Day 1389: Oct 20, 2025

It’s a GLORIOUS day when I get to pick up a new Stephen King book today!

Today, the next step in my journey takes me to some additional adventures of Roland during the years in-between Wizard and Glass and The Gunslinger.

I open to page 1 of The Wind Through the Keyhole!

After having spent months going through The Dark Tower comics, I can totally appreciate where this dedication is coming from.

As usual, I listen to the audiobook (at 1.5x speed) while reading the text to help get immersed into the story.

The narrator for The Wind Through the Keyhole?

𝘋𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘗𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘖𝘻 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭—𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘣 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥’𝘴 𝘬𝘢-𝘵𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘪𝘤𝘬-𝘛𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘔𝘢𝘯—𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘺 𝘑𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘌𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢𝘩

Before we get to the tales of Roland, we pick right up after the ending of Wizard and Glass with Jake, Eddie and Susannah. Comforting to revisit this old ka-tet.

…𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘱𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘦𝘢𝘮. 𝘖𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘣𝘺 𝘢 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘬. 𝘖𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘣𝘺 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘳, 𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘧-𝘮𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘫𝘦𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩.

That last line… Gross!

𝘖𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘶𝘴-𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘢𝘧𝘵, 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘖𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘤𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘳𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥, 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳.

“𝘐𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘩𝘺𝘦?” 𝘚𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢𝘩 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥.

This reminded me that there were decent maps out there of Mid-World. This below is a high-quality one. The link goes to a hi-res version.

The correct pronunciation of “Deschain” is “dess-chain”.

I had thought (and I don’t recall hearing otherwise from the previous books) that it was more of a French pronunciation with the “s” silent and a soft “ch”: “deh-shane”.

But, this is Sai King reading his own words, so I suppose he has a bit of authority in the matter.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘯-𝘵𝘦𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥.

I don’t recall seeing the phrase “an-tet” before. I know they had referred to this 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦 they had shared back in a previous book, but I don’ t recall if it was named.

𝘉𝘪𝘹 𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥. “𝘚𝘢𝘥.”

“𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴,” 𝘚𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢𝘩 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘢 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘧, 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘴𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘦𝘻𝘦. “𝘔𝘪𝘥-𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥’𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘢𝘥 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦, 𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭.”

Indeed! And I look forward to revisiting it when King releases the third The Talisman book which he says will revisit Mid-World!

𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘈 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵, 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘥𝘰𝘻𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥-𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘤𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭-𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬. 𝘚𝘪𝘹 𝘣𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘰𝘯, 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘴𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘴 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘮𝘦, 𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤 𝘛𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘭𝘥, 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘴𝘮𝘢’ 𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘮𝘯 𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦, 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳. “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘒𝘦𝘺𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦” 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭.

Ah-hah! The namesake of this book reveals itself.

I leave the story today with Roland and gang awaiting a special storm called a “Starkblast” – which is the name of this section.

I am now 7% of the way through The Wind Through the Keyhole.

Day 1390: Oct 21, 2025

Continuing to read the opening section of The Wind Through the Keyhole, finishing off “Starkblast”.

What’s a “starkblast”? It’s a type of storm where:

“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘳,” 𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘭𝘺. “𝘗𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘻𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘴. 𝘉𝘪𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘤𝘦-𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘬𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘴. 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴.”

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘣𝘰𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘭𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘩. 𝘌𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥. “𝘐𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘴 𝘶𝘱 𝘔𝘪𝘥-𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺,” 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥. “𝘔𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴.” 𝘏𝘦 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦, 𝘶𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘎𝘖𝘖𝘒.

“𝘈 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭,” 𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥. “𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘭𝘢𝘸 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘺.”

“𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘬,” 𝘌𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, 𝘵𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘣𝘰𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘥. “𝘐 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵. 𝘐𝘯 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘵, 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘢 𝘣𝘶𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘐 𝘞𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘖𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘬.”

Only King can write pages and pages describing a group of people collecting firewood and make it a tension-filled moment.

𝘏𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘧-𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦. 𝘐𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘶𝘴𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦.

“𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦—𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘪𝘧 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘵. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵. 𝘞𝘦’𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩, 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵?”

“𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘩,” 𝘑𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥. “𝘛𝘰𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩.”

It’s as if they don’t know there’s three entire novels of action ahead of them!

“𝘕𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱,” 𝘑𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥. “𝘚𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘶𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺.”

𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥. “𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘩𝘢𝘱 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘸𝘰, 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘥𝘢𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘪𝘧 𝘸𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘠𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘺 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘬𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘮 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥.”

A beautiful ending to this section and a perfect setup for what’s to come.

I am now 12% of the way through The Wind Through the Keyhole.

Day 1391: Oct 22, 2025

Two Guys to the Dark Tower Came open up the discussion about The Wind Through the Keyhole.

They caught a huge contradiction when Eddie had the following thought:

𝘈𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘢𝘨 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘯.

As if Eddie COMPLETELY forgot that the entire plot of Drawing of the Three revolved around Roland’s blood infection!

The Wind Through the Keyhole — Starkblast

http://twoguysdarktower.blubrry.com

In this episode of Two Guys to the Dark Tower Came, we explore The Dark Tower, Book 4.5, The Wind Through the Keyhole, Starkblast.

Day 1392: Oct 23, 2025

I continue with The Wind Through the Keyhole as Roland begins to tell the ka-tet the beginning of a tale titled “The Skin-Man”.

“𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘴 𝘊𝘰𝘳𝘵, 𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥? 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘨𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴? 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘶𝘵, 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩.”

Traveling back to the time shortly after Roland had been tricked into killing his own mother. A sad time where Cort is old and feeble. Must’ve been a very sad time indeed.

“𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘮𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭. 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘚𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘐. 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘰𝘰. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘔𝘦𝘫𝘪𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩. 𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 . . . 𝘢𝘺𝘦.”

“𝘙𝘩𝘦𝘢.” 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬. 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘕𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯. “𝘙𝘩𝘦𝘢 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘰̈𝘰𝘴.”

“𝘈𝘺𝘦, 𝘴𝘩𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬-𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘶𝘯𝘵. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘨𝘶𝘯 . . . 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘳.”

𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨.

There MUST be justice and vengeance delivered to Rhea of the Cöos! Will this be the book where it happens? I think that to be unlikely.

“𝘞𝘩𝘰’𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘦? 𝘊𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘳 𝘈𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘯?”

“𝘕𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘓𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘉𝘰𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘥𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘑𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘦 𝘋𝘦𝘊𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘺.”

Laughing Boy and Thudfoot… LOL

“𝘈𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦”—𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦—“𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘯-𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬. 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘥𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘬 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘥.”

“𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴,” 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥.

“𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘦-𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳, 𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘺. 𝘎𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘝𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦. 𝘏𝘦’𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘴.”

What shape do they change into? Other people? Animals? Inanimate objects?

“𝘠𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘣𝘦 𝘋𝘦𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘢 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘥—𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨-𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘴? 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘰’ 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘳, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰’ 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘵.” 𝘏𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦. “𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘯, 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥. 𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘰’ 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯, 𝘣𝘰𝘺𝘴: 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 . . . 𝘦𝘢𝘵 . . . 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘴.”

𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘢 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘦𝘥𝘥𝘭𝘦𝘳’𝘴 𝘔𝘰𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘬𝘺. 𝘛𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥. 𝘠𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘱𝘶𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘴 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥. 𝘐𝘵𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘱 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘩, 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘯’𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘋𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴’𝘴 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭-𝘵𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘣𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘺𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘣𝘣𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘴…

“𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘬,” 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦. “𝘓𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘳, 𝘵𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘧𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 . . . 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘺-𝘳𝘰’. 𝘐𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘋𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘺𝘦, 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘰𝘰. 𝘐𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘥.”

Yeah, I don’t think ChatGPT would’ve allowed me to try to generate THAT image!

I finish reading for the day. I leave Roland and Jamie in the town of Debaria on a quest for the skin-man.

I am 18% of the way through The Wind Through the Keyhole.

Day 1393: Oct 24, 2025

Exploring a tale from Roland’s young adult years where he and his fellow gunslinger Jamie De Curry arrive into a town where a shape-shifter/changer is rumored to be murdering its inhabitants.

Jamie De Curry

https://darktower.fandom.com

Jamie De Curry, real name James De Curry is one of the members of Roland Deschain’s original ka-tet and the best scout Roland had ever known. He trained with Roland under Cort as apprentice gunslingers. Not much is revealed about Jamie in the seven main books in The Dark Tower Series…

𝘉𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘢 𝘋𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘶𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥. 𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘋𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯. You’re safe, 𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘵. 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘥. You’re safe—𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘸 𝘶𝘱 𝘪𝘯, 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘸.

I’m at the age now where I too long for “the world we grew up in”.

“𝘖𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘌𝘧𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘌𝘵𝘩𝘥𝘢𝘺,” 𝘗𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥. “𝘓𝘰𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘥𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘬 𝘤𝘰𝘸𝘱𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴, 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘪𝘵.”

Every day has been an Efday recently!

𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘊𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘵, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘯𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘈𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘑𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘴𝘰 𝘣𝘢𝘥, 𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘏𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥, 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘴𝘦.

I’m wishing for Cuthbert and Alain as well. This Jamie lacks… personality.

𝘐 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘐 𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘥, 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘴, 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦.

Interesting that Roland hasn’t mention Susan Delgado yet in all of his rememberings.

“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘑𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘙𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘩, 𝘺𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘰𝘵! 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘫𝘪𝘯-𝘫𝘪𝘯. 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦’𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥. 𝘑𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯, 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘦, 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘴. 𝘉𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘵’𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳.”

“𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺?” 𝘐 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥.

“𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯. 𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘺. 𝘞𝘩𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭?” 𝘊𝘢𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘑𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘣. “𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘴. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘮 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘥𝘰𝘨𝘴, 𝘙𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘔𝘰𝘻𝘪𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. 𝘞𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘵 𝘦𝘮. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴.”

Ugggh – did King REALLY have to insert the imagery of the poor dogs into this scene?

𝘏𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘑𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯’𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘥𝘺-𝘴𝘢𝘪 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘧-𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘱 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥. 𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯; 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘳. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘺.

The buildup of a murder-mystery featuring an unnatural monsters is great! But I fear the resolution will be disappointingly bland.

I stop here, half-way through the story of “The Skin-Man (Part 1)”.

I am currently 24% of the way through The Wind Through the Keyhole.

Day 1394: Oct 25, 2025

Continuing with a story from Roland’s youth where he was sent on a quest to investigate and deal with a shape-shifting monster.

I continue reading The Wind Through the Keyhole and “The Skin-man (Part 1)”.

“𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨—𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘯-𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘳—𝘮𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳,” 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥. “𝘏𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘯—”

“𝘕𝘰,” 𝘑𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥. “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘭’𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘑𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘶𝘯. 𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥. 𝘌𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘪𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘯𝘰 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥. 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘸 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘯𝘬𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦.”

Whatever it is they’re up against, it’s formidable!

𝘐 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦. 𝘑𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘶𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘴. “𝘏𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴, 𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥.”

“𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢 𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘵?”

“𝘈𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴, 𝘐 𝘥𝘰.”

I found this exchange to be rather deep. We often know people – know them very well – by their own piles of horseshit.

𝘐’𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘮𝘦𝘵 𝘚𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯 𝘋𝘦𝘭𝘨𝘢𝘥𝘰, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘺 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳.

A quarter of the way through the book and I believe this is the first mention of Susan Delgado.

“𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘝𝘪𝘬𝘬𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯. 𝘏𝘦’𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦—𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘬𝘪𝘥, 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘨𝘦, 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵—𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘷𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘰𝘬’𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘺. 𝘉𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘺 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦.”

“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘺 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘪𝘵.”

“𝘐𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵. 𝘐𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘭𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘭𝘭 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸.”

Roland’s schemes are always impressive.

“𝘊𝘢𝘯 𝘐 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘨𝘶𝘯𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘦?”

“𝘕𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦,” 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦, 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦.” 𝘐 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢 𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮.

𝘏𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘺, 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘪𝘱. “𝘎𝘰𝘥𝘴, 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘺! 𝘓𝘰𝘯𝘨, 𝘵𝘰𝘰! 𝘐 𝘣𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦, 𝘩𝘦’𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯.”

“𝘠𝘦𝘴. 𝘈 𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭’𝘴 𝘢 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘺, 𝘵𝘰𝘰. 𝘞𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦?”

“𝘚𝘶𝘳𝘦.”

𝘐 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘬𝘯𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘯𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘦, 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘴. 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘉𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥, 𝘸𝘪𝘥𝘦-𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘥.

A very realistic exchange between Roland and a young boy who was witness to the skin-man’s rampage.

And that’s of the reading I have time for today. The plot didn’t move much, but at least a plan has formed and I’m sure the action will be wild when the plan is sprung.

I am now 29% of the way through The Wind Through the Keyhole.

Day 1395: Oct 26, 2025

Finishing off “The Skin-man (Part 1)” from The Wind Through the Keyhole today.

Roland and Jaime have developed a plan to identify who in town might be the horrific shapeshifting skin-man using a recent survivor of a gruesome attach, a young boy, as bait.

𝘈 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘸. “𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰.”

“𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴, 𝘐’𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶.”

“𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴, 𝘐’𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶.”

“𝘚𝘰 𝘐 𝘥𝘰. 𝘕𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦. 𝘋𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵?”

Even way back then, Roland was promising to keep young boys safe.

*cough* Jake *cough*

“𝘉𝘪𝘭𝘭, 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘰𝘰?”

𝘐𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘺 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥. “𝘈𝘺𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘢 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢 𝘣𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘭𝘦. 𝘈 𝘣𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘯.”

𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵, We have you. You don’t know it yet, sai skin-man, but we have you.

“𝘐𝘧 𝘐 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘣𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘭𝘦, 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶?”

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘏𝘢𝘵—𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳—𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘢𝘥𝘦.”
…
“…𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘶𝘪𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘴.”

“𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘴, 𝘵𝘰𝘰,” 𝘗𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥… “𝘗𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴.”

Another example of where the backstory is only lightly touched upon but is full of interesting potential!

“𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘞𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘔𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘳. 𝘊𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦?”

𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯.

“𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘦. 𝘞𝘦’𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘴.”

“𝘐’𝘥 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘦’𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘺-𝘣𝘺. 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦.”

“‘𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘒𝘦𝘺𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦,’” 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥. “𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘉𝘪𝘭𝘭.”

“𝘞𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘸𝘦?”

“𝘖𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘣𝘺𝘦, 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳’𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘯, 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘣𝘰𝘺 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘛𝘪𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘕𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘉𝘪𝘨 𝘙𝘰𝘴𝘴. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩, 𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦. . . .”

And with that, I conclude reading for today.

I am now 34% of the way through The Wind Through the Keyhole.

Listened to Two Guys to the Dark Tower Came cover the first part of The Wind Through the Keyhole.

The Dark Tower 4.5: The Wind Through the Keyhole — The Skin-Man (Part 1)

https://twoguysdarktower.blubrry.com

In this episode of Two Guys to the Dark Tower Came, we explore The Dark Tower, Book 4.5, The Wind Through the Keyhole, The Skin-Man, part 1.

Day 1396: Oct 27, 2025

Tuning into Kingslingers for a deep-dive into the first part of The Wind Through the Keyhole.

The Wind Through the Keyhole (Part 1)

https://podcastaddict.com

This week, we begin the newest addition to the Dark Tower series and our final novel of Season 1: The Wind Through The Keyhole. We’re discussing “Starkblast” and “Skin-Man (Part 1)” this week!

Day 1397: Oct 28, 2025

Finishing off this lengthy Kingslingers episode about first part of The Wind Through the Keyhole.

The Wind Through the Keyhole (Part 1)

https://podcastaddict.com

This week, we begin the newest addition to the Dark Tower series and our final novel of Season 1: The Wind Through The Keyhole. We’re discussing “Starkblast” and “Skin-Man (Part 1)” this week!

Day 1398: Oct 29, 2025

Radio Free Mid-world often got off track as they reviewed the beginning of The Wind Through the Keyhole.

The Wind Through the Keyhole, “Starkblast / Skin-Man (Part 1)”

https://podcastaddict.com

A new old story, within the story, within the story. Evan joins me to talk about the opening movements of The Wind Through the Keyhole. After surviving the events in Lud and their encounter with the wizard Randal Flagg, the ka-tet finds themselves stranded by a Starkblast… a deadly kind of winter storm.

Day 1399: Oct 30, 2025

I’m back to the book The Wind Through the Keyhole, reading the story-within-the-story of the same name.

𝘖𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘣𝘺𝘦, 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳’𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘯, 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘣𝘰𝘺 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘛𝘪𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘕𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘉𝘪𝘨 𝘙𝘰𝘴𝘴.

Now that’s a mighty FINE way to kick off a fairy tale.

𝘉𝘪𝘨 𝘒𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦. 𝘈𝘴𝘩 𝘴𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘛𝘪𝘮’𝘴 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳. 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘬.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘴 dragon.

As I sit here today, I can’t help but notice the cosmic overlap between Stephen King’s story about a dragon and his son’s new book, also about a dragon.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦.

Now THERE’S a perfect tagline for a movie if one is ever made about this story!

𝘒𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥-𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘣𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘢 𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘬. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘬 𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴.

Alcoholism is a common theme in King’s works. It’s almost trope-y at this point, but given his personal struggles, one could understand it.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘪𝘥𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘤𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 (𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦) 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘉𝘪𝘨 𝘒𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘴. 𝘛𝘪𝘮 𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘦𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘱𝘢, 𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘳𝘶𝘧𝘧: “𝘚𝘩𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵, 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶? 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘪𝘯’𝘵 𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘴.”

The little boy, Tim, now has a new, evil stepfather and the fairy tale takes a dark turn as they often do.

𝘈𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦—𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘬 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘒𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘱𝘦𝘵. “𝘊𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴,” 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥. “𝘕𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴. ’𝘛𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳’𝘴.”
…
𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘉𝘪𝘨 𝘒𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴.

WHAT’S IN THE TRUNK??? (I cry in my best “What’s in the box?” impression)

“𝘋𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘴𝘰? 𝘐 𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘢 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘪𝘨 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘺𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵’𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘳𝘱𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨-𝘣𝘰𝘺’𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘱𝘢, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘙𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘺𝘣𝘶𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯 𝘶𝘱 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯-𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘭.”

King narrates his own audiobook, and for the most part, he’s a bland reader. But he gave it his all with this passage, injecting a character’s voice I would hear more of!

𝘐𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘨𝘦-𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯, 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘯𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨.

Hoo-boy, can I ever relate to THIS line!

And with this, I finish reading for the day. I am now 41% of the way through The Wind Through the Keyhole.

Day 1400: Oct 31, 2025

It’s Halloween, and I carry out my annual tradition of engaging in a Stephen King activity. Well, to be fair, I do it every day, but technically, it’s true.

I continue the sad tale of Tim, his Ma and his new alcoholic stepfather in a fairy tale that is at the core of The Wind Through the Keyhole.

𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘛𝘪𝘮 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥—𝘶𝘴𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘰𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘸𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘭’𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥𝘴—𝘪𝘧 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱-𝘱𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘢 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘭 𝘢 𝘴𝘯𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘭. 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘢 𝘷𝘶𝘳𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘺 𝘧𝘭𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘵-𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘥𝘴. 𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘉𝘦𝘳𝘯 𝘒𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘴’𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘬.

Imagine replacing Alfred Hitchcock’s birds in The Birds with “vurts”.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘨𝘳𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥. 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯, 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴, 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘹𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘈𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘳 𝘌𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥 (𝘪𝘧 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭), 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘢 𝘥𝘰𝘻𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳, 𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘳. 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘺 No more, enough’s enough, the world has moved on.

Imagine replacing Alfred Hitchcock’s birds in The Birds with “vurts”.

𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳 (𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘺, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘦 𝘰𝘭𝘥) 𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘸 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥.

40 and soon be old? Hah! I took that personally!

𝘛𝘪𝘮 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘣𝘰𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮. 𝘏𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘔𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘶𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘶𝘱 𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘦.

The Covenant Man (aka the tax collector) is one creepy dude. Stephen Kings reads his dialog with a Batman-like voice.

𝘈 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘸 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘺 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘬 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘦𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘛𝘪𝘮 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘵. “𝘈 𝘨𝘪𝘧𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘛𝘪𝘮. 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘢 𝘬𝘦𝘺. 𝘋𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭?”

𝘛𝘪𝘮 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥.

“’𝘛𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤 𝘬𝘦𝘺. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦. 𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, ’𝘵𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘵, 𝘴𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘵!”

 And… I bet we never hear of that key again. 😂

Maybe he’s not dead.

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘛𝘪𝘮’𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘬𝘺𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘻𝘻𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦. 𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘉𝘪𝘨 𝘙𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵—

Well, the key got used faster than I thought it would. But it’s obvious in hindsight that he’d use it to open the evil step-dad’s secret trunk, in which he found the lucky coin belonging to his real father (who was supposedly eaten by a dragon). Whew – that’s a lot of plot.

I leave Tim pressing forward into the Endless Forest looking for signs of his father. I look forward to picking up this fairy tale tomorrow!

I am now 47% of the way through The Wind Through the Keyhole.

Day 1401: Nov 1, 2025

Things are starting to get interesting as young Tim leaves his mother and abusive stepfather in a quest for his real father, who was supposedly eaten by a dragon the year prior.

I continue my journey through The Wind Through the Keyhole.

“𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘦; 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘮𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳; 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘣𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘵; 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘣𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦.”

While it’s interesting to learn that about billy-bumblers (which are unique to this world), I was surprise to learn what they believed a group of dragons was called.

