Gabriel Knight - Cuts Like a Knife

Written by Michael

When we wrapped up last time, Gabriel had returned from an intense party and was suffering from a hangover of sorts.  Grace struggled to wake us up, and when she did, she gave us some advice:  call Uncle Wolfgang.

Let’s reach out and touch someone, and call Germany, shall we?

Gabriel calls his uncle, and when his uncle says he had some strange dreams last night, Gabriel tells him what happened to cause those dreams.  This time, we have a real conversation on the phone -- with all the conversation tree items.  I ask about everything.  Most of the voodoo items, Wolfgang tells me I know more than him thanks to the last few days. 

I’m sure there’s lots of points I should be sharing with you from the conversation, but there’s at least a couple I feel obligated to share.  One is that our family is associated with the animal image of the lion.  Another is the fact that, finally, someone I ask about the word “Schattenjӓger” gives me an intelligent answer about it.  It is two words combined, which means “Shadow hunter”.

Yes, I know we learned that from the graphic novel, but now we know it from the game as well.

Our family has served in that role for many centuries, at least as far back as the 13th century.  Wolfgang was about to tell us some juicy gossip about that, but then changed his mind.

 

He also tells us some stuff under the category of “you couldn’t have told me that YESTERDAY?” like, for example, “Those drums have a ceremonial use, too.  It would be useful to know their code, Gabriel.”

And remember, Gabriel, if someone asks you if you’re a god, you say “yes”.

But most importantly -- we need to get back the long-lost talisman.  Remember, Gunther lost it a few centuries ago, and it is a powerful magical item.  Schattenjӓgers use the powers for good, but since it was stolen by Tetelo, it makes her stronger.  Stronger than us.  So, we’ll need to find it to defeat her.

We give Wolfgang what info we learned from the late professor about the African origins of the tribe, the Agris, and how they lived in what is now the People’s Republic of Benin.  That excites Wolfgang, who runs off to do research in his library, and directs us to look for the Talisman among Tetelo’s remains, that probably are close by in New Orleans.

“But don’t try to broach their private areas without my assistance, Gabriel.  You will make a fine Schattenjӓger, but only if you are not dead.”  Yeah, I’m probably going to violate that rule in just a minute.  And: “...if you need a place of safety, come to Schloss Ritter.”

So, it’s time for me to go grave-robbing.  But first, we have a morning routine to follow.  Drink some coffee and read the paper.

In the newspaper, it seems people reported strange sounds and lights around the Bayou last night.  People thought they saw ghosts.

If only they knew.

The newspaper, which I’ve already figured out is a mouthpiece for the Voodoo tribe, chalks it up to the same delusions that people have around Halloween.

The horoscope: “Wise is the warrior who knows when to fight and when to get the hell out of Dodge.”

I suspect that means we’re going to need to go to Germany.  Do we have any more of dad’s artwork to sell?

Gabriel: “God help me, I’m actually starting to listen to this guy!”

Not sure what that is about.

So, I head over to the cemetery.  I check out Marie’s tomb, but the message on the side is still the one I left.  I talk to the caretaker, but he is still rather useless since the first day.

The Gedde tomb, however, has changed slightly. The access panel is now open, revealing a button.  Curiosity has gotten the best of me, since I am a cat lover (in real life).  That said, Gabriel IS connected to lions, so he’s a cat person whether he wants to be or not.

Again, curious like a cat, I press the button.  The tomb doors open.

Now you see him...

...now you don’t.

We’re in a dark room, with a visible switch.  Could that be the light?  Nah.  That opens the door to leave again.  But, way back before I was being possessed, I found a flashlight.  

So, comparing the flashlight mechanic to, say, classics like Zak McKracken, it’s not as well programmed, but still easy to figure out.  Also, when it hits a corner, the light bends.  A nice detail.  I look around, and all I find are a bunch of crypt drawers.  The first ones I look at, it says, “Gabriel can’t quite make out the name on that drawer’s plaque.”  At first, I thought it was a vision problem, and I tried the magnifying glass, but alas, no luck.  So I keep looking at the drawers, and eventually find one with our familiar vévé on it.  I open it up.

Damn.  I didn’t have a whole lot of friends to begin with.

Inside the drawer is the body of Detective Mosely.  I’m so startled by the discovery, I drop my flashlight.  

Don’t go alone next time, Gabriel.  Listen to Wolfgang’s advice.

As soon as that happens, someone in the shadows knocks me out (“thunk!”) and, sometime later, I awaken.  I regain my senses, and still have my flashlight, so I look in the drawer again, and while Mosely isn’t there, his wallet is.  I open it up, and find his American Repressed card.

There’s nothing else for me to do here, so I go back to the bookstore.  After all, I have a credit card -- so that probably means it’s time to buy an airplane ticket to Germany.  

All signs are pointing GO.

As soon as I walk in, Grace can tell we’ve had a day, and she tells us to pack up and leave.  It seems that Wolfgang went off to do some ghostbusting and left the castle in our charge.  So, I call up the travel agency, give them Mosely’s card number, and book a trip.

(History lesson for those younger than myself:  it was a lot easier to get on an airplane with no ID or with questionable tickets back in 1993.  We live in different times now.)

Grace wonders how we could afford the tickets; we don’t tell her.  We head to the airport.

Hey, this seems somewhat familiar.

So does this!

We arrive at Schloss Ritter, vacant except for the maid, Gerde, who was told to expect us at some point.  Wolfgang gave her instructions to let us use the castle as if it were our own, because we’re family.  After greeting us, Gerde goes back to her never-ending basket of potatoes to peel. When I have Gabriel look at Gerde, the narrator simply tells us “Gerde is young and quite attractive.”

