Deduction in the videogame "Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened"
This is my attempt to reconstruct Sherlock Holmes's reasoning in the videogame Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened (2006) by Frogwares. I recommend reading this after completing the game.
Content
Introduction
Part 1. Barnes' Case
Part 2. Evidence in Stenwick's Garden
Part 3. Reconstruction in Stenwick's Garden
Part 4. Evidence from Stenwick's Garden in the Laboratory
Part 5. Wharf no.13
Part 6. Warehouse 12
Part 7. A strange temple
Part 8. Origin of illegal goods
Part 9. Mycroft's response
Part 10. Trip to Switzerland
Part 11. Laboratory of the Black Edelweiss Institute
It’s time for me to voice my unpopular opinion about A Gilded Cage case in Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One, namely, that I believe Paul Perks was the culprit, not Arthur Swift.
Before getting into the arguments, let’s clarify something. If a character you like turns out to be guilty of something, that does not automatically make them a bad character or, in some cases, even a bad person. This post is absolutely not meant to say “Paul is a bad character.” I simply want to express my interpretation of his involvement in the crime.
I will also avoid discussing anything not directly supported by the investigation itself. I wasn’t interested in whether certain choices yield greater rewards, I’m interested in the case, not the technical side of the game. And let’s also avoid the argument “I think this character is guilty because they behave more suspiciously,” since that is entirely subjective perception and does not constitute factual evidence.
Let’s start with how I see the situation that unfolded:
Paul and Imogen planned to run away together that unfortunate morning. In order to do so, they devised a plan in which Paul would distract Theodore, who visits Goliath every morning. However, things did not go as planned, as Paul did not expect the elephant to react to the poison in such a way that it resulted in Theodore’s death. Alternatively, Paul may have originally intended to shoot Theodore, considering the dart’s placement on the elephant and the trajectory of the shot (not aimed at the elephant’s rear or forehead, but mere centimeters from Theodore’s position). But honestly, that detail is not the most important point.
Why did I come to suspect Paul rather than Arthur?
Imogen stated that she first looked out the window (from which she could already have seen the culprit), then went outside and began throwing stones at the elephant. Judging by the trajectory of the stones, we can see she was looking directly toward the offender. Why did she claim she saw no one? Because it was her lover, Paul, whom she did not want to expose. Moreover, this happened in the morning, meaning it would have been sufficiently bright to see someone from that distance.
Since the gates to the Swift estate were broken by the elephant, we can conclude they had been closed, meaning someone would have needed a way to enter the enclosed area. Paul would have been far more capable of doing so than Arthur, whose poor health is explicitly confirmed by the fact that the trial had to be postponed due to his condition (as reported in the newspaper if you choose to accuse Arthur). Not to mention that Arthur is clearly an elderly man.
Imogen was packing her suitcases on the very morning of the incident, while Paul informed his “colleagues” that he would be leaving Cordona, implying he would not be attending the competition that same morning. He later explained his absence to Sherlock by claiming he had been at the hospital, which, within this hypothesis, would be a lie.
Paul mentions that he had been considering how the poison affects elephants and that he had not yet tested it on humans. This may hint that he originally intended to shoot and not just distract but kill Theodore, though again, this is secondary.
The bosun’s knife. Many assume it belonged to Arthur because his vest has one empty tool slot. However:
How do we know that slot was ever occupied?
It is most likely simply part of the vest model. Other workers wear identical vests with one empty slot.
If Arthur had planned to commit the crime, would he really have done so in his work vest? And why carry a knife if he intended to use darts? Meanwhile, we know Paul had been physically attacked by Theodore’s hired men, which provides a reasonable explanation for why Paul might carry a knife for self-defense.
Another common argument for Arthur’s guilt is the elephant-related book found on his desk. Yet Arthur explicitly explains this as his desire to better understand the elephant. His motivation is consistent: he does not wish to abandon his research and that's why he wants to learn how to coexist with the animal on the same territory.
Paul was the only one with whom strychnine on the darts was discussed. With Arthur, the conversation concerned only the darts themselves.
Both suspects had motives. However, while Arthur theoretically had an alternative as coexistence with the elephant for the sake of his studies, while Paul faced not only written threats, but physical violence. Paul’s choice was stark: either his life would be ruined with certainty, or he could risk everything in an attempt to escape with Imogen and reclaim control of his future.
All of this led me to the conclusion that Paul’s potential guiltiness does not make him a worse character. On the contrary, it makes him more compelling, portraying him as someone willing to take extreme risks for love and freedom.
omg, yes, finally! I totally agree! Btw, I never saw anyone mentioning elbow bruises in this case. Both Arthur and Paul have a bruised elbow, yet on different arms! Arthur's left elbow and Paul's right elbow have bruises. And judging by the reconstructions on the crime scene in Goliath's yard and by the damage made to the shed we can see that the person who felt backwards from the impact of the gate most probably broke a board with his right elbow. The reconstruction could be wrong, of course, but after examining the shed I don't think it's very likely to land on the shed to break that board like that with a left elbow. Not sure if it was intended that way, but it was one of the first things that caught my attention while investigating and strongly affected my final decision. Still, an interesting detail either way
I actually thought about that and even considered including it in the article! Because to me, it seems harder to land there with a left elbow (Arthur injured left elbow) than with a right one (Paul injured right elbow). In the end, though, I decided to leave it out, since it felt like a rather shaky argument given the visual ambiguity of the reconstruction.
Still, I agree the fact that the injuries are on different arms really doesn’t feel like a coincidence.
I gotta offer my perspective as an Arthur-did-it truther :p
If we focus only on what we know pre-decision, we have the knife and the book that speak against Arthur already, and also a very angry diary entry by him that basically calls Theodore stupid for only caring about the elephant and not for their project:
"I must think, lest out invaluable history be buried by the inconsequential." -> this quote alone suggests he wasn't going to sit around and let Theodore ruin the site and turn it into baths. He was trying to come up with a plan.
Shortly after, their partnership ended. Arthur's motive was never that he couldn't co-exist with the elephant, but that Theodore, who was the sole proprietor, didn't share his vision on the future of the site. He didn't share the passion and cared about his elephant more, and his carelessness destroyed their partnership.
Arthur, on the other hand, saw the site as his most important achievement in life and he is said to "have sacrificed almost everything to get it".
His interest is described as obsession. Yet, he was about to lose funding because the whole project was funded by Theodore with whom he quarreled, and that after he's already used up all his resources on the site.
Why wouldn't Arthur, whose dream was about to be destroyed by Theodore, use that very elephant to destroy Theodore, in return? After months and months of resentment and trying to find a way to save the future of the site?
Arthur is a man portrayed as desperate and paranoid enough that, even though you find the tomb, he becomes hostile towards you and accuses you of trying to steal "his" discovery.
We also know Arthur was supposedly injured while digging, but we never actually see him do any manual labour while we are there and looking for his tomb. He doesn't leave his tent at all. And yes, the workers have the same vest, but FW also reuses assets a lot and I don't see that as evidence that the slot was supposed to stay empty and that there was no knife.
Arthur supposedly only owns the book to educate himself about the elephant, but the article itself notes that it contains a chapter about the danger coming from elephants in heat.
I don't believe Arthur when he says he wanted to learn how to understand the animal. I don't see why I have to believe in anything a possible culprit says unless there is evidence. And the man had devoted his life to his digsite to a point he neglected his appearance because of it, as stated above. I would say he did not have the time to educate himself about the habits of an animal he didn't care about and begrudged Theodore for having.
Paul, on the other hand, has no real motive to attack Theodore after he's already packed his bags to disappear with Imogen and escape - they are about to leave Cordona and won't be bothered by him at all anymore. Theodore might have been a threat to Paul in the past, but not in the future.
Moreover, we don't know if they were planning to leave immediately. We don't know if Paul really wanted/needed to distract Theodore to get Imogen out - she could have simply left the manor while her father was sleeping instead of taking the risk of being caught by having Paul distract him while she was carrying multiple suitcases.
And in general, Paul's alibis is more believable. He was beaten up - we saw the threats. He says he was at the hospital - he don't visit it in the game, but if we apply real world logic, we could actually ask in the hospital if he went there.
But nothing Arthur uses as an alibi can be confirmed. To assume he is innocent, we have to take everything he says by the word - that he never had a knife, that he injured himself while digging (which we never see him do), that he was merely interested in the elephant. He can't prove anything he claims.
Also, about the stones that Imogen threw - when you consider where they landed, you can assume that the elephant was right in front of the gate already by the time she got outside and started throwing. The elephant would have covered the gate and she wouldn't have seen who was hiding behind it. The culprit is only visible in the imagination sequence because the elephant is still a few steps before the gate, but this is not where the stones landed.
This is what I mean, if Jon was Imogen and threw a stone in that direction, then her target is likely right in front of the gate, and her target was large enough:
And to come back to the decision:
Arthur never says he didn't kill Theodore if you tell him you'll let him go. He says Sherlock came to his senses right after Sherlock accused him of murder. That, in itself, doesn't speak of an innocent man to me.
And last but not least, Arthur is not an elderly man, either. He might not be as strong as Paul, but he is apparently strong enough to work as the site to a point of injury. Unless he lied.
Anyway, I wanted to offer my two cents because I saw your comment saying how the game should present the facts before the final decision is made (as a reply to me talking about Arthur's reaction to being accused but let go), and I felt the need to show that the game does present a lot of facts that point towards Arthur :D People don't believe that Arthur did it just because of the reward, but because many believe he has the strongest motive.
I read the reblogs of this post. They seemed very curious to me, and I'm very glad that there's a discussion of my favorite topic (deduction). I have a huge desire to participate in this, even though I didn't plan to study this game. I really hope that I understood everyone correctly and didn't create a straw man in my response.
Regarding the empty pocket in Arthur's vest. It's empty because it's missing a knife? Let's assume yes. Now there are two cases.
When Arthur bought the vest, did knives come with it as a set? Suppose yes. Then the archaeologist's set included a bosun's knife. Or it was a universal set for all professions in life, but that's a bit hard to believe.
If the knives weren't sold together with the vest, then Arthur bought them himself and placed them in the pockets. In that case, not every pocket needs to be filled.
Let's still assume that this knife was part of the original vest set. Then the question: How did the knife end up here? Consider two cases.
The knife fell out of Arthur's vest. But it's very unlikely that Arthur came to the scene in this vest with a bunch of items.
The knife didn't fall out of the vest. Therefore, Arthur took the knife separately. But why did he take the knife if he wanted to use a dart?
Let's talk about the elbow. Imagine that the killer broke the board with his left elbow. Indeed, that's harder than landing with the right elbow. However, it's even harder to land with the left elbow and not press down the green bush at all. Moreover, the knife flew quite far from the killer. This seems more realistic if the knife didn't fall out of the pocket, but from the killer's hand. But in that case, the question arises: why was the killer holding this knife in his left hand?
Regarding the explanation for why Arthur had the book. Indeed, we shouldn't believe those words, since Arthur is a suspect for the role of murderer. However, if we consider the hypothesis that Paul is guilty, then we inevitably face the question of why Arthur needed a book about elephants. If Paul is guilty, then Arthur is innocent, and therefore he has no reason to lie about the book. So in this case, we must accept his explanation. I think that's exactly why the article's author paid attention to this very book.
Regarding the stone of the murdered man's daughter. As I understand, there were three stones. And the first one fell far enough from the gate that the criminal could be seen in exactly the same way as in imagination mode.
Regarding the alibi. We really didn't go to Paul's doctor, but we also didn't interrogate the workers. If Arthur is the murderer, could he really be sure that none of the workers noticed his absence?
As for the motive. Paul has another obvious motive—money. He clearly needs it.
I agree that Arthur had a motive for murder, but the other details seem less convincing if we imagine that he is the killer, than if it's Paul.
It’s time for me to voice my unpopular opinion about A Gilded Cage case in Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One, namely, that I believe Paul Perks was the culprit, not Arthur Swift.
