After picking up the items belonging to the knights, the raptor heads back to the vestry where we first met Philip. With his key the locked door can now be opened.
Inside it we find two more pages of the journal of Tobias.
Entry 79
August, Year of our Lord 1203 AD.
I have learnt today that my masters have orchestrated the fall of the city of Constantinople. Bargains were made with Venetian merchants and pressure applied to the Crusaders so that they ransacked that ancient and beautiful city. It seems that my earlier comuniqués on the Byzantine ruins we have found here, and old rumours known to the Templar high command, led my Masters to believe that Greailstone might also exist there.
The city was taken, but seemingly for naught, for no grailstone was found. This grieves me, for I knew and loved the city. Now it is ruined, partly by my hand.
Again mention of similar ruins in other areas of the world. This is some heavy stuff.
Entry 785
September, Year of our Lord 1307 AD.
Today has been a day of gross perfidy - sailors aboard the Cirrus(one of the two ships that arrived yesterday) showed themselves to be agents intent on murder and theft!
After killing their fellow crewmen and scuttling one ship, they attempted to reach the holiest treasure! They were captured by swift Philip when the alarm was sounded. They will now be questioned and then executed.
I smell the Prieuré behind this attempt.They will have no second chance. I have ordered the harbour sealed and the doorways blocked and concealed.
We will watch and wait for our brothers above-ground to establish themselves.
Now we know the full story behind the falling out with the Priory. They attempted to steal the Grail.
The raptor moves through the door to the north.
Eventually he reaches this very claustrophobic spiral staircase:
The bottom door is open and leads to a very long tunnel. At the end of it there is a huge metal door with Tobias emblem on it. The key found at the library opens it.
The hallway ends in a locked iron door and a metal ladder.
he raptor moves up.
We are finally on the docks. MS2 warns of an "extremely large unidentified creature" in the waters. I also like the bit about "cell structure laced with hardened unclassifiable mineral". Oh dear, time to proceed with caution.
You can see a ship in the distance and a broken stone bridge. You can also hear creepy sounds coming from the water, but the thing won't jump the raptor. At least not yet.
:shivers:
There is a cave leading to the left and a lever on the wall.
The raptor pulls the lever and hears a huge sound of gears turning. Time to move inside the cave. At least that away he will get away from the creepy water noises and whatever is in there.
Uh oh... we hear shots and the roaring of a saurian. Ms2 warns of the presence of another raptor in there. One "Kurt Thyssen".
Luckily this one is willing to socialize. Of note, you can choose to be agressive and get in a shootout. For the sake of extra content I will "make friends" with him.
(with sarcasm) If you want to sneak up on someone, you got to learn to be a little quieter than that.
Damn, this is one fellow raptor that we won't be able to shoot in the back. Also off note: this guy has the most annoying german accent I have ever heard. It is as if they mixed together all the obnoxious voices of nazi movie villains and condensed the worse of it for this guy. The voice acting in this game is superb all over, except on this one character.
This place is making you jumpy? Hardly surprising. Come on, I'm not a threat. There are more than enough relics here to go around, why don't we work together?
(pausing)Humm... I am not sure I should trust you, but maybe I will give you a chance.
At this point we see that a saurian has entered the room where he is standing and is ready to have a go at him:
You can choose to be a backstabbing son of bitch and distract him while the thing grabs him behind his back. You get more extra ammo and kill a competitor that way. Since I want to talk to him and get some information though, I will be a bro.
Look out. One of those damn creatures...
What?!?!(quickly shoots the dinosaur)
Thank you... I obviously made a good ally today. Speak, friend.
Kurt is surprisingly poorly informed about the happenings in Aeternis. I will transcribe some of the questions that he is actually able to answer.
What do you know of Edgar?
Yes, I have met him. I sense deviousness in him
What can you tell me of Philip?
He seems to be the only one sane left amongst the guardians. At least of those few I have met.
What can you tell me of Tobias?
I have discovered little beyond the fact that he was the original leader of the twelve guardian knights.
What can you tell me of Tallum?
He is quite insane! You only have to say 'hello' to him and he thinks you are being sarcastic enough to warrant your instant murder! Be careful with him.
Did you see that creature that lives in the waters here?
