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xyzzysqrlLast time on Secret of the Old Clock:
Girls: BLAH BLAH BLAH
Sqrl: "I R A WRYTOR."
Let's get to the point where I actually play the game. We start off standing alongside Nancy's shiny blue car in front of the Lilac Inn (est. 1908). As always, we're playing on Senior Detective, because I believe the internet runs on schadenfreude and I don't want you guys to miss a second of me squirming in puzzle-induced agony. So! Straight up the stairs and into the Lilac Inn we go, and Nancy is instantly greeted by a redhaired woman in a bright purple dress.
"I'll bet my bloomers you're Nancy Drew!"
...I... uh. ... Off with your underthings, then? BOY WE'RE OFF TO A GREAT START HERE.
Jane Willoughby proceeds to relentlessly assault me with her accent, which is somewhere between "Brooklyn Flapper Girl Stereotype" and "Marlene Dietrich with the flu". Between her and Nancy, we get the exposition that Emily is super-forgetful lately, that her father died in "The War", her mother died recently as well, and also that Carson Drew wants me to go out on the porch and make a phone call to him. Anyway, Jane is sure that Emily will be fine after spending time with a "bearcat" like Nancy, and that Nancy should "Make like a boy scout and Be Prepared" before she goes upstairs.
I get the feeling conversing with Jane will be a relentless stream of hilarity and I promise to bring you CONSTANT UPDATES from wherever her home planet is.
Back out onto the inn porch and, yes, there is a pay phone dangling out there. I put in five cents and have the operator connect me to Carson Drew, KL(ondike)5-7187. Telephone exchanges in the 30s used letter prefixes! I don't know why, actually! I could research it, but oh hey there's a video game on. Carson is pleased to hear from his daughter and gives her loads of unsolicited driving advice. Yes, we DO get to drive around in the Nancemaster Mobile in this game. I am excited. He also explains that he'd like to save a client some postage, and could Nancy please pick up some papers at the telegraph office for him, once this business with Emily is concluded?
I've always kind of liked Carson Drew. He's a well-respected lawyer, but more importantly he's a supportive (if slightly nervous) father who spends a lot of time, particularly early in the series, encouraging Nancy to get out there and chase down suspects. Often he's the only one who takes her seriously. (I know in books late in the series he flip-flops between "openly supportive" and "argumentative and overly restrictive", but that's a symptom of trying to milk a character relationship for conflict that, IMO, just isn't there.) Anyway, I have no problem with doing him a favor. He's a great guy.
Back inside, we head up the stairs to Emily's room, so Nancy can... er, be a bearcat. Is this another made-up furry species, like ottersnakes or foxes? I'm not convinced any of those really exist. Emily is huddled up in a window alcove, wearing her nightgown. I engage in conversation.
Emily: "Nancy, hi! Welcome to the Inn. Thank you for that note you sent when my mother died. We may not be close, but you're one of the nicest people I know."
OPTION 1: "Thank you!"
OPTION 2: "You obviously need to get out more."
... I think tact -had in fact- been invented in 1930. I'm just sayin'.
Anyway! Chatting with Emily reveals the plot. Emily wants Nancy to take her mother's jewelry and put it in her father's safe, for safekeeping. She's not sure if anyone around her, even Jane, can be trusted. Emily keeps stopping the conversation to look around furtively, and seems convinced that someone's watching her and Nancy talk. Nancy accepts all this with fairly good graces, and agrees to--
And then, downstairs, the kitchen explodes. Emily and Nancy sprint out of the inn, and we fade out. Then fade back in to a seriously damaged kitchen door, and Jane explaining that the fire chief said things looked "hinky".
Hinky? Seriously? I can take "bearcat", but "hinky"?
Anyway, with things looking... mrf. Hinky. ...Jane is worried that the insurance company is unlikely to pay out. Without a kitchen they don't have much of an inn. They may have to close down for months... or maybe forever. What makes things worse is that it looks like the stove was the source of the fire, and Emily was the last person to use the stove... Cue Emily gasping and calling out from upstairs.
George: "And when you got upstairs..."
Bess: "...her mother's jewelry was gone."
Nancy: "Got it in one try."
