Part 2: Day 1 Part 2: Home Sweet Home

When we last saw our intrepid hero Nigel Danvers, he had just arrived in Saxton after taking a midnight train out of London. He's found out that there's some interesting things to do here (treasure???), done a little cave-exploring, and talked to a weird old lady.

Has his nature walk made him less unpleasant and cranky? Let's find out!



The lady on the beach mentioned that The Bear would have bed and board. If you paid attention to the train station, there were some barrels of ale labeled The Bear. Also, if the mess of bottles and glasses outside haven't clued you in, The Bear is a pub- Saxton's local. The sign is pretty typical of a pub sign. A British person could explain the significance of the local public house, but they have a lot of culture around them and are not just food-serving bars.




As The Bear is the most public establishment in a pretty small town, it also offers some rooms for overnight stays. It does seem to have a pretty fancy menu too, that stuff doesn't sound like pub grub at all.

I'm only going on a little bit about the pub because one of the things which struck me about this game was Nigel's difference to the rest of the cast. It's a bit "city boy in a small town" but we'll see a few times how Nigel appears very awkward when surrounded by the working-class folk of Saxton. Unless he's just a doofus compared to anybody. Actually it probably is that.

OK. Let's go in and see if they have bed and board for Nigel.



Here's a video of Nigel's first exchange with the publican:

http://youtu.be/omOEl2ccCPU (1.5 minutes)

I've transcribed it too:

Umm, excuse me... can you help?
Good afternoon, stranger, what can I get you?
I'll take a bottle of still water....


Can I rent a room, for a week?
All our guest rooms are taken. Busy time May.
So, there's nothing you can offer.
Well there is the cottage on the harbour, if that suits you?
Well, I'll take anything you have!
It's clean, but a bit cluttered.
I'm none too fussy. I'm sure it will be fine.
I hope you don't mind the sounds and briny smells.
Is it nearby?
It's right on the harbour. Surrounded by water.
Perfect! What do I owe you?
We can settle up when you leave, that's if you leave us Mr. Danvers. Here's the keys and a map of the town.


Pardon me, but who are you?
Me? I'm Morgan. The landlady of The Bear, and have been for a few years now. And you are?
Nigel. Nigel Danvers.
You'll be in for quite a week.


Is May a busy time for Saxton?
Yes, you could say that.
Local events?
The Saxton May Day Fayre is famous, in these parts. You'll be in for quite a week.


Does the pub have a phone?
Afraid not, wouldn't be in keeping with the place.
Is there a payphone in town?
Yes. Across the harbour, over the bridge and up Station Lane.
I'll catch you later.
Perhaps.


Morgan's a nice enough lady. And she's willing to defer any payment, which seems pretty trustworthy of her... though she seems to think there's a chance Nigel won't leave? We exit the conversation and take a peek at our inventory. A bottle of water and a key tagged "Harbour Cottage" have been added, as well as a map of Saxton:



Let's see the rest of the pub. Cat!





I guess it's not 9'oclock then.



Those are lobsters in the tank- I can look more closely at them if I want to, but there's no real point in including a picture of that here since it just shows the lobster larger at a different angle. There's several opportunities in this game for me to get a closer-up view of things like paintings on walls, plants, etc. but most of them aren't particularly interesting so you'll never see them.

The room also has this screen set up, advertising the Saxton Snappers annual photo contest. I can take a brochure.





I'm not sure if Nigel would be interested or not, as there's no mention of treasure OR ghosts.

Also I just noticed that Rhys misspelled his own name on the cover of the brochure.

I direct Nigel back outside the pub, but stop quickly to talk to Morgan again to see if she has any comments about the cat or the contest. She doesn't.



Anyhow, who is this fellow? No, not the seagull pecking at the bloodied fish corpse. The one with the trousers.



As usual, I've made a little video of our first encounter with a new character:
http://youtu.be/DN1Ffo087Fs (1 minute) and also transcribed it:

Hello there!
Oh, hello.
What are you up to?
What are YOU up to?
On holiday, actually. And you?
Work. I'm a writer. A journalist for the local rag.
I'm guessing not much happens round here.
You'd be surprised.


It's a foggy night.
That's one word for it. This fog hides many things.
Like treasure?
Urgh, another glory-seeker?
Not exactly. I'm not sure what I'm seeking. I'll see you around.
You will... trust me.


Trousers seems almost suspicious of Nigel, although that could just be the utter disdain he has for Nigel's freewheeling treasure-hunting lifestyle.

We peek around the corner by the seagull-



-but we can't go this way right now. We have to go to the Cottage.



What does this guy want with us? Also he doesn't look quite old enough to be calling Nigel "Boy."



