Gabriel Knight - The House of the Rising Sun

Written by Michael

I meant to post sooner!  Sorry to leave you hanging.

Welcome back to the Down Under Big Easy!  Last time, I laid out my plans for the next session.  Visit Grandma, do research at the drug store and Voodoo Museum, and visit my friend Mosely at a crime scene.  I ended that post back at Gabriel’s book store, having (seemingly) exhausted all avenues there for the time being.  So let’s throw on my leather coat and burn some rubber on the highway!

First, I overlooked something very obvious last time around.  On the map screen, there was a link to another section of map.  The page we start on is a close-up of just the French Quarter (to those outside the US, basically, it’s the part of New Orleans that lives and breathes Mardi Gras 365 days a year),  If you click on one of the two buttons to view a larger area map, more space opens up,

So formal.

On the wider view, we see hotspots for Grandma’s house, and another to go back to the French Quarter.  Time for a family visit.

I sit down and talk to Grandma -- well, I interrogate her.  Remember, there’s two different TALK icons in the game, one for interrogation and one for casual chit-chat.  I ask her about many of the same topics I’ve asked Grace and the desk sergeant so far, such as “Voodoo” and “Voodoo Murders”, as well as asking about the family, drilling down to specific members.

First off, Grandma is very stereotypical “respectable old woman.”  I’m most reminded of the witches in Terry Pratchett’s works, when they feign being harmless old ladies, saying “Lawks!  Deary!  Oh my!” and other related phrases.

Oddly, he chose to write books when he could have made a killing on Troma films.

We get more than one reminder that we are very much like our father (and Grandfather, it seems).

Also, some social commentary from Grandma about New Orleans: “It’s gotten much more influenced by the east coast and that California stuff!”

Wait, wasn’t Sierra from California?

Asking about herself, we learn tidbits, some of which we’ll use later this post.  For example, her maiden name is Wright.  She met the boy who would become our grandfather at a church revival, the two sat near each other and laughed together as a charlatan masquerading as a true man of God had a wardrobe malfunction during the show, while the rest of the audience failed to notice.  They knew they were meant for each other from that point,  Grandpa supported his family by being a bookkeeper, which is nowhere similar to owning a bookstore, but I still wonder if there’s a connection for us to learn about there.  

Speaking of connections, separate facts that we learn from the questioning:  Grandpa was killed by a streetcar when Gabe’s dad was just 8.  Gabe’s parents was killed in a car accident when he was 8,  During this conversation, Grandma needles Gabriel about not settling down and having children.  I suspect, if he did, he would pass 8 years later. 

In the case of Dad’s accident, he was run off the road by an animal such as a deer or a wild cat.

Could it be one of these?

Lost in your eyes.

Then there’s a bit of odd trivia -- it seems Harrison (Grandpa) wanted Phillip (Dad) to have a normal life, and pushed Phillip to go to law school, but he chose a career in art instead.  Um... just how many conversations about law school did you have with your kid before he was 8 years old?  I suspect this is a story-telling mistake, and hopefully not relevant to solving the game.

Our mother is Margaret (maiden name: Templeton) who came from a rich family, but was cut off from the money because of her choice in men.  She had a great-aunt that funneled some money her way, but the rest is long gone.   I wonder if we can get our hands on some of that in the game.

At this point, we’re given another address to visit and some points for bothering Grandma so much thus far.

After finishing the interrogation, I use the other talk icon, and discuss the phone call to the bookstore (see my last post) where she wanted us to come clean out some of Dad’s items left in the attic.

I suspected this was important, but my brain didn’t work right away.

Up in the attic, there’s a sketchbook on an abandoned chair that “Gabriel vaguely remembers as his father’s.”  He takes that. I also spot a small antique clock perched upon a trunk.  By moving the clock, I can access the trunk and look inside.  There’s a pair of shorts (“Aren’t these called ‘lederhosen’?”), hiking boots, books in German from Grandpa, and love letters between Grandma and Grandpa. 

Sorry, the game doesn’t let us explore their young lust.

There’s also other junk like a golf bag, a dress dummy, a bicycle tire, some Christmas ornaments, and a table, but the game shrugs them off as not interesting or unnecessary.

