Episode 12: The Friend, or: The End
Oct. 10th, 2023 12:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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Episode 12: Chapter 10, The Friend, or: The End
Mirkwood - Through the Chaos
How had the Orcs found him? The bird! The bird had betrayed him! He needed to flee south to the ruins of Caras Mindon.
SLINKER: They are all dead!
STINKER: Not all, my precious. Listen.
She-Elf: Tolo! Ugar e gwanwen he! (no translation in the files)
STINKER: Nasty Orcs! How did they get here? How did they get through the Haze? We wonders.
SLINKER: Mell! They found Mell! We heard the Orc say it! The ruins. In the mountains. That's where they took her, they said!
What a tense moment. It would be a shame if I veered off into the semi-secret lake area off to the left, to just screw around and kill the tension.
STINKER: But stream and pool, hm hm and cool.
SLINKER: So nice for feet. We only wish to catch a fish...
Indeed, you can catch fissh here if you missed the fissh achievement earlier.
Leave the lake and you find yourself in a fairy circle.
(It seems like there should be a joke or Easter egg here if you mess with the fairy circle, but I tried picking all the mushrooms and nothing happened. He does say 'fissh :)' if you catch a fish in the lake)
SLINKER: Up here!
She-Elf: I think that was the last of them!
Elf: Let us be certain.
STINKER: Cautious, my precious. Elves, Orcs... Avoid them all!
The game takes you by the arm and whispers: 'This is a stealth section'
Elf: Any sign of Sméagol?
She-Elf: I don't see any tracks. Hard to spot between all the Orcs.
STINKER: They're looking for us!
The game hits you over the head with an inflatable plastic baseball bat and screams 'THIS IS A STEALTH SECTION'
Elf: Stay on your toes. I can hear more of them coming from the River.
She-Elf: Where's Laleth?
Elf: I don't know. She went back for Lammon.
I didn't do it.
The Elves are easy to avoid by simply swimming through the area. Afterwards we have a little platforming to do.
Beastmaster: Easy now. Easy.
Laleth: (Heavy breathing) [of the frightened variety] Be quiet!
SLINKER: [horrified whisper] They all kill each other!
STINKER: Yess.
SLINKER: Throw a stone! Distract them!
Beastmaster: Drop your weapon, all right? Let's talk this out.
Laleth: You first.
Beastmaster: That's your last arrow. And there are many more of us behind me.
STINKER: Which one of them?
This choice doesn't affect all that much, but Slinker has kind of de facto sided with the Elves and this is his run, so we kill the Beastmaster. There's no way to save both. Or kill both.
Every time I've waited too late to do anything or missed the throw, Laleth was the one to die here.
Laleth: Sméagol! Run!
STINKER: Can't trust the Elves!
If you helped the Beastmaster, he also lets you go:
Here's Lammon.
Lammon: Please, please let that face not be the last thing I see in this world.
You're welcome.
Laleth: You're not dying! - Sméagol, go! Be quiet.
Now, if we had helped the Beastmaster instead, we'd get an option to taunt Lammon as either Slinker or Stinker: 
SLINKER: Are they gone?
STINKER: We lost them! The mountains. Almost there.
The Ruins - At the Gate
The old Elvenking's summer palace was all ruins now. It was here where Stinker hoped to find the Riddlemaster at the source of the Haze. Slinker, however, still only wanted to find Mell.
STINKER: The ruins. We made it.
There's a viewing spot here, which shows us:
SLINKER: There are fires.
STINKER: Candle Man and his Orcs.
SLINKER: Where is Mell? Must get closer.
STINKER: To the gate. Riddlemaster must be inside.
SLINKER: We must help her.
STINKER: The blind one will never be our friend. She left us. Just like the Grashneg. But perhaps she can help us.
SLINKER: What is this place?
SLINKER: Shht. Orcses ahead.
They're all encountered individually in dark, isolated corridors and most of them aren't wearing helmets.
🎵This is what we've waited for/This is it, boys, this is war🎵
Three down...
STINKER: Getting closer.
helmet >:(
Orc: Left or right? (growling) Like maggots in a bowl. Should have gone with Mauhukh and his troops. Hunt some Dwarf, no beard, that was the order. No word about Elves. What are we even here for?
Other Orc: Some cursed Elf thing for the war. The sorcerer wants it, Orbag said. He already caught one cursed Elf. Doesn't stop bragging about it.
Orc: Orbag's a fool. Let's try this way.
Wrong way
STINKER: Almost there...
Orc Captain: Orders are orders. The Nazgul said...
Candle Man: PLEASE stop telling me things I already know!
Orc Captain: Some news for you then: We're leaving. Lost too many men to these cursed woods. And we're not even looking for that freak. The one we CAME HERE FOR!
Candle Man: Of course. Leave, if you must. But there's one question that keeps haunting me, Briska. Perhaps, before you go, you can help me with it?
Orc Captain: What?
Candle Man: Where does the sun go up?
Orc Captain: (snorts) What do I care? We are Uruks. We don't need the sun to show us the way!
There's the sound of the Candle Man shooting him.
Candle Man: Everyone wants to share their opinion today.
Yeah here's my opinion
Five. And that's all the killable orcs I could find in the area.
Zanah (overheard): He was right, you know? We shouldn't be here.
there's the sound of an orc dying
Orc: ANYONE ELSE FEEL THE DESIRE TO LEAVE?
As we crawl into the pipe Gollum enters the Cutscene Zone...
...the pipe abruptly disintegrates and he slams face-first onto the ground
Orc: My Lord!
He steps aside and the Candle Man walks forward...
Candle Man: Seems like fate is on MY side today.
Cut to the orcs chucking him down on the ground a little ways away:
STINKER: (Hisses)
STINKER: We knows! We knows how to open the gate!
I'm not sure this situation warrants a 'the balance of power has shifted my way' face, but who am I to judge.
Candle Man: Go on then. Help her. Open the gate and you both live.
sure, but we can pester the Candle Man and Zanah first
STINKER: Bird betrayed us!
Candle Man: There's only one traitor here. Or didn't you take an oath to serve the Great Eye?
I'm guessing that oath was not taken willingly and would not hold up in court.
STINKER: The witch owes us her life!
Zanah: I'm sorry. Just do what he says.
STINKER: (Hisses)
Mell: You heard him. He'll let us live. So let's not test his patience.
STINKER: Don't trust him! As soon as we opens the gate...
Mell: Shh! Find some water.
Candle Man: Well?
STINKER: [righteous indignation] Give us time! Elf gates are fickle. [to Mell] Is this a friendly door?
Mell: No... No, this one can be very unkind.
We need to find water to talk to her secretly with, but first:
There's a gem over here we need to pick up (it fell off the door and we'll need it in two minutes)...
...and a candle to blow out.
Now we climb up the walls to talk to a puddle.
Zanah: See that? Star-silver. This whole way up to the gate must have been illuminated at night. Why would you want to destroy all this?
Candle Man: They're ruins. Nothing more.
Zanah: We can still leave. Just leave. Find somewhere to hide.
SLINKER: Found water.
Candle Man: So? What about it?
Mell: Don't talk. Just think. Remember the door to Gwendil's chambers? This one is quite similar. We need a secret word to open it. And here is where my wisdom ends. Gwendil must have changed it.
SLINKER: [proud of himself] We knows. We found it.
Mell: You did? How?
SLINKER: Doesn't matter now. The tree where Mell and Riddlemaster met. The picture they carved into the bark!
Mell: Deer! Of course. How did I not think of that? Let me try. Tell me what you see.
Mell is lighting up different patterns on the door.
SLINKER: That could be a tree. No deer.
SLINKER: That doesn't look like anything.
Mell: Let's keep trying then. Which side should I change?
SLINKER: Looks almost like a deer, but not quite.
Note the two spots where the image should be symmetrical and isn't.
Mell: Maybe the stars are in the wrong places?
We need to add two gems to the door. One was a freebie and the other can be had by chucking a rock at this nearby bird's nest.
It took me a really long time to find this my first playthrough. I started to be afraid the game was broken and I couldn't finish it. Turns out I was just bad at it.
With the gem knocked out of the bird's nest we can climb back down to the ground to pick it up and finish the puzzle.
Mell: Eight of us weren't able to control the source and we spent years creating it.
Candle Man: No surprise, given how long it takes you to open your own doors.
Orc: What is he doing?
SLINKER: There's a couple of stones missing on the gate.
Mell: Seems like Gwendil hasn't left the castle in a while.
Plunk on the two stones in the right places...
Candle Man: Well? This sounds like we're getting somewhere. Are we done?
STINKER: All done, yes, yes.
Mell: Let's give them a little surprise. Come down to me. Ready?
STINKER: Yes.
Mell: Stay close to me. And cover your eyes.
Mell: Carandil!
Mell grabs Gollum's hand to lead him inside.
STINKER: (Painful hissing noises)
The Ruins - The Source
Once more, Gollum had escaped the Candle Man. Now he and Mell needed to find Gwendil, the Riddlemaster.
