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Next post goes up tomorrow, and then I'll close votes on meals. We have two meal periods remaining, which we will spend with Lady Salomea and then Smokey, Vácslav, and special guest, unless we get a sudden wave of 5+ votes for someone else. Note that I will be posting the alternate meal scenes separately, so you don't have to worry about missing anything.
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Apr 5, 2023 03:59
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I've been driving a game of Pentiment while my friend makes all of the choices. He consistently wanted to have lunch at the charcoal burners but somehow managed to put it off until the "special guest" was there, it was terrific.
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Apr 5, 2023 18:48
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Big thanks to Yeowch!!! My Balls!!! for the detailed historical context posts! Part 12: Hat We need to go straight back to Lucky’s house to confront him and finally get to the bottom of things.   Good day, Lucky. Do you have a moment to talk? Make it quick. I saw you leave flowers there. Who were they for? That’s not your business. I won’t talk to you about this, Andreas. Don’t ask me again.  Perhaps his wife, Agnes, can tell me more. “Remember the girl. One grave for two innocents. The red bird flies. Matins. Chapter.” Do you know where it came from? No. Maybe I can wait him out. Uh-huh. What’s the worst he can do, frown? That’s all you’re getting from me, Andreas. You keep looking at me like that, you’re gonna regret it.  What’s that supposed to do, scare me? Just answer my question.Fine. If it’ll get you to leave.I found it with my tools the night before Rothvogel was killed.I don’t know what it means. Why don’t you keep it, since you care so much.You done now? Perhaps another time.Until then.We need to talk to Agnes to get any real information.  Good day, Agnes. Was there something you needed? You’re lingering.  I tried to speak with Lucky about it, but he refused. Ah. Yes, that does sound like my husband. Should we not pray for the souls of the dead, Andreas?  It’s the grave of our first daughter, Beate. She had an affair with Baron Rothvogel and fell pregnant. The baron took no responsibility for his part. Beate was crushed. Yes. That’s what we told her, that there was nothing to worry about. It’s not that uncommon, even a small town like ours. How did she come to know Baron Rothvogel? The baron met Beate on one of his visits to town. He took a liking to her. He made her many promises. Promises he had no way to keep, no intention of keeping. Beate was no child, but she had little experience with men and the things they’ll say to get their way. When she missed two cycles, she came to me. We’d already been through this with her sister. Was this before or after Brigita had married Martin? Before. Strange thing, since Brigita is younger. Was younger. Both our girls had wound up in trouble, but Beate knew we wouldn’t be angry. Lucky’s a gruff man, but he loved both our daughters, no matter what happened. If she’d died in childbirth, she would have been buried in the churchyard. She tried to restore her bleeding cycle, end the pregnancy. I didn’t want to help her, so she… helped herself. To the medicine I use with other women. It was an accident. God knows it was. Even if the church thinks differently. Do you think he blames the baron for Beate’s death? In a sense, I believe all of us who loved her do. I wish you could have known her, Andreas. She was a bright soul. But that’s not what you’re asking me, is it? You want to know if my husband killed your friend. He says, proudly wearing his fancy new pin. Be that as it may.  But I’ll leave you in peace. Be well, Agnes. You as well.And there we have it. Baron Rothvogel treated at least one young woman in this town (and who knows how many other women in how many other towns) exactly the way you would expect, based on what we know of his character. Being the midwife’s daughter gave her the opportunity to make a rash and accidentally fatal decision, which devastated the people close to her. Someone with really nice handwriting slipped notes to both Lucky and the baron suggesting a meeting at a certain place and time. There is no more evidence available. The questions Andreas will need to ask himself are:
