======================================= BLACKSTONE CHRONICLES WALKTHROUGH v1.0 ======================================= -Intro and Tips -Walkthrough Start -Marilyn -Lavinia, Part 1 -Lorena, Part 1 -Lavinia, Part 2 -Lorena, Part 2 -Secret Room -Abe -Paul -Crypt ======================== INTRO AND TIPS ======================== This is a complete walkthrough for John Saul's Blackstone Chronicles: An Adventure in Terror. In this walkthrough you will find everything you need to know to successfully complete the game. Screenshots for puzzle solutions are not necessary and won't be included in this walkthrough. You need a brain to solve this game, not a photographic memory. This is a printer friendly walkthrough! This game is not very hard, and because you have limited access to areas in the asylum, you can't get lost very easily. If you wander around as much as I did, you will have the place mapped out in your mind fairly quickly. Here are some tips for a more enjoyable gaming experience: -- Good advice for every game is to save frequently. A nice feature of this game is the automatic save. When you quit a game and later restart it, you begin the game from the exact point at which you quit. Of course, if you don't want to be in that spot, just load up a saved game. -- When you enter a new room, always turn around. There are vital clues and items you can miss if you don't. There isn't a wide area to explore in this game. In fact, you will be visiting and revisiting many areas and wandering down the same halls, so get used to it. -- Here are some tips about the mouse cursor. Typical of every adventure, you can use your left mouse button to point your cursor and move around. You will see yourself move (in transition) through the room this way. However, this game is fairly graphic intensive, and while the 24bit graphics are gorgeous, it can be a SLOW process on lesser machines. To bypass this, you can right click your mouse to move around, and the transition phase will be eliminated. I only recommend you "right click" AFTER you've gone through a room normally at least once, otherwise it will seem like you've been magically transported from one spot to the other. You can lose your bearings or miss clues this way, and will have to turn yourself around to get a good look at the area. -- When you are in a hallway and there are rooms on either side, to enter those rooms (if you already have the key or the door is open), look for the CURVED cursor. A normal right or left pointing cursor will usually just flip you around either 90 or 180 degrees. The curved arrow is what will get you into the room and elevator. -- There is a display case in almost every room, which provides valuable clues. Every time you see one, you should repeat the same proccess: Click the touchscreen and read all the information (there are more buttons within the touchscreen), press the question mark buttons to listen to a description of the objects by the museum curator, and then LOOK at the objects. There are also objects in the display case that you can sometimes take, just open the case and try your luck. -- Sometimes you need to mouse-click LOOK at object (not just eyeball it) before you can talk to or interact with it. -- If you die, don't sweat it. Really. The game will tell you the answer to the puzzle if you want, and it will let you restore to the beginning of the timed death puzzles. Sometimes it may be easier to die just to get the answer. -- This is a linear game, but your mileage may vary slightly. In order to advance to different areas, you must finish certain tasks first. Try to show itemsto or talk with spirits if you're stuck. -- If you are stuck, need help or hints, try the comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.adventure newsgroup. Please do not email me for hints, that's what I wrote this entire walkthrough for! If you find any major screw-ups or would like to leave comments, please email me. I have re-played the game using this walkthrough, so I tried to make it as accurate as possible. ======================== WALKTHROUGH START: ======================== The game starts with you, Oliver Metcalf, appearing just inside the entrance to the old asylum. You hear your son, Josh, cry out to you. After the short, non-interactive conversation, turn left and look at the display case. Click the touch screen on the right. Read all the information about the history of the asylum. Click the question mark buttons for descriptions of the photos. Turn right, look at the portrait of the old man. He's Malcolm Metcalf, your father and former superintendent of the asylum. Have a conversation with him. I guess a picture does say a thousand words! Either that or you're going crazy. It seems your son Josh has been kidnapped by your father, and is being trained for something sinister. Can you remember where the secret room is? You have only until dawn to find him. Walk forward once, inspect the boxes to the left of the staircase. The museum isn't quite ready yet. Turn left. The chapel door is locked. Turn left again. Look at the 3 medallions above the entryway. Looks like Doc Metcalf has a few favorite historical figures. Turn left, look at the rhino head on the wall, and then enter the dayroom. Look