STINKER: Ach! Pff! Nasty Elvish curse! We are blinded!
STINKER: Ach! It burns. I can't see.
Mell: Maybe I can be your eyes. Describe beautiful gardens to you.
STINKER: Ss. Ss. Not the time for jests, is it? Orcs will find another way soon.
When we get too close:
Mell: [genuine fear] Stay away from me!
SLINKER: Sméagol never meant to hurt her. Mell must believe me.
Mell: Stay back!
STINKER: Is it lost? Used to be stairs here, eh? Where could they possibly be?
Mell: (Resigned breathing) Fine. I need your eyes. But touch me again and I swear, I shall blind you forever.
STINKER: Please forgive Sméagol. He was scared. The powerful Elf had frightened him.
Mell: Let's open that door.
When we try it just makes a broken noise and doesn't work.
Mell: That doesn't sound good.
We have to climb up to another mechanism on the other side of this door and remove a rock from the gears. It's essentially to give you something to do while you watch the conversation.
STINKER: How did the Candle Man find her?
Mell: It was your bird who found me.
STINKER: Ss. Bird found us, too.
Mell: They forced me to open the breach for them. That sorcerer saw a lot more through that animal's eyes than just you or me.
STINKER: Chain was jammed.
Mell: THAT sounds promising.
We cutscene-skip to joining her on the ground.
STINKER: Sméagol can lead her. But the Elves must swear. Swear to let us leave and not follow us, ever.
Mell: Very well.
STINKER: Swear it!
Mell: Yes, I swear! Come on. There are a lot of stairs to climb.
We're transitioning past those stairs and up to this bridge.
(Note the health bar?it's a chip of fall damage don't worry about it it's showing Stinker as our dominant personality despite my favoring nearly all of Slinker's dialog. I believe Stinker gains dominance when you kill orcs. <w<; It doesn't affect much aside from the health bar and his scowling in-game model, I just thought I'd point it out)
SLINKER: Crossing a long bridge now. Careful there! Bridge is damaged.
Mell: Psst. Listen. Come here.
SLINKER: What is it? What's that sound?
Mell: The wind.
SLINKER: How can wind make-?
Mell: Shhh!
> Stinker > Slinker
> Stinker
Mell: You're right.
STINKER: It must help us with this door.
For the last time we see that repeated animation of these two pushing on the door. The last time! We're so close to the end!
Mell: Gwendil?
SLINKER: No Riddlemaster.
Mell: These must be the Queen's chambers, if the smell doesn't deceive me.
Queen Stinky, we called her
Mell: He is close. He is close, I know it.
STINKER: And the source? Where is it, my precious?
Mell: In the Hall of Wind and Water. That's where we created the Haze, molding the forces of the elements. I fear the river's spring has long been soiled by the enemy.
STINKER: Find the Riddlemaster. Yes, and they must let us leave. A little trust, it goes a long way, doesn't it?
Mell: Yes, well. You tried to throttle me. That trust is facing a very long road.
uhh ackshually. We didn't try that. The game didn't give her unique dialog here! She says the same thing whether you tried to kill her, or did nothing worse than embarrass yourself and grab her foot! Boo!
The door here is blocked, we have to climb.
STINKER: Elf must wait. Sméagol will help.
Mell: And be my eyes, yes. I already know how that ends.
STINKER: Other side is full of haze. [bewildered] ...and floating things.
Mell: Floating?
STINKER: Ss, ss, ss. Floating like clouds.
Mell: Is that another riddle? Where are you?
This game now has moving floating platforms. I have nothing good to say about them. I hate timed platforming and I always have and I always will.
In fact I have a little bit of a confession to make. This game has multiple ending scenes possible (there are two places that branch into two options), and I will only have screenshots of our 'canon' one while the other is referenced from xml files only.
That's because if I were to play the game again to get screenshots, the chapter select menu would take me all the way back to this point and I would have to do all of the floating platforms again- just to get a more depressing ending.
I can't do it.
STINKER: Sss. Someone's here.
it's Gwendil. We go right to a cutscene of him reuniting with Mell.
Gwendil: Mell?
You can see her ring on a chain around his neck.
Mell: It blinded me.
The appearance of her eyes is a bit inconsistent. Sometimes they just look gray. Here, though, it looks as if crystals formed inside her corneas, which is a nice touch of body horror if that was indeed the intention.
Mell: He's with us. Or so I hope.
Mell: Eliant anim hired chen. Ar phent ven eliatha, ae den adlegithanc. [From texts.xml: "He helped me find you. He promised to help, if we let him go."]
Gwendil: Henion. ...So he will help us?
> Stinker > Slinker
> Stinker
Mell: The enemy has sent a sorcerer.
Gwendil: I saw them through the Haze, when they crossed. And I saw you.
Mell: I knew I heard your voice.
Gwendil: What does this sorcerer want?
Mell: All I know is he must never touch the source.
Gwendil: My strength is dwindling. I fear the well is lost to me now. It will need all I have left and all of your strength, too. Mell, this will not be easy.
Mell: They are coming.
Gwendil: Are you sure you want to do this?
Mell: Yes.
Gwendil: Let me guide you. We must enter the Haze now. Don't let the shadows into your heart.
Gwendil: Let me seal the door.
He holds up his hand and does a magic thingy.
Gwendil: This should give us some time. Come, walk beside me.
Gwendil: The Haze is spreading, my love. And all it touches is forever changed.
Mell: It didn't change you much. You still wear my ring?
Gwendil: I do. .. Sméagol was your name?
> Stinker > Slinker
...Either of them just says 'yes'.
Gwendil: Your friend doesn't say much.
Mell: For once.
Gwendil: Here we are. Don't get too close to the well.
SLINKER: What's happening here?
FLOATING
SPINNING
PLATFORMS
Mell: The entire hall is screaming!
No that's me.
Gwendil: It's being torn apart.
Gwendil: Above the well, the blazing orb, fueled by wind and water. That is the source of the Haze.
Mell: What's our plan?
STINKER: Destroy the source!
Gwendil: No! I fear the Haze is all that holds this hall together. But if we could somehow reach the well, we could try to heal it.
STINKER: But the Elf said, don't go near the well.
Gwendil: There are two wind towers that feed the Haze with air and music. See those openings left and right? If we manage to close off both towers, we might calm the Haze just enough. It will not be easy, though.
STINKER: We promised to help the Elves. If they helps us in return. I will stay at the source, calm it as long as I can.
Gwendil: I don't know...
Mell: There's no time for doubts now. I can't go, you know that. You two divide the tasks and close off the towers.
Gwendil: So be it then. I will take the left tower. Your friend can take the right. Can he climb?
Mell: Like a spider.
Mell: Follow the song of the wind, Sméagol, until you reach the highest chamber. There is a large wind gate there. Close it to silence the song.
STINKER: Up, up to the top, close the wind gate.
Gwendil: Watch your step. The Haze has eaten away much of the towers.
I fall off the platforms almost immediately.
STINKER: Gna! (Hectic breathing)
Mell: Are you all right?
> Stinker > Slinker
If you choose Stinker's option he just sputters in rage.
> Slinker
SLINKER: Yes, yes.
STINKER: (Cursing noise)
We can pester Mell...
Mell: (Startled breath)
Gwendil: It's just him.
Mell: Hurry. We don't have much time.
We can pester Gwendil too but he just tells us to go away and stop putting off this horrible platforming sequence.
Oh, my health bar? Sss! None of its business! this is one place where having fall damage in the game really sucks
Gwendil: I will take care of this tower. You go to the other one.
Mell: Be careful!
SLINKER: We will.
Gwendil: I will.
SLINKER: It's dangerous, the Elf said, to heal the source. How dangerous?
STINKER: [dismissive] Elves knows best what they're doing.
SLINKER: Mell shouldn't stay with the unfriendly Elf. Perhaps she will leave with us.
STINKER: The wraiths from the woods!
we now have moving obstacles AND moving platforms
STINKER: Ugh! Nasty, nasty...
(This is one of Stinker's generic platforming-success lines. I believe we are seeing them because someone just killed all of those orcses for no reason)
There's a water basin here...
SLINKER: Mell? ...Mell?
Mell: [polite, distracted] Sméagol? I'm sorry, I was listening for Gwendil's voice. What's wrong?
> Let's not disturb her. (Stinker) > Don't trust Riddlemaster. (Slinker)
> Stinker
SLINKER: [wibbly] Mell shouldn't trust the Riddlemaster.
Mell: [gently] Don't be scared of him. He's my friend- you can trust him. Good luck.
Okay, I lied, I guess Mell does have some unique dialog based on whether or not you tried to kill her. I just never saw it until I looked in the files, because I never used the combination of game choices that would end up in her saying this alternate response: "I shouldn't? I can still feel your cold hands on my neck. Don't tell me who to trust."
SLINKER: [miffed] We don't trust the other Elf, do we?