Google AI believes:

𝘈 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝘖𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘥𝘦 𝘢 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘸𝘦𝘺𝘳, 𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘤𝘩, 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘥, 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘮, 𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘺 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘵, 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘯 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘭𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘨𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘨𝘰𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘳. 𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵’𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘺, 𝘛𝘪𝘮 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳.

This is why I stay indoors for as much of my life as I possibly can.

𝘛𝘪𝘮 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘳𝘰𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥. “𝘐𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘥?”

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘔𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳. “𝘐 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘰. 𝘈𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘧𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘋𝘰𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘋𝘢𝘳𝘵. 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢’𝘴 𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘳, 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘛𝘪𝘮.”

“𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢?”

“𝘈 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘰𝘺-𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘰𝘵𝘴.”

This is as good a description of this country as any.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘔𝘢𝘯 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘛𝘪𝘮’𝘴 𝘨𝘢𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘵𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘥-𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘣 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘶𝘱. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘯𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘵, 𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳—𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘺’𝘴 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘥𝘦-𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥—𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦. 𝘈𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘛𝘪𝘮’𝘴 𝘣𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴. 𝘐𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵—𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘰𝘰𝘱—𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘛𝘪𝘮 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵.

Great artwork by Marvel’s Jae Lee!

The relationship between The Covenant Man and Tim echoes strongly of Gandalf and Frodo – one of some type of fondness mixed with manipulations – with King’s dark twist on it, of course.

“𝘐 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘸𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘥𝘢𝘺’𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮.”

Yet more LOTR overlap evidence with allusions to Ents.

…𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦. 𝘓𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘪𝘹 𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘥𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘴, 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘥, 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳.

And mere paragraphs later, I’m reminded of the Dead Marshes.

The Covenant Man led Tim to where the body of his father was found in the water, evidence that his step-father was the one who had murdered him.

I am disappointed though that there wasn’t an actual dragon involved after all.

About the Covenant Man, the old Widow said

“𝘔𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮 𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘔𝘢𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘺𝘯, 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘈𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘳 𝘌𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘔𝘢𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘺𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭, 𝘢 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦.”

He is an interesting creature and shares a lot of mannerisms with The Man in Black, including off-the-cuff references to other worlds.

I stop here for the day, 54% of the way through The Wind Through the Keyhole.

Day 1402: Nov 2, 2025

What I thought was going to be high fantasy is seeming more like a family drama with murder, intrigue and desire for revenge.

Marching further into The Wind Through the Keyhole.

“𝘎𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘮𝘢𝘯, 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘦. 𝘏𝘦’𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴.”

The widow again evokes the image of The Man in Black. After this book, I’ll be looking to see what the King scholars over on the message boards have to say about the Covenant Man.

“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘣𝘢𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬 . . . 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘬𝘢-𝘮𝘢𝘪 𝘐 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘦’𝘷𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘥!”

𝗞𝗮-𝗺𝗮𝗶, or “ka’s fool,” generally describes someone who vainly resists the will of fate.

Ka-mai

https://stephenking.fandom.com

Ka-mai, or “ka’s fool,” generally describes someone who vainly resists the will of fate. Susannah Holmes thinks of Mia as ka-mai, defining the term as someone who has been given hope but no choices.

𝘛𝘪𝘮 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘯. 𝘏𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘵. 𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘥’𝘴 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘢𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘢’𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘥, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘛𝘪𝘮 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘛𝘪𝘮 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘢 𝘴𝘮𝘢’ 𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘥𝘭𝘦. 𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘭.

𝘛𝘪𝘮 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳.

😢

𝘛𝘪𝘮 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘰𝘤𝘤𝘶𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘣𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘳𝘰𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘷𝘰𝘳𝘺. 𝘏𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥, 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘸𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴. 𝘏𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘔𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘧 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘺: It started life as the gearshift of a Dodge Dart.

𝘐𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘫𝘢𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘧 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘱𝘢𝘯, 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩.

Sometimes ChatGPT produces useful imagery. Sometimes it produces great comedy.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘭, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘛𝘪𝘮 𝘨𝘢𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵—𝘢 𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘺 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬.

𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘦—𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘺-𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘬!

𝘚𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘶𝘯 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘔𝘢𝘯’𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘱 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘪𝘵.

The “sighe” is mentioned nowhere else but in this novel.

𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘛𝘪𝘮: “𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘨𝘶𝘯, 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘦? 𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘩𝘢𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘦𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵. 𝘗𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘨, 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘢.”

𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵.

The old widow hands young Tim a gun with a suggestion that he use it to kill the Covenant Man. She did this even though she clearly knew that the boy’s allegiance was likely now with the dark man? An odd directive.

𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘸 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘣𝘢𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘢 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘮. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵, 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘬𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮.

I end my reading today well entrenched again in the world of fantasy with glowing green Tinkerbells and visions of Maerlyn the wizard offering cures for blindness.

I am now 61% of the way through The Wind Through the Keyhole.

Day 1403: Nov 3, 2025

A young son seeks the home of Maerlyn in a quest to cure his blind mother while vengeance for his father’s death burns in his heart.

And the Covenant Man continues to pull strings in this macabre puppet show.

Marching further into The Wind Through the Keyhole.

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯, 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 “𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬” 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦. 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘵. 𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺. 𝘐𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯-𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩, 𝘴𝘪𝘻𝘻𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥.

Earlier, I had said I was disappointed that there wasn’t any actual dragons in this story.

I owe Sai King an apology.

𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘪𝘵, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨.

He brilliantly capture the mindset of a young boy in this sentence!

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘸𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘸𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘣𝘣𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘮𝘱𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘥, 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘨𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳. 𝘐𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘭—𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘩-𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰𝘱, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘯’𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩—𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘱𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥, 𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘶𝘥𝘥𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴. 𝘈𝘣𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘴𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘶𝘭𝘨𝘦𝘥, 𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘶𝘭𝘨𝘦𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘛𝘪𝘮’𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘫𝘢𝘸𝘴 𝘨𝘯𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥; 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳.

King always has the best descriptions of monsters!

𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘶𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘴, 𝘧𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦, 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘦𝘤𝘩, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘪 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘯-𝘎𝘢𝘯, 𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥; 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨.

𝘐𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 . . .

𝘛𝘪𝘮 𝘙𝘰𝘴𝘴, 𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘑𝘢𝘤𝘬, 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘶𝘥𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘲𝘶𝘦 (𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦) 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘥.

𝘐𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 . . .

𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦. 𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦, 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘵.

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘢𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘨𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳.

Tim used the gun that the widow had given him to dispatch a watery beast that meant to devour him.

And I loved this reaction from the silent watchers along the banks of the swamp!

“𝘏𝘪𝘭𝘦, 𝘣𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘴𝘮𝘦𝘯!” 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘥𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘬. “𝘐 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭! 𝘙𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦!”

𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱-𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘹𝘩𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘫𝘢𝘸𝘴 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘣𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳.

Again, I’m reminded of Lord of the Rings when Aragon called to the Army of the Dead to come fight for him.

𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘛𝘪𝘮 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘨𝘰 𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳, 𝘴𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧𝘧. 𝘈𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘵, 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘛𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴, 𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘺 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦.

Another famous image from Creepshow comes to mind.

𝘉𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸, 𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘴𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥. 𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘸𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘪𝘯’𝘴 𝘦𝘨𝘨.

If I had to suffer through this absurdly gross passage, you now have to as well. I’m not doing this alone! Even ChatGPT said, “Aw, hell no” to rendering a picture of this passage.

I leave Tim in the hands of the friendly swamp tribe who offered their assistance in his quest to find Maerlyn.

