Part 15: The Volcano, part 1

Our next destination is the volcano, located on the northern coast.




Fortunately the volcano has a seaport. Otherwise getting the submarine in there might have been a little tricky.




The volcano is on CD 1, so I have to change over as soon as I leave the sub. This is a prime location for the game to freeze up, so if you're playing along make sure to save as soon as the submarine arrives.






Looks like it's out of one vehicle and into another.




Looking behind me, I catch a glimpse of the Dark Being before he capers off.




It's a Drilltrain! This is going to be so much fun. _{not really}




Before I climb aboard, however, I'd better get this gate open. You'd think the train could just smash right through it, but no.




As we shall see, Drilltrain's toolbox contains the solution to every problem the train can't solve itself.

> Got Bolt Cutters.




The cutters make short work of the lock...




...and the way forward is opened.

I'm not allowed to move past this point on foot, so it's time for Drilltrain.




Control Panel count: 9

A large part of the next two or three chapters will be spent in Drilltrain. Its controls are fairly intuitive, at least - none of that minisub left/right/center nonsense. It's a train, it's literally on rails.




Before I do anything else, I turn around and close the switch that controls the train's power. (I should start counting the number of times I've had to restore power to something.)




The big red button starts the train up. It also shuts it back down, but there's no reason to ever do that unless you want to sit and listen to the background music.

The lever on the right is the throttle. Despite what those three green lights suggest, Drilltrain has only two speeds: forward and backward. Its brakes aren't perfect, so stopping at a particular point can be tricky.




So here's the real problem with Drilltrain: it travels in real time. That is, I actually have to sit at the controls and watch the train go from Point A to Point B. There's no way to speed it up. It only takes about twenty seconds to reach the end of this section of track, but that's twenty seconds of doing absolutely nothing but watch the scenery go by. What is this, Wind Waker?




Drilltrain automatically stops when it reaches the end of the tracks. Given what we'll see later, I think it has some kind of proximity sensor that stops it from crash into walls.

That little icon in the lower left shows up whenever there's something to look at outside the train. Clicking it switches to an external view, thusly:




I spy a contraption on the wall with a protruding lever. Shall I give it a yank?




Of course I whooooooaah!






Top floor, kitchenware and electronics!

Seriously, though, where am I?




Oh, bugger.

Maze count: 2

The Minisub maze from last chapter wasn't a "true" maze in the Adventure/Zork sense. I always knew where I was, the trick was guessing where I needed to go and working out how to get there.

The Drilltrain maze? Twisty little passages, all alike. The first time I ever came here I thought it was a Lost Woods type puzzle, because I kept circling back to this room. Actually there's nothing magical going on here - the tunnels are perfectly consistent, just laid out in a rather counter-intuitive manner. But for now...




Currently the train is pointed to the east, down the tunnel with all the arrows over it. Well, I've watched enough Roadrunner cartoons to know better than that. Let's see... I think I'll go north to begin with.




Unfortunately, north is to my left, and Drilltrain isn't very good at going sideways, so I need to change my facing. This little crank here is the tool I need.




Each time I spin it around, the entire room turns 90 degrees to the right.




Two more applications gets me pointed in the way I want to go. Hit it!




I immediately encounter an intersection. If I touch nothing, I get send to the right.




...where I immediately stop on account of a big honkin' gate blocking the track. (Thank goodness for that proximity sensor.)

I don't see any way to get it open, so I'll have to backtrack.




I reverse back to the crossroads, then head north again. This time, as I approach the intersection, I hit the switch on the lower left when it lights up, sending me down the other path. (The indicator light is another thing added in that patch.)

Hey, what's that up ahead?







Dark Being!




No matter. As previously discussed, the Drilltoolbox contains the answer to every question.

> Got Dynamite.

I'll just jam a few sticks into the rubble. I'm not a dynamitologist, but I think should work. Okay, anyone got a light?




(Forget to take the lighter before leaving Home? There's an alternate source of flame, but it's not in the volcano. Or anywhere else we've been, for that matter. Hope you like backtracking!)




Problem solved. Let's continue, shall we?






At the end of the tracks, I disembark and find this doorway. I definitely saw the Dark Being heading this way, so: knock knock!

...I miss Lyral. (Same sound effect.)

Actually there's no way through this door at the moment. For now, take note of the coloration of the pipes to either side. It'll be important later. _{not really}




North was a wash. For lack of a better idea, I'll work my way around the compass, clockwise. That would mean going east next.




This junction is pointed the wrong way - I can't get onto it without reversing. I don't like going backwards, so I'll skip it for now.




Further ahead, I run into this complicated exchange - one junction facing the right way, the other going backwards. Thing is, my switcher isn't working on the first one for some reason. I'd better get out and take a look.




Mm-hmm. Drawing upon my extensive experience with train-related mechanisms, I conclude that the thingum needs tightening. One moment, I'll go get my tightening tools.




> Got Metal Rod.




> Got Wrench.




That oughta do it.




And we're off!




And we're stopped! What now?!




Oh. Okay, that's a good reason to stop.

I remember seeing this bridge from the sub on the way in - this tunnel crosses over the harbor entrance.




Reversing back to the main track, I continue onwards and end up back at the crossroads. In other words, the east exit loops around and connects to the south exit. That means only the west-facing track remains unexplored. I'll turn the train around and go back the way I just came, so I can explore those two back-facing junctions.




The first one is the other half of that double junction. Where does it go?




Back to the crossroads again! That's right: the western, southern, and eastern tunnels all feed into each other.

At least I've covered all four exits to the crossroads now. There's only one place left to go.




Take the Drilltrain south and skip the double intersection completely, then switch onto the next junction.




There'd better be something here.






There's something here. Huh. I wonder what this is all about.




Some kind of mining operation? What's the Dark Being up to anyway? Are volcanoes known for coal deposits or something?

Who's overseeing this operation, anyway?




END OF CHAPTER