There are 46 clues to collect in this chapter – again, it’s quite a complicated scene! They can be divided into two categories: people present at the scenes and nouns used to describe the New Order government. The clues are:
Bailey Bell Fangor Gideon Horace Josh Keene Lothar Quinn Richards Walter Webb (people) art beauty bones diligence emotions fashion francs idol indulgence lies literature lust merit mistakes moderation music secrets sloth souls truth untidiness years (nouns referring to government)
Start by identifying the four Virtues of the New Order and what actions are punished or considered anti-Virtue. Two Virtues are named directly in texts found around the scene: the First Virtue, Moderation, and the Fourth Virtue, Truth. The others can be inferred – the only remaining positive nouns are Diligence and Beauty. Propaganda advertisements show a person in an ugly dress for the Third Virtue and a person sleeping for the second. Thus, the Second Virtue is Diligence and the Third Virtue is Beauty.
Each Virtue has three “opposites” that are punished. You can fill these in by figuring out what types of behaviors contradict each Virtue. Look in particular at the confiscated items and what the people being punished by the tribunal have been accused of doing. The answers are as follows:
The First Virtue is Moderation. Excessive lust, indulgence, and emotions will be punished. (Alcohol and drugs are confiscated. Cheating, anger, and crying are mentioned.)
The Second Virtue is Diligence. At work mistakes, untidiness, and sloth will be punished. (Bills with mistakes are confiscated, sitting down and skipping work are punished.)
The Third Virtue is Beauty. Vulgar art, music, and fashion will be punished. (Confiscated items include mostly art, but many of the people being sentenced are worrying about spending too much on clothes or committing fashion crimes.)
The Fourth Virtue is Truth. All lies, secrets, and literature will be punished. (Books are confiscated, and people who lied about their identities or support of the Party are punished.)
Next, figure out how much merit is removed for going against each Virtue. To do so, you need to look at the people who have been punished and how much merit was deducted for each transgression.
Begin with Nicolas Maker, who is taking notes in the judgment chamber. He has committed two crimes, both involving Virtue 2 (slacking off and making mistakes at work) and gained 10 merit for his service. Since he has +4 merit total, he lost 6 merit meaning Virtue 2 punishments remove 3 merit each.
Next is David Gorran, also in the judgment chamber. He also received 10 merit and committed two crimes involving Virtue 4, having a secret compartment and lying about it. His merit is +8, so Virtue 4 punishments remove 1 merit each.
In the higher chamber are James Turner and Alistair Koch. Turner received 20 merit for his service, drank brandy (Virtue 1), kept books (Virtue 2) and has a merit total of +12. Since you know that Virtue 4 punishments remove 1 merit, and he lost 8 merit total, Virtue 1 punishments remove 7 merit each.
Finally, Alistair Koch received 20 merit, slapped someone (Virtue 1) and listened to music (Virtue 3). He has 11 merit and thus lost 9 in total. Since 7 of that was deducted due to expressing anger, Virtue 3 punishments remove 2 merit each.
After you have determined the punishment values, calculate how much merit each of the six people being punished lost. This involves a little bit of math – luckily, you can use the numbers and symbols in the bottom left of the Thinking screen to input your answers. The six people have committed the following crimes and lost the following amount of merit:
Fangor Quinn – Virtue 4 (lied) + Virtue 3 (naked painting) + Virtue 1 (anger) + Virtue 1 (infidelity) = -1 + -2 + -7 + -7 = -17 merit
Walter Keene – (3 x Virtue 1 (flirted)) + (5 x Virtue 3 (wore hats)) + Virtue 4 (lied) = (-7 x 3) + (-2 x 5) + -1 = -32 merit
Lothar Richards – Virtue 1 (alcohol) + Virtue 1 (anger) + 15 merit bonus for identifying fugitives = -7 + -7 + 15 = 1 merit
Josh Bailey – Virtue 2 (leaving early) + (2 x Virtue 1 (alcohol)) + Virtue 1 (infidelity) + (4 x Virtue 4(lying)) = -3 + (2 x -7) + -7 + (4 x -1) = -28 merit
Horace Webb – (60 x Virtue 2 (not working)) + Virtue 4 (lying) + (15 x Virtue 4 (owning books)) + 200 merit bonus for donating castle = (60 x -3) + -1 + (15 x -1) + 200 = -11 merit
Gideon Bell – Virtue 3 (hairstyle) + (10 x Virtue 1(emotions)) + (5 x Virtue 2(not working)) + Virtue 4 (lie) = -2 + (10 x -7) + (5 x -3) + -1 = -88 merit
Because Bell lost the most merit, the dehydrated, old-looking corpse must be his. What could the Order Party have stolen from him? Remember that Bell was a young man, and that the idol has many mysterious powers – they stole his youth. Once you have figured that out, you can fill out the chapter’s scroll, which reads:
“3 years have passed since Order Party has seized power. During a tribunal, Gideon Bell is judged to have the largest merit deduction in all tribunal history. To execute punishment idol was used on him and he lost 88 years and died.”
This concludes a tricky and elaborate case involving the Order Party and the major changes it has made to the government. The next case is the last one, and reveals the idol’s final fate as well as the results of Lazarus Herst and his party leaders’ plan to march on the King. Before heading on to the final (wink) case, check out GameLuster’s other The Case of the Golden Idol guides to track the mysterious path of this cursed artefact and the many deaths it has caused.