Part 13: Update XIII - Spooky Priest Parties Are The Best Parties Cause Spooky Priest Parties Don't Stop. Until Everybody's Dead.

Update XIII - Spooky Priest Parties Are The Best Parties Cause Spooky Priest Parties Don't Stop. Until Everybody's Dead.

After the last update, I asked the thread for some predictions as to what exactly would turn out to be the mystery of Rabenstein, and we've got some interesting theories together. Here's what the thread came up with:






Now, it's time to see how those theories hold up as the events continue to unfold.



Come on, Tarius, the party will start soon and we don't want to be late.



So, last time, we uncovered a few mysterious happenings in Castle Rabenstein that threw up a lot of questions.



We're on our way downstairs. Are you done?
DONE? Stupid question: I'm completely drenched from that storm, stink to the high heavens and my hair is all over the place!
Umm... actually, I just wanted to know if you're coming down to the party?
Of course I am! Do you think I'm just going to sit up here and bore myself to death while you're down there having fun?
Alright... let's go.



This time, we'll be going down to this mysterious ceremony, maybe that will answer some questions... oh who am I kidding, it'll just throw up even more questions. These segments are auto-controlled, as you can tell by our party being fully displayed as opposed to the party-in-my-pocket style the standard gameplay uses. I guess they don't want you bopping around with Dankwart just yet.



Good to see you managed to make it in time. I just wanted to send up Burger to check on you.
Midnight draws closer. We should now all take our seats.



We can now talk to everybody here, but all we get is a variation on "sit down already". The one difference is when we try and go to talk to Xynthia.



The lady is very sick. Please do not disturb her.
What does she have?
This really isn't the right moment to be talking about those things!

Alrighty then.



Also, conveniently placed save point. I wonder why we'd need one here. Anyway, we take a seat at the head of the table (as Grandy doesn't want to sit next to the bum), and it's time for the ceremony to begin!



In the life of every human comes the day that his destiny fulfills itself.
We have come together here tonight to accompany Lady Sylvia as she follows the call of her destiny!
I have known Sylvia since her birth and have seen her grow to become the charming lady we see before us today.
She's about to open the door into a new life. A new life with new freedoms, but also new responsibilities.

Well, this seems to be about the standard "coming-of-age" ceremony claptrap so far.

Every one of us that has gathered here tonight will do their part to open this door for her!

Hm, that sounds a bit weird, but I guess we don't know what exactly they have planned. Might be some sort of thing where everybody has to speak out some wishes for the soon-to-be adult or something like that.



Ah, the guards... just as planned.
Guards? What's going on here?
Where did you leave the prisoners?

Prisoners? Guards? Now it's starting to get really odd.

And then, suddenly more soldiers come in behind the guards!



What is the meaning of this?
Just calm down, folks. Nobody loses their head as long as nobody loses their head.
YOU DARE TO INTERRUPT OUR CEREMONY? YOU HAVE NO IDEA OF THE DAMAGE YOU'RE CAUSING!
Pardon, padre, but I have my orders from Duke Wahnfried himself!
...and you don't want to go against the duke, do you?
No... of course not... but what does the duke want from us?
His highness is disappointed in your payment practices. Although he reminded you several times, you did not pay the tithe required of you...
THAT IS A LIE! WE HAVE PAID OUR TAXES RIGHT ON TIME FOR YEARS!
You can complain to the duke if you want to, but fact remains that I'm under orders to raise the missing taxes!
The sum adds up to about 300,000 bucks!
300,000? BUT THAT'S INSANE! WE CAN'T POSSIBLY BRING TOGETHER 300,000...
SILENCE! I HAVE ORDERS TO BURN THIS CASTLE TO THE GROUND IF THE MONEY ISN'T PAID!

This is starting to get out of hand...

...and then the entire room suddenly darkens and Xynthia lets out a scream!



It is time!

He then pushes Sylvia towards Xynthia and Dankwart starts running in our direction.

FATHER PRIAMOR! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?

GRANDY! THIS IS OUR CHANCE! LET'S GET OUT OF HERE!



AND THEN XYNTHIA'S FACE STARTS MELTING OH GOD



WE GET AN OPTION NOT TO LEG IT HERE BUT WHO THE FUCK WOULD PICK THAT RUN RUN RUN



RUN RUN RUN



RUN RUN RUN



Phew... I think I got away from them! What the hell just happened down there? I didn't even get the half of it - it all happened too fast...

Well, let's recap for a second:

- We made it to the party, where the padre was waffling on about Sylvia stepping foward into a new part of life.
- Suddenly, some blokes jumped in, claiming to be working for Wahnfried, and trying to get a whole bunch of due taxes from them, which the Rabensteiners denied owing.
- Then, midnight hit, I guess, shit hit the fan, Xynthia's face started melting and some sort of stuff happened on the other side of the table we couldn't really see.
- The whole situation completely broke down into combat, Dankwart and Grandy legged it while Libra and Tarius were still sitting in their chairs.

Or in short, shit just got real.