Before getting into the arguments, let’s clarify something. If a character you like turns out to be guilty of something, that does not automatically make them a bad character or, in some cases, even a bad person. This post is absolutely not meant to say “Paul is a bad character.” I simply want to express my interpretation of his involvement in the crime.
I will also avoid discussing anything not directly supported by the investigation itself. I wasn’t interested in whether certain choices yield greater rewards, I’m interested in the case, not the technical side of the game. And let’s also avoid the argument “I think this character is guilty because they behave more suspiciously,” since that is entirely subjective perception and does not constitute factual evidence.
Let’s start with how I see the situation that unfolded:
Paul and Imogen planned to run away together that unfortunate morning. In order to do so, they devised a plan in which Paul would distract Theodore, who visits Goliath every morning. However, things did not go as planned, as Paul did not expect the elephant to react to the poison in such a way that it resulted in Theodore’s death. Alternatively, Paul may have originally intended to shoot Theodore, considering the dart’s placement on the elephant and the trajectory of the shot (not aimed at the elephant’s rear or forehead, but mere centimeters from Theodore’s position). But honestly, that detail is not the most important point.
Why did I come to suspect Paul rather than Arthur?
Imogen stated that she first looked out the window (from which she could already have seen the culprit), then went outside and began throwing stones at the elephant. Judging by the trajectory of the stones, we can see she was looking directly toward the offender. Why did she claim she saw no one? Because it was her lover, Paul, whom she did not want to expose. Moreover, this happened in the morning, meaning it would have been sufficiently bright to see someone from that distance.
Since the gates to the Swift estate were broken by the elephant, we can conclude they had been closed, meaning someone would have needed a way to enter the enclosed area. Paul would have been far more capable of doing so than Arthur, whose poor health is explicitly confirmed by the fact that the trial had to be postponed due to his condition (as reported in the newspaper if you choose to accuse Arthur). Not to mention that Arthur is clearly an elderly man.
Imogen was packing her suitcases on the very morning of the incident, while Paul informed his “colleagues” that he would be leaving Cordona, implying he would not be attending the competition that same morning. He later explained his absence to Sherlock by claiming he had been at the hospital, which, within this hypothesis, would be a lie.
Paul mentions that he had been considering how the poison affects elephants and that he had not yet tested it on humans. This may hint that he originally intended to shoot and not just distract but kill Theodore, though again, this is secondary.
The bosun’s knife. Many assume it belonged to Arthur because his vest has one empty tool slot. However:
How do we know that slot was ever occupied?
It is most likely simply part of the vest model. Other workers wear identical vests with one empty slot.
If Arthur had planned to commit the crime, would he really have done so in his work vest? And why carry a knife if he intended to use darts? Meanwhile, we know Paul had been physically attacked by Theodore’s hired men, which provides a reasonable explanation for why Paul might carry a knife for self-defense.
Another common argument for Arthur’s guilt is the elephant-related book found on his desk. Yet Arthur explicitly explains this as his desire to better understand the elephant. His motivation is consistent: he does not wish to abandon his research and that's why he wants to learn how to coexist with the animal on the same territory.
Paul was the only one with whom strychnine on the darts was discussed. With Arthur, the conversation concerned only the darts themselves.
Both suspects had motives. However, while Arthur theoretically had an alternative as coexistence with the elephant for the sake of his studies, while Paul faced not only written threats, but physical violence. Paul’s choice was stark: either his life would be ruined with certainty, or he could risk everything in an attempt to escape with Imogen and reclaim control of his future.
All of this led me to the conclusion that Paul’s potential guiltiness does not make him a worse character. On the contrary, it makes him more compelling, portraying him as someone willing to take extreme risks for love and freedom.
Great analysis! Many thanks to the author of the article! IMHO, this hypothesis requires fewer assumptions than the generally accepted one. It seems the person who paid us for the investigation wasn't very competent.
I really want deduction to be explored in all Sherlock Holmes videogames. Mori took a step towards this dream by solving a difficult case from the game "Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments". I recommend everyone to watch this video, which I think the author had to try very hard to create!
Deduction in the videogame "Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened". Part 15. New Orleans's Port District
What to do next? Even if we know that the hub of this affair is in Europe (the letter arrived quickly in Switzerland) and perhaps even in England (the author of the handwritten letter is neither in Switzerland nor in New Orleans), we have no data that would let us understand when, where, and how.
The only lead allowing us to learn more is in New Orleans, Louisiana. Another cell of this criminal organization exists there, and this time, we might be in time. That's why we'll go to Le Havre, from where we'll set sail immediately.
Even though Holmes took some precautions before our departure from Switzerland, it's extremely important to keep our identities secret, as well as our destination. We're dealing with a very powerful adversary.
We are in New Orleans. Watson made sure not to leave any of our valuables on board. Everything is safe here, in the bag. Watson even managed to get an approximate map of the city. Good that the bank "Honor and Company," which holds the account of the person to whom Gygax made many transfers, is not far from the port [1].
Our clues are scant, and time is against us. Moreover, many lives are at stake. We should start by exchanging our banknotes for local currency: we only have a few dozen dollars.
To learn the bank's location more precisely, one can ask locals [2], but neither sailors, nor Chinese, nor dock workers could help us. We found the bank on our own.
A not very friendly guard with a rifle said that until Mr. Blackman returns from Baton Rouge with brand-new dollars, the bank will be closed: no sooner than in three days. That wasn't an attack, but a sale of precious stones.
We're interested in one specific batch of precious stones. Perhaps that's it. And we had to pay the guard to find out if anyone else could give us details about this deal. There's old Champagne, a Cajun who knows everything happening in these parts. He should be near a pile of planks at the end of the pier.
A large number of signs in French "QUAI DES CAJUNS" (CAJUNS WHARF) helped us find some old man near a pile of planks at the end of the pier. None other than Champagne.
We had to pay to get details about a recent deal concerning precious stones. Over a week ago (it's now October 23rd), maybe even two. Some guy in the service of one of the inhabitants of the fashionable district brought a bunch of trinkets to "Honor and Company." They say the deal needed to be done quietly and urgently. But everything becomes known here. The employer of this intermediary was named Arneson, a guy from the East Coast, an eccentric.
Arneson. And the money was needed by someone "A." That's strange, as "A" ran out of pebbles over a month ago, as we recall from his telegram to Gygax. Did he decide to do the deal with the bank only now and/or wasn't very honest with Gygax?
Need to find out if we're too late, so let's ask Champagne if there have been any unusual boat movements, night departures in recent days. After all, if the kidnapped were taken somewhere to Europe, it's unlikely it happened unnoticed.
Champagne answered that five days ago, one boat arrived in the dead of night (our thought: that's suspicious, as legal operations usually happen during the day) and soon after set sail. Immediately, a whole lot of noise — many boats brought something from the swamps and loaded it on board. Looks like smuggling (our thought: swamps are good hideouts for smugglers and criminals, hard for authorities to reach). In any case, it was heading for the Old World, that's for sure!
If these are indeed the kidnapped, then it went like this. Five days ago, a boat from Europe arrived, ready to load the kidnapped. From the swamps, where the kidnapped were kept, many boats brought the kidnapped and loaded them aboard, who were taken somewhere to Europe. Though the question remains how they'll be taken to Europe. If this is all true, we're already too late. If we're too late, then the deal the guard spoke of has no relation to our case, as A would hardly have finished his business without the converted money, however, perhaps because of A, the bank's money became much less. But let's try to find leads at Arneson's house to find out where everyone was taken.
On the way to Arneson, a thief stole our bag containing documents, money, and banknotes. While trying to catch the thief, we were detained by the sheriff, who paid no attention to the thief. Naturally, we couldn't provide him with documents proving our identity and the validity of your presence in this state.
It's an interesting coincidence that upon arrival in New Orleans, we almost immediately found ourselves in an outlaw situation. It seems it was all staged. If so, the sheriff was well paid. Probably by that very Arneson, as A must have had a lot of money. How could A know about us and that we'd arrive here? Only from Dr. Gygax, who knows perfectly well that Dr. Watson was at Edelweiss. Possibly even from Moriarty he learned about Sherlock Holmes. Considering the risky operation at Edelweiss, it wasn't hard for Gygax to assume we'd also go to New Orleans personally. And what would the sheriff do if Watson hadn't taken the documents with him? Then the thief would have stolen them from wherever they were.
The sheriff, upon hearing Watson's name, says: "Watson? So you are the gentlemen Holmes and Watson?" If we're right that the sheriff set it all up, he's pretending to have just discovered this.
The sheriff said to go back to Europe tomorrow morning on the same ship that brought us here. No need to unload our luggage ashore, just take a short cruise and return on board. Nothing good awaits us in New Orleans. Moreover, without our documents, we're outlaws, and outlawed people often end up as alligator food in this state.
Now it's completely clear we were expected, since we were so quickly and easily deprived of the ability to do anything. But we'll find the wealthy quarters and the abode of this Arneson! Time is pressing.
During the conversation with the sheriff, from the top of the ship "Louisiana Nymph," resembling a brothel, some girl was watching us, whom the sheriff greeted with a gesture. What could that mean?
Notes:
The player didn't see any information about the location and name of the New Orleans bank. The location bank has no name.
Deduction in the videogame "Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened". Part 14. Light of the abyss
Now it's time to find out what's behind that wall. Perhaps the person Gygax is supposed to keep with him is there. After all, a hiding place behind the wall is a good place to hide a person with attention-attracting appearance. Or perhaps Gygax keeps him in his house or elsewhere in Switzerland. In any case, we need to find out what's behind that wall.
Let's ask one of the patients. But the patient nearest to this wall, Sigmund, doesn't react to us. Nor does the more distant patient, Jotunn [1]. We'll have to turn to patient Wolff. Need to find a way to convince him to cooperate with us. While trying to do this, we finally visited the classroom, where we found on the teacher's desk a note from a certain Professor G. Herzog to Gygax.
It turns out Gygax hinted to Herzog that he would take over the teacher's duties, as the professor himself had to leave. Herzog was also interested in the reason for Gygax's refusal to involve some residents in the classes. For us, the reason is obvious: these were the "useful" and "useless for the cause" patients. This indicates Herzog didn't know about the horrors happening here.
From the letter, it's clear that in the former laundry room was, or is, an anonymous resident suffering from amnesia. This patient had remarkable awakenings. In one of them, while the professor was explaining extremely elementary concepts concerning gravity, the patient answered his questions in writing on the board in his very mechanical manner, then began silently and without the professor being able to stop him to write a series of equations accompanied by diagrams. These equations express the relative motion of known celestial bodies of our Universe and their mutual gravitational influence. In the demonstration performed by this patient, there wasn't a single error.
Who is this mysterious anonymous resident? Perhaps there's a dossier on him, like on other patients? There is an untitled dossier. If this patient is still anonymous, he likely hasn't been here long. Among the numerous dossiers, only this one is fresh enough to belong to the man described in Professor G. Herzog's letter. It mentions that this man was found half-dead on a riverbank. He spent several months in the rescuers' village, then, due to fits of uncontrollable violence, was transferred a few years ago to another institution, which, due to insufficient progress, sent him here. He suffers from the consequences of skull fractures, suffers from amnesia and muteness, but seems capable of performing minor household tasks and shows remarkable aptitude for the subjects taught here. A peculiar personality.
This personality doesn't seem connected to our case. If this person is still here, we'll meet him when we take the lift in Gygax's office, but it's too early to leave now. In the classroom, there is a wooden structure resembling shackles for hands and feet [2]. Must be for punishing disobedient students. An overly harsh punishment. Let's hope Herzog didn't use it.
