$20 Video Game Tester Job‎

Tricky Journal Entry 7: "So much has happened since last I wrote. Not only did I use the Earth Elemental to free the spirit of the woman in the tree, but Ive also released the caged beast in the desert (ungrateful bastard) and captured the Water Elemental! I thought for a while that it was all for nothing though, as a group called the Eternal Order of Fighters captured me and appeared to want me dead. As it turned out, it was all just a test, but not one Im very appreciative to have been put through. At least Im still alive! I really wish that caravan to Raseir would hurry up and get going!"


With the Fire Elemental in my lamp, the Air Elemental in my bellows, and the Earth Elemental in my sack, I set out on the morning of day 12 with a plan. I’d pondered long and hard during my play sessions, not to mention while I’d been writing up posts, just what the Gift of Magic might be that I needed to save the woman trapped within the tree in the desert. I’d come to the conclusion that the Earth Elemental might be the answer, since Aziza had told me it would be “gained through hardship and from aiding others” and that it would be “something from which a plant can gain strength”. There’s no doubt that a plant can gain strength from soil, and I had gained the Elemental through hardship, so I set out into the desert to find out whether my theory was correct. To my delight, typing “give earth elemental to tree” caused Tricky to get down on his haunches and spread the big guy around the tree’s base. (7 points) I’d figured out the first two gifts, meaning all I needed to do now was give the tree a Gift of Love. I’d always assumed that this final gift would be a kiss, so I typed “kiss tree”. Tricky embraced the tree and I gained some points, but to my dismay I was told that “the act of hugging the tree is fruitless”. (5 points) Clearly it was the right thing to do, but I figured I must need to do something else first!


When Aziza had told me about the gifts required to save the woman, she’d refrained from detailing the third one since I didn’t have what was needed to fulfil the second. I decided to restore my game back to the city and pay her visit while the Earth Elemental was in my inventory. This time she elaborated: “The gift of Magic is the gift of sacrifice. The gift must be something you gained through hardship and from aiding others. It must also be something from which a plant can gain strength. Tell her then how you got the gift and why. You will be reminding her of why she became a healer.” Aha! This was the missing step! Aziza then confirmed my belief that a kiss would be a suitable Gift of Love, but finished with something I never could have come up with by myself: “The last gift again is simple, a mere gesture of affection. Remind her that there are still people in the world who care about others. There is only one thing you need to say to her now, to remind her who she is. Her name is Julanar, Flower of the Pomegranate. When you have done this, your part in her tale will be complete. Julanar will not be able to walk this land as a human woman until another frees her with the power of True Love, but you can at least free her spirit by giving her these gifts.”


I was saddened to hear that Julanar would not be completely free through my gifts, but further questioning convinced me there was nothing I could do to change that. I made my way back to the tree, and this time after spreading the Earth Elemental around, told the woman all about it. As I did so, leaves sprouted from the branches, forming a quite beautiful sight. (5 points) I then kissed the tree, and typed “tell woman her name” to complete the gifts. (5 points) The Fruit of Compassion rapidly grew out of one of the branches, dropping safely into my hands, a gift for restoring Julanar’s spirit! (7 points) Finally I had what I needed to complete the dispel potion, which I hoped would in turn allow me to find and transform the caged beast that the Dervish had told me about. I hightailed backed to Shapeir and straight for the Apothecary, handing him the Fruit of Compassion without delay. Moments later he handed me back no less than three dispel potions! “There. I do for you what I would not for another. This is a gift for all you have done for the city.” (5 points) Harik reminded me that I would need to add a freshly collected sample of the victim’s hair before they drink the potion for it to be effective.


