out into Ibsen's square.
00;08;34;21 - 00;08;58;25
Unknown
Ipsa was not so large a village that the view from any single one of the homes surrounding the well in the square could not see it entirely. So when Ivan, the mayor of their village and representative of the earl, shuffled into view, flanked by another man, Stoney and silent. All of Ibsen was watching. The Earl's hired man was tall and broad.
00;08;58;28 - 00;09;25;13
Unknown
His head was shaved, and around it covering his eyes was a white cloth. He carried a large leather bag in his right hand, and wore what appeared to be boiled leather for armor. Hard, but with the necessary flexibility that enabled him to kneel around the well's perimeter, stand again, and turn to survey the entirety of Ipsa with a liquid grace that defied his bulky frame and attire.
00;09;25;16 - 00;09;56;16
Unknown
How he saw from beneath the white cloth over his eyes. Pyotr could only guess there were scores of marks on the armor. Pyotr could make out as the earl's man turned under the morning sun. Deep grooves. The gods only knew what could have made. Most fascinating, though, was the sword strapped to the man's back. Inlaid in its pommel was a glittering jewel, a diamond of some sort, and its handle was wrapped in wine, red leather.
00;09;56;19 - 00;10;26;14
Unknown
No handguard could be seen on it, which struck Pyotr as odd. The sheath strapped to the giant man's back was also made of hardened leather. But fashioned so that an elegant crossed stitched pattern of fabric ran up its length. That man is a hunter, Pyotr heard his father whisper. You know him? I said he was a hunter. Not that I knew him, Petrova replied briskly.
00;10;26;16 - 00;10;50;26
Unknown
Something in the way his father said the word. Let Pyotr know he did not mean the man hunted game. It was a title, an honorific describing a category of people. I have never heard you speak of them. Are they worth the coin? Pyotr asked. Petrovitch shrugged. If even half of the tales are true, he might be able to help.
00;10;50;28 - 00;11;14;24
Unknown
Pyotr thought for a moment, then said, well, this is a good thing. The Earl has sent us the right man. Why do you look so concerned, my son? If one of their number has taken the coin, it means he has deemed the situation worthy of his craft. The hunters are said not to take jobs for the pay alone, but for the good their work would do.
00;11;14;27 - 00;11;27;06
Unknown
If the cause be worthy of their vocation. Something is happening. And, my boy, if a hunter is here, it is not a good thing.
00;11;27;08 - 00;11;48;20
Unknown
Pyotr thought this over as he stared out of his home and looked upon the village, as it was not yet the deep winter, the men, women and children of ipso were about. And there were no grains or vegetables to harvest, as the fields were already frozen. The early winter slaughter had taken place the week before, and so their meat stores were full.
00;11;48;23 - 00;12;14;18
Unknown
Most men that morning either worked on their thatched roofs or were out for the morning feed of livestock. The women threading sheared and lined wool and the children old enough to help their fathers on the roofs, doing so all heard when the earl's man spoke, his voice raspy as the wind, 30, marks a yes, sir. The contract was for 30.
00;12;14;20 - 00;12;41;04
Unknown
Ivan reached into his belt and handed a leather pouch to the Earl's man, who hefted it before nodding in satisfaction. I will need some place to spend the night, one with a view of the world. Tell your men and women not to be alarmed if they hear me making rounds. After the son has set. To Porter's amazement, it was Petra of his own father's voice, loud and clear, that next filled the square.
00;12;41;06 - 00;13;05;08
Unknown
You will have our attic, sir. We have the room for it, and a sight straight for that. Well, the earl's man turned his bound gaze to the sound of Petra's voice, and nodded once before returning his attention to the well. He knelt and seemed to smell it. His face was less than a hand's breadth away from the centuries old stone.
00;13;05;10 - 00;13;31;06
Unknown
He tasted the morning dew upon it with a finger and scowled. Standing. He then peered over the lip of the well and down into its depths. He stared a good while, long enough for Ivan to shift uncomfortably at his side. It opens up into a cistern. Ivan opened and closed his mouth, leaning back and frowning at the larger man.
00;13;31;09 - 00;13;58;26
Unknown
Yes. But how? Well, yes. It opens up well below the water line have only explored its depths when the water recedes in the summer. Ivan shook his head. The water table is too high, sir. At most it falls several feet during the summer months. But that is all. He seemed to realize how close to the well he stood, and moved a pace backwards.
00;13;58;29 - 00;14;25;27
Unknown
Where has he been getting its water? We carted in from our sister village to the east. How far? Not ten miles. Thank you Ivan. After a moment, realizing he had been dismissed, went back the way he had come the rest of the morning and early afternoon. Pyotr helped his father replace molding, thinning, or simply absent sheaves of straw on their roof.
00;14;25;29 - 00;14;51;26
Unknown
But he also watch the earl's man work round and round. The large man went about the well for several hours before starting a new line of inspection around each of the shacks of Ipsa. He circled them one by one, and eventually, after knocking, entered the conversations that took place inside. Of course, Pyotr could not hear, but it was fairly certain what they would be.
00;14;51;28 - 00;15;18;29
Unknown
And just before the sun had begun to set below the bare birch and maple tree line that evening. He was proven right. The earl's man sat at their dining table opposite Petrova bowl of lamb stew, steaming into his salt and pepper beard. He still wore his leather armor, and the smell of sweet cleaning oils filled their home. The size of the man reminded Pyotr of a bear.