Yes... it attacked me when I tried to get the key that is besides the corpse in that well. Whatever it is, it is the most terrible thing I have ever laid eyes upon.
Have you seem other raptors pass through here ahead of us?
I have been fired upon by that pig Warren. But beyond him and yourself, I have seem no other plunderers.
So Warren is shooting people on sight eh?
:cocks rifle:
I think now it is time to share what knowledge you have discovered, don't you?
Being the streetwise gangsta that he is, the player raptor gives him worthless information.
If you tell him something that is an obvious lie he will actually shoot you.
Ok, what do you want to know?
Anything you can tell me that might be useful.
Apparently in this place nothing dies properly. There is a body by that ancient well. Hanging around there you can speak to her ghost.
I will check this, but if I find you are mocking me, it will go badly for you!
And he leaves us to explore the room.
Not much to see here besides a document and the saurian Kurt killed.
Year of our Lord october 1264
Regarding your last report, we are indeed alarmed and concerned at the malady that seems to have struck Aeternis and the changes both physical and mental it is wreacking within the guardian knights.
This has obvious repercussions upon our plans. Firstly, we must determine whether the caves hold some ancient illness that you have unwittingly disturbed. Forward more detailed reports immediately and ensure that no-one leaves the temple until this is resolved! Secondly, you are to modify the Watchtower on the wharf so that we may meet you, and see the changes for ourselves in safety. Keep order and report to us when this has been done.
After this another stairway is reached.
You hear a loud roar when you enter. The top area collapses killing a saurian.
The door still opened leads to the very water room from the beggining of the game!
The raptor has come full circle. He trecks back to the mine area and realizes that the huge double doors that lead to the docks are now open:
That old and rusty mine car in the center of the rails still works! it is just a matter of activating it and riding it back to the docks.
Ypee!
We drive the thing straight into the ship, free from the water creature(at least so far). The bridge is broken but the rails are not.
We are in. First thing we notice besides a large metal crane is a corpse haging.
Wait, it is alive? Erm... the raptor aproaches.
I see you! What armor is that you are wearing? I had begun to think you were just another illusion... it has been so long since I saw anyone! Are you a dream, friend?
This guy speaks with a heavy russian accent and you can almost feel his pain. Have I mentioned the voice acting in this game is great? Meet Mikhail, the last remnant of the assassins sent by the Priory to kill the guardians and steal the grail centuries ago.
I am no dream, I promise you.
I think you are a dream(laughs insanely)! I have never seem a knight with such a strange helmet. But I don't care if you are real or dream, it feels so good
to have someone to talk to!
Have you been conscious the whole time you have been hanging there?
Yes... an eternity of torment! And all the time aching... aching just for someone to talk to!
Who are you? Where do you come from?
I am Mikhail... I was born in Russia, in Novgorod. Oh... a beautiful place. I remember it so clearly...
You can get a lot of info out of this guy.
What do you know of Tobias?
(mutters something in russian) humm, he was a good choice for the leader of the twelve guardian knights. He was born in nazzeria(??? I couldn't quite get the word), which is his mother's home. His arrogance was sure to strenghten his faith that he was born to guard the grail here.
What do you know of Edgar?
(mutters something in russian again) He is a good knight, by all accounts. A fierce fighter. There was some argument that he would make a good leader when the knights were being chosen.
What can you tell me about Philip?
A young knight, eh.(gags) We were told he would cause us no trouble.
What can you tell me about Malik?
He is the second in command to Tobias. He was originally a Parsi, born to be a leader of his people. The templars stole him and indocrinated him into their faith with the use of herbs that promote visions. He was a pawn to them. When the time came, he betrayed his people and their uprising was no more.
Do you know who Cobweb is?
We met Cobweb only for a briefing when we were about to reach the temple... nur... his face, it was covered, so I cannot tell which of the knights he is. (laughs painfully) and this is well, for under the torture of that fiend Tobias I would have sold any men's soul!
What can you tell me about the priory?
The temple of Solomon is on the slopes of mount zion, and within it, there are 27 paths to the truth. Humpf. None of which may be revealed to outsiders... or even visitors within a dream.
I've heard mention of deeper realms. Wondrous places, they were described as.
