Thomas is a character not actually encountered in the game, but mentioned in Florentine's Journal and referred to as a traitor by one of the voices in the Tower.
It has fallen my Lord. The Chamber is theirs. It was Thomas. The traitor was Thomas.
Florentine relates one of his acolyte's experience with a gardener in his journal, precisely in the entry of January 15, 1330. Said acolyte, Thomas, ostensibly encountered within the Tower someone who called himself the Gardener. Apparently, the Gardener aided Thomas "in his escape only moments before the gibbering madness of the Ire fell upon him". Florentine is sceptical about Thomas' account as his then-confidant Belial claims that "the last of the Gardeners perished at the Fall of the Stone."
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Florentine: No fewer than twenty two acolytes have entered the Tower since our efforts began two weeks ago, with only one returning in the intervening time. This man - Thomas - swore that he had met with someone within the Tower who named himself the Gardener. Thomas swore to the Power that this 'Gardener' aided him in his escape only moments before the gibbering madness of the Ire fell upon him. This experience has had an adverse effect on the man. His body could be used to sate the hunger of the One Power if he proves to be of no further use to us. Goats and poultry can be expensive and sometimes ineffectual. Of the testimony of Thomas concerning the existence of this Gardener, I must say that I am sceptical. Whether what he saw was figment or truth, I cannot say but Belial reliably informs us that the last of the Gardeners perished at the Fall of the Stone. I must take his word as truth.[1] |
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Florentine mentions Thomas again in another entry, dated much later, where he seems to express a subtle regret about how he may have done Thomas wrong in doubting his account of his experiences in the Tower, when he was aided by a Gardener.
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While in Madrid I took the opportunity to call in an old friend who was able to disclose secrets of the Tower from an old manuscript he had saved from the library before the Inquisition could impose themselves. As I sit here in this salt stinking cabin I cannot help but wonder on what Thomas had said to me so long ago given what the scroll discloses. |
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Speculation[]
During my research on the similarities between Realms of the Haunting and Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series of fantasy novels, specifically concerning the Ways (the Tower) and the Machin Shin (the Ire), I've come across this thread on the dedicated GOG message board, in which user Namur utters some interesting musings about Thomas:
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Since Thomas had no longer any apparent practical use upon his return from The Tower due to his mental condition, Florentine does reflect upon the possibilty of feeding his body to The One Power, but The One Power is not what caused Thomas' madness, Thomas' brush with The Ire in The Tower, inspite of Raphael's* aid in [Thomas]' escape, did. I'm assuming that the Gardener who helped Thomas was indeed Raphael, even though it could have been a different Gardener. I don't know if this is settled either way in game, but i don't think it makes that much of a difference in any case. |
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References[]
- ↑ Nota bene: In the German version of the game, this entry ends with a different sentence: "Ich muss ihm Glauben schenken, es gibt keine Beweise. Überdies muss ich mich derzeit gegen Raym behaupten." (tr. "I must take his word as truth, there is no evidence. Furthermore I have to stand up against Raym right now.")