There was still no sign of the expected Water Elemental, so I hopped on my saurus and strolled out to the location the Dervish had told me the caged beast would be. I was very thankful to find that it was there, since I hadn’t been able to understand why it wasn’t during my first two visits. (5 points) The beast sure was ugly too, seeming to be a combination of three of four other animals. Looking at it revealed that it was very weak due to a lack of food and water, and it seemed to have some sort of hypnotic ability. “You seem to hear in your mind the words, ‘Come closer, much closer. Come closer and release me, free me. Come closer and trust me. Look into my eyes and trust me.” The thing seemed very dangerous to me, but I needed to get some of its hair if I had any chance of helping it. I tried, but was told that I didn’t “dare get any hair as long as the beast is staring at you”. I tried walking around behind it, but didn’t appear to be able to get away from its stare! I decided to take a punt, and gave the creature some water. It began lapping it up eagerly, but was still watching me with a “hungry expression”. (5 points) I added some food into the mix, and as it chowed down I took the opportunity to attempt a daring hair removal operation. It worked, and I then mixed the hair into one of my dispel potions. All that was left to do was to give it to the hideous thing, and it gobbled it downed without delay.


The dispel potion worked perfectly, and the caged beast transformed into a man before my eyes. (15 points) Unfortunately, he wasn’t a very nice man, and didn’t appear all that grateful for my involvement in his rescue: “I know not who you are, or why you saved me, buy you are a fool if you expect to be rewarded for it. I am Al Scurva, an apprentice Sorcerer. My former master, Ad Avis, transformed me into that monster and left me to die. He will be most displeased that I am still alive. Do not think he will be unaware of your interference. He will be watching you from now on. I will give you this warning: Do not go near Ad Avis unless you have some spell of protection or are very quick. If he manages to throw a spell at you, you will either be his willing servant or else be transformed into a creature most resembling your soul. There is some major ritual magic he has planned for when the moon arises between the Scorpion’s claws and the Dragon’s teeth. If he succeeds in this it would be best not to be in this land. I certainly will not be. Just remember, Ad Avis awaits you in Raseir.” With that, Al Scurva literally disappeared! His head briefly reappeared to thank me for the food and water, but it seemed more an afterthought than a genuine expression of gratitude.


I paid the Dervish a visit to ask him about Al Scurva and Ad Avis, but he seemed to be quite ignorant on the subjects. I therefore returned to the city with the intention of training before nightfall. On my arrival at the Fighter’s Guild, I was surprised to find that someone had left me a note. “If you know what’s good for you, you will obey orders. We will leave them here. If you don’t follow them, you’ll be sorry. We are watching you.” Could this note be from Ad Avis? It didn’t seem likely as he was apparently waiting for me in Raseir. I was intrigued, and committed to returning the next day to see if there were any more notes. After increasing my stats a bit more through training with Uhura, I slept the night away in the Inn, uncertain about what might happen the next day. This uncertainty was shortlived, as I was quickly informed in the morning that the Water Elemental was in town!


I knew exactly where the Water Elemental would be found, since Aziza had given me the following advice on the matter: “The essence of Water is attraction. The Elemental will draw all water into itself. It can draw water from the very body of a human that approaches it. In the fountain, the Water Elemental will draw upon the boundless magical stream which is the lifeblood of the city. People will be dying of thirst as it grows in power enough to engulf the entire city in a flood. As long as the Water Elemental is in the fountain, the Elemental cannot be harmed or contained. It is only vulnerable to Air. Once away from the fountain, it will be drawn to the nearest source of water. You might then contain it.” Clearly I would find it in the Fountain Plaza, and I had a fair idea what Air might be utilized to get it away from the fountain. As soon as saw the feminine-looking body of water, I typed “use bellows”. Tricky was able to push the Water Elemental away from the fountain with the Air Elemental, thankfully without losing control of the latter. It wasn’t enough though, and before I could even consider what I might capture the thing in, it moved back into the fountain. Looking through my inventory, I had a Eureka moment! I dropped a waterskin next to the fountain, and then used the bellows again. The Water Elemental would be attracted to the closest body of water, and was therefore sucked into the waterskin as it passed over it. Victory! (20 points)