In this classroom, you can find three hidden notes in toys [3]. Patients hide messages among these puzzles to communicate secretly from their overseers. Clever for so-called mentally ill. One says "The wall opens into hell, I saw it…". And we already know what hell it's about. Another: "If you escape from the lesson, go up by the lift." Did someone escape to the lift via the laundry? Probably not through the doctor's office. Either the way up wasn't blocked then, or the patients didn't know about the blockage. The last note contains three short lines and one long one. This corresponds to the earlier found instruction for Hildegarde. So the patients also knew this code.
We managed to talk to Wolff. Need to find out what he knows about the patients who were here, Dr. Gygax's activities, and the secret place behind the wall. Gygax told Wolff he'd do the same to him as to the others who don't speak like Wolff and who scream very loudly when Gygax hurts them. It seems Gygax said this to Wolff to mock him, because the "useless" are already dead, and the "useful for the cause" have already been taken away, and Wolff is still fine. And now it's clear Gygax wasn't too concerned that screams were audible on this floor.
Judging by the fact Becker said nothing about screams, they didn't reach his floor. At the same time, Becker heard that patients spoke one language and repeated the same thing. Apparently, this torture room isn't audible to Becker, unlike the place where the foreigners were kept after experiments. To the left of Wolff, there is a locked door that is farthest from the torture room. Probably the "corrected" foreigners were kept there.
Wolff said that surely Gygax and the patients are hiding there, behind. But it's well hidden, and the doctor has a code. First, he makes noise with the fire near his office, then comes to make noise with the fire in front of Wolff, and then goes to make noise behind. Wolff is talking about nothing other than that wall. It seems these torches can be moved. Let's try to press the torch closest to Gygax's office. Then the one directly opposite Wolff. And finally the torch farthest from Wolff but close to that wall. And if that doesn't work, we'll slightly change the combination.
The wall is open! Here, on cushions near a hookah, sits some old man resembling an Indian. He has very strange eyes. He says something in a strange language: "ggggrrrrmmmblblblbmmmmbblblblblb". This man calls us a pathetic victim and asks who he is to us. Let's try "Light of the Abyss." We seem to be right. He replied that our lower mind may be enlightened before being given to the servants of agony.
His accomplices must already be enlightened. But obviously, one who is enlightened won't necessarily become an accomplice, otherwise the foreigners here wouldn't have needed their brains physically altered.
The "Light of the Abyss" didn't answer where all the people kidnapped in London are, and those who passed through this asylum. Instead, he said: "Soon He will hear our call, and when the Titans gather for the awakening of their King, you and your kind will flay yourselves, realizing the insult that your mere existence is. You will beg Him to carry you into the abyss, like the lowly spirits gone to implore His return. He awaited us in dreaming, tremble now, cockroach, in awaiting Him."
Someone awaits in dream the "Light of the Abyss" and the lowly spirits gone to implore his return. Obviously, the one awaiting is that very unawakened one. This unawakened one will soon hear the call. Then the Titans will gather for His awakening. These same lowly spirits beg the unawakened one to carry them into the abyss. After which, presumably, the rest of the people will flay themselves, realizing the insult that their mere existence is.
What role do the kidnapped play here, if they are mentioned here? Either they are Titans, or the lowly spirits gone to implore. These people aren't highly valued, so the latter is more likely. Then that song Gygax taught the foreigners — is the imploring for the return.
The "Light of the Abyss" said this too loudly. It seems orderlies will descend upon us now. They won't descend through Gygax's office, as it's presumably locked. So we'll run to the lift. Meanwhile, the "Light of the Abyss" continues to say something: "AQU ZOU GYU UYHU HUW EEHO TAM HUU OTUMYYTI GYU KYAGISOMMAU UCUNYHOMLI NYPABHOY IHOHUQ… AZATHOTH" [4]. And he emphasized the word AZATHOTH. Interesting, what could that mean? No time for this, time to run. We use the needed combination on the lift and find ourselves in the laundry. There is indeed some patient here. Let's try to address him.
We try to ask this man something. But he doesn't seem to hear us. Or rather, he is mute. No surprise, as he answered Herzog in writing. Stop! This is none other than Mm... Moriarty! Moriarty, Holmes's archenemy, whom he thought dead. Who would have thought this demon could survive such a fall at Reichenbach Falls! He seems a shadow of his former self. Without a doubt, he truly lost his memory and has no connection to this story.
Now we hear Gygax's voice from above: "Find this intruder as soon as possible, bunch of good-for-nothings, and bring him to the experimental hall, I'll take care of his... memory..." Obviously, after the cries of the "Light of the Abyss," Gygax realized we've made a mess. He checked our ward and realized it's indeed us. Now he wants to erase from our memory everything we've seen.
No way out, we'll have to distract Gygax and the orderlies with Moriarty. What could provoke Moriarty? Sherlock Holmes's name. But then he'll attack us. Good that Moriarty didn't recognize our appearance. Let's say Sherlock Holmes is upstairs, so he attacks Gygax, not us.
The plan worked! But now we've unearthed a hidden danger, like a bomb loaded with hatred and a spirit of revenge. But this doesn't threaten us now. Need to get out of here, let's go up. We're in the storage closet. We came up here by stairs, so it seems there was little point for patients to get from the laundry to the closet. And it's hard to imagine them risking going up by the lift from Gygax's office. Although if patients wanted to escape specifically from Gygax's classes, and not from Herzog's classes, whom we consider a good guy, then the patients could be sure the doctor wasn't there, though they couldn't be sure if the office was locked. Well, who knows what's on the minds of the insane.
Our Colby suit is here, so our ward was indeed checked. We put our suit back on and try to open the door leading to the reception. It's open. Watson and Bilger arrived just in time. They put us in a police cab. We'll arrive at the station and report everything.
Notes:
In the game, we don't interact with these two patients.
Deduction in the videogame "Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened". Part 13. Dr. Gygax's office
We go to Gygax. The key indeed opened the office. It seems there's nothing here that could frighten those women. Only the bloodstains in the corridor could have frightened them. Perhaps Gygax himself hasn't noticed them yet.
In the middle of the office stands a desk. The papers in all the open drawers of this desk are of no interest [1], but one of them is locked: the topmost and rightmost — the most convenient for a right-handed person. No surprise there's a locked drawer if the doctor has something to hide. Let's open it with a poker.
A handwritten letter to Gygax from an unknown person. Gygax convinced the letter's author that it's now too risky to bring the author's teacher to the author, as wigs, heavy cloaks, and generous tips will have little effect on the customs agents of the country where the author is located. As the day approaches, this teacher's behavior will become increasingly uncontrollable, and nothing should jeopardize the completion of the author's task and that of some group of people by drawing attention to this group. Therefore, the author asks Gygax to keep the Light, this teacher, near him. He will illuminate Gygax's path when the darkness returns to its place. Echoes from New Orleans make the author think that his people there are somewhat in need of resources. Therefore, the author asks Gygax to ensure they are sent such, so that their delivery of goods doesn't fall too far behind Gygax's. The author hopes to congratulate Gygax on the quality of his work when he receives the packages... until he (not the author) himself accepts Gygax into his ranks.
It seems Gygax is involved with this sect, meaning he's not just a supplier of substances. So, there is some Teacher of the author near Gygax, and this person has a notable appearance. In which country is the author? Great Britain also fits this description. So far, there's little information on this matter. What does the Light of this teacher mean? Is it related to the Light of the Abyss? The teacher who must illuminate Gygax's path when the darkness returns to its place aligns with the image of the chosen one mentioned in the poem at the altar. If the teacher is the Light of the Abyss, then that very "he" who must accept Gygax into his ranks — is that the Light of the Abyss or the "unawakened one"? And that approaching day and the author's task — is that the day of awakening and the awakening itself? And the author — is that Grimey Sommers? However it may be, Gygax and the people from New Orleans work for the letter's author.
Gygax must send resources to the people from New Orleans. These people, like Gygax, send goods to the letter's author. Only, what is it about? Substances, people, or stones? If the shipment of this "goods" from New Orleans depends on a money transfer from Europe, perhaps it won't happen for several more weeks. This possibly leaves us time to intervene!
On this handwritten letter, there is a greasy stain, undoubtedly from lamp oil. Such quality oil hasn't been used for a very long time. The person who wrote this letter must have old stocks. The letter is dated a few days earlier. We conclude that it was sent from Europe and passed only through countries with a decent postal system. Strong smell of iodine. This paper lay by the sea before being put in an envelope. The envelope itself, unfortunately, is missing. Doesn't seem like Sommers. However, proximity to the sea and having stocks of such quality oil hints at the author's proximity to a lighthouse. Interesting, we recently read about a lighthouse in the newspaper, where an Indian replaced the former owner. But that's unlikely to be related to our case, as it would be a big coincidence.
Incredible, Gygax has several letters [2] from various Swiss banks in his drawer, showing that the doctor has made several sales of precious stones in recent months for very large sums each time. He must have had a real treasure! We also see that many transfers were made out to the account holder in a London bank and a New Orleans bank. We must note all this.
Now it's clear what stones the orderlies converted. Judging by that note, the stones are already finished. Regarding the London cell of this organization, we've found out all we could. We're finding out about the Swiss one now. So, if we don't find out where the kidnapped are now, we'll have to go to New Orleans. The author of the handwritten letter is neither in Switzerland nor in New Orleans. Then he might very well be related to London. Or, this person is far from London and not in need of money.
A cable from New Orleans, dated a few weeks ago, states: "Complications. Major delay but goods will be ready on time. Need money because no more pebbles. A." It seems these are the very complications mentioned by the author of the handwritten letter. This A from New Orleans must have had stones, but now they're finished, so a share from Gygax is required.
And still, what is this goods? Gygax and A convert stones into money, so it's not about stones. Dangerous substances? Wouldn't the share Gygax sent be enough? Considering the huge quantity he had to buy from Schnitzer without particular need. Therefore, it must be about the foreigners Gygax gathered here. That is, in New Orleans, they very likely also gather foreigners. But would they all be taken from each collection point to one place? How can that be if each organizer has to smuggle the kidnapped through different customs? For example, the teacher of the handwritten letter's author would be impossible to get through customs. Perhaps all the kidnapped are to be gathered not on real territory?
This telegram from A, dated a few weeks ago, confirms that the shipment of this "goods" from New Orleans depends on a money transfer from Europe. Therefore, perhaps it won't happen for several more weeks. This possibly leaves us time to intervene!
On this table lies another unfolded letter from Wilhelm Bürger [3]. He thanks Gygax for using Bürger's bank. It seems it's from a Swiss bank. To this bank, Gygax sold precious stones for 9550 francs. The bank has already deducted its commission from this amount, and the remainder is available in Gygax's account. This is only one of the Swiss banks Gygax used.
In the corner of the room, on another table, lies "The Cult of the Ghouls" by a certain Count d'Erlette [4]. It's unknown whether dreams will be pleasant if you read this book before sleep. A strange skull [5] on the same table makes Gygax seem more dangerous to us than his patients, although we don't yet know what this Gygax is studying.
In Gygax's office, near the desk in the corner, there are boxes with patient files. Also in this office, there is a door leading to another locked room — the office storeroom. Luckily, it can be forced open with a crowbar. It's quite eerie here. On the table lies a dead bird from the aviary [6] with its brain dissected [7]. Consequently, the birds don't have only a decorative function. Gygax must be using them for experiments. Near it is some apparatus with wires that seem to connect to the birds.
In this room, there is a board. On it are still visible signs written phonetically. They must have forced people to memorize a text without understanding what they were saying. A pity the text was erased. This also explains the horrible experiments performed on the brains of the talking birds from the aviary. Indeed, who repeats better than a myna?
In the middle of the room stands a couch [8]. It's stained with blood. And under it, a lot of blood. It seems the doctor shackled patients to the machine standing nearby. This machine closely resembles the one near the bird, but the machine near the couch is much larger. One can sympathize with the patients the doctor shackled to this machine. But what is this machine? A hand-cranked dynamo [9]. Perhaps for "stimulating" his patients?