  I do not know him well, but I find it hard to believe he could have killed the baron. Sadly, no. Most mornings I spend my time reading in the courtyard but the rain made that impossible. And although the brothers are friendly, I do not know them well enough to speculate. I am sorry. I know it might be far from your mind, but have you considered my offer to eat with you and the townspeople? The gospel says that man cannot live on bread alone, but from time to time, a little bread is required.  At the shrine to Saint Moritz. I’ll see you there. Until then.  Yes? Are these all of the mothers from Tassing and their children?  Helena Pfeifferyn couldn’t make it. It’s a long walk up here in her condition.Remember, we heard from both Karl Pfeiffer and Agnes that Helena is in the final days of her pregnancy and not feeling particularly well. And Heddy said Hans was too big for stories.Hans is Veronica Bauer’s little brother, he’s 13 or so, and I don’t think we’ve had an opportunity to meet him yet. Stories?  I like stories! Yes, maybe a little too much. Ha! All right. I can tell a story, but first let us pray together and eat. O Lord, thank you for bringing us together as you brought Jesus to his disciples on the road to Emmaus. With the breaking of bread between us, let us recognize each other as Christians and rejoice in our salvation through you. Amen.  My Ulrich always says that bread brings people together!   Obviously the idea of “no bread” makes the baby cry. Where’s Flanders? North, down by the sea. It’s where the Müllers’ windmill came from. It’s true. They have whole fields of them where the land is flat. I want to see them. Father Gernot eats a white bread, does he not? Yes, the finest wheat is used for the abbot’s bread. Why?Anna is the cutest kid but Paul is the best kid. The Abbot is a very important man, Paul. We have a bread in my home that we call injera. We make it thin, round, and wide and we put our food on top of it. We eat it with almost every meal. As you love the bread of your home, so I miss mine.If you haven’t eaten Ethiopian food, I hope you get a chance to try it. There are a lot of Ethiopian people where I live, and I grew up with this stuff. Injera is very unique as far as breads go, because it’s left out to ferment as a thin batter for a week, then cooked like a pancake, so it comes out really sour and rubbery and full of air bubbles.  Oh, what’s the recipe? Maybe we could make it! Thank you, but no. We use a fine grain that does not grow here, called teff. I do enjoy it, perhaps too much. I am becoming too accustomed to life in Rome, even life in these mountains. In truth, I can no longer remember the taste of injera, not even the feeling of it in my mouth. It is the great danger that comes with the blessing of travel, living a life between worlds.   Don’t be rude, Bert. Father Thom. Yeah! Father Thomas has one! It’s huge! My dad has one. It was printed in Bamberg. Very good. This is a Bible from my home that I brought to give to the abbot. Andreas, do you have a favorite story to illustrate from the Bible? The one with fists, of course. It is a powerful image, it speaks to us as we struggle to comprehend the divine. Our struggles are not as spectacular as Jacob’s, but just as difficult, and may leave us transformed, as he was. Now then, children, do you know the story of Jesus feeding the multitudes? Fish and loaves! My mom and dad make loaves. Why is everyone brown? Because where I am from, everyone looks like me. Because we are all as God has made us. I know Tassing seems big to you, but the world is so much bigger than we can imagine. There are many people of many different colors all over the world. There are places where no one looks like you or me.  The people look and dress very differently from us. Differently from Brother Sebhat. They make art out of gold that is so beautiful it outshines the greatest of works of the Christian world.    There’s nothing to apologize for. We can’t shield them from the world forever. I did not know him, Bert. But do you know the story of Lazarus? Every time a child makes a new face, I’m just trying as hard as I can not to have to crop and edit a new portrait.    But Jesus brought his followers to Lazarus’ tomb. He prayed to God and when they opened the tomb, Lazarus emerged, returned from the dead.  He can, Bert. One day Jesus will bring us all back from the dead. Everyone who has ever lived and died will come together and be resurrected on Judgment Day.  Don’t you dare speak against this angelic child.  even the Romans?   I saw one come out of their tomb, like Lazarus. What do you mean, Paul? Well the ruins below the mill, they’re Roman. And they all died a long time ago. But I saw one come out the other night. They were in white, like Lazarus.Let’s stop telling stories, Paul. And you shouldn’t have been outside at night. Andreas, what does he mean? I know there are two background dialogue options, but the regular “I saw a ghost!” choices are just too compelling. What, really? Where? Maybe Paul did see a spirit of some kind. It’s a very dire omen if that is what he saw. I will pray on this. Ah, apologies for that, ladies. But thank you for sharing a meal with me today. I will be leaving for Rome soon, but I am glad to have spent some time with you and your children. Thank you, Brother Sebhat! It was wonderful. Don’t forget to stop by the bakery before you go. I’m sure my husband will want to see you before you go. I will. God grant you all health.  Next time: Investigating the widow Ottilia Kemperyn, and supper with Lady Salomea.
