Celtica Walkthrough by Dan Kennedy

Introduction

Picture a blender.  Pour
in two-parts Myst, one-part Zork Nemesis, several books
on Irish history and occultism, that reference book in every adventure
game developer’s collection that contains all those zodiac and alchemy
symbols, and add a touch of the 7th Guest.  Puree, pour onto
two CD-ROMs, and serve.

As you may have guessed,
there really isn’t much about Celtica that is terribly original
– not that there’s anything wrong with that.  Celtica does
almost drip with its influences, Myst being the primary one,
but it’s a good quality and engaging game.  The story, which takes
place on a mysteriously abandoned island off the western coast or
Ireland, is well designed and immersive.  The graphics are quite evocative
(although presented in the very dated “slideshow” format), and the
sound effects / music really set a haunting mood.

The problem is, of course,
the invariable comparisons to its predecessors, and Celtica
is certainly no Myst.  For all the haunting atmosphere, the
pretty green and grey locales, the mystery, Celtica essentially
asks the player to run around an island collecting pages, jewels,
and harp strings.  Unlike the puzzles of Myst or Nemesis,
which are well-integrated into the story and had you working towards
some practical goal, the puzzles of Celtica are just excuses to reward
players with collectibles.

However,
the real let-down is in the puzzle design – there are a number of
poorly designed puzzles in the game that simply do not give enough
information to the player to allow them to solve it themselves.

Celtica’s outdated
game-play and Myst-iness ensured it a drubbing at the hands
of critics, and its reportedly heavy price tag assured it a short
run in retail (the game is a rarity these days, and fetches a princely
sum on E-bay).  It’s pretty safe to say that if you liked Myst,
you will certainly get some enjoyment out of Celtica, and if
you hated Myst, don’t bother with the game.

A quality,
enjoyable game – just don’t expect a great deal of originality.

Tower
of Power

The game begins with a
quick description of the Otherworld myth – gods landing on an island
off the coast of Ireland and leaving several artifacts behind – the
Ascension Amulet, the Ascension Harp, and the Book of Ascension. 
A group of monks pitched up on the island in the 8th century,
but were chased off by Vikings before they could find anything.  The
narrator also mentions a group of artists, the “Children of Kerry”
who attempted to establish a community on the island at the end of
the 19th century, only to perish during the winter of 1899
– 1900.

Once the actual game begins,
you will find yourself at one of two locations on the island.  Pan
around until you see either the base of a stone tower with a wooden
ladder leading into it, or a long bridge leading to a gazebo.  If
you’ve found the tower, go ahead and enter it by clicking on the forward
pointing arrow.  If you’ve found the bridge, turn to your right (the
right-pointing arrow), move forward to the tower, and enter.

If you’ve looked around
a bit, you’ve seen the pretty green and grey hills of the island. 
Make sure you do spend some time looking from side to side as you
travel between locations on the island.  The graphics play a big part
in creating the haunting mood of the game, and should be savoured.

Inside the tower, click
on the ladder rising up into the tower in front of you.  Click again
on the opening above to climb onto the next floor.  Nothing here –
continue upward, and click on the entrance to the top floor.  Turn
around until you see a writing desk and a telescope.  Click on the
telescope (note the “hand” icon) to get a view of a gazebo at the
end of a long bridge.  Back away from the telescope view (click the
“down” arrow), and click on the sign on the wall above the desk. 
The passage mentions something about collecting books, and the monks
and Vikings.

Planets,
and Alchemy, and Symbols, Oh My!

There are three items on
the desk – click on the box to the left, and note the two keyholes
on the box in the close-up view.  We’ll obviously need a key to get
into the box.  Next, back away and click on the book to the right
– the volume is automatically inserted into your book collection. 
To access the books, press the right-hand button along the top of
the screen.  Select the book you want to read using the arrow buttons
above the picture of the books, and press the button to the left of
the picture to access the text.  The book is filled with all the tools
of the adventure gamers trade: planetary information, zodiac symbols,
the Greek alphabet – it’s all here.

