The Talking Tree is a major character in Darkwood. It is a massive horrific manifestation (clone amalgamation) of many different people into a singular, hideous form created by the Being. A female child and older gentlemen are just some of the people to make up those that form its immense trunk and roots. Beneath the Talking Tree is the tree's "heart," which is beating at a steady rhythm.
It can be inferred from the dialogue of the villagers that the "cloning" took place the night the Thief and his companions attempted to raid the basement for food, and is formed of a mix of both the villagers that were locked out and those that locked themselves in the basement below. The corpse of the cow that was reformed as part of the trunk can be found in the basement below, dried to a husk.
Its interactions with the player are limited. The player can choose to kick and break parts of the tree but in doing so it only grows back other limbs with alarming speed. There is an option for 'Gossip,' but with so many people talking it is hard to discern any responses. Its primary purpose seems to be to block the player from finishing the game. Only one of the human clones within appears to be situationally aware, and tries to direct the Protagonist towards the Radio Tower and away from the tree.
Quests[]
Kill The Tree[]
The Cripple mentions that people used to pass through the Village to leave the woods, before the tree came around. He tasks the player with destroying it; doing so will stop its hideous cries and allow him to "die in peace."
Through a flooded cellar beneath the Village the player can use a large oil tank and Torch to burn the Talking Tree. It does not die immediately; the Protagonist notes that the fire will have killed it by the next morning. Sure enough, when the player comes back the next day the tree will be a shriveled, dead, ashen grey, and in its place will be the way out of the woods.
Epilogue[]
If the player gets the True ending, the burning of the Tree alongside The Three is then confirmed. The Cripple is then stated to perish shortly thereafter, experiencing satisfaction at the destruction of the Talking Tree. If the player decides to destroy the Tree before the Epilogue, it will be dead before the forest burns, and The Three die while standing in its remains.
- See Transcript
Notes[]
- After the Talking Tree is killed, the player has access to the Road to Home and can trigger the Epilogue.
Dialogue[]
Greeting[]
- First Encounter
The tree is gigantic. Its bark stays in constant motion - it swells up and collapses into itself, as if breathing. I see human silhouettes growing out of the tree trunk. They're also moving, as if gesturing in slow motion...
Dozens of mouths repeat their lines simultaneously, creating a uniform, noisy murmur.
Between the boughs I catch a man's gaze. It's fixed on me. His body, similarly to the other beings, seems to form an integral part of the tree. His limbs are gnarled and his face is grotesquely deformed.
He's the only one to acknowledge my presence. His hand slowly raises, pointing to something on the horizon, above the roofs of the destroyed village. The man's lips are moving, but the ghastly murmur of the other voices drowns out his words.
- Look at the lips of the person talking to me
Even though the figure speaks sluggishly, it is too high for me to read it's lips properly.
I think one of the words is "radio".
- Try to climb the tree
The bark is slimy and soft. Its creases move away from my shoes and hands. I feel the arms that protrude from the root tugging at my clothes. I'm not sure if they want to drag me down or pull me closer. I barely break free from their grasp. Climbing up is out of the question.
- Kick the tree, hoping that the voices will go silent
I kick the tree trunk with all my strength, breaking a branch sticking out from between the roots.
It hurts!
I hear a silent voice coming from beneath my feet.
It's a face of a man who has grown into the root. He's completely covered in bark. His lips barely stick above the mud and his raised arms resemble branches.
One of them is broken in the elbow. The stump bleeds a white, gooey substance. Instead of seeping down, it slowly flows upward, forming a new arm.
- The other side of the Talking Tree
In the shadows I notice the pulsating vastness of the gigantic tree trunk
In the distance, above the roots, I can see the destroyed roofs of the flooded village.
The area is shrouded in almost complete silence.
The voice is coming from between the dark boughs, but I can't see its owner.
Examine[]
- The thieves
I am barely able to make out any conversations and squabbles from the horrible noise of the tree boughs.
The shouts come from an old man. Only the tip of his head and one of his arms stick out from between the tightly crowded bodies.
Right next to him, a woman's head, wobbling from side to side, repeats:
Another figure, hiding its face under an enormous root, lets out a chilling shriek.
He is interrupted by a man next to him, his intestines hanging out from his stomach.
High above, at the top of the crown, two silhouettes hanging side by side from their hands and legs grown into the trunk, are trying to bite each other's faces off.
- The oblivious
Just next to her, a massive man calmly hums some melody. The lullaby drowns in the overwhelming noise surrounding the tree.
Trivia[]
- The Being is implied to be the one talking to the player over the radio in Swamp Hideout and in the Cottage near the Junkyard. When the tree is killed the radio will ask, 'Why did you do it?' Then it will trigger a night event where huge groups of Burning Villagers - possible coming from the tree's trunk itself - will charge forth to attack the player, likely in revenge for what he has done.
- The Talking Tree seems to be related to The Three. Once it has been killed, the Three stop appearing in the morning. The Cripple also mentions the Three regularly visit the Tree. As said before, they will burn to death in one of the endings while standing in the tree's remains. It can be speculated that the Talking Tree contains a human clone of the Thief (the father of the Three), and their dedication to the Tree could be out of love for their father; alternatively it could be because they miss father AND their entire village.
- The Talking Tree is not malevolent, much of the consciences that make up its form are not even aware of their situation, many stuck in a perpetual state of anger and despair.
- The Talking Tree is somewhat like a cancerous growth, it is a growth formed by the Being but its place of formation unintentionally prevents any further potential Sleepers from reaching the Being. Despite this, the Being still seems to be very attached to the Tree, lamenting through the radio if the Protagonist sets its alight.
Gallery[]
| Characters | |
|---|---|
| Major characters | Bike Man • Chicken Lady • Child • Cripple • Doctor • Elephants • Mirror • Mushroom Granny • Musician • Piotrek • Protagonist • Snail • Talking Tree • The Three • Trader • Wolfman • The Being |
| Minor characters | Dial-eyed Man • Half-Dead Man • Half-Dead Woman • Hanuska • Infected Villager • Janek • Maciek • Madman • Man • Notable Villagers (Swamp) • Pig Farmer • Pretty Lady • Sleeper • Stasiek • Tunneler |