Part 30: Update XXX - Facts Concerning The Late Wilhelm Von Junzt, But Not His Family

Update XXX - Facts Concerning The Late Wilhelm Von Junzt, But Not His Family



So, Wilhelm von Junzt is dead. Just when it seemed we'd be getting some answers, the guy has to kick the bucket. Now, it seems pretty obvious that it's Wahnfried fucking with us somehow to try and allow him to sit out the embargo while we run in circles, which means there's a sleeper agent somewhere in here. The kicker is that pretty much everybody is viable.

- Elric Zann? A complete enigma. Could turn out to be anything.
- Robert Bloch? Despises von Junzt. Probable motive, could easily be persuaded to get rid of him.
- Derleth? Hey, who better than the main servant of the house to take von Junzt out?
- Justus and Jonas? Maybe the whole thing was just a prank gone wrong - gone wrong because somebody magically interfered with it?
- Serena? Another enigma. Got close with Tarius - perhaps to provide an alibi?
- Tarius? Maybe it turns out that Serena got so close with Tarius in order to get him to do it?
- Von Junzt himself? Old man, wracked with nightmares, surely paranoid as hell, now the fucking son of the Dark God shows up. Maybe he killed himself in order to avoid a worse fate?

Now, it's time to begin the investigation.

Hm, now why does something creepy happen everywhere we show up?

Plot convenience? Alternatively, because you've got an evil vampire trying to kill you?

Why are you so sure that sir von Junzt was murdered, Grandy?
Just remember his strange behavior when he was in our room. Something seemed to trouble him.

Oh, like the fucking son of the Dark God showing up? I think that might fuck with a guy for a bit.

You mean apart from Malthur?
I think we should definitely talk with everybody present. Especially with the servants. And we should definitely look around. There has to be some sort of evidence around here!

So Grandy's not even going to touch on that point, eh?

One could almost think that Dankwart was still with us, Grandy.

Nah, not really. Dankwart would have figured out the cause of death and we'd have a much better foundation for an investigation. Grandy's basically operating on a wild hunch here. Sure, he's right, but still, that's a big leap. And it's not going to be easy to find evidence to prove a wild hypothesis like that.

But you're right. If there has been a murder here, then we'll solve it.

Alright, now it's time to look around the rooms. I'm going to cut to the chase, because there's a lot of stuff around here, and a good bit of it is mostly useless and uninteresting. Stuff like "well, there's some stuff in here, but nothing suspicious". Interesting to semi-interesting stuff in this room:

In here is a very suspicious tea set!

Hm, what's this here? There's a piece of paper stuck between the cupboards. I wonder what's written on it...
"A ghost does hide inside these walls, bites everybody in their balls. Signed, Justus and Jonas". Very funny!

What an impressive fireplace! I wonder if there's some treasure hidden in there...
Nope, just old soot!

And then there's book cases. I'm just going to list the titles, because there's a lot more around: "The Whisperer in the Dark Night", "Hugo West, Reanimator", "The City Without a Name", "The Dog", "The Nameless Fear" and "The Forbidden Gates". Noticing a theme?



Next up, another picture.

"The goat with the thousand children."
Pshaw, it's only hundred at the most. Hm... old Shab - we used to get along really well. But then it came the way it had to come. I left the chasms of Abyssus, we lost contact...
Man, I'd be really happy if I knew you were just joking.



Next up, the kitchen.



Could we talk to you for a moment?
Sure, not a problem... or, Justus?
Nah, not a problem. It's about old von Junzt, right?
Yeah, we're really sorry about bothering you with this now.
It's alright - we're kinda used to stuff like this, you must know. If you live with an author like him, this is normal.
You call this normal?
Well, just look at the pictures hanging around here.
Hm, that's an argument... regarding the death, ahem... could you tell us where you were while we were waiting in the salon?
Of course - we were out in the garden, digging pit traps for Reinard.
Reinard? Who's that?
Oh, that's the gardener who works here: Reinard Falkenwald. He's on vacation right now - mental breakdown.
Hm, so the gardener's not here at the moment - that cuts down on the number of suspects...
Anything else?
Yes: Did somebody see you dig holes in the garden?
Nah, if somebody had seen us, it wouldn't be a surprise.
Hm, that's true.

