Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters

Chapter 1 "Gods and Monsters" is the opening chapter of the videogame Dry Drowning. The Chapter is preceeded by a brief introduction featuring a monologue of Pandora directed to the viewer. A following cutscene also explains the main narration takes place right after the protagonist Mordred Foley's acquittal.

Since Dry Drowning features a choice based system that influences both how the plot evolves and specific dialogues that take place within it, some parts of this page have been *\*\*\*labeled with asterisks and set to Italic, implying a different version of the dialogue also exists\*\*\**. The Alternative Dialogues section shows the possible alternatives that could otherwise occur.

Unlike subsequent chapters, this one features a unique branchless route. This page thus also provides a Unique Recap instead of the four different ones found in Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 . The four branches are triggered by choices taken by the player in this chapter: information regarding the relationship between choices and associated routes is gathered at the bottom of this page in the "Consequences" sections.

## Unique Recap (spoilers):

Two days after his acquittal, Mordred Foley was surprised to receive a job offer via phone by a mysterious individual who also requested a private meeting with him. Given that his reputation and professional integrity were both jeopardized after his trial had become public, the detective had been struggling significantly in finding customers and is not willing to let go of this rare opportunity: even working with questionable figures would be an option as long as it means making an earning and being clueless about his customer (save for the fact he is allegedly the assistant of a well known politician) doesn't bother the detective either. Moments before the arrival of said client, Mordred also has the chance to read the local newspaper and discover that a murder had taken place four days earlier, on February 22nd. The newspapers hadn't reported it yet due to the alleged involvement of public figures of crucial relevance to the upcoming elections. Several witnesses also described the ritual flavor and extreme violence of the murder as the most striking aspects of the event.

   Mordred's new job opportunity is soon revealed to be closely connected with this murder as the client introduces herself as Julie Ward, the assistant of the only suspect arrested so far. Immediatly after arriving she acidly demands Hera to leave due to the confidentiality of her meeting with Mordred. The detective's assistant is visibly upset as she suspects the real reason is Julie's party being openly racist towards immigrants like her, but does nonetheless comply. Julie Ward makes it clear she intends to have Mordred carry out an investigation aimed at exonerating her boss, Richard Baker. Doing so would later allow her to use the case to influence public opinion and accuse political oppositions of having tried to frame Baker, fearing a loss in the upcoming elections. She also hints that Mordred's bad reputation was actually the reason he was chosen for the job in the first place, as the party wouldn't oppose any use of illegal or immoral methods to clear Baker's name (whoever is arrested in his place being nothing but a mere detail). Finally, she offers Mordred a reward of 50.000 credits and the possibility of clearing his own reputation should he succeed in his task, also remarking she's confident Mordred would never refuse cooperating after seeing the murder scene himself.

Updated once the meeting is over, Hera confronts Mordred pointing out that helping Julie's party, the Black Bands, is out of question, let alone in a way that could indirectly help them win the upcoming elections. She fears their victory could trigger an outburst of violence just as brutal as the one she witnessed when she first arrived in Nova Polemos several decades before. She begs Mordred to reconsider or at least think about it, causing the player to meet his first choice: having Mordred either dismiss her critics or promise he'd at least think about it (the choice will later trigger different dialogues but won't otherwise affect the course of the plot significantly). Regardless of player choice, Mordred will ultimately conclude he must first take a closer look to the murder scene at Treasury Park. Upon arriving he will discover the police has already cleared meticolously all the evidence to prevent information leaks due to the heavy political weight of the case. Fortunately for him, Julie Ward had already arranged everything so he could have full access to the scene, allowing him to bypass the police perimeter in front of an infuriated Freya Goldsoul (here introduced as the police officer in charge of the investigation as well as an old nemesis of Mordred).

