Let's board the Orient Express (Completed)

[spekkio]

people who equate spamming anime gifs with being prestigious and cultured

 

[Cenobyte]

No, not quite so.

First of all, "Germans" in this century ...

Its still wrong, they were not "Germans" and not part of the German Empire.

Nope, while they were no inhabitants of the German Empire, they were still seen as Germans and thought so themselves. For example, Mozart is and was seen as a German musician, while he was technically born in modern-day Austria (or more specifically, in the Prince-Bishopric of Salzburg [Fürstbistum Salzburg]). There was never a "Austrian" nationality beside the mere fact that you were living in the hereditary lands of the Austrian crown (Österreichische Erblande).

We used Yugoslavians when talking about the people Yugoslavia even if they were mix of Bosnian, Serbs, Croatians, etc ... same with calling Soviets the Ukrainians during the USSR, we call people by nationality and not by ethnicity.

This is more or less true for today, but it wasn't the case in Austro-Hungary during the 19th and early 20th century. The official and acknowledged nationalities were just "Cisleithanian" and "Transleithanian" (referring to the respective inhabitants of the two parts of the realm), the minorities used their languages as an identification and thus seperated themselves from the "Germans" or "Hungarians", the two dominant ethnicities. In fact, most reform movements didn't strive for independence, but merely wanted official recognition and minority rights. Also, "Austria" was just the name of a very small part of the whole realm (roughly the area around Vienna), while the whole state was formally known only as "The Kingdoms and States represented in the Imperial Council" (German: "Die im Reichsrat vertretenen Königreiche und Länder") for the Austrian part and "The States of the Holy crown of St. Stephan" (German: "Die Länder der Heiligen Stephanskrone) for the Hungarian part.

Gone out of style centuries ago when Feudalism gone out of fashion and even if they did had holdings across Europe we know what the Austrian-Hungarian Empire was as a nation, see my first point.

Wrong. Austro-Hungary was some kind of anachronism during the age of imperialism. The state had a very complex political system with many resemblances to the feudal system of the middle ages.
For example, Austro-Hungary was never seen as a "nation-state" by any of its constituent people or its rulers. It was a collection of states that were bound together by ancient feudal contracts.

Gross generalizations of that time period are bad because they are very complex but its clear that Austrian aimed at taking over Serbia and issued a ultimatum to Serbia they expected to be rejected, in fact Serbia accepted 9 out of the 10 points and partially accepted that last point (that was investigation of the assassination) and the Austria-Hungarian Empire still declared War, of course Russia decided to help Serbia and kick started World War I.

Well, it was a little bit like 9/11, wasn't it? It was pretty clear from the beginning that Serbia was supporting and organizing the terrorists that had done the assassination. As such, the Austrians pressed their demands that Serbia couldn't or didn't wanted to fulfill and thus triggered a chain reaction that led to the war. But I don't really think there's any historical evidence that Austro-Hungary wanted to annex Serbia. That's just a Serbian nationalistic myth.

 

[Malakal]

Austrians were Germans, same culture, same language, part of HRE, points about 'small' and 'big' unifications of Germany were correct AND when A-H crumbled after WWI they proclaimed themselves as Southern Germany and intended to join with their northern brothers. Entente disagreed and this is why we have Austria today.

But lets not OT anymore since its an excellent LP with many *interesting* faces...

 

[Redshirt #42]

Update #8

Now, since Anna's compartment door is look, we're gonna have to go through compartment E - thankfully, both Rebecca and Sophie are also invited to the concert.

Easy for you to say that, now that I have nothing to go back to.

That’s not my fault.

You weren’t talking like that in London.

London is London. Here is here. I don’t know why I feel something one day and not another, but I won’t pretend I feel it when I don’t. I’m not like you. -

So I guess that means Sophie is bisexual.

No-one’s feelings can change that fast.

Well, mine do.

You can’t treat people as if they were your toys! There are consequences, you know. I have given up a lot to come on this trip. -

The consequences will never be the same.

I don’t care what you give up. For me, that is nothing. How you make ME feel, that’s what I care about.

You won’t give me a chance!

You’re always talking about consequences, sacrifices, obligations. I don’t give a damn about any of it. If I wanted all that baggage, I would have married Philippe. At least that would have had its compensations. -

Trouble in paradise. Soon after that they go to the concert. They block the conductor's view so we can enter their compartment just behind their backs without anyone noticing (oh and ignore the golden egg in the upper left corner, it's non canon).

Now let's see what's inside.

Oh great, a goodie chest!

Bah, shitty loot. Let's read Rebecca's diary then.

The writing is mostly readable so I don't have to transcribe it.

So much for that. Now, time for some window-climbing action!

Fortunately, Anna has to keep her window open all the time, to remove the dog shit smell left behind by Max.

So, first of all, let's check out her trunk.

Nothing interesting there. Just her old dress. Disappointed, Cath decides to search the wardrobe to sniff some undies.

Anna sure knows how to hide important papers and stuff.

Tl;dr - Anna is an Austrian spy sent to stop the weapons deal.

A photo of Anna and... someone? Or her parents? I dunno.

Now here has to be something.

Nothing but JEWellery. Probably fake too.

It's kind of hard to notice these three red buttons. If you're a retard that is. The one in the middle actually opens it. If you click the other two nothing happens.

And there's the master key!

Now that we have it, let's go to the concert to avoid suspicion.

Those of you who put extra points into [Intelligence] may notice that there's something wrong with these screenshots. Well, I was too lazy to make new ones when I did this part of the story again, but the screenshots would be pretty much the same, anyway.

By the way, the music is great. Even if you miss most of it, the best part is imho near the end.

But wait... Kahina has disappeared.

She enters Anna's compartment. Funnily enoguh, Jacques won't try to stop her.