Emily somehow -knew- this was going to happen. Little things had been happening around the inn, and now they've grown into bigger things. Nancy asks her about the stove, and Emily deflects. She did not leave the stove on. She did NOT. (Oh hai Nancy.) Oh, if only Josiah Crowley had left that money he kept claiming he would! Nancy is, understandably, curious. Apparently Josiah Crowley was an old man who kept visiting the inn. He gave them a big clock, and hinted there'd be lots of money when he died. "Time will tell!", he always said, but when he died the will left them nothing at all. She suspects this may have to do with Richard Topham, who was Crowley's ESP teacher.
Okay. Well, an old clock. I'm sure that will have nothing to do with this, the mystery titled THE SECRET OF THE OLD CLOCK.
In other misc data, their banker is "Jim Archer". He would know if Emily's mom's jewelry was insured. I should talk with him. Also, Jane is the only other person besides Emily who knew where the jewelry was. And Richard Topham still lives in the house close by. Both houses were built at the same time by two brothers during the Civil War. When Nancy agrees to help out, Emily enthuses that she's "the bee's knees".
You know how I mentioned earlier that this game was based on four books at the same time? Yeah, it's starting to show. If you've read any classic Drew books, you probably have some of this groovy mystery already solved, up in your head. That's cool. But mysteries aren't about fancy "solutions". No, mysteries are about doing every puzzle you can slam your face into. First, though, I think we ought to go drive around town for a while. We did promise Dad we'd get those papers, and we should check on insurance data and stuff.
On the way out, Nancy muses that a black car she saw parked alongside the road is gone now. I'm sure that has nothing to do with anything.
Out at "Tubby's Telegrams", the owner takes a moment to complement Nancy on her roadster. He also offers her a job delivering telegrams all over town. Well. I turn it down for the moment, but it's really hard to imagine a situation where I'm NOT going to want more money, so I'll keep that in mind. Aheh... speaking of which, out at the Bank, Mr. Archer is sadly musing over the state of the bank. Nancy completely fails to cheer him up by pointing out that a lot of people are saying with the stock market crashed they're in for a depression. That's great, Nance.
So, Mr. Archer, was that jewelry insured? No it was not. Why? Because it was stolen. "Ohhhh noooooo." monotones Mr. Archer. Emily's mom let the policy lapse some time ago because she thought she'd be getting a lot of money from the death of Mr. Crowley. ...that seems like, I'm just saying, kind of a poor business move. Anyway, Crowley was expected to leave a lot of money for Mr. Archer too, but somehow Richard Topham got it all. "When the time is right", Crowley kept saying, when asked about his will. And then he died suddenly and Topham produced a will and as far as the law was concerned that was that.
"But that doesn't make any sense..." Nancy says, mostly to herself. You can almost hear her, for the first time, getting the urge to PRY at things. "Richard Topham could have forged that will." Mr. Archer just shrugs it off. There's also a safe deposit box that they'd love to open, but there's no key. "Maybe... if I can find the key..." Nancy continues. "Now, don't you go jumping to conclusions, young lady." Mr. Archer cautions.
It's too late, Jim. Nancy Drew is the goddamn Princess of Persia when it comes to launching herself from conclusion to conclusion, and she's already charged up to launch a search. A search that will center around ... finding that key.
Clock? What clock? No, the clock can't have anything to do with it. Don't be silly.
Nancy: "So, with that newfound resolve in my heart, I left Mr. Archer's office and resolved to do some serious snooping!"
George: "As you do."
Bess: "Whatever happened to Helen, anyway?"
Nancy: "Oh, she got married and moved away."
Bess: "And you lost touch?"
Nancy: "Well... yes. You two sort of filled in for her, really. Anyway... wow, I feel like I've been talking all day. Let's pick this up in the morning?"
George: "Sounds good to me!"
NEXT TIME: Some serious snooping.
Girls: BLAH BLAH BLAH
Sqrl: "I R A WRYTOR."
Let's get to the point where I actually play the game. We start off standing alongside Nancy's shiny blue car in front of the Lilac Inn (est. 1908). As always, we're playing on Senior Detective, because I believe the internet runs on schadenfreude and I don't want you guys to miss a second of me squirming in puzzle-induced agony. So! Straight up the stairs and into the Lilac Inn we go, and Nancy is instantly greeted by a redhaired woman in a bright purple dress.