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Apr 5, 2023 20:10
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just caught up with the lp i'm definitely going to have to get the game for myself at some point when i have the budget+time, but until then the extra context y'all are providing is amazing anna is also amazing, that's her hat now, she deserves it
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Apr 5, 2023 20:56
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Anna is probably my favorite minor side character of this game. Look at that little mischievous angel. She's so happy to have procured that hat! Berthold is a bit of a Scheiß, killing the conversation like that. Twice! cant cook creole bream fucked around with this message at 21:51 on Apr 5, 2023 |
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Apr 5, 2023 21:47
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This game has many ways to play, but it really isn't a proper playthrough to me if Anna doesn't get Andreas' hat 
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Apr 5, 2023 22:38
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a minor touch, but one I love: Sebhat is a great political operator. this is the guy whose home church sent him to Rome as their representative for the Grand Priest-Off, and as such you have to pull some real poo poo to put him off his game "I saw a spirit running around" from a child is not going to mess him up. it would have to come from a respectable adult, in an environment where half the people of the town can hear, in the middle of the abbey, where other monks might have heard, for him to go 'oh poo poo that's bad.' the vast majority of what the Inquisition did, for most of history, was show up at monasteries where the monks were getting up to conduct unbecoming of the church (i.e. trying to summon spirits) and telling them to knock it off with varying degrees of politeness. they were essentially the church's Internal Affairs department... up until about fifty years ago, when Pope Sixtus said "hey in celebration of the Reconquista, the King of Spain can name some inquisitors to make sure the recatholicization of Spain is complete." the King of Spain promptly threw a ton of money and power behind turning the Inquisition into exactly what you picture when you think of the word Inquisition. thumbscrews, torture dungeons, all that fun stuff. and that -could- have been the end of the story, a generation-long spasm of Spanish zealotry, except hey, remember the last thing i posted? about how a King of Spain is currently Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire? the people a good senior churchman is supposed to call when there's g-g-g-ghosts about have some shiny new toys and very few qualms about not using them in the name of establishing their power. hopefully this whole event will just conveniently slip Sebhat's mind when he returns to Rome. the alternative would be, how you say, Bad.
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Apr 5, 2023 22:51
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Children have no filter when it comes to things like murders and ghosts, and I appreciate the sense of weariness that comes from their mothers trying to rein them in.
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Apr 5, 2023 23:45
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resurgam40 posted:This game has many ways to play, but it really isn't a proper playthrough to me if Anna doesn't get Andreas' hat It is a sin that Andreas had Anna's hat for as long as he did! Thankfully, there's a Priest right there to set things right and get Andreas to apologize.
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Apr 6, 2023 01:30
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This whole sequence is just amazing. And I'll second the recommendation of trying injera; it's a very distinctive taste, and it's fun eating the meal along with the plate.
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Apr 6, 2023 04:09
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The whole bible-study with Sebhat just is... Fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. Also, I recommend injerra with Ye'abesha Gomen and spiced lentils. Delicious! Edit: vvv Misir Wat! That's the name of the spiced lentil dish! Thanks for reminding me! Samovar fucked around with this message at 08:31 on Apr 6, 2023 |
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Apr 6, 2023 07:02
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Key Wat is also really good.