Video: http://youtu.be/FEp1GbX__BY (2.5 minutes)

Transcript:

You. Boy. What are you doing, loitering?
I'm staying nearby, Harbour Cottage?
This town attracts all sorts of freaks and losers, at this time of year.
What's so special about this time of year? (Nigel doesn't already know?)
Oh dear, not too bright are you. Had much experience of geology have you?
Well, no, not really. I've always thought that...
How about archaeology?
Ummm, no, but I'm willing to learn.


Do you believe this county conceals hidden treasures?
I do. Whether we find them, is another matter. This land is old and steeped in blood and horror. The landscape around us has been witness to the fall of kings... and death in plague-sized proportions. Time and turmoil can see some items misplaced. They are there for us to find, if you know where to look.
(It was a yes or no question )

I'm keen to find the treasure. Where's the best place to start?
Well, that's an easy one. Leave town, walk back across the fens, to the station...
Yup, I'm with you so far...
Get on a train, and clear off back to London A.S.A.P
I can't do that, Mr....
Hardacre. Professor Hardacre, famed archaeologist! Perhaps you've heard of me?
No. My journey was a one-way trip.


This seems a good town in which to disappear?
On the run, are we?
No. Just laying low, for a while...
I'd suggest making peace with who you're running from and getting back to your own little world.
You could be right, I can but try. I'm not going back to London empty handed.
So be it. Enjoy your stay.


Professor Hardacre, what a name. He's just pompous, unlike Nigel's clumsy rudeness. Maybe Hardacre feels threatened? We get the impression he might be more into serious archaology than treasure, so that makes him...Nigel's nemesis! Overall my feelings about this character can be summed up with "Hardacre! "

Nigel's going to undermine his own plan of "go someplace far away and lay low" if he keeps this up, telling everyone his name and about how he's treasure-hunting and on the run.

Let's see what our "clean but cluttered" home for the next week is like.






Haha! I feel kind of bad for Nigel here. The place is kind of a dump. I can look in the drawers, but they're empty. There's a phone, though!



Oops. I guess that's why Morgan directed us to the phone box. Guess what, most of the lights don't work either.

We head down the hallway:





We check out the kitchen. There's not much here, but we CAN open the drawer on the rear counter and get some back info about the Cottage:





It sounds like Harbour Cottage hasn't had the greatest past.

We head for the bathroom, but hear the sound of porcelain smashing from the hallway.




If you spotted the book in the earlier screenshot, good job. (I couldn't have grabbed it then, though.) Let's read it!



That's very odd....

It's odd that someone stopped writing in their diary? I think it's more odd that someone writes in Blackadder typeface. We have to leave the diary here. Still, the conveniently-timed broken plate (I hope we don't get billed for that) has let us in on a little bit more about Edward Molina and how it was Harbour Cottage ended up like it did. Perhaps there's more to find out about this place, tiny as it is.

We check out the bathroom, but there's not much to see.




Nigel Danvers Nigel Danvers Nigel Danvers

Upstairs?



I guess this isn't too bad, but it's certainly not homey or anything. I for one like to sleep under TWO creepy-ass stag heads. Nigel better be getting a cheap rate. We check out the furnishings:




I wonder if Saxton has an "obsession and conspiracy-theory chart supplies" store?



This will become a sort of worktable for us, but for now it's home to little more than an empty photo album. I'm not really sure what the money and receipt were doing here before we arrived, is that supposed to be Nigel's?

At this point I realize I'm missing something. Nigel doesn't want to sleep because "he's not finished investigating" and he won't leave the house. I spend a few minutes revisiting each room and clicking on everything until I realize what the game wanted me to do was invetigate that suspicious wall. As I look at it, some creepy notes and windy-night noises play, as well as the ghost-whispers.


...something not quite right.

I take Nigel back up to the bedroom, where we hear thumps and some meows coming from that trunk at the foot of the bed, which is jostling up and down slightly. Maybe I've been reading that sign wrong the whole time, and what's missing is A CAT?!



"Someone," Nigel? Anyway it's locked, so we look for the key in the most suspicious place in the room. If you don't know where that is already then you haven't played enough adventure games.



Yup, the key was jammed in the eye of that weird stuffed burlap-deer thing. It made a squishy organic noise when I clicked it for some reason, like I had to dig around in a pile of meat. Where did that awful decoration come from?



Thanks dude!

OK, let's let the cat out of the box.





This seems like a nice peaceful time for a nap, now that we're settled into our charming cottage. Nigel had some other stuff to do, like calling Mr. Hadden and returning Lucy's wallet, but I guess he's tired. Goodnight, sweet prince!



As Nigel sleeps, we get a litle cinematic. This one's not so important, but the others will be. http://youtu.be/6qy7KZotsBU (1 minute)