Duskwood Episode 8 Walkthrough

Man down.

Duskwood Episode Eight

Message Richy and try to get him to go online. He won’t respond.

Go to the main group chat to get Richy some help. You’ll be interrupted by a call from Cleo – they went to the pawn shop, remember? They couldn’t get too much information out of Mr. Oakley, but they did find out who sold the bracelet – it was Phil.

The call will be interrupted when Thomas sees what you’ve written. Explain to the friend group what happened:

Richy was lured into the forest by screams, and he went to check if it might be somebody he knew calling for help. When he went to investigate, he initially found nothing but then he heard another sound. He went to investigate and was attacked by someone or something. He was bleeding from the mouth, and he looked dead.

Everyone will understandably be in shock.

Lilly will DM you to get more information. She’ll ask where Richy was when you called – he was at home, packing his things. She’ll ask if there were any landmarks, and you have the option to say there was a log cabin, but I don’t remember seeing that myself. She’ll connect to the police and ask if she can say you were speaking with Richy when the attack happened.

Return to the group chat. Jessy will say she needs to go to him. Dissuade her – whoever it was that killed Richy might still be lurking about.

Lilly will return to say that the police aren’t answering. Isn’t that just dandy? Jessy might have a point going to him. Thomas will ask you to describe the path – I said it was nondescript – as he’s going into the forest. Thomas will say that he’ll go into the forest to find Richy as he hasn’t been marked and hasn’t attracted the attacker so far.

The cops will finally pick up. While Thomas is ready to go, Lilly will ask you to please talk him down and prevent anyone else from leaving. You’ll need to make an important decision here – let Thomas do it, or let the police handle it. I chose to give it to the cops as the attacker might be waiting for another opportunity to strike.

The Aftermath

Jessy will DM you. I’m not sure what she says if you send Thomas off, but in my case, she apologized for her rash decision.

She’ll reveal that she’s at the junkyard. The police have been there before her, and Richy’s father is nowhere to be found as they’re all probably searching the forest. Jessy will reminisce about Richy, recalling a prank he played on her first day at work and how it became a daily ritual. She’ll also vent her guilt that the last thing she ever spoke to Richy about was her quitting because of her belief that Richy had leaked information to the police.

She’ll be interrupted by the arrival of a man in white coveralls – probably forensics. Not a good sign. However, the man is carrying something, which is revealed to be Richy’s bloody cap.

Jake will ask if you want to process your loss with him, and I did so. While Richy’s loss has undoubtedly left everyone shaken, we must press on.

Discuss Richy’s last video call with Jake and glean what you can:

• Richy claimed he heard screams in the forest, but there weren’t any during the call.
• Richy was lured into the forest and attacked because he broke the kidnapper’s rule of not entering the forest.
• People marked by the sign of the raven are taken away on the first night of the new moon every year.

You’ll be interrupted by a call from Alan Bloomgate. He wants to ask you some questions about Hannah and Amy. However, Jake will step in, cut the call, and say that talking to the police isn’t a smart move right now. Remember what happened to Phil?

Lastly, point out that the attacker didn’t show themselves this time. This is markedly different from every other attack, andI don’t like the implications of this.

The conversation will switch to Phil and the bracelet. Now that we know Phil sold the bracelet to the pawn shop, is it possible that that is what Hannah wanted to talk to Phil about on the day she vanished?

Before leaving, Jake will go over the leads you need to investigate:

• Who is Ted Madruga?
• How is Jennifer Hanson connected to Hannah’s disappearance?
• Who is Amy Bell Lewis and how is she connected to this case?
• How did Phil get the bracelet in the first place?

Jake will ask you to give him some time.

All Together Now

Switch back to the main group chat. Lilly will ask if the group should still go to the hut Richy rented. Jessy will refuse to move unless Richy is found.

Cleo will ask you two things before you move forward – that you reveal all information you found alongside Jake, and that you add him to the group chat. That’s reasonable.

Return to Jake to relay Cleo’s request. Make a case for sharing the information with the group.

Jake will give you the go signal for sharing all information, and with a little more cajoling, he’ll join the group chat. In return though, he’ll ask for something: remove Richy from the group chat as his phone is likely in the hands of his killer.

