text: [Themes: Mystery, fantasy, horror, blood, suspense]
  
  > Look around
  Deeper, Darker
  And you cannot find your way. All is awash in the spectral light of broken cathode lamps, and in the shadows phantasmagoria creeps. Frightened children eye you from the rooftops. Rats are strung up like hanged men.
  
  > Go south
  There are so many people here. Mothers. Daughters. You see goblin boys fighting over scraps, and mutant children with two mouths and nothing to eat. You push through the crowd and they barely even notice your presence, so lost are they in their own suffering.
  
  You find yourself suddenly set upon by a legion of beggars, grabbing at your trousers, thrusting empty hats into your face, baying like starving dogs.
  
  > talk to the beggars
  1) "Leave me alone!"
  2) <Give them some money.>
  3) <Never mind.>
  
  > 1
  "Leave me alone!" you cry.
  
  But they don't hear you. All they see is a rich stranger.
  
  > go south
  You flee from them...
  You flee from them...## Into the Fire
  A rubbish fire, roaring and acrid and unmistakably fecal. The flames are green and blue from alchemical decomposition, and dead bodies feed the fire and stoke its insatiable hunger with their animii.
  the fire and stoke its insatiable hunger with their animii.You sink to your knees.
  
  > look
  A rubbish fire. The green and blue flames lick at your jacket and sting your eyes raw with tears.
  
  But somewhere far to the west, you think you see sunlight.
  
  > Go west
  You get to your feet.
  
  You get to your feet.Unsteadily, you walk.
  
  You get to your feet.Unsteadily, you walk.You close your eyes.
  
  You get to your feet.Unsteadily, you walk.You close your eyes.You keep walking.
  
  walking.You don't stop until you feel the sun on your face once more.
  
  walking.You don't stop until you feel the sun on your face once more.## Cadaver Walk
  You've emerged out onto a bridge, if it can be called that: a haphazard assortment of ropes, planks, chains, warning signs, layers upon layers bound up in incomprehensible knots. Below the lines trail where they have snapped and never been repaired, and the Bilious Canal gobbles them up as they descend.
  
  Riggertown is to the west, while the Shanty Quarter is to the east.
  
  > Go west
  Riggertown, Lower Level
  This peculiarly goblin neighborhood bristles with mechanical-chymical detritus. There are twisty catwalks made for childlike feet, and sheet-metal shacks you must stoop to enter. Here and there in the shadow of the upper landing, neon lamps glow and windchimes tinkle like laughter.
  
  You can climb a ladder up to the next level, wander among the shacks to the west, or cross the canal east by way of Cadaver Walk.
  
  A scruffy old goblin sits on a post, chewing on a golden stick and watching the midday crowd.
  
  > talk to the goblin
  (the scruffy old goblin)
  The old goblin raises an eyebrow as you approach. He pops the half-chewed stick out of his mouth.
  
  "Something on your mind, girlie?"
  
  1) "Good afternoon, sir."
  2) "What's that you're chewing on?"
  3) "Has anyone in Riggertown come down with a mysterious illness recently?"
  4) "Nothing, sorry."
  
  > 2
  "What's that you're chewing on?"
  
  "This?" He holds up the half-chewed stick. "It's a stick of gold. I'm sucking on it, see? Brings out the flavor."
  
  "Oh."
  
  "Yeah."
  
  1) "I'm curious. What does gold taste like?"
  2) "By the way, I never caught your name."
  3) "Has anyone in Riggertown come down with a mysterious illness recently?"
  4) "I'll be back soon."
  
  > 1
  "I'm curious," you remark. "What does gold taste like?"
  
  "Ah," he says. "Now there's a fine question. Metals, see, all of them have got different flavors. You're a doctor, ain't you?"
  
  1) "Um, yes."
  2) "Um, no."
  
  > 2
  "Um, no."
  