00;15;19;01 - 00;15;47;05
Unknown
The stillness in which he sat also unnerved him, for it seemed to him a man with such giant size should not comport himself so gracefully. Every spoon of stew the earl's man brought to his lips was done without leaning forward. Every bite of baked rye was precise and measured after each take of soup. When the spoons purpose was suspended, the earl's man placed it next to his bowl where he had found it.
00;15;47;08 - 00;16;20;03
Unknown
To Pyotr, it seemed the earl's man handled the spoon, the bowl, and the bread with as much care as he handled his sword, which now rested on the hearth of the fireplace. And then there were the man's eyes, or lack thereof. Still the man wore his blindfold, and had made no effort to remove it. Since dinner began, his eyesight seemed unimpeded, however, as utensils, soup, bread, and chair were handled by the man as if no cover were over his eyes at all.
00;16;20;05 - 00;16;27;09
Unknown
When the fading rhythm of dinnerware signaled the meals end, the earl's man spoke.
00;16;27;12 - 00;17;00;06
Unknown
How long have the dreams been coming to you? As long as your sleep and spoiled? Petrovitch answered in a steady tone, and Pyotr was caught up with a pride that no tremor of uncertainty was in his father's voice. A year now the entire village, the earl's man, held up a hand stopping Petroff, not the village. You and your family did your dreams begin at the same time as everyone else's?
00;17;00;08 - 00;17;23;13
Unknown
Petroff nodded. It is hard to give an exact time, sir. No one came and admitted it outright. We do not know when exactly it started, only that our formal request to the Earl was sent out a year and one month ago. Your dreams are the same as the others. A dead relative helping you draw something from the well.
00;17;23;16 - 00;17;32;09
Unknown
Petroff nodded. Then, too, did Pyotr and Anna, as the Earl's man turned his covered eyes to regard each.
00;17;32;11 - 00;17;56;19
Unknown
One year ago. Can you remember anything of significance around that time that occurred? Any violent deaths? Your village seems peaceful. You get along well with each other. You suspect some specter, Petrovitch answered. When nothing came from the Earl's man, Petrovitch continued.
00;17;56;21 - 00;18;23;01
Unknown
Jonas Boy died just before winter last year, but that was a terrible accident. His steed fell upon him, the ride up to pasture, proper burial? Petroff nodded. Then, suddenly, remembering the large man's blindfold, opened his mouth to assent, but was interrupted once more. I will retire now. Thank you for your hospitality.
00;18;23;03 - 00;18;51;19
Unknown
The two large man rose to dismiss himself, but before he could go, Pyotr asked, May we have your name, sir? Petrov flinched, and Anna stiffened. Names are powerful things, boy. What need have you of it? Only to call you by it, sir, I swear the people of Ipsa should know the name of the man who might give them rest.
00;18;51;21 - 00;19;28;21
Unknown
Just show. My name is Igor. Well met. Igor, I thank you for helping our village. Igor gave a small nod, then took the stairs leading to the attic. He. It was a fitful night of sleep for Pyotr, at least more fitful than was to be expected. So when Igor descended the stairs from the attic and opened the front door, Pyotr was wide awake.
00;19;28;24 - 00;19;57;04
Unknown
He kept his eyes closed and tried to make his breathing steady as Igor passed. When he heard the man close the door behind him, Pyotr shot up and raced to the window. He quietly unlatched it, and from the smallest crack watched as Igor worked. The man did much the same as he had earlier that day. He circled the well and inspected it before making rounds about each of the homes of Ipsa, only this time in between each journey to a shack.
00;19;57;06 - 00;20;27;21
Unknown
He returned to the well. Pyotr watch to the better part of an hour until he awoke with a start at Igor's return. The large man froze when he saw the boy awake and staring. You found something, Pyotr said, dumbly, rubbing at his eyes. And perhaps it was the blurriness of slumber with a long time weariness of its absence that made him speak so you cannot sleep?
00;20;27;23 - 00;20;54;13
Unknown
Pyotr shrugged. I heard you come down earlier. You found something, a clue. Igor's eyebrows raised, and though they did not rest above eyes, Pyotr could see the expression was magnified to a degree that nearly made him laugh. Each time you came back to the well, you were not doing so without cause you found some sort of trail, something we've not been able to see ourselves.
00;20;54;15 - 00;21;21;13
Unknown
What makes you say that? Igor's voice lost none of its flatness, but there was the slightest hint of curiosity to it. Pyotr shrugged again. I could tell some new purpose drove you, I suppose you seemed more interested in what you were seeing. Bending a little at the waist. What were you seeing? What did you find? Igor considered for a moment, then pointed at the window.
00;21;21;13 - 00;21;36;21
Unknown
Pyotr had been spying out of here. If you cannot sleep, your father would have you make yourself useful. No. Yes. We will take watch together.
00;21;36;23 - 00;22;04;22
Unknown
Igor made his way upstairs to the attic, and when he came back down, he had doffed his armor and wore simple linen trousers and shirt. Both had corded ropes of leather used to adjust their tightness. And to Pyotr, the garments seemed religious in nature. Not quite what a priest would wear, but clothes. Igor placed a chair from the dining table next to Pyotr and said, I can say this for certain.
00;22;04;25 - 00;22;32;20
Unknown
Something is coming out of that. Well at night. Each night it makes the trek to one home. Slowly then surely, it posts at one of the windows and stays motionless for many hours. It route to the spot. But what happens next? I do not know, Pyotr. His eyes widened. What is to be done? I think it is aware of my presence.