And what happened to the others? Dankwart probably made it out...
But Libra and Tarius were stuck in their chairs as if they were made of stone! I hope nothing happened to them...
Wonderful! Now I'm alone once again! What can I possibly do against the men of the duke...
Get a hold of yourself, Grandy!
Dankwart was surely right. If we were all arrested there, our mission would have been over right then and there!

Literally - sitting tight is a game over.

I fear I can't really help anything down there. Maybe this castle holds more secrets that could help me?

You bet your ass it does, but first...



...we have something surprisingly mundane to do.



Now that the bum is gone, we can raid his chest. We get lockpicks, stuff to stick up your pipe and smoke and an elixir. Useful, I guess. Now that that's done, the next thing to do is the #1 priority when you split the party and get fucked - un-fuck yourself and un-split the party. So let's try and see if we can find Dankwart.



Let's take a look around on the top floor, maybe he ended up there.



Well, there's light in here, so that either means he's here or somebody is setting a trap.



Thankfully, it turns out that it indeed is Dankwart.

Thank the Gods, it's you!
Dankwart! It's a good thing you made it.
I ran as fast as my old legs allowed it. Somehow I made it to the stairs and hid here.
Well, then I ended up reading a few books here. This castle really has a fascinating history.
Did you find something that could help us?
Not directly, I fear. But this region is going to be in for a lot of excitement if these old stories I read are true.
Even more excitement? Brilliant. What's going to happen?
If you want to really understand what I mean, I'll have to start from the beginning.
Go right ahead... I have yet to see anybody else up here.

Story time! Pay attention here, there will be a quiz later. But seriously, this part will be important at some point.

Alright... this castle is very old, you must know, a lot older than Castle Falkenburg! It was built by a man named Malthur...
The sources aren't exactly sure about his origin, but it seems clear that he was no average human being.
Some believe that he was a son of the Dark God, others believe that he was cursed by the Gods to eternal life and unresting wanderings. However, it seems certain that he built this castle in the middle of nowhere. It must have been some sort of cultist center or something similar.
There he preached some sort of perversities and gained hundreds of followers, one of which he took to be his wife!
The name of that girl was Lythia and she reigned alongside him for years on Castle Rabenstein. Of course, such a place of evil could not stay undetected for long, so the former emperor of this area decided to do something about this. A large army marched on Rabenstein, but the sight they beheld froze the marrow in their bones!
Malthur had the peasants that wouldn't follow him herded together and executed. He then tore their eyes out and impaled them on long stakes!
He then had the stakes erected on the battlements of the castle, where the ravens mutilated their dead bodies beyond recognition within days!
This sight left no doubt regarding what was going on on Rabenstein, so it was decided to attack without negotiations!
However, despite the numeric superiority of the imperial army, there was no ground to be gained by the end of the first day. Every time it seemed as if they could be making progress, Malthur himself appeared on the battlefield!
Clad in dark armor and standing head and shoulders above any opponent, he wreaked havoc on the emperor's men!
Nobody could stand up to him and the battle seemed to be lost...
...if it wasn't for a young lieutenant that managed to sneak into the castle after dark. He worked his way up to Malthur's chambers but only found his wife! He thought he could take her hostage, but she attacked him with the fury of all hellspawn imaginable! The young man was in for the fight of his life, but he managed to maintain the upper hand and killed the lady of the castle!
Just in that moment, the door came crashing open and Malthur stood in the room. The lieutenant thought that would be his end.
But as Malthur saw the dead body of Lythia, he went insane and attacked absolutely everything that came into his line of sight.
In this complete chaos our young warrior managed to escape. He returned to the battlements and gave the signal to attack! Without Malthur the resistance of the last defenders completely collapsed. The battle was over not a half hour later! The young lieutenant was declared a hero and was given the land as a fiefdom.
...his name was Falk von Dengelbrack!
Great! Now I know why you liked that story so much, but that was centuries ago!
I'm not done yet, Grandy! Malthur himself had disappeared.
But throughout the centuries people have claimed to have seen him. He's still traveling through the lands, restless, still filled with pain!
But there is a prophecy that states that he will return in 700 years to reclaim his reign over the area!
...and now take a guess...
...it's been 700 years...
Almost exactly to the day!
Now that's certainly just wonderful news, but I'm not sure how that is supposed to help us!
Not right now, that is correct, but I've always wondered why exactly Wahnfried took over my throne.
Don't you see how history is repeating? Just like Malthur 700 years ago, Wahnfried built up a realm of evil!
I've got the sneaking suspicion that he's preparing for the return of the dark lord... maybe this knowledge can be of use to us some day!
But you're right, this doesn't really help us in our current situation. Could you find something else? We should look to solve the mysteries of this castle so that we can move on as soon as possible!

At this point, Grandy could report on his findings, but since I went for Dankwart ASAP (following the guide), he has nothing to say, so Dankwart just rejoins our party and we move on.



As we leave the library, we hear a monster's growl and a bloodcurdling scream.

What was that sound?

This is code for "watch the fuck out". For what? You'll see.



Moving on, we find a door that has been nailed shut. Previously, we wouldn't just break down a door like that, but I think that's the least of our worries right now, so we just break it down with the crowbar.



