Role

Chapter 9

An Arial? stands in the middle of The Village. All the torches have gone
out. The only light comes from haphazard fires. The Shrine glistens.
Blood. The Destructor lays crumpled over the healer.

The trapdoor under the shrine opens. Ruby red light spills out from
beneath, illuminating the standing figure. Eck. His beak smashed to
pieces. He calmly uses the tooth of a lion to saw off his wings.

A spider-web.

Daytime. The Village restored to normal. Eck laughs with Grime. The air
is thick with meat-smoke. Grime grabs tongs and turns to the
roasting-pit. Upon the charcoal is Grimnel's corpse, beard burned off,
cooking slowly. Grime turns toward Eck and uses the tongs to pluck his
own eyes out.

A ruby-red apple.

Guttering fires. The Village in night again. A man-sized creature
skitters across the ground. No beak, no wings. It is Eck, with too many
legs. He (It) moves toward the center of Hut of Rememberance, which now
contains a giant web. Bloody cocoons stuggle amid the strands.

Eck wakes.

Struggling for breath, a deep buzzing in his head, Eck strikes a spark
and ignites the oil lamp. A spider web covers the ceiling of his hut. His
hands hurt.