00;22;32;23 - 00;23;00;27
Unknown
It will likely not come out tonight. I will have to wait it by sleeping during the day and standing vigil the nights. Of course I do not know when last it fed, so the wait may be a long one. Well, what manner of beast is it? Asked Pyotr. I do not know. Its trail is peculiar. It has significant mass.
00;23;01;00 - 00;23;31;07
Unknown
It has left the barest hints of its coming and going shines upon some stone on the square. But in its wake is something else. A faint memory of its passage. An emotional scent. Pyotr turned his gaze from the well and studied Igor, his manners forgotten, sir, how is it you can see things with your eyes covered? Surely a smart boy like you has noticed.
00;23;31;07 - 00;23;56;15
Unknown
There is more than one way to see. Pyotr nodded after a moment. My grandmother, when she was alive, could always tell when a frost was coming. Most feel it in their bones, but she could feel it somewhere deeper. She said we teased her for it, but she was never wrong. Not once. We said she could see the weather like others see the coming and going of the sun.
00;23;56;18 - 00;24;27;13
Unknown
Yes, yes, that's it, Igor responded. I see, using other faculties this creature. Can you kill it? My people will be glad to finally know the cause of their weariness. No, Igor said sharply, half turning to Pyotr, then more softly. No, Pyotr, say nothing for the time being. Simply knowing the cause of your ailment does not guarantee you will do what it takes to cure it.
00;24;27;16 - 00;25;04;00
Unknown
Healing is often quite painful. Creatures like this exposing themselves so long to a host they can imprint on their victims. It is possible even knowing of its existence could cause a reaction. Why then, did you tell me? Pyotr asked me or said nothing, only stared at the boy waiting. Oh, oh, you used me. You used me to test what would happen if I knew of the creature.
00;25;04;03 - 00;25;39;26
Unknown
Igor nodded. Did anything happen? Pyotr asked, looking over his shoulder. No, I do not think so, Igor said with a soft smile. Still, I think it prudent to refrain from mentioning the creature to your village. It may be that some of you are more affected than others. I understand, Pyotr said he did not know whether to be insulted at the casual use of his person, or filled with pride at being involved in a hunter's work, so we plowed ahead.
00;25;39;28 - 00;26;07;05
Unknown
Why is it here? The thing in the well? Why is it come? What is it? How do you already know so much of its nature? Igor opened its mouth to respond to Pyotr question, but instead turns to regard him once more to Pyotr. He felt weighed in that moment, as if Igor was to administer some medicine, and was determining how much Pyotr could handle.
00;26;07;07 - 00;26;30;05
Unknown
Igor took a deep breath and asked, what did you have me tell you the truth, boy, or would you rather have a simple answer? Truth? Igor nodded. I will speak once, but you must listen twice. I will listen.
00;26;30;07 - 00;26;41;05
Unknown
Igor adjusted the weight on his chair and assumed an almost regal demeanor, squaring his shoulders and sitting up straight. Then he began.
00;26;41;07 - 00;27;13;06
Unknown
When the world was first made, creation was at its most primal, most alive. It was chaotic. The movers, those unseen originators of creation. The gods were reckless with that initial orgiastic abandon. Things were made without care, without rhyme or reason as to how they would co-mingle into an existence with things like you and me, people.
00;27;13;08 - 00;27;44;04
Unknown
As the ages passed, the gods grew wiser. They discerned more readily the world they wanted to make and the people they wanted in it. But their firstborns, those creatures and places and realms made with such recklessness could not simply be undone. They persisted, and some persist to this day, the passage of time powerless against them. And its these unnamed places and things.
00;27;44;04 - 00;28;20;26
Unknown
My order pursues not only monsters, but passages into places just beyond the limits of our perception. I've seen deep places, Pyotr. I have been to cities so far below our feet, and so old. Well, I will only say that I think what is here in apes without us is something from out of one of those deep places come to the surface through chance or from flight against a deeper and more powerful.
00;28;20;26 - 00;28;48;14
Unknown
So. When Pyotr said nothing. Igor turned to find the boy had fallen asleep next to him. He nudged him once, but the boy was well, and truly under. Igor gently shoved him over onto his card and placed a fur blanket over him, then returned to his watch, eyes never moving from the well.
00;28;48;17 - 00;29;08;20
Unknown
The next morning, Pyotr did not see. Igor did not see him the rest of the day. In fact, as he remember the large man's intent was to slumber while the sun was out. Fyodor spent the day with his father, hauling grain from the stores a mile to the north, then splitting the cured wood saved from the winter previous.
00;29;08;22 - 00;29;33;02
Unknown
The day after was much the same, Pyotr missing Igor by the man's adjusted schedule only that day when he and his father returned from the grain stores. Pyotr was gritty and exhausted from the effort and from his sleeplessness. That night, his mother used the grain to make hot cakes in their fireplace, and then dipped into the leftover lamb stew from the nights before while they ate.
00;29;33;04 - 00;30;03;14
Unknown
Igor climbed down from the attic and joined them, saying not, but a word of thanks to Anna for the meal. Pyotr wanted to talk to the man about their conversation, but could find no way to do so without disobeying his admonition against spreading word of the thing in the well. Finishing his meal before everyone else, Pyotr retired to his cot, where his weary form slumped into it and sleep found him even as his head hit the pillow.
00;30;03;17 - 00;30;33;29
Unknown
Pyotr filter. Someone was shoving him rough. Not rude, but adamant. Pyotr, wake up bleary. Pyotr half rose from his car to find Igor standing over him. His armor was on again and his sword was hitched to his back. Grab your coat and put your boots on, boy, you must come with me. Pyotr battled his fatigue and sudden fear.