Now, looking around the room:

That has to be the most terrifying tea set I've ever seen.

It's just a plain old table, alright? Just WHAT am I supposed to find here?
Who are you talking to, Grandy?
Hm, what did you say...? Oh, let's just keep looking around, alright?

Hm, strange... there's a knife here with something etched into the blade: "Die, Wilhelm!" - the writing looks to be a child's... I wonder if Justus and Jonas really had murder in mind?

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Fire burn, and cauldron bubble!
Nothing to be found!

Because Grandy is the kind of guy to quote Macbeth.

What do we have here? Hm, a few pans, some kettles, some dishes... this cupboard is definitely innocent!

(If I say something about the dirty dishes, Libra's probably going to knock me over the head...)

Hm, somebody seems to have put the kettle on. I wonder if Derleth was making tea?
No, the water definitely wasn't for tea.
Just a shame nobody got to try the soup. That was my masterpiece!
Hehehehehehehehehe!
Muahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

That's it, those fuckers did it! They didn't even get tricked by Wahnfried or anything, they just wanted to kill that old fart because they could!



In here, we have Derleth's room.

"The Island of Dr. Moriarty"... who would have thought that Derleth likes corny detective stories?

No Moreau here, instead we turn that story into a Sherlock Holmes story, I guess.

Hm, there's a book laying under the bed... "Poisons and Tinctures, Volume II".
Not exactly the bedtime reading of an innocent man... especially when we consider the cause of death of sir von Junzt.

Pretty sure you still don't really have anything to go by as far as cause of death is concerned.

Do you think the old servant killed his master?
You can bet your life on that!

Originally, Grandy tells Libra that she can "Gift drauf nehmen", which comes out to "you can take poison on that", so there's another pun here.



I really can't make out a single thing in there.
Yes, it's quite an unflattering picture of him...
You mean this... "thing" here is actually a person?
Well, he always had his problems with the girls, if you know what I mean. But he really is a great guy. Haven't heard from him in ages - of course not. He's always terribly busy... and he can't write either.
I still don't believe I'd even like to run into him in a brightly lit alley.



Moving on, let's check out the salon. Nothing really interesting in here except the wide array of books: "Escape From the Island of Monkeys", "Samuel and Maximus", "The Terror of Königsberg" (could be anything, really), "The Case of Ambros Birs", "The Shadow Out of Time", "Shadows over Düsterburg", "The Sevenfold Proviso" (what), "The Rats in the Walls", "Mountains of Madness", "In the Crypt", "The King in Yellow", "The Dream-Search after Unknown Kadath", "The Cats of Ulthar" and "The Nameless City".

...fucking hell, looking all this shit up takes time.



Next, it's von Junzt's office. The only reason I know this is because his body was supposed to be brought there.



Looks like a grotesque, bloody mess...
A bad picture.
Why?
The Shoggoths are a noble race, even if they're incredibly ugly. The artist should have taken that into account.
I don't believe he knew these creatures as well as you do.



Can I do something for you?
Indeed, sir Derleth, we have a few questions. If you don't mind, that is.
If you could ask your questions quickly, sir Grandy... I don't like seeing the peace of sir von Junzt disturbed like that.
It's only one question: Please tell us how you found sir von Junzt.
I... I just wanted to put up some candles in the dining hall, for dinner. And as I entered I saw him laying there. After that I immediately rushed to the salon. I don't exactly know why, but I think I didn't want to be alone with the body.
Hm, we understand, sir Derleth. We'll be on our way then.

But now he's just fine with being all alone with the body? Sounds like a potential hole in the story.



Now, it's time to ask everybody else and check out the upper level rooms. First, Elric Zann and his room. Searching around, we find something interesting...

Well lookie here, what do we have here in this coat?
A little vial of a suspicious fluid. Smells quite acidic. Now if that's not poison...



Can I do something for you?
Well, we wnated to ask you a few questions regarding the death of sir von Junzt.
Then ask your questions. And then scram, I don't have time to waste on the likes of you.
No worries, it's just one very simple question: Where were you before Derleth called all of us into the salon?
Does that mean I'm under suspicion?
Everybody's suspicious until the evidence determines the guilty party, so would you please answer the question?
Calm down. The answer might surprise you, but I spent the entire time up here on my room, playing the flute.
Do you have to arrest me now?
No, definitely not, sir Zann. Still, I ask you not to leave the house until this matter is cleared up.
If that makes you happy...



