text: > Look around
  This upscale clinic exudes a muted elegance. Chrome fixtures are lit by surgically placed spotlights and underscored by dizzyingly intricate sigil-work.
  
  An arch to the west leads back to the Turris Infinita foyer.
  
  Examiner Velox and his investigators are huddled around the bodies of Doctor Arturus, Creditor Nacarat, Sal, and Piper. Beside them, Justinian sits at a coffee table, brooding.
  
  > go to the west
  A chill washes over you as you step through the arch.
  
  The atmosphere within the tower is utterly still. The lights that normally circle the mirrors have been dimmed, and the chandeliers overhead brood like thunderclouds.
  
  A hydraulic lift provides access to Doctor Arturus's upstairs domicile. Doctor Arturus's clinic is east, and the exit is to the west.
  
  The porter is silent at her desk.
  
  > Go upwards
  The lift bears you upward.
  
  This suspended mansion echoes with a grandiose hollowness. There is no comfort to be found in these faux hearths and chaises longues, these mantelpieces burdened by decades of history.
  
  A study lies to the north. The hydraulic lift leads back down to the foyer.
  
  By the frosted-glass windows, a coffee table has been set for three.
  
  > examine the hearths
  Empty stone fixtures. They're more for decoration than anything.
  
  > examine table
  A dark wooden table set with linen and porcelain. There is a serving platter of crackers and cheese, barely touched; surrounding it, there are three smaller plates, two of which are accompanied by wineglasses.
  
  The third wineglass is nowhere to be seen.
  
  > examine the wineglasses
  The wineglasses still contain traces of red wine.
  
  > look at the wine
  An expensive claret, if you had to guess.
  
  > smell it
  The table smells of red wine and sharp cheese.
  
  > Go north
  A chamber decked with aging bookcases and dusty plaques. The frieze that circles the walls is engraved with scenes from antiquity, lines in the lingua libria; by the exit to the south, a clock ticks
  the minutes and seconds away.
  
  A rosewood desk stands in the heart of the room. Beside it, there is a storage cabinet.
  
  > look at the clock
  A pendulum clock. Its arm sways to and fro, never quite finding rest.
  
  > examine the frieze
  The wood has been painstakingly carved and sigiled. You could examine the scenes or lines further if you wished.
  
  > look at scenes
  One scene depicts Pharmacos discovering the humors. Another shows Merula and Collis treating refugees during the Corindian Civil War.
  
  > look at the lines
  (the lines in the lingua libria)
  Nascentes morimur finisque ab origine pendet. "When we are
  born we die; our end is but the pendant of our beginning."
  
  > look at the desk
  The desk is drenched with tobacco, stained with ink, and weathered by decades of use. It curves around a high-backed armchair, piled with stationery and never-finished drafts.
  
  At the end of the table sits a correspondence machine, accompanied by its box of ticker-tape reels.
  
  > look at the machine
  A complex alchemical-mechanical device. It purports to receive and transmit messages through the aether without the need for magical training.
  
  The machine consists of a dial, a keyboard, a feed wheel, and a letterpress. Next to the dial, there are three indicator lamps, of which the first and second are lit.
  
  There is also a box of ticker-tape reels beside the machine.
  
  > look at the tape
  You could take a reel if you wanted.
  
  > take the reel
  You fish out a reel of ticker tape.
  
  > examine the letterpress
  A grid of metal punches, each cast in the shape of a letter or number. They are mounted on a crankshaft that allows them to rapidly piston up and down.
  
  > look at the stationery
  A pen and inkpot have been set out, as though Doctor Arturus had been midway through writing something.
  
  > examine the cabinet
  Silver-inlaid casework. The cabinet is currently closed.
  
  > open it
  You open the storage cabinet, revealing a stack of leatherbound files.
  
  > look up Sal in the files
  Upon closer examination, they appear to be patient records. The three most recently updated files are labeled 'Nacarat,' 'Salio,' and 'Piper.'
  
  > examine nacarat
  The patient record for Creditor Nacarat. It states that he developed nausea and vomiting during an afternoon visit on the Third of Aquaria, and was immediately admitted -- but the handwriting is rushed, and the rest of the file is blank.
  