Using his AquaOS to project a hologram of the murder scene, Mordred finally understands why Julie was so confident he would accept: judging from the way it was carried out the murder bears the clear signature of Pandora, the famous serial killer he had spent years chasing unsuccessfully (also destroying his own career in the process). The shock immediatly causes Hera to panic, prompting Mordred to wonder whether it would be better for him to close the AquaOS call right away to protect her. The player has to choose Mordred's ultimate decision, but the plot won't be affected significantly (if he doesn't hang up on Hera she will help in the upcoming examination and some dialogues will be slightly different). The victim is a girl called Alicia Hart, an aspiring artist and secret lover of Richard Baker. She was killed by a cut on her throat and her eyes were surgically removed to be placed in her mouth, which was afterwards sewed. Her body was found tied to a tree with several daphne flowers scattered at her feet. Finally, a heavy lead arrow was also found planted in the victim's bare chest, while the lower half of her body had instead been wrapped in an elegant cloth. The killer's meticolous efforts were clearly aimed at reenacting the myth of Apollo and Daphne. In a trash bin next to the murder scene, Mordred was surprisingly also able to find a leather glove damaged by a clear cut with some dried blood on it: the police had inexplicably missed out on it. A nearby bench was also found broken, suggesting a fight could have taken place there. Mordred and Hera ultimately conclude the murder must indeed be connected with the Pandora case, although the detective immediatly notices some striking differences too.

   A nearby police officer (who also happens to be a political supporter of Baker) decides to disclose some private information hoping he can help Mordred. According to his recap, the police's current reconstruction would be as follows: Baker had allegedly lured the victim into a trap to attack her with a knife but the girl was able to react, wounding the assailant's hand with his own knife before succumbing to him. The killer would then have taken advantage of the park being deserted at night in order to set up the corpse (an operation otherwise estimated to require several hours). Baker's motive would ultimately be that he was being blackmailed by the victim after the two had been lovers for years, a very dangerous situation to find himself into given a public statement on Alicia's part could easily destroy both his private life and his political image in the upcoming elections. An eyewitness also claims to have caught Baker in the act of tying the body to the tree, though the police had not been able to determine why she was following him yet: her name is Abigail Sherman, sister-in-law of the suspect. Mordred is unable to learn more as an infuriated Freya interrupts the conversation and scolds the officer, commanding him to resume his duties.

Since Freya would never allow him to investigate any further, Mordred realizes he must first succeed in the hard task of winning her trust somehow. He is fortunately able to capitalize on her strong sense of justice by asking her to at least consider listening to the discrepancies he intends to point out, which would possibly push her investigation a bit closer to the truth. To begin with, Baker would lack the surgical skills required to remove the victim's eyeballs with such precision. Moreover, it would be impossible for him to do so after being allegedly wounded. Freya however replies this would only imply the possibility that he had an accomplice who had gone unnoticed. Nevertheless, Mordred also suggests the reason Baker was seen touching the body hanging from the tree was possibly that he believed Alicia to be still alive, as the cut on her throat was partially covered by her hair and not clearly visible, ultimately baiting Baker into thinking she had been merely wounded by the lead arrow (which he would have then tried to extract). Freya points out there were no fingerprints on the arrow, but Mordred replies by showing her the blood stained glove. This causes her a shock as she's unable to fathom how the police could have missed such an important piece of evidence, up to a point she becomes upset and even accuses Mordred of having tampered with it, faithful to his ill fame. Mordred ignores the allegations and suggests his own reconstruction of the events: Baker had actually been ambushed by the killer while he was trying to pull out the arrow, had tried to defended himself with his hand (thus getting wounded) and had finally fell on the nearby bench while trying to run, ultimately leaving it broken. Mordred's own reconstruction is however immediatly rejected by the eyewitness, who shows up in person in order to refute it. She points out on old man would never be able to outrun a merciless killer let alone the fact she is sure about what she saw. Unfortunately for her, she ignores Mordred possesses a power capable of sensing people's lies, the masks of lies. The mask the detective spots on her face leaves him no doubt she's blatantly lying. Since unlike him Hera is not able to sense any mask, Mordred promptly finds an excuse to run off and update her on the situation. The two decide they need to gather more information before interrogating Abigail, beginning with Baker himself in order to find out how he was able to make it out alive.

