Part 33: Blackwell Convergence - Update 8

Update 8

LAST TIME

The Countess Returns





The Countess reemerged after more than 30 years, in some kind of hideous ghost form.

Joey? Who was that?
*sigh* Trouble.

Holding off on speaking about it further, Joey and Rosa quickly head back to her apartment.

Rosa's Theme



Well what?

Joey is doing his usual "I'm not going to tell you shit because I'm a moody prick" routine here.

Who is she?
Her? She's nobody, sweetheart.
Just some spook.

Rosa keeps pushing the issue.

She attacked you, Joey. Why did she do that?



Well you're wrong. I'm just in the dark as you are.

Rosa isn't buying that, though.

You're lying. You recognized her. And she knew you.
Tell me Joey. Please.

Finally, Joey's defenses are weakened.

*sigh* Yeah, I know her. She calls herself the Countess. She's from an old case. Back when I was with your Aunt.
She was alive, then. And just as crazy.
Tell me.

I assume that in the original plan for Convergence, we would have jumped to the extended flashback sequence here. Or perhaps we would see part of it, and the rest later? Which would mean that in all of the lead-up to this point, we would never have heard of the Countess. Instead, since we played Unbound, there have been little clues along the way, like the painting and Frank being choked.

Look, it's late. You want to be up all night? Or you want the short version?





I do like the way this game often gives the opportunity to short-circuit plot dumps. Of course, we played through Unbound so we know how it went, but let's hear the long version anyway.

Tell me everything.
We thought she was a raving loony at first. We'd see her on the street, ranting like a crazy woman. We were investigating these two ghosts - both had been killed by an old woman. Didn't take much deduction to put two and two together.

I don't know Joey, my memory is that Lauren's first thought was to blame Dwayne

So she was killing people?
Not... exactly. She thought she was freeing people. You see, she was a medium.
A medium? Like me? Like Auntie?
Yeah. Only, she didn't have a spirit guide. There was this reporter. Joseph Mitchell. Somehow... they formed a bond. He didn't know it, but whoever he wrote about, she would go and kill.

Joey actually does pretty well to still remember the case so vividly after 30 years. It only lasted one night, after all.

She was freeing their spirits, which is what you mediums do best.
But... they were still alive.
She didn't seem to realize that. In the end, she tried to "free" your Aunt Lauren.

To be fair, Lauren basically invited the Countess to "free" her.



That's an understatement. Rosa picks up on it, too.

You stopped her? How?



Rosa leaves it at that. I guess she can tell that they killed the Countess, though she probably doesn't suspect that Lauren literally stabbed her in the eye with a lit cigarette and tipped her off a high-rise balcony

So what now? Her spirit is seeking revenge?
I don't think so. Why now? Why all this time? Besides, I saw her die. There was no ghost.

This is a nice throwback. Joey did specifically check this in Unbound. It's not like she stuck around after her death, she was gone straight away.

So she's not a ghost?
I don't know what she is.
Let's talk about this in the morning. Right now, I'm taking a hot shower and going to bed.
Sure. Sure. I'll hold the fort.

Not much more we can do now. Rosa heads off to sleep.



Just as in the previous evening, as Rosa dozes off, the sound of jumbled whispers enter her consciousness, as the music cuts out.



Ugh.

In presumably another dream sequence, Rosa finds herself at The Minetta. The portrait of Joe Gould glimmers, attacting Rosa's attention.



Enthralled to a madness that even he could not explain.

As she rises to look at it, a voice fills the air.



This lady is back again.

A madness called the Countess.
I... I know you.

Oh great, the Countess and Joe Gould are related. I guess this goes some way to explaining why Frank kept carrying on about the Joe Gould Fund, though only a small way.



Just as quickly as she appears, the lady dismisses Rosa.

But hush. Aren't you tired? You need to rest?
Tired...?
Shh. Just sleep.



Down goes Rosa...

You will not remember me, but don't worry. We will meet very shortly.



At least she didn't admonish Rosa for her drinking habits this time...

Rosa's Theme



A new day rises, though it's still pouring with rain.



You're perky today. Sleep well?
Yeah, I did.

Rosa emerges from her room refreshed and ready to go. Joey, on the other hand, has spent the night pondering the previous day's events.

I've been thinking... Too much has happened for this to be mere coincidence.
What do you mean?
In the gallery. There was a painting.



Of the Countess, yeah. "The Dark Lady".

Really?
I knew it looked familiar, but I didn't recognize it until now.
What did it look like?
Why don't we head over and you can take a look for yourself.



We'll have a chat first. Not sure what the deal with Rosa's wacky facial expression is here, haha.

You call that fighting?
She was kicking your ass.
I would have got her in the end.

