This plotline is the longest and most demanding. You'll need to raise quite a bit of Karma and money to be able to make it all the way through.
Go to the AmerIndian village and ask Owlfeather about Michael. (1)[edit]
This actually entails a few different things. First of all, you may want to spend some time doing runs to gain Karma and cash. Even though it'll only be a short trip when you get there, you're still likely to be attacked when you walk through the Salish-Shidhe. To avoid multiple trips (not to mention the increasing costs of making multiple trips) to the AmerIndian lands, you should be pretty well equipped. If you don't have the Armor Jacket by now, get it. Same goes for a Predator and plenty of ammo.
The hard part about getting there is, well, getting there. There are two ways to get into the Salish-Shidhe wilderness. Actually, there are three, but one is so ridiculous that it's not worth mentioning here. For those of you wondering, it involves demon buildings (see Section XII). Anyway, you have two choices for getting into the Salish-Shidhe: The legal way and the illegal way.
- The legal way
This way is cheap, but if there's a warrant for your arrest, it will be costly and inconvenient. Another minus is that you have to repeat the same procedure every time you want to visit, which can be kind of a hassle. If you're early in the game, however, this is probably the way to go. Take a cab to Council Island. When you get there, walk down and enter the building there (with the "P" sign hanging outside). This is the Passport Lodge. Ask to buy a passport and pay the 500 nuyen. The clerk will run a background check on you and if it's clean, you'll be given the passport. At this point, all you need to do is take a cab to the Salish- Shidhe lands. Remember, the passport is only good for one trip.
If the background check shows that there's a warrant for your arrest, you have a few options. You can get into Salish-Shidhe the illegal way (see the next paragraph), you can have someone delete your criminal record, or you can do it yourself, the old-fashioned way -- by turning yourself in. Including all meeting fees, the cheapest you can get your record deleted for is 7,000 nuyen. Ouch. If you actually have that kind of money lying around, though, check out the illegal way. It's simpler and actually a few hundred nuyen cheaper. If you're pretty much broke, I suggest turning yourself in. You'll lose all your money, which hopefully won't be more than a few hundred nuyen. Then you'll be free to raise 500¥, go back to Council Island, and buy the passport.
- The Illegal Ways
The main illegal way of getting into the Salish-Shidhe costs 6,800¥ plus maybe a little cab fare and the cover at Matchsticks, but it's pretty simple and you don't have to worry about whether there's a warrant out for you. Plus, return trips are only 3,000¥ and you'll make two good contacts along the way. To use this method, take a cab to Downtown Seattle and go to Matchsticks. From the Space Needle, which is where the cab drops you off, it's a little down and to the right. It's the building with all the "M"s. Pay the cover charge if applicable and go inside. Move to the back booth and you'll meet Julius Strouther. Ask him for information, then ask him about a contact. Pay the 1,000¥ and you'll have Capt. Quinton Jaymes as a contact. Leave the bar and go to a street terminal (the closest one is the one by the Space Needle, where you just came from). Use the Vidphone to call Jaymes and ask him for a contact. Pay the 2,800¥ and you will then have contact with Sharkey. Hang up and use the Vidphone again to call Sharkey. You will now have the option of being flown into the Salish-Shidhe for 3,000¥. It may seem like a lot if you're early on in the game, but as you get farther, 3,000¥ is less and less of a big deal and riding with Sharkey will be quite convenient.
A cheaper alternative is to buy a fake passport from Boris for only 1000¥. You have to get a new one each time but all in all it is a much cheaper way than using Sharkey each time.
- Salish-Sidhe
One way or another, you've gotten to the Salish-Shidhe. If you haven't been before, try to remember the street terminal near where you are dropped off. It's the only one in the entire wilderness and therefore is your only ticket out, besides dying. From the drop-off point, make your way southeast, as straight as possible. You should come right to a bridge over a stream. Cross the bridge and you'll be in the AmerIndian village. After crossing the bridge, walk down and you should see a lodge that's much larger and more decorative than the others. This is where Owlfeather is. Enter the lodge and talk to Owlfeather. You can ask about the AmerIndian lands or Council Island if you like, but be sure to ask about Michael.
You will discuss things with Owlfeather and he will tell you that he knows someone who can help. Of course, things are never so simple and he asks that you find his brother, Aragorn, before he will tell you who can help you.