Upon arriving at the Police station, Mordred is astonished to learn that the defense attorney assigned to Richard Baker is none other than David Casey, the very same lawyer that bailed him out by having him acquitted for lack of evidence during his own trial. David is quickly introduced as a ruthless analyst who would always prioritize personal profit above all, which had led him to accept Baker's defense despite his own hatred for the Black Bands. He also reveals he was the one to lead the Black Bands to Mordred, assuming the detective's own questionable morals and his remarkable investigative skills would soon prove very helpful since the situation required David both to move under the radar to prevent the outbreak of a scandal and resort to shady methods if necessary. He quickly updates the detective on the conditions of his client (emphasizing above all how his right hand had been severely wounded) but also asks Mordred information about an unreported piece of evidence the detective had allegedly found. The player can choose to disclose the information with David or not depending on whether he prefers protecting Freya or helping the lawyer out in his trial. Neither choice will affect the plot significantly but several lines of dialogue will be later influenced by it.

David then sets up a meeting between Mordred and his client, allowing the detective to begin his interrogation. Baker is quick and blunt, both in describing the nature of his affair with the victim (where he would provide the financial support she needed to fulfil her dreams in exchange of sex) and in dismissing Mordred's critics of his political ideals, ultimately reminding him that their fates are inevitably connected regardless of what he thinks. He then provides his own reconstruction of the events: a few days earlier Alicia had contacted him, threatening to blow the whistle if he refused to meet her in person to furtherly discuss details of their secret agreement. Upon arriving at Treasury Park though, he had found Alicia already tied to the tree (as she was later found by the police itself). Still in panic, he was trying to pull out the arrow ignoring she was already dead when an unknown assailant suddendly attacked him, stabbing with a knife the hand he istinctively used to protect himself. He then tried to run but was immediatly thrown against the bench by his aggressor, fainting a few moments later. The last thing he could remember was a girl's scream, he himself ignoring how he could manage to survive after being knocked out. Baker ultimately concludes his recollection by claiming he woke up ten minutes later, finding himself alone with Alicia's body and no trace whatsoever of neither his assailant nor the screaming girl. This last statement causes Mordred to see a mask on Baker's face, allowing him to conclude the politician is hiding something too. He thus proceeds to take control of the conversation, accusing Baker of having purposefully left out of his recollection one of the most important pieces of the puzzle: the person about to testify against him, his sister-in-law Abigail. Baker tries to play fool but once again the mask suggests Mordred his intuition is correct. He thus concludes Baker must be actually protecting the girl for some reason despite her allegations, but decides not to insist and to delay his interrogation untill he has enough evidence.

First of all he heads back to Foley investigations, where he finds Hera listening to music. The piano track playing in the background is actually one she composed herself back when the two started the agency together. She admits she has been listening to it over and over lately due to the increasing fear of losing everything: her memories of their golden age are what she treasures the most as she hates the present she's living in, in which the two of them somehow ended up becoming the very monsters they originally wanted to destroy.

\*\*\**What concerns Hera the most though is the awareness that now that Pandora's return is certain there is no way Mordred would ever stay out of the case and keep his promise not to help the Black bands, with the possibility of their victory being a scenario Hera fears even more than Pandora himself. Mordred tries to reassure her by saying they would take such a decision together and swearing he would never let anyone hurt her regardless. Hera confesses she fears losing Mordred even more since he is the only one to have always stood in her defense, but Mordred objects she must have a distorted perception of him to make such a claim\*\*\*. (FOLEY INVESTIGATIONS Dialogue, triggered if the player promised to reconsider Julie's offer)*

The two of them thus proceed to bring their focus back on the case, the next crucial step being the interrogation of Anne Sherman, wife of Richard Baker. Upon reaching Baker's apartment Mordred is greeted with contempt by Anne and also mistaken for yet another journalist, realizing she is so oblivious and naive Baker hasn't even told her about his hiring. He is fortunately able to outwit her by claiming Baker had purposefully left her out of it to avoid her involvement and protect her.

