Smythe's Secret

In this dread possibility, Smythe was involved in the murder of the entire Halloway Family. He had mad a pact with Mist Ferrymen- deliver victims to them and he could keep their treasure. Smythe didn't catch that the cursed deal would bind him to the river, unable to seek out the treasures in the Halloway House he coveted so much.

In Van Richten's Guide to the Mists (Item), the Weathermay-Foxgrove Twins briefly describe an incident that could constitute an addition to or twist on the above dread possibility. First, Laurie Weathermay-Foxgrove describes an incident where she accompanied Tamsin and Dr. van Richten to investigate the disappearance of the young Freidlin boys at the Halloway House. Said boys had ventured too near while exploring Steadwall and apparently vanished into the root cellars. Dr. van Ricthen investigated the root cellars, and the broken wood flooring warped to spell "we keep what we take".

In Van Richten's Guide to the Mists, Gennifer then briefly describes an incident that occurred at the Halloway house nearly a decade after Laurie's trip to the Halloway House. Gennifer's account begins with an interaction with Smythe where he tells her about a strange sight he saw at the House. Ultimately, Smythe takes her to explore the Halloway House]]. Gennifer describe him as fairly innocuous save for the fact he is a repeated liar and teller of tall tales. While there, Gennifer encountered a group of Mistlings, only to have Smythe abandon her, cryptically mentioning they "haunted" him. The Mistlings grabbed and assaulted her. During the struggle, Gennifer heard a chant of the same expression Laurie and van Richten had seen in the floors years before: "we keep what we take". She also believed she heard a voice command her to see "them" and recognize "they" are the Lost, although what the "they" the voice referred to is ambiguous. Ultimately, Gennifer fell into the river, only to later wake up once again in Smythe's ferry. Curiously, Smythe asked Gennifer if all that she was currently carrying was all that she brought with her.