It was the morning of day 14, and I’d finally captured all four Elementals! I still had a couple more days until the caravan would be ready to go to Raseir though. The only outstanding thing to do was to see what the note had been all about in the Fighter’s Guild, so that’s where I headed. Uhura was not at all impressed, since someone had left another note, with this one stuck to the door with a knife. It read: “Tomorrow night is your last night. You’ll get your final orders then. Be seeing you.” Tomorrow night? What would I do for the next two days? I’d trained myself to a level where I doubted anything could touch me. Even Uhura gave up quickly and often without getting a single hit on me in the process. I went back to the inn to sleep some time away, but while I was there Shema gave me something to do: “The Katta wish to thank you for your bravery and kindness. Please go visit Sashanan the Jeweler in the Plaza of the Palace today.” I’d been wondering about the sapphire pin she’d tried to sell me for 500 dinars earlier in the game, since I’d never got close to owning that sort of cash. Perhaps I wouldn’t need to purchase it at all!

I made my way to the Plaza of the Palace and approached Sashanan. “Your name will be told in the tales of the Katta as long as there are Katta to tell them. We Katta tried to think of some way to say how much we were grateful. Please accept this gift of a sapphire pin. May it do you good.” (5 points) I distinctly recall that Sashanan had described the pin as being “worthy of a Sultan” during her initial sales pitch, so I wondered whether that might be exactly what it was for. I’d have to wait until I was invited to see the Sultan to test that theory though. In the meantime I still had some time to fill, and was getting a bit bored of grinding away at the Fighter’s Guild.


I decided to sleep the rest of the day and night away, and on waking up received a message from Shameen: “The Enchantress Aziza sends you this message of gratitude and requests that you visit her home tomorrow. It is said that Uhura at the Guild Hall has a message for you as well.” Excellent! Stuff to do! There was yet another note left for me at the Guild Hall, and it contained some actual instructions for once: “At nightfall tonight, go to the door at the end of Saif Darb off Askeri Darb. Obey, or you’ll regret it.” I certainly didn’t like the tone, but was too curious to ignore the demand. Once again I had to fill some time, so I decided to try something a little bit different. During one of my training sessions with Uhura, she’d given me instructions on how to defeat a Griffin. It made me wonder whether it was possible to fight the Griffin, and despite knowing this act would probably affect my ability to become a Paladin, I set off into the desert to try. When I reached the screen where the creature was asleep, I tried waking it up. That didn’t work, so I tried throwing a rock at it. Nope. I tried shouting, but that didn’t work either. Hmmm.... could I climb up the rocks to its ledge? It was worth a shot!

I typed “climb”, and watched as Tricky tried desperately to scramble up the rocks to the Griffin. My climbing stat was 5 to begin with, so it was no surprise that he failed. I tried again. And again. And again. I climbed until I had no stamina left, but I still couldn’t do it. Looking at the character screen revealed that my Climbing stat was now 39, and my Strength, Vitality and Luck had also increased. I recalled that Andy_Panthro had talked about not being able to max out his climbing stat in Quest for Glory II, so I wondered whether or not I’d found a way to do it. I went back to the inn to rest for a while, then came straight back out for another round of climbing. My Climbing stat had reached 67 by the time I ran out of stamina this time, but still no success in reaching the Griffin. By this stage nightfall was approaching, and since I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to meet up with whoever was leaving the notes, I rested for an hour and then made my way to the end of Saif Darb off Askeri Darb.


The door at the end of the street was now opened, where it had been locked the previous time I’d been there. On entering I found myself in pitch darkness. Someone spoke to me: “Stand where you are. You now face the most important decision of your life. Are you a man, or just a craven coward? Stand and obey, or now run away!” I chose to obey, and shortly afterwards someone came and took my equipment away. When the torches were finally lit, I found I was standing alone in a large room with my hands chained to the wall! I could see my equipment at the other end of the room, but how the hell was I going to get to it?! The voice returned: “You have 10 seconds to retrieve your weapon.” WTF!? I typed the only thing I could think of, given my character class, being “break chains”. Tricky began wildly swinging his arms, attempting to break the chains away from the wall. Meanwhile the voice counted the seconds away. 1...2...3...4...5...6...7... A man entered the room and approached me, his curved sword threatening! 8...9...YES, the chains were broken and I was free to move! Now all I had to do was figure out how to get past the guy with the sword. This turned out to be difficult, and he even made a couple of successful hits on me before I managed to scamper around him and get my stuff. Time to fight!