at the couches and chairs. Turn left, read the touchscreen, and listen to the description of the objects. Look at, then take the awl and knife. Turn right twice, look at the painting on the stand, then look at the artwork along the right wall behind the couches. Seems there are both violent and peaceful nutizens out there. Turn left, move your cursor to the left side of the screen and walk forward. At the door, turn right. Look at the workbench and the birdhouse. Turn right twice, and look at the locked cabinet. Try to open it. Guess not. Look at the 2 light brown hinges on the right edge of the cabinet. Get out your awl, and poke out the bolts on the hinges. Look at the hacksaw, then take it. It needs a blade to be useful. Turn right and go through the kitchen door. Try to open the freezer in front you you, then feel it. It looks like it's dripping water. Look at the fuse box next to the freezer, and open it. There's a burned out fuse, the second one from the top. Remove it. Turn right and walk towards the sink. Ahhh, looks like daddy implemented chinese water torture as a way to whip the kitchen staff into shape! Look at the faucet, then try to turn on the faucet. Look at the red strap hanging next to the sink. Get out your knife and sharpen it on the strap. Look at the cabinet above the sink, then use your knife on it to open the latch. Take the monkey wrench on the bottom shelf. Turn left. There are a lot of pots hanging down from the ceiling. Look at the biggest pot right in front of you, slightly to the left of center, and on the upper part of the screen. To the right of this pot are some skewers, with a metallic, copper-red tint. Look closely now, it's hard to see! Take the skewers. Turn left twice, then look at and take the tongs between the 3 big lobster pots. Look at one of the big lobster pots, and find out how cheap it used to be. Look at the soup ladle on the wall. On the way out of the kitchen, read the menu and find out the patients had a healthy diet. Go through the dayroom back out to the entry hall. Go up the stairs towards Malcolm's portrait. Turn left and enter Malcolm's office. Turn right, read the touchscreen, and listen to the description of the objects. Look at, then take the keys and handle. So, you killed your mother just by being born. Beautiful. Old Malcolm must love you for that one! Turn left, and walk towards the portrait of the lady on the back wall. Look at it, then try to talk to your mother Olivia. Look at the frame. Turn left and look at the silver coffeepot, then take it. Turn left, look at the photo on the desk. Open the desk drawer, then look at and take the nutcracker. From now on, you can talk to Malcolm by clicking on the nutcracker in inventory. Turn left, look at the birthday photo of you and your sister Mallory, taken on 4/24/55, your third birthday. Malcolm says that "the day you were born was the most important day of my life." Hmmm, that date could be important. Walk forward towards the computer, then read the green post-it note. The passward is "scooter." Operate the computer and input the password (you only have to do it once). Well, it looks like you can only get patient records, and you need both first and last names. No nifty boolean search functions on this baby! Well, you don't know any patient names yet. How about putting in your name, Oliver Metcalf, just for fun? Uh, well, I guess that wasn't so fun after all. There's definitely something more to this story. Click the down arrow to back out of the computer. Turn right and walk forward out the door. Once out the door, go left curve arrow into the elevator. Read the note if you want. Snatch the elevator handle from inventory and attach it to the controls (beneath the numbers). Click on the handle, and "push to B." The basement of an asylum sounds like the perfect place to start! Left curve arrow out of the elevator, and explore the small hallway. Look at the blood stains on the floor. All the doors are locked. But you now know there are 5 different rooms here: Furnace, ECT, Fever, Hydrotherapy, and the Morgue. Get back into the elevator and push the handle to the second floor. Right curve arrow out of the elevator and try to enter the mens wing. It won't open (it will never open, so don't bother trying). Turn around and enter the women's wing through the opposite door. Right curve arrow into the second bedroom on the right. ======================== MARILYN ======================== After the interlude with your son, you hear a young, sweet voice cheerfully call out to you. Answer it. It is Marilyn Wilson, who is pregnant out of wedlock. Look at the teddy bears on the bed, Tommy and Teresa. Look at the bassinet to the right of the bed, it's hiding in the dark and is kind of hard to see. Rock the cradle. Turn left, read the touchscreen. So, she only thinks she's pregnant. Listen to the description of the objects in the display case. Look at the book of baby names. There is an object missing, a cigarette lighter from Marilyn's sister. Turn right twice, look at all the items on the bulletin board, and then look at the light. Look at the photograph of Marilyn on the dresser. Talk to her and exhaust all dialog. Open the dresser drawer and take the diary. Close the