I am now 68% of the way through The Wind Through the Keyhole.

Day 1404: Nov 4, 2025

Young Tim convinces a tribe of swamp muties that he is a gunslinger and the agree to assist him in his quest to find Maerlyn in order to cure his blind mother!

Whew – that’s a lot of plot for a single sentence. Oh yeah, there really was a dragon.

Continuing to read The Wind Through the Keyhole.

“𝘚𝘢𝘪, 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴?”

𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘯𝘰𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘥.

“𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘯𝘰 𝘨𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳. 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦.”

𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘯𝘰 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵.

To them, I suppose, “gunslinger” is a state of mind, a point of character – and not a title to be given.

…𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘬𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦, 𝘨𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘸 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳.

I am reminded of these trees I saw growing in Arkansas. I believe these are called “bald cyprus”.

𝘏𝘦𝘭𝘮𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘨𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘢𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘏𝘪𝘭𝘦!

𝘛𝘪𝘮 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬. 𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥: “𝘙𝘪𝘴𝘦, 𝘣𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘴𝘮𝘦𝘯 . . . 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦. 𝘙𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴.”

Once again, a LOTR image comes to mind.

𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘛𝘪𝘮 𝘙𝘰𝘴𝘴’𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘴. 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘕𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘊𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘗𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘴 𝘗𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘎𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘔𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘭𝘦 𝘋𝘈𝘙𝘐𝘈, 𝘕𝘊𝘗-𝟣𝟦𝟥𝟨𝟥𝟦𝟧-𝘈𝘕, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘰 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳. 𝘛𝘪𝘮 𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘰𝘯.

I know what 𝘐 want for Christmas!

“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘋𝘰𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘬, 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘯 𝘈𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘋𝘰𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘧𝘧-𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦. 𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘴𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘓𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘋𝘦𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥. 𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳, 𝘴𝘢𝘺 detour 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴.”

“Changed Life”???

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭…𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘵 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦. 𝘛𝘪𝘮 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘵, 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘸 𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘭𝘭. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘥—𝘪𝘵 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦—𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘥 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥.

𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩. 𝘐𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘯𝘢𝘬𝘦, 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 … 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘸.

Again, with the LOTR imagery!

I finish here as Tim reaches the magic-laden dogan just in time before the starkblast hit.

I am now 75% of the way through The Wind Through the Keyhole.

Day 1405: Nov 5, 2025

Tim outraces the starkblast thanks to a helpful talking metal frisbee. He arrives at a “Dogan” that the frisbee told him had mix of dark and white magic.

I do believe we’ve reached the point featured in the cover art of The Wind Through the Keyhole.

𝘛𝘪𝘮 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘥𝘴, 𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘛𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘥, 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘺𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘢 𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘴. 𝘖𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭.

𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘨𝘦, 𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘺𝘨𝘦𝘳.

The Covenant man had dropped a hint about tygers earlier in the story. I had forgotten til now.

𝘈𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘬 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘳. 𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘰𝘣𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘴. 𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘬𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘦.

There’s no chance the key and the playing card are relevant to this story, right? Just descriptive imagery, right?

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘔𝘢𝘯’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘧:

𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴, 𝘉𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘉𝘰𝘺! 𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘬, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘖𝘶𝘵-𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥. 𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘛𝘺𝘨𝘦𝘳. 𝘏𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘝𝘌𝘙𝘠 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘳𝘺! 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘒𝘦𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘚𝘏𝘌𝘓𝘛𝘌𝘙 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘕𝘦𝘤𝘬. 𝘈𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘒𝘦𝘺 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘢𝘨𝘦. 𝘜𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘦! 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘔𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 (𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘏𝘶𝘴𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘚𝘖𝘖𝘕), 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘍𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘚𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘵!

𝘙𝘍/𝘔𝘉

RF/MB? Mother-f’er! I was right!

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘬, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘥. 𝘏𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.

𝘐𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘯𝘰 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘭𝘺 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮: 𝘢 𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘢 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘰𝘯 𝘯𝘢𝘱𝘬𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳’𝘴 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳.

Is this a D&D campaign with random objects strewn about and puzzles to solve? I think it’s getting a tad tedious.

𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘬𝘦𝘺𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦, 𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘴. 𝘠𝘦𝘴, 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘴𝘰. 𝘞𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘪𝘵. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘰—𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘦𝘺𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦—𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦.

Beautiful thoughts for such a young boy!

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘺𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦, 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘸 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘥𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘦𝘣𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘭𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘐𝘵𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘦. 𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯, 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘵, 𝘢 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘺𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘴𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯. 𝘛𝘪𝘮 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴.

There was never a doubt that the tyger was actually Maerlyn.

𝘔𝘢𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘺𝘯 𝘯𝘰𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘥. “𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘢𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥, 𝘛𝘪𝘮 𝘙𝘰𝘴𝘴. 𝘈𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦, 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘪𝘰𝘯, ’𝘵𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘫𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘵. 𝘈𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘯, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘰 . . . 𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘩𝘦’𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘰, 𝘢𝘺𝘦. 𝘖𝘳 𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘈𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘎𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘴, 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘱𝘴𝘦.”

“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘔𝘢𝘯,” 𝘛𝘪𝘮 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥.

𝘔𝘢𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘺𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘸 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘥. 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘢𝘱 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘛𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘵𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧. “𝘕𝘢𝘺, 𝘯𝘢𝘺, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘩𝘦. 𝘓𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦’𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧. 𝘕𝘰, 𝘛𝘪𝘮, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘥 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘬. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘥 𝘊𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘬 𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘦𝘥 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨’𝘴 𝘣𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘔𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘺, 𝘐’𝘮 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦. 𝘏𝘦’𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵? 𝘛𝘰 𝘱𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩? 𝘈𝘺𝘦, 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘴𝘰.”

I am a sucker for world-building mythology!

“𝘔𝘢𝘺 𝘐 𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯?”

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳. “𝘖𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘯𝘦. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘨𝘦—𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘴 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘩, 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘸—𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐’𝘮 𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦. 𝘓𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘬-𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘵. 𝘈𝘴𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.”

And with that, I am now 82% of the way through The Wind Through the Keyhole.

Day 1406: Nov 6, 2025

Tim passed all the tests and rescued Maerlyn (aka the tyger) from the cage. He received some magic drops that will cure his blind mother.

I continue reading The Wind Through the Keyhole, finishing off the tale within the tale.

“𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘛𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴. 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘢𝘳𝘶𝘥𝘢, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘉𝘦𝘢𝘮….𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘨𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦.”

“𝘍-𝘍-𝘍𝘭𝘺? 𝘏𝘰𝘸?”

Once you start seeing Lord of the Rings in this story, you start seeing it everywhere!

𝘏𝘦 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘔𝘢𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘺𝘯, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘔𝘢𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘺𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘦. 𝘛𝘪𝘮 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥, 𝘛𝘪𝘮 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘢𝘺.

King always leaving little breadcrumb opportunities for sequels!

𝘉𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘸𝘢𝘮𝘱 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥, 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵: 𝘢 𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘥. 𝘚𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘷𝘢𝘴𝘵, 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘭𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘰𝘢𝘵. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘛𝘪𝘮 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘦—𝘢𝘺𝘦, 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭—𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘢𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘥. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘢 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘻𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩.

Not the dragon too! 🐉 😢

𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘱, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳’𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦. “𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥! 𝘖𝘩, 𝘛𝘪𝘮! 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘮 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦, 𝘐 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯? 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘴𝘰, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘰𝘺?” 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯.