00;30;34;02 - 00;30;59;09
Unknown
What is the matter? Where are we going? Come the large man turned and opened the door to the shack and went outside. As Pyotr put on his boots and his coat, he wondered if he should wake his parents, but decided against it when he made it outside. Igor was waiting for him. Come. Igor set off at a brisk walk.
00;30;59;09 - 00;31;23;09
Unknown
Only the large man led Pyotr away from the well. Away from the village. Pyotr held his coat close to him, and despite the biting cold of the night, a feverish wave swept over him. When they had walked a quarter of an hour. Igor stopped and turned to face Pyotr, who by now had grown anxious with suspicion. Why have we come here, Igor?
00;31;23;11 - 00;31;49;00
Unknown
Of what help can I be? Igor did not answer. Pyotr. Pyotr only knew next. And he lay face down in the frigid dirt, pain blossoming from his jawline. He noticed slowly that his arms were pinned behind his back. And what must have been Igor's knee was planted squarely below them, keeping them down. He heard the man begin speaking, but it was in no language.
00;31;49;00 - 00;32;17;20
Unknown
He knew the words low and sonorous. He tried opening his mouth to protest, to scream and shout. But no shout came. His mouth would not open. The sensation, the feeling of his body not obeying him stirred some memory. But before he could dwell on the matter, his body moved of its own accord. He shifted, twisting violently and upward, sending Igor tumbling off him with a strength previously unknown to him.
00;32;17;22 - 00;32;45;09
Unknown
He thought to smile at the strength of his own defense to spew curses at Igor. But again his thoughts, his intents and wishes did not translate themselves into any meaningful action of his body. Without knowing how or why he charged at Igor, it was only just then, regaining his feet savagely, he flew at the man, growling, hissing, scraping and biting, adding his own grooves to the hunter's leather armor.
00;32;45;11 - 00;33;03;25
Unknown
He gnashed with his teeth in a way he had never done before, and kept up his assault until at last, a rounded kick to the side of his head sent him sprawling back to the ground once more. Igor was on him, pinning his arms to his back, and this time using the full weight of his body to keep Pyotr pinned.
00;33;03;27 - 00;33;30;15
Unknown
Igor began his incantation once again, only this time he produced some kind of salt from a pouch at his waist. He smeared a handful of the coarse material across Peter's face, and to him the smell mint and cinnamon was pleasant, but his body reacted as if it had been stung. His back arched impossibly until he felt the bones of his spine begin to pop.
00;33;30;21 - 00;33;54;05
Unknown
His limbs go taut. The smelling salt was in his eyes, nose and mouth, and he felt something there within, inside the flesh of his own face, writhe in agony. Pyotr wanted to scream in earnest now, not only at the horror of the moment, not only at his body moving of its own will, but at the incredible pain he felt behind his eyes.
00;33;54;08 - 00;34;19;26
Unknown
He knew without knowing how the pain's source, its form, even its stench. Pyotr felt something leaking out from his nasal passage down into his throat, with Igor's weight suddenly absent, reaching into his mouth to pull out it. Surprised at his ability to do so. Its surface was slippery, but grooves ran along its sides, and he found this helped his fingers find purchase.
00;34;19;28 - 00;34;47;12
Unknown
He pinched as hard as he could, even using his other hand to shove some of the salts from his face into his mouth. It might have been his imagination, but he thought he heard the faintest trill of agony from the thing as the salt touched it with one final wrenching pull, Pyotr leaned his head back as his hands pulled out and away, taking with them the long form of a writhing eel.
00;34;47;15 - 00;35;08;15
Unknown
It was black as midnight, and its skin was coated in a thick layer of mucus that made it difficult to grasp. The hideous thing reeled in Pyotr grasp, attempting to nip at him with a mouth filled to the brim with small teeth that curved inward. A sight alone made Peter want to vomit, but he held his sick down.
00;35;08;18 - 00;35;35;22
Unknown
He saw the thing's bulbous eyes, and knew at once it was the very creature he had seen in his dream. With an egg. It's a smaller, perhaps, but without a doubt the same. What is it? Pyotr demanded. He meant to scream, but his voice came out in a Flemish rasp. Hold it down, Igor said. Pyotr placed the eel on the frozen ground and planted a knee near its head.
00;35;35;24 - 00;36;13;02
Unknown
What now? Igor reached into the pouch at his waist and retrieved more of the salts from before, and Pyotr was surprised when he felt his body flinch, almost as if to launch the man again. Igor noticed two, but only nodded after effects. Boy, it imprinted on you, just like I said. Pyotr knew it was true, even as he pinned the dreadful thing under his knee, a part of his mind reeled with compassion, urging him to take pity on the creature below, urging him to imagine the pain it was in disgusting.
00;36;13;05 - 00;36;52;22
Unknown
Pyotr held out a hand to Igor. Igor poured a handful of salts into it, and Pyotr slowly dribbled some methodically along the creature's body, taking his time. There's the sense of mint and cinnamon sprung about in the cold air. Pyotr felt the faintest sensation of searing heat along his back, an echo of the eagle's pain. He realized when the horror underfoot was still, when it no longer struggled to rise free, and the smelling salts had dried out its flesh to that of a desiccated worm, Pyotr fell onto his back and looked up at the stars.