dresser drawer, then read the diary. There are 2 pages stuck together. Talk to Marilyn again, and exhaust all new dialog. Apparently the staff steamed open her mail and she didn't have much privacy. You now have a description of the key to the hydrotherapy room in the basement. This area is now accessable to you. Go back down the elevator to the basement. The hydrotherapy room is the first one on the right. Click on it to enter (no need to get out your keys). A soft voice tentatively greets you, answer it. Read the touchscreen in front of you. Listen to the description of the objects. So what exactly was the "one spot" the jet nozzles were aimed at? Turn left, look at the shelves. Look at the epsom salt boxes, then the sheets. Take one of the sheets, you never know. Turn right twice, and look at the chamber along the left wall. Click on it again to talk to Jane. What a sad life. Look at the tub (click on the white portion) along the right wall. Try to turn on the water, then try to get into the tub. Look at the lid, try to remove it. Guess you must be a weaking, you can't move or bust through anything around here! Look at the drain (hole) in the floor in front of you. Walk forward and look at the steam box. Maybe you can steam open the stuck pages of the diary with this. You turn the steam box on, but nothing happens. It needs power. Turn left and look at the tiles on the wall. Try to open the heat chamber. Look at the dials on the heat chamber. The needle guage is at the lowest temperature, opposite of the red temperature area. Take note of it. Turn right twice and look at the controls. Jane tells you there is a secret code. Hmmm. Well, Marilyn spent some time in here. Go back to her room and ask her if she knows anything. Go back to the elevator and to the second floor. As you enter Marilyn's room, a rather subdued voice greets you. She remembers that they killed her baby and then she killed herself. Turn right, click on her photo to talk to her, and exhaust all new dialog. Go back down to hydrotheraphy in the basement again. On the left side of the control box, there is a vertical row of white buttons. Push the second and third buttons from the top, and they will light up to let you know it's working. Open the steam box, put the diary in, close the door, and turn it on. After a quick interlude with Josh, open the steam box and take the diary. Read it again until you get to the newly unstuck pages. You find out about the furnace room, and now have access to it. Back in Marilyn's room, ask her about the furnace. It turns out that Malcolm has stuffed all her precious things in there. What a guy, what a super dad! Does he burn books too? Go back down to the basement and enter the furnace room (at the very back part of the basement hallway). An old Irish voice welcomes you. Exhaust all dialog with poor Seamus O'Rourke. Look at the sawhorse (table) and the stool. You can try to sit in it, but it already seems to be occupied. Look at the lockers, try to open them. Look at the generator behind the sawhorse, try to turn it off. Why'd you want to do that? Turn left, and look at the items on the shelf. Take a fuse while you're at it (you know where this one goes). Turn right, and go forward to the back part of the room. Look at the pipes. Turn left and look at the door, try to open it. Ack! You almost turned yourself into a crispy nugget. You need to get rid of that water somehow. You remember the freezer in the kitchen was dripping water too. Maybe the pipes are connected somehow. Put the point of your mouse cursor exactly on the locket (that white heart surrounded by electrical currents) to "look" at it. Wonder who that belongs to? In inventory, click on the nutcracker to talk to Malcolm, and ask him about Marilyn's lighter. Exhaust all dialog. Turn left and look at the boiler in front of you. Walk forward, turn left, and look at furnace door. Touch it, I dare you. Ouch! Couldn't you hear the fire crackling inside? Doh! Try to open the door. Get out your monkey wrench and remove the bolts. Now you can open it. Aha, it's the lighter you've been looking for! Look at it. Get the tongs in your inventory and use it on the lighter. Get ready for your first timed death defying puzzle. Pay attention to that dial as you go into the heat chamber. When moved to the red, the chamber finally opens up. Hmmm. Well, it's dark in here, and you can't see a thing. In inventory, flick on the lighter. Turn left and look at the thermostat. Maybe if you can make it think it's hotter than it really is, the chamber will open. Get out your lighter and heat the thermostat. You're out! Go back to Marilyn's room, open the display case, and put her lighter on the empty stand. Exhaust the new dialog choices. Click on the nutcracker in inventory and talk to Malcolm about your psychotic episode downstairs. You now have access to the next hallway section. Right curve arrow out of Marilyn's room, and open the door in front of you. ======================== LAVINIA, Part 1 ======================== Enter the second door on the left. There is an interlude with your son. Say no when a woman asks if you brought her knitting needles. She can fetch the damn things herself, you're not her servant. Or are you? Look at