STINKER: Of course not. All Elves are false.
SLINKER: Not Mell. Mell saw that Sméagol is her friend.
STINKER: [bemused, annoyed] That Elf doesn't see anything at all!
Thus saith Gollum, his inner demons arguing with each other as he sits on a giant rotating plus sign, pursued by glowing cotton ball
Up ahead is the wind gate.
STINKER: Done.
Climb back up and Gollum goes into a little mini-cutscene
STINKER: Very good Sméagol, yes, help the Elves. And now they must let us go.
SLINKER: Will Mell come with us, my precious?
STINKER: Not her. Not anyone. Elves can keep their useless rings. As long as we have OURS!
SLINKER: But Mell needs us to be her eyes.
STINKER: The blind one has her Elf-friend now. And Sméagol? He will be alone. Alone forever. Unless, unless he finds the Precious.
We have a choice here which as far as I know is purely cosmetic and only affects the next few lines:
> We wants the Precious! > We hates the Precious!
> We wants it
SLINKER: [squeaky] NEVER! Precious only ever made us lonely.
STINKER: And how long until the Dark Lord finds us, eh? How long, after he finds OUR Ring? We must find it! Find it before HE does.
SLINKER: And hide it forever. Never use it. And never, never kill for the Precious ever again!
STINKER: We must go back.
SLINKER: We never wants it back! We hates it! We hates it! Mell will keep us safe now. If only... If only the nasty Elf was gone.
We're given a shortcut back to the floating platform hell room.
Mell: There you are! Why is Gwendil still gone? He should have been back by now.
i didnt do it
SLINKER: [scummily hopeful] Perhaps he fell? Yes, perhaps...?
Mell: Go look for him!
SLINKER: Find the nice Elf. Yes, at once!
Mell: Hurry.I don't know how much longer I can tame the source.
We have to... go up the floating platforms again... but you don't need to see it all again.
SLINKER: Go left?
STINKER: Ss. Not sure.
SLINKER: This way, precious?
Gwendil: (Sounds of pain)
STINKER: Found the Elf.
owo whats this?
STINKER: It hurt its leg. What happened?
NPC is... useless?
Gwendil: I tried to take the stairs.
STINKER: There are no stairs.
Gwendil: Exactly. Hmpf, I can't move it... How is Mell?
SLINKER: Wind is still humming. The Elf didn't shut the gate?
Sméagol... does everything hisself?
Gwendil: No. Good thing you came. Looks like Mell was right to trust you. Let me help you get up there. At least that I can do. Watch!
I find this conversation kind of funny on a meta level. 'Yeah hi I walked offscreen and broke my leg' 'How?' 'lmao' 'So you didn't do anything productive?' 'no, you and occasionally mell are the only characters who do anything. i'll unlock the next zone for you now, byeee'
He makes some stairs.
He warns us about the stairs.
Gwendil: Do not trust your step, or you will end up like me.
I know you can all see the fall damage on my health bar. No one tell him.
> Stinker > Slinker
> Stinker
SLINKER: The Elf will stay here?
Gwendil: I will try to heal it, but it may take more time than we have. Good luck.
He'll show up again exactly when and where the plot requires him to. Got it.
The next wind gate is not far away.
SLINKER: [huffy] There you are. And again it's Sméagol who helps. Not that other Elf.
Tell him he's wrong, I dare you.
SLINKER: I wish...
STINKER: [soft, almost tender] Eh? What do we wish, my love?
SLINKER: I wish that Gwendil Elf was gone! Then we could be Mell's eyes again. And she would drive off wraiths and evil Men who wants to hurt us.
> Stinker (Ring will protect us.) > Slinker (Mell will protect us.)
This starts an argument, although the outcome of the argument appears to affect nothing.
...Which is good, because I somehow lost this argument. I think some previous choice made it unwinnable, but I'm not sure what decisions affect this.
Convince STINKER of Mell's worth!
SLINKER: Mell would look out for us.
STINKER: Look out for us? It doesn't have her eyes left, does it?
What good is Mell for us?
We have three argument choices, Protection, Water Magic and Friendship. I cannot imagine Friendship working on Stinker so I didn't try it.
> Water magic
SLINKER: Mell can talk to the river.
STINKER: Talk to the river, eh? And how does that help us, when the Great Eye comes?
> Protection
SLINKER: She made the Ring of Haze. His Eye can't find us behind the Haze.
STINKER: The Candle Man did. Came to take Sméagol back to him. Not all that safe now, is it?
If you try Friendship, the answer is:
"Not after Sméagol put his handses around her skinny neck!"
STINKER: No, no. Leave them all! Leave and never go back!
Orc Captain: GIMBUL! FIND THEM!
STINKER: Must hurry!
STINKER: Scared little Orc, hm? But this is OUR Riddlemaster!
> Stinker (Kill the Orc!) > Slinker (Betray the Elf!)
This is an argument choice and it determines which ending you get to Mell and Gwendil's storyline. Yes you really can kill him this time. We're not doing that.
Convince SLINKER to save the Elf!
STINKER: Ss, ss, time for our little game, my love.
SLINKER: [innocent child voice] He would take Mell and go into the dangerous well with her. Sméagol won't kill him, no, of course not! Good Sméagol. Just throw a little stone. Then Mell can be our friend forever.
STINKER: Friend. Friend. When has Sméagol ever been any good for his so-called friends?
SLINKER: Sméagol always helps.
> Frail Man (What happened to him?
> Cruel Orc (What did we do for him?)
> Grashneg (He never went home.)
This was sort of difficult to win because we have been so good and unproblematic on our playthrough.
Let's try Cruel Orc. We got him killed, after all.
STINKER: Then what about the Orc from our cell?
SLINKER: That one always hated us anyway.
STINKER: Very well. One more.
Yeah okay. We get a new round.
> Bird (It betrayed us!) > Mell (How did we help her?) > Elf-cook (Is she alive?)
Let's try the bird.
STINKER: Even his "Little One" betrayed Sméagol.
SLINKER: Sméagol never did it any harm, did he? No, Sméagol gave it life. It loves Sméagol forever. Candle Man said so.
STINKER: Very well. One more.
> Frail Man (What happened to him?) > Grashneg (He never went home.)
We never betrayed Sefut, so... Grashneg.
STINKER: Remember the Grashneg? That one didn't go home to his desert, did he?
SLINKER: Sméagol tried to warn him. Only, She was too fast. So very fast! But we tried, we tried! Saved it from the light!
STINKER: After we sent him up there ourselfs!
Stinker finally wins a point. I was getting worried.
Remember I said the Grashneg choice affected absolutely nothing? I did check for a line like this at the time and couldn't find it, so I thought it wasn't even acknowledged. My mistake. But since you still can't win the point it doesn't really matter anyway.
SLINKER: Sméagol is good now.
> Mell (How did we help her?) > Elf-cook (Is she alive?)
The Elf-cook actually is alive, so... Mell.
STINKER: And what about his precious Mell?
SLINKER: We helped her! We was her eyes!
STINKER: And now, Sméagol wants to kill her only friend. [vindictive] A true blessing he is, a true blessing.
SLINKER: Doesn't matter. Precious can't protect us anymore.
STINKER: Be quiet!
SLINKER: We hates it forever!
STINKER: Be quiet!!
STINKER: [strained] Elves will let us leave now!
Gwendil nods.
Orc Captain: Nimdakh! Nimdakh, bubhoshi!
STINKER: Orcses!
Gwendil: Go! Warn Mell! I will follow as fast as I can.
Gwendil: What are you waiting for?
I am crawling as fast as I can!
I just killed a man for you!
STINKER: Elves better keep their promise. They better!
Orc Captain: [offscreen somewhere] Get off!
Zanah: Gollum!
STINKER: Huh! Shhhhh!
Zanah: Go! I won't stop you.
Is that a dead orc? None of our business, I suppose.
Candle Man is down there chanting something I am not going to bother to transcribe. According to texts.xml it translates to: "My great Lord! Hear your servant and see. I give you the Realm of Thranduil." But in the Black Speech dialog it's 'thranduilob' and I have been led to believe '-ob' is a suffix that makes something rude. So it probably translates better to 'I give you the Realm of Thranduil the Scumbag'
STINKER: Ss. Ss, ss, ss. No!
Mell: Sméagol!
She's hiding over here.
Mell: Where is Gwendil?
STINKER: Elf is on its way.
Mell: Eglerio i-Rodyn! (translates to 'Thank the Valar')
STINKER: Candle Man is calling the Dark Lord. And we don't want HIM to come, no, no, we don't. Blind Elf stay here!
Mell: What are you doing?
STINKER: [firm] Destroy it. Destroy it all.
Mell: [shocked] Sméagol! I hope you're right about this.
Candle Man: Don't disturb me! Deal with him!
We are now climbing the floating platforms a g a i n and now orcs are shooting at us. Skip over my retries and...
Candle Man: You're too late! Now there's only one question left to answer.
Candle Man: Where does the sun go up?
