Part 22: Episode XXII: Prequel Cliffnotes

Episode XXII: Prequel Cliffnotes



So we didn’t so much leave Roger Bacon alone as he vanished from existence as soon as the scene concluded. That’s OK. We’re done in here either way. We’ll just keep in mind that Roger is skulking about somewhere in that library if we ever need him again.





We still need to sort out that boss gated door upstairs. That seems important. So our next order of business is actually finding that boss and slaying it. There’s only one available direction left in the mansion main hall. So...





Seriously. It’s not just me, right? That carpet is ugly as hell. Anyhow, the boss is chilling out on the other side of that door. But we’ve got business here first. See that big cumbersome looking machine? We have some business with that.



So remember that gramophone disc we found discarded in some backroom in the library? Probably not! I barely remember it myself. But we have been lugging around such an item for several hours and now it finally has a use. So let’s just slam that massive sucker in here and...



Filling the room with a “melody” is a very generous description. What plays can only be described as a 10 second loop of off-key ear abuse. I left the game idle for 30 seconds to record a clip and regret the dedication. Click below at your own peril...


New Music: Gramophone



More importantly, activating this nightmare melody opens a hidden drawer beneath the gramophone containing the last lengthy file in the game. Grab yourself a lore sandwich because we’ve got quite the text file to pore through ahead...



September 10th, 1895
Rain.

With the monastery renovation completed, I have finally moved in with Ogden and Bessy. It's been a long road since I first procured the Émigré File. Even after referencing literature of all ages, the rendering of the text still remains a difficult task. Though it has been four years since I first laid eyes on it, never once has its enigma left the recesses of my mind.

Contained in it are countless descriptions of the source of the energy that is the secret to life's existence -- the Druids' cryptic experiment taken from the ancient Celts and recorded by Alexander the Great hundreds of years before Christ. Branded a forbidden enterprise, it was kept hidden by the Vatican's cardinals in the depths of the Pope's quarters for a very long time. And now, I have it in my hands. I have reached Wales, the land referred to in the text. I will fulfill my wife Elaine's resurrection at this monastery, built by Saint Daniel Scotus. Of course, I am aware that my act could prove insolent in the eyes of the Lord. And however people may censure my actions, the love I have for my wife will never cease. I ask for you Lord, to turn your eyes away for a short while.



November 16th, 1895
Rain.

The more I learn about this monastery, the more eerie the structure appears to me.

Ogden mentioned that the hospice had been full of corpses at one time a few hundred years ago, and I have become aware of an oppressing sense of mortal sin as I walk through the underground passageways. I can feel haunting spirits everywhere. But according to the Émigré File, the power of such resentful spirits are considered the driving force behind reviving the Druid's cryptic experiment. I plan to fill this place with the all-consuming ire of these spirits.

Even though I may burn in hell for these sins, If Elaine can be brought back to life, I shall have no regrets.



December 5th, 1895
Rain.

I found out that the cauldron hidden in the basement held the key to the secret. Even though the book had mentioned it, the well-positioned trick door kept us from locating its whereabouts. The cauldron looks as if it is made of gold, but upon closer examination, the surface is so old that one cannot determine how long it has been in existence. I would guess that it is a prehistoric artifact made a few thousand, or maybe even tens of thousands of years ago and left to sit.

We must quickly set up an altar and begin preparation for our ceremony.



December 16th, 1895
Rain.

I ordered Ogden to acquire some livestock. 320 chickens and 43 pigs were purchased through a supplier in town. I arranged for ground transportation but the fog did not help expedite the undertaking. I expect to be busy as soon as the delivery arrives. Animal offerings are an integral part of the Druid's experiment. The cauldron must be filled with the freshest blood and flesh.

This is where it begins.



February 24th, 1896
Rain.

The third experiment. Still no response.

Even though I follow directions and offer the proper prayers, there are no signs of the spirits gaining any strength. I must return to the book and reread some parts since I cannot proceed if there has been some misunderstanding of the text. Is there a problem with the way I conducted the experiment or are the offerings insufficient? Regardless, I need to think this over. Even though I may arrive at a terrifying realization, it is too late to fear anything now. I have come too far to be impeded by fear.

I am sure Ogden will understand.



March 19th, 1896
Rain.

Return from London.

The specially-ordered carriage seems to be working very well. I have trapped three women in the baskets in the back. I lured some victims out of an alley in the east end, had them sniff some chemicals and pulled them into the carriage. But, since I was not used to my new role as an abductor, it took me more time than I had planned.

I could not have done this without Ogden's help. I'm deeply grateful to him.



March 25th, 1896
Rain.

I am still at a loss. I can't make up my mind. Even if I can bring Elaine back to life, are my actions forgivable? I balk when presented with this dilemma.

Bessy has been taking care of the women I've kidnapped; it's better than them freezing in some corner of London. I hope this small gesture of kindness will be considered as a priori act of repentance. I wonder if my small kindness will have any significance when held up to the horrendous act I am about to commit.



March 31st, 1896
Rain.

I must make my mind up. I must.