the tapestry in front of you. Turn right, read the touchscreen, and listen to the description of the objects. She is Lavinia Willoughy, otherwise known as Mary Queen of Scots! And she's missing a hankerchief. Look at the photograph and talk to Lavinia. YES MA'AM! Turn left twice, look at the fireplace and the couch. Then go right curve arrow further into the room. There is a table on the left with a sewing box on it, look in the box. Look at the embroidery hoops near it. Turn left, look at the bed. Try to get into it, your mischevious dog! She's too proper for you. Turn right twice and look at the desk. Look at the silver pen holder/ink pot on the right, it appears to be empty. Go back to Lavinia's photo and talk to her again, exhaust all new dialog. Those are some tapestries she has, and to think her needles were eating utensils! (Hmmm, think she could knit a pair of Levis with chopsticks?) You just happen to have some skewers on you, so show them to Lavinia, then put it in the sewing box. Lavinia thanks you, so exhaust all new dialog. You are now her friend. Turn left, and try to get into the bed again. You can tell by her newfound giggles that she has it bad for you. You now have access to the fever room in the "dungeon." You also have access to the next hallway section, where Lorena resides. Maybe she can give you some clues on where to find Lavinia's items. Go visit her. ======================== LORENA, Part 1 ======================== Go past Lavinia's room into the next newly accessible hallway. Lorena is in the first room on the right. After a brief interlude with Josh, you hear a suspicious voice tell you to get lost. Look at Lorena's portrait, and exhaust all dialogue choices. Lorena wants an item Malcolm keeps on display. What is it? Turn left, look at the hutch. There is a silver coffee set on the shelf, but it's missing something. It seems to match the coffeepot you're carrying around. Look at the coffeepot in inventory. Hmmm. M.M. Turn right twice, and look at the display case. Read the touchscreen, look at the glove, listen to the description about the objects. So, she only wants to be known as "Lorena" eh? There is a book on the top of the display case, on the right. It's shadowy and very dark. Read it, and listen to the inscription. Miss Martin. Who is she? Lorena Martin perhaps? And who's Mark Kendall? Turn left, then walk straight towards the portrait. Talk to Lorena about the locket, exhaust all dialog. Talk to Malcolm via the nutcracker in inventory, exhaust all new choices. Turn left, and look at the red hat on the shelf above the bed. Take the feather that's sticking out. It'll make a good old fashioned pen. Look at the magnifying glass next to the red hat, take it. Read the book on the very right part of the shelf. To Merle... is that Lorena's real name then, Merle Martin? M.M. It matches the coffeepot inscription. Turn right, then take the coffeepot out of inventory and show it to Lorena (click it over her portrait). Hrmph. The old cog wants more proof! In inventory, use the magnifying glass on the coffeepot. Aha! Little birds instead of period marks. Try to put the pot on the tray with her cups (on the hutch). She will accost you ask how she knows it's her pot. Well, it has an engraving. Exhaust all dialog options. You now have access to the ECT (electro-convulsive therapy) room in the basement. Lorena also wants you to find her locket, and in exchange for it she may have some info about a secret room. She even tells you where to find her locket (so much for puzzle solving)! It is in a safe behind your mothers picture in Malcolm's office (you now have access to Olivia frame). But, you remember seeing a locket in the furnace room hanging off of a circuit board. You tell her as much, but she doesn't believe you. Damn aristocrats! You don't think Malcolm is amassing a collection of women's lockets, but you never know. Walk towards the portrait, then turn right and look at the makeup case. Open it and take the compact (it's very dark -- look at the left part of the lid). Close the makeup case. Open the compact in inventory. Look at the black eyeliner between the brush and the colored squares. Take it. Look in the mirror, then close the compact. In inventory, open the eyeliner bottle. Now you have pen and ink for Lavinia. ======================== LAVINIA, Part 2 ======================== Once you're back in Lavinia's room, go to her desk. Take the eyeliner case and fill the inkpot with it (it's the right holder in the silver tray). Put the feather in the left holder. She thanks you. But you still need to get her hankerchief, get Lorena's locket, and gather more clues about the asylum. Go to Malcolm's office, where Lorena insists her locket is. Walk towards the portrait of Olivia. Tap on the frame, and find out it sounds the same all over. It doesn't seem to do anything, no matter where you tap it. Maybe Lorena is just a crazy old coot after all. You KNOW you saw a locket in the furnace room. She's the crazy one, not you... right? While you're here, look up Merle Martin (Lorena), Marilyn Wilson, and Lavinia Willoughby on the computer. That didn't seem to help, you already knew most of that already. It seems the safe theory is a dead end, so concentrate