Part 17: Day 4 Part 3: The Crypt

I know you were all on the edge of your seats about that riddle. The first order of business in this update is to solve it with Timmy. And the final order of business will be to blackmail Rhys Branwen!




OK. We have our translation, and Sally Forth guessed the solution, but it'd be no fun for Timmy if Nigel were to walk up and blurt out the answer. For once, Nigel makes a good social decision and we get to talk through the riddle and solve it together.



Was it foreign words, or something?
You could say that. It was Anglo-Saxon.
Oh. Well, what does it mean?
Let's work it out together.
All right, I'm all ears.
The wind carries small creatures.
Hmm, insects maybe?
Over hill-slopes and headlands, dark.
Flying around, maybe at night? Bats?
Coated, black-bodied, bursting with song.
Song? Hm, can't be insects or bats. OK, your turn.
I see. Let's give it a go.


We now give the paper to Timmy and he'll read us the other half of the clues.

They chirm and clamour like a troop on wing.
Hmm, a troop? Soldiers? No, can't be.
How about 'winding their way to wooded cliff-walls?'
Cliff walls? The coast? Maybe it's a bird.
Yeah, a bird with a black body! Sometimes to the halls of men-singing a name-song?
A bird that likes man? Maybe it nests in the halls?
Oh, I've got it! There's these birds here in the churchyard! They nest in the tower, near the halls of men, who sing their songs. Well done, us. We did it.
We certainly did, Timmy. Will you tell me the secret?
Well, them birds have a name, do you know it? (Here we can guess Magpie, Crow, Swallow, or Heron. If we guess the wrong one Timmy tells us we're wrong and to try again.)
Swallow?
That's right, they're swallows! They nest in the tower. Go and see.
The tower door is locked.
That's my secret! I know where the key is. Want it?
You know I do.
(Timmy gives us the key.) Ha, see you later mister.


Ta-da! I liked the riddle. Sure you can click through dialogue to get the solution, but if you're like me you spent a little time trying to solve it on your own. The game actually gives you a little hint, if you've been looking at everything! (It's in one of the pictures from the previous update.)

Actually I really like that Boakes used an Anglo-Saxon riddle (in Anglo-Saxon language). I was looking them up on the internet and there's a number of them which are known. It's certainly much more interesting than the ones most of us have heard before, and the solution (swallows) seems very English. I think barn swallows and such are very British birds, and it's nice to note that even way back in the day the birds had a good relationship with humans. It's a nice little tie to the past.

OK, OK. We now have a tower key! But just keep that in mind, because we're not using it yet. Let's go see what Nancy thinks of our success re: Thomas.

So you found what you were looking for, yeah?
I did. Timmy's happy, and so am I. The riddle was about swallows.
Swallows, eh? Noisy birds. They're very pretty. I look forward to seeing them each summer. Funny thing is, I reckon they look forward to seeing us too!
Yes, I'm sure they do.
I guess you'll be leaving us then?
Yes, I should move on.
Everyone leaves us behind. I know things aren't quite right with us, I've always known.
You've got what you wanted, so maybe you can help us now?
How can I help?
Please mister, I don't want to be here forever. Not here. The records are nice, but it's lonely and cold. I wanna go home. I wana see my dad. Please help us.




Everything has moved on Nancy. As it should.
Why didn't he write us any letters? He promised!
Your stepmother never passed on the letters. I don't think your father ever read them. (His own letters?)
I knew it. My dad would never forget us. He wouldn't! What did she do with 'em? No, stop. I don't want to know.
I'm so sorry, Nancy.
All these years. All these years! I thought he'd left us here. Forgotten us.


I believe you are ghosts, trapped here in this church.
Yeah, I knew something's not right. Timmy don't know. I've kept it a secret, maybe I don't want to believe it. I've been waiting for my dad, you see.
It's time to leave the church. You should wait with Timmy.
Yeah, I can do that. He'll be coming with me. Don't tell him why, please.
I understand.
He doesn't know why we're stuck here. He's too young, you see.
You are very brave, Nancy.


What happened to you and Timmy?
We don't go near the cliffs anymore. Something happened. It was raining. The path was wet, soaked with rain.
And then what, Nancy? And then what?
There... there was a man. In black. Ugly he was. Then came the noise... like a... like a ripping sound. The earth moved, and we were looking down at the sea.
Did you fall?
Oh mister, I don't want to go on. It's a bad story. Please don't make me.
You must. If this is to end, you must tell me. I know it's painful... but it's the only way.
Will we be able to leave this place? For always?


What would mean more to you than anything, Nancy?
A letter. From me dad. You know that! Can he send me a letter? I've been waiting for a letter for years... more than years.


I'm sure you will be with your father again soon.
I miss his stories. He was a brilliant storyteller. Every night, without fail, he'd read us a story about princesses, dragons, and stolen crowns.
Wait with Timmy. I shall return soon.
And then it will be over?
Yes, I believe so.
I'll miss me records, maybe I'll get some new ones, in the new place. You never know, do ya mister?
No, that's very true. Strange things can happen. I'll be back soon.