Click away from the book
to return to the game, and click on the box on the centre of the desk. 
Seven strange symbols are found along the perimeter of a circle, with
7 coloured sticks below.  The symbols and circle should look familiar
– you just saw them in the book (open it up to confirm if you’ve already
forgotten).    

      

The second page of the
book shows the exact same circle with the same symbols (the Chaldean
Order), and indicates a celestial body to go with each symbol.  The
first page of the book includes information about how each celestial
body is associated with a day of the week. 

 

In addition, a passage
appears at the bottom of the page: “Trace magic order…starting at
the sun, the swiftest, out to the furthest and slowest”.  Don’t bother
trying to figure this out – simply connect the symbols in the same
order as the days of the week

Pick up a stick from the
set at the bottom of the board (the colours are meaningless), and
connect two symbols by clicking both of the buttons of the symbols
you want to connect.  Connect them in the following order:

1.
Sun to Moon (Sunday to Monday)

2.
Moon to Mars (Monday to Tuesday)

3.
Mars to Mercury (Tuesday to Wednesday)

4.
Mercury to Jupiter (Wednesday to Thursday)

5.
Jupiter to Venus (Thursday to Friday)

6.
Venus to Saturn (Friday to Saturday)

7.
Saturn to Sun (Saturday to Sunday)

The circle will dissolve
to reveal a small brass key (labelled Bernadette’s Diary Key if you
place the cursor over it), and a picture of a house.  Take the key,
and back away from the board.  Turn around and descend the ladder
to the second floor, and continue on to the first floor.  Turn around
and exit the tower.

A
Bridge Too Complicated

Walk forward one step and
turn to your right to spot a bridge leading off to a gazebo on its
own small island.  Move forward and cross the bridge, and approach
a locked gate at its end.  The central panel is a picture of interwoven
gold and orange bands that must be assembled before entry is gained.

The panel is made up of
nine squares that each rotate 90 degrees in a counter clockwise direction
when clicked.  Both the interwoven bands and the outer edge of the
panel can be used as a guide to the proper alignment of each square. 
From its initial position, click each of the squares the number of
times shown in the diagram to the left to complete the picture and
open the gate.

The gates
pull back, allowing you to proceed to the gazebo.

Click on the sign located
above the entrance to the gazebo: “The mother night that ushers in
the dark half of the year begins with such a bright light, so sonorous,
so clear”.  Enter the gazebo, and click on the wind chimes for a close-up
view.  Four of the chimes have zodiac symbols on them.  You can move
each of the chimes by clicking first the chime you want to move, and
second the chime you want to replace it with.  The object here is
to arrange the chimes in some designated order.  But what order?

Blowin’
In the Wind

The presence of the zodiac
symbols and the words of the sign suggest time, and since there are
twelve chimes, they must represent the 12 months (or at least 12 periods)
of the year.  “Begins with a bright light” suggests that a summer
month should be placed in the first location – the most obvious choice
being the shortest chime, with the Gemini (II) symbol on it).

“Ushers in the dark half
of the year…” suggests that the chimes should get progressively longer
(the longest chime with the Sagittarius symbol – a line with an arrow
through it – should be in the seventh position), and then get progressively
shorter again – mimicking the cyclical nature of the year.  I know
this explanation isn’t too convincing, but I warned you.

As stated above, place
the shortest chime in the first position, the second shortest in the
12th position, the third shortest in the 2nd
position, the fourth shortest in the 11th position, and
so on, alternating the sides until the longest chime ends up in the
seventh position.  Note that the chimes in the 4th and
10th positions are exactly the same length – the one with
the Libra symbol (two lines, top one has a bump) should go in the
4th position, and the one with the Aries symbol (a skinny
ram’s head) should be in the 10th position.

Note that the zodiac symbols
can be used as a rough guide for placement of the chimes, but are
actually misleading.  To be correctly balanced, the chime with the
Libra symbol should have had a Virgo symbol on it, and the chime with
the Aries symbol should have a Pisces symbol on it.

