The wax recording transcript

Despite the unequivocal prohibition of asking for help in this forum I am reluctant to do just so. My predicament does not concern game walkthrough tips but rather the Arcanum world-associated piece of fiction. I was trying to translate the "wax recording" related to Franklin Payne's award ceremony, but unfortunately couldn't catch several words. You see, I'm not actually a native speaker, nor am I that good at understanding live English speech. So, if there were people kind enough here to correct my mistakes and eliminate uncertainties, that would be great. The transcription text follows. Oh, and please don't mind the punctuation...

Note: The transcript is edited as a result of collaborative effort.

Presumably Dr. Tristan Fenwick: Ugh... Greetings, esteemed ladies and gentlemen. We of the Tarantian Zoological Society have gathered here this evening to bestow the Tarantian Coat of Arms upon the honorable Mr. Franklin Payne in recognition of his brave and otherwise noble achievements in the fields of zoology, archaeology and other various disciplines of science and endeavors of the mind. Mr. Payne, we congratulate you. And perhaps you might regale us with a tale from your undoubtedly endless collection of adventures. If you would, sir.

Franklin Payne, Esq.: Yes! Well, I suppose I do have one or two stories tucked away in my braincase. Not that I’m one to go around tooting my own horn, mind you. Well, let’s see... No... No, that one’s no good for the children... Ah! There! Wait! I’ll tell you about my first safari on Thanatos, the dreaded Monster Island. Now, you see, just getting to Thanatos was an adventure in itself. I don’t think there is a sailor in Arcanum that I didn’t beg to take me to that seething cauldron of death. Spent more than a few shillings getting old seadogs stuttering drunk. But in the end it was only my old friend captain Edward Teach who had the backbone to take me there. Although I do seem to remember that even he emptied a bottle or two before pulling anchor. Said it was for medicinal purposes... So! We’re off to Thanatos!
Now, usually when I go off adventuring, I have an agenda in mind. Some ancient artifact that someone’s grandmother can’t live without or that bloody sword that killed old so-and-so’s crazy uncle, that sort of thing. But when I went to Thanatos all I wanted was to find the most diabolical creature to test my mettle against! Oh, I was young, full of spit and vinegar! Thought I was bloody invincible. But, if you don’t mind me saying so, I was in fairly good fighting shape. I mean I suppose there wasn’t a better time in my life to... bare my backside at death, so to speak. HuhHa! Ha-ha-ha! Well, be that as it may, we set anchor on the northern end of the island and I set out towards the heart of the island with a few brave souls. Well, I must admit, most of them were illiterate orcish labourers who didn’t have the slightest idea where we were. I mean seriously! What reasonable, civilized gentleman is going to throw himself to a certain and undoubtedly excruciatingly painful death! Bah! Well, in any case, they were unaware of their plight – right up until the end. It didn’t take long for the beast to find us. We’d come upon a clearing and had stopped to rest. Suddenly, I heard the most hair-raising howl from behind us. I must admit, friend, the very sound of this screech was enough to soak one’s short pants. More than few of the orcs found themselves in need of some fresh laundry. Somehow I managed to control my bodily functions and turned to face the monstrosity. I couldn’t believe it! There, in plain sight was the most feared creature in all of Arcanum – the Lethe Wyvern...
Oh, I was beside myself! What a spot of luck! Absolutely brilliant! Now, if you know anything about the Lethe Wyvern, you know that the slightest touch of it’s teeth or claws can drive a man stark raving mad! And there’s no known cure for it’s venom. One wrong move – you end up a brainless blithering bucket head! Of course, that’s only for as long as it takes the creature to eat you alive. So, there it was. All spines and scales and nastiness. I pulled Old Mary, my trusted blunderbuss, from out of my pack hoping to fell the beast before it made a sputtering simpleton of me. Unfortunately, it had already done so to most of my orcish party. Those not drooling on themselves were already making a nice meal for the creature. Bloody shame, really. I leveled Old Mary at the beast just as it was coming for me. Of course, of all the bad luck Mary’s firing mechanism had gotten all mucked up along the way. I had nothing but my wits with which to defend myself against this HORRENDOUS RAGING ABOMINATION! You wouldn’t believe what I had to do in order to dispatch the beast! I crouched down and then...