Next up, Serena. First up, more books: "The Lurking Fear", "Invisible Devourers", "The Black Book", "Cult of the Ghouls", "The Pnakotian Sign", "Kuno The Barbarian", "Necronomicon", "The 42 Eulogies of the Famous One" and "The Grimoire". Funnily enough, Grandy calls the last three "cheap trash".



Now what kind of terrible creature is that?
When you get to know him, he's actually a pretty OK guy.



How good to see all of you. Please, remember that you wanted to play that song for me, my dear Tarius.
...
Umm... that's all well and good, but we came here to talk about the death of sir von Junzt.
What a shame... and how tragic. The poor sir von Junzt - I didn't even get to read his latest manuscript.
Manuscript?
I previously mentioned that I'm a patron of the arts, right? Well, art doesn't end with canvas and oil paint, you must know. I actually came here to read the manuscript to the latest work of the "Master of the Macabre" and maybe then buy it.
Hm, that's surely very interesting, lady Serena, but could we still ask you a question about the death of von Junzt?
Of course, why not?
Well, where were you before Derleth called us to the salon?
Grandy, you don't think that lady Serena...
(Back off, brother!)
It's alright, Tarius. Sir Grandy's only doing what he has to do, and I have nothing to hide. I was here in my room - Tarius can attest to that, he was here too.
Y... yes, that's true, Grandy.
I think that's enough. If Tarius says that lady Serena speaks the truth, then that's right.
Alright... if you need something else, you'll find me here. And good luck!

Do I note hesitation in Tarius' voice? Maybe that alibi isn't as secure as one was supposed to think?



Finally, we need to check out Bloch's room.



Phew, looks like some sort of winged monstrosity on some kind of pedestal.
I wonder how he's been doing...
(I don't want to know, I don't want to know, I...)



Well, how can I help you?
We would like to ask you a few questions about the death of sir von Junzt.
What's there left to ask? He was old, it was time for him to go.
I don't want to come off as macabre, but I believe the world is better off without him.
I should add that we're still investigating a possible murder, sir Bloch.
Oh, that's just great. Am I now under suspicion for murder?
Just tell us where you were before Derleth called us to the salon.

The original text has Grandy asking where he was *after* Derleth called everybody to the salon. That's probably a slip-up.

Where would I have been? Here, of course! I've been waiting the entire day like I'm waiting for an audience with a king! Furthermore, I find it to be outrageous that I'm now...
(Headaches...) Nobody's accusing you, sir Bloch. Just one more question...
Yeah, sure...
Was there anything notable, anything strange about the corpse?
Something strange? What do you mean?
Well, something that doesn't fit. Wasn't there anything notable?
Hm, there was indeed something. The body was still warm when I examined it.
So sir von Junzt couldn't have been dead for very long, right?
Exactly. I hope that helps you further and I can go back home soon...
Thank you, sir Bloch - you might have helped us more than you think.

So that's everything we can figure out about the murder. Time to put everything together.



Hm, it's time to evaluate the testimonies... Bloch said the body was still warm when he examined it...
That means the killer must be somebody out of the group we questioned. But who?
Derleth would be too obvious, or? After all, he wouldn't have been so stupid as to call us, right?
But maybe he wanted us to think exactly that.
Furthermore, everybody except us seems to assume that he died of natural causes.
Let's move on: Zann seems pretty suspicious to me. Was he really in his room the entire time?
He definitely was - we heard that accursed flute the entire time...
Then Bloch - he was pretty quick with his diagnosis.
Which reason would he have to assume a murder?
Which leaves lady Serena...
That's not true, Grandy - we have yet to think about the two boys.
You've really grown fond of your lady Serena, haven't you?
What's your deal? Why are you always so mean to lady Serena?
Tarius, we don't know a thing about the lady. Remember everything we've gone through.
We can't just trust anybody that seems likeable.
Pshaw... you're just begrudging me for maybe finding somebody for myself. You've got Grandy, after all.
I'd gladly let you borrow him!
SILENCE!
We don't want to argue here, we want to solve a murder! I suggest calling an assembly. So, call everybody together - we'll meet in von Junzt's office.



Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention, please? Even if many of you don't believe us, we're sure that the death of sir von Junzt was NO accident!
We know of your conjecture, sir Grandy. Do you have anything else to say?
Indeed, I have, sir Bloch.
The killer of Wilhelm von Junzt...
...is in THIS ROOM!

Silence.

Does nobody have anything to say about that?
You'll have to give more details, sir Grandy.
...(this is where it gets serious).
The killer of Wilhelm von Junzt is... 1) Elric Zann 2) Derleth 3) Lady Serena 4) Justus and Jonas 5) Robert Bloch 6) foolish idea 7) crazy idea

This is where it gets tricky... technically. You might have already noticed that the case is completely surrounded in vagueness, and indeed, you can't give the right answer here. There's a problem in every case:

1) The flask turns out to be cough syrup.
2) Grandy points out that Derleth knows about poisons, then Bloch butts in saying that he knows about poisons as well, causing the whole thing to fall apart.
3) We don't have a lick of proof against her.
4) Grandy brings up the knife, only there were no stab wounds. Also, the knife was dull. Whoops.
5) Bringing up a motive doesn't count for much if you don't have anything else to go on.
6) This turns out to be accusing Tarius. This is so stupid that it's actually a Bad Thing.
7) This turns out to be claiming a suicide. Bloch then dismisses that theory based on a lack of traces of any regular suicide method and lack of a suicide note or the like.

Regardless of what you pick...

Well, that went nowhere...
Indeed, sir Grandy. I suggest we all go to bed. Tomorrow, when everybody's less stressed, we can then discuss the matter in a more calm manner. Good night!



I made a complete fool of myself...
It's not your fault, dear. We just don't have any usable clues to solve this intricate case.
If only Dankwart was here - he knows these things much better...
Hm... Dankwart...
Yes, he would have known how to...
No, wait a second, Grandy... didn't you notice anything? Regarding Dankwart, that is.
What do you mean?
Dankwart's been missing for years, and I'm pretty sure this von Junzt hasn't heard everything that happened to him, right?
Of course, yes. Nobody in Königsberg should know about his fate, let alone his return.
So now I'm wondering why neither von Junzt nor Derleth mentioned Dankwart a single time.
When I hear something about a long missing friend, then I'd probably like to know about what happened to him pretty quickly.
So what do you mean to say with that? That sir von Junzt isn't who he claims to be?
I'm not sure myse...

Suddenly, a knock on the door!

Now who would that be?
I'll take a look. Hang back, Libra.



Derleth... you're the last person I would have expected.
(Don't speak so loud. I'm here to entrust you with a secret of grave importance.)
(If this is supposed to be a confession, then I wonder why you'd bring this up just now.)
(Sir Grandy, through your valiant investigation you've proven to us that you're genuinely concerned about the fate of sir von Junzt. We therefore assume that you have spoken the truth on the other occasions. Because of that, we have decided to reveal ourselves.)
...we?
(Please come to sir von Junzt's office with your friends - but please don't attract any attention. It would be best if you aren't seen by anybody else.)
(Al... alright, sir Derleth... we'll see you then.)



Who was that at the door? I was starting to get worried.
It was Derleth... and he was acting odd. Talked about us having been truthful the entire time...
...and now he wants to reveal himself to us. I don't have the slightest clue what that's supposed to mean, but we're supposed to head to the office, inconspicuously.
Then let's go pick up Tarius. I have to apologize for our earlier fight anyway.
Hm, we'll have to do that later. Tarius is probably with lady Serena, and Derleth said we shouldn't be seen by anybody else.
Hm... alright. Might be for the best if we leave the two alone. Tarius might be my little brother, but I have no right to treat him like a child. So, let's get going...

We also pick up Malthur and make our way to the office, where...



Dun, dun, dunnnn!

Sir... von Junzt?
I think I have a confession to make... come in, and let's talk.

We step in.

Please, follow me...
What's the meaning of this, sir von Junzt?
Patience. We can't talk here undisturbed. So follow me.

He steps up to the painting.

You must know that in my years as a descriptor of the occult, I picked up a few... tricks...



Shazam! We follow him through the painting...



...and we end up in a really spiffy room.