on finding Lavinia's hanky. You know she spent some quality time in the fever room, so head down to the basement once again. It's the second door on the right. Click on the chair and look at it. Sounds messy. Try to sit in it. Well, it must be hell to wet your pants. Talk to Nick (via the chair) and exhaust all dialog. Turn left, read the touchscreen, and listen to the description of the objects. Try to take the objects to hear what Nick has to say (you don't need them). Turn right twice, look at the table, take note of the small bottles. Wow, there sure are a lot of tiny drawers! Look at the drawers. Try to open them. Nick keeps babbling about Mandy Lee. You can't open any of the drawers right now. And you can't shut him up each time you try to open one! Damn. There's nothing more to do here. While you're in the basement, have a look at the ECT room, right across from the fever room (the game does not let you go straight across though, so you need to go right curve arrow, turn around, then enter the ECT room on the right). Once inside, turn right, read the touchscreen, and listen to the descriptions. Look at the objects, and take the stethoscope. That'll come in handy. Turn left, look at the chair, sit in the chair, and talk to Jack Cramer. Exhaust all dialog. What a character! Look at the other items in the room. While facing the chair, pay particular attention to the ECT machine behind the chair, and the frequency machine to the left of the chair. Apparently, when the frequency numbers match to the ECT generator, it will set up a resonance that will shut down the ECT generator. Go back to Malcolm's office and find out who this Mandy Lee is. Aha! She's Nick's daughter, and lives at #3C. While you're here, make use of your new stethoscope. Use it on Olivia's frame, and it will now open to reveal a safe. But wait a minute, it has a combination lock. Know any good numbers? Hmmmm. Turn around and look at Malcolm's desk for clues. Remember that photo of you and your sister on your third birthday? It was taken on 4/24/55, which means you were born on 4/24/52. Malcolm said that your birth was the most important day of his life. That must be it! "Open" the safe, input the numbers 4-24-52. Make sure the mouse pointer is right over the exact number you need. The safe will open when it is entered correctly. After the interlude from Josh, take the egg and the casket (box). In inventory, look at the egg. Use the nutcracker to break it. Read the note that was inside the egg. "The word you seek is the thing itself." HUH?! Maybe the casket will prove less cryptic. Look at it, and find out it's locked and needs a key. Jack said there was a key in one of the drawers in the fever room. You have enough clues to solve that puzzle now. [NOTE: In order to be able to open the drawers and get the key, you need to find out Mandy Lee's address is #3C on the computer] Go back to the fever room and face all the drawers again. You're allowed to open them now. There are 6 major sections, with 3 rows on top, and 3 rows on bottom. From left to right, top to bottom, number each section: 1 2 3 4 5 6 Look at the very top left section, number 1. We only need to concentrate on the 9 little drawers in this section. Label each drawer from 1-9, left to right, top to bottom. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Drawer number 9, on the very bottom right side, is the drawer that has the key in it! Perhaps Nick's system consisted of "3 drawers across, then a, b, c down, and you find the key!" Of course, the key could have been drawer number 9 in any of the other 5 sections. But who said crazy people had to make sense to you? In inventory, unlock the casket with the key, then open it. Inside is Lavinia's hankerchief. Take it, and prepare for another timed death defying puzzle. Awww hell, now you've injected yourself with toxic mush! What'd you do that for? Talk to Malcolm (via the nutcracker) and ask him what the symptoms are for the venom, plague, typhus, and malaria. That's a lot to remember! Exit the dialog box, then ask him again to remind you what the symptoms are, and he will be more to the point. Here is the exact order of the symptoms: Snake Venom: shivering, muscle pain, nausea, and paralysis Bubonic Plague: shivering, headaches, muscle pain, nausea Typhus: shivering, headaches, muscle pain, delerium Malaria: shivering, headaches, sweating, delerium [NOTE: They are all very similar, so you need to know the exact order for the cure. Within the next 5 minutes, Malcolm will tell you 2-3 of your symptoms. You don't have to remember them right now. You can't even administer an antedote until later in the game, so don't worry about dying, it won't happen until you've completed more tasks. At that point, Malcolm will tell you, in order, the 4 symptoms you are suffering from. And then you can decide what to do.] Well, you seem to have gotten over your stupidity for the moment. Go back to Lavinia's room and return the hankerchief to her. Open the display case, and place it on the empty stand. Lavinia will tell you about another box with an antedote, only she doesn't know where it is. She also has a gift for you. Exhaust all dialog options. This is real easy. Go back to the bed and face it. The right bedpost had a picture of a crown on it, just push it. Take the blade from the open bedpost. You now have a blade for the hacksaw you've been toting around. In inventory, "attach" the blade to the hacksaw. On the way out of the bedroom, talk to Lavinia's photo one last time. She seems rather morose now. ======================== LORENA, Part 2 ======================== Since there was no locket in Malcolm's safe, that must be Lorena's locket hanging off the circuit board in the furnace room. But you still need to get rid of that water before you can get to it! Go to the kitchen and open the box next to the freezer. Put the brand new fuse from inventory in the second slot from the top. Hmmm, since the water stopped dripping here, perhaps it stopped dripping down in the basement as well. The floorplan mapped out in your mind seems to put the furnace room below the kitchen. Go back down to the furnace room, and notice that this area has been cured of chinese water-torture syndrome. Use the hacksaw in inventory to saw off the padlock. Go forward and look at the switch with the locket. Try to throw the switch, and Seamus comments on the lack of insulation. Do you remember when your parents told you to stay in your car during a lightning storm, because the rubber tires would protect you? Well, those sheets you picked up from hydrotherapy are made of rubber. How convenient. In inventory, "drop" the sheets. Take the locket, and prepare for another round of "timed death defying puzzle." Great. You're in the electric chair. Another moronic episode, curtesy of Oliver Metcalf! You're such a masochist. What now? Remember how the machine shorts out when the numbers behind the chair match with the machine next to the chair? There's your answer! Well, you can't turn around to look at the numbers behind you, but you do have a mirror. Get out your compact, open it, and look in the mirror. It shows the numbers 851, but this is a reverse image, so the real numbers are 128. Turn right, and push the knobs on the frequency machine to 128. Whew, another death row inmate that beat the system! Return the locket to Lorena. Open the display case in her bedroom and put the locket on the empty stand next to the gloves. Exhaust all new dialog with Lorena. Well, well. Malcolm had a secret lover and a secret room in his office! Is that where your son is being kept prisoner? And what was Malcolm mumbling about when he said "the four greatest minds in medical history, and what they had in common?" You now have access to the bookshelf in Malcolm's office. ======================== SECRET AREA ======================== Upon entering Malcolm's office, point your cursor just to the right of the globe and click forward towards the bookcase. Say, "open sesame." Game wouldn't let you? Doh! There seems to be a few green books that stand out in the left part of the bookcase. Look at and read all the books. There are four rows with green books on them. The first two rows have 3 books each, the last two rows have 2 books each. Row 1: Galen Hippocrates Al-Razi Row 2: Vesalius Freud Harvey Row 3: Linnaeus Paracelsus Row 4: Metcalf Avicenna Remember those medalians above the entrance door to the asylum? There are the first 3 great minds. What about the fourth? Well, Malcolm seems pretty stuck on himself. Push in the books for Paracelsus, Freud, Hippocrates, and Metcalf (the order doesn't matter). Go into the room (hear your son whine again) and exhaust all dialog with Malcolm. Beautiful. Daddy is treating you like a baby and has taken away your elevator access. Look at the red rusted door in front of you, and try to open it. Guess not. Turn right and look at the box. Open the box, and look at the syringe. Look at each of the vials. There are 4 of them, each with a specific antedote. Malcolm will describe all 4 of your symptoms now, so pay attention. What do you have? Administer the antedote for it. You'll know if you chose wisely within a few minutes. [NOTE: I don't think the disease varies from game to game, I always get the Bubonic Plague.] Turn left twice, and look at the books, then take the journal. In inventory, read the journal. Holy crap! Your father is one sick puppy. You wonder if there's anything left of Abe for a burial. Back out of the journal (down arrow on the black portion of the screen) and turn right. Go forward into the spider webs (to the left of the door), and down the spiral stairs into... ======================== ABE ======================== A surgery room. Turn left to the cupboard and click on a bottle. A little boys voice responds. Exhaust all dialog, and find out he is Abby, aka Abe W. from the journal. By god he was only a child! Your father definitely belonged in an asylum, but as a patient, not a doctor. All those body parts in the jars belong to Abe. (But don't look too hard for the penis mentioned in the journal, it's not there.) Hmmm, Abe wants to play a game of "I spy with my little eye..." You will have to look around this small room and find the object Abe is looking at. Go ahead and explore on your own to familiarize yourself with the objects. Take note of the x-ray machine. Something that beings with a T: click on metal table, and "guess table" Something that begins with an