Fortunately, we know something the niggress doesn't - the Firebird isn't in Anna's compartment, but in on of the Obolenskys compartments (see the dialogue between Tatiana and Anna at the end of CD1).

And now that Kahina has left her post, let's check out the train roof.

If we keep going forward, we can see the two train engineers.

They won't notice us.

But if we turn around, we'll find ourselves right above Kronos' private car.

Fragile glass meets Cath's foot.

Looks like it's the nigger's bedroom. Wouldn't want to sleep on that bed with all the shattered glass.

Should you linger too long before you do this, Kahina will come in as soon as you jump down.

And that means you're pretty much fucked. You'll see why later.

So, that's the private bedroom. Personally, I don't like it very much.

Oh and by the way...

Cath can jump very, very high.

Anyway, there's not much to do there. Just push the small button on the nude painting to your right... and there's the treasure!

Gold! Always believe in your soul!

Also, there are some interesting notes next to his bed.

They provide some interesting details on the supposed transaction.

Of course, Cath can't jump with the briefcase.

So, in order to prevent being detected...

... Cath simply enters the concert room.

The shocked expressions of Kahina and Kronos are invaluable.

Anna doesn't seem to notice.

Kronos, on the other hand, barely managed to keep on playing.

Oh boy, they're gonna be pissed.

But that sure was a ballsy move from Cath.

Since running around with the briefcase makes manipulating other objects difficult, we'll slide it under our bed.

A perfect hiding place, only a true mastermind would dare to search for it there.

Back in the corridors, Jacques and René resume their earlier conversation.

So you’re here to continue our conversation of last night?

I’ve thought about it. And I found the contradiction in Mr. Jaures argument. -

René and thoughts? Does not compute.

- Oh yes? Explain yourself.

You say that if there’s a war, it won’t be Germany against France. It will be the workers against each other.

Precisely.

And if they mobilize we should call a strike.

If they mobilize—yes.

And in that way, there will be no war.

Naturally, without the workers there can be no war. With no railroads, no factories...

There’s the hitch. If we go on strike but the Germans workers don’t, what will happen then?

Wait a moment!

That’s the problem. They will be in Paris in three days. And where will your Mr. Jaures be then? In Brussels.

Wait! You always simplify things. Obviously, we’re talking about an international movement.

Well, that’s that. Too bad Mr. Jaures didn’t come. I would have enjoyed asking him the question in person.

You poor fool! Even if you had dared...

Admit it. I’ve won the argument. -

Now that Jacques is butthurt, let's troll him some more.

That means, enter one of the empty rooms in the second sleeping car, ring the bell a few times and get out.

It’s the conductor, Madame. Did you ring?

Electricity! That’s the future for you... -

And while he's distracted, we can check out the new sketches in the book.

I guess this is a hint that we should interact with the Boutarel boy.

Yup, Kahina will try to steal the Firebird.

René, one of the concubines, and the workers carrying the merchandise.

Another veiled sandniggress.

I think that's Vesna and the dog. An important hint actually.

The reason why the dog is so important is pretty stupid, to be honest.

And Jacques' favourite theme - René.

Now, to make his suffering complete, let's blow the whistle in front of him, for the greater lulz.

- Monsieur, please. From a child I would expect this, but you are a grown man.

This is too much. -

Ok, he has suffered enough now. Let's see how René reacts.

- Monsieur, please. Could you blow the whistle in your own compartment? -

He needs to concentrate to read all the difficult words in his magazine.

Let's check out... what George Abbot has to say.

Seems awfully quiet all of a sudden. I wonder where everybody went off to.

I believe many passengers are at the concert, Monsieur.

Oh yes, I’d forgotten. Of course that would explain it. Amazing really, when you stop to think about it. A concert crossing Europe at sixty miles an hour. Wonderful thing, modern technology. Still, our lot seems to be to sit here and read the paper.

You’re welcome to Le Figaro, Monsieur. I have read all the articles of interest.

Thank you. -

After a while Abbot decides to go to the smoking car.

Alexei is there also, so the inevitable happens.

- Good afternoon. Mind if I join you? So dreadfully dull, those long journeys. George Abbot. Nobel Industries, London.

I couldn’t help noticing your accent as you were talking to the conductor. The Ukraine perhaps? Your English is impeccable, if I may say so. You must have spent quite some time in England. I live just outside London myself, when I’m home. The city is just too active for me. Dangerous too. I don’t suppose you were there last week when that bomb went off? Awful business really. Very messy. Bits of bodies strewn about and so on. Did you say you were going on to Odessa? The reason I ask is we happen to be looking for a representative in that part of the world. Preferably a bright young fellow with fluent English and Russian, such as yourself. Of course I realize with your family background you have probably never considered a career in business and of course there’s no question you’d be doing it for money. But after all, you are a member of the new generation. It’d be a shame to bury yourself in the countryside, fiddling with agriculture and so on. Why, with your abilities you could literally help build a modern Russia. Surely you’ll agree that Russia must make a connection with modern Europe in order to flourish and develop... -

A rather one-sided conversation. But that thing about the bomb is interesting. Seems like Abbot knows what Alexei's planning.

Excuse me. -

Fortunately, Alexei has no time for such bullshits, has to work on explosives.

- Must you be going already? Oh well, do think about it. -

Oh and please, ignore the golden egg-like item in the upper corner. It's, um, a coin from the briefcase. Cath's hungry and we need it to pay for potato...

We can check out Alexei's compartment before he comes back.

Nothing interesting there, just explosives, wiring and some clothes.

Hopefully, Schmidt's compartment will be more interesting.

Unfortunately, you cannot use the window to get into the eunuch's compartment. I've never found a way to get there - some sources say that it's impossible.

There's a German newspaper on the sofa.

And a gun case next to the window.

Let's see what's inside his suitcase.

An envelope and a letter.

I hope you can read it because I have forgotten to write it down when Schmidt narrated the letter in game, lol.