"I'll bet my bloomers you're Nancy Drew!"
...I... uh. ... Off with your underthings, then? BOY WE'RE OFF TO A GREAT START HERE.
Jane Willoughby proceeds to relentlessly assault me with her accent, which is somewhere between "Brooklyn Flapper Girl Stereotype" and "Marlene Dietrich with the flu". Between her and Nancy, we get the exposition that Emily is super-forgetful lately, that her father died in "The War", her mother died recently as well, and also that Carson Drew wants me to go out on the porch and make a phone call to him. Anyway, Jane is sure that Emily will be fine after spending time with a "bearcat" like Nancy, and that Nancy should "Make like a boy scout and Be Prepared" before she goes upstairs.
I get the feeling conversing with Jane will be a relentless stream of hilarity and I promise to bring you CONSTANT UPDATES from wherever her home planet is.
Back out onto the inn porch and, yes, there is a pay phone dangling out there. I put in five cents and have the operator connect me to Carson Drew, KL(ondike)5-7187. Telephone exchanges in the 30s used letter prefixes! I don't know why, actually! I could research it, but oh hey there's a video game on. Carson is pleased to hear from his daughter and gives her loads of unsolicited driving advice. Yes, we DO get to drive around in the Nancemaster Mobile in this game. I am excited. He also explains that he'd like to save a client some postage, and could Nancy please pick up some papers at the telegraph office for him, once this business with Emily is concluded?
I've always kind of liked Carson Drew. He's a well-respected lawyer, but more importantly he's a supportive (if slightly nervous) father who spends a lot of time, particularly early in the series, encouraging Nancy to get out there and chase down suspects. Often he's the only one who takes her seriously. (I know in books late in the series he flip-flops between "openly supportive" and "argumentative and overly restrictive", but that's a symptom of trying to milk a character relationship for conflict that, IMO, just isn't there.) Anyway, I have no problem with doing him a favor. He's a great guy.
Back inside, we head up the stairs to Emily's room, so Nancy can... er, be a bearcat. Is this another made-up furry species, like ottersnakes or foxes? I'm not convinced any of those really exist. Emily is huddled up in a window alcove, wearing her nightgown. I engage in conversation.
Emily: "Nancy, hi! Welcome to the Inn. Thank you for that note you sent when my mother died. We may not be close, but you're one of the nicest people I know."
OPTION 1: "Thank you!"
OPTION 2: "You obviously need to get out more."
... I think tact -had in fact- been invented in 1930. I'm just sayin'.
Anyway! Chatting with Emily reveals the plot. Emily wants Nancy to take her mother's jewelry and put it in her father's safe, for safekeeping. She's not sure if anyone around her, even Jane, can be trusted. Emily keeps stopping the conversation to look around furtively, and seems convinced that someone's watching her and Nancy talk. Nancy accepts all this with fairly good graces, and agrees to--
And then, downstairs, the kitchen explodes. Emily and Nancy sprint out of the inn, and we fade out. Then fade back in to a seriously damaged kitchen door, and Jane explaining that the fire chief said things looked "hinky".
Hinky? Seriously? I can take "bearcat", but "hinky"?
Anyway, with things looking... mrf. Hinky. ...Jane is worried that the insurance company is unlikely to pay out. Without a kitchen they don't have much of an inn. They may have to close down for months... or maybe forever. What makes things worse is that it looks like the stove was the source of the fire, and Emily was the last person to use the stove... Cue Emily gasping and calling out from upstairs.
George: "And when you got upstairs..."
Bess: "...her mother's jewelry was gone."
Nancy: "Got it in one try."
Emily somehow -knew- this was going to happen. Little things had been happening around the inn, and now they've grown into bigger things. Nancy asks her about the stove, and Emily deflects. She did not leave the stove on. She did NOT. (Oh hai Nancy.) Oh, if only Josiah Crowley had left that money he kept claiming he would! Nancy is, understandably, curious. Apparently Josiah Crowley was an old man who kept visiting the inn. He gave them a big clock, and hinted there'd be lots of money when he died. "Time will tell!", he always said, but when he died the will left them nothing at all. She suspects this may have to do with Richard Topham, who was Crowley's ESP teacher.