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Apr 6, 2023 08:08
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Ethiopian food is delicious. I think the sourness of injera can be a little much for some, though. I certainly can't eat too much of it at once.
Tarezax fucked around with this message at 20:18 on Apr 7, 2023 |
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Apr 7, 2023 20:07
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Someone give us the Sebhat/Joshua Graham crossover bible study dlc
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Apr 8, 2023 07:55
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Thanks for this LP. I actually started reading "The Name of the Rose" before I found this thread and I've been enjoying that very much so this is right up my alley. Good stuff.
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Apr 9, 2023 15:28
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BUMBACLOT posted:Thanks for this LP. I actually started reading "The Name of the Rose" before I found this thread and I've been enjoying that very much so this is right up my alley. Good stuff. I'm kind of annoyed with Eco, because even though I liked TNotR, I couldn't get into his other books. Admittedly, I did like his non-fictional stuff, particularly his books reviewing concepts of beauty and ugliness in medieval/renaissance art.
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Apr 9, 2023 16:51
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Ethiopia and the Ethiopian Church in the Late Middle Ages I have a small collection of tidbits to share on the topic of Ethiopia and its relations with medieval Europe. A very superficial history We of European descent (I'm a white American) have a cultural tendency to draw a historical line from Greece to Rome to post-Roman Europe, and cast other cultures as side stories to our Eurocentric "main branch" of world history. In particular, we tend to regard societies in sub-Saharan Africa as weaker or less sophisticated than European ones at any given point in history. But from the perspective of an Ethiopian in 1500, their own country was the center of the world, and in our century, a lot of historians are working hard to rebalance our understanding of history by giving non-European sources proper consideration. Current historical research suggests that the Kingdom of Ethiopia was in a particularly powerful position in the Late Middle Ages compared to its European contemporaries. This article gives a great introduction to the subject, says everything better than I could, and links to a recently published book for a great deep dive. Because only one person is ever going to buy that book because of my LP and only a handful of people are going to go read the whole article, here are a couple of quotes: "Traditionally, the story centered Europe and placed Ethiopia as periphery, a technologically backwards Christian kingdom that, in the later Middle Ages, looked to Europe for help. But by following the sources, Krebs showcases the agency and power of Ethiopia and Ethiopians at the time and renders Europe as it was seen from East Africa, as a kind of homogenous (if interesting) mass of foreigners." "Aksum, a predecessor kingdom to what we now know as Ethiopia, '[converts] to Christianity in the very early fourth century,' much earlier than the mass of the Roman empire, which only converted to Christianity by the sixth or seventh century. The Solomonic dynasty specifically arose around 1270 A.D. in the highlands of the Horn of Africa and by the 15th century had firmly consolidated power. Their name arose out of their claim of direct descent from King Solomon of ancient Israel, via his purported relationship with the Queen of Sheba. Although they faced several external threats, they consistently beat those threats back and expanded their kingdom across the period, establishing uneasy (though generally peaceful) relations with Mamluk Egypt and inspiring wonder across Christian Europe." "Europe, Krebs says, was for the Ethiopians a mysterious and perhaps even slightly barbaric land with an interesting history and, importantly, sacred stuff that Ethiopian kings could obtain. They knew about the Pope, she says, 'But other than that, it's Frankland. [Medieval Ethiopians] had much more precise terms for Greek Christianity, Syriac Christianity, Armenian Christianity, the Copts, of course. All of the Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches. But everything Latin Christian [to the Ethiopians] is Frankland.'" Monasticism and manuscripts Monasteries continue to play a significant role in Ethiopian society to the present day, and it’s likely that Ethiopia has more Christian monks per capita now than any European country. Ethiopian monastic orders developed quite differently from European ones, with a greater emphasis on monks’ independent pursuit of their individual spiritual and professional development, compared to the European orders’ strict rules which completely negated individual freedoms in order to allow members to devote their lives fully to worship and service. But one commonality between the Ethiopian and European monastic traditions was their development of the art of illuminated manuscripts, as we see in Brother Sebhat’s Bible study. I’ll share a few images of original Ethiopian manuscripts, and you know that the Internet is your friend if you want to find more.    Ethiopian influence on the Protestant Reformation Over decades of his career, Martin Luther developed an appreciation for the Ethiopian Orthodox Church as a counterexample to the practices of the Roman Catholic Church at the time. He was finally able to have a direct conversation with an Ethiopian clergyman in 1534 to interrogate and confirm his impressions. This man, known in Europe as Michael the Deacon traveled to Wittenberg specifically to meet with Luther, and left Luther with a very positive appreciation for the doctrine of the Ethiopian Church. At a time when Roman Catholicism was popularly perceived as the singular source of religious authority in Europe, Luther was inspired by the knowledge of a legitimate alternative in a Christian tradition that actually predated the Roman church.