After I bore of the dusty attic, I decide to follow Grandma’s request, and I visit the cemetery,

Even in low-res pixel art, the graffiti on that tomb is quite obvious.

At the cemetery, there’s a bunch of tombs and a groundskeeper,

Isn’t there always a groundskeeper at every cemetery in every story?

The watchman’s name is Toussant Gervais.  He’s okay with me talking to him for a while (“Go ahead.  These folks aren’t in any hurry.”)  I interrogate him with the usual topics.  Notably, he mentions that voodoo is part of an old religion brought here by African slaves. Guess that’s a tie-in to the intro comic.  But this man, much like newspaper I read earlier in the day, thinks all the voodoo items left near the bodies are fake.  “I don’t think there’s any REAL Voodoo goin’ on.  Somebody’s tryin’ to cover their tracks, ‘sall.”

Grammatical note:  regular readers may have noticed I am a fan of the Oxford Comma.  I may need to borrow from them to type all the apostrophes in the Southern speech in this game.

More than once I’m told that tombs are used down here because of the high water table, bodies wouldn’t stay buried and would instead float away.  I wonder if this is significant.  Asking more about the cemetery, he invites me to just browse around.  I think I’ll do that.

Soon after we stop speaking, he walks off to the right of the screen.  That’s a subtle hint that I can go that way also, I suppose.  But first, let’s check out this screen.

Damn, I left my Maniac Mansion copy protection key (and red cellophane) back in the 80s.  I’m stuck now.

The first thing I look at is the very obvious graffiti on the first tomb, that of Marie Laveau, the “Voodoo Queen” of New Orleans.  I use Dad’s sketchbook to jot down the symbols.  On the ground near the tomb is a chunk of red brick that was likely used to draw the art.  I pick that up.  

There’s a lot of vases and angels around this and the other screens, but as I try to interact with them, I’m continuously told there’s nothing to be done.  Hopefully I don’t miss an important one.  There’s a marble snake nearby, but I don’t see a use for it (at least yet).  After all, snakes and voodoo.  The other tombs on the first screen, one is unnamed and in disrepair, one is labeled Hamilton, another Ross, and yet another that simply looks like a miniature house (“But I wouldn’t want to live there.”).  

There’s a wrought iron fence surrounding one of the unnamed tombs.

One screen east, I find the groundsman again, in front of my family’s tomb. I look at the slots, and they are labeled with the names of Mom(Margaret Templeton Knight), Dad (Phillip Knight), Grandpa (Harrison Knight), Grandma’s sister (Harley Wright), Great Grandma (Meryl Planter Wright), and Great Grandpa (Franklin Knight).  There’s a statue of a small child clinging to a cross atop the tomb.

And inside, a fraction of a grail marker.

Continuing east, more tombs.  I’ll understand if you are shocked by this.  Most notably on this screen is one labeled Gedde, and it has a plaque with a keyhole to the side of the door, so I suspect we will need to gain entry at some point. I check the vases, but no hidden keys I can find so far.   

As a joke, I go back to the first screen and try drawing on the tomb with the brick, but I’m told that I should wait until the watchman is away.  So, I guess I’ll need to do that, but I guess I need to crack the code first.

By the way, I decide to look at the sketchbook now, even though the items I copied are separate inventory items.  Notice the usual motifs repeated here, the snakes, three of them on each page, and a bunch of other images that look like they came from my nightmares.

Before I leave, I show the pictures and sketch to the watchman, but no luck.  Back to the map, I don’t know where to go next, but I want to find the crime scene.  So, I go to the location labeled by binoculars, thinking I can get a view of the area that way.

Sadly, not the same view as Leisure Suit Larry 3.

The screen is an overlook with four binoculars.  Each one shows a quarter of the park, with a little overlap.  I can move the binoculars around to scan the full screen, and I find some notable views.

First, in the lower right quadrant, I notice a motorcycle cop hanging out near his bike.  I see an attractive lady walking by, probably not notable, but I suspect Gabriel would disagree with me.  There’s musicians playing in the left of the fountain, and there’s a mime.  I decide to walk down to the square to check it all out in person.

What friendly police in this game.