 

Once the chimes are placed
correctly, they sway slightly in the breeze, and a drawer opens at
the bottom of the frame.  Click on the wire inside the drawer – this
is one of the strings of the Ascension Harp.  When any part of the
three scared objects is collected, a tracking graphic appears indicating
how many of the pieces of the Harp (on the right), the Amulet (in
the centre) and the Book (at the bottom) have been collected.  A small
map of the island is also present over to the left.  You can access
this graphic by clicking on the centre button at the top of the screen. 

  

Back away from the wind
chimes, and turn around to face another telescope.  Click on the eyepiece
to spy a small key located on the green roof of another gazebo off
in the distance.   Back away from the telescope, and move forward
towards the bridge again.  Cross the bridge back to the mainland,
and turn to the right.

Monk-y
Business

Walk forward towards the
remains of the 8th century monastery.  Only a small round
building remains intact – click on the brown wooden door just to your
right to enter the building.  Walk forward into the room, and then
keep turn to the right past the single stained glass window until
you can see a small table with papers on it, just to the right of
the door you entered through.  Click on the table to look closer,
and pick up the three rolls to the left (the cursor indicates that
these are organ rolls, and each plays a different tune).  The remaining
books on the table date from the time of the monks, and are of no
concern.

Back away, and turn to
the right to see some sort of prayer area.  Click forward to view
a set of three windows covered with a large red curtain.  Click on
the rope to the left of the curtain to reveal the windows on the left
side.  Now find the hotspot at the very top of the rope to the right
of the curtain to reveal the windows to the right.  We get a close-up
of the top of the right window, with the eye of a glass swan gleaming
in the sunlight.  Click on the eye – it’s a part of the Ascension
Amulet.

Back away, and wait – the
sun beam that pokes through the now empty eye of the swan is shining
on something off to the right of the screen.  Turn to the right, and
note the floor tile that is slightly illuminated by the sunlight. 
Click on the tile to remove it, and grab a piece of the Book of Ascension
in the cavity below.  Scan through the text, but don’t expect it to
make much sense. 

Back away from the hole,
turn around to face the exterior door, and click forward twice to
leave the chapel.  Turn to your right, and move forward past the remains
of the monastery.

Them
Bones

You will soon arrive at
the entrance to a cemetery, with the solution to the bridge gate puzzle
conveniently shown on the entrance posts.  Enter the cemetery, turn
to your right, and click on the gravestone located in the centre of
the screen: Richard Francis Cabill (1871 – 1900).  Back away, turn
back to the left, and move forward again into the cemetery.  Turn
to your left, and click on the gravestone on the right side of the
screen: Franklin Morris (1875 – 1900).  Back away, turn back to the
right, and take another step into the cemetery.

Turn to your right, and
click on the gravestone located in the centre of the screen.  This
is the grave marker of Bernadette O’Donnell (1880 to 1900), whose
diary key we already have.  Something bad obviously occurred in the
year 1900.  The epitaph reads “And in the oblivion east was fire and
evening was light by day by night”.  Back away, turn back to the left,
and take one more step into the cemetery.  The gravestone directly
in front of you appears unmarked, but there is a hotspot located at
the top of the cross.  Evidently something must be placed here later
in the game.

Turn around, and move one
step back towards the entrance of the cemetery.  Click on the gravestone
on the left side of the screen: Hans Otto, Seaman U-300, 1918-1940. 
It sounds like this person may have been a crewman from a German U-Boat. 
Interesting – back away, and move forward until you’ve exited the
cemetery.

Turn to your right, and
walk towards the green roofed gazebo (it’s an “arbour”).  When close
enough, you get a view of the roof where you spotted the key in the
telescope.  Pick up the key, and then enter the arbour.  Turn to the
left or right until you face a telescope, which overlooks the cemetery,
with three eyepieces in a box to the left.  Pick up the left-most
eyepiece and then click on the telescope to look.  A blurry gravestone
appears in the viewer – obviously we’ve got the wrong powered lens. 
Pick up the centre lens to change the power, and look into the telescope
again – this one gives us a clear view of Bernadette’s gravestone. 
The third lens on the right gives an even blurrier picture than the
first.