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Apr 10, 2023 05:01
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I wonder - when did representations of the crucifixion start showing the nails going through the hands as opposed to the wrists? I would have imagined there was a time when they did the latter...
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Apr 10, 2023 06:09
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I'm the one person who's bought the book due to your LP- here's hoping for a second! Do you also recommend The Bright Ages?
Discendo Vox fucked around with this message at 07:34 on Apr 10, 2023 |
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Apr 10, 2023 07:31
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Samovar posted:I'm kind of annoyed with Eco, because even though I liked TNotR, I couldn't get into his other books. I've also enjoyed his non-fiction but hopefully I don't have the same experience as you with his novels as I've already bought Baudolino as well haha
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Apr 10, 2023 09:40
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I love Foucault's Pendulum. It takes some reader investment and attention but is well worth it in my opinion. e: Regarding the Ethiopian church/history, that's a pretty common victim of general education still being based on a colonialist mindset. It's not even about Europe being the center of the world - that is very much the viewpoint, but at least here we got some basics on the histories of India, China, Japan... It's just the countries that ended up colonized by Europeans that get the shaft and only start appearing once a white man sets foot on them. And that, of course, leads to propagation of a lot of stupid stereotypes about Africa that end up reinforcing racism. anilEhilated fucked around with this message at 11:56 on Apr 10, 2023 |
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Apr 10, 2023 11:50
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Discendo Vox posted:I'm the one person who's bought the book due to your LP- here's hoping for a second! Do you also recommend The Bright Ages? I can recommend The Bright Ages but I'm a bit biased: one of the co-authors is local to me and I went to an author event where he talked about it. It's a bit toothier than an introductory work but doesn't go super in-depth. Mostly led me to biographies about various rulers and Christian figures.
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Apr 10, 2023 16:17
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s__herzog posted:
Incidentally this shows off a little of the tech behind the game - most character's aren't 2D sprites or 2Dplanes, they're slightly 3D.
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Apr 17, 2023 10:05
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Bored Jesus is my spirit animal.
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Apr 17, 2023 20:20
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I'd more like to know what's up with that two heads on the arms of the cross. Especially the one with the D-pad for the nose. The most obvious answer I can think of is that they're the two criminals who got crucified with Jesus, but they don't look very human. Maybe some kind of symbolic demons?
