Part 12: The Finale

Chapter 12: The Finale



So, here we are in the castle, having been brought here by new bestest buddy Wayne.

WINE CELLAR. The stone-walled room is cool and filled with the sweet and intoxicating fumes of wine.

Looks like there's a young boy fetching wine from the cellar here on a regular basis.

The boy is pale and thin, with a mop of tangled hair falling over his brow. His skinny arms and legs bear the marks of many bruises, both old and new.

He'll leave him alone for now. This whole section basically consists of one rather obtuse puzzle. It involves object gathering, character interaction and timing. It should be the perfect puzzle and it almost is. I'm going to show you how to do it the long way, there are basically three ways to fail and one way to succeed.

We leave the cellar and enter the rat-infested kitchen.



THE KITCHEN. The enormous cooking range with its roaring fire belches forth a heat which rivals Luthern's furnace. The unappetising smell rising from the cokking pot fills your nostrils.

There are some useful items in here, but we'll over look them for now.


There goes that boy again.

We'll leave him be again and see what's what.



PASSAGE. The room is empty and echoing, reminding you of the old west wing of the castle in which your father used to work. Imagination had filled the ancient corridors with infantile fears and foreboding, keeping you prisoner in your room until the break of dawn.

Diermot is clearly having some psychological issues here. Let's head through the door on the right.


Uh oh! It's full of drunken, barely functioning Skorl.

THE DINING HALL. The room echoes with the rattling snores of drunken Skorl. The air is fetid with the stench of unwashed fur and ftale wine and beer.

There's only one Skorl in here who is conscious enough to even notice our existence and that's this guy...



He is ugly even by Skorl standards. You recognise him as the the guard who had taunted and tortured you in the dungeon.

It's a small world after all! Maybe he remembers us? Surely he'll let bygones be bygones, especially now that there's a Skorl revolution going on?


Get too close though, and he spots us. He then stands up and kills us casually. I kind of assumed that Wayne would have told some of his buddies about his revolution, but I guess communication isn't the Skorl's strong point.

There's a much better way of doing this that doesn't get us killed.

If we take the left hand door from the Passage, we end up here:



We can now observe what happens below, because Diermot can see through floors.



Skorl: Of course I want another drink! I haven't thrown up yet, have I?

Stranger: Not recently, sir.


That is blatant abuse! I'm am totally apposed to that... unless it's targeted at Ratpouch.


Moving on, we see the other side of the dining hall. There's a small staircase here, so let's see where it goes...



THE DRAWBRIDGE. From the dizzy heights of the castle towers the mist shrouded Northern Mountains can be seen; the ancient, brooding peaks and pinnacles are desolate and uninhabited, shunned by even the hardiest of your people.

Looks like that staircase wasn't quite as short as I thought. Our ultimate goal here in the castle is to lower this drawbridge.

We head back toward the cellar.



Skorl: What's the matter with you, boy?

Stranger: I'm tired, sir.

Skorl: Don't answer back! Go and get me another jug of wine.


I think it's time we had a talk with this boy.

Diermot: Don't be frightened, boy!

Stranger: I ain't frightened, just surprised.

Diermot: What is your name?



Diermot: I need to get into the tower, boy.

Minnow: I need to get into the tower, boy.

Minnow: My master's the gate keeper, a big Skorl - and 'e's been drinkin' all day. You won't get past 'im. 'Oo are you anyway?


That's right, this is the Minnow we've been hearing about in town.

Diermot: I'm the official ale and wine taster.

Minnow: Get away! I weren't born yest'day!

Diermot: I've come to take you home, boy.

Minnow: I'd rather work for Skorl, me. I'm goin' to tell my master you're 'ere!

After that, talking to him again just gets this...



Minnow: Clear off!



Skorl: Have you been drinking my wine, boy?

Minnow: I wouldn't dream of it master! I likes a lighter, mellower vintage, with less of a pronounced aftertaster.


If we go downstairs now, we will be killed. He never sits back down, he just waits for you to come downstairs.

So let's try that again...


Okay, so we'll take a more logical approach this time. You need to look at the carcass on the table...

