E2M5: Kasperk Castle

**Kašperk Castle** is the fifth mission in HROT Episode 2 - The Degustation, modelled on the 14th century castle of that name located in southwestern Bohemia. It introduces two new enemies, and a heady new powerup.

# Walkthrough

The Player exits from the poultry house at the end of Factory Farm and emerges into the cellars beneath Kašperk Castle near the entrance to the first secret. Behind you are some bullets for your Pistol, and in front of you a Medkit. You are immediately confronted by a pair of Kejdovecs and Skapucí, who wish to inform you that visiting hours are over, and the castle is closed.

Continue around to the right and you will see the Common Key door next to some shells. Proceed down the corridor to the left to come to a T-intersection. To the left you will find a Land Mine. To the right you will see an explosive barrel and stairs leading up. Go through the doors at the top to exit onto some battlements where some Konfidents are out for a stroll near the entrance to the second secret, overlooking a small yard below. There are clips to the right, and a Submachine Gun under the covered area straight ahead.

Across the yard is a door to the castle that is closed, and an electrical panel. Jump down into the yard, where you will find some clips and a switch, along with a stone path and a ladder leading back to the battlements. Throw back a shot of Božkov and flip the switch to open the wall to the left, releasing a Bear who wants to play with you.

Be careful, because the switch also opens the castle door, behind which is a Turret. When you have dispatched the Bear, shoot the electrical panel to raise the stone path so you can cross and enter the castle foyer, near the location of the third secret.

Exit the foyer to the left and find yourself on a raised landing overlooking a training yard, where there are three locked doors at the opposite end. There is a door to your left, leading to the residential tower, and a tack room to your right. As soon as you enter you will be beset by a Kejdovec, three Headsmen, and four Konfidents who do not think you are allowed to observe how their secret horse training methods. Be sure to make use of the shells and Hussite Hand Cannon that are strewn across the yard.

Once you have resolved this dispute, enter the tack room overlooking the training yard, where you will find a Hussite Crossbow and a Wifebeater, near the location of the fourth secret.

Return to the landing, and enter the second door, where two Headsmen and a Kejdovec will pounce on you. To the right there are some stairs that lead to a closed door. Straight ahead is a doorway to a courtyard, where you can see the Rusted Key door in the distance.

To the left is a doorway leading to some stairs down to the the royal Hall, near the location of the fifth secret. In the Hall are a number of heavy wooden chairs and casks of beer, along with four Headsmen and an S.U.P. To the left is a raised platform, near the location of the six secret.

At the back of the hall is a bust of Karel IV embedded into the wall, along with several bottles of Wine, and a new key, the Horse Key. Take a minute to refresh yourself and sample the Wine. In fact, you should go have as much as you want and feel a little more fortified. Be careful! It may have a negative effect on your aim.

With the Horse Key in hand return to the training yard. Open the three locks one-by-one to encounter a brand new enemy, the chilling and horrifying Gimp. Gimp is similar to Horse, only not quite as large and he wears a bondage mask, so you hope that everyone involved remembers the appropriate safe word.

Open the first door at the left, near the location to the seventh secret and Gimp will emerge being ridden by a Headsman, with a Miner running beside them as a groom. Once defeated, the Headsman riding Gimp will drop a second Horse Key. Open the next Horse Key door, and another Headsman riding a Gimp will emerge, this time with another Headsman to help them.

Defeating this second trio will produce another Horse Key for the third and final Horse Key door, which will produce a third Gimp ridden by a Headsman, this time with a Kejdovec to keep them company. Defeating this group will produce the Rusted Key.

Return to the interior of the castle to where you saw the Rusted Key door, where a Kejdovec is guarding the entrance to the storage cellar, next to a switch. Flip the switch and the room will descend until it reaches a set of stairs leading down where there are some Grenades. Note that the room that you start in now has a ladder leading to the door you can through, but it is broken halfway, and is inaccessible.

Proceed down the stairs to a store room full of barrels and more Wine, but be careful not to enter too quickly, because you are about to be introduced to the second new enemy, Snake. Snake is a tanky little bastard who wriggles around and tries to bite you. It is possible to waste a lot of precious high-caliber ammo on him, when all you really need is about three close range blasts from the Brno Super Shotgun. The room is filled with shells and Grenades, which can be found by breaking open the barrels.

One he is disposed of, there is a switch on the left wall that will lower the column in the center of the room, revealing the Aluminum Key. Get ready to move quickly, because once it is taken the room will fill with Snakes who will make your life miserable until they are all sent to viper heaven.

Taking the Aluminum Key also opens a door behind some barrels on the left, behind which are some stairs leading down to a small room with two explosive barrels. There is a cracked wall at left through which water is leaking. Use one of the barrels to blow open the crack, and the room will fill with water.

The water will rise, filling the storage room above, the stairs leading down, and the room you came from with the broken ladder. Now the water will lift you so you can reach the ladder and climb out. Through the door there will be a Konfident who suspects that you have stolen a bottle of their best vintage red.

There is a button on the wall at the right. Press it, and not only will the previously closed door at the top of the stairs open, you will also be joined by two Headsmen who would like you to stop. Climb the stairs until you reach the Aluminum Key door, where you will find shells and a Brno Super Shotgun, but pay close attention to two Kejdovecs and two Headsman on the battlements opposite who will snipe at you.

Enter the Aluminum Key door to the residential tower, where four Headsmen and an S.U.P. are blocking your access to the battlements above. Once you reach it, you will encounter another Snake to distract you from any of the other enemies that you have not yet killed.