On the table with the bird lay Dr. Gygax's journal of experiments, which reveals what Blensmoth's book inspired him to do. From the journal, it's clear Gygax began by comparing the brain structure of talking birds and patients. Using a phonetic system, he tried to teach a patient of any nationality a certain song. He succeeded. Patients can repeat it even non-stop. Gygax concludes that patients are capable of diligently and obediently performing the function assigned to them, without rebelling and remaining alive as long as possible. At the same time, it's clear that Gygax had patients who are "useful" and "useless for the cause."
This song must be what Becker heard. Useful for what cause? Apparently, for the same cause for which the foreigners kidnapped in London are useful. It's very likely that in this cause, the foreigners must repeat the same song. Obviously, experiments were conducted on patients "useless for the cause," and the results were implemented on the "useful" ones. Where were the used "useless for the cause" patients disposed of? Probably in that very well.
Docile people would be easier to smuggle through customs. Who would transport these people if not Gygax himself? After all, he knows best how to control them. We know Gygax either had to leave or was leaving somewhere. Then the trip with the foreigners was Gygax's very trip. But if the foreigners are to sing a song, how will the foreigners kidnapped in London sing it? Apparently, in that case, torture and drugs will be applied.
Notes:
Actually, we don't open all drawers. There exists an unused phrase about papers of no value, but its intended original context is unknown.
We see Sherlock takes one letter, but we get a phrase about several letters.
This letter can be left untouched.
This book can be left untouched. It's a reference to H. P. Lovecraft's work.
This skull can be left untouched. On the concept art, it looks more eerie.
It can be left untouched. This bird doesn't look much like the birds from the aviary.
In the concept art, there are several birds. One has its brain dissected, and some have an apparatus connected to their heads.
Deduction in the videogame "Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened". Part 12. Becker's testimony
We exit the laboratory and try to open the corridor with two patients using Gygax's keys. The door to the laundry doesn't open, but through the grate, no passages down are visible, though there could be one in a blind spot for us. Then we go to the other corridor, but we must walk carefully there because there's an orderly. However, there is a grate here that leads to another grate. Through them, at some distance, a path downwards is visible. So, it's an airlock leading to the lower floors. To hell, as Maurizio said. But it's not time to test them yet — what if the orderly notices.
The patient closest to this airlock is named Becker. Perhaps he knows what's happening here, so we need to ask him. He refused to answer until we brought him pain-relieving medicine. But even after that, he refuses to answer. He wants us to make the orderlies leave. In any case, we need to do this to try to go further.
While we were trying to get rid of the orderlies, we met Gerda. It turns out that earlier at night, some bad gentleman came for her and forced her to go up to his room, up there, near the birds. And there he was very, very bad to Gerda. Gerda claims she cut off that gentleman's head, where a lady now lives.
Obviously, this is about Müller's room. So, she indeed lives there. Could Gygax not have known about this nightmare? Gygax wasn't the only villain in this institution. Both Maurizio's words about hell, and Gerda's horrors, and the fact that Becker's pain-suppressing medicine was taken away, indicate that patients are subjected to deplorable abuse.
After some time, we visited Fräulein Müller's room, but there was nothing there that proved a connection between her and any villainy. It seems she's not involved.
Now we managed to get rid of the orderly on the floor with the aviary. Judging by the note near the kitchen door, a fire occurred here earlier. Apparently, the orderly was monitoring to ensure the situation didn't repeat. The door without a sign is locked. The storage closet is also locked. The orderly downstairs has also left. We see that on this floor, there is a classroom and another locked door leading to the laundry.
Now we can ask Becker [1] if he has heard staff or other noteworthy residents mention suspicious activities here? Becker answered a lot.
Foreigners gradually arrived at the Black Edelweiss: one or two per month. Becker found it strange that they were never mixed with patients like him. Becker doesn't know where these foreigners were from. However, he heard them trying to speak among themselves, but they seemed not to understand each other, as if each spoke their own dialect. Moreover, they didn't look insane. Then they were all downstairs, and Becker barely heard them, but they seemed to all speak the same language and, strangely, kept repeating the same thing all the time. Some time ago, all these foreigners were taken out of their cells, and they were never seen or heard to return. The foreigners were there, downstairs, right before their departure.
If this is so, then in Switzerland, as in London, foreigners were kidnapped and then taken to some other place, as Sommers did. Where could people be taken outside of Switzerland? Is it the place where Sommers went? But that's not the strangest part. What exactly made the foreigners speak one language? To find out all this, it's necessary to go down.
The levers are well-oiled [2], so they are indeed actively used. But how to get through this passage? Maybe Becker knows [3]? No, he has never been there. But he knows that Dr. Gygax always asks an orderly to accompany him to lower the access levers.
Interesting, does the orderly accompany Gygax down or only opens the door? Alright, not the main question. Need to find a way to go down. And we find a way! While looking for it, we learned from a note in the kitchen how to raise the cargo lift located in the doctor's office. The note also says: "It will come to the first underground floor, ascent higher is blocked." So the lift comes from below. Consequently, Gygax's office is downstairs. No surprise, the doctor's office probably didn't have a corresponding sign.
But we didn't see any lift on the first underground floor. So it's either in an invisible area of the laundry or in the classroom. But then where was the blocked lift located higher up? Either in that corner room (corresponding to the laundry) or in the locked door near the kitchen (corresponding to the classroom).
Also, it's clear from that note that three female employees (Frau Hildegard Mayer, Birgit, and Gretchen) have access to Dr. Gygax's office via the lift. Also, there is an instruction allowing the cargo lift to be raised from the doctor's office [4]: three short rings, then one long. Either they are all his accomplices, or there's nothing terrible downstairs for prying eyes.
Time to go down. Besides Dr. Gygax's locked office, there is a suspicious place here: a locked room. The sign reads: "Kein Zutritt" ("No Entry"). Moreover, bloodstains lead from here to the nearest wall [5]. Consequently, there must be a passage leading to the other side of this wall. Perhaps someone on this floor can tell us about it. However, let's not rush to talk to the inhabitants here yet. Let's pick the lock of the forbidden room.
In the middle of the room is a well, in the corner — blood, a saw, and an axe, and on the floor — sawdust. It seems the sawdust on the floor was recently stirred. As if someone was looking for something. Interesting, what were they looking for? If they didn't find it, we'll find out what it is. There's a key with a big letter "G". It seems luck is smiling on us, so we'll be able to enter the office. But who forgot this key? Probably only Gygax himself can enter this forbidden room. Why didn't he find his key if it's indeed for the office? Perhaps there was no time to search, and he could get to the office via the lift. Or maybe there's another copy.
There's so much blood here that it's no wonder someone, going to the room behind the wall, left traces. The bloody saw, axe, and two logs remind one of a butcher's tools. This well must lead directly to the underground river. And what's in the well? Damn it, but we can make out a body there! This institution hides a secret far more sinister than simply trafficking dangerous products. So the axe and saw are needed to make it easier to throw people into the well, but why do that?
Notes:
You don't have to discuss this with Becker.
This comment can be skipped.
You don't have to ask Becker about this.
In the laundry, at the actual location, the lift strangely doesn't have any bell.
These stains and everything in the forbidden room except the key can be left untouched.
Deduction in the videogame "Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened". Part 11. Laboratory of the Black Edelweiss Institute
Excellent, Watson has boarded the carriage to Edelweiss; it's time for us to get on as well. We've arrived. And voices can be heard from behind the door. Among them is Watson's voice. Watson is already conversing with someone. We enter. Watson is speaking with some man. Without a doubt, it's Gygax, as Watson was supposed to meet precisely him. Now we need to approach the woman at the reception and introduce ourselves as Amos Colby so that Watson hears. After a while, we see that Gygax has ushered Watson out of Edelweiss. Now Watson will go after Bilger, so the countdown has begun. Let's hope he acts as we assume.
Gygax said we have an identity substitution and paranoia when we asked him to tell his gorillas to take a step back. Perhaps it was irony, or perhaps he wanted to invent a reason for the present guests or even for his colleague at the reception. Gygax's orderlies take us to an examination room, where we have the opportunity to replace the sleeping draught with water. Then they throw us into a ward.
If Gygax were a good guy, he probably wouldn't have done this to us. We don't yet know where Gygax's office is located, and that office is our main target. In any case, a thorough investigation of this place will help us find out if the kidnappers from London have accomplices here.
We make a dummy to make it seem like we're sleeping under the influence of the sleeping draught here. We pick the lock and exit. To our left is a door leading to some small corridor. Two wards are visible in it, and at the end of the corridor, a door that, judging by the sign, leads to the laundry. That door is locked, but we have no business behind it anyway. Near our ward, there is a staircase leading to the examination room, where someone is present. So we won't go there either.
We can only go along the corridor accessible to us. There is a laboratory here, and to the left of its door, there is a note: "I encourage all medical staff to read Dr. Blensmoth's book. When you finish, leave it in this room for your colleagues. Dr. Gygax" [1]. It seems Gygax considers this book very important. Judging by the fact that this note is by the laboratory, the book might currently be there. Let's study this book to find out what important thing it contains.
Anyway, the laboratory interests us, as it might be where those very goods are manufactured. So let's open the door slightly. There is an orderly in the depths of the laboratory, so movement in this room is only possible by crouching. But such an inspection won't give us anything, so we leave. A question arises: what is an orderly doing here? Why isn't he guarding the corridor? It all looks as if something is stored there that needs guarding above all else.
We move on. Patient Maurizio saw that Holmes is not an orderly. This patient says that if we don't free him, he will scream to have us detained. We'll have to help him. While helping Maurizio, we had to enter a worker's room, where some local guy is doing some work, but he wasn't there now. And we didn't find anything interesting for us in this room. Also, there is another corridor behind one of the doors. It seems there are patients there. It is closed.
When we helped Maurizio, he said that we shouldn't linger too much in this area, because if they see we've gotten out, they might send us down, to hell. Consequently, people here can be sent down and something extremely horrible is done. It's very bad that all doors on this floor are closed, as there's no way to go down in the accessible part. Consequently, it's behind one of the closed doors. We can try to pick them.
It seems Maurizio decided to run far from the lower part, so he went upstairs, where orderlies detained him, judging by Gygax's shouts. Now there are no signs that someone is in the examination room. Therefore, we can go up there and not rush with the lockpicking. There is a cabinet in the examination room. If there are staff clothes there, we can pretend to be one of the employees so that at least patients don't pay as much attention to us as Maurizio did. Let's pick the cabinet lock! Indeed, we can put on an orderly's gown. In this same room, we can find a bundle of keys. This is a great stroke of luck, but which doors are these keys for?
Let's examine the main floor. Here we can see several doors. One of them is locked but has no sign. No reason to break in yet. On another door is written "Fräulein Müller". So the place behind the door belongs to the woman from the reception, but why would she need her own office if she works at the reception? She must work here around the clock, and behind the door is not her office but her room. And all we can try to find out in this room is whether Müller is an accomplice of the kidnappers.
Also, we can see that one of the doors, near which there are two small windows, has an orderly standing by it. Behind this door, judging by the inscription, is the kitchen. Why is the orderly staring so intently through the windows into the kitchen? Apparently, there's something important there. Near the kitchen, there is another door without a sign, but we can't assess what's behind it because an orderly is near it. And another door near the unnamed door leads to some corner room between the reception and this corridor: a storage closet. In the main part, there is a garden, and in the middle of it — an aviary where all the birds are talking birds. There are several patients in this garden, but why are there no orderlies here? Apparently, because there are enough orderlies anyway: one is standing by the kitchen, and another was standing in the examination room. And it's unlikely they'd let overly violent patients out here. So if something happens, the orderlies will react quickly, in their opinion. Despite Bauer's questionable behavior — he took the bird feed — it doesn't seem to bother the orderlies much.