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Apr 17, 2023 21:21
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Comparing with similar illustrations, it looks like those are the sun and the moon, in reference to the darkening of the daytime sky during the crucifixion. https://ima.princeton.edu/2018/04/04/the-iconography-of-crucifixion-darkness/
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Apr 17, 2023 23:29
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Part 13: The Widow It’s time to visit Ottilia Kemperyn and learn her story. On the way, we meet one of the Bauer families outside.   Have you seen Martin recently? He wasn’t feeling well, so I let him sleep until Prime…Prime Monastic hour during the first hour of daylight. One of the little hours of prayer.   I did see Martin running through the meadow, but… This is a delicate situation, and I’m not sure how I should handle it. He may very well have been involved in Lorenz’s murder. But if I tell Kat I saw him fleeing the abbey…     It doesn’t need to be that complicated, Andreas. Just don’t be a snitch.   He has a history of making… poor decisions. How do you mean?  Bread, from the Albans. Eggs from Johan’s and Peter’s farms. A pilgrim’s satchel, once, on the road to the abbey. It is my great shame. I have failed him as a mother. I’m sorry. This is not your trouble. Thank you for speaking to me.  I don’t want to impose. But… If it wouldn’t be too much trouble, please let me know if you see Martin. I’m so worried for him. Thank you, Master Maler. Be well.Brigita is working just a few feet away.   I fear that would be a lie. Martin’s gone missing. Kat is beside herself. I’m very worried for him, but… This is not the first time he’s run off. He said he wasn’t feeling well this morning, and I just knew he had another scheme planned. I’m sure… I’m sure his mother knows where he is. He speaks more to her than he does to me. I’m sorry. THey’ve always been close. They’ve had to be, to endure… well. How did you know?Uh, Frantz told us directly that he was going to beat Martin as soon as he saw him again.  Frantz is a difficult man, and very hard on Martin. It’s made him… difficult, too. So “difficult” that he could commit a murder? He would never hurt someone. I can’t imagine it. What are you talking about? [Lie] It’s nothing. An idle question. I’m sorry to have disturbed you.  I should probably get back to my chores. Frantz will be angry if he sees me shirking.  He will. I must trust in Providence. Be well, Andreas. Be well, Brigita.There’s one more new character to meet at the other Bauer farm, finally completing the list of Tassing residents in this act.  How’s it going, Hans? Keeping busy in the fields? I guess. … Do you like it? What? Farming. I never really thought about it. Dad says it has to get done whether I like it or not. What do you think about, then? Uncle Frantz said Brigita might come help with the laundry today. She’s Martin’s wife, right? She seems nice. I wish Brigita lived here instead of her. What? Until later, Hans. Uh. Bye.So that was extremely worthwhile and not weird at all. Let’s forget about it and move on to Ottilia’s house.  Just casually leaving symbols of pre-Christian gods next to the path.    Pah. Sarcasm, how original. What do you want? You must be bothering me for something. Not the first time Perchta answered my call. You want to know what I think? I’m glad he’s dead. I hope whoever killed him gets the abbot next. Maybe burns that entire abbey to the ground. And that’s all I have to say about it.  You think I care about what happens to some old monk? Pah. Idiot. Kill them all, see if I care. Every agent of the church should die. NO GODS NO MASTERS   That’ll show Him, the holy bastard. Don’t you make fun of me, boy! No! Well, maybe. Don’t suppose those skinny arms of your can hold more than a paint brush?  Not often someone offers to help out old Ottilia… Fine. You do some things for me, maybe it’ll jog my memory. But it’s going to take a while! Lots of things been building up, things I’m too old to do. You got some place to be? Follow me, then.We follow Ottilia to the woods.   I’m an old woman. Everything’s difficult! And no one’s around to help me, not since my husband died. Now stop yammering and get to work. This light won’t last forever.We walk around briefly and pick a few sticks off the ground.   After picking up all of the sticks we can find, Ottilia tells us to go over to the big chunk of wood.  Break off that branch there, the big one. I know Ottilia feels she’s been wronged by the abbey, but the wood does still belong to the abbot.  This response is out of character for Petty Criminal Andreas, but we’re going with it because the subsequent dialog is a lot more interesting than the alternative. You think the abbey doesn’t steal from us?! The people of Tassing were here before the abbey was. This forest is ours! Just because some piece of paper somewhere says this land belongs to the church, we can’t use it? The people who care for it?  You… hmph. No one’s ever asked to hear my side of things. Well, I’m not in the mood to talk about it! So you’ll just have to mind your business. Leave the branch. We’ve got enough wood.Andreas dumps the basket of sticks on the ground. I can’t use all these sticks - they’re too big. You need to break them down for me.   