Scarhaven Keep · Chapter
Hobkin's Hole explained
Copplestone receives an anonymous letter summoning him to Hobkin's Hole.
What happens
Copplestone receives an anonymous letter summoning him to Hobkin's Hole. He follows the instructions and meets Zachary Spurge, a mysterious man living in a cave. Spurge reveals that he witnessed Bassett Oliver enter the ruins of the old keep at Scarhaven, followed shortly after by Squire Greyle looking dazed and in a hurry. Oliver never emerged, and Spurge implies that Greyle may be involved in his disappearance.
Themes in this chapter
Mystery and Detection
Copplestone's decision to follow the anonymous letter and his interview with Spurge advance the central mystery of Oliver's disappearance.
Isolation and Landscape
The description of Hobkin's Hole as a dark, secluded ravine emphasizes the isolation and foreboding atmosphere surrounding the secret meeting.
Characters to notice
- Richard Copplestone
Receives the anonymous letter and ventures to Hobkin's Hole to meet the writer.
- Zachary Spurge
The mysterious sender of the letter; lives in a cave and claims to have witnessed Bassett Oliver's last known movements.
- Bassett Oliver
Mentioned as having entered the ruins and never seen again.
- Marston Greyle
Identified by Spurge as the man who left the ruins shortly after Oliver entered, looking dazed and in a hurry.
- Audrey Greyle
Copplestone considers showing her the letter but decides against it.
- Peter Chatfield
His oaken staff is carried by Copplestone for defense.
Key passages
“Sir, if so be as you'd like to have a bit of news from one as has it, take a walk through Hobkin's Hole tomorrow morning and look out for Yours truly—Him as writes this.”
The anonymous letter invites Copplestone to Hobkin's Hole for information.
Sets the chapter's central action in motion.
“I kept where I was—I'd reasons of my own. May be eight minutes or so—certainly not ten—after Bassett Oliver walked in there, Squire Greyle walked out. In a hurry, guv'nor. He come out quick. He looked a bit queer. Dazed, like.”
Spurge claims that Squire Greyle left the ruins shortly after Oliver entered, appearing disturbed.
Key testimony linking Greyle to Oliver's disappearance.