We found a way to put the orderly in the laboratory to sleep. Luckily, the tapestry in this laboratory was very informative. The local laboratory seems to have complete equipment, so it's no surprise that something useful for the kidnappers could be manufactured here. What is in the spot where the orderly was standing [2]? Let's see if Dr. Blensmoth's book "Mind, Its Power and Its Secrets" [3] is here now, as it's not in the rest of the laboratory. Ah, here it is! A promising title. No time for the whole book, but pages 41-43 seem to have been read the most [4].
It says here that true physical strength is born from absolute concentration of will and liberation from mental limitations (doubts, fear, social judgments). A child or a mythical hero like Hercules acts with incredible power precisely because of the complete absence of internal barriers. If an adult could similarly focus their mind and will entirely on a single action, ignoring everything else, they could exhibit superhuman abilities. In extreme cases, combining high intelligence with such "primitive" unlimited concentration would generate an irresistible destructive force.
Since Gygax recommends this book to everyone, perhaps it particularly inspires him. We have no time for the other pages. Now, please note that there is no proof that we are in that very Black Edelweiss. It's obvious to us that this is the place, but we need to have material evidence, not just a chain of reasoning.
The damaged label on the drug box and the intact label with the inscription: "Institute Black Edelweiss" are linked through a common logo. And this place with the intact label only has the name "Black Edelweiss." We haven't found such a logo here yet, but in the laboratory — a place where something is manufactured — there could be the same substances and the same boxes.
There are several boxes with vials marked exactly like the boxes in the sect's premises in London. This common marking shows that those boxes are indeed from here and thus prove the link between this sect and Dr. Gygax's clinic. Let's take one to have this evidence. But there are no drugs, nor the same boxes, nor the same labels here.
On the pedestal, there is a book with some note inside. This book must be an encrypted inventory book, the study of which would take too much time. Perhaps the orderly is guarding it. But at the bottom of each page, we see Dr. Gygax's signature. Consequently, he is definitely aware of the shipment of goods to England.
This paper inside the inventory book is a letter dated two weeks ago. It is sent by F. Schnitzer from the import-export company Grasshopper from Zurich. This letter is specifically for Gygax. From it, it's clear that Schnitzer imported more substances illegal in this country into Switzerland, to his warehouse, than Gygax subsequently ordered from him. Schnitzer warns Gygax that if he doesn't buy all the goods at least at half price, he won't hide from the authorities, if they ask, for whom all these goods are.
Apparently, these substances are the components of the drugs we found in the temple. It's unlikely that the finished drug was stored in that Zurich warehouse, because then it could have been sent directly to England. Or perhaps the finished drug is sent to Gygax because he can easily forward the drug due to an agreement with the academy in England? That could be, but then it's very strange that the villains chose a country where these goods are prohibited. Anyway, Gygax is involved in something very illegal.
It seems we've examined everything except the pockets of the sleeping orderly. There's a letter with Gygax's signature [5]. "Deliver the last stones and perform their conversion." Unclear. Stones? What stones? "Then buy the remaining goods, as Schnitzer demands." So Gygax did buy the goods after all. It seems Gygax wanted to fulfill Schnitzer's demands, and the goods themselves weren't very needed. But since the goods aren't here, perhaps Gygax sent the remaining quantity to Sommers. Probably why those metal crates aren't here — everything was sent to London.
In this same note: "I want all this settled before my departure." Has Gygax already returned or is he still planning to leave? If Gygax has returned, then it's lucky the orderly keeps such old notes. Or perhaps he received the note recently. But did Schnitzer wait that long? We won't get answers to our questions here.
Notes:
This note doesn't need to be touched.
All described evidence in the laboratory doesn't need to be touched.
This book can only be read in the remaster of this game. Moreover, in the remaster, to take this book and get the comment about the inventory book, you need to click on the same book. That's strange.
This is my attempt to explain why we took precisely these pages.
Deduction in the videogame "Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened". Part 10. Trip to Switzerland
Meanwhile, Watson found out that this institute was a psychiatric hospital, and Dr. Gygax was the director of this hospital [1]. No wonder they had all these opium and morphine drugs. In fact, it was hard to imagine a huge quantity of drugs being transferred to another country without the director's knowledge by an employee for personal purposes. Probably, he himself was an accomplice.
But what would we do at the institute? Our main task was to access the correspondence between Dirty Sommers and the employee (most likely Gygax) who supplied the drugs. Precisely access the correspondence, because if this institute employee was an accomplice, he wouldn't let us examine anything and wouldn't answer our questions truthfully. To access the correspondence, we needed to find this employee's office and read what letters he had received.
But how to get inside? Pretend to be a patient? Very implausible that a madman would intentionally go to a mental hospital. Usually, patients are placed there by relatives with documentation. And would it be so easy to deceive specialists? Most likely, orderlies would simply throw us out onto the street.
We needed Gygax himself to want to get us, that is, for him to have a motive to let us in. We should come to Gygax and directly tell him we were investigating a kidnapping case and that we knew about the connection between this establishment and the kidnappings. Then Gygax would have no choice but to seize us and place us in a ward, declaring us insane.
But this plan was too risky. Who knew what was on Gygax's mind. Perhaps he would keep us there forever, and we couldn't afford that, as we had to save the kidnapped. Our investigation likely wouldn't take too long, so we needed to be guaranteed release after a certain time. If we didn't manage our task in a few hours, we probably wouldn't manage it in two days. That is, we would have to find another way if nothing worked out in a few hours.
We knew Commissioner Bilger, so we could ask him to come to the Black Edelweiss and free us. However, he was unlikely to agree to such a risky adventure. Moreover, he had no reason to visit the Black Edelweiss. For him to have a reason, something guaranteed criminal had to happen at the Edelweiss. Therefore, we ourselves had to create this criminal event when we were there. But how would Bilger know something criminal was happening at the right time? Watson should report it! But, first, Watson would try to dissuade us from this plan. Second, how could Watson guarantee Bilger that what he knew was outright criminal, not just suspicions?
To address the first objection, we needed to make Watson think we weren't in any danger, so we had to pretend to be someone else. Therefore, we had to go separately from Watson. Therefore, we had to get off earlier than Watson in Lyon and then follow him.
Regarding the second objection. Watson had to see something criminal being committed, and since we (in disguise) would be committing the criminal act, Watson had to see us. That is, Watson had to meet with Gygax and at the same time watch us commit something criminal, yet we had to tell Gygax we intended to conduct an investigation, meaning we had to pretend to be a detective, but Watson had to consider our attempt criminal. Therefore, Watson had to suspect that the detective wanted not to help the investigation but to hinder it.
How to make Watson sure of this? We needed to pretend to be an obviously fake detective, that is, pretend to be Amos Colby. Watson knew Colby was dead, so with all certainty he would report to the police chief that someone wanted to infiltrate the Black Edelweiss with evil intentions. Someone wanted to infiltrate the Edelweiss, which we suspected of being connected to kidnappers of people. Possibly to destroy some evidence. Watson himself would desire for the fake Colby to be detained by the Edelweiss, as this would allow Watson time to reach Bilger.
It might seem that we could increase the chances of our plan's success by not deceiving but rather convincing Watson that this plan is a necessary course of action. But no, if we take Watson into our confidence, it would diminish the chances of success, as Watson would lose his naturalness [2].
Watson had to write a letter saying he wanted to learn more about treatment methods in Switzerland to compare them with those applied in Britain. We had to tell Watson that precisely as a doctor he would conduct his investigation at the "Black Edelweiss." Our presence beside him would arouse too much suspicion. And we could tell Watson all this already on the train, so it would be too late for Watson to refuse.
Watson had to tell Gygax that he had happened, through chance circumstances, to encounter someone who must have been one of the former patients of the Black Edelweiss. This person's actions seemed to show he suffered from some disorders, and so on, and so on. If Watson witnessed any strange event, however insignificant its importance seemed, he should immediately descend to the valley and ask for help from Commissioner Bilger. We had to warn Bilger of Watson's presence in his canton.
Notes:
This wasn't stated, but I presume Watson should have found this out.
It is said in the canon that among Watson's many talents dissimulation finds no place.
Deduction in the videogame "Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened". Part 9. Mycroft's response
We returned to Baker Street. Mycroft wrote that the Northwood agency conducted investigations of all kinds, specialized in international searches for people or missing works of art, and that their reputation and results were excellent. Mycroft confirmed that Amos Colby, dispatched to Europe by the agency, matched the description, but the assignment, unfortunately, was still confidential.
So, the man who was under that warehouse was indeed the owner of the passport we found, with the added drawing made in blood. His thumb was cut. He definitely made that drawing during his captivity. But what had he come to search for?
In any case, if this detective agency had such a good reputation, its members were excellent professionals. Therefore, this man's last gestures were aimed at giving instructions to whoever would take over. This man had his index finger covered in dust, and on the floor we found a drawing traced in the dust: a plus sign in a rectangle.
What could a "plus sign in a rectangle" mean? Only Switzerland. So, Amos Colby wanted to point out to us that something important for us was happening in Switzerland. Earlier we had found that the institute collaborating with the kidnappers was located either in Switzerland or Austria-Hungary. So now there was no doubt this institute was in Switzerland.
Watson should try to find out if an institute called "Black Edelweiss" existed somewhere in Switzerland. Why did Colby point to it? Did he discover the boxes came from there? Or understood their role was more important? One way or another, we had an opportunity to find accomplices there and perhaps other answers.
It was unlikely that was where the people were taken, as customs wouldn't have let them through, but there was nothing more to find out in London at the moment. These people, whoever they were, had a small lead on us; we couldn't let them increase it. We had to leave, and we could only leave for the Black Edelweiss. As soon as Watson found out more about this institute, he should reserve us two seats to the continent. And we would deal with reporting Mr. Colby's death, as the matter required delicacy and caution. Couldn't entrust this to Watson. What if he said more than necessary, causing the agency to intervene and our plans to be disrupted?
What did Amos Colby want to say with the drawn "devil" resembling the statue found in the temple? Amos Colby drew it in the warehouse, so he shouldn't have seen this statue before making the drawing. Perhaps he saw this statuette? But why was it in the warehouse and why was it taken down? It seemed he had seen this statue before.
Then what did he want to say with this demon? Why did he draw it on the passport if he had the leaflet from the Northwood agency? Given that we wouldn't learn any new entities now, we could try to reconstruct events using imagination. Keep in mind that Colby most likely didn't know what was happening in the warehouse, nor what was under the warehouse, nor what would happen to him later. Suppose Colby came to the warehouse after Sommers' men arrived but before Sommers himself came. Then what do we get?
He enters the warehouse, and the men loading the kidnapped into crates see him. They realize he's either an outsider or one of Sommers' associates. They start interrogating him to decide what to do with him, because if he's an outsider, they can't let him go, but they can't do anything without Sommers' instructions (I think they reasoned this way because they left Colby alive for some time). They start interrogating Colby. He realizes they will either kill him or kidnap him. He can't oppose several strong men, so during the interrogation he starts stalling to leave a sign. He takes out his passport precisely because a passport is proof that he, Amos Colby, was here. But why does he draw the "devil"? Usually, a victim wants to write the killers' names, but it seems he either didn't know them or wouldn't have had time to write. We know Colby's killers are connected to the "devil". Therefore, for us, this drawing on his passport says: "I was killed by people connected to this devil." If Colby wanted to say who would kill him, then it turns out he indeed knew about the connection between this "devil" and the killers.
Sommers' crew realizes Colby doesn't belong here. They can't leave him here or kill him here, as such sounds could attract outsiders, so they take him to the cellar. Therefore, a struggle begins, resulting in a blow against a crate. Or perhaps Colby was knocked unconscious by that blow. For, as I said, Colby could hardly hope to resist. They could kill him, but they could also tie him up (we know he was eventually tied). So they decide to tie him up to pass responsibility for Colby's life to their boss. This explains why Colby was tied up, not killed immediately.