Man I feel really bad for these kids. I know the concept of them being dead the whole time isn't super original or anything, but I know I'd be a ghost in their situation. Sent away from home, dad in the war, no contact with him, and then a suspicious death? I want to help them out probably more than anyone else I've helped out so far.

... but I'm not really sure how I can get them a letter from their dad. Any ideas? Have a think about it before you go any further.

OK, maybe we should check that tower, now that we have a key and we're a bit stumped.



I'm not really sure how Nancy heard any bells (possibly from weddings happening around them they weren't aware of?)... maybe she just heard the ones that haven't fallen or gotten cobwebby? I get the impression Mr. Russett may not have been in here in a while.

There's a contraption on the table in the lower-right. Nigel can look closer but it doesn't do anything.

We can check downstairs...



No luck with the door, but we can grab that wheel thingy. We can also climb up to the top of the tower:



... hmm.

If only Nigel had some kind of... far-seeing device! But where would an ex-graphic designer from a London tech corp get that kind of thing out in the countryside?



I don't remember the Agers wearing a coat or hat quite like that.... maybe we should check it out. A short walk later:



This one isn't in Old English, but it's a good idea to copy it down anyway.



See if you can spot all the differences in Nigel's transcription, haha. He got a little dramatic at the end I think. Then again it does sound kind of like a suicide note.

Let's go see the kids and deliver this last letter from their dad.



It is done. I think I've seen your father, Nancy.
My dad?! Where is he? Where did you see him?
He's waiting, on the clifftop path.
So the war's over and everything? Funny, we never heard anything. But I guess we wouldn't, would we? We're not like other children. Timmy, we're gonna play a game. Dad's sent us a letter, at last! It arrived today. This man's delivered it himself. I'll read it to you, but you have to close your eyes.
Oh, alright!
Oi, close 'em I said. And think of dad. Remember what he looked like. Like a photo in yer head. Remember Timmy, and we'll see dad again... Dearest Nancy and my dearest Timmy... (She reads Nigel's note, and she and Timmy disappear in bursts of light at the end. "So much" echoes a few times. How did Nigel know???)




Aw. I actually feel like I did a really good deed here. The other ghosts Nigel just kinda stumbles upon and happens to be nosy enough to solve their problem, but this one just feels different.

Let's see what's in that shed.



An Ager notebook, eh? Bunch of shed-hiding creepers. I also grab that container of fuel.




Right, well, if you haven't already guessed what's in the player's near future, you haven't played many video games. If you haven't guessed, hold on! It's gonna be exciting!

We can now revisit the church interior AND the tower interior, but first let's chat with Mr. Russett again.



I don't think you'll be seeing Nancy any more.
She's gone too?
Yes, it was a tragic story.
They always are, lad, they always are.
Where do you think they go?
A better place than here, that's for sure.


Mr. Russett, can you help me with something?
Hmm, like what, exactly? (I'm not going to post a screenshot, but we've unlocked a new question about the machine in the tower, and the metal door.)
What's that old machine, in the tower?
Ah, that'll be my old steam machine!
What does it do?
Do? DO?! It makes steam!
Why? Is electricity not enough?
Come, come lad. Last time this church needed power, the war was raging. No power to this church.
So you created steam power? That's brilliant!
Well, I thought so, but it was never used.
Why?
It was made to power up that old organ, but... no-one wanetd to play it.
Because of the war?
No, 'cos of the curse!
Curse?! Don't tell me... Agers again.
The worst of the bunch.
He was here? In Ulcombe?
Yup. Played the organ. Demonic creature. No-one would play the thing... said they could feel his presence. Watching. Waiting. Deep down, he is now. No coming back. Sealed in, he is.
What's beyond the metal door in the tower base?
Don't go in there. There's nuffin' good in there.
What's wrong?
Nuffin', as long as you stay out of that crypt.
A crypt?! Perfect! It might be just what I'm looking for. ()
Damn boy! There's nothing stopping you!


Mr. Russett is one of my favorite characters. He seems kinda weird at first but he's actually a super-decent person. He's trying to give Nigel good advice, but Nigel is having none of it.

If you guessed we can use that fuel to power the machine in the tower, you're right! Let's go do that first, because this thing is heavy.




Puzzle: solved. Let's just check one thing first:



Since the boiler is working now, we can go downstairs and try that creepy door to the crypt.

The door is pretty boring, it's a 5-button puzzle where you just have to figure out the right order via trial-and-error and sound cues. But on the other side....



This is actually kind of a creepy little area. Nigel has to use his camcorder again, and if you don't think wandering around in the dark in a haunted crypt is spooky, we can't be friends. Here is a Youtube of this part! Exploring Ulcombe Crypt(4 minutes)



And this crypt is defintiely haunted. The first time Nigel rounds a corner, the screen flashes and we get a brief glimpse of:



It's also howling in pain. At least until it disappears a second later. We can poke around a little more, check out some of the cheery stuff on the walls:




But if you're down here very long, some prankster ghost starts hucking rocks at you.



