"I recalled the letter I received from Alexander Saburov. He asked me to visit him. It's possible that George Kain has asked him to do something about the recent unrest. Downstairs, Eve was already awake and she seemed very upset about something."
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| Pictured: a lady who is very upset! |
VERSUS
Bachelor: In the past couple of days I've found out so many things that seemed untrue to me before. What are you talking about?
Eve Yahn: I'm talking about the Sand Dirt! Is it true that Simon died because of it?
Bachelor: My colleague Rubin assumed that's the case.
Eve Yahn: In that case we need to run away from here, Daniel. Immediately! Even if we have to walk all the way along the railroad. Even if we die in the steppe it won't be as painful as this!
Bachelor: I can't leave yet, Eve. However, I'm prepared to help you leave.
Eve Yahn: No... I won't leave this place without you either. But we can't stand here! You know, I'm not afraid of death. I once jumped off a scaffold and it was a miracle that I survived. But I don't want to die from this plague! Please! Let's all leave.
Bachelor: You've only known me for a day...
Eve Yahn: So what?
Bachelor: What do you suggest we do?
Eve Yahn: Every month the train leaves the Station with all sorts of goods. Meat and skins. Women of the Order bid it farewell with sorrowful songs and mourning. That's the ritual...
Bachelor: Interesting. I'd like to watch that some time.
Eve Yahn: Living people are forbidden to get on it. The only person allowed to come aboard is the deaf and dumb Odong that drives it. Only he can get the train through the steppe.
Bachelor: I came here without any sort of ritual, and I'm planning to leave this place in the same way.
Eve Yahn: You didn't come by the train loaded with bull meat. It's something very different.
Bachelor: Can we strike a deal with the driver?
Eve Yahn: No. Since he is deaf none of the townspeople can even try to communicate with him. He also thinks his role is sacred, and wouldn't ever do something that went against tradition. There is a way out, though. I know a man who could scare even an Odong.
Bachelor: Who?
Eve Yahn: It's that architect Andrei Stamatin. He's a very stern and strong man. He treats me in a condescending manner, but you can speak to him on my behalf. He won't refuse if you tell him about the Sand Plague.
Bachelor: Okay, I'll speak to him.
Task: Let's run from here! posted:
Before it's too late, we should prepare a way to leave town. The person to talk to about this is the architect from the capital, Andrei Stamatin.
Saburov's morning note posted:
Bachelor, as I have already told you I have a request of extreme importance. Please come see me at "the Stem" for an explanation. If you think that my request is beyond your obligations, I will have to find someone else. However, I fear that if they are not as competent as you, this task may be the end of them.
[missing image]
"It's raining hard outside. The river has taken on a strange brown color, almost like watered down blood. I'm glad there are other ways to get fresh water in this town, because the thought of drinking from the river makes me uneasy."
[missing image]
"On my way through the central parts of town, I found some bodies in the middle of the street. They have knife wounds and it seems like whoever killed them has rummaged through their pockets. It seems like I wasn't the only one to be robbed last night, but these poor people probably couldn't defend themselves. It's probably safer during the day time, but I really shouldn't linger around here anyway."
[missing image]
VERSUS
Bachelor: It's a good thing I have been able to persuade you, then.
Alexander Saburov: We still have several valuable hours to stop the spreading of the disease, just like Isidor Burakh did a few years ago. Just isolating the bodies of Simon and Isidor will not be enough if we are facing the Sand Dirt. We need to declare a state of emergency. However, I can't do anything right now. My hands are tied.
Bachelor: But you have great power! What prevents you from acting?
Alexander Saburov: The power belongs to the trio of ruling families, above which is the Patron, the head ruler. But now Simon is dead and this spot is empty. George and Vlad are too worried about the possibility that the old power balance will be ruined. Now, with these tragic events happening, there will be changes in the allocation of authority in our town.
Bachelor: And?
Alexander Saburov: If I declare a state of emergency on my own, there will be a feudal war between us. I need their agreement at least. To take action I need Olgimskiy's money and Kain's authority. I also need their servants to obey my orders.
Bachelor: Why don't they agree with you? It's obvious that every minute is extremely valuable. The whole town may die. What are they going to rule then?