Proceed to the other end of the battlements, passing the entrance to the eighth secret, and enter the second tower. Here you will find a tasty Liver Dumpling on a beam, and stairs leading down to the Common Key.

Taking the key will drop you back into the cellars where you originally came, which is now patrolled by two Skapucí, who wants you to keep your hands off their Kifli. Open the Common Key door, and proceed down the stairs past the trigger to the secret level.

At the bottom of the stairs is a small mortuary, where you will see the body of the Cosmonaut laid out on a slab. It seems that he was transported here for burial after his fall to earth in E1M2: Luna. The AZ-5 button is found on the wall opposite to exit the map.

**Previous:** E2M4: Factory Farm

**Next:** E2M6: Dobrosov Fortress

# Secrets

### Secret 1

Right around the corner from where you enter the map, there is a dark, heavily rusted section of the wall immediately in front of you. Interact with it to find some Tasty Canned Poultry.

### Secret 2

When you emerge onto the battlements, there is a covered area with some barrels. Move the barrels and interact with the right wall, right at the middle of the covered area to find a backpack and more Tasty Canned Poultry.

### Secret 3

This secret is found in the foyer when you first enter the castle proper. Along the right hand wall, there is a switch tucked into the ceiling in the corner. Flip it to find an area with two Koruna.

### Secret 4

Enter the tack room overlooking the training yard once you enter the castle proper. In the back left corner there is a an interactive wall, which is hiding still more Tasty Canned Poultry to fortify you.

### Secret 5

On the stairs down into the royal Hall, there is an interactive wall at the left when you are at the top of the stairs. Swing jump and interact with the wall, which will open to reveal two Koruna.

### Secret 6

Like the fifth secret, this secret is also found in the royal Hall. Push one of the chairs over to the raised platform on the right side of the room. Jump up onto the platform, and there is an interactive panel that will give you another Hussite Crossbow.

### Secret 7

The leftmost Horse Key door has an interactive panel at the pack, which will open to reveal some stairs. Climb them to a room where you will find a Konfident, and beyond him, a door that leads to a landing overlooking the training yard. Here you will find one Koruna and a Lightning Gun.

### Secret 8

Once you have fought your way past the Aluminum Key door to the top of the stairs, there is an interactive panel in the long wall of the battlements about midway. Open it to find a second Pistol.

### Secret Level

This does not count as secret for the mission, but will grant you access to the secret level. When descending the stairs past the Common Key door, you will hear a whinny of the Horse. Look up, and as you continue to descend, you will see an electrical box tucked into the ceiling. Shoot it, and a panel on the right side of the slab where the Cosmonaut lies will open. Jump into the hole that it uncovers, and you will be transported to E2MS: Tunnel.

# Lore

* **Kašperk Castle** is a medieval castle in southwestern Bohemia, built in 1356 by Holy Roman Emperor and King of Bohemia Karel IV to protect Bohemia's borders. It is said to be the most highly located royal castle in Bohemia. Its elevation is 886 metres (2,907 ft) above sea level. The castle is in property of the Town of Kašperské Hory since 1616. The castle was built to bolster the Bohemian border defense against Bavaria, to allow for absolute control over the gold-rich region near Kašperské Hory/Bergreichenstein, and because it lay in the path of the "Golden Route," a trade route that connected Bohemia and Bavaria to the affluent areas of western Europe. The central part of the castle consists of two residential towers and an oblong palace which was built between them.

Kasperk Castle (Huhulenik)One of the Rooms (Huhulenik)Castle interior (Czeva)

* **Karel IV** (14 May 1316 – 29 November 1378), also known as Charles of Luxembourg, born Wenceslaus, was the first King of Bohemia to become Holy Roman Emperor. He was a member of the House of Luxembourg on his father's side and the Czech House of Přemyslid on his mother's side. He was the eldest son and heir of John of Bohemia, King of Bohemia and Count of Luxembourg, who died at the Battle of Crécy on 26 August 1346. His mother, Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia, was the sister of Wenceslaus III, King of Bohemia and Poland, the last of the Přemyslid rulers of Bohemia. Karel inherited the County of Luxembourg from his father and was elected king of the Kingdom of Bohemia. On 2 September 1347, Karel was crowned King of Bohemia. On 11 July 1346, the prince-electors chose him as King of the Romans (rex Romanorum) in opposition to Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor. Charles was crowned on 26 November 1346 in Bonn. After his opponent died, he was re-elected in 1349 and crowned King of the Romans. In 1355, he was crowned King of Italy and Holy Roman Emperor. With his coronation as King of Burgundy in 1365, he became the personal ruler of all the kingdoms of the Holy Roman Empire.

* The label on the bottles of Wine is for **Bušek z Velhartic**, a Czech table wine. There are no bags of Semi-Skimmed Milk to be found at Kašperk, because everyone is supposed to be drinking wine! According to České Vinařské Závody *"Bušek z Velhartic is a semi-sweet wine with a long tradition of production is popular for its delicate and sweet taste. Its catchy name will take you all the way to the 14th century, to the time of celebrations at oak tables. It is a wine for everyone and every day."* The wine is named after Bušek of Velhartice, a 14th century Czech nobleman serving in the court of Karel IV. Bušek was depicted having a conversation about wine with the king in the famous poem *Romance of Karel IV* by Jan Neruda.

* *Vipera berus*, the common European adder or common European viper, is a venomous snake that is extremely widespread and can be found throughout most of Europe and as far as East Asia. It is the only venomous snake in Czechia.

# Gallery

BarrelsBattlementsCellar ColumnChairsCosmonaut in ReposeKarel IVKasperkLiver DumplingRusted Key DoorSecond Residential TowerTraining YardWine