#“(completely unconvinced) oh i can't just let you die can i :(”

[feenmies]

sick

[theadventurerslog]

The Curse of Monkey Island | Part 8

Continuing in trying to get the Goodsoup family ring, Guybrush took a swig of Head-B-Clear and alcohol to 'die' yet again, having proven he was part of the Goodsoup family.

This time though, I woke in a stone tomb, which Guybrush broke out of on his own. I think that chisel is the most used item in the game and it still had more uses coming.

There's yet another easter egg here if you look through the big crack.

This is in direct reference to a joke in the old original version of Secret of Monkey Island (taken out in later versions) in which examining one stump leads Guybrush to comment that there's a hole in the stump and some sort of system of catacombs under there, but you need to insert Disc 22 to continue. Oh well, just have to skip that part of the game.

And now in CMI this crack leads out into the same stump. Guybrush will look around feeling that it's all strangely familiar before seeing a horde of stunningly rendered jaguars and skedaddling.

Moving on from that close call, I ran into the ghost of this tomb, none other than Minnie Goodsoup. Spooky but probably not as scary as stunningly rendered rapid jaguars.

There were a few conversation topics here.

Tell her to go into the light. She can't. She's bound to this place until she marries a man she truly loves.

Comment on her ring, which is what we came here for. She gets very upset and says she hates it now. It was passed down in the Goodsoup family for generations and was to be her wedding ring until the diamond was stolen by that evil pirate, "My love! My honeycakes! My widdle schnoobums! My LeChuck!"

He did get around, that schnoobums, LeChuck.

They were going to marry, but he pried the diamond from its setting during their rehearsal dinner and told her he was taking it out for some fresh air, and then "the CAD! the FIEND!" sold it to the smugglers on Skull Island and abandoned her. She died of a broken heart and now the ring will remain on her finger until she has a wedding band to replace it.

You can ask her if there was any one else she could have fallen for. There was ONE she could have fallen for: Charles DeGoulash. But he checked into the hotel one night and she never saw him again.

And you can ask how to leave. She can't because she must haunt the place until she marries and Guybrush can't leave because the door's locked.

There was still one more area of the crypt to check out, so onward. And there was a strange cackling... plotting... a familiar oh so scary voice...

And who should it be?

Of course, our old pal, Murray screaming "DIEEEE" as he falls.

He actually managed to startle Guybrush though, which is his best record yet! You go, skull buddy.

Once again he asked Guybrush to join him and spread terror about the Caribbean. Once more he was rebutted. So he just lay there in pain.

I tried the Head-B-Clear on him.

"That doesn't look hung-over at all." Are we sure about that? He doesn't look so good to me...

Then! I scooped him up. At last Murray got to ride in my inventory. Also you can try to use him with Minnie but Guybrush just goes 'ew gross.' What do you know, Guybrush? They could be a match made in the fiery depths of hell!

There was also a crowbar to grab.

Now there was the crack. The main thing is to look through it, but first another easter egg from I believe The Dig. Guybrush sticks his arm in and mimics a character who I guess got stuck and it all looked bad.

But just kidding.

So, looking through it revealed a new room and in fact the gravedigger's home.

More references here including a book titled by another Lucasarts game, Zombies Ate My Neighbors which is a fun SNES game and another I played growing up.

Talking to the Gravekeeper yields yet more references to various sci-fi and fantasy stuff, but asking to be let out goes nowhere. He's read too many horror novels to be tricked. You can try to scare him into thinking you're a ghost, but he is completely unconvinced by Guybrush's voice and expects to see a ghastly visage.

There was only one item of use here and that's the lantern. Guybrush couldn't reach it, so it was finally time to put the pasted up skeleton arm to use to snatch it.

I placed the lantern on the coffin and that let me stand in front of the light to cast a shadow on the wall.

Guybrush's shadow alone didn't impress the gravedigger.

He expected "Huge, hollow eyes! Toothy, remorseless grin! Glowing inner fire!"

Like Murray! But just using him on the crack results in a shadow of just his skull which isn't especially frightening and the gravedigger basically ignores him, poor Murray.

However, using Murray correctly results in the pair working together at last.

The make a properly scary shadow.

With a few threats such as haunting forever and hiding his keys and making sure he'll never find socks that match, the gravedigger was well and truly scared and hurried off to go unlock the crypt and release us.

Murray was very proud. He was scary, wasn't he? "My demonic powers have made me OMNIPOTENT! Bwahahahahaha!"

I was free to leave now and made a stop by Stan's for fun. Murray was very impressed with how many skeletons were there and wanted one.

Guybrush refused. He didn't want Murray running around freely. Understandable but disappointing all the same.

When I left Guybrush asked if Murray was "ready to continue our heady adventuring?" only to discover he had vanished. Also disappointing but it's never the last of Murray.

Minnie spoke of Charles DeGoulash never leaving the hotel and we know of the guest who never left, so it was once more back to the hotel.

First, I made a stop in the back room with the file cabinet to find and fetch a death certificate, certifying that Hearty Beef N. Potato met his demise (at least once) on Blood Island.

While I was there, while I didn't need it just yet, I also chiseled off a hunk of that cheese.

With that taken care of I went upstairs to the guest room to find our skeleton pal.

With the crowbar I was able to remove the boards over the window then lever off the nails to essentially catapult the skeleton out the now cleared window.

He went soaring away with the blanket as a parachute... landing in...

The Goodsoup Family Crypt. Smashed right through... a window? Glass section of ceiling?

At last Minnie Goodsoup and Charles DeGoulash are reunited. He's loved her and always has and proposes to her right there. She hesitates for a moment because eloping! That just isn't done! But she loves him too, so she agrees-"A thousand times yes!" Then they share a smooch and poof away leaving her old wedding band.

And a stunned horrified statue.

I grabbed the engagement band and at last that's 1/3 things acquired.

And because I accomplished a milestone I was treated with another cutscene.

Meanwhile under Monkey Island...

LeChuck was yelling at his subordinates and Dinghy Dog, an amusement park mascot...

They're all still on the hunt for Elaine. LeChuck orders them to burn down every island in the Caribbean if they have to, but bring him his bride!

And more slaw, the villains never give enough slaw in their value meals.

So, with the engagement band acquired I still needed the diamond and the ability to get the current ring off Elaine's finger.

However, now that I've got the death certificate I first made a stop by Stan's to get my insurance money.

He wasn't terribly impressed, but gave me 'a whole lotta money' and then shooed me out. He had work to do, and Guybrush was clearly high risk.

Sorry, Stan. Kinda conned you. Again.

I decided my next step would be to find a tar replacement for Haggis to get that slippery greasy hand lotion. There was one area I had not yet gone on the island.

A village up near the volcano.

I also realized in retrospect I would have had to at least stop by here for an item needed for the diamond line anyway.

Next time we find out what's up with this village and buffet table full of food. And why did the volcano suddenly stop erupting?

And where did Murray go? Sadly, that won't be answered yet.