    The psychological domination her husband has on her becomes clear as soon as she starts to provide her own reconstruction of the events: not only is she naive enough to believe Baker was really just trying to help Alicia (ultimately without having any affair with her), she is also firmly convinced of her husband's innocence in the murder, which according to her interpretation must have been part of a political plot staged against him. She sees Alicia as nothing but a victim, and has actually a very positive opinion of her since she was a close friend of her sister Abigail and the only one who could cheer her up in her depression (thanks to the two of them sharing a deep passion for art and movies). She also believes someone must have tricked Abigail into thinking Baker was the killer in order to have her testify against him, also capitalizing on her close friendship with Alicia and the consequent state of confusion Abigail must have been through in the wake of her death. Despite her incredibly twisted perception of the events, the absence of masks leaves Mordred no doubt she's not lying and really believing what she's saying. Unfortunately, she refuses to let Mordred search her house for evidence. The detective is therefore forced to head back to office, where Hera advices him to take advantage of Anne's fears to put pressure on her. He thus pays her another visit, this time reminding her that she herself could be in danger due to the many enemies that exist both within and outside his husband's party. As predicted by Hera, this time around she breaks down and decides to allow Mordred a thorough investigation. Upon witnessing how easily she can be manipulated, Mordred is however also moved by pity and tempted to reveal her the truth about Baker's affair with the victim. The choice is once again left to the player. Picking up either choice won't influence the main plot but will have heavier ripercussions compared to former choices, as Anne Sherman's ultimate fate will be directly tied to what Mordred tells her (more information on this is available on her own page). Mordred's investigation leads him to a shocking discovery once he checks Abigiail's laptop: a few days before the murder she had been exchanging encrypted emails with a mysterious figure named "Tartarus", despite the fact the security system shouldn't have allowed her to. Mordred quickly copies the information on an old chip (the only safe way to transfer it without showing up on the government's radar) and leaves with the intent of using it against Baker to find out more.

As predicted, once he arrives at the police station Baker's lies are easy work for him thanks to his ability to sense his mask. During his interrogation Baker tries at first to claim Alicia had no relationship with his family whatsoever, only to have Mordred promptly prove the opposite thanks to the picture of her and Abigail found in his home. Moreover, Mordred correctly assumes Abigail was aware of the secret relationship between Baker and Alice and correctly connects this piece with the rest of the puzzle: the real reason Baker was able to make it out alive was that the killer had recognized the girl's voice as she screamed. She was none other than Abigail herself, who had arrived at the murder scene with plans to film Baker and Alicia's conversation in order to ruin him. Baker then tries to admit he used used his taser to overcome his assailant (his omission being allegedly caused by him not being supposed to own one since they are illegal in Nova Polemos), but Mordred doesn't buy it as he is well aware Baker's injured hand would have made it impossible for him to use any weapon. Mordred was ultimately right: Abigail and the killer actually knew each other (though Baker mentions she looked very scared of him) which was exactly the factor that left Baker enough time to make his escape. Baker assumes both him and Abigail were left alive by the killer because he could still use them both: Abigail as an eyewitness that could easily be blackmailed into testifying and he himself as the final scapegoat that would be framed for the murder. Baker had ultimately hired Mordred to find an alternative scapegoat to frame, a scenario he hoped would also be deemed acceptable by the killern himself, thus freeing them both from his grasp. Mordred knows he must absolutely interrogate Abigail next, but before he is allowed to leave Baker gives him one final remark, explicitly saying that should something bad happen to Abigail Mordred should consider himself a dead man.