The
High Road

From the telescope, turn
to the right and move forward.  Keep going forward, and let the path
take you back past the cemetery, the monastery, and the bridge to
the island gazebo.  Once you’ve reached the tower where you started
the game from, enter it and climb the ladder to the top floor.  Turn
around and click on the box on the left side of the desk.  Pick up
the arbour key from your inventory, and click on the left and right
keyholes to open the box.  Click on the book inside to collect another
part of the Book of Ascension.

Quickly read the passage,
back away, turn around, and descend to the base of the tower.  Turn
around and exit the tower door.  It’s time to return to the arbour,
so move keep forward (remember to turn left at the cemetery entrance)
until you reach the green-roofed arbour.  Inside, move directly forward
without turning – this new path winds its way through some low hills
to a windmill.  Keep moving forward until you stand in front of the
windmill’s door. 

Enter the windmill and
have a look around.  The main view of interest contains an organ to
the left, and the windmill’s turning mechanism to the right.  Click
on the plaque on the wall between the organ and the mechanism – something
about the wind being music, or possibly playing music with the wind. 
Back away and click on the organ – the close-up view has an on/off
knob to the left, and a slot to hold the paper rolls in the centre. 
Clicking the knob does little – clearly the organ is not receiving
power.

Back away, and click forward
towards the turning mechanism.  We get an upward view of the central
shaft, which is not presently turning.  Back away from the view, and
click on the lever sticking out of the ground to the right of the
yellow panel.  The lever pushes forward, and the mechanism seems to
spring to life.  Try moving forward again – the central shaft is now
turning.

Gearing
Up

Click on the yellow panel,
and in the close-up view, click on the handle to the left of the panel
to open the cover doors.  The panel contains several horizontal shafts,
5 metal gears located in six small shelves above and below the shafts,
and a number of pegs on which the gears can be placed.  The gears
must be properly placed so as to connect the windmill’s power to the
organ, which is presumably connected to the lowest shaft, located
in the bottom right corner of the panel.

Begin by clicking on the
gear in the lower right shelf, and placing it on the wooden peg located
between the two horizontal shafts in the top right corner of the panel. 
Next, grab the large gear in the top-central shelf, and place it on
the peg in the middle of the panel (this is the only peg that the
large gear can fit on).  Next, click on the gear in the top-left shelf,
and place it immediately to the left of the lower shaft (the one in
the bottom right corner of the panel) – the peg is to the left, and
a bit below, the end of the shaft.  Now take the other small gear
and place it on another peg located immediately up and to the left
of the gear you just inserted.  Finally, click on the gear in the
bottom left shelf, and place it to the left of the two small gears
– when placed correctly, you should only see the edge of the gear.

Astute game players will
notice the one empty shelf on the panel and the empty peg for a sixth
gear located below the second horizontal shaft, to the left of the
big gear.  So it won’t be a total disappointment to see that only
the very first gear placed in the panel is turning when the panel
is shut again.  Click on the left door of the panel to shut the doors. 
We’ve got a missing gear, and until we find it, we won’t be able to
make the organ play.  Take a last look around the windmill, turn around
to face the doorway, and exit the structure.  Move forward until you’ve
entered the arbour again.   

Death
Gate

Inside the arbour, turn
to your left twice, and move forward.  Keep moving forward, and follow
the path ahead as it cuts through the lovely scenery.  Note the large
house that becomes visible off in the distance.  The path eventually
approaches a closed gate between two hills.  As you get close, read
the sign posted to the left of the gate: “From east, south, west and
north; of air, fire, water and earth; at dawn, noon, evening and night;
be law, love, life and light”.

Back away, and click on
the gate itself for a close-up view.  The lock mechanism has four
wheels that join in the centre to display one word from each of the
four groups of words on the sign.  Each of the four wheels can be
turned by clicking on the side of the wheel furthest from the centre
of the gate.

Which words to we choose
to select from each group?  Think of the locations on the island where
we’ve seen text – one in particular was highlighted for us with a
telescope.  Bernadette’s epitaph contained the words “east”, ”fire”,
“evening”, and “light”.  Turn the wheels so that these four terms
are displayed in the central area, and the gate will open.

A glitch in the game allows
one to travel right through the gate without entering the four terms
simply by clicking on the “forward” arrow directly above the wheel
lock.  Oh well.

