So there is a thing called environmental storytelling. It is basically using visual clues to impart information and as a result it will always be to some degree interpretive, but it is the sort of thing which really allows a player to immerse themselves in a game and I would always resist the urge to 'correct it.'
I didn't find the scene was difficult to read at all.
My interpretation of that bit of the prologue is that the priest was either Shar worshiper and Shadowheart was known to them or of another faith and seeking the Mysterious Artefact. Like the player he was not a thrall and when he saw Shadowheart/the Artefact detained within the chrysalis chamber he lacked the arcane insight to operate the controls and release her but instead disabled the device by removing something critical and locked it away to buy time while he figured out a way to save her/retrieve the artifact. The chest and key may have been retrieved from the area immediately below where all the crates were where the player fights imps for the first time. He went into another room to experiment with a different pod and see if he could learn how to manipulate them but was discovered in the act and slain by an intellect devourer.
A short while later the player enters.
Last edited by DistantStranger; 29/07/21 12:35 AM.