I’ll know it when I see it. Now get snapping, boy!One brief minigame later… Hmph. Maybe you’re more useful than you let on. Now come help me back at the house. Hmph.Back at the house, we have another chore to do.  They’ve gone crooked, and I can’t reach. Could you hang them for me, Andreas? And please… be careful with my pictures. Some are very fragile. I would hate to lose them to your carelessness. Another minigame, we rotate a couple of pictures back into place.   There you go. That looks all right. Thank you for hanging those. Just one thing… Remove the cross. Don’t you gainsay me, boy. What Ottilia is asking of me is sacrilegious. And whatever she says, I don’t believe it’s the cross that’s her problem. THere is something more there I’ve yet to uncover. Taking the cross down might only cause her more pain in the long run… But if I anger her, I might miss out on information about Lorenz’s death… Perhaps I could convince her to put it somewhere out of sight, so it won’t torment her. That might be enough. We’re going this way because, like with the tree branch, we get a lot more dialogue from asking questions rather than meekly obeying. Destroy it, of course. The church never did anything for me and took nearly all I had! Why should I be made to venerate it? What did the church take from you? What does it matter to you? Just take the thing down like I asked! I understand that you’re angry and hurting now, but you might regret destroying it later. I don’t think it’s possible to pass this check without the Orator background. We’ll see that result in the alt playthrough.  Pah! If you won’t remove the cross, then you’re useless to me!The dialogue abruptly ends. There’s a note on the table that we can click on.   So the rope-puller has contacted more than one potential suspect. Where did this note come from, Ottilia? No idea. I found it on the table the night before Rothvogel died. I can barely read it. The writing’s too fancy. Keep it if you want. It means nothing to me.Now we can talk to Ottilia one more time for the final segment of this investigation sequence.  A legal document - I need you to read it. The words are too small for my old eyes, and my reading’s not so good. Andreas finally feels useful! Hmph. Of that I have no doubt.And immediately gets called out for being a nerd!  Clicking on each paragraph from the top to the bottom… I tried to read the German, but just parsing the letters in the script gave me a headache by the time I finished the first paragraph. Something about the abbey being the owner of the land between Franz Bauer’s plot and the forest and leasing it to Rannig Kemper, etc. etc.  Here we are, the meat of the document… It says… Oh.Due to the recent death of Rannig Kemper, his lack of heirs to inherit, your inability to pay fees on the land…Your property is forfeit to the church.So the abbot just had someone hand this letter to Ottilia, very well knowing that she wasn’t very good at reading (especially reading the fancy script).   Crime Lawyer is on the case!  Do you have any documentation on Rannig’s lease agreement with the abbey? No. Never seen anything like that. I didn’t think the lease was with Rannig. My family’s lived here for over a hundred years. If that’s true, it’s quite likely the lease is with one of your father’s ancestors, not Rannig. If that lease allows for partition of the land, you would have the ability to allow others to farm here in exchange for payments to you. Pfft. Johan and Frantz Bauer never would. They want this land for themselves. Hmm. That could work. I’ve never had any problems with the Gertners. In any case, it’s clear that the abbey is not being truthful about the existing lease on this property. It seems they used Rannig’s death as an opportunity to try to change the existing lease to something more profitable. Yes, Running’s death. This is all the fault of that monster, Lorenz Rothvogel! If he were alive, I’d kill him myself. May he boil in Hell for all eternity! Here we go. Running, my husband - he caught that Rothvogel devil riding through our property and told him, rightly, to leave. The baron beat my Rannig for it, beat him so savagely that he took a cane to walk. Even his breathing pained him. Never could breathe deep so long as he lived - which wasn’t long at all. That second choice, Jesus. Again, props to the writers for letting you play all kinds of careless, clueless, and callous if you feel like it. That baron was the worst kind of man, careless and cruel. He knew he could beat my Rannig and suffer no consequences, so he did. We were not even so low as animals to him. We were furniture. And I knew - I knew after Rannig died the church would try to take what little I had left. This document only confirms it. All because of Lorenz Rothvogel. Since Rannig left, I’m just waiting to die. Why should I have to go on living when he is gone? I hoped I would follow him before the church came for what was left of our life. Just as the church likes it. It doesn’t matter, boy. The laws will never change, and nobody cares. You know… that’s a pretty compelling reason for you to have killed him.Man, you didn’t have to come out and say it. You said yourself you’d do it if you could. Who’s to say you haven’t already? Finally, some honesty from you. This was the real purpose of your visit all along. I’m an old woman, Andreas. Even walking from my bed to the door pains me. How could I kill a man in his prime? Not that it matters. I’m sure I’ll take the blame for it anyway, just like I’m blamed for every runny nose and thrown horseshoe around here. The people in town can’t wait for me to die, and the abbey vultures hate me for my contempt of them. None of it matters. I don’t care what happens to me anymore. Thank you for your help, boy. You’re the only one who’s come calling since my Rannig passed, do you know? Now get out. I need to lie down.   