Alexander Saburov: They are acting like children. One of them is a greedy child, the other a fretful one. They think that if they admit that this epidemic is a real danger it will actually happen, but as long as they refuse to believe in it, it won't exist for them.
Bachelor: What should I do to convince them?
Alexander Saburov: Find the proof! Any proof, and do it quickly. If we wait while the inexperienced Rubin deal with the body of Simon Kain, and he will be busy with this for quite some time, the moment will be lost. Help me, Dankovskiy! Find some practical proof, show it to them, and they won't be able to find any excuses.
Bachelor: How?
Alexander Saburov: I've asked for help from several people who I trust. Perhaps you've talked to some of them? They already have some news. Furthermore, Anna, the resident of the house "Verbae", is sure that she knows how to find irrefutable proof of the epidemic. She needs help from a competent person.
Bachelor: Fine, I will speak to her.
Main Quest: Opposition posted:
The heads of the ruling families must unite before the coming threat, and provide Saburov with the authority he needs. For this purpose it is necessary to show them clear proof that the plague has broken out. I think we can find such evidence if I talk to Anna Angel and hear what she has to say.
New in this part of town is the location of Andrei, marked in yellow. He doesn't actually live in that house, but he spends his time there.
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| "This is the place Eve told me about. The sign shows a broken heart, for some reason." |
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| FACTUS EST: Stamatin’s Pub and Drug Den |
In the bar you can buy two curious items, as well as lots of rather expensive jewelry if you are desperate for that for some reason.
First up are coffee beans, which lowers your exhaustion but damages your health. I don't really see a point for using these, since you don't go slower or anything with full exhaustion. Instead your health is damaged slowly until you rest so the effect is pretty much the same in the long run, really. Eating raw lemon is better for keeping yourself awake.
Second is Twyrine, some sort of local brew made from plants growing only on the steppe nearby. It works as a sort of natural morphine, but also has other side effects. I keep away from this stuff, but I guess if we find a bottle somewhere we might as well try it out and see what happens. It's very expensive, though!
"I asked if someone named Andrei was here, and it turns out he spends most of his days by himself in the far corner of the room."
VERSUS
Bachelor: Wait a second. Didn't I meet you at the university? Was it you who jumped on top of a table and started juggling with the knives?
Andrei Stamatin: Ah! You remembered when we showed those bastards what the word Man means, hehe? You sat there all quiet and stuff until then, and all of a sudden you grabbed that guy by the arm when they tried to turn the table over. Yeah, I remember! That was quite brave. Those days, those days... And where did I end up?
Bachelor: What do you do now? I think you left the medical, didn't you?
Andrei Stamatin: Andrei Stamatin, sentenced to death in four countries, at your service!
Bachelor: What did they sentence you for?
Andrei Stamatin: You won't believe it, but they sentenced me to death for my creations! The Gates of the Under, the Alley of Heroes ensemble, The Stairway Inside Out... My House House received a curse from the International Architects Association. Even though me and my brother always worked together, I'm always the one to get the blame.
Bachelor: Do they confuse you for your brother or something?
Andrei Stamatin: Twins are just two sides of one man, who each strive for different things.
Bachelor: I hope you two get along. Now, there's one thing I have to ask from you. Eve Yahn wants to flee from the town before it's too late. She said only you can make that happen.
Andrei Stamatin: Flee? Why the hell? Is she scared because of the murders yesterday? No one would dare harm her!
Bachelor: She's scared because a killer has arrived here that is more terrible than a murderer or a steppe demon. An epidemic is about to being, Andrei. Rubin called it the Sand Dirt. Does that mean anything to you?
Andrei Stamatin: What?!? Is that what Rubin said? Nah, that's bullshit. Five years ago it spread like fire in a dry forest. Isidor Burakh managed to catch it by it's tail back then. If it were the Sand Dirt this time, those hysterical bitches would have spread it all over the place yesterday and the town would be filled with dead flesh by dawn.
Bachelor: How did Isidor manage that?
Andrei Stamatin: He acted very decisively. Burakh locked and boarded up all the infected houses. It was a miracle. He had some intuition, that old man. Why do you ask?
Bachelor: Because it is true that the Sand Plague, or whatever it's name is, has come to this town.
