The Let's Play Archive

The Chzo Mythos

by Quovak

Part 32: 6 Days, Part 3: Prelude to a Better update




Note: This is the final section of the game where things are incredibly boring. Starting immediately after, the mindscrew gets kicked up a hundredfold. Also, this is a short and not particularly amusing update due to me doing it as a way to not have to pay money.

6 Days, Part 3: Prelude to a Better update



I've got to find out what's in the hub before anyone tries to go inside it again.

This chapter is about convincing other people to do your work for you. Most adventure games could have all of their puzzles negated by a crowbar; this game would have all of its puzzles negated by working arms.


I do like the way this hall gets progressively worse; it's a nice touch. Less backtracking would have been a nicer one, but hey.

Who are you? Could you tell me where I am?
You're dead!
Dead? Yes, I remember being dead. But I don't remember you.
You... your guts were torn out! The blood's still on the floor!
Huh. Perhaps it's best that I don't remember.

Here we have a weird cross between the three Trilby personalities we've seen thus far. It's a bit odd and doesn't fit in with anything.

This is impossible.
Are you going to answer my questions any time soon?
Who are you?
That much I know: Trilby. Even that sole fact isn't sufficient, though... I get the feeling I have, or had, other names in the past.
Trilby the cat burglar?
Yes, that was one of my names. Nevertheless, I'm certain that Trilby is my name.
But... I saw you die.
And I already told you, I remember that I was dead, so your statement only further reinforces my claim.
This doesn't make any sense.
And yet, here we are.

[Words about memories]

I remember John DeFoe, and from that name a few other memories return. Standing on a hill, watching something burning in the distance, my hands covered in blood. And then, a place that was two places at once. I'm lying on something hard, my stomach really hurts, and someone is talking to me. But it's mostly a fog, up until the moment I woke up here.

As I alluded to earlier, all of these Trilbies have different personalities past the first two. There's no reason for this, given that they seem to have the same memories. I guess somebody retrains each of them to have no emotions and be an uncaring guard whenever that becomes necessary.

So you woke up here?
Well, not right here. I just felt myself gravitate to this spot, like something important happened here.
This is where you were killed.
You've been a great help. Excuse me, won't you?

Thanks for telling me about my death right next to a skeleton of me and a bloodstain from me. It helped me immensely.


You can barely see a flask icon next to the door, which looks more like an RPG potion shop sign. Trilby could apparently open this door through sheer force of will.

File: The Clanbronwyn Hotel incident took the soul of the Bridgekeeper away from us, and delayed the coming of the King for hundreds of years. But at the same time it brought the prince to us, with the solution already in hand. The prophecy in the Books of Chzo demands that the Guide assists the creation of the Bridge. Obviously he could not do that if he was long since dead of old age. But the sample of his blood provided by the Prince was more than enough to ensure that the Guide would exist for more than long enough to fulfill his destiny.

The Guide is Trilby. The Tall Man carrying his jacket ensured that enough blood remained to clone Trilby so that he could get around to destroying DeFoe any day now. Then the Tall Man started killing his clones because he changed his mind. It was very kind of him to intentionally sabotage his own plans for the sake of a sequel.


Those vats are where they make the clones, and they apparently have a few dozen more in storage based on how many will start popping up before too long.

What is this place?
No idea, but this is where I woke up. What year is it?
2189.
I can't remember what year it was the last time I checked, but I'm pretty sure I've lost a century or two along the way.
Listen, this complex is dangerous. It's already killed someone. We need to find a way out of here .
All the answers I seek are here. I just have to find them. Death didn't stop me last time, apparently.

Trilby seeks for answers by standing perfectly still staring at different walls.


This hat acts as a clue that there are more Trilbies, a function also provided by the two other Trilbies we've seen and the note about other Trilbies. There's another note here.

File: And the Prince was much displeased, for the Prideful Acolyte would in his arrogance interfere with the destiny of the Guide, and so he threw down the Prideful Acolyte, and the Prideful Acolyte became the Puppet, and knew the name of the King. And with great fear did the Guide take up the Soul of the Bridgekeeper, immune to its influence for the Bridgekeeper was also greatly fearful, and he hid the Soul of the Bridgekeeper away, to a place where it would meet its final destiny. And the Prince and the Puppet took their message to the Order of Blessed Agonies.

In this case, "immune to its influence for the Bridgekeeper was also greatly fearful" means "immune because he got someone to wrap it in a shirt." Remember that John DeFoe (Bridgekeeper) is still afraid of things.



[Canning evades questions and says nothing about the area becoming a dungeon or other mysteries]

Who is John DeFoe?
Ah, now we're getting somewhere. John DeFoe is the bridgekeeper. It is through him that the King will enter our world.
Where is he?
He is all around us. Then again, he's also drifting off somewhere in deep space.

This will be hammered in a bit later as always, but the complex is John DeFoe's mind. There's very little reason except, as always, the need for sequels.

Give me a straight answer, for god's sake!
There is no straight answer to your question.
Trilby told me the name. It's just about the only thing he remembers.
Mere words will not fully restore a lost memory. A picture does a better job. I'll tell you what, if you can figure out what Dr. Harty was doing for us, I'll help you.



I think she was a cloner. You had her creating multiple copies of Trilby, and when I thought I saw him come back to life it was just a different clone.
Now the more complex question: Why? What would we need clones of this particular individual for?
I... I don't know.

Spoiler: Yahtzee doesn't either.

You don't know anything about the DeFoe Manor incident?
No.
Alright, you wanted to know what could jog his memory. Here is my advice: A newborn often reacts well to pictures of its mother.
That's all you can give me?
That's all I intend to give you. I'm not your personal advisor, boy.

Ah, good, I was worried I might need to use my brain to figure out something rather than a built-in walkthrough or a moon logic book.





Never mind, you have to call a dead person to figure it out. I guess the moon logic did come in handy.

What? I... they hung up.

It's never explained who that was or why they gave you a code. Anyway, we can now call Janine.

Do you have Dr. Harty's ID card?
I just wanted to... remember her in some way.
I'm not judging you. Can I borrow it?

I only robbed her corpse because I care.

I'm not coming out.
I need you to get the hub open again. The reason behind this whole mess... it's in the hub. It's like I'm being drawn to it.
Sam was murdered when she went in there!
I know, all the more reason to see what's important enough to kill for.
And you're on your own.


So, let's do some more counter-intuitive camera things, finding some fully-intact ruins in a basement several dozen feet below ground.



I've seen what's inside the hub. I'm sending it to you now.
I see it.
There's nothing to be afraid of, see? It's just some old ruin. Whatever killed Dr. Harty is gone now.
When I see this, I don't feel so afraid. Like I'm seeing a place where... where I can find peace at last. Will you help me get there?
Uh, sure, but... you'll have to come out of the sleeping quarters.

I don't know why proving that there's nothing interesting in the hub should encourage you to try entering the hub. Presumably you weren't supposed to think about it too much. Like everything else in this game.

This is a short update because I'm dangerously close to my Toxx clause deadline (Beat it by 10 minutes). The other reason is that next update contains a string of the three worst parts of this game, which seem to work well together. The next update, which is essentially part 2 of this one, will come shortly. That sentence is probably untrue.