Mell: Where does he linger?
Mell: What does the storm illume with glistening rage?
Candle Man: The night.
Mell dips her fingers into the water...
Mell: [telepathy] Sméagol!
You're returned to the game, you only have a few (easy) jumps left. Mell and the Candle Man are now both chanting down below.
Mell: [Elvish] The enemy will never rule here! Elbereth is looking over us.
Candle Man: [Black Speech] There's no reason to be scared! Bow to me and all your lands will be spared! There is no way to escape. No way to withstand. You must live in darkness!
Mell: [Elvish] Go back into the shadows! Look towards me, Everwhite!
Candle Man pulls Mell out of the way of falling debris.
oh look Gollum faceplanted again. This game is pretty good at avoiding ludonarrative dissonance.
Candle Man: [enraged] You fool! You utter fool!
New Objective
Defeat the Candle Man!
Candle Man: What have you done?! Where are you?
We're crawling through rubble.
Candle Man: There you are!
He shoots at us. We survive.
Candle Man: You know what they will do to you in the Houses of Lamentation!
Candle Man: First, they'll impale you, then carve you like a suckling pig and serve you as your own last meal! And when you're nothing more than a shivering heap of flesh, they will throw you to His feet... and with the last remnant of consciousness you will realize that your real torment has just begun!
Candle Man: Very well. I'm calm now. See? I have no bolts left. It wasn't your fault. I was angry. Let us talk.
Zanah: My Lord! Don't!
Zanah: It's over. You know it is.
Candle Man: And you know I cannot return empty-handed.
Zanah: Then don't return.
We get a choice:
> Kill him! > Wait!
yeah that's one way not to return, all right.
We waits.
Candle Man: And go where? There is no place left. Not for me.
Zanah: You lost all your men, and the Eye does not forgive. But I will help you.
Candle Man: Don't fool yourself. You will always be a monster to them.
Transition to later on...
Mell: Where is Gwendil?
Gollum doesn't answer; I presume this chunk of the cutscene plays regardless of what Gwendil's fate was in your run.
Sudden scene change!
STINKER: Sss, very happy ending, yes. Now, time for promise keeping.
Mell: We did not forget. You kept your word. We will keep ours.
STINKER: The Elves will let us go?
Mell: You are free. Leave, if you must, or come back with us.
STINKER: They will go to their King now.
Gwendil: He must know what happened.
Gwendil: The Elves of Mirkwood can no longer hide. War is upon us, and no Haze will protect us now.
Mell: You may have awakened us just in time.
Mell walks over to playfully poke us.
STINKER: Yes, very lucky they met good Sméagol.
STINKER: But it's a long way home and the kind Elves must be tired.
STINKER: Perhaps they wants to rest first. Let Sméagol keep one last watch.
He said he'd watch, and he's watching.
Mell: Sméagol?
There's no response. She goes back to sleep.
Irises.
SLINKER: Where now?
STINKER: West. Into the mountains, sweet one.
STINKER: And under the mountains... and then? Into the Shire.
STINKER: And under the mountains.... and then? Into the Shire.
The screen fades to black for a long moment.
> Kill Little One > Let Little One live
We're not killing the bird.
After petting the bird for a moment, he launches it from his arm (unfortunately the motion blur makes it a little hard to see)
Little One flies away towards the mountains.
And that's where this post ends, because with that, all of the content that was invented for this game has been wrapped up. There's a remaining epilogue, which will have its own post.
Note: These counts are final as of this post! I'm gonna talk a little bit about our totals in the epilogue post.
Table of Contents | Previous | Next
Post-Chapter Fun Facts:
here's a visual glitch I didn't show you at the time because it was during a tense moment and I didn't want to ruin it
Now, wait a minute, Mell! Mell, no!
Another thing I didn't bring up at the time because it would break the flow: Our escape did not exactly match Legolas' story in FOTR. You have two options:
1) game of telephone/Thranduil just lied about what happened, lied right to his son's face
2) it's an AU... just go with it.
Anyway... Zanah featured prominently in our ending, so what would happen if we hadn't saved her way back when?
1) Ileth will appear next to the Candle Man instead of Zanah while you're doing the gate puzzle.
2) Remember where Zanah is just kinda hanging out in the hallway next to a dead orc? If she's not alive, Ileth is there instead. And also dead. She just died offscreen. She was uninteresting and badly voice acted and she's just dead now. So if you're thinking 'Ileth had no resolution because she just dropped out of the story', that's all you get otherwise. She just drops dead while you're not looking, and Gollum looks at the body and says 'All dead' and I hope he took a bite out of her.
3) So then what happens with the Candle Man?
Well, it would be pretty darn funny if the game was just rendered unwinnable and the player was left not knowing they were supposed to save a random-seeming NPC way back in Chapter 2 but no
if Zanah isn't alive, Little One dive-bombs the Candle Man's face while he has the crossbow pointed at us. He turns away, and Gollum strangles him while they're both in the Cutscene Zone - the player isn't given the option not to kill him.
The other Candle Man-related ending we did not see: What happens if Zanah is alive, but you choose to kill the Candle Man anyway?
Episode 12: Chapter 10, The Friend, or: The End
Mirkwood - Through the Chaos
How had the Orcs found him? The bird! The bird had betrayed him! He needed to flee south to the ruins of Caras Mindon.
SLINKER: They are all dead!
STINKER: Not all, my precious. Listen.
She-Elf: Tolo! Ugar e gwanwen he! (no translation in the files)
STINKER: Nasty Orcs! How did they get here? How did they get through the Haze? We wonders.
SLINKER: Mell! They found Mell! We heard the Orc say it! The ruins. In the mountains. That's where they took her, they said!
What a tense moment. It would be a shame if I veered off into the semi-secret lake area off to the left, to just screw around and kill the tension.
STINKER: But stream and pool, hm hm and cool.
SLINKER: So nice for feet. We only wish to catch a fish...
Indeed, you can catch fissh here if you missed the fissh achievement earlier.
Leave the lake and you find yourself in a fairy circle.
(It seems like there should be a joke or Easter egg here if you mess with the fairy circle, but I tried picking all the mushrooms and nothing happened. He does say 'fissh :)' if you catch a fish in the lake)
SLINKER: Up here!
She-Elf: I think that was the last of them!
Elf: Let us be certain.
STINKER: Cautious, my precious. Elves, Orcs... Avoid them all!
The game takes you by the arm and whispers: 'This is a stealth section'
Elf: Any sign of Sméagol?
She-Elf: I don't see any tracks. Hard to spot between all the Orcs.
STINKER: They're looking for us!
The game hits you over the head with an inflatable plastic baseball bat and screams 'THIS IS A STEALTH SECTION'
Elf: Stay on your toes. I can hear more of them coming from the River.
She-Elf: Where's Laleth?
Elf: I don't know. She went back for Lammon.
I didn't do it.
The Elves are easy to avoid by simply swimming through the area. Afterwards we have a little platforming to do.
Beastmaster: Easy now. Easy.
Laleth: (Heavy breathing) [of the frightened variety] Be quiet!
SLINKER: [horrified whisper] They all kill each other!
STINKER: Yess.
SLINKER: Throw a stone! Distract them!
Beastmaster: Drop your weapon, all right? Let's talk this out.
Laleth: You first.
Beastmaster: That's your last arrow. And there are many more of us behind me.
STINKER: Which one of them?
This choice doesn't affect all that much, but Slinker has kind of de facto sided with the Elves and this is his run, so we kill the Beastmaster. There's no way to save both. Or kill both.
Every time I've waited too late to do anything or missed the throw, Laleth was the one to die here.
Laleth: Sméagol! Run!
STINKER: Can't trust the Elves!
If you helped the Beastmaster, he also lets you go:
Orc: FOUND ANYTHING?
Beastmaster: CLEAR! Don't make me regret this, slave.
Beastmaster: CLEAR! Don't make me regret this, slave.
Here's Lammon.
Lammon: Please, please let that face not be the last thing I see in this world.
You're welcome.
Laleth: You're not dying! - Sméagol, go! Be quiet.
Now, if we had helped the Beastmaster instead, we'd get an option to taunt Lammon as either Slinker or Stinker:
STINKER: Gollum will go to a feast now. Elves are not invited.
SLINKER: Are we truly friends now, like they said? Hm? Are we friends? Friends who don't TRICK one another?
SLINKER: Are we truly friends now, like they said? Hm? Are we friends? Friends who don't TRICK one another?
Either way, we head into the next area:
All enemies alert on you immediately. This is a chase sequence.
Orc Captain: It's the Gollum! Bring him to me dead or bring him to me wriggling, but bring him to me!
I'm fairly certain they are supposed to bring him alive for questioning but I can accept orcs selectively forgetting that part and choosing the route of 'I like the part where he stops moving'
Anyway now you have to do obtuse platforming really fast in a spot where Gollum easily gets hung up on geometry, does not have an infinite stamina bar like he did for the Shelob chase, and is constantly getting shot at and losing health. In theory, this is obviously supposed to be a nifty little high-energy high-tension segment but having to reset constantly kills the momentum a bit. However: I really am very bad at platformers.