Mordred immediatly goes to Treasury Park, hoping Abigail is still there so he can question her about the secret emails. The person he finds once he arrives is instead Freya, so he decides to update her on the whole situation, causing her a visible shock. She immediatly asks for the emails, suggesting she could have them quickly decrypted. Mordred deems her trustworthy enough and gives her the chip, but also warns her not to share it with any of her colleagues given some of them could destroy such important evidence out of their hatred for Baker. Freya replies she doesn't trust Mordred but trusts her own colleagues even less, ultimately accepting Mordred's offer to work together to find out what happened. She also promises to send Abigail to his office as soon as possible. Mordred thus goes back and proceeds to wait. Once Abigail arrives, he finally confronts her about what really happened the night of the murder. To begin with, after her sudden scream allowed Baker to escape, the killer had for some reason left her alive despite having clearly seen her: Mordred concludes the killer must have done so in order to blackmail her. Hera doubles up and begs her to spill the beans so that the maniac can be stopped from killing again: only his capture would do justice to Alicia's death. This last statement causes Abigail to crumble out of guilt, so she beings to tell her story. Several months before the killer had contacted them posing as a famous director. He was allegedly interested in their work and perfectly aligned with their political and artistic views. They would use encrypted circuits to prevent the police from seeing the stuff they were sharing, consisting mostly of pictures and videos. The killer had then started showing an increasing interest in works of Alicia that specifically depicted Baker. Allegedly Alicia had at this point already started dating Baker, with Abigail claiming to have been clueless about it. Hera however promptly points out a clear contradiction, as despite the fact Baker was the person Abigail hated the most she hadn't raised any objection after discovering Alicia's relationship with him. Hera instead correctly suggests Abigail was actually the one who had pushed Alicia into the relationship in the first place, as part of a wider scheme that would later involve blackmail, the destruction of Baker's public reputation and some money earning in the process. Abigail tailing Alicia the night of the murder was the final stage of this plan (a video of her encounter with Baker would be an irrefutable piece of evidence), but once the killer himself had become aware of the girls' plan he exploited said knowledge to set up his own plan of killing Alicia and have Baker blamed for it. Alicia and Baker were the ideal duo to represent the myth of Daphne and Apollo: the former being a beautiful artist and the latter the perfect embodiment of the arrogant Sun God who thought everything (including his love interest) was under his control. With her own sense of guilt finally catching up to her, Abigail confirms all of Hera's assumptions. She starts blaming herself claiming she could have saved her friend had she only arrived earlier: after unsuccessfully trying to phone Alicia before the meeting she rushed to the park herself only to find her already dead. The killer (described by Abigail as a tall man with a black coat and a wolf mask) actually ambushed her too, grabbing her by force and dragging her all the way up to her friend's corpse. He then whispered to her ear she would end up the same way had she refused to film Baker's arrival for him. This confuses Mordred as he can't understand why the killer would want himself filmed while attacking Baker. Nevertheless, Abigail explains she obeyed out of terror and proceeded to activate her camera, but blew her cover when the fight with Baker broke out as that caused her to instinctively scream. The killer thus turned against her, hit her in the face and seized her camera while Baker proceeded to flee. He then laughed maniacally and dragged Abigail next to Alicia's corpse again, this time forcing her to caress her dead cheek while murmuring everything would be fine (all while the camera was still running in his hands). He then let her go, promising she would hear from him again soon: once home she found an email that ordered her to testify and also contained the footage from her camera (described by the killer as "a pleasant memory"). While Hera tries to comfort her for what she had been through, Mordred quickly realizes the video in her possession could clear all charges against Baker. As a matter of fact Abigail herself had actually brought a copy of it without even being asked. Hera realizes Abigail was actually hoping for her and Mordred to find the truth and free her from her burden, even if it meant having to hide untill the culprit is caught. Abigail entrusts the video (and Baker's future) in the hands of Mordred and Hera, claiming they have absolute freedom in regards to what to do with it. Mordred advices Abigail to ask for Freya's help in order to hide safely, but before leaving Abigail cryptically mentions she wasn't the only person the killer was blackmailing. This last statement worries Hera a lot but Mordred suggests tackling one problem at a time: the two of them must first of all decide what to do with Abigail's video. Making it public would allow the police to shift the focus on the real killer and clear Baker of all charges, implying the Black Bands would both pay them a big reward and clear Foley Investigations' own negative record. Doing so however would likely make them win the elections too, an event that would bring horror and pain to many people living in the city. The choice is once again left to the player, and this one will actually have a very relevant impact on how the game plot evolves from here onwards (specific sections containing more details can be found below).

