Part 3: Wherein Mistakes are Made, and an Amulet is Earned

Hey, guess what, guys? To help get this LP started, I'm going to post the next part straight away. Future updates will be on a more sane schedule. Don't expect to see part 3 before the end of next week.


(Alternate title: Chapter 2: Wherein Brandon Channels Geop)


Last time, the wall of our house told us to go punch Malcolm the jester in the face. Then, we talked to Brynn the mystic, who also told us to go punch Malcolm the jester in the face, but to bring her some flowers first. Rather than question Brandon's mental stability and that of the company he keeps, let's go see about finding that lavender rose. Going right from our house takes us to a hitherto unvisited location.



Unfortunately, it's just another empty woodland area with nothing interesting in it. You've got to give the backdrop artists credit though; for 1992, Kyrandia is a solid-looking game. The colors are vibrant, and everything has this peculiar 1990s-era adventure game charm to it.

By the way, clicking Brandon will result in him commenting on the current situation in general. Unfortunately, all he knows how to do is complain.



I can't believe they let this happen! I wish I had a horse to ride.

Let's just keep going.



One step further to the right, we find the Pool of Sorrow, where tears of dubious origin constantly drip into a pond. Never one to pay much attention to the difference between "can" and "should", clicking on the pool makes Brandon insist on trying to catch one of the strange drops.

I bet I can catch a teardrop!



Clicking the pool a few more times causes Brandon to reflect briefly on its hygienic implications.

Where are these tears coming from? Is this whole pool filled with tears? ... Sort of disgusting, actually. I wouldn't drink it on a bet.

We'll just stash that teardrop in our inventory somehow and proceed to the only other exit, which is right. Despite the background showing a little path winding its way into the distance, we can't actually go that way.



Did that leaf just turn into a gem? Picking it up reveals it to be a peridot, and examining it...



Don't try to sound smart, Brandon. I'm pretty sure you made most of that stuff up.

From this screen, we have a choice; we can go up or down. For now, let's go down. The next two locations are more nondescript wooded areas leading to the mouth of a spooky-looking cave.







... and inside the cave, we run into another acquaintance of ours: handyman, bridge keeper and general imbecile Herman. By the way, the voice actor who does Malcolm also pulls double duty as Herman.

Video: Meeting Herman (Youtube)

Music: Cave (Tindeck)

It wasn't my fault!
The bridge looks ruined, Herman.
Huh?
Aren't you going to fix it?
Sure, but I don't know how! I meant to replace the bad planks, but you know how time flies by. I hope nobody important tried to cross. I could lose my job.

It looks like that bridge is in need of a lot more than a few new planks. It's in shambles.

Can't you just get some new planks and rope?
I can get new rope. I just need to cut new planks! But I don't have anything to cut them with.

Herman is not very good at his job.

I'll see what I can do.

Great. We need to fetch a thing so we can repair a broken bridge blocking our progress. Straight out of Fantasy Adventure Game Tropes 101. Well, I guess there's nothing to do but figure out a way to help Herman out. There's no way we could cross that river any other way, right?

Video: Crossing the Ruined Bridge (Youtube)


I think I can make it across.

I don't think that's a very good idea.
I dunno Brandon. All that's left is that thin rope, and even that looks like it's about to go.

Even Herman knows that's not a good idea.


You're not saying I'm clumsy are you? I am quite agile, Herman!
I'm in charge here, and if anything happened to you, I'd get blamed!

Herman knows that the important part of accident prevention is making sure no one holds you responsible for your incompetence.

Hmm... I'm gonna try it, Herman!
Wait! At least let me get close so that if you fall in--
Here I go!

Music: Tightrope (Tindeck)


Oh no!





Whelp, that sure went about as well as you'd expect it to. Unlike most Lucasarts games, Legend of Kyrandia is perfectly happy to hand out instant game-overs if you do something idiotic enough. There is no continue option either, so you'd better make it a habit to save often. Herman, meanwhile, is more concerned with the fact that someone might force him to actually do his job than with Brandon having been swept to his death.

Let's load up a savegame and not get ourselves killed like idiots this time.



Thank you, Brandon.

All right, let's solve this little "puzzle". It should be pretty obvious what Herman needs: the saw we found under Kallak's desk. Remember that the saw was kind of tucked into the shadows there, and looked like a part of the backdrop, making it real easy to miss the first time through the game. Fortunately, we brought it with us and can just hand it over to Herman.
That's a pretty old saw.


Uh, yeah... Well, I guess I'll try to cut some new planks.
Thanks, Herman.



Wouldn't bet on it, Brandon. With no way to cross the river, we're forced to head elsewhere in search of our lavender rose. On the way, we run into Herman again, now busy trying to cut a tree down for planks.



Talking to him only makes him complain that the saw is old and in need of sharpening, and that it's going to take a while before he's done - adventure-game speak for "complete some other plot points first" - so let's go explore that upper path we didn't take earlier. The first thing we run across is another precious gemstone just sitting around in the forest.



Hmm? A corundum conundrum!

Ha ha ha, shut up Brandon.