All enemies alert on you immediately. This is a chase sequence.
Orc Captain: It's the Gollum! Bring him to me dead or bring him to me wriggling, but bring him to me!
I'm fairly certain they are supposed to bring him alive for questioning but I can accept orcs selectively forgetting that part and choosing the route of 'I like the part where he stops moving'
Anyway now you have to do obtuse platforming really fast in a spot where Gollum easily gets hung up on geometry, does not have an infinite stamina bar like he did for the Shelob chase, and is constantly getting shot at and losing health. In theory, this is obviously supposed to be a nifty little high-energy high-tension segment but having to reset constantly kills the momentum a bit. However: I really am very bad at platformers.
SLINKER: Are they gone? STINKER: We lost them! The mountains. Almost there.
The Ruins - At the Gate
The old Elvenking's summer palace was all ruins now. It was here where Stinker hoped to find the Riddlemaster at the source of the Haze. Slinker, however, still only wanted to find Mell.
STINKER: The ruins. We made it.
There's a viewing spot here, which shows us:
SLINKER: There are fires.
STINKER: Candle Man and his Orcs.
SLINKER: Where is Mell? Must get closer.
STINKER: To the gate. Riddlemaster must be inside.
SLINKER: We must help her.
STINKER: The blind one will never be our friend. She left us. Just like the Grashneg. But perhaps she can help us.
SLINKER: What is this place?
SLINKER: Shht. Orcses ahead.
They're all encountered individually in dark, isolated corridors and most of them aren't wearing helmets.
🎵This is what we've waited for/This is it, boys, this is war🎵
Three down...
STINKER: Getting closer.
helmet >:(
Orc: Left or right? (growling) Like maggots in a bowl. Should have gone with Mauhukh and his troops. Hunt some Dwarf, no beard, that was the order. No word about Elves. What are we even here for?
Other Orc: Some cursed Elf thing for the war. The sorcerer wants it, Orbag said. He already caught one cursed Elf. Doesn't stop bragging about it.
Orc: Orbag's a fool. Let's try this way.
Wrong way
STINKER: Almost there...Orc Captain: Orders are orders. The Nazgul said...
Candle Man: PLEASE stop telling me things I already know!
Orc Captain: Some news for you then: We're leaving. Lost too many men to these cursed woods. And we're not even looking for that freak. The one we CAME HERE FOR!
Candle Man: Of course. Leave, if you must. But there's one question that keeps haunting me, Briska. Perhaps, before you go, you can help me with it?
Orc Captain: What?
Candle Man: Where does the sun go up?
Orc Captain: (snorts) What do I care? We are Uruks. We don't need the sun to show us the way!
There's the sound of the Candle Man shooting him.
Candle Man: Everyone wants to share their opinion today.
Yeah here's my opinion
Five. And that's all the killable orcs I could find in the area.
Zanah (overheard): He was right, you know? We shouldn't be here.
there's the sound of an orc dying
Orc: ANYONE ELSE FEEL THE DESIRE TO LEAVE?
As we crawl into the pipe Gollum enters the Cutscene Zone...
...the pipe abruptly disintegrates and he slams face-first onto the ground
Orc: My Lord!
He steps aside and the Candle Man walks forward...
Candle Man: Seems like fate is on MY side today.
Cut to the orcs chucking him down on the ground a little ways away:
STINKER: (Hisses)
STINKER: We knows! We knows how to open the gate!
I'm not sure this situation warrants a 'the balance of power has shifted my way' face, but who am I to judge.
Candle Man: Go on then. Help her. Open the gate and you both live.
sure, but we can pester the Candle Man and Zanah first
STINKER: Bird betrayed us!
Candle Man: There's only one traitor here. Or didn't you take an oath to serve the Great Eye?
I'm guessing that oath was not taken willingly and would not hold up in court.
STINKER: The witch owes us her life!
Zanah: I'm sorry. Just do what he says.
STINKER: (Hisses)
Mell: You heard him. He'll let us live. So let's not test his patience.
STINKER: Don't trust him! As soon as we opens the gate...
Mell: Shh! Find some water.
Candle Man: Well?
STINKER: [righteous indignation] Give us time! Elf gates are fickle. [to Mell] Is this a friendly door?
Mell: No... No, this one can be very unkind.
We need to find water to talk to her secretly with, but first:
There's a gem over here we need to pick up (it fell off the door and we'll need it in two minutes)...
...and a candle to blow out.
Now we climb up the walls to talk to a puddle.
Zanah: See that? Star-silver. This whole way up to the gate must have been illuminated at night. Why would you want to destroy all this?
Candle Man: They're ruins. Nothing more.
Zanah: We can still leave. Just leave. Find somewhere to hide.
SLINKER: Found water.
Candle Man: So? What about it?
Mell: Don't talk. Just think. Remember the door to Gwendil's chambers? This one is quite similar. We need a secret word to open it. And here is where my wisdom ends. Gwendil must have changed it.
SLINKER: [proud of himself] We knows. We found it.
Mell: You did? How?
SLINKER: Doesn't matter now. The tree where Mell and Riddlemaster met. The picture they carved into the bark!
Mell: Deer! Of course. How did I not think of that? Let me try. Tell me what you see.
Mell is lighting up different patterns on the door.
SLINKER: That could be a tree. No deer.
SLINKER: That doesn't look like anything.
Mell: Let's keep trying then. Which side should I change?
SLINKER: Looks almost like a deer, but not quite.
Note the two spots where the image should be symmetrical and isn't.
Mell: Maybe the stars are in the wrong places?
We need to add two gems to the door. One was a freebie and the other can be had by chucking a rock at this nearby bird's nest.
It took me a really long time to find this my first playthrough. I started to be afraid the game was broken and I couldn't finish it. Turns out I was just bad at it.
With the gem knocked out of the bird's nest we can climb back down to the ground to pick it up and finish the puzzle.
Mell: Eight of us weren't able to control the source and we spent years creating it.
Candle Man: No surprise, given how long it takes you to open your own doors.
Orc: What is he doing?
SLINKER: There's a couple of stones missing on the gate.
Mell: Seems like Gwendil hasn't left the castle in a while.
Plunk on the two stones in the right places...
Candle Man: Well? This sounds like we're getting somewhere. Are we done?
STINKER: All done, yes, yes.
Mell: Let's give them a little surprise. Come down to me. Ready?
STINKER: Yes.
Mell: Stay close to me. And cover your eyes.
Mell: Carandil!
Mell grabs Gollum's hand to lead him inside.
STINKER: (Painful hissing noises)
The Ruins - The Source
Once more, Gollum had escaped the Candle Man. Now he and Mell needed to find Gwendil, the Riddlemaster.
STINKER: Ach! Pff! Nasty Elvish curse! We are blinded!
STINKER: Ach! It burns. I can't see.
Mell: Maybe I can be your eyes. Describe beautiful gardens to you.
STINKER: Ss. Ss. Not the time for jests, is it? Orcs will find another way soon.
When we get too close:
Mell: [genuine fear] Stay away from me!
SLINKER: Sméagol never meant to hurt her. Mell must believe me.
Mell: Stay back!
STINKER: Is it lost? Used to be stairs here, eh? Where could they possibly be?
Mell: (Resigned breathing) Fine. I need your eyes. But touch me again and I swear, I shall blind you forever.
STINKER: Please forgive Sméagol. He was scared. The powerful Elf had frightened him.
Mell: Let's open that door.
When we try it just makes a broken noise and doesn't work.
Mell: That doesn't sound good.
We have to climb up to another mechanism on the other side of this door and remove a rock from the gears. It's essentially to give you something to do while you watch the conversation.
STINKER: How did the Candle Man find her?
Mell: It was your bird who found me.
STINKER: Ss. Bird found us, too.
Mell: They forced me to open the breach for them. That sorcerer saw a lot more through that animal's eyes than just you or me.
STINKER: Chain was jammed.
Mell: He knows about the source. We need to get there before he does. I must find Gwendil.
We can now open the door.Mell: THAT sounds promising.
We cutscene-skip to joining her on the ground.
STINKER: Sméagol can lead her. But the Elves must swear. Swear to let us leave and not follow us, ever.
Mell: Very well.
STINKER: Swear it!
Mell: Yes, I swear! Come on. There are a lot of stairs to climb.
We're transitioning past those stairs and up to this bridge.
(Note the health bar?
SLINKER: Crossing a long bridge now. Careful there! Bridge is damaged.
Mell: Psst. Listen. Come here.
SLINKER: What is it? What's that sound?
Mell: The wind.
SLINKER: How can wind make-?
Mell: Shhh!
> Stinker > Slinker
STINKER: [impatient] We shouldn't stay here.
> Slinker
SLINKER: [wibbly] Sméagol doesn't like it here.Mell: You're right.