Go to the Big Rhino and ask Mortimer Reed about Aragorn.[edit]
First, you need to find out where Aragorn is. Leave the lodge and backtrack to the street terminal. If you want a little supplementary info on Aragorn, go to Redmond Barrens and ask Boris about Owlfeather (if you haven't done so already). If you want to just cut to the chase, though, visit the Penumbra District. From where the cab drops you off, go straight down until you hit the little cluster of seven bushes, then go right and you'll be at the Big Rhino. Enter the restaurant and move to the back booth. You'll meet Mortimer Reed. Tell him you want some info and that you need some questions answered. Ask him about Aragorn and he'll tell you that Aragorn screwed up on a shadowrun against Mitsuhama. He's being held inside the building, which means that you'll have to go on a shadowrun of your own to find him.
Go to the Mitsuhama building in Penumbra District and free Aragorn.[edit]
Easier said than done, right? Actually, it's not that hard if you have decent equipment. You'll be set if you have corp badges (6,750¥, including Max's meeting fee for Vigore and Jarl) and a Maglock Passkey (all you need is a Level 2, which you can get for 15 or 20 grand from the Crime Mall, but I still say you should hold out for the Level 5, which is only a couple thousand more, including Mortimer Reed's meeting fee, if you get it from Alesandro Hobbs), but you can get by without either if you have a good (5 or 6) Electronics skill and/or a little bit of luck. And although no one expects to get caught, you should be pretty tough physically in case you have to deal with the corp security. If you're worried that you aren't prepared, it may be worth it to hire Rianna (located in Matchstick) and/or Winston (located in the Big Rhino), for some extra Electronics skill and firepower, respectively.
When you feel you're ready, go to the Penumbra District and find the Mitsuhama building. It's the building just above the Big Rhino. The first floor of Mitsuhama is pretty much one long hallway that runs right and then up to the elevator. This makes it simple, but it also means that you'll run into the guard unless you're very careful. If you're confident in your badges and/or your Charisma score, just go through the lobby and follow the hallway right and then straight up to the elevator. You're pretty much guaranteed to get stopped by the guard unless you're using the Invisibility spell. If you have access to neither Invisibility nor some corp badges, and your Charisma skill isn't good, what are you doing here?!? No, just kidding. You can avoid the guard by doing the following: Wait in the upper corner of the lobby when you enter. Watch the hall to see when the guard passes by. He'll pass by to the left, then turn around and start back to the right. After he passes, go out into the hall and follow him, staying close but not so close that he'll stop you. Try to keep him just off the edge of the screen. Keep following as he turns upward and continues up the hall. When you see the door on the left, make a break for it and wait inside, watching the hall again. After the guard reaches the far end, he'll turn around and start downward again. After he passes, you'll be home free. Go back out into the hall and continue upward to the elevator.
Take the elevator to the fifth floor. Unless you have managed to disable the cameras, you'll have to deal with a security camera on the wall by the first door. This isn't as tough as it seems, as long as you follow the directions: Before you get out, hold left on the controller. Then, still holding left, hit start and just continue going to the left toward the camera. Don't change direction or stop moving until you're right up against the wall. They key is timing and if you did it right, you'll be sitting right under the camera, but the alert will have not been sounded.
Again, this will be much simpler if you have Invisibility or a corp badge. If so, just go out into the hallway, walk downward into the open room, and continue downward to a door leading down. This is the door to Aragorn's room. Same as before, expect at least one encounter with the guard. If you'd rather avoid the guard, do this: Wait under the camera until he turns downward. As he goes offscreen, hurry out into the hall, take a couple steps downward, and enter the room via the door (Level 2 Maglocked, hope you brought your passkey or your 5 in Electronics) on your right. Wait there for the guard to pass again. As he walks up past the room, dart out into the hallway and continue down through the open room to the door to Aragorn's room.
The door to Aragorn's holding room is Level 2 Maglocked -- if you don't have a passkey, it's still not much of a problem. Enter the room and walk downward. Just past the big table is Aragorn, held between two chairs. Approach him and talk to him (as with extraction runs, you may need to target him with B -- see Part 8 of Section IV). Turns out Aragorn is a little punk. He'll insult you and then run away, leaving you to find your way back to the entrance. If you don't mind the 10% fee, you could just set off the alarm, get shot, and die. Hey, it's quicker. Either way, leave the building after you've freed Aragorn.
