Part 30: Beast Within 9: The Strange Cases of Baron Von Ralick and King Ludwig II
Part 9: The Strange Cases of Baron Von Ralick and King Ludwig IIOk, so here and here and here are vids of Grace narrating the cursive text. There ya go, don’t say I never did anything for you all.
Also, I had someone message me asking what I was referring to by a “titanium stake” last time. Well, that would be the classic film Howling 2: Stirba Werewolf Bitch starring Christopher fucking Lee.
Now, on with today’s episode.
Well, now that we’re armed with a specific date, to the Rathaus!
The Mayor is most forthcoming now that we have a date…and apparently 200 year old records are stored in file folders now. Go figure. Among other interesting factoids are that Victor’s werewolf was a Baron von Ralick from the nearby town, and that the man was executed by being drawn, quartered, and burned at the fucking stake. Ouch.
He also says that the Rittersberg dungeon where the werewolf was kept is right under the Rathaus and is open to tourists. Upon arriving there, Grace has a weird flashback to the intro video, and complains about it being claustrophobic. The mayor says she may come and go as she pleases, and we’re left to explore!
First thing we can do is look at the church, and Grace reflects on one more fact of the trial records: That the werewolf asked to see a confessor.
We also take a look at his cot. Woo. So seeing as Grace has attached special import to his desire to see a priest, I think it’s time to go back to church? Nope, because Grace’s German still leaves much to be desired it seems. So going back to the Rathaus, the Mayor offers to write Grace a note asking for the church records regarding Von RalicK, and says she can bring them back for him to translate. Gee, you’re helpful fella!
My Translate-fu is weak, but I sense nothing menacing about the letter.
File in hand, back to the Rathaus! (Dear god, I love that word.)
Okay, here’s where it starts getting weird. First, there’s a letter in the file, written in English from Buenos Aires asking for information regarding Von Ralick. So, Germans feeling to Argentina isn’t exactly a new phenomenon then. After that, the Mayor reads the confession. Von Ralick was known as “The Black Wolf” for his hunting skills and the terror he held his people in. One day, he raped a young woman from a Gypsy camp and was cursed with lycanthropy from one of the elders.
Unsure of where to go next, might as well hit up the Schattenjager Library again. First Grace checks for something on King Ludwig, but that whole section’s in German. So where else to go?
WERNER! He’s a font of information on Ludwig II, and sings his praises.
HISTORY TIME!!
Ludwig Otto Friedrich Wilhelm ruled Bavarian Germany from 1864 to his death in 1886, and is remembered as der Märchenkönig, the Fairy Tale King, and is extremely revered by Bavarians to this day. He was a patron of the arts, including Wagner. In fact, he was such a fan of Wagner’s operas that he considered abdicating so that he could follow Wagner around Europe, and it took Wagner himself persuading him not to do it. In 1885, his cabinet was frustrated by what they deemed his out-of-control spending (despite that he didn’t spend a penny of state funds), and conspired to have him declared insane and unfit to rule. The day after he was declared insane, he asked Dr. Bernhard von Gudden, chief of the Munich Asylum and lackey of the conspiracy to accompany him on a walk. At 11:30 that night, their bodies were found head and shoulders above the water near the shore. Ludwig’s death was declared a suicide by drowning despite the fact that no water was found in his lungs and that he was an excellent swimmer. Von Gudden on the other hand showed signs of being beaten and strangled. To this day, no one is exactly sure what happened.
Werner on the other hand is convinced that the conspirators had him murdered (which I understand is common sentiment amongst Bavarians). But that’s all we can get here right now, so back to Schloss Ritter I suppose because we still need to explore that lower path in the secret passage.
Or not, we can’t do anything else here.
Instead Grace writes up her research for Gabriel and packs the Journals and Big Book of Werewolf Hunting for him as well. Bu-u-u-t there’s a problem. Grace didn’t get his return address from that letter he sent her.
And the game won’t let me get the address from Werner. Hrmmm. But it turns out that we get the address by clicking the package on Gerde, who gives it up in bitchy fashion. And that done, we mail the package which completes the Grace section and things get supremely weird now, so brace yourselves.
So Grace and Gerde are calling it a night, which involves them sitting in the same room reading and hating each other, when there’s a knock at the door. Both anticipating Gabriel, they race to the door and find…
….
What the flying bloody blue fuck? This old couple asks if this is the Schattenjager castle and barges on in. They introduce themselves as the Smiths from Pennsylvania, and that they are demonologists. Apparently Mrs Smith there read about the Schattenjagers somewhere and wanted to see the castle.
Grace and Gerde have no idea what the fuck. Which is fair, because neither do I. Grace tells them that the Schattenjager isn’t in at the moment, and the wife gets upset because she “wanted to compare notes” in the “fight against darkness”.
Yyyyeah, I think if they actually get to meet the Schattenjager they are going to be profoundly disappointed. And then Mrs Smith starts having visions.
She grabs Grace’s hand and says that someone close to her is in danger from “a black wolf”. Her husband then escorts her out.
At any rate, neither Grace nor Gerde has any idea what the fuck this invasion from another game portends and the chapter ends.
Next time: Back to Gabriel!