The letter is supposed to be sent to some 'Baron' and it's mentioning the deal - and how Cath seems unable to pay for the guns. I'm not sure if this means that Schmidt is also a spy or that the 'Baron' is just his employer or something.

Oh and there's some old time pornography too. Enjoy.

Anyway, back to the concert.

Btw, Cath can *cough* to pester the rest of the audience.

That also makes Rebecca and Sophie stop holding hands for a few seconds.

Cath probably finds the concert rather boring since he falls asleep now and then.

- *Tyler's voice* Why don't you make it sing? -

I guess this is supposed to remind you that you shouldn't be listening to the concert, if you decided to do so.

At around half past four (I think), the concert finishes.

The audience applauds, of course. Schmidt's is overexcited.

- Bravissimo.

Wonderful.

Wunderbar, wunderbar Fraulein Wolff.

Thank you. -

Now it's about time we sneaked out and got into Tatiana's compatment. Let's not forget the Firebird, right?

There's not much to see in her compartment.

An empty book.

So much for the "I'm not little girl anymore".

The Firebird isn't there. Instead it's hidden in the bathroom.

Right under the sink.

Voila.

It doesn't really look bird-like.

Now going back to Tatiana's compartment is not a very good idea.

- What are you doing here?

Give that to me!

Tatiana you don't want to have this around.

If you don't give it back I'll call the conductor and have it throw off the train. Give it to me.

Now get out! -

And you won't find the Firebird there anymore, AFAIK.

Vassili Alexandrovitch, on the other hand, is much more willing to let us have it.

- So it was you in my dream! -

Not a wet dream, I hope.

Go on—take it.

Maybe it will sing for you. -

Riiiight. Grandpa is totally stoned.

Now let's get out.

Just a minute. How did you get in there? -

Through Miss Obolenskys compartment, after stealing the master key. Why?

Sshh. Monsieur Obolinsky is asleep. He mustn’t be disturbed.

Yes, Monsieur. -

That was easier than expected.

Now this is a good opportunity to read the translation of the Firebird poem, see if there are any hints in it.

The puzzle is pretty easy actually, and you don't really need to read the poem since it can be solved simply by pushing every button, I think.

So, "the vast southern lands" and "red rock" - Australia.

The "circle of ancient stones" - Stonehenge in England.

The "rooftop of the world" is pretty obvious, too.

"Grassy island" and "heads of the silent gods" - Easter Island.

And the "city of the temple built by the son of David" - the Temple of Jerusalem.

Now a hole opens up. Cath is an intelligent doctor so he knows that one should always put one's finger into a hole. Especially when they could cut it off.

Firebird, I choose you!

By the way, when did Cath take off his jacket?

Whatever, let's see what happens if we blow the whistle. Doesn't look like it interests Cath very much.

Oh, the Firebird sings a melody. How lovely.

Cath's fascinated with it.

Great melody, isn't it? Oh right...

Afterwards, the Firebird reassembles itself into an egg. We must hide it somewhere, since we can't use any other items with it in our hands.

There are two places where you can hide it right now.

You can do it the old-faishoned way and hide it under the sink in your compartment.

Or put it where it was in the first place. Both hiding places are bad, and you won't know why until a whole lot later. But for now, we'll leave it here. And we take the money from under the sofa. We need to show it to Schmidt or else the game won't continue after Vienna (of course, you'll see the ending once the train gets there).

Oh and Kahina says hi.

I guess this means His Excellency would like to see me. You know, he really has a way of making people feel wanted.

Is this how he persuaded Miss Wolff to join him in a duet?

You talk a great deal for a man who knows so little. -

That's Cath's speciality.

- Tell him I’ll be there. -

Fortunately, she's too retarded to notice that we're holding the briefcase we've stolen right now in our hands.

Now we have to wait a moment, until René opens his door.

Time for bussiness.

- Herr Whitney. I was wondering if you would come. -

Hey, wanna see some of my porn pictures?

- Ah... yes, yes! -

Tasty, isn't it?

- Not so fast, Herr Schmidt.

We’re not in Belgrade yet. -

And once you get outside, an another surprise.

- My friend!

It is a miracle.

You have paid for our guns!

Now, wait a minute...

Now I understand you.

You say you don’t help us, but then you help.

You’re like a Slav. You are one of us. -

All things considered, I'm not even sure why they actually wanted me to pay for their guns. You'll see, later.

Vesna left their compartment, so we can talk to Milos uninterrupted.

- Come in. It’s good you’re here.

We have many plans to make.

Your plans are your business. I want to talk about Tyler. I want to know who you think killed him.

Sit down.

Let’s have a drink.

When we left Paris, I felt there was something wrong with Tyler. -

There was a disturbance in the Force.

- To me he says nothing. But he was like a frightened man.

Always looking over his shoulder.

That’s not like Tyler. I thought there was something wrong in his letter.

I tell you he was afraid of something.

There was a shadow on him, I look into his eyes I see death.

There were marks in his face.

Three lines, like a knife. -

You mean like Milos's knife?

It was none of my men. I loved Tyler like he was my brother.

If I find out who killed him, I’ll tear him apart with my own hands.

Drink!

It’s a little early in the day for that. I’ll see you later, Milos.

Why don’t you come in... you’ll be able to hear better. -

So much for the Black Hand right now.

Looks like Tatiana noticed that something is missing.

Yes, who is it?

What is it, what’s wrong?

When I came back from the concert, the egg was gone. I thought it would be safe there. -

Not safe enough.

Don’t worry, it’s not your fault.

But it was because of me that you have lost it. It was so beautiful. Why do people steal things? -

Because they're important puzzle items, dummy.

Now it's about time we return to Kronos. Or else...

She kills you right in front of the conductors. Well, I guess they didn't like me very much, after all the whistling to the face.