Light
Table

Move forward until you
approach the front of the large house at the end of this trail.  On
the front patio, turn to your left to find the front door, and click
there to enter.  Inside the front room, turn to your left, and approach
the table with the gramophone on it.  Click on the gramophone to watch
it wind up and play some blather about touching something.

Turn around and step back
to the door, and then turn to the left to face away from the front
entrance.  Move two steps into the room, turn to the left, and move
forward – here is someone’s pewter solar system model.  Turn around,
move forward a step, and click on the grey object on the table straight
ahead.

The close-up of the table’s
surface shows a light source in the top left corner, 4 glass prisms
located in various positions, and a grey object in the centre (with
a little metal doo-dad in the top right corner).  The object here
is to use the prisms to reflect the beam of light into the centre
of the grey mass.  All four prisms can be rotated in place (use the
double green arrow cursor found somewhere near each prism), and three
of the four prisms can be move between locations (the largest one
to the right cannot be moved, but can be rotated).  There’s also a
funny little switch right below the grey mass that may come into play
as well.

Start by placing the largest
of the three moveable prisms in the bottom-left location on the table. 
To move the prisms, click on the one you want to move, and then click
on its new location.  Now rotate this prism until two beams of light
can be seen in it – the longest flat edge of the prism should be pointing
upward.  Next, rotate the prism located just above the bottom left
one until a single beam of light can be seen in it (again, the longest
flat edge of the prism should be pointed upward).

Click on the metal switch
just below the grey mass so that it is aligned horizontally.  Next,
rotate the big prism on the right until two beams of light are visible
– the longest flat edge of the prism should be pointing to the left. 
Finally, rotate the final small prism in the centre so that the longest
flat edge points down.  A glowing object appears in the centre of
the grey mass.  Click on it to be rewarded with a piece of the amulet.

Musical
Memory

At this point we’ll take
a detour up to the second floor, so back away from the light table,
turn to your right, move forward a step, and then turn to the left
or right to face either the left or right staircase to the second
floor.  Follow the staircase up, around, and enter the doors at the
top of the double staircase.

You enter a music room
that contains several musical instruments including a piano and a
cello.  Turn to your right, and click on the small box on a table
against the wall.  Once the box opens, click forward to look closer. 
This is a double-sided music box that will play a tune by clicking
on either of the handles on the left and right sides of the box.

You should hopefully notice
a slight difference between the tune played from the left side from
that of the right side.  Since we only have access to the sliding
buttons that play the song on the left side of the box, we must adjust
the sliders here so that the two songs are identical.  Each note of
the song is represented by one of the sliders.  The metal arm swings
across the sliders, sounding the notes of the song.

The game randomly supplies
the song to be played, but never makes this task harder than having
to exchange the horizontal location of two of the sliders.  Listen
closely to the two songs to determine the two notes that are out of
sequence, and make the switch, leaving the other sliders alone.

Here are
the three possible songs that can be encountered during gameplay,
with the incorrect slider positions noted in red:

The corrected
songs are shown below:.

In order to have any note
play earlier in the song, move its slider closer to the left side
of the box.  To have a note play later, move the slider to the right. 
Moving the slider to the left is accomplished by clicking on the metal
arm itself, while clicking at the right end of the slider groove moves
the sliders to the right.  To locate each individual slider’s hotspots,
make sure that the top of the hand cursor is even with the slider
that you want to move.  

Once you’ve made the correct
adjustments, the right side of the music box opens, revealing something
taped to the bottom of the lid.  Click to see a close-up view, and
take the metal “piano” key. 

Bedroom
Eye

Fully back away from the
music box, and proceed past the table containing the box through the
doorway straight ahead.  This room is a very bare artist’s studio. 
Wander around the room, but don’t be too disappointed when you don’t
find anything.

Exit the studio, and cross
the music room to the other side.  At the doorway straight across
from the studio, turn to your right, and use the piano key from your
inventory on the keyboard cover of the piano to unlock it.  Click
on the piece of paper resting on the piano keys.  The close-up shows
a picture of the Kerry House gardens, with an Ascension Harp string
lying on top of the primitive photograph.  Once the harp string is
entered into the graphic, back away from the picture, turn back to
the left, and enter the doorway ahead of you.