  > examine Salio
  The patient record for Sal. It states that he was admitted together with Piper on the morning of the Third of Aquaria, complaining of migraines, nausea, and vomiting. Doctor Arturus initially diagnosed food poisoning, but the diagnosis has been scratched out. The rest of the file is blank.
  
  > examine Piper
  The patient record for Piper. It states that she was admitted together with Sal on the morning of the Third of Aquaria, exhibiting the same symptoms as him. The rest of the file is blank apart from a cryptic note that reads "cellar in f.h. shanty quarter."
  
  It's frustrating. All of these files look like they were written in a hurry and left unfinished. Why didn't Doctor Arturus leave more information for you to work with?
  information for you to work with?You suppose you'll have to follow up on that cryptic note in the 'Piper' file. It's the only lead you've found here.
  
  > J.
  Fifth of Aquaria, Auritum IV
  
  I've made my choice. I have a job to do -- and I'm going to finish it.
  
  Current objectives:
  
  - Investigate the victims of the disease and identify the transmission vector
  
  - Go to Riggertown and ask Zoiro about his brother's activities
  
  - Continue investigating Doctor Arturus's domicile, in the Turris Infinita
  
  - Investigate the note in the 'Piper' file about the Shanty Quarter
  
  Marid's notes:
  
  - I learned that the disease is unlikely to be airborne.
  - I learned that the disease can be transmitted by ingestion.
  - I learned that the disease is bloodborne and attacks the animus, or the soul.
  
  - I remember that Reden died on the night of the Third, two days ago.
  
  - I found a coffee table set for three in Doctor Arturus's home. The table had not been tidied up, but the third wineglass was missing.
  - I found that Doctor Arturus rushed through his patient record files for some reason, leaving them unfinished.
  - I found that the gloves on Doctor Arturus's body were brand new. He couldn't have been infected through his hands if he had been wearing them.
  - I learned that Doctor Arturus died sometime between last night, on the Fourth, and this morning, on the Fifth.
  
  - I learned that Creditor Nacarat was killed by something he ingested. - I learned that Creditor Nacarat was connected to the Trading Company.
  - I learned that Creditor Nacarat could have hired Sal and Piper recently.
  - I learned that Creditor Nacarat was taking tea with Doctor Arturus when his symptoms emerged, and he broke a piece of tableware as a result.
  - I learned that Creditor Nacarat was admitted to the clinic on the afternoon of the Third, two days ago.
  - I learned that Creditor Nacarat died on the night of that day.
  
  - I learned that Sal and Piper were connected to the Trading Company. - I found a list of names that suggested Piper had been collecting debts. The reverse side of the paper had been intentionally blanked out.
  - I found a battered keyring on Sal's belt.
  - I found a note in Piper's patient record that read "cellar in f.h. shanty quarter."
  - I learned that Piper was killed by something she ingested.
  - I learned that Sal and Piper were admitted to the clinic on the morning of the Third, two days ago.
  - I learned that both Sal and Piper died on the night of that day.
  
  - I learned that the raven is the symbol of the Greater Corindia Trading Company, a criminal syndicate.
  - I'm in the mood for a drink...
  - I hope Doctor Cavala and Horatio will be all right at the clinic...
  
  A chamber decked with aging bookcases and dusty plaques. The frieze that circles the walls is engraved with scenes from antiquity, lines in the lingua libria; by the exit to the south, a clock ticks
  the minutes and seconds away.
  
  A rosewood desk stands in the heart of the room. Beside it, there is a storage cabinet.
  
  > look under the desk
  Nothing is under the desk.
  
  > examine the bookcases
  Doctor Arturus has a small collection of antique medical texts.
  
  > examine the texts
  Mostly outdated, but they have historical value.
  
  > Go south
  (first closing the storage cabinet)
  
  This suspended mansion echoes with a grandiose hollowness. There is no comfort to be found in these faux hearths and chaises longues, these mantelpieces burdened by decades of history.
  
  A study lies to the north. The hydraulic lift leads back down to the foyer.
  
  By the frosted-glass windows, a coffee table has been set for three.