Go back to the AmerIndian village and talk to Owlfeather. (2)[edit]
After you're done with Aragorn, you need to go back to his brother, Owlfeather. As described before, get a ride out to the Salish-Shidhe one way or another and go back to Owlfeather's lodge. Once there, you'll talk with him and just as he tells you he hasn't seen Aragorn, the "ungrateful wretch" will walk in the door. Quite the interesting situation. Owlfeather will eventually thank you and tell you that the one who can help you is the "most wise one" at the Medicine Lodge.
Go to Council Island and talk to Spirit Eyes.[edit]
Leave the AmerIndian village (or just die again) and catch a cab to Council Island. Once there, walk down and take the wooden bridge to the right. Pass the first two buildings (the restaurant and the inn) and then turn up and walk along the edge of the inn. Continue upward and you'll get to the Medicine Lodge, which doubles as a magic shop. Enter and ask to speak to the "most high one". You will end up on the other side of the fence in the 'back yard' of the lodge. Walk to the right and approach the man sitting on the carpet. This is Spirit Eyes.
Spirit Eyes will tell you that in order to determine the identity of Michael's killer, he will need to conduct a ritual that uses three items. You are asked to gather the items, the first of which is a gargoyle horn.
Bring Spirit Eyes a gargoyle horn.[edit]
Personally, I think the next three steps are pretty boring and tedious. Oh well, the rest of the game is fun. All that you have to do is kill a gargoyle and collect its horn. If you've fought gargoyles before, this may strike you as odd, since they don't drop anything when you kill them. Well, they do now. Make your way to an abandoned building or, if you have the money to throw around, a cave in the wilderness -- where gargoyles will appear slightly more often. Then, it's just a matter of sitting in one place and trying to stay alive until gargoyles attack. When they do, try to kill one (they can be pretty tough) and pick up the horn it drops. You only need one horn, and every slain gargoyle is guaranteed to drop one, so actually getting the horn shouldn't be that tough. As Tom Petty once said, "The waiting is the hardest part."
Once you have collected a horn, return to Spirit Eyes. He'll tell you that next you need to bring him the pelt of a hellhound. Great, this should be fun.
Bring Spirit Eyes a hellhound pelt.[edit]
It's the same thing as the previous step, only with hell hounds. The only real difference here is that while gargoyles will show up in pretty much any abandoned building, hell hounds will only show up in demon buildings (see Section XII). Of course, both types will show up in caves, and hell hounds in particular will show up in the wilderness (i.e. not necessarily just in caves), so feel free to take the trip out to the Salish-Shidhe, if it's not too much trouble. Just don't wander into a random building hoping to find hell hounds. And finally, to appease the smartass fanboys out there, and for the sake of being painfully complete, I suppose I should mention that hell hounds can also be found in the Renraku building. It probably goes without saying that to try to get a pelt in this manner would be a colossal waste of time.
So, anyway, go and wait in your favorite spot for the doggies to come out. The thing that makes this step slightly more tricky is that hell hounds are probably the most dangerous enemies in the game short of the final boss. This is especially true for characters who don't have a lot of Essence, since hell hounds' attacks are all magic-based. So, it may come down to just firing until you kill one and making a mad dash to collect the pelt the second before you get killed. Remember, there's no shame in dying. There's also no shame in hiring an extra runner or two to help you take on some hell hounds. When you have your pelt, return to Spirit Eyes. He'll tell you that the last thing you need to do is bring him a dragon scale. But where do you find a dragon?
Go to the dragon cave and save Licourtrix from Renraku.[edit]
This last step is different from the other two. you need to bring Spirit Eyes the scale of a feathered serpent, i.e. a dragon. There are no dragon enemies to kill, though, so obviously you won't be doing any hunting. Oh, and in case anyone was wondering, the dragon scale that you occasionally find while helping the AmerIndian boys look for the arrowhead doesn't count.
I suppose what the game expects you to do is wander around the Salish- Shidhe wilderness until you kind of stumble upon the dragon. Well, screw that. It took me forever the first time I played and other first-time players will probably have a similar experience -- the wilderness is extremely vast and takes hours to explore fully. So, I'm going to tell you exactly how to get there. Of course, just finding the dragon is half the job. Once you get there, you'll have to face a Renraku Strike Team, some of the toughest enemies in the game. If you didn't already buy a suit of Combat Armor for the hell hounds (I told you they were hard!), you should probably get one now. Also recommended is some good cyberware and stat boosts, keeping in mind that the cyberware must be bought before you upgrade its corresponding attribute (see the intro to Part 5 of Section VII). Finally, get some decent runners who are good in combat. If you don't have Ilene Two Fists (see the "Caleb Brightmore" part of this subsection) or Stark (see his part in Subsection d), now's as good a time as any to get them. The point is, you need to start developing a serious team because this step will be a long, hard journey culminating in a fairly tough battle. It's not all THAT hard, but it is a challenge and if you've reached this point in the game by yourself, you should really start working with a permanent team of runners.