Reunion with mama was very touching!

“I see thy face!” 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘴. 𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘛𝘪𝘮 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯. “𝘖𝘩, 𝘛𝘪𝘮, 𝘰𝘩 𝘮𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘳, I see thy face, I see it very well !”

𝘕𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨—𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘵𝘰𝘰, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘫𝘰𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.

King writes good stuff as well as he does gross stuff.

Tim’s mother gets her revenge on her evil 2nd husband and I finish reading for the day.

I am now 86% of the way through The Wind Through the Keyhole.

In a few days, I’ll return to finish off this book. But in the meantime, I’m tuning in to Two Guys to the Dark Tower Came and their take on this fairy tale within the tale.

The Wind Through the Keyhole

http://twoguysdarktower.blubrry.com

In this episode of Two Guys to the Dark Tower Came, we explore The Dark Tower, Book 4.5 The Wind through the Keyhole, The Wind through the Keyhole section.

Day 1404: Nov 4, 2025

Young Tim convinces a tribe of swamp muties that he is a gunslinger and the agree to assist him in his quest to find Maerlyn in order to cure his blind mother!

Whew – that’s a lot of plot for a single sentence. Oh yeah, there really was a dragon.

Continuing to read The Wind Through the Keyhole.

“𝘚𝘢𝘪, 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴?”

𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘯𝘰𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘥.

“𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘯𝘰 𝘨𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳. 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦.”

𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘯𝘰 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵.

To them, I suppose, “gunslinger” is a state of mind, a point of character – and not a title to be given.

…𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘬𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦, 𝘨𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘸 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳.

I am reminded of these trees I saw growing in Arkansas. I believe these are called “bald cyprus”.

𝘏𝘦𝘭𝘮𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘨𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘢𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘏𝘪𝘭𝘦!

𝘛𝘪𝘮 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬. 𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥: “𝘙𝘪𝘴𝘦, 𝘣𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘴𝘮𝘦𝘯 . . . 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦. 𝘙𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴.”

Once again, a LOTR image comes to mind.

𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘛𝘪𝘮 𝘙𝘰𝘴𝘴’𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘴. 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘕𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘊𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘗𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘴 𝘗𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘎𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘔𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘭𝘦 𝘋𝘈𝘙𝘐𝘈, 𝘕𝘊𝘗-𝟣𝟦𝟥𝟨𝟥𝟦𝟧-𝘈𝘕, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘰 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳. 𝘛𝘪𝘮 𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘰𝘯.

I know what 𝘐 want for Christmas!

“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘋𝘰𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘬, 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘯 𝘈𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘋𝘰𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘧𝘧-𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦. 𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘴𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘓𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘋𝘦𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥. 𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳, 𝘴𝘢𝘺 detour 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴.”

“Changed Life”???

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭…𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘵 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦. 𝘛𝘪𝘮 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘵, 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘸 𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘭𝘭. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘥—𝘪𝘵 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦—𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘥 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥.

𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩. 𝘐𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘯𝘢𝘬𝘦, 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 … 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘸.

Again, with the LOTR imagery!

I finish here as Tim reaches the magic-laden dogan just in time before the starkblast hit.

I am now 75% of the way through The Wind Through the Keyhole.

Day 1405: Nov 5, 2025

Tim outraces the starkblast thanks to a helpful talking metal frisbee. He arrives at a “Dogan” that the frisbee told him had mix of dark and white magic.

I do believe we’ve reached the point featured in the cover art of The Wind Through the Keyhole.

𝘛𝘪𝘮 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘥𝘴, 𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘛𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘥, 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘺𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘢 𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘴. 𝘖𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭.

𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘨𝘦, 𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘺𝘨𝘦𝘳.

The Covenant man had dropped a hint about tygers earlier in the story. I had forgotten til now.

𝘈𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘬 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘳. 𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘰𝘣𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘴. 𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘬𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘦.

There’s no chance the key and the playing card are relevant to this story, right? Just descriptive imagery, right?

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘔𝘢𝘯’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘧:

𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴, 𝘉𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘉𝘰𝘺! 𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘬, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘖𝘶𝘵-𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥. 𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘛𝘺𝘨𝘦𝘳. 𝘏𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘝𝘌𝘙𝘠 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘳𝘺! 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘒𝘦𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘚𝘏𝘌𝘓𝘛𝘌𝘙 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘕𝘦𝘤𝘬. 𝘈𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘒𝘦𝘺 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘢𝘨𝘦. 𝘜𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘦! 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘔𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 (𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘏𝘶𝘴𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘚𝘖𝘖𝘕), 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘍𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘚𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘵!

𝘙𝘍/𝘔𝘉

RF/MB? Mother-f’er! I was right!

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘬, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘥. 𝘏𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.

𝘐𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘯𝘰 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘭𝘺 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮: 𝘢 𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘢 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘰𝘯 𝘯𝘢𝘱𝘬𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳’𝘴 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳.

Is this a D&D campaign with random objects strewn about and puzzles to solve? I think it’s getting a tad tedious.

𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘬𝘦𝘺𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦, 𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘴. 𝘠𝘦𝘴, 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘴𝘰. 𝘞𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘪𝘵. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘰—𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘦𝘺𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦—𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦.

Beautiful thoughts for such a young boy!

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘺𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦, 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘸 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘥𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘦𝘣𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘭𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘐𝘵𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘦. 𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯, 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘵, 𝘢 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘺𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘴𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯. 𝘛𝘪𝘮 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴.

There was never a doubt that the tyger was actually Maerlyn.

𝘔𝘢𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘺𝘯 𝘯𝘰𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘥. “𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘢𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥, 𝘛𝘪𝘮 𝘙𝘰𝘴𝘴. 𝘈𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦, 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘪𝘰𝘯, ’𝘵𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘫𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘵. 𝘈𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘯, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘰 . . . 𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘩𝘦’𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘰, 𝘢𝘺𝘦. 𝘖𝘳 𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘈𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘎𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘴, 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘱𝘴𝘦.”

“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘔𝘢𝘯,” 𝘛𝘪𝘮 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥.

𝘔𝘢𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘺𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘸 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘥. 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘢𝘱 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘛𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘵𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧. “𝘕𝘢𝘺, 𝘯𝘢𝘺, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘩𝘦. 𝘓𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦’𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧. 𝘕𝘰, 𝘛𝘪𝘮, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘥 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘬. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘥 𝘊𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘬 𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘦𝘥 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨’𝘴 𝘣𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘔𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘺, 𝘐’𝘮 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦. 𝘏𝘦’𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵? 𝘛𝘰 𝘱𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩? 𝘈𝘺𝘦, 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘴𝘰.”

I am a sucker for world-building mythology!

“𝘔𝘢𝘺 𝘐 𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯?”

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳. “𝘖𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘯𝘦. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘨𝘦—𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘴 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘩, 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘸—𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐’𝘮 𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦. 𝘓𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘬-𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘵. 𝘈𝘴𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.”

And with that, I am now 82% of the way through The Wind Through the Keyhole.

Day 1406: Nov 6, 2025

Tim passed all the tests and rescued Maerlyn (aka the tyger) from the cage. He received some magic drops that will cure his blind mother.

I continue reading The Wind Through the Keyhole, finishing off the tale within the tale.

“𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘛𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴. 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘢𝘳𝘶𝘥𝘢, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘉𝘦𝘢𝘮….𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘨𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦.”

“𝘍-𝘍-𝘍𝘭𝘺? 𝘏𝘰𝘸?”

Once you start seeing Lord of the Rings in this story, you start seeing it everywhere!

