text: [Themes: Mystery, Fantasy, Historical, Historical, adaptation, magicians, Lovecraftian, private investigator, Lovecraft, magic, England, stage magic, theater, London, call of cthulhu]
  
  You wish you were doing almost anything else than having dinner with this bloviating douchebag. Still, it's a potential client. Maybe you should hear what he has to say. . .
  
  This is an ancient pub built just after the Great London Fire of 1666. The place is gloomy with shadows but the patrons are warmed by a large hearth in the center of the room. Labyrinthine passages to rooms exist in all directions except to the east where the exit lies. You can see Howard Horne waving for you to join him at an old table near the hearth. He pulls out an even older chair for you.
  
  (During conversations, type "topics" to see a list of relevant topics.)
  
  [Author's Note: You wish you were doing almost anything else than having dinner with this bloviating douchebag. Still, it's a potential client. Maybe you should hear what he has to say...]
  
  > sit
  (on the old chair)
  You get onto the old chair.
  
  > About yourself
  You are a private eye; a gumshoe, as they say, and you appear as such.
  
  > Inventory
  You are carrying:
  a fedora (being worn)
  a set of ordinary clothes (being worn)
  a trenchcoat (being worn and open)
  a cigar lighter
  a lock pick
  a holster (being worn)
  a revolver
  
  > look at Howard
  He is a thin, nervy sort of chap, with a narrow face and eyes that appear positively shifty.
  
  > Hi
  You say hello to Howard Horne.
  
  (You could ask him about the case.)
  
  > ask howard about case
  "So, what's the skinny?" you ask.
  
  "I need some help, detective." Howard replies.
  "I need some help, detective." Howard replies."Start from the beginning." you invite.
  
  "Well, I started working the West Side about twenty years ago when things were Vaudeville, of course-" he begins.
  things were Vaudeville, of course-" he begins."Better yet, start from sometime more recent." you say, rubbing your temples.
  
  "Oh, yes, of course. Well, by now, I've got a lot of great acts on me books, if I do say so meself. But my problem is with one of them; a young man named Philip Leclair." he tells you.
  
  > ask Howard  about Philip
  "Tell me about Leclair." you say.
  
  "He calls 'imself Leclair the Great professionally." Howard
  tells you, "He'll go far if handled right and he's got a knack for making old tricks look new. He even invents his own, good ones at that, with all this new apparatus and patter and everything."
  that, with all this new apparatus and patter and everything.""And?" you ask.
  
  "Well," he says, "end of last month, Philip came to my office, plum-excited he was. Said he had plans for a new trick. Showed me some sketches that I couldn't make heads nor tails of. He said it was going to bring a whole new meaning to what we call The
  Vanish."
  Vanish.""Wow." you say nonplussed.
  
  He continues, "You know, making a chap disappear into thin air?"
  
  Perturbed, you reply, "Yeah, I got it."
  Perturbed, you reply, "Yeah, I got it."He proceeds again, "So he comes to my office saying he's having problems with his new apparatus for this trick. Well, I'm no magician so I suggested he approach this new magic club who call themselves something like the Inner
  Brotherhood of Magicians. This brotherhood had sent me a letter
  to recommend themselves to my clients. So I reckon maybe they can help Philip with his predicament. Being a good lad, he did so, and was even invited to eventually join the club. I was hearing that things were going swimmingly with his new vanishing trick. But then something happened."
  something happened."You make a twirling motion with your finger, inviting him to go on with his story. He says, "Well, a couple weeks ago, Philip comes back to my office, right excited again, he was. He said he was on the verge of finding a method of, as he put it, revolutionizing stage magic as we know it."
  
  "And?" you ask. He says, "And here's the mystery, detective. It's quite ironic, really. But that was the last I saw of the lad. Philip Leclair has vanished off the face of the earth!"
  
  > Examine
  What do you want to examine?
  
  > Topics
  You could ask him about the vanish.
  
  > ask howard about the Vanish
  "Tell me more about this vanishing act of his." you ask.
  