We need to have a proper conversation with Gerde, so I whip out our trusted interrogation icon, and ask away.

Gerde doesn’t know anything about most of the conversation topics, but when I ask about Wolfgang, she’s worried he went off to go be a shadow hunter again.  He hasn’t left the castle in five years, and his heart isn’t that strong right now.  Gerde is very obviously awestruck with Wolfgang, maybe more than that (although Gabriel tactlessly asks about their relationship and she refuses to comment).  There hasn’t been much money lately; it’s taken all of Wolfgang’s resources to keep the family castle lit at night. Many of the rooms have been closed off to control costs; parts of the castle aren’t in great shape.

Gabriel asks about the library, and she’s surprised we know about it.  But she says she has never been in there, because only a Schattenjӓger can gain access.

She had mentioned that we should feel free to use Wolfgang’s bedroom, so I’ll check that out first.  It’s just upstairs.

Just inside the door, on the right of the screen, is a mirror above a grooming cabinet, and a display case next to the mirror.  I have Gabe look at the mirror, and he, of course, checks that his hair is perfect.  I then have him open the display case, and we are rewarded with an ancient scroll.  Thankfully, it’s in English:

“St. George, patron of the light,

who hunts the shadows of the night,

upon my blood, I call thee now,

purify me, for I avow,

to set my feet upon thy road;

thy sword, I take up for mine own.”

Hmm.  St. George.  Don’t we own St. George’s Bookstore?  Coincidence?

There’s a pair of scissors on the grooming cabinet, as well as a chamber pot.  Neither is nailed down, so they are now in my inventory.  At the foot of the bed is a small table, when I look upon it, I’m told there’s nothing on it now, which implies there will be later.

There’s a window with an incredible view; if I open it, there’s just some snow.  If I try to take it, I’m told that Gabriel needs to have a good reason to touch the cold snow.

On the left side of the room is an ornate locked door with a large keyhole.  There’s a stone lion’s head above it, and, as I noticed later, some writing just below it.

Back down to the great hall, I failed to mention there’s a large stone lion at the base of the stairs, and just above it on the wall, a dagger that we can take.  There’s a salt shaker near Gerde, but, “At the moment, Gabriel can’t think of a need for salt.”

I’m not as familiar with the legend of St. George and the dragon as I should be.

Off to the right is another doorway, leading to a chapel.  There’s three panels hanging on each side of the room, depicting something that Gabriel can’t determine just now.  There’s a kneeling cushion just in front of the altar.  I can’t get Gabriel to sit in the uncomfortable pews, but on the plus side, I haven’t found any dead bodies there yet.

I go back out to Gerde, and show her the scroll.  She tells me it is the scroll of St. George, the patron saint of England, and of the Ritter family.

I then interrogate her again, and there’s a couple of new topics.  I ask about the words over the door in the bedroom.  She knows the translation, because Wolfgang used them as part of her English lessons. Ahem.  She was being “tutored” in his bedroom.  But I digress.  The words translate:

“Only the purest here may pass,

He whose heart is pure as glass,

He whose soul is pure as fire,

Through this portal passes higher.”

And the wall panels in the chapel are describing the initiation rites for a Schattenjӓger, and she gives the few details she knows.

I go back to the chapel and read the panels again.  Now I understand them.

• The first shows hands and water.

• The second, hair and a knife.

• The third shows a chalice on a table with ocean waves in the background.

• The fourth, a knife and some drops of blood.

• The fifth shows someone kneeling.

• The sixth one shows a scroll.

I think I’ve got this.  I go back upstairs and reach out the window. Washing my hands in the snow.  I use the scissors on my hair (Gabriel insists on using the mirror) and cut some hair.  It’s not in my inventory, so I guess I just had to cut.

Back downstairs, I am able to take the salt now, which means I’m going to need it.  I don’t know if I would have figured this out right away otherwise.  The third one shows a chalice on a table, with ocean waves.  Well, I place the chamber pot on the altar, and that’s right, but I guess the hint is that the ocean is salt water, so I put the salt in the chamber pot.

Next, I slash my arm over the chalice to deposit some blood as the fourth step implies (“Whoops!  Nearly hit an artery!”).  Then, I kneel at the altar, and read from the scroll.

The screen shakes, and I hear a rumbling sound.  And then Gerde walks in, and apologizes for making so much noise vacuuming.  She sees I look tired, so sends me to bed.  At this point, Gabriel thinks he failed (“I can’t believe I cut my HAIR for nothing!”) and takes her advice.

But it DID do something.  Gabriel has some dreams.

The dragon from the St. George mosaic.

The dragon tells us that we must first burn away the past, so how much sin are you carrying around?

Dragon’s next response: “Heh, heh, heh.”  That’s not a good sign.  He tries to dissuade me, that I’ve used people all my life and aren’t worthy, I should give up trying to be a Schattenjӓger now.

Grace, Grandma, and perhaps Malia?

He tells us that we have to let go of a chunk of ourselves in order to make the change. 

He’s really enjoying this.

Gabriel finds a mystical-looking sword...

..and stabs the dragon...

...which morphs into a person.

And we get a golden key for our trouble.  

Then we awaken the next day.

I had actually played through the next day as well, but as I type this, it seems this post is becoming quite lengthy, so I’ll continue the next time from this point.

Score: 257/342

Session Time: 1 hour 

Total Time: 12 hours