    As soon as the choice is made Mordred will receive an email from Freya, containing nothing but a cryptic address: "Variagian 47". He concludes the killer must be after her due to the encrypted emails Mordred gave her. Mordred immediatly leaves the office, running to the address and hoping he's not too late (leaving Hera there as he deems the situation too dangerous). As soon as he arrives he finds a dark place reeking of a strange smell. Once he sets the lights on, he is greeted by a horribly defiled picture of Freya with a "Happy birthday lil' sunshine" written in blood over it, hanged to the main pillar of the room. A panel with several papers and pictures sticked to it stands on the right. One of them shows a young Freya from many years before, except she apparently used to be a boy named Flynn. It is thus revealed that the killer was able to threaten her because he had uncovered her dark secret: she had undergone sex reassignment surgery at very young age, something no one else was aware of thanks to her family's meticolous efforts to hide the evidence. A note left by the killer himself and apparently directed to Freya confirms she had been targeted as punishment for having tried to investigate him. On the left of the pillar Mordred instead finds a safe with a terrifying doll on top of it that is wearing male clothes. The safe is protected by a password and the doll is holding an envelope in its hands, containing a riddle closely connected to details hidden in various pictures. Once solved, it provides the password of the safe: The first two numbers are the numbers of betrayal engraved on the pillar (11), the third is the number of the sons erased by vanity (2), the fourth is the sum of the masks of shame (2) and the last is the sign on the face of Tiresias (8). The password is thus 11228. Inside the safe Mordred finds a ribbon used to celebrate new births (half blue and half pink) along with a key. This key opens a door located immediatly behind the safe. Mordred approachs it just as he starts to hallucinate: the first sign of a mental breakdown caused by the pressure.

    Following the path behind the door the detective is finally able to find Freya, wounded but still alive: she is tied to a chair and unconscious, the killer standing right behind her. He speaks up first, revealing waiting for Mordred's arrival was actually intentional in that he was eager to meet him face to face. He also clarifies the room is full of an unspecified gas both him and Freya had been breathing for some time now, which is what's causing Mordred's hallucinations to get progressively worse. He then proceeds to claim that despite Mordred's explicit desire to shoot him right away, the detective was actually about to become instrumental in ensuring his safety. He explains that just like Mordred had likely suspected, the only reason the detective was allowed to get this close to him was because he had the ability to kill Freya at any time and distance. Pandora ultimately intends to carry out an experiment in which Mordred is protagonist. He immediatly references that the detective is considered a monster because he allegedly doesn't feel guilty for the people he has sentenced to death, but begs to differ himself, claiming the only reason Mordred is still capable of sleeping at night is because he hasn't had the chance to witness in first person the agony of the ones who died because of him. He is confident Mordred will finally be able to live the experience as he puts him in front of a choice: he can willingly choose to let him go, haunted by the regret of having wasted his only chance of stopping him or he can shoot him, knowing this will cause Freya to die right before his eyes. Mordred smartly asks why he should trust him as he could just kill Freya regardless after escaping. Pandora replies the funny part is exactly the absence of any guarantee whatsoever. Angered by the reply, Mordred points his gun claiming he's not the type of guy who would ever let someone manipulate him like this. Pandora cunningly points out he's not manipulating him at all, as he is actually letting Mordred decide according to his own judgement. With that, he finally starts to walk away, asking one last time whether it's worth to trade the life of a young girl for the life of a worm. The player is called to choose Mordred's final action and doing so will conclude the narration of Chapter 1. The consequences of the final choice are as massive as they can get: they will trigger two different Chapter endings, spawn two different narrative branches and cause the death of at least one main character in either case.