Before going further, please note that throughout our investigation at the port, nowhere in any context did the Indian appear. This was strange, as he was quite notable. At the same time, frequent appearances of an Indian in his traditional clothes could attract attention, which wasn't good for the criminals. So we can assume he wasn't here and only helped Sommers when needed.
Therefore, this time too, Sommers could have returned to the warehouse alone. Sommers' hired men helped him move Baowpa from the cart into a crate, then reported Colby to him. So Sommers went down to the cellar and decided to kill Colby. Naturally, Colby resisted, as the chances of opposing Sommers alone were much greater than opposing the whole rabble. After the killing and mutilation of the body, Sommers stuffed eels into him and left. After which Sommers and his crew took the kidnapped away by boat.
One detail doesn't add up. How did Sommers go down to the cellar without a lantern (according to our earlier version, Sommers' accomplices put the lantern in a crate)? Sommers knew the cellars well, so he could navigate without a lantern. Yes, but from the workers' point of view, it would have been more logical to leave the lantern in the cellar or, at the very least, not put it in a crate if they expected Sommers to go down.
Therefore, the lantern ended up in the crate after Sommers killed Colby. If the lantern ended up in an empty crate (which, according to our assumption, became empty precisely because it wasn't known it didn't need to be emptied), then it should have been obvious that this crate was empty. More precisely, it should have been simply open, creating the desire to put something inside, not on the crate. But if this empty crate was open, why didn't Sommers put Baowpa there? Apparently, Baowpa was placed in crates earlier than the situation with the accidental emptying of an extra crate occurred. That is, Sommers himself returned before all the kidnapped from the cellar were placed.
We did this reconstruction because we imagined Colby arrived before Sommers. If we imagine Sommers had already returned when Colby came, there would be more unclear points. Also, we could assume Colby didn't draw the "devil" in the passport of his own free will, but it's hard to think of a reason for such actions by the workers or even Sommers.
Although Mycroft said Colby's assignment was confidential, I think we can stop at the assumption that he was searching for the kidnapped people. Based on this assumption, we concluded that similar disappearances were happening somewhere in America. That is, Sommers had accomplices in America, as in Switzerland. So this was a rather large organization.
Mycroft attached an approximate, incomplete, and enigmatic translation of the symbols we discovered. Judging by the fact that it wasn't Mycroft's handwriting, some specialist acquaintance of his might have worked on this translation.
“May your larvae traverse the ether…
…the stars like maggots in fruit.
…shall await your awakening to honor you.
Light of the abyss! He is the one you chose to show us the beauty of the deep darkness.
Light of the abyss! He is the one who bears your mark on his body, he has become one of yours.
Light of the abyss! At his call, those from the depths answer, and we shall answer in your name.
Light of the abyss! His body is the seaweed, his body is the octopus, his voice is your voice.
May the dream of the return of the great… be fulfilled.”
Several conclusions could be drawn from the poem. There exists someone unawakened, whose awakening the authors of the poem await, and someone to whom the authors of this poem appeal. This unawakened one chose a certain Light of the Abyss, who shows the beauty of the deep darkness to the poem's authors. The Light of the Abyss bears the seal of the unawakened on his body. Judging by the line "his voice is your voice," the Light of the Abyss is a representative of the unawakened. The authors of the poem want the dream of the return of the great ones to be fulfilled.
Considering this poem is on the stelae near the altar, it must be recited by people there. Since they recite it near the statue, they are surely addressing the statue in the poem, meaning this statue is the unawakened one. This statue is the one they want to summon. So no wonder Colby, if he knew about the unawakened, decided to draw it, as the villains desire the awakening of the unawakened. There was no doubt we were dealing with a murderous sect worshiping this "devil". Therefore, it wouldn't hurt us to have an image of this unawakened with us if we had to ask someone about it. Alas, we didn't know its name. So we would have to describe it, but better than any description would be to show this unawakened one. We could quite do this, as we had the mini-statue.
We couldn't recall anything in old criminal chronicles resembling the case troubling us. So there was no point wasting time on it.
Deduction in the videogame "Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened". Part 8. Origin of illegal goods
We sent the symbols we copied from the temple stelae to Mycroft and asked him to learn more about the Northwood agency. At Baker Street, we needed to find out what the boxes we found in that strange temple contained. The box contained powder. Let's look at it under the microscope. It was white powder with some grains. We needed to analyze some of these grains, which reminded us of something, so we extracted them. They resembled mustard seeds, probably an exotic variety. Such grains we found in the opium pellet in Baowpa's hut.
After extracting the grains, only very fine white powder remained. The grains suggested this powder was the very narcotic used to intoxicate Baowpa. Let's try to analyze the powder by combustion [1], to determine by smell if it was indeed that. And yes, this smell indicated it was undoubtedly derivatives of opium and morphine. The same components as in the pellet found at Stenwick's.
One thing puzzled us. The kidnapped people were kept in this temple for several days, meaning a large quantity of this substance was used to keep them compliant. But no English apothecary could supply such a quantity—too risky. This aligned with our earlier conclusion that the powder wasn't from England.
But we shouldn't even think about import, because customs would never let such a quantity of narcotics through. We could only wait for Mycroft's replies, but we couldn't just sit idle. We explained the problem to Watson. It turned out Watson, as a doctor, had to resort to certain extremely strong medicinal products. These products, imported from the continent, enjoyed special status with customs controllers, who didn't open parcels containing them and cared little about the quantities imported. Parcels and boxes were recognizable by a label certified by medical academies of the countries of origin, with which our own academy had an agreement. Without being able to specify the country, Watson would swear that this piece of label on the side of the box was one of them.
So, this black edelweiss on the piece of label was the logo of a foreign academy with which one of the English academies had an agreement. The edelweiss indicated the likely country of the academy could be either Switzerland or Austria-Hungary. Then the mountains also visible on the logo were the Alps. What connected Sommers and this academy? Well, it was too early to think about that, as we didn't even know which academy it was. But perhaps the customs officer remembered something about this. We couldn't waste a minute; we returned to the Wharf to question the customs officer.
We asked the barman where we could find the customs officer here. The barman said at this hour Beddoes should be at the pier, near a boat. There was a small booth there with "CUSTMOS" written on it, and near one corner was written "HARBOUR MASTER". Therefore, this was Beddoes' corner, but there was only a note from a certain Philo to a certain O'Reilly, written on WHARF 13, LONDON letterhead. Philo wrote that some kid came to tell him that a certain Sondra had started giving birth and was asking for Philo. He wrote that the ship was lit up and that O'Reilly would easily find the logs nearby. Apparently, the customs officer's name was Philo Beddoes. The note made it clear he was very busy now, so we would try to find these logs ourselves. We hoped these registers contained what we were looking for. They must be somewhere here.
Near the note was a book with "REGISTERS 1894 September 7th. Step traces at the warehouse 6." written on it. There was nothing else here, so these must be the registers. Among them was one concerning special imports, but it didn't say anything specific. It only mentioned that all these goods were stored in warehouse 16. Better to leave these registers here and go to warehouse 16, as that's where the iron boxes we found under warehouse 12 were stored. Perhaps we would discover some clues in warehouse 16?
This warehouse belonged to the fresh fish factory where Sommers likely worked, so it was no surprise the boxes were stored here, that is, the same place Sommers was supposed to deliver fish. It seemed Sommers didn't want anything stored directly in warehouse 12, so he took them from here.
However hard we tried, we had no chance of opening the door to warehouse 12. While trying to open the door, Watson noticed his shoes were full of tar. Let's examine the tar with a magnifying glass. In the tar, we saw traces [2] found in Mr. Stenwick's garden, and those in front of warehouse No. 16 were identical: size 40, hobnailed soles, and a nail missing from the right shoe. Sommers had been here. Also in front of the warehouse were shoe traces of two other people [3]. Both had traces with hobnailed soles. One size 41, in good condition, it seemed. The other size 40 (all nails in place) and seemed heavier than the others. This man must have been particularly sturdy. Possibly among them was the man with the red cap, or these were the very people who helped load the crates with the kidnapped, because these traces couldn't have appeared long ago.
So, should we have examined the warehouse area better this morning [4]? How could we have known about these traces?! Perhaps if we had assumed the kidnapper, who possibly worked at this factory, must also work at this warehouse, so we should first examine this warehouse, and during examination, we would have discovered the traces, as we did now. Well, nothing could be done now, but at least we corrected it now. We only had to follow these traces along the wharf and see where they led.
They led to the warehouse under the lighthouse. Lucky it was open [5]. Apparently, they forgot to close it. No wonder, there was nothing here except a label, so Sommers didn't bother locking it.
So, this was the same label we saw on the metal box, but this one was less damaged. It read "Institute [6] Black Edelweiss 1896 16.XI". It depicted two Rods of Asclepius, so it was indeed a medical institute. What was supposed to happen on 16 November 1896? Probably the date after which the contents of the box to which the label belonged were best not used at all. For now, let's say these illicit products originated from the Black Edelweiss Medical Institute.
Judging by the traces and the label found here, not long ago Sommers dragged all these boxes here. Why here, if he could have taken them to warehouse 12, and where are they all now, closer to the river? Obviously, because it was easier to load them onto a boat from here. So, he needed these boxes at the place where the kidnapped were taken. Or even on the journey. This meant the kidnapped were planned to be kept alive for some time in the new place, so we had time to intervene. Why were they brought here and not directly to the boat? Apparently, Sommers decided it was better to take the boxes closer to the boat before going to kidnap Baowpa, so loading the boat would be faster (so they wouldn't have to spend much time moving the boxes).
Notes:
In the game, we will burn the mustard seeds, not the powder.
These traces can be left unstudied: neither clicking on the missing nail nor measuring the traces.
I took this information from an unused note. In the game itself, there were only Sommers' traces.
Strangely, when we were first at this location, there really were no traces. However, they should have been.
Actually, in the game, the key was lying near warehouse 16, in the tar. Why? In that case, it went like this. Sommers moved the boxes from warehouse 16 to the warehouse by the river. Then Sommers closed the warehouse by the river. After some time, he opened the warehouse by the river. He moved the boxes onto the boat. He closed the warehouse. And then lost the key near warehouse 16. This is too implausible. More plausible is that Sommers lost the key when closing warehouse 16. If so, then he didn't close the warehouse by the river when his goods were there. That would be strange from Sommers' point of view, as finding the key wouldn't have been difficult for him (from his point of view, it would have been logical to check the places he had been since opening the door to the warehouse by the river), and leaving opium unattended would have been risky. So that's also implausible. Therefore, I decided to make it so that Sommers left the warehouse door unlocked when nothing was stored there anymore.
Actually, "Institute Black Edelweiss" was written in the text version of the document in the game files. On the image in the game itself, it says "Black Edelweiss".
Deduction in the videogame "Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened". Part 7. A strange temple
We had to examine this secret room as thoroughly as possible to find all clues. We found a box full of pelican-shaped pendants [1]. They were the same as the one found at the Nepalese house. Indeed, these trinkets were beautiful bait. So the villains had stocked up on a large quantity.
Next, we saw a table with test tubes, flasks, burners. It seemed like a laboratory. Metal boxes [2], one of them still had a label in the shape of a flower, an edelweiss, and black! The only label, and even that not fully preserved. We'll take this very box to Baker Street for analysis of its contents.
One of the flasks was overturned, and powder had spilled from it. Both Holmes and Watson were certain it was opium. Watson believed we were on the trail of drug traffickers. But we could be sure this wasn't their primary task. However, we didn't necessarily have to speak of drug trafficking yet, as we already knew the reason why opium was used.
A strange smell from the bowls on the table indicated they must contain a flammable mixture [3]. Apparently, results of experiments with heating narcotics. Judging by the smell from the water jug, it contained a powerful narcotic [4].
