(PC) Let's Play Mystery Case Files: Ravenhearst Part 7
1BRIEFING
Entry #7 (News from Home)
May 23, 1895
I received an unfortunate letter from home. My father is ill. Mother did not write of the details, but she requested that I return to Carroll as quickly as is reasonably possible. My sadness and apprehension threaten to overwhelm me, but I am doing my best to keep that darkness at bay for now. I will speak with Meredith before I make arrangements for travel. I must also inform Charles that I will be taking leave of England for a spell if not for good. It will sadden me a great deal to leave my new friends behind, but I’m quite frantic with concern for my father.
It seems that unlucky events have been surrounding me as of late…
Time Limit (Standard/Relaxed): 43 minutes/86 minutes
Required Items: 45
Total Items: 48
LOCATIONS
Backyard: 8
Dining Room: 8
Front Porch: 8
Library (Lock Puzzle #6): 8
Study: 8
Taxidermy Room: 8
THE LOCKSMITH
Chapter 7 – Harbinger
By the start of his final term at Cambridge, in the spring of 1890, it occurred to Charles that he had long neglected the humanities portion of his degree requirements. Based on his exemplary performance in his chemistry classes, he was more than tempted to select a class solely for his own personal interest. One such class, devoted to European poetry, particularly elicited his attention for two key reasons. The first being his fascination with the occult and weird fiction, the second being the professor hired to perform the lectures: Tymoteusz Szystoski.
Often referred to simply as “Tym” by students and colleagues alike, Professor Szystoski lived a rather storied life prior to his tenure at the university. Before he even immigrated to the United Kingdom, Tym was born and raised in Szczecin, Pomerania, modern day Poland. Enchanted by the works of Hans Christian Anderson, he moved to Berlin in order to find an audience for his portfolio. However, when Germany criminalized homosexuality in 1871, Tym, who was (selectively) openly gay, fled to England in the hopes of evading persecution.
Sure enough, he found greater tolerance in the artistic circles he frequented, hobnobbing with London’s burgeoning avant-garde clubs. Unfortunately, Tym was in for a rude awakening. His poetry, warmly regarded throughout Eastern Europe as being lively and profound, garnered lukewarm reception in his new home. Literary critics frequently pointed out Tym’s turgid prose, citing how his bloated allusions to classical mythology turned his once beloved stanzas into moribund drivel.
Some of his harsher critics even went as far to speculate that homophobia wasn’t even the reason he relocated in the first place. As the aesthetic movement was gaining traction in the United Kingdom, it could have very well been the case that Tym indeed journeyed to England in order to bandwagon off of it, his reputation faltering after a string of mediocre anthologies. Regardless of the circumstances of his move, Tym was in dire need of money, with his debt collectors growing increasingly voracious. He eventually acquiesced to the concerns of his academic compatriots, deciding to accept a position at Cambridge as a literary professor. His time in the limelight was over, but Tym was more than relieved to have a steady income.
Throughout the duration of the course, Charles developed an affinity for Tym. One of the reasons he would publically state was that he found him to be a kindred spirit, enraptured by how his mastery of the written word rivalled his own mastery of the sciences. The other, more private reason was that he had developed a crush on him. It was around this time that Charles realized that he was bisexual, recognizing that, although he preferred women over men, he didn’t have any qualms with being romantically involved with a man. However, while Tym had both the prestige and circle to weather the resolute homophobia of Victorian society, Charles had none of that. Apart from a few drunken recollections with his most trusted confidants, he kept it as one of his most guarded secrets.
On May 29, 1890, with his time as a student running out, Charles decided to divulge his love to Tym in an admittedly spur of a moment decision. Sandwiched in his final term paper, a monograph on Mikołaj Rej, whom he gambled his professor would be impressed by, was a personal declaration that clarified his true intentions towards his professor. Charles would concede, decades later, that it was the stupidest decision of his life. Written like a freshman scribe, his love letter was written with a level of sappiness and literary tenuousness that more resembled a crude parody of the medium. Regardless of its quality, Charles waited for Tym’s response, as it would likely be the only time such an opportunity would arise.
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