Feeling much more comfortable now that I had my sword and shield, I got into my combat position. Surely this guy would cause me little trouble! He didn’t! Just about every thrust and swing I made crashed into him until he fell to the floor. I was informed that many voices were calling for me to “finish him off”, but this didn’t feel like the right thing to do, particularly if I ever wanted to be a Paladin. I checked my Honor stat to find that it was currently 99, and then typed “no” as a refusal to the hidden audience’s demand. Suddenly Issur the Weapon Shop owner walked into the room! So he was behind this strange event! He wasn’t at all impressed with my inability to finish the defeated man off: “What a turkey! Even when you win, you don’t have the guts to finish the task. Never show mercy to an enemy. Isn’t that right, Walid?” The man I’d just beaten stood up, apparently not all that harmed. Issur continued: “Your real sword is in the other room. You have been tested to prove your worthiness to join the Eternal Order of Fighters. You can fight, and you’ve got some guts, but you just can’t obey a simple order. We figured we’d let you join EOF despite the fact that you failed. You are admitted to the beginning rank of our order. You are now a Brother Saurus. Welcome to EOF.” I was told that the secret password was “Might is Right!”, and given a secret membership token with my name, rank and serial number engraved upon it. (7 points)


After all the excitement, Tricky and the other EOF members celebrated into the night. Somehow I made it back to the inn, and awoke shockingly hung-over. I noticed that my stamina points had not recovered during sleep, but more importantly, my Honor stat had improved to 101. I’m not certain that I chose all the right options during this recent event, but I role-played my character as well as I could. I’m awfully close to joining the caravan to Raseir now, but first I need to pay Aziza a visit. Let’s hope she has some good advice for me, and some of that lovely tea wouldn’t go astray either.

Session Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time: 12 hours 30 minutes

Note Regarding Spoilers and Companion Assist Points: Ive written a set of rules regarding spoilers and companion assist points. Please read it here before making any comments that could be considered a spoiler in any way. The short of it is that no points will be given for hints or spoilers given in advance of me requiring one. Please...try not to spoil any part of the game for me...unless I really obviously need the help...or I specifically request assistance. In this instance, Ive not made any requests for assistance. Thanks!

Guybrush Threepwood Journal Entry 7: "Who knew this pirating thing was so difficult to organise!? It took me ages to purchase a ship from Stan, despite having stolen 5000 pieces of eight in credit for the purpose. The sleazy, not to mention highly annoying, salesman totally ripped me off for sure, but I got what I needed in the end. Ive also pulled together a crew, although Im not sure how well Meathook, the Sword Master, and Otis will work together. Still, its the best I could do in such a short time! Hopefully they all turn up a dock for our departure or Im back to square one. Im coming Elaine! I promise!"


My last post was heavy on plot development, and low on actual puzzle solutions. Let’s see if I can turn the tide with this one. After being told my vague future by the voodoo lady, I figured it was time to go pay Stan a visit. If I had any chance of rescuing Elaine from the clutches of the evil LeChuck, I was going to need a ship and a crew. As soon as I arrived, the aggressive salesman charged at me: “I’m Stan of Stan’s Previously Owned Vessels, and I’d stand on my head to make you a deal. What sort of craft are you looking for? Little? Fast? Slow? You want it, I got it. And if I don’t got it, I’ll get it. I want to make you a deal that YOU’RE happy with. Because if YOU’RE not happy, I’M not happy. But I KNOW you’re going to leave here happy today. How do I know? Just look at all these ships! I’ve got something for everyone! Come take a look around!” After this avalanche of slimy pitching, the hand-waving, elastic-jawed Stan led me over to his wares, asking me what I was looking for in the process. I decided that “something not too expensive, but built to last” would be a pretty safe bet, so ran with it. Stan, of course, had just the thing! “Affordable quality? Hey, that’s my motto! I’ve got JUST the boat for you!”


