prosIsHere: true
prosIsPleased: false
policeIsHere: true
alchInt: false
alchEnter: false
hasMoney: false
hasFlask: false
remOpen: false
hasCoin: false
patPlaying: false
prosIsBeaten: false
policeIsAngry: false
spentTime: 0
seenHorror: false
choseDec: false
sound.ambient.city.url: 'Music/Max Richter - Shadows.mp3'
sound.ambient.city.description: 'City ambient sound'
sound.ambient.master.url: 'Music/Sheridan Tongue - Ripples of Promise.mp3'
sound.ambient.master.description: "Inside workshop ambient"
sound.ambient.pateph.url: 'Music/violin.mp3'
sound.ambient.pateph.description: "красиво играет скрипка"
sound.effect.screamer.url: 'Music/Сцена 1.mp3'
sound.effect.screamer.description: "screamer"
--
A year has passed since Seeker saw Hidden last time. Better to say not him, but only his Track. However, it was the closest Seeker has ever got. At least until today.
[[Continue->Продолжить]][unless prosIsPleased]
The man in rags was probably thirty years old, but the hard life on the street left on him a serious mark, so he looked as if he was fifty years old. He was dressed in a gray raincoat, which had seen much better days, tattered boots from different pairs, and a shabby hat. When Seeker approached him, he raised his head.
Seeker shuddered. The old man hadn’t his left eye, and had a long, crooked scar all across his face.
— Give an old Scheffer a hot drink in the nearest pub — the old man hissed with a toothless mouth rather than said.
>[[— I can't help you, friend.->Сцена 0]]
>[[— Here, — Seeker overcame the fear that ran like an unpleasant snake from the back of his head to his feet — here also for a good dinner, obviously you could use that. Tell me, have you seen anything unusual somewhere in the area? And have you heard anything about ... — Seeker thought for a second, but still decided to ask — Hidden?->неосторожно]]
>[[— Here, brother... — Seeker tossed a gold coin to the tramp. — Thank you, sir — Beggar grabbed it and immediately hid it somewhere in the creases of his clothes. — Tell me, friend, are the owners of nearby houses and shops often away?->поговорить осторожно]]
[else]
The Beggar tricky squints at Seeker and shifts his gaze to the [[Alchemist's house.->алхимик]]
{embed passage: 'Сцена 0'}In the vicinity the house appeared to be even sicker than at the beginning of the alley. The walls were covered in black and green sores from chemical fire. It still smelled strongly and sharply of chemicals and burnt rubber. The windows were covered in soot and nothing could be seen through them. What could possibly remain inside after such a fire?
Seeker froze and felt a sharp stab of pain. He physically felt the last second and the last breath of those people who were burned in chemical smoke. Doubt and the desire to go away began to struggle with the crave to find out what happened inside and why Chanter mentioned this place in her letter.
[unless alchEnter || alchInt]
[[Try to lockpick the door gently.->попытка аккуратно]]
[if alchInt && !alchEnter]
[[Lockpick the door, using Beggar's advice.->попытка аккуратно]]
[unless alchEnter]
[[Knock out the window with a stone and get inside.->попытка через окно]]
[if policeIsHere && alchEnter]
Ищущему кажется, что полисмены не одобрят его повторное проникновение.
[if alchEnter]
[[Enter the house.->Дом алхимика]]
[continue]
[[Return to the beginning of the alley.->Сцена 0]]alchInt: true
prosIsPleased: true
--
— Well… It's always possible, sir, it's always possible. But only dinner won't buy itself…
Seeker tossed another coin to the Beggar and looked at him seriously.
—Yes, yes... she's Hecate… She never comes out of her burrow. Always sitting there. Hans is always at home at this time...", the Beggar hissed.
— As for the alchemist, - and he turned to the charred entrance and grinned — he will never come here again.// Not a good experience, you know. For some reason, he confused a couple of flasks and the chemical fire burned him and his brother… The fire has also burned the lock, so if you press it correctly, it will open by itself…
{embed passage: 'Сцена 0'}prosIsHere: false
--
At these words, the old man's single pupil instantly narrowed, and he jumped on his feet, surprisingly sharply for his condition, and dashed to Seeker like a shadow. A sharp pain shot through his left side, and his eyes became dark.
