First of all, sorry! I'm a little late this time, but this week-end has been really busy and I'm still recovering from all the 'run here', 'do that', 'go there' and so on. Yesterday I was so tired - I can't remember the last time I walked so much - that I couldn't even muster the force to play
Mass Effect 2. Anyway, here's my comment on Chapter Two.
Schloss Ritter: from VGA to FMV
Schloss Ritter, which we got a change to see at the end of
Sins of the Fathers has been completely overhauled for
The Beast Within, a thing in-game cleverly masked by the actual renovation the castle underwent, thanks to the money Gabriel snatched from the Voodoo Hounfour. The schloss' general appearance has become less stark and wintry, and more cozy and homely, with
warm wooden tones, rich carpets and dainty decorations substituting the
grimy and bare stone walls seen in the first adventure. On the other hand, the main bedroom has remained pretty much the same, and only the
mantelpiece has ostensibly changed from
Sins of the Fathers, along with the four-poster bed (now a simpler one) and some general furniture (gone is the mirror, and we've gained a wardrobe). The
Schattenjager library, like the hall, has been revamped in more a drastic way and it is the only location that really bears little to no resemblance with what we've seen in the first game: there is a large window in the room now, allowing more light to flow in, and the bleak stone has given way to warm plaster covering the walls, while the bookcases have been rearranged in a more tidy way. We've also gained many adornments, like a Madonna statue and some Medieval weapons on the walls.
The intent of these renovations - beside being obviously motivated by budgetary reasons - is to make Schloos Ritter a less foreboding, alien place and more an operational base for the Schattenjager and his assistants, like we can see in
Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned's opening graphic novel, where Gabriel and Grace both work as a team in the library. However, there is even a more subtle reason: aside from the opening sequence, Schloss Ritter is Grace's main location and the ambiance of the castle - again: cozy, homely, warm - serves two purposes: in Chapter Two (and part of Chapter Four), this atmosphere is in clear contrast with Grace's hostility toward Gerde, to the point that the homely atmosphere itself fuels Grace's suspicions toward Gabriel's relationship with the housekeeper ('the love-nest in the Alps'). In the latter half of Chapter Four and in Chapter Six, on the other hand, the atmosphere will mirror...
Spoiler:... Grace's new attitude toward Gerde, after the realization of her love for Wolfgang, and Gerde's more friendly attitude toward Grace in turn. This change is also evident in the brief cutscenes that trigger upon exiting or entering the Schloss in Ch. 4 (after the crypt scene) and Ch. 6. In the novel, this change is wonderfully depicted: "'Never mind,' Grace said, her blush deepening further still. 'Anyway, I'm sorry about before'. Gerde took a quavering breath and smiled tentatively. 'Okay.' 'Really?' Grace lokked at Gerde hopefully. 'Because I was hoping you wouldn't mind talking over dinner - about the case, that is. Will you help me figure things out?'. Gerde pushed away her tears, her smile lighting up. 'Yes. I would like that very much.' ".
Occult Lore: On Werewolves - Part 2
Not without reason did the werewolf in past centuries appear as one of the most terrible and depraved of all bond-slaves of Satan. He was even whilst in human form a creature within whom the beast - and not without prevailing - struggled with the man. Masqued and clad in the shape of the most dreaded and fiercest denizen of the forest the witch came forth under cover of darkness, prowling in lonely places, to seek his prey. By the force of his diabolic pact he was enabled, owing to a ritual of horrid ointments and impious spells, to assume so cunningly the swift shaggy brute that save by his demoniac ferocity and superhuman strength none could distinguish him from the natural wolf. [...]
what other end, what other reward could he look for than the stake, where they burned him quick, and scattered his ashes to the wind, to be swept away to nothingness and oblivion on the keen wings of the tramontane and the nightly storm.
Montague Summers,
The Werewolf in Lore and Legend, Dover 2003, pp. 123-124 (originally published in 1933 as
The Werewolf)
Real-life Locations: Marienplatz
Unfortunately, Rittersberg doesn't exist, but
Ipkiss - who goes under the name of
GKFAN4LIFE on this forum - has surprisingly found its real counterpart! I'm going to link to his videos, but, if this is your first time through the game, it's perhaps safer to delay them until Chapter Six, because they might contain spoilers. I'll try my best to signal which videos are safe to watch for everybody.
Real-Life Tour to Rittersberg Castle (exterior) (Spoilers from Ch. 1 and Ch. 2)
Real-Life Tour to Rittersberg Castle (interior) (No spoilers)
Real-Life Tour of Rittersberg Square (very mild spoilers from Ch. 1, Ch. 2 and a two-second clip from Ch. 3)
Real-Life Tour of Rittersberg Post Office (Spoilers from Ch. 4)
Chapter Two in the Novel
Christian Von Ritter's journal was easily found by the dates written on the spine: 1838-1864. Curiously, as with the journal of Gunter Ritter that Wolfgang* had sent to New Orleans, the handwritten entries were in English. Could the family have originated in the Green Isles? Their patron saint, St. George, was England's own. Such a history was undoubtedly in these journals somewhere, but she'd have to take one mystery at a time.
Jane Jensen, Gabriel Knight: The Beast Within, Roc 1998, pp. 67
*
Actually, Jane Jensen mistakingly refers to 'Werner' here. I corrected the name in Wolfgang to support the in-game canon.
I hope that this paragraph - coupled with the notion that
Gabriel Knight 4 was to be set in England - will answer the question about the diaries' language I believe I've read somewhere in this thread or in our past playthrough.