Anway - Kronos #1: Returning empty-handed.

- Oh dear! I see that you have brought neither my briefcase, nor the Firebird.

This game has gone on long enough. -

Backstabbing bitch.

Kronos #2A: Giving him the Firebird (and stealing the briefcase).

You can tell from Cath's expression that this is the EVUL ending.

- Ah, excellent.

You may keep that rather heavy briefcase with my blessings. I will choose to overlook the damage done to myself.

Who killed Tyler?

It’s been a pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Whitney. -

As disappointing as one would have expected.

The game continues until you reach Vienna (that's where you'll see the ending).

Kronos #2B: Giving him the Firebird (without stealing the briefcase).

- Excellent! Please accept this rather heavy briefcase as a token of my gratitude.

Who killed Tyler?

It’s been a pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Whitney. -

The rest will be pretty much the same.

Kronos #3: Giving him the back the briefcase (canon).

I am disappointed. I would have gladly let you keep this gold. If only you had seen fit to bring me the other. It would have save dus so much time.

Maybe.

What is it you want, Mr. Whitney?

Tyler Whitney is dead. I want to know who killed him and why.

You are on your way to Jerusalem, are you not?

How did you know that?

Knowledge is more precious than gold and rarer than rubies. If knowledge is the coin in which you wish to be paid, I could tell you many things. About yourself, and that ring you wear, for example.

But the question you ask, that question I cannot answer.

Then I’ll be on my way.

Not yet. I’m afraid you owe me some slight favor for having helped yourself to my luggage.

That scarf in his breastpocket.

Get it please. -

It looks like gold!

He likes sniffing Anna I guess.

- Yes...

Thank you, Mr. Cath. I shall keep it as a souvenir till our next encounter. -

Hopefully, that won't be anytime soon.

To be continued (in the next update).

 

[SoupNazi]

THE PLOT THICKENS. Who would've thought Miss Wolff is a spy?

 

[lightbane]

Cath's fascinated with it.

If you had a magically transformer golden eagle that sings you would too. Anyways... Moar!

 

[spekkio]

This game is a wet dream for people that find C&C important.
Like most Codexers do...

We need more!

 

[Radisshu]

This game looks so cool.

 

[ghostdog]

They actually built a replica of the orient express for the purposes of this game.

 

[deus101]

YOU SIRS ARE CONNOISSEUR'S OF FINE WINES!

 

[Malakal]

That firebird is quite... large. How much would so much gold weight? And he holds it in one hand. Ah well. Good game anyway.

 

[Brother None]

It's never too early to drink! Cath is obv not a true Slav® at all.

Also that Firebird stuff is a bit dumb.

Also holy shit long, wordy update.

Also

That's just pure class.

 

[Redshirt #42]

Update #9

By the way, with all the mess in my LP folders, I've forgotten to put some screenshots in the last update. Sorry for that.

First off all, what happens if you're caught in Anna's compartment.

- What are you doing here?

Searching your compartment. -

- What are you hoping to find?

Something that belonged to a friend of mine.

Get out!

By the way, you play beautifully.

Too bad you didn't stick to music. -

I have a feeling Cath will be able to romance Anna. That alone makes this game a great RPG.

Also, right after the concert, Schmidt comes to Anna's compartment.

- Fraulein Wolff, wonderful, wunderbar! Will you join me in a glass of champagne?

You’re kind, but I’m a little tired just now. Thank you. -

Typical woman's excuse.

- Then how about dinner... -

And she shuts the door right in front of his face.

Now let's resume the storyline. Last time we had to give Kronos back the gold we've stolen.

When the train arrives at Amstetten, the trainmaster leaves his post in the baggage car. It is neccessary to use this opportunity to move the egg - because if you keep it in your compartment, then no matter what you do, Kahina will steal it and in Vienna you'll get the same ending as if you'd given Kronos the egg yourself (although the epilogue will be slightly different).

Oh yes, and in the baggage car, you can read the trainmasters notes (or whatever this is).

Those of you who can speak French and are able to read his writing might find this interesting, I guess.

Or maybe not. I dunno it seems pretty bland to me.

Now it's time to set Max free.

I'm not sure what Cath finds so amazing.

Yes, this is the perfect spot to hide the Firebird.

It's hard to believe that none of the conductors notice it, let's say when giving the dog fresh water or something like that. Oh well.

Also the dog will try to enter Anna's compatment. Awww, isn't that cute?

Eventually, one of the conductors (probably Jacques) will come and take him back into his cage.

Back to the smoking car.

Let's see if Schmidt is still butthurt about Anna.

- Mind if I join you?

Of course. Cigar?

The best Havanna.

No thanks.

Americans don’t know how to have pleasure.

How can there be a life of the spirit if the body is not fed? -

Schmidt really knows how to make a creepy face.

- How is Fraulein Wolff?

I shall dine with her this evening. -

I thought she didn't answer him.

- Tell me, August, how did a spiritual person like yourself end up as a munitions maker?

You would find that quite difficult to understand.

Unlike you, Herr Whitney, I am not motivated only by gold. I am always thinking of the higher interest of my fatherland.

Where does the fatherland’s interest lie in arming a band of Serbian terrorists? -

Discuss!!

- Terrorists? You surprise me. I had thought you would at least keep up the pretense of sympathy with the group that is paying you.

I never said I wasn’t sympathetic. I said they were terrorists. And you haven’t answered my question. The last time I looked at a newspaper Serbia was allied to Russia and France.

Your question is not a bad one. I leave it to you to find the answer. -

Looks like it made Cath angry. You don't want to see him when he's angry.

After a while Abbot comes to have a chat with Schmidt.

Oh fucking joy.

Excuse me, I couldn’t help noticing you are by yourself. Mind if I join you?

Please.

Normally, one doesn’t go about introducing oneself to complete strangers, but we lone travelers are a sort of fellowship, aren’t we. George Abbot, Empire Chemicals.