He led me to what was clearly a Viking-style boat, complete with shields on the sides. “Now, I can see you’re a no-frills kind of guy. But I can also tell that quality means a lot to you. I mean, just look at the way you dress. Rugged. Like this baby. She comes from a land far to the North, where the sea is as unforgiving as the men are tough and hey, you wouldn’t happen to be from there would you? You just seem to have a sort of Nordic quality about you. Anyway, we’re talking about a real value here. What kind of price range were you thinking of?” There seemed no point in lying, so I admitted that I could afford no more than 171 pieces of eight. This number didn’t impress Stan: “I’m glad this ship doesn’t have ears, my friend. Because if she did, she’d slap your face. I doubt you’re carrying enough cash on you for this transaction. You wouldn’t happen to have any OTHER means of finance, would you?” My options at this point were to ask for credit or announce that I had a rubber chicken I’d be willing to trade, so I chose the credit path. “Sorry, kid. Neither a borrower nor a lender be. That’s just old Stan’s philosophy. If you’ve got a job, the storekeeper in town might extend you some credit.” Now, I don’t intend to recite the entirety of my conversations with Stan, as he banged on and on in just as much detail for every ship in the yard. I did want to give you a clear picture of just how hilarious and memorable the character is though. I was laughing for about ten minutes while choosing every dialogue option I could, just to see what verbal diarrhea would come out of his mouth.


After checking out the expensive red ship in the foreground to no avail, and finding out that the blue ship near the store was Stan’s and not for sale, I finally asked about the cheapest one on offer. Stan took me to the end of the pier, and then told me all about the famous Sea Monkey. “The only ship ever to make it to Monkey Island and come back with anyone aboard left alive. Or should I say, anyTHING. You see, the previous owners of this ship were two adventurous pirates. They set off, like many before, to find the legendary Secret of Monkey Island. And, like many before, they disappeared forever. Their fate - - a mystery. Almost as mysterious as how this ship returned to Melee Island without a single human aboard. Some claim it was sailed back by a crew of chimps.” I offered Stan the same amount I had previously, 171 pieces of eight, only for him to throw it back in my face again. “Look. This is a very reasonably priced ship, but not that reasonable.” I figured I wasn’t going to get anyway at this point, and set off for the storekeeper to see if I could convince him to give me some credit. As I was leaving the screen, Stan appeared out of nowhere to give me his business card and “something to remember him by”. It was an extra strong magnetic compass, that would always point directly back to the Stan’s Previously Owned Vessels. Brilliant!


I took a closer look at the compass that was now in my inventory and discovered something potentially important. “(WARNING: Contains strong magnet which may interfere with other navigational equipment.)” Perhaps I would require the magnet to interfere in my favour at a later time! I made my way to the general store, and found that one of my dialogue options was now “I’m interested in procuring a note of credit”. I tried my luck, and the owner seemed open to the idea: “You are, are you? Got a job?” I lied and told him that I did, and he appeared convinced. “All right. I’ll get one of my notes and we’ll fill it out.” The storekeeper went upstairs to the safe and turned the handle so it pointed west, then east, then west, and then east again. The door opened, at which point the storekeeper picked up the note and returned. Finally I knew how to open the safe! The storekeeper asked more information regarding my occupation, leaving me with the choice of 1. a grog-swilling, foul-smelling pirate, 2. a waiter at the SCUMM Bar, 3. an acrobat with the travelling circus, or 4. a ship cleaner at Stan’s ship yard. I chose the fourth option, figuring that none of them were going to be successful anyway. As expected, the storekeeper wasn’t convinced: “I haven’t seen a clean ship over there in years. You’re either lying, or you’re just a crummy worker. Either way, I don’t trust you.”