With one afternoon of showing some basic kindness to the old widow (who, we note, has been widowed for less than a year), we have the whole story of her potential motive as a murder suspect, and we will now have two suspects to discuss with the archdeacon after he arrives tomorrow. Next time: Supper with Lady Salomea, and whatever tomorrow morning brings.
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Apr 20, 2023 05:03
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It's at times like these that Diderot's quote: "Men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest" comes to mind.
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Apr 20, 2023 09:35
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I pretty much entirely missed the widow during my playthrough, it's really interesting just how much of what's going on you can be completely oblivious of.
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Apr 20, 2023 11:23
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s__herzog posted:I don’t think it’s possible to pass this check without the Orator background. We’ll see that result in the alt playthrough. Ooh, you were so close, though! I'm pretty sure the option asking if she had enough firewood (to avoid a cold snap) would have put you over the top without orator... at least that's what I could have sworn happened to me during a playthrough. Myself, I was never able to get the Steiner's to open up to me about those graves, because outright asking was something I didn't think would work (or would have gotten Andreas pounded six ways to Sunday).
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Apr 20, 2023 12:36
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That was pretty disheartening. The poor woman!
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Apr 20, 2023 13:18
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Torrannor posted:That was pretty disheartening. The poor woman! for most of recorded history, being old and childless was a fast and unpleasant way to die! andreas' time just adds the joy of the church taking all your stuff because they can. (In some small fairness to the church they are not the only ones trying this move back now; there are a lot of minor nobility willing to piss the little people off in the name of getting some more land to play with.)
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Apr 20, 2023 14:06
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While interesting, don't think this got us much closer on who actually did the murder. motive-wise, I suppose someone more capable might've acted where Ottilia could not. The note's pressence is interesting though. And where is Martin anyways? I'm increasingly certain they either know something or witnessed the event outright during their (presumed) burglary attempt. ...which could pose a problem in sharing what they know, but that would be a problem for the future to deal with. Hrmrm.
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Apr 20, 2023 15:39
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At the risk of sounding pushy, any ETA on the next update?
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May 2, 2023 13:00
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Sorry, work and family have been extra demanding lately. Maybe in a week.
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May 6, 2023 22:20
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s__herzog posted:Sorry, work and family have been extra demanding lately. Maybe in a week. Take your time. 
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May 11, 2023 22:53
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I've caught up on work lately. With any luck I can post a new update by next weekend.
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Jun 24, 2023 00:50
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Great news! This is such a cool LP, and the subject is pretty unique. I'm really enjoying your writing.
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Jun 24, 2023 20:20
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If you patch the game there are also some updates to content.
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Jun 25, 2023 14:47
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Yes, I'd like to see the new content also.
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Jun 25, 2023 18:56
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