𝘏𝘦 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘔𝘢𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘺𝘯, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘔𝘢𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘺𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘦. 𝘛𝘪𝘮 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥, 𝘛𝘪𝘮 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘢𝘺.

King always leaving little breadcrumb opportunities for sequels!

𝘉𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘸𝘢𝘮𝘱 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥, 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵: 𝘢 𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘥. 𝘚𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘷𝘢𝘴𝘵, 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘭𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘰𝘢𝘵. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘛𝘪𝘮 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘦—𝘢𝘺𝘦, 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭—𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘢𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘥. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘢 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘻𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩.

Not the dragon too! 🐉 😢

𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘱, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳’𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦. “𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥! 𝘖𝘩, 𝘛𝘪𝘮! 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘮 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦, 𝘐 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯? 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘴𝘰, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘰𝘺?” 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯.

Reunion with mama was very touching!

“I see thy face!” 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘴. 𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘛𝘪𝘮 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯. “𝘖𝘩, 𝘛𝘪𝘮, 𝘰𝘩 𝘮𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘳, I see thy face, I see it very well !”

𝘕𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨—𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘵𝘰𝘰, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘫𝘰𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.

King writes good stuff as well as he does gross stuff.

Tim’s mother gets her revenge on her evil 2nd husband and I finish reading for the day.

I am now 86% of the way through The Wind Through the Keyhole.

In a few days, I’ll return to finish off this book. But in the meantime, I’m tuning in to Two Guys to the Dark Tower Came and their take on this fairy tale within the tale.

The Wind Through the Keyhole

http://twoguysdarktower.blubrry.com

In this episode of Two Guys to the Dark Tower Came, we explore The Dark Tower, Book 4.5 The Wind through the Keyhole, The Wind through the Keyhole section.

Day 1407: Nov 7, 2025

Came back to The Kingslingers to cover the first half of the Mid-World fairy tale, “The Wind Through the Keyhole”.

The Wind Through the Keyhole (Part 2)

https://podcastaddict.com

This week, The Wind Through the Keyhole continues as we tackle the first half of Section 3, aptly titled “The Wind Through the Keyhole.” We meet young Tim who loses a father and gains an evil stepfather, meets a tax man in black, and heads into a magic forest to cure his mother’s blindness.

Day 1408: Nov 8, 2025

The Kingslingers spoke at length about the second half of the main fairy tale in The Wind Through the Keyhole.

The Wind Through the Keyhole (Part 3)

https://podcastaddict.com

This week, we conclude the fairy tale at the heart of The Wind Through the Keyhole. Tim goes on an epic quest to cure his mother’s sight. He meets dragons and ents and tigers, oh my!

Day 1409: Nov 9, 2025

Finished off this episode from The Kingslingers covering the second half of the main fairy tale in The Wind Through the Keyhole.

The Wind Through the Keyhole (Part 3)

https://podcastaddict.com

This week, we conclude the fairy tale at the heart of The Wind Through the Keyhole. Tim goes on an epic quest to cure his mother’s sight. He meets dragons and ents and tigers, oh my!

Day 1410: Nov 10, 2025

Radio Free Mid-World reviews the first part of the main story-within-a-story-within-a-story of The Wind Through the Keyhole.

The Wind Through the Keyhole, “The Wind Through the Keyhole (Part 1)”

https://podcasts.apple.com

Podcast Episode · Radio Free Mid-World · 03/20/2018 · 1h 3m

Day 1411: Nov 11, 2025

Radio Free Mid-World finishes off the main story-within-a-story-within-a-story of The Wind Through the Keyhole.

The Wind Through the Keyhole, “The Wind Through the Keyhole (Part 1)”

https://podcasts.apple.com

Podcast Episode · Radio Free Mid-World · 03/20/2018 · 1h 3m

Day 1412: Nov 12, 2025

I race to the end of The Wind Through the Keyhole as we return to a younger Roland who just wrapped up his tale to Little Bill as they awaited the arrival of the Skin-Man – a frightening shape-shifting creature that was gobbling up members of the town.

“𝘚𝘢𝘪, 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘔𝘢𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘺𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘵𝘺𝘨𝘦𝘳?”

“𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺.”

“𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘵?”

𝘊𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘵, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘥.

“𝘐𝘧 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦, 𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘯,” 𝘉𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩. “𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘦𝘢𝘵, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘵.”

“𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘵𝘦, 𝘉𝘪𝘭𝘭.”

“𝘗’𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵—𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘵𝘺𝘨𝘦𝘳—𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳. 𝘖𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘪𝘳, 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦.”

“𝘠𝘦𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘵.”

“𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘛𝘪𝘮 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳? 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘵𝘰𝘰, 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦?”

𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘸 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘶𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘩 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘉𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳.

OK, I’ll confess. I might’ve added that last line in there.

“𝘏𝘦𝘺, 𝘨𝘶𝘯𝘣𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘺!” 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘺𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥. “𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘶𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭? 𝘐’𝘮 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘺!”

Wow – “gunbunny” offended even me on behalf of Roland. Such disrespect!

𝘈𝘺, 𝘨𝘰𝘥𝘴, 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘺.

Roland sets about his foot inspection of the salt miners, looking for the blue tattoo mark that Little Bill had seen on the Skin-Man in the latest attack.

(𝘕𝘰𝘵𝘦: 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘎𝘗𝘛 𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘢 𝘣𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘳)

𝘏𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘮𝘺 𝘦𝘭𝘣𝘰𝘸 . . . 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘳𝘰𝘯. 𝘏𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘸 𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘳. “𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘺, 𝘨𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘦’𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘱𝘭𝘶𝘨, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘪𝘵.”

“𝘚𝘢𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵?”

“𝘈 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩. 𝘉𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘪𝘮. 𝘉𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘪𝘮. 𝘓𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘵. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 . . . 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦.”

This thinny would be the opening scene of the movie version. A haunting scene for sure!

…𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘵𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘶𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘥. 𝘈𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘝𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘯-𝘮𝘢𝘯: 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘣𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘭. 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘯 𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘥, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘦’𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘮𝘦—𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘤𝘬—𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘳. 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬.

I can feel the tension racheting up!

𝘈𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵, 𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵. 𝘞𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘦𝘦; 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘝𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘥, 𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘴.

And on THAT cliffhanger of a paragraph, I end reading The Wind Through the Keyhole for today. I am now 92% of the way through the book and will finish reading it tomorrow!

Day 1413: Nov 13, 2025

I’m very excited to reach the end of The Wind Through the Keyhole! I read this book back in 2012 when it first came out – but I have absolutely zero recollection of it and I’m hanging on the edge of my seat to see who is revealed to be the horrific Skin-Man!

“𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘯𝘰𝘸!” 𝘖𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘦 𝘈𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘸𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘞𝘦𝘨𝘨 𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘩, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘣𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘤𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘤𝘭𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘵.

This has got to be the 75th reference to chambray shits that Stephen King has made in his vast work.

𝘈𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘶𝘱. 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘥; 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴. 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘣𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘫𝘦𝘵-𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬. 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯. 𝘐𝘵 𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘱𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘴.

I WANT TO SEE THIS ON THE SCREEN!

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘯𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦, 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘴𝘯𝘢𝘬𝘦-𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘐 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘥. 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘵; 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳. 𝘐𝘵 𝘭𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘥, 𝘧𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘳. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘢𝘸𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩.