"Blood”, Seeker thought. He looked inside himself. The wound was small and it didn't take him long for the cut left by the stiletto to heal.
When Seeker opened his eyes, there was not even a trace of the Beggar. As well as, there was no wallet with money. On the pavement laid only the Beggar’s hat, in which was the [[alms, collected during the day.->Монета попрошайки]] hasCoin: true
--
Seeker approached it and examined it carefully. His gaze fell on an unusual coin, which differed in material from all the others. He took it and began to spin it in his hands. The coin had a picture of Apollo, and the date of minting was 1742.
{embed Flickr image: '<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/198221670@N03/52861219457/in/dateposted-public/" title="IMG_0706"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52861219457_40a612253c_b.jpg" width="1024" height="993" alt="IMG_0706"/></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>', alt:'монета'}
Perhaps, it cost more than his entire wallet.
Seeker [[returned->Сцена 0]] to the intersection.sound.effect.screamer.playing: false
sound.ambient.city.playing: true
--
{ambient sound: 'city'}
The twilight gets thicker and mixes with mist and smog. Seeker feels that he does not have much time left.
[if prosIsBeaten && !hasCoin]
>[[Walk towards the Beggar's place->место попрошайки]]
[if prosIsHere]
>[[Approach Beggar.->попрошайка]]
[if policeIsHere]
>[[Walk to policemen.->полисмены]]
[continue]
>[[Come to Simon brothers' lab.->алхимик]]
[if !choseDec]
>[[Go to Greta's.->гадалка]]
[continue]
>[[Walk to Hans' workshop.->ремонт]]
[if hasCoin]
>[[Look at the coin.->Разглядеть монетку.]]Seeker approached the building where Hecate's shop was located. It was an ancient building that was clearly for demolition. At least, the dilapidated sign next to the house said exactly that.
The door, or what could be called the door, since rather than being locked it merely blocked the passage inside, hung on rusty hinges, and dangled under gusts of wind, which intensified when Seeker approached the building. It's amazing how careless and not afraid that someone might break into her home, was the shopkeeper. And Seeker had no doubt that she was living in her shop.
He pushed the door open and went inside. The pungent smell of spices and wine mixed with the smoke from incense hit him. Seeker winced. He still couldn't get used to the fact that he had learned to smell. And still wasn't sure if it was the right decision.
The corridor was filled with a variety of junk. From boxes with bottles, to stuffed animals. Seeker made his way through the chaos and at some point, saw a dimmed light that shined from one of the rooms.
He entered it and saw that the light came from a lampshade that stood on the table. It shone with a poisonous orange-greenish light and fell only on the table. The shopkeeper was clearly sitting at the table. Because of the light of the lampshade, Seeker could not see her. He could only see her outline in the form of a shadow and her hands lying on the table. The hands clearly belonged to an old woman. Crooked fingers with sharp... claws were dotted with ulcers and wrinkles. Seeker trembled slightly and opened his eyes wide. But even he could not peer into the darkness behind which the old woman was hiding.
— Come in ... sit down — a raspy and hoarse voice sounded from a clot of darkness, and the hands pointed to a chair on the opposite.
Seeker wanted to leave, but his legs became numb and stopped obeying. He made an effort, but they dragged him towards the table by themselves.
— Give me your hand, my dear, – said a voice, more like the sound of the hinges of the door, which was at the entrance to the shop.
Seeker felt that it looked more like a whip than a hand, but with an effort he lifted it and reached out to the fortune teller.
>[[Discover the truth->скример]]
>[[Remain in happy ignorance->Описание]]
>[[Return to the intersection->Сцена 0]] {ambient sound: 'city'}
The workshop was made conscientiously. Looking closely at the signboard, Seeker saw that the gear mechanism is set in motion by gusts of wind, the strength of which is measured by a cunning system of communicating vessels that are connected to the pressure gauge. Seeker liked the device.
The door and lock also looked made by Hans himself. In any case, it will obviously not be easy to open it.
[if policeIsHere]
The policemen were standing close to Seeker and could see any move he made.