  "No?" His ears droop. "I thought I had you figured from your jacket. Anyway -- you've surely heard of the metal correspondences, yes? Lead to yellow bile, tin to blood, iron to black bile? It tastes just like that. You can taste them like a bouquet on your tongue -- the correspondences, the extremes."
  
  1) "That doesn't sound very palatable."
  2) "So what does gold taste like?"
  
  > 2
  "So what does gold taste like?"
  
  "Gold, you ask?" The goblin leans forward with shining eyes. "Gold is different from all of them. Gold corresponds to the heart.
  Tasting it is like tasting the sun, the soul. Biting
  down on a freshly transmuted nugget -- ah! Now that, I dare say, is a feast fit for a king."
  
  1) "That's... very interesting."
  2) "Is it healthy to be snacking on gold like this?"
  
  > 2
  "Is it healthy to be snacking on gold like this?"
  
  He shrugs. "You tell me, Doc."
  
  "I -- I already told you, I'm not a doctor..."
  
  "So it is, so it is. Healthful, not healthful -- who's counting? Not me, that's for certain."
  
  He takes another bite out of his stick, and grins a toothy grin.
  
  1) "By the way, I never caught your name."
  2) "Has anyone in Riggertown come down with a mysterious illness recently?"
  3) "I'll be back soon."
  
  > 1
  "By the way, I never caught your name."
  
  His lips curl wryly. "Never caught yours either."
  
  "Um... I'm Marid," you say. "Marid Orpheia."
  
  "Well, I'm Donti," he says. "Just Donti. Good afternoon to you, Marid Orpheia."
  
  1) "Has anyone in Riggertown come down with a mysterious illness recently?"
  2) "Talk to you later, Donti."
  
  > 1
  "Has anyone in Riggertown come down with a mysterious illness recently?" you ask.
  
  "Eh?" Donti frowns. "What kind of illness?"
  
  You briefly elucidate the symptoms, and a black look comes over his face.
  face."Talk about a nasty business," he remarks. "No, I can't say I've ever come across something like that before, and I don't know anyone who has. But I'll keep an eye out, and I'll spread the word for you. You'll know if someone so much as sneezes in this town, so it is."
  You'll know if someone so much as sneezes in this town, so it is.""That would be a great help," you say. "Thank you."
  is.""That would be a great help," you say. "Thank you.""Don't mention it. Just doing what I can."
  
  1) "Talk to you later, Donti."
  
  > 1
  "Talk to you later, Donti."
  
  "Good health to you."
  
  He waves you off and goes back to chewing on his stick.
  
  > J.
  Fourth of Aquaria, Auritum IV
  
  The poorest parts of the district have been an ordeal to walk through, but the worst has finally passed. After everything that I've seen today, having to break the news of Reden's death... somehow doesn't seem as bad.
  
  Current objectives:
  
  - Find Zoiro, Reden's brother, in Riggertown
  
  Marid's notes:
  
  - I learned that Zoiro lives on Layabout Row, in Upper Riggertown, and works at the Riggertown Mechanistry.
  
  Riggertown, Lower Level
  This peculiarly goblin neighborhood bristles with mechanical-chymical detritus. There are twisty catwalks made for childlike feet, and sheet-metal shacks you must stoop to enter. Here and there in the shadow of the upper landing, neon lamps glow and windchimes tinkle like laughter.
  
  You can climb a ladder up to the next level, wander among the shacks to the west, or cross the canal east by way of Cadaver Walk.
  
  Donti is sitting on his usual post, chewing on his golden stick and watching the midday crowd.
  
  > Go upward
  Riggertown, Upper Level
  This is the more industrial part of Riggertown. The buildings here are scrap-heap spires that twist and turn around each other, with cubby-carts trundling along cables strung between them. Amidst horns honking advertisements, there is a great mess of little people shuffling about, and roads winding in ways wholly inexplicable to your human sensibilities.
  
