Part 4: The Tower, part 1

I have arrived.




The portal is still open behind me. I could turn back.




But I didn't fix the portal machine for nothing. Forward! That tower over there looks like a good place to start. If I recall the notes correctly, that's where the old inventor lives. You know, the one that was "obviously deranged" because he bad-mouthed the Dark Being.




Myst was renowned for its beautiful scenery. Lighthouse is predominantly an "indoor" game, so it falls a bit short in that department - but it does have its moments.




Unfortunately, the bridge is up, and there's no controls to be seen.

Clicking everything reveals an interesting detail: that little circular metal bit on the left-hand column? It moves, revealing a small hole.

I don't have anything to stick in the hole right now, though. _{(Gender-neutral protagonist, remember?)} I'll have to come back later.




There seems to be a dock on the other end of the beach. Might as well check it out.




I'm feeling a little vulnerable without a weapon, so I stop and grab some rocks off the beach as I go.

> Got Small Rock
> Got Small Rock
> Got Small Rock
> Got Small Rock
> Got Small Rock

Not exactly a crowbar, but they'll do. (They stack in my inventory, thankfully. I could carry up to nine, but five is all I'll need for LP purposes.)




A few clicks later and I'm at the dock.

(If you follow the Dark Being and get clocked, you wake up here.)




There's a bench here for some reason. And hey, a bottle! I could use a stiff drink.





> Got Message in a Bottle

Drat, it's just an SOS. I suppose the coordinates might be useful later.

Also of interest: "the temple" and "Martin's Roost." ~foreshadowing ooooh~




Moving on. There's nothing to see on the dock until we reach the end.




Well doesn't that look familiar!


Me neither, but for some reason he left it here. Well, finders keepers!

> Got Odd Staff

(The Odd Staff can be found here regardless of how we reached the parallel world. I guess the Dark Being didn't want it any more?)

You know, it almost looks like a giant key. That gives me an idea!




As I thought. My new item is just the right size for that hole. Sticking it in and turning it reveals a hidden panel inside the column.






Which brings us to this little puzzle. The lever moves the little device in the top right along the rails. I need to manipulate that device down to the lower right, where it can catch the hook on the drawbridge motor. The catch is that the rails marred by those little brown dots (rust?) are impassable.

For those of you who are interested in such things, the solution, in video form, follows.



Warning: if you do not enjoy the sound of rust scraping on metal, you might want to watch with your speakers muted!




Upon clearing the motor maze, the bridge comes down. I can get into the tower now.




Or "onto" the tower, as the case may be - the main stairs spiral up the side of the building.




The first door into the tower itself is halfway up.






Inside is a narrow hallway. There's stairs branching off to the right, and up ahead we find...




Sweet. It's a bird-themed mechanical robot. That is all kinds of cool. Maybe he can help us?




Or maybe he's a jerk.

I'll deal with him later. For now, there's a descending staircase to my right that demands to be explored.




The stairs lead me to a cave underneath the tower. And what's in that cave?




A freakin' submarine.

I'll be coming back for this. First, though, I want to finish exploring the tower proper.




Back upstairs, Birdbrain is still dicking around in the workshop. Well, I've got a plan to deal with him!



Throw a rock at the robot, then throw another rock at the lever, then step inside quickly before he recovers and shuts the gate again. Ta-da!




So, now that I'm in the workshop, let's have a look around.

...Oh my. Is that-?




It is.

> Got Chicken Wrench

CHICKEN WRENCH




What other wonderful things are in here? There's this black thingamajig on the back table. I wonder- Huh? What's that noise?




Oh, it's you again. What do you want?




OY!




Well fuck you too. Asshole.




The workshop's lost its magic. I'm leaving.




Back outside, and further up the stairs, we come to a little gate.




If I try to open the gate, a mechanical hawk flies down to protect it. (I'm sensing a theme here.)

Its talons look sharp. Considering what a dick the last bird was, I'm not comfortable just walking past this one. Maybe I can scare it away?




CLANG!

After tossing three rocks...




Success!




...Oh come on, there's more than one?

I'm done with this nonsense. Move aside there, Beakie, I'm coming through!



OH GOD NOT THE EYES AARGH

End of Chapter



Fatality Count: 1

There's another decision point coming up. I'm not quite done with the Tower yet, but once I am, there are two ways I can leave. One of them is the submarine. The other? ...You'll see.

Regardless of the path I take, I'll eventually have to return to the Tower, at which point I must take the other route to continue the game. So this isn't a choice of "do one thing, skip the other," but rather a choice of "do one thing now, do the other thing later."

So my question to you is

• Submarine Now or
  
• Submarine Later?

Also, bonus question for those who haven't played the game before. What do you think is the "correct" way to get past the mechanical hawks? Hint: It involves exactly two of our inventory items.