L: Light (above the table) At this point Abe should tell you about the chapel. Exhaust all dialog. You now have access to the chapel. Go back up the stairs, out the secret room, out of the office, and back to the entry hallway in which you started the game. The chapel is directly opposite of the dayroom. Enter the chapel, hear Josh whine, and the spirit of Frank Morgan greets you. Turn right, read the touchscreen (certainly makes you thank god for Prozac!) and listen to the description of the objects (ouch). Take the icepick and the hammer. Look at the stained glass windows around the chapel for humorous descriptions of how the various Saints met their doom. Turn left and walk forward. Look at the window, and then look at the organ. Talk to the organist (Frank) and exhaust all dialog. So that's why you can hear spirits! Turn right and look at the armor. Try to take the armor, tap on it (it's hollow), then attempt to take it apart. Nope. Go back down to the surgery room. Abe is glad to have you back, and wants to play another game of "I spy." Humor him and say yes. Something white: Diploma (by the green door) Something that begins with: Tiger. Huh? There is an interlude with your son, and he gives you a hint. Something Grrrrr. Or Grrrrreat (ala Frosted Flakes and Tony the Tiger). Face the metal table; to the left is a box (below the respirator) with grated holes on the side of it. Click on it and "guess grate." Talk to Abe once more, exhaust all dialog. Abe tells you that the knight's armor is hollow. Duh! Look at the locked drawer beneath Abe's body parts. Open it with the icepick. Get the music box, and open it. How pretty. Now you are allowed to go bust some medieval armor butt! Go back to the armor in the chapel. Cut off the head with the hacksaw (ignore Frank's pleas). Cut the straps with your knife. Why, it's Abe's dolly! Look at the doll, then take it. Prepare for another timed death defying puzzle. Well hell, that was no fun. It's dark, and... was that a spear that just flew past your head?! Turn left, and you see a key that is just out of reach. Use your lance to snag the key, then turn right. There is a padlock that is very hard to see. Imagine your computer screen is cut into four equal squares. The padlock is in the area of the lower right square. Unlock the padlock with the key. Then click the bars on the cage to open it. Once outside the cage, look at the sarcophagus and try to move it. You are still a weak girlie-man. If Malcolm talks to you, exhaust all dialog. Turn right and get out of there by going up the stairs. You are back in the secret room. Turn around and look at the metal door you just came through. Look at it, and find out it locks behind you each time you come through. At least now you know it leads to the crypt. Try to open it. Malcolm gives you another riddle for finding the key. "My office quite fast, yeilded keys manifold. But you'll find the last, in the one who knows cold." That makes no sense! Go back to the surgery room and put Abe's doll on his cupboard. He wants to play the game one last time. Something that is red: click the books on Abe's cupboard, then "guess books." I don't get it either. Exhaust all dialog options. You find out his code name is 125, which Malcolm gets from Abraham's nickname, which is Abe. That seems easy enough. Just match the numbers to the alphabet, i.e. 123 = abc. The touchpad on the door has 9 numbers: A=1 B=2 C=3 D=4 E=5 F=6 G=7 H=8 I=9 ABE=125 Maybe now we can open up that green door in this room! Look at the lock. Only Malcolm can open it? Hrmph. Try to push the buttons. Malcolm insults your intelligence. Look at the door, try to open it, and Abe will tell you that Malcolm is always humming "da da da da" when he comes through that door. That suggests 4 numbers, not three. That tune sounds familiar, like the one in the music box. Open the music box and listen to it again. Hmmm, maybe a musician can help you out with this one. Go back to the chapel, and walk forward towards the organist. Talk to the organist and exhaust all new dialog. Open your music box. The organist will tell you it's Bach. You seem to remember that Malcolm has a fascination with Bach. The touchscreen in his office indicated that Malcolm wrote a composition and dedicated it to Bach (look at it above the fireplace in his office). You have all the clues, and are now allowed to open the door. That must be it, then. BACH is the secret code to the door. Input 2138, exactly in that order, and turn the door handle. Into the unknown you go... ======================== PAUL ======================== You hear your son again, along with a very friendly voice. Turn left, and look at all of the items on the table. Try to take the crowbar. Look at the flayed skin in front of you. Ewwww. It even talks back! It once belonged to Paul Becker, an associate of your father. Exhaust all dialog options, and learn that pain is your friend. Your father was also more of a "nut cracker" than you first realized. Paul wants you to swap the tip of your finger, and a little pain, for your sons life. Now, there's no need to make rash decisions, so explore the torture room a bit more. Turn right twice, look at all the objects, and try to get on the table. Turn left