STINKER: It must help us with this door.
For the last time we see that repeated animation of these two pushing on the door. The last time! We're so close to the end!
Mell: Gwendil?
SLINKER: No Riddlemaster.
Mell: These must be the Queen's chambers, if the smell doesn't deceive me.
Queen Stinky, we called her
Mell: He is close. He is close, I know it.
STINKER: And the source? Where is it, my precious?
Mell: In the Hall of Wind and Water. That's where we created the Haze, molding the forces of the elements. I fear the river's spring has long been soiled by the enemy.
STINKER: Find the Riddlemaster. Yes, and they must let us leave. A little trust, it goes a long way, doesn't it?
Mell: Yes, well. You tried to throttle me. That trust is facing a very long road.
uhh ackshually. We didn't try that. The game didn't give her unique dialog here! She says the same thing whether you tried to kill her, or did nothing worse than embarrass yourself and grab her foot! Boo!
The door here is blocked, we have to climb.
STINKER: Elf must wait. Sméagol will help.
Mell: And be my eyes, yes. I already know how that ends.
STINKER: Other side is full of haze. [bewildered] ...and floating things.
Mell: Floating?
STINKER: Ss, ss, ss. Floating like clouds.
Mell: Is that another riddle? Where are you?
This game now has moving floating platforms. I have nothing good to say about them. I hate timed platforming and I always have and I always will.
In fact I have a little bit of a confession to make. This game has multiple ending scenes possible (there are two places that branch into two options), and I will only have screenshots of our 'canon' one while the other is referenced from xml files only.
That's because if I were to play the game again to get screenshots, the chapter select menu would take me all the way back to this point and I would have to do all of the floating platforms again- just to get a more depressing ending.
I can't do it.
STINKER: Sss. Someone's here.
it's Gwendil. We go right to a cutscene of him reuniting with Mell.
Gwendil: Mell?
You can see her ring on a chain around his neck.
Mell: It blinded me.
The appearance of her eyes is a bit inconsistent. Sometimes they just look gray. Here, though, it looks as if crystals formed inside her corneas, which is a nice touch of body horror if that was indeed the intention.
Mell: He's with us. Or so I hope.
Mell: Eliant anim hired chen. Ar phent ven eliatha, ae den adlegithanc. [From texts.xml: "He helped me find you. He promised to help, if we let him go."]
Gwendil: Henion. ...So he will help us?
> Stinker > Slinker
STINKER: We'll be good to them, if they keeps promises to us. But we must make haste now.
> Slinker
SLINKER: Fine Elves have met again, thanks to good Sméagol. But we must hurry now.Mell: The enemy has sent a sorcerer.
Gwendil: I saw them through the Haze, when they crossed. And I saw you.
Mell: I knew I heard your voice.
Gwendil: What does this sorcerer want?
Mell: All I know is he must never touch the source.
Gwendil: My strength is dwindling. I fear the well is lost to me now. It will need all I have left and all of your strength, too. Mell, this will not be easy.
Mell: They are coming.
Gwendil: Are you sure you want to do this?
Mell: Yes.
Gwendil: Let me guide you. We must enter the Haze now. Don't let the shadows into your heart.
Gwendil: Let me seal the door.
He holds up his hand and does a magic thingy.
Gwendil: This should give us some time. Come, walk beside me.
Gwendil: The Haze is spreading, my love. And all it touches is forever changed.
Mell: It didn't change you much. You still wear my ring?
Gwendil: I do. .. Sméagol was your name?
> Stinker > Slinker
...Either of them just says 'yes'.
Gwendil: Your friend doesn't say much.
Mell: For once.
Gwendil: Here we are. Don't get too close to the well.
SLINKER: What's happening here?
FLOATING
SPINNING
PLATFORMS
Mell: The entire hall is screaming!
No that's me.
Gwendil: It's being torn apart.
Gwendil: Above the well, the blazing orb, fueled by wind and water. That is the source of the Haze.
Mell: What's our plan?
STINKER: Destroy the source!
Gwendil: No! I fear the Haze is all that holds this hall together. But if we could somehow reach the well, we could try to heal it.
STINKER: But the Elf said, don't go near the well.
Gwendil: There are two wind towers that feed the Haze with air and music. See those openings left and right? If we manage to close off both towers, we might calm the Haze just enough. It will not be easy, though.
STINKER: We promised to help the Elves. If they helps us in return. I will stay at the source, calm it as long as I can.
Gwendil: I don't know...
Mell: There's no time for doubts now. I can't go, you know that. You two divide the tasks and close off the towers.
Gwendil: So be it then. I will take the left tower. Your friend can take the right. Can he climb?
Mell: Like a spider.
Mell: Follow the song of the wind, Sméagol, until you reach the highest chamber. There is a large wind gate there. Close it to silence the song.
STINKER: Up, up to the top, close the wind gate.
Gwendil: Watch your step. The Haze has eaten away much of the towers.
I fall off the platforms almost immediately.
STINKER: Gna! (Hectic breathing)
Mell: Are you all right?
> Stinker > Slinker
If you choose Stinker's option he just sputters in rage.
> Slinker
SLINKER: Yes, yes.
STINKER: (Cursing noise)
We can pester Mell...
Mell: (Startled breath)
Gwendil: It's just him.
Mell: Hurry. We don't have much time.
We can pester Gwendil too but he just tells us to go away and stop putting off this horrible platforming sequence.
Oh, my health bar? Sss! None of its business! this is one place where having fall damage in the game really sucks
Gwendil: I will take care of this tower. You go to the other one.
Mell: Be careful!
SLINKER: We will.
Gwendil: I will.
SLINKER: It's dangerous, the Elf said, to heal the source. How dangerous?
STINKER: [dismissive] Elves knows best what they're doing.
SLINKER: Mell shouldn't stay with the unfriendly Elf. Perhaps she will leave with us.
STINKER: The wraiths from the woods!
we now have moving obstacles AND moving platforms
STINKER: Ugh! Nasty, nasty...
(This is one of Stinker's generic platforming-success lines. I believe we are seeing them because someone just killed all of those orcses for no reason)
There's a water basin here...
SLINKER: Mell? ...Mell?
Mell: [polite, distracted] Sméagol? I'm sorry, I was listening for Gwendil's voice. What's wrong?
> Let's not disturb her. (Stinker) > Don't trust Riddlemaster. (Slinker)
STINKER: Sméagol just wants to say good luck, doesn't he? Good luck!
ganbattekudasai
> Slinkerganbattekudasai
SLINKER: [wibbly] Mell shouldn't trust the Riddlemaster.
Mell: [gently] Don't be scared of him. He's my friend- you can trust him. Good luck.
Okay, I lied, I guess Mell does have some unique dialog based on whether or not you tried to kill her. I just never saw it until I looked in the files, because I never used the combination of game choices that would end up in her saying this alternate response: "I shouldn't? I can still feel your cold hands on my neck. Don't tell me who to trust."
SLINKER: [miffed] We don't trust the other Elf, do we?
STINKER: Of course not. All Elves are false.
SLINKER: Not Mell. Mell saw that Sméagol is her friend.
STINKER: [bemused, annoyed] That Elf doesn't see anything at all!
Thus saith Gollum, his inner demons arguing with each other as he sits on a giant rotating plus sign, pursued by glowing cotton ball
Up ahead is the wind gate.
STINKER: Done.
Climb back up and Gollum goes into a little mini-cutscene
STINKER: Very good Sméagol, yes, help the Elves. And now they must let us go.
SLINKER: Will Mell come with us, my precious?
STINKER: Not her. Not anyone. Elves can keep their useless rings. As long as we have OURS!
SLINKER: But Mell needs us to be her eyes.
STINKER: The blind one has her Elf-friend now. And Sméagol? He will be alone. Alone forever. Unless, unless he finds the Precious.
We have a choice here which as far as I know is purely cosmetic and only affects the next few lines:
> We wants the Precious! > We hates the Precious!
STINKER: We wants it. We wants it!
...I think that's it.
> We hates it...I think that's it.
SLINKER: [squeaky] NEVER! Precious only ever made us lonely.
STINKER: And how long until the Dark Lord finds us, eh? How long, after he finds OUR Ring? We must find it! Find it before HE does.
SLINKER: And hide it forever. Never use it. And never, never kill for the Precious ever again!
STINKER: We must go back.
SLINKER: We never wants it back! We hates it! We hates it! Mell will keep us safe now. If only... If only the nasty Elf was gone.
We're given a shortcut back to the floating platform hell room.
Mell: There you are! Why is Gwendil still gone? He should have been back by now.
i didnt do it
SLINKER: [scummily hopeful] Perhaps he fell? Yes, perhaps...?
Mell: Go look for him!
SLINKER: Find the nice Elf. Yes, at once!
Mell: Hurry.I don't know how much longer I can tame the source.
We have to... go up the floating platforms again... but you don't need to see it all again.
SLINKER: Go left?
STINKER: Ss. Not sure.