00;36;52;24 - 00;37;24;29
Unknown
It seemed to him those cold lights in the heavens mocked him, answering his unspoken question. What did you expect? They said, the world is old and full of mysteries. How did you know? Pyotr asked aloud, chest heaving somewhere nearby. Igor replied, I have seen the creature from the well. It emerged last night. It positioned itself outside of your home.
00;37;25;02 - 00;37;52;18
Unknown
It must have been famished to disregard my presence, or baiting me to strike. As the hours passed, nothing happened. I could not discern its purpose until finally a string unwound itself from the window of your dining room the whole way to your car, and then another string to the opening below the door to your parents bedroom. They were white as milk and gossamer thin.
00;37;52;21 - 00;38;21;11
Unknown
And perhaps, had I not my faculties of vision, I would not have seen them. It stopped before your eyes and met with the creature you just destroyed. This, I think, is how it feeds. Igor came to the dead eel and knelt to examine it more closely. The serpents take sustenance. Some essence from you, and transfer it along the white silk back to its parent.
00;38;21;13 - 00;38;48;08
Unknown
Fyodor half rose to wrap his arms around his knees. We must act. Then we must kill that creature. We must free Ipsa. As you freed me. Igor shook his head as he sat down next to Pyotr. I only just managed to restrain you, boy. Something wicked lend strength to these creatures, and I doubt I could restrain even two of those in Epsilon without killing them.
00;38;48;11 - 00;39;15;26
Unknown
Pyotr added. Without killing them. Igor agreed. Then what? Igor took a deep breath, and sitting so close, Pyotr heard the leather of his armor creak and groan. We will out! Wait! The creature once more. However, we do not know how it will counter our attack. So I will guard you the night, and you will guard me for days.
00;39;15;29 - 00;39;43;11
Unknown
Until such time as it emerges to feed again, feign some sickness that will keep you home for the next span of days. When we have it in the open, we strike. I understand, said Pyotr. So you think by killing the creature in the well, these here? Pyotr gestured at the eel on the ground before them things will be killed as a whole, as when striking the head of a snake.
00;39;43;13 - 00;40;07;06
Unknown
I do. Fyodor scoffed and shook his head. How is it survived for so long, and none of us seen it? I cannot bring myself to imagine one of us would not stumble upon it some night in passing. What does it look like? Igor gestured to the dead eel this time. Think of this thing as the creature's own soldier within your bodies.
00;40;07;08 - 00;40;33;27
Unknown
The parent likely sends them messages of some kind, commanding all of you to slumber. When it emerges from the well, you would not see it because you were not awake to see it. That would also explain your dreams and their similarities. As for its appearance, I only saw it as it retreated into the world. It is large, Pyotr, very large, but also slow.
00;40;33;29 - 00;40;40;22
Unknown
Igor blinked several times before continuing, as if he had a mind not to.
00;40;40;24 - 00;41;06;09
Unknown
The creature's flesh was pale, almost so pale as to see through it. It resembled neither man nor beast. It walked upon six legs, long and sharp as it went. I have heard of such things. Pyotr offered my uncle's to the east, often catch fish and other creatures from the deep of the ocean, just as you have described them, pale when held up to the sun.
00;41;06;09 - 00;41;31;27
Unknown
Strange things. Pyotr stopped when he saw Igor was shaking his head. That is not the same. The creature was pale because it is a thing from the old world. It is here, but also not here. It is not the same as you are. I, Pyotr Damons from the Old World, often have one foot in our realm and another in theirs.
00;41;31;29 - 00;42;10;01
Unknown
Pyotr was having difficulty understanding Igor's words. Igor must have noticed, for he continued, what is most important is understanding that its impulses are the same as any beasts. It hungers at rest. It can be outmaneuvered. Why did you not seize the opportunity to attack it? Last night Pyotr asked. Only a fool begins a war without any knowledge of his enemy, Igor replied, I have discovered to night that when threatened, the creatures minions within you can control your actions.
00;42;10;03 - 00;42;57;23
Unknown
Had I not waited, I likely would be dead. And even your village still within its control. What now? Then Igor rose to his feet and, turning towards Ipsa, said, we make for home and way to strike. As I said before, I will take first watch me not knowing how long it would take the creature from the world to emerge again, Fyodor had a mind to begin his foe infirmity in earnest the next morning when he awoke, but found there was no need, the absence of the evil had left a lingering ache behind his eyes, and a terrible fever overtook him.
00;42;57;25 - 00;43;29;17
Unknown
By the time his parents had risen for the new day, Pyotr was well and truly ill. His mother set to an herbal tea while his father laid cooled bandages across his forehead. Both gave him concerned looks as they prepared for the day, but after convincing them it was not a severe matter, Pyotr had the shock to himself on unsteady legs, his jaw, head and eyes protesting, Pyotr rose from his cart and climbed the steps leading to the attic.
00;43;29;19 - 00;44;15;05
Unknown
He gently prodded open the catch with the top of his head and pivoted to face Igor's back, where he lay motionless, save the steady rise and fall of the man's shoulders. There was a vulnerability to sleep no matter who passes beyond her doors, and it disturbed Pyotr to see Igor rest after the night. Before. Igor and himself were the only two in the village to understand their predicament in its entirety, to have one half of Ipswich's hope exposed filled Pyotr with unease, and so he resolved to guard the attic with all his might, only leaving his post when his parents returned briefly for their mid-day meal.
00;44;15;07 - 00;44;42;03
Unknown
And so the days passed four in total, with Pyotr watching over Igor, the Days and Igor. After Pyotr the night before. The creature next came without the eel in his head. Pyotr had nothing to keep him asleep. When what crawled out of the well made its way to his family's shack, no sight or sound alerted Pyotr to its presence.
00;44;42;10 - 00;45;19;04
Unknown
Instead, he was awoken by the overpowering aroma of the land. Just before rainfall, he lay perfectly still. He faced the dining room window and did not have to check to know that Igor was behind him, watching over him. As per their arrangement. The thought gave him comfort. An unknowable span of time passed before Pyotr eyes caught the thinnest strand of white filament work its way under the cell of their window.
00;45;19;06 - 00;45;45;24
Unknown
It was just as thin as Igor had described, and its tentative, jerking dance filled Pyotr with disgust. Down the plastered wall of the shack. It went across the dirt floor and then up the leg of a chair near Pyotr, caught where was Igor? Why was he not acting? The creature was here. It was time. Pyotr wondered if he should move.
00;45;45;26 - 00;46;03;15
Unknown
The ghostly filament. Might reach him, only to find its minion missing. Then what? Pyotr felt his heart hammering in his chest and heard his pulse in his ears. His breathing quickened, and now where had the filament gone?
00;46;03;18 - 00;46;30;29
Unknown
Just as Pyotr readied himself to rise, a blur shot past him so quick it took a moment for him to understand that Igor had just barreled over the cart and shouldered his way into the night through the window, the wooden shutters shattered at the impact, sending shrapnel flying and dashing the silence of the night to pieces. Pyotr rushed to the ruined window to find Igor in a mad dance with a monstrosity.
00;46;31;01 - 00;47;05;26
Unknown
Igor's description had been apt, nearly double his height. Igor battled the gelatinous mass of flesh, sloughed of it fell away as Igor swung and parried and danced to safety around the creature. But several things confused Pyotr. What was it? Igor parried and danced away from the crater itself, barely moved steadily. Slowly it made its way back towards the well, which not one of its six insect like legs moving to attack Igor.
00;47;05;28 - 00;47;33;11
Unknown
And still Igor dodged, as if hell itself was at his heels. And how was it? The creature was unaffected by such mighty blows as Igor struck it? Pyotr. His first question was answered when the creature, already vague in proportion, doubled over and half. Igor made a drastic leap backwards for safety and found it breaking down the front door of the shack closest to his own in the process.
00;47;33;13 - 00;48;09;07
Unknown
At first, there was no apparent reason for such drastic evasion. Then Pyotr saw an entire segment of the stone in front of that shack, suddenly lacerated with deep scores of sharp lines. It had happened so fast, and according to no obvious principle of cause and effect, that Pyotr could only stare dumbfounded. What was he missing? As Igor emerged, streaking out of the Georgian shack and bearing down on the monster once more, the light of the moon revealed something.
00;48;09;09 - 00;48;39;29
Unknown
Each time the creature attacked, the thinnest of reflections glinted in the air. The attack was not an unseen one. Pyotr realized Igor was indeed fighting for his life. The attacks were simply coming so quick with speed, and from so fine of instruments that Pyotr eyes could barely track them. It was the filaments the creature used the very same that had been in his home they world, and lashed out at Igor was such fury.
00;48;40;04 - 00;49;02;28
Unknown
Pyotr knew he had completely misunderstood the creature's nature, taking it slow pace back to the well as evidence of some perfunctory mood about it that did not exist at all. It was savage. It was terrible. Pyotr climbed out of his home's ruined window, not knowing how to help Igor, only that he ought to be close at hand should the man need him.
00;49;03;00 - 00;49;31;20
Unknown
He watched as Igor struck the creature once more and world away, as a particularly wide counterattack reached for him again. Pale flesh fell off the monster, but it did not bleed, only veered slightly away from Igor, away from the well, and it was corralled by Igor to do so. Pyotr looked to his left and right, thinking perhaps to throw something at the creature to distract it, and so did not see that Igor had in fact thrown something toward him.
00;49;31;23 - 00;49;55;27
Unknown
A metallic clang made Pyotr jump, and he saw Igor sword shining in the moonlight not two paces away, diamond pommel gleaming in the night and the long leaf blade shape of it inviting him. Confused, Pyotr looked to Igor, who said aloud, the sword is of no use to me. The fight has gone on too long. It is trying to call for help.
00;49;55;29 - 00;50;22;22
Unknown
Steal your heart. A boy. Pyotr reached down and picked up the blade. It felt good in his hand, a bit large, but the leather grip seemed to him a welcoming thing, still warm from where Igor had held it. He looked at Igor, wondering how the man meant to defend himself or even harm the creature without any weapon. To his amazement, Igor was no longer dodging.
00;50;22;25 - 00;50;55;08
Unknown
No longer leaping to safety, he stood still between the well and the creature, his hands locked in a symbol at his navel, and he spoke words of a language Pyotr recognized as the same as he had spoken over himself. Whatever it was Igor did, it was proving effective. Despite his stillness. Nothing the creature did reached him. There was a bright shimmering in the air now places where the white filament of the monster met some protective barrier around Igor, and where the two met.
00;50;55;14 - 00;51;15;12
Unknown
Orange light glowed and lit the square of Ipsa in spectacular fashion. The creature began making a low hissing sound as Igor continued his verbal assault and hope swelled within Pyotr until the villagers came.
00;51;15;15 - 00;51;41;27
Unknown
The first was the Georgians, him and Anita, and little Amelia. Some part of Pyotr knew what was being asked of him, but he could not bring himself to prepare. His arms stood still at his sides, and the tip of Igor's sword scraped the stone of the square at his feet. He looked round for help. For someone with answers.