and walk towards the back of the room. Look at the cage. Pshaw! Put today's kid in this and he'll want some popcorn for the show! Turn right, and look at the device on the left. Look at the iron maiden on the right. There is a rope around the head of the iron maiden, hanging from the ceiling. Look at and take it. There are two rows of symbols (black stripe) on the iron maiden, look at it. Turn left twice, look at the mace, and take the club to the left of it. Look at the wheel. Go back to the table with the fingerbox, and put your finger inside. Damn, it didn't fool him! Take the fingerbox. Shake the fingerbox. That didn't do it either. How can you tell what's inside without getting your finger castrated? Travel back to the x-ray machine in the surgery room. If you haven't already done so, take the bone out of the x-ray machine. Put the fingerbox in the machine, and discover an ankh inside. Go back to the torture room, and tell Paul what is inside the box. Paul is willing to tell you where your son is, but first you have to get his stereoscope out of the iron maiden. He tells you the solution to the symbols is on the note from Malcolm's safe. Go to the iron maiden, and push the symbols for a closer look. Hmmm, a picture of an "eye" would probably be prounounced "I." On the far right side on the top row is a picture of a young girl, possibly a maiden. So that's what the riddle meant! "The word you seek is the thing itself." The word you are seeking through the symbols is what will end up sounding like "iron maiden". And the word you seek is on the physical iron maiden right in front of you! Click the picture of the "eye" = i Click the picture of the figure "running" = run Click on the picture of the "maiden" = maiden Iron Maiden. Simple, isn't it? After a brief interlude with your son, look at the stereoscope. Try to take it. Ack, good thing you weren't in there, those spikes look unfriendly. Open the iron maiden again, and use the club in inventory to prop it open. You may safely take the stereoscope. Only now you have to prepare yourself for another timed death defying puzzle. You find yourself strapped to a table with a huge, flying axe veering closer and closer each time it swings by. In the background, Paul taunts you. Turn left, and look at the lever. It's another one of those hard to see items. Look at the exact center of your screen. About an inch to the right is the lever. Get the rope out of inventory and hook it on the lever. Whoops. There goes Paul, and your only hope of finding your son. After Malcolm scolds you, take the crowbar in front of the flayed skin (Paul wouldn't let you have this when he was alive). You hear a woman's voice whisper softly in your ear. Marilyn? Exhaust all dialog with her. Rhino viruses? Nose colds? Hmmm... "knows cold... nose cold!" Aha, so that's the answer to the key riddle! It's time to go whack that rhino's head in the entry hall. Before you head out, you can look at everything in the room again to get Malcolm's perspective on pain. Of particular interest is the "device" next to the iron maiden. Apparently, women are fearful of it, but Malcolm doesn't know why. Does that big sharp point say anything to you women out there? YIKES! Go out the door, through the surgery room, and back to the secret room. Oh no, your wife Rebecca is here! Go through Malcolm's office. Great, she's scared now. Outside the office, you hear Malcolm tell you they are no longer there. Down in the entry hall, Josh tells you she's injured and unconscious. To the left of the dayroom entrance is a rhinoceros head. Whack it's head off with your lance, and you'll get a key to the crypt. ======================== CRYPT ======================== Go back to the secret room behind Malcolm's office. You can now open the door. Click on the memorial plaques. Lavinia will at some point tell you that you have to open the sarcophagus. Turn right, and use the crowbar on the sarcophagus. Look inside the sarcophagus, then look at the skeleton. Click the outer portion of the sarcophagus, then "get inside." Great, they're already gone! Look at the doll, lighter, locket, and hanky. "Malcolm means to destry all of us. You must destroy him first." Hmmm. But how? Turn right and look at the skeleton. Turn right again, and look at all of the clippings on the door. You find out things about yourself you'd rather not know. Periodically, interludes with Josh will interrupt you. Look at the door, try to open it. Turn around to the display case once again. You need to destroy the object associated with Malcolm to overcome his power. First, use the knife on the nutcracker. Then, rip up his journal (the red one with the MM initials). Smash the skeleton's skull with your crowbar (that felt good). While the crowbar is still handy, break the glass case with it. Take the dragon lighter, flick it on in inventory, and then burn Malcolm's portrait with it. Prepare for a very short ending. [NOTE: If you run out of time, don't sweat it. It's kind of fun to see what Josh will actually do anyways. Just make sure you read all the clippings to understand (or maybe to confuse you even more) Oliver's troubles. Then the second time around, you can just destroy all of Malcolm's things and be done with it!]