## Consequences of Shooting Pandora (triggers Emily route):

If the player chooses to shoot Pandora, the serial killer's final words will be that everything had gone as planned, with him and Mordred ultimately not being different at all. Mordred will then pull the trigger and a second later Pandora's dead body will hit the ground. Mordred will then rush to Freya's rescue but just as she's regaining consciousness and thanking him for saving her, a bomb will explode knocking the detective unconscious for a couple of seconds. When Mordred will re-open his eyes he will find himself soaked in Freya's blood, her mauled body still sitting on the chair right in front of him. As she draws her last breath, she will admit maybe she was wrong about him after all. Another explosion will then follow the first, reducing her body to pieces. A blood soaked Mordred will escape the building alone and in visible shock, finding a worried Hera outside that frantically asks what happened and where's Freya, almost crying upon learning he's still alive. Completely broken, the only thing Mordred is capable of uttering as the police finally arrives is that Freya is dead and the one who killed her was him.

## Consequences of Saving Freya (triggers Freya route):

If the player chooses to let Pandora go, the serial killer will react as if this was not the outcome he was expecting. He will nevertheless keep his word and refrain from killing Freya, promising the detective would soon hear from him again. Mordred will then rush towards Freya to untie her from the chair. Almost exhausted and on the point of fainting because of both the gas and the stress he will succeed just as she starts to regain consciousness. She will be surprised to find Mordred there and wonder where'd Pandora go but will promptly forget about it when Mordred suggests the two should leave immediatly, the detective himself now on the brink of collapse. Fully in control of her strength again, Freya herself will actually proceed to carry them both to safety. She will even try to cheer the detective up by making jokes about his weight and how he's a terrible hero, inviting him to enjoy his moment of glory since the police is finally on its way. Their relief is however short lived as a desperate Hera will rush towards them, showing a new AquaOS message she just received. The message was sent using Abigail Sherman's email address, but its author was none other than Pandora himself, who mocks Mordred by quoting his own words from earlier: "the life of the worm for that of the girl" (in that sparing the life of the worm, rather than taking it as he originally seemed to imply, would mean sacrificing the life of a girl, in this case Abigail). By Pandora's own admission Abigail had just become his next victim, and quoting his own words the only reason he had the chance to reach her was Mordred's decision to let him go.

## Consequences of Hiding the video (triggers JailedBaker route):

If the player chooses "Hide the video", Mordred will conclude there would be no point in being back in business in a city that falls apart due to the Black Bands' rule: he will thus proceed to hide the video and also suggest he and Hera should permanently flee the city once the Pandora case is closed. In the following months the two will struggle to survive since they're left with no income whatsoever. If Freya survives and Abigail gets killed by Pandora, Freya will also claim some time later that Abigail's murder was carried out by an unknown accomplice of Baker's who must have tried to protect him by removing the only available eyewitness (in this sense aligning herself with Mordred's intent to let Baker be framed). Needless to say, Mordred and Hera will also fear some form of retaliation from the leader of the Black Bands. Since Baker was still suspected of murder, his public image will be hit just as hard as Mordred and Hera were hoping, causing his party to lose the elections (albeit by a very narrow margin). The Black Bands will partially turn against Baker because of this, putting the blame on him and asking for his resignation. Baker himself will hold a public speech where he pleads his own innocence and curses the corruption of his political opponents, who successfully resorted to subterfuge to frame him and win a political election they would have otherwise surely lost. Baker will later be declared guilty, but thanks to his influence he will manage to avoid the death penalty, receiving instead a life sentence.