To the left is another wooded area, and that one's a dead end with absolutely nothing in it. Rather than waste our time with it, let's go right.


This altar used to glow with magic. Is it missing a piece?

On the next screen, we come across a mysterious-looking altar. There are two orbs up top, but it looks like there should be three, and the altar is not as glowy as Brandon remembers it. Hey, aren't those lavender roses? Looks like we solved ourselves another fetch quest.
Ow! I hope this is what Brynn wants.

Only one way to find out.



Sure did!

Very good, Brandon. Use the rose wisely and the royal amulet will be yours.
Amulet?
In time, it will enable you to wield great power.


Wow! Is that for me?
In order to obtain the amulet, you must place this rose upon the silver altar. Then you must find Darm. He lives in the Timbermist Woods. He may be able to help you. Good luck, Brandon... and be careful.

All right, our lavender rose was enchanted, turning it into a silver rose. According to Brynn, we can exchange it for the royal amulet at the silver altar, which will in turn allow us to wield power great enough to hopefully overturn Malcolm.



Brandon, however, is as clueless as ever. It's like he never pays any attention to what anyone tells him. Well, we saw an altar where we picked up the lavender rose in the first place, so let's try placing the silver rose on it.



Unfortunately, that doesn't work. There is indeed something wrong with the altar, and we don't have what we need to fix it. Drat. We do have one other thing we could do, though.


Ugh. Something sticky is oozing out. That ooze is sticking to my shoes.

Remember this gross-looking tree? Well, that indentation in the tree is suspiciously similar to the teardrop we harvested from the Pool of Sorrows. Of course, the teardrop is much smaller than the dent; it was just a few pixels when we caught it in the first p--



-- okay, never mind then.

Music: Healing the Willow Tree (Tindeck)


Wow! I healed the willow tree!

Good job, Brandon. It's not entirely clear how this helps us, but a good deed is its own reward, right?



Who's this punk?

Want to play? I'll show you this marble I found.
Sorry, I can't play right now, Merith... but let me see that marble.



... you'll have to catch me first!

This little jerk is Merith. He is voice acted, but he sucks and is almost entirely inconsequential to the plot, appearing exclusively to slow down our progress here. We do need that marble of his, though, so we give chase.



I'm not chasing you, Merith.



I'm NOT chasing you!

Well, we kind of are.



It doesn't change the fact that Merith is a little jerk.



This part seems a little strange, because there is no other way you can get to this screen from where we started, so the game makes it look like Merith ran in here the same way we did and promptly turned his back, waiting for us to show up.



Let go of the branch, Merith. I'll catch you.



Punk got what he deserved. And that marble looks awfully familiar, doesn't it? Just how did he "find" this again?
Very funny, Brandon. You can have the marble! I'm not playing with you anymore!
Thanks, Merith.

And that is the last we ever see of Merith. He doesn't appear any more in the game. The early puzzle design in this game is a little halting, serving more as roadblocks than anything else. In fact, this particular sequence is impossible to fail. Once you heal the willow tree, all you have to do is walk in the direction of the altar - where you need to go anyhow - and the whole issue will resolve itself.



Brandon would be the kind of guy to have a marble collection, wouldn't he. Now that we have the marble, we can repair the altar, conveniently located one screen to the right.



Hey! Perfect fit! Must be fixed now!

Let's give it a try, then. We drop the silver rose on the altar...





That must be the amulet! Hey, this is going to be easy!

Overconfident and whiny. What a protagonist. Anyway, the Royal Amulet will sit in the panel to the right of our inventory for the rest of the game. There are four gems in the amulet, each corresponding to a magic spell. Unfortunately, right now...



... none of the gems do anything. We have to power them up before we can use each respective spell. Double drat. Maybe Brynn can help us out.



Brynn!? Brynn!!! She's gone.

Well, that's very inconsiderate of her. Here we are, on a quest to save our grandfather and rid the world of the evil jester Malcolm, and she just goes off gallivanting to who knows where. We don't need her. We've got our trusty pal Herman.



Looks like he finished cutting down that tree.



... and he fixed the bridge, too!

It's completely safe now!

Uh, sure. Say, how about you cross it a few times before we give it another try. No particular reason.

Uh, yeah... it looks... definitely rebuilt!

It's great when the game shows off Brandon's snarky side. It's what takes him from being a whiny tool to being a whiny, but sometimes funny, tool.

Thanks, Brandon.
So where's my saw?



Damn it, Herman. We need that for purposes.

But, I'll go find it right away!



You said it. Given that Herman managed to lose the saw despite only moving like twenty feet away from the mouth of his cave, it's not likely he's going to find it any time soon. Nothing to do now but to risk life and limb on Herman's rebuilt bridge. Fortunately, this time around, it holds just fine. On the other side of the cave is...



Timbermist Woods, where Brynn said we could find Darm the Mystic! And with that, we've completed the first area of the game, and we only died once!

I'd like to find this Malcolm. How tough could he be?

And it seems Brandon is finally caught up on the plot of the game, although he's also forgotten that Malcolm was certainly tough enough to turn Brandon's grandpa into a statue. Next time, we'll explore Timbermist Woods and meet a dragon.