The storekeeper returned the note to the safe, and on his return I asked him about the Sword Master. As it had previously, this resulted in the old man leaving the store to go visit the Sword Master, giving me the opportunity I was after. I went to the safe and copied the handle movements I’d witnessed earlier. The door opened, and I was able to get the credit note! “I, the good and honourable storekeeper do hereby take liability for the debts of the bearer of this note for any amount up to 5000 pieces of eight.” Awesome! I now had 5171 pieces of eight with which to purchase the ship I needed! I raced back to Stan and asked if he would accept a credit note in exchange for the Sea Monkey. “Hey, of course! Your credit’s always good at Stan’s. It doesn’t matter if you’ve had credit problems in the past. Bankruptcy...chronic gambling mishaps...I mean, who am I to judge, right?” I offered Stan 2000 pieces of eight for the ship, then 3000, then 4000, and then finally 5000! To my dismay, he accepted none of these offers! I asked him how much he wanted for it, and he came back with 9000 frickin pieces of eight! How was I going to afford that?! There had to be a way to convince him. Perhaps if I tried to leave he would come to the party.  I told Stan to forget the whole thing and started to leave. “Now, wait a second! Don’t go away mad. I’m sure we can work something out.”


Sadly, Stan still wouldn’t accept my offer of 5000 pieces of eight, so I decided to try and find a crew instead. Perhaps I would gain some more cash during my travels?! The one character I’d not achieved anything with yet was Meathook, so I made my way to his island to see if things had changed. I informed the handless man that the Governor had been kidnapped, and he didn’t believe me. I showed him LeChuck’s note, and the guy seemed genuinely concerned for Elaine’s safety. “What are we going to do?” I suggested we get a crew together and go after them, and while Meathook thought this a fine idea, he was concerned that we wouldn’t have a captain. Guybrush put his hand up for the role, but Meathook only laughed. Eventually he asked me to prove I was worthy of the role, and then led me to some sort of enclosure. To prove how brave I was, he demanded I open the doors and touch the hideous creature that was held captive within. “Let’s just hope you’re quicker than I was. Oh, I just remembered something. I never did get around to feeding him this week. Silly me.” I knew all too well that whatever was beyond the doors would be harmless, but I was still intrigued to find out what it was. As Meathook climbed up onto another floor, well out of way of harm, I opened the door! I was shown a really nice close-up of Guybrush, eyes wide with trepidation, and then the shockingly evil and violent demon creature from hell was revealed to be...a parrot!


I had a bunch of previously unseen actions in my menu such as taunt, tickle, annoy and poke, but I chose to "feel" the “murderous winged devil”. Guybrush simply reached up and touched the bird, causing Meathook to scream in disbelief. “I don’t believe it. You are a brave man after all. You faced the beast I’ve feared all these years. You had the guts to do what I never could. I feel like such a coward.” Meathook professed his unworthiness to be part of my crew, but in true Top Gun style I convinced him otherwise: “You’re a big, strong good-looking guy with a talking tattoo. You can swab my decks any time!” I left my first crew member while he was packing his bags for the journey, and as I departed I was witness to another cut-scene. LeChuck and his crew had returned to their underground hiding place after kidnapping Elaine. I was a bit stunned though to find none other than Sheriff Fester Shinetop standing in the place of the ghost pirate in his room. Even moreso when Bob entered the room and called him Captain! “Captain, sir. I just stopped by to congratulate you on your kidnapping mission.” Things became clear when Shinetop’s form began to warp in horrible ways. LeChuck burst out from within, and the penny dropped. LeChuck was Shinetop! Shinetop was LeChuck! I felt a bit stupid that I hadn’t guessed this connection, particularly after Shinetop had ranted about his “plans for the Governor” during my last session.