[if remOpen]
>[[Enter the workshop.->мастерская]]
[if !policeIsHere && !remOpen]
[[Break down the lock.->выломать]]
[if hasFlask && !remOpen]
[[Try to use chemical liquid, found at Alchemist’s.->осторожно открыть]]
[continue]
[[Return to the intersection->Сцена 0]]remOpen: true
--
Seeker took out a flask that he found in the laboratory of the Simons brothers. The warmth from it pleasantly warmed the palm and spread through it all over Seeker's body. He looked carefully at the flask and realized that it was made of a very strange material that does not allow the energy contained in the flask to escape.
Seeker opened the flask carefully, pointing it at the lock. A fiery-orange viscous liquid began to pour out of it, and when it hit the metal mechanism, it immediately melted and acrid greenish-orange smoke came from it. The lock was disappearing before his eyes, dissolving in this chemical reaction.
Seeker was disturbed by the fact that he was destroying what man had created. But the phenomenon itself fascinated him with its beauty.
{embed passage: 'первый мастерская'}remOpen: true
--
Seeker took out a set of lock picks and began trying to find their correct position inside the lock. The lock was complex and had a lot of tricky defense mechanisms. At some point, Seeker realized that his skills and abilities were not enough for such delicate work, and he pressed the lock pick with all his weight and felt a crunch in the lock. At the same time, his lock pick also broke. But Seeker felt that for some reason he had less and less time left, so he unceremoniously broke the lock.
{embed passage: 'первый мастерская'}{ambient sound: 'master'}
In the near corner of the workshop there was [[a large workbench]], on which lay a mechanical arm, frozen in a slightly unnatural position for its prototype.
In the center of the workshop there was a table on which various tools as well as several [[disassembled mechanical birds]] were laid out.
Shelves with various parts, which could be used to create new mechanisms or repair old ones, were placed along the walls of the shop.
At the far wall there was something that had been repaired a long time ago, or was waiting for its time– [[a record player->патефон]], which is distinguished from the usual only by the absence of any case that would hide the secrets of the device from prying eyes, and an inverted, but familiar from somewhere motorcycle.
>[[Leave the workshop->Сцена 0]]The motorcycle was disassembled into very small parts and already (yet?) it didn’t show any signs of life, so the Seeker’s attention was attracted by a strange record player. It was a gramophone, into which records were fed from the machine, after which they were set in motion by a complex mechanism, and a small needle transmitted sound to the amplifier. Looking even more closely, he saw that the device was created in 1742, and its only defect was that the mechanism for selecting records jammed, and he has the opportunity to choose only one of them.
[if hasCoin]
[[Insert a coin to listen to the player.->завести патефон]]
[if hasFlask]
[[Try to melt the machine with the liquid from the Simon’s brothers’ laboratory.->чертрежи из патефона]]
[continue]
[[Back to the workshop center.->мастерская]]patPlaying: true
--
Seeker approached the player and examined it carefully. In order for it to move, it had to be wound up with a separate handle, making several turns with it and inserting a record into it. He turned the lever and fed the player the coin with an Apollo - the only one that fit the size of the slot.
[after 5 seconds]
{ambient sound: 'pateph'}
Immediately after that, one mechanical manipulator opened the vinyl compartment, while the other got with his probe through several records and tried to get the only record that was available to it. Something was preventing it from doing so, the mechanism began to creak and jam, but at some point it managed to pull the record out, and with it a small folder, similar in thickness to an envelope for records, fell out of a dense row of vinyl artworks.
The manipulator placed the record on the gramophone, the needle dropped on it and rustled, when the record began to move, and Seeker heard the sounds of the violin. It fascinated him so much that he froze and for a while even forgot why he was here.
However, the sound of machinery in the workshop wall brought him back to reality and he picked up the envelope.
{embed passage: 'final'}The light of a lantern held by one of the officers burned the fog of the street next to Hans' workshop. The policemen were quietly arguing and were clearly annoyed that they are stuck in this neighborhood late at night in the drizzling rain.
Seeker approached them and politely tipped his hat.