## Consequences of Handing over the video (triggers DeadBaker route):

If the player chooses "Hand over the video", Mordred will suggest he and Hera already spilled enough innocent blood, hinting that while Baker may be a monster he had not ultimately committed any murder. Hera concludes Mordred is right and that even if they were to stop Baker the city would still possibly doom itself regardless by voting an even worse party leader in the future. Besides, the two of them deserved the possibility of living a normal life after everything they had been through. The political future of Nova Polemos should be ultimately left entirely in the hands of its own citizens, in the hope they'd make the right choice for once. Thanks to the video shot by Abigail, Baker will be exonerated and Mordred and Hera will receive the reward they were promised, granting them a bit of financial stability in the following months. If Freya survives and Abigail gets killed by Pandora, the two will however also fear some form of retaliation from Baker himself, now both free and infuriated for Abigail's death. To make things worse, just as Julie Ward had hoped the Black Bands will also be able to turn the case against Baker to their advantage after his exoneration, allowing them to win the elections with a massive lead over the opposing party (75% to 25%). Baker himself will hold a public speech to celebrate his victory, but right in the middle of it a bullet shot from a sniper rifle will hit him in the head (the identity of his killer remaining an unresolved mistery). Most people will expect the motive of the murder to be political and the Black Bands will eventually gather to elect a new leader, promising severe consequences for what happened.

## Alternative dialogues:

* **FOLEY INVESTIGATIONS:** \*\*\**Hera will harshly question Mordred's behaviour, claiming she doesn't understand him anymore and accusing him of having sold himself with no second thoughts to the same monsters that ruined her life, all just for money's sake. Mordred's reply will be just as harsh, pointing out the two of them can't make a living out of ideals alone. He will also add that in worst case scenario he'd be ready to flee the city together with Hera should the Black Bands really win the elections because of them. Finally, Mordred will claim Hera is the only person he really trusts and cares for, but if the player chose to have him hang up on her during the investigation she will angrily reply that despite what he said he's still treating her like a child, cutting her off to protect her just because he doesn't deem her strong enough.\*\*\* (triggered if Mordred refused to make his promise earlier on)*

## Trivia:

* While trying to rescue Freya at Variagian 47, Mordred will start hallucinating because of the pressure, claiming it's "happening again" (Pandora later specifies the room was also full of toxic gas). His visions resemble a sequence shown at the game start in which Pandora is directing a monologue to an unspecified prisoner. Since this prisoner is later revealed to be David Casey and not Mordred himself, the incident Mordred is referencing must actually be his own psychological breakdown after a past incident that saw Hera being abducted (furtherly recalled in Chapter 3).
* Unless we also count a Game Over scenario triggered by failing a Living Nightmare sequence, shooting Pandora at the end of this Chapter is effectively the only instance in the entire game in which the player can actively choose to shoot someone using Mordred's gun.
* Using the pack of cigarettes next to Hera while waiting for the guest at the game start will allow the player to unlock the "Awful detective" Steam achievement.
* Shooting Pandora will allow the player to unlock the "Mordred shot first" Steam achievement. The achievement's name is a reference to Han shot first.
* Saving Freya will allow the player to unlock the "Another kind of remorse" Steam achievement.
* Hiding the video will allow the player to unlock the "Truth is overrated" Steam achievement.
* Handing over the video will allow the player to unlock the "It's not our choice" Steam achievement.
* Using the pack of cigarettes with Hera while waiting for the guest will allow the player to unlock the "Awful detective" Steam achievement.
* Reaching the end of Chapter 1 again after completing it for the first time will have a secret option pop up when the player has to face the final choice. Selecting it will allow Mordred to "Reveal his true power" and instantly end the game with a Mecha Ending.