How were all these people, if there were many, kept here, made compliant, obedient? Obviously: with opium and even morphine. Morphine was surely used not only for kidnapping Baowpa? How were they forced to take opium? Narcotics could be mixed into their food, water, and could even be heated in these very food bowls. This explained the need for the large pile of coal in the box by the entrance, as it could be used to heat the bowls. I saw no other reason to keep coal here. Why didn't this smell intoxicate the villains? Either they had masks, or they went far enough away from the bowls, or they put just enough opium in the bowls to intoxicate one person but less than needed to fill the whole room with the smell. One way or another, they could have found a way.
Near one of the columns, close to the altar, we found a strange drawing in the dust: a rectangle with a cross inside. It must have been drawn with a finger. Who drew it and what could it mean?
Near the drawing were a shirt, trousers, and glasses. The left sleeve of this suit was slightly stained with blood. Why was there blood on it? Ah, the lining of this pocket was torn; deep inside, there seemed to be some papers. Let's retrieve them [5]! It was a leaflet from the Northwood agency, which conducts investigations of all kinds and promises: "For you, we will travel around the world." 154 Pennsylvania Lane, Boston, Massachusetts.
From Boston, Massachusetts, was Amos Colby, whose passport we found at the warehouse entrance. Probably, these were his clothes. Probably, this man was one of the detectives searching the world. Apparently, kidnappings were also happening in his country, which led him here. In that case, it was very possible that wherever else kidnappings were occurring, here was the center of all events. Why was his left sleeve stained with blood? Apparently, we were right that the passport owner pricked himself for the drawing. Then this man was right-handed.
We approached the altar. On it was some mutilated dead man. Behind the altar was some revolting statue. Near the altar lay a broken statuette. It was a mini-copy of the large statue. It was unlikely the villains wanted to break this statue. And how could they do it accidentally? Apparently, it wasn't part of their plans. So this was the result of a struggle. But a struggle with whom? With the man on the altar, near whom the mini-statue lay. If there was a struggle here, then without a doubt, this man fought back before meeting such a sad fate. The corpse was mutilated right on the altar. He died from traumatic shock and/or blood loss. Why wasn't the statuette cleaned up? Either the villains didn't care, or this struggle and murder happened right before Sommers took away (in great haste, as we deduced) the kidnapped, meaning there was no time to tidy up.
This man had a small wound on the thumb of his left hand. That is, the man on the altar drew the strange bloody "devil" on the torn passport page. Therefore, this man on the altar was Amos Colby. He, for some reason, pricked his finger at the entrance and drew the "devil" resembling the large statue. Then he was brought to the column and stripped of his clothes. After which he was placed on the altar, but while placing him on the altar, he desperately resisted. That's the basic picture so far. Why were his clothes removed? Apparently to mutilate him.
This man's right index finger was covered in dust. Therefore, Amos Colby drew that drawing. Therefore, for some time he sat by the column, near where he was stripped. Since the clothes were removed to mutilate the body, they were likely removed before leading him to the altar. Although nothing prevented them from removing the clothes before Colby drew the symbol. But why did he draw it?
Why could he have resisted if the villains could use opium? Naturally, the villains would want to avoid a struggle. Apparently, Colby caught them by surprise, so the villains had to deal with this man very quickly, so there wasn't enough time for intoxication.
Why was Colby left sitting on the floor for some time and able to draw something? He was left unattended for a while. The villains wanted to decide what to do with him, and then decided he should be killed on the altar. Why did Colby sit for a while and not try to escape? Marks on his neck indicated this man must have been tied with a rope shortly before death. That's why he couldn't escape. Did he draw on someone's orders or on his own initiative? If on his own, then the villains were distracted for a while. But by what? If on their orders, then for what? What could this symbol on the floor give them? Many symbols could be seen in this temple, but none resembled a plus in a rectangle. If Colby drew it on his own initiative, then why and what did this symbol mean?
To the left and right of the altar were the same engravings on the pedestals. This "message" on them was engraved in a language completely unfamiliar to Sherlock. We needed to copy this message as soon as possible to send to Mycroft, so he could try to decipher these symbols.
Judging by where the mini-statue and clothes lay and the degree of decomposition of the corpse, Colby's death occurred not long ago [6]. Most likely, it happened last night, that is, at the time when the kidnapped were either starting to be moved, or were being moved, or had already been moved but not taken from the warehouse. Clearly not before or after, otherwise there would have been no one to kill Colby. Unless there were some guards left here. Maybe after, if there were guards here for unknown reasons, but why aren't they still here then? No, Colby definitely arrived in the midst of events.
Where were the kidnapped taken then? They couldn't have been dragged far, so they were likely taken by vehicle. And where were they taken? Taking a bunch of sail crates would have been a great risk. Moreover, why not kidnap people directly to the place they could be taken by cart? Unless that place only became available recently. But what made it better than the place where they were held? Perhaps they were taken to a ship. Sommers surely could have a ship for such purposes. If the place where the kidnapped were taken was only accessible by ship, then it's clear why they weren't taken there immediately but first gathered here. And from this ship, they would be taken together to some other place. We didn't know what place this was. But whatever place it was, it lacked a customs service or it was known for its weakness.
Obviously, to move the crates onto a cart and from the cart onto a ship, labor was needed. Therefore, the labor hired by Sommers remained at the warehouse until he returned with Baowpa. The question remains: did Sommers return before or after all the kidnapped were loaded? But this isn't a very essential question.
Wait, something's happening! Worms were emerging from Colby's abdomen. And another came out through the mouth, causing the head to fall off. Upon closer inspection, it was clear these weren't worms but fish—eels. No wonder they easily got out of the abdomen, as the body was maximally mutilated and cut, and the head was barely attached. Judging by the fact that there was nothing inside the abdomen, its contents had been eaten by these eels. Why were eels stuffed into him? Probably, this related to some ritual. But why did the eels decide to exit the body only now? It could have been accidental, or perhaps our light and noise disturbed them. There was nothing more to do here except report everything to the police.
Notes:
These pendants can be ignored.
In the game, there is only one such box for some reason.
I took this from an unused phrase.
This jug can be left unpressed.
For unknown reasons, after this action, the leaflet near the clothes disappears, as if Sherlock found the leaflet on the floor, not in the clothes.
In the game, nothing is said about the degree of decomposition of the corpse.
Deduction in the videogame "Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened". Part 6. Warehouse 12
We headed to warehouse 12. It seemed no one was here. It seemed the kidnapped were elsewhere. But even if the kidnapped weren't here, there could be other clues here indicating where the kidnapped were. At the very least, this was the first place of interest to us for clues.
The warehouse window was closed, and through it, we could see the entrance door was blocked by a wooden beam. There was no time to obtain an official warrant [1]. We had already spent a lot of time finding this place! So we had no choice but to break down the door.
In the warehouse, we saw a large pile of sails [2] and 6 crates of the same size. Judging by the label, these crates were 2m by 1m by 1m. Could our people be inside these crates? No, upon opening one crate, we saw it was empty, with only a lantern inside. Let's open another crate. It contained canvas [3]. It seemed these crates originally contained the canvas scattered all over the warehouse.
Such handling of the canvas was simply awful. Therefore, the canvas wasn't of great importance to the warehouse owner, but the empty crates were. Four crates remained: 2 on the floor and 2 on top of these two. Even if they were emptied, there wouldn't be that much canvas left from 5 crates. Therefore, there were originally many more crates. Therefore, these crates were taken somewhere.
Given that we had at least one crate not emptied and another emptied, the question was whether these 4 were emptied? If we answered this, we would save ourselves the trouble of opening them. Judging by the fact that at least one crate was full of sails, the sails were taken out of the crates as needed. But if so, why was the crate with the lantern emptied? To place the lantern inside. Why put a lantern there? A mystery for now.
Perhaps people were loaded into these crates, so they weren't here. No, it was hard to imagine people being hidden in this place for several days. Someone would have discovered it sooner or later.
Near the crates, we found a torn page from an American passport. One Amos Colby, 42 years old [4], native of Boston, Massachusetts. He arrived in Britain two weeks ago (15 days ago) [5]. What was he doing here? The drawing on the back of the page resembled some kind of devil. And it was done in blood!
Next to the passport was a hat pin [6]. Its tip was bloodied. It seemed the person who pricked themselves with this pin did so to draw this "devil" on the passport page. And they did it here. The rest of the passport [7] lay near the crates, but it contained nothing valuable for us.
There was a huge crate in the warehouse. And on the floor were traces [8] that seemed to show frequent movement between the place where the sails lay and this huge crate. Therefore, something was dragged many times from this huge crate to the sails. Or vice versa. That is, either something from the huge crate was dragged into the sail crates, or the crates were dragged into this huge crate. If the crates were used for the kidnapped people, then likely the former.
On the top crate, the one closest to the huge crate, there was a lot of blood [9]. Therefore, someone had a huge wound on their leg. Therefore, there had been a struggle. But between whom and whom?
Now we had to open the huge crate. We opened it and heard a strange growling from within [10]. Something was happening! This wasn't a crate but an entrance to a cellar. This place seemed to breathe… Even to watch us… We must be quiet. What was that?
Now it was clear what the lantern was for: to walk in this dark cellar. But why empty a crate just for one lantern?
We found ourselves before a door. To the left and right of the door were three stones each that could be pressed. Obviously, specific stones needed to be pressed. On the left wall were drawn three symbols, and on the right wall three symbols, and these were the same symbols as on the stones. In the middle of the room was some kind of recess. What could be inserted here? The lantern was the only thing that came to mind.
At first glance, these symbols resembled those we saw in the pub. So now there was no doubt those notches were left by Sommers. Upon closer examination, we understood that the symbols in the pub were more complete versions of the symbols from the cellar. Apparently, we had to press these four specific symbols. And even in the same order we saw them at Sommers' table.
Why was the recess needed? If we inserted the lantern, it began to shine, and in the middle of its beam appeared another symbol. If we tried to align this symbol with each of the symbols on the wall, we would find that 4 of them formed those very complete versions of the symbols from the pub. That is, the lantern was supposed to help not only proceed down the corridor but also enter the door. And yes, the door did indeed open if we simply pressed those four symbols.
Why did Sommers carve them? Sommers was looking for a worker in the pub. So he needed the worker to know these symbols, meaning Sommers wanted the worker to be able to enter the cellar. Why couldn't Sommers open the door for the worker himself? Because the worker was supposed to come here alone. Was Sommers supposed to be inside or outside when the worker arrived? Apparently outside, because otherwise Sommers could still meet his new colleague. But why did Sommers have to be outside? Because Sommers was busy kidnapping Baowpa. For the same reason, the Indian couldn't escort the worker. And why couldn't the third man with the red cap do it? Apparently, he was also busy with some kidnapping or something else entirely. So, the worker was supposed to work or start working without Sommers. But what was he supposed to do?
Most likely, the lantern now in our hands was used by that very person. For there was no guarantee he would have a suitable lantern to solve the puzzle. And Sommers had to guarantee entry. And since this lantern didn't belong to the worker, it had to be left here.
We entered the room. A cursory examination showed: beds, bowls, and jugs [11]. These items indicated that people had been kept here, but who else could have been kept here if not the kidnapped? So we were right that these crates were intended for carrying people away. And alive people at that, otherwise the villains would have killed them immediately, not given them food. Apparently, this worker wasn't alone, for it was hard to imagine someone carrying a bunch of people alone. Most likely, several people worked here. Considering when Brannoch was kidnapped, the kidnapped people were kept here for several days. Judging by the number of beds, there were many. Obviously, Sommers had a lot of money if he managed to buy the silence of his new helpers.
Now about the lantern. Obviously, when these people were dragged, the lantern wasn't used. Moreover, there were many people and only one lantern. How did they manage then? They lit or had torches lit on the columns. But how did they move through the dark corridor then? We had this layout: warehouse, corridor in the cellar, room with columns. The first and third locations were lit. Therefore, something needed to be placed in the corridor, perhaps in the center. Possibly on that very pedestal for solving the puzzle. After finishing all the work, the lantern was returned to the crate.