I approach the policeman, who won’t give me the time of day, but as I pass his bike, I overhear portions of a radio transmission.  It sounds like I need to get the full story, perhaps find a way to boost his reception?  I keep walking around the park.  No one really gives me the time of day, and I check out the trash cans I noticed in the binoculars, because they seemed important.  Sadly, the game just references a 1970s public service announcement.  In the northwest square of the park, however, I find the puzzle solution.

I notice that every time someone walks near the Mime, he starts following them until they notice and yell at him.  I wonder if he’s as faithful as the monkey you feed bananas to in Secret of Monkey Island?  I walk past him, and he starts following me.  I bring him a couple of screens away and walk him by the cop, who gets annoyed and starts chasing him down.  Policeman away, I’m able to grab the radio headset and listen to the full message.  It’s dispatch directing the ambulance to the latest crime scene, so I learn where to go next.  

Just then, the cop returns, so I take my leave. 

Notice we never see Gabriel’s bike at any of the destinations?  Also, a neat detail here: the police tape is flapping in the wind.

Arriving at Cotton Cove, we find the police and an ambulance at the scene of a crime.  We watch as the body is packed up and carted off, leaving just Mosely and ourselves.  He’s a little surprised to see us there, and asks us to keep it between us.Same M.O., no clues.  And then a visitor pulls up...

That’s a familiar name.

Malia Gedde rolls up in a stretch limo.  She asks what’s going on, Mosely has enough sense to tell her nothing, and she drives off.  Somewhat surprising, considering how inept Mosely is later in this post (and also at this crime scene).  Like, for example, the next thing Mosely tells us, she’s not worth bothering to get information because “you don’t just go around bothering people like her.”

I guess that means I’ll have to do the police’s job.

At that point, the paramedics and the police are all done, asking Mosely if they should leave an officer to guard the scene.  Nah, just leave the crime scene tape up for a couple of days. When they leave and it’s just the two of us, Mosely says I can stick around and take notes for the book, and I could stop by the station for more info later.  And suddenly, I’m alone.

Does this mean a king was murdered?

There’s a pattern in the sand by my feet, I sketch that in the book.  There’s blood, which I look at with the magnifying glass, but I don’t seem to see anything.  Looking around, there’s a lot of detailed descriptions for everything, but I suspect little of it matters for the investigation.  

Still, I have so many things, sketches and questions, so before I do anything else, I head back to Grace at the bookstore and ask her to look at the items.  She shrugs off the drawings, but I talk to her and ask her to dig up information about Mailia Gedde.  That prompts the day to change.

Wait... I don’t think I’ve done everything I should have done on this day.  Did I dead-end myself?  Or simply loose points and evidence?  After all, Mosely told me to come by, and also I haven’t checked out those research locations from Grace.

I restore my game back before going to the bookstore, and continue on.  

I got points for reading this sign, so I guess it’s important. The item is sold out, though.

I head over to the Dixieland Drug Store, with lots to look at but nothing I want.  The storekeeper is a bit of a jerk, he tries to claim that he’s just a novelty shop owner and nothing here is real.

See?

Also, this is my chance to hear the voice of a very young Leon Vance, and I can kind of recognize it.  That said, he basically stonewalls me, but at one point mutters something in French: “Cabrit sans cor’” and then claims to never have said it.  We don’t know what it means, and back in the day, we wouldn’t have had Google, so I’m resisting the urge to translate it right now.  I suspect we’ll find out soon enough in the game. I show him things, and he still claims ignorance.  He is useless to us now.  I wonder if we will either have to bribe him or something else to get his help.

Speaking of bribes, I try the bookstore gift certificate, but sadly, he’s not interested.

Thanks for that useless interaction, Grace.  I’ll check out the other spot you suggested, the Historical Voodoo Museum.

Sadly, no rubber chickens with a metal wheel attached.

The museum is a one-room setup crammed with items that we can’t touch or take. 

One of them is a baby-sized coffin.  I can open and close it, but that seems to be it for now.

There is a “wishing stump” that can be rubbed to place a wish; our favorite cad responds, “Funny, I say the same thing to women.”  I rub it and say, “I wish Malia Gedde was permanently grafted to my thighs.”  I wonder what I would have asked for if I visited earlier in the game.  I’ll have to remember to restore and check at some point.