Go back to the group chat and do the deed.

Jake will finally join the group chat. The others will be welcoming of him – albeit reluctantly – but Dan will demand to know how Jake knew of Hannah’s disappearance immediately. Jake will say that, in the beginning, he would never divulge this information. But thanks to us earning his trust and the progress we’ve made, he’ll reveal how he knew.

It’s nothing fantastic: he was speaking to Hannah over the phone when she vanished. Hannah had sent him an email out of the blue, asking for help. It was sent to an old address, so it took Jake a few days to notice the message. When he spotted it, he entered a video call with her. He didn’t see the attacker, either, nor the weapon that was used.

Thomas will corroborate this – remember his story of how Hannah seemed relieved when he called her and she asked him to be patient?

However, even Jake doesn’t know what Hannah wanted help with as she was ambushed before she could tell him. And even he doesn’t know why your number got involved in all this.

You’ll need to answer several DMs from your friends: Jessy will want to go home first, and Dan will say he still doesn’t trust Jake.

Flashback Episode

Return to the group chat. Jake will go over what we know with the rest of the group, as well as how we got to where we are now:

• The faceless man is the key to solving this mystery. Ever since the beginning of the investigation, it was important for the kidnapper to be identified with this legend.
• Cleo was the first one to hear about the legend from Alfie. Cleo sent you to Jessy to learn about the story as she’s the one with the most knowledge about that stuff.
• Jessy said she intuited that it was a pretty important clue, despite Richy’s belief that it was ridiculous.
• Jessy created a group chat for us, herself, and Richy. She named it Legends of Duskwood. She had hoped to get more information out of Richy since he grew up in Duskwood.
• Soon after, you found the sign of the raven in Hannah’s phone. You sent it to both Jake and the Legends of Duskwood.

You’ll need to send the file here: it’s the 1.3mb image.

Jake will interrupt you here, asking if anyone in the group knows if Hannah did something worth punishing. Again, nobody knows anything.

Send the first diary entry, the one where Hannah sounds like she’s getting her thoughts out: it’s labeled Cloud-Document 01. Jake will ask if anyone was aware that Hannah was depressed – no one even knew she was taking antidepressants. The group will ask for evidence, so send the receipt for SSRIs.

Cleo will corroborate your story – remember when Mrs. Sully, the town gossip, said something about a white-faced Hannah running out of the pharmacy?

Follow up by sending the audio recording between Hannah and Dr. Barret. It’s labeled Donfort_Session something in the phone.

Reveal to the group that:

• Hannah already knew she was being stalked.
• This was because of an incident in the past when she was still a child.
• She wasn’t alone then; Hannah was with Jennifer.

Remember, too, that Dr. Barret was a little incredulous because Hannah had already brought up the story of the faceless man. Kind of hard to separate the line between fiction and reality there.

Dan will surmise that this was the reason Hannah had set up a camera in her bedroom. Send the 6mb security footage.

Despite Jake’s efforts to brighten the video, you’ll still see nothing.

Next, talk about Jennifer Hanson and how Jake couldn’t find anything due to the wrong surname. Jessy will add to this by saying that she drove to Jennifer’s house. Thomas will interrupt her with an important piece of information: Hannah’s car was not in front of her house when Jake first said Hannah went missing. This means that someone moved Hannah’s car after she was kidnapped.

Dan will ask for a short break.

Ted Madruga

Lilly will DM you, saying she’s been doing some sniffing around during the break. She went to her parents to ask if they knew if Hannah had any relation to Amy Bell Lewis. I think I’m starting to see how Amy fits into our story.

As there’s no other way to contact Ted Madruga, what with him being in prison, Lilly wants to send him a letter to find out how he’s connected to Hannah. Get Jake’s help in writing the message.

Switch over to Lilly’s group chat to pull Jake in. Compose it however you like; I kept mine short and to the point.

Once that’s sent, snoop in on Jake and Lilly’s DMs. Aww.

The Flashback Episode Continued

The group will reconvene to continue the info trail you and Jake created.

Jessy will continue where she was interrupted: she visited Iris Hanson, who confirmed that Jennifer had been run over by an unknown attacker. Jake will ask you to post Hannah’s second diary entry to the group.

After the group reads through it, Jake will bring their attention to the phrase “eyes like emeralds”. He’ll ask you to send a picture of the bracelet.

Thomas will use the opportunity to air out his dirty laundry about how he thought Hannah was having an affair and that J.H. was the culprit behind her disappearance. Jessy will comment on how she said the bracelet was in the window of the pawn shop, which led a neat trail back to Hannah.

There’s still one more question, though: why was Phil the one to pawn it in the first place?

Because of the sentimental value of the bracelet, we deduced that it was the reason Hannah wanted to talk to Phil in the first place. This also brings us to the topic of Hannah’s call logs – send the file over. To recap, the five people she called were Richy at Roger’s Garage, Alan Bloomgate, Phil Hawkins, Thomas, and an unknown number – 16035.

Richy called Hannah to report that he was done working on her car. The oil pan (translated as oil sump in this section for reasons unknown) was damaged. Richy said he didn’t notice anything off about Hannah, nor did he know where she went afterward.

The second person on Hannah’s call log was Alan Bloomgate, the Duskwood police chief. Note that it’s an outgoing call – meaning Hannah probably wanted help.

The third person was Phil Hawkins, and Jessy will apologize for her behavior when Phil was arrested. There’s no need to talk about this call as we’ve already discussed all the salient points by now.

The fourth person was Thomas – I spared him the emotional damage by saying there was no need to go into detail.

The last number, as Dan deduces, should be Jake’s. However, it’s not. Jake scrubbed his number off Hannah’s list for his safety.

So, who is 16035? Ask the friend group if they have any idea who it might be – they’ll reply in the negative.

The Forest Stone

Jake has one more surprise for us: he made the sign in the police’s image of the Amy Bell Lewis investigation readable.

If there were any more doubts that Amy’s death and Hannah’s kidnapping were linked, they’re gone now. Amy Bell Lewis was found near a memorial to Jennifer Hanson, meaning that that person is, in a sense, avenging Jennifer.

It’s time to dissect what we have:

• The culprit is using the legend of the faceless man as cover but doesn’t care too much about the finer details such as the new moon part.
• Why would the culprit wait 10 years to avenge Jennifer?
• The culprit is going after Hannah because she witnessed the crime 10 years ago. Maybe they blame Hannah as they think she could have done something to prevent it.

To solve the mystery of Hannah’s disappearance, we need to find out why Amy was killed. We’ll crack the case with Jake’s help while the rest of our friends gather intel for us.

Before we adjourn, Jessy will say that she got the files of the accident from Roger’s Garage and that the car in the accident was an AMC Gremlin. Lilly will also bring up Ted Madruga – I chose to tell the others. Transparency and all.

Return to your DMs with Jake and debrief. It’s good to get all that info off your chest.

Amy’s Footsteps

Now that you have a new person of interest, Jake can easily find more information. A forum post by Amy stands out. Use Jake’s dummy account to get in:

• Username: Nymos
• Password: m$w_33D(izX4?wLLk77?<aMWm>

Go ahead and copy the password above; it’ll save you time.

Once you’re in, scroll down to look for the topic “Looking for infos: the man without a face” by Avali. There’s no new info for us here, but now we know that Amy was aware of the legend. And while the public thread didn’t go any further, Amy likely continued the conversation in private with Darkness. Y’know, the guy they keep @-ing in the post.

You’ll need to start posting in the forums and try to get Darkness to talk to you about Amy. Jake cautions that this seems to be a tightly knit group, so tread lightly. The best way to do this will be to post in the thread that Amy started.

Déjà Vu

Access the Dark Mystery Forums via a new app on your phone. You can also ask Jake to send you another link. Make a post at the end of the thread – it’s a multiple choice thing. I just went with the most neutral tone.

Switch to your DMs with Jessy where she’ll say there are two things she wants to discuss. First off, she’ll say thank you for finally sharing your information and putting Jake in the group. Secondly, the files containing the information on the AMC Gremlin are surprisingly large and very old. It will take her some time to work through it. But she found something important – a file of one Michael Hanson. Based on what we know about Jennifer, this is likely her dad. She’ll send you his number: 93844. I was hoping it would be 16035, but no dice!