Oh my. Something tells me we were most definitely not supposed to find this. There's nothing particularly interesting in this room beyond the obvious bits - there's a pair of springs in the cupboard in case we missed getting one from Dante and Thorn, but since we already have that one, this is just sale fodder. Now, to the important part in this room:



This book is bound in red leather. There's some initials on it...
Three big squiggly "R"s... seems to be a diary!
Those are the initials of Sir Roland of Rabenstein!

"Ritter Roland von Rabenstein", in case you were wondering about the "three" "R"s.



September 17th

If I think about how full my heart was but yesterday, the night that Xynthia and I were married. Today, everything is different... since the marriage she has become abrasive and stubborn, not at all like the fun-loving girl she was before. She's avoiding me, she even forbid me access to our bedroom!

September 29th

I'm a stranger in my own house. This strange priest that Xynthia brought along is acting like he's the lord of this castle. I think I'll have to have a talk with him tonight...

September 30th

Gods, what have I done for you to punish me like this? Yesterday I made my way to the chambers of that false padre to talk to him about the state of affairs on Rabenstein. As I stood in front of the door, I heard strange sounds that brought me to open the door as quietly as I can... but what did I see on the other side? My own wife, who has refused herself to me ever since our marriage, was tossing and turning on the floor with Priamor, filled with lust, like an animal! Filled with shock I fled from the room without closing the door behind me.

October 1st

Darkest betrayal from all sides! Today I found myself locked into my own room! What are these adulterers planning? They must have brought the servants onto their side...

October 4th

Three days without food! My life is coming to an end! They're really planning to starve me to death here! But I... (the blue ink trails off here, then replaced with red) No more ink! Well, at least then my blood will still have one use... I have little to no hope that somebody will find this book. However, if somebody does manage to find it, tell the world that Roland of Rabenstein died as a man of honor - by his own hand and his own sword! And if you follow the path of the Gods, please grant me the satisfaction of bringing Xynthia and her demonic lover to their rightful fate!

I'm not sure I can even add anything to this...

What a sad end for such a great man!



We then make our way towards the staircase and... well look who it is!

It's you! Thank the Gods that you could also flee from those fiends!
Good to see you, Father Priamor. Maybe you could explain to us what has been happening here?
If only I could, sir... I can't explain it either. The lady always paid her taxes!
1) Don't distract from the real issue! 2) Is there any proof? 3) What should we do?

So yeah, we're given options to buy into this guy's act, and I guess that if you ran into him before reading the diary (or those prisoners he mentioned) you might believe him to some degree, but no, this guy's lying scum.

We don't give a shit about your taxes! What happened down in the ball room? Why did your guards show up at midnight?
Umm... we wanted to give them a little surprise. These poor guys just guard all day long, so for a change of pace...
...and the prisoners that your guards should bring? Did you want to give them a little surprise too?
Very attentive, Grandy... I had completely forgotten about that detail...
Well... that's easy to explain... they were supposed to be pardoned because of the occasion...

At this point you might be given an option to maybe buy into it, but...

Save your lies for the judge! We found the diary of Sir Roland - the legacy of the victim! You let him die of thirst in his own room with your lover Xynthia! You'll pay for that!
Don't be so sure of that! The Dark God is on my side!

And he legs it downstairs.



However, he doesn't follow a set path and instead meanders randomly, which makes catching up to him rather easy.

GIVE IT UP, PRIAMOR! YOU CAN'T RUN FROM ME!



So now it's time to give this asshole what for, and funnily enough, we can really cream this guy.



Boom, fight over. He's one of the few bosses that is vulnerable to Grandy's solar plexus attack, and gets paralyzed immediately.



He then goes down without ever recovering.



And then after searching his dead body...

Hey, he's got a key with him!

...we get a bronze key. And I know just where to use it!



This door is the door to Priamor's private chambers.

Hmm... the door is locked.
Hey... that lock is made of bronze! And I've got this bronze key off of Priamor, that false padre!

...fits perfectly!

We walk into the room and suddenly hear another bloodcurdling scream...



THAT WAS CLOSE BY!

OH JESUS CHRIST NO

BY THE GODS! WHAT IS THAT?
*another terrible scream*
DANKWART! LOOK AT THE DRESS! IT'S LADY SYLVIA!



Oh fuck, she's certainly seen better days.

Holy smokes! Lady Sylvia, what happened to your eyes?
*another scream*
Oh, right, I see...

...god damnit, Grandy, this isn't the time to be cracking wise! In fact, it's time to RUN RUN RUN



LET'S GET OUT OF HERE, DANKWART!

RUN RUN RUN



Grandy, wait! All this running isn't for my poor old legs!

She's not making any attempts to follow us... perhaps she isn't capable of thinking that far!
I have to know what happened down there after we fled the ball room!
But Dankwart, you know the duke's men are everywhere down there!
They can't be everywhere! And perhaps there is a way to get a look into there without just waltzing inside!

...well, I think that's a good place to wrap things up for now. So, folks, anybody want to amend those theories? We've certainly still haven't revealed all of the mysteries and solutions!