Chapter 13: Below Where Worms RevEL In Darkness

April 19, 2022·21 min·1 clip

Cole announces Tiny Terrors, a new horror anthology, as autumn brings darker tales to The Fort.

The episode opens on Minnie in her cold room, painting miniature furniture and becoming aware of a burnt smell she initially attributes to a rodent. The narration reveals the smell is Jacob Mortimer, a man who died in a fire and stepped out from the embers of his own charred cottage, now some kind of supernatural presence. Minnie finds him insufferable and vain. Jacob asks whether Paul has arrived at Riverside Sanatorium, and Minnie confirms he has, adding that Mother Cyprian was pleased to find a candidate for the key with such close ties to the Fort. Jacob probes whether Mother Cyprian sent any message for Minnie personally; she did not. Jacob taunts Minnie by suggesting she has fallen outside the circle of trust and is no longer of use. Minnie retaliates by using her miniature dollhouse to physically knock Jacob off his feet—moving a miniature rug in the model causes the rug beneath Jacob to jerk away in reality. Jacob retreats. In a separate storyline, Paul and Garrett have survived being swept through flooded underground tunnels and surface in an underground reservoir. Paul identifies it as likely a mine from the 1858 gold rush. They notice that lanterns have been lit underground—someone prepared this space for them, suggesting a deliberate plan. Garrett warns Paul that Mother Cyprian will not let them wait her out; she will push them to the edge of sanity before intervening, as she did with Garrett during his own captivity. He describes hearing only echoes underground, unable to distinguish Paul's screaming from the memory of lost souls. The two agree the only option is to move forward through the mine. In the third storyline, Ruth is heading to her knit shop when Alfie the farmer calls after her. After comic banter, Alfie reveals Paul had been digging by his well claiming to have seen bones. Though Alfie found nothing at the time, he later discovered actual bones nearby. He then shows Ruth a ring he found—and her face drains of color.

As heard by us

A cold, talky chapter where banter slowly sharpens.

This chapter stays close to cold rooms, remembered routines, and the kind of morning chill that makes everyone move a little slower. Minnie barely gets going before the furnace kicks in, and Ruth's visit to her knit shop turns into one of those talky exchanges where the joke…

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Why you'd press play

A cold spring morning, a boy's whereabouts, and banter that never stays harmless.

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