My name is August Schmidt.

Not THE August Schmidt? The rising young industrialist? August Schmidt and Co, munitions and transport artillery, one of the stars of the new German industry? I must say, I’m very pleased to meet you.

You embarrass me, sir. It is true we do quite a bit of business in England.

Yes, wasn’t it your firm that shipped I believe four thousand rifles and one million cartridges into Ulster? -

*awkward silence*

No, that wasn’t us.

Oh well, I must be thinking of a different German firm. One of your competitors perhaps. Whoever it is, they must be feeling rather disappointed. It doesn’t look like we’re in for a civil war after all. Not this week anyway.

All these troubles in Ireland, it is unfortunate.

Yes, yes, it is awful. But really sir, I must congratulate you. The recent industrial growth in Germany, most impressive.

Really?

Oh yes! Our English business could stand to learn a few things from entrepreneurs like yourself. All this political postering aside, I really feel we’re witnessing the birth of a new Europe, where business is the new international language. And the Orient Express... really quite remarkable if you stop to think about it. Here we are, we’ve just crossed from Germany into Austria and not so much as a customs check to let you know we’ve crossed the border. Now that’s the new Europe. A year or two and frontiers will be a mere formality, a relic of the past. You’ll be able to travel from England to Germany as easily as going from from one end of London to the other.

You would not believe the troubles I sometimes have to explain to people I have to keep up with what is happening abroad. To act quickly when the opportunity presents.

Oh, I assure you half the time home office thinks I’m just travelling on a lark. Old-fashioned attitude of course.

Yes, still I do find myself sometimes quite tired in the evening. Mein Vater... my father had a small factory, he never left his little town. He was perhaps not much of a business man, but in the end of the day he would sleep in his own bed and he would be at peace. I sometimes wonder if we have really gained so much.

I couldn’t help noticing you with Miss Wolf at lunch. You made quite a striking pair. May I ask if you’ve known her long?

Long? Hehe… Well, you know, I am a great admirer of her music. Hahaha.

Aren’t we all. But you seem to have a special connection with her. Am I wrong? Come on! You can speak freely, we’re all gentlemen here.

In that case, I will admit that travelling has its compensations.

You can trust me, I won’t breathe a word. The souls of discretion. By the way, what do you make of this Austrian-Hungarian ultimatum? Looks like a rather nasty business.

The note is harsh, but I believe necessary. The Balkan regions have always needed a strong hand to bring stability.

Stability, yes. That’s just where we must stand together. Of course we all have our little differences, but I can’t help feeling that on some fundamental level the goals of England and Germany are not so far apart.

I’m glad to hear you say it.

But do tell me, I’m fascinated to know: How did you begin your career?

Well, it’s really a very simple story... -

No thanks. I'd rather go back to the baggage car now. That is unless you'd be satisfied with this ending.

- Mon Dieu! -

This ending isn't so bad from the perspective of the passengers, all things considered.

Now let's find out who wanted to stab her and why.

Here's the room from the cutscene (where most of the baggage is kept), kind of easy to miss.

Let's check out the merchandise.

Boy, that's a lot of weapons.

*rummage*

- I believe you have my key. Could I have it back, please? -

Anna is pointing her gun at Cath again. Could it be... that Cath has killed Anna in self-defense and we've just seen the inevitable future?

:mystary:

Cath continues to be ballsy and simply slaps the bitch to disarm her.

- That’s enough guns for today! -

But not enough knives, spoiler alert.

- Tell me, when you killed Tyler, was that part of the job or was that your own idea?

I... I don’t know what you mean.

You don’t know you work for the Austrian secret police or you don’t know you killed Tyler?

But I didn’t kill him!

They sent you to break up Tyler’s arms deal, you killed him and you stole the gold egg he was carrying.

I didn’t! It wasn’t me, I have never killed anyone, I swear it! I met Tyler Whitney once in New York. I recognized him at the station. Once we were moving, I came and knocked. The door was open, so I let myself in. And there was blood all over.

The egg!

It was sitting on the table by the window. I took it but I didn’t kill him.

The first time I saw you, calling yourself Tyler Whitney,

I thought YOU had killed him... -

Alright, now please if you would hold still for a moment...

- ANNA! Look out! -

Cath moves Anna out of the way and the knife slashes his right arm.

Now let's beat up this bitch. Unarmed vs. knife, we've got some experience with that already.

This fight is a little bit more difficult than the last time, if you suck at Quick Time Events.

Cath had better dodge those blows or else...

- Don't move! -

There isn't anything you can do to win the fight, just dodge until Anna stands up and points her gun at Vesna.

Anna wants to shoot her but...

- Let her go. -

Romantic, isn't it.

- Vienna... I have to go now. -

Now let's see the Vienna endings. Starting with the shittiest one.

Ending A - Not showing Schmidt the money (whether you simply forget it or don't get the briefcase)

- All these trunks must be taken out at once. -

Gee, why so butthurt? You wouldn't get the money anyway.

Cath doesn't seem to give a shit.

- Be careful! These trunks are very fragile. -

For some reason, German is sometimes subtitled and sometimes not.

Milos and Vesna are pissed.

- Don't forget the ones in the back! These three, and that one too. -

Sup guyse, hope you're not still angry 'bout that gun bussiness.

Cath dies without an epilogue.

Ending B1 - Giving Kronos the egg (I think this ending will trigger wether you show Schmidt the gold or not)

- *Kronos' voice* Please accept this rather heavy briefcase as a token of my gratitude. -

Also a grimdark background sound implies that this is not supposed to be the best ending.

It is either the third or the second best ending you can get in the game. Definitely the one with the richest Cath.

And there's the epilogue.

Ending B2 - Giving Kronos the briefcase, but not hiding the egg properly (Kahina will always find it in your compartment, no matter what you do)

The ending is almost exactly the same.