Now who is that supposed to be?
Well, it is an old portrait...
You mean that this is you in younger years?
...

Also, there's a lot of books here too. "Coultes des Ghules", "De Vermiis Mysteris" (Bloch sighting!), "Kitab Al Azif" (original title of the Necronomicon), "The Ghost Hunters" (no, not the TV show, that came after this game was released), "House of a Thousand Corpses", "The Witch Hammer", "The Book of Eibon", "The Nameless Verses", "Conjurations", "The Army of Darkness", "The Heart of Darkness", "Skull Island".

Now, let's get some fucking answers.



Sir von Junzt, what is the meaning of this?
To be honest: I faked my death.
Ha! I almost came to that conclusion myself. But how and why?
I used a certain potion that brings the body into a death-like state. It's often mentioned in dramas... as for the reason: I wanted to beat my pursuers to the punch!
...what?
I'm writing a very important book, sir Grandy, a true magnum opus... "Of Unspeakable Cults" is much less fiction, much less a novel than my previous works.

I should point out that this chapter - that is, everything around von Junzt's house - was not written by the main developer of the game. It was written by somebody else - Alexius Hawkwood was his alias, I believe. I point this out so that the praise comes to the right person - this chapter is so chock-full of references that only really make sense when you're really into the subject matter, it's brilliant. And here comes the one that almost literally blew my mind. Von Junzt speaks of his magnum opus, "Von Unaussprechlichen Kulten". This isn't a real book. It's not a fictional book either. However, a fictional book of "Unaussprechlichen Kulten" exists (grammatically incorrect - the case here is dative, and requires the "von"). It was originally brought up in a 1931 short story by Robert E. Howard (though the title itself seems to also come from August Derleth and H. P. Lovecraft) and incorporated into the Cthulhu mythos. That's not the part that blew my mind, though. Here's the kicker - the fictional author's name? Friedrich Wilhelm von Junzt. Holy shit. It was this that brought to me the revelation that everything in this chapter that can't be traced back to something else (things like Justus Jonas being the name of the head investigator of the Three Investigators) can be traced back to Lovecraft in some way. Some of them are obvious. Some of them are a bit less obvious. And then there are the ones you really don't get unless you start doing some research into the matter. And then there are the ones I still don't get, which apparently just means I haven't been looking hard enough. You can play through this entire chapter, never pick up on the Lovecraft parallels and it's still a great chapter (I still remember it fondly from when I first played the game, when I had no idea who Lovecraft even was), but if you know the subject matter, you really start appreciating the level of detail that went into this massive reference.

It's a kind of standard work of dark cults and rituals - a compendium of dark knowledge...
And who wants to kill you because of that? An angry reader?
The dark powers themselves have had it out for me for a long time. I knew that somebody would come to kill me.
And why did you put this plan into action exactly now? I mean, faking your death.
You have to understand that this house was full of people that had a good reason to want to kill me...
And then some people show up claiming to be acquaintances of a long lost friend, bringing along the son of the Dark God. With the exception of Derleth, nobody knows of my plan... and that's the way I'd prefer to keep it. I'm safer dead than alive!
Looking at it that way, it makes sense... but now you trust us?
Don't think I'm gullible. However, I saw with which fervor you tried to find my killer. And that reminded me of good Dankwart. I started to believe your friendship with him. And I started to have trust. Because I need your help.
Help? For what do you need us?
I would like you to take out the one person I suspected aside from you. The true envoy of the Dark Cult.
And who is that, sir von Junzt?
Lady Serena.

DUN, DUN, DUNNNN!

What?
No doubt about it. I performed the Voorish Sign near her, just like I did near you. She is a follower of evil, Grandy.

The Voorish Sign is another thing from the Cthulhu mythos - it's a spell that can make the invisible visible, which in this case I presume means making an aura of evil visible.

Your dark companion will be able to confirm this, if the stories are true: Lady Serena carries the stain of darkness with her...
Oh no - TARIUS!
What?
We have to get to him as fast as possible - he might be in grave danger!
Don't say the young man is still with her... this is bad, very bad. Hurry, get him here, maybe I can still do something.

We rush to Serena's room, but...



Damn, we're too late... they're both gone!
Quick, let's head back to sir von Junzt - maybe he has an idea where they went to.

One quick run back...