Before we can call up Michael Hanson, we’ll get a DM from Alan Bloomgate, who just wants to “ask a few questions”. Take Jake’s advice and don’t call him.

Dial 93844 and you’ll be greeted with a “not in service” error. Go back to Jessy to report your findings. It was worth a shot. Jessy will also find an address, but there’s probably no one there anymore. And even if there were somebody there, you’d just get the same story from Iris.

Darkness

Go back to the Dark Mystery Forums and experience the kind of hostility you can only find on the internet! I jest. Put another reply and go back to Jake.

Mention to Jake that Alan messaged you. Jake will be surprised that he wasn’t tipped off – Alan must be using some kind of shielding.

Jake will remind you not to talk to the cops. But he’ll try to crack Alan’s shield anyway.

You’ll get a new message on the forum. Go through it, and Darkness will ask you to DM them. We’re in!

Input Darkness’ number: 28749.

Darkness will remark that it’s not often that people are interested in the faceless man, and to have two people ask about that in such a small span of time leaves Darkness a bit suspicious. You’ll need to give Darkness something to go on: I chose to say that I’m a loyal friend of Amy/Avali. This’ll be enough to get Darkness to talk.

Darkness will reveal what they spoke to Amy about. Unfortunately, it’s nothing new, just the usual “commit a sin, get taken away/killed”. However, Darkness will keep grilling us, and we’ll need to reveal that Avali is dead and we’re investigating possible leads. Darkness will mention that Amy was asking for a friend. Hannah?

Just as it seems we’re about to hit a dead end, Darkness will give us Amy’s number. You have exactly 1 guess as to what it is.

You can’t add Amy via phone or chat, so tap on Darkness’ link to add Amy Bell Lewis to your contacts.

Jake will message you to talk about what we’ve already discussed. Finally, solid evidence that Hannah and Amy are linked. Your next step will be to check Amy’s profile for clues.

But before that…

I guess we’re now 100% sure Phil has a part to play here. Hopefully, we’ll find something to prove his innocence. Jake doesn’t exactly like Phil, but his connection to Michael Hanson can’t be ignored.

Michael Hanson

Jake will find an audio file – it’s an interrogation session between Michael Hanson and Alan Bloomgate. Here’s the transcript if you’d like to go over it in more detail:

Alan Bloomgate: Questioning of witness Michael Hanson will now resume. It is currently 1:33 am. In the room are the questioned, Michael Hanson, as well as Alan Bloomgate. So, Michael, please continue.

Michael Hanson: So, as I said, I was working and thought she had already arrived and was out somewhere at the festival.

A: What made you think that?

M: Because that’s what she did last year, too. There wasn’t anything unusual about it. Listen, Alan. It’s late. I’m tired.

A: During your last interrogation, you said – one moment please – “I thought Jennifer had gone to the Pine Glade Festival with her friends after arriving in Duskwood.”

M: Yes. I thought she was looking at the fireworks. It’s always packed in the Aurora during the Pine Glade Festival. She knows that I don’t have time for her then and she wanted to see the fireworks. She always looked forward to them the most.

A: When did you get home, Michael?

M: Around 3 or 4.

A: And you didn’t go into Jennifer’s room when you arrived at the house? You didn’t check to see whether your daughter was home? …for the record, the questioned is shaking his head in disagreement. Please say “no”, Mr. Hanson. My recording device can’t see you.

M: No! I’ve told you I don’t know how many times! I thought Jennifer was probably already asleep, so I went to bed. Next morning, I wanted to wake her up and I saw that she wasn’t in her room.

A: That was the point at which you informed your ex-wife, Iris Hanson, correct?

M: Yeah, correct. (Sigh) Jennifer didn’t like her room. She never complained but I could tell when she stayed over at my place for the first time. It was still decorated the way her grandmother had it when she was a kid. I never changed it. I don’t know what young woman her age like (sic).

A: Your ex-wife then informed the police in Duskwood, correct?

M: Yes, goddammit! Correct! The same answer I gave you the last hundred times you asked! My daughter is missing. Go and look for her instead of wasting your time asking stupid questions!