Walk one step into the
bedroom and turn to your left.  Now walk two steps past the bed and
fireplace, and then turn to the right.  A small table with some curious
shapes on it stands here.  Click to go forward towards the table. 
Four pieces must be assembled into a four-sided pyramid.  Use the
following steps to properly assemble the shape (if you get the pieces
messed up, just back away from the table, and move forward again to
restart):

·
Click on the closest block to you
first, placing it onto the table’s central triangle

·
Click on the next closest block to
you to place it on the first, then find the rotational cursor beside
the block and click on it to rotate the block once

·
Click on the left one of the two remaining
blocks to place it on the pyramid

·
Click on the last block to place it
on the pyramid

The newly
formed pyramid will light up and spin, and an image appears on the
side facing you – the unmarked gravestone in the cemetery (the one
with the hotspot on it) – obviously an important clue.

Back away, return to the
room’s doorway, and enter the music room again.  Find the door to
the stairs (step forward and turn to your right), and exit the music
room.  Descend the stairs to the left or right, and then turn towards
the set of double doors facing away from the entrance to the house. 
Walk forward through these doors. 

Library
Cards

You’ve entered the parlour
of Kerry House – be sure to look around this room at the lovely paintings
and furnishings.  From the entrance, turn to your right, and proceed
through the doorway straight ahead.  You enter the dining room, which
contains some nice place settings, but nothing to examine.  A door
to your right takes you into a very bare kitchen, again with very
little to examine.  Re-enter the dining room, and walk back into the
parlour.

From the dining room doorway,
take two steps forward, turn to your left, and enter the library. 
Walk forward to the room’s desk, and click on the papers on its surface. 
One of four portions of a poem will appear in the close-up view. 
Keep backing away and clicking on the papers again to see the entire
poem, but it really isn’t necessary to do this.

Facing the desk, turn to
your right, move forward, turn to your left, and click on the three
stacks of cards on the table in front of you.  Click on each of the
piles in order from left to right, and watch the three-card hand that
is dealt to you.  Once your hand is dealt, click all three piles again
to deal another hand.  There are four different ladies who appear
on the cards, and the cards’ numbers always get larger from left to
right.  In fact, the left card is always a single digit from 3 to
9, the middle card is always a “low value” double-digit number, and
the right card is always a higher double-digit number.

Back away from the cards,
and click on the framed picture hanging on the wall above the card
table.  The picture covers up a combination safe – click on the safe
to get a close-up view.  The safe requires a three-digit number combination
to open.  You can change the number showing by clicking on any of
the three red knobs.  Once the right combination is entered, click
on the wheel below to open the safe.

Fourth
in a Series

If you’re guessing that
the combination is somehow related to the cards, you’ve at least got
that right.  With any of the three-card hands dealt, a fourth card
in the series (if there was one) would probably be a three-digit number
– a perfect combination for the safe. (Of course, the developers should
have really supplied a better hint than this for players to solve
the puzzle – perhaps an empty spot for where the fourth card should
have been?)

Now we have to figure out
the series of numbers in order to calculate what should come next. 
Let’s take the series (6, 21, 66) for example.  In order to get from 6 to
21, you must multiply the 6 by 3, and then add 3; in other words (6 x 3) + 3 = 21.  In order to get from 21 to 66, you again must
multiply the 21 by 3, and then add 3; in other words (21 x 3) + 3 = 66.  To get the value of the fourth card, just repeat
the pattern: (66 x 3) + 3 =
201.

If the (6, 21, 66) cards
are showing below, you would then back away, click on the picture
to uncover the safe, click for a closer view, and punch in 2 0 1 as the combination, followed by a  click of
the wheel.  Here are the other possible fourth card values:

Slider
Spoils

Once the safe door is open,
a box with a dreaded slider puzzle built into its top awaits you. 
It isn’t a particularly tough slider to solve, but for those out there
who will be at their wits end, here’s a quick 28-move solution to
the slider.

28 moves
(click on the tile corresponding to the number shown at left):