I'm... not so sure you would have, Joey



Is that so surprising?
After last night, I figured you would have slept with the lights on.
I'm not a little girl.
I'm just saying.

Yeah, I'm not a child anymore either, but a killer ghost revisiting the family responsible for murdering her after thirty years would sure as hell be cause for me to sleep with the lights on

The Park Gallery



Returning to the Park Gallery, Rosa and Joey barge straight past Josie and check out the painting. That's her, alright.

Now look at that and tell me this isn't a coincidence. Stupid old hag. We'll find you. Just see if we don't.

I love it when Joey starts ranting and cursing



Rosa and Joey look closer at the painting.

Definitely looks like the woman from the other night. But she looks... sad.

Joey is not impressed.

That sad face doesn't fool me for one minute.
If I could punch a hole through that face, I would.



For some reason, the painting features a lighthouse as well.

It's just a lighthouse. I wonder which one?

Okay, this is all a bit weird. Why on earth would Claude paint a picture of the Countess? Especially when you consider the rest of his paintings are all abstract art. What is the significance of the lighthouse? I think we'll need to talk with him again.



Knowing him? He's probably preparing for tonight.
Preparing?
You know. Glug glug.
He's htiting the sauce.
Ah.

Of course he is. We'll track him down soon enough. Meanwhile, perhaps Josie knows something about the painting.



Oh, "The Dark Lady?" It's... different than his other paintings. I'm worried the investors won't like it, but Claude insists. What do you want to know?

He insists? Presumably he's pretty proud of it, then.

What can you tell me about "The Dark Lady"?
Well, it's different, isn't it? Claude's work is mostly abstract, but this is actually of a specific subject.
Did Claude ever say why?
No, but she's definitely striking.
She strikes all right. I still got the scars.

Hahahahaha



Fantastic, Josie knows which lighthouse it is!

I figure it's just one of those eccentric artist things.
The Roosevelt Island lighthouse, huh? It's been a while since I've been over there.



There's a lead worth following, anyway! One last thing to ask Josie about...

You mentioned something about investors?
Oh, yes! The Meltzer Foundation. They paid for everything. The renovation, the lights, everything. I've got to pay them back eventually, of course, but still.
Can you tell me anything about the Meltzer Foundation?
Nope. But if you're looking to start a small business, I can put in a good word for you.

The Meltzer Foundation, hey? It's probably nothing, but we'll keep them in mind.

Thanks, Josie. I'd better get going.
Sure, Rosangela! I'll see you at the opening tonight!

Oh that's right, the public opening. It has been two sleeps since we attending the private showing, hasn't it? If worse comes to worse, we can find Claude then.



If we see him, we can ask him.

Returning home briefly to mull over the situation, Rosa's writing instincts start to kick back in.

If we see him, we can ask him.
Eh?
I already have a title. "The Actor and the Artist." What do you think?
I think we've got a job to do.
Hmph.

Haha It's probably not much better than "The Devil and the Deacon" I'm afraid, Rosa.



We'll write the address down for these guys, just in case.



Two new locations on the map. Note that Frank's apartment and the Gothic Bridge have now been removed, since there's no point going there anymore.

The Lighthouse



Let's see what we can find!

I don't see any ghosts. You sense anything?
Nope. Seems clean to me.
Really? You sure?
I said there's nothing here. Well, no ghosts anyway.

Oh. That's a letdown.



Dunno who it's for. It's not like any ships come through here.
I read a book about this place, years ago. Nobody uses this lighthouse anymore. It's just a historic monument.

We can always rely on the Blackwell games to give us a bit of a New York history lesson!



No. I don't hear anything besides the rain.
Hm. Must just be my imagination.

This is a bit of a callback - you might recall that we've visited Roosevelt Island before. It's where Isaac was playing his saxophone in Unbound. This is not a coincidence - Gilbert apparently saw the lighthouse and thought it would make for an excellent background for a scene in Unbound. However, he also wanted to show off the Queensboro bridge that passes over the island, and apparently there was no good angle to show off both. I guess he was really keen to include that lighthouse in a game, because he put this location here in Convergence just to show it off. Dude loves his New York monuments, apparently!

God, I'm soaked. I'm tempted to just leave.
Might as well. I don't think there's anything here.
So it's a dead end?
We'll come back later, when the weather clears up.

Yep, there's nothing here for now. No people, no ghosts, no items we can interact with, nothing. Yet it can't be a mere coincidence that Claude put this lighthouse into his painting of the Countess. We'll have to leave it on the backburner for now.



Well, we're out of leads. Unless we can dig up Claude, or just happen to run into the Countess, for now checking out the Meltzer Foundation is all we've got.



Join me tomorrow when we'll keep digging down this rabbit hole to see how far it goes!