Part 45: Nemeton Monastery, part 1

Nemeton Monastery, part 1


A new area has opened up in Wales: Nemeton Monastery, the site of the first game, Koudelka.


And the first thing we see is a very odd-looking building.

Hmm...?



Are you kidding?! Don't tell me you believe that junk?! Oh boy.



Huh? But, you know, it's dangerous...What if they transform?



Nothing's gonna transform!!





Just who's the kid here?

Sometimes, I wonder.

Well, it might be dangerous if you get too close. Come on, let's go!




I don't do well with temptation.


I love Halley's reaction to the house.

There's a strange machine here...

I think this house is going to transform. Yeah, and then the whole thing'll rocket off!!

Where did you grow up!?

China.




Hate...this...thing...




Yuri hasn't progressed beyond "Goodnight Moon" yet.


Pay dirt!


We're done in the house for now. Time to check out the ruins.


It seems that all that's left of the monastery is just the skeleton of its buildings.



'James O'Flaherty, rest in peace with your loved ones...'

Now we know why Father Elliot's friend stopped writing.


There's a chest over here as well. It has Keith's 2nd-best armor. Too bad we don't have Keith.



So this is the evidence of the monastery's research into raising the dead.

No, this is the evidence of the monastery burning down. A pit full of skeletons would be evidence of research into necromancy.

There was something here...

But now, this entire place is like a graveyard.

...



Strange Voice: Oh yeah? You can hear the cries of the dead roaming this area?


...the hell?

Who's this?!



Happy things. Unfortunate things. Lucky things. Poor things. Misunderstood things. Necessary things. Unneeded things. All of them have returned to the earth and the heavens!





Why turn your back on me?

What? Um...

I don't think I should look into your eyes.



Well, wasn't that blow a stinger! Hahah...What's it called? Verbal abuse? The one that always spars with freedom of speech--Badaboom, badabing! You get my meaning?

Hey...Now just what is with you?

Me? I'm...

I...


Oh boy! We get to keep it!


GAAAAHH!!

Well, SO----RRY! Maybe if we had more time, then we could've been friends. I'll barely finish on schedule even as is. But, boy, it would've been fun to adventure with you!

<sub>Who is he talking to?

I got no idea...</sub>

What are you babbling about?!

I guess it doesn't matter.

What doesn't matter?!



Who...exactly...are you?

My name is Roger Bacon! The eternal prodigy, lover of science and learning!

So... after all this, we find out Roger Bacon is a slightly crazy, ancient man wandering around a haunted ruin in an Edwardian suit. Yeah, that makes sense.

Huh?!



What? Roger Bacon?!

Yes. Are you here for a delivery?

Koudelka told us to come here.



Koudelka? You mean...that Koudelka?

How many "Koudelka"s can there be?

You even know who Koudelka is, old geezer?!

O-Of course I do! I wouldn't forget that strange girl...

Koudelka Iasant, correct? I see... So, the time has come. Why don't you all come inside?

It can't be that...

I'll be waiting. Come see me, okay?



Roger Bacon. At least that's what he said.


Before we go back to the strange house, there's a chest over to the right of this area.



Um... Mr. Roger Bacon?

Please call me Roger. What is it, Alice?

How do you know Koudelka?

Ten years ago...those ruins were called Nemeton Monastery.

More like fifteen years ago, actually.

In reality, the monastery was a jail for political prisoners with life sentences. In time, its role as a prison faded away and the building was bought by a man named Patrick. Then, that dreadful incident happened...

Dreadful incident?

Patrick moved into Nemeton with his beautiful wife Elaine and a pair of servants. But one day, some bandits broke into their home and took Elaine's life. Patrick couldn't accept her death, and delved into deep research of black magic...

He finally raised her from the dead, but what returned was not his wife--but a hideous monster! Koudelka defeated that monster and released Elaine's soul.

Hey... That story is the same as Jack's at the orphanage! Does that Émigré something-or-other book have something to do with it?

You...you know of the Émigré Document?! Patrick used it extensively in his research.

How did Patrick get ahold of the Émigré Document?

I'm not sure, but I think he bought it from someone.

A man stole that book from the Vatican. His name is...Roger Bacon.



But he's actually Cardinal Albert Simon. Maybe he sold the document to Patrick.



Albert Simon?!



I see. He has been concerned these past years with the study of the deepest Laws of the Universe. I knew it. He hasn't given up yet...

We're fighting against Albert!

You know Cardinal Simon?

Yes, I know him well. He was a student of mine.

Your student? Is that true?

It's true. How long ago was it, now? I'd say about 300 years before I slept here. It's about the time period when he followed the crusaders and fought against the Ottoman Empire!



Roger: Of all my disciples, he stood out as the finest. In fact, he was TOO good. Having come from the lowest and poorest class of society, Albert lifted himself up and applied himself diligently to study so that he could change the world.



Roger: I saw great promise in him...and I taught him everything I knew. Law, Philosophy, Science, Astronomy, Alchemy...



Roger: But in time, he began to question certain contradictions he saw in the world. The ruling classes and the subjected masses... He came to reject a world in which a person's place was determined by his birth, and he lost patience with me when I attempted to moderate his views.



