Part 16: Gabriel Knight vs. Family Secrets

Chapter 16: Gabriel Knight vs. Family Secrets

Time's a-wastin'. Thanks to the lecture and Gabriel's impromptu nap, it's already getting to be mid-afternoon.

Gabriel heads straight from Tulane to his grandmother's house. He's not completely sure what he expects to find there, but he has a feeling that something in his dream may help him out there.






Gabriel sits down in the recliner he always sits in, still trying to figure out his next move. Maybe he really is going crazy.




...and yet he still wears that heavy trenchcoat everywhere.





"I don't think Gran's lyin', but she's not telling me everything. I'm gonna have to find out more about this guy."

That nagging feeling in Gabriel's stomach is only getting stronger now that he's here. He decides to check upstairs.






Gabriel takes a quick look around the attic, trying to find something important. After a second, his eyes settle on one thing: that stupid, broken clock.



He kneels down to check it out.



So, here's the thing: I hate this clock. I hate the puzzle and I hate the way it's presented. We actually have all the information we're supposed to use to solve it, but it's all so scattershot I frankly had to reverse-engineer it from the solution. Here's everything I've gathered:

• Gabriel finds the poem, "Drei Drakhen," (three dragons) by Heinz Ritter, in a hotspot that's like twenty pixels across
• Gabriel's father's painting, "Three Snakes in a Skull," as well as assorted depictions of triple snakes in his sketchbook
• Gabriel finds the book on snakes, and Grace mentions that old stories of dragons were actually about snakes
• Gabriel's latest dream features three snakes transforming out of a knife
• Gabriel receives calls from Wolfgang Ritter, who claims to be family -- we then consider, was Heinz Ritter family as well?

You'll note that not one single word of that leads directly to this clock. The pieces of the solution are scattered across the four winds, leaving this awful, game-stopping thing to fend for itself. Almost all of the puzzles in this game have (relatively) intuitive solutions that tie in with each other well and help nudge the narrative along, but this is just a puzzle for the sake of having a puzzle here. Hell, you can solve it on Day 1 if you already know the solution; there's no reason he couldn't have just found this shit in a box or something. It's a rare false note in a puzzle design that's usually leaps and bounds better than the usual King's Quest fare.

Alright, I've had my rant about the clock. So what's the solution?



Set the time to 3:00 and set the picture wheel to the dragon. A secret compartment with two very interesting items pops open after you turn the key.








The photo doesn't tell us much except that Harrison liked to hang out at castles. Gabriel checks out the letter.






Interesting. So why was this tucked away in a puzzle clock?




New global topic: "Schattenjäger." Also we have a new personal topic with Gran: "Heinz Ritter." The interrogation window sure is getting cramped.



Letter and photo in hand, Gabriel confronts his grandmother.






Gran isn't particularly happy to hear this news.





Suddenly, Wolfgang Ritter's story about being a relative got a whole lot more plausible.






That's a relief, but it gets us no closer to why he cut himself off from his entire family.





"I don't think it worked."





Goddamn, is there anything about Gabriel's grandfather that wasn't depressing?

So what about Wolfgang?




Fair enough. All this talk is getting Gran in a pretty lousy mood, so Gabriel changes topic.








Damn, Heinz/Harrison sure was one secretive sumbitch.

Gabriel hands her the photo of his grandfather in Germany.




It's pretty clear we're not going to learn anything more from Gran on this front.






It would be nice to stay and chat, but Gabriel is just way too busy today. Gran sees him out.

Gabriel starts to head to the bookstore, planning to call Wolfgang Ritter and find out what the hell he wants, but he decides to make a quick stop at the Dixieland Drug Store.



He finds our good friend Willy Walker in as bad a mood as always. Why, it's starting to seem as if he just doesn't like having Gabriel around. Imagine that.



The siren song of questionable purchases calls to Gabriel from that mask. Maybe having it sit on his desk staring at him will get him to actually write something.



Willy doesn't respond well to direct questions, so Gabriel eases his way into it.






New personal topic: "Willy Jr."






Jesus, that's not gonna happen. Gabriel had to dig up an ancient gift certificate just to buy a hot dog.




"Not that I have $50 anyway..."



Well, with Willy watching him like a hawk, there's no way Gabriel's gonna sneak away with that thing. Gabriel leaves the shop in a foul mood, determined to win this battle somehow.



At the shop, Gabriel skips right to the back room. There's an expensive phone call that needs to be made.





A perky young German girl answers the phone before passing it on to Wolfgang, who speaks in a slightly paler shade of orange.





Seriously? This guy's had like three days to work on his sales pitch. He's gonna have to do better than that.








Ah yes, let's fly to Germany on a stranger's whim. An excellent plan, especially given the aforementioned lack of money.








Looks like we can expect a package in a few days. Gabriel doubts it'll convince him to cross the Atlantic, but maybe there'll be something worth reading in there.



Almost as soon as he hangs up the phone, Gabriel hears a commotion in the front room. Someone else walking into the store is cause enough for investigation.



Oh, it's just Bruno again.




As always, Bruno minces his way straight to Gabriel's painting.



Gabriel considers it for a moment. He is suddenly in a more immediate need for money, what with the mask and -- who knows -- maybe a trip to Germany.





"I can't believe I'm doing this."






I'm with Grace on this one. What a fucking jerk. Shoot him down, Gabriel!





Bruno eagerly hands over the bill.





Wait, he's going to hang up the painting of snakes crawling around through a skull in his flower shop? Dude has a respectable disregard for common sense.



Bruno takes the painting and sashays out of Gabriel's life forever.




I think we all know where that $100 is really going.

(I originally intended to put that scene in the first update of Day 3, but it turns out Bruno doesn't appear until after you ask about the mask. You can also turn Bruno down here, but he wanders into the shop literally every minute or so until you agree to his terms.)

Let's get Grace off Gabriel's back.





Gabriel sure knows the way into a girl's heart.








It was worth a shot. Grace has insights into the craziest things from time to time.



Before he leaves, Gabriel chugs some coffee. Wouldn't want to fall asleep at the worst possible time again.



There's no need for Grace to know where that hundred is going. Gabriel hurries to the drugstore before he has a chance to change his mind.



Next time:

Gabriel chats up the bar patrons in Chapter 17: Gabriel Knight vs. Odds & Ends!

Videos!
29. If only they spelled "compliment" right (Dailymotion) (Youtube)
30. So long, Bruno. (Dailymotion) (Youtube)