Andrei Stamatin: So you and Rubin are serious about this? No, that's impossible. If Simon died because of that, none of the Kains would still be alive by now. Rubin must be mistaken.
Bachelor: Eve thinks otherwise. Can you help her leave?
Andrei Stamatin: On the other hand, Eve is right... It's time to leave this place. The riots yesterday were disgusting. The fight for the throne is about to being, and I don't want to see it's consequences. We probably can't stay here for much longer anyway.
Bachelor: So, we're leaving?
Andrei Stamatin: If my brother agrees, of course. Without him I am not going anywhere, I hope you understand that.
Bachelor: I'll speak to him.
Task update: Let's run from here! posted:
It's a pleasure to meet a person from my part of society in this town. It turned out he was a former university mate. It's a double pleasure if I can leave with him as well. But he will not go anywhere without his brother.
"Andrei's brother has a studio nearby. They are both architects, but they see their work more as a way to create art. After tricking the Authorities to let them build something which later turned out to be a hideous building that couldn't possible serve it's purpose, they were chased out of the capital. This explains these strange ruin-like buildings in town. The brothers must have lived here for quite some time and 'helped' in the modernization of the western parts of the town."
"This place is a mess! There are lots of half-finished sketches and statues all over the room, lots of empty bottles on the floor and for some reason a large bath tub."
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| that tub is true art |
VERSUS
Bachelor: I am Daniel Dankovskiy.
Petr Stamatin: You are a good person to drink with and talk to. You can call me Petr. You can call me Andrei too, just for the sake of diversity.
Bachelor: What do you mean?
Petr Stamatin: All the questions will come afterward. Let's drink some twyrine to our acquaintance, and don't you dare insult me by refusing. There is a bottle in one of the cupboards... I think. I didn't get down to dealing with it yesterday cause i was so pissed.
Bachelor: I'm sorry, I can't drink with you right now. Your brother is suggesting that we run away from this town.
Petr Stamatin: Run away? From here? Is he out of his mind?
Bachelor: There's a chance an epidemic is about to break out in the town. To be more precise, it's this Sand Plague of yours. Modern medicine has no knowledge of it. However, you've had the pleasure of contemplating it's effects.
Petr Stamatin: ... I don't care. My body is so full of twyrine that no disease will be able to come close to it. My brother Andrei too... unless he gets it from one of the girls. No, I'm not leaving this place.
Bachelor: Does twyrine protect from this disease?
Petr Stamatin: Properly distilled twyrine does. If you eat the leaves or drink the resin from it will do the opposite. It doesn't matter, I'm staying here in any case.
Bachelor: Can't twyrine be obtained anywhere else?
Petr Stamatin: Do you see what I managed to build here? Where else would they let me build something like this? Here is everything that I've lived for! For now, I have no reason to leave this place. I haven't finished my observations yet. I have a little more to find out...
Bachelor: What are you talking about?
Petr Stamatin: ... You won't understand. You've never built anything.
Bachelor: You are wrong. I built my own laboratory, the Tanathica, and I've created my own theories about the problem of man's mortality.
Petr Stamatin: In that case, forgive me. It is strange that you don't understand me. It seems you are prepared to risk your life for your life's work. I cannot leave yet.
Task update: Let's run from here! posted:
Petr is deranged. It seems that his head is too obscured by twyrine and he is unable to see the obvious and realize the consequences of refusing to leave. Or maybe he doesn't care about such an outcome? How can I possibly find a way to convince such a stubborn man that the threat of the Sand Plague is real?
Summary: Alexander Saburov is very worried that the Sand Plague will spread if we do not act quickly. He does not think Rubin is experienced enough to find proof of the Plague right away. However, Alexander can't act alone, so we must find some other evidence and convince the other two ruling families to help us. He said that Anna might have a lead. We'll check in with her later.
Eve also asked us to find a way to escape from this town if things goes badly. We have talked to the Stamatin brothers about this. They are the last of our Adherents. Andrei is reasonable and takes the threat of a plague seriously and was willing to leave anyway, but Petr is not ready to leave. It seems like this town is the only place where he can realize his insane ideas. We'll have to talk to Andrei again and ask him if we can somehow convince his brother.
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