But the epilogue is different. Kronos is a p. nice guy actually. I don't see a reason why he shouldn't keep the gold too. But who knows, maybe there's a sophisticated BOMB in it.

Anyway, here's the last cutscene in Vienna - the one which actually continues the storyline.

- Flowers! A flower for you, my lady? Flowers!

Good day.

One yellow rose, please.

A beautiful yellow rose for you, my lady.

That's either badly coloured money or... a super-sekrit message for the Austrian spy network!

That's a very suspicious fake smile right there.

This time, the nigga looks rather unsatisfied.

Hopefully, we won't see them ever again.

- Extra! Extra! Get your afternoon paper. Serbia answers Austria! Read all about it! -

The train leaves Vienna...

And that concludes CD2.

By the way, as you can see CD3 covers the longest part of the journey, yet ironically it's in my opinion the shortest part of the game.

Edit: I have forgotten to write the update number in the post subject. HERESY!

 

[Brother None]

I'm sorry but wut? Is he letting one rip or ?

Is Abbott really a Scotland Yarder? I can hardly believe it with how painfully obvious he's making it.
Also that conversation reads really weird. It's like they're barely listening to each other, just shooting random sentences into the air.

Also how are you supposed to know you should be in the baggage-room at that point? Is that advanced C&C or really just kind of stupid?

 

[Malakal]

Waaat? Kronos got off the train without the egg? Meh, some more endurance would be nice!

 

[SoupNazi]

Also how are you supposed to know you should be in the baggage-room at that point? Is that advanced C&C or really just kind of stupid?

Well the game does have the "rewind at any time" feature so I suppose they show you what to do this way kind of.

 

[Erebus]

Those of you who can speak French and are able to read his writing might find this interesting, I guess.

(...)

Or maybe not. I dunno it seems pretty bland to me.

It's just technical information about the train itself. Nothing very interesting or essential.

 

[Redshirt #42]

Also how are you supposed to know you should be in the baggage-room at that point? Is that advanced C&C or really just kind of stupid?

Well, there are some hints that you should go there. There's not much to do before you reach Vienna and you can see both Anna and Vesna going through both the smoking and the dining car (although, afaik, you can't follow them past the red curtain). And as SoupNazi said, there's a rewind button and if all else fails, you will see the ending where Anna gets stabbed - and you can see the bagagge car in the background so it's a pretty obvious hint where you should go.

I'd say it's a lot more difficult not to get the ending in Vienna where Kronos gets the egg - since both hiding it in the suitcase or in the bathroom is a bad idea and Kahina will steal it from there no matter what you do. The only hint telling you that you should find the dog is in the sketchbook.

 

[SCO]

And the fact she is slightly scared of the dog in the prior conversation.

Those conversations with the Scotland yard guy, Cath and Schmidt awakened by hurr durr instincts.

The biggest part of the journey is the shortest part of the game may be caused by non-stop romance. Or the overextended budget was ending.

They used about a million dollars doing this game in 1997.

Cath is really quite evil. He is supposedly a Doctor, so he should know what the fucking plant he gave to that little princess really does.

 

[Malakal]

Cath is just X-treme like this, but in a serious way. He simply does not give a shit if he works with terrorists or murderers as long as he gets what he wants. Shepard done right?

 

[Redshirt #42]

Update #10

After Vienna, we start in the dining car. There's nothing interesting happening right now.

In the second sleeping car, Miss Wolff rings the conductor.

Jacques, I've got the most awful headache. Do tell Herr Schmidt I won't be having dinner with him tonight.

Of course, Madame. Can I bring you anything?

No, no. I'm just tired.

I hope you can get some rest tonight.

Danke, Jacques. -

Great, now that she has ditched Schmidt, we can hit on her.

But first, let's check out the conductor's sketchbook, to see if there are any new drawings.

Looks like this update will be Abbot and Alexei-centric.

- I was afraid you'd gotten off in Vienna.

In Vienna? Why should I? -

I dunno, to report to your evil imperial overlords maybe?

- I don't know. But I'm glad to see you.

The journey will be over soon enough.

So what happens to August Schmidt now? -

He's going to have a broken heart.

- He will find the police waiting for him in Budapest, the guns will be discovered and confiscated.

I see, a job well done. You must be very proud of yourself.

You are one to talk. Is smuggling guns your idea of an honourable profession?

Is that my profession? -

Last time I checked I was a murdering doctor, lol.

- It's like a game to you - taking sides. -

Like an adventure game, you mean.

- Today you help the Bosnians, tomorrow the English. -

Yet again she turns down Cath's romantic advances.

- Do you want to know why Tyler died? I'll tell you. For a thousands years people have been killing each other over the Balkans, it's not about to stop for one American. Our history is a chain of blood, which is deep into the past and binds us, and it has nothing to do with you. Tyler is dead, you can't bring him back. Why don't you go home before the same thing happens to you? -

Now she hurt his feelings.

- Tyler was my friend. Maybe the word doesn't mean much to you.

But to me, when a friend asks for help and you give that too late, you don't leave it at that. -

Yes, you must also throw his corpse of a train and steal his identity. That's true friendship.

- Go away. Please. -

Meh, let's check out how Schmidt's doing. Maybe if we help him he'll give us his porn collection.

Oh, it's Pascale. Long time no see.

- Excuse me, Monsieur. I bring you a message from Madame Wolff.

Yes?

Madame regrets to say, Monsieur, that she's indisposed. She will be unable to join you for dinner this evening. I'm most sorry, Monsieur.

Will Monsieur still be wanting the special wine and champagne? If Monsieur wishes it is of course possible to... revise the selection? -

*silence*

- It shall be as discussed. Bring the champagne first, then the wine with dinner.

Very good, Monsieur. -

He took it surprisingly easy.