00;51;42;00 - 00;52;15;07
Unknown
Surely an adult was watching to give him guidance. How had it come to this? Pyotr remembered the star's words. Then the world is old and full of mystery, where once he might have found that sentiment enchanting, he thought, then it might not be such a good thing at all. The Georgians advanced. Pyotr looked to Igor, but his attention was solely on the creature from the well.
00;52;15;12 - 00;52;46;06
Unknown
The man's body was trembling. Whatever unseen contest was taking place between him and it. Igor was clearly winning, but he was in no position to defend himself. There was the creature, then Igor, then Pyotr, then the well, and now the Georgians. They hunched their shoulders in unison, while lowering themselves into an inhuman gait, and it was clear they intended to flank Igor.
00;52;46;08 - 00;53;19;03
Unknown
Pyotr sidestepped to cut them off, placing himself between them and Igor, and swung wildly with the man's sword. The three came up short, studied him for a moment, then pounced as one. What happened next? Pyotr could not explain. He fully expected to be torn apart by the same rabid ferocity he himself had displayed while under the influence of the Black Eel, but the sword in his hand leapt forward without warning and dealt death.
00;53;19;06 - 00;53;50;24
Unknown
It cut through flesh and bone alike, as if neither consisted of more than the thinnest strand of wool. When the moment was over, the Georgians lay decimated at his feet, cut and broken and bloody little Emilia! Pyotr cried out in horror he made to release his hold of the sword, but his grip held fast, and the pommel glowed a sickly white, where the diamond was.
00;53;50;27 - 00;54;16;10
Unknown
Pyotr cursed as he struggled to pry his right hands, fingers from around Igor sword with those of his left, hating his body for how often it seemed to be betraying him. As of late, tears clouded his vision, and through them Pyotr saw more of Ipsa coming. It was not all of them, thank the gods, but perhaps 2 or 3 families, maybe ten villagers in total.
00;54;16;12 - 00;54;19;07
Unknown
Pyotr ran.
00;54;19;09 - 00;54;44;24
Unknown
Around the well he went, making three circles in total, screaming and waving the sword in his right hand like a madman attempting to gain the attention of the villagers. He did not need to kill them, he thought. Just distract them long enough for Igor to finish his work. His antics proved successful. Not a one of the possessed villagers attacked Igor, but instead saw his display and assumed stances.
00;54;44;24 - 00;55;15;03
Unknown
Like the Georgians had and ran after him. Whatever aspects of itself, the creature from the well lent the eels the possessive force within the villagers. Intelligence did not seem to be one of them, and for this Pyotr was grateful. But soon he realized he had another problem the villagers were much too fast. Even as he led them away from Igor, they closed in at a rate Pyotr knew meant his end.
00;55;15;06 - 00;55;43;18
Unknown
An idea came to him then he made his way to the Georgian shack, nearly sprawling to the floor. As he crossed the threshold of the front door Igor had destroyed earlier, he turned immediately and went to the kitchen. Unflattering. The smaller window used to let out smoke above the stove and tried to fit through his heart. Nearly stopped when his hips caught in the frame, but with an adjustment he managed to squeeze through.
00;55;43;21 - 00;56;23;12
Unknown
Not a moment later, there came the clamor of bodies shoving to reach him through the window, and he turned to find his plan had worked. The villagers were powerful and fast, but not so coordinated as to articulate which should pass through the window in pursuit first, nor even how they should do it. Three pressed against the frame so forcefully, legs and arms extending outward through it, reaching for him that Pyotr heard the cracking of the wood around it, thanking the gods for the reprieve he ran before any could follow, and whether by chance or an act of malice by the creature, he did not know.
00;56;23;14 - 00;56;55;28
Unknown
But when Pyotr returned to Igor to urge him to hurry his ritual and finish two more of its own, and joined the fray, only to Petrovich and Anna. Pyotr watched his parents emerge from their homes, stumbling into the square, their hot breath showing as vapor in the cold air, their eyes unseeing. Then, as one his mother and father rushed towards Igor, Pyotr moved.
00;56;56;00 - 00;57;22;02
Unknown
He had to run at breakneck speed to cut them off in time, but he went across their path, swinging the sword as he did so, once again yelling as loud as he was able. Again, the diversion worked and his parents rounded on him, leading them away from Igor. Pyotr made a wide circle around the square, doing his best to ignore the biting stitch at his side and the nearness of his parents breathing behind him.
00;57;22;05 - 00;57;50;23
Unknown
He was slowing. He was pumping his legs as hard as he was able, but his breath was coming in heavier and the stitch in his belly was worsening. When he was close enough to his home, Pyotr made a straight line for it, intending to do exactly what had been done with the others. But no sooner had he slowed to turn after entering and he was hit from the side, his feet fully leaving the ground, and the sound of biting teeth filling his ears.
00;57;50;25 - 00;58;23;16
Unknown
Pyotr did not know if it was his father or mother. He felt no fear for his life as he fell. It was only a terrible, piercing sadness. He knew before he hit the ground that whichever of the two had hit him, they would be dead. The magic of the sword in his right hand, potent and terribly lethal. Pyotr crashed in a heap onto the floor of his parents bedroom, where the still form of his mother landed upon him.