LeChuck asked Bob how the Governor fared, and the answer wasn’t all positive: “Ah yes, the prisoner. We had a little trouble. Nothing to worry about, sir, everything’s under control. She escaped a few times, but we’ve got her locked up in the brig. No-one’s getting in or out of there.” LeChuck made it clear that any failure wouldn’t be tolerated: “For your sake I hope not. With years of planning almost destroyed by my death, I’m not taking any chances now.” Bob asked his Captain whether he had dealt with Mr. Threepwood appropriately, to which he responded: “Guybrush Threepwood will not be a problem. At this very moment, he’s twenty feet under water, probably bloated up like a fattened pig. ‘Is eyes being eaten out by crabs. Fish peckin’ at his fingers. Kinda makes you wish you were there to watch.” The cut-scene ended with LeChuck demanding Bob run an errand: “Now go check on the root. Make sure it’s locked up tight.” Clearly this was the root that the voodoo lady had spoken of! The root that could destroy a ghost just by touching it! At least now I knew where it was, but I still needed a boat, and likely, more crew members. I made my way back to the Sword Master’s home, guessing that she might be interested in assisting in the Governor’s rescue. On seeing the note, she took no further convincing: “Hmmm, I have a feeling I’m going to regret this, but count me in. I’ll meet you at the dock.”


Now I had two crew members, but I hadn’t gained any more money to purchase a boat. I had a think about who else might be interested, and after a few failed attempts (I wasn’t able to talk to the cook in the SCUMM Bar, the pirates on the main street, or the Fetuccini Brothers in the travelling circus), I went to pay Otis a visit in prison. However, before I entered I noticed someone standing beneath the archway leading to the Governor’s mansion. When I approached, they asked me whether they could help me. I told them I was just on my way to the Governor’s house, at which point they asked if I was there “for the looting”. Apparently there was a huge amount of people looting the mansion, and if I wanted to join them I would have to book a time slot for later in the day. I found this whole conversation to be particularly hysterical, and after my attempts to fool them into letting me pass failed, I booked in a looting slot at “around the two o’clock hour”. With that little episode done with, I went and told Otis about the Governor’s kidnapping. Initially he seemed concerned: “They’ve kidnapped the Governor? That makes me really mad. I feel like kicking someone. Hmm...I wonder if she left her place unlocked.” Despite doubting that Otis would make a very good crew member, I asked if he would join us if I were to free him from his confines. He told me he would be eternally indebted to his emancipator, so I took a look at my inventory items. The answer hit me immediately!


The grog I’d got from the barrel in the SCUMM Bar had burnt through the mug I’d used, so perhaps it would also burn through the lock! Suddenly I recalled doing this as a kid, so I knew it was the right thing to try. I raced back to the kitchen and got some grog, but the mug melted into nothingness well before I could get back to the prison. Eureka! It dawned on me that I might be able to pour the grog from mug to mug while I was travelling between the two buildings, and this turned out to be the correct answer. Pouring the green liquid onto the lock burnt a hole in it, freeing Otis! My victory turned sour quickly though, as the bastard wasn’t as grateful as he should have been: “I’m free! Oh yeah, thanks. Sucker!! HA HA HA!!!” Otis left me standing in the prison, wondering how someone could go back on their word like that. Since I couldn’t think of any other potential crew members, I made my way back to Stan’s, determined to find a way to get the ship I needed. I have to admit I’m not certain what I did to get Stan to agree to 5000. I only know that every time I offered him a different price, his asking price changed. When it was finally as low as 5900 pieces of eight, I offered the 5000 and was successful. “Okay! Okay! It’s killing me, but okay! And I thought I was going to give my children Christmas presents this year. Just take it out of here. I’m GLAD to get rid of it. See you at the dock, and don’t forget your crew. All three of them.” Finally I had a ship, and perhaps a crew! It’s time to go to the docks and see whether Otis has changed his mind...


Total Time: 5 hours 00 minutes

Note Regarding Spoilers and Companion Assist Points: Ive written a set of rules regarding spoilers and companion assist points. Please read it here before making any comments that could be considered a spoiler in any way. The short of it is that no points will be given for hints or spoilers given in advance of me requiring one. Please...try not to spoil any part of the game for me...unless I really obviously need the help...or I specifically request assistance. In this instance, Ive not made any requests for assistance. Thanks!