Okay. Well, an old clock. I'm sure that will have nothing to do with this, the mystery titled THE SECRET OF THE OLD CLOCK.
In other misc data, their banker is "Jim Archer". He would know if Emily's mom's jewelry was insured. I should talk with him. Also, Jane is the only other person besides Emily who knew where the jewelry was. And Richard Topham still lives in the house close by. Both houses were built at the same time by two brothers during the Civil War. When Nancy agrees to help out, Emily enthuses that she's "the bee's knees".
You know how I mentioned earlier that this game was based on four books at the same time? Yeah, it's starting to show. If you've read any classic Drew books, you probably have some of this groovy mystery already solved, up in your head. That's cool. But mysteries aren't about fancy "solutions". No, mysteries are about doing every puzzle you can slam your face into. First, though, I think we ought to go drive around town for a while. We did promise Dad we'd get those papers, and we should check on insurance data and stuff.
On the way out, Nancy muses that a black car she saw parked alongside the road is gone now. I'm sure that has nothing to do with anything.
Out at "Tubby's Telegrams", the owner takes a moment to complement Nancy on her roadster. He also offers her a job delivering telegrams all over town. Well. I turn it down for the moment, but it's really hard to imagine a situation where I'm NOT going to want more money, so I'll keep that in mind. Aheh... speaking of which, out at the Bank, Mr. Archer is sadly musing over the state of the bank. Nancy completely fails to cheer him up by pointing out that a lot of people are saying with the stock market crashed they're in for a depression. That's great, Nance.
So, Mr. Archer, was that jewelry insured? No it was not. Why? Because it was stolen. "Ohhhh noooooo." monotones Mr. Archer. Emily's mom let the policy lapse some time ago because she thought she'd be getting a lot of money from the death of Mr. Crowley. ...that seems like, I'm just saying, kind of a poor business move. Anyway, Crowley was expected to leave a lot of money for Mr. Archer too, but somehow Richard Topham got it all. "When the time is right", Crowley kept saying, when asked about his will. And then he died suddenly and Topham produced a will and as far as the law was concerned that was that.
"But that doesn't make any sense..." Nancy says, mostly to herself. You can almost hear her, for the first time, getting the urge to PRY at things. "Richard Topham could have forged that will." Mr. Archer just shrugs it off. There's also a safe deposit box that they'd love to open, but there's no key. "Maybe... if I can find the key..." Nancy continues. "Now, don't you go jumping to conclusions, young lady." Mr. Archer cautions.
It's too late, Jim. Nancy Drew is the goddamn Princess of Persia when it comes to launching herself from conclusion to conclusion, and she's already charged up to launch a search. A search that will center around ... finding that key.
Clock? What clock? No, the clock can't have anything to do with it. Don't be silly.
Nancy: "So, with that newfound resolve in my heart, I left Mr. Archer's office and resolved to do some serious snooping!"
George: "As you do."
Bess: "Whatever happened to Helen, anyway?"
Nancy: "Oh, she got married and moved away."
Bess: "And you lost touch?"
Nancy: "Well... yes. You two sort of filled in for her, really. Anyway... wow, I feel like I've been talking all day. Let's pick this up in the morning?"
George: "Sounds good to me!"
NEXT TIME: Some serious snooping.
no subject
Date: 2012-10-19 12:09 pm (UTC)(Also: There is indeed an animal called a bearcat! It's also called a binturong. I'm not sure that name is any better.)
--dang bunni
no subject
Date: 2012-10-19 12:55 pm (UTC)Or hell, just sit down on a big rug with some scissors and printouts of furry art and make your own favorite chimerical hybrid? We'll put it on the refrigerator with a big magnet.
no subject
Date: 2012-10-23 11:08 am (UTC)Such folks are still around too, though not nearly so prevalent as was once. I think the term is "Sparklekitties".
no subject
Date: 2012-10-24 02:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-10-24 04:10 pm (UTC)Maybe that comes up later, but I'm starting to really doubt it. Maybe Nancy isn't ready to brave a genuine crime scene yet.