I see you return without your young friend - what happened?
Serena got out of Dodge together with Tarius! I have no idea how she bewitched him into following her.
Love is a harsh mistress, especially when one feels her for the first time.
You know this woman, don't you? Where could she have gone? She must have some sort of house here!
Down the street until you make it to the fountain. It's the only half-timbered building there!
I hope it's not too late!



So, this is our first time seeing Königsberg at night, but we can't go exploring, we've got somewhere to be. Note the bat, they're all over the place at night, however, they are harmless.



After that, I spend some time wandering around the fountain, having completely forgotten what a half-timbered house is. As a German, this is particularly embarrassing. These houses are all over the place, especially in the semi-rural area I call my home, but yet the word "Fachwerkhaus" just didn't ring a bell.



It's pitch black in here...
Should I make some light?
Then you might as well get our your drums and start singing a song!

We open the door to the next room, but not without some noise.

Somebody should have oiled this door!



In the next room, we suddenly hear a sound!

There was something there!
You're making me really nervous!



Over to the right, we find the kitchen. Nothing interesting beyond an elixir in the cupboard to the right.



Up to the north, we find some sort of main room. This seems important...





TARIUS!



Libra immediately rushes to Tarius.



Say something, little brother...
He's dead.
But that can't be! It can't end like this! Not this way!
We have to press on, Libra! The woman can't be far!
Then you two go look for her, spill more blood for all I care, as if enough hasn't been spilt already!
Malthur is right, we can't do anything for him except prevent his killer from finding more victims.

Suddenly, there's the sound of somebody running through the house.

QUICK! THERE'S STILL SOMEBODY IN THE HOUSE! GET YOURSELF TOGETHER, LIBRA!
I'm get that you're already used to this kind of sight, I'm sure that this is just another day on the job for you! But I'm not ready for that yet!
...
Libra... 1) GOD DAMNIT, GET YOURSELF TOGETHER! 2) Listen... 3) Alright. Stay with Tarius.

One of these options is a Good Thing. One of them is a Bad Thing. Two of them lead to Libra staying behind, one of them leads to Libra coming along. The Bad Thing is letting her stay with Tarius, and that of course also means she won't come along. Now, which option is the Good Thing that leads to her coming along? If you selected "scream in the face of the woman that just lost her last remaining family member to get the fuck over it", you're... correct!

WHO IS IT THAT KEEPS TELLING ME THAT WE'VE GOT A TASK TO FULFILL HERE?!? SO IF YOU REALLY ARE THE TOUGH WOMAN YOU KEEP PLAYING UP, THEN QUIT YOUR WHINING AND GET GOING!
...
...
You're right! Let's get them!

We walk around the house, but there's nobody there. So we leave the house...



VAMPIRES!
All at once! Master will be very pleased!



And we get into our first fight in Königsberg. Two vampires and a witch - all capable of flinging black magic, all pretty damn tough. And our main defense against the forces of darkness just bit the dust. That doesn't help matters. However...





...we have a new weapon on our side, and its name is Malthur. Malthur is a special case in that he only has dark magic attacks, but he has special dark magic capable of dealing great damage to the forces of darkness - after all, what would an overlord over darkness be without an ability to lay the smackdown on that darkness in case somebody gets uppity? As such, he's a major force of kick-ass in our party, and along with Grandy's super swords and Libra's light magic, we can deal big damage to everybody, with Libra occasionally tossing out a strong healing spell to keep everybody alive. After dealing a lot of damage to Serena, she eventually flees the battle.



Wahnfried was right: You're more than meets the eye!
Give up, or taste my blade!
You'll have to get me first!

And she starts legging it.



With good maneuvering, we can get right behind her...



...but after a map change, she gets a bigger head start. I also run into the cats a few times, causing me to lose some more time, but it doesn't really matter. All that happens if you lose her is that you lose your lead, but I know where to go regardless.



We pursue her through Klipping, and she starts running even faster.



And she then completely loses us on the Düsterbrocken.

Wow, she's fast! She actually managed to lose us on that slope!
If the servants of the Dark God can do one thing, it's run... but she can't get away from here. Apart from this path, there's no way out!

And this'll be a good time to stop. Next time, we'll finally explore Wahnfried's old villa and give that Serena what for!