April 3rd, 1896
Storm.

Dear Lord, I have without a doubt committed a crime no human should have committed. I conducted the Druid experiment using the flesh and blood of the victims. I sensed the incredible energy of the spirits culminate into one when I poured the women's remains into the cauldron. As I had thought before, it is human flesh that needs to be offered up to fully release the effects of the procedures.

What a frightening, arcane process this is. The sounds of fury in the women's death screams have not left my ears.

But I must go on.
There is no turning back now.



April 12th, 1896
Rain.

Once again, I perform the procedures.

I once again round up four victims from London. Even though they are all old with barely a thing to live for, when I contemplate taking their lives, it leaves me sick to my stomach. It may be due to my doubts that the spirits did not rise to such a powerful strength as before. I may have to use a younger, more vibrant source of energy. The book says to fill the cauldron with energy of haunted spirits.

I wonder how many victims the cauldron must swallow to be satisfied.



June 15th, 1896
Rain.

I do not have enough victims. The saintly presence of Daniel Scotus inhibits us from claiming authoritative power. I have concluded that it will be necessary for us to offer many more lives before we are finished here. I have since found 35 more victims for seven separate experiments, but the spirits have not responded with much strength. For me to accomplish the resurrection, I am in dire need of the culminated strength of the spirits.

I must come up with a way. I must come up with a more efficient way to produce my victims.



July 15th, 1896
Rain.

I finally received the first shipment of my victims. Ogden was right when he suggested that we should offer the lord of the slave trade an enormous amount of money for this matter. He has no compassion for human life. The victims are not given much information and arrive at the monastery expecting a routine night's work.

It is not necessary for us to go hunting for prey in town. With a few sugar-coated lies, there are plenty of people that climb right into the carriage. There is no one that will dare speak of what is to become of them.



September 9th, 1896
Rain.

Poured the remains into the cauldron. The energy levels in the cauldron have clearly increased which makes me happy since it proves that I am heading in the right direction. It seems that lately I have become more efficient at performing the tasks required for the procedures. However, Ogden and I cannot expect to become much more productive as it is impossible for us to hire help since we must keep this matter purely clandestine.

I have decided to place an order for a laboratory table from an equipment manufacturer in Manchester. It will take about a month to make but once we receive this, we will be able to manage many more experiments.



October 3rd, 1896
Rain.

Butchered three bodies since morning. After lunch, we made repairs to the bell tower of the main church. After dinner with Bessy and Ogden, I butchered three more bodies. The lab table has proven its worth. The spirits have certainly increased in strength. At this rate, I may finish preparing for Elaine's resurrection before All Saint Day.



October 14th, 1896
Rain.

Six bodies butchered in the morning.
Five in the afternoon.
One after dinner.



November 1st, 1896
Rain.

How I have been awaiting this day. The day to conduct Elaine's resurrection ceremony has finally arrived. The cauldron is brimming with the remains of my victims. This monastery is now consumed by the energies of the preternatural spirits. Even a saint could not hold his ground against the powerful energy of these hexed spirits. I took Elaine's body, which had been preserved in chemicals for this very day, and placed it on the altar. I then began reciting the ceremonial chant.

Elaine, you are still as beautiful as ever. I love you so much. Please forgive me for calling you back from the land of the dead.



November 7th, 1896
Rain.

What is going on?
I have lost all hope.

All my efforts and dreams have been only an illusion. The tree of life that grew upwards out of the corpse, as if wrapping Elaine's body, was certainly the manifestation of the Druid's cryptic experiments that I had been seeking. If God is capable of creating beings out of nothingness, then this indeed is a man-made example of His work. But to my horror, the image of my resurrected wife displayed in a flower petal looked just as she did before, yet it lacked a human soul.

Indeed, it was a monster. Dear God, is this the punishment you have chosen for me? What have I accomplished by victimizing nearly two hundred innocent people? My only hope in life lay in believing that resurrection was possible and dreaming of the day when my wife Elaine would join me here in life on earth once again. Now I have nothing but a cauldron full of blood and hexed spirits, and a soulless monster.

Is this the end that has been awaiting me? Dear Lord, have you no mercy? I only have one path left to follow. I have lost too much. I cannot even find words to apologize to Ogden who has lent me his strength along the way.

Now I only long to sleep in peace with my wife.



Boy... James, your pal Patrick was kind of a monster, huh? No comment on the 200+ murders he committed to resurrect the blonde waif he just couldn’t live without? When will people with dead loved ones stop turning to alchemy? You’d think after the first dozen times it went horribly wrong and the people came back wrong, word would get out that it’s a terrible idea that should not be attempted under any circumstances. Yet...



Thanks for all the hexed preternatural spirits the place is lousy with these days, Patrick. What a swell guy. Tune in next time as we take on something that is certainly not right, obtain a serial killer’s keepsake and maybe hear someone else’s side of the story with this whole alchemy business as Koudelka continues!







Patrick Hayworth Model – Spoilers: Patrick himself never actually appears in-game during Koudelka, but a couple models for him still exist.