Why empty a crate for the lantern when it could be placed anywhere? We had already concluded that crates were emptied as needed. Now let's imagine how this worked. Obviously, first a crate was emptied, then they went down to the cellar for a victim, then carried them up, into the crate, then emptied the next crate. If there were four people here, it could very well be that when one pair of people opened a crate and then went down, they discovered the last person had been moved by another pair. So the crate ended up empty and unused. When they realized there was no one else to move, they realized they no longer needed the lantern and needed to close the lid, so they simply put the lantern inside and closed the lid. On the other hand, this didn't even require four people. Even two people might not have immediately realized they had moved all the people.
However, later Sommers and the Indian should have returned with Baowpa. Why didn't they put him in this empty crate? Sommers couldn't know this crate was empty, so he opened and emptied another crate, into which they placed Baowpa.
The fact that people were kept here very recently and now taken away indicated they were moved to another place. But the fact that Sommers ordered everyone to be moved while he himself kidnapped Baowpa suggested this move had to happen in great haste.
Notes:
In the story "The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter", it was more than an hour before we could get Inspector Gregson and comply with the legal formalities which would enable us to enter the house where the murder could have happened.
Actually, in the game itself, the pile doesn't seem that big.
It can be left unopened.
In the game, Sherlock will say Colby is 36 years old. This is very strange, as the current date is 06.09.1894, and the passport says date of birth is 20.04.1852.
In the game, Sherlock will say Colby arrived three weeks ago. This is very strange, as the current date is 06.09.1894, and the passport says date of entry is 22.08.1894.
It can be left untouched.
No, we didn't find the rest of the passport in the game. But it must be somewhere: either here or in Colby's clothes.
These traces can be ignored.
This blood can be ignored.
This is a hidden cut-scene we see if we take the passport after the pin or the pin after the passport, when the large crate (cellar) is already open.
Bowls and jugs are only in the concept art, not in the game.
Deduction in the videogame "Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened". Part 5. Wharf no.13
The coachman stopped before the gates [1]. Beyond them lay Wharf No. 13. We entered and saw a pub before us, but what were we to do now? We needed to find a man working on one of the ships from this wharf. This vessel transports sea fish and has a coal-fired boiler. He is a very sturdy man of average height and wears hobnailed boots. Also, we are interested in any signs of rope, sea bass, opium, or anything Indian. We are looking for the people who are kidnapping foreigners.
We had to ask someone about this man. Either from official representatives or unofficial ones. Knowing Holmes' experience [2], it was better for us to head to a pub. According to the map, the pub before us was the only pub on this wharf. Pubs are popular places for such workers, so we could safely inquire about him from the barman.
The barman said he had many visitors matching our description, but we could try to learn more from old man Harper. Let's go! Along the way, we could find "7360. FRESH FISH from sea. Factory N9. British food Company". The kidnapper must work at this factory. But perhaps he had stopped working, as written on the factory's warehouse: "GENERAL STRIKE" and "FACTORY CLOSED!!". The barman gave us clear enough directions to the house, so we quickly found it.
On the sacks leaning against old man Harper's shack, we saw an interesting item: an old rope. And it was sturdy. But since it showed no traces of soot, we could conclude it wasn't used near coal furnaces. So it had no relation to our case.
Harper wasn't home, as he didn't answer our knocks on the door. Where could he be? Opposite his house was another house—a neighbor's. We could ask the neighbors where Harper might be now. A weeping woman answered our question about whether she had seen Harper: "He gone, boat, boat." It seemed she wanted to say he had gone to the boat. She had trouble with English. Judging by her accent, she was Nepalese.
Why was she crying? The altar with a photograph of a young man was surely connected to her tears. We needed to ask her the reason for her grief. She confirmed that a great misfortune had befallen her family: her 16-year-old son had disappeared a week ago. And this altar was for her son.
A missing foreigner! Again! And in the very place where the kidnapper usually spent his time. Watson thought it might be an escape. Watson was right that we needed to ascertain if it was a kidnapping. Moreover, this case happened a week ago, and so far we had only heard of recent kidnappings. Although, in fact, Rufles had said several kidnappings had occurred recently, but he didn't specify the timeframe. We needed to get details from the Nepalese woman about this case.
The Nepalese woman said she had seen a bad man with a silver eye asking questions about her son and her family. It was very likely that the Nepalese boy's disappearance was connected to this man working at the port. And there was also a man working at the port who was kidnapping foreigners! Surely, this man with the silver eye was the very man we needed, so we added a notable detail to his known characteristics: a missing eye, replaced by a silver ball.
However, Watson for some reason still didn't understand the connection to Captain Stenwick's servant. It seemed he still didn't grasp that this was about serial kidnappings. But we could even suppose that the kidnapper first took people close to his workplace, as the Nepalese boy's kidnapping occurred as far back as a week ago.
The Nepalese woman allowed us to examine the altar and take anything that might help find her son. And on the altar was a suspicious item that didn't look Nepalese: a silver pelican pendant. Although it looked like silver, judging by its weight, it was a fake, not real silver. The other items in the house looked Nepalese. Where did her son get this trinket, and why? Was it connected to the disappearance? We'll take it with us just in case!
We returned to the pub and told the barman about the new characteristic of our man [3]. The barman replied that it was "Dirty" Sommers. The barman, like the Nepalese woman, called Sommers a bad man. We needed to ask the barman where we could find Sommers.
"Dirty" Sommers had paid the barman to reserve a table behind the curtain for him. And in the evening, lads came to see Sommers because he was looking for labor. Therefore, the barman believed Sommers must have sailed last night. And Sommers had his knife drawn. So the barman thought Sommers was uneasy.
So, first Sommers was looking for labor here, and then he kidnapped Baowpa. Was he looking for labor to kidnap Stenwick's servant? No, for it was hard to imagine that Sommers met the Indian here or that the barman said nothing about an Indian being here, so the goal was clearly different. Perhaps the barman was even right that it was about sailing, but we couldn't say for sure.
If Sommers was uneasy, was it because of the impending kidnapping? No, it's unlikely the organizer of several kidnappings would be frightened by another one. It seemed something had recently gone wrong for Sommers, or, if it was during his search for workers, he had encountered a non-standard mission for which the new workers were supposed to help him.
In any case, we needed to examine the alcove behind the curtain. Although it was private and entry was forbidden, we were lucky that the barman himself didn't think too highly of Sommers. So he allowed us to examine the alcove.
We saw fresh notches [4]. Were they connected to Sommers? Sommers sat with a knife, which was clearly unusual, considering the barman found it noteworthy [5]. And the freshness of the notches indicated they appeared recently. And Sommers had been here recently. So it was very likely connected to our case.
These notches were four peculiar symbols. So even if they were Sommers' notches, what was their meaning? This clue was insignificant for us. Well, we were at a dead end! Now we could only try to get more data about Dirty Sommers and his dealings. Perhaps someone else here knew something about him.
As we walked along the wharf, we saw a postman who seemed unwell. Good thing we had a doctor with us who could check if the postman had anything serious. Watson discovered the postman reeked of alcohol. Therefore, he wasn't ill but drunk.
The postman told us a gang of young lads forced him to drink. Yesterday afternoon near the warehouses, young lads stopped him, they were brandishing knives, they shoved a bottle at him, telling him to drink if he valued his life. So he drank, again and again. His head started spinning, and then he remembered nothing. He came to just recently. Also, the postman had had a parcel, but now it was gone.
But what did these people want? To steal the parcel? First, it was unlikely the criminals could know what was in the parcel. Second, they could have just taken the parcel, threatening him with a knife. Why force him to drink a whole bottle? Perhaps it was done so he wouldn't run for help immediately after being released. However, there was a more plausible explanation, directly connected to the alcohol.
Surely they used him as a guinea pig to test their latest creation. There was a bottle near the postman. Since there were no other scattered bottles nearby, this bottle could be the one the postman drank from. The postman said it was surely that bottle because he felt sick just looking at it. Holmes sensed by smell that turnip was used in the alcohol, a lot of turnip. This wasn't like a standard alcoholic drink, so the guinea pig hypothesis was plausible.
Obviously, these were some criminals, so we had to find them, these moonshiners. If they weren't the criminals we were looking for, or even if they weren't connected to our criminals at all, this criminal gang might still know something about another criminal gang. True, the probability of this was high only if their factory was in this area. And they were surely in this area because there was only one entrance to this location, Wharf No. 13: through the gates we entered. This resembled some kind of trap. If they could choose the area, why this one?
Couldn't they find some other area for experiments? However, there remained the possibility that this area seemed especially suitable for finding guinea pigs. Perhaps it was a quiet enough area compared to others. But, in any case, we would soon find out if the experimenters were here or not. The location was limited and not very large, so we would examine it completely.
During this examination of the location, we came across a part of the warehouse that wasn't easy to access: you had to walk across a wooden plank over a small chasm. Therefore, this part of the warehouses seemed ideal for hiding. In this same place, we found a pile of turnips and a pile of bottles. Without a doubt, these moonshiners were somewhere here. However, there were two doors here. Which one should we knock on? Obviously, the one with many bottles near it.
A young man came out. We showed him the bottle. And he admitted that the bottle was indeed his. We had to demand the parcel back. And he returned the whole package to us without any issue. So they clearly didn't need the parcel itself.
This man knew nothing about "Dirty" Sommers [6]. But perhaps he knew something about that suspicious pelican of the Nepalese? Yes, he had seen it before! A guy from the port gave such a medallion to Brannoch, one of their lads. This guy wanted Brannoch to join their brotherhood or something like that. This was about two weeks ago. Two days later, they no longer saw Brannoch and hadn't heard from him since!
Brannoch was kidnapped even earlier than the Nepalese. Likely, Brannoch was a foreigner. It seemed the first victims were indeed those closest to this wharf. And the medallions were used as a symbol of some brotherhood. Perhaps it was just bait because a real brotherhood would likely use real silver. But even if it was a brotherhood, their symbol was probably not the pelican but those strange signs in the pub. Although we didn't know why those symbols were carved on the table, this action seemed more like some kind of idea than the silver pelican.
If the Nepalese and Brannoch didn't plan to disappear, then this is how it went. The kidnappers lured people with the pelicans, then these people came somewhere, and then the kidnappers locked them up and didn't let them go. In the case of the Scandinavian and the Maori, such a trick wouldn't have worked: the former had a solid job, and the latter didn't know English. So they were taken by force. Surely the kidnappers had a bunch of such pelicans for luring people to the brotherhood, as it's easier to lure many people than to kidnap them.
Surely Brannoch was lured by Dirty Sommers, so let's clarify. However, the moonshiner gave us this description: not very tall, stocky. He wore a red cap and had a harelip. Yes, similar to Sommers, but if it were Sommers, then the description would have mentioned the silver eye. So this was some other accomplice.
Also, the moonshiner added that we would surely find the man with the red cap near warehouse 12. This unknown man told Brannoch he worked there. Valuable information! In gratitude, we noted that the postman was very ill, so they should change their recipe.
Notes:
Actually, we ended up at the pub, but the coachman wasn't nearby. So I assumed he stopped us at the gates.
This refers to the story "The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist". In that story, Watson turned to a London house-agent because the person Holmes needed might dwell there. Holmes told Watson it would have been better to go to the nearest public house, as it is the centre of country gossip.
It's very strange that this dialogue with the Barman can be skipped. If the player misses this dialogue, they won't understand how Holmes knows the kidnapper's name.
They can be ignored if desired.
Actually, there are other notches on this table.
Actually, Sherlock Holmes won't ask about Sommers, but I think it wouldn't be superfluous.
My dear colleague decided to analyze the deduction in the videogame "Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments"! I think such content is very interesting and informative. And this game suggests investigating the cases yourself, so this analysis seems even more necessary. I liked this video and I'm waiting for the second part! Let's wish good luck to Mori!