Presumably Dr. Tristan Fenwick: Err..

Franklin Payne, Esq.: Huh? Wha?..

Presumably Dr. Tristan Fenwick: Mr. Payne...

Franklin Payne, Esq.: Oh. Dear. Aww! Well, it seems we’ve run out of time here. So sorry! Perhaps, we’ll finish this story another day. Ah! Oh, well. Jolly good! Good day to you!

Presumably Dr. Tristan Fenwick: Again, we thank Mr. Payne for his time. And for those of you interested in finding out more about the world in which he lives, visit www.arcanum1.com. Good evening.

 

Welcome Constantinus!

You've done a great work so far. I'm no native speaker myself, so sadly I wasn't able to catch all of the missing words, but the few I understood are going to be a start.
Also, was this recording some kind of an audio-only trailer? Was http://www.arcanum1.com an official Arcanum site? And I guess the Lethe Wyvern being on Thanatos was some kind of abandoned idea, moved to a different location?

Here goes. I continue to mark the changes in orange. It's not much and about the half of them is just showing that you heared something correctly, but as I said, it's a start. One word is red, just to mark that it was unnecessary and should be removed in further versions. I hope that either you or someone more competent will point out if I had actually made any errors and continue the work.

Also judging from the context I think it's safe to suggest that the Unknown Orator is Dr Tristan Fenwick himself, since he's the head of the Zoological Society and being the main orator at such ceremonies can very well be his only real duty on that position. Therefore that's how I named him in my version but change it back if you will.

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Dr Tristan Fenwick: Ugh... Greetings, esteemed ladies and gentlemen. We of the Tarantian Zoological Society have gathered here this evening to bestow the Tarantian Coat of Arms upon the honorable Mr. Franklin Payne in recognition of his brave and otherwise noble achievements in the fields of zoology, archaeology and other various disciplines of science and endeavors of the mind. Mr. Payne, we congratulate you. And perhaps you might regale us with a tale from your undoubtedly endless collection of adventures. If you would, sir.

Franklin Payne: Yes! Well, I suppose I do have one or two stories tucked away in my braincase. Not that I’m one to go around tooting my own horn, mind you. Well, let’s see... No... No, that one’s no good for the children... Ah! There! Wait! I’ll tell you about my first safari on Thanatos, the dreaded Monster Island. Now, you see, just getting to Thanatos was an adventure in itself. I don’t think there is a sailor in Arcanum that I didn’t beg to take me to that seething cauldron of death. Spent more than a few shillings getting old seadogs (?) drunk. But in the end it was only my old friend captain Edward Teach who had the backbone to take me there. Although I do seem to remember that even he emptied a bottle or two before pulling anchor. Said it was for medicinal purposes... So! We’re off to Thanatos!
Now, usually when I go off adventuring, I have an agenda in mind. Some ancient artifact that someone’s grandmother can’t live without or that bloody sword that killed old /someone's(?)/ crazy uncle, that sort of thing. But when I went to Thanatos all I wanted was to find the most diabolical creature to test my mettle against. Oh, I was young, full of spit and vinegar! Thought I was bloody invincible. But, if you don’t mind me saying so, I was in fairly good fighting shape. I mean I suppose there wasn’t a better time in my life to... bare my backside at death, so to speak. HuhHa! Ha-ha-ha! Well, be that as it may, we set anchor on the northern end of the island and I set out towards the heart of the island with a few brave souls. Well, I must admit, most of them were illiterate orcish labourers who didn’t have the slightest idea where we were. I mean seriously! What reasonable, civilized gentleman is going to throw himself to a certain and undoubtedly excruciatingly painful death! Bah! Well, in any case, they were unaware of their plight – right up until the end. It didn’t take long for the beast to find us. We’d come upon a clearing and had stopped to rest. Suddenly, I heard the most hair-raising howl from behind us. I must admit, friend, the very sound of this screech was enough to soak one’s short pants. More than few of the orcs found themselves in need of some fresh laundry. Somehow I managed to control my bodily functions and turned to face the monstrosity. I couldn’t believe it! There, in plain sight was the most feared creature in all of Arcanum – the Lethe Wyvern...
Oh, I was beside myself! What a spot of luck! Absolutely brilliant! Now, if you know anything about the Lethe Wyvern, you know that the slightest touch of it’s teeth or claws can drive a man stark raving mad! And there’s no known cure for it’s venom. One wrong move – you end up a brainless blithering bucket head! Of course, that’s only for as long as it takes the creature to eat you alive. So, there it was. All spines and scales and nastiness. I pulled Old Mary, my trusted blunderbuss, from out of my pack hoping to fell the beast before it made a spattering simpleton of me. Unfortunately, it had already done so to most of my orcish party. Those not drooling on themselves were already making a nice meal for the creature. Bloody shame, really. I leveled the Old Mary at the beast just as it was coming for me. Of course, of all the bad luck Mary’s firing mechanism have got all (?) mucked up along the way. I had nothing but my wits with which to defend myself against this HORRENDOUS RAGING ABOMINATION! You wouldn’t believe what I had to do in order to dispatch the beast! I crouched down and then...