SLINKER: This way, precious?
Gwendil: (Sounds of pain)
STINKER: Found the Elf.
owo whats this?
STINKER: It hurt its leg. What happened?
NPC is... useless?
Gwendil: I tried to take the stairs.
STINKER: There are no stairs.
Gwendil: Exactly. Hmpf, I can't move it... How is Mell?
SLINKER: Wind is still humming. The Elf didn't shut the gate?
Sméagol... does everything hisself?
Gwendil: No. Good thing you came. Looks like Mell was right to trust you. Let me help you get up there. At least that I can do. Watch!
I find this conversation kind of funny on a meta level. 'Yeah hi I walked offscreen and broke my leg' 'How?' 'lmao' 'So you didn't do anything productive?' 'no, you and occasionally mell are the only characters who do anything. i'll unlock the next zone for you now, byeee'
He makes some stairs.
He warns us about the stairs.
Gwendil: Do not trust your step, or you will end up like me.
I know you can all see the fall damage on my health bar. No one tell him.
> Stinker > Slinker
STINKER: Elf has nothing to worry about. Sméagol helps.
> SlinkerSLINKER: The Elf will stay here?
Gwendil: I will try to heal it, but it may take more time than we have. Good luck.
He'll show up again exactly when and where the plot requires him to. Got it.
The next wind gate is not far away.
SLINKER: [huffy] There you are. And again it's Sméagol who helps. Not that other Elf.
Tell him he's wrong, I dare you.
SLINKER: I wish...
STINKER: [soft, almost tender] Eh? What do we wish, my love?
SLINKER: I wish that Gwendil Elf was gone! Then we could be Mell's eyes again. And she would drive off wraiths and evil Men who wants to hurt us.
> Stinker (Ring will protect us.) > Slinker (Mell will protect us.)
This starts an argument, although the outcome of the argument appears to affect nothing.
...Which is good, because I somehow lost this argument. I think some previous choice made it unwinnable, but I'm not sure what decisions affect this.
Convince STINKER of Mell's worth!
SLINKER: Mell would look out for us.
STINKER: Look out for us? It doesn't have her eyes left, does it?
What good is Mell for us?
We have three argument choices, Protection, Water Magic and Friendship. I cannot imagine Friendship working on Stinker so I didn't try it.
> Water magic
SLINKER: Mell can talk to the river.
STINKER: Talk to the river, eh? And how does that help us, when the Great Eye comes?
> Protection
SLINKER: She made the Ring of Haze. His Eye can't find us behind the Haze.
STINKER: The Candle Man did. Came to take Sméagol back to him. Not all that safe now, is it?
If you try Friendship, the answer is:
"Not after Sméagol put his handses around her skinny neck!"
STINKER: No, no. Leave them all! Leave and never go back!
Orc Captain: GIMBUL! FIND THEM!
STINKER: Must hurry!
STINKER: Scared little Orc, hm? But this is OUR Riddlemaster!
> Stinker (Kill the Orc!) > Slinker (Betray the Elf!)
This is an argument choice and it determines which ending you get to Mell and Gwendil's storyline. Yes you really can kill him this time. We're not doing that.
Convince SLINKER to save the Elf!
STINKER: Ss, ss, time for our little game, my love.
SLINKER: [innocent child voice] He would take Mell and go into the dangerous well with her. Sméagol won't kill him, no, of course not! Good Sméagol. Just throw a little stone. Then Mell can be our friend forever.
STINKER: Friend. Friend. When has Sméagol ever been any good for his so-called friends?
SLINKER: Sméagol always helps.
> Frail Man (What happened to him?
> Cruel Orc (What did we do for him?)
> Grashneg (He never went home.)
This was sort of difficult to win because we have been so good and unproblematic on our playthrough.
Let's try Cruel Orc. We got him killed, after all.
STINKER: Then what about the Orc from our cell?
SLINKER: That one always hated us anyway.
STINKER: Very well. One more.
Yeah okay. We get a new round.
> Bird (It betrayed us!) > Mell (How did we help her?) > Elf-cook (Is she alive?)
Let's try the bird.
STINKER: Even his "Little One" betrayed Sméagol.
SLINKER: Sméagol never did it any harm, did he? No, Sméagol gave it life. It loves Sméagol forever. Candle Man said so.
STINKER: Very well. One more.
> Frail Man (What happened to him?) > Grashneg (He never went home.)
We never betrayed Sefut, so... Grashneg.
STINKER: Remember the Grashneg? That one didn't go home to his desert, did he?
SLINKER: Sméagol tried to warn him. Only, She was too fast. So very fast! But we tried, we tried! Saved it from the light!
STINKER: After we sent him up there ourselfs!
Stinker finally wins a point. I was getting worried.
Remember I said the Grashneg choice affected absolutely nothing? I did check for a line like this at the time and couldn't find it, so I thought it wasn't even acknowledged. My mistake. But since you still can't win the point it doesn't really matter anyway.
SLINKER: Sméagol is good now.
> Mell (How did we help her?) > Elf-cook (Is she alive?)
The Elf-cook actually is alive, so... Mell.
STINKER: And what about his precious Mell?
SLINKER: We helped her! We was her eyes!
STINKER: And now, Sméagol wants to kill her only friend. [vindictive] A true blessing he is, a true blessing.
SLINKER: Doesn't matter. Precious can't protect us anymore.
STINKER: Be quiet!
SLINKER: We hates it forever!
STINKER: Be quiet!!
STINKER: [strained] Elves will let us leave now!
Gwendil nods.
Orc Captain: Nimdakh! Nimdakh, bubhoshi!
STINKER: Orcses!
Gwendil: Go! Warn Mell! I will follow as fast as I can.
Gwendil: What are you waiting for?
I am crawling as fast as I can!
I just killed a man for you!
STINKER: Elves better keep their promise. They better!
Orc Captain: [offscreen somewhere] Get off!
Zanah: Gollum!
STINKER: Huh! Shhhhh!
Zanah: Go! I won't stop you.
Is that a dead orc? None of our business, I suppose.
Candle Man is down there chanting something I am not going to bother to transcribe. According to texts.xml it translates to: "My great Lord! Hear your servant and see. I give you the Realm of Thranduil." But in the Black Speech dialog it's 'thranduilob' and I have been led to believe '-ob' is a suffix that makes something rude. So it probably translates better to 'I give you the Realm of Thranduil the Scumbag'
STINKER: Ss. Ss, ss, ss. No!
Mell: Sméagol!
She's hiding over here.
Mell: Where is Gwendil?
STINKER: Elf is on its way.
Mell: Eglerio i-Rodyn! (translates to 'Thank the Valar')
STINKER: Candle Man is calling the Dark Lord. And we don't want HIM to come, no, no, we don't. Blind Elf stay here!
Mell: What are you doing?
STINKER: [firm] Destroy it. Destroy it all.
Mell: [shocked] Sméagol! I hope you're right about this.
Candle Man: Don't disturb me! Deal with him!
We are now climbing the floating platforms a g a i n and now orcs are shooting at us. Skip over my retries and...
Candle Man: You're too late! Now there's only one question left to answer.
Candle Man: Where does the sun go up?
Mell: Where does he linger?
Mell: What does the storm illume with glistening rage?
Candle Man: The night.
Mell dips her fingers into the water...
Mell: [telepathy] Sméagol!
You're returned to the game, you only have a few (easy) jumps left. Mell and the Candle Man are now both chanting down below.
Mell: [Elvish] The enemy will never rule here! Elbereth is looking over us.
Candle Man: [Black Speech] There's no reason to be scared! Bow to me and all your lands will be spared! There is no way to escape. No way to withstand. You must live in darkness!
Mell: [Elvish] Go back into the shadows! Look towards me, Everwhite!
Candle Man pulls Mell out of the way of falling debris.
oh look Gollum faceplanted again. This game is pretty good at avoiding ludonarrative dissonance.
Candle Man: [enraged] You fool! You utter fool!
New Objective
Defeat the Candle Man!
Candle Man: What have you done?! Where are you?
We're crawling through rubble.
Candle Man: There you are!
He shoots at us. We survive.
Candle Man: You know what they will do to you in the Houses of Lamentation!
Candle Man: First, they'll impale you, then carve you like a suckling pig and serve you as your own last meal! And when you're nothing more than a shivering heap of flesh, they will throw you to His feet... and with the last remnant of consciousness you will realize that your real torment has just begun!
Candle Man: Very well. I'm calm now. See? I have no bolts left. It wasn't your fault. I was angry. Let us talk.
Zanah: My Lord! Don't!
Zanah: It's over. You know it is.
Candle Man: And you know I cannot return empty-handed.
Zanah: Then don't return.
We get a choice:
> Kill him! > Wait!
yeah that's one way not to return, all right.
We waits.
Candle Man: And go where? There is no place left. Not for me.
Zanah: You lost all your men, and the Eye does not forgive. But I will help you.
Candle Man: Don't fool yourself. You will always be a monster to them.