  "It's funny you should ask, detective." Howard replies, "I mean, even though the Vanish is a standard trick, the particular variation and appartus that Philip was using was seen being used by another magician. I know because I'm the one who saw it. The magician is The Amazing Karl. I don't know much more about him besides that I watched him perform it during his nightly act at The Chancellor Theater."
  
  Howard Horne stands to leave. "Please let me know if you find out anything, detective. If you'll excuse me, I have a prior late-night engagement. Good luck. Cheers!" And with that, Howard Horne leaves the pub.
  
  > look
  Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese Pub (on the old chair)
  This is an ancient pub built just after the Great London Fire of 1666. The place is gloomy with shadows but the patrons are warmed by a large hearth in the center of the room. Labyrinthine passages to rooms exist in all directions except to the east where the exit lies.
  
  > examine the hearth
  A blazing fire is warming the pub from within the hearth.
  
  > stand
  You get off the old chair.
  
  This is an ancient pub built just after the Great London Fire of 1666. The place is gloomy with shadows but the patrons are warmed by a large hearth in the center of the room. Labyrinthine passages to rooms exist in all directions except to the east where the exit lies.
  
  > go to the east
  You walk the fog-shrouded streets to the area of town where Philip's flat is. The smell of Polish home-cooking can be smelled in this part of south London. You are standing on the sidewalk near some stairs that hug the side of a building to reach a door on the second story. The bottom floor is yet another pub; The Devonshire. The door can be reached to the north. The address for Philip Leclair that Howard Horne supplied says that this is the place.
  
  > Up
  This is a rickety landing one floor off the ground above an alley.
  The steps lead down to the street where The Devonshire Pub can be reached. To the east is the door into Philip Leclair's flat.
  
  > Go east
  (first opening the apartment door)
  It seems to be locked.
  
  > examine the door
  It is a small, thick door for Philip Leclair's apartment.
  
  > open the door
  It seems to be locked.
  
  > kick the door
  You can only do that to something animate.
  
  > pick the lock
  (first taking the lock pick)
  (To pick a lock with the lock pick, type "unlock {thing} with
  pick")
  You unlock the apartment door.
  
  I didn't understand that sentence.
  
  > go to the east
  (first opening the apartment door)
  
  This is a humble and tidy apartment. The room you are in serves as the living room, bedroom, and kitchen all at once. A bed seems to be the only real piece of furniture in the place. The bathroom is to the east and the exit to the landing is west.
  
  You can see a black trunk (closed) here.
  
  > look at the bed
  It is a simple, twin-sized bed. But it's probably European twin-sized so who knows how the hell big it really is.
  
  > look at the trunk
  It's the kind a circus performer would lug around, but looks like Philip has kept it clear of any gaudy stickers that you've seen on such circus trunks.
  
  > look under the bed
  Just dust.
  
  Just dust.
  
  > unlock it with the lockpick
  You unlock the black trunk.
  
  > open the trunk
  You open the black trunk, revealing a black cane, an instruction manual, a deck of cards, a top hat and a set of stage clothes.
  
  > unlock the trunk with the pick
  That's unlocked at the moment.
  
  > look at the manual
  You read the first chapter in full, out of curiosity. Now, you are able to perform card trick but you'll need a deck of cards,
  of course.
  
  > take the cards
  You take the deck of cards from the black trunk.
  
  > perform the card trick
  You perform a simple yet impressive card trick.
  
  > look at the top hat
  It's tall even for a top hat.
  
  > look at the stage clothes
  Perfect if one wants to look like a stage magician.
  
  > examine the cane
  It's a magician's cane; black with white tips.
  
  > look at the trunk
  It's the kind a circus performer would lug around, but looks like Philip has kept it clear of any gaudy stickers that you've seen on such circus trunks.
  
  In the black trunk are a black cane, an instruction manual, a top hat and a set of stage clothes.
  
  > look at the hat
  (the fedora)
  It's a hat, stylish here in the '20s. You wear it on your head.
  
  > Search hat
  (the fedora)
  You find nothing of interest.
  
  > take the cane
  You take the black cane from the black trunk.
  
  > search the top hat
  The top hat is empty.