Based on this conversation, we can infer that Michael Hanson was the previous owner of the Aurora Bar, and that’s how Phil knows him. There’s also something off about this interrogation, but I can’t quite put my finger on it.

Return to the group chat and post the audio log.

Alan Bloomgate will message you again. Report it to Jake, then return to the main group chat to get everyone’s thoughts on the audio file.

Jessy will point out one odd thing about this: why are they repeatedly interrogating the father of the missing child? This leads me to think that the Duskwood police suspected that Michael Hanson was responsible for Jennifer’s death. Mention to Jessy that Phil called you to say that he was imprisoned because of his connection to Michael Hanson.

Jake will put forward the inference that Michael Hanson was the previous owner, and Thomas will mention that before Phil bought the bar, it was targeted at an older audience. So we’re probably right about this. You’ll also learn that the Aurora is where the friend group first met, and that Michael Hanson suddenly left Duskwood.

Michael Hanson is your only lead, so someone has to check out his address. Because of what happened to Richy, our friends have to be extra careful. Jessy will volunteer to go, and Thomas will accompany her. Go to Jake’s DMs and tell him you’ll wait for their findings.

The Hunters Hunted

Cleo will pop up in the group chat; inform her that Thomas and Jessy are on the way to Michael Hanson’s house. The other members will jump in. Brief them on what’s happening.

Jessy will send pictures of Michael’s house, which you can’t see unless you have the multimedia pack. Poopie. Lilly will comment that she knows the house, and Thomas will drop the address – Well Street 4. Just as it seems like the house is a dead end, Jessy will spot something moving in the barn.

Wait, a barn? Yes, a barn. What would a bar owner want with a barn?

Because there’s a bunker in it. Before you can tell Jessy to take Thomas with her, she’s offline.

Jake will show up in the group chat to tell you that he’s broken Alan’s encryption. You should no longer get unsolicited messages or calls from Duskwood’s police.

Jessy will return to report on the disappointing bunker: it’s both completely open and entirely empty. Thomas, on the other hand, will report that he’s made it into the house. After a little back-and-forth, he’ll do a video call with you, saying that you need to see this…

While they’re undoubtedly in a ton of danger, Jake is right – if we call the cops now, any leads we might get from this investigation will be gone for good. Thomas and Jessy will have to continue investigating. Lilly will point out that if we’re following the legend of the faceless man, where he takes sinners away, there’s also a good chance that Hannah and Richy will be there.

Thomas will text back. There’s someone outside…

We did it. We found our kidnapper. Or at least his lair. It’s time to call the cops and end this once and for all.

Or is it?

What Have We Learned?

Personal Information and Relationships

• Amy Bell Lewis went to an online forum looking for information on the faceless man for “a friend”.
• Jennifer’s father is Michael Hanson.
• Michael Hanson was the previous owner of the Aurora Bar.
• Michael and Iris Hanson are divorced.
• Michael Hanson was repeatedly interrogated by the police about his daughter’s disappearance.
• Michael Hanson suddenly left Duskwood shortly after Phil Hawkins bought the Aurora Bar.
• According to Michael, his daughter was in Duskwood for the fireworks during the Pine Glade Festival. He assumed she went to see them while he was busy at work. He only noticed her missing the next morning.

Mysteries Solved

• Phil sold the bracelet to the pawn shop.
• Phil Hawkins bought the bar from Michael Hanson – that’s how they know each other.
• Phil was imprisoned due to his connection to Michael Hanson.
• Michael Hanson’s house served as the kidnapper’s headquarters. He was keeping tabs on us.
• The last person Hannah called was Amy; Amy’s number is 16035.

Mysteries That Remain

• How did Phil get the bracelet in the first place?
• Who moved Hannah’s car after she vanished, and why?
• How is Amy’s death connected to Hannah’s kidnapping?

The Heart of the Matter

Was it just me, or was this a very long episode? Either way, we’ve got just 2 more chapters to go before we find the truth of what happened. But we’d better steel ourselves because sometimes the truth is ugly to look at.

When you’re ready, head on over to Duskwood episode 9.