>[[– Colleagues, they say they serve an amazing punch in the nearest bar today – Seeker tossed a small purse with coins.->подкупить]]
[if prosIsHere]
>[[– Officers, I dare not to advise you, but at the end of the alley there is a fellow who looks quite suspicious. And he is clearly attracted to the laboratory... or what is left of it.->натравить]]
[continue]
>[[– Have you seen any suspicious person or... creature here? Which would very cleverly hide in the fog?->вопрос]]
>[[Turn back and walk away from the officers.->Сцена 0]]
[if random.d20 === 20 || alchInt]
Seeker took out a set of picklocks and began trying to find their correct position inside the lock. At some point, he felt that one of the locking mechanisms was corroded by a strong chemical reaction that occurred inside the house, and there was simply no need to fight it. Seeker slightly pressed, and the lock opened by itself.
{embed passage:'дом первый раз'}
[else]
Seeker took out a set of picklocks and began trying to find their correct position inside the lock. And at the moment when it seemed that everything was working, one of the picklocks did not lock in the keyhole and slipped out of the lock.
>[[Try again.->попытка аккуратно]]
>[[Try something else.->алхимик]]
{ambient sound: 'city'}
The note left to him by Chanter said: "Your path will go through an alley where miracles, science and the art of craft are intertwined." And if believe the archivist of the local library, then only one street in the whole City fit the description.
The wheels of the cab creaked, and the familiar voice of the cabman pulled the Seeker out of the stream of his memories. He opened the door and stepped onto the dirty uneven cobblestones. Dusk was coming and gas lanterns had been already burning, in the fog mixed with smog looking more like the orange eyes of a predator. A fine rain was beginning to fall and a slight tremor passed through the Seeker's body. He turned up the collar of his raincoat and [[walked to the edge of the alley.->первый раз]]The seeker froze and *opened his eyes wide.*
In the dense, suspended smog, he could make out a battered and shabby sign "Hecate. Divination and dream reading". On the other side of the alley, a fairly sturdy house with black and acid-green spots looked at this sign. It looked like after a fire, but for some unknown reason itself building was not damaged. The windows were boarded up, and itself house was sealed. Above its entrance, the words "Simons Brothers Laboratory" could be seen in a charred signboard. Next to the house, in gray dilapidated rags, Beggar, who either begged for alms, or was delirious from Dope, half-sat and half-lay on the ground.
In the middle of the street Seeker more guessed by the light of a yellowish lantern than could make out two policemen talking about something. At the end of the alley the signboard, stylized as a gear transmission mechanism, swayed and creaked. Seeker opened his eyes even wider and read: “Hans Zinger's workshop”
Seeker shivered from the cold of the upcoming night and took a step towards the alley.
{embed passage: 'Сцена 0'}He stepped into the center of the laboratory and looked around.
[unless hasMoney]
>[[Approach the counter.->прилавок]]
[continue]
>[[Approach the chemical cabinet with reagents.->шкаф]]
[unless seenHorror]
>[[Approach chemical traction.->Подойти к химической тяге.]]
[if policeIsHere]
>[[Go to the intersection through the back door.->Сцена 0]]
[else]
>[[Leave the alchemist's house.->Сцена 0]]
The large and sturdy table was all black with chemical soot. The cash register, like all its insides, had been gutted a long time ago.
Seeker came closer, looked under the counter and saw a safe made of refractory iron. The safe was open and everything of value that had once been stored in it clearly belonged to someone else. Seeker froze and listened to his feelings.
He looked inside the safe and began to examine it carefully. Gently running his fingers along its back wall, he felt that there was a double bottom in it, which could be opened if he found the trigger mechanism.
>[[Spend time to search for the mechanism->деньги]]
>[[Return to the center of laboratory->Дом алхимика]]Surprisingly, the cabinet itself was practically not damaged in any way. Seeker could not understand the reason for this: whether it was in luck or in the excellent steel, from which it was made. The shelves of the cabinet were filled with many different flasks, retorts and other chemical dishes. Looters (or policemen?), who obviously looked into the house more than once, left them untouched. The scorched insides of the house clearly hinted that this was a very correct and reasonable decision.
The seeker listened to his feelings. He realized that whoever the deceased were, their personality type was clearly creative, since there could be no other explanation for such a chaotic arrangement of reagents and potions. Perhaps this is what led to this tragedy.
