text: [Themes: Mystery, mystery, horror]
  
  > look around
  the pigeons.## Dormitory Block
  You have walked the grounds of this three-storey estate long enough to know it by heart. Here is the faded arch, with its years of verdigris; here are the too-small atrium and the fountain at its center. All around above are the lights of innumerable domiciles, linked by crumbling stairs and divided by flimsy plaster walls.
  
  From here, you can go up to your dormitory room, visit the public house to the west, or exit the building to the south.
  
  Saliunca sits at the base of the fountain, feeding pigeons that wing down from the sky above.
  
  > examine the fountain
  A neoclassical sculpture of concentric basins. An image of Mercury takes pride of place, with sword aloft in one hand and water-spout chalice in the other.
  
  > look at the public house
  (the public house)
  A refuge from the troubles of the world, at least for some.
  
  > go to the west
  (first opening the door of the public house)
  (closing the door behind you)
  
  Tucked away in the shadow of the domiciles, this cozy establishment offers a retreat from the melancholy of the night. Other patrons are scattered at the tables, engaged in drinking and conversation, while in the corner a solitary clockwork musician plays.
  
  The door is to the east.
  
  A smartly-dressed mutant is behind the counter polishing a glass -- this must be the new bartender. He gives you a nod as you enter.
  
  > look at the mutant
  (the bartender)
  (It has been some years now since the mutants of the Dark Lands were integrated into society, and you have mostly gotten used to their haphazard anatomy, their alien perception of the world. Mostly.)
  
  He looks to be one of the older generation of mutants, with few features that mark him as having once been human. He wears a dignified wooden mask and a tailcoat that has been modified to accommodate additional limbs.
  
  > look at the mask
  Its simple lines evoke a man's face. It has become fashionable for mutants with unsightly mutations to wear these.
  
  starts on Magis Quam Amor.
  
  > talk to the mutant
  (the bartender)
  You sit down at the serving counter. "Hello," you say.
  
  The bartender stops polishing his glass and regards you thoughtfully.
  
  1) "I don't believe we've met. My name is Marid."
  2) "You must be the new bartender."
  3) <Order a drink.>
  4) "Actually, never mind."
  
  > 1
  "I don't believe we've met," you say. "My name is Marid."
  
  The bartender bows and pantomimes a welcome.
  
  1) "You can't speak?"
  2) "It's nice to meet you." <Offer your hand.>
  3) "You must be the new bartender."
  4) <Order a drink.>
  5) "See you soon."
  
  > 1
  "You can't speak?"
  
  The bartender nods mournfully.
  
  "I'm sorry," you say, feeling slightly guilty.
  
  1) "It's nice to meet you." <Offer your hand.>
  2) "You must be the new bartender."
  3) <Order a drink.>
  4) "See you soon."
  
  > 1
  "It's nice to meet you."
  
  You offer your hand; the bartender bends and touches the wooden mouth of his mask to it.
  
  1) "You must be the new bartender."
  2) <Order a drink.>
  3) "See you soon."
  
  > 1
  "You must be the new bartender."
  
  The bartender nods sagely.
  
  1) "How's business?"
  2) <Order a drink.>
  3) "See you soon."
  
  > 1
  "How's business?" you ask.
  
  The bartender pauses in thought, then makes a noncommittal gesture with his tentacle.
  
  1) <Order a drink.>
  2) "See you soon."
  
  > 1
  "I'd like a glass of spiced wine, please."
  
  The bartender measures out the wine, waters it down, and tosses it with a bag of spices before handing you the glass. You take your time to nurse the drink: it's sweet, with a pinch of nutmeg and other flavors you don't recognize.
  
  Sweet and sad.
  
  1) <Get something off your mind.>
  2) <Finish your drink in silence.>
  
  > 1
  Your mind wanders to the things you've seen; the things you've done.
  
  1) "I watched a man die tonight..."
  2) <Finish your drink in silence.>
  
  > 1
  "I watched a man die tonight," you say quietly. "It was just around the corner. In Doctor Cavala's clinic."
  
  The bartender is silent as you take another sip.
  The bartender is silent as you take another sip."It all happened too fast. It was only when he collapsed on top of me that we knew, and -- and we rushed him to the surgery room. I was so scared. It was Doctor Cavala who steadied me... who believed we could cure him together. But he died on the gurney. He died just like that."
  he died on the gurney. He died just like that."You close your eyes.
  he died on the gurney. He died just like that."You close your eyes."We aren't even sure what he was suffering from... how he died. But now... what can we do?"
  
  1) "I became a physician because I wanted to save lives..."
  2) "Doctor Cavala tried so hard to stabilize him..."
  
  > 1
  You gaze into your glass, watching the wine swirl around and around.
  
  "I became a physician because I wanted to save lives. I... I wanted to make a difference. But for every life I save -- every life we save -- it seems like a dozen more die out of our reach. How is that fair? How is it worth it?
  
  "They teach you in the Physicians' College that you can't save everyone. It just isn't possible..."
  
  1) "...but I keep wondering if we could have saved that
  man..."
  2) "...and now I'm beginning to understand what they
  meant..."
  
  > 1
  "...but I keep wondering if we could have saved that man, if maybe we had done something different. And it's killing me inside."
  
  1) <Finish your drink.>
  
  > 1
  You down the last of your wine.
  
  "Thanks for listening."
  
  The bartender takes the empty glass, and you feel a little better for having confided in him.
  
  1) <Tip the bartender.>
  2) "See you soon."
  
  > 1
  You tip the bartender and he bows.
  
  1) "See you soon."
  
  > 1
  "See you soon."
  
  You stand up. The bartender goes back to his business; you suppose you should as well.
  
  > Journal
  should as well.## Public House
  Tucked away in the shadow of the domiciles, this cozy establishment offers a retreat from the melancholy of the night. Other patrons are scattered at the tables, engaged in drinking and conversation, while in the corner a solitary clockwork musician plays.
  
  The door is to the east.
  
  The bartender is behind the counter polishing a glass.
  
  > Journal
  Third of Aquaria, Auritum IV
  
  I'm tired. I'm so tired.
  
  I'm sorry, Reden. I hope your animus rests in peace.
  
  Current objectives:
  
  Tucked away in the shadow of the domiciles, this cozy establishment offers a retreat from the melancholy of the night. Other patrons are scattered at the tables, engaged in drinking and conversation, while in the corner a solitary clockwork musician plays.
  
  The door is to the east.
  
  The bartender is behind the counter polishing a glass.