The Man in the Chimney

Note: This page is about the book chapter with the same name; if you were looking for the Chimney Man, go to that page instead.

The Man in the Chimney is the eighth chapter of The Travels of Dagobert Winter. The full text can be seen below.

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Martin could scarce believe his eyes. For a moment, he thought that he was dreaming; His comrade of over 30 years, the man that, mere hours before, had urged them all that the Chimney Man’s return must be prevented at all costs, had just done the unthinkable: he had shattered the twenty-fourth seal, unleashing the Chimney Man into the world.

Presently, a terrible droning sound reverberated throughout the roof-less temple. The entire valley shook fiercely, and the red light that illumninated the room coalesced into a thick crimson fog. The ichor-clad fir atop the grey coffin at the centre of the room withered away in an instant.

With a loud bang, the coffin lid dislocated itself and flew off into the distance; Martin looked on in horror as a swirling and coruscating mass of crimson and white light rose from the coffin. A terrible ‘laugh’ echoed throughout the temple.

Sudden, the light ‘turned’ and ’looked’ at Martin. The latter felt as though someone had impacted his forehead with a sledgehammer. With a mocking ‘grin’ He had bestowed upon him a divine revelation. In this very hour of His complete victory, how could He not flaunt His intelligence before those beneath Him?

It was then that Martin understood. He recalled the many happenstances that had led them to this moment, and as he did so, his entire being was filled with an unspeakable terror.

At the age of 15, Dagobert’s father took him to a nearby city as he was carrying out an errand for the local library. There, Dagobert stumbled upon a book that detailed a recent archaeological expedition into a rather peculiar set of ancient ruins near the Gambian River delta. Upon reading it, Dagobert found himself filled with a fascination for the ancient world; this incident greatly served to kindle his everlasting passion for achaeology. The date was 24 December 1870.

A few years later, a young Martin who had just entered university first heard rumors of the Man in Red from a dishevelled old scholar. The date was 24 December 1872.

That scholar, so he claimed, had once participated in an excavation in the Gambia. One day, he slipped and fell into a narrow chasm, but fortunately, his injuries were mild and he recovered from the fall soon after. The only long-lasting consequences were dreams of white and red that haunted him for the remainder of the month. The date of the fall was 24 December 1847.

Two years after encountering the scholar, Martin had a fireside beer with Dagobert; suddenly, his inebriated mind drifted as in a daze and made him recall his meeting with the aged scholar and the legend of the Man in Red. In that moment, he found that encounter to be so unusual that he could not help himself but tell Dagobert about it. The date was 24 December 1875.

Nine years later, archaeologist and professor August Gotthold Meyer passed away in his sleep; his death came as a surprise to his friends and colleagues. August had always been in good health and had barely started showing signs of advanced age. The date of his death was 24 December 1884.

A year later, Dagobert was granted tenure at the University of Greifswald, inheriting the post of late professor August; his position having remained vacant for over a year, as the university had seemingly been unable to find any suitable candidates. At last, the dean had agreed to grant Dagobert the position. The date was 24 December 1885.

One day, Dagobert chanced upon a small leather-bound book that had belonged to August; it detailed the latter’s investigation of the legend of the Chimney Man. Dagobert had previously tried to distance himself from this legend, a part of him having sensed the danger that it entailed, but at last, a scholar’s curiosity got the better of him, and he eagerly dove into the late professor’s writings. The date was 24 December 1898.

The following year, Dagobert and company arrived at the banks of the Euphrates, where they began investigating the local ruins in search of more clues about the legend of the Man in Red. Eventually they discovered the whereabouts of the Temple of Burong. Upon their arrival in the Gambia, they found the doors of the temple tightly shut by preternatural forces, and its well-preserved walls impervious to any attempt at entry.

On a rainy day in late 1903, they at last discovered a secret passage in the Sumerian underworld that led to the interior of the temple, following which Dagobert, seemingly by chance, cracked one of the twenty-four seals. At first, they deliberated fleeing the temple, but Dagobert at last decided to repair the seal.

Today, on 24 December 1903, the Chimney Man is free once more.

Martin collapsed on the ground as the torrent of information that had streamed into his head ceased at last. His gaze drifted to the western side of the hall, where ‘Dagobert’ had shattered the twenty-fourth seal. ‘Dagobert’ turned to face Martin, his now shining red eyes resembling a pair of embers, and ‘laughed’.

Not long after, the crimson glow left his eyes, and Dagobert’s lifeless body was allowed to rest at last. Only in death could he escape the influence of the Chimney Man that had guided him for the last three decades of his life.

THE END.

Aftermath

The coruscating mass above the Chimney Man’s coffin rose from the temple. A crimson veil fell over the city of Burong, blanketing every house and every person, as if trying to devour them whole.

Sudden, the veil disappeared. The Man in Red stood still for but a moment. Presently, He tore through the fabric of reality and entered +17i. ‘Gifting’ the position of His last remaining projection to Himself, He arrived at 𒀭𒄑𒉋𒂵𒎌’s ziggurat in an instant, where He absorbed the fragments of His fertilty that He had previously projected outside His coffin. Following this, He fled the scene immediately and travelled through +16i and continued onwards until He arrived in Timeless Beings-controlled territory, at which point the Friendly Council lost His trail.

Of course, His departure had not been voluntary: soon after He was fully unsealed, 𒀭 had cast HIS gaze over and extended HIS will to ward off His influence; it was only by HIS interference that Burong was spared a Sinking at the hands of the Chimney Man.

On a shallow hill in the distance, not far from Burong, the figure of a middle-aged man materialised itself from the void, his eyes falling upon the dilapidated temple. Shaking his head, he let out a sigh and emptied an ornate silver teacup he had brought with him, following which, he, too, departed the scene.