Grimrock

First off, let me say thank you for the gentle replies! I was able to find the solution thanks to your prompts and still had the "satisfaction" of having found it myself... (I gotta take it where I can get it... ;) ) For other having this issue, let me try my hand at nudging: The remark ab...

But I'm stuck at the second gate in lvl 1! I spent the brass key to open the first locked door (I also tried smashing through the door to save the key (no luck)), and am standing at the loose rock near the locked portculis with no idea what to do... I've swung at it, fired fire at it, thrown rocks, ...