Cripple

This article contains major spoilers. Reader discretion is advised.

The Cripple is a major character in Darkwood. He can be found in the Village, safely blockaded in a room behind multiple Metal Doors. A nearby firepit will mark his location.

He's an older gentleman with hazy eyes, who sits dormant in his wheelchair. He has lost his legs from the knee down. He seems to be the only person left in town; the rest have either died or become a part of the Talking Tree. In the past, he says, many people used to pass through. Those people stopped coming once the tree grew. This can be found out by handing the cripple the Food Inventory found nearby, containing a list of survival ingredients.

The Cripple is rarely friendly, and rather pushy for the player to complete certain tasks that he himself can't do (in his current state). His relationship with the Protagonist can be described as a 'tenuous friendship', created simply out of necessity.

Quests

Kill The Tree

The Cripple tasks the player with destroying the Talking Tree. He claims that the cries of those trapped inside won't let him rest.

To do this the player will need to enter the cellar beneath the Village, with an Oxygen Tank, and go through a nightmare sequence reminiscent of the levelling up nightmares. After that, the tree can be burned by opening an Oil Tanker, and using a nearby Torch to set the oil (and the tree) alight.

In doing this, and returning to The Cripple, he'll be found staring into the fire. The next day, he will have left.

The Cripple is then found crawling down the Road out of the Forest, which is accessed after burning the Talking Tree. He will eventually stop moving, though he isn't dead, only tired out from pulling himself along the ground. The player can put him out of his misery, with no reward for doing this.

Epilogue

If the player has burnt down the Talking Tree, and has spared the Cripple on the Road to Home, he will perish in the flames, having been described as being so close to freedom. Alternatively, if the player has spared the Talking Tree, he will still perish in the flames, but not before the Talking Tree dies, and it is said that he expresses great joy in its demise. The Three also perish.

Showing Items

In the conversation screen, the Protagonist can show various story items to him.

• Photo of a Road
• Photo of a Woman with a Child and an Old Lady
• A Photo of Three Boys
• Food Inventory

Trivia

• The cripple used to also request that the Protagonist found and brought him some wheels for his chair, in exchange for a supposed reward. This text is still present as of version 1.1.
• In the Protagonists' description of the character he states that the wheelchair seems to be encompassed by roots. This might suggest that The Cripple too is slowly becoming a part of the Talking Tree. The tree has demonstrated its ability to connect to and entangle people before in the Cottage Near The Junkyard, where small roots have grown from a radio to attach to a man, lying in bed. Its possible that it has spread to The Cripple too.
• Another way to view the situation is that he simply hasn't moved in a considerable time. It is stated in multiple places that roots and branches grow incredibly fast in Darkwood's region, and therefore could grow over him, without any relation to the influence of Talking Tree itself.
• The Cripple claims to be a veteran, presumably of World War 2.
• The Cripple has either a wife or daughter named Zocha, who has been consumed by the Talking Tree.