Nettle & Bone

The room’s occupant held grudges, according to the dust-wife—a small explosion results from the dust-wife’s spell, and the dust-wife instructs the ghost to calm herself. A beautiful face emerges and chastises the group for waking the dead. The ghost is that of a queen buried alive for the sin of not bearing children. The ghost offers no aid but tells the group her king was buried with his boat. The ghost then tells them nothing matters because the thief wheel will catch them.

The group finds the king with the boat, but as they go, Marra begins to feel a niggling in her mind. The layout of the graves feels familiar. However, the group then begins to hear whistling nearby. The whistling rises to a sound like a bird caw, then like the last syllable of “never.” It is an echo of the word “run” over and over. The dust-wife and Agnes question the logic of listening to ghosts. Marra takes a step back. The voice then says it is coming for them. The thief wheel bursts into their chamber as Bonedog goes berserk. The dust-wife slams her staff into the floor, and the hen crows.