All that I do know is that the knights found evidence of an earlier culture or temple within these caves.
Who is Baphomet?
The bearded head of God, off course!
What can you tell me about Tallum?
Ah, a valiant and indomitable fighter. We were warned to beware his skills. If challenged by him, our mission would have little chance of success and our lives would have been lost.
Tell me about the guardians.
The most highly trained of the templars. They are twelve, a formidable force to guard the holiest relic in all christendom. But my masters had a hand in the choosing of them... agents here have served us well. But they were not able to save us, when we were caught.
Can you give me any clues to help me get to the grail?
(mutters something in russian) A map stolen from Geoffrye was given to us of the complex way through the gut rock. But it was taken from us when our mission failed and we were caught.
Tell me about your mission.
(sigh) Our masters wished the grail for purposes it was not my place to ask. We were to rendesvouz with our agents within the temple.
Tell me about Geoffrye.
(coughs) The architect of this place. Not the best fighter.
Tell me about Sir Guy.
We were told to watch him carefully. He is truly a faithful and dedicated knight, a possible threat to our mission.
What can you tell me about the rest of this place?
We saw so little of it before being caught. Why were we not told of the bell!?!?(cries) I had the grail in my hands! We were so close!
What can you tell me of grailstone?
The grail is made of it. The only grailstone my masters have is a small stone the size of my thumb. But the grail itself is worth more than the crown of the king of France.
There are dangerous animals down here. What are they? Where do they come from?
We were told to beware them. The knights have used them in fiendish ways to protect the aproaches to the grail.
I am sick of your meaningless prattle. Begone, phantom! (cries in pain) I will close my eyes and wish you away.... You do not exist. And when you are gone I am sure I will awake to see the cursed ringing before my eyes once more.
I wish the game gave you the option to put this guy out of his misery. Though to be fair it would only turn him into a tortured ghost trapped here forever.
I guess you could release him at least. He is still alive even though he is nearly a skelleton and has been hanging there for centuries.
On the ground we find a letter from Tobias adressed to the Grand Master Templar:
Year of our Lord August 1259
Grand Master,
My previous reports detailed the physical changes we have endured here, but now I must report with some trepidation that our minds too are undoubtly being altered.
Some are haunted by tortured dreaming with dark moods that persist when awake.
Claude and William came to blows yesterday and the others too are deeply anxious and near to violence.
I too am feeling some effects; but for me, they are not unwelcome. I feel an incredible urging to read and learn. My brain is absorbing knowledge like a starved thing almost independent of my will.
I am puzzled that the effects are so different for the others. I fear that insanity may await them unless the malady fades, or they leave the influence of the temple.
Please advise urgently.
The raptor climbs up the ramp to the top of the ship:
We find a ship manifesto lying around.
A door to the south leads us to the cargo hold, where we find the chest Edgar wants.
The raptor picks up a winch handle and a bottle of acqua fortis in the cargo and heads back up. Time to use the crane to put that chest in the mine car and take it to Edgar:
Great success.
After pouring some "acqua fortis" on one of non functioning levers of the mine car, the raptor rides it back to the mine area. Edgar is waiting in front of the crusher controls.
Put the chest into the saw, NOW!
Ok, I will move it there right away.
Excelent!
The raptor does his bidding
And after breaking the chest open Edgar turns on the raptor
Empty! EMPTY! Treacherous thief, where have you hidden it?!?! (attacks)
MS2 states the he is heavily mutated and in heavy armor, but he is no Tallum. A couple of shots and he is down in a bloody disfigured mess.
He is still alive though. The game doesn't give you the option to decapitate him or whatever, the raptor just leaves him there and hopes not to meet him again.
I wonder what the hell was in that chest anyway.
Anyway, time to head back to the docks.
Damn it, the creature is still around!
Moving to the south another area of the docks is reached.
A boat?
Erm near the boat we ca see a little black lump sticking out of the water. MS2 shows it is an hominid species...
What?It doesn't seem threatening at all. Where is the water creature?
I try to get to the boat, but then:
FFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUU
Lovecraft was right.
Anyway, we will deal with this giant tentacled thing(human?) in the next update. There are several ways to do it, I will choose the one that provides a curious piece of exposition.