They don't do any damage, but they do sound a little bit like they're damaging the camcorder. Soon enough Nigel stumbles upon this broken candlestick, which I grab:



And this broken coffin, which I pry open:



And this horrid corpse holding a book, which I wrench from its hands to read:




Yes okay that was worth it.

Elsewhere in the crypts:



Hmm. This is a puzzle, you have to rotate those panels so they show the correct moons to match the corpse-book poem. In that picture I've already rotated these panels into their correct positions (waning, scythe, new), which opens a pair of heavy doors behind us:



Inside of which is....



Another sinister black mist which means I still have some work to do. What was that Mr. Russett said about Nathaniel being sealed in? Well, he won't mind us messing about. Goddamn Agers. I wasn't finished inside the church yet, which is where this puzzle is solved- so let's retreat and wrap up the loose ends.



OK, back into the church. Now that Nancy's gone, we can check out her gramophone. It has a spiritual photo for us, and an audio recording! Rather than a YouTube I made a Tindeck.





Listening back to the tape reveals a totally different recording, some sinister-sounding organ music.

There's also this little alcove in the church, which I could have shown you before, but didn't:




That's right... it's.... a MUSICAL PUZZLE

At least this musical puzzle is titled "To My Dark Lord & Master." It's a hymn I swear!

Look I'm just going to fast-forward this part because I hate these. I have to send Nigel behind the organ and attach the wheel-valve (from the tower basement) to the steam pipes in order to make the organ work. I actually have to time his traversal of the passageway to avoid steam bursts, which was an interesting effort, but considering it's still just one slightly delayed click it's barely worth telling you about.

Then I have to piece together what to play. Most of the notes are attached confusingly on that serpent drawing in Nathaniel's notebook- the other two I have to determine from the gramophone recording, which plays the relevant bit from To My Dark Lord & Master. Then I have to use the piano key diagram to figure out which one is F# or whatever. Look, I just made a YouTube of the important bit, which is actually really funny because of a programming flub: To My Dark Lord & Master (1 minute)



TOOT TOOT I played a ghost song!

Ulcombe church is now free of it is dead.



Mr. Russett's still here, so he's not dead.



Crypt howler is still here, so it's not dead either.



Rock throwing ghost is still here too! Maybe a Satanic pipe organ refrain is pretty bad at expelling the dead? Do you think?



Well, the black mist isn't here any more, which doesn't make a lot of sense because I'd have thought that playing an evil dude's favorite song to his dark lord and master would actually make him stronger, not exorcise him, but okay. That means we can approach and take a photo of the symbol on the wall behind Nathaniel's skeleton.



Why do we get the last symbol in this way, when all the others are clearly associated with freeing the ghosts of innocent victims? I don't know. My head hurts. Let's go home.



... it's Mr. Russett. I'm off now. Be seeing you, laddie.


Okay wait.

This is the best moment in the whole game.

I'm not sure if you're ready for it. Do you feel ready? It's a good moment. You'll feel really good about it.

OK. I think I've prepared you. Let's leave the tower.




MR. TIBBS! He's okay!

Nigel's not willing to scoop him up and carry him back home, so we have to find another way. an adventure-game way. What do you think will encourage Mr. Tibbs to follow us? We've seen something inside the church that will do the trick.



Cats love mice, and there's a mousetrap right here! Nigel kept his broken candlestick, so we can use it to snap the trap and get.... a piece of Stilton cheese.

Now that we have the cheese, Mr. Tibbs will happily follow us back to Saxton! But first, Nigel's PHOTO CONTEST ACE IN THE HOLE:



Just in case Rhys needs reminding about who is bringing his kitty cat home, while he's judging the contest.




Look who I found.
Mr. Tibbs!! Oh, I can't believe it!
He was hiding out at Ulcombe Church.
The church? Funny old fella.
I'll leave you to your reunion.
Nigel, you've made a silly old fool very happy.
My pleasure, Rhys. Now get yourself to that Fayre!
Will you be going?
Not just yet, I've got something to do. Top secret!
Oh aye, well, make sure you get them photos to me. I'm hoping you're a winner, boyo.
I'll leave the photos out for you, at Harbour Cottage. (Nigel is referring to the supernatural photos - even if you take/submit no photos to the contest, Nigel still makes this offer to Rhys.)
Oh, is that an invite round to your place, is it?
Sadly not, Rhys. I'm going to be rather tied up.
Oh, even better! (If you weren't sure before whether Rhys was flirting with Nigel, hopefully you are now. )
Ha! Nice try. Catch you later. And you, Mr. Tibbs.


Before we go, we get the meaning of our newly-acquired symbol:


And of course we drop our last few photos, including the one of Mr. Tibbs, into the submission box.