00;58;23;18 - 00;58;54;16
Unknown
Her eyes stared lifelessly over his shoulder, and the sword Pyotr was growing to hate protruded from her back. No. Two. No! Pyotr screamed. He flailed, shrugging Anna off himself even as tears fell from his eyes. Pyotr looked upon his mother's face and felt only that something was profoundly wrong with the situation. This could not be happening. Just that evening he had eaten dinner with her.
00;58;54;19 - 00;59;25;12
Unknown
Her face was not supposed to be so still. The smile lines at the corner of her mouth were signs of life, not death. Pyotr reached out a hand to touch her face, but came up short as he noticed his father's form filling the doorway. Expecting him to attack, Pyotr shuffled as far as he might to the opposite wall, eyes wide with fear, as he did his best to ignore the sound of the sword withdrawing from his mother's chest.
00;59;25;15 - 00;59;54;13
Unknown
But no attack came. His father only stared at something on the ground. There seemed to be a war within the man, because Petra's face twitched, and though his body made to walk forward, something held him still, sword arm trembling, and held it outright. Pyotr darted a glance at what his father I'd. It was the paint. It was the horse he had carved.
00;59;54;15 - 01;00;03;00
Unknown
It lay on its side where it had fallen from the bedside table. Fyodor looked back to Petra's.
01;00;03;02 - 01;00;29;09
Unknown
Father. A small smile broke out upon Petra's face, and for just a moment that night the sun was bright and shining, and the winter was gone. And there was only spring. He looked to Pyotr, and unless it was his imagination, gave a small nod.
01;00;29;12 - 01;00;38;10
Unknown
And his eyes changed, became unseeing, and he lunged forward.
01;00;38;12 - 01;01;29;08
Unknown
Only with no evidence to substantiate his claim that he had rid himself of the supposed creature from the well. The villagers response to finding almost two whole families slaughtered at the point of a sword the next morning cast a dubious light upon Igor. Pyotr vouched for him and held witness before the congregated village, but the villagers saw the grief in the boy's eyes and noted his ragged appearance and could not bring themselves to believe his fantastical story, a sword that wielded itself a monster only half present, and the villagers themselves possessed by evil worms.
01;01;29;10 - 01;01;55;24
Unknown
It was coincidental at best, that many of the villagers had reported waking to a terrible stench that morning and vomiting in their beds. Also that some of them had awoken in homes that were not their own, and the deep lines cut overnight into the stone of the square. Who could say? Certainly it was not the work of the alleged horror out of the well.
01;01;55;27 - 01;02;17;03
Unknown
When the din of those gathered had reached some familiar aspect to Igor of either volume or shade of rage, he upended the pouch of coin Ivan had given him to take the job out onto the square, the coins sending the chiming peal of precious metals into the morning.
01;02;17;05 - 01;02;50;29
Unknown
You have paid enough for my services, was all the big man said. He turned and left, and though some of his men moved to stop him, its women held them at bay. Only shout of retribution and promised justice followed Igor out of the village. Igor found Pyotr at the edge of Ibsen, where the river main stood frozen, and its turn toward the sea to the east marked the northern border of the Urals lands.
01;02;51;01 - 01;03;04;25
Unknown
The boy said nothing as Igor approached and sat next to him. The silence between them lasted until the wind died and the occasional groaning of the river main ceased.
01;03;04;28 - 01;03;40;12
Unknown
My parents would be alive had you never come. We would be sleepless, tired, scared that they would be alive. Their light would still be in my life. Igor nodded. That is a fair assessment, I suppose. Then it is a matter of deciding whether the life you had was worth living. Worth living? Pyotr asked, not bothering to conceal his outrage, his indignation plain on his face.
01;03;40;14 - 01;04;16;13
Unknown
How dare you! Any life is worth living, is it not? My mother and father, I am sure, would think so many are they who have extinguished the light of their own lives rather than become slaves, or in this matter, food. Igor turned to look at Pyotr with his cloth bound stare. Eventually, he said slowly, having sucked your village dry, leaving each and every one of you unable to rise from your bed, just husks.
01;04;16;16 - 01;04;46;28
Unknown
That monster would have chosen another village to plunder. And on and on. So ask yourself if that is what your mother and father would have wanted for you, or do you suppose they would have gladly given their lives so you might live free, as might those down the line? Not yet plagued by the creature. There is a nobility and a good death, Pyotr.
01;04;47;00 - 01;05;11;21
Unknown
And there are many worse things than it. But I killed them with my own hands. Fyodor choked back a sob. Then he broke. I killed them. There you go. Let the boy weep a long while and did not correct them when he spoke next. His tone was gentle.
01;05;11;23 - 01;05;36;21
Unknown
There is much I would have prepared you for had I not underestimated the enemy. I believe the engagement would be quick. I did not expect you would have need of the sword. I was wrong on both counts. And you have suffered for my mistake. I can no more make up for that than I can bring your parents back from the dead boy.
01;05;36;23 - 01;05;49;24
Unknown
Igor stood slowly, and, offering a hand down to Pyotr, said, but perhaps with time I can help you bear this grief.
01;05;49;27 - 01;06;35;11
Unknown
Pyotr stared at Igor's hand, and would have spoken. But the wind gathered strength, and any words uttered might have been made lesser for it. Indeed, he knew deep down it was not a moment for speech, but action. The dry crack of the main echoed out once more, and Pyotr made his decision. For.
01;06;35;14 - 01;07;04;08
Unknown
This has been a tale from the outer court, a cypher media production. If you've enjoyed the experience, consider supporting future stories at Patreon.com slash, Thomas Stoneking until the veil thins once more. We wait for you at court.