There’s a switch on the wall, turning it on activates a fan that really freaks out the desk clerk and a snake in a cage above her.  As for the desk clerk, she’s useless to me today as well.  She’s just a covering temp, and answers my questions with “You should talk to Dr. John, the owner?  He’ll be back tomorrow.”

So, back to the police station.  They make a show of the female officer leaving to grab food from a beignet vendor with a pushcart, and the desk officer follows her to the door.  “Stay put, you.” he says to me, but he never leaves the doorway and I never get control of the mouse cursor, so I wonder if this is setup for another day.  I could have walked behind the counter otherwise.

When he returns, I ask the officer about a few new items in my question inventory, such as what “cabrit sans cor’“ means, but he doesn’t give me the time of day.  When I ask for Mosely, he tells me I can walk back there to see him.

Now why does he look like The Man with the Yellow Hat?

Mosely’s office is nearly monochromatic.  Manilla file cabinets, manilla file folders, manilla post-it notes, manilla memorandums, heck, even a manilla sports jacket.  Still, I come in and sit down for a spell.  Talking with him, he also tries to tell me that the voodoo at the crime scenes was fake. “I know.  I asked some experts.”

I wonder if they were the same as the drugstore owner?

He gives me a bunch of details on the murders, including evidence of leopard fur at one of the crime scenes.  Hmm.  Also things like candle wax, blood, feathers, and, oh yeah, all 7 victims had their hearts ripped from their chests.

Crime solved.  I know who did it.

There’s an option in the conversation for me to ask him for a coffee.  He leaves the room; I quickly look around but can’t find anything to take or operate.  Is this something I’ll have to do in the future?

Then there’s another option for me to ask him for a photo together for the book jacket.  He calls in the female office (Franks) in her role as police photographer to take the picture.  After she does that, there’s a conversation tree option that we need to retake the picture but I need to fix my hair; choosing that sends me outside near the copier with only the desk sergeant with his back to me.  I look around, there’s nothing to do, so I go back in.  Another option for the future, I suppose.

I go back to talking to Mosely, and he offers to let me see the police file on some other strange markings near the crime scenes.  So I go to Officer Franks, ask for the file, and she lets me see it, with of course the admonishment about not photocopying it.

So, now I know the solution.  When I give the file back to her, it just goes to her inbox, but she doesn’t refile it straight away.  So, I go back to Mosely, ask him for another picture, and use the same excuse to slip out.  I pick up the file, copy it, and return it to the inbox.

I hope there’s no evidence of my illicit copying.

It seems I’m done here at the station for now.  But, before I finish for the day, I decide to revisit most of the locations.  I go back to the crime scene, and find a piece of snake skin I missed before (not the game’s fault, squarely mine).  By magnifying the grass that’s matted down, I see the iridescent skin, and can use the tweezers to extract it.  There’s also some clay by the shore I can take.

In Grandma’s attic, I had tried to take the clock upstairs, but not anything else.  This time I tried to operate it.  I’m treated to a close-up of the device.  The outer ring of the clock turns on its own.  The time can also be set.

The outer ring is obvious, Grandpa and Dad both liked snakes and dragons, as do the practitioners we read about.  The time is harder, but there are two significant numbers we’ve learned so far, 3 and 8.  So I try setting the clock to 3:00, and the key responds to my turn and a compartment opens up.  Inside is a letter to Heinz Ritter, in German, from a town called Schloss Ritter from a man whose last name connects with the town.  The word “Schattenjӓger” appears, which we learned about from the comic.  There’s also a picture of our younger grandfather with two unnamed friends.

Everybody knows my name, except here.

I visit the Napoleon House, which ends up being a bar, but all interactions and items are useless to me now, so I’ll return tomorrow.

So now I return to the bookstore, and before talking to Grace, try to use the German letter with the dictionary, to no avail.  I read the book again, but it still gives the same choice words from the poem.  I interrogate Grace, asking about all the new topics, and making sure there’s no new messages.  Then, I ask about Malia Gedde, and that triggers the end of day.

The paperboy delivers the newspaper again, a split-second before Grace arrives at work, and we land on day 2.  Which is a blog post for another day as well.

Next time we'll start with reading the day's paper, maybe a visit to the museum, and, well, I don't know.  We'll find out together.

Score: 62/342

Session Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours