"Fort Boyard: La Légende" (Fort Boyard: The Legend) is a point & click and FMV game released in 1996. It exists in French (the original version) and in Dutch. This game has never had an English version, making it obscure internationally.
I've watched a complete game's playthrough on YouTube by Max Kiid and I've written down everything that is needed for this story in a Word document. However, this fiction will not be a pure copy-paste of the game, because I want to add my own touch "a la Mia" and no way I would transcribe all the dialogues! Also, many characters in Fort Boyard: La Légende have no names and are identified by their role. For example: the receptionist, the barman, etc.
On that note, enjoy your reading.
You were on your gaming computer when you lost access to your programs. You were about to curse when your cell phone makes a familiar "ding" sound. A text message comes in. From an anonymous person.
<Anonymous>
[If you want your gaming gear back, you'll play.]
What is this person talking about? You wonder. Playing what? You have no choice but to start a conversation.
<You>
[What are you talking about?]
<Anonymous>
[Fort Boyard La Légende.]
<You>
[What?]
<Anonymous>
[Fort Boyard The Legend. A French PC Game.]
<You>
[Wait, isn't that a damn ransomware?]
<Anonymous>
[Yeah. I don't want your money. I want you to play.]
<You>
[At this French game? Fort Boyard La Légende ?]
<Anonymous>
[Yeah. I'll put it on your PC. You finish the game and I'll give you back access to everything.]
<You>
[But I don’t know French.]
(Author’s parentheses: I know there is a slight possibility that you do know French, but let’s keep it simple and pretend that you don’t. Thanks.)
<Anonymous>
[That’s ok. I can help you with translations.]
Well, it's not that bad, but still who is this person?
<You>
[Do you have a name?]
<Anonymous>
[I'll keep it to myself.]
<You>
[Yeah, but you have mine.]
<Anonymous>
[So what?]
<You>
[Whatever. So is this game coming or what?]
<Anonymous>
[Yeah, yeah.]
You look at your PC screen. Two icons have appeared. "Fort Boyard" and "DOSBox".
<You>
[DOSBox? What the fuck do I need that for?]
<Anonymous>
[What? You don't know? It's a game from the 90s. You need DOSBox to run it.]
<You>
[Shit. That's lame.]
<Anonymous>
[Why? Not a fan of retro gaming?]
<You>
[I'd rather keep that to myself and why don't you ask for cash? Ransomware is for money, right?]
<Anonymous>
[I have already told you. I don't want your money.]
<You>
[Ok, I'll start the game.]
You drop your cell phone and launch the game. After clicking on “new game”, you watch the disgusting intro with the pixelated video in 640x480. Well, the UI was in French, but you could figure out where the “new game” is.
''Le port de La Rochelle.'' Says a male voice, the game’s hero. All in French, obliviously, and with no subtitles but the anonymous person sends you a translation.
''The port of La Rochelle. These old towers must hide many secrets. Many prisoners must have died within their walls. Many treasures must have been buried in their foundations. But the treasure that interests me isn’t found within its walls. It is well hidden on the Fort Boyard’s site, in the open sea, in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean."
"It is an old fortress built under Napoleon, which is now used as a setting for the famous television show Fort Boyard. I recently participated in the game show to scout out the place. Some information in my possession allows me to affirm that a fabulous treasure was hidden by Napoleon under the very premises of the fort. This was just before his exile to Saint Helena. His final goal was to finance his reconquest of Europe. But Napoleon never returned from Saint Helena. Before me, other adventurers tried to get hold of this famous treasure without success. But elements and pieces of information exist, especially in La Rochelle’s city and at the surrounding islands. Now it's up to me to find them, to show courage, cunning and audacity, but the stakes are high. Let the adventure begin."
The intro ends and you properly intend to play that old point & click game when everything gets blurry.
You can't see well. Everything goes black and you panic because you can't feel your legs and arms. Your eyes close. You wonder if you’re dying when you suddenly open your eyes.
You are no longer in front of your gaming equipment. You are outside. The sky is clear, the sun is strong and it seems to plunge on you. You look around. These places don't tell you anything. You are in a city, but which one? You look at yourself. You are still the same person, but you have a large shoulder bag on you.
You look inside, there are banknotes and a cell phone. The bills are French francs, which surprises you. You look at the cell phone. It is red in color and looks new. You turn it on and it's really weird. The battery is at "infinity" and there are only three applications, "music," "audio communication" and "messages." You open them. The music application is an audio player, but the only music available is the theme from the show Fort Boyard and some remixes. The audio communication application is empty, but it says "no audio messages received." The message application contains SMS type messages from the strange person.
<Anonymous>
[Hey, you.]
<Anonymous>
[Did my "hack" work?]
<Anonymous>
[Do you have the red cell phone in your inventory? I mean in your bag?]
<Anonymous>
[Answer me quickly.]
Indeed, you can answer.
<You>
[Yeah, what the fuck? Where am I?]
<Anonymous>
[Don't you get it? You're IN the game!]
<You>
[Good joke. You're very funny.]
<Anonymous>
[This is no joke. Look, we help each other out, okay? If you want to go back to Earth, you finish the game in one piece. If you do, I'll be released from this shitty prison and you'll never hear from me again.]
<You>
[Huh? Are you kidding me?]
<Anonymous>
[Do I look like I'm kidding? Finish the game. Find Fort Boyard’s hidden treasure.]
<You>
[FUCK, NO!]
<Anonymous>
[You don't have a choice, or you'll be stuck here forever! Don't you want to get rid of me and my ransomware?]
<You>
[Yeah, I want my PC back, but I don't believe in your nonsense. Me in a video game.]
<Anonymous>
[I'll prove it to you, then. The game starts in the city of La Rochelle. That's where you are. Go to the Hotel du Commerce.]
<You>
[What? La Rochelle?]
<Anonymous>
[Go. To. The. Hotel. Du. Commerce. YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!]
The anonymous person writes you nothing else. Although you think you are in a psychotic delirium, you decide to explore the city anyway. You soon learn that you are indeed in La Rochelle and that the current year is not 2023, but 1996! So, either you're nuts or you're well and truly in the game. You sigh. It doesn't make sense. It can't be. And yet... You ask a lady where the Hotel du Commerce is. The stakes are high, you think, copying the intro of the game. Let the adventure begin.
You are walking towards the Hotel du Commerce when you hear "ding" in your large shoulder bag. You had put the red cell phone back in the bag some time ago. The mystery person sends you more texts. You pull out the cell phone to read and respond to them.
<Anonymous>
[Hey.]
<Anonymous>
[So, have you arrived?]
<Anonymous>
[The game's main character runs all the time. REALLY all the time, so you have to be outside the hotel.]
<Anonymous>
[So, go in and talk to the desk clerk and ask for your room key.]
<You>
[I haven't arrived at the hotel yet.]
<Anonymous>
[What? How?! Shit, hurry up!]
<You>
[No, you idiot, I'm taking my time.]
<Anonymous>
[SHIT!]
<You>
[You don't have to prove anything to me anyway. I know I'm inside Fort Boyard : La Légende.]
<Anonymous>
[Really? How did you change your mind?]
<You>
[Very simple. By chatting with people. Damn, I'm in La Rochelle in 1996! That's crazy].
<Anonymous>
[Yet it's real. Well, then, get to the hotel as soon as possible, okay?]
<You>
[I'm taking my time, okay? I'll text you when I get there.]
<Anonymous>
[You're such an asshole... well, okay.]
You put the red cell phone back in the bag and continue on your way. When you arrive in front of the Hotel du Commerce, you send a message to the anonymous person.
<You>
[Okay, I'm in front of the hotel.]
<Anonymous>
[Perfect. Go in and talk to the desk clerk and ask for your room key. He'll give you key number 7 and ask you if it went well on Fort Boyard.]
<You>
[???]
<Anonymous>
[I don't want you to derail the game too much. Who knows what will happen if you mess up.]
<You>
[Huh? What are you talking about?]
<Anonymous>
[Well you've chatted with people before, right? That's outside the scope of the game's scenario. You shouldn't push it too far.]
<You>
[Why? What could happen? A "crash"?]
<Anonymous>
[I don't know, but I don't want to find out. Follow my instructions to the letter and you'll be fine.]
<You>
[If you say so.]
<Anonymous>
[Then, next, you'll tell the receptionist that your team won. Don't forget. You’re the main character and he participated at Fort Boyard.]
<Anonymous>
[Okay. Get back to me when it's done.]
No new messages come in. You take a breath, put the cell phone in the shoulder bag, and enter the Hotel du Commerce.
You go to the front desk to speak to the receptionist.
"Hello. Could I have the key to my room, please?"
"Ah!" Said the receptionist, before turning around to get a key.
He hands it to you and continues to talk to you.
"You're very lucky, it's number 7. Ha, ha, ha. So, how did it go at Fort Boyard?"
It's exactly like the unknown person wrote to you. It's amazing. It's as if you can predict the future, in a way.
"Yes, my team won."
"Ah," says the receptionist, whose name you don't know. "I didn't watch the show a while ago, but I knew you were going to win. Without prying, how much did your team win?"
You don't have that information and you don't want to pull out your red cell phone in front of the receptionist. Yes, there were cell phones back then, like the Motorola StarTAC, but not like today's smartphones. The red device you have is like a smartphone, but with almost nothing in it.
You're thinking about what to say when your mind goes blank and you say a random number, as if some unseen force wants you to follow the video game script.
"My team won 7,317 euros."
"Excuse me?" The receptionist asks you, confused. "I don't understand."
But this force has missed its mark. It wants to derail.
"7,317 euros. At the Fort Boyard TV show."
"But, that's not possible. Euros, you say?"
Oh shit! You say to yourself. I had forgotten. The euro currency doesn't exist until later! I must say...
"Sorry, sir, I meant 48,000 francs! 48,000 for the team, or 8,000 francs each!"
"OH!" Exclaims the receptionist. "I see. 8,000 francs..."
He seems impressed and you make a mental note to yourself not to forget that you are stuck in a French video game from the 90s. Then he asks you if you need anything else.
"No, I don't think so. Thank you."
You go to your room on the second floor. It has two beds, one hard and one soft. It also has a bathroom.
You take out the red cell phone and contact the anonymous person again.
<You>
[It's done. I'm in the room, but it wanted to go off the rails. You didn't tell me how much the team won at Fort Boyard!]
<Anonymous>
[Oops, sorry. I don't know the game by heart. Well, next step, the useful items in the room, but before that, did you take the city map from the reception desk? Also asked the receptionist if you got a message?]
<You>
[Well no, you didn't tell me!]
<Anonymous>
[Go ahead, then, and I'm sure you're a resourceful person. If your "guts" tell you to do something, do it, don't wait for my instructions.]
<You>
[Uh... that's a contradiction there. One, I'm supposed to follow your instructions to finish the game without derailing it. Two, you're telling me to listen to my "gut" and do things without waiting for your input.]
<Anonymous>
[O.O.]
<Anonymous>
[You're right.]
<Anonymous>
[Never mind.]
As usual, you put the cell phone back in your bag and go back to the receptionist. You see the city map on the counter. You take it and the receptionist acts as if nothing had happened. Maybe I should have asked him..., you think. At least you won't get lost in La Rochelle with this map.
"Hello again." You say to the receptionist. "Uh, would there be a message for me?"
"OH, but yes! What was I thinking? You received a message while you were away."
While I'm away? What is he talking about? You ask mentally. I just got here!
"Here."
The receptionist gives you the message. A red envelope with a phone number on a blue paper. You put the blue paper in your large shoulder bag and go back to your room. You contact the mystery person again and you would love to have a name so that you can identify them by something.
<You>
[Done. So, what's next?]
The mystery person sends you many more text messages to give you the steps to follow in the room. First of all, you go to open the wooden wardrobe with a mirror, and you see a black jacket. It must belong to the game’s hero, but how did it get there? You have just received the key to the room.
Anyway, you go through the pockets and find two things. A small card with "ARMSTRONG" written on it and a strange message, "MAGNUM."
Then you go to the small bathroom. On the sink counter is a small black kit.
You find some aspirin and a Swiss Army knife in there, then leave the bathroom.
The next thing to do is to look under the two beds. The one on the left has nothing, the one on the right has a briefcase. You retrieve it and put it on the right bed, but you need a 3-digit code to open it.
You look again at the messages from the anonymous person. The text messages say to call someone first using the room phone and the phone number written on the blue paper.
You do that.
"Hello?"
"Hello." A male voice answers you. "I found some information for you."
"Do we know each other?"
"Well, you haven't forgotten your informant!"
"No, of course not." You tell him quickly, trying to joke.
"I see. So, there is only one biography of Duroselle, written by a certain Albert Denis and published on his own account. The author lived in La Rochelle at the time. If Albert Denis has not changed his address, it would be possible to find him at 1, Place de la Tour."
"Okay." You tell him, even though you don't know what he's talking about.
"I don't have any more information. Call me back tomorrow. I might have found something else."
"Okay, see you."
You hang up and then call the hotel's automated line to order a coffee, as said in a text message from the mystery person. Afterwards, you take a book that was in a drawer and, then you can go back to the briefcase.
The text message about the code says this: [MAGNUM.] That's the strange message you found in the black jacket, but you don't see the connection between that word and a 3-digit code. Let's see, let's see. Magnum... magnum... like the gun? So... ammo... a caliber? 3 digits... but there are plenty of 3 digits calibers! You are racking your brains. Maybe it's a well-known caliber? Or the original cartridge? This is the .357. You try 3-5-7 and the briefcase opens. WOW! I did it. You look inside and find a bank card, a medallion in an eight shape and a compass. You close the case and put it back under the bed.
Suddenly, you hear someone knocking on your door. You open the door. It is the room-service man. He brings you your coffee in a tray covered with a bell. You thank him.
The man places the tray on a small table and leaves. You raise the bell. On the tray is a black coffee, but nothing else.
You put the bell back and contact the anonymous person again, as there are no new messages from them.
<You>
[There's a big problem.]
<Anonymous>
[What? Did you do something wrong? Is the game spinning out of control?]
<You>
[NO! I've been following all your SMS! But yes, it seems to be going off the rails.]
<Anonymous>
[SHIT! Okay, what's the problem.]
<You>
[You wrote that you had to take sugar cubes and there are none with the coffee.]
<Anonymous>
[Okay. It's not a "crash," but it's not normal. You need that sugar to progress.]
<You>
[So, what do I do? Do I order another coffee?]
<Anonymous>
[Yeah. Hopefully, the sugar will be there.]
You put the cell phone away again and call the hotel's automated line to order another coffee. You wait a minute and someone knocks on your door. It's the room-service man again. He goes to exchange the tray covered with a bell and leaves. You raise the bell. Still no sugar.
You take back the red cell phone.
<You>
[Still no sugar.]
<Anonymous>
[FOR FUCK'S SAKE! Well, you have no choice but to deviate from the game scenario a little bit. Order one more coffee and when the room service person arrives, tell him about the sugar.]
<You>
[Complain then?]
<Anonymous>
[Yeah. Good luck.]
You put your cell phone away again. You order a coffee. You wait a minute. Someone knocks on your door. The room service man.
"Sir, I have a complaint."
"Oh dear!" Says the man, all embarrassed. "What is the concern?"
"Your coffee is awful! And I didn't even get any sugar."
"This must be a mistake."
The room service man raises the bell. There is a black coffee, but no sugar.
"Just a moment!" He said, before running off.
He quickly returns with another tray covered with a bell.
"Here's the sugar." He says, while showing you the contents of the new tray.
"That's good." You say. "Thank you."
The man leaves the room and you go to pick up the sugar cubes. Finally, you contact the unknown person again.
<You>
[I have the sugar cubes. What do I do now?]
<Anonymous>
[You have to go to the hotel bar. You will meet the bartender and a pretty blonde woman. Be nice to both of them. When you get the all clear, get the Golden Napoleon.]
<You>
[Okay. By the way, I really want you to give me a name. I'm tired of always thinking "mystery person, unknown person, anonymous person."]
<Anonymous>
[My name, I keep it for myself.]
<You>
[I said "a name," not "your name"!]
<Anonymous>
[You're such an asshole.]
<Guide>
[Okay, call me Guide. Like in a Game Guide LOL XD]
<You>
[Very funny. By the way, you're an asshole too. Well, Guide, I'm gonna go to the bar. I'll write to you later. :D]
Although you haven't slept since you arrived in the video game, so it should still be daylight, you go to the hotel bar. It’s open.
You sit on a small stool, at the counter near the bartender. Next to you is a pretty blonde woman. She’s wearing a red dress and her body language tells you that she is in seduction mode.
As soon as the blonde woman notices you, she pulls out all the stops.
"Do we know each other? Have we met before?" She asks you in a honeyed tone.
You don't have time to answer "no" as she continues talking to you.
"Are you satisfied with my body’s profile? Do I remind you of someone, perhaps? A loved one? No. I know. It's my skull. You're attracted to it. You're an archaeologist."
"No," retorted the bartender, "it's anthropologist!"
You wonder what her big game is all about. For a seduction attempt, it is quite strange. Then the woman asks you if you are just a flirt.
As Guide had written, you remain polite with her, saying that "no," but at the same time, with "a woman as pretty as you". The blonde woman remains silent for a while, then tells you that it has been a pleasure to talk with you and that she hopes to see you again. The woman in red leaves the bar and the hotel.
Then the bartender chats with you. Although it was rather a solitary conversation because he takes up all the space. He tells you that the woman in the red dress is an antique dealer. She comes to the bar every night because she wants to buy his Golden Napoleon that he keeps in the cash drawer.
"I don't want to sell it, you understand. It's a family memento. It was my grandfather who picked it up, 50 years ago, around Fort Boyard."
The bartender looks at his watch.
"Ah, it's eight o'clock. The bar is now closed."
How? Eight o'clock in the evening? You say to yourself. That's not possible. This game has a strange notion of time.
The bartender is planning to leave when he tells you that you are free to stay. He gives you the local newspaper, wishes you a good evening, and leaves. You can't believe it. He has left you alone and you bet that this bar doesn't even have a surveillance camera.
In short, you follow the instructions left by Guide. You force the cash drawer with the Swiss Army knife, recover (not to say "steal") the Golden Napoleon, and you leave the bar then the hotel.
Outside, it’s still light. This game really went off the rails, either those who wrote the script got it wrong, or they wanted to keep it simple and not shoot any scenes during the night. In any case, you contact Guide again.
<You>
[I have the Golden Napoleon.]
<Guide>
[Good. Don't get rid of it! It's a quest item, of sorts. Now you go to the ATM to withdraw as much money as possible. "ARMSTRONG" is the bank card code.]
<You>
[Okay and then?]
<Guide>
[You go back to the hotel to sleep and then call your informant back. I'll give you the rest of the steps when you're done.]
So you go to the ATM. You put in the bank card and the machine asks you for the code. Guide had written "ARMSTRONG", the same message found on the small card in the black jacket. Armstrong, Neil Armstrong, so 1969.
You enter 1-9-6-9 and that is the correct code. You withdraw all the French francs you can, 3,000. You put all the money in your big bag, then you go back to the Hotel du Commerce and go to bed.
You have a strange dream. You are on Fort Boyard. You see different parts of the fort. Then you see two moving candlesticks, then you walk down a corridor and the walls come dangerously close to you. Then, as if you had teleported, you see Père Fouras in the shadow of a tunnel. Père Fouras, the old man who plays the puzzle teller on the TV show. Finally, you wake up. What a bizarre dream.
Without wasting any time, you call your informant back. He tells you that he has found other information about Duroselle and Fort Boyard. Duroselle would have been buried on the island of Aix. As for the fort, the construction reports indicate that strange incidents occurred. Strange mechanisms, mysterious disappearances. Some of the workers even went crazy, thinking they were being chased by a ghost. Your informant later tells you that he will be away for several days. He wishes you good luck in your treasure hunt before hanging up. That's fine, but you still don't know who this Duroselle is and even less what the connection is between him and the Fort Boyard treasure. It doesn't matter.
You send an SMS to Guide.
<You>
[Done. Next?]
<Guide>
[The next step is the antique store.]
<You>
[Ah, then I'll see the beautiful blonde again.]
<Guide>
[Yes, but you must stay in her good graces. You need her help to find the treasure.]
<You>
[Got it!]
<Guide>
[And remember, for the Golden Napoleon, you mustn’t get rid of it!]
<You>
[Yeah, yeah.]
You put your cell phone in your large shoulder bag and walk to the antique store. It's still light outside and you're sure you've only slept a few hours. Time must be frozen in this game.
Arrived in front of the store, you want to enter, but an aggressive dog prevents you from passing.
No..., you think. Is that what the sugar cubes are for? After all, of all the items in your inventory, only sugar seems to be something that can be given to the dog to pass. You know that it is very, very dangerous to give sugar to a dog. Yet you have no choice. You give him all the sugar cubes. The dog eats them all, wags his tail, all happy, and enters the antique store. Exasperated, you follow the dog.
In the store, you are looking at different antiques when a voice calls out to you. The antique dealer, the woman at the bar. You go towards her to talk to her.
"Hello." She says to you. "I see you've met Treasure."
"Treasure?"
"My dog. I remember you. We met at the bar. Did you come to do business or to court me?"
"Both, I would say."
"I see, so what can I do for you?"
You don't know what to ask her when the invisible force takes over again.
"I'm looking for an antique coin specialist." You say to the antique dealer.
"Ah, I'm sorry, my store doesn't carry those kinds of items."
"Too bad. I have a coin to get appraised."
The blonde woman then asks you to show her your coin. You show her the Golden Napoleon.
Her face changes completely. She seems to be back in seduction mode. The antique dealer tells you that the coin is indeed from Fort Boyard and, while chewing on the coin, asks you if you would be willing to sell it to her. You can't get rid of it. You know this, so you tell her you need it to find the Fort Boyard treasure.
"The treasure? Are you looking for it, as well?"
"Yes. I’m sorry. ‘As well’?"
"Yes, I... I must continue my father's quest. Albert Denis."
"Albert Denis... are you his daughter? Does he still live at 1, Place de la Tour?"
"Yes, I am his daughter, and no, he’s no longer of this world."
"I'm sorry for your loss. I think your father was following the same trail I was. We... we should team up."
Albert Denis’s daughter thinks for a long time.
"Yes. It would benefit us since we both want the same thing. Very well, I’ll help you."
The blonde woman will get you a business card.
"Here. Call me later and now would you please leave my store? Thank you."
You take the card and leave immediately. On the card, it is written: "Liliane Denis, antique dealer" with a telephone number.
You send an SMS to Guide.
<You>
[Step completed! What's next?]
<Guide>
[Listen, I have to go away for a while, so I'll give you a long list till the Aix Island. No, I'm not leaving you. I'll be back, but in the meantime you can make progress.]
You hope they is telling you the truth.
You read Guide's next texts, put your cell phone in your large shoulder bag, and head to the Lantern Tower. You want to pass, but a guard stops you. He asks you for 10 francs.
You pay him, and then you ask him where you can find the East wall South gunboat. The guard has only been working here for 2 days, so he doesn't know, but he knows someone who does, a colleague. You ask him where you can find this "colleague". The guard doesn't want to answer so you give him 100 francs to loosen his tongue. The guard's colleague is called Jean Duby and he is at the public library.
You then ask the guard if he has indeed been working for 2 days. The guard tells you that "yes" and that you are the second person to have asked him. You ask him who the first person is. The guard doesn't want to answer (again!) so you give him another 100 francs to loosen his tongue. It is a blonde woman with short hair. She has lost a card and the guard gives it to you. The card, or rather a ticket, says "Jacqueline Duroselle" and "aquarium". Duroselle… hmmm…
Then you go to the reception desk. You ask the man at the counter, another guard?, if he has a map of the tower.
He doesn't answer you and then you see a flyer. You ask the man what it is. He tells you that it's the tower's map in Japanese. You buy it and leave the Lantern Tower. Next place: the aquarium.
At the aquarium, you talk to a man dressed in khaki green. A military man.
You ask him if he knows Jacqueline Durosselle. The man in green tells you that she works in the lab next to his. He and Jacqueline work in the army, in the demining service. You learn that he knows how to defuse a bomb. Then, he leaves you alone, and you go to look for Jacqueline.
You find her, looking at sharks, and you give her her card.
"Thank you." She says to you. "I'm a researcher, specializing in sharks."
"So am I, sort of. I'm looking for treasure."
"Treasure? There are treasures in the area?"
"Yes, because I have a Golden Napoleon that came from Fort Boyard’s treasure."
Jacqueline asks you to show her. You show her the gold coin.
"Indeed, it does come from Fort Boyard."
She gives you back the Golden Napoleon, then continues to talk to you.
"I have only one piece of advice for you. Instead of looking through old books and documents, try to find information about the fort's electrical system. Perhaps a man will agree to help you. Jacques Dufaux, electrician on the Aix Island."
Jacqueline gives you Mr. Dufaux's business card. She plans to leave, but first she has two last things to tell you.
"This Golden Napoleon serves as a sign of recognition. That's why I agreed to talk to you. You will need four of them to access the treasure room on the fort. It's up to you to find them."
Jacqueline leaves and you are alone again. You leave the aquarium and return to your room at the Hotel du Commerce to call Liliane.
"Hello. Liliane Denis speaking. Who's this?"
"This is me."
"Oh it's you. I want to help you, of course, but on my condition."
"Okay, what condition?"
"We split the treasure 50-50."
"Okay."
"Good. Meet me tomorrow at the Lantern Tower. I'll give you some of the things you need to continue my father's quest. Yours as well."
Then Liliane hangs up. You can't do anything else today so you go to bed. You have another strange dream with Fort Boyard and Père Fouras. You wake up and go back to the Lantern Tower.
You go to the top of the tower and find Liliane. She has taken a picture of a graffiti, which was on a wall of the tower.
"This is the key to finding the treasure, I'm sure." She says when she sees you. "My father spoke of a system of numbers and letters. It remains to be able to decipher it."
Liliane gives you the picture which shows a "4MA", an old letter from Duroselle, and a second Golden Napoleon.
"There you go. Good luck."
Liliane leaves and you leave the tower, having put everything in your shoulder bag.
Next destination: the public library to find Jean Duby. At the library, the lady at the desk won't let you into the book section because you don't have a library card.
You give her the tower plan in Japanese and the woman, gloating, lets you pass. Apparently there is only one copy in the world in Japanese and you have just "offered" it to the library.
In the book section, you find Jean Duby. A man with big glasses.
You show him the photo with the graffiti "4MA". Mr. Duby asks you if you have deciphered it. You tell him "no" and he invites you to his house to discuss it. You follow Mr. Duby to his house.
At Jean Duby's, he tells you that the Fort Boyard treasure exists. He deciphers the graffiti for you. The 4 means the watchtower. The M represents the fort. The A is the barred entrance to the underground passage that leads to the treasure. The graffiti was carved on the SOUTH wall of the EAST side of the Lantern Tower, so the entrance to the underground is on the southeast side of the fort. Of course, the entrance to this crypt must be found. Mr. Duby then wants to do business with you. You find the treasure for him, he takes 90% of it and leaves the rest to you.
"WHAT?!" You exclaim, angrily.
"It's better to have 10% of something than 100% of nothing at all, as they say in business." Jean Duby simply answers you.
"In that case, I have only one thing to say to you..."
You blow him off and leave his house, slamming the door behind you. What an asshole!
You take a break to calm down and return to the aquarium to find the man in the khaki clothes. You ask for his help, as there may be a bomb at the fort, or you will need his knowledge of explosives. The soldier tells you OK for 50-50 of the treasure. You accept, although you have already promised a 50-50 with Liliane. Then you take a boat to the island of Aix.
As the boat sails to its destination, your red cell phone "dings" again. Guide is back! You immediately ask them for the next steps.
<Guide>
[You're making good progress. You've got three-quarters of the game done! The next step is to ask Jacques Dufaux for help and then go to Fort Boyard. It's easier if I give you a long list, as I did earlier. The audio communication application will be very useful on the fort.]
<You>
[Okay, and the music app, what is it for?]
<Guide>
[Just to have some background music.]
<You>
[But there are already some in the game!]
<Guide>
[LOL XD]
<Guide>
[I'm sending you all this. Good luck!]
<You>
[Okay, but will you get back to me afterwards, when I'm on the fort?]
<Guide>
[Yes, to send you one last list. After that, you'll be back home in no time, and I'll be free of this damn prison!]
<You>
[Perfect then!]
You wait for his other text messages creating the list before continuing your quest for the treasure and for your return to Earth.
After having received and read carefully Guide's list, you disembark the boat. It has recently docked on the island. You go to Jacques Dufaux's house. His wife Yvonne, an old lady who is not very friendly, answers you.
She asks you what you want from Mr. Dufaux. In order to get in to see him, you lie to her and say that it's for an electrical job, as Guide had written in his list.
When you see Jacques Dufaux, you think he's not in his right mind. His eyes are absent and, when you try to talk to him about Fort Boyard, without mentioning the treasure, he seems to be rambling.
To get his mind right, you press a big blue button and the Fort Boyard theme starts playing. Jacques then becomes cheerful. He tells you that he will help you at 100%. On the other hand, Her spies on him, Her watches him constantly, Her terrorizes him, but with you, Jacques feels safe and he wants to help you.
"Thank you Mr. Dufaux, but who is this 'Her'?"
"Shhhhh! She'll hear you!"
"Okay. Thanks again."
"You... You are a lifesaver! I would so love to hug you!"
"Go ahead! Don't be shy!"
He hugs you to his heart's content and you leave quickly, before his wife comes back to see him, then you go to a small resto-café.
There you talk with a young sailor and ask him if he can take you to Fort Boyard. He says he can, but he wants to test your intellect first, because he's tired of seeing all these failed and stupid treasure seekers.
It shows you a chessboard and solve the problem in 2 moves. There are three black and three white pieces. The goal is to prevent the blacks from moving and to checkmate. You succeed and the sailor will take you away. He will wait for you at the pier. You go there and the sailor takes you to Fort Boyard in his little motorboat.
When you arrive at Fort Boyard, that’s incredible!, you wait for Guide to contact you. As you have no news, you send him a text message.
<Guide>
[Sorry, I was... somewhere else. So you're in Fort Boyard?]
<You>
[Yes, so that list?]
<Guide>
[I'll take care of it, and if we don't get in touch again when the game is over, thanks.]
<You>
[Well, you don't have to thank me. You FORCED ME into the game, remember?]
<Guide>
[T.T.]
<Guide>
[Yeah, but I still want to thank you.]
<You>
[Say, by the way, how could you be away so much if you are locked in a prison? And by the way, what kind of prison? Where is it?]
<Guide>
[You ask too many questions, idiot.]
<You>
[Idiot yourself! Is this list coming?]
<Guide>
[Yeah, yeah.]
You receive it after a while and you can finally finish with this game. Outside the fort, on a footbridge, you arrive at a large iron door. Above it is a stone tiger head.
You press it four times and the door opens, allowing you to enter. You arrive in a room with a grilled door, a chest that refuses to open, and a trap door on the floor. You take the trap door and go down.
You arrive in front of a dimly lit brick wall. There are Roman numerals, from 1 to 8, written on it, making a circle and following the direction of a clock. The wall also has 8 small holes. You have to put the medallion in the shape of an 8, which represents infinity, in the right hole, which is the one on the left.
After doing so, you hear a click. You go back upstairs, open the chest and receive a third Golden Napoleon. Only one more to find!
You leave the room with the grilled door and look at the fort’s walls. There are climbing points. So you climb the wall to find yourself at the very top of the fort. In the distance you see the lookout, which is Père Fouras' tower. You go to the lookout and climb to the top. When you arrive in the large room where Père Fouras is normally present, you open the door with the keys.
Suddenly, like a ghost, Père Fouras’ voice echoes in your mind. < If you close this cupboard without taking the 2 good keys that will allow you to progress in your quest, then everything will be over. > In short, a Game Over to be avoided, because it might kill you. At least, that's what Guide wrote.
So you don't close the cabinet and you go and look at the big book that is on an easel. It is a musical score of several pages. If you look at it carefully, there are two notes, on different pages, in red instead of black. This tells you which keys to pick. So you go back to the open cabinet.
Out of 18 lockers, only 6 are occupied by keys. You mentally represent them by X's.
OOOOOX
OOOXOX
OOXOXX
You take the right keys - the bold Xs - and leave the lookout. You take a large door down a spiral staircase and go to a lower floor. There, you use one of the lookout keys to open a door to the trials, a door that has a large bronze lock. You enter the room, but it is pitch black. You have to turn the power back on in the fort. You leave the dark room. You explore the fort, looking at more trial doors, until you find the one you can open with the second key. It leads to a room with controls for electricity.
Suddenly, the audio communication application rings. You take the red cell phone and open it. You have an audio message. From Jacques Dufaux. The message gives you long explanations to restore the power. You follow his instructions and the electricity is back on the fort.
Then you go to the room that wasn’t lit and this time you see everything. This is the video control room, Fort Boyard's technical center.
You use an old computer to get a code to open a door and you activate this code using a control panel with lots of numbered buttons. You then go down another floor and see the gate that leads to the boyards room in the TV show. You look around and see a gold coin in a small open iron container.
You take it and you receive an audio message from Liliane. The antique dealer warns you that it is not a Golden Napoleon, but a simple boyard. That's good to know.
You continue exploring the fort on the same floor and go to the infirmary. You receive an audio message from the soldier, the man in khaki green. He tells you that one of the products in the infirmary can display invisible ink. He also tells you that a mixture of an acidic substance and ethanol can produce a very corrosive compound.
In front of several bottles of medical products, you take the two necessary bottles with a box of matches and you leave the infirmary.
Later in your explorations, in less used passages, as they seem to be under the stones (as if underground), you find a vial containing a black powder in a large iron cauldron. Then you find an unlit wall. With your pack of matches, you manage to read "2G6", "p. 574 1.80". Then you find an iron bar nearby. You turn around and go to where the big gong is.
You ring it with the iron bar and Père Fouras' face appears as if by magic.
He tells you that the library will only offer you one book, to choose the right one, and he disappears. Okay. Is Fort Boyard haunted or what? Next, you lift a round metal trap door near the gong and find a key. Then, as you search further, you find a large chest in an open room with a large net. You open it with the newly found key and you now have the fourth Golden Napoleon!
You then go up the stairs to the library. The door of the library stands in a strange corridor with two movable candlesticks. Sensing a trap and thinking back to your dream, you turn them before crossing the corridor.
In the library, you choose the right book and you read: "And the captain, this tiger of the seas, from port to port and from starboard to port escaped the reef." You leave the library.
Now it's time to find the treasure. You need to get to the room with the big tiger head (the statue), but a big gate prevents you from passing. You receive another audio message from the soldier. He tells you how to blow up the gate. You use the black powder and your matches to blow it up and go to the tiger head.
There are two cups near the statue, one on the left (port) and one on the right (starboard). Père Fouras' voice is in your head again. He says you must put the four Golden Napoleon in the right cups.
So, according to the library book, #1 in the one on the left, #2 in the one on the left, #3 in the one on the right, #4 in the one on the left, then you press the statue's snout. A grilled door not far from there opens. You take it and go down into the underground.
You move forward, past a skeleton, then you find a chest. You open it and find a big green stone, then you have another riddle to solve. On a wall, some elements appear.
There are three rows of four holes, from top to bottom, for inserting Gold Napoleons. Above the holes is a square, big enough to put a letter. You put in the old letter from Duroselle, which Liliane gave you, you use the invisible ink product and a sad man appears. You have to recreate the shape of the mouth with the 4 coins.
Like so:
OOOO
OXXO
XOOX
Then the wall opens and you enter the treasure room, but there are only red candles. Père Fouras’ voice then gives you the very last riddle. You must extinguish the candles according to the story he tells you and put the green stone in the middle. A story about a war, officers and those who died. After solving it, the candles disappear and a huge projection of Père Fouras appears. It makes you jump.
Père Fouras congratulates you, tells you that you can now choose your reward: wealth - the treasure, gold ingots, appears - or power - a book materializes - and, above all, not to make mistakes. His projection disappears.
Sensing another Game Over and then, logically, the chance of a REAL treasure being found in Fort Boyard is practically zero, you choose the book.
Père Fouras’ voice speaks to you again. It seems to come from the book. He tells you that you have made the right choice.
"True wealth is found in knowledge. This book will teach you the way to wisdom. This is Fort Boyard's real treasure and you can leave in peace."
You pick up the book and set out to leave the fort when everything becomes blurry. You can't see well. Everything goes black. You close your eyes, wait a while, then open them again. You are back home, in front of your computer!
The Fort Boyard's book, the shoulder bag, the red cell phone... Everything from the game is gone. You check your computer and everything is back to normal. DOSBox and the Fort Boyard La Légende game are gone.
You then take your own cell phone to see if Guide's texts are still there. Nothing. Zero. As if they never existed. But you weren't dreaming. You were really in the video game. So you hope to hear from Guide someday.
Being a curious person, and wondering what would have happened if you had chosen the treasure at the end, you look for the answer on the Net.
By choosing the treasure, you would have been condemned to take Père Fouras’ place as the treasure and the fort guardian. He would have been freed, because he had made the same mistake in the past, and all you could hope for is that another adventurer would make the same mistake as you and be freed in turn. It's a good thing I didn't choose it! Although, Guide did warn me, on his list and in big letters. It was quite an adventure, but I hope it won't happen again! With these thoughts, you close your PC and go to bed.