Ready? OK. First I'll deal with how to get to the cave, then what to do once you get there. There are two routes that you can follow to get to the cave: If you want to get a passport and take a cab (or if you want Sharkey to drop you there), you can start from the beginning of the Salish-Shidhe by the highway. Or, if you want to pay Sharkey the extra money, you can start from out in front of the Sinsearach.
- From the highway
Head to the AmerIndian village to the southeast as before. Once in the village, continue southeast until you're at the far lower-right corner of it. You should see a cave entry. Enter the cave. When inside, walk down to the lower edge and go right until you come to the exit along that bottom wall. Take it and you'll be in another outdoor clearing, close to the western edge. Follow that edge down to the far southwest corner and you'll see another cave entrance. Enter and make your way down-left, then continue to the left until you see another exit in the bottom wall. Take this and you'll be in another section of the cave. Now just follow the wall a little bit down-left until you see another exit in the left-hand wall. After going through this you'll be in another section of the cave. Go down-left and follow the wall around to the left until you come to the exit in the bottom wall. Take it and you'll be in another outdoor clearing. Follow the dirt path downward but ignore the bridge that you'll see to your left (incidentally, this bridge leads to the Sinsearach). Instead continue southeast, where you'll see a cave entrance. This is the dragon's cave.
- From the Sinsearach
It's considerably easier to get to the dragon's cave if you're starting from the Sinsearach. From the front gate, follow the dirt path south until it splits. At this junction, take the path leading east and continue DUE east (ignore the next two branches that lead south and north, respectively) and you'll reach a bridge. Cross the bridge and then go as far southeast as you can, where you should see a cave entrance. This is the dragon's cave.
- From the dragon's cave
Once you enter the dragon's cave, stay along the bottom wall and walk to the right until you reach the exit. Take it and you'll be in another section of the cave. From here, follow the wall down and to the left and you'll see another exit in the left-hand wall. Take it and in the next section, walk straight across the cave to the left, sidestepping the rocks and lava pits. Take the exit that you'll come to in the far left side of the cavern, and repeat the process one more time: walk straight left, edging around the lava pits and miscellaneous debris. You'll see another exit in the left wall. Before you enter, heal up and get ready for a battle.
As you enter the next section of the cave, you'll discover a Renraku Strike Team. After a moment of surprise, they'll come at you. There are a total of five members, and they all have good armor and high-powered weapons. I don't have any special advice for this fight, just keep moving, as always.
After you finish off the Renraku agents, walk to the left-hand side of the cave. There will be a lot of obstacles in the way, but there's only one exit, so just keep going left until you find it. When you enter the next room, you'll meet the dragon, Licourtrix. The two of you will talk for a while after you help him defeat the Renraku forces, then he'll ask you why you're here. For the record, telling him about the dragon scale is the 'correct' answer, but in the spirit of Dragon Warrior for the NES, he'll just keep asking you if you give the 'incorrect' answer.
So, finally, Licourtrix will bind himself to you (something worth remembering for the end of the game), give you a scale, and leave. You've got the last ingredient; now all you need to do is bring it back to Spirit Eyes.
Go to Council Island and talk to Spirit Eyes. (3)[edit]
Backtrack all the way out of the dragon cave (it'll be right, right, right, up, left). If you have 1,000¥ to spend and want to save a little time, walk northwest across the bridge and continue northwest, following the dirt path, until you get to the Sinsearach. Enter and then leave. The guard will offer to fly you back out to the highway for a grand. Otherwise, continue backtracking until you get out to the terminal, then call a cab to Council Island.
Once there, go back to see Spirit Eyes one last time. He will perform the ritual and tell you that your enemy is a demon with the head of a jackal named Thon. I don't know if there are any other Mystery Science Theater 3000 fans out there, but Thon kind of reminds me of the 'monsters' in the movie "The Killer Shrews." Just a thought. Anyway, you now know who the murderer is, and that completes this part of the game. Congratulations.