And just like that, the confrontation with the big baddie is over. That’s a complaint I have often have with King. These encounters with the monster at the end often wrap up too quickly, like he’s facing a deadline to the publisher in the next five minutes.

𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘎𝘢𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦 𝘋𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘯’𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦. 𝘔𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘵—𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦. 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵, 𝘶𝘯𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘐 𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯. 𝘐𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘳.

Roland reading a letter from his deceased mother was a very sweet & touching conclusion to this story.

𝘐 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘑𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘤 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨; 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘪𝘲𝘶𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘩 𝘪𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯, 𝘵𝘰𝘰, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘚𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘑𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘷𝘪𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 . . .

Oh, so relieved to hear that Jamie De Curry got some in the end.

𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘺 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘖𝘺, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘸𝘴 𝘴𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩.

And now we return to the main story with Roland, Eddie, Susannah, Jake and Oy!

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘳, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘨𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘦𝘢𝘮—𝘵𝘰 𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘢 𝘉𝘳𝘺𝘯 𝘚𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘱, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘛𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥, 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘣𝘺𝘦.

Fitting words to conclude The Wind Through the Keyhole.

I’ve got some time to hear Two Guys to the Dark Tower Came discuss the ending of The Wind Through the Keyhole.

The Dark Tower 4.5: The Wind Through the Keyhole — The Skin-Man (Part 2) and Storm’s Over

https://twoguysdarktower.blubrry.com

In this episode of Two Guys to the Dark Tower Came, we finish our discussion of The Dark Tower, Book 4.5, The Wind Through the Keyhole, The Skin-Man (Part 2) and Storm’s Over.

Day 1414: Nov 14, 2025

The Kingslingers finish off The Wind Through the Keyhole.

The Wind Through the Keyhole (Part 4)

https://podcastaddict.com

This week, we’re back to wrap up the final book of our Dark Tower Journey as we discuss the Skin-Man and Storm’s End of The Wind Through the Keyhole. Roland takes down a skin man and learns about forgiveness

Day 1415: Nov 15, 2025

Radio Free Mid-World comes to the end of The Wind Through the Keyhole.

The Wind Through the Keyhole, “Skin-Man (Part 2) / Storm’s Over”

https://podcasts.apple.com

The wild west werewolf mystery is solved, and I’m joined by Evan and Chase to talk through the gory conclusion to this strange book. With the fairy tale told, Roland sets out to identify which of the salt miners is gruesomely murdering the inhabitants of Debaria. As for where that Skin-Man came from? Well, that’s another mystery.

Day 1416: Nov 16, 2025

The Kingslingers circle back one more time to The Wind Through the Keyhole.

The Wind Through the Keyhole (Overview)

https://podcastaddict.com

This week Matt and Scott conclude the final novel of the Dark Tower series as we have one last chat about The Wind Through the Keyhole.

Day 1417: Nov 17, 2025

Finished off this last episode from The Kingslingers about The Wind Through the Keyhole.

The Wind Through the Keyhole (Overview)

https://podcastaddict.com

This week Matt and Scott conclude the final novel of the Dark Tower series as we have one last chat about The Wind Through the Keyhole.

Day 1418: Nov 18, 2025

Listened to this quick and quite shallow episode from Chat Sematary about The Wind Through the Keyhole.

The Dark Tower: The Wind Through the Keyhole (2012)

https://podcastaddict.com

Becky Kovach returns for a chat about The Dark Tower: The Wind Through the Keyhole. We dive into the fact that this is a story within a story, the low stakes it has for the main characters in the series in comparison to the other books, and more.

The Stephen King Cast basically called anyone who read The Wind Through the Keyhole as book 4.5 in the Dark Tower sequence an idiot.

The Wind Through the Keyhole

https://stephenkingcast.podbean.com

I don’t think any of us expected a return to Mid-World, but I’m not complaining! Though the journey might be over, All-World is a large and mysterious, and I want to spend more time there. And that’s exactly what we get with this episode!

Day 1419: Nov 19, 2025

Listened to the very first episode ever from The Stephen King Podcast where they briefly discussed a previous of The Wind Through the Keyhole before it was even released. This was some real old-school podcasting here.

Day 1420: Nov 20, 2025

The Stephen King Podcast returned several weeks later to delivery a positive review of The Wind Through the Keyhole. They interview Dark Tower expert and author, Bev Vincent!

Day 1421: Nov 21, 2025

The Year of the Underrated Stephen King reads The Wind Through the Keyhole before reading books 5 – 7 of the Dark Tower saga. Brave decision and she loved it!

The Wind Through the Keyhole

https://podcastaddict.com

“In the end, the wind takes everything…” For The Wind Through the Keyhole:

Day 1422: Nov 22, 2025

Started listening to this lengthy episode from The Losers Club about The Wind Through the Keyhole.

The Dark Tower: The Wind Through the Keyhole

https://podcastaddict.com

The Losers return to Mid-World to discuss the eighth and final (?) Dark Tower novel: 2012’s The Wind Through the Keyhole.

Day 1423: Nov 23, 2025

Finally finished this deep dive into The Wind Through the Keyhole from The Losers Club.

The Dark Tower: The Wind Through the Keyhole

https://podcastaddict.com

The Losers return to Mid-World to discuss the eighth and final (?) Dark Tower novel: 2012’s The Wind Through the Keyhole.

Day 1424: Nov 24, 2025

It’s the final item in my schedule for The Wind Through the Keyhole! Now tuning in to Just King Things.

The Wind Through the Keyhole

https://podcastaddict.com

We talk about the 2012 novel The Wind Through the Keyhole.

Day 1425: Nov 25, 2025

It’s my last day for The Wind Through the Keyhole! Just King Things essentially just mocked the book – they weren’t particularly fond of it.

The Wind Through the Keyhole

https://podcastaddict.com

We talk about the 2012 novel The Wind Through the Keyhole.

And that CONCLUDES this milestone in my journey, wrapping up The Wind Through the Keyhole!

Some quick stats:

𝄜 Number of items consumed in this step (book + podcast episodes): 21
𝄜 Hours spent: 37
𝄜 Days passed: 56

Impressions: Delightful, but not necessary revisit to Roland’s world. The story within a story within a story was a neat trick, but I’d already seen that done masterfully with Cloud Atlas.

The story of the tracking of the skin-man was well constructed, but rather procedural without any aspect of a surprise reveal.

The main fairy tale felt like a simple sequence of events without a grand purpose. Just a run-of-the-mill Conan-like adventure.

I am eager to get back to the main plot and start on Wolves of the Calla.

As of this moment, here are the rankings of my experiences:

1 The Dark Tower: Wizard and Glass
2 The Dark Tower: The Waste Lands
3 The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger
4 The Stand
5 Doctor Sleep
6 The Shining
7 Night Shift
8 Salem’s Lot
9 Carrie
10 The Wind Through the Keyhole
11 Cujo
12 Firestarter
13 The Dead Zone
14 The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three
15 Danse Macabre
16 Gunslinger Born and other Marvel comics

Next up: Circling back to previous books to catch up on podcast material released over the past few months. Then in December… Wolves of the Calla!