Transition to later on...
Mell: Where is Gwendil?
Gollum doesn't answer; I presume this chunk of the cutscene plays regardless of what Gwendil's fate was in your run.
Sudden scene change!
STINKER: Sss, very happy ending, yes. Now, time for promise keeping.
Mell: We did not forget. You kept your word. We will keep ours.
STINKER: The Elves will let us go?
Mell: You are free. Leave, if you must, or come back with us.
STINKER: They will go to their King now.
Gwendil: He must know what happened.
Gwendil: The Elves of Mirkwood can no longer hide. War is upon us, and no Haze will protect us now.
Mell: You may have awakened us just in time.
Mell walks over to playfully poke us.
STINKER: Yes, very lucky they met good Sméagol.
STINKER: But it's a long way home and the kind Elves must be tired.
STINKER: Perhaps they wants to rest first. Let Sméagol keep one last watch.
He said he'd watch, and he's watching.
Mell: Sméagol?
There's no response. She goes back to sleep.
Irises.
SLINKER: Where now?
STINKER: West. Into the mountains, sweet one.
STINKER: And under the mountains... and then? Into the Shire.
STINKER: And under the mountains.... and then? Into the Shire.
The screen fades to black for a long moment.
> Kill Little One > Let Little One live
We're not killing the bird.
After petting the bird for a moment, he launches it from his arm (unfortunately the motion blur makes it a little hard to see)
Little One flies away towards the mountains.
And that's where this post ends, because with that, all of the content that was invented for this game has been wrapped up. There's a remaining epilogue, which will have its own post.
Note: These counts are final as of this post! I'm gonna talk a little bit about our totals in the epilogue post.
SESSION STATS:
TIMES FAILED PLATFORMING... IN A CUTSCENE: 11 (+2)
TIMES SMACKED, SWATTED, OR STRUCK: 7 (+1 - I'm counting the orcs grabbing Gollum and chucking him face-down on the ground, and +1 because MELL TOUCHED OUR ARM ;_; )
GOLLUM UPSKIRT SHOTS OMITTED FROM SCREENCAPS: 14 (+2)
KILLABLE NAMED CHARACTERS ENCOUNTERED: 11
ORCS STRANGLED: 17 (+6)
EVERYBODY BETRAY ME, I FED UP WITH THIS WORLD: 8 (+2 - one each for Candle Man and Zanah, coming all this way to kill all our nice new Elf friends)
NASTY PEOPLES WHO WAS MEAN TO OUR BEAUTIFUL BIRD FOR NO REASON AT ALL: 5
Table of Contents | Previous | Next
Post-Chapter Fun Facts:
here's a visual glitch I didn't show you at the time because it was during a tense moment and I didn't want to ruin it
Now, wait a minute, Mell! Mell, no!
Another thing I didn't bring up at the time because it would break the flow: Our escape did not exactly match Legolas' story in FOTR. You have two options:
1) game of telephone/Thranduil just lied about what happened, lied right to his son's face
2) it's an AU... just go with it.
Anyway... Zanah featured prominently in our ending, so what would happen if we hadn't saved her way back when?
1) Ileth will appear next to the Candle Man instead of Zanah while you're doing the gate puzzle.
2) Remember where Zanah is just kinda hanging out in the hallway next to a dead orc? If she's not alive, Ileth is there instead. And also dead. She just died offscreen. She was uninteresting and badly voice acted and she's just dead now. So if you're thinking 'Ileth had no resolution because she just dropped out of the story', that's all you get otherwise. She just drops dead while you're not looking, and Gollum looks at the body and says 'All dead' and I hope he took a bite out of her.
3) So then what happens with the Candle Man?
Well, it would be pretty darn funny if the game was just rendered unwinnable and the player was left not knowing they were supposed to save a random-seeming NPC way back in Chapter 2 but no
if Zanah isn't alive, Little One dive-bombs the Candle Man's face while he has the crossbow pointed at us. He turns away, and Gollum strangles him while they're both in the Cutscene Zone - the player isn't given the option not to kill him.
The other Candle Man-related ending we did not see: What happens if Zanah is alive, but you choose to kill the Candle Man anyway?
Well, to be honest, I haven't seen this combo for myself in-game, and I'm not... going... to... climb... the floaty platforms.... three times... again. But I found this line from Zanah:
Zanah: Go, see after your friends. I will stay with him for a while.
She forgives us and lets us go but she also does a death vigil. I feel like the ending I picked is a little more hopeful.
Speaking of hopeful. The bird?
If you opt to kill the bird Gollum snaps its neck while he's petting it. I do have footage of this from a past run. It is surprisingly brutal and I am not going to share screencaps. He breaks its neck and it dies. Then it's dead.
Speaking of killing things. Gwendil?...
I've never seen this one in-game because on my evil all-elves-die run I discovered that... You can't 'win' the Gwendil argument if you've killed too many other people.
So I pulled this dialog and the corresponding visual direction for the cutscene out of the data.xml file, and we'll see the exchange the way Mell sees it (through descriptions).
Here's the scene description:
EXT. EDGE OF THE FOREST - MORNING
Mell and Sméagol sit outside of the Ruins, at the edge of the forest. Light rain. No music. The chaos is over.
Mell cowers under a wall, holding the Riddle Master's ring in her hands Sméagol nervously pets her feet. "Not safe here. We must go. Go home now."
Mell throws away the Ring, looking blank. Right in front of the camera the ring comes to a halt. Sméagol instinctively follows it, like a dog who fetches a stick. He crawls up to it, looks at it, slowly stretches out his hand, with a weird impression of triumph and greed. The ring reflects in his big pale eyes. For a long moment it seems like Sméagol wants to take it.. ...but then he snips it away with one finger and smiles. It is done. He is free now.
Cut to a broken bridge that connects the two parts of the ruin. Sméagol, now very upbeat and excited, leads Mell, who quietly follows. The bridge has a large gap right in the middle. A dead orc lies on the other side, leaning against the rail. Sméagol collects a long wooden plank and bridges the gap. Then he leads Mell over the plank. All the while he is babbling.
They have reached the other side of the plank. 'Here, take this, just in case.' Sméagol picks up the dead orc's sabre and Mell takes it.
Mell: 'You said he was shot. And then he fell.'
Sméagol: 'Fell, yes it did, poor Elf. Into the abyss. Fell very deep, no chance it survived, no, very sad... Let good Sméagol remove the plank, so no one comes after us.'
He turns to the plank... and feels the sabre on his neck
Her voice is tight and quiet. "Then how did you get his ring?"
Sméagol retreats backwards onto the plank, looking confused and appalled. 'Doesn't know. It must have slipped from his finger. It was dark.'
Mell: He never wore it on his finger. It never fit his finger.'
She pushes him further back on the plank. "Leave!"
Sméagol desperately tries to find words. He mumbles. 'Sméagol swears... The Precious must have left him. Sometimes they do, we knows. Our Precious left us too, long ago...Fell out of our pocketses. Baggins stole it, good Sméagol swears...'
Mell pushes away the plank with her foot. The plank falls. Sméagol barely manages to jump to the other side of the bridge. He gathers himself and turns back to Mell, looking desperate.
The camera pans away from the bridge. We hear voices shouting. Mell and Sméagol stand on the opposite sides of the gap, not moving.
Three Elves rush out of the north tower and join Mell. The Camera pans further away.
The Elves throw stones at Sméagol. Reluctantly, like a beaten dog, he retreats back into the darkness of the south tower.
Here's the corresponding finalized dialog.
Slinker: Not safe here. We must go. Go home now. Keep nice Precious, keep it! As memory. Back into the forest, yes. We can hide and wait for the moon. Nice moon. Sméagol can describe it to her. Slow now, watch your feet. Long way to fall. Good thing Sméagol's here… Yes… One more step.
Mell: Fall…
Slinker: Take this sword. Just in case. Take it.
Mell: You said he was shot. He was shot, and then he fell.
Slinker: Ss, ss. Fell, yes it did, poor Elf. Deep into nothing. No use looking for him now. Let Sméagol push the plank, so no one can follow.
Mell: Then how did you get his ring?
Slinker: (Hisses nervously)
Mell: What have you done?
Slinker: Ss, it must have slipped from his hand, yes, when he fell.
Mell: He didn't wear it on his hand. He never did.
Slinker: Sméagol tried to save him, he swears! Ss, ss, ss. It must have left him. Rings sometimes do, Sméagol knowss, he knowss…
Mell: Still hissing. Still lying.
Slinker: No! Sméagol doesn't…
Mell: Stop hissing. Go. Don't ever make me hear your voice again.
presumably this is where we get pelted by rocks and we deserves it.
Speaking of rocks, when I first played this game I did all Slinker choices until the very end, and I thought maybe there was an in-between ending where if you have mostly evil points, we would start off with the same cutscene that I screencapped, but get a... different... outcome when Gollum goes for the BIG ROCK.
But there are only two endings. He never hits the elves with the rock.