Dr Tristan Fenwick: Err..

Franklin Payne:: Huh? Wha?..

Dr Tristan Fenwick: Mr. Payne...

Franklin Payne: Oh. Dear. Aww! Well, it seems we’ve run out of time here. So sorry! Perhaps, we’ll finish this story another day. Ah! Oh, well. Jolly good! Good day to you!

Dr Tristan Fenwick: Again, we thank Mr. Payne for his time. And for those of you interested in finding out more about the world in which he lives, visit http://www.arcanum1.com. Good evening.

 

It was posted on the official site as promotion.

This was a redirect to arcanum.sierra.com, the official site. It was usually preferred, due to its shortness.

 

sword that killed old so-and-so's crazy uncle.

a sputtering simpleton. (not spattering).

Mary's firing mechanism had gotten all mucked up along the way.

Everything else as Muro/DE said.

That was a cool little recording thing, thanks for bringing it to my attention.

 

Many thanks to all of you! Now that the transcript is complete, my own translation can finally get under way.

Well, it seems that none of the Lethe Wyverns remained on Thanatos after Mr. Payne's little visit... As a matter of fact I suspect this record to be some part of the in-game dialog with the adventurer, which was cut out before the official release and used as a promotion. Note how Franklin says "I must admit, friend, the very sound..." and not "friends" as he should while speaking to the audience.

Of course, the first guess considering the identity of the orator would be respectable Dr. Fenwick as he is the only member of the Tarantian Zoological Society who is mentioned in the game, as far as I know. Yet it is no secret that he is also a halfling, while the recorded voice is deep and slightly hoarse. Isn't the voice of a hobbit supposed to sound thinner? Really, I can't remember any voiced halfling character in Arcanum, so can't be sure, but... There's a strong possibility that the "unknown orator" shares his voice with Garfield Thelonius Remington III (acting by Jim Ward). As for Dr. Fenwick's position, it does not necessarily mean he's the one to lead the ceremonies. In truth, he seems rather indifferent about official stuff, judging from his dialogs. Well, I think it's bit of a bold statement to name the orator so distinctly. What do you think?

 

You sure about that? I'm not familiar with the word, and perhaps I'm searching for the wrong one, but I was using this as a reference.