Now back to the first sleeping car. Alexei has left his compartment, so let's see how the bomb is doing.

That thing with the clock should be the detonator. I'm not an expert on explosives, but if I take away the detonator, he can't blow up the train, right?

Cath keeps it as a souvenir.

- I say, I think you've got the wrong compartment. -

Do the conductors ever try to stop the other passengers from entering someone else's compartments?

- Looks like we've both got the wrong compartment. -

After that, let's check out Schmidt's compartment too.

Remeber the letter to the 'Baron'? Well, it is actually longer than 1 page but I was too thick to notice.

There's the rest. I hope you can read it, because it wasn't narrated.

The train arrives at Poszony. There's nothing interesting to do for quite a while.

You can see Alexei and Tatiana together in the room behind the first sleeping car, but as far as I know, there's no dialogue to be heard.

The Boutarel family is having dinner but again no conversation.

I was so bored that I pulled the alarm lever again, for the lulz. Notice that the epilogue is different this time.

After the Boutarels finish dinner, you can listen to a thankfully short conversation between Claude and George Abbot.

Good evening. I saw you in the dining car, but I didn't want to bother you. Did you enjoy your dinner?

It was satisfactory, yes.

That's the worst part about travelling, all those meals alone. It rather gets to you after a while. -

The conductors start making the passengers' beds.

While the conductor is inside their compartment, you can see the two redshirt Serbians, Salko Popivoda (on the left) and Ivo Biskupovic (on the right).

Oh and there's Vesna Savin and Milos Jovanovic. They were in a rather heated argument earlier (in Serbian).

Back in the restaurant car, the young ladies are ordering dinner.

I just can't imagine deliberately letting ourselves in for that sort of life. I'm mean after the hell Anne's been through.

It's not so bad for Anne. She amuses herself, her husband amuses himself. I would say it worked out quite nicely for both of them. For Charlotte too.

Don't joke about, it's too awful.

But I'm not joking. I plan to marry myself when the right opportunity presents itself. You should do the same.

I shall never marry! -

How about a registered partnership then?

Don't be so dramatic. I'm not saying you should do anything so complicated now - there's too much fun to be had.

You'll still be young and beautiful for a good two or three years. If anything I think you'll be even more beautiful in a year or two, when you've gotten over your awkwardness and learned how to dress. But after that, what kind of fun can you have as an old maid?[/i] -

It gets boring again after that.

Finally.

Hopefully Alexei will live up to his promise and do his 'single deed'.

But no, he's just sitting in the smoking car.

Let's see if Schmidt is more willing to amuse us.

- Herr Whitney, have a drink.

It helps make the journey shorter.

Thanks.

I have misjudged Fraulein Wolff. -

You don't say.

There is no other explanation. -

Cath totally has a 'yeah, whatever' look on his face.

- Again and again I asked myself "Could I have imagined it? A fantasy? A romantic dream?".

But then I remember the way she looked at me. And I know - I was not mistaken, something has changed her.

Well, August, she is an artist.

An artist! Yes!

When I return to Munich, she shall play for me. She will perform at my house.

Let me fill your glass Herr Whitney! You at least have not disappointed me. -

Looks like he's been drinking a lot.

- Yes, yes, she will play for me. It will be a wonderful evening. You will be there too Herr Whitney.

Kronos and the Obolenskys, we shall all be together in a gold room and she will play!

And we will dance, dance, dance ... -

Oh boy.

Gawd, that's embarrasing.

- Life is short Herr Whitney, let's dance together! -

So much for the comic relief in this update.

It's getting late so we should go back to our compartment.

But once you're in there, Tatiana will knock on the door. Will Cath resist the jailbait?

- Monsieur, may I speak to you?

Of course, come in. -

He successfully avoided putting his rapeface on.

- You were so kind to my grandfather, I... I don't know how to begin.

Is he worse?

No. It's Alexei. He has asked me to get off the train at Budapest and run away with him. -

Oh right, she's got a thing for that commie fuck.

What did you say?

What do you think I said? My grandfather's ill. How can I leave him?

It would be wrong, wouldn't it?

Alexei is a romantic. You know what they say - a romantic is someone who spents his life looking for a good way to die. -

So suicide bombers are technically romantics too.

When I told him no he started saying weird things.

He said I'm his only connection to the world and that if I won't go with him his life means nothing. You don't know him. I really think he might do something crazy. He wanted to kill my grandfather with a bomb! He would have blown up the train and kill dozens of innocent people. -

He simply told her? Christ, it wouldn't hurt if you said that a little bit earlier, dearie. But hey, then again Cath has actually SEEN him while he was making the bomb and he did fuck-all.

A bomb?

What kind of bomb? -

The same kind of bomb whose detonator I took a few minutes earlier?

He made it himself. He's been planning it for weeks. Of course I talked him out of it, but now I'm afraid.

I don't know what he will do.

I'll see what I can do.

Would you? Oh thank you Monsieur, thank you. -

This conversation is hinting that you should remove the detonator. But since we've already done that we might aswell go to sleep.

Cath finds it easier to fall asleep when he knows that there's a bomb next door.

Oh and if you don't remove the dentator, the train will explode. Who would have expected that.

Anyway, looks like it's nightmare time again.

Looks more like a wet dream to me.

Suddenly, loud knocking interrupts this romantic scene.

- Don't answer it.

I have to. -

Alexei has come to visit us in our dreams. What is this? Inception?

Vassili Alexandrovitch, this is our farewell meeting.

No! Grandfather, look out he wants to kill you!

No, no - you don't understand! -

He just wants to plant an idea inside his head.

Looks like grandpa is prepared.

Vassili is one mean motherfucker.

I guess Alexei will get kicked out of the dream now.

Right?

Cath wakes up and goes to check his talisman (alright, alright, I will stop milking that joke).