Roger: In the end, he brought me up on charges before the Court of the Vatican! But...it was HE whom the Church condemned. Of course! In an age of absolutism, anyone who called for the granting of rights to individual citizens could do nothing but anger the powers that be...



Roger: ...Within the Church, or the State. Any such person was destined to be condemned as a heretic and locked away forever...or tortured to death.



Roger: The truth is, I KNEW that he was right. But I also knew that a world in which everyone could live as equals was nothing but a pipe-dream. Perhaps it could be achieved in time as knowledge spread more widely among the people. But for that age, it was an idea MUCH too far ahead of its time.

Don't try to make me feel sorry for Albert, damn it!



Albert changed after the trial. His cynical smile did little to hide the darkness behind his eyes. Ignoring my advice, he pushed himself to the limit, and ended up becoming trapped by the black arts. He unsealed forbidden magics and worked to fulfill his dream: the total destruction of society.

But...I feel like I can understand how he felt...in a way...

We can't leave him be! Albert will do something drastic...using Koudelka's power. We have to stop him!

Well, we don't know where he is...

If I am right, he is close.



What?!

I'm sure Koudelka realized what Albert was about to do. In that case, we don't have much time...

That windbag probably spent the last three years telling her exactly what he was going to do.

You're prepared to fight him, correct?

Yeah. But I don't know how long we'll last fighting him. But I won't give up until we settle this.

Okay, then. I shall assist you. I'll take you to Albert.

Roger! Really?


Roger does something over on the desk.

This teleporter isn't completed yet, but the vending machine works fine. Get whatever you might need. Wait for me at the Nemeton Monastery ruins when you're ready.

Teleporter?


The vending machine acts just like any other shop. It has new armor and weapons for everyone (two new weapons for Halley). Besides upgrading all the equipment, I also made sure I had three Will Powers.


Before I went up to the ruins to meet with Roger, I took a side trip back to Calios. There's someone sitting in the torture chair.


It's another Lottery Member. Only three more to find!


Even better, his red item is the final Guild card.



You've received pOEternity Card.

Another item with a messed up name. When you go in your inventory, it's just called "Eternity Card".

Lottery Member No. 04: Oh, yeah, I've got no problem talking. It's just in this type of place, being quiet adds atmosphere.

While I was here, I unlocked Forron's spell, Hellfire, and Lobo's spell, Strike.



I also got the third Light fusion.



You've received Soul of Sandalphon!


And I unlocked Pulse.


But that's enough wasting time, for now.


Roger leads us over to the center area.

Keep your eyes open!


Roger starts dancing around like a monkey and the thing in the ground slides back, revealing some stairs.



Go ahead.


Welcome to all that's left of the dungeons from Koudelka.


Alice suddenly collapses to the ground.

Wh-What is this place? It's full of evil spirits...



Koudelka's power sealed him, but his spirit remains... It makes me shiver to even think of him.



Yes, thank you.



Elaine's body without her soul turned into an inhuman entity. Patrick didn't intend for that...

Since ancient times, this place has been called Neam. It contains a mysterious power. There are other places like this as well. Let's see...

Such as Easter Island, the civilization of Atlantis and the lost continent of Mu. All of those places were situated upon the Earth's "nerve points".

Earth's nerve points? You mean like in acupuncture?

That's right. The stars have a strong influence on this location. Unusual powers build up here.

So, this a special place on the planet?

Yes. It's where a certain something is sealed in place.



This door was made in ancient times to seal the ruins. You've seen this seal before, haven't you? This is an illustration of the soul that is called the Judgment Ring. Those three eyes drawn here describe "motive," "action," and "outcome." Motive is the conscience of life. Action is the possibility of life. Outcome is the destiny of life. Receptacles of our souls. This is a common principle that all humans share. You're following your will to grab your future on your own. And you'll see the outcome of your action on the other side of the Door of Judgment!

Are you done rambling yet?

Door of Judgment.

And at the end of this path shall you find Albert and Koudelka. They will be there without fail. This is the furthest I can go. You must decide on your own if you want to walk through the door or not.

Heheh! Kind Roger! You really think we'd come this far just to turn back? We've determined to go to the ends of the earth long ago, buddy!

You're right. That's why we're here, after all...

I made a promise to rescue my mother!

Hee, hee, hee! All right! Let me open the Door of Judgement for you!



I'll wait here. I trust that you'll be back.


From this point on, Roger will heal your party's HP and MP whenever you talk to him.


At this point, I want to share a couple links with you. I don't have the game Koudelka and I've never played it, but if you're curious about what happened in the game, someone has recorded all the FMV cutscenes and put them up on YouTube:

Koudelka FMV 1st video

If you want something more in-depth, someone else has recorded a complete run-through of the game. It's completely commentary-free, like the FMV videos, and I don't think he edited out any of the random battles. It still might be worthwhile to go through:

Koudelka complete 1st video

On an interesting note, Ending B, which is what you get if you lose the final battle with Elaine, is the ending that Shadow Hearts uses as canon.


Next time on Shadow Hearts: Albert!


Nemeton, part 1 on Viddler
Video 1
Video 2 (Albert's past)
Video 3


NPC Scorecard