I always thought about the Lethe Wyvern as a one in a kind creature. It's kind of illogical from a biological view, but we have unique creatures as Gorgoth or the Temporal Crusher, so why not. I think that the Lethe Wyvern's abode was either moved to the surroundings of bridge on the western continent in development, it it can be assumed that Franklin kicked the Wyvern's ass so much that it escaped from Thanatos and found a new home. The first option seems more propable for me though, it's quite possible that it was the Wyvern that was firstly supposed to slaughter the Ashlag village, later replaced with the Bogaroth when the Wyvern was moved.

You're quite perceptive, I listne several times to the recording and didn't notice the "friend" thing. It is either indeed a cut out in-game dialogue, or the "friend" word is just used as an emphasize and a comma between words, without any particular addressee.

First important thing - Dr Tristan Fenwick is a gnome. I recalled from his dialogue that we sounded bitter, just as he wasn't to happy that as a gnome he is only a head of something called " the Zoological Society". Just checked his race to be sure and indeed, a gnome he is.

The voice indeed sound like Gar's, but we of course both know that for obvious reasons it's no other possibility than just one actor playing two roles. The sound is very fitting for a gnome, it would be hard to find a better one in fact.

The in-game dialogues show that Dr Fenwick is indifferent about pretty much anything, being bored and cynical all the time, but if one wants he can find those attributes in the orator's voice. For me it seems that he doesn't do much on his position, mostly he just sits in his office so it can be said that someone is doing the job. Talking in the name of the Zoological Society on such events may be the only real work he does, and as the head of the Society, he is the first candidate to be it's representative. Rectors, presidents, chairmen and the like are usually burden with that.

 

That isn't so. Lethe Wyverns appear in random encounters in the Glimmering Forest. However the chance is only 1%.

 

About sputtering/spattering pair. theorel is right. Check here for the word 'sputter'. It fits the context perfectly.

Payne says: "You wouldn’t believe what I had to do in order to dispatch the beast!" Dispatch means kill. But can you tell me why does he pronounce wyvern as ['wiven] when all the diverse dictionaries I used give the transcription ['waiven] (I substituted the last vowel with an 'e' letter)?

Oh. Fine then. Probably he can be called "Presumably Dr. Tristan Fenwick".

 

This has to be one of the biggest things about Arcanum I learned in a long time. Thank you.

Indeed, it makes sense.

This may be picking on, and it's not even needed anymore (since thanks to Drog we see that the Lethe Wyvern is not a unique one, therefore Franklin could very well meet a Lethe Wyvern on Thanatos and kill it without a conflict with the game and Living One's adventures) but if we trust Wiktionary, this shows that "dispatching" can very well mean "defeating" in this case. It isn't said that he had to kill it, and the Wyvern could possibly retreat after the battle, just like the Stillwater Giant did after his encounter with Payne.

It would be the best option, I guess.

 

Have to disagree. Wiktionary is a mess and the article you refer to is no exception. The "translations" section, where you might find "defeat" column, in this case is obviously corrupted. Originally it was meant to hold links to the other language dictionaries and each line had to match correspondingly the different meanings of the word. Here the glossary part is extremely littery. The word "defeat" is probably used in a narrow sense and means "liquidate", not "win" or "kick ass". The synonyms on the same page feature "kill" and "destroy". That is quite enough to conclude that dispatch applied to a living creature means physically eliminate. Anyway, there are English-speaking folks in this forum. Maybe they could help to decide a question...

 

Dispatch means literally to send off.

When used of an enemy it means generally that they were killed(a colloquialism: I dispatched him to the afterlife...common enough that "to the afterlife" is generally dropped.)

So, by a natural reading it means that the wyvern was killed. It could be taken as the wyvern were soundly defeated such that it fled, if there were context that made it so. There isn't in this case, so I would read it as killed.

This is all IMHO, not all English speakers agree about what words mean.

 

I'm going to correct the first post here and paste the final version of the text. If anybody else needs it, they'll find it at the top of the thread.

 

Neat! Thanks m'friend! *saves*