  To the south looms an enormously noisy factory, which signage identifies as the Riggertown Mechanistry. A quieter road leads southwest to the suburbs. You could also descend a series of ladders to Lower Riggertown, or take a footpath north along the Bilious Canal.
  
  > Go south
  This building is just as haphazard inside as it is on the outside. Assembly lines run up and down and all around the many levels of this building, weighed down by unfinished, not-quite-manufactured things. At stations along the lines, factory workers are hunched over workbenches, welding disparate parts together within acceptable margins of regularity.
  
  To the north, through a series of raised metal shutters, is the exit.
  
  A large gobliness is walking among the workers, pausing now and then to dish out a tongue-lashing. This must be the forewoman of the shift.
  
  > talk to the gobliness
  As the forewoman finishes lecturing one of her workers, you take the opportunity to approach her.
  
  "Excuse me," you say. "Are you the forewoman here?"
  
  She turns and grimaces. "What do you want? Make it quick. I'm busy."
  
  1) "Do you greet everyone like that?"
  2) "I'm looking for a man named Zoiro..."
  3) "Never mind. Forget I asked."
  
  > 2
  "I'm looking for a man named Zoiro. I have it on good authority that he's employed here."
  
  "Yeah, he is." The forewoman narrows her eyes. "What's this about? He miss a payment for something?"
  
  1) "Something like that."
  2) "I have a message for him. From Doctor Cavala."
  3) "There's been a death in the family. I'm here to break the bad news."
  
  > 3
  "There's been a death in the family. I'm here to break the bad news."
  
  She covers her mouth.
  
  "Oh," she says. "Oh dear. I didn't think..."
  
  She shakes her head and trails off. With a wave of her hand she beckons you to follow, and the two of you make your way across the factory floor.
  
  "Damned unlucky business," she mutters. "Was it violence or disease that -- oh, it doesn't matter. I suppose I'll have to give him compassionate leave either way..."She leads you to one of the side stations, where a pair of men are hard at work assembling animus lanterns. They look up with trepidation as you approach.
  lanterns. They look up with trepidation as you approach."Zoiro!" she says. "This here lady's got a message for you. Listen up, because she's only going to say it once."
  she's only going to say it once."You glance at her. She inclines her head, as if to say you're on your own now, before turning and disappearing into the forest of assembly lines.
  disappearing into the forest of assembly lines.You're left with the two goblins, who are more than a little nonplussed. They look at you. You look at them.
  
  1) "Um."
  2) "Hello..."
  3) "Which one of you is Zoiro?"
  
  > 2
  "Hello," you say. "My name is Marid. Marid Orpheia."
  
  The goblins look at each other and shrug.
  The goblins look at each other and shrug."I'm Koriph," says the goblin on the right.
  on the right."I'm Zoiro," says the goblin on the left.
  
  1) "Um."
  2) "I have some bad news."
  
  > 2
  You take a deep breath.
  
  "I have some bad news."
  
  The goblins look at each other. The atmosphere has grown abruptly heavier.
  
  heavier."Shit," Zoiro says, after a pause. "What kind of bad news?"
  
  heavier."Shit," Zoiro says, after a pause. "What kind of bad news?""This isn't the best place," you tell him. "Is there a smoking room around here? Somewhere we'll have peace and quiet?"
  
  room around here? Somewhere we'll have peace and quiet?"Zoiro licks his lips nervously. "The... the smoking room, yeah. Come on. I'll show you. Come on, Koriph -- you too. Let's get this over with."
  
  you. Come on, Koriph -- you too. Let's get this over with."You are brought into a little cubbyhole of a room, past a curtain you have to stoop to go through. The odor of smoke lingers uncomfortably in the air, just on the edge of your nostrils.
  
  air, just on the edge of your nostrils.Zoiro sits in an armchair. Koriph sits next to him. You take a seat opposite, going over your words in your mind.
  
