Part 28: Gabriel Knight vs. A Massive Headache

Chapter 26: Gabriel Knight vs. A Massive Headache



Gabriel slowly comes to, still in the crypt.



This was a lot more pleasant when he woke up in his bed.



"Oh shit, Mosely!"

Gabriel scrambles to his feet and picks up his flashlight.





Fuck! Whatever they're planning to do with his body ...

"No. God help me, I just don't have time to think about this right now. Sorry, Bud."



Guiltily, Gabriel picks up the wallet.



He shoves it into his coat and tries his damnedest not to think about the implications.



There's nothing else to be done here. It was a long shot anyway; Tetelo's remains are probably either in Africa or somewhere in the local hounfour.





Gabriel leaves the cemetery in a hurry. He looks around for whoever clocked him, but whoever did it is long gone.

He goes straight back to the shop, his headache now spiraling out of control.



He tries, and fails, to enter without Grace noticing.




Grace, as usual, immediately notices Gabriel's ill condition.






At this point a ten-year jobless bike ride through South America would be an improvement, but Grace probably wouldn't go for that.







Great. This is probably the worst possible time for Wolfgang to go chasing after his destiny.



Gabriel heads into his bedroom to try and figure out what the hell to do now.



Gabriel inspects Mosely's wallet for a long moment. After a moment, hardly believing he's stooped that low, he starts looking through it.





And there we have it. Mosely's been holding a steady high-profile job for years now. He's almost certainly got $1400 to spare on his credit card. But Gabriel wonders ... does he really want to go through with this?



Gabriel lies on his bed, his head throbbing, and thinks long and hard about this. It was one thing to yank some of his stuff before, but ... stealing from the dead? Mosely definitely wouldn't approve.

Then again, what other options does he have right now? He guiltily dials the number for C the World Travel Agency again.






A moment passes, then Gabriel swallows his shame.






Gabriel hangs up the phone, a mixture of relief and revulsion wash over him. Grace can never learn of this.





Gabriel went for cool and mysterious but overshot the mark a little.




Gabriel walks to the door and dons his coat. He can't help but feel that a new chapter of his life is beginning, hopefully separate from the madness and death that's consumed his last few days. He doesn't even pack a bag.







Grace watches quietly as Gabriel leaves the shop, possibly for the last time.



Identity theft was so much easier back in 1993. Nowadays you have to steal people's passports and concoct elaborate disguises from ordinary items just to rent a motorcycle.



In the style of classic movies, a huge red line connects from New Orleans to Munich to show that Gabriel's made it safely.



Schloss Ritter looms large over the small town of Rittersberg. From the outside, you can hardly tell it's in such a sorry state.



Inside the castle's entrance hall, we see a young woman peeling potatoes.



Suddenly she hears a loud rapping on the door. She bolts to her feet and runs to answer it.



She opens the door and finds not Wolfgang, but ...





Gabriel, probably used to the crushing disappointment people feel when they see him, takes it in stride. The girl takes his coat.







Damn, for such an old man Wolfgang can really get out of town fast.





If the rest of this castle is like this giant drafty entrance hall, "comfortable" isn't the word that springs to mind.





Gerde (voiced by the late Mary Kay Bergman, who was in quite a few things, notably almost all of the female voices in early South Park) is the castle's groundskeeper. Gerde is a remarkable non-character in this game and does not do anything more interesting than peeling lots and lots of potatoes. Who the hell is she planning to feed with all those potatoes before they go bad?

Gerde returns to her pile of potatoes as Gabriel examines the place.





Coming around the corner yields a surprise hanging over Gerde's couch.




That's actually kinda gross. Wolfgang probably had trouble finding a buyer; nearly everything else in the hall is gone.




And that's everything there is to see in here. Gabriel turns to Gerde and tries his hand at chitchat.









Something catches Gabriel's eye a couple rooms over. He goes to investigate.



Gerde leans over and watches him curiously.




Damn. This chapel has got to be the most lavish room left in the castle.



Hmm ... not likely, but nice to have.



The six panels seem awfully specific, but to what end? Gonna have to see what Gerde knows about them.



First, though, Gabriel goes upstairs. The only rooms he finds worth checking out are the bedrooms. He decides to leave Gerde's alone for now and checks out Wolfgang's room.




This is nice. Empty as hell like the rest of the castle, but it doesn't seem run down. Gabriel notes the roaring fire.




Hmm. There's also the door that looks fancier than any other in the castle.





That probably leads somewhere more interesting than the bathroom, but it's locked.




That's no help at all. Guess it's time to pester Gerde.

On his way out, he notices something on the wall.




Gabriel makes a mental note to check that out again later and descends to Gerde's hall o' spuds.






As you might expect, Gerde is not exactly the local expert on the occult; there's nothing new to be learned of Voodoo from here. Gabriel sticks with the topics she would know about.

On a side note, Gerde only has about three frames of animation where she's not grinning like a lunatic.






I guess he sees this as his big opportunity to make good, but he's probably just dashing off to get killed.








You'd think he'd leave a better trail behind for Gabriel since he's so intent to solve the mystery.







Figures. Alright, the library's probably behind that locked door. It's off limits, but it's not like that's exactly stopped Gabriel before.





...well, it's just an old poem anyway. It's not like Gabriel's gonna burn alive as soon as he steps in there.





That sounds like a good idea if he's gonna be taking over the family business.








This is an excellent attitude to go into the ceremony with.



Gabriel re-enters the chapel and looks defiantly at the hangings. It's time to get initiated.



Next time:

Gabriel braves his darkest fears in Chapter 27: Gabriel Knight vs. Schloss Ritter!

Videos!
51. Tell me about yourself, Gerde. (Dailymotion) (Youtube)