After a cursory inspection of the cabinet, it became clear that it would not be possible to find something useful right away:
>[[Spend time figuring whether anyhing useful can be found in the chemical cabinet ->время]]
>[[Return to the center of the laboratory->Дом алхимика]]_chosen: random.d6
--
[if _chosen <= 3 && policeIsHere]
The seeker looked at the pavement thoughtfully.
"Perhaps this one will do," thought Seeker and picked up one of the stones. If someone told him a year ago that he would have to illegally enter sealed premises. He would have never believed it.
After tossing the stone in his hand a couple of times, Seeker threw it at the window.
Seeker closed his eyes so as not to see how it would break, but the booming sound of a blow that would break any glass familiar to Seeker made him shudder and open them.
The impact mark left its imprint on the window, but it still stood in the window frame and blocked the passage inside the laboratory.
But it wasn't the worst of it. The sound of a police whistle burst into the street, and Seeker saw a lantern of poisonous yellow light rapidly approaching him.
It wasn't difficult to escape, but it clearly wasn't what he intended for this evening.
[[Game Over.->gameover]]
[if _chosen >= 5]
The seeker looked at the pavement thoughtfully.
"Perhaps this one will do," thought Seeker and picked up one of the stones. If someone told him a year ago that he would have to illegally enter sealed premises. He would have never believed it.
After tossing the stone in his hand a couple of times, Seeker threw it at the window.
Seeker closed his eyes so as not to see how it would break, but the sound of crumbling glass made him open them. And he saw how the window shattered into thousands of small fragments.
He had never seen such a thing, and despite the fact that his action was destructive, even in this he saw beauty.
He clearly didn't have much time, because he realized that the sound could attract the attention of the police who were standing at the end of the street, and he quickly crawled inside the laboratory.
{embed passage: 'дом первый раз'}
[if _chosen === 4 || (_chosen <= 3 && !policeIsHere)]
Seeker looked at the pavement thoughtfully.
"Perhaps this one will do," thought Seeker and picked up one of the stones. If someone told him a year ago that he would have to illegally enter sealed premises. He would have never believed it.
After tossing the stone in his hand a couple of times, Seeker threw it at the window.
Seeker closed his eyes so as not to see how it would break, but the booming sound of a blow that would break any glass familiar to Seeker made him shudder and open them.
The impact mark left its imprint on the window, but it still stood in the window frame and blocked the passage inside the laboratory.
>[[Try again.->попытка через окно]]
>[[Try something else.->алхимик]]Looks like you were careless. Try again! ( ~~RESTART~~ button ath right bottom corner)[if hasMoney]
{embed passage: 'успех'}
[else]
{embed passage: 'неуспех'}
[if random.d10 >= 8]
{embed passage: 'Просящего бьют'}
[else]
{embed passage: 'полисмены злые'}"What? You're the only suspicious one here. Get out of here!"
{embed passage: 'Сцена 0'}policeIsHere: false
prosIsHere: false
prosIsBeaten: true
--
— What do you say, Bruno?, — asked the officer holding the lantern.
—There is some sense in what this deranged one says… Perhaps it's time for you and me to make a round.
Seeker watched the officers' lantern grow dimmer and dimmer in the smog of the city. The lantern stopped for a while near the place where Beggar was. And then it quickly began to run away and melted at the end of another street.
{embed passage: 'Сцена 0'}policeIsAngry: true
--
"You are the only suspicious one here. Get lost!"
{embed passage: 'Сцена 0'}In the place where the beggar used to lie, only [[his hat remained, in which he collected alms->Монета попрошайки]] . Apart from that, there was not even a Trace of him. Seeker took out the coin, which the Beggar had dropped, from his pocket and began to examine it carefully.
{embed Flickr image: '<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/198221670@N03/52861219457/in/dateposted-public/" title="IMG_0706"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52861219457_40a612253c_b.jpg" width="1024" height="993" alt="IMG_0706"/></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>', alt:'монета'}
Seeker liked a lot the regular shape of the coin and the fact that it breathed history.
He [[put the coin back in his back pocket.->Сцена 0]]Офицеры недовольно посмотрели на Ищущего
– And? What do you want?
[unless policeIsAngry]
>[[— Not that I'm too worried, but I don't think your superiors will be happy if any evidence from a sealed crime scene were to disappear during your watch.->натравить бесплатно]]
[if hasMoney]
>[[— It seems to me that if you now become a little richer on one visit to a pub, and also time take someone to the station, then you won’t have to be stuck in this alley and you won’t have to think about your salary tonight when you celebrate this event in one of the bars.->Просящего бьют]]
[continue]
>[[–Ah, Nothing...->Сцена 0]]policeIsHere: false
--
— "What do you say, Bruno?" asked the officer holding the lantern.
— Punch, especially in this filthy rain, sounds just fine.
— You just... remember that we know you by sight. So don't do too much. – said the officer with the lantern and turned to Bruno – it's time for us to make a round. I'm tired of being stuck here.
Seeker watched for a while as the yellow lantern of the policemen became dimmer and dimmer in the fog of the City.
{embed passage: 'Сцена 0'}— Colleagues? Deranged one, I understand that you probably can’t lift heavier wallets, but this one is just an insult. Get lost!
{embed passage: 'Сцена 0'}alchEnter: true
--
Have got inside Seeker felt that his eyes and nose were burned by the already strong smell of burning and chemicals. At some point, he even regretted that he had already mastered the art of smell.
Surprisingly, much has survived in the laboratory. Seems like the chemical reaction was fast and did not manage to destroy. At least the ceilings and roof truss system were damaged only from the outside and the nature of the damage was more cosmetic than capital. That's why the building was still standing, not being a pile of ruins.
It was dark in the room, so Seeker opened his eyes widely and started moving deep into the laboratory carefully and gently. Despite his anxious step, glass of chemical dishes crunched under his feet and this creaking echoed loudly in the walls of the half-empty room.
[if policeIsHere]
Seeker shuddered and looked out of the window into the street. Through the soot on glass, he could see the police lantern slowly getting closer. He felt time flowing through his fingers and decided to speed up his pace.
[continue]
{embed passage: 'Дом алхимика'}hasMoney: true
_trigger: policeIsHere && ((hasMoney && spentTime ===1) || (spentTime >= 2))
--
[if _trigger]
Taking what he thought he was able to carry, Seeker headed the exit, but it seemed that he had been messing around in the laboratory for too long, and the loud bass of the police officers was heard from behind the door, unpleasantly superimposed on the thundering knock on the door.
"Who has been brought here again?! Come out!"
For a split second, Seeker froze. He didn't know why this had happened to him, but what hurt more was that he knew what he *had* to do. Of course, two ordinary policemen in any case had no chance of successfully catching Seeker. But it wasn't safe to stay in the area any longer. The trail of Hidden has been missed again, not for the first time and, apparently, not for the last time.
[[Game Over->gameover]]
[else]
Seeker took all the money and left.
He already had some thoughts about *who* he might be able to bribe with it.
{embed passage: 'Дом алхимика'} spentTime: spentTime + 1
_trigger: policeIsHere && ((hasMoney && spentTime ===1) || (spentTime >= 2))
--
[if _trigger]
Taking what he thought he was able to carry, Seeker headed the exit, but it seemed that he had been messing around in the laboratory for too long, and the loud bass of the police officers was heard from behind the door, unpleasantly superimposed on the thundering knock on the door.
"Who has been brought here again?! Come out!"
For a split second, Seeker froze. He didn't know why this had happened to him, but what hurt more was that he knew what he *had* to do. Of course, two ordinary policemen in any case had no chance of successfully catching Seeker. But it wasn't safe to stay in the area any longer. The trail of Hidden has been missed again, not for the first time and, apparently, not for the last time.
[[Game Over->gameover]]
[else]
Seeker began sorting through the chemical dishes. He did it methodically, but quickly. His attention was attracted by:
>[[Crystal bottle with purple gelatinous potion. Seeker stared at him for a while. The eye that was floating in the gelatinous potion was also clearly watching the Seeker closely.->Хрустальный флакон с фиолетовым студенистым зельем. Ищущий некоторое время всматривался в него. Глаз, который плавал в студенистом зелье, также явно пристально наблюдал за Ищущим.]]