  1) <Be direct.>
  2) <Be gentle.>
  3) <Be professional.>
  
  > 3
  "It's about your brother, Reden."
  
  Zoiro leans forward. "Why? What happened to him?"
  
  "Last night, during the last shift at Doctor Cavala's clinic, he staggered through the door seriously ill. His symptoms were unlike anything Doctor Cavala had ever seen."Zoiro's eyes widen. "He -- he wasn't sick at all when I saw him last."
  
  wasn't sick at all when I saw him last."You take a breath, keep your eyes fixed on him.
  
  eyes fixed on him."His heart and lungs had failed. He was hemorrhaging badly. We rushed him to the surgery room, but -- but --"
  
  badly. We rushed him to the surgery room, but -- but --""-- Oh Primes --"
  
  --"You look away.
  
  --"You look away."I'm sorry," you whisper. "He died on the gurney. We couldn't save him."
  
  couldn't save him."Zoiro falls silent. He nods, bites his lip, buries his head in his hands.
  
  his head in his hands.Koriph puts a hand on his shoulder.
  
  his head in his hands.Koriph puts a hand on his shoulder."Well," says Zoiro at last. "I... I shouldn't be surprised. It was bound to happen sooner or later. He was a bum. A fucking disgrace. He was going to catch something, living the way he did..."
  
  catch something, living the way he did..."He hangs his head.
  
  catch something, living the way he did..."He hangs his head."But it hurts," he says. "Knowing that he's gone."
  
  1) "I'm sorry..."
  2) "Do you need a moment?"
  3) "You can ask me anything..."
  4) <Say nothing.>
  
  > 1
  "I'm --"
  
  You blink back tears.
  
  "I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry."
  
  Zoiro shakes his head. "Don't beat yourself up, kid. It was... it was his time. Like I said... it was bound to happen."
  
  1) "Will you be okay?"
  2) <Say nothing.>
  
  > 1
  "Will you be okay?"
  
  Zoiro looks down, and is quiet.
  Zoiro looks down, and is quiet."There's something I want to know," he says. "About Reden."
  says. "About Reden."A pause, uncertain.
  says. "About Reden."A pause, uncertain."Where is his body now?"
  
  1) "We're dissecting his body..."
  2) "We couldn't recover his body..."
  
  > 1
  "We're... we're dissecting his body," you tell him. "Doctor Cavala has invoked the ius medici --"
  
  "The what?"
  
  "The right of the doctor," you explain. "The illness that took Reden's life... it's unlike anything we've encountered before. We don't know how contagious it is, or who else might be at risk. We need to study the cadaver so we can make sure it doesn't kill anyone else."
  the cadaver so we can make sure it doesn't kill anyone else."Zoiro nods slowly.
  nods slowly."I... I guess that makes sense," he says. "Do what you need to do. Just... promise me you'll cremate him, when this is all over."
  over."He clenches his fists.
  over."He clenches his fists."And make sure you find out what you're looking for. Promise it."
  
  1) "I promise..."
  2) "I can't make that promise..."
  
  > 2
  "I... I can't make that promise."
  
  Your voice trembles. You look into his eyes.
  
  "I don't make promises I don't know if I can keep. I don't know if I'm strong enough. I don't know if Doctor Cavala can do it.
  
  strong enough. I don't know if Doctor Cavala can do it."But I promise that we will try."
  
  that we will try."Zoiro nods, even as tears well up and glitter on his cheeks.
  
  He stands up and offers his hand. You shake on it.
  
  "Good luck." He squeezes your hand. "I believe in you."
  
  "Good luck." He squeezes your hand. "I believe in you."He takes Koriph's hand and nods at you in lieu of farewell.
  
  Koriph's hand and nods at you in lieu of farewell."Come on, Koriph. Let's talk to the forewoman about compassionate leave..."
  
  Let's talk to the forewoman about compassionate leave..."You get up and make your way back to the Mechanistry floor. Your work here is done. It's time to go.