The raw and bloody remains of an unidentifiable animal lie partly butchered on the huge table. Greasy wedges of fat hang from the unhealthy looking flesh.

And that fat is one of the items we need.

The large flap of fat is yellow and white semi-translucent fronds. It seems to quiver obscenely in the flickering firelight.

So let's just grab it already!


You can kill giant pig-men with an axe and face fire-breathing dragons, but as soon as you need to pick up something a little slimy you get all girly about it?


We also need these tongs, hanging on the wall over here.

The tongs are bent and twisted from age, and are probably used to move hot coals to and from the range.


Let's have another chat with young Minnow. The first two options didn't work out too well for us last time.

Diermot: I'm going to help you escape.



Minnow: It were 'im what sold me to Skorl!

Diermot: What! Who is your father?


And that's the full story on Morkus. He didn't learn his son to talk good either!



Diermot: Tell the Skorl Selena has sent for him.

Minnow: All right. But 'e's so ratted 'e'll not be able to climb stairs!



Skorl: I've had enough of your pranks, Minnow! Go and fetch more wine, or I'll send you home.

So you're probably sick of all this banter. I'll show you the solution now.


You need to look at the cask on the left to see the bung. Then use the tongs on the bung.

[/i]The bung pulls free; wine now spills from the cask.[/i]



The contents of the cask are pouring out like blood from a gaping wound.

We need to move quickly now. First we talk to Minnow again.

Diermot: I've come for Selena.


No, I imagine that she wouldn't.


As you can see, we have new option here.

Diermot: Tell the Skorl there's a leaky cask in the cellar!

Minnow: 'E'll be right mad if 'e thinks wine is goin' to waste!

You just have to hope that the Skorl gets to cellar before all the wine runs out. If he doesn't, you die. Basically, if you don't do this right you're forced into a situation where you have to reload an earlier save. I hope you're not saving over the same file at every screen!



Skorl: Oh, no! Disaster! Don't panic, boy, I'm coming as fast as I can stagger!


You can either go to the upper dining room to hide or hide behind this pillar in the cellar. I captured both so you could see what happens.

The Skorl enters and wastes no time charging over to the barrel.


That's the way to do it!


So the Skorl is out of the way and we're out of danger for now.



Minnow: She lives upstairs, but you'll 'ave to lower the drawbridge!

Diermot: How?

Minnow: I don't know! I just want to get out before them Skorl wake up!


When the wine runs out, the Skorl falls asleep. He'll probably wake up in a few weeks.


Now for the nerve-racking walk through the valley of Skorl. None of them are sober enough to even notice you, but this can be unnerving the first time you play it.


We can now go through this door. Progress!



THE GATE ROOM. The room houses a mechanism with great chains disappearing through holes in the ceiling.

I like the puzzle in this room, I wish Ratpouch could be here to see it.

We'll start by trying the winch.


Okay, you can probably see why. The gate mechanism is stopped by a long metal rod, connected to that lever.


Which also doesn't move.


That's right, we have to use the fat from the carcass in the kitchen to loosen up the lever.


Well, that moved the rod, but I can't hold the lever like this and operate the winch at the same time.

You've probably guessed what you need to do. When we took the Skorl out of the occasion, we gained the ability to tell Minnow what to do.


He's too weak to move the winch, so we'll have to do this the other way.


That's the ticket. Theoretically, that should have lowered the drawbridge.

We're done with Minnow now, so say goodbye to him.


You might want to save your game before you head out, because guess what...?


...It's combat time again!

Your progress is barred by the appearance of a huge beast. Instinctively you draw and brandish your weapon.


It's identical to last time so I'll spare you.


This is it. Selena is on the other side of this door. The final challenge has been met and it's time for some good old-fashioned justice!


(Click for video)




The end.

Looks like Luthern did get a happy ending after all. I feel a little sorry for Diermot though, after all he did, he didn't really get any kind of reward. And he'll never get ot be with one true love, Ratpouch... I mean Goewin.

Credits:

Take a bow, guys. That applause is all for you.