Let's see how the Obolenskys are doing. I'm sure everything is alright.

- ... there will be an attempt on my life ... ... the murderers followed me all the way from Russia ... -

Or maybe not.

Wait, maybe it's a dream *within* a dream.

- ... I am not afraid of death ... -

Then why did you stab him?

- ... I always followed the convenants of our church ...

Tatiana - take her away from here.

The clock...

Long live Anarchy! -

Alexei, the drama queen. Never forget.

Nothing else we can do for him. Let's leave the corpse be and go outside.

- ... my company has a private understanding with the Austro-Hungarian authorities. I think if you let me speak to them, I can explain what happened here and get this mess cleared up without another fuss. No need to splash it all over the papers, hmm? Reputation of the line, I think and all that. -

Looks like Abbot is running the show around here.

- Care to join me in a drink, just the two of us, man to man?

I'll be in the smoking car. -

Well, we might aswell do that. Unless he wants to, let's say, shoot a wanted fugitive, man to man.

- There you are! What a nasty bussiness. Oh well, good job, it's over.

Saves me a bit of trouble. Cheers!

Saves you trouble? How?

Oh well, the word went out that one of those Anarchist chaps was travelling on the Express precisely in order to blow up that poor old fellow Obolensky. So the... company sent me along to see if I can spot him and nip things in the bud, you see, before any unpleasantness.

Fact is for a while I wasn't sure if it was him or you.

Me?

Oh well, travelling without a ticket, assumed name and all that.

You could see why I may have wondered. No hard feelings, I hope. -

Not really, but I want to kill you anyway.

- By the way, I found this in Dolnikov's luggage.

Oh well done.

A detonator, very nice. Amazing how these chaps can do something deadly out of nothing at all.

Speaking of which, you didn't happen to find a dynamite?

A dynamite? -

Uh oh...

- What dynamite? -

Ironic last words.

At least Abbot dies too.

You'll see the same explosion instead of the dream, should you forget to pick up the detonator also.

Now it's time for some bomb defusing.

Let's try cutting this cable.

HAVE YOU COME SEEKING THE LIGHT?

Ok, bad idea. Let's burn through it instead - because hey, fire and exlposives, seems logical, doesn't it?

It worked, surprisingly enough.

What are all these people doing here out of a sudden? Did Cath announce something like 'Hey guys I'm defusing a bomb although I have no previous knowledge about explosives, you might as well come take a look at it, because if I fuck up it will be the last thing you'll ever see anyway'?

Anyway, opening the box directly will cause an explosion.

Instead, you must turn it around and unbolt the hinge joints.

I guess Alexei had a separate clock for the dynamite itself.

There's only one way to solve this - put Tyler's letter between these two parts of the bomb. Manipulating with it any other way makes it explode.

Cath's got a 'no shit' expression again.

- I say, well done.

Now how about that drink? -

Now back to the smoking car.

Anna's there also this time.

- Cognac please.

Very good Madame.

Thank you. -

There's Abbot again. The conversation is exactly the same up to the point where he says 'No hard feelings, I hope' and Cath shows him the detonator.

- No hard feelings.

Good job you finding that bomb. I wonder, have you ever considered doing a bit more work in this line?

What line?

Surely a man of your perception must realize that Europe is on the brink of war. Britain and America have certain... common interests. An American who knows his way about, cool head in the tight spot, frankly we could use a fellow like you.

Your English police seemed to have a different opinion.

Oh yes, that awkward bussiness with that Irish policeman. As a matter of fact, I looked into that and you know you really shouldn't have helped that fellow even if he was wounded.

Our police tend to take it rather hard when a policeman is killed. But in this case I think there may have been a bit of a misunderstanding. Guilt by association, if you see what I mean. Fact is, you're a doctor, Hippocratic Oath and all that. I think we can clear this bussiness up fairly easily, assuming if we want to.

You mean assuming you want to.

This isn't the first time you've come to our attention, Mr. Cath. We never had known quite what to make of you. Some of us were of the opinion that you were rather a loose cannon like your friend Mr. Whitney. Unfortunate, what happened to him. Me, I've always felt that when push came to shove, you turned out to be one of our sort. What do you think? -

Anna walks by. Obviously Cath tries to impress her and declines the offer.

- I'm sorry Abbot, I've never been much of a joiner.

Just remember, the offer is open. The world is changing and one does need to choose sides. And sometimes things change so fast that it's hard to tell one side from the other. But I hate to say it, sometimes these situations do come down to a "for us or against us" problem, if you see what I mean.

I'll remember that. Excuse me. -

Abbot is disappointed by our brevity.

Now, after this enlightening conversation, it's a good time to finish this update. I promise there will be even more action in the next update.

 

[SoupNazi]

Oh, this was a great update. Hilarious too. Can't wait for the next installment of the Orient Express saga.

 

[GarfunkeL]

Cenobyte is correct, as far as I know. Nice to see that they got the details about Black Hand correct as well - how it was a bumbling group of over-zealous students & activists but lead by former Serbian Army officers. They were so inept that even the A-H intelligence service managed to find the evidence against them.

The Russian Anarcho-Liberal is spot on and the little dialogue about the Socialist Workers Strike to end all wars was an extremely lovely tidbit, as socialist agitators in every country tried it, only to fail. Though the prediction of true nature of industrial warfare wasn't that outlandish - Both American Civil War and the War of 1870 (plus the 2nd Boer War) and especially the Russo-Japanese war should have been serious alarms that the nature of war had changed. It's mindboggling how the ruling officers of the Great Powers managed to shrug them off, even if some did connect the dots.

Great LP, I had completely missed this wonderful gem!

 

[spekkio]

Great LP of a great game.

 

[Darth Roxor]

<_<

Dynamite?

>_>

What dynamite? *BOOOOOM*

Gawd, that's embarrasing.

Well, Cath seems to be enjoying himself