Murder, part 2 is the middle part of chapter III in the plot of Return of the Obra Dinn. It reveals the fate of Hok-Seng Lau, one of the Formosan passengers.
Captain Robert Witterel announces to Lau that he has been found guilty by self-confession for the murder of passenger Nunzio Pasqua. Despite the Formosan passengers proclaiming his innocence, Captain Witterel sentences Lau to death by firing line and orders the gunner, Christian Wolff, to carry out the command. The gunmen (John Naples, Patrick O'Hagan, Aleksei Toporov, and Henry Brennan) fire, but only Brennan manages to hit Lau.
Artist Edward Spratt is present in the diorama recording the scene down as a drawing which will later become the Justice at Sea sketch.
When playing a new game, the pocketwatch starts shaking after viewing this diorama, allowing access to Murder, part 1.
Things of interest[]
Passenger Hok-Seng Lau is executed by a firing line.
There are several differences between this diorama and the Justice at Sea sketch. In the sketch, Fourth Mate's Steward Davey James is observing the execution, while in the diorama he is covering his ears and looking away. Gunner's Mate Olus Wiater is standing in the sketch instead of sitting. The three midshipmen, the purser, the surgeon, the ship's steward, the first mate's steward, and the helmsman are all near the poop deck in the sketch, but none of them are present in this diorama, suggesting either they were out of the diorama's range or Spratt added them into the sketch later. Conversely, the cook and butcher are missing from the sketch but present in the diorama, possibly because they were standing outside of Spratt’s field of view.
- The identity of passenger Hok-Seng Lau can be deduced since the Captain addresses him by his full name when sentencing him to death.
- The game has no option to set his fate as executed. He dies from being shot with a gun, but the killer is not obvious: the player needs to check which bullet trails miss vs actually hit his body. Three bullets missed, while the one bullet that killed him came from Seaman Henry Brennan's rifle.
- The identity of passenger Bun-Lan Lim can be deduced as her last name is mentioned in the English translation of the dialogue. She is the only woman in the scene and is addressed as Miss.
- The identity of Gunner Christian Wolff can be deduced as the Captain addresses him by his last name and he is the one giving orders to the firing squad.
- The identity of artist Edward Spratt can be deduced since he is seen drawing the Justice at Sea sketch on the starboard side towards the bow.
- If the inspector has seen A Bitter Cold, part 1, identities of Topmen Huang Li and Li Hong can be deduced by comparing their shoes in both dioramas.
- This is one of the two dioramas where cook Thomas Sefton appears. He holds a fork while standing next to the butcher Emil O'Farrell, hinting at their professions.
- The cause for Lau's apparent self-confession is never stated. Of note, Li Hong, one of Nichols' co-conspirators, is able to at least partially understand the Formosans speaking Hokkien, as shown later in The Calling, part 1. He may have offered to act as a translator for Lau and thus fabricated his confession.[speculation]
Present[]
28 others were present.
- Seaman Aleksei Toporov
- Bosun Alfred Klestil
- Passenger Bun-Lan Lim
- Bosun's Mate Charles Miner
- Passenger Chioh Tan
- Gunner Christian Wolff
- 4th Mate's steward Davey James
- Second Mate Edward Nichols
- Passenger (/artist) Edward Spratt
- Butcher Emil O'Farrell
- Seaman Henry Brennan
- Topman Huang Li
- Passenger It-Beng Sia
- 4th Mate John Davies
- Seaman John Naples
- Seaman Lars Linde
- Topman Li Hong
- Carpenter's Mate Marcus Gibbs
- 3rd Mate Martin Perrott
- Gunner's Mate Olus Wiater
- Seaman Patrick O'Hagan
- Captain Robert Witterel
- 3rd Mate's steward Roderick Andersen
- 2nd Mate's steward Samuel Galligan
- Cook Thomas Sefton
- Topman Wei Lee
- 1st Mate William Hoscut
- Carpenter Winston Smith
Where[]
This memory is accessed via a body hanging on the starboard side of the main deck near the main mast.
Areas[]
Only the middle portion of the main deck is accessible. The exit is towards the stern.
Transcript []
- [Witterel] "Hok Seng Lau... ...you have been found guilty by self confession... ...of the murder of Nunzio Pasqua."
- [Lim] "慢且！伊無做毋著代誌！| No! He has done nothing wrong!"
- [Sia] "小姐，袂赴啊。| Miss Lim. It is too late."
- [Davies] "Quiet!"
- [Witterel] "As captain of this ship... ...and by the authority of the East India Company... ...and thus the Crown of England... ...I sentence you to death by firing line."
- [Lim] "停手！趕緊停手啊！| Stop! Stop right now!"
- [Witterel] "Mr Wolff. When you are ready."
- [Wolff] "Right sir. Ready men. Aim. Fire!"