>[[A wax-sealed wine bottle, from which children's giggles and exclamations were heard from time to time.->Запечатанная воском винная бутыль, из которой время от времени слышались детские смешки и восклицания.]]
>[[A heavy flask made of thick glass with an orange liquid and a tight-fitting stopper. Passing his hand next to her, the Seeker felt warm.->Тяжелая колба из толстого стекла с оранжевой жидкостью и крепко сидящей пробкой. Проведя рядом с ней рукой, Ищущий почувствовал тепло.]]
>[[An old scratched flask, from which a distinct smell of steaks rises. Small steaks in tomato sauce. With lemon cut into thin slices. And fragrant, as after a rainy day, greenery.->Старая исцарапанная фляга, из которой поднимается отчетливый запах бифштексов. Маленьких бифштексов в томатном соусе. С порезанным тонкими дольками лимоном. И душистой, как после дождливого дня, зеленью.]]
Seeker took the potion.
{embed passage: 'Дом алхимика'}
Seeker took the wine bottle.
{embed passage: 'Дом алхимика'}hasFlask: true
--
Seeker took the heavy flask
{embed passage: 'Дом алхимика'}
Seeker took the scratched flask.
{embed passage: 'Дом алхимика'}choseDec: true
sound.ambient.city.playing: false
--
{sound effect: 'screamer'}
A gust of sharp wind swept the room and almost tore the lampshade off the table. The light swung for a second and illuminated the face of the insane old woman. It was disfigured, like a spider's web, with deep wrinkles, and instead of hair, sharp needles stuck out of the head.
She burst out laughing and opened her eyes wide. Seeker shuddered, because they were white, as if she was sick with hemaralopia, and he had a feeling that only emptiness was there inside the creature that sat opposite to him.
He tried to escape, but the old woman's claws dug into his hand, and drops of blood flowed from the hand, and spread over the tablecloth in bizarre patterns, which looked more like flowers.
The old woman's laughter was growing, and the wind was shaking the lampshade more and more, Seeker's eyes were blurred, then enlightenment came, and the room seemed to be shaking. The roar of laughter and the wind at some point merged into a single gust, and he heard:
"The key to distinguishing Distorted from the Hidden will be revealed to you only when a one-armed violinist plays his concert for you"
After these words, all ten claws squeezed Seeker's hand, as if they wanted to cut it off. A sharp orange flash of pain pierced Seeker's entire body. He screamed and lost consciousness for a moment.
When he opened his eyes, he found himself standing at the entrance to the alley. His brush was with him, but there was no sign "The house is subject to demolition". However, as well as the building itself…
[[Return to the intersection->Сцена 0]]choseDec: true
--
— It happens, my sunshine, — the hoarse voice of the fortune teller sounded, - that only through experience, suffering and courage the Truth is revealed. And if you are not ready for it, then you are not worthy of it. This does not mean that it will not open to you, but you did not manage to look abroad. And it is unlikely that it will work already…
Hecate pressed with her sharp claw on Seeker's hand, and a sharp orange flash of pain blinded him for a moment. When he opened his eyes, he found himself standing at the entrance to the alley. There was no sign "The house is subject to demolition". However, as well as the building itself…
{embed passage: 'Сцена 0'}seenHorror: true
--
On the chemical tile, the Seeker saw the handprints of one of the Simons brothers. It was clear that the tragedy had happened here. A sharp pain went through the whole body of Seeker. Through force, he tried to figure out what had happened on the chemical table, but with every second the pain was getting stronger and stronger. The sharp needles of the brothers' last moments dug into the temples, the top of the head and corroded the eyes of Seeker. At some point, he began to restrain a scream stuck in his throat with difficulty and recoiled from the pull. His hands continued to shake, and the sweat that had appeared began to trickle down Seeker's body in thin streams.
{embed passage: 'Дом алхимика'}{ambient sound: 'master'}
Seeker carefully crossed the threshold and found himself inside the workshop. For the first time that evening, he felt that this place belonged to someone solid and not distorted.
As soon as the door slammed behind Seeker, his acute hearing recorded slight and imperceptible clicks inside the walls of the workshop. "It was expected," Seeker thought. He really understood that his intrusion could not go unnoticed. The only question is how much time he had left to find what he needed and what Chanter wrote about.
{embed passage: 'мастерская'}patPlaying: true
--
Seeker approached the player and studied it carefully. In order to make it work, it had to be wound up with a separate handle by several turns and a plate should be inserted into it.
Seeker took out a flask, which he found in the Simons brothers’ laboratory. The warmth from it pleasantly warmed the palm and spread through it all over the Seeker's body. He looked carefully at the flask and realized that it was made of a very strange material that does not allow the energy contained in the flask to escape.
Seeker opened the flask carefully, directing it onto the player case. A fiery orange viscous liquid began to pour out of it, and when it hit the metal mechanism, it immediately melted and acrid greenish-orange smoke came from it. The player was disappearing in front of his eyes, melting in this chemical reaction.
Seeker was disturbed by the fact that he was destroying the thing, have been created by man. However, the itself phenomenon charmed him and fascinated with its beauty.
At some point, the latch that closes access to the plates melted, and the screen, that did not allow to get the plates, fell off. Seeker began to study the complex mechanism and noticed a manipulator, with which the plates were mounted on a gramophone and a switch that made the plate spin. He moved the manipulator and realized what kind of plate he could get with it. The record was firmly wedged between other musical works of art, but the Seeker managed to pull it out.
Together with it, a strange folder, similar to an envelope with records, fell out of the record machine. Seeker noticed it, but the cunning mechanical device captured him so that he put the record on the player and pressed the switch.
[after 12 seconds]
{ambient sound: 'pateph'}
Seeker heard the sound of a violin. It fascinated him so much that he froze and for a while even forgot why he was here.
However, the sound of machinery in the workshop wall brought him back to reality and he picked up the envelope.
{embed passage: 'final'}At the moment when Seeker picked up the envelope, a pleasant warmth ran from his fingers all over his body. This feeling is a faithful companion of hunters, gatherers and prospectors. It is simply impossible to explain it to other people.
But Seeker could not fully enjoy the new clue, as the sizzles behind the wall stopped and they were replaced by a loud accelerating siren. Seeker rushed to the back door, realizing along the way that he had long known that he would have to leave through this gate. Shouts and footsteps could be heard behind him. The chase.
How could he let the situation get out of control so much? Hope for a clue overshadowed vigilance? Or is this the famous "desire to be caught"? Seeker wanted to delve into this thought, but already jumped into a cab that slowed down at the turn with a half-asleep driver.
Go! Go!
The pursuers ran out into the middle of the road and hunched over trying to catch their breath, looking hopelessly in the direction of the departing wagon. Seeker opened the envelope in a strip of light, periodically sliding inside the wagon window from passing gas lamps.
{embed Flickr image: '<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/198221670@N03/52861781626/in/dateposted-public/" title="IMG_0708"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52861781626_c339f1959b_k.jpg" width="1487" height="2048" alt="IMG_0708"/></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>', alt: 'Чертежи!!!' }Seeker bent over the table with the disassembled birds. At first he was very curious about their insides being so complex and streamlined. Springs and gears were polished to a shine and adjusted with absolute precision, but as Seeker had seen a drop of oil pouring down from a bird, his mind started completing the picture and with each second it became harder harder for him to look at these disassembled and, as it had seemed, lifeless mechanisms. Seeker took his eyes off the birds sharply and [[walked away->мастерская]] from the table.Ищущий подошел к верстаку с механической рукой. Было заметно, что в данный момент мастер тратил большую часть времени на работу с ней. Возможно его творению суждено было стать чьим-то протезом... или быть может он просто слишком буквально воспринял совет о том, что ему не помешала бы лишняя пара рук... В любом случае Ищущий не хотел испытывать судьбу и на опыте сравнивать силу рукопожатия механизма с сцеплением медвежьего капкана. Ищущий предусмотрительно отошел от верстака.
Seeker walked to the workbench with the mechanical hand. It was obvious that the master had been spending most of the time working on it lately. Probably his creation was destined to become someone's prosthetic... or maybe he had just took the advice about using a few extra hands too literally... Anyways, Seeker didn't want to tempt fate by comparing the